AV 31st May 2014

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In an impressive swearingin ceremony at the forecourt of President’s House, Narendra Modi took oath as India’s 15th Prime Minister on Monday. Besides, Modi President Pranab Mukherjee administered oath of office and secrecy to 23 Cabinet Ministers and 22 Ministers of State in presence of over 4,000 dignitaries, including heads of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.

Apart from who’s who of corporate world including Ambani brothers – Mukesh and Anil with their families and mother Kokilaben, Adani group chairman Gautam Adani, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Essar Group's Shashi and Prashant Ruia, the Mittal brothers of the Bharti Group - Sunil, Rakesh and Rajan — and the Jindal brothers — Sajjan and Naveen — were among those who attended the event. Others who were present on the occasion

included Hero MotoCorp's Pawan Munjal, Larsen & Toubro chairman A M Naik, entrepreneur brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, DLF vice-chairman Rajiv Singh, Zee group's Subhash Chandra and Future Group chairman Kishore Biyani.

Present on the occasion was the outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who

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remained 10 years at the helm when the general election left the Congress battered and reduced to its lowest tally of 44 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her son and party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former presidents A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil were among the over 4,000 people who gathered on the occasion.

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Besides, Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony saw the presence of a lot of Bollywood stars.

The grand event was a starry affair. Several of them took out time especially to witness the moment. Salman Khan, known to be close to Narendra Modi, and his father Salim Khan who had launched BJP's Urdu Continued on page 26

Icebreaking meet of Indo-Pak PMs The new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised issue of cross-border terror and slow pace of trial in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks during a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday.

The much awaited meeting closely watched on both sides of border was also attended by Minister of External Affairs Shushma Swaraj and top officials of both the countries.

In the meeting, Modi reportedly talked tough and stressed that Pakistan must abide by its commitment to control terrorism from its soil against India and also raised the slow pace of trial in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

The attack on the Indian consulate at Herat in Afghanistan on Friday was also discussed during the meeting. Afghan president Hamid Karzai blamed Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the assault coinciding with the Modi government's takeover. The meeting continued for almost 50 minutes at

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Hyderabad House in the India’s capital.

“We want friendly relations with Pakistan.

However, for such relations to proceed, terror and violence must end,” Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh told reporters, adding that India's concerns over terror were “clearly articulated.”

Modi’s gesture to invite Sharif at his swearing-in ceremony is widely seen as an “icebreaker”. The outcome of the meeting was that both the leaders decided that their foreign secretaries will be in touch website were proudly sitting in the second row for the ceremony.

Continued on page 26

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Keith Vazwith MP

Keith Vaz MP

Navin Raina

Navin is Chairman of Training & Assessment Services. The company is a training provider based in West London. It was established in 1994 to deliver basic skills training in employability, ESOL, Literacy, Numeracy and ICT to individuals from minority ethnic groups and women returners.

Reflecting its local market, over 90% of its customers are BME. Its customer base is truly diverse and includes exoffenders, individuals with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, NEETS, lone parents, asylum seekers and the longterm unemployed.

The company receives funding for such training through government, the European Union and the Not For Profit Sector. Previously, Navin spent 20 years working in the City.

He started his career as a management consultant for Ernst & Young and subsequently held leadership positions at Barclays Bank Plc and Fidelity Worldwide Investments. He read History at University College London and also took a Licence from La Sorbonne University in Paris. Navin has been married for 10 years, has 2 young children and lives in West London.

1) Tell me about your current position?

I am currently Chairman of Training & Assessment Services (TAS). We are a training provider based in Southall, West London. The company was established in 1994 to deliver basic skills training in

employability, ESOL, Literacy, Numeracy and ICT to individuals from minority ethnic groups and women returners.

Reflecting our local market, over 90% of our customers are BME and include ex-offenders, individuals with learning difficulties and/or disabilities,

Lions Club London Central hosts Rafi- Kishore Nite for Charity

make the most of their lives for themselves, their families and the communities they live in.

NEETS, lone parents, asylum seekers and the long-term unemployed.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

I hope there are many more to come, but watching our team of passionate staff helping those most in need get the training, advice and guidance they need to get on in life, fills me with great pride.

3) What inspires you?

We all face challenges in our lives. What inspires me is working with people looking to overcome them. People who seek to

reliant.

Ex-High Commissioner of Bangladesh Anwar Chowdhury also spoke briefly on the occasion.

Evergreen melodies of remarkable legendary singers Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar were presented by singers Sanjoy Dey, Soaful Uddin, Rikta Mukherjee, Laboni Barua and Nadia Nihad. They were accompanied by musicians Atul Cantilal, Hemant Bhatt, Qureshi and Sandy Man. Laavni dance by Aditi and Ruta and classical dance by Suchismita were added attractions.

Lion Manoj, past Dist.

Governor Lion Max Mongia, Lion President Bindu, Lion Lalit and Lion Salim of London Central Lions Club were all instrumental in making the event successful.

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

My parents encouraged me to believe I could achieve whatever I wanted to with hard work, respect for ourselves and others and discipline. These are the values they we at TAS seek to reflect in our day to day work.

6) What is the best aspect about your current role?

Without a doubt, watching people who thought there was no hope, get the skills required to get work, support their fami-

Sadiq Khan: Labour will tackle race inequality

Shefali Saxena

Lions Club London Central has organised Rafi-Kishore Nite to raise funds for the treatment of a 9-month old cancer patient fighting for her life in Bangladesh. The event was hosted at Holiday Inn Kensington Forum on 17 May bringing together Indian and Bangladeshi communities. The show was organised by Bulbul Banerjea and Farzana Ahmed of Funtastic Dhamaka.

Chief Guest Lord Loomba gave a presentation on his charity The Loomba Foundation which works for economic and social empowerment of widows by providing skills training to them and education to their children. Its current project is to provide sewing machines to poor widows for making them self-

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

Getting the funding from relevant government authorities to allow us to help our customers get the support and training they need. It is a constant battle.

Raising the issue of unemployment among many ethnic minority communities, Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow London Minister unveiled the party's plans to tackle racial inequality in Britain.

In his speech at Operation Black Vote in Tower Hamlets, Khan appealed to the ethnic minorities in Britain to participate in Labour’s Race Equality Consultation, which will inform the Government’s Race Equality Strategy if Labour comes to power in 2015. Khan underlined the fact that unemployment amongst White Britons fell by 14.6% over the last 12 months, but rose in mixed race, especially Bangladeshi, Black and African Caribbean communities.

In the light of racial injustice among international students who bear the yoke of immigration rules, the Labour MP also said

that expanding internship programmes and work placements is on his agenda for 2015.

Calling racism as a "strong monster" and urging the ethnic minorities to fight the evil until it’s defeated, Councillor Rita Patel said, “Racial injustice and resources seem to be dwindling in this country. Our agenda is to move forward rather than backwards.”

Patel also mentioned in her speech that efforts are being made to discuss this issue with Home Secretary Theresa May. Neville Lawrence, father of Stephen Lawrence, a Black British man from Eltham who was murdered in a racist attack while waiting for a bus on the evening on April 22, 1993, expressed his disappointment with the government.

Supporting Khan’s cause of uplifting ethnic minorities to fight racial injustice, Lawrence grieved and said, “Losing our son was a tragedy to our

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race. Government is for all the people, not for some. No one should take a tragedy.”

Research by Operation Black Vote shows that any future majority government will only be possible with the support of ethnic minority voters.

They will make up to thirty percent of the UK’s population by 2050. Ethnic minority voters had the potential to decide 99 seats in England and Wales in the 2010 election. But research shows this will reach 168 seats in 2015.

Khan also highlighted the increasing disparity among board room members in organisations where none of the big executives are Chinese. He elaborated that many of the top heads earn 400 times more than most of their junior officers.

Simon Woolley, Director Operation Black Vote, made an appeal to the ethnic minorities to get involved in Khan’s consultation programme.

lies and have the dignity that comes with a structured career.

7) And the worst?

Having to fight for the funding we need to do more – we can always do more!

8) What are your long term goals?

To ensure TAS is in a position to provide the support it currently does for the community for the next 25 years.

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

I would simply make eradicating barriers to opportunity the keystone of everything we do.

Everyone, no matter from what background they may come, deserves the chance to succeed in life. After that, it is up to the individual to go for it.

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

William Wilberforce – the driving figure behind the end of Slavery in the then British Empire.

PM under attack for failing to meet net migration pledge PM David Cameron came under attack ahead of the European and Local elections last Friday, after the latest immigration figures revealed that the estimated level of net migration to the UK is now at over 200,000. Labour and UKIP have both attacked David Cameron for failing to meet his pledge to bring the figure down to less than 100,000 by the end of this parliament. The estimated increase in overall net migration was stated as "not statistically significant" by the Office for National Statistics, yet Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper reportedly said in a statement, the statistics showed that "David Cameron and Theresa May's flagship immigration pledge is in shreds".

"By making such loud promises and failing to meet them, Theresa May and David Cameron have further eroded trust on immigration and undermined confidence in a government’s ability to address people’s concerns," she added.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage also laid in to the Prime Minister for "breaking a solemn promise to the British people to get net annual immigration down to the tens of thousands".

"If people want to get both the volume and the quality of immigration under control then it is perfectly clear they should vote UKIP today," he reportedly declared.

This comes after Robert Helmer, Ukip candidate in the Newark by-election, attempted to reassure voters that Ukip was not against ethnic minorities and announcing that Ukip is “very comfortable” with allowing 50,000 new immigrants to settle in Britain every year.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

COMMENT

Foreign policy: India’s national interest paramount

A Washington Post Board statement asked whether “India’s Narendra Modi era will be marked by an economic boom or derailed by nationalism?....whether Mr Modi will be the Deng Xiaoping of India or its Vladimir Putin – a leader whose economic ambitions have derailed by nationalism and authoritarian temptations. Odd question, surely. Why should there be an either or to economic boom and nationalism? Intelligently applied, they complement each other. At the other end of the world, China’s Global Times saw Mr Modi as India’s Richard Nixon in opening a new page in Sino-Indian relations. Too simplistic, as China’s leaders are likely to discover in the fullness of time.

The short answer to such speculation is Narerndra Modi is his own man and India’s national interest will be his abiding concern. The Post made much play about the Gujarat riots of March 2002, the loss of life and Mr Modi’s alleged imperviousness to the tragedy, his sectarian outlook and cavalier disregard for the rule of law and freedom of thought and speech. Baseles alegations wasn’t Post hero Deng Xiaoping responsible for the June 4, 1989 Tienanmen massacre of unarmed student demonstrators. A decade earlier, Deng had visited Washington to obtain clearance for China’s invasion of Vietnam in February 1979; in Deng’s words, to “teach Vietnam a lesson, like the lesson taught to India” in October-November 1962. Crocodile tears over Gujarat’s 850 dead in 2002 contrasts with the Washington’s callous indifference to the three million Bengalis (mostly Hindu) slaughtered by the Pakistan military in East Pakistan in 1971. “The Forgotten Genocide”- the title of the Gary Bass’s work that dark chapter of American diplomacy in telling detail – will reward the reader for his time.

The man who ordered that campaign of mass murder and organized rape was the Pakistan military dictator Yahya Khan, much loved and admired by President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger for Sandhurst slang and soldierly bearing. Unlike Mr Modi, General Yahya Khan and his partner in crime, Zulfiker Ali Bhutto, were welcome visitors to the White House, as was Indonesia’s military strongman Suharto who rode to power over millions of Indonesian corpses. With Kissinger’s encouragement, Suharto’s forces invade Catholic-populated East Timor and murdered millions of its inhabitants. American lectures on human rights have long descended into low farce.

The Post Board accepts that the denial of a US

visa to Mr Modi, coupled with a decline in the tempo of Indo-US relations, after the initial Obama hype that these would constitute the “defining relationship of the 21st century,” is unlikely to be reversed anytime soon. There are areas where IndoUS national interests converge; there are others where they diverge significantly, as American values are invariably aligned to America’s imperial interests. Indians are coming to sift sanctimonious fiction from hard ground reality. The future of the Indo-US relationship unfolds creatively at the level of civil society, in educational, scientific, cultural and commercial exchanges. As states, their relations with each other are driven by circumspection rather than unbridled enthusiasm.

A recent piece by David Cohen, a prominent member of the US Jewish community, who served in a number of responsible positions in the George W. Bush Administration, brought out the irritating menaces directed at India in Capitol Hill. He pointed to House Resolution 417, “pushed by an odd coalition of left-wing Democrats and Christian conservatives, suggests among other things, that India persecutes Christians. The truth is that few countries with a Christian minority are as hospitable to Christians as is India. The accommodation of diversity is inherent in India’s Hindu culture; for centuries India has provided refuge to Christians and countless others fleeing persecution [ Zoroastrian Parsis, Tibetan Buddhists, Baghdadi Jews escaping Ottoman rule, as was also the case with Armenians who settled in Calcutta, and Baha’is escaping persecution in Iran]. If you want to find genuinely hateful oppression of Christians,” Mr Cohen continues, “you need look no further than India’s neighbors.”

One can supplement Mr Cohen by pointing to the Christians who presently grace all walks of Indian social, cultural and political life. There have been two Christian naval chiefs, two in the air force and one in the army, large numbers of the community have served, and continue to serve, in all branches of the armed services. The House Resolution 417 is utterly perverse, condescending and self-defeating. If you wish to understand why the Indo-US relationship has failed to achieve its true potential, this silly and arrogant Resolution provides the answer. Let us forsake the copywriter’s glib grandiloquence on Indo-US partnerships in this or the next century and concentrate on smaller, achievable issues likely to yield a bountiful harvest in the longer term.

A heavily armed jihadi group, stocked with provisions for a 26/11 Mumbai-style siege, launched an audacious assault on India’s consulate in the western Afghan city of Heart at the weekend. Four terrorists were killed, three during a 6-hour gun battle, one by a unit of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police as he scaled the walls of the consulate. His three associates took charge of a nearby house from they engaged a posse of Afghan soldiers who killed them all. While no organization has as yet claimed responsibility for the action, Indian and Afghan authorities have hinted that the attack was conceived and executed from “across the border.”

The Taliban and kindred jihadis have sworn to target Indian sites in Afghanistan and beyond, as has the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Saeed who travels the country, under official protection, inciting crowds to participate in the antiIndian jihad. The Pakistan government has issued a formal condemnation of the Herat attack, but this has been par for the course and should deceive only the innocent. Narendra Modi and Manmohan Singh have extolled the courage of the Indian force guarding the consulate, and also the

bravery and steadfastness of the Afghan soldiers who crushed the attackers.

So where does this leave India? Prime Minister-Modi, in search of a durable Pakistan policy, as were his predecessors, invited his Pakistan counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, to his swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which invitation Mr Sharif accepted at the weekend following close consultations with Pakistan’s Army chief, and close aides. Atal Behari Vajpayee rushed into a hastily contrived peace process with Pakistan and was faced with a war on the Kargil heights. Kargil, Mumbai March 1993, then 26/11: India is no nearer the peace it seeks with a recalcitrant neighbor than it was at independence 67 years ago. Why? Because it takes two to tango.

The messianic Islamism which drives Pakistan’s military – the country’s true rulers – has no satisfactory conclusion short of ‘Hindu’ India’s apocalypse, as landmark to the divinely ordained establishment of the Universal Islamic Caliphate.

Comprehensive Indian strength that will not be denied and not unproductive talks without end, will nurture the peace that works

Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister died on 27 May 1964. He was a man of his time and transcended time in a number of ways. He used his immense moral and political authority to lay the foundations of constitutional government in India based on the rule of law. He told the French writer Andre Malraux that his ultimate goal was to construct a “just state by just means.”

The English philosopher Bertrand Russel said that the West had never fully appreciated Nehru’s avoidance of “short cuts,” by which he meant some form of dictatorship. Many of the things Nehru did in the economic sphere were timebound and have outlived their uses. But he played a critical role decoupling a colonial economy from the post-colonial political system that coming into being. If economic reforms are high on India’s

agenda, it is because there is something substantial to reform. Nehru was a visionary. He well understood that without science and technology India would never break free of its primordial social and economic fetters, would never realize the modernity progressive Indians had yearned for. Nehru’s nurtured transforming relationships with outstanding figures such as the physicist Homi Bhabha FRS and the statistician Prasanta Mahalanobis FRS – each a global figure in his respective discipline, each a vital partner of the prime minister in the creation of the new India.

Nehru’s part in the establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology also deserves bold acknowledgment.

“Jawaharlal,” said Rabindranath Tagore, was “India’s Rituraj” {lord of the Seasons].It is his enduring epitaph.

Indian consulate withstands jihadi attack

Remembering Jawaharlal Nehru

3 Don't tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results - General George S. Patton (1885-1945)

The Modi-Patel Doctrine:

Hindu Nationalism Means This Prime Minister 11 Ashoka Road New Delhi, 110001

Dear Prime Minister Modi-ji,

When a country is 70% Hindu, and the only historic home of the oldest of all faiths, then that country is home, wherever its sons and daughters may live.

For too long nations have limited their protection to their own Citizens. India, must extend this principle – to cover all those whose ancestors have called Hindustan their home.

Because unlike those of all other faiths, Hindus have no traditional, ancestral home, except India, it must be the policy of your Government that all Hindus wherever they are in the world will be extended the umbrella of protection of your Government.

From this day onward, the first determinant of your relations with any Foreign Government must be their treatment of the Hindu population within their borders. It has to be the business of this Government how Hindus are treated worldwide. If they want better relations with India, first make the best relations with Hindus in their own country.

This doctrine is not novel in international relations. The people of Israel provide protection for Jews wherever they are in the world, of whichever nationality. We shall extend no lesser protection to Hindus.

Nor should anyone ask, what of those of other faiths? Muslims, Christians, those of all other faiths who are Indian nationals will continue to have the full unwavering protections of the Indian State.

As Hindustan becomes and economic superpower, what use this wealth, this status, the hands of friendship of other nations, if they do not respect our people, for Hindus wherever they are will always be Hindustani first.

You are often called a Hindu Nationalist. So be it. You have never been embarrassed of the title.

This is Hindu Nationalism. This is an example of what it means. Justice for all, appeasement of none.

Extend this Doctrine to all Dharmic faiths who have no home except India – including the Sikhs, Jains, Parsees too.

I have termed this the Modi-Patel doctrine in tribute to India’s first Deputy PM, Sardar Patel, who was responsible with bringing all the States into the Union at Independence and thereby earned the title the ‘Iron Man of India’. Hereafter India will be Ironlike in its resolve in the protection of Hindus.

The riots of 2002 are testament to why Hindus need and must be protected, for it was there hundreds of Hindus were burnt alive, and the carnage and consequences for Muslims thereafter was truly horrific.

Therefore expect the full support of the global Muslim population that Hindus should nowhere in the world ever feel a minority. We will no longer stand afraid of protecting our own, for fear of offending others. We will no longer feel a minority in our own homeland.

Moreover please seek to move a Constitutional Amendment to have the name of India changed to Bharat, in keeping with the actions of local State Governments who have renamed great cities from their traditional colonial names to their traditional names, such as Mumbai, Kolkotta, Chennai, Amdavad, Vadodara.

Jai Hind.

UK

Liverpool mother causes fire killing herself and son Indian origin woman Janma Joshi from Liverpool has died along with her 4 year old son Jai in a fire, allegedly started by her last week.

Janma Joshi, a pharmacy assistant and reportedly married to Mohit Nanda, an Indian Merchant Navy officer.

However, Paresh Patel, the British Indian father of the 4 year old boy has reportedly slammed UK Janma Joshi Social Services for not acting quickly enough to save his son.

A local media has reported that Mr Patel, 43, said that the boy's mother Janma Joshi started the fire deliberately because she had lost full custody of the child.

Mr Patel has also claimed that Janma failed to return his son Jai to him after the Easter school holidays but authorities in Liverpool failed to take action for Paresh Patel more than a month in spite of desperate pleas from him. Jai had remained in his mother's care for four weeks and out of school for twoand-a-half weeks prior to his death, Mr Patel told an inquest into his son's death.

Mr Patel, who is now married to Deviyani, with whom he has a three-yearold son and two-year-old daughter, had a relationship with Joshi after meeting her on an Indian matrimonial website. By the time she discovered she was pregnant, their relationship was already over but Mr Patel said he had taken an active role in raising their son.

For the first two years of his life, Jai lived with his mother, and his father had regular time with his son.

But when Jai was about two-and-a-half, court proJai Joshi ceedings took place and Mr Patel gained full custody after social workers raised concerns about Jai's emotional well being. Ms Joshi initially gained supervised access to her son and later overnight visits every other weekend. He has now called for independent reviews into the authorities to find out why they did not enforce the court order after Jai’s mother failed to give him back or take him to school. The matter will be passed to the Lancashire Safeguarding Children Board for consideration by their serious case review panel.

The Local police has also requested the people of Liverpool to come forward with any kind information that they have.

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Thousands gather in Leicester to honour fallen patriot

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Memorial service for Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan

More than 2000 people gathered in a line in Leicester's Belgrave Road, to pay tribute to Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan on Thursday 22 May, who died when his helicopter crashed in Afghanistan. The funeral took place at Loughborough Crematorium with full military honours.

Flt Lt Chauhan, 29, who was born in Birmingham, was on his third tour of Afghanistan and was described as a very charismatic and loyal man, with a contagious sense of humour. He died along with Capt

photo courtesy: Leicester Mercury

4

Local MP Rt Hon Keith Vaz joined the funeral procession

Thomas Clarke, Warrant Officer Class 2 Spencer Faulkner and Cpl James Walters from the Army Air Corps, and L/Cpl Oliver Thomas, of the Intelligence Corps.

Prayers and chanting met the procession when it reached Milans Saree shop that belongs to Chauhan's family. Rajinder Bular, who is a friend of the Chauhans, told the BBC: "I've been with the family nearly a month now. They feel proud

Indian High Commission hosts reception to celebrate Deccan history

Charusmita

The Indian High Commission (London), on Wednesday, the 21st, hosted a reception to learn of the Deccan Heritage Foundation and of its proj-

ects in this distinctive region of India. The event was held at India House and was attended by some members of the British Parliament and Helen Hamlyn Trust (UK), Britain-based industrial-

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as ever for their son. He's done very good and given his life for his country and he's died as a hero.

"On this sad occasion the family are very overwhelmed because so many came to support them."

Dharmesh Lakhani, chair of Belgrave Business Association, reportedly said the community wanted to support the family.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

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ists of Indian origin, members of the Goan association, travel writers. The programme for the evening included a presentation about aims and workings of the Deccan Heritage Foundation followed by a history of the Deccan region in India and its architectural significance.

The evening began with a welcome address by the High Commissioner of India, Ranjan Mathai, who hails from Kerela in India and confesses to having a soft corner for preserving the cultural artefacts in the Deccan. The audience listened intently as he spoke about the venue, the Gandhi Hall (inside the India House); about how this hall existed in 1930 even before India got its independence in 1947. It was heartening to hear about the history of the venue where everybody stood to celebrate one of the South Asia’s most valuable historical artefacts. Importance of any cultural product is often overlooked in counting the pressing causes and this observation was noted and expressed by George Michell, who after attaining formal training in architecture, studied Indian archaeology, conducting in-depth surveys of historical monuments around the Deccan. He introduced his talk by mapping out the Deccan plateau and presenting some images that are now widely recognised and touted as bridges to India’s cultural past.

From shrines to relief carvings of the royal and civil life, mosques in Hyderabad to the Danish tombs on the coast of the (recently former) Andhra Pradesh, Michell estab-

lished an interesting connection between European and Indian architectures.

But in all of his observations, he maintained that “the range of monuments in the Deccan region is unsurpassed anywhere in India�. Following the glories were the pressing concerns that are haunting the plateau currentlyhydraulic water system restoration, lack of interest in preserving the monuments and scarcity of agents of spreading awareness about the expanse.

He ended on an optimistic note, communicating enthusiasm and urging the patrons of the Foundation and non-members alike, to continue to support this cause.

Mary Anne Cordeiro, (Chair, Deccan Heritage Foundation), spoke at length about the most popular tourist destination of this region- Goa. She advises on a number of innovative healthcare businesses on strategy and finance and is Director at the Albion Ventures Group. She unfolded the Foundation’s plans of hosting a music concert in Goa in December this year along with workshops about music and culture.

Lady Helen Hamlyn of the Helen Hamlyn Trust (UK) was also present on the occasion whose trust attempted to restore the Reis Magos Fort in Goa. The Fort had served as the first line of defence to the port town of Goa (present Old Goa) in the past. The evening concluded with presentation of a memento by the Deccan Heritage Foundation to the High Commissioner and with the organisation urging more and more people to join the noble cause.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Oxford Professor arrested for alleged sex assault on child Professor Subir Sarkar, who is head of the university's Particle Theory Group and lectures students internationally on the subject of dark matter, has been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a child.

Professor Sarkar, 60, was arrested on Tuesday linked with alleged sexual assault of a boy aged under 13 between January 1, and August 20, 2010.

Police have questioned Professor Sarkar and released him on bail until June 17.

He was educated at the Indian Institute of Technology, in Kharagpur, India, and gained a PhD in 1982 at the Tata Institute

of Fundamental Research, Bombay.

Professor Sarkar took up his post at The University of Oxford in 1990. The scientist had recently been awarded the Niels Bohr professorship by the Danish National Research Foundation, a five-year term which comes with a £3.2m grant.s

Draft report suggests Salafi beliefs enforced at Muslim School Olive Tree primary school in Luton has disputed claims made in a draft report that the school library contains books 'abhorrent to British society'.

Ofsted inspectors have criticised an independent Muslim school for promoting Salafi fundamentalist beliefs and rated the school as 'inadequate', which typically results in the school being closed or taken over by the Department for Education. In Ofsted's draft report, the inspec-

tors reportedly said the school fails to prepare its pupils "for life in modern Britain, as opposed to life in a Muslim state."

However, the school's governors and trustees have strongly denied the findings of the inspectors.

Responding to the draft report, the Olive Tree leadership said the school had no books available to children that described or advocated stoning women, and called a claim that the library carried no books on religions other

First British man found guilty on Syria terror charge A father-of-two, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, has become the first Briton to be convicted of terrorism offences for travelling to Syria to train for jihad. Mashudur Choudhury, pictured, 31, was convicted by a jury at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court for engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorism.

The trial, which lasted two weeks, heard that Choudhury was encouraged by his friend Iftekhar Jaman to join him in Syria where he was fighting for the al-Qaeda group ISIS. Choudhury's conversations on Skype and What’sApp with Jaman, who was killed last December, were recovered by police. A few weeks later, Choudhury flew from Gatwick to Turkey in October last year with four other men from Portsmouth and crossed into Syria.

As Choudhury returned, he was arrested by police at the airport who were alerted by an

anonymous letter, believed to have been written by members of the local Muslim community who were angry and blamed him for recruiting the other young men who have never returned.

According to evidence, Choudhury had borrowed £35,000 from family and friends on the pretence he needed the money for specialist treatment overseas for cancer, but instead used the money travelling to Singapore and paying for prostitutes.

Counter-terrorism sources believe that more than 500 Britons have now travelled to Syria to attend jihadist training camps often run by groups affiliated to alQaeda.

than Islam "an outright fabrication". The school also disputed several of the other claims made by the inspectors, and described the draft report as a "catalogue of lies, half-truths and blatant Islamaphobia".

An Ofsted spokesman reportedly said: "We have shared a draft copy of the inspection report in confidence with the school for factual accuracy checking, as is our standard practice. The final report will be published shortly.”

UK

5

Money bureau boss jailed for laundering over £100m

A bureaux de change owner and two of his employees have been jailed for laundering over £100 million of criminal cash through his business.

Thillianathan Kumarathas and Ramanathan Thayaparan recruited mutual friend, Dinesh Kumar Anandan, to help launder dirty money through Kumarathas’s two bureaux in Victoria, London.

The men would receive the “dirty” money from criminal gangs, who mixed with unsuspecting tourists when they brought bags of cash to the bureaux de change.

The money was exchanged for €500 notes which could be easily concealed. The defendants took a percentage of the cash and used their illegal profit to buy several properties in the UK, France

and India, and paid for private schooling for their children.

David Margree, Assistant Director, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said: “This was a calculated attempt to make a dishonest living and help organised criminals go undetected by exchanging the money they got from criminal activity. These sentences send out a very clear message that money laundering is a serious crime and will not be tolerated.”

Assets restrained and subject to confiscation action include: vehicles, restaurants, supermarkets, cash and funds held in bank accounts and business and residential properties.

Around £84,000 in cash was seized during searches of business and residential premises.

6

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

“Our London”

New era in India

Navin Shah, GLA Member for Brent and Harrow

As an Indian and a Gujarati born and brought up near Ahmedabad I’m proud that Narendrabhai is our PM and heartily congratulate him. I travel in Gujarat very regularly and have personally seen how Narendrabhai has transformed Gujarat in such a short time. I have seen Ahmedabad change from a provincial city going nowhere to a diverse, vibrant and modern metropolis; I have seen an incredible development of infrastructure across Gujarat and small remote towns, suburbs becoming centres of economic development. All of this might appear anecdotal but there is ample evidence to demonstrate the true transformation. The radical changes have come about due to Narendrabhai’s leadership, vision and drive. In the post-election time India is entering the new era because with Narendrabbhai at the helm the transformation must and will be guaranteed. Clear mandate and not having to rely on a range of splinter groups and parties should make the business of putting India in the top gear much more viable. The tasks facing Modiji’s administration are gigantic and would not be achieved in one term of administration but some of the priorities, in my humble view, must include eliminating endemic corruption; ensuring that the benefits of economic growth permeate thorugh to the poorer communities in urban & rural areas to reduce the yawning and ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor and ensuring that India remains secular state to deliver equality and justice to all faiths and communities.

As to the controversies there have been plenty both in India and internationally - with any and all elections political punch-ups of various scales surrounding ideological point of views are normally expected. As a strong

social democrat I do not subscribe to some of the ethos BJP and RSS stand for. However, the world’s biggest democracy has elected overwhelmingly the BJP with Narendrabhai as the Prime Minister – someone who’s demonstrated to be a true leader and visionary. The Godhra incident has had its scrutiny nationally and internationally and it is high time that we embrace the clear verdict of people of India and welcome Narendrabhai’s election, work with him and closely scrutiny how the BJP government performs.

The Labour Party needs to openly and honestly respond to the charges levied against it from various quarters on the matter of Narendrabhai’s election so that we can leave controversy behind and move forward towards forging greater ties between India and Britain. As to those who are desperately trying to portray the Labour Party as Anti-Hindu, Anti-Indian that is entirely scurrilous and unfounded. I do not for a moment say that the party is flawless but I urge those challenging Labour that Narendrabhai’s election is not used as a blunt tool to bash Labour Party incriminatory and promote directly or inadvertently the Conservatives.

Whatever the critics of Labour Party say, at its heart Labour is and will always remain one that genuinely embraces diversity, respects ALL religions, nationalities, cultures and works with them. This has been true historically and will remain so.

I’ve had pleasure of meeting Narendrabhai in Ahmedabad and now as a proud British Indian, fellow Gujarati and a Labour politician look forward to welcoming Modiji in London and particularly welcome him in my constituency of Brent and Harrow which is a home of Indians/Gujaratis.

Celebrating an ancient art form that is a cornerstone of South Asian culture

Shefali Saxena

Ghazals echoed at The Nehru Centre at Audley Street on May 21, 2014, when classical singer Minu Bakshi launched her collection of Urdu poems in the book 'Tishnagi' (The Thirst).

'Tishnagi' is Minu's tribute to the legendary poets and singers who have inspired her.

Honoured by The Bihar Urdu Academy as the best book of Urdu poetry for 2013, Tishnagi is a collection of Urdu ghazals, nazms and qitats with transliterations in Hindi and English.

This collection is also the story of Minu Bakshi's personal journey-from the time when she started writing poetry after a chance interaction with Begum Akhtar, who became her greatest inspiration.

Designed in a coffee table format by the famous couturier Ritu Beri, Bakshi says, “This is the first book Ritu Beri has ever designed. As a friend she inspired me to to do this book. I used to write poetry but I never thought I would come up with this.

Minu Bakshi

She told me I will design it if you compile it.”

'Tishnagi' was first unveiled in Delhi by the likes of Shabana Azmi, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar and the late, great Farooque Shaikh.“I'm glad the stalwarts of urdu read it,” she smiles.

Praising the book, the award-winning actress Azmi has quoted that "Minu Bakshi's poetry is 'Felt-Thought'...her verse is steeped in love and, even more importantly, in romance - a virtue fast-disappearing in today's world.There is a simplicity with which she surrenders to love and makes the reader yearn for more".

Bakshi shared the appreciation she received

from the prominent TV personality Late Farooque Shaikh who tragically passed away very recently.

He had remarked that “There's the fragrance of honest in Minuji's poetry, rather than the odour of effort, which is why it engrosses you quickly and stays with you longer.”

Minu Bakshi is also a versatile linguist.

“I majored in spanish, that's the language I teach at JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India). I write poetry in Urdu and I sing for punjabi folk and wedding albums,” she adds. Her latest album is called 'Band Baja Punjab'.

She says, “Tishnagi is basically an ode to love.

Spriha Srivastava

British-Indian brothers celebrate Veg day Vegetarianism is an extremely healthy practice and one that is being talked about everywhere but when young people make efforts to create awareness of the same, it’s commendable. In order to promote healthy eating and spread awareness, two young boys – Sohum Shah, 17 years old and Rhim Shah, 14 years old from Reading School managed to organise a Vegetarian day at school. The idea of this day was to have a completely meat-free day in conjunction with National Vegetarian Week on the 19th of May. All three meals on the day including breakfast, lunch and dinner were all vegetarian and no animal products were used.

Both brothers convinced the catering staff of the school that it

would be a good idea to have a meat-free day on May 1 in order to help provide information for students about the benefits of being a vegetarian and how this change of lifestyle is easy and simple, and can lead to big benefits.

“I would like to spread the message that vegetarianism is a healthy, compassionate way of living that also helps save not only other animal's lives, but helps the planet also,” says 17year old Sohum.

One of Sohum’s teachers was so impressed with this idea that he suggested having a vegetarian day every week. Even the catering staff is now considering holding vegetarian days more often, possibly a month.

The menu on this special vegetarian day included lentil soup with cheese straws, spiced kofta with grilled pita bread and minted yogurt, Mexican vegetable tacos with lime and pineapple salsa and sour cream, beetroot falafel or chilli mushroom burger served in a toasted bun, all served with spiced rice or wedges and a pomegranate, spinach and feta cheese salad. For dessert there was lemon pudding and parsnip cake.

Mills and Boons is back

Ever heard of social storytelling? Well, if you are fan of Mills and Books, its time you get yourself acquainted with this.

Sheena Bhattessa, British Asian actress, was selected to lead the story in the first ever web series to boost the launch of the new series of Mills & Boon books. Written, created and produced by Alison Norrington, Sheena’s character ‘Jessie Loe’ is the Executive PA to General Manager of The Chatsfield Hotel.

Set in St James Court Hotel (a Taj hotel) watch 39 short episodes of Jessie Loe’s journey with a bet to fulfil, a gorgeous barman with a dark past, a chambermaid with a side line that brings her huge amounts of cash or a permanent resident in the penthouse who throws the wildest parties to avoid thinking about a tragic event from the past. Each character tells their stories side by side, stitching together the bigger picture like a movie but you, as the user, find all the pieces.

A digital story isn’t just an eBook or an

eBook with hyperlinks or video added.

‘The Loedown’ has taken traditional storytelling and turned it on its head, to get the attention of their audience in the digital spaces where they are already hanging out and being entertained.

Whether you fancy a one-to-one vlog message from Sheena’s character Jessie (sneak a peek into her inbox to find out what’s really going on!), a cocktail of the day suggested by Daniel Northman, a saucy blog post from Ally, or an entertaining tweet or two from Adam, step into the world of The Chatsfield for a unique personalised storytelling experience.

According to creator Alison Norrington: “Sheena was an absolute delight to work with and I had my eye on her to

cast as Jessie from the minute I created the concept of her story. Jessie is a hugely integral part of The Chatsfield story – she is the face, the voice and the personality that engages with and entices viewers in. – but once she has you hooked she’ll encourage you to click on her inbox and discover the many ‘rabbitholes’ that lead to a closer insight into Jessie’s life, her relationships and her dilemmas.

For those of you who are not familiar with Sheena’s background, she landed her first jobs in ITV's 'The Fixer' and 'Whitechapel' after her experience in Bollywood, working alongside Bobby Deol and Saif Ali Khan.

Subsequent TV and film roles have included EastEnders and Doctors.

She was a big part of the Olivier -award nominated cast of 'The Great Game' with The Tricycle Theatre, playing in London and touring America, also performing for The Pentagon, as well as a recent production of 'My Generation' written

by Alice Nutter of the former Chumbawumbas.

Its about surge, thirst and its about going into another plane of living. Every thinking person has thirst and that's what it is about.”

Minu decided to launch her book in London because she believes that London has a large diaspora of the Urdu speaking Pakistani and

Indian communities from South Asia.

She's already finished her second book. “I've set my self a difficult target with Tishnagi's success.

Even though my poetry is ready, to present it better than the first one is a challenge for me now,” Minu confessed.

The event was attend-

ed by the 'Who's Who' personalities from UK's British Asian community: from socialites and literary figures to renowned philanthropists, including Mrs Usha Mittal, wife of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal; Suneeta Hinduja, wife of Gopichand Hinduja and cross-bench peer Baron Hameed.

Sheena Bhattessa

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

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8

UK

Modi an enigma

We have all heard about the five blind men and the elephant. Modi, like any outstanding successful person in public life, is seen in the shape and shade through the lenses of his viewer. To some, he is too big, to others, he is too small. Words like 'self centred', 'arrogant', 'exploitative', 'power hungry', 'ungrateful', 'communal', etc have been used without restraint or reasoning.

To the millions of Indian voters, Narendra Modi is a visionary, hard working, result oriented nationalist, an ardent Hindu with traditional value with a modern outlook, a pragmatic and no nonsense man.

With NaMo as the PM, there are some unique distinctions:

1. Born in independent India 2. Mother is still alive 3. First time a clear majority amongst non Congress PMs 4. First to go directly from a State Chief Minister to become the PM of India 5. First time MP becoming the PM 6. First resident of the PM's official residence without a family 7. Totally dedicated to the highest traditions of the Indian Culture (seeking blessings from his mother, prayers to Mother Ganga, bowing at the steps of the Parliament etc.)

8. Never before a PM of India has risen from the humblest to the highest post in the land. A Chaiwalla has climbed on to the Citadel. The first time it has been possible in the Indian constitution. In America, a Black man can reach the White House, because the constitutional process is different.

9. The swearing in ceremony with all the neighbours reminds one of the Bharatvarsha of Chandragupta and Chanakya's reign, 2500 years ago.

NaMo is walking on the ground. He knows the manifold challenges to turn around the course of the ship. People's expectations are aroused as never before.

So many prompt actions are needed and NaMo has some experience, however small, in Gujarat when he was sent as a CM by the BJP High Command in 2001 (I have elaborated on such issues in my column over the last few weeks).

NaMo is fully aware of the task and has assembled his team with deep thoughts.

The invitation to the neighbours at the swearing in ceremony is a small example of his mindset. He is fully conscious that along with success he has to show utmost humility, and he has shown that for the last few months plentifully.

One must not expect a miracle. But he has a vision, he has a dream, he has a track record, he nodoubt has a deep desire to go into the history books of India, to have brought in this New Era. His friends and supporters have faith in him. His detractors are in for a surprise and shock over so many achievements of the new Government in India.

Jo Jeeta Woh Sikander (Winner takes all) The Economist magazine has belatedly made a complete u-turn about Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. Better late than never. Congratulations. In the issue of 17 May, already a signal was given that Modi is likely to move away from the Right.

Mr James Astill, Deputy Editor, who spoke at the IJA organised debate (see AV 24 May, p2-p8) carried on his usual tirade against Modi. He should have better read what was published in his own magazine that week.

In the prevailing circumstances of India, NaMo and his party were the only options for a better government for a country with almost thrice larger than EU in population. His own frugal life, his per-

As I See It

formance in the state of Gujarat, his writings of the last 35-40 years and his election speeches were completely ignored by the predetermined commentators and socalled experts (including Anish Kapoor etc).

The Congress party, as well as the opponents of NaMo, had no other valid argument or criticism of Mr Modi as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

“Communal, communal” was the only mantra they were chanting without the slightest evidence.

Indian electorates, the NDA government and the Prime Minister himself are committed to an all inclusive development process for all 1250mn Indians. It is very shocking that some within India and abroad are trying to provoke HinduMuslim rivalry and mistrust. Shame on them. They will fail.

The Indian Parliament, Supreme Court, the CBI and SIT have a huge quantum of documents and records which absolved NaMo of such irresponsible and unfounded accusations. NaMo was interviewed on record for 9 hours by SIT team. Yet the likes of The Economist persisted with their charade. People of India have rejected all such propaganda.

Let's look at the BBC's bias on 16 May Newsnight Our reader Mr Vinookumar Sachania wrote to the Director General, Lord Tony Hall of the BBC and received a flimsy reply.

“Dear Mr Sacania Thank you for contacting us about ‘Newsnight’ broadcast on 16 May 2014.

We were sorry you were unhappy with our discussion surrounding the BJP’s success in India’s recent elections. We note you felt the programme showed bias against the party and against its Primeministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Narendra Modi is an often divisive figure in Indian politics, with supporters and detractors alike. The programme sought to reflect this range of sentiment and we accordingly heard from Modi supporters such as Swapan Dasgupta. Mr Dasgupta spoke of Mr Modi’s successful tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat and of the economic boom the state has undergone during his leadership. He spoke of his belief that Mr Modi can be a unifying figure in India’s future, given his humble upbringing and the BJP’s significant parliamentary majority.

Mr Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots remains a contentious issue for many Indians, including artist Anish Kapoor. Mr Kapoor was challenged by interviewer Yalda Hakim, and she emphasised that Mr Modi has not been charged with anything relating to the riots. Back in the studio Swapan Dasgupta reinforced this view and defended Narendra Modi’s handling of outbreaks of sectarian conflict in Gujarat.

We believe this subject was discussed in a fair and impartial manner, allowing viewers to make up their own minds in their own time. We don’t agree that the programme showed bias against Mr Modi or his party.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact the BBC. Kind Regards BBC Complaints” On 18 May, PM's UK Indian diaspora Champion Ms Priti Patel MP for Witham attended an event where the BBC broadcast was discussed. Priti, to her credit, sent to Lord Tony Hall, a well researched letter on 19 May, which is reproduced here in full. Ms Patel has gone through the whole programme, chapter and verse and exposed the bias of the presenter and asked the Director General to “undertake a full

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Dear Lord Hall, Director General, BBC Re: BBC Newsnight, 16 May 2014, coverage and reporting of the Indian General Election.

In my capacity as the Prime Minister's UK Indian Diaspora Champion, and following recent engagement with leaders of Britain's Indian community, I have received a number of complaints about the coverage about the India General Election on BBC Newsnight on 16 May 2014. Many in the British Indian community, particularly those of Gujarati origin, were offended by the reporting about Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi.

Instead of focusing on the policies and the vision that the new Government in India is now likely to implement, the programme focused exclusively on Modi and his character.

From the beginning of the broadcast, Modi was portrayed by the presenter, Yalda Hakim, as a “controversial figure.” In the opening introduction, she stated: “What can India and the world expect from such a controversial figure.” Modi's political opponents have portrayed him as being 'controversial', so by using this reference, the BBC, who should be impartial, is giving acceptance to the political position of Modi's opponents rather than reporting objectively. The term 'controversial' could be used to describe a large number of politicians, which is why many people in Britain's Indian community believe its use, purely in relation to Modi in the news item, was unbalanced.

Moreover, the presenter also stated, in relation to Modi, that “To some he has blood on his hands” (approximately 1 min 20 seconds in) and that “Modi is India's most divisive politician” (1m 30s). These are subjective statements that provide a misleading perspective of Modi while providing viewers with misinformation. Modi secured the largest democratic mandate in world history in a peaceful and professional manner, with his Party winning a majority of votes throughout India and able to form a Government. This was a point that was not conveyed by the presenter.

Later in the broadcast, at approximately 10m, the presenter stated that: “Modi is one of India's most divisive politicians, his involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots has been especially controversial.” However, she did not give further details about these events and the investigations and inquiries which took place and cleared Modi. Nor were the causes of the riots mentioned. Moreover, although the deaths of Muslims in the riots were referred to, at no point were the deaths of Hindus referred to, despite the fact that these were reported on the BBC website in 2005 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/hi/world/south_asia/4536199.stm).

Therefore, the impression given to the viewer is that Muslims were the only community adversely affected by the riots.

Coupled with the frequent references to Modi and the BJP being Hindu nationalists, the manner of reporting created an inaccurate representation of the riots and portrayed the insinuation made by Modi's political opponents that he was, in some way, involved in the riots. The broadcast also featured comment from the artist Anish Kapoor, who was critical of Modi. The decision to interview Kapoor and effectively portray him as an expert on Indian politics is bizarre. investigation in to the programme” and she is expecting a reply at the earliest.

BBC big whigs should remember that viewers are the paymasters and

Kapoor has spent the last 40 years living in the UK and is an artist. He has no record as an expert on politics or commentator on Indian affairs.

Moreover, the presenter did not offer sufficient or adequate challenge to the assumptions he made about the elections and comments he made about Modi. Kapoor stated in the interview in a clip that was also used in the introduction to the programme that “India's dreamed itself a dream with a mass murderer as its main character.”

Although the presenter asked him what he meant by mass murder, she did not challenge him to provide evidence to support his claim. Claiming that someone who is a democratically elected politician is a “mass murderer” is an extremely serious allegation and unless such a claim is substantiated with meaningful evidence, the BBC should not be broadcasting this slur.

Furthermore, when explaining what he meant by the phrase “mass murderer”, Kapoor stated that India is “on the edge of a sectarian, partisan, violent approach to all kinds of issues” (approx 12m). The presenter did not challenge him over this statement either. Most mainstream commentators on Indian politics would not concur with Kapoor's view, which is why the presenter should have challenged him. In addition, Kapoor also stated that in India there is growth at the cost of women, the poor and Muslims (approx 12m 30s). The interview then stopped and Kapoor was not challenged on this allegation either.

In addition, during the course of the interview, Kapoor referred to the elections and Indian politics as “supposedly democratic” (approx 10m 30s). This implies that the elections in India were not in some way free and fair. Given that there have been no serious allegations of malpractice and that the elections involved over 550 million people casting their vote, it is concerning to see that the presenter did not challenge Kapoor on this claim.

Aside from the complete lack of balance and challenge by the presenter in relation to the Kapoor interview, the focus on Modi himself detracted attention away from the real election issues. These elections represent the largest democratic exercise in human history that saw the highest voter turnout in India's history. Indians were voting in the election on economic and social issues, voting on India's economy, its trading aspirations and its vision for its place in the world. Newsnight's coverage could also have been more about breaking through voter apathy and mobilising first time voters to exercise their right to vote. It was indeed these new voters and technology that helped communicate political messages that helped to shape the outcome of this historic General Election.

As a result of this programme, the image of India has been tarnished unfairly and the success of the elections, the high turnout and the debates about the policies that were at the heart of the General Election have been ignored. On behalf of all those offended in Britain's Indian community by the Newsnight coverage, I trust you will undertake a full investigation into this programme and I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely, Priti Patel MP The Prime Minister's UK Indian Diaspora Champion. they expect the highest standards of impartiality and integrity to retain the traditional honour and dignity of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Nothing less will do.

- CB

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Single- handedly Promoting Art, Culture and Tagore Bithika Raha Basu was brought up in small town Pandu now greater Guwahati, Assam. She was born in a liberal middle class family, where female members received higher education in early 30s.

As a child, Bithika developed a love for all aspects of arts as she had a lot of culture around her.

Bithika moved to Calcutta. There she continued to perform, direct, and take part in English/ Bengali drama in College and University.

In Assam she focused on performance, choreography and direction until she arrived in England, when work took a different direction.

When young, she perin front of formed Jawaharlal Nehru. Indira Gandhi, and the Prince and Princess of Gwalior. lecturered in She English, and worked as a newspaper Editor before coming to England.

In England she worked in the Lord Chancellor’s Dept, and as a part –time broadcaster in BBC world service.

Bithika visited Tagore’s Experimental Educational Institute, Santiniketan, during 2009 when she was

Bithika Raha Basu

making a documentary on Manipuri dance and Tagore Dance. There she interviewed the Principal of Sangeet Bhavan.

Bithika told me that the teachers and others in the organization where she trained instilled a love for music, dance and all aspects of Tagore in her.

She said this in interview after I attended a wonderful Tagore event organized by her recently at the House of Commons hosted by Ealing-Southall MP Virendra Sharma.

Bithika said, “I was a home maker for a few years after I arrived in London. I did not expose myself as a performer till my daughter was around four. It was also the time to introduce her to the rich culture of our country and we visited a school called “Sangeet.” I got involved and was excited at being back in artistic life.

I enjoy instilling joy and pride in young people, helping them learn about our rich culture. This is the impetus behind all my

Boxer Amir Khan and wife welcomes new baby girl

and I are delighted to announce the birth our first child Lamysa Khan everyone doing very well, thank you for all your wishes.'

A later tweet read:

'Mine and @FaryalxMakhdoom New born baby LAMYSA. Born on 23rd May 2014 at 4:05am £Blessed'.

The couple met when Faryal was a political science student in New York and got engaged in 2012.

The couple married in June last year at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, before returning to the UK for another ceremony attended by more than 4,000 guests in Amir's hometown of Bolton.

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Khan, 27, announced the news on Twitter and later posted two photos of himself cradling Lamysa.

He tweeted: 'Faryal

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work. I involve people from all backgrounds and ages in my work, both as audience and participants.”

Bithika aims to inspire, influence and encourage understanding and appreciation of cultural heritage of the South Asian arts in the UK and internationally.

“I want to create a global platform for sharing interests, explore the relationship between literature, dance, music and story- telling and promote all style of dance. I want to create shows to inspire and attract audiences and performers from younger generations of different background.

Initially Bithika’s work focused on teaching and performing classical, folk and contemporary Indian dance, namely Kathak and Manipuri. Soon she was producing dance theatre based on poems and stories. Translation work became the central mission Nrityakala Dance of Heritage, a body she founded in 1986. She created many shows on literary works written in Indian regional languages and presented them to English speaking audiences.

Nrityakala’s exciting journey over the last 27 years has seen the organization evolve from imparting dance lessons, performing and creating shows to working in education, and developing

workshops.

“My own aim at present is to embrace education observing that the educational system does not provide ample scope for developing the cultural traditions of various minority groups.” Bithika revealed.

“I started producing educational and documentary films, releasing audio CDs based on the works of Tagore in many languages, targeted at a worldwide audience.”

My ambition is to enjoy creativity, engage people in art, and create shows based on translations of works of Indian writers, particularly Tagore I feel honored that our Organization brought Tagore to the centre of UK parliament by taking his work to The House of Lords and House of Commons.” , Bithika worked full time to use some of her income for art.

“In 1988 I received a little fund from Islington Council along with free publicity, stage and others.

In 1992 I did a full dance drama written by Tagore and translated the songs and dialogues in Hindi The show involved people of all ages and from

9

different corners of London. The show was dedicated to Mother Theresa’s charity. We received much help including free assistance from BBC world service. In 1997 we did a charity show for Save the Children, which attracted the attention of Barnet Council.

An arts officer attended the show and offered our presentation at the Arts festival 1999 along with some funds.

In 2005 and 2008 we received grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

At present we rely on ads etc.”

Bithika said that she never wanted to be a guru, diva or performer but uses dance or any other art to express herself.

“I founded Nrityakala Dance Heritage with the philosophy; “learn through rhythm".

Working with other London organisations, I realized the shows attracted a set audience who are familiar with our culture and in the case of shows on Rabindranath Tagore's work only the Bengalis are interested. My ambition is to enjoy creativity, engage people in art, and create shows based on translations of works of Indian writers, particularly Tagore. I want to make documentary films and CDs to spread our rich culture worldwide.”

10

YOUR VOICE

Trust, denial and betrayal

This week was a new low even for Ed Milliband and the Labour Party. Prime Minister David Cameron took his time in the earlier hours on Friday to call Narendrabhai Modi congratulate him on is landslide victory. We are told this was the first and only call he took from a western leader and accepted an invite to the UK. It was also through the media that it was actually Labour who imposed a ban on Modi whilst they were in power and thus our trust was broken, this was followed by 10 years of denial that Labour imposed a boycott.

The final betrayal came this week when Barry Gardiner MP who brands himself as Modi's close friend and fellow Labour Hindu councillors failed to show up at the various mega Modi Victory events in Birmingham, Leicester & London (except for Keith Vaz who dropped in on his way to FA Cup Final at Wembley).

Whatever the case, it was a shameful and disrespectful way to treat a newly elected head of state unlike the Conservatives who rolled out PM Indian Envoy Priti Patel in Birmingham, Bob Blackman at OFBJP event in Harrow and Conservative Party Vice Chairman Alok Sharma MP in Asian Voice ' s own Modi victory event in Brent.

SAARC Invite

Ravi Shah Harrow

SAARC, or South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation can start now.

Culturally the 8 countries have a lot in common.

Two vital areas of comparative advantage and transfer of technical know how include imports and infant industries: Imports from far away countries can be substituted by imports from those closer.

Infant industries could be gradually mentored and funded to become mature industries and substitute imports. Same goes for exports.

Each country has its own strengths and skills. Even within each country, the internal provinces or states again have unique human skills. It is time to be open up and share knowledge instead of keeping them secret.

Some countries in the EU, even now, use their own currencies such as Florin domestically as well as the Euro for bigger transactions. I witnessed that in Budapest while on holidays there last year. The exchange rate differential between buying and selling rates in relatively small economies within SAARC can take up a big chunk in transaction costs.

May God bless our new Prime Minister to have started this new initiative. I did try to meet Mr Modi about five years ago. I waited on the second floor of their party headquarters. His right hand man saw us. I had come with my first cousin whose father had founded Virani High School in Rajkot 70 years ago. We discussed ID cards. May be we can have biometric SAARC I D cards for a start.

Has a Yuga Purush arrived on the world stage?

Hindu and Sikh persecution in Pakistan

Yes, Yuga Purush Modi, the Prime Minister of the biggest democracy on earth, has landed on the world stage. The gracious presence of the Head of State of all the SAARC nations at his oath taking ceremony attests that he not only believes but also acts on the biblical axiom “Love Thy Neighbour”.

Modi’s first words as Prime Minister designate were in tribute to all his predecessors for the good effort done by them in spite of insults heaped on him by the likes of Gowda.

During the entire election campaign he has never spoken a single word to put one segment of the society against another segment. His mantra has been “all together, progress for all (Sabka sath, Sabka vikas)”. Unity of Bharat Mata is his motto.

He will extend this slogan on the world stage in future for a unity of the humanity as his goal. He has already hinted this in his interview with Goswami on 8th May that there is no Hinduism but there is a way of life which we follow.

The Sanatan way of life says “Perform your assigned duty well without aping others” (Bhagavad Gita-3.47&18.47).

The present situation in the world is that all religions are trying to poach adherents from the others to ape their religion. The BJP maxim is all religions are equally good (Sarva Panth Sambhav).

By his brilliant and thoughtful campaign discourses, he has removed the caste and religion barriers, created by greedy politicians, which had fragmented the Bharati society.

The voting patterns show that all religions and all castes voted for him. The performance of Ganga and Shiva Puja was to emphasize that one should follow one’s way of life and others should be free to follow their way of life. This is factual secularism. Long live Yuga Purush Modi.

I became aware of the persecution and torture of Hindus (and Sikhs) in Pakistan during my campaigning in support of Indian nationals unlawfully detained in Pakistan.

My organisation 'Justice Upheld' is regularly in receipt of allegations and reports from victims of these attacks and I am campaigning to highlight these cases to human rights organisations, politicians at national and international level.

I urge the victims of these attacks, their representatives and your readers to forward the details to me. Please be assured that any information received will be treated in strict confidence. This evidence is extremely important. My email: support@freesarabjitsingh.com I confirm that I am in receipt of evidence of escalating violence against Hindu communities in Bangladesh.

Sadly, the media is failing to report these cases.

Narsibhai Patel New Malden

Bharat's goods days are on the way

It's time for the whole country to rejoice and celebrate. Narendra Modi, a man happy to describe himself as a Hindu Nationalist is now in charge.

The 63 year old has called for a strong India which will not be pushed away. He promises to end false secularism which has favoured particular community. BJP manifesto explicitly promises western growth without impairing national rich culture.

Modi is a strong leader with a proven record of administration who will bring jobs and security. He will restore 'Indian pride' a little battered in recent years. He will take Bharat to a great height unimaginable. All that is needed by the people of India, irrespective of caste,creed and religion, to forget their differences and get behind Modi Sarkar to build a nation, world can be envy of.

Subscribe Today Nagindas Khajuria By email

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ASIAN VOICE

Hindustan

I thank Asian Voice for providing 'Your Voice' page to the readers to share information and express their views. We respect all religions and cultures, including our own. We are proud to be British. and privileged to call our country 'Hindustan' The word Hindustan derived from the river Sindhu. A most sophisticated civlisations of Mohenjo-dero and Harappa flourished around this river in the era 3300 b.c. (So I learnt in history). During the course of time the Sindhu transformed to Hindu. Like Mr Sahdev, our friends and family felt high respect for Narendrabhai when he repeatedly called out 'Hindustan. The fact remains the name is in existence for thousands of years. Let us hope, in time Mr Modi officially renames the country 'Hindustan'.

Ila Kapadia Kingsbury

European election, rise of UKIP, 2014

The European and Council elections last week have shown a dramatic rise for the United Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP). Their message was simple and based on the referendum on Europe and our immigration policy. Their policies attracted all sections of the electorate including those from the Black and Ethnic minorities.

The present popularity of UKIP is due to the huge influx of immigrants in the last 13 years which has put an overwhelming strain on our public lives. The open door policy of the Labour government in 2001 allowed cheap workers to come to the country with insurmountable language, cultural and religious barriers.

The question of low wages is due to import of cheap labour from Europe and the British born young people not being willing to take those jobs since they are better off on benefits. The question of

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Electoral victory

All Indian patriots are happy at the electoral victory of BJP and complete defeat of UPA/Congress party. This is winning the battle. The fight to survive and to ensure future victories, begins now.

Mr. Modi has been given a mandate by majority Indians of all hues, in no nonsense manner, to cement its future, without appeasing allies or scoundrels.

Therefore Modiji is not merely Prime minister but Commander in Chief and protector of the Motherland against current and future evils.

The BJP must learn some lessons from the Mahabharata, World War 2 and Arab’s Spring revolution. They must educate, inform and raise awareness of Indians, how they were enslaved during UPA’s reign. The dignity of Indians must be enhanced by empowerment, womens’ empowerment, creating jobs, strengthening economy and practicing pro India foreign policy.

The BJP must survive at least two terms, but only if it follows commando type of resolute actions towards to allimported or home grown- anti Indian elements. Going soft under euphemistic terms will shake confidence of voters and harm prospects of return in next elections.

Ramesh Jhalla By email

Nick’s days are numbered

Nick Clegg once the darling of the young and trodden, is now himself political troglodyte and has become political pariah, pipsqueak, overtaken by the UKIP phenomenon and their leader Nigel Farage who is perceived to be a beer drinking darling of the under-privileged.

While Clegg has lost his touch, Farage’s anti-immigration and anti-EU rants have gone down well with the underprivileged, as they struggle to put food on table and pay sky-high Council tax and energy bills, the legacy of the last Labour government.

The LibDems’ dismal performance in the local elections not to mention virtual wipe-out in EU election, is the beginning of the end of LibDem as third force. This is also a warning to PM to take UKIP seriously, make electoral pact to keep out extrovert Ed. Bhupendra M Gandhi By email minimum wage cannot be implemented since overseas students and migrants from Europe are willing to work for a lower wage.

Due to the UKIP victory immigration and the referendum on a common market are going to take priority and both the political parties should take note of it.

Arun Vaidyanathan By email

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11

UKIP storms through Optare unveils the MetroDecker European and Local Elections having won the highest share of the vote with 31%, the Conservatives with 29%, Ukip with 17% and the Lib Dems with 13% on Friday night.

Yet as we went to press, Tower Hamlets Council were yet to declare their results as it had to suspend counting at 3am on Saturday due to the processing of ballots for the borough's mayoral ballot running over.

Results were scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

As it stood on Saturday 24 May, Labour had 1,891 councillors elected, Conservatives had 1,259 elected, Liberal Democrats had 404 elected, UKIP had 157 elected, the Green Party has 35 elected and there 111 'Other' Councillors elected. A detailed list of elected councillors and MEPs will be published in the forthcoming issue of Asian Voice.

On Thursday 22 May, thousands of people took to the streets to exercise their right to vote in the Local and European elections. After five days of deliberation and votecounting, the results were startling indeed. For the first time since the general election of 1906, the Labour Party and Conservatives did not top the national election.

Instead, the muchtalked about UK Independence Party stormed to victory in the European elections, gaining power all over the UK. The Lib Dems faced a humiliating defeat only managing to secure 1 MEP in the election, making up only 6.87% of the votes. Labour Party followed closely behind with 25.4% of the votes with 18 MEPs, and Tories with 23.9%, also gaining 18 MEPS. The results will no

doubt be worrying to many who are anti-UKIP, however what is encouraging is that there still remains a broadly proEuropean majority in the European Parliament.

The Lib Dems however, are facing particular criticism, with calls for Deputy PM Nick Clegg's resignation, after coming into the election with 12 MEPs and only emerging with one.

The Local Election results seem more appealing however, with Labour

Two men have been sentenced for their parts in the murder of Harjinder Singh Bhurji in Ilford. 32 years old Harjinder was stabbed through the heart after refusing to hand over the keys to his Mercedes CLK coupe as he was threatened in 2011.

23 years old Rory Gordon was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years.

His car-jacking accomplice 21 years old Jae-don Fearon, was sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter.

A third man, 23 years old Andre Campbell was given one year imprisonment suspended for two years for handling stolen

goods when he sold on the victim's stolen smart phone. He has also been given a supervision order for the offence. They had previously been convicted of the crimes on the 30 April at the Old Bailey.

Bhurji was attacked as he pulled over in his sports car to speak to his female friend travelling in the car with him.

His family in an impact statement prepared for the court said: "...No family should have to experience the pain of losing a loved one in this way. Gordon and Fearon have deprived Raj of the rest of his life and his family of a wonderful man. At just 32

years a healthy, intelligent man had his future, hopes and dreams snatched away in such a terrible way. He will never be replaced."

Nick Clegg

Esther McVey

now at the lowest level since records began, with 94 per cent either working, studying or training.

Hundreds of young people could benefit as the first part of the initiative launches today in Lewisham, Norfolk, Hertfordshire and Sheffield. Work coaches in jobcentres will give one to one help from CV writing, interview skills, providing access to training or job matching.

Support on offer through Jobcentre work

coaches could include work experience, work taster courses, pre-apprenticeship support and meeting with employers to get a window into a wide variety of sectors and roles.

They could also help with employability and work preparation, training focusing on career aspirations and team building. If needed, they’ll also work with organisations like the Princes Trust and other providers to ensure young people can get valuable skills and experience.

Nigel Farage

Men sentenced for stabbing mechanic and garage owner

Harjinder Singh Bhurji

Help for 16 and 17 year olds to catch up

For the first time ever Jobcentre Plus, in partnership with local authorities, will implement a new approach that focuses support solely on 16-17 year olds who are not in education, employment or training and not in receipt of an income-based benefit.

From Tuesday, 16 and 17-year-olds will be given access to Jobcentre work coaches so that they can get individual help to find work and training, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Employment Minister Esther McVey have announced.

The trained work coaches will help young people navigate the wide array of services on offer and tap into local employment and training opportunities. If successful, this new way of helping young people will be rolled out across England.

The number of 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education or training is

Ragasudha Vinjamuri Renowned UK bus manufacturer Optare, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, has launched its exciting new double decker bus in London called the MetroDecker on 21 May. MetroDecker is built at the state-of-the-art assembly facility in Leeds, Yorkshire and designed for increased customer comfort and improved fuel economy. It is seen as a valuable asset with its cost, easy maintenance and extreme fuel efficiency. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson expressed his whole-hearted support and considered this as an important development in the bus manufacturing

industry. It is the second product developed keeping specifications London transport in view, after the earlier successful launch of MetroCity.

The top brass of the company-non-Executive Chairman John Fickling, CEO Enrico Vassallo, CTO Glenn Saint and UK Sales Director John Horn presented the company profile, milestones, strategy, vision, product overview and MetroDecker’s salient features. Co-Chairman GP Hinduja spoke on the company’s global Bus Strategy.

The bus was unveiled right outside the London Transport Museum with a traditional prayer by Dr

Nanda Kumar of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in the presence of His Excellency High Commissioner of India Ranjan Mathai, Minister Gregory Barker, Minister Oliver Letwin, Nirj Deva MEP, Lord Noon, Baroness Verma, Baroness Kramer, hotelier Joginder Sanger and business tycoon Dr Rami Ranger MBE etc.

Optare’s award winning range of buses feature an integral design, fuel efficient engines and utilise the latest low carbon technology. It is a part of Ashok Leyland, one of the top five global bus producers and second biggest in India- and is part of the Hinduja Group.

12

MEDIA WATCH

Narendra Modi was the cynosure of all eyes as he addressed the newly elected BJP MPs in Parliament.

India’s Prime Minister-designate set the scene to a truly moving occasion by prostrating himself at the portals of

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Chidanand Rajghatta, the nononsense Times of India Correspondent in Washington (May 22), who noted the greater warmth in the Modi responses to messages received from Britain’s David Cameron and Prime Minister Harper of Canada. Modi followed these with double tweets on messages from President Putin of Russia and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Putin’s greetings

Narendra Modi’s swearing-in

the Central Hall of Parliament before he entered it as the first servant of the Indian people.

His eloquent words matched the occasion, giving it a special lustre. Mr Modi congratulated the BJP on its sweeping victory, he reminded its members that serving the people of India must be the party’s foremost priority. He promised to work, most of all, for the poor, remembering that he himself had risen from their

favour of a party they believed would command an absolute majority in Parliament. This would aid India’s economic development and protect its national security in an uncertain world. A bickering coalition would be a handicap, the President had opined. President Mukherjee clearly spoke from

Vladimir Putin’s message of greeting referred to the Strategic Partnership….. signed at the time when the NDA [National Democratic Alliance led by the previous BJP Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee] was in power.” He continued, “From the bottom of my heart, I wish you, esteemed Mr Modi, every success for the benefit [and] prosperity of the people of friendly India and comprehensive strengthening of mutually beneficial Russian-Indian cooperation…..I am convinced that our joint efforts will succeed in augmenting the previous achievements,” Mr Putin said.

(Hindu May 19). He told reporters in St Petersburg, “Our relations are above political par-

government.

CEO N.Chandrasekaran told reporters that, “We expect the current fiscal to do better than FY 2013-14…..I expect India business…..to pick up with the kind of decisive mandate we saw yesterday [Friday, May 16]….The new government will adopt new technology faster and also the corporate sector will pick up,” although “these were early days,” he said. TCS, he said, would continue to grow on the recruitment front. “We have the right skills, and more importantly, we’ve been able to retain them [staff].” Staff salaries had increased notably, he said.

(Hindu May 21)

Old faces, new faces

While the baton at the Centre may have passed onto a new regime, a number of State governments received a fresh man-

ranks. This would require optimism, and he, Narendra Modi was, and had been, one of life’s perennial optimists, he said.

Corporate India may have much to celebrate in his accession to power, but so should the country’s poor. Modi, the statesman, then said: “Various governments in the past tried to do some good work in their own way for which they deserve appreciation.

Whatever good has happened, we will carry it forward.” He saluted the “Constitution-makers of our country, as because of them the world is witnessing the power of democracy…..It is the power of our Constitution that a poor person belonging to a poor and deprived family is standing here today. This is the power of our Constitution and hallmark of democratic elections that a common citizen can also reach this height…..Citizens have realized that this democratic setup can fulfill their aspirations.

Their faith in democracy has strengthened further,” he said Stable government On his visit to President Pranab Mukherjee, who congratulated him on his victory, Mr Modi reminded him of his Republic Day address to the nation, when he had advised voters to cast their ballots in

personal experience as a senior minister in the UPA-led coalition ministry (Times of India May 22) At the end of his first term in 2019, Mr Modi promised to deliver a report card to the nation on his government’s performance. He was sworn into office on Tuesday, May 26, at Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Pranab Mukherjee before 5,000 assembled guests, including heads of government of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Modi tweets on world leaders

Narendra Modi was noticeably cool in his response to US President Barack Obama’s congratulatory message following his election victory. “No mention of the invitation to visit Washington, and a similar response to a similar tweet to Secretary of State John Kerry under whose watch American mandarins have made a meal of US ties with Modi, singling him out for a visa blacklisting while entertaining foreign leaders charged with far more egregious human rights violations,” wrote

ties. We are friendly with the Indian people. I have met him [Modi]. I am going to work with him closely.” (Hindu May 25).

Modi tweeted: “I thank Putin for his good wishes. Look forward to making our relations with Russia even stronger.” (Times of India May 22)

Japan, Israel

The Modi-Abe exchanges were extremely friendly. Modi sees Japan as India’s foremost partner in its economic development, particular in the industrial and manufacturing sector.

India’s Prime Minister-designate also received a congratulatory telephone call from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanahu. India’s relationship with Israel is also of paramount importance in defence, science and technology cooperation, agriculture, where India is the beneficiary of Israel’s world renowned expertise.

IT hails Modi mandate

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is bullish about its business prospects in the domestic market following the decisive mandate for the upcoming Modi

India’s Somnath Chatterjee has called for a change of leadership, saying that the party’s election debacle had exposed its political bankruptcy and its divorce from the people. Chatterjee, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha had been expelled for flouting his former party’s orders to resign because of the Indo-US civilian nuclear accord, to which the CPI(M<) was resolutely opposed (Hindu, Times of India May 21,22, 23).

Indian Mujaheedin

Anandiben Patel, new Gujarat Chief Minister

Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi greets MPs at the BJP parliamentary party meeting at the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi

Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker Lok Sabha

date. Sikkim’s Chief Minister Pawan Chamling was sworn in for the fifth time; his counterpart in Odisha, Naviun Patnaik, won his fourth general elewction. In Gujarat Anandiben Patel, an experienced and capable minister in the Modi government, has been elected Chief Minister, the country’s fourth woman chief minister after Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and Vijay Raje Scindia in Rajasthan. The Congress Party, meanwhile, is engaged in soul searching. There have been no major resignations as yet, but Rahul Gandhi has come in for veiled criticism from a number of his principal aides, Milan Deora being the most notable.

Someone must take responsibility for the party’s total rout. A serious shake-out at the top is the only way forward. Party President Sonia Gandhi sent Narendra Modi a letter of congratulation; Manmohan Singh did so earlier with a telephone call.

Uttar Pradesh, CPI(M) discords

The Samajwadi Dal, led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and the Bahujan Samaj, led by Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh have cracked the whip and expelled a number of their members after the BJP’s sweep in the Lok Sabha polls. With Nitish Kumar resigning as Bihar Chief Minister, Jitan Ram Manjihi, stepped into the breach as his replacement. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav has offered his party’s unconditional support to Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal in next year’s State Assembly elections.

The expelled Communist Party of

Aftab Ansari and his close associate Jamaluddin Nasir have received heavy jail sentences from India’s Supreme Court for carrying out a terrorist assault on the American Center in Kolkata in January 20002, in which four policemen were killed and many more injured.

The death sentences passed by a lower court were commuted to life imprisonment until death for Ansari and a 30-year jail sentence for his accomplice Nasir.

America’s FBI tracked Aftab to the Gulf, from where he was extradited to India (Times of India May 22)

Modi targeted

Narendra Modi was the target of the Patna and Bodh Gaya bomb blasts last year, said National Investigation Agency Director General Sharad Kumar in New Delhi. This was revealed during the interrogation of the arrested suspects. Mr Kumar said the NIA had also arrested all the suspects behind the bomb blasts in Hyderabad. A massive arms haul including detonators, timers and explosive were seized during these operations (Hindu May 22)

More strikes planned

The NIA has warned that Indian Mujaheedin groups were planning further attacks within the country. Intelligence sources said that at least six former Indian Mujaheedin operatives were training at al-Qaeda-linked camps in Pakistan’s North Waziristan province. Videotapes show Ansar-ul-Tauheed training with assault weapons. A statement said “The Muslims of India are not powerless. Their warriors are advancing towards you from Afghanistan, the blessed land of one true faith. The same we delivered carnage to you in times past, we will do again.”

(Hindu May 22)

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Two Pakistani nationals wanted for the murder of Dr Imran Farooq

Moshin Ali Syed and Muhammed Kashif Khan Kamran

have released Police images of two men who are wanted in connection with the 2010 murder of a leading British-Pakistani politician in London. Dr Imran Farooq, a founding member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), was killed near his home in Edgware where he had been living in exile since 1999. The father of two was stabbed repeatedly and battered with a brick.

Dr Farooq is said to have been targeted because he was planning to leave the MQM party and set up an opposing faction in London, a move that is said to have angered the MQM's controversial leader Altaf Hussain.

His death caused days of riots in his home town of Karachi.

The two suspects have been named as Moshin Ali Syed, 29 and Muhammed

Kashif Khan Kamran, 34, both believed to be Pakistani nationals. The suspects allegedly left the UK on the night of the murder on September 16 2010 and are believed to be in Pakistani custody but not under formal arrest.

Detectives have said that the men had entered the UK on student visas and had even registered to study at an East London college. Syed had been in London for several months whilst Kamran had arrived in the UK a few weeks before Dr Farooq was killed. Police have interviewed more than 4000 people in relation to murder and detectives are said to be seeking more information from the public.

Anyone with information should call the Metropolitan police on +44 (0)20 7230 2717.

Mysore king Tipu Sultan's ring sells at £145,000 Mysore's legendary king Tipu Sultan's unique 41.2 gram gold ring has been sold for £145,000 in cemntral London to an undisclosed bidder by Christie's, 10 times more than its estimated price, amid criticism from heritage groups. The ring was previously listed for sale

by Christie's two years ago, but was then withdrawn.

Known as the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan ruled the state for 17 years after succeeding his father, Hyder Ali. The ring was allegedly taken from the slain body of Tipu Sultan at the end of the 1799 Srirangappattinam battle against the British East India Company's forces.

The auction listing note said, "It is surprising

that a ring bearing the name of a Hindu god would have been worn by the great Muslim warrior."

A report further said, “Earlier this month, Professor S Settar from India's National Institute of Advanced Studies had warned that the ring might be hidden from public view if it was sold to a private bidder.

Settar urged the Indian government to "make use of all available avenues, legal and diplomatic, to recover the ring".

He also urged the Indian philanthropists to purchase the ring on behalf of the country.

Another group called Tipu Sultan United Front also requested the government to prevent the ring from being sold.

Suicide Nurse's son named student of the year The son of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who killed herself after a hoax call to the hospital treating the Duchess of Cambridge, has been named student of the year at his sixth form college.

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, committed suicide in her nurses' quarters three days after she fell for a prank made by two Australian DJs. She was

fooled into transferring the call to another nurse at the hospital in London where pregnant Kate Middleton was being treated for acute

UK

13

Krishnan Guru-Murthy set to be Newsnight's main presenter?

With the announcement that host of Newsnight Jeremy Paxman retiring last month, all eyes are set on seeing who will replace him. A number of bets have been made over the last month, but they had to be suspended on Wednesday 21 May by bookmakers Paddy Power and Ladbrokes after a flurry of late bets were made Krishnan Guruon Murthy, 44, the Channel 4 News presenter.

Mr Guru-Murthy has experience at Newsnight already, having worked there as a producer and reporter for three years before joining Channel 4 in 1998.

In the past two days, bookmaker Paddy Power said it has seen dozens of ‘industry insiders’ set up online gambling accounts and place bets on Mr Guru-Murthy.

A spokesman for Paddy Power refused to morning sickness. The mother-of-two was found dead three days after the prank in December 2012.

Her son Junal Barboza had just started the sixth form at the time, but has since immersed himself in work to help him cope with the loss and been named student of the year at St Brendan's Sixth Form College in Bristol.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy

say who the industry insiders were, but said the firm is so confident Mr Guru-Murthy, 44, will take on the job it is no longer taking bets on the announcement.

Ladbrokes also said it has suspended betting after Mr Guru-Murthy’s odds dropped from 50-1 to 16-1 in less than a week.

The BBC refused to comment on Paxman’s replacement, and have not confirmed his exact departure date.

The 17-year-old, from Southmead, Bristol, reportedly said: 'I was shocked and honoured. I wouldn't say I was a model student. I just get on with things on a daily basis and don't do anything too outrageous. The support I got here was incredible and everyone was amazing. I had people to talk to and was greeted by my friends.'

Heartiest Congratulations to Shri Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India

Mother’s Day celebrated at ‘Bhakti Shyama Care Centre’ for people with Dementia As medical science progresses day-by-day through scientific inventions and discoveries, so our human body is also being subjected to a variety of illnesses. We lead stressful lives due to our pace of life and a constantly changing lifestyle.

Our ancestors hardly heard of modern-day illnesses like Cancer, Hearttrouble, AIDS and Diabetes, whereas today such deadly diseases are not a surprise. Mankind may have stretched the average life span by the introduction of such things as Yoga, exercise, improved eating habits and medicines, but still we see shocking figures of problems related to Mental Health issues. Issues such as Dementia and Alzheimer can affect individuals severely leaving them with memory problem.

In the UK alone nearly 800,000 people are suffering from dementia. It is said that one in every three people aged 65 years or older are suffering the effects of dementia.

Estimate are projecting that by 2021 more than 1 million people will become affected by dementia. A person suffering from advanced dementia cannot be kept alone at home they require constant monitor-

ing.

In our Asian community Dementia and Alzheimer problems in elderly people are increasing. It is becoming extremely difficult to take care of elderly people suffering from this mental illness.

Their relatives would need to continue to work, so in such a situation the question would arise ‘What should be done’?

Providing care for people with dementia in specialist Care Homes is a welcome and an advisable step.

On 20 April 2014 I visited “Bhakti Shyama Care Home”, situated near Radha Krishna Temple Shyama Ashram on Balam High Road in London to attend a ‘Mother’s Day’ celebration. I got the chance to meet nearly twenty five residents affected by dementia a long with their relatives during this celebration. I was told by one family member that “My mother has settled into Bhakti shyama Care Home, now she doesn’t want to go back to home. She said it was as if her son Rameshbhai and daughter Nilaben have bought me a nice new house. 92-yearold Gordhanbhai Patel is active, while 98-year-old Lalitaben is taking treatment at this Care Home since she fell down some 3 months ago and couldn’t walk at all.

8 9 - y e a r - o l d Lilavantiben Pau is suffering from dementia. Her son Jayantbhai says that he has kept his mother at the Care Home since last one year.

88-year-old Kantibhai Parekh has come to this Care Home after Open

Heart Surgery and a Hip operation. This was following a hospital stay of almost nine months. 86-year-old Gurbachchan Surai suffers from dementia.

Son Hardev Singh says, “My father passed away around a year ago and my mother subsequently contracted dementia. She is in her own world and only recognises me”. Jayaben Damji Sudra is 91, unfortunately her husband is blind and she couldn’t move after she fell down.

A younger lady, Sandhya, was sitting silently. I asked her, “Are any of your relatives resident here?” Sandhya suffers with incurable bone marrow cancer and up until recently she used to take care of her 91-year-old father Charandas, who has

dementia. She had decided that as she could not find an appropriate place for her father, she would not admit him in hospital. Sandhya is working for Health and Social Care, and following a visit to Bhakti Shyama Care Home, she decided to place her father in the home.

Despite Charandas being completely bed-ridden, she is happy with the service of this Care Home.

Shubhash Dutta, son of 90-year-old dementia sufferer Saraswatiben says, “We looked after our mother at home for six months.

When my wife wentto work I used to keep a constant watch on my mother through CCTV, but she used to go out of our home.

Finally I decided it would be safer for her to come into a Care Home. Staff here take good care of her.”

82-year-old Shardaben Patel has suffered with dementia for the last three years. Her son Maheshbhai and daughter Vanita came all the way from Surrey to celebrate ‘Mother’s Day’ with her. According to them the staff of Care Home are really taking great care of their mother.

76-year-old Kamalaben Patel cannot move but the staff here look after all his needs including feeding.

Hiru Ba, 97 also contract-

ed dementia. Her Leicester based son Amrutlal Haria and his wife Manjulaben said that they come 2-3 times a week to visit their mother.

Another son Prafulbhai, who stays in Tooting regularly, also comes to visit his mother at the home. Her grandchildren also come here and talk with her.

Jamilla Atta, hailing from Pakistan, also suffers from dementia. She takes vegetarian meals at the Care Home and also applies red Bindi to her forehead. Despite having vision problem, Artiben Patel took care of her mother. Her 87-year-old mother Ramaben Patel receives “Paliative Care”at the home.

Managing Director of ‘Bhakti Shyama Care Centre’, Jayeshbhai Patel

says that all the residents experience a homely atmosphere at the Care Home. “Our staff look after residents as if they are relatives,” he says. Under the guidance of Care Home’s Senior administrator Mukeshbhai Depala, 20 carers are working. In our society, some families are avoiding considering placing their elderly parents, suffering with dementia, into a Care Home due to inappropriate social pressure. It can be very risky to leave elderly dementia sufferers alone at home.

Our trained staff within the Care Home provide high quality services to residents with dementia under strict monitoring, thus providing a safer environment as an alternative to caring for relatives with dementia at home.

Currently recruiting Gujarati/Hindi speaking staff on NVQ Level 4 or 5 to assist us in managing the care home, RGNs with a valid UK NMC pin number, Care Workers for Care in the community. Training will be provided however experience of working with Dementia Care/End of Life Care/Community Care would be advantageous. The company would like to encourage housewives to train and participate in delivering care and supplement their household income. We can employ staff who wish to work minimum 4 hours per day. As we are a 24/7 employer they may work part time day or night shifts. We are an equal opportunities employer. Please email your cv to neeshapatel@abbeytotalcare.co.uk clearly stating the position applied for.

For more information please call Head Office Team on 0208 504 3863.

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From Chai wallah to Rockstar What makes NaMo tick with Women? Is it a ‘Modi wave’ or a ‘trickle’ or just an ‘effect’?

The writer is Marketing Strategy Consultant and Volunteer for BJP’s Mission 272.

Jyoti Shiralee The answer to this question, which was debated ad nauseum in the Indian media for 6 months, was laid to rest on May 16th 2014 when the election results were out. It was not a wave, but a tsunami which had swept across the political landscape that marked the near destruction of the NehruGandhi dynasty and India’s grand old party (the Congress) and reduced several regional parties to rubble. The results were so astounding that it turned several theories upside down – about Modi the outsider, the polariser, a regional satrap (without a national stature), a fascist and dictator.

With a Facebook fan following of 15 million +( 2nd highest after Barrack Obama) Narendra Modi’s ( Namo to his fans) phenomenal popularity was never in doubt.

However - given his no nonsense, decisive image and aggressive campaigning style - if the jury was still out on one question, it was on the extent of the gender gap in his support base. Modi’s appeal, it was argued was too macho, brash and hence male centric, unlike Obama who had a large female support base.

Modi, the pandits observed, lacked the softer human touch which alone could appeal to women!

The Election results proved that 1 out of every 3 women had voted for Modi!

Percentage of women voting for BJP went up from 19% in 2009 to 33% in 2014, according to Ashok Lahiri, economist and psephologist in “India Today” issue dated May 26th. Given that BJP doesn’t have a strong presence in several key states (WB/Orissa/TN/Kerala) this number as a national average is staggering.

So what is it that makes women believe in Modi?

It is an ability to connect with the audience through simple yet profound messages delivered with theatrical aplomb. He balanced bread and butter issues with larger national issues of development and growth, inflation and corruption. Whether it was a war cry against dynastic politics (Congress Mukt

Bharat) or about his commitment to building a new vibrant India (sevak hoon, shasak nahi), Modi’s messages resonated with one and all.

• He is probably the only politician who has been vocal and sensitive to raising gender issues. His appeals that “India can never progress if 50% of her population lags behind” or “Women should not just be homemakers but nation builders too” or his oft repeated stress on need for financial independence of women via better education and skills (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao), women’s safety and inflation have resonated as much with a lower middle class housewife trying to make ends meet, as with educated young women in urban aspirational India.

The fact that he was not just paying lip service to these issues was proven by the fact that every speech of his was rich in anecdotal evidence of actual initiatives taken to empower women in the state of Gujarat. Whether it was about Jassu Ben’s entre-

preneurial success of her pizza outlets in Ahmedabad or his decision of waiver of stamp duty on houses registered in the name of women, or about his references to girls in Gujarat roaming freely in the dead of night

on their scooters during Navratri - Modi has always walked the talk.

His mass voter outreach initiatives by way of Chai pe Charcha programmes on the subject of women empowerment only further added credibility to his public statement.

• Modi’s appeal probably lay in his ability to mix style with substance, authority with competence, integrity with visionary leadership.

• Even at age of 63, Modi stood out amongst all contemporary politicians with his ability to make a style statement with his color coordinated, distinctive Kurtas and jackets.

• His ability to connect with aspirations of a young India and his image as the most media and tech savvy leader coupled with his missionary zeal for transforming India were key emotional triggers. As per the CNN IBN post poll survey, 44% of the first time voters in the 18-22 age group voted for Modi!

• But above all it’s his ability to communicate his

governance and development track record in transforming Gujarat and convince people that he can do to India what he has done to Gujarat - is what got him India’s vote of confidence.

Women who have pub-

licly expressed their support for NaMo range from social and political activists (Kiran Bedi and Madhu Kishwar) to authors/columnists (Tavleen Singh) to Lata Mangeshkar (legendary singer) and Preity Zinta (actress) – and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (Head Honcho from the Corporate Sector).

However it’s the fiercely loyal band of women volunteers who had come forward to the cause of Modi4PM by joining BJP’s Mission 272 (an on ground and on line volunteering platform) – that made a difference on the ground as they reached out to women’s groups and households to mobilise support for Modi and his cause.

Smita Barooah, an Indian settled in Singapore, took a sabbatical to volunteer for Modi for the simple reason that she believed “Modi alone could bring about the change that India needed.”

Says Sadhvi Khosla Dalal, another volunteer, “He is the only hope India has.

His humble background makes him an inspirational leader for the young India.” Or a Meenakshi Iyer from Bangalore. “In the past 65 years, we have had many leaders who gave empty slogans of change, we need a leader with a track record of delivering change.”

Narendra Modi has done much more than just inspire women to vote for him. He has triggered in them a desire to think for the cause of India - about issues of governance and development and nation building.

Why I Campaigned for Modi?

Vishal Sharma

The writer is a management consultant with EY India (Ernst & Young) in Advisory services with 11 years of experience in advising Government institutions and businesses on strategy and performance management. Prior to joining EY, he worked with Deloitte & Tata as a strategy consultant.

As a practitioner of governance, like many others in management consulting, I was awed by the success of Modi’s administration in Gujarat. His ability to inspire trust and untiring ability to good governance made me his ‘Bhakt’ over the last two years.

I was closely following his political journey, when in mid-January one got this opportunity to work with people of ‘campaign cabinet’ which was led by Manoj Ladwa. I must admit, I was very excited.

It was clearly godsend opportunity to be a part of his crack team of professionals setting out to achieve the Mission 272.

Ladwa set up research, analysis and messaging team, to synergise diverse aspects of the electioneering happening within the BJP. As an initial part before the advertising took over, I was required to provide fact based inputs to the spokespeople who communicated in the national debates. The team had to sieve through huge chunks of data and information to provide pertinent inputs which would support BJP’s point of view. Our spokespeople used these data to attack and set the daily agenda.

Later as Manoj took over the advertising and strategic communication, I was deployed into the War room operations in the 1, Lodhi Estate – where the creative agencies and politicians converged to strategise and plan the campaign messaging. Each campaign communication was designed to cover three themes – attack, hope and voting appeal. Attack meant showcasing failures of the incumbent

Government, hope implied communicating BJP manifesto and track record, and voting appeal was to push for increased turnout for decisive mandate.

Our part was to execute the plan using vehicles of mass media viz., Print, Radio, TV and Outdoor. In my role, I was required to research on state/regional issues, coordinate content generation, ensure political approval, and before distributing into the media, keeping the campaign themes of attack, hope and voting appeal.

My biggest challenge was to deal and interact with political leaders and ensure creative momentum, over the course of entire schedule. While Manoj acted as vanguard managing controversies, he ensured synergy and motivation among professionals. The war room team which was drawn from as many as 10 different agencies formed a mini organization by itself. The operational challenge in the campaign to break the silos of organizations and churn content maintaining with traceability was done by codifying material. More importantly, the Indian Election Commission guidelines on content and finances were adhered to the last bullet.

The team worked as a motor - 24X7 for 65 days continuously, delivering more than 240 Radio & TVCs, 3,000 print advertisements, in 16 different dialects and languages, across 35 states and union territories. And all of that happened within budget and time.

Mission Accomplished. And how!

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Modi and the Youth of India – A partnership for the future Akhilesh Mishra is an experienced marketing professional having worked in many multinational companies. He volunteered for the BJP during the 2014 elections and was heading the content for the National Digital Operations of BJP and was part of media strategy planning. He Akhilesh Mishra tweets at @amishra77.

The results of the recently concluded Indian general elections are now out and the analysts are expounding different theories to explain the historic mandate in favour of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the first such decisive mandate ever given by Indian electorate in the last 30 years. So what occasioned this paradigm shift in the Indian electoral scene?

First consider some numbers. The BJP polled more than 171 million votes in the just concluded elections. In the last general elections, in 2009, the BJP only managed slightly over 78 million votes. This is a staggering increase of 93 million votes in just one election.

According to a survey done by CSDS, the BJP won 45 of the 87 seats which have high percentage of Muslim votes. The NDA, the coalition that BJP leads, won 39 of the 74 seats where Muslim voters make up between 21 to 95% of the total electorate, including all the 16 seats in the electorally important state

of Uttar Pradesh.

Of the 84 parliamentary seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), the BJP won 40 seats and 27 seats out of the 47 reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST). The NDA won 62% of all the SC seats and over 70% of all the ST reserved seats. Twenty eight women MPs won on the BJP ticket, the highest ever and a new benchmark of 10% of winning seats going to women was achieved.

In 10 states and union territories, BJP won all the seats on offer. In Uttar Pradesh, the largest Indian state with 80 out of the 543 parliamentary seats, the BJP alliance won 73. This is 14 more than the entire national tally of the Congress led alliance.

So what explains this epochal mandate? Social media provide an important prism to decipher the verdict. The chorus of Modifor-PM first began on social media as early as 2010-11, a good 2-3 years before the groundswell forced the central BJP leadership to anoint Modi as their PM candidate in September

2013. The most vociferous early supporters of Modi on social media were not from his home state of Gujarat but from states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in the South or Assam and West Bengal in the East or Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the North. The intellectual counter narrative building on social media, to the establishment consensus that vilified Modi, was driven by diverse people all across the country. Most of them did not speak the language that Modi spoke.

They were not from the same social background as he was nor were there any fancy alumni associations

The Chairman and Board of Governors of Shri Vallabhnidhi Trust UK takes pleasure in congratulating Shri Narendra Modiji on being elected as the Prime Minister of India

Let's go to Wembley Sanatan Hindu Mandir for Mataji's Darshan

“Shrimad Devi Bhagvat”

Venue: Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir Ealing Road, Alperton, Wembley, HA0 4TA from Saturday 24th May 2014 to Sunday 1st June 2014 Time: 2.30pm to 5.30pm Shiv Shakti Yagna on Sunday 1st June 2014 at 10am His Holliness param pujiya Shri Bhagvati Prasadji is recited Katha

Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir Wembley Ealing Road, Wembley Middlesex HA0 4TA Tel: 0208 903 7737 / 0208 903 7750

Shri Nathji Sanatan Hindu Mandir Leytonstone 159-161 Whipps Cross Road Leytonstone London E11 1NP Tel: 0208 989 7539/208 989 2034

to bind them together.

Indeed outwardly there was nothing in common to a man who in his youth sold tea at railway platforms and the youth who took time away from their day jobs, of being successful bankers or scientists or technocrats, to cheer Modi on social media. However, at an inner level they shared something in common – individually outstanding in their chosen vocations, they shared a deep frustration at the way their country, Team India, was collectively performing. This young generation, most active on social media, was a generation that went to

college after the 1991 economic reforms that started the growth path of India.

Indeed many were born after 1991. They did not share the complexes of the previous generation that had seen the colonial past or had grown in the stifling socialist era of Indira Gandhi. This generation was competing with the best in the world and proving equal to the task, at both at an individual level as well as in leading world class teams. But in the last 6-7 years they had seen Team India floundering, mired in morass of corruption and economic mess.

However, there was one

team that was a beacon of hope – Team Gujarat led by Modi. When economic growth was floundering in India, Gujarat was growing at double digit growth rates for over a decade with no corruption, almost negligible unemployment and several aspirational world class projects getting implemented in record time. What seemed impossible at India level through politics-ofpast prism was demonstrably made possible in Gujarat through Modi prism.

This was the first spark that ignited the deep passion for Modi that was seen on social media – he emerged as that one man who could achieve for Team India what the youth achieved through their own merit in their individual lives. That Modi had reached where he did, from humble origins, solely on merit, added to his credibility and appeal. As elections approached, it is this chorus and essentially the same feeling that permeated across the segments of society, but more specifically among the youth. Past calculus of religion and caste voting patterns were broken as the youth voted for aspirations of their future rather than past grievances of their parents.

A new partnership was forged and the first step taken in what could very well be India’s century.

Navin Shah AM Assembly member for Brent and Harrow

I’m delighted to convey my heartiest congratulations to Shri Narendrabhai Modi, the Prime Minister of India. I look forward to seeing inclusive and ‘Vibrant India’ under Narendrabhai’s leadership and look forward to welcoming him to the UK / Brent & Harrow.

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Everybody has ra www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

A sample of BJP’s campaign material prepared by Kunal Jeswani and Samrat Bedi under Manoj Ladwa’s supervision

I don't think you would have seen this level of enthusiasm or supporters throughout the world. That support has bec

Modi supporter Manoj Ladwa is a young British Indian, is the head of India Inc, a company whose catchline is ‘taking India global.’ Within Bharatiya Janata Party cirManoj Ladwa cles this businessman and lawyer is known as Narendra Modi's special NRI confidante and the man in charge of his communication strategy. He is also one of the men who bats for Modi in the UK, raising his image overseas.

At the BJP's Ashoka Road headquarters, in a quiet corner of the giant media tent, with its orange chairs and green tables, away from the drums, elephants, firecrackers, stilt walkers, faux leopard-skin clothed clowns and supporters jumping manically about with flags, sits Ladwa, looking quite different from the average BJPwallah, in a blue suit and crisp checked shirt. He is watching the proceedings on a giant television screen that beams the results on NDTV, along with several other leaders.

His phone keeps ringing with people congratulating him and he responds in quiet British accented tones quite different from the milieu. He reluctantly agrees to an interview with Rediff.com’s Vaihayasi Pande Daniel and his answers are often cagey and carefully devoid of too much implication.

Discreet.

Narendra Modi has a huge support base in the US, in New Jersey particularly as well as the UK... I am sure they will be having a lot of parties (in New Jersey)!

Yes there will be Modi pakodas!

Modi creating another first

Narendra Modi h The writer is former media advisor to then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee

Ashok Tandon

Narendra Modi has created many firsts in the history of India – the first ordinary man to become the Prime Minister of the country. He will be creating another first - the first Prime Minister to move into his official residence without a family. Till now all other 14 prime ministers have had a family or at least some family members living with them. During Nehru's tenure, his daughter Indira Gandhi officiat-

ed as his hostess. Morarji Desai and P V Narasihma Rao, both widowers, had children living with them.

Atal Behari Vajpayee, the bachelor Prime Minister, had his adopted daughter with him.

According to reports, Modi's wife and mother will live in Gujarat. Modi has a small team of highly efficient and loyal personal assistants. Badri, his personal cook for over 12 years is considered

extremely close to him and has already visited the PM's official bungalow to check if everything is in place for his master. He will be the in charge of the kitchen and will be busy making dhoklas and khakras at the PM's house.

Modi is not the first vegetarian Prime Minister.

Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Narasimha Rao and HD Deve Gowda too were vegetarians.

What is the support base and the funding that has helped his campaign from England?

Does he have a huge support base in England?

Of course. That's not only amongst the Gujaratis but from all sections of the Indian community which is over a million strong and indeed now, especially over the last year, a growing interest amongst the mainstream British community. In Business circles, also within political circles. They have been intrigued and interested in the Gujarat model and they have seen in Modi somebody who is a leader of the future. Unlike the US, the UK very early on engaged with Modi from the political perspective. It is all welcome.

More than 800 million eligible electorate, one third of them first time voters, have proved that India is no ramshackle democracy, as some western skeptics perceive it to be even after 67 years of independence from the British Empire.

It was a heavy turnout, an average increase of 10-15 % over the previous elections. Braving scorching heat in most parts of the country and cold weather in several areas of the Jammu & Kashmir and the entre Himalayan belt, people of all hues joined the festival of democracy and used the ballot with a vengeance to punish the NehruGandhi dynasty –driven Congress Party out of power after its 10 years of non-performing government riddled with rampant corruption and rank opportunism.

And of course, it was a positive vote too, to usher in a new era of hope & aspirations under the dynamic leadership of great visionary Narandra Modi, 63- year-old three-time chief minister of India’s most vibrant state of Gujarat.

And they have done it and done it in style leaving no room for political instability- a hallmark of the contemporary Indian politics since 1989.

People around the world, especially those in the developed world, are curious to know how an individual leader, howsoever popular or charismatic he or she may be, could cast a spell on 1250 million people in

So did the local Indian population turn their attention to Modi or how did the interest happen?

a country as diverse as India with all the practicing religions, dozens of states, scores of languages, hundreds of dialects and thousands of castes, sub-castes and tribes and above all one third of population living below poverty line.

But the real heroes of this unprecedented and peaceful transformation were none other than the Indian youth who cutting across religious and caste lines defied the conventional wisdom of political pundits who were predicting voting on caste and religious lines on the dictates of their community bosses which could possibly return a hung parliament opening doors for political horse trading, a phenomenon well-known in this part of the world.

Narendra Modi’s unique campaign style was a mix of conventional & modern techniques. Nukkad (street) plays, puppet shows, folk songs and dance performances, door-to-door canvassing by foot soldiers of the Hindu nationalist RSS coupled with modern high tech blitz of electronic and social media were the key factors behind the landslide victory in the parliamentary elections in which his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a clear majority of its own (282) in the lower house (Lok Sabha) of 543 members and reaching a whopping tally of 335, a feat achieved by any single party for the first time in the last 30 years.

Modi led the campaign from front travelling more than 300,000 km addressing 196 election meetings in one of the lengthiest elections in India’s political history. Modi’s election management was par excellence for which credit must go to his closest aide Amit Shah who shocked regional straps like Mulayam Singh Yadav & Mayawati by literally decimating them in their own stronghold of the most populous state of Uttar

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phenomenon in the NRI community ever before. Even before he was chief minister, Narendra Modi had lots of friends, lots of come more and more popular within Gujarat as his achievements have become more well known in India and overseas. well known in India and overseas. It is only natural that people want to be part of that and feel a part of that process.

So he is the first leader where the NRIs have also gotten involved with?

I don't think you would have seen this level of enthusiasm or phenomenon in the NRI community ever before.

And what is your role? How did you get involved?

My responsibility was to coordinate the communication strategy of the campaign to ensure that the campaign messaging gets broadcast as widely as possible. And as purely as possible to show that our message empathises with the concerns of the people of India and is reflected in the things that we say. That's basically my role.

I think it is the culmination of the development politics of Modi. The enthusiasm shown by the Indian community who has been able to articulate the great work he has been doing in Gujarat. There is a general engagement and interest in India and its growth within the UK. All of these things are coming together.

This kind of massive NRI support has not happened before for a political candidate.

Why has it specifically happened for Modi?

Every great thing has its time.

So you do agree that this is unprecedented?

Even before he was chief minister, Modi had lots of friends, lots of supporters throughout the world. That support has become more and more popular within Gujarat as his achievements have become more and more

When you say purely, what do you mean by purely?

Often what you find is that messages during an election campaign get distorted. Let's add to that the fact that the media over here has not been a great fan or friend of Modi. In certain parts of the media there has been a concerted effort to distort his achievements as a chief minister. So we had to work very hard.

So you have been working over here?

I have been here for the last six months.

What has been your communication strategy? How did you plan it?

(He does not want to go into details) Just get people in a room around a table and discuss it.

And what was your role out of UK? There are lot of well wishers and friends of Modi of Gujarat, of India. I am one of them.

lawyer.

But born and brought up in England?

Birmingham. I am a second-generation Indian.

Quite unusual for a second generation Indian to get so involved in an Indian election campaign?

I think I have been fairly lucky that I came into contact with Modi at a relatively young age.

Where did you come in contact?

Both in India and when he visited the UK. I met him long before he became chief minister of Gujarat and so I cannot (miss out) in saying how fortunate I was that he reposed faith and trust in me over the years. Whenever I have been able to help I have helped.

Tell me something about him?

I think at last NRIs around the world will feel a pride in the Indian leadership. After a long time we have somebody we can say: Yes, we are with him and he is with us. And that sense of being a global Indian. You don't have to hang your head in shame. It is something that is going to be very special. It is a very special time.

For you personally what is the single most thing about him that appeals to you?

I have known him personally many years. He is a quiet, decent human being that cares.

Whatever the exterior persona that the media may wish to paint, he cares about the basic things in life. He cares about each and every person around him and he cares about ensuring that the people of India get opportunities.

For me that is the most important thing.

How is the question about his visa going to be resolved in your view?

That's a matter for the United States. The ball is in their court.

You are saying that the media has not been very supportive? But many sections of the media have been too?

That's your point of view. There is no other politician in Indian history who has been vilified so much the way Modi has been vilified in editorial after editorial. That has been going on for years. Each and every time he has gone back to the electorate and each and every time he has come back with a stronger mandate. And today is just one more example.

Don't you think their concern about this whole thing was justified and what they were vilifying him for? People wanted to know.

I think the people of India have spoken.

So you are representative of a new generation of the BJP? Who is the new generation of the BJP? Narendra Modi. It is not about age. It is about vision. I think today is about Modi.

About his victory today. And the party has well supported him. Young. Old. From different backgrounds. From different states of India. From around the world. Everybody has rallied around one leader. One vision.

Any way that you can quantify the UK support for Modi?

It is as enthusiastic as anything you will see.

More enthusiastic than a British election result?

It is different. Indians celebrate in a different way. Brits celebrate in a different way. So when the elections happen in the UK we will also celebrate, but in a different way. Both the democracies.

has made history with huge victory

Pradesh in the Hindi heartland winning 73 of the 80 seats in the state.

Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, who was captain of the party’s campaign, were the only two winning candidates. The remaining five seats went to Mulayam Singh’s family.

Modi’s success story will not be complete without a special mention of the role played by an army of tech- savvy enterprising young men & women, many of them NRIs from US & UK who either quit their hefty jobs or took leave to work for the Team-Modi in all departments of the campaign.

Three prominent outfits- National

What is your professional background?

I have my own media business. I am also a

Digital Operations Centre (NDOC) for social media, Research And Messaging (RAM) for up-dating the data and its prompt messaging through all possible modes of communication & the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG) worked round the clock and did wonders in enlightening the 400 million strong computer- bug middle class about the historic significance of this crucial election in which stakes were high for the nationalist democrats.

Heading the high-tech venture NDOC was Piyush Goyal, 49-year-old well-known investment banker and all-India second rank holder Chartered Accountant and second rank holder in Law.

A member of the upper house and the party treasurer, Piyush was over-all in-charge of the Information Technology-based campaign code-named “Mission 272+” for dissemination of pamphlets and leaflets both in English and Hindi, videos, ring tones, stickers and cards etc.

He was ably assisted by Arvind Gupta, another young and enterprising engineering graduate.

The RAM team was led by Manoj Ladwa, a UK- based solicitor and a member of the national communications team of the Modi4PM campaign. Manoj is the founder and chief executive of the MLS Chase Group, UK, who took leave from his busy professional schedule and camped in India for six months shuttling between Gandhinagar (Headquarters of the Team-India), New Delhi (national headquarters of the party), Varanasi (Narendra Modi’s key constituency) & Amethi (where Tele-star Smriti Irani challenged Rahul Gandhi) to oversee enforcement of the communication strategy of the Team Modi.

The CAG was spearheaded by Prashant Kishor – a 36-year-old former UN health specialist who with the help of alumni of some US Universities and IIT graduates helped establish an anodyne-sounding group called & named it CAG. The CAG

What is your next job? What are you going to do next?

Sleep.

mobilised supporters via mobile phones, researching ideas for Modi’s speeches and gave him feedback, deployed observers to polling booths, and sent 500 “video vans” with 55-inch screens to reach what was known as “dark zones” in remote villages.

Another master stroke was Modi’s threeD campaign with the nationwide deployment of 10-foot high holograms of Modi facilitating Gujarat Chief minister to simultaneously address 100 rallies – while images of the crowd were beamed back to him at the BJP’s Ahmedabad offices. The unique strategy proved highly effective and left an indelible mark in the minds of the people.

But nothing to beat Modi’s Chai Pe Charcha (talk over a cup of tea) at the roadside tea stalls across the country. Modi successfully exploited his opponent’s blunder of digging up his past as a tea vendor. He must be grateful to the Congress leader Mani Shankar Iyer who first called Modi Chaiwala at a Congress meeting. There were scores of trucks and buses – and an army of nearly 4,000 workers – required to move and install the satellite dishes and projectors at one remote site after another.

Simultaneously there was the advertisement campaign. Across the Indian cities, bus shelters, billboards and newspaper front pages were plastered with so many advertisements with a wide range of catchy slogans bearing Modi’s pictures. A few popular ones included: Ab Ki Bar Modi Sarkar & Achhe Din Aane Wale Hain.

It was indeed a historic election with a unique campaign and a glorious victory for a man who had risen through the ranks to reach the pinnacle of glory. He now stands tall amongst the galaxy of world leaders whose ranks he will be joining when they meet at the forthcoming G-8 summits in the near future.

18

ELECTION SPECIAL

Britain can support Modi in rebuilding India’s economy

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Modi’s council of ministers India’s 15th Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday allocated portfolio to his cabinet colleagues. Compared to jumbo sized Manmohan Singh cabinet, the new PM has kept compact ministry.

PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi: Personnel, P u b l i c Grievances and Pensions Department of Atomic Energy Department of Space All important policy issues and all other portfolios not allocated to any Minister CABINET MINISTERS Rajnath Singh: Home Minster

Lord Dolar Popat

Last week’s success of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Narendra Modi in the Indian elections marks what many hope will be a major turning point in India’s history, but it will also have significant ramifications for Britain as well.

Only a few years ago, India was being tipped as the country most likely to become an economic powerhouse. It had a growing population, increasing literacy rates, successfully opened up its markets in the early nineties and, of course, had the safety and confidence that being a democracy brings.

Yet the past few years have seen international and domestic confidence in India’s economy shrink.

Rapid inflation, rampant corruption and little economic reform has seen a proud and brilliant country lose faith in its political leaders and the solutions they have offered.

Undoubtedly a good chunk of the BJP’s support has come from voters who were disenchanted with the Congress Party, but a large part of Modi’s appeal has been the economic success that he has overseen as Gujarat’s Chief Minister.

Gujarat has been a shining example of what modern India can be.

Foreign investors have

flocked to the state where the infrastructure is solid, power supply is reliable, corruption is minimal and business is welcome.

Companies from around the world –including Britain - have flocked to be part of their bustling economy.

Now we must hope that Modi and his colleagues would be able to spread this success across all 28 states. He will need all of his dynamism and determination to overcome the policy paralysis that has gripped India; to restore confidence of investors and businesses and to tackle the levels of corruption that all of us who are familiar with India have seen first-hand.

The good news is that when Modi looks around, he will see Britain as an ally in waiting. We have thousands of companies – from our largest multinationals to our SMEs - that wish to do more business with India; and in our 1.4 million strong British Indian Diaspora, we have a group who are uniquely placed to help bring more jobs and prosperity to both countries.

Economic confidence in Britain is soaring; unemployment is down, employment is up and we have growth across all sectors of the economy.

However, there is still more to do; most notably to increase the amount of

goods and services we export. And with our Diaspora, shared culture and language, India is a perfect market to target.

India is a partner of choice for Britain; a special partner and a valued and leading member of the Commonwealth.

The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister both tweeted their congratulations on Friday, and Modi accepted the Prime Minister’s invitation to visit London.

Modi may have been through a gruelling election; covering more than 200,000 air miles, addressing nearly 500 rallies in person –and 800 as a hologram- and fought off several attacks on his character in the past six weeks, but for him and for India the real hard work starts now.

If Modi can reform India’s economy in a similar fashion to what he has done in Gujarat; maintaining his pro-business credentials and ensuring that inward investment is welcome, it will be good news for businesses across the world. But it will be particularly good news for Britain as a nation of entrepreneurs, and for the Indian people, who will be the ones to benefit from cheaper goods, more jobs, and a better standard of living.

That is Modi’s challenge, and I wish him well.

Past prime ministers

Jawaharlal Nehru 15 August 1947 to 27 May 1964

Morarji Desai 24 March 1977 to 28 July 1979

Gulzarilal Nanda 27 May 1964 to 9 June 1964 & 11 January 1966 to 24 January 1966

Charan Singh 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980

Lal Bahadur Shastri 9 June 1964 to 11 January 1966 Indira Gandhi 24 January 1966 to 24 March 1977 & 14 January 1980 to 31 October 1984

Rajiv Gandhi 31 October 1984 to 2 Dec. 1989 V. P. Singh 2 Dec. 1989 to 10 Nov. 1990 Chandra Shekhar 10 Nov. 1990 to 21 June 1991

P. V. Narasimha Rao 21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996

Atal Behari Vajpayee 16 May 1996 to 1 June 1996 & 19 March 1998 to 22 May2004 H. D. Deve Gowda 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997

I. K. Gujral 21 April 1997 to 19 March 1998

Manmohan Singh 22 May 2004 to 26 May 2014

Sushma Swaraj: External Affairs & Overseas Indian Affairs

Defence

Arun Jaitley: F i n a n c e Corporate Affairs &

M. Venkaiah Naidu:Urban Development Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation & Parliamentary Affairs

Shipping

Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Road Transport and H i g h w a y s D.V. Sadananda G o w d a : Railways

Uma Bharati: W a t e r Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Najma A. Heptulla: Minority Affairs

Gopinathrao Munde: Rural Development, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation

R a m v i l a s P a s w a n : Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Kalraj Mishra: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

M a n e k a Gandhi: Women and Child Development

Ananthkumar: Chemicals and Fertilizers

Ravi Shankar P r a s a d : Communications and Information Technology & Law and Justice Ashok Gajapathi Raju: Civil Aviation

Anant Geete: H e a v y Industries and P u b l i c Enterprises Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Food Processing Industries

Narendra Singh Tomar: Mines & Steel Labour & Employment

Jual Oram: Tribal Affairs Radha Mohan S i n g h : Agriculture

Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Social Justice and Empowerment

Smriti Zubin Irani: Human R e s o u r c e Development

Dr. Harsh Va r d h a n : Health and Family Welfare

MINISTER OF STATES (Independent Charges ) General V. K. S i n g h : Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge) & External Affairs Overseas Indian Affairs

Inderjit Singh Rao: Planning (Independent C h a r g e ) , Statistics and Programme Implementation (Independent Charge) & Defence

Santosh Kumar G a n g w a r : T e x t i l e s (Independent Charge), Parliamentary Affairs Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Shripad Yesso Naik: Culture (Independent Charge) & To u r i s m ( I n d e p e n d e n t Charge)

Dharmendra P r a d h a n : Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Sarbananda Sonowal: Skill Development, Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), Entrepreneurship

P r a k a s h Javadekar: Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge), Environment, Forest and

Climate Change (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs

Piyush Goyal: P o w e r (Independent Charge), Coal (Independent Charge) & New and Renewable Energy (Independent Charge)

Dr. Jitendra Singh: Science and Technology (Independent Charge), Earth Sciences (Independent Charge), Prime Minister Office Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Atomic Energy Department of Space

N i r m a l a Sitharaman: Commerce and I n d u s t r y (Independent Charge), Finance Corporate Affairs MINISTERS OF STATE G. M. Siddeshwara: Civil Aviation Manoj Sinha: Railways

Nihalchand: Chemicals and Fertilizers

U p e n d r a Kushwaha: Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water and Sanitation, Rural Development Radhakrishnan: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises

Kiren Rijiju: Home Affairs Krishan Pal: Road Transport and Highways Shipping

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan: Agriculture & Food Processing Industries

Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava: Tribal Affairs

R a o s a h e b Dadarao Danve: Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Vishnu Deo Sai: Mines, Steel & Labour and Employment

Sudarshan Bhagat: Social Justice & Empowerment

REAL ESTATE VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

19

Sabotaging the deal Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

Currently we are prowling around a flat in W2, this is coming up in auction on the 29th of this month. By the time you’re reading this article this property would have been exchanged by someone - perhaps us. The reason why I'm interested is because it has a lot of issues and will scare the novice and part time investor away.

Auctions have become a cesspool of these types of investors, who have had the seed planted by various TV programmes and are responsible for turning the auction room more into a place to sell stock rather than to purchase.

There are three points which stuck out in my mind when I saw this property: The first is it is a sale by the mortgage company, this means the reserve price will be low, therefore it will be going into the room to sell. It also means they will not entertain a bid prior to auction. As with all professional bodies and persons their primary aim is to cover themselves first, and not necessarily to advise the best for their clients. If the property is sold prior to auction they would need to justify why this was the case. They would then be open to being sued if the reason was not justified. With the property being sold in the auction room, anyone can come and purchase the property, it becomes an open and transparent sale. The property has been put into the auction by the receiver who is appointed by the mortgage lender who does so on behalf of the borrower.

Therefore the receiver acts on behalf of the borrower – that’s the theory anyway.

T he o th e r t wo p oi nt s are i ssu e s wh ic h e xci te d me abo ut t he prope rt y, o n e b ei ng t hat i t has a sh o rt le ase . T he pro pe rty is he ld on a le ase f o r a te rm of 75 years fro m 24th J u n e 1968, th e re are th e ref o re appro ximat e ly 29 yea rs u n expi red on t h e te rm. T hi s m ean s i t c ann o t b e m ort g ag ed - n o t by m ost co n ve n ti on al le n de rs an yway. T he c ha nc e s are i t wil l n ee d t o b e bo u gh t in cash . T hi s wi ll f il te r o u t t ho se b uye rs who are d epe n d en t o n fi nan c e t o c om ple t e t he purc h ase. Th e se c on d issu e i s t h at t he re c ei ve rs u nd e rst and t he pro pe rty is oc cu pi ed o n t e rms u n k no wn . T hi s po in t i s i n te re sti n g, t hi s me an s it c o ul d be a si tt in g t en an t in t he re , or i t co u ld be an AS T, wh ic h is an assu re d sh o rth ol d te n an cy whi ch m e ans yo u c an ge t ri d o f t h e t e nan t s i f re q u ire d.

years in order to qualify for the lease extension. If the prices keep going up the way they are now it will be an expensive extension. The price per sq. ft. of this property is around £1,500, however at this price our flat equates to £4.5m. There is nothing, unsurprisingly, which has sold for this amount of money in this block. Therefore in theory though this may be worth the money when calculated price per sq. ft. in reality someone with nearly £5m to spend may not choose to put it in this property in W2 be it on the top floor. This could ultimately be a sticking point. At this level you can purchase a freehold building which is the preference for many overseas buyers who intuitively do not like the leasehold concept.

We purchased a block of flats with similar issues on 92 Shirland Rd from the same auctioneers in fact. Again the tenancies were listed as unknown. However we had a tip off informing us the flats were all held on AST’s, therefore there would be no issues in getting them out. Consequently we had insider knowledge when going to bid for the property, whereas all the other bidders were unsure of the situation. We managed to pick up the deal for £1.1m and resold the property for £1.3m within 3 days after exchange. In this deal the property occupies the top floor of a purpose built block of flats, consisting of 3,000 sq. ft., it’s on the 13th floor and is the pent house of the building. We made some enquiries with the porter who confirmed our suspicions, there was someone related to the owner who was occupying the building. So it seems as there will be no tenancy in place though there may be some tenants. Of course with such a short lease the cost of the lease extension will come into play. We called our usual surveyor, who informed us he could not act as someone else had already asked him to look into the matter and therefore he will be conflicted. Seems we are not the only ones circling this property. It will come down to who goes the highest. It may be the case where we have to hold on to the property for two

W h e n t h e p ro p e r t y h as a s it t i n g t e n a n t i n t h e r e i t c an b e w o rt h t yp i c al l y h al f t h e va l u e d e p e n d i n g o n t h e t e n a n t ’ s c i r c u m st a n c e s . T h e f e ar o f l o s i n g mo n e y i s s t ro n g e r t h a n t h e pl e a su re o f g a i n i n g m o n e y t h e r e f o re i n ve s t o r s a c t i r ra t i o n al l y w h e n t h e r e a re u n k n o w n s.

Furthermore when a property is repossessed the person whom it was repossessed from will often try - in some ways understandably to scarper the deal and make it difficult to resell.

This can be done in a variety of ways, however as this property is a purpose built flat the ways in which the property can be sabotaged is limited. Playing with the tenancy and giving the illusion it is a questionable tenancy is one method. On freehold sites, the options for sabotaging the property are manifold. One is to do something which is illegal and against building regulations and then report it to the council, they then put an enforcement notice on it.

This will deter most buyers allowing the original owner to come in and purchase it back for a fraction of the price. They have insider knowledge which the market will not be privy too. Time will tell what happens.

Also, as mentioned last week we managed to exchange on a large property of around 13,000 sq. ft. area in Portland Place last Thursday for £14.75m. Portland Place is one of the most sought after locations in London and it is rare to find such a large property for sale on this road. It carries on from the famous shopping district of Regents St, and the property is near the famous Langham Hotel.

We agreed a price of £1,140 per sq. ft. similar properties in this location are being sold for £1,900 per sq. ft. to £2,400 per sq. ft. conservatively. This property was not on the market but we managed to source this through one of our contacts with whom we had dealt with before.

We are very confident of turning this deal around with good profits for all concerned.

The Real Deal

Earls Court, London, SW5 Purchase Price: £1.6m l A large top floor flat in this highly sought after location. l 1,300 sq ft area. l The property will benefit greatly from the Earls Court regeneration scheme, being located close to the proposed ‘High Street’ and parks. l Comparable properties in the market are priced around £1,500 per sq ft while this property is coming at around £1,230 per sq ft. l Call us now to secure this deal!

0207 993 0103

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

Specialists in

Central London Property Sourcing

info@sowandreap.co.uk

www.sowandreap.co.uk

55 Bryanston Street, Marble Arch Tower, London, W1H 7AA

Follow us online:

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SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week

l The speed with which you make decisions and commit to them will ensure you get a good deal flow time and time again.

l To determine if anything is a good investment, you should look at the risk versus return. Generally if an investment is high risk it is high return and low risk means low returns. Property is considered low risk, hence the banks will lend you 75% of the value, BUT you can make high returns, if done creatively.

LEGAL VOICE - FINANCE

20

Maria Fernandes

maria@abplgroup.com

The Tsunami of Disaffection

As the tsunami of protests against governments hits the shore, with the immigration debate as the froth, the Governments throughout Europe are facing the lurch towards the right. The UK have brought in a string of new measures with the new Immigration Act which promises to send the illegal immigrants packing and punish employers and landlords if they do not do their unpaid job properly of checking the status of their staff or tenants.

The Act does not affect EU citizens or Swiss nationals.

Although the Immigration Act became law on the 14th May this provision will not take effect until October 2014. As of the 14th May, private Landlords are required to check the lawful status of new tenants before allowing them to rent of occupy premises. This means in effect checking the status of all prospective tenants. Failure to do so would be discriminatory. The important issue is that the provisions do not apply to existing tenants but to new tenants in respect of whom agreements are concluded after October 2014.

The important issue is that they will apply to lodgers and to sub-ten-

ants and accordingly are likely to affect landlords small and large alike.

They also apply to all tenants, whether named on the agreement or not.

If proper enquiries are not made they face a fine of £3000 per person identified.

What is unclear is what will happen to a tenant when the initial fixed term comes to an end and a new agreement is in place. It is likely that the checks would have to be repeated at each stage.

The Government plan to introduce a checking service for landlords along the line that is already in place for employers. There will be rights of appeal to the County Court.

The Government have made assurances that the law is not meant to catch out well intentioned landlords but to catch out rogue landlords. The reality is that the rules will initially be applied more generously at first but will very soon become less of the carrot and more of the stick. And is there good news in all of this? Landlords will be free to rent to EU citizens. If there is a landlord who rents close to Nigel Farage they might like to bear in mind the fact that he does not want an EU national to live next door to him.

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Govt committed to restore investors' confidence: Jaitley

Reviving economic growth, containing inflation and repairing public finances would be among the top priorities of the new government, India's new finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters after taking charge at the North Block office, Jaitley said the Indian economy is passing through a very challenging time and there is need to re-build confidence of global as well as domestic investors in it.

"I am conscious of the fact that I am taking over at a very challenging time.

Particularly, there is a need to rebuild confidence in the Indian economy," Jaitley said.

"The challenges are very obvious. We have to restore the pace of growth, contain inflation and obviously concentrate on fiscal consolidation itself," he added.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell to a decade's low of 4.5 per cent in the financial year 2012-13 and it is estimated to grow at 4.9 per cent in the year ended March 31, 2014, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data.

Inflation remains stubbornly high.

Jaitley said political changes have sent a strong signal to the global as well as domestic investors and it would help rebuild the

confidence in the Indian economy.

"The mandate that our government has received has an inbuilt hope in it.

Political change itself sends a strong signal to the global community and also the domestic investors," he said.

In the newly sworn-in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Jaitley has turned out to be the most important person after Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides finance, Jaitley also holds defence and corporate affairs portfolios.

In the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the apex decisionmaking body of the cabinet, Jaitley holds two portfolios - finance and defence. Other two ministers in the CCS, besides the Prime Minister who chairs it, are Rajnath Singh as home minister and Sushma Swaraj as external affairs minister.

Reaffirming BJP's stand on FDI in multi-brand retail, new commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday indicated that foreign players will not be allowed to open mega stores in the country as it may adversely impact the small traders and farmers.

"At this stage the party position is very very clear.

We have explained about FDI in multi-brand retail (MBR) that it probably is not best opened up now because medium and small sized traders or small farmers have not been adequately empowered... if you open up the floodgates of FDI in MBR, it may affect them," she said.

Sitharaman, who took charge of the ministry, was replying to a question whether the government would rescind the current FDI policy of allowing foreign investment in MBRT. The minister further said that she would "sit with the officials as to what has happened all the while (to) further the manifesto based agenda of BJP we shall work." The BJP manifesto had said, "barring the multi-brand retail

sector, FDI will be allowed in sectors wherever needed for job and asset creation, infrastructure and acquisition of niche technology and specialised expertise."

Although the previous government had allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, only one investment proposal of UK-based Tesco was cleared by the earlier government. She said the ministry would look at the current FDI policy in calibrated way. Further, the new minister said that boosting exports will be the one of the top priority.

The ministry would play an important role in enhancing economic and trade ties with all the countries, she added. India's exports in the last three years have been hovering around USD 300 billion. India's exports in 2013-14 fall short of the USD 325 billion target and managed to reach USD 312.35 billion.

The country's exports stood at USD 300.4 billion in 2012-13 and USD 307 billion in 2011-12. After taking charge, she met with officials of the ministry, including commerce and DIPP secretary.

No FDI in multi-brand retail: Sitharaman

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

If Britain wants a special relationship with India, only British Indians can make it happen.

Time for us to step up.

I have just spoken to Baroness Verma who was at the Oath of Office taking of the new Indian PM, and asked in person by the UK PM to convey his congratulations. When I was with Minister Verma on an official trip last year we met the man who is now the number two in the Indian Government, Rajnath Singh.

A new Indian PM, a State Opening of Parliament; so I want to turn to therefore turn to UK-India trade. The mathematics is simple: British firms need investment returns offered by India that they simply can’t get at or near home. Britain has a burgeoning trade deficit. It needs to create jobs. Its companies have the talent and experience to export – it did after all create the world’s first multinational – the East India Company. An Island of a mere 1% of the world’s population generates 4% of world GDP. So British companies need help penetrating the Indian markets. Help more importantly from British Indians who know more, can access more, in India.

So what’s the problem? The problem is the disparity between talk, understanding the issues, and ideas and execution. In January 2006, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice observed that the US State Department had “nearly the same number of State Department personnel in Germany, a country of 82 million people, that we have in India, a country of one billion people. The UK must avoid the same error.

The UK Government needs to re-allocate more resources in India to its Foreign Policy, Defence and Trade and Investment policies. If countries can be thought of a companies, then Britain should follow the lead of virtually every S&P 500 and FTSE 100 company which has done exactly that – put more people on the ground in India.

But it needs to use not just the same old usual diplomatic channels which every other Government shall use, but also the personal connections and ties that British Indians have with India, from the top, such as Minister Verma to the Indian Government to the regular British Indian business member of the UK India Business Council. That is how you start a special relationship, you use the special resources you have at hand. No other country can match Britain then for a special relationship with India – just ask the UK Overseas Friends of the BJP. According to a UKIBC NRI survey 97.6% thought India’s business potential was good or excellent, 85.7% felt the recession made investment in India more attractive. But shockingly 61% said it was not easy or difficult to enter the Indian market. The answer for a cashstrapped UK is not to simply leave it to the private sector.

However, Britain’s economic problems also need more capital investment from abroad. Again the maths is simple. Without investment capital, research, development needed for future growth and competitiveness dies. Without such inward investment jobs are lost.

Britain’s geo-economic location within the EU and links with the US makes it an ideal ‘go global’ base for Indian companies.

The UK Government with me will be co-hosting the largest collection of Indian investors and Venture Capitalists in India at the end of August – this will be one more vital step to building a special relationship between the UK and India – which simply cannot be left to the ‘usual channels’ and the same old ways – it’s essential for British Indians to step up.

Vodafone makes profit for first time in India

For the first time after it began its operations in India almost seven years back, British telecom giant Vodafone has registered a net profit. The company, that entered India in 2007 after buying out the stake of Hutchison Whampoa, said it expected profitability to get stronger in the coming years as data growth remains strong and voice tariffs go up.

“We have turned net profitable for the first time indeed,” Vodafone

India MD & CEO Marten Pieters said.

However, he did not share the absolute numbers. Vodafone, the country's second-biggest operator behind Bharti Airtel, said service revenues in the financial year ending March 31, 2014, grew by 13% at Rs 376.06 billion against Rs 332.82 billion in the previous fiscal.

The company registered a 3% growth in EBITDA margins, which stood at 32% (Rs 133.99 billion).

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

21

Foreign Exchange

Paresh Davdra is the Dealing Director of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

BOE leave interest rates at 0.5% The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 to leave interest rates at their record low of 0.5% at this month's meeting. But some members believed the decision on when to raise rates is "becoming more balanced" a sign that some MPC members are turning more hawkish about the need to raise borrowing costs. Again they said they will only rise "gradually and to a level materially below its precrisis average".

Retail sales surged 6.9% year-on-year and by more than expected, in another signal that the British economy remains strong. Retail sales volumes also jumped by 1.3% last month alone, twice as much as economists had forecast, driven by robust food sales over the Easter holidays.

The late Easter (it fell in March last year) was expected to push up demand at retailers - but not by this much.

Britain's economic record as one of the fastest-growing major economies has been confirmed by official figures showing a jump in business invest-

ment, construction and manufacturing in the first three months of the year. UK GDP has had grown by 0.8% for the first quarter of 2014, pushing the annual growth rate above 3% and well above those of the Eurozone and the US. In more disappointing news that caused the pound to weaken was last month’s public finances, showing that Public Sector Net was £7.364bn, up from £5.648bn a year ago.

Economists had expected a

lower figure of around £4.5bn.

Data from Germany's Federal Statistics Office showed Europe's largest economy expanded by 0.8% in the first quarter, in line with estimates. Compared with a year ago, GDP was up 2.5%.

Exports slowed and were hit by economic weakness in Germany's trading partners and were a drag on growth.

These figures do little to encourage the ECB to keep interest rates at these levels

and give further reason to cut interest rates in June.

Germany also showed IFO figures from May decreasing which is an early indicator of current conditions and business expectations for the next six months. The closely watched business climate index fell to 110.4 points from 111.2 points in April, suggesting economic activity could slow in coming months Previously owned U.S. home purchases increased in April as a larger supply of properties attracted buyers and increased prospects for a stronger spring buying season.

For the first time this year, a 1.3% gain, raised sales to a 4.65 million annualized rate.

The number of available properties climbed to an almost two-year high, helping slow the pace of price appreciation. A pickup in the property market that improves affordability will help bring home ownership within reach of more Americans, increasing the chances the industry will recover from a yearlong slowdown.

Weekly Currencies

As of Tuesday 27th May 2014 @ 3.30pm

GBP - INR = 98.79

USD - INR = 58.75 EUR - INR = 80.09 GBP - USD = 1.68 GBP - EUR = 1.23

EUR - USD = 1.36 GBP - AED = 6.17

GBP - CAD = 1.82

GBP - NZD = 1.97

GBP - AUD = 1.82

GBP - ZAR = 17.50

GBP - HUF = 374.27

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22

WORLD

China wishes PM Modi

Beijing: China formally conveyed its congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi meeting with the Indian Ambassador in Beijing specifically to convey the wishes of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership. Wang told Ambassador Ashok Kantha that China was keen “to strengthen” ties with the new government.

The Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to directly speak to Modi.

The Chinese government is keen to reciprocate the fact that India was among the first countries to formally wish the new leadership under President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang following their taking over in March 2013. In the meeting, Kantha also expressed India’s “strong condemnation” of terror attack on Urumqi, in western Xinjiang, that left at least 31 people killed, saying India opposed “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations”.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Sikh protesters forcibly enter Pak parliament premises

Islamabad: Dozens of Sikhs entered the premises of Pakistan's parliament last week after smashing a gate in protest against the desecration of their holy scriptures in the southern Sindh province.

The demonstrators - who carried placards and banners, and chanted slogans - made a surprise entry into the Parliament House complex after defying a strong contingent of police personnel. Following negotiations between the government and Sikh representatives, the protesters left the grounds peacefully.

Members of the Sikh community later apologised for entering the parliament in a violent manner, said Sardar Gopal

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In Brief

Warning against phone calls offering free pension reviews

London: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned people to be wary if they receive telephone calls, emails, text messages or online advertisements offering a "free pension review," or if you are encouraged to move your pension to "get better returns.” The regulator said that if you put your money into risky investments, you can lose your pension savings.

Parents waiting longer to have another child Singh Chawla, chairman of Punjabi Sikh Sangat.

Sikh leaders claimed seven acts of desecration of their holy books had taken place in Sindh over the past five months.

The most recent episode took place in Mirpur Mathelo of Ghotki district in Sindh when unknown persons desecrated Sri Guru Granth Sahib. "We raised the issue at every level but despite assurances from the concerned

authorities, no action has been taken by the government against the persons responsible for the blasphemous acts," Chawla said.

He said Sikh leaders had recently met at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, near Lahore and taken the decision to protest in front of the parliament against the acts of desecration.

"We demand justice," Chawla said.

"Those who have insulted Sri Guru

Granth Sahib should be arrested and punished so no one can dare to insult the religion of others and hurt religious sentiments of a particular community."

The protesters demanded the government to give protection to the minority community to practice their religion, register all their religious sites and places of worship, just like mosques, and install CCTV cameras for surveillance and security.

London: With the cost of bringing up a child rising, parents in Britain are leaving an average gap of three years and five months between their children. Childcare has gone up forcing many couples to wait longer before having the second or the third child, a research said.

E-cigarettes best bet to quit smoking

London: Scientists urged NHS to prescribe electronic cigarettes after evidence showed that they are very effective in helping people quit smoking than other methods.

Council staff told to reveal workplace flings

London: A new code of conduct has been introduced at Ipswich borough council in Suffolk to stop workers getting favourable treatment if they are having an affair with a superior. Now they have to reveal any personal relationship between colleagues, including short-term flings.

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Achievement in Community Service................................

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Awarded to a business person who is a success in every sense of the word and can demonstrate a genuine passion for social issues.

Lifetime Achievement Award ............................................

To honour those individuals, who during their lifetime, have made immense contributions in any given field. This remarkable individual can be marked as an example for the younger generation.

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Summary- (Please include a summary in not more than 150 words why the nominee is worthy of winning the particular award in a separate sheet) Nominator’s name and contact details: ____________________________________________________________________________ Nominator’s current Occupation/Company: _________________________________________________________________________ Tel/Mobile: _________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________

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Nominations and entries must follow the prescribed format. All nomination forms must reach our offices on or before 14th July, 2014

Normal internet use won’t damage brains of teenagers

London: The University College London says that normal use of internet by the teenagers won’t affect the brains harmfully. They say instead of damaging the brains, its use may have a positive effect on the brains.

Beware while letting your friend to use your car

London: Beware when you allow your friend to use your car. When the friend returns the car without any damage, you heave a sigh of relief. Still the car can make a hole in your pocket. Your friend might have filled the car with the wrong fuel unknowingly needing you to spent money on repair.

Heart risk greater for women with diabetes

London: A study has found that women with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk of developing heart disease than men. It is thought women's health is worse when they are diagnosed with diabetes and they tend to be more overweight when they develop the condition than men meaning their heart has been under greater strain for longer.

Longer sentences for fraudsters targeting old people

London: Under a new rule, fraudsters targeting elderly and vulnerable people are likely to get longer jail term, as the new rule gives the judges discretion to take victim’s sufferings into account. Till now, the conmen were sentenced according to the financial impact of their crime.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

In Brief

Doctors warned against breakneck speed diagnosis

London: Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said patients were routinely being subjected to “conveyor-belt medicine at breakneck speed” because there were too few doctors to care for them. He said that such methods should be stopped and the doctors should take more time to properly diagnose the disease and prescribe medicine.

Abortions based on gender illegal London: Abortion providers have been warned that terminating a foetus purely on basis of gender alone is illegal. The Department of Health in the UK has issued guidance saying that doctors who carry out abortions based on the sex of an unborn baby and pre-sign abortion forms are breaking the law. The warning was issued following reports of gender-based abortions.

Putin condemns Prince Charles’ remarks

Moscow: Russian president Vladimir Putin has condemned Prince Charles’ comparison of him (Putin) to Adolf Hitler. Putin said the remarks are unacceptable and wrong. In a personal message to the prince, he added: “Give my words to Prince Charles. He has been to our country more than once. If he made such a comparison, it is unacceptable and I am sure he understands that as a man of manners.” Putin said that monarchs are not expected to indulge in such remarks.

British jihadists playing major role in Syrian civil war

London: According to new evidence, British jihadists are playing a major role in the civil war in Syria. In one video posted on YouTube, the British jihad instructor is shown drilling a group of armed men who are dressed in black and resemble ninja fighters. The Briton, aged 23 and said to have been killed earlier this month, boasts: “There is no place better than being out on the battlefield.”

Six die in California shooting

California: Elliot Rodger, 22, a British-born student, killed six people when he went on shooting spree after vowing “retribution” against women at the student quarter of Santa Barbara last week. His aunt said that as a child Rodger was so disturbed that the family thought him mentally ill.

Pope's plea for Middle East peace

Amman (Jordan): Pope Francis during a visit to the Middle East pleaded for peace in the region. Embarking on the first leg of a threeday trip around the Holy Land of Jordan and Israel, the Pontiff rejected the stringent security measures and greeted well-wishers in an open-topped jeep. While praising the peace efforts of Jordan King Abdullah II, Pope Francis said that what was urgently needed was a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria, as well as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Baptist church under police probe

London: Police launched a probe into Attleborough Baptist Church in Norfolk following the appearance of a sign which suggested that non-Christians would burn in hell. Police consider it as a hate incident. The church has been forced to remove the sign after Robert Gladwin, 20 complained to police that it could 'not be further' from the Christian phrase, love thy neighbour. Gladwin said he was 'astounded' when he spotted the poster.

Gunmen attack Indian consulate in Afghanistan

Heart (Afghanistan): The Indian consulate in Herat province in western Afghanistan was attacked by four heavily armed Taliban gunmen, who were later killed in an encounter that lasted several hours. There were injuries to IndoTibetan Border Police and Afghan personnel who repulsed the strike.

Afghan police officials said the gunmen, armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, opened fire on the consulate shortly before dawn from a nearby building.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

One of the gunmen was shot while trying to scale a wall of the consulate. The other three were killed in the adjacent building.

India’s ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha said there were nine Indians in the mission apart from local Afghans at

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the time of the attack.

“They fired a couple of RPG shots. It was dark and they couldn’t verify where it was coming from,” said Sinha.

India has invested over $300 billion in the Salma dam project in the Herat province to generate hydropower. “Our security forces killed all of the bombers, who were attired in suicide vests. Only five of our security personnel were wounded,” the Heart police

Indian dentist in US tries to extract 20 teeth, kills patient

New York: Licence of an Indian dentist was revoked in the US after he attempted to extract 20 teeth from the mouth of a 64-year-old woman in one sitting which led to her death. The dentist, Doctor Rashmi Patel was performing the procedure on Judith Gan on February 17 when she gurgled and lost consciousness.

The procedure included placing implants in the woman’s mouth after removing the teeth, according to reports. The report quoted Patel’s assistant as saying that he had requested him to stop the procedure before calling the emergency services.

“He wanted to complete the placement of implants as the assistant begged Patel to stop working, and finally ran out and called 911, but the patient had already flatlined,” the state Department of Public Health wrote in a report.

“The four count petition found, among an array of other misdeeds, that Patel deviated from standard of care in that he did not timely and properly respond to Gan’s oxygen desaturation and/or respiratory distress and/or cardio-pulmonary distress,” state records reported.

“Gan did not have to die to receive this dental treatment and it is because of Patel’s negligence that she died,” said a dentist who was asked to review the case for the Department of Health. Patel’s license, issued in 2003, was suspended on April 21 pending a June 18 hearing in front of the state dental commission. Patel runs two clinics in Enfield and Torrington.

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WORLD

chief was quoted as saying.

While India attributed the attack to terror elements “beyond the borders” of the war-torn country, Islamabad was quick to condemn the attack saying it was relieved that nobody from the consulate staff was hurt.

“Pakistan condemns the reported attack... and reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all its forms. No cause justifies targeting of diplomatic missions,’’ it said.

23

Cameron govt to reduce army size

London: The Cameron government is planning to reduce the number of army soldiers from 102,000 regulars to 82,000 by the end of the decade, helping to save around £10 billion from defence budget. As a part of the move Britain’s elite rapid reaction defence force is to lose around a third of its troops. The Brigade, which is built around soldiers from the Parachute Regiment, will see half of its regular infantry battalions removed, as well as losing air power, artillery and armoured vehicles.

The move means the brigade, which spearheaded British operations in Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, will be reduced by nearly 3,000 of its 8,000 troops by the end of the year.

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INDIA

24

Karnataka HC rejects Jaya's plea

Bangalore: In a setback to Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the Karnataka high court has dismissed a petition filed by her and her associate Sasikala in the multi-million disproportionate assets case. The plea sought a direction to the special court to decide the claim petitions filed by certain persons regarding

properties attached in the case.

Vacation judge Justice Anand Byrareddy rejected the plea stating the court would not like to interfere with the trial which had reached final stages with the prosecution completing its arguments. The judge also noted that the Karnataka high court cannot become an execution

court to implement the order of the Madras high court and as such the petitioner has appropriate remedies available on this issue in the case after it reaches finality.

Citing the April 2, 2014 order of the Madras high court wherein the attachment orders passed by a Chennai court in 2000 relating to certain proper-

ties in the case came to be set aside, Jayalalithaa had prayed the court to direct the special court to proceed with the final arguments only after deciding the claim applications filed by those companies.

Counsel for the Tamil Nadu's CM submitted that the trial court is not honouring the directions issued by the Madras HC.

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Same-gotra couple hacked to death in Haryana

Chandigarh: A married couple was hacked to death by their family members in Haryana's Karnal district as they were from the same gotra and village. Manoj and Kiran who were killed belonged to the Ahir community. Manoj (21) was the son of daily wager Jwala Singh and was a school dropout working as a labourer in a Karnal factory. Kiran was the eldest of three children of Raghbir Singh and had studied till Class X. Both were allegedly killed by their family members and cremated quietly. Their bodies were reduced to ashes by the time the police reached the spot. Cops faced another hurdle as none of the villagers came forward to get their statements recorded.

Police have started investigations after regis-

tering a case against Raghbir, Jwala and his sons Sanju and Rajesh and their cousin Dharamvir. Confirming it to be a case of honour killing, Indri deputy superintendent of police Baljinder Singh said, "We are hopeful of arresting the accused soon.

Forensic experts and the crime team have collected some samples from the cremation ground to build the prosecution's case.

How the couple was murdered will only come out after the accused are taken into custody."

Preliminary investigations revealed that Manoj and Kiran were having an affair for the past three years but their families opposed the relationship.

They eloped from Behni Kalan but were caught in Kurukshetra by their family members and brought back home.

Amritsar: In the wake of increase in the number of farmer suicide cases from Malwa region, several farm sector organizations have decided to launch an agitation against the government seeking fulfilment of their demands.

General secretary of the Border Area Sangarash Committee Rattan Singh Randhawa said at least 10 such incidents have been reported from Bathinda, Sangrur, Barnala and Mansa districts between April 10 and May 10, forcing the organizations to start a fight for the fulfilment of farmers' demands.

The number of suicides, however, could not be officially confirmed.

Randhawa alleged that the government downplayed the issue and has never given a true picture of the situation. He said in many cases the family members

didn't even report the incident due to social pressure.

The farmer organizations are unhappy with the government scheme of granting Rs 200,000 compensation to the kin of the person who committed suicide. They also want the government to exclude rich farmers from the free electricity scheme. General secretary of BKU Ekta (Ugrahan) Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said, "Rs 200,000 is too little for the family members of the deceased." According to him, one of the major reasons for the farmers committing suicides is harassment by bank employees and money lenders.

"Suicides will never end by arresting farmers, auctioning their properties and humiliating them in public.

It has to be stopped immediately as first preventive measure," he stated.

Farm bodies plan agitation against Punjab govt

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INDIA

25

Anandiben takes oath as the first woman CM of Gujarat

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Mayuri Dave

Gandhinagar: Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel became the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat. 72year-old Patel replaced Narendra Modi, who moved to Delhi for bigger role as the Prime Minister of India.

Anandiben and her team of 20 ministers took oath on Thursday, May 22 in presence of Modi and

other senior BJP leaders at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. The new Gujarat Chief Minister dropped three ministers from the past Modi Cabinet – Parshotam Solanki, Vasan Ahir and Parbat Patel and included four new faces as MoS – Tarachand Chheda, Kanti Gamit, Bachu Khabad and Shanker

The departments allotted to the ministers are as under

Chief Minister Mrs. Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel Portfolio: General Administration, Administrative reforms and training, Industries, Climate Change, Ports, Information Broadcasting, Narmada, Kalpsar, Revenue, Disaster Management, Urban Development, Urban Housing Development, all regulations and the matters which have not allotted to any ministers.

Cabinet Ministers Mr. Nitinkumar Ratilal Patel Portfolio: Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare, Road and Building, Patnagar Yojana, Transport Mr. Ramanlal Ishwarlal Vora Portfolio: Social Justice and Empowerment (welfare to schedule castes, along with socially and educationally backward classes welfare) Mr. Bhupendrasinh Manubha Chudasma Portfolio: Education (Primary, Secondary, Adult), Higher and Technical Education, Food and Civil Supply and Consumer affairs, Science – Technology Mr. Saurabh Patel Portfolio: Finance, Power and Petro-Chemicals, Mines and Minerals, Cottage Industries, Salt Industries, Printing and Stationery Materials, Planning, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Labour and Employment Mr. Ganpatbhai Vestabhai Vasava Portfolio: Forest and Environment, Tribal Development, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Mr. Babubhai Bhimabhai Bokhiriya Portfolio: Water Resources (besides Kalpsar), Water Supply, Agriculture, Co-operative Societies, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Cow Progeny

Ministers of State Mr. Dilipkumar Viraji Thakore Portfolio: Socially and Educationally backward class welfare, Labour and Employment Mrs. Vasuben Narendra Trivedi Portfolio: Women and Child Welfare (Independent charge), Higher and Technical Education Mr. Pradipsinh Bhagvatsingh Jadeja Portfolio: Law and Judiciary System, Religious Places, Pilgrimage, Co-operation of NGO’s, Non Resident Gujaratis, Protocol (all Independent charges), Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Mr. Chhatrasinh Punjabhai Mori Portfolio: Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs Mr. Jaydrathsinhji Chandrasinhji Parmar Portfolio: Road and Building, Patnagar Yojna Mr. Rajnikant Somabhai Patel Portfolio: Home, Police Housing, Border Security, Civil Security, Home Security Force, Village Security Force, Jail, Prohibition, Excise Mr. Govindbhai Ukabhai Patel Portfolio: Agriculture and Water supply, Forest and Environment Mr. Nanubhai Bhagvanbhai Vanani Portfolio: Sports, Youth Cultural Activities (independent charge), Water Resources (besides Kalpsar), Education (Primary, Secondary and Adult) Mr. Jayantibhai Ramjibhai Kavadiya Portfolio: Panchayat, Rural Housing Development and Rural Development (all independent charges) Mr. Shankarbhai Lagdhirbhai Chudhary Portfolio: Health and Family Welfare, Transportatin, Urban Housing Development Mr. Tarachandbhai Jagsibhai Chheda Portfolio: Cottage Industries, Salt Industries and Cow progeny Mr. Jayeshkumar Vitthalbhai Radadiya Portfolio: Tourism, Civil Aviation Mr. Bachubhai Maganbhai Khabad Portfolio: Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Mr. Kantibhai Reshmabhai Gamit Portfolio: Tribal Development

Chaudhry. However, the 15th Chief Minister of Gujarat didn’t make any changes in the core team of Modi – cabinet ministers.

Compared to Modi’s 23 member cabinet, the 72-year-old leader kept her ministry even smaller with just 21 members including. Against 9 Patel ministers in the previous government, Anandiben’s government has eight members from the community in the council of ministers.

The new government has maintained three Kshtriya ministers, one Brahmin, one Dalit but representation of OBC trimmed down from six to four with Modi and former MoS Liladhar Vaghela, both belong to OBC com-

munity, shifted their base to Delhi.

Apart from Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders including Party patriarch LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiya Naydu, Subramaniam Swami, Arjun Munda, Gopinath Munde, Sushma Swaraj, Amit Shah as well as BJP ruled state’s Chief Ministers – Dr. Raman Singh, Shivraj Singh, Vasundhara Raje, Manohar Parikar and NDA ally Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal attended the function.

Besides, Aditya, son of Shivsena Chief Udhdhav Thakre and film actor Vivek Oberoy also remained present.

26

INDIA - UK

40 killed in UP train accident

Lucknow: At least 40 people were killed and over 200 injured when Gorakhpur Express passenger train travelling at high speed from Hisar city to Gorakhpur smashed into a goods train at Chureb station between Basti and Gorakhpur on Monday morning. Six of the bogies on the express train derailed, with one unreserved compartment taking the brunt of the impact and accounting for most of the 40 casualties so far counted, senior police officer Amrendra Sainger said. "It has been reduced to a mangled iron mesh," he said. "We do not know as how many people were there." While the compartment seats 72, such trains are often filled beyond capacity. Villagers were the first to reach the scene after the accident. Most of the victims had been poor farm workers returning to their homes from the neighbouring state of Haryana, local police official Zameer Ahmad said.

The passenger train had left from Haryana's town of Hissar and was just 46 km from its final destination of Gorakhpur when the accident happened.

From a voter of Vadodara: Why I vote and what I expect

Ashwin Sanghvi

It was 30th April 2014. I went for voting for our Lok Ssabha Elections in Vadodara. I have voted in the past for various elections from time to time. However I felt this was a unique election.

We were going to cast our vote for electing “BHARAT BHAGYA VIDHATA”. This was an opportunity for which I can always say in the future with pride that I also contributed in parts for the election of a person who became PM of India. Here is a person in whom millions of Indians have put their faith that he will change the course and bring glory back to India, which it has lost during the last decade.

The tragic part of the story was that here was a PM who was considered to be a Financial Wizard and respected by

the world over for his economical sense of giving solutions to the toughest economical problems. But, he failed in India because of populist policies preferred to be followed by the congress president.

Constitutional Institutions like CAG, CVC, were either ignored or others like CBI were manipulated.

It was a combination of India's honour and his legacy at stake.

The picture of confusion and loss of national interest was clear to all the rational Indians. It was at this time Narendra Modi's speeches at Sri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, and in other parts of India made him look like a saviour in the public eye.

The expectations of the people of India from the new government, led

by Narendra Modi, is tremendous.

• Restoration of faith amongst the people that this govt. means business and no nonsense will be tolerated • Restoration of health of economy and control of the price-line to an affordable level • No victimisation of any individual, not sparing the real culprits • No appeasement of communalism but respect of all.

• Protection of all the Indian citizens abroad, • Ensuring creation of jobs for the unemployed youth These are some of the points, but there is a long long list awaiting him requiring his and his govt.’s attention.

We only wish he will come up to the expectations of the people and may the Almighty help him.

Indians rejoice Modi at the helm

Continued from page 1 A staunch supporter of BJP, Vivek Oberoi was also present at the ceremony.

Vivek has been supporting them all through the election season. Madhur Bhandarkar has been a staunch supporter of Narendra Modi. At the end of the gala event, Madhur Bhandarkar had tweeted, "A BLOCKBUSTER that lived up to d hype & expectation!

Bollywood's cupid cou-

ple, Hema Malini and Dharmendra made a public appearance together.

The duo was present at the prestigious ceremony. The enthusiastic Punjabi of Bollywood, Kirron Kher too was present to witness the moment. Kirron Kher was there along with son Sikander Kher and husband Anupam Kher.

Hrithik Roshan with father Rakesh Roshan, too reportedly attended the function. Veteran actress

Hatch-Match-Dispatch

There are occasion we would like to share with our love ones. Some of them may have moved on. Our address book may not be accurate. Such acquaintance may be from our ancestral home, residence in India or East Africa or some other places we have resided earlier. In the UK. Information regarding Birth of a child, Engagement of family member, Wedding or Sad occasions like Bereavement can be quickly shared through the pages of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

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and now popular on TV actress Poonam Dhillon was also present.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, Narendra Modi assumed charge at South Block office, where he laid rose petals and bowed before a photograph of Mahatma Gandhi. He then sat at his table and signed papers.

Co-incidentally, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s death anniversary was also on May 27th. Hence, his first tweet of the day was a tribute to Nehru.

With his new External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj by his side, later on Modi held a series of meetings with the South Asian leaders at Delhi's Hyderabad House. He met Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Maldives President Yameen Gayoom, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Bhutan Prime

Minister Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius PM Navin Ramgoolam, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala, Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif and Bangladesh Speaker Shirin Chaudhury.

Top four ministers in Modi cabinet are BJP chief Rajnath Singh who is Home Minister and Number 2 in government.

Arun Jaitley has turned out to be important person in the new government with three heavy portfolios of finance, defence and corporate affairs. Other two important ministers are Shusma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari. Modi has kept with him, like some of his predecessors, the portfolios of personnel, public grievances and pensions as well as the departments of atomic energy and space besides any other department not allocated to any minister. He will be in charge of “all important policy issues.”

Icebreaking meet of Indo-Pak PMs

Continued from page 1 and discuss a way forward on talks that have been suspended since January 2013.

Reacting after the meeting, Sharif said, “We agreed that the two Foreign Secretaries would be meeting soon, to review and carry forward our bilateral agenda, in the spirit of our meeting.”

“India and Pakistan require peace to build their economies. This is the time to open ‘a new page’ in bilateral relationship,” said Pakistani premiere adding that his own election and Modi’s recent electoral victory- both came with a clear mandate

and should be a historic opportunity for the countries.

Meanwhile Modi reportedly accepted Sharif’s invitation to visit Pakistan.

However, Foreign Secretary said, “Nothing is fixed.”

Pakistani PM also called on former BJP PM Atal Behari Vajpayee.

India-Pakistan relations took a dip at its worse after hostilities escalated during UPA government’s rule last year after the killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops and series of ceasefire violations.

Both the countries have fought three wars since partition after 1947.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Belated Happy 3rd birthday

Anika Mary James DOB: 14th May 2011 You're a scene stealer, magnificent one!

You're a shining star that's as bright as the sun!

You're cute, huggable, and sweet as can be!

You're super wonderful and that's plain to see!

Belated Happy Birthday Anika Baby.

From Dad, Mom, Jimmy Uncle, Soni Aunty, Grace, Ashley Uncle, Shiny Aunty, Mia, Baboy Uncle, Shiji Aunty, Mariam and Rovin Uncle

In Brief

Probe into Britain First organisation

London: Police have launched an investigation into Britain First organisation after it invaded a mosque and handed over Bibles to Muslims. Religious zealot Jim Dowson is the fonder of the organisation. Britain First is described as a splinter group of the far-right British National Party. The police are investigating over allegations, including public disorder and racial hatred.

State pension less affordable for independent Scotland

London: According to a treasury analysis, state pension would be less affordable in an independent Scotland unless it could attract almost half a million more immigrants. Civil servants have calculated that Scotland would need the population increase over the next 20 years because there are fewer workers north of the Border paying taxes to fund each OAP’s pension.

Bus route 98 scrapped

London: Central Buses has scrapped the busy route 98 after it fell victim to ‘crash for cash’ fraudsters 15 times in two years. The bus company said that they have received 15 insurance claims from people saying they were passengers hurt in a collision that actually involved just four people and none of them was injured. Geoff Cross, managing director of Central Buses, said the company had been forced to axe the 98 route from Small Heath to Ward End in Birmingham because of the so-called cash for crash scam.

Foreign students blamed for public school ‘ghettos’

London: The influx of overseas students into boarding schools in Britain are presenting growing problems for teachers, with “ghettos” forming along race lines while staff increasingly have to contend with “paying customer syndrome.” Teachers reported ghettos of Chinese or Russian children reluctant to mix with other nationalities, while parents of foreign children were more likely to demand miraculous transformations.

Racist couple demanded white doctor

London: It has been revealed that a racist couple has demanded and got their child treated by a white British doctor for more than a year. They don’t want their child to be treated by a black or ethnic doctor. The astonishing case came to light after a doctor, writing in the British Medical Journal, used it as an example of how racism must be confronted.

Coca-Cola’s anti-obesity drive flayed

London: Drinks giant Coca-Cola has come under fire from health campaigners for its anti-obesity drive after contributing to Britain’s obesity epidemic. Dr Aseem Malhotra, cardiologist and science director for the Action on Sugar campaign group, said that this was a really disingenuous stunt. He said they were trying to deflect attention from their own part in creating an obesity epidemic.

Man stabbed wife for hogging bedsheets

London: A retired engineer Derek Miller, 76, tried to kill his wife Galina, 57, after he woke to find her hogging the bedsheets, leaving him with cold feet, a court heard.

Miller dialled 999 after his wife fled from the house. Later he told police that he had to do it as his wife had goaded him for years.

Father reports daughter’s election fraud

London: In a bitter political family feud, a Ukip candidate has reported his own daughter for election fraud. As a result of Malcolm Pritchard’s claims his daughter Clare has been suspended form the Labour party and is being investigated by police. He is trying to oust her from her seat on Hyndburn Council, Lancashire, where she is deputy leader, after she beat him in elections last year.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

HEALTH STOP

Health & Wellness

Drinks that help you lose weight

Combining workout with a healthy diet can help you lose extra pounds.

However, there are some drinks that will speed up the fat burning process quicker. Here are some efficient ones which you can try.

Detox juices Detox juices can be made either entirely out of fruits or vegetables or by combining these two.

Citrus fruits are known to have a powerful detox capability, therefore if you are looking for foods to help you purge all the toxins that have gathered inside you, then you must certainly include them in your detox juice. Highfiber root foods such as ginger, carrots or apples are also highly recommended for these juices.

One eight ounce glass of detox juice per week will certainly keep you healthy.

Vegetable juices The most suitable type of veggies for weight loss is the cruciferous ones.

No matter if you juice them alone or you use them in conjunction with other fruits, these veggies (cabbage, kale, broccoli or cauliflower) will be your

most efficient fat fighting weapon, and there is no better way to keep all the toxins away. Another notable benefit of the vegetable juices is that in addition to helping your body fight free radicals and keeping you healthy, they will also balance the hormone levels in your body and prevent the hormone disruptors from interfering with the normal hormone levels.

Green tea Green tea has numerous benefits, and weight loss is one of them – although green tea alone will only help you lose a few pounds, it will certainly serve as a great addition to your diet in the long haul. Drinking

one cup of tea per day will deliver all the antioxidants you need and it will also help you burn fat at a faster pace, by boosting the metabolism. These teas are perfect for burning more calories as well as for increasing your overall energy levels and for suppressing your appetite. Suppressing the appetite means your food intake will decrease which at the same time boost your energy levels.

Fruit juice – cranberry and pear Fruit juices are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Pear and cranberries are most soughtafter ones given the fact that they contain high amounts of vitamin C.

Not only will the cranberry and pear juice help you lose weight by boosting your metabolism, but it will also increase your overall energy levels. It is a known fact that the cranberry juice is essential for preventing various infection of the bladder.

Pear, on the other hand, add magnesium, potassium as well as phosphorus which are essential for keeping your bones healthy and strong.

Black coffee If consumed with moderation, black coffee can have a plethora of health benefits – not only does it contain antioxidants that fight off free radicals and lower the risk for certain types of cancer, but it can also reduce the risk for diabetes as well as heart disease. At the same time, caffeine is perfect for boosting your metabolism and for increasing the number of calories you have burned. Be careful, though, because if you want to lose weight by relying on black coffee you will have to consume it without any milk or sugar, as any sweetener can increase its calorie count!

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of abnormalities increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels - that occur together, increasing a person's risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

While this stress-junk food pathway has been well mapped out with rodents and primates, this study is the first to suggest the same pathways may be at work in chronically stressed humans, according to the researchers.

The study looked at a group of 61 disease-free women; 33 were chronically stressed women caring for a spouse or parent with dementia, and 28 were women with low stress. Over the course of a year, the women reported their consumption of high sugar, high fat foods.

A bloated stomach can invite many health-related problems. Cutting down on salt intake and focusing on potassium-rich fiber can help in getting a flat stomach, says an expert.

A new book by Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist and founder of the Digestive Centre for Women in Washington D.C., suggests that women have a tendency to bloat more than men mainly because they have longer intestines. Chutkan says that there are major differences between the male and female digestive tracts. So, to shrink the stomach size, a few precautions must be taken.

Cut down on salt: Too much salt in the diet contributes to bloating. Stick to the recommended 1,500 mg of salt intake a day.

Don't put salt on the table to add to your dinner and limit the amount whilst cooking. Avoiding ready meals is a must too as these are laden with salt for flavour. Eat more fiber: Eating a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber is an effective way to stay fit and avoid the bloated feeling that comes with constipation. Foods that are rich in fiber include oranges, mushrooms, raspberries, broccoli and cabbage. Focus on potassiumrich foods: As sodium

makes body retain water, potassium helps it to get rid of excess water. Eating potassium-rich foods like bananas and sweet potatoes can help minimise your middle waist. But make sure to exercise right as these can be fattening too.

Stay hydrated: Drinking enough water ensures that fibre can do its job to ease constipation too. Not drinking enough water can also aggravate your sodium and potassium levels.

Avoid digestive stress: Stay away from foods that are difficult to digest like sugary or fatty foods.

Focus instead on simple meals what are made with whole foods and steamed vegetables to heal digestive system. Ditch artificial sweeteners: Found in flavoured water, diet, lowcarbs and sugar-free foods, artificial sweeteners aren't completely digested by body. Bacteria in the large intestine tend to ferment them, causing gas and bloating. Always check food labels to avoid sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and lacitol.

Stress eating leads to health risks

Researchers have showed that highly stressed people who eat a lot of high-fat, high-sugar food are more prone to health risks than low-stress people who eat the same amount of unhealthy food.

Kirstin Aschbacher, PhD, an assistant professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and lead author, said chronic stress can play an important role in influencing biology, and it's critical to understand the exact pathways through which it works. She said that many people think a calorie is a calorie, but this study suggests that two women who eat the same thing could have different metabolic responses based on their level of stress.

Aschbacher said there appears to be a stress pathway that works through diet - for example, it could be similar to what we see in animals, where fat cells grow faster in response to junk food when the body is chronically stressed.

To Our Readers

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

Cut down salt intake for flat stomach

27

Menopause and Hair Loss-don’t lose your head

Ravi Bhanot

JP MRPharmS Dip(Nutr) Dip(Hom) Dip(Ayurv) Dip(Stress Manag) Dip (Massage) Pharmacist, Ayurvedic, Complementary Health and Nutrition Consultant, Lecturer, Researcher and Author. He is a celebrity columnist for many magazines and is Director of The Ayurveda Institute of Europe and Coolherbals Ltd.

Ravi Bhanot author of Hair Today…Hair Tomorrow created the Nutrigro® Hair Plan and explains how this can help Every woman experiences different menopause symptoms. Many women have some hot flushes, some have hair thinning or hair falling and some feel irritable, suffer from headaches, nausea or night sweats. Try our Nutrigro Plan – to help symptoms.

N – nutrition U - use non harsh hair products which do not have sodium lauryl sulphate (which causes irritation in some) and have traditionally useful herbs for healthy hair such as fenugreek (methi) and amla T – train or exercise daily to improve blood circulation to the head R – routinely remove toxins from your body through ayurvedic or Swedish massage scraping the tongue every morning and night, exercise etc I - Imagine the hair you want. Research shows there is more chance of having the hair you desire if you can imagine how you want it to look.

GRO - this gives the growth of existing hair Nutritionally we would recommend you increase oestrogen rich foods and reduce intake of what we call Pitta foods.

In Ayurveda we say there are three energies in the body – vata, pitta and kapha. The pitta energy adds heat and an imbalance in the scalp can cause hair loss and hair thinning.

Pitta reducing foods include salads, less spicy foods and vegetables.

Email ravi@coolherbals.com or ring me for a diet sheet.

Oestrogen rich foods are: 1. Tofu, Soy Fruits and Vegetables Some fruits and vegetables have phytoestrogens - plant chemicals that are very similar in structure to oestrogen, and may act as weak oestrogen in our bodies. The mineral boron holds the body’s ability to hold onto oestrogen. Eat more plums, prunes, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, pears, grapes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce and onions.

2. Eat Beans and Flax Seeds Beans and Flax seeds contain phytoestrogens and are a good source of many vitamins and minerals, including calcium, folic acid and vitamin B6.

Sprinkle beans on your salads. Take ¼ to 1 teaspoonful daily.

The body tends to lose protein or collagen causing the hair to fall or become thinner.

Supplement your protein with omega rich fish.

However if you are on a vegetarian diet have plenty of pulses and nuts.

Alternatively you could give hair food to your hair and hair follicles through hair supplements.

Ensure they have all the 22 amino acids that make protein, vitamins, minerals and botanicals such as amla and fenugreek in them.

If you are like Ella from Leicester, who rang us after reading our previous hair loss article, and have hair just dropping when you have a shower or on your pillow it may be that you need to strengthen the hold of the hair to the follicle. This you can do this through the latest technique that we have developed called the Nutrigro Hair Thinning kit. Simply roll a scalp roller with small 0.3mm pins along the areas of hair thinning. This will cause small temporary holes to be created and allow the Nutrigro serum to get to the follicles rather than just working on the scalp as most hair products do.

For more information contact us.

HAIR LOSS or HAIR THINNING?

Coolherbals Ltd. 386 Green Lane, Ilford, Essex, IG3 9JU

www.coolherbals.com

Tel: 020 8597 9039 Email: ravi@coolherbals.com

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

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alki's untitled film, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush and Kamal Haasan's younger daughter Akshara, has its shooting going on in full swing. Recently the National award winning actor Dhanush revealed some interesting details about the most expected Indian film of the year. Dhanush, who is doing his second Bollywood flick

Alia Bhatt to act in a Tamil movie?

I

f all goes well, director GNR Kumaravelan, whose “Haridas” was critically acclaimed, could get actress Alia Bhatt to star in his next Tamil film, which features actor Vikram Prabhu in the lead.

Says GNR Kumaravelan, "I have an intention to cast a heroine from the north. I have personally approached Alia Bhatt for my film and there are positive signs.

However, nothing has been decided yet. We should be able to make an announcement on this issue as soon as the producers for the film are finalized."

Kumaravelan's untitled film was to be originally produced by Chain Raaj Jain. However, the director has now decided to opt for another producer as he says he wants to take the project to the next level. "All I can say is that both Vikram Prabhu and I are absolutely certain that this film will take us to the next level. I waited for a year after ‘Haridas’ to do this film because I was sure right from the start that there can be no one better suited to do this character than Vikram Prabhu," says Kumaravelan.

While the director is tight-lipped about the plot of his film, sources in the industry say that the film is based on India's armed forces. Says a source in the know, "Vikram Prabhu plays a Border Security Force (BSF) officer in the film, which is about how a person, who is not patriotic, undergoes a transformation."

post 'Raanjhnaa', has revealed in his micro blogging page that the

50% of the shooting of Balki's film has been completed. He has also expressed that he is at loss of words to describe the amazement of working with the senior Bachchan.

Dhanush reportedly plays a speech impaired aspiring actor in this one. The film has music score by Ilaiyaraja and veteran cinematographer P C Sreeram handles the camera.

Awards galore for 'Raja Rani'

D

irector Atlee's debut film “Raja Rani” was one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of 2013. The film that had Arya, Nayanthara, Jai and Nazriya in lead roles was dubbed in Telugu recently. The film that had equal dosage of romance, emotions and comedy, has been receiving many awards.

In the prestigious Edison Awards ceremony Nayanthara received the Best Actress award for her performance, Atlee received

the 'Best Debut Film Director' award and G V Prakash received the award for Best Background Score' for the Fox Star Studios and A R Murugadoss Production venture. The film also received the 'Most Popular'

T

film of 2013 in the recently concluded Norway Film Festival. It has also received the award for the 'Best Film' (People's choice) in the 'Golisoda Cine Awards' instituted by a famous FM channel.

Simbu and Nayanthara back together soon

he shoot of the Simbu - Pandiraj film, tentatively titled “Idhu Namma Aalu,” is set to resume towards this month-end, as per the team's plan. Till date, about 60 to 70% of the film has been completed, and this comprises talkie portions. The 4 songs in the film are yet to be shot.

Simbu's younger brother Kural is in charge of the music and a lot is expected out of his debut. The film has been hot in the public eye,

‘Kuku Mathur Ki Jhand Ho ‘CityLights’ Gayi’

It is a come d y , romance, drama film directed by A m a n Sachdeva and produced by E k t a Kapoor & B e j o y N a m b i a r.

The film's quirky title has been chosen through a survey by the youth of Delhi. While deciding on its title, the makers took inputs from Delhi students from various colleges. "We zeroed in on the word 'jhand', which is very popular in the city.

The word describes the hilarious crisis situation that the actor is in," Bejoy Nambiar said in a statement. The leading actors are Siddharth Gupta, Simran Kaur Mundi and Siddharth Bhardwaj.

Amitabh makes Dhanush speechless

It is an upcoming H i n d i drama film directed by H a n s a l Mehta starr i n g Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha in the lead roles. The film is a remake of the BAFTA nominated British film “Metro Manila” (2013).

The film is presented by Fox Star Studios in association with Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. The story is about a poor farmer from Rajasthan coming to Mumbai in search of livelihood. However, upon arrival, he soon discovers the challenges of life in a big city.

Kangna opts out of Sujoy Ghosh’s film

B

ollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who had replaced Vidya Balan in Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Durga Rani Singh’, has reportedly walked out of the film. According to reports, after the success of her film ‘Queen’, Kangna wants to take things slow.

Reports have it that Sujoy is now in talks with Kareena Kapoor for the role. Kangna, who was supposed to play the role of a 35 year old mother to a 14 year old paralytic girl, has apparently got her hands full with other films. Besides Karan Johar’s “Ungli,” she will also be seen in Sai Kabir’s “Divine Lovers.”

thanks primarily to the involvement of Nayanthara and of course her pairing with Simbu after many years. The two stars have been seen of late bonding like good old friends at private gatherings, such as the recent Trisha birthday party. Their fans are mighty eager to see them back together on screen.

Farhan crosses 3 mn followers on Twitter

A

ctor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar has garnered three million followers on social networking site Twitter. The 40-year-old actor took to Twitter to express his gratitude to fans. “Three times a millionaire on Twitter followers today… The riches of love cannot be outdone nor taken for granted.

Thank you all,” Farhan tweeted.

29

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Bollywood beauties dazzle at Cannes B

ollywood beauties like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Freida Pinto and Mallika Sherawat have grabbed all attention while walking the red carpet at Cannes 2014.

Aishwarya stuns at her first appearance on the red carpet in a golden Roberto Cavalli Fishtail Gown. The actress is not only back in shape and has flaunted her sexy figure but has even silenced the critics who condemned her for her weight gain post the pregnancy.

Fashionista Sonam Kapoor looked stylish in black Ellie Saab Couture Gown on day 5. On day 6, she poses in pale pink Anamika Khanna sari dress.

“Slumdog Millionaire” actress Freida Pinto looked beautiful in Oscar de la Renta couture gown.

Mallika Sherawat looks sensuous as she poses in white traditional outfit.

Aishwarya's look left her husband and actor Abhishek Bachchan's "eyes wide open". Her look in the gold gown and the confidence she exudes in it, has been widely appreciated on social networking platforms. The former beauty queen has been attending the Cannes gala for over a decade, and more often than not, she has invited flak for her choice of dresses.

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‘CityLights’ moves Alia to tears

A

ctress Alia Bhatt was moved to tears after watching Hansal Mehta’s ‘CityLights’ and could not stop praising lead actors Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha for their brilliant performance.

‘CityLights’ is a drama presented by Fox Star Studios in association with Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. Recently, Alia hosted a special screening of her father’s upcoming home production for her family and friends. “After watching the film, I was speechless. It was outstanding. We already have a

national award winner, Rajkummar Rao in the film. But Patralekha… this is her debut film and she has acted so well which I don’t think I can ever touch upon,” Alia said in a statement.

Alia was in for a complete surprise and was awestruck by the performance of both the actors in the film. “After ‘Highway’, I always used to see if people have tears in their eyes.

Then I think that the movie is a hit. I came out crying of the theatre, so the director was very happy,” she said.

Shah Rukh second richest actor in the world

ollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has emerged as the second richest actor in the combined list of both Bollywood and Hollywood. Wealth-X's combined rich list puts comedian Jerry Seinfeld right on top of the rich list with an estimated net worth $ 820 million.

Shah Rukh Khan was the only Indian actor in the top 10 list. Khan was found to be richer than Hollywood giants like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood or Adam Sandler.

Wealth X said "Khan is estimated to be worth $600 million. Immensely popular around the globe as well as in

his home country, India, Khan is also a producer, TV host, coowner of an Indian cricket club and a philanthropist. He has appeared in more than 50 Bollywood films and is a regular at the annual Cannes Film Festival".

Tom Cruise is the third richest actor worth $480 million followed by Johny Depp and Tyler Perry both tied at $ 450 million.

One more porn star Ranbir learns boxing making Bollywood debut for ‘Bombay Velvet’

O

ne more porn star S h a n t i Dynamite – is making her Bollywood debt soon. The starlet will be seen in producer Rupesh Paul's next, which is touted to be a combination of a gangster, erotica as well as horror movie. Rupesh said that they auditioned a number of girls for three nonIndian characters. It was then that they bumped into Shanti. Adding that he had read about her somewhere saying that she would like to work with Ekta Kapoor, he immediately signed her for the movie. She will be playing one of the three main lead actresses in the movie.

B

o x i n g seems to be the flavour of the season in Bollywood.

Priyanka Chopra has been doing it to prepare for the biopic on pugilist Mary Kom. Recently, Sonakshi Sinha, too, did some training in boxing since her role in an upcoming Akshay Kumar-starrer is supposedly modelled on Laila Ali (boxer, and the legendary Muhammad Ali’s daughter). The latest entrant in the ring is Ranbir Kapoor. It has been reported r that Ranbir Kapoor has been training in Mixed Martial Arts for his upcoming Anurag Kashyap directorial “Bombay Velvet.”

Salman planning a sports film?

B

ollywood star Salman Khan is planning to produce a film based sports, reports said. The film will probably be directed by his good friend actor-director Puneet Issar.

Puneet had directed Salman in 2004 film “Garv - Pride And Honour.” The film will be written by Sanjeev Dutta, who penned for popular films like “Heropanti,” “Barfi!,” “Yaariyan,” “Life in a Metro,” Page 3” and “Kites” in the past. "Yes, I just met Salman and he is planning to do a sports-based film." However, Dutta refused to divulge anything further.

Sonam ready for gay Bollywood film

B

ollywood star Sonam Kapoor says that it is time to explore the possibility of a gay love story in Bollywood.

In an interview, she lamented India’s laws on homosexuality. Sonam believes if gays are depicted on film, it could help bring change in India. “I think movies can influence the way people think sometimes and if we do start making love stories or we start making movies about people who are amazing human beings, people who have done something in life, people who are inspirational who aren’t necessarily only straight, I think people will start appreciating them more,” she said.

30

UK

Anand Mela 2014

After last years tremendous success, Anand Mela is here again with its unmatched entertainment, shopping facilities and food stalls. Attended by more than 5000 people over 2 days, all the Mela proceedings through ticket selling will go to this year's charity Shishukunj, a registered charity run entirely by the youth, for the youth.

The Mela is taking place on Saturday 7th June and Sunday 8th June 2014 at Harrow Leisure Centre and is set to be the biggest yet.

Whether you're looking for a fun family day out, an avid entertainment enthusiast or want to do some serious shopping, the mela is the place to be! Over 80 stalls will come together under one roof, from fashion designers, jewellery, hair & makeup artists, henna artists, health experts, caterers and many more. There is also some excellent entertainment lined up including performances from celebrities like Navin Kundra, Honey's Dance Academy, Meera's Academy, AK Bollywood Dance, Kishan Amin, Hemina Shah, Mehi, Adil Hashmi and Rekha Sawhney, as well as a number of other talented artists, performers, and comedians.

The Affordable Indian Property Show Harrow 2014, hosted by Indiabulls Housing finance Ltd. and Asset India will also be taking place. The event is for the benefit of NRIs, PIOs and OCIs and will be open to all the public from 10am to 7pm. The exhibition is the first of its kind to focus on an affordable range of properties by renowned developers from Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Anand, Vadodara, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR, Goa, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai. There will also be various contests including free tickets to India for visitor’s registration at the venue.

Coming Events

l Monday 2nd June 2014 – Exhibition: At War with the obvious by Anita Ahuja from 6.15pm at The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London W1K 1HF. Contact: 020 7491 3567 l Wednesday 4th June 2014 – Dance: Kalarianjali

by Koushiki Saha from 6.30pm at The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London W1K 1HF. Contact: 020 7491 3567. l Sunday 8th June 2014 – Indo-UK Theatre Arts presents A Gujlish Drama 'Vahali Aavi Sapna Lavi' at 2.30pm at The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Mitcham Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 3AS. Contact: 07960 946 285. l Monday 9th June 2014 – Exhibition: Alabhyam

by Ruju Parikh Jotani from 6.15pm at at The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London W1K 1HF. Contact: 020 7491 3567 Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Editorial Executive: Tanveer Mann Tel: 020 7749 4010 - Email: tanveer.mann@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter Chief Operating Officer: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 Email: george@abplgroup.com Chief Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 Mobile: 07875 229 220 Email: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com Chief Accountant: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Business Manager: Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 151 893 Email: alka.shah@abplgroup.com Advertising Manager: Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07875 229 088 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Business Development Managers: Rovin J George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219 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 (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad.

Tel / Fax: +91 79 2646 5960 Bureau Chief: Nilesh Parmar (M) +91 94266 36912 Email: nilesh.parmar@abplgroup.com

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Kick It Out commemorates 20 years of campaigning against discrimination in football There is a definite expansive trend where money is concerned, so do not be surprised if this turns out be a time of fortunate opportunities and lucky breaks. Keep your assertive inclination under control as conflict and disagreement could be sparked off by your short-sightedness. Think carefully about the implications of your actions.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

Brendon Batson, Martin Luther King 111, Cyrille Regis, Luther Blisset and Mike Patel

Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister of Britain, and Jeffrey Webb, Chairman of FIFA's Taskforce Against Racism and Discrimination gathered to show their appreciation for the 20 years of campaign work undertaken by 'Kick It Out' to tackle racism and discrimination in football at Wembley Stadium.

The dinner event organised by 'Support for charity' to round off Kick It Out's inaugural 'Season of Action' profiled some of the prominent and respected individuals who have challenged exclusion and hatred in the game.

Lord Herman Ouseley, the founder of Kick It Out, addressed the event, emphasising the importance of personal, professional, corporate and moral leadership and responsibility from the powerful decision-makers n football if equality, diversity and inclusion are to be achieved.

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Middlesborough, Rotherham United, Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur showed their support by being represented at the dinner. A specially developed accolade, entitled the 'Laurie Cunningham award,' was presented on the evening by Laurie's former Best Bromwich Albion team-mates Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis.

The event also comprised of an exclusive screening of a 20 year anniversary film about the history of Kick It Out, coproduced by Ivor Baddiel and Meriel Beale and a panel discussion hosted

by Garth Crooks with Gordon Taylor and David Davies, who were key supporters of the campaign named 'Let's Kick racism Out of Football' back in 1993.

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You have everything to gain by following creative inclinations. If you have new ideas, now is the time to put them into practice.

Whatever your present interests you are likely to find that new doors open and the way ahead offers increased scope for expressing your real self. A great time to meet and interact with people.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 You could work with someone on a project that calls for clear communication and a high degree of cooperation. You may also find yourself thinking deeply about what it is you really want to do, and who you really want to be with. The decisions you make now will be important for the path you take.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 Your thinking is inspired, so listen to your thoughts. This may be a time of expansion and improved opportunity and it would be unwise to let yourself become complacent.

A good time for restructuring and rethinking your aims and interests. Affairs of the heart are likely to flourish.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

You should enjoy a very popular phase in your life where everyone wants to invite you to parties. This will give you a chance to meet people of your own calibre and pursue any romantic liaisons that might present themselves.

Your career is going from strength to strength - take advantage of this phase.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

You will be pleased to see that your social life livens up during this week. Its influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve positive results in anything that requires drive and initiative. If you are involved in a fairly competitive field of activity, you will come out on top.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Extra energy and drive will serve you well in getting things accomplished. There appears to be a more successful trend coming into effect. Amorous affairs continue to be highlighted - whether or not this leads to a lasting relationship depends much on your own personal maturity and circumstances.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 The outlook remains optimistic as developments bring you a sense of real achievement. Relationships look great as Venus and Mars help to enhance your personal magnetism and put you in a gregarious mood. Venus, the planet of love and romance throws a pleasing light on love and creativity, make the most of this phase.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

You have been feeling disconnected for some time and this will be the week you will finally feel a sense of grounding. If unclear about what path to take you will soon realize exactly what you must do to fulfill your plans. Financially you will implement your plans to bring in the cash.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

It's time when experience will enable you to enrich your inner mind and personality. You are moving into a new phase of life which will bring wider scope for developing your unique qualities and talents. You are likely to move around more than usual. Life will become very lively and there will be a lot of social interactions.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

The pace of everyday life will gather momentum and there may be times when you find it hard to keep your act together. Any obstacles that have stood in the way of your heart's desires should melt into the background soon. Your self-confidence will be extremely high and this will be helped by various encouraging events.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

There seems to be some pressure on financial affairs and maybe a problem to contend with in regard to a joint venture. If you feel that something has been hanging in the balance, whatever happens you will get a clearer picture of the situation eventually. Allow matters to ride as impatience will not give you the whole picture.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

ECB plans better engagement with the Asian community

Rupanjana Dutta

Isa Guha, the international cricketer while talking to Matt Floyd, the half Indian Skysports presenter and a cricketer, at an ECB press conference said she really hoped that the Indian Premier League could have more English players. Currently a presenter at the Itv4 for IPL, Isa thinks being a cricketer and presenter both have its own challenges and perks. The conference was held at the Lords, in presence first British Pakistani cricketers Wasim Khan MBE. The ethnic media was invited by the ECB to spread word about the opportunities available to British South Asians in English cricket, encouraging more and more of them to join grassroots cricket, not just as players but also as volunteers, coaches, umpires, scorers or simply as supporters of one's local team. This event was a part of ECB's wider efforts to engage with South Asian communities in this country ahead of the Sri Lankan and Indian tours in England.

Discussing the importance of why South Asian communities are so

important to ECB, Mike Gatting, ECB's Managing Director-Cricket Partnerships said, “We want to provide increased opportunities for South Asian cricketers to play the game, create better facilities and establish stronger links between schools and community clubs/teams-building on the great work which is being done by two initiatives overseen by The Cricket Foundation: the Chance to Shine project.

The project has introduced cricket to more than 2 million children in state schools and Street Chance, an initiative aimed at urban areas where grass pitches are at a premium and the game is less accessible.”

Wasim Khan and

Mark Ramprakash both talked about the talent pool available in the Asian community.

Though they were happy that Asian participations in cricket has come a long way since their childhood days, they emphasised that more had to be done to encourage them to join professional cricket or continue to train and participate, as well as better facilities needed to be made available to local and amateur cricketers.

To this, Isa Guha added that girls who wish to be cricketers, must go for it.

“There is nothing wrong in being a bit of a tomboy.”

Last year, the ECB conducted a more comprehensive in-depth study of the grassroots partici-

pation to date - a national cricket playing survey, which attracted more than 21,000 responses from amateur cricketers nationwide. The study also reconfirmed studies

by Sport England; that one in three participants in their amateur game are from ethnic minorities - a significant proportion of overall playing base of nearly 1 million adults and children. It has promoted cricket participation in five target cities with large Asian settlements including London, Leicester, Bradford, Birmingham and Leeds.

Last year it launched the Ashes Schools Challenge, which reached more than 75,000 children in 2,500 primary schools nationwide and integrated cricket into the curriculum for the first time.

The ECB will be undertaking the National Cricket Playing survey this summer and is urging more and more Asians to participate, so that they can get the fullest possible picture of South Asian cricketers' views on all aspects of their recreational games. The ECB believes that there is no room for complacency and they need to keep investing in cricket at grassroots level.

SPORT WORLD

31

Lou Vincent, Naved Arif charged with match-fixing

The England and Wales Cricket Board charged Lou Vincent and his former Sussex team-mate Naved Arif with fixing the outcome of a county cricket match. The pair has been issued with a combined total of 20 charges, following revelation last

week that Vincent had given anti-corruption detectives a wealth of details about fixing across the cricketing world.

If the players are found guilty they face lifetime bans from the sport, and the CB40 match between Sussex and Kent played at Hove in August 2011 will go down in sporting ignominy as the first proven case of the result of a county match being fixed.

Vincent, the former New Zealand batsman who has already confessed to fixing, and Arif, a Pakistani living in Manchester, have been

immediately suspended from any involvement in cricket, either playing or coaching.

“Both players have been provisionally suspended from all cricketing activities organised, authorised or supported by the ECB, ICC, any other National C r i c k e t Federation and any member of any other National Cricket Federation,” the ECB said in a statement. Paul Downton, the managing director of England cricket, said the ECB was investigating several other matches which have been linked to corruption.

Downton said: “I think Chris Watts of Access [the ECB’s anticorruption department] is aware of something like five matches in the last six years in England where there has been suspicion.

It’s an enormous concern – match-fixing is potentially a cancer for any sport.” Downton added he did not feel fixing in English cricket was “widespread”.

Vincent is charged with 14 offences in relation to two county matches he played for Sussex.

SPORT

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 31st May 2014

Mumbai Indians qualify for IPL play-offs They scored 190 in 14.4 overs against Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Indians made it to the play-offs of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a sensational five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals, thanks to a match-winning unbeaten 95 by Corey Anderson at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Coming into the match, Rajasthan Royals had a better chance of making it to the play-offs and their batsmen did well to post a challenging 189 for four in 20 overs.

The odds were high for Mumbai Indians as they needed just 87 balls to achieve the target and make the play-offs. And they did exactly what was needed with Anderson scoring a whirlwind unbeaten 95 off

44 balls that was studded with nine fours and six sixes.

With the scores tied at 189, Ambati Rayudu, who played an exception 10-ball 30, departed after a run out.

In the next ball, which was perhaps the last ball for the hosts to qualify, Aditya Tare

IPL 2014 Points Table (25 / 05 / 2014)

Teams KXIP KKR CSK MI RR SRH RCB DD

Match 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

Won 11 9 9 7 7 6 5 2

Lost 3 5 5 7 7 8 9 12

Tied 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NRR 0.97 0.42 0.39 0.1 0.06 -0.4 -0.43 -1.18

Points 22 18 18 14 14 12 10 4

hoisted a full toss from James Faulkner over square leg as Mumbai Indians made 195 from 14.4 overs.

With the win, Mumbai edged out Rajasthan Royals as the fourth team in the play-offs on the basis of a better run rate.

Mumbai Indians will now face Chennai Super Kings in the eliminator while Kings XI Punjab will face Kolkata Knigt Riders in the first qualifier.

For the defending champions, it was a great turnaround after having lost all their five matches in the UAE-leg of the IPL. It was also a tragic end for Rajasthan Royals as they

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started off well but lost the plot in the home stretch with three consecutive defeats. On Sunday, they put on an impressive power-packed batting performance with Sanju Samson (74) and Karun Nair (50) leading the way with their century-run stand for the second wicket.

It was some clean hitting by the two youngsters that frustrated the Mumbai Indians bowlers. Samson continued his good form and hit seven fours and three sixes in his 47-ball knock. Nair smashed seven fours and two sixes in his 27-ball stay. They laid the foundation of a late onslaught by Brad Hodge (29 not out) and Faulkner (23).

Realising that they have only 87 runs and have to score at 13.2 runs per over, Munmbai Indians openers Lendl Simmons (12) and Mike Hussey (22) went all guns blazing right from the first ball. But it was Anderson's dashing knock that paved the way for an improbable win. Anderson, who otherwise had an unimpressive outing till now, performed when it mattered the most.

The Kiwi smacked Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Watson for 15 runs in the third over hitting two fours and a six. With wickets falling at the other end, Anderson went on his business as usual. He got good support from Rayudu, who hit five four a six from the 10 balls he faced.

With Mumbai needing two of one ball, Rayudu was run out while attempting a tight second and then in the next ball Tare took the team home safely with a six.

IPL Results of 11 matches played from 20th to 25th May

Date

Teams

20 May RCB v/s SRH at Hyderabad SRH won by 7 wickets Brief scores: SRH 161/3 (19.4 overs); RCB 160/6 (20 overs) 20 May CSK v/s KKR at Kolkata KKR won by 8 wickets Brief scores: KKR 156/2 (18 overs); CSK 154/4 (20 overs) 21 May KXIP v/s MI at Mohali MI won by 7 wickets Brief scores: MI 159/3 (19 overs); KXIP 156/8 (20 overs) 22 May KKR v/s RCB at Kolkata KKR won by 30 runs Brief scores: KKR 195/4 (20 overs); MI 165/5 (20 overs) 22 May CSK v/s SRH at Ranchi SRH won by 6 wickets Brief scores: SRH 189/4 (19.4 overs); CSK 185/3 (20 overs) 23 May MI v/s DD at Mumbai MI won by 15 runs Brief scores: MI 173/10 (19.3 overs); DD 158/4 (20 overs) 23 May KXIP v/s RR at Mohali KXIP won by 16 runs Brief scores: KXIP 179/4 (20 overs); RR 163/8 (20 overs) 24 May RCB v/s CSK at Bangalore CSK won by 8 wickets Brief scores: CSK 160/2 (17.4 overs); RCB 154/6 (20 overs) 24 May SRH v/s KKR at Kolkata KKR won by 4 wickets Brief scores: KKR 161/6 (14.2 overs); DD 160/7 (20 overs) 25 May DD v/s KXIP at Mohali KXIP won by 7 wickets Brief scores: KXIP 119/3 (13.5 overs); DD 115/10 (18.1 overs) 25 May RR v/s MI at Mumbai MI won by 5 wickets Brief scores: MI 195/5 (14.4 overs); RR 189/4 (20 overs)

Bal Gopal Foundation organises golf tournament

Bal Gopal Foundation, a charitable trust, has organised their annual golf tournament at the Grimsdkye Golf Club, Harrow on Sunday, 18th May, where around 48 golfers and over 60 guests from UK attended.

This event was to help raise funds for building a school in Sastapura near Nadiad, India. The foundation has taken over the dilapidated school building and is planning to construct a new one in its place and to provide free education to the children of the school.

The winner of the men’s tournament was Rajesh Amin and women’s Rekha Patel.

Later each person who attended the tournament was presented with a commemorative medal to mark the event. Slide shows were organised depicting photos of the school and children that the foundation supports, along with photos of past events and sponsors of the tournament.

The foundation was

able to raise over £10,000 through donations, sponsorship and from participants and supporters. The foundation is now planning to organise its annual cricket tournament and fun day on 24th August 2014 at the Lohana Cricket Club, Bridle Way, Off Headstone Lane, Hatch End, Middlesex, HA6 6NG.