AV 6th december 2014

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First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe

Maoists kill 14 CRPF men in Chhattisgarh See Page 25

Modi, Sharif break ice with handshake in Nepal See Page 26

Battle to honour beloved fighter hero See Page 16

VOL 43. ISSUE 30

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

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6th December to 12th December 2014

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Changing face of India

Sri Lanka candidate vows to scrap presidential system

Maithripala Sirisena

Former Sri Lankan health minister Maithripala Sirisena on Monday signed an agreement with opposition parties, trade unions and professional groups to scrap the country's powerful Continued on page 17

Indian fighter pilot's statue unveiled in Kent was unveiled in On Friday 28th Gravesend, Kent.

November, at a It was the first memorial funcever such memotion to honour rial to an Indian Indian fighter war hero in pilot Squadron Europe. leader Mohinder Pujji was Singh Pujji's conamong the 24 offitributions in cers from Indian World War II, a statue of him Continued on page 16

Brave sisters thrash molesters on a moving bus in Haryana

In a rare case, two sisters had shown indomitable courage and bravery by opposing the misdemeanour of three youth who tried to "molest" them in a moving bus of Haryana Roadways at Rohtak. The Haryana government, meanwhile, announced that it would honour them with cash awards on the Republic Day. Taking serious note of the incident, the state government has asked director general of police (DGP) and the transport department to take steps for ensuring safety and security of passengers, especially women, travelling in the Haryana road-

ways buses. The bus drivers and conductors have also been directed to make sure that such incidents do not occur in future, it said.

All the three accused identified as Kuldeep, Mohit and Deepak - have been arrested. Two of the molesters are aspirants to

Haryana government to honour them on Republic Day

join Indian Army and the third is a college student.

The driver and the conductor have been suspended for failing to stop the molestation.

A case under section 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage woman's modesty) and section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against them.

In a rare show of courage, the two sisters thrashed the three men inside a bus in Haryana's Rohtak town, even as passengers chose to look the other way. Both sisters confronted the accused and mustered enough Continued on page 17

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Dhiru Galani, President of the Navnat Vanik Association

Dhiru Galani was born in Mombasa, Kenya in 1947. He studied engineering in Poona, India. Than he came back to Kenya where he worked as teacher. Few years later he moved to the UK where in 1974 he got married. Mr Galani worked for Osram, a subsidiary of Siemens, and in various roles including research and development and technical support for lighting solutions. He retired two years ago and from that time he focused on serving local Indian community. Mr Galani have three daughters who have all graduated from University.

1) What is your current position?

I am 67, retired, and now the President of the Navnat Vanik Association, which is a registered charity. We have a large 18-acre estate in Hayes. Our name “Navnat� is made up of two words ‘Nav’ and ‘Nat’, which means nine communities.

Vanik is a reference to our heritage as traders, merchants and people involved in agriculture under India’s traditional caste system (which we no longer strictly observe). The roots of our organisation come from Mombasa, Kenya where there were nine small communities – each too small on their own to make a difference.

Today our 4,000 plus community members in the United Kingdom hail from East Africa, Sudan, Zambia and India.

Our organisation primarily aims to bring together people who share a similar heritage and to host various religious, cultural and community events. Every year we donate between ÂŁ20,000 and ÂŁ40,000 to charities in the UK and India. Our charity name is “Jiv Dayaâ€? -- the rough translation means a compassion for all living beings in the form of shel-

ter, food, medicine and education.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

My proudest achievement within our community network is probably teaching people over the age of 70 years old how to use computers, to surf the web, and to send a basic email. We built a library and a computer room at our community Centre in order to facilitate this training. I find teaching people how to be computer literate is really important especially in the modern age where technology can divide people unless they embrace it.

3) What inspires you?

My three grown-up children and my extremely patient wife also inspire me to be a better person. I consider my eldest brother who selflessly raised me and sadly passed away many years ago to be one of my biggest inspirations.

On Saturday early mornings I visit Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, sit down cross-legged in the temple, close my eyes. Any problems I have gradually appear to be distant. I often seek advice from our elders and sadhus (priests) at Mandir.

I am inspired by people

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who do not cut corners and do things properly the first time around that can be a plumber or a politician I’ve learnt in my life that it costs more to rectify a fault than to do it properly the first time.

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

I consider my career now to be my community work. My background in engineering drilled into me the methodical way of thinking. When I first joined the board of our organization some years ago I found it very hard to get used to a less straight-talking way of working. I used to answer people quite abruptly. I have since learnt to be more patient, occasionally to bite my tongue, and smile even when I don’t always

agree. Every company, community, and family has petty politics.

The challenge is to rise above this and not allow natural such things to hinder progress or relationships.

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

World leaders like M a h a t m a Gandhi, Nelson Mandela.

I admire the dignified way in which they dealt with torture and imprisonment.

They were always singularly focused on their greater goal.

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

I love being busy. It isn’t in my nature to stand or sit still.

Retirement was just a step in my career to doing more community work. I’m busier than ever and I love spending my time trying to build projects that will help our older community members adjust to modern society and help younger ones remember their heritage in a modern way.

7) And the worst?

I worry about promising something and then being able to deliver. It is easy for things to go wrong especially for outdoor events like Janmasthami Mela that totally depend on weather.

Obviously I can’t control the weather but still I worry. At some functions it is very difficult to quantify the number of attendees. This may result in food wastage or shortage.

8) What are your long term goals?

I want to build an all-weather indoor sports complex, and offer activities like cricket and football that will attract our youth. Outside of my community work, I recently learnt how to ride a motorbike. I would love one day to ride a motorbike in a group ride from London to Beijing or Nairobi to Cape Town.

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

I am glad I am not the Prime Minister. I think cuts in basic services have affected primary health care and the education.

It feels like crime has got worse. I understand we also need to look after wealth generating businesses. The various things are impossible to balance.

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

If I was stuck on a desert island, I think I’d like to spend time with the legendry Bob Marley, or classical Indian maestros like Pundit Ravi Shanker and Pundit Ustad Bismilla Khan. They made excellent music. If there is nothing else to do, we might as well all listen to great music.

Music helps to bring people together.

Cricketer Moeen Ali joins the British Asian Trust as its Livelihood Campaign ambassador

Young, dynamic English cricketer Moeen Ali has joined the HRH Prince of Wales’ British Asian Trust as its ambassador for its Livelihood campaign in Pakistan. Noted for his penchant for taking wickets and sporting a long, flowing beard, the cricketer will help raise awareness about the campaign aimed at helping thousands of unemployed youth, women and rural poor in Pakistan.

Speaking about being the Trust’s ambassador, Ali said, “Though I am born and brought up here in the UK, I have very strong links with the country of my forefathers, Pakistan. I am passionate about the

Moeen Ali, Manoj Badale and Hitan Mehta

issues of livelihood, especially that of unemployment amongst the youth, both here and in Pakistan.

I am looking forward to raising awareness about

this important issue and visit the charities chosen by the Trust to help the unemployed youth, women and rural poor in Pakistan. “Welcoming Ali on

board, Hitan Mehta, Executive Director, British Asian Trust said, “We are delighted to have Moeen Ali as our ambassador. He will add energy and vigour to this important campaign.�

To support the campaign, the Trust will be launching the Livelihood Fund to generate ÂŁ1 million by bringing together individuals, corporates, trusts and foundations that are all passionate about giving to South Asia, and through this collective support interventions that work towards unlocking the potential of the many thousands currently facing unemployment.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

COMMENT

Forget SAARC, mourn 26/11 dead

SAARC, the acronym of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, ended its 18th summit in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, with an 18th straight fiasco – long hours talking, action an inglorious void. Of all the regional economic blocs, SAARC has been the most worthless by far, not worth even the paper on which it is transcribed. Pakistan, the jihadi in the room, has seen to it that. On this occasion, Pakistan reduced an agreed proposal by the other SAARC members to deepen regional connectivity and energy cooperation to a nullity, saying that it hadn’t had the time to consider the scheme. The energy issue was sorted at the last moment, the others are pending.

That many Pakistani cities are without power for ten or twelve hour a day was of little import, and since its major export is jihadi terror – which require only jungle and mountain trails to transmit - road and rail services are scarcely a priority for the Islamabad government. The Pakistani presence at Kathmandu was geared to promote, with intense special pleading, an enlarged Chinese role, from its present observer status, in future SAARC gatherings. The US, the European Union and Japan also have observer status at these summits, but China wants something more, to which India has been [and is] firmly opposed. Therein lies the rub. Pakistan’s enduring commitment to any scheme or proposal depends on whether it is acceptable to India. If it is, then it automatically becomes taboo for Pakistan. Put an end to this expensive, time-consuming charade. The SAARC idea was conceived in the mid-1980s when Rajiv Gandhi was India’s prime minister; it was an attempt to keep up with the existing trend to establish regional trade blocs such as the Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN], not to speak of the European Union.

Not much thought, it would appear, was given in Delhi to the fraught realities on the subcontinent.

It guaranteed media attention for India’s political class and it gave Indian bureaucrats something to do. There was no strategic thinking, no long-term calculation on whether the project had any chance of success with Pakistan on board. It has turned

out to be a hare-brained exercise, worth neither time nor money. More absurd was a call to set up a regional parliamentary body on the lines of the European Parliament, which mercifully was aborted at the experimental stage by the rank bad manners in Delhi of Gohar Ayub Khan, son of the former Pakistan military dictator, Ayub Khan. Gohar Ayub’s abusive anti-Indian rhetoric in the capital brought an end to the misbegotten project. At Kathmandu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recalling the dark anniversary of the Pakistansponsored jihadi attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008 [26/11] spoke out against cross-border terrorism and the danger this posed to regional peace and stability. The citizens of Mumbai laid wreaths at the sites where the Pakistani murderers shot and killed their innocent victims [167 was the death toll]. It was an occasion for all Indians, at home or abroad, to remember the dead and mourn their passing. This tragic context reduces SAARC to a massive irrelevance, a mockery of civilized purpose. Mr Modi met the SAARC leaders in one-to-one talks, the sole exception being the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, with whom there was only a limp handshake. Bilateral talks between India Mr Modi and SAARC leaders included trade, investment and security. India and Bangladesh have coordinated their anti-terrorist measures against jihadi modules operating in West Bengal and in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed has spoken glowingly of the anti-terror operations of India’s intelligence agencies, notably the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Both leaders have decided to set in motion the long pending joint survey of the Indo-Bangladesh border with a view to correcting territorial anomalies of partition in 1947. The mindless obstructions of the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, have been brushed aside. Bangladesh, for its part, deserves unfettered access to the vast Indian market for its goods and services, just reward surely for its good neighbourly policies, based on trust and goodwill. Long may the present relationship endure.

The recent killings by America’s police forces of two unarmed black teenagers - one a mere 12 yearold, Tamar Rice by name, the other, Michael Brown, aged 18 - have convulsed the entire country. The boiling point spilled over onto the streets of Ferguson, a mainly black populated part of St Louis, Missourie, when a Grand Jury refused to indict the policeman, Darren Wilson, for shooting dead Michael Brown, and commit him for trial.

Wilson walked free, as have numerous policemen across the United States who have, over time, acted in similar fashion. American streets erupted in an orgy of rioting, looting and arson, with shops and businesses set alight. The scenes bring to mind pictures of the inner city violence of the mid1960s. Then President Lyndon Johnson’s vaunted vision of the “Great Society” in which racial injustices would be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Has there been any meaningful change since black slavery was abolished after the end of Civil War in 1865?At best incremental change, at worst a deteriorating situation, would be a fair answer. The US has more prisoners, with the vast majority of the inmates black. We speak here of a massively militarizes society living in fear of ‘threats’ abroad and ‘dangers’ at home. The received wisdom of the offi-

cial American narrative of a nation immaculately conceived, dedicated to the rule of law and the pursuit of happiness is embellished fiction, pronounced a white American woman belonging to an organization that monitors the country’s race relations and its predatory justice system. She pointed to a flawed past: to the genocide of the indigenous peoples of the North American plain in the 19th century and to the infamous traffic in black slaves shipped across from Africa. Consider the following passage written way back in 1935 by General Smedly D. Butler, the most decorated US marine commander of his generation: “I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American Republics for the benefit of Wall Street…..I helped purify Nicaragua for the international house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras ‘right’ for American companies in 1903….Looking back on it, I feel I might have given Al Capone a few hints.

The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. We Marines operated on three continents.”

The British in India were never enamoured of Bengali military valour on the ground; their admiration was usually reserved for the soldierly Sikhs, Jats, Rajputs, Gurkhas. The Bengalis, with their penchant for flying, made the air force their niche. It was hardly an accident that a Bengali, Subrato Mukherjee, was the first head of the Indian Air Force. A colleague, Wing Commander Karun Krishna Majumdar [‘Jumbo’ to his friends] who met an untimely death in Lyallpur, in 1945, when his plane crashed during an aerobatic display, was surely destined for higher command. But in a shortened life-span, he received the highest awards for bravery as a Second World War fighter pilot in the RAF; having arrived in the UK in March 1944, he undertook 65 missions in 100 days. Majumdar was the first Indian to twice win the Distinguished Flying Cross [DFC], the first against Japan, the second against

Germany. The DFC is awarded by the RAF for “an Act of bravery or Acts of Valour, Courage or Devotion to Duty Whilst Flying in Active Operations Against The Enemy.” Majumdar’s memorabilia, include his medals and log book. He was of distinguished lineage, being the grandson of Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, the first President of the Indian National Congress. His mother, Janaki Agnes Majumdar, was the first Indian woman to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge.

As a postscript, Wing Commander Roy, in the fledgling RAF, became the first Indian airman to see combat in the First World War. The story of the Indian Air Force, from its birth in 1932 to Indian Independence and beyond, is told in Sikh Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh’s memoir, which carries a moving dedication to his fellow Bengali officers as a debt of gratitude.

America’s deepening racial divide

London remembers Indian war hero

3 I believe that everything happens for a reason.

People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.

- Marilyn Monroe

Paul Burstow MP Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton & Cheam

Helping Carers Care There are currently 6.5 million carers in the UK today looking after friends or family – half a million of them from black and ethnic minority communities.

They do fantastic work, and in my own constituency, I have seen hundreds of carers of all ethnicities work tirelessly in support of those they care for, often without pay or recognition and often to the detriment of their own health and well-being.

That one in eight people in the United Kingdom are willing to selflessly prioritise the needs of our loved ones is truly inspirational.

But too often as a society we seem to punish rather than honour and celebrate the sacrifices carers make.

If you have ever come into contact with a carer you will understand why these men and women deserve to be singled out for extra support at a time of ongoing restraint. Their contribution is extraordinary.

Studies show that 61% of carers have faced depression because of their caring role and 49% are struggling financially. Considered in the context that 45% have had to give up work to care, maybe neither of these financial or emotional pressures should surprise us.

Yet carers save the state an estimated £119 billion a year – that’s more than the entire annual budget for the NHS. England’s half a million Black Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) carers save the state almost £10 billion a year alone.

That is why the Liberal Democrat manifesto in 2015 will

include a promise to introduce a new annual “carer’s bonus”, worth £250.

Under the plans, the bonus would enable carers to take short breaks and provide carers with some much needed respite.

Additionally, to help carers financially, the Liberal Democrats want to make it easier for carers to stay in work, encouraging employers to be more flexible, and we will make sure that carers who have left work get much more support to help them get back into the job market when they are able.

We are also going to raise the amount you can earn before losing carers allowance to £150 to make sure work pays for carers. We will introduce a “carers’ passport” to give carers more information and more support through the NHS, including access to free hospital parking, and we will give every carer who cares for more than 35 hours a week a carers bonus worth £250.

We know BAME carers in England already save the state almost £10 billion a year and, in providing care to their families, are pioneers in their own right of creating a fairer society. That’s why Liberal Democrats in government will work tirelessly to ensure that carers are recognised, valued and supported by the state as well the loved ones they care for.

(Paul Burstow MP was Care Service Minister from 2010-12 and was responsible for drawing up the draft Care and Support Bill.

He has been the MP for Sutton & Cheam since 1997.)

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MIDLANDS VOICE

Leicester chef wins second gold at Culinary World Cup

Vipula Athukorale, a Leicester chef and food sculptor has won an international gold medal for his moving First World War study of life and death on the western front. He won his second gold with his creation called 'I miss you dad' at the Culinary World Cup in a butter sculpture class.

The sculpture that is made out of 24 kgs pastry margarine, took three weeks to craft.

Mr Athukorale, who was representing Britain in Luxembourg last week, was one of 14 competitors out of more than 800 from around the world to be awarded the gold standard in his class.

Speaking to Leicester Mercury, Vipula said: “It took me three weeks to create. I wanted to choose a relevant theme to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the World War I. It is also a tribute to my father Henry who is a retired Lt General in the Sri Lankan army who was a cadet at Sandhurst in the 1950s.

He further added, “I

was worried because I wondered if the Germans would not agree with the subject. But I needn’t have worried. The characters show pain, compassion, frustration and anger.”

Speaking about his success, he told the newspaper: “I am so pleased to win a gold medal for the British team. I also want to thank my boss at the Indigo restaurant Jagdish Ghelani for sponsoring and supporting me. It would not have been possible for me to compete if it had not been for the support of the restaurant.”

Vipula hopes that the people of Leicester will be able to view his current gold medal winning entry.

When he returned from the competition it went on display at Belgrave Hall and Gardens, in Loughborough Road, Leicester.

Shyamal Brahmbhatt, who is a co-owner of the Indigo restaurant, reportedly said: “When you see the outstanding skills that he possesses, it is no surprise that we wanted to support him. I don’t want to sound cocky, but we are not surprised that he won another gold. He is so single minded and dedicated to whatever he does.”

Vipula will be competing for more gold in the Culinary Olympics to be held in Erfurt in Germany in 2016.

Two men held a gun to the head of a brave Northfield shopkeeper as they demanded money from the till. But the staff member refused to hand over any cash in the raid which happened just after 10pm on Saturday November 1 at the Nisa store in Egghill Lane.

One of the duo was carrying what looked like a firearm in a plastic bag and demanded money from the till, along with alcohol and cigarettes but they fled empty-handed when the store worker refused their

demands.

Investigating officer DC Michelle Beasley, of West Midlands Police, said: “The storekeeper remained calm throughout what must have been a very alarming ordeal.

He refused to give the robbers cash – even when they moved behind the counter and held the what is believed to be a gun to his head. Despite their threats, the men eventually left empty handed and made off towards Frankley.”

The man carrying the bag is described as white and aged 16-17, 5ft 9ins tall

and of medium build. He was wearing a dark coloured padded jacket, grey jeans and a green camouflage face covering.

The second man was Asian and in his mid teens, 5ft 7ins tall and of a skinny build. He was wearing a black padded body warmer and black tracksuit bottoms.

Anyone who recognises the men are urged to call DC Beasley on 101, alternatively information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Two drunken men involved in a 'ferocious' city centre street robbery outside a city gentleman's club have been jailed for 6 years. The attack included three men being beaten up during “extreme, continuous and protracted” violence.

One victim, who was knocked out, suffered a broken eye socket and nose as well as bruising, a second man was kicked on the ground and became unconscious, while a third had his £700 gold chain pulled off his neck and was robbed during a “sustained beating.”

Taheer Sheikh (29) of Darley Street, Spinney Hills, Leicester, was found guilty by a jury of jointly inflicting grievous bodily harm, with co-accused Arfan Hussein (24), of Maynard Road, Highfields, Leicester, who admitted the offence.

Sheikh was also con-

victed of robbery of the gold chain, a mobile phone and a wallet, as well as common assault.

Hussein pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm and common assault.

A local newspaper reported that Sheikh denied the offences during a Leicester Crown Court trial, but the jury convicted him unanimously.

They rejected his claims it was a case of mistaken identity and that he

Northfield shop raiders hold gun to head of shopkeeper

Drunken men jailed for street robbery

Arfan Hussein

Taheer Sheikh

was not the assailant caught on CCTV footage of the incident.

Andrew Fryman, for Hussein reportedly said: “He regrets his behaviour and is disgusted by it and wants to apologise to the victims. He drank to excess and was completely out of control.”

Linda Downs, for Sheikh, reportedly said: “He has difficulty coming to terms with the guilty verdicts. She said unlike Hussein, Sheikh did not kick anyone on the ground.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Six year old sacrifices dream to help Royal British Legion

Six year old has sacrificed her dream of buying a hamster to help the Royal British Legion, after she read that a thief stole a Poppy Appeal collection box from a cafe in Loughborough.

Aneya Chauhan, of Enderby prompted into action after reading an article of a theft in the local newspaper Aneya reportedly said: “I saw the story about how people stole the money and that made me sad. I was going to get a hamster but I’d be happier giving my money away.”

Her savings of about £60, come from her grandparents presents during their visits, Diwali gifts and from the Tooth Fairy.

Aneya’s dad, Jignesh, 35, was amazed by his daughter’s generous spirit.

He said: “Aneya had been saving up for a hamster and we think she’s got about £60 now – she really had her heart set on it. There was a nice cage at Pets At Home she wanted to get. But then she was on the laptop reading the Leicester Mercury and she was

Aneya Chauhan

interested in the Poppy Appeal story because she’s been learning all about the First World War in her lessons at Leicester Grammar School in Great Glen.

“When I explained what the story was all about she got really tearful and she said to me and her mother, ‘I want to give all my savings to them’. I said she didn’t have to do that with her money and that we would give them the money instead. But she said she really wanted to do it with her money.

She was adamant she wanted to do this instead of having her hamster. It was really surprising and I thought it was very nice and caring of her.”

The collection box in the story was stolen from the Courthouse Cafe, in Loughborough town centre, that followed the theft of another box from the Co-op in Thringstone, near Coalville.

Atterbury, David county chairman of the Royal British Legion in Leicestershire and Rutland, reportedly said he was moved by Aneya’s donation.

He said: “Bless her.

That’s incredibly generous. It’s absolutely amazing to think a youngster just reading something like that in the paper would want to reimburse the legion with the money instead of getting a hamster. It’s very moving.”

Bharat Soma found guilty of trying to kill ex-fiance and her boyfriend Bharat Soma, pictured, has been found guilty of attempting to murder his ex-fiancé and her boyfriend, by cutting their throats.

Soma, of Stroud Road, North Evington, had denied trying to kill Darshana Narotam, 17, and Prashant Govinde, 22, on the afternoon of January 19. The 26-yearold was also found guilty of unlawfully wounding a 15-year-old boy during same incident, on January 19.

Darshana's father, Narotam Deugi (41), was found guilty of common assault on Darshana, by putting his hands around her throat, in separate incident, at the family home in Wembley, on December 20 last year. Her father and mother were acquitted of falsely imprisoning her in her bedroom at the family home.

Darshana's father was acquitted with other family members of kidnapping Prashant's father, in an attempt to find the whereabouts of the young couple

after they eloped together.

Darshana and Prashant were walking home after visiting local shops on East Park Road, Spinney Hills, in Leicester, when Soma attacked them in the street with a knife.

Soma had also denied inflicting grievous bodily harm upon the 15-year-old boy, who suffered a cut hand with severed tendons whilst trying to help injured Darshana and Prashant, who survived life-threatening injuries.

Adrienne Lucking QC, prosecuting, told the jury Soma attacked the young couple “in revenge” for being jilted by Darshana.

She had eloped with Prashant, to avoid an

arranged marriage with Soma.

Detective Inspector John Farndon, of Leicestershire Police's serious crime team, said after the verdicts were announced: “These were dreadful crimes, and could easily have caused the deaths of two young people who had harmed noone. Crimes like these are very rare, and are sometimes called honour based violence. However, this has nothing to do with culture or religion, this is simple criminality.

In June, the Government introduced a new law where forced marriages were made a criminal offence. Honour-based violence is defined as an incident or crime which has or may have been committed to protect or defend the honour of the family or community.

Forced Marriage is defined where one or both spouses do not (or in the case of some vulnerable adults, cannot) consent to the marriage and duress is involved.

Criminologist receives online threats after research into Islamophobia A leading Birmingham criminologist was bombarded with vicious hate mail and violent threats just days after publishing his research into online Islamophobia.

One internet troll even accused Imran Awan, of Birmingham City

University, of being worse than members of the barbaric jihadist group Islamic State.

Mr Awan said he was shocked by the sheer number of “vitriolic hate-filled” messages he received after an online discussion about

his detailed research on anti-Muslim abuse on the internet. He revealed how he received anonymous threats and how one farright website had even put him “under official investigation” – labelling him a “troublemaker”.

5

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Cllr David Perry

Leader of Harrow Council Spriha Srivastava

South Asian literature shortlists announced The World’s literati gathered at the historic London School of Economics and Political Science last week to attend the shortlist for the fifth annual DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015. The world is extremely rich in literature and the beautiful South Asian region contributes heavily to some great and classic literature of all times.

This year’s shortlist of five features two authors of Indian origin - Jhumpa Lahiri (The Lowland Vintage Books/Random House, India) and renowned Indian poet and one of the foremost Urdu theorists Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (The Mirror of Beauty - Penguin Books, India); Pakistani authors Bilal Tanweer (The Scatter Here is Too Great - Vintage Books/Random House, India) and Kamila Shamsie (A God in Every Stone - Bloomsbury, India); and Sri Lankan born British writer Romesh Gunesekera (Noontide Toll Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, India) completed the respected shortlist.

The shortlist was announced by an international five member jury panel that comprised: Keki Daruwalla, Indian writer and poet (Chair of the Jury); John Freeman, author, literary critic and former editor of Granta; Maithree Wickramasinghe, a professor of English at the University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka and the University of Sussex and an expert on gender studies; Michael Worton, Emeritus Professor at University College London, who has written extensively on modern literature and art; and Razi Ahmed, founding director of the annual, notfor-profit Lahore Literary Festival.

After intense reflection over the long list comprising 10 books, out of a total pool of 75 initial entries, the jury selected the shortlist for this esteemed international award.

The five shortlisted authors will now have to wait for the coveted DSC Prize for South Asian Literature that will be rewarded at the renowned Jaipur Literature Festival on 22nd January 2015. Notable guests from previous festivals include Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra and the Queen of Bhutan.

The US $50,000 DSC Prize for South Asian

Literature was co-founded in 2010 by mother-son duo Mrs. Surina Narula MBE and Mr. Manhad Narula. With an innate passion for literature and the creative arts, Mrs. Surina Narula MBE is a highlyrenowned charity patron, with over twenty years experience in creating and spearheading the strategic development of some of the world’s largest charities, including PLAN I n t e r n a t i o n a l , International Childcare Trust and Hope for Children.

Mrs. Narula is also an accomplished entrepreneur, working in the family business, the DSC Group, an international conglomerate focused on real estate, construction, infrastructure and retail. Mrs. Narula was responsible for spearheading the launch of Ebony, India’s first department store. In 2008, Mrs. Narula was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her charitable works in India.

Since its inception in 2010, the DSC Prize has significantly impacted and drawn the focus of the world towards South Asian literature and the authors writing about this region.

The coveted prize of US $50,000 is presented to the winning author who could be from any ethnicity or nationality provided they write about South Asia and its people. Writing in regional languages is also encouraged and the prize money is equally shared between the author and the translator in case a translated entry wins. Previous winners have included exciting authors such as: HM Naqvi from P a k i s t a n (Homeboy), Shehan Karunatilaka from Sri Lanka (Chinaman), Jeet Thayil from India (Narcopolis) and Cyrus Mistry from India (Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer).

Keki Daruwalla, Chair of the DSC Prize Jury said it was extremely difficult to zero in on shortlist from that list. “All the novelists engaged with rich, historical and experimental traditions of storytelling. The landscape in all the novels was quintessentially South Asian. The jury was glad to find that the plots were uniformly organic and the writers did not succumb to formulaic writing. Most of the novels grappled with the socio-political realities on the ground. All of them did so in ways that were moving, challenging, and thought-provoking.”

We at Asian Voice would like to wish all the very best to all the shortlisted candidates.

Second sale in India for Christie

Christie’s, the world's leading art business is expected to organize a second sale in India on 11 December at The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in the Diwan-IAm ballroom. The auction will start in the evening with 80 works of art on offer and will last for approximately 2 hours.

Christie’s has consistently offered the finest Indian works of art since James Christie, the charismatic founder of the firm, offered four fine India pictures painted on glass in his inaugural sale on 5 December, 1766.

Growing interest in Indian Art led to the opening of Christie’s first representative office in India in 1994. The following year, Christie’s held its first stand-alone Indian Art sale in London.

Today Christie’s holds regular sales in New York and London and is the market leader in all categories of Indian art. Collectors from India make an increasingly important contribution to the global art market across international categories. In the last one year, Christie’s has lent its support and international reach to the India Art Fair in January and to the Homelands exhibition, organised by the British Council and exhibited in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Working with residents to secure the future of the Arts Centre After receiving thousand of responses, having hundreds of face to face conversations with residents and holding more than 50 community meetings in venues ranging from job fairs to Harrow Mosque and St. Albans Church, the extremely successful ‘Take Part’ budget consultation has just concluded.

In launching the ‘Take Part’ consultation three months before the first draft budget, we have been open and honest with residents about the challenges we face with central Government imposing huge cuts on Harrow Council, a fact which has led to the need for savings of £75m. I would like to say a massive thanks to all the staff for their hard work in bringing this consultation together.

The responses we received will influence the decisions we make as a

council moving forward.

Our announcement on the Arts Centre shows this perfectly.

We are delighted to say that after listening to residents’ concerns, we have decided to keep the Arts Centre open for this year while we develop a business plan to make the site financially viable and able to run independently without a council subsidy in future years.

I think it’s fantastic that residents are engaging with us; it’s a huge positive that we have attracted 12000 people to get involved in local politics as a part of the ‘Take Part’ budget consultation.

On the subject of tackling big issues, Harrow Council is about to launch a major regeneration plan which could potentially put £1.7 billion of investment into the area. This is an exciting project which shows

our ambitions for Harrow.

Having already announced the re-starting of a council house building programme earlier in the year, we’re going from strength to strength after submitting a Housing Zone bid for more than £30 million to the Greater London Authority which we will use to regenerate Harrow and Wealdstone Town Centre.

On a personal note, when writing this blog I was shocked by the news that the 25-year- old Australian Cricketer Phil Hughes tragically lost his life playing the game he loved, and I would like to pay my respects and offer my deepest sympathies.

I know how many staff and residents love cricket. The outpouring of condolences for Phil Hughes all over the world is a clear reminder of how, more than ever, brings people sport together.

The Indian name Aarav has become the most popular in the UK, competing with Mohammed which is currently on the top.

A list of top 100 baby names for 2014, collated by a website called BabyCentre reveals a surge in Arabic

names and drop in popularity of George after the Royal baby's birth last year.

Aarav, which means peaceful, stood out as a popular Indian name for newborns. Sarah Redshaw, managing editor of BabyCentre, said,

"Traditionally, Mohammed is often the name given to the first-born boy in Muslim families. With the increase of other Arabic names plus Aarav, an Indian boys' name, the top 100 shows the ever-increasing diversity of the UK today."

Indian name 'Aarav' the most popular in Britain

Britain home to 13,000 slaves or more A media reported on Saturday, that Britain's Home Office has said that there could be 13,000 victims of slavery in this country, far more than previous estimates. The BBC reported that modern slavery victims include women that are forced into prostitution, 'imprisoned' domestic staff, labourers in fields, factories, fishing boats etc.

Data from the National

Crime Agency's Human Trafficking Centre last year put the number of slavery victims in Britain at 2,744, while the Home Office believes that the actual number could be bigger, after thorough analysis or investigation. The victims include people trafficked from more than 100 countries - the most prevalent being Albania, Nigeria, Vietnam and Romania - as

well as British-born adults and children.

The Home Office has launched a strategy to help tackle this, including a plan for the Border Force to deploy specialist trafficking teams at major ports and airports to spot potential victims. They are also planning to strengthen the legal framework for confiscating the proceeds of crime.

Gold Star, the Londonbased wholesaler, is fast expanding as a delivered wholesaler.

Vijay Thanwani, MD Gold Star explains how this initiative is carefully thought out and successfully trialled over the past 18 months, and is an integral part of his vision and longterm plans set from the outset in 2011, when he launched the company.

Reaching over 500 customers in Central London is a challenge. On the one hand it provides Gold Star’s customers a solution they welcome, and on the other hand it provides suppliers a great opportu-

nity to partner with Gold Star, a channel for effective acquisition of shelf and brand presence, reach and penetration too.

Most suppliers are very supportive and Vijay invites the rest to join hands.

This strategic move is an investment in anticipating evolving customer needs and satisfying them; matched with investment in a field sales force, Sales Manager, Business Development Managers (BDMs), and Sales Executives, a fleet of vehicles and Sanderson’s CRM and Business Intelligence software.

When quizzed on customer reaction, Vijay says: “Our customer response is overwhelming. They are pleased that this initiative now liberates them as Independents to fully concentrate on their own businesses and customers and not on time lost on the busy roads and traffic jams. Our customers see this as a cost saver – a huge bonus. Inspired by customer feedback and encouraged by trial results it presents a huge opportunity – a great way forward to serve customers.”

He sums it up to customers by saying “You Order, We Deliver.”

Gold Star's move forward

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

India rolls out visa on arrival for 43 countries

India has rolled out the much awaited visa on arrival for 43 countries from end of November.

The scheme will be applicable for travelling to India for 30 days or less— and only for “recreation, sightseeing, short duration medical treatment, casual business visit, casual visit to meet friends or relatives.”

To avail this, applications must be made online at least four days before arrival, complete with a photograph, a scan of a passport’s photo page and a $60 fee. Subsequently, an Electronic Travel Authorisation will be issued, which is valid for entry through only nine airports in India. Only two such visas will be granted in a calendar year.

US, Australia and Fiji are among the countries whose citizens are eligible for the expanded program.

UK is likely to be included

in a later phase. The full list of countries covered by the expansion is not yet available.

Until now, the programme, which was launched in 2010, has only been available to citizens of 12 countries, including

Finland, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. These visas are valid for 30 days.

Citizens from other countries could get multi-entry tourist visas valid for six months but have to apply to an Indian embassy to do so.

Modi launches draft bill to merge PIO and OCI PM Modi has made a number of offerings for PIO and OCI. A draft bill that will enabling the merger of two schemes are soon to be brought before the cabinet for approval in India.

A report said, “The government has already started working for the announcefollowing ments made by the prime minister: Granting visa for life to PIO card holders, exemption for PIOs stay-

ing in India for long term from police reporting and issuance of longterm (10 year) visas to US nationals on reciprocal basis.”

After ending his 3 country trip, Modi wrote in his blog, “It is our responsibility to make the diaspora an integral part of our nation development journey and since the last few months we have channelized our efforts in this regard.”

Facebook or the state: who should be scrutinised for Lee Rigby murder?

When the Intelligence and Security committee (ISC) reported that one of the killers in Lee Rigby's death posted plans to execute the British soldier in “the most graphic and emotive” manner on 'Facebook', there was a public outcry about the responsibility of official bodies in securing the safety of civilians.

The social network site was attacked for being too lax and negligent about saliently criminal matter being exchanged between users. PM David Cameron commented that IT companies such as Facebook were allowing extremists to “plot murder and mayhem”, and forwarded the opinion that they had a “social responsibility” to intervene. However the government itself has also been accused of negligence with the ICS also reporting evidence that Britain’s secret services, had been informed of killers' violent tendencies before too.

The Intelligence and

Soldier Lee Rigby, hacked to death on the street

Security Committee stated that the MI5, MI6 and GCHQ all had Adebolajo and Adebowale , the two Islamist extremists who hacked Rigby to death, flagged up as “subjects of interest” on their databases. Prolonged investigations into Adebowale, 23, meant a request for a warrant to search his home was not sent to the Home Office until the day before the murder while surveillance on Adebolajo, 29, was actually terminated altogether a month before.

A member of the ISC stated: “No 10 [is] trying

to turn this into a story about a data communications. It is not. We are fizzing about this. This is the most critical we have ever been about the agencies — that’s the central point.” However they also said of Facebook “This company does not appear to regard itself as under any obligation to ensure that its systems identify such exchanges, or to take action or notify the authorities when its communications services appear to be used by terrorists.”

Facebook have denied facilitating the terrorist activity retorting in 'The Times' that “We do not allow terrorist content on the site and take steps to prevent people from using our service for these purposes.” The CounterTerrorism and Security Bill, introduced on the 26th of November, will make it mandatory for internet companies to note data on computers that are being used to access illegal material.

Surgery's move sparks criticism Health officials and a city GP practice have come under fire for not putting patients first in a controversial surgery move.

The criticism came at a special meeting of Leicester City Council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny commission.

It was called after 631 people signed a petition in protest over the move of the Highfields Medical Centre from Melbourne Road to the Merlyn Vaz Health and Social Care Centre.

A branch surgery in Moira Street was also

moved to the Belgrave Health Centre.

Patients were furious at being given a little over two weeks’ notice about the move.

Members of the scrutiny commission heard evidence from NHS England, which is responsible for making sure people have access to GP services, members of the surgery’s patient participation group, the patient watchdog Healthwatch and surgery representatives.

Trouble began at the end of September when 8,000 patients were told of

the surgery move taking place on October 10.

Karen Chouhan, chairman of Healthwatch Leicester, said: “Our main concern is the way in which people and patients have been treated. I find it amazing that professionals from a caring profession haven’t exercised the same amount of care for patients. I am very concerned about the equality implications which don’t seem to have been considered. The process would have been a whole lot smoother if the patient participation group had been brought in earlier.”

UK

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Research reveals Indian Hindus have second highest salaried job in Britain

New research has revealed that Indian Hindus are the second highest in Britain to have a salaried job after the British Jews, whilst Muslims in Britain face the worst job discrimination of any minority group, with the lowest chance of being in work or managerial role. a However, the research further said that amongst Muslim men, Indians are more likely to find a job than their Pakistani or Bangladeshi counterpart.

Researchers Dr Nabil Khattab and Professor Ron Johnston using data from the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey of more than half a million people have revealed that the most disadvantaged in terms of employment prospects out of 14 ethnoreligious groupings in the UK are the Muslims, though skin colour made little difference to the figures.

Dr Khattab, of Bristol

University, reportedly said the situation was "likely to stem from placing Muslims collectively at the lowest stratum within the country's racial or ethnocultural system due to growing Islamophobia and hostility against them...”

He also added, "If this persists, it could have long-term implications for the cohesion of the UK's multi-ethnic, multicultural society. The exclusion of well-qualified black and Muslim individuals could undermine their willingness to integrate in the wider society.”

The Social Science Journal study found that amongst women, Muslim Pakistanis and a "Muslim other" group were 65% less likely to have a job, with Muslim Indians 55%, Muslim Bangladeshis 51% and white Muslims 43% less likely. For men, the "Muslim other" group was 76% less likely to be in work, followed by Muslim Bangladeshis (66%),

white Muslims (64%), Muslim Pakistanis (59%) and Muslim Indians (37%). White British men and women of no religion were, respectively, 20 and 25% less likely to have a job than Christians. Black Christians with Caribbean origins were 54% and 48% less likely.

The only ethno-religious group with better work prospects than white British Christians were British Jews, with women and men 29 and 15% more likely to be employed.

Of those in work, the researchers found only 23% and 27% of Muslim Bangladeshis and Muslim Pakistanis, respectively, had a salaried job. White British Jews had the highest rates, with 64% in salaried jobs, followed by Hindu Indians and white Christian Irish on 53 and 51% respectively. White British Christians, white British of no religion and black Christian Africans were all above 40 per cent.

Hundreds have their say on proposals for Leicester's Golden Mile

Hundreds of people given their views to council bosses on a potentially radical scheme to revamp Leicester’s Golden Mile.

The city council has completed a consultation on ideas to improve the busy shopping street in Belgrave.

Under the suggested changes traffic lights could be removed from the road and drivers encouraged to give way to pedestrians instead.

The council could become a ‘shared space’ for cars, bikes and people.

That could also making lanes narrower for vehicles and redesigning the road to get motorists to slow down and give way to people trying to cross it.

Critics of the shared

space idea say it simply will not work in an area with so many cars and pedestrians as Belgrave Road.

Dharmesh Lakhani, pictured, of the Belgrave Business Association, is among the ten people who will report back to the mayor.

He said: “We are going to go away and try to find a scheme that works for both the residents who live here and the businesses whose livelihoods

Seven people, including four from Oldham, have appeared in court following an investigation into child sexual exploitation.

Bilal Ahmed (26), of Tentercroft, Coldhurst, has been charged with conspiracy to engage in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, four counts of child abduction, sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 by penetration and sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15.

Dilon Rasul (23) and

Mohammed Suleman (47), both of Worsley Street, Glodwick, and Robbie Verbruggen (28), of Tentercroft, Coldhurst, have been charged with conspiracy to engage in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15.

Jubair Rahman (23), of Rochdale, faces charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, child abduction and arranging commission of a child sex offence.

Hassan Ali (20), of no

depend on the area.

Personally I am in favour of a shared space scheme.

It would make it a better environment for pedestrians while maintaining access for traffic. It would slow the traffic down and it would mean drivers won’t cut in on each other like the do at the moment.

We do need to do something. At the moment we have nearly 100 per cent occupancy for retail premises but it is a difficult trading time. If we don’t make improvements people may decide “This is not for us” and move on if we don’t get the right scheme. There’s no danger of that happening at the moment but we have to avoid that.”

Seven remanded on child sex charges

fixed abode, has been charged with conspiracy to engage in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, and four counts of child abduction.

A 16-year-old boy faces a charge of conspiracy to engage in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15. They all appeared at Bury and Rochdale Magistrates’ Court, where the case was sent to Manchester Crown Court.

They will next appear on December 12.

Man charged over Maidenhead child sex offences A 32-year-old man has been charged with sex offences relating to two children.

Mohammed Abdul Kadir, of no fixed address, has been charged with

several offences, including two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 13.

The offences happened in the Maidenhead area. Mr Kadir was arrested in France on 30

October under a European Arrest Warrant and extradited to the UK. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Slough Magistrates' Court later.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

CB’s 9 Hour Detention in 1986 at Mumbai Airport - A Lurking Question

Kashmir: Line of Control Lords Debate Clarifies

On 20th of November Thursday in the House of Lords, a question was raised by Lord Hussain asking "Her Majesty's Government as to what was their assessment of peace and stability in the south Asian region, particularly in the light of the current situation and cross-border firing between India and Pakistan at the Line of Control in Kashmir."

I am attempting to quote verbatim from the Hansard's report The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office ( Baroness Anelay of St.Johns ) (Con) replied in very few words, 'our long-standing position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find solution that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the United Kingdom to prescribe a solution or to mediate in finding one.'

This obviously did not satisfy Lord Hussain (LD) who persevered repeating the ongoing demand - "for the Kashmiri people to have their right to self determination, as we have seen given to the Scottish people in recent weeks?"

The Minister replied reiterating her earlier statement in different words.

Baroness Warsi (Con) raised a very strange question about the Government's position on the role of British nationals of Pakistani origin fighting for the Pakistan army and the British nationals of Indian origin fighting in the Indian army.

The Minister cleverly smelt the reference to the ISIS crisis and immediately made it very clear that - no one should draw a parallel between the two propositions.

Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) raised a

As I See It

very important question relating to the partition of the subcontinent on a religious basis - a basis of false, irreconcilable religious differences - was a huge mistake ?

Lord Ahmed (Non Afl) said that the elections are no substitute for a free, fair and impartial plebiscite as promised by the United Nations in 1948 and 1949, and therefore that the forthcoming elections in Indian administered Kashmir would not to be a substitute for the outstanding promise of the United Nations, which should be given to the people of Kashmir?

The Minister gave an apt reply saying that Lord Ahmed will know of the Shimla Agreement which now forms the basis of the negotiations between India and Pakistan.

The Minister also added that there are elections ahead and they have always in the past been judged by the international community to be free and fair.

In summary the torchbearer of the faith agents in politics were once again unsuccessful.

Here it ought to be noted that no Hindu or Muslim Lord, or Baroness of Indian origin participated in this important debate.

This perhaps appear to be an appropriate decision too.

Too Hard On Pakistan - says Victoria Schofield

A very interesting lecture on the foreign policy 'Challenges and Oppurtunities' by the well known journalist and author M.J. Akbar , the National Spokesperson of the BJP was held at Arundale House, London.

On my way out, I met Ms Victoria Schofield in

Arun Trivedi, Ph.D

the lift. As I know her and was sure that she would not know me, I greeted her and took the conversation a step further by asking her about her views on M.J. Akbar's lecture. She promptly replied in just four words, 'too hard on Pakistan.'

I replied, 'Not illogically, I suppose.'

Unfortunately the lift had reached the ground floor and she rushed out for an important meeting without any reply.

M.J.Akbar spoke about the challenges and opportunities faced by a modern society or by a country keen to be in such a stage.

He enlisted four basic i.e., 1. Democracy ; 2.

Secularism or Inclusiveness ; 3. No gender discrimination ; 4. Economic development as well as avoidance of hypocrisy and opportunism.

Unfortunately on all the above mentioned four criteria the present day Pakistan has failed.

M.J. Akbar also elaborated on World War I,World War II, World War III (Capitalism vs Communism ) and World War IV ( between democratic forces and the extremist 'Jihadis or Jihadis more tuned to Wahabis and Salafis).

I felt that M.J. Akbar was very forceful and logical in his talk and very convincing too.

The elite audience seem to accept it well.I was really sorry for Victoria Schofield that it left her unhappy.

It is impossible to please everyone,thats the way of life and not much can be done to change it not easy to impress on any one especially likes of Victoria Schofield who has some firm views in favor of Pakistan.

- CB

UKIP says babies born to immigrants be classed as migrants Nigel Farage, pictured, the UKIP leader has faced fresh criticism, after he called for the children of immigrants to be classed as immigrants too. Party has reportedly said that the 'problem' of hiding these babies from immigration statistics had 'ramifications' for public services.

This would include the party leader’s own two children as immigrants.

The party highlighted a report issued last week by the right-wing thinktank MigrationWatch UK, which said immigration’s impact

on population growth had been underestimated by more than 1.3 million because babies of those coming to this country were not taken into account.

Neither MigrationWatch nor UKIP suggested that the citizenship of those born in Britain was in question.

But Mr Farage, whose wife is German, tweeted his own concerns that “84% of population growth between 2001 and 2012 – or 3.8 million – was due to migration” – if you include children born here in the statistics.

Other Twitter users suggested this is the case “only if you count your kids as migrants, dear Nige”, and that by this definition “Winston Churchill and Prince Charles are immigrants”.

“Was CB the Editor of the Asian Voice (then known as New Life) was detained at Sahar (now called Chhatarpati Shivaji International Airport) in Bombay (Mumbai) on 28th November, 1986 for 9 hours even when he had a valid visa backed by blessings of Indian High Commissioner for his visit to India?

He was accused as being a pro Khalistani, pro Pakistani and anti-Indian. ”Why did this happened?

Who was responsible for it?” These are a few lurking questions in the minds of people in community and being asked by many a think tanks, friends, supporters, those who know CB in and out in the UK or anywhere in the world for his background and contribution for the cause of community cohesion.

There is a report from the Times of India (on 28 Nov, 1986 front page) by K N Malik stating, Quote “Mr. C. B . Patel, a leading journalist who publishes and edits two widely-circulated, ”Ethnic” weeklies, ”New Life” and “Gujarat Samachar”, was this morning detained by the Bombay airport immigration authorities on his arrival from London by a British Airways Flight.

Mr. Patel visited India two years ago as a guest of the Government of India.

He held a valid visa to visit India. A spokesman of “New Life” publication said when Mr. Patel applied visa three days ago, he was told that the clearance would have to come from New Delhi.

Since this would have taken quite some time, Mr. Patel approached the Indian High Commissioner, Dr. P.C.Alexander, who in turn spoke to New Delhi.

The visa was given to Mr. Patel yesterday afternoon.

The High Commission sources expressed surprise at Mr. Patel’s detention.

A senior official said obviously there was some misunderstanding or a communication gap between the foreign office and the home office in New Delhi. Mr. Patel’s family and friends contacted the Indian High Commission and some of the top officials in New Delhi. It was later learnt that Mr. Patel would be allowed to go ahead with his visit. Several British politicians expressed surprise at Mr. Patel’s detention. They did not want to publicly comment as this might complicate the matter. They, however, said no one could accuse Mr. Patel of being anti-Indian.

At one of the annual dinner of the Indian Journalists Association addressed by the Labour leader, Mr. Neil Kinnock, Mr. Patel was described as, “Communitybhai” Patel by Mr. Kinnock. Mr. Patel was resourceful enough and played an important role in the demand for unveiling of the plaque outside the house in which Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel lived in London by the GLC (Unquote) “If a pure, dedicated Indian patriot like CB could be stopped at the airport” –then anybody can! was the message.

Was this detention based on shadowy rumours implied, as a subversive, dangerous to his beloved India’s sovereignty and security? Or a bizarre “mistake”, “communication gap” or result of a smear campaign, is a billion dollar question.

To know the facts and details, an urgent meeting was sought with the Indian High Commissioner, Dr. P C Alexander, by the National Congress of Gujarati Organisation to urge that

a thorough investigation to be held into detention at Mumbai airport of New Life (Asian Voice) Editor C B Patel; as he was not apprised of it at the time of release. They asked how anyone with a valid visa can be prevented from entering India, detained at the airport that too for nine hours and threatened with deportation.

Indian Diasporas believe that the regime under dynamic leadership of PM Modi will demonstrate foreign policy and well- knit coordination between foreign missions and New Delhi to have an adequate mechanism in place to check rumour driven campaign spread by a class of people on personal agenda and obviate scope for such incidents in future. It will foster good relations between the Indian community here and their motherland which are so necessary for co-existence and resultant business ties between the two democracies which are inter-dependent on each other on account of legacies and business ties in the globalised environment.

CB added and dreaded to rethink in retrospect, ”what could have happened if the same thing had happened to someone without those contacts”.

“He proactively suggests to all concerned to ensure that this does not happen”. However, utmost concern is that no one else should have to go through the “nine hours of hell” he endured; though Mr. Buta Singh, the then Home Minister in Government of India spoke to CB over telephone tendering apologies for what had happened that time.

Next: What actually had happened? Who did it? Why? What were the consequences?

See next week for answers.

to the new King.

The former Bishop of Oxford, who continues to serve as an assistant bishop in the diocese of Southwark, reportedly made the suggestion about the Koran during a House of Lords debate. He told peers the Church of England should take the lead in ‘exercising its historic position in a hospitable way’.

The newspaper further reported that at a civic service in Bristol Cathedral last year authorities had agreed to a reading of the opening passage of the Koran before the beginning of the Christian ritual. He said: ‘It was a brilliant creative act of accommodation that made the Muslim high sheriff feel, as she said, warmly embraced but did not alienate the core congregation. That principle of hospitality can and should be reflected in many public ceremonies, including the next coronation service.’

Anglican Bishop proposes Koran reading at Prince Charles's coronation

The Church of England faces severe backlash after an Anglican Bishop reportedly said that Prince Charles’s coronation service should be opened with a reading from the Koran.

Lord Harries of Pentregarth said, the gesture would be a ‘creative act of accommodation’ to make Muslims feel ‘embraced’ by the nation.

But critics attacked the idea, accusing the Church of ‘losing confidence’ in its own institutions and traditions.

The Daily Mail reported, Lord Harries, a former Bishop of Oxford and a leading CofE liberal thinker, said he was sure Charles’s coronation would give scope to leaders of non-Christian religions to give their blessing

UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Leading Lights

Rani Singh, Special Assignments Editor

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Leading the Clean River Ganga Project The Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi said, “From her origin till her final destination, Mother Ganga implores, beckoning her children from afar, to listen to her woes, my son, my child! Rid me off my filth, so all cleansed up I flow.”

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, duly gave its approval for the establishment of the Clean Ganga Fund (CGF).The broad activities financed by the Fund, (subbed down from its website statement) include: a) Cleaning the river Ganga, b) Control of pollution from agricultural runoff, human defecation, cattle wallowing, etc. c) Setting up of waste treatment and disposal plants along the river around cities. d) Conservation of the bio diversity of the river. e) Community- based activities to reduce polluting human interface with the river.

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra

f) Development of public amenities including activities such as Ghat redevelopment. g) Research and Development projects and innovative projects for new technology and

processes for cleaning the river. i) Independent oversight through intensive monitoring and real time reporting.

So who is heading up the whole project for the

His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s 94th Birthday celebrated The 94th birth anniversary of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj was celebrated with an enlightening programme of spiritual discourses, videos, dramas and devotional songs on Saturday 29 November 2014 at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, London.

The evening assembly began with devotional singing retelling the inspirational life of Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The early years were portrayed through short sketches, charting the moments where he left home to become a sadhu and the passion of selfless service that he exhibited at a young age.

The biographical journey continued to the present day depicted through a montage of touching episodes exploring some

of Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s personal qualities and the bond that he shared with his gurus Shastriji Maharaj and Yogiji Maharaj.

A video presentation of Pramukh Swami Maharaj discussing his own experiences with Shastriji Maharaj was then shown, as well as the pledge that Pramukh

Swami Maharaj declared when he was appointed as the President of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in 1950.

Sadhus spoke of the selfless and humble nature with which Pramukh Swami Maharaj has continued to serve the Sanstha as the President.

In particular, Satyavrat Swami elaborated upon His Holiness’s tireless efforts over the years, including his religious travels, personal conversations, letters as well as the milestones and accomplishments that he has inspired.

The festivities were concluded with joyous singing as sadhus offered their respect and devotion by placing a garland of flowers around the murti of Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

Memorial to the Korean War unveiled in London A new memorial to the conflict often dubbed ‘the forgotten war’ has been unveiled on Tuesday at a ceremony in central London.

The Korean War Memorial, a gift from the Republic of Korea (ROK) to honour the British troops that served between 1950 and 1953, is

in the form of a bronze statue of a British soldier by sculptor Philip Jackson. It has involved the British Korean Veterans Association, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in London and the Korean Ministry of Patriots' and Veterans' Affairs as well as The Lady R Foundation and the

British Government.

Over 500 guests, including 320 veterans, watched HRH the Duke of Gloucester lead a ceremony of commemoration alongside Defence Secretary, the Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, and the Republic of Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yun Byung-se.

Indian Government?

It’s Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, JS/ IAS , and Asian Voice spoke to him recently.

Describing the project, he said, “The Ganga Project is looking at the cleaning of Ganga pollution from waste and water industrial waste. One part is the cleaning part, there is also improving the river front.”

He described Ghat purification; areas in holy river-side cities like Varanasi and Haridwar where stairs exist to reach the Ganges.

“Cleaning and putting public amenities at the river front are important.

As you know, the Ganges is a very important river.

So many people go and take bath in it so water quality is very important.

We also want to develop a very good monitoring system of the water quality so are developing online water quality monitoring.

Manual water quality monitoring is there.”

But sceptics ask if it is really possible to clean the Ganga. So many people have had the idea before.

They ask how it is possible to clean moving water and keep it clean when you there is no system of sewage control.

“It’s a very good question because it is a very big task,” commented Mr Mishra. “You have to clean the cities and also

the villages on the banks of the River Ganga because ultimately it is the cities that keep on coming to the river. It cannot be cleaned on its own.

One part is developing that kind of infrastructure and also looking at the drains which are bringing dirty water to the river. So I think so we are looking at treatment for drainsthat’s another part.

Another important part is to maintain the flow of the river; it is such an important part of the whole challenge.

“The river cannot clean on its own”

It is not impossible because many of the rivers have been rejuvenated. In time, if you look at all these things, it will be possible.”

In fact, just recently, Australian High Commissioner to India, Patrick Suckling, said his country will offer technical support and assistance to India’s mammoth undertaking of cleaning up the Ganga.

The Hindu newspaper reported Mr Suckling as saying, “We have agreed to work with India. We have spent $350 million to develop river basin modelling technology to save one of our biggest rivers, the Murray-Darling river basin. We are sharing this technology with India.

9

When Mr. Modi was in Australia, we also announced an intensification of our water partnership.”

But with a largely rural population, we wanted to know how it was going to be possible to stop people putting human waste into Indian rivers.

Mr Mishra said that that was not actually the main problem, though it is an issue.

“It’s a big challenge because there are thousands and thousands of people who have no access to sanitation and it is a major challenge on the banks of the Ganga. Now we are actually working with the Ministry and the State Government and they would cater for laws for toilets so we hope that will change.

But the real challenge is not so much organic waste. It is chemical and industrial waste that becomes very toxic.

You know with many of these things, the river has its own capacity to cleanse but when you take it beyond a certain point like chemical and industrial waste, then we have to do a lot of intervention to clean it up. The river cannot clean on its own.

It has to be done in a planned manner and certain things will take a longer time -but a few things can be done quickly.”

10

UK

Tempering praise with historical facts

Pakistan – British Raj’s worst political mistake

Your excitement and praise for Shri Narendra Modi's speech in Australia (AV 29th Nov 2014) needs to be tempered with historical facts.

Firstly the British Indian Army was not fighting for India but for Empire, an Empire built on race and the supremacy of the Western white Christian Englishman over all other races. The other races in fact became the "white mans burden". To remind you Australia became "successful" by keeping the a whites only policy for immigrants up until 1973.

The European narrative of both wars was that of "the superior race" and Hitler was one of those Europeans. It was Indian soldiers who imprisoned Mahatma Gandhi and all freedom fighters up until 1944. Those in jail where fighting for India's Independence, not the Indian soldier standing guard outside the jail on orders from London.

Most of all it's my personal experience of growing up in the White Highlands of colonial Kenya of the 60's which moulded me, that of segregation, whites only clubs, schools, hotels and housing. This is where I formed a bond with the Mahatma and his vision and struggle for India.

When the British came to realise that sooner or later their rule of India had to end and there had to be a decision on what they should do to retain some influence over their former colony. The obvious answer was partition of India and creation of Pakistan. The political philosophy to rule India was ‘Divide and Rule’.

It was this policy that led to the demand of a separate homeland for Muslims.

The British could have insisted on keeping India together but instead they did everything diplomatically possible to partition India. In fact after granting independence they continued to support Pakistan against India in almost every sphere of international politics.

The British did not realise how short sighted and self-destructive policy of creation of Pakistan could prove to be. Even today they do not understand Muslim psychology and Islamic theology and hence they have been facing continual military insurgency and terrorism.

Pakistan is now the safe haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda. Osama bin Laden was living in Abbotabad among Pakistani elites and conducting international terrorism from there. Yet the Pakistani authority of all descriptions always claimed he was not in Pakistan.

About three-quarters of terrorism and anti-UK activities either stem from Pakistan or carried out by people of Pakistani origin. Besides people involved in grooming hundreds and hundreds of young girls in the UK for rape are mostly of Pakistani origin. The most unfortunate fact is that the British still don’t realise the folly of British Raj.

Nehru

Jayesh A Patel By email

I refer to the letter from Mr Ramesh Jhalla in your issue of 22 November 2014 concerning Jawaharlal Nehru. I have never come across a more inaccurate and scurrilous letter arising, I believe, from his own ignorance and also prejudice against Pandit Nehru. He says “Nehru was born a Hindu, raised a Muslim and practicing Christianity.” This statement is totally inaccurate. Nehru remained a Hindu all his life, though he was not a religious person.

In Kashmir, which was an independent princely state at the time of Independence, Nehru was caught by events. He could not send the army to defend Kashmir against Pakistani aggression until the Mahraja had signed the Accession Treaty.

Pandit Nehru did not unilaterally declare India a secular state, as Mr Jhalla alleges. This Constituent Assembly of India deliberated over several years and its decision was collective. India being a secular state is her strength, for everyone of any religion can claim that the country is his/her. The constituent does not give preference to any religion.

It was India’s good luck to have a highly educated and civilised patriot like Nehru who had, from 1919 to 1947 fought for the independence of India, during which time he was Secretary of Congress Party for many years, President for several years and also spent nine years in jail at various times. Until his death in 1964, he laid the foundations of strong democracy, secular country and non-alignment.

Dhiraj Kataria By email

Dr Jatindra Saha By email

People of J & K have answered the critics

The 70% turnout at recent Assembly elections in J & K, is fitting reply to our meddling British MPs who interfere in India’s internal affairs to cultivate their vote banks among ill-informed Pakistani Kashmiris.

While Indians are shunning vote-bank politics in favour of development, we are moving in the opposite direction that could be detrimental to our democracy.

If Pakistan accepts LOC as international border, controls frailty, puts Kashmir issue on slow burner, it could change political, economic and social map of the country, as basically people of the sub-continent have common heritage, only religion is the main obstacle.

With Modiji working wonders, endeavouring peace, turning into influential international politician respected throughout Western world, perhaps he could persuade Pakistan to mend its ways, encapsulate Kashmir dispute and endorse vikas, progress on industrial front to improve living standard and give long suffering people of Pakistan peace and prosperity they deserve and desire.

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Bhupendra M. Gandhi By email

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Held to Ransom

Sardar

The shadow education secretary, Tristram Hunt, has been reported to say that a Labour government will strip private schools of valuable tax breaks worth hundreds of millions of pounds.According to his proposals, private schools in England will lose business rates relief - worth an estimated £700 million unless they are prepared to meet minimum standards of partnership with their state counterparts.

If these proposals are put in place, private schools may need to raise their fees to counteract their effect. This in turn would mean that many of us Gujaratis/ Indians who send their children to private schools will be held to ransom as they will have to foot the bill of the additional fees.

We Indians know that the sure way for our children to be successful in a severly competative world where in many cases, the colour of the skin determines who lands plump jobs, is to give our children an advantage of private education, and so we scrimp and save to send our children to private schools rather than state schools.

This proposal comes in addition to his earlier suggestions that teachers should take a public oath committing themselves to the values of their profession. This would "elevate" the status of the profession. He thinks that the pledge would emphasise the "moral calling of the noble profession of teaching". It would be similar to the Hippocratic Oath which places duties and obligations on physicians affirming their obligations and proper conduct.

Congratulations on your article on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. (Pg 8, As I See It, 15 Nov) It is definitive but necessarily and inevitably in outline. Once again, you have struck the right chords. I hope to fill the gaps in my knowledge and understanding of the achievements of the Sardar by reading, when available, the book by Sri Dinkar, Joshi to which you refer..

Sir Mota Siingh QC By email

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Swatch Britain

Watching BBC series on dirty Britain, I was shocked, even ashamed as to how unbelievably filthy, dirty this country is.

While Germany, Switzerland along with Scandinavian countries top the “Cleanliness Chart” we are languishing at the bottom, kith and kin with Romania.

Polluters use every available means to dump rubbish in open grounds, in rivers, street corners, even on people’s driveways while they are asleep or on holidays! So where does the blame lies?

Obviously ignorant, bleeding heart, mediocre politicians top the chart along with family breakdown and uncaring, materialistic society. Ultimately buck stops at voters’ door-step who elect these politicians.

Some even blame multicultural nature of our country, as people come from countries where due to poverty, lack of proper administration leads to unhygienic atmosphere. Culprits when caught, get away with paltry fines rather than confiscation of their vehicles, hefty fines, driving bans and long prison sentences for repeated offenders. But when our modern prisons are like hotels, this may not be deterrent.

While plastic bags, the worst polluters killing wild-life are either banned or heavily taxed in civilized countries, thus reducing usage by 95%, our obsessed politicians have ignored this menace, per-

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Gandhi’s questionable past

Kusoom Vadgama’s vehement opposition to Gandhiji’s statue in Parliament Square is irrelevant as it dwells too much in the historical and Gandhiji’s personal past, which cannot be undone by slandering.

Problems of the present cannot/will not go away by blaming global icon. Present problems need to be tackled on same vehemence as accorded to salacious past of Gandhiji. The attitude indicates colonial slant to abuse every thing Indian/ Hindu on basis of sex, or a hatchet job motivated by anti Gandhi lobby.

The world is respecting Gandhiji for his eternal, global and humane values of non-violence, which shines eternally against atrocious violence that is burning humanity. Sexual shenanigans are least concern against admired and accepted values. Clever display of words is traumatising those who have benefited from benevolent practice of non violence.

I feel that, astronomical amounts of money for a statue, is contra to altruism and compassion as preached by Gandhiji.

Many women, students and professionals are facing domestic, social and monetary crises which can be alleviated. Values stolen from contemporary freedom fighters were successfully practiced to by Gandhiji. Only after independence, India is elevated to the levels of flying spaceship to Mars and attracting international favourable spotlight.

Ramesh Jhalla By email

Ill effects of tobacco

The enduring popularity of tobacco, and the rise in the number of children taking to it, is alarming. Young people start on these habits in the pressure of popular culture, failing to foresee the consequences of their actions.

Teenagers need to be counseled about the ill-effects of smoking. Parents too, should take care that their children don’t fall prey to these dangerous addictions.

Jubel D’Cruz, Mumbai, India haps under pressure from supermarket protégés, as political donations replenish their coffers, honours’ list dominated by patronage, donors are elevated to HOL. Perhaps it is time for our politicians to take leaf out of Narendrabhai and start similar campaign here to clean up Britain or is it wishful thinking!

Kumudbala Valambia By email Continued on page 11

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Student vote could swing 2015 election, suggests study

Students could tip the balance of power at the next general election, according to analysis of their voting patterns from 1997 to the present day. They could affect the outcome in about 10 constituencies, the study says.

The allegiance of students vote is generally most affected by changes to student finance, says the Higher Education Policy Institute. This time Labour could be the main beneficiary - but many students are not registered to vote, says HEPI. The report says a new system, brought in since the last general election, means voters have to be registered individually, instead of by household.

It says that creates a problem because students change address frequently.

It calls on local councils, universities and central government to help students overcome these "new bureaucratic hur-

dles".

The research, which tracked student voting patterns since 1997, says there was a surge to the Liberal Democrats in 2001, 2005 and 2010 because they promised to scrap tuition fees. But the trebling of fees in England by the coalition has damaged both Liberal Democrat and Conservative prospects among students, say the authors. They predict a student swing to Labour at the 2015 general election.

The report draws on figures from the British Election Study which sug-

gest the proportion of students who would vote Liberal Democrat dropped from 44% in 2010 to 13% in early 2014.

Despite students making up only 3% of the population, they could affect the result in about 10 seats, particularly as the opinion polls are very close, it says.

Prof Stephen Fisher of Trinity College Oxford, who carried out the analysis, said it was "remarkable" the extent to which changes in the student vote had reflected party policies on student finance.

the Department for Education, said the requirement for schools to promote British values is already set out in the 2002 Education Act.

understand the difference between the law of the land and religious law.

The guidance says schools must meet requirements for a daily

Respect and tolerance key British values

Schools in England must promote respect and tolerance in pupils for all faiths, races and cultures, says new government guidance on British values. The guidance follows calls by ministers for schools to actively promote British values after concerns about an Islamist takeover in some Birmingham schools.

The advice is aimed at head teachers and governors at maintained schools. Most "will find they have been actively promoting British values for years", said heads' leader Russell Hobby.

The push for schools to boost British values was among a series of proposals in the wake of the so called Trojan Horse allegations about a group of schools in Birmingham.

In June, the then education secretary Michael Gove, said pupils must be made aware of fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different beliefs. His views were backed by the Prime Minister.

Publishing the advice, Continued from page 10

EDUCATION/COUNCIL VOICE

11

Private school confidence ‘hurts society’, says a leading headmaster Some privately educated pupils have a bullish and confidence charmless and can “asphyxiate the society they move in”, the head of a leading British independent school has said.

There are downsides to the overconfidence instilled by an independent education that can repel people, according to Andrew Halls, the headmaster of King’s College School in London.

Mr Halls said the private sector’s adherence to “old-fashioned” practices such as the house

and prefect system gave pupils confidence and a “sense that influence matters”. He added that because teachers were less in thrall to the “dead hand of the state” they could choose teaching methods that made their pupils more self-assured.

The confidence imparted by independent schools into its charges has been praised by the Labour shadow education secretary, Tristram Hunt, who said this innate belief in one’s own abilities was often lacking in state-educated pupils.

COUNCIL NEWS

However, Mr Halls said over-confidence could have a downside for society. “Some independent school children can asphyxiate the society they move in because their confidence is so bullish and charmless,” he said. “There are downsides to overconfidence; people can feel a bit repelled by it.”

The headmaster was also critical of the “distasteful” competition between independent schools, which ended up with pupils having “ludicrously extravagant facilities” at their disposal.

Domestic abuse is not fair game Over 100 Brent residents came together on Tuesday 25 November 2014 to show their commitment to ending domestic abuse by signing the White Ribbon Pledge.

The event, which took place at Brent Civic Centre, attracted people from across Brent and there were several speeches by key guests, including one by Seema Malhotra MP, the first person ever to be appointed to the post of Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Children.

Other guests included Chris Green, Director of the White Ribbon

Campaign, Councillor James Denselow, Lead Member for Stronger Communities at Brent Council and Detective Superintendent Tariq Sarwar from Brent Police.

The pledge signatories vow never to commit, condone or remain silent about all forms of domestic abuse.

White biodegradable balloons were released to remember the victims of domestic violence.

The theme for this year’s event was football and domestic abuse and the event was titled ‘Domestic Abuse Is Not Fair Game’.

Brent is home to the

national football stadium, Wembley, and the theme was chosen to highlight the increase in cases of domestic abuse after football games and sporting events prompted by heightened emotions and frustrations if a team has not performed well combined with excessive alcohol consumption.

The shocking statistics around domestic abuse are that 1 in 4 women are affected by domestic abuse in their lifetime, 90 per cent of cases of domestic abuse are witnessed by children and two women in England and Wales die each week from domestic abuse.

Ealing Council’s famous plastic bottle tree has returned this year to Southall. It will be displayed over the festive period and aims to remind residents about the importance of recycling.

The unique Christmas tree, made with hundreds of recyclable plastic bottles and standing six metres high was designed by artist, Ashley Phillips, creative director at Glartique, as part of the council’s 50% by 2020 recycling campaign.

This year the tree has been given a new look, with pink and purple bottles, which are the colours used for the Southall Big Plan project. The tree will be one of the main attractions at the upcoming Southall Christmas Market on Sunday, 7 December.

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of the council and cabinet member for regeneration said: “Southall will benefit from numerous improvements over the coming years, including the arrival of Crossrail, due in 2018. The creation of Southall Square has allowed for events such as the Southall Monthly Market to take place and acts as the perfect location

for the Christmas tree this year. These events help to bring the community and businesses together while celebrating and utilising the work that has already been done in the area.”

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for environment and transport said: “Following the successful campaign last year, we wanted to reinvigorate the conversation about recycling.

While we have made progress in increasing recycling rates, we still have some way to go to meet the 50% target. We all have a responsibility to ensure we meet this target by recycling as much as we can."

“More waste is produced over the festive

period than at any other time of year. The amount we send to landfill during this period rises by 20 per cent, costing us hundreds of thousands of pounds. If we don’t do more to recycle, and recycle correctly, we all lose out. There is plenty of information available so I urge any resident who is unsure about the recycling services available to them to visit www.recyclemystuff.org.uk or www.ealing.gov.uk/recycling " The tree has been constructed by plastic bottles recycled by Villiers High School, Southall, and will be in place on Southall Square, on the High Street (opposite the police station) from 23 November 2014 until 4 January 2015.

Southall Square shines pink with the return of the plastic bottle Christmas tree

In particular, the guidance emphasises that pupils should be encouraged to understand that "while different people may hold different views about what is right and wrong, all people living in England are subject to its law".

Schools' ethos and teaching "should support the rule of English civil and criminal law and schools should not teach anything that undermines it".

The guidance urges schools to take particular care to ensure pupils

YOUR VOICE

act of collective worship, but they should also ensure pupils understand that freedom to choose and hold other faiths and beliefs is protected in law.

Having another faith should not be the cause of prejudicial or discriminatory behaviour, it explains.

Pupils should also learn how citizens can influence decision making though the democratic process and how power in Britain is separated between the executive (government) and the judiciary.

Mahatma Gandhi

I started reading about M K Gandhi in late 60’s and continued reading more and more about him in various volumes of collected works of Gandhi. One can then appreciate the amount of good work done by this individual that earned him the title of Mahatma. I am all for a statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed at Parliament Square, which should have been rightful place for many years. I would also urge everyone not just to look at statue but to adopt his teachings into our lives.

Gandhi was after all a human being and as such would have made mistakes in life. But the work he has done for India

far outweighs any mistake done knowingly or unknowingly. Many people during his life and after have tried desperately to belittle him for their own selfish motives.

Reading a letter questioning Gandhi’s past in this paper last week reminded me about Indian television news channels, where trivial stories are highlighted to discredit individuals. Currently Mr Modi is under their radar and all the good work done by individual is ignored. This kind of defamation can only be mentality of people seeking cheap publicity.

Suresh P Shah By email

12

MEDIA WATCH

“It is the economy, stupid,” said former US president Bill Clinton, many moons ago. Its wisdom applies as much to India as it does to every country on planet earth past, present and future. The next few years for India will be critical for India’s economic modernization, hence thinking ahead and putting down the markers is no bad thing. PricewaterhouseCoopers released a report that almost coincided with news of a slight economic downturn for the last quarter- 5.3 per cent from the 5.7 per cent from the previous quarter.

No matter, the PriceWaterhouse roadmap is as follows: If India wishes to build a $10 trillion economy by 2024, growing at 9 per cent per annum, it will have to prioritize investments in Research & Development and pursue radical measures in the Human Development Index.

This includes three possible scenarios, the most ambition being the “Winning Leap,” which would guarantee employment generation of 240 million jobs by 2024 needed for India’s growing demography. The two alternative scenarios are “Pushing old ways faster” and “Turbo-charging Investment”.

Chairman’s voice

Dennis Nally, the P r i c e Wa t e r h o u s e C o o p e r International Chairman shared his thoughts on the subject in a newspaper interview: he subscribed to the general optimism of business circles on the Modi

government’s initial steps to reorient economic policies in a more dynamic direction.

“Clearly, when you look at traditional BRICS economies, they are all moving in different directions, but at the end of the day India has a lot of strong attributes – demographics, education system and language – that some of the other developing countries do not possess. So, the real challenge is how do you unleash that and that’s the change in dynamics that is being experienced in the past several months. There is a pro-business, pro-investment government in place to tap the potential that exists here.” He pointed to the financial services, regulatory mechanisms and taxation as areas where changes needed sooner rather than later.

Adani acquisition

Adani Power is set to acquire a 600MW coal-based power plant in Korba, Madhya Pradesh, from the Delhi-based Avantha Group for Rs 4,200 crore.

“Avantha Power & Infrastructure confirms the signing of the memorandum of

Tech Mahindra acquisition Tech Mahindra announced, last week, that it had acquired USbased network services company Lightbridge Communications Corporation (LCC) for an enter-

Xiaomi phones

China’s top mobile phone manufacturer is looking to enter the Indian market, where it is likely to take over the Nokia plant at Chennai. The company is the world’s third-largest mobile phone vendor and the fastest growing, is searching for an Indian partner. Manu Jain, Operations head in India said: “India is a big market and we would like to be near our customers.” If the plan fructifies it will be a shot in the arm for Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign.” (Times of India November 25)

Bharti Nigeria sale

Amazon India

Amazon India has more than doubled its authorized share capital to Rs 3,500 crore in November, indicating that the company will continue to invest aggressively in India and is unlikely to be deterred by the pressure from its investors to cut spending (Mint November 24)

Net FII inflows set set for $40 billion

Foreign portfolio managers have poured in $40 billion in Indian stocks and debt this year on expectations that the country’s economic growth will quicken and the interest rate will be cut, as falling oil prices reduce inflation, making India the most attractive destination among emerging markets, particularly in Asia including Japan. Foreign portfolio inflows into India are the second highest in Asia after Japan. “The entire environment has shifted towards improved policy, better decision-making, improving growth and declining inflation,” said S.Rao Chief Economist at Yes Bank Ltd. This puts India on top of the BRICS nations, he averred (Mint November 24)

face any confrontation when required, he said. The IMAC will be the nerve centre for the country’s maritime domain awareness. He said his task was to ensure that the defence sector got its due so that it could become a strong, cohesive force (Hindu November 24).

Akash missile tested

understanding with Adani Power for 100 per cent acquisition of…. the Korba West Power Company,” said an Awanthi Group statement (Times of India November 25)

Bharti Airtel will sell 4,800 or more mobile phone masts in Nigeria to American Tower for $1.5 billion as part of its goal to reduce both costs and debts.

Bharti Airtel will be the anchor tenant on the masts it is selling, initially for 10 years, the companies stated. The deal is expected to be sealed in early 2015.

Bharti Airtel’s massive purchases in Africa have not produced the expected revenues, hence the drive to sell many of its assets across the continent (Times of India November 25) Denis Nally, Chairman of PriceWaterhouseCooper

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Tech Mahindra Managing Director & CEO C.F Gurnani

prise value of $240 million in an all-cash deal. This is the company’s largest foreign acquisition.

“We will now be the largest and most comprehensive provider of technology services. Our rich experience in delivering technology solutions to enterprises and communication service providers globally will be significantly strengthened by this acquisition,” said Tech Mahindra Managing Director and CEO C.F. Gurnani. (Hindu November 21)

Call for effective deterrence

Presenting the President’s standard to the 115 Helicopter Unit and 26 Squadron at a parade in the Tezpur Air Force station, President Pranab Mukherjee said: “While the nation develops in all realms, the subcontinent faces various threats, especially from non-state actors. Besides the role of safeguarding the sov-

President Pranab Mukherjee

ereignty of our nation, the Indian Air Force has always been a harbinger of humanitarian aid within our boundaries.”

Later, addressing the first convocation of the National Institute of Technology [NIT], Arunachal Pradesh, at Yupia, 18 kilometres from the capital, Itanagar, he called for research cooperation with other NIT institutes across the country and with Indian industry (Hindu November 22)

Demonstrating their capability to shoot down multiple-targets, two of India’s indigenously designed and manufactured medium range Akash surface-toair supersonic missiles, were launched simultaneously against two flying targets by Indian Air Force personnel from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.The missiles hit the objects with deadly accu-

Indra 2014,” all three of India’s armed forces are now in regular exercises with their Russian counterparts. The Indian and Russian navies exercised in the Sea of Japan earlier this year, while the armies of the two countries were similarly engaged on Russian soil last year. Since 2005, Indian and Russian armies and navies have conducted 11 Indra series exercises. “Avia Indra,” which involved their respective air forces, completed the cycle of military cooperation (Telegraph November 21)

Terrorist’s wife held in Dhaka

Dhaka police have arrested the wife of the prime suspect in the Burdwan bomb blasts, Sajid, following leads provided by India’s

Akash missile racy. Flying at 2.5 Mach [2,000 miles per hour], one destroyed a fast-moving Banshee unarmed aerial vehicle at a range of 11 kilometres and an altitude of 2.5 km.

Second target

The second Akash missile, carrying a 55 kg pre-fragmented warhead hit its target in a slant range of 24 km and an altitude of 5.5km detonated in the proximity of the target. The tracking and firing were executed by a multi-functional radar system [capable of tracking 64 simultaneous targets] and the automated air defence functions built into the missile’s design. Once the computer gives the command, the entire sequence is automated until the demolition (Hindu November 21)

India-Russia air exercise

The first India-Russia air force exercise began its second phase at Halwara, Punjab last week and was completed at the weekend. The exercise was a followup to the drills hosted by Russia in the Astrakhan region in August-September. With “Avia

National Investigation Agency (NIA) Fateema Begum confessed to facilitating jihadi training in West Bengal’s Burdwan district village of Shimulia, where a madrassa, it emerged, was the terrorist training hub for 25 women.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra police, in a joint operation, busted a terrorist sleeper cell and arrested three suspects in Dharwar, where three men lodged as tenants in a privately owned house (Telegraph, Times of India, Hindu November 23, 24)

President Obama: Republic Day guest

President Barack Obama will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations on 26 January 2015. The invitation was extended to Mr Obama personally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in Myanmar. The White House website noted that this would be first such visit for the occasion by an American president. This is the sort of spotlight the beleaguered US president would welcome (Hindu, Times of India, Telegraph November 22).

Parrikar strategy for defence

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has called for a multipronged strategy to counter security threats at the inauguration of the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre at Gurgaon. “One thing I will promise…. I will see that India is strengthened, and that the country is in a position” to

Narendra Modi at SAARC summit.

See comment page 3

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Of Indian Heroes And British Generals Due to the unfortunate hospitalisation of Baroness Flather, it fell upon me to Chair a meeting of the Commonwealth Memorial Gates – those towers near Buckingham Palace commemorating the service of Commonwealth soldiers in the two World Wars.

You learn a lot about leadership when you have a General of the British Army in a meeting you are chairing. They have a presence, a commanding air about them – you want them to be in charge.

As I grabbed around for an ounce of credibility, I blurted ‘you know General I am the first of my family in three generations not have served in the British Army.

My great Grandfather served, so did my Grandfather and also an uncle who served in Northern Ireland.’ I guess the General thought ‘what went wrong with you then son?’

Unlike any other meeting I have ever chaired this was by far the most important. This was not a meeting about finance, or investing, but how we commemorate on March 9th (Commonwealth Day) the service of the India Corp on the Western Front 100 years ago in the First World War. As I planned with General WebbCarter I recalled how at the service in previous years as I listened to the bugle call I certainly knew my generation is the most fortunate of any generation to have been born on British or Commonwealth soil. Ours was the generation for whom others fought, and a debt of honour we have not ourselves had to pay forward to the next generation.

People grow tired of us who speak of honour and duty and valour and nobility – they roll their eyes – they can afford to do so because of the freedoms provided

by those who sacrificed before them and believed in those values – and because of those who still do.

That a British Army General wanted the service of Indian soldiers 100 years ago to be remembered tells you the allegiance between Britain and India. When PM Modi visits the UK, we shall surely have him visit these Memorial Gates. ‘For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.’ – the General knew he was commemorating his brothers.

‘Don’t wait for someone behind you to lead’ was the message from Baroness Flather – step forward yourself, because there may well be no one behind to lead.

On the dome are names the recipients from the Commonwealth of the Victoria Cross in the two World Wars. Now you may not know about the Victoria Cross. It is the highest possible award for valour ‘in the face of the enemy’.

Such is the recognition of bravery, at even the highest ranking officer in the Army will salute a Private awarded the Victoria Cross and at an investiture by the Monarch, it is the VC before all others, including Knighthoods, that is awarded first.

And so it is among the names of recipients, were you to look at the Dome of the Commonwealth Memorial Gates will you find names such as Mir Dast, Kulbir Thapa, Chatta Singh, Shahamad Khan, Gobind Singh, Badlu Singh, Premindra Bhagat, Kamal Ram. It is an honour, a duty and a privilege to do my duty to plan how we will commemorate these heroes on March 9th. It’s a public ceremony – I do hope my fellow Indian will be present – and an invitation to the Prime Minister of India has also gone out from us.

IJA to host its annual dinner at Millennium Mayfair

The Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) in the UK, that selected it's first ever woman President and Secretary team earlier this year, is hosting their annual dinner on 10th December at the Millennium Mayfair, Grosvenor Square. The theme of this year's dinner is 'Women at work: India and UK'.

IJA was established in London in May 1947 and is today the main hub for UK-based media-persons covering the India story.

The Annual Dinner has been a high watermark of the Indo-British diplomatic, political, economic and social calendar. Over the

years, heads of state and government, members of the royal family, and business chiefs have graced the occasion. Distinguished

guests have included former Prime Ministers on both sides – from Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to Clement Atlee and Margaret Thatcher.

This year the Chief Guest is Business Secretary Mr Mathew Hancock. Keynote speaker will be Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Ms Priti Patel MP. Other speakers will include Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Ms Seema Malhotra MP and

UK

Time to tackle dementia in diverse communities

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The University of Salford’s Institute for Dementia has found that more needs to be done to support people from diverse communities living with dementia, including Black Minority Ethnic (BME) and deaf people.

It is estimated there are currently 25,000 people with dementia from BME communities in England and Wales and this figure is expected to grow to 50,000 by 2026 and 172,000 by 2051.

Certain types of dementia may be more prevalent among BME communities since risk factors, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, may be more common.

A listening event, led

by Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, Dr Anya Ahmed, held earlier this year with healthcare professionals, Social Services, caregivers, volunteers, academics, service providers and people living with dementia, explored how services can respond to the diverse needs of BME communities while promoting inclusiveness.

The findings and topics points raised at the Listening Event were: - BME and less heard communities may not recognise the term dementia; - Participants suggested diverse communities are not hard to reach, instead they are easy to ignore; - It is important to acknowledge that many of the barriers affecting people from BME and deaf communities also affect the wider population; - Communication is an

issue: people do not know who to contact to get help; - There are issues around trust and fear of approaching GPs and other professionals; - People may feel overwhelmed by the number of agencies that need to be dealt with; - People may not always recognise that they are a carer and many people are not registered as carers by their GP; - Services are Eurocentric and there is often a lack of knowledge among professionals of different cultures; - There may be greater reluctance to come forward in some cultures, but we should not make stereotypical assumptions about BME groups always caring for family members; - There is a stigma surrounding diagnosis. Many people were worried about getting negative perceptions from professionals; - People from diverse backgrounds are not represented in local authorities and services; - There is limited dialogue between minority communities and service; - It was also widely accepted that cuts to

spending on services has made this situation worse.

Quoted in the report, Professor Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, pictured, Vice President of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: “There is little known about diverse communities and dementia and the work of the Institute for Dementia at the University of Salford is playing a key part in beginning to fill some of the some of these important gaps in knowledge.”

Dr Ahmed is also working in partnership with the Somali Cultural Centre on the Somali Dementia Aware Project in Camden in London, as well as projects looking exploring the needs of diverse communities in Salford and life history in Greater Manchester.

Professor Maggie Pearson, Pro Vice (Public Chancellor Benefit) and Dean of the College of Health and Social Care, said: “Although colleagues from the black and minority ethnic communities have been crucial to the establishment and survival of the NHS, since its inception in 1948, the service has been ironically slow to acknowledge, understand and respond to their needs. The Salford Institute for Dementia will take this work forward to develop a more robust evidence base about the needs and preferences of people in BME communities who are affected by dementia, but the clear message from our work is that we must develop an agenda for health and social care services, no matter whether in the public, private or third sector.”

Baroness Zahida Manzoor.

The exclusive event that expects 250 guests from the crème de la crème of the diverse British society, will be attended by celebrities from various walks of life and will be covered across all major media outlets, including

live coverage both in the UK and India.

Award-winning filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and actress Meera Syal will be sharing a stage at this event after nearly 25 years, when they collaborated on 'Bhaji on the Beach', in conversation with journalist-author Sathnam

Sanghera. An exclusive dance performance will be held by the very well known Ash Mukherjee.

It will also mark the launch of the ‘IJA Yearbook’, a souvenir publication with profiles of women who have made a mark on the India-UK relationship over the years.

Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford

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UK

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Launch of ‘Inspired by my Museum’ anthology

Sampad South Asian Arts and British Council India publish a brand new collection of winning entries from their latest ‘Inspired by…’ series, following a tremendous response to their major international writing competition.

Sampad South Asian arts and British Council India have announced the launch of a brand new collection of short stories, poems and reportage which form the winning entries to their major international writing competition, ‘Inspired by my Museum’.

To mark the publication of the anthology, a special event took place last week in the prestigious setting of the Indian High Commission in London.

Mr Prashant Pise, Head of Chancery welcomed esteemed guest speakers Piali Ray OBE (Director of Sampad South Asian Arts), Chitra Sundaram (respected dance artist and Fellow of the Royal Society), Andy Howell (Honorary Member of the Sampad Board) and C.B Patel (Publisher/Editor, ABPL Group) along with more than 30 of the writers who had submitted winning entries. After a thought-

provoking talk by Chitra Sundaram examining the theme of ‘inspiration’, selected readings from the ‘Inspired By’ series were delivered by actors

Piyali Ray OBE and CB Patel

Dharmesh Rajput and Hermione Sethi.

Pioneering writer and broadcaster, Shyama Perera later presented the winning writers with their personal copies of the anthology, which revealed the name of overall winning entry from the UK,

Kolak Snack Foods wins prestigious awards

At the reputable West London Business awards Kolak Snack Foods won the top award of “Overall Business of the year” for the second year running.

They also won “Park Royal Business of the Year” and were highly commended in “Innovation in Business” along with “Training and Development.”

Park Royal is home to one of Europe’s largest business parks, occupying 1,200 acres and it contains over 1,200 businesses, employing an estimated 35,000 workers.

On winning, Kolak’s Managing Director Rikin Lakhani said, “We are very proud to win such a prestigious award especially considering the wide range of excellent entries reflecting the diversity, quality and strength of the West London business sector.

This is fantastic news especially as it comes a week after we were finalist in last week’s Food Manufacturing Excellence Awards. Our success is built upon focusing on the

needs of high street retail customers and developing a strong team here at Kolak. We are happy with our continued progress, especially in such a tough economic climate.”

Kolak Snack Foods were established in 1984 and are known as one of the most successful snack manufacturers in the market place. The business supplies the majority of the high street retailers with Kolak branded and retailer own label snacks.

The company has delivered 30 years of unbroken growth and is recognised as a quality producer of competitively priced products.

West London Business (WLB) are one of London’s premier business groups, representing over 800 businesses from SMEs through to large multinational corporations.

They support its membership by providing business networking events, marketing support, lobbying programs and information platforms.

along with the Outstanding and Highly Commended entries.

The Inspired by my Museum competition had invited budding writers, aged 16 and over, from around the world to record and share their personal reactions, connections or experiences inspired by a visit to a museum.

Participants had the opportunity to respond to a museum space, architecture, design, a specific object or objects within a museum, or even a museum/exhibition curator.

480 entries were received from 32 countries around the world including India, Canada, Croatia, Ukraine and New Zealand. Writers took their inspiration from a diverse range of museum, both large and small, including Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, BMAG (UK), the Victoria & Albert Museum, V&A (London), the Indian Museum (Kolkata), the

Museum of Broken Relationships (Croatia), the Slave Trade Museum (Nigeria), the BATA Shoe Museum (Canada) and the Museum of Folk Architecture and Life (Ukraine).

The partners launched Inspired by my Museum following the resounding success of their previous collaboration ‘Inspired by Tagore’ which celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of influential poet/writer, Rabindranath Tagore and triggered more than 1,500 entries from 37 countries across the world.

At the end of last week’s event at India House, under the striking portrait of Mahatma Gandhi in the Gandhi Hall, Director of Sampad, Piali Ray and C.B Patel fittingly took the opportunity to announce the next international writing competition in the series as ‘Inspired by Gandhi’, Further details about this competition and the related fundraising campaign will be released in January 2015.

The Inspired by my Museum and Inspired by Tagore publications are available to buy via www.sampad.org.uk from December 2014.

Skanda Holidays wins BTA

Skanda Holidays has been announced as the winner of Best Holiday Company to Southern Asia in the prestigious 2014 British Travel Awards.

The announcement was made on 26 November at a glamorous Gala Awards Dinner, held at Battersea Evolution in London and attended by close to a thousand travel industry people.

Skanda Holidays is a small independent travel company based in Birmingham and Edinburgh, who offer specialist travel packages to the worlds most exciting destinations. They tailor make holiday packages for discerning travellers to Asia, South America, North America, Oceania, Antarctica and Africa to name but a few, as well as more intimate itineraries to some the worlds most intriguing and hard to reach places.

Managing Director of Skanda Holidays, Mr Thiru, said that “Because the British Travel Awards are voted for by the consumer, in other words, our customers, we think that winning the award, and even just being nominated is a tremendous compliment. It’s a helpful reminder that the work we are doing is really appreciat-

ed - it makes the long days and nights that bit more palatable and it’s wonderful to know that what we are doing, has such a positive impact on people - both the consumer and the trade.”

He went on to congratulate his team at Skanda Holidays, saying that “Thanks to our exceptional customer service standards and attention to detail that we were able to win our first award at the BTA’s, and with continued innovation and dedication we will return successfully in 2015.”

The British Travel Awards is a proud independent organisation, with all votes scrutinised and verified by leading global accountancy practitioners Deloitte. The BTAs are the only travel industry accolades voted for exclusively by the travelling public, and the Awards serve to recognise all that is great about the travel companies preferred by holidaymakers from Great Britain.

For more details see: http://www.skandaholidays.co.uk/www.britishtravelawards.com

The City Hindus Network celebrates Diwali 2014

The City Hindus Network (“CHN”) celebrated its annual Diwali Ball in support of the UK military charity, Help for Heroes, at the Radisson Blu Portman in London’s West End on Thursday 13 November 2014, with this year’s festivities attended by a number of special guests and performers.

Co- presented by the Chairman of the CHN, Prinal Nathwani, and the Project Team Lead, Shefali Davda, the CHN Diwali Ball 2014 attracted 180 professionals from a range of backgrounds.

Backed by the rest of the CHN team and the CHN Advisory Board, comprising of Jitesh Gadhia, Senior Managing Director at The Blackstone Group; Nishma Gosrani, Director at Deloitte consulting; Alpesh Patel, Founder Principal of Praefinium Partners; and Punam Denley, partner at Blanchards Law, the hosts guided attendees through an evening of classical and contemporary entertainment, great food and a number of invigorating and powerful addresses.

Attendees were first addressed by the Rt Hon Matthew Hancock MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for

West Suffolk. Matthew emphasised the importance of the Hindu community’s contribution to British society, urging those in attendance to take a more active role in civic society and using their abilities and the messages so ingrained in Hindu philosophy to make a change.

A number of other eminent personalities, both in politics and the wider community, also addressed attendees on the evening, reiterating the ever-important message of community engagement. Lord Dolar Popat of Harrow, the Hon Shailesh Vara MP and Manoj Ladwa, Founder of MLS Chase Group and Communications Liaison for the highly successful election campaign of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, all further stressed the impor-

tance of getting young people out there and making use of their skills.

Focus was placed by Lord Popat and the Hon Shailesh Vara MP on how organisations such as CHN provide an inspiration to young Hindus to engage in civic work, with Lord Popat highlighting how the CHN itself has inspired young Hindus to stand up and get involved in making a change and also to be recognised for their contribution they make to society (with 3 young Hindus choosing to get involved in politics after the CHN Diwali Dinner hosted by Lord Popat at the House of Lords in 2013).

Nishma Gosrani, CHN Advisory Board member and winner of a number of prestigious business awards also took the stage, noting that “as 1st, 2nd and 3rd genera-

tion Hindus we have succeeded in almost every industry; manufacturing, steel, food and beverages, textiles and are now making our mark (in often all white boardrooms) through senior and csuite positions across the banks, law firms and professional services firms. We now need to make the same contribution in public life; in the chambers of the Houses of Parliament, in our armed battalions, in our fighter jets and our naval ships”.

In addition to unique stalls and an address by James Burns, representative from Help for Heroes, attendees were treated to a range of entertainment, in the form of classical dancing and more contemporary pieces, with the ever-famous headlining on the evening.

CHN Chairman Prinal Nathwani concluded, “the dedication of key members of the team in bringing this event together has been inspiring, with many of the committee having a number of late nights to ensure everything runs smoothly. Events such as this are great not only in bringing people together, but also in ensuring that key messages such as those highlighted by the key speakers above are relayed effectively and can indeed inspire change”.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Asian Achievers Awards 2014

People's Choice Awards to be televised Watch the highlights of Asian Achievers Awards 2014 - People's Choice Awards, to be televised on 6th December 2014 on B4U Music 781 Sky and 816 on Virgin media from 5.30pm to 7.00pm.

Hosted by one of Britain's largest ethnic newsweeklies - Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar to recognise the outstanding accomplishments of individuals in their respective fields - nominated by the readers.

Since launching 14 years ago, the Asian Achievers Awards has helped raise millions of pounds for various charities, and this year the chosen charity partner was the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Auctioneer for the evening, Lord Jeffrey Archer helped to raise more than £100,000 for underprivileged women in

India - to help them with business incubation, access to loans and business growth opportunities, which in turn, will see them reaping benefits for both their families and communities.

The winners were announced on 19th September 2014 at a star-studded gala event at the Grosvenor House Hotel, on London’s Park Lane. Winners included Hanif Kureshi CBE for Media, Arts and Culture; Mahmud Kamani, co-founder of boohoo.com for Business Person of the Year; and Wasim Khan MBE, the first British-Pakistani to play professional cricket in England, for Achievement in Community Service.

Tune into B4U music 781 Sky and 816 on Virgin Media at 5.30pm on 6th December 2014 to watch the event highlights.

Lord Dholakia speaks on poverty and caste discrimination in India

Heralding the ending of India's diplomatic isolation, Lord Dholakia welcomed the timeliness of the debate on the challenges facing the government of India on the issues of poverty and caste discrimination. Putting "the issue of poverty in the context of the challenges facing India," Lord Dholakia stated: "Sixty per cent of India’s population is below the age of 35. It is estimated that 10 million to 15 million young people enter the labour market each year. India needs to create about 1 million jobs per month to absorb new entrants to the workforce."

Acknowledging that "a substantial population still lives below the poverty line," Lord Dholakia opined that "The industrial sector is crying out for investment and reform, securing income for farmers and rebuilding outdated infrastructure”. Affirming that "Despite these challenges, most observers expect India to become the world’s third largest economy by 2030," Lord Dholakia pointed out that:".. we now have a champion in Mr Modi, who has risen from a humble beginning, from a lower caste, to the top of the political structure in India." Emphasising that the new prime minister recognised inequality in India and was determined to tackle this problem Lord Dholakia reiterated Mr Modi's words that “[Economic resources of the country should be utilised for the wellbeing of the poor”.

Whilst noting that "[People's expectations are great," Lord Dholakia was of the opinion that "Mr Modi has not disappointed them." "We have seen clarity in his vision on domestic matters," he said.

Discussing Prime Minister Modi’s Independence Day speech on 15 August Lord Dholakia was keen to point out that Prime Minister Modi was not afraid to shy

Lord Dholakia

away from contentious issues such as "rape, equality and the safety of women and girls," as the new prime minister "set out his vision on governance which included a plea for a united, selfless, skilled and peaceful India."

Lord Dholakia demonstrated the 'new broom sweeps clean' attitude of the new prime minister, not only from Mr Modi's actual aims to clean the country in the literal sense but also, by "the devolution of power and control which would result in more economic liberalisation and less central control;" and including the " .... flagship programme aimed at tackling poverty by ending financial untouchability."

Addressing the objectionable and "unacceptable" issue of caste discrimination Lord Dholakia stressed: "[We abhor discrimination of any kind based on race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

This equally applies to gender discrimination or discrimination based on sexual orientation and disability."

Commending India's approach to human rights through its commission, which Lord Dholakia has observed first-hand Lord Dholakia said: "The right of minorities are protected under India’s constitution.

Let me remind noble Lords that this was well before this country [Britain] even thought of race relations or equality legislation;" adding, "India also has a powerful judiciary which, unlike in any other country in the world, often challenges the lack of action by

the legislators, which is a remarkable achievement."

Lord Dholakia stated: "The barriers of caste are breaking down in the new generations of Indians emerging with better education and social responsibility."

Lord Dholakia was sure that "concerted efforts by the new Government, the judiciary, the human rights commission and the new generation of the young educated class will challenge centuries-old traditions in India." Lord Dholakia acknowledged that "whether [legislation] is effective is something we should be looking at," but reiterated the new prime ministers encouraging stance when Mr Modi declared “Even after Independence, we have had to face the poison of casteism and communalism. How long these evils will continue? Whom does it benefit? We have had enough of fights, many have been killed. Friends, look behind you and you will find that nobody has benefited from it. Except casting a slur on Mother India, we have done nothing. Therefore, I appeal to all those people that whether it is the poison of casteism, communalism, regionalism, discrimination on social and economic basis, all these are obstacles in our way forward.”

Lord Dholakia pointing out Britain's "longstanding interest in India," and the many ties that have "replaced the excesses of colonial empire" stated: "[w]ith an Indian diaspora

UK

Modi government policies will reduce poverty and caste discrimination in India, Lord Loomba predicts

Lord Loomba participated in a debate on poverty and caste discrimination in India, which was initiated by Lord Harries of Pentregarth, at the House of Lords on Thursday, 26th November, 2015. He emphasised that both poverty and class system exist not only in India but everywhere in the world. The unfortunate fact is that human beings have always remained unequal; some are born with a silver spoon, others have to make do with misfortunes all their life. Poverty defines their destiny and their caste.

However, he explained that there is a major difference in the poor in the West, where they get some relief through welfare schemes.

But in India this is not possible because one, the number is huge and secondly there is financial constraints. This is why both poverty and caste have been major curses and blighted the Indian State and the Indian society. The caste system’s rigidity has caused major tragedies and poverty led too large number living a very miserable life.

He further said that poverty is a great enemy of human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty and it makes some virtues impracticable, and other extremely difficult. Bonded labour, cheap labour, child labour, misappropriation, corruption, bribe, thieving, seduction or taking to the street are some of the manifestations one has witnessed. In remote, inaccessible villages where there is extreme poverty, it is difficult to locate anyone who smiles.

Coming to the other social pest, the caste system, Lord Loomba said - it is a type of social structure, which divides people on the basis of inherited social status. And this divide over decades has led to oppression, torture and abuse and derogatory treatment of a lower caste by the upper one.

"We need a strong campaign at the highest level to counter the entrenched nature of caste prejudices.

Indian’s blind faith in the social grading system and its non- negotiable boundaries has hardly benefited any one in any way. In fact, it is one

of the main causes for the deaths of many innocent people, the recent being the case of Bhawna Yadav, a 21year-old Delhi University student. Yadav was strangled to death by her parents because she married her boyfriend Abhishek Seth, who did not belong to her caste.

"The caste system in India has also been largely responsible for rural poverty.

The subordination of the low caste people by the high caste people caused the poverty of the former. Due to rigid caste system, the low caste people could not participate in the schemes and programmes of economic progress. Birth decided their occupation and their economic fate," he added.

He further went on to say that successive governments have tried to alleviate poverty.More and more young and educated men and women are spending long hours together in offices and they least bother about caste differences. This is happening in larger numbers in urban areas especially the Metros where they are breaking caste boundaries.

In the rural India where over 68 percent of Indians still live in villages the caste considerations continue to be rigid. But, fortuitously even in villages couples marrying out of caste are seeking police protection or from women’s organizations.

"The awareness about possible protection and financial freedom has encouraged couples to break the boundaries around castes. It would take time but with increasing number of Dalits and Backwards getting education and then special facilities for employment and business, they have begun to occupy high posts

and many have done very well as entrepreneurs and become millionaires," he added.

Explaining further on a new India, Lord Loomba said, "Many Temples where Dalits were denied entry have opened their doors for them. In most upper caste Hindu households, caste was a factor when employing a cook. He had to be preferably a Brahmin. But now no one asks the caste, hiring is on the basis of aspirant’s culinary expertise. The rigidity is cracking up and sooner than later caste as an evil would be losing its hold on the psyche of the people.

Likewise there has been a sharp decline in poverty over the last five years with the percentage of population below Poverty Line declining to 26.1% in 1999-2000 from 35.97% in 1993-94.

According to the latest estimates of the Planning Commission, while the percentage of population of rural Below Poverty Line has dropped to 27.09% from 37.27%, in urban India, it fell to 23.62% from 32.36% during the five year period. In absolute term too, the below the poverty line population has dropped by over 19% to 26.03 crore in 1999-2000, from 32.04 crore in 1993-94.

The rural poor stands at 19.32 crore while the urban poor stands at 6.71 crore.

The Modi government’s policy has also given hope that poverty will be eradicated faster. He on has started many new initiatives. These will create new jobs and break the shackles of poverty in India. As people become self-reliant, get educated.

They will enjoy better health and happiness. There can be no better ambience for fighting poverty and overcoming the boundaries of caste system.

He concluded, "Unfortunately, the caste system has existed in India over 2000 years. Therefore, it is going to take some time to rectify this situation but we are definitely going in the right direction. However, I am convinced that Modi’s Government is making huge efforts to address both the poverty and caste system in India."

of 1.5 million, the link between the world’s oldest and the world’s largest democracy will continue to flourish." Finishing off Lord Dholakia declared: "In Britain, we have moved

away from the old values of compartmentalising communities based on caste.

Generations have grown up over the years who see no obstacles to crossing the caste divide," adding

cogently, "[w]e must remember that any time we deny anyone equality of opportunity based on any grounds, we weaken our own claims to have a fair and just society."

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SPECIAL

Indian fighter pilot's statue unveiled in Kent

Continued from page 1 Air Force sent to Britain in 1940 to fly with the Royal Air Force, which was fighting the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. RAF then desperately needed pilots and already had 13 directentry Indian officers.

These Indian officers were placed in different squadrons in RAF's fighter, bomber and coastal commands and flew rhubarb missions.

The statue is intended to represent all the service personnel from across the world who have fought for Britain in conflicts since 1914. Members of the Pujji family attended the unveiling in St Andrews Gardens.

Born in Simla in 1918, Sq Ldr Pujji, who learned to fly as a hobby in India, began training with the RAF in the autumn of 1940. Early the next year he began flying Hurricanes, protecting coastal convoys and intercepting bombers and fighters when Hitler ordered the bombing of London. He was the fourth son of Sardar Sohan Singh Pujji and his wife, Sant Kaur. His father was a senior government official. Pujji received a law degree, went to school and college in Lahore, and earned a law degree from Bombay University. After graduation, he worked for Shell.

In 1936, he learned to fly

Sunetra Senior Sailen (Bambi) Majumdar, son of India's famous World War Two Wing Commander Karun Krishna Majumdar, faced resistance when he tried to redeem the medals of his fighter-bird father for the substantial sum that they deserved. Now, in a poignant gesture, Air Marshal Anil Chopra, a pilot pensioner has come forward to NDTV stating that he is prepared to pay Rs. 2million from his own retirement fund if it means that the Distinguished Flying Cross of the legendary KK Majumdar will be returned to its rightful place at the Indian Air Force Museum.

As a British resident, son Sailen held a London auction to sell many of KK's valued belongings, including his log books, but the sales fell through when no one in the audience bid the reserve price of between 20 to 30,000 pounds, with the highest offer being £15,500. Anil Chopra said to NDTV: “As a retired person, from

at the Delhi Flying School, where he fell in love with flying .

Besides him other Indian pilots also flew bombing missions over Dresden and other German cities, and were there during the Normandy operations— a fact that's never been admitted publicly in any report, both in India and the West.

Pujji survived several crashes and flew combat missions throughout the war in Britain, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Burma. He ended the war with a distinguished Flying Cross and was among the lucky 16 to return home.

After the war he became a champion air race pilot in India before returning to England in 1974 to settle permanently. He passed away in 2010 at the ripe age of 92 in Gravesend.

Sculpture Douglas Jennings speaking about Pujji said, "Reading about him made me realise what

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

an amazing hero he was.

"He was a volunteer it was his choice to fight for the British and that bowls me over."

Sqn Ldr Pujji's son Satinder said his father loved Gravesend. "He liked the sea and when he used to fly, this was the first land he saw so he used to feel happy.”

Pujji's contribution was remembered by Air Vice Marshal Edward Stringer of the RAF at the unveiling of the statue that cost £70,000.

Gravesham borough Tanmanjeet councillor Singh Dhesi said the Gravesend community, which has one of the largest gurdwaras in the UK, raised this £70,000 for the statue in a month.

Mr Stringer in his speech said, "We remember a stunning record, a fine pilot and a fantastic officer ... This is an absolutely magnificent sculpture which captures this very fine man. What we're also remembering and commemorating with

this memorial are all those who came and fought on the right side in the Second World War and fought for the freedoms that we cherish today. We especially remember those from the Commonwealth.”

He also highlighted the lack of awareness about the Indian contribution to the Second World War in air in the UK: "It's worth recording that over 17,000 Indians volunteered to join the RAF alongside 25,000 Indians who fought in the Indian Air Force, a staggering statistic not well known enough today in the UK." UK-based military historian Amarpal Sidhu, who was present at the unveiling ceremony said, "Pujji's story is a remark-

While living in Gravesend, surrounded by wartime memorabilia at the sheltered accommodation block, Pujji was interviewed by the national newspaper Daily Mail.

Talking about his plane crash in English Channel, Pujji said that his life was saved by the padding in his turban, after he was forced to ditch his plane in a WWII dogfight.

Squadron Leader Mohinder Singh Pujji, one of only a handful of Indian ace flyers in the RAF, crashed into the English Channel after his plane was shot down in a midair skirmish.

Advised to plant his

stricken Hurricane in the sea because he was unable to swim, the 22-year-old nose-dived into the water.

Rescuers boarded boats to help the young flyer, who crashed landed near the White Cliffs of Dover, and pulled him from the wreckage with bad head injuries.

His specially-adapted headgear, which even had his wings sewn onto it, acted as a cushion for the crash-landing.

Talking about the incident, the late squadron had said: 'The padding of my turban saved me, it was full of blood. I was taken to the hospital but after seven days I was back to flying again.'

He added: 'I couldn't swim. I carried on until I saw the white cliffs of Dover and I thought, "I'll make it."

'The aircraft was a total wreck. I was dragged out and I heard voices saying, "He's still alive, he's still alive." Because my eyes were closed I couldn't see.'

Speaking how his turban was fitted so that the earphones could go over the top and how he carried a spare in his cockpit “'I had a special strap made to hold my earphones. I used to carry a spare turban with me so I would have one if I got shot down.

'I thought I was a very religious man, I shouldn't take off my turban.'

Harbour to the fall of Rangoon in April, the men and their-misleadinglynamed Lysanders continued to provide close air support work for the Army.

It is no wonder then that there has been disappointment after the outcome of KK's recent auction, and that Chopra, a fellow valiant, has felt the need to step in and preserve the hero's honour. Until recently Chopra served in the Mirage 2000s, and is a crash survivor after his plane came down due to engine failure over the Bhind region of Madhya Pradesh.

A brother in air-force history, KK Majumdar actually perished in an air-craft accident, during an IAF aerobics display.

These shows were designed to draw attention to the good work of the IAF and Majumdar took part in many impressive performances across

the country. On the fateful day, the mechanical flaws of the pokey Hurricane aircraft that Majumdar was attempting to fly outweighed any possible human prowess and he was killed in an instant.

Had Majumdar survived it is very probable that he would go on to become the First Chief of the Indian Air Force.

NDTV has reported that many viewers are writing in to support Chopra, also offering donations and pledges to buy the DFCs themselves.

The Indian Air Force, “who was made aware of the auction by NDTV”, said they could not bid citing Government of India policies as the reason. One thing is for certain, the honourable Commander KK Majumdar, who won not one but two medals- a second DFC was awarded for work with British forces during the liberation of France, is deserving of a place in the IAF Museum; an institution that reflects the 'very best of war and peace.'

able one of a man who served not just in the UK but in the Middle East and Burma and who came close to death several times.

This statue, the first of its kind in the UK, will in the coming years and into the next century tell not only his tale but act as a marker and memorial to the countless others from India who followed his example and volunteered to risk their life in a just cause.”

Turban saved wartime hero Sqn Ldr Pujji's life

Battle to honour beloved fighter hero

Anil Chopra my own personal pension fund, I am ready to pay Rs. 20 lakh (Rs 2mn)... In case nobody pays these Rs. 20 lakh, I will pay and get these medals.”

Wing commander KK Majumdar, was the first Indian Officer to be so decorated and is heralded as the 'Father of the Indian Air Force'. Known as 'Jumbo' to his peers and supporters, KK demonstrated great talent and courage as a fighter pilot in the Number 1 Squadron, the very same that Chopra led from 1989, during World War Two. Majumdar was awarded the much talked about DFC medallion for his leadership initiative in

KK 'Jumbo' Majumdar, DFC medals the Burma Campaign in which he led an unerring strategic attack on the Japanese with fellow pilots, as well as flying by himself in a cumbersome Lysander aircraft to carry out a stealthier bombing on the airfield of MaeHaungsan. At this point New Zealanders of the No.67 RAF Squadron sent an escort of two Buffalo fighters to accompany Majumdar out of sheer admiration for the sole fighter's bravery.

Majumdar's tactic was to hover at a low level, almost touching the tree

tops, to create a surprise element before swooping in on the targeted plane hangers.

Equipped with what were more or less inferior flying vessels, especially compared to the sleeker Zeros and Oscars of the Japanese air force, the success of Majumdar and his team was hugely down to their skilled minds and daring spirits. Destroying several buildings, wireless installations and aircraft on the ground, they were efficacious in their mission. From the time of the Japanese raid on Pearl

Changing face of India

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Continued from page 1

courage to thrash them, with one of the girls even hitting the youths with her belt, for allegedly outraging their modesty.

The entire incident, recorded by a passenger on mobile phone, went viral both on television and social media. It showed the two girls using their hands and a belt to thrash the molesters, who appeared to be taken by surprise.

"All the girls should do what these sisters did.

They did well. But it is sad that none of the other passengers came to their help. The society has to change its mindset and people should stop being mere onlookers when such incidents take place," Union minister Uma Bharti said, reacting to the incident that has triggered spontaneous indignation. "What the girls wear, does not matter.

People should come together and ensure that women are respected and their dignity is maintained," she said.

National Commission

for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumarmangalam too praised the girls. "I would like to congratulate the girls and ask the authorities to take appropriate action. Few girls have the guts to take on the molesters. The government should take action. I would appeal to every Indian to come forward," she said.

The parents of the two girls lodged an FIR with Haryana police against the three men saying the molesters got down at Kansla village in Rohtak.

The victims in their complaint alleged they were "teased" by some youths in a Haryana Roadways bus on their way to college.

They said when they objected, one of the accused started beating them up. The father of the two sisters alleged that there was pressure from the panchayat that the girls should withdraw the complaint.

What made the incident all the more alarming is the fact that none of the co-passengers who are seen in the video, cringing and smirking, so much as

Sri Lanka candidate vows to scrap presidential system

Continued from page 1

presidential system and carry out other democratic reforms if he beats incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and wins January's presidential election.

Maithripala Sirisena led a revolt in Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Freedom Party last month and announced he will run in the Jan. 8 election, with the backing of the country's main opposition United National Party. He is also being supported by groups of lawyers, university teachers and other professionals.

Sirisena pledged to scrap the presidency, call a parliamentary election and install an all-party national government led by a prime minister for at least two years. He promised to make the police, judiciary and government bureaucracy independent from political interference within 100 days of being elected.

Sirisena has accused Rajapaksa of nepotism, corruption and turning the country into an autocracy. Eight other ministers and lawmakers have defected from the government to support Sirisena.

Sirisena's defection is the most serious threat to Rajapaksa's presidency since he took office in 2005. He won re-election in 2010 riding a wave of support for leading a military campaign to defeat

the Tamil Tiger rebels, who had waged a 25-year civil war to try to carve out an independent state for the ethnic minority Tamils.

But since that election, some of Rajapaksa's actions have cut into his support base among the majority Sinhala-Buddhist community, who comprise 70 percent of Sri Lanka's 20 million people.

The moves include Rajapaksa jailing his main rival, the former army chief who led the military campaign against the rebels and claimed credit for the victory. Rajapaksa also used his strength in Parliament to eliminate a two-term limit for the presidency, and bring the judiciary, police and elections commission under his control.

He used Parliament to impeach the country's chief justice and replace her with his own aide.

His ministers have accused him of concentrating power and money within his family. One Rajapaksa brother is a powerful Cabinet minister, a second is the speaker of Parliament and a third the powerful defense secretary, who controls the country's armed forces and police.

Rajapaksa's older son and a niece are also lawmakers, and there are many relatives holding bureaucratic and diplomatic positions.

raised a finger to come to the aid of the hapless sisters. In fact the co-passengers are seen in the video dissuading the girls from lodging a police complaint. A pregnant woman was the only one who objected to the harassment by the three men.

Initially the duo, bachelor in computer application students, suffered in silence as the men passed obscene remarks and made lewd gestures at them. However, when the men started picking on the pregnant woman as well, the girls took matters into their own hands and bravely fought back.

Eventually the sisters were overpowered, their mobile phones taken away and they were thrown off the moving bus causing them minor injuries. In the meantime the pregnant woman got off the bus at the next stop and accompanied the girls to the nearest police post.

They were then taken to Sadar police station to register a case.

Rohtak SSP Shashank Anand said the accused have been booked for assault and outraging the modesty of a female.

"They have been identified and were arrested on Sunday evening," he said.

INDIA

Reflecting the sorry state of affairs in the state to tackle crimes of this nature, the much-hyped women helpline proved no help. According to the sisters the operator simply hung up after promising to call back. "Till now, our call has not been returned," said the sisters.

Anand promised to look into the ineffectiveness of the helpline. The Khattar government had also announced the deployment of guards in buses used by women but the move is yet to be implemented. However, the father of the girls, Rajesh Kumar, a clerk in the state

17

electricity department had nothing but praise for his feisty daughters. "I am proud of them and expect other girls to follow them in the future,'' he said.

Army says won’t recruit Haryana’s molester duo There is no place for molesters in the Indian Army. This is the strong message that the Army sent out on Monday by announcing that the two men, caught on camera molesting the Sonipat sisters in a moving bus, will not be recruited despite them clearing the physical test. Kuldeep and Deepak were waiting to give the written test but they can forget their dream of donning the proud uniform.

The recruiting branch of the Army said that it was the end of the road for the two. The officials issued a statement after the Rohtak deputy commissioner informed the branch recruiting officer about their now-infamous bus ride.

"We take such issues very seriously and we have zero tolerance policy," Army sources said.

Modi announces special package for Northeast

Continued from page 1

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day visit to Nagaland, on Monday announced a package of 28,000 crore for the establishment of 14 new railway lines in the Northeast.

"People will come to your state for investment and tourism. They will do so because of your biodiversity and climate.

Nowadays, if one wants to come to Nagaland from Delhi, it won't take more than a few hours, but a prime minister took more than ten years to reach here," the Prime Minister said.

"I took charge as the Prime Minister six months back and I would like to mention the initiatives we have taken for the Northeast. A packaged of Rupees 28,000 crore will be allotted to establish 14 new railway lines in the Northeast," he said.

"There are Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in some parts of the country but here it is a NEZNatural Economic Zone.

My priority is to tap this NEZ for the Northeast," he added.

Furthermore, he announced scholarships for students from the Northeast saying that 10,000 students will be beneficiaries of the same.

The Prime Minister also extended greetings to the people of Nagaland on the occasion of Hornbill Festival which is being cel-

ebrated across the state.

"It is a great honour to be here. I greet you during this festive season. This festival seeks to promote, preserve and protect unique cultural diversity of Nagaland. After 50 years of statehood, look back, introspect and take stock of the ground you covered so far. I have seen the strength of your society," he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi extended greetings to the people of the state on its 51st Statehood Day which is coinciding with the Hornbill festival. This is his first visit to the state after taking oath to office

as the Prime Minister.

Capital of organic agriculture He also described the Northeast region as India’s “capital of organic agriculture” and said six new agriculture colleges would set up in the region.

Saying that Nagaland has been blessed with a rich bio-diversity and English-speaking young population, the Prime Minister - dressed as a traditional Naga Warrior said that it was an advantage for the State to attract tourists and to capture a part of the global IT outsourcing business.

Highlighting the initia-

tives taken by his government for the Northeast region, Modi said that a modern apparel and garment manufacturing centre would be set up immediately in the State capitals of Assam, Nagaland and Sikkim. He also announced the Ishan Uday special scholarships for 10,000 students from the Northeast, and the Ishan Vikas scheme for facilitating exposure visits of 2000 students and 500 teachers of colleges in the region to other parts of the country every year.

‘Will come here often’ Modi said it was a decade since former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had visited Nagaland. “I want to assure you that you will not have to wait for so long again for a Prime Minister’s visit. I will be happy to come often to see that all that I have mentioned becomes a reality,” he added at the inaugural function of the 10-day long festival in the presence of Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang and Governor P.B. Acharya.

He said his government has earmarked Rs 53,000 crore in the Union Budget for development of the Northeast. Besides, Rs 28,000 crore has been earmarked for construction of new railway lines to boost connectivity and Rs 5,000 crore for improvement of intra-state power transmission systems and Rs 5,000 crore for 2G mobile connectivity in the region.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Dear Financial Voice Reader,

People confuse value and price. In fact most people simply don’t know how to tell value – of a share. So it is that Facebook – the largest technology IPO in history at the time hit the market at $38. Why is this important? Because a lot of people will have bought at $38. It then halved. Then quadrupled.

Because a lot of people will not have known that the investment banks that brought the stock to the market will have bought it as I showed on my blog, to push the price higher.

How is that fair? How is it that people will happily risk so much money, thinking they know what they are doing in the markets. So concerned am I about this I have started giving free educational webinars over the internet – in my own time!

I commented on the BBC that oil will probably hit $40. Bloomberg soo followed with a story saying the same. This had had nothing to do with a conspiracy to plunge the Ruble, but just that the downside has momentum we hedge fund managers are selling it like it’s Christmas…actually it is Christmas.

How do you value stocks? Make no mistake second to second it is all probably noise and supply and demand. Over the longer term of over a year, things tend sooner or later to gravitate to how much cash a company can generate after all expenses.

It is this strange interplay of short and longer term that confuses most people. What about the assets in a company. Surely even a company generating no cash is worth something? It’s assets can be resold? It has ‘book value’ the cost to replace those assets. This is true. And when academics have tested this theory they’ve noted companies share prices have tended to reflect at very worst that ‘book value’.

Why does that work so well? Because it is such a cautious approach. No froth about prospects or management expectations or hope value. The least room for deception.

And that’s the best way to find the right price – what’s it worth when all hell breaks lose? Because sooner or later all hell will break lose. Better this way to have upside surprises than downside ones. I know which I prefer.

But what about you dear reader?

You see – all aspects of the market are deceptive – no wonder private investors often stay clear. If you’d like free education – www.alpeshpatel.com

India eases gold import rule

India has scrapped a rule mandating traders to export 20 per cent of all gold imported into the country, in a surprise move that could cut smuggling and raise legal shipments into the world's second-biggest consumer of the metal after China.

Along with a record duty of 10 per cent, India introduced the so-called 80:20 import rule tying imports to exports of jewellery last year to bring down inbound shipments and narrow the current account deficit that had hit a record.

"It has been decided by the Government of India to withdraw the 20:80 scheme and restrictions placed on import of gold," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said, without giving a reason for the change in the rule. Only days ago there were talks between officials of the Mumbaibased central bank and the finance ministry in New Delhi to bring back curbs on some trading houses following a surge in imports over the past few months. Traders said

before the decision that India's gold imports could climb to around 100 tonnes for a third straight month in November as dealers bought heavily on fears of curbs on overseas purchases, especially as the wedding season picks up. But the government's latest move came as a surprise even to some officials. A policy maker associated with India's gold import policy said the government instructed the RBI to urgently change the rule. A notification was posted on the central bank's website two hours later.

"We were not informed about the reason for scrapping this rule. The rule change, however, was a relief to jewellers facing difficulties in sourcing gold during the key festival and wedding season that started in October.

Bachhraj Bamalwa, director of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation, said the 80:20 rule was not only encouraging smuggling but was also misused by many traders.

No appeal on Vodafone, Shell rulings, hints Arun Jaitley

India's finance minister Arun Jaitley indicated that the government was unlikely to appeal against court orders quelling a government decision to tax sale of shares of Vodafone and Shell in offshore transactions. He also said that a break through in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) impasse was in the offing with the government calling a meeting of the empowered committee next week to facilitate a constitutional amendment allowing for the introduction of the law in the winter session.

Delivering a meeting, Jaitley said the government was working on a plan to introduce an appropriate tax regime, better infrastructure and competitive interest rates to ensure that its ambitious `Make in India' programme succeeds, besides making manufacturing zones competitive and cost-effective.

Emphasizing the reforms that the government wants to introduce, he said an ordinance on coal block allocation was due next week and the

Arun Jaitley

Centre would also have a similar transparent mechanism for mining of other minerals. Criticizing the UPA government for its attempt to tax transfer pricing deals retrospectively, Jaitley said taxes that were payable could be collected, but taxes which are not payable cannot be compulsorily extracted.

“We have a fair judicial system, there are redressal mechanisms, there are tribunals and there are international tribunals. The kind of taxation regime which scared investors away and has not resulted in the exchequer getting a single rupee are stuck in legislation where the government is unlikely to succeed. They eventually ended in only giving us a

bad name as an investment decision.“ Should the government not appeal against the Shell and Vodafone verdicts several other multinationals in India would also stand to gain.

Companies such as IBM, Nokia, Cairn India and Leighton India are facing similar demands from tax authorities.

He also assured tax payers that there would not be any harassment for them going forward.

Stressing on land acquisition as another requisite for reform, the finance minister said that present laws were flawed and needed a fresh look. “I have been working on the land law along with others in the government. I came across a curious provision which said that no land acquired under the law can ever be used for a private educational institution, private hospital or a hotel,“ said Jaitley. The finance minister said the myriad restrictions on land acquisition were applicable not only to the private sector but even to defence.

Capturing yhe

improved sentiments in the economy, Vineet Jain, MD, BCCL, in his inaugural address, said that in the first six months Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised spirits and wowed investors. “The gloom of the last few years is a distant memory. The finance minister has introduced number of reforms in coal mining, labour and ease of doing business. But yeh dil maange more,” he said.

Meanwhile, Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi has advised the income-tax department not to appeal against a Bombay high court order in the Rs 32 billion transfer-pricing case involving Vodafone.

“I have advised that we should accept the order because allotment of shares is capital receipt and not income and the judgment says so,“ Rohatgi told TOI, adding that he has advised against filing an appeal in SC. In doing so, the government's top law officer has overruled the solicitor general who in October advised the government to appeal in the apex court.

Friday showed economic growth slipped to 5.3 per cent year-on-year in the July-September quarter, down from 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter. India needs far faster growth to create jobs for all the young people joining its workforce in coming years. "Things will not pick up just because of rate cuts," said J. Venkatesan, an equity fund manager for Sundaram Asset Management in Chennai.

"A strong reforms push is needed to revive economic growth. That is where the cycle had got stuck."

Helped by tumbling oil prices, India's annual consumer price inflation (CPI) slowed to 5.52 per cent in October, sharply down from a peak of 11.16 per cent struck in November last year, but the RBI warned that it expected inflation to rise in December as a favourable base effect wanes.

The RBI has targeted CPI at 6 per cent for January 2016, and the central bank said risks to the target "appear evenly balanced under the current policy stance."

Rajan said if that target was achieved the RBI would then aim for a longer term inflation target of 4 per cent.

Amid controversy over sanctioning $1 billion loan to Adani group, SBI said it has only signed a preliminary MoU and will disburse the money only after proper due diligence. SBI had on the sidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia, signed a pact sanctioning $1 billion loan to Adani group's coal project in that country. "We clarify that this is a memorandum of understanding. This is not a loan sanction that we have given. It will go through proper due diligence both on the credit side as well as on the viability side," SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said. "The board will take a call and then only loan will be given," she said. "We have checked to see that there is no environmental issue and the cost of coal. The cost is also currently around USD 42 FOB which is much better than the current prices in the international market," she said. Asked about the exposure of SBI if its board approves the loan, Bhattacharya said the net exposure would be to the tune of $200 million as there are some repayments also from the company.

RBI keeps interest rates unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held interest rates steady as widely expected at a policy review on Tuesday, and said it could ease monetary policy early next year provided inflationary pressures do not reappear and the government controls the fiscal deficit.

Uneasy over India's weak recovery from its slowest phase of growth since the 1980s, the sixmonth-old government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been seen as favouring an early reduction in rates, but RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said containing inflation was a prerequisite.

"What again and again we have seen in India, and outside India also, is that the way to sustainable growth is to have moderate inflation," Rajan told a news conference. The RBI's next policy review is in early February, and most analysts had expected the central bank would either cut interest rates then or wait until April.

"A change in the monetary policy stance at the current juncture is premature," the RBI said in its statement. "However, if the current inflation momentum and changes in inflationary expectations continue, and fiscal

Raghuram Rajan

developments are encouraging, a change in the monetary policy stance is likely early next year, including outside the policy review cycle."

India's benchmark 10year bond yield fell 5 basis points on the day to 8.01 per cent as investors cheered the central bank's more dovish stance.

Economy needs more than rate cut In its statement, the RBI spoke of the need to revive capital investment, and called on the government, which will announce its budget in February, to "stay on course" to meet fiscal deficit targets. Those targets have been jeopardised by weak tax revenue growth and the slow pace in selling off stakes in state-run companies to raise funds.

Data released on

SBI defends $1 bn loan to Adani group

REAL ESTATE VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

19

Tale of two cities Suresh Vagjiani

Sow & Reap A Property Investment Company

Tomorrow is our presentation in the Taj Hotel, Mumbai, for investment into our London Listed Property Fund due to be launched early next year on the main market. The focus of the fund will be two fold, one will be on the fast reselling of properties or at least refinancing, so that the money can be continually recycled into other deals instead of being trapped in one property deal; the other will be on lucrative property deals which require development.

These will be surfacing in the market over the next year or two.

We will be looking for problem sites, it is generally in problem sites where the biggest gold is to be made.

If you look at London property prices over the last ten years, the best time to have bought properties was in 2009. A time of great uncertainty, when most of the market was sitting on the fence.

Those who acted against the market sentiment and bought property are now sitting on the highest gains.

T h e n e xt c o u p l e o f y e ar s wi l l b e a t i m e o f u n c e rt a i n t y. Pe o p l e a re n e rv o u s a b o u t t h e e f f e c t o n p ro pe rt y pr i c e s t h e r is e o f i n t e re s t r at e s w i l l h av e , t h e p o ss i b i l it y o f m a n s io n t ax , an d w h i c h w ay t h e e l e c t i o n w il l g o i s al s o sc a ri n g m a n y. It i s i n t h i s ba c k d ro p t h e f u n d i s b e i n g l a u n c h e d . T h i s is a g re a t o pp o rt u n i t y f o r t h o se p o i se d re ad y t o s t r ik e - t h e re w i l l be d e a l s t o be d o n e , f o r t h e o n e w h o i s re a d y w i t h t h e c a sh .

The point regarding interest rates is not really that strong as the mortgage products don’t reflect the current bank base rate of 0.5%.

I remember better mortgage products when the base rate was 4.75% than there are currently, especially on the fixed rate side. The correlation between the bank base rate and current mortgage products isn’t that strong as it once used to be.

The people who will feel the pain when the rates rise will be those who are on floating base rate trackers, they have never had it so good. I remember there was a mortgage product which was 0.69% below the base rate, with the base rate at 0.5%, this means they owe the bank -0.19%, which means the bank now owes them money.

Luckily for the bank there was a clause in the contract specifying a minimum payment.

Uncertainty brings along with it great opportunity. Opportunity which didn’t exist over the last few years, when buyers were clambering over each other to grab deals, where good London properties being sold in auctions were going for higher prices than through the agents.

There is a strong appetite for London property here. Just down the road is Mr Shah Rukh Khan’s house, made conspicuous by everyone taking pictures of themselves outside of it in typical Indian style. He purchased an apartment in Park Lane, rumour has it the property was flipped to him with the middle man netting a cool £1m in between. I’m sure it will make little difference to him now, as he bought at the right time in 2009. He paid £20m for the apartment, it would be interesting to see how much it is worth now.

Many Indians are purchasing property in London, however what is surprising is one of the leading Mayfair estate agents is also now selling properties in Mumbai to their clients, and this is a traditional London based firm. Clearly it has the clientele to generate the interest from.

Many would like to purchase the assets directly in their own names, rather than go through a fund. Both have their own pros and cons. Purchasing properties through the fund means you don’t have to deal with any of the problems associated with owning property more directly. The problems are removed from you. You are only concerned with performance, hard profits - nothing more, if this is not delivered you can walk with your feet.

The downside can be you don’t have any control over the asset.

The charges and fees can be a problem especially if the management teams are not performing. The management teams’ job is to add more value to the investment than you can directly.

Yo u d o n ’ t m a ke m o n e y f o l l o wi n g t h e h e rd , o t h e rw is e t h e h e rd w o u l d b e r i c h .

T h e f u n d a m e n t a l s f o r L o n d o n pro p e rt y a re s t i l l ve r y s t ro n g , K n i g h t Fr an k p re d i c t s o v e r t h e n ex t s e v e n y e a rs d e m a n d wi l l r i se . H o w e v e r t h e c u rre n t su pp l y c h a i n i s v e r y v e r y l o w, it w i l l n o t b e ab l e t o m e e t t h e d e m an d , m e an i n g t h e d i s t an c e b e t we e n t h e d e m an d an d t h e s u p pl y w i l l i n c re a s e f u rt h e r an d f u rt h e r, p u t t in g u p wa rd p re ss u re o n pro p e rt y p ri c e s .

Furthermore the employment rate in London and the rest of the UK are rising in sharp contrast to the rest of Europe. Employment is important, if a person is not employed they cannot get a mortgage, if they cannot get a mortgage demand for properties will decrease.

This will lead to dampening of prices. Employment also effects the rental demand for properties.

The Real Deal

I b e l i e v e I n d i a n s in ve s t i n L o n d o n p ro p e r t y f o r a c o u p l e o f m ai n re a s o n s , o n e i s t h e y s i mp l y l ik e t h e i d e a o f o w n in g so m e t h i n g in L o n d o n . Yo u c an b l a m e B o l l yw o o d i n pa rt f o r t h i s . T h e y o n l y l i ke c e rt a i n k e y po s t c o d e s. T h is me an s t h e pu rc h a se i s n o t d o n e f o r s o u n d i n v e s t me n t re a s o n s b u t it ’ s a mi x t u re o f e m o t i o n . A l so t h e d e s ire t o t e l l o t h e rs t h at t h e y h av e a p ro pe r t y in pr i me L o n d o n pl a ys a l a rg e pa rt . T h e o t h e r re a so n i s t h e y w i sh t o k e e p so m e mo n e y o u t s i d e o f In d i a in a sa f e e n v iro n me n t wh i c h L o n d o n o f f e rs .

Thornton Heath, CR7 Purchase Price: £260K l A three bedroom end of terrace house on a popular residential road l Freehold l Garden l Close to Thornton Heath Village and its amenities l We believe the value of this property will be around £315k l Very good buy to let property

The fact that investing in London property is a good investment is not at the top of their agenda, this is almost a by-product of their purchase.

The presentation is to a set of family offices, their sole intention is not to make money but to preserve it. Different skills are required to preserve money than make it. This means they will not be necessarily so motivated by the high levels of return on offer but more with the security and protection the fund offers.

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:

Sowandreapuk

SowandReapProperties

Tips of the Week l The rental yield in property is not where you make the bulk of your money, the capital growth is where you will see your money grow.

l The market will not be rising in all locations at all the times, therefore when developing property it is wise to have another exit plan besides reselling.

20

LEGAL VOICE

US seeks to step up India trade talks after WTO breakthrough

The United States wants to step up its trade dialogue with India, Trade Representative Michael Froman said, after the resolution of a global trade dispute paved the way for President Barack Obama to visit India. Direct contacts between Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month helped to end a deadlock that had prevented the World Trade Organization from implementing a $1 trillion package of reforms to global customs rules.

"The breakthrough at the WTO could not have been possible without the

direct and personal engagement of Prime Minister Modi and President Obama," Froman told businessmen in New Delhi.

He expressed hope that the General Council of the 160-member WTO would approve a US-Indian

agreement on food stockpiling and the broader Trade Facilitation Agreement, simultaneously. An internal WTO document shows a WTO meeting will approve both, while pushing back the deadline for agreeing next steps in global trade reforms to July 2015, instead of the previous date of December 2014.

In India for the first round of high-level trade talks since the breakthrough, Froman urged progress on key areas of US concern, such as intellectual property rights on pharmaceuticals and

Hollywood movies. "This pace of engagement is impressive, but shouldn't be surprising for what President Obama declared the 'defining partnership of the 21st century'," Froman said. "Our task is to build on our mutual interests, with mutual respect, and deliver on the promise of that partnership." Obama, who hosted Modi in Washington in September, will in January become the first US president to visit India twice, completing a remarkable warming in the relationship between the two largest democracies.

interest rates. Sales for the car industry had slackened in the festive months of September and October, and year-on-year volumes were negative. Wholesale deliveries were down 1% in September compared to 3% in October. A few companies as well as industry body, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) fear that sales may slip into the negative for the third year in a row if the economy does not pick up in pace and excise duty relief packages are not extended. High interest rates have been a key factor behind the decline in the car industry for the last nearly three years.

However, the players are still worried as sales have been up only 3% in the April-October 2014-15 period. “There are not many changes in the fundamentals. So, sustaining this growth rate will be a challenge,“ said Rakesh Srivastava, senior VP (sales & marketing) at Hyundai India.

Economic growth slowed in the July-September quarter, dragged down by a sluggish manufacturing sector and triggering calls from India Inc to cut interest rates and step up reforms to boost growth.

Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed growth slowed to 5.3%, slower than the 5.7% in AprilJune quarter but marginally better than 5.2% growth in the second quarter of 2013-14. Growth in the first half of the 2014-15 was at 5.5% compared to 4.9% in the same period in 2013-14.

Economists said they expect a slow and gradual recovery in the months ahead as investments are yet to pick up. The finance ministry said the second quarter growth numbers were “broadly on expected lines.” The ministry said slower growth in the farm sector was expected due to the lowert han-expected monsoon, while the slower expansion in the manufacturing sector was not surprising.

“It may be mentioned that the Economic Survey 2013-14 had predicted that the growth of GDP to be in the range of 5.4% to 5.9%. In the first half of the year, the growth has been 5.5%, which is broadly in line with the

projections as well as the expectations,“ the ministry said in a statement.

“Looking ahead, in order to steer our economy to the path of growth and ensure that we move towards a sustained recovery, there is need for continuing with proactive policies, which would help revive investments and address the bottlenecks plaguing the agriculture and industrial sectors,“ said Chandrajit Banerjee, directorgeneral at CII. “ At the same time, the RBI should review its status quo approach and move towards paring interest rates in its forthcoming monetary policy to give a fillip to recovery both through higher consumption spending and opening up channels for investment.“ RBI governor Raghuram Rajan is expected to meet FM Arun Jaitley on December 1, a day ahead of the policy review. The FM is expected to renew calls for moderating interest rates to boost growth and revive investment.

Rajan is under pressure to cut rates against the backdrop of slowing inflation and some improvement in the government's fiscal situation due to easing of global crude prices.

will finalize a work programme by next July to provide a thrust to multilateral trade agreements that cover all 160 members and will make an attempt to reduce the proliferation of free trade agreements that are being pushed by countries such as the US. The West, which has been

pursuing an aggressive FTA agenda, has blamed the lack of progress at WTO to look at other options.

The Trade Facilitation Agreement - to ensure easier movement of cargo through customs at ports and airports across the globe - is expected to restore some confidence in WTO, which has been pursuing the stalled Doha Development Agenda for over 13 years now. Some studies have estimated that the gains from the new agreement may be as high as $1 trillion, although a majority of the gains

through higher exports are likely to accrue to the developed countries and large exporters such as China.

While the government will have to upgrade some of the infrastructure and rework the rules, it is unlikely to result in heavy investment or major changes in regulations. The deal endorsed by the WTO General Council in Geneva has been in the pipeline for a year but could not go through due to Indian government's objection to the formula on piling up food stocks, which was agreed in Bali last December.

Michael Froman

India's manufacturing rises to 4-month high in Oct

After remaining sluggish for a significant period, India's manufacturing sector – mainly comprising energy, cement, steel and fertilizer – rises to a four-month high in October, along with signs of recovery in car sales and factory activity hitting a near twoyear high in November.

The core sector grew an annual 6.3% in October compared to 1.9% expansion in the previous month and a decline of 0.1% in October 2013. The sharp rebound, which augurs well for industrial output data due later in the month, was powered by coal and electricity sectors, which posted strong expansion. Three sectors cement, fertilizer and natural gas - remained sluggish.

Separate data showed the manufacturing activity hit a near two-year high in November on the back of strong foreign and domestic orders. Rising from 51.6 to 53.3, the HSBC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reached a 21month high in November, the 13th consecutive month of expansion.

Car sales recovered after two straight months of decline in November, providing some relief to the sector weighed down by slowing demand and high

India's growth slows to 5.3% in Q2

WTO endorses its first trade deal in 20 years

World Trade Organization members agreed to the first global trade deal in the agency's 20-year history by endorsing a move to roll out easier customs rules, while giving flexibility to developing countries such as India to pay minimum support price to their farmers, without fearing about breaching the prescribed ceiling.

Although an official statement was awaited, Indian government officials confirmed that the proposals have been cleared. “It's all agreed,” a WTO official said in Geneva. In addition, they

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Maria Fernandes

Employers obligations

Employers need to be aware that even though they do not have sponsor licences and do not bring in staff from abroad nevertheless there are stringent responsibilities and a failure to understand this can have be a very expensive process. If however they do carry out the checks that are required it provides a statutory excuse which is basically a defence.

The checks begin when a person is offered a job. There are specific documents that need to be checked. If the candidate tells the employer that there is a pending application and therefore cannot provide originals the employer should contact the Employer Checking Service who can provide confirmation if the application is pending. If the employer obtains a response to this this protects the employer.When the candidates leave expires and makes an application for an extension there is again a

requirement to contact the Employer Checking Service after a 28 day grace period. If confirmation is received that the person is allowed to work this provides protection for up to 6 months unless the persons documents arrive which have to be checked and copied onto files.

All this will not matter much if it turns out that a person has lawful status to live and work in the UK but will matter if the person has no permission to live and or work in the UK. The maximum fine is £20000 per worker up from £10000 although reductions are made for cooperating with the authorities.

As the process moves to self regulation by employers they will face an ever increasing rise in red tape. Processes and procedures will need to be adapted to this changing world to avoid the financial fallout.

To contact Maria Fernandes, please email at: info@fernandesvaz.com

OECD raises India growth outlook, urges reforms

India's economy will accelerate in 2015/16 but will fail to attain the heady growth rates of the past decade without sweeping structural reforms, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said. In a country survey, the Paris-based think tank forecast that Asia's third-largest economy would grow by 6.6 per cent in 2015/16, up from its last forecast of 5.7 per cent growth in May. Growth would edge higher to 6.8 per cent in 2016/17, it said. "The economy has shown signs of a turnaround and imbalances have lessened," the OECD said in the report which, while providing comfort to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that things are looking up, highlighted tough choices ahead.

Modi's election by a landslide earlier this year has lifted business confidence, while fiscal consolidation and easing pressures on inflation and the current account deficit all point in the right direc-

tion.

In its latest forecast, the OECD said it expected inflation to fall to 5.4 per cent in 2015/16 and nudge higher to 5.6 per cent the following fiscal year, after 6.9 per cent in 2014/15. In May, it forecast that inflation would remain above 6 per cent over the next few years. Yet while current risks are broadly balanced, the medium- term outlook is less bright. Exports are constrained by supply-side bottlenecks, while high corporate borrowing and deteriorating asset quality at banks "may put the investment recovery at risk", the report added.

Huge barriers to growth, from infrastructure bottlenecks to restrictive labour laws to weak education, will hold India back if not addressed.

"Structural reforms would raise India's economic growth. In their absence, however, growth will remain below the 8 per cent achieved during the previous decade," the OECD said in the 158page report.

CURRENCY VOICE

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

21

Foreign Exchange

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

Britain Still Requires Monetary Stimulus GBP The Bank of England Governor Mark Carney addressed Parliament’s Treasury Committee with his quarterly Inflation Report on Tuesday - Mark Carney spoke of “heightened” external risks menacing the U.K. as weakening global economies and political tensions weigh on the outlook.

Carney also told the Treasury select committee that Britain was still an economy that requires monetary stimulus, although he did dismiss the nothing that stronger stimulus would be added in the near future. Carney did indicate that the banks next move in policy is going to be a rate increase.

Fellow monetary policy committee member Kristin Forbes also expressed her belief that inflation would continue to undershoot the banks 2% target, however felt that it was unlikely the UK would slip into deflation.

The Office for National Statistics said the UK economy grew by 0.7% in the third quarter of this year. This figure was in line with the initial estimate last month and means GDP expanded by a healthy-looking 3% over the last year. However, further details of expenditure in the economy has worried several experts. The ONS found that business investment fell by 0.8% during the quar-

Tuesday 25th November

ter, signaling that firms cut back on spending.

There has been talk recently about the need to re balance the economy, however the data shows that consumer spending is continuing to help drive the recovery. To compound this troubles in the eurozone, which only grew 0.2% last month, may mean the UK remains too dependent on consumer spending rather than exports.

EUR German business confidence unexpectedly rose for the first time in seven months after the country’s economy returned to growth and the ECB added stimulus to the eurozone. This helped the Euro move about a quarter of a cent after trading near a twoyear low against the dollar last week The consensus among economists was for a positive figure of 103 but the final figure was higher at 104.7.

The Euro strengthened after the markets reacted positively to Mario Draghi saying the European Central Bank is open to buying a wide variety of assets for further stimulus as German and Spanish inflation data highlighted the struggle to revive the euroarea economy. If current measures aren’t enough, the Governing Council is “unanimous in its commitment to use other unconven-

Monday 1st December 2014

tional instruments,” the ECB president said.

Draghi’s comments come as the 24-member Governing Council enters a week-long quiet period on monetary policy before its December the 4th meeting.

Officials over the past several days have signaled that they’re working to get stimulus tools ready as soon as possible, including full-scale quantitative easing, while relying on incoming data to decide if and when to use them.

Continued low inflation is keeping pressure on the ECB to add to its existing package of measures aimed at reviving the economy. While the slowdown is partly related to a drop in oil prices, the euro-zone area economy is struggling to reach the 2% targets set by the ECB. Continued low inflation is keeping pressure on the ECB’s Governing Council to add to its package of measures aimed at reviving the economy. Core inflation stayed at 0.7 percent in November. The only comfort for the ECB is that the renewed drop in inflation was entirely due to an increased year-on-year drop in energy prices.

The ECB is already buying covered bonds and asset-backed securities as it expects to bring its balance sheet back to the level it had at the beginning of 2012. This

Tuesday 25th November

comes after it cut interest rates to record lows and offered long-term loans to banks to fuel credit.

USD Last week the U.S. economy expanded more than previously estimated in the third quarter, reflecting bigger gains in consumer spending and business investment and capping the strongest six months of growth in a decade. Also gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 3.9 percent annualized rate, up from an initial estimate of 3.5 percent.

Separately, US durable goods orders have beaten forecasts, with a rise of 0.4% last month. That is much stronger than the 0.6% fall which was forecast. However, the increase was mainly due to transportation orders - strip out orders for aero planes and engines, and durable goods were actually down by 0.9%.

US consumer spending only rose by 0.2% last month, missing forecasts of a 0.3% rise. The America’s Commerce Department also reported that personal incomes rose by 0.2% in October, only half as fast as expected.

Consumer sentiment was also up in the US. The US consumer sentiment rose in November to its highest level in more than seven years.

Monday 1st December 2014

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 2nd December 2014 @ 5pm

GBP - INR = 96.64

USD - INR = 61.80 EUR - INR = 76.54 GBP - USD = 1.56 GBP - EUR = 1.26

EUR - USD = 1.24 GBP - AED = 5.74

GBP - CAD = 1.78

GBP - NZD = 2.01

GBP - AUD = 1.85

GBP - ZAR = 17.40

GBP - HUF = 387.40

www.rationalfx.com

Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

Tuesday 25th November

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Monday 1st December 2014

22

WORLD

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Anni Dewani's parents plan to sue Shrien for not disclosing his sexuality

Cape Town: The parents of murdered Anni Dewani will sue their accused sonin-law Shrien Dewani for not disclosing his bisexuality before marrying their daughter. Anni's parents Vinod and Nilam Hindocha said they intend to pursue the civil action in London whatever be the verdict. They may even seek compensation for the couple's lavish £200,000 wedding, which Hindocha said he had largely paid for.

Mr and Mrs Hindocha said they were unaware that Dewani, 34, was bisexual and slept with gay prostitutes until details of his secret sex life were revealed to a Cape Town court. Mr and Mrs Hindocha said they were being forced to break their two month silence after Shrien asked a court in Cape Town to dismiss the murder charge against him.

The millionaire businessman is said to have already packed his bags in the expectation that a judge will find in his favour over his claim that

he should walk free because of a lack of evidence without being forced into the witness box and cross-examination. The trial is currently adjourned until December 8 to give Judge Jeanette Traverso time to decide whether to continue the trial or allow Dewani to walk free without having to take the witness stand.

Anni's father said he agreed to pay two thirds of the bill and will also ask for receipts from Mumbai to be disclosed to the court in London to prove how the money was spent.

The five star hotel in India has already provided evidence of some receipts

and the Hindocha family have engaged a top London lawyer to take up the legal action once criminal proceedings have concluded.

Nilam Hindocha, who is recovering from stomach cancer, said: “If I knew Shrien was gay or bisexual I would never have allowed Anni to get married.” The grief-stricken parents said they did not want to appear homophobic and believed sexuality shouldn't be used to define people, but were shocked when Dewani confessed to his secret life.

Anni's parents said they would struggle to find closure if they do not hear

Shien giving evidence in court. Anni's parents are concerned that if Dewani is allowed to leave South Africa without personally accounting for what happened on the night of her murder, they will never achieve closure. Mrs Hindocha said: “Shrien must give evidence. He owes us that, particularly to Anni...We need the full story, not half the story.

We have waited four years and were promised the whole story. But we have only got half of it...I want to know the truth and we have waited for Shrien to give us the answers we have been asking for. I want him to tell us the truth, the whole story.

Sometimes we feel very depressed over the court case but we hope to get the truth. If she [the judge] ends the trial we will never know the truth from Shrien. We have waited so long for that and to hear from him. We have been fighting for justice.

But we will be very disappointed if we don't hear from Shrien's mouth and he doesn't tell the truth.”

Hong Kong: Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists forced the temporary closure of government headquarters on Monday after clashing with police, defying orders to retreat after more than two months of sustained protests in the Chinesecontrolled city. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying said police had been tolerant but would now take “resolute action”, suggesting that patience may have finally run out.

In the heart of the Admiralty protest site next

to government headquarters, chaos erupted as commuters made their way to work, with hundreds of protesters surrounding the area which houses offices and retail outlets, in a stand-off with police. The central government offices and the legislature were forced to close in the morning, as were scores of shops. The latest flare-up, during which police charged protesters with batons and pepper spray, showed the frustration of protesters at Beijing’s refusal to budge on elec-

toral reforms and grant greater democracy to Hong Kong.

“Some people have mistaken the police’s tolerance for weakness,” Leung said, adding, “I call for students who are planning to return to the occupation sites not to do so.” Hong Kong Federation of Students leader Alex Chow said the protesters had intended to paralyse government headquarters.

Hundreds of riot police scattered the crowds in several rounds of heated clashes overnight, forcing

protesters back with pepper spray and batons.

Scores of volunteer medics attended to numerous injured, some of whom lay unconscious and others with blood streaming from head gashes. Police said at least 40 arrests were made.

The unrest took place as British lawmakers said they had been told by the Chinese Embassy they would not be allowed to enter Hong Kong as part of an inquiry into Britain’s relations with its former colony and progress towards democracy.

tionable contents" against the family of the Prophet Hazrat Muhammad.

Officials said all convicts can file appeal against the verdict in the chief court in GilgitBaltistan, which Malik is equal to a high court. Geo television had aired the controversial morning show on May 14 that had prompted criticism from religious circles.

The TV had publicly apologised over the programme and also published apology in the group's English and Urdu newspapers. The programme was aired to celebrate the wedding of famous film and TV drama actress Veena Malik.

The management later said the host had unintentionally committed a mis-

take in the programme namely "Wuthu Jago Pakistan", which means wake up Pakistan.

Religious groups had also staged rallies against the media group.

Veena Malik had spoken up in the media, presenting her side of the story. According to a report,the actress and her businessman husband have now filed an appeal against the harsh sentence.

Following the media coverage of the case, Amnesty International has also taken a keen interest in the proceedings and are keen to help Veena in her fight against the radical judgement. Veena says that being a woman she will stand up for herself and also for her family as she was now a mother of a two-month old baby. She asserts that no force can separate her from her child.

Anni's parents Vinod and Nilam Hindocha

Pro-democracy stir rocks Hong Kong again

Pakistan TV owner sentenced to 26 years in prison for blasphemy

Islamabad: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan awarded 26-year jail term to owner of the country's major media group for airing "blasphemous contents" during a TV programme. The court ordered the arrest of Mir Shakil ur Rehman, the owner the Jang group of publications.

The group owns "Geo television" and the English daily "The News", Xinhua reported.

The court in GilgitBaltistan also announced jail term for actress Veena Malik, her husband Asad Malik and Shayesta Lodhi, who had hosted the controversial programme. None of the accused were present in the court at the time of the announcement of the verdict. Judge Raja Shehbaz Khan also imposed a penalty of 1.3 million Pakistani rupees (about $12,500) each on

Veena Malik and Asad

all the convicts, who have the right to appeal against the judgment.

Waqar Ahmad, secretary to the judge, said the court ordered the local administration to confiscate properties of the convicts if they did not surrender to the authorities. All convicts are believed to have gone abroad. A petition, filed in May this year, had stated that the convicts had "used derogatory language for committing blasphemy by airing objec-

In Brief

Sir Chris Hohn's wife to move court again in divorce fight

London: Jamie Cooper-Hohn, the estranged American wife of financier Sir Chris Hohn, was awarded £ 337 million in what could be the biggest divorce payout ever awarded by a judge in England.

But she is not satisfied and is planning an appeal in the high court. They had fought over their share of a £ 700 million fortune at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court. The £337 million award makes her even wealthier than the Queen who at 285 in the Sunday Times Rich List, has a personal fortune of £ 330 million. Sir Hohn said Jamie should get a quarter of their fortune, but she claimed she should get half because the wealth was created as a result of their "partnership".

Aristocrat Gibson's appeal against conviction rejected

London: Aristocrat Edward Charles d'Olier Gibson who appealed against his conviction for assaulting a police officer claiming that he did not know what a modern policeman looked like was rejected by a judge. Gibson, who is heir to the historic baronetcy of Ashbourne, was told by a senior judge that he will have to live with his conviction after she rejected his "unbelievable" assertion that he had grappled with a constable for 11 minutes without realising who he was. A court heard that the financier lashed out at the policeman as he tried to arrest him outside his £1 million farmhouse in the Oxfordshire countryside following a heated row with his wife.

Queen intervened to make Prince Philip regent

London: Government papers show that just after the coronation in July 1953, the Queen personally intervened to ensure that her husband Duke of Edinburgh to act as regent if she died early until the young Prince Charles was old enough to rule himself.

The change meant Princess Margaret, who had been in the line to become regent, was superseded by the Duke, the Prince’s father, in a move said to have the full support of all members of the Royal family.

15 killed in China terror attack

Beijing: At least 15 people were killed and 14 others injured when militants armed with knives and bombs attacked a food street in China's restive northwestern Xinjiang province. Those killed in the attacks included 11 “mobsters“ who were killed in police firing, according to authorities in Kashgar Prefecture which is close to the Pakistani border. The police acted after militants flung explosives and used knives to attack civilians at a food street in the Shache county of Kashgar, the authorities reported. Police later found several explosive devices, knives and axes at the scene.

Wristband to instil good habits in people

Washington: An American company has created Pavlok - an electric shock wristband - that has been designed to change bad habits in people by giving them an electric shock when they stray. The Pavlok is worn like a FitBit bracelet, and can be activated manually or automatically through an app. Inspired

by Pavlov's theory – who trained his dogs to expect food every time a bell was rang – the app wearer is supposed to learn to avoid certain behaviour, or else an electric shock will be sent out from the band.

"The idea is everybody has these things they know they shouldn't do," said Maneesh Sethi, who created Pavlok. "If you start to add a small amount of shock when you do stupid things, you can mostly just increase the awareness of your activity in your daily routine. I like to say that for the last 1,000 years, we've tamed environment, but we haven't tamed ourselves." Sethi explained that, for instance, those looking to lose weight could shock themselves when their plate was half finished, to encourage themselves to stop eating. Or if you knew that you wasted too much time on social media, you could shock yourself to snap your attention away from the device.”

People need better access to family doctor: Jeremy Hunt

London: British health secretary Jeremy Hunt while speaking during a debate in the Commons said that the society was changing and that the people needed better access to family doctors around the clock. He made the point amid growing concerns that the NHS is entering a crisis, even before winter sets in. He says that he has taken his own children to Accident & Emergency at weekends because the wait to see a GP takes too long.

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

In Brief

Three-year-old develops incurable genetic condition

London: Three-year-old Eddison Miller has become one of the youngest people in the world to be diagnosed with an extremely rare condition which makes him completely intolerant to UV rays.Miller suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), an incurable genetic condition that means he could get cancer from sunlight.

He has to wear a special UV-protective suit to ensure he is completely covered up whenever he ventures outside and cannot even be near the door at home when the postman opens the letter box.

Pakistani fraudster eats fake passport

London: Wasim Husain, an ambulance call operator, was jailed for eight months after he admitted that he had taken £300 to write the British citizenship exam on behalf of another person. The 26-year-old began devouring the document after being confronted by staff who had examined the Pakistani passport he was using under an ultra-violet light. Sarah Slater, prosecuting, told Derby Crown Court: “The member of staff told the defendant she believed the passport was false and that he would not be sitting the citizenship test. He became very angry and grabbed the passport from the desk then tried to leave but the door was locked. He then began ripping at the passport, pulling off the front page and started to eat the passport.”

Husband, wife crushed by their own car

London: Iftikhar Ali, 65, and wife Hazim, 63, were crushed under their own driverless car when it rolled down a hill outside their home. The pair were standing behind the car putting bags into the boot for a Sunday trip when it suddenly began moving backwards. Ali is believed to have tried to stop it rolling - but was dragged underneath as it rolled more than 50 yards. His wife Hazim was also trapped under the car when neighbours raised the alarm. Police found Ali dead and his wife was airlifted to hospital where she was in a critical condition.

Abusive Blackburn groom forces airliner to land in Bermuda

London: A Blackburn man who was abusive towards airline staff on his honeymoon flight has been fined almost £2,000. The airliner, bound for Cuba, had to make an unscheduled stop in Bermuda because of the unruly behaviour of Mohammed Khelya. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of getting drunk while on an aircraft over Bermudian territorial waters and acting in a disruptive manner. He was ordered to pay $3,000 and returned to the UK, spending a night in London ahead of returning to his Roney Street home.

MPs defiant after China bans Hong Kong visit

London: The diplomatic dispute between Britain and China has deepened after the Chinese government asked the Commons committee to cancel its planned visit to its former colony, Hong Kong, which is convulsed by pro-democracy protests. The MPs have been granted a rare emergency debate at the House of Commons over the issue. Beijing warned the foreign affairs committee not to ignore its demand. Hugo Swire, the foreign office minister, told Guo Yezhou, the Chinese vice-minister for international affairs, that the decision to block MPs inquiring into UK-China relations was mistaken and counterproductive, a Downing Street spokesman said.

109 women prosecuted for false rape claims

London: At least 109 women have been prosecuted in the last five years for making false rape allegations in the UK, according to campaigners who are calling for an end to what they claim is the aggressive pursuit of such cases. Women Against Rape (War), a charity, is taking its campaign to the House of Commons, where some of those who have been jailed for lying about rape allegations will speak out against their treatment by the authorities.

Muslim school spent state funds in Pakistan

London: According to an investigation by the city council, a Muslim school in Birmingham which received up to £ 1 million funds from the government used the money to fund a boarding school in Pakistan, instead of spending its own welfare. Al-Hijrah School, one of only 14 state-funded Islamic schools in England, has a deficit of almost £900,000 and its governing body was removed after it failed an Ofsted inspection. An inquiry is looking into whether public funds intended for the school helped to fund an Islamic school for boys in Ziarat, near the city of Quetta, close to Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

WORLD

Imran Khan threatens to 'shut down' Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan's opposition leader Imran Khan threatened to "shut down" the entire country

by December 16 if the Nawaz Sharif government failed to initiate an impartial probe into the alleged rigging in 2013 general elections.

The Pakistan Tehreeki-Insaf (PTI) chief, in a rally outside the parliament, said that his protest would continue till the government initiate an inquiry into the "massive rigging" in last year's general elections, which saw Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) win by a landslide.

Imran Khan

"The ball is in your court, Nawaz Sharif - do your talks, do your investigations and solve the issue. We will close Pakistan down when December 16 comes, and what I do after that you will not be able to bear it...It has been 109 days and "Naya Pakistan" is

23

waking up every day. We can all see it," Khan was quoted as saying by Dawn.

"On Thursday (December 4), I will go to Lahore and shut it down.

On December 8, I will shut down Faisalabad, on December 12, I will go to Karachi and shut it down.

By December 16, I will shut down all of Pakistan if the poll inquiry is not initiated," Khan said.

The cricketer-turnedpolitician has been holding protest-rallies in different cities to spread his movement, demanding a probe into the allegations of rigging the election.

Khan had launched his

protest in mid-August, demanding Sharif's ouster, but he later withdrew his main demand of the prime minister's resignation ahead of the probe and offered the government to constitute a judicial commission comprising Supreme Court judges, ISI and military intelligence officials, to investigate the reported rigging.

December 16 is considered as a tragic day in the history of Pakistan as the country lost its eastern wing after a war with India when its army surrendered and Bangladesh emerged as an independent country.

A prototype of the aircraft, designated as J-31, has been flown by the Chinese aircraft research and development firm Shenyang Aviation Company for a couple of years now.

What particularly interests the PAF is that FC-31 prototype (J-31) and JF-17 use the same Russian Klimov RD-93 engines.

Hussain said that Pakistan was also interested in Chinese attack

helicopter Z-10. China and Pakistan had earlier co-produced JF-17 Thunder. Pakistan has been eagerly trying to market this fighter aircraft. "We have nearly confirmed orders from seven countries for JF-17," Hussain said.

Pakistan, which is at present producing Block-2 of JF-17 at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, is eyeing orders from countries in the Middle East and Africa.

"The PAF has a requirement of 250 aircraft, but now we have decided that we'll sell some of the JF-17 Block-2 to international buyers besides fulfilling our local demand," the minister said

Pakistan plans to buy stealth fighter aircraft from China

Islamabad: Pakistan plans to buy the fourth generation stealth fighter aircraft from China to boost its defence capability, according to a media report. The matter was being discussed with Chinese authorities, minister for defence production Rana Tanveer Hussain was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper.

"It is for the first time that a senior government functionary has confirmed talks with China over purchase of the longer-range stealth aircraft - an issue that has been a subject of speculation in defence circles since the 10th edition of the Zhuhai Air Show (China) held earlier this month, when the aircraft

was unveiled," the paper reported.

The Jane's Defence Weekly also quoted an unnamed Pakistani official as saying that the Pakistan Air Force was in talks with China to buy 30 to 40 of the Shenyang FC31 fighters. FC-31 being developed by China primarily for the export market and reportedly several countries are interested in the aircraft believed to be comparable to US F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Egypt erupts after Mubarak cleared of murder charges

Cairo: At least two persons were killed and ten others injured when police clashed with demonstrators protesting to denounce dropping of murder charge against former ousted president Hosni Mubarak and his sons by an an Egyptian court. Over 3,000 protesters took to the streets and gathered near iconic Tahrir Square, after Mubarak was acquitted of a murder charge by a court which found him not guilty in the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters during the 2011 revolution that toppled the former strongman's nearly three decades-long regime.

Health Minister Adel elAdawy confirmed that two protesters died while ten others sustained injuries. The protesters held country's flag and chanted slogans against the verdict. Police closed Tahrir square to prevent protesters from entering and fired water cannons, teargas and birdshot to disperse the crowd, media outlets reported.

In a dramatic reversal

of fortune, Judge Mahmud Kamel al-Rashidi overturned the life sentence that Mubarak had received in June 2012, which means he will not be facing any punishment for allegedly sanctioning the murder of 846 protesters during Egypt's 2011 uprising or for allegedly profiting from the export of gas at below market rates. But in January 2013 the Court of Cassation upheld an appeal by his supporters against Mubarak's convictions on technical grounds and ordered a retrial which began in April the same year. The retrial was adjourned several times till the court gave an order.

The ruling marks another major setback for the young activists who spearheaded the Arab Springinspired uprising nearly four years ago -many of

whom are now in jail or have withdrawn from politics - and will reinforce the perception that Mubarak's autocratic state remains in place, albeit led by a new president, former military chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The verdict concludes Mubarak's retrial along with his two sons, his security chief and six top security commanders, who were all acquitted. Also on trial was businessman Hussein Salem, a longtime Mubarak friend tried in absentia. He too was acquitted. Mubarak was also acquitted of corruption charges that he faced along with his sons Alaa and Gamal. It was not immediately clear whether Mubarak would now walk free since he is serving a three-year jail term for corruption charges he was convicted of in May.

Pakistan 2nd worst country in the world for women

Washington: Pakistan has been ranked as the world's second worst country for women, according to a study. Yemen has been ranked the world's worst country for women to live in. According to a recent report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) not one country in the world has successfully eliminated its gender gap.

The WEF's 2014 Global Gender Gap Report came to the conclusion after measuring economic and social disparities between men and women in around 142 countries.

The report said that in the worst-scoring nations, economic and educational opportunities, as well as political representation and health outcomes, were far worse for women than for men.

Following are the world's 10 worst countries for women: 1. Yemen, 2.

Pakistan, 3. Chad, 4.

Syria, 5. Mali, 6. Iran, 7.

Cote d'Ivoire, 8. Lebanon, 9. Jordan, 10.Morocco

24

INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Vaiko celebrates Prabhakaran's birthday despite criticism

Chennai: Despite criticism from several quarters, MDMK founder Vaiko and hundreds of his supporters celebrated the 60th birth anniversary of slain LTTE founder V Prabhakaran. As per reports, the MDMK supporters cut cakes and held meetings at various places remembering the slain LTTE chief's struggle for the cause of common Tamilians.

The MDMK chief even condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for greeting Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the SAARC summit. In a state-

ment, the MDMK chief said "I am terribly pained at the attitude of my Prime Minister. It's atrocious to commend the racist President who has killed several Tamils. And the PM

of India is wishing him and I am ashamed of it. I condemn it."

I m p o r t a n t l y, Vaiko's MDMK is an alliance partner of the BJP-led NDA in Tamil Nadu. Vaiko's call for celebrating Prabhakaran's birthday was criticised as an anti-India move and triggered tension with several parties demanding the Centre to ban such celebrations. Vaiko, a self-confessed supporter of Prabakaran and

GK Vasan Moopanar, one of the tallest leaders of the Congress, severed links with the party protesting against it's alliance with the AIADMK and launched the TMC, which was merged with the Congress party in 2002.

Interestingly after about 18 years, his son Vasan has taken the same course, dumping the Congress with which he was associated for more than a decade and enjoyed power in both UPA I and II regimes.

Vasan had quit the Congress on November 3 alleging that the state units were being ignored by the Congress high command.

Chennai: Twenty-five years after a DMK government allowed portraits of chief ministers - past and incumbent - to be hung in government offices, a party MLA has moved the Madras high court to remove the pictures of J Jayalalithaa, saying the honour would not apply to persons convicted and disqualified from the post. The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana refrained from issuing any orders, but asked the government to take a decision on the representations of DMK MLA T R B Raja on the matter within a month. When the matter was taken up for hearing, senior counsel P Wilson submitted that even about two months after a special court in Bengaluru found Jayalalithaa guilty and sentenced her to four years of imprisonment in a corruption case, leading to her immediate disqualification

his idea of a separate homeland for Tamils - the Tamil Ealam – had last week called for celebrations and prayers in places of religious worship on 26 November, to mark the time of birth of the former rebel leader.

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy later urged Union home minister Rajnath Singh to issue a directive to the Tamil Nadu government to ban the move to celebrate birth anniversary of slain chief of LTTE chief, who was responsible for killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Former minister Vasan revives Take a decision on Jaya Tamil Maanila Congress portraits in one month: HC

Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu): More than a decade after its merger with parent party, G K Moopanar founded Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) was revived by his son and former Union Minister GK Vasan, weeks after he quit the Congress.

"Our aim is to ensure a prosperous Tamil Nadu and a strong India. And to achieve this aim, we are reviving Tamil Maanila Congress founded by Moopanar," he declared emphatically at a public rally in Tiruchirappalli.

"From this moment, our movement will be called Tamil Maanila Congress and we shall be friends of Tamil people and serve them," Vasan said in his brief address formally launching his new regional party, which was well attended by his supporters. The party is trying to secure the 'Bicycle' symbol, one that was allotted to TMC when Moopanar founded it. In 1996,

Rampal promised followers a place in heaven

New Delhi: Claiming to sell salvation to unsuspecting followers, controversial godman Rampal took a cue from ponzi operators to expand his evil empire. His trusted followers worked like agents and spread out far and wide to find and fleece people by peddling miracles, cures and spiritual powers.

Unlike a ponzi operation, however, Rampal did not pay any commission to his “agents”. “Every follower was required to bring in at least three members or a family. The followers preyed on the poor and the illiterate and sold them the idea that baba possessed miraculous healing powers and could rid them of any ailment or problem," a follower said. Police sources said while every newcomer was free to attend a single spiritual discourse or satsang, he had to pay Rs 1,000 for the initiation process, called Naamdaan. This was done publicly, and the follower was given a Guru Mantra which was in fact the

Rampal

Gayatri Mantra.

Rampal would ask new followers to chant the mantra for three months.

That was how a primary membership of Satlok Ashram could be obtained.

For the secondary membership, Rampal would ask his followers to get Satnaam, for which he charged Rs 9,000. Members buying Satnaam were given a better deal by Rampal and were involved in the Ashram’s activities.

Saarnaam was the third type of membership, given after a follower had spent 10 years with Rampal. He would be charged Rs 10,000 for this and would be included in the executive committee of the Satlok Ashram.

Actor Khushboo joins Cong

New Delhi: Kollywood actor and former DMK leader Khushboo joined Congress after meeting party leader Sonia Gandhi. “It is one of greatest honours to be part of Congress.

Though I was associated with another political party in the past, something was nudging me.

Now, I feel like coming home after joining the Congress party,” Khushboo said. Indicated she would prefer a political role at the national level but said the party would decide on her responsibilities. Asked why she chose Congress over BJP, she said Congress is the only party which can ensure “secularism“ and keep the country united.

Another northeast student beaten up in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Another student from the northeast was beaten up in Bengaluru after he objected to a group of youths harassing his female friend. This is the second such attack on northeast youths in the city in just about a month. Samuel Haokip from Nagaland, a student of a reputed private college in Yelahanka, was assaulted by unidentified youths near Byrathi Cross, Kothanur, northeast Bengaluru, home to a large number of students from other parts of the country. Police later arrested three youths for the assault.

Fertility industry booming in Chennai J Jayalalithaa as chief minister and MLA, her photos were displayed in government offices, websites, welfare schemes and even in the police department. Advocate general of Tamil Nadu A L Somayaji, however, pointed out that there are specific government orders permitting display of portraits of former chief ministers in government offices and schemes.

Hence there is no illegality, he said.

In his petition, Raja said the continued use of Jayalalithaa's portraits in government offices would amount to "blatant disregard for the majesty of law."

6 Sikhs ride through 6,100 km to visit Golden Temple

Amritsar: The ardent dream of six Sikhs from Malaysia came true recently when they arrived in the Holy City on their motorbikes after traversing 6,100 km through rough weather and terrain. "All my fatigue disappeared when I entered the city of the Golden Temple. I can't describe the feeling in words," one of the bikers Gurwinder Singh said.

An insurance agent by profession, Gurwinder said that they had to wait years to get required permissions, especially from the Myanmar government. The group usually covered 350400 km everyday. "It was our heartfelt desire to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and an excitement that never let us get tired," he said. Another member of the expedition, Ravin Singh, a lawyer, said they spent nearly Rs 500,000 each on their 17-day trip from Malaysia to India. "There were difficult times on our way to India,

South Brief

Chennai: It's no longer the illiterate and poor who opt to become surrogate mothers - a considerable number of educated women are taking the step for monetary reasons in Chennai. With expert medical care, greater availability of surrogates and mushrooming IVF clinics, people from across the country and abroad are heading to Chennai looking for wombs on rent. "With more than 30 IVF centres, Chennai is a hub for surrogacy," says Dr Thankam Varma, medical director, Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Women's Health, Madras Medical Mission.

North Brief

Babbar appears before Akal Takht

Amritsar: President of All India Sikh Conference Gurcharan Singh Babbar appeared before the Akal Takht to submit his clarification about objectionable words used by him against the Akal Takht. Babbar, who had earlier demanded security before appearing before the Akal Takht, said he had a meeting with Sikh priests. "They asked me to give in writing that I am devoted to Akal Takht and abide by its directions, which I gave," he said. Babbar had objected on sending saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib abroad in containers.

Gurgaon boys eye international robotics prize

especially heavy rains in Malaysia and Myanmar and bad roads, but nothing deterred us. Our mission was to seek blessings of the Almighty at the Golden Temple," he said.

The group began their tour from Petalingjays in Malaysia with another aim of spreading the message of world peace and passed through wide swathes of Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and India before reaching their dream destination.

"People here are very cooperative and friendly.

However, roads and sanitation have much scope for improvement in India," said another biker Resham Singh, who works in an automobile company.

Gurgaon: Two young students from the city have been chosen to participate in the International Robotics Competition to be held in Seattle, US, in 2015. The national finale of the IRC saw the participation of more than 600 young minds at The Shri Ram School, Moulsari Avenue. Three winning teams were chosen, one each from the senior, middle and junior levels. Vansh Gupta and Ismail Khan, winners of the middle level, will be a part of the international competition next year.

The competition required the participants to come up with innovative solutions to issues, or 'problem statements', presented by the judges.

Key leaders skip BJP-SAD joint event

Bathinda: Even though the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP claimed that they had buried the hatchet and decided to contest the municipal corporation elections together, a joint press conference called by the alliance partners nailed their differences as senior BJP leaders stayed away from the event.

The BJP district unit leaders attended the district core committee meeting and only district unit media in-charge attended the press conference with SAD's Bathinda MLA and chief parliamentary secretary Sarup Chand Singla.

TRAVEL - INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Maoists kill 14 CRPF men in Chhattisgarh

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Maoists struck in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Monday, killing 14 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, including two officers. The Maoists allegedly adopted a cowardly tactic by using villagers as human shields for the ambush that took place about 6 km from Taarmetla, where 76 CRPF jawans were mowed down in April 2010 in the deadliest single-day insurgent attack yet on Indian security forces. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Maoists used villagers as shields, so our troops couldn't retaliate with full force as that would have cost villagers' lives,â&#x20AC;? a senior CRPF officer said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The slain officers included deputy commandant D S Verma and assistant commandant Rajesh Kapuriya. At least 13 to 14 jawans were injured,â&#x20AC;? a senior CRPF officer supervising the rescue operations said over phone from Jagdalpur, the divisional headquarters of Bastar.

The toll may rise as the wounded jawans

would have to survive the night on first-aid at CRPF medical camps. The nearest hospital is 100 km away. Helicopters have left for Jagdalpur to carry the injured to the state capital, but the evacuation could be done only on Tuesday morning.

A CRPF officer said there could be casualties on the Maoist side as well.

The daring attack took place on a day when a team of National Security Advisory Board was in Chhattisgarh to meet the CM and top officials on the security situation in Maoist hotbeds. CM Singh is learnt to have drawn the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attention towards Maoist cadres surrendering in Bastar and expressing hope that the region was on track to normalcy.

CRPF personnel, drawn from paramilitaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 223 and 206 battalions, were on an area domination exercise in the forests between Elmaguda and Errabore, where the rebels attacked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our forces retaliated and engaged the rebels in a fierce

encounter,â&#x20AC;? a CRPF officer said. The security forces in Bastar have been on a propaganda drive in the recent weeks following surrender of a number of Maoists, with many rebels saying they want to join the political mainstream. But there has also been criticism that those surrendering were smalltime cadres facing court cases for giving support to the Maoists.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh condemned the attack as an act of cowardice. He visited Raipur on Tuesday to assess the situation.

Reinforcements were being sent to the area and the offensive was being led by CRPF inspector general (Chhattisgarh), H S Sidhu. Few days ago, Sidhu had announced the killing of 15 Maoists during an encounter with CRPF forces in Sukma near the same place where the Maoists struck on Monday. The Maoists had then fired at an MI-17 helicopter, flown in to evacuate the CRPF men wounded in the operation.

Barack Obama

ground. The two nations donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to take any chance in the wake of reports of Indian youths joining the ISIS or being motivated over the internet. Sources say that in the coming seven-eight weeks, it is expected that more than 100 intelligence inputs will be generated by the CIA, IB and R&AW and filtered messages having special and general information about suspicious activities would be shared with security forces.

A senior officer described security at this year's R-Day will be â&#x20AC;&#x153;unmatchableâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. Without going into details, the officer said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Usually , around 25,000 police, paramilitary and other officers work alone in Delhi to make R-Day safer. But this time, the number of security, Army officers may touch 45,000 with secret service and SPG closely monitoring every security detail.â&#x20AC;?

Tight security for Obama, Modi on India's R-Day

Security agencies from both US and India are bracing for one of their biggest challenges when US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi share the dais on India's Republic Day. Sources say security on the ground and in the air this January 26 will be of a kind â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;never seen beforeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The USâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; secret service, CIA, Navy Seals and Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), Intelligence Bureau, paramilitary forces and Army will be working together round-the-clock to ensure the safety of the leaders of the two largest democracies who face the highest order of threat of any world leader today.

Sources in intelligence agencies say that both Obama and Modi face maximum danger from some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deadliest terrorist organizations, especially the Islamic State of Iraq and

Syria (ISIS), al-Qaida and L a s h k a r - e -Ta i b a .

According to reports, Obama receives over 20 threats a day while Modi also receives over 10 daily.

While the CIA, R&AW, IB and other intelligence agencies will work in the background to gather information about suspicious activities on the web, the US Navy Seals, secret service, SPG, NSG, paramilitary forces and Army would secure the

26

INDIA

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Modi, Sharif break ice with handshake in Nepal

It took a Himalayan retreat at Dhulikhel, about 20 km from Kathmandu, for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to break some ice after the foreign secretary-level talks debacle in August.

There was at least a semblance of a thaw as Modi shook hands with Sharif and exchanged greetings at a resort terrace overlooking a wide expanse of the Himalayas on Thursday last and later followed it up with an even longer shaking of hands back in Kathmandu in the evening as the 18th Saarc summit ended “successfully”. The two were cheered on by other Saarc leaders as they shook hands for nearly 40 seconds and posed for the cameras in the Nepal capital.

There was no substantive “one-on-one” dialogue between the two leaders at any stage but the interaction and the

long handshake was enough to spark hope, if not expectations, about a possible resumption of dialogue between the two countries after their ties seemed to have taken a debilitating blow in August.

“We want to have peaceful relations with Pakistan, a meaningful dialogue and if this interaction or handshake leads to it, we will welcome that,” said India's foreign ministry spokesperson

After more than a month of negotiations with BJP and after saying that it would settle for nothing less than the deputy chief minister's post and the home portfolio, the Shiv Sena on Monday agreed to join the BJP-led Maharashtra government by accepting lesser portfolios. Sena may be given the public works, energy and water conservation ministries, sources said.

While firmly rejecting Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's demand that his party should get the deputy CMship and the home department, BJP has offered six cabinet berths and four state ministerships to the Sena, it is learned.

The cabinet expansion, which will see the induction of the 10 Sena ministers, has been scheduled for December 3. Ten BJP ministers will be sworn in as well, it is said. Sources

said Sena leader Subhash Desai, Divakar Raote and Eknath Shinde will be sworn in as cabinet ministers. Several other names are doing the rounds - for instance, Sanjay Rathod (Vidarbha), Sanjay Shirsat (Marathwada) and Vaibhav Naik, the Konkan MLA who defeated Congress leader Narayan Rane in the assembly elections. From Mumbai, Sunil Prabhu and Sanjay Potnis are likely to be inducted as ministers of state. Sena leader Neelam Gorhe too may get a ministerial berth, sources added.

The new Sena-BJP arrangement is also good news for the BJP government at the Centre, which needs Sena's support to get the Insurance Law (Amendment) bill passed in a joint session of Parliament. Sena had last week voiced its opposition to the bill after first pledg-

Syed Akbaruddin. The fact that Pakistan relented and agreed to sign a framework agreement for energy cooperation, which the Indian Cabinet had cleared last week in anticipation of a Saarc agreement, also seemed to have given Modi enough leeway to be seen in public as bonding with Sharif.

Pakistan seemed to have indicated in the morning that it was looking for a successful conclusion of the agreement during the

day.

India described Modi's first Saarc outing as a “success” after the signing of the agreement.

At the Dhulikhel retreat, the two leaders also sat close to each other while they bonded over a vegetarian lunch sampling delicacies from all Saarc countries in a “convivial atmosphere.” As host, Nepal PM Sushil Koirala apparently played a role in getting Modi to shake hands with Sharif at the retreat, but Indian officials said Modi greeted Sharif as he did other leaders.

“They exchanged greetings, courtesies were extended,” Akbaruddin said.

While there were reports that Sharif expressed disappointment towards the end that he could not have a bilateral meeting with Modi, Indian officials said they were not aware of any such sentiment expressed by the Pakistani side, adding that Saarc is not just about India and Pakistan. Sharif

's advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz, too, described the summit as successful saying Saarc is not just India and Pakistan. The thaw followed a fresh chill in ties when Modi on Wednesday had bilateral meetings with all Saarc leaders except Sharif, with neither side approaching the other with proposal for a structured dialogue.

Pakistani officials expressed hope that the interaction in Kathmandu would lead to a more substantive engagement.

India had cancelled the scheduled talks between foreign secretaries in August after the Pakistan high commissioner, Abdul Basit, chose to have a “routine” meeting with Hurriyat leaders before the dialogue. Modi then was blamed by some for having set the bar so high for facilitating any IndiaPakistan dialogue that ties could remain frozen for years. India, however, stuck to its stand saying that this was actually the

first time that a Pakistan high commissioner had met separatists in India before any scheduled dialogue in Pakistan.

India to give business visa for 3-5 years for Saarc Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India would give business visa for three to five years for Saarc countries and called for making procedures simple and facilities better.

"India will now give business visa for three-five years for Saarc countries," Modi said at the two-day Saarc summit. " I also believe that if we can light up each other's towns and villages, we can build a brighter tomorrow for our region," he added.

He noted: "India has huge trade surplus with Saarc countries.

I believe that this is neither right nor sustainable." "Let's all make our procedures simple, our facilities better, our standards common and our paper work less burdensome."

ing support. The Modi government has lined up key reform bills during the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

By teaming up with the ruling party, Sena may set an unsavoury precedent in state politics, said a Mantralaya bureaucrat.

"Never before has a 63strong opposition group walked over to the treasury benches, lock stock and barrel," he pointed out. Sena's Eknath Shinde was elected opposition leader in the assembly during the special legislature session from November 10 to 12. The Devendra Fadnavis government had then won the trust vote controversially with a voice vote.

Sena gave its nod of approval to the BJP formula after prolonged negotiations late Monday evening. Many in BJP had indicated the party was not comfortable with

NCP's outside support, which Sharad Pawar's party offered on October 19, the day the assembly poll results were out. Chief minister Fadnavis himself was not amenable to the idea of NCP propping up his regime.

Sources said the SenaBJP truce came about following instructions from BJP's central leadership to Fadnavis to win over Matoshree as the party lacked a majority in the assembly. The BJP high command was keen on a patch-up ahead of the crucial winter session of the legislature scheduled for December 8.

But the state BJP leadership made it clear to the party high command that it would not be appropriate to offer the sensitive home portfolio to the Sena. The New Delhi bosses accepted the Maharashtra BJP's suggestion, it is learnt.

One of the four youths who joined the jehadi group Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, Arif Majeed has returned to India and was being interrogated by the National Investigating Agency. Arif hailing from Kalyan, arrived by a flight via Turkey on Friday. He was immediately whisked away by intelligence officials to an undisclosed location.

Majeed went "missing" in May along with three other Thane youths Shahim Tanki, Aman Tandel and Fahad Shaikh.

Later, their families living in and around Kalyan and police came to know that they had reportedly sneaked into Iraq and joined the IS ranks.

Earlier, intelligence agencies had gathered information that the four youths from Kalyan near Mumbai have been in touch with their families

to return as they are being exploited in Iraq. Sources said the agencies have approached the families and assured them that the youths will not be harassed on their return.

Arif’s father had met the NIA officers in Mumbai and informed them that his son wants to come back. Arif had fled to Turkey and the other three are still in Southern Iraq where the IS has a stronghold.

Intelligence agencies managed to get phone intercepts where the youths are heard crying and asking their families to seek the government’s help for their return.

Under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the militant group has been running a reign of terror in Iraq and Syria to establish a Caliphate and making its commander the supreme Muslim leader world over.

five security guards all the time,” she said. “Often my relatives or I have to cook for them, my sister-in-law has to make their beds.

This is a bit annoying.”

Mrs Modi lives with her brother. “You see it gets really chaotic when I have to travel, because I use public transport and the guards are following me in an air-conditioned car.”

She has expressed fears about the fate of Indira Gandhi, India’s former prime minister, who was assassinated by her bodyguards in 1984.

In the right to information request, filed in her home village of Brahmanwada, 500 km north of Mumbai, it was

stated: “I am the wife of the honourable prime minister of India. I would like to know under what provisions of the law and the constitution of India am I being provided protection? As wife of the prime minister what are the other benefits I am entitled to?”

A right to information request is similar to a request made under Britain’s Freedom of Information Act. The couple were married in a traditional arranged ceremony organised by their families when they were both aged 17 but Modi left his wife shortly afterwards.

The couple never divorced.

Modi was apparently concerned that his wedded status would harm his prospects as he rose through the ranks of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). RSS leaders rarely marry and often take an oath of Brahmacharya, or celibacy, to devote themselves fully to the nation. Details of Modi’s marriage emerged only weeks before the election, when he admitted in an election filing to having a wife.

During his 13-year term as chief minister of Gujarat, Mrs Modi’s existence had remained a secret.

Since his admission, she has expressed her support for her husband and

says she prays for him each day. Mrs Modi has been guarded by commandos from the special protection group, a VIP protection unit modelled on America’s secret service, since her husband became prime minister. Her brother, Ashok Modi, has called for the government to provide her with a car and a team of female guards.

“She is the ‘first lady’ and is entitled to get all the facilities,” he said, adding, “She deserves to be with [Modi] in Delhi.”

Ashok Modi, said he supported Jashodaben's decision to file a request seeking information about her security detail under the Right to Information Act.

Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif

Shiv Sena to join BJP govt in Maharashtra

Mumbai youth who joined jehadi group returns

Modi's estranged wife seeks withdrawal of security guards

The estranged wife of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has complained of police harassment and asked to be treated as the country’s first lady. Jashodaben Modi, 62, a retired teacher in Gujarat has questioned the government’s decision to provide her with roundthe-clock protection by armed bodyguards after her husband’s election in May. Mrs Modi filed a legal complaint seeking information about her rights and privileges as the wife of the leader of the world’s biggest democracy. The couple have not lived together for 45 years. Mrs Modi has complained of

Jashodaben Modi

being “frightened” when trailed constantly by a retinue of armed guards, who travelled in an air-conditioned car even when she was on public transport or in a three-wheeled autorickshaw.

“I am surrounded by

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

HEALTH WATCH

Ravi Bhanot’s Health Blog

Beards are good for your health

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mong the most common problems caused by shaving is a rash called folliculitis barbae. It is often itchy and is caused by staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium which infects the skin. It can affect shavers and non-shavers, but it's often brought on by reinfection from everyday shaving equipment contaminated with bacteria that lives harmlessly inside our noses.

"The shaved hair starts to grow again and forms an ingrown bump which can become inflamed," says Dr Toni -Phillips, clinical director of a skin clinic, adding, "During the next shave, these bumps can be cut or irritated, resulting in infection. Not only is this an unpleasant medical condition, but it looks awful."

Not shaving will help, but it can also be tackled by skin cleansers containing salicylic acid and using an exfoliator on a daily basis, she says.

Helps with allergies If you're sensitive to dust and pollen, a beard or bushy moustache might offer some defence against them entering your nose and respiratory system.

"It's been said that facial hair can filter out dust and pollens," says food intolerance expert Dr Gill Hart.

However, it's more likely that the presence of small amounts of pollens and dust trapped in facial hair could actually "de-sensitise" the immune system.

Dr Hart adds, "In other

words, the body will get used to the presence of small amounts of pollen and dust trapped in the facial hair and become less likely to react to them."

Can lower your skin cancer risk A recent study conducted at Australia's University of Southern Queensland looked at how effective facial hair is in protection against the sun's UV rays. The report said researchers used mannequins with varying lengths of stick-on beards while others were `clean shaven'. They were then all stood out in the sun.

The results of the study showed that beards can prevent skin cancer by providing an estimated 90 to 95% of protection against harmful UVs, depending on the beard's length and the angle of the facial hair.

But Dr Stefanie Williams, a dermatologist, is wary of how much protection facial hair can offer, saying that people should still rely on using their sun protection products. She says, " A beard

might offer a small degree of sun protection but don't overestimate this. A few years ago, I measured in one of my patients how much UV penetrates the hair (on the scalp in that case). Around 50% still got through, although the hair was quite dense in that patient."

Slows down wrinkles It's often said shaving off your beard can knock years off. But a covering of facial hair can also slow down the ageing process in the skin, says dermatologist Dr Adam Friedmann.

"Sun exposure is the primary cause of photo-ageing and skin damage so it makes sense that if your face is covered by a heavy beard, it may well protect your skin from the signs of ageing," says Dr Friedmann. "This means fewer wrinkles and a reduction in age spots commonly found on the face."

Boosts confidence among acne sufferers Acne is caused when tiny follicles near the surface of the skin become blocked, leading to white-

head or blackhead spots.

And this common condition can be worsened with shaving. Both a `wet shave' and an electric razor can easily take the tops off inflammatory `comedones', as the spots on the face and neck are known, making them even more obvious. " Acne sufferers may be low in confidence and low self-esteem, especially if they've had severe acne that leaves scars," says Dr Freidmann. "Sporting a beard may therefore give a boost of confidence and make them feel better about their appearance."

Reduces asthma This condition affects 5.4 million people in the UK but there's a belief facial hair might offer protection against irritants like house dust mites, which act as a trigger. "One side of the debate says a beard or moustache could mean the hairs act as a `Thames Barrier' for the lungs, stopping certain particles getting into your nose and travelling down to your lungs," says Deborah Waddell, lead clinical adviser at an asthma clinic in UK. She adds, "On the other hand, having a beard could trap particles, such as pollen, in the same way that eyebrows and your hair can. So our advice is, to reduce the risk of your beard harbouring irritating particles closer to your airways, keep it clean."

it to boil till it reduces to half. Drinking a cup of this concoction thrice a day is an effective remedy for congestion in the lungs.

Ginger- This is one of the most popular herbs used in Ayurveda for treating ailments. Ginger is particularly effective for all kinds of respiratory problems like lung congestion, cough, cold and allergies.

For best results, fresh ginger should be used. The active compounds of ginger help in dissolving and

bringing out the phlegm.

Eucalyptus oil - It is a very good antiseptic for the lungs. To use it, break a capsule of eucalyptus oil in a cotton ball and inhale the vapours. Alternatively, you can take steam with few drops of eucalyptus oil added to the water.

Soups with spices Hot soups with herbs and spices like garlic, galangal and black pepper are recommended for clearing congestion. These spices not only dilate the airways to make breathing easier but also help to pull out congestion from the lungs.

Sesame oil - Massage your chest with sesame oil mixed with almond oil.

Also, rub some oil on the soles of your feet.

Besides the above remedies, there are certain things that you must definitely avoid. Stay away from dairy products (epically processed cheese), fried foods, refined foods, frozen foods and rice as they can aggravate congestion.

Best home remedies to clear chest congestion

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hest congestion is a common infection which is caused due to inflammation of the lower tract of the respiratory system. It is one of the typical after-effects of cold and flu. Some of the common symptoms may include coughing, sore throat, shortness of breath, tightness, wheezing and even fever. But, you don't have to rely only on medicines. Certain foods help relieve and clear up congestion before it worsens.

Here are some easy and effective home remedies that will help you beat chest congestion naturally.

Mulethi (Licorice) Mulethi is a very effective demulcent. It works on

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...

the tough mucous cells which can then easily be coughed out by the lungs.

It also cleans the tracts and soothes the irritation that one feels. It can be boiled in water along with other herbs to make a healing decoction.

However, pregnant women should avoid consuming it.

Cinnamon - It is a great antiseptic which helps in relieving cough. Add cinnamon powder, ginger and mulethi to water and allow

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Hair Loss In Women - a Time Bomb?

For one in four women hair loss is a potentially devastating problem they may suffer from. But the good news is you can do something behind this statistic. There's some new research behind the science of hair loss.

Stress has always been known to be one of the top reasons for female hair loss, or telogen effluvium.

Ravi Bhanot New research shows the JP MRPharmS Dip(Nutr) Dip(Hom) Dip(Ayurv) Dip(Stress second highest predictor of central hair loss in women Manag) Dip (Massage) is their marital status.

Pharmacist, Ayurvedic, Complementary Health and Divorce or death of a partNutrition Consultant, Lecturer, ner can actually cause thinResearcher and Author. He is a ning of hair. celebrity columnist for many In women there can be magazines and is Director of other reasons for hair loss The Ayurveda Institute of Europe and Coolherbals Ltd. including diet, major surgery, poor self image, lack of exercise, storing toxins, weight loss or medications.

To keep your hair for longer try the NUTRIGRO PLAN. As I have said in my book Hair Today …Hair Tomorrow “the body almost says you are going to lose hair at a certain time. The secret is to learn to forestall that time.”

Nutrition. Ensure you are eating a good source of protein, biotin and iron supplements. A new study found that excessive drinking and smoking can also increase the risk for hair loss in women. During or after menopause reduced oestrogen can cause hair loss. Increase on oestrogen rich foods such as soya and tofu, consider hormone replacement therapy or a hair food supplement.

Use non harsh chemical hair products that contain the Lauryl Sulphates or Ammonia and do not excessively style your hair. A recent American study shows 30 percent of middle-aged black women are balding due to using harsh chemical products, too tight braiding and ponytails that are pulling the hair.

Try setting your hair dryer on low, your styling equipment to 160 degrees Centigrade for thinning hair, 190 degrees for normal and 220 degrees for thick hair and try to limit heating your hair locks to maximum three times a week.

Train or exercise has shown to help better blood flow and hence nutrients to the scalp. Simple exercises such as walking or running will help. Try 20 minutes exercise at least three times a week at a brisk speed of 50% faster than your normal pattern.

Remove toxin build up in the scalp and body regularly. Massage the scalp regularly. Try massaging whilst shampooing. To learn the technique of ayurvedic head massage and shampooing email me.

The ancient Indian technique of using hot and cold water whilst washing hair can help in hair loss.

Imagine the hair you want. Paulo Coelho rightly says “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”

Growth of hair is best achieved doing the above.

To discuss your hair problem email Ravi Bhanot ravi@coolherbals.com or phone 020 8597 9039.

£19.95 £9.95 Use discount code DISC50

www.coolherbals.com (expires 31.12.14)

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 6th December 2014

Vijay has a split personality: Samantha

'Kaaviyathalaivan' floors them all

Another Yuvan musical from December!

Y

uvan is super busy with too many projects under his sleeve like “Vai Raja Vai,” “Taramani,” “Idam Porul Eval,” “Yatchan,” and “Masss” to name a few. As reported earlier, Yuvan is joining hands with lyricist ‘Kaviperarasu’ Vairamuthu for the very first time for 'Idam Porul Eval' (IPE), directed by Seenu Ramasamy. The ‘Masss’ music director has so far composed 5 songs for IPE and the makers are planning to include one more song.

Vijay Sethupathi, Vishnu Vishal, Nandita and Iyshwarya Rajesh play the lead roles in IPE. The film’s complete shoot was wrapped up in 80 days which was supposedly canned in Kodaikanal and Chennai.

The dubbing work is currently on and the makers are eyeing for an early 2015 release and the audio launch is likely to happen in December.

“K

aaviyathalaivan” is gathering solid appreciation and support from all corners. Here are some of the interesting celebrity reactions to the movie.

Ilayathalapathy Vijay: “Kaaviyathalaivan, in recent times, is one of Tamil Cinema's very good and important movies. Films like this are very rare, and hence people should go as families and celebrate

I

“Action Jackson” is an upcoming action comedy film directed by Prabhudeva.

The film features Ajay Devgan in the title role, alongside Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam and Manasvi Mamgai as the female leads and south actor Anand Raj, portraying the main antago-

watch it in theatre!”

Dhananjayan Govind: “Folks, Kaaviyathalaivan deserves to be celebrated at cinema halls for its TOP quality. Please watch in theatres & NOT in DVDs/Cable/Online.”

Karthik Subbaraj: “A big salute to the passion of Sashikanth and Varun Manian for producing Kaaviyathalaivan. Such a wonderful film!!”

Kamal's long-lost heroine is back!

t's time for the evergreen Jyothika to have a comeback and you all know that it's happening with the 'How old are you' remake which commenced a few weeks back with shoots in North India.

While Jyothika is coming back to the silver-screen after “Mozhi, it is the return of another yesteryear actress as well.

“Vanavil,” “Samuthiram” and “Virumaandi” fame Abhirami is also said to be playing an important role in the film. When Abhirami went completely low-profile as an actress after “Virumaandi,” she got associated with films again with

'Action Jackson'

Kaaviyathalaivan.”

Shanthanu Bhagyaraj: “Must watch. Fantabulous effort from Vasanthabalan Sir, Prithviraj, Siddharth, and Vedhika. You guys killed it.”

Haricharan Seshadri: “Kaaviyathalaivan A unique, bold concept driven movie amongst so many others.” Udhayanidhi Stalin: “Kaaviyathalaivan - A colorful film! Super effort by the whole team ! Congratz ! Do

nist. The matter of the title being a copyright infringement of the 1988 Hollywood film of the same title has been sorted out by the producers. But Prabhu Dheva is very upset by the way the title's validity was questioned by the international producers. Says Prabhu Dheva, "I don't understand how or why every film title we use in India has to be cleared abroad as well. In that case the law should work both ways. We also should be allowed to question them as to why their films have titled that sound like ours. Why was James Cameron's film called Avatar?

Years before Bollywood director Mohan Kumar had made a film called Avatar. Please explain how the same title found its way for Cameron's film."

“Vishwaroopam” where she dubbed for Pooja Kumar and the work also got widely appreciated. When such

artists were missed and they come back with stronger roles, it's more than good news.

Sreesanth set to make Bollywood debut

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ormer cricketer Sreesanth is set to make his Bollywood debut in Pooja Bhatt's next production venture and the filmmaker says the decision to cast him was quick and instinctive. In the film, which has been titled 'Cabaret', the former India pacer will be seen donning the role of a Malayali mentor to the movie's leading lady Richa Chadda's character, who is a dancer. "I met Sreesanth at his home. I knew that he would be able to play the role of a Malayali guy, who mentors a dancer. I cast him on my instinct. Initially we had thought of casting someone who is older but when I saw him I felt he is perfect for the role. The character is very close to his persona. I have asked him to retain his Malayali accent. Sreesanth is a natural performer, he is camera friendly and I have a gut feeling that the film will do him good," Pooja said.

A

star-studded event - 'Memu Saitam – We Love Vizag' – which was organised for a social cause saw many celebrities at their candid best. It was organised to raise funds for the survivors of Hudhud cyclone. There were some interesting gimmicks portrayed by leading South Indian film celebrities like Mahesh Babu, Trivikram Srinivas and Samantha to name a few. The trio went on air for a little 'coffee chat' on stage and the two men started pulling Samantha's legs. When Mahesh Babu asked Samantha, how it was working with two biggies in the Tamil Industry - Vijay and Suriya, she said "Suriya and you are the same.

Very simple, humble and dedicated towards the script and the director". On Vijay she said, " He is too silent on the sets and doesn't talk much. But the moment the director says 'take', he is like a livewire.

He surprises the crew each time with his scenes. It feels like he has a split personality." The three of them seemed to have had fun chatting on stage about many actors and their experiences. The event was a complete commercial fundraiser serving the very purpose of creating awareness, along with entertainment.

Ranbir unperturbed by Salman's remarks on Katrina

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hough Ranbir Kapoor wasn't invited to the wedding of Salman Khan's sister, his alleged ladylove Katrina Kaif chose to be a part of the celebrations given her equation with the bride, Arpita Khan. However, according to a report, Ranbir simply laughed-off Salman's tongue-in-cheek comments for his girlfriend Katrina. The actor apparently didn't mind Salman addressing Katrina as Katrina Kapoor and also didn't react to his comments on the actress' missed opportunity to be Katrina Khan.

While it would have been expected that the actor would be miffed with the reports, Ranbir surprised everyone by taking the episode as a mere joke.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Salman-Shah Rukh bury the hatchet S

hah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan's big patch up moment reached a crescendo of sorts when the two took to the dance floor and danced their hearts out to the tunes of 'Chaiya Chaiya.' at the wedding of Salman's sister Arpita.

While the actors called up Aamir Khan the same night when they hugged and made-up, they also made it a point to publicly admit to their patch-up.

Salman accepted to the fact on Bigg Boss and Shah Rukh too gave his confirmation at a recent event.

According to a report on Missmalini.com, the actor was quoted saying that though he and Salman had many moments of happiness in their lives and a few moments of sorrow, he could safely assure that

they will always be there for each other to share each other's happiness and despair.

Shedding some insight into their relationship, Shah Rukh admitted that the two shared the same relationship as they had 25 years ago and that there was no bad blood between them. He attributed their fights to the fact that both of them are hot headed Pathans who can have issues at times. He further stated that Arpita is close to him as well and he had seen her growing up from the little girl she was. He asserted the fact that it was their sister's marriage and they had to be present for it.

B

Deepika Padukone gets sporty on the sets of 'Piku'

D

eepika Padukone, who was busy shooting in Kolkata for Shoojit Sircar's film “Piku” seems to be really enjoying herself. The actress was spotted playing a game of badminton on the sets, looking every bit of a sportsperson, just like her father.

It is a well-known fact that the actress is a national level Badminton champion.

In fact, time and again, Deepika has said that if it wasn't for her love of acting, she would have been in court slamming her competitors for a victory. A couple of days ago post pack up, the actress decided to give a glimpse of her game and talent to the 'Piku' crew! An onlooker said, "She was totally charged up to play even after a tiring day of shoot. She had a good time taking a break from continuous shooting.

The crew was totally spell bound."

Piku is a roller coaster ride of a crazy father-daughter relationship essayed by

Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone with Irrfan Khan top lining the cast, in a pivotal author backed role.

Piku also marks coming together of Shoojit Sircar, Ronnie Lahiri and Juhi Chaturvedi, the team that scripted “Vicky Donor.”

Piku is scheduled for worldwide release on April 30, 2015.

‘Bajiro Mastani’ takes a toll on Priyanka

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c t r e s s Priyanka Chopra has been w o r k i n g extremely hard on her upcoming film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, “ B a j i r a o M a s t a n i . ” to According the reports, actress recently fainted on the sets of the period film at Film City, while delivering a four-pagelong monologue. Priyanka reportedly complained of dizziness before the shoot and collapsed during the take. Priyanka was extremely weak to continue before the cameras and the shoot was stalled for about six hours. A doctor was also called on the sets to check on the actress. The actress also took to Twitter to tell her fans how tired she has been off late.

Gauhar Khan slapped for `skimpy' dress

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c t o r Gauhar was Khan slapped by a member of the audience while she was shooting for a TV at show Mumbai's Film City. The accused, Mohammad Akil Malik, 24, was caught and later handed over to police. According to the cops, Malik had been attending a TV show, which Khan hosts, as a member of the audience for the past three days and had been observing Khan. Around 8 pm on Sunday, while the shoot was on, Malik suddenly got up and went on the stage.

He tried to touch Khan who was taken aback and resisted. Malik then slapped her and asked her how she could wear skimpy outfits and dance to cheap songs being a Muslim. Police are also trying to find out if Malik was drunk.

Ajay Devgn yet to watch Kajol's most romantic film

O

Making films is my priority now: Dia Mirza

ollywood actress Dia Mirza who has acted in films like ‘Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein’, ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ and ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd’says that making films is her first priority now than in acting films.

"There have been offers but nothing is decided right now. I am really enjoying being part of the filmmaking process for now. I would definitely want to come in front of the camera and do a film. I enjoyed that phase of my career. May be next year I will be able to finally take a call on the film which I will star in," Dia said. Dia's last big screen outing was a Bengali film in 2012 and the actress, who has turned movie producer, says acting has taken a backseat as she is enjoying the process of filmmaking.

T h e former beauty queen has not not ruled out starring in a film made by her production company.

“I never founded the production house with the aim to create movies for me.

But having said that, I feel there is nothing wrong with it. A lot of people here and in the west do it. I will also do it if a great script comes my way. But my focus is to build our production house at the moment.”

ne of the most successful romantic films of I n d i a , “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” starShah ring Khan Rukh and Kajol, has entered its 20th year this year. But Kajol's hubby Ajay Devgn hasn't seen the film yet. Said the actor, "I haven't seen the film.

There is no particular reason why I haven't seen it yet. It's just that I haven't got the time." When asked if Kajol and he watch each other's films, Ajay said, "Not really. I hardly watch my films also. I have not seen a lot of my films." Meanwhile, the 45-year-old actor is all geared up for his “Action comedy action next 5th on releases Jackson,”which December, 2014.

Govind Nihalani to direct film after a decade

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fter a long gap of 10 Nationalyears, Award winning filmmaker Govind Nihalani will be back next year with a 3D animation film for kids.

"Now I have turned to animation and will be back after a long time. My film 'Kamlu Happy Happy' is now complete and should get released early next year," Nihalani said. The 72year-old said the film is about a baby camel called 'Kamlu' living in a Rajasthan desert. "He wants to fly but is told that it is impossible for camels to fly. I have written this folk tale type of a story on his dream to do the impossible," Nihalani who is also producing the film said. It was way back in 2004 that he made his last film - 'Dev', which featured Amitabh Bachchan. Winner of six National Film Awards, he is best known for making parallel films like 'Ardh Satya', 'Drohkaal', 'Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa' and 'Aakrosh'.

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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Trojan Horse: six more suspensions at Park View Educational Trust

Six members of staff at Trojan Horse-linked Birmingham schools have been suspended over allegations of misconduct, the Birmingham Mail can reveal.

Park View Educational Trust (PVET) has taken the disciplinary measures against the staff, believed to include teachers and teaching assistants.

The entire governing board of the Trust, which runs Park View School, Golden Hillock and Nansen Primary, resigned earlier this year following damning reports into Trojan Horse by Ofsted, the city council and former terror chief Peter Clarke.

The latest disciplinary

action follows the suspension of Monzoor Hussain, then Park View School acting principal, and Nansen deputy head Razwan Faraz in July.

The teachers were both reportedly part of a WhatsApp group which suggested the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby and the bombing of the Boston Marathon were faked.

Mr Hussain and Mr Faraz – a former teacher at Park View School – were said to have been two of the “most prolific” contributors to the group called the Park View Brotherhood, according to the Clarke report.

The Department for Education confirmed it was aware of the suspen-

sions but said it was a matter for the Trust to comment further.

Kamal Hanif, OBE, was among headteachers parachuted in to Park View Educational Trust (PVET) after the board resigned.

He had combined his role as headteacher of Waverley School in Bordesley Green and on the new management team at the Trust, along with Pat Smart, headteacher of Greet Primary

School and Yvonne Wilkinson, headteacher of King Edwards VI Five Ways.

Birmingham Five schools, including all three run by the Trust, were placed in special measures

by Ofsted earlier this year after snap inspections triggered by the Trojan Horse claims. It is understood Ofsted inspectors have returned to the same city schools this week, to see if improvements have been made.

communities and their relationships to crime victimisation and the criminal justice system.

Analysis of crime data generated by nearly 5,000 Muslims reveals few differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in relation to a range of violent personal crime including assaults, wounding and threats - the types of crime that scholarly literature, media reports and anecdotal evidence all suggest have disproportionately affected Muslim communities.

The research, published by the British Journal of Criminology,

also shows surprisingly high levels of positive attitudes towards the police.

Among Muslims surveyed by the Crime Survey of England and Wales, 61.2 percent of respondents rated their local police as either good or excellent compared to 53 percent of non-Muslims.

The data revealed that a sizeable majority of Muslim respondents not only reported positive attitudes towards a range of subjects such as police fairness, reliability and relevance to the community but are in many cases more likely to do so than non-Muslim respondents.

Muslims in Britain not dissatisfied with police as thought: Study

Muslim communities in Britain may not be as victimised by violent crime or as dissatisfied with the police as is widely suggested and believed, according to a Cambridge University researcher.

An examination of statistics taken from the Crime Survey of England

and Wales between 2006 and 2010 reveals a surprising counter-narrative to commonly-held perceptions of British Muslim

Coming Events

- Christmas celebration in Tooting , 12pm, Thursday, NAPS, 26B Tooting High Street, (Next to Natwest Bank), London SW17 0RJ National Association of Patidar Samaj, has well established itself in the borough with its members who have been residing here since they arrived in 1960s and 1970s from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and India. Our members have always strived to be good citizens. The early arrivals were in various occupations and made substantial inroads in ownership of retail shops including sub-post offices and pharmacies. The new generations have made their mark in education and are also in trade and in various professional occupations. Contact: Pravin Amin (Trustee), 020 8337 2873 - Death Aniversary of Sardar V Patel on Sunday 14th December, 2014. SPMS (Sardar Patel Memorial Society UK). Honourable guest speaker Mr Parshottambhai Rupal, ex MP, National vice President of BJP (current ruling Party of India) as well as in Charge of GOA BJP party. 4-8pm, meal will be served.

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ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20 Mars is energizing your solar eleventh house now. Group activities and cooperative efforts are the best way to achieve your goals. Avoid allowing the ego to attempt to dominate others. The best way to achieve your goals during this period is to work as a team, or to at least to do some networking.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

The Sun continues to highlight your solar eighth house. Your attention turns inward, as well as to close personal relationships on a deeper level. This is also a good time for sorting out joint resources.

Mars in your solar tenth house stimulates your ambition and you are likely to have an increased desire for others to notice you.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

You'll be dealing with relationship matters, and especially commitments, for some time to come. Mars entering your house of travel could stimulate a desire to explore and widen your horizons. A sense of accomplishment comes your way regarding work and health, as you feel more structured and organised.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

The Sun, mercury and Venus highlight your solar sixth house. This is a period that finds you tending to your daily routines, and health matters.

You seek to perfect your skills and as a result, you can be more critical than usual, but this process is necessary for you to sort out what works for you and what doesn't.

It's a good time for recreation, romance, connecting with children, and LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 enjoying creative arts. Mars energizes and animates your solar seventh house.

Partnerships may suffer from ego conflicts, or opposition from others may be challenging. Use the extra energy that Mars brings to work cooperatively on relationship problems.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 An inner sense of security and the desire for peace motivates you now. Your affections are strong, preferring quiet moments with loved ones. Mars energizes your solar sixth house. It's a great time to take up healthy regimes. As you have much energy, it would be wise to find little projects and things to do so that you can channel this energy positively.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Pursuit of pleasure increases and you are more inclined to take the initiative in affairs of the heart. Brilliant energy is with you, take advantage of this phase and make changes in your life where required. This is especially a passionate time for you - be careful not to burn the candle at both ends. Cash flow is still restrictive.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 The Sun, Venus and Mercury continue to transit your solar second house. This is the most "financial" period for you. You might have a more materialistic view of life for the time being, or increased interest in your own possessions, during this cycle. This is a time to keep within your "comfort zones" - you value the tried and tested.

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SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 The Sun, Mercury and Venus continue to move through your solar first house. You experience a renewal of energy and vitality now, and the emphasis is on self-expression.

Physically, you are feeling strong. This is an excellent cycle for any self-improvement endeavours. Personal projects that you begin now are likely to blossom as time goes on.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 This is the time to listen to your intuition, to take a break from the hectic pace of your life, and to reflect on what you have learned in the past year. A good time to retreat a little and make time for yourself now. Your physical energy levels are low, and this is your body telling you to take a break. Good time to take up yoga and meditation.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 With Mars transit in your sign, you have great energy and you are more enterprising. Take charge of your life, but don't step on other people’s toes. This is an excellent transit for assertiveness and physical vitality. Love affairs may also be stepped up during this period. Be careful as through recklessness accidents can occur.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 With Mars moving through your solar twelfth house, this is the time to research and reflect upon your goals. Some may experience insomnia during this phase, especially if they are not relaxing. This is in fact a good time to identify the true source of problems. Many of you will be making changes in your careers reflecting the principles closest to your heart.

Indian shuttler Sindhu retains Macau Open title

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Indian shuttler PV Sindhu successfully defended her Macau Open Grand Prix Gold women's singles title, beating South Korean Kim Hyo Min in straight games at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion here at Macau on Sunday.

Two-time World Championships bronze medallist Sindhu registered a comprehensive 2112, 21-17 victory in 45 minutes in the final of the $120,000 event. Playing against the World No.91 Kim for the first time, the Indian World No.11 won the first game with ease.

After a brief tussle till the nine-point mark, Sindhu upped the ante and grabbed five straight points before sealing the game by taking six successive points. She pressurised Kim with aggressive play and won the game 21-12.

Kim improved her

game but failed to stop a determined Sindhu from winning the second game.

The South Korean matched Sindhu shot by shot and enjoyed a 11-8 lead. After the two-minute break, however, Sindhu regained her focus and collected five points on the trot. The 18-year-old Kim battled hard to equalise at 13-all before the Hyderabadi again went on the offensive and bagged four straight points to hold

a 17-13 lead.

The South Korean was forced to pull things back and did well to reduce the deficit to one at 16-17.

However, Sindhu kept her cool and sealed the game in her favour by taking three successive points. The 19-year-old Indian won the second game 21-17. This win marked Sindhu's third Grand Prix title triumph.

In the men's singles competition, Xue Song defeat-

ed Wong Wing Ki Vincent 16-21, 21-13, 21-19 in an hour and four minutes.

In the men's doubles final, Singapore's pair of Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Chayut Triyachart edged Indonesian team of Angga Pratama and Ricky Karanda Suwardi 21-19, 22-20 in 43 minutes.

While Chinese women's doubles pairing of Ou Dongini and Xiaohan Yu won 19-21, 21-19, 21-9 in an hour and five minutes against compatriot Yaqiong Huang and Zhong Quanxin, Chrisnanta and Yu Yan Vaneesa Neo settled for a runners-up finish in the mixed doubles event.

The Singaporean pair lost to Indonesian pair of Edi Subaktiar and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja 15-21, 30-29, 20-22 in a marathon encounter that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

It has been two months since Younis Khan lashed out at the national selectors for dropping him from the ODI side, two months in which he has ransacked 717 runs in five Tests. The selectors simply couldn't ignore the weight of those runs, and have picked him in the ODI squad for the first two matches against New Zealand.

Misbah-ul-Haq remains the ODI captain.

Misbah, who had gone through a lean patch with the bat, had sat out of the third ODI against Australia, leaving Shahid Afridi to lead in his place.

Following that, Misbah experienced a resurgence, both as captain and as batsman, in the Tests against Australia and New Zealand.

Middle-order batsman Fawad Alam, who is Pakistan's second-highest ODI run-getter in 2014 (at an average of 77), has been left out.

After losing the one-day series, the Indian women's cricket team bounced back in the shortest version to outplay South Africa by 16 runs in the one-off T20 international at Bengaluru.

Put into bat at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, the Mithali Raj-led India posted a respectable 146 for five in the stipulated 20 overs. Mithali (40) gave the team a good start after fellow-opener Vellaswamy Vanitha (7) departed early.

But she failed to capitalise on her own start and departed after facing 31 deliveries, hitting five fours and two sixes.

One-down Smriti Mandhana (52) then took over to manage a 63-run fourth-wicket partnership with Shikha Pandey (23) to give the team the muchneeded fillip in the middle overs. The left-handed Mandhana struck five fours in her 42-ball knock as Shikha also hit a four and a six in her 18-ball

stay. South Africa offspinner Sunette Loubser returned with best figures of 2 for 29 in the Indian innings. In reply, the visitors started well but Mithali ran the dangerouslooking opener Dane van Niekerk (46) out and the visitors never recovered after that. Legspinner Poonam Yadav bagged three wickets and never allowed the South Africans any breathing space as the visitors could only manage 130 for nine. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was also effective with her two-

"There is either conflict of interest or there is no conflict of interest. There is no third thing. Show us that there is no conflict of interest," Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla told senior counsel Kapil Sibal who appeared for Srinivasan.

"That we will examine,"

Justice Kalifulla told Sibal as he sought to impress upon the court that the question of conflict of interest was not there and was not gone into by the Bombay High Court, a two-judge judicial committee appointed by the BCCI, and even the apex courtappointed Mudgal Committee which tendered its two reports in February and November 2014.

"Conflict of interest is certainly an issue (that) we will examine. We will lift the veil,â&#x20AC;? said Justice Thakur. "The question of conflict of interest being there or not, whether the matter was addressed by

Younis Khan returns to Pak ODI side

SPORT WORLD

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Indian-origin Israeli cricket umpire dies after being hit by ball

wicket haul. Only four South Africans reached double figures and Marizanne Kapp, with her 16-ball 33 that was laced with two fours and three sixes, was the next best after Dane. India had lost the three-match ODI series 1-2. Brief Scores: India 146/5 in 20 overs (Mithali Raj 40, Smriti Mandhana 52; Sunette Loubser 2-29) beat South Africa 130/9 in 20 overs (Dane van Niekerk 46, Marizanne Kapp 33; Poonam Yadav 318, Ekta Bisht 2-20) by 16 runs.

Hillel Awaskar, an Indian-origin international umpire and former captain of Israel's cricket team, has died after being hit in the neck by a ball during a league match at Ashdod, just two days after tragic death of an Australian player in similar circumstances.

"The batsman had struck hard. The fast ball first hit the stumps, got deflected and hit Awaskar on his neck. He collapsed on the ground," one of the players, Yona, said. The 55-year-old Awaskar, who originally hailed from Mumbai, was evacuated to a hospital in a critical condition, where medics were unable to revive him.

"The players took him to the hospital but he didn't survive. It's a sad moment for all of us," Yona said. Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted doctors who tried to resuscitate Awaskar as saying that he suffered a heart attack after being hit by the ball.

The Israeli police has ruled out any foul play in the incident but is still investigating the case.

Awaskar has been among leading performers for the Israel national cricket team during his youth and continued to be actively involved in the game by later picking up umpiring and even officiating in the European Cricket league games.

"I remember Awaskar immigrating as a youngster from Mumbai. He was around 10 or 12 then.

He used to be quite a livewire on the field and made his presence on the ground felt immediately," said Shmuel, a friend of the deceased umpire. The Israel Cricket Association CEO, Naor Gudker, who also happens to be an international umpire, said that it was the last game of the league season between Lions Lod and Young Ashdod.

"The cricket fraternity

in Israel is in a shock. We are all like a family and it is a loss for all of us," he said. "This is a tragedy for his family and for cricket in Israel." Awaskar, a former captain of the national team, had represented Israel in five ICC trophies since 1982. His last matches for Israel were in division two of the European Championships in 2006.

A left-arm spinner and hard-hitting top-order batsman, he had the local league record for the highest score, 244 not out, scored for the Ashdod A side, local media reports said.

Awaskar was married with two daughters.

Teams participating in the winter league in Israel have decided to postpone the scheduled matches next week with condolence messages pouring in from all over Israel.

Cricket is not a very popular sport in Israel, though there is an amateur league comprising players from India and countries like South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Awaskar's death comes just two days after promising Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died of a severe head injury caused when he was hit by a ball in the neck during a provincial match in Sydney.

Awaskar's funeral was held on Sunday in Ashdod, family sources said. Hundreds of cricket lovers and members of the Indian community from all over Israel attended his last rites.

the high court or not is of no consequence," the court said. The court made it clear that it would go into the matter raised by the petitioner Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), which wants Srinivasan to stay away from contesting the election for the BCCI president and that IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), owned by the India Cements, be disqualified from the IPL. The court asked Sibal: "Is it correct that it (Judicial Committee comprising Justice T. Jayarama Chouta and Justice R. Balasubramanian) submit-

ted its report in one day." â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, two days," Sibal said, adding that it was constituted May 28 and the same day the complaint was submitted to it. Sibal said Srinivasan had no role in the appointment of the two judges committee.

Confronting Sibal, Justice Kalifulla said the day the two judge committee was set up, Srinivasan was at the helm of the affairs of the BCCI. Telling the court that the two judges panel was set up on the recommendations of the BCCI's legal advisors, Sibal said the cricketing body appointed the two judges to probe the allegations of

betting and match-fixing on the suggestion of Arun Jaitley, who wanted the BCCI to keep itself off the probe. Jaitley is the finance minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. At this, the court said Sibal should refrain from mentioning Jaitley as he was not represented before it. Sibal defended mentioning Jaitley as everything that he was saying was "based on record".

Earlier, senior counsel Nalini Chidambaram told the court that there was no provision where an IPL franchise was compensated for the cancellation of a match.

India women beat South Africa by 16 runs in one-off T20

Show us you are not in conflict of interest, SC tells Srinivasan

The Supreme Court of India asked the beleaguered Indian cricket board president N Srinivasan to show he was not in conflict of interest over the betting allegations against his sonin-law Gurunath Meiyappan, an official of IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings that Srinivasan's firm owns.

Srinivasan, besides being the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is also a member of the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council and vice-chairman and managing director of India Cement Ltd.

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SPORT

www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 6th December 2014

Adelaide to host first India-Australia test

The first cricket Test between Australia and India will now take place in Adelaide after a major reshuffling of the series following the death last week of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes.

The first Test was supposed to start in Brisbane on Thursday but has been delayed by a week and switched to Adelaide to give grief-stricken players more time to recover with Hughes' funeral taking place on Wednesday.

The Australian and Indian cricket boards considered a range of options in conjunction with the players' union, including cancelling the Brisbane Test altogether, before opting for a reshuffle.

Three of the four matches in the BorderGavaskar series have been changed, according to a revised fixture list published on Cricket Australia's official website on Monday. Adelaide, which was due to host the second Test from Dec. 1216, will now host the series opener from Dec. 913, in what is sure to be a

highly emotional occasion.

Brisbane will now host the second Test from Dec. 1721 while the third Test will proceed as planned from Dec. 26-30 in Melbourne.

The fourth and final Test will still take place in Sydney in the New Year, but will start on Jan. 6, three days later than originally scheduled.

Changes to the dates of the matches were expected after CA postponed the start of the first Test and the Indian team, currently in Adelaide, cancelled

their flight to Brisbane on Monday. Hughes died in a Sydney hospital last Thursday, two days after he was struck in the head by a short-pitched delivery during a domestic first class match. His death has triggered an outpouring of emotion, sympathy and support from inside and outside the cricketing world.

Dhoni to reach Australia before First Test India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is expected to join the team

ahead of the rescheduled first Test. Owing to a hand injury, Dhoni had not been named in the original squad for the first Test, earlier scheduled to be played in Brisbane from December 4. He was earlier expected to join the team for the 'second Test' in Adelaide, which was originally starting on December 12.

Now the Indian captain will be able to join the team sometime this week, before the Test series begins.

The Indian team will be playing its second practice match at the Glenelg Oval in suburban Adelaide ahead of the first Test. It will be a two-day game, beginning December 4.

The opposition for that tie will be another Cricket Australia XI, though it will expectantly be devoid of any big names since the players are in mourning.

Dhoni, however, will be unavailable for the practice game as he is not likely to join before December 4.

Indian team spokesperson Dr Redhills Baba said that the skipper,

though, will join the team well ahead of the first Test, which means stand-in captain Virat Kohli will not lead the side when the series gets under way at the Adelaide Oval.

Meanwhile, Kohli will be attending Hughes' funeral in the late cricketer's home-town, Macksville on Wednesday.

He will be joined by batsmen Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay, along with team director Ravi Shastri, coach Duncan Fletcher and team manager Arshad Ayub.

The team management expects Kohli, Sharma and Vijay to return in time for the two-day tour game, which is scheduled on Thursday. The entire Australian cricketing fraternity will be attending the funeral, which will begin in the afternoon and will be televised by major channels here.

The Australian Test squad is then expected to travel to Adelaide on Thursday and then begin preparations for the Test series.

However, Cricket Australia CEO James

Sutherland has stated that "any grieving player is free to pull out of the match or indeed the Test series".

"Right now there's a funeral tomorrow and let's just understand that's going to be difficult enough as it is," Sutherland said before departing for Macksville.

"There will be a great temptation for people to speculate about who's going to play and how they are feeling. I encourage everyone to give the players their space. No one will think ill of anyone who feels uncomfortable about playing. Test cricket is a different game. It is not just going out there and playing a game of sport for a couple of hours.

You need to go out there and commit to five days. It will be up to the individual. Any player that is not comfortable or doesn't fell right, or there is medical advice to suggest that they are not quite right, then we will obviously understand that and I am sure the broader public will understand that as well," he added.