Asian Voice

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National Conference worker's death rocks Kashmir assembly

For reports see pages 25

VOL 40. ISSUE 23

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

VOICE

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

Government to stop permanent settlement for immigrants?

The immigrants in Britain are shocked by the new proposals made by the government, trying to curb foreigners from settling in Britain. This came as a reaction after Theresa May Damian Green recently the UK then claiming home secretary, Theresa British passports.

May, proposed a change The government will to the rules that enable scrap a rule that gives immigrants to stay in the foreign workers the right UK permanently to live permanently in Ministers are sugBritain after working gesting to bring in new here for five years and rules to curb immiwill also restrict the right grants’ rights in an effort of their family members to cut the spiralling to join them. numbers settling permaContinued on page 7 nently in Britain and

80p

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Durga puja and Navratri in London. See page 14

8th October to 14th October 2011

Greek debt crisis poses threat to world economy

Greece which is going through a heavy debt crisis, still needs 110 billion euro ($147 billion) bailout. Only 11 billion euro aid has been provided

by International Monetary Fund (IMF), European union (EU) and European Central Bank as yet. This situation in Greece poses a threat to world economy.

Starting the month on a weak note, stocks worldwide tumbled as mounting concerns about a possible Greek debt default and global recession fears spooked investors.

From Tokyo to London, shares slumped as much as

Demonstrators carry a banner during a protest march against government cuts on Oct 2, in Manchester, England

2 per cent on an average, amid continuing uncertainty over extending

bailout for debt-ridden Greece, which has failed to meet its deficit target.

Dragged by banking stocks, European bourses took a severe beating in trade. Most of the Asian markets closed deep in red, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index leading the rout. The index crashed over four per cent to close at 16,822.20 points., Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 slid about two per cent to 8,545.48 points.

India's key 30-share index Sensex declined around two per cent to 16,151.50 points.

Globally, stocks in Asia and Europe were weak as..

Continued on page 26

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Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

one to one Keith Vaz MP with

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

Ilknur Kahraman, Co-Director, the Dialogue Society Ilknur has been an active volunteer within the Turkish speaking community for the past 10 years. Between 1998 and 2000 she worked for an educational trust, mentoring and providing learning support to secondary school children. In 2002, she was a founding member of a women’s association, a charity focusing on the needs of women, as well as mentoring Muslim girls. At present she is involved with the same charity in an advisory capacity. Since 2004 she has been actively involved in interfaith dialogue with a number of churches and inter-faith organisations, appearing as a guest speaker on behalf of the Dialogue Society.

Ilknur, a graduate from Metropolitan University in 1997 with a BA in International Business and Human Resources Management, was born and raised in London, is married and mother to two boys.

1) What inspired you to work for the Dialogue Society?

I've always enjoyed volunteering and it was refreshing to meet a group of people who had such a vibrant vision to make a positive change

in society. I felt that the Dialogue Society shared my passion for bringing communities together and I knew that I wanted to be part of a bigger force for good.

2) What is your proudest achievement?

My proudest achievement has really got to be the Dialogue Society's proudest achievement. We are launching the Community Dialogue Manual Series, which consists of 10 publications. The manuals are a culmination of 11 years of experience accumulated by the Dialogue Society in its grassroots community projects. We wanted to connect communities around the UK by inspiring them with the enthusiasm and equipping them with the skills to engage in dialogue with others.

I have been a volunteer for the Dialogue Society since its creation in 1999 delivering many of the grassroots community projects.

I wouldn't really call it an obstacle but I think the most difficult thing has been juggling work life with childcare. I have two

Celebrate Diwali at the Palace

fictitious one.”

“But today’s generation is quite unaware of this divine saint of India. Although their parents try hard to teach them about Indian culture and Sai Baba, how many of them understand it?

Through your paper I would like to ask all the parents there to bring their children to see this show so that they can be learn something about the life of Sai baba of Shirdi. Through this play they will also learn the cultural and social values of their mother land India.

Teachings of Sai will make them a better human being is my promise.”

The “Sabka Malik Ek hai” shows will be performed at Ramgariha Community Center Leicester on Friday 14th Oct at 8 pm and Harrow Leisure Center, Harrow on Saturday 15th Oct at 3 and 8 pm.

LAW

On Sunday 13 November, Watford Palace Theatre, the Hare Krishna temple and the local community will present Diwali at the Palace: Celebrating the Festival of Lights. This unforgettable evening will bring the tastes and colours of India to the Theatre, in a joyful family experience of music and dance.

The evening will include the premier of ‘Epic Ramayan’ by the Bhaktivedanta Players; live devotional music; an exhibition; a procession in Watford Town Centre, and free Prasad (sanctified vegetarian food). There will also be workshops and events to get involved with in the week leading up to the event.

Tickets cost just ￡6.50 (￡5 for groups of 4 or more) and are available from the Watford Palace Theatre Box Office on 01923 225671, or directly from the Temple.

Watford Palace Theatre is dedicated to providing Community Celebrations throughout the year. By the end of 2011, we will have held events to celebrate Chinese New Year, Vaisakhi, Eid, Black History Month and Diwali, to great success.

The best thing about my current role is the diversity of the work and all the different and interesting people that I am privileged to meet. I am fortunate to be working with a very dynamic, energetic and enthusiastic team. There is never a dull day!

7) And the worst?

The worst thing has definitely got to be the long hours!!

8) What are your long term goals?

My long term goals are for the dialogue society to flourish and extend its reach with branches or representatives in every city in the UK. I would like to see the dialogue society as a social think tank in the future conducting research and producing publications whilst still maintaining its grassroots work within communities.

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

I would want to achieve a more diverse representation in Parliament to make it a true reflection of the society and people it aims to serve.

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

Prophet Abraham because he was the forefather of the three Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And although he may not be a historical figure in the eyes of many, I would choose my grandfather as he is still my personal idol!

Multi-identity mum in £18k fraud A mum-of-one from Birmingham who pocketed more than £18,500 by opening a string of bank accounts using different identities has avoided jail.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told Rajinder Sangha, 37, she was “well practised in fraudulent activity” because she had a number

of previous convictions for deception. Sangha, of Tipton, was given a 12month jail term suspended for two years, placed on supervision for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work in the community. Sangha has repaid £17,500 to Barclays Bank.

Shrien lodged appeal Shrien Dewani has lodged an appeal against an order that he can be extradited to South Africa to over his wife's murder. The businessman from Westbury-on-Trym has been accused of arranging the death of his new bride Anni while on their honeymoon in Cape Town last November.

Anni's body was found in the back of a taxi after an alleged carjacking, she'd been shot.

On last Wednesday, the Home Secretary approved his extradition.

Mr Dewani was first implicated in the crime by the driver of the car, 31-year-old Zola Tongo. He alleged that he was offered money by Mr Dewani to arrange her death. Tongo is currently serving 18 years in prison for his part in the crime. Shrien continues to deny the claims.

SOC IE

0800 118899 Email: mpatel@levenes.co.uk Website: www.levenes.co.uk Ashley House, 235-239 High Road, Wood Green, London N22 8HF

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Contact Mr. Mitesh Patel, Solicitor No Win No Fee

Since 2008 I have been office-based and currently hold the role of CoDirector. I am paid parttime and volunteer the rest of my time.

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

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last shows were limited to London while I was approached from all sides of UK." Why did she think of Sai Baba as her first event although she is too young to be so spiritual? Laxmi told Asian Voice with a smile, “It is not the age but the intentions.

Mannath means wish and I want everyone's wish to be fulfilled. Who can be a better choice for fulfilling our wishes than Sai himself? He believed in humanity. For him there is only one God. So Mannath is blessed by putting up His shows.”

Do we have an audience for such religious shows?

“It is not a religious show”, corrects Laxmi, “Baba belongs to all and this light and sound show is all about his journey of life. Nothing is imaginary. We have just recreated the whole life story as Baba was a real character and not a

It really has to be my form tutor at secondary school. He truly was an excellent example and was so passionate about his work that I always wished I would have as much passion in the work that I did.

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

3) Please tell us about your current position?

Super hit play back on public demand Sabka Malik Ek Hai... the super hit play by Mannath is once again coming back to UK on huge public demand.

Last time it was played only at Harrow but this time it is going to be moving all over the UK including Leicester.

Mukul Nag who plays the role of Sai Baba in the famous TV serial Sai Baba on Star Plus is himself playing the role of Sai in this play. Many other prominent Indian film and TV personalities are playing different roles in this play. This play is directed by Mukul Nag himself.

Laxmi Chawla, the Director of Mannath is very proud of her débutante production. She said, “I started Mannath with a noble thought of providing meaningful product to the audience. My last shows were so well appreciated that I had to bring “Sabka Malik Ek Hai” once again as

young boys so it’s hard work trying to strike a balance between home life and work life without letting either side suffer.

Personal Injury

SOLICITORS

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

COMMENT

Evolving New Delhi-Kabul ties as Karzai visits India President Hamid Karzai's high-profile visit to India marks a new level in the Indo-Afghan relationship. India is one of Afghanistan's principal donors, its $2 billion aid has done much for the country's infrastructure. However, for compelling reasons of geography, President Karzai's government has been careful to keep Afghanistan's lines to Pakistan open. The Taliban insurgency straddles their common borders, as they do with other Islamist terror groups such as the Haqqani network that operates from North Waziristan in Pakistan's tribal belt. The calculation has been, and still is, that these organisations as integral instruments of Pakistani statecraft will pressure Kabul into accepting Islamabad as Afghanistan's regional overlord. The assassination of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani by a suicide bomber believed to be in the pay of Islamabad's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate was a sign of the times. But it was the terrorist attack on the US embassy in Kabul that led to the deepening crisis in US-Pakistan relations. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his testimony to the US Senate, accused the ISI of complicity in terrorist activity in Afghanistan against America and its Nato allies.

President Karazai, likewise, has laid similar charges against the Pakistan authorities. His earlier attempts to placate them through diplomacy have clearly not worked. The Pakistan military which wields supreme power in the country is wedded to the doctrine of “strategic depth” in Afghanistan as insurance in future war with India. It requires that Kabul play ball, but this, President Karzai signals with his Indian visit, is not on. The ball is now in Pakistan's court. India has offered to train Afghanistan's police force and security services. In time this may include the Afghan army air force as well. Pakistan's ham fisted diplomacy has led to the dynamics of selffulfilling prophecy. Of course, Islamabad may decide to raise the stakes with further bombing campaigns in Afghanistan. But this policy carries risks with incalculable consequences. Pakistan would be wise to take pause and consider the broader picture in the region and beyond.

In its spat with America, Pakistan has spoken boldly about its “all weather friend China,” which was expected to step in with sackfuls of

cash should Washington decide to reduce its cornucopia of $12 billion in military and a further $8 billion in economic aid. An increasingly uneasy Beijing is showing every sign of its reluctance to step up to the plate. A report in The Wall Street Journal by New Delhi-based Tom Wright and Beijing-based Jeremy Page tells of the withdrawal of a Chinese mining company from what was to be “Pakistan's largest foreign-investment deal because of security concerns, complicating Islamabad's efforts to to position its giant neighbour as an alternative to the US as its main ally.”

An official at China's Kingho Group said it had backed out from a $19 billion in southern Sindh province because of security concerns for its personnel after recent bombings in Pakistani cities. Reporters Wright and Page write: “Pakistan's army has been lobbying for a formal defence pact with China in the wake of the bin Laden raid, a Pakistan government official has said. Such a pact would draw China into any conflict involving their ally and likely anger the US and India....”

Says Pakistani author and military analyst Aisha Siddika: “The Chinese won't go in for that.

It's too much to put on their plate when they can't ensure how much they can control their own ally.”.The men in Beijing are clearly aware of the origins of World War I. They realise the dangers of allowing the tail to wag the dog. Beijing sees Pakistan as an important strategic partner but that, said Han Hua, a South Asian expert at Peking University, “doesn't mean China wants to replace the US in the role it played. It's not a zero sum game,” she explained.

Sections of the British media, with their proPakistan sympathies, feel for Islamabad. A Daily Telegraph editorial asked that the official Pakistani view receive a measure of indulgence in the West. Behind Islamabad's “manoeuvring lies fear of encirclement by India.” [this could also be justification of the Mumbai bombings of November 26, 2008]. Reconciliation based on a settlement of the 'intractable' Kashmir problem would be the way forward. “Making do in what is probably the most dangerous region in the world remains the unenviable prospect facing Nato,” concludes the Telegraph. It's no fun lying on a bed of nails looking at the stars.

No option to debt reduction: George Osborne The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne had a difficult task addressing the Tory faithful at their annual conference in Manchester. Britain's economic woes are tied firmly to the straitened US economy, on the one hand, and to the mayhem in the eurozone following the financial meltdown in Greece and a looming banking crisis elsewhere on the continent. Greece is the eye of the storm, but Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland are also trapped in its waves.

Mr Osborne attempted to rally his forces by pledging to do everything possible to reduce the suffering and discomfort of the British majority as they grapple with the consequences of austerity and a bleak landscape. But his principal emphasis was that the pain of austerity had to be borne, otherwise the country's debt would spiral out of control and all hope would disappear under a debt mountain. These words were honest and truthful. The debt must be tackled.

Reducing government expenditure through pub-

lic sector spending cuts is one obvious way out, but these have to be complemented by measures that would increase employment levels and hence widen the tax basket. This surely makes sense since this will reduce unemployment benefit as well.

There is no single solution to the UK's present economic crisis. In a globalised world there can't be. But flexibility of response and out-ofthe-box thinking can do much to put the nation back on its feet. Western governments as a whole have fallen short in their handling of the crisis. Their populations are left to chew their words with little sign of the nourishment which begets hope for the future. These is an absence of will to get things moving. Public disorder on both sides of the Atlantic is spreading and a winter of acute discontent looms menacingly. There is a sniff of the 1930s in the air, Life for the down and outs in London and Paris, Athens and Madrid, New York and Washington deepen the gloom.

Repression and double standards Anwar al Awlaki, the American-born and educated Yemeni jihadi cleric, much given to recruitment on the internet, fell victim to a US drone attack on one of his country's desert roads and was gathered to his fathers in the manner of Osama bin Laden. Those who take up the sword risk perishing by the sword. There was grim satisfaction in Washington that a senior al Qaeda leader had been eliminated. Meanwhile, the empty bombast about the “Arab Spring” goes merrily on. Some spring when the Egyptian military remains firmly in power, when Syria is drowning in its own blood, when Saudi Arabia

denies women the vote and the Sunni Bahraini monarchy shoots down its Shia citizens and delivers harsh jail sentences on its doctors for treating wounded men and women of all religious dispensations. They were guilty of sedition, according to Bahrain's rulers.

The US voice has been conspicuously silent since the country's Fifth Fleet is anchored in the Gulf off Bahrain. Saudi oil has bought US and Western silence even as the Kingdom continues with its medievalist practices. What is sauce for the Syrian goose is not sauce for the Bahraini or Saudi gander. We live in a deeply flawed world.

www.abplgroup.com

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Thought for the Week Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves: 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be?

- Nelson Mandela

Barry Gardiner MP Member of Parliament for Brent North

Enjoy Navratri Isn’t it strange how we human beings measure the passing of the years? For me nothing seems to speak more of how swiftly the year has turned full circle than the arrival of Navratri once again. I love Christmas but it is always a time of stress; by contrast I just relax and enjoy Navratri.

Getting to play dandia ras is the highlight and I love it as the music gets faster and faster and we move from a double to a triple hit. I have no experience of drugs but certainly anyone who plays dandia would be hard pressed to find a more intoxicating experience inside any pill!

Last Saturday I played Dandia with the fantastic dancers at Shree Bavis Gam Patidar Samaj and I don’t think I stopped smiling for a second.

Well maybe just for a second --- somebody asked me about Brent Council’s grants budget and whether it would continue to support Navratri next year! In fact at every Navratri celebration I have been to so far this year the same question has come up.

People are concerned that Brent may cut the grants budget and understandably so.

Now I represent the community in Parliament not on Brent Council, so I do not have a vote on this, but earlier this year I worked with the Hindu Council to support the survival of the Navratri grant. Navratri is simply the family festival. I play Dandia with seven year olds and seventy year olds and around Brent there are scores

of communities each hosting their own celebration. School and community halls do not come cheap and it is unthinkable that Navratri should not be able to continue as it always has done.

But those Liberal and Conservative politicians who have been most vocal in accusing the council of trying to cut the grant should have a little more honesty. What they have failed to tell people is that it is the Liberal/Conser vative coalition that has cut Brent Council’s budget by £104million. Not one single councillor on Brent Council would want to cut the grants budget, but they are being forced to take some very unhappy decisions. What do they cut? Child Protection or the grants budget?

Elders Care or the grants budget?

Now I believe that the council should find other areas to cut in order to meet their duty to set a legal budget and at the same time keep the funding for Navratri intact. I promise that I will work with GLA Member Navin Shah and the Labour Group in Brent to keep our Navratris next year and every year. But let nobody be fooled by the posturing being done by Liberal and Conservative politicians on this issue.

They have cut the Funding to Brent. They insisted this was a necessary part of their wider financial strategy which is so clearly failing. They were wrong.

It is dishonest of them now to accuse Brent Council for implementing their own policies

ASIAN VOICE is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com www: abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

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Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Email: majithia.meera@gmail.com

Leicester Voice Safety roadshow takes to the streets

By Meera Majithia

A series of roadshows are taking place across the city to highlight ways in which people can stay safe during the period of Diwali and Navratri.

Leicester City Council's community safety team are working with Leicestershire Constabulary and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service on the community campaign, which will be giving advice and guidance on issues including personal safety and the fire risk from unattended candles.

The campaign, entitled 'Your Safety Matters', will involve visits to city temples during Navratri and supermarkets during the run-up up to Diwali, which takes place in October.

Advice at home includes ensuring houses have working smoke

detectors, keeping clothes and hair away from naked flames, and ensuring doors and windows are locked when leaving home to visit religious celebrations.

Personal safety advice includes avoiding flaunting excessive jewellery in public and staying away from unlit places.

Leicester assistant city mayor, Councillor Sarah Russell, said: “We want everybody to enjoy Diwali safely, and a few easy steps can help ensure the festive period is celebrated safely.

"These roadshows will be giving people advice and reminders on how to ensure they and their property stay out of harm's way during this exciting time."

The remaining roadshows will be taking place at the following times

and locations: Wednesday, 12th October: Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre, Rothley Street, lunch club from 11.30am to 12.30pm.

Saturday, 15th October: Habibsons Bank car park, Belgrave Road, 1pm to 5pm.

Sunday, 16th October: Diwali Lights Switch-on, Belgrave Road and Cossington Street Recreation Ground.

Wednesday, 19th October: Sainsbury's store, Belgrave, 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

Saturday, 22nd October: Habibsons Bank car park, Belgrave Road, 1pm to 5pm.

Monday, 24th October: Sainsbury's store, Belgrave, 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

Indian printmaking on show An exhibition of contemporary printmaking from India is to be hosted by De Montfort University next year as part of an international student project.

The exhibition by postgraduate students and professors from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda, India, will be in the gallery in DMU’s Fletcher building, Mill Lane, Leicester.

Entrance is free of charge and the exhibition will run from Monday to Friday, 7-31 October, from 9am-5pm.

Many of India’s best known and historically respected artists have studied at Baroda’s Faculty of Fine Arts.

DMU and MSU are

exploring exciting cultural exchange opportunities reflecting the strong cultural and community ties between Leicester, Baroda, and the Gujarat region in general.

As part of this, both universities will host students from each other’s institution for six weeks at a time in an annual exchange project starting next year.

Jamie Scott, senior lecturer in fine art at DMU, said: “The faculty in Baroda is recognised as one of THE fine art institutes in India. It was founded in June 1950 when for the first time in independent India, a programme of study was introduced to offer art as an integral part of life for citizens.

“The emphasis there is

Thousands of chocolate bars stolen Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after thousands of chocolate bars were stolen from a parked HGV lorry in Coalville.

The incident happened at approximately 5.30am on Friday, 9th September, when the rear doors to the lorry, which was parked on the A511 Bardon Road near to the junction with Beveridge Lane, were forced open.

The driver, who was sleeping in the lorry cabin, was woken and spotted two or three people running away from the lorry and then drive off in a small white van.

When the driver checked the back of the lorry he found that the thousands of Kit Kat Chunky White bars had been taken.

Police are appealing for anyone with information about the theft to

come forward as soon as possible.

PC Paul Hicks, the investigating officer, said: “It is extremely likely that those responsible have tried to or already have sold the chocolate bars on to unsuspecting buyers.

“If you have recently been approached by someone trying to sell you a large quantity of Kit Kat Chunky White bars then please get in touch and help us with our enquiries.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC 763 Paul Hicks on Leicester (0116) 222 2222 or Crimestoppers anonymous on 0800 555 111.

on individuality through knowledge of Indian and Western traditions and the artwork exhibited reflects India’s tradition of arts, aesthetics and also has a quirky humour to it.

“As generations progress and our communities increasingly share cultural activity, the exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate and explore the contemporary context of visual art.

“The project represents a new development and one which members of the Leicester community can both enjoy and support.”

Man charged with robberies at banking establishments in city centre A 45-year-old man has been charged after two robberies in Leicester city centre.

He has been charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of possession of an imitation firearm.

Two of the charges relate to a robbery at a bank in Horsefair Street at about 1.10pm on Tuesday, 27th September, when a man entered the bank and threatened staff.

The two remaining charges relate to a robbery at the Nationwide Building Society in Horsefair Street at about 4.40pm on Tuesday, 30th August when a man entered the premises and demanded money from the cashier.

He has been remanded into custody and was due to appear before Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 3rd October.

Groundbreaking arts apprenticeship scheme Leicester Curve theatre is pleased to announce that it has been successful in securing nearly a quarter of a million pounds of funding that will support the delivery of a three-year programme to develop young arts entrepreneurs in Leicestershire.

Following an open application process, £240,000 of funding for the arts-led social change scheme will be provided by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Working with organisations such as the British Youth Council and Arts Council England, the project will also disseminate the achievements and learning from the three years at a national level.

Curve’s Associate Director, Adel Al-Salloum said: “We are a socially spirited and vibrant the-

atre and we are thrilled that our funders have recognised our current success in working in the community and the potential Curve has to develop its work with young and emerging artists.

This funding also means we can take a lead within the industry in creating new models for other arts and cultural organisations.”

The apprenticeship is open to all young people aged between 16 and 25 in Leicestershire.

Empowering 30 individuals to become leaders in both the arts and their communities through a programme of training, mentoring and investment, the scheme will in turn directly benefit a minimum of 300 members of the community.

They will work with a number of different communities to improve understanding of a critical

In brief

New park-and-ride boost for Diwali celebrations

For the first time this year, people travelling to Leicester's hugely-popular Diwali festival events will be able to take advantage of a specially-run park and ride service.

Leicester City Council is adding the new park-andride service to help bring in the thousands of expected visitors to the city's Diwali festivities in Belgrave, which are the largest outside the Indian subcontinent.

The new service would be provided on the two main days of events - the Diwali lights switch-on, on Sunday, 16th October and the Diwali Day celebrations on Wednesday, 26th October.

Special services will run between the existing park and ride facility at Birstall and Belgrave, via Abbey Lane. Festivities for the Diwali lights switch-on run from 6pm to 9.30pm, and culminate in a firework display at 8.30pm. The park and ride service will operate from Birstall from 5pm to 7pm, with return journeys from 8pm to 10.10pm.

Diwali-day celebrations run from 6.45pm to 9.30pm, with fireworks at 9pm, so passengers will be able to use the park and ride from Birstall until 8.15pm, with return journeys running from 7.30pm to 10.10pm.

Leicester deputy city mayor, Councillor Rory Palmer, said: “The Diwali lights switch-on regularly attracts around 35,000 people, with even more people heading to the Golden Mile on Diwali Day itself.

"We want to make it easier for people to travel to the area at these very busy times and would encourage people to take advantage of this special park and ride service from Birstall."

The park and ride services at Birstall, Enderby and Meynell's Gorse are jointly funded by Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council.

Teacher plays truant at school

A school teacher has been found guilty of forging sick notes to excuse himself from work.

Kulvinder Billan, 31, of Groby, Leicester forged half-a-dozen sick notes and a letter from a leading doctor so that he could get out of teaching at Weston Favell School, in Northampton.

He submitted forged doctor's notes over two academic years and then forged a letter from a professor as backup, Northampton Crown Court heard on Wednesday, 28th September.

He was paid £33,000 a year, but could not face returning to teaching after being off work with stress.

As reported in the Daily Mail, Michael Waterfield, prosecuting, said: "He had a substantial amount of time off sick during his first academic year of 2009-10 which appears to be genuine and it was apparent he found it difficult for him to go back to school in the academic year 2010-11."

The court heard Billan went off sick again in November 2010 and then sent in further sick notes, claiming to be suffering from polyps.

After a senior staff noticed the doctor's signatures not being constant it was informed to police.

The father-of-three pleaded guilty to fraud and forgery. He was sentenced to 51 weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years, with 200 hours' community service and a three-month 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.

Billan now faces a disciplinary hearing with the General Teaching Council for England.

Celebrating Dashera

A giant effigy of a Hindu deity will be set alight in Leicester as part of celebrations for the religious festival of Dashera. The huge effigy of King Ravana will be torched as the highlight of Dashera celebrations taking place at Cossington Street Recreation ground, Belgrave, on Thursday, 6th October, from 6pm to 8pm.

The festival of Dashera celebrates the Hindu story of the battle between Lord Rama and King Ravana, and the victory of good over evil.

The celebrations will also include children's funfair rides, a cultural programme on stage, and the giving out of sweets.The event will end with a dramatic firework display. issue or state of being through art, from young people in schools, people at risk, or the elderly, and draw on a broad range of performing arts skills to create new work, share experiences and learn new

skills.

The scheme will also create jobs as Curve recruits a programme manager and several specialist practitioners across the city and county to help deliver the project.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Lawyer pedals from London to Girbraltar to raise money

Chris Parsons

The Mayor of Gibraltar flanked by Lord and Lady Loomba

A supporter of The Loomba Foundation, lawyer Chris Parsons, raised near £120,000, for widows and their children around the world, this month by riding a total of 1,238 miles from London to Gibraltar.

Chris is a senior Partner with Herbert Smith, a leading international law firm and Chair of its India Group.

On 23rd of September, Mayor of Gibraltar, Julio Alcantara, hosted a civic reception in Chris’s honour at City Hall in Gibraltar after he and his team were welcomed into Gibraltar and met by pipers at Casemates.

At the reception were founders Raj Loomba and his wife Veena as well as government ministers Jaime Netto, Edwin Reyes and Ernest

Britto. It was held exactly three months to the day after the United Nations marked the first International Widows Day, on June 23. On that day, widows, advocates from civil society, diplomats, UN officials, NGOs and other dignitaries convened at the UN to raise awareness for the plight of the more than 245 million widows and more than 500 million of their children around the world.

This rare designation of an international day of recognition by the UN follows a tireless campaign by President of The Loomba Foundation Cherie Blair, wife of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Lord Raj Loomba, Founder and Chairman of The Loomba foundation.

London celebrates Gandhi's 142nd birthday

By Amit Masram

ues to inspire the without any young generation. malaise.

The Indian community in He proved to the Several hunthe UK paid homage to world that freedom dreds across Mahatma Gandhi on his can be achieved London thronged 142nd birthday. Acting through the path of in front of the High Commissioner of non-violence - a Gandhi statue India Rajesh N Prasad led true symbol of since early Sunday the way, offering garland peace and truth!" morning to pay on the bust of Mahatma said Sunil Chopra, their tribute. The Gandhi at Tavistock a councillor from members of India Square in central London S o u t h w a r k League sang devoto mark the day. tional songs Cllr Abdul Quadir, Mayor of Camden Councillor, Borough.

He said, “Gandhiji's “I think this day "Raghupati raghav HE Rajesh N Prasad, Acting Indian High message of non-violence is raja ram" and Commissioner, UK, CB Patel, Publisher/Editor has become even relevant even today as he "Vaishnav jana to" of Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice, Marisha bigger given the is owned by the whole and showered flow- Ray, Liberal democratic candidate for London recent movement in world due to his immense ers at the memorial, assembly, Jagdish Dave, Bhanubhai Pandya, Indian against the contribution to humanity. recounting the last- Harshad Patel, Manab Majumdar and others evils of corruption," He added that the youth said Dinesh ing message of Mahatma Gandhi such as are interested and influVenkateshwaran, a truth and non-violence non violence and the right enced by his teachings."

Central Coordinator India from one of the most influto protest peacefully proSeveral leading digniagainst corruption Great ential person the world vides the set of shared valtaries, politicians, people Britain movement. has ever seen. ues which relates not only of Indian community and Advocating for a corrup“Gandhi’s taught us to to the Indian community diplomats including tion free India and a self but also to South the Mayor of sustained model of excelAsian communiCamden Councillor lence, he cited the success ty”, Marisha Ray, Abdul Quadir, were of Gandhian philosophy a liberal democratalso present on the by civil society leader ic candidate for occasion.

Quadir Anna Hazare's peaceful London assembly. remembered the outprotest against stringent “It’s a signifistanding achieveanti-corruption law in the cant day for the ments of the country in August this youth in UK and Mahatma and said year.

India, given the “The great man The audience in Gandhi Jayanti celebration impatience, and Mahatma Gandhi, instilled discipline born on 2nd October in the ills picked up amongst Indian politilive with communal har1869 at Porbandar in by the society. Reverting cians”. mony and peace. He was Gujarat, played a key role to Gandhiji’s ideas and life Veteran Gandhian and keen for all Indians in India's independence will go a long way in former secretary of India Muslims, Hindus and struggle. He was assassiresolving angst, renewing League Satya Narayan Sikhs to work together for nated Jan 30, 1948. our commitment to his Gaourisaria expressed common good and that’s The United Nations ideals” Amitabh Mathur, confidence in today’s the message that is often had declared in 2007 that a Minister (Consular) at youth to take the path lost”, Shaas Sheehan, a October 2 would be the Indian High shown by Mahatma parliamentary campaigner observed as 'International Commission.

Gandhi towards the vision said.

Day of Non-Violence.

“Gandhiji still continto build a great nation “The values of

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

“Our London” CIIr Navin Shah AM London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow

By Spriha Srivastava

TRIBUTE TO OUR FIRE-FIGHTERS

Shahnaz Hussain – the entrepreneur herself Shahnaz Hussain is back in London with a number of new products in her kitty. After a record sale of £4000 worth of Shahnaz products at Lloyds Pharmacy, the group has further strengthened its position in the UK. This also clearly shows the phenomenal demand for Shahnaz Husain products and Ayurvedic beauty care in the international market. During the opening in August last year too, the products had posted record breaking sales touching over 1000 pounds per day.

With screaming headlines in British papers “Herbal fever rages” and “Shahnaz takes London by storm,” the range has broken all international sales records in hi-profile departmental stores all across the world like Selfridges and Harrods in London, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, La Rinascente in Milan, El Corte Inglis in Spain, Seibu in Japan and Bloomingdales in New York.

Meanwhile, the entrepreneur herself was in London to launch her new range of products at the Olympia Beauty Show. In its crusade to spread Herbal beauty care worldwide, the Shahnaz Husain Group participated in the Olympia Beauty Show at London, the prestigious international beauty event. Held over 18th and 19th September, 2011, it showcased the latest innovations in the beauty world. Over 200 major international cosmetic brands from around the world participated in this exhibition.

The product launched by Shahnaz Hussain Group ay the Olympia is a highly

advanced beauty innovation - the Platinum Lotus Moisture Mist.

The moisture mist is an instant beauty moisturizer in spray form for quick hydration. It is based on the innovative and scientific a l l y advanced N a n o technolog y .

Platinum is blended in a coll o i d a l solution with the natural extract of the re-hydrant water- flowering lotus.

The fine misty spray is instantly absorbed into the deeper layers of the skin with atomic precision, tightening collagen and elastin and thus, restores the skin’s youthful beauty and radiance instantly. It has anti-pollution and sun-block properties and also helps to set and seal make-up, providing a sheer translucent texture and smooth finish.

Today, Platinum is considered the single most powerful way of rejuvenating the skin and enhancing its beauty. The Platinum range of products actually uses the precious Platinum metal in skincare in combination with Herbal / Ayurvedic products including shea butter, rose water, aloe vera juice etc that produces instant rejuvinating results for the skin.

During my meeting with her at her London residence, she also talked about a number of other products that have been launched in the recent past and have been extremely successful. She mentioned her innovation with the Chemoline products,

developed for those who have undergone chemotherapy.

The Chemoline product that consists of a Scalp Tonic and a Face Cream helps in revitalizing the cells that may have been damaged due to the side effects of chemotherapy.

This range of products has been extremely popular.

Shahnaz also mentioned about her “halal” range of products that are extremely popular in muslim countries. These products are "halal" formulations and comprise herb, flower and fruit extracts, essential oils and other natural substances known for their healing and beauty enhancing properties.

This range of products is extremely popular in countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and so on.

Shahnaz Hussain’s popularity can also be measured by the fact that she was recently invited as a Chief Guest at the London Fashion Week. While she has in the past delivered lectures on entrepreneurial innovation and women entrepreneurs at institutes like the Oxford University, the London School of Economics, and Harvard University and so on.

While the Group thrives on innovation and creativity, Shahnaz Hussain has herself from time to time mentored and developed techniques that have been extremely close to natural remedies for the skin.

The Group has evolved over 350 formulations for beauty care. It continues to pursue its strategy of international branding. The group has been honoured with many Quality Excellence awards and that hasn’t stopped it from innovating and launching new products.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

Emergencies or high profile incidents like the recent riots tend to end up bringing good work and scrutiny of our Police to our attention. However, London’s fire fighters normally remain in the background and their dedication and the work they do saving lives do not attract the level of positive publicity or appreciation they deserve.

You may have heard that six people died and two people were seriously injured in a recent blaze in a semi-detached house on Sonia Gardens in Neasden (Brent Council area). The fatalities included 5 children of 2 to 13 years age and their mother. Father and daughter who survied the fire are being treated in hospital and are in stable condition now. The fire, according to London fire Brigade, was one the most intense one for a residential building in London in the last decade. The first fire appliance arrived at the incident site within about 4 minutes after receiving emergency call which limited the fire spreading to the adjoining houses and potentially saving loss of further lives and damage to properties. The prompt and professional response of the London Fire Brigade has yet again demonstrated the great dedication of London’s fire fighters and the role they play in saving lives. It was my privilege to meet the fire-fighters from both Willesden and Park Royal fire stations who were on duty and dealt with the Neasden fire so effectively.

The meeting was a glaring example of the pride with which our fire fighters serve our community and their total commitment to what they do and I’m pleased to put on record my appreciation of the firefighters for whom serving on fire brigade is a vocation and not just an ordinary job.

As I see it my most important and significant role as the London Assembly member is my work on the London Fire Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) which

is in charge of running London Fire Brigade (LFB). I consider LFB to be a world class fire and rescue service. Arguably, After New York and Tokyo it is the third biggest service of its kind in the world and the biggest in the United Kingdom. LFB’s prime responsibility is to provide fire and rescue service for London, Londoners and its visitors.

Next year it will be LFB in conjunction with its other emergency partners like the Metropolitan Police who’d be responsible for safety and security during the London Olympics.

London Fire Brigade’s role has greatly evolved over recent years and its work is constantly reviewed and modernised to ensure that LFB continues to provide most effective and improved service. This is why LFB was recognised as an excellent fire service by the Audit Commission in 2009. Working 24 hours a day – 365 days a year, LFB operates 112 fire stations throughout London and attends approximately 150,000 incidents each year. For further information about the work of London fire Emergency Planning Authority / London fire Brigade visit www.london-fire.gov.uk or

email me at navin.shah@london.gov.uk Swithcing back to the Neadsen fire, fire investigators believe that a chest freezer, which was in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, may have caused the fire. Following this incident, the London Fire Brigade is planning to launch a fire safety campaign across London. As the first step towards the the Brigade’s schools team will begin a pilot programme to visit secondary schools in Brent Council area.

Finally, LFB’s recent press release has urged people to take the following four simple steps to protect themselves from fire: 1- Check your appliances: If you notice any strange noises or smells coming from electrical appliances call a repair person and never overload plug sockets.

2- Get a smoke alarm: Fit it and check it regularly. One in ten homes still doesn’t have a smoke alarm.

3- Plan your escape: Know how you would get out of your home in the event of a fire.

4- Get out, stay out: In the event of a fire, get out, and stay out. Call the fire brigade and do not attempt to tackle the fire yourself.

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Inspirational dinner organised for young professionals Lord Popat organised a dinner for 140 young British Asian professionals in the House of Lords to encourage them to get involved in civic duty. The evening started with a tour of the Parliament, a champagne reception followed by a dinner and some extremely motivating speeches.

After a lavish vegetarian dinner, Radhika, welcomed all the young professionals, mostly from the Lohana community and thanked Lord Popat (or their favourite Dolar uncle) for the wonderful opportunity to come and see the House of Lords and hear such influential speakers tell their stories.

Lord Popat spoke about the role of the Parliamentarians in relations with foreign countries and the difficult task of legislation and government duties.

He explained that the evening was organised in hopes to empower and inspire people, so they get involved and join politics to serve their community and society better.

Ben Howlett, the National Chairman of the Conservative Future spoke about its 15,000 members. Ben has been a member Conservative Future for 5 years. He

said, "Conservative Future grown over the years and changed a lot in the past 5 years. Our aim is to engage young minds in building innovation, economy, ensuring Britain is strong again.

Young people have had a great amount of difficulty in the recent years.

They deserved opportunity that were not given for their self betterment. We are facing tough economic situation. It is easy, but what the government can do is give a frame work of hope and aspiration. And the MPs and Lords are trying to promote thatensuring free school, more opportunities, vocational education. Younger people don't want to go to higher education always. Some also want to go to vocational education.

So 100,000 more places are created for apprenticeship. We have a long way to go, but we have made the start somewhere."

Rt Hon Nick de Bois, MP, Enfield North, the Chief Guest for the evening said," I come from a business background.

The shift to politics was quite extraordinary.

Some people join politics out of a cause and some for a conviction.

Continued on page 28

Government to stop permanent settlement for immigrants?

Continued from page 1 About 51,000 people were given the right to settle in Britain in 1997, but the figure escalated to a record 241,192 last year. The Home Office is also to look at restricting the right of immigrants’ spouses to a British passport if they stay here long enough.

People from outside the EU who came to Britain as asylum seekers and have worked in the country for years, possibly illegally, are also to have their right to remain restricted.

More than half of those granted the right to stay in Britain in 2010 were from Asian countries such as Pakistan and India, and 27% were from African countries. More than 7,000 Iraqis and 8,401 Iranians were given the right to settle.

Civil servants are drawing up criteria for a further test that could be applied before a permanent right to remain is granted. It is expected to be based on immigrants’ ability to support themselves and their families, qualifications and whether they are working in professions where there are shortages of trained Britons able to fulfil the role.

Those on high incomes, businessmen and millionaire investors would be exempt because the government believes they would create jobs. EU nationals who have a right to live in the UK would not be affected.

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee said, "I am concerned that those who enter the UK legally to contribute to our

economy will be targeted by these rules. Britain has a strong history of welcoming and integrating those migrants who seek to work hard.

The Government must focus on targeting those who enter illegally or abuse the system rather than discouraging the brightest and the best simply to meet their target on immigration numbers.”

Lord Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem party said, "We must never forget that Immigration will continue to play an important part in Britain’s future. The movement of millions of visitors, tourists and students in and out of Britain every year is a tremendous benefit to our economy and to society.

The point-based system has cut the economic migration to the UK substantially. It is wrong to curtail it even further. It is no encouragement to individuals if their ultimate right to settle here is removed.

No Government has succeeded in breaking the links between working and settling in Britain. Theresa May and Damien Green will find that it will be impossible to cut down the numbers. They should remember that we need an immigration strategy that will tackle key challenges in order to have a rational immigration policy. Arbitrary Quotas will not work.

We need an immigration and asylum system that works.

Global economy requires global workforce. It is about time we based our policies on our needs and not on numbers."

Mathew Phillip, an immigration

lawyer from Tavistock Law, a city based law firm said, "The Big question is, whether these rules are going to be retrospective or prospective? If it is prospective there is already a rule in place to stop immigrants under the Tier 2 category to switch to settlement.

Moreover the tier 1 General is closed so there won’t be any new migrants coming through that route.

What left here is spouses and dependants of a settled person. Well I see this as a means to generate income for the UKBA as they would keep extending their leave as a spouse of a settled person. They would not send them back home while Article 8 is in place.

But if it is retrospective this is not going to stand as the court rules already in place against implementing it retrospectively (HSMP JR)."

Maria Fernandes, a lawyer from Fernandes Vaz and our immigration columnist (Visa Bytes) said, "This is the classic immoral case of one rule for the rich and another for the poor (but honest) citizens. What kind of society are we living if this forms the moral values which underpin immigration.

The Government are on dangerous territory. On the one hand rewarding bankers who lost millions whilst seeking to deprive the lowly immigrant who works tirelessly to better their lives, the life of their children and ultimately of the country.

Where would this country be without Lord Dollar and Lord Noon who started their life as humble immigrant."

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Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

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CCFC Asia raises platform for aspiring Asian footballers A sporting initiative which aims to connect Asian businesses in Coventry with existing and emerging Asian football talent, both at home and abroad, has been officially launched.

CCFC Asia, an initiative of Coventry City Football Club, hopes to “motivate kids to start kicking a football”.

CCFC Asia, which is twinned with YFC Rurka Kalan, a Punjabbased charity with a focus on football, aims to encourage people with a link to the Indian subcontinent to get actively involved in football.

Earlier this year, Indian football hero Anwar Ali visited Coventry for a soft launch. The defender, who has been capped 30 times by India, is president of YFC. The official business club launch last Tuesday at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry saw

over 50 businesses represented, including bankers, estate agents, property developers and catering gurus. The wine and dine evening reception saw testimonials and presentations from ambassadors already working closely with CCFC Asia, including Coventry University.

Guests were all given complimentary tickets to watch the Coventry City vs Blackpool FC match.

Coventry, the UK’s 11th largest city, has a population of over 310,000, of which 8.2% are of Indian origin.

Local Asian football coach Peter Randhawa expressed regret that in ten years nobody from

Coventry City Football Club had gone to meet his team. “It’s important that Coventry recognises the Asian business people in the city, “ he said, “somebody needs to give our kids the opportunity to prove what we can do.”

John Clarke, Vice Chairman of “Sky Blues” CCFC, and a native Coventrian, announced it was the first time his club had reached out to the Asian community. “There is a genuine gravity for sport in the Asian community,” he said. He praised Jas Sandhu and Alan Malik, CCFC Asia’s President and Chairman, respectively, for “turning a dream into a reality.”

On the night, £6,000 was raised in pledges towards CCFC Asia.

Credit, some may say, to Mr Sandhu who put guests on the spot, ensuring that each made a

pledge. It felt like ‘I dare you to make every guest make a pledge’. Even with the raffles, a young lady managed to sell a few but unsatisfied Mr Sandhu went round to every table placing a strip of five tickets for a tenner, assuming every guest would pay up.

When one guest refused, Mr Sandhu replied: “Are you sure, it’s for charity.”

Separately, the Football Foundation, the UK’s largest football charity, supports various Asian football clubs, including Khalsa Youth Football Academy, Asian Football Network, Leicester Bharat, Nirvana FC. Recently, in the West Midlands it awarded a £5,000 ‘Grow the Game’ grant to Coventry Tamil Welfare Association.

To find out more about CCFC Asia visit www.ccfcasia.com

Peace or Conflict – the ball is in our hands Media is the biggest enemy of multiculturalism, Dr Bashy Quraishy told delegates at a major global diversity conference at the United Nations in Geneva.

Dr Quraishy, former president of the European Network against Racism, and a distinguished Danish Pakistani author, said that any coverage about multiculturalism in the media was almost always negative. He urged delegates to challenge the media in their respective geographical lands in an attempt to influence editorial decisions when reporting on multiculturalism.

In addition, Dr Quraishy “a black person in white Europe” urged youth to engage in media debates. “The

future hinges on the shoulders of these young people,” he said.

This two-day conference, t h e m e d Multiculturalism – A Contribution to Peace? brought together ambassadors of peace from all over the world.

Youth, in particular, were given priority to the platform.

Representing their respective faiths, each youth member of the Inter-religious Council presented their thoughts, opinions and recommendations.

Community activist and social entrepreneur Neelam Rose (pictured, second from left) from Birmingham spoke from

Suicide victim, offender jailed A Birmingham karate instructor has been jailed for eight years for “seducing” a girl of 13 who later killed herself. Gloucester Crown Court heard that callous Jaspal Riat, pictured, “exploited” his position as Dana Baker’s martial arts teacher to satisfy his own sexual desires. But the “vulnerable” teenager first took an overdose when he lost interest in her – and later succeeded in taking her own life in March aged 16. Dana’s emotional parents, Trevor and Patricia, said they hoped 48-year-old Riat “rotted in hell”.

an Islamic perspective.

Other religious perspectives included Karthik Ragavan, a Hindu priest from Switzerland, Ilja Sichrovsky, a Jew from Austria and Sundeep Singh, a Norwegian Sikh, (pictured, centre).

Why global peace?

References were made to the recent attacks in Norway, riots in the UK and the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani who led Afghanistan’s High Peace Council and served as president.

On the first evening of the conference, delegates were invited to dinner at Vieux Bois, a plush Swiss restaurant. Coincidentally, ex-USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev was also among diners.

The remarkable conference was organised by the Universal Peace Federation, a global network dedicated to building a world of peace with a special focus on interfaith dialogue. Credit to peace activists Dr David Edward Earle and his wife Patricia of Birmingham who have turned their home into a centre for peace. The devoted couple selflessly and tirelessly promote universal harmony and community cohesion – without the aid of any external funding. To find out more visit www.upf.org

Man jailed for extension A man who extended his home without permission has become the first person in Birmingham to be sent to prison after ignoring planning regulations. Mohammed Noor was prosecuted by the city council in April this year for building an extension on to his house in Swanage Road, Small Heath, without obtaining permission. He was fined £2,500, ordered to pay costs of £10,352 and had to demolish the extension. However, three months later, he appeared at Birmingham Magistrates where he denied building two rear extensions without planning approval. He was sent to prison for 45 days for failing to pay the fine and costs.

News in Brief Older People’s Day Now in its fifth year, National Older People’s Day (Oct 1) celebrates the achievements and contributions of older people to our society and to the economy. The theme this year was getting and staying active in later life. By 2020, half the UK population will be aged 50 and over.

Good school priority Homebuyers in the West Midlands with young children say moving to an area with a good school is their top priority. According to a regional poll, 26% of parents are concerned about moving to a good catchment area.

Equal pay rights debate A debate on equality and whether women are still discriminated against in the workplace will take place next Wednesday (Oct 12) at 7pm at The Studio in Cannon Street, Birmingham (B2 5EP). The meeting will explore the findings of a survey which found 73% of women still think a ‘glass ceiling’ exists.

Rural life baffles city kids Children growing up in cities do not have a clue about life in the countryside, according to new research by Weetabix. In the cereal giant’s survey of 1,000 citydwelling parents across Britain, 40% said that their children spend less than 48 hours a year in the countryside. In the West Midlands, nine out of ten children has never set foot in the countryside, the study found.

‘Vodka’ on sale Fake bottles of vodka containing dangerous levels of methanol have been discovered on sale in Birmingham. Three men have been arrested on suspicion of operating an illegal alcohol manufacturing plant at an industrial unit in the city.

SBI: New branch The State Bank of India has opened a new branch in Queen Square, Wolverhampton. A total of seven jobs have been created. Regional head and CEO of UK Operations Rajnish Kumar said: “We recognise the potential of setting up in the West Midlands due to the increasing number of Indian companies investing in the region, which has doubled over the last three years.”

New reporting system Workers calling in sick at Walsall Council will now have to ring a nurse directly for advice as the authority battles to bring down absence rates. Staff sickness cost the council £1.7 million in lost working days last year. Sandwell Council last month also unveiled plans to make workers call a registered nurse.

Challenge to energy giants Birmingham City Council is hoping to slash gas and electric bills for citizens by setting up its own energy supply business. The local authority, Europe’s largest, is aiming to take on the big six power firms, including British Gas, Eon and EDF, to supply the city’s 440,000 homes and 50,000 businesses with gas and electricity at a cheaper rate. During the 1870s Joseph Chamberlain, the then leader, had established Birmingham’s own water, gas and electric companies.

‘Spy’ cameras sold for quid each Controversial spy cameras removed after being secretly put up by counter-terrorism officials in two predominantly Muslim areas of Birmingham are being recycled for Olympics security –for £1 each. West Midlands Police has handed 22 number plate recognition cameras to other forces to help protect venues during next year’s Olympics.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Minister praises efforts to fight poverty

Executive committee of World Punjabi Organisation with the Top Table guests

The Right Honourable Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development has said Britain is committed to tackling the causes of poverty and has recognised the work of Punjabis worldwide. He was speaking as guest of honour at the 11th anniversary celebrations of the World Punjabi Organisation (European Division) at the Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square in London attended by some 400 guests.

Minister Andrew Mitchell acknowledged the huge investment by Tatas in the UK. Referring to the UK-India partnership, particularly in the field of development, Mitchell said Britain would continue its programme to help the poor in India.

Among the guests were Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats party in the House of Lords, Sailesh Vara MP, first Asian Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party and currently the Government whip and C Rajashekar, Minister, Political, Press and Information at the Indian High Commission to the UK. Welcoming the guests

Ranjit Baxi, President of the WPO (European Division), spoke of the importance to rebuild trust in all communities not only in the light of recent tensions but because the fragile economy required everyone to pull together.

Lord Dholakia said in the recent riots in London many of the victims were Indians.

Describing NRIs as "wealth creators". He also said the NRI community laid emphasis on the education of their children. C Rajashekar, Minister, Political, Press and Information in the Indian High Commission, complimented the Indian community in the UK for its achievements in various fields. Shailesh Vara acknowledged the work of the young Punjabis for their hard work and efforts in promoting Punjabi values and becoming successful business leaders.

The 'Jewel of Punjab' award for 2011 was presented to Dr Avtar Lit and G S Chatwal, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award while B S Grewal, popularly known as Bobby Grewal who was chosen for Lifetime Achievement Award for Charitable services.

UK's Ironman

In July of this year Rakesh won the Ironman European championship held in Frankfurt, Germany and completed the gruelling challenge in 13 hours and 51 minutes, beating the cut off time by over 3 hours.

Rakesh Ravji Ladwa (pictured) the son of Ravji bhai Ladwa & Kanchan ben, have a family run business in Eltham SE9 called Eltham DIY, which has being estab-

lished since 1990.

Ravji bhai Dewa Ladwa originates from Ranavav, Gujarat and Kanchan ben Ravji Ladwa from Nairi Kenya, are pleased to see their son follow in his fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s footsteps Ravji bhai an athlete in his younger years made history came to the UK in 1964 by hitch hiking his way from Kenya to the UK and is now a retired black cab driver.

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George Harrison remembered On Monday the surviving Beatles and their families took to the red carpet in London for the screening of the documentary 'George Harrison: Living in The Material World' by Martin Scorsese.

It is made in collaboration with the guitar legend's widow, Olivia Harrison, and follows his life from his childhood in Liverpool. The film was released in cinemas on Tuesday.

Harrison took Hinduism as an interest during the filming of the movie Help! in the Bahamas, when a Hindu devotee presented each Beatle with a book about reincarnation.

During a pilgrimage to Bombay with his wife, after a few initial lessons of sitar with Pandit Ravi Shankar, Harrison was placed under the tutelage of Shambhu Das. In 1968, Harrison travelled to Rishikesh in northern India with the other Beatles to study meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

In the summer of 1969, he produced the single "Hare Krishna Mantra", performed by the devotees of the London Radha Krishna Temple. That same year, he and fel-

George Harrison with sitar maestro Ravi Shankar

low Beatle John Lennon met A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Soon after, Harrison embraced the Hare Krishna tradition, became a lifelong devotee, being associated with it until his death.

Harrison was a vegetarian from 1968 until his death. While during his lifetime, Harrison bequeathed to ISKCON his Letchmore Heath mansion (renamed Bhaktivedanta Manor) north of London.

Gauri das on behalf of ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor told Asian Voice, 'We are very excited about the

new film documentary about George Harrison. Not only was he instrumental in introducing elements of South Asian culture, philosophy and music to the west, but he helped Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON's founder, substantially. In the beginnings of the Hare Krishna movement, there was so much interest that our central London temple was vastly over crowded, the matter was resolved with George purchasing what is now known as Bhaktivedanta Manor. As one of the UK's most established and respected temples, Bhaktivedanta Manor is an incomparable resource of spirituality and culture for its thousands of visitors. For that we owe tremendous thanks to George. His music, lyrics and personal spirituality has inspired generations of seekers to consider the ephemerality of life and the soul's greater journey. In his deep and conscientiousness spirit, his widow Olivia, has work with tremendous vigour to ensure that this film is a genuine representation and insight into George's life, so we have all been waiting it's release in great anticipation.'

YOUR VOICE

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Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Dismantling the NHS programme for IT

Intimidation and disrespect

Mr Dinesh Sheth states in his letter to Asian Voice [Oct 1, p10] that Labour had lost £12.7 on NHS IT project that had been scrapped. I would like to refer him and readers of AV to the Department Health Press Release that was issued on 22 September 2011[http://mediacentre. dh.gov.uk/2011/09/22/dismantling-thenhs-national-programme-for-it].

In this official press release, the Coalition Government state two-thirds of IT infrastructures are well established and so far £6.4 billion has been spent.

They now want the private companies to get involved in addition to NHS for any future spending. Thus even they accept that £4.3 billion was wisely spent by Labour. Use of the word “dismantling” is a typical Coalition spin language.

Labour planned total IT spend of £12.65 billion in 2002 over 10 years to 2013/14.

The NPfIT [National Programme for IT] represents around 25% of the total spend [The NHS Handbook 2010/11 p234]. The CRS [Care Record Service] is a small part of this project. The other projects are GP2GP; Choose and Book; EPS and its merging with CRS; N3; NHS Choices; NHS Space; PACS; and QMAS to pay GPs [p238]. Most of these are well established and working.

I am registered for access to my Health Space Basic Account on www.healthspace.nhs.uk and plan to register for Health Space Advanced Account by a face to face meeting registration.

Then I will be able to see my summary care and prescription record. Everyone can do so.

The National Audit Office did report in 2008 that ‘the original vision remains intact and still appears feasible’ [p235].

Labour is more competent than Conservatives to reform the NHS in the right way.

Britain's Sikh Community is justified to raise the issue of intimidation and disrespect shown to Sikhs wearing turbans at European airports. I feel that European airport authorities should consult Indian airport authorities that how they are making sure to check every Sikh who wears turban to maintain the safety of passengers in the aeroplane.

It is very essential to check every passenger but it must be understood that they must not be humiliated or insulted or rudely treated. Sikhs wearing turbans also have to understand that any non Sikhs can wear turban and cause serious troubles. Therefore checking must be done. There are few officers at security checks who show no respect to other ethnicities. We personally faced a similar situation when one officer asked my wife to remove the bangles and she could not do it because those were too tight. They were very rude and only after I interfered, they left us to proceed further. Every community has good and bad people. I wish there are ways to improve the bad ones.

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

Can Hindus give Organ Donation?

I have actively been promoting organ donation awareness in the UK for some years. I am pleased that this act of giving has now been raised into Hindu consciousness. This is a wonderful way in which the Indian community can, 'pay back' to a nation in which we all have, one way or other, thrived or taken from the NHS. A reader, asked in, Your Voice 1/10/11, can Hindus donate organs as some religions "do not allow". To understand this we need to step back and agree that Hinduism has no founder or a single teacher nor any prophets; is not a Single Religion.

Hinduism is a, Way of Life, the practice of variety of different religious groups all with the final goal, to attain Moksha.

To achieve Moksha we have to follow the Path of Knowledge. It is in this that we find, Karma yoga, the act described as, " doing all your duties correctly throughout your life", the path of good work. This

Tfl fares

Dharam Sahdev Gants Hill, Ilford

Names of Indian Cities I shall be visiting India to attend a wedding in Ahmedabad next month.I was surprised to find out that there are no direct flights to Ahmedabad. I was under the impression that the campaign mounted by our own AV and GS had been successful and that there was no need to change flights at Mumbai airport.

I have now found out to my distress that the powers to be in India had gone back on their promises and that a status quo has been maintained. Talking about Ahmedabad, why is it officially called Ahmedabad and not Amdavad? Many cities in India (Bharat) have changed their names from say Bombay to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai, Poona to Pune, Calcutta to Kolkatta. Why stick with Ahmedabad for Amdavad? I know that there is a legend associated with that name. It is time we changed the name to Amdavad from Ahmedabad. There was a one time proposal to call it Karnavati but it was shelved because of opposition from the minority community.

I also find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that I have to go through the rigmarole of obtaining a visa to visit my motherland. If my parents and their parents and all my ancestors were born in India, why do I have to be bothered with a visa?

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford let's us give and ' Dann' (selfless giving) is our Dharma, is our way of life.

I strongly urge all to have your name added to the NHS register and donate.

We should not stop just at that. I would encourage all to help others regularly and importantly become a blood doner now.

Joy of Navratri

Ken Livingstone’s recent fares announcement during the Labour Party Conference is nothing more than political gesturing that seriously threatens all future rail infrastructure investment for Brent & Harrow demonstrating he is so out of touch with the views of Brent & Harrow residents. Ken Livingstone’s unworkable and impractical comment of cutting rail fares by 5%, for all intents and purposes from a non-existent surplus, is a raid on investment that can only be described as a financial blunder that will lead to seriously needed investment being scrapped bringing London near to stand-still.

Mr. Livingstone yet again proves he is clearly not a man with a viable plan for the future.

Despite Mayor of London Boris Johnson inheriting a £1.3million blackhole in Transport for London’s finances from Ken Livingstone, Mayor Johnson has significantly improved reliability and quality of service for commuters on the Metropolitan, Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines and ended Labour’s disastrous part-privatisation of the Tube. He has also secured much needed Tube upgrades, Crossrail and the Barclays bike hire scheme. In Harrow, Mayor Johnson has listened to residents and improved six out of nine Tube stations whilst in Brent he has improved seven Tube stations and increased capacity at Wembley Park Station by 70% as a result of the rebuild. Future investment is vital to increase ease of commute for better job prospects in the City for many and for a more comfortable and convenient ride for commuters in general and Mayor Johnson clearly understands this.

Continuing projects will for example increase capacity on the Metropolitan Line by 27% by 2018. It would appear Mr. Livingstone has learned nothing about why he lost his seat whilst he continues to have nothing of value or benefit to offer the residents of Brent & Harrow for their future.

I applaud Mayor Johnson for his sterling efforts to improve and to continue to improve services and infrastructure and I trust the hardworking commuting public of Brent & Harrow welcome the same.

Cllr. Sachin Rajput Conservative Greater London Assembly Candidate for Brent & Harrow

The Labour and The New Labour As long as there is a division in the Labour party into the Labour and the New Labour, the party can never defeat the Tory party. So let's unite.

The days of New Labour has gone with former PM Tony Blair, who was a wrong leader and the right party for 10 years. He was a pure Tory man. Still there are some Tony Blair's supporters in the Labour party. My advise to them is to leave Labour and join Tory party.

Mr Ed Miliband is the best leader of the Labour party.

J B Patel Birmingham

Sharad Parikh Via Email

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‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar Boyle says Mumbai dwarfed the statuette

E-mail: support@abplgroup.com

Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seen so euphoric on Monday morning, as they expected a couple of Oscars. British Indians in the UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township of Mumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almost the entire Bollywood waited in expectation, glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebrations as one by one, their heroes, the actors of the British Indian film and the music maestro, A R Rahman bagged the top awards in the world of entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won the Oscar after having missed it almost five times earlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on a cleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directed

by American director Megan Mylan, won the Oscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

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Cllr Paul Lorber Liberal Democrat Group Leader London Borough of Brent

Congress and corruption I admit political ignorance exists in India but our opinions are formed by media reports, not just facts and figures, nor have an access to the skeleton in the cupboard.

I can vehemently say that Rajiv's corruption was followed by political victimisation rather than instincts. We cannot deny Congress achieved a lot in the past 50 years. Under the opposition rule, we suffered religious rivalry, separatist movement, terrorism and isolation. Every statesman has vices and wises- Sonia is not exceptional.

To attack any party without reasons is cynicism. No one can deny despite of all that corruption, Congress has brought economic growth and unity- and no one can deny that.

Dr K R N Moorthy Handsworth

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Health Watch

As a local councillor I have been attending the annual Navratri Festival celebrations in Brent for over 20 years.

Hindu Council (Brent) has organised Navratri in Brent for 35 years and has done a magnificent job. Tens of thousands of local people of all ages take part in a well organised, safe and enjoyable celebrations.

For 35 years councillors from all political parties on Brent Council have supported Navratri. In the early days the support came in the form of free school halls and more recently, after schools started charging, with a specific council grant to help meet the cost.

Until recently the long established partnership has worked well and Brent Council could rightly claim credit for its support for the local community.

Sadly, under the Labour Leadership of Councillor Ann John things have gone badly wrong. Labour councillors wanted to scrap the grant this year and effectively stop the celebration of Navratri at short notice. Fortunately Hindu Council (Brent) and their affiliated organisations ran an effective campaign, and supported by a few 'enlightened' councillors, won a concession for 2011 so that Navratri could be held this year.

I have already seen how much joy and enjoyment the event brings to thousands of local people - for a relatively small sum of money.

Because I recognise the value of festivals such as Navratri for better community cohesion I am supporting the campaign led by Hindu Council (Brent) to save Navratri in Brent for 2012 and future years.

I hope that readers will support the Campaign too. Please sign the petition when attending any of the Brent events or alternatively sign an electronic version on - www.ourcampaign.org.uk/savenavratri

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EDUCATION

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Students to pay up to £50 an hour to attend lectures Students will pay as much as £50 to attend a lecture at some universities, an investigation has revealed.

Figures from a range of institutions show wide variation in the amount of “contact time” with academics that undergraduates will get once tuition fees rise next year to up to £9,000 a year.

In some arts subjects, the amount paid by firstyear undergraduates for each hour they spend in the lecture hall or classroom

will vary from £15 to £50 per hour depending on where they study.

The findings, which come as sixth-formers are deciding where to apply for courses starting next year, raise questions about what undergraduates and their parents will get for their money.

The National Union of Students said the analysis undermined the Government’s claim that the hike in tuition fees would lead to better value

for students and parents.

Liam Burns, president of the NUS said: “The socalled 'education market place’ is an illusion. It is highly unlikely that the number of contact hours will have any correlation with fee levels.”

All the universities in the survey stressed that there were other opportunities for students to consult academics including termly meetings with supervisors, seminars, revision sessions and email exchanges.

Serving the destitute, serving the God Devi Thakrar (16 years) In August, my mum Bharti and I went to India to volunteer in the slums of Ahmedabad. We were in India for only 10 days but in the 10days we helped many unfortunate people of all ages. I visited a leprosy centre, deaf dumb and blind school, a disabled school and worked in a primary school for 5days.

Though it was a very tiring trip and shocking as well, teaching the children

was very enjoyable. Their happy faces made me smile. We didn’t only work in schools but we also worked with the street children, fed over a 1000 cows, celebrated the birth of the Lord Krishna, celebrated Independence Day and did a religious Katha at our rikshaw drivers house too.

The most important lesson I learnt from this trip to India- in England we have luxuries yet we are unhappy and give up easily, but in India

Parents face £500 travel 'tax' for faith schools Parents face paying up to £500 to send children to faith schools as councils across England axe subsidised transport in a move condemned as a “tax” on religion.

A research by The Daily Telegraph suggested that more than half of authorities have abolished – or are considering scrapping – vital subsidies to

enable pupils to travel to church schools.

A further quarter of authorities are increasing charges to parents.

Catholic and Church of England groups allegedly branded the move “discriminatory” and warned it would bar some children from faith schools altogether as families struggle with spiralling costs.s

some people have nothing yet they are still so happy and look forward to their days ahead.

(D e vi carried out some charity work with Manav Sadhna helping children in the slums and on the streets and visited the Leprosy Compound and the school of deaf, blind and dumb children).

Why am I here?

Dakshesh Patel 4th Year Medical Student Charles University in Czech Republic Swami Satyamitranand Giri’s 80th birthday was commemorated in Brent Town Hall where he gave a discourse on the Bhagavada Gita.

The day before, as I sat with my mum practising tabla with the songs she would sing at the occasion the next day, I asked her to explain the lyrics of one of the bhajans. I had a rough idea of what they meant, how-

Massage at schools Children at a primary school are getting a head start every day - by giving each other head massages.

Pupils as young as five have been trained in massage techniques, which they practice on their peers every day after lunch.

Teachers at Franche Community Primary School, in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, say the daily massages are having a positive effect on pupils' behaviour by calming them down before afternoon lessons.

The school was approached more than

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two years ago to take part in the Massage In Schools Programme (MISP). The MISP programme is aimed at four to 12 year olds.

According to its website, the scheme has been developed as an 'inclusive whole school strategy for reducing children's stress levels, aggression and bullying.' It claims to improve child mental health, concentration and increase confidence.

The organisation notes that children ask permission from each other before they start and say ‘thank you’ to their partner at the end.

ever I wanted to know exactly. One of the verses is as follows: “Andaan deve bhai, Bhoomi daan deve ne, kanchanna mol lootave re ane, kaashi jayne bhale kanyadaan deve, toye - naava maara Gurujina tole re.”

“Even if you donate food, donate land, give away gold silver and jewellery in masses, go to kaashi to do “kanyadaan”, Even then - none of these things can balance up against worshipping my Guruji.”

Another verse sings: “Khaal kadavu maara, shareer tanee ane upar soneri range rangaavure, eni mojdi sivdaavi maara Gurune peheraavure, toye ghanre osheengan kem thavure.”

“Even if I peeled the skin off my body,

coloured it in gold, tailored a pair of shoes with this and offered them to my Guru to wear, even then it is impossible for me to repay him back.”

These verses describe a Guru’s value, in other words - he is invaluable.

This is why I went for my Guru’s darshan.

Today people worship celebrities, people with high status, success and wealth. But what of the man who single-handedly shows us how to liberate ourselves from 'samsara'?

Swamiji brings joy to our hearts. Though we may not be able to comprehend who or what is in front of us, we are nevappreciative ertheless and thank him for bringing peace, joy and loving us so deeply. I bow to my Guru in reverence.

Universities fast-tracking poorer students Universities are systematically using information on students’ social background and school performance to prioritise the most disadvantaged candidates, it has emerged.

Data published for the first time by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service underlines the extent to which institutions now rely on “contextual” information to pick out the poorest students. In some cases, they are preparing to make lower grade offers to A-level students from

the worst schools this year or use information to fasttrack socially disadvantaged pupils into an interview. Ken Durham, chairman of the Headmasters Headmistresses’ and Conference, which represents 250 top schools, said that any attempts to systematically set lower entry requirements for pupils from poor-performing schools risked penalising excellence. Universities can request information about students’ backgrounds – “contextual data” – from Ucas.

Maximising Your Childs Pension group and works to a fixed curriculum, it cannot and does not take into consideration the fact that all children are different.

Therefore depending upon parent expectations it’s important that as a parent you fine tune your child’s education needs by providing them with any additional help to achieve their true potential.

At The Learning Hub, we help children from as young as 6 in subjects like Maths, English, ICT, Verbal Reasoning, Non Verbal Reasoning and Science; all the way up to GCSE. To ensure children achieve the best out of our tuition all our classes are designed around a unique set of materials which complements the national curriculum. We have 6 dedicated classrooms where the

Aristotle once said that, “Education is the best provision for old age”. I think he should have added that it should start at a young age and be of the highest quality.

The progressive education system was first defined in the 1998 Education Reform Act and broken down into Key stages which start’s when the child is 2 and goes onto until they are 18 years of age. As it deals with the masses across a broad age

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lessons are carried out using an interactive delivery method allowing the child the freedom to ask questions to maximise their understanding.

An analogy of this can be taken from sports; if a child is coached properly that child will have more developed skills, therefore play better and enjoy the sports much more. The same can also be said for !"

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academic studies. Good tuition plays a key role in developing the child’s understanding skills and really gives them a big boost in life.

At The Learning Hub, we put a special importance in building the child’s confidence, leading them to understanding things more quickly. With a strong emphasis on helping all children, along with our

excellent track record shows that we can make your child excel. Success in education is what is going to give your child the best chance in life and through that a rewarding career.

Don’t leave it late!

I hope the above has been useful in helping you to help your child but why not contact us and organise an assessment to see how we can best help your child.

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MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Scrutator’s Take your pick. The first is the Jeremiad on India's future prospects in the Financial Times (September 29) by its South Asia bureau chief James Lamont. The country's good times, he averred, are as good as over as India seemingly trembles on the precipice of its descent to coolie status. Mr Lamont referred to the country's anonymous legion of stock brokers, industrialist and economists whose shared wisdom defined his judgment. It may interest readers to know that, in the 1990s, FT columnist, Joe Rogaly, warned India that the non-aligned paradigm of its foreign policy had to be replaced by unswerving commitment to the United States. Mr Rogaly advised India to wind up its relationship with Russia, with the menacing threat that New Delhi would have to take Washington's permission before it could tackle even domestic insurgencies; he reminded the lesser breeds that Khalistan rhymed with the Iraqi province of Kurdestan, which was designated a no-fly zone for Saddam government's in Baghdad, courtesy the US and Nato.

It's good to know where James Lamont is coming from. His voice demands unfettered access to the Indian market for Western goods and services. World Bank President Robert Zoelleck put well: “The West tells the emerging powers “to do what I say not what I do” - which means free trade and unlimited market access rather than covert protectionist policies, which are the Western norm. Toxic banks at home and a zeroplus economy has given the UK little to cheer about. Mr Lamont's scourging of India achieves its proper context.

He points to the likely collapse of the Manmohan Singh government in New Delhi, although not its replacement by a military regime, as was the prognostication, in February-March 1967, of Neville Maxwell, the Times India Correspondent. The India Briefing portal (September 20) shone a contrasting light on this heart of darkness. It writes: “With Japan's economy in the doldrums and expected to shrink following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country earlier this year, India's 8 per cent growth is likely to see it emerge as the world's third largest economy, this year, in purchasing power parity terms......The IMF has indicated that the Japanese economy is expected to contract by 0.7 per cent, while India is on target to meet 8.2 percent growth.”

The source of the above portal, Dezan Shira & Associates, has extensive business links in India.

Assessing India Another portal said: “In the third quarter of 2010-2011, India's exports grew by 16.2 percent year-on-year. Private consumption grew by 9 percent from the previous year, while business investment growth of 6 percent.

Government expenditure was 3 percent lower than a year earlier, but that may be a selling point for investors weary of government competition with private enterprises.” It quoted Chandrajit Banerjee, D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l Confederation of Indian Industry, who opined that India had the capability to grow even faster than it had in recent years because of its “strong economic fundamentals.”

Indian Army exercises

cooperation with countries in India's immediate and strategic neighbourhood as well as with “priority nations far away, ”said the agency.

Countries with whom India will hold exercises include the United States, Britain, France, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Krygyzstan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Maldives, Seychelles, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Xinhua carried the following statement by an Indian Army officer: “Other armies are very keen to exercise with

us since we have six decades of combat across the entire spectrum of conflict experience. One of the main focus areas in the exercises has been counter-terrorism or counterinsurgency in rural, semiurban and urban terrain. The exercises build mutual trust, confidence and inter-operability. Our soldiers also learn a lot from different armies, and enhance their capability to operate alongside other defence forces under the UN flag. We are a much sought after force for conventional and non-conventional exerciss because of our experience of high altitude/moutan and jungle warfare, and tank battles.”

Two hundred Indian soldiers recently participated in in an exercise with British troops at the UK's Land Warfare Centre in Warminster.

Another Indian contingent is currently exercising in Mongolia. A French force, due to arrive shortly, will exercise with India's 99 Mountain Brigade in Uttarkhand, from October 9-22.

Agni-II tested

Agni-II test fired successfully

India's nuclear-capable AgniII missile, with its 2,000-plus kilometre range, was successfully test-fired at the weekend.

The two-stage solid fuel propelled missile, developed by the Advanced System Laboratory and other DRDO laboratories, is 20 metres long and weighs 17 tonnes. Agni-II is equipped with a special navigation system to achieve high degree of accuracy. The system is also equipped with ant-ballistic defence counter measures. It can be transported by road and rail is an integral part of the country's nuclear deterrent structure (The Hindu September 30)).

The Indian Army's forthcoming exercises (2011-12) with 16 countries were widely reported in the country's media. China's Xinhua news agency (September 29) picked up the story from its New Delhi office and relayed a factual rendering for readers back home. The flurry of exercises constituted an effective diplomatic tool The Indian Army's joint exercises constitute a to enhance strategic ties diplomatic tool to enhance overall strategic ties and military-to-military and military cooperation with friendly countries

growth of the state's technology sector.

“We have worked out a programme to get inputs on how to proceed, for which a baseline study is needed both for software and hardware to discover where we stand,” said Mr Pitroda. He spoke of the numerous challenges to be faced, but commended the large talent available in West Bengal. The next meeting of the committee will be held in November. The one held was attended by state IT Minister Partha Chatterjee, former trade body, Nasscom head Kiran Karnik, IT Secretary Basudev Banerjee and Infosys founder Narayana Mnurthy, who was on video-conference (The Hindu September 18).

Panel to oversee rail safety India's Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi has announced the setting up of a Safety Review Committee to control the incidence of rail accidents.

The committee, comprising experts in high-end technology and related fields, will be headed by Dr Anil Kakoda, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission.

Dr Kakodkar will be assisted by Dr N. Vedachalam of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Professor Sanjay Dhande, IIT Kanpur, D.P. Srivastava, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and E.Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Cooperation.

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is to equip around 1000 passenger trains with bio-digesters to solve the human waste disposal problem.

The technology developed by the country's premier defence research was used to decompose waste generated by soldiers in high altitude regions such as Siachen and Ladakh. “The pilot project to instal bio-digesters in trains has been completed successfully .....and soon the technology will be implemented on a mass scale,” said DRDO Chief Controller William Selvamurthy (The Hindu, September 16, 11).

Afghanistan warning India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Hardeep Singh Puri, says a Press Trust of India report (September 30), has warned against an over hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Such a move, he said, should be done with an eye to ground realities and not simply to meet a deadline.

“For peace, stability and security in Afghanistan, it is imperative that the ongoing transition be linked to the ground realities rather than rigid time tables. This, the international community in its hurry to withdraw from a combat role in Afghanistan, will ignore at its own peril,” said Mr Puri. He pointed to the assassination of former Afghan president Burhanudin Rabbani and other recent acts terrorism in Kabul.

Terrorist groups operating outside Afghanistan's borders had to be tackled, he said, before peace and stability in the country was secured.

“For security and stabilisation of Afghanistan, it is important to isolate and root out the syndicate of terrorism which includes elements of the al Qaeda, Taliban, Laskar-e-Taiba and other terrorist and extremist groups operating from wihin and outside Afghanistan's borders,” Mr Puri said. He reiterated India's commitment to partnering with the government and people of Afghanistan in building a peaceful and prosprous nation. India spends $2 billion in developmental aid to Afghanistan.

British charities such as Oxfam have voiced fears that progress in women's education would be aborted with the Taliban presence0 in a future Afghan government.

The perils of an Islamist dispensation have been brought home to the civilised world with the report that an Iranian Christian pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, faces death by hanging for refusing to recant and return to the Islamic faith (The Times September 29).

Bengal IT conclave West Bengal's recently established Information Technology (IT) committee met for the first time under the chairmanship of Sam Pitroda. The committee decided to set up working groups covering areas such as education and infrastructure in furtherance of the

Hardeep Singh Puri speaking at the United Nation

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Mr Lad mentions that commercialisation and introduction of gimmics in garba performed during Navaratri is essential for survival of garba dance. It is unfortunate that commercialisation has polluted divine ethos of garbas. This is due to weakness of Hindu gurus to issue stern directives towards garbas being worship; unlike strict discipline of Muslims’Imam, whereby commercialism of any part of worship is banned, with risk of painful punishment. Hindu music, dancing etc were strictly confined to temples as worship to retain spiritual purity.

Therefore Navaratri is meant to be worship to mark goodness fighting against evil, holy performance, expression of awe and reverence. Remember that worship of energy though not primarily for recreation or entertainment but such glee is automatic.

Mr. Lad has relegated religious garba to folk dance(lok nrutya). He has trivialised holiness to money spinning performance, exploitation of youthful energy, sensual titillation, purposeless dancing, non spiritual and mercenary Bollywood tunes, that contaminates divinity and perverts worship. Commercialisation shifts garba into rave with unsavoury practices.

Hindu religious ceremonies have survived for millenia under disciplined sages and rulers without commercialisation. With divine ethos, strict obedience to spiritual directives garbas will never die.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Alpesh Patel’s

The Politics of Growth – How India saves UK Indian companies tend to run their own family name and money.

Neither do they invest in the UK to hedge the risk of Indian growth diminishing – if business were that good at diversification and planning – we would not have economic cycles – and the best hedge is diversification – so you would do it domestically first not internationally – and not when recessions tend to be global – and if Indian growth drops – you can bet Western growth would be even worse in such a world.

So how do we get out of this mess and what is the role of India? All three major UK political parties have had their party conferences and all three have differing views. Should we increase our public debt to pay for public projects to give people jobs who will then use the money to buy things they don’t need? Or do we cut the deficit and risk increasing even greater unemployment and lower growth?

My thoughts are clear and were expressed on the BBC and they are right. First, unemployment is under 10%. That is still not good if you are unemployed – but it helps to know the facts before you become too scared to even leave the house in case the sky falls on your head. 10% is not excessively economically or historically high.

Second, chasing growth by creating more debt, than the growth the debt will create is as stupid as trying to remove water from the Titanic with a colander.

Third, even with no growth, the EU would still produce $14trillion of good and services. So we should in this environment stop trying to burden ourselves with more debt for 1% growth.

Fourth, the problem is not interest rates, or lack of quantative easing.

Clearly. Obviously. The low level of interest rates can’t go lower and the economy is in a state. The problem is one of certainty and tax. Look, who has money to spend? Not governments and not consumers. So clearly the government increasing debt it can’t afford to make consumers spend when they are indebted does not make sense. Instead the focus should be on companies – who do have money. We know they have money because of their earnings. Reduce corporate tax rates (if you are going to have budget deficit – have it because money went to the efficient parts of the economy – those making a return – than those using it to pay down credit card bills). Further – provide certainty – by stating 2 year economic tax rates. This allows business investment decisions to be made. Stop scaring business by telling us how ineffective Europeans are at making collective decisions – we know.

Incidentally the prestigious India Institute is set to be a thought leader in understanding India and they are offering an MA in Modern India. Well worth visiting their lectures: indiainstitute@kcl.ac.uk

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Garba becomes commercial

Political Sketchbook Why do Indian companies invest in the UK, when their domestic economy is growing at 8%? Why do they invest in the UK, a EU member, when the EU is in a mess? This was one of the issues at the Inaugural Lecture of the Kings’ College, London India Institute headed by the accomplished Sunil Khilani. To understand this issue to understand the Indian corporate and an economic saviour for Britain.

Indian companies invest in the UK because they have no shortage of cheap capital (for the first time in decades) and talented management with global experience. They have in British company’s assets something they can acquire cheaply. You can buy a British company on the FTSE 100 for ten times its annual profits. That is cheaper than virtually any time in the past 30years. In these ‘distressed’ foreign assets they have companies that are not only cheap, but also with strong brands – that intangible asset you can acquire and sweat and exploit and with which you can create wealth.

And finally you have a domestic Indian economy wanting these brands (eg Jaguars made in Britain with British cache) or through acquiring a British company – access and free movement into the EU – a $14tr economy – 10 times the size of India.

Indian companies – especially family owned ones – don’t risk acquisitions oversees for ego gratification. Because it is their own money. Bankers may – with other people’s money – but

UK

YOUR VOICE

Boy stabbed to death at home An innocent public schoolboy was murdered by "staggeringly incompetent" contract killers who got the wrong address after being recruited by a Dubaiborn criminal to murder another man, a court heard last week.

Ben Hope, 38, and Jason Richards, 37, stabbed Aamir Siddiqi, 17, pictured, to death in the hallway of his family home after the Alevel student opened the door expecting his Koran teacher, a jury was told.

His parents tried to fight off the masked men and also suffered stab wounds. Cardiff Crown Court heard that the two men were hired to carry out a revenge attack on a man who lived in a street less than 100 yards away. The alleged killers mixed up the addresses because they had taken so many drugs.

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FESTIVALS

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Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

India Connect Londoners pay homage to Ma Durga Q & A: Visa to India Hundreds gather to do raas-garba London Sharad Utsav (Ealing)

This year, the London Sharad Utsav (or Ealing Durga puja) has tied up with 6 of the leading Pujas of Kolkata to organise a new concept called the Global Durga Puja (GDP).

The LSU organisers are are showing deferred live (about 4 hours delay) webcast of the 6 Durga Pujas of Kolkata, through a

Projector at their Venue (you can watch it at www.banglalive.com).

The idea of the GDP is to promote the huge event of Durga Puja of Bengal as a global tourism destination, by showing the grandeur and pomp of the Kolkata Pujas, here in the UK. It has created a wave of

sorts amongst the visitors, who are enjoying the London and the Kolkata Pujas, together, sitting at one place.

Even the Pujas at the Kolkata end are very excited about their Puja being shown (almost) live in London and rest of the world.

It is the initiative of Mr

Pradeep Bhattacharyya, the President of the Bengal State Congress, who has made this global event possible. The West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee delivered a speech during the Opening Ceremony of the Singhi Park Puja, a part of which was aimed at the Global Audience.

London Durga Puja Dusserah Committee (Camden) It was made possible by few pioneer dedicated Bengalis with the help of the late Shri Tusar Kanti Ghosh, doyen of Bengalee journalism who edited Jugantar and Amrita Bazar Patrika, both leading dailies of Kolkata at the time. The venue was the Mary Ward Hall, Tavistock Place London WC 1.

The celebrations throughout the years has moved from hall to hall

eventually finding a home in the Hampstead Town Hall for a few years before settling in the present place of worship, the prestigious Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC 1, in the heart of London.

The present protima (idol) is a work of art, especially sculpted by the legendary sculptor Shri Ramesh Chandra Paul of Kumartuli, Kolkata on commission by the world

renowned industrialist Mr Lakshmi N. Mittal Chairman of LMN G r o u p / I s p a t

International Ltd., for the London Durga Puja Dusserah Committee as a gift.

London celebrates Navratri Hindus held a colourful march through Wealdstone last week as the nine days of the Navratri festival kicked off. The youngsters and family were seen doing garba and playing dandiya over the weekend in various venues all over the UK. Hundreds of revellers – dressed in gold jewellery, banging drums and even one on horseback – made

a noisy Pothi Yatra procession at 9.45am from International Siddhasram Shakti Centre, in Palmerston Road, to Harrow Leisure Centre, in Christchurch Avenue.

They were joined by the Mayor of Harrow, Mrinal Choudhury, and Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Dal Babu, who sported colourful headgear for the festival.

Garba in Kingsley School, Croydon

Tooting Durga Puja Photo courtesy: Shan Maru

I travel to India frequently for business meetings/to explore opportunities for partnerships with Indian companies. Which visa should I apply for?

You may apply for a business visa valid for multiple entries for either six months or one year along with the requisite documents as per the checklist.

Note that a business visa does Jiten Vyas, VFS Global not permit you to work in India.

If you want to work in India, you should apply for an employment visa.We also currently offer the service of an Urgent Business Visa for those applicants who are required to receive their business visa the same day. Conditions apply; please visit us at www.in.vfsglobal.co.uk for more details I have to go for internship/training in a university/institute/company in India for a short period.

Which visa should I apply for?

You should apply for an entry visa along with a copy of the offer letter stating the terms of internship. You may also be required to submit a copy of the inter-university student exchange agreement if the proposed internship is a component of such an agreement. If you receive any monetary compensation/salary from the Indian organisation, you will have to apply for an employment visa. For more details please visit us at www.in.vfsglobal.co.uk I will be going to India for work/employment along with my family. Which visa should I apply for? Would my children be able to study in India?

You must apply for an employment visa along with the requisite documents. Once your visa application is approved, your wife and children may apply for entry visas. Your children will be able to get admission in schools/colleges in India once they have been granted an entry visas. Note that you have to undergo mandatory registration formalities at the nearest office of the FRRO/FRO within 14 days of your arrival in India if you are planning to stay in the country for more than 180 days.

I will be studying in India for one semester/trimester in an IIT/IIM/IISc/Indian university. Which visa should I apply for?

You should apply for a student visa along with a copy of the letter from the institute/university confirming your acceptance as a student. For more details please visit us at www.in.vfsglobal.co.uk I had applied for a visa for India but I have changed my mind about visiting the country. Can I claim a refund of the visa fee?

Visa Fees are non-refundable once the visa application is accepted and visa fee cannot be refunded even if the visa is refused.

It's been a while since I submitted my application and passport. How can I find out the status of my application?

You can track your application online by visiting our website. Alternatively, you call our helpline on 0905 757 0045 between 0830 hrs to 1730 hrs from Monday to Friday (Calls to the premium rate number cost 95 pence per minute) A response of ‘No Record Found’ is a result of incorrect information being entered into the required fields on the website required to directly associate your specific status. If you continue to face such a message, please email info.inuk@vfshelpline.com Can I collect my passport from the High Commission of India, London or the Consulate General in Edinburgh and Birmingham?

Please note you have to collect your passport from the India Visa Application Centre where you submitted the application.

For more information regarding any quires about Indian Visa please contact by email or post: Email: info.inuk@vfshelpline.com Customer Relations Department.

India Visa Application Center, 60-62 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE

India Connect - your questions answered on India visas” a service offered by Tooting Durga Puja has organised the 25th year of Durga puja and Diwali festival at Tooting, South

London, UK. Held at Jasmin's Banqueting Hall, the puja is supported by local businesses.

Garba in North London

Festival-goers traditionally wear jewellery and dance in the procession, but Harrow Police have warned them to cover up and be wary of thieves who target the event.

Ch Supt Dal Babu said: "Harrow is one of the UK's most diverse bor-

oughs, with one of the largest Hindu populations in the country.

"Our Safer Neighbourhoods teams will be visiting all our temples and venues used to celebrate Navratri in order to spread crime prevention messages as wide as possible."

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

f ashionista

For more stories visit www.scribbledesk.com

by Sayona Nakarji- age 16

Short Story by Neha Garg

Jonathan Makes A Wonderful Discovery (part 1) There was a time, a very very long time ago, when the people upon this Earth were very happy. The plants were flowering, the trees were bearing fruit and the men and women, boys and girls and even little animals all lived in harmony.

That was truly a time of joy. There were no buildings yet in the cities, no cars yet upon the street. Indeed, there were no cities or streets to speak of. For this was the time before men learnt to build these things.

Simple folk of yesteryear, they lived in little huts made of mud or in caves in the sides of mighty mountains.

Nobody felt the need to hunt for pleasure or food. Men and women worked the soil to grow what they needed while their children played in the forests and came home in the evening, baskets laden with fruit.

It was during this happy time, that little Jonathan made a wonderful discovery.

One afternoon, while playing hide and seek, Jonathan got separated from his friends.

Traipsing through the forest, looking for a way back home, he came upon a curious hillside, barely 5 feet tall, in the middle of a clearing. Jonathan was puzzled. It looked more like a giant molehill than a hill. What puzzled him even more was that someone was singing – inside the hill.

Jonathan walked right around the little hill but didn’t find an opening.

‘How can this be?’ he muttered to himself.

He went down on his knees and ran his hands over the grassy mound when something hit him smack on the nose.

‘ALWAYS someone peeping!’ screeched a voice.

Eyes watering, Jonathan looked at the hillside again. There was a window in its side now. Its shutters had been flung open and a face, a very red and angry face, barely the size of his fist looked back at him.

‘What do you want then, eh?’ said the man, shaking a fist at Jonathan.

Jonathan stared. He opened his mouth to apologise, but instead said, ‘Who are you?’

‘What do you mean, who am I? My name is Glom. I am an Elf, aren’t I?’ said the man, slightly less red now but still quite fierce.

‘Elf? What’s an Elf?’ said Jonathan.

It was the Elf’s turn to stare. He held Jonathan’s gaze for a moment, then promptly disappeared, banging the window shut behind him.

‘Hey! Come Back!’ shouted Jonathan.

He stared at the window. He couldn’t have dreamt it all.

The window was right there, proof of what he had just seen. He reached out to touch it wanting to confirm that this was not a dream.

He heard someone whispering. ‘…. says he has never heard of Elves.

How could that be?’

‘We must be careful,’ said a second whisper.

Jonathan had had enough. He wasn’t stupid after all. He went to school and knew all his tables and stuff. He cleared his throat loudly to attract the attention of the men within.

There was a sound of chairs scraping. The window was flung open once more and two scared looking faces appeared.

Now over his initial shock, Jonathan saw them properly.

They were both fair with long pointy ears. Their hair, cut short was very white and they both had bright green eyes.

‘Look, you don’t need to be afraid of me,’ said Jonathan. ‘I have no wish to harm you.’

The Elves eyes narrowed with suspicion.

‘We don’t believe you,’ they said in unison.

Jonathan felt irritated.

‘Please, you must,’ he pleaded. ‘How can I prove it to you?’

Sudoku

Radha Abw

This is a 9x9 grid, 3x3 (boxes) Sudoku puzzle.

Make sure that each and every row, column and region/box contains the number 1 to 9 once.

Disclaimer: This puzzle is created solely by Radha abw with the help of a pen and paper, understanding the basics of the subject at hand, and any resemblance to a similar puzzle is purely unintended and coincidental.

Sewa in Redbridge As part of Sewa Week, over 600 people attended free health and well being workshops in Redbridge. Prof.

Raj Bhandari of Manchester University found that cholesterol readings are still high in residents of Redbridge, according to the tests done at Ilford Town hall last Saturday.

Many Asians, walked around not knowing they were suffering from condi-

tions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. However it was noteworthy to find out that high diabetes has come down to 10% of the people tested. Ravi Bhanot, one of the key organisers said, "We are grateful to the Mayor of Redbridge for making the Town Hall available for this very useful job. All donations would go to his charity."

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Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to share with us, please write at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

London Fashion Week begins right here …

From a hardworking hairdresser to notable award winning millinery British designer - all in just five years. Not something you can say about many people but it certainly is the case when it comes to Justin Smith Esquire, who I was privileged to interview last Friday at the start of London Fashion week.

The event I attended was at Guoman, the Royal Horseguards 5 star hotel in Central London where Guoman hotels had collaborated with renowned milliner J Smith Esquire to create five bespoke hats – one for each of the five hotel’s greeting doormen.

These hats along with an archive of Justin’s flamboyant and unique creations, which he had designed over the five years, were displayed at the launch.

Before creating the five doorman hats, Justin thoroughly researched into the historic background of each of the hotels to get a feel of the character and heritage, which was undoubtedly conveyed through the designs.

Though the inspiration for the doorman hats was gained from research and created with the thoughts of 'beauty of tradition', my burning question was where his inspiration for all the other designs derived from. “It’s all random” he told me, there was not a certain place, but he gained inspiration from all around him - his travels and in other countries where many of his catwalks are held. The idea of the Red Maccow Parrot Headdress from the Air – Couture Spring Summer ’12 collection, which took three months to make and involves a beautiful red parrot which sits elegantly on the head and a silver beaded mask which covers part of the face, was stimulated in Venice.

Justin’s love and passion for designing is shown through the breathtaking handcrafted hats.

He has transformed the

straightforward hair accessory into a meaningful and powerful necessity to an outfit.

Now that I had seen Justin’s creations, I was interested in speaking to his mother, who attended the event along with his grandparents, to speak

about her creation - her son. As Justin has said before, his respect for tradition was embedded from the way he was brought up, so talking to his mother was a significant moment for me. “Justin had always been creative and loved making things from a young age,” she said proudly.

In 2002, Justin established his own highly successful hairdressing salon in Central London and he continues to cut and style hair in his studio in Elephant and Castle.

Many of his friends that I met at the event and even his mum have their hair done by him.

I also met a few of Justin’s clients at the Launch, people who he had previously made pieces for. They all told me that Justin was a very talented man who understood the idea that they had in their mind for the design instantly, with additionally advising colours suitable for skin tones, hair and head shapes. I asked him if he could name any wellknown figures he had made a hat piece for, “I have made personal items for Kylie Minogue and a hat which Madonna wore in a photo shoot”. These impressionable names led me onto the question of the price range of the hats

to which he replied that £350 is his minimum cost and it ranges to around £6,000.

“The price depends on the time and materials put into the making of the head piece” I was extremely surprised when Justin told me that he did not own a television or a radio and to me it showed the dedication and focus one can possess.

“In that sense I live in my own little bubble” he said.

However, to unwind from his very busy life, Justin enjoys spending time with his partner, friends, family and his beloved dog, that he walks two hours a day.

Justin seemed like a very “in the moment” sort of person, carefree, someone who takes life as it comes and is just happy to do what he enjoys, and I believe this attitude is partly how he has become so successful.

Nonetheless, I wondered where the 33 year old saw himself in 10 years time.

“Who knows!? I love designing, and I love what I am doing at the moment.”

My last question to Justin was, if he had three wishes what would he wish for, to which his response was “To be able to keep doing what I am doing, to be able to grow and most importantly, to continue to be happy and healthy.”

Just like his works of art, Justin himself is a flamboyant figure. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him and the interview seemed more like a friendly chat where he was forthcoming and very responsive. The combination of tradition and modern culture has created his collection of masterpieces. The hats sent vibrations of beauty filling the room with vibrancy and left the viewers struck with admiration. His sheer creativity cannot be portrayed through pictures and even this article cannot do his work justice. I, for one, take my hat off to his collection, Justin Smith Esquire.

Who will replace Salma?

A by-election in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, to select a successor to popular city councillor Salma Yaqoob will be held on November 10. Nominations for candidates close on Oct 18. Mrs Yaqoob stood down from the council due to ill health earlier this year but remains national leader of Respect Party.

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Asian Voice Saturday 8th October 2011

Bollywood bug bites Camilla Belle

Hollywood actress Camilla Belle might be just one film old in Bollywood, but she is madly in love with the industry and is keen to do typical song-dance masala Hindi movies.

The 24-year-old, who featured in Hollywood movies "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", "When a Stranger Calls" and "10,000 BC", made her Indian debut with Akshay Kumar's co-production " Speedy Singhs". "If I am offered a film here, I would grab the opportunity. I am completely open to it, I don't limit myself. I don't close my mind to anything. I love the way films are made here. I am so fond of song-dance sequences. There (west) it is not so colourful and rich like here in India," Camilla said while promoting the film.

"I got an opportunity to try 'jhatka-matka' of Bollywood and I must say it was so much fun. I took Bollywood dance class in Los Angeles, it has become very popular there. I haven't danced in my whole life because we don't have these song and dance sequences there. But honestly, one can say I am infected by this Bollywood fever now, it's all over my mind," she added.

Though she is fascinated with Bollywood, she knows little about it.

"I want to see more of Bollywood films now. I want to learn the format that is followed here that is why I am taking back a lot of DVDs of various Hindi films," said the Los Angeles-based actress. Talking about her favourites in Bollywood, she said: "I know Aishwarya as I met her at the Cannes and she has been there (LA) quite a few times. I have also seen a couple of her films. I think she is very beautiful and charming.

"Some time back I saw 'Dhoom 2' and I just loved it. I love Hrithik (Roshan). He is an amazing actor. I have shown his videos to all my friends and I have fallen in love with him," she added.

Richa Panai to make Kollywood debut

Model-turned actor Richa Panai is all set for her Kollywood debut. She will be paired opposite Atharva, the grandson of veteran Kannada film director S Siddalingaiah and the son of Tamil actor

Murali. The movie has been titled 'Local Train' and the shooting will begin in October. "It is too early to speak about my role in the movie. All I can say now is that I have a prominent role in it," says Richa.

Rajinikanth’s ‘Rana’ dropped

Superstar Rajinikanth’s “Rana” has been dropped.

Rajinikanth met director K S Ravikumar at the latter’s office and after a two-hour discussion the duo decided to drop the project on grounds that the movie will take one and a half years to complete and requires immense efforts which the actor is unable to provide at

this point of time.

Moreover, Rajini has also offered a new script to KS Ravikumar which is on lines of ‘Muthu’ and ‘Padayappa,’ earlier releases of the Superstar. The new project may commence from January it is expected.

An official confirmation in this regard will be out shortly.

Rahman records with Michael Jackson’s lead guitarist

The Mozart of Madras and India’s pride A R Rahman has recorded with the legendary Michael Jackson’s lead guitarist Orianthi Panagaris for ‘Rockstar’.

As we all know that Rahman’s dedication towards his work makes him to go at length to get the perfect sound ditto

Deepika Padukone might just be saying, "I told you so." Ex-boyfriend and actor Ranbir Kapoor has finally come out in the open and admitted that he cheated while in a relationship.

The 29-year-old, who recently celebrated his birthday, attended by Deepika and a host of other celebs, told a film magazine, "Yes, I have, out of immaturity, out of inexperience, out of taking advantage of certain temptations, out of callousness. You realise it now, when you grow up and you value it more why be in a relationship, why be committed to someone when you cannot be committed? I've realised that now. That's why I don't want to jump into a relationship with anybody because ... unless you have a special bond, a special equation with somebody, somebody who you can be committed to, somebody who can trust you, who you can respect, there's no point."

When Ranbir and Deepika split in November 2009 after dating for two years, it was rumoured that he had an affair with his Rajneeti co-star Katrina Kaif.

Now reformed, he declares, "Infidelity is the deal breaker.

Once it comes in, respect goes away, trust goes away and these are the pillars of a relationship you can't f*** around with it."

Earlier, Ranbir had denied ever cheating in a relationship, particularly after Deepika had spoken out, saying a certain ex-boyfriend had cheated on her.

Yes, I cheated: Ranbir Kapoor

John gets ‘action Abraham’ tag Essaying the role of a tough narcotics officer, who ensures justice is served in Vipul Shah's “Force,” John Abraham is soon going to be synonymous with the tag of "Action Abraham". Audiences are in for a treat as John Abraham gets into an out-andout action space, something he feels he is well suited for. Says John, "I feel there is space vacant for the new action hero. Younger heroes are more into romcoms, seniors are more into comedies and other stuff. I want to occupy the space of action hero. I want to be known as the last action hero of Bollywood."

After pouring his sweat and blood into making “Force” and even performing his own stunts, John is confident that audiences are going to be introduced to some never-seen-before action. "Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn have been doing action but when you see “Force” you will know what action I am talking about. It is real action, simply amazing. Action director Allan Amin says, he has not shot this kind of action in 27 years of his career!" adds John.

With a body like that, action came naturally to John, who pioneered the trend of the ultimate fit physique that set temperatures soaring. Says John, "My body is my religion, gym is my temple, I come here to pray. The only place where I get sanctity is my gym. I appreciate actors who have fit bodies. I don't look at it as competition, we complement each other. It will be great to see more actors with good bodies, after all it is a visual medium."

Zarine wants to do more item songs Zarine Khan, who once weighed 100 kg, shed her weight to make a mark in the entertainment industry but she doesn't believe in crash diets and prefers balanced eating habits.

"I am blessed with very beautiful parents.

Thanks to them that genetically I have got such a clear and nourished skin," said the one-film-old actress.

"But no doubt pollution and excessive exposure to heat and make-up affect the skin and makes it dull. So, it is important to take care of it - like body treatments, even skin care is important. I always endorse balanced diet. I don't believe in crash diets. One should eat healthy and in the right proportion," she added.

Zarine Khan is also open to doing more item songs but sans vulgarity. She teamed up with Salman Khan in the item song "Character Dheela".

"I was offered a lot of item numbers but I wasn't really comfortable. I would not call ‘Character Dheela' an item number because it was a fun song and I had Salman in it along with me. I knew nothing would go wrong," Zarine said. "I am open to such songs where there is no vulgarity or sleaziness," she added.

The 23-year-old, who made her Bollywood debut with the 2010 film "Veer," is busy with new projects.

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

I'm the panty-less girl: Yana Gupta Controversy is her middle name and she lives up to that title with gusto. But it's Yana's sense of humour that really stands out about her.

She shrugs off her latest scandal with a laugh, saying "I'm the panty-less girl! I simply wasn't expecting the issue to blow up like that. I just thought, ‘keep your legs crossed, no big deal,’ but it wasn't that simple. But being in this industry, you learn that these things come and go all the time. You can stress yourself out or let them be." That apart, Yana had a finger in several pies so far. From modeling, to acting and now, a music album and a book.

South remakes attract Sanjay Dutt After seeing the box office success of South Indian remakes ‘Wanted’, ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Singham’, Sanjay Dutt is looking forward for a Bollywood remake of Telugu film ‘Dhee’.

Apparently, Sanjay has roped in ‘Rascals’ coproducer Indra Kumar to helm the romcom after a serious discussion with Ajay Devgn.

The discussion was about the business potential that remakes have in Bollywood. As of now, Ajay is assisting Sanju in finding the right people for ‘Dhee’ remake. Apart from Sanjay, the film will also stars two lead actors.

Will Sanjay’s ‘Rascals’ co-star Ajay Devgn be the wild card? Let’s wait and watch.

Aamir Khan to copy Salman Khan Salman Khan's Yashraj film “Ek Tha Tiger” unveiled its first look through a digital poster. Rather than a regular film poster, the production house used the technology of the digital poster for the film. Now, Aamir is also planning to release a film poster for Reema Katgis film which will be digital. A source reveals the idea came when Aamir saw the poster for “Ek Tha Tiger” and was quite impressed with the way it looked. "Aamir is thrilled with the concept of using a digital poster. He's going to sit with the creative team and work it out. Since he's hands on with every project he plans to get involved in the creative process of making the poster as well."

Commercial Property Auction Tuesday 18th October 2011 On behalf of Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Co-Operative Estates, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, Stockland, Joint LPA Receivers and The Administrators amongst others.

71 lots to be offered, including: Macclesfield SK11 6NN Dukes Court, Mill Street Substantial property with potential Rent £60,160.00 p.a.x

Huddersfield HD1 1BT 2-8A John William Street & 3-5 Wood Street Including McDonalds & Pizza Hut

Jimmy Shergill to produce Bollywood films

with Imtiaz Ali who puts his heart and soul to get the right music for his upcoming film ‘Rockstar’ produced by Shree Ashtavinayak and Eros International.

Rahman has roped in Orianthi Panagaris for a song titled ‘Saadda Haq’ in the film’s soundtrack.

After tasting success as a producer in Punjabi films, actor Jimmy Shergill would try his hands on producing Bollywood movies.

Even though Jimmy started his acting career in Hindi films with 'Machis' in 1996, he turned a very successful producer with a Punjabi film 'Dharti' in 2011.

And now he aspires to try his luck in B-town. "I have got seven-eight scripts in hand and we would zero down on one-two. There are comedy, thriller, lighthearted kind of scripts. I want to make entertaining films for the audience...not documentary types," Jimmy said. The films will be made under the banner of Jimmy Shergill Productions.

Bipasha Basu to marry Rana Daggubati?

Ever since Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu, has broken up with John Abrahan she is been linked up with every other guy she has been spotted with. Rumors of Bipasha and Rana Daggubati, dating each other have been making roars in the B town for quite some time. But now we hear that it’s official. Yes! Bipasha and Rana Daggubati are very serious about their relationship. They also plan to tie the knot soon. A source reveals, “Bipasha and Rana are in a very good space presently. Though it’s too early to talk about their marriage but if things go well then there might be an official announcement on the same.”

130 costumes for ‘Heroine’ Kareena The film”Heroine” is now in the laps of Kareena Kapoor as the director has already signed her to replace pregnant Aishwarya. Kareena playing the role of heroine will need ultra glamourous outfits. She has asked for 130 costumes to be designed by ace designer Manish Malhotra. The costumes will cost 12 million and special provision has been made in the budget for the costume. Rs 500,000 was previously spent on costumes that the former leading lady, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, wore, during the nine days that she shot for Heroine.

Every scene in the film will have four costume changes. "The film will have ultra glamourous and expensive costumes. Heroine is an extravagant project and the producer is doing everything to make it look as glamourous as possible.

17

Rent £145,800.00 p.a.x 113/133 Granby Street, Leicester

RETAIL INVESTMENTS

Leicester LE1 6FD 113/133 Granby Street

INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT

Harrow HA1 2SG Unit 1, 29-31 Frognal Avenue

Substantial block of seven properties 2790 sq m (30,022 sq ft)

Benefits from fixed rental increases Rent £15,500.00 p.a.x

London W9 2HT

OFFICE INVESTMENT

358 Harrow Road, Maida Hill

Harrow HA1 3LP

KFC plus three flats Rent £62,319.88 p.a.x.

88-90 High Street

Wolverhampton WV1 3ER

Rent £92,685.00 p.a.x

54-55 Dudley Street Let to Game Stores Group Ltd

Situated approx 300m from Harrow School

BANK INVESTMENT

Rent £82,000.00 p.a.x

Hamilton ML3 7BB

Birmingham B6 4JA

20-22 Quarry Place, Lanarkshire

Radio House, Aston Road North Multi occupied office

Let to Lloyds TSB Scotland Plc until 2025 (Subject to option)

Rent £179,400.00 p.a.x (Gross)

Rent £50,000.00 p.a.x

Hayes UB3 3NB

Bournemouth BH1 1BH

Wilkinsons, 1 Pump Lane

582-584 Christchurch Road

Let to Wilkinsons & situated in prominent town centre location

Let to Lloyd TSB Bank Plc until 2021 (Subject to option)

Rent £230,000.05 p.a.x (Gross)

Rent £50,000.00 p.a.x

John Mehtab: +44 (0)20 7034 4855

www.acuitus.co.uk

18

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Osborne unveils ‘credit easing’ scheme for struggling firms Dear Financial Voice Reader, The economic equivalent of the Cuban Missile crisis.

Now you are really worried. Now you are getting calls from your broker and even selling the ‘sure things’.

Well, I have looked through the data again and a clue is what the world’s richest man is doing – he is buying stock in his own company. If he thinks equities are cheap – then that is a clue. But that he is buying it in his own company suggests he does expect some down side in the broader markets.

My view remains – it is not as positive as Goldman Sachs view – but it is positive that when I look at company profits and value companies based on that measure –they are cheap. Now cheap stocks can get cheaper. Cheap stocks can remain cheap for a while. But rarely does a whole index, such as the FTSE 100, remain cheap for so long.

So I think although at 5,000, we may drop to 4400, but then rally higher. Much of the selling has happened not because things are cheap but because price falls have forced sales. When this selling stops, the cash looks at valuations.

Add to this that the selling happens because of political and economic uncertainty. That is better recognised by the politicians who have caused it and they too will stop – as the Americans did with their budget bickering – in the end the abyss beckons and they pull back. It is the Economic equivalent of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And one of the guys will blink.

When I consider that the EU without growth is still 10 times the size of India and Indian growth is almost 10 times the size of European growth and you understand why corporate profits in the West are holding up.

Both the Western market is large and Eastern growth is large. China creates half a new India in Economic growth annually.

You know what else – Inward Investment – the flow of capital into the UK – the acquisition of UK companies because they are cheap, does not show up in GDP and growth figures. But this is what gives confidence and jobs. This is what gives future growth.

So would I buy? Yes. What would I buy? The FTSE 100 I am happy to buy. Virtually anything making a profit that has fallen the most I would happily buy.

Anything with lots of cash I would buy. I hold Man Group. The world’s largest hedge fund. It has cash. It has skill. It taps into foreign wealth. It is good at its job. It is having a hard time because all hedge funds are performing badly.

You know if you have two players – both just as good as each other and just as fast but one is in bad form – who do you sign to your team? The one with the bad form? Why? Because when his form improves – he’ll be better than the other guy. That is what Man Group is like at the moment. But more generally I would buy the whole FTSE 100 index. It is cheap. May drop another 15% - but I wouldn’t hang around in case it didn’t. I would get in now.

Chancellor George Osborne has unveiled a ‘credit easing’ scheme in which the state will provide cash directly to the struggling firms through a bond scheme. Accordingly, small businesses are to be lent billions of pounds by the Treasury in a dramatic attempt to avert a second, disastrous credit crunch.

Official figures showed one in five small businesses are having their loan applications rejected by banks, a number which has quadrupled since the credit crunch. Mr Osborne told the Tory conference that he is also ready to give the green light for a second round of quantitative easing – in effect, the printing of cash by the Bank of England to stimulate the economy. He urged Britons not to lose hope despite gathering economic gloom, saying:

State Bank of India in UK launched buy-to-let mortgage without any early repayment or discharge fees. The new lifetime tracker mortgage marks SBI’s movement into the lending market, the first Indian bank to do so, following on from the success of its savings accounts in recent years.

The product has a great rate – Bank of England Base Rate plus 3.99% - on a 60% loan to value (LTV), along with an interest-only option.

“Together we will ride out the storm.”

Mr Osborne repeatedly stressed the importance of low interest rates preserved by the Government’s austerity measures – insisting he would not gamble fiscal credibility for the sake of borrowing a few billion pounds more to increase public spending temporarily. He said about 1 per cent rise in interest rates would add £10 billion to family mortgage bills ‘‘at the worst possible time,’’

Mr Osborne said that the government would buy bonds issued by small firms to try to plug the funding gap left by the banks.

Multi-nationals already issue such bonds.

With fears mounting about the debt crisis in the eurozone, Mr Osborne ruled out further promises of personal tax cuts or spending rises until after the next election.

The Prime Minister insisted an instinctive tax cutter, but said he would not offer ‘temporary cuts in tax’ paid for by money which has to be borrowed.

Mr Osborne admitted environmental regulations were ‘piling costs on the energy bills of households and companies’ and suggested it was time to draw a line in the sand.

The Chancellor suggested business tax cuts would take priority as part

of a ‘properly costed government programme that is also getting the deficit down’. He also announced that anyone seeking to make a claim at an industrial tribunal will have to pay a fee of up to £1,000 for a full hearing. The money will be repaid if the claim is won, but Mr Osborne argues the costs will deter vexatious actions. The Chancellor confirmed that workers will have to be in a job for two years, rather than just one as at present, before they can claim unfair dismissal, a change expected to save businesses around £6 million a year.

He said: ‘We respect the right of those who have spent their whole lives building a small business not to see that achievement destroyed by a vexatious appeal to an employment tribunal.’

Potential and existing landlords can borrow between £50,000 and £1.5m for any period between five and 25 years.

The mortgage has a £150 booking fee and £1,990 arrangement fee attached.

The bank strove to be as flexible and fair with this product as possible: borrowers can not only avoid any early repayment-related charges, but negotiate all of the mortgage details, including LTV, depending on the customer’s financial history and overall credit

quality and size of the loan.

Deepak Ahuja, head of consumer banking & wealth at State Bank of India UK said: “We want to show that we are committed to the UK by offering borrowers the same level of understanding we have shown to our savings customers.

“Often this means listening to them and offering straight-forward products that make their lives easier. We believe it is possible to help borrowers in a tough market like this

without lending irresponsibly, which is why we have been around for over 200 years and in UK for the last 90 years.’

State Bank of India, founded in 1806, is one of the oldest, safest and wellcapitalised banks in the world. Its traditional approach to lending has led it to be recognised as one of the most prudent and safe banks in the world: it has been ranked as one of the 200 most reputable companies globally

by Forbes Magazine.

George Osborne

SBI launches flexible buy-to-let mortgage in UK

London viewers can soon switch over to digital TV

London viewers can soon switch over to digital TV. A campaign to convert terrestrial television system to digital was under way.

Accordingly, between now and 2012, analogue channels are being switched off region by region and replaced with free-to-air digital TV and radio services (Freeview).

Switchover will extend Freeview coverage virtually to the whole of the UK and free up airwaves for new services such as ultrafast wireless broadband.

Digital services are also available via broadband, cable and satellite.

Starting on 4 April 2012, analogue TV signals will be turned off and Freeview digital channels made available to thousands of homes for the first time. Any television currently using an aerial will need to be converted to digital to continue receiving programmes.

The campaign will explain what viewers need to do and their options for digital TV. Under the scheme, an approved installer will supply and install the necessary equipment, with a

12 month aftercare service, including a free helpline.

How switchover happens: Analogue services will be switched off in two stages. At stage one – 4 April 2012 - , analogue BBC Two is switched off and the first group of Freeview digital channels will become available from relay transmitters for the first time. At stage two 18 April 2012 - the remaining analogue channels will be permanently switched off and replaced with additional digital TV, radio and text services.

People are eligible for the help scheme if they are aged 75 or over, have lived in a care home for six months or more, get (or could get) certain disability benefits, or are registered blind or partially sighted. The service costs £40 but is free for people who are eligible and also receive pension credit income support, incomebased jobseeker's allowance or income-related employment and support allowance.

The Digital UK website and advice line pro-

vides viewers with all they need to know about the switchover in their area.

For details contact: Digital UK: 08456 50 50 50 (English) 0845 6063963, digitaluk.co.uk.

Switchover Help Scheme: 0800 40 85 900, helpscheme.co.uk • The Switchover Help Scheme: People aged 75 and over, eligible for certain disability benefits, registered blind or partially sighted or living in care homes are entitled to practical help from the BBCrun Switchover Help Scheme. For £40, they will be offered equipment to switch one TV per household to digital. They will be able to have that equipment installed if they want it, a demonstration of how it works and a number to call while they get used to things. If they’re eligible and also on income-related benefits, the help will be free. Everyone eligible will be contacted directly before switchover. More information is available on 0800 40 85 900 and online at helpscheme.co.uk.

• Channel availability: Before switchover, Freeview channels are

available from main transmitter sites only, offering viewers with digital TVs or set top boxes a line-up of more than 40 channels.

Switchover will see more than 1,000 local relay transmitters upgraded to digital. After switchover, relay transmitters will broadcast around 15 Freeview TV channels, including BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 plus associated services such as ITV2 and BBC Three. Viewers can use the postcode checker at digitaluk.co.uk to check channel availability in their area.

Digital UK is the independent body co-ordinating the campaign and will use local advertising, roadshows and community events to spread the message Digital UK is the independent, not-for-profit organisation established in 2005 to lead the implementation of digital switchover. It is jointly owned and funded by the public-service broadcasters (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five and S4C), and the digital multiplex operators.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

19

Outdated Concepts In The New Property Market

Suresh Vagjiani Managing Director Sow & Reap A Property Investment & Financing company.

“The ripple effect”, a concept well known in the property market which is defined as upward movement in the london property market spills out elsewhere to the rest of the UK. This phenomena officially has disappeared this has become an outdated concept in the housing market.

The drivers of the central areas of London today are different to what drives the rest of economy.

In one sense the world is continuously changing and so driving forces affecting property are always changing. What has a dominating effect now may not be the case in years to come.

Though property is always underpinned by a basic need -for humans to have shelter.

Going back to thousands of years this is something which never changes.

At one point first time bu yers were sa id to be an essential component to ensure the health of a pr operty ma rket, as a fresh influx of the m would drive the mar ket bottom up. The rea son why importa nce wa s placed on the fir st t ime buyer is they a re fr esh buyer s a nd once they ha ve taken the first step on the r ung housing la dder they would sta y on the la dder and only move upward s. Hence it is speculated you have a new entra nt to the ma rket who will stay there for life.

So what does drive this market now?

Let’s look at what some of the leading figures in the industry are saying. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the RICS, says: "One reason is the preponderance of foreign buyers. Turmoil sweeping much of Europe and the Middle East has heightened the appetite for safe havens; london's prime property market neatly fits this bill. Meanwhile, despite the pressure on the financial services industry, the skills required in the sector remain in heavy demand and attract significant wage premiums. The result of these two developments is that prices in the capital are being pushed upwards at a time when economic uncertainty is encouraging buyers in many other parts of the country to be a little more cautious."

In his opinion there are two factors driving the market: foreign buyers looking for stability and the financial services industry.

Age nts fro m int ern at io nal f irms o ften g et reque sts from bu ye rs overseas t o pu rchase prope rties blind , without look ing at the pro perty du e to the u rg ency the mo ney ne eds t o le ave the cou ntry by.

Figures in all price sectors support the argument that london now operates separately from the rest of the UK. Look, for example, at the Nationwide's house price data for the second quarter of 2011, compiled from lending data to buyers predominantly at the mid and bottom end of the market. Average values were down year-on-year in all regions except london. The average price in london was 0.2 up in the quarter while across the rest of UK there was a 1.2 drop.

At the top end Knight Frank says prime london prices are 10 % up over the past year, with values in central areas now 35% above March 2009's trough. This is not the case outside london, top end prices are slipping.

“With 74% of buyers in prime central london being from overseas and 50% of sellers being from the UK, the reason for the continued strength of london's market is clear," says Countrywide chief executive Grenville Turner, "The change from previous cycles is the perception of real estate in london's most sought-after postcodes as a unique and safe asset - one which offers a degree of protection from the vagaries of the global economy and geopolitical risk.

In addition, london has very tight planning restrictions, which keeps supply tight," explains Camilla Dell of buying agency Black Brick.

"Supply and demand dynamics are widely different in london compared with the rest of the UK, with London constantly seeing demand outstripping supply. The rest of the UK is much more of a domestic buyers' market and therefore much more susceptible to a weak economy and a weak mortgage market" says Dell.

The concentration of foreign nationals in london - an escalating phenomenon in recent years - means many go on to sell their properties to other foreign nationals. Such vendors are highly unlikely to move to the suburbs or rural areas, as former UK sellers would have done, so this sharply limits the extent to which housing equity built up in london ever gets beyond London.

Nor is this likely to change even in the long term, unless there is a catastrophic crash in values allowing more buyers to come in, or an equally dramatic strengthening of sterling to deter those foreign buyers who regard london as good value at the moment.

Taking away all of the above and sticking to the first mantra of property investment Location, Location, Location will ensure your money is put in the right place.

LOCATION AND VIEWS WILL ENSURE THIS PROPERTY RISES ABOVE ALL OTHERS 4 Spacious 3 bedroom, first floor flat - rarely available on the market 4 Stunning views over the Regents Canal from bedroom window above is an actual picture of the scenery 4 This will ensure the property rents and sell like a hot cake 4 Perfectly located in a safe area with playgrounds and primary school around the corner and close to Paddington great for families.

4 Within walking distance to Warwick Avenue underground station and within easy reach to local buses.

4 Excellent rental investment, can produce rental of around £500pw and generate a positive cash flow of £7500 per annum after all expenses.

4 Bright living room and kitchen, south-west facing thus offering plenty of sunshine during the day and overlooking communal gardens.

4 Long-lease and low outgoings 4 Good decorative order, ready to be let-out.

4 This property we believe is about 10% below the True Market Value

4 The biggest point in this deal is NOT the discount, its the views, this will ensure this property rises and rents well in years to come

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Specialists in: l Property Sourcing l Mortgages l Commercial Finance l India Properties

UK Sales 0207 313 4595 India Sales 0203 384 5323 Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

Tips of the Week l Don’t just concentrate on the price when purchasing property, the soft aspects like light and views add to the feel of a property and also play a strong part in ensuring growth l Don’t sit on the fence, make a decision!

More money is lost through indecision than a wrong decision

financial voICe

20

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Amit Patel has over 15 years experience in the field of Leadership and Human Resource Management

Lest We Forget

maria@abplgroup.com

Maria Fernandes

Deciphering the Immigration Minister’s Speech The Minister for Immigration, Damien Green delivered a speech on family migration on 15th September 2011 and in that speech outlined further areas of immigration reform. He emphasised the need for immigration to be better targeted and fairer. This article examines whether the reforms achieve this aim or indeed if this is an intention to bring net migration back down at whatever cost.

The excerpts listed below are taken from his speech and commented on.

[TIER 2 WORK PERMITS] have “been under subscribed each and every month since it was introduced. Those who predicted it couldn’t work or it would damage British businesses have been proved wrong”.

The reason that the limit has been under-subscribed is that the majority of Certificates of Sponsorship are issued for Intra-Company transfers which are exempted from restrictions following successful lobbying by this sector and support by Vince Cable, the then Minister for Business.

[STUDENTS]. “We listened carefully and ensured that the brightest

students will be welcome here. But they will have to speak good English and if they are not studying at a university they wont be able to work or sponsor dependants.”

The reason why the Rules relating to work for students was relaxed was that students provide a very healthy income to colleges and therefore to the economy and the relationship with the UK that is developed lasts a lifetime and could affect foreign policy.

Having bright students does not assist the economy in any way unless the students decide to stay. So the question is, what is the benefit to the UK. [VISIT VISAS] New evidence is often submitted on appeal which should have been submitted with the original application. Analysis of a sample of 363 allowed family visit appeals determinations received by the UK Border Agency in April 2011 shows that new evidence produced at appeals was the only factor in the Tribunals decision 63% of cases and it was an additional factor in a further 29% of cases. “The taxpayer is footing the bill for people to have a second bite of the cherry”.

Isn’t the real reason

the fact that it will deprive applicants from claiming benefits for a longer period. No statistics or evidence is provided to indicate the majority of couples do not stay together. The sole purpose of these changes is to delay substantially a claim on benefits.

Cases are decided on the basis of the evidence presented. This in turn relies on the guidance that is issued to help applicants. Sometimes where a further information might have helped an application, the application is refused rather than giving the applicant an opportunity to produce it.

The Tribunals then have to correct this. If there was a system asking for additional evidence where the officer is not satisfied as there used to be in the past then not only will justice be served by cases being considered properly but also it will save taxpayer funds.

Maria Fernandes has been in practice exclusively in immigration for the past 25 years.

Fernandes Vaz is based at 87 Wembley Hill Road Wembley in Wembley and can be contacted by telephone on 02087330123, by email on info@fernandesvaz.com.

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I recently read an article on the BBC website about Gujarat. It was not a major story but I noticed that at the end of the article there was a paragraph about Gujarat being the scene of communal violence in which 1000’s, mostly from the minority community, were killed by the majority community and that there were allegations that the state government were complicit in the violence. I then searched through more articles related to Gujarat and found that this paragraph was in many of them.

Seeing this I experienced a sense of dismay. Why is such a description attached to Gujarat whereas whenever there is a story about London there is no mention of the Brixton riots or the Southall riots or the Tottenham riots?

It’s a bit like saying that whenever there is a story about America there should be a paragraph at the end stating that America was the

place where Africans were forced into slavery and discriminated against because of their colour. I remember watching the film Veer Zaara which had the underlying message that we should move on from the painful memories of the 1971 war with Pakistan or the Kargil conflict. Yet in the case of Gujarat it seems that there are some who wish to imprint this one event onto the identity of the state and its people in order to gain support through creating division and insecurity.

It is important to remember significant events in history, because they can serve as beacons of light ensuring that mistakes are not repeated.

But there has to come a time when such memories need to be protected from manipulation?

Otherwise when can we ever move on, as individuals or as people?

What does this have to do with Leadership?

There are two types of leaders. One will manipu-

By Amit Patel

late emotions by opening old wounds to spread fear and insecurity. They then portray themselves as the only hope for the downtrodden and repressed.

The other will reassure and comfort those who have been wronged (and we have all been wronged at some time or other) while at the same time they will forge the path ahead and lead people to a true sense of value and respect.

For those of us who are being led, we need to be able to recognise the difference between the two.

For those who wish to lead, a word of advice – ‘The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.’

Benjamin Franklin.

Audi planning to set up shop in Gujarat ing in FDIs. If conditions are favourable and if state chief minister gives his consent for Audi, then I see no reason why we will not come to Gujarat," he said.

Recently, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Mukesh Ambani had announced in public that in coming time, Gujarat can become automotive hub of Asia.

According to Perschke, Pune and Chennai are the auto industrial pockets.

"But in last one and half years, Gujarat has come into the radar after Pune and Chennai.

Interestingly, Gujarat has become a promising destination for investment," said Perschke. "Gujarat is attracting investment because of some good work by chief minister of the state," he added.

At present, Audi is assembling the Audi A6 and

the Audi A4 for the Indian market in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. But in future, if Audi sets up its plant in Gujarat, it can also export from here. "Gujarat has also got good port connectivity for exports," he said.

Gujarat contributes around 7% to the national sales of Audi. "For us, Ahmedabad is fifth largest selling destination in the country. The top five cities contributing maximum sales to Audi are Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad," said Perschke. "Most of the Audi buyers belong to either diamond industry or are realtors of Gujarat.

With good growth, we are expecting to sell 600 units in Gujarat in 2012," he said.

In next two years, Audi plans to open three to four new dealerships in Gujarat.

"Vadodara and Rajkot look prospective destinations."

Cairn India strikes gas off Lanka coast

Kingfisher to exit low-cost operations

After Tata, Ford, Peugeot and Maruti, it seems to be the turn of premium car manufacturer, Audi to seriously consider entering Gujarat. The luxury carmaker believes that Gujarat is the right investment destination for automobile companies. "Gujarat has good port connectivity for exports. Secondly, it has got good industrial policy and the state is well connected to the upcoming Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). Gujarat, in recent times, has come up as an interesting investment destination," said head, Audi India, Michael Perschke.

Speaking on the sidelines of Audi's A - Drive Experience at Jaipur, Perschke said that the foreign direct investment (FDIs) inflow in Maharashtra has gone down. "And Gujarat is gain-

After oil discoveries in India, Cairn India said it has struck natural gas reserves in the very first well it drilled in the offshore Mannar basin of Sri Lanka.

"Cairn Lanka, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cairn India, has notified the appropriate authorities in the government of Sri Lanka of a gas discovery in the CLPLDorado-91 H/1z well, drilled in a water depth of 1,354 metres, located in the block SL 2007-01-001 , Mannar Basin, Sri Lanka," the company said in a statement.

This is the first time

natural gas deposits have been discovered in Sri Lanka's history, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in Colombo. "I have been informed that a gas deposit has been found as a result of our oil exploration work," Rajapaksa told a political gathering in the central town of Kandy.

"With more luck and blessings we hope we can find oil," Rajapaksa said.

Cairn had spud the well in early August and natural gas was discovered a few days ago. "A gross 25 metres hydrocarbon column" was tested, the company said.

Industrialist Vijay Mallya last week announced the exit of his spirits-to-aviation group from Kingfisher Red, the low-cost airline operations, and said a Rs 20 billion rights issue would be pursued to spruce up the financials.

"Yes, we are doing away with Kingfisher Red. We don't intend to compete in the low-cost segment. But all is not gloom and doom," Mallya said at a press conference soon after informing shareholders on the latest cost-cutting and revenue generating measures.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

21

Foreign Exchange Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail info@rationalfx.com

Great weather cloudy market tWe have recently been fortunate to have had some fantastic weather, which has helped overshadow the increasing problems in the world economy. Markets are literally all over the place at the moment – but we continue to see risk aversion as the uncertainty in Europe and talk of a US recession influence investor minds!

Unfortunately Greece have yet again failed to meet there targets in terms of reducing their debt. Greece’s problems lie with the question as to when the next tranche of aid will be paid (€8bn already delayed until October 13th) and a push by some Euro zone countries that the private sector should be taking a bigger stake in Greek debt. All enough to undermine the Euro

on the exchanges with EUR/USD falling back to an eight month low and as long as the crisis is prolonged, in reality the single current should continue to lose ground on the exchanges.

Greece has again approved large cuts in next year’s budget – this includes the immediate dismissal of public sector workers. This is obviously not going to go down well with the already intense atmosphere amongst the Greek people...

We thought it was bad when the riots happened in the UK, but Greece are seeing these sort of demonstrations on an almost daily basis! The other problem is that Greece have previously introduces cuts but have failed to implement them.

Over the last few months we have heard some dramatic predictions for the major currency pairs from various Banks and institutions. Barclays Bank has changed their predictions twice within a three month period – However their initial predictions were not that popular with the market!

Given the current movement, 1.45 GBPUSD doesn’t look impossible!

This week (beginning 2nd October) will prove to be

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 4th October 2011 @ 3.30pm GBP - INR = 75.88 USD - INR = 49.40 EUR - INR = 65.36 GBP - USD = 1.54 GBP - EUR = 1.16 EUR - USD = 1.32 GBP - AED = 5.64 GBP - CAD = 1.63

another eventful week as investors speculate if the MPC will decide to increase QE. It is also difficult to predict if printing money is really the solution – At least this time it will not be given to Banks to encourage borrowing!

But with consumer spending down, employment down and house prices down, something needs to be done to stimulate the economy – we need to be proactive this time and not reactive.

George Osborne is trying to win over people by freezing the council tax for another year and handing out a £800 mil-

lion tax vsubsidy to struggling families. The main priority is still to bring down the budget deficit within five years.

I can safely say that our risk management team has never been busier, especially with the US Dollar and Euro moving as much as 3% within a 48 hour period... We help implement strategies which can make the use of forwards, Spots and OPTIONS; but the one that is getting utilised the most at the moment are STOP Losses – a great tool to protect your bottom line and at the same time take advantage of any upward trends.

GBP - NZD = 2.05 GBP - AUD = 1.63 GBP - ZAR = 12.75 GBP - HUF = 347.52

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.

22

PakIstan-Bagladesh-srI lanka

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

US must stop blaming Islamabad: Gilani In focUS Islamabad: The United States must stop blaming Islamabad for regional instability, Pakistan's prime minister told a gathering of the country's political leaders as Washington stepped up pressure on the South Asian nation to tackle militancy. "The blame game should end, and Pakistan's sensitive national interests should be respected," Yusuf Raza Gilani said in comments carried live on local television stations.

Pakistani military officials, who set security and foreign policy, were expected to brief the meeting, where the possibility of unilateral US military steps against militants in Pakistan could be discussed.

"Solutions to issues based on perceptions should be sought through meaningful negotiations.

Pakistan cannot be pressurised to 'do more.'"

Gilani told officials including the head of Pakistan's military spy service, Lieutenant-general Ahmad Shuja Pasha, and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan.

"Our national interests should be respected in all circumstances. From our side, all doors for negotiations are open. We desire

Pak for dialogue with Haqqani network Lahore: Pakistan prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said the Pakistan Government would first exercise the option of holding a dialogue with the Haqqani network rather than taking military action against it, to arrive at a peace settlement. "We should give peace a chance at the first place by holding dialogue with the militants," he said.

His made the statement after US accused Pakistan of having links with the militant Haqqani network.

Gilani said the Pakistan Government would not succumb to the US' pressure and implement its 3-D policy (dialogue, development and deterrence) to root out militancy, The Nation reports.

Yusuf Raza Gilani

the international community's cooperation."

Pakistan says it has made more sacrifices than any other country in the war on militancy, losing about 10,000 soldiers and security forces.

Support for US military action growing But support is growing in the US Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond the drone strikes that already target militants, a senior Republican senator said.

The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network's Sept 13 attack on the US embassy in Kabul.

Islamabad, which has received billions of dollars of US aid despite its reluctance to go after the Haqqani network, faces the most intense pressure to tackle militancy since it joined the US "war on terror" a decade ago.

Pakistan's military faced withering public criticism after the United States' unilateral raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town in May. A similar US operation against militant leaders in North Waziristan on the Afghan border, where American officials say the Haqqanis are based, would be another humiliation for the powerful military.

Graham said in an interview that US lawmakers might support military options beyond drone strikes that have been going on for years inside Pakistani territory.

Those options may include using US bomber planes within Pakistan.

The South Carolina Republican said he did not advocate sending US ground troops into Pakistan.

"I would say when it comes to defending American troops, you don't want to limit your-

self," Graham said. "This is not a boots-on-the-ground engagement - I'm not talking about that, but we have a lot of assets beyond drones."

Graham said US lawmakers will think about stepping up the military pressure. "If people believe it's gotten to the point that is the only way really to protect our interests, I think there would be a lot of support," he said.

Reviewing aid Pakistan was designated a major non-Nato ally by the United States for its support of coalition military operations in Afghanistan after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

But their relationship is marred by mistrust.

Pakistan, regarded as critical to US efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, is often described as an unreliable partner.

Following US accusations that some in the Pakistani government have aided anti-US militants, Congress is re-evaluating its 2009 promise to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to a total of $7.5 billion over five years.

The non-military aid came on top of billions in security assistance Washington has provided since 2001, and is now rethinking as well.

Bangla Islamic leader charged with war crimes Dhaka: A senior leader from Bangladesh's largest Islamic party was charged with war crimes for allegedly leading groups that took part in killing, looting, arson and rape during the country's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

A special tribunal set up by the government to deal with charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the war accepted 20 of 31 charges filed by the prosecution against the Jamaate-Islami party's Delwar Hossain Sayedee, including those that he aided Pakistan.

Bangladesh - with help from India - won independence from Pakistan in 1971 after a nine-month war. Bangladesh says

Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions to flee their homes during the war.

Sayedee is accused of involvement in the killing of more than 50 people, torching villages, rape, looting and forcibly converting Hindus to Islam.

Sayedee has denied the allegations. He was arrested last year along with four other party leaders accused of war crimes, including party chief Matiur Rahman Nizami.

He is the first to be indicted by the tribunal.

Jamaat-e-Islami openly campaigned against breaking away from Pakistan during the war.

The party says the

charges against its leaders are politically motivated.

Jamaat-e-Islami was a key partner in the 2001-2006 government headed by Khaleda Zia, the former prime minister and current opposition leader.

Zia, the longtime political rival of the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has called the tribunal a farce.

The international community has called on the government to ensure that the tribunal is free and impartial.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has called for changes to the tribunal, including allowing the accused to question its impartiality, which current law prohibits.

Sayedee's trail is scheduled to begin on Oct. 30.

India tells Pakistan to dismantle terror camps New York: Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s external affairs minister S M Krishna has told his Pakistani counterpart that there cannot be a 'selective approach' in the fight against terrorism and hoped Islamabad will be 'serious' about dismantling terror camps on its soil.

'By now they should have (realised) that terrorism cannot be fought selectively,' he told reporters shortly after meeting Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar at a reception hosted by her at an upscale New York hotel recently.

'It has to be fought across the board' as Indian

S M Krishna & Hina Rabbani

prime minister Manmohan Singh has repeatedly stressed, Krishna added.

'I hope Pakistan gets serious about dismantling all the terror training camps which are existing in the country....We expect

that Pakistan will live up to their pronouncements,' he said, recalling that Khar, had during her visit to India in July, had said her country too was a victim of terrorism.

Islamabad has assured that its territory 'is not going to be used for any hostile activities' against India, he said. On his decision to attend the Khar reception, he said such gestures and social exchanges will go a long way in normalising relations between the two countries.

'The fact is Pakistan happens to be a close neighbour with which we

have connection, both in terms of civilisation, we have same common history, background and language. Hence it is necessary to normalise relationship' with it.

Pakistani delegation was 'obviously very very happy' with his presence at the reception, Krishna said. An obviously pleased Khar told him, 'look at all the smiles at every Pakistani face.'

Khar, who was 'extremely warm', even escorted him to his vehicle after the reception. 'And I was very pleased that I did go to the reception,' he said.

Mullah Omar is beyond Pakistani control: Pervez Musharraf

London: Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar is beyond Pakistani control, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has claimed, describing him as "absolutely obstinate" and semi-literate. Claiming that Pakistan should tell US that it has compulsions of "national interest" in not cracking down on the Haqqani network, Musharraf said that Omar was semi-literate and not aware of issues of the world.

Apparently indicating that Haqqani terror outfit was Pakistan's safe bet in Afghanistan, the former Pakistan president claimed that Haqqanis were source of terrible lack of trust and confidence. Asked if Pakistan needed the support of the powerful insurgent family led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, he said, "If I was in government I would certainly be thinking how best to defend Pakistan's interest."

India, Pakistan set to ease visa restrictions for biz people

New Delhi: Pakistan commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim said New Delhi and Islamabad have in principle agreed to ease visa restrictions for businessmen to remove one of the major impediments to bilateral trade.

"The visa restrictions are a major issue. (Commerce minister) Anand Sharma and I have in principle agreed to resolve it and allow multiple entry visas valid for a year to businessmen," said Fahim at a joint Aman Ki Asha and CII meeting. Fahim said the visa regime could be further liberalized to boost bilateral trade and allow it to reach its full potential. Experts say easing visa restrictions is among the easiest and short-term measures which do not need legislation in either countries.

Pakistan paying heavily for its mistakes in the 1970s: Tony Blair

London: Pakistan is "paying heavily" for its mistakes in the 1970s when it started mixing religion with politics and promoted extremism, former British PM Tony Blair said in an interview. The former British prime minister was responding to queries relating to the role of ISI in spreading terrorism and its links with the Haqqani group in Afghanistan. When asked if the US, after eliminating Osama bin laden, should also go after the Haqqani faction, Blair said it was something which the Americans have to decide.

Pak makes Gandhi's portrait with blood New Delhi: It was a rare event to see a Pakistani draw a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and, that too, with his blood. Abdul Waseel presented one such creation of his - the birth anniversary of Gandhi - at the Gandhi Darshan here. "I think this is the best way to tell people of both the countries that its time we forget hostility, and live together. I know Mahatma Gandhi professed non-violence, but my blood to pay him tribute means no more blood sheds should be there on any side of the border," said Lahore-based Waseel, who had come here to pay his respects to Gandhi. "People have been giving mixed response to my way of paying the tribute. I hope this melts hearts," Waseel added.

Salman Taseer's assassin gets death sentence Islamabad: The bodyguard who gunned down former Punjab governor Salman Taseer in January this year was found guilty and sentenced to death by a Pakistani court, a media report said. The sentence was handed down by the Anti-Terrorism Court. Taseer was shot dead on Jan 4 by Mumtaz Qadri who was a member of the governor's special security squad. It was reported that Qadri was sentenced to death for killing Taseer who had urged reforms to the blasphemy law. The court said that no one could be given the licence to kill someone.

Hence, the killer cannot be pardoned as he has committed a heinous crime by murdering Taseer.

Sri Lanka police recover huge stock of arms hidden by LTTE Colombo: Sri Lanka's elite Special Task Force (STF) police have recovered a huge arm cache hidden by the Tamil Tiger rebels in a former rebel-controlled area of Mullaitivu. The haul of weapons discovered by the STF police includes over 1,700 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition and many other weapons, ASP P.J. Sylvester Wijesinghe has told the state-run radio SLBC. Meanwhile the Army troops on their search and clear operations in the general areas of Oddankulam, Kokkutoduvai, Mulankavil and Mankulam recovered 49 anti-personnel mines and one Rocket Propeller Grenade (RPG).

Sri Lanka president promises more funds for health sector

Kandy: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa promised not to reduce under any circumstances the funds allocated for the country's health sector. President said the government allocated 90 billion rupees for health sector last year and it is ready to allocate more funds for the next year in the budget. President Rajapaksa urged all parties in the health sector to extend their maximum support to enhance health facilities for the public.

world

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

In focUS Obama names 3 Indians for top science honours

Washington: Three Indian-Americans figured among the 12 scientists named by US President Barack Obama for the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top awards in the field of scientific research and innovation. The Indian Americans are Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan from the New York University; Rakesh Agrawal from the Purdue University and B Jayant Baliga from the North Carolina State University. While Mr Vardhan has been named for the National Medal of Science, the other two scientists have been selected for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. These are the highest honours bestowed by the US government on scientists, engineers, and inventors.

4 Indians killed in Kuwait refinery blast Dubai: The four workers who died in an explosion in Kuwait's largest refinery last week have been identified as Indian nationals from Tamil Nadu. The Indian embassy confirmed that all the four workers who lost their lives in the refinery accident on Saturday were Indians. The workers were killed and two other employees injured in a gas pipe explosion at Kuwait's largest refinery of Mina Al-Ahmadi. The explosion took place at the Gas Liquefaction Plant at the refinery during maintenance works, Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said in a statement.

65 killed in Somali blast Mogadishu: A truck bomb killed at least 65 people in Somali capital and and al Shabaab insurgents claimed responsibility for the attack. Witnesses said there was a loud blast at a compound housing four government ministries, where students had gathered to take exams.

"We have carried 65 dead bodies and 50 injured people," ambulance coordinator Ali Muse said. Al Qaedalinked al Shabaab rebels had threatened to carry out attacks on government installations after pulling most of their fighters out of Mogadishu in early August.

Royal reprieve for Saudi woman driver Riyadh: Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom's ban on female drivers, a government official said. The verdict took Saudi women by surprise, coming just a day after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015.

Anwar al-Awlaki, al-Qaida cleric and top US target, killed in Yemen Beirut: A missile fired from an American drone has struck and killed a radical US-born Islamic cleric in Yemen, bringing an end to a controversial, two-year manhunt but reigniting questions over the targeting of a US citizen on foreign soil.

Anwar al-Awlaki, a dual US-Yemeni citizen, has been one of America's top targets in its fight against al-Qaida. His firebrand rhetoric had become renowned on jihadi websites and is thought to have inspired many more followers. With a blog, a Facebook page and numerous YouTube videos of his sermons, he had increasingly been regarded by the US as one of the most dangerous al-Qaida leaders.

President Barack

Anwar al-Awlaki

Obama authorised a request to target Awlaki in April last year, making him the first US citizen to be a legal target for assassination in the post-9/11 years. He was one of two US citizens killed in the strike. Samir Khan, USborn editor of Al Qaeda's online jihadist magazine, was also killed in the attack, according to Yemeni officials.

Faced with accusations from critics that the

administration had authorised an "extra-judicial murder," White House officials sought to justify the strike on Awlaki as "self defence."

Obama welcomed the news of Awlaki's death. At a ceremony at the White House to welcome the appointment of a new joint chief of staff for the US military, Obama broke from his prepared schedule to say Awlaki's death was a major blow to America's enemies and condemned him as a dangerous terrorist.

"He repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda," Obama said.

Awlaki is credited with

inspiring or directing at least four plots against the US in recent years, three of which were unsuccessful â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a shooting inside the Fort Hood military base, the failed Times Square bombing, the failed underwear bomber, and a parcel bomb hidden inside a printer that also failed to explode inside a passenger jet.

The administration avoided giving details of the strike with experts saying they clearly feared further complicating their complex relations with Yemen. At a White House briefing spokesman Jay Carney dodged questions about the legality of the assassination and details of the US' involvement.

Nor would he confirm Khan's death or how the bodies were identified.

Libya's post-Gaddafi rulers name new Cabinet

Benghazi: Libya's transitional leaders have named a new Cabinet and have vowed to step down after the country is secured, a move designed to show the North African nation is moving on even though fighting persists and Muammar Gaddafi remains at large.

The announcement on Monday was made jointly by the head of the National Transitional

Council, Mustafa AbdulJalil, and de facto Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril in a news conference following weeks of political infighting and delays over the formation of a new government.

In the end, the Cabinet line-up did not contain many changes, prompting many Libyans to question why it took so long, coming about six weeks after revolutionary forces seized

the capital, Tripoli, and forced Gaddafi into hiding.

Jibril, who graduated from and taught strategic planning at the University of Pittsburgh for several years, remains in his position but also takes over as foreign minister, meaning his current deputy and foreign minister Ali al-Issawi is out. Ali al-Tarhouni, a US-educated economist, will continue acting as oil minister until the National

Oil Company is ready to take over.

The new leaders said they would remain in place until the country is secured and liberation is declared, then a new transitional government would be formed within a month.

"We have signed a pledge to the Libyan people that we will not be part of the future government not in any way," AbdulJalil said.

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INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Now, Anna's blog to target the corrupt Just a month after ending his Ramlila fast, activist Anna Hazare launched his blog by attacking the government for spreading "false propaganda'' by taking credit for ending the crisis. The Gandhian said that an impression was being created that some ministers had succeeded in getting him to give up his 12-day hunger strike which was wrong. Seeking to clear "misconceptions'' Hazare, who was blogging from his village in Ralegaon Siddhi, said that he had not taken a decision that was against his ideology.

Clarifying his stand on the last few hours of hectic negotiations with the government before he broke his fast on August 28, Hazare said, "The reason I am clearing the misconceptions here is I came to understand some government agents tried to propagate and create an image that it was the handiwork of their favourite ministers

that I gave up my fast. I came across articles of self-praise, interviews published by them. This is a false propaganda. In my fight for the truth I have never ever taken decisions that went against my line of thought.''

He accused the government and "people in power'' for spreading rumours about him and the movement. "It was done maliciously so as to create misunderstanding about me and the movement in the minds of the people. Their aim was to dampen the spirit of this revolution. It was only due to the sensible people of India that they could not succeed in their conniving activities. Some of them are still trying to impede my efforts. As talks progressed regarding me giving up my fast, the people who came to meet my team members, the middle-man, the minister all of them had different versions, different assurances. Till the

last moment they tried to break the movement.''

In a reflection of the credibility of some government negotiators, Hazare said, "It was the responsibility of the government that they scrutinize the people they had sent for negotiations whether they were corrupt or had clean image. That was for the government to think. I held talks with them considering they were government representatives...

According to me they could be ministers or people's representatives...

They were mere government's messengers carrying words to and fro on both sides. It was only when my inner voice permitted me I broke my fast after getting assurance from the government.''

Describing the fast as the beginning rather than the end of the revolution, Hazare said that this was the beginning of India's second struggle for independence.

Dandiya raas, garba are highlights of Navratri AV Correspondent Navratri is a dance festival of Gujarat. During these 10 days and nine nights, nine forms of Shakti, a metaphor used for goddess Durga are worshipped.

This festival holds special significance for Gujaratis and Bengalis and is celebrated with zeal and fervor.

The first three days of this festival are dedicated to Goddess Durga, warrior goddess, who is dressed in red and mounted on a lion.

The next three days are dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, who is dressed in gold and mounted on an owl.

Finally, the last three days are dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, who is dressed in milky white and mounted on a white swan.

Dandiya raas and garba are the highlights of this festival. During the festival, children along with adults dress up in new, bright-colored dress for the occasion. The first line of the song is sung by the leader and is repeated in chorus by others. The striking of sticks or the clapping of hands produces the beat. Every step of this dance captivates the eyes - whether it is the arms coming together in sweeping gestures, left and right, up and down or the graceful bending sideways.

The dandiya raas, which is mainly performed by men, is the most impressive artistry of the dancers. In this dance, the dancers use sticks to which tiny bells have been attached. When the sticks

strike each other, a clear jingling sound is given out.

This dance has a complicated rhythm and despite the dancers beginning at a slow tempo, it soon develops in such a manner that each person in the circle not only performs solo but also performs with the partners on either side and also the partner opposite him. The circle that had been made in the beginning keeps breaking up into two concentric circles or three or four circles within the larger one.

The dancers have freedom in the movements and beat the sticks sitting, standing and in a lying position too. Sometimes

they even use their feet to hold the sticks and are able to strike it that way too.

Then there are different varieties of dance forms. In one form only males perform while women are not allowed.

Then the festival also about the third sex, their faith and belief.

The eunuchs consider themselves to be the blessings of Goddess Amba, say, “We do garbas differently. The first eight days are for fasting and performing havan. Then, we have exclusive garbas near the Bahucharaji Mataji's temple in the old city area of vadodara. All members

dance together and sing traditional songs," says eunuch Asha Kuver.

Tucked away in Ahmedabad’s old city area is the 175-year-old garba held in Sadhumata ni Pol in Shahpur. For the eighth day garba, women take a backseat as men borrow well-ornamented lehangacholis and wigs and dance with abandon to the beats of the drum.

"It started as a ritual to please Sadhumata and free the community from all curses. Girls help the boys put up a great show," says a resident of the area, Himanshu Barot.

Such is the story of another area in the walled city of Vadodara, in Amba Mata ni Pol, where garbas are exclusively the male domain.

Males aged between 5 and 70 match traditional garba steps on their own. “It is just a tradition that we maintain, so there is nothing fancy about these garbas that we perform, the steps too have been passing through generations,’’ said 65 year old Yagnesh Shah who has been participating in this garba from his teens.

Then there is another popular garba where the songs are sung in Sanskrit.

“It is not just about the language but also making the youth aware of the language,’’ said one of the participants Aruna Choksi.

Choksi said initially there were very few takers as only those who followed the language decided to participate but later people started coming in large numbers realising the importance of this garba.

In divine light

By Rajen Vakil

Story of Parshurama (Part 1) Rishi Lomesh took the Pandavas to a mountain called ‘Mahendrachala’, where they met Akrutvarana, disciple of the great Rishi Parshurama. Yudhisthira asked him if it would be possible for them to have darshan of Rishi lord Parshurama, also known as Bhargava. Akrutvarana told Yudhisthira that the rishi meet seekers only on two nights of the month and that he knew of the arrival of the Pandavas and was keen to meet them.

That night Yudhisthira requested Akrutvarana to tell them the story of Parshurama, since he was a witness to all his great deeds, and also asked him to narrate how and why Parshurama had killed all the Kshatriyas.

Akrutvarana narrated that the story of Sahastrarjuna, a ruler from the very powerful dynasty of ‘Haihayas’. The word ‘sahastra’ means a thousand; Sahastrarjuna had a thousand hands.

Sahastrarjuna had meditated on Lord Dattatreya and had acquired a golden plane and the might to defeat anyone in battle.

Graced with both speed and strength, Sahastrarjuna became drunk with power and started tormenting the Gods, rishis performing austerities, and other men.

The rishis, as a result,

went to Lord Vishnu asking for his help, who assured them that their troubles would soon be over. At the same time that Sahastrarjuna ruled in the Haihaya region, the powerful King Gadhi ruled another region called Kanyakubja. Gadhi had left his kingdom to be run by his ministers, and had gone into the forest to perform tapas. In the years that he was in deep meditation, he was blessed with a fully grown beautiful daughter, through divine intervention.

Ruchika Bhargava, the son of Rishi Bhrigu, asked the king to marry his daughter. The king told the young rishi that it was a custom in his house for whoever wanted a girl’s

hand in marriage to gift the king with a thousand horses; the horses’ bodies were to be black on top with white undersides and with rusty coloured ears.

The rishi agreed to fulfil this custom.

The young rishi went to the banks of the river Ganga and meditated upon Varuna, the lord of the oceans.

Varuna appeared and immediately granted Ruchika’s wish for the horses. The place where Varuna presented Ruchika the thousand horses is known as ‘Ashvatirtha’. Even to date, people go there to pray and take a dip in the river, with the hope that Varuna may grant them good fortune.

King Gadhi then gave his beautiful daughter Satyavati’s hand in marriage to Ruchika Bhargava. Both of them were very happy and lived a life of love and enjoyment. One day, Rishi Bhrigu visited to check on his son and his newly wedded wife. When he came to their home, the newly wedded couple touched his feet and worshipped him with flowers.

Pleased, the rishi granted his daughter-in-law a boon of her seeking.

(Continued next week)

All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

Montek and Jairam reach agreement on 'poverty line'

Amid a raging controversy over the Rs 32 per capita per day poverty line definition, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia met Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh here on Monday.

The duo also met the Planning Panel members in this regard. Both Ahluwalia and Ramesh later informed the media persons about their meeting on the issue and the future course of action. "We had a good meeting. I think we have resolved all the important issues and we are in complete agreement.

Jairam Ramesh, who appeared to be on the same wavelength as Ahluwalia on the issue, said: "I had a discussion with the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman for around an hour on the issue. We have reached an agreement on the issue. We discussed on what should be the relationship between the poverty line and 'Grameen Vikash Yojana'.

We will inform in detail during a press conference."

Responding to a question on the future course of action, a confident Ramesh further said: "We have

reached an agreement."

Ahluwalia had earlier on Sunday met prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for the first time since the controversy erupted after an affidavit filed by the Plan

Panel in the Supreme Court.

As per the affidavit, a family of five spending less than Rs 4,824 (at June, 2011, prices) in urban areas will fall in the BPL category.

(Courtesy: The Times of India)

Till I write my will, my children are in BPL category - Below Property Line. This way, they'll serve people better

InDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

In focus Amar Singh's bail rejected

A Delhi court rejected former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh's bail plea in the cash-for-votes scam.

Singh will continue to be in judicial custody at AIIMS. His both interim and regular bail pleas were rejected.

Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal relied on the medical reports to reject both the bail applications of the former Samajwadi Party leader who is undergoing treatment for his kidney ailments at the AIIMS.

Mamata wins Bhowanipore assembly by-poll West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was all set to enter the state legislative assembly for the first time as a legislator after registering a thumping victory in the Bhowanipore assembly constituency by-poll with a 54,000-vote margin. Banerjee's Trinamool Congress also snatched Basirhat (Uttar) assembly seat from the Left Front. "Mamata Banerjee has won from Bhowanipore assembly constituency. The victory margin is 54,213 votes," said a senior election official. The Trinamool Congress chief's nearest rival was Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) candidate Nandini Mukherjee, a computer science professor.

7 killed in Delhi building collapse At least seven people were killed when a three-storey building collapsed in old Delhi, police said. At least 25 people were injured when the Katra Data Ram Ki Haveli in Chandni Mahal area near Jama Masjid collapsed. As the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), fire brigade officials and the National. The building collapsed due to digging work in an adjacent under construction house, fire officials said. About 500 members of the spiritual organisation Dera Sacha Sauda also rushed to the site to help in the rescue efforts.

Pak minister in row over missing tricolour on official car

A Pakistani minister, on an official five-day trip, drove to meet Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in an official car that did not have the Indian tricolour. The row over the missing flag on senior commerce minister Makdoom Muhammad Amin Fahim's car came on a day when a private members' bill introduced in the US Senate for freezing financial aid to Pakistan kicked up a storm halfway across the globe. Protocol in India requires a minister from another country to fly the tricolour, along with his or her country's flag, on the official car.

25

National Conference worker's death rocks Kashmir assembly The mysterious death of a ruling National Conference (NC) worker, that has created a political storm in Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday led to pandemonium and ugly scenes in the state assembly as the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) raised a ruckus and alleged the chief minister's involvement. A top government official later clarified that the NC worker died of a heart attack.

Mikes were uprooted, a fan hurled and house papers torn in the assembly as the Speaker Muhammad Akbar Lone and PDP leader Iftekhar Hussain Ansari traded abuses in the house.

The ugly scenes forced three adjournments of the assembly, the last one for the day. A sombre chief minister Omar Abdullah watched the goings-on silently. Later, addressing a press conference, he said he would slap defamation notices on opposition PDP leaders for alleging his hand in the death of NC worker Sayeed Muhammad Yousuf.

The trouble started in the morning as the assembly session started when PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti sought an adjournment of the house. She wanted the house to sus-

Opposition protesting in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly

pend question hour and start a debate on the alleged custodial killing of Yusuf on Sep 30.

However, Speaker Lone declined saying the state government has requested the chief justice to appoint a sitting high court judge to probe the matter.

The speaker adjourned the house initially twice and as the house met after the second adjournment, he said he regretted the earlier happening in the house.

PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig wanted to raise some points over the speaker's rejection but the members of the treasury benches including several ministers rose from their seats in protest forcing the second adjournment.

Later, the speaker got

into a heated argument with Molvi Iftekhar Hussain Ansari of the PDP over the issue when the house witnessed unprecedented scenes of unparliamentary behaviour.

When the house assembled for the third time, the speaker expressed regret over his remarks against Ansari and directed that these be expunged from the records of the assembly.

Assembly adjourned sine die Following continued uproar by members of various parties, the speaker adjourned the house sinedie on Tuesday No sooner did the assembly convened on Tuesday, the PDP MLAs led by the party leader Mehbooba Mufti created a pandemonium demanding a discussion.

However, speaker rejected the motion and said that the matter had been referred to the high court for judicial inquiry and hence the assembly could not discuss the matter.

Enraged by the rejection of the motion, PDP MLAs stood up and came in to the well and registered their protest.

Other opposition parties also sought a discussion on the issue. CPM MLA Yousuf Targami questioned, "When chief minister Omar Abdullah and the state functionaries like DG police and commissioner home brief the media about the issue why can't the House be briefed about the matter?"

However, the speaker's ruling against the discussion triggered an uproar which forced the speaker to adjourn the house sine die at 12 noon. Later speaking to the media outside the assembly complex Mehbooba Mufti said that she would continue to raise the issue of mysterious death of NC worker Syed Yousuf.

"Let Omar Abdullah file defamation case against me in the court.

We will prove it in the court now as they have prevented us from raising issue in the assembly," she said.

26

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

BJP sounds mid-term poll bugle Opposition BJP wrapped up its two-day national executive here by asking its cadre to prepare for mid-term polls as the government looks like being on a “suicidal mode”.

Addressing the executive, L K Advani put the spotlight on what he suggested was a terminal slide in Congress’s fortunes, saying, “There is a crisis of governance and this government is in a suicidal mode. We do not need to disturb it... The government is full of corruption and does not deserve to be in office... We must gear up as you never know what is in the offing.”

Looking to position itself as the alternative to Congress-led UPA, top BJP leaders asked the party to learn from the “mistakes of Congress” and stay united. The unity

call needs to be read in the context of a rift among party leaders that saw Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi stay away from the meeting. Modi’s pique is not just over his reported unhappiness with veteran leader L K Advani’s yatra but also the re-induction of a relative junior party figure, Sanjay Joshi, in the party fold.

Joshi was “purged” from the party in 2004 after a scandal involving a CD surfaced.

Advani referred extensively to the cash-for-vote scam, in which one BJP MP, two former MPs and his ex- aide Sudheendra Kulkarni have been put behind bars although party consider them whistleblowers. This is the provocation for his yatra against corruption apart from other scandals afflicting

the ruling coalition.

Leaders of Opposition in both Houses of Parliament - Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley - also spoke on similar lines saying the party should be ready for mid-term polls with a united and clean face.

“We have to learn from the mistakes of Congress.

We need to have a clean image, unity in the party, bring all allies together, and perform our role as the Opposition to prepare ourselves for forming an alternative government,” Swaraj said. The leader seemed to be referring to the need to avoid scoring self-goals by putting a negative focus on the party’s inner squabbles.

Asked if she was referring to the rift between Modi and the party leadership, Jaitley said, “She was emphasizing on unity.

There are no issues between Modi and Advani.

Saying that the party should have a clean image and stay together is a very natural thing. Most of our leaders have spoken about it and rightly so. It is wrong to see this differently.” The political resolution adopted at the executive attacked the government, PM Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram on the 2G scam and claimed there was a “civil and uncivil war” between ministers.

Jaitley said, “There is a question mark for all of us on which way the future of politics in this country is headed. There does not appear to be much confidence that this government will survive till 2014. Our leaders emphasized that the party should be prepared for all possibilities.”

States asked to follow Gujarat PDS model

The Centre has instructed all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) to emulate computerised public distribution system implemented by Gujarat and Chhattisgarh which won praise from the Supreme Court.

“We have written to all 35 states and UTs to emulate the Gujarat and Chhattisgarh models of computerised PDS which came in for praise from the Supreme Court recently,” a senior Food Ministry official The Centre has told them to study the models, details of which

are available on the NIC website, and draw their own on those lines, the official added.

“The Centre will provide financial and other assistance to the states in doing this,” the official said. The two BJP-ruled states, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh, came in for praise on September 14 from the Supreme Court, which asked the Centre why these be not taken as a model for the entire country.

The apex court had said that the Centre had no option but to comput-

erise the world’s largest distribution network having more than 500,000 fair price shops, which annually distribute foodgrains worth more than Rs 500 billion to about 180 million families.

The SC direction was based on the recommendations of a high-powered committee headed by Justice D P Wadhwa, a retired Supreme Court judge.

It divided the computerisation into two components — first to arrest and correct diversions, leakages, delays in allocation

and transportation, distribution of food grains to fair price shops; and the second, electronic authentication of delivery and payments at the fair price shop.

The Chhattisgarh's system could serve as a model for the first component, while the one in Gujarat could be the model for the second component, the apex court had observed.

The Food Ministry official said that the states have to inform about progress in this regard to the SC appointed committee in three months.

Greek debt crisis poses threat to world economy Continued from page 1 hopes of resolution over Greece’s debt crisis faded, strengthening fears of a worldwide economic slowdown.

The market barometer has lost 23 per cent this year on a string of investor worries ranging from inflation and high interest rates.

While Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell nearly three per cent to 3,897 points. In Europe, Germany's Dax index plunged over two per cent to 5,374.81 points. Going by reports, Greece this year expects to have a deficit of 8.5 per cent of the national GDP, which is way above the target of 7.6 per cent set by International Monetary Fund and European Union. This scenario could hamper ongoing international bailout efforts.

Greece has requested quick payment of the instalment by warning it will run out of shares in Bank of America, Citi and Morgan Stanley fell to their lowest levels since March 2009 after the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia looked like it might be the first lending casualty from the Greek crisis.

Large scale protests

against corporate America spread across the country on Monday with demonstrations being held outside federal banks and financial districts from Los Angeles to Boston.

The Occupy Wall Street protests entered their third week here with protesters dressed up as "corporate zombies" marching through Wall Street, the city's financial hub.

People used social networking sites Facebook and Twitter to spread their message and garner support for their cause.

Support groups like 'Occupy Boston', 'Occupy Philadelphia', 'Occupy Chicago' were also created online.

In Britain, the Conservatives gathered at the Manchester Central conference centre on Sunday afternoon as TUC demonstrators marched down nearby Princess Street holding banners saying: "Fight the cuts" and "Strike back."

The marchers chanted: "The workers united will never be defeated", "No ifs, no buts, no Tory cuts.

Over 30,000 demonstrators marched through the northern British city of Manchester to protest against austerity cuts to

public services and pensions.

The rally against the governing coalition was organized by the Trades Union Congress and came as the ruling Conservative Party's annual conference opened in the city.

The trade unions billed their march as a rally “for the alternative – job, growth, justice,” Protesters as varied as students and retirees carried banners reading “Unite and fight.”

As they marched past the building where the Tory conference was being held, they chanted "David Cameron on your bike, we want a general strike!"

According to demonstrators, it is important that the government began to understand that most people are unhappy with their policies.

In New York, Manhattan, hundreds of people responded to calls from organisers and came dressed up as zombies, walking around the financial institutions clutching fake money.

They held up signs that read 'Down with the World Bank', 'How to fix the deficit: End the war, tax the rich,' 'End corporate personhood,' and 'Say no to corporate America.'

People have camped out on the streets, sleeping on sidewalks. Some supporters of the protests have distributed blankets, sleeping bags and food items to demonstrators.

In Chicago, people gathered outside the Federal Reserve Bank while protesters camped out near City Hall in Los Angeles.

Similar marches against corporate America, greed on the Wall Street and government bailouts to financial giants during the economic crisis were held in downtown Boston.

The protests, which began with a handful of people camping in front of the New York Stock Exchange on September 17, got a fillip and nationwide attention after over 700 protestors were arrested over the weekend by the police as they tried cross the Brooklyn Bridge.

Similar rallies are being planned in places like St Louis, Kansas City, Hawaii, Tennessee, Minneapolis and Baltimore, according to 'Occupy Together', the unofficial hub for all events springing up across the country in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Lokpal Bill in next session: Salman Khurshid As Anna Hazare threatened to campaign against the Congress if the Lokpal Bill is not passed in the next session of parliament, Indian law minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said the anti-graft bill would be brought in parliament's winter session.

“It is their decision.

Every citizen is free to vote for anybody. Congress will only do its work, perform its duties and Congress will then go back to people when the duty is performed,” Khurshid said, when asked for his reaction to Hazare's comment to campaign against the party in the coming assembly elections.

He said he was not going to comment on anybody's views about what should happen in the next election.

“Let the people judge.

We have said that in the next session we are bringing not just this one bill (Lokpal) but many other bills as well,” he added.

In his village in Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra, Hazare said he would campaign against the Congress in election-bound states if the Manmohan Singh government fails to get civil society activists' version of the anti-corruption bill passed in parliament's winter session.

“If the Jan Lokpal Bill

) %

Salman Khurshid

is not passed in the winter session, then I will name the Congress and ask people not to vote for it in the assembly polls scheduled in five states next year,” he said in his native village, 50 km from Pune.

At the press conference, he also announced that he would begin his tour of election-bound states after Dusshera that falls on Thursday.

Hazare's 288-hourlong fast in August at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital for inclusion of a stronger anti-corruption bill had garnered support of thousands of supporters across the country.

The Jan Lokpal bill as well as other versions of the Lokpal bill are presently under consideration of a standing committee of parliament.

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Travel & HISTORY

asian voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

27

Purvi’S Travel bag

By Purvi Apurva Shah

By Dr Anil Mehta

Warren Hastings : The first Governor-General of British India arren Hastings (1732-1818), the first W Governor-General of India (177485) was a competent, honourable, and

Saputara: The only hill-station in Gujarat A

hill station in Gujarat? It is true.

Saputara is tucked away in its southernmost part where the green hills and its natural appeal makes you forget all other hillstations. The best part is that this place is not much commercialized, it still holds its natural, rural and cultural flavour.

Located in the Sahyadri hills in Dang district, Saputara is 873 metres above sea level.

It is inhabited by the Bhils and other tribals, it is an experience to know about their life and culture during the visit. They are very good at showing remedies for snake bites.

This place is known as an abode of serpents. That is derived from the snake like images found on the shores of Sarpaganga, the river which runs through the town. The tribes of the locale worship this image during Holi, a major festival. The place also alludes to the Hindu epic Ramayana and it is believed that Rama spent 11 years of his exile in the dense forests of this place.

A man-made lake, nestling near the main motorway, is a major attraction with tourists for its boat rides and walks along the promenade.

With a thick haze of mist covering the hills, a fine spray of rain beating down and a trip amid the sal and bamboo thickets, it is an ideal getaway for tourists in summer.

The Gujarat government is promoting Saputara in a big way and wants to give tough competition to the more popular hill stations dotting the Himalayas.

It launched a month-long Monsoon Festival from the end of July to entice tourists with adventure sports like para gliding and trekking thrown in

along with dances by the tribals and a glimpse of their crafts.

Even Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan promoted the spot by shooting for an advertisement.

The state government is also constructing 'Visamohs' or rest houses, at a cost of Rs 200 million, on the way from Maharashtra to Saputara

tural evenings, food festivals and contests form the integral part of the entire monsoon festival. A weeklong Tandem Flying Festival is scheduled for December 19 – 25, 2011 and is planned to be hosted every year on the same dates. The other paragliding event, the National Open Cross Country Competition will be a fourday event in Nageshwar Temple May 2012.

The pilgrims going to Shirdi in Maharashtra can spend some days at this hill station. There are many mid segmented, luxury and budget hotels in Saputara where a stay can be an where tourists can stop, unforgettable experience. bathe and rest for a while.

Overlooked by rivers and It will even have facilities verdant hills, the backfor children’s activity. packers have the chance The sight seeing of the to explore Saputara more Saputara region includes a closely. visit to the Vansda nationThe vacationers can choose to reach Saputara al park, Purna sanctuary, by opting for different Sunrise point, Sunset modes of transport. It can point and Rose gardens. be by airways, railways or The gardens are the allurby other modes of transing place in Saputara. In port. The travellers can winters, the adventure reach Saputara by air and enthusiast can trek up to the nearest airport to Gandhi Shikhar where the Saputara is Vadodara river of lights bathes over which is 309 km away the undulating mountains from this hill station, and drifting birds into the magical dance of awakenAhmedabad 409 km, ing. During monsoons, Surat 164 km and rain drops spill over the Mumbai 209km.

Va n s d a Sabari Dham national park is an abode for a variety of species like pythons, tigers, four-horned antelopes etc.

Punrna sanctuary, Wild life sanctuary in M a h a l Bandipura forest, which is 60 km away leaves. The nature lovers from this place, is a home at this time can splurge to wildlife. Site-seeing themselves in the complaces in this town munion of Monsoon festiinclude the valley view val which is celebrated point, the sun-rise and from July 30th to August sun-set views from the 30th. During this monriver side and the ropesoon festival, the vacationway along the valley. ers can indulge themselves in the sporting activities Other tourist attractions like para gliding, boating, at Saputura are the museand other competitions. um which gives us the The exhibition, photograinsight of the town and phy, heritage walks, cultribal culture.

far-sighted administrator whose policies, some controversial though, laid the foundation of British India. During his term of office he introduced many administrative reforms and successfully defended British territory against several Indian opponents. However, the controversy surrounding his administration made him the subject of impeachment and trial (though acquitted) on his return to England.

Son of Anglican clergyman, Hastings was born in Oxfordshire, and had attended Westminster School (London), where he showed great promise and acquired the literary and scholarly tastes that were later to give him genuine interest in Indian culture and civilization. In 1750 at the age of 18 he went to India as a clerk in East India Company (or company).

Able and ambitious, he soon revealed his administrative talents and rose quickly in his service becoming company’s resident in Murshidabad. In 1764, disgusted with the widespread administrative corruption in Bengal, he returned to England, but for the want of money he returned to India in 1769 to seek re-employment with the company. Again he advanced rapidly and became Governor of Bengal in 1772. He immediately embarked on a course of administrative, legal, and financial reforms, and created a new more efficient procedure for revenue collection.

Back in England, British parliament took some notice of company’s corruption in Bengal and officials making huge fortunes by their services in India. In view of this, PM Lord North’s Regulation Act of 1773 placed the company under partial governmental control. This brought the hitherto independent Bombay and Madras presidencies under the official control of Bengal whose governor (Hastings) now became Governor-General of India – a post he held until 1785. He was assisted by a newly created 4-men government council.

Hastings faced continuous opposition by the council in his policies of introducing reforms and curbing corruption.

Another problem was his ill-defined relationship with his council and subordinate presidency governors. Despite such obstacles he was able to initiate extensive judicial, fiscal, and civil service reforms to improve governance and eliminate abuse.

War on several fronts brought out the best in Hastings. From 1778 to 1782 he successfully defended company territories from attack by native rulers who had aligned themselves with the French. In 1774 company troops successfully invaded Rohillkhand on behalf of the Nawab of Awadh – a company ally – to subdue the

Rohillas (an Afghan tribe). He put down a series of conspiracies by French-supported Maratha and Mysore rulers by concluding peace treaties with them. In spite of this he was criticised for interference with the provincial governments.

The wars left company so bankrupt that forced Hastings into dubious acts to raise extra funds such as raising taxes, extorting vast sums of money from princes and rich royal widows, or confiscating the property of some rulers who refused to contribute to the cost of the wars. Although Bengal’s Nawab remained on the throne, he cut his stipend in half.

Hastings could be vindictive, arrogant and cruel when provoked, but at the same time he believed that in order to govern India, it was essential to learn its various religions and customs. He had a great respect for the ancient scriptures of Hinduism. He encouraged the study of Sanskrit and supported the founding of the Bengal Asiatic Society.

Many politicians in England feared company’s growing power in Indian subcontinent, so, in 1784 PM Pitt (the Younger) passed the Government of India Act abolishing the political autonomy of the company. It brought parliamentary control over British India through a Board of Control in London. The board was given the authority to recall the Governor-General or any other company official. Unhappy with the India Act, Hastings resigned in 1785. He felt he could not work under the divided authority of the company and Crown. His primary loyalty was to his company.

Hastings retired to England amid accusations of malpractices and corruption. He was impeached in 1788 for corruption, extortion, and murder (he hanged one native businessman who made allegations of corruption against him), while in office which he vigorously denied. As a loyal lifelong servant of the company he saw nothing wrong in compelling natives for money.

After 7-year trial before House of Lords, he was acquitted of all charges. He spent most of his fortune on his defence, and his career and health ruined. Some believe there was no justification in this long drawn-out trial. He spent rest of his life in England and died in Worcestershire in 1818 at the age of 85.

Hastings expanded the territorial limit of British India, honoured and preserved its indigenous culture, and introduced many needed and lasting reforms. He reestablished Britain’s prestige which saw decline after Clive’s departure. He was followed briefly by Sir John Mcpherson (1785-86) as Governor-General, and then

by Lord Cornwallis, a veteran of the American War of Independence.

Dear Readers, Diwali is a month away. The New Year is knocking at the door waiting to bring in colours and light to our lives with fervour of joy and ever lasting happiness. Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar as every year will be publishing the ‘Diwali Special’ Magazine for our fabulous and supportive readers like yourself.

If you think you would like to contribute to our unique Diwali issue, why don't you write in English on either of the following topics: 1. One of your favourite childhood Diwali memories or 2. A particular charity you have supported in cash or kind or 3. Your first Diwali in the UK and how you spent it Please note that your articles must not be more than 500 words and should be emailed to Aveditorial along with your full name and contact details to aveditorial@abplgroup.com. Last day of entry is Sunday 9th October 2011.

- Asian Voice

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

CB Live is only a Gujarati programme in UK on MATV SKY 793 On the Vijaya Dasami Day, CB will discuss about the tenth celebration of Diwali at the Trafalgar Square, held on 16th October 2011, with Jaymini Patel, Harsha Trivedi, Nitin Palan and other committed organisers of Diwali in London (DIL).

If you do not have a SKY, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500 It is certainly going to be a fortunate time for those already married or in an established relationship.

The keynote is emotional enrichment through close interaction with a loved one. Facets of your life that have been a source of restriciton and dissatisfaction will begin to loosen their hold.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

7pm to 8pm

For more information e-mail: cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk Watch Watch 11th Asian Achievers Awards in Wembley Stadium on Venus TV (Sky 805) on

Sunday 10th October, 9pm.

Coming Events l Mr. Ashok Kumar Verma, President of Global Punjabi Society (UK) Chapter announces GPS's Award Nite and Diwali Dinner and Dance, 7pm on Saturday 29th October 2011 at the Liecester Stage Hotel, Wigston Fields, Leicester LE18 1JW. Contact: gpsuk@dcscare.org/ 07710433964. l VHP celebrates Navratri, Hindu Centre, 10 Thornton Row, VR7 6JN, till 6th October 20111:30-4:30, 7:30-10:30pm.

Contact: 020 8665 5002. l Aden Mitra Mandal celebrates Navratri, till 6th of Oct, and follow up the sharad purnima garba on the 11th of Oct at Alperton Community School, HA0 4PW. l Kingston Navratri Festival: till Thursday 6th October at the Tolworth Recreational Centre, Fullers Way North, KT6 7LQ from 8.30pm till late.

Sharad Poonam-11th October with 'Rangeela Orchestra'. Entry free for all children under 14 years and paid members.

Contact: Mahendra Thakar 07508 346810 l LCEL celebrates Navratri, from Wednesday 28th September 2011 and Sharad Poonam, 11th October 2011, Oasis Banqueting Hall, 6 Thames Road, Barking, Ilford: IG11 0HZ l Hari Aum Arts and Cultural Association Presents Navratri Festival, Hindu Cultural Society 3 Lyndhurst Avenue (Entrance), London N12 0NE, till 6th October 201. Poonam Celebration On Saturday 8th October 2011, 8.00pm Till late. Free.

Contact: Suresh H Depala- 020 8446 5057 l Skylink of Wembley And Baba Holidays invite everyone to plan and discuss about Kailashmansarovar, Chardham, Jyotirlings and other yatras on 15th October at 2pm at Belgravia Neighbourhood Centre in Leicester. To register to attend in Leicester 020 8902 3007 or 0116 2662481.

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Inspirational dinner organised for young professionals Continued from page 7 When I started my business, there was no help available, despite of the government promising it. The bank offered a small firms guarantee loan, but came with that a lot of bureaucracy. It was an MP who helped me to attain my goal, but then the bank withdrew the scheme.

So, I am here to ensure that talents go forward and not be hindered by laws grinding employees down.

During London riots I have questioned some rioters and they were convinced they would never be caught. They have no sense of responsibility for being held for action.

My point is, when your families could do better, by standing on their own feet, working hard, you must wish to do the same.

That ensures a bright future for the country..

After the warm speeches by the Member of Parliaments, Capt Sandip Patel talked about his experience in Afghanistan and the difference they made in restoring and protecting lives in villages of Afghanistan- the reason that compelled Britain to send it's troop. Flight Lieutenant Sanjay from RAF also narrated his story that inspired him to serve the country.

The evening came to a close with a thanking note

by Dr Rami Ranger OBE.

To advertise in Asian Voice call 020 7749 4085

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 Make a very conscious attempt to stick to main priorities. Organise your time so that it is not taken up entirely by the demands of other people. If you know your ground and are not afraid to stick your neck out, you can create your own opportunities. A good time for the affairs of the heart.

With Venus traversing your sign of leisure for some time to come, it will put you in the right mood if you intend to indulge your pleasure-loving instincts.

Venus, the planet of love and romance throws a pleasing light on affairs of the heart. Existing emotional differences can be easily sorted out now.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22 It seems that the winds of change begin to gather momentum and put a strong focus on domestic matters. The outlook remains optimistic and the way forward will bring you a sense of real achievement. However, this is not likely to be an easy-going week because demands on time and energy are going to be heavy.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 You have the dynamic planet Mars in your sign. This planet indicates a desire to push forward, to assert yourself mentally and physically. This also means that you want to improve you work prospects. Of course, there are still challenging issues on both a personal and practical level - tread carefully.

Your energy and attention will be very much devoted to financial matters. The tide of fortune continues to run strongly in your favour for some time to come. You will be working harder than usual, intent on getting thing done. Close personal relationships may come under some stress and strain.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

You will find added scope and greater incentive to push full steam ahead with your cherished aims.

You must be careful not to tread on other people's toes.

This is the right time to talk things over with your loved one - especially anything that has been worrying you or making you feel insecure.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

You may find yourself hard at work behind the scenes, although that may not be apparent to others.

You may find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of activity, with opportunities to advance on both the inner and outer level. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a sparkle to your social life and you will have fun communicating with others.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

You will have the distinct feeling that everything is moving ahead at a very satisfying pace.

Indeed, you will be in a forward-looking mood, more inclined to reflect on the future. The power of destiny is very much in your own hands and any major decision you make will have a profound effect on your future.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad Tel/Fax: +91 79 2646 6061 Chief Executive Director: Kamlesh Amin Tel: +91 922 710 4308 Email: kamleshamin123@yahoo.co.in Editorial Co-Ordinator (BPO): Nilesh Parmar (M) +919426636912 Consulting Editor (BPO): Bhupatbhai Parekh, Ahmedabad, Gujarat Tel: +91 79 2630 4142 Mumbai: Kanti Bhatt, Hemraj Shah (Jumbo Advertiser) Horizon Advertising & Marketing: 205 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad Tel / Fax: +91 79 2646 5960 (M) +91 9913346487 Email: horizonadvt2009@yahoo.in Neeta Patel, (Advertising Manager) (M) +91 98255 11702 International Advertisement Representative: Jain Group(South India) Tel: +91 44 42041122/3/4 Fax: +91 44 25362973 Mumbai: +91 222471 4122 Email: jainmedia@eth.net

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There seems to be a danger of conflicts of duty between home and work. Your work is likely to take up a lot of your time which may generate some domestic strain. Try to balance these areas of your life. Some of you will be intent on expanding their mental horizons through meditation, yoga or by travelling.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19 Guard against being too impatient and restless. You will need to exercise care in the use of credit. Extra energy and drive will serve you well in getting things accomplished, but try not to come on too strong when you deal with others. There appears to be a more successful trend coming into effect.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 Give top priority to important written work. This applies particularly to financial and commercial interests. If you can manage to get away from usual routines, this will prove to be highly enjoyable and have a beneficial effect on your physical and psychological well-being. Loved ones will be looking after you.

HealtH WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Herbal medicine can cure asthma Researchers have found that a traditional Korean medicine that has long been used for the treatment of allergic diseases in Asia can reduce inflammation in allergen-induced asthma.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), who used So-Cheong-RyongTang (SCRT), found that it alleviates asthma-like pulmonary inflammation via suppression of specific chemokines or proteins.

Chocolate is as good as exercise A new study has claimed that chocolate is as good as exercise. Scientists at Wayne State University in the US found that small amounts of dark chocolate may improve health in a similar way to exercise.

The researchers who focused on the mitochondria - the tiny powerhouses in cells that generate energy - discovered that a plant compound found in chocolate, called epicatechin, appeared to stimulate the same muscle response as vigorous activity.

“Mitochondria produce energy which is used by the cells in the body.

More mitochondria mean more energy,” said Dr Moh Malek, who led the research on mice. “Aerobic exercise is known to increase the number of mitochondria in muscle cells,” Malek said. “Our study has found that epicatechin seems to bring about the same response.”

For their study the researchers gave a specific type of epicatechin from cocoa to the laboratory mice twice a day for 15 days. At the same time, the animals underwent 30 minutes of treadmill training each day. It was found that mice only fed epicatechin had the same exercise performance as those running on the treadmill.

"In order to elucidate the mechanism of how SCRT modulates the allergic response, we evaluated the immuno-modulatory effects of SCRT in a murine model of asthma induced by a house dust extract containing cockroach allergens and endotoxin," Jiyoun Kim, a research assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at BUSM, said.

"In this study multiple aspects of pulmonary

inflammation were examined, including the production of inflammatory mediators and the pulmonary recruitment of inflammatory cells," he added.

The researchers found SCRT treatment significantly reduced airway hyper-reactivity as measured by both whole body plethysmography and direct measurement of airway resistance.

The researchers report that the immune response of pulmonary inflammation was significantly inhibited by SCRT treatment as demonstrated by reduced plasma IgE antibody levels and improved lung histology.

SCRT significantly reduced the number of neutrophils in the bronchoalveolar (BAL) fluid and also significantly reduced the BAL levels of CXC chemokines both expressed as part of the immune response, providing a potential mechanism for the reduced inflammation.

Salt craving is as good as addiction Salt craving triggers the same genes, brain cells and brain connections like it happens in any additions.

We all know that fish and chips wouldn't be the same without salt.

However, scientists have now claimed that the yearning for salt stimulates the brain like addiction to hard drugs or cigarettes.

The finding could help explain why many find it so hard to cut back on salt, despite warnings about dangers to blood pressure and heart health. For the study, Australian and American scientists kept some mice on low-salt diets and gave others a salt drip.

Activity in the creatures' brains was then compared with that in mice fed normally. They also studied the brains of mice that had been starved of salt for three days and then given salty water to drink freely.

When the rodents were in need of salt, brain cells made proteins more usually linked to addiction to substances such as heroin, cocaine and nicotine.

"In this study we have demonstrated that one classic instinct, the hunger for salt, is providing neural organisation that subserves addiction to opiates and cocaine," assaid by Prof Derek Denton, of the University of Melbourne, as saying.

The study also revealed

that after salt was taken, the brain believes it has received its fix well before it should be physically possible.

In other words, the changes caused by salt cravings disappeared well before the salt could have left the gut, entered the blood and got to the brain.

"It was amazing to see that the genes that were set 'off' by the loss of sodium were already beginning to get back to the original state within ten minutes," said Prof Denton.

"It is an evolutionary mechanism of high survival value because when an animal is depleted of water or salt it can drink what it needs in five to ten minutes and get out which makes it less susceptible to predators,' he added.

The researchers said that the importance of salt to overall health means that cravings for it form 'an ancient instinct' deeply embedded in the brain.

This may explain why we find salty foods so tasty.

The study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

29

Any quest ions writ e to m amta @thinkspalon

By Mamta Saha don.com

Psychologist

How to stop worrying about what other people think - part 1 This week’s article idea has come from one of my amazing clients and I am really pleased to be writing a column on this subject.

All too often we place far too emphasis on what others are thinking and feeling about us rather than thinking and doing what is best for us. Caring about your impact is important but when this is at the determent of making decisions around what makes you happy this is not such a healthy way to live. As a community Asians place a lot of value on ‘status’ and this creates a ‘keeping up with the Jones’s/ Kumars’ type of culture. This can be incredibly draining and again can paralyse you from doing the things that you need to do that give you inner peace and happiness.

Firstly, you must know that it is very common to base your sense of self and identity on what others judge of you. Whether these judgments are positive or negative it is natural to think that a part of our identity is how people view is. This is where the ‘care’ for what others think comes from. Immediately you must know that this is a dangerous way to live.

People are fickle and opinions are prone to change – just like the weather.

Behaviour and actions are open to interpretation and

you know the saying ‘there’s no such thing as perfect’.

You therefore need to come back to yourself and your intuition.

Listen to the inner voice in your mind and ask yourself what you want. Spend time reflecting and deciding rather then assuming what others want you to say or do and then falling into the trap of doing something you didn’t want to do in the first place.

Secondly you have to know that you are not the most important person in the world. No disrespect to you but it is easy to think that people are spending hours on end analysing how we were, who we are and what we have. This is fundamentally wrong. People are too busy worrying about themselves, just like you are and have little time to create a meditation based on how you live your life.

Unless you like this sort of attention, seek comfort in the fact that this is the case and let this liberate you to be more independent in your thinking and actions.

Lastly, accept yourself for who you are. As I have said above nobody is perfect. Even the leaders of the world have clear imperfections yet they have strived to get to the top of their game. You can do the same – only if you

start to concentrate on you. You have to are a unique individual who has a contribution to make.

This is why you deserve to be happy and be at peace with yourself. If anyone tells you any different this is coming from their insecurity. You must remind yourself that you were born with two fears: falling over and loud noises.

Every other fear is self created and unhelpful. I am not encouraging that you go out and be reckless, what I am encouraging in is that you recognise your strengths, forgive yourself for any guilt that you may be holding and learn to embrace everyday without the fear or worry of what others are thinking. You can do this. This mind is powerful and you have the choice to be happy – its up to you to grab that option with both hands.

I am conducting a 2hour webinar on October the 23rd on ‘How to face your fears and achieve your dreams’. You can be a part of this seminar from the comfort of your own home – all you need is access to the Internet. To find out more contact me: mamta@thinkspalondon.c om. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: thinkspalondon and ‘like’ us on Facebook.

Good luck - I send you energy and strength.

Surprise! Lose weight with milk-drinking It is surprising that consuming milk helps you to shed weight. This is survey of recent study.In a two-year weight loss study, milk drinkers had an advantage over those who skipped the milk, reports the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers led by Danit Shahar from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, found that adults who drank nearly two glasses of milk daily, which provided the highest Vitamin D levels at six months, lost more weight after two years than those who had little or no milk or milk prod-

ucts -- nearly six kilograms weight loss, on average.

More than 300 overweight men and women aged 40 to 65 years, took part in the study following low-fat, Mediterranean or lowcarb diets for two years, according to a BenGurion statement.

Regardless of diet, researchers found participants with the highest dairy calcium intake six months into the study (averaging about 580 mg daily- the amount in nearly two glasses of milk) lost about six kilograms at the end of the two years, compared to about 3.5 kg for

those with the lowest dairy calcium intake (averaging about 150 mg, or about half of a glass).

Beyond calcium, the researchers also found that Vitamin D levels independently affected weight loss success and in line with previous research, milk and milk products were the top contributors to Vitamin D in the diets of the study participants.

Despite the potential health benefits, many Americans are still not getting the recommended 400 international units (IU) of Vitamin D daily -the amount in four glasses of fat free or low-fat milk.

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30

Sport

County cricket playing a major part in England success: Vikarm Solanki Vikram Solanki, the former England batsman, has hailed the role of County cricket in England’s outstanding international success.

Writing in his exclusive column for The Cricketer magazine website at www.thecricketer.com, Solanki says: “By increasing competitiveness since two divisions were introduced in 2000, the County championship has played an important part in improving the fortunes of the England test side.

“Central contracts have also been a factor but players serve their apprenticeship and learn their skills in County cricket before they find themselves at a stage in their careers when they might earn a central contract.”

Solanki, who is also chairman of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, continues: “County cricket can be proud of the part it has played in helping to produce a successful England test team. This year we have also seen a number of talented young players who have made their mark in County cricket being blooded in England’s one-day team.

“The England management has developed a strategy of resting senior players – Kevin Pietersen for the recent one-day series for example – to manage the amount of cricket they play.

“That ensures that players are in the best possible shape but it has also created opportunities for the likes of Jonathan Bairstow, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, Alex Hales and Scott Borthwick to come in and sample international cricket for the first time. The fact that those players have stepped up and made an impression so quickly is another indication of the health of English cricket and the part that County cricket is playing in England’s continued success,” he writes.

Solanki also confirms that the ECB has ended the experiment with Tiflex balls in Division Two of the County Championship for 2012. Instead the Dukes ball will be used in both divisions.

“This is something that the majority of players, in a survey conducted by the PCA, called for,” he confirms. www.thecricketer.com will continue to provide exclusive columns and extensive county cricket news coverage throughout the winter, together with extensive coverage of England's tours to India, the UAE and Sri Lanka.

Hussey makes way for Warner in Australian squad All-rounder David Hussey made way for big-hitting David Warner in the Australia limited-overs squad announced for next month's tour of South Africa. Chief selector Andrew Hilditch said as the Twenty20 and ODI squads were released that Hussey did not make the most of his inclusion in the recent series in Sri Lanka.

"We did not think that David (Hussey) quite took his opportunity in Sri Lanka and his place has been taken by David Warner," Hilditch said in a statement. "David (Warner's) form has been irresistible recently and he deserves this opportunity in the one-day squad."

Wicketkeeper batsman Matthew Wade will replace Brad Haddin in the T20 squad, while Mitchell Marsh - brother of new Test batsman Shaun and son of former opener Geoff - was also included. Haddin and Michael Clarke have opted out of T20 cricket, and paceman Mitchell Johnson wasn't selected for the shortest form of the game.

"The retirement of Brad Haddin from international Twenty20 and the injury to Tim Paine, has given a well-deserved opportunity to Matthew Wade," Hilditch said. Patrick Cummins replaces injured all-rounder John Hastings in the one-day squad, while Doug Bollinger comes in for Johnson in the T20 squad. "It is an extremely exciting time in Australian cricket to see such young talent forcing its way into the Australian squads," Hilditch said. Australia will play two tests, three onedayers and two T20 matches on its tour of South Africa starting Oct. 13. The Tests squad is yet to be named.

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

KP returns, Anderson dropped for India tour Batsman Kevin Pietersen was recalled for England's limited-overs trip to India but bowler James Anderson was left out the squad. Pietersen was rested for the one-day series against India at home that England won 3-0 earlier this month.

England have five one-day matches against world champion India followed by one Twenty20 match. The tour begins with the first of two warm-up fixtures on October 8.

"A number of injuries and a decision to omit James Anderson in line with our policy of sensibly managing player workloads give opportunities for other very talented players to continue to develop as international cricketers," national selector Geoff Miller said. "We had a promising One-Day series win

over India earlier this month and this squad will be looking forward to the challenge of continuing that success in

the subcontinent over the next four weeks."

Miller said Stuart Broad will join the squad if he recovers from a shoulder injury ahead of schedule. Graeme Swann will captain the Twenty20 side if Broad does not make it to India.

The 15-man squad also includes uncapped pace bowler Stuart Meaker, while all-rounders Chris Woakes and Scott Borthwick have been called up despite not featuring in the ODI series win over India.

Squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes.

Salim Malik dropped from Pak Lewis Hamilton burns rubber Veterans team for Lanka series on tarmac, plays to the gallery Former Pakistan captain Salim Malik, who was banned for life in 2000 from playing cricket, has been barred from representing the country's veterans team in Sri Lanka at the eleventh hour in order to avoid creating 'unnecessary furore'.

Malik was initially included in the Pakistan Veterans squad for a fourmatch one-day series against Sri Lanka. However, the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), which was adamant to include the former skipper in the team, was forced to reverse its decision following instructions from cricket authorities.

PVCA Chairman Fawad Ijaz Khan said that his association had no hesitation in having Malik in its team, but had to reconsider the decision on the instructions of a senior Pakistan Cricket

Board (PCB) official.

"Our body does not come under the PCB or the ICC. We had no issues having Malik play for us. It was only after Intikhab Alam, who is also the chairman of the Punjab Veterans Cricket Association, asked us to drop him to avoid any controversy that we reversed our decision," media quoted Khan, as telling reporters prior to his team's departure to Colombo.

"Alam told us that the ICC has not cleared him and he had reservations over Malik's inclusion" he added.

The screech of the McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 engine is so sharp, it can pierce your head. The car, which touches a speed of 300 km/hour within seconds, zips past before you even realize it, but it's a sight you will remember for the rest of your life.

Ace F1 driver Lewis Hamilton got many hearts thumping as he rolled out on Nice Road in Bangalore in the car which won him the title in 2008. It was the first F1 on an Indian road and Bangaloreans were there to witness it, and cheer lustily.

Though the organizers expected 5,000, a mind-boggling 20,000-plus people turned up.

The competition was between the sound of the engine and the cheer of the crowd. A 400-m stretch of Nice road was cordoned off for Lewis. On this short

stretch, he undertook multiple sorties, touching a speed of at least 150 km/hour.

Lewis said he couldn't go beyond the second gear but the crowd went ecstatic even with that speed.

The 26-year-old also drove 10 lucky Bangaloreans on hot laps in a Mercedes SL 63 AMG. Among them was Ashok Kheny, managing director, Nice, who referred to it as a "roller coaster ride".

"When you are driving with the best in the world, it can't be anything less than perfect," he said.

Parthiv, Jadeja retain places in ODI squad Gujarat Ranji Trophy skipper Parthiv Patel and Saurasthra all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja have been retained their places in the Indian One-day squad named for the first two matches against England starting from October 14.

This is the first Indian team selected after the newly-appointed secretary Sanjay Jagdale took over.

The selectors also dropped an out-of form Harbhajan Singh for the first two ODIs, while giving maiden international call-ups to Karnataka medium-pacer Srenath Aravind and Punjab leg-spinner Rahul Sharma.

For Parthiv, this is an apt reward for his performance in the last few series since his comeback last year. The wicketkeeper-batsman was down in the dumps for six years before he was called as a replacement in two backto-back series within a month against New Zealand and South Africa just before the World Cup. For the Saurashtra batsman/left-arm orthodox spinner Jadeja, the England series was his first tour with the Indian ODI team after almost 10 months in wilderness. He came back strongly to knock at the selectors’ door with powerful performances, with both bat and ball,

Parthiv & Jadeja

in IPL-IV. Harbhajan, Nehra, RP dropped: The message is loud and clear. From now on, it’s the selectors who will call the shots when it comes to Indian team selection, not the captain.

Captain MS Dhoni’s favourites Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh - have all been dropped for the first two One Dayers against England. And that too, at a time, when seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag are all out due to injuries. It has been made amply clear to Dhoni that if he has to recreate the success of the World Cup - he has to do it with a new team that has been given to him by the selectors.

The 8-0 rout (four Tests, one T20, three One Dayers) in England hasn’t helped Dhoni’s cause one bit and he has to work with pacemen like Varun Aaron - whom he didn’t even consider for one ODI in England. The pace attack that has been given to the skipper has simply no experience and the only player to have a Test cap is Praveen Kumar. Sources close to the selection committee indicated that the likes of Aaron and Umesh Yadav have been included to give the injection of pace that is sorely lacking in the Indian attack for a while.

Karnataka’s S Arvind has been rewarded for his consistency and it has been made clear that Nehra won’t be considered in the near future. The Delhi pacer, in fact, is not there in any of the Challengers squads either.

The biggest blow, of course, has come for Harbhajan. The man with more than 400 Test wickets has been unceremoniously removed and if the sources are to be believed, he won’t be back in the Indian team in a hurry. His comeback process starts with Challenger Trophy in Nagpur from October 10-13, where he will be captaining India Greens, but the general feel-

ing among the selectors is that R Ashwin is ready to take over as the No. 1 spinner in the country.

Harbhajan has to perform well in the domestic season if he has to make a comeback for the Tour Down Under later this year.

With Ravindra Jadeja being the second spinner, the surprise selection has been leggie Rahul Sharma. The selectors have insisted for a while now that no player will be selected in the Indian side just on the basis of IPL performances. But Punjab legspinner Sharma, with a firstclass average of 43.12 from nine games, has made the squad on the back of an impressive show for Pune Warriors in the last IPL. It’s understood that North Zone’s Mohinder Amarnath, in his first meeting as selector, showed a lot of faith in the leggie and Chika & Co couldn’t refuse. The batting side remains more or less the same to what it was in England.

Squad: MS Dhoni (C), Gautam Gambhir, Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, S. Arvind, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary and Praveen Kumar.

Sport WOrLD

Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

Indian coaches to get training in China India is all set to benefit from neighbour China's giant leaps in the sporting arena. Talks are on with the Beijing Sports University (BSU) for training the first batch of Indian coaches and also with the China Institute of Sports Sciences (CISS) for training sports scientists on performance analysis and optimization of scientific support.

BSU will organize a tailor-made training module lasting 6-12 weeks for a batch of 20-80 coaches.

The final details are still being worked out with BSU. CISS will conduct a 2-3 weeks programme, possibly in May next year with four scientists in each batch. This is the first time India sports support staff will receive training from China which has emerged as a sporting giant.

Sports and youth affairs minister Ajay Maken on his recent visit to China heading a 500-member youth delegation met Liu Peng, director of State General Administration of Sports requested him to intervene and expedite the finalization of the programmes.

The memorandum of understanding

under which the programmes have been envisaged, was signed during President Pratibha Patil's visit to China last year. The MoU said that both the countries will facilitate participation of sportspersons in bilateral and multilateral competitions and in training - cum - competition exposure prior to major international events.

Maken also informed Peng about sports ministry's 'Come and Play' scheme for utilization of sports infrastructure constructed for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and asked for his inputs on the Chinese

Shane Warne-Hurley wedding in winter

The affair between Australian cricketer Shane Warne, 42, and Liz Hurley, English actress, model and swimwear designer, 46, that allegedly broke the latter's marriage to a London-based non-resident Indian businessman, Arun Nayar, could be headed for nuptials.

Warne and Hurley reportedly got engaged over dinner.

Warne was in the middle of playing in the Alfred Dunhill pro-am golf championship at St Andrews in Scotland when he popped the question and Hurley accepted. A spokesperson for the tournament told media: "Shane is still out playing but has confirmed his engagement to actress Liz Hurley."

She was, in fact, snapped hugging the Aussie in the links sporting an engagement

ring with a dark blue precious stone. Headline writers in British tabloidnewspapers scurried for a pun on the lines of Warnie "scores a birdie" rather than "bowling a maiden over".

The couple met at the races at Goodwood in July 2010; and began flirting on Twitter. A relationship between them was confirmed after they were photographed kissing last December. Warne even took Hurley to India to watch a part of the last Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, where he was captain of Rajasthan Royals.

The Australian is considered to be the greatest leg-spin bowler of all time. He was podgy and politically incorrect. Now, he's a man transformed.

policy for optimum use of such facilities. Peng said Chinese stadia are being utilized for sports events and for cultural programmes.

In addition to the training programmes in China, experts from CISS will also conduct a short duration seminar on Performance Analysis and Optimization of Scientific Support, in all probability in December this year. The sports ministry is also mulling the option of inviting Chinese coaches and experts to the Sports Authority of India centres in Patiala and Bangalore for training.

Meanwhile, the youth delegation, during its visit to China, was shown around the Oriental Oasis Sports Training Centre in Shanghai which specializes in water sports. It is close to the Huangpu River and contains a main stadium with a capacity of 15,000 people, a swimming centre that can accommodate 5,000 people and an outdoor swimming pool with the same capacity. The facility where swimmers are trained to swim against a small pool of flowing water to strengthen their muscles was widely appreciated.

Pak cricketers on trial in London for spot-fixing

Pakistani cricketers - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer – are on trial on the spot-fixing charges during the Test match against England last year.

Former skipper Butt, and seam bowlers Asif and Aamer will face the Southwark Crown Court

charged in south-east London with charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and conspiracy to cheat.

The players' agent Mazhar Majeed will also go on trial alongside them and will be charged with the same offences, which carry maximum sentences of seven years and two years in prison respectively.

The Pakistani trio was alleged to have deliberately bowled no-balls during the fourth Test against England in August last year.

The allegations were based on the evidence obtained by the Sunday tabloid 'News of the World', which was shut in July over the phone-hacking scandal.

The newspaper claimed Majeed, who is based in south London, accepted pound 150,000 to convince

Asif and Aamer to bowl the no-balls at predetermined times in the Lord's Test.

An independent tribunal appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) had banned Butt from all forms of cricket for 10 years, five of which were suspended. Asif received a sevenyear ban, with two suspended, and Aamer was handed a five-year suspension.

The three cricketers had filed appeals against their bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Zaheer not in a hurry to return to action India’s injured pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is recuperating well after his ankle surgery but has not set any "targets" for his comeback into the Indian team. Zaheer, though, is keeping is fingers crossed for a strong return during the Australia tour.

Zaheer was in Delhi on Monday to receive his Arjuna Award from sports minister Ajay Maken. The left-arm seamer is expected to resume his long rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) soon.

"I've already started training and the second phase of my rehab has started. What I need to do right now is to build some

strength in the ankle. I'm not rushing and I hope to come back strongly into the team.

I'm taking one day at a time and not setting targets. My progress has been slow but positive," Zaheer said while thanking the sports ministry for honouring him. "To start bowling, I have to regain full strength in my ankle. Then I

might play a few club matches or first-class games."

The national selection committee is hoping Zaheer will recover full fitness before the West Indies Test series at home or just before the Australia tour.

Zaheer admitted missing out in England had been frustrating, especially since the team was so dependent on him.

"It's frustrating not to play at the highest level. But you can only control the controllables and be patient.

I don't think the overdependence on me adds to the pressure. It feels good to go to sleep with this kind of expectation. I enjoy responsibility," Zaheer said.

On the selection committee's decision to axe off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer said: "Harbhajan has put in great performances for the country. I'm sure he'll be back soon as he is too good a player to be left out.

He has a lot of fire in him and is a strong character."

Zaheer also backed India's new crop of rookie pacers to deliver in his absence. "I haven't seen a lot of them due to my international commitments but I've seen some talented pacers in the IPL. I have worked with Umesh (Yadav) when he was with the Indian team in South Africa. He is talented.

The likes of Sreenath Aravind can only improve."

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Paes wants to become AIFF brand ambassador Tennis star Leander Paes is keen to become an ambassador for the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to help in the game's growth in the country. “...I am a big lover of football. As I grew up, as a young kid, and in my youth, I had spent a lot of time playing football. If I can motivate young children to show them with a small leather ball you can travel the world,” said Paes while addressing a programme. “So if football federation is looking for someone who can be the brand, I am all too willing to help in my own little way.”

Senior vice-president of AIFF Subrata Dutta said he was eager to have Leander as the brand ambassador of Indian football. “I will have a word with (All India Football Federation president) Praful Patel before confirming it to Leander. But as the senior vice president of AIFF I am too eager to have him as the brand ambassador of Indian football. It will do wonders to Indian football,” said Dutta.

Leander also said: “Football is the number one global sport because of marketing. So many nations play football and they are affiliated to FIFA. It is wonderful to see corporate sponsorship coming nowadays to football.”

Sania, Shoaib meet Zardari

Tennis star Sania Mirza and her cricketer husband Shoaib Malik met Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss launching a fund-raising campaign for the flood victims in the country.

The couple expressed grief over the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan. They met him at Aiwan-e-Sadr (his official residence in Islamabad).

They told the president that they would play exhibition matches both within and outside the country to help raise funds for the affected people. Zardari thanked them for their kind gesture. He said the sportsmen are also ambassadors of the country who bring fame through their excellence in sports. Pakistan's southern Sindh province has been reeling under floods for several weeks caused by incessant rains. The devastation has left thousands of people homeless and without adequate food.

England to play six tests, 13 ODIs and four T-20s next summer The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a hectic international schedule for next summer for World No.1 Test team England who play with the West Indies, Australia and South Africa six tests, 13 OneDay Internationals (ODI) and four Twenty20 Internationals in 2012.

England kick off the international season with a three-test series against the West Indies followed by three ODIs and one Twenty20 International. They then play five ODIs against Australia before taking on South Africa in three tests, five ODIs and three Twenty20 games.

The West Indies will play their tests at Lord's, Trent Bridge and Edgbaston, ODIs at the Rose Bowl, The Oval and Headingley and the Twenty20 at Trent Bridge.

Australia play their ODIs at Lord's, The Oval, Edgbaston, Chester-le-Street and Old Trafford. Then they will play one ODI against Scotland. South Africa play tests at The Oval, Headingley and Lord's, the ODIs at Cardiff, Rose Bowl, The Oval, Lord's and Trent Bridge and the Twenty20s at Chester-le-Street, Old Trafford and Edgbaston.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 8th October 2011

A score to settle with England

By Premen Addy

The roles are reversed, with India the hosts and England the visitors, in an ODI series of five matches, commencing in Hyderabad on October 14. In England, India were a shambles in the Tests, but they performed with a measure of dignity and promise in the ODIs. However, they were comprehensively beaten in both forms of the game.

The next Test series between the countries are not due until the end of 2012 when England will tour India. If India are to make something approximating a comeback, the time surely is now. The players selected will have to play out of their skins to hold England, let alone defeat them.

Their task is made doubly difficult with the continuing absence to injuryhit Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Yuvraj Singh. The case for two of the replacements, leg-spinner Rahul Sharma

and fast bowler Varun Aaron, a product of the Dennis Lillee centre of excellence, was made in these columns, when India were being crucified by England earlier in the summer. The inclusion of Sharma and Aaron is belated recognition of their undoubted talent. Two notable omissions are: Praagyan Ojha, whose exquisite left-arm spin helped Surrey clinch promotion to Division I in the County Championship.

Ojha, a late seasonal acquisition on the recommendation of Anil Kumble, performed sensationally in the side's final four matches of the season, of which they won three.

A Surrey supporter waxed eloquent on Ojha's skills - his loop and variations of turn – to the writer. Krishnamachari Srrikkanth and his coselectors appear not to have noticed Ojha's feats.

They have also ignored the claims of the dashing Ambati Rayudu, a batsman of true pedigree as

England team arrives

England team arrives in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have testified. This was the last throw of the selectors' dice

by Srikkanth and his illstarred partners.

Hopefully we'll not see their like again. Their hopelessly flawed judgement may generously be attributed to what astronomers describe as the mysterious power of “dark energy” against

which nothing survives.

Returning to the new faces, Rahul Sharma's exceptional height, may present the England batsmen with a number of problems. He hits the deck and extracts disconcerting bounce.

Aaron's pace has registered 145 km and he, too, is a fine prospect. He has the makeup of a true fast bowler and should stand

India in good stead.

Middle order batsman Manoj Tiwary is someone to watch, but Rohit Sharma's absence is unexplained; so is Piyush Chawla's. The newcomers must grab their opportunity with both hands, sport being a competitive venture. This could be the start of an exciting chapter for Indian cricket and its bruised and battered

The England cricket team, led by Alastair Cook, arrived in Hyderabad on Tuesday for a five-match ODI series and a one-off Twenty20 international against India.

The England squad arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and left for a city hotel. The ODI series will begin in Hyderabad on October 14 while the other matches will be played in Delhi (October 17), Mohali (October 20), Mumbai (October 23) and Kolkata (October 25). The one-off Twenty20 match will be played in Kolkata on October 29. England are also scheduled to play two warm-up games on Saturday and on October 11 at Gymkhana ground in Hyderabad. image. Let's hope it is.

Cricket's gods have taught India a lesson which will not be soon forgotten.