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VOL . 21 NO. 30 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • P.O. BOX 623 • SUGAR LAND, TX 77487 • PERIODICAL PERMIT USPS 017-699 25 Cents
India mourns former President Abdul Kalam
The body of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who died after suffering a cardiac arrest during a lecture at the Indian Institue of ManagementShillong on Monday, July 27, was flown to Delhi early Tuesday morning by a special aircraft. President Pranab Mukherjee received the body of Kalam. Delhi Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung was present at Palam Airport. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar too were present at Palam airport. The Army, Navy and Air Force paid their last respects to the mortal remains of the former president. Wrapped in the tricolor, the casket carrying his body was taken inside the aircraft as a mournful hymn played in the background. The government has announced a seven-day State mourning in honour of Kalam. “As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, seven
days of state mourning will be observed throughout India from July 27, 2015 to August 2, 2015, both days inclusive,” an official statement said. Condoling Kalam’s death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “India mourns the loss of a great scientist, a wonderful President & above all an inspiring individual.” President Pranab Mukherjee said in a message, “In his passing away, we have lost a great son of India who dedicated his entire life for the welfare of the motherland and its people. Mr. Kalam was a people’s President during his lifetime and will remain so even after his death.” More.. The mortal remains of former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, would be laid to rest on Thursday morning in Rameswaram, district Collector K. Nanthakumar said. He said the body would be brought here from Delhi on Wednesday afternoon and the funeral would take place around 10: 30 am on Thursday. See KALAM, Page 3
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On Monday, July 27, 2015, the Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan North America mourned the passing of former Indian president, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, through a candle-light vigil. The ceremony was held at organization’s North American headquarters at the Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Temple in Secaucus, New Jersey. The ceremony was inspired by Acharya Shree Purushottampriyadasji Swamiji Maharaj, fifth spiritual heir of Lord Shree Swaminarayan and Acharya of the international Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan.
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NEWS A visionary and dreamer A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, Bharat Ratna and far-sighted architect of India’s space and missile programmes,was an institution-builder and a team-builder, a visionary and a dreamer, who always wanted to build a strong and self-reliant India. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Defence Minister R. Venkataraman, scientific advisor to the Defence Minister V.S. Arunachalam and Kalam were a formidable team in the early 1980s who wanted to weld into India into a puissant country in science and technology. Kalam devised every stratagem in the book to beat the embargoes and sanction regimes including the Missile Technology Control Regime imposed on India following the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1974 and later in 1998. As K. Radhakrishnan, former Chairman, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said, “Kalam had a single-minded approach in leading projects and his connect with other scientists and the younger generation distinguished him from everybody else. His taking over the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) program as its Project Director led to its spectacular success in 1980 and it was the turning point in India’s space programme.” In the 1960s, Kalam was at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station near Thiruvananthapuram, and he built
ISRO’s sounding rocket programme to probe the upper atmosphere. The scientist’s puckish sense of humour came to the fore during celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the first sounding rocket. Now President, Kalam began his address to the gathering from Rashtrapathi Bhavan thus: “Ten , nine, eight, seven...” His countdown sent ISRO’s scientists and engineers into raptures. Civilian rockets, military missiles and aircraft were in his DNA. He was fond of saying that “It was a joy to study the structure of an aircraft” when he was a student of aeronautical engineering at the Madras Institute of Technology, Chromepet, Chennai. In 1983, Kalam left ISRO and joined the DRDO as director of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) at Hyderabad. As director of DRDL, he envisioned India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) and led teams that built India’s Agni, Akash, Prithvi and Nag missile programs. He was instrumental in forging India’s collaboration with Russia to build the world’s first supersonic cruise missile called BrahMos. As Director-General of DRDO and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, he played an important role India’s nuclear tests in 1998. Dr V. K. Saraswat, former
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (1931-2015)
» 1931: Born Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam on October 15, in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. » 1954: Graduates in Physics from Saint Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, in 1954. » 1960: Gains degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. » 1969: Transferred to ISRO from the DRDO. » 1980: India enters the space club by putting the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit with the first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), developed under the stewardship of Dr. Kalam. » 1980s-1990s: As the chief of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, he was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI Missiles. » 1992-1999: works as Chief Scientific Advisor to the PM and Secretary of the DRDO. » 1998: India conducts the Pokhran II nuclear tests in May with Dr. Kalam as the chief project coordinator. » 1999-2001: Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. » 2002-2007: President of India
Kalam From Page 1
After the arrival in the afternoon, the body would be taken to “House of Kalam”, the ancestral house of the former President . Later, the body would be kept in the open ground in front of the bus stand for the public to pay homage, the Collector said. The district administration
has selected three places for the funeral and would finalise a place after consulting A. P. J. M. Maraikayar, elder brother of Mr. Kalam and other family members, official sources said. Three places – a government land at Meyyampuli, near Thangachimadam; a forest land at Natarajapuram near Danushkodi; and a private land of Abil Kabil Dargah have been shortlisted, the sources said.
Kalam playing veena at a gallery, in Rameswaram, on June 05, 2013. Photo: L. Balachandar DRDO Director-general, said, “Kalam was an institutionbuilder, team-builder, visionary, dreamer and motivator of
men.”Kalam never hesitated to take a stand on issues - be it in support for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, the
setting up of the neutrino observatory in Theni, India’s nuclear weapons program or the strategic missile program.
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PAGE 4 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
VOICES
Lessons from the Rajeev Malhotra affair
By KOENRAAD ELST The trigger for the allegation of plagiarism against Rajeev Malhotra was the discovery that seven passages in Malhotra’s work, mainly in his book Indra’s Net, had been lifted verbatim from unacknowledged work by others, chiefly Andrew Nicholson’s book Unifying Hinduism. Not that Malhotra could be suspected of the usual motive of plagiarizers, for he quotes Nicholson a number of times and makes amply clear that he sees the case he is making reflected in Nicholson’s work. There had clearly been no criminal intent. Still, he could have been more meticulous about proper form, especially as this is a battlefield where any less than impeccable behavior will be exploited and punished mercilessly. He himself has warned the members of his own internet list to acquaint themselves with the ways of the modern Kurukshetra, and here he has failed to apply his own principle. So, certainly a lapse, but nothing more than that. The holy indignation which it evoked among people who had never even acknowledged Malhotra’s ideas, cannot be explained by the limited seriousness of the “offence”. Clearly, it had to do precisely with those unwelcome ideas, which could henceforth be put down as “the fantasies of a known plagiarizer.” That way august professors could now invoke an academic-sounding pretext for not addressing the contents of his books. They could now strike their familiarly condescending airs and dismiss his contributions with a good conscience. The plagiarism could easily be corrected without much ado in a new edition of Indra’s Net, which Malhotra has prepared forthwith. There he has thrown the references to Nicholson out altogether, and demonstrated that Western Indologists can be replaced with Indian authors on Hindu tradition. He has used this affair to “decolonize” the book and turn the tables on his attackers. Since I have been asked just what I think of plagiarism in general, let me add that I have little to add. Down with plagiarism, I guess, as far as my own writing is concerned. However, if other people choose to plagiarize me, I don’t care. Effectively, I have been cited without acknowledgment in scholarly
papers because the authors assumed that being seen in my tainted company would reflect badly on themselves. Well, if my ideas can only reach the public by keeping my authorship concealed, so be it. Go ahead. Similarly, in the present context I have been asked to give my opinion on Malhotra’s character, and about his work before this affair erupted. That is too unwieldy a topic, but a few points. To start with the former subject, his critics have apparently found out that he is quarrelsome, not only irritating Western academics but even his own supporters, now often ex-supporters fed up with his “antics”. He is not the only Hindu who could profit from the Pañcatantra’s chapter on the art of making friends. So yes, I do know some former supporters who have fallen out with his person but not with his ideas. The converse is also true: he has fallen out with Hindus who had offered help, e.g. in filming his lectures and debates and then putting the video on the internet, but reneged on their promise or done a lousy job. The life of a pioneer is full of irritants, and placid people wouldn’t stay in this business for long,– or wouldn’t remain placid for long. Perhaps it takes such a temperament to face the formidable challenges he has thematized for the first time. Alleged personal idiosyncrasies are at any rate of limited importance, and not the reason why he is controversial. How many passengers care about their airplane being the fruit of physical science centred on laws discovered by Isaac Newton, and that this Newton was a difficult man? Would they give up air travel if only that Mr. Newton were a nicer man? Mediocre people are good at inventing endless objections against people who really make a difference. In this case, moreover, making a fuss about his personality is yet another way of ignoring the topics he has raised. It has also been held against Malhotra that he has no academic status. Outsiders, and Hindus more than most, go gaga over status. Wealthy Hindus will rather sponsor an enemy with status than a friend without it. Intelligent enemies approach a wealthy Hindu, flatter India a
bit to put him in a good mood, and then take his money to finance hostile projects. Understandably they hate Malhotra for calling on Hindus to think more strategically. Anyway, many insiders to academe also take their own status very seriously. Yet, anyone with some experience of research can cite insiders professing farfetched theories and outsiders who have made crucial discoveries. Malhotra has gained expertise through decades of hands-on research in more exacting circumstances than most, sometimes on topics that nobody had ever researched. Thus, his systematic database on the U-turn (the phenomenon that numerous Western individuals and entire disciplines have started with Indian inspiration, turned it into Western novelties and ultimately sold these back as Western inventions to India) has not been seriously developed except by him, even though it is a remarkable and large-scale cultural fact. Do I agree with Malhotra? Firstly, we don’t entirely work on the same subjects. Secondly, where we do, there are still differences, e.g. I think he gives too much importance to the ethnic factor; there is ultimately no difference between Indian and Western ways of thinking. Still, I acknowledge that the power equation between these two ethnic conglomerates has greatly influenced the history of Indology, and its consequences even in the present should be mapped out and addressed. And so on: every issue will have something to differ on, next to much about which we agree. None of this is unusual, it should all be discussed. Yet, that precisely is at issue. In the “secularist” articles published lately, I have seen a lot of denunciations, ridiculing, misrepresentations, all really calculated to keep the topics raised by Malhotra out of polite conversation. The favorite tactic against Malhotra, easy to do from a position of power, is stonewalling. According to Malhotra, his accuser Richard Fox Young has wimped out of a debate with him, and now uses the detour of the plagiarism allegation to neutralize his work. I don’t know the whole story there, and perhaps Young has another version, but as a general rule, serious debate is indeed being avoided. The first step of an establishment against a vocal opponent is always to deny him legitimacy, then to pretend that there is no real debate, only a querulant rebelling against established common sense. These mechanisms can be seen at work now against Rajiv Malhotra. In the course of the present controversy, it soon became clear that the Goliaths lining up against our Hindu-American David (apologies for the Bibli-
cal parlance), fighting him with all the might of the academic establishment behind them, were not that impeccable either. India’s secularists have predictably jumped on the bandwagon. They too have always avoided discussing (and thereby highlighting) Malhotra’s ideas, instead limiting their dealings with him to an occasional denunciation. But when others take the trouble of pulling a man down, they can always be counted on to start kicking him. Business Standard’s Mihir Sharma took the opportunity to also attack Shrikant Talageri and Michel Danino. No match at all for these scholars, Mihir Sharma hoped to implicate them in Malhotra’s ill-repute and thus sideline their unrefuted findings. Danino sent in a reply putting Sharma in his place (incidentally showing that the Saraswati river, always ridiculed by the secularists as a “Hindutva fantasy”, has been upheld by a whole procession of leading Western and Indian scholars since 1855) and detailing the slanderous elements in his discourse. For the rest, while the secularists are admittedly powerful, their very repetitive position does not merit further comment. The man who should be conceived as the “victim” of the “crime”, Andrew Nicholson, has strangely never complained of this plagiarism before. He joined the attack only when others invited him in and extracted complaints against Malhotra from him. Perhaps he felt inhibited because of his earlier implication in Hindu activism when he accepted awards for his now-famous book from the Hindu American Foundation and from the Uberoi Foundation. [PS: Upon checking, the HAF’s approval did not amount to a formal “award”.] Both are used to being called “Hindutva” but, having profusely published on Hindu activism, I know that Hindutva is only one specific tendency, represented by the RSS. The HAF groups a broader spectrum of Hindus mostly not linked to the RSS. Likewise, Malhotra himself is only called “Hindutva” by people displaying either their ignorance or their bias. By contrast, the Uberoi Foundation may genuinely be characterized as strongly “Hindutva”, but Nicholson did not treat that as an objection. Malhotra goes in counterattack mode when he observes about Nicholson: “He also gladly accepted another award given by Uberoi Foundation, a very explicitly Hindutva organization. When it comes to duping Hindus and taking their money, he has done well as a ‘good cop’. His ‘good cop’ facade that had fooled me has now come off under the false pretext of being a victim.” (Niti Central, 21 July 2015) The original discoverer of the
alleged plagiarism was Richard Fox Young, associate professor at Princeton’s Theological Seminary. It so happens that I met Young at last year’s South Asia Conference in Zürich, and truth to tell, I had a rather positive impression of him: upright, erudite and a committed idealist. If Malhotra and Young hadn’t been separated by religion, they might have been friends. Christian missionaries and their ideologues often have far more positive motives than Hindus are aware of. When Hindus, at least those not content with the comforting conspiracy theory that “missionaries are all CIA agents”, ask me why those missionaries come all the way to India to convert people, I truthfully say: “Because they love you.” Christians honestly think they do Hindus a favour by “liberating” them from their false religion. Hindus don’t need Christianity. Nonetheless, two millennia of ardent belief in the need to “educate all nations” has equipped the Churches with an impressive array of organizations and techniques geared towards conversion. With their strategic eye, Christian scholars have not missed the opportunity offered them by Rajiv’s carelessness, to silence him. You can’t blame fighters for fighting. A different case altogether is the man who circulated an online petition addressing the publisher for the withdrawal of Malhotra’s work, Jesse Ross Knutson. Among Hindus now, an article of his in a Communist paper is circulating, supporting the bid for power by the Maoïst guerrilla: “The Indian Government should surrender to the Maoists: an immodest proposal” (Countercurrents, 1 June 2010, http://www.countercurrents.org/knutson010610.htm). The case against Malhotra has now become impossible to sell to the larger Hindu public, which knows in its bones what terrorism is. To have a spokesman for the terrorists, no less, among your self-styled enemies, means you must be doing something right. Compared to that, any alleged plagiarism is really a trifle. Barring an unexpected development, the two main consequences of this affair will be the following. The establishment will go on treating Malhotra as a nuisance, now helped by the notion that “he is a plagiarist”. But among Hindus, his stock will only go up. He is now more than ever the hero who takes on the might of the united anti-Hindu forces. The whole affair is turning out to have been excellent publicity for his theses and, materially speaking, for his books, especially his upcoming book on the politics of Sanskrit. (Indiafacts.co.in)
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 5
NEWS
Abdul Kalam: A teacher till the end
peaceful India. This type of student’s environment ignites me and leads me to interact with young minds,” he said in the interview. Mr. Kalam also taught scientists who worked with him. V. Ponraj, a senior scientist of the Aeronautical Development Agency who is associated with the ‘Missile Man’ since 1995, is now the Adviser to the former President. “I am doing a research on ‘affordable health care through cloud infrastructure,’ and Mr. Kalam is my guide. He suggested that I take this subject and guided me all through. On BUY
July 16 this year, the former president spent a couple of hours reviewing my work and asked me to start writing the thesis,” Mr. Ponraj told The Hindu on Monday. Mr. Kalam and Mr. Ponraj have authored a few books. The latest one in Tamil titled Puyalai thandinal thendral, yennathil nalam irunthal kanavu Tamilagam malarum is half complete. “We have written seven chapters together. Now, I have to finish this book with his thoughts…he will remain my teacher and guide forever,” Mr. Ponraj said.
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A.P.J. Abdul Kalam always used to say he would like to be remembered as a teacher. When he became the President in 2002, he made no compromise on his penchant for teaching. He grabbed every opportunity to teach students, especially children, wherever he went. Administering a pledge on national develop-
ment to the youth was his passion. In an exclusive interview to The Hindu on the occasion of ‘Teachers Day’ on September 5, 2013, the former President said: “If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honour for me.” Minutes before his end came on Monday, Mr. Kalam was
teaching students at the Indian Institute of Management, Shillong. “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, calibre and future of an individual…youth have a dream and also they have a pain. The pain comes out of their dream; they want to live in a prosperous, happy and
Kalam once admitted to spending 50 per cent of his time in Chandipur and Wheeler Island from where powerful Indian missiles, Agni, had been flight tested and made operational. As the nation is mourning demise of former President Bharat Ratna A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Odisha’s Chandipur, his ‘theatre of action’, plunged into profound shock remembering his association and contribution. Kalam once admitted spending 50 per cent of his time in Chandipur and Wheeler Island from where powerful Indian missiles, Agni, had been flight tested and made operational. India’s foremost missile scientist had helped set up ITR during his initial years as director of Defence Research Development Laboratory, Hyderabad. He was then heading the Integrated Direct Missile Development Programme. Although India was able to develop indigenous missile systems in early 1990s, the army wanted the missile systems to be field-tested. The then-desolate island off the Odisha coast came under the radar and it soon grew to a leading defence establishment in the country under Kalam’s active supervision. In fact, he used to call the test centre as his ‘theatre of action’. Scientists, technicians and general staff led by Director MVKV Prasad gathered on ITR, Chandipur campus, about 250 km from here on Tuesday
morning to remember him. While several old staff members, including Dr. Prasad recalled as to how Kalam used to mingle with everyone, scientists were evoking the memory of continuous scientific inputs being fed by Kalam. “ITR came into exist when Mr. Kalam realised that there must be a big range where all missiles could be tested. That is how he planned and brought up ITR. Today, ITR has stood up to his dreams. In Odisha, we are able to test all sorts of missiles — surface to surface, surface to air and so many variants,” ITR Director said talking to The Hindu. “In the initial period, Mr. Kalam used to visit test sites and monitor progress of work. He last visited the campus to inaugurate international seminar on range technology,” said Dr. Prasad. The ITR Director recalled, “I had the privilege of working for 10 years under his leadership. He had such a positive influence on everybody that I am now happy to be at ITR leaving metro city like Hyderabad to live his dream. He was visionary and his vision was to develop India. He used to say we should not become third or fourth country to something in technology sector. We should always be the first country to achieve any milestone.” Despite being a celebrated scientist and holding high positions, he was always accessible to everybody — from lowest contributing person to highest ranking scientist — and hu-
manly treatment was hallmark of his nature, he said. “Basically, each institution has its distinct pattern of culture. The culture is how people interact with each other and how they work toward achieving the goal of institute. ITR’s culture, largely influenced by Mr. Kalam, is to meet any challenging mission thrown at it,” said Dr. Prasad. Kalam was not always engrossed in developing missile technologies or guiding scientists. It was his eco-initiative that converted sprawling ITR campus into lush green site. He had also taken special care to install controlled light systems and restricted people’s movements near the rookery so that missile tests did not disturb the mass nesting of endangered Olive Ridley turtles along the Odisha coast. The Hindu
Tributes paid to Missile Man from his ‘theatre of action’
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PAGE 6 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29,2015
NEWS
Kalam was for stronger Indo-U.S. ties, says Obama
File pixture of President Barack Obama and President Abdul kalam in New Delhi. U.S. President Barack Obama has condoled the death of former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam describing him as an advocate for stronger US-India relations, and who worked to deepen the two countries’ space cooperation. “A scientist and statesman, Kalam rose from humble be-
ginnings to become one of India’s most accomplished leaders, earning esteem at home and abroad,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. Extending his “deepest condolences to the people of India” on behalf of the American people, Mr. Obama noted Kalam’s “tenure as India’s 11th presi-
dent witnessed unprecedented growth in U.S.-India ties”. “An advocate for stronger U.S.-India relations, Kalam worked to deepen our space cooperation, forging links with NASA during a 1962 visit to the United States,” he said. “Suitably named as the People’s President, his humility
and dedication to public service served as an inspiration to millions of Indians and admirers around the world.” Meanwhile, the US media highlighted his role in advancing India’s nuclear, space and missile programmes. The influential New York Times in an obit said Kalam’s “role in advancing India’s nuclear programmes made him one of his country’s most beloved figures”. “Kalam’s celebrity could be traced to 1998, when India detonated five nuclear devices in the northwestern desert, to widespread international condemnation,” it said. “Described at the time as an ‘impish, shaggy-haired bachelor’ of 66, he was one of the most exuberant boosters of the country’s nuclear programme,” the Times said. “Kalam spent a little time outside India. For him, it was a point of pride that India had developed its bomb without much help from foreign powers. And he described himself as thoroughly Indian,” the Times said. “I am completely indigenous!” he told the newspaper in 1998, it recalled. Time magazine described Kalam as “one of India’s most renowned rocket scientists who served as the nation’s 11th president”.
Kalam, it recalled told TIME in a 1998 interview that he developed an early fascination with flight while growing up on the south Indian isle of Rameswaram. “Then there were a lot of birds on the island,” he was quoted as saying, “and I used to watch their beautiful flight paths. That got me interested in aeronautics.” The Washington Post noted Kalam was “a scientist who was known as the father of the country’s military missile programme”. “He was credited with helping develop his country’s first space satellites,” it said. “In the 1980s, he helped design the nuclear-capable Prithvi and Agni ballistic missiles.” “He played a crucial role when India tested its nuclear weapons in 1998,” the Post said noting, “The test resulted in sanctions against the country but helped elevate Kalam’s to the status of folk hero in his country.” India House, India Culture Center of Houston and other community organizations held a community prayer meeting in memory of Abdul Kalam at India House on Wednesday.
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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 7
COMMUNITY NEWS Remembering Dr. Kalam: Humble leader with a great vision for India India has lost a great visionary In Dr.A.P.Kalam, a former President of India. Dr. Kalam was not only a visionary, but also had the courage to draw comparison with Singapore and tell his people to stop spitting on the roads in order to keep India clean. On a personal note, I had met and heard Dr. Abdul Kalam, in Houston atleast three times during his visits to Rice University, University of Houston and India House etc, Two years ago,during our tour of Southern India, my wife,Lakshmi and I had made a conscious effort to go and see his home in Rameswaram,Tamilnadu. Named ‘Kalam House’,it is a modest two story house with an iron gate and a terrace and a post box outside on the wall. Located at the Mosque street,it has a store inside selling various memorabilia to the public, By no means comparable to any of the Presidential Libraries in America, the ancestral house reflects his humble beginnings, and is an embodiment of his simple living and high thinking. Krishna Vavilala Houston
Mosquitoes test positive for West Nile Virus in Sugar Land The City of Sugar Land has confirmed the presence of West Nile virus at mosquito traps located in the areas of Merrick Drive in the Sugar Creek Subdivision, Settlers Way Boulevard and Lexington Boulevard, Austin Parkway west of Settlers Way Boulevard and Grants Lake Boulevard north of Austin Parkway. The mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile on Tuesday, July 28. The City will immediately increase mosquito spraying to twice per week and will continue working closely with the Texas Department of State Health Services to trap and test mosquitos for the presence of the West Nile virus. The traps supplement the City’s larvicide and mosquito spraying operations.
Indian American announces bid for Congress WASHINGTON: IndianAmerican Mary Thomas, a government attorney in Florida, has said that she will run for the US Congressional elections in November 2016. If elected, Thomas, whose parents arrived in American from India in 1972, would be the first woman Indian-American lawmaker to be a member of the US House of Representatives. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, 37-year-old Thomas
is a Republican. She is pitted against incumbent Gwen Graham of the Democratic Party, who wrested the Second Congressional District of Florida from Republican Steve Southerland in 2014. Thomas, a personal friend of Florida Governor Rick Scott, told local media that she is hoping to create history by becoming the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the US Congress. So far only three Indian-
Americans elected to the US Congress are Dalip Singh Saundh, Bobby Jindal and Ami Bera. From California, Bera is the only Indian American in the current Congress. “I’m a conservative Republican, a Christian, a wife, mother, and a lawyer. If elected, I would be the first IndianAmerican woman ever elected to Congress. This would truly be a historic event,” Thomas said during her campaign announcement in Florida last
Humans can contract West Nile virus from a mosquito bite. Infected mosquitoes get the virus from feeding on infected birds. The virus can cause serious illness or death. Dr. Joe Anzaldua, the City’s medical director and health authority, urges residents to take precautions to reduce West Nile exposure. “Residents should use insect repellent whenever they are outdoors and avoid going outside at dusk and dawn,” said Anzaldua. “People over 50 years old and those with compromised immune systems are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill if infected with the virus. If people have symptoms that cause them concern, they should contact their healthcare provider immediately.” There are no medications to treat or vaccines to prevent West Nile virus infection. Symptoms may include a stiff neck, vision problems, body tremors, mental confusion, memory loss and seizures. The milder form of the illness is West Nile Fever.
Symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle and bone aches, nausea and drowsiness. People with the milder form of the illness typically recover on their own, although symptoms may last for several weeks. Up to 80 percent of people infected with West Nile virus will have no symptoms and will recover on their own. Anyone with questions or concerns should contact their doctor. The Texas Department of State Health Services recommends practicing the “Four Ds”: Use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Dress in long sleeves and long pants when you are outside. Stay indoors at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active. Drain standing water where mosquitoes breed. Common breeding sites include old tires, flowerpots and clogged rain gutters.
week. Thomas’s parents, Tom and Annie Thomas are physicians who immigrated from India in 1972. This is why she has such strong opposition to undocumented immigration. She said the issue of illegal immigration is “deeply personal to me and my family.”
“My family story is a shining example of the American dream,” she said. “Illegal immigration is deeply personal to me and my family. My parents came to this country legally,” she told the local media according to Tallahassee Democrat.
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PAGE 8 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015 PAGE 8 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
COMMUNITY CALENDAR COMMUNITY CALENDAR COMMUNITY CALENDAR Samaj orgSatsang or 281-584-0488. Arya Samaj Arya Satsang
Weekly HavanSatsang Satsangevery every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Weekly Havan Durga Bari- Havan, Temple DAV Sanskriti to 12 noon. Hindi Sunday from School 10 a.m.Sundays to 12 10 a.m. Durga Bari temple is 2open and Naitik classes. DAV Montessori School for ages to 7 noon. DAVShiksha Sanskriti School to Yoga 11 a.m. and on 4 to 7 years. Call 281-759-3286. classes Sat. Sundays 10 Arti a.m.Khanna to 12 noon. - from 9Free Mon.Atthru Sat. Sandhya SanskritHindi & Upanishad classes 6-8 p.m. 14375 Schiller Rd. Havan, and Naitik Shik-Tue.p.m. aarti at 6:30 p.m. Temple closes (bet classes. WestparkDAV & Bellaire off Hwy 6). 281-752-0100. sha Montessori School for ages 2 to 7 years. at 7 p.m. Sunday special from a.m. to 7 p.m. Puja services Call Arti KhannaChinmaya 281-759- 9Mission Priest Bishnupada 3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat. Sunday satsangs for adults, youth, and children. There are Goswami no weekly 281-597-8100 loSanskrit & Upanishad classes Balavihar classes and Sunday satsang for children Temple during theissumcated at 13944 Schiller Rd (off Tue. 6-8 p.m. At 14375 Schiller mer. Regular weekly classes will resume on Sept. 13. Located at HwySugar 6 bet. Bellaire & WestRd. (bet Westpark & Bellaire Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Road, Land, TX 77498. New park). Call Ganesh Mandal at off Hwy 6). 281-752-0100. members may visit the welcome desk between 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. or 713-797-9057 / 832-423-8541. 10:15 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Visit www.chin mayahouston.org or call Bharati
Chinmaya Mission Sutaria 281.933.0233. Sunday satsangs for adults, Free Community youth, and children. There are Society Vedanta no weekly Balavihar classes Health of Greater Houston, 14809 Lindita Fair Drive (77083) andVedanta SundaySociety satsang for chilat Shri Radha Krishna Temple has classes every Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Gospel of dren during the summer. Regu- on Saturday, August 22, 2015 Sri Ramakrishna, 1st & 3rd Sunday; Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Sunday; on lar weekly classes will resume at 8 a.m. to 12 Noon. Please works Swami Vivekananda, Sunday; Holy Mother Sarada’s on Sept.of13. Located at Chin- 4thcome fasting for visit blood Gospel, 5th Sunday. Swamis of Ramakrishna Order totesting. conduct maya Prabha, 10353 Synott Over Forty Meeting will be retreats and lectures. www.houstonvedanta. org or 281-584-0488. Road, Sugar Land, TX 77498. held 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. New members may visit the after Health Fair for everyone Durga Bariwho Temple welcome desk between 8 a.m. is 40 years and above. Durga templea.m.-11:30 is open from 9For to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.please Mon. - 8:45 a.m.Bari or 10:15 further information thru Sat. Sandhya aarti at maya6:30 p.m.call Temple closes at 7 p.m. Sunday a.m. Visit www.chin temple at 281-933-8100 or special fromor9call a.m.Bharati to 7 p.m. services - Priest Bishnupada houston.org Su- Puja visit www.SRKT.Org. Temple Goswami 281-597-8100 Temple is is located at 13944 Schiller Rd (off taria 281.933.0233. located 11625 Beechnut Hwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark). Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797Street. 9057Vedanta / 832-423-8541. Society Shiv Shakti Mandir Vedanta Society of Greater Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir, Houston, 14809 Lindita ShivDrive Shakti6640 Mandir Harwin. Open daily 7 (77083) has classes every Sun- a.m. to 8 p.m. All major festiSanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir, 6640 Harwin. Open daily 7 a.m. to 8 day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 vals, as well as birthdays, naam p.m. All major festivals, as well as birthdays, naam karan, engagep.m. on Gospel of Sri Ra- karan, engagement and other ment and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099 or makrishna, 1st & 3rd Sunday; ceremonies. Call Pandit Virat Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 for puja or other ceremonies. Bhagavad Gita, 2nd Sunday; Mehta 713-278-9099 or Hardik on works of Swami Vivekanan- Raval 361-243-6539 for puja or Universe Within’ da, 4th Sunday; ‘The Holy Mother other ceremonies. Sahaj Marg is a natural and simple system of heart-centered mediSarada’s Gospel, 5th Sunday. tation andofspiritual practice that one realize the utimate potential Swamis Ramakrishna Or-helps‘The Universe Within’ within The meditation to anyone who wishes to der visitoneself. to conduct retreats andis available Sahaj Marg is a natural and practice. www.houstonvedanta. Weekly meditation sessions held throughout the Houston lectures. simple system of heart-cenarea. www.sahajmarg.org Email: meditate_ houston@yahoo.com.
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kids 4 meditation to 18 yrs - meditation, Yoga, tered and spiritual slokas, stories from scriptures, practice that helps one realize Vishnu Sahasranam, bhajans, comthe utimate potential within petitions and fun activities. Adult oneself. The meditation is meditation Register available to classes. anyone who wish-at www.ashirwada-blessing.org es to practice. Weekly medita-or Sri Ravula 281-995-0930. tion sessions held throughout the Houston area. Hare Krishnawww.sahaDham jmarg.org Email: meditate_ Houston’s original Vedic temple, houston@yahoo.com. ISKCON of Houston. At 1320 W 34th St. (77018). Daily Darshan Heritage Classes & Arati Times: 4.30am, 7am, Ashirwad’s Heritage Classes in 8.30am, 12noon, 4.30pm, 7pm, Katy, Cypress and Sugar Land 9pm. Sunday Festival: 5.30 pm to for kids 4 to 18 yrs - medita7.30 pm. Weekly Gita classes for tion, Yoga, slokas, stories from adults; call 281-433-1635 or scriptures, Vishnu Sahasranam, harekrishnadham @gmail.com bhajans, competitions and fun activities. Adult meditaHouston Namadwaar tion classes. Register at www. ashirwada-blessing.org or Hare Sri A prayer house where the Ravula 281-995-0930. Rama Hare Krishna Maha-mantra is continuously chanted. WeekHare ends: 8-11Krishna AM & 4-7 Dham PM, WeekHouston’s Vedic days: 7-8 AM original & 6-7 PM. Weekly temple, ISKCON children’s of Houston. “Gopa Kuteeram” heriAt 1320classes W 34th and St. (77018). tage Srimad Daily Darshanclasses. & AratiCall Times: Bhagavatam 2814.30am, 8.30am, 12noon, 402-6585;7am, visit www.godivinity.org 4.30pm, 7pm, 9pm. Sun(Global Organization for Divinity). day Festival: 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm. Weekly Gita classes for Saumyakasi Sivalaya adults; call 281-433-1635 or Sri Saumyakasi@gmail.com Sivalaya is loharekrishnadham cated at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Houston Namadwaar Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX A prayer house where the Hare 77478. Temple timings: Monday Rama Hare Krishna Maha-to Friday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and mantra is continuously chant5:00 8:00 PM Saturday and Suned. Weekends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 day: 8:30-2:00 PM and 5:00&- 6-7 8:00 PM, Weekdays: 7-8 AM PM. Call Bharti Sutaria 281-568PM. Weekly “Gopa Kuteeram” 1690 or Jayheritage Deshmukh 832-541children’s classes and 0059 or visit www.saum Srimad Bhagavatam classes. yakasi.org. Call 281-402-6585; visit www. godivinity.org (Global OrganiLibrary zationGandhi for Divinity). Mahatma Gandhi Library Book Club: Meets 2nd Sunday of each Saumyakasi Sivalaya month; 12:30 PM atSivalaya Arya Samaj Sri Saumyakasi is Greater Houston, 13475Prabha, Schiller located at Chinmaya Rd. Join the discussion of the great 10353 Synott Road, Sugar man’s TX autobiography – The timStory Land, 77478. Temple of MyMonday Experiments with Truth. ings: to Friday: 9:00 Call Manish 713-829-6979. AM - 12:00Wani Noon and 5:00 8:00 PM Saturday and Sunday: 8:30-2:00 PM and 5:00 - 8:00 Gauri Siddhivinayak PM. Call Bharti Sutaria 281568-1690 Temple or Jay Deshmukh 832-541-0059 visittowww. Darshan fromor7 a.m. 8 p.m. saum daily. yakasi.org. All major festivals as well as birthdays, naam karan, engagementGandhi and other Library ceremonies. Call Mahatma Gandhi Library Book Pandit Pradip Pandya 832-466Club: 2ndother Sunday of 9868 forMeets puja and ceremoeach PM at nies. month; At 564512:30 Hillcroft SteArya 701, Samaj Greater Houston, 13475 Houston, TX 77036. Schiller Rd. Join the discussion ofVeerashaiva the great man’s autobiograSamaja phyVSNA – The Houston Story of is My Experi-of a group ments with Truth. Call Manish Wani 713-829-6979.
Book on Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw on Vachana Sahitya followed by Prasada. Contact: vsnaSai centers Friday, July 10 Sathya @ 6:30 p.m. hous ton@gmail.com or Jaga- Sunday program held at two Zoroastrian Association of Houston will deesh Halyal 832-744-4166. locations (North Houston: present Brigadier Behram Panthaki12127 and his Louetta Rd, Houston; wife Zenobia Panthaki, authors of the much Houston: 246 Fluor Mar Thoma Church South acclaimed book: “Field Marshal Sam Dr, Sugarland, TX, Trinity Mar Thoma Church Daniel Manekshaw: The Man and His Times”, every Sunday at 5810 Almeda 77479) from 3:00 pm to 5:30 at the Zoroastrian Genoa Rd. SundayHeritage School and at Cultural pm. Sai Spiritual Education Center, 8787 W Airport Blvd., Houston, TX for children; study 9:15 a.m. Malayalam service classes 77071. Starts at 6:30 with social hour. at 9:30 a.m. on 1st & 3rd Sun- circle for adults. Service proManekshaw wasatIndia’s Field - food distribution & day.Sam Adult Bible class 9:30 first grams Marshal and a distinguished war hero. a.m. English service at 10:30 foodHisdrives; nursing home courage, and the dedication a.m. on his 2ndcharacter, & 4th Sunday. visits, tutoring at schools etc. to his troops and country are legendary. Call 713-991-1557 or 281Contact Sanjay Gupta (North) The life of this distinguished soldier832-687-6766 is portrayed by two 261-4603. ordistinguished Sondip authors who worked closely with him and shared many of the historic Mathur (South) 832-215-8675 events that changed the geo-political landscape of the region. Through Sri Guruvayurappan www.sairegion10.org. anecdotes related by Behram and Zenobia Panthaki we get a unique insight intoTemple the man’s ideals, his military acumen, his mannerisms, and Sadhu Vaswani Hours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 his sense of humor. a.m.Brigadier and 5:00Panthaki p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Center himself boasts a distinguished 30-year military Weekends & Holidays: 6 a.m. Sadhu Vaswani Centeraccomof career that earned him 12 military honors. Zenobia Panthaki topanied noon her andhusband 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 Houston holds regular Satsang on his postings to many small cantonment townp.m. 7 p.m. involved on 3rd Thursday of the month shipsBhajans all overSaturdays India and became with running welfare protograms 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 and daily Arti at 7.30 p.m. Call for soldiers’ wives and children; she has run the Army School, a.m. poojas (weekends or e.mail ramoand Special worked for the World Bank for281-463-0379 28 years until retirement in 2012. andThe holidays) Choroon (Anlaj@aol.com book has received over 60 positive reviews. To quote: “From naprasam) Thulab-narrative simply races along, providing beginning tofor endkids, this delightful haram, Vahana Pooja, NirapaTelugu Fellowship an intimate, witty and scintillating story of a superhero “ Sam’s hura. Temple is located at 11620 Telugu Christian Fellowship manism, his notations on official files, his colorful language and his Ormandy doodling”.St (77035) Tel: 713- meets every third Saturday of 729-8994 email: the month at Triumph Church, This book, withtemple@ over 200guphotographs, is dedicated to the men in ruvayur.us 10555 W. Airport Blvd., uniform who have laid down their lives defending their countryStafand to fordsoTX 77477 6:30 their widows who have also sacrificed much. Theat book willp.m. be on Preksha Meditation us for a time praise, A sale at the discounted price of $35, Join and autographed by theofauthors. New facilities Prekshawill worship andtofellowship. Wormajor portionof ofJVB the royalty be donated the War Wounded Meditation Center. Classes for ship is in English. Call Chris Foundation of India and the War Widows Welfare Assn. of India. Yoga and Meditation under Gantela 281-344-0707, or guidance by Samani jis and Rev. V. Gurrala 281-997-0757. families who believe in Veerashaiva dharma (Basava dharma). Monthly discourses. 14102forSchiller Mahamane At program prayer and discussion on Vachana Sahitya Road (off Hwy 6 bet Bellaire Gaudiya Math followed by Prasada. Contact: vsnahous ton@gmail.com or Jagadeesh and Westpark 77082). Tel Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha Halyal 832-744-4166. 281-596-9642. at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd., Houston 77084. Satsang SunMar Thoma Church Patanjali Yogpeeth days 5 to 7 pm. Mantra mediTrinity Thoma Church Sunday at 5810 Almeda Genoa Free YogaMar Classes every Sat/every tation, kirtan, Sanatan Dharma Rd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 am classes. Vedic Education on and1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at 10:30 to 9:30 a.m. Call Anil 281- Hindi classes for kids. Gita a.m. on 2ndFor & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or -281-261-4603. 579-9433. other free classclasses noon 1:30 pm Wed. es, call Indra 281-537-0018. Hanuman Chalisa and RamSriproducts, Guruvayurappan Temple For Yoga/Herbal call charit Manas on Tue. 7:30– Hours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 a.m. and 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. WeekShekhar 281-242-5000. Web: 8:30 p.m.p.m. info@sggm.org or ends & Holidays: 6and a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bhajans www.pyptusa.org www. 281-499-3347. Saturdays 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Special poojas DivyaProducts.com. (weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids, Thulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara. Temple is located at 11620 Ormandy St (77035) Tel: 713-729-8994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us
Importance of Guru Purnima Preksha Meditation
New facilities of JVB Preksha Meditation Center. Classes for Yoga and Meditation under guidance by Samani jis and discourses. At 14102 Schiller Road (off Hwy 6 bet Bellaire and Westpark - 77082). Tel 281-596-9642.
Patanjali Yogpeeth
Free Yoga Classes every Sat/Sun at Arya Samaj from 8 am to 9:30 a.m. Call Anil 281-579-9433. For other free classes, call Indra 281537-0018. For Yoga/Herbal products, call Shekhar 281-242-5000. Web: www.pyptusa.org and www.DivyaProducts.com.
LEGAL NOTICE
Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple These Texas Commission Scratch-Off games will be closing soon: Darshan from 7 a.m.Lottery to 8 p.m. Gurur Brahmaa Gurur Vishnu
daily. All major festivals as Gurur Devo Maheshwarah Official Close End Validations Game # Game Name / Odds $ of Game Date well as birthdays, naam karan, Guru Saakshaata Parabrahma engagement and other cer- Tasmai Shri Guruve Namah 1651 Ultimate Crossword - Overall Odds are 1 in 3.27 $10 7/12/15 1/8/16 emonies. Call Pandit Pradip Guru Purnima is celebrated when the moon is full in the vePandya 832-466-9868 puja- Overall 1690 Cashfor Frenzy are 1ofin Ashadh. 4.09 $5 it falls 7/30/15 dicOdds month This year on July 31. 1/26/16 and other ceremonies. At 5645 In Sanskrit, guru literally means remover of darkness. 1701Ste 701, Houston, BlackjackTX - Overall Oddsisare 1 in guru 4.75 has such great $1 importance 8/26/15 in our 2/22/16 Hillcroft That why culture. 77036. How to celebrate Guru Purnima: 1646 Hot ‘N Spicy Tripler - Overall Odds are 1 in 4.29 $2 8/26/15 2/22/16 You can offer your gratitude to all your gurus(teachers) and also Veerashaiva Samaja to every has been influential in your life and from whom 1657 Red Chili Tripler - Overall Odds one are 1who in 4.14 $2 8/26/15 2/22/16 VSNA Houston is a group of you have acquired knowledge. Also recite the above ode written TM 1648who believeLoteria - Overall Odds are 1 in 8/26/15 2/22/16 families in Veerespecially to3.98 express thanks$3to all gurus. ashaiva dharma (Basava dhar- If you have any question about this festival please contact Pandit ma).ForMonthly Mahamane pro- call 1-800-375-6886. Pandya Siddhivinayak temple at (832) 466-9868. detailed odds and game information, visit txlottery.org or Pradip Must beat 18 orGauri older to purchase a The prayer Texas Lottery supports education and veterans. © 2015 Texas Lottery Commission. All rights reserved. gramticket. for and Texas discussion —– Pandit Pradip Pandya
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 9
INDIA Court rejects Memon’s plea for stay of detah sentence NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed Yakub Abdul Razak Memon’s plea against his scheduled execution tomorrow in 1993 Mumbai blasts case. The SC bench did not find fault with the issuance of death warrant by the TADA court. “After the rejection of mercy petition by the President, Memon had not challenged that in the court of law,” the SC bench said. He may be executed tomorrow. Earlier, Maharashtra governor Vidyasagar Rao on Wednesday rejected Yakub Memon’s mercy petition. However, Yakub filed a fresh mercy petition with President on Wednesday. That is his last hope now. Senior advocate Raju Ramachndran, appearing for Memon, initiated arguments by referring to the separate, divergent orders passed by Justice A R Dave and Justice Kurian
Joseph yesterday and said that the procedures established by the law have not been followed while deciding the curative petition of the convict. Ramachandran said, “The judges, who were part of judicial process earlier, must be party to curative petition. It cannot be decided by judges who are strangers to the matters.” He further said that besides the three senior most judges, the curative petition should have been circulated to the judges, if available, who had decided the criminal appeal and the review petition. Senior advocates T R Andhyarujina and Anand Grover both supported the contention of Ramachandran and said that this death warrant is illegal and can not be executed tomorrow. Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said that the court should not forget the fact that it was the first terror attack at the heart of the country that had
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led to the death of 257 persons and several hundred injured. Memon, the lone death convict in 1993 Mumbai blasts case, in his plea had claimed he was suffering from schizophrenia since 1996 and has remained behind the bars for nearly 20 years, much more than a person serving life term has to spend in jail. He had sought commutation of death penalty, contending that a convict cannot be awarded life term and the death sentence for the same offence. The apex court had on June 2, 2014 stayed the execution of Memon and referred his plea to a Constitution bench as to whether review petitions in death penalty cases be heard in an open court or in chambers. Twelve coordinated blasts had rocked Bombay, as the city was then known, on March 12, 1993, leaving 257 dead and over 700 injured.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday sent the fresh mercy petition of 1993 Mumbai-blast accused Yakub Memon — filed on Wednesday as a last ditch attempt to escape the gallows — to the home ministry. Memon, who is scheduled to be hanged to death in Nagpur Jail tomorrow at 7am, sent a fresh clemency plea to the President on Wednesday.
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Government clears FDI proposals worth Rs 981 crore NEW DELHI: Government of India said Wednesday it has cleared seven foreign investment proposals, including that of Hathway Cable and Datacom, totalling over Rs 981 crore. The proposals worth Rs 981.15 crore have been cleared by the Finance Ministry following recommendations for the same by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Hathway Cable and Data Com Ltd has got approval for increasing foreign investment limit for FIIs and FPIs, among others under the portfolio investment scheme from the current 49 per cent of its issued and fully paid up share capital to 74 per cent. The Ministry said the proposal, related to telecom and broadcasting sector, entails investment worth Rs 963 crore. Hyderabad-based Celon Laboratories too has got permission for downstream investment in a brown field pharma company. The investment has been estimated at Rs 16 crore. Cyprus-based Lalea Trading, related to real estate, has been granted permission for repatriation of investment. The clearance will lead to FDI outflow of about Rs 23.27 crore. The FIPB, in its July 3 meeting, has also cleared application of Kotak Mahindra Bank. The private sector bank had sought approval for increasing the aggregate foreign investment to 55 per cent following a merger between ING Vyasa Bank and Kotak Bank. Also, the decision on six FDI proposals including that of Den Networks, Reliance Globalcom (Bemuda), Sistema Shyam Teleservices and Indian Rotocraft was deferred in the meeting. Meanwhile, the FIPB headed by Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi will meet again tomorrow to decided on over 40 investment proposals.
Underground chamber found on Siva temple premises PUDUCHERRY: An underground chamber close to a twelfth-century Siva temple at nearby Villianoor was on Wednesday found by workers engaged in renovation work. The workers came across a granite slab close to the Lord Somaskandar shrine and when they removed it, they found a 15 foot deep chamber with some stepping stones leading to it, officials said. The contractor engaged in renovation work said he got into the chamber and went ahead for a few feet and found it to be a strong structure. He could not proceed further because of the airtight nature of the basement, he said. Officials of the Revenue, Hindu Religious Institutions and Police departments who rushed to the spot opined that the chamber could have been used as a safety vault to store valuable icons and other valuables. The temple was constructed during the Chola period and it was estimated that it was constructed in 12th century.
AIIMS whistleblower, Goonj founder bag Magsaysay Award
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service officer, and Anshu Gupta, the founder of NGO Goonj, are the two Indians selected for this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s highest honour. Chaturvedi had earned the “whistleblower” tag for uncovering several scams and was removed last year as Chief Vigilance Commissioner of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Three others who have been selected for the award include Kommaly Chanthavong from Laos, Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa from Philippines and Kyaw Thu from Myanmar, the board of Trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced. Chaturvedi, who has been awarded for “Emergent Leadership”, is currently the Deputy Secretary of AIIMS. The Foundation said that Chaturvedi is being recognised for “his exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly investigating corruption in public office, and his resolute crafting of program and system improvements to ensure that government honourably serves the people of India.” Gupta, who left his corporate job to start Goonj in 1999, is being recognised for “his creative vision in transforming the culture of giving in India, his enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor, and in reminding the world that true giving always respects and preserves human dignity.” It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine President after whom the award is named, and is given every year to individuals or organisations in Asia who manifest the same selfless service and transformative influence that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.
PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
COMMUNITY NEWS
Stuti Patel sworn in as associate district judge
Stuti Patel, second from right, is flanked by her father Surinder Trehan, right, husband Hiren Patel, mother Lalita Trehan, far left, and daughter Priya. Son Dhilan is not in the picture.
Stuti Patel speaks after taking the oath of office. By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County’s 400th District Court Judge Maggie Jaramillo administered the oath of office to Stuti Trehan Patel, as associate district judge on July 27. The board of judges selected Patel, an assistant district attorney in the office of Fort Bend County District Attorney to the associate judge position, being vacated by Associate Judge Pedro Ruiz. Stuti Patel, a home town girl, was proud to serve as a judge in Fort Bend County. She went to Dulles Elementary and Clements High School and got her JD from the University of Houston Law Center in 1996. Daughter of Lalita and Surinder Trehan of Sugar Land, Stuti is married to Hiren Patel. Fort Bend County judges, elected officials, several community members, family and friends of Patel attended the
swearing in ceremony Stuti Patel, while in high school had an opportunity to serve in Fort Bend County. She recalled her first experience as a volunteer for the Family Outreach of Fort Bend where she was volunteering for a Church Parenting Program for Divorcing Parents. Later, she became a prosecutor in the Felony Trial Division with extensive courtroom experience in jury trials, hearings, and docket management for cases ranging from general felonies to capital murders. Her duties also included assisting victims and witnesses, legal research, preparing & reviewing agency warrants, community education/public speaking and intake of cases from multiple law enforcement agencies. Stuti Patel developed strong, positive and professional working relationships with
Fort Bend County District and County Judges, Community Corrections & Supervision Department, Fort Bend County Criminal Defense Attorney Association members and several community & law enforcement agencies. Her past assignments included Grand Jury/Felony Intake and Juvenile, Domestic Violence & Misdemeanor Trial Divisions. Patel worked in the Harris County Domestic Relations Office as Attorney & Mediator during 1998-1999. She practiced law in the area of child support and visitation enforcement as well as Interviewed clients, prepared legal documents and assisted with prosecution of both court-assigned and private cases. She has served as a certified family mediator and successfully mediated a substantial number of court-referred contested cases involving children. From 1996 to 1998, she was an associate attorney with Watts & Associates, P.C where she practiced law in the area of general civil litigation. She independently managed a large case load, prepared litigation motions, pleadings and discovery for state courts. Courtroom experience included motions,
Stuti Patel’s father-in-law Ramanbhai Patel, second from left, and mother-in-law Sushma Patel, third from right, are seated among the audience during the swearing-in ceremony. hearings and trials and assisted cial Work from The University with appellate work. of Texas at Austin with Honors Stuti Patel received State in May 1993. She majored in Bar of Texas License in No- Social Work and Minor in Psyvember 1996. She was admit- chology. ted to Southern District of TexWith a well rounded legal as, September 1998 experience and commendable She obtained her JD from work ethic, Stuti Patel has jusUniversity of Houston Law tifiably risen to the rank of a Center in May 1996. judge as evidenced by compliAt the University of Hous- ments from Judges Jim Shoeton Legal Aid Clinic she was make, Judge Maggie Jaramillo Student Attorney in 1995. and District Attorney John In 1994 she was a legal in- Healey. tern in Harris County District Stuti was born in JallandAttorney’s Office and also har, India. Her grand parents an intern at the U.S. Federal are Harbilas and Laldai Trehan Bankruptcy Court of the Hon- and Ishwer Singh and Sarasorable Letitia Z. Clark. Patel wati Hora. Stuti’s grandfather got her Bachelor degree in So- was also a judge in India.
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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 11
COMMUNITY NEWS
Rotary Club of Fort Bend County inducts new officers
Kay Lahiri Gashette, left, Kamran Makhdoom, Surender Talwar, Nalina Pillai and Jerry Fariza The local Rotary Club of Fort Bend County, under Houston District 5890, ushered in a new governance team on Wednesday July 8, 2015 during the Annual Induction Ceremony. Incumbent Chapter President, Kamram Makhdoom and Houston District Rotary Club 5890 Governor, Nick Giannone welcomed the new President, Surender Talwar, Secretary, Nalina Pil-
lai and Treasurer, Kaushiki L Gashette. Overall, the ceremony focused on the charitable efforts and accomplishments of the prior year. In full support to the Rotary leadership, the incoming members reinforced their continued commitment to the long term club goals. A priority for the 2015 - 2016 Rotary Club 5890 will be new membership drives.
In rare form, the ceremony concluded with a traditional Hindi song performed by none other than the incoming President, Surender Talwar. The Fort Bend Rotary Club 5890 meets each Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. Please feel free to encourage potential members to contact any of the aforementioned local members or attend a regular meeting as a distinguished guest.
Fort Bend County Rotary Club President Surender Talwar, left, with Houston District Rotary Club Governor Nick Giannone.
Hindu Memorial Day
“History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul”
Saturday, August 15th, 2015, 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm India House, 8888 W. Bellfort Blvd, Houston, TX 77031 Keynote Speakers
PROGRAM OVERVIEW Hindu Memorial Day Observance Hindu Issues Presentation Dr. Madan Lal Goel
Sri Arjunan Sampath
Dr Amrit Nehru
● “Hindu Issues in South India” (Sri Arjunan Sampath)
Prof. Emeritus Political Sciences
President
Director
(University of Florida)
Hindu People’s Party
Kashmir Hindu Foundation
● “Kashmir Past and Present” (Dr Amrit Nehru)
RSVP & Further Information: Rudranath Talukdar 281-701-2328 ● Gajanan Gaikwad 832-5646878 ● Dilip Mehta 713-553-7384 ● Barry Nirmal 832-692-9553 ● Mala Rao 281-221-7765 ● Thammavaram Rao 281-835-3079 ● Shashidhar Prasad 606-231-2059 ● Gandhi Gopinath 832466-5954 ● Rishikesh Shenoy 713-305-4878 ● Subhash Pandey 832-554-9943 ● Annant Srivastava 713-992-8522 ● Varun Anand 832-429-5065 ● Padmaja Vedartham 281-610-4412 ● Send e-mail to: houston@hmsamerica.org Organized by: Houston Chapter of Hindu Mahasabha of America ● http://hmsamerica.org
Keynote Lectures
● “Hindu Unity, the Road Map ahead” (Dr. Madan Lal Goel)
Light refreshments will be served after the Program
PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
COMMUNITY NEWS
Counselors get ready set for Hindu Heritage Youth Camp 2015
Top row- Yash T., Arjun R. Divya S., Rohan C., Shamal S., Shiven S., Ketan D. Second row- Bharat P., Akash D., Namita P., Manan S., Sheeba A., Resham H., Shyam M., Alisha A., Puja J., Aadithya S., Sid R., Vevek S., Arpan A. Third row- Saumya W., Sujata A., Sonya C., Anoosha A., Unnati S., Abhimanyu A., Rahul S., Saket S., Lipika G. Fourth row- Niti D., Simran J., Nina W., Priya S., Kavita P., Rohit M., Veli S., Esheeta B. Keshav Smruti is alive and busy on Sunday, August 26th. 40 college aged kids are frantically working and running around while a few of the lazy eat pau bhaji. But they can all agree they’re very excited, as the coming Tuesday will kick off what has taken the entire summer to prepare for. The 31st annual Hindu Heritage Youth Camp will be taking place this year during the first and second weeks of August. Growing on last year’s success, registration this year will be at an all-time high of 200
children ranging from 7 to 17. In preparation for HHYC this year, co-directors Bharat Pallod and Arpan Amin have been planning since February. It’s a long process, starting with finding enough counselors and volunteers who will be able to make the commitment through the summer. But in recent years there has been a surplus of volunteers, as lifelong campers are eager to return the favor. In addition to counselors, the two directors must also find volunteers - doctors for each day, “aun-
ties” to help in the kitchen and “uncles” to help keep everyone straight, and sponsors to ensure camp fees remain low. As Pallod puts it, “we get counselors, volunteers, and campers from every part of the city, it really requires bringing the whole community together. But we’re able to do it, the support is overflowing.” Pallod is co-directing camp for the second consecutive year. Doing it once is simply not enough. “You use the first year to learn, and you use the second year to build
on that and make camp better.” He’s worked with his co-director diligently on that. For his co-director Arpan Amin, directing camp for the first time is something very special. His father Sharad Amin was one of the founders of camp, and Arpan proudly boasts that his first camp was when he was still in his mother’s womb 23 years ago. Growing up attending HHYC has not only given him lifelong friends but also shaped his identity today. The desire to return the favor to
the next generation is visible. One of the best examples of this is the revamped HHYC website, hinducamp.com. “Today, if you’re a legit organization, you’re expected to have a legit website”, he says, explaining how he may know how great HHYC is, but showing it to others is important. A better website allows this, and it’s shown in the increased registration, up almost 30 kids from the prior year. But Amin wants the improved website to go beyond that, long term he hopes that it can properly capture the 31 years of history that camp has, and provide portals for counselors and parents. He wants campers to be able to visit the website and look back at the material they were able to learn. He beams “we believe we’re a staple event in the Houston community, and we want to show that”. For both directors, long term plans for their camp are even bigger. Owning a campsite would be nice, and having additional events in the year would be ideal. “The goal of camp is to help strengthen these children’s identity” as counselor Ketan Datta puts it, and he believes there is so much more they could do to achieve this. But for now, his priority is reviewing a counselor’s presentation on Dharma. —KAVITA PALLOD
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COMMUNITY NEWS Sugar Land gains control of Cullinan Park
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 13
Congratulations to
India Herald on the occasion of its 20th anniversary from
THE INDO-AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF GREATER HOUSTON Sugar Land council members Himesh Gandhi, left, Joe Zimmerman, Mayor Jimmy Thompson and Councilman Harish Jajoo at the Cullinan Park. The transfer of operating authority of Cullinan Park from the city of Houston to the city of Sugar Land was celebrated in a short ceremony inside Cullinan Park on July 27. Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Sugar Land Mayor Jimmy Thompson respectively, issued a proclamation recognizing the Cullinan family, the Cullinan Park Conservancy Board and the 750-acre park. Chairman of the George Foundation Board Bill Jameson announced a $1 million donation by the foundation to the Cullinan Park development. The matching grant will be distributed over 4 years. Parker said the deal was best for the park and not what was best for Houston or Sugar Land. Thompson conveyed the city’s commitment to taking care of the passive park, in keeping with the vision of the Conservancy group. Sugar Land City Council approved agreements on May 19 for the future development of Cullinan Park, 754 acres of mostly inaccessible forest and wetlands north of Sugar Land Regional Airport. The land is currently owned by the city of Houston and Houston Parks Board and is located within Houston’s extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The Cullinan Park Conservancy contacted both Houston and Sugar Land months ago and proposed a partnership to further develop the acreage as a passive park that will preserve the natural beauty of the property. Phase 1 improvements include improving access to the property through nature trails and bridges, as well as installation of a picnic pavilion and a children’s nature area. Discussions led to an inter-local agreement between Sugar Land and Houston for the property’s transfer to Sugar Land’s ETJ. The agreement also includes criteria for the future annexation, maintenance and operation of the park by Sugar Land. While Houston will continue to own the property, the agreement provides a 30-year right-of-entry to Sugar Land that’s renewable for an additional 30 years. The inter-local agreement will take effect once the conservancy raises an initial contribution of $500,000. A memorandum of understanding between Sugar Land and the Cullinan Conservancy outlines the conservancy’s fundraising efforts for the park, including a commitment of $10 million during the next 10 years. Houston City Council approved the Cullinan Park inter-local agreement on May 27. The lands of Cullinan Park were first settled in 1828 by Alexander Hodge, a member of Stephen F. Austin’s Old 300. For more than 150 years, the property was used for raising cattle, sugar cane and other crops. In 1989, Cullinan Park was acquired by the Houston Parks Board and City of Houston and opened in 1991 as a nature preserve with improvements funded by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The Cullinan Park Conservancy was formed as a non-profit corporation in 2010, as a project of the tax-exempt Houston Parks Board. The Conservancy seeks to enhance and protect the natural beauty of Cullinan Park. The conservancy is focused on a number of efforts that will help enhance the Park’s status as -- in the words of its major donor Nina Cullinan -- a “place of beauty and peacefulness in the city.” These efforts include mapping the park, surveying its vegetation and birdlife, planning for its trail and bridge renovations, arranging for park cleanups and organizing a photo contest about the park, its wildlife, landscapes and visitors. —SESHADRI KUMAR
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Indian Music Society of Houston Serving Indian classical music lovers for over 25 years
Mark your calendar for our next event Carnatic Vocal Recital by
Kruthi Bhat
Houston’s young music prodigy
Vidwan Tiruvarur Vaidyanathan on Mridangam
Vidwan Vittal Ramamurthy on Violin Kruthi Bhat on Vocal
Anuraag Shah on Tabla
Keerthana Bhat on Tambura
Kruthi Bhat, born into a family of musicians, she showed her interest towords music as a toddler and was initiated into Carnatic Music by her grandmother, Smt. Krishnaveni. She is under the tutelage of her mother Vidushi Rajarajeshwary Bhat, her uncle Vidwan Vittal Ramamurthy, Vidwan Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan, and Vidushi S. Sowmya. She has had the privilege to learn from the legendary Padmabhushan Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman and Sri T. R. Subramanyan. Kruthi is a recipient of numerous awards in India as well as the United States.
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CINEMA Bollywood makes inroads into Tamil Nadu market MUMBAI: Salman Khan’s ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is turning into one of the star’s biggest hits, breaking the record set by his earlier blockbuster ‘Dabangg’. In its opening week,’Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has beaten even ‘PK’ and ‘Happy New Year’ records. In Tamil Nadu, considered one of the smallest markets for Hindi films in India,’Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ has done extraordinary business. The film has grossed 2.10 crore rupees in its first week from nearly 50 screens in the state, despite facing competition from films such as ‘Baahubal’i and Dhanush’s ‘Maari’. Bollywood is finally making inroads into the Tamil Nadu market. Earlier, 80 percent of the box office share of a Hindi film came from Chennai and its suburbs alone. Now, even tier-2 towns in Tamil Nadu, such as Tiruchy, Vellore, Kanchipuram, Salem and Madurai are giving priority screens to big Hindi films. The biggest Hindi grossers in Tamil Nadu are Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Chennai Express’ and Aamir Khan’s ‘3 Idiots’. Theatre owner Annamalai from Tiruchi, says: “Earlier, Hindi films used to run only in Chennai and Coimbatore. But more towns in Tamil Nadu are screening them on a regular basis now. The advent of multiplexes, the influx of Hindi-speaking audiences in the IT industry, growth of social media and subtitling have created new audiences for Hindi films in the state.” However, there have also been cases in the 60s and 70s, where films such as ‘Aradhana’, ‘Yaadon Ki Baaraat’, ‘Bobby’ and ‘Sholay’, ran for over 100 days in Chennai. Actor and Tamil film historian Mohan V. Raman points out: “In the mid 50s to early 70s, DMK’s pronounced anti-Hindi stance made sure that Hindi films were limited to the Mount Road area of Madras city. I remember watching films such as ‘Sangam’ and ‘Aradhana’, which were runaway superhits, but they never released beyond Tambaram those days. But all that changed when the MGR regime took over as he adopted a more nationalistic view. The connect between Kollywood and Bollywood industries was strong even during the time of AVM Studios and Gemini Studios. In 1970s and 80s, south Indian heroines even dominated the Bombay film industry. Today, the best technicians in Bollywood are from the south. And the growth of the IT sector has also brought about a change, as more Hindi-speaking people have come into the state.” The corporatization of Bollywood has also helped Hindi films percolate down into smaller towns. Films such as ‘Queen’ and ‘Piku’ screened with subtitles managed decent business in the multiplexes of these towns. Apart from that, even coverage for a Hindi film in the Tamil media has increased, thanks to social media. In fact, Bollywood stars are promoting several brands in Tamil Nadu, which were reserved for local faces. The success of Hindi films has also pushed the price of big star movies through the roof. A few years back, small-time distributors handled Hindi film distribution in the state; now, most biggies are distributed directly through local subsidiaries of Mumbai companies. Theatres in rural Tamil Nadu too are now willing to screen Hindi films as they are commercially viable. Preetha Ramaswamy, manager, PR and Marketing, SPI Cinemas, says :“The scenario for Hindi films in Tamil Nadu has undergone a tremendous change over the last six or seven years. With the growth of multiplexes and increase in the number of screens, it is now possible to program more films that cater to a wider range of audiences. All the major Hindi films now open big here. There is a regular audience for these films and the expectations are huge for big banner releases.” It looks like Bollywood has finally conquered its last frontier.
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 15
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Neha Dhupia clarifies her tweet
MUMBAI: After facing a backlash for criticizing the government on social media platform Twitter over its apathy towards Mumbai citizens during monsoon, actress Neha Dhupia has clarified that she didn’t intend to ‘hurt’ or ‘demean’ anyone with her post. On July 21, Neha took to the micro-blogging site and wrote: “One rain and the city comes to a standstill. Good governance is not about selfies and making us do yoga, it’s making sure your citizens are safe.” The post, many thought, took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who emphasizes the importance of yoga and has made headlines for going on a selfie spree on several occasions. But, in a statement issued on Monday, Neha said that “the intention of my tweet was never to demean or personally attack anyone”. Her statement read: “It was the mere frustration of a helpless citizen of Mumbai. I’ve tried to take the high road on the outcome and ignore the people who’ve abused me and my family ad nauseam online. “But I was intimidated as protestors stood outside my house. I am grateful to our police for protecting us and request people to see that my words were about a subject and not a person. My goal was never to hurt anyone’s sentiments. “I have wholeheartedly and consistently supported the government’s movements like ‘Yoga Day’ and ‘Swachh Bharat’ as I will do in the future as well. I hope we can focus on the issues that matter and that my appeal to improve our civic amenities is taken in the right way.”
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PAGE 16 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
SPORT
All acquitted in spot-fixing case
Slapped with charges including that of organized crime, cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were on Saturday discharged in the sensational 2013 IPL-6 spot-fixing case by a court in Delhi which held that police has failed to make out a case against them. “All are discharged,” Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna said while pronouncing the order clearing in all, 36 persons accused of cheating, cheating by personation and conspiracy along with charges under the tough Maharahstra law MCOCA. The three cricketers, who were banned for life from the game by BCCI immediately after police action in the alleged scam two years ago, were clubbed with underworld fugitive dons Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel. They were accused of involvement in organised crime syndicate run by the dons. But the court, which was to decide whether to frame charges in the case, however, said the police was also unable to substantiate charges under MCOCA and also under the Indian Penal Code. Six accused including Ibrahim and Shakeel were declared proclaimed offenders. It was of the view that there was no evidence in the case to frame charges in which the Delhi police had first filed a 6,000-page charge sheet against various accused and
Cricketers S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan who were discharged in the IPL spot-fixing case, at the Patiala House Courts in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy later came out with a supple- room started hugging each mentary charge sheet. other The charge sheet had said Even when a court had that the police had unearthed granted bail to Sreesanth and sufficient evidence to pros- others, it was held that there ecute the accused for the of- was lack of evidence against fence punishable under section them under the provisions of 120 B (conspiracy) read with MCOCA. 419 (cheating by personation), The court had then indicted 420 (cheating) of IPC and un- the Delhi Police for slapping der the provisions the stringent the stringent provisions of MCOCA. MCOCA on Sreesanth, ChaThe cricketers expressed van and others. happiness over the verdict say“There is no reason for being they always had faith in the lieving that the accused are judiciary and vowed to return guilty under the Maharashtra to the game. Control of Organized Crime Talking to PTI, Sreesanth Act (MCOCA) at this stage,” said at last justice has been Additional Sessions Judge Vidone to him, adding, “God nay Kumar Khanna had said willing, I will be able to return then. to cricket. I have no regrets, no It said there was prima facie complaints.” “no sufficient material” against Sreesanth, 32, broke down the accused to establish their on hearing the order while the “nexus” with organized crime other accused including the syndicate. players present in the court—The Hindu
IPL spot-fixing: Chronology of events Following is the chronology of events in IPL 6 spot-fixing and betting scandal in which a Delhi court on Saturday discharged all the accused in the case: * May 16, 2013: Rajasthan Royals players —— S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan —— arrested by Delhi Police. * May 28: IPL Governing Council sets up Inquiry Committee to probe the case. * Jun 2: BCCI president N
Srinivasan relinquishes BCCI duties temporarily. * Jun 11: Sreesanth and Chavan granted bail. * Jul 30: Delhi police files charge sheet, naming Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel as persons who have been controlling the fixing and betting market in cricket in India * Sep 9: Ajit Chandila granted bail by a Delhi court. Others also granted bail over a passage of time. * Nov 18: Delhi police files
Young India squash player Kush Kumar claimed his maiden PSA title, defeating top seed Jamie Haycocks of England in
straight games in the summit clash of the $5,000 Tasmanian open in Devonport in Australia. The third seeded Indian, a semifinalist in the recent National Championship, beat Haycocks 11-4, 11-5, 13-11. Kush, who has been with the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai since the age of 14, has had a dream run in the tournament. He defeated Rohan Toole of Australia in the first round 114, 11-13, 11-2, 11-0, then edged out eighth-seeded Thomas Calver (Aus) 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 for a semifinal entry. The youngster then ousted Irishman Sean Conroy 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 in the semifinals to book his final berth.
supplementary charge sheet in the case. * May 31, 2014: Court orders property attachment of Dawood and others. * Sep 30: Court declares Dawood, Chhota Shakeel and one other as proclaimed offenders. * May 23, 2015: Court reserves order on framing of charges in the case. * Jul 25: All 36 accused discharged in the case.
Davis Cup: India faces Czech Republic at home India has drawn top seed and three-time champion Czech Republic in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie, to be played at home, from September 18 to 20. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) will decide the surface and venue in consultation with the players. The whole Indian team has flown into the US for tournaments, after having beaten New Zealand 3-2 in the Asia-Oceania second round tie in Christchurch. “The venues shortlisted are Delhi and Pune”, said a statement from the AITA secretary general, Bharat Oza. The matter would be taken up by the AITA Executive Committee after consultation with the parties concerned. The Czech Republic, which had won the title in 2012 and 2013 apart from 1980 (as Czechoslovakia), had lost to France in the semifinals last year. It lost to Australia 2-3 in the World Group first round tie this year, when it was without the services of current world No. 6, Tomas Berdych. India had played a good tie against the Czech Republic last time in 1997, in the ice hockey rink in Pribram. The former world No.2, Petr Korda won both his singles matches against Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi on indoor clay. However, Korda and Martin Damm had lost to Paes and Bhupathi in doubles. Paes had beaten Jiri Novak on the first day in four sets, but Novak clinched it for the Czech with a fluent win over Bhupathi in the fifth rubber. Perfect record The Czech Republic also has a 3-0 win-loss record against India, having won the earlier ties 4-1 as Czechoslovakia in 1986 in Kolkata and 1926 in Prague. While India had a close call against Serbia in Bengaluru last September in the World Group play-off, when it lost 2-3, the Czech Republic has stayed in the World Group since 2006. The absence of world No.1 Novak Djokovic had opened the door for India, but Dusan Lajovic
and Filip Krajinovic won three singles matches between them to take the team forward. With the first round losers of the World Group being seeded 1 to 8, India had chances of home ties against Japan, US and Italy, apart from Czech Republic. India has an enviable 18-4 record against Japan, while it is 0-1 against the US and 1-4 against Italy. Had India drawn Brazil, Croatia, Switzerland or Germany, it would have travelled to these countries. It may be recalled that India had beaten Brazil in Chennai in 2010, after being down 0-2. India had beaten Switzerland 3-2 in Kolkata in 1993, and Croatia 3-2 in Delhi in 1995. Zeeshan sounds confident India’s coach Zeeshan Ali sounded confident about its team’s chances against the Czech Republic. “Last time we played the No.2 seeds Serbia and this time it’s the No. 1. But it is at home. There are also rumours that Tomas Berdych might not play. He hasn’t played for them this year. Radek Stepanek too. So all that is good news.” But Zeeshan said that this should leave no reason for complacency. “They will still have Lukas Rosol and a couple of top-100 players. We should always prepare thinking that their best players will turn up. It is also possible that they may well turn up since it’s a crunch tie.” The players, in recent years, have taken a liking for Bengaluru as a host city but the AITA statement mentioned the names of Delhi and Pune as the possible venues. “We might be looking for something which is a bit hotter [than Bengaluru],” said Zeeshan. “Bangalore organises an amazing tie. So much so that even the foreigners like it here [laughs]. But we will have a clear picture in about two weeks. “We need to speak to the players, captain Anand [Amritraj], and AITA. Players’ availability matters too and we need to check if Leander [Paes] will be available.”
Squash: Kush Kumar earns title
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INDIAHERALD HERALD• WEDNESDAY, • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2004• •PAGE PAGE17 29 INDIA JULY 29,3,2015
STORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI
In Champaran, “face-to-face with God, ahimsa, truth”
The annual meeting of the Congress was held in December 1916 in Lucknow. The Congress was divided. There were the moderates and there were the extremists, but at Lucknow the Congress met without tension between the two wings. The President, Ambika Charan Mazumdar, spoke in terms of Swaraj, which previous leaders had demanded. A resolution was passed appealing to His Majesty’s Government and demanding that a definite step should be taken towards Indian self-government by granting the reforms contained in the scheme prepared by the AllMahatma Gandhi Week India Congress Committee and in Houston adopted by the All-India Muslim Enter Mahatma Gandhi Week -Sept. to Oct 3,Poster 2004.and League. 2015 Essay,27 I-Tribute, Call 713-785-3900 or visit In Lucknow the Congress and Speech Contests. Visit www.mahatmagandhilibrary.org the Muslim League came to an gandhilibrary.org for registration. agreement. This was later known as the Lucknow Pact. For the him about, begging him to come sake of the unity of India the Con- and help the suffering villagers in gress conceded many points de- Champaran. Gandhi at last promised to visit the place after he had manded by the Muslims. For two years Gandhi had trav- visited Calcutta. When Gandhi was in Calcutta, elled extensively in India and had Rajkumar was there too, to take talked at different places. He now him to Bihar. wanted to start some work conGandhi went to Champaran nected with labor. His interest first with Rajkumar early in 1917. On centered on the problem of indenhis arrival the District Magistrate tured labor, the system under served him with a notice saying which poor, ignorant laborers were that he was not to remain in the enticed away from India to work district of Champaran but must in the British colonies. He had leave the place by the first availfought this system in South Africa able train. and he wanted to see it abolished. Gandhi disobeyed this order. He The Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, was summoned to appear before announced that His Majesty’s the court. The magistrate said, “If Government had agreed to abolyou leave the district now and ish the system’ in due course. promise not to return, the case Gandhi, however, wanted a defiagainst you will be withdrawn: nite date before which the system “This cannot be,” said Gandhi. would go. “I came here to render humaniSo now Gandhi started a great tarian and national service. I shall agitation on this issue. He went to make Champaran my home and Bombay and consulted all the Inwork for the suffering people.’ dian leaders there. They fixed A large crowd of peasants was May 31, 1917 as the last date for outside the court shouting slogans. the abolition of indentured labor. The magistrate and the police He then went around the country looked nervous. to get support for this view. Then Gandhi said, “I shall help Meetings were held in all imyou and calm these people if you portant places. Everywhere there let me speak to them.” was a great response. Even Gandhi appeared before the Gandhi said that he had not excrowd and said, “You must show pected so much public support. your faith in me and in my work As a result of the agitation, the by remaining quiet. The magisGovernment announced that the trate had the right to arrest me, system of indentured labor would because I disobeyed his order. If be stopped before July 31,1917. I am sent to jail, you must accept Gandhi had heard about an obthat as just. We must work peacenoxious system of agricultural lafully. Any violent act will harm our bor prevailing in Bihar. In the Champaran district of cause.” The crowd dispersed peaceBihar, the cultivators were forced fully. The police stared at Gandhi by Europeans to grow indigo, a in admiration as he went inside the blue dye, and this imposed on them court. untold sufferings. They could not “That day in Champaran was grow the food they needed, nor an unforgettable event in my life did they receive adequate payment ..... It is no exaggeration, but the for the indigo. literal truth, to say that in this Gandhi was unaware of this meeting with the peasants, I was until an agriculturist from Bihar, face to face with God, ahimsa Rajkumar Shukla, met him and told and truth,” Gandhi wrote later. him of the woes of the people of The Government withdrew the Champaran. He requested Gandhi case against Gandhi and allowed to go to the place and see for himhim to remain in the district. Gandhi self the state of affairs there. stayed there to study the grievGandhi was then attending the ances of the peasants. Congress meeting at Lucknow He visited many villages. He and he did not have time to go cross-examined about 8,000 culthere. Rajkumar Shukla followed
Summer Project
tivators and recorded their statements. In this way he arrived at an exact understanding of their plight and the causes. He came to the conclusion that the ignorance of the cultivators was one of the main reasons why the European planters could exploit them. Gandhi set up voluntary organizations to improve the economic and educational conditions of the people. They opened schools and taught the people how to improve sanitation. The Government realized Gandhi’s strength and devotion to his causes. They themselves then set up a committee to enquire into the grievances of the cultivators. They invited Gandhi to serve on that committee, and he agreed. The result was that within a few months the Champaran Agrarian Bill was passed. It gave great relief to the cultivators and land tenants. Gandhi could not stay longer in Bihar. There were calls from other places. Labor unrest was brewing in Ahmedabad and Gandhi was requested to help settle the dispute. Gandhi hurried back to Ahmedabad. Before taking up the labor dispute Gandhi wanted to move his ashram. The Satyagraha Ashram was in a village near Ahmedabad, but the surroundings were not clean and plague had broken out. It had spread there from Ahmedabad. A rich merchant of Ahmedabad, who was closely associated with the ashram, volunteered to procure a suitable piece of land. Gandhi went about with him looking for land and at last they chose a place on the bank of the Sabarmati river, near the Sabarmati Central Jail. The land was purchased and there the famous Sabarmati Ashram was started. In Ahmedabad there were many textile mills. Prices had gone up and the mill workers were demanding higher wages. The mill owners would not agree. Gandhi sympathized with the workers and took up their cause. He launched a struggle and resorted to peaceful resistance. The workers proudly followed Gandhi and pledged their full support to him. They paraded the streets with large banners, and said they would not go back to work until a settlement had been reached. — To be Continued
CHEF’S CORNER SPIRITUALITY Kheer recipes Rakhi fest ‘Gyan’ &for ‘vigyan’ Phirni
By DEVDUTT PATNAIK Ingredients: cups Krishna reveals3the Gita to Arjuna on the brink of battle at milk, 3 tbsp. rice, washed Kuru-kshetra. Sanjaya, blessed with telepathic sight, overhears and soaked in wateritfor this and transmits to 2Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastihours; 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tbsp. napur, father of the Kauravas, uncle of the Pandavas, who sits almonds, and slivfar from blanched the battlefield in a comfortable palace. This structure, ered, 1 tbsp. pistachios, with two speakers and three receivers, is aimed to draw attention peeled and slivered,of 1/4any tsp.communication, the wide gap between to the complexity cardamom powder, 1/4 tsp. knowledge given (gyan) and knowledge taken ( vi-gyan). crushed saffron, foil speak the same words, however, only Krishna and silver Sanjaya (optional). Krishna is the source of the knowledge, while Sanjaya is merely Method: Grind rice knows to a transmitter. Krishna what he is talking about. Sanjaya a fine, smooth paste, keep does not. Arjuna, Sanjaya and Dhritarashtra hear the same versaside. to boil. on es, butPut theymilk process it differently. stirring occasionally. Simhigh flame, in a heavy deep pan. germ,he Arjuna is seeking this knowledge; believes that Krishna mer for 5 minutes, add hot milk. Slowly pour in rice paste, stirring will solve his problem so is fully attentive, processing what he Bring back passing to a boil,onsimmer for continuously to avoidislumps. Stir is hearing. Sanjaya merely doing his duty what he 15 minutes, stirring frequently. and cook till mixture is thick. Add hears; he does not need to understand what Krishna is saying. Boil till wheatgerm is cooked. sugar,Dhritarashtra stir to dissolve. carda- uninterested And isMix impatient, in what KrishnaAdd is sugar, stir to dissolve, and allow mom in 1 tsp. cold milk or water, saying, eager only to know the fate of his sons. If anything, he kheer to thicken a bit.side. Add all other mix into mixture. Mix in essence, fears what Krishna says for Krishna is on the enemy ingredients, simmer for 2-3 minpista and almonds, saving some for When you are communicating: are you Krishna, who knows utes more. Serve piping hot, on a garnishing. Pour mixture into a what he is talking about? Are you Sanjaya, the transmitter, meremonsoon morning, for a nutritious glass bowl or individual bowls. ly the messenger? If people see you as Sanjaya, will they connect breakfast. Making time: minCool,you chillthe till same it looksway set.that Garnish with they would if they saw you as 30 Krishutes with silver foil and remaining na? In modern management, everyone is expected to behave like chopped -almonds pistachios. Sanjaya transmitand what the management says. And then we wonder why no one respects Sanjaya. Sooji ki Kheer ArePal the people around you ArjunaIngredients: or Sanjaya or DhristarashPayasam 1 litre milk, 3/4 tra?Ingredients: Are they interested as in case of Arjuna? Are merely1/ cup sugar, 1 litre milk, 1 cup cup sooji (rava), 1/2they memorizing like Sanjaya? Are they disinterested, even 10-12 brown broken rice, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp. cardamom powder,suspicious, in case of powder, Dhritarashtra? We wantsaffron, front line to 10people almonds 1/4 tsp.ascardamom 1/2 strands be Arjunas, we want middle level people to be Sanjaya, but more cup condensed milk, 15-20 raisins. crushed coarsely, 5 pistachios often than not theythe turnrice. out Add to be Dhritarashtra who1istsp. constantly crushed coarsely, ghee Method: Cook wondering what is the game behind those fancy words. Mehtod: Heat ghee in a heavy milk, condensed milk and sugar to Our memory shapes howtill we see deepthose pan. who Add seek sooji to andinstruct stir till rice. Mix well. Let it boil us. And how we see those who instruct us determines we in another payasam thickens. Add carda- lightly roasted. Boil milkwhat actually hear. The Sanskrit word of memory is smriti, for seeing mom powder and raisins. Stir the pan. Add sooji, stir continuously so is darshan serve and forhot hearing is shruti.no lumps form. Cook till the kheer payasam, or chilled. The Vedas are called shruti: that which is heard. Later consisscripis semi-solid (or preferred Makes: 4 servings tures are called smriti: that whichtency is remembered. Shruti is alis reached). Add sugar and ways valued over smriti, because stir shruti is seen as ideas that till sugar dissolves. Addare reBadam Kheer timeless (sanatan) and eternal (saswat) while smriti means ideas maining ingredients. Serve hot. 25 almonds, thatIngredients: are contextual, fixed to 1a liplaceMakes: and period. Shurti is what we 4 servings. tre milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup hear (gyan); smriti is what we actually process and assimilate sugar, 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder, (vi-gyan). Darshan is the practice of gazing upon the deity enDoodhi ki with Kheer 10-15 strands saffron, crushed,that became shrined in a temple, a practice popular the rise Ingredients: 1 litre milk, soaked in 1 tsp. warm milk, 1 tsp leads to insight. Darshan of Puranic Hinduism. Darshan there-2 cups peeled and grated doodhi, rose water (optional), 5 pistachios fore also means philosophy: our assumptions that shape our real-3/ 4 cup sugar,itself 1/2 tsp cardamom crushed coarsely. ity. In Vedic tradition, Vedic wisdom reveals to those who powder, 15-20 strands of saffron, Soakcould almonds 30 not, or did not see. These seeMethod: what others not,forwould are in 1 tsp. hot milk, 10 pisminsobservers in hot water. Peel the skinheard of crushed the (rishis), who what others could not, would almonds. the almonds into tachios, unsalted, thinly slivered; not, or didGrind not hear. 1 tsp.our ghee. paste 1/2letcup Bring distort Wewith often ourwater. memories understanding of the Method: Heatorghee heavy the milk to boil in heavy pan. world and so very often doAdd not hear what is told see in what is deep pan. Fry grated doodhi forI5 almond There paste. Keep stirring joke oc- of a man once asking, ‘Can shown. is a popular mins.replying: Add milk absolutely and stir gently casionally till it thickens somewhat. smoke while praying?’ and the priest not!to bring to a boil. Reduce the flame, Add sugar,later, cardamom powder, Sometime the same man asked, ‘Can I pray while smokand Both let it cook till milk thickens. rose water andpriest saffron. Cook for okay! ing?’ and the said it was questions were same Add sugar, stir till dissolved. Add 2 minutes. Garnish pistachios. but the priest gavewith opposite answers for his memories that valued cardamom, saffron, cardamom, Serve chilled or hot made him react to the first half the question prayer over smoking andentire pistachios. Mix and take off and prevented him from hearing the question. fire. Serve hot. Like that germ priest most people are quick to the draw, too eager Wheat kheer to react, and so less inclined to listen. We want to be Krishna, but Ingredients: 1 litre milk, 3/4 Share yourinrecipes not Arjuna. We end up as being Sanjaya, and those front of us cup coarse wheat germ, 1 cup become Dhritarashtra. Thus the GitaReaders of the corporate world goes are invited to share water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp. each unheard. with our readers their favorite slivered almonds and pistachios, (The author writes and lectures on relevance mythology recipes. of Send your in 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder, 1 drop management. He is the author of Businesscontributions Sutra: an Indian apto kewra essence (optional). proach to management.) Indiaherald@prodigy.net Method: Heat water in a large or fax at 713-782-9810. vessel, bring to a boil. Add wheat
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PAGE 18 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
INDIA
Delhi row over DCW chief resolved NEW DELHI: Having had his way with constitutional procedures on the appointment of Delhi Commission for Women’s chief, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday approved the name of Swati Maliwal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s choice for the job. Maliwal, a former core committee member of India Against Corruption, has been advisor (grievances) to CM. She is the wife of AAP functionary Naveen Jaihind. Maliwal’s name was approved after the state government sent a fresh note with the changes sought by Jung to the file sent earlier. Citing the Constitution, the LG had previously rejected Maliwal’s ‘unilateral’ nomination by the Kejriwal government. After the two sides exchanged fire through letters, Jung had refused to sign the file send by Kejriwal’s office on Friday, pointing some gaps in it. The LG’s office confirmed that the fresh proposal conformed with the norms. “The file pertaining to Maliwal’s appointment and other members of DERC has been cleared,” sources said. It is learnt that Maliwal was informed about the LG’s decision by the state authorities. Maliwal is expected to take charge a second time over on Tuesday morning. She had earlier assumed charge as NCW chief on July 20 after the Kejriwal government had notified
Swati Maliwal her appointment. A day later, ‘government’. By way of clariLG had struck down her ap- fication, this implies that the pointment as “ultra vires” and LG is the delegate of the Presi“infructuous”. dent and the President/central The Delhi government first government acts through the refused to relent, saying Mali- lieutenant governor in Delhi.” wal’s appointment did not reJung went on to emphasize quire the LG’s approval. When that “by no stretch of imagithe LG’s office communicated nation does this mean that the the constitutional position to government can function outthe CM, the matter escalated side the domain defined in the into a full-fledged war, with Constitution”. Kejriwal accusing Jung of Having made the legal point working at the behest of Prime Jung has laid out firmly that it Minister Narendra Modi. has never been the intent of his “The LG says he is the gov- office to negate the position of ernment of Delhi. How can it the chief minister or the authorbe? How can anyone call him- ity of the elected government. self the government? This will On Maliwal’s appointment, result in dictatorship in Delhi. Jung had said he was sure KeNothing can be more laughable jriwal had done due diligence than this. India is a democracy. in selecting her and the other Delhi has an elected govern- members of the panel. The LG ment,” Kejriwal had said in a had also put on record that “he letter to the LG. would have no hesitation in A day later, the LG wrote confirming the appointment”, back. “You have misunder- but the file had not been prostood the information con- cessed properly and he would veyed. My office quoted the need a rectified version to grant legally established definition of approval.
NEW DELHI: The center, apparently peeved at the barrage of advertising by the Arvind Kejriwal-led administration in Delhi that it believes denigrates Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, has initiated a process to ascertain their legality and possibly choke them off. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is exploring ways to form a committee of experts that could eventually look at the remit of publicfunded advertisements and suggest dos and don’ts, government sources said. Work on formation of the committee to look at political advertisements has gathered pace to counter the Kejriwal ads, these sources said, adding that the absence of a clearcut advertising policy for such matters was restricting the cen-
ter in enforcing guidelines. “The AAP ads especially denigrate the PM. Hence, we are looking at the legal permissibility of such public funded ads,” one sources said, adding that the I&B ministry has sought advice from the law ministry on how to pursue the matter. The law ministry in the last few days has opined that this is an “administrative matter” and needs to be studied. “We are looking at appointing a panel of three experts such as a retired bureaucrat or an advertising expert to examine the ads. But since there is no act in the country that looks at public funded ads we are taking time to study the nuances.” The AAP government in Delhi recently released a series of two-minute-long ads on TV channels and radio to showcase its “work done for the public”
Center may act on AAP ads against PM
while simultaneously attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “preventing Delhi government to function smoothly”. In some of these ads, Kejriwal is heard making requests to Modi for giving the AAP government control over Delhi police for restoring law and order. Constituting a panel was also one of the recommendations of the three-member high powered committee headed by Professor Madhava Menon framed guidelines to regulate expenditure and contents of advertisements paid out of taxpayer money last year. The committee that also comprised TK Viswanathan, former Secretary General of Lok Sabha, and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had recommended that names and pictures of political parties should not be mentioned in government advertisements.
Gujarat issues notification for mandatory voting rule GANDHINAGAR: It is official now. After dithering for long, the Gujarat government issued a notification making voting in local body elections compulsory under the controversial Gujarat Local Authorities Laws (Amendment), Act 2009 (2014). The notification dated July 17, 2015 will apply to over three crore voters who are expected to cast their franchise in the upcoming civic elections in six municipal corporations, around 60 municipalities, 33 district panchayats and more than 150 taluka panchayats. State has recorded 45-50 per cent voting in local bodies elections in the past. In 2010, six municipals corporations had recorded average voting of 44 per cent. Following this notification, any citizen abstaining from voting in civic elections will be penalized — the punishment could be monetary fine or non-eligibility for certain civic incentives — which will be specified once the rules are framed, officials said. Along with the compulsory voting notification, state government has also issued an ordinance for the addition of a clause in the act for declaring the elected representatives disqualified if they do not vote. “It will be duty of a citizen to vote in the local bodies elections. However, every citizen has the freedom to vote in favor of none of candidates contesting elections by pressing None Of The Above (NOTA) option.” In case of failure in voting the registered voter will be declared as the defaulter and against whom the designated authorities will take legal ac-
tion as prescribed in the rules which will be declared shortly. Following delimitation of every ward, every voter is required to cast four votes. The reservation for women was 33 per cent so far, so one seat for every three in a ward had a woman candidate. The State Election Commission, which conducts the municipal elections, recently had a video conference with all Collectors and District Development Officers, and is set to spread the word about the new laws. “Not voting is not an option people have now. “If they cannot go to the booth they can go online and vote. Besides, there will be NOTA, too. We will soon have a door-to-door campaign,” a senior SEC official said. Condemning the move, political scientist Hemant Kumar Shah, said, “Compulsory voting is undemocratic and unacceptable. The bill was passed twice during the tenure of Narendra Modi as state chief minister amid high voltage drama. Congress has been opposed to the move since day one. “The state government has displayed its dictatorial attitude by notifying compulsory Voting Act which they had passed in the state Assembly where they have absolute majority,” Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said. He said making voting mandatory will be a burden on people as in democracy people also have the right not to vote. Early this month, the Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that right to vote was statutory, and that there was no constitutional obligation on the citizens to cast vote.
Leftist parties urge Center not to hang Yakub Memon
NEW DELHI: A joint movement of six political parties including the CPI(M), CPI and MDMK on Monday urged the Center not to hang 1993Mumbai blast death row convict Yakub Memon. “Capital punishment must be abolished in India. Central government should come forward to rescind the death sentence of Memon as a top official of RAW had said that he should not be hanged since he helped India,” a resolution adopted at a meeting of the parties said. Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi and Gandhiya Makkal Iyakkam were the other three parties in the movement. B Raman, a late top official of RAW had favored clemency for Yakub Memon on the ground that he had cooperated with investigating agencies and does not deserve to be hanged. Referring to this view of the late official, the parties urged that Memon be spared the gallows. AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh Monday said the Congress was against interference with any court judgment and that it did not distinguish between terror acts on the basis of caste, religion or community. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party was handling the case of Yakub Memon and that of Hindu fundamentalists differently. “There is a debate going on over the capital punishment handed out to Yakub Memon, who has been convicted in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. We do not differentiate on the basis of caste, religion or community of terrorist. However, the BJP is handling the Yakub Memon issue differently than the way it is handling the cases related to Hindu fundamentalists accused in other terror acts,” Singh said, addressing party workers in Pune.
PAGE 20 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2013
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 19
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015 • PAGE 21
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PAGE 20 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
INDIA Terror strikes in Punjab again: 10 dead CHANDIGARH: Ten people including three civilians were killed on Monday when gunmen wearing army uniforms stormed a police station in northern India near the border with Pakistan, sparking a shootout lasting almost 11 hours. Police said three attackers had been killed in the battle with security forces that began in the early hours of Monday and terrified local residents. Four police officers including the local superintendent also died in the operation in Dinanagar in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. “The police superintendent fought them bravely but unfortunately he was shot in the head and he died on the spot,” said Anand Kumar, part of the special forces team that entered the building. The assault only ended at around 5 pm when security forces finally entered the police station where the unidentified gunmen had been holed up. Local television stations showed scores of special forces personnel flashing victory
An Armyman at the scene of the encounter in Dinanagar. signs and chanting slogans as very serious terrorist attack,” they celebrated outside the par- according to local NDTV teletially damaged building. vision news channel. One civilian was killed when Home Minister Rajnath the attackers opened fire at a Singh said he had ordered inbus station while the other two creased security on the border died at the police station, said with Pakistan, which conSumedh Singh Saini, director demned the assault in a stategeneral of police for Punjab. ment. He told reporters it was “too “I can’t understand why time early to say” who the attackers and again cross-border terror were. incidents are taking place when Five live bombs were re- we want good relations with covered from nearby railway our neighbor,” Singh told Press tracks, forcing train services to Trust of India on Monday. be cancelled. India’s Home Ministry susIndia’s national security ad- pects that Pakistan-based miliviser, Ajit Doval called it “a tant group Lashkar-e-Taiba is behind the attacks, a government official told reporters in New Delhi. He asked not to be identified, citing ministry rules. The national security advisors from both countries had planned to meet soon to restart a peace dialogue. “It’s all up in the air now,” said C. Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies in New Delhi. “The attack shows a certain degree of professionalism and bears the hallmark of a larger agenda of derailing the process.” A number of other states were also reported to be on high alert. It was the first major attack in India’s Punjab for more than a decade and the state’s Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal blamed a lack of security on the border. “This militancy is a national problem, not a state problem, so it needs to be tackled with a national policy,” he told reporters. “If prior intelligence input had been given, they should have properly sealed the borders.” Insurgents frequently target police in the volatile Kashmir region, which is divided between arch rivals India and Pakistan and claimed in full by both. But neighboring Punjab, a majority-Sikh state, has largely been spared the violence that has plagued the Kashmir Valley. An armed rebellion for a separate Sikh homeland erupted in Punjab in 1983 but waned in the early 1990s. About 50,000 people died in that conflict, which India blamed at the time on Pakistan. Some media reports suggested the attackers behind Monday’s assault in Gurdaspur may have crossed into Punjab from Kashmir.
India tops global confidence index for second quarter
MUMBAI: India continues to lead the global confidence index for the second quarter of 2015, with a one point increase from last quarter (Q1) to 131 followed by Philippines (122) and Indonesia (120). The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions measures consumer confidence among more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 60 countries. The consumer confidence in urban India reflects levels last achieved in the first quarter of 2011, which, according to Nielsen, has been propelled by a positive growth in consumer spending on consumer packaged goods and a gradual decrease in job security concerns. Half of respondents (50%) polled said they feel India is still in economic recession, up six points from last quarter (44% in Q1 2015). However, three in five (61%) indicate that India will be out of the recession over the next 12 months. In the latest online survey conducted in May, over four in five (81%) urban Indian respondents indicated the highest level of optimism globally on job prospects in the next 12 months. ``The optimistic trend in consumer sentiment continues, and this quarter reflects the highest levels since 2011. While this is positive new, discretionary spending levels are yet to see a huge transformation,” said Piyush Mathur, president, Nielsen India Region. ``There are signs of a positive growth in consumer spending on consumer packaged goods, indicated by a slight increase in growth compared to the previous quarters. There has also been a gradual decrease in concerns on job security over the last few quarters along with interest rate cuts, and an increase in intention for home loans - thus enhancing the sentiment on the economy and portraying an optimistic picture for the future,’’ said Mathur.
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PAKISTAN Genocide under way in Karachi: MQM Former CJ demands probe ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Meanwhile, the Lahore High against Imran Khan Qaumi Movement (MQM) Court (LHC) has formed a MNAs on Monday walked out of National Assembly session to register their protest against the ongoing Karachi targeted operation, terming it discriminatory. Speaking from outside the National Assembly building, MQM leader Dr. Farooq Sattar alleged that violation of law and constitution is being carried out by ‘the law enforcers’ in Karachi. He said MQM was being made the target of political vengeance and even the party’s senators were being harassed. Dr Sattar said a restaurant of MNA Ali Raza Abdi was raided in Karachi and demanded an end to what he called the persistent attempts to label MQM as a traitor. He claimed that 40 workers of MQM were killed extra-judicially and that Karachi operation was not being undertaken to stamp out terrorism. “Two hundred MQM workers were killed in targeted actions while 150 workers were subjected to enforced disappearance,” he alleged. He condemned those who filed a case of treason against MQM chief Altaf Hussain and called upon the Prime Minister, Interior Minister and Chief Minister Punjab to take notice of the matter. Dr Sattar said his party was trying to seek a meeting with the Prime Minister but it is not getting an appointment.
He said how could durable peace be made possible when one party is being meted out such discriminatory treatment. He reiterated the claim that an ethnic genocide was under way in Karachi and this is only going to fan hatred among people. MQM parliamentarians on Monday demanded appointment of administrators for Karachi and Hyderabad, to deal with any emergency caused by the forecasted monsoon rains. MQM showed their concern regarding civic issues at a meeting held at the chambers of the leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly. MQM MPA Khawaja Izharul Hassan said that, for the past two years, the city’s major bayous have not been cleared, and asked the government to get them cleared. The parliamentarians spoke on the water shortage and said that 30 percent of Karachi continues to be deprived of water.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has banned BlackBerry’s enterprise server and its internet and messaging services “for security reasons” in a crackdown on privacy. Mobile phone operators were told by the Pakistan telecommunication authority last week that the BlackBerry services must be shut down by the start of December. BlackBerry uses strong encryption – part of its appeal to businesses and users – which prevents law enforcement and intelligence agencies from intercepting messages and
snooping on user activity. “PTA has issued directions to local mobile phone operators to close BlackBerry Enterprise Services from Nov. 30 on security reasons,” said a PTA spokesperson. BlackBerry operates servers through which all internet traffic destined for its smartphones and tablets flows. The servers handle email, messaging, browsing and other communications services, encrypting the data and ensuring greater privacy. A recent report by Privacy International claims Paki-
Dr. Farooq Sattar
three-member bench to take up a petition seeking the trial of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain under treason charges. Headed by Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi, the bench comprises Justice Irum Sajjad Gul and Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sidhu. During the previous hearing, Justice Naqvi had recommended formation of a larger bench to hear the petition. Aftab Virk, the petitioner, had claimed that the interior and information ministries had failed to initiate action against the MQM supremo, despite his derogatory remarks against the integrity of the country and its armed forces. He said Altaf’s speeches were tantamount to treason and appealed to the court to issue directives to the executive to lodge treason cases against the MQM leader and members of his immediate political coterie. The court also issued notices to the interior ministry and the prime minister’s principal secretary. Scores of FIRs have been registered against Altaf Hussain across the country. About 50 cases have already been registered under sections pertaining to terrorism and criminal intimidation over Altaf’s July 12 speech, in which he allegedly used derogatory language against the armed forces and the paramilitary Rangers.
Pakistan slaps ban on Blackberry services
stan’s military intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is seeking to dramatically expand its ability to intercept communications. Privacy International said the ISI had few legal checks on its surveillance practices. “Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have abused their communications surveillance powers, including by spying on opposition politicians and supreme court judges. Widespread internet monitoring and censorship has also been used to target journalists, lawyers and activists,” the report said.
ISLAMABAD: Surrounded by loyalists and amidst slogans of support former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry demanded a thorough investigation against Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan for what he called wasting 126 days of the nation through his party’s Islamabad sit-in and vilifying democratic institutions of the country. “I will not say a single word against the PTI because it consists of respectable politicians and intellectuals like retired Justice Wajhiuddin Ahmed and many others. I believe the party has nothing to do whatever allegations Imran Khan has levelled against my person or the country’s institutions,” the former chief justice said while addressing a press conference at his Islamabad residence on Monday. He parried a direct question that when he was launching his political party and said that he would make an announcement on Dec 25 in this regard when after retirement two-year bar on him would end. The former chief justice’s press conference came after the three-judge inquiry commission rejected PTI’s allegations of rigging in the 2013 general elections. In a 237-page report, the commission headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk has concluded that despite lapses on part of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the 2013 general elections were in large part organized and conducted fairly. “I am not asking the government but the state, as defined under Article 7 of the Constitution to consider holding a detail inquiry to reach to a logical conclusion otherwise it will become a precedence that every now and then someone will gather few people to stage a protest demonstration outside the parliament house,” Mr Iftikhar Chaudhry said. On the contrary, he added, the government of the day would be answerable to people if it kept silent and did nothing against those who wasted the
time and money of the nation, kept the economy hostage, made the parliament where a joint sitting was going on as well as the Supreme Court dysfunctional by blocking the Constitution Avenue, maligned parliamentarians, attacked the PTV building and used violence which caused loss of some lives. He said the actions of the PTI chief amounted to subversion of the Constitution and attracted Article 6. During his party’s sit-in at the capital D-Chowk, the former chief justice said, Imran Khan slandered him for 115 times. “Imran Khan has taken undue advantage of his position as a party chief without even taking his associates into confidence only to malign the institution of the judiciary and judges of the lower judiciary and he has failed to prove even a single allegation despite coming up with thousands of pages before the inquiry commission.” Citing his April 14 application, the former chief justice said he had voluntarily offered to appear before the inquiry commission to rebut allegations against him of having a role in the alleged rigging and even face a cross-examination by the PTI legal team. Referring to the PTI chief’s demand of opening four constituencies in Punjab, Mr Iftikhar Chaudhry said that Imran Khan never moved a direct petition, rather he moved a miscellaneous application in the Watan Party case in which the Supreme Court had asked for conducting election reforms. He said it was the election tribunals which under the Constitution had jurisdiction to give decisions about election disputes. The former chief justice brushed aside the impression that the findings of the inquiry commission had become controversial. He reminded that the commission was not formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1956, rather through an ordinance after an understanding between PMLN and PTI was reached.
PMA preparing to open a Pakistan-China medical corridor KARACHI: Pakistan is all set to open up a ‘medical corridor’ with China and leading medics are busy preparing to launch the first medical congress featuring the two countries next year, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) announced on Monday. “We are organizing the firstever three-day Pak-China Med Con (medical congress) starting on Jan 8 next year,” said Prof Syed Tipu Sultan, former PMA president and head of the organizing committee established for the upcoming congregation. He said the joint congress of
the PMA and Chinese Medical Association to be held in Karachi would commemorate the historic event of Pak-China economic corridor as “an initiative for a joint Pak-China medical corridor”. All scientific sessions of the conference would be held at a local hotel while a series of social, cultural and community awareness programs would be organized at the Arts Council of Pakistan. Besides, said Prof Sultan, the PMA House Karachi would host the business sessions. “We are inviting health experts from China and some
countries from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to deliver state-of-the-art lectures on different medical and scientific topics of common interest so as to benefit from their vast experience and knowledge,” said Prof Sultan. Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, PMA secretary general, said the medical corridor would lay the foundation of medical tourism in Pakistan, with China and SAARC countries benefitting from cheaper surgeries in various disciplines. Also, Pakistan would open its doors to traditional acupuncture as a mode
of healing, and other significant medical genres. “This opportunity could also benefit our medical equipment manufacturing industry which could get access to China and various other destinations through Chinese assistance,” said Dr Azhar. Different specialties have joined hands with the PMA to organize and participate in the scientific program which will be conducted in eight parallel sessions for three days. Prof M. Idrees Adhi is organizing the program as its chairman. Prof Adhi, chairman, and Dr Hamid Manzoor, secretary, of
the scientific committee, said discussions and community awareness programs would also be held in the congress on different issues such as population control, maternal and child health, reproductive health, blindness, safe drinking water, environment and human rights issues. All scientific sessions, seminars and workshops would be recognized as part of continuous medical education (CME). The CME credit hours would be awarded to all registered participants attending the sessions, said Dr SM Qaisar Sajjad, treasurer, PMA Center.
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 22
RELIGION
First Tirthankara Mandir in Eastern Europe opens Dr. Acharya Shree Yogeesh, founder of Siddhayatan Estonia, opened the first Shree Tirthankara Mandir, in Tallinn, Estonia, on May 30th to spread the universal teachings of the ancient shramanic tradition in Eastern Europe. The Pratistha event was organized and attended by many Estonian disciples and students of the founder, many of whom have taken vows to live a non-violent life, including being vegetarian. Minutes after opening the mandir, special things began to take place. Lauri, one of the attendees said, “You can feel a positive energy shift in the air. Opening the mandir has also brought an overwhelming sense of spiritual community. The ceremony, the statues, everything—it is absolutely beautiful.” The opening ceremony included a fire ceremony, aarti, mantras, meditation, satsang, and prashad. The main moolnayak murti is Tirthankara Parshvanath from the Digambar tradition. The side murtis are Tirthankaras Adinath and Mahavira Swami from the Shwetambar Shramanic Jain tradition. The Hindu and Jain cultural murtis include Ganesha, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. “I opened this center in Estonia because when I first meditated here I saw in my meditation that there was a special soul from thousands of years ago who was carrying the shramanic teachings. Specifically the teachings of Adinath—the first Tirthankara. This special soul was very close to enlightenment (kevala jnana), but somehow he missed it. Now the shramanic teachings will spread throughout Europe starting in Estonia, just like how that spiritual person had intended long ago,” Dr. Acharya Shree Yogeesh said. Estonia is a post-Soviet Union and non-religious country with a population of 1.3 million people. It is located south of Finland and west of Russia. It is in a critical phase as it is transitioning out of communist rule. It is in desperate need of spirituality. Kristjan “Shrenik” Kann, 47, the main director of Siddhayatan Estonia who donated the space, mandir, and statues said, “We are very fortunate and blessed to have Acharya Shree Yogeesh, an arihanta, to share the teachings of the Tirthankaras here. The Estonian people, in my opinion, are ready for it. We have been waiting a long time to truly be free.” Kann first learned about Dr. Acharya Shree Yogeesh on YouTube then went for a retreat at the Siddhayatan Tirth Texas (USA) center. He gained instant clarity during his trip and had a vision in meditation to introduce non-violence and vegetarianism to Estonians.
In July 2014, Kann opened BLISS House a vegetarian/ vegan based restaurant. One month later, during Acharya Shree’s first visit to Estonia, Kann donated the large space for Acharya Shree to establish Siddhayatan Estonia. Kann continued, “Estonian people are very receptive and open. They are craving spirituality and guidance. The problem here is that there is a lot of misguidance from false teachers. A lot of teachers here claim they are spiritual and enlightened, yet they smoke cigarettes, do drugs, drink alcohol and eat meat. It is like the blind leading the blind. Many are getting trapped and confused. Because of Acharya Shree, many of us are gaining clarity, experiencing the deep reality, becoming healthier and growing spiritually.” Popularly known worldwide for his non-traditional and controversial ways, Dr. Acharya Shree Yogeesh commented, “The times are changing. Jains are primarily focused on promoting non-violence. It seems more violent to not share the liberating teachings of the Tirthankaras than considering traveling as violence. Because monks and nuns are not permitted to travel, the teachings of the Tirthankaras have been limited to only India and less and less people are getting awakened. That’s why I consider religion as a small box. Religion limits a person. Spirituality is the real freedom. The Tirthankaras’ teachings and the ancient shramanic tradition are for everyone. They are not only for Jains or Indians, but for everyone. It is an injustice for the spiritual teachings of the Tirthankaras to be limited. It is an insult to these great souls. Because of this new Tirthankara Mandir, Europe can begin to become familiar with the real teachings. It is Europe’s time for spiritual awakening.” Sadhvi Siddhali Shree, 31, who is Acharya Shree Yogeesh’s Chief Disciple and the first North American and non-Indian to take Jain Sadhvi Diksha said, “I was honored to attend the opening of the Tirthankara Mandir in Estonia. I had the unique privilege of watching Acharya Shree privately activate the statues with secret mantras. Not even the most experienced and wellversed pundits know about them. Immediately I felt the
statues become alive and filled with energy. It was very powerful and moving. The statue of Tirthankara Parshvanath seems to be smiling now. I saw light radiating from it.” When the Estonians came to receive mandir darshan, there were at least half-dozen instances of people feeling an “electric shock” after visiting the mandir. Annette, a fourteen year old girl, said, “I felt an electricity rise up inside of me after visiting the mandir. I got scared. I inquired and was told by Acharya Shree that my third-eye had been opened fully and now my brain is even more activated to help me with school.”
An Estonian child prays at the altar of Tirthankara.
INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 • PAGE 23
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