India Herald 061219

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Web: www.india-herald.com • Editor@india-herald.com • Tel: 281-980-6746

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India Herald

VOL. 25 • NO. 24 • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • P.O. BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487 • PERIODICAL PERMIT USPS 017699 • 25 cents

Sugar Land native Karan Patel drafted by Chicago White Sox By SAMEER BHUCHAR Karan Patel, a 22-year-old right-hander with a 94mph fastball, made history Tuesday when he was drafted into Major League Baseball. The Sugar Land native became the first player of Indian origin and the second-highest draft pick in UTSA program history when the Chicago White Sox selected him with the third pick of the seventh round (200th overall). Patel was a prolific pitcher at Kempner High School, leading the school to two district championships. He went on to star at UTSA

where he earned 2019 AllConference USA First Team honors after posting a 2.84 ERA and striking out 104 batters in 92.0 innings of work. He became the first UTSA pitcher in the 28-year history of the program to record 100 strikeouts in a season. He earned an 11-16 record as a Roadrunner, with a career 4.36 ERA. Patel links his baseball skills to his unique background as a national-team level cricket player. His father, an elite cricket talent in his own right, introduced the younger Patel to the sport. See Patel, Page 2

Ekal fundraiser a resounding success About 850 people attended a magical musical evening hosted by Ekal Vidyalaya at the UH Cullen Performance Hall on June 1, a fundraising event,“Ek Surili Shaam Ekal Ke Naam.” Ekal Houston had raised about $1.5 million at the October 2018 Ekal Gala with a large presence of young professionals. Last night, an additional $400,000 was pledged/contributed by Bollywood loving, musically inclined patrons. See Page 8.

Naushad Kermally elected to Sugar Land City Council

Ekal Vidyalaya Houston volunteers at the June 1 gala at UH Cullen Hall. Photo VIJAY PALLOD.

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Naushad Kermally, 47, pulled off a historic win in the runoff race for Sugar Land City Council. He will serve as the City of Sugar Land’s first Muslim City Councilmember. With his wife Narmin by his side, at his celebration after the election, Kermally acknowledged his family, friends and supporters giving them credit for helping him cross the finish line. See Page 2.

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PAGE 2 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

NEWS

Kermally defeats Mansoor By SESHADRI KUMAR Naushad Kermally won the Dist. 2 Sugar Land City Council race defeating Nabila Mansoor in the runoff election on Saturday. Kermally received 1,811 votes (57.26%) and Mansoor 1,352 votes (42.74%) Mansoor carried the Riverpark subdivision and Kermally won the rest, all of New Territory, Telfair and a sliver of First Colony. The turnout in the runoff was pretty good as more than threefourth of the voters who cast their votes in the May 4 election returned to the polls for the runoff. A total of 4,173 people voted in the May 4 election in Dist. 2 and 3,163 voted in the runoff. Mansoor got almost all her voters to return to the runoff, but Kermally, in addition to keeping his base voters, got the votes of David Gornet’s supporters. Gornet finished third in the May election and he endorsed Kermally in the runoff. Kermally was the front runner in the May election with 1,634 votes, followed by Mansoor with 1,428 votes. Kermally increased his tally by 177 votes in the runoff compared to the May election figures, while Mansoor lost 76

Nabila Mansoor votes in the runoff. He is the first Muslim to be elected a Sugar Land Councilmember. Kermally said in a statement: “I love this city, it is the city which I call home and I love to Live, Work and Play in Sugar Land. I am excited that the voters of District 2 have spoken and I am delighted to serve as your next City Council Member for the City of Sugar Land. I could not have done this without the support of my loving family and my volunteer base. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people who I can count on.” To his opponents in this election, Kermally said “Nabila

Mansoor, although you did not prevail this election cycle you ran a great campaign. Remember, there is still more work to be done. I look forward to seeing you moving forward without any hesitation or reservations. Stay strong and stay focused. David Gornet, thank you for your endorsement. I look forward to working with you in the future also.“ Kermally was endorsed by current and past Sugar Land City Council members, including outgoing Dist. 2 councilmember Bridget Yeung. Congressman Pete Olson attended Kermally’s victory party. Fort Bend County Republican Party Chair Linda Howell was among those who congratulated Kermally at the election watch party. Mansoor was endorsed by Sri Kulkarni, who ran against Olson last November as a Democrat. Mansoor had the support of the local Democratic Party as well. In Stafford, Alice Chen won the city council race defeating Arturo Jackson. In Rosenberg, Jacob Balderas won, defeating Alice Stratman Jozwiak, in one race and Kevin Raines defeated Susan Kroll Euton, in the other runoff race.

Patel from Page 1

“It comes from my dad (Kuldeep),” Patel told MLB. com after being drafted. “He grew up playing. He made the national team for the USA and just growing up, he always had me around. “Slowly I got into it, and then as high school came around, I took it more seriously and got my first opportunity in 2012 to represent the Under-19 USA team. Got another chance in ‘15 and a third chance in ‘16.” Patel uses fundamentals he learned as a cricket bowler in his practice as a baseball pitcher.

“(Cricket bowling) helps my arm slot and my ability to spin the ball,” Patel said. White Sox scouts began paying attention to him early on and followed him throughout his collegiate career. They were impressed with his throwing style and the speeds he generates on pitches. “He’s got a good arm,” said White Sox director of amateur scouting Nick Hostetler of Patel. “He’s 90-94 (mph). It’s loose. It’s easy. Patel will have an opportunity to work his way through the White Sox farm system before being called up to the big show.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 3

COMMUNITY Pratham president honored

USA Founder, Vijay Goradia. The recognition of Asha was truly special as several past Pratham Houston Presidents were attendees at the Board meeting - Anil Shah, Swatantra Jain, Marie Goradia and Ash Shah. Asha Dhume thanked the entire Board for this recognition bestowed upon her and

acknowledged the support of all donors who have contributed generously to the cause of Pratham over the years. Please save the dates for the Pratham Holiday Luncheon on Friday, December 6, 2019 at the Junior League of Houston and the Pratham Houston Gala on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at Hilton Americas.

Established in the slums of Mumbai in 1995, Pratham is now one of India’s largest nongovernmental education organizations, having affected the lives of more than 60 million underprivileged children in the past two decades. For more information, visit prathamusa.org.

Exchange Club’s Youth of the Year Abhijith Venkat, a Clements High School graduate, who was recognized as the Student of the Month for February by the Exchange Club of Sugar Land, was recently recognized as the Exchange Club’s Youth of the Year. Abhijith had openheart surgery in 8th grade. However, that did not deter him. He worked hard on his recovery and was selected on Clements’ basketball team and continued to excel in this sport for 4 years. He was on the fiveperson National Science Bowl team in 2016 and received third place. He was part of the UIL number sense team and placed first nationally. He has been playing Viola, Mridangam, a classical Indian percussion instrument and also has learned Bharatanatyam, a Classical Indian dance. Abhijith has contributed many hours to SEWA International , tutoring students in need. Abhjith is the son of Hema and Venkata Subramanian.

Swatantra Jain presents a plaque to Asha Dhume. At the Board meeting on May 29, Pratham Houston President Asha Dhume was presented a plaque by Pratham CFO and Pratham National Board member, Swatantra Jain in recognition of her hard work, commitment and dedication to the cause of Pratham and for the upliftment of the underprivileged children of India. The entire Board recognized

the outstanding work that Asha Dhume has done as chapter President raising a record $4.5 million at the annual gala on April 20th. This amount is the highest raised among all Indian- American charities in Houston and also nationally across all Pratham chapters in the US. The dazzling “sold out” gala celebrated 20 years of Pratham USA and honored Pratham

Indian Music Society of Houston & Tagore Society of Houston present a Peace Concert marking the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Flute concert by Pandit Praveen Godkhindi & his son Master Shadaj Godkhindi

Pandit Praveen Godkhindi Kiran Godkhindi on Tabla

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PAGE 4 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

COMMUNITY

Eid Milan The Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston is hosting its annual “Eid Milan” gala on June 16 at the Houston Marriott Westchase, 2900 Briarpark Drive. Guest of Honor at the event will be India’s Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray. Ramesh Bhutada, chairman and CEO of Star Pipe Products, will be the chief guest. Richard McKinney, ex-marine who turned from violence and hatred to love and acceptance, will be the keynote speaker. The event brings together people from multiple religions and ethnicities, while showcasing Indian and Muslim heritage and their roles as contributing members of American society. Further, it will recognize, Sewa International, an organization engaged in social and humanitarian work and award scholarships. This year also marks the one-hundredth year of women getting the right to vote in the US and will therefore be the theme of the 2019 celebration. “Strength, Thy Name Is Woman” is this year’s motto. Ms. Shafiya Wazir whose life journey took her from Afghanistan to a Refugee Camp to the US and now an elected representative to the New Hampshire House of Representatives is one such example. Her recorded video will be part of the evening’s program. Invited guests include various elected officials (regardless of party affiliation), foreign consuls general, representatives of nonMuslim religious groups and prominent citizens. IMAGH is a non-profit organization with no religious or political agenda. Its primary purpose is an outreach effort, bringing together people of all cultures, heritages, races and religions. IMAGH also sponsors a “Club 65” (catering to senior citizens of all religions from all over South East Asia) and a South Asian Youth Association.

India House in partnership with Consulate General of India, Houston invites you to celebrate

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Established in 1995 by Rajeev Gadgil, Seshadri Kumar & Salim Sindhi India Herald (USPS Periodical 017-699) is published every Wednesday by India Herald, Inc. for a subscription rate of $25 per year. Periodical postage paid at Houston and Sugar Land, Texas. POST MASTER: Send address changes to India Herald, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Texas 77487 Publisher & Editor: Seshadri Kumar www.india-herald.com; email:editor@india-herald.com India Herald assumes no liability resulting from action taken based on information included herein. ©India Herald. All rights reserved.

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COMMUNITY

Chinmaya Mission’s Balavihar class of 2019 graduates

The cheerful and beautiful morning of May 27th heralded the graduation of 36 Bala Vihar seniors of the Class of 2019 who convened with joy at Chinmaya Smrti Hall with their families and friends, arrayed in resplendent traditional attires and bright colors. The Graduation day started in an auspicious manner in Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya with the priest Sri Ganeshji conducting a puja for the well-being of the youngsters ready to make the big leap in their lives from high school to university for postsecondary education. After the new graduates completed the puja, Brni. Shweta Chaitanya led the students to Swami Chinmayananda’s Pratima where they offered flowers at the lotus feet of Pujya Gurudev. In this offering, the students

were led by the respected Pujya Acharyas of CMH, Sri Gaurang Nanavaty and Smt. Darshana Nanavaty. As the students entered the Smrti Hall with folded palms, many parents in the assembled audience watched misty-eyed; this was the big day to honor the culmination of hard work and dedication that pointed to bright future prospects! Above all, for the BalaVihar class of 2019, this was a day of gratitude for the enriching spiritual education received in BalaVihar systematically taught from Pre-K to the 12th grade. Such a valuable cultural exposure was made possible with the blessings of Pujya Gurudev, the loving guidance of the Acharyas, and the commitment of BalaVihar teachers along with the support of all

CMH volunteers. The Emcee Smt. Manasa Kethireddipalli welcomed the gathering and invited Pujya Sri Gaurang Nanavaty to deliver the Convocation address to the students. Following the revered Hindu tradition from ancient Vedic times, Gaurang Uncle as he is lovingly known in the Chinmaya family, gave a befitting discourse based on Taittiriya Upanishad. In this sacred Vedic treatise, the preceptor gives clear instructions to the aspirants on character-building and imparts to them rules of right conduct and right living. Following the convocation address, the Acharyas ascended the stage accompanied by students Srijith Kambala and Vaishnavi Gade, for the ceremonial lighting of the lamp to symbolize the celebration of

knowledge. Then, Smt. Leena Sawant did the honors of introducing the Class of 2019 as each student bowed, offered a lamp at the altar of Pujya Gurudev, and received the Graduation trophy from the Acharyas. The presentation of the graduating class included highlights about their favorite quotes and activities in Chinmaya Mission as well as their future education plans. Keeping with the ancient Hindu tradition of Guru Dakshina, a token of deep gratitude on the completion of spiritual education received from the revered Guru, students Rishi Kommalapati and Shruti Machiraju offered Guru Dakshina to the Acharyas on behalf of the Class of 2019. The graduates then lined up in front of the assembled guests

while Smt. Sucheta Karandikar sang ‘Abhinandanam’ to congratulate them. The gathering joined Rohith Narra in reciting the Chinmaya Pledge. With joy and humility, the new graduates served a sumptuous lunch to teachers, sevaks, and guests who attended this memorable ceremony. Amidst much cheer, hugs, and congratulations all round, the day drew to a beautiful close. For more information about Chinmaya Mission Houston, Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya and its activities visit www.chinmayahouston.org, www.saumyakasi.org or call temple 281 568 1690 or Jay Deshmukh 832 541 0059 or Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233. By Shalini Somaraj Photo by Jayesh Mistry

PAGE 6 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

COMMUNITY

Aakash Srikanth presents a splendid violin recital

Naga Srinidhi Kuruvada, left, Aaakash Srikanth , Maya Iyer and Maheswar Ajaykumar.

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On the evening of June 1, Westchester Academy’s auditorium was ďŹ lled with friends, family, and well-wishers of Aakash Srikanth, as he and his accompanying artists took to the stage, for a musical performance. It was the debut violin performance of Aakash, son of Srikanth and Meera. Soon to be freshman at the Texas A & M University, College Station, Aakash learned violin under the tutelage of Houstonian Mahesh Iyer. The program commenced with a rendering of the prayer song, “Sriman Narayana,â€? sung by Aakash’s younger sister, Aakruthi. As the curtain opened, the audience got a glimpse of Aakash’s musical journey, through a lively and entertaining video presentation followed by brief introductory remarks by Meera Srikanth. Aakash opened the concert with the Varnam, Mathey Malayadwaja, in ragam Kamas, an appropriate opening in praise of our own hometown Goddess, Meenakshi. This was followed by Dhanaganapathaye in ragam Valachi, in which Aakash presented his mastery of kalpanaswaram. The concert then took a slower, more deliberate pace with a few well known compositions, Sabhapathikku in ragam Abhogi, the playful and melodic Asainthadum Mayil in Simhendra Madhyamam ragam, a famous composition of Oothukkadu V. Subbhaiyer, Meevalla Gunadosha in ragam Kapi, Sri Valli Devasenapathe, in ragam Natabhairavi, and Paraathpara Parameshwara in ragam Vachaspathi, both wonderful compositions of composer Papanasam Sivan. The dual mridangams accompanying Aakash really supported him in a unique and splendid way by enhancing the rhythmic passages of his pieces. For his main piece, Aakash performed Sarojadala Nethri in Shankarabaranam ragam, a composition by Syama Shastri. This masterful, complicated piece highlighted the unique aspects of this beautiful ragam, and Aakash played it with the ease and air of a seasoned artist. The passages were both intricate and complex, and yet Aakash handled them with conďŹ dence and style. The percussionists, Naga Srinidhi Kuruvada, and Maheshwar Ajaykumar provided incredible support and gave a captivating solo performance, creating a “conversationâ€? on stage, impressing the audience with new and creative rhythmic patterns. The next three items Chinanjiru Kiliye, Bho Shambo, and Kurai Undrum Illai were all beautifully played. The ease with which Aakash was able to switch from one ragam to the next in the piece Kurai Ondram Illai (in ragamaalika), was remarkable. Aakash concluded the evening with an enchanting Thillana, in Mohanakalyani Ragam, a favorite of many, and had the audience tapping its toes. Kudos to his wonderful guru, Mahesh Iyer, who undoubtedly nurtured and ďŹ ne-tuned Aakash’s natural musical talent. His sincerity and true dedication to his art, and his student, in preparing him for this concert was evident when Aakash performed and made his Guru proud. Aakash’s performance was eortless, his bow strokes were smooth, crisp and distinct. His nimble ďŹ ngers hit every note with accuracy and precision. For someone who has only been on this Carnatic musical journey for a mere 3 years, Aakash played like a seasoned pro. Aakash Srikanth was presented with his CertiďŹ cate of Graduation from Pranavam School of Arts, Pearland by Guru Mahesh Iyer, blessed him to achieve higher goals. Close friends narrated some interesting and amusing anecdotes about Aakash, depicting his personality and light-hearted nature, as well as his admirable and true commitment to music. It was commendable that Aakash gave all the gifts that he’d received in the form of cash or checks, to Sri Meenakshi Temple Society, as a contribution to the Facility Renovation Parking lot Expansion (FRPE) project. Aakash Srikanth gave a check for $ 4,000 collected as donation to Dr. Padmini Ranganathan, Chairman MTS. Dr. Padmini Ranganathan lauded Aakash for his commitment and discipline, and praised him for his violin skills. Dr. Vaduganathan, Advisory Council chair of MTS, congratulated Aakash for his stupendous performance and thanked the Srikanth family for donating the proceeds to MTS. The stage was beautifully and tastefully decorated by DĂŠcor One. The parents ďŹ lled with joy, yet humbly oered the vote of thanks. Aakash also thanked his parents, Meera & Srikanth, and a host of family and friends who were instrumental, in making the concert a grand success. The concert ended with dinner catered by Madras Pavilion. —Luckmi Bawa and Natarajan Venugopalan

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 7 Hari Venkatachalam Hindu Students Association, Board of Directors

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rid TX of–your staffi ng problems and spend more April 6, 2017Get – AUSTIN, The Hindu Students Association (HSA) would like to regretfully announce that it will be Good Numbers = Good Decisions cancelling its annual Gateway Retreat for the 2017 year. HSA prides itself in building a strong network of young Hindu Americans, and it looks forward to organizing other events in the future that will link students from its various branches. HSA has been reorienting itself in recent months to doing more grassroots work. “We have been focusing more on accomplishing work on the local and branch level,” said Mrinalini Vijalapuram, National President of the Hindu Students Association. “We have been doing this through many different activities including interfaith events with other religious organizations, building community partnerships, and expanding into other campuses that don’t already have HSA branches.” While the cancellation of Gateway may come as a disappointment for many prospective attendees, HSA hopes to get feedback from students on other projects and events that interest its branch members. Currently, several projects, including developing HSA’s podcast series and releasing monthly articles that highlight the accomplishments of members from the various campuses have been the focus of the organization’s efforts. HSA welcomes student and community members to get involved in these activities to help further the goals of the organization. “It is important that we meet the needs of the campuses and communities we serve,” reiterated Ms. Vijalapuram. “We want to make sure that we are putting our attention on projects that will truly benefit them.” U.S. 90 A -***-

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 8

COMMUNITY

A musical evening in honor of Ekal movement

About 850 people attended magical musical evening hosted by Ekal Vidyalaya at the UH Cullen Performance Hall on June 1st, 2019. It was a fundraiser, a musical evening in the name of Ekal movement. Ekal Houston had raised about $1.5 million at the Oct 2018 Ekal Gala and an additional $400,000 was pledged/ contributed by Bollywood loving, musically inclined patrons during this event. Vishwanath Batunge along with his team had the audience in ecstasy - clapping their hands, swaying and even dancing to the beats! Vishwanath’s antics coupled with Nayana Sarma’s mellifluous voice and the brilliant percussionist/ tabla/ keyboard team had Houstonians in their grip. The evening melted away into the night with people crying out for more. The Ekal core team was on its feet ensuring that people see for themselves the work done by Ekal. The core volunteers, along with young professionals and youth volunteers worked their heart out proving that engagement and commitment go a long way indeed. This was also evident by Ramanbhai and his son Divyesh Das’s (of Palace Inn) continued commitment to In-

tegrated Village Development (IVD) and Mrugesh Parikh and his wife’s support for Ekal on Wheels & the Computer Lab. The fundraising event also saw significant interest by patrons in sponsoring various projects and taking Ekal’s efforts to new heights while continuing their commitment to schools. The evening was graced by Consul General of India Dr. Anupam Ray and his wife Dr. Amit Goldberg. Dr. Ray noted that Ekal is “close to his heart”, as he has visited several Ekal locations where he spent his formative years and witnessed village transformations, first hand. He further described India as “on the move”- a country that is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic economies of the world, yet also a country which is a “tough” place to live in and which faces many problems. He rightly expressed that “Every child reached by Ekal is a plus for progressive India and a minus for the counterproductive extremist organizations.” The Consul General also observed that though he gets invited to many charities, the Ekal fundraiser has a tradition of attracting donors for the work being done on the ground in India. What sets Ekal apart is its focus

Lead Singers Vishwanath Batunge and Nayna Sharma Photo by Arun Dev Kumar

on its work rather than mega celebrities or sports stars being present at their events. He also stated that his term in Houston is ending soon and took the opportunity to bid farewell to the wonderful Indian diaspora. He concluded by wishing the very best to the Ekal Houston team and expressed his regards for Ramesh and Kokila Shah, Ekal’s mainstays. In his address, Ekal Houston Chapter President Yogi Patel outlined Ekal’s work and its unique position in being a “truly people’s movement”. He cited the example of stopping an exodus of people from small villages to cities for jobs, who at times in dire situations, end up in the city slums. Houston Event Director Dharmendra Shah kept the audience glued to their seats. A big driving force behind Ekal, Kokila Shah’s speech was very inspiring. Speaking in Hindi, she thanked the crowd as well as invited them to visit the villages and gain a firsthand insight into the work done. The musical night drew to a close with Vishwanath Batunge inviting the core Ekal volunteers to the stage.

Joining hands, the volunteers sang to the tune of a popular Hindi number - “Phoolon mein khushboo hain, Is dil mein ik Ekal tu hain, Janmon ke saathi, Hum saath saath hain, Hum saath saath hain”. It was a fitting tune for Ekal’s philosophy of displaying unity in commitment. Prior to the event, the audience had a mouth-watering dinner catered by Daawat Catering. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, USA is a nonprofit service organization which dedicates itself to bringing education and village development to rural India. With ongoing work in the remote and tribal villages of India, the Ekal movement is the largest grassroots NGO in India. The Ekal movement has reached close to 87,000 villages and it is unprecedented. Education reaches over 2.5 million children annually, more than half this number, being girls. Ekal is marching fast towards its goal to establish 100,000 schools by the end of this year. To sustain a village as an independent social and economic unit, Ekal has piloted

several projects such as Ekal on Wheels, where, a mobile van equipped with laptops and trained instructors travels to the remote hinterland and imparts basic computer skills to the youth. Similarly, Ekal’s Tailoring Centers train women not only to sew their own clothes but create an opportunity for them to earn a living. One woman can earn 7,000 to 10,000 rupees per month, bringing economic independence for their families. Gramotthan Resource Centers (GRC) are units which aim to make a village community economically self-reliant by educating and motivating villagers to adopt an eco-friendly life, train farmers on organic farming and promote agro based local entrepreneurship. Ekal has proposed the cohesive development of 30 village clusters under a project called Integrated Village Development (IVD) where Ekal Vidyalayas (One Teacher Schools), Digital Literacy, Health Hygiene, E Shiksha and Skill Training are combined under one comprehensive project.

Dr. Anupam Ray, his wife Amit Goldberg and Ekal Houston President Yogi Patel. Photo by Arun Dev Kumar

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 9

PAGE 10 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

VIEWS

Proposed New Education Policy: Ushering in a golden era in India’s education sector .By BHAMY V. SHENOY Newly released 480 page draft report, “New Education Policy’ by a nine member committee headed by Dr. Kasturirangan is a delight to study. It constantly reminds us of our civilizational contribution which has been down played or often ignored by the current education system. NEP if implemented fully will completely transform India’s education sector. Unfortunately it is a crying shame that some our political leaders have tried to highlight the non-issue of three language policy to build political capital rather than discussing more substantive issue of how NEP will help the country. Since children learn languages quickly between the ages of 2 to 8, NEP suggests that encouragement should be given to children to learn many languages. No priority has been given to Hindi and in fact more emphasis is placed to teach India’s classical languages like Sanskrit, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, etc. Still after the protest the government tweaked the draft NEP to make sure that for non-Hindi speakers Hindi is not mandatory. If NEP is implemented even partially, it will usher in a new era in India’s education sector. There will be no fear of one examination deciding the destiny of the student. Going to school will be enjoyable and not boring like today. Students will have far more flexibility to select courses. Rote learning will be replaced by creative thinking. Minimum bureaucracy, less regulation and less scope for corruption. Only honest elected leaders will opt to become education ministers. Though the report deals with all aspects of school education, higher education, and professional education (health, technical, legal, and healthcare), greater emphasis is given to school education. Early childhood education which has been more or less totally neglected is given the highest

priority. This is influenced by the fact that over 85% of cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of six. The current 12 years of schooling will be replaced by 15 years but still students can complete high school by age 18. Current 5+3+2+2 will be replaced by 5+3+3+4. Current system consists of primary, upper primary, secondary and pre university. It will be replaced by Foundational stage from age 3 to 8, Preparatory stage from age 8 to 11, Middle stage from age 11 to 14 and High School from age 14 to 18. The Foundational stage will comprise five years of flexible, multilevel, play-based, activity-based, and discoverybased learning and is the most important stage. It is at High School stage where there is complete transformation. Pre university or higher secondary is eliminated. Each year will be divided into 2 semesters, for a total of 8 semesters. Each student would take 5 to 6 subjects each semester. There will be some essential common subjects for all. Simultaneously there will be a great flexibility in selecting elective courses including in the arts, music, vocational subjects, and physical education. SSLC and PUC examinations will be eliminated. Each semester students can take Board Examinations in subjects they have taken and there will be no in-class final examinations. Thus the pressure of the examinations will be eliminated and so also the student suicide rate. All stages will heavily incorporate Indian and local traditions, as well as ethical reasoning, socio-emotional learning, quantitative and logical reasoning, computational thinking and digital literacy, scientific temper, languages, and communication skills. School education will develop scientific temper, aesthetic sense, communication, ethical

reasoning, digital literacy, knowledge of India, knowledge of critical issues facing the community and the world. Objective of higher education is to create world class multi disciplinary higher education institutions (HEI) across the country and to increase Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) to 50% by 2035 from the current level of 25%. The ancient Indian Universities of Takshashila and Nalanda have served as role models in developing these efforts. There will be three types of institutions. First is Research Universities offering Ph.D and Masters Degree to focus on research. Second is Teaching Universities focusing on high quality teaching across all disciplines and third are individual colleges offering only undergraduate courses. Every such college irrespective of private or public will be autonomous. All these HEIs will have the rights to award degrees unlike today where only universities have the right. There will be no affiliating universities or affiliated colleges in the future. In order to drive the vision of NEP and to facilitate the efficient and holistic implementation (in India best of reforms have failed at implementation stage ) of NEP, a high level body called Rastriya Siksha Aayog (National Education Commission) headed by the PM is proposed. Such a high level RSA will be responsible for developing, articulating, implementing, evaluating, and revising the vision of education in the country on a continuous and sustained basis. NEP should have discussed what are the key success factors for its implementation. One such factor is honest, competent, dedicated teachers and managers at all levels. While the NEP is exhaustive, substantive policies specially concerning school education could have been discussed in fewer pages. They are: 1.Getting rid of public

examinations. 2. No transfer of government school teachers. 3. Developing a system to hold teachers and administrators accountable based on the performance of the students. 4. Closing down of ‘small’ schools and to integrate them into larger and integrated schools like Kendriya Vidyalayas with library, and laboratory facilities. Children residing away from schools can be transported by bus like the children going to private schools. 5. Government should allocate at least 6% of GDP for education sector which is currently at 3% level. With the elimination of public examinations, it will be

the end of coaching schools. Teachers union are unlikely to favor the recommendations since they will be held accountable and also they need to teach unlike preparing children to take exams. Anganwadi unions will not be happy since pre schooling will take place in large school complexes. But general public and students should rejoice and welcome the NEP. Unless there is a vibrant movement to support the NEP, it will remain a pipe dream and India would have a lost another golden opportunity to usher in million mutinies in education sector as recommended by NEP.

USINPAC commends Chairman Brad Sherman for holding hearing on U.S. Interests in South Asia Washington DC: USINPAC commends Chairman Brad Sherman of the House Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation for holding an upcoming Congressional hearing on U.S. Interests in South Asia in the wake of India’s recent elections. India’s election was the largest the world has ever known. Over 600 million people voted, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi won again in a record-breaking landslide. “This hearing comes at a time when the U.S.-India relationship needs bolstering,” Sanjay Puri, Chairman of USINPAC, said. “It is unfortunate that India has been stripped of its special trade status, as of June 5, 2019. Both countries will feel the crunch. But I am hopeful that as a result of this hearing that the U.S. might re-think India. India is the world’s largest democracy and a counterbalancing influence in the region. India is expected to become the world’s most populous nation by 2028. The U.S. and India should sort out their differences sooner rather than later.” “I also hope that as a result of this hearing that Congress will look into whether or not Pakistan violated the F-16 User Agreement during its raid on India military installations in Kashmir after the Pulwama attack. We deserve to know. We also need to know why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put a $6 billion preliminary agreement in place for Pakistan,” Puri said. USINPAC is not against the people of Pakistan, or aid for education, economic development, women’s empowerment, etc. But USINPAC is against state-sponsored terrorism and against the misuse of IMF loans. It is the intent of USINPAC to go on the record in making its views known now and for historical purposes. The hearing on U.S. Interests in South Asia will be held on June 13, 2019 at 9:30 am in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Ambassador Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, will be a key witness. Ms. Gloria Steele, Acting Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Ms. Karen Freeman, Assistant to the Administrator for the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs for USAID, will also testify.

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 11

NEWS Court orders immediate release of journalist on bail The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of journalist Prashant Kanojia on bail, saying it had no intention of sitting back and watching a citizen being deprived of his personal liberty for his social media posts. Mr. Kanojia’s family claims that he was picked up from his home on June 8 by plainclothesmen and taken to an undisclosed location allegedly for having shared on social media a video of a woman claiming she had sent a marriage proposal to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “Arrest? Arrest? A citizen’s right to liberty has been infringed. We have gone through the records... Yes, these sort of tweets should not be made... But to arrest him? Liberty guaranteed under fundamental rights is sacrosanct. Whatever it is, he [Kanojia] has to be released on bail immediately,” Justice Indira Banerjee said, addressing Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee who was appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government. The court called the action taken by the Uttar Pradesh government a “glaring case of deprivation of liberty” in which a citizen had been sent to custody for 13/14 days. When the ASG stated that Mr. Kanojia’s release would be construed by the public as an endorsement of his social media posts, Justice Banerjee shot back, saying, “Why should it? It will be treated as an endorsement of his right to personal liberty.” “We are not appreciative of the manner of his tweets, but we are bothered about his arrest and incarceration... We live in a country where there is a Constitution. Proceed against him in accordance with law, but should he be behind bars?” Justice Banerjee observed. Mr. Banerjee countered that free speech is not “absolute” and another’s right cannot be trampled upon. “With great liberty comes great responsibility,” he said. To this, Justice Banerjee said free speech and criticism on social media cannot be choked by incarceration. “Even we take in a lot from social media, but does that mean incarceration? Show your magnanimity,’’ she told the State. To this, the ASG said, “This order of release should not be seen as a endorsement of his tweets.” Justice Banerjee responded, “It is very wrong to think whatever uploaded will be swallowed by the public. People are educated.” ‘Not an endorsement of his tweets’ However, the court later clarified in its order that the journalist’s release should

not be construed as an “endorsement” of his tweets, but as a firm stand taken by the highest court to protect personal liberty. It said fundamental rights of free speech and personal liberty were “non-negotiable”. “We need not comment on the nature of the posts/tweets for which the action has been taken. The question is whether Prashant Kanojia ought to have been deprived of his liberty for the offence alleged. The answer to that question is prima facie in the negative,” it recorded in the order. The court said the State would follow procedure as per law in Kanojia’s case. “We direct that the petitioner’s husband [Kanojia] be immediately released on bail on conditions to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Chief Judicial Magistrate. It’s made clear that this order is not be construed as an approval of his tweets/ posts in the social media. This order is passed in view of the excessiveness of the action taken. Needless to mention that the proceedings will take their own course in accordance with law,” it said. The U.P. government then referred to how the court, in another case on May 14, asked BJP Yuva Morcha leader Priyanka Sharma to apologize on her release from custody for posting a morphed image of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media. Justice Banerjee was heading that Bench too. “That was on entirely different facts. It was a photo,” Justice Banerjee replied. The hearing on Tuesday was based on habeas corpus petition moved by Mr. Kanojia’s wife, Jagisha Arora, represented by advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, under Article 32 of the Constitution to know the whereabouts of her 26-year-old husband. During the hearing, the State informed the Vacation Bench of Justices Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi that Mr. Kanojia was remanded to judicial custody till June 22 in Lucknow. The ASG argued that a habeas corpus plea would not lie before the apex court as the accused had already been produced before the jurisdictional court and remanded in custody through a judicial order. The State government said Ms. Arora should ideally challenge the remand order in the Allahabad High Court. But the court differed with the government, saying Article 32 enshrined a fundamental right. The Bench threatened to use its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice in the Kanojia case. The Bench repeatedly expressed its

incredulity at the “harshness” with which Mr. Kanojia was dealt with. “Have you ever come across a 11-day remand?” Justice Rastogi asked. “Is this a case of murder? Do you expect him to stay behind bars and challenge the remand order? Not very fair,” Justice Banerjee remarked. The ASG countered, saying the “law is very clear, he [Kanojia] can challenge the remand order.” Justice Banerjee retorted, “The law is very clear indeed... A person cannot be deprived of his personal liberty. A person can’t spend 11 days behind bars for putting up posts/tweets on social media.” The U.P. government maintained that the action against Mr. Kanojia was not a part of a “personal vendetta”. ASG Banerjee said the tweet on Mr. Adityanath was not a one-off incident as portrayed by critics. Mr. Kanojia had been posting a series of “very strong, very, very inflammatory” remarks on social media that ranged from being casteist to deprecatory of gods and goddesses. That was why he was booked under Section 505 (for public mischief) too, he reasoned. In her petition, Ms. Arora argued that the Uttar Pradesh Police had no role to file an FIR for criminal defamation against her husband. It was up to the aggrieved person to file a complaint. Besides the offences of criminal defamation and public mischief under the IPC, Mr. Kanojia had also been booked under Sections 66 and 67 of the Information Technology Act. She said the men who came to take her husband away neither introduced themselves nor told the family where they were taking him. They did not even produce an arrest memo. No transit remand was applied for, though Mr. Kanojia was arrested in Delhi and believed to be taken to Lucknow, the petition said. The offences under which Kanojia was booked were bailable, yet he was denied bail. Section 505 of IPC (statements conducing public mischief) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act (publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form) require extraordinary reasons to be put down in writing for arrest. “Sharing of a video available in public domain by a person proclaiming love for even a public official cannot be prima facie called a rumour much less one which can disturb public tranquillity and similarly the same is not ‘lascivious or appeals to prurient interests’,” Ms. Arora said.

Mumbai businessman gets life imprisonment, slapped ₹5 crore fine for making hoax hijack call The businessman had left a hijack threat note on a Jet Airways plane in October 2017; NIA court says fine amount by the convict Birju Salla will be distributed among crew members and passengers. A special NIA Court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a Mumbai-based businessman and imposed a fine of ₹5 crore on him for leaving a hijack threat note on a Jet Airways plane in October 2017. The Court of special NIA judge K.M. Dave said the fine amount submitted by the convict, businessman Birju Salla, will be distributed among the crew members and passengers on board the affected plane. Salla was accused of creating a hijack scare by planting a threat note written in English and Urdu in the tissue paper box of the aircraft’s toilet on October 30. After the incident, Salla become the first person to be put under the “national no fly list”, and was also the first to be booked under the stringent Anti Hijacking Act, which had replaced a vintage law of 1982. The NIA had in January last year filed a charge sheet against him under sections 3(1), 3(2)(a) and 4(b) of the Anti-Hijacking Act, 2016. The NIA had said Salla prepared a “threat note” in both English and Urdu language and placed it “intentionally” in the tissue paper box of the toilet near the business class of the Mumbai-Delhi Jet Airways flight no.9W339 on October 30, thereby jeopardising the safety of passengers and crew on board. He was arrested in October 2017 after the plane made an emergency landing at the Ahmedabad airport. He confessed to the crime and told investigators that he had done it in the hope that it would force Jet Airways to close its Delhi operation and his girlfriend, who worked in the airline’s Delhi office, would come back to Mumbai. The note asked the plane to be flown into Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The note ended with the words, Allah is Great.

High security cell kept ready in Mumbai prison for Nirav Modi Authorities at the Arthur Road jail here have kept ‘barrack no. 12’ ready if fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi is extradited from the UK in connection with the USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case, a Home department official said on Tuesday. The prisons department last week shared information with the state Home department about the status of the Arthur Road prison and facilities that can be provided there, in case Mr. Modi is to be lodged in the barrack, he said. The Centre recently asked the State government about the same, he said. Mr. Modi was arrested by Scotland Yard officers in London on March 19 and faces extradition to India as the “principal beneficiary” of the fraudulent issuance of letters of undertaking (LoUs) as part of a conspiracy to defraud PNB and then laundering the money. UK’s Westminster Magistrate’s Court last month denied bail to Mr. Modi, who has been behind bars at one of England’s most overcrowded prisons, Her Majesty’s Prison Wandsworth. The State government recently submitted a letter of assurance to the Centre about the facilities which it can provide in the prison, he said. It had last year furnished a similar letter of assurance to the Centre in connection with the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is in the UK and is wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to the tune of ₹ 9,000 crore. As per the letter, if extradited, Mr. Modi will be kept in one of two rooms in barrack no. 12 of the Arthur Road prison, the official said. As of now, three prisoners are lodged in one room while the other one is vacant, he said, adding that if extradited, Mr. Modi and Mr. Mallya will be lodged in the same room, having an area of 20 ft by 15 ft and equipped with three fans, six tube lights and two windows. The prison department also assured that Mr. Modi will be kept in a cell where the number of other detainees is not more than three, the official said. “If lodged in the barrack, Modi is likely to get three square metre personal space, as per European norms, per person lodged in correction centres, and he will be provided a cotton mat, pillow, bed-sheet and blanket,” he said. He will be permitted out of his cell for exercise and recreation for a reasonable amount of time, which will not more than an hour a day, the official said. The prison department also assured that adequate light, ventilation and storage for personal belongings will be provided, the official said.

PAGE 12 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

NEWS Noted playwright, actor and Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad dies at 81

Girish Karnad (81), wellknown writer, playwright, actor and public intellectual, passed away early on June 10 in Bengaluru. The Jnanpith and Padma awardee succumbed to multiple-organ failure at his residence on Lavelle Road in the city, according to sources. He had been ailing for sometime. He is survived by wife Saraswati Ganapathi and two children. Born in May 1938, he was one of the most prominent theatre personalities of the 60s and 70s, a period regarded as the Renaissance of Indian theatre. He worked with mythology and history and gave them a contemporary resonance in plays such as Tughlaq and Hayavadana. He wrote his first play Yayati in 1961 when he was a Rhodes scholar in England. Karnad translated most

of his plays himself. His last play was Rakshasa Tangadi, published last year, set in the last years of the Vijayanagara empire. He was also a film director and actor, his acting debut being in the classic Samskara, directed by Pattabhirama Reddy and based on a novel by U.R. Ananthamurthy. He made a name not only in parallel cinema but also for his roles in mainstream films in multiple languages. He acted in films like Manthan, Minsara Kanavu, Hey Ram, China Gate, Tiger Zinda Hai, Kadhalan among others. He directed films like Utsav, Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane and Kaadu. A highly regarded public intellectual, he often became the target of the Hindutva right, most notably for his views on Mysuru king Tipu Sultan, on whom he has authored a

Veteran Tamil playwright and actor ‘Crazy’ Mohan

play. Coming in the midst of a raging controversy over the State’s decision to celebrate ‘Tipu Jayanti’, his comment that the city’s international airport could have been named after the king created a furore. Though he apologised for the misunderstanding it caused, he stayed firm in his views. He said in a later interview to a television channel, “I think he [Tipu Sultan] was a great king, he was a great thinker, a great strategist, and he did so much for Karnataka. I stand by what I said. I admire him. I think he is one of the best Kannadigas we had in the last 500 years, after the fall of Vijaynagar.” Karnad was believed to be on the hitlist of the gang that killed Gauri Lakesh and was given security by the State police in the aftermath of her death. In a tweet, historian Ramachandra Guha said about Karnad, “Playwright, actor, institution-builder and patriot, Girish Karnad was a colossus. It was a privilege to have known him, a far greater privilege to have seen his plays and read his work.” “In his life, he embodied the richness and depth of Indian civilization more nobly and less self-consciously than anyone else I knew.” The Karnataka Government has declared a holiday for schools and colleges and a three-day State mourning in honour of the writer.

‘Crazy’ Mohan, prominent theatre artiste and ace scriptwriter in the Tamil film industry, died in Chennai on Monday. He suffered an acute heart attack and was taken to Kauvery Hospital, where efforts to resuscitate him failed and he was declared dead at 2 p.m. Mohan Rangachari, who was born in 1952, earned the ‘Crazy’ sobriquet after penning the script for the popular play, Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam. The play staged by another popular theatre personality, S.Ve. Shekher, was also run on television as a series and it became a runaway hit. “We’ve known each other since 1975. We are from the same area [Mylapore] and used to meet at a shop. He was a good human being and an artist too, a fact not many knew. He would draw beautiful portraits of Gods,” recalled Mr. Shekher. Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam set the tone for the rest of his career, as ‘Crazy’ Mohan and his brother Balaji wrote and starred in a number of plays of similar tone and tenor, that always had their audience in splits. The plays revolved essentially around wit and dialogue, even if thin plotwise. Mohan qualified as a mechanical engineer at the College of Engineering, Guindy, in the 1970s. But his calling was elsewhere and he started his own drama troupe Crazy Creations in 1979. Several plays followed, as also movie scripts and his association with Kamal Hassan led to some hilarious comic sequences in Tamil films including Apoorva Sagodharargal, Sathi Leelavathi, Magalir Mattum, Kadhala Kadhala and Vasool Raja MBBS. Kamal Haasan and Oorvasi gave heft to his script with their performances in Michael Madana Kama Rajan. The dialogues with Palghat Brahmin accent, “Yenna Kattindrukkom”, “Saambarna Mani Iyer Saambarthan. Besh Besh romba nannaa irukku” continue to make people laugh. Mohan also carefully avoided dialogues with “double entendre” quite common in Tamil films especially in comedy tracks.

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INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY,M JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 13

NEWS U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo announces New Delhi visit U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that he would visit New Delhi at the end of the month as he previewed comments that he is expected to make at an India Ideas U.S. India Business Council event, ‘the India Ideas Summit: Connecting Cities and States’ which will be held on Wednesday and Thursday this week. “I’ll be visiting India, an important part of President Trump’s strategy in the Indo-PaciďŹ c,â€? Mr. Pompeo told reporters at a State Department brieďŹ ng on Monday. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity both to give the set of remarks [at the India Ideas event] about how it is our relationship is so closely tied economically, but also importantly the things that the United States and India can continue to do to build out what is an incredibly important relationship for both countries,â€? he said. Mr. Pompeo’s Asia trip will take place between June 24 and 30, and he will ďŹ rst visit New Delhi, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said. “Prime Minister Modi’s recent election victory provides an excellent opportunity for him to implement his vision for a strong and prosperous India that plays a leading role on the global stage,â€? Ms. Ortagus said. The U.S. is seeking a stronger defence and strategic relationship with India, especially with regard to the Indo-PaciďŹ c. This is driven to a signiďŹ cant extent by its concerns over China’s growing inuence in the region and globally. Colombo visit Mr. Pompeo is next expected to visit Colombo, his ďŹ rst after the Easter terror attacks. The U.S. had also been concerned about growing Chinese inuence in Sri Lanka and debt traps in the country, resulting from “bad loansâ€? from China to facilitate infrastructure projects such as the strategic Hambantota Port which was leased to China in 2017 for 99 years for over $ 1 billion. â€œâ€ŚSecretary Pompeo will express America’s solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka as they stand united against the despicable Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. He will also discuss promising opportunities for U.S.-Sri Lanka cooperation based on shared commitments to a free and open Indo-PaciďŹ c region,â€? Ms. Ortagus said. Following Sri Lanka, Mr. Pompeo will head to Osaka, Japan, where the G-20 Leaders’ Summit is taking place. Mr. Modi is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at a trilateral along the sidelines of the summit. Mr. Pompeo is expected to join Mr. Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Osaka in their discussions on North Korea and denuclearisation and will accompany Mr. Trump to South Korea to meet its President Moon Jae-in, Ms. Ortagus said.

IAF inks Rs 300 crore deal for SPICE bombs from Israel

The Indian Air Force has signed a Rs 300 crore deal with a Israeli defence firm to procure a batch of SPICE 2000 guided bombs, oďŹƒcial sources said Friday. The IAF had used SPICE bombs in its strikes on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan’s Balakot on Feb. 26. Sources said the order for the bombs has been placed under the special financial powers given to the armed forces for emergency purchases. The deal was signed with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the bombs are expected to be supplied in the next three months, the sources said. IAF fighter jets bombed terror group JeM’s training camp in Balakot deep inside Pakistan. The Indian strike on the JeM camp came 12 days after the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama in which 40 soldiers were killed. Following the Pulwama attack, the government granted emergency powers to the three services to procure weapons and military hardware to enhance their operational preparedness along the border with Pakistan. The government also relaxed rules to cut delays in military purchase to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor.

‘Raman 1.0’ to automatically detect adulteration in food Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Friday launched a new-age, hand-held battery-operated device, called ‘Raman 1.0’, for rapid detection of economically driven adulteration in edible oils, fats and ghee. The equipment, Raman Spectrometer (built by Oak Analytics) can test more than 250 samples per battery charge, collects and stores data on the cloud using a smart device. This is the ďŹ rst of 19 such equipment and methods that have been provisionally approved by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) for strengthening the food testing infrastructure in the country. The gadget was launched at the ďŹ rst-ever World Food Safety Day celebration organised by the FSSAI here. Addressing the audience, Harsh Vardhan appealed to people to make the “eat less and eat rightâ€? campaign a mass movement to ensure even one grain of food is not wasted and everyone has food to eat. He said health is not only absence of disease and inďŹ rmity but the presence of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness. The Minister also unveiled a statue of ‘Gandhiji on a bicycle’ installed at the FSSAI complex. “As we commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Bapu, the statue symbolises his journey towards good health and shall constantly inspire people for emulating his good health practices,â€? he said. Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey said that clean food will result in a clean body, mind and thoughts and deeds. For this, people’s awareness about safe and healthy food and participation is critical to make an impact on society. The FSSAI also released the ďŹ rst edition of the State Food Safety Index, that measures the performance of the States on key parameters of food safety. An innovative solution to take food safety to schools, called the ‘Food Safety Magic Box’ was also launched by Vardhan. This do-it-yourself food testing kit comprises a manual and equipment to check for food adulterants, which schoolchildren can use in their classroom laboratories.

India protests as Canadian city revokes nod to hoist Tricolour Mayor withdraws permission on insistence of Sikh activists India lodged a very strong protest after a Mayor in Canada denied permission to hoist the national ag at an Indo-Canadian community event. The incident took place in Oakville, Greater Toronto, where the Indian Consul-General Dinesh Bhatia was to hoist the Indian tricolour to mark the founding of the Oakville Indo-Canadian Association at the Town Hall. A source said on Sunday that India took up the issue and protested “very stronglyâ€? with Mayor Rob Burton who denied permission at the last moment. It is learnt that Mr. Bhatia met the Mayor. Though India has raised the issue at appropriate levels, the source said, the incident basically indicates that the Mayor was misled by some local elements. Hoisting of the Indian ag was part of the programme and guests were accordingly informed. However, the mayoral decision left the gathering disappointed. The decision was reportedly taken after a few local Sikh activists objected to the event as it was being organised around the time of the 35th anniversary of Operation Bluestar. Oakville is part of Greater Toronto and is home to many Indian immigrants.

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PAGE 14 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 15

SUNANDA’S PERFORMING ARTS CENTER- KINKINNI - MAY 27, 2019

Glimpses of Dr. Sunanda Nair’s students showcasing their talent at the annual performance titled, Kinkinni, at the Seven Seas High School, Katy. Visit sparchouston.com . PHOTOS BY MURALI SANTHANA

PAGE 16 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

NEWS India’s stature in world has risen in the last five years, says External Affairs Minister Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister ,S. Jaishankar addressing the 7th Growth Net Summit, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi on Thursday, June 6, 2019. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar ‘There is big responsibility on the External Affairs Ministry to focus on project execution which has strategic significance’ A large majority of people in India recognise that the country’s stature in the world has risen in the last five years, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said here on Thursday. Addressing a gathering at a seminar, Mr. Jaishankar said a “global rebalancing” is taking place and the “sharpest manifestation” of that is the rise of China and to an extent, the rise of India as well. The former Foreign Secretary took part in the event days after taking charge of the Ministry, a rare instance of a career diplomat handling the key portfolio as a Minister. “A large majority of people in India recognised that India’s stature in the world has risen in the last five years,” Mr. Jaishankar said. He said the government has kept alive and perhaps even strengthened expectation of change in India. The Government looks different from outside than from inside, Mr. Jaishankar, who served as foreign secretary from 2015-18 said. “We can build a closer region through regional connectivity projects,” he added. “If we want to propel economic growth, then there is greater responsibility for Indian foreign policy to focus on external aspect of it,” the External Affairs Minister said. There is big responsibility on the External Affairs Ministry to focus on project execution which has strategic significance, he added.

Rumor over Sushma Swaraj’s next role

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday evening tweeted to congratulate former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj for getting appointed as governor of Andhra Pradesh. After sometime, the cabinet minister deleted his tweet without citing any reason. Before he could delete the tweet, Sushma was flooded with congratulatory messages. The events on the social media platform provided a peak into the functioning of Modi 2.0 government and indicated that at least some cabinet ministers feel that the sidelined senior leader was being considered for a governor’s post. Sushma, considered an active minister on Twitter when she held the foreign portfolio, responded later, saying a visit to VicePresident Venkaiah Naidu could have triggered the Twitter buzz and added that the news was “not true”. “I called on the Vice-President of India Shri Venkaiah Naiduji on demitting office as Minister of External Affairs. This was enough for Twitter to appoint me as Governor of Andhra Pradesh,” Sushma tweeted. “The news about my appointment as Governor of Andhra Pradesh is not true,” she added. Some BJP leaders felt that Harsh Vardhan’s tweet could just have spoilt Sushma’s chance at rehabilitation. Party leaders said both Modi and Shah were firm in maintaining secrecy and violations did not go unpunished. Against expectations, Sushma was not made a minister in the second Modi government. She had not contested the Lok Sabha polls on health reasons but was expected to come through the Rajya Sabha route and get appointed as a minister.

Cabinet may consider fresh bill to ban instant triple talaq The Union Cabinet is likely to take a call on a fresh bill to ban the practice of instant triple talaq in its meeting on June 12, sources said. Once passed by Parliament, the proposed bill will replace an ordinance issued earlier in 2019. With the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha in May, the contentious bill lapsed as it was pending in the Rajya Sabha. Bills that are introduced in Rajya Sabha and are pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of Lok Sabha. Bills passed by Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha, however, lapse. If cleared by the Union Cabinet on June 12, the new bill could be introduced in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha beginning June 17. The Opposition had been against provisions of the bill in Rajya Sabha where the government lacked numbers to ensure its passage. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which made the practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) a penal offence, was opposed by the Opposition parties, which claimed that jail term for the husband for divorcing his wife was legally untenable. The government had promulgated the ordinance on triple talaq twice. Under the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019, divorcing through instant triple talaq will be illegal, void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband A bill to convert the earlier ordinance, issued in September 2018, was cleared by the Lok Sabha in December and was pending in the Rajya Sabha. Since the bill could not get parliamentary approval, a fresh ordinance was issued.

Manipur man detects WhatsApp bug, enters Facebook ‘Hall of Fame’ Zonel Sougaijam, a 22-yearold civil engineer, said that the social media giant awarded $5000 to him and also included him in the ‘Facebook Hall of Fame 2019’, for detecting the WhatsApp bug. Facebook has honoured a Manipuri man for discovering a WhatsApp bug that violated the privacy of a user. Zonel Sougaijam, a 22-yearold civil engineer, said that the social media giant awarded $5000 to him and also included him in the ‘Facebook Hall of Fame 2019’, for detecting the WhatsApp bug. Mr. Sougaijam’s name is currently at the 16th position

in a list of 94 people, in the ‘Facebook Hall of Fame’ for this year. “During a voice call through WhatsApp, the bug used to allow the caller to upgrade it to a video call without the authorisation and knowledge of the receiver. The caller was then able to see what the other person was doing, violating the privacy of the receiver,” Mr. Sougaijam told PTI. After discovering the bug, Mr. Sougaijam said, he had reported the matter to the Bug Bounty Program of the Facebook, which deals with violation of privacy matters, in March.

He said his report was acknowledged by the Facebook Security team the very next day and its technical department fixed the bug within 1520 days. “After reviewing this issue, we have decided to award you a bounty of $5000,” Facebook said in an e-mail sent to Mr. Sougaijam. The man said he found his name in the Facebook ‘ Hall of Fame’ page this month. Facebook, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, purchased the messaging service WhatsApp for a staggerring $19 billion in February 2014.

200,000 Indians to perform Haj Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday claimed that the quota for Indians to perform Haj has increased from 1,32,000 pilgrims to two lakh pilgrims in the last five years, the highest number since Independence. Mr. Naqvi was addressing a press conference at the Haj House where he launched an online portal http://haj.nic.in/pto/ and a mobile App (HPFS) for the better organisation and experience of all Indian pilgrims. The Union Minister credited the increase in Haj pilgrims over the last five years to Prime Minster Narendra Modi and said this could be brought about by communicating with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. “The number of Indian Haj Pilgrims is more than that of Pakistan and the quota is most likely to increase,” he said. Flights for Haj will begin from July 4 and from various places across the country. There will be more than 500 flights catering the pilgrims. Medical facilities at the pilgrimage centre have also been taken care of. For this, a total of 14 health care centres and 620 co-ordinators will be catering to the Indian pilgrims. “The removal of Haj subsidy have not caused much of a problem to the Indian pilgrims,” Mr. Naqvi said. The minister said that the feedback mechanism in the online portal and the mobile app are extremely new and essential. “This mechanism gives immense power to the pilgrims and makes the process more transparent and progressive,” he claimed.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 • PAGE 17

ESSAY

Harvard grad quits World Bank, Uses data to bring government help to 5 million Indians

Back in July 2012, Rwitwika Bhattacharya’s contract with the World Bank had come to an end. For the postgraduate from the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School, the choice was between corporate consulting and starting her public policy venture in India. In the six months between finishing up at the World Bank and joining Accenture, she started the Swaniti Initiative, a social enterprise, which works with policymakers and elected representatives to deliver development solutions across the country. Thus far, this data-driven public policy enterprise has worked with MPs and state and district administrations to positively impact the lives of 50 lakh ordinary Indians. “My experience at the World Bank was great, but I wanted to do more. My father, Ranjan Bhattacharya, was active in politics, so I grew up seeing and meeting MPs. Thus, it made sense to reach out to them. I wanted to see how they were doing, what development in their constituency looked like,” says Rwitwika, speaking to The Better India. Although MPs do not implement schemes on the ground, they have two things working for them. One is that they are closely connected to the community. So, if you need to make a development-related intervention sustainable at the community level, you need to go to the MP’s office. Second, if you want to nudge a bureaucrat in a particular direction, their influence does help. Swaniti works very closely with MPs through their Supporting Parliamentarians on Analysis and Research in the Constituency (SPARC) Fellowship across sectors like agriculture, education, livelihood, renewable energy, social welfare, water, health and nutrition. Today, the Swaniti Initiative extends to State governments and district administrations. At the very core of what Swaniti Initiative does is working with governance systems to improve

public services. Let’s take the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, and the BOCW Welfare Cess Act, 1996. These two promise access to social benefits like life insurance, health insurance and basic housing, to workers in the construction industry. However, according to the Labour Ministry, in the 22 years since this law was passed, governments have managed to spend only 35% of the corpus, resulting in nearly Rs 28,000 crore lying unused. How do we go ahead and make sure that scheme is available to construction workers? At the root of corruption in India are weak and scattered systems of governance that are incapable of tracking how money for various public schemes and programmes is utilised where the rubber meets the road at the district and panchayat level. For big ticket schemes like Swachh Bharat or Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, a district magistrate can keep track of the money coming in and how it is utilised. However, there are hundreds of other government programmes for which such data isn’t streamlined. Funds allocated for these schemes that aren’t utilised go back to the state exchequer. “So if the very fundamentals of how much money is coming in, where it’s going, how much is being spent and output of these programmes isn’t closely tracked on the ground at say the village level, then preventing corruption becomes impossible. Having worked with state and district administrations, this is something we have noticed,” says Rwitwika. Making matters worse is that several districts they work in are functioning with 50% less staff, and the available staff does not have a proper support system. The standard model the initiative follows in different states is to collect data on the ground or use data available at a district level and figure out the following: 1) What does the demography look like? 2) What are the major issues? 3) What are government agencies doing to address them? In Uttarakhand, what Swaniti noticed is the mass exodus of young men seeking employment opportunities outside the state. “In Pindar Valley, we noticed that there were about 700 men

who stayed back but were chronically unemployed, i.e., without work for six months or longer. Approaching the local community and officials, we asked what measures were feasible. We also found out that there were Statefunded programs to build infrastructure in the community, like roads and parks. After collecting all the necessary data, we noticed about Rs 70 lakh of this money was sitting idle. Can we go ahead and deploy these resources on the ground build infrastructure? With women and children in abundance, one possible solution was to build community parks for them,” informs Rwitwika. The Swaniti team went back to the district administration with the solution to build more parks for the community so that the unemployed youth could come in and get work for at least seveneight months. In the process, the district administration could also build infrastructure for the community. “We essentially set an example for the district administration for how they could take data that is available and turn it into something usable, and find a solution to the problem. In about three years (September 2015-September 2018), the project was at a stage where out of 700 people, we were successfully able to employ around 420, besides spending the entire Rs 70 lakh corpus earlier unused,” she adds. Leveraging data, another Swaniti initiative in Khati village, Uttarakhand, has given a Block Development Officer the ability to map the requirements of a school 7000 ft above sea level directly on his smartphone without having to physically spend three days going there. However, Swaniti has gone beyond focussing on district administrations to local communities.For example, they track how much money is coming in for local women self-help groups. These women can help create economic activity by mobilising those funds for their self-help groups and creating opportunities within the community. Thanks to their work, over 100 crores in funds that would have gone unspent had they not intervened at the district level, has been mobilised. However, a more significant concern is not merely collecting data, but helping district administrations plug gaps in their data collection process with Swaniti associates on the ground. In Puri, Odisha, for example, there was one particular scheme for construction workers in which 75% of the funds had remained unspent even though 900 labourers had registered for it. Initially, the district administration was adamant that Swaniti’s data was off the mark, but a local MP intervened, and the data was scrutinised again. What the administration found was more than 70% of the funds

were indeed not utilised. At a closer look, these associates figured out that an official had registered these workers in a file, but forgot about it. However, what they also ascertained that publicity, a major component of this scheme, had remained unaddressed. “We then reached out to the sarpanches, youth clubs and other local groups, holding information camps. In just a month and a half, we ended up getting 7000 odd applications. Then, we went back to the administration, asking them to process these applications. However, processing at a local district level happens on pen and paper, or the local data entry officer isn’t competent enough to work with computers. It took us five months to get this information through into the system, track how many people are beneficiaries, and how much money is left in their bank accounts,” recalls Rwitwika. In India, the quality of data and its use is still at an initial stage, but the good thing is that we are at the point of change and are now trying to figure out ways to incorporate it. However, data alone doesn’t work. It has to be complemented with action and having people who are going to push that information and shake people out of their inertia. “We realised that we could not be just a data or tech company. People respect your organisation when it places people in tough regions. For example, there is a village deep in Godda district located within the heart of Jharkhand’s Maoist belt, where the closest railway station is eight hours away. We have a team of about six people working there addressing different developmental challenges. Unlike other organisations, we don’t drop in from Delhi, tell them what to do and fly out. For us the magic combination is using information intelligently and having people on the ground who can assist with implementation,” argues Rwitwika. Jaano India Platform On Republic Day this year, Swaniti announced that it had developed the ‘Jaano India’ platform, a one-stop shop for finding all data related to district constituency and their respective members of parliaments. Over 850+ data points are drawn and collated from various sources including Election Commission, Livestock Census, RBI, Lok Sabha, Swachh Bharat Mission, MGNREGA and NSSO, among others, to gauge important developmental markers from literacy to housing to infrastructure. “We worked on it for twoand-a-half years. Voters can see their MP, measure his/her performance, rate it, and check their background. They can also check out how much of a margin his/ her party won by in the last election, and their performance in the

previous elections,” says Rajat Gupta, a key figure in building this platform. One of this platform’s more fascinating features is a map of India, where you can visualise different data points at a district level across sectors like health, literacy, sex ratio, land utilisation, the percentage of working women and implementation of certain key government schemes, among others. These figures have been updated according to the latest figures available in different government websites. “You can compare all districts in the country on various metrics like sex ratio, literacy rate. It also helps you ascertain whether the sex ratio has increased because of literacy rate or not. Right now you can compare the two datasets manually, but in the future, we will build an algorithm that does this correlation automatically,” says Rajat. Building the map was a real challenge. Mapping the data and setting it in the proper geographical context is hard, he admits. However, they developed an algorithm which can help them mark out that data on a map accurately. “The vision is to provide a district level health card to citizens so that they essentially know what their district looks like, where are the developmental gaps and what is the situation right now. Since this is all government data, public administrators can’t accuse them of trying to dissuade citizens,” he adds. Recently alongside Ank Aha and Tata Trusts, Swaniti has developed an app on both Android and iOS called the UPaAI (Unified Planning and Analysis Interface) or ‘solution’ in Hindi, which integrates data on infrastructure and other development markers for each constituency. This provides MPs with district-wise information on his/her constituency, helping them make better decisions on how to utilise MPLAD funds and better coordinate better with state and district authorities on various welfare programmes. If you haven’t already voted, you can visit their platform, which will help you not only learn more about your district but also help in the process of making an informed choice. For Rwitwika and her team at Swaniti, this has been a remarkable journey. The decision she made back in 2012 to start Swaniti and ditch corporate consultancy wasn’t just about sacrificing a lucrative career, but also leaving behind the comforts of living in the United States. To uproot herself from her comfort zone and help address India’s developmental challenges is something that we should all appreciate. God knows we need more such people. (Edited by Gayatri Mishra www.thebetterindia.com)

PAGE 18 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Gita Satsang Jayram Boodhu and Rohinee invite you for a Gita Satsang on Sunday, June 23. Assemble at 9:45 a.m with Satsang from 10-12:30 p.m followed by lunch at 12:45. The venue is 6105 Inwood Dr., Unit D, Houston, TX 77057 with parking on Inwood Drive. The chanting will take place at the residence of Datta Subarao and Gayatri. For directions, call 281-414-9177. Their house is on Inwood Dr. between Briar Mead and Potomac St, o San Felipe. The program will have chanting from Chapters 16, 17 and 18 from the Gita with explanations in Sanskrit, English and Hindi. Bring a copy of the Gita. RSVP Acharya Vishnu/Dr. Rohini Divecha; vkdivecha@gmail.com.

Art Museum Kannappan Art Museum will be open for public Tuesday 5.30 PM to 7.30 PM, Saturday 10AM to 2 PM, Sunday 12 noon to 4 PM. Address: 2341 N. Galveston Ave, Pearland, TX 77581. Ashirwad Classes for Kids in Katy Enrollments are open for Indian Heritage classes for Kids and Teens from 4 to 16 yrs. Class curriculum includes Yoga, Meditation, Sloka, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagwad Githa, Sports Day, VEDIC Fair Presentations, Dance, Drama, Hindi & more. Contact : 281-995-0930 or AshirwadABlessing@gmail.com. Durga Bari Temple Durga Bari temple is open from 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Mon. thru Sat. Sandhya aarti at 6:30 p.m. Temple closes at 7 p.m. Sunday special from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Temple is located at 13944 Schiller Rd (o Hwy 6 bet. Bellaire & Westpark). Call Ganesh Mandal at 713-797-9057 / 832-4238541.

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Arya Samaj Satsang Weekly Havan Satsang every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. DAV Sanskriti School Sundays 10 a.m. to 12 noon. - Havan, Hindi and Naitik Shiksha classes. DAV Montessori School for ages 2 to 7 years. Call Arti Khanna 281-759-3286. Free Yoga classes on Sat. Sanskrit & Upanishad classes Tue. 6-8 p.m. At 14375 Schiller Rd. (bet Westpark & Bellaire o Hwy 6). 281-752-0100. Brahma Kumaris The Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation Center is open 7 days a week. The center oers free Raja Yoga Meditation classes: MonFri @ 6:00-6:45am and 7-8 pm, Sat-Sun @ 7:00-8:30am, 10 am-2 pm. Visiting hours are Sat-Sun @ 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact us at (832) 379-8888, houston@bktexas. com, or bktexas.com to sign-up for classes. All Raja Yoga Meditation teachers at the Houston center are samarpit and have 15+ years of teaching experience. Chinmaya Mission Summer schedule Both BalaVihar and adult classes will remain closed from May 19th to September 7th. Classes will resume on Sunday, September 8th. New member registration for Bala Vihar will be conducted in Chinmaya Smrti Hall on SUNDAY, August 4 and 11 from 9 AM to noon. Detailed information will be provided at the time of registration. No registrations will be done for Bala Vihar during September 2019. For more information: Visit www. chinmayahouston.org or call

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Classes in Houston, Mission Bend, & Sugar Land

Bharati Sutaria 281.933.0233 Jeeyar Educational Trust Translate knowledge into action classes every Sunday at 10:15 a.m to 12 p.m. at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, 10098 Synott Road, Sugar Land, Tx 77498. Call 785 550 3621 or 832-334-9163. Visit www. ashtalakshmi.org for registration. Vedanta Society Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, VSGH (oďŹƒcial Branch Center of Ramakrishna Math, Belur), 14809 Lindita Dr. (77083), has lectures & talks on every Sunday 11 am - 12 pm, followed by Arati & Prasad; Bhagwad Gita Class on Tuesdays, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm; and Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna on Thursdays, 11 am - 12 pm. Rev. Sw. Atmarupanandaji, the Resident Monk, gives all classes, lectures & talks. Ramnaam Sankirtan is on 1st Saturdays 6 pm - 7 pm. Please visit www.houstonvedanta. org or call 281- 988-7211. Jain Society Jain Society of Houston, JSH, is located at 3905 Arc Street Houston Texas 77063. Key tenets of Jainism are: Non-violence - Ahimsa, Philanthropy with multicity in views – Anekantvad, No possessiveness - Aparigrah, Right Knowledge -- Samyak Gyan, Right Path – Samyak Darshan, and Right Conduct – Samyak Charitrya. JSH has Jain Pathshala Classed for students of all ages each Sunday starting at 10:15 AM. The center is open M-F from 7:30 AM to 12 Noon and 4 to 7 PM, and Sat, and Sun from 8 AM to 6 PM. Call Jain Center at 713 789 2338 or visit www.jainsocietyhouston.org for calendar of events and other detailed information. Shiv Shakti Mandir Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir, 6640 Harwin. Open daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. All major festivals, as well as birthdays, naam karan, engagement and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Virat Mehta 713-278-9099 or Hardik Raval 361-243-6539 for puja or other ceremonies. Heartfulness Meditation Heartfulness Meditation is a practical technique of tuning inwards to experience our higher selves. Meditation with someone who has the capacity of yogic transmission can help you explore the Heartfulness practice more deeply. There are no charges for this, and we invite you to experience the unique beneďŹ ts of this transmission. Workshops on Heartfulness relaxation and meditation are held weekly throughout Houston. Web: www.heartfulness.org; Email: houston.heartfulness@gmail.com. Cell: 713-929-0040. Hare Krishna Dham Houston’s original Vedic temple, ISKCON of Houston. At 1320 W 34th St. (77018). Daily Darshan & Arati Times: 4.30 a.m, 7 a.m, 8.30 a.m, 12 noon, 4.30 p.m, 7 p.m, 9 p.m. Sunday Festival: 5.30 pm to 7.30 p.m. Weekly Gita classes for adults; call 281-433-1635 or harekrishnadham @gmail.com Houston Namadwaar A prayer house where the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Maha-mantra is continuously chanted. Weekends: 8-11 AM & 4-7 PM, Weekdays: 7-8 AM & 6-7 PM. Weekly “Gopa Kuteeramâ€? children’s heritage classes and Srimad Bhagavatam classes. Call 281-402-6585;

visit www.godivinity.org (Global Organization for Divinity). Saumyakasi Sivalaya Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya is located at Chinmaya Prabha, 10353 Synott Road, Sugar Land, TX 77478. Temple timings: Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon and 5:30 PM - 8:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM. For more information Contact 281-568-1690 or Jay Deshmukh at 832-541-0059 or visit www.saumyakasi.org Gauri Siddhivinayak Temple Darshan from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. All major festivals as well as birthdays, naam karan, engagement and other ceremonies. Call Pandit Pradip Pandya 832-4669868 for puja and other ceremonies. At 5645 Hillcroft Ste 701, Houston, TX 77036. Veerashaiva Samaja VSNA Houston is a group of families who believe in Veerashaiva dharma (Basava dharma). Monthly Mahamane program for prayer and discussion on Vachana Sahitya followed by Prasada. Contact: vsnahous ton@gmail.com or Jagadeesh Halyal 832-744-4166. Mar Thoma Church Trinity Mar Thoma Church every Sunday at 5810 Almeda Genoa Rd. Sunday School at 9:15 a.m. Malayalam service at 9:30 a.m. on 1st & 3rd Sunday. Adult Bible class at 9:30 a.m. English service at 10:30 a.m. on 2nd & 4th Sunday. Call 713-991-1557 or 281261-4603. Telugu Christian Fellowship Telugu Christian Fellowship meets every third Saturday of the month at Triumph Church, 10555 W. Airport Blvd., Staord TX 77477 at 6:30 p.m. Join us for a time of praise, worship and fellowship. Worship is in English. For information call Chris Gantela 281-344-0707, or Rev. Vijay Gurrala 281-997-0757. Sri Guruvayurappan Temple Hours: Mon to Fri 6 a.m. -8 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Weekends & Holidays: 6 a.m. to noon and 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bhajans Saturdays 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Special poojas (weekends and holidays) Choroon (Annaprasam) for kids, Thulabharam, Vahana Pooja, Nirapara. Temple is located at 11620 Ormandy St. (77035) Tel: 713-7298994 email: temple@ guruvayur.us Preksha Meditation JVB Preksha Meditation Center conducts weekly Meditation, Yoga and Swadhyay sessions inside its unique Pyramid hall under the auspicious guidance of Samani Kanchan Pragyaji and Samani Pranav Pragyaji who are stationed at Houston Center this year. It also runs special events and programs like IChoose, Meditation Camps and Gyanshala program for children ages 4-14 yrs. JVB is located at 14102 Schiller Rd. Houston 77082. Every Tuesday, 9:30am-11:30am, Samaniji has pravachan for all adults interested in learning about Jainism. Every Wednesday there is Swadhyay class from 7-8pm and meditation from 8-9pm. Every Thursday from 9:30-11am there is special Yoga class for Ladies only. Every Saturday, there is Yoga Class from 9-10am and Meditation from

10-10.30am. Ist & 3rd Sundays, there is Gyanshala Classes for Kids ages 4-14yrs. from 10-12:15pm followed by Lunch. Visit www.jvbhouston.org or send email at info@ jvbhouston.org for more details. 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. www.pyptusa.org; www.DivyaProducts.com. Hindu Temple of The Woodlands 7601 S. Forest Gate Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77382 Temple Hours, Weekdays: 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM 5:30 PM - 8.30 PM Aarti @ 7:30 PM Saturday and Sunday 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM Aarti at 12:00 PM 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Aarti @ 7:30 PM; Contact 832-585--0001 or temple@myhtw.net Sathya Sai centers Sunday program held at two locations (North Houston: 12127 Malcomson Road, Houston; South Houston: 246 Fluor Daniel Drive, Sugar Land) from 3:00 to 5:30 pm) - Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) classes for children; Study Circle for adults & Devotional singing for all. Service programs - food distribution, canned food drives, nursing home visits, tutoring at schools, etc. Contact Venkat Rao (North) - 602-503-2249 or Ranji Raghavan (South) 281-451-8238. Visit www.sairegion10.org Sadhu Vaswani Center Sadhu Vaswani Center of Houston holds regular Satsang on 3rd Thursday of the month and daily Arti at 7.30 p.m. Call 281-4630379 or e.mail ramolaj@aol.com Gaudiya Math Shri Govindji Gaudiya Matha is a Hindu Vaishnava temple of Sanatan Dharam and worshipping place of Shri Shri Radha Krishna, Shri Gaur Nitai & Shri Ram Darbar. Mandir is open daily from 5.30 AM until 8.30 PM. The services are held from 5.30PM to 7.30PM followed by prashad. Daily Aarti times : Mangala Aarti- 5:30 am. Bhog Aarti - 12:30 pm. Evening Aarti - 7:00 pm. Enroll your child in Sri Govindaji Vedic School. We oer Hindi classes for all ages. Sri Govindaji Gaudiya Matha is located in Northwest Houston at 16628 Kieth Harrow Blvd Houston TX 77084. For more information, call at 832-464-4686 or visit our website: http://sggm.org. Swaminarayan Temple Hindu Satsang at Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, under Shree NarNarayan Dev Gadi kalupur. Opens daily from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Daily aarti at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday sabha from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. followed by aarti at 7 p.m. and Maha-Prasad (free dinner). www.issotx.org. (281) 530-2565. Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha West Indian Religious Organization called Sanatan Dharm Maha Sabha Branch # 377 is located at 26100 Tina Lane, Katy, TX 77494. Durga Mata Pooja is held every Friday from 7 pm to 9.30 pm. Contact Ram Sharma @ 713-412-9985.

INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019• PAGE 19

THE STORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

Eternal Gandhi Museum

A carefree and happy childhood in Porbandar This is the story of a man born more than 130 years ago. As a boy, he looked no different from the millions of other children born in India. Yet this was no ordinary child. He was to fight and overcome a great empire and, without taking to arms, set his country free. He was to be called the Mahatma, the Great Soul. Having led his people to freedom, he was to lay down his life for their sake. India Herald will bring to you over the next several weeks, the story of this remarkable man who is still an inspiration to millions of oppressed people around the world. In a small, white-washed house in Porbandar, on the coast of Kathiawad in the western Indian state of Gujarat, Mohandas Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869. His father was Karamchand Gandhi and mother Putlibai. Porbandar is an old seaport, a little distance from the Barda Hills. Even in ancient days ships from far-off lands arrived there to trade. It was the ancestral home of the Gandhi family. The grandfather and father of Mohandas were famous for their ability and for their upright character. Grandfather Uttamchand Gandhi, who belonged to a humble family of merchants, became the Dewan of Porbandar. He was succeeded by his son, Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Kaba Gandhi. Karamchand had very little formal education, but his knowledge and experience of state affairs made him a good administrator. He was brave and generous. He had, however, one fault - a bad temper. Putlibai, Karamchand Gandhi’s wife, was a deeply religious woman, lovable and strong-willed woman. She was widely respected for her wisdom and good sense. People often sought her advice on various matters. Mohandas was the youngest of the six children of Karamchand and Putlibai Gandhi. He was the favorite child of the family and was called ‘Moniya’ by his parents and their friends. Moniya adored his mother. He loved his father too, but he was a little afraid of him. As a child, Moniya seldom liked to stay at home. He would go home for his meals and then run away again to play outside. If one of his brothers teased him or playfully pulled his ears, he would run home to complain to his mother. “Why didn’t you hit him?� she would ask. “How can you teach me to hit people, mother? Why should I hit my brother? Why should I hit anyone?� would be Moniya’s reply. His mother wondered where her little son got

Mohandas Gandhi or ‘Moniya’ at age 7 and at age 17 (below)

such ideas. Moniya was just seven years old when his father left Porbandar to become the Dewan of Rajkot. Moniya missed Porbandar, and he missed the blue sea and the ships in the harbor. At Rajkot he was sent to a primary school. He was shy and did not mix easily with the other children. Every morning he went to school in time, and ran back home as soon as school was over. His books were his sole companions and he spent all his free time alone reading. He had one friend, however; a boy named Uka. Uka was a sweeper boy and an untouchable. One day Moniya, was given some sweets. He ran at once to Uka to share them with him. “Don’t come near me little master,� said Uka. “Why not?� asked Moniya, greatly surprised. “Why can’t I come near you?� “I am an untouchable, master,� Uka replied. Moniya took hold of Uka’s hands and filled them with sweets. His mother saw this from a window, and she ordered Moniya to come in at once. “Don’t you know that a highcaste Hindu should never touch an untouchable?� she asked sternly. “But why not, mother?� asked Moniya. “Because our Hindu custom forbids it,� she said. “I don’t agree with you, mother. I find nothing wrong in touching Uka. He is not different from me, is he?� His mother had no answer. She angrily told him to go, have a bath and say his prayers.

Karamchand Gandhi loved all his sons, but he was specially fond of the youngest. He often said to him: “You must go to high school and college and take up a profession.� Moniya worked hard, and did his lessons carefully. But he did not like learning by heart and was therefore weak in Sanskrit. Geometry was his favorite subject because it involved reasoning. Once Moniya happened to read the story of Shravana. Shravana’s parents were old and blind, and he always carried them with him in two baskets slung on a yoke. Moniya was deeply touched by Shravana’s devotion to his old parents. Moniya’s brother had a friend named Sheikh. He was tall and strong. Sheik was a meat-eater and he often told Mohandas that if he ate meat he would also grow tall and strong. There was also at that time a reform movement for a change in the orthodox beliefs and practices of Hindus. Mohandas himself had heard that many wellto-do people had started eating meat, so he, too, tried meat. He did not like the taste of meat but as time went on he started to like meat curries. Whenever Mohandas had a meat meal outside, he had to give his mother some excuse for not eating his dinner. He knew that his parents would not forgive him if they knew he had eaten meat. He was not against eating meat then, but he was against telling a lie to his mother. This feeling was gnawing at his heart and finally he decided not to touch meat again. Mohandas had also taken to smoking with Sheik, his brother, and another relative. He had to pilfer small amounts of money here and there with which to buy cigarettes. One day, in order to pay off a debt which his brother had incurred, Mohandas stole a piece of gold jewelry. Stealing was a great sin. He knew that he had committed a great crime. He resolved never in his life to steal again. He wrote down a confession of his crime and handed the paper to his ailing father. Karamchand Gandhi read the confession. He tore up the paper without saying a word. The bits of paper fell to the floor. He sank back on his bed with a sigh. Mohandas left the room, tears streaming down his face. From that day, Mohandas loved his father more and more. Every day he hurried home from school to wait on him. His father’s condition grew worse and at length he died. The house was filled with sorrow. Mohandas was only sixteen when his father died. (To be continued)

Sponsored by Houston Arts Alliance in honor Mahatma Gandhi Sesquicentennial Houston celebrations. The Eternal Gandhi Museum is an initiative of the Mahatma Gandhi Library (MGL) of Houston. The Museum will be a world-class cultural destination in Houston. The MGL has acquired land in southwest Houston and has launched a capital campaign to fund the development of the Eternal Gandhi Museum. The total cost of the initiative is $8.5 million. The first Eternal Gandhi Museum opened in New Delhi in 2005, and Houston will be the only city in the United States where people will be able to experience these powerful exhibits and learning opportunities first-hand. Visit eternalgandhi.us for more information.

“Prayer is either petitional or in a wider sense, inward communion.â€? This quotation of Mahatma Gandhi splashes on the electronic screen at the marquee outside the oďŹƒce of the Eternal Gandhi Museum at 303 Dulles Avenue, Staord. The signboard displays dierent quotation of Gandhi each day. The Eternal Gandhi Museum (EGM) is an exciting new initiative of Houston’s Mahatma Gandhi Library. One of the world’s first digital multimedia museums, this unique new destination will keep the flame of Gandhi’s legacy and impact alive by presenting key historical events associated with Gandhi’s life and a variety of interactive experiences inspired by Gandhian thought. The Museum will be located in southwest Houston on a 3-acre property at Beltway 8 South and Riceville School Road. The total cost to build and furnish the Eternal Gandhi Museum is $8.5 million. The Mahatma Gandhi Library, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 2002 with the mission to increase public awareness, especially to the children, of Gandhian philosophy and teachings, highlighting the universal values of Peace, Truth, Nonviolence Love, and Service. For more information, visit eternalgandhi.us

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PAGE 20 • INDIA HERALD • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019

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