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LETTERS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A true champion of justice T

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PARESH GANDHI

Recall Dominique Strauss-Kahn? A n Indian diplomat was arrested for her alleged egregious conduct and has not been treated any differently than anyone else. It has nothing to do with being Indian. Unlike India, laws are applied equally to everybody in the United States. Recall Dominique Strauss-Kahn? A French high-ranking official of the International Monetary Fund was arrested when he was accused of wrongdoing even though he was later acquitted. It is funny that so much noise is being made even though nobody denies that Devyani Khobragade broke the laws. Over the years several individuals of Indian descent in America have PARESH GANDHI

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Preet Bharara

he Khobragade affair at its core exposes the evil of exploitation of the servant class by the rich and powerful that is an intrinsic feature of Indian society. Many of us who have settled here have learned that the law applies equally to the powerful and powerless in this adopted land of ours. I agree that the manner of Dr Khobragade’s arrest was not handled with adequate sensitivity, but her alleged crime needs to be prosecuted vigorously to deter others who have and will try to emulate her. I take exception to the rant by Lincoln Chowdhury about Preet Bharara (India Abroad, December 27, 2013). He has pursued wrongdoing, with equal rigor, of the titans of Wall Street as well as other global luminaries like Dominique Strauss-Kahn, without bias or malice towards any particular ethnic group. We should all be proud of Bharara as a true champion of justice, who is a shining example of the best and brightest that a non-resident Indian can and hope to be. Lal Vishin By e-mail

been prosecuted because of exploitation of house help. Just because Khobragade is a diplomat should not give her a license to break labor laws and immigration laws. I think India will do better if we learn a lesson from this episode and start applying laws equally to the entire population. Some statements by Indian politicians and the emotional demonstrations are contradictory to the values that we have as the world’s biggest democracy and the respect that we have earned and enjoy because of India’s enormous progress over the past 20 years. Partap Lall By e-mail II n this country bonded labor, slave labor, payments below the minimum wage are all illegal. Otherwise, quite a few of us would be still working the warehouses, working as technicians, cleaning toilets and not become the highest paid work

Page A3

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Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, center, in a Manhattan district court after he was accused of sexual assault. He was acquitted. Inset, Dr Devyani Khobragade.

LETTERS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Page A2 force in the US with managers and CEOs. This may be an opportune time for some of us to clean their act. And to write back home to every relative in India that exploitation of labor is immoral, hiring of underage children is depriving them of their future. Convince them to send those children to school if there is any humanity left in them. I might tell a real story here. A few years ago I was in India to attend a wedding. One evening, I bought some lychees. While eating it they put the peels on a newspaper that was spread out. After eating, they were waiting for the servant to come and clean up. I picked up the peels and newspaper and took it to the trash can. A few minutes later after we had settled down, a person asked me how many years did I think it would take for India to get ahead of the US. My reply was, never. He asked me why. My answer was simple. It is the values in society that builds a nation. You may be able to afford servants, but until Indians in India do not respect labor, you cannot go far. Joginder Kundra Houston III hile some of the indignation over the treatment of Devyani Khobragade is understandable, one has to wonder if the Indian outrage comes from the fact that no ‘special treatment’ was given to her. Indians are used to politicians (even their offspring), Bollywood stars, and industrialists being above the law. The real danger of the whole incident is pointed out by Ruben Navarrette in The Houston Chronicle: ‘As this drama continues, with every accusation and diplomatic threat, we’ll get further away from what really matters: The facts of the case and the law that pertains to them. This will become about a thousand other things, which will all serve as distractions.’ And that will be a shame. Jehangir B Mistry By e-mail

IV he prime responsibility of diplomats has to be the containment of problems between countries and to act as ambassadors for their country. Surely creative approaches are available to address the problems of domestic aides brought by foreign diplomats under the AVisa into the US. I am sure that Indian diplomats are paid additional allowances/reimbursements commensurate with the country that they are sent to. Why not do the same with the domestic help, with the Indian government paying them directly in dollars and treating them as government (contract) employees? This way the diplomat does not have to pay the employee and may be charged a reasonable rate payable to the government. Should the domestic help be physically abused, then the matter should be referred to the Indian government for necessary action. Should the employee decide to become an undocumented alien, then both governments could cooperate by expelling/repatriating the miscreant. Underlying this is that the Indian government must do everything possible to take the action it sees fit and not discuss legal jurisdictions that arise when the domestic employee is hired by an individual diplomat. US immigration should not find it difficult to grant Avisas to personnel sent by India. The Department of Labor can check on the well being of these employees from time to time. This will ensure that timely action is taken by an independent agency and the matter is referred to India for appropriate action before the issue becomes a festering sore.

I endorse Aziz Haniffa’s article ‘Unprecedented winter of discontent for India, US’ (India Abroad, December 27, 2013) and urge that this be resolved amicably and soon. Brahman Sivaprakasapillai Scarsdale, New York VI t is not that Devyani Khobragade (India Abroad, December 27, 2013), should not be investigated for irregular activities under United States law. What has enraged Indians most is the way the lady was treated like a common criminal or drug addict — being subject to strip and cavity searches, etc. She could have been treated with more discretion and sensitivity. Unfortunately, in recent years US authorities have acquired a reputation for such undiplomatic behavior. In December 2010, there was the widely publicized incident of the sari-clad Indian ambassador Meera Shankar being patted down at a southern airport in the US, despite airport security being forewarned of her diplomatic status. We have also read many reports in your columns of the former President of India A P J Kalam being subject to pat-downs at US airports. How would the Americans feel if former President Bill Clinton or George W Bush were subjected to pat-downs at world airports? At a time when the US is engaged in widely unpopular armed conflicts around the world, we might have thought that diplomats from friendly democratic countries like India would be treated with a measure of discretion and sensitivity by the US. Indian authorities are well within their right in vehemently protesting the treatment of Indian diplomats and taking countermeasures to discourage the US from going down this path. S S Kere Richmond, Virginia

VII o me the arrest, strip searching (with alleged cavity searching) of Dr Devyani Khobragade is degrading, dehumanizing as well as a human rights violation although it is the law of the nation and is widely practiced. To me this law of strip searching any woman should be abolished especially when there is no history of violence, drug conviction or history of drug peddling. This law is primitive and barbaric. Metal detectors are widely used in airport security; why can’t a similar technique be used to screen an arrestee instead of strip and cavity searching? Over the years, many laws such as death by hanging, death by lethal injection as well as capital punishment have been judged to be harsh and cruel and abolished. Even drug possession laws are being changed. I hope women and men would unite and try to change this strip and cavity searching law. Secondly, Dr Khobragade is a diplomat. As courtesy to a diplomat from a very friendly country she should have been treated with respect and dignity. It is unfortunate that some over zealous individuals acted in such a manner, thus jeopardizing close and intimate relationships. This could have been handled in a more mature and diplomatic manner. One must follow the law of the country. It is unlawful to submit a fraudulent visa application on behalf of a domestic maid and the violator of the law has to be punished. Hopefully, we will know more about the real story of Sangeeta Richard soon. There is a proverb that there are many ways of cooking a chicken, similarly there are other ways to accomplish this goal without resorting to a degrading and dehumanizing strip search. India is known for its tolerance and decency. I hope India uses restraint in retaliation and that the relationships between the two countries do not deteriorate further. Sambhu Banik By e-mail

Bobby not the most prominent Republican candidate

read ‘What Bobby Says’ (India Abroad, January 3). I won’t be surprised if Bobby Jindal runs for President in 2016, but he is not alone and he is not the most prominent Republican candidate that Republicans would like to see run. Since a Democrat, Barack Obama, would have occupied the White House for eight years in a row, there is a good chance for a Republican to win the PARESH GANDHI Presidency in 2016, considering that Americans are novelty freaks and sometimes like a change just for the sake of change, for that’s precisely what happened in the year 2000 in the wake of Bill Clinton being President for eight years. On February 24, 2009, Jindal delivered the official Republican response to President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress. The speech met with biting reviews from members of both the Democratic and the Republican parties. Jindal never fully recovered, politically, from the selfinflicted wounds of that speech. However, he has been aspiring to be a President and would make an attempt even if it is a long shot. Meanwhile, a little more than a week after it suspended Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for incendiary remarks about homosexuality, A&E said it would include him in future tapings of the reality show. It’s all about political correctness and money. The channel suspended Robertson to appease the gay community, but got him back because the show would not have survived without him. All the controversy that Robertson generated is probably going to motivate more people to watch the show (that a lot of people may not have even heard of), resulting in a boost in the ratings. Pradeep Srivastava Detroit

Of power without knowledge

read Jagat Motwani’s letter ‘The dynasty is holding India back’ (India Abroad, December 27, 2013).

Philosopher Francis Bacon had said ‘Knowledge is power,’ and he meant it from the individual’s standpoint and not from the national standpoint. A nation progresses gloriously when knowledge and power are combined in the same individuals. In India, some have power and others have knowledge. This leads to grave crisis and we are witnessing that. V K Raju Morgantown, West Virginia

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Ramya Ramana, sitting second row right, watches former President Bill Clinton introduce New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, sitting first row, second from right, with his wife Chirlane McCray at City Hall in New York January 1.

PEOPLE India Abroad January 10, 2014

The young poet

hen New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was sworn in January 1, the audience was in agreement that at many points the performers upstaged the politicians in attendance, which included New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, former President Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. DJ M.O.S had US Representative Carolyn Maloney excited with his music, according to The New York Times. Patina

stopping performance was that of Ramya Ramana, New York’s Youth Poet Laureate.’ She evoked the real New York City — ‘Not lights, not Broadway, not Times Square’ — and the inequality that was the new mayor’s campaign theme: ‘We will no longer stay silent to this classism. No more brownstones and brown skin playing tug-of-war with a pregnant air hovering over them like an aura of lost children. No more colored boy robbed of their innocence. This city always will be the foundation of this country. We are root. We are backbone. We CARLO ALLEGRI/REUTERS brown, we black, we yellow, we white, we young, we collage of creatures in English and Spanish, of moving from stomping to be reminded of the mammal the Dominican Republic to the Bronx as inside of us.’ a teenager. She wowed New York. ‘But, as the NYT said, ‘The most show-

Miller, of the Broadway revival of Pippin, sang a ‘tender’ version of John Lennon’s Imagine. And Lissette Ortiz hooked the audience with her narration,

Padma’s apology

Gunning for hype?

oots drummer Questlove recently came under fire for some cracks against the Japanese in a series of posts. On tour in Japan, he made very public comments with the stereotypical interchanging of the ‘L’ and ‘R’ sounds. His manager Dawn Englehart (of Asian descent), and friend Padma Lakshmi piped in with comments in the same vein. But they have now made up for it with heartfelt apologies. Questlove said on Facebook, ‘Given that black culture consistently finds itself at the butt end of so many offensive “outsider” jokes, I should be way, way more sensitive (after all, who’s zooming who). I for one, should never allow my cultural bias to take precedence over my “examined life” (clunkers be damned). i know the whole kinder and gentler thing reeks of a self serving political correctness, but eff it, it’s “all me.”’ Padma posted, ‘It was a thoughtless passing joke, but I

ow do you know you are stepping into an election year? Everything, even Christmas gifts, turn out to be weapons (pun intended) of one-upmanship. Case in point: Christmas in South Carolina. Governor Nikki Haley, a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment, pleased fellow supporters by posting a photograph of what Santa got her — a Beretta PX4 Storm. Within hours Democratic operative Phil Bailey posted a photo of state Senator Vincent Sheheen, the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful, with his shotgun: ‘@nikkihaley here’s @vincentsheheen using a gun he’s had for over decade. Glad you finally own one.’ As for the rest, we hope your holiday season was merrier than this.

COURTESY: TWITTER.COM/PHILBAILEYSC

COURTESY: FACEBOOK.COM/NIKKIHALEY

Left, Nikki Haley’s Christmas present from husband Michael Haley. Above, Phil Bailey tweeted another photograph, saying, ‘@vincentsheheen & me after he kicked my ass shooting skeet with his shotgun he’s had longer than I’ve been living.’

Hema, Sridevi, Noureen?

his is one chronology that Noureen DeWulf would love to add her name to. ‘I grew up on Bollywood films! I would absolutely love to do a Bollywood film. In fact, one of my dreams is to star in a remake of 1972 film, Seeta Aur Geeta,’ The Anger Management star recently told Hindustan Times City.

Noureen Dewulf attends Geoff Stults and Ari Sandel’s Holiday Party in Los Angeles last month. MIKE WINDLE/GETTY IMAGES

‘I think Bollywood stars are some of the most glamorous in the world. Just yesterday I had a photoshoot and my makeup artist showed me the cover of a magazine with actor Sridevi. I hope I can be half as glamorous as her at her age. If I can find the right script and make it work with my Anger Management schedule, I’d love to do a film in India.’ To decode that for the nonBollywood fans — Seeta Aur Geeta starred Hema Malini, and its remake, Chalbaaz, starred Sridevi.

DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES

Padma Lakshmi, left, and Questlove know that things said without thinking can be harmful and hurtful. As a person who has experienced firsthand the effects of racism, as well as the sting of negative comments based on my skin or ethnicity, I should have known better. As an Asian, I have no right to add to stereotypes of other Asians. I am simply, sorry. No excuses. Nothing more.’ At a time when Phil Robertson gets reinstated on Duck Dynasty after awful comments about homosexuals (India Abroad, January 3) and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal sends out a mail endorsing that, Questlove and Padma set a classy example.

PEOPLE

India Abroad January 10, 2014

The inspiring Zain

Basketball 3.0 W

hen Vivek Ranadive bought the Sacramento Kings in 2013, fans saw him as a savior. After all he promised to keep their beloved team — it hasn’t made the playoffs in seven years but has such a strong fan base that it set a Guinness Record for crowd noise three times in a single game in December 2013 — in town for at least 35 years. Only a few realized what the Silicon Valley entrepreneur could do. He was the man who digitized Wall Street in the 1980s, and Wired says, ‘He wants to do the same with a franchise in disarray. His ambitious plan to use technology and THEARON W HENDERSON/GETTY IMAGES data to reboot the Kings also could remake the league. He calls it NBA 3.0, a Vivek Ranadive’s Sacramento Kings signed a complete rethinking of how fans interact partnership with The Krrish Group, an Indian real with and follow the game, especially in estate company, last month. the developing world.’ Ranadive, the story goes, ‘hadn’t even touched a basketball until 2009, when he decided to coach a team of players with almost as little experience with the game as him. But what Ranadive didn’t know about basketball he made up for with data, relying upon mathematics, an algorithm and probability. By his analysis, the team shouldn’t waste time practicing dribbling, passing or even shooting. It should focus on defense and get the other team to turn the ball over. It worked. The team won every regular season game before falling in the state championship. Ranadive was hooked.’ And now he wants to hook the world. ‘Ranadive isn’t interested in making the Kings popular in Sacramento, or California, or even the United States,’ says Wired. ‘He wants them popular everywhere. Ranadive is convinced the team’s — and the league’s — greatest growth lies abroad, particularly in India, and that technology will drive it. To that end, the Kings have broadcast games on Indian television and launched a team Web site with content written entirely in Hindi. The goal is to make the Kings a global brand, much like the Chicago Bulls were under Michael Jordan.’

‘I

have spent more than a decade of my professional career on international television, my face visible to millions each day. Yet I have spent a lifetime hiding,’ Zain Verjee said last week. The Indian-origin journalist — who began her career at CNN in 2000 as an anchor in Atlanta, covered Kenya and now anchors the Europe morning show for CNN International from London — shared her secret this month. She opened up on CNN about her battle with pso- Zain Verjee riasis, a disease that ‘can consist of raised, inflamed skin patches covered by silvery flakes of dead skin cells or scales.’ She writes, without hiding, about the ravages of the disease since she was 8 — hiding from the mirror; cowering away from close

friendships; hitting rock bottom; getting pulled out of it by her mother, who never gave up; taking a stranger’s advice to try to a holistic healing clinic in Africa; slowly overpowering the disease and that wonderful moment of triumph… ‘After my transformation, my family takes me to Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast. I don’t dread it for the first time in my life.’ ‘I have a new bikini, dark blue with a yellow rim. I have never worn one. It is so soft. It feels COURTESY: CNN feminine. I have never felt like a woman the way I do when I put it on. I see all my curves in a different light. The mirror is not my enemy any longer.’ Verjee’s psoriasis went into remission 10 years ago, but by opening up, she has surely given hope to many.

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McCurry’s Bombay

mother with a little boy on her hip. A sari wrapped draped over her head. The child and the woman — with the face of a girl and the hands of an old woman of unfortunate circumstances — peering through the rain-dappled window of a rented car. A perfect shot. ‘The whole thing lasted maybe three seconds, and I’m not even sure they could see me, photographer Steve McCurry tells The Washington Post about that picture shot two decades ago at a stop light in what was then Bombay. ‘It’s one of these serendipitous unplanned accidents of life… Sometimes these are the greatest pictures and you need to be prepared and ready.’ He adds, ‘I knew I took a picture that was a powerful portrait, but things are flowing around you and everybody’s talking and there’s dust and noise and you’re not in a perfect situation. You just hope that you’re in focus and the moment was right, but you don’t really know until you get back and look at the film — which, in this case, was like two months later.’ The image is played out across two pages in National Geographic: Around the World in 125 Years, a limited-edition release to mark the DC-based exploration society's century-and-a-quarter anniversary, and Taschen, the international publishing house. It is among 900 images spread across

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SPECIAL/DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Will India agree to a plea deal for Devyani?

PARESH GANDHI

government withdrawing the privileges granted to US diplomats, the US government has gathered information that sources claim reveals Khobragade’s intention not to follow US laws, even though she promised to abide by them when she hired Richard. When Richard sought help from immigration attorneys in the US, government sources claim members of her family were allegedly threatened by the police in India. This led the US embassy to fly Richard’s husband, daughter and son to New York two days before Khobragade was arrested, sources told this correspondent. “If her family was harmed after Khobragade’s arrest, what would have been the reaction of the people?” one US official asked. “It was our duty to protect them.” US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prosecution did not say that Khobragade had promised $4,500 a month to Richard. The prosecution’s case was that Khobragade signed an agreement with Richard to pay her the minimum US wage of $9.75 an hour. Her boarding and lodging and travel were not included. Richard, the US officials say, was paid about $1.20 an hour and she worked 17 to 18 hours a day. The Indian media, quoting the diplomat’s defense attorney, said the prosecution had goofed up the case, which was not true according to the US government sources who spoke to this correspondent. They said $4,500 represented nobody’s income, as Khobragade has 11 properties and sources of income other than the salary she earned from the Indian government. It only showed the ignorance of the person who filled the application. The prosecution’s case does not rest on this amount, the sources insisted.

Page A7

There is no chance of the case against Devyani Khobragade being dropped, but a plea deal to avoid jail term is possible, US government sources tell George Joseph

resh developments have surfaced in Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade’s case, clarifying the roles played by different agencies and how nationalistic sentiments in India have created a situation that will not quickly end the controversy. Chances of the prosecutors dropping the case or the United States government apologizing to India are remote. Various American agencies insist that Khobragade enjoyed no diplomatic immunity when she was charged for alleged visa fraud and arrested in New York December 12. And contrary to public belief, it was not US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara’s office that initiated the case against Khobragade. It was the US State Department that initiated the case, investigated it and later had Khobragade arrested on the charge of making false declarations in a visa application for her maid, Sangeeta Richard. The US Marshal’s office took the diplomat in custody after her arrest and her prosecution will be handled by Bharara’s office. Khobragade will be indicted January 13. Under US law, a person arrested should be produced before a grand jury within 30 days. Annoyed by the raging controversy in India and the Indian

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

SPECIAL/DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF

India eases up on security, stands firm on staff wages A CORRESPONDENT

ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/REUTERS

India has addressed the biggest American concern in the standoff — the security of its diplomatic missions in India. Official sources said January 2 that 150 police personnel were deployed during a 24-hour period at the US embassy, American School and American Center in New Delhi.

ndian stuck to its stand in its retaliation against the United States embassy in the face of Washington refusing to back off on the Devyani Khobragade charges, Even as India’s Ministry of External Affairs awaited details of Indian staff employed by American diplomatic missions there, the Press Trust of India reported that some current and former employees had ‘come forward with details of their emoluments which are way below the wages being paid to American staff in similar positions.’ ‘In fact, in the case of some semiskilled Indian staff, the wages may be below those prescribed under India’s Minimum Wages Act,’ PTI added. The US refuted these media reports. ‘Our standard practice — and I have no reason to believe that’s not the case here — is to pay folks that work for us in countries around the world in conjunction with local law with local practice,’ Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson, State Department, was

quoted as saying. ‘I am happy to look into those specific reports,’ Harf said. ‘It is my understanding that at a minimum, it comports with local law and local practice. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not beyond that. So I am happy to check and see what our practice is across the board. I have no reason to believe that our folks have done anything wrong on that.’ At press time the MEA was awaiting details of Indian staff employed by American diplomatic missions. However, India did address the biggest American concern in the standoff — the security of its diplomatic missions. Official sources said January 2, ‘As many as 150 police personnel are being deployed during a 24-hour period in shifts at the US embassy, American School and American Center in New Delhi. Also, two police vehicles have been permanently stationed along various roads near the embassy.’ Earlier, about 120 police personnel were deployed during a 24-hour period for the security of these institutions.

Will India agree to a plea deal for Devyani? Page A6 Signing a second contract with Richard, which promised to pay Rs 25,000 as a base salary, and Rs 5,000 for overtime, the sources claimed, revealed that Khobragade had no intention of obeying US laws. The diplomat filed a case in the Delhi high court that only mentioned the second contract, the sources added. As per US laws, the salary had to be deposited in the domestic worker’s American bank account, which was not done. This is disrespecting US laws, the government sources pointed out. “How can a diplomat go to the US embassy and lie to get a visa for her domestic worker?” one source asked.

he personal attacks on Bharara have also upset US law enforcement circles. The Jalandhar-born Bharara, who moved to the US with his parents when he was three, has been accused by sections of the Indian media of trying to be ‘more white than the whites;’ that he has political ambitions; and wants to ‘please his white masters.’ Bharara, who has prosecuted terrorists like the Times Square bomber and Viktor Bout, the notorious Russian arms dealer, is banned from entering Russia after he prose-

cuted Russians for alleged human rights violations sometime ago. On December 5, Bharara, right, announced charges against 25 serving and former Russian diplomats for allegedly defrauding Medicaid, an American government-run health-care program, to obtain about $1.5 million in benefits over a decade. Addressing the media after the arrest, Bharara said it was a case ‘we would be prosecuting and making arrests in, but for immunity.’ All the Russian diplomats had diplomatic immunity. The prosecutor was also demonized in Pakistan when scientist Aafia Siddiqui was sentenced to 86 years in prison after she was convicted of grabbing a US soldier’s M-4 assault rifle and trying to shoot a group of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and US soldiers at an Afghan police compound in July 2008, a charge she consistently denied during her trial. He has now received similar flak in India after Khobragade’s arrest. “Criticism by the press or politicians does not affect the prosecution in the US,” government officials told India Abroad. “Everything is done according to the rules and handled professionally. Giving such considerations would be a disservice to justice.” The State Department, these sources ad-

the United Nations as a Counselor. India has since stated that she enjoyed diplomatic immunity even before her arrest, having being accredited to the Permanent Mission as an advisor in August 2013. This was not brought to the attention of the American authorities till two weeks after her arrest, the US government sources said.

LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS

The personal attacks on US Attorney Preet Bharara have upset US law enforcement circles. ded, had no authority to ask prosecutors to drop a case. The investigation against Khobragade, then India’s deputy consul general in New York, the sources revealed, had been going on for some time. The State Department had informed the Indian government about the case via the Indian embassy in Washington, DC. After her arrest, Khobragade was formally transferred to India’s Permanent Mission to

ince there is no possibility of the dismissal of the case against Khobragade, a plea deal is feasible. This involves a formal acknowledgement of guilt in exchange for a lesser penalty, in this case, possibly a fine and no jail time. With a plea deal, the US government sources felt, Dr Khobragade could avoid a jail term, and pay a fine. The case would end there, the sources said, unsure if India’s ministry of external affairs, which has taken a strident stand on the issue, would agree to such an action. If Khobragade is granted diplomatic immunity by the State Department — the Indians have sought this in view of her new position at the Permanent Mission — and she returns to India, the case against her will continue, the sources added. If she returns to the US — her husband is an Indian-American professor — without immunity, she will be in trouble.

SPECIAL/DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF

India Abroad January 10, 2014

The time to heal the mortal blow is now

ny way you look at it, the fallout from L’Affaire Khobragade — where the erstwhile Indian deputy consul general in New York Devyani Khobragade was strip- and cavity-searched for alleged visa fraud — has dealt a mortal blow to United States-India relations with recriminations continuing to flow fast and furious. What is most disconcerting is that there doesn’t seem to be any effort by either side to stop the hemorrhaging of diplomatic relations before gangrene sets in. The State Department — since the case is now subjudice — wants to simply move on, assuming that Secretary of State John F Kerry’s ‘regret’ should suffice. New Delhi continues to pile on with its angst yet to be tempered, and look for an unqualified apology from Washington — which US officials have implied is wishful thinking. Last month, State Department spokespersons dismissed any chance of Foggy Bottom acquiescing to India’s demands that the charges against Khobragade be dropped and an unqualified apology be extended, saying, ‘We take these allegations very seriously… We are not in any way walking back from these allegations or the charges.’ They also scoffed at India’s strategy of moving Khobragade to the United Nations mission as a counselor so that she would have full diplomatic immunity. Spokesperson Jen Psaki pointed out that ‘when immunity is conferred, it does not retroactively take affect at a previous point in time, but relates solely to the diplomat’s current status.’ The transfer, she asserted, does not mean there is a clean slate from past charges. And if anyone still needed things to be spelt out, she added, ‘We have been clear about our standing — our position of standing with our judicial colleagues… This is a legal process that’s working its way through.’ At the first press briefing of the new year, January 2, Psaki’s deputy, Marie Harf continued in the same vein — even though the UN had approved Khobragade’s application for diplomatic credentials as counselor at the mission nearly two weeks ago, the State Department had still not made a decision on giving its stamp of approval. Harf seemed irritated that reporters continued to pose questions on the Khobragade controversy, saying US officials with their Indian counterparts were ‘focused on how to move the relationship forward, how to get past this incident, and the work we have to do together going forward.’ Asked if India was considering a plea

PARESH GANDHI

India’s Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, fourth from left, meets with Secretary of State John F Kerry, second from right. When they were meeting, a magistrate was signing off on a warrant for US marshals to arrest Devyani Khobragade. bargain, Harf said, ‘The government of India is having discussions with the judicial folks, which would be considered diplomatic discussions. But that’s certainly their ballgame, not ours.’

s Nisha Desai Biswal, the new Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs and the first Indian American to hold this post, who was looking forward to advance the relationship by visiting New Delhi this week put off her visit there was no denying that the diplomatic relationship, notwithstanding the discussions, was at an impasse since any resolution of the case would have to go through all of the hoops of the judicial process. US business and industry and the Indian-American community that had invested so much in this bilateral relationship, are aghast at the continuing saga of mistrust and suspicion and the proliferation of conspiracy theories and paranoia from either side. What they found particularly galling was the almost blasé attitude of the Obama administration vis-à-vis moving quickly to resolve this crisis instead of

AZIZ HANIFFA reiterating the same old spiel of ‘We are looking into it’ or an ‘inter-agency panel is reviewing.’ They were upset that the administration had not assigned a senior troubleshooter to resolve the diplomatic fiasco. Kerry — after his initial call to India’s National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and expressing ‘regret’ — had not called his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid, to defuse the crisis. Some diplomatic observers told India Abroad that he was avoiding calling Khurshid since the latter had been most vocal — even assuring the Lok Sabha that he would not return to it unless he came with a freed Khobragade — and Kerry had no intention of spelling it out to him that this wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

Others said Kerry had left it to lower level officials like Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Biswal and others like Ambassador to India Nancy Powell to iron out things with the India’s new Ambassador in Washington Dr S Jaishankar and Ministry of External Affairs officials in Delhi. Others thought he was more concerned about playing peacemaker between the Israelis and Palestinians and negotiating with Iran along with his deputy, Bill Burns, knowing full well that if he could bring about some rapprochement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a Nobel Peace Prize may be in the offing. This infuriated some Indian-American community leaders and US business and industry heavyweights, who while not wishing to be identified, told India Abroad that for an administration that incessantly spoke of the importance of strategic ties, Washington was treating India’s reaction more as a temper tantrum that would soon pass and a manifestation of the politicization of a situation during a season where vested

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

SPECIAL/DIPLOMATIC STANDOFF

The time to heal the mortal blow is now Page A8 interests were more at play. Some of these leaders said that a conciliatory call from Obama — who had described the USIndia relationship as the ‘most defining partnership of the 21stcentury’ and had been briefed of the Khobragade situation, which was being followed closely by the National Security Council at the White House — to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh could have had a calming effect. Obama could have spoken of the commitment toward this relationship even as the case goes through the legal process, without leaving all of the administration’s responses to State Department spokespersons. Dr Singh had called Dr Khobragade’s arrest and stripsearch ‘deplorable’ and surely if Obama respected Dr Singh as much as he said he did, the leaders said, he could have called and expressed some ‘regret’ regarding how the arrest was carried out by US marshals, who definitely needed a crash course on cultural sensitivity 101. While some could argue that this would be going too far, these leaders argued that this was not necessarily a case of a President infusing himself into a subjudice case, but simply responding to the hurt felt by an entire nation that was deemed a close friend and ally.

hile Monday-morning quarterbacking is not what it needed at this time, there was no denying that there is enough blame to go around on both sides. According to officials on both sides, they never saw this coming. As exclusively reported by India Abroad (December 27, 2013), from Kerry down to Burns, Sherman, Biswal had no clue that something like this was brewing and that at the time Kerry and other senior US officials were meeting Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, a magistrate was signing off on a warrant for US marshals to arrest Khobragade. The irony was that Burns and Biswal had persuaded Kerry to drop in on the meeting and have a dialogue with Sujatha Singh to demonstrate that Washington’s commitment at the highest levels toward this relationship would continue to move forward during his tenure too, despite a growing perception among some experts that the relationship had plateaued, or was even comatose. Meanwhile, India’s knee-jerk reaction of removing security barriers outside the US embassy in New Delhi was awful and precluded any galvanizing of sympathy among US lawmakers, both in the House and Senate. They have been largely silent, including members of the India Caucus, when one would have expected them to cry foul on how an Indian diplomat was treated, notwithstanding the charges. It was this particular action that had concerned these lawmakers deeply, Congressional sources said, since there was a permeating paranoia after the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. The only two lawmakers who made any comment on

KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS

situation were Indian-American lawmaker Dr Ami Bera and the only Hindu American lawmaker in the US Congress Tulsi Gabbard. They were both scrupulously cautious, and simply expressed the hope that this would not impact the US-India relationship adversely. In terms of mistakes being made, interestingly former Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao in an oped in the Asian Age wrote, ‘With the benefit of hindsight, a plethora of wise words surrounds us on how the Khobragade case should have been handled by the government — our embassy included — and how, once the case surfaced, Ms Khobragade should have been immediately posted out of the US.’ ‘While this seems to be an easily administered solution,’ Rao noted, ‘it was not seen as necessary at the time of the advent of the case. Based on the previous instances of former consul general Prabhu Dayal, and consul Neena Malhotra, there was enough to suggest that our officers were the target of a well-orchestrated campaign that involved NGOs, anti-trafficking lawyers and the domestic assistants of these officers to extract maximum concessions from the latter and obtain immigration for the domestic assistants concerned.’ She noted that Dr Khobragade ‘had just arrived’ in the US a few months prior to the case and had young children who were still adjusting to life in New York and, that her spouse was also based permanently in the US. Sending her back to India unless she sought it — which she didn’t —‘was not considered a serious option.’ Acknowledging that ‘it was never anticipated that the case would assume ramifications that would be different from the Prabhu Dayal and Neena Malhotra cases,’ she added, ‘In the case of Ms Khobragade, the government justifiably took the stand that the case should be fought, that there was every reason to dispute the allegations and to resist, rightly, unfair and extortionist demands being made by her domestic assistant, Sangeeta Richards. So we took specific steps after legal vetting, to defend our officer against the steps being taken under US law, because we felt the action by the Americans was

Some Indian-American community leaders have said that a conciliatory call from President Barack Obama to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh — even as the Khobragade case goes through the judicial process — could have had a calming effect. disproportionate and unreasonable.’ But then, well aware of the precedents with Dayal and Malhotra, was it prudent to have decided to play Truth of Dare? Particularly when one considers that unlike the civil complaints against them — and also the fact that even in those cases millions of dollars were paid out by the Indian taxpayer — a criminal complaint had been levied against Dr Khobragade. The horse has now left the barn so to speak and the entire US-India relationship stands compromised. I believe the need of the hour is some high-level diplomatic intervention — even as the case goes through the judicial process — to expeditiously retrieve the relationship from the current situation before the anger and bitterness gets so embedded in the Indian psyche and precipitates an American intransigence that dispelling future mistrust could take decades. For those of us, who have been following this relationship from the Cold War days and watched in amazement the exponential transformation of the current crisis it is not just saddening but a difficult story to cover and ensure that one strikes a balance between both sides. It is so, despite whatever cynics may about the media relishing such controversies. It’s about time that President Obama, notwithstanding his preoccupation with salvaging Obamacare and endearing himself to a base that’s disappointed with him for unkept promises, shows that he’s not going to let the carefully nurtured US-India relationship go off the rails. It is also time for New Delhi, in the best traditions of its diplomacy, culture and heritage, to show that India can take the high road despite the degree of unwanted and avoidable callousness shown one of its diplomats. Aziz Haniffa is Editor, India Abroad.

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US NEWS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Complaints galore ‘My application with all the documentation and fee and a prepaid United Parcel Service envelope were delivered to BLS, New York November 26, 2013 at 12.33 pm. The BLS Web site showed that they received it December 4, 2013. The application was then submitted to the New York consulate, which returned it to BLS December 12, with the visa. But there was no update on the BLS site till December 15. Later the services provider said they dispatched the passport December 17, but UPS had no record. When I managed to get through to them over the phone, it was difficult to understand. They do not show any signs of having been trained properly and give unreliable, contradictory or scripted information.’ Dilip Das, retired GE International executive, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. ‘My husband Sajan, a lecturer in Princeton’s Writing Program, and many others waited 3 hours in the cold to get inside the door, just to pick up his visa. It was his 4th attempt. He had been turned away on three prior occasions after standing outside in the cold for several hours each time. Most of the people in this line didn’t even get inside the BLS offices by 6 pm, when the doors shut.’ Anne Noyes Saini, editor, economics department, Princeton University

A long line of applicants outside the BLS office in New York share their woes with Norman Solovay, chairman, Indo-American Global Chamber of Commerce, right.

BLS faces community’s ire over poor passport, visa services GEORGE JOSEPH

ver since Delhi-based BLS International took over as the service provider for Indian passports, visas etc, October 1, 2012, harrowing tales of poor service have surfaced. The office conditions in New York, where visas, Overseas Citizenship of India, Person of Indian Origin and citizenship renunciation cards are serviced, is best described by Dr Indru T Khubchandani from Allentown, Pennsylvania, in a letter to India Abroad. ‘In a dingy indescribable building,

there was an elevator with no light in it and a push button (like a door bell) on the outside. The liftman refused to take my friend Ravi Ahuja to the sixth floor because according to him the office was closed.’ ‘So he walked up the stairs, to a minimally furnished, minimally staffed, suite with minimal signs, where he was asked to come the next day. He returned the next day only to see a sign ‘Closed for Eid.’ Harish K, who went to the BLS office in connection with his OCI Card application, found it staffed with very young

people, probably recent college graduates. “It is very difficult to get the right information,” he said. “It is evident that they have little training about the rules of visas or OCI.” New Jersey-based community activist Pradip (Peter) Kothari said he could not understand why it took 3 to 4 weeks to get a visa to India. Earlier, it was done in 3 to 4 days. Kothari added that India’s New York consulate deserved to be blamed equally

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‘I have traveled around the world to many different countries, but never had such a horrifying experience in getting a visa. I started the process in August, and finally received my visa December 3, too late to attend a family event in India. The BLS Web site is not user friendly at all. It is confusing and not easily accessible. Visa forms do not have enough space to fill out required information. The requirements for getting a visa are ambiguous and do not specify the so-called renunciation certificate. At the bottom of the BLS order form, there is a save button but it is not for saving the document, it is for getting the tracking number which comes in your e-mail if you are lucky. Since I did not want to save the order form, I did not click the Save button, hence no tracking number. Why don’t they say, ‘Click on save button’ to get the tracking number? No one contacts you if some information or document is missing. They simply return all the documents and you have to start the whole process all over again. There is no help button. No one answers the telephone or emails.’ Devika Malhotra, retired professor, Corona, California

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

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BLS faces community’s ire over poor passport, visa services Page A10 along with BLS for not replying to people’s calls and emails. If the problems continued he would organize a protest outside the consulate next month, Kothari warmed. “The easiest way to avoid much of the problem is to allow those who held an Indian passport earlier to enter India without any visa,” community leader Thomas T Oommen said. “When a person becomes a US citizen and gets a US passport he can carry his old Indian passport along with it. Why are other documents needed?” he asked. “We do not become less Indian by taking up citizenship in the US. We are more loyal to India.” In 2011, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs banned outsourcing visa and passport-related work to foreign firms. A letter from then Indian external affairs minister S M Krishna asked the missions to award the contracts to Indian companies. But there was no ban on such companies on having foreign partners. Visa and passport work was outsourced after missions found they lacked staff and the required space to accommodate the growing number of applicants. But outsourcing has added new problems. Reacting to complaints, Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, India’s Consul General in New York, recommended during a meeting with community leaders, that the government of India terminate the contract given to BLS. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said in Chicago earlier that the government would soon replace BLS. BLS officials responded to the complaints, saying that they were assigned the responsibility in a hurry and blamed the Indian government. “We were not ready to start operations, but were forced to do so. It was a Catch-22 situation,” Vicky Jain, US country head, BLS, told India Abroad. “We got a week’s time to set up office and find office locations in a city like New York. The location and offices were inspected and approved by consulate officials.” To make matters worse, Jain added, the Indian government did not train the BLS staff, — most of whom are Americans and don’t know anything about Indian visas, passport laws and speak no Indian languages. “Initially, things were in poor shape, but the situation has improved now. We could clear most of the backlog. People can track the information about their application easily now,” Jain said. “We also send out e-mail notifications to applicants and 98 percent of the applicants are getting it.” In the last one-and-a-half months since he came to the US to oversee operations, Jain said BLS has handled services with 95 percent accuracy, even during the peak season of December. Earlier, BLS offices shut at 6 pm even if applicants waited outside. Now BLS serves customers up to 7.30 pm, he said. “Americans are employed at the offices because BLS cannot show any discrimination or bias in hiring staff,” Jain added. “If we advertise that only Indian origin people need to apply, it would be against the law of the land.” BLS, he added, did not inherit anything from the earlier service provider, Travisa. It meant there was no continuity, a problem that Indian officials should look to avoid in the future.

The entrance to the BLS office in New York guarded by a doorman.

Page A10 ‘I would like people to note the following while using the BLS Web site: Don’t bother uploading a photograph on the Web site, because you still have to mail a physical photo. Instructions for the photograph are incomplete on the Web site. Go to the Indian Embassy Web site for complete instructions. Directions on visa forms and the Web site conflict with each other. Don’t sweat it, just follow one of them and you’ll be fine. Addresses and phone numbers on the BLS Web site are wrong. For example the address in various places on the Web site says East 37th Street (no street #) instead of 13 East 37th St. (this is how

Complaints galore USPS/FEDEX/UPS wants addresses in the USA - anything else might not get delivered). The Voice over Internet Protocol phone system is very low quality and every agent I spoke to was very rude, even the ones who didn’t hang up on me. On the plus side after a huge headache I eventually got my passports back with the visa, albeit a couple of days late.’ Milan D, Edison, New Jersey ‘I made a mistake the first time by applying for a visa to visit India by being honest about my occupation, which is financial journalism. Every time I want to visit I have to apply for a J-1 visa. And each time it is not so much an issue

with the consulate itself, but with the outsourcing partner. They had my passport since September 12, 2013. I received an e-mail from the press office at the India Consulate telling me they had granted my visa and returned it to BLS September 16, 2013. Even by September 23, 2013, I did not get my passport. I phoned BLS and spoke to three different people who all claimed it was still at the consulate center. I informed them I was going to let the consulate know that they in essence were accusing them of lying, given that they insisted it was with the consulate.’ Rick A, New York — As told to George Joseph

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

Sonia Gandhi seeks dismissal of suit in 1984 riots case GEORGE JOSEPH

n a letter produced before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Congress party President Sonia Gandhi denied she was in New York September 2 through September 9, 2013. ‘I was not in New York during the relevant period. I was not served the Summons and Complaint on September 9, 2013, as claimed, or on any other date,’ the letter signed by Gandhi, December 28, noted. It was addressed to her attorney Ravi Batra in New York. The letter was produced in response to an amended complaint by Sikhs for Justice, which accused Gandhi of shielding, protecting and rewarding the perpetrators of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court had asked Gandhi to respond to the summons by January 2. During her purported visit to the US in September last year, a class action lawsuit was filed against her by Sikhs For Justice, along with other victims, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for her role in allegedly shielding and protecting Kamal Nath, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler and some other Congress party leaders. September 9, acting on information that the Congress president was undergoing a medical checkup at SloanMANSI THAPLIYAL/REUTERS Kettering Memorial in New York, the SFJ served the Summons and A Sikh demonstrator during a protest outside Congress party President Sonia Gandhi’s home in New Delhi, May 2, 2013. Complaint on hospital staff, asking tions of conduct in India in 1984, post the assassination of rights violation case. them to give it to Gandhi, said SFJ attorney Gurpatwant then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her security person“Judge Cogan will have to decide issues of personal and Singh Pannun. nel without first having secured the express written consubject matter jurisdiction, along with the plaintiffs’ liti“Gandhi wasn’t served with legal process, as required by sent of the court.’ gation-happy modus operandi better suited for wild goose Judge Brian M Cogan’s alternate-service order, because Batra also asked that any opposition by the plaintiffs chases,” Batra said. plaintiffs were wrong in telling the court that she was in a must be filed and served on or before January 23 and the The motion further sought ‘enjoining Sikhs For Justice New York hospital when she wasn’t,” Batra said. defendant’s reply would be filed and served on or before from filing any lawsuit or otherwise pursuing these claims Through a motion to dismiss the suit filed by Batra, February 6. or any other claims stemming from or related to allegaGandhi challenged the US court jurisdiction to hear the

‘I called the cops to help, not to kill him’ RITU JHA

he family of an Indian origin man, shot by a police officer in Bakersfield, California, say they called the police to prevent him from harming himself. But the police killed him, thinking he was going to shoot at them. According to a press statement issued by the Bakersfield police department, December 29, officers responded to a call related to a domestic violence incident. As they approached the scene, an

armed man, Jaspal Singh, confronted them. According to the police, he pointed his firearm at them. One of the officers fired his duty weapon, at Singh, 45, who fell to the ground. He was transported to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. “Singh had illegal narcotics at the time of the incident. This is an officerinvolved shooting and is under investigation like other cases.” Sergeant Joe Grubbs, public information officer, Bakersfield police department, told

India Abroad. Singh’s wife Mandeep Kaur told this correspondent that “the police shot him five times in the chest.” “I saw a gun in his hand. He was into drugs, so I called the cops to help and not to kill him,” she said. Kaur added that they were Punjab natives and naturalized US citizens. Her husband had been a truck driver, but was out of a job for the last few months. Speaking about the fateful day when her husband was shot, Kaur said she was unaware that he possessed a gun.

“He suddenly took out a gun and said he would shoot himself, so I called the police,” she added. “He pointed the gun at himself and not at the officers, but they shot him.” Regina Mancera, deputy, Kern County coroner’s office, told India Abroad that Singh died from a gunshot wound. Jessie Perez, the officer involved in the incident, has been placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation by the Bakersfield police department Critical Incident Review Board.

COVER STORY

India Abroad January 10, 2014

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Tribute to the virtues

of democracy

The Indian Spring represented by Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign, began around the same time as the Arab Spring in 2011, but they led to different outcomes. Ramesh Ramachandran on the lessons the world can learn from India

n December 17, as Tunisians observed the third anniversary of the self-immolation of a 26-year-old street vendor Mohammad Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid that sparked protests in their country and triggered a wave of similar uprisings across north Africa and west Asia, people of New Delhi broke out into celebrations for the second time in less than 10 days. A rank outsider, Arvind Kejriwal, 45, had just announced a referendum of sorts to ascertain the people’s wishes on whether his Aam Aadmi Party should take the lead for forming a government or not, after the fledgling party made a historic debut in the assembly elections winning 28 seats in the 70-member house and coming second behind the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies (32) but far ahead of the Congress’s tally of eight seats. Less than a week later, Kejriwal had staked claim to form the government, bringing to a successful culmination an unprecedented experiment in Indian democracy and bringing cheer to ordinary citizens who had had enough of the corruption and inflation that had peaked of late. The contrast between Sidi Bouzid, a town 161 miles southwest of capital Tunis, and Delhi located 3,700-odd miles away, could not have been starker. Three years after the first stirrings of the Arab Spring, Tunisia — much like the rest of the Arab world — is still coming to terms with the contagion that was unleashed on an unsuspecting society and government alike. But the Indian version of the Arab Spring that began with a septuagenarian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare’s fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi April 5, 2011, can draw satisfaction from the many successes it has notched up on the way. There is a sense of accomplishment in the air. The spontaneous public movement that captured the imagination of men and women, young and old, in cities and towns across much of India has finally paid dividends. Not only does India today have a new Lokpal Bill that provides for a nationwide anti-corruption ombudsman, Hazare’s one-time protégé Kejriwal has turned a people’s movement for good governance, transparency and accountability into a political party with a remarkable felicity of democratic expression. That this was achieved without any blood-letting is a tribute to the virtues of democracy in general and the sagacity and maturity of the Indian voter in particular. Compare this with the less than 200,000 people killed in the Arab Spring, including, but not limited to, 300 in Tunisia, 1,700 in Egypt, 2,000 in Yemen, 25,000 in Libya, 120,000 in Syria and over 100 in Bahrain, all of which are yet nowhere close to overcoming the challenges such as corruption, unemployment, inflation and inequality that bedevils Sidi Bouzid as much as it does Chandni Chowk. The events that unfolded in those countries brought home the tragic consequences of choosing the bullet over the ballot. The phenomenon sweeping across much of the Arab world did not leave democratic societies like the United States, where the Occupy Wall Street movement gained traction, or India, untouched. No country was immune from its reach. Social media ensured that the word spread farther and anger travelled faster.

Arvind Kejriwal being detained by police during a protest march in New Delhi in October 2012. Fourteen months later, he is the chief minister of that state — a nod to the power of a working democracy. ADNAN ABIDI /REUTERS

It sprouted wherever it found a ground made fertile by mis-governance. It spared neither the dictator nor the democrat. Five governments were overthrown, including two in Egypt, just as the ruling Congress party was ousted from power in Delhi but, unlike India and the US, the levels of disenchantment continue to remain high in the democracy-deficit countries in north Africa and west Asia. The prevailing sentiment in Tunisia, which has seen changes wrought by the Arab Spring, is that people’s lives and their economic situation has improved only marginally but it is not likely to improve any further in the immediate future. Tunisia is likely to witness the approval of a new constitution and the holding of parliamentary elections in 2014. In a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and the University of Maryland, more than 60 percent of the 3,000 Tunisian adults surveyed said that they were not happy with the current political leadership and 86 percent said corruption was common. The situation is worse in Egypt, which increasingly resembles a police state, or, Libya, where militias run amok, throwing the country into further instability. In Yemen, attempts are still being made for a national dialogue and reconciliation involving multiple stakeholders. “It is clear that the process of Arab transformation will need decades to mature and that its success is by no means

guaranteed,” says Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the oldest international affairs think tank in the US. His prognosis for some of the countries affected by the Arab Spring is not encouraging. According to him, Egypt, which can be expected to hold a referendum on a new constitution in addition to presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014, “is not out of the woods yet.” He sounds a warning for the Arab monarchies, who have not succeeded in tackling the underlying political, economic, and social challenges their nations face. “Jordan will continue to feel that it has successfully ridden the wave of Arab transitions without seriously addressing some of the key economic and political challenges facing the country. And it will probably get away with it, at least for now,” notes Muasher, who served as Jordan’s deputy prime minister from 2004 to 2005 and foreign minister from 2002 to 2004. At the same time, the Aam Aadmi Party’s ascension to the front and centre of the political landscape and discourse is instructive for a proud democracy such as India. We are seeing Kejriwal’s fourth avatar, this time as a politician, after the engineer-turned-bureaucrat quit government service to launch a non-government organization. He was in every sense of the word an antithesis to the reticent and self-effacing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,

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ardeep Singh Puri, a 1974 batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party January 2. He joins a long list of diplomats, including K Natwar Singh, Romesh Bhandari, Mani Shankar Aiyar and Meira Kumar of the Congress party and Brajesh Mishra of the BJP, who have made the transition from the world of diplomacy to real politics smoothly. Puri’s personal friendship with senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley is well known, so his entry into the party was not surprising. Puri dismissed allegations about maintaining close links with the BJP even during his tenure as a prominent diplomat in India’s foreign service. “That’s not true at all,” he said. “When I was the Permanent Representative (to the United Nations), I was equally close to people from all political parties, so I will not accept this (charge of being close to the BJP). Arun Jaitley is somebody I have grown up with. We studied at the same university. I have worked with various other people. (All India Congress Committee General Secretary) Digvijaya Singh stayed at my residence in New York. Ambassadors, by the very nature of their jobs, deal with all political parties.” Within the BJP, Puri has not been a supporter of former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh. Puri was critical of how the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government handled the Kandahar hijack in December 1999. India was forced to release three terrorists in its custody after the Pakistani terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen hijacked an Air India plane with 176 people on board and landed it in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Before retiring, Puri served as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and did a good job as the chairman of the United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee. The diplomat, who started his career as a lecturer at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, has an impressive network in Delhi and beyond. He has held important diplomatic posts in Brazil, Japan, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. It will not be surprising if he gets lucrative assignments within the BJP too. It helps Puri that he knows the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi well. He met Modi for the first time in 1999 in Delhi, during an event organized by Jaitley. When Puri was posted in Geneva in 2003, he spent two days with Modi while the latter was in Switzerland to collect the ashes of Shyamji Krishna Verma, a freedom fighter from Gujarat. Rather than a theorist of geo-politics and strategic vision, Puri is a man who is deft in dealing with people in the real world of diplomacy. His rapport with Susan Rice, his American counterpart at the UN and current National Security Advisor, helped India and the world body in a big way. Puri is an expert on issues concerning the World Trade Organization and he will help the BJP formulate its views on the complex subject.

India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘At the UN, there were moments when I wished we had a stronger government in Delhi’ Retired diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri, who joined the BJP last week, in a free-wheeling conversation with Sheela Bhatt I want the AAP experiment to succeed, but it cannot succeed on the basis of wasteful subsidies, says Hardeep Singh Puri.

worse off on the security scene. I am hoping that with a strong BJP government, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, we will be able to regain our rightful place in the community of nations. In New York, there were moments when I wished we had a stronger government in Delhi. One of my regrets has been that we worked so hard and after 17 years we got into the United Nations Security Council (as a non-permanent member), but the government in Delhi was completely preoccupied with domestic issues. When we were a part of the UNSC in 2011-2012, Delhi was distracted. They were dealing with corruption cases like the 2G scam and the Commonwealth Games scam. To push issues like the expansion of the UNSC or India’s permanent membership in the Security Council, it would have been nice if we had had a stronger government in Delhi. I am not suggesting that a stronger government in Delhi will ipso facto result in the Security Council’s expansion, but we have been distracted.

The transition to politics

When you finish one phase of your life as a civil servant, it is time to give back, time to go onto the next phase. I am not suggesting that this is politics in the conventional sense. I have only joined the party. What use the party wants to make of my experience is entirely up to BJP leaders.

UPA’s foreign policy

PARESH GANDHI

On joining the BJP

Let’s be very clear. Intellectually and in terms of what I think the country needs, there was no second choice. Simply put, ten years of the Congress party’s rule has witnessed an undermining of institutions, bad economic performance, corruption and lack of governance. As far as the Bharatiya Janata Party is

concerned, I have spent a lifetime dealing with issues related to foreign policy and security policy. As a political party, since its inception, the BJP has been strongly grounded in nationalism. They appeal to me on issues of national security. But for the May 1998 nuclear tests (conducted under the National Democratic Alliance’s regime), we would have, been

I think the present political dispensation could not stand up forcefully enough in the last few years. Why were we pursuing a bilateral meeting at the prime ministerial level when the Pakistanis had not given up the use of terror as an instrument of their policy? Why was there so much hype about Nawaz Sharif taking over (as Pakistan’s premier) and his keenness to meet the prime minister? There was a three-week long incursion in the Depsang valley near the India-China border in Ladakh. It was a military standoff. But India’s external affairs minister (Salman Khurshid) described it as a pimple on a beautiful skin. Then he goes to Shanghai and he wants to settle down there. Look at how they have handled the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. We owe it to the Sri Lankan Tamil minority to use whatever margin of persuasion we have with the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to encourage them to give the Tamil community a good deal. They are Lanka’s own citizens. The PM was ready to forsake the future of his government over the India-US civil nuclear deal, but not a single dollar of commercial contracting has been done since the agreement has been inked. You are buying billions of dollars of military equipment from the Americans, yet that does not encourage the State Department to withhold clearance for the physical arrest and strip-search of a senior Indian diplomat? I think it is shameful.

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Forgotten genocide INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE DURING THE 1971 BANGLADESH WAR

MAGAZINE India Abroad January 10, 2014 The International Weekly Newspaper

INDIA ABROAD ARCHIVES

FOOD TRAIL

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘I did not run down the street proclaiming it, but if people asked I would say I was gay’ Raghavan Iyer on coming to terms with his sexuality, finding love and bringing up a beautiful child

Raghavan Iyer takes a masterclass.

Raghavan Iyer, who is set to become the first Indian-American president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, tells Arthur J Pais how he introduced not only Americans, but also desis to the delights of Indian cuisine

‘INDIAN FOOD HAS BEEN FUSION FOOD FOR CENTURIES’

elebrity chef and Emmy Award winner Raghavan Iyer can make a delightful Rasam — that may look like it originated from his mother’s kitchen in Matunga, Mumbai, — with the same ease he can whip up a Wild Salmon Fillet Poached With Chiles, Scallions And Tomato. From his base in Mineapolis, Iyer has been teaching Americans over the last 22 years that there is no mystery to Indian food. All you need to do is to use spices and herbs imaginatively, along with fresh ingredients. Iyer grew up in an orthodox vegetarian home, is still a vegetarian, but he loves to talk about his famous Lamb Chops or seafood with a dash of Indian spices. Though he studied chemistry in Mumbai, his heart was in the food and hospitality industry. Iyer came to America in 1982 to study hotel and restaurant management at Michigan State University. Over the years he has not only published several well-received cookbooks, but has also made a name as a culinary educator, spokesperson, and consultant to numerous national and international clients including General Mills, Bon Appetit Management Company, Target, and Canola. He helped launch an Indian meals program for Bon Appétit Management Company and trained all their chefs across the United States in Indian cuisine. Iyer is the co-founder of the Asian Culinary Arts Institutes, Ltd., an organization dedicated to the preservation and understanding of Asian cuisine. He won the Upper Midwest Emmy for hosting the television documentary Asian

resh from Mumbai and a hotel management student at Michigan State University, Rahgavan Iyer met Terry Erickson the first day in the dormitory. In a way, it was love at first sight and the partnership is now in its 31st year. They live with their adopted son Robert, 14, in a Minneapolis suburb where Erickson is a schoolteacher. Iyer was coming out in terms of his sexuality then just as many Indian gays and lesbians across America were slowly acknowledging their sexuality and organizations like Trikone began speaking for their aspirations and new found freedom. Even then many Indian gay men and women continued to hide their sexuality from their parents, not having the courage to deal with their reaction. “I did not run down the street proclaiming my sexuality,” Iyer says, “but if people asked me, I would always say I was gay.” It was not easy to persuade his mother in Mumbai of his sexuality, he admits. “For some time, she kept hoping it would change and she would show me photographs of girls but she came to realize it would not change. When she saw me with Terry she realized he was an important part of my life.” Raghavan and Erickson, who is white, adopted an African-American boy. “We saw an advertisement in a gay and lesbian publication in Minnesota about children being available for adoption. We went for home study and the evaluation process and then they showed us cases of the children. We had quite a bit of choice,” Iyer recalls. “Robert was a little under 2 when we first saw him and he was talking quite a bit. It was love at first sight. We had never thought what color our child should have and we never thought

FOOD TRAIL

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘INDIAN FOOD HAS BEEN FUSION FOOD FOR CENTURIES’ M2 Flavors and has appeared in numerous radio and television shows across the United States and Canada. A winner of the Julia Child Award for teaching, Iyer’s latest book Indian Cooking Unfolded was released in July. This year, he will add another feather to his cap by becoming the first IndianAmerican president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Do Americans know more about Indian cooking than they did two or three decades ago? To some extent yes. But this is true mostly in big American cities. I have had book tours in 40 places in America for my latest work. But they are all big and medium sized cities, though I hope the radio talks and television interviews I have done recently will also reach smaller cities and towns across America. I hear from people in small cities in Nebraska or North Dakota from time to time and they tell me that they are occasionally cooking Indian food and they want some clarifications, some more guidance. My first book Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking, published through General Mills, was considered to be a pioneering work. It was meant to teach Americans Indian cooking and give them the confidence to do so. Everything in it had to be authentic and yet basic and simple. Yet I find there is still quite a bit of ignorance. Our cuisine has been around for over 60 centuries and it is a pity that it has not yet become mainstream American cuisine. Some Americans think it is all yellow, some think it is all red, and then there are those who believe that everything Indian has to be spicy. There is also a lot of ignorance about our food among Indians as well. In what way? Some (Indians) look at the fusion food that I make and tell me it is not Indian. I tell them, Indian food has been fusion food for centuries. Many other cultures have changed the way we cook and eat our food. We have taken so much from the invaders and colonizers and made it all our own. Some of the things that we must have in our Indian cuisine today, say potatoes and tomatoes, and even chilies, were not known to India, or for that matter to much of the world, till 500 years ago. Chilies came from Central America

through Spain and Portugal to India. In my cooking, I also offer regional Indian food, and naturally the use of the spices varies. When I prepared a meal with a few regional dishes at a corporate luncheon, some Indians came to me and complained that the food was not hot enough. Some even thought that for that very reason it was not authentic Indian food. I also get hate mail from time to time, criticizing me for being a Brahmin who cooks non-vegetarian dishes. I don’t bother to answer them. When I first interviewed you over two decades ago, you said you were largely a vegetarian. I still am. And then, of course, people ask me how I come up with recipes for non-vegetarian food. I have believed that if you know the science of cooking and have a good knowledge of herbs and spices, you can never go wrong. I must also say that I taste meat and fish, in bite sizes, when I cook, making sure that I am doing the right thing. How did you get interested in cooking? I used to cook a lot when I was in college in India and experimented with food. I was also curious about various Indian culinary traditions. In America, I worked at an Indian restaurant while studying, and over the six years, I learned a lot about commercial cooking. My meals became much more elaborate, because I was learning techniques that I could apply to the flavors of Mumbai. While working at the Indian restaurant my creativity was curbed and I was tired of turning out the same meat dish or sabzi with heavy cream and overpowering masalas. I decided to gamble and be my own man. So I began teaching cooking Indian food. People warned me saying that I was not in New York or San Francisco and I could not be a teacher of Indian food in the Midwest. But I persisted. The teaching led to the writing, television and more recognition. Tell us about your books. It has been over 12 years since Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking came out. My second book The Turmeric Trail was very personal and it became a James Beard finalist for the best international cookbook. The next, 660 Curries, is my most elaborate book. My newest book Indian Cooking Unfolded has been in the making for 30

With a desi twist Indian Slaw

Bund Gobhi Nu Shaak Makes: 6 cups

Ingredients

½ small head of green cabbage

(about 1 pound) or 1 bag (14 ounces) coleslaw mix Handful of shredded red cabbage (optional) 1 to 2 fresh green serrano chillies, stems discarded ½ large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into thin strips ½ cup dry-roasted peanuts ½ cup dried unsweetened coconut shreds ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems 1½ tsp coarse kosher or sea salt Juice from 1 medium-size lime 2 tbsp canola oil 1 tsp black or yellow mustard seeds ¼ tsp ground turmeric

Indian Slaw

Method

If you are using a half cabbage, remove the tough rib from the bottom by making diagonal cuts on either side and lifting it out in a V-shaped wedge. You will end up with a Vshaped opening at the base. Cut the cabbage half in half lengthwise. Slice both halves into shreds, as thin as you can. Place the green and red (if using) cabbage shreds in a large bowl. If you are using a preshredded coleslaw mix (which usually has a few shreds of carrots and red cabbage in it for color), empty the contents of the bag into a large bowl. Slice the chillies lengthwise and then cut them into thin slices, crosswise, to form half moons of chillies that still have the rib and seeds within. Do not discard the seeds. Add the chilies to the cabbage along with the bell pepper. Place the peanuts in a spice grinder (you can also use a coffee grinder), food processor or mini chopper and pulse the nuts to the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Letting the machine run constantly will create a gummy result the consistency of peanut butter. Add the coconut, cilantro, salt, and lime juice. Sprinkle the ground peanuts over the cabbage mixture. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil appears to shimmer, add the mustard seeds, cover the skillet, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (not unlike popcorn), about 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle in the turmeric, which will instantly bathe the oil with its yellow hue; the heat from the skillet will be just right to cook the turmeric without burning it. Pour the mustard-turmeric mixture over the cabbage. I often grab some of the cabbage from the bowl and add it to the skillet, wiping it clean with the shreds to make sure I get every last bit of spice and oil. Using tongs, spoons, or my favorite, a clean hand, thoroughly combine the slaw in the large bowl to ensure every shred of cabbage is evenly coated. Serve the slaw either at room temperature (my preference) or chilled.

FOOD TRAIL

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad January 10, 2014

With a desi twist Festive Lamb Chops Serves 4 Makes about 16 chops

Ingredients

2 racks of lamb (about 3 pounds total) 2 tsp black or yellow mustard seeds 1 tsp cardamom seeds (removed from the green or white cardamom pods) 3 to 4 dried red chillies, stems discarded ½ cup almond slices or slivers 1½ tsp coarse kosher or sea salt 2 to 3 tbsp canola oil 6 medium-size cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 pound pre-washed baby spinach leaves, finely shredded

Method

Cut the racks of lamb into individual chops by slicing in between each rib bone. You should have at least 16 chops. Place the mustard seeds, cardamom seeds, and chilies in a spice grinder (you can also use a coffee grinder) and grind the blend to the consistency of finely ground black pepper. Tap the spice blend into a small bowl. Working in batches, grind the almonds in the same spice grinder to the same consistency as the spice blend and transfer them to a separate medium-size bowl. Combine ¾ tsp of the salt with the spice blend and the remaining ¾ tsp of salt with the ground almonds. Place the lamb chops on a tray and sprinkle half of the spice blend on the tops of the chops (the meat part, not the bone). Press the spice blend into the meat of the chops to make sure it adheres. Turn the chops over and repeat with the remaining spice blend. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil appears to shimmer, arrange half of the chops in a single layer in the hot oil. The instant sizzle and sear will cook the spices without burning them, thanks to the meaty chops. Cook the chops about 1 minute, then turn them over and repeat Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic to the skillet, and stir-fry it until light brown, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the garlic and quickly stir it to make sure there are no lumps. The nuts will foam up and bubble, turning light brown quickly, about 30 seconds. Stir in handfuls of the spinach; the heat will be just right to quickly wilt the shreds. Repeat until all of the spinach has been added. Pour the half-and-half into the skillet and scrape the bottom to release all of the bits of almond, spinach, and garlic, effectively deglazing the pan and releasing those flavors back into the sauce. Return all of the lamb chops to the pan, making sure that they are blanketed with the festive-looking sauce, lush green against a white backdrop. If the skillet is too small to accommodate all of the chops, place half of the chops and sauce in a separate skillet. Cover the skillet(s) and let the chops cook a bit more and absorb some of those lush favors, about 5 minutes. The chops will be medium-rare. If you want the meat to be less rare, simmer the chops, covered, an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Serve the lamb chops right away, making sure you spoon all of that satiny spinach sauce around them. Excerpted from Raghavan Iyer’s Indian Cooking Unfolded with the author’s kind permission.

‘INDIAN FOOD HAS BEEN FUSION FOOD FOR CENTURIES’ M3 years and shows how you can make Indian dishes by using about 10 ingredients you can find today in any supermarket. You don’t have to go to Asian stores looking for them. When I started creating dishes I thought I was cheating by not going to an Indian grocery store but not any more. It was one of those liberating experiences and I found it exciting to keep the recipes within 10 ingredients. During my many travels across America and Canada, I visited supermarkets, making notes of ingredients and spices they sold. I also made a list of the top five spices one could find anywhere: Chillies, turmeric, coriander seeds, mustard seeds and cumin. Now, when I cook at home and make Indian food

I stick to the simplicity of 10 ingredients. What are your plans for the International Association of Culinary Professionals? It has been around for 35 years and has veteran as well new chefs, and food professionals. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of workshops and seminars at their conferences and learned a lot. Now, I want to give back. When I was asked to consider joining the board, I did. It’s an elected position. In recent years, there have been so many changes in the publishing industry and now, there are so many good bloggers. I want our members to understand the new reality and make best use of the situation. What do you like to cook the most? Daal. I love Daal and rice. I also like Rasam Vada, and that is what I order mostly when I go to a South Indian restaurant. And if that dish fails me, I lose my appetite. But my ultimate comfort food is Rasam Saadam.

‘I did not run down the street proclaiming it, but if people asked I would say I was gay’ M2 that we were going to adopt an African-American boy. We were just adopting a glorious child.” It was important the couple that the baby should meet his Indian grandmother Geetha Iyer who was living in Mumbai. Robert was three when he met her for the first time, she was about 80. Iyer and Erickson taught him to call her patti, grandmother in Tamil. They visited her again after three years. She died six years ago. “I was her youngest child, out of seven children,” Iyer says. “And Robert was her 10th and youngest grandchild. So there was a special bond between them. I think my mother fully accepted who I was Raghavan Iyer, left, and his partner Terry Erickson, right, with their adopted son Robert.

when she knew there would be a grandchild. She had been worried that her youngest son was not going to have any children.” Erickson was raised a Methodist Christian and Iyer grew up in an orthodox family in India. “But I am not religious and both Terry and I believe what is important is that we give our son the right values and ethics,” he adds. “We were never concerned as to what religion he should have, but we are all the time hoping that he will continue to be a compassionate and a very good human being.” Robert is used to having two fathers. He calls Erickson Daddy and Iyer Papa. And he enjoys a variety of food, including his father’s Indian dishes. — Arthur J Pais

A LEGEND, INTERRUPTED

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

day after Farouque Shaikh’s death, (he succumbed to a heart attack in Dubai, December 28, 2013), I got a message from Sarika, his co-star in his last film, Club 60. Referring to my recent interview with her, she mused: ‘Was just thinking how strange that you asked me the question about loss by separation or death...’ The next day I called her, and she said emotionally, “I was in absolute shock when I heard the news. My last few conversations with Farouque centered around, ‘We will do this’, and ‘We will do that’ for Club 60.” “When the film got a positive buzz, I told Farouque, ‘Lagta hai, nikal padi (looks like we are on a roll).” “And he good-humouredly complained, ‘Looks like I will have to work a lot now.’ Who was to know…” Poignantly, the actor’s last two films Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Club 60 spoke of the pain of loss due to the demise of a loved one. In YJHD, he played Ranbir’s understanding father who does not stand in the way of his ambitions and whose death makes Ranbir confront his priorities. And in Club 60, Farouque played a parent mourning for his dead son. Farouque was lavishly praised for his histrionics in both these films… and sadly they were the last in a rich career that began with M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa (1974). I still recall his striking portrayal in as a post-Partition Muslim youth who decides against leaving his hometown with his family and is encouraged by his father (Balraj Sahni) to join a group of friends working for a better future. With hits like the romantic drama Noorie (1979) and the comedy Chashme Buddoor (1981), Farouque saw a period of popularity, especially amongst discerning viewers. I thoroughly enjoyed his portrayal of the love-struck, penny-pinching bachelor who shares his pad with two crazy loonies in Chashme Buddoor and consequently refused to see the David Dhawan-directed 2013 adaptation of the film. In Sai Paranjpye’s Chashme Budddoor, Farouque eloquently captured the innocent state of mind of the pre-liberalization youth of the country. I remember smiling through the scenes when he constantly bought cigarettes on udhaar (loan) from a paanwala because I too had a khaata (account) with Babupaanwala below my Worli abode for all the sodas I guzzled through the month. Farouque’s tootie-fruitee dates with Deepti Naval in Chashme Buddoor made for delightful viewing — they were so relatable unlike so many love sequences in Hindi films. In the 1980s, if the Hema-Dharmendra and Rekha-Amitabh jodis created raves commercially, the art house duo Deepti Naval-Farouque Shaikh were equally applauded. They acted together in seven films during the decade — Chashme Buddoor, Saath Saath, Ek Baar Chale Aao, Katha, Rang Birangi, Kissi Se Na Kehna

FAROUQUE SHAIKH 1948-2013 Dinesh Raheja pays tribute

ABHIJIT MHAMUNKAR

An actor and a gentleman and Faasle. Their romantic song from Saath Saath, ‘Tumko Dekha Toh’ (along with Noorie’s Aaja Re, Umrao Jaan’s Zindagi Jab Bhi Tere Bazm Mein and Bazaar’s Phir Chhidi Raat) shone brightly among Farouque’s choice cache of soft songs amidst the din of the disco era. Recently, the Farouque-Deepti pair returned to the screen together in Hema Malini’s production, Tell Me Oh Khuda and Listen… Amaya. Deepti recalled, “The experience of working with Farouque again was really nice and nostalgic. Once again, Farouque and I are sitting on the sets together — he

is reading his paper and I am into my book. We talked about director Sai Paranjpe, the late Ravi Baswani, the films of those times.” Despite his recent resurgence (Listen… Amaya, and Lahore for which he won a National Award as Best Supporting Actor), Farouque preferred to stay away from the rat race — as always. And to think that in Sai Paranjpye’s Katha, he, ironically, reprised the famous ambitious hare of the ‘Hare and Tortoise’ story. Farouque was completely at home as the smooth-talking liar, Bashudev, who has everyone in the chawl (low-cost housing structures), including Deepti Naval, eating

out of his hand much to Naseeruddin Shah’s chagrin. Farouque never lacked acknowledgement of his talent — directors of the caliber of M S Sathyu (Garam Hawa), Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Rang Birangi), Muzaffar Ali (Umrao Jaan) and Satyajit Ray (Shatranj Ke Khiladi) cast him in their films. His occasional outings with mainstream mammoths like Yash Chopra (Faasle) and Manmohan Desai (Toofan), unfortunately, proved to be box-office duds and decelerated his tryst with the limelight reserved for top stars. Just a month ago, Farouque told my colleague Itee Sharma, “I don’t do too many films, just one film in a year.” He knew the importance of leading a rich, fulfilled life. “When you are not acting, there’s so much to do,” he said. “You meet friends and spend time with family. I enjoy lolling around and not working. That is a character trait. The market is full of work, be it TV or films. It depends on how much you want to do.” Sanjay Tripathi, the director of Club 60, reminisces, “Farouque was full of life.” Reflecting on his non-fussy nature, he says, “He was very fond of food. On the first day of the shoot, when he ordered a sandwich, I asked him which bread he wanted; he said he didn’t get into these insignificant details. But he was particular about his film. He told me that our film was special, and we should promote it as Caviar not a Chaat.” “He died at 65,” Sanjay says. “He definitely should have been part of Club 70.” I saw Farouque in person on two occasions — once on stage in the play, Tumhari Amrita, and on the other occasion when I ambled up to him after watching a film around a decade ago. He was standing with his wife Rupa and smoking a cigarette and we chatted as if we had known each other for years. He was soft-spoken and articulate and a patient listener. On stage, in Feroz Khan’s play Tumhari Amrita, he was mesmerizing; his voice crystal clear, his diction impeccable. Amrita Nigam (Shabana Azmi) and Zulfikar Haider (Farouque Shaikh) read out letters exchanged over 35 years, the first letter exchanged in 1940, and created a miasmic world of unrequited love. Sarika feels that tehzeeb (culture) coursed through his veins. “His respect was soul deep, not artificial. Some people say the right things to appear correct. He was a thorough gentleman and very accessible. Forget conversations, even in his SMS you can hear his diction.” She formed a mutual admiration society with him as actors: “He took great pride in my work, he was particularly impressed by my performance in Parzania.” “Recently, when we attended an awards function together, he was one of the nominees for the best actor award, but told me that his fellow nominee Rajkumar deserved to win for Shahid.” Bollywood has lost a fine actor; and a gentleman to boot. Dinesh Raheja is editor, Bollywood News Service. He has authored two books on cinema, The Hundred Luminaries Of Hindi Cinema (1996) and Indian Cinema, The Bollywood Saga (2004).

A LEGEND, INTERRUPTED

knew Farouque from our days in the aviation industry. Both of us worked for Air India — he as a flight purser and I as a part of the ground staff. We shared a mutual passion for cinema which, we didn’t know at that time, would become such an integral part of both our lives. I worked with him in three of my films — Gaman, Umrao Jaan and Anjuman. I cast him in those because I needed a certain kind of vulnerable quality in the characters and he seemed to be the only one who could portray that perfectly. Gaman turned out to be the first break as a leading man — before that, he had played a part in M S Sathyu’s widely acclaimed Garam Hawa. I saw him in the film and cast him in Gaman immediately.

Farouque was pitch-perfect as the migrant from a village in Uttar Pradesh earning a living in Mumbai by driving a taxi. He actually mingled with taxiwallas for his role in the film. In Umrao Jaan, I cast him as a Nawab. Though the role was culturally far removed from Gaman, he excelled in the role. In Anjuman he played a naive man free of a manipulative streak. He was like that in real life as well. Was he trapped in playing only a certain kind of roles? I wouldn’t know. I could only see him within the parameters of the characters that he played for me. We had a wonderful time working on all three films. — Muzaffar Ali directed Farouque Shaikh in Umrao Jaan, Gaman and Anjuman. He spoke to Subhash K Jha

rey arrey. Yeh kya hua (What just happened)? What a way to end the year! The news of Farouque’s death was devastating. This was no time for him to go… His death has taken us all by shock. It’s terrible. I was very fortunate to have worked with him in two films — Chashme Buddoor and Katha — and I cannot tell you how wonderful he was to work with. During Katha, the banter and playful one-upmanship between Farouque and Naseeruddin Shah was so precious. Farouque would say, ‘If Naseer and I are in a shot, then it would be Naseer’s back to the camera.’ To this Naseer would retort, ‘Yes, of course, because my back is more expressive than your face.’ And they would go on like this. It was such a pleasure to see them together. Farouque and Naseer also clashed playfully on their religious beliefs. Farouque was very religious. Every Friday we’d have to relieve him of his work so he could go and pray. But Naseer was not at all religious. Yet he took his mother on a Haj pilgrimage. Farouque would tease Naseer about this. A more generous and kind-hearted human being was hard to find. During the shooting of Chashme Buddoor in Delhi, one of our light boys fell from the roof. He had to be hospitalized. Farouque would quietly visit the injured lightman and pay for his treatment. He said nothing about his generosity to any of us. He was an angel. One always says nice things about the departed. But honestly, even if Farouque was alive, I wouldn’t have a single bad thing to say about him. I’d call him a big flirt. I’d say, ‘Farouque, kuch toh sharam kijiye. You are flirting with me and with my daughter, just because your mother is not here to see what you are up to.’ He was so sweet, so wonderful. — Sai Paranjpye remembered Farouque Shaikh in a rare interview. She spoke to Subhash K Jha

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‘NOT TIME for him to

GO AWAY’ India’s best cine stars mourn one of their own — the legendary Farouque Shaikh

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A fan’s memories…

Deepti Naval and Farouque Shaikh in Chashme Buddoor

Sukanya Verma on how much she adored Farouque Shaikh

arouque Shaikh was not sick at all. In fact, when we were working together during Listen... Amaya, I was sick, but he was totally fit, very energetic and enthusiastic. Nobody had the slightest hint that such a calamity could happen to him. His death was such a shattering news, first thing in the morning. I have had such a nice and long association with him, suddenly I feel so lost (starts crying). He was a very happy-go-lucky person. His sense of humor was strange and wacky. He would always pull my leg. Mostly I would be upset with him. I would often ask him to speak seriously, at least some time. He would joke on the sets as well. I was the butt of all his jokes so I would get angry with him. I would tell him not to make me the center of his jokes. He would say, ‘Why are you bothered when everybody is enjoying and laughing?’ I would feel, can’t he make fun at his own cause instead? He was very sensitive and a very fine actor. He was well-educated and loved reading. He loved shayari and memorized them… We would always be concerned for him that he was overweight. Since he loved food, we would always tell him to lose weight but he would always say he’s healthy.

This is such shocking news. It was not time for him to go away. In fact, it was time for him to work. We had wanted to work together after Listen... Amaya. He was a natural actor. When he was in front of the camera, you would never feel is acting. We had a comfort zone together. Our rapport was magical. I have never experienced that rapport with anyone. We last met two months ago at the Sharjah book fair, where we were both invited. I read short stories and poems from my books and Farouque interviewed me. We were there for two, three days and we discussed a lot of books. It was a very good experience. After that, we would text each other. Whenever I had any problem, I would only have to call him. He would never answer the phone. He would send a text message, asking ‘Khairiyat? (All okay?).’ He never liked speaking on the phone, he would always send text messages. We met after a long gap and started working together. I will always regret that this was a very short-lived experience. — Deepti Naval and Farouque Shaikh made one of the most popular on-screen couples of Indian cinema, having acting in some brilliant films like Chasme Buddoor, Katha, Saath Saath and their last film together Listen... Amaya. She spoke to Patcy N.

can’t believe he’s gone so suddenly and so cruelly. Farouque was in Dubai with his wife and daughters when he suddenly suffered a massive heart attack. He just collapsed. Is that any way to go? We were close friends from before we worked together. We were in college together. I can’t believe he’s gone. — Shabana Azmi was Farouque Shaikh’s co-star for 21 years in the play Tumhari Amrita and did some of her best films with him, including Lorie, Ek Pal and Anjuman. She spoke to Subhash K Jha.

ven when I was too young to grasp the concept of films and make-believe, I was immensely fond of Farouque Shaikh. Back then, I didn’t have any solid reason to explain my attachment. Except that he bore an uncanny resemblance to my beloved Mamaji (maternal uncle) and filled the frames with his beaming goodness and bounce, which I could surprisingly appreciate even at that age. I first saw him on big screen as the romantic Nawab Sultan in Umrao Jaan, but it was his accessible boynext-door appeal, high on humor and lovability, in feel-good fare like Chashme Buddoor and Kissi Se Na Kehna that made my day. Even as I devoured his glorious resume — Katha, Picnic, Noorie, Rang Birangi, Saath Saath and Bazaar on Doordarshan or VHS, it would be a long time before I returned to the cinema halls again to view one of the not-so-memorable outings of his career. In Manmohan Desai’s 1989 superhero fiasco Toofan, he essayed the supporting role of Amitabh Bachchan’s best friend (Don’t Worry Be Happy, remember?). Regardless of Toofan’s silly content, I felt godawful about the tragic fate Farouque Shaikh’s character Gopal meets in the story. It took an unlikely film to confirm it; I adore Farouque Shaikh.

Oblivious to my affection, he reciprocated with his elegant artistry, disarming wit and multifaceted insights as a movie heavyweight, theatre personality, television star or celebrity anchor. The more I watched him (especially his earlier work in Garam Hawa, Gaman, Shatranj Ke Khiladi), the more I understood his ingenuity. Regrettably, the film industry could never exploit his versatile range as actively as it should have. To not have delivered a single bad performance in one’s career is an exceptional feat. Even in absolute drivel lacking coherence and intelligence, he did not. No wonder he won his first and only National Award for an obscure release called Lahore. In my career as a film journalist, I interacted with the biggest and the best without any trouble, but the mere glimpse of Farouque Shaikh would instantly transform me into an embarrassing version of Bashful, the dwarf. Once at a multiplex, he stood before me in the snack queue (akin to Shah Rukh Khan’s elevator scene with Juhi Chawla in Darr minus the stalker undercurrent), like a stereotypical, star-struck fangirl, I spontaneously nudged my finger on his crisp white chikan kurta. To my surprise, he turned around and acknowledged this indefensibly childish gesture with a sweet smile. I would have recognized that smile in a crowd. I would like to believe his smile spoke to me. That it valued my inaudible admiration. Unable to speak, I smiled back nervously and went on to order the most unforgettable popcorn of my life. Though I never interviewed him, I am glad I expressed my awe for the man during his lifetime. The news of his sudden demise is yet to sink in. But when a luminary is as precious and palpable as Farouque Shaikh, the loss feels undeniably personal.

Shabana Azmi and Farouque Shaikh in Tumhari Amrita.

A LEGEND, INTERRUPTED

THE MAGAZINE

‘NOT TIME for him to

GO AWAY’ India’s best cine stars mourn one of their own — the legendary Farouque Shaikh

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A fan’s memories…

Deepti Naval and Farouque Shaikh in Chashme Buddoor

Sukanya Verma on how much she adored Farouque Shaikh

Shabana Azmi and Farouque Shaikh in Tumhari Amrita.

FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘Nixon and Kissinger let personal judgments cloud their thinking’ Forty-two years ago, the 1971 war came to an end when Bangladesh was liberated.The Blood Telegram exposes how President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger ‘allied with the killers,’ Pakistan, as it unleashed genocide in then East Pakistan. Gary Bass discusses their ‘moral blindness,’ why they hated India and Indira Gandhi, and their plan to draw China into the conflict with Arthur J Pais

President Richard Nixon, right, meets with Henry Kissinger in the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, DC

n the night of March 25, 1971, when the Pakistan army began ‘a relentless crackdown on Bengalis, all across what was then East Pakistan and is today an independent Bangladesh,’ Princeton University Professor Gary J Bass writes in his The Blood Telegram, ‘Untold thousands of people were shot, bombed, or burned to death in Dacca (now Dhaka) alone.’ ‘(Archer) Blood (the American consul) had spent that grim night on the roof of his official residence, watching as tracer bullets lit up the sky, listening to clattering machine guns and thumping tank guns,’ Bass records in his disturbing book,

PHOTO BY NATIONAL ARCHIVE/NEWSMAKERS

which explores material in Washington recently declassified. ‘There were fires across the ramshackle city. He knew the people in the deathly darkness below. He liked them. Many of the civilians facing the bullets were professional colleagues; some were his friends,’ Bass writes in his book. Blood and his staffers thought they had to ‘relay as much of this as they possibly could back to Washington.’ ‘Witnessing one of the worst atrocities of the Cold War, Blood’s consulate documented in horrific detail the slaughter of Bengali civilians: An area the size of two dozen city blocks

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FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE

India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘Nixon and Kissinger let personal judgments cloud their thinking’ M8 that had been razed by gunfire; two newspaper office buildings in ruins; thatch-roofed villages in flames; specific targeting of the Bengali Hindu minority,’ Bass notes in his book. The book with the secondary title Nixon, Kissinger and A Forgotten Genocide has been published in America by Knopf. ‘The US consulate gave detailed accounts of the killings at Dacca University, ordinarily a leafy, handsome enclave. At the wrecked campus, professors had been hauled from their homes to be gunned down,’ The Blood Telegram records. ‘The provost of the Hindu dormitory, a respected scholar of English, was dragged out of his residence and shot in the neck. Blood listed six other faculty members “reliably reported killed by troops,” with several more possibly dead.’ ‘One American who had visited the campus said that students had been “mowed down” in their rooms or as they fled, with a residence hall in flames and youths being machine-gunned,’ Bass adds in his well-received book. In Washington, President Richard M Nixon and his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, with their raging dislike for India and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, refused to support India even as millions of refugees poured into India. ‘The slaughter in what is now Bangladesh stands as one of the cardinal moral challenges of recent history,’ Bass writes in The Blood Telegram, ‘although today it is far more familiar to South Asians than to Americans. It had a monumental impact on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh — almost a sixth of humanity in 1971.’ ‘In the dark annals of modern cruelty, it ranks as bloodier than Bosnia and by some accounts in the same rough league as Rwanda.’ ‘It was a defining moment for both the United States and India, where their humane principles were put to the test.’ Bass sees things in a larger perspective. ‘When we think of US leaders failing the test of decency in such moments,’ he writes, ‘we usually think of uncaring disengagement: Franklin Roosevelt fighting World War II without taking serious steps to try to rescue Jews from the Nazi dragnet, or Bill Clinton standing idly by during the Rwandan genocide.’ ‘But Pakistan’s slaughter of its Bengalis in 1971 is starkly different. Here the United States was allied with the killers. The White House was actively and knowingly supporting a murderous regime at many of the most crucial moments. There was no question about whether the United States should intervene; it was already intervening on behalf of a military dictatorship decimating its own people.’ ‘This stands as one of the worst moments of moral blindness in US foreign policy. Pakistan’s crackdown on the Bengalis was not routine or small-scale killing, not something that could be dismissed as business as usual, but a colossal and systematic onslaught.’ ‘Midway through the bloodshed, both the Central

A 1971 photograph showing Mukti Bahini troops on the way to the frontline in East Pakistan during the war for the independence of Bangladesh.

war in East Pakistan and during the war itself. I had expected Nixon and Kissinger to be coolly rationalizing their decisions; but in fact they are remarkably angry and emotional and let personal judgments cloud a lot of their thinking. I was surprised by the way India was sponsoring the insurgency inside East Pakistan. I did think the Indian government as a good neighbor believed in the national sovereignty of Pakistan. But in fact what you have them (the Indians) saying is that they are talking about human rights, they are talking about genocide. In fact, they are sponsoring this massive insurgency inside of East Pakistan. And I was surprised, lastly, by the courage of the people in the Dacca (the US) consulate. It was just physically very dangerous to be operating in the middle of this devastating military crackdown. These American officials, especially Archer Blood, the consul, took tremendous risks. On top of that, they had real moral courage; they stick up for basic principles of human rights — knowing that doing that is going to be very, very, bad for their careers. If you think about what else is happening in 1971. You think about Vietnam, right? Where there are all sorts of American officials who are refusing to pass bad news along to Washington, who are refusing to tell the truth to their superiors. And here you have these guys in Dacca who do their job in a really WILLIAM LOVELACE/GETTY IMAGES honorable way. I thought it is extraordinary to see it. I think it would be good if we remember people like Archer Blood who showed the diplomacy of the United States at its very best even as Kissinger and Nixon were shown at its worst. There are things (in the book) that I think maybe helpful for making public policy in the future and having an American government to listen to its diplomats on the ground and listen to its experts around the world. That I think is important — there is a real danger of having the White House that has a politicized view of developments in some parts of the world and not being willing to listen to what its people on the ground are telling them. In 1971, that was the Dacca consulate led by a man named Archer Blood who warned Nixon and Kissinger about the repression and the killings by Pakistani army and the genocide in East Pakistan, aimed in a great deal against the Hindus. What would Blood have wished Washington to do? It is an amazing story! Blood is a career foreign service officer; a very patriotic, disciplined, loyal public servant. He is not a radical within the US government; he is not looking to Intelligence Agency and the State Department conservativemake some big political stand. ly estimated that about two hundred thousand people had He is quite ambitious actually; he is looking to move up lost their lives. Many more would perish, cut down by within the US government, but he is an honest reporter of Pakistani forces or dying in droves in miserable refugee what is happening at his station and he and his staff report camps,’ The Blood Telegram notes. in great detail about the military crackdown that Pakistan Bass delves deeper into that time in conversation with launches across what was then East Pakistan and is now India Abroad. Bangladesh starting on the night of March 25, 1971. Blood’s consulate is sending cable after cable to What surprised you most while researching this book? Washington detailing the scale of the killing; and again, I was surprised almost constantly... My work as a historian more or less, dead silence. is not specifically on South Asia, which I think was helpful in So they try to increase the volume; the rhetoric gets a way. I did not come to the project with any particular prelouder, they start talking about genocide and still no conceptions. I was just trying to figure out what had actually response from Washington. happened. What I was surprised was by the level of rage and emotion inside the White House in the months leading to the brutal M10

Blood’s consulate is sending cable after cable to Washington detailing the scale of the killing; and again, more or less, dead silence. So they try to increase the volume; the rhetoric gets louder, they start talking about genocide and still no response from Washington. Then they finally sent in a full scale dissent cable where almost everybody from the Dacca consulate formally dissents from American foreign policy.

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FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘Nixon and Kissinger let personal judgments cloud their thinking’

Then they finally sent in a full scale dissent cable where almost everybody from the Dacca consulate formally dissents from American foreign policy, saying we consider this policy to be morally bankrupt in the face of what the people in the Dacca consulate call genocide. It is really an extraordinary statement; it is the first official dissent cable sent by US diplomats. should do nothing now for people in (The State Department had created the idea of East Pakistan. having formal dissent cables in the Vietnam I think Biafra is not a major factor era at a time when there were a lot of American in their decisions. I think the bigger officials who were primarily uncomfortable factors are, first of all, the Cold War with what the US was doing in Vietnam. context of India being officially not Washington wanted to have a way in which aligned, but seeming to a lot of US Foreign Service officers and American diploPresidents, not just Nixon, to be mats in the field could formally register their leaning heavily towards the Soviet protest with US government policy. So, though Union. You also have the role that that was created in the Vietnam era, it was Pakistan is playing in helping with being used for the first time in Bangladesh. America building bridges to China. Since then, dissent cables have happened over Beyond that, you do have, I think, and over again.) the personal feelings of Nixon and But this is the first one and nobody quite Kissinger where Nixon, in particuknows what’s going to happen. Everybody in lar, has a pretty deep contempt for the Dacca consulate knows that signing and India and Indians. sending this cable will be very bad for your How did the contempt for India career, but it is only the senior officials that are COURTESY: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS happen, first, in the case of Nixon really likely to face retaliation. Nobody is going and then, in the case of Kissinger? to bother going after a very junior person in the Above, President Richard Nixon with Pakistan’s military ruler General Yahya Khan. Nixon had real affection for Khan. Nixon prided himself on knowing Dacca consulate. They are not big enough for Below, Nixon with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at the White House, May 1971. On some of his early trips to South a lot about the world and travelling a retribution. The people who really risk retribu- Asia, he felt personally condescended to first by Jawaharlal Nehru and then by Indira Gandhi, which made him lot. On some of his early trips to tion are senior officials, the most important of dislike India. South Asia, he felt personally condethem being Blood. scended to first by Jawaharlal Nehru What kind of debate did people like Blood and then by Indira Gandhi and that trigger? kind of left a bad taste in his mouth. There is a big debate that goes on among the He was treated very well by the State Department and officials in the field, in Pakistani generals, even when he Islamabad and Dacca and Delhi about how the was out of power, even when he was US should respond to this crackdown. Blood sort-of in his wilderness phase. He and also Kenneth Keating, the ambassador to always got a good reception from the India, are arguing that the United States has all military in Pakistan. And that made sorts of leverage over the military in Pakistan. an impression on him. The United States is one of the main arms He was not someone who knew suppliers, helps a lot with giving economic aid, Indian culture or Indian society, and also securing economic aid through interparticularly well, or Pakistani culnational financial institutions and all of this ture or Pakistani society. His meetgives a lot of influence for the United States. ings tended to be with government This is the case where Pakistan is the close US officials and there, the Indians were ally where Pakistan is being heavily supplied quite rude to him. That, definitely, militarily by the United States. I don’t think didn’t help. that gives the United States unlimited leverage, All of those perceptions are but certainly the prospect of economic sancframed by India’s tilt towards the tions, military sanctions, those might well have Soviet Union during the Cold War, changed the minds of people in Islamabad. which was something that Nixon What is so strange about Nixon and who was fiercely anti-Communist, Kissinger is that these are people who ordinardefinitely, did not like. ily are masters at using leverage and are very You also write about the whiskeyexplicit about the ways they would like to use INDIA ABROAD ARCHIVES drinking General Yahya Khan (Pakileverage over foreign governments. They talk stan’s military ruler) who Kissinger about this and they say nobody ever does anythought of as a bit of an idiot. There seems to be a dark comeadministration. But then, he is older, there is not much he thing for us because we are nice. People do stuff for us dy. can do. He really pays a considerable price for this dissent. because we use leverage. But in this case, they make a conYes, but Kissinger thought a lot of people were idiots. Why did Kissinger and Nixon not listen to their diplomats? scious decision not to see what their leverage could do. There is this sort-of at the level of these senior personaliThere is also an argument that Nixon advances — ‘We did not I am sure there were limits to American leverage, but ties, there is this dark comedy. But when you look at the outinterfere in Nigeria during the civil war, which caused many Nixon and Kissinger never even explored what those limits comes, it is all terribly tragic. more deaths.’ might have been. But Nixon has real affection for Yahya Khan. Nixon, who is It is interesting because as a Presidential candidate he Blood paid a heavy price for his honesty. Didn’t he? a solitary and inward kind of man, has a hard time making actually seems to have been at least somewhat troubled by His career was really badly damaged by this. He goes from friends and relating to people, but he is very impressed with what happened when Biafra tried to secede from Nigeria; being consul general to a huge territory, not yet a country Yahya that Yahya seems to be this dashing, Western educatand the Nigerian government crushed the rebellion in Biafra. (then East Pakistan) with 75 million people — a major post ed military guy with a sort of British affectation with a swagSo, that is sort of historically interesting. — to being thrown at a desk job in the State Department. ger. Nixon is very taken with him. As an argument it doesn’t really work logically and to say Kissinger goes from being National Security Adviser to also Throughout 1971, Nixon is not just saying, well, the that I did the wrong thing or therefore I should do the wrong being Secretary of State. Pakistani military are kind of bastards, but they are our basthing again. So, it makes logical sense if you really believe Blood’s career is stalled and finally he winds up leaving the that something really should have been done to help people State Department. He doesn’t get to try and re-launch his in Biafra, then it doesn’t follow from that that therefore you career until much later. He tries to restart it in the Carter M11

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FORGOTTEN GENOCIDE

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

‘Nixon and Kissinger let personal judgments cloud their thinking’ M10 tards and we need them. He is not just saying, they are our Cold War allies. What Nixon is saying, which is captured on the White House tapes, is that Yahya is a decent man, Yahya’s an honorable man. So, he really has a kind of remarkable, personal loyalty to Yahya throughout the crisis. It starts out with a higher opinion of Yahya and then actually meeting with him in July 1971 in Islamabad, Kissinger comes away from that convinced Yahya is actually a kind of an idiot and tells Nixon that a couple of times, which Nixon particularly doesn’t like. Had Nixon had a better, more favorable opinion of Indira Gandhi, would it have changed the course of things, this terrible history? I think it would have made some difference. It is hard to tell, exactly, how much. On the one hand, you have the big structural factors of the Cold War and India’s pro-Soviet politics that, I think, any American President would have disliked. Dwight Eisenhower didn’t like India’s pro-Soviet leanings, John F Kennedy didn’t like India’s pro-Soviet leanings... So, that is not unique to Nixon. But Nixon has particularly bad blood with (Indira) Gandhi and she with him. I mean she hates him too — there is no question that this is mutual animosity. So, it is very hard for them to communicate; there is not a lot of trust between these two leaders at a time when it might have been helpful. If (Indira) Gandhi had been making appeals to Nixon and he had been willing to listen, it might have helped. But she would sometimes say things which the US government knew were outright lies. She would say that India is not backing the Bengali guerrillas operating inside of East Pakistan, who were operating with massive secret support from the Indian government. The US government knew that. It had a pretty good sense of the scale on which India was backing this Bengali insurgency. So, when (Indira) Gandhi would tell the Americans, ‘We have nothing to do with this,’ that would have undermined her credibility, no matter who the president was. (Indira) Gandhi would say time and time again, ‘No, no, no, we’re not backing the rebels. We respect Pakistan’s sovereignty.’ You write that you requested Kissinger to be interviewed and he refused... I actually requested an interview with Kissinger four times. He or his office ignored the first two (times). I never got an answer. Finally, I got an answer from him refusing; and, then after that I sent a final appeal saying ‘Are you sure here are some of the things that I am going to have to talk about in the book and I’d love to have your perspective so that I can include it in the book.’ I really do want to include the perspective of everyone who is involved in the crisis. Certainly, I would have loved to have heard from Kissinger so I could put that in the book. Because he would not talk to me, I had to rely more on his staff. There were two officials working on South Asia; one

Henry Kissinger, left — with senior Pakistani diplomat Agha Hilaly in Rawalpindi, July 8, 1971 — on his way to China for the now famous secret trip. Gary Bass says Kissinger wanted the US to secretly ask China to mobilize troops in the Himalayas to challenge India and distract it from the fighting in the west and in the east.

COURTESY: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

was working on China. I spent a lot of time talking to them to make sure that I was getting the White House perspective to include that in the book. You know, just to be fair you want to include everyone’s perspective. What kind of perspective were you looking for from Kissinger, if you had spoken to him, met him? I wonder if he feels any sense of regret. I wonder if he still is thinking from a real political perspective. If he sees any missed opportunities to change the relationship between the United States and India when India was desperate for help with millions of refugees, as many as 10 million refugees, who fled from East Pakistan into India… I don’t think you were ever going to rip India completely away from the Soviet Union. But he could have changed the relationship, made it better. I wonder if he sees any missed opportunities there. When you were writing the book, Nixon was gone a long time. If he were alive, would you have asked Nixon the same question you might want to ask Kissinger? I would have asked similar questions although there are some points where Nixon and Kissinger disagreed. Nixon had more of a sentimental fondness for Yahya; Nixon had more of a racial animosity towards India. Kissinger indulges (him) when Nixon says the Indians need a massive famine, Kissinger doesn’t contradict him or say that is too much. He says they (the Indians) are such bastards. But there is an incident in December 1971, during the war between India and Pakistan, which results in the creation of independent Bangladesh where Kissinger has the idea that the United States will secretly ask China to mobilize troops in the Himalayas to challenge India and that will sort of pull some Indian troops away from fighting in the west and in the east with Pakistan and pull them north to take this possible risk of a Chinese intervention. There is considerable danger attached to that because if China really did get involved in the war, then the Soviet Union would have to get involved to back up India, and then the United States would probably have to get involved to back up China. Nixon had a good point of view — that this is a crisis that is not likely to turn out well. Pakistan is militarily outgunned and Pakistan is going to lose the war. Let us cut our losses, let us not invest too deeply in this. Kissinger is urging Nixon that this is a crucial moment. He says I consider this our Rhineland. So he makes a comparison to the run-up to World War II. For Kissinger, it is a crucial moment where he also compares it to the Suez; the crucial moment where the United States needs to firmly stand up against the Soviet-backed aggression as Kissinger sees it. But Nixon is unconvinced and he winds up saying he does not want to risk it. It is Kissinger who keeps pushing him and finally gets Nixon to move forward in this potentially quite dangerous confrontation with the Soviet Union. I wonder, in retrospect, if Nixon would have regretted that. I wonder if Nixon thinks he got bad advice from Kissinger.

In what way did Kissinger push Nixon into possible confrontation? He says to Nixon, ‘If we don’t stand up to the Soviets here that they are going to see that we are weak and they are going to poke at us in all sorts of other places: In Indonesia, and in the Middle East. If we don’t show strength here in South Asia, then you should expect Soviet challenges in lots of other strategic parts of the world.’ And that is the argument that helps to convince Nixon. Kissinger also says the Soviets will fold; the Soviets will back down every time we stand up to them. To my surprise, I would have thought they would at least have had a discussion about what will we do if the Soviets don’t back down, what if the Soviets escalate. Interestingly, they don’t have that conversation. I think that is bad advice to the President. You always want to give the President a range of likely, possible, scenarios. It is possible in the war of 1971, that the Soviets would have felt a considerable pressure to support India. You also write about how Kissinger tried to take credit for the ceasefire in West Pakistan. Yes, Kissinger come out of the war, believing that there were people in the Indian government who wanted not just victory on the eastern front, not just liberation in the independent Bangladesh, but also wanted an opportunity to prosecute a major war effort against West Pakistan. It is not clear whether Indira Gandhi took that particularly seriously. The Indian records about the war are quite incomplete. American records are much more complete. So, we know a lot more about the American government’s decision throughout this period, including on the war. The Indian government’s papers are not as nearly comprehensive as what you get on the American side except when you actually get to the war when there is very little on the archives as to what the Indian government was thinking. What we do know is that (Indira) Gandhi chose not to wage a wider war to rip apart West Pakistan. The fighting on the western front was much more inconclusive. On the eastern front, the Indian forces, helped by the Bengali rebel forces, were doing very well. But on the western front, it is really brutal and bloody. Some of the most terrible fighting of the war were those pitched tank and artillery battles on the western front. So it is not like you see imminent, decisive, victory over West Pakistan. There is the danger that continuing the war against West Pakistan might bring China or the United States to do some sort of intervention. And you never know how well a war is going to go. The Indian war effort had gone quite well in the east; but that is no guarantee that it is going to go well in the west. West Pakistan is really a much, much, tougher military objective than East Pakistan was. So, (Indira) Gandhi makes the prudent decision thinking that we did well in the east. So, let us have a ceasefire. Kissinger and Nixon think it is because of the steps that they have taken to try to threaten India, so the secret move to try and get the Chinese to move troops on the northern front. They think it is due to the arms transfer to West Pakistan, which takes place during the war even though the White House staff, the State Department staff and the Pentagon lawyers warn that this is illegal. The famous intervention of sailing the USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal is something that is deeply resented in India. Nixon and Kissinger think these actions taken together saved West Pakistan. Kissinger says, ‘Congratulations Mr President, you saved West Pakistan.’ They believe what they want to believe... If anyone saved West Pakistan, it is the Pakistani troops who fought very, very bravely against India.

LIFE’S LIKE THAT

M12

Ashwath Nityanandan

on a memorable New Year’s Eve. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh

y son speaks English with a gravelly western New York accent. My daughter has a light mid-Atlantic lilt. I tell them that they would both share the same Bay Area dialect today if my answering machine had not frozen up one New Year’s Eve many moons ago. The answer-phone was a cutting-edge piece of Radio Shack technology with two cassette tapes, several delicate knobs and buttons and temperature-sensitive moving parts. In an age before mass e-mail and wireless telephony, it was my employment lifeline during a snowy December in Rochester. Though we had little money in the bank, my wife and I were kid-free and mobile. We had already bought tickets to San Francisco for the holidays before my career hit the deck. So we decided to go freeload off my friend Pannir in Berkeley anyway. I justified this New Year’s junket as a job-hunting investment by adopting another friend’s address and phone number in Silicon Valley as my own. Prospective employers would, I hoped, jump at the chance of interviewing a good engineer who appeared to be just down the road at Velu’s address, rather than an expensive airfare across the continent. The only catch was that Velu himself was going the opposite way to watch the ball go up in Times Square. He promised to check his own answering machine regularly and relay the messages to my answering machine in Rochester, which I would in turn check remotely from the west coast. In theory, I would then pounce on the killer local interviews that I was sure were awaiting me everywhere around the Golden Gate. This byzantine scheme faded after a week in California. Bored of idling in Pannir’s pad, we arm-wrestled him to sneak his borrowed 1977 Chevy station wagon away for a lazy drive past redwood forests and up to Yosemite. His roommate Zhing came with us. Zhing said little, but he was fond of driving and we let him drive all he wanted. Lacking the nerve to camp in the frost of high altitudes, we spent a comfortable night in a heated cabin. Then we circled back down to do some sightseeing north of the bay. Every few hours, every day, my fist-sized answering machine remote control screeched into a pay phone somewhere as I checked my messages in Rochester. Nothing but silence greeted me. By the time New Year’s Eve had arrived, I had given up any pretense of job hunting and was ready for some real action. My wife had taken over the driving from Zhing at the end of our cruise. As we entered San Fran, she took a deep breath and ended the year on a crazy bet. She launched the giant car at rocket speed down the 120 degree zigzag incline of Lombard Street. Weak with laughter, we checked the wheel rims down on the waterfront and wondered where we should find ourselves at midnight. We soon discovered where Zhing would be. When we got home to Berkeley we found seventeen platters of dough

Hiring

THE MAGAZINE India Abroad January 10, 2014

freeze

skins scattered about the apartment, along with huge pots of raw cabbage, pork and ginger. Zhing had rounded up a group of his friends to make potstickers, apparently a Chinese new year tradition. We wished them well and went out on the town. After a couple of hours of dallying we ended up in a dark and grimy bar in Oakland. This unimpressive locale turned out to host the best blues band I have ever heard. The black lead man played his mouth organ with a radio-controlled amplifier strapped to his belt. Its shrill brilliance transfixed the crowd table by table as he walked around and serenaded each of us at point blank range. Halfway through the performance another AfricanAmerican walked into the tavern. The musicians slowed their pace and turned to look. The lead man dropped his harmonica, walked up and hugged the newcomer. He waved him onto the stage and motioned to the bassist to hand over his instrument. The unexpected guest shrugged and strapped it on.

While the rest of the band played on uninterrupted, his hands hung motionless over the bass strings for a few seconds. They suddenly came to life. As he picked up the riff to perfection, I felt my hair standing on end. If this had been a cheap 21st century novel, my cell phone would have rung at this point with a call from Velu, capping the perfect evening with a midnight interview call. Unfortunately the technology was not there yet, and neither was my luck. I had no way of calling Velu, so I had nothing to worry about except watching for the countdown recorded in New York three hours earlier. It turned out that the band had other things to worry about. As they finished their gig, a hat was passed around. The lead man laid down his harmonica again, this time to cry out: “Give generously! Keep us out of jail...” We stayed well past midnight. Long after the music was over, we walked into Pannir’s apartment to find Zhing and his friends in utter hysterics over a bottle of whiskey. There were potsticker remains scattered all over the place. We had a flight back east at six am, and sleeping in the midst of that mayhem looked impossible. So we packed up and said goodbye. The flight back was cold and listless after a week spent playing in the sun. Rochester surprised us with a flash of blue sky as we turned over the edges of the Great Lakes. Feeling a little better as we entered our own apartment, we rushed to turn the heat back on. Turn the heat back on. I could not remember turning it down that far...fifty degrees Fahrenheit? Rubbing my hands, I walked over to the answering machine. It showed a green light, but when I hit Play nothing happened. An icy horror crept up on me. There was a message there, but I could not play it. I paced about the defrosting apartment for more than an hour before I heard a beep. The answering machine had finally warmed up out of its hibernation. This time the Play button brought up Velu’s voice. Where the hell are you, man? These guys in Cupertino keep calling for you and I don’t know what to tell them. Yes, I finally did go back to California for the interview a few weeks later. But by then I was second in line for the job. They said they really wanted me, but they really had to wait for the first guy to say no. The first guy said yes. We ended up moving around the country to clean up our career messes. We have long since put away our brooms and settled in, but I never again tried to save on heating bills over New Year’s. And my kids still don’t sound like they are from the same family. Ashwath Nityanandan sits on the diversity council of a large corporation, where his job is in manufacturing infrastructure. His professional interest lies in studying the effect of human systems on technology, especially on the factory floor.

RESPONSE FEATURE Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014

ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS

India Calling

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014

India Abroad January 2014

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India Abroad January 2014

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014

‘For the Indian community spread across the globe’ The 12th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, the flagship event of this ministry, will be held in New Delhi, 7-9 January, 2014. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will be the partner ministry for the event. In the forthcoming PBD, we are expecting enthusiastic participation from our heterogeneous and diverse overseas Indian community spread across the globe. The PBD convention provides a unique platform for overseas Indians to interact among themselves and with the Government of India and of various Indian States. It is a forum where the Government of India exhibits investment opportunities in India and its potential in various sectors. During PBD 2014, we shall also focus on issues concerning the younger generation of Indian Diaspora. Considering the opportunity that the PBD presents for overseas Indians, as well as the prestige attached to the event, I would like to personally invite you to attend the PBD. I look forward to seeing you in New Delhi. Vayalar Ravi Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs

PBD 2014: Program at a Glance Pravasi Bharatiya Divas : 7-9 January 2014 ‘Engaging Diaspora: The Indian Growth Story’ Venue: Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi DAY 1: JANUARY 7 0830 onwards

Registration

0930-1100

Inaugural Session of Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

1100-1130

Tea/Coffee Break

1130-1300

Plenary Session of Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: Aspirations of Diaspora Youth

1300-1400

Lunch Break

1400-1600

Concurrent Sessions on: Sharing a Common Heritage: The Emotional Connect and Young Achievers

1600-1630

Tea/Coffee Break

1630 - 1800

Concluding Session

1900 onwards

Cultural Evening & Dinner (The Ashok Hotel)

DAY 2: JANUARY 8 0900-1000

Inaugural Session

1000-1030

Tea/Coffee break

1030-1300

Plenary Session 1 - India’s Growth & Development Agenda

1300-1400

Lunch

1400-1600

Plenary Session 2 - India’s Soft Power

1600-1630

Tea/Coffee break

1630-1745

PBD Oration

1900 onwards

Cultural Evening & Dinner (The Ashok Hotel)

DAY 3: JANUARY 9

SANJAY SAWANT

0930-1130

Plenary Session 3 — Investment Opportunities in States

1130-1200

Tea/Coffee break

1200-1330

Separate Parallel State Sessions

1330-1430

Lunch Break

1430-1600

Concurrent Sessions on: Innovation & Technology, Healthcare opportunities in India, Meeting of Diaspora Organizations, Making India the Hub of Media & Entertainment Industry, Issues of NRIs in the Gulf

1600-1630

Tea/Coffee break

1700-1800

Valedictory Session and Conferment of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards

1900 onwards

Cultural Evening & Dinner (The Ashok Hotel)

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014/NEWS

India Abroad January 2014

The first PBD in 2003 was attended by almost 4,000 delegates. Since then, the attendance has been shrinking. We need to have some new ideas to make it appealing, says Dr Thomas Abraham.

Forging a new role benefit India. People of Indian origin could assume a new role in providing help in case of crisis to their communities around the world. India too can do a lot so that its overseas children can give back to their motherland.

erably changed from a poor country trying to survive itself to a country with the latest technology achievements. It is in the interest of NRIs/PIOs to achieve a developed and strong India. And we are committed to do our parts in India’s development. With a large number of NRIs taking active interest in India’s development, several new non-governmental organizations have been launched worldwide to promote education, health care water management, rural development and self-help programs. NRIs and PIOs are also increasingly supporting several non-governmental organizations in India in a range of developmental, educational and social programs. PBD has been providing platforms to discuss how NRIs/PIOs could actively participate with government agencies and NGOs in India. Interaction with the right authorities in India could motivate more NRIs/PIOs to help in developing a better India.

Need for mobilizing the community

What the Indian government can do

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is a good platform for India to connect with its Diaspora. Their talents should be used for the country’s development, says Thomas Abraham

or the last 12 years, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has become an annual pilgrimage for many non-resident Indians and Person’s of Indian Origin. I have had opportunity to attend all eleven PBDs starting from 2003. The first one was attended by almost 4,000 delegates. Since then, the delegates’ attendance has been shrinking, although in the last five years, it has remained between 1,500 to 2000. PBD has lost its charm in attracting important players among NRIs/PIOs. We need to have some new ideas to make it appealing to overseas Indians. The last decade has seen NRIs/PIOs becoming enormously rich, thanks to the information technology revolution. The Indian Diaspora has become a most sought after group to be attracted for investments, whether it is in developing countries like Trinidad and Mauritius or countries like the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia who want new investments. The biggest contribution from the global Indian Diaspora has been to build a positive image of India in other countries. The Diaspora has contributed to increased trade, investments and business opportunities between India and the countries they live in. Many of these are experts in different fields and their talents should be used for India’s development by motivating them to attend the event and fully utilize their visit to

As a first step toward bringing our communities together, the Indian-American community, under the leadership of the National Federation of Indian American Associations, took the initiative to organize the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York in 1989. The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin was formed at this convention to help in networking our communities and take up common issues to the larger community. Although, our initial thrust was in human rights violations of Diaspora Indians worldwide, our objectives have now changed to creating economic opportunities by pooling our professional and financial resources to achieve economic progress not only for our Diaspora communities, but also for India.

A strong India helps NRIs too

In the last 3 decades, the perception of India has consid-

With the emerging economic influence of the overseas Indian community, the government of India took several steps to bring the Diaspora closer to the motherland. GOPIO and other Diaspora organizations have been campaigning on several issues for the last two decades. We have over 10 million Indian passport holders living outside India. India has also accorded voting rights for Indians living outside the country. However, very few NRI citizens can avail this opportunity since they have to be present in their hometown when the voters lists are updated. There is no opportunity to register by mail. Also, voters have to be present in person to vote at the assigned polling booth. The only solution to this is to accord mail voting or online electronic voting. A truly democratic way to provide representation to Indian citizens living outside India in the Indian parlia-

Page S5

India Abroad January 2014

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014

‘All we want from the government is to give us visa’ RITU JHA

nder Singh, chairman, Global Organization of People of Indian Origin International, who has been attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas since 2004, says this might be his last visit. “The excitement has not been there,” the 81-year-old told India Abroad. “Personally you gain nothing. It’s about community involvement.” Also attending the PBD, he said, was expensive. Pegging the amount between $5,000 to $10,000 — what he called a conservative estimate — he said, “You have to spend from your pocket.” To add to that the government has GOPIO International hopes to bring up the issues raised the entry fee this year; a ticket surrounding the functioning of BLS International and the cost $250 to $300, depending on the passports of Overseas Citizens of India at PBD 2014. days you attend. The 12th edition of PBD is themed ‘Engaging Diaspora: Connecting rial building in San Francisco. The Gadar movement celeAcross Generations.’ GOPIO, which takes up brated its centenary year in 2013, and in honor of that issues of the Indian Diaspora, is represented by a large deleIndian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had released a gation at the event. This year they will focus on ‘The Indian postal stamp at PBD and announced an upgrade for the Diaspora: Engaging PIOs of Today and Tomorrow.’ Gadar museum in San Francisco — where the movement Singh has been involved in tackling various visa-related started — to a functional library and museum. The proviissues and the issue of the high fee attached to ‘surrender sions for this were included in the India’s budget last year. certificate.’ “We fought with the Indian government and we Singh lobbied hard for this and on his agenda was a meetjust asked for what we deserve,” he said. ing with the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Overseas He is also involved in the remodeling of the Gadar memo-

Indian Affairs to clarify the updates on the project. “Being an international chairman we have to find out where we stand with regard to this building,” he said. He also brought up the functioning of BLS International US, a visa application center that was awarded contract this year by the Indian government He accused the company of having inefficient and careless staff and said users had faced problems in the US as well as in Canada. “This company have not been able to deliver,” he said. “All we want from the government is to give us visa and they can’t even deliver that.” Singh said he would also raise the issues surrounding the passports of Overseas Citizens of India — especially the requirement of reapplying for a new passport for those below 20 and over 50 years of age. HITESH HARISINGHANI He said the Indian government was going to merge the Person of Indian Origin card and OCI card, and added, “We have to see what new rules are coming in. We have given them input and the parliament has authorized to move ahead and merge the two. PIO gives only 15 years of visa. When you get Green Card in the US, it’s for lifetime and it does not ask for your photo or to reapply after a certain age. We have asked them why don’t they follow the American system.”

Forging a new role Page S4 ment is to create two or three Lokh Sabha seats for NRIs and appoint a couple of NRIs to the Rajya Sabha.

Need for fast track courts for NRIs

Many NRIs/PIOs keep their emotional ties alive to their motherland by maintaining their hereditary property. They are committed to contributing financially and otherwise to the growth and progress of India. They have substantially invested or are in the process of investing in residential and commercial real estate. But there have been a growing number of scams related to NRIs/PIOs hereditary, residential and commercial properties. Most overseas Indians who have hereditary property are at a great disadvantage to contest property issues in Indian courts, which take an unusually long time. NRIs/PIOs need to be present on many occasions before the courts. PBD 2009 took up this issue, but we are

yet see corrective measures from the central government agencies and state governments. The Diaspora would like to approach fast track courts for the speedy settlement of their property issues.

NRI advisory committees

The Indian ministries of commerce, science and technology, power, alternative energy, agriculture, rural development and tourism should have separate NRI/PIO advisory committees which should meet on a regular basis to seek ways to involve overseas Indians in developmental activities related to the individual ministries. Public and private partnerships to promote new technology business To motivate private companies and young entrepreneurs, the central and state government agencies as well as semi-government agencies should establish mechanism to launch public and private partnerships to promote innovations and technology development and commercialization. Here the Diaspora businessmen as well as entrepreneurs could a

large play role. There should be centers of excellence initiated by the central government as well as the state governments around various Indian Institutes of Technology and other leading engineering and science institutions. Diaspora scientists and technologists could be part of such centers. There are a few such centers in India now and PBD is the right opportunity to invite such eminent technologists and entrepreneurs to visit and interact with their counterparts.

Commercialize technologies from Indian labs With the Indian government spending enormous funds for industrial research and development, we need to recover that investment by commercializing the research and development findings to useful technologies. NRIs/PIOs can help to commercialize such technologies from CSIR and other laboratories.

During earlier PBDs a few seminars were organized on nanotechnology, solar energy products and pure sciences. However, the net outcome has been poor since not enough groundwork was done to attract the right players among NRIs/PIOs and from India. It was like a botched up effort to organize such seminars. NRI/PIOs as global citizens have done a great job in building a good image for their motherland in their respective countries. They have worked behind the scene to create interest among companies to take interest in India. Similar to what China has accomplished to become a powerful country in the world with the help of its Diaspora, Indian Diaspora is also contributing to make India reach new heights of success. Dr Thomas Abraham founded the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin and now serves as its executive trustee. He is also a board member of the South Asian Council for Social Services. Dr Abraham was received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2008.

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014/NEWS

India Abroad January 2014

The largest US contingent at PDB AAPI brings the message of its Global Healthcare Summit to New Delhi. Aziz Haniffa reports

From left, Dr Ravi Jahagirdar, president-elect, AAPI; Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi; Dr Jayesh Shah, president, AAPI; and Dr Ronak Shah, chair, local organizing committee, Global Healthcar Summit during the planning stages in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

he contingent of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin — the largest and arguably most influential international medical group in the US — constitutes the largest United States delegation to Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014, New Delhi, January 7-9. They were to bring with them the recommendations and declarations of AAPI’s Global Healthcare Summit, which was held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, January 3-5, to garner support for their implementation. The GHS was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Ministry of Health and the Gujarat government, and AAPI lauded Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his cooperation towards making it successful. Dr Jayesh Shah, the youngest president of AAPI in its 30-year history and the first second-generation physician to be at the organization’s helm, told India Abroad, “We are extremely excited to be able to host this conference in Ahmedabad — the city that has Gandhi Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi conceptualized the independence of India. We hope we can conceptualize the concept of access to affordable and quality health care in India and globally.” Modi — who Shah said had accepted every request they made — was to speak on these issues for India. The event was to be keynoted by the likes of India’s Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, India’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad, Gujarat Chief Minister and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, former Indian President Abdul J Kalam, and T K A Nair, adviser and confidante to Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. “This conference has attracted more than 300-400 international delegates and 1,000 national delegates and all of the international delegates are experts,” Shah said before heading to Ahmedabad. “Several of Gujarat medical college alumni in the US — and we have over 10,000 of them

all across the US — are taking part in this summit.”

hah said that since the first GHS, organized by AAPI in 2007 to coincide with the PBD, several tangibles that had contributed significantly to the quality of health care in India and US-India cooperation in medical services had been achieved. “We now have an ongoing cooperation and dialogue regularly with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, the Health Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office and we are on the verge of a ground-breaking alliance between AAPI, IMA (Indian Medical Association) and the Medical Council of India,” he said. “Some of the tangibles we have achieved working with these ministries and the Indian medical groups are a smoking ban in public places — which originated in the Indo-US Health Care Summit, organized by AAPI — the concept of emergency medical care in India, the development of a pocket guide for diabetes and health care providers.” He said, “We have also kicked off infectious diseases fellowships for Indian physicians in the US; mooted a white paper on the status of organ transplantation in India; and funded studies and extensive research on prevention, early detection and management of cervical cancer, prevention of oral cancer, prevention of blindness in young children.” He added, “Also under the leadership of Dr Thakor Patel — one of our most dedicated and committed leaders — we have started a Sevak project for diabetes screening in 26 villages. And, of course, our charitable foundation has continued with its sustained work; this year we opened another new AAPI charitable clinic in Cochin. We now have 15 clinics across India, which cater to over 1 million patients every year.” Shah says the sole aim of the GHS is to ‘advance the accessibility, affordability and the quality of world-class health care to the people of India’ and it provides a forum for ‘giving back to our motherland.’

GHS 2014, Shah said, would focus on prevention,

diagnosis, treatment options and ways to improve health care, transcending global boundaries. He told India Abroad, “On the agenda is how we can foster a working relationship and develop five-year plan on how AAPI, NGOs and the government can work together for providing access to affordable and quality health care.” He spoke about the opening of an international training center for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support/Basic Life Support at the Baroda Medical College in Gujarat, the launch of AAPI diabetes guidelines for all primary care physicians, and a unique session on publicprivate partnership interaction. He said, “The memorandum of understanding between AAPI and the American Heart Association that allows AAPI to do basic cardiac life support and advanced life support (training) will be officially signed at our conference. We hope this will decrease heart attacks and strokes in India.” Dr Ravi Jahagirdar, president-elect, AAPI, said the summit would include scientific programs on high-priority areas like cardiology, diabetes, oncology, surgery, mental health, maternal and child health, allergy-immunology and lung health, health information technology and the impact of co-morbidities. Shah and Jahagirdar said the summit would also include a special session on public-private partnership, featuring AAPI’s charitable arm. Shah told India Abroad, “We will also announce that AAPI’s Sevak project will be expanded from 30 villages to 100 villages across several states in India, and we will launch the Swasth India portal in partnership with the Ministry of Health — something that was conceptualized two years ago.” They were to also host a seminar on Return to India, where a high-caliber faculty would share the experiences of NRIs — including the financial, real estate and legal challenges — who have returned to India permanently. Shah revealed that the summit would, for the first time, include a major research conference. “Of course, the seminars and workshops will be led by world famous physicians and researchers on a range of topics relevant to developing countries like India and the latest advances on these topics will be disseminated at the summit,” he said. Among those presenting advanced studies and cuttingedge research in areas related to clinical practice and those attending, he said, were Drs John Meiners, executive vice president, American Heart Association; Dennis McChauly, coordinator, American Medical Association; Professors Terry Vanden Hoek and Timothy Erickson from the University of Illinois’ School of Medicine; Drs Stefan Lindgren and Rajam Ramamurthy of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates; Dr Surendranath Krishan from Australia; Dr Gautam Bodiwala from the United Kingdom; Dr Ramesh Mehta, president, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin; Dr Sunil V Patel, president, Canada Association of Physicians of Indian Origin; and B R Shetty, chief executive officer, National Medical Corporation, United Arab Emirates; had also confirmed their participation. He added, “One of our own, Dr Jatin Shah, a world authority on head and neck cancer surgery, who is the professor of surgery at Sloan Kettering in New York; Dr Navin Nanda, the internationally renowned expert on echo-doppler method and president of the American Association of Cardiologists of Indian Origin; Dr Dipen Parikh, professor and chairman, Department of Urology,

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PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014

India Abroad January 2014

AZIZ HANIFFA

‘Health-care project for the villagers, of the villagers and by the villagers’

ver since he retired from the Department of US Veteran Affairs in 2008, Dr Thakor Patel has headed the American Association of Physician of Indian Origin’s Public Health Committee. He conceived, developed, and implemented the Sevak Project. He was to showcase this project, one of AAPI’s most successful ventures to bring access to health care to villages in India, at the Global Healthcare Summit in Ahmedabad. For Patel, currently an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, this has been a labor of love where he’s effectively replicated the US Navy’s template. He told India Abroad, “Drs Ranjita Misra, Padmini Balagopal and I did a study on Indian Americans in the United States and found that the prevalence of diabetes was 17.4 percent. We then did a study in the villages in Tamil Nadu and the prevalence was about 8 percent, but in the village of Karkhadi, there were 300 patients with hypertension. In other villages it was about the same.” He recalled, “Dr Balagopal, who was living in the village to do the study, called me and asked, ‘What do you want to do with these Right, Dr Thakor Patel, left, with Kirti Patel, general manager, Sevak Project. patients?’ I said call the dean and Above Dr Ranjita Misra, second from left, with Sevaks. The project was kicked off in Gujarat and see if he can help. He sent a van is now ready to be replicated in 100 Indian villages. gave treatment for one week. This primary level on cruisers, destroyers as well as other raised a moral dilemma for me as we seemed helpless.” ships,” he said. “I said to myself (what if) I can scale this It bothered Patel, who was trained in nephrology and internal medicine, that the villagers did not get screened program and tailor it to the village. That is how we came for diabetes and hypertension: “If they get sick from these about the Sevak Project. It is a health-care project for the diseases or get complication such as stroke, heart attacks, villagers, of the villagers and by the villagers.” kidney disease, or any of the diabetic complications, they The Sevak project began in 2010, but, he said, it took lose work and salary. They go from poverty to hell in no him three years to get the curriculum and planning done. time.” The project first educates the villagers about diabetes, He dwelled on the dilemma for a couple of months until hypertension, other chronic diseases, the importance of he remembered his time in the US Navy where among the maintaining normal BP and blood sugar, why it’s impormany assignments during his 23-year stint he had also tant to take medication regularly and follow up on medserved as director for Independent Duty Corpsman. ical care and the availability of a sevak in the village for “These IDCs get medical training for a year and provide their medical needs.

r Thakor Patel said the Sevak Project, which began with 26 villages in Gujarat and is now ready for expansion to more than 100 villages, was kick-started with the support of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Local partners like the Bhartiya Seva Samaj, which is overseeing the project, and the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara were then roped in. “The design of this project was based on one person per village per district of Gujarat for a total of 26 individuals — that is sevaks. Upon selection, these individuals underwent health training in Vadodara,” Patel said. He was especially appreciative of the Baroda Medical College for providing

Incubating in Gujarat faculty to train the sevaks and Dr Jivraj Damor for leading the effort and continuing his support by providing refresher training: “This training lasted two months with an emphasis on screening for diabetes, hypertension, chronic disease, sanitation, water purification and lifestyle modification education. The requirement of the sevak was that they should have at least a 12th grade.” He said, “The state of Gujarat was divided into four zones: North, south, central and west, with a coordinator for each. The base education requirement for

the coordinator was a bachelor’s degree. As the coordinator their job is to go to each village once a month and go over the work done by the local sevak, collect the data in an excel file, and email it to me. The data is then sent to Dr Ranjita Misra, who compiles the information into statistics. In addition, Dr Padmini Balagopal creates the lifestyle modification education program for the sevak.” He added, “Modi’s support was crucial. Once he received an annual report from me and he learned that no BP and diabetes pills were present at the Primary

Patel said, “Special cases are referred to city hospitals and in some cases sevaks accompany the patient. The cost is borne by the project.” He said, “The project also includes sanitation, water, lifestyle education and screening and monitoring of health. One of the Sevak’s performance measures is the increase in number of toilets in the village and since their inception, all Sevak villages have doubled the number of toilets and there are some in various stages of construction or funding.” He said the sevaks also constantly educated villagers on the need for having chulhas (wood or coal burning stoves) to be vented outside and for them to be energy efficient. He added, “When I visit the villages and see the work done by the sevaks it gives me a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment. It is also very cheap and the sevaks complement the health care providers.” At the summit, Patel was to present the project in two different settings — one an overview and the second on the Sevak Project as an

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Health Clinics.” Among the others Patel credited for the success of the project were Dr Hemant Patel, who helped to procure financing since he was the AAPI President; corporate friends like Bob Miglani of Pfizer, Inc and Anwar Feroz and Haresh Kaneriya of Johnson & Johnson in helping with glucometers, stylets and strips; his sister Malti Patel’s foundation, Dr Misra in managing the data, and Dr Balagopal in advising. The Guyana Sevak project, he added, was started because of Dr Rahul Jindal, a transplant surgeon in Washington, DC and financed by New York-based philanthropist George Subraj, who wanted to give back to his country, Guyana.

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014/NEWS

India Abroad January 2014

Spreading the message of trauma and emergency care AZIZ HANIFFA

r Navin Shah, former president, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, and the catalyst behind the setting up of trauma centers and emergency medical services in Maharashtra, wants to replicate this template in Ahmedebad, Gujarat. Slated to preside over the seminar on EMS at the AAPI Global Healthcare Summit, held in conjunction with the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, he told India Abroad, “I will present my work in EMS and trauma centers in Maharashtra, which is based on the US model with needed modifications-reflecting the local expertise, infrastructure and available medical facilities. Our Maharashtra program’s information and experience may help improve the Gujarat service.” Noting that India had one of the highest accident mortality rates in the world, where some 1,000 person died daily in accidents, he said, “The more physicians and the public are aware of the services, the more patients will be benefited. This is what I intend to disseminate at the AAPI global summit.” Shah said he had also been granted a meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi: “This will give me an opportunity to provide him with a brief of the Maharashtra trauma center and EMS, which could be cloned in Gujarat. The US has 350 trauma centers and five decades of experience in trauma care. It is this expertise which we brought to bear in Maharashtra, which we can also bring to Gujarat. The EMS and trauma center centers that came to Maharashtra last year were the result of a decade of efforts, Shah said, outlining the achievements of the project. In June 2013, he led a delegation of American trauma surgeons and infectious disease specialists who provided a two-day training in trauma care to over 100 hundred surgeons, selected by the government from across Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government and the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, also signed a collaboration agreement for training of surgeons and other professionals in research, Continuing medical education programs, exchange programs and other related areas.

Dr Navin Shah, former president, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. PARESH GANDHI

He said, “We have two fully paid scholarships — one by shock trauma center in Baltimore and the other by Wake Forest trauma center — to invite two Maharashtra surgeons to the US for training. We have 10 US trauma experts, many of whom are professors of surgery, ready to visit India to train Maharashtra trauma surgeons and cre-

The largest US contingent at PDB Page S6 University of Miami, will also be among the international faculty who will keynote some of our sessions. They will also showcase how some of our Indian-American physicians are the best of the best in the US and should make India proud of them.” Another highlight of the summit was to be a CEO Forum, where chief executive officers of hospitals from around the world, teaching institutions and major health-care sectors — pharmaceutical, medical devices and technology — would explore the potential for collaboration. Shah said billionaire medical entrepreneurs like Dr Kiran Patel of Tampa, Florida, the CEO of Freedom/Optimum Medicare HMO, would apprise participants of medical entrepreneurship and how Indian-American physicians had set up and operated some of the leading health maintenance organization in the US. Jahagirdar said the summit would ‘display how well the Indian doctors have shown themselves as an effective force in the medical world in the US.’

ate institutional affiliations on an ongoing format.” He added, “The government of India has provided some $200 million for this project to create 47 trauma centers and avail the state with 927 ambulances — 75 percent will be basic and 25 percent will have advance facilities.” Shah said he would try to convince Modi to green light similar projects in Gujarat. The US institutions, he said, “stand ready to sign a collaborative agreements in Gujarat too.” Shah will meet Maharashtra officials January 13 to discuss, and hopefully finalize, the program for EMS and trauma care, infectious disease specialty training and the US-India physicians exchange program. The government “has gone into action after all these years and the health ministry has appointed Dr Damodar Bachani to be a nodal official for these projects,” he said. “Our endeavor will be to create services in which, like in the US, the patient is reached in a couple of minutes and treated on the spot and during the transport under the direction of a receiving doctor. The patient is then taken to the right hospital where needed facilities and expertise are ready to treat the patient with superior outcome.” Citing that the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore — the program’s US partner — has a patient morality rate of 5 percent, he said, “This is what we would like cultivate in our Maharashtra program and then hopefully replicate it in Gujarat.” He added, “The central command and communication center is already established for the entire state (Maharashtra) in Pune with GPS services and I have submitted a three-year plan to cover the entire state with services utilizing US collaboration.” Shah also planned to meet with India’s Health Secretary and other senior officials in New Delhi for a centralized and standardized training program for the EMS and trauma care: “I have on the anvil other US trauma centers who would like to have associations and collaborations with the Indian trauma centers so as to continually keep up with the state-of-art practices. The basic idea is to provide prompt and proper emergency care to all, especially for our middle and lower classes for whom availing emergency care is difficult and sometimes just impossible.

‘Health-care project for the villagers, of the villagers and by the villagers’ Page S7 economic model for access to care in rural India. “My main aim at the summit will be to reach out to NGOs and other government agencies to adopt this project as their own and do it in their region, state or country,” he said. “Besides India, we have this project in Guyana in six villages, and the project is successful in multiple ways.” He said, “As a result of this project we became aware that there are many patients in the villages who have been prescribed insulin. They do not have a refrigerator or the means to buy syringes for daily use. They use the syringes multiple times without aseptic precautions. They do the best they can. In light of this I hope to bring to the audience the need for standard guidelines for diabetes, hypertension and other

diseases. The need for research is great as to what can be prescribed for the villagers in severely resource constrained environment.” Another problem that bothered Patel was access to clean drinking water: “But now, with an MOU just signed by AAPI President Dr Jayesh Shah and Hiten Ghosh of WHEELS, Inc, a new NGO formed in the USA by IITians, we plan to address this issue jointly and bring water purification plants to these villages. Patel said, “Several sevak coordinators will be coming to the Global Health Summit and it is my fervent hope that there will be direct contact with the various attendees and government officials to further the project. My goals is to implement this project all over India and make the villages true Gandhian villages — self sustainable in every way, including health.”

India Abroad January 2014

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014

‘Corruption is bleeding our people dry’ Rahul Gandhi speaks up on the economy and politics

investment in education and et me begin by training. But we need to do acknowledging much more. that my last quarThis is the land that proter results have not duced Buddha, Kabir, Tagore exactly been and Ramanujan. We have to resounding. I now know how produce many more worldit feels when you have to go class scientists, artists, and to your AGMs with bad news. philosophers. Over the last The recently held elections decade we have achieved the have made their point. We fastest economic growth in need to have the foresight the history of India. and humility to accept the Despite global headwinds, messages being expressed to Indian industry has sustained us without resorting to the growth because of the energy usual props of statistical data of our business community. and excuse making. A politiThe political stability and cal party’s strength lies in the rational policy environment voice of those it represents. provided by our governments We will listen to the voices also made this possible. we represent. We believe that economic The Congress party has prosperity must include long prided itself in this very everyone. Poverty is neither ability and used it to rise befitting of human dignity, from adversity time and nor is it conducive to good again. We will renew ourbusiness. I would like to state selves. And will fight strong clearly that poverty cannot be and confident in order to fought without growth. protect the values of tolerMaintaining robust growth ance and compassion that are ADNAN ABIDI/REUTERS has enabled the UPA govthe essence of India. You are The Indian Parliament's Lokpal Bill, an anti-corruption law, got the final Presidential assent, January 2. ernment to invest in people. stakeholders of the Congress In 10 years almost a third of party. India’s poor have risen above the poverty ment to the Prevention of Corruption Act Many of you have expressed your frusOur bonds with you date back to 1931 line. will protect honest officers and be much tration with environmental clearances that when Mahatma Gandhi addressed FICCI’s There is a view that our investments in more effective against those who are corare delaying projects unduly. There is fourth annual meeting. We have charted food security, employment guarantee and rupt. The Grievance Redressal Bill will excessive administrative and judicial disthe growth of our nation side by side. You rural development are a drag on economic ensure that every citizen has the right to cretion. The loopholes are so big you can understand the global economic environgrowth. I don’t believe there is a trade off timely delivery of goods and services by drive a truck through some of them! ment well; listening to your voice and between investments in the social sector their government. It includes a mechaEnvironmental and social damage must be heeding it is imperative. and economic growth. It is today’s investnism to redress their grievances in the avoided, but decisions must also be transOver the last few months, many of you ments in people that create tomorrow’s event of any lapse. parent, timely and fair. Accessing land is have spared time to meet with me and dismarkets. It is today’s markets that allow us This government has done more than difficult and time consuming. It’s a strugcuss your views. For this I am grateful. I to invest in our people’s future. A mindset any other government to combat corrupgle. am in complete agreement with the need revolution is the fuel for economic growth. tion. The Right to Information Act has The black market in land has got to go. for the regulatory system to be rapidly and Today self-help groups have shattered been our most powerful weapon in the We need to build a robust and open real radically modernized. Frankly, there are no the hold of moneylenders. They have fight against corruption. The power of estate market, so that businesses, especialexcuses for the length of time required to enabled millions of women to seek credit information is finally in the hands of the ly small startups, have affordable access to clear some of these projects. We are a fastto finance their aspirations. They are the people. This has created a paradigm shift. land. moving economy. We cannot allow you to new age customers for the banks. Women Few governments have had the courage to The UPA government is considering a be held back by slow decision making. now claim credit as their right and see it enact legislation that rendered their Natural Resource Investment SPV. The Accountability has to be clear, fixed and as an opportunity. Such mindset changes processes more transparent and open to idea is to obtain all clearances before auctime bound. are the result of years of sustained political scrutiny. tioning projects to private players. This is The Cabinet Committee on Investment effort and investment in people — in their I am proud to say that the RTI has a powerful and innovative idea. and the Project Monitoring Group are a education, their health, in rural infrastrucshown all concerned the writing on the Corruption is bleeding our people dry. It recognition of the need to fast track clearture and job creation. wall and, in some cases, it has shown them is an unacceptable burden on the people of ances. Some 300 projects with an investThe most important thing that we have the wall of Tihar Jail. our nation. We must fight corruption with ment of over Rs 5 lakh crore (Rs 5 trillion to do is to create fulfilling and rewarding I would now like to talk about some key all our strength and determination. or $80.84 billion), about 5 percent of jobs for our youngsters. Those who are policy areas. Recently, we have been able to ensure GDP, have been cleared. Sectors affected poor, those who belong to the middle class We desperately need better knowledge that convicted criminals are kept out of by delays in clearances such as power, and those among the 700 million people and innovation systems. We need you to Parliament. In the process, I got to learn petroleum and mining have been the above the poverty line but below the midincrease investment in education and that it is not polite to ask that ordinances biggest beneficiaries of this focused dle class threshold. These are the craftsR&D. Most importantly, we need to rid be torn and thrown into the dustbin! This approach. men who are building India. ourselves of the idea that academia and week, we took a huge step. We passed the Of course, many projects are still stuck India must become the global leader in industry are separate silos. We need to Lokpal Bill. But, as I have said on numer— some for good reason and some for no manufacturing. This has to be one of our drastically upgrade the skill level of our ous occasions, we need to go further. good reason at all. However, much of the core missions. Let’s target growing the people and simplify our processes. The Congress party has developed a information about these cleared projects manufacturing sector to 25 percent of India has the brightest youngsters in the framework against corruption. I have remains obscured from the public domain. GDP generating 100 million new jobs in world. But let me be blunt — our current appealed for the passage of six critical Unfortunately, good news about this education system does not do them justice. anti-corruption bills through parliament. government doesn’t seem to sell newspaThere has been a massive scaling up of Let me tell you about two. The amendpers these days. Page S10

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India Abroad January 2014

Only 11,000 NRIs enrolled to vote in Indian elections AZIZ HANIFFA

or all the hype and hoopla about voting rights for non-resident Indians, the number of NRIs enrolled in the country’s voting lists is a measly 11,000 or less although the Indian Diaspora numbers in the millions, India’s Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath disclosed. He was speaking at an interaction following a presentation titled ‘Elections in the World’s Largest Democracy’ at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. ‘For long, there was absolutely no arrangement for them (non-resident Indians), even for enrollment. But now there is a facility for Indians living abroad, that is an Indian who has not acquired any foreign citizenship,’ he said. ‘But we have still not made arrangements for them about casting their vote from outside the country. Right now, they can only seek enrollment, but if they want to cast their vote, they will have to come to the country at the time of the election and vote.’ He added that only those who could plan their vacations around the times the polls were held were able to cast their vote ‘So, because of this problem, there is no great enthusiasm in NRIs. People, who have got enrolled is only less than 11,000. If there is no possibility of coming to the country to vote, why should they get enrolled.’ Sampath argued that ‘when our people are living in 200 different countries, would it be humanly possible for the presiding officer or the returning officer to send AMIT DAVE /REUTERS this many ballot papers to Indians living abroad to Polling officials check an electronic voting machine ahead of state assembly elections in New Delhi, December 2013. India’s Chief Election reach them to exercise their franchise, and then send it Commissioner V S Sampath says India has still not made arrangements for NRI voters to cast their votes from outside the country, due to which there back.’ was no enthusiasm among overseas voters. He said, ‘From our experience in postal ballot, even for the defense forces, who are within the country, the number of people who are able to get back, is very few.’ ing as of now because of the possibility of tampering and state to another and they keep sufficient safeguards.’ Sampath said in such a scenario it would ‘lead to further fraud.’ Sampath said, ‘We don’t stop any international people frustration,’ and said, ‘The other option is to think of The election chief also dismissed the concept of internacoming and witnessing our elections,’ and pointed out that Internet voting.’ tional election observers. ‘We don’t believe in international ‘even for the last round of elections, people from almost 12However, he noted that ‘we are very wary of Internet votobservation. We have internal observers going from one 14 countries had visited and witnessed the elections.’

‘Corruption is bleeding our people dry’ Page S9 the next decade. I sincerely believe that this can be done. The dramatic improvement we need in productivity demands that we provide the right enabling environment. This will require the political will to make difficult reforms in labor laws. Old labor laws have forced businesses to use contract labor. As you know, they are often underpaid and unprotected. India needs a modern and flexible labor market where labor has a fair share and is protected by international labor standards. We must reform the power sector and ensure that businesses have reliable and affordable access to power. While absorbing the latest technologies from around the world, Indian manufacturing must also be built around Indian patents. We have to open up our manufacturing sector and foster competition. The Industrial Corridors — DelhiMumbai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, BengaluruChennai and Ludhiana-Kolkata — will

revolutionize high value added manufacturing and provide millions of jobs. Agriculture is an equally high priority. We are on the threshold of a second Green Revolution. Price realization and improved productivity have raised farm wages significantly in the last decade. We have made greater investments in critical areas such as micronutrients, microirrigation, satellite weather forecasting and access to affordable credit to farmers. Our efforts to raise productivity and farm income will continue unabated. High inflation on the back of high food prices is an immediate concern. It has stretched household budgets and constrained industrial growth. It hurts our people everyday. Beating inflation is our top priority. We must crack down on hoarding and profiteering. We must ease infrastructure bottlenecks and rapidly modernize the supply chain from field to plate.

ow, a little about politics. Around the time Mahatma Gandhi was making his address to FICCI in 1931, the

dark shadows of fascism had begun to spread over Europe. A party built on a divisive ideology full of hatred, arrogance and misguided notions of superiority plunged the world into a war that brought Germany to its knees. Millions of people were killed and communities impoverished. Businesses were destroyed. What our people understood intuitively, but the Europeans of the 1930s did not, was that wealth cannot be constructed on poverty. Peace cannot be constructed on conflict. Societies cannot be built on injustice and hatred. India’s democracy has never been more vibrant. What will India look like when she celebrates her 100th birthday? Our vision for India is of a country whose economy would be the largest in the world, second to none. Our vision is also of an India which would have deepened its democracy to the grassroots; a democracy where every citizen would have voice in government. Where power would have been devolved to the lowest levels, to elected bodies. An India where every political

party would be truly representative and truly democratic. But above all our vision is of an India united by compassion, not power; living in harmony, not in hatred; thriving in peace rather than suffocating in conflict; filled with humility, not with hubris. Where poverty has been confined to the dustbin of history. An India where government serves the people rather than people serve the government. The central mission of the Congress was defined by Gandhiji as the industrial progress and prosperity of India. The Congress mission is anchored in a simple idea. It is not a new idea. It is an ancient Indian idea — an idea where humanity is united in love, compassion and harmony. And in this great, great country of ours it always has, and always will, trump hatred. Excerpted from Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s speech at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s 86th annual general meeting last month.

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2014

India Abroad January 2014

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‘Government should encourage, not prosecute, whistle-blowers’ The Securities and Exchange Commission placed India as fifth among 55 nations from which it received tips in 2013. Professor Tarun Jain speaks to Faisal Kidwai about nurturing the whistle-blowing culture within India

ndians provided more tip-offs on fraud, manipulation and corporate disclosures to the United States stock market regulator than citizens of countries like France, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Japan. Tarun Jain, assistant professor of economics and public policy, Indian School of Business-Hyderabad, says the Indian government should encourage (or at least not prosecute) whistle-blowers who bring fraud, corruption and waste to public notice. You along with Klaus Abbink and Lata Gangadharan from Monash University (Australia) and Utteeyo Dasgupta from Franklin and Marshall College (Pennsylvania) recently conducted an experiment to study how those giving the bribe and those receiving it react. Could you tell us a bit about the reasons behind this experiment? When he was the chief economic advisor of India, Kaushik Basu proposed that citizens should not be prosecuted when forced to give bribes after public officials “hold up” delivery of services that citizen are anyway entitled to. For example, imagine that your passport is ready and just has to be handed over to you. Just before giving you the passport, the official asks for a bribe. At this point, you might be forced to give the bribe because not doing so might mean losing your passport. Basu’s argument was that not prosecuting citizens in such cases would encourage them to report corruption, which might increase chances of prosecution and therefore decrease the likelihood that officials would demand bribes. The proposal generated considerable debate among policymakers, in the media and among the public. Among the critics, Jean Dreze, who campaigned for the Right to Information Act, said Basu’s proposal ignored moral considerations (many citizens refuse to pay bribes even under pressure) and did not account for low prosecution rates in corruption cases. Others observed that officials might retaliate against citizens who report bribes, which could reduce the effectiveness of the proposal. These arguments back-and-forth were made without any data on how citizens would actually behave when bribe-giving is legalized. Since the effectiveness of the proposal depends critically on actual behavior, Klaus Abbink and Lata Gangadharan of Monash University, Utteeyo Dasgupta of Franklin and Marshall College and I conducted an experiment. The experiment with students in Hyderabad (many of whom

unfortunately had an experience giving bribes) examined what would happen if the rules for bribe-giving by citizens (but not bribe-taking by officials) changed as Basu specified. The experiment allowed citizens to take a moral stand against corruption if they wished. The experiment also examined what happens if officials can retaliate against citizens who report them, and how much citizens are motivated by monetary rather than intrinsic rewards. What were the major results of this study? The study found that allowing legal immunity to the bribegivers motivated citizens to increase reporting of bribe Tarun Jain demands. Correspondingly, officials reduced the demand for bribes. We also find that despite significant costs, a substantial minority of citizens refuse to pay bribes, indicating that the behavior of many of the participants in our experiment was driven by principles rather than incentives. However, Basu’s proposal by itself did not change the moral authority of the law on citizen behavior and does not have to be interpreted as a ‘license to bribe,’ which was one of Dreze’s major concerns. Implementing Basu’s proposal might face significant challenges, especially when officials are able to retaliate against citizens who report bribe demands. In such situations, the positive benefits (in terms of higher reporting and fewer demands) of Basu’s proposals are wiped out. Basu’s policy proposal can be a credible step towards fighting harassment bribes if accompanied by additional measures that reduce the power of officials, improve the protection of whistle blowers and promote better prosecution of the accused. Basu has said that for a class of bribes, the law should not punish the bribe-giver. Do you think there should be different laws for bribe giver and taker? In my opinion, the central lesson from Basu’s proposal

and the results of our study is that policymakers should encourage (or at least not prosecute) whistle-blowers who bring fraud, corruption and waste to public notice. Insiders often have the best knowledge of corrupt transactions, and their testimony is critical for successful prosecution. Our experiment showed that protection from retaliation is very important. In fact, anonymity may be an even stronger motivation than monetary rewards to whistle-blowers. Effective anti-corruption legislation should strengthen protection for those who report corruption. Broadly, in my view, we should encourage and protect whistle-blowers regardless of whether they are bribegivers or bribe-takers, citizens or officials. And this might be true for corruption in government as well as corporate settings. Why is there so much corruption at all levels in India? Is it because of lax laws or is there more to it? Corruption thrives because of strong economic incentives. Anti-graft laws typically outlaw specific behaviors, but these behaviors are easy to hide or circumvent. The punishments are toothless because prosecution itself is very difficult and takes a long time. The most effective anti-corruption measures target processes by increasing transparency (such as the Freedom of Information Act in the United States) and protecting those who complain. The Right to Information Act was one of the few measures to increase transparency, but it is disheartening to see attempts to dilute its provisions. In India, we have witnessed cases (such as those of whistle-blowers Satyendra Dubey and Shanmughan Manjunath) of retaliation against those who investigate or report corrupt activity. Despite this, the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill has yet to be passed by Parliament. It is disappointing that the bill does not cover the private sector when firms themselves face large losses due to corruption. Strong protections for whistle-blowers are critical for reducing corruption.

‘Skeptical of political promises’ RITU JHA

he Punjabi community in California welcomed the Punjab government’s decision to organize a non-resident Indian conclave this month, but it was not sure how honestly the government would keep the promises made. In a statement the North American Punjabi Association said the conclave in Jalandhar January 10 and 11, soon after

the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, was a positive step and would focus on issues overseas Punjabis faced back home. “We are sure the government seems to be clear and honest, but unfortunately our system is rotten. It is not so easy to find solutions to the problems of the overseas Punjabi community,” Satnam Singh Chahal, president, NAPA, said. He added that last year the government offered them a red-carpet welcome but

“we are skeptical of political promises.” “There are hundreds of issues related to land disputes, land grabbing, kidnapping, attacks on NRIs,” Chahal said. “These need to be addressed at the conference.” He said unnecessary political interference in many issues was responsible for creating problems for overseas Punjabis: “The government should not divert from the main issue. We don’t want a red carpet, but a corruption-free

administration.” The Punjab government should ensure that the community’s lives and properties are secured in the state, he said. “This kind of assurance will help to attract the Punjabi Diaspora to invest in the state,” he added. Bikram Singh Majithia, Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister, said over 438 delegates from 19 countries had confirmed their participation in the event.

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India Abroad January 2014

The flaws in India’s growth model India’s economic travails arise from a combination of macroeconomic difficulties and a deceleration in the trend rate of economic growth, say Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian

different state agencies, and across sectors and foreign partners as well as undertaking major investments in physical and human capital. The Indian state has been variously characterized as a ‘soft’ state; a licenseraj state; a jugaad state; a ‘flailing state.’ In recent years it has also become a ‘bypass’ state. Everyone from firms to citizens, and now even the state itself, seeks to bypass its multiple failings and weaknesses. Each new poverty program seeks to bypass the wreckage of previous programs with seemingly smarter design. But in each case the results are similar: acroeconomic difficulties originate The state may not be enabling, but it in the unsustainability of the rediscan be severely disabling. tribution agenda — reflected in India’s three decades of rapid growth high fiscal deficits, which have led to high in information technology services may inflation and widening current account well be a consequence of that sector imbalances. never having been regulated because it The Indian growth model, emphasizing was not known to exist. But that model skill-intensive services at the expense of has run out of steam and India is unskilled labor-intensive manufacturing, reaching the limits of the bypass state may be running out of steam because the ANINDITO MUKHERJEE /REUTERS model. skilled are scarce and the unskilled are A weak state has effectively gifted labor-intensive manufacturing to India’s biggest strategic competitor — A weak state has effectively gifted underemployed in low-productivity occupaChina. labor-intensive manufacturing to tions. India’s biggest strategic competitor — Against this backdrop, the Bhagwati-Sen China. debate rages within India. Redistribution or things that the state needs to do to facilitate growth by It is extraordinary that, after more than two decades of growth seems to be the critical question. reinvigorating private investment, especially in manufacreform, how little effort has gone into addressing India’s The protagonists and their acolytes focus on the differturing. Achilles heel: the quality of its government structures. ences in objectives. The mediators argue that the differFirst, just how will business overcome the decrepit and Consider the looming challenges and their scale. ences are less stark and pertain more to emphasis and arbitrary machinery of law and order, which raises transIndia’s democratic success and the demographic bulge policies. action costs of doing business and heightens uncertainty? mean that tens of millions of young people will be joining But to us, both sides miss the crucial importance of state Business requires a well-functioning legal system if conIndia’s workforce with aspirations that their parents capacity even in attaining their own objectives. Consider tracts are to be enforced and an effective police force to couldn’t even dream about. how. eliminate fear and extortion. That both are in a shambles In addition, rapid economic growth is imposing severe To the inclusionistas, we would ask at least three sets of is hardly a blinding insight, as is their debilitating conseresource constraints, be it land, energy or water — conquestions. quences for growth. Changing laws is relatively easy; straints that will bite even more if the pessimistic predicFirst, how can an already enfeebled, leaking and corrupt enforcing them is much harder and requires augmenting tions of the effects of climate change on India come to state take on additional burdens to fulfill the legitimate police and judicial capacity. pass. With social authority structures — whether family or objectives that they embrace? More food can hardly be In the case of the judicial system, it is not just a matter religion — weakening, the need for parallel authority distributed effectively when the existing public distribuof more judges to handle the volume of litigation; it is structures based on legitimacy and trust in state organs tion system does not work where it is most needed. The important to focus on better training and recruitment, will only be greater. right to education cannot be honored if teachers do not and reforming the procedures for accepting and allocating In rebuilding its public institutions, India has to address show up in schools and the non-shows never pay the concases. a whole range of difficult questions, from the systems sequences. Second, of course, India needs to cut the host of rentselecting the human capital of government agencies, their Second, how can we create an entitlement state without extracting regulations. But the modern state is — and will organizational underpinnings and the institutional and this state acquiring legitimacy from providing public be — a regulatory state. Health, finance, power, the envipolitical context in which they operate. goods such as literacy, public health, law and order and ronment, among many other sectors, will require the forThis will require, to take a few examples, thinking of physical connectivity? As Indira Rajaraman has insightmulation and implementation of regulations. how to get better expertise in government agencies; fully pointed out, the ‘entitlement state in Europe came The debilitating forms of crony capitalism that have strengthening the office of the block development officer; well after governments had delivered on their core role as emerged in India are unsurprisingly in the most heavily and insulating the police and bureaucracy from the viceproviders of public goods.’ A welfare state superstructure regulated sectors, especially infrastructure and resource like grip of politicians. built without that foundation will be inherently unstable. extraction. But that is a clarion call for carefully rethinkIt is well worth remembering that the difference in the Third, isn’t a corrupt and arbitrary state even more of a ing the design of regulatory institutions rather than elimieconomic performance between China and India is not problem for the weak and downtrodden? The well-off can nating regulation per se. the extent to which each has turned to markets, because buy their way out — gated communities, private schools, Third, a revival of manufacturing will involve more than both have. private security guards and payoffs. But the poor cannot. just rolling back misguided policies. It will require buildRather, the Chinese Communist Party-state, as an ecoThe harassment and humiliations of the powerless by ing decent infrastructure and harnessing agglomeration nomic institution, is more responsive, more meritocratic, the very people charged with their well-being will only economies. and more skilled in human capital than the Indian state. change when state functionaries are held much more Implementing public-private partnerships in infrastrucRebuilding the Indian state on firmer foundations may accountable — something that has not been a priority for ture will need not just honest but technically skilled well determine not just what future India will have, but the inclusionistas. bureaucrats to design and assess bids and to navigate the whether it has a future. For the growthistas, the way forward is reforms — difficult terrain of contracting and increasingly re-conwhich would deliver growth, which would, in turn, finance tracting. Devesh Kapur is director, Centre for the Advanced Study redistribution. For the growthistas, reforms have a strong The creation of two dedicated freight corridors; of of India at the University of Pennsylvania. deregulatory emphasis, namely to reduce the overweening national investment and manufacturing zones; and of Arvind Subramanian is senior fellow at the Peterson role of the state: Reform labor and bankruptcy laws, libergreenfield industrial townships alongside offers rich Institute for International Economics and Centre for alize trade and foreign direct investment, privatize the opportunities to create agglomeration-leveraging manuGlobal Development. public sector, and so on. facturing. Necessary as some of these reforms may be, this camp But this requires coordination among many states and By arrangement with Business Standard inadequately appreciates and emphasizes the positive

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas India Abroad January 2014

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Skillful acumen leads to social welfare Entrepreneur Piyush Patel is quick to spot opportunities that aim to revolutionize

hose who know Piyush Patel say he is not your usual entrepreneur, nor is his business acumen dictated by chance or just the promise of profits. A self-styled turnaround specialist for dying businesses, Patel has had no formal education in management, yet he has built a $250 million business empire with industries spanning the globe, and that too, in these challenging times. With ventures spread across varied industries like software, oil-drilling, restaurants, electronics, chemicals and hotels, Patel draws his strength from the diversity of his investments and the people he works with. He has perfected the art of growing with simple strategies and identifying opportunities, both within his existing business as well as outside of it. Besides Piyush Palace, a palatial resort he is developing in Ahmedabad, Patel’s recent projects include a 15,000-square-feet fusion restaurant and bar in Manhattan and a Broadway-style theater and performing arts center in Rhode Island. For the past 24 months months, Patel, alongwith Sukhdev Swami, has helped build Gokul Village in Kheda district, Gujarat, where more than 500 orphaned children study and live. The village has already received major recognition from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Patel has also recently setup a 112,000 sq-ft dairy plant in Waterloo, in upstate New York, capitalizing on a unique business opportunity that doubles as social welfare. The $4 million upstate plant is a joint research and development operation with India’s leading Amul Dairy. Patel landed an exclusive contract manufacturing deal from Amul after convincing them for over a couple of years. “In recent years, Gujarat is experiencing major shortage in milk due to increased demand, and therefore, milk product prices are hitting the roof,” he explains. “In the US, specially in New York state, milk is in oversupply and is often discarded at dairy plants. With the new arrangement, we will be able to produce and supply milk and all milk products, like paneer, ghee and yogurt and export it to other countries, excluding India, and also sell it locally in the US.” With all state and federal approvals in place,

Above, Piyush Patel’s $250 million ventures are spread across industries like, software, oil-drilling, restaurants, electronics, chemicals and hotels. Left, the 112,000 sq-ft dairy plant that Patel has setup in upstate New York, under contract manufacturing from India’s Amul Dairy.

Patel said the dairy plant should be fully operational in the next two months. Growing up in India, Patel had envisioned a research career in the chemical industry. A gold medalist from South Gujarat University, Surat-born Patel landed in England in 1960 to pursue a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Leeds. Over the next two years, Patel realized the potential of polymers and plastics as the industry was booming in the United States at the time. The next stop was New York, where Patel pursued graduate degrees in applied sciences from Columbia University in 1962. At the insistence of his professor, Patel enrolled in the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, for a degree in plastic engineering. He graduated at the top of his class in 1964. Armed with three degrees and several research papers in industrial chemistry, Patel worked with US chemical corporations over the next 12 years, in New Jersey and Ohio, making his way up as the leading researcher.

There, he learned a trick or two about managing large teams and profit centers within companies. Patel is currently the chief executive officer of Summit Research Labs, a New Jersey-based holding company that makes chemicals for water treatment, the paper and antiperspirant industries. Other than being a meticulous entrepreneur, Patel is also quick to spot innovators and products that aim to revolutionize. He is collaborating with Prakash Suthar from Gujarat to introduce unbreakable baseball bats and earthquake-proof wooden houses in the US as well as Japan. The State of New York is already helping taking the concept to manufacturing with a grant of $300,000. “It’s not science-fiction. This is pure science,” Patel explains. “You study the fibers in the wood and come up with a combination that makes the wood unbreakable.” The implications of such a product and its byproducts will revolutionize

the wood industry, says Patel. A restaurateur and real-estate developer himself, it was only logical for Patel to tap the tourism potential in Charotar, known as Gujarat’s NRI belt. One such opportunity came through in his native Gujarat. Patel returns to his native place in Charotar every year and knows more than a thing or two about fellow NRIs’ yearning for an annual homecoming and their need for suitable accommodation. For long, Patel was interested in investing in Gujarat’s hospitality industry and in promoting religious and medical tourism in the state. The 100,000 square feet, three-phase $25 million resort facility, modeled on ancient palatial architecture and spread across nine acres of farmland, caters to general tourists, foreign medical tourists, and business travelers. The four-storey facility features 27 boutiquestyle hotel rooms, a banquet hall, a night club, an open terrace garden and lounge, a full-service restaurant, a modern theater and state-of the-art video conferencing facilities. To many, the resort’s features might sound routine. But, Patel has a few secrets up his sleeves. The heritage property has a green theme: it has solar as well as LED lights and an onsite water-recycling plant that uses reverse osmosis. The entire campus has been landscaped keeping the green theme in mind, with the planting of more than 500 mango trees and plants. The hotel will also facilitate high-end medical services to NRIs and foreigners. “The best of medical services are available in Gujarat at one-tenth of what it costs in the US and other countries. Our hotel will provide necessary recovery and retreat centre before and after hospitalization. I believe this industry has a lot of potential in India and especially in Gujarat,” Patel explains. The hotel’s second phase is already near completion, with an additional $5 million front facade facelift and a by-invitation country club, featuring an Olympic-size swimming pool, yoga and naturopathy treatments, to name a few. The third phase entails an adjacent building that will house 100 penthouses for sale. “This project is a culmination of my dreams in trying to help my motherland,” says Patel. He expects the resort and other related services to generate more than $2 million in profits each year. He has setup a non-profit trust that will entirely use the profits to fund children’s hospital and other charities in India that are striving hard to survive. Although he is a highly successful businessman, Patel remains true to his roots. He lives in the same house in New Jersey that he brought in the 1980s with his wife Lorraine, who he met while studying at Steven’s Institute of Technology. Patel’s two daughters, Avantika and Gitanjali, are settled and have branched out on their own.

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Response Feature

India Abroad January 2014

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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014

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India Abroad January 2014

ANDHRA PRADESH : Unfettered Resolve to Follow the Dream capita income for the year 2011-12 swiftly crossing the `71, 500 mark from `62,912 in 2010-11 registering a growth of 13.7 per cent at constant (2004-2005) prices, Kiran Kumar Reddy was happy to note.

INVESTMENT

PM releasing Postal stamp on COP II at HICC

NDIA’S fourth largest state Andhra Pradesh has a dream— a dream to use its vast resources, natural and manmade, along with it its manpower— to be amongst India’s top all-round performers. Taking cognizance of the changing world scenario those at the helm have sought to restructure policies, if need be, to achieve its vision of growth as a sustainable endeavour, whose beneﬁts will trickle down even to those living at the lower rung of the social ladder. It must have been a particularly heartening moment for Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy when he held that India Today prize, on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh state, for ‘best governance’ presented by Union Minister of Rural Development, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, at the ‘State of the States’ Conclave recently. Having been at the helm of Andhra Pradesh’s fortunes for the past three years Kiran Kumar Reddy has steered it to join the ranks of the country’s top performers in many ﬁelds….especially IT. Andhra Pradesh’s state’s growth momentum continued apace during the 11th Plan (20072008 to 2011-2012) also, as it registered an average GSDP growth rate (at 2004-2005 prices) of 8.33 per cent, thus surpassing the All-India GDP growth rate of 7.94 per cent during the same period. The state government, which

has launched several welfare and developmental programmes reinforced with fiscal discipline, expects these to play a pivotal role in the state government’s agenda of achieving a growth of 12.4 per cent during the 12th Plan period of 20122013 to 2016-2017. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy in an address revealed that “We are optimistic of improving our performance of the 11th Plan and achieve the projected sectorial growth of 6% for Agriculture, 10.5% for Industry and 11.5% for Services leading to an overall growth target of 10% for the 12th Plan.” Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan earlier this year pointed out that Andhra had registered significant growth in various sectors in the first half of the current financial year. The state, he revealed, had posted a growth rate of 6.50 per cent in its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), as against the national average of 5.37 per cent, in the first half of 2012-13. It had already achieved a growth of 8.77 per cent in agriculture and allied sectors as against 2.14 per cent at the national level. Similarly, industrial growth was 2.57 per cent as compared to 2.30 per cent and services growth was 7.79 per cent as against 7.03 per cent at the national level in the first half of the current fiscal, the governor revealed.

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH ��

The state government’s strategies of a faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth, are on track to meet its priorities and end -targets. Kiran Kumar Reddy revealed that their unstinted eﬀorts and various programmes reduced the poverty head count ratio from over 29 during 200405 to 21 in 2009-10. It is expected that this poverty head count ratio will dip further to 12 by the end of the 12th Plan. He pointed out that from the draft 12th Plan document it is apparent that Andhra Pradesh stands tall among all the States and Union Territories with the largest projected outlay of over `3,42,842 crore for the 12th Plan— more than twice the ﬁnancial achievement during the 11th Plan. Unfavourable seasonal conditions not withstanding (for a major part of the 11th Plan period and the uncertainty in the global economy), Andhra Pradesh managed to register an average annual growth rate of 8.3% during the 11th Plan with the per

AP continues to be, for the third year in succession, the second best destination for investment in India. By March 2013 the state received `46,206.79 cr of Foreign Direct Investment (FEI) inflows as equity. Ranking highly as a preferred destination for investment has paid off for the state, which saw a flurry of keen participants in the various conferences and conventions held in Hyderabad at the end of last year. Some investments are already blossoming, if not bearing fruit. Investment flow in industry in September 2013 was to the tune of `1630 billion. The environment of investor-friendly policies, the expansion of infrastructure such as new sea ports, airports with international connectivity, improved road connectivity, natural gas availability and development of the petro-corridor, are all additional attractions for the prospective investor. AP’s performance as an investment hub has also been the best in all the southern states and that perception (backed by those attractive investor-friendly policies) continues to grow amongst prospective investors looking at India. AP is fast progressing as a viable destination for national and multinational firms and has recently attracted major investments to the tune of `15000 crore with an employment potential to 20,000 people. Some of the prominent investors are: Cadbury (Investment: `2500 cr; Employment potential: 2000 people) Mahindra (Investment: `1200 cr; Employment potential: 1000) US Gypsum (Investment: `250 cr; Employment potential: 500) Sumitomo Corp (Investment: `3000 cr; Employment potential: 1500) Siemens (Investment: `250 cr; Employment potential: 300 Isuzu Motors (Investment: `1500cr; Employment potential 2500) Beverages and snacks giant Pepsi Co India

The British government has also identiﬁed AP as one of the preferred states in India for British investments. The government’s investment-friendly administration, AP’s natural resource base and industrial parks spread all over the state are all plus points.

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India Abroad January 2014

Cranes are used in the automobile industry is set to invest over `1,200 crore to build its spanking new beverage manufacturing unit in Sri City, Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh. It is slated to be the company’s largest beverage plant in the country. The plant will manufacture a range of beverages, including fruit juice based drinks, carbonated soft drinks and sports drinks. In addition to this, the company is expected to increase sourcing of mango pulp from Andhra Pradesh over the next six years. When it’s up and running it is expected to generate employment (direct and indirect) to over 8,000 people. The British government has also identified AP as one of the preferred states in India for British investments. The government’s investment-friendly administration, AP’s natural resource base and industrial parks spread all over the state are all plus points. UK has shown interest in areas of life sciences, aviation, defence and high-tech manufacturing, green technologies, gas and energy, IT hardware and food processing. As a matter of fact AP is putting together an exclusive policy to attract global and domestic investments into the life sciences sector. K Pradeep Chandra, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce Department revealed that the policy will be unveiled during the Bio Asia Summit to be held in February 2014. Investors could expect special incentives to the life sciences sector apart from single window clearances and provision of the necessary infrastructure. It will emerge as the first Indian state to create an exclusive industrial policy for a subsector of pharmaceuticals. Chandra revealed that “the investment opportunity is quite huge as nearly $15 billion worth life science products are set to go off-patent over the next 2-3 years.” If the likes of Britain and South Korea, (intending to set up the technology park here) support AP’s initiatives in the life sciences area, the state will become a top attraction for the life sciences industry

in the years to come. The biotechnology sector is one of the fastest growing knowledge- based sectors in India with a market size of about $4.3 billion ($2.2 billion exports).

INDUSTRY

AP’s status as a golden hub for investment is becoming a reality as the government continues to create favourable conditions for the growth of industry and simultaneously generate

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014 more employment. Working in tandem with the Centre’s objectives AP is set to further boost the manufacturing sector to achieve over 9% growth during the 12th Plan through the clusters approach, PPP model in readymade garments, textiles, electronics, footwear, food processing etc and steps to promote the handloom sector. Initiatives have also been taken for developing roads, ports, airports and industrial water supply through publicprivate partnership, to host large manufacturing industries. AP has a strong industrial base with 4,416 large industries, 182,945 Micro, Small and Medium and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with an investment of `1,313 billion and providing employment to 3 million people. The allure of the state’s industrial policies was well recognized at the 18th Partnership Summit during January 2012 in Hyderabad which attracted delegates from 42 countries. Out of the 115 project proposals with an investment of `2, 89, 710 cr received during the 2012 Partnership Summit, under the manufacturing sector, 18 Large and Mega projects commenced commercial production in October 2013. AP is emerging as a prime destination for exploration of minerals by foreign investors. In November this year, with

AP’s status as a golden hub for investment is becoming a reality as the government continues to create favourable conditions for the growth of industry and simultaneously generate more employment. Working in tandem with the Centre’s objectives AP is set to further boost the manufacturing sector to achieve over 9% growth during the 12th Plan through the clusters approach, PPP model in readymade garments, textiles, electronics, footwear, food processing etc and steps to promote the handloom sector.

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Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Kiran Kumar Reddy, who assumed oﬃce as the 16th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh in 2010 is well known as a man of action. He is not averse to, after a vigorous assessment, rejigging policies in tune with current economic realities to lead AP to be amongst the top performers in the country. First elected to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1989 from Vayalpadu constituency of Chittoor district, Kiran Kumar Reddy was, from 2004-2009, the Government Chief Whip during the rule of late chief minister Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy. A stickler to rules, he is intolerant of indiscipline and laziness. He displayed these traits when he was Speaker of the 13th Andhra Pradesh Assembly, and had to handle critical situations in the House. He brings the same traits to the table when he chalks out his strategies to make Andhra Pradesh the best industrial and investment destination in the country. His welfare schemes, aimed at the poor, take into cognizance their practical facilitation. It is the same when he needs to address the issues of the farmers, women and SC, ST, BC and minority communities. A keen cricketer Kiran Kumar Reddy is married to Radhika Reddy and has a son — Nikilesh Reddy and a daughter Niharika Reddy.

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the state looking to formulate a new mineral policy at the ninth international Heavy Minerals Conference, HMC-2013 in Visakhapatnam attracting 275 delegates from all major heavy mineral mining countries such as Australia, Canada, Africa, the USA, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and those from Europe. AP with a coastline of 900 km has 153 million ton heavy mineral beach sands from Ichhapuram in Srikakulam to Nizampatnam in Guntur district—waiting to be explored. The development of these deposits is vital for the economy of Andhra Pradesh, revealed Galla Aruna Kumari, the state’s minister for Mines and Geology.

IT INDUSTRY

The state, India’s fourth in IT exports has recorded IT exports of `53,246 crore in 2011-12. The sector provides employment to 3,18,624 people. It contributes 39% of total exports from Andhra Pradesh. The state has registered a blistering growth in the ﬁeld of information technology and business process outsourcing. Total export revenues earned by this sector have grown from `1000 crore in 1998-99 to `36,000

Response Feature

storages, integrated pack houses, ripening chambers, reefer vans and an effective supply chain. Andhra Pradesh is the first state to have enacted a progressive and landmark legislation “AP Land Licensed Cultivator Act”, in 2011 with a view to bringing more than 26 lakh licensed cultivators into the mainstream to access benefits like crop loans, input subsidy, crop insurance, seed and fertilizer. In 2012 Loan Eligibility Cards (LECs) were issued to 5.76 lakh tenant farmers in the state and crop loans worth `394 crore sanctioned to 1.98 lakh LEC holders.The state recently launched the State Milk Mission with an outlay of `5,300 crores to double milk production by 2014-15 and thereby increase incomes of farmers.

POWER

Dogged by power shortages— a sure dampener to industrial growth, Andhra has set in place a series of projects to enhance its capacity for power generation. Steps are on to commission the ﬁrst unit of 800 MW at Krishnapatnam. Sagar tailend pond of 50 MW and Hindustan 1st Unit 520 MWs will be commissioned. The State

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has identified tourism as a sector with great potential to reduce poverty and increase employment, particularly in rural areas. Tourism is also identified as a sector that creates more number of jobs per million of investment (78 jobs per million, as against 45 in agriculture and 18 in industry). investment (78 jobs per million, as against 45 in agriculture and 18 in industry). The state’s Tourism Policy aims to provide a framework for tourism development and investments both by the public and private sectors with special emphasis on Eco-Tourism. The state has won several national awards for its tourism efforts.

INCENTIVES: FARMERS, WOMEN

crore in 2010-11, at a CAGR of 35%. The state government, which has also unveiled the AP Electronic Hardware Policy- 2012-17, plans to create an additional direct employment by 2015 in the IT sector. AP as a leading destination for the IT / ITES sector contributes about 12.4 per cent of India’s IT exports. Being the ﬁrst state in India to pioneer e-governance projects it continues to register an unparalleled growth in the ﬁeld of information technology and business process outsourcing.

will get 120 MW from Central Generating stations over the course of the year. Krishnapatnam II unit 800 MW, Kakatiya 600 MW and Hinduja II Unit 520 MW will be commissioned during 2014. It is proposed to add 365 Nos. of 33/11 KV substations during the current year and around 1800 in the next 4 years. An investment of `8000 crores is to be made by Discoms in the next 4 years. The Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Policy 2012 provides incentives to solar developers, who commission solar power plants by June, 2014.

AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED SECTORS

TOURISM

The thrust areas in its multipronged strategy during the 12th Plan will be: To achieve food grain production levels of 300 lakh MTs from the current level of 204 lakh MTs, reduce post-harvest losses from 35% to less than 25%, establishing cold

India Abroad January 2014

Though the state had mounting debts of `9,000 crore the turn around in ﬁnancial management has helped Kiran Kumar

Reddy assure interest free loans to farmers and 1.45 crore women.This money can be used by them to generate wealth. Steps have been strengthened to ensure that targeted beneﬁciaries gain from the state’s various welfare schemes as well. Andhra Pradesh is the ﬁrst state in the country to provide the statutory authority and codify the procedure for earmarking and utilizing funds meant for the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan and the Tribal Sub Plan to promote inclusive growth, equity and equality.

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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014

Response Feature

India Abroad January 2014

Chief Minister of Kerala Shri Oommen Chandy shares his thoughts on Non-resident Keralites in the backdrop of PBD 2014. Please elaborate on what were the benefits of last year’s PBD for Kerala’s NRIs. PBD is one of the main platforms for discussing and raising problems etc. It was just fitting for Kerala to host this big event, given its share of expatriates, which is one of the biggest from India. Mr. Vayalar Ravi the minister for Overseas Indians took active interest in the event. Following the PBD last year, we have formed a Global Advisory Committee for Kerala. Issues of amnesty returnees, those still in jail after serving their term, financial assistance to those unable to give compensation and undergoing punishment in vehicle accidents, providing legal assistance to those in need of it and facilitate registration of Adhaar would be some of the responsibilities of the advisory committee. It would also be entrusted to take efforts for realizing Air Kerala. We also did a census of expatriate Keralites. This was done as part of the sixth Financial census, undertaken by the State’s Economics and Statistics department. The Pravasi Malayalee Census that began on 1st May 2013 was completed by July 15, 2013.

keep their jobs and maintain their families. The government of Kerala has put in place, several projects meant for the welfare and security of NRKs. Welfare fund, pension, accident insurance up to Rs 2 lakhs, Swanthana schemes are some of them. And Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy has instituted Pravasi Kalaratna and Pravasi Kalasree awards to honour expatriate artists, which is ﬁrst of its kind in India. Emerging Kerala 2012, the global connect event also beneﬁted non-resident Keralites, apart from the global investors.

Please tell us a little about what the State is doing for Kerala’s NRI Community Kerala’s non-resident community is very important for the State. Our concern is not just for the role they play in our economy,

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy

A people’s man

hief Minister Oommen Chandy is known as man of the masses. His life revolves around people and their problems and the lion’s share of his time is meant for resolving them. Oommen Chandy widened the scope of his mass contact by holding it in all districts of Kerala.

but also for their well-being abroad. A large number of Keralites are working outside India, particularly in the Gulf areas. There, some Keralites are very rich. But a large number of working class is struggling to

Oommen Chandy launched his Mass Contact Programme on a wider scale in 2012, during his second tenure as chief minister of Kerala. It was his firm belief that reaching out to people and to understand their grievances first-hand will strengthen the machinery of democratic governance. And he did it with tremendous patience and resilience that saw him spending about 19 hours a stretch at some of the venues of the mass contact programme. Following the first leg of the mass contact programme in 2012, the Government of Kerala was able to bring in suitable changes in its administrative set up. Forty-five government orders were issued. Some of the existing orders were corrected; some got amended, while others got totally replaced for ensuring effective, transparent administration and for mitigating the hardships of the common man. And it did not stop with 2012; he has done it again in 2013. In between, Oommen Chandy was honoured with the United Nations Public Service Award 2013 for his mass contact programme, which underscored his unparalleled intervention as an administrator. Even though he has spent 42 years as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, his ministerial berth has been around for eight years only. And he has not held an office for a full term. But even in these short spells, his ability and talent as an able administrator and statesman has always been acknowledged. His decisions in his short tenures have become milestones. As labour minister he granted unemployment allowance to millions of educated unemployed of the State. During his tenure as Home Minister, Oommen Chandy gave a new image to the police force with an imaginative change in their uniform. Even as finance minister, he had taken hard

What is the message you want to send out to the NRI community from Kerala? My appeal to the non-resident Keralite community is to make their next generation connect with India, Kerala. They should give them opportunities to get familiar and experience the high values and the family culture and respect and care for elders in their motherland. They should with great pride introduce their children to the country that they were born and brought up.

decisions to get the economy back on track, when the State went through a ﬁnancial crunch. His popularity and expertise gained momentum when he was Chief Minister from August 2004 to May 2006. Since then the State has been ringing the bell of development. Some major initiatives he set rolling in that period were the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, Vizhinjam International Seaport, Smart City, Metro Rail at Kochi, Kerala State Transport Project for renovating major roads in the State, Master Plan for developing Sabarimala pilgrim centre, Kannur International Airport and Expansion of Trivandrum International Airport. These major infrastructure projects have the potential to catapult Kerala to unprecedented levels of growth and development. In his current tenure as chief minister all the above mentioned projects picked up greater momentum and also paved the way for new set of developments in the form of Monorail projects at Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. During the global connect event - Emerging Kerala 2012 Oommen Chandy came up with a path-breaking initiative in the form of Student Entrepreneurship programme, backed by a lot of concessions, enabling the youth to transform themselves from job seekers to job providers. A man who believes in simple living and high thinking, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is a visionary statesman. He has a pragmatic vision for Kerala that gives due importance for development and care. So far, his political and social life has been an interesting one. He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for the ﬁrst time from Puthuppally constituency in 1970. Since then he has won ten times in a row from this constituency!

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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2014

Response Feature

S00 India Abroad January 2014 India Abroad January xx, 2014

Decades of profitable banking and counting Bank of Baroda, NY, is synonymous with security, soundness and service

stablished in 1908, the Bank of Baroda is an Indian government undertaking, with a record of uninterrupted profits since inception. It has more than 4,000 branches, and also offers a global link with 97 branches/offices/ subsidiaries spread out in 26 countries across the world. Bank of Baroda’s New York journey began in 1979. The more than three decades since has been of significant service with an unblemished record of excellent reputation in the US. The New York branch, located in midtown Manhattan on Park Avenue, is FDIC insured since 1980. Among its customers, the bank is said to be synonymous with security, safety, soundness, service with smile and swiftness in operations. The motto of the Bank is “Customer delight.” Bank of Baroda relies on state-of-the-art technology enabled banking with seamless straight-through-processing of wire transfers. Many other IT initiatives are also in place with many more in the offing so that the bank can serve its customers better. “Our true strength lies in our personal and friendly approach with warmth, which you can witness when you visit us,” says Ashok Kumar Garg, the bank’s chief executive for US operations. Garg explains further that Bank of Baroda is not only India's international Bank, but also an emotional bank built on the edifice of more than a century of relationship banking with devoted and dedicated staff and the patronage of millions of enlightened customers. Apart from the bank’s geographical presence, customers can benefit from its wide range of products and services. Before moving to New York as the bank’s chief executive, Garg was the Managing Director of Bank of Baroda (Uganda) Ltd. Kampala, Uganda. While in Kampala, Garg also served as the Chairman of Baroda Capital Markets Ltd., Uganda, as Director on the Board of Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) and also a Director on the Board of Uganda Institute of Banking & Financial Services Ltd., Kampala. Garg has been with Bank of Baroda since 1979. He holds a Masters Degree in

Ashok Kumar Garg, left, chief executive of Bank of Baroda’s US operations, receiving the “International Award for Business Excellence 2013” in July 2013, from Ricardo Roso Lopez, Secretary General and CEO of Global Trade Leaders Club in Madrid, Spain. Commerce and a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Delhi University. An aluminous of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University, Garg is also a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Banking & Finance (CAIIB). In a career spanning over 34 years with Bank of Baroda, he acquired rich experience of diverse banking operations, a thorough knowledge of project management, compliance function, training and development, risk management, financing of retail, SME, wholesale, agriculture and international trade. Garg has held a wide range of responsibilities in domestic as well as international

operations of the Bank in various capacities. He has held key leadership positions as Deputy General Manager (Rural and Agriculture Banking) at the Corporate Office of the Bank in Mumbai; as Regional Head of Kanpur Region (UP) with 207 outfits; and Deputy Regional Head of Delhi Metro Region-I with business of around INR 160,000 million. He also had a stint of three years as Financial Controller of Bank of Baroda, London; Head of Training Institute in Baroda and Project Manager of Lending Automation Software at Corporate Office, Mumbai. Under his stewardship Bank of Baroda

(Uganda) Ltd., Kampala, was conferred with many awards and accolades in 2013. Some of Garg’s notable achievements in Africa and before in a career spanning 34 years is: * Instrumental in bringing about all round economic development of the country by providing timely, need-based financial help in a cost-effective and hassle-free manner right from the agriculturist to individual retailers; Small & Medium Enterprises; Large manufacturing units; wholesale traders, Importers/ Exporters, Govt. Organizations etc thus improving disposable income. * International Award for Business Excellence 2013: The was conferred with the prestigious "International Award for Business Excellence 2013" by the Global Trade Leaders' Club, Madrid, Spain as recognition of its work, devotion, innovation and quality to develop the industry and trade in the country. * Superbrand East Africa 2013-2014 Baroda-Uganda has achieved the status of Superbrand East Africa 2013-2014 by Superbrands, the world's largest independent arbiter of branding. The Superbrand status is awarded on the basis of quality of products & services, reliability to consistently deliver on its promise & distinction in its operations. * Contributed for the social cause by supporting heart surgery of Ugandan children, supporting cancer patients, organizing blood donation camps, providing scholarships to students, supporting sports, such as badminton, rugby and supporting cultural activities etc. * Pearl of Africa Lifetime Award 2013: Garg was conferred with "Pearl of Africa Lifetime Achievement Award for 2013" by Public Opinions, Uganda. The award is given as an honor of his contribution through the Bank toward attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in Uganda and socio-economic transformation of the country. Garg was the only banker who was honored in this year's Pearl of Africa Life Time Achievement Award. * Commercial Bank of the Year-Uganda: 2014 award by the International Banker, London, a renowned financial magazine having an established readership base of over 100,000 senior decision-makers around the world. The award identifies the best organization in the sector, measured not only by growth, liquidity and profitability but taking into consideration issues such as product innovation, use of IT, corporate governance, transparency and sustainability. More information about of Bank of Baroda products and services in the US can be found at www.bankofbarodausa.com

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas India Abroad January 2014

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Creating a global voice for the Indian Diaspora GOPIO provides an advocacy platform addressing concerns of overseas Indians

he Global Organization of People of Indian Origin, commonly referred to as GOPIO, is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global organization with chapters in several countries, actively promoting the interests of people of Indian origin worldwide. GOPIO was formed in 1989 at the conclusion of the five-day Global Convention of People of Indian Origin, held in New York from August 28 to Sept. 3, 1989. Since inception, GOPIO has been at the forefront to network the globally spread overseas Indian community and to advance that objective, GOPIO has been regularly organizing conferences in various parts of the world. These conferences and conventions help bring the Indian Diaspora closer to India and strengthen the inherent bond between India and its Diaspora. After all, the destiny of India's Diaspora, in many ways, is intertwined inextricably with India. An estimated 28 million

people of Indian origin (NRIs and PIOs) are living outside India. While PIOs and NRIs are domiciled in other countries, they are bound to India by the umbilical cord of history, culture, heritage, and tradition and have added a special glitter to the resurgence of India. GOPIO provides an active and well recognized global advocacy platform of many chapters and international councils for dialogue and discussion to the worldwide Indian Diaspora. GOPIO has been fighting for the issues and concerns of the overseas Indians and has been the primary advocacy organization for the people of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Since its inception, GOPIO has been promoting awareness and understanding of issues of concern and interest -- social, cultural, educational, economic, or political - of the NRI/PIO communities around the globe. GOPIO also provides an active and well recognized platform for dialogue and discussion to the worldwide Indian Diaspora. During the last seven years alone, GOPIO has organized over twelve international conferences, both in India and in countries with significant population of persons of Indian origin. These GOPIO conferences and conventions help bring the Indian Diaspora closer to its ancestral homeland and strengthen the inherent bonds of history, heritage, culture and tradition Some of GOPIO's major accomplishments include: * Successful Campaign for Establishment of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs;

For equality, he fights for people of Indian origin

shook Kumar Ramsaran, the current president of GOPIO, is third generation of Indian immigrant ancestors who came to Guyana as indentured laborers. Ramsaran emigrated in 1968 to the US, where he earned graduate engineering degrees in electrical engineering at Polytechnic University in New York. As an electronics engineer, he progressed rapidly to vice president of engineering in For his notable contributions to the Indian Diaspora, an international communi- Ashook Ramsaran received India’s Pravasi Samman Award in cations company before January 2011 from then President Pratibha Patil, in New Delhi. establishing Ramex, his Affairs (MOIA) on global Indian family-owned electronics manufacturing Diaspora matters and the annual Pravasi enterprise in New York. Bharatiya Divas (PBD) events. As president of GOPIO, Ramsaran has Ramsaran was instrumental in the very instituted several innovative ideas, initiasuccessful large scale global petition by tives and programs to expand GOPIO, GOPIO to the Government of India that connect people of Indian origin in variresulted in a reversal of decision on ous countries, and address issues of excessive fees and procedures for surreninterest and concern to the global Indian der of Indian passports. As GOPIO presiDiaspora, including the Romani people dent, Ramsaran has embarked on a series of Indian origin. He is an ardent advocate of initiatives to expand and grow GOPIO of universal human rights, observance of with emphasis on "embracing, engaging due process and rule of law for fair and and enhancing the Indian Diaspora, equitable treatment of all people, particincluding major projects such as GOPIO ularly people of Indian origin. Gadar Centennial Commemoration in Ramsaran collaborates extensively with honor of the heroes who sacrificed for India's Ministry of Overseas Indians India's independence.

*Proposed Dual Citizenship for PIOs; * Campaigned for Fiji Human Rights; * Opposed Nomination of Fiji Ambassador to the US; * Sought Uniform Admission Fee for Visiting Historical Monuments in India; * Successful Opposition to Trinity Cross Award in Trinidad and Tobago; * Protest Rally at the United Nations for Rule of Law in Trinidad & Tobago; * Led Peace March against Bias Attacks on Indians in Germany; * Collaborated in Successful Campaign for US-India Civil Nuclear Treaty; * Campaigned Voting Rights for NRIs; * Proposed Diaspora Courses at Universities in India; * Successful Campaign for Changes in Passport Surrender Rule; * Successful Petition Against Retroactive Enforcement of New Visa Rules; * Initiative & Collaboration with Gov't of India for Kolkata Memorial; * Indian Arrival Monument in Guyana on its 175th Arrival Day; * Initiated Community Advisory US Tax Rules on Foreign Bank; * Initiated Global Gadar Centennial Commemoration for 2013. www.gopio.net

Focusing on Indo-US trade development

s chairman of the IndoAmerican Global Chamber of Commerce (IAGCC), Norman Solovay’s mandate is to position IAGCC as a multilateral chamber of commerce committed to development of Indo-US business and trade development globally. While maintaining its close relations with its founding organization, IACC India, IAGCC’s broadened mission is reflected in the partnership it has developed with, among others, GOPIO, representing over 20,000 members in the US as well as globally. IAGCC is also in the process of forging similar relationship with FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Solovay, a senior litigation Norman Solovay, chairman of Indo-American Global attorney in New York, now Chamber of Commerce (IAGCC). focuses on alternative dispute resolution (ADR), saying going to court and participating in lengthy arbitrations should be the last resort. “I want Indian and American businesses to engage in ADR, which is where IAGCC hopes to play an important role. As part of IAGCC’s mandate, Solovay is also actively pursuing other activities, which have reached various stages of fruition, including projects in the sectors of tourism, infrastructure, IT, solar and power, real estate, telecom, rural development and medical speciality assistance for Indian Americans in undeserved regions of the US. www.iagcc.com

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COVER STORY

India Abroad January 10, 2014

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TRIBUTE TO THE VIRTUES OF DEMOCRACY Page A13 who for many had come to symbolize some if not everything that was wrong with the government and governance. By any reckoning, the recently-concluded elections in Delhi that catapulted the Aam Aadmi Party to centre-stage had to be among the most secular electoral contests in recent memory because it was fought on the twin issues of corruption and good governance, and these are as secular an issue as secular gets. The usual considerations of caste, sect or religion were trumped by the near universal outrage against corruption. Contrast this with many of the countries affected by the Arab Spring, which descended into sectarianism, majoritarianism or plain terrorism; where people still yearn for the rule of law and many of the personal freedoms and human rights that many around the world take for granted. The Indian Spring also took under its wing issues other than corruption, such as crimes against women. The common man was once again at the forefront of the apolitical, secular protests following the December 16, 2012 gangrape of a young woman in Delhi. The Indian Street, similar to the Arab Street, had well and truly begun to take shape. The unprecedented outrage forced Parliament to pass the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill to tighten the legal framework against rape. Women have found the voice to assert themselves like never before. It has

led to the arrest of a magazine editor on charges of rape and a retired Supreme Court judge finds himself at the centre of a row over the alleged sexual harassment of a law intern. Having said that, if the groundswell of opinion in favor of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi extends to even some of the other states of Indian union and/or the mandate decisively shifts away from the two blocs led by the Congress and the BJP to regional parties, then the 2014 parliamentary elections could throw up a more representative government bringing in its wake certain implications for the economic and foreign policies of India. Be it 51 percent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail; policies vis-à-vis Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka; National Counter Terrorism Centre; or setting up of new nuclear power plants, what cannot be overstated is that devolution of economic or foreign policies to more stakeholders than what is currently assumed should not be entirely unwelcome. In a federal structure such as India’s, foreign policy in particular cannot be practiced in a vacuum or in isolation or without consultations with all stakeholders concerned, including, but not limited to, the states, particularly those that share contiguous borders with neighboring countries and/or share ethnic, linguistic, cultural or geographical affinities with them. A foreign policy drawn up in the corridors of the South Block in New Delhi may have served India well in all these decades, but contemporary realities dictate that in a feder-

al set-up and in an era of coalition governments the views of the states are factored in at the time of formulation of a foreign policy. The democratization of policy-making and the salience of the states in shaping it cannot be continued to be treated as an exception; and the sooner New Delhi gets used to executing its foreign and domestic policies in a coalition with sometimes competing political interests, the better it will be for all the stakeholders concerned. At the time of writing, protests reminiscent of the Arab Spring are happening in Thailand, where at least four have died so far, and Ukraine. The international community could draw the right lessons from the Indian Spring, which spawned the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party. It has stirred even a 128-year-old party like the Congress from its complacency and put others on notice. The three-time chief minister of Delhi, who had derisively asked ‘Who is Arvind Kejriwal? What is (Aam Aadmi Party)?’ on election day, got her answer four days later when the votes were counted and how: Her party had been trounced and she herself had lost the election from her constituency. All of which can only mean one thing for political parties and governments everywhere: Thou shalt not mistreat the common man. Ramesh Ramachandran is a Delhi-based journalist.

‘At the UN, there were moments when I wished we had a stronger government in Delhi’ Page A14 Hardeerp Singh Puri met Narendra Modi for the first time in 1999 in Delhi, during an event organized by Arun Jaitley, and is said to be close to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate.

On the Aam Aadmi Party

Politics is about governance. Governance has to be based on understanding and sound considerations. If you are going to base concessions on subsidies, then you should know what it means. Subsidy by definition is a charge on the state exchequer. The exchequer gets money from the taxpayer. So you are going to take the taxpayers’ money and you are going to give subsidies to a limited section of the people. I want the AAP experiment to succeed, but it cannot succeed on the basis of wasteful subsidies. Look at what has happened to the Indian economy after 2008. The UPA government had waived farm loans. Look at the other wasteful schemes they have had. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was supposed to have a positive impact because it was supposed to generate employment. But figures on the level of utilization of the scheme in the poorest states are for all to see. The Food Security Scheme is equally taxing. By definition, subsidy is not a bad thing. If you are giving a subsidy to poor people, who do not have enough to eat, which is a consumption subsidy, it is logical up to a point. It is necessary. But you can never build infrastructure on

ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/REUTERS

the basis of subsidies. Infrastructure and utilities like water and electricity, by definition, have to be paid for. You are taking money from somewhere but at the end of the day, it’s the taxpayer’s

money. That is why I feel very uncomfortable with the AAP. I am happy to see these young professionals, these Indian Institute of Technology alumni, coming into politics by joining the

AAP. But I am not attracted to the party. In fact, I am worried when I see this kind of extravagant wasteful expenditure. It is not a sound economic model.

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COVER STORY

India Abroad January 10, 2014

The uncommon chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sworn in as Delhi’s 7th chief minister, proves majority in state assembly

ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/REUTERS

Deviating from tradition, no VIPs were invited to the swearing-in and Arvind Kejriwal used the subway to reach the venue. Kejriwal delivers his first speech after being sworn in as chief minister.

Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, center, Manish Sisodia, left, and Kumar Vishwas, right, greet supporters as they arrive for the swearing-in ceremony at Delhi’s Ramlila ground December 28. Kejriwal was sworn in as Delhi’s youngest chief minister December 28, 2013.

ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/REUTERS

Kejriwal announced one of the highest compensations to the family of a Delhi police constable who was allegedly beaten to death by the liquor mafia in South Delhi.

The AAP government lived up to its pre-poll promise of providing 20,000 liters of free water per month to all domestic consumers in Delhi with functional meters.

‘The oath taken right now was not taken by Arvind Kejriwal, but by the common people of Delhi,’ Kejriwal said. ‘Today is the day when the common man has won. Our fight does not end here. I believe if all the people come together, we can collectively eradicate corruption from India.’ Ministers and officials of the Delhi government will not use red beacons, the symbol of power that gives them the right of way on roads for their vehicles, the newly formed Delhi cabinet decided at its first meeting.

The AAP government cleared a 50 percent cut in electricity tariffs in Delhi. It also ordered an audit by the national auditor into the finances of three power distribution companies. The AAP leader restores a power line at a house in New Delhi.

COVER STORY

India Abroad January 10, 2014

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2014 may be the worst year in Congress history

he Congress has 149,362,120 reasons to fear the looming general election of 2014. Those are 14 crore*, 93 lakh**, 62,000, 120 causes for failure that they had the chance to avoid. And therein lies a tale of missed opportunity. When the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam walked out of the United Progressive Alliance March 19, 2013, the Congress had a simple game-plan. It would rush the Food Security Act through Parliament, wait for the results of the Karnataka assembly polls (which the Bharatiya Janata Party was expected to lose) May 8, and then call for a dissolution of the Lok Sabha. The chief reason, which was discussed at a meeting of the most senior Congress leaders in the wake of the DMK’s decision, was the deteriorating economic situation. The second reason was that they felt it was better to have a general election after victory in Karnataka rather than after (suspected) losses in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Delhi. Third, the Congress feared the outcome of more scandals. Would the Congress have performed badly had elections been held in November or December of 2013 as opposed to April or May of 2014? Yes, but things will now be far worse. Seven months ago, there was no clarity on who would lead the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party was still finding its footsteps. Today, Narendra Modi is in full command, and the Aam Aadmi Party has reduced the Congress to splinters in Delhi. And up on the horizon are those 14 crore, 93 lakh, 62,000, 120 reasons that I mentioned. Take a look at the Election Commission’s photo identity cards. At the bottom of the photo side of the card are the words ‘Age as on 1. 1.’ followed by a year. To participate in the general election of 2014 an Indian citizen needs to be 18 years old as of New Year’s Day of 2014; anyone who turns 18 on the second of January, 2014 must wait until the next election. So, how many new voters shall there be in 2014 as over the 2009 Lok Sabha polls? When I left Delhi a few weeks ago the Election Commission was starting the process of updating the voter list; huge banners said the revision would run from December 16 through December 31. There are no exact figures as I write because the exercise still has some days to run. But another institution, namely the Census of India, offers some intriguing clues. The Census, unlike the updating of the electoral register, is conducted just once every 10 years, and the last time was in 2011. I went through the numbers, and plucked out the figures given for those who were 15 years old in 2011 up to those that were listed as 20 years old in that year. Why? Because there is a possibility — not a certainty — that those who were 15 years old in 2011 shall be eligible to vote three years later, while those who were 20 years old might not have been listed as adults in 2009 (because of the January cut-off date mentioned earlier).

Congress party President Sonia Gandhi, left, and her son, party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, at a news conference in New Delhi, December 8, 2013, after the Congress party suffered a humiliating defeat in key state elections.

There were 25,891,864 — 2 crore, 58 lakh, 91,000, 864 in the Indian notation — 15-year-old Indians in 2011. There were 24,584,341 — 2 crore, 45 lakh, 84,000 thousand, 341 — 16-year-olds in 2011. There were 21,210,681 — 2 crore, 12 lakh, 10,000, 681 — 17year-old citizens in the last Census. There were 27,949,127 — 2 crore, 79 lakh, 49,000, 127 — Indians listed as 18 years of age in 2011. There were 20,852,240 — 2 crore, eight lakh, 52,000, 240 citizens that were 19 years old in 2011. Finally, there were 28,873,867 — 2 crore, 88 lakh, 73,000, 867 Indians that were 20 years old in 2011. That tots up to 149,362,120 potential voters who did not vote in 2009, but might be eligible to do so come 2014. It is possible that several citizens did not bother to enroll themselves during the process of revision. But let us take that 149,362,120 as a working estimate. Most political parties make it a point to run down opinion polls, but I know for a fact that the larger outfits conduct them for their own purposes. Only the Aam Aadmi Party is honest enough to admit that it conducts such surveys. Two of these opinion polls — one conducted by the BJP and the other by the Aam Aadmi Party — arrived at a similar conclusion, namely that roughly 80 percent of these first-time voters (as far as a Lok Sabha poll is concerned) are strongly anti-Congress. Almost all of the rest were undecided, but only an insignificant number were prepared to vote for the Congress. Private conversations with Congress leaders sug-

gest that they agree with this. Assuming the BJP and Aam Aadmi Party surveys are correct, that 80 percent of first-time voters comes to over 11 crore and 94 lakh. In 2009 the Congress won 119,111,019 (11 crore, 91 lakh, 1,019) votes. Briefly, the potential number of dissatisfied new voters is greater than the total number of proCongress voters in 2009. Going by the trends in Rajasthan and in Delhi — both states that the Congress swept in 2009 — you must also assume that REUTERS a large number of those who voted for the Congress last time are switching preferences in 2014. Even in 1999 — when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led BJP returned to power — the Congress actually had more votes than the BJP, 28.30 percent of the whole compared to the BJP’s 23.75 percent. The BJP then contested only 339 seats while the Congress put up candidates in 453 constituencies. Apart from the post-Emergency debacle of 1977 — when the Congress was outpolled by the Janata Party, 34.52 percent to 41.32 percent — the general election of 2014 could be the first time that the Congress receives fewer votes than the major anti-Congress party. And the Janata Party of 1977 was not so much a unified organization as it was a hastily cobbled-up coalition. The Congress leadership lacks charisma. The Congress cadres are non-existent. Crores of first-time voters will vote against the Congress — and tens of crores of existing voters shall do the same. The challenges the Congress shall face after the general election of 2014 may be the most severe that the party has ever tackled. And more than one Congress leader is ruing the loss of nerve that prevented a winter election in 2013 rather than a summer poll in 2014. Happy New Year, 10 Janpath!

TVR SHENOY

T V R Shenoy is a well-known Indian commentator * 1 crore = 10 million ** 1 lakh = 100,000

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INTERVIEW

India Abroad January 10, 2014

RESILIENCE IS WHAT MATTERS MOST IN THIS REALM, NOT TRYING TO PREVENT EVERY DANGER, AS YOU NEVER WILL SUCCEED AT THAT. WHAT MATTERS MORE IS HOW YOU COPE WITH THE DANGERS.

I SHOULD BE ABLE BOTH TO POST A JOKE OR COMMENT ABOUT A POLITICAL LEADER AND NOT WORRY IT WILL LAND ME IN JAIL, AS WELL AS CHECK MY PERSONAL ONLINE BANK ACCOUNT, AND NOT WORRY IT WILL BE STOLEN. IF WE DON’T WATCH OUT, THESE GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE INTERNET COULD BE RISKED IN THE YEARS AHEAD.

The threat level displayed on a monitor at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center.

COURTESY: BROOKINGS.EDU

Peter Warren Singer

The author of Cybersecurity and Cyberwar discusses hot-button issues with Vicky Nanjappa

yber threats are on the rise and intelligence agencies across the world agree that it cannot be taken lightly. Peter Warren Singer, senior fellow and director, Centre for 21 st Century Security and Intelligence, Brookings Institution, and Allan Friedman, fellow in governance studies and research director, Centre for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institution

HYUNGWON KANG/REUTERS

have authored the book Cybersecurity and Cyberwar. The book provides interesting details pertaining to issues and characteristics of cyber-security. Singer discusses his book, which released January 3. What is your book about? Our entire modern way of life, from communication to commerce to conflict, depends on the Internet, and the resultant cyber-security issues challenge literally everyone. We face new questions in everything from our rights and responsibilities as citizens of both the virtual and real world, to how to protect our companies, our nations, and our families from a new type of danger. And, yet there is perhaps no issue so important that remains so poorly understood. In Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know, we try to provide the kind of easy-to-read yet deeply informative resource book that has been missing on this crucial issue. Written in a lively, accessible style, filled with engaging stories and illustrative anecdotes, the book is structured around the key questions of cyber-security: how it all

works, why it all matters, and what we can do. Along the way, we take readers on a tour of the important (and entertaining) issues and characters of cybersecurity, from the ‘Anonymous’ hacker group and the Stuxnet computer virus to the new cyber units of the Chinese and US militaries. How serious is the cyber threat today and do you see it becoming more worrisome in the days to come? It is both growing and perhaps hyped. That is, cyberspace is a realm on which we all depend, for commerce, for communication, social networks, and yes, conflict. The threats in it are multiplying in their scale, their scope and now, as Stuxnet pioneered, in their ability to cause damage in the real world. This will continue. That said, we should not just throw our hands up and act like nothing can be done. This is a realm where there have been over 30,000 articles written about ‘Cyber Terrorism’ and yet no person has ever been hurt or killed by cyber terrorism. Let me be clear, it is not that terrorists do not use or

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INTERVIEW

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A Free Syrian Army fighter works on his computer. Experts consider Iranian-linked groups (active in conflicts like Syria and Lebanon), as the most dangerous in the cyberworld as they combine the power of the State with the flexibility of non-State actors. KHALIL ASHAWI/REUTERS

Page A18 want to use the Internet, but that we can’t let our fears overwhelm good sense. How do you think the United States is coping with this threat? We are very good at cyber offence, and darn well should be, since we spend the most on it, but are very reliant on cyberspace for our way of life, which makes us quite vulnerable. A major problem is attitude. Resilience is what matters most in this realm, not trying to prevent every danger, as you never will succeed at that, but what matters more is how you cope with the dangers. In that, our media and political discourse does not help. Take the idea of a cyber attack shutting down electrical power, a fear that is central in US discourse and last summer also played out in India (which to be clear didn’t happen in reality in either instance). My point is not that such a danger is fake; it is real, but rather how we cope with it is what gives it the most weight. The power goes out all the time. But if we put the word ‘cyber’ in front of it, should we act as if life, as we know it, is over? What about the Asian scenario, particularly India? Every nation depends more and more on cyberspace, but all have not properly invested in and organized its security. I would put India in that camp of growing capability, indeed given its thriving IT sector, but also fragile systems. A key concern that India and the US share is the problems of intellectual property theft from business, most often emanating from China. This undercuts trade. We also share concerns over ensuring that the future of the Internet is not taken over by governments. Its multistakeholder model has been good for free markets and democracies everywhere and that we risk it by turning to a State-controlled model as authoritarian States like China and Russia have sought. Could you please list out the major cyber threats, both present and future? That is why we write books! The answer would be too long for here. Would the alleged snooping by the National Security Agency be classified as a cyber threat? They certainly used various means to snoop that would include cyber means. At a broader level, some of the worst NSA activities have backfired to threaten not just US business and political standing, but the Internet freedom agenda that is the key to the future of the Internet.

What are your thoughts about the snooping by the NSA into both e-mail and phones? Whistleblower Edward Snowden’s disclosures revealed three kinds of activities: The sensible: The spying on enemies, everyone does this and it makes perfect strategic sense that the NSA would do so; The questionable: Some of the mass collection was legally and policy questionable, especially in the ways it navigated around legal barriers to collect information en masse and on US citizens; The stupid: Such as spying on allied political leaders. The problem is that the discussion often fails to distinguish between the above, so people will defend one part by talking about another part. What steps do we need to take to build a safe cyber world? There is no one single action. The last third of the book is about the ‘What can we do?’ type questions — from how we can better cooperate on the international level, to the national steps or governments, to the role of businesses, to our individual roles and responsibilities at citizens and parents. The steps may be cyber-related, but often draw from history and other realms from business to public health and hygiene. But the first step to doing anything effective is to start to understand the basics. That is what the book is about. Which terrorist outfit according to you is the most dangerous in the cyber-world? Experts I have talked with tend to identify Iranianlinked groups (which are active in conflicts like Syria and Lebanon), as they combine the power of the State with the flexibility of non-State actors. Will terrorists fight the next war on cyberspace? All actors use cyberspace to their ends now, be they in business, politics, entertainment, or terrorism. A better question is how would you know when a ‘cyberwar’ begins and ends? Should governments do more to encourage ethical hacking?

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When you say ‘ethical hacking’ we need to clarify what one means. For instance, does it mean ‘White Hat’ hacking, people aiding in finding vulnerabilities in systems and letting the makers know about it, before the bad guy, ‘Black Hat’ hackers, can take advantage of those vulnerabilities. Or does one mean people hacking in pursuit of some ethical or political cause, better known as ‘Hacktivisim.’ These are different and the government should have a different response. But the bigger point is that all ‘hackers’ are not the same, nor are all hackers bad, as too many in government and media assume. Will cyberspace be militarized in the days to come? It is certainly used more and more by the military, both for communication and likely war fighting. But the very value of cyberspace is lost if it becomes overly militarized. How do you see countries cooperating with each other to combat cyber threats? We need to understand that it is all about incentives. Focus on shared interests, shared threats (what in Chinese is known as ‘double crimes’), build coalitions where possible, accept that sometimes it won’t involve all countries, but that doesn’t it make it not worthwhile to build core groups, graft onto treaties and agreements that already work (build upon success, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel), and most of all raise the level of understanding and shared sense of responsibility across national borders. What should private entities like banks do to combat this threat? Private firms have their own responsibilities too. And again, it is about understanding the incentives. That is why for example, banks do a better job of protecting themselves than infrastructure companies. We need to do more to encourage this, both in industry and via public policy. To put it another way, 70 percent of business executives have made a cyber-security related decision for their firm and yet no major business school program teaches it. Is the hack back theory ethical? It is certainly appealing, but so far it remains questionable as to whether it is legal. Even more it is not clear whether it is wise or effective. To explain, handing over cyber offence operations to private firms may parallel some of the problems that emerged with private military firms like Halliburton and Blackwater (which I wrote about in my book Corporate Warriors), as well as risk escalating conflicts beyond what the States might wish. Secondly, it is a lot like vigilantism. It feels good to strike back and ‘teach them a lesson,’ but doesn’t work for long if you are dealing with multiple threats. You may teach one guy a lesson, but as one executive put it, ‘You’ll just get five minutes of peace before another threat pops up.’ Is being anonymous a solution to be protected online? No, both because it is getting harder and harder to remain anonymous, as well as so much of the positive things we use and love about the Internet must happen with identity known. It is about maintaining the open system of trust that matters. To put it another way, I should be able both to post a joke or comment about a political leader and not worry it will land me in jail, as well as check my personal online bank account, and not worry it will be stolen. If we don’t watch out, these great things about the Internet could be risked in the years ahead.

The US and India share concerns over ensuring that the future of the Internet is not taken over by governments. Its multi-stakeholder model has been good for free markets and democracies everywhere and that we risk it by turning to a State-controlled model as authoritarian States like China and Russia have sought.

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Manmohan Singh breaks his silence Sheela Bhatt analyzes three takeaways from the prime minister’s media interaction

THE WEEK THAT WAS India Abroad January 10, 2014

Modi’s criticism

new prime minister,” he said. He dropped hints about Congress party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi being named as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Rahul Gandhi has “outstanding credentials to be nominated as the prime ministerial candidate and I hope the party will take that that decision,” Singh said.

In his sharpest comments ever against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that Modi would be disastrous as prime minister. “If you measure the strength of a prime minister by presiding over the mass massacre of innocent citizens on streets of Ahmedabad, then I do not believe in it,” Dr Singh said.

Credit for running a coalition government for 10 years

Rules out a third term

Dr Singh ruled out a third term if the United Progressive Alliance was to return to power post the 2014 Lok Sabha election. “In a few months’s time, after the general election, I will hand the baton over to a

27 killed as bus falls into gorge

Twenty seven people, including 13 women, were killed when a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus fell into a ravine after colliding with a truck in the hilly Western Ghat area of Thane district in Maharashtra.

Kolkata: Rape horror casts shadow over New Year A 16-year-old girl, who had been raped twice last October in Kolkata, and allegedly set on fire by the rapists, died due to burn injuries, December 31,2013. The doctors treating the teenager said she was pregnant at the time of her death. The rape sparked outrage in India with the victim’s family, alleging that they had been threatened to leave West Bengal by the Kolkata police.

Meanwhile,

January 1, four days after helping the police arrest one of four people who molested her, a Kolkata woman complained to the police about being threatened by the other three accused to retract her statement or face ‘serious consequences.’

HARISH TYAGI/REUTERS

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a media interaction in New Delhi, January 3.

Assam to move an hour ahead of India

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is campaigning to scrap India’s single time zone, which causes problems for northeastern states, which face summer sunrise as early as 4:30 am. ‘We have an early daybreak in the northeast compared to other parts of India and if we have a separate time zone then it would undoubtedly be very productive for all of us and would also help in saving energy,’ Gogoi said.

“Under compulsion of coalition politics I have served as best I could,” Dr Singh said. “My two terms have displayed the Congress (party’s) ability to run a coalition government,” the prime minister said, adding that the nuclear deal with America was his best moment in office.

26 dead in train inferno At least 26 passengers, including two children, were killed and 15 others injured when two air-conditioned coaches of an express train caught fire in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, December 28, 2013.

Mayawati aides booked in memorial scam Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati’s close aide Naseemuddin Siddiqui and former Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Babu Singh Kushwaha were among 19 people booked, January 1, for their alleged role in the $220 million scam in the construction of Dalit memorials and parks in the state.

Madhya Pradesh: SIMI members arrested

Policemen inspect the burned coach of the train.

The disaster struck near the Kothacheruvu railway station bordering Karnataka. The train had left Bengaluru at 10.45 pm December 27 for an overnight journey to Nanded in Maharashtra.

Madhya Pradesh’s Anti Terrorist Squad arrested four members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India from Ujjain and recovered pipe bombs and detonators from them, January 1.

Indian Mujahideen wanted to nuke Surat

UMAR GANIE

Huge cache of weapons recovered In a major arms haul, alert Indian Army troops recovered 40 weapons from near the Line of Control in the Farkian Gali area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, December 28, 2013.

REUTERS

In a chilling revelation, Indian Mujahideen terrorist Yasin Bhatkal, who is currently in the custody of the Delhi police, told interrogators that the terror group was planning to use a small nuclear bomb while carrying out a devastating strike in the industrial city of Surat in Gujarat.

Indian student assaulted in Australia A 20-year-old Indian student in Australia suffered serious injuries and went into a coma last week after being

brutally attacked with sticks and robbed by thugs in Melbourne.

India gets new Air Force chief

Air Marshal Arup Raha took over as India’s Air Force chief December 31, 2013. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne. Immediate challenges before the new chief include the tussle between the Indian Air Force and its largest supplier Hindustan Aeronautics Limited over the issue of indigenous and foreigner trainer aircraft, and the intense negotiations for the procurement of 126 Rafale multi-role combat aircraft from the French firm Dassault Aviation.

Uttar Pradesh government orders relief camps to shut Uttar Pradesh officials visited relief camps in Muzaffarnagar, December 31,2013, to try and convince people to go back home so that the camps, set up to shelter

Page A21

THE WEEK THAT WAS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Page A20 those made homeless by the communal riots in September, could be dismantled. Meanwhile, facing flak over the death of children at relief camps, the state government shifted 420 riot victims from camps in the district to vacant buildings to protect them from the severe cold wave sweeping the state.

Navy building damaged in freak accident In a freak mishap, a 30 mm gun on board a Coast Guard ship went off accidentally, December 31, 2013, when it was being repaired, damaging a portion of the Western Naval Command headquarters building in Mumbai.

Snoopgate: Web portal asked to file affidavit A two-member commission, set up by the Gujarat government to inquire into the alleged snooping on a woman by the state police, has issued summons to Ashish Khetan of Gulail.com and asked him to file an affidavit by January 15 in connection with the release of audio tapes. The investigative portal along with Cobrapost.com had claimed November 15 that Amit Shah, the former Gujarat home minister, had ordered illegal surveillance of a woman at the behest of his sahib. The web sites had released taped conversations between Shah and suspended Indian Police Service officer G L Singhal to support their claim, but said that its

authenticity could not be confirmed.

Bahrain envoy booked for assault leaves India

THE RIGHT FIGHT

Under fire for assaulting a woman manager of an apartment complex, Bahrain’s Consul General in Mumbai, Mohammad Abul Aziz Al Khaja, left the country December 27 following pressure from the Indian government.

First woman head for National Police Academy

India’s National Police Academy could soon get a woman chief for the first time in its 65-year-old history. Aruna Bahuguna, a 1979batch IPS officer, was tipped as the new director of the institution.

AgustaWestland deal scrapped

ANINDITO MUKHERJEE/REUTERS

A differently abled girl, center, along with others, during a candlelight vigil in New Delhi, December 31, 2013. Hundreds of protestors held the vigil to express their anger over the delay in introducing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill in India’s Parliament.

January 2, after nearly two years of deliberations, India’s defence ministry scrapped the $550 million deal with AgustaWestland to procure 12 VVIP helicopters. The decision was taken after reports sur-

faced that executives of AgustaWestland, a unit of the Italian defense contractor Finmeccanica, allegedly paid bribes to bag the contract to supply the helicopters to be deployed by the Indian Air Force for ministers and other VVIPs.

A snow-clearing truck removes snow from a road during a cold winter morning in Srinagar, January 1. DANISH ISMAIL /REUTERS

Delhi recorded the lowest minimum temperature in a decade for the month of December as mercury dipped to a chilling 2.4 degrees December 30. Freezing cold waves swept across Punjab,

Haryana and Chandigarh. The Srinagar-Jammu national highway connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country remained closed for over three days as the Kashmir valley and Ladakh reeled under intense cold conditions and heavy snowfall.

Mumbai was meant for retired defense personnel, but some politicians, bureaucrats and military officers proceeded to bend rules to get apartments at artificially lowered prices.

Yeddy back in BJP

January 1, the federal cabinet approved a presidential reference to India’s Supreme Court for a statutory inquiry into charges of sexual misconduct leveled against former Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly by a law intern.

Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa announced January 2 that his one-year-old party, the Karnataka Janatha Paksha would merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Credited with forming the first BJP government in south India in 2008, Yeddyurappa had fought bitterly with other party leaders before his exit in December 2012.

Maharashtra government’s flip flop

New army corps to combat China

Five days after Congress party VicePresident Rahul Gandhi criticized the Maharashtra government’s rejection of the Adarsh Commission of Inquiry report, the state cabinet revised its stand and accepted it January 2. The report indicted four former Congress party chief ministers, including Sushilkumar Shinde, now the federal home minister, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan and Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil. However, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said there was no need for initiating action against the politicians named since ‘no criminality was revealed’ in the report. The Adarsh housing complex in

The 17 Strike Corps aimed at countering Chinese border incursions, was raised January 1 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The corps, with 80,000 troops, was sanctioned last July by India's cabinet committee on security, at a massive cost of $10 billion to be allotted over the next seven financial years.

Troubles mount for Justice Ganguly

North India reels under cold

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No relief for former high court judge India’s Supreme Court dismissed former Punjab and Haryana high court judge Nirmal Yadav's plea for a stay on proceedings of a trial court, which was set to frame charges against her in a bribery scam, and pulled her up for adopting delaying tactics.

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BUSINESS India Abroad January 10, 2014

They are taking on Facebook! Treetins hopes to be an alternative to Facebook. Prasanna D Zore speaks to the entrepreneurs behind it

Office address: The 17th floor of a posh office at Nariman Point, Mumbai’s business district. Employees: Founder Prince Jacob Thomas, three cofounders — Aditya Dhull, Mohit Narwal, Chandy Thomas — and two interns. One of these six takes turns to make cupcakes so that the other five get to work at their stations. Office space: Big enough for four to five people to squeeze in along with their laptops. Thanks to Monish Ghatalia, owner of an advertising company who magnanimously let out his office library to the four to green flag their unique venture. Name of the web site: Treetins.com (Treetins is an anagram for interest) Often heard from people with whom these entrepreneurs haggle for discounts on promotion material: Kya sahab, posh Nariman Point main office aur itna bargain karte ho (Sir, you have an office in the posh Nariman point area and yet you bargain for discounts). Aim: To make Treetins.com a platform where ‘strangers can go social’ and create a social network of people based on their interest to take on Facebook. Prince, Aditya, Chandy and Mohit hope to reinvent the Internet wheel that first helped strangers connect with each other through various messenger services, but later closed itself by going social, giving you the choice to sift out strangers from your circle of friends. This is how people connect on Treetins: Any user who registers on Treetins has to first ‘Express’ (write) her/his interest. Like, somebody writing about an honest taxi driver who made her/his day. While this ‘Expression’ about the taxi driver will be in the public domain the people who read it will have no way to know the person who posted it. They can only see the ‘Expression.’ Anybody interested in your ‘Expression’ can start a conversation with you by clicking on ‘Converse with this person’ tab by writing something in turn. When you receive this person’s ‘Expression’ you can either start a conversation — thereby connecting with this stranger — or opt out of it if you think the person is not genuine. If you start this conversation then there you are connecting with a stranger on the basis of a shared interest: In this case the honesty of the taxi driver or anything else that relates to the ‘Expression’. “The idea behind Treetins is that you are not connected to your own circle of friends and families or colleagues. The idea here is to connect with strangers. Our uniqueness is that there is always serendipity when you meet or connect with a stranger,” says Prince about the venture’s unique selling proposition or how is it different from say Facebook. “On Treetins your identity is not revealed unless you choose to reply to a conversation.” “On Treetins everything revolves around expressions. Like what you have to say on a particular topic or an interest. The other person’s reply is what really determines whether you have to connect with her or him. Until then the person who responds to your interest does not know who you are,” he adds. You launched in December. What has been the initial response? Mohit: It has been very good. A lot of readers have invited their friends and gradually the numbers are picking up. We are seeing lot of expressions being posted on the site

From left: Aditya Dhull, Prince Jacob Thomas, Mohit Narwal and Chandy Thomas

and the average time spent on the site is close to 40 minutes. That means a lot of people are browsing through the content. As of now, mostly influencers like tech bloggers and people in the tech domain have registered in considerable numbers and we expect to see this number multiply manifold in the coming days. What was the idea that created Treetins… Prince: The World Wide Web was supposed to connect people across geographies. This used to happen a lot in the days of Yahoo! Messenger. You could randomly connect with people anywhere in the world, share things with them randomly. But over a period of time networks that have grown are very closed (Facebook, Google Circles). From being able to connect to anyone, anywhere in any part of the world, you are now restricted only to your circle of friends and family. Somewhere, a little fatigue has set in and if you see the behavior of people on Facebook a lot of users are passive now. What these passive users do now is browse through pictures, click on the ‘Like’ button because you cannot disappoint a friend who has posted a picture of her/his with his fiancé/fiancée. Having noticed this behavior we all somewhere felt that the Internet will have to come full cycle and go to where it all began. People would want to break out of their network and connect with people outside their circles.

There were attempts made like Chat Roulette, Omegle, etc. But the problem with these platforms was the moment you try to connect with strangers the whole process becomes weird or creepy. What we have also found out is that people don’t want to connect to strangers in the absence of any context. It makes the whole effort pointless. In one business newspaper we were reading an article that Facebook has brought out the stalker in youngsters. This shows that people are interested in other people outside their social network, but they don’t have any proper means to reach out to them. We can connect with friends’s friends on Facebook, but we can’t add them because it would make us feel like stalkers. You can connect with strangers across various chat rooms, but there is no context there. One takes a lot of time to introduce themselves using A/S/C (short cuts used for age, sex and city/country) and by the time you find common interest a lot of time has passed. Most of the times such conversations lead to web cam invites again making the entire exercise very creepy. While most of these platforms were started with the right intention, somehow people don’t have easy and safer access to strangers with common interests. The thought behind starting Treetins was to use the Internet’s ability to reach out to maximum people and create a platform where people can connect with strangers only when they want to.

BUSINESS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

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Martoma trial set to begin GEORGE JOSEPH

he trial of Mathew Martoma in the largest insider trading case is due to start Monday, January 6. The pre-trial conference was scheduled for January 3, but was adjourned due to bad weather, his attorney Richard Strassberg told India Abroad. The jury selection before US District Judge Paul Gardephe was scheduled for January 7, unless Martoma,39, pled guilty. So far he has refused to do so or cooperate with the prosecution against former boss Steven Cohen, founder, SAC Capital Advisors. Martoma, whose earlier name was Ajai Mathew, was arrested in November 2012 from Boca Raton, Florida — where he lives with his wife and three children — for insider trading worth $276 million, which benefited CR Intrinsic, a part of SAC. He was accused of arranging for paid consultations with a leading Alzheimer’s disease

doctor between 2006 and 2008 to obtain inside information about a drug being developed jointly by the pharmaceutical companies Elan Corporation and Wyeth, according to court papers. Martoma, a portfolio manager then, initially obtained inside information that the drug trial was progressing well. By June 30, 2008, his company held approximately $700 million worth of Elan and Wyeth equity securities. On July 17, 2008, Martoma received information that the drug trial had produced negative results. Three days later, he sent Cohen an e-mail asking for a meeting. Over the next seven days, the hedge fund liquidated its entire position in Elan and almost all of its position in Wyeth — a total of 17.7 million shares worth approximately $700 million. The hedge fund also shorted Elan and Wyeth by approximately 7.75 million shares.

The drug results were announced July 29, 2008. The next day Elan stock closed approximately 42 percent lower and Wyeth shares fell approximately 12 percent. The hedge fund is alleged to have avoided losses of approximately $276 million, according to the prosecution. Martoma, who was fired in 2009, earned $9.8 million from this, according to the chargesheet. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine and restitution. He was released on a $5 million bail and had to post $2 million in cash or property to satisfy the bail requirements. CR Intrinsic eventually agreed to pay $602 million on the charges tied to Martoma (India Abroad, March 29, 2013). Cohen paid $1.8 billion as penalties for settling many of the charges brought against him by the office

of Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (India Abroad, November 15, 2013). Charles Stillman, Martoma’s former attorney, had questioned the charges against his client. “Martoma was an exceptional portfolio manager who succeeded through hard work and the dogged pursuit of information in the public domain,” he had told India Abroad earlier. “Mathew continues to fight the charges and is preparing for trial,” Strassberg added. He has asked the judge to order the authorities to turn over communications between the government and the doctors who shared information with Martoma and are now cooperating with the prosecution. He is also seeking to bar jurors from hearing that Martoma fainted when Federal Bureau of Investigation agents came to arrest him, which the prosecution has noted as evidence of guilt.

the week that was

India, airborne Employees at the heavy electrical manufacturing unit of Larsen & Toubro in Mumbai. Indian companies like L&T that built most of the parts for the country’s recently launched Mars mission are using lowcost, high-tech expertise in frugal space engineering to compete for global aerospace, defense and nuclear contracts worth billions of dollars.

India Inc worried over US Bill The United States Immigration Bill, which proposes higher visa fees and enhanced audit by US agencies, is still giving ‘sleepless nights’ and the Indian IT industry needs to keep a watch, Som Mittal, the National Association of Software and Services Companies chief, said. The Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act 2013 was passed by the Senate and is yet to be passed by the House of Representatives.

India may permit FDI in railways The Indian government is likely to allow Foreign Direct Investment in high-speed trains and other projects, including development of rail lines. Besides proposing 100 percent FDI through automatic route in the cash-starved railway sector, India has also proposed to de-license and de-reserve few areas of the sector. But FDI will not be allowed in train operations and safety.

Amul to start production in America next month

Come February, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which owns the Amul brand, will start manufacturing ghee, Paneer and Shrikhand (a sweet dish made of strained yogurt) from a plant near New York. ‘Initially, three products will be manufactured at the facility from February. There are around 3 million Indian and many more Asian consumers whom we will target in the initial phase,’ said R S Sodhi, managing director, GCMMF. The dairy major has joined hands with a New Jerseybased non-resident Indian to use his plant.

IT: Light at the end of the tunnel? For the quarter ended September 2013, most Indian and offshore-centric information technology services companies reported better-than-expected growth, led by the North American market, which accounted for about 60 percent of the industry’s exports revenues.

MANSI THAPLIYAL/REUTERS

Experts say these trends are expected to increase in 2014, primarily driven by demand from the United States, revival in the European market, and increased momentum in the adoption of new technologies. ‘2014-2015 will be a better year than 2013-2014, according to the initial talks we have had with our clients,’ the Business Standard newspaper quoted N Chandrasekaran, chief executive and managing director, Tata Consultancy Services, as saying.

Mallya’s cup of woes overflowing The Karnataka high court sought a probe into fund diversion to the tune of Rs 40 billion ($643 million) by United Spirits to the tax haven of the British Virgin islands before its sale to Diageo. Lenders, led by BNP Paribas, said the diversion was not in their interest and would impact United Breweries Holdings Ltd. The latter and Mallya were both guarantors to Kingfisher Airlines loans. After the airline defaulted on payments, lenders and aircraft lessors sued UBHL and Kingfisher in the high court, asking for their money.

Stage set for mining clean-up act For a large part of 2013, the Indian mining sector grappled with controversies related to allocation, production and pricing of minerals. The sector seems set for a cleanup in 2014, helping boost investor confidence and growth. The shift to gross calorific value-based grading of coal aligned domestic prices with international benchmarks. This year the the auctioning of more blocks and the finalization of the surplus coal policy is likely to introduce transparency, while revised fuel supply agreements will ensure assured coal supply for fuel-starved power plants.

ArcelorMittal’s one big India success is in Kolkata ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, is making Kolkata one of its global hubs for engineering and project management. What started in 2009 as a five-location service has seen a steep expansion. The number of locations in 2013 was 17.

A24

Sunnier skies for 2014

PERSONAL FINANCE India Abroad January 10, 2014

or the first time in several years, we have approached the New Year with no major dark cloud on the horizon. In the United States, aggressive monetary policy has healed many of the wounds of the 2008-09 financial crises. Individuals have reduced their debt service costs, the housing market is now in full fledged recovery and the banking system is gradually getting healthier — the balance sheets have been repaired and the legacy bad loans are getting under control. US corporations seem to be flush with cash and profits and this can lead to an increase in dividends, stock buy backs and acquisitions. Even the US budget deficit is looking better — it has fallen to 4 percent of GDP this year from a high of 10 percent.1 To that end, we’re seeing a positive outlook for the global economy, yet investors are cautioned to consider the potential risks in the year ahead. Having an understanding of the implications of these macro trends will enable investors to position themselves for the opportunities in addition to investing in longer-term transformational trends arising from techAny information presented in connection with BofA nological innovation and demoMerrill Lynch Global Research is general in nature and not graphic shifts. intended to provide personal investment advice. The inforDespite this expected improvemation does not take into account the specific investment ment, the inflation outlook is remarkably benign in objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any the developed world while a few emerging markets specific person who may receive it. Investors should underlike India are still grappling with price increases, stand the statements regarding future prospects may not largely attributable to currency weakness. The much be realized. dreaded ‘tapering’ by the Federal Reserve may start sometime next year, but the process is expected to be slow and measured. On the strategy front, we believe that the great rotaRaj Sharma, Managing tion from bonds to equities has begun. Over the past Director Wealth year, investors have poured money into stocks and we Management, is a Private have started to see outflows from bonds. The 30-year Wealth Advisor for the bull market bonds seem to be approaching an end Private Banking and and investors should carefully assess their interest Investment Group at Merrill rate exposure as well as their overall asset allocation. Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Looking overseas, as Europe emerges out of its Smith, Incorporated, a recession and Japanese growth kicks into high gear, registered broker-dealinvestors should find attractive values in both these er, member SIPC, and markets. However, investors may want to consider a wholly-owned subhedging their foreign exchange positions in view of sidiary of Bank of our positive outlook for the US dollar. America Corporation. In terms of emerging markets, we believe that opportunities may fall outside of the BRICs — Brazil, RAJ SHARMA Russia, China and India. It is important to start differentiating emerging markets as opposed to viewing them as one homogenous asset class. Active management and country selection will increasingly become more erance and financial goals and we suggest consulting your important in emerging market investing. advisor to ensure you are on track. As always, your portfolio should be customized to reflect Wish all of you a New Year filled with peace and happiyour income needs, time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolness.

In terms of emerging markets, this year’s opportunities may fall outside the BRICs — Brazil, Russia, China and India.

JASON LEE/REUTERS

Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed May Lose Value This information is general in nature and not intended to provide personal investment advice. The information does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any specific person who may receive it. Investors should understand the statements regarding future prospects may not be realized. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Equity securities are subject to stock market fluctuations that occur in response to economic and business developments. Raj was recognized in 2013 by Barron’s in their Top 100 Financial Advisor list and has received this recognition for ten consecutive years. Raj Sharma can be reached in his Boston office at ( 800) 926-5579 or raj_sharma@ml.com. Source: Barron’s “Top 100 Financial Advisors,” April 13, 2013. For information about the selection criteria, go to www.barrons.com. Barron’s is a trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERSONAL FINANCE

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A25

The NRI and the Indian resident bank account My father lives in India. His accounts are in his name alone. We were wondering if my name could be added as a joint holder in his resident savings account. I am a United States citizen living in the US. — Parag Sahi Yes, this is possible. A resident Indian can include a NonResident Indian or Person of Indian Origin close relative(s) as a joint holder(s) in their resident bank accounts, including their Exchange Earner’s Foreign Currency/Resident Foreign Currency on ‘former or survivor’ basis. However, such a joint holder shall not be eligible to operate the account during the life time of the resident. As we interpret this rule, the ‘former’ who is the resident owner of the account is the only person who is authorized to operate the account and the survivor (NRI/PIO) comes into the picture only when the former passes away.

AN SANDEEP SHANBHAG SHANBHAG I have sold my house and earned substantial long-term capital gains. I wish to avoid paying tax, but at the same time do not want to reinvest in another property. I was advised to put the money into tax-saving bonds. I am given to understand that these bonds come with a lock-in of three years. What my advisor isn’t clear about is after the expiry of three years, whether the funds released are repatriable. Though I am told that it is not, I wish to confirm whether the maturity amount is indeed non taxable. —- Sukumar Ganesan The maturity amount of the bonds will have to be credited to your Non-Resident Ordinary account (not NonResident External). As per the law, an equivalent of $1 million may be remitted abroad from one’s NRO account. Forms 15CA & CB need to be submitted. This is as per the current rules. Three years from now, these rules may or may not be the same. I have been living in the US for over 25 years now. I retired

recently. I plan to alternate living in the US and India. However, there could arise occasions when I end up in India for 7 to 8 months of a year. How can I achieve this without attracting tax incidence on my foreign income (foreign to India)? — Prem Sagar If you become a resident by virtue of your being in India for 182 days in the financial year or 365 days out of the preceding four FYs AND 60 days in the FY, you will have to pay tax on your global income. We are afraid there is simply no getting around this rule. However, you may be aware of a transitional status of Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident between being an NRI and becoming a full-fledged Resident. RNOR is a person who satisfies one of the following conditions: a) He has been a non-resident in India in nine out of the 10 previous years preceding that year, or b) Has during the seven previous years preceding that year been in India for a period of, or periods amounting in all to, 729 days or less. An RNOR is not required pay tax in India on his forex income. So for the first two years of your return to India you would be an RNOR by the virtue of which you will not have to pay tax on your US income. However, once the RNOR status is no longer applicable, you will have to submit your global income to tax. We are settled in the US. My father is over 80 years of age. Recently a relative told us that under the new rules of filing income tax returns in India the exemption limit for senior citizens over 80 years is Rs 500,000 ($8,000 — the basic threshold of income that is exempted). If this is so, my father would benefit since he has rental and other interest income in India for which we get his tax returns filed. — Vartak C The normal limit for income tax exemption for Senior Citizens is Rs 250,000 ($4,000). A couple of years ago, a new category of taxpayers called Very Senior Citizens for whom an enhanced limit of Rs 500,000 was introduced. However, this enhanced basic exemption limits are only applicable to resident Indians. For NRIs, irrespective of their age, the general limit as applicable to the normal taxpayer (Rs 200,000 or $3,200) is applicable. My brother who lives in India and I had inherited some land when our father passed away. We built a house on that land. I remitted my share of the funds required from here while my brother funded his share from his personal funds. We intend to sell the house. 1. How do you establish the value of the land which was bought by our father many years ago? No purchase price is known. 2. My other problem is establishing proof that the money

was sent from here. I have retained some documents of the remittance, but not all. 3. How do you divide the proceeds of the house sale, and how can I repatriate my portion, and is there a limit? — Shastry P M If the land purchase and subsequent house built has been prior to April 1, 1981, then the Fair Market Value as on that date (April 1, 1981) as assessed by an official chartered valuer can be adopted as the official cost of the property. From your query, the land in all probability has been acquired before April 1981. However, if the house has been built subsequently, you will have to have some documentary proof (payments made to contractors, builder etc in rupees) as to its cost. Else you will have no other option but to adopt the cost as nil. Dividing the net sales proceeds (after taxes) between the family members can be done as per the will of your parents or in the absence of a will, by way of family arrangement. In the case of any dispute, you will have to apply for a probate. The limit for remitting the funds abroad is the equivalent of $1 million per year. If your share is more than this, you can stagger the proceeds over the years not exceeding $1 million per year. Readers who wish to ask A N Shanbhag a question can fill in the following details and mail the coupon to: The Business Editor, India Abroad, 42 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004 Or fax it to 212-727 9730 Your question:

Name: Address:

A N Shanbhag is an investment consultant and author of In the Wonderland of Investment; How to Convert a Taxpayer into a Taxsaver; NRI Investment Guide. This article does not constitute tax or legal advice. Consult your tax or legal advisor before making any tax- or legally-related investment decisions. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com

Stock market wealth soared in 2013, nervousness for 2014 A CORRESPONDENT

tock market investors in India became richer by over Rs 1 trillon ($16.12 billion) in 2013, as a 9 percent rally in the benchmark Sensex helped total valuation of all listed firms rise to Rs 704.44 billion ($11.35 billion) at the end of a volatile year.

Those contributing the most to the stock market wealth included Tata Consultancy Services and firms like Infosys, Wipro, Tata Motors and Maruti. TCS shares shot up by over 71 percent in 2013, while Infosys gained 51 percent, Wipro 40 percent, Tata Motors 20 percent, and Maruti Suzuki 19.33 percent. This was the third consecutive year of rise

in investor wealth. In 2013, the benchmark Sensex rose by 8.97 percent. The broader CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange rose by 398.90 points or 6.76 percent. ‘Market experts attributed rise in investor wealth to robust FII inflows and hopes of wider reforms after the 2014 Lok Sabha

election helped to overcome concerns over slowing economic growth and high inflation,’ the Press Trust of India reported. However, the year ended on apprehension for 2014. ‘It is going to be a very difficult year,’ Sankaran Naren, chief investment officer, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, summed up his outlook for 2014 for Business Standard. The uncertainty over the impact of the US Federal Reserve’s decision to withdraw its stimulus package, India’s constant battle with inflation and the upcoming general election were pegged as the causes.

A26

SPORTS

Thorn in the crown The South African tour became the lone blot in what was otherwise a good year for Team India, says Bikash Mohapatra

t could have been a perfect year for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys. It could have been a year when the team would have remained unbeaten in every bilateral series or multi-nation tournament it featured in. It could have been a year where the team wouldn’t have lost a single Test. But it was not to be. The men in blue had scripted a fairytale in the first 11 months of 2013. They dominated the one-day format against England, Zimbabwe, Australia and West Indies, a tri-series — also featuring Sri Lanka — in the Caribbean and the biggest of them all, the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June. In the five-day format the team completed a first-ever whitewash (4-0) against Australia, thereby avenging the humiliation Down Under in 2011-2012. When the Indian team embarked on the South Africa tour, doubt replaced the confidence previously on display.

India Abroad January 10, 2014

The team’s 2011 overseas trips — to England and Australia — had been disasters. With many experienced players — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman — having retired and the others — Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir — dropped, not many believed that this young Indian side could end the jinx in South Africa. The one-day series proved the naysayers right. The Indian batsmen were clueless against Dale Steyn’s pace and bounce. The Test series began on a similar note at the Wanderers, before Team India took hold of the match, getting to a winning position. In the end, they had to settle for a draw. In the second and deciding Test in Durban, and despite the visitors starting well, the end result — and consequently the series — went in South Africa’s favor. It will take some more time, and a lot of concentrated effort — and that includes preparing sporting wickets at home — for Team India to perform consistently overseas, let alone win. The fact that the Indians play mostly abroad in 2014 is an opportunity to adapt. Dhoni claimed his team had no time to adapt to South African conditions. Had the original tour, as per the International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Program, gone ahead, the Indian captain wouldn’t have had a chance to complain. A four Test series would definitely have offered a better chance to adapt and mount a comeback. But differences between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the South African cricket board meant it wasn’t the case. An ad hoc series against the West Indies was organized as a farewell to Tendulkar. The Master Blaster deserved to sign off on a winning note. An early trip to South Africa would have ensured otherwise.

India versus South Africa 2nd Test

India 334-10 (113.3) First Innings

Shikhar Dhawan c A Petersen b Morkel 29 (49) Murali Vijay c de Villiers b Steyn 97 (226) Cheteshwar Pujara c de Villiers b Steyn 70 (132) Virat Kohli c de Villiers b Morkel 46 (87) Rohit Sharma b Steyn 0 (1) Ajinkya Rahane not out 51 (121) *M S Dhoni c Smith b Steyn 24 (40) Ravindra Jadeja c Kallis b Duminy 0 (3) Zaheer Khan c de Villiers b Steyn 0 (2) Ishant Sharma c de Villiers b Steyn 4 (3) Mohammed Shami c Smith b Morkel 1 (6) Extras: 12 byes:0 leg byes:7 no balls:1 wides:4 Total: 334-10 (111.3) South Africa: Dale Steyn 30-10-100-6, Vernon Philander 21-6-560, Morne Morkel 23.3-6-50-3, Jacques Kallis 11-1-36-0, Robin Peterson 22-2-75-0, Jean-Paul Duminy 4-0-10-1,

South Africa 500-10 (155.2)

*Graeme Smith c Dhawan b Jadeja 47 (81) Alviro Petersen c Vijay b Jadeja 62 (100) Hashim Amla b Shami 3 (18) Jacques Kallis c Dhoni b Jadeja 115 (316) AB de Villiers c Kohli b Jadeja 74 (117) Jean-Paul Duminy lbw b Jadeja 28 (82) Dale Steyn c Dhoni b Zaheer 44 (94) Faf du Plessis run out (Rohit) 43 (70) Robin Peterson c Vijay b Zaheer 61 (52) Vernon Philander not out 0 (3) Morne Morkel c and b Jadeja 0 (2) Extras: 23 byes:3 leg byes:15 no balls:2 wides:3 Total: 500-10 (155.2) India: Zaheer Khan 28-4-97-2, Mohammed Shami 27-2-104-1, Ishant Sharma 31-7-114-0, Ravindra Jadeja 58.2-15-138-6, Rohit Sharma 11-1-29-0.

India 223-10 (86) Second Innings

Shikhar Dhawan c Plessis b R Peterson 19 (87) Murali Vijay c Smith b Philander 6 (13) Cheteshwar Pujara b Steyn 32 (100) Virat Kohli c de Villiers b Steyn 11 (27) Rohit Sharma lbw b Philander 25 (46) Ajinkya Rahane b Philander 96 (157) *M S Dhoni c A Petersen b R Peterson 15 (29) Ravindra Jadeja c Morkel b R Peterson 8 (5) Zaheer Khan lbw b R Peterson 3 (41) Ishant Sharma c de Villiers b Steyn 1 (10) Mohammed Shami not out 1 (1) Extras: 6 byes:4 leg byes:0 no balls:0 wides:2 Total: 223-10 (86) South Africa: Dale Steyn 21-8-47-3, Vernon Philander 16-4-43-3, Morne Morkel 16-6-34-0, Robin Peterson 24-3-74-4, Jean-Paul Duminy 8-2-20-0, Faf du Plessis 1-0-1-0.

‘I couldn’t have hoped for a better exit’

outh African all-rounder Jacques Kallis said he knew the time was right to quit Test cricket as he brought the curtain down on an 18-year career with a win over India. The 38-year-old all-rounder, regarded as South Africa’s finest cricketer, scored a farewell century December 29 to help his side to a 10-wicket win and a series triumph. His 115 in South Africa’s first innings took him into third place on the list of all-time Test batsmen, with 13,289 runs from 166 Tests, behind only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs) and Ricky Ponting (13,378). Kallis surprised many with his decision to quit, catching the cricketing world unawares on Christmas Day with a statement saying the second Test against India would be his last, but that he would continue in the limited overs format. Usually it has been the other way round for top players. ‘It was a tough call, but people say there comes a day when you wake up and you realize it is time to quit,’ he was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying. ‘I felt it was the right time and to finish it off in this manner has been incredible, the way the people have come out to support me, the way Cricket South Africa and my team mates have made it a special game.’ ‘I couldn’t have hoped for a better exit. I suppose I’ll miss the cricket, but mostly the friendships, the winning times and the tough times. All that goes on in the changing room’ The South African’s Test figures — including 292 wickets and 200 catches — make him the best all-rounder of all time. His Test career started slowly and it was only in the winter of his career that his country’s supporters seemed to warm to him. ‘There were times when I could have dominated more. But for years I tried to bat through an innings. When our batting line-up became stronger, I had the opportunity to be more aggressive, especially in Test cricket,’ he was quoted by the Press Trust of India as telling authors Ali Bacher and David Williams in a new book on South African cricket. He said he would now focus on the limited overs game, with his only remaining ambition being success in the oneday World Cup. ‘I still have a lot of hunger to push South Africa to that World Cup in 2015 if I am fit and performing. The last two years have been a memorable journey with an exceptional

Jacques Kallis takes an honor lap to bring down the curtain on his 18-year Test career, December 30.

South Africa 59-0 (11.4)

Alviro Petersen not out 31 (37) *Graeme Smith not out 27 (33) Hashim Amla Jacques Kallis AB de Villiers Jean-Paul Duminy Dale Steyn Faf du Plessis Robin Peterson Vernon Philander Morne Morkel Extras: 1 byes:0 leg byes:0 no balls:0 wides:1 Total: 59-0 (11.4) India: Mohammed Shami 2-1-4-0, Ishant Sharma 5-1-29-0, Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-16-0, Rohit Sharma 0.4-0-10-0. * captain DUIF DU TOIT/GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

SPORTS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A27

Harish Kotian assesses Indian performances in the South Africa series

HITS and MISSES

Virat, man of the moment

Virat Kohli had big boots to fill in, having to bat at number 4, the position left vacant after batting icon Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement. He certainly passed the test with flying colors, giving ample proof of why many regard him as the next big thing in Indian cricket. After poor form in the ODI series, and having endured banter from the South Africans ahead of the Tests, Kohli answered critics in style with a century in the first innings of the Virat Kohli Johannesburg Test. He narrowly missed out on the landmark of becoming the fourth Indian to score a hundred in each innings of a Test when he fell for 96 in the second innings. Kohli was the second highest run-scorer, with 272 runs at an average of 68.

Pujara, worthy heir to number 3 position Cheteshwar Pujara

Before him, Rahul Dravid occupied the number 3 slot. Cheteshwar Pujara, with his batting heroics in South Africa, proved he is a worthy heir to that position. He finished as the highest runscorer in the series with 280 runs, at an average of 70, and a best score

of 153 in Johannesburg, which left the South Africans in awe of his batting prowess.

Rahane’s golden run

Ajinkya Rahane had been traveling with the Indian team for nearly three years, but before the South African tour he played just one Test. When he did get the opportunity of an extended run against the Proteas, he made sure he grabbed it with both hands. In Johannesburg, he played a good innings of 47, but fell cheaply in the second innings for just 15. He made up for it with two splendid knocks in Durban and showed great courage to stand up to Dale Steyn despite taking a few hits on the body. His magnificent 96 saved India the humiliation of an innings defeat.

second Test and he certainly didn’t disappoint with the ball. With the bat, he came in for much criticism, especially after throwing his wicket away in the second innings when the need of the hour was to stay at the wicket.

Zaheer, back with a bang

Zaheer Khan made a comeback to the Indian team after nearly a year and certainly didn’t disappoint. It was his brilliant spell in the first innings of the first Test — when he took four for 88 — that inspired the young Indian pace attack as they came close to victory. He also proved fitness issues were a thing of the past as he sent 60.3 overs in Johannesburg. The veteran pacer

Mixed tour for Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja was handed a surprise call-up for the

Dhawan’s poor outing

For Shikhar Dhawan, it was a tour that taught him a lot. He finished with a meager 76 runs in four innings, even though he promised a lot more each time he came out to bat. He kept throwing his wicket away after getting off to decent starts. This was the young left-hander’s first series outside the country and he will gain a lot from this experience.

Not a good tour for Rohit For Rohit Sharma, this was a series he would like to forget in a hurry. After his dream debut against the West Indies — he scored two centuries in his first two Tests on batting-friendly pitches in India — he looked totally at sea against the moving ball in South Africa. He finished with a poor 45 runs, at an average of 11. That score was bettered by the South African tail-enders!

Tests left a lot to be desired as he went on the defensive too early at times. His batting too was a big disappointment. His highest score in the series was 29 and he finished with 87 runs. His most disappointing showing was in Durban, where he delayed taking the second new ball, and played a reckless shot which cost him his wicket at a crucial juncture in the second innings.

Ashwin fails to inspire

Ravichandran Ashwin had a forgettable outing in Johannesburg, where he failed to pick a single wicket in the Test after bowling 42 overs. He was promptly dropped for the next Test. He failed to inspire, his lackluster bowling hardly a threat to the South African batsmen.

Dhoni disappoints The only thing Mahendra Singh Dhoni did right in the series was winning the toss and making the correct decision to bat. His captaincy in both

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Ishant yet to prove himself Ishant Sharma continued with his inconsistent showing in South Africa, but enjoyed his skipper’s backing. For someone who has played 53 Tests, Ishant is yet to deliver matchwinning performances with the ball. In South Africa, he took just five wickets, at an average of 62.

Mohammed Shami PHOTOGRAPHS: BCCI

was India’s highest wicket-taker with seven wickets at an average of 45.

Shami shows promise

Mohammed Shami showed a lot of promise and heckled the South African batsmen with his extra pace and swing. He took six wickets, at an average of 43, and certainly impressed.

Murali passes the test

Before the South Africa ntour, there were doubts if Murali Vijay had it in him to play against the moving ball. He put on a gutsy display of batting against the world’s best fast bowling attack. His leaving deliveries outside the offstump frustrated the South African pacers to quite an extent in the first Test and gave the other Indian batsmen a lot of belief. He played a good knock of 97 in the first innings in Durban and finished with a creditable 148 runs, at an average of 37.

A28

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Expectations for comprehensive immigration reform (CIR)

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Here is what happened on the comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) front to remind you. In April 2013, the S 744 Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act (CIR bill) was introduced in the US Senate. On June 28, 2013, the bill passed in the Senate. It was a historical moment, since an immigration reform bill has not passed in decades. But the House decided not to take up the CIR bill, instead it decided to have piecemeal bills. To that end, the House had five separate bills reported out of committee. None of them made it to the Floor for a vote. After months of inaction, a group of House Democrats, lead by Washington State Congresswoman Susan Delbene, took the Senate CIR bill and edited out the controversial border security sections in an effort to make it ‘House’ friendly. Unfortunately, HR 15, the House CIR bill has not yet seen much progress either. In addition to House Speaker John Boehner not allowing a vote on the bills, GOP politics has been an obstacle to all House efforts. This is where we stand at the moment. Where do we go from here? While immigration reform did not pass, last year has seen much advocacy movement and pressure from various groups, including grass-roots groups, biblical groups, the tech industry, the agricultural industry and more. The White House, to its credit, has done as much as it can to help win over votes. I do believe there is renewed hope for 2014. Speaker Boehner hired Rebecca Tallent, director of immigration policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in December 2013. Ms. Tallent previously served as chief of staff to Senator John McCain (RArizona) and was involved in efforts to pass immigration reform in 2006 and 2007. The simple action of this important hire signals to the rest of the country that Boehner is now serious about learning more about immigration laws and what needs to be done for reform. With accumulative pressure from the people, the President and pro-immigration politicians, I am hopeful that immigration reform is on the horizon in 2014 Attorney Tahmina Watson, founder of Watson Immigration Law in Seattle Washington. Summary of Congressional Research Service report on the history of comprehensive immigration reform efforts in the 109th and 110th Congresses to inform policy discussions in the 113th Congress Leaders in both chambers of Congress have listed immigration reform as a legislative priority in the 113th Congress. Most policymakers agree that the main issues in “comprehensive immigration reform” (CIR) include increased border security and immigration enforcement, improved employment eligibility verification, revision of legal immigration, and options to address the millions of unauthorized aliens residing in the country. These elements were among the features that President Barack Obama emphasized when he called for

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the 113th Congress to take up CIR legislation. Similar to President Obama’s statements on CIR, former President George W Bush stated that comprehensive immigration reform was a top priority of his second term. President Bush’s principles of immigration reform included increased border security and enforcement of immigration laws within the interior of the United States, as well as a major overhaul of temporary worker visas, expansion of permanent legal immigration, and revisions to the process of determining whether foreign workers were needed. Then—as well as now— the thorniest of these issues centered on unauthorized alien residents of the United States. During the 109th Congress, both chambers passed major overhauls of immigration law but did not reach agreement on a comprehensive reform package. In the 110th Congress, Senate action on comprehensive immigration reform legislation stalled at the end of June 2007 after several weeks of intensive floor debate. The House did not act on comprehensive legislation in the 110th Congress. The three major CIR bills in the 109th and 110th Congresses were the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437 as passed by the House in 109th Congress), the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (S. 2611 as passed by the Senate in 109th Congress), and the Comprehensive Immigration Reform (S. 1639 as considered by the Senate in 110th Congress). All three of the major CIR bills had provisions that would have increased resources for border security; expanded employment eligibility verification; increased the worksite enforcement penalties; broadened inadmissibility grounds pertaining to national security and illegal entry and added a ground for gang membership; expedited the implementation of the automated entry-exit system known as USVISIT (United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology); broadened the categories of aliens subject to expedited removal; increased the criminal penalties for immigration and document fraud, and expanded the categories of aliens subject to mandatory detention. Despite these similarities, there were substantial differences between the chambers regarding the treatment of unauthorized aliens as well as allocations of visas across family and employment categories for future flows of legal immigrants. The House-passed bill in the 109th Congress would have criminalized unauthorized presence. In contrast, the Senate bills in the 109th and 110th Congresses would have created avenues for unauthorized aliens who met a set of criteria and paid prescribed penalties to acquire earned legalization. The Senate bills also had provisions that would have made substantial revisions to legal permanent admissions, notably revising and expanding the employment-based permanent and temporary visa categories. The failure of these substantial efforts to enact CIR in the 109th and 110th Congresses has prompted some to characterize CIR as a “third rail” issue that is too highly charged to touch.

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

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A30

COMMUNITY India Abroad January 10, 2014

GEORGE JOSEPH

run Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, who was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions last year, said he joined the board because “I am interested in bringing about a better understanding of religions and interfaith understanding, especially at a time when there is so much fighting and killing in the name of God.” The parliament last September distanced itself from the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda. “We need to understand that Hinduism is not the only religion in the world and not every international organization should be expected to observe and celebrate every Hindu festival or personality,” he said. “The best way to celebrate Swami Vivekananda’s life is by living what he stood for and not simply holding a public function on his death and birth anniversary.” When asked about the construction of the Sardar Patel statue in Gujarat, Dr Gandhi said he was against such monuments

‘The best way to celebrate Swami Vivekananda’s life is by living what he stood for’ “I am against the construction of any statue, whether Sardar Patel or Mahatma Gandhi,” he said. “These were great people who lived and died attempting to create a world of love, compassion and understanding, and not one of hate, prejudice and competition.” “Statues do not mean that people revere those personalities. They only means they worship the person as meaninglessly as we go and pray in temples, churches and mosques and come out and do the opposite of what God expects of us to do,” he added. Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid, board chair, CPWR, welcomed Dr Gandhi and said he was ‘doing his best to keep the flag of satyagraha alive in America and India, where the voices of hate and anger sometimes seem to be drowning out the voices of truth and humanity.’ Meanwhile, Anju Bhargava, founder, Hindu American Seva Communities, who resigned from the parliament along with another trustee Anant Rambachan, when Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary celebrations became an issue last September, noted that the parliament lacked Hindus as trustees.

“CPWR has a significant number of people of Indian origin on their board, but does not have a single Hindu. Arun Gandhi has said he does not identify as a Hindu and does not represent the community,” Bhargava said. “Unfortunately once again, CPWR has left out representation, and the voice, from a very large segment of the world faiths,” she added. Though CPWR board members are chosen as individuals, they are expected to and become an important link to their faith and community, especially when it comes to fundraising and parliament events, Bhargava and Rambachan pointed out. “The Hindu community helped launch CPWR in 1993 and in the recent past helped CPWR come out of bankruptcy. Yet the voice and sentiments of the community and its then Hindu board members have been over-ridden,” they added.

Dr Arun Gandhi was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

BEN GABBE/GETTY IMAGES

Keeping alive Gandhi, Mandela’s legacy SUMAN GUHA MOZUMDER

tlanta-based Gandhi Foundation of USA hosted a memorial service for Nelson Mandela last month near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on the grounds of the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site. Subash Razdan, GF-USA leader, noted that it was a memorable occasion as they honored the three proponents of peace — Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. ‘We hope Madiba’s fight for freedom, peace and forgiveness in South Africa lives on to serve humanity,’ Razdan said. The memorial service was attended among others by Rajinder Singh, India’s acting consul general in Atlanta, and Terry L Hester, founder, International Unity in the Community campaigns. Ambassador Singh, who has served as a diplomat in Zambia, Africa, read out a message by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Mandela’s honor. John R Naugle from the Atlanta City of Peace organization expressed his gratitude to the Gandhi Foundation USA for its contribution to keep alive the legacy of Gandhi, King and Mandela.

John R Naugle from the Atlanta City of Peace organization, left, Rajinder Singh, India’s acting consul general in Atlanta, center, and Terry L Hester, founder, International Unity in the Community campaigns, right.

COMMUNITY NEWS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

A31

War of words over HR-417 GEORGE JOSEPH

ollowing the introduction of the House Resolution 417, a war of words has erupted between the Coalition Against Genocide and the Hindu American Foundation. HR 417 — sponsored by United States Representative Joseph Pitts, Republican, Pennsylvania — has received the support of 38 Congressmen from both parties, including Democrats Keith Ellison and John Conyers. It praises India’s religious diversity and criticizes the trend of intolerance from some groups. It also praises the US government for denying a visa to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. While the CAG, which supports the resolution, released a report titled, ‘Affiliations of Faith: Hindu American Foundation and the Global Sangh,’ HAF, which has led the fight against it, came out with a report titled ‘Coalition Against Genocide: A Nexus of Hinduphobia Unveiled.’ The CAG said it documented HAF’s alleged imbrications within Hindutva, which they term as a Hindu supremacist movement. The report held the Hindutva movement responsible for

Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, the Babri Masjid demolition, the Gujarat riots, crimes against Christians in Odisha and the atrocities against Muslims in district of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. The report quoted from The Protean Forms of Yankee Hindutva, by Professor Biju Mathew of Rider University (with Vijay Prashad), which studied Hindutva’s growth outside India to support its points. The HAF said its study found that several CAG leaders were self-described radicals and Marxists. The report said it had surveyed the history of CAG activism dating back to 2005, alleging that CAG constituents opposed efforts of Hindu Americans to correct reportedly flawed textbooks in California, to the recent introduction of HR-417. Suhag Shukla, executive director, HAF, said, “As far as any ‘imbrication’ within global Hindutva, CAG has absolutely no basis to try to connect an American organization run by second-generation Hindu Americans to any global movement, whatever its ideology.” “We are amused by the insinuation that we are connected to any supremacist ideology, especially when we have a record as progressive as ours.” “Their summations play like an old broken record and it’s clear CAG members are more interested in ad hominems

than really looking at HAF’s track record.” “We invite them to actually visit our Web site to learn about our work against caste-based discrimination and the oppression of women, amongst the many other things HAF does to promote mutual respect, human dignity, and pluralism.” “And, as self-proclaimed progressives,” Shukla added, “if they find any shared issues of concern, like the human rights of Ahmadiyyas, Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus in Pakistan or the ethnic cleansing of 100,000 Hindu minority Lhotsampas and Nyingmapa Buddhists from Bhutan, who knows, maybe we can even work together.” CAG leader Dr Shaik Ubaid said, “To them every person opposing the RSS is either a Maoist or a Taliban supporter. The Coalition Against Genocide is a diverse alliance. We condemn religious persecution anywhere and everywhere. We condemn the Taliban and Al Qaeda while HAF does not condemn the RSS, Bajrang Dal, or VHP violence.” “We at the Coalition Against Genocide have not discussed the possibility of what happens if Modi becomes prime minister,” Dr Ubaid added, “We take principled stands as we are a human rights group and not a political party. The President will be expected to uphold US law and also to take the morally correct stand.”

An arty Christmas among underprivileged children in Bay Area public schools. “The program was launched initially as a supplemental, after-school art education program, but now it has expanded to be included as part of a summer program for youth leadership development,” Mitra said. “The curriculum includes exposure

Snapshots from the event.

RITU JHA

ver 100 people attended the Bay Area-based nonprofit Induz’s Christmas event ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ in Newark, California, December 25. The celebrations were aimed to encourage children’s creativity by giving them an opportunity to participate in art and craft activities. “It is one of Induz’s holiday events, focused on family and children,” said Ray Mitra, founder,

Induz. Since its inception in 2004, she added, Induz has aimed to nurture artistic talents and use art as a medium to bring diverse communities and cultures together. In 2008, it launched Project Tulika in India — a program that focuses on providing free art, music and dance education to children at orphanages in India. In 2011, Induz launched the Passport to the World program, which attempts to address the lack of access to art and global learning

to meaningful art forms from various global regions around the world with different cultures.” Induz, she added, launched a new program last year, the Youth Ambassador Program, which promotes youth leadership development. Through it, young people can help spread Induz’s mission and gain leadership skills. In 2013, Induz was certified as a NGO that could award the President’s Community Service Award to Induz volunteers.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Ganesha’s new abode in Texas Meenakshi Temple VENUGOPAL MENON

he Sri Meenakshi temple in Texas recently concluded week-long festivities of the Jeernodharana Ashtabandhana MahaKumbabhishekam (conse-

cration ceremony) of its new granite Ganesha temple. Several pujas and chanting of mantras were the highlights of the event, which was also marked by cultural programs by local artists.

Devotees attend a ceremony.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY: MILIND PATIL/HIBISCUS CREATIONS

The Ganesha temple, originally built in 1979, needed renovation. The temple board and council unanimously decided to go ahead with restoring the temple in 2012. Architect Ashok Mungara laid out the plans and supervised the construction. About a quarter of a million pounds of red and black granite from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, were shipped to Pearland, Texas, for the temple. The support from devotees was unparalleled as funds poured in record time and the project remained debt-free. Nearly a million dollars were raised in just about 18 months for the renovation. The new granite temple is elaborate, and bordered by sixteen pillars each embellishing a different expression of Lord Ganesha.

Archis Ambulkar on UN agency for soil conservation technologies among stakeholders for the sustainable management and use of soil resources. Ambulkar currently serves as an expert pool member with the United Nations World Oceans Assessment and is an expert reviewer for the Inter-Governmental Panel for Climate Change reports. This group focuses on global reporting and assessment of the state of marine environment, including socio-economic aspects to provide a scientific basis for decisions at the global level on the world’s oceans and seas. Ambulkar obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Nagpur, and his master’s in environmental engineering from Bucknell University, Pennsylvania. He presently works at Brinjac Engineering Inc, Pennsylvania, and is actively involved with various technical committees for the Water Environment Federation, the American Water Works Association and the American Society for Testing and Materials International.

GEORGE JOSEPH

rchis Ambulkar, an environmental engineering professional in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has been appointed an expert with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization’s Global Soil Partnership. Ambulkar will be involved with GSP’s international working group to promote sustainable management of soil resources, their protection, conservation and sustainable productivity. “Despite the essential role that soil plays in the life of people, there is no international governance body to advocate and coordinate initiatives to ensure that knowledge and recognition of soils is appropriately represented in global change dialogues and decision-making processes,” Ambulkar said. The GSP involves a five-point approach to develop awareness and build capacities with the best available science and contribute to the exchange of knowledge and

Archis Ambulkar

A33

India Abroad January 10, 2014

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India Abroad January 10, 2014

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HINDU Sindhi parents of welleducated, good-looking girl, 39yrs, greencard holder, permanent resident US, invite correspondence; from well-settled Hindu professionals, 40-50yrs.. Email biodata w/recent photo: nasudani@hotmail.com

NI Punjabi Brahmin parents invite correspondence, from suitable US born professionals, 32-36, with similar family background; for beautiful, accomplished, 31/5’9”, strong family background US born, masters reputed university, with strong family values. Manager in a health company. Matches from San Francisco area and vicinity preferred. Email biodata w/recent photo: lakhanpuri610@gmail.com

SEEKING suitable match for Hindu Punjabi girl, US born, never married, beautiful, Master of public health, age 34yrs; from well-settled males, cultured w/ good family values. Email biodata w/ recent photo: battishjp@yahoo.com HINDU match , physician daughter, surgical specialist group practice, 30/5'5''. Email: rcnp1983@yahoo.com

Employment Career Opportunities, Job Offers, Help Wanted, Household help, Job Wanted

Services/Miscellaneous Public Notice, Computers, Adoptions and many more

PARENTS invite proposals from Hindu/ Sikh families for MD, Board certified, 34yrs/5ft6in, pretty, slim, intelligent daughter. Email biodata w/recent photo: blyjess@gmail.com PARENTS seek alliance for Lawyer daughter, 32/5’6'', prefer US born professional NY area. Email recent photograph & biodata: ptinta86@gmail.com PUNJABI parents invite correspondence for 12/75 , US bornbeautiful daughter, 5’4.5”, screenwriter. Biodata/recent photo: ska4166@yahoo.com

Matrimonial Groom ALLIANCE for 28 yr, US born, handsome, tall ( 6'3''), athletic Punjabi Hindu, doctor boy, doing Dermatology residency; preferably MD or professional girl. Email biodata/ recent photo: Prabhumilan25@ gmail.com

NI parents seek alliance for USMD son; GI fellow in highly reputable program in northeast; 30/5'9", good looking/ non-veg/ non-smoker. Email biodata/recent photograph to: rupgan2@gmail.com

Toll Free: (800) 822-3532 Fax: (212) 691-0873

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SIKH parents seek beautiful, slim, professional match from USA, for our son, US citizen, 31/5'11', MBA working in finance company in NJ. Served US Marines for 8yrs, bought his own house in NY. We are well-educated and well-settled in NY for 25yrs. Father is Khatri Sikh, mother is Jatsikh. Pls email biodata w/birth details & recent photograph. pammanjit@yahoo.com Phone (917) 584-7316 SOUTH Indian Christian request match for son, 27 yr, US citizen, IT specialist, prefer same or any profession. Call (703) 303-5935 or email rajmanoharan1@ yahoo.com

Business / Finance Business Opportunities HIGHLY profitable 40 units motel for immediate sale in CT. Contact: hotelguru60@gmail.com Seeking working partner w/ Investment for IT Company in New York. (516) 302-6135.

Cancellation & Corrections: Possible only 1 week before the date of publication. Any advertisement cancelled before its publication will be charged a processing fee of $ 5. Deadline for submitting Ads: Thursday 5:00 pm of the preceding week.

SMALL AGGRESSIVE HOTEL MANAGEMENT Company with 50+ years of combined experience in independent and franchised, full and limited service hotels, is looking for hotels to manage and take the burden off your shoulders. We have done it all. We make hotel profitable with our marketing strategies and cost controls. Excellent terms. Contact for information: hotelgurus60@gmail.com

Business For Sale INDIAN RESTAURANT for sale. Please call (716) 830-6432.

Store For Sale/Lease DOLLAR store for sale, busy location, absentee owner, negotiable price. (551) 208-7414.

Instructor Wanted MATH TUTOR NEEDED Tutoring Center needs Tutors who can teach math upto 8th grade, from Mondays-Fridays. (20hrs a week). Salary upto $20 per hr. Call (212) 222-2255

Employment Employment Services NEED staff for business/ housekeeper/ If you need job. Call (718) 445-2790.

Help Wanted #INDIA EMPLOYMENT AGENCY

Estb 1982. Bkkpr-A/C,Secy, data entry, Clerk, CSR,Import/Prod/ Merchandiser/designer, legal, chemist/pharmacist, lab tech, warehouse Mgr, sales/mktg, engineer, tvl agt. Interview in NYC by appt only. (212) 564-0620

7-11 Store Nassau County N4 bus accessible. F/T, P/T overnight shifts available. English & papers a must. Call for interview (516) 510-5557 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGER/ARCHITECT/ ESTIMATOR WANTED Experienced in public projects, JOC, estimating, submittals, take-off. AutoCAD is preferred. F/T or P/T. Fax resume to: (212) 406-2375. Email: FSCONE@aol.com Continued on Page A35

Place your ad online www.indiaabroad.com/classifieds

A35

India Abroad January 10, 2014

Classifieds REQUIRE ASSISTANT For a Tax Preparation firm in New Hyde Park, Queens to prepare Business & Individual Taxes. Accounting firm experience preferred. Fax resume: (718) 343-6343/ hjtax@aol.com

Continued from Page A34

KAS CARPET (Located by J.F.K) Hiring In Store Sales Trainees Salary plus Commission We will Pay while Train Call(718) 527-4000 MANAGER &SERVER REQUIRED at Indian Restaurant in Manhattan Excellent salary Gary: (917) 208-4027 Midtown Garment Company seeks experienced Full-charge Bookkeeper Candidate should have strong knowledge of Quick Books & Excel. Salary negotiable. Email resume to: rrehani@rehanicocpas.com Fax : (212) 947-1521 MIDTOWN NYC IMPORTER of garments needs an

OFFICE ASSISTANT Basic computer skills required. Must be organized. Email: ccny91@gmail.com Need Experienced COUNTER PERSON to work in Subway Restaurant in Queens, NY. Must be legal & speak English. Call (718) 262-9000 for appointment.

RESIDENTIAL MANAGER for 50 RM Motel in South Jersey. Must be legal with good communication and computer literate. Good salary and living quarter provided. Call (201) 679-5155 Seeking experienced & motivated person for diamond sales, willing to travel Salary + comission. Email resume to: dcbaid53@gmail.com Salary + comission

TANDOORI CHEF & APPETIZER for Indian Restaurant in Florida). Experienced needed. Good salary & free accommodation. Call Mr.Singh (239) 222-3375 (239) 565-5039 COUPLE Needed to work in a Motel in Vermont, Night Front Desk and Housekeeping. Accommodation provided. Call (802) 683-9190

LIQUOR store clerk with experience EXPERIENCED Subway Manager in Managing the store in Essex, CT, needed. Middle Georgia. Residence legal to work and driving is a must. Call (860) 834-1724 provided. Call (229) 712-9550.

NEED North & South Indian Cooks, Tandooria, waiter & Manager for Indian restaurant. Call (414) 581-3784 RESTAURANT HELP: Cook, Tandoori Cook, Helper, Waiter. Call (716) 8370460/ (716) 830-6432. WANTED dishwasher cum helper for an Indian Restaurant in Pennsylvania. Food & accommodation provided. No experience necessary. (609) 721-2466/(973) 448-7937.

Household Help Wanted BABYSITTING: Long term nanny with light housekeeping needed for a 2month baby in Northern Virginia. Send summary of experience, contact information, & three references via email: vasitter@gmail.com

LIVE-IN NANNY Looking for a reliable and mature live in nanny for a one yr old baby, based in Augusta, Georgia. Expected to start immediately. Contact (917) 582-7407 LIVE-IN NANNY For household help in Long Island, NY. Close to Queens, you can easily travel by bus. Compensation depends on experience. Call (917) 5840823 or email: ndagrawal@icloud.com WANTED a live-in housekeeper for a doctor family near Boston, MA. 13 & 12 year old children, includes cooking and housework. Call (781) 504-7266

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DYNAMIC SALES SUPPORT MANAGER wanted by Indian Multinational Company to be based out of Chicago to handle Sales of Indian Ethnic products (Health, Beauty, Food) across North America. Graduate degree in Business and proficiency in Excel, together with good numerical and analytical skills is required. Exposure to international trade and familiarity with South Asian culture and products preferred. Job will entail Customer management, Sales Development, Order fulfillment, Forecasting, New Product Development, Marketing, dealing with Regulatory bodies, Sales Analysis, Inventory Management, Reporting and considerable cross-functional coordination between supply chain stakeholders in Dubai and India. 3 - 10 years experience in a Sales or Sales Support role preferred. Apply to Manager, DABUR INTERNATIONAL, 5 Independence Way, Suite 300, Princeton, NJ 08540 WEEKDAY live-in nanny. Upstate, NY. Must understand English with references. Flexible schedule.Call (607) 435-4675

Job Wanted HOTEL GM POSITION WANTED Highly qualified hotel GM (C.H.A) with 20 years of hotel GM experience in all facets of the industry; is looking for a GM position, single/ multi-units in Tri state area. Currently employed in NYC. Email:

digitaccess1@aol.com

Doctors BOARD CERT, IM/FP, Central FL 2yr risk/HMO exp a must. $250-300 K plus benefits. Email CV to: sk@pmacare.com Fax (480) 247-5884 Fax (480) 247-5884 SEEKING PHYSICIAN IMMEDIATE OPENING In Bayside Queens New York cardiology practice. Ideal position for MD/MBBS who has not started residency. Applicant must have strong English skills and be able to work in a close team. Please email or fax resume: (718) 465-9792 gallardosystems@ yahoo.com

An established Food Distribution company in New Jersey has opening for 2 positions:

SALES MANAGER, SALES ASSOCIATE We are seeking a highly motivated experienced person to establish new accounts and grow our customer base. Requirements: • For sales Manager Position – We need an experience of 3-5 years. • For Sales Associate, we need an experience of 1-2 years. • Must be a green card holder or a US Citizen. • Must have a valid drivers license and open to travel extensively. We offer a competitive salary with an attractive benefits package. For consideration, qualified candidates please email resumes at anita@kohinoorfoods.com or fax them on fax # 732.868.4404.

House/Flat Wanted-India LEASE REQUIRED: 3 Br flat for 2 months in Bangalore, Malleswaram area preferred. Call (478) 988-4500. Email h.c.jayaraj@gmail.com

Services / Miscellaneous Announcements

SPRINGFIELD, NJ Short Hills border. 1 & 2 BDRMS & TOWNHOMES FREE MONTH RENT Fitness center, parking. Lofts/basements available. Walk to NYC train. SHORT HILLS CLUB VILLAGE forestrealtyinc.com 973-379-4500

FRESH MEADOWS: 1 bedroom (Basement), 1-2 people. Call (646) 643-6734/ (718) 961-1572

WE specialize in getting green card by MANHATTAN: Studio apartment real marriages from citizens.(646) 407- @ East 53rd St. Near all. Nice location. (347) 493-5998 0008

REAL ESTATE Room For Rent

Apartment House To Share

JUNCTION BLVD: For male, near HILLSIDE, QUEENS: ROOM for rent subway, internet, furnished. Call near F train. Working person. Singhal (646) 344-9619 (347) 500-4521

House/Flat Sale/Lease:India

QUEENS, HILLSIDE: Large Furnished room w/attached bathroom, kitchen. Near all females only. (347) 328-4098 BOOK 2 bhk flat in Mumbai near US Consulate @ Rs.2.20 crs. Call Sushil (312) 799-9752 or email: sushiln@remax.net

Apartment/ House To Rent

BASEMENT for rent. Must be SALE by owner. New apartment Kakkanad, Kochi. DLF construction. vegetarian. Call (347)461-5612. Expected availability April 2015. CORONA: Large BR basement apt 1729 sqft. 3BD, parking. $120,000.00. near Rego Center mall. Email: aiyappan@roadrunner.com Owner (718) 271-0513.

Place your ad online www.indiaabroad.com/classifieds

FRIDAY, January 10, 2014

INDIA ABROAD

www.indiaabroad.rediff.com

Bulletin Board

HELP WANTED

INDIAN RESTAURANT

NEED GENERAL MANAGER

looking for experienced

for hotel in Minneapolis.

Chef, Waiters & Tandooria.

(952) 393-5467

Good Salary &

To advertise in the Bulletin Board call toll free (800) 822-3532

Accommodation provided

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Q: ANY QUESTIONS ON ISLAM?

Selling/Leasing Multibrand

A: WATCH: WWW.Peacetv.tv

Gas Stations, C-Stores,

Visit: www.whyislam.org

Car Washes & Subways

Indian Restaurant in Florida Needs Curry Cook, Tandoori Cook, Waiters & Dishwasher

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Under One Roof

w/accommodation.

16 Room Motel + 3 BR Cottage

High Volume corner locations in Upstate NY.

Ray (407) 810-6234

+ 3 BR House in

Financing available by owner.

Hamptons Resort/L.I./New York

Peter: (315) 368-7591

Year round business,

Fax: (315) 732-9803

excellent condition,

Romegas114@gmail.com

(412) 559-9446

Email resume to: hr.twincities@yahoo.com

Housekeepers Franchise Hotel, Lancaster PA Experienced preferred.

Ph: (201) 310-5000 ndbhoola@gmail.com

Excellent salary

Looking for Front End (Food Court), Waiters (Restaurant) Massachusetts.

Call at: (781) 228-1039

70 miles from NYC. Gross $480,000, Net PROFIT $290,000, Price $450,000,

All you need is Love

10 Year Lease.

(631) 496-6786

GAS STATION WITH C-STORE FOR SALE IN AUGUSTA COUNTY, VA $239,000.00 + INVENTORY. LONG LEASE 15 YEARS, GROCERY $70,000, GPM 65,000.

HELP WANTED

CONTACT: HAMED

Hiring Hotel Front Desk Clerks / Maintenance,

TEL (540) 255-9230

Bronx, NY.

North Indian Restaurant in Miami, FL is Seeking an Experienced Curry Chef

FINANCING AVAILABLE.

(540) 255-8115 habouzied@msn.com

Sale: C-Store/Gas,

w/without experience/ will train.

Hire@hojobronx.com (718) 646-1000

PS: Applicants should be

Email: classified@indiaabroad.com

w/down payment. Retiring.

Kentucky.

Cell: (305) 528-7099

(803) 467-7131

Email: kyhotels@gmail.com

or (786) 303-7099

ABSON INC. Direct Importers of Corals, Jades, Pearls, Precious, Semi-Precious Stones & Ready-Made Jewelry. We Sell Natural Yellow Sapphire (Pukhraj).

For further details call your Cupid’s Corner representative immediately at

Please email us your resumes. legally authorised to

Negotiable "lease to buy"

Cupid’s Corner 14th February 2014

1.800.822.3532/ 646.432.6033/6026 or

Hotel Assistant Manager, Front Desk Manager, Head Housekeeper

South Carolina

And all you need is India Abroad’s annual ‘Cupid’s Corner’ on our Valentine Issue.

work in the USA.

Email: par@me.com

Showroom by appointment only.

Tel: (732) 574.0101 • Fax: (732) 574.0071 Email: info@absoninc.com • 216 St Georges Ave, Rahway, NJ 07065

Visit ABSONINC.COM to buy a few selected items online.