LETTER S TO THE EDITO R

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On Gangs of Wasseypur 1 & 2

As part of the Sydney Film Festival's Focus on India this year, the two-part epic Gangs of Wasseypur screened on the last day of the festival to ex t remely enthusiastic appl ause from a mostly non south Asian audience This is the first film ever to be invited into the festival's international competition.

It has already been lauded internationally by being invited into the prestigious director's fort n ight at Cannes film festival.

In a nutshell: Peckinpah and Tarantino are reincarnated in one director who remakes The Godfather trilogy in India with an amazing sense of humour and social and political awareness.

The measure of a good film is that one thinks about it long after one has seen it. I have not stopped thinking about it.

The Godfather Trilogy deals with how a person or family becomes entwined in the cycle of crime and violence It is one of the great achievements of cinema history.

Bertolucci's 1900 deals with the struggle of ordinary people for some autonomy and freedom from oppression. It i s also one of the g reat achievements of cinema history Gangs of Wasseypur does both and more. Moreover for an "art"fil m it is as entertaining as any Bollywood block buster and has great songs!

Most people take the government, police and legal systems for granted It seems to have a god gi ven authority and whilst there are corrupt politi cians, judges and police, these are seen as the exception rather than the rule The basis of the authority of the state is rarely questioned: we distract ourselves with arguments over which gang should rule the state, not what powers the state should have.

By tracing the oppression of the people of Bihar from Br itish colonial times to the present day, Gangs of Wasseypur brings into sharpe r focus the meaning of"authority''. Shortly after the British l eave India it becomes clear to the mine workers that thei r new Indian overlords are worse than the previous foreign ones.

The state, the legal system and the police are largely sidelined in the power struggles of the gangs ofWasseypur. Where they do feature in the discussion, they are merely tools of which gang lord has them in his pay

The people of Bihar accept rule by gang lords as a fact. They pay extortion cheerily and willingly in exactly the same way as people pay tax, without thought

What difference there is between a gang lord and a politician is the sophistication of their manipulative powers. The gang lord uses intimidation and re p utation. The pol itician uses rhetori c and ideology. The politician is merely the better and sneakier liar.

In countries like India, the nexus between the gang l ord of two generation s ago and the pol itician of today i s clear to thinking peopl e. In the developed world the state h as assumed an almost irresistible authority

But the process is the same. Most people are too busy t rying to stay alive to bother much with the machinations of politics. They are resigned to paying extortion (tax) for protecti on from chaos It is only whe n this extortion becomes unbearable or the chaos too disruptive that governments are deposed, by ballot or bullet. Then a new gang of war lords take over, full of promises And the cycle starts again.

This film deserves a place of h onou r amongst the great achievements in cinema.

Riju Ramrakha G/eb e, NSW

It was a pleasure to read Sunny Cherian's article on the Mohammed Rafi show that was held in Sydney recently (Indian Link, June-2 2012 issue)

To add to that, it would have been nice if some more songs were included in the show. There are plenty ofRafi n umbers that peopl e seem to skip in most shows.

I have never seen anyone singing Nain milakar chain churana, Jaane jigar tu hai hasi, Main kab gaata apne swar main, Unse rippy tippy ho gayi, Tumse kahoon ek baat, Oil tadpe tadpaya etc at any of these staged events

The shows all present the same son gs again and again. Rafi had a ve r y large collection of fine songs and hence it would be nice to hear different songs in different shows.

Renjith Menon Belmont, WA

Certification or Qualification? Why not both ...

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The cutting edge world of aerospace e ngineering has a·aditionally been a male dominated bastion but uor auymore, as ge nde r stereotypes are being constantly eroded.

Among th e newest cr op of graduate avia tion engineers with sky- h igh ambitions is a ta lented Indian Ausu·alian yo ungste r Ko mal Sangha And her career is alread y off to a Aying start w ith the Royal A u stralian Navy, thanks to a Defence Universi ty sponsorship.

Lieutenant Sangh a was among the few from her batch at Monash U n iversity to bag the Jucrati ve sponsor sh ip She applied for the undergraduate defence sponsorship while in h er second year, a nd after a series of inte rviews and selection processes, joined the Navy in her third year of Aerospace Engineering

The sponsorship included the payment of remaining HECS fees and alJ smd y material, as well as a salary while studying. In addition the programme also offered work experience oppormnities, mentorship and the ongoing s upport of che defence services infrastrucmre.

Aviation, Komal e m phasi sed, is a very intense but enjoyable niche field with manifold opportunities to grow and evo lve as an engineer.

"I have always been passionate about all sorts of flying machines; whetl1er an aeroplane, helicopter o r even a remote controlled Aying co n traption," Komal co ld Indian U11k. "I owe m y kee n interest to the va rious trips my famil y made all over the world since l was a chi.Id."

The 24-year-o ld, whose eyes light up when talking about avia tio n , is particularl y pass ionate about rotary wing systems in general and specificalJy Seahawks

Having recently spent te n months learning alJ about th e Seal1awk as pact of her train ing, Koma.I has cond u cted regula r maintenance- related investigations, provid ed recommendations to the command, delivered daily engineering briefs on the aircraft, planned squadron detachments and provi ded advice on weekly squadron fl yi ng priorities.

"Th e Seahawk," Komal explains, "is a Si ko rsky helicopter operated b y the Royal Australian Navy co co n duct m issions prim aril)' in coordination with the ships. It has been designed to take off and la nd on pitching and rolling ship decks and to operate effec tively in sale- laden environn1 e nt s.''

" The helicopter is fitted with one of the world's most advanced anti - submarine warfare capability to search and bunt s ubmarines," she added e n thus iasticall y le is al so capable of transferring troops, winching operations, stores replenishment of ships and day-night search and rescue operations.

"Of course, I am b iased cowards the rotary sid e of aviati on, mainly because I have always worked with helicopters since completing m y degree," confessed Koma!.

"Helicop ters are q ui te complex sys t em s, and as you start understanding tl1e basics ~1 f thi s machine, ic just keeps getting more and more in teresting," sh e. added. l e i s thi s passion for complex rotary systems that prompted Komal co choose the Navy over the other defence forces.

" The opporruniry to work w ith complex machinery reall y appealed to me. l opted for the Royal Australian Navy because of m y strong imeres t in h elicop ters and ships. The Navy p rovides d1e opportunity co witness the integration of s h ip s a nd helicopters and I was quite keen to be a part of d1 is experi ence".

For Komal, work ing w ith real Aying machines is very much like a dream come true.

"Al though they a re quite a sight in d 1e blue skies, a lot of hard work and grou nd labour goes into each flight. ln order co provide a safe flight, maintenance staff spends hours troubleshooting and servicing th e aircraft, before it is decJared airworthy. T he sense of achievement fro m fixing these mach in es and seeing them ta ke off into the open skies is a key motivating factor tha t has literalJy kept us going on various cold, windy and rainy days," she revealed.

" The lase rwo years have. already been a very steep and enjo)7able learning curve for me and I can only see my career go ing up," she added hap pily.

A lthoug h Koma! ba s always been passiona te bout Aying objects, ic is quite by accident chat she strayed into tl1is field. Like most other "J ndian" teenagers, he r sights we.re initiall y trained o n the medical pathway.

"My parents have always g iven ucmosr importance co OtLC education and en sured we got the best," she explained "My mother was a pre- medical instructor in India, preparing srudents for medical entra nce exams Being brought up in a house. where 'medicine' was the only talked about profession, I had always thought abom pursuing health sciences after graduation " Her famil y m oved to Australia in April 2003, when young KomaJ was in Year 11. "Considering I was already a term behind everyone else, I took up seve n snbjec ts in Year 1 1, inc luding biology, chemistr y and phys ics. 1 also studied Hindi on Saturdays fo r d1e duration of VCE".

The aca demically m o tivated student soon transferred to a Selective high schoo l, which she believes, gave her the additional push co perform her best.

"Ald1oug h I gai ned the required E T E R score for medicine, I did n ot get a sufficie ndy high score in UMAT," Komal admitted candidly.

''So I joined Physiotherapy with a view of transferring into Medicine after the first semester. This did not work om as p lanned, as 1 did not feel passionate about anal ysin g body parts, learning about diseases, etc. That's when I made a decision to transfer to Aerospace Engineering and joined Mona sh University as a mid - year entrant."

Komal o f course, had the full backing of her parents when she made the dec ision co swiccJ1 careers mid- course. and more importantly, join tl1e defence forces. "Quite a few members of m y extended family have served or are currently serving in th e

Indian defence force; there.fore we were always aware of the lifestyle commitments invo lved," she said.

So, have there. been gender ster eotypes to contend wid1?

"Interestingly, our of a cJass o f 30, we had onl y five female en g in ee rs smdying aerospace," Koma! said, adding, " l believe the m ain reason for such few female numbers is because of a reduced awareness amo ngst the students " According to ber, aeronautics is not much different to Mechanical Engineering. " Tbe branch is still evolving and gradualJy we. are seeing more and more females opting for Aerospace Engi neering".

And ch.i s is why s he has taken on the mantle of brand amb assador. '1 have been very lucky co have bee n offered a tailor m ade care.er pathway and I would like to be a role model for many m ore youngsters, parcicuJarl y gi rl s, to choose this profession," stated KomaJ.

"From m y experience, the defence undergraduate scheme h as benefitced me in a number of ways During m y university years, my financ ial requirements were completel y covered. This elim inated the n eed co search for a part tin1e job and helped me focus e n tirely on my scucli es," she emphas ised.

''Additionally, I doubt I could have gained such an enormous amount of experi ence h ad I taken up a simi lar ki n d of job in the civilian world. I enjoy working for the Ausu·aJ.ian Defence. Force as it alJows me to contribute to society, w hile. providing me with job securi ty and satisfactio n. As I move further in m y life, I intend to follow what I am pass io n ate about, wh ich i s helping people a nd contributing to society in whatever way I can."

Komal Sangha has since visited man y school s, motiv ating students.

1 nese days there are va rious career p aths available to s chool graduates from w hi ch t h e)' can choose. Regardless of what field they wish ro pursue it is vital th ey research t he study requirem ent s, wor kl oad a.ad fu ture job o pp ortuni ti es Th ose seeking more ha nd s-o n exper ience, prior to a full ti me commim1ent to study, should look at appren tices hi p s and train eesh ips," recom mends Koma.I stro ngly.

"Some institutions also offer mid -year e ntry to hig h school graduates who wish to take a break prior to commencing tertia ry smdies," s he added.

Kamal also hopes to in spire migrant kids to dive r sify their career portfoLio " I t is very easy to get d istracted in today's rat race w h ere competition to perform well is so ex trem e. It is time for us t o d ivert av.ray from di e stereotyp ical career choices considered suitable fo r m igrant kids. We s h o uld start looking at the bigger picmre and all ow for creativity and p r ogress to seem from everywhere.

Remember, su ccess is not the key to happiness; happi ness is the key to success," s h e remarks \Vi th a far -sigh tedness that goes beyond he r age. S he i s n o d o ub t inspired by Gaucama Buddha's sagacio u s words of wisd o m : IfJ'Ot1 !ove 111bat )'Oll're doing,yott 111ill be s11ccesrji1L

Likewise, Komal's expos ure to the A us tralian D efence Forces has und oub tedly roughen ed her up physically and m e ntally ''The initial training phase is struc tured in such a way to push you way beyond your extremes in order to get the best out of you ot only d oes it give you a b etter awareness of yourself, it motivates you to perform even bett er," s he com mented.

Komal also firml y sub scribes to th e cor e defence values o f "courage, professionalism, loyal ty, integ rity, innovation and teamwork". As a m ember of the defence force, it i s vi tal to believe in i ts organis ational values and app ly them in eve rything they do. The initial trai.ni.ng assi sts in teaching d1e significanc e of these and how they can be in co rporate d into everyday .li fe

After completing initial training as an Aerosp ace E ngineer in the Navy, Koma! gained a competency certificate (whicb sh e explained is equivalen t co Graduate status wi th Engineers Australia) "As a qualified Aerosp ace E ngineer you can be working in a variety o f roles rangin g fro m technical to project positions or even in out-of-category jobs such as human resource managem en t," she explained.

Cu rrentl y, a trainee Avi ation

E ngineering Offic er at 816 Squadron, Koma! ha s been a part of various sq uadron detachments operating from Perth , Bundaberg a nd Caloundra.

"Twas g ive n t he o pp ortunity to expe rience helic o p ter operation s in th e m aritime en viro1m1ent du.ring 1\UDPAC 201 1, a joi nt exe r cise involving i nte rn ational navies, conducted at Pearl Harbour," s he revealed. "As pare o f th is, I was flow n to Hawaii and sailed back to Brisbane o n HJvfAS Syd ne y."

W hil e career fuJ fiJme nt is obv io u s ly her top priority now, me fledgling e ngineer is also aware of d1e Navy's family- frie ndly app roach "I u nderstand that the l avy attempts to assist service families in every possible way Members wi d1 dependants are g iven careful consideration wi tl1 their posting pre ferences and d1e l avy endeavours tO wor k cowards the satis fac tio n of its e mployees, without compromising work require men ts," sh e d escribed. Her next p osting is to Melbourne as th e ship's Aviation Facilities E ng in ee r, whic h, sh e explained, "ove rsees the appropriateness of aviation facilities o n sh ip s to suit our helicopte rs"

Koma.I also hopes to return co owra to c o mplete her squadro n requirement of two years pri or tO getting promoted to a Lieutena nt Co mmander. "W ith the acquis itio n of n ew LHDs and a fl eet o f helicopters, the n avy scene is currentl y hectic," said Koma!.

" Th is will o p en up farther exc iting opportuni ties fo r aerospace en g in ee r s wi d1 a poss ibility of sea postings as well " i\i[eamv hile, this enterprising yo ung womau has also charted lo ng- term prospects, w hicl1 incl ude a :Maste r s in Structural E ng ineering in the UK.

Firmly rooted in h er s tro ng Indian values and identity, Koma.I always finds time to v isit te mples.

" I find th at it keep s m y sanity under contro l," s h e quipped. Socialising, exercising and dancing a re som e of he r o ther interests Eq naUy pa ssio n a te abo ut other culnu:es, particu larly ilieir history, cuisine and lang uage, Komal has taken up advanced Italian and i s just back from a hectic, but fulfilling trip to thi s ancien t land. Scuba diving is also o n the agenda.

But for n ow Koma! is o ff to Mumbai to attend h e r friend 's tradi tio n a l Tufaharashtrian wedding w hile h e r travel diary for n ext year includ es Pakistan and Britis h Columb ia.

Lt Komal Sangha is ce r tai nl y o n e high Aie r for whom the sky is th e limit.

D etailed information on the Defence U n ivers ity Spo nsors hip pathway can be accessed -at www d cfencejobs gov.au/ education/ unive rs ityspon sorship/

SBS recently launched an interactive online too l featuring demographic data gatl1e red in the 2011 Census, so that Australians can explore the results of tl1e Census data. SBS Census Expl orer gives J\ustral ians access ro some o f tile most important Census dara, b ringing ir to Life in maps, charts and graphs that are interactive and easy to read. Users can compare languages and p laces and learn more abour tl1e makeup of rneir communities. Informatio n is being progressive ly added as it becomes available from tl1e Austral ian Bmeau of Statistics (ABS) fodia11 Link rev iewed demographic data released to offer a concise census of information on the Indian community. Here are our find ings.

At a glance

• 390,904 Australians of Indian ancestry

• 1.5% or 295,361 were born in India

• 200,000 Indians arrived since 2001

• Among fastest growing ethaic groups

• 275,500 H indus (fastest growing religion)

• 111,351 Hindi speakers, featLtring in rop l Olanguages spoken

• Highest number in 15- 64 demographic

• 10% new migrants arrived w ith job in hand

• 35% reported difficulty in getting one. Of tlus, 64 % reported Jack of experienc e or references

• 23% Jack of local contacts

• Of 90% of skilled migrants, 87 % found a job

• 53% in tl1eir area of expertise

• 92% of skilled migrants reported wages/sa lary as ma.in source of i11come

• 43% of recent migrants bad obtained citizenship

• 55 % of temporary res idents were students.

Srndent intake peaked at 65,000 in 2008- 9

These figures released by tl1e Australian Bureau of Statistics after u nveiling the latest five-year Census only confirms what most already suspect - that skiUed migration and imemational student intake has foeUed a dramatic spun in me Indian presence down under in the n ew millennium. Prom .5 to 1.5% of tbe Australian population which currently stands at 22.6 million.

The estimated resident population (ERP), a core function of the ABS, is used for a wide variety of purposes including the distribution of Au stralian Government funds to stare, territory a.nd local governments, as welJ as in tl1e determination of the number of seats for each state and territory in tl1e House of Representatives.

Ar the 2006 Census 147,106 Australian residents indicated tl1at they were born in lndia, of which 79,025 held Australian citizenslup. NSW rapped the lis t witl1 57,156 residents, closel y followed by Victoria (52,853) a.nd Western Australia (15,157) 64,968 sta ted they were Hindu, 49,975 declared tl1ey were Christian and 26 ,5 00 declared they were Sikh. Other minorities include Muslims a.nd Zoroastrians 243,722 Australian residents declared chat tl1ey had Indian ancestry, eitlier alone or in combination witl1 ano tl1er ancestry.

The ludiao- born comm1rn ity more man doubled between 2004 and 2009 to 308,542, making i t the seco nd largest non-Anglo community in Australia after Chinese-born Austral ians. 1n 2009 there were an additional 90,000 Indian students studying at Australian tertiary in stitutions.

Overseas migration

As of 30 June 201 0, 27 % of the population was born overseas (6.0 million people) , third highest in the world behind S ingapore and Hong Kong, the lowest being China, India and Vietnam.

While UK and NZ sciJJ account for the largest chunks of tl1e pie, India and C luna have moved up tbe ladder. 76% of tl1e overseas population io this caregor y was of working age 15- 64.

International migration i s a volatile phenomenon influenced by a wide range of demographic, social, eco nomic and political determinancs and consequences at the global, regional and national level.

In 2009 - 10, the prelin_iinary estimate of net overseas migration (NOM) was 215,600 persons, representing 57 % of J\ustralia's popu lation growth for tl1e year Vic toria a.ad Queens land had the largest inAow.

Between 2000 and 2010, persons born in l epal had the h ighest rate of increase in Australia's population (of the top 50 countries of birth at 30 June 2010) , witb an average annual growth rare of 29. 1 % However, tlus growth began from a smalJ base of 2,300 persons at 30 June, 2000 Those born in India h ad third fastest growth after Sudan (13.5% ). India also figures in the h igh est proportion of people in 15-64-age category.

International students

ln 2008-09, rhe net numbe r of international sntdents being added to Australia's population reached an a.LI rime high of 122,400 sntdents, bringing in export earnings of $15.9 billion These international sntdents contributed to 27% of Australia's popul ation growth in 2008 -09. Of tl1ese, 45,199 were from lndia alone, jLU11ping significantly from 9553 in 2004-5. Nepal was tlurd liighest at I 0,697. V icroria