SAYIT AGAIN

"I'm sure Dr Gondane will feel at home here in Sydney. We have Bangalore traffic, Mumbai house prices and Delhi bureaucracy."

Barry O'Farrellwelcoming HighCommissionerDrAM Gondane

Rip Bhavita

Bhavita Patel, 33, has been named as the sixth victim of the Bourke Street incident. She died on 30January when her familydecided to tum offher life support after she was injured in the 20Januaryattack. Young motherand IT consultant Nethra Krishnamurthyis still recovering after the attack.

Smlta Sharma wrote: May your soul rest in peace. You are in a better place now.

Nandlta Bajaj wrote: Rest in Peace Bhavita, condolences to her family.

Anll Singh wrote: Very tragic event, deep sorrow.

Nallnl Singh wrote: Sad day for all Australians. RIP.

'THEREISNOGOD HIGHERTHAN TRUTH'

Each year on 30January, India observes Martyrs' Day in honour of the anniversary of the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi in 1948.

Krlsh Na wrote: Gandhiji fought for the dignity of the most vulnerable people in society. He is sorely missedthese days when even children running from certain deathhave become pariahs for the rest of the world!

"Australian politicians treat black and brown people like Pokemon cards, trying to trade them to other countries."

L-FRESHTheLIONon Australia'sasylum seeker policies

DEMONETISATION:WHATSINITFOR US, MR MODI?

PAWAN LUTHRA was in conversation with Indian television personalityand current affairs commentator Abhigyan Prakash SanjeevAgarwallastwrote: Where is Abhigyan ? We would like to see him, we needsuch people to save our country! Please do not quit!

VlkasSaxena wrote: The interview does not give the right balance of view in my opinion, too many questions on a particular individual and not on the topic at hand.

Nri Opportunitiesforthegovernmentofindia

With all they have to offer, the diaspora should be better engaged by the Indian government, wrote PAWAN LUTHRA

JayShah wrote: While the government is trying to engage much more that previous governments, why can't we start doing our bit proactively? There is much we can do without government intervention. In fact, the discourse should be how we can come together and make a difference when so much change is happening already.

RECONSIDERYOUR DECISION,MELTONCHRISTIANCOLLEGE

RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA reported on a Sikh boy denied enrolment at a Melbourne school forwearing the turban

BastianGianino wrote:The school has the right to enforce its uniform policies.These rules are for everyone who attends that school, those are the uniform rules; the boys at this school are not allowedto have their hair long or deviate from the standard uniform, i.e. wear different coloured socks that are not in accordance with their dress code. This is a private Christian school and we too must respect their rules if we wish for our children to attend that school.

I am sure that there are a lot of suitable schools in the area which do not have a strict dress code so that you wouldn't have to compromise your religious beliefs, but having said that if a Christian child wanted to attend a school of a different faith and didn't, or couldn't, comply with the dress code of that school due to faith I am sure the outcome would be the same. If you want people to respect your religious beliefs, you too have to respect theirs. Babu wrote: Come on, this is Australia - a land of freedom of choices! A dominant section of our population that is of European origin appears to be feeling some kind of baseless insecurity and going through integration problems themselves in mingling with the other ethnic sections of our society such as Sikhs or Muslims. Wearing a turban or veil is in no way appearing to impact the basic Christian nature of Melton Christian College or the belief of any other school.

Any decision from Melton Christian College about its uniform policy points to a discriminatory attitude and passive aggression by a handful in its management committee. Even the law makers in our nation are poorly represented by ethnic groups - the numbers seem to be disproportionate with the percentage of the ethnic population.This is possibly leading to double standards when it comes to Court outcomes. As a moderate ethnic citizen of Australia, I strongly support Arora's case and hope to see his son being allowed to wear a turban to school. I urge one and.all Australians (all skin colours) to come together, evolve and make this nation a truly multiracial to achieve the best.

NoelLal,ExecutiveVP,GOPIOlntematlonal wrote tothePrlnclpal ofMeltonChristianCollege: The Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) is the largest organisation for the welfare of PIOs living outside India, and is a non-partisan, secular global organisation engaged in promoting their wellbeing and enhancing cooperation andcommunication betweenIndiansliving in different countries.

GOPIO is extremely saddened with your school's decision to refuse a fiveyear-old Sikh boy admission just because he wears a turban, and it does not align with your uniform policy.

Your attention is drawn to a landmark case of September 2008, where a Brisbane private school was forced to back down on a strict uniform policy that would have forced a Sikh boy to cut his hair and remove his turban.

GOPIO is disappointed that in today's day and age, instead of uniting various communities, your institution is actually dividing them (even at the tender age of five).

GOPIO hopes that the school will reconsider its earlier decision and do the needful by admitting the five-year-old Sikh boy.

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IT'STIME

MOHAN DHALL wrote about the importance of teaching children about time management and goal setting for a smoothyearahead

Slrla wrote: Excellent article and very relevant in this day and age. Well written, Mohan Dhall.

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"I will be very surprised if the result of the series will be any different to the one between India and England recentlybut if Australia adapt well and bore the Indian batsmen, you never know what could happen."

Monty Panesar on the upcoming INDvAUS series

"Catching the wrong train can sometimes get you to the right station."

Looking After Our Elders

Simran Rekhy 19

BachelorofCommerce and Science, Monash University

During the summer break, I volunteered at an aged care home. My visits consisted of organising activities and games for the residents, engaging in conversation with them as well as creating an atmosphere that would be visually inspirational and motivational. I had the opportunity to plan their birthday celebrations w thin the premises, which included decorating the lounge and organising food and drinks. It gave me immense pleasure to bring joy into the lives of the residents and see them celebrating with happiness. Some of my most memorable moments included playing scrabble with one senior, taking them out to the garden to pick flowers and actively listening to them talk about their past.

I strongly believe in the importance of giving back to the community, which is whatinspired me to volunteer at an aged care home. My grandmother has been volunteering at an aged care home for the past couple of years. Seeing how

. PUTTING E-WASTE TO GOOD USE

Anirban Ghose 24

Graduated inRobotics,

University ofSydney

This summer I began building a microfactory. I had the immense privilege of working at the University of New South Wales SMaRT Centre to develop

• innovative solutions for recycling electronic waste (e-waste). We can all appreciate the challenge of the quantum of electronic waste that we are producing - all the old phones, televisions, microwaves, basically anything with a cord we throw out, making it the fastest growing waste stream globally. These devices are complex waste products, comprised of over 1000 different materials, some

• of which are toxic such as lead, others

• passionate she is about this, as well as the joy and pleasure she received from this role, made me extremely proud of her, wanting to follow in her footsteps. Volunteering an aged care home was an experience that I will cherish forever.