YOUR SAY

Khalistan Refefrendum

Did Australia fail India, PAWAN LUTHRA asked, following the recent faithbased altercations at Melbourne’s Federation Square.

Shibu Thomas wrote: Yes, they did. They allowed Khalistani sympathisers to violently attack peaceful Indian protesters excercising their rights of protest.

Vic Govt had endorsed the right to protest when Khalistanis protested during India's Republic Day celebrations.Now we have cases in court and hope the terrorist sympathisers get held to account.

Proud Indian wrote: Why is the majority of local Sikh community silent on such incidents, led by a handful?You can’t break India – not by referendum in Melbourne/Canada, not by protests on streets in Punjab and certainly not by violence against innocent Indian families elsewhere. I foresee isolation of the Sikh community from Indian platforms, and financial and social boycott of Sikhs by the wider Indian diaspora.

Tejas Vaidya wrote: Well said Pawan, this is a clear state-negligence against organised crime. This was more than a local brawl and who-hit-who; this is a case of how did the state protection agencies respond. Thank you for highlighting this.

Adi wrote: This was not Hindu vs Sikh. It was RSS Sanghis vs Khalistanis.

Renu Datta wrote: This is total failure of the authorities, they knew it. Very shameful, giving wrong image of Australia. There is someone out there who wants peaceful Sikh and Hindu community to divide, our people playing in their hands.

gomesconan wrote: No, Indians failed India. raziz.mister64 wrote: Yes the Australian Government and Police failed miserably. They should have banned this separatist movement! The illegal and anti-India sentiments here go against the country's values.

Tegbir Singh wrote: Do not involve Sikhs under the name of Khalistanis for this crime.

On Love And Intimacy

NEERU SALUJA chatted with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur in Sydney on the eve of the release of his latest film What’s Love got to do with it?

Shekhar Kapur wrote: ‘Define love’, she said. ‘Then I would confine love’, I said. Definition is the killer of (things). Love is constant yearning; don’t try to define. Raj Saneja wrote: That's awesome! Congratulations Neeru. I am definitely going to watch the film. I am sure it will be thoroughly enjoyable as the other Shekhar Kapu masterpieces. He knows how to extract the best from the actors. He wouldn’t have to do much work with Shabana Azmi and Emma Thomson. They are seasoned actors and can do their roles effortlessly. Shekhar is expert in keeping the audience glued to their seats. Sejal Aly is my favourite Pakistani actress. I have watched her in the series Yakeen ka Safar, Yeh Mera Dil and Ishq E Laa. She is a good actress and a treat to watch. I can’t wait to see What’s Love got to do with it on the big screen.

Vandana Nankany wrote: He is one brilliant director who serves the masses storylines that are rich and profound and cater to people’s needs, and yet uplifting them at the same time surely.

Dolly Miranda wrote: Neeru’s conversation with the legend and ever charming Shekhar Kapur gives us a sneak peak into the director’s thought processes and also feelings about love. She cleverly unfolds how his formative years across geographies, his “un” definition of love, and his personal perspective, have all influenced the film. I thoroughly enjoyed Neeru’s style and intelligent conversation and can’t wait to see her bring Bollywood even closer to us!

Pals DS wrote: What an awesome experience, Neeru Saluja. Loved your wellcrafted questions. You are blending into this with finesse. I love reading your reviews and story pieces and how you add that perfect pinch of desi spice to your opinions. You not only resonate the views of the Indian diaspora but ignite that theekhi, khati meethi curiosity to all your reviews, making us want to watch, read or experience what you write about. Keep up the good words! Anupriya Agrawal wrote: “West has lost its narrative”, loved the phrasing. Amazing interview Neeru.

Sindoor With Haute Couture

That’s exactly what fashion designer Prabal Gurung did at his Fall Winter 2023 collection in New York. His models sported, not ek chutki sindoor mind you, but big bright sindoor - thick and bold, and in every hue.

Sonal Wahi wrote: Looks amazing!

Tanvi Mor wrote: Seeing this as an upcoming trend now.

Gp Of The Year 2022

Melbourne’s Dr Abhishek Verma and Sydney’s Dr Anju Aggarwal, joint winners of RACGP’s GP of the Year, spoke to RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA.

PL Sharma wrote: Well done, great job!

Margaret Burns wrote: Congratulations, Abhishek Verma! Great that your concern for refugees and recent migrants and asylum seekers has been recognised by the powers that be.

Amandeep Gilhotra wrote: There are joint winners for GP of the Year Award, and wonderful to see both winners are of Indian background.

RACGP wrote: One of our 2022 GP of the Year Award winners Dr Anju Aggarwal in Indian Link about what she loves most about being a GP: “The love and trust of my patients gives me a sense of fulfillment.”

Seema Chauhan wrote: Love it, Prabal Rana Gurung

Renu Dutta wrote: Why? Not fair, my view. Priyamvada Singhania wrote: I think they make great visuals, especially on the catwalk, and especially with that pop of colour, but more than that, I’m not exactly sure! I would wear a dress like Prabal’s (or even by Prabal if I could afford it), but would I accessorise it with sindoor? Probably not. And if a non-Indian friend did, think of the reaction of the ‘cultural appropriation’ police…!

Even in Australia, when it is felt necessary, there are restrictions that can be placed on freedom of expression. This particular documentary (BBC’s India: The Modi Question) we felt was required to be pulled down.

Manpreet Vohra, Indian High Commissioner, quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald

Australia is not well-versed with a multipolar world. India has lived and breathed in multipolarity. Working through what multipolarity means will likely bring the two countries together.

Peter Varghese AO, Raisina@Sydney

About Multicultural Public Holidays

PAWAN LUTHRA asked, would you fancy a day off on Diwali or Eid, in lieu of working on Easter Friday or King’s Birthday?

Karan Hetal Hemang Mehta wrote: It’s a really interesting concept to look into, with a growing multicultural community across the globe to put in placepeople able to take public holidays according to their will and have a standard number of festivities declared as public holidays from the government end, and people can deduct their public holidays according to their beliefs.

Poornima Menon wrote: I don’t think the holidays should be in lieu of Easter or the King’s birthday as holidays with friends are planned during this time. It will be great to have two days in a year allocated to what could be called ‘multicultural leave’, just like the government has stipulated compassionate leave. This leave can then be accessed by people of different faiths and ethnic backgrounds for their festivals.

Pavneet Kaur wrote: Totally agree with Poornima Menon's point, not in lieu but two days leave at the choice of the employee to practice their faith/ festivals whilst being fair to all. It helps promote a feeling of equality and being valued. In fact I know a couple of multinational companies that do have such ethnic leave policy in Australia.

i.arun.n wrote: Definitely a YES to multicultural holidays!

Ripun Sikka wrote: Diwali off would be awesome.

Deepak Vincent wrote: Then it’s an open invitation to so many multicultural public holidays.

Tripti Joshi, Kunal Anil Sharma, Ajaz Ali Khan, Nakul S Nig also wrote in to say they would welcome some workable idea towards multicultural holidays.

Where In India

At 320 metres, this residential skyscraper is the tallest building in India. Where in India?

Caption Contest

What’s the chitchat here, we asked, between newly weds Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra?

Arix Bishnoi won a free movie ticket for his response: I hope they give us cute nick name like “Virushka”

Tashu Sharma wrote: Arey yaar, doosre gate se chalte. I'm not dressed properly, and the paps are here!

Anusree Chakravarty wrote: Jab miya biwi raazi toh kya karega paparazzi. Raj Saneja wrote: Kiara, run for your life. You forgot to change the bathroom slippers. sujay_shah_123 wrote: Kiara be like - Dekhna Sid, iss baar bhi Indian Link pe Sujay ko free movie ticket nahi milegi. rachnagupta72 wrote: Mere haath mein tera haath ho sare jannatein mere saath ho.

Where In Oz

This 332.5 metre skyscraper, measured to the top of its spire, is the tallest building in Australia. Where in Australia?

The answer is Palais Royale, Mumbai

Congratulations Aruna Deenamani, Clarion Pereira, Rajeev Ramakar Tiwari, Kunal Anil Sharma and Rohit Ganesh, you got it right.

We need to decide that we are not each other's alternate plan or compromise, but each other’s first choice. We want to create a sandbox where #startups are working on #cleantech, gender and can knock heads and exchange ideas and information — Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation, Raisina@Sydney.

The answer is Queensland Number One Q1 Tower, QLD Yay! Smita Pawar Nashikkar, Bhanu Kothari and Krupa Shah, you got the right answer.

“RRR is ****** amazing. From a Western perspective, it’s like Avengers, Top Hat, Indiana Jones, Lawrence of Arabia, Lord of the Rings, Rocky, Grease and Michael Collins were all thrown together in an Indian washing machine with settings to 100 degree AWESOME. Twitter comment

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