Friday, July 07, 2017 | Vol. 36, No. 27
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Indo American erican News
www.indoamerican-news.com Published weekly from Houston, TX
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Harmonious Celebrations with IMAGH!
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IACF’s Hands Record Grants
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The IACF Board of Directors posed with the representatives of the charities which received the monetary awards
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July 07, 2017 3 COMMUNITY H OCC Celebrates the Tenth Chariot Festival OUSTON: The night before was stormy with wind and some rain. It did not deter the determination and passion of OCC community members to gather at India house in preparation for the big day i.e the yearly chariot festival of Lord Jagnnath. OCC with support from Sri Sitaram Foundation, celebrated the chariot festival of Lord Jagannath on June 25, at the India House, 8888 West Bellfort Blvd. This year OCC added new dimensions to the celebrations by promoting further the core philosophy of universal brotherhood and religious tolerance through an interfaith seminar. Houston mayor Mr. Sylvester Turner has proclaimed June 25th, 2017 as the “Houston Chariot Festival Day.” In his proclamation he further congratulates OCC for being a unique charitable, educational and cultural art organization that offers center of excellence to foster Oriya culture, heritage and tradition to all citizens in the greater Houston, while inculcating rich Oriya cultural values to the children and grandchildren of the people of Oriya origin. The day started with the free Health Fare organized by OCC. This year OCC added free dental cleaning as a new dimension to the yearly health camp. The morning rituals were performed by the head priest of the Minakshi temple Pundit KV Doraiswamy Bhatter. They were assisted with by Dr. Debananda Pati with support from Srimanta Dash of OCC. Other main attractions of the rituals were the traditional Odishi Dance by smaller children, disciples of Guru Supradipta Dutta and chanting of Gitagobindam and Dasavataram of Lord Jagannath by ladies of OCC. Mrs. Chetana Samal of OCC organized a very informative seminar on Sisupalgarh, a fortified early historic city (Older than Athens in Greece) located on the suburb of Bhubaneswar. OCC invited Prof. Monica L. Smith of UCLA , Berkeley, to join Rathyatra celebration this year and talk on this ancient city and the importance of saving this ancient treasure. Mrs. Samal also organized a seminar on handloom sarees in support of this rich handloom vocation which is facing threats from modern day machine weaving. The speakers were Sushant Sekhar Das, an officer of Indian Trade Service, currently serving as the Regional Joint Director General of Foreign Trade for North Eastern India and his wife, Manija Das and Deblee-
na Banerji, President, Tagore Society of Houston. The afternoon program started with the OCC enchanted band of instrumental players comprising of children of different ages. The band was organized by Mrs. Leena Mishra of OCC and conducted by Abhas Mishra, a youth volunteer of OCC. This was followed by the interfaith seminar attended by representatives from different faiths. Among the distinguished speakers were Venerable Seido from Budhist Organization, Thomas Wallace of Christian Faith, Rabai Jonathan Siger of Judaism, Mrs. Ummehani Ismali on Islam, Mr. Harish Chandra on Sanatan Dharma and other speakers on Hinduism. Mr. Manas Pattnaik of OCC moderated the discussion. The evening cultural programs ended with the Nrityanjali, a program comprising of Indian classical dances such as Kuchipudi, Odishi, Bharat Natyam and Kathak, The participating schools were Kalangan School of Odishi, Anjali School of Performing Arts, Natya Upasana Dance Academy, Abhinaya School of Performing Arts and Odishi Academy of Houston. Mrs. Kalasudha Devi of ISKON conducted the program as the master of ceremony. The cultural program was followed by the grand procession of the chariot of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra
and sister Devi Subhadra. Thousands of devotees participated in the procession and Maha Arati of the Lords on the chariot at the end. The entire procession was accompanied with devotees from ISKON and Gaudiya Math who filled the air with Name chanting and kirtan of the Lords. Upon return of the chariot, the devotees were allowed to go onto the chariot to offer special worship to the Lords. The devotees were served with mahaprasad dinner at the end. OCC is grateful to many organizations for their support of the chariot festival. Celebration of this festival is possible by generous support and sponsorship of participating orga-
nizations and individuals. For sponsorship and other details please visit www.rathjatra.
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
org. - An Orissa Culture Center Publication
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INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
July 07, 2017
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IMAGH Spreads the Message of Love & Peace at the 8th Annual EID Milan Event BY VANSHIKA VIPIN VARMA
HOUSTON: With the new moon
being spotted in the skies, Muslims all over the globe begin celebrations for one of the most joyous days in the Islamic calendar- Eidal-Fitr, thereby marking the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is a day of great merriment and thanksgiving. Muslims celebrate by gathering with friends and family, preparing sweet delicacies, wearing new clothes, exchanging gifts and putting up lights and other decorations in their homes. And the 8th Annual Eid Milan event, organized by the Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston (IMAGH), was celebrated with the same fervor at the Marriott Westchase, on Saturday, July 1. IMAGH, a non-profit, serving the South Asian community, organizes Eid Milan each year. This annual mega event brings together folks of various religions and beliefs, from the Houston Community, under one roof. This year’s theme, ‘Many Faces of Indian Muslims’ was to recognize the diversity within this community, and honor those who have contributed to society with their talents and work ethics. IMAGH’s attempt to reach out to other communities was very much evident from its guest list. This year, more than 50% of the guests were non-Muslims, hailing from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Also, being rooted to this year’s theme and acknowledging the contribution of the men in uniform, doctors, engineers and successful entrepreneurs, a group of such officers were invited from the Houston Police and Sheriff Department, and the Fire Department. The hall at Marriott Westchase exhibited a festive display, lively with guests and volunteers, dressed in their best up in their festive spirits. The event began with
Deputy Consul General Surendra Adhana
Dr. Swami Vedaswarupananda
Munir Ibrahim, President, IMAGH
Aziz Akbari
crowd that I have addressed,” he stated excitedly. Dr. Swami Vedaswarupananda, the Resident Monk of the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston, which was the guest organization this year, emphasized Oneness of Truth. He mentioned that Rigveda tells us that the whole world is One home. Swami also mentioned that church, mosque and mandir have six letters whereas the scriptures Geeta, Bible and Quran have five. And Six minus five is one, which stands for the oneness of Truth. India’s Deputy Consul General Surendra Adhana, praised the contribution of Mus-
Photos: Quaid Tinwala
Event Chair Arshad Matin (left) and the program emcee Dr. Samina Salim
the recitation of the Holy Quran by Ali Faruqui, followed by National Anthem of the United States sung by Abeezar Tyebji, and the Indian National Anthem by Shridevi Patel. Taiyyeb Shipchandler beautifully recited the Naat (poetry in praise of Prophet Muhammad). Munir Ibrahim, President, IMAGH, then thanked everyone for attending. He recognized all dignitaries, volunteers, executive committee, and Latafath Hussain (who he referred to as IMAGH’s God father). He seemed extremely happy with the team of organizers and volunteers. He shared his views on how this event showcased IMAGH’s outreach to other communities. Dr. Yunus Langha was the Organizing Committee Chair. The cultural segment included a small dance item called “Eid Mubarak” performed by children from the community, choreographed by Keka Kar. It was continued with some melodic songs by Keka and Capt. Jeet Kar which included allah tero naam and then went into a beautiful medley of old classics like naam gum jayega, lambi judai, kuch to log kahege, tere mere
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Milan ki raina. It was followed by a short play called Peace by Fateh Ali Chatur, which gave the message of peace and harmony against violence and urged the audience to abolish hatred from their heart, in order to hear the message of peace, through the dramatic personae of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. The Chief Guest, Harris County Commissioner R. Jack Cagle, was surprised by the diversity of this show. “This is the most diverse
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lims to the evolution of India’s cultural ethos, widely known as “Ganga-Jamuna” tehzeeb which is a fusion of Hindu and Muslim elements. This year’s Event Chair was a successful entrepreneur, Arshad Matin, President and CEO of Paradigm Inc. He has an outstanding ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
For Photo Collage, see pages 2-27
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COMMUNITY
July 07, 2017
IACF Hands a Record $65K Grants to 25 Local Charities, Its Largest Group BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
SUGAR LAND: Only minutes into the
program, just as the guests were finishing off their appetizers and getting comfortable in their seats, the fire alarm went off. All you could hear in the parking lot as you walked up to the front door of Madras Pavilion were the shrill whoops of the horns, as a few agitated and dazed organizers stood with bewildered looks on their faces. One of restaurant owners, Rajan Radhakrishnan, stood outside, cellphone to his ear, calling the alarm company. Inside, people sat calmly at their tables, trying to talk above the din and smiling at the inconvenience. Rajan rushed back in shouting “False alarm!” and a few minutes later, the horns stopped! It was quite an entrance for the Indo American Charity Foundation’s annual Grants Award night, though not the kind of fanfare it was hoping for! Later during the program after he had presented to one of the recipients, Madras Pavilion’s other owner, Mahesh Shah couldn’t resist jesting about it. “It’s all because we have so many hot ladies here tonight!” he teased, “We’re just not used to this attention!” Apparently a smoke detector misfiring in the kitchen had set the alarm off, but was cleared out in time for the program and the buffet dinner that followed. The IACF held the event this past Thursday, June 29, to a packed banquet hall at the Madras Pavilion, site of many of the organization’s Board meetings and other events throughout the years. With a sigh of relief, the emcee for the evening IACF Director
The IACF Board of Directors posed with the presenters of the monetary awards after the event
Incoming IACF President-Elect Mahesh Wadhwa closed out the event with some remarks Photos: Roy Photography
IACF Board Director Rathna Kumar emceed the grant awards event held at Madras Pavilion restaurant in Sugar Land
IACF President Dr. Vanitha Pothuri noted that the Foundation funds only local charities in the Houston metropolitan area
Rathna Kumar, a noted classical dancer and instructor to hundreds of young women across the region, began the program with a brief introduction of the IACF and its intended goals, encapsulating them with the group’s motto, “we live here, we give here”. As the program went on for over 90 minutes, it became clear that this marked the largest group of recipients ever in the IACF’s 29 year history and a record amount of grants. As Kumar read through the list and gave a brief description of each charity, and their representatives strode to the front of the room to receive their check envelopes, a total of 25 local charities were awarded grants which totaled $65,000, a record amount for the IACF. This is also, most likely, the largest amount that a local Indo-American group has given out to non-Indian based, local charities. “This year, each charity requesting funding had to go through an online grant application,” said Dr. Vanitha Pothuri, IACF President, “as we tried to streamline a procedural process.” This year’s grants went to four more charities than last year, though a few have not been included, yet many are the same familiar ones that IACF has supported through
the years. Between these grants and the 29 scholarships totaling $35,000 (also a record amount) given to graduating high school seniors on May 30, the IACF has made $100,000 in cash distributions so far this year. The Grant recipients were overjoyed and vowed to work with the IACF in the future. The local charities which received varying amounts of grants at the program from IACF are: Avance Houston; AADA (Asians Against Domestic Abuse); Casa De Esperanza; Child Advocates; Child Advocates of Fort Bend; Daya; Family to Family Network; IACAN (Indian American Cancer Network); IDCC (Indian Doctors Charity Clinic); iEducate USA; ISCA (Indian Senior Citizens Association); KNOW Autism Foundation; Literacy Advance; Mahatma Gandhi Library; Ovarcome; PAIR (Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees ; PEACE (Parent Engagement for Active Child Enrichment); REACH Unlimited; SEARCH Homeless Services; SEWA Houston; St. Mary’s of the Purification; The Faces of the Village; Turning Point Center; YLDP Houston (Youth Leadership Development Program) Houston and YMCA Camp Cullen.
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
July 07, 2017
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TCC Taped Ball Premier Tournament Spring 2017 Cougars Winners, CJCC Runners up HOUSTON: Cougars Cricket Club won their 5th and one of the most memorable TCC championship trophy by defeating Cliff Jumpers Cricket Club (CJCC) by 53 runs to be crowned as Champions of TCC Taped Ball Premier Tournament Spring 2017 played amongst top 14 division 1 teams. It required a miraculous turnaround of winning 7 consecutive matches with every match like a knockout for Cougars after they were languishing at the bottom of table with 3 points after 5 out of 7 league games to win the championship. CJCC had a great tournament ending up as Runners up in just their second TCC taped ball tournament. The level of competition in TCC Taped Ball tournaments is of the highest order. On a beautiful Saturday morning on 17 June 2017, Cougars won the toss and elected to bat first. Their openers Rahil Shah and Ashwin Tandon gave a solid platform continuing where they left from in semis as Cougars reached 78-0 at the end of 10 overs. After the break, with wickets in hand both openers picked up momentum to score at more than 10 runs per over to put up a record opening partnership of 150 runs at the end of 16 overs when Rahil had to retire hurt. Raj Singh joined Ashwin to provide required fireworks at the end hitting two huge sixes to end
Winner Cougars with Golam Mohammad Nousher
the innings as Cougars reached a mammoth 189-1 at the end of 20 overs with Ashwin (80) and Rahil (74) doing the bulk of the scoring. With a huge total to chase, CJCC started aggressively against a bowling line up in top form. One of the openers, Anil scored 17 runs in 10 balls but Cougars kept rotating their bowlers (Prashant, Subbu and Krishna) and stuck some crucial blows to restrict CJCC to 32-3 after the first power play of 4 overs. Vijay joined in and continued his good form CJCC reached 71-3 after 10 overs. With required rate close to 12, Cougars’ bowlers came back strongly to take some quick wickets to take the chase away from CJCC even as Vijay
was holding one end up and kept scoring. The total was 103-6 in 15 overs and ended up at 136-9 at the end of 20 overs. Cougars became the champions amid joyous celebrations lifting the cup for the 5th time. Vijay was the top scorer for CJCC with well compiled 53. For Cougars, Subbu and Krishna were the pick of the bowlers taking 3 and 2 wickets respectively. The game was followed by a well-organized prize distribution ceremony arranged by TCC. TCC and teams were honored to have Mr. Golam Mohammad Nousher, former Bangladeshi cricketer, team manager and selector as the chief guest. He was felicitated by TCC with a plaque for his contri-
Runners up CJCC with Golam Mohammad Nousher
bution to cricket in Houston especially youth cricket. He spoke about his passion for cricket and how pleased he was to find so much cricket activity in Houston and lauded the efforts for TCC for youth cricket. Jagadish Biradar, the organizer for TCC Taped Ball tournament coordinated the presentation ceremony. Ashwin Tandon, the captain of Cougars Cricket Club was presented with the championship trophy and Vinodh Vemireddy, the captain of CJCC was presented with the runners up trophy. The players of the Winners and Runners up teams up received individual trophies. Man of the match for the final was
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
Ashwin Tandon from Cougars for his brilliant knock of 80. Vijay Narayana from CJCC won the best batsman trophy for scoring 287 runs. Best Bowler trophy was shared by Subbu Upadhya from Cougars, Anurag Srivastava from R2CC and Ravi Posam from CJCC with each of them taking 15 wickets. Rahil Shah from Cougars won the trophy for Best all-rounder scoring 273 runs and 14 wickets. Arun Anthony from Surya won the best wicket keeper for 27 catches and special awards were given to Shaahil Palooba from Super Kings and Alpesh Dadhalwala from HCCC for taking hat-trick.
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COMMUNITY
July 07, 2017
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A Masonic Honor that Surprised the Beloved Brother Raj Bhalla
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA
R
ICHMOND: The annals of the work of the freemasons are filled with many worthy deeds, each performed in the spirit of the fraternity that has been inspired since the order was first established long ago in 1717 when the first Grand Lodge of England was formed in London. Personal growth and social betterment via individual involvement and philanthropy have been the guiding lights of the stonemason guilds that have survived through the ensuing centuries. Stonemason guilds have transcended national boundaries and religious affiliations and though they were long seen as a shadowy organization, the root of the association has sought to better the lives of those around the local Lodges where the members gather for regular meetings. They follow a strict code of conduct, each member, addressed as “Brother”, passing through progressive degrees of initiation from Entered Apprentice to Fellowcraft and finally Master Mason. Some very famous Americans were Masons, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere and President Teddy Roosevelt, For Dr. Rajinder Pal Singh Bhalla, this was a fascinating world,
The Morton Lodge No. 32 Worshipful Master Tom Cassidy presenting the award to Dr. Raj Bhalla
one which he had been exposed to as a young boy by his father who was a Past Grand Standard Bearer and Past Junior Regional Grand Warden in the Grand Lodge of India on Janpath Avenue in New Delhi, India. His father’s younger brother GPS Bhalla became Master of Lodge in Madras and inspired Raj and his youngest brother Paul to join. By June
1964, Bhalla had become a Master Mason at the Northern Star Lodge No. 21 in Ferozepur Cantonment, Punjab, just miles from the IndoPak border. Soon after he came to America, Bhalla joined the Paumanok-Port Washington No. 855 Lodge and stayed there from 1976 till 1993, serving as its Worshipful Master in 1982. When he moved to the Sug-
ar Land area in 1995, he joined the Morton Masonic Lodge No. 72 in Richmond and, now a very active 86 years-old, has been a Free Mason for over 50 years. In recognition of Brother Raj’s devoted and outstanding service to Masonic principles, in April 2015, the Worshipful Master, Wayne Switzer of his Lodge presented him with the coveted Golden Trovel Award, the highest honor a Texas lodge can bestow on one of its members, declaring that they “valued him” as a “valuable asset and something of a treasure…. an exceptional example of the Craft.” A little over two years later, on Tuesday, June 13, when Bhalla was asked to come to his Lodge after an absence of two months, on the pretense of some work, he found a large congregation of parents, friends and other Masons assembled for the scholarship awards by the Lodge to eight high school seniors. Afterwards, Bhalla was puzzled that the Brethren were larger than for a normal meeting and joined them upstairs to the Lodge Hall. There, he recalled he was asked “to come to the East, the Worshipful Master got down the steps, and the Secretary brought a huge framed something which I couldn’t figure out but when they showed me closely, it was a memento and a copy of a Proclamation of exem-
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
plary service. Then the Worshipful Master gave the speech referring to the sword as kirpan and repeatedly said “kirpan” to make sure he was pronouncing it right. Then he traced the history of Kirpan to Guru Gobind Singh and what exactly was meant by a Saint Soldier.” The Lodge officers and other members wore their distinctive Masonic Aprons over their pants and spoke admiringly of the service that Brother Raj had given to the Lodge. Then they presented Bhalla with a shadow box with a kirpan, an antique Masonic plaque, and a suitably engraved dedication which reads: “To our Beloved Brother Rajinder Pal Singh Bhalla. Your dedication to the Craft, your kind heart and your generous spirit will live forever in our hearts.” Bhalla was taken aback and touched “not by their gesture, but the way they studied the philosophy of our tenth Guru and put that into their thinking for choosing an appropriate memento for me.” It turned out that the Lodge Brethren had unanimously voted, when Bhalla was not present; to pass a proclamation to name the Masonic Lodge Hall, where regular meetings are held, as “Rajinder Bhalla Hall” and a formal naming ceremony will be held later, open to the public and media.
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COMMUNITY
HOUSTON: American Society
ASIE Holds Architectural Field Trip at Hotel Ylem
of Indian Engineers and Architects (ASIE), a Houston based organization for engineers, architects, designers, and engineering technicians, held their monthly meeting as a “architectural and business seminar - field trip” to Hotel Ylem located near medical center on Main Street. The host of the event, the hotel owner Jay Dalwadi and wife Kapila began their journey in hospitality over 35 years ago and have instilled their passion for philanthropy in their kids and developed “Dalwadi Hospitality Management Team aka DHM Team. Today, Sumit, Amisha, Shital and Manisha, the all four young professionals with Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Texas A & M, manages the Dalwadi Hospitality hotels with passion and compassion. Sumit is committed to doing business better and he believes, “It doesn’t hurt to try. What is the worst can happen? That is nothing to be afraid of.” So DHM team decided that it is time to trend in another direction. So the year 2004 Holiday Inn Express a franchise hotel, they recently reinvented as Hotel Ylem with newest innovative architectural and interior design and novel business ideas. After a brief opening remarks by ASIE President Dinesh D. Shah, the ASIE life member Ben Bansal talked about the ASIE history and growth. The host team with the help of Sarah Shah as a moderator, created a panel discussion instead of sharing the information in speech format. Before the tour started, Manisha said she wanted their hotel to be more personal, not franchise chain and corporate style look. They want guests to feel at home in rooms filled with an eclectic mix of contemporary, vintage
ASIE Architect Member Danny Shah presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to Dalwadi Hospitality Team for hosting the event
ASIE members observing the interior design concept of the main lobby
ASIE Life member Ben Bansal sharing the history and growth of ASIE to the audience
and traditional. Truly, during the tour members were amazed. There is a decorative mailbox on the wall outside each room. The entry door of each room are painted in different colors. Instead, fabric-covered headboards have built-in electrical outlets and USB ports. Painted nightstands are glazed and distressed. Glass-globe pendant lights hang from brightly colored wiring, attached to the wall in an artsy pattern. Closets made of curved metal pipes on elevated stands look more like bellhop carts. The Architectural Student Member Tanmay Thakker said, “It’s a very different kind of room. Not a brand room by any means and though it looks very unique and appealing.” As DHM team has open mind for creative business ideas, they have the similar mind with big heart for giving back to the community. Multicolored decorative pillows in the guest rooms they kept it for sale for $35 each, and proceeds go to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign. They buy Illy-brand paper cups from Lighthouse Louisiana, an organization that trains and employs the blind, and bath
products come from eco-friendly Lather. Charity Water might be the biggest beneficiary of their efforts. All profits from guest-room minibars will go to the nonprofit. The artwork wall frames displayed by local artists in the lobby for sale, and 9 percent of the sale of any piece will go to Charity Water. As a token of gratitude, the Certificate of Appreciation was presented to DHM Team by ASIE Architect Member Danny Shah, and the ASIE Coffee Mug and T-Shirt was presented by another ASIE Architect Member Shashi Varia. The program was concluded with a great feeling of young generation’s role in business world by inheriting the values of Indian culture and humanity. As remarked by an engineer and active member of ASIE, Avinash Patel, “Not just their hospitality, but they also gave a presentation on how they give away their time and financial help in so many great activities to make this world a better place, in spite of their busy work schedule. It is an excellent example of a noble business owner with Indian culture family values”.
ASIE Architect Member Shashi Varia presenting an ASIE Coffee Mug and T Shirts to Dalwadi Hospitality Team for hosting the event
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
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July 07, 2017
An Evening of Music - A Survivor Activity
Pradeep Sulhan, P.C.
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Over 25 years experience
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Email: siddhivinayakhouston@gmail.com Website: www.siddhivinayakhouston.org
HOUSTON: IACAN strives to
connect and support the cancer patients, cancer survivors and their care givers. Towards this goal, IACAN organizes periodic social activities that include among others fine arts, yoga, and gardening. These activities are envisioned to offer physical, emotional and religious support. Furthermore, IACAN believes that these activities assist in building a sense of community with opportunities to socialize and engage in sharing experiences among the peer groups. IACAN takes every step to make them feel at home, to know that they are not alone in their journey, and that they can count on IACAN in their time of needs. One such survivor activity – “An Evening of Music” was held at the Bhojan Restaurant on Saturday, June 24th, 2017. Many large cancer centers around the country use music as a key therapeutic tool. Music therapy is known to help patients cope with negative emotions, promote wellness, enhance memory and manage stress. Especially in cancer patients, when used with conventional treatments, Music therapy has been recognized to help reduce pain and discomfort to increase the quality of life. Other benefits from music therapy, according to scientific studies, include improvements in motor skills and social skills. The musicians, Mrs. Soumya Rege and Mr. Ravi Mukkamala
enlightened the audience with their melodious voices while the instrumentalists, Mrs. Vimala Ahobila, and Mrs. Vasantha Narumanchi on veena accompanied by Naga Srinidhi Kuruvada on Mridangam, took the audience to a new level of enjoyment. Soumya started the program with a devotional bhajan and the evening proceeded with Hindi golden oldies songs. Her selections were melodious and romantic. The audiences were transported back to those good old days enthralled with nostalgia. Her choice of songs were special and the audience felt a sense of intimacy. The dancing by two of the audiences was the icing on the cake. Thank you Soumya for a wonderful performance and thank you Kanchan and Gaytri for bringing it all together. Hats off to Mrs. Vasantha Narumanchi and Mrs. Vimala Ahobila for their fantastic veena performance. The classical instrumental music touched the soul and was a pleasurable experience. The ambiance changed into a peaceful and soothing one. Naga Srinidhi Kuruvada, the budding Mridangam player wowed the audience by keeping up with such seasoned veena players. Good luck to him and look forward to having him perform at our future events. The last but not the least performance was by singer Ravi Mukkamala. He sang retro songs that we always had in our memories. His voice was strong and lovely and
the audience were completely mesmerized with his songs. His last number, a Telugu song from movie Sivaranjani was the most appropriate one to end such a beautiful evening. No one wanted the music program to end but it was time for dinner. The food was sumptuous and everyone enjoyed the food and the company of friends. Cancer is an involved disease. Survivors are courageous people who have overcome the obstacles and have beaten the odds. They go through the rigors of conventional medicine such as chemo, radiation, surgery etc. Social activities such as this music program have scientific rationale to offer therapeutic benefits in terms of easing the anxiety, stress, fatigue, insomnia and relief form a whole battery of side effects. Through these planned activities, IACAN is happy to bring a little relief to our friends. Hope to see you all at our next event. Contact Information for IACAN: www.iacannetwork.org iacannetwork@mail. com Phone: 713 370 3489
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COMMUNITY
Babu Gogineni: Confronting Superstition as a Humanist, Rationalist BY PRAMOD KULKARNI
HOUSTON: If you’re reading this article,
you are a well-educated and well-informed Indo-American. Nevertheless, do you believe in superstitions? Do you feel apprehensive if a black cat crosses your path? Do you check your weekly horoscope in newspapers and ward off accidents by tying a lemon and peppers on your new car? Most superstitions are harmless, but some
like belief in witchcraft have harmful consequences if it results in the lynching of innocent men or women accused of practicing black magic. In fact, about 2,500 women were killed in 2016 for being “witches”. A celebrity battling superstition in India is Babu Gogineni. Based in Hyderabad, Gogineni is a humanist, rationalist, and human rights activist, who served as Executive Director of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). Gogineni presented a thought-provokRationalist campaigner Babu Gogineni (left) receives an award from Foundation for India Studies Chairman Krishna Vavilala (center) with event emcee Vishal Merchant.
ing lecture on Saturday, July 1 at Houston Community College’s Alief campus on his efforts to combat superstitions. The presentation was sponsored by the Foundation for India Studies (FIS). The event was attended by FIS members and guests and several members of the Houston Humanists Association. At the outset, Gogineni said he had no quarrel with any religion as such. “I am only concerned when innocent people become victims of superstitious beliefs.” To bring his campaign against superstitions to the attention of the masses, Gogineni was the host of a TV show called “The Big Question” broadcast in Andhra Pradesh. One of the interesting contests he hosted on the show concerned astrologers, who were so-called experts in predicting the future. The astrologers were asked 25 questions related to the outcome of the recent elections. The same questionnaire was given to a few 10th class students. Gogineni announced that he would concede to the astrologer’s predictive powers if they answer at least 11 questions correctly. It turned out that the astrologers could not get any more than three to four electoral contests correctly. In fact, the 10th class students beat the astrologers with about six predictions. Both set of contestants did not know that Gogineni had gamed the questionnaire with a few political parties that were not contesting any seats and a few fake candidates that were not event contesting. Gogineni touched on his human rights campaigns to help secure the release of Dr. Younis Shaikh, who had been sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. He also publicly spoke on behalf of Bangladesh author Taslima Nasrin, for her progressive writings. Buddhist monk Dalai Lama is known for his spiritual teachings of world peace and nonviolence. However, Gogineni led a campaign against Dalai Lama’s selection of seven-year-old Indian girl Sambhavi as the reincarnation of a Buddhist goddess. Gogineni’s group filed legal cases in Andhra Pradesh High Court and the International Human Rights Commission. The campaign has ensured that Sambhavi is enrolled in a local school and not inducted in a monastery. In conclusion, Babu Gogineni urged the audience to learn about the South Asian Humanist Association and revealed plans to set up a university to teach rationalist and humanist thinking. For more information on FIS programs and activities, please visit www.foundationforindiastudies.org. INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY
July 07, 2017
13
IMAGH Spreads the Message of Love & Peace at the 8th Annual EID Milan Event CONTINUED FROM PAGE
5
record of managing multi-million dollar companies, along with staying passionately involved in community activities. Matin pointed out the entrepreneurial spirit of Indian Muslims. He also mentioned the similarities of the political system in both countries (India and USA) – the oldest democracy and the largest democracy. Dr. Samina Salim who also made a meaningful and thoroughly appreciated presentation on why we celebrate Eid emceed the program. To motivate the youth and to bring a new perspective in the community, Aziz Akbari was called upon as the guest speaker. Aziz, a bright young individual, is the face of Indian Muslim youth who are trying to break the social barriers in public service. Aziz ran for mayor of Fremont, California in 2012 at the age of 18, and in 2016 he was elected to the Almeda County Water District’s Board of Directors, the youngest MuslimAmerican ever to be elected to office in the country. His example is cited to and by many of the youths as they too could accomplish their dreams. It was then time for acknowledging the deserving folks. Latafath Hussain announced the awards. This year’s Public Service Award
was presented to India Culture Center (ICC) and Dr. Falguni Gandhi, current President accepted the award on ICC’s behalf. ICC, founded in 1973, is the umbrella organization linking various Indian organizations, groups and individuals. Achievement awards were given to Nabeel Ahmad for winning Fulbright Scholarship, and to Umar Ibrahim for postgraduate research in Nuclear Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The events light and sound was managed by DJ Sage of Sage Productions and the beautiful decor was plotted by Tasnim Vadva ,
while the credit for the delectable food goes to Nirvana Indian Restaurant. Eid translates into English as “celebration” and mubarak literally means “blessed”. And truly, what a blessed evening this was! For more information about the event, call its President, Munir Ibrahim, at (832) 267-5123 or Latafath Hussain at 713-2696171 or email at info@imagh. org.
For Photo Collage, see pages 2-27
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16 July 07, 2017
COMMUNITY
Gitesh Desai Takes Over as Sewa International (Houston chapter) President
HOUSTON: Sewa International
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Houston chapter is abuzz with new vigour and enthusiasm these days as it welcomes its new president, Gitesh Desai. He replaces Sarojini Gupta, who was Sewa Houston’s President for the past three years. Under Sarojini Gupta’s tenure Sewa International Houston chapter grew from strength to strength and now the baton has been passed on to Gitesh Desai, who takes over as the president with immediate effect. Gitesh Desai is no stranger to the Houston community. He has been a long time Houstonian and a community activist. He currently serves on City of Houston’s General Appeals Board. He is a former president of the Indian American Political Action Committee of Greater Houston (IAPAC), and is currently serving on the IAPAC board. He also served on the IndoAmerican Charity Foundation of Greater Houston (IACF) board. He is a published freelance writer, and is a licensed professional engineer employed as a Senior Principal Technical Professional with Wood Group, which serves the oil
Gitesh Desai
and gas industry. His personal philosophy in life is that everything in this universe is interconnected and interdependent. He says “My happiness depends on acknowledging that I am not separate, but one with the forces of the universe”. Of all the role he plays in his life, his favorite role is that of a grandfather. He loves spending quality time with his daughter and granddaughter. In his leisure time he enjoys yoga, painting, reading, writing, and listening to Hindustani classical music. Welcoming Gitesh Desai in his new role, Sewa International USA Executive VP Arun Kankani said, “Gitesh Desai ji is a very ac-
tive community leader in Houston with varied interests and talents. His passion for service will find the right outlet through Sewa International’s work. Sewa Houston is on a solid foundation with all the hard work of Houstonians and will certainly reach new heights with his new role.” Sewa International CFO Venkat Subramanian said, “ Gitesh Ji, is not just a well recognized community leader with several decades of community service experience, he is also a very inspirational figure, and his inspiration will guide Sewa volunteers to serve more and more people.” Houston Project coordinator, Kavita Tewary, said, “Gitesh Ji will be very hands-on President. Since the day he joined the Houston team, he has attended all the events, met scores of volunteers, and enriched each interaction with his valuable advice. We are glad to be working under his leadership”. She added, “The Sewa Houston team is very enthused and is geared to serve the Greater Houston community under the able leadership of Gitesh Desai.”
Radha Krishna Temple Inaugural Ceremony
ALLEN:
The Radha Krishna Temple on 1450 N. Watters Road, Allen, TX 75013 opened its doors on 4 July 2017, at 7 AM, followed by grand, 8-day festival of joy and devotion. The volunteers at the Radha Krishna Temple are gearing up to welcome thousands of guests for these eight days of joyous celebrations, which will take place from 4 – 11 July 2017. The consecration ceremony (Pratisthāvidhi) which will take place from 4 – 11 July 2017 includes Prān Pratistha, Abhishekam, Homam, Kumbhābishekam. There is more! Every day, the inaugural celebrations comprise
the enlightening discourses by His Holiness Swami Mukundananda, the Supreme Lord’s blissful pastimes elucidated by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj in his videos, the elevating cultural programs, and the soul-stirring kirtans, which deepen the spiritual experience and help achieve a perfect communion with the Lord. The mayors of Allen, Plano, and other dignitaries, as well as JKYog devotees here in US and abroad are expected to attend this grand opening ceremony of the magnificent temple. The temple opens its doors every day at 7 AM and closes at 9 PM. It was about three years ago that the idea of the Radha Krishna Temple took birth. The forthcoming abode of the Lord would be the utmost beautiful piece of architecture, inspiring awe, reverence, and love in the thousands of believers who would throng to it. The temple has been built according to the guidelines of the Shilpa shastra, the ancient scripture for temple architecture in India. The stunningly beautiful deities of the Supreme Lord in his most charming forms as Radha Krishna arrived from Jaipur, Rajasthan, and are now ensconced in their lovely new abode in Allen, TX. The temple is dedicated to the public, to become a living monument of love in the firmament of North America. To the millions of ardent darshanarthis who pass through its sacred gates in the years to come, the temple will be a place to commune with their Beloved Lord. To the sincere sadhaks on the path to God-realiza-
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tion, the temple will be the ghat (river bank) for drinking the divine ambrosia of Vedic knowledge. To the bhaktas, the temple will be the place for bhajan and bhakti. For the lovers of Indian culture, it will be the vibrant hub of Indian classical dance, music, arts, and crafts. To the social workers, it will be the benevolent institution that cares for and serves the poor and needy in Dallas and elsewhere. To the conscientious parents, it will be the place where they bring their children for character building Bal-Mukund classes. To yoga enthusiasts, it will be the place for wellness and holistic health sessions and conferences. To the local Americans, it will be their first stop introduction to the Indian ethos and culture. And to all desis, it will be the nucleus that selflessly serves the Indian community.
COMMUNITY
July 07, 2017
17
Local Teens are National Champions in Public Forum Debate
National Champions in all Speech / Debate events - 3rd from Left Vedanth Ramabhadran, 4th from Left Omar Busaidy
HOUSTON: The National Debate
& Speech Tournament has been held across the country since 1931, and today is one of the largest academic competitions in the world. Each year, more than 7,000 High school and Middle School students compete in a week-long competition to determine the national champion in a range of Speech and Debate events. The 2017 National Speech & Debate Tournament “Memories made in the Magic City” was held in Birmingham, Alabama. Houston ISD’s Lanier Middle continued its long history of Speech and Debate performances and had over 40+ students that qualified for the National Tournament in 2017 under coach Franz Hill. Lanier Middle School finished in the Top 5 schools nationally for Speech as well as Debate. They also received the Overall School of Excellence award recognizing the Top 3 schools nationally.
Lanier Middle School’s Omar Busaidy and Vedanth Ramabhadran finished as the National Champions in the Public Forum debate event beating a team from Atlanta. They finished the Preliminary Rounds as the Top Seed and also took the Top 2 spots for individual speaker points in their event - an overall dominant performance. 2 out of the 4 semi finalist teams were from Lanier Middle School including the team of Andrew Sun and David Tang. 3 out of the 4 teams from Lanier made it to the Knockout rounds. 80 teams from around the country participated in the Public Forum debate at the national tournament debating the topic - “In East Africa, the United States federal government should prioritize its counterterrorism efforts over its humanitarian assistance.” During the regular Middle School tournament season in Houston, Omar
From left: Coach Franz Hill, Omar Busaidy, Vedanth Ramabhadran
and Vedanth won 7 of the 9 tournaments and finished 2nd in the other two. They intend to continue their
debate experience at Bellaire High School next year. The proud parents, Busaidys live
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in Bellaire and Ramabhadrans live in the Energy Corridor. INTERVIEW BOX: “I started participating in debate tournaments because I went to a camp and really liked it. While I started with Public Forum (PF) debate and I enjoyed Impromptu and Extemporaneous speaking as well. After making it to nationals in the 7th grade for PF, I decided to focus on PF debate in the 8th grade. That paid off and Omar and I were able to do well in multiple tournaments. We are thrilled that we won nationals and topped the speaker points. We are happy that we were able to continue the Lanier legacy. We couldn’t have done this without Coach Hill and the Lanier alumni coaches. The Lanier debate team was a constant source of encouragement for us. “ - VEDANTH RAMABHADRAN, 8th Grader at Lanier Middle School.
18 July 07, 2017 z
Yoga Doesn’t Always Help
If you’re on your yoga mat
right now trying to figure out which leg or hand to move to un-entangle yourself, take a deep breath. Here come some new studies that almost stand this traditional exercise form on its head. Finally, something to say to all those sitting in the Self-righteous Asana! You could hurt your eye by being upside down, says one research study; optic nerves can protest or glaucoma can worsen. If you routinely stand on your head/shoulder in sheershasana and sarvangasana to show off, stop! Use feet instead. Or label forehead, ‘this way up’. Existing injuries can intensify with yoga, says another study. And maybe you should pull up a chair now and then, it hints, as sitting in the lotus position could strain hips, thighs and knees. Musculoskeletal damage, like pulled muscles, slipped discs or strained wrist can befall before you can say ‘pranayama’. Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand pain could start with all that pressure on upper limbs. For the already injured, around 21% of the injuries were worsened by yoga. Yoga’s claim to fame is that it is the oldest fitness regime; the cave man’s hunchbacked look – much in fashion at one time – was replaced by the straighter spine only via yoga. And of course it has taught us some fun ways to play with oxygen; inhale with right nostril, exhale with left nostril, vice-versa, gulp in air with mouth, gulp out through nose, then in reverse order etc. Yoga shames us with its many names; in alphabetic order, Anusara, Ashtanga, Bhakta, Bikram, Hatha, Jivamukti, Karma, Kripalu, Kundalini, Sivananda, Tantra, Vinyasa and Yin. So in case you are thinking of bluffing your way out of ‘do you do yoga?’ with a semi-nod, you must know exactly which one you are faking. It was alright when yoga was for the elderly and the infirm. But now with yoga spawning a whole fashion industry, not to mention a celeb clientele, fans of this discipline feel superior to those of us less bendy. Yoga enthusiasts have started to physically rearrange other people’s limbs in coffee shops. Mass demonstrations on PT grounds are not poetry in motion. Yoga does benefit – the instructors. And it doesn’t kill. Spectators watching from a distance are safe, unless they come under a random foot slipping from an uttanapadasana gone wrong. As for practitioners, a US study in the International Journal of Yoga said that only 1% in 24,000 were injured enough to stop. The rest are still in downward dog. -- Shinie Antony in Times of India
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY Why No Paan Stains on Metros?
BY BIJU DOMINIC
The spanking new Kochi Metro
witnessed a controversial event recently. It happened when leaders and workers of a political party entered one of the Metro stations and boarded a train for a “protest ride”, many of them without a valid ticket. All this, of course, created quite a bit of commotion and disrupted the life of Metro staff and passengers in the station and in the train. This is a scene that has played out in India many a times. But what followed was a huge surprise. As soon as television news channels flashed the news of this unruly behaviour, one of the senior most leaders of the political party addressed reporters and apologized for the unruly behaviour of his party workers. Why did the senior politician apologize for a behaviour that happened in the newly inaugurated Kochi Metro? Did the apology arise from an improved civic sense of our political leaders, or did it emanate from the ability of our Metros to inculcate good behaviour even in our political leaders, not to mention ordinary citizens? That Indians behave with civic sense only when in countries like Singapore is an oft repeated refrain. But few have noticed that there are public places in India, where all Indians, irrespective of their age and income, behave in the most desirable way. We have an impeccable civic behaviour when we step into our Metro stations. Whether in Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai or Kochi Metro, we do not litter, we do not spit paan residue, and we do wait patiently in queues. Why do we behave differently in a Metro? Can this behaviour be replicated to other public places too? Can our behaviours in our Metro stations be a harbinger of change across the whole country? Human behaviour experts have always studied the impact of physical surroundings on human behaviour. They have established that physical locations are some of the most powerful cues to behaviours. As Wendy Wood, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, puts it, “ Even though people think
they’re making choices, many of our repeated behaviours are cued by everyday environments”. Humans are like chameleons who have the ability to change their colours to suit the surroundings. We speak softly in libraries, we are boisterous in stadiums. As soon as an individual enters an environment, she derives a certain understanding and a meaning about that surrounding. It is this meaning that influences how we act in that situation. Who we are, what we believe in, what we do, are all greatly influenced by where we are. What are the factors that contribute to providing a meaning to our Metro stations that all of us have a transformed behaviours when we step into a Metro station? Most of our Metro stations are at a physical level that is different from the rest of the surroundings. Metros are either elevated or they are underground. A Metro station invokes a ritual of stepping out of the ordinary world into a “sacred” space. The same level difference (and the accompanying effort) adds to a feeling of exclusivity and spirituality to our places of worship too. Think of your first Metro ride or your first plane ride or your first visit to a glitzy mall. The gleaming technological marvels that are our Metros, our airports, our high-end malls generate an emotion of awe and wonder. This is a curious emotion— one that may not seem like it has an evolutionary underpinning. Wonder is an emotion that’s triggered when current mental models are not sufficient to understand or
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comprehend a situation—something that requires adjustment and new learning. Awe also has a social side— psychologist Paul K. Piff and Dacher Keltner’s experiments have shown how awe triggers prosocial behaviours. One starts noticing this emotion in the eyes of our co-passengers too. Because the Metro is associated with a city, this shared emotion becomes a feeling of pride not just among the users of the Metro but also among all the citizens of the city. This pride leads to a sense of collective ownership of and collective responsibility for the Metro among the ordinary citizens of the city. The emotional high and lack of established norms makes the creation of new social norms easier in the early stages of the Metro. In this state, Metro users are far more malleable to following instructions from authorities—to queue up, to give way, to not litter. Over a period of time, these behaviours become the new social norm of the place. No wonder that Kolkata Metro, even decades after it started services, remains cleaner than the rest of the city. Great leaders have understood the importance of the physical environment in shaping human behaviours. During discussions on rebuilding the war ravaged Commons Chamber in Britain, several legislators advised prime minister Winston Churchill to build the new Commons Chamber either in a semi-circular or horseshoe design. But Churchill said, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us”. He insisted on continuing with the adversarial rectangular pattern which he believed was responsible for shaping the twoparty system which is the essence of British parliamentary democracy. Policy makers are working hard to make our cities “smart” and chief executive officers are keen to inculcate new behaviors in their organizations. All of them have a lot to learn from the context changes, the rituals, and emotions around our Metro stations that have managed to transform the public behaviours of a large number of people. -- Live Mint Biju Dominic is the chief executive officer of Final Mile Consulting, a behaviour architecture firm.
THE STORY OF GANDHI T
19
July 07, 2017
The Extraordinary Life and Times of Mahatma Gandhi - Part 6
he story thus far…Gandhi’s activism on behalf of the Indians in South Africa, brought him much strife. The local Afrikaners and the British considered him as a troublemaker. He was attacked by angry mobs. With his calm demeanor, he wins over the people, and even gets to help create an ambulance corps. The Durban police rescued Gandhi from a bloodthirsty mob. He was escorted by the police to Rustomji’s house, where a doctor attended to his injuries. “They are sure to calm down when they realize their mistake,” he said. Late in the evening, another mob of white people surrounded the house. “We must have Gandhi,” angry voices demanded. The mob was getting more and more threatening. “Give us Gandhi or we will bum down the house,” they shouted. Gandhi knew that they might carry out their threat. To save his friend’s house, he slipped out in disguise, eluding the crowd. Two days later a message came from London. Joseph Chamberlain, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, asked the Natal Government to prosecute every man guilty of attacking Gandhi. The Natal Government expressed its regret for the incident to Gandhi and assured him that the assailants would be punished. When Gandhi was called upon to identify the offenders, however, he would not do so. “I do not want to prosecute anyone,” he told the Natal Government. “I do not hold the assailants to blame. They were misled by false reports about me and I am sure that when the truth becomes known they will be sorry for their conduct.” Gandhi’s statement suddenly changed the atmosphere in Durban. The press declared Gandhi innocent and condemned his assailants. The Durban incident raised Gandhi’s prestige and won more sympathy abroad for the Indians in South Africa. As the struggle in South Africa continued, a change was coming over Gandhi. He had begun with a life of ease and comfort, but this was shortlived. As he became more and more involved in public activities, his way of life became simpler. He started cutting down his expenses. He took to washing and ironing his own clothes, and he did it so badly at first that the other lawyers laughed at him. But soon he became quite an expert at this and his collars were no less stiff and shiny than theirs. Gandhi once went to an English barber in Pretoria. The barber insolently refused to cut a ‘black’ man’s hair. Gandhi at once bought a pair of clippers and cut his own hair. He succeeded more or less in cutting the front part but spoilt the back. He looked very funny and his friends in the court laughed at him.
As the struggle in South Africa continued, a change was coming over Gandhi. He had begun with a life of ease and comfort, but this was shortlived. As he became more and more involved in public activities, his way of life became simpler. He started cutting his expenses. He took to washing and ironing his own clothes, and he did it so badly at first that the other lawyers laughed at him.
“What’s wrong with your hair Gandhi? Have rats been gnawing at it?” they asked. “No,” said Gandhi proudly, “I have cut my hair myself.” Then Gandhi tried changes in his food. He started taking uncooked food. He believed that if a man lived on fresh fruits and nuts he could master his passions and acquire spiritual strength. He made many experiments with his diet. He even came to the conclusion that fasting increased one’s will power. While he was thus experimenting with himself, the Boer war broke out. The Boers were South Africans of Dutch origin. They were fighting the British. Neither of these two white nations had treated the Indians well. Gandhi did not want to support either of them, but his familiarity with the British made him organize an Indian ambulance corps to help them. To his puzzled followers, he said: “India can achieve complete emancipation only through development within the British Empire. Therefore we must help the British.” The British won the war and the ambulance corps was disbanded. The newspapers in England praised the services rendered by the Indians. The relations between the Indians and the Europeans had now become more cordial, and the Indians believed that their grievances would soon be removed. It was now 1901, six years after Gandhi had brought his family to Durban. Now he felt that his future activity lay not in South Africa but
in India. Also, friends in India were pressing him to return home. When he announced his decision to his co-workers, however, they again pressed him to stay on. After much discussion they agreed to let him go, but only if he would come back to South Africa if the Indians there needed his help. He agreed to this. There were farewell meetings and presentations of gifts. The gifts were so many and so valuable that Gandhi felt he should not accept them. The people who had presented them would not take them back. He then prepared a trust deed, and all the gifts were deposited with a of the Indian community. On his arrival in India, Gandhi went on a tour of the country. The annual meeting of the Indian National Congress was being held in Calcutta under the presidentship of Dinshaw Wacha. Gandhi attended the session. It was his first contact with the Congress which he was to lead so gloriously in the future. The Indian National Congress was the only organization which gave the people of India a chance to express their political views. It was an influential body, as many important Indians were members, but its decisions had little affect on the Government. At the Calcutta session in 1901 Gandhi had an opportunity to meet Congress leaders like Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Lokamanya B. G. Tilak, G. K. Gokhale, and others. He was not impressed with the way the Congress was functioning. He noticed a lack of unity among the delegates. Moreover, while they spoke English and affected the style of Westerners in their dress and talk, they did not seem to bother about essential things like good sanitary facilities in the camp. Gandhi wanted to teach them a lesson. On his own he quietly started cleaning the bathroom and urinals. No one volunteered to join him. “Why do you undertake an untouchable’s job?” they asked. “Because the caste people have made this an untouchable place,” replied Gandhi. From Calcutta Gandhi traveled around India by train. As he moved from place to place, he was shocked to see the life of the common people – the famished, ignorant, and neglected masses. His heart was filled with sadness and anger. Gandhi settled down in Bombay and started practice as a lawyer. He did well, much better than he had expected. In December 1902, however, a cable reached him from South Africa requesting him to return as promised. Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, was arriving from London on a visit to Natal and the Transvaal, and the Natal Indian Congress wanted Gandhi to present their case to him. - To be continued next week
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EDUCATION
July 07, 2017
21
Keeping Kids Creative In the Summer Months
Summer is a wonderful time for
family bonding and adventures. With the joys of the season comes the challenge of keeping kids mentally stimulated while they’re away from the classroom – especially if you’re on a budget. This is not limited to purely academic thinking, but also to imaginative reasoning. Best in Class Education Center helps K-12 students achieve academic success through personalized educational programs. The supplemental learning company is dedicated to seeking out new learning opportunities for both students and their parents. Best in Class encourages you to foster your child’s capacity for creative thought this summer with these six tips: Family YouTube Channel Capture precious moments of your child’s youth while also allowing for creative expression by starting a family YouTube channel. Kids love having the opportunity to play different roles, which encourages them to explore and invent new stories. This will make for a nice video keepsake down the road too! For parents concerned with online privacy, set your channel to private. Neighborhood Book Club Unite the children of the neighborhood with an organized family book club. Take turns choosing creative, age appropriate content to read as a group. This will expose children to
suggest an alternative ending to the story. Get the conversation flowing and see what ideas you can spark from the experience. Paint-By-Numbers Not only does this activity allow for artistic expression, but it is also a great way for students to practice their numbers outside of the classroom. This fun and educational activity is sure to be a hit with kids who like to craft.
new concepts and encourage reading for fun. It may also provide an excellent opportunity for your child to make a new friend. Sidewalk Chalk This beloved pastime can be surprisingly educational. Create a maze to encourage critical thinking, play a few rounds of Pictionary or have a little family drawing competition. The beauty of sidewalk chalk is the versatility of the medium to create learning opportunities. It even doubles as a great summer bonding activity, as it gets the family outside and enjoying the weather! Scavenger Hunt What’s more creative than a mys-
tery? Hide riddles around the house for your children to find and decipher. Having a prize at the end will keep them excited, and the clues will keep them thinking. Planning the scavenger hunt will stretch your creative thought as well and can be fun for the whole family. Go to the Theatre Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for the imagination. Take your kids to a theatre production and see where the new ideas will take them. Theatre production doesn’t have a screen like the movie theatres do, so it’s a new type of entertainment – and, after the performance, you can ask what they thought or have them
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
To help your student exceed his or her academics goals, a local resource, Best in Class Education Center, offers a variety of customized, supplemental enrichment courses and tutoring options to ensure your students are equipped with the tools they need this school year. Learn more about the Best in Class Summer Camp programs available here: https:// www.bestinclasseducation.com/ programs/summercamp
22 July 07, 2017
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PUZZLES / RECIPES
Mama’s Punjabi Recipes
Besan De Poode (Chickpea Flour Flatcakes) 5.
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Pour a small amount of mixture with a large spoon and and spread it to make a 6-inch circle. When tiny holes appear on the surface, check to see in the bottom side is golden brown; if so, the gently flip the pooda over with a spatula. Sprinkle a little oil around the edges and let it cook till it is slightly brown on both sides. Cook the other side and make sure the pooda is not mushy and moist, but do not let it cook too long or become too brown. Place the pooda on a plate and repeat till all the mixture is done. If you do not use all the mixture, just cover it and keep in the refrigerator for use another day. Serve with mint chutney or ketchup or achaar (pickles) of your choice.
readers, below is a reprint of Mama’s Besan de Poode recipe, which is a tasty, inexpensive, fast comfort food for rainy days and for uninvited guests. It is reprinted with some additional information and directions. Judging from the many different types of snacks it is used in, besan (chickpea flour) can easily be considered a very versatile ingredient in many Indian dishes. Whether it is in seviyan (crispy noodles), pakoras (fried fritters), laddus (sweetballs) or kaddi (a smooth curry); besan is used so widely that often people forget that it is part of what they are eating. You can even make boondi (besan fried drops) to put in dahi (yogurt) or simply besan ki barfi (sweetened flat cake) or poode (flatcakes). Besan (roasted gram flour or garbanzo flour or chickpea flour) is high in carbohydrates and somewhat high in protein but has no gluten, which makes it not suitable for those trying to lose weight (especially when it is fried). Besan is also high in protein, magnesium (47%), phosphorus (45%) and potassium (18%). In our home remedies, besan pooda are given to people to help reduce their sugar levels. It is also used to lighten skin, reduce oiliness and fight pimples and to get long, healthy hair. Poode are made of a paste of besan mixed with spices, then poured onto a tava or flatplate and cooked into a 6-inch round, ¼ inch thick pancake. Once cooked, these poode are eaten with chutney or achaar or even with ketchup by young people! Just like pakoras (fried fritters), poode taste great on a rainy day, with warm tea. Poode are also called “chilla” by people from Uttar Pradesh. They are also a quick dish and it resembles a flour pancake, except it is salty and spicy. Poode can be a snack, but a really filling one as you can’t resist eating only one!
Ingredients: • 1 cup besan (chickpea flour) – makes four 6-inch round poode • ½ cup dahi (plain yogurt) • 1 medium pyaaz (onion) • ½ cup pani (water) • 1 teaspoon of vegetable or olive oil for each pooda • Spices (to taste): namak (salt), mirch (red pepper). If desired, add ajwain (carom seeds) for a slightly bitter taste.
8.
9.
Directions: 1. Peel and chop the onions and set aside. 2. Mix the besan (chickpea flour), yogurt and water together, mixing continuously so that lumps do not form and 3. Add the onions and spices and beat the mixture till it becomes a paste: it should not be too thin else the pooda will not cook and will remain wet inside. 4. Before making the first pooda, pre-heat the tava (flatplate) or frying pan on a high flame and coat it with a half teaspoon of oil. When it is hot, turn the heat down to medium.
Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the oldfashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur (since renamed Faisalabad), India before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her late-eighties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share some of her delectable Punjabi recipes.
MAMA’S TIP O F THE
WEEK While cooking, us e whole saunf (fenn el seeds), but not its powder
Dried saunf (fennel freshener after a m seeds) are often used as a digestive eal, but the seed, es and mouth pecially the thinne sweeter variety, is a r, smaller and better choice than th e coarser, thicker se and beverages, fenn eds. el ingredient in soaps oil is used as a flavoring agent and as In foods and cosmetics. a fragrance Fennel seeds are of ten used in cookin the seeds when mix g Indian sweetdish es ed when sprinkled ov in the dough of some puddings or rice but only er a dish and cook ed, the saunf powde dishes. But brown and leaves th r turns a dark e dish looking less than appetizing.
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July 07, 2017
ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS ENTERTAINMENT:REVIEWS/NEWS
Happy Birthday Kailash Kher
July 7, 1973
MS Dhoni
July 7, 1981
E
ver superhero has his special powers — one can fly, another is indestructible while the third one is all-powerful. Now take everything you have ever watched in DC and Marvel, give it a quick mixer-grinder treatment and pronto, we have Diljit Dosanjh in and as Super Singh. He can fly, he can kick balls (literally and figuratively) and he is out to save
23
Super Singh: Diljit Dosanjh Superhero is Powered by Jokes the world. But when you meet him in a dark theatre, all spandex and machismo, the superpower that actually keeps you seated for 170 minutes is his comic timings. Diljit’s hero sure knows how to tell a joke and he will keep you laughing through this film. Now that is quite a strategy, keep your CGI and special effects Hollywood, we will laugh you out of the competition. Because let us face it, the special effects in this superhero caper are a joke. There is a moment when Super Singh emerges holding a luxury liner from the water and you laugh so much it hurts. The good part is that just like the audience, neither he nor the film take himself or his superpowers seriously in most of the film. He will thwart a burglary attempt with the same countenance as he will help an old woman with her shopping bags with 3 kg potato, two kg onions and 3 garlic pods. After his
first attempt at being a superhero, he actually gets a bunch of bananas and $51 as shagun! Diljit’s charm also keeps your attention away from the film’s waferthin plot and a villain — we won’t tell you who it is — who hams so much, he is his own meme. Every time you realise just how huge the craters are in the screenplay, Diljit tells a joke and all’s right with the film. That is till Diljit and his Super Singh realise that with great power comes great responsibility. From Canada where he is an amiable misfit wooing a white Cheerleader with jokes and bhangra, he lands in drug-addled Punjab where leaders — political or religious — are out to fleece and fool people. The film goes south from there. The cliched climax which seems to have been lifted from a bad 80s actioner does not help the film either. By this time, you are tired of how the film has been thrusting
moral lessons down your throat too. The message about religion feel forced and start getting preachy, especially towards the end. But the director,Anurag Singh, sure knows his target audience. Whether it is Punjab or NRI audience, they are going to love the first Punjabi superhero, comes as he does with Diljit Dosanjh’s innate charm and
man-boy persona. But next time Super Singh goes on his quests to save the world, and he will, given the promise of sequel is very much there in Super Singh, we strongly advise him to carry a hand sanitiser. Or find a planet with toilet on it. -indianexpress
Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan Share a Selfie Moment on the Sets of Anand L Rai’s Next Film Leaving Fans Curious
W
henever we see a picture of Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan together, we just love it. We already know that Salman is shooting for a special song in Aanand L Rai’s film starring Shah Rukh Khan. The filming of the song began on July 4, and thanks to the various fan
pages of the two Khans, we got to see some of their pictures from the sets. While the earlier still had both SRK and Salman, a new picture from the sets is also doing the rounds of social media. This time they are seen posing for a selfie with probably a fan or a crew member. SRK and Salman are all smiles in the picture and as always
we are in awe to see them together. We last saw them sharing screen space in Tubelight where SRK did a cameo in Salman’s film. Aanand’s upcoming movie gained a lot of traction after news surfaced that King Khan will play a dwarf. Elaborating on the same, a report by Bollywoodlife carried details about how Shah Rukh Khan
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
will get into the role of a dwarf. The main challenge is to reduce SRK’s height to suit the character. A source close to the production team revealed to the website, “Wherever Shah Rukh Khan will shoot his scenes, there will be holes drilled on the platform into which the actor will get in. -indianexpress
24 July 07, 2017 Sharma, Yadav Lead India Women to 4th Win in a Row BY ANNESHA GHOSH
D
ERBY: (ESPN Cricinfo): India women 232 for 8 (Deepti 78, Raj 53, Sripali 3-28) beat Sri Lanka women 216 for 7 (Manodara 61, Yadav 2-23, Goswami 2-26) by 16 runs If four top-order half-centuries had powered Sri Lanka’s 138-run shock knockout blow to India in the 2013 World Cup in Mumbai, this time around their middle and lower order made a spirited attempt to bring India’s winning streak to an end in Derby. But that was not to be as Deepti Sharma set up a 16-run victory - India’s fourth successive one in the tournament - courtesy a 78run knock and 10 crucial overs that returned 1 for 46. After India opted to bat on a fresh pitch that barely had any tinge of green, Deepti’s 118-run third-wicket partnership with captain Mithali Raj laid the platform for India’s 232. While the total was 18 short of what Raj had originally intended to get, her decision to introduce legspinner Poonam Yadav in the 16th over proved crucial in ensuring it was enough. Yadav’s mix of legbreaks and wrong ‘uns sniped out two top-
Deepti Sharma’s 78 was her sixth ODI half-century.
order batsmen in Chamari Atapattu and Nipuni Hansika, and bumped up the required rate with a flurry of dots. To begin, it was Sri Lanka who kept a tight leash on things. Medium-pacer Sripali Weerakkody and left-arm spinner Chandima Gunaratne bothered Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut in dominating opening spells with well-planned lengths, sending them back for 8 and 16 respectively.
That India were off to a shaky, sluggish start at 39 for 2 in the 11th over was also down to Sri Lanka captain Inoka Ranaweera’s attacking field placements. Dropped on 5, Deepti initially struggled to put away both full and short deliveries, managing to score only 16 off 39. A release shot - a lofted sweep over square leg for four - off Weerakkody in the 15th over helped her find fluency. Thereafter, her strokeplay revolved around lofted shots over midwicket and the cover region, and singles off the back foot that were converted in twos. She brought up her sixth ODI fifty off the 89th ball of her innings, and took another 28 runs off the next 20 deliveries before failing to execute a lofted drive in the V. With 13 overs left and only on 156 on the board, India experimented with the batting order and Jhulan Goswami came in at No. 5 ahead of the more-established power-hitters Harmanpreet Kaur and Veda Krishnamurthy. The move didn’t quite work out, and the loss of wickets in pairs during that period further hurt India’s chances of a late flourish. With the ball, too, India deviated
from their set formula of introducing spin within the first six overs. Raj, instead, let her medium-pacers - Goswami and Mansi Joshi - share the new ball for a greater part of the Powerplay. Goswami’s dismissal of Hasini Perera in the fifth over, however, dealt Sri Lanka a first blow, before Deepti, Yadav, Harmanpreet and Ekta Bisht began to operate in tandem to choke the chase with spin. Manodara motored on and kept the chase alive with a second ODI halfcentury that featured a healthy tally of inside-out drives, reverse sweeps and paddle scoops. Her resistance towards the end was made easier by a rather casual approach from India. A spread-out field ensured singles didn’t dry up, and some sloppy fielding - including Goswami’s bootwork in the outfield that gave away a four, and a missed stumping to reprieve Manodara - kept Sri Lanka in the game. It took a flighted offbreak from Deepti to end Manodara’s 61-run innings in the 48th over and the lower order then managed only 25 runs out of 42 required off last 17 deliveries. Annesha Ghosh is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo.
Windies vs. India, 5th ODI: Series Showdown at Sabina Park
M
UMBAI: (ESPN Cricinfo): A month ago, the lowest-seeded team went into a world tournament and came away with the championship. Now, in the era of teams cruising to targets of 300-plus, a total of 189 has been successfully defended and a series between the third and the ninthranked teams has come to a decider. Ladies and gentlemen, it has finally happened. Miffed at all of us writing it off, and all the talk of little brother T20 taking over the world, fifty-over cricket has decided the time has come to show off the crazy tricks it has up its sleeve. So, Sabina Park, are you ready? Since 2010, three out of nine totals batting first here have exceeded 300. Additionally, during the past seven years, the average run-rate of 5.00 is the highest across venues in the West Indies (minimum nine matches played). Kingston, and it’s fast-paced pitches, offers the best batting condi-
MS Dhoni’s sweep makes a rare appearance , West Indies v India, 4th ODI, Antigua, July 2, 2017.
tions in the Caribbean and that plays into India’s hands. (Or not, considering India have only won two out of their seven completed ODIs at the venue). Virat Kohli and his men like to construct their innings organically. They start slowly, build steadily and
then only after a certain threshold of overs - in other words, making sure they will not be bowled out - do they vent their anger on the white ball. The first match in North Sound showed this approach in good light, the second not so much. If West Indies’ bowlers can maintain discipline
stiflingly enough, things could come to a proper boil. What’s more, they’ve tasted victory - for only the fifth time in their last 20 completed matches and it was remarkably sweet. Both the captain and coach - Jason Holder and Stuart Law - have already said they want more. Weather permitting, that is. West Indies might keep the same team, but they will want their batting line up to be a bit more conscious of scoring runs. Yuvraj Singh was left out of the last ODI in an effort to manage a hamstring niggle. If he is fit again, he might return to the XI. R Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were rested on Sunday, perhaps they might come off the bench for the decider. Overhead news: the Kingston weather forecast suggests some rain both on the eve and on the day of the match. Underfoot news: it’s the best surface in the Caribbean.
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
SPORTS
Mirza/Flipkens, Raja/Sharan in Wimbledon Second Round
L
ONDON: Any doubts Sania Mirza had over the fitness of her doubles partner Kirsten Flipkens were washed away in about an hour as the Indo-Belgian pair made the second round at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the unseeded JapeneseChinese pair of Naomi Osaka and Shuai Zhang on Wednesday. Mirza/Flipkens are playing together for the first time, after the Indian sought the Belgian as a replacement for regular partner Yaraslova Shedova, who was forced to opt out of Wimbledon due to injury. Seeded 13, Mirza/Flipkens were barely stretched by their unseeded opponents, as they wrapped up the first set in 32 minutes after breaking Zhang’s serve in the eighth game. Although Osaka/Zhang showed some grit towards the end of the match, during which they broke Mirza (in the sixth game of the second set), Flipkens took charge and shut out the match quickly thereafter. Flipkens was an injury doubt ahead of the opening round and had withdrawn from last week’s Aegon International in Eastbourne without playing a match due to a shoulder injury. They will face the winner of the match between Harriet Dart/Katy Dunne and Naomi Broady/Heather Watson in the second round. The Indian journeymen pair of Puraj Raja and Divij Sharan made their maiden entry into the second round of Wimbledon after pushing aside the challenge of the BritishPortugese pairing of Kyle Edmonds and Joao Sousa 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4,7-6 (6) . Raja and Sharan had never crossed the first round at Wimbledon in their previous two attempts in 2013 and 2014.
Sania Mirza and Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, promoting their own tennis clothes.
July 07, 2017
N
Israel, India Launch Tech Fund During PM Narendra Modi’s Visit
EW DELHI: Jerusalem/Bengaluru: Israel and India launched a five-year technology fund aimed at growing the countries’ business relationship, the way a similar fund has boosted the Jewish state’s ties with the US for the past 40 years. The Israel India Innovation Initiative Fund, or I4F, was announced on Wednesday during an unprecedented visit to Israel by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is looking for military and other technologies as his government seeks to procure cutting-edge weapons know-how and move the country aggressively into the digital age. Israel, whose export-focused economy relies heavily on technology, is eager to penetrate more deeply into India’s market of 1.3 billion citizens. Avi Luvton, Israel Innovation Authority’s senior director for Asia Pacific, said each government would put $4 million a year for five years
into the fund. The goal is to encourage Indians to invest in Israel’s technology ecosystem and spur large Indian companies to open development centers here. “The fund is important,” Luvton said. “It creates a tool through which connections are made.” A recent report by Accenture and Nasscom said cross-border investments between Israel and India could produce as much as $25 billion in sales by 2025. The government announcement follows a flurry of recent tie-ups. Indian Angel Network, the country’s largest angel investor group, said last week it was starting operations in Israel, and India’s biggest marketplace for startup funding, LetsVenture, agreed last week to work with Israeli equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd. Wipro Ltd. entered a partnership with Tel Aviv University to research emerging technologies, and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.
on Wednesday announced one joint venture with Wipro Infrastructure Engineering and expanded another with the Kalyani Group. “India is an almost infinite market
for Israel,” said Benjamin Grossman, partner and head of Indian legal practice at Tel Aviv-based APM & Co. law firm, who previously worked in Israel’s defence sector. -- Live Mint
Cyrus Mistry, Others Face Rs 500 Crore Criminal Defamation Case M - MUMBAI: A court and directed the accused to appear UMBAI
here has initiated process against industrialists Cyrus P Mistry, Shapoor Mistry and others in a Rs 500 crore criminal defamation complaint lodged last month by Tata Trusts’ Managing Trustee R Venkataramanan, an official said on Tuesday. The process was issued by Metropolitan Magistrate KG Paldewar and accordingly, Mistry, the ousted former Chairman of Tata Sons, and other directors of Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Pvt Ltd, will be tried for criminal defamation. They will have to appear before the court and execute bail bonds, said the official. Later, the charges would be framed against the accused under sections dealing with criminal defamation and criminal conspiracy. The court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 24
before it for bail. Venkataramanan has accused Mistry and others of making false and defamatory statements against him and thus damaging his reputation. At the hearings, the court upheld the arguments of Venkataramanan’s counsel, Parvez Memon that under the Constitution’s Article 21 protecting a citizen’s right to life is inclusive of the right to live with dignity and that all are equal in the eyes of the law under it. Memon further argued that while Mistry is a man with substantial wealth and might, the value of Venkataramanan’s dignity is much more, and the accused cannot be let loose with impuity for his reckless and irresponsible insinuations which were all false and baseless. “All such allegations were hurled irresponsibly against Venkataramanan, Ratan Tata, Tata Sons and others only after his unceremonious
Basmati Exporters Cry Foul Over European regulations
N PM Narendra Modi (left) and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. The goal of the Israel India Innovation Initiative Fund is to encourage Indians to invest in Israel’s technology ecosystem and spur large Indian firms to open development centres in that country.
The corporate battle between Cyrus Mistry and the Tatas continues.
ouster from Tata Sons. Why was he otherwise silent for his entire tenure, not to speak about several of his own wrongdoings against which Tata Sons may have its own cause of action,” he told the court. The court was apprised of the defamatory insinuations in Mistry’s letter of October 25, 2016 following by the petition filed in the National Com-
pany Law Tribunal filed through his brother and his companies, in which he is a director and 50 percent shareholder, and strategically made respondent No. 11. The email alleged “certain fraudulent transactions of Rs 22 crore” involving parties in India and Singapore, at AirAsia India, which is owned in part by the Tatas. -- ToI
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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EW DELHI: India’s exports of the aromatic Basmati rice to the European Union might come to a halt due to new regulations on chemical residues, the All India Rice Exporters Association said on Wednesday. The bone of contention is a fungicide named Tricyclazole developed by Dow Agri Sciences which farmers use to prevent leaf and neck blast in Basmati paddy varieties. While the European Union (EU) has so far allowed a maximum residue limit (MRL) of 1 ppm (parts per million), after 31 December 2017 it has mandated that imports having an MRL above 0.01 ppm will not be allowed. “This will not only impact our businesses but also affect price realisation of about 1.5 million farmers growing Basmati in India,” the association’s president Vijay Setia said. Currently, the US and Japan allow Basmati imports with residues of up to 3 ppm and 10 ppm, respectively. The fungicide Tricyclazole is commonly used by farmers in India to prevent blast in Basmati varieties like PB1 and Pusa 1410. “While there is a problem that farmers do not judiciously use the chemical, changing practices requires as much as two years,” Setia said, adding, “if the new rules are not withdrawn we will lose our business to Pakistan.” Basmati varieties grown in Pakistan do not require use of the fungicide and stand to gain from the de-facto ban on Indian exports. India exports over 4 million tonnes of Basmati rice every year valued at over Rs22,000 crore. Exports to the EU currently are at 350,000 tonnes per year, valued at over Rs1,700 crore . -- Live Mint
26 July 07, 2017
SOUTH ASIA
India-China Face-off: Army Pushes More Troops in Doka La in Longest Impasse Since 1962
NEW DELHI: India has pushed
in more troops in a “non-combative mode” to establish strategic leverage in an area near Sikkim, where the soldiers have been locked in a standoff with Chinese troops for almost a month now. The deadlock has proved to be an unprecedented impasse between the two armies since the 1962 Sino-Indian War. India deployed additional troops after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) destroyed two Indian Army bunkers and alleged “aggressive tactics” adopted by the Chinese Army. Sources said that in a “non-combative mode”, the nozzle of a gun is pointing downwards. Giving details for the first time about the events that preceded the
face-off between the two armies, the sources said the PLA on June 1 asked the Indian Army to remove the two bunkers set up in 2012 at Lalten in Doka La, which falls in the vicinity of Chumbi Valley at the corner of IndiaBhutan-Tibet tri-junction. Indian Army has been patrolling this area for many years. Finally, in 2012, it decided that two bunkers would be positioned there as a backup option, besides providing security to the Bhutan-China border. The forward positions of the Indian Army across the Chinese border informed Sukma-based 33 Corps Headquarters in North Bengal about the Chinese warnings on the two bunkers, sources said. However, during the night of June 6, two PLAbulldozers destroyed
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the bunkers, claiming that the area belonged to China and that India or Bhutan had no right over it, the sources said. Indian troops who were already positioned on the forward post, prevented the Chinese servicemen and machines from furthering damage or transgressing into the area, sources said. Additional forces from nearby brigade headquarters, located 20 km from the face off point, were moved in on June 8 during which a scuffle led to soldiers on both sides suffering minor injuries. Later, PLA troops were rushed in from its 141 division located in the area, prompting the Indian Army to also strengthen its position. This is the longest standoff between the two armies since 1962. The last one, which carried on for 21 days, occurred at Daulat Beg Oldie in the Ladakh division of Jammu and Kashmir in 2013, when Chinese troops entered 30 km into Indian territory till the Depsang Plains and claimed it to be a part of its Xinjiang province. They were, however, pushed back. Sikkim, which became a part of India in May 1976, is the only state which has a demarcated border with China. The lines are based on a treaty signed with the Chinese in 1898. After the India-China war of 1962, the area where the Indian troops are stationed was placed under the Indian Army and the ITBP, which is the border guarding force and has a camp 15 km from the international border. As the scuffle broke out between the two sides, the Indian Army rushed an officer of the Major General rank to the area and a flag meeting was sought with the Chinese counterparts. China rejected two such requests from the Indian side, but accepted the third call for a meeting, where it asked the Indian Army to withdraw its troops from the Lalten area, which falls in Doka La. Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Dokalam, while China claims it to be part of its Donglang region. As a fallout of the standoff, the Chi-
PLA troops were rushed in from its 141 division located in the area, prompting the Indian Army to also strengthen its position.
nese refused to allow the first batch of 47 pilgrims, who were to conduct the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, into Tibet. They also conveyed to the Indian side that visas of another batch of 50 yatris had also been cancelled, the sources said, describing the move as an indication of “increased tempers” in Beijing. The Sikkim route to Mansarovar, which is in Tibet, was opened in 2015, enabling pilgrims to travel the 1500-km long route from Nathu La to Kailash by buses. It is not the first time that such a transgression has happened at Doka La. The Chinese forces had in November 2008 destroyed some makeshift Indian army bunkers there. Defence experts believe China wants to exert its dominance over the Chumbi Valley, which is a part of the southern reaches of Tibet. By claiming the Doka La area, Beijing wants to maximise its geographical advantage so that it can monitor all movements along the India-Bhutan border. China has also increased diplomatic pressure on India and lodged a protest over the alleged “crossing of boundary” by Indian troops in the Sikkim section. They demanded their immediate withdrawal, as Beijing warned that future visits of Indian pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar would depend on the resolution of the standoff. “Our position to uphold our territorial sovereignty is unwavering. We hope the Indian side can work with China in the same
direction and immediately withdraw the personnel who have overstepped and trespassed into Chinese border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang had told the media in Beijing last week. People’s Liberation Army spokesman Col Wu Qian also spoke a tough language while making a reference to the 1962 Sino-India conflict, saying that New Delhi should “learn historical lessons”. Qian described Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s remarks that India was ready for a “two-and-a-half front war” as “extremely irresponsible” and asked him to “stop clamouring for war”. Rawat had said India was prepared for security threats posed by China, Pakistan as well as by internal threats. “Such rhetoric is extremely irresponsible. We hope that the particular person in the Indian Army could learn from historical lessons and stop such clamouring for war,” he had said. The Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley, made New Delhi’s stand clear when he said the India of 2017 was different from that of 1962. “If they are trying to remind us, the situation in 1962 was different and the India of 2017 is different,” Jaitley had said when asked about China’s warning. Of the 3,488-km-long India-China border from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, a 220-km section falls in Sikkim. -indianexpress.com
Air India Employees’ Union to Meet, Plan Stir Against Privatisation
Seven unions of Air India have already joined hands to oppose the privatisation of the financially bleeding Air India.
NEW DELHI: Air India’s largest
employees’ union will hold its general body meeting in New Delhi this week to “organise its members for a
movement” against the government’s decision to privatise the debt-ridden national carrier. The Air Corporations Employees’ Union (ACEU) is also planning to meet a group of ministers to be set up by the government to look into the disinvestment of its stake in the airline. The ACEU is a grouping of Air India’s non-technical staff and comprises nearly 8,000 of the total 21,137 employees. “The meeting will be held to enlighten the rank and file about the privatisation of Air India and how it will affect them. This will also be a forum to organise them as we plan a movement against the
INDO-AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JULY 07, 2017 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
privatisation of the national carrier,” said a member of the ACEU. “The move is clearly aimed at benefiting private airlines. If the government is so concerned about the taxpayers’ money, then why does it not recover Rs7.5 lakh crore borrowed by corporates from public sector banks?” the member asked. Seven unions of Air India have already joined hands to oppose the privatisation of the financially bleeding airline. Their representatives met last month and wrote to Union minister for civil aviation Ashok Gajapthi Raju, warning him of an “industrial unrest”. -livemint.com
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