Friday, April 8, 2022 | Vol. 41, No. 14
April 8, 2022
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Indo American News
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Published weekly from Houston, TX
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Special Reports Community Briefs Local Politics South Asians in the News
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Two Leaders Face Economic Turmoil
‘Kashmir Files’ Screening
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‘RRR’ : Epic Bromance
Imran Khan, a former cricket superstar and now an unpopular prime Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka president defies minister in Pakistan calls for dissolution of the National Assembly calls for his resignation, despite plunging the Finlay MacKay for The New York Times. -- SEE PAGE 2 country into a severe economic crisis. Reuters
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WEDDINGS, SPECIAL EVENTS, TENTED EVENTS, OUTDOOR COURTYARD
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2 April 8, 2022 Two Nations, Two Leaders Hanging On in Pakistan, Sri Lanka By Shahzad Sharjill Islamabad: All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players.” These immortalised lines, composed by William Shakespeare for the play, As you Like It, have over the years been used to describe various real-life dramas. But the theatre being performed in Pakistan’s power corridors — one that keeps shifting from D-chowk to Peshawar Mor, from the National Assembly to the Supreme Court, and from the Punjab Assembly to a private hotel — offers little to like. In this theatre, who performs the role of antagonist or protagonist is almost immaterial, for the net losers can be identified here and now — the 200 million plus people of this country, who are watching it all unfold right before their eyes. Are these 200-odd million victims of this comedy of errors being stage-managed as these lines are being read? Or should they be elevated to the status of ‘coauthors’ of this sorry tale? We will return to this later. So long as the battle for supremacy lasts, all sides in the fray need to understand that victory means nothing if it cannot be recorded for posterity. And for this narrative to stand the test of time, the vanquished must be built up as a ‘worthy’ opponent, else the victory sounds hollow — more a walkover than a hard-fought battle, nay war. During his declaration-of-war speech, the prime minister, faced with a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly had to find some semblance of worthiness among the opposition and the easiest path was to choose someone long departed — someone whose judicial execution is also believed
to have a foreign conspiracy theory attached to it. A parallel of sorts had to be drawn between the current situation and what transpired in the late 1970s — a superpower out to get the leader of a small country. This is the narrative that Imran Khan wants to adopt as his campaign plank in the next elections. That a component party of the joint opposition can bask in this begrudging acknowledgement of its late leader is a lesser evil than to have an unworthy set of opponents. That he should have picked the safest bet — Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — to lionise in his speeches while berating the opposition is a nobrainer. Amidst the medley of characters that he and his camp followers caricatured as ‘diesel’, ‘baby’, ‘cosmetic beauty’ and ‘thieves and robbers’, etc, who else could be presented as a worthy opponent? Remember, the man who does not tire of repeating ad nauseam how he had everything in the world and
Street Protests in Sri Lanka Colombo: Sri Lanka, an island nation of 22 million, is facing an economic and political crisis, with protesters taking to the streets in defiance of curfews and government ministers stepping down en masse. Driving the discontent is the worst economic downturn since the South Asian country gained independence in 1948, with crippling inflation sending the cost of basic goods skyrocketing. Anger, which has been simmering for weeks, boiled over last Thursday, turning protests violent -- and throwing the government into disorder. Experts say the crisis has been years in the making, driven by a little bad luck and a lot of government mismanagement. Over the past decade, the Sri Lankan government has borrowed vast sums of money from foreign lenders to fund public services, said Murtaza Jafferjee, chair of
Colombo-based think tank Advocata Institute. This borrowing spree has coincided with a series of hammer blows to the Sri Lankan economy, from both natural disasters -- such as heavy monsoons -- to man-made catastrophes, including a government ban on chemical fertilizers that decimated farmers’ harvests. These problems were compounded in 2018, when the President’s dismissal of the Prime Minister sparked a constitutional crisis; the following year, when hundreds of people at churches and luxury hotels were killed in the 2019 Easter bombings; and from 2020 onwards with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka is in an economic crisis. Here's what it's like for people on the ground Sri Lanka is in an economic crisis. Here’s what it’s like for people on the ground Indo-American News • Friday, April 8, 2022 • www.indoamerican-news.com
did not need to sully his pristine self with politics, did so not only to ‘save the country’ but also to go down in history as another saviour of Islam, a modern-day Saladin. A mere ball-scratching, playboy, sporting hero did not fit his selfassessed stature. In this act, he must be counted amongst the great leaders in history. The same dilemma haunts the other side as well. Who among the ruling lot can the opposition build up to gloat over its much dreamed constitutional and parliamentary victory? The man himself cannot be aggrandised as he is not just a clear and present danger but physically fit to continue to pose a threat for the foreseeable future, his immediate environs — streets, Parliament, or jail — notwithstanding. -- Dawn
SOUTH ASIA Facing a massive deficit, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa slashed taxes in a doomed attempt to stimulate the economy. But the move backfired, instead hitting government revenue. That prompted rating agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka to near default levels, meaning the country lost access to overseas markets. Sri Lanka then had to fall back on its foreign exchange reserves to pay off government debt, shrinking its reserves from $6.9 billion in 2018 to $2.2 billion this year. This impacted imports of fuel and other essentials, which sent prices soaring. Topping all that, the government in March floated the Sri Lankan rupee -- meaning its price was determined based on the demand and supply of foreign exchange markets. That move appeared aimed at devaluing the currency to qualify for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and encourage remittances. However, the plunging of the rupee against the US dollar only made things worse for ordinary Sri Lankans. What does this mean for people on the ground? For Sri Lankans, the crisis has turned their daily lives into an endless cycle of waiting in lines for basic goods, many of which are being rationed. In recent weeks, shops have been forced to close because they can’t run fridges, air conditioners or fans. Soldiers are stationed at gas stations to calm customers, who line up for hours in the searing heat to fill their tanks. Some people have even died waiting. Sri Lanka sends troops to fuel stations amid worsening economic crisis Sri Lanka sends troops to fuel stations amid worsening economic crisis One mother in the capital, Colombo, told CNN she was waiting for propane gas so that she could cook meals for her family. Others
April 8, 2022
say the cost of bread has more than doubled, while auto rickshaw and taxi drivers say the fuel rations are too meager to make a living. Some are caught in an impossible position -- they have to work to feed their families, but must also queue for supplies. One street sweeper with two young sons told CNN she quietly slips away from work to join lines for food, before hurrying back. Even members of the middle class with savings are frustrated, fearing they could run out of essentials like medicine or gas. And life is made more difficult by frequent power cuts that plunge Colombo into darkness, sometimes for more than 10 hours at a time. What’s happening with the protests? Protesters in Colombo took to the streets in late March, demanding government action and accountability. Public frustration and anger erupted on March 31, when demonstrators hurled bricks and started fires outside the President’s private residence. Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the protests, and imposed a 36hour curfew afterward. President Rajapaksa declared a nationwide public emergency on April 1, giving authorities powers to detain people without a warrant, and blocked social media platforms. But protests went ahead the next day in defiance of the curfew, prompting police to arrest hundreds of demonstrators. Protests have continued in the days since, though they remained largely peaceful. On Tuesday night, crowds of student protesters surrounded Rajapaksa’s residence again, calling for his resignation. -- CNN The emergency ordinance was revoked on April 5. The government’s entire cabinet was effectively dissolved on April 3 due to mass resignations by top ministers. -- CNN
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COMMUNITY
April 8, 2022
More than 200 of a Mixed Crowd Appreciate Screening of ‘Kashmir Files’ in Katy By Sunita Ticku Bhan Houston: On a nice sunny Sunday afternoon of April 3, more than 200 people came out to watch “ The Kashmir Files “ on an invite only event. The movie is based on 700 testimonials of the affected genocide victims. It is a true depiction of the events that lead to the mass exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir. It was attended by a mixed crowd including folks from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan too. Noteworthy amongst the guests were Sh Ramesh Bhutada , Jennifer Knesek (secretary Texas Asian Republic Assembly), Dr Nik Nikam & a few more distinguished members of the Houston metro area. Mr Bhutada was presented the same Shiva pendant that the little boy in the movie was wearing as a memento of gratitude by Dr Kaul. Bill Newman, an honorable member of the society, feeling overwhelmed said it would take him and his wife some time to process the pain that they had witnessed
today. His expression , ‘ I had no idea ‘ was the echo all around at the end of the movie. . There was a lady who couldn’t bear it anymore & she left the theater sobbing. Everybody’s eyes were moist and full of pain and empathy A few folks who had come for a second time to watch the movie said they still felt the same impact and in fact we’re recommending folks to watch it again to comprehend it better. In Jennifer Knesek’s words: “ It
is important to draw light to this issue of global terrorism, how it impacts human life and destroys communities in the world.” Sakina (activist and survivor from Afghanistan ) was very moved as she herself was a victim of persecution. At the end of movie when she addressed the audience her voice was trembling with similar horrors of her clan back home. Another guest, Shelly Ghoshal Biswas couldn’t
stop crying as her long suppressed pain had suddenly found a way to come out. She was only 10 years old when she had been thru similar circumstances witnessing gruesome murders and violent rapes in Bangladesh. She felt that the pain and trauma that she had been suppressing for the past 28 years had finally found a way out. A gentleman from the Sindh part of Pakistan was also present. He emphasized that this kind of terrorism is
still happening to Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan. Finally, Dr Surinder Kaul who planted the seed and envisioned this movie here in Houston and who has devoted countless hours towards the cause of his community, gave a vote of thanks to all the guests and to all the volunteers and helpers. He recognized Amit Raina for smooth and flawless run of the event. And a special thank you to Anjali Raina for yet again braving herself and opening her wounds to the audience. Her father was kidnapped , tortured and chopped to pieces and then thrown on the road side in a gunny bag. Though the event was a Texas Kashmiri Biradari (Houston) event, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the unrelenting support from Sh Pramod Buravali , Sh Achlesh Amar, Sh Umang Mehta and Sh Vijay Pallod. Other volunteers recognized by Dr Kaul were Ashtosh Kak, Ashwani Zutshi, Sudipta & Amit Kaul, Rommel Bhan, Niharika Thusu Raina and Sunita Ticku Bhan.
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INDIA
April 8, 2022
India’s Delicate Stance Regarding the Conflict between Russia & Ukraine
New York: India on Tuesday condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha and called for an independent investigation, having earlier declined to explicitly criticise the invasion of Ukraine by its long-time partner Russia. A Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman said on Tuesday that between 150 and 300 bodies may be in a mass grave by a church in the town of Bucha, where Ukraine accuses Russian troops of killing civilians. Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, calling images of the dead in Bucha that have shocked the world a “monstrous forgery” staged by the West to discredit it. “Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing,” TS Tirumurti, India’s perma-
nent representative to the United Nations, told a meeting of the Security Council. “We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation.” Tirumurti delivered his speech shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone conversation with India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The United States has repeatedly urged India to condemn Russia’s aggression since the Feb 24 invasion. India heavily relies on Russia for military hardware. New Delhi has repeatedly called for an end to violence in Ukraine, but has abstained from various UN resolutions on the war in a tricky attempt at balancing its ties with Moscow and the West. -- Reuters
Dear Editor The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is the most significant geo-political event since the end of World War II with the possibility of even a nuclear exchange threatening the very existence of the world. It has pitted old cold war rivals USA and USSR against each other even though Russia the present avatar of USSR is in a much weaker position. I am not going to the historic details of the Ukrainian conflict. The attack on a smaller country by its stronger neighbor is definitely inexcusable. This conflict will affect practically all the countries in the world including India which finds itself in a difficult and delicate situation. Russia has been a strategic ally of India, its main defense partners for many years. India also depends on Russia as a counter weight to China in Central Asia. USA has also become a close ally especially in the Indo-Pacific area. USA is a sister democracy and the Indian public has a lot a sympathy for Ukrainians who are fighting to save their nation from aggression. Thousands of Indians live in USA and trade with USA is more than ten times that with Russia. The only benefactor in this conflict is Communist China. If Putin loses Russia will become more dependent on China, becoming its junior partner, unless there is a regime change in Russia. If Russia wins it will further weaken USA the principal rival of China. The
more the conflict lasts the better for China as USA will have letime and resources to spend in the IndoPacific area opposing China. The worst scenario for India is USA accommodating China’s hegemony in Asia as a reward for China not helping Russia.
India did not create this problem, but cannot isolate it from it. Morality really does not count in International power game. A country has only permanent interests, no permanent enemy or friend. In 1971 Nixon had no problem joining Mao to support Pakistan, a military dictatorship against India a fellow democracy when millions of refugees were coming to India from East Pakistan to escape genocide. So far India has played its card well balancing its national interests without antagonizing either side, but how long can this last? Jay K Raman MD
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April 8, 2022
‘Jayeshbhai Jordaar’: Starring Ranveer Singh
Mumbai: ‘My pleasure to have conceptualised the trailer of Jayeshbhai Jordaar!’ : says Maneesh Sharma, who has been roped in to make Jayeshbhai Jordaar’s trailer a talk of the nation. Acclaimed film-maker Maneesh Sharma, who is currently directing Tiger 3, had discovered Ranveer Singh for his directorial debut Band Baaja Baaraat. After the humongous success of Band Baaja Baaraat, Ranveer and Maneesh have both not looked back. While Ranveer has become a bonafide pan-India superstar, Maneesh has gone on to direct the biggest superstars in the history of Indian cinema - Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Ranveer’s next, Yash Raj Films’ Jayeshbhai Jordaar, a big screen entertainer that will present a new brand of hero and heroism that is rare in Indian cinema, is bringing these two creative forces together for the first time after 11 years. Maneesh is not only producing Jayeshbhai Jordaar, but he is also conceptualising the trailer of the much-awaited film! A trade source informs, “Jayeshbhai Jordaar is the melting pot of the biggest creative powerhouses
in Indian cinema today. The film is being backed by Aditya Chopra who has a proven track record of delivering blockbusters with wholesome entertainment films. It is being produced by Maneesh Sharma, who has established himself as a force to reckon with in Indian cinema. The film has the shape-shifting best actor-superstar of our generation, Ranveer Singh, who has transformed again to play the role of a hilarious hero who stands up for what is right!” The source adds, “You can’t get any bigger than this for a film from this genre. Now, Maneesh is conceptualising the trailer of the film which means that YRF is going all out to deliver a trailer that will be talked about. Having an ace director like Maneesh to conceptualise the trailer clearly indicates that Adi wants to deliver the message of the film in the most powerful way possible. Work is underway to make this trailer one for the ages!” When contacted, Maneesh confirms saying, “Jayeshbhai Jordaar is a special film for us at YRF. It has been my pleasure to have conceptualised the trailer of Jayesh-
bhai Jordaar promising a unique entertainer for a communal movie experience. It’s always a mix of pride and joy to collaborate with Ranveer. The early promise I sensed in Ranveer has been realized across the years and across genres.” He adds, “In Jayeshbhai, though, I see Ranveer delivering a tour de force performance that makes me marvel yet again at what artistic heights this fine actor is capable of achieving. What makes it even more satisfying is that he is accompanied by a fresh new talent like Shalini in a movie helmed by Divyang - a debutant director promising to take us all on a joyride. I hope people love the trailer of the film and are hooked to watch the magic of Jayeshbhai Jordaar on the big screen when it releases on May 13th.” The much-awaited Jayeshbhai Jordaar, also starring Arjun Reddy famed Shalini Pandey, who debuts on Bollywood’s big screen opposite Ranveer, has been directed by debutant Divyang Thakkar. The film is releasing on May 13, 2022 worldwide.
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April 8, 2022
‘RRR’: Rajamouli Delivers Superhero Bromance
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Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Send us the correct answer before April 12, 2022. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.
Solution Next Week
By Shubhra Gupta RRR is a roaring, rearing, rousing mix of genres — epicmythological-action-superherobromance, that very SS Rajamouli concoction, which we are invited to swallow in one humungous gulp. It is also, needless to say, deafeningly loud. But given that the film compelled me to stay with it, and granted me much fun while at it, I was happy, for once, to sacrifice my ears temporarily. The three hours plus film, a patriotic saga set in British India in the 1920s, proves several things in one go. That, for Indian filmmakers and viewers, there will never be a greater, more durable fount of stories than the Ramayan and the Mahabharat. That, if you want to be really safe, you cast not just one super-star, but two of them. And that if you want big, you go only to Rajamouli, the biggest superstar of them all: the loudest ‘taalis’ were reserved for his blink-andmiss in the final credits. RRR also proves that while the overarching iconography of his films is Hindu, just like in ‘Baahubali’, it is entirely possible to use it without demonising, or othering minorities, even giving the latter a brief look-see in the proceedings. One of his heroes is not just called Ram aka Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), he also appears in the ‘dhanush-baan-teer-kamaan’ avatar, to vanquish the evil invaders of our beloved land. And the love of Ram’s life is called, what else, Sita (Alia Bhatt). The other hero goes briefly by the name of Akhtar (let no one say there were no Muslims in this tale, see) before switching to his original, Komaram Bheem (Jr NTR), a Gond tribal who turns into a revolutionary. Apparently these two gentlemen were real people, but Rajamouli’s plot is not just fictional, it is fantastical, teeming with wild beasts who come racing out of cages to trash a party the ‘goras’ have thrown, mortals who are flogged and beaten mercilessly, bitten by venomous snakes, pierced near the heart by bullets, but who stagger to their feet, living to see another
day. The secret of making us believe is the filmmaker’s complete conviction, and Rajamouli is a dab hand at it: at one delirious point, Ram and Akhtar clasp hands across a burning bridge, with a banner running across the screen: India, 1920. Bhai, bhai, see? But these are mere plot points. The real deal is the physical-fetishistic sparring of the two heroes, in a series of set-pieces which give them a chance to dance (‘Naatu Naatu’ is one of the most exhilarating song-and-dance sequences I’ve seen in a while), romance, chance their luck, and join hands to go after their common enemy. The array of the red-faced Britishers feels like a flashback to ‘Lagaan’, especially the presence of a pretty girl (Olivia Morris) who has a soft spot of the roughhewn tribal, reminding us of the miss who liked Aamir Khan’s Bhuvan. But the rest of them are proper monsters, especially Lord and Lady Scott (Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody), who are made to say lines like ‘those brown bug-
gers; will roast the swine on a bed of coals’, and ‘I want to see blood, more blood’, while handing out whips with nails and smacking their lips in an orgy of ecstasy. Ajay Devgn comes on as a brave rebel who teaches the young Ram to aim straight and true, Shriya Saran his equally brave wife, and Makrand Deshpande in a walk-on without much to do. Alia Bhatt has just a bit more screen space, but manages to look her part. These occasional darts aside, the film keeps homing back to its two Rs, lovingly slavering over their rippled bodies performing undying valourous acts. R and R shoot and scoot, and end with a triumphant pan-India, mera Bharat mahaan anthem, with that glimpse of the third R. Cast: Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Shriya Saran Director: S S Rajamouli Rating: 3.5 stars -- Indian Express
Last Week’s Solution
‘Sharmaji Namkeen’: Rishi’s Swan Song ‘Sharmaji Namkeen’ draws a portrait of middle-class ‘mohalla’ Delhi (West Delhi, for the most part), keeping its ‘working class hero’ front and centre. At two hours, it gets stretched. Half an hour into the film, it is still going on about how Sharmaji is constantly being chivvied by his sons, and told how to live out the remainder of his life, before allowing him a nice respite, which involves a bunch of jolly, giggly, middle-aged ‘kitty aunties’, in the need of a break themselves. It is a Delhi we have seen before, in Dibakar Banerji’s early films amongst others. It is also a Rishi Kapoor we have seen before, in Habib Faisal’s Do Dooni Chaar, 2010, which was also set in middle-class Delhi, with its crowded DDA houses, nosey neighbours, and ‘tuition uncles’. The best parts of the film, which flattens occasionally, are the portions which focus on the shy Sharmaji shedding his reluctance and finding easy companionship with the ladies who kitty-party
their dull afternoons away, playing naughty dumb charade games, or dancing to Yeh Duniya Pittal Di: Sheeba Chaddha, Ayesha Raza Mishra are hoots. You watch the film as a tribute to Rishi Kapoor. When he left us in an untimely fashion, he was doing all kinds of roles, from kohl-eyed baddies to cantankerous grandpas. This one, his last, has a message tucked in its telling: embrace change, go out of your comfort zone, where unexpected pleasures may await. -- IE
Last Week’s Winners
Kumud Athavale, Ramana Vadrevu, Sanchali Basu, Krishna R. Vuddagiri, Taranjit Singh, Kousalya Gopal
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