SAT August issue 2016

SAT

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South Asia Times

Vol.14 I No. 1 I AUGUST 2016 I FREE s o u t hasiatim es.com .au Editor: Neeraj Nanda

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EDITORIAL

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Why I love the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) ?

By Neeraj Nanda

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elbourne: My attraction to movies started in 1958 when I was just 5 years old. My parents took me to see a movie called ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gadi’ starring the three brothers Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Anoop Kumar and Madhubala as the leading lady.

The cinema Hall was ‘Liberty’ (still open) on the New Rothak Road, Delhi and we lived somewhere near the Sarai Rohilla Railway Station not far from the cinema Hall. Those were no-TV days and going to cinema was always a big occasion.

For many years the only thing I remembered about the movie was that one of the brothers kicked an old car and then only it started.

Little did I know that this initial cinema exposure will become a lifelong passion. There was no going back and both Indian and Western (American) movies will become my staple for years to come. As I grew up and during schools I bunked many a times to see movies though young students were not allowed in afternoon and matinee shows in Delhi cinema halls. The story is endless and long. I need to write a full book on this subject!

After university it was my media jobs that kept me busy. But something happened when I was sub editor at the Hindustan Times (HT) news desk. Someone used to write a short preview of the upcoming Doordarshan movies in HT and the person stopped doing that. So, there was no one to fill the column and another subeditor proposed my name to write (no idea why?) and it was accepted by the News Editor. Then for a few years I wrote the Doodarshan movie previews in HT and HT Evening News with the initials ‘NN’.

Well, then I covered a few film festivals (including TV) and my love for movies grew. During my TV days I met almost all the prominent artists from Bollywood.

After I came to Melbourne I went for the Indian Film Festival Melbourne five years back and stood in a crowd to see Bollywood biggies and many interviews with Bollywood stars and directors in subsequent festivals has been a rather interesting experience. I

never imagined I will remain glued to Indian movies in Australia. This is why I love the IFFM! We as South Asia Times (SAT) are on board as media partners with others at the IFFM-2016. Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange and her team have been working hard for the success of this festival. It goes without saying that bringing in about 50 movies in different languages, top film personalities and making the festival a Melbourne icon is incredible.

In his message the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrew’s says, “Congratulations to the Festival team on yet another dynamic program. I trust you will enjoy the energy and excitement of the 2016 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.” "...a grand celebration of cinema from India and the subcontinent.

It seems like only yesterday we were strutting down the runway at IFFM 2015, but here we go again!

The theme for IFFM 2016 is female empowerment: we’re celebrating kickass, wonderful ladies, in cinema and beyond! We’ll be highlighting women in cinema, as they strive for equality and empowerment: by means of the films we show, the short films you make, and the inspiring and challenging stories and experiences from our festival guests,” says Mitu Bhowmick Lange in her message.

Taking place from 11-21 August with “Female Empowerment” as its unifying theme this year’s festival explores the richness of contemporary cinema from India and the sub-continent, featuring films spanning Bollywood box-office hits to documentaries and arthouse festival favorites.

The festival is supported by the Victoria State Government and Film Victoria. Other sponsors are Westpac, Telstra, Hoyts, La Trobe University, Western Union, Singapore Airlines, City of Greater Dandenong, Visy, VCSO and Avante Card. Media partners are 774 ABC, RRR, G’Day India, FILMINK, SAT, Radio Haanji, Colors, Around The World Consultancy and PTC Punjabi.Music. Music streaming partner is Saavan and The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

All information at – www.iffm. com.au www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

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Girish Makwana explores The Colour of Darkness

By SAT News Desk

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Melbourne: Tundel village, Gujarat, 1965, back in India, back in the village, back in the day.

Melbourne 2009, the scene of violence against Indian overseas students.

So sets the backdrop for Girish Makwana’s premiering film, The Colour of Darkness at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016 (IFFM-2016). Exploring the themes of prejudice, politics and passion a young journalist Maria Krish (Vidya Makan) tries to comprehend the story behind the story of these so called racist attacks.

“It is a love story exploring prejudice on many levels. It could be racist or caste based’, says Girish Makwana.

On assignment Maria meets Giriraj (Sahil Saluja) who gives her insight into the culture which is part of her heritage but can’t understand. Together they explore their connections, differences and their love.

Politics comes into play and Peter McCallum (Derryn Hinch) a running candidate

for the post of the Premier of Victoria gives exposure of the inner workings of the public office.

One travels back and forth across generations and cultures to see people and power play. What they do with it, how they wield it, how they grasp for it and how they’ll hold on to and for life.

Girish was studying film

and television at the RMIT when during a weekly conversation with his father these topics came up. He wrote the first draft of the script in his native Gujarati language in three days, it then took six years to become a reality.

The movie was shot in Melbourne and India. As an accomplished Hindustani and Western musician, it

comes as no surprise that Girish is responsible for the melody and rhythm in the film. He spent many weeks in Mumbai and Gujarat auditioning vocalists and recording musicians for the brilliant soundtrack.

Singers travelled from New Delhi, Calcutta and Assam. Many of the orchestra had played on the original sound scores from

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One travels back and forth across generations and cultures to see people and power play. What they do with it, how they wield it, how they grasp for it and how they’ll hold on to and for life. film music days gone by. The movie’s post production was completed in New Zealand.

The theme of this year’s IFFM - 2016 is ‘Empowering Women’, and with the support of Mitu Bhowmick and the Mind Blowing Films, the world premiere of the movie will take place at the Hoyts Cinema, Melbourne Central on Sunday August 21, 2016.

This movie is a rare piece of social drama crossing lands and culture. It’s going to be a unique experience watching the movie.

With inputs from Lorraine Griee.

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National workshop discusses Hindi challenges

By Dr. Dinesh Srivastava*

VSL completes 30 years of teaching Hindi

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Melbourne, 22 July: Hindi learning got a boost in with scholars, teachers and academics weaving together into a national workshop which discussed its importance and teaching in Australia. Supported and sponsored by the Victorian School of Languages (VSL) it revealed many challenges faced by it in a multicultural society.

The National workshop on this subject, was held in Melbourne on Friday, 22nd July, 2016 at 281 Darebin Road Thornbury in Melbourne. The first national workshop on the subject of Hindi in Australia was held at the Australian National University in Canberra in July, 2015.

The workshop was opened by Ms. Manika Jain, Consul General of India in Melbourne. Dr. Peter Friedlander, Senior Lecturer in Hindi at the Australian National University in Canberra welcomed the participants and spoke about the link between language and culture and importance of learning Hindi language.

This was followed by short presentations in the session dealing with teaching Hindi at the primary level. In this session, Mrs. Aparna Kumar, who teaches Hindi at the Sunshine centre of VSL presented some of the teaching strategies that she has found useful in her classes and described her approach to teaching Hindi.

This was followed by a presentation by Mrs Anushree Jain, Hindi teacher at Blackburn centre of VSL and author of two textbooks in Hindi for primary level students, who presented some of the challenges in teaching mixed ability students and described some of the teaching resources that she has developed.

The third presenter in this session was Mrs Pooja Verma, Hindi teacher at the Rangebank Primary School.

She presented examples of materials that she has developed for teaching Hindi to students of nonIndian origin.

The second session titled: ‘secondary and beyond’ began with a speech by Mr. Frank Merlino, the Principal

of the Victorian School of Languages, who described the role of the VSL in promoting Hindi and announced that VSL is embarking on a plan to develop teaching of Hindi through distance education.

This was followed by presentation by Mrs Mala Mehta, OAM, honorary founder and coordinator of IABBV Hindi School in Sydney. She briefly described the role and activities undertaken by her school and showed a video-clip about of the re-enactment of Gandhi ji’s Dandi March by her students.

It was much appreciated by the audience. It was followed by presentations of two Hindi teachers from Sydney, Mrs Amita Malhotra and Mrs Kulwinder Kaur, who presented some activity based examples of teaching

Hindi and showed use of ‘smartboard’ software in preparing interactive lessons for students.

This was followed by two presentations by Mrs Amita Malhotra of South Australian School of Languages and Mrs Manjeet Thethi, Hindi teacher at the Blackburn and Glen Waverly centres of VSL, who described strategies they use for teaching Hindi to Senior secondary students.

The next session dealt with teaching Hindi at the tertiary level. In this session, Dr. Peter Friedlander described Hindi courses at ANU, Canberra and the upheaval that the recent review of ANU courses has caused. Dr. Ian Woolford, Lecturer in Hindi at Latrobe University in Melbourne, described Hindi course offerings at the Latrobe University and expressed a hope that

additional faculty members, specialising in South Asian History/politics may join at Latrobe in future. Mrs Rekha Rajvanshi, Hindi Tutor at the Centre for Continuing Education of Sydney University, ran a very interesting group workshop on the use of poetry in teaching Hindi.

After sumptuous Indian Vegetarian lunch, two more sessions were held.

The first session dealt with Hindi media, culture, art and literature. In this session, the following people took part and spoke about the topics mentioned against their names below: Dr. Dinesh Srivastava (Print Media); Dr. Subhash Sharma (Sahitya Sandhya - Melbourne Literary Scene); Mrs Rekha Rajvanshi (Sydney Literary Scene); Mr. Harihar Jha (Getting Published); Dr. Nalin Sharda( Poetry and Hindi Cinema); Mr. Vipin

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The first centre for teaching Hindi was opened at Brunswick, thirty years ago. This occasion was celebrated at the Hindi in Australia: the second National workshop held on Friday, 22nd July, 2016 at 281 Darebin Road Thornbury in Melbourne. Dr. Dinesh Srivastava, whose efforts led to the establishment of the first centre for teaching Hindi at VSL (then Saturday School of Languages) did the honours by cutting the 30th anniversary cake. It is noteworthy that the number of centres teaching Hindi at VSL has grown since then to 9 and includes metropolitan as well as country areas. Every year approximately 500 students study Hindi at these centres.

Gaindhar (Theatre and Radio); Mrs Anita Barar (Art-paintings, theatre and radio).

The final session was on research and future plans.

In this session, Dr. Peter Friedlander spoke about a global research project involving academics in Singapore and Australia to investigate why do people choose to study Hindi in different countries.

Dr. Dinesh Srivastava presented a list of research questions related to VSL enrolments in Hindi and participation of students from various states in the year 12 Hindi examination.

He also made some specific suggestions bout involving Hindi organisations to persuade mainstream schools in introducing study of Hindi in their schools.

In the end, Dr. Peter Friedlander thanked everyone for their participation at the workshop and the workshop closed with a final group photo.

During the workshop, several Hindi books written by authors residing in Australia and those published by the VSL and sketches made by Mrs Anita Barar, accompanying poems by Mahadevi Verma were displayed.

-The author is the Editor of ‘Hindi Pushp’.

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New Multicultural & Social Cohesion Division in Victoria

By SAT News Desk

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elbourne, 28 July: The Andrews Labor Government is building on Victoria’s reputation as a leader in multicultural affairs and social cohesion by bringing together three key agencies to form one dedicated office.

The new Multicultural and Social Cohesion Division will work to address the needs of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and the wider community into the future. The new division builds on previous work to enhance the independent role of the Victorian Multicultural Commission and brings together the Community Resilience Unit, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, and the Office of Victorian Multicultural Commission.

This will allow the offices to share information and work closely together in a more coordinated way. The change will reduce the duplication of services and provide both

the Government and the Commission with greater access to streamlined information. It will also allow government to improve the way it shares knowledge, research and intelligence.

It will provide greater clarity about the role of the Victorian Multicultural Commission in the community and help it to inform government policy.

Minister for Multicultural Affairs Robin Scott says, “In Victoria we don’t merely tolerate difference but

celebrate it. However, we must never rest on our laurels and these changes mean we are well placed for the future.

The new division will ensure that Victoria continues to be a strong, welcoming and vibrant multicultural community.”

With the rise of extremism, there are growing perceptions of threats to our safety, and changing attitudes towards multiculturalism, race and faith. The new group

will work to support the community and maintain harmony in society.

A review, carried out by former Victorian public servant Warren McCann, found that while Victoria has a rich multicultural heritage, the state needed to take a new approach to meet the needs of the community.

The review involved extensive consultation, which included multicultural leaders, Commonwealth and State officials and staff in the existing branches.

This will allow the offices to share information and work closely together in a more coordinated way. The change will reduce the duplication of services.

Victorian has a wellearned reputation as an inclusive and welcoming state and this new group will further strengthen the leadership and coordination of multicultural and social cohesion policies.

—SAT News Service

Dance competition success for Western Sr. Secondary College

By SAT News Desk

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Melbourne: On Sunday 24 July the Western Senior Secondary College (WSSC) participated in the High School Dance Competition, a unique Bollywood themed freestyle dance competition at Williamstown Town

Hall. The High School Dance Competition aim is to encourage students to participate in fun activities beyond learning, while becoming part of a community, boosting confidence and keeping fit- and that is exactly what this competition did.

Western Senior Secondary College offers

Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) which leads directly to higher vocational studies or work and provides alternate pathways to University. WSSC competed against 15 other high schools won $100 cash prize and also walked away from the dance competition with

their highly talented student Cyrus Wong winning the award for Best Male Dancer. Cyrus Wong from India, who also sings and plays the guitar has been studying at Western Senior College since 2015 and is hoping to continue participating in similar competitions in the future.

Alongside winning awards, Western Senior Secondary College dance

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group performed a fantastic routine, blowing the audience away with their creativity, choreography, coordination and costumes but unfortunately not placing in the top 3 schools. Don’t worry guys, there is always next time!

Overall a great day for Western Senior Secondary College VCAL students!

-Supplied.

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Maintain a good credit score to get your loan approved

Y

ou definitely need to maintain your credit score in the top shape if you are looking for buying a new car or a new house.

Your credit score is usually calculated from your credit report, which indicates how trustworthy you are as a borrower. If you score better, there are more chances that your loan approval will be accepted gracefully. It will directly affect your interest rate. The lower the credit score, the higher will be the interest rate that you will have to pay.

There are certain factors that are going to affect your credit history: 4Keep an eye on your payment history –Your payment history really matters a lot at time when you are going for loan approval. It is of real concern that whether you are paying your bills on time. Moreover, they will also figure out

that whether you are able to service the loan or not.

Thus, they will contemplate your credit history before approving your loan.

4Multiple financial applications – This is a big mistake, which usually people commit unknowingly.

They put multiple financial applications in order to find the best rate while shopping.

In such situation, you will be classified as having a “busy recent credit history”. It may lead to credit rejection in extreme cases otherwise, you will have to pay higher interest rate or you will have to take the help of a lender.

Critical points regarding credit history that you should keep in mind are: 4Putting multiple applications for the best credit rate may reduce the worth of your credit thus leaving an impression on your credit history.

4The customers with

“busy recent credit history” should be concerned about it as there are more chances of credit rejection.

How to avoid bad credit history: 4You should not apply for more credit until and unless your credit score has improved 4Give some time which is

the only solution to resolve your problem of busy credit history 4You must pay your credit card debt on time as it will also affect your credit score Besides all this, you can also go for a loan broker who can help you to deal with the problem of multiple applications. The customers

with Bad Credit can also opt for Car Loans in Australia.

Loans Direct ABN : 38 270 143 010 Suite 19, 17 - 19 Miles Street, Mulgrave, VIC 3170 Tel: 03 8400 4565 | Fax: 03 9818 3300 harry@loansdirect.com.au —Supplied.

18 million registered motor vehicles in Australia

By SAT News Desk

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elbourne, 21 July: Australia has over 18 million registered motor vehicles in 2016, which is an increase of 2.1 per cent since last year. This includes over 16 million cars and light commercial vehicles. The number of diesel powered vehicles registered in has

increased by more than double that of petrol powered vehicles in 2016, according to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The annual snapshot of all vehicles registered for use on Australian roads shows that the total number of vehicles fueled by diesel increased by 293,217, in comparison to 114,337 petrol powered

vehicles added to the Motor Vehicle Register since 2015.

The increase in registrations of diesel fueled vehicles was driven by passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles, which together accounted for 95 per cent of the overall increase from 2015 to 2016.

Since 2011, the number of registered diesel fueled vehicles in Australia has

increased by close to 60 per cent, says the ABS. The 2016 Motor Vehicle Census details the number of registered motor vehicles in Australia and provides

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

information such as vehicle type, vehicle characteristics including the year of manufacture, and type of fuel used.

—SAT News Service.

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southSouth asia times 11 Asia Times

“Might take break from films”, says Gurpreet GhuGgi

By Neeraj Nanda

M

Melbourne, 29 July: Popular Punjabi film star, TV actor and singer, Gurpreet Ghuggi is all set for his political role in Punjab, after recently joining the Aam Admi Party (AAP).

The veteran of many Punjabi TV shows and movies is

confident he will work for the ‘happiness of Punjab’ in his new role, where state elections are due next year.

“I will fulfil the urges of the Punjab people but will not leave films”, he said answering to a question at the Thornbury Theatre during a media interaction.

He also disclosed he might take a break from show

business but will do a few movies as and when necessary.

Accompanied by Punjabi actor Gippy Grewal, the actor turned politician is in Melbourne to do a stage show “Desi Rockstar”. “ Sakun mil raha hai (feel mentally peaceful) after joining politics and now want to give maximum to

Punjab which has given me so much,” Ghuggi said.

On a question by SAT, Ghuggi agreed that acting in cinema and being in politics is helpful and at times they are complimentary.

“My goal in politics will be to make Punjab move ahead”, he said.

Gippy Grewal talked about his forthcoming

$ 250,000 Australian govt. support for the India Festival 2016

By SAT News Desk

M

elbourne, 30 July: The Australian Government has announced $250,000 to support the Confluence: Festival of India in Australia 2016. Others supporting the festival include Adani Solar (Platinum sponsor), ICCR, Ministry of Culture (India) and the AustraliaIndia Council. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the media partner. The festival is being produced by the ‘Teamworks’ team who organize the Jaipur Literature Festival every year.

Launched recently, the festival is the most significant showcase of India’s arts and culture to be staged in Australia. Held from August to November 2016, the festival will bring an exciting and diverse program of the finest classical and contemporary performing and visual arts from India to audiences across six Australian cities (Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth & Sydney). The festival will also include a number of community activities and collaborations with local artists.

Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield, Minister for Communications, Minister for the Arts and Manager of Government Business in the Senate in a media statement says, “This cultural celebration will extend and deepen the longstanding relationship between Australia and India by giving Australian audiences the opportunity to experience a program including exhibitions, theatre, dance and music.”

The Festival of India in Australia was announced by Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi in 2014 and is a key deliverable of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Arts and Culture between the Indian and the Australian Government’s.

The festival follows the Australian Government’s ‘Oz Fest’, a major cultural festival in India that ran from October 2012 to February 2013.

The Australian Government has committed $200,000 to the festival through the Department of Communications and the Arts and a further $50,000 from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Australia India Council.

—SAT News Service. www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

movie ‘Lock’ which he costars with Gurpreet Ghuggi.

“This will be a new type of Punjabi film with few actors and songs”, he said.

Both the actors agreed that the social media and You Tube have made people more conscious and movies are more scrutinised and commented by viewers.

—SAT News Service.

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Palace Cinemas fined for online pricing policies

By SAT News Desk

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Melbourne, 19 July: Moviegoers are likely to benefit from clearer online ticketing pricing. Palace Cinemas Pty Ltd (Palace Cinemas) has paid a penalty of $10,800 after being issued with an infringement notice by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, as a result of ACCC concerns with Palace Cinemas’ online pricing practices.

The ACCC issued an infringement notice because it had reasonable grounds to believe that Palace Cinemas had breached the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by failing to prominently disclose the total single price, including the compulsory booking fee, for cinema tickets purchased using its online booking process.

The ACCC was concerned

that Palace Cinemas made a part-price representation without prominently specifying a single total cinema ticket price throughout the booking process.

"Online traders risk breaching the Australian Consumer Law if they make price representations that exclude mandatory booking fees when advertising ticket prices online," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

“This sort of conduct has the potential to affect the purchasing decisions of consumers who focus on the advertised price, without being aware of the final price

which includes additional fees that have to be paid as part of the transaction, such as booking fees. It may also reduce the extent to which consumers shop around because searching and comparing prices between websites is made more difficult,” Mr. Sims said.

This outcome follows broader ACCC engagement with the online cinema ticketing industry, aimed at improving pricing practices to ensure that the advertised prices of cinema tickets do not exclude mandatory applicable booking fees.

“The ACCC is pleased that

its focus on clearer pricing by cinemas selling movie tickets online has resulted in some improvements.

Consumers now have access to more straightforward pricing information which enables them to make more informed decisions about buying movie tickets online,” Mr. Sims said.

The payment of a penalty following the issue of an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the ACL. The ACCC can issue an infringement notice if it has reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain

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he payment of a penalty following the issue of an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the ACL. consumer protection laws.

Further information about the ACL single pricing provisions and component pricing can be found at Advertising and selling guide - http://www.accc.gov. au/publications/advertisingselling/advertising-andselling-guide/pricing/ component-pricing —SAT News Service.

Social unrest will not affect Gujarat business atmosphere: Top bureaucrat

By Neeraj Nanda

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elbourne, 1 August: “Social unrest’ is not likely to affect business atmosphere in Gujarat, says top bureaucrat Mr. Pankaj Kumar, IAS (1986 batch of Gujarat cadre) and leader of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ delegation visiting Australia now. This was said one day before the current Chief Minister Anandiben, offered to quit and said she wanted a new leader to be at the Vibrant Gujarat – 2017 summit.

Mr. Pankaj is leading a delegation of prominent officials of top companies in Gujarat and holding road shows in different Australian cities promoting Vibrant Gujarat 2017 to be held in Gandhinagar from 10-13 January next year.

The road show held at the Indian Consulate in Melbourne, saw many impressive power point presentations including ones by Ms Rohini Kapadath, Chair Multicultural Ministerial Advisory Council and Mr. Pankaj himself. A video on Gujarat’s business

The vibrant gujrat 2017 will be held in gandhi nagar, january 10-13.

friendliness was also shown. During the Q-A session, I asked the lone question about ‘social unrest’ in Gujarat and its effect on the business atmosphere in the state.

Mr. Pankaj said, “The Guajarati’s have business in

their blood and these things do not effect business.”

The obvious reference was to the recent Patidar (Patel) and Dalit agitations in the state which, many media reports indicate, question the credibility of the current CM to

handle them, in the light of coming state elections in Punjab and Utter Pradesh.

Though, some suspect, infighting within the ruling party also playing a big role in CM Anandiben’s decision to quit.

Talking to SAT,

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

delegation member Mrs. Manjula Pooja, Kalorex Group said, “my question was relevant, but things are not as bad as it is sought to be projected.”

Earlier, in her address, AIBC National Chair, Sheba Nandkeolyar said, “hope the delegation will form meaningful business alliances in Australia.”

The event was also addressed by Mr. Stephen Manallack, President AIBC Victoria Chapter, H E Ms Manika Jain, Consul General of India in Melbourne, Ms. Amanda Pickrell, Victoria Government and Mr. Deepak Goyal,Analyst KPMG. —SAT News Service.

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CELEBRATING VICTORIA’S FIRST INDIAN CULTURAL PRECINCT SATURDAY 13 AUGUST

Comes to Dandenong

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne celebrations in Harmony Square

MONDAY 15 AUGUST Angrej screening with guest star Amrinder Gill at Drum Theatre

SATURDAY 20 AUGUST Ottaal and Buddha in a Traffic Jam screenings at Drum Theatre

greaterdandenong.com/iffm

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Major parties should democratise to re-engage with voters: Lisa Singh

By Neeraj Nanda

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Melbourne, 2 Aug: “Major political parties should democratise to be able to re-engage with the voters, says Lisa Singh, newly elected member to the Australian Senate from Tasmania. Relegated to the sixth position on the ticket by the ALP, Lisa resurrected from the bottom to win as the 4th ALP winning candidate with around 21,000 votes. In all, the ALP won five seats, the maximum from any state.

“People’s power made me win as they were not

happy me being pushed to the 6th position,” Lisa told a delegation of Subcontinent Friends of Labour (SFOL) from Victoria, who met her today to congratulate her on her victory.

A confident Lisa said, “There was momentum in the community and people did not join the ALP for backroom deals.

Lisa Singh was congratulated on her Senate victory by the SAFOL Victoria team consisting of Alok Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Neeraj Nanda, Vinayak Kolape, Dinesh Chawan and Abhimanyu Kumar.

Lisa Singh who has been in politics for over ten years, said, “the election campaign was in response to what people wanted her to do and the result a recognition of the work I have done.”

On a SAT question over being dropped from the Shadow Ministry, she said, “I am disappointed but being on the back-bench gives me a new set of freedom”.

“I stand for the people who elected me,” she said.

Senator Lisa Singh is the only South Asian origin MP in the current Australian Parliament.

—SAT News Service

All night public transport extended by six months

By SAT News Desk

M

elbourne, 2 Aug: The Andrews Labor Government’s hugely popular trial of all night public transport on weekends has been extended until June next year. Premier Daniel Andrews joined Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan to announce a six-month extension to Victoria’s Night Network of trains, trams, buses and regional coaches.

All night public transport will continue to run through Summer and Autumn, ensuring people out for the night or working late continue to have access to public transport on Friday and Saturday nights.

Premier Daniel Andrews says, “People will be able

to enjoy the world’s most livable city for longer this summer, and shift workers will continue to have access to the trains, trams and buses they need to get home.”

“Whether you’re kicking on after the footy, heading out for a show or working late on the weekend, Night

Network is there to get you home safer and sooner,” he said.

It will allow services to be assessed over a full 12 month period and help organizers plan for the massive line up of events between January and June, including the Australian Open, Formula 1 Grand

Prix and the Comedy Festival.

It will also ensure all night public transport is on offer for the start of next year’s footy season, so fans who have kicked on after the game can get home safer and sooner.

To promote Night Network services on offer

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

in the lead up to footy finals, a glow-in-the-dark mural will be on display for Friday night’s clash at the MCG, and Saturday’s match at Etihad Stadium.

An average of 35,000 people use Night Network to get home safer and sooner every weekend – and more than 20 per cent of passengers are shiftworkers, in hospitality, essential services or other industries operating overnight.

These workers previously had no choice but to drive or catch a cab home, or wait around for the first service in the morning. Now they can jump on one of 300 overnight train services, 250 tram services or around 500 bus and coach services to get home when their shift ends.

For timetables and more information, visit ptv.vic. gov.au/night-network.

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community

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SCFOL celebrates David Feeney’s victory

Subcontinent Friends of Labour (SCFOL) celebrated David Feeney's victory in Batman at the Thornbury Theatre. The celebration event was addressed by David, Alok and Manoj.

David thanked all volunteers who worked hard for the election. Photos: SAT/NN.

Cutting-edge tech for Victoria cops to fight crime

By SAT News Desk

M

Melbourne, 27 July: Victoria’s frontline crime fighters will soon be armed with state-of-the-art mobile technology to better respond to incidents of violent crime, public disorder, terrorist threats and the scourge of family violence.

Visiting Werribee Police Station, Premier Daniel Andrews joined Minister for Police Lisa Neville and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton to announce the tender process for Victoria Police’s technology revolution.

Police will soon have access to mobile devices to overhaul how frontline officers access information and respond to crime. The technology will be used in partnership with the new intelligence system

announced in June.

The Andrews Labor Government invested $227 million in police technology in the Victorian Budget 2016/17, delivering on our promise to give Victoria Police the resources and the powers they need to keep Victorians safe.

Premier Daniel Andrews said, “Our frontline crime fighters will soon have cutting-edge technology at their fingertips to better respond to crime and keep Victorians safe.”

“Information is the lifeblood of modern policing, and this technology builds on our huge investments in the strengthening the frontline, “he said.

Minister for Police Lisa Neville said, “This technology will save our police officers valuable time out in the field so they can focus on fighting crime and keeping Victorians

safe.”

“We promised the Chief Commissioner he’d get the resources he needs – and we’re delivering on that promise, “he said.

The suite of devices and other technology will be rolled out progressively to frontline officers over the next four years. Police in the field will be able to more effectively report family violence incidents and other crimes, with: • Access to Sheriff notifications, the Victoria Police Manual and legislation, National Police Record System and emails.

• The ability to take and store photos, video and audio recordings, online training and various other functions.

• Significantly reduced paperwork, with on-board applications helping police process statements and access critical databases in

the field.

The third stage of the technology rollout will see frontline officers equipped with body-worn cameras to capture video evidence at the time and location of an incident.

These investments in technology will help free up our frontline police so they’re spending less time on administrative duties, and more time fighting crime in our communities.

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

The Labor Government has invested a record amount in fighting crime, with this year’s $596 million Public Safety.

Package providing more than 400 new police including 300 frontline officers, new police vehicles, ballistics vests and other equipment – as well as a $15 million 24/7 Monitoring and Assessment Centre.

Since November 2014, the Government has funded more than 1150 police personnel.

—SAT News Service.

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Dr. Ambedkar’s bust unveiled at the Western Sydney University

By Ashok Kumar

M

Sydney, 20 July: The High Commissioner of India to Australia, H.E. Mr. Navdeep Suri unveiled the bust of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, an eminent Indian jurist, economist, politician, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Constitution at the School of Law’s Moot Court, Western Sydney University on July 14, 2016. He was accompanied by Deputy Vice Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Prof.

Denise Kirkpatrick in the unveiling ceremony.

The bust, sculpted by Gautam Pal, was donated

by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Dr Ambedkar, the first Law Minister of Independent India, campaigned tirelessly to eradicate social discrimination against women and the untouchables (Dalits).

During the event, High Commissioner Mr. Navdeep Suri; Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Denise Kirkpatrick; Pro-Vice Chancellor (International) Prof. Linda

Taylor; Dr G. K. Harinath, Chairperson, Multicultural NSW spoke about the contributions towards eradicating untouchability.

Dr. Rupali Bhamare,

representative of Ambedkar International Mission, Australia spoke about the contribution and relevance of Dr Ambedkar’s thoughts and philosophy

in today’s world. Prof.

Michael Adams, Dean of the School of Law and Associate Professor Dr. Alpana Roy from School of Law emceed the ceremony.

Brandon Park Primary School 1-5, Ninevah Cres, Wheelers Hill, VIC 3150

Free Entry, with ample parking, Free tea, coffee and biscuits Contact: Phone- 0402 074 208 or 0407 559 113 email- sangeetswarsandhya@gmail.com www.facebook.com/sangeetsandhya

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Prof. Adams said the works of Dr. Ambedkar will undoubtedly inspire the next generation of legal experts studying at Western Sydney University.

“This year, the School of Law, officially visited a number of Indian universities and hope to build stronger relationships.

The generous gift of the bust of Dr Ambedkar reflects the closer connection between our communities,” said Professor Adams.

“We are planning a symposium with the National Law Institute in Bhopal in 2017, and this is one more step in the development of our relationship.”

The High Commissioner also distributed prizes to the winners of the Essay Competition on Dr Ambedkar – Ms Nishtha Sharma, Ms Snigdha Rai and Ms Sunila Dixit. The essay competition was organised by Consulate General of India Sydney, Mr. B. Vanlalvawna, as a part of the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

—Source: Indian Subcontinent Times, Sydney.

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Rupani is a better choice as Gujarat CM, but is that enough?

By Rajiv Shah

Y

ou can be a frank and an approachable leader, but is that enough for you to solve social issues which bog society? Soon after Vijay Rupani became Gujarat chief minister on August 5 evening, a top Sachivalaya insider, whom I have known for more than a decade, phoned me up to know what people thought of “the new incumbent”. Hesitant, I told him that he knew Rupani for quite some time, in fact ever since Rupani was in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation, hence he should know better.

Refusing to be named, he didn’t mince words, “Rupani is frank, approachable, dynamic”, adding, “It has always been a boon to work with him.”

I have known Rupani a little bit, though certainly not as much as this insider, who keeps a close tab of what’s goings on in the nerve centre of Gujarat politics. Without any doubt, Rupani is “approachable”.

Off and on, while covering Sachivalaya, I would consult him about political goings on around Modi, and though he was frank and approachable, he never crossed the BJP’s invisible party line. Once I expressed my desire to meet him urgently, and he promptly said he was coming to the Times of India office in Gandhinagar and I should keep tea ready for him. He answered all my questions for an hour. He remains approachable, I believe, even now.

But does that make him dynamic? When the Dalit agitation was still on, after a long while, I decided to talk to Rupani as state BJP president, and he seemed to think that the whole issue had been blown out of proportion in the context of the future polls in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, one reason why Arvind Kejriwal and Mayawati were seeking to take political advantage of what happened in Una. Calling the by now famous July 11 Una incident— in which cow vigilantes thrashed four Dalit boys with iron rods after tying them to an SUV for skinning a dead cow—a “law and order problem”, elsewhere he went further on to say that caste is not an issue in Gujarat.

I don’t know whether he actually believes in what he said, yet if actually

Vijay Rupani does, I wondered whether his was also a mundane perception to caste discrimination being a matter of “perception”, to quote a state-sponsored study on the issue by Prof R Parthasarathy, currently heading Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad. The report was a direct effort to deny results of a study sponsored by the Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Center for Justice and Human Rights for an Ahmedabad NGO, Navsarjan Trust, “Understanding Untouchability” (2009), which had found wide-scale prevalence of untouchability across Gujarat’s rural areas.

One wonders whether Rupani, an RSS man, understands that this skinning of cow is a hierarchical caste occupation, stemming from the perception among rural area non-Dalit castes that skinning of a dead cow in an “impure” task, and those who perform it are “polluted”, to quote top Vienna-based sociologist, Prof Shalini Randeria, who studied the subject way back in late 1980s. She said in her research work in North Gujarat villages, “As cattle scavengers, who dragged away dead animals from the village

into their own settlement, they would remove the impurity attached to the carcass and transfer it to themselves.”

The latest incident in Una suggests, this expert tells me, that the perception does not seem to have changed in rural Gujarat.

Be that as it may, Rupani played his cards pretty well ahead of becoming chief minister.

He kept saying that he was “not in the race”, and that he had rather “serve” the BJP. Known to be one of the topmost stock market players in Saurashtra, he is extremely calculative in whatever he says. Even as affirming that Hindutva is the touchstone for BJP’s policies, Rupani is not “a rabid”, to quote a scribe, Bashir Pathan, who has known him for many years.

One has to wait and see how far he would go to appease the minorities in a state which saw its worst riots in 2002.

Yet, the fact is, Rupani represents a sharp contrast to the chief contestant, Nitin Patel, who is said to have been asked to serve as deputy chief minister out

of compulsions stemming from the year-long Patidar agitation, and on insistence from Anandiben Patel, the outgoing chief minister.

Unlike Rupani’s low profile image, Nitin behaved very differently after Anandiben resigned. And, as rumour spread, apparently triggered by those close to Anandiben, that Nitin had been “chosen”, crackers exploded in celebration in Mehsana, his home district. Posters appeared in Mehsana welcoming him. His wife began giving interviews to TV channels saying he had indeed been chosen. And, newspapers were rushed with his profile!

Whatever little I have knew of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister while covering Gandhinagar Sachivalaya, Modi never likes this kind of out-ofthe-way celebrations.

I don’t know whether Nitin sponsored all these celebrations ahead of the crucial announcement of chief minister, flashed on August 5 at around 6.00 pm.

But he did nothing to stop all of it either. Nitin, for all these years, was essentially seen as a necessity in the Cabinet, because he, in a way, had

“succeeded” AK Patel, known for decades as the North Gujarat Patel strongman.

A strong protagonist of Modi’s bete noire Keshubhai Patel for long, going so far as to attend a meeting opposing Modi’s choice as chief minister in October 2001, he did not get the required Modi support either in December 2002 assembly or in April 2004 Parliamentary polls.

Defeated in both the polls, he found where his interests lied – and quickly changed sides. I remember how, during interactions post2004 polls, he began to speak glowingly of Modi, something he never did earlier. Nitin won assembly elections in 2007, and Modi, knowing fully well

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the importance of keeping Patels in good spirits, took him in the Cabinet.

I have tracked Nitin since 1995, when his name appeared in reports on a caste riot in Kadi, his home town near Mehsana district.

Dalits were attacked by individuals who allegedly happened to supported Nitin. Dalits’ houses were ransacked and shops torched. A member of an independent fact-finding team told me later the Dalits pointed fingers towards Nitin for “instigating” violence.

On February 27, 2002, the day Godhra train burning incident took place, I met him in the Gujarat state assembly chamber, only to find him frantically telling his supporters to “get ready” to support the Gujarat bandh call by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) with all their might.

While he may not have been found involved in any of the rioting incidents, his district, Mehsana, became notorious for at least two ghastly incidents, which took place on March 1, 2002: Dipda Darwaza in Visnagar town, in which mob killed 11 members of a family; and Sardarpura village where 33 people were killed.

One of the major complaints, both within the BJP and in the government, against Nitin has been, he does not have “control” over his tongue. I would just quote from a small snippet in a popular Monday column, True Lies, in the Times of India, Ahmedabad.

A few reporters went to see him in his Gujarat state assembly. Then Gujarat’s irrigation minister, he was asked about why North Gujarat villagers were refusing to use a high-profile government irrigation scheme, Sujalam Sufalam, for potable water. He didn’t like the question, as it concerned his region.

Put off, Nitin said, “It is like this. Government provides free and good quality condoms to people.

But there are certain communities and groups who do not want to use but keep adding numbers to the population, disregarding the task of development. The government just cannot do anything about it.”

DISCLAIMER: Views expressed above are the author's own.

Source: TOI Blogs, True Lies, Aug. 6.

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Has the world gone mad?

By Nadine Shaanta Murshid

J

ul 20 2016 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh) - Has the world gone mad?

No. Violence is a part of our history, as mankind – we’ve known it all our lives.

But, never before have we been exposed to violence in the manner that we are now, because of cable news coverage and social media.

Before this age of rapid transfer of information, it took us much longer to learn about acts of violence in faraway lands.

One example is Cambodia – its people experienced genocide while the world had no clue. It wasn’t until much later that people started to learn about what was happening, about Pol Pot’s Red Army of children, the plan to start from “zero.” There is genocide going on today as well – but we are clued in much earlier than used to be the case (for example, the Rohingyas in Myanmar), because they make headlines and because “civilians” report from the ground.

So, while we are experiencing huge exposure to violence, there is little understanding of the reasons for the production of violence.

To understand the violent world in which we live today, it is important to understand that with neoliberal policies came rapid globalization (that fostered international trade, privatization of national institutions, deregulation, and competition) and that includes, as we can see, globalization of terror and acts of terror. An excellent example is ISIS. Their “franchise system” that allows group membership to anyone willing to commit an act of terror in any part of the world – which ISIS can then claim responsibility for – has been a successful model because of social media and networking capabilities that are enhanced via the internet, the mascot, if you will, of the globalized world.

The UN had declared in 2011 that internet-access is also a human right (for reasons such as freedom of expression). And countries have responded well – but, for many under-developed

and developing nations of the world, the internet has been an easier “upgrading” of infrastructure in the absence of real ones: roads, railways, institutions. This nod from the UN has allowed neoliberal policymakers, hand in hand with the Facebooks and the Googles of the world, to aggressively push last mile internet connectivity for deeper reach to the “Bottom of the Pyramid” to garner more consumers. So, we have a situation in which we have populations that do not have decent healthcare facilities or schools, but have internetenabled smartphones.

In some ways, this can be seen as “development” (indeed, some pluses include mobile banking services for the poor that fosters financial inclusion). But, this also highlights the old concept of uneven and combined development that doesn’t keep par with economic growth, that in turn makes way for a class-based structure, in which many are left behind, disenfranchised.

It is, thus, fairly easy and profitable to recruit foot soldiers in a system that has produced enough disenfranchised individuals, primarily youth, looking for meaning. Indeed, meaning-

making for young people has become a challenge in a system where even universities are in the business of producing skilled labor for the neoliberal regimes of the world, which isolates them as they strive to take personal responsibility for structural problems that they did not create; fighting in a system that’s rigged against them.

So, if neoliberalism and its neoliberal education systems have created isolation among youth across social and cultural barriers, youth who find “brotherhood” in a “cause” that they can get behind, it has also created inequality and injustice. Together, isolation, disenfranchisement, inequality, and injustice form a potent pill that breaks people. So much so that they have nothing left to lose. Such spaces can easily become hotbeds for terrorist recruitment, given the high supply of broken people to cash-in on. That some private universities in countries like Bangladesh have become such hotbeds is not a coincidence.

We must realize that the violence that we see around us is not about the moral compasses of those who commit such acts. Nor is it about parenting. It’s about the system that has let them down.

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

Unless we fix the system that creates disenfranchisement and inequality, we will continue to see violence erupt in all corners of the world. And because of the way media works, we will hear the most nitty-gritty details of it all. And those acts of violence will be “co-opted” by groups like ISIS who will claim responsibility for them – and that will feed more hate – and in this case Islamophobia, and that will create more hate towards the West, and the cycle will continue.

We need to create a classneutral world for its citizens.

We need to really undo this Empire that enables certain groups to have all privileges, while marginalizing all other peoples.

There are declared and undeclared wars going on around the world that are being televised and hashtagged for consumption. Some people make money and gain power in war economies.

Surely, we know who they are?

The writer is Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University at Buffalo.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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BOOK REVIEW

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Amitav Ghosh ponders the ‘Unthinkable’

By Dan Bloom

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TAIPEI, Jul 25 2016 (IPS) - For acclaimed Indian novelist and essayist Amitav Ghosh, the future of humankind as global warming impact events spread worldwide looks grim. So grim that the 60-year-old pamphleteer has titled his new book of three climate-related essays “The Great Derangement.”

The way we humans are dealing with, or not dealing with, climate change appears to be deranged.

What will future generations in say, 2116 or 2216, think of those of us in 2016?

Ghosh, a cosmopolitan, globe-trotting public intellectual, is worried. So worried that his hair has turned brilliantly white, while his eyes burn with a probing yet affable intensity.

There’s a reason his book has been subtitled “Climate Change and the Unthinkable,” and it’s not a pretty picture.

Looking at how novelists and literary circles, geopolitics and academics are reacting to climate change now in the early part of the 21st century, Ghosh has written a brilliant and fearless “wake up call” on global warming that he hopes will reach world leaders and politicians.

Himself an acclaimed novelist, Ghosh looks at how poets and storytellers are putting climate themes into their published works, from Margaret Atwood to Kim Stanley Robinson. He

even gives a shout out to the rising new genre of “clifi” (short for climate fiction) while also looking at Indian literary and cinema greats like Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray. In the realm of geopolitics, Ghosh looks at last year’s global climate “agreement” signed in Paris and calls foul. Read the fine print, he says. Connect the dots, he says.

Are we deranged, he asks? There’s much to contemplate in this “made in India” alarm-bell warning flare to the world, but it’s written in an easy-to-digest style.

East or West, we are all in this together now. For a longtime Indian climate activist living in New Zealand, Ghosh’s distinctive approach of speaking truth to power packs a punch.

“Coming from a leading Indian author who is widely-read in the West, this book will likely have a major impact in shining a spotlight on global warming issues before a much wider audience,” he told IPS in a recent email.

“In addition, a book such as this has the potential to bring together the stories of global warming and climate change from a combination of Indian, South Asian and Western perspectives. So it’s invaluable in bridging the gap among nations and why I think the essays need a global audience beyond the India edition.”

Originally commissioned by the University of Chicago Press, the essays will be

There's much to contemplate in this "made in India" alarm-bell warning flare to the world, but it's written in an easy-to-digest style.

published in a U.S. edition in September with a slightly different cover for Western readers. Until then, the book is in India’s hands this summer and is getting plaudits left and right in dozens of the country’s newspapers and magazines.

Ghosh, in his 60s with a handsome shock of white

hair gracing a usually smiling face, is married to the American writer Deborah Baker. The couple have two grown children and live part of the year in New York and part of the year in India.

With “The Great Derangement,” Ghosh has shown himself to be an

www.southasiatimes.com.au - (03) 9884 8096, 0421 677 082

international climate activist of the literary kind, fearless in attacking both “the powers that be” in his own country and the “business as usual” mantra of the West.

How the book will be received in North America in the fall will be critical in breaking through the fog of climate denialism.

In India, where climate denialists don’t actually exist, Ghosh’s book has been received with high praise. However, in America and Britain, where denialists are legion and have spit on the truth with unbridled, deranged venom for years, it might be a different story.

Someone might even write a ‘cli-fi’ novel one day about this “great derangement.” It could be explosive.

(Heading changed)

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VIEWPOINT

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Did Ashoka’s embracing Buddhism, promoting ahimsa weaken India?

By Ram Puniyani

M

he Past is used by communal politics for their present political agenda. In India, on one hand, we have the use of medieval history where the Muslim Kings are presented as ‘aggressors due to whom Hindu society had to suffer’, on the other now we are witnessing the distortion of ancient history being marshalled to undermine Buddhism vis a vis Brahmanism.

The figure chosen to make this point by communal forces is that of is Emperor Ashoka.

Incidentally, Noble Laureate Amartya Sen regards Ashoka and Akbar as the two greatest Emperors to have ruled India. A publication from RSS progeny, Rajasthan Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad claims that it was due to Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism and his promotion of ahimsa that India’s borders opened up to foreign invaders.

It also goes on to say those followers of Buddhism under Ashoka played a seditious role, they assisted Greek invaders with the goal that they would destroy “Vedic religion” and restore Buddhism. Here, what is being referred to as Vedic religion is Brahmanism as such.

Interestingly the article regards Ashoka to be a great ruler till he embraced Buddhism, while most of the thinkers show that his humane policies, making him a great emperor were brought into after he embraced Buddhism.

There are many components of this formulation which are concocted as per the political requirement of Brahmanical Hinduism. One of these concoctions is the very notion of India being the state from times immemorial.

One understands that India as a nation state emerged during the freedom struggle.

The earlier formations were kingdoms, Empires. The boundaries of these kingdoms were not fixed and depending on the bravery and other associated factors kings were expanding their area of rule or had to retreat into smaller areas or even getting decimated at times. Even before Ashoka came to power Alexander had attacked India.

Such forays of kings into other territories are not unknown.

Mauryan Empire was a major Empire the sub-continent has seen.

So many dynasties have ruled large parts of the subcontinent, no single ruler

has ruled the whole of what is India today. So why is Ashoka being targeted today?

Ashoka was the successor to Bindusar, from Maurya lineage.

Chandragupta Maurya had built the Empire and Ashok’s major deed was to annexe Kalinga (modern Orissa/ Odisha) into his kingdom.

This battle was very bloody and as is famously known the bloodshed shook Ashoka and he decided to embrace Buddhism. From this point on the transformation of an aggressive insensitive king to a very humane person began with the embracing of Buddhism. He undertook the measures for the welfare of the people, opposed the Brahmanical rituals and opened the gates of his palace for listening to woes the people of his empire.

Inspired by the teachings of Buddhism he started to moves for a compassionate state, the guardian state.

His ideas and policies are deciphered from the number of edicts carved on pillars and stones which are vast in number. What emerges from these edicts are very compassionate and impressive norms being propagated in the period of third Century BC ? What is remarkable is that though he embraced Buddhism he accepted the diversity as the norm of society. One of his edicts says that a ruler must accept the diversity of his subject’s belief.

He did transform Buddhism into a World religion. The spread of his ideas was not through force but through moral appeal and persuasion.

His message was to reduce suffering and to pursue peace, openness and tolerance. This is why he is regarded as Great contrary to the said articles’ claim that he was great till he embraced Buddhism.

Ashoka’s was the largest Empire in the history of the sub-continent. His Dhamma was a moral code for the ruler as well as for the subjects who were exhorted to follow the moral path. His Rock Edict XII is something which we need to remember in current times as well as it has great relevance even today. It is a call for religious tolerance and civility in public life or as he puts it, ‘restraint in speech’, “not praising one’s own religion or condemning the religion of the others without good cause…

Contact between religions is good.” (Sunil Khilanani, Incarnations, ‘India in 50 Lives’ page 52). ‘He did not foist his faith, Buddhism on his subjects…He is important in history for his policy of peace, non-aggression and cultural conquest’. (R.S. Sharma, Ancient India, NCERT, 1995, 104) Ashoka inspired the leaders of freedom movement for his principles of justice and non-violence. He did represent the agenda which symbolised cultural and religious pluralism which were central to the

ideology of Gandhi and Nehru in particular. His symbols of four lions adorn Indian currency and the wheel has become part of the Indian flag.

The problem with Ashoka’s rule was not the military one. His Empire continued until 50 more years. In 205 BC Greek Emperor Antiochus attacked from North West and established his rule in some part (North-West: Punjab, Afghanistan). The bigger problem was from within the empire. This is related to Brahminical counter reaction to the spread of Buddhism.

Ashoka had put a ban on the slaughter for rituals. This led to the reduction in the income of Brahmans. The spread of Buddhism led to the erosion of Varna caste system. What the Communal forces are calling as Vedic religion, is as such the dominant stream which was prevalent then, Brahmanism.

These factors led to the counter-revolution.

Pushyamitra Shung, a Brahman, the Chief Commander of Brihadrath, who was Ashok’s grandson, led the counter-revolution.

He killed the Emperor and founded the Shunga dynasty in Sindh part of Ashoka’s empire.

The counter-revolution launched in the society led to the disappearance of Buddhism from this land.

Ambedkar writes, “Emperor Ashoka proclaimed a complete ban on killing animals. So nobody engaged Brahmans to perform rites and rituals.

The Brahman priests were rendered jobless. They also lost their former importance and glory. So the Brahmans revolted against the Mauryan Emperor Brihadrath under the leadership of Pushyamitra Shung, a samvedi Brahmin and the army Chief of Brihadrath.

(Writings and Speeches, Vol 3 P 167) Eighth Century onwards Shankara had led the ideological battle against the philosophy of Buddhism which urged the people to focus on the life in this World.

The Shankara’s philosophy called this World as illusion and restored Brahmanism here in full glory. Buddhism disappeared from this land around 1200 AD. So why is Ashoka’s reign coming under criticism now?

Ashoka embraced Buddhism and this was a setback to the Brahmanical system.

Brahmanism is the dominant part of Hindu religion as understood today. He talked of non-violence and promoted pluralism. All these stand

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Ashoka’s was the largest Empire in the history of the sub-continent.

His Dhamma was a moral code for the ruler as well as for the subjects who were exhorted to follow the moral path.

His Rock Edict XII is something which we need to remember in current times as well as it has great relevance even today. totally against the Hindu nationalist agenda of sectarian nationalism where violence is part of the politics. This wants to promote neo-Brahmanical values. So, on one hand, there is the attempt to co-opt Dalits and another hand the aim is to keep the ideological message of social hierarchy loud and clear and so Buddhism is attacked. The symbols of the casteless ideology of Buddhism and accompanying respect for pluralism and peace are being attacked as a part of Hindu nationalist agenda, the garb which is presented is ‘weakening of India’ due to non-violence.

As such Mauryan was an Empire, not a nation state, empires rise and fall due to social-political factors of the time. Despite adopting non-violence, the Empire continued well until 50 more years. The weakness starts coming in due to Brahmanical counter-revolution. The forays of communalists in the ancient Indian history are an attempt more to denigrate the Buddhist values under the garb of attacking Ashoka.

—July 8, 2016

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Uniform Civil Code: Meaningless without gender justice

By Ram Punyani

M

Our criminal and civil laws are same for all the religious communities but our personal laws have been related and linked to religion. So there are separate laws for Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

Ironically Jain, Buddhists and Sikhs are included in Hindus. As such the prevalent laws and norms among diverse Hindu communities have sharp variations. This was a primary reason why the Constituent Assembly debates decided to continue with the personal laws and left the issue for a later settlement. In the Directive principles of state policy Article 44. it was stated that the state shall try to evolve uniform common laws for all the citizens of India, irrespective of their religion.

The aim was to bring these laws in consonance with the concept of justice.

At the same time former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru called upon B.R. Ambedkar, the Law minister, to work for a Hindu Code Bill whereby the diverse Hindu communities were brought under the same umbrella.

The idea behind all this was that if a reform process was initiated amongst the Hindus, the largest religious community, similar efforts could be initiated for the minorities. Ambedkar formulated the Bill with the understanding that the prevalent laws at the time did not give equal justice to women. The draft Bill as it emerged was opposed by large sections of the Hindu community as it was too radical for the prevalent patriarchal norms. Later the Bill was diluted and implemented. The failure to carry through the Bill was

a setback to the efforts of Ambedkar; he felt dejected and left the Union Cabinet.

The debate further came to the fore in the wake of the Shah Bano Judgment by the Supreme Court.

Here, Shah Bano’s plea for maintenance after divorce was upheld by the apex Court. The conservative sections of Muslim society stood up to oppose this judgment. Buckling to the pressure the Rajiv Gandhi Government passed a Muslim Women (Protection of rights on Divorce) Bill, which bypassed the judgment. With this the Hindu communal forces took up the issue and called for a Uniform Civil Code.

The main point which was propagated on the streets was that Muslims are allowed to marry four times.

The unstated understanding behind this was that because of polygamy the population of Muslims will overtake that of Hindus.

In the real sense neither is the percentage of polygamy more among Muslims nor does polygamy lead to more children, as the number of children is restricted by the

number of women.

Sections of Muslims, the Muslim leadership and organization like the Muslim Personal Law Board co-related the demand for a uniform civil code to that of minority identity, and strongly opposed it.

From within the Muslim community many women’s groups started campaigning for the gender justice and abolition of polygamy, triple talaq and such issues that were seen as discriminatory and unjust.

But because of the Muslim organizations hype, the focus of reforms came totally on the Muslim community and the need for reforms within the Hindus took a back seat in the popular imagination.

While the communal forces talked of uniformity in law they never produced even a draft that could provide a basis for this demand.

Instead the issue was used to flay the minorities, with the central notion of gender justice missing entirely from whatever little debate and discussion that has taken place.

At the same time

progressive women’s movements had also demanded the UCC, but having realized that most of the personal laws which are prevalent in the name of religion are unjust to women, they retracted and started talking about a gender just code through the process of reforms within the communities.

So how will UCC come in?

Will gender justice be the basis of uniformity? There is a notion that somebody will prepare the laws and these will be brought in, imposed on all the communities. This is a ‘top down’ approach. In the ‘bottom up’ approach the focus is on a reform process being encouraged in society, and the process being taken further and given the shape of law. The crucial point here is the process of reform within the community, a process based on gender justice.

Among other, the efforts of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) in this direction are noteworthy.

BMMA has collected 50,000 signatures for abolition of triple talaq. The idea here is to campaign and do the advocacy for such changes, get the laws made on these lines which will strengthen the hands of Judiciary in giving justice to Women in particular. It is campaigns like this which raise consciousness in society, and also act as a restraint within. In other words, such campaigns create a ground that facilitates the delivery of justice, and makes it acceptable amongst the people who then do not see it as an imposition. The campaign for banning triple talaq is an important step in the direction of reforms based on gender justice.

It is apparent that right wing groups raising the decibels on the issue have no interest in ensuring

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gender justice. Their central agenda is to frighten the Muslim community. Here the crocodile tears of those posing to give justice to Muslim women are more than obvious. Gripped in the patriarchal mind set male dominated Muslim organizations also oppose the UCC as they do not want to give up their control over women and the family.

As such one should grant the point that an intimidated community gives secondary importance to issues of gender justice. Their primary concern is security and partly equity in social affairs. Self-proclaimed Law Boards are gripped by patriarchal mindsets, and do not support the women who have been struggling for parity in the laws for decades now.

The opposition to UCC comes mainly out to fear of intimidating communal politics, and the values of patriarchy which needs to be overcome.

There is also an argument that campaigns like abolition of triple talaq will open the door for Hindutva forces to bring in Hindu laws as UCC. That’s a tricky argument and does draw our attention to the dangers inherent in the demand for reforming the laws. Still one hopes that in current scenario to bring back the Hindu laws as UCC are unlikely as most of the Women’s groups have realized that the existing Hindu laws are nowhere close to giving justice to Hindu women. And so it is unlikely that such an imposition can take place in the more aware environment today. It is time that reforms in the community and gender justice become the base of our thinking in this direction.

—The Citizen, Aug. 3, 2016 (Heading changed)

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Pakistan: Up the creek J

By Faisal Bari

ul 29 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan) - On July 19, newspapers reported that a married man who was having an affair was killed in an ‘honour killing’ allegedly by the relatives of the woman he was involved with. One report described the murder thus: “A man died on Monday after five attackers chopped off his arms, lips and nose, taking away his severed limbs with them.”

A few days earlier, social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch, was strangulated to death by her brother who confessed his crime.

Again, the reason given was ‘honour killing’. The brother did not like some videos which showed her dancing in revealing outfits and disapproved of her recently surfaced photos with a cleric. Up until now he had no problem living off the money she made but his ‘honour’ was challenged by the latest set of video and photo revelations.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported that more than 1,000 women were murdered in the name of ‘honour’ in 2015. Two questions arise: why does ‘honour’ get provoked so easily in Pakistan and why does it lead to murder so often?

There have been attacks against many on the basis of who they are and what they stand for.

Feudal roots, illiteracy, the domineering position of overt religiosity in society, weak institutions and a wobbly law and order situation are all factors but these have been around for a long time. The new entrants are the rising intolerance and the narrowing of the mainstream of thought in Pakistan. Anger is triggered by the slightest deviation from the ‘norm’ and from what is expected of a person in a given situation.

Some overarching ‘sense’ is outraged. The higher ‘principle’ invoked might vary from situation to situation, but the general trend remains. Something somebody says or does offends someone’s sense of sanctity of honour, tradition, morality, religion, sect, ethnicity, tribe, gender, nationality, patriarchy, or family. At the minimum they rant and rave on social

media about how they are ‘outraged’, but, quite often, they take matters into their own hands and want to teach a lesson.

If many people are angry and they happen to be together, violence ensues easily. About six years ago, two teenagers were beaten to death by an angry mob in Sialkot. People thought, at the time, that these kids were robbers. They were not. But even if they had been robbers, is that any reason for beating them to death? Morality was invoked and the resulting anger, easy to see in the videos of the event, led to the merciless and cruel beating of the two boys. Policemen stood by and watched the whole incident.

There have been attacks against many on the basis of who they are and what they stand for. Women, the transgender community, religious minorities, ethnic groups and certain sects have all faced the brunt. We have lost more than 50,000 people to incidents of terror.

Our mosques, mausoleums, schools, colleges, shopping malls and bazaars have been attacked. The cost of ‘outrage’ has been monumental.

Why does it matter if one person or even if many people feel outraged at what another has said or done?

Unless there is an imminent physical threat, incitement

to hatred/violence, why should a person’s or even a nation’s outrage matter?

And if it does, there are laws and legal institutions for prosecution. How did we come to the point where people feel they can take the law into their own hands?

This is where I believe the rot has happened over a long time and where all of us are guilty: we have led and followed each other down this path. When people raised issues about not having Urdu as the only national language, we responded by calling them unpatriotic and resorted to violence. When people asked for provincial autonomy, we did the same.

We decimated the left after calling them anti-Islamic.

We did and do the same to secularists. When the state responded to a situation through violence, whether through illegal detentions, disappearances, custodial deaths or pre-emptive strikes, we stood by quietly.

We have used religious sects, political parties, and different ideologies against each other to further the aims of the state (national unity/ strategic depth). How can we today expect that all of this will not lead to a narrowing of the mainstream, rise in intolerance and a resort to violence when an ‘outrage’ is perpetrated?

Not only are legal and

other institutions of the state weak, they stand compromised. We do not expect neutrality from them.

If we are a ‘favoured’ sect or group, we expect active protection and support of state institutions when we commit violence in the name of any ‘larger’ objective that the state, tacitly or directly, endorses. I, as an individual, know state institutions for justice and law & order are weak and I have a good chance of getting away with murder. In any case I know my actions will not be condemned by a sufficient number. They may actually be supported by many similar-minded people.

Violence and even murder become an easier option under the circumstances.

Media and educational institutions could have offered us a way out and been a paddle for us. But, at the moment, they are a part of the problem.

Media, though quite free, in the race for ratings sensationalizes and adds to the frenzy. Our education system, based on poorly written textbooks, rote learning and dependent on teachers who have come through the same system, produces narrow-minded individuals. If there is going to be a change, media and educational institutions will have to be in the vanguard.

But the question is: how will change come?

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Feudal roots, illiteracy, the domineering position of overt religiosity in society, weak institutions and a wobbly law and order situation are all factors but these have been around for a long time.

Lest we forget, the problems are not just the lack of deterrence effect of punishment or probability of getting away with the crime, the self-righteousness of individuals/groups, narrowing of the limits of acceptable behavior, reduced tolerance and the acceptance of outrage as a justification of violence are the culprit. The latter have happened over decades and with the connivance or acquiescence of most people in the country. We are reaping what we have, so carefully and willingly, sown. The writer is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives and an associate professor of economics at Lums, Lahore.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2016 This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

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Countering terrorism in Bangladesh J

By Taj Hashmi

ul 28 2016 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh) - Politicians and law-enforcers in Bangladesh, from time to time, hype up both panic and complacency by publicizing the following: “terrorists everywhere” or “no terrorists anywhere”, in the country. The ambivalence is counterproductive to counterterrorism (CT) operation. The first and foremost requirement for effective CT is understanding of terrorism per se, that terrorists are not mindless robots programmed to kill innocent people just for the sake of killing. Terrorism is ideology-driven violence, different from violent crime and warfare. Most terrorists, globally, have been well-to-do engineers and technocrats, not poverty-stricken madrassa-educated people.

Terrorism is a deviation, something out of the ordinary; there’s no ordinariness about it like crime, epidemic, floods, or earthquake. It’s a symptom of the disease, not the disease itself. A society or nation creates it, as studies on terrorism have revealed, through various unwise socio-political, and economic decisions. Very similar to cholera or malaria, terrorism spreads through certain germs or bacteria; it just doesn’t drop from the heavens. It’s noteworthy, terrorist outfits representing minority communities often fizzle out – such as the IRA and LTTE – but those who are well-entrenched among the main stream of the population, remain formidable adversaries for years, if not decades.

The primary responsibility for the spread of terrorism in any country lies with the country itself; there is no room for blaming others. I give the example of the tenyear-old American boy, who seconds after the second plane had hit the Twin

Towers on 9/11 screamed: “Why are they killing us? We must have done something wrong to some people somewhere”. What this little boy understood that terrorists don’t attack just for the sake of attacking, the American Administration refuses to admit that terrorist attacks are either retaliatory or preemptive by nature. Bangladeshis must also search as to why terrorism is present in their country. Any denial is costly, and counterproductive to effective CT operation.

CT experts in Bangladesh must understand the problem of terrorism has deeper roots than alienation of some rich kids. Is there any problem of mass alienation of people from society, politics, and state – which they consider corrupt, cruel, and lacking in legitimacy? The problem may be political, and “political” has a very broad definition.

It’s all about human relations in power perspective; it’s about people’s aspirations, honour, dignity, livelihood, family, and freedom in local, national, and global perspectives. And what’s local is global, and global is local.

In the wake of the latest terror attacks at Gulshan and Sholakia, the question is, are Bangladeshi leaders and law-enforcers still going to be in the denial mode?

The stance that there is no ISIS in Bangladesh and that terrorists here are all homegrown locals seems to have become irrelevant.

In fact, they should rather worry more about the homegrown elements than the foreign ones, who are relatively easier to track down than the locals. They should understand terrorism is also globalised like the McDonald’s franchise; you don’t need American chefs to prepare their burgers in distant Bangladesh.

An effective CT doesn’t require more troops or policemen, it requires: a) the admission by politicians

and police that terrorists do exist in Bangladesh; b) no bragging about actual or elusive success in CT operation; c) no blame game against each other; and d) good governance and fair distribution of prosperity and opportunities to all.

Imperatively, mainstream religions or political parties never nurture terrorism.

Cults or secret religious or political clans surreptitiously mobilize support for terrorism by systematic brainwashing of people through manipulation of facts and ideologies. The upshot is a tiny minority of angry, marginalised people start believing what’s apparently right is actually wrong, and vice versa.

According to the Home Minister, since only a handful of people are terrorists, the Government can overpower them in no time. The Police Chief is even more complacent: “Militancy has decreased in the country due to law enforcers’ efforts …. Some have been killed in ‘crossfire’ incidents”.

Interestingly, only 19 terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers on 9/11, killed around 3,000 people, inflicting a loss of more than a trillion dollars to American economy; and al Qaeda spent less than $500,000 for the attacks. The punch line is 20 terrorists can kill 20,000.

Global CT operators have learnt that there are three different types of politically inspired violence: a) terrorism b) insurgency and c) insurgent-terrorism. The fine line between terrorism and insurgency often remains blurred. While al Qaeda is primarily terroristic, the ISIS champions global insurgencies against all governments across the world. Hence it’s the most dangerous destabilizing force in the world.

As terrorism is often part of broader insurgencies – the terrorist JMB in Bangladesh is a surrogate to the global insurgency called ISIS –

CT operators must apply counterinsurgency (COIN) methods as well. David Galula, the guru of COIN operators in the world (although this French expert came from the losing side of the War in Algeria), believes CT-COIN is “eighty percent political, and twenty percent military”. CT-COIN operators in Bangladesh must apply the concerted civil, military, paramilitary, political, economic, and psychological forces to counter terrorism.

Then again, CT-COIN operators mustn’t follow security studies manuals, blindly. One military historian has pointed out, most CT-COIN operations have failed to achieve anything as the losing side has written “99 percent” of their manuals. Hence the desirability of innovation or creativity! Again civil-military cooperation is an essential pre-condition for the success of any CT-COIN operation, so goes General David Petraeus’s Counterinsurgency Field Manual.

The line between terrorists and insurgents is getting blurred, very fast. In countries where terrorists and insurgents come from the main stream of the populations, there’s no guarantee about the success of any CT-COIN operations in those places. There’s no alternative to addressing the socio-political, and economic issues to resolve the problem of terrorism-insurgency in those countries. We know terrorism isn’t a law-andorder problem, and as such there’s no quick fix or police and military solutions to the problem. However, this information is a bitter pill to swallow for most government agencies in Bangladesh, and elsewhere.

Another stumbling bloc to successful CT-COIN operation is some politicians’ and law-enforcers’ disrespect for human rights, human dignity, and privacy of suspects having links with terrorists and insurgents

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in general. They simply don’t understand extrajudicial killings of suspects and criminals – through the proverbial “encounter” or “cross-fire” – further aggravate the problem of terrorism-insurgency.

To conclude, Bangladesh should use the globally recognised CT-COIN Manual, for example the one developed by the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), which is all about intrastate and interstate cooperation to contain and defeat terrorist-insurgencies in various countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh. While the Comprehensive Security Response to Terrorism (CSRT) method stresses the importance of intrastate civilmilitary and inter-agency cooperation, including intelligence sharing, the Advanced Security Cooperation (ASC) suggests interstate cooperation among civil-military and intelligence agencies at the international level.

Again, both the CSRT and ASC methods stress the importance of good governance, democracy, and respect for human rights as antidotes to terrorism and insurgency.

CT-COIN operators in Bangladesh should learn, there’s no substitute for good governance, which is transparent and accountable, and ensures democracy, the freedom of expression, human rights and dignity.

In sum, there’s no police or military solution to the problem of terrorism and insurgency.

The writer teaches security studies at Austin Peay State University in the US. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Global Jihad and America: The Hundred-Year War Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan (Sage, 2014). tajhashmi@gmail.com This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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4 Timbarra Crescent, O’Malley ACT 2606 (Australia), Tel: 61-2-62901676, 61-2-62901676, 62902769, 62901879 & 62901031, Fax: 61-262901073 Email: parepcanberra@internode. on.net, Postal Address: PO Box 684, Mawson ACT 2607 (Australia)

Springvale Mosque 68 Garnworthy Street, Springvale

EMERGENCY CONTACTS EMERGENCY CONTACTS Police, Fire & Abulance ........................

Victoria State Emergency Service (SES).......................................

Traffic hazards and freeway conditions..........................

Student Welfare Officer in the Indian Consulate Melbourne Consulate General of India, Melbourne Address: 344, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC – 3000 Phone: 03-96826203 Fax: 03-96968251 Email: cgo@cgimelb.org Website: www.cgimelb.orgExternal website that opens in a new window Contact person for Students welfare: Mr. Nirmal K. Chawdhary Designation: Deputy Consul General Mobile: 0430020828

000 132 500 13 11 70

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Sri Lanka Consulate 32A Brunswick Street ,Walkerville 5081 Melbourne , Phone: 9898-6760, 9248-1228 Email: rodney@techno.net.au

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quick community guide

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contd from previous page Bangladesh High Commission, Canberra 43, Culgoa Circuit, O’Malley, ACT-2606 Canberra, Australia, Ph: (61-2) 6290-0511, (61-2) 6290-0522, (61-2)6290-0533 (Auto hunting).

Fax : (61-2) 6290-0544 E-Mail :hoc@bhcanberra.com

Consulate of Nepal, Melbourne Email: cyonzon@nepalconsulate.net.au Level 7, 28-32 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Ph: (03) 9650 8338 Email: info@nepalconsulate.net.au

TV GUIDE SBS1 – Daily NDTV News - 11:05 am - Monday to Saturday. (From New Delhi, India).

Urdu news SBS1 - PTV News – 9.30 am - Every Sunday – (From Pakistan).

Travel Agents Gaura Travels 1300 FLY INDIA or 1300 359 463 info@gauratravel.com.au Travel House 284 Clayton Road, Clayton 3168 Ph: (03) 95435123, Mobile: 0425803071 mail@travelhouse.com.au

lAWYERS

MLG Lawyers Ronny Randhawa 144 Sydney Road, Coburg Vic Ph 9386 0204 & 138 Walker Street, Dandenong Vic Ph: 9793 9917 Mobile : 0402 256 712 Vera Lawyers Kusum Vaghela Level 1, Suite 2, 373 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong Vic, Mobile: 0433 827 124

SOUTH ASIAN Garments Roshan’s Fashions 68-71 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9792 5688 Raj Rani Creations 83-A Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9794 9398 desi estyle 76 Foster St., Dandenong 3175 (03) 87744853; 0413707685 Heritage India 54-56 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175, Ph: (03) 9791 9227 Site: heritageindia.net.au

DVDs, Music CDs & Film Stuff Baba Home Entertainment 52C Foster St., Dandenong 3175, (03) 97067252

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sizzling movie scene this august and september!

The month starts by returning to 2016 BC and the ancient world of the Indus Valley in the sweeping historical and romantic epic MOHENJO DARO starring Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hedge. Rounding out the month of August is the premiere of MAIN TERI TU

MERA, a Punjabi romance starring Roshan Prince as a man lost in his own fantasy world and Yamini Malhotra as the literal girl of his dreams in a film that will have you questioning what is real and what is not.Starting off in September with a bang comes the action thriller AKIRA

starring Sonakshi Sharma as a young one-woman army sent to Mumbai to finish her education. But once there she becomes involved in a fight for her life against a corrupt police force. On 13 September the delightful romantic comedy JANAAN releases starring Armeena Rana Khan

as a woman who returns to her family in Pakistan after living abroad for 11 years and rediscovers the joy and love she had been missing. Also on the 13 September we have the comedy ACTOR IN LAW starring Fahad Mustafa as an aspiring actor frustrated with the never-ending rejections

MOHENJO DARO

M.S. DHONI

Releasing: 12 August Director:AshutoshGowarikar; Cast: HrithikRoshan, PoojaHegde, KabirBedi, Arunoday Singh & Produced by: SunitaGowarikar & Siddharth Roy Kapoor.

Synopsis: During the Prehistoric Indus Valley, in 2016 BC, the greed of a single man is about to destroy one of the oldest cities in the ancient world, MohenjoDaro.

A young indigo farmer, Sarman, is drawn to the city and meets Chaani, predicted to be the origin of a new society, the daughter of the Priest who rules the city with an iron fist. Sarman, in his attempt to win Chaani’s love, uncovers the secrets nobody was ever supposed to know - about Chaani, about MohenjoDaro and about his own past. MOHENJO DARO is a story of an ancient love and our past, present and future!

Releasing: 30th September Director: NeerajPandey; Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, KiaraAdvani, HerryTangri, BhoomikaChawla & Produced by: ArunPandey.

Synopsis: From the dusty roads of Ranchi, right down to the sacred stadium grounds of the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story chronicles the journey of a man who India has come to see as the one who shaped the collective dreams of a billion countrymen – and the world has come to revere and applaud as a master cricketer, and a true gentleman of the game.

ALL INFO AT - www. mindblowingfilms.com Source: Mind Blowing Films, Melbourne

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and false starts of his career.

To finish off the month not to be missed is the amazing true story of a national hero in M.S. DHONI, starring Sushant Singh Rajput as the legendary cricketing icon.

Also, IFFM2016 dates are 1121st August, the website is www.iffm.com.au

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JANAAN Releasing: 13th September Director: AzfarJafri; Cast:Armeena Khan, Bilal Ashraf, Ali Rehman Khan, Mishi Khan & Produced by: HareemFarooq, Reham Khan.

Synopsis: After living in Canada for 11 years following the death of her mother, Meena (ArmeenaRana Khan) returns home to Swat, Pakistan, for her cousin’s wedding.

Initially apprehensive of returning to a family she had since abandoned, Meena finds herself missing her

homeland andthe unconditional love that awaits her. Upon returning home, Meena finds that her family is secretly attempting to arrange a marriage with eitherDaniyal (Ali Rehman Khan), a charming and attractive rogue, or Asfandyar, a blunt school teacher for the underprivileged with whom Meena instantly dislikes. In the months leading up to her cousins wedding, Meena learns to love her home and family again as she rediscovers the joy she had previously thought missing from her life.

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ACTOR IN LAW Releasing: 13th September 2016 Director: NabeelQureshi;Cast: Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, OmPuri & Produced by: Fizza A. Meerza.

Synopsis: An aspiring actor, possessed by his passion to become a superstar actor, becomes frustrated with his never-ending rejections because of his dark skin. Desperately holding onto his

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dream, he begins on a fantastical journey to change the system that will not accept him. Gaining fame and support from across the nation, he gets caught up in a situation far bigger than his own dreams and must rely on his aging father, who disapproves of his son’s dreams fame and stardom, to help him.

Together on this journey they rediscover their own bond while inspiring all those who are different to stand proud.

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MAIN TERI TU MERA

Releasing: 19 August

Director: KsshitijChaudhary; Cast: MankirtAulakh, Jazz Kaur, YaminiMalhotra, KaramjitAnmol, Mannat Singh; Produced by: SangheraGurjit ,Lakhveer Singh, Azad &amp, Yabblee Entertainment & Story is by Pali Bhupinder Singh.

Synopsis: Amru is a dreamer. He spends his days in the small Punjabi village he and his poor family call home dreaming of the life he would rather lead. In this fantasy world he builds around him to escape the dreary reality of his village, he meets the beautiful Simran, the perfect, modern woman who loves Amru despite his low status. Day after day Amru returns to Simran in his dreams as their love grows

into the perfect fairy tale that he has always wanted. Until one day when Simran joins Amru in the real world. Appearing randomly in his village, Simran turns Amru’s life upside down, introducing herself as his loving wife and being more perfect than even he could have ever imagined. Amru cannot believe his luck. His dreams have come true and for the first time in his life he is truly happy. For the first time he does not wish to escape. Yet no matter how perfect Simran is, Amru cannot ignore reality forever as the mystery of who or what this girl is slowly comes together before him.

As the line between dream and reality blur together, Amru must face the truth that there is no such thing as perfection or else he risks losing himself inside his fantasy forever.

AKIRA

Releasing: 2nd September

Director: A.R Murugadoss; Cast: SonakshiSinha, AmitSadh, AnuragKashyap, KonkanaSen Sharma & Produced by: ArmitChhabra, A.R Murugadoss, SheelNimbalkar.

Trailer: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=QsCkty3mpg0 Synopsis: Travelling from her home in Jodhpur to attend university in Mumbai, Akira (SonakshiSinha) is a young woman just hoping to keep her head down, her grades up and her family happy.

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However there is more to Akira than meets the eye as she begins to show skills and a fury far beyond that of your average girl. Drawing attention from all the wrong people, Akira’s life quickly spirals out of control as she becomes hounded on all sides by a corrupt police force and a criminal empire. Caught in the crossfire with something that both sides want, Akira is forced into a corner with no answers why and no one to rely on. Stumbling through a conspiracy she can barely comprehend and with wider implications for all of Mumbai, Akira’s only option is to fight and survive, whatever the cost.

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