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The South Asian Times NEW YORK EDITION

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Vol. 4 | No. 37 | January 7-13, 2012 | 60 Cents

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It is a matter of pride for India and Indians everywhere that Kalyan Banerjee, a businessman from Vapi, Gujarat, is serving as the 2011-12 President of Rotary International. Having served this veritable ‘United Nations of non-profit organizations’ for four decades with distinction, he has become the third Indian to lead Rotary International in its 106 years of history at a time when due to Rotary’s persistent Polio Plus campaign since 1988, the world has come ‘this close’ to rooting out the crippling disease afflicting children.

Man of the

Year 2011

Kalyan Banerjee President, Rotary International See pages 6-15 for an exclusive interview with him and focus on Rotary movement.

The world in frames 34

Chalo Punjab Campaign 35

Annual Predictions 74

Spiritual Awareness 78

NEW YORK EDITION Vol.4 No.37 January 7-13, 2012 60 Cents Will Obama be re-elected President?

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Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2011

The rise of the fifth estate

Reign of the bold, beautiful and the tough

People, Page 55

Social Media, Page 61

Bollywood, Page 67

PBD kicks off with focus on inclusive growth and youth Jaipur: India's annual conclave to connect with its 30 million diaspora in some 130 countries kicked off Saturday in this Pink City, with the focus this time on inclusive growth and the youth.

The organizers, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, were expecting more than 1,300 delegates from 54 countries to participate in the three-day event, called the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), the 10th edition thus far hosted by the Indian government.

"The main thrust of the event is to find ways and means on how to make the younger generation of people of Indian origin understand India. We will discuss this at length at the meet," Minister of Overseas

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Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar will be the chief guest at the 10th edition of the conclave with the theme "Global Indian -- Inclusive Growth".

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will deliver the inaugural address here Sunday, while President Pratibha Patil will deliver the valedictory address and also confer the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awards a day after.

"The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year to mark the contribution of overseas Indian community in development of India. It is a pride, privilege for Continued on page 4

President Banerjee gets Rotary to use social media for growth The South Asian Times Person of the Year 2011, Kalyan Banerjee, President (2011-12) of Rotary International, gave an exclusive interview to this paper at Rotary Headquarter in Chicago.

By Parveen Chopra ByChicago: Keenly aware that Rotary is seen as an organization of the old people-- in the West at least -- and losing members, RI President Kalyan Banerjee is leading the organization to try to connect with the youth again. Harnessing the social media is part of the move to mend matters. The

legacy of his presidency he wants to leave is “having raised Rotary to the 21st century level so people come to Rotary."

In India, of course, Rotary is growing and attracting young people.

Banerjee’s presidency is bound to give a further impetus and standing to the movement there, Continued on page 4

How Jaipur prepared to host PBD-2012

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting his counterpart from Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi Jan 6, 2012. Smt. Gursharan Kaur and Dr. Gregory Bissessar are also seen. Persad-Bissessar is chief guest at the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Jaipur.

Jaipur: Preparations were in full swing in this Rajasthan capital for the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) diaspora conclave Jan 7-9.

PBD-2012 will see participation of President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, several union ministers and chief ministers and some 1,300 NRIs from 54

countries across the globe.

At a high-level review meeting, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot directed the officials to expedite the pending works. He wanted important monuments and government buildings in the city to be lit up during the PBD. A control room has been opened at the Birla Auditorium which will

operate round the clock for the guests. He also asked police to make arrangements for swift flow of traffic during the event.

The beautification work of the Rajasthan capital, known as the Pink City globally, is in full throttle.

Various bodies in the city, Continued on page 4

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Community

January 7-13, 2012

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The Editor picks a Pic

This photograph has intensity, emotion, drama and suspense about a calamitous event. You would have seen it before. At the White House President Obama watches on live video the Navy Seals mission to fish out Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan unfold along with Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, alongside other Security staff, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, and Counter-Terrorism chief John Brennan.

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Cleanup bid for PBD washes colour off Hawa Mahal?

Jaipur: An effort to clean the famous Hawa Mahal ahead of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)2012 here may have left the 18th century 'Palace of Winds' with colourless patches and also damaged some of its outer surface, archaeological sources said Friday.

Apparently over-enthusiastic to clean the city ahead of the PBD, the civic authorities here washed the pink coloured Hawa Mahal using the fire brigade's water pressure hoses, the sources said.

The action on the outer surface,

carried out to remove dust and grime from the building, has left several patches on the monument with faded color and damaged parts of it, the sources said.

Experts are saying the action was unwarranted and the cleaning was carried out without any care and supervision.The city is being cleaned ahead of the PBD being organised here Jan 7-9. "During a visit to tourist spots in the city a couple of days ago, Rajasthan Tourism Minister Bina Kak had expressed dissatisfaction over the sanitation work at Hawa Mahal.

PBD Story Continued from page 3 Jaipur, the Pink City, to host this convention," Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said.

"We eagerly look forward to welcoming the illustrious sons and daughters of our great nation."

The Rajasthan government, this year's co-hosts, said major efforts have been made to beautify the city, including the sprucing up of its world famous monuments. The state's handicraft emporium Rajasthali has announced a 10-percent discount for delegates.

Keynote speakers from the federal government include Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Road Transport Minister C.P. Joshi and Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan. Besides, Rajasthan Governor Shivraj Patil will speak about the message of Mahatma Gandhi.

Also participating are a host of chief ministers -- Goa's Digambar Kamat, Gujarat's Narendra Modi, Jharkand's Arjun Munda, Kerala's Oommen Chandy and Madhya Pradesh's Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The timing of the PBD has been so chosen to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi, India's bestknown Pravasi and Father of the Nation, from South Africa on January 9, 1915.

PBD JaipurStory Continued from page 3 including the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC), are working day and night to make the city look lavish and clean. A JMC official said wall paintings and lighting on government buildings have been completed and few small things will be finished by Friday.

Meanwhile, an official of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the PBD's organizing partner, said that sessions on issues like

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water, solar energy and gender issues will be organized from Jan 7 to Jan 9 at Birla Auditorium here.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made keeping in view of the visit of several VVIPs. Manmohan Singh, Gehlot and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi will address the inaugural session followed by the keynote sessions by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Person of the year Story Continued from page3 prominent Indian Rotarians said, adding that Banerjee's ascension is matter of pride for all Indians and India. Banerjee, a businessman fromVapi in Gujarat, is a pioneer of polio eradication. The global PolioPlus campaign has made Rotary very visible. In India no case has been reported for almost a year. “Today PolioPlus has taught us to have a bigger impact in the world,” Banerjee says.

He may be heading the biggest service organizaion in the world, but he tapped his inner core and Indian ethos to come up with the Rotary theme of 2011-11: 'Reach Within to Embrace Humanity', pictured into a beautiful logo by artists.

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“WORD PEACE IS POSSIBLE THROUGH DEVELOPMENT” -KALYAN BANERJEE

By Parveen Chopra t was difficult to get an appointment with Kalyan Banerjee due to the hectic travel schedule a Rotary President has to follow. But, through the good offices of Past Dist Governor, Ravi Bhooplapur, SATimes got an appointment recently.

Once we meet him in his chambers on the top floor of the Rotary Headquarters in Chicago, we are put at ease. He talks fluently, simply, meaningfully. Excerpts from the interview where he reflects on what his presidency means for India, what he intends to do to see Rotary grow, and what Rotary can do to bring down hostilities between cultures and countries:

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How do you perceive Rotary as an organization?

RI President Kalyan Banerjee: Rotary is the world’s largest service organization spread in 200 countries with 1.24 million members. Diversity is very great and because of our involvement in things like polio it is becoming increasingly wellknown and people and groups are beginning to seek Rotary partnership. Rotarians are persons of influence and reach in every community and they are the the movers and shakers of society and so when they get involved they are able to connect with great depth. The Rotarians are from various fields and vocations, industrialists, lawyers, doctors, religious people. Rotary is not a religious organization but all religions are important, equally significant, regardless of who you are.

In fact, we were the organization which first took up the task of polio eradication, and were followed by UNICEF and government organizations. Bill Gates has given us $350 million dollars and continues to give. The time and effort Rotarians have spent on immunizing children in countries like India and Nigeria has been immense. In India there is almost no polio case for last 11 months.

Rotary has been involved in other things like we give the largest number of international scholarships every year— peace scholarships—for people at six selected universities, programs that enhance peace. How to enhance peace?

One is through development. Second is through discussions and meetings, associations rather than taking drastic action.

Third is through enhancing trade, commerce, promoting friendship and cooperation. When people come together like USA and China, a relationship is formed.

In America everything you come across is made in China. When people come together, one is a seller one is a customer, the relationship is something different. Before they do anything else they’d think of the economic aspect of it. India and Pakistan are also getting together in so many ways trade, sports. Pakistani children come to Indian hospitals and Rotarian gets free operations done for them and bear the

cost. I like to tell the story of a Pakistani boy who said after the operation and recovery that Pakistan gave him birth but India gave me a new life. He said “India Zindabad and Pakistan Zindabad”. Forces of peace today are becoming stronger.

Human development is only possible when there is peace. Look at it the other way, if you do human development, hopefully peace will follow. That is what Rotary is trying to do - human development to promote peace.

What does it feel to be the President of such an international organization like Rotary?

RI President: Most of the time I don’t think about it, if you think you can go crazy. It is a great honor to be the President and a responsibility. I hope and pray that I measure up to the task and leave with satisfaction having raised Rotary to the next level, to the 21st century level so that people come to Rotary as the world’s most favored NGO, the most sought after NGO, most reliable, dependable organization. It is, of course, an ongoing process, and not a project that can be finished in a year. We are doing polio eradication, but take the problem of water, that cannot be solved in a year. I am not saying that everyone should be educated, but I say at least start the process.

What does it mean for India and Indians that you have become Rotary President?

RI President: Rotarians in India are happy, they are charged, highly motivated.

I am a president from India after 20 years.

In the lifetime of many Rotarians it would the first time that an Indian is president.

So they are very happy. It is a matter of pride.

The 2011-12 theme you gave—‘Reach Within to Embrace Humanity’- for Rotary has something to do with Indian

RI President-elect Kalyan Banerjee reveals the 2011-12 RI theme during the opening plenary session of the 2011 International Assembly, 17 January 2011, San Diego, California, USA. philosophy. So what Indian values or ethos are you instilling in Rotary?

RI President: You cannot bring in any particular ethos, one should not try. Let us not forget that Rotary is an international organization—different religions, different cultures, different thought processes. But basically you are right, it is an Indian theme, an Indian philosophical theme, it comes from our culture. But how it connected with people I cannot really imagine. As Gandhiji said you be the change you want to see in the world. If you want to reform the world, to love all, learn to love yourself. You have to start with your neighbors first. In English there is a saying that it is easy to love the whole wide world, it is only the fellow next door who is a problem. Still narrow focus, start with loving your family, and start with yourself. One has to know what one’s goal in life is and what has an individual done to make your life meaningful, and life of oth-

ers happy. If you reach within yourself, if you understand yourself better you are better able to accept others, embrace others in the sense that everyone then becomes your brother.

From Indian culture and religion, any particular people influenced you-Gandhi, Vivekananda and whether you follow any particular branch of religion or philosophy?

RI President: We have been associated with Ramakrishna Mission, and believe in his teachings and from then on to Swami Vivekananda. Same as Gandhi said, you can make all the difference. The power of the world comes from the individual and the power of individual comes from your your own mind.

You can be whatever you want to be.

That is what our philosophy says. I am a god believing man, not a god fearing man.

One should live according to certain principles and things work out.

I heard an Indian guru say that the purpose of life is to serve others…

Bill Gates, a big donor to Rotary, greeting Kalyan Banerjee and others at the RI Convention on May 24, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

RI President: Yes, at the end of the day, you really think, you are born, you grow up, you live, you work, you die. Rotarians make a lot of money, but why we are Rotarians is because we get pleasure out of giving the money, utilizing the money, helping others. That is what makes Rotary different. A person was asked what he was worth and he said one million dollars.

“Only one million, but you are a billionaire.” he was told. He replied, “Sure I may have a billion dollars but I donate only one million and so that is my worth.”

Whatever time, money, effort you spend in looking after others measures you, who you are.

Continued on page 7

January 7-13, 2012

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Continued from page 6 During your presidential term, which initiatives you are taking to take Rotary further?

RI President: You have to look at the next generation of Rotary. Different kind of projects one can do of course. I tell people to do whatever is suitable in your area. Some are working for clean and safe water, in some areas they are working for AIDS, for literacy.

Knowledge is very important for development of a nation. Nani Palkhivala once said, ‘if a nation wants to be ignorant and free, that never was and never will be’. A big flaw in India is illiteracy, more than 40% illiteracy, and that is a lot of people. Rotary is trying to work with the government in a country like India, trying to provide public private partnership to bring about literacy. That is a way for us to move forward in such developing countries.

Rotary is considered to be an organization of old people, particularly in America. In India we have young Rotarians. In America we tell the young people they may be very busy but they can spar a couple of hours in a day for social service. Change is taking place and young people are coming to Rotary in America. Connectivity, and connectivity in family is important, which is missing here.

Mother Teresa said parents and children don’t get along and in the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world. If family is not peaceful than how will a nation be peaceful?

So Rotarians age is growing and numbers falling…

RI President: In this part of the world, yes. Not in India. India and Asia are growing because Asia is newly emerging part of the world. If you don’t connect with younger people today the tomorrow it will be too late.

They will not come back to you.

So how do you increase the membership?

RI President: If Rotary does work…

Earlier we looked ourselves as a community based organization. Today PolioPlus has taught us that we can have a huge impact through the world. So if you look at bigger

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issues, instead of building a school in your own community, communities can come together to raise the education level. Then, not only a community, the country changes.

So that is how we should think. We are the most important people in a community, but if important people in different communities get together, all communities coming together make a country and countries getting together to make the world. That is what the trend in Rotary is.

What can Rotary do to decrease the hostility between the Muslim and nonMuslim worlds?

RI President: Rotary does exist in many Muslim countries like Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia. But not in Middle East due to their social structure. Change is happening now. Rotary is now in Egypt, Dubai, Abu Dhabi. We are trying to bring them all together . Through the years lot of mistrust came down because of political background.

Rotary is the best way to remove the mistrust. For one, if we can solve the water problem in the Arab world, peace will prevail there.

In China also Rotary has not made

RI President-elect Kalyan Banerjee calls to order the fourth plenary session on 18 January during the 2011 International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA. countries.

How many languages you speak?

RI President: Not too many. Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and of course English.

Where in India was your upbringing?

BANERJEE’S VISON FOR GENERATION NEXT s we focus on our strategic plan and Future Vision, I believe it is time for us to move into a future-forward mode — not just in the next year but in the next decade and beyond.

These are exciting times, changing times, and times when we keep our feet firmly on the ground, anchored

A

headway, so what is the basic requirement for Rotary to flourish?

RI President: Free economy, free thinking, freedom of speech, of association. Basic freedoms are required.

Ideology-wise where does Rotary stand?

RI President: Doing good to others.

Peace. Peace through development and progress in today’s world. Ideology is to help people. Somebody has said, if people get together, so too will nations. We are trying to bring people together.

I believe a Rotary president has to travel a lot.

RI President: In a given year, 50 to 60

From left: Rotary General Secretary John Hewko, RI President Kalyan Banerjee, and Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Bill Boyd. .

in our core values, but look beyond the far horizon. And as our Generation Next connects through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and iPhones, I believe the time has come to join hands, urge them forward, and go ahead developing our own Rotary social network, as we hope to do in the coming months.

RI President: I was born in Calcutta, studied in Gwalior and lived in Vapi, Gujarat.

What about your children?

RI President: I have one son who is chemical engineer, married to a Thai girl in Australia. He has two grandchildren.

Daughter is settled in Saudi Arabia and has Canadian citizenship.

How do you manage your Rotary activities along with your company?

RI President: All my board members are very co-operative. I am 69 and the company is already being run by young generations.

We go to board meetings if we are useful in getting some work done!.

John Osterlund, General manager, Rotary Foundation

How do you think India is faring in terms of development and progress?

RI President: India has done well but in last few years has got bogged down. We are shooting ourselves in the foot. India needs to be run by capable people. Technocrats instead of bureaucrats. We damage ourselves all the time. We should soar like an eagle instead of flying like a pigeon.

In a speech once you pinpointed a current problem - moral evasion?

RI President: Moral evasion… yes, we should call a spade a spade, talk about what is bothering one. People have problems but how much time they can take out for others.

If you throw the dust out of the door and close your door, the dust will come back through the window. You have to reach far out to keep cleanliness. If you help your neighbor’s boat across the water then your boat will also reach the shore. There are a lot of things going on in India and that is why Anna Hazare is coming out.

Which world leaders have influenced you?

RI President: Albert Schweitzer, Gandhi, who gave their life for humanity. Nelson Mandela is another example who changed South Africa. Mother Teresa gave up everything to help the world.

You are a great orator and an inspiration speaker…

I think you can reach out to people with simple thoughts, if you live a simple life of honesty and integrity. I read well. Economist, India today, I stay connected with Indian news papers, I read Gandhiji’s autobiography.

Peter DeBerge, RI Deputy General Secretary

January 7-13, 2012

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Fulsome praise from ROTARIAN leaders

Kalyan is like a younger brother to me.

He is an outstanding person. Basically he a chemical engineer and how to work on chemistry of people. His management and corporate experience puts him in a class apart.

Rajendra Saboo,

Rotary International President (1991-92)

Passionate, powerful, caring, sincere.

John Osterland,

Rotary Foundation General Manager

I have known President Kalyan for many years. He has been committed to becoming the best communicator he can be, not only because his leadership responsibilities demanded it, but also because he wanted it for himself.

He responded to the demands of a new position whenever it came to him. He understood that to be an effective leader he has to be more in touch with who he is and how he wants to serve the community. This has reflected in his theme for Rotary International during the year 2011-12 which is ‘Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.’ He has reached the pinnacle of Rotary because he knows that really important things in life come through long-term commitment and the rewards are as much in the journey as in the destination.

Ashok Mahajan,

Trustee, Rotary Foundation

He has left a lasting impression on me for being compassionate, sincere, committed and above all humble. These qualities have taken him all the way to the top leadership position.

Y.P. Das,

RI Director

Official group photo of the 2011-12 Directors of the Board of Rotary International with Banerjee seated in the middle.

Directors from India Shekhar Mehta and Y.P. Das are on extreme left and extreme right respectively.

President Banerjee is an amazing personality, fully devoted to the community service and has a tremendous capacity to travel and find time wherever Rotary needs him. After a full day of travel and Rotary activities, he still finds time to prepare his speech for the next event. His oratory is par excellence.

Sushil Gupta,

Past RI Director

The very first impression Kalyan Banerjee left me with was that of a man with tremendous energy, great passion for Rotary and a diehard optimist. His grassroots approach towards service activities, his tenacity towards anything that he perceives, and of course the most importantly it is his humility that has taken him to where he is.

Kalyan Banerjee’s becoming President is of course one of the significant events for the Rotary movement in India in recent times. This will give a major fillip to every aspect of Rotary in India. Rotary in India is passing through a golden period and I can say the best is yet to come.

Past Governor, Dist 7250

alyan Banerjee is chair of United Phosphorus, Bangladesh, and a director of United Phosphorus Ltd., one of the largest manufacturers of agrochemicals in India, and Uniphos Agro Industries Ltd. Born in Kolkata in 1942, he earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1964.

committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee (200809), Reach Out to Africa Ad-Hoc Executive Committee (2009-10), Leadership Development and Training Committee (2009-10), Permanent Fund Committee for India (2008-09), and the Child Mortality Emphasis Coordinating Team (2008-09).

Shekhar Mehta, RI Director

President Kalyan has had humble beginnings, and he still remains down to earth, without ego. I have known him since my Rotary days in India. He is a motivating factor for me. I want to be like him. It is great to work with him. When we established two new clubs in Long Island, he flew down just for 12 hours to USA for the charter ceremony.

I personally appreciate his energy, encouragement and enthusiasm. It is great for our people to have him as the third president of the largest philanthropic, non-governmental organization in the world. He is a pioneer of polio eradication and thus a symbol of recognition of Rotary in India. The credit for what he has achieved also goes to his family. He has enjoyed 100 percent support and commitment from his wife, Binota.

Ravi Bhooplapur,

K

A higher profile

Kalyan Banerjee with wifeBinota in the President’s chambers on the top floor of the Rotary Headquartersin Evanston, IL.

An album photo of Kalyan Banerjee with other Rotary leaders in India.

He is a resident of Vapi, Gujarat, where he has contributed significantly to its development as one of the largest industrial estates in India, helping to provide infrastructure for health care and education.

Banerjee has been a member of the Rotary Club of Vapi since 1972. He served as club president in 1975-76 and district governor in 1980-81.

He began his international service to Rotary in 1995, with his appointment to the RI Board of Directors.

He has gone on to serve as general coordinator of the Poverty and Hunger Alleviation Task Force (1997-98), trustee of The Rotary Foundation (2001-05), and chair of the Southeast Asia PolioPlus Committee (2009-10).

He has served on numerous other

Banerjee is also active in many other organizations, including the American Chemical Society, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Senate of the Vishva-Bharati University. He has served twice as president of Vapi Industries Association and is a past chair of the Gujarat Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry. In addition, he is a trustee for the Jai Research Foundation.

Kalyan Banerjee is married to Binota, a social worker, and they have two children and four grandchildren.

Vapi, Gujarat, India District Governor, 1980-81 Director, Rotary International, 1995-97 Trustee, The Rotary Foundation, 2001-05 Chair, Rotarian Action Groups Committee, 2008-09 President, Rotary International, 2011-12

Congratulations to The South Asian Times

Person of the Year 2011

Kalyan Banerjee President Rotary International

Accepting Applications for MD Admissions

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January 7-13, 2012

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STATELY - GRACIOUS PLAYFUL – PHILOSOPHICAL…

Kalyan Banerjee and wife Binota enjoying the Fellowship Dinner and Dance on 18 January at the 2011 International Assembly in San Diego.

2011-12 RI President, Kalyan Banerjee speaks at the "On to Bangkok Luncheon" during RI Convention, 25 May 2011, New Orleans, Louisiana. RI’s next annual convention is at Bangkok, Thailand, May 6-9, 2012.

You will run out of adjectives describing Kalyan Banerjee, who, in becoming Rotary International President, has reached the apogee of a successful, full, fulfilled life. Yet, at the age of 70, he is traveling the world with vim and vigor, directing a service organization that has 1.2 million members and 34,000 clubs in virtually every nation of the world

Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, Kalyan Banerjee and spouse Binota, and RI President Ray Klinginsmith and spouse Judy greet Grand March participants as they parade into the International Fellowship Dinner and Dance.

International Assembly, 18 January 2011, San Diego, California.

RI President Kalyan Banerjee and his wife, Binota, greet Pope Benedict XVI during their visit to Rome 12 October, 2011.

Aide to the RI President-elect Julio Sorjús, RI President-elect Kalyan Banerjee, Moderator Monty Audenart, RI President Ray Klinginsmith, and Rotarian Coordinator Duane Sterling conclude the flag ceremony during the Opening Plenary Session of the 2011 International Assembly, 17 January 2011, San Diego, California.

As RI President-Elect, Kalyan Banerjee flew down only for a few hours to charter two South Asian dominated clubs in December 2009. The Hicksville South Club (Charter President Kamlesh Mehta) and Jericho Sunrise Club (Charter President Vimi Sikka) took off with the efforts of Ravi Bhooplapur, past Dist. Governor 7250.

Kalyan Banerjee and President, Kalyan Banerjee wife are joined by RI called on Indian Ambassador Past President Rajendra to the US, Nirupama Rao in Saboo and other senior Washington DC in November leaders from India and 1. He was accompanied by their spouses at the his wife, Binota, Kamlesh International Festival Mehta,Charter President of Talent Night at the Hicksville South Club, and International Assembly Ravi Bhooplapur, Past in San Diego in January Governor of District 7250.

2011.

January 7-13, 2012

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IT ALL BEGAN IN CHICAGO…

With humble beginnings as the world’s first service club, Rotary has grown into the world’s largest service organization.

National flags being displayed at a foyer in Rotary HQ.

Rotary founder Paul Harris’s original office has been recreated in a room at the Rotary headquarters in Chicago. t all started in Chicago where the world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago, was formed on in February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.

Rotary's popularity spread, and within a decade, clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York to Winnipeg, Canada. By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents. The organization adopted the Rotary International name a year later.

As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving club members’ professional and social interests. Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need.

The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: Service Above Self.

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By July 1925, Rotary had grown to more than 2,000 clubs and an estimated 108,000 members. The organization's distinguished reputation attracted presidents, prime ministers, and a host of other luminaries to its ranks — among them author Thomas Mann, diplomat Carlos P. Romulo, humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, and composer Jean Sibelius.

In 1932, Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor created The Four-Way Test, a code of ethics adopted by Rotary 11 years later. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages.

During World War II, many clubs were forced to disband, while others stepped up their service efforts to provide emergency relief to victims of the war. In 1942, looking ahead to the postwar era, Rotarians called for a conference to promote international educational and cultural exchanges.

This event inspired the founding of UNESCO. In 1945, 49 Rotary club members served

in 29 delegations to the UN Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and covering the United Nations in its publications.

"Few there are who do not recognize the good work which is done by Rotary clubs throughout the free world," former Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain once declared.

As it approached the 21st century, Rotary worked to meet society’s changing needs, expanding its service efforts to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk.

In 1989, the organization voted to admit women into clubs worldwide. Today, women are an integral part of Rotary's membership.

After the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

The first Russian Rotary club was chartered in 1990, and the organization underwent a growth spurt for the next several years.

More than a century after Paul Harris and his colleagues chartered the club that eventually led to Rotary International, Rotarians continue to take pride in their history. In honor of that first club, Rotarians have preserved its original meeting place, Room 711 in Chicago’s Unity Building, by re-creating the office as it existed in 1905. For several years, the Paul Harris 711 Club maintained the room as a shrine for visiting Rotarians.

In 1989, when the building was scheduled to be demolished, the club carefully dismantled the office and salvaged the interior, including doors and radiators. In 1993, the RI Board of Directors set aside a permanent home for the restored Room 711 on the 16th floor of RI World Headquarters in nearby Evanston.

Today, 1.2 million Rotarians belong to over 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

BUT WHAT DOES ROTARY DO? otary International is a volunteer organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotary club members belonging to 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary celebrated 100 years of service in 2005. The Rotary Foundation has awarded more than US$2.1 billion in grants, which are administered at the local level by Rotary clubs.

Rotary clubs exist to improve communities through a range of humanitarian, intercultural and educational activities. Rotary also encourages high ethical standards in all vocations.

Rotary clubs address critical issues at home and abroad by pro-

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Southeast Portland Rotary's members with other volunteers traveled to the village of Santa Clara in El Salvador to drill a well and bring fresh water to the community for the first time in 2009. viding health care and medical supplies, clean water, food, job training, youth development, and education to millions of people in need. Examples of Rotary’s focus areas include: Polio Eradication - In 1985, Rotary International created PolioPlus – a program to immu-

nize all the world’s children against polio. To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1 billion and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries.

Rotary is currently working to raise an additional $200 million toward a $355 million challenge grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. These efforts are providing much needed polio vaccine, operational support, medical personnel, laboratory equipment and educational materials for health workers and parents. In addition, Rotary has played a major role in decisions by donor governments to contribute over $6 billion to the effort. Rotary volunteers work in cooperation with the national health ministries, WHO, UNICEF, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Peace effort: In an effort to educate tomorrow’s peacemakers and ambassadors, up to 110 Rotary World Peace Fellows are sponsored each year to study at one of the eight universities for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution.

International Education: Rotary is the world’s largest privatelyfunded source of international scholarships. Each year, about 1,000 university students receive Rotary scholarships to study abroad. Rotary clubs also coordinate a high schoolage student exchange program that has sent nearly 8,000 students abroad for three months to a year.

Humanitarian Projects: Rotary clubs initiate thousands of humanitarian service projects every year.

These volunteerdriven projects address the root causes of conflict, such as hunger, poverty, disease

and illiteracy.

Literacy: Rotary clubs work to improve literacy rates worldwide.

Water Management: Recognizing the importance of clean water, many Rotary clubs help to install wells and develop water treatment and distribution systems to increase availability of potable water.

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The India factor in Rotary’s growth

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itish C. Laharry, who served as 1962-63 RI President and become the first Indian Rotarian to rise to that venerable position, was a member of the Calcutta Rotary Club.

Coincidentally, the Calcutta Club was the first Rotary chartered in India on 1 January 1920. Today, more than 3,000 clubs operate throughout the country, including the Rotary Club of Vapi, home to the 2011-12 RI President Kalyan Banerjee.

R.J. Coombes is credited with starting India’s first club. But a Canadian, James Wheeler Davidson is largely responsible for Rotary’s growth in the country. He was a member of the Rotary International committee that explored extending the organization into other countries, and traveled to India and charted two clubs in Calcutta, Lahore (now in Pakistan), Bombay and Delhi and Madras in the late 1920s.

Today, Rotary has grown to include more than 115,000 Indian Rotarians. In addition to Banerjee and Laharry, many Rotary leaders have called the country home, including 1991-92 RI President Rajendra K. Saboo and more than 10 RI directors.

Rotary’s world famous polio eradication campaign, initiated over 20 years ago, brought

The second largest membership of Rotary is in India.

India also is the third biggest contributor to Rotary International. To top that, Rotarians there are coming up with concrete suggestions on how to undertake mega community service projects, ready to lead the venerable organization which is losing appeal in western countries. added attention to India. The wild poliovirus (types 1 and 3) is endemic in only four countries—one of them is India, the others being Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

“My country has benefited greatly from your support and I thank all of you,” said Ghulam Nabi Azad, India’s minister of health and family welfare, speaking to Rotary leaders and staff at RI headquarters in Chicago on 23 September, 2011. He credited Rotary with “not only the mobilization of funds, but the active participation of Rotarians in the field with our operations” for helping India near the goal of polio eradication. With just one case of polio reported in the last 11 months (as against over 500 cases worldwide), India is more determined than ever to ensure eradication of the disease.

“Rotary has invested heavily in surveillance in India over the last 12 months,” said Bruce Aylward, the WHO assistant director-general for polio eradication and related

Legendary Indian actor is one of prominent people all over the world who have featured in ‘ThisClose’ campaign to highlight the fact that a final push – and funding – is required to eradicate polio from the world once for all.

Continues on page 13

January 7-13, 2012

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Continued from page 12 areas, at a September meeting of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. “That’s the reason we can say with confidence that we think we’re getting close to zero [cases] in India.”

Even while membership numbers fall in the western world, and Rotarians’ average age rises, India, and in fact, Asia, is reporting

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

healthy growth. In the last five years the membership in India has grown by 35%, (the second largest in the world after America, and crossing Japan). The contributions to the Rotary Foundation have also grown substantially making it the third largest contributor in the world.

In 2004, Harshad R. Mehta, of the Rotary Club of Bombay Metropolitan, and his wife, Naina, became charter members of the Arch C. Klumph Society. Named after the founder of The Rotary Foundation, the society honors Major Donors who contribute $250,000 or more. (Incidentally, New York based Ravi Bhooplapur, Past District Governor, is also a member of the Arch C. Klumph Society.) In 2006, the Mehtas made a $1 million gift to the Foundation, the first donors from their country to surpass that milestone of support.

Mother Teresa, who attended the RI convention in SauPaulo, Brazil, in 1981, said, “If we really want to love, if we reallywant to live, we must love until it hurts… No Rotarian whose motto is ‘Serviceabove self’ should call himself a Rotarian if he does not make time to serve,if we love we begin to serve.”

Ghulam Nabi Azad, India’s minister of health and family welfare, visited RI Headquarters in Chicago to discuss India’s progress toward polio eradication with Rotary leaders. He is seen here with International PolioPlus Committee Chair Robert Scott, RI President Kalyan Banerjee and Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair William Boyd.

Nitish Lahrry, 1962-63 RI President, was a member of the Calcutta Rotary, the first club chartered in India.

They have also committed to giving $2 million over the next three years to Rotary’s $100 Million Challenge for polio eradication.

Harshad Mehta is chair of the United Arab Emirates operations of Rosy Blue, a familyowned international jewelry business. He believes strongly in giving back locally and in the global community. Of the push to end polio, he says, “We must further strengthen our resolve, as we are so close to the ultimate goal.”

Fellow Indian Rajashree Birla has contributed $300,000 to endow an Ambassadorial Scholarship and support the Annual Programs Fund. During her April induction into the Klumph Society at RI headquarters in Chicago, she made a surprise announcement of an additional $1 million commitment to Rotary’s challenge.

Rajashree and her late husband, Aditya Birla’s son, Kumar Mangalam Birla heads the Aditya Birla Group, a Fortune 500 company. He feels a strong kinship with Rotary and its commitment to community service.

“Rotarians symbolize a culture of giving and caring which is strikingly close to our group’s philosophy,” Birla says.

At Birla’s encouragement in last May, Usha Mittal, wife of Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate, generously responded with a $1 million contribution to the Rotary challenge.

Having seen and steered a massive project like PolioPlus, Rotarians in India are raring to go and coming up with concrete suggestions on how to undertake mega community service projects, and getting ready to lead the venerable organization which is losing appeal elsewhere.

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PROMINENT INDIAN ROTARIANS

They spoke to SATimes from India asserting that Kalyan Banerjee’s ascension in Rotary will further boost the thriving movement in the country. They also speculated on the chances of a fourth Rotary International President coming from India within the next decade.

Rajendra Saboo

Ashok Mahajan

Past President Rotary International

Trustee, Rotary Foundation

ajendra Saboo, who became the second RI President from India 20 years ago, cautions that you do not aspire for a position in Rotary, nor is there canvassing allowed or competing. “You continue with your dedicated service, and opportunities come.” His own selection as president of RI 20 years ago came as a surprise to him. He took it as an opportunity to come in touch with many more people, touching humanity in fact.

He recalls how he came up with the theme for Rotary in 1991-92. “People started asking me, how can my position at Rotary help India. Reflecting that one has to go beyond one’s community and country, I came up with the theme: ‘Look Beyond Yourself’.”

Compared to his term as President, the Chandigarh based businessman says Rotary’s visibility is much more now, mainly because of the polio eradication program.

“A somewhat slide back is the profile of people becoming members now of what

oday, we are on the verge of eradicating polio from India and probably from the world. At this juncture, it was essential that a person of the stature of Rtn. Kalyan Banerjee led the organization because he has been a crusader in fighting against polio,” opines Ashok Mahajan, Trustee of Rotary Foundation (2009-13), who is also a Member of the International Polio Plus Committee.

He is sanguine about another Indian Rotarian becoming the President in future.

“There are over 116,000 Rotarians in India. If a person has found a way to tap into the needs and desires of these Rotarians, see the vision for Rotary from their perspective and help them to connect with the future of Rotary in a way that is meaningful to them, then that person can also lead the Rotary world in the near future.” Talking about Rotary in India, Mahajan says, “A big movement like this thrives on big ideas.

Rotary in India is refining its message and defining its goals more precisely. Rotarians are coming up with concrete suggestions on how to undertake mega community service projects. Rotary’s future in India and elsewhere will depend on how it holds the imagi-

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Two together: Rajendra Saboo with Kalyan Banerjee, Past and current RI Presidents was considered an elite club once,” Saboo says, but refrains from judging it as good or bad. “It has now become an organization of the middle class and spread to small places,” he adds.

Reflecting on the situation in India, Saboo says that there has to be a linkage between economic growth and ethical standards, something that Rotary provides.

Now 77, he is still chairman of the board of Saboo Business Group that he built, but which is now run by his two sons as he devotes time to his service and philanthropic activities.

Sushil Gupta

Shekhar Mehta

Y.P. Das

Past RI Director

Rl Director

RI Director

alyan Banerjee’s ascension in Rotary will definitely encourage growth in India in numbers as well as contributions to the Rotary Foundation, President of India bestowing 'Padma asserts Sushil Gupta.

“It also improves the Shri' on Sushil Gupta for his contribution to social causes and tourism public image of Rotary trade in India. in India and today, after almost successful Polio Eradication, the Government of India considers Rotary an important partner in health and development related issues,” he elaborates.

Gupta argues that because Rotary is well-entrenched in India, “there is a tremendous potential to grow because of our sheer numbers.” He does acknowledge the challenges of quality membership, but rationalizes that this is a process and in times to come, Rotarians in India will play a key role in the development of the nation.

Gupta is veteran of the hospitality industry. He is CMD of Asian Hotels (West) owning Hyatt Regency in Mumbai. He served as Director on the Board of Rotary Intl in the year 2003-2005 and is currently Chairman, Rotary Intl. New Generations Committee. “I am very involved in water, environmental and health issues,” he adds.

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Rotarian since 1985, he is a member of Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar, and was Governor of District 3291.

Shekhar Mehta has led some of the biggest projects not only in his District but also in other Districts in India. He started the Shelter Kit program which in just one year served six disasters in India—distributing more than 4,000 shelter kits at a cost of Rs.2 crore in eastern and southern states. He has been International Trainer at Anaheim, USA for two consecutive years. He was the Representative of District 3290 (Now 3291) to the Council on Legislation at Chicago in 2004.

Shekhar Mehta is a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and Company Secretary. He is a builder heading the Skyline Group of Companies. His wife Rashi is a past president of the Inner Wheel Club.

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Mahajan helping Governor of Maharashtra K. Sankaranarayanan administer polio drops to a child at Raj Bhavan. Looking on is philanthropist Rajashree Birla, chairperson of Aditya Birla Group. nation of those who want to serve.”

As a Director of Rotary International during 2007-2009 and as a Trustee now, “I know I am up there as the leader of a lot of partners. I am there as their representative. If the partners think that they would be glad if I was the leader at a given moment of time I will strive to leave a legacy of progress,” he says about his own dedication to the movement. His job as Trustee is to motivate the District leaders and grassroots Rotarians in his area to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation.

Mahajan is an electrical engineer who set up a manufacturing unit for micro switches.

second generation Rotarian, YP Das says he joined Rotary in 1971 at age 26.

He is a member of the Rotary Club of Ambala and has served YP Das with in Rotary for almost four President Banerjee decades in various capacities at club, district and international level. Currently he serves on the board of RI Directors. Is he aspiring to be RI President? “I will continue to work for the community without any aspirations for any position or recognition,” he says.

Rotary in India, Das reports, is “well entrenched and growing rapidly. In the last five years membership has grown by 35%, becoming the second largest in the world. India is also the third largest contributor to the Rotary Foundation. Thus, sooner or later global dominance will shift from the West to Asia.”

After long gaps in between presidency coming to India thrice so far, Das believes that the fourth Rotary President from India would come in ten years or less. “Which means that Rotary in India is gaining greater significance and recognition throughout the Rotary world,” he says.

Das has a family business of automobile dealership. He has two children and four grandchildren from his marriage.

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Interviews by Parveen Chopra

January 7-13, 2012

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‘I owe my all to Rotary’

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By Parveen Chopra

ecoming Rotarian at the age of 19 in India and continuing to render voluntary service enthusiastically under the aegis of Rotary even after moving to America 15 years ago, Ravi Bhooplapur was bound to reach leadership positions in what he calls the ‘United Nations of non-government organizations’. He became the first Indian American in New York to become Dist Governor (Dist 7250). And he has become perhaps the youngest to receive Rotary’s all three top honors--the ‘Meritorious Service Award’, ‘Service Above Self’ (2005) and ‘Distinguished Service Award (2007).

Ravi is only 49 and at the speed he is going, and with Indians flying the Rotary flag high in recent years, he stands a fighting chance to become the first Indian American president of Rotary International. When asked to comment on his prospects, current President Kalyan Banerjee said, “Yes, he is qualified to become President, but there are others equally qualified. So it will all depend on opportunities and luck.”

He concluded his own term as District Governor in 2010 with glory. “I was one of the top 10 district governors from the entire world recognized at the Montreal Conference--we had achieved maximum membership growth—by 280 percent-- in our District. Not resting on his laurels, he carries on, sits on many committees and has served as Chair of Future Rotary training leader. On being asked by Kalyan Banerjee to represent him he will travel to South Africa next year.

Talking about Rotary’s growth in India, Ravi finds a lot of energy there, which in his words, gives “Rotarians there an opportunity to do good, also a responsibility to get correct perspective on doing good.” He finds India making good use of Rotary Foundation funds to work on many projects. “India has also groomed leadership very well. There are excellent Rotarians of both kinds – those who are well off and can give money and others who are volunteer workers.

He finds the greatest contribution of Rotary is to make us better people and great citizens. “I became a Rotarian at age 18 and owe my all to Rotary. It has taught me how to work harmoniously with different people, companies and philosophies.

You interact with people of different vocations. All this helps in your own success in business and life.”

Ravi also appreciates Rotary because it is a no-frills organization, free of redtape, and

Ravi is the founder and Chairman of Gift of Life India that has been instrumental in saving 2,100 children by assisting them with lifesaving operations and surgeries.

On the subject, all Ravi says himself is, “Every Rotarian is qualified to become President of Rotary, but it is a platform to serve. For one, you dip into your own pocket for Rotary work. No money is paid for your travels, etc.” But he is a man who likes to give, not take. He has donated a few million in different ways to Rotary so far.

He explains the path to presidentship thus, “The next level in Rotary after you become a District Governor for a one year term is RI Director—Directors are selected once in four years and serve a two-year term. Then there is Rotary Foundation, and you can be called on to serve as its Trustee for a 4-year term. A Selection Committee of senior Rotary leaders picks the President.”

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unlike many other charities, there is no administration cost. “No wonder a person of Bill Gates’ wealth and knowledge has chosen to partner with Rotary in many projects.”

A cancer detection mobile clinic

Ravi Bhooplapur, the first Indian American to rise to become Dist Governor in New York, speaks about his passion for Rotary, whose greatest contribution he professes is to make us better people and great citizens.

He also touches on the path to Presidentship in Rotary International.

Ravi Bhooplapur and his wife Jayasheela haveknown the Banerjees for many years.

A life of service Ravi, Long Island-based President of the Xavier University School of Medicine (Aruba), has been active in the Rotary movement since 1980. In New York, he was the Centennial President of Rotary Club of Great Neck and a member of Gold Coast Lake Success.

Initiating various community and philanthropic activities across the globe, he had received Rotary’s all three awards even before becoming District Governor. At his installation ceremony as Governor of Dist 7250, comprising Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau, in July 2009, Ravi said, “People have many ways to spend their time and money; I choose to spend both with Rotary.

This is my passion, and I have always met wonderful people on this journey and have benefitted a lot.”

Frank Devlyn, past RI President from Mexico, said, “Ravi is an outstanding Rotarian, that is why the district elected him.”

A peripatetic, Ravi travels a lot in the course of his multifarious activities. He has attended 10 Rotary International Conventions by last count. As a speaker, he has addressed members on the Rotary Foundation’s membership development and other motivational topics like ‘Philanthropy through Rotary’.

Ravi sits on the board for numerous charities, hospitals and businesses. “I am a kind of disaster expert,” he quips.

Be it tsunami in Asia, earthquakes in India or in Peru and Pakistan, or Hurricane Katrina in US, he instantly gets into action responding to the needs, raising funds and organizing material

assistance to alleviate the suffering of the victims. He is the founder and Chairman of Gift of Life India that has been instrumental in saving 2,100 children by assisting them with lifesaving operations and surgeries. He served for nine years as Treasurer at the Center for India Studies at Stony Brook University.

Ravi’s dream project was setting up a 90-bed natural therapies hospital in Ghataprabha, Karnataka in 2002.

Ravi’s heart throbs for humanity everywhere, not just in the country of his origin. He has toiled to get funds and medical supplies and coordinate a medical mission to Angola, Ghana, Nicaragua, Panama. A burn unit in Nicaragua has provided plastic surgery to 200 children.

The community Ravi lives in has needs too. He has worked on Anchor Project, for mentally challenged children on Long Beach. Overall, through Rotary matching grant program, under his leadership over 150 grants were completed worldwide in the past 25 years, and also accounted for many reverse grants for North Shore Forest Hill Hospital in Glen Cove, which aids a school for the physically challenged and buys medicines for the district Rotacare project.

So inspiring has been his journey as a Rotarian that in 2005 Rotary Foundation (India) instituted a trophy in his name to be awarded to the best Rotary districts in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Ravi and wife Jaya Bhooplapur are 4th Indians to be inducted into Rotary Hall of Fame Arch Klump Society in 2004. They live in Syosset, NY, and have two children-- Manali, who is studying medicine in India, and son Amogh is in school.

10/15/10 11:19:34 AM

Congratulations to The South Asian Times Person of the Year

Kalyan Banerjee President Rotary International

President Kalyan Banerjee at installation of Rotary Club Hicksville South and Jericho Sunrise. Garden City Hotel, Dec 1, 2009

Happy New Year With best Compliments from All the members of

Rotary Club Jericho Sunrise

Rotary Club Hicksville South

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Trinidad and Tobago PM chief guest at PBD 2012 The great Indian diaspora is all set to join the Pink City of Jaipur from January 7-9 that is ready to host over 1,500 delegates from 65 countries for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012. The theme of PBD 2012 is 'Global Indian-Inclusive Growth.'

New Delhi: Kamla PersadBissessar, the Indian-origin prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, is in India on a state visit, where she will meet President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also be the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) programme.

One of the highlights of the trip would be PersadBissessar's presence as chief guest at the annual PBD event in Jaipur.

Persad-Bissessar is the first woman head of government from the diaspora and the first dignitary from Trinidad and Tobago to be bestowed with this honour.

Persad-Bissessar's forefathers came to this twin-island Caribbean nation between 1845 and 1917. They were among the 147,000 Indians who came from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to work on sugar plantations.

The PBD is an annual event sponsored by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs of the

Indian government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). This time it is also being sponsored by the state government of Rajasthan.

The event aims to promote, nurture and sustain a mutually beneficial and symbolic relationship between India and its diaspora.

The PBD is a prolific gathering for overseas Indians of global repute who are highly successful in their respective fields of business, trade, medicine, science and technology.

Persad-Bissessar's forefathers came to this twin-island Caribbean nation between 1845 and 1917.

Over 1,500 delegates to attend diaspora conclave New Delhi: Over 1,500 delegates from across the globe are likely to participate in India's annual diaspora conclave to be held in Jaipur from January 7-9, 2012, Vayalar Ravi, minister of overseas Indian affairs and civil aviation, said.

"We are expecting more number of participants in the PBD 2012. Over

1,500 delegates are likely to participate," Ravi said at a press conference here.

Ravi said the event would provide an excellent opportunity to connect with 27-million strong Indian diaspora spread over 150 countries across the world.

The Indian diaspora is the second largest expatriate community in the

world after the Chinese. "The expatriate community plays an important role in the growth and development of the country. Our aim is to encourage them to play an even greater role," the minister said.

The PBD 2012 will be organized by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs in

Message from Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs he Pravasi Bharatiya Divas ( PBD) has emerged as the flagship event of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

The PBD provides a platform that facilitates the overseas Indian community with their skills, expertise and financial resources to partner with us and place India on a higher growth trajectory .

The 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is being held in Jaipur, from 7 to 9 January, 2012 with the over-arching theme “Global Indian – Inclusive Growth”. The focus is to further build a borderless platform and enable the global Indian to provide impetus to the India growth story.

We are holding two pre-conference seminars on Social Entrepreneurship – Water; and Solar Energy: Investment in R & D. Areas of focus, they create new opportunities for business to contribute with sustainable solutions through know-how, new technologies and innovative products.

Investment opportunities in Rajasthan, the Partner State at PBD 2012, will be showcased.

Avenues to facilitate business will be explored and discussed. Apart from this, the other Indian States will be present to promote themselves as business destinations and participate in an Exhibition.

The PBD platform provides an opportunity to interact with Union Ministers of the Government of India, Chief Ministers of States and Prominent Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) from other countries.

The prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards are conferred and a pot-pourri of cultural performances complete the three-day mega event.

I urge you to participate and build bridges of communication and common interests. I especially call on our young global Indians to participate with enthusiasm.

It gives me great pleasure to invite you to PBD 2012 and I look forward to meeting you there.

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partnership with government of Rajasthan. The Confederation of Indian Industry is the institutional partner of the event.

"The event will help the people from northern part of the country, especially Rajasthan, to reconnect with diaspora and go abroad and find jobs," Ravi said.

Message from Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister, Rajasthan t gives me immense pleasure in extending you a very warm personal invitation to visit Jaipur on the occasion of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas-2012.

The Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is celebrated every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian Community in the development of India. It is a pride privilege for Jaipur, the Pink City of India, to host this convention in January, 2012.

The great Indian Diaspora embodies the indomitable Indian spirit of Karma, enterprise, harmony and love for the land of their roots. Your enthusiastic participation in the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas over the years and your eagerness to connect with your motherland bespeaks of the emotional bonds you so fondly share with the land of your origin.

The Pink City awaits to enchant you with its glorious heritage, colorful art and handicraft, traditional folk dances and melodious folk music.

We eagerly look forward to welcome the illustrious sons and daughters of our great nation.

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January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

A confluence of the global Indian family The first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held from Jan 9-11 in 2003. The choice of the date is significant as it was on this day that Mahatma Gandhi, himself a Pravasi Bharatiya in South Africa for almost two decades, finally returned to India in 1915 to lead India's freedom struggle. A journey so far: ravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is an annual affair that is organized by the Government of India to recognize the contributions of NRI's and PIO's who have excelled in their chosen fields.

While receiving the Report of the HLC at a public function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 8th January 2002, Prime Minister accepted the recommendation and announced that "Pravasi Bharatiya Divas"(PBD) will be celebrated in India and abroad on the ninth day of January every year.

The choice of the date is significant as it was on this day that Mahatma Gandhi, himself a Pravasi Bharatiya in South Africa for almost two decades, finally returned to India in 1915 to lead India's freedom struggle.

The event offers a platform where all discusses issues concerning the Indian Diaspora.

New Delhi Hotels takes you through the History of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, India and offers online information.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and FICCI sponsored the first Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The main highlight of the first event was to create 'consciousness of Global Indian Family'.

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The FIRST PBD was organized in New Delhi from January 9-11, 2003 in recognition and appreciation of the constructive economic, political and philanthropic role played by the Indian Diaspora as well as the goodwill demonstrated by it towards India.

Overseas Indians are today estimated to be over 20 million spread across the world. This biggest ever event should emerge as the most prestigious gathering of the Indian Diaspora.

The first PBD celebration included an international convention for three days, organized in partnership with FICCI where cream of the Indian community from all over the globe were present. Seven to eight breakout sessions were held on a wide number of topics like Economic Development, International Trade, Industrial Development and Investment promotion, IT, Biotechnology, Education, Culture, Science & Technology, Health and Tourism etc.

Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shanker and Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan did the initial invocation in the first event.

Ujjal Dosanjh, Sir Shridath Surendranath Ramphal, Dr. Hari N. Harilela, Manilal, Premchand Chandaria, Dato Seri S. Samyvellu, R. T. Hon’ble Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Shri Kanaksi Gokaldas Khimji, Prof. Fatima Meer, Lord Navnit Dholakia, and Rajat Gupta were conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award.

The second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas aimed at having close interaction of the Indian Diaspora with the Central and State government to define new policy initiatives for the Diaspora and exploring business opportunities in India within the Diaspora.

PBD 2004 was designed to take forward the collective task initiated at PBD 2003 of bringing together the Indian Diaspora and leveraging the potential offered by the Global Indian Family.

Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the three-day event at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. A rapt audience listened to a jugalbandi by renowned violinist Dr.L Subramaniam and sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan followed by an invocation of togetherness from the Upanishads rendered by Kavita Krishnamurthy. H.E. Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Hon'ble President of the Republic of Guyana, was the Chief Guest for PBD 2004 addressed the delegates.

This was followed by the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2004 which were presented to 12 eminent persons of Indian origin: the late Kalpana Chawla (USA), Justice Ahmed Moosa Ebrahim (Zimbabwe), Mariam Chisti (Kuwait), Sukhi Turner (New Zealand), Bharrat Jagdeo (Trinidad & Tobago), Fitz Remedios Santana De Souza (Kenya), Narinder Singh Kapany (USA), Dipak C. Jain (USA), Mahendra P. Chaudhary (Fiji), Lord Meghnad Desai (UK), P Mohamed Ali (Oman) and Shashi Tharoor (USA).

The third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in Mumbai and attended by large number of Indian political and business leaders, professionals, scientists and innovators from Indian Diaspora. The third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas provided a unique networking opportunity and also strengthened India's relation with the Indian

Diaspora.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the third diaspora conclave on January 7. In his inaugural address, he announced that the government had decided to give dual citizenship to all overseas Indians who had migrated from the country after January 26, 1950. He said the government would simplify the procedure for registration of People of Indian Origin for granting them dual citizenship.

Despite tsunami disaster, the third Pravasi Bharatiya Divas elicited an enthusiastic response from the participants. Over 1,500 overseas Indians from 60 countries turned out for the event. The three-day event saw the functionaries of the Central Government, leaders of Indian corporate and other fields interact with the delegates on various sectors of the economy like education, health, tourism, science and technology.

Addressing the delegates, then Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram urged the NRIs to invest in sectors like agriculture, irrigation, watershed programs, rural health facilities, village school, mid-day meal schemes, computer education, textbooks, rural roads and electrification initiatives. He said the government believed that the NRIs were no more `non-resident Indians` but they were `non-resident investors` for India.

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman to 11 overseas Indians.

He asked the NRI/PIO delegates to set up an Overseas Indian Foundation with a seed capital of $100 million to work towards predicting earthquakes in the region.

Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurating the first PBD in 2003.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presenting the first OCI card to NRI Ms. N. Rai at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad on January 7, 2006.

Artists performing at the inauguration of the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, in Hyderabad on January 7, 2006.

A group photographs of the NRI delegates with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the inaugural ceremony of the 6th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2008.

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January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Connecting diaspora with Indian mainstream The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention is the flagship event of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs organized every year since 2003 with a view to connect India to its vast Diaspora and bring their knowledge, expertise and skills on a common platform.

2011: With NZ Governor General as Chief Guest he 9th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention was held in New Delhi from 7th to 9th January, 2011. The Convention was organized in partnership with the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was the institutional partner. It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 8th January, 2011 and the valedictory address was delivered by the President on 9th January, 2011. The President also conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on 15 distinguished PIOs/NRIs. Sir Anand Satyanand, Governor General of New Zealand was the Chief Guest.

The three day Convention saw a record participation of over 1,700 delegates. These included 14 Members of the Prime Minister ’s Global Advisory Council and 3 PIO Ministers, besides Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and other Indian and PIO dignitaries.

The flagship event of the Ministry was widely acclaimed as a grand success for its organizational as well as substantive aspect, as also for the

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choice of speakers and the topicality of the themes chosen for deliberation at its various sessions. The two preconference seminars of education and healthcare drew enthusiastic participation of all stakeholders and came in for appreciation from several quarters.There was a separate and special session on ‘Diapsora role models from the North East-success stories’ since the focus of PBD 2011 were the North-Eastern States.

The Convention had four plenary sessions: Engaging Young Overseas Indians; Opportunity India: Interaction with Union Ministers; Investment Opportunities in North-Eastern Region; and Interaction with Chief Ministers on Inclusive Growth; four specific sessions on Information, Communication and EntertainmentBranding the Global Indian, Strengthening Cultural Bonds with the Global Indian, Gulf Session and Philanthropy-Diaspora initiative, separate State sessions and the PBD Oration, Prof.

C.K. Prahalad Memorial Lecture on “Inclusive Growth for the Bottom of the Pyramid” by Dr. Gautam Ahuja from Michigan University, USA.

2010: Road ahead for India-diaspora interaction he 8th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention was held in New Delhi from 7th to 9th January, 2010. The Convention was organized in partnership with the Government of NCT of Delhi.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was the institutional partner. It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 08.01.2010 and the valedictory address was delivered by the President on 09.01.2010. The President also conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on 14 distinguished PIOs/NRIs. Lord Khalid Hameed CBE DL Hampstead was the Chief Guest.

The two-day convention saw a record partici-

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pation of over 1500 delegates. These included 16 Members of the Prime Minister ’s Global Advisory Council and 8 PIO Ministers, besides 12 Union Ministers and 5 Chief Ministers and other Indian and PIO dignitaries.

The Convention had three Plenary Sessions Diaspora: Role and Expectations, Diaspora: Interests and Concerns & Skills Development; six concurrent sessions - Returning to 9% Growth: Diaspora Connect , Leveraging Knowledge Networks: Global-Ink, Thousands of Fireflies: Diaspora Philanthropy, Diaspora Women in Cross-Cultural Environments, Indians and the Gulf and Future of PBDs and the Road Ahead as well as separate State Sessions.

2008: NRIs bat for women, urge gender equality he 6th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas hosted over 1,500 NRIs in New Delhi. It had five plenary and a similar number of working sessions.

The Indian government promised to roll out several schemes for the diaspora. The government also took into consideration several considerations made at the various plenary sessions and promised to implement each of them. High up on the agenda of the government at present was to link the rural Indian woman with the NRIs. This initiative was taken following a suggestion at one of the sessions.

The Indian government will now set up a nonprofitable foundation, which will act as an entry for funds by the NRIs. Vayalar Ravi, minister for overseas Indian affairs, said this is the most ambitious pro-

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grammes of his ministry. Once the foundation is instituted, the funds will roll in and will be utilized for the betterment of the rural Indian woman.

The Diaspora also suggested to the Indian government to ensure that there is gender equality in the country.

The NRIs felt that there was a need for more legal protection for women in the country and India should sign the Hague convention. Ravi said that talks are being held and there is a need to amend the law to increase protection for women in India.

Regarding business and trade, the suggestion was to open more doors to invest in India. Several members felt that India was a land of opportunity in terms of investment and the government should give them more opportunities in the future.

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January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Pravasi Sammans : honoring diaspora's contributions T

he Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honor conferred on overseas Indians. PBSA is conferred by the President of India as a part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Conventions organized annually since 2003 on a Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin or an organization or institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin, who has made significant contribution in any one of the following fields:

(a) Better understanding abroad of India; (b) Support to India’s causes and concerns in a tangible way; (c) Building closer links between India, the overseas Indian community and their country of residence; (d) Social and humanitarian causes in India or abroad; (e) Welfare of the local Indian community; (f) Philanthropic and charitable work; (g) Eminence in one’s field or outstanding work, which has enhanced India’s prestige in the country of residence; or (h) Eminence in skills which has enhanced India’s prestige in that country (for non-professional workers).

The Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award winners at the valedictory session of the 6th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2008.

PBD Awardees from USA 2003 Rajat Gupta (NY) 2004 Prof. Dipak C. Jain (IL) Dr. Kalpana Chawla (TX) Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany Shashi Tharoor (NY) 2005 Prof Sunil Khilnani (PA) Dr. Sam Pitroda (IL) Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati (NY) Manoj Night Shyamalan (PA) Vijay Singh (FL) 2006 Dr. Sudhir Parikh (NJ) Niranjan S. Shah (IL) Fareed Zakaria (NY)

2007 Gopal Raju (NY) Nirmal K. Sinha (OH) Dr. P. Jayaraman (NY) Dr. M. Anirudhan (IL)

President Patil with the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awardees for 2009, at the 7th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai.

2008 Dr. Thomas Abraham (CT) Dr. Joy Cherian (DC) 2009 Prof. C.K. Prahalad (MI) Prof. Sumit Ganguly (MI) 2010 Dr. Mani Lal Bhaumik (CA) Ashok Kumar Mago (TX) Upendra J. Chivukula (NJ) 2011 Ashook Kumar Ramsaran (NY) Rajiv Shah (DC)

President Patil with the awardees of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman–2010.

Then President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam giving away the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award for Rural Development to Mrs Pratima Kale from Philippines, in Hyderabad on January 9, 2006.

The Indian President with the awardees of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, at the 9th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2011.

January 7-13, 2012

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Jaipur: dreaming of a world class city The Rajasthan government wants to develop modern Jaipur, which is outside the walled city, with skyscrapers, freeways, flyovers, metro rail network, multistoried apartments, international and domestic airports, sewerage and drainage system and adequate source of its own drinking water.

By Prakash Bhandari/ SATimes “Jaipur is an ancient city where town planning has been a tradition. The Pink City is one of the most planned cities of the world.

But the new buzz in Rajasthan is to make it a world class city. It’s the dream of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress government under Ashok Gehlot has started working towards that.

For starters, the city will see the metro running by the year 2013. The first stage would cover 9 km. “We are determined to raise Jaipur as a world class city where there would be space for everyone. The city’s historical part would be preserved and conserved and its pink feature would remain intact.

But we want to develop modern Jaipur, which is outside the walled city, as a city with skyscrapers, freeways, flyovers, metro rail network, multistoried apartments, international and domestic airports, efficient road system, sewerage and drainage system and adequate source of its own drinking water,” said Rajasthan’s urban development minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal.

He said the building laws will be changed to pave way for high rise buildings as currently buildings are not permitted over the height of 32 meters.

“We have a vision for vertical growth as the population is rising and Jaipur is becoming a big business hub. The population would touch 80 lakhs by the year 2031 and unless we start planning right now we would

Newly installed Musical Fountain in Jawahar Circle Garden in Jaipur have to face chaotic situation with the growth of population,” explained Dhariwal.

However, former city mayor and currently a legislator Ashok Parnami argues that rather than making Jaipur a world class city efforts should be made to make it an ideal city first.

“Before conceptualizing Jaipur as a world class city and making it comparable with New York, Tokyo and London, we shall have to understand the potential of Jaipur as an international market. The cities of London, New York and Tokyo developed as they had all the attributes of a major international business centre. The development of the city and coming up of skyscrapers was led by the inbuilt demand and once the infrastructure was created people started calling them world class and other cities

started comparing themselves with these three,” said Parnami.

Parnami added that first the decision makers should try and develop it as a city that has reasonable infrastructure or a fraction of the facilities that the big global cities possess. It should

Convention centre for PBD remained on paper

By Prakash Bhandari he dream to hold the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) conclave in Rajasthan’s first convention center remained a dream and the convention would now be held at the Brij Mohan Birla auditorium, which has a capacity of barely 1,200 while the guest list is of over 1,500 persons.

The state government had decided to build the proposed international convention centre at Pratap Nagar on Jaipur-Kota national highway near the Jaipur airport.

This was to become a landmark complex and the proposed complex was to come up on 16 hectares of land under Public Private Partnership model. But after accepting the global bid where just one party responded, the Rajasthan government decided to shelve the project because of lack of interest shown by bidders.

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This centre would not only have served as a conference venue, but also as a complex that had provisions for hotels, exhibition space and a 5,000 capacity divisible auditorium. First the government invited the expression of interest and the Rajasthan Housing Board was made the nodal agency for the project. In fact, the government itself woke up late and the idea was first floated in the middle of 2010.

The company that would have been given the task of building the center was expected to pay the Rajasthan Housing Board a minimum of Rs 5 crore each year with an increase of 15 percent every year. The lease would be for 40 years.

But the lack of interest and the stringent conditions laid down by the government saw lukewarm response to the project as the entrepreneurs did not see it as a feasible project. The government eventually dropped the plan.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot explaining to Union Urban Development Minister Kamla Nath the Jaipur Metro Rail project with the helpof a model. have all the basic infrastructure that is affordable and should have the potential to improve.

The town planners should insist on well classified townships and other related infrastructure that the citizens could afford. In recent times we have seen a num-

Transport Nagar flyover in Jaipur

ber of haphazardly built malls and markets. What was created was much more than the demand.

As a result, there were no takers and the rental market collapsed.

The dream should be to make Jaipur as an ideal city and not a world class city.

Rajasthan’s Urban Development Minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal.

CM not happy with mere cosmetic changes for PBD ust 10 days before the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with some of his Cabinet colleagues and officials took a bus and inspected various parts of the city especially those that would come before the eyes of the guests and the delegates. He looked unconvinced by the cosmetic changes being given by various agencies for the mega event.

Gehlot found fault with the color combination and the concrete structures. The drive from Sanganer Airport and hotels to the PBD venue would not be bump-free despite some repair work. Filth and garbage remains a problem.

Dera Sachha Sauda’s 20,000 volunteers came two months ago and cleaned up the city. They collected the garbage but the Jaipur Municipal Corporation could not even clear that collected garbage.The officials were surprised when the CM pointed out poor preparations. “The PBD should not be seen as an investment forum.

With communication explosion the corporates know what is the best destination. The Vasundhara Raje’s BJP government hosted an investment summit and a picture was painted

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that the state would get billions in investment.

Nothing happened. Thus we are taking PBD only as an emotion connect. Let the delegates feel that they should do something for the country of their origin,” Gehlot told the media.

Rajasthan is a big producer of oil and gas, but as the production points of energy have been already allotted and with Vedanta led by Anil Agarwal taking up the stewardship of Cairn India, there is nothing much to sell on oil and gas front.

The solar energy, however, has been given due importance in the economic agenda prepared by the hosts. India is among top five destinations worldwide for solar energy. An evolving industry, this sector has gained considerable momentum over the last two years given the focus on developing clean energy sources.

Though India possesses a large solar energy resource compared to other renewable resources, its installed capacity share is just 0.23 per cent. Rajasthan, with its geographical location, has been identified by experts as one of the world’s major solar hubs.

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Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

‘Quality delivery is my government’s endeavor’

While gearing up to host Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012 in Jaipur, Rajasthan is also eager to showcase a state firmly on the path to progress. An exclusive interview with the state Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, who has just completed three successful years in office.

By Prakash Bhandari ajasthan as a state believes that forward movement is possible on the basis of quality paradigms and it would like to have its own benchmark across various fields in ensuring the delivery of services to the people of the state like Haryana has done.

The state government is endeavoring for the not only effective delivery of services to the masses but qualitative also. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is particularly keen on proper delivery of services in rural areas. He believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s adage that the soul of the country lives in the villages. The Congress government under him is committed to improve the life of those Below Poverty Line (BPL) and it has launched several schemes related to health, education and employment to serve the poorest of the poor.

An exclusive interview the Chief Minister gave to SATimes in Jaipur in the last week of 2011: The SATimes: You have launched an affordable housing scheme for the economically poor, middle income group and low income group in six towns. How is the scheme progressing?

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot: Our urban development department has launched a new public-private partnership (PPP) housing scheme for affordable homes with the Avas Vikas Ltd as the nodal agency. This scheme aims to benefit the urban poor.

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TSAT: What is your own philosophy on quality?

CM: Quality is the ability to reach out for the best in anything that we do; to aspire for a high degree of cleanliness, for good health, good education and a happy and contented family life. On a larger plane, in terms of Government, quality would mean providing services to the people efficiently and promptly. For exam-

Chief Minister Ashok M Gehlot accompanies UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi giving a check of Rs 25,000 to a beneficiary in Banswada dist under the Grameen BPL Awaas housing scheme. ple, if a person falls ill and gets to highest common good: like in eduthe hospital and is treated immedi- cation, health, rural development, ately and recovers in good time, infrastructure, farming, etc. that would mean good delivery of service. There is variety of other TSAT: Bihar and Delhi have services that citizens require on a adopted laws to provide time bound day to day basis and my philosophy services to people. is that we should be able to provide CM: You do not require an Act or these services efficiently, honestly a law to ensure speedy and time and in a time bound manner. bound delivery of services.

However, we have reiterated that TSAT: Do you think the delivery of services to the people Government has the capacity to has to be streamlined. Where these provide quality services? are not available, we try to find the CM: The Government is nothing reasons and improve the delivery but a collection of people given the mechanism. responsibility, on behalf of the state, of delivering services through TSAT: Women’s welfare and various departments. If you look at empowerment top the agenda of the Rajasthan’s history you will your government. find that invariably services have CM: In Rajasthan women were improved year after year. So, peo- kept under veil and were deprived ple responsible for providing these of education for generations. It has services are committed and aware been our endeavor to improve the of their unique responsibility. But lot of the women. It’s true that the sometimes the numbers are big and women are getting a lot of attenfacilities inadequate, then it gets tion. Atrocities on women, cases diluted. This problem is not unique related to dowry, old age and probto Rajasthan but faced by govern- lems of the war widows have been ments the world over. How to man- grave. We have set up women conage between the resources available trolled police stations in five disand the services that people tricts and have launched special demand? Here quality plays a vital housing schemes for war widows. role in our ability to judiciously Women who own properties would identify sectors that can provide the pay less in stamp duty on sale or purchase of land. We have reserved 50% seats for women in local bodies and panchayats.

Jaipur Metro will be as good as in Delhi.

TSAT: Has reservation for women in panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) led to empowerment of rural women in Rajasthan?

CM: The reservation for women extends to local bodies. Women are empowered by urging them to actively participate in development.

Reservation would make contesting an election hassle free. I foresee a qualitative improvement in services with women coming in governance.

Gehlot distributing school supplies to a girl in Badwali (Jaipur).

TSAT: How has the scheme “Beti ek anmol rattan” helped save the girl child?

CM: The declining sex ratio had become a constant concern with the social consequences thereof. A host of interventions addressing the female population are making a palpable dent in restoring the gender balance. Neglect of the girl child in terms of nutrition, education, health care and her overall development is just one facet; a more cruel practice is female infanticide and female feticide. Our endeavor has been to get the girl child the same importance as a male child. Several welfare measures like offering the girl child incentives in education etc would give good results.

TSAT: How is Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) working out?

CM: STEP is a program of training for skill upgrades to poor and asset less women in traditional sectors like agriculture, animal husbandry, dairying, handlooms, handicrafts, khadi and village industries. Financial assistance is provided to women. Women dairy projects are being encouraged in the state as are Women Dairy Cooperative Societies and we are very satisfied by the results.

Women are happy with these benefits which are reflected in higher intake of quality food, improved health conditions, better clothing, enhanced savings and finally leading to increased status.

TSAT: Your Government has started an award distribution scheme for farmers to encourage new and innovative practices in agriculture. How has it benefited the farmers?

CM: Yes, the awards will be given at panchayat samiti, district

and state levels in March every year. Two farmers would be selected at each of these levels for prizes worth Rs10,000 at panchayat samitis, Rs 25,000 in districts and Rs 50,000 at the State level. The winners will be selected on the basis of initiatives resulting in high crop yield and good quality of farm produce. We also propose to establish an Arid Region Mission to promote farming in areas facing drought and water scarcity.

TSAT: What is the role of eMitra in development?

CM: In this information age access to the state government documents has been made easier and affordable through e-Mitra. It is an integrated project to facilitate the urban and the rural masses with maximum possible services related to different state government departments through LokmitraJanmitra Centers. The Lokmitra is a single stop, citizen friendly computerized service delivery center so that the citizens do not have to run around various departments.

Lokmitra is basically an urban centric project with more thrust on utility payments. The e-Mitra has helped in better and qualitative delivery.

TSAT: How has the Swasthya Mitra succeeded in extending healthcare services to far flung areas?

CM: It’s again the use of technology for better and qualitative delivery.

Swasthya Mitra (Telemedicine) is a network connecting 31 district hospitals and six medical colleges and is under implementation with ISRO’s support. This would pave the way for specialized treatment from specialists at various district headquarters and would be a pioneer effort in healthcare sector.

Read CM Profile on page 24.

January 7-13, 2012

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Ashok Gehlot: A humanitarian guided by Gandhian ideals When taking office in his first term as Rajasthan Chief Minister in 1998, Ashok Gehlot vowed that he would strive to wipe out the tears from the eyes of the poorest of the poor. His commitment continues in his second term.

Gehlot launching e-stamping services under e-governance.

CM Gehlot handing over a tricycle to a disabled person to mark Mahatma Gandhi anniversary.

By Prakash Bhandari/SATimes hen taking office in his first term as Rajasthan Chief Minister in 1998, Ashok Gehlot vowed that he would endeavor to wipe out the tears from the eyes of the poorest of the poor.

This pledge was reiterated in his second innings also.

Right from his student days, Gehlot was inspired the Gandhian philosophy. He was a regular visitor to Jodhpur’s Gandhi Shanti Pratishthan where he came in contact with a true Gandhian, late Nemi Chand Bhavuk who baptized him with the ideals and spirit of Gandhism.

Gehlot worked in the refugee camps at Bangaon and 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. He served the homeless refugees and later rendered his services for the development of slums and took part in camps organized by Tarun Shanti Sena at Sevagram, Wardha, Aurangabad, Indore etc.

His concern for the poor and the downtrodden got reflected when as Chief Minister he made the welfare of the poor, under-privileged and the disabled a major agenda of his government.

Gehlot’s humanitarian face saw him effecting several measures to benefit the disabled and relaxation in the employment rules in the state government. During the “Prashashan Gaon Ki Ore” campaign, he

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visited rural areas to resolve the grievances of the poor and ordered the collection of data on the disabled in the state, their number turned out to be 16 lakh. Following which instructions went out to the state coordination committee on disabled to review the welfare schemes for the disabled every six months.

In the state budget for the year 2010-11, Gehlot, who also holds the finance portfolio, made provision for disabled students to get reimbursement of tuition fees above 11th standard including for higher and technical education. Recently, the Chief Minister made an extraordinary humanitarian gesture when after hearing about the plight of a destitute Muslim family of Sarmathura in Dholpur district highlighted by a news channel, he ordered a rehabilitation package for the family. Munna Khan’s two children, aged 3 and 5, were blind by birth, while his three other children had only because of congenital problems.

Through the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Rs 2.50 lakh has been granted for the family and the Dholpur district collector asked to help the family under welfare schemes.

The Below Poverty Line (BPL) individuals and families are the chief minister’s target group. Gehlot feels that they deserve special treatment as they have been living in poverty for centuries and under Independent India all the efforts should be made for their social, economic and educational uplift.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi launched the Mukhya Mantri BPL Awas Yojna in June 2011 from the tribal district of Banswara.

This ambitious rural housing scheme in the next three years along with the Indira Awas Yojna will benefit 10 lakh BPL families. The state government would take a loan of Rs 3,400 crore to implement this unique scheme.

Under the Mukhya Mantri Anna Suraksha Yojna for the poor 36 lakh poor families would get 25 kilos of wheat per month at the rate of Rs 2 per kilo. The state government would provide Rs 300 crore subsidy under this scheme. Also the annual income ceiling for families to be classified as living below the poverty line has been raised to Rs. 40,000 from Rs 24,000.

Even the once rich and famous are not immune from falling on hard times and needing help. Hearing about the poor health of Bollywood’s veteran character actor AK Hangal of Sholay fame, Gehlot made Rs 2 lakh available from the Journalists and Writers Welfare Fund for the 95-year-old

Hangal, who could get then get the specialist treatment.

Gehlot admires those who perform their duty with responsibility. He feels that all disciplined state government employees who lose their lives while performing their duty should be treated as martyrs.

Numerous policemen who lost their lives while in uniform have received accolades from the Chief Minister apart from benefits to their families.

Phool Mohammed, the station house officer of Sawai Madhopur, who was burnt alive by an unruly mob over an incident, was treated like a martyr and was given all the benefits due to a martyr like cash incentive of Rs 40 lakh to the family, a housing board house and employment for a family member in the government. The family of a constable of Jhunjhunu who lost his life while fighting dacoits from Haryana was similarly compensated. The superintendent of the Jodhpur jail, who was killed by a convict, was given Rs 10 lakh and other benefits by Gehlot.

Ushering in equitable progress Quality Moves

Aapni Yojna scheme of arid Rajasthan - water and health committee in every village responsible for fair distribution of water conservation, health education, payment for services and sanitation.

Prashashan Gaon Ke Sang campaign initiated to offer solution to problems faced by the people in villages.

Work on Jaipur Metro begun.

Rajasthan implements Continuous and Comprehensive Evolution (CCE) as a pliot project in 60 schools.

Sahbhagita Awas Yojna - affordable housing scheme launched.

Special schemes to promote women’s participation in agriculture right from their childhood by offering to incentives during school, college and technical education.

Women pursuing doctorate in agricultural studies will get an incentive of Rs 10,000 annually for three years.

Akshat Yojna for unemployed graduates provides for grant of allowances to unemployed graduate students of the state whose family income does not exceed Rs 1 lakh per year.

Quality Acts Bill for setting up women’s panel to protect and promote the interest of women against violence, deprivation and discrimination.

Quality Achievements Release of water policy for better water management.

Water supply in drought affected 21,000 villages through tankers.

Initiatives on employment - one lakh jobs created. Of the 67,000 posts already approved, 5,000 are of teachers. e-governance project in health sector.

Women empowerment: reservation of seats for women in panchyati raj institutions.

Special housing schemes for women.

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Rajasthan has arrived on world tourism map Visitors now seek variety of tourism experiences as govt. shapes new projects

By Prakash Bhandari ajasthan has emerged as one of the most popular tourist destinations in India for both domestic and foreign tourists. The number of tourist arrivals in the state has increased fourfold in the last thirty years and according to an estimate the state receives a million foreign tourists and 10 million domestic tourists each year.

The state is known for its diversity in terms of natural resources, cultural heritage, historical as well as archaeological wonders and rare wild life. The forts and palaces, heritage hotels, colorful fairs and festivals, local art and handicrafts, etc. has been a unique selling proposition for tourists coming to the state. The desert environment in the western parts of the state is also a major attraction particularly for the foreign tourists.

Four decades ago tourism in Rajasthan was a small industry that was largely confined to the elite foreign tourists and domestic pilgrim traffic.

Tourist arrivals were restricted to a few thousand tourists annually and were primarily recorded in select places such as Jaipur, the state capital, Udaipur and Jodhpur (for foreign tourists) and the pilgrim centers of Ajmer, Pushkar and Nathdwara (for domestic tourists). The employment in the sector and the sector’s contribution to the state economy, as well as employment potential were limited.

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The Alwar-Sariska belt is regaining growth after the reintroduction of tigers in Sariska jungle However, over the last few initiative by the state forest decades, due to the focused department saw the reintroducefforts of Rajasthan Tourism, tion of tigers in the Sariska junvarious State Government agen- gle. Growth in domestic tourism cies, select entrepreneurs /indi- is largely due to its increasing viduals, tourism has grown from popularity as a weekend gatean elite and pilgrim phenome- way from Delhi. non to a mass phenomenon putAmongst the smaller tourist ting Rajasthan firmly on the for- destinations, Bundi (part of the eign and domestic tourist map.

Hadoti circuit) has seen a multiThe industry today employs fold increase in both domestic over one lakh people directly and foreign traffic. “The tourism and over three lakh people indi- experience sought from rectly. Its contribution to the Rajasthan is changing. state economy is estimated to be Traditionally the Rajasthan over Rs 4000 Cr. presently. tourism experience offered Given the increasingly impor- palaces, forts, lakes and the tant role that the sector plays in desert. It is still desired but the the overall socioeconomic focus is gradually shifting to development of the state, the more varied tourism products state government of Rajasthan particularly eco-tourism with has accorded an industry status focus on sanctuary tourism, to tourism. weekend tourism and conferAs the nodal agency to pro- ence tourism. For us domestic mote tourism in the state, the tourists are also as important as Department of Tourism (DoT), the foreign. The domestic Rajasthan has played a key role tourists come round the year,” in this growth along with the said tourism minister Bina Kak. DoT promoted Rajasthan Rajasthan tourism thrives on Tourism Development luxury trains and the increasing Corporation (RTDC). craze for such trains has made The main tourist cities these trains as unique selling of Rajasthan namely, proposition.

Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, With the immense popularity Jaisalmer, Bikaner and of the ‘Palace on wheels,’ the Mount Abu have seen Rajasthan tourism Development marginal growth in total Corporation Ltd.( RTDC), along tourist Traffic. with the Indian Railways added In particular, the Ajmer- another feather in its cap by Pushkar circuit is experi- rolling out ‘Royal Rajasthan on encing high growth in Wheels,’ a yet another luxury both foreign and domestic train that not only moves across tourists.

Rajasthan but also visits places Also, the Alwar-Sariska like Varanasi and Khajuraho. belt is regaining growth ‘Royal Rajasthan on Wheels’ after the introduction of includes luxuries at par-super tigers in the jungle of deluxe suites, saloons, cubical Sariska. Sariska which showers, satellite TV, spa, gym. boasted of a dozen tigers The train has a capacity of carsuffered immensely at the rying 82 passengers and 22 ‘Royal Rajasthan on Wheels,’ a yet hands of the poachers who coaches. The very famous goldanother luxury train moves across killed all the tigers. en triangle, Delhi- Jaipur-Agra, Rajasthan and goes all the way to However a strong willed is a pleasurable experience with Varanasi and Khajuraho

Amongst smaller tourist destinations, Bundi has seen a multi-fold increase in both domestic and foreign traffic this train.

With a view to woo the domestic tourists, the state government initiated a campaign called ‘Rajasthan Calling.’ The campaign journeyed through 19 cities of India and included Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh, Goa, Hyderabad, Jammu, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Patna, Pune, Ranchi, Surat, Vadodara to name a few.

“The campaign not only enlightened people about the rich culture and heritage of the royal state but also showcased a glimpse of the beauty of Rajasthan through the special platter, dal bati churma, mirchibada and kachoris and not to forget the sweets, that the state

is famous for,” claimed Kak. “Plans to introduce houseboats in lakes, adventure tourism, hot air ballooning, camel safari, Sariska tiger reserve destination project are soon to materialize.

Besides Rajasthan Tourism Development Authority has recently renovated and upgraded many hotels by introducing new furnishings, furniture, linen etc to provide better facilities and services to the guests. A few more projects are in pipeline to initiate the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, to grant mega tourist projects- Jaipur, light and sound show at Ranthambore, development work at Bundi, Shekhawati tourist circuit,” added Kak.

Awards for the Rajasthan Tourism department of tourism between

Best 2008-2009.

Decorative Stall at Indian international

Condé Nast Readers Travel travel mart, Award- 2010’ for Hyderabad 2008, being the favorite Ahmadabad Travel Indian State. and Tourism Fair2009, Surat Travel

Received and Tourism FairBest Tourism 2009, Goa India Destination Travel Mart-2009, Bina Kak, Rajasthan Awareness award at Pune India Tourism Minister India Travel Mart in International Travel New Delhi in 2010.

Mart-2009, Mumbai Travel and

Received “India Tourism Fair-2010.

International Travel Mart”,

Received National “Best Decorative Stand” Tourism Award, an Award of awards in Hyderabad. excellence in the ‘Best State’

Rajasthan Tourism was category. awarded the ‘Best State Award’

Received Best Poster in lieu of promoting the state in Award at ‘Annual Indian the rest of India with colorful Association of Tour Operators’ programs and fairs. held at Bangalore.

The state received the

Received the ‘National prestigious ‘National Tourism Award’ under the ‘Best State’ Award’ on 28 March 2011 for category in the year 2010, for its strategy in promoting its significant work in the field tourism across various states.

January 7-13, 2012

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info Jaipur Jewellery Show

Gold, glitter and diamonds in Pink City

By Prakash Bhandari

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ith more than 40,000 footfalls the ninth Jaipur Jewellery Show (JJS) has established itself once again as a great annual event in the life of the Pink City. The number of participants is increasing but the organizers of the JJS are fighting for space as the city does not have a proper exhibition centre with state-of-the-art facilities to host a show like JSS where security is a huge problem.

The show’s brand ambassador Sonal Chauhan mingled with the visitors, wearing and admiring jewelleries. The honorary secretary of the JJS, Rajiv Jain said that being the brand ambassador, Sonal Chauhan’s presence during the show added life as more youth came to the show. She raised the level of the city.

The Rotary International president Kalyan Bannerji also surprised the host by visiting the fair. The retailers and buyers evinced keen interest in networking and trading.

Visitors from all over the country as well as abroad were seen negotiating and buying jewellery available to suit all budgets.

The foreign visitors were showing more interest in traditional jewellery and gems. It is to be noted that from 451 booths set up over 80 stalls were of prestigious retailers.

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) also organized 4 workshops on topics - 7 Values Factors for Pearls, Looking Beyond 4C in Diamond, Common Gem Stone Treatment and Seven steps of Successful Sale. A number of retailers and visi- of Fashion & Designing went around the stalls and examined minutely the tors participated in the workshop. intricate designs of the gems and The deputy high commissioner of Zam- jewellery displayed at the show. bia, Andrew B. Branda went through the As a part of knowledge sharing sesentire show and evinced keen interest in the traditional jewellery and studded sions which are always a part of the gems. It is to be noted that the jewel- JJS – two seminars were organized at lers of Jaipur buy the emerald rough the show entitled “Commercial gems in huge quantity from Zambia. A del- Treatment Update” and “Diamond egation from the Pakistan Institute Sales Through Internet.”

Kashish Sachdeva, Instructor from Gemological Institute of America (GIA) said that treatment of commercial gem stones was a norm now. And that there were a variety of treatments available for gems.

The different kind of treatment for stones were dyeing, chemical bleaching, surface coating, impregnation, thermal enhancement, diffusion treating, clarity enhancement and beryl treatment.

Brand ambassador Sonal Chauhan JSS is currently the number two jewellery show of the world and this show which is organized with make-shift arrangement would grow in stature and size only if there is a proper exhibition centre.

Jaipur was known for creating traditional jewellery but over the years the jewellers of Jaipur have given value addition and now the gem city has become a major centre for producing diamond ,silver and other forms of jewellery. The large number of participants who displayed their wares stunned the visitors with their innovative designs.

(left) Models walk on the ramp; (right) JSS media chief Ajay Kala and organising committee member Mahaveer Sharma fixing the jewellery piece on the JSS brand ambassador Sonal Chauhan GIA, incidentally, is the organization which introduced the concept of 4Cs –colour, clarity, cut and carat weight for gem stones.

In an interesting presentation, Prashant Bhojwani, Manager India, Rappaport, focused on the importance of marketing and trading through the internet. He informed that if the sale of studded jewellery was going up by25-30% owing to internet marketing.

The internet, he said, provided competitive edge and maximized profits. It also helps you in buying in better places and one can interact with more customers.

The organising committee members of the JSS

Furthermore, it gives better market information both for Business 2 Business (B2B) as well as Business 2 Consumer (B2C).

January 7-13, 2012

27

TheSouthAsianTimes.info Jaipur Jewellery Show

Giving impetus to jewelery industry (B2B) and Business to Consumers (B2C).

Kundan Meena being the theme attracted wide attention. With over 30,000 visitors comprising of retailers, stone dealers, manufacturers, exporters and consumers visiting the exposition –JJS 2011 emerged as an outstanding event.

The four-day jewellery show gave a new impetus and direction to the jewellery industry. During the show the exhibitors as well as the visitors were gratified. One reason was that affordable and likeable jewellery was available for the consumers. The dazzling display of the Kundan Meena products, silver gold jewellery, diamond and other color

Apart from them, exhibitors from Bangalore, Hyderabad, Surat, Junagarh, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Meerut and Delhi came to participate in the event.

M/s.Jewels Emporium and M/s Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas both from he JJS has contributed in more ways than Jaipur were selected as the best and secone in terms of branding the city as G&J ond best stalls respectively of JJS 2011. destination. Today, the city of Jaipur has now The selections were done by a special emerged in its own right, as a city which propanel. Many booths stood out for their actively promotes gems and jewellery. And creativity and ambience. One special feawith the event being held right in the middle ture of the show was that as many as 68% of the tourist season – suffice it to say that of the total booths were designer stalls, tour operators are vouching for the fact that and many participants spent lakhs of rutourists dovetail their visit with the JJS. pees on their designing and fabrication.

The Chairman of the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC),Rajiv Jain said that the council had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Tourism whereby the gems and jewellery segment will also be included in the Incredible India campaign.

During the evening the coffee table book on Kundan Meena jewellery entitled “When Jewellery Speaks: Celebrating the traditional of Kundan & Meenakari” was released by the Princess DiyaKumari of Jaipur. The book was commissioned by Jaipur Jewellery Show and is authored by Ms.Shemul Mehta Vyas - a faculty of NID, the eminent institute of India. On the occasion Princess Diya Kumari said that the book captures the living tradition of Kundan Minakari jewellery practised at many centres in India since centuries – with Jaipur in Rajasthan being one of the forerunners.

One special feature of the networking evening was an enthralling fashion show by the top models: Sonal Chauhan, Jesse The JJS was a big crowd puller Randhawa and Mugda Godse, among What could be a unique feature for the JJS gemstones won the hearts of the visitors.This others. To melodious and throbbing muas an event is the dynamic networking that year, jewellers from two countries –Thailand sic, Kundan Meena jewellery was distakes place between Business to Business and Germany participated in the event. played by the models.

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Theme 2012 Launch: The new theme was announced by the Convener of the JJS, imal Chand Surana amidst applause.

The theme is – “Diamond Jewellery – Jaipur Adds Colors to It.” As per the practice, the theme will continue for two years.

The poster of the new theme was also released during the inaugural function.

The footfall in the JJS exceeded 40,000 Over the years, the JJS has become the hallmark for setting new trends.

The Kundan Meena jewellery with a hallmark tag was in avid demand. 18 carat diamond jewellery in white gold also became a trendsetter this year; as did light weight jewellery with a heavy look. The studded gold jewellery was also in great demand. The rose-cut diamond jewellery also seemed to be in fashion along with fusion jewellery.

Jaipur Foot provides mobility and dignity too

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By Prakash Bhandari

his February in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, the world famous Jaipur Foot, Jaipur Knee and Jaipur limb of Jaipur’s Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti (BMVSS) would be competing for a prestigious “world design impact prize“ of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), a fraternity of industrial designers.

This award, in its inaugural year, aims to recognize, empower and stimulate socially responsible design projects and initiatives around the world. Significantly, Jaipur Foot is a strong contender for this coveted award.

BMVSS is known for creating an amalgam of Jaipur Foot Technology; special humane value system; patient centric management system and funding. Currently their 20,000 limbs are fitted every year. By now, more than 4,00,000 Jaipur Foot and Jaipur Limbs have been given by BMVSS. Toward further development of technology, Jaipur Foot and limb underwent many changes under the aegis of BMVSS, working under leadership of DR Mehta, founder and currently the chairman of BMVSS. Mehta signed an MOU with Stanford University, which resulted in the development of Jaipur Knee. Impact of Jaipur Foot and Jaipur Limb is enormous in terms of its vast coverage all over India and the world particularly to the

poor and marginalized patients and victims.

Stanford University-BMVSS tie up resulted in the development of four-bar linkage polycentric knee joint which according to Time magazine (Nov 23, 2009) is one of the 50-Best Inventions of the world for the year 2009. More than 2600 such knee joints have been provided free.

“The minute you start instituting a charge for your service, the most vulnerable populations are the first sector of society to be marginalized and it’s precisely this sector of society you wish to serve the most,” explained Mehta.

Mehta, a graduate of the Sloan School of Management at MIT in the US, heads the Jaipur Foot team. Their $45 ultramodern prosthetic is simply unmatched when compared to a similar $12,000 limb produced in the US. The beauty of the Jaipur Foot is its lightness and mobility, as those who wear it can run, climb trees and pedal bicycles. The Jaipur Knee is made of self-lubricating, oilfilled nylon and is both flexible and stable, even on irregular terrain. Comparable devices include a titanium replacement, which can cost $10,000 or more.

As an Indian civil servant for nearly 40 years, Mehta has been Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chairman

of the SEBI, the equivalent of Securities and Exchange Commission in the US. Founded in 1975 with less than $10,000, Jaipur Foot is now operating with an annual budget of $3.5M, and funded by donations, government support and earned income. About 60% of the budget comes from donations, small or big, from India

and abroad. Roughly 30% of the budget is in the form of government grants.

With overhead costs hovering at just 4%, an extraordinary low percentage considering 20% in the non-profit sector, Mehta has proven time and again that his organization spends each and every dollar mindful of its source.

BMVSS chief D.R. Mehta (left) watches two boys with prosthetics run during a camp for fitting limbs in war-torn Iraq.

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January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Kamal Chand Surana

Pioneer jeweler who is a role model to community

By Prakash Bhandari or two and a half centuries the Surana family of Jaipur has been pioneers in the jewelry trade in India and the firm Bhuramal Rajmal Surana is a trusted name. Kamal Chand Surana is the son of Rajmal and he has inherited all the goodness of his father.

Kamal Surana, after completing his schooling from Jaipur’s St Xavier’s School, and his practical training in jewelry and colorstone manufacturing, traveled outside India. In 1964 he participated in the New York’s world fair at Flushing Meadows by establishing a jewelry booth. The die was cast and with this experience he started expanding the family business in America.

He moved to US and in 1968 established the first Indian office with the formation of Far East Gems Inc. In later years Surana made frequent trips to Brazil, Colombia, Africa, Israel and Thailand. These trips were made to procure rough emerald stocks, which were sent to India for cutting and polishing. He soon became a leader of the color gemstone trade in US. In the mid 70’s and 80’s a number of people from India particularly from Jaipur followed in his footsteps and all of them received good support from

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Kamal Chand Surana and Prem Kumari celebrated golden jubilee of their marriage in Jaipur.

Surana.

Surana supplied gemstones to clients like Tiffany, Cartier, Arpels, Barnett Robinson, Harry Winston and Oscar Heyman.

Surana, who is the President and CEO of Surana Jewellers of Jaipur, was honored in 2011 by IDCA (Indian Diamond & Colored Stone Association) with the Pioneer Award.

Surana is known for his business ethics and principles and is a community leader and role model to the Indian community. He contributed immensely in co-sponsoring the first Jain temple in New York. In the year 2001 he was honored

by RANA (Rajasthan Association of North America) for his lifetime contribution.

Kamal Surana lived in the US for 35 years and raised his family, but his heart lied in Jaipur. His desire to return to his native town brought him back. He set up Surana Jewellers in Jaipur, a national brand in India today.

Surana Jewellers gave a new dimension to Kundan and Meenakari and a large number of people from all over the world come to his showroom in Jaipur to buy the beautiful jewelry that he produces. Surana’s legacy and experience enabled him to create a new genre of jewelry that appealed to everyone, no matter what the occasion.

His wife Prem Kumari supported him in all his endeavors. The couple is celebrating the golden jubilee of their wedding.

Kamal Surana, seen here with his family, returned to Jaipur after 35 years in New York and set up Surana Jewellers, today a brand.

Kamal Chand Surana came from the gem city of Jaipur, which boasts a great tradition of lapidary art.

Jaipur is world’s biggest centre for cutting and polishing of gemstones of all kinds. Surana has been buying rough gemstones from various countries particularly emerald.

One of his great collection was a 437.77 carat piece of emerald naturally shaped like the letter ‘A’. This rare piece of rock emerald was donated by Kamal Chand, a Jain, to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals. The emerald was featured at the auction for Animals at Sotheby’s in March 1993 and was contributed to the Smithsonian Museum’s national gem and mineral collection.

Perfected art and craft of jewelry At Jaipur based Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, every piece typifies the artistic talent of craftsmen who stamp their work with passion and creativity, besides selecting the best materials and focusing on the details.

By Prakash Bhandari i r d h i c h a n d Ghanshyamdas, one of the oldest jewelry stores in Jaipur started in 1942 in the famous Johari Bazar has created a brand. By designing and developing jewelry for every occasion, it has generated an ever growing fan base of layout and high rolling clientele globally. Their showroom offers 22 kt. gold, diamond, pearl, ruby and colored gemstone jewelry as well as gold, Polki and Kundan jewelry whereas the first floor displays exclusively diamond jewelry.

The Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas tale begins with beauty, elegance and imagination. The tradition has continued since, with great creativity and spirit, focusing on design and promoting technical innovations.

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Every Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas jewelry item stands for its design, quality of its craftsmanship and emotions that each creation is able to arouse in the giver and recipient alike.

Every piece typifies the artistic talent of craftsmen who skillfully craft them, imparting their work with passion, promoting creation,

Aranya is inspired by nature, respect for environs.

selecting the best materials and focusing on the details. Their jewelry embodies the evolution of taste through time, retaining an unmistakable style that represents creation through the achievement of unparalleled results.

Be it exquisite creations such as Adrishya, Noor or Hunar, all

Adrishya is so Hunar is bedecked Kundan with precious jewelry studstones that ded with table gold is invisible. cut diamonds

have been perfected into a fine art by Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas.

Adrishya: The word means invisible. Their golden jewelry by that name is bedecked with precious stones but without the gold visible at all. In this collection, the poetry of nature remains a constant theme. The fleeting beauty of flowers and their poignant romance are immortalized in Adrishya as iridescent motifs.

Hunar: Hunar means ‘talent’.

It’s a mesmerizing collection of traditional Indian jewelry; appreciated especially for innovative uses of the popular Mughal and Persian enameled Kundan jewelry studded with table cut diamonds to create bold, vibrant jewelry. This exquisite creation goes well with the grand Indian weddings and traditional occa-

sions.

Noor: It is a collection of contemporary diamond jewelry!

From solitaires to elaborate sets studded with fine diamonds, Noor symbolizes class and opulence for the modern woman.

The name is still looking at the future with passion, creativity and commitment.

The Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas brand enjoys success all over a leading luxury jewellery brand respecting the highest artesian traditions and elegance of an inimitable style.

Aranya : This is Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas’ latest launch named after nature/forest. It is a sublime collection of jewelry that respects environs. A range which has been conceived with the abundance of nature, crafted scrupulously to redefine good taste with a touch of grace.

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January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Haridas Kotahwala

A pioneer of gemstone business in the US

By Prakash Bhandari n 1964, Haridas Kotahwala, son of a leading gemstone dealer of Jaipur in Rajasthan, started traveling the world in search of opportunities to expand his business. He went to the Middle East, Europe and finally New York, where he had gone for the world trade fair and found that he had reached his destination.

In 1968, Haridas opened one of the first Indian owned gemstone and diamond offices in US. Haridas’ father late Gokuldas Kotahwala came from a family of traditional jewelers.

Originally the family had an emerald manufacturing and wholesale company but with hard work, dedication, vision and determination, the Kotahwala family grew into a multinational organization spanning three continents and over nine offices throughout the world dealing in a complete spectrum of gemstone and diamonds.

Haridas is the eldest of four brothers and leads the family in the true sense of a Hindu patriarch.

Currently, Haridas Kotahwala is guiding his two sons Alok and Vishal, who manage a diversified jewelry, diamond and colored stone operation Royal India USA Inc, New York. They have manufacturing operations in three countries and sell their products to over 40 countries.

Haridas has brought an equal amount of

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passion and dedication to serving his community. He regularly travels to Jaipur and recently celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with Sharda Kotahwala at Jaipur’s Hotel Marriot and this golden evening was attended by the luminaries of Jaipur and also from New York, Mumbai and other places. On their respective 50th wedding anniversaries, Haridas Kotahwala & fellow jeweler, Kamal Chand Surana, each donated 50 bicycles and 50 comforters to Jaipur foot maker Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Society.

In 1984, he became one of the founding members and first vice president of the Indian Diamond & Colored stone Association (IDCA). He is the president of the biggest body of the NRI Rajasthanis – the Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA).

“RANA is a social body committed to the Rajasthanis and we have 350 members. We are trying to bring together the Rajasthanis spread all over North America. We are trying to set up a Rajasthan Bhavan in Massapequa in Long Island at a cost of $2 million. This will cover 40,000 square foot area and would serve as our cultural center. The negotiations to acquire a synagogue is on and soon we will be able to finalize the deal,” says Kotahwala.

He said RANA was established with six community leaders with a

Haridas, seen here with his children and grandchildren, is the eldest of four brothers and leads the family in the true sense of a Hindu patriarch.

vision to preserve and promote culture, values and heritage of Rajasthan and create a special oasis in the Indian American community.

Kotahwala has received many accolades throughout his illustrious career and was honored by RANA for his social achievements. In 2004 he was honored by World Business Forum with proclamation from New York Assembly and US Congress for his dedication to his community. In 2008, he received the Pioneer Award from the IDCA for leading the Indian jewelers community.

Haridas is also the chairman of Navika Capital Group LLC, a real estate company with investment of over $180 million.

This company is wholly owned and managed by Indians in US. A proud grandfather of seven grandchildren, he continues to be proud of his family and his extended family of the diamond and colorstone community and the Rajasthan community.

Haridas Kotahwala, chief of Royal India USA, Inc, in New York. He is also President of RANA, which is on the verge of raising a Rajasthan Bhavan in Long Island.

Haridas recently celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary with wife, Sharda Kotahwala at Jaipur’s Hotel Marriot and this golden evening was attended by the luminaries of Jaipur and also bigwigs from New York, Mumbai and other places.

30

Nostalgia TheSouthAsianTimes.info

January 7-13, 2012

The life and times of Princess Niloufer

Princess Niloufer shown getting off a train

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ong before any one of the current Miss World title winners, there were three princesses in India, who were considered some of the most beautiful women. These were Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, Princess of Berar Durru Shehvar and Princess Niloufer of Hyderabad.

The story of Princess Niloufer is curious and fascinating. She had lost her father when she was only two years old. When she was eight, the Turkish royal family was exiled. They moved to Nice in Southern France.

With no income to live on, the entire royal family was dependent on the pension they received from the Nizam of Hyderabad. At that time, Time Magazine estimated the Nizam to be the richest man in the world.

Princess Niloufer with husband Muazzam Jah, the younger son of Nizam of Hyderabad

From being a bride of Hyderabad Nizam’s son at 15 to leading a glamorous public life in the West, her story is curious and fascinating

Niloufer with her friend Begum Aga Khan at the Ascot Derby

Princess Niloufer

Some years later, the daughter of the last Turkish Caliph, was proposed as a match to the Nizam’s elder son. During the discussions, the Nizam felt that the Turkish side was asking for a very high Mehr (dowry) and imposing difficult conditions. In order to make the proposal go through, Princess Niloufer was proposed to be married to the Nizam’s younger son. Thus, in 1931, Hyderabad royal family got two Turkish brides: Durru Shehvar and Niloufer.

At the time of the marriage, Princess Niloufer was only 15 years old.

A few weeks later, the two princesses, Durru Shehvar and Niloufer set sail for India. On the way, they were taught how to wear sarees and the expected etiquette in the presence of the Nizam. After their landing in Bombay, they boarded the private train of the Nizam. When it pulled up in Hyderabad station, Niloufer, she stepped off the train ever so lightly. All eyes were on her.

Niloufer moved in to the palatial Hill Fort with her husband. Her husband was a poet of Urdu. Almost every evening, he organized a mushaira. He lived a lavish lifestyle and doted on his wife, getting her painted and photographed.

Life seemed to be quite comfortable and all was well in the Nizam’s kingdom.

Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur considered one of the most beautiful women in the world

Durru Shehvar, Princess of Berar; she was Niloufer’s cousin and married to her brother-in-law

Nostalgia TheSouthAsianTimes.info

As the years rolled by, Durru Shehvar gave birth to a son, Mukarram Jah. When several years passed and still Niloufer had not conceived, she consulted various doctors in Europe and was planning to go to America for a medical visit. During this time, one of her maids died during childbirth. At that time, there was no specialized hospital for children and mothers. Niloufer’s resolve to build such a hospital materialized in the form of the current Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad.

The absence of children made her private life empty. On the other hand, her public life became very glittering. She was invited to several functions and took the lead for women’s advancement. During the Second World War, she obtained training as a nurse and helped in relief efforts. Her beauty and her active public life received mention in the press and frequently on cover pages of magazines. She was judged one of the 10 most beautiful women in the world and was offered several roles in films.

Princess Niloufer’s style attracted the public and caught the attention of the media wherever she went. She had sarees especially crafted by Madhavdas, a designer from Bombay. In later years, when she shifted to wearing European style clothes when travelling abroad, she still managed to cut a fine figure. One of her European dresses formed the topic of discussion in the New York Times.

In 1947, when India became independent, Princess Niloufer was in a peculiar position. Hyderabad had yet to decide on joining the Indian Union.

The cover of Time Magazine, showing the Nizam of Hyderabad and calling him the Richest in the World.

31 January 7-13, 2012

The Nizam dilly-dallied, sometimes wanting to become independent and sometimes desiring to join India. Ultimately, Hyderabad was added to the Indian Union, when the Indian Army conducted an operation called the “Police Action”. The Nizam was retained as the Head of the State, though he had become just a shadow of his former self.

Princess Niloufer heard the news of Hyderabad’s extinction when travelling abroad in France. She decided never to return to India again. Sometime later, her marriage came to an end. She continued to live in Paris, with her mother, in an apartment. Since she was only 36, she attracted a lot of attention. Among her friends were Ali Khan (Aga Khan’s son), the Duke of Windsor, Princess Sita of Baroda, film stars such as Maurice Chevalier and Olivia de Havilland.

She was offered yet another role in a Hollywood film (“Moulin Rouge”) but she turned it down again.

In 1961,Princess Niloufer visited the United States. She was the Guest of Honor at the Imperial Ball, held at the Plaza Hotel. During her brief visit, she received extensive coverage in the press.

An exhibition of Princess Niloufer’s sarees was held at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York city. They can be viewed at http://www3.fitnyc.edu/ museum/Exoticism/intro.htm Princess Niloufer died in Paris in 1989. Her mother’s grave was opened, and both mother and daughter were united again.

The author can be reached at arvindach@gmail.com

32

January 7-13, 2012 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

When pictures told the story From man-made disasters to nature’s fury, from landslide victories to political uncertainties, from seven-billionth joy to winning Rs 5 crore on KBC - here is a rewind of events that India witnessed during 2011.

The Yuvraj joins headlines: The skeptics were many but the peripatetic Congress general secretary set out to prove them wrong as he crisscrossed the country in 2011, sometimes to mobilise youth into joining politics, other times walking into village homes to hear the problems of people and share a meal. Rahul Gandhi’s litmus test lies only months away when Uttar Pradesh and other states go to the polls.

The Himalayan Quake: A 6.8 magnitude quake rattled the North-East with Sikkimas its epicenter on September 18.

The tiny north-eastern State was worst-hit. The quake severely damaged Sikkim’s infrastructure and the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area besides leaving scores dead.

The world’s sevenbillionth baby: Nargis, a girl born in Mal village in Uttar Pradesh on October 31, was welcomed as the world’s seven billionth baby - an honor she shared with a girl child born in the Philippines and a boy in Russia.

Meet the crorepati from Bihar: He was the everyday man who went from becoming a computer operator earning Rs.6,000 in Motihari, Bihar, to winning Rs.5 crore on the TV show “Kaun Banega Crorepati”.

The sensational turnaround in fortunes made the 27-year-old an instant celebrity.

Historic win in West Bengal elections: The Trinamool Congress won an absolute majority in assembly polls and brought down the curtain on the 34-year uninterrupted rule of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) led Left Front. The state got its first woman chief minister in Mamata Banerjee.

Slapgate left politicians shocked: The trend started off by an Iraqi journalist last year seems to continue. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar became the latest victim of public fury, when a delhi-based lorry driver, Harvinder Singh, assaulted him (seen in a TV grab after the attack) during a function in New Delhi.

The six that won us World Cup: He led the Indian team to the World Cup win in 2011, ending India’s 28-year-old wait for a second world title. Immediately after the World Cup, the Chennai Super Kings under the captainship of Dhoni became the first Indian Premier League (IPL) team to win back-to-back titles.

January 7-13, 2012

34

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The World in Frames From Middle-East uprising to Japan’s worst nightmare, from dictatorship coming to an end to pulling out troops from war-ravaged Iraq, here is a slide show of a tumultuous 2011.

A nightmare for Japan: A deadly earthquake and tsunami hit north eastern coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu on March 11, 2011.

The disaster in Japan left more than 15,000 dead.

The Japanese government estimates the destruction cost the country upwards of $300-billion.

US pulls out of Iraq: According to arecent CBS poll, 77 percent of the American electorate approves of President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. Two in three Americans say the Iraq war was not worth the cost.

Remembering Steve Jobs: A man lighting candles to pay tribute to Steve Jobs outside an Apple store in Beijing, China. The Apple founder Steve Jobs created markets and product categories. He changed how we consume information and entertainment. He redefined leadership at Apple.

Mission Possible: US gets Laden: The hideout house of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad. One of the most important events that put Pakistan in the dock in front of the whole world was the May 2 killing of bin Laden. The Al Qaeda founder was gunned down in a unilateral operation by US commandos at his hideout at Abbottabad.

A fall of dictatorship: Muammar Gaddafi’s 40-year rule ended after rebel forces seized Tripoli on August 23. The 69-year-old leader was on the run when he was captured and killed in his hometown of Sirte on Octber 20.

Mubarak’s turn to bite the dust: Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule ended unceremoniously when he was forced to quit in February after an 18-day unrest that left around 400 people dead.

Mubarak is currently facing a trial on charges of ordering use of force against protesters.

A tribute to Kim Jong-II: People offering their condolences in front of a portrait of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in Jagang Province.

Kim built an uclear arsenal, which culminated in North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006. Another test took place in 2009. Kim Jong’s son has taken over.

$GYHUWRULDO

7KH6RXWK$VLDQ7LPHV LQIR

Hon. Sonia Gandhi

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Dr. Karan Singh

Hon. Balram Jakhar

Hon. Anand Sharma

President, Indian National Congress party

Prime Minister, Govt. Of India

Chairman, Foreign Affairs Department, AICC

Senior Leader, AICC

Vice Chairman, Foreign Affairs Department, AICC

Capt. Amrinder Singh

Hon. Preneet Kaur

Hon. Mohinder S. Kaypee

Hon. Arvind Khanna

Inder Dev Singh MusaďŹ r

President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee

Minister of State for External Affairs, Govt. of India

MP, Jalandhar Constituency, Punjab

General Secretary, PPCC

Chairman, NRI Cell, Punjab Pradesh Committee

I welcome you all to the launch of “Chalo Punjab� Campaign!

When I met our party President respected Mrs. Sonia Gandhi last month, she advised us to work unitedly to get NRIs votes & support for elections in Punjab. I took her advice to heart! I am mighty pleased and thankful to God, in short span of two weeks, I have been able to mobilize NRIs from every group, every religion, every caste and every region of United States to join us in Chalo Punjab campaign. ,W LV LQGHHG D KLVWRULFDO HYHQW WRQLJKW ZKHUH ¿UVW WLPH HYHU DOO PDMRU 15, RUJDQL]DWLRQV KDYH H[WHQGHG WKHLU VXSSRUW WR RXU EDQQHU ³15,V IRU &RQJUHVV ´ <RX ZLOO ¿QG DW WKLV JDOD GLQQHU KHDGV RI PRVW PDMRU ,QGLDQ $PHULFDQ DVVRFLDWLRQV SDUWLFLSDWLQJ 7KH OHDGHUVKLS RI &DSW $PDULQGHU 6LQJK DQG 6 ,QGHU 6LQJK 0XVD¿U HQFRXUDJHG PH WR DFFHSW WKLV SRVLWLRQ RI WKH &KLHI &RRUGLQDWRU IRU 3XQMDE (OHFWLRQV &DPSDLJQ &RPPLWWHH 86$ 0\ DSSRLQWPHQW ZDV DLPHG DW JHQHUDWLQJ PD[LPXP 15,V VXSSRUW IRU EULQJLQJ FKDQJH LQ Punjab. With help of my team we have been pretty successful toward achieving that goal.

Shudh Prakash Singh Chief Coordinator PECC, USA National Vice President Indian National Overseas Congress, USA

We all are thankful to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi who after renunciation, chose Dr. Manmohan Singh, a Punjabi , for the highest position in India. Punjabis are prominent in political, social and economic areas. With an estimated US-based one Million Punjabi population, we are an ethnic group to reckon with! We have the potential to create change through our collective voice and active participation.

Through NRI support my vision is to make Punjab the best state in India. I invite you to join the crusade against corruption and participate in the development of Punjab.

Join us in Chalo Punjab Campaign and make a difference!!

George Abraham

Phuman Singh

Mohinder Singh Gilzian

Lavika Bhagat Singh

Ravi Chopra

Sect. General of INOC, USA

President, East Coast, PECC, USA

Chairman, East Coast, PECC, USA

General Secretary, PECC, USA

Sr. VP, East Coast, PECC, USA

Lukhbir Gill

Jaswinder Singh Khakh

Jasbir Singh Nawanshahar

Sawran Singh

President, West Coast, PECC, USA

VP, East Coast, PECC, USA

VP, East Coast, PECC, USA

President, Haryana Ch. INOC, USA

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Inder Inde er Dev Singh Musafir Musa afir Chairman - NRI Cell C Punjab P Pradesh radesh Congress (PPC)

TheSouthAsianTimes.in TheSouthAsianTimes.info nfo

I have haave kno known w and w wn worked orrked vvery er y ccloseloseShudh Parkash many llyy with Shu udh P arrk kash Singh ffor or o man ny under yyears ears unde er the banner of The Indian Overseas Congress, National O verseas Cong ress,, USA.. I admiree his leader leadership admir ship and dedication carrying in car r ying g fforward orw o ard his duties and anything rresponsibilities esponsibillities rregarding egarding an nything y and d eeverything ver yth th hi h hing he eever ver takes t kes on or is tak i delegated by by our senior leaders. leaders.

Singh has been instruShudh Parkash Parrkash k instrumental in star sstarting ting and taking fforward orw o ard Phuman Singh h multiple initiatives m ultiple in nitiatives and this time he President, East Coast Coast, t, PECC PECC,, USA With has eeven veen undone un ndone himself. himselff. W iith “Chalo Punjab” Punja b”” he has ignited in all of us Pun-jabis firee to gear work hard ja bis a fir t g ear up and w orrk har d efforts bring progressive with all our eef ffor o ts and rresources esources to br in ng the most pr ogressive party back power home Punjab. par ty of Indiaa bac k in po ower in our hom me state,, Punja ab. b myy ffellow Punjabis, myy fr friends So I appeal to o all of you, you,, m eello ow Punja abis,, m iends and ffamam a ily, make endeavor Together, il ly, let us mak ke this endea avor o a success! T ogetherr, let us “Chalo o Punjab!!”

Punja ab!!” b

Dear NRI Brothers Brotheers and Sisters,

Vision ision i to connectt the t Punjab Pradesh Congress was formed with a V The NRI Cell of the Values NRI Diaspora off Punjab with the Secular V aaluues of the Congress Party, Partyy, and the immediate Missi Mission ion being that of working with th thee NRI's for the victory of the Cong Congress gress Party in the forth forthcoming hcoming Assembly Elections.

Today o p junctuure, the decision that we take onn the Today Punjab is poised at a very important juncture, th 30 of this month month, h, will determine the future of our ouur homeland.

Con Congratulations ngratulationss to o Honorees

W let Punjab remain a debt ridden state, staate, or restore the pride of Punja ab by Wee can either let Punjab bringing into pow wer the Congress Party under thee Dynamic Leadership of the One and power Only “Lion of Punjab” Puunjab” Captain Amarinder Singh.

W iith the launchh of the “CHALO PUNJAB” camp paign under the banner of NRI'ss for With campaign Congress, homeland Congress, I urgee all of you to come to your hom meland and make Congress your first f choice.

Dr. Dr r. Rajesh Sin Singh ngh

I look forward too welcoming you in joining me to usher Green, u in the Golden Future of a Gre een, Prosperous and Corruption C Free Punjab.

Dr. Drr. Kiranpreet S. Parmar

Mr Mr. r. Kanwal Sra S Mr. Mrr. Jaswinder Jasw winder Johal & Mr. Mrr. Deepak D Bhardwaj

Puunjab… unjab See you all in Punjab…

Bravo to Mr M Mr. r. Shudh Prakas Prakash sh Singh

With W iith kind regards, regardds,

for launching laaunching Chalo Punjab Pun njab Campaign

In der De ngh Mu M safir Inder Devv Si Singh Musafir Chairman Ch airman - NRI NRI Cell Cell

Correspondence Coorrespondence Address Mobile Email Website W eebsite

: A-16, New Neew Friends Colony Colony, y, New Delhi - 1100 065 (+91)-11-26931616 : (+91) 9810026362 98810026362 FAX: FA AX: (+91)-11-2693161 16 idmusafir@idmusafir.com : idmusaf fir@idmusafirr..com http://www.idmusafir.com/ : http://w www.idmusafirr.com/ .

48 W est, e 48th 48 h St S treet, West, Street, Between 5th & 6th Avenue, Avenue, v New Tel. Ne ew York, York, o 10036 | T eel. 212.221.7952 2 www.indusexpress.com www .indusexpresss.com

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JOIN

CHALO PUNJAB GROUP TO INDIA AND ENJOY FOLLOWING BENEFITS - Under Chalo Punjab Campaign you and a companion Pay ONLY $875* each on direct flight by Air India when you travel with CHALO PUNJAB GROUP

“India Program as Planned by NRI cell Punjab Pradesh Congress” - Honorable DR. Karan Singh Ji will flag off the cavalcade to Punjab from AICC headquarters IN DELHI. Many congress leaders will attend the flag off of the “NRI Kafila” - A group photo “parliament style” of all attendees will be organized with congress leaders. this will be presented to honorees as a framed memento.

- Chalo Punjab group will be TAKEN TO PUNJAB IN LUXURY VOLVO BUSES as NRI Kafila. The Volvo Buses will be dressed up with banners of

“NRI’s for Congress”.

When the “NRI Kafila” reaches Karnal (Haryana) it will be received by the Haryana Chief Minister Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda subject to his schedule. At the Venue some traditional folk entertainment will be organized along with snacks.

- Once the “NRI Kafila” reaches Jalandhar (Punjab), all the participating NRI’s will be given a grand welcome with Bhangra / Gidda and garlands and received by prominent Congress leaders of Punjab.

- NRI Kafila will attend Proposed NRI Sammelan at Jalandhar TO BE ATTENDED by Capt. Amarinder Singh ji and other leaders.

- Enjoy the trip while serve your motherland and Punjab by supporting the best party .... The Congress Party! *Subject to approval from Air India

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Indian National Congress Party.

Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, who was voted as the leader of the party and was expected to take on the Prime Minister position, has been the backbone of the Congress Party. She has lead the electoral campaign of the

Lavika Bhagat Singh General Secretary, PECC, USA

Greetings! On behalf of the Punjab Election Committee, it is a great pleasure for me to introduce you to Chalo Punjab.

Chalo Punjab is geared towards highlighting the potential and achievement of Punjabi leaders and to encourage them further.

Chalo Punjab is also designed to garner NRIsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; support for development and progress in Punjab.The mission is to utilize a myriad of resources to help the state of Punjab prosper.

Though outside of Punjab, we have aspired to encourage the local Punjabi community to connect with our Punjabi roots.

Mr. Shudh Parkash Singh, the chief coordinator of the Punjab Election Campaign Committee, USA, has been instrumental in managing several of our efforts to support Congress leaders in Punjab, India. It is his leadership that has provided direction and enabled us to pursue all our campaigning efforts. I am thankful for his support and for having me on his committee.

The Indian National Congress has gained effectiveness and inďŹ&#x201A;uence under the leadership of our Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, President of the

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Congress Party in 2004 to get much success. It is under her vision and leadership that has allowed the Punjab Election Committee, here in the US, to push for greater political campaigning. Dr. Manmohan Singh, who gracefully took on the position of Prime Minister,

has demonstrated dynamic leadership. His leadership has taken India to greater heights of national and international success.Today, India is undoubtedly referred to as a potential land of opportunities and a dynamic economy.

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HONOREES The Raj and Rajeshwari Foundation is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers aid to people affected by exclusion from health care, by reason of poverty and lack of infrastructure in an around Dist. Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, India. Currently the foundation is ably supported

by Dr. Singh’s sons - Harendra Singh, Dr. Jitendra Singh and his son in law - Dr. J.P. Singh.

Rajesh K. Singh M. D., FACS, FRCS (Canada)

The Raj and Rajeshwari Foundation was created in 2000 by Dr. Rajesh K. Singh, who after his retirement and with the support of his wife of 56 years: Rajeshwari Devi Singh, decided to devote his life to improve the quality of life of those in dire straits in and around the village of his birth in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The dream of Dr. Singh was materialized in 2001 with the establishment of the Raj and Rajeshwari Foundation as a nongovernmental organization to both provide medical assistance and bear witness publicly to the plight of the people it assists.

A private nonprofit association, RRF is an organization seeking to uplift the lives of the poor and destitute in rural India, where the benefits of globalization and modernization have not yet arrived.

RRF provides health care, rehabilitation and runs a 16 bed hospital, performs surgery, carries out vaccination campaigns, operates feeding centers for malnourished people and offers mental health care.

“It is a mammoth task and no single organization or individual can tackle these problems in rural and poverty stricken areas in the world. However, RRF has made humble beginnings and the hope is that others will follow.”- Dr. R. Singh.

Medical Missions The need and the opportunity surrounding Medical Missions to the Raj and Rajeshwari Hospital are equal in intensity. While the needs of the patients can never be fully satisfied, the opportunity that volunteering presents in experience cannot be calculated.

On a daily basis Dr. Singh treat’s patients for pathologies that are no longer treated in the Western Hemisphere on a normal basis. Such patients suffer from Typhoid, Malaria, and Leprosy to name a few. For Doctors, Nurses and the Press who wish to volunteer time at the hospital, all room and board are included in the most hospitable of accommodations. In addition, the cost of airfare is 100% Tax Deductable thanks to the Raj and Rajeshwari Foundation being included under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Diagnosing and treating people in need of medical care are the Raj & Rajeshwari Foundation’s primary activity. Dr. Rajesh Singh along with experienced staff coordinate the work, provide support and training where necessary, and ensure that there is a sufficient supply of drugs and medical materials. Additionally, the foundation has set up special programs to address particular diseases when necessary, such as Diarrhea, Dysentery,Tuberculosis, For more information, please Filaria, Cholera,Typhoid, Malaria, contact 516-470-1824 or visit the HIV and Aids. foundation’s web page: www. rajrajfoundation.org

Dr. Singh with his son Harendra Singh and his family.

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HONOREES

Kanwal Sra CPA

Kanwal Sra was born in Mumbai, India. After his family moved to the United States in the mid 70s, he completed his education in New York and graduated from New York University in 1986 with a Bachelors degree in Accounting.

He passed his Certified Public Accountant exam soon after graduation.

During his last year of college, he worked for the New York City Department of Finance performing audits on a wide variety of large, medium, and small sized businesses for the City of New York. After graduating, he joined Manufacturer’s Hanover Trust in the Management Training Program for the Audit Department where he performed audits of all divisions of the bank.

Following this, he gained extensive experience on Wall Street and the Securities Industry during the next six years, first by working for Shearson Lehman’s Audit and then for Spicer and Oppenheim CPAs, a mid sized CPA firm that provided auditing accounting and tax services to the small and midsized Broker and Dealers of stocks and bonds, Investment Partnerships and High Net Worth Individuals. For three years, he also worked as the Controller of Prudential Global Funding, a subsidiary of Prudential Insurance Company. He then joined Ernst & Young LLP CPAs as a Senior Manager for two years where he managed accounting, auditing and management consulting projects.

In 1995, he set up SRA & Associates LLP to provide tax, financial, management consulting, accounting and auditing services to a diverse group of companies

specializing in the construction industry. In 2000, Kanwal started System One Financial Services LLC with the goal of assisting clients in every aspect of their financial lives including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, Business Succession /Continuation Planning, Risk Management and Employer-Sponsored Financial Education Programs. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Taxosphere, a New York Based company that provides tax preparation services to Individuals and businesses throughout the Kanwal Sra with his wife Avneet and daughters Sehar and Sahel.

United States.Taxosphere has over 60 branches in over twenty two more than 50 children from the Indian community in the New states. underserved slum community York area and was established by near Delhi. Currently, he is him in 1995.

In 2003, Kanwal traveled to India involved in setting up chapters of and started OSI Info Solutions Crystal Foundation in other states.

He also set up a non-profit, India Pvt Ltd to provide back Crystal Foundation with a office processing in accounting, In additional to managing his vision is to provide education taxes, financial and medical various businesses in US and and healthcare to underserved billing in Chandigarh for US based population in India through India, since 2011, Kanwal has clients. In 2005, he launched also been anchoring a TV show collaboration in order to kindle Phoenix Buildcon Pvt Ltd in ‘Money Matters’ on the Jus ‘stronger minds and healthier Punjab as a township developer Punjabi Channel to help educate bodies’. In 2003, he started the builder and started one of the first Crystal Foundation in India to and answer financial and tax mega projects in Jalandhar during provide health and education related questions for Punjabis all Captain Amarinder Singh’s last over North America. In Jan 2012, to the underserved community government in Punjab to build a he launched the Money Matters with the establishment of the township in 100 acres for NRIs show on ITV Channel, which is first health clinic in Thada village from USA, Canada and England. aired throughout the Tri State area. near Jalandhar. In 2010, Crystal At present, he is a member of the Foundation launched the ‘Adopt a American Institute of Certified Village’ campaign and successfully Kanwal is married and has three Public Accountants, New York beautiful daughters. conducted health camps as part State Society of Certified Public of this campaign. In addition, Accountants, National Society it supported the education on of Tax Professional, and National Association of Tax Practitioners.

While still attending NYU, Kanwal also became involved with community services. He was the treasurer of the Sikh Cultural Society at the Richmond Hill Gurudwara and helped develop, automate and implement financial systems to ensure transparent, efficient and timely reporting of the Gurudwara financial statements. In addition, he also helped in setting up health camps in Queens.

Kanwal has also been the Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Punjab & Sindh Federal Credit Union, which provided banking services to the

KSRA CPA PC CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS & FINANCIAL PLANNERS K. SRA CPA P.C. provides a broad range of consulting services to high net worth individuals, private practitioners, small businesses, corporations and other organizations requiring specialized professional expertise in the following major areas: i i i i i i i

Profit planning, budgeting and operational planning Profit sharing and Pension Plans Business valuations General Accounting Services Tax Services Personal Financial Planning Management Advisory Services

NY-Richmond Hill

NY-Hicksville

NY-Elmhurst

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Richmond Hill. NY-11419 Tel: 718-805-6556 Fax: 516-871-1005 contact@ksracpaspc.com www.ksracpaspc.com

85 Broadway, Hicksville, NY 11801 Tel: 516-871-1001 Fax : 516-871-1005 contact@ksracpaspc.com www.ksracpaspc.com

85-18 Queens Blvd.

Second Floor Elmhurst NY-11373 Tel: 718-533-1040 contact@ksracpaspc.com www.ksracpaspc.com

NY-Westbury Training Center 25 Carle Road.

Westbury. NY-11590 Tel: 516-871-1001 contact@ksracpaspc.com www.ksracpaspc.com

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HONOREES

Dr. Kiranpreet S. Parmar Physician

Dr. Kiranpreet S. Parmar is currently an attending physician at Staten Island University Hospital, New York City. He is involved in setting up medical specialty practices as well as surgical centers in New York. Dr. Parmar was born in Chandigarh and spent his ďŹ rst nine years there. He arrived in America in 1974 and returned to India for his medical education where he developed a strong bond and love for the country of India and its people. Dr. Parmar returned to the United States to complete his studies in the ďŹ eld of Internal Medicine. In 1998 he was elected chief resident at Staten Island University Hospital.

Upon completion of his internal medicine program, he attended the University of Texas to specialize in gastroenterology. He became Chief Fellow of gastroenterology

as well as an interventional fellow in 2001.

Dr. Parmar also completed a subspecialty of gastroenterology, in the ďŹ eld of endoscopic ultrasound and was the only fellow chosen to attend advance training in Paris, France.

Since his training, Dr. Parmar has returned to his homeland on many occasions and has set up an operating theater in his native village of Baddon. He has also donated land for the future construction of a grade school in Punjab. In 2009, he became a board member of the Crystal Foundation, an organization that promotes primary medical care in India. Dr. Parmar hopes to develop more free medical clinics for the under privileged in rural India. His ultimate goal is to set up a state of the art medical university, which would provide physicians for clinics in rural India.

Congratulations to

Dr. Kiranpreet S. Parmar for being honored for his achievements

by Friends & Family

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HONOREES

Desh Deepak Bhardwaj & Jaswinder Singh Johal Apna Bazar

JASWINDER SINGH JOHAL and DESH DEEPAK BHARDWAJ, after emigrating from Punjab India, started working as helpers in a grocery store in Jackson Heights. With their hard work and honesty they now own 7 super markets under the brand name APNA BAZAR in the tri state area.They just opened America’s biggest Indian food Super Market in Hicksville.

They contribute a lot towards charity and provide a lot of sponsorshipsWe to social and community are proud to host theevents. historic launch of Their friendship has become an exemplary story in our

community. For 30 years they have been working together cordially despite being from two different religions. Deepak is Hindu and Jaswinder is a Sikh.

They have been given a very prominent award for their friendship from the highest religious body of Sikhs called “SGPC” in India.

They have become and remain a symbol of unity for both religions.

Chalo Punjab Campaign

Congratulations to the Honorees We congratulate the for making a difference and to

Honorees Mr.Jaswinder Shudh Prakash Singh Singh Johal for his Deepak leadership in Chalo Desh Bhardwaj Punjab Campaign

World Fair Marina Restaurant & Banquet, Flushing, NY 11368 Tel. 718.898.1200 www.worldfairmarina.com

We are proud to be associated with

Chalo Punjab Campaign Congratulations to

Mr. Shudh Prakash Singh for his exemplary leadership in launching Chalo Punjab Campaign

795 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07306, t. (201) 659 8700 1655-170 Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820 t. (732) 947 3014, f. (732) 549 7978 http://www.mithaas.net/

January 7-13, 2012

47

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Wide Angle

A yearful of memories Announcement of the Year

Man of the Year Movie of the Year

By Ashok Vyas using over time can be an interesting and enriching exercise.

You look back at each year, and it is always a mixed bag. When it ends you feel a sense of relief and a sense of achievement. We have very selective memory. The fascinating aspect of human mind is that it is capable of forgetting the most significant events. Life is not confined to any one ‘moment’ or ‘event’-the movement of time and new configuration of our possibilities or expectations makes life a fascinating journey. While we welcome a new year, we create new dreams and aspirations. Some of us follow the age old tradition of forming new resolutions. Some of us have given up on our ability to live up to our own resolve.

Looking back at the tumult of events and happenings in India and the world at large, I think that one man who deserves to be given ‘Man of the Year’ award is Anna Hazare. Is he a new Gandhi? Is he not respecting democratic norms of India? What is it that has entrusted in him the power to mobilize millions of people.

M

Anna Hazare

Moment of the Year

Obama announcing Osama kill.

Lost in the Year Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’

Teammates carrying Tendulkar on shoulders after World Cup win.

Many Indians may have no clue about the nitty-gritty of the system, they may not understand how a strong Lokpal bill would remove corruption, but they could resonate with the spirit of Anna. While some others of my brethren were celebrating ‘India Day’ Parade in New York, I saw many others wearing caps proclaiming ‘I am Anna’.

This complete identification with an idea and enthusiasm to rally behind such an idea has been visible in various parts

Sathya Sai Baba, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Jagjit Singh,Bhupen Hazarika.

of the world in 2011. The distinct difference between those and the Anna movement has been its ‘non-violent nature’ and the willingness of government of India to engage in discussion with the protestors. Indeed, it was historic that a special session of Parliament was convened to discuss the demands of ‘Team Anna’.

As the year came to an end, seeds of more dissatisfaction became visible. Yet, 2011 proved to be a landmark year in bringing up the issue of corruption. Anna on the one hand and multimillion scams in the fields of technology, sports and politics monopolized the headlines.

‘Moment of the year’ for many Indians across the globe was the day India won cricket World Cup final. Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Indian ODI team to this remarkable victory, the second World Cup brought home after a gap of nearly three decades. There were firecrackers, excitement, joy filled slogans, tears and prayers. When his teammates carried Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders in the stadium was a moment charged with emotions and patriotism. Many people may or may not understand the fine points of cricket but the power of cricket to unify the nation in palpable. There were impromptu victory celebrations in USA also.

‘Movie of the Year’? Now, that is a difficult pick. Allowing space for subjectivity and disagreement, I would choose ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ as the best film of2011. The central theme was offbeat, the treatment was fresh and some philosophical questions about life found respectable play in commercial cinema with good acting, direction and wonderful locations. I liked ‘Singham’ too for its lyrical portrayal of fight scenes and excellent acting of Ajay Dev-Gun as well as the villain Prakash Raj. I am an Amitabh fan, so ‘Buddha Hoga Tera Baap’ was a treat, the director tried to bring back the Big B of old with a multilayered character.

‘Announcement of the Year’ One evening, after dinner time, the President of the United States of

America, Barack Obama announced that the founder of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden was killed. He gave some details about Navy Seals operation and the fact that Osama was killed in Pakistan. This caused much embarrassment for Pakistan and added to the challenges faced by what is intrinsically a convoluted USPakistan relationship.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was in New York for ‘I Meditate NY’ program earlier last year. He shared the art of using breath and sounds to create inner harmony. This year, devotees had to face the loss of the physical presence of Sathya Sai Baba.

He was considered a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. Many people felt a sense of special peace in his presence. Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have been devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. Prashanthi Nilayam, Baba’s abode in Andhra Pradesh, is a pilgrimage place for devotees from all parts of the world.

Scriptures have said, ‘Whosoever is born, is bound by death’. We lost some significant artists in 2011. One was Dev Anand who left his mortal frame in London. This passionate actor and filmmaker made his mark as a positively charged creative being. Evergreen Dev Saheb didn’t believe in looking back.

This trait of looking forward and creating a distinct dance style was what made Shammi Kapoor a phenomenon in his heyday. The yahoo! star (who preceded the search engine by a half century) also left us in 2011. Music lovers will never have anybody to replace Jagjit Singh, the inimitable Ghazal Samrat. We also lost the soulful voice of Bhupen Hazarika.

As the New Year dawns, we need to find a way to put our best foot forward on this new space of time. We need hope, enthusiasm, courage and collective will to live with peace and harmony.

Ashok Vyas prefers to describe himself with three Ps - Poet, Priest and Program director with ITV, NY.

January 7-13, 2012

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info Top 10 newsmakers - India

The year of social activism

From Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the notorious Reddy Brothers and Vijay Mallya, there were some people who stayed in the headlines - and in our collective consciousness - for reasons right or wrong. SATimes takes a look at 10 people/events that mattered the most in 2011.

Manmohan Singh

The year winds down on a dismal note for the prime minister with corruption and the economy continuing to be the millstones around his neck. Anna Hazare was breathing down his neck for a stronger anti-graft law and senior ministers like P. Chidambaram were also alleged to be involved in corruption. The rupee slumped to reach 54 to the dollar and growth slowed down to 6.9 percent for Q2. Questions arose again on his ability to govern. With Congress president Sonia Gandhi unwell in the key weeks of the Anna agitation, he battled allegations of being a non-performer.

Indian space missions

During 2011, ISRO launched eight satellites using its own rocket PSLV and one communication satellite GSAT-8 through Ariane 5 from Kourou, French Guiana.

India’s most successful rocket, the PSLV has successfully launched 52 satellites out of the 53 it carried over half a century and has been a major revenue earner for ISRO.

BAd year

For

Investors For stock market investors in India, 2011 was the second worst in 14 years -second only to the disastrous 2008. Investors’ wealth, as measured in terms of market capitalization of all the companies listed on the BSE, has been eroded

by Rs 19,11,122 crore in 2011. Considering there are 19.7 million demat account holders in India, the average loss per stock market investor was Rs 9.70 lakh.

Defense modernization India’s quest to modernize its armed forces into a lean, mean fighting machine continued in 2011, with a few critical deals materializing and several others facing time overruns. India finalized the purchase of some important military equipment, such as 10 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavylift cargo planes from the US and the upgrade of 51 Mirage-2000 combat planes initially by the French manufacturer and later in India.

These apart, India got the delivery of six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules medium-lift cargo planes from the US and entered into an agreement with Russia for licensed production of 42 more Sukhoi SU-30 MKI combat jets at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in India.

Rollerocoaster Sino-India ties Like before, the roller coaster Sino-Indian relations witnessed their share of highs and lows. India and China tried their best to overcome the South China Sea muddle and in a statesman like spirit, PM Manmohan Singh reiterated in Bali that there was enough space for both India and China to flourish. Bilateral relationship was also strained by the postponement of talks between the two countries because the schedule clashed with the international Buddhist congregation addressed by the Dalai Lama. In the end, India’s firm responses to bilateral issues and China’s appreciation of the Indian position gave a positive momentum to their relations.

The year belonged to the diminutive man who led an unparalleled movement against corruption with two hunger strikes that brought Lokpal into the lexicon and forced the government virtually to its knees. Bringing back a certain old age idealism, the 73-year-old Gandhian from Maharashtra was dismissed by some as anachronistic but realpolitik saw him and his team battle for their version of the Lokpal bill, isolating the Congress as other parties rallied around to their cause. For his fight against graft and also for gaffes, like backing the slap attack on agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, Hazare stayed in the headlines through the year. Thousands took to the streets in support, waving the tricolor and the now famous ‘I am Anna’ caps and T-shirts.

Vijay Anna Hazare Mallya The King of Good Times hit a bad patch as his Kingfisher Airlines was forced to close down its no-frills Kingfisher Red brand and owed big bucks to fuel suppliers and airport managements. The flamboyant Vijay Mallya, a Rajya Sabha MP, was also in the news as owner of the F1 team Force India, a part stake of which he sold to Sahara India group.

Reddy Brothers The notoriously rich Brothers Reddy have manipulated Karnataka politics by proxy from their bastion in the iron ore-rich district of Bellary. G. Janardhana, G. Karunakara and G. Somashekara, two of whom were ministers, are now feeling sidelined by their former BJP patrons and are believed to be close to floating a new party. Janardhana is directing power games from Hyderabad jail where he is held since Sep 5 over the multi-crore illegal mining scam.

A. Raja

The once powerful Union communications minister form the DMK party became a metaphor for corruption in 2011, the first of 14 people to be arrested in the multi-crore 2G spectrum allocation scam. After his arrest Feb 2, DMK MP Kanimozhi as well as corporate honchos like Sanjay Chandra of Unitech and influential officials like former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura found themselves in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

Omar Abdullah

The chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir was in the news through the year for his stance on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), his relentless tweeting on a range of issues from Anna Hazare to Dev Anand and also for being the rare politician to declare upfront that there was indeed trouble in his marriage but people should leave him alone.

January 7-13, 2012

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Supreme Court spared neither holy cows, nor corrupt It was a year of judicial activism as the Supreme Court was in 2011 called on to adjudicate on a wide swathe of issues ranging from governance, to graft, to police high-handedness. ransparent governance remained centric to the decisions of the Supreme Court, which quashed the appointment of then central vigilance commission P.J. Thomas as 'non-est', meaning not existing in law.

Unhappy over the central government's probe into black money, the apex court June 4 set up a special investigation team headed by former apex court judge B.P. Jeevan Reddy to investigate the stashing away of the ill-gotten money in tax heavens abroad.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati received a setback when the apex court July 6 quashed the acquisition of land in and around Greater Noida for constructing residential complexes.

The Planning Commission sparked a public outcry when in September it told the apex court that the poverty line in urban and rural areas was Rs.32 per capita per day and Rs.26 per capita per day, respectively.

Faced with public outcry over its observation in Australian missionary Graham

Delhi Police evicted yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers from Ramlila Ground in Delhi.

People we'll miss

Jailhouse rock for the high and mighty A. Raja: The former communications minister was the first high profile arrest of the year. Held for alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam Feb 2, the DMK MP is still in Tihar Jail.

Suresh Kalmadi: The Lok Sabha MP and former Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organizing Committee (OC) chief was arrested April 25 in connection with alleged irregularities in the contracts awarded for the 2010 mega event.

Amar Singh: The Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader was arrested for alleged involvement in the 2008 cash-for-votes scandal.

Sukh Ram: The former telecom minister was awarded five years' imprisonment by a Delhi court in a 1996 corruption case Nov 19. He was arrested and taken to Tihar jail.

B.S. Yeddyurappa: BJP's first chief minister in southern India was arrested in two graft and illegal land deal cases. He was in jail for 21 days.

Mahipal Maderna: The sacked Rajasthan water resources minister was arrested by the CBI for the disappearance of nurse Bhanwari Devi, who allegedly features in a CD showing Maderna in a compromising position with her and went missing.

Staines' killing, the apex court Jan 25 recalled its judgment upholding the life sentence of Dara Singh and his associate and expunged a controversial portion of the verdict related to alleged conversion of tribals.

Apex court judges cautioned law enforcement agencies against using excessive force. It took suo motu cognizance June 6 of Delhi Police action past midnight on June 4 for evicting yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers from Ramlila ground in Delhi.

They entertained, educated and enlivened our lives with their talent and sheer brilliance. As another year draws to a close, it is time to remember their magic and say adieu once again to some of those who left us in 2011.

Pt Bhimsen Joshi (1922-2011) In what was described as the sun setting on Indian classical music, the iconic Hindustani music vocalist passed away at his hometown Pune on January 24 at the age of 88.

Dev Anand (1923-2011) Bollywood's very own Peter Pan finally said sayonara on Dec 4 this year at the age of 88, an actor who epitomised the suave lover romancing his way through generations of heroines -- from Nalini Jaywant to Zeenat Aman.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (1941-2011) India's cricket legend Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who personified style on and off the cricket field, died on September 22 when he was just 70.

Shammi Kapoor (19302011) Hindi cinema's "Junglee", "Professor" and "Bluff Master" who jolted audiences out of their lethargy with his romantic war cry of "Yahoo", which is said to have inspired even Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, died after a long illness on Aug 14.

Jagjit Singh (1941-2011) Indian ghazal king Jagjit Singh's way of celebrating his 70th year was unique he was aiming to complete 70 concerts by the end of the year.His concerts were a delight, especially when he broke into pleasant Punjabi numbers like "Saun da mahina".

Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011) A golden voice of Indian music fell silent when legendary singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika died in Mumbai, plunging millions of fans across the country, especially those in eastern India, into gloom.

M.F. Husain (1915-2011) It was a virtual exile for the country's best known artist, who left home in 2006 after being hounded and threatened by rightwing activists for his paintings of goddesses. He yearned to get back. Alas, that was never to be.

Sathya Sai Baba (1926-2011) He was widely revered as god and attracted a following of millions of people, who flocked from across the world to his home in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, which went from obscurity to global fame.

Arjun Singh (1930-2011) Arjun Singh was a wily politician who badly wanted to be prime minister at one time, but who saw his ambitions thwarted by the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, the man to whom he remained loyal through his life.

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January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

< Looking back, looking forward >

India's democracy is alive and well 2011 was the worst year for the Congress-led UPA government in the last seven years that it has been in power. But it ended on a better note.

By Amulya Ganguli here is reason to hope that India will fare better in 2012. For one, much of the political storms have blown over scams, Anna Hazare, et al. They may not have dissipated completely, but their initial debilitating impact has lessened.

For another, the country has been fortunate that it hasn't faced any major Pakistan-inspired terrorist attack in the recent past. Perhaps, Islamabad's own mounting problems have induced a rethink. What is more, even the Maoist insurgency is far less threatening today than in the time when scores of security personnel were being killed in ambushes. The edge seems to have been taken off, therefore, of two grave challenges to the Indian state - one external and the other internal.

There is little doubt that if the economy can recover its earlier 8 to 9 % growth rate and there is not so much dispiriting talk by businessmen of investing abroad, India will be back on track. All that will remain is for the country, and the government, to mull over why the situation went so badly wrong, for 2011 was undoubtedly the worse year for the government in the last seven years that the Congress-led

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Much of the political storms have blown over - scams, Anna Hazare, et al.

UPA has been in power.

Ironically, what went wrong were the two factors which were earlier hailed as the defining features of a new era of politics. One was the assumption that the country had entered a period when coalitions will be the order of the day. The other was the belief that the neat division of authority between Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi with the prime minister running the government and the Congress president looking after the party had finally solved the crippling diarchy which other prime ministers had faced.

It is strange that the negativism of this previously acclaimed dual authority complicated coalitional

politics because of the excessive leeway given by the prime minister to a cabinet colleague A. Raja presumably because the Congress president did not want the DMK withdrawing support, as the Left did in 2008.

As Manmohan Singh explained after Raja's incarceration under orders from the Supreme Court, the reason the government dilly-dallied about bringing him to book was the fear of another election at the national level.

Yet, when the assembly elections were finally held in Tamil Nadu, both the Congress and the DMK received a severe drubbing because the electorate was not amused by the patent compromise with

malfeasance.

Unfortunately, the same hesitancy to act against a troublesome ally was evident in the government's retreat on allowing foreign investment in the retail sector following opposition from Mamata Banerjee.

She has threatened to hold up several other reforms as well, such as the one on pension funds, because she is aware of the special status she has acquired in the political field by triumphantly ending Left's three-decade-old rule in West Bengal. But, she may be undermining her own position by outdoing the comrades in her quest to be the heroine of socialism.

As in the cases of Raja and Mamata, the government didn't seem to know how to assert itself when it came to dealing with Anna Hazare till his "flop show" in Mumbai signaled the fizzling out of his anti-corruption campaign.

But the reason why the government had been at its wits’ end earlier in dealing with him - oscillating between either inviting him to jointly frame the Lokpal bill with ministers, or arresting him, or hailing him as a crusader after releasing him - was that there was apparently no one in the government or the party with acute political instincts or wide popular appeal like Indira Gandhi before the Emergency or Rajiv Gandhi before

the Bofors scandal.

Curiously, Manmohan Singh's personal integrity could have helped him counter Anna's simpleminded, rabble-rousing tactics much earlier. But the prime minister is seen as someone who is remote-controlled by Sonia Gandhi. This impression of Singh's helplessness has been strengthened by his failure to push through the economic reforms.

But all is not lost. The Lokpal bill has passed through the Lok Sabha, though not in the form which the Congress may have wanted. Other important bills are on the anvil.

Rahul Gandhi's support for FDI in retail suggests that reforms will be back on track. There is reason for the country, therefore, to look forward to a better tomorrow.

A main reason for hope, however, was the manner in which parliament met till late at night to consider the Lokpal bill while, at the same time, the attempt by Anna's supporters to pressurize the house by organizing a rally in Mumbai failed.

The contrast between an animated Lok Sabha and the emptiness of the meeting site in Mumbai confirmed that for all its flaws, Indian democracy remains alive and well.

Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst.

India positive in tough times My optimism stems from four trends: combating corruption, steady growth of economy, better ties with neighboring countries and slowing population growth in UP-Bihar.

Kanimozhi, MP and Karunanidhi’s daughter accused in the 2G scam, entering Tihar jail in Delhi: The fear of punishment for corruption has been put into the hearts of ministers and politicians of all parties.

By Subhash Chopra ynics and Doubting Thomases notwithstanding, India is well set for a vibrant future. Stargazing is always a risky business, but it is part of human nature to look ahead for better or worse. I, for one, bet on a more dynamic India in the next few years.

My optimism is posited on four pillars of better governance as

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symbolized by the arrest and actual imprisonment of corrupt politicians of various parties, steady growth of national economy amidst global downturn, better relations with neighboring countries, and most importantly the discernible decline in the rate of population growth across the entire country.

The nation’s resolve to root out corruption by all stake holders from the ruling coalition, which is determined to get measures like Lokpal (ombudsman) passed, to opponents jumping on the Anna Hazare bandwagon augurs well for a sturdy future.

The fear of punishment for crime, if not the fear of God, has been put into the hearts of ministers and politicians of all parties for the first time since independence with exemplary jail terms during 2011. Nobody is above the law of the land. Earlier, the deviants could flout the law without shame or fear of punishment

and some of them, like Lalu Prasad Yadav, could even rule a state through a wife as proxy while himself lodged luxuriously in jail.

No longer so. Thanks largely to the Right to Information Act passed by the much pilloried Congress government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi.

The likes of Kalmadis, Rajas, Kanimozhis, Reddys and Yeddyurappas can no longer act their follies without impunity.

They can’t go scot free any longer on the pretext of waiting for the judgement of the final court of appeal, usually the Supreme Court. Prima facie evidence and the first few court hearings are enough now for a place in jail, as is the case with other commoners. No special treatment for political animals. These precedents have created a new climate which promises better governance through new institutional authorities of a central Lokpal and state

Lok Ayuktas (ombudsmen).

The second pillar of optimism undoubtedly is India’s steady rise as an industrial power, whose foundations were laid in the first couple of decades of independence when modern India’s new ‘temples’ like hydropower dams, steel plants, national physical, chemical and atomic energy laboratories and centers were established by our dedicated scientists and planners in the socialist polity led by the visionary first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Manmohan Singh , despite private sector votaries, has not scrapped the socialist infrastructure bequeathed to the nation. He has further built upon it according to the requirements of the time. The commanding heights of the economy still remain with the state in the original matrix of mixed economy which offers plenty of space to the private sector.

Manmohan Singh rightly accelerated the opening up of the

Indian economy with his IMFstyle dose of liberalization, allowing foreign competition which in turn has made Indian private sector more efficient and competitive. All for the good. However, the IMFstyle did not take into account the element of wealth distribution and the needs of the ‘Aam Admi’.

Therein comes the role of Sonia Gandhi with far reaching schemes like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), later renamed after Mahatma Gandhi.

The handling of the poverty issue and the role the national advisory council headed by the Congress president strikes the right balance between the government and party’s new flagship programs like the Food Security Bill covering 75 percent rural population and 50 per cent urban population ensuring supply of basic rice, wheat and coarse cereals at Rs 3, 2 and 1 per Kg. Continued on page 51

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Ambassador Puri

Seasoned Diplomat who took India to new heights at UN Hardeep Singh Puri has been India’s Permanent Representative to the UN during its term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council and has built momentum for the nation to gain a long-deserved permanent seat. He spoke to SATimes on India’s future in glowing terms and on taking a break next year from his long, distinguished diplomatic career.

By Ashok Ojha/SATimes ndia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri is a seasoned diplomat whose career spanned more than three decades during which he served on various international bodies, such as the GATT, WTO and a handful of Indian missions around the world. “After working for 38 years at various ‘hot spots’ around the world without a break, I look forward to a well deserved break next year”, Ambassador Puri pointed out to SATimes during a telephone interview he granted within hours of landing in New York after a long plane ride from New Delhi.

Displaying a high level of confidence for achieving desired results, Ambassador Puri painted an imposing picture of India five years from now: “I see an India emerged as the third largest power in the world, dedicated to the principles of the Father of the Nation [Mahatma Gandhi] and leading the world towards peace and prosperity.”

Puri’s confidence and positive outlook on India’s future stems from complicated tasks he has been completing for the benefit of member nations of various world bodies.

With extensive experience dealing with various divisions in India’s Ministry of External Affairs Puri proved to be the right person at the right moments to represent India as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for a year long term during which his priority has been to accelerate the process of negotiations with other nations to achieve the cherished goal of permanent membership for India.

“It has been a long process spanning more than 16 years since the open ended working group began its negotiations. It was not a mean achievement in October 2011 when India gained 187 votes in its favor in the General Assembly leading to its non-permanent membership of the Security Council for the year 2011-12.”

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Puri is more than confident that India will finish its term as a permanent member by the end of the year 2012. “Today we are at a crucial stage when the final rounds of negotiations are due to begin in the fourth week of January and expected to complete in March.”

Puri also took over as the chair of Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council on January 4, 2011.

Within one year of India’s election as the Chair of the committee a zero tolerance policy has been adopted with support of all members. Puri is not only leading measures against terrorist activities around the world, he is also deeply engaged in protecting interests of trading nations who fell victims to sea pirates on trading routes in the Indian Ocean. “The world body is engaged in tackling issues on multiple fronts with a singular goal of making this world safer”, he commented. Under his leadership the CTC is tasked with monitoring the implementation of UN resolutions requesting States to take measures intended to prevent and counter terrorist activities at home and around the world.

Ambassador Puri believes that a lot has been done in containing international terrorism. “It is a continuous work for achieving world peace and security. A lot has to be done in this area.” He remains a powerful voice on behalf of India in the Security Council when India decided to abstain from voting on the resolution on Libya. “We have been proved right”, he said, “We did our part in Sudan, however, a lot of efforts are needed to bring peace for the new nation of South Sudan.”

A great supporter of South-South cooperation, Puri envisions growing role for countries like India and China to increase cooperation with less developed nations. He pointed out that trade among these nations have grown manifold in recent past. SouthSouth flows registered an increase of 63 percent between 2006 and 2008.

Continued from page 50 Along with the Right to Education, such measures go a fair way towards equitable distribution of national wealth to counter the excesses of privatisation besetting the western world. On foreign relations, improvement in ties with neighboring countries has steadily become the cornerstone of the country’s broader international relations. Relations with Bangladesh and Bhutan are in pink condition and getting steadily better with Nepal and Myanmar. The Look East policy is also on course.

The long and patient engagement with China is paying off with two-way trade expanding virtually by leaps and bounds. Efforts for a similar breakthrough with Pakistan have remained a constant objective despite frequent derailment, sabotage, wars and warlike happenings. Fortunately all parties -- the Congress, the BJP, the Left and other major parties in or out of power at the Centre or states are united for better relations with Pakistan, with the sole condition of tangible results for an end to terrorist violence from across

Ambassador Puri was The South Asian Times Man of the Year last year.

He terms India’s achievement as the success of the entire Indian diplomatic community, who are the driving force behind India’s growing influence among the international community. A great supporter of India’s national language, Puri advocates a planned approach to introduce Hindi as an operational language at the United Nations.

“Hindi has the potential and strength of

the border. The likely grant of MFN trade status to India by Pakistan, a belated but symbolic gesture, and Pakistan softening its opposition to India’s presence at international conferences on Afghanistan as made clear by foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar recently in Turkey are all pointers in the right direction.

By far the best signal of India’s forward march comes on the population score, the mother of all problems, including corruption. Almost coinciding with the arrival of the seventh billion baby in our crowded world, the 2011 report of the Registrar General of India and Census Commission, C Chandramauli, tells us that now is India’s best chance of reducing population and sustaining that reduction.

Releasing the commission’s report recently, he pointed out that current trends in population reduction were promising and if sustained, they could prevent us from crossing China’s population by 2030. “A revision of 2030 is very much possible provided we sustain our gains. For the first time in three censuses, our most populated states showed a decline of 4% in population growth rate in 2011. Decadal growth rate of

becoming one of the official languages of the world body. It must be pushed aligned with modalities.”

Where will Ambassador Puri be seen in 2013? “It all depends on my responsibilities and nature of work I will be involved in”, he smiles.

(Hardeep Puri profile picture by Jay Mandal)

population also declined for the first time ever to 17.64%. It had been otherwise rising. Uttar Pradesh, which had been growing in excess of 25% in three censuses, grew at 20% in 2011. This was true of other populous states. If we sustain these levels, we can surprise ourselves.”

Census 2011 trends showed that the population growth in UP dropped from 26 to 20% between two decades; in Bihar from 29 to 25%; in MP from 24 to 20% and in Rajasthan from 28 to 21%.

Most southern states have already steadied their population growth to replacement levels and the news that UP , Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are perceptibly moving in that direction is indeed a reason to celebrate since population explosion –- a near four-fold rise since independence – has been our biggest bane which has been eating away, almost nullifying, the stupendous economic and social progress made by the country.

Forget the doubters. Now is the time to vote for India.

The author is a senior journalist who divides his time between Delhi and London.

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Into the heart of US Affairs

Will Obama be re-elected President?

Obama may look vulnerable now, but if the economy does show improvement in the coming months, his chances to win a second term will brighten.

By Ashok Ojha/SATimes s the year 2011 came to an end and the sun rose over the skies of 2012, President Barack Obama got busy preparing for the fierce battle ahead with the Republicans and whosoever emerges their presidential nominee for the November election. His main challenge is to regain the support of middle class Americans who voted for him in 2008 n but have moved away as a result of uncertain economic tides adversely affecting the country.

The middle class has been truly struggling for survival in an economy that Obama couldn’t revive in the first three years of his tenure.

To win a second term in office, he has to quickly devise strategies to regain confidence of middle America and of Independent voters. Obama’s White House has to strive to maintain a balance of power with his opponents on Capitol Hill, ruled by the Republicans since 2010.

Obama entered the Oval Office at a time when America was already facing the worst recession in over two decades. The country was on verge of collapse when he decided to infuse three trillion dollars in big industries, such as auto and insurance, a decision that was vehemently opposed by Republicans. Obama persisted on his path to make financial market change its ways. He waged war against big bonuses for Wall Street executives but couldn’t block the tax credit policies initiated during the Bush Administration. Obama agreed to extend the expiring Bush era tax cuts for the rich for another two years. This step was seen as an outright surrender by his supporters. For Obama’s advisors,

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President Obama will have to come up with a new narrative to win back confidence of middle America. however, this compromise was necessary to win over his opponents who could be pressed to favor the extension of unemployment aid and extending the pay roll tax cut.

Obama got involved in a pernicious struggle in 2011 with the Republicans in US Congress following GOP taking control of the House of Representatives after a surprise win in the mid-term election of 2010. The President made so many compromises last year that his Democrat supporters began to worry if he was the same man who posed a defiant image during his 2008 presidential campaign. His opponents were bent upon flexing their muscles to push into a corner the man they have loved to hate. Obama’s influence was considerably curtailed and so was his prospect to win the White House in 2012.

But by the year-end, Obama put checks on his propensity to compromise – finally shelving his promise to be a bipartisan president. Standing for the common man facing economic hardships, he challenged the Congress to vote

for extending the pay roll tax cut bill to help 160 million workers and several million jobless Americans. The bill was passed by the Senate a week before the Christmas holidays, but the House Republicans decided to block it. In no mood to compromise this time, Obama asked the lawmakers not to go on Christmas vacation without voting to pass the bill. The Republicans realized that blocking the bill meant unpopularity for them and a much needed victory for President Obama. Succumbing to pressure of public opinion, Republicans approved the bill that Obama signed a day before the Christmas weekend. He won a tactical victory to end the year. Under the deal, the employee’s share of the Social Security payroll tax will stay at 4.2 percent of wages till February 29, 2012. The unemployment insurance benefits will also continue until February. In addition, Medicare payment rate to doctors will not change.

The latest victory of Obama’s tax cut bill reflects his clarity of policy, that the economy has to be sustainable enough to create jobs,

enabling people to spend and employers to hire. The lesson of 2011 is that the President can resurrect his likeable personality if he stood for his ideals undeterred against the forces out to destroy him.

Democrats are now celebrating the rare victory that has come Obama’s way. His approval rating has improved as have his prospects of winning the 2012 presidential race, helped along by the fact that the Republicans have not yet coalesced around one candidate.ed. On November 6, 2012 people across the country will cast their votes for the next president.

Analysts believe that the incumbent president has to find a reelection narrative just like he did in his first presidential campaign.

His slogan for health care reform was universally liked by the voters then. He fulfilled that promise when he persuaded the Congress to pass the bill that is set to come in effect in 2014. This time, however, Obama lacks a story line to project his strength as contrasted with whoever emerges as the Republican nominee.

During 2011 when Obama’s approval ratings were in freefall, political pundits projected 2012 as the year of Republican triumph.

His Affordable Health Care Act to benefit 40 million Americans who lived without health insurance, withdrawing US forces from Iraq as he’d promised, and eliminating Osama bin Laden were high points, but the Republicans played all tricks to discredit him. The healthcare bill has been challenged in courts. Rumors questioning his citizenship were floated again and Obama’s family name remained a topic of debate for months. Many conservatives termed him as a rad-

ical socialist who was undermining American security.

Fact is, Obama took huge risks for protecting US interests. Those risks paid dividends. He approved the assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan that was a spectacular success. He was able to convince NATO to take a lead in overthrowing Muammar Qaddafi thus keeping US forces away from another theater of war.

Fittingly, the President received compliments for these tactical moves.

So what fate awaits Obama in 2012? Who will be his rival in the November election? Will it be Rick Perry, a conservative true believer, or Mitt Romney who implemented a healthcare bill in Massachusetts identical to Obama’s bill? What about Newt Gingrich who saw a surprising upsurge in his popularity in recent weeks? Can we say for sure that any of these candidates will prove to be a better president than Obama? How will Obama prove that he is better than a Romney or a Gingrich? He was opposed to the policies of George W. Bush. The Republicans are opposed to Obama’s economic policies. His intervention to lift the economy made him unpopular with many who saw it as increasing the size of government instead of decreasing it. Health of the economy may play a decisive role. If the economy does show improvement in coming months, Obama’s chances will brighten.

The still uncertain state of the economy might have made Obama a vulnerable incumbent, but no one can dispute that he withstood difficult times while demonstrating strong determination to lead America.

Romney leads the Republican field - for now The nomination is still wide open. But all aspirants for the GOP presidential ticket have pilloried the incumbent Obama and whoever emerges the candidate is bound to give him a tough fight.

By Lalit K. Jha head of the start of the crucial primaries season beginning January 3 from Iowa, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney appears to be the frontrunner among the seven Republican presidential aspirants, the others being Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Jon Huntsman.

Yet, as he seeks Republican presidential nomination for the second time, it is going to be a

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tough fight for Romney, going by the opinion polls, news reports and opinion pieces in mainstream American media.

For weeks, Romney faced a spirited challenge from Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

But ahead of the Iowa Caucus, Gingrich is fast losing the momentum. Latest opinion polls showed Romney neck-in-neck with the Texas Rep. Ron Paul, with former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum also surging.

The Texas Governor, Rick Perry,

supported by Bobby Jindal, the Indian American Governor of Louisiana, is trailing yet considered to be a dark horse. Not to forget Minnesota Rep Michele Bachmann, who till a few months ago was considered to be posing a challenge to Romney being the inevitable GOP nominee.

Jon Huntsman, the former Utah Governor, who served two years as the US Ambassador to China under the Obama Administration, is fighting hard to stay in the race but keeps appearing at the bottom of opinion polls. Huntsman, who

has an adopted daughter from India, has not given up hope though, and awaits lady luck to improve his chances in the New Year.

And that brings us back to Romney, 64, who has a habit of sloughing off challenges. When Herman Cain was being talked about as the chief rival to Romney, sex scandal hit and the former Godfather’s Pizza chief had to withdraw his candidature. When Gingrich came up from behind, Romney received a boost to his Continued on page 54

Mitt Romney was front runner days before the crucial Iowa caucuses, but Rick Perry or Newt Gingrich can still pip him to the post.

January 7-13, 2012

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Into the heart of US Affairs

How proud are Indian Americans of Nikki Haley?

Otherwise proud of her ascendancy in politics, Indian Americans -- not unlike liberal politicians -- are surprised that Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, took a hard-line stand on immigration issues.

By Ashok Ojha/SATimes ikki Haley, the Indian American Governor of South Carolina, has drawn the applause of conservatives for her achievements. Even though her ethnicity was raked up as an issue in the run up to her election as first woman Governor, Haley was elected in 2010 with the strong backing of the Tea Party and support from Sarah Palin. She was backed by Mitt Romney in her campaign. Recently Haley endorsed Mitt Romney for nomination as the GOP presidential candidate for 2012 primary.

A strong critic of President Obama’s policies, Haley is determined to become the darling of Republicans. She hailed Romney as the right person to get America back on track.

During her one-year tenure, Haley made a number of landmark decisions that reflect her stand against undocumented immigrants. South Carolina is one of five states that passed laws requiring some form of ID to be shown by voters at polling stations. The law makes it a crime in South Carolina to not carry official identification, like a driver’s license or immigration documents. Businesses in South Carolina are required to check the citizenship status of employees and job applicants using the federal E-verify database.

The Justice Department blocked the implementation of South Carolina’s voter ID law, the first voter ID law to be rejected by the federal government in nearly 20 years. Democrats contended that such laws were actually designed to cut minority votes which traditionally go to Democrat candidates. Department of Justice and civil rights groups looked at these anti-immigrant bills as violations

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Continued from page 52 campaign with the South Carolina Governor, Indian American Nikki Haley endorsing him. Even former President George H.W. Bush came out in his support. Haley, a rising star of the Republican Party, has a wide nationwide appeal especially among the Tea Party activists.

Romney received another shot in the arm when his prime rival Gingrich failed to appear on the Virginia ballot of March 6, for want of sufficient signatures. Perry too has missed the bus in Virginia.

According to the latest Gallup Poll, Romney was leading Gingrich nationwide by four points, and CNN / Opinion Research saw the two running neck and neck. A few days ahead of the crucial Iowa Caucus, an NBC News-Marxist poll showed Romney and Ron Paul in the lead, Gingrich’s number sliding and Santorum and Perry surging.

Nikki Haley of South Carolina, first female Indian American governor.

to the supremacy clause because the federal government holds the constitutional right to create and enforce immigration laws.

The questions being asked in the Indian community is, whether Nikki Haley has forgotten her roots as an immigrant? Liberal politicians and common folk are surprised that Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, took a hard-line stand on immigration issues.

During her poll campaign she praised Arizona’s immigration policies and later became an architect of an Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit with harsh provisions to be enforced by the police.

Originally named Nimrata Randhawa, whose parents emigrated from India, Haley indicated that her heritage helped her get beyond race. Married to a White

Only time would tell who among these seven candidates finally clinches the Republican nomination, but Romney campaign, encouraged by the latest opinion polls, has already started attacking the Democratic incumbent Barack Obama, who created history when he was sworn in as the first nonWhite President of the United States. Riding on his mesmerizing slogan of “Yes We Can” and an anti-Bush wave, he notched a landslide victory against the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.

Obama does not seem to be as comfortably placed as he was when he assumed office in January 200.

High unemployment rate and implacable economic crisis even after three years of his rule have dented his popularity and image.

But opinion polls still suggest that he has an edge over the leading Republican presidential aspirants.

American, Nikki Haley is a Republican who has been attacked by Democrats in the past for listing her race as ‘White’ on her voter registration form, which though was not a deterrent for her Indian American donors and supporters. The Indian American community, whose allegiance is widely divided between the Democrats and Republicans, has considered it a matter of great pride for a community to see one of its own rise to the level of Governor. She has been the second, after Bobby Jindal did the unthinkable and became Governor in Louisiana in 2008 and was a shoo-in for his second term. The fact that more and more Indian Americans are leaning towards the Republican Party was also obvious when a cross-section of influential community folks attended a fund raising event for Nikki Haley in New Jersey.

“Americans have slightly more confidence in President Obama and the Democrats in Congress (41 percent) than in the Republicans in Congress (34 percent) when it comes to the looming debate on what the government should do about a more permanent extension of payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits,” Gallup said.

Romney, sensing victory at the end of the rigorous primaries season, has this week released a new TV advertisement attacking the US President.

“We still believe in an America that brings out the best in all of us – that challenges each of us to be better and bigger than ourselves,” Romney said. “It’s time for this pessimistic president to step aside and let American optimism that built this greatest nation on Earth build a greater future for our children,” Romney said in his campaign advertisement.

The population of Indian Americans in USA exceeds 2.5 million. As increasing number of second generation Indians vie for political positions, their presence in both Democratic and Republican parties augurs well for the community.

Prominent members of the Indian community around the country felt proud when Haley was sworn as Governor in South Carolina. She is considered as an inspiration for the younger generation to join the political mainstream in the country. She is the new face of the conservative Republican Party supported by a cross section of the Indian community which is growing in influence.

“You don't wear your race or ethnicity on your sleeve, but you haven't shied away from it either”, she once said reminding her audience that one always speaks of his or her immigrant roots and the hard work parents put in including the values they inculcated. Converting to Christianity was, however, one of her acts that she doesn’t like to talk much about.

Haley was declared ‘Person of the Year 2010’ by India Abroad at an event in New year where hundreds of Indian Americans celebrated her journey to the corridors of power. She has acknowledged that Indians in USA have worked hard enough to be in a position to give back to society. The community is most educated and prosperous, a fact she feels proud of. On their part, influential Indian Americans never shy away from supporting powerful politicians, irrespective of their roots or origin or party affiliation. Nikki Haley has to be seen as not opposing the immigrants’ cause in a country made great by waves of immigrants.

Finding Obama vulnerable, other Republican aspirants too have been attacking him. That includes Gingrich who incidentally blamed the negative campaign against him by his Republican rivals for a drop in his popularity ratings.

“When President Obama promised 'change,' most that voted for him did not realize that the change he was promising was European style socialism. We have seen the results of his indulgence. The damage wrought in just three short years has set us on a path to permanent economic malaise,” Gingrich’s campaign manager Michael Krull said on the New Year eve.

Gail Gitcho, Romney communications director, said in the same vein, “Exactly four years ago in Iowa, Barack Obama promised he would change Washington, end the gridlock, and repair the country.

Today, in the midst of a jobs crisis

and an economy that is failing millions of Americans, it is clear that the President has not kept that promise. We agree with Candidate Obama – we simply can’t afford four more years of the same arguments with the same lack of results.”

Like her rivals, Bachmann went on a 10-day Iowa tour and had this to say. "I've met thousands of Iowans across this great state, and each stop confirmed why I am in this race – to stand up for Americans who are tired of President Obama's liberal policies, who are tired of Washington rhetoric and who want real change not promises for their families," Bachmann said. "I understand their concerns and I will bring their voices to the White House," she promised.

So, whoever emerges the GOP challenge to Obama is certain to give him a tough fight.

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Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2011 DesiClub.com is a portal showcasing South Asian content and providing services to the South Asian demographic in North America. Its annual Top 50 Coolest Desis list puts a light on the top movers and shakers from the community in the US, the subcontinent or elsewhere.

By Hiral Dholakia-Dave hat a year, what a year! A struggling economy, Osama's killing, Madoff and Rajaratnam's arrests, loss of the iconic Steve Jobs, a crumbling Eurozone - as if hurricane Irene wasn't enough to make the world around us go topsy-turvy!

Yet the quest for all that is better never stops. From cleaning the corrupt system to charting unknown territories there are those who are setting a precedent and raising the bar. Year after year we have presented the list of the best and the brightest Desis who went on to rock the mainstream. Old habits die hard and here we are at it again!!

To our pleasant surprise, the highlight of our list this year turns out to be a record number of women aboard from a variety of fields, and, the 74 year young Anna Hazare... representing the two socalled weaker sections of society who have emerged as big time achievers. A lady commander of a US warship, a DJ who had the White House rock to bhangra beats, a face of a global cosmetic house, a former Marine Corps veteran, a beauty goddess, a key Obama fundraiser, a business school dean - this is how diverse and impactful it became.

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Read on and get inspired!

1. Anna Hazare Location: India Who is He: Social Activist Why is He Cool: He is the face of India's fight against corruption. This 74 years young man had the guts to take on the system.

He led a hunger strike in April this year for implementation of the Jan Lokpal bill, the anti-corruption bill drfted by his team of crusaders that demands establishment of a stronger ombudsman than envisioned by the government.

The mass movement he created is rumored to have partly inspired the Occupy Wall Street protests.

What's Next: He is now fighting for the passage of the Lokpal Bill in the parliament before the end of the Winter Session.

Cool Fun Fact: Apart from being an activist most of his life, this social dogooder was conferred the Padma Bhushan by the government of India for his efforts to turn around a once impoverished, drought prone village of Ralegan Siddhi, in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra into a model village of development. We wish Anna the best in the coming years and hope his efforts do not go in vain. Let us all follow his lead.

2. Shahid Khan Location: Urbana, IL Who is He: Businessman and sports buff Why is He Cool: He's buying NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars reportedly for $760 million! Our guess is he's the first Desi to own an NFL team.

Isn't that cool enough?

What's Next: We hope to see Mr. Khan in the owner's box watching his Jaguars in action.

Cool Fun Fact: Khan, 60, a native of Pakistan, is owner of auto parts maker Flex-N-Gate. Incorporated in 1956 to produce stock racks for pick-up trucks it today makes bumpers, pedals, grills, hinges and other auto parts for Chrysler, Ford, Honda, BMW and other carmakers. It employs more than 10,000 associates in 48 states, with annual sales of $3 billion. Way to go Pakistani-American businessman, talk about the American dream!

3. Preet Bharara Location: New York Who is He: US Attorney for Southern District of New York, an office that is considered perhaps the most prestigious federal prosecutor's post outside Washington.

Why is He Cool: As the chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Bharara led a widespread crackdown against Raj Rajaratnam and Co. in the largest insider trading case on Wall Street and the prosecution of Bernard L. Madoff for his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

What's Next: Big Daddy is on the prowl bad guys. You've been warned!

Cool Fun Fact: He is also known as "The Sheriff of Wall Street" for his crackdown on white collar crimes. His budget is $50 million but the office has been able to generate a return of $800 million for the U.S. Treasury. This guy should've been heading the Super Committee!

4. Freida Pinto Location: Los Angeles Who is She: Actress Why is She Cool: She gave us two box office hits this year.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes opposite James Franco and Immortals in which she played the oracle priestess Phaedra.

Quite an achievement for someone who started

just three years back.

What's Next: In December, her one more movie is set to release titled Black Gold, which is directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. She plays Princess Lallah and stars Tahar Rahim, Mark Strong and Antonio Banderas.

Cool Fun Fact: She just moved into a $1.5 million rental home in Santa Monica with boyfriend Dev Patel. They met on the sets of academy winner Slumdog Millionaire in 2008 - remember that movie?

5. Salman Khan Location: California Who is He: Founder, Khan Academy, a not-for-profit org which provides world-class education online for free.

Why is He Cool: In 2004, Salman, a Harvard and MIT alumni and a hedge fund analyst, began posting math tutorials on YouTube. Since, he has posted more than 2700 video tutorials, which are viewed nearly 100,000 times around the world each day. It is the most-used educational video repository on the Internet with over 86,568,911 million lessons delivered to-date.

What's Next: Khan academy has received generous support from people such as Reed Hastings, founder, Netflix, Scott Cook, co-founder, Intuit, Google, Bill Gates and the most recent influx of cash came as a $5 million donation from the O'Sullivan Foundation. The fund will be diverted in hiring more teachers and expanding the subjects it teaches, on "crowdsourcing," or collecting teaching ideas from people all over the world and on testing other ways of teaching, meaning offline, in a classroom Cool Fun Fact: Bill Gates claims to use the Khan Academy Exercise Software to teach his own children.

6. Amir Khan Location: Bolton, UK Who is He: A Boxer Why is He Cool: Amir Khan won British Boxing Board of Control's "Britain Boxer of the Year" award for his 2011 successes over Paul McCloskey and highprofile American Zab Judah.

What's Next: He's already on his quest to be rated the world's leading boxer at any weight. Many of boxing's most influential figures believe the 25-year-old from Bolton has the talent and charisma to be viewed by Americans in the same bracket as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Cool Fun Fact: And who do you think has the ability to crack up this 2004 Silver Medal Olympian? Our very own Russell Peters! Amir enjoys Russell's DVDs and watches them when not into his rigorous training.

7. Mindy Kaling Location: Los Angeles Who is She: Actress, comedian, writer and producer Why is She Cool: Mindy signed a seven figure deal with NBC on being promoted as Executive Producer of hit sitcom "The Office." And she's out with her new book 'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).' Big deal, it sure is.

What's Next: We heard that much as she wants to have her own TV show and get married, Mindy aspires to have a fashion line and a network of her own and be like a combination of Oprah and Gwen Stefani. We say Amen!

Cool Fun Fact: Mindy started out on The Office as a producer and was promoted to a co-executive producer in 2008. During that time, she was responsible for penning some of the show's most memorable episodes, most notably Jim and Pam's Emmy nominated wedding ep "Niagara" (co-written by fellow EP Greg Daniels).

8. Aziz Ansari Location: New York Who is He: Comedian Why is He Cool: His brand of comedy got one more major thumbs up when he was dubbed "The Funniest Man Under 30" and featured on the back cover of the September issue of Rolling Stone magazine. He was called "leader of comedy's new wave" and we couldn't agree more.

He also starred in the film "30 Minutes or Less."

What's Next: He is featuring in the next "Ice Age" film lending voice to a prehistoric rabbit, which is part of a pirate gang. I'm laughing already!

Cool Fun Fact: He's appeared in "Funny People," "Get Him to the Greek" and stars in "Parks and Recreation" on NBC. Way to go brown guy!

9.Tarsem Singh Dhandwar Location: London & Los Angeles Who is He: Director Why is He Cool: His visually-stunning epic 3D adventure

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Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2011 television industry.

"Immortals" opened to a record estimated haul of $32.2 million in 3,112 locations in North America and $38 million internationally in 35 countries.

What's Next: The first official trailer of his upcoming enchanted, reimagining of the classic Snow White fairy tale MIRROR MIRROR, starring Oscar winner Julia Roberts, Lily Collins (The Blind Side), Armie Hammer (The Social Network), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings) and Nathan Lane (The Lion King, The Birdcage), has premiered in theaters nationwide. It releases in theaters across North America this coming spring on March 16, 2012.

Cool Fun Fact: Tarsem attended Hans Raj College, Delhi and is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design, California.

10. Shah Rukh Khan Location: Mumbai Who is He: Actor, producer, marketing maestro Why is He Cool: India's first most expensive sci fi movie Ra.One didn't exactly set the box-office on fire on the first day but much as we say that hats off to the superstar for pulling off the most ubiquitous, overthe-top promotional campaign in the history of Indian cinema. The marketing blitzkrieg that he unleashed with tie-ins worth millions is bound to see the movie rake in profits in the long run despite a weak storyline.

What's Next: He's the King Khan.

Wonder what else can get any bigger for him than this? Surprise us Mr. Khan.

Cool Fun Fact: Within 24 hours of being launched, the Ra.One social online game was the most downloaded game in India. It was also the most downloaded game in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Malaysia.

11. Subhash Chandra Location: Mumbai Who is He: Media baron, ZEE TV Founder Why is He Cool: He has been honored with 2011 International Emmy Directorate award for his contribution to India's television industry. He is the first Indian recipient of the award.

What's Next: The award puts India's media industry on the map and raises the profile of India with regards to its media and content. And Zee sure leads the bunch. The bar has been raised!

Cool Fun Fact: Chandra's Essel group launched India's first satellite television channel, Zee, in the early 90s, a development that sparked a revolution in India's

12. Vinod Khosla Location: California Who is He: A venture capitalist and do-gooder Why is He Cool: He pledged half of his fortune to charity either during his lifetime or after death. As per Forbes, Khosla's net worth was USD 1.4 billion in March this year.

What's Next: Khosla is keenly interested in funding technologies that can be widely adopted in fast-growing India and China, what he regularly refers to as the "Chindia test." Entrepreneurs, are you listening?

Cool Fun Fact: 56-year-old Khosla is Silicon Valley's most prominent "green" venture capitalist and a dominant personality in the cleantech community. A cofounder of Sun Microsystems, Khosla was a general partner at VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers before striking out on his own with Khosla Ventures in 2004.

13. Salil Mehta Location: New York Who is He: COO and CFO of NBCUniversal's Entertainment & Digital Why is He Cool: He was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of NBCUniversal's Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media division in April 2011.

What's Next: In this role, Mehta is responsible for leading NBCU's global business strategy and corporate development activities, including identifying industry trends and investment opportunities and continuing to shift the company's portfolio toward high-growth areas.

He also has executive responsibility for the company's Digital Media team.

Cool Fun Fact: His promotion comes as evidence that the exec, who joined NBCU from ESPN in 2008, is a rising star who is held in regard by the top brass at Comcast Corp. He also serves on the Board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America.

14. Vikram Pandit Location: New York Who is He: Citigroup CEO Why is He Cool: He came aboard in 2007 when the financial crisis began, chose a $1 pay packet in 2010 and turned around the fortunes of the bank which was on its brink despite two government bailouts.

What's Next: Given the state of economic affairs, Pandit still has a long way

ahead. We wish him good luck.

Cool Fun Fact: At Citi, Pandit has made Responsible Finance a priority.

From innovative foreclosure prevention programs that have kept more than 1,000,000 Americans in their homes to a new, disciplined approach to risk management, Responsible Finance is being engrained throughout Citi's practices and culture.

15. Siddhartha Mukherjee Location: New York Who is He: Oncologist and award winning science writer Why is He Cool: His book 'The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer' won the prestigious 2011 Pulitzer prize in the general non-fiction category.

What's Next: Another book. Medical backdrop.

Another bestseller, we hope.

Cool Fun Fact: The book has been listed 75th among Time magazine's "AllTime 100 Best Nonfiction Books."

16. Bela Bajaria Location: Los Angeles Who is She: Executive Vice President, Universal Television Why is She Cool: She is one of only a few female executives of Indian descent working in Hollywood. In August, she took her new position at Universal Television, NBC's sister studio. She's ranked 42nd in The Hollywood Reporter's 2011 Women in Entertainment Power 100 list.

What's Next: Since taking over, Bajaria has assembled a team, rebranded the studio and sold shows at all of the broadcast networks.

Cool Fun Fact: She's a super mom too. The mother of three spends whatever downtime she has away from work with her writer husband and family: doing math with her 10-year-old daughter, Rami; playing soccer with 8-year-old Sofia; immersing herself in the world of superheroes with her 4-year-old son, Enzo; and assisting her mother, who runs a nonprofit domestic violence shelter in Los Angeles.

17. Jay Dabhi Location: New York Who is He: Deejay Why is He Cool: Along with deejaying around the world, running a dance music label and producing some awesome music, he's grabbed a mainstream 92.3 NowFM radio slot.

What's Next: We can expect only the

best from someone dubbed as "America's #1 South Asian DJ"!

Cool Fun Fact: Queens native Jay Dabhi (a.k.a. Lil' Jay) began deejaying at the age of 14 and acquired his nickname from the days when he stood atop milk crates to reach the turntables.

18. Melanie Kannokada Location: Los Angeles Who is She: A self confessed engineering geek turned actress, model, veejay, do-gooder and former Miss India America Why is She Cool: Melanie is the chosen face of international brands such as Bare Escentuals, NesCafe, Herbal Essences, Crocs, Verizon, LG and Glamour Magazine. And you definitely spotted her in the Bud Light commercial aired during the NFL season.

What's Next: Within weeks of her move to LA she grabbed some noticeable guest roles on TV, her debut film 'Bicycle Bride' won the best feature film award at the South Appalachian Film Festival and she was nominated Best Actress, her second film Love Lies and Seeta is set for a summer release and she hosts Sony's international TV series In the Qube aired in over 60 countries! Do we need to say anything more? This desi lass is all set for a long haul, we bet!

Cool Fun Fact: She's a registered bone marrow donor and along with few college colleagues is involved in building a hospital to serve over 100,000 villagers in rural Jharkhand, India. Melanie also graced the cover of our 2008 swimsuit calendar.

19. Sohail Mohammed Location: New Jersey Who is He: Superior Court Judge, New Jersey Why is He Cool: He is the first IndianAmerican and the second Muslim to become a state Superior Court judge in New Jersey.

What's Next: Even more prominent appointments and headlines, hopefully.

Cool Fun Fact: Trained as an engineer he served as a jury foreman and stuck around after the trial for a long talk with Judge Robert J. Passero. That conversation led him to pursue a career in law and to obtain a degree at Seton Hall University and go on to a career as an immigration lawyer. Talk about a career change!

20. Anshu Jain Location: London Who is He: The head of Deutsche Bank's investment banking division Why is He Cool: In

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Top 50 Coolest Desis of 2011 May 2012 he will assume duties as the Co-CEO of the bank. Deutsche Bank is the fourth largest investment bank in the world and Germany's largest.

What's Next: In all probability he may be the only one leading it at some point in the future. Now how better can it get?

Cool Fun Fact: The investment banking business suffered heavy losses tied to subprime mortgages, pushing Deutsche Bank into the red in 2008. Jain revamped the division, returning it to profits the very next year. This led to his induction into the expanded management board.

He was made sole head in 2010 of the corporate and investment bank, businesses that account for most of Deutsche Bank's revenues and profits.

Captain in 2004. She was the second woman to complete the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor trainer school, earning a black belt in close combat techniques. Look out!

21. Shefali Razdan Duggal Location: San Francisco Who is She: Political Activist Why is She Cool: She's among the top fundraisers for President Obama's reelection campaign.

Shefali has raised between $50,000 $100,000.

What's Next: A White House appointment after the 2012 re-election of the Prez, we hope.

Cool Fun Fact: She was actively involved in Kamala Harris's campaign, previously worked with Senator Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign and was also Executive Director of Indus Women Leaders, a national South Asian women's organization.

23. DJ Rekha Location: New York Who is She: Musician, Disc Jockey, Producer, Curator and Activist Why is She Cool: For having the White House rock to Bhangra beats. In April, she was on the celebrity guest list at the White House Easter Eggroll event.

Later in the year she rocked the East Room party to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month. The invitation is seen as recognition of years of hard work during which Rekha has helped popularize "bhangra" and Indian culture in the United States.

What's Next: On 11.11.2011 she launched her record label Beat Bazaar Music with Bobby Friction, Geko Jones, Eddie Stats, Raje Shwari, Ami Dang, and Zuzuka Poderosa - all performing. Here's wishing a smashing success to Rekha for 2012!

Cool Fun Fact: This is what the Prez had to say about our desi girl, "I want to thank DJ Rekha who's been spinning a little East Room Bhangra for everybody mixing a hip-hop beat with the sounds of her heritage; making a uniquely American sound that may not have been heard in the White House before." That's for sure! This isn't Rekha's first time on this list and we're pretty sure it won't be the last.

22. Anu Bhagwati Location: New York Who is She: Executive Director, Service Women's Action Network (SWAN) Why is She Cool: Through SWAN, a human rights watchdog, she joined in support of a lawsuit filed against Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, for failure to make measurable progress and marked improvement to the Pentagon's record of tolerating sexual abuse and rape. She's fighting for the cause of challenges faced by women in the military, including Military Sexual Trauma, equal opportunity violations, the changing roles of women in combat, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and the VA health care and benefits system.

What's Next: Expect more groundbreaking work from this daughter of illustrious parents - Dr. Jagdish and Padma Bhagwati.

Cool Fun Fact: Anu is a Marine Corps veteran who left the service at the rank of

24. Floyd Cardoz Location: New York Who is He: Chef Why is He Cool: He defeated the likes of Traci Des Jardins and Mary Sue Milliken for first place in the third season of Top Chef Masters, won the $100,000 prize with a simple upma dish!

Also, the Mumbai born Master Chef donated his winnings to the Young Scientists Cancer Research Fund at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine in memory of his father who died of cancer.

What's Next: Cardoz will head another Danny Meyer production, North End American Grill in Battery Park City, New York.

Cool Fun Fact: By winning, Cardoz joined the ranks of better-known chefs Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill in Chicago and Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster and formerly Aquavit, both in New York, who won second and third seasons respectively.

25. Sunidhi Chauhan Location: Mumbai Who is She: Playback singer Why is She Cool: She was part of an international album titled Euphoria where she crooned a love duet titled 'Heartbeat' with none other than Latino pop star Enrique Iglesias for the album.

What's Next: She has sung more than 2000 songs! Been nominated for 14 Filmfare Awards, won 3 of them, won two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards and one Zee Cine Award.

And now with this international collaboration there is no stopping this Bollywood singer known for her seductive voice.

Cool Fun Fact: She was the first choice for the song for her versatility and oomph factor.

26. Poorna Jagannathan Location: Mumbai Who is She: Actress 27. RDB Location: Canada & UK Who are They: RDB (an acronym for Rhythm, Dhol, Bass) are a Punjabi DJ production team consisting of three individuals, Kuly, Manj and Surj.

28. Mannie Sadhra aka Kalikwest Location: Northern California Who is He: Entrepreneur, Social Media King, KaliKwest Media Group (CEO)

29. Vikas Khanna Location: New York & Mumbai Who is He: Michelin-star Chef and Restaurateur 30. Bikram Singh Location: New York Who is He: Punjabi hip hop star 31. Prabal Gurung Location: New York Who is He: Fashion designer 32. Jai Khanna Location: Los Angeles Who is He: Talent manager at Brillstein Entertainment Partners (BEP).

33. Commander Shanti Sethi Location: Silicon Valley Who is She: US Navy officer 34. Sri Srinivasan Location: Washington DC Who is He: Principal Deputy Solicitor General 35. Pratima Dharm Location: Washington DC Who is She: Captain in the US Army and chaplain on the medical staff at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre

36. Eboo Patel Location: Chicago Who is He: Founder, Interfaith Youth Core 37. Rakhi Mehra Location: New Delhi Who is She: Social entrepreneur 38. Shalini Vadhera Location: California Who is She: Beauty expert 39. Naeem Khan Location: New York Who is He: Fashion designer 40. Vini Nathan Location: Alabama Who is She: Dean, College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn University 41. Upinder Singh Randhawa Location: Birmingham Who is He: Radio and TV presenter 42. Ammar Malik Location: Virginia & New York Who is He: Songwriter, Singer 43. Neeli Bendapudi Location: Lawrence, Kansas Who is She: A scholar of business practices and professor of marketing 44. Arun Majumdar Location: Washington DC Who is He: The "green czar", materials scientist, engineer 45. Isha H Jain Location: New York Who is She: Senior at Harvard University 46. Ameya Pawar Location: Chicago Who is He: Alderman of 47th ward 47. Lt. Col. Harjit Singh Sajjan Location: Vancouver Who is He: Commanding Officer, British Columbia Regiment 48. Sai "Psychuck" Manapragada Location: San Francisco Who is He: Music Composer, Keyboardist and Singer 49. Charanams Location: Queens, New York Who is He: Carnatic Jazz music band 50. Sukanya Roy Location: Pennsylvania Who is She: An 8th grader at Abington Heights Middle School won the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee This feature is courtesy DesiClub.

(For detailed DesiClub.com )

list

visit

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Top 10 Community Stories

The good, the bad and the criminal South Asians hogged the limelight for lots of reasons, right or wrong --from getting behind the bars for frauds, impacting on events back home in India and Pakistan, and celebrating our own culture and helping an alma mater.

Pak American businessman who triggered Memogate

ormer Pakistan envoy to US Husain Haqqani was sacked for allegedly authoring a memo seeking Washington's help to prevent a coup in May. The scandal came to light in October when PakistaniAmerican businessman Mansoor Ijaz claimed that he had delivered the memo to then US chiefs of staff Admiral Mike Mullen at Haqqani's behest. The memo also sought the American help to reign in the country's powerful military establishment. Ijaz also claimed that Haqqani had authored the memo on President Asif Ali orders. Zardari and Haqqani both denied their involvement. Pakistan's Supreme Court recently constituted a three-member judicial commission to probe the matter that threatens to implicate Zardari.

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Ravi Batra appointed to ethics committee

Ghulam Nabi Fai pled guilty to charges of spying for ISI ashmiri separatist leader Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, accused of being an ISI agent and trying to influence American policy on Kashmir pleaded guilty on federal charges of spying for the Pakistani spy agency. Fai also acknowledged receiving at least $3.5 million from the Pakistani spy agency through clandestine routes and causing revenue losses of between $200,000 to 400,000 to the US government.

He conceded receiving talk-

ing points from ISI regarding what to say and write. He agreed that he received directions from ISI with regard to which specific individuals to invite for KAC conferences

Amar Bose gave majority of company stock to Alma mater MIT ndian-American billionaire Amar Bose, founder of the iconic Bose Corporation, gave his Alma mater MIT a majority of the stock of his audio equipment maker company, a gift that fulfilled his "long-held desire" to support education at the prestigious institute. Massachusetts-based Bose Corp will continue to remain a private and independent company and MIT cannot sell its Bose shares. "Dr.Amar Bose has given to MIT (where he also taught) the majority of the stock of Bose Corporation in the form of non-voting shares," the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said in a statement.

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Tagore’s 150th birthdaycelebrated at Times Square minent NY based attorney Ravi Batra was named to New York State’s ethics committee. The committee acts as an independent corruption monitor. Batra is the only Indian-American to be appointed to the powerful 14-member Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOP). He also represented NY Consul General Prabhu Dayal when his maid filed allegations against him and defended 18-year-old daughter of Indian diplomat Debashish Biswas’s Kritikka who was charged of "cyber bullying" and wrongfully accused of sending obscene and anti-Semitic e-mails to her teacher.

Most recently The Law Firm of Ravi Batra, P.C., represented In Touch Concepts in the nationwide Verizon master-agent class action lawsuit

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aj Rajaratnam, former head of the Galleon hedge fund group was sentenced in October to 11 years in prison, ordered to forfeit $53.8 million in illegal gains and fined $10 million. The fines and monetary sanctions imposed on him in the criminal and civil cases total almost $157 million. After getting the longest prison sentence ever for insider trading, the hedge fund tycoon was ordered to pay a record $92.8 million penalty in a related civil case.

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anhattan Boro Pres declared May 7th as "Tagore Day in Manhattan” on the occasion of Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's 150th birthday. The event held at Time Square – Broadway between 43rd and 44th streets had actress and filmmaker Aparna Sen to receive the key to Manhattan by Boro Pres Stringer.

The event also featured world premiere of American singers singing Tagore songs in English, followed by Bengali chorus with a dance rendition simultaneously.

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Raj Rajaratnam sentenced to prison for insider trading

Maximum India Festival celebrates Indian art, culture in Washington he famed John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts transformed into a veritable showcase of Indian culture with The maximum India festival, from March 1-20 and had nearly 70 performances, exhibitions and other events, featuring some 500 artistes.

It included a number of dance, music and theater performances, art and traditional crafts exhibitions, panel discussions on literature and cinema, and a feast of exquisite Indian cuisine. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations flew eight troupes from different parts of India, and the Embassy of India in Washington were co-sponsors of the festival. One of the highlights of maximum India was the world premiere of an orchestral

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composition by Zakir Hussain, paying tribute to India. Other the notable performers included many of the revered figures in Indian classical music and dance, such as vocalists Rajan and Sajan Mishra, violin maestro L. Subramaniam, mandolin great U. Srinivas, renowned dancers Madhavi Mudgal, Alarmel Valli and Shantala Shivalingappa. The festival, which cost $7 million, had been in the works for three years

US files suit against Alabama company for 'abusing' Indian workers S federal authorities filed a lawsuit against a marine services company based in Alabama for alleged demeaning treatment of 500 Indian employees, who were forced to live in "substandard" accommodations and given "unwholesome" food. The lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Signal International said that these Indian workers, brought into the country by a separate entity which is not part of the case, were forced to live in substandard, unsanitary accommodations. For this, they were charged an inordinate amount, given unwholesome food, demeaned by being referred to by numbers instead of their names, and at least two of them were retaliated against for complaining about the substandard conditions and discrimination, the EEOC said

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Indians in US backed Hazare with fasts, candlelight vigils undreds of Indian Americans from New York to Los Angeles to Seattle kept up the tempo in support of Indian social activist Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption in India with fasts, silent marches and candlelight vigils. NRIs and Indian expatriates converged at New York's iconic Times Square , other groups held meetings in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. It was a silent

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The fine imposed was the largest the Securities and Exchange Commission has ever assessed against an individual

solidarity expressed for Anna under the tag of "NYC 4 Anna" at the New York rally organized by a team of volunteers who didn't know each other till the last day via Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools. The groups collected signatures for a petition to be submitted to the Indian government and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi

Nobel winner biochemist Har Gobind Khorana passed away

ndian-American Biochemist Har Gobind Khorana, who received the Nobel Prize for research he conducted while at the University of WisconsinMadison, died Nov. 9 in Concord, Mass. at age 89. The work that he did in Wisconsin from 1960 to 1970 continues to propel new scientific discoveries and major advances.

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Violence, deaths and some hope for South Asia From Osama's killing to NATO attack on Pakistan post that resulted in a new low in India, from Sri Lankan 'war crimes' to Hillary Clinton in Myanmar, South Asia was abuzz with news. Here is a look:

Pak soldiers march among the rows of coffins during a funeral for the 24 servicemen killed in NATO attack. elations between Pakistan Haqqani and dragged both Zardari and the US, key allies in the and chiefs of military and decade-old war on terror, Pakistan's secret service agency teetered from one crisis to the next Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to almost since the beginning of the nation's supreme court.

Any hope that the US military year, prompting Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to order the would temper its aggressive framing of new "terms of engage- approach towards Pakistan as a ment" for the US and NATO forces matter of courtesy or tactical need in Afghanistan was again laid to in Afghanistan.

The biggest international story of rest this week when the Pentagon the year was the killing of Osama insisted that it respected all "rules Bin Laden in his hideout in of engagement" and "international Abbottabad in Pakistan on May 2. law of conflict" during the border From here began the era of a new spat in which NATO forces killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November low in US-Pakistan ties.

Coming close on the heels of a 26. Washington came close to castserious diplomatic row between the ing the incident an act of war. "You US and Pakistan over the issue of misbehaved and provoked us and Raymond Davis, an alleged CIA we shot you. If you do that again, operative, killing three men in the the response will be the same" busy streets of Pakistan's second might well be the summation of the biggest city Lahore in late January, US investigation report into the Pakistan brought frequent - and incident. Pakistan blasted off the hugely unwelcome - spotlight to probe report.

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal the South Asian region during the grappled with the aftermath of year.

In a spat that could spell serious armed conflicts of recent history.

A tribunal, headed by Nizamul trouble for the fragile democracy of the nation, President Asif Ali Haque Nasim and known as Zardari is alleged to have sought 'International Crimes Tribunal', was US assistance to quell a possible formed in March 2010. The tribumilitary coup in the aftermath of nal began its first trial in October this year when it charged Delwar Osama's killing.

Called the 'Memogate Scandal', Hossain Sayedee, a top authority of for the unsigned memo - allegedly Jamaat-e-Islami and allegedly one crafted by former ambassador to of the leaders of a pro-Pakistan the US Hussain Haqqani - that was mercenary group, with involvement used to convey the Pakistani in the killing of more than 50 peorequest to the US administration, ple, torching villages and forcibly the matter has taken the scalp of converting Hindus to Islam.

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India-Pak ties: A year of building trust Trust, but verify." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's watchword on reengaging Pakistan found traction in 2011 and saw the troubled post-26/11 ties turning a corner, with the leaders of both countries resolving to write "a new chapter" in bilateral relations.

Pakistan's decision to grant

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Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India also bodes well for the relationship and has opened a new way to deepen peace stakes through greater mutual trade and investment. A team from Pakistan is expected to visit India soon to record statements of judicial officials connected to the Mumbai terror attack.

Pakistan Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani resigned after the Memogate scandal.

In another case involving war in the SAARC region, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) of Sri Lanka submitted its final report to the government on November 20.

Established by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to look into alleged war crimes committed during the final days of the 26-year-old civil war in Sri Lanka that ended with the defeat of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, the LLRC expectedly - exonerated the Sri Lankan government of any wrongdoings between 21 February 2002 to 19 May 2009.

The commission is not recognized by most of the international rights groups because of its failure to satisfy the fairness and transparency criteria. But the Sri Lankan government said the LLRC report is impartial and objective, and would be presented verbatim at the next session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March 2012.

Up north in the Himalayas, the erstwhile monarchy and the presently constitution-less fledgling democracy of Nepal struggled, for another year, to draft a new constitution and pave the way for a stable democracy.

On November 28, members of parliament extended the Nepalese parliament's term for a fourth and final time to allow the drafting of a new constitution that adheres to a peace accord brokered between political parties and the Maoist rebels, after the civil war ended in 2006.

Despite commanding widespread respect for his financial acumen and clean image, Nepal's newlyelected Maoist Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is facing daunting challenges as he assumed office this year after being sworn in by President Ram Baran Yadav. India unveiled a $250 million line of credit for Kathmandu and signed a crucial investment pact when he visited New Delhi.

Osama bin Laden watches self on TV at his Abbottabad house.

Pak soldiers march among the rows of coffins during a funeral for the 24 servicemen killed in NATO attack.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) of Sri Lanka to solve war crime cases is in controversy.

Hillary Clinton in Myanmar he emerging civil society in Myanmar (earlier Burma), confirmed by the freeing of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and later by a visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this year, is one of the positive news stories of 2011.

Aside from encouraging Myanmar's political reforms, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's mission was driven by Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi. the desire to patch up with a Southeast Asia, where the U.S. country that has long been a has actively sought to counter missing link in its broader engagement in East and China's rise.

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The rise of the fifth estate Social media emerged as the unifying force that led to downfall of dictators and mass movement against corruption in 2011

By Jinal Shah/SATimes

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n Libya, Egypt and Tunisia a war concluded as fast as the revolution spread overpowering the despotic regimes more effectively in just a few months than the bloody military adventure that lasted nearly a decade. From Zuccotti Park in Wall Street to Melbourne 99 percenters are disenchanted by economic inequality, unemployment and greed. In India, aam admi (citizen) became disillusioned by the government’s manoeuvring of the Lokpal (anti-corruption) Bill.

A unifying force is present in all the above uprisings and the protests and that is the penetration of social media. The year 2011 saw political paroxysms afflicting numerous pockets of the world wielded majorly by social networking. The year 2011 also saw power returning back to people from tyrant governments. In countries like Morocco, social media has even become the fifth estate since traditional media has failed to play its role.

So is this a new phenomenon? Well social media has been around since a decade but what changed in 2011 is that it has moved in being an agent of social change, by empowering its users to becoming social mobilizer and most importantly communicating freely.

Protests against the reign of Hosni Mubarak The role of social networking tools in political uprising spurned many debates especially in the wake of Egypt’s unrest. Political commentators were amazed to see how simple web 2.0 tools could gather critical masses that eventually topple the governments.

The trigger for the massive uprising was the YouTube video of a Tunisian vegetable seller who burned himself to death in December 2010 in protest at his treatment by police.

Within seconds the shaky video went viral with pro democracy rebellions venting out anger on social networking sites.

The uprising in Tunisia swiftly spread to Egypt where Hosni Mubarak’s three decade rule came to an end unceremoniously after an 18 day unrest, again triggered by the social media.

Libya was not far behind. The pro-democracy fever pitched to highest levels in this country ending the 40 year rule of Muammar Gaddafi.

A recent study at communications department at the University of Washington concluded that Arab spring was really a social media revolution. The researchers mentioned that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy across North Africa and the Middle East and helped raise expectations for the success of political uprising. People with pro-democracy views built extensive social networks and organized political actions.

The web space where (in response to the people could practice free government’s efforts speech was a unique advanto tighten the reins tage over the traditional meon social networking dia which was controlled by sites) proclaimed inthe despotic government. numerable updates, According to the study, tweets and retweets videos featuring protest too. Netizens in India and political commentary accused Indian govwent viral with the top 23 ernment in trying to receiving nearly five and force internet coma half million views. panies to pre-screen Analysts even suggest content because of that government efforts to the online leverage crack down on social methat the anti-corrupdia may have incited more tion movement lead public activism, especially

by Anna Hazare garin Egypt. nered. And even as The social movement the anti-corruption India’s fight against corruption led by Anna Hazare in North Africa and Middle campaign enters its East was in lot many ways different Within hours, citizens donned the hats third and the most decisive phase; online than the Indian protest that started in April of cyber activists created over a 100 fan- support has not plummeted even a bit.

2011. Firstly the movement in Middle pages on Facebook and tagged profile Whether or not social media could bring East had no one leader to drive the cause badges on their walls in support of the serious changes in the authoritative Chilike in India- the anti-corruption move- campaign. Protesters on ground zero- Jan- nese regime is yet to be seen however the ment was led by Hazare and his team. tar Mantar in Delhi even posted amateur proliferation of new media has definitely Secondly the protest in India was not to videos of the protest that soon became shaken the state undermining its traditional topple the government but work with the viral on other social networking sites. information monopoly. Even though the state to bring anti-corruption law.

Twitter too kept trending the hashtags Chinese netizens did not overtly challenge However there were similarities be- #annahazare in support of the cause. Pe- the state’s legitimacy as in the case of Egypt tween the two protests and one of them titions, cause applications, missed call and to some extent even India but held the and perhaps the most important similar- campaigns, were just a few other plat- government more accountable especially ity was the use of social networking tools forms for support. With growing televi- in the case of the high speed rail crash. It to empower and mobilize. sion fatigue, this medium soon became a became a sensation in the Chinese microbA diminutive septuagenarian Gandhian, source of information for many- posting logging world. An outpour of criticisms at a former soldier with a seventh grade edu- photos of themselves at rallies, sharing government’s handling of the incident and cation, a mere community organizer virtu- news articles with friends; circulating the larger issue of crony capitalism forced ally unknown to many Indians before early petitions became a common activity. The the Chinese state to undertake a compre2011, Anna Hazare is today the face of the usage was such that Facebook’s recent hensive safety evaluation and even sack the anti-graft fight in India. In what seemed as report released showed Anna Hazare and rail minister. The tyrant government even a one man fight against the system, took its the Janlokpal bill were mentioned the pledged more transparency. shape into being a new age ‘uprising.’ Social most in status updates in 2011 in India. media has played a major role in making A simple auto search on Anna Hazare on Hazare the phenomenon that he has become. Google reveals 61,700,000 results.

By day two of his fast unto death in April So, was social media the driving force 2011, political commentators wasted no time in bringing the entire nation on streets? in drawing fierce parallels with Tahrir Square, It could well be the classic case of which and other pro-democracy revolutions in the came first chicken or the egg. Many soMiddle- East. Television channels began to cial media analysts admit that tweetplay up the protests and the following morn- ing and updating status may have not ing saw social media platforms abuzz with themselves forced change but they have chatter. The 74 year old crusader amassed become one of the most potent tools tremendous support for his campaign around to gather support and push the against corruption on popular networking armchair activists out on the ground. platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouThere are many who believe this new Tube, and many micro blogging websites. medium has delivered a whole new generaThe Arab Spring tion of politically conscious, opinionated Despite the overwhelming capacity to conyoungsters. Political opinions traditionally have made for a showdown with the gen- trol the system, the instantaneity and reach eration Y however it is not the case in 2011 of social media has definitely made life very as politically engaged users are not shy of difficult for governments not accustomed to airing their views and sharing news online. responding to the demands of the people.

This could be the prime reason why These sites have not just empowered the aam admi (common man) but also set a censorship has suddenly become a new platform for flattened communication pro- ‘Like’ with many of the world leaders be cess with everyone having an almost equal it pro democratic or anti. Egyptian, Chiopportunity to be heard in the online world. nese and now Indian government’s move The use of social media in the year 2011 to shutdown or least screen the content on was not limited to Hazare’s anti-graft move- internet has given some credence to the ment. Union agriculture minister Sharad fact that social media has made its way as Pawar slapgate scandal going viral on a powerful tool to empower, educate and People took to streets in Libya leading youtube and facebook and #idiotkapilsibal organize the netizens for social causes. to downfall of Muammar Gaddafi

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A market revolutionizes social life and world we live in

By Vikas Girdhar

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t feels like just yesterday when seemingly the entire world was abuzz with what was then considered “rapid” advancements in computer and internet technology. Just 14 years ago, free-trial offers of the newest versions of America Online, for example, would find their way to millions of mailboxes en route to reaping the potential of an evergrowing and ripe market. Six or seven steps would assist the entire dial-up process and clog the phone line while that one online session would be so awe-inspiring to render it all worthwhile. This would slowly become the leading way that people get their news and search any topic of interest.

Today, the internet is not only available everywhere and landlines not sacrificed—but millions of people are connected through it.

From friends interacting with one another to reading actual thoughts and words of a worldfamous celebrity or politician and being able to respond to it, this is the wide array of possibility known as social media. Social media is everywhere, here to stay and has revolutionized the world as we know it.

Let’s consider just the tip of the iceberg. In one situation, friends attend a party together and memorable pictures are taken. Within seconds, those pictures can be uploaded on Facebook by the same cellphone that took them and other friends can begin discussing them, sparking conversation among people no matter who they are and how far apart they are.

In another situation, a man witnesses a random dance by a group of trained professionals in Times Square and records it. He uploads the video on YouTube and it instantly becomes a viral hit. People in different towns and countries now have access to it and also can discuss how they feel about it.

In yet another situation, imagine a politician in a political debate saying something out of line. It becomes blown up by the media but the politician takes to Twitter to address the issue himself and clarify what he means.

These are true words, unfiltered and available to all, again no matter where they are online.

In a final example, consider a rallying group of individuals protesting against a certain cause. Because they want their voices heard, they choose to express their views on Blogspot, a blogging website. Instantly, they garner supporters or attract dissenters to their blog, but bottom line is that they have been able to interact with others about a certain cause.

In a classic display of the power of social media, now-retired famous basketball star Shaquille O’Neal made a bold offer to his fans during the last week of December.

On the set of his “Inside the NBA” show, he told viewers that he would give $1000 to anyone who got a particular tattoo. As proof, he told viewers to “tweet me the pics,” which meant posting the pictures of the tattoos on his Twitter page. This was a great way to reach out to his fans and a gesture that certainly would not have been possible with such ease years ago.

These are just some of the ways that social media have been able to connect the world.

We now linked virtually in so many ways with so much available at our very fingertips.

The world of social media goes far beyond the most popular ones, such as Facebook and Twitter. It includes and is most certainly not limited to community discussions, videos, blogging, games, applications and file-sharing. This has become a lifestyle and everyday more and more people are becoming connected by different aspects of social media.

Let’s take a look at two recent newsworthy examples of the impact of social media in today’s society.

Voice microblogging — next social media trend?

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whole new aspect of social media is being thrust into the limelight, now getting even more personal. The company behind this innovative approach is Bubbleblog, also known as Bubbly, the voice-blogging service that claims “it’s like Twitter with a voice.”

Users, known as bubblers, can not only follow their favorite celebrities as on Twitter, but can have those updates and messages read to them—in their own authentic voices on their mobile phones.

The service was introduced in India in 2010 and has expanded to Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. More than 100 million bubblers have exchanged over a billion voice-messages. The creative part about the service is that, while oneto-one voice messages are common, one-to-many voice messages are not.

That is Bubbly’s take on the market, which has taken off well since its introduction.

While one of the aspects holding Bubbly back from expanding as quickly as Twitter did is that users cannot filter through unwanted content through a recording as readily as they can in written forms, it is still gaining about 100,000 new users each week.

The number one bubbler in India is Amitabh Bachchan, followed in the top five by Lara Dutta, John Abraham, Ramayana and Neetu Chandra.

Bubbly subscribers pay a monthly fee to hear their favorite stars and celebrities and ultimately develop even more of a personal connection to them.

This may be the next big wave in social media, which is becoming more and more revolutionary everyday.

Occupy Wall Street movement takes world by storm

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he Occupy World Street movement in New York’s financial district on Wall Street began in September of the past year.

These were protests rooted against wealth inequality, greed, corruption, high unemployment, as well as other social-financial related problems. The movement was spearheaded by the use of social media and put into physical effect using peaceful protesting methods such as marching, picketing and civil disobedience.

In a July blog, the Canadian-based group Adbusters proposed and advocated the reasons for OWS, which stands as the origin for the group assembly. As the protests went into effect two months later, a Facebook page was created posting links of demonstration videos on YouTube. Just five days after demonstrations began, 125 OWS-related Facebook

were created and Twitter was abuzz with OWS tags in its users’ postings.

A major reason OWS protesters targeted Wall Street was because they believe it played a central role in the 2008 economic crisis which essentially began the Great Recession. Their slogan, “we are the 99%” is in reference to the unequal distribution of wealth for the wealthy 1%, whose income has more than doubled in the last 30 years.

The richest 1% of the country’s wealthiest account for 34.6% of the entire nation’s wealth.

When the protests first commenced, most of the members of the movement were young adults because social networks were the predominant method used to spread word of purpose. As it can be seen, social media has been the driving force behind this huge movement that was a huge story of 2011.

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When Bollywood Tweets and Kolaveri di goes viral

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By Neeru Saluja

million hits on YouTube. More than one million shares on Facebook.

Trending on Twitter in India all the time. All this within a span of weeks! Who could imagine a simple Tamil-English song shot in a studio with four people can become viral overnight? The instant global hit and ‘best song of 2011’ by CNN - ‘Why this Kolaveri di’ has finally exposed us to the power unleashed of the social media in Bollywood.

From the reigning 69- year-old superstar Amitabh Bachchan to the latest youngest four-yearold singer Neevan Nigam (singer Sonu Nigam’s son), social media has become a platform for Bollywood to freely engage with their audiences.

While the Big B expressed his emotions so beautifully about the latest addition in his family (Aishwarya-Abhishek’s daughter) through his famous blog bigb.bigadda.com, Sonu Nigam’s son Neevan has already been termed as the ‘new Gen’ singing superstar with his

milk version of the kolaveri song.

The growth of Bollywood and social media is phenomenal. Most of the film industry is on Twitter engaging passionately with their fans.

Facebook has numerous fan pages dedicated to Bollywood movies and actors. Not only do the filmmakers and actors chat, tweet and share pictures but also use it as it as marketing tool. Social networking has become an attractive publicity platform for the tinsel town and it costs hardly anything.

Renowned directors have resorted to the latest medium to take suggestions for titles, posters, cast and even funds for their upcoming films. After all, they are meant for people to let them express their opinion, finally resorting to the basic rule of marketing – engage with the consumer for customer satisfaction.

Social media has become the most effective and instant communication rage.

Who needs to check their favourite Indian newspaper online to read a review of the latest film, just log in to your Facebook account and one of your friends would have definitely reviewed the film. The recent news of the demise of evergreen

Social enabled Thought Leadership

By Namit Narain

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eaders are those people in the world who tend to make others follow by helping them with their charismatic, technocratic, or business skills. Thought leadership -- now in business lexicon-- enables other people to get enlightened by the help of innovative and radically different approach toward doing business. This approach is different from traditional top-down leadership for making a cutting edge breakthrough. Thought leadership can be directed upwards as well as downwards or sideways, but has nothing to do with position or managing people.

Thought leadership has a variety of styles and changes from person to person. These leaders have proven skills and portfolio to speak about their business and best practices in business.

South Indian actor Dhanush’s song ‘Kolaveri di’ became a social media sensation overnight

romantic actor Dev Anand spread like wild fire on Facebook with all paying their condolences and sharing their memories of the black and white era.

A platform for the elder generation to express their thoughts, and the younger generation to gasp what a legend he was.

No doubt the globe has shrunk into a tiny world with FaceYouTwit (shorter version of Facebook, You Tube and Twitter).

Thought leadership cannot be monopolized. It has nothing to do with hierarchy. It changes how people think and take actions. Implementation is a separate phase, which is dealt by skilled managers. To be a thought leader, one need to immerse oneself in a professional domain and search for new things to say that add value to an organization, community, or society. After giving a lot of thought and talking to plenty of industry thought leaders, the following to my mind are some of the characteristics in being a thought leader.

Today Social Media is enabling Thought Leadership to get into a different paradigm where these leaders get a totally new and vibrant platform to speak about something which they are expert at. TED, a global platform of conference, is a good example of this kind of a leadership. TED has made a tremendous effort in spreading the content by the help of social media channels such as YouTube. It is a simple tool to build reputation as a leading expert in a particular field. There are blogs and Twitter channels for such individual thought leaders to spread their values and make Shining conversation and interest: their own reputation.

Most of the companies have their own Thought leadership means literally blogs where they keep on engaging the leading thoughts. Your content should audience to tell them about their expertise amuse, entertain, excite, and generate in the field of their services and products. curiosity among your audience.

Social media evolves every day and every second of life.

A practice that works one day may not work the next day.

It is important for marketers to continue trying new and innovative things.

Utilizing available resources: Thought leadership is again about being smart. How clever you are to use the existing channels and how creative you are to use them. Always think of a way to utilize the programs, partners, products, services, supporters, customers, businesses, co-workers, and friends that you already have or can easily access.

Being willing to take the risks: Social media evolves every day and every second of life. A practice that works one day may not work the next day. It is important for marketers to continue trying new and innovative things. As a marketer you may fall short of your expectations and ideas once in a while, but your chances of stumbling upon something remarkable are that much greater.

And Bollywood is no far behind in lapping up the latest craze. It’s a revolutionary process, if you hit the potluck, you can become an overnight sensation. In a ‘star mania’ nation like India, social media is there to stay. Year 2011 will be the year of social media making ‘Kolaveri di’ a national anthem. So don’t forget to run the race in 2012 if you want to become a part of the latest rage.

Promoting active engagement: Social media is not about lectures, preaching, publicity stunt, or just broadcasting. Your audience will listen if you listen to them and take a keen interest in what your followers say. You should keep your eye and ears open and then respond.

Voice your opinions, but be interested in opinions of your audience as well.

Think outside the box: If your campaigns are the same as everyone else’s, previous ones, or of your competitors, audiences have no reason to engage. To get the credibility, do something different to involve your audience. Participating in strategy sessions, brainstorming, and researching are great ways to help you create unique and effective marketing strategies and to impact your audience.

Integration: Integrate your products and services with thought leadership by setting up good examples.

So how do you position your company as a thought leader in this new world of media options? Well, the answer is simple: first be a thought leader and have sufficient expertise to speak about your field of play. You cannot spread the word out just by pretending that social media doesn’t apply to your industry. That day is gone. Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter may not yet matter to your customers, but I assure you, some form of social does, for example YouTube, podcasting, or blogging. As an industry expert, one needs to find out which forms of social are being used. Then develop a plan to own those spaces, or at least actively participate in them by engaging your audience.

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Business Top 10 by Vikas Girdhar

A tumultous economic year Year of steep losses, volatility for Indian equities ndian equity markets, a favourite among foreign investors just a year ago, presented one of the worst performances among emerging economies during 2011, resulting in a key index shedding a fourth of its valuation when the year drew to a close.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which

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Rupee falls against dollar

stood at 20,389.07 points as on Dec 30 last year, lost a whopping 4,934.15 points during the year to close at 15,454.92, with a loss of 24.20 percent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE) the story was similar with the S&P CNX Nifty ending the year 2011 at 4,624.30 points, against 6,134.50 points at the close

U.S. falls to fifth in global competitiveness n September, a survey showed that the U.S. had fallen to fifth place on a list ranking the world’s most competitive economies.

The World Economic Forum announced the results of the survey, which can be attributed to U.S. deficits and majorly decreasing public faith in government. This spells bad news for an Obama administration already struggling to boost the

I alue of the rupee decreased by a total of 18.79 per cent in 2011, bringing the overall rate to 53.10/11 against the U.S. dollar. The last bit of activity to close out the calendar year was a loss of 3 paise.

Forex dealers declared that the reason the rupee did not fall further than it did was the sluggish standing the dollar held overseas at the end of 2011. Much of the reason for the rupee’s fall was attributed to the euro debt crisis. Others included investors’ preference for the dollar, especially because it is a safer bet, put considerable pressure on the rupee.

This is the first annual loss for the rupee since 2008. The decline is expected to continue through at least mid-2012 because the debt crisis in Europe is unlikely to end any time before that.

The rupee also fell against the pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen

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Latest food inflation rates in India lowest in six years ood price index through December 17 rose 0.42 per cent, which is the slowest rise since April 2006.

For the ninth straight week, food inflation rates in India showed a promising decrease thanks to improved supplies and the arrivals of new crops. The prices of vegetables, potatoes and onions fell by up to 11 per cent.

Latest rates fell to 14.37 per cent, down from 15.24 per cent the previous week. The Reserve Bank of India expects food inflation rates to drop to around 7 per cent by March, a vast improvement from the 9.11 per cent showing this past November.

There is widespread belief that the decrease in inflation will allow the RBI to soften its stance of high interest rates.

At last review earlier in December, rates had been kept constant.

Rates are expected to actually decrease anywhere between the months of April through June. Analysts predict that the RBI will cut rates by 25 basis points by then.

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economy and lower the unemployment rate of over 9 per cent. The U.S. was one spot better last year, at number four, which was two years removed from being at the top spot of the list in 2008. While the Forum did praise the U.S. for productivity, state-of-the-art universities and companies, and a flexible labor market, it did harp on the most obvious flaws in the U.S. economy.

FDI in retail on hold as Indian government gives in inance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced in early December that the government in India has decided to suspend foreign direct investment in retail. At an all-party meeting, the government proposed to put on hold the Cabinet decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and got the approval of the opposition.

The suspension of that Cabinet decision figures to stay in effect until an agreement is reached among the various stakeholders.

Disappointed industry bodies and political experts see the move as regressive because it would have made way for international supermarkets and department stores.

While it is uncertain how long the suspension will last, there is widespread belief that it may continue for several months.

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n May, International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Khan resigned from his post following a sex scandal. Allegations were made against Strauss-Khan that claimed he sexually assaulted and raped a hotel maid. He was released on $1 million bail in New York.

Immediately following his bail posting, he was to remain

European debt crisis worsens in 2011 he debit crisis in Europe worsened through 2011. The crisis, which surfaced first in Greece in October of 2009, is said to have started because the country took advantage of a strong euro and very low interest rates.

In the Spring of 2010, the European Union and International Monetary Fund devised a bailout plan

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that gave Greece $163 billion but that did very little to help the debt in its current state. The crisis continued very well into 2011, also claiming Ireland and Portugal in its path. As a result, the three countries fell into recession and had their governments collapse, while Spain’s unemployment rate rose over 20 per cent.

AT&T ends bid for T-Mobile takeover n December 19, AT&T decided to terminate its bid for the $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA, citing that it was unable to combat the opposition of the Obama administration to form the biggest cellphone service provider of the nation. The end of this deal means that AT&T will now have to go back to the drawing board for other solutions on growth for the national operator. T-Mobile, on the other hand, faces quite an uncertain future, as it is currently the

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weakest of the four major cellphone service providers and must recover from the broken deal’s effects. In the end, the consumers seem to have benefitted the most from the deal that never happened. If the acquisition had actually gone through, they would have faced steeper prices and less improvement in overall service and market-changing assets. The takeover would have created a duopoly of AT&T and Verizon because they would be the service-providers of three-quarters of the market between them.

Sears & Kmart to shut 120 stores n December 27, Sears Holdings announced that it will shut up to 120 locations after disappointing results this holiday season. The retailer, which operates Sears and Kmart, expects earnings to fall by more than 50 per cent in the fourth quarter, a figure much worse than expected. The sharp drop in sales this season has attributed to an equal reflection for its shares. Since Sears’ peak in 2007, shares fell from $192 to just $46 this December. On Tuesday, the stock closed at $33.28 after falling 27 per cent.

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IMF Chief steps down after scandal

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of 2010, with a loss of 1,510.20 points, or 24.1 percent.At the BSE, the Sensex had gained 17.43 percent in 2010 and 81.03 percent in 2009, in what was its best performance since 1999, after losing 52.45 percent the year before, when it logged the third worst performances among indices in emerging markets.

confined in a New York apartment under guard.

However, as the case began to take more shape, it became clear that the maid’s testimony was inconsistent and her credibility was in question, especially in light of such serious claims.

Strauss-Khan was dismissed of all charges just two months after facing decades of prison time for the felony alleged against him.

While competitors such as Macy’s, Target and Home Depot have all enjoyed profitable revenues, Sears has fallen not only in the standings of department stores but also from the minds of many consumers. Since most of Sears’ consumer-base is the working class, experts point to the recession and unemployment rate as the main reason why many are simply not investing in major appliances at this time.

Oil prices predicted to stay relatively same through next year nalysts are predicting that the price of oil per barrel will remain at $100 to $120 through 2012. A major factor in the determination of this prediction is Iran’s vow to close the Strait of Hormuz, which would essentially cut off about a fifth of the world’s oil supply. Iran remains firm on its threat if

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Western powers interfere with its exportation of petroleum.

The overall average price of gasoline per gallon in the U.S. has been lowered to $3.24 for regular unleaded. Much of this can be attributed to more of the population buying fuel-efficient cars and driving less, which essentially means people buying less gas and weakening demand.

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A great year for Indian sports

2011 was a standout year for Indian sports, and not just because of the cricket World Cup triumph. Let’s look back at the year that was for the Indian sport lovers.

Mixed bag for Saina Nehwal India`s badminton star Saina Nehwal had a mixed year but she ended it on a high by becoming the first Indian player to reach the singles final of the BWF World Superseries Finals. The Hyderabadi shuttler finished runners-up toWorld Champion Wang Yihan at the tournament in Liuzhou, China after beating the likes of Denmark`s Tine Baun and and former World No.1 Wang Xin in earlier rounds.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala wasterminated from the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This decision was taken at the BCCI Annual General Meeting who suspended the team due to non-payment of dues.

Archery in limelight again

The continuous rise in theperformance of archers has given India hope of an Olympic medal inLondon. One of the biggest achievement for Indian archery came this year when the recurve trio of Deepika Kumari, Chekrovolu Swuroand Laishram Bombayala Devi finished runners-up in the WorldChampionships in Turin, Italy.

Kumari went on to win her secondindividual gold in World Youth Archery.

Good year

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Bopanna Tennis player Rohana Bopanna might have made his mind to team up with veteran Mahesh Bhupathi for 2012 but he, along with with long time Pakistani doubles partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, did enough to add another feather in their caps. The erstwhile Indo-Pak Express won their maiden ATP Masters by winning the Paris event in November. They split soon after winning three titles in the year.

India’s brilliant limited overs team brought home the cricket World Cup after 28 years.

Led-by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India won the World Cup for the firsttime since 1983 with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Mumbai.

India won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Rohana Bopanna

Kochi Tuskers Kerala suspended

In the great league of boxing India entered the big league of boxing with Transtadia taking up a franchise in World Series of Boxing. Thirteen Indians including Akhil Kumar are part of Mumbai outfit, that is named Mumbai Fighters. The team also has four overseas recruit in Patrick Gallagher, Marko Calic, Paul Gene Koonand Trent Rawlings. Haryana boxer Vikas Krishan secured India`s second medal in the World Championships when he won a bronze in the 69 kg category at the 2011 edition in Baku, Azerbaijan. Vijender Singh is the first Indian to win a medal at the world meet. He won abronze in 2009.

India’s revenge against England

Doping scandal hits athletes

India beat West Indies 4-1 Team India wrapped the year by a fantastic 4-1 win over West Indies. With young batsman Manoj Tiwary scoring an astonishing century, an almost second string India registered a 34-run victory in the final one-day international in Chennai.

After a humiliating defeat against England this summer, India showed no mercy and whitewashed the English team when they toured India. The revenge of the cleansweep administered in England little more than a month ago was achieved in the stifling heat of Kolkata when India won the series 5-0.

After a rewarding 2010, athletics slumped to a low this year, turning out to be the country’s dirtiest sport with seven top athletes, including three Commonwealth and Asian Games goldmedalists, getting involved in one of India’s biggest doping scandals.

Asian Games doublegold-medalist Ashwini Akkunji and her 4x400m relay teammates Sini Jose and Mandeep Kaur were among the dope offenders, after being caught for using banned steroids in May and June.

And then, the lows…

Injury hit Team India’s shameful defeat during the India Tour of England 2011 was primarily because key players like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Gautam Gambhir were not available for the entire series. India experienced a whitewash in both the Test and the ODI series in England losing the top Test spot to the hosts.

It wasn’t just cricket making news this year. India also placed its name on the Formula One calendar by having its first ever F1 race on October 30. The event was a grand success, nearly 1,00,000 people turning up at the spectacular Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida to cheer the home team and also to look at the racing gods of the world.

First Formula One event held in India

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Bollywood Flashback

The bold, the beautiful and the tough reign Thoda action, thoda Jackson

By Jinal Shah/SATimes he year 2011 was a year of the bold and the beautiful, year of many dirty pictures, and of powerpacked action films. But, above all, it was the year of numerous box office hits.

While quite a few big budget films continued to disappoint, small budget films with fresh faces and new concepts made it big. Here is a snapshot of the year in the life of the second biggest movie industry in the world that raked in Rs 2,600 crore from films, music and TV rights in 2011.

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t was the return of the time-tested ‘dhishum dhishum’ formula from the 70’s and the 80’s on big screen and it was instantly clicked with the audiences.

With their power packed punches and aerial fights in Bodyguard, Singham, Ready and Force, Bollywood hunks wooed the movie buffs.

Dubbed the most successful star in 2011, Salman Khan

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The bold and the beautiful

gave back to back blockbusters in Bodyguard and Ready.

Action coupled with song and dance and even comedy worked flawlessly as crowd puller in Bodyguard. Ready grossed Rs 100 crore in less than a fortnight.

Another movie that crossed the 100 crore mark was Ajay Devgan starrer Singham.

With a spectacular display

The southern connection his was the year of remakes too and there were many Southern imports including one of the highest grossers, Salman Khan and Asin starrer ‘Ready’. The Hindi remake of the Telugu film of the same The southern connection name became a sleeper hit with Salman’s fans. Even Singham, that gave reason for Ajay’s fans to cheer their favorite action hero after eight long years, was a south import for script and the leading lady.

The remake was based on the superhit film Suriya.

John Abraham and Genelia D’ Souza starrer Force, an action thriller, was a remake of Gautham Menon’s successful 2003 Tamil film Kaakha Kaakha. The film based on a dutiful cop who chases a dreaded gangster did moderately on box office.

of his daredevil stunts and over the top action sequences, Ajay Devgan returned to his roots after having fun with comedies.

The year ended with a bang when Shah Rukh Khan starrer Don 2 collected a cool Rs 54 crore in its opening weekend.

It has been released in Telugu and Tamil versions also besides Hindi and did well overseas also.

Ajay Devgan in Singham

Big ticket, small wonders

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Vidya Balan in The Dirty Picture was a surprise package t was the voluptuous Vidya Balan who was a surprise package in The Dirty Picture.

A low budget film, inspired by the life and death of a racy 1980’s B movie star (Silk Smitha, a suicide), it had an extraordinary run at the box office. Balan’s sensuous look, deep cleavage, red sari, double entendres, and simply put her bold antics made her the queen of tinsel town. Shedding inhibitions, she has traveled a long way from being ‘sati savitri’ in Parineeta to ‘I am too sexy for you’ in The Dirty Picture, perhaps representing the transformation of women in Indian society.

Restricted strictly to the vamps

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in Indian films earlier, the ‘sexy’ and ‘bold’ titles are slowly drifting to the ‘ideal’ heroines too.

Mouthing expletives, savoring desi liquor, smoking pot, showing off middle finger - till now avoided by filmmakers or underplayed on screen - are becoming accepted ways of expression and Bollywood beauties are coming out of the closet and doing just that.

Be it Rani Mukerji’s flamboyant use of expletives in No one killed Jessica or Nargis Fakhri gulping the illicit liquor in Rockstar or Sonam Kapoor flashing the middle finger in Players, girls are surely coming of age.

Psst! Dirty pictures his year Bollywood grew bigger and bolder. Not just action, there was sex and some taboo topics that got a thumbs up from audiences who showed their whole new appetite for this genre. Aamir Khan’s production, Delhi Belly was one of them. An experimental movie replete with cuss words, raunchy scenes, witty dialogues, it was shot primarily in

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English to appeal to urban audiences who hailed this free will adult comedy as they identified with the un-kempt, debt ridden characters of Imran Khan, Kunal Roy Kapoor and Vir Das in the movie.Shaitan and No One Killed Jessica, freely dabbled in taboo topics from sex to drug abuse to murder. These didn’t do well on box office, but were liked by critics.

Small budget films like Chalo Dilli made an impact ig budget films continued net box office collections, just a to flounder at the box notch higher than its official office despite the backing budget. At the same time, movies of Bollywood biggies. Small and like Pyar Ka Punchnama was a medium budget films kept the surprise hit with the audiences. cash registrars moving with smart Movies like Chalo Dilli, Chillar publicity on social media and Party and Bheja Fry 2 were not with fresh faces and story lines. just critically acclaimed, these Big ticket movies like Ra.One films also made an impact. were a letdown despite the marHowever, there were exceptions like the big budget Zindagi Na keting blitzkrieg.

The Shah Rukh Khan film did- Milegi Dobara with Bollywood A n’t live up to expectations, mak- listers ensemble cast that met sucing around 1.2 billion rupees in cess at the box office.

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Bootylicious boys his was also the year of item boys – whether it is the ace actor and perfectionist Aamir Khan shaking his booty and perfecting the Mithunda pelvic thrust in Delhi Belly or Ranbir Kapoor joining the bandwagon with feisty kids in Tai tai phis number for Chillar Party.

More and more male actors with their chiseled body and incredible dancing skills are slowly conquering the item songs turf and if rumors are to be believed, Randeep Hooda is also trying his luck as the next IT boy. Item boys are surely here to stay for the female gaze.

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Heroes now do item numbers too: Ranbir Kapoor in Chillar Party.

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Bollywood Flashback

Top 5 trends on and off screen Haute Mommy t was baby boom in the tinsel town this year. With gorgeous Aishwarya Rai giving birth to a baby girl – referred to as ‘Beti B’ news of other Bollywood beauties expecting their first child trickled in.

Known for her perfect body, Lara Dutta is basking in the glow of her pregnancy and so is Shilpa Shetty.

Married to businessman Raj Kundra in 2009, Shetty, in her second week of pregnancy, shared her joy on Twitter.

Earlier this year she suffered a miscarriage and hence did not reveal the news until everything was stable.

Recently married Celina Jaitley is also said to be pregnant with her first child.Konkona Sen, the dusky actress who posed for a magazine cover earlier this year showing off her nude baby bump in a green top, gave birth to a baby boy. There were some quiet arrivals too - Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao’s baby boy was born through IVF Konkona Sen proudly showed her baby bump on a magazine cover. surrogacy.

Rajnikanth jokes

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ajnikanth doesn’t wear a watch, he decides what time it is. Rajnikanth knows Victoria’s secret or When Rajnikanth logs on to Facebook, the site updates its status message! And if that’s not enough, dare to chase Rajni on Google. It won’t be wrong to say that Rajnikanth jokes evolved a whole new pop culture phenome-

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non. After the release of his film Robot last year, the frenzy of his fans across the globe soared to such levels of insanity that his jokes are now auto-suggested on Google search. There are whole websites dedicated to his jokes. His jokes were all you would hear and share on Facebook, Twitter, SMS inboxes and at dinner table conversations.

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Bollywood Flashback

West meets East, and the favor is returned he glitz and glamour of Bollywood pulled Hollywood biggies to visit India. The year 2011 saw a parade of stars from the West including singer Akon, who crooned the popular Chamak Chalo number in Ra.One, and Kylie Minogue, the chiggy wiggy girl in Blue.

Growing awareness of Bollywood in the global pop culture has led to more and more partnerships between entertainment businesses

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across the oceans. Pop sensation Lady Gaga visited India for the first time for the inaugural F1 event. She recently twitted “!@#$ Hollywood, it’s all about Bollywood.” Also, the Waka Waka girl Shakira rocked the Lake City of Udaipur with her performance at the 80th birthday bash of real estate tycoon K.P. Singh. This was her second visit to India. Both singing superstars expressed their willingness to work in Bollywood.

Of plunging necklines and floor length Anarkalis

Newcomer Nargis Fakhri in Rockstar teamed kurtas with salwars and patialas he year that was saw two distinct trends in Bollywood fashion on screen. One, of sizzling red sari with plunging blouse and Kareena Kapoor (Bebo) and Nargis Fakhri look in Bodyguard and Rockstar respectively of straight lined kurta teamed with salwars and patialas. The other was just casual jeans and Tees carried well

by Katrina Kaif, Bebo again in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Golmal 3 respectively. Offscreen, Bollywood’s fashionistas stuck to saris and floor length Anarkalis at film promotions and even parties! Ahead in the game were the sensuous Vidya Balan and Bachchan Bahu Aishwarya Rai.

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Twitting is trending ven as Hollywood stars are quitting tweeting, our desi pin-ups are in no mood to surrender. The year 2011 saw almost all celebs trending on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Thanks to the use of a combination of social media tools, audiences get a sneak peak at the movies as well as the lives of actors well before the movie hits the theaters. It is almost a mouthpiece of the actor.

Not long ago, television broke the news about film stars. Now it is the stars breaking news to television. Junior AB’s tweet of the new arrival in the Bachchan family and gone viral Kolavari Di with 20 million hits are just a few examples how social media is an integral part of the growing pop culture.

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The year past also saw quite a few desi actors showcasing their talents in Hollywood: Anil Kapoor in the much anticipated Tom Cruise starrer Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol; Freida Pinto of the Slumdog Millionaire fame reached a new high for Indian stars in Hollywood in the spectacular 3-D action adventure Immortals directed by Indian origin director Tarsem Singh.

Akon sang Chamak Chalo in SRK-Kareena starrer Ra.One

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Humor

January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Humor with Melvin Durai

The New Year's Resolution s New Year’s resolutions go, Brenda had a very strange one indeed.

Unlike many of her friends, she didn’t need to lose weight, not even a few pounds. She didn’t need to floss her teeth more often or read more self-help books or make a greater effort to stay awake in church. She didn’t have any serious addictions she needed to quit: she didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, didn’t manage a farm on Facebook. But she did want to quit something –- and that’s what her resolution was all about. She wanted to quit calling her husband a moron.

Brenda and Ron had been married for 20 years, and Brenda couldn’t remember a time when Ron hadn’t given her a reason to call him a moron –- or at least think he was one.

She loved him, of course –- loved him as much as she loved Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

But that didn’t change the fact that she often wondered if his mother had dropped him on his head when he was a baby.

Poor Ron had actually gotten used to it -– being called a moron. It started on their wedding night –- at least that’s what he thought when he heard her screaming, “More Ron! More Ron!” He immediately stopped what he was doing and tried something else: turn-

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ing on the TV. And soon they were in a state of bliss, watching an episode of “Baywatch.”

Two weeks later, Brenda called him a moron for real. It was one of those nights when she returned home late from her job at the pharmacy. He had offered to make dinner for her, but had left the frozen pizza in the oven for too long. “Sorry, I was distracted by the football game,” he said. “It’s a good thing the plastic wrapping didn’t melt.”

Brenda didn’t want to call him a moron, but as she stared at the plastic stuck to the melted cheese, she couldn’t think of a more appropriate term. And she soon found her-

self using it with regularity. There was the time that Ron took her bottle of Pantene ProV from the bathroom and used it to shampoo the living room carpet. There was the time he brought the wrong baby home from the daycare and wondered why it kept asking for “Mami” and “Papi.” And there was the time he put laundry detergent in the automatic dishwasher, just so he could throw in a few dishcloths.

Ron was so used to being called a moron that it hardly even bothered him anymore.

She might as well have been saying “honey” or “sweetheart.” It had almost become a special thing between them. No one else could call him a moron and get away with it.

But Brenda often felt guilty about it. After all, he wasn’t really a moron. That’s what Brenda’s mom said. “He’s not a moron,” she said. “He’s just a man. Men don’t always use their brains. They use it for football and fixing the car but then they shut it off. They give it a break. That’s why they need women.”

It was true: Ron did need Brenda. And she certainly needed him. That’s why their marriage had lasted so long. Sure, Ron didn’t always use his brain but he was a good husband in all the important ways. He didn’t

cheat on her or hit her or even raise his voice at her –- unless she walked in front of the TV during the football game.

Brenda was determined not to call him a moron anymore. It was her only New Year’s resolution and it lasted all the way until 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Brenda awoke to find Ron making breakfast for her. He had already made the eggs, hash browns and sausages, and was working on the pancakes.

There he was, standing in front of the stove, wearing an apron, whistling happily as he tried to flip the pancakes with the fly swatter.

“You’re such a moron,” Brenda said.

“How much did you drink last night, anyway?”

Then, realizing all the trouble he had gone through, she put her arm around him and added, “Did I call you a moron? I was using the acronym MORON. It stands for ‘Man of Remarkably Outstanding Nature.’”

Melvin Durai is a Winnipeg-based writer and humorist. Born in India and raised in Zambia, he has lived in North America since 1982. Through the Internet, his column is read by thousands of people in more than 90 countries.

Happy New Year!

With best wishes from

"Life insurance is an assurance to your loved ones of living the same life they lived with you".

Proud Recipient of Agent of the Year award, 2011 Agency Growth Award, 2011 Among Nation's Top 10 Insurance Agents in 2010 for

New York Life Insurance Co. Contact Andy at: 917.578.1508 Email: andysnyl@gmail.com, andysnyl@aol.com

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Humor

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Best of Mahendra Shah

Laughter is the Best Medicine

If The Royal Wedding was performed with Hindu tradition this is how the couple would look like!

Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.

Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Astrology TheSouthAsianTimes.info

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January 7-13, 2012

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: January 7-13, 2012 Aries: Take advantage of your stars and seek favours from important people.

Efficiency will be the key to success, so finish pending correspondence on priority basis. In a business environment, your creative ability will flourish, and you will be able to convey your new ideas in a simple way. Those planning a trip abroad will have a pleasant and a memorable journey. Pleasant news towards the weekend uplifts the spirit of the entire family. Spiritual gains for some provide mental peace and comfort.

Taurus: This week you need to be highly cautious while doing business.

Watch out for individuals who might think that you could be easily tricked. This week is definitely not good for taking any risky chances, especially with money. Your charisma will no doubt attract lot of attention. Time spent with old friends will leave you with happy memories.

Travel will be on your mind, but you need to be extra careful of your belongings.

Gemini: Opportunities to make financial gains will develop through connections that you have recently made. You will get inspiration from your large circle of friends and acquaintances.

Important message from a distant place, later in the week, will boost your moral and spirits.

Your financial position will improve from unexpected gains, but your health however will need extra care, therefore take preventive medicines if necessary.

Cancer: You need to stop other activities and finish off pending correspondence that you have neglected recently. Investment connected with arts and antiques will be profitable. A visit to a spiritual person or a holy shrine later in the week will bring mental peace and happiness.

Your health will show remarkable improvement, but there would be little activity on the professional front. Avoid people who like to pry into your affairs.

Leo: This week you will spend much more than required on your home and entertainment. You'll have a chance to earn extra money through the strength of your personality and wonderful contacts. You will feel that destiny is playing a favorable role in your life and things are moving according to your plans.

Travelling will be beneficial and educating.

Children may bring in some thrilling news towards the weekend.

Virgo: You should disassociate with colleagues who are fond of gossip and spreading rumours. Work should be on your top priority.

Your accomplishment will bring you good results in the long run.

Dealing with land and property matters will ensure gains. Time spent at home will improve your understanding about the family needs and bring you enormous love and affection. Your income will definitely improve but there will be a rise in expenses as well.

Libra: This week you will have tremendous mental pressure trying to cope up with your professional as well as personal responsibilities. Refrain from any actions or statements that will make you regret later in life. Your financial status seems to get better with new opportunities and ventures in the offing.

Sportsmen and athletes can look forward to some benefits and fame. Spiritually you will be gaining a lot.

Scorpio: Positive thinking will have a good impact upon you, as you integrate more practical methods into your work and decisions. You will be more skillful in handling your clients and negotiations will work to your benefit, but you need to keep your secrets to your self and avoid overspending. Sports and physical fitness programs will be highly beneficial.

Those connected with arts will finally be rewarded for their efforts.

Sagittarius: Your accomplishments will exceed your expectation if you concentrate on your jobs.

Special honor and recognition will come your way if you help your colleagues and coworkers.

This is also a very good period for matters relating to the heart, as a casual partnership will turn into more serious commitment. Meddling in the affairs of others should be avoided. Legal problems will cause a state of nervousness and tension.

Capricorn: Put your creative ideas to good use. Taking immediate decisions will be crucial for your career and your goals, therefore do not waste your time. Financial front looks bright as gains from speculation are also foreseen.

Romantic pleasures are assured as spouse or beloved will be in a loving and caring mood.

Cultural activities will be entertaining.

Journey would yield returns. Some good news expected during the end of the week.

Aquarius: This week simplicity will be one of your greatest strengths and your determination will become your greatest asset. A close friend or colleague will help you complete pending jobs on time. Opportunity to meet new lovers will evolve through your involvement in functions and ceremonies. It would be wise to do a safety check on water taps, door and electrical equipment, before going on a vacation. Unexpected guest makes surprise, but pleasant visit later in the week.

Pisces: This week you will gain approval from seniors if you present your ideas well. Refrain from arguments and avoid being too outspoken and critical about others. Property related investment will be highly beneficial. Lectures and seminars that you attend will be highly interesting and educating. Financial losses are likely if you get involved in new ventures or risky investments. Get involved in creative hobbies in order to relax.

cember will prove to be highly significant. Revised by number 1 and the Sun, you are sovereign, positive, smart and extremely passionate lad. A highly optimistic person who always tries to give his best even in the odd situation but you should crack your spendthrift and foolhardy behavior. You need to significantly enhance your skills to cover up all the demands of your bosses but at the same time need to slow down your profligate and heady traits. Increment in bank balance is predictable. A caring and well supported better half will provide you soothing effect throughout your life. Smooth plus joyful life for both of you. The relation with the passage of time will be more potent than ever before. Disputes regarding law and order will be settled down. Avoid bonding with strangers for any business deals. Keep yourself away from any associations.

March, May, August and December will be result oriented.

January 11 Ruled by number 2 and the Moon, you are imaginative, warmhearted, friendly and hard working person. You are fond of accepting challenges and always set difficult goals for yourself, but you find it hard to achieve them because of your shy and introvert behavior at times. This year unexpected gains and losses foreseen therefore invest wisely. Work pressure would see you behave erratic and highly unpredictable. Spouse would be caring and provide you with love and affection. Those who are in artistic fields or advertising and media profession would see a remarkable growth in their career. Pilgrimage towards the yearend provides you with comfort and solace. Take care of your health. The month of March, August, November and would prove to be very significant. Number 2 and the Moon will privileged you with many new features like speculative, coziness, amiable and diligence. You are always willing to stand correct and weave the clauses coming your way of getting success and attaining your targets. Beware of impediments like diffident and invaginate. Restrain yourself from making any money transaction as you will experience mixed feeling of stucking and releasing money. Do not let the target based job will muzzle you as this is the right time to show your establishment. Always connected with you and in the mood of wishing good for you is none other than your better half. Highly complacent and resounding time for the people engaged in advertising, theatres and films. A verbal discourse will lead you to the path of finding your deity at his native place. March, August, November will take care of your health.

January 12 Ruled by number 3, and the planet Jupiter, you are ambitious, dignified, philosophical, methodical and systematic person.

You are very straightforward in your speech and actions. You can be trusted to tell the complete truth, but you need to check your tendency to behave extravagant and moody at times. This year you would be in a strong position at your place of work, and would assume even more authority. Family members and colleagues would be supportive. Your total earnings for the year would be excellent, but your expenses would be high as

well. Continue to save and invest for the future. New contacts would develop through social activities. Relationship with your spouse would be healthy and highly cordial. Some tension and anxiety due to health of your parents might bring moments of stress and anxiety. The months of February, May, October & December would be highly significant. Number 3 and planet Jupiter will provide you required robustness. You are aspirational, self respected, motivational, taxonomical and characterized by order and planning. Your circumscribed vision is clearly depicting by your way of performing and behaving in hard situations. You express and propagate the right thing without any hesitation but simultaneously need to arrest your spendthrift and sour attitude. You will embrace and inherit more accountable state with zombie powers this time. A cooperative environment created by well wishers. You are sequestered with big guns to make big money but on the other hand check your imperious spending too. Insecurity for future leads to some life insurance policies. New entrant in your life through some social gathering. Smooth personal relation.

Some disgusting feeling might trap you and the root cause is the health issues of some elders in family. February, May, October and December will be entailing for you.

January 13 Influenced by number 4 and the planet Uranus, you are trustworthy, energetic, systematic, reliable and noble person. You are physically very active, and enjoy participating in sports and social get-togethers, but you need to control your tendency to behave stubborn and jealous at times. This year you would accept some interesting responsibilities and learn many new techniques and skills. Even if you were dissatisfied with your job, you would continue with it because of your good relations in the organization. Your earnings will be variable, but overall, quite good. Matrimonial alliance for some towards the end of the year, while others would find romance to keep them going. Pending legal matters would end satisfactorily, giving you mental relief. Chronic patients would need to take extra care of their health. The months of March, July & November will prove highly significant. Number 4 and planet Uranus will remove all your hurdles. You are honest, gumptious, taxonomical, creditworthy and benevolent soul. You are strongly thick to physical activities and loves partying and societal gathering and all. But you must low-down your obdurate, fickle minded and envious skills. Variations in the capabilities in your profession and occasional alteration should be accepted by unfurling the hand. Despite having asphyxiate feeling in the new environment you stick to the profession and understand its intricacies before taking some idiotic step of quitting. Monetary gains will be omnipotent and omnipresent. For some class of people a love affair and for some wedding bells are foreseeable. Deep knowledge of law and order helps you to get out of the mess if any. Continuing illness ought to be handle with care. March, July and November will be free of impediments.

Annual Predictions: For those born in this week January 07 Influenced by number 7 and the planet Neptune, you are honest, affectionate, creative, sensitive and a very emotional person. You are a wonderful host and you love to entertain others, but you need to control your tendency to behave stubborn and extravagant at times. There would be opportunities for miscommunication with your employer this year. Be sure to check your work before you give it to your seniors. It would not be an easy period as many things would not be in your favor, but support and help from friends and family members would induce new energy into you and make things much comfortable than they actually might be. Gains from property transaction, investments and gifts cannot be ruled out. The months of January, August and October will remain significant. Every act that you play on the stage teaches an unforgettable and inspirational lesson to the viewers. Besides being a loyal and artistic soul you need to curb your obdurate and prodigal behavior.

You need to be very careful regarding your calculation in your task as slight mistake may bring down your performance and being impeached. You might be in a locked up situation in reordering the scattered matters which are the matter of concern for you but the much celebrated victory over them is because of the galvanization induces by loved ones. Surprises in the form of cash and goodies are high on your cards. January, August and October will be celebration time for you. The qualities like calmness, sensitive and compassionate are provided by number 7 and planet Neptune.

January 08 Influenced by number 8 and the planet Saturn, you are practical, disciplined, systematic, original, and authoritative person.

You never run away from challenges. You are bold, strong and always ready to face difficult situations and find creative solutions, but you need to control your tendency to behave moody, stubborn and jealous at times. This year your work would offer you great opportunities to express your skills.

However, certain changes would be essential. Take extra care of the important documents that you carry while travelling.

Few losses due to theft and hasty decisions seem likely. Businessmen should see their new plans and ventures getting implemented. You would be emotionally interested in someone whom you do not get to see so often. Romantic entanglement would disturb your concentration and decision making ability.

Property investment would be beneand morale would reach new height as you establish important contacts. The months of February, July and December will be highly significant. You are a organized, firsthand, dominating, checked and pragmatic soul. You never swing from hard line to soft line whatever be the situation might be. With the difficulty level of the problem your stubbornness and excitement for the same also increases. But hold back your sullen, adamant and green eyed traits. Alternative proposals are high on your fate agenda list

to check your activeness and hunger for growth. Some alteration might be there, accept them. Preserve the testimonies carefully as they collectively provides sigh of relief to you.

Watchman is needed to guard your legacy. In spite of taking small leaps be ready for the hard work which starts now for giant one. It is good time to look at the insights of the plans that you are trying to start for so long. Someone from distant place might get come closer than anybody in this world. Pleasure of love might create pains at the work. Potential gains in trading of land will boost you up and also helps you to make ever-lasting relation with top honchos. February, July and December will be good for you.

January 09 Ruled by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are intelligent, energetic, confident, enthusiastic and courageous person. You possess a sharp memory and amazing technical skills, but you need to check your tendency to behave short tempered and vindictive at times. This year professional advancement would depend on your ability to handle important responsibilities.

Your significant other would be a real asset to you. This person would make your daily life comforting and enjoyable. Distant pilgrimage is certain later in the year. Be extra careful while lending money and take extra care of your jewelry, precious gifts and items. The months of February, April, September and November will be important. Besides controlling your life, number 9 and planet Mars will make you more sound in knowledge, store house of energy, surefooted, keen and bold soul. You are versatile to take many forms with the help of your honed mind and professional attitude but should restrict your impulsive and vengeful attribute. You need to be as clever as your policies are so as to show your positive and right attitude. A lover of you will probably reduce all your worries and provide comfort throughout your life. Broad proposals to go for quest are at your anvil. Blow your whistle by guarding your hard earned money and deter yourself from any money transaction activity. February, April, September and November will be vital for you.

January 10 Ruled by number one and the Sun. You are independent, fighter, confident, intelligent and highly enthusiastic person. You have an attitude, which always look to the positive side of any situation, but you need to check your tendencies to behave extravagant and reckless at times. This year your employer would have high expectations from you, which would add tremendous pressure on your mind. Financial gains are certain.

Your spouse would look after you well. The two of you would enjoy living and travelling together. Your strong relationship would strengthen throughout the year. Legal problems if any would get sorted out. Do not share your business plans with people who have little to do with you. Avoid partnerships as much as possible. The months of March, May, August and De-

74

Astrology

January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

The Year 2012 is significant as it rings in change for everyone, either on the physical plane or in mental attitudes. Dr. Prem Kumar Sharma, our celebrated resident astrologer, tells what this may mean to you in terms of health, profession, family and romance

Yearly Forecast 2012 Aries Traveling is natural extension of pursuit of GYANA and you will travel for pleasure.

You give yourself the freedom to travel into unknown territory and to explore new opportunities and possibilities. You will pick trip options from unknown to the known in precise manner throughout the year and this might help you enhance your health too.

Long lasting illness might come to an end with some miraculous phenomenon during this year. The financial conditions throughout the span will be in ups and down to sum up as a normal. But, the niceties in family relations are to keep you tension free all the time. Initiatives to undertake family responsibilities will be highly appreciated and lots of great results might be followed by this. There will be multi-task to balance a variety of needs and goals. You will achieve much a gain and lots of respect. There will be demanding need to contribute energy for get going romantic life to the next step.

This is a period with great gains in property business. Especially the investment might fetch and waiting for the better odds of wealth creation. This alone might be suffice to complete aim to generate great fortune. Overall it’s a great time of realizations into the direction of wealth and peacemaking in life.

Taurus The theme of the time is – knowledge is the key to knocking down obstacles. You will be able to apply this thought successfully.

There might arise a need to work hard to share a genuine rapport in your life of romance and it is likely to be frustrating for sometime because it’s with full of questions and contrary opinions. It’s not a great time to travel but some trips will be arranged and you might get moving in a slow pace on wheels. Put your ideas to work; be bold and take the initiative. Your financial operations will be shown up as a speed-up activity. Physical appearance might get attention from the workouts and a dazzling trend sets in – beautifully and spontaneously. A mixed feelings spell at office where you might get unexpected appreciations and envy together. The mixed results may not allow getting the extreme peak but you are robust and progress will be smooth with ease. Sincere efforts are now called for to deal with professional matters. They might demand all your

skills as well as concentration. Your thoughts could well turn to the higher plane, in a mood of profound thankfulness. The great thing for this time is that, you learn to strike a balance between efforts and joy.

Gemini A doze of success is bound to set in, so think about your plans for the next. A happy influence from every direction of life makes you more energetic and gives you determination. Your desire is to have a free and unlimited life and you will make all kinds of efforts to make it possible. SUCCESS is your mantra for this year and your financial horizons will be expanded to make you feel powerful and much sought after.

Luck is in favor of you, but you need to recognize your being to keep yourself away from negative thoughts. You will feel deeply connected to the people around you and people will be attracted towards you. Family and beloved ones will feature prominent in your life. There is a bit of worry factor for health and you might need to concentrate some attention on that line to make everything in-line and balanced. Possibilities of promotion and increments are highly waiting at job.

Your dream to buy settlements or land may come true and frequent trips to far places may occur. You quest yields concrete dividends and leads to your advancement in material terms. There will be a balance as a whole and good life will resume for this year too.

Cancer It is absolutely certain that some great responsibilities will be placed upon you. You must need to learn how to market your considerable skills. Health safeguards are the key to happiness and try not to overdo. Take some rest to protect your better health.

Work affairs of yours may help you to grow in confidence. Relationships with boss, co-workers will spurge a great deal and that will make you happy. Serious proposals for buying and selling properties are on the way to increase your fortune into the better side. Responsibilities and duties keep you engaged. A little extra effort and care in personal relationships is highly suggested. Your long awaited wish to spend great sum of time with family members, especially with kids will be fulfilled and vacation trips to silent places

with family is plus mark for this year.

Ceremonies and journeys are confidently foretold and for your hard work, matching rewards are likely to take place. You need to be loyal and appreciative and true to your love. Amidst busy life and surrounding activities, you will sense and feel inner peace and there will be a sense of getting blessed. Your quest for the inner self will proceed to the next step. You will be blessed with motivate abundance.

Leo Your explorations to extend the range of your finance, profession and family get you to the charming life for this year.

Enormous creativity, both professionally and personally, leads to an enormous amount of productivity. Everyone at office seems to appreciate your work efforts and you sense smooth going with colleagues.

Superiors will be pleased with your work and rest of the people you need to deal will help you at your workplace. You will earn really good money to make all your activities entertaining and easy. You do your work with great zest and good health will remain intact throughout the year.

Mind will get uplifted to the higher knowledge and the wisdom. There will be a desire for further study and research in your field. You will have to cope with the demands that your personal life asks for.

There will be a realistic approach inside self for the personal love affairs but, the time is slow enough to give positive results. The family issues coming to the happy ending with the lucrative solutions inspired by the life itself. The expenses will continue like piano-la and your dream plans to invest into property might remain as a halt mode. Joyful environment at home will inspire your life to live up to the fullest.

Virgo The higher self is what you strive to uplift or attain. The possibilities of improvement at office widen to create good credentials for the next level.

Materialistic concerns make your vision of future little obscure and you will have to put yourself dearly at the very materialistic world of finance now itself to overcome any financial burden in the future.

Though it seems to you the great time to make investments but, it’s better that you hold strong on your assets. There are good factors together summing up for your property evaluations in positive side. You

might get faded with the pressure from family members and it is required to hold on your temper, considering the time as the best solution among all. The conflicts may probably be related to the money matter, but otherwise you will have a greater accord. You are making clever changes to comply with the time and new directions seem important to you.

Marriage kind of big occasions might occur and you may succeed to convert your love affair into marriage during this year. You will be riding many horses together and avoiding health, so need to put some care on health to get even better results. The year brings you cheer moments for which you are waiting since long.

Libra Good start for every initiative is inevitable. All your concerns and areas of connectivity are energized with super flow of intentions. Your better odds will be coming true in dealing with moneyrelated issues, home/property from real estate view and perks, promotions, increments, bonus etc. The career path will remain inclined towards the success during full year. You will be strongly committed and involved in home and family commitments and responsibilities. You are polite and respect elder ones from heart. Your wish to achieve in terms of income and lifestyle will motivate you strongly and fill you with confidence that you can achieve the targets you have set for yourself. Your plans for prosperous future are well starting with right motion.

Your belief in your confidence brings you huge gains from every side of life. You are ready to fetch your personal relationships to a new height and conditions will support you. People are very important in your life and you will rightly channelize the energy from them to create better and lively relationships. If you plan to travel, make it real as it is going to benefit you in greater. Be simple and respect the universe as all success results in zero when ego appears in human being.

Scorpio A year with long awaited wishes to accomplish and to secure life from within and externals - You will find yourself personable and attractive.

You need to be flexible in the face of a changing situation and rest of all goes Continued on page 76

76

Astrology

January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874; Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899; psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Yearly Forecast 2012 Continued from page 74 smooth and beyond your imaginations.

The romantic life shakes a bit but you are a generous being to tackle the situation in correct side. Your ambitions have a good chance for success, so put all your energy behind your efforts and you will feel the difference. You will be consistent in improving the quality of your life and that of your family and beloved ones. Pending payments, taxes, insurance, deposits, will be lessening. You will make clever choices on the way to put off the challenges and hurdles.

There will be some root changes that you may become witness as you will shift from your ages old opinions and stance.

Your efforts start a fresh life which will fill your life with new energy and you will head towards the better prospects.

Travelling will be important and smooth in your span. Your generous nature will serve you better in the relationships. You will feel as reality that you stand too high materially and emotionally.

Sagittarius A lapse in judgment can take you down but new ideas will beckon you to take over any worries. Family and personal life seems dull and you will get in touch with some old friends and new emotional bonds might be re-established.

It is a time to serve loved one without any self greed. While adapting to unyielding, erratic or rigid positions, you might need to find a graceful way to satisfy relationship needs. Complex situations may arise about financial resources but you will be

able to maintain calm at job or business and nothing unexpected will happen. You will outline a reasonable agenda to protect your assets and travel plans may come positive. Faith and feelings of forgiveness stemming out from within self and you will become kind of more spiritual person. Professional matters may cause minor troubles but, background support returns security and stability.

Your initiatives to save health will be great plus and you will own good health throughout the year. If you can continue workout on your initiatives of health, a great balance will be established. You can resolve court matters with your intellectual mind and there will be a good feeling at the end. You are enjoying the way everything happens with you.

Capricorn The sparkle of inspiration appears to put you on the right track.

Your friends will influence a lot on you and lots of support to be found for your goals and wishes. Practical decisions may lead to positive changes. You are likely to shine and others will regard you in a favorable light making you move ahead.

You can put all your efforts into business and career as advancement is on the cards. You will find yourself busy in financial matters and you are keen to make your work more profitable. You will increase you personal income in the form of fixed assets. You are motivated to maintain your fitness and you will put hard efforts to do that in a right way. This will be the interactive year with lots of new happenings and changes. Beneficial

meetings will win applause for your prowess in work. You did hard efforts to consolidate your position and now you feel more confident about it. Be cautious about taking risk as it may affect your smooth ongoing life. Keep your bags as you may have trips on this year. You might find courage to propose your sweetheart. A balanced year to catapult for energetic life put you in a more comfortable position.

Aquarius Demand of the year is to become optimistic by all the means. A serious proposal is on the way and important work must be finished on time but, it may not be such easy to do. Try not to be dictatorial otherwise, you may undo your good things. And this should not be happen. You might get to travel often and your travel card for the year is strongest.

Try to use it up to fullest to benefit other projections. Many challenges lie ahead for you to face and you will require a great energy level to pass on.

The need of time is to be a great warrior to stand against the flow of happenings around you and sometimes you might feel alone to accomplish your tasks. Health might not support you all the time and that from the family might not be such inspiring. You tend to become spiritual person and want to go away from difficulties of life in order to seek bless from higher order. Job or business will pass on without much movement.

You have growing realization from within self that what you want from life is more than mere materialistic gains. The

flip side is mounting expenses and other worries. The real time to have a chance to look inside self is on, now.

Pisces The year is with many pleasant sensations and state of mind remains cool.

There will be a clear demarcation into two different type of progress and yet you will find everything as linked. Your financial profile will become surged and stronger. You will earn social reputation with your sane logics into public appearances. The world of glamour no longer seems attractive for you and you will have a wish to have more family time for self satisfaction.

Property related issues need to handle with smooth dexterity as it may spoil or build your entire prospects and portfolio.

Far distance travelling plans must avoid in order keeping yourself risk free and home will provide you all necessary energy galore.

Relationships with people, family, and friends may blossom. Personal relation seems to poise into new heights and makes you stronger about making thorough decisions for future plans. There is a need of time to control over anger and you will definitely get what you trying to achieve. More concentration required on health lines, your confidence climbs and results of hard efforts will be visible.

Sharing of ideas, emotions and resources will be your best part for this year. You will feel glorified as abundant possibilities opened up in front of you to select for great life.

New Year: Celebrating the vast diversity of India

By Prakash Bhandari or years now, the New Year Eve has become a new source of freshness for every Indian.

The New Year is celebrated in great spirit with partygoers hitting the hot party spots right before midnight to bid farewell to the old year and ring in the new year in style.

Despite some sporadic unruly scenes on the streets on the New Year eve in the past, it is now the most awaited festive occasion across the length and breadth of the country.

The New Year Carnival in India is one occasion that unfurls the real allure of the country where tradition and culture blend with convention and rituals.

Once a craze among the metropolitan crowd, the New Year celebrations are now part and parcel of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where grand parties, celebrity shows and concerts are being held right from Christmas till New Year eve.

Owing to the vast cultural and ethnic diversity of India, New Year's Day is celebrated in different times of the year at different places.

F

In Tamil Nadu, January 14 is celebrated as the New Year. However, Tamils in Sri Lanka and in other diaspora communities worldwide continue to observe the New Year in mid-April.

Yugadi or Ugadi is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccan region of India. It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar.

The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March–April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga, the Indian calendar.

While the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Yugadi/Ugadi for this

festival, Maharashtrians term the same festival, observed on the same day, as Gudi Padwa, Sindhis celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand. The New Year's Day in the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar is March 14.

Manipuris also celebrate their New Year (Sajibu Cheiraoba) on the same day. It is observed as Baisakhi in Punjab and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu. However, it is not celebrated on the same day as Yugadi in Tamil Nadu because the Tamils follow a solar calendar.

Vishu in Kerala is similar to the New Year festivals observed elsewhere in India. The Kutchi people of Gujarat celebrate Kutchi New Year on Ashadi Beej -- that is 2nd day of Shukla paksha of Aashaadha month of Hindu calendar.

The Marwari New Year is celebrated on the day of Diwali, which is the last day Krishna Paksha of Ashvin month and also the last day of the Ashvin month of Hindu calendar.

The Gujarati New Year is celebrated the

day after the festival of Diwali (which occurs in mid-fall – either October or November, depending on the Lunar calendar).

In a nutshell, New Year in India is not just the parties, dance shows and celebrity shows limited to the eve of December 31 but describes the vast cultural and ethnic diversity of our country.

Dates to remember * Punjabi/Sikh New Year is celebrated on April 14. * Nepali New Year is celebrated on April 12–15. * Assamese New Year is celebrated on April 14-15. * Bengali New Year is celebrated on the April 14-15. * Oriya New Year is celebrated on April 14. * Manipuri New Year is celebrated on April 14.

78

Spiritual Awareness

January 7-13, 2012

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

January 1, 2012

he holiday season is a festive time of year in which we celebrate the joy and warmth of Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa with our loved ones. We put aside the stresses of life to enjoy family, friendship, and fun. During this season, we also express gratitude to God for all the gifts we have received. While outwardly, we may share in gift giving with others, we also acknowledge the spiritual gifts we receive from the Lord.

This time of gratitude renews us. Whereas most of the year we are distressed about not having everything we want, at this holiday season we realize how much we have been given by God. For those on the spiritual path, we can also reflect on the tremendous grace bestowed on by our spiritual Masters. Even though we may have passed through some difficult times, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or financially, we realize that through the grace that the Masters showered on us, we have survived these times, and at the level of the soul, we are filled with Light, love, and happiness.

Like a candy may have a sweet, soft filling inside an outer crust, the soul within lives in a state of sweetness no matter how hard our outer life may be. Through meditation and receptivity to the Master's grace, we can taste the delicious nectar of the Light and Sound of God within. Just as a parent gives a crying child a candy to distract his or her attention from pain, so does the inner Light and Sound give us something soothing and enjoyable to keep our attention from the outer pains of life.

As we enjoy the outer desserts and the gift giving of the holiday season, let us also enjoy the inner desserts and spiritual gifts that the Lord has so elegantly wrapped up for us and placed within the depths of our soul. v/.We are also celebrating the New Year. The gratitude we experience during the holidays culminates in the New Year, a time of resolution. Having reflected on what we received from God and our spiritual Masters, we can now think about what we can do to put these gifts into action to make a brighter year ahead. Can we convert those gifts into something to make our lives and the lives of others better? We can reflect on what steps we can take to improve ourselves so that we can make greater strides in our mundane and our spiritual lives. Among the resolutions we make, we can consider whether we can put in more time for our meditation.

Can we be more diligent in our introspection to improve our ethical life? Just as we received love and help from God and our spiritual Master, can we also have those gifts flow out from us to help those around us through selfless service? Let us take some time to consider how to take steps that will bring us closer to our spiritual goal of oneness with God. I pray that this holiday season and the New Year shower you with an abundance of spiritual gifts. May each of you enjoy the delicious sweet nectar of the Light and Sound within. During this holiday season and in the New Year ahead, may you all be blessed with divine love and the bliss of joyous union with the Lord.

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Yours affectionately,