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excellence in journalismPersonal Finance 25India Elections 10

Vol.6 No. 51 April 19-25, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Humor 28 Spiritual Awareness 30

By Parveen ChopraManaging Editor

Many times in the past elec-

tions, Congress party man-

aged to hold on to power --

ineffectual governance or lukewarm

popular support notwithstanding --

because of what used to be called the

TINA factor. TINA stands for ‘There Is

No Alternative’. Now, the shoe is on the

other foot. There is no alternative to

Narendra Modi who is roaring and

ready to wrest the reins of the country.

His barnstorming election campaign for

his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is like

a juggernaut which is casting aside

everything in its path. The Congress

party still refuses to see the writing on

the wall, because as BJP leader Arun

Jaitley said, “Most Congressmen

believe they were born to rule.

Certainly the first family of the

Congress firmly believes that."

Instead of accepting the failures of

UPA II - policy paralysis and gargantu-

an scams-- Congress leaders are blam-

ing Manmohan Singh government’s

inability to communicate its achieve-

ments for the party-led front’s slipping

electoral support. What they fail to see

is the opportunity and valuable time the

country lost due to poor governance of

the past five years when the prime min-

ister was a mute witness to the unfold-

ing scams and the parallel centers of

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul were calling

the shots. In this seemingly hopeless

situation, three-term Chief Minister of

Gujarat, Narendra Modi, with his power

to make miracles with his development

model and achieve consistent double

digit economic growth rate, was waiting

to be unleashed on the country. The first

watershed moment in the by now fast

changing scene – and in Modi’s unstop-

pable march to 7, Race Course Road –

came in March 2013 when he was cho-

sen head of BJP’s Central Election

Campaign Committee. Three months

later, he was installed as head of the

poll campaign for the crucial 2014 gen-

eral election, albeit in the face of stiff

opposition from senior party leader

L.K. Advani. Obviously what Advani

and others in his group inimical to Modi

could not see or accept but party presi-

dent Rajnath Singh cottoned on to was

that Modi alone could deliver the final

push to BJP which was within sniffing

distance of power. Rajnath Singh pre-

vailed again when in September 2013

the party declared Modi as their prime

ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok

Sabha election.

Internal opposition in the party maybe

managed for now, but the ‘secular’ par-

ties led by Congress and liberal intellec-

tuals have pounced upon Modi, digging

up the issue of post-Godhra riots of

2002 in Gujarat. No matter that during

late 2011 and early 2012, Modi under-

took a series of fasts as part of a

Sadbhavna (goodwill) Mission to reach

out to the Muslim community in his

state, or as he has recently been reiterat-

ing that he does not discriminate

between Hindus and Muslims and is not

going to divide the country as prime

minister. He wants to move on. But

yes, the taint remains no matter that

the courts have exonerated him.

No matter. Modi’s popularity is

skyrocketing and each successive

opinion poll has been cramming

more and more seats in BJP’s col-

umn. A month ago, the surveys pre-

dicted BJP-led NDA (National

Democratic Alliance) would emerge

the largest group in Lok Sabha, yet

fall short of a simple majority. This

week the estimate was revised up,

NDA could cross 275 seats in the 545

strong House, meaning that the BJP’s

‘Mission 272’ (hitherto called

‘Mission Impossible’ by the

Cassandras) is all but accomplished.

The multi-pronged poll campaign

under Modi too is breathtaking,

much ahead of that of the rival par-

ties. Witness, for example, NaMo

addressing public meetings using

3D hologram technique. The

social media too is widely used

and the energies of overseas Indians

harnessed well.

What is working in Modi and

BJP’s favor is that after years of a

rudderless regime and ensuing

chaos, the country craves a strong,

decisive leader. More, the age of ide-

ology is past, ordinary folks just

want to lead a decent life. In Modi

The South Asian Times endorses NaMo as next Prime Minister of India.

Why Modi for PM? Also see pages 2,3,4. Continued on page 3

2 April 19-25, 2014 MODI FOR PM TheSouthAsianTimes.info

By SAT Team

My definition of secularism is sim-

ple: 'India First'. Whatever you do,

wherever you work, India should

be the top priority for all its citizens.

These moving words from Narendra Modi

have redefined secularism as synonymous

with nationalism and challenged Congress

party’s claim to be the only secular party.

“Secularism is in the DNA of Indians. We

believe the entire world is our family. Vote

bank politics is a bane. It is when that ends

that we will understand the true definition

of secularism,” Modi said while addressing

Indian Americans through video conferenc-

ing. "Country is above all religions and ide-

ologies," he argued.

The Congress has reacted sharply by ask-

ing Modi to first “demonstrate” in Gujarat

that he was secular before talking about the

rest of the country. CPI-M’s Prakash Karat

said Modi's Gujarat model was not accept-

able to the rest of India.

One can ask, what is wrong in saying that

every Indian should put the country above

everything else? That applies to people of

both the majority Hindu community and the

main minority Muslims. Once the national

interest become paramount, other differ-

ences will automatically be put on the back-

burner. “Country is above all religions and

ideologies. Nothing less than India’s well-

being should be our goal. And if this hap-

pens, secularism will automatically run in

our blood," said Modi.

But to score points in this election season,

Congress has kept harping on Modi’s

alleged complicity in post-Godhra Gujarat

riots of 2002. The BJP’s counter attack

reminds Congress of anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

But for how long can we allow ourselves

to remain prisoners of history? The courts

are looking into both the Gujarat riots and

1984 riots and some of the culprits have

been sent to jail as well.

Unfortunately, the hair-splitting on secu-

larism vs communalism has molded much

of the political discourse in India in the past

two decades. Congress and BJP have always

accused each other of stoking religious sen-

timents for electoral benefits. BJP has

always accused Congress of pursuing the

policy of "minority appeasement" since

independence. ‘Secularism’ basically is a

western concept that separates government

institutions and functionaries from religious

institutions and dignitaries. The emergence

of BJP in the 1990s as a serious challenger

to Congress party’s hegemony ignited the

secularism vs communalism debate. Riding

on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, BJP

grabbed power in UP and emerged as an

alternative to the Congress at the national

level, with even some sadhus getting elected

to Parliament on BJP ticket.

Consequently, the BJP’s perceived anti-

minority image polarized the Indian polity

as Muslims started voting en-bloc for par-

ties most likely to defeat the BJP. The

Congress, sensing an opportunity for isolat-

ing the emerging rival, positioned itself as

the torch bearer of "secularism".

But it’s high time that the country and its

politicians decide to take a fresh look at the

secularism vs communalism debate. Modi

deserves a hearing.

Global Indians for Bharat Vikas

(GIBV), a group of NRIs, has been

drumming up support for Narendra

Modi and by organizing several “Vote for

India”, “Chai pe Charcha” programs in all

major cities of USA in late March. GIBV is

spearheading the efforts of reference calling

(calling one’s friends and relatives in India),

specific constituency focused calling (call-

ing swing constituencies), social media

campaign in support of NaMo and facilitat-

ing the visit of hundreds of NRIs to cam-

paign on the ground in India.

The cities where such programs were con-

ducted included Boston, New Jersey, New

York, Philadelphia, Washington DC,

Atlanta, Orlando, Houston, Dallas,

Indianapolis, Chicago, and San Francisco.

These awareness raising programs will go

on till the last day of election.

Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi

said recently that there is no Modi

wave, only a BJP wave in the ongoing

general election. He is in denial. Nobody

can deny that ever since party President

Rajnath Singh managed to get Narendra

Modi declared as the party’s PM candidate,

the party has been energized and galvanized

and close to forming the next government in

India. People in general and the media in

particular are hooked on 24/7 to what Modi

says and does. His barnstorming rallies

attract huge crowds.

Within months Modi has dwarfed all

other leaders in the party in popularity and

influence - and that includes LK Advani on

whose rath yatra BJP rode to become the

second largest party after Congress in the

1991 election. Advani was dissuaded from

contesting from Bhopal, something he

wanted. Jaswant Singh was expelled from

the party after he decided to run as an inde-

pendent after being denied a party ticket in

Barmer. Modi is a strong leader, somebody

India may need, you can argue, after the

seemingly headless UPA government con-

vulsed by policy paralysis. But there have

been murmurs of unease. Public intellectual

Ramachandra Guha said, “Modi’s tendency

is to centralize and self-aggrandize. These

traits are not entirely becoming in a

prospective prime minister of a large and

diverse country.” RSS, the ideological foun-

tainhead of the BJP finds nothing wrong in

Modi's rising stature and it sees "nothing

bad in promoting somebody who could get

you votes". "The RSS never said personali-

ties cannot or should not dominate the polit-

ical scene," RSS spokesperson Ram

Madhav commented when asked if deci-

sion-making powers in the BJP were being

concentrated in Modi.

How Modi became synonymous with BJP

Surge of support for NaMo campaign in USA

(1) Chicago team shouting slogans in favor of Modi (2) Indianapolis volunteers served Modi tea at a fundraising

event.(3) Houston farewell to volunteers going to India to campaign.

1 2

3

3April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info MODI FOR PM

Pitching for a "Team India",

BJP’s prime ministerial can-

didate Narendra Modi said

Friday his appeal would not be to

Hindus and Muslims but to the

entire people of the country.

Holding that the country has been

divided in the name of secularism,

Modi said: "I cannot accept a divide

between brothers of the country in

the name of secularism.

“Neither will I say anything to

Muslims nor to Hindus. I will just

address 125 crore Indians," he said

in an interview to Network 18

refusing to practice the politics of

identity.”

The Gujarat chief minister said he

wanted to create a "Team India"

which would include the prime

minister and all chief ministers.

Modi said "whenever Congress

sees bad days, they blame the RSS”

while RSS is a cultural organization

dedicated to the betterment of the

country. "They should be appreciat-

ed for their good work. I know of

many RSS people who are living in

remote areas to help people".

On foreign policy, Modi said that

trade, commerce and technology

would be the driving factors in

Indo-US diplomatic relations if the

BJP came to power at the centre.

On economic policy, a pan-India

goods and services tax with the sup-

port of state governments and a

push for infrastructure and privati-

zation of state units without politics

were among Modi's assurances if

voted to power.

He also said the entire gamut of

foreign equity needed re-evaluation,

even as his pro-people, pro-jobs

government will not cut subsidies

but shun crony capitalism.

"We have always been on the side

of the goods and services tax. But

its success lies on a proper IT net-

work across the country," Modi

said. Pressing for corruption-free

politics, Modi said he looked for-

ward to creating a system where

there was little scope for crime and

corruption.

"We cannot ensure 100 percent

cleansing of political malpractices

but we would stress on preventive

measures so that the scope for

crime and corruption is negligible,"

he added. He said if the BJP came

to power, he would send a list of

tainted MPs to the Supreme Court.

By Team SAT

As the polling

moves to-

wards the

May 16 close, BJP’s

prime ministerial can-

didate Narendra Modi

is leagues ahead of

the nearest rivals

Aam Aadmi Party’s

Arvind Kejriwal and Congress

vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

The Pew Research Center, a

non-partisan US think tank, report-

ed a few weeks ago that 60% of the

likely Indian voters surveyed have

a very favorable view of Modi

while just 23% of the public have

a very favorable opinion of Rahul.

And according to Google

Trends, in terms of online search-

es, on a scale of 0-100, Modi

scored 65 points, followed by Ke-

jriwal (52 points) and Gandhi (41

points) for the month of February.

In a unique online poll in Britain,

Rahul Gandhi was seen as the

"least driven" and "least creative"

of the three main leaders. Modi

emerged as the "most driven" and

"most visionary" candidate while

Kejriwal gets credit as "most prin-

cipled" and "most creative" politi-

cal figure.

Actually, the choice before India

is clear. Rahul being the scion of

the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty had a

chance but did not rise to the occa-

sion. Media reports have laid bare

the poor development in Amethi,

his constituency.

With no governance experience

and lack of vision for strengthen-

ing India’s position in the global

scenario, Rahul comes across as a

disappointing option for today’s

knowledgeable, aware, demanding

Indian voter.

Kejriwal’s stock has been falling

after he quit as Delhi CM within

49 days. Now he says quitting was

a mistake.

The so-called Third Front has

not even taken off, though Jay-

alalitha, Mulayam Singh and

Mayawati have bared their PM

ambitions in case BJP-led NDA

fails to get a clear majority in Lok

Sabha. Telugu Desam Party and

Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Jan

Shakti have already joined NDA.

Congress party’s minority ap-

peasement policies may still cut

ice with the Muslims, but with

AAP’s emergence, that vote bank

is bound to be divided.

So, what is clear by now is the

inevitability of Modi taking the

reins of India and leading it to

newer heights.

Good governancerecord

Modi has a strong track record of

13 years of good governance with

persistent double digit GDP

growth in Gujarat. Superb infra-

structure, 24 hour electricity and

water supply even in the interiors

and new industrial hubs has not

only brought prosperity to the state

but also attracted huge FDI. His

development model has got

thumbs up from global rating

agencies.

In contrast, in a decade of Con-

gress-led UPA rule, the GDP

growth, which had crossed double

digits, has dwindled to half, to 5.9

per cent. Inflation coupled with

corruption and red tapism have

stalled employment generating

growth projects, and foreign in-

vestors have become wary due to

flawed policies and tax laws. The

plethora of gargantuan scams un-

der Congress watch has also

marred its chances of retaining

power.

On the other hand, Modi with his

pro-growth agenda, development

record for three successive terms

in Gujarat holds much promise to

the under-35 voters which now

make for a whopping 40-50 per

cent of the population.

The greatest achievement of

Modi’s rule is that there is peace

and tranquility in Gujarat. There

have been no communal riots in

the state in the last 12 years.

Who will India choose?A proven leader, a dynastic scion or a quitter?

What Modi stands for - in his own words

Narendra Modi, The hope and... Continued from page 1they see hope of accelerating devel-

opment and their plight improving.

Modi’s frugal lifestyle and no fami-

ly to fend for is seen as a bulwark

against temptation to be corrupt.

On balance, Modi seems to the

right man at the right time who will

work tirelessly to take the country

into the 21st century with head held

high in the comity of nations. He

may be labeled by the liberal media

and some quarters internationally as

a controversial, polarizing, and divi-

sive figure, but British economist

Jim O'Neill, author of the BRIC

report, wrote that Modi is "good on

economics", one of the things that

"India desperately needs in a

leader".

Modi’s development model has

got thumbs up from global rating

agencies. The flow of FDI is ready

to resume again and the Indian stock

market to zoom up.

Not only India, the world is wait-

ing with bated breath for Narendra

Modi to assume power after the

biggest election in the world in the

biggest democracy of the world. Yet

another peaceful transition of

power!

The South Asian Times, the lead-

ing newspaper of the Indian diaspo-

ra in America, is proud to announce

its endorsement of Shri Narendra

Modi for the next Prime Minister of

India.

Incidentally, we recently endorsed

Hon Ed Mangano for Nassau

County Executive and Hon Bill de

Blasio for Mayor of New York City.

We are glad that both were victori-

ous with a huge mandate. We sin-

cerely wish and hope Shri Narendra

Modi will also get a similar

mandate.

(Chat over Tea)

Sunday, April 20th.

From 3:00-4:30 pm

In order to support Narendra Modi

in his election campaign to be the

next Prime Minister of India, Chai

Pe Charcha (Chat over Tea) will be

held at the residence of Jagdish

Sewhani at 20 Linden Lane, Old

Westbury, NY 11568

from 3:00-4:30 pm.

You are cordially invited to

participate at this event with

your family and friends.

For further information, please contact:Jagdish Sewhani – 917-834-8842

Animesh Goenka – (516-647-9950

Dr. Yashpal Arya – 516-840-9810

Narain Kataria – (718) 478-5735

Arish Sahani – (718) 271-0453

Dr. C. B. Singh – (718) 217-2628

CHAI PE CHARCHA

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4 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoMODI FOR PM

By Jagdish SewhaniPromoter, Overseas Friends

of Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi is the icon of resur-

gent India. Right now he is the most

popular mass leader in India. He is

loved, respected and

held in high esteem

by millions of

Indians. Modi is an

idea whose time has

come. More than

being the BJP candi-

date for the post of

PM, he is a move-

ment itself which is

re-energizing and

reinvigorating the

nation as a whole. He is the man India has

been waiting for a very long time. He is seen

as a solution to many of the problems Indian

people have been suffering in silence.

India has tremendous potential. It deserves

better. If we are going to rewrite our our

future and rebuild India into a glorious

country, we need a dynamic, decisive leader

like Narendra Modi.

Modi is a leader with a difference. He has

a vision to make India a superpower. And he

has a proven track record of the past 12

years.

The Pew Research Center, a non-partisan

US think tank has said that nearly 70% of

Indians surveyed support Narendra Modi as

Prime Minister of India. Indians have

expressed dissatisfaction with the way

things are going on in the country at present,

and this is shared across the political spec-

trum.

Here are some of the reasons as to why

Modi/BJP/NDA should be voted to power:

�1998 – 2002, NDA added 2,700,000jobs in small scale industry alone. That’s

more than what Congress added across all

industries in 7 years!

�32 terrorist organizations like LeT, JeM,HM, ULFA, SIMI were banned by NDA.

�Just the Golden Quadrilateral Project

that Vajpayee government built would save

Rs. 8000 crore of fuel consumption in India.

�During Modi’s rule school dropout ratesdropped from 20.9 % in 2001 to 2% in 2012

in Gujarat. The number of universities

increased from 11 in 2002 to 44 in 2013 in

the state.

�Modi has maintained double digit eco-nomic growth rate in Gujarat.

�The greatest achievement of the ModiGovernment is that there is peace and tran-

quility in Gujarat. There have been no com-

munal riots in the state in the last 12 years.

�For the most part of the past 60 yearswe have been led on a wrong path. In the

past 10 years under Congress-led govern-

ment, corruption has been rampant and it

gave nothing but scams. The UPA in the past

10 years has jeopardized the Indian dream

for generations to come.

�But we see the hope and that hope isNarendra Modi. Under Narendrabhai's

dynamic leadership Indian dream can be res-

urrected.

Modi is resurrecting the Indian DreamBy Dr Narendra HadpawatPresident, Rajasthan

Association of North America-NY

Iam totally convinced that finally India has a

national leader who is going to improve the

life of ordinary citizens so urgently required

in the country. Since 1947 India has made

progress in many sectors, but not enough when

compared to the rest of the world. Look at

many small and large countries like Taiwan,

South Korea, Japan, Singapore and China.

Indians in general are as well educated and intelligent if not better

than citizens in these countries. I believe our elected leaders in Free

India have failed us.

Because the Indian National Congress was the largest political

organization during the struggle for freedom from the British, natu-

rally its leaders controlled the politics of India, or should we say

abused it for their personal gain and glory. Basic necessities like edu-

cation, healthcare, infrastructure did not improve much in the past 65

years. India is still home to the largest number of the poor in the

world. The small percentage of educated and resourceful citizens

figured out how to improve their lives, but the masses continue to

suffer. Fortunately, a leader like Narendra Modi has now emerged in

India at the national level who has the vision, potential and capabili-

ties to change all this. Looking at the rapid development in Gujarat

under his rule, he has proven that Good Governance is possible in

India and that will improve infrastructure and economy of the coun-

try. This in turn will result in better life for the ordinary folks. He

deserves the opportunity, and I believe Indian voters are going to

give him the chance.

Let all Indians abroad too wish him well, he has lot of tough work

ahead. God bless Mother India, God bless Narendra Modi.

By Juned Qazi, Executive Member INOC (I)

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra

Modi’s media hype reflects narrow

vision of a small time politician

who doesn’t understand the national charac-

ter of India. Modi is hooked to the word

‘development’ so much that he forgets the

word, ‘sustainable’. Is erecting high-rise

buildings the proof of real development?

Or handing over government land to big

industrialists at throwaway prices or keeping the labor cost cheap

in his state? He boasted that manufacturing plants continued to

produce during recession. He made it possible by ensuring that

workers’ wages didn’t rise. In fact, ‘Development at a social cost’

is the Modi mantra. He is the guardian of the rich while paying

lip service to the poor. Modi seems to believe that he is the

unchallenged leader of tomorrow but he has no vision for our

country. Quiz him on foreign policy, and his answer is Pakistan

and China. Sadly some people are buying his nonsense and divi-

sive statements. His economic policy, he claims without

specifics, will bring dollar value down to Rs 35!

He needs to look outside his shell and see the diversity of the

huge nation called India. He talks about ‘Nation First’, but his

vision does not go beyond Gujarat. People of India can’t allow

religion-based politics which violates the fundamental values of

our nation upon which our constitution is based. India is a secu-

lar, socialist and democratic nation. BJP is tempering with the

secular nature of our constitution. Modi too is misleading the

people by dragging religion into politics. India is fortunate to

have a very progressive and modern constitution, which is capa-

ble of taking the nation to new heights in the 21st century.

Modi can improve life of suffering masses And a contrarian view

�Provide clean and transparent leadership

�End corruption

�Combat terrorism effectively, enhance safetyand security of nation

�Nurture economic development, create jobsfor younger generation

�End the dynastic rule from Indian democracy.

�India will once again be the most favorednation for Global Investment.

�Time has come to bid farewell forever toCorrupt Congress.

Narendra Modi will

5April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: Bangalore born poet Vijay

Seshadri has won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for

poetry for "3 Sections" described as "a com-

pelling collection of poems that examine hu-

man consciousness, from birth to dementia, in

a voice that is by turns witty and grave, com-

passionate and remorseless."

Seshadri, 60, will get the $10,000 prize for

a distinguished volume of original verse by

an American author and published by Gray-

wolf Press, announced Columbia University,

which administers the prestigious prizes.

Also nominated as finalists in the poetry

category were "The Sleep of Reason," by

Morri Creech (The Waywiser Press) and "The

Big Smoke," by Adrian Matejka (Penguin).

Seshadri's other poetry collections include

"The Long Meadow" (2004), which won the

James Laughlin Award from the Academy of

American Poets, and "Wild Kingdom

(1996)," according to poets.org.

Seshadri, who came to America at the age

of five, grew up in Columbus, Ohio. He

teaches poetry and nonfiction writing at Sarah

Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn with

his wife and son.

New York: Travel agent Akarsh Kolaprath,

who runs a Florida-based enterprise, has filed

a lawsuit against Wizcraft, the organizers of

the 15th International Indian Film Academy

Awards (IIFA) for alleged breach of trust.

Kolaprath claims that three years ago, he

struck a deal with Andre Timmins and Viraf

Sarkari of Wizcraft through his family com-

pany, 7M tours. As part of the deal, he was

asked to help them out with co-ordination of

finances and taking the award ceremony to

the US this year, according to a Mid-Day re-

port.

Kolaprath claims to have spent the last

three years and around $2,65,000 on consult-

ing and making travel arrangements for the

organization. In return, Wizcraft apparently

promised him 3 percent of the entire profit.

Kolaprath says that he even managed hotel

bookings for the event, which is going to be

held from April 24 to 27. It seems that the

event organizers have abruptly changed their

mind and decided to do their own bookings

and arrangements thereby cancelling his

services. Kolaprath has now sued Wizcraft

for $7 million for leaving him in the lurch

without giving him adequate reasons.

Wizcraft and IIFA in a press statement said,

"The claims made by Akarsh/&7M tours are

false and frivolous. It is a concocted story

lacking any substance. Wwe shall respond to

these claims appropriately before the court."

Trenton, NJ: Gov. Chris Christie

has appointed Dr. Sudhir M.

Parikh, a reputed allergist in the

tristate area, to the State Board of

Medical Examiners. This will be

the second time Dr. Parikh will be

serving on the board. In 1993, he

was the first Indian-American ap-

pointed to the board by then Gov.

Christie Todd Whitman.

The New Jersey’s Medical Board

describes its mission as one of pro-

tecting the public’s health and safe-

ty by determining qualifications of applicants

for licensure, establishing standards for prac-

tice, and disciplining licensees who do not ad-

here to those requirements. In addition to

physicians and podiatrists, the board licenses

and certifies certain other health care profes-

sionals.

The board is constituted of a se-

lect number of physicians and

medical personnel, all appointed

by the governor.

Dr. Parikh, who runs 24 allergy

and asthma practices in the tristate

area, is also known for his philan-

thropic work with several nonprof-

it organizations in the US and In-

dia. He is also the recipient of sev-

eral awards including the Ellis Is-

land Medal of Honor (2005), one

of the highest civilian honors for

an immigrant in the country; the Pravasi

Bharatiya Samman and the Padma Shri from

India, and the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Sam-

man. Dr. Parikh is the chairman and publisher

of Parikh Worldwide Media Inc. which pub-

lishes five periodicals including Desi Talk in

New York. He is married to Dr. Sudha Parikh.

Brooklyn poet Vijay Seshadri wins Pulitzer

IIFA sued for $ 7 million

Dr. Parikh appointed to NJ State Board of Medical Examiners

New York: India-born former Goldman

Sachs director Rajat Gupta, who had lost his

appeal to overturn his conviction on insider

trading charges, has been ordered to surrender

and begin his two-year prison sentence in

June.

On March 25, a US court upheld the 2012

conviction of 65-year-old Gupta on insider

trading charges for supplying confidential in-

formation to jailed hedge fund boss Raj

Rajaratnam. The Harvard-educated Gupta

had suffered a major setback a district denied

his bid for a new trial, ruling that there was no

merit in Gupta's appeal.

Gupta was found guilty in June 2012 of

passing confidential information about

Goldman Sachs to his friend and business as-

sociate Rajaratnam just minutes after Gupta

exited Goldman's board meetings.Gupta was

sentenced to two years' imprisonment, to be

followed by a one-year term of supervised

release, and was ordered to pay a fine of

$5,000,000. He had been free on bail pending

decision on his appeal.

Rajat Gupta ordered to begin prison sentence in June

The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m

Vijay Sheshadri

Dr. Sudhir Parikh

Sant Chatwal pleads guilty to violatingUS electoral laws

New York: Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh

Chatwal Thursday pleaded guilty at a court here to

violating federal election campaign laws by using

straw donors to secretly funnel money to political

campaigns and will pay a million dollars to the US

as part of his plea agreement.

"Chatwal admitted that he used straw donors so

that he could gain access to the politicians, and he

coerced another person to hide his crime," said

Acting US Assistant Attorney General David

O'Neil.

Chatwal, 70, had raised at least $100,000 for

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008

presidential campaign against Barack Obama. He

pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York

to conspiring to violate the Federal Election Cam-

paign Act (the 'Election Act') by making more than

$180,000 in federal campaign donations to three

candidates through straw donors who were reim-

bursed and to witness tampering. There is no alle-

gation that the candidates participated in, or were

aware of, Chatwal's scheme, federal prosecutors

said.

"Chatwal's scheme sought to subvert the very

purpose of the Election Act. Chatwal then rolled

the dice to stymie the government's investigation,

thinking he could corruptly convince witnesses to

his federal election crimes to stay silent. That gam-

ble did not pay off," said US Attorney Loretta

Lynch.

According to court filings and facts presented

during the plea proceeding, Chatwal operated sev-

eral businesses, including restaurants, hotels, and

a hotel management company.

From 2007 to 2011, Chatwal used his employ-

ees, business associates, and contractors who

performed work on his hotels (the "Chatwal

Associates") to solicit campaign contributions on

Chatwal's behalf in support of various candidates

for federal office and PACs, collect these

contributions, and pay reimbursements for these

contributions. Chatwal was awarded Padma

Bhushan in 2010 for his role in the historic India-

US civilian nuclear deal. He heads the chain of the

upscale Hampshire Hotels.

A friend of the Clintons, SantChatwal reportedly used straw

donors to fund political campaigns.

6 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

IN BRIEF

NYPD disbands unit that spied on MuslimsNew York: The New York Police Department

has abandoned a secretive program that dis-

patched plainclothes detectives into Muslim

neighborhoods to eavesdrop on conversations

and built detailed files on where people ate,

prayed and shopped, the department said.

The decision by the nation's largest police

force to shutter the surveillance program repre-

sents the first sign that William J Bratton, the

department's new commissioner, is backing

away from some of the post-9/11 intelligence-

gathering practices of his predecessor. The

move comes as the federal government recon-

siders and re-evaluates some of its post-9/11

policies, including the National Security

Agency's bulk data collection. The police de-

partment's tactics, which are the subject of two

federal lawsuits, drew criticism from civil

rights groups and a senior FBI official who said

they harmed national security by sowing mis-

trust for law enforcement in Muslim communi-

ties. The Demographics Unit, which dates to

2003 and was renamed the Zone Assessment

Unit in recent years, has been largely inactive

since Bratton took over in January, the depart-

ment's chief spokesman, Stephen Davis, said.

The unit's detectives were recently reassigned,

he said. "Understanding certain local demo-

graphics can be a useful factor when assessing

the threat information that comes into New

York City virtually on a daily basis,"

Davis said.

Havan in NY for Modi’s electoral success

India First Alliance (IFA) organized a ha-

van at the residence of Durana Singha at

Lindenhurst, New York April 13to propi-

tiate all gods, goddesses, nine planets and in-

voked blessings of Ganesha, the remover of

all obstacles with a view to ensure a re-

sounding victory of Narendra Modi in the

general elections in India.

The puja was conducted by Shastri Jagdish

Tripathi and ended with the chants of “Dhar-

ma Ki Jai Ho”; “Adharma Ka Nash Ho!”

Rajendra P. Singh welcomed the audience

and requested each and everyone in the audi-

ence to call friends and family members in

India - at least 50 people - and urge them to

conduct door to door campaign in their

neighborhood and ensure that they either

vote for Narendra Modi/BJP, Shiv Sena,

Akali Dali or any other member of the NDA.

Overseas Friends of NAMO host ‘Chai pe charcha’ in Calif.

Bay Area Indian community led by

Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP)

thronged Swagat Restaurant in Mil-

pitas, CA on April 2 to discuss BJP's Prime

Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's

prospects of becoming India's next Prime

minister. Though the program was to be a

discussion "Chai Pe Charcha" (over a cup of

tea) the overwhelming response turned it

into an all evening, dinner event.

Dr. Rajni Sarin, Co-Convener of Over-

seas Friends of BJP(Global), who had just

arrived from Delhi, was the chief guest. The

event was attended by over 100 strong Bay

Area community leaders.

Indian community in bay area has been

impressed with Shri Modi's bold initiatives

in improving Gujarat's growth and develop-

ment in economic and human index with his

selfless service. Indian community now ex-

pects Modi to duplicate the success at the

center to uplift the nation.

Dr. Rajni Sarin highlighted long list of

Modi's achievements in Gujarat and narrat-

ed her personal interaction with him, label-

ing him a workaholic with a clear vision and

plan of action for next 20 years.

Various community members spoke in

support of and to cheer Modi's mission 272+

and to wish him success. In a lively discus-

sion, which had 100% participation, they

provided many ideas and feedback to assure

that BJP's mission 272+ succeeds.

Chandru Bhambhra, Past President of

OFBJP (USA) said, “In these last few days,

our callings to our friends & relatives in India

asking them to go and vote for BJP would be

very effective. This is the best situation in

many years. It is either now or never!"

Ashwini Surpur of Yoga Bharti made a

powerful case to assure that India does not

lose this chance to pull India out of dol-

drums. She said, "India lost three chances by

not recognizing the talents of Subhash Chan-

dra Bose, Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel and Lal

Bahadur Shastri. We now have a fourth

chance and we should not miss this. This will

be a disaster for the country.”

Sanjay Tripathi, General Secretary

HSS(Bay Area) proudly announced that he is

leaving for India to campaign for BJP in his

hometown of Varanasi.

New York Life’s Navaratnam Theivakumar receives excellence awardNew York: Navaratnam

Theivakumar, a senior partner at

New York Life’s New Jersey Gen-

eral Office was honored last week

with the Brian H. Early Frontline

Excellence Award. Thevan, as he

is popularly known, received the

award at the 2014 GAMA Interna-

tional Awards Program held in

Nashville, TN, where industry

leaders from around the world

gathered to network and learn best

practices from top representatives

in the financial services industry.

The Brian H. Early Frontline

Excellence Award recognizes field

leaders who have shown exempla-

ry performance in their current

frontline positions and are consid-

ered to be the industry’s rising

leaders.

During his ten years as an agent

and seven years as a partner, he

has been honored with numerous

company and industry award in-

cluding membership in the Mil-

lion Dollar Round Table, an inter-

national, independent association

of the world’s leading life insur-

ance and financial services profes-

sionals.

MDRT membership is recog-

nized internationally as the stan-

dard of sales excellence in the life

insurance and financial services

business. In 2013, Theivakumar

received an International Manage-

ment Award recognizing excel-

lence in traditional and contempo-

rary field management throughout

the financial services industry

from GAMA International, a

worldwide association serving the

professional development needs

of more than 8,000 field leaders in

the insurance, investment and fi-

nancial services industry.

Theivakumar, began his career

in Bergen General Office as an

agent with New York Life in

March 1997.

He joined the New Jersey Gen-

eral Office in Saddlebrook as a

partner in 2007 and he currently

works out of New York Life’s

satellite office in Edison, NJ.

He resides in Princeton, NJ with

his wife Ruby and their three chil-

dren, Suran, Tharani and

Kirrupan.

NY seniors organize Art of Living/Way of Life seminar

On March 26 2014, New York sen-

iors organized a seminar on Art of

living/Way of Life by Shashikant

Patel and Gopi Udeshi at Shri Saneeswara

Temple at Bellerose Terrace Queens. Dr.

Jatin Kapadia, a well known pediatric doc-

tor, has studied Vedanta and Upanishad for

the last 20 years. As an outstanding speak-

er he teaches Bhagawat Geeta on weekends

at different venues in Tri-State area to all

age groups. His “Vedic” words added wis-

dom and refreshed mind. Seen here

FIACONA criticizes India’s PM, seeks free and fairLok Sabha elections

The newly elected national Executive

Board of the Federation of Indian

American Christian Organizations of

North America, Inc. (FIACONA) expressed

its desire, that the ongoing national elec-

tions in India should be held free and fair,

during its General Body meeting held in its

Washington DC office over the weekend.

FIACONA further urged the leaders of po-

litical parties there to be respectful of the

civil and social rights of every single citizen

of India, regardless of one’s religious or so-

cial affiliation.

While wishing all political parties best of

luck ahead of the elections, FIACONA

urged, Mr. Rajnath Singh, Ms. Sonia Gand-

hi, Ms. Jayalalitha, Mr. Karunanithi, Mr.

Mulayam Singh, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu,

Mr. Jagan Reddy, Mr. Kejeriwal, Ms.

Mayawati, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Mr. Pat-

naik, Mr. Karat, Mr. Pawar, Mr. Sharat Ya-

dav, Mr. Chautala, Mr. Abdullah, Mr. Gow-

da, Mr. Shekar Tiwari and other leaders of

the national and regional political parties to

work for the unity of the nation and to heal

the division that has caused strife in the so-

ciety.

FIACONA expressed its disappointment

in the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh

and his government’s inability to meet sev-

eral challenges head on, in spite of the man-

date given to him, while recognizing his

contribution to, and the able management

of, the economy during his two terms as

Prime Minister.

The Board also pointed out that the cur-

rent President of FIACONA, Mr. Prabhu-

doss is denied visa to visit India by Dr.

Singh’s government since 2010, for sup-

porting the victims of Kandhammal vio-

lence in in the eastern Indian State of Oris-

sa during 2008.

(L to R): Prafulba Vaghela, GopiUdeshi, Dr Jatin Kapadia,Shidhar

and Shashikant Patel.

Shown at the awards ceremony at the GAMA International eventin Nashville, Tenn., (l-r) are: Nic Romero, Navaratnam

Theivakumar, Shane Swanson and Jason Early

Havan in progress

7April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

New York: Around 700 Indian

Americans have landed in India

and campaigning to make Naren-

dra Modi- the next prime minister.

The NRIs are visiting various

towns and villages urging people

to vote for Modi, Asian American

Store Owners' Association (AA-

SOA) Executive Director Vipul

Patel told reporters at in Vadodara,

Gujarat on Monday.

NRIs have also been addressing

meetings in various parts of the

country including Kerala, Andhra

Pradesh, West Bengal and other

states appealing people to vote for

Modi, he said, adding that the

NRIs feel that India needs a strong

leader like Modi to develop the

country.

Their work is being coordinated

by the Global Indians for Bharat

Vikas (GIBV), a group which

identifies itself as a non-religious,

non-political and non-profit or-

ganization formed by over 70 pro-

fessionals from over 10 states of

America, who had first gathered

in North Brunswick, New Jersey

in September 2013.

"In the last 12 years, Gujarat has

witnessed much development un-

der Modi as chief minister. Now,

we want him to replicate this de-

velopment elsewhere in the coun-

try," said scientist Dr Vasudev Pa-

tel, president of Gujarati Samaj at

Atlanta Georgia and general sec-

retary of South East Overseas

Friends of BJP.

"While campaigning for Modi

in Uttar Pradesh, I realized that

despite the state sending 80 MPs

and giving many prime ministers

to India, it has not seen any devel-

opment in the last six decades.

There are villages which still

yearn for power, roads, water and

education leave alone sanitation

issues.

Hence, we are supporting

Modi," said Ramesh Shah, trustee

of Gujarati Samaj of Houstan,

Texas.

Indian-Americans land inIndia to root for Modi

Washington, DC: Anil Kumar,

an Indian-American surgeon and

small business owner in Michigan

has filed papers as a Democratic

candidate in the race for the US

House of Representatives from

the state’s 11th Congressional dis-

trict.

Kumar, who has practised med-

icine in Metropolitan Detroit for

the past 30 years, has raised over

$600,000 to date, according to a

media release from his campaign.

“I’m running for Congress be-

cause we need leaders with fresh

ideas to get our state and our

economy, back on track,” said Ku-

mar.

“People are frustrated because

Washington isn’t working. Now

more than ever, we need to create

good-paying jobs, make educa-

tion affordable, protect Social Se-

curity and Medicare, and assure

healthcare is accessible to every-

one.”

Kumar, a women’s rights advo-

cate, said his campaign will prior-

itize solutions not partisan poli-

tics.

Growing up in a hard-working

middle class family taught Kumar

the values he will bring to Wash-

ington, the release said.

Meanwhile, the lone Indian-

American House member Ami

Bera Tuesday announced that his

campaign raised over $485,000 in

the first quarter of 2014. The cam-

paign has nearly $1.5 million cash

on hand.

The vast majority of Bera’s sup-

port is local, with 85 percent of in-

dividual donations this quarter

coming from California.

Additionally, more than 73 per-

cent of those contributions were

$100 or less, his campaign said.

“I am so grateful for the incred-

ible continued help from our

grassroots supporters who make

this campaign possible,” said

Bera, who represents California’s

Sacramento County in Congress.

“It’s just further confirmation

that Sacramento County families

want a problem solver who keeps

his promises and puts them ahead

of politics representing them in

Congress,” he said.

Surgeon Anil Kumar joins Congressionalrace; Bera raises close to half a million

Washington, DC: First ever Indian-American

Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri with cele-

brated Indian-American chef Maneet Chauhan

has been invited by the White House for its an-

nual Easter Egg Roll Celebrations.

The celebrations among other things would

feature 'yoga' sessions for the second consecu-

tive year. Easter Egg Roll will take place on

April 21 on the South Lawn of the White

House. The celebrations in support of the first

lady's 'Let's Move!' initiative is focused on pro-

moting health and wellness with the theme,

'Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape'.

The day-long event is to be attended by some

30,000 people from across the country and will

feature live music, sports courts, cooking sta-

tions, storytelling and of course Easter egg

rolling. This year's special guest is 12-year-old

singing sensation Cam Anthony. Anthony will

sing the National Anthem as well as perform on

the Rock 'n' Egg Roll Stage.

Readers on the Storytime Stage will be Jim

Carrey, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, for-

mer NFL player and NASA astronaut Leland

Melvin, DJ Lance Rock, Debby Ryan from the

Disney Channel's JESSIE and Sesame Street's

Mando, Rosita, Abby Cadabby and Cookie

Monster.

Chefs Maneet Chauhan, Alexandra Guar-

naschelli, Sam Kass, Marc Murphy, Charles

Phan, Super Sprowtz, and the Disney Channel

cast of JESSIE will prepare healthy eating

demonstrations in the Play with your Food sta-

tion. Previously the Executive Chef of several

notable restaurants including Vermilion Chica-

go and Vermilion New York, Maneet Chauhan

is featured as a judge on Chopped on the Food

Network and has appeared on The Next Iron

Chef, The View and Iron Chef America.

For the second consecutive year, the White

House has created a yoga garden for the occa-

sion. "Come enjoy a session of yoga from pro-

fessional instructors," the White House said.

Miss America Nina Davuluri, chef Maneet Chauhaninvited to White House Easter gala

Washington, DC: U.S.-In-

dia Business Council (USI-

BC) President Ron Somers

has resigned his post to

start a strategic consulting

practice. USIBC Executive

Vice President and Senior

Director Diane Farrell will

serve as Acting President

during the search for a re-

placement.

"With elections under-

way in India and a new

government forming, this is

the perfect time for me to

do what I have long

planned-hang out my shin-

gle," said Somers. "It's

been an incredibly reward-

ing experience to lead the

exceptional USIBC staff,

work with an outstanding

board, and advance the crit-

ical U.S.-India commercial

relationship."

"Ron has brought incred-

ible energy, experience,

and insight to the U.S.-In-

dia Business Council," said

MasterCard Worldwide

President and CEO and

USIBC Chair Ajay Banga.

"On behalf of the entire

board and staff, we want to

thank him for his remark-

able efforts and accom-

plishments."

U.S. Chamber Executive

Vice President David

Chavern praised Somers'

tenure as USIBC President:

"Ron has a strong record of

accomplishment and has

provided tremendous lead-

ership in his nearly ten

years with USIBC. We

wish him well in his future

endeavors."

USIBC President Ron Somers resigns

Ron Somers

Chef Maneet ChauhanNina Davuluri

Dr Anil Kumar to contestfrom 11th District

of Michigan

To start consulting practice; Exe VP Diane Farrell will be Acting President

8 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: A BJP-

led NDA government

would be "stronger, deci-

sive, transparent and pre-

dictable" and it would cre-

ate an investment friendly

environment, according to

a senior party leader.

"Restructuring, rejuve-

nating and re-strengthen-

ing the Indian economy

will be the top priority of

the NDA government,"

said BJP national

spokesperson Tarun Vijay,

who was invited by the

Overseas Friends of the

BJP to be the chief

guest at the BJP Foun-

dation Day events in Tampa and Florida. He

held a series of meetings including those with

corporate sector organized by the US India

Business Council and think-tanks.

In addition to meeting some US officials, he

also met several lawmakers including Indian-

American Congressman Ami Bera.

"The US business is ready to apply for

(Narendra) Modi visa. I told them that India's

new government, as our manifesto has said,

would be economy driven government," he

said. "Our priority would be to get more in-

vestment and more power to the manufacturing

sector. More investment in the infrastructure

sector. Strengthening our

industrial and trade poli-

cies. Strengthening small

and medium enterprises.

Barring FDI in retail, we

would be very happy to in-

vite investment in the core

sectors," he told the Amer-

ican businesses.

"One thing would be

guaranteed there will be

transparency, no corrup-

tion, predictability and

nothing like retrospective

policies on taxation," Vijay

assured them.

"It will be investment

friendly environment in

the new government,"

he said, adding that he got a very positive feed-

back from the American business communities

here.

During his meeting with members of the US

think-tank community, he was asked a pletho-

ra of questions on Gujarat, minority, human

rights and social issues, besides economy.

Modi's visa issue did pop up during the meet-

ing, he said. "I said this is for the US to decide.

He (Modi) never applied for visa. This is their

(American) problem and this is their baggage.

This is not our baggage. All our idea is that

both the great democracies must work strategi-

cally, but on equal terms," he said.

NDA government will create investment friendlyenvironment: BJP leader Tarun Vijay

New York: South Jersey-raised University of

the Arts grad Joe Menna is creating a design to

build the world’s largest statue in India, the As-

sociated Press reported.

As a staff artist at the U.S. Mint in Philadel-

phia, the 44-year-old sculptor has immortal-

ized the likes of Washington, Jefferson and

Teddy Roosevelt on U.S. dollar coins. Now

he’s helping make history, too.

A campaign in India to build the world’s

largest statue commissioned him to create a de-

sign. His likeness of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,

who led hundreds of princely states to form the

modern nation, is the working model for a 597-

foot-tall colossus, part of a proposed $400 mil-

lion complex in Gujarat.

This Statue of Unity would be about twice

the height of the Statue of Liberty, taller than

Philadelphia City Hall, including William

Penn, and higher even than the Crazy Horse

slowly being carved out of a mountain in

South Dakota. And the Indian statue’s height

doesn’t even count its 60-foot-high base.

Count that and the monument would be about

two-thirds as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

American artist designing SardarPatel’s 597-foot statue

New York: New York's Indian American pros-

ecutor Preet Bharara has now taken on the

state's Governor Andrew M. Cuomo over his

decision to shutter an anti-corruption commis-

sion as part of a deal with legislators for an

ethics package.

Cuomo created the panel "with great fan-

fare,” shuttered it "unceremoniously,” said

Bharara in a radio interview as cited by News-

day, and "thinking people wonder why that

happened and want to get to the bottom of it."

"I think in the letter I sent to the commission

I said there was an appearance that cases were

bargained away in exchange for a political

deal," said the attorney. Bharara, an appointee

of President Barack Obama, indicated he was

troubled by reports of interference in the com-

mission's actions.

"I don't know what the facts are," Bharara

was quoted as saying on WNYC's "The Brian

Lehrer Show" April 10.

"What I can tell you is that it's impossible to

overstate the importance of independence on

the part of any investigative body."

Bharara, Newsday said, wouldn't rule out in-

vestigating whether Cuomo or his aides im-

properly intervened in activities undertaken by

the recently shuttered anti-corruption commis-

sion. Asked several times by Lehrer if he could

rule out investigating Cuomo's office, the pros-

ecutor said: "I'm not going to prejudge what

we'll be looking at."

Meanwhile, the governor downplayed criti-

cism of his decision to shutter the commission

saying "It was created to spur the legislation."

"I said repeatedly when the legislation was

passed the commission would be disbanded,"

he was quoted as saying by Newsday at a

Rochester news conference at about the same

time Bharara was on the radio.

Cuomo and legislators in closed-door negoti-

ations agreed to enact some election law

changes and toughen bribery statutes.

In exchange, the governor terminated the

commission that was originally slated to work

through the end of this year.

According to Newsday, Bharara's investiga-

tions of state legislators helped spark, in part,

the creation of the commission last year.

In letters to the commission, Bharara asked it

to "preserve all documents that may be under

your control" — including e-mails.

"We're going to look at the documents,"

Bharara was quoted as saying in an interview.

"We're going to see what the facts are, and if

there are questions that are appropriate to ask .

. . my office will ask those questions."

Preet Bharara has questionedGovernor Cuomo's decision to shut an

anti-corruption commission.

Washington, DC: Pentagon's new

religious guidelines are still discrim-

inatory as they impose "stifling" re-

quirements on religion observing

service members, according to 21

faith and interfaith groups.

These organizations, in a letter to

the Department of Defense, have

asked the Pentagon to consider fine-

tuning its revised instruction to bet-

ter accommodate religious practices.

The new guidelines require service

members to violate their religion

while accommodation requests are

pending and they are made to repeat-

edly apply for temporary waivers,

the letter which was also signed by

the Sikh Coalition said.

The letter states that these "sti-

fling" requirements "may needlessly

limit career opportunities, or, in

some cases, end careers."

"If a service member can graduate

from boot camp and successfully

perform his or her military duties,

their religion alone shouldn't be a

barrier to serving our country," said

Rajdeep Singh, director of Law and

Policy for the Sikh Coalition.

Since the Pentagon began restrict-

ing the ability of Sikhs to serve in the

US armed forces in 1981, only three

Sikhs, Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi,

Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan and

Cpl Simran Preet Singh Lamba, have

received permission to serve in the

US Army while maintaining their ar-

ticles of faith.

Despite their achievements, in-

cluding promotions, awards, and two

successful deployments to

Afghanistan, their religious accom-

modations are neither permanent nor

guaranteed under the new guidelines,

must be constantly renewed and can

be taken away at any time even

shortly before retirement.

In their letter, the 21 faith and in-

terfaith organizations said as current-

ly drafted, revised instruction would

require religion observing service

members and prospective service

members to remove their head cov-

erings, cut their hair, or shave their

beards 'a violation of their religious

obligations' while their request to ac-

commodate these same religious

practices is pending.

"This is so, even if they are other-

wise qualified to serve and an ac-

commodation is unlikely to under-

mine safety or other necessary objec-

tives. We urge you to reconsider this

provision, which has the effect of

forcing some religion observing

service members to make an impos-

sible choice between their faith and

their chosen profession," the letter

said. Without further revisions, these

instructions will have an unwelcome

and unnecessary chilling effect on re-

ligious liberty and will limit opportu-

nities for talented individuals of faith

to serve in our nation's military, it

said. The signatories to the letter in-

clude Muslim Advocates, National

Council of Jewish Women, Sikh

American Legal Defense and Educa-

tion Fund (SALDEF), United

Methodist Church, General Board of

Church and Society.

'Pentagon's new religious guidelines still discriminatory'

BJP spokesperson Tarun Vijay was inFlorida for BJP Foundation Day events

Now Preet Bharara takes on Governor Cuomo

A working model of thestatue of Sardar Patelbeing sculpted by Joe

Menna (inset)

US AFFAIRS 9April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New York: Rent plus utilities are considered

affordable if take up no more than 30 percent

of a household’s income. But rising rents now

make that optimum more and more unattain-

able for middle-income families.

And we are not taking about the high cost

cities like New York and San Francisco. Ac-

cording to an analysis by Zillow, the real es-

tate website, reported in the New York Times,

in 90 cities across the nation the median rent

— not including utilities — was more than 30

percent of the median gross income.

In Chicago, rent as a percentage of income

has risen to 31 percent, from a historical aver-

age of 21 percent. In New Orleans, it has more

than doubled, to 35 percent from 14 percent.

Zillow calculated the historical average using

data from 1985 to 2000.

Nationally, half of all renters are now spend-

ing more than 30 percent of their income on

housing, according to a comprehensive Har-

vard study, up from 38 percent of renters in

2000. In December, Housing Secretary Shaun

Donovan declared “the worst rental afford-

ability crisis that this country has ever

known.” Apartment vacancy rates have

dropped so low that according to a research

firm, rents could rise, on average, as much as

4 percent this year, compared with 2.8 percent

last year. But rents are rising faster than that

in many cities even as overall inflation is run-

ning at little more than 1 percent annually.

One of the most expensive cities for renters

is Miami, where rents, on average, consume

43 percent of the typical household income,

up from a historical average of just over a

quarter. Part of the reason for the squeeze on

renters is simple demand — between 2007

and 2013 the US added, on net, about 6.2 mil-

lion tenants, compared with 208,000 home-

owners, said Stan Humphries, the chief econ-

omist of Zillow.

In many cities, rent is rising out of reach of working class

Boston: In a somber yet

uplifting ceremony

April 15 on the first an-

niversary of the Boston

Marathon bombings, the

victims killed in the at-

tacks were remembered,

while the courage and

compassion were

praised of those who

aided the survivors, both

soon after the deadly ex-

plosions and the ensuing

year.

“You have become the

face of America’s re-

solve, not unlike what happened in

9/11 .... for the whole world to

see,” said Vice President Joe

Biden, praising the city’s resilience

in the face of the bombings.

“People know all about you.

They know who you are, they

know your pride, they know your

courage, they know your resolve,

they know who you are,” Biden

said at the city’s John B. Hynes

Memorial Convention Center.

Leading off the ceremony at the

convention center, Rev. Liz Walk-

er, pastor of the Roxbury Presbyte-

rian Church and a former local

newscaster, spoke passionately

about a “rising’’ of human spirit

that would overcome the evil of

the bombings. Bombing survivor

Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dancer

whose leg was amputated after the

blast, said, “The city has stood by

us, supported us, and helped us

heal.”

Governor Deval Patrick also

thanked first responders, the med-

ical community and civilians who

rushed to help.

And he repeatedly used the

phrase that “there are no strangers

here’’ to drive home his point that

the bombings had united the

region.

One year on, Boston Marathontragedy victims remembered

Washington: The

Washington Post and

Guardian have won the

Pulitzer Prize for public

service, among the most

prestigious awards in

journalism, for their sto-

ries based on National

Security Agency docu-

ments leaked by the for-

mer government con-

tractor Edward J. Snow-

den.

The British newspaper

was recognized for

"helping through aggres-

sive reporting to spark a

debate about the rela-

tionship between the government

and the public over issues of securi-

ty and privacy", Columbia Univer-

sity's Graduate School of Journal-

ism said.

The Post, meanwhile, was hon-

ored for its "authoritative and in-

sightful reports that helped the pub-

lic understand how the disclosures

fit into the larger framework of na-

tional security". In the category of

Breaking News Reporting, the jury

picked The Boston Globe "for its

exhaustive and empathetic cover-

age of the Boston Marathon bomb-

ings and the ensuing manhunt that

enveloped the city".

The prize for International Re-

porting went to Jason Szep and An-

drew R.C. Marshall of Reuters for

their coverage of the persecution of

the Muslim Rohingya minority

in Myanmar.

WaPo, Guardian share public service Pulitzer

The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m

Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com

One of the Marathon bombing survivorspictured at the finishing line

The public service Pulitzer was shared bytwo newspapers for reporting on the NSAsurveillance programs based on leaks by

Edward Snoweden.

Washington: A 73-year-old former Ku Klux

Klan member accused of killing three people in

suburban Kansas city shootings Sunday will

face hate crime charges, US law enforcement

officials said Monday.

The federal and local law enforcement have

said the shooting at a Jewish community center

and a retirement home in Overland Park, a

Kansas City suburb in the US state of Kansas,

constituted a hate crime, Xinhua reported.

Frazier Glenn Cross (aka Frazier Glenn

Miller), who was arrested following the shoot-

ings, is a known white supremacist and known

affiliate of various hate groups. He will be

charged with first-degree murder on the state

and federal level and the prosecutors will also

pursue hate-crime charges against him.

"As Americans, we will continue to stand

united against this kind of terrible violence,

which has no place in our society," President

Obama said Monday in a statement on

Passover, a major Jewish festival celebrating

the deliverance of the Jewish people from slav-

ery in Egypt. Police have identified the victims

as Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, and his grand-

father, William Lewis Corporon, 69, and 53-

year-old occupational therapist Terri LaManno.

Anti-Jew shootings suspect to face hate crime charges

Frazier Glenn Cross is a known whitesupremacist

Bloomberg plans$50M gun control

networkNew York: Former NYC Mayor

Michael Bloomberg plans to

spend $50 million this year to

build a grassroots network to

challenge the National Rifle As-

sociation (NRA) and seek stricter

gun control laws.

Bloomberg tells the media he

wants to absorb the groups he

funds — Mayors Against Illegal

Guns and Moms Demand Action

for Gun Sense in America — un-

der an umbrella group called

Everytown for Gun Safety.

He says the strategy will focus

on expanding the background

check system for gun buyers at

the state and national levels.

The group will focus on 15

states, including pro-gun territo-

ries like Texas and where gun

control initiatives have advanced.

It has set a goal of signing up

one million new supporters this

year.

The NRA declined to comment.

10 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoBATTLEGROUND 2014

Erode/Kanyakumari: BJP's prime minis-

terial candidate Narendra Modi hit out at a

Congress woman minister from the state

for stalling infrastructural projects in

Tamil Nadu, and promised an economic

policy that would provide jobs to the

youth.

Addressing an election rally in Erode

town, known for its textiles and turmeric,

around 400 km from Chennai, the

Bharatiya Janata Party leader said: "The

economy would be reoriented with job

creation at the centre."

He said that after agriculture, it was the

textile sector that can provide a large num-

ber of jobs and it should be developed

with the right kind of infrastructure.

Stating that the BJP in its manifesto has

promised development of the handloom

sector, Modi, also

the Gujarat chief

minister, accused

the central govern-

ment of following

an economic policy

that took away jobs

from the youths

while investors set up

units in China and

other countries.

He said the general

election was special as

people would vote a

government that

works and also

for a decisive

and account-

able prime min-

ister who has a

voice of his

own within the

government.

Modi, who was on a two-day tour of

Tamil Nadu from Wednesday, spoke about

the power shortage in the state and said

that in Gujarat, load-shedding was a thing

of the past.

Modi said a woman minister - a Rajya

Sabha member of the Congress from

Tamil Nadu - was responsible for delaying

several infrastructure projects in the coun-

try. The nation was told that the projects

were held up for green reasons.

Infrastructure projects were stalled and

"Jayantiji tax" was levied on the pretext of

environment, he said, referring to former

union minister Jayanthi Natarajan.

Wooing first-time voters and the youths

in the age group of 18-28, the BJP leader

asked them not to waste five

years of their lives by not voting

for candidates of the National

Democratic Alliance (NDA).

He said the NDA will not only

change the face of the country

but also that of Tamil Nadu.

New Delhi: An estimated 116

million people voted peacefully

in the critical sixth round of par-

liamentary election to pick 121

MPs from 12 states on April 17,

officials said.

Barring stray incidents of vio-

lence and intimidation, the

gigantic exercise involving

1,767 contestants across the

length and breadth of the country

passed off smoothly, the Election

Commission said.

"Polling was generally peace-

ful and incident free," Deputy

Election Commissioner Vinod

Zutshi said after 11 hours of hec-

tic polling ended at 6 p.m. Only

in Manipur, balloting finished

two hours earlier.

Polling percentages varied

from a high of around 80 in West

Bengal to 54 in Madhya

Pradesh.

"After today's phase, a large

section of India has already

voted," said BJP's prime ministe-

rial candidate Narendra Modi.

"People have voted in the heat

and have voted for a strong gov-

ernment."

He added that the long queues

of first-time and women voters

"are positive steps".

Maoist guerrillas struck in

Jharkhand, exploding a land

mine at Bokaro in Giridih con-

stituency and injuring four para-

military troopers. They also blew

up a school building and a rail

track.

Allegations of voter intimida-

tion came from parts of Bihar

and West Bengal. The Election

Commission ordered repolling in

nine polling stations in Bihar.

Throughout the day, most of

the 225,387 polling centres saw

long queues of men and women

of all age groups eager to vote.

In most states, there was more

voting compared to 2009.

Thursday's election covered a

vast part of the Indian landscape

-- from Jammu and Kashmir in

the north to Karnataka in the

south, from Maharashtra along

the west coast to West Bengal in

the east.

Polling took place in all 28

Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka,

20 of the 25 in Rajasthan, 19 of

the 48 in Maharashtra, 11 seats

each in Odisha and Uttar

Pradesh, 10 in Madhya Pradesh,

seven in Bihar, six in Jharkhand,

four in West Bengal, three in

Chhattisgarh and one seat each

in Manipur and Jammu and

Kashmir.

Simultaneous balloting was

held for 77 of the 147 assembly

seats in Odisha and two assem-

bly bypolls in West Bengal.

With Thursday's round, polling

has been completed in 232 of the

543 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Thursday saw the largest num-

ber of Lok Sabha seats in con-

tention on any one day since the

staggered balloting started April

7. Four more rounds of voting

are due until May 12. The result

will be declared May 16.

Thursday was important both

for the BJP and the Congress,

which held 40 and 36 of the Lok

Sabha seats that went to the

polls, as well as the Janata Dal-

United, Jharkhand Mukti

Morcha, Janata Dal-Secular,

Shiv Sena, Maharashtra

Navnirman Sena, Aam Aadmi

Party, Biju Janata Dal,

Samajwadi Party, Bahujan

Samaj Party and Trinamool

Congress. The BJP claimed it

was confident of winning most

seats contested Thursday.

"We are sure of winning all 25

seats (in Rajasthan)," Chief

Minister Vasundhara Raje said in

Jaipur.

NDA's economic policy to focuson job creation: Modi

116 million vote in sixth round of Lok Sabha battle

Amethi (Uttar Pradesh):

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed

estranged cousin Varun Gandhi for

the second time in three days, criti-

cising him for siding with the BJP,

and "betraying the family".

Talking to reporters in Amethi,

Priyanka accused the Bharatiya

Janata Party candidate from

Sultanpur Lok Sabha constituency

of "betraying the family".

Her remarks came hours after

Varun Gandhi gave a warning that

his silence should not be construed

as weakness.

Varun, son of late Sanjay Gandhi,

pointed out at a rally after filing his

nomination papers that he had

never crossed the "Lakshman

Rekha" of decency.

Priyanka, however, said the two

were not engaged in a "family tea

party" but were in the middle of an

"ideological war".

A visibly upset Priyanka, daugh-

ter of Congress president Sonia

Gandhi and late former prime min-

ister Rajiv Gandhi, said she would

not have even forgiven her children

for being with a group that is out to

destroy the country's social and

secular fabric.

"My father laid down his life for

the unity of this country. How can I

take all this silently?" she said

when asked about her remarks

against her cousin.

Priyanka said she was not upset

over the leakage of her speech at a

closed door meeting a few days

back where she urged people to

vote against Varun and bring him

back to the right path.

Varun is contesting from

Sultanpur constituency neighbour-

ing Amethi and Rae Bareli, the

pocket boroughs of the Gandhi

family.

Varun betrayed the Gandhi family: Priyanka

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during a rally in Erode, Tamil Nadu

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and BJP leader Varun Gandhi during elections rallies

Won't cross 'Lakshman Rekha' against family: Varun

Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh): BJP

leader Varun Gandhi efended his

decision to be with the BJP and

refused to criticize his cousin

Priyanka Gandhi despite her criti-

cism of him.

In a speech after filing his nom-

ination papers from Sultanpur,

Varun Gandhi took on Priyanka

Gandhi -- not by name though --

for saying that he (Varun) "has

gone astray from the right path".

"I have chosen a path which is

the path of the country, and I am

sure this is the correct path," he

said. He added that he will not

attack family members.

"I stick to my principles in pub-

lic life and will always adhere to

them... I will never cross the

'Lakshman Rekha'."

But he warned his estranged

cousins Priyanka and Rahul

Gandhi that his silence should

not be construed as weakness.

With Thursday's round, polling has been completed in 232 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha.

11April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info BATTLEGROUND 2014

Manmohan weakest PM ever: BJPNew Delhi: The BJP has called Manmohan Singh

the "weakest" prime minister ever, and asked him

to introspect how his tenure "impacted the institu-

tion".

Commenting on the book "The Accidental

Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of

Manmohan Singh" by the prime minister's former

media adviser Sanjaya Baru, veteran Bharatiya

Janata Party leader L.K. Advani said the book

endorsed what everyone knew -- that Manmohan

Singh was the weakest prime minister ever.

In a book that has sent ripples across the politi-

cal establishment for its timing and content,

Sanjaya Baru, media adviser to Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh in his first term, has said that

Congress president Sonia Gandhi slowly chipped

away at the authority of the Prime Minister's

Office. "The book has officially endorsed what

everyone knew. When I said I feel he (Manmohan

Singh) is the weakest prime minister ever, my col-

leagues said he is a nice man, why do you criticize

him so much," Advani said.

"I pity him, and have sympathy for him."

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun

Jaitley said Manmohan Singh must seriously

introspect as to how his tenure has impacted the

Prime Minister's Office as an institution.

"Manmohan Singh must seriously introspect as

to how his tenure impacted on the institution of

prime minister. Did he have the last word on all

subjects? Or is it the system of the original com-

munist states that was operating, where the party

general secretary was always more important than

the head of the government," Jaitley wrote in his

blog. "Prime ministers are known not by the num-

ber of years they have spent in office, but by the

footprints they leave behind," Jaitley said.

The Prime Minister's Office, meanwhile, dis-

missed as "baseless and mischievous" the claims

made by Baru in his book that its files were seen

by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"The statement being attributed to a former

media adviser to the prime minister that PMO

files were seen by Congress president Sonia

Gandhi is completely baseless and mischievous. It

is categorically denied that any PMO file has ever

been shown to Sonia Gandhi," Pankaj Pachauri,

communications adviser to the prime minister,

said in a statement.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi

also defended Manmohan Singh and questioned

the timing of Baru's book.

"A person who writes a book during 2004-08,

and publishes it six years later is at the crossroads

of ambition, greed, sensationalism and a complete

disregard of ethical norms," Singhvi said.

"Not a single word of the allegations is true," he

said. Singhvi wondered why Baru remained silent

for six years in spite of the "huge illegality as he

claims has happened".

Modi attacks Rahul over 'toffee model'Hazaribagh/Bhagalpur: BJP's prime

ministerial candidate Narendra Modi

Tuesday took a dig at Congress vice presi-

dent Rahul Gandhi for his "toffee model"

jibe, and also regretted criticising Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh in the past.

"In such a big election, first they spoke of

balloons and now toffees... If he gets a tof-

fee, his day is made. But in my childhood, I

never even knew what a toffee was. I sold

tea to make ends meet," Modi said at a

rally in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand.

"I never had toffee in my mind when I

was a child... but I had trophies in my

mind. We have won over 300 trophies be it

from India or the world," the Bharatiya

Janata Party leader said.

Rahul Gandhi, in repeated attacks on the

Gujarat chief minister, had Monday termed

the Gujarat model of development a "toffee

model". "I call this the toffee development

model. Land as huge as Mumbai was given

away for Rs.30 crore in Gujarat," Gandhi

had said at a rally in Latur, Maharashtra.

"A toffee comes for Re.1... But in

Gujarat, land is given away for Re.1 per

square metre." Modi also used the opportu-

nity to stress that the BJP had several

prominent leaders, an indirect response to

the Congress allegation it was becoming a

one-man party.

"I thought this election will be fought on

serious issues. On one side are a galaxy of

leaders in the BJP like L.K. Advani,

Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manmohar Joshi,

and on the other side is a player who is still

behaving like a child," he said.

Modi regretted his attacks on Manmohan

Singh, saying that the Gandhi family, and

not the prime minister was to be blamed for

the nation's "ruin".

"I read in the papers that the prime minis-

ter's family is unhappy with Sanjay Baru's

book. His daughter said Baru betrayed him,

which means the facts are right," Modi said

Tuesday. "I may have said some hard-hit-

ting things about the prime minister, but

now I feel that I should not have said it as

the cause of ruin is just one family," he

said."Sometimes the daughter and son-in-

law were responsible, and everything was

taking place under the leadership of the

mother," Modi said, referring to Congress

president Sonia Gandhi. In Bhagalpur,

Bihar, he took a dig at Sonia Gandhi's tele-

vised message to the voters, saying it

showed COngress did not have confidence

in Rahul Gandhi.

"Soniaji felt her son would manage, but

since he can't she came on TV," he said.

BJP Prime Ministerial candidateNarendra Modi addresses public using3D hologram technique in Allahabad.

Manmohan Singh's former media adviserSanjaya Baru's book has sent ripples

across the political establishment for itsexplosive content.

12 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New Delhi: In May 2012,

the Youth Congress boast-

ed of being the only organ-

isation in the world to have

more than 1.3 crore (13

million) members. Two

years later, when Congress

desperately needs this

youth wing in one of the

most difficult elections the

party has fought, it has

gone missing.

Ironically, party vice-

president Rahul Gandhi put

years of hard work

revamping and revitalising

the party’s youth wings —

the Youth Congress and the

National Students’ Union

of India (NSUI) — after

taking charge of these in

2008.

He spent a lot of time

democratizing the Youth

Congress by holding inter-

nal elections.

Within three years, the

number of members went

up to one crore and two

rounds of organisational

elections were conducted

in every state.

But unlike previous elec-

tions when Youth Congress

members would be unmis-

takably present at public

meetings with organisation

flags, running separate

enclosures, taking out their

own rallies, their presence

and enthusiasm is missing

this election, say party

insiders.

Seniors have started ask-

ing questions. They say the

youth wing is full of peo-

ple who prefer armchair

politics and shy away from

agitations and the heat and

dust of a campaign.

“Where is the Youth

Congress? Where are its

1.35 crore members? We

can’t see them at rallies or

even in the booths,” a sen-

ior Congress functionary

said, requesting anonymity.

“This is a tough election

for the party. They should

have been at the forefront.”

Officially, however, the

Congress sounds positive.

“Youth Congress, NSUI

and other frontals have put

in insurmountable energy,

trust and grassroots level

commitment in the

Congress campaign which

is resonating in constituen-

cies across the country,”

said Congress spokesman

and former Youth Congress

President Randeep Singh

Surjewala.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya

Janata Party (BJP) and its

allies are set to win a narrow

majority in the world's largest

democratic election, the latest

opinion poll showed this

week.

The Hindu nationalist opp-

position party, led by prime-

ministerial hopeful Narendra

Modi, and its allies have until

now been forecast to win the

largest chunk of the 543 par-

liamentary seats but fall short

of the 272-seat mark needed

for a majority.

That would force them to

seek a coalition with some of

India's increasingly powerful

regional parties.

But a poll for the private

news channel NDTV showed

the BJP and its allies winning

a narrow majority of 275

seats. That would be an

increase of 16 seats since the

last NDTV poll a little over a

week ago.

Indian elections are notori-

ously hard to call, however,

due to the country's diverse

electorate and a parliamen-

tary system in which local

candidates hold great sway.

Opinion polls in 2004

wrongly predicted victory for

a BJP-led alliance and in

2009 underestimated the win-

ning margin of the ruling

Congress party.

India's 815 million voters

are heading to the polls in

nine stages from April 7 to

May 12, with results due on

May 16. The latest NDTV-

Hansa Research opinion poll

surveyed voters in over 350

parliamentary constituencies

and had a margin of error or

plus or minus 2 percent.

The ruling Congress party,

led by the Nehru-Gandhi

dynasty, and its allies were

forecast to win just 111 par-

liamentary seats in the poll.

Congress faces a struggle to

be re-elected after a decade in

power due to public anger

over the economic slow-

down, high inflation and a

string of corruption scandals.

An opinion poll earlier this

month by the CNN-IBN news

channel and the Centre for

the Study of Developing

Societies, one of India's most

trusted polling groups, gave

between 234 and 246 seats to

the BJP and its allies.

Priyanka gets assertive,drives strategy

New Delhi: In a recent closed-door meeting,

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s key aides were jug-

gling ways to accommodate a long list of her

engagements. Scheduling a meeting with a

key party veteran — an expert back-channel

negotiator for Congress president Sonia

Gandhi and an ace alliance-maker — was

proving to be a problem. Priyanka intervened

quickly and told the team to give top priority

to that meeting even if it meant postponing

other ones.

This Congressman had failed to make a

smooth transition into the core team of her

brother and party vice-president Rahul

Gandhi. But since February, as Priyanka has

got deeply involved in the affairs of the

Congress, one of her first steps was to reach

out to old warhorses like him. A more

assertive, even aggressive, Priyanka is emerg-

ing. From strong words of advice to cousin

Varun Gandhi to taking on BJP’s PM candi-

date Narendra Modi to deciding on the party’s

overall campaign strategy, no major election-

related decision is taken without keeping her

in the loop.

Top sources claim that Priyanka played a

key role in shifting sitting Congress MP

Sanjay Singh from Sultanpur to an Assam

Rajya Sabha seat. She had organised

Congress’ Vikas Khoj Yatra in Gujarat to try

and expose Modi’s government’s failure in

social and certain economic indices. The

reports on the lack of development have now

become the party’s mainstay in its campaign

against Modi’s ‘Gujarat model’.

“She was very clear that the only way to

attack Modi was on development. She often

reminds us that the Congress still commands

around 40% votes in Gujarat,” said a Priyanka

associate. When in Delhi, she holds marathon

meetings with senior leaders almost daily.

While she lives in a Lutyens’ bungalow, she

prefers to manage party work from her broth-

er’s office at 12, Tughlaq Lane. This has also

resulted in the shift of poll strategy-related

activities from Congress ‘war room’ in 15,

Gurdwara Rakabganj Road to Rahul’s home.

Since February, Priyanka Gandhi has got deeply involved in the

affairs of the Congress

Rahul Gandhi’s young army missingLucknow: At a time when

politicians are engaged in a

vocabulary of violence —

from chopping to avenging

— the once-venomous

Bahujan Samaj Party leader

Mayawati is surprisingly

restrained.

People still remember her

televised exchange of barbs

with late Samajwadi Party

leader Ram Saran Das; they

had called each other

‘goonda-goondi’. They

recall too the belligerence

with which she had taken

on Vice President Hamid

Ansari compelling Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh

to intervene.

But the tenor of

Mayawati’s campaign is

surprisingly different this

election. Few believe she

— the ‘master’ of verbal

attacks — has mellowed.

When the BJP’s prime min-

isterial candidate Narendra

Modi said the Congress

‘disrespected’ BR

Ambedkar, she hit back

instantly, taking credit for

pressuring VP Singh to con-

fer Bharat Ratna on the

Dalit icon.

She also retaliated after

attempts to poach on her

core Dalit votes. And the

only time she went personal

was against Modi at a rally:

‘Jisne apni aurat ko saath

nahin rakkha, woh kaise

desh ka pradhan mantri ban

sakta (How can someone

who deserted his wife

become the country’s prime

minister)?’

But Mayawati has refused

to join the hate speech club,

concentrating on defrag-

menting the Dalit-Muslim

votes, wherein lies her

party’s future. In most of

her speeches she is caution-

ing Muslims of probable

communal flare-ups if Modi

becomes prime minister,

reminding them of

Muzaffarnagar riots during

SP’s regime and warning

Dalits against electing a

government that will with-

draw their reservation

rights.

A BSP leader sums it up:

“Behenji knows her

strength. She is not edgy

like others and has no need

to be abusive.”

Why has spitfire Mayawati gone calm

BATTLEGROUND 2014

BJP heading for majority:opinion poll

India's 815 million voters are heading to the polls in nine stages from April 7 to May 12,

with results due on May 16.

Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi

People still remember her televised exchange ofbarbs with opposition

13April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED

Manmohan Singh : A good man let down by the partyBy Tarun Basu

Ihave an abiding memory of

Manmohan Singh. It goes far

back to the days when he was

not the prime minister, not even

the finance minister, when in the

early '90s he took transformation-

al steps to open up and liberalise

a collapsing Indian economy and

got his name etched in the history

of global economics.

It was at a child's birthday party

in a residential enclave dominated

by government officers where my

wife and I found ourselves stand-

ing next to a genial-looking Sikh

in casual shirt and trousers, and

his wife. After the cake was cut, I

nudged my wife and told her who

the Sikh gentleman was. She -

and most other guests - of course,

had not recognized him. He was,

I told her, the man just named as

the chief economic adviser to the

new prime minister, Chandra

Shekhar, who had replaced V.P.

Singh at the head of a minority

government propped up by the

Congress in November 1990.

Our hosts introduced the Singhs

as their neighbors. True to his

character, Manmohan did not

socialize much, smiled little, did

some perfunctory neighborly

small talk and left.

The quiet academic, who had

excelled both at Oxford and

Cambridge universities, was once

described by his alma mater, that

honoured him after he became the

prime minister, as someone who

left the "scholar's life in the

shade... to the dust and clamour

of the political battle (in India)",

driven by his "sense of duty to his

country".

Even as his career graph in the

next few years took this econom-

ics professor to dizzying levels of

responsibility - from finance min-

ister to member of the Congress

Working Committee to Leader of

Opposition in the Rajya Sabha to

prime minister - it did little to

change the taciturn man who

spoke only when spoken to and

who made little effort to strike up

a conversation or engage an audi-

ence with his views.

But all those who have worked

with him acknowledge him as a

man of scholarship, dedication,

intellect - the late national securi-

ty adviser J.N. Dixit had rated his

intellectual calibre "perhaps high-

er than Jawaharlal Nehru" - and

tremendous hard work, who spent

long hours into the night poring

over government papers and pon-

dering over policy moves.

On the last day of the 15th Lok

Sabha, which also happened to be

the last day in the House for

Manmohan Singh as prime minis-

ter, BJP leader Arun Jaitley paid

him tribute as a "man of scholar-

ship" who was not a "natural

leader" and who lacked the

capacity to be the "driving force"

for the government in parliament.

So, when senior Congress

leader P.C. Chacko remarked

recently that the "PM's silence

had given room to many

wrong interpretations

against the govern-

ment" and hinted that

many in the party

and govern-

men t

had

"lost patience over his silence"

and his failure to counter negative

media publicity and opposition

attacks, it seemed the Congress

was now laying the blame for the

party's erosion of popularity at his

door.

Jairam Ramesh has ascribed the

ruling party's plight to its failure

in "perception management" and

its inability to "sell effectively,

more aggressively" its perform-

ance track record.

Manmohan Singh himself

maintains that history will judge

him - and his government - far

better than his peers or the con-

temporary commentariat have

done. He continues to maintain,

quite contrary to popular percep-

tion of "policy paralysis", that "no

other decade has recorded as

much development as there has

been in the last 10 years" of the

UPA under his prime minister-

ship.

If Manmohan Singh were better

advised, especially in his second

term (Baru quit just before the

2009 election), Manmohan may

still have been the star brand on

whose work the Congress rode to

victory in 2009.

The failure of the government,

party and the prime minister him-

self to communicate its achieve-

ments and explain properly the

perceived failures was its single-

biggest undoing.

But, it is very clear that

Manmohan Singh in UPA-II was

not allowed to function and be his

own man. He was merely a pup-

pet on a string in the hands of

Sonia Gandhi and he allowed her

to influence, manipulate and use

him at will through her party

instruments.

Whatever credit was due to him

was deflected to Rahul Gandhi.

Manmohan Singh, in the words of

a Gandhi family associate of sev-

eral decades, chose to surrender

his authority and power at the

altar of loyalty and obligation to

the family that had anointed him.

Should Manmohan Singh have

quit when Rahul Gandhi derided

a cabinet decision as "nonsense"

even when he was in the US talk-

ing to President Obama? Baru

thinks by not doing so and pledg-

ing his fealty to the dynasty, he

had made a "fatal error of judge-

ment" and, in the process, "deval-

ued the office of prime minister".

And the Congress is trying to

do just that by denying him the

credit for the good work he did

and then scapegoating him when

things went wrong for the party.

Manmohan Singh himselfmaintains that history willjudge him - and his government - far better thanhis peers or the contemporary commentariat have done.

Elections

14 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoOP-ED

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

Congress prepares for defeat, as smaller parties build castles around it By Saeed Naqvi

Ithought election 2014 would

come with nailbiting suspense

until I turned up at the Foreign

Correspondent’s Club on Mathura

Road where the Congress whiz kid

from Chicago, Sam Pitroda, was

holding court in a Tarpauline Tent

which looked like a parking lot for

camels.

Every now and then he would

throw up his hands and shrug his

shoulders in an expression of dis-

gust. “What can I do?” he would

ask in a state of despair. He was

lamenting the spectacular way in

which the Congress was about to

lose the elections.

According to him, Sonia Gandhi,

Manmohan Singh and Rahul

Gandhi refused to meet the press,

connect with the people, even when

the “opposition” campaign consist-

ed overwhelmingly of media man-

agement. He spelt out other reasons

for the coming debacle, among

them a singular lack of commitment

or application on the part of the

coteries around the trio. He

shrugged his shoulders again and

blurted out in Chicago accents:

“That’s what we gaat (got)”. He

repeated. “That’s what we gaat”. In

other words the human resource in

the service of the party was devoid

of talent.

Bifurcation of power between

Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh

was bad enough, but the emergence

of a third power centre, Rahul

Gandhi, after the party’s reasonable

showing in the 2009 elections,

turned out to be disastrous. Rahul

should have become a minister in

the Prime Minister’s office. That

way he would have learnt the sys-

tem, Pitroda said.

Instead, Rahul was persuaded by

his coterie to become the third

power centre. The three coteries

then proceeded not to talk to each

other. And now that defeat stares

Congressmen in the face, one

detects the beginnings of recrimina-

tion.

Is it not surprising that a confidant

of the Gandhi family should be

throwing in the towel in public view

a full month before the last polling

day?

The mood in the house of another

Gandhi loyalist was almost funere-

al. Also, a fierce blame-game had

begun:

“Manmohan Singh and his

Principal Secretary during UPA-I,

T.K.A. Nair lost their grip on the

administration. Officials down the

line stopped listening to us.

Gradually, a sense grew that there

was no government in Delhi.”

Congressmen have developed a

culture in recent years of backbiting

their seniors consistently and in

whispers. If you string together

these “whispers”, what emerges is a

disturbing narrative of the Congress

High Command and their coteries,

allowing power to slip out of their

hands, like a sand glass. What they

supervise today is a structure which

has been hollowed out. A coup of

sorts has already taken place.

Retired Supreme Court judges have

refused to head a committee to

investigate “snoopgate” against

Narendra Modi.

Army generals, senior bureaucra-

cy, including home secretaries, have

crossed over to their party of choice

on the morrow of their retirement. A

whole system has in its mind defect-

ed. No one heard Home Minister

Sushil Kumar Shinde when he went

around beating his breast that Home

Secretary R.K. Singh was not listen-

ing to him. The way Singh super-

vised Afzal Guru’s hanging in Tihar

jail was allegedly in violation of

Shinde’s instructions. Having

brought about closure of a case

which had its origins in the NDA,

Singh crossed over to the BJP.

Long knives are out even against

political colleagues like former law

minister, Hansraj Bhardwaj and

home minister, Shivraj Patil. During

UPA-I, they are alleged to have hes-

itated in taking timely action against

Modi in Gujarat. The implication of

this astonishing plaint is that the

two gents were closet Hindutva. If

that indeed is what the High

Command thought of them, why

were they gifted with comfortable

gubernatorial slots? In the cloak and

dagger world of courtly politics,

ministers of home and law respec-

tively must be kept in good humour.

They know too much.

Meanwhile, an ironical twist

attends the fate of the Congress.

While some of its own stalwarts

have thrown in the towel, warranti-

ng Sharad Pawar’s anxious plea that

it must fight harder, the Left Front’s

secret assessment is that the

Congress will win 135 seats. To

reinforce this line of optimism,

youth wings of the Left parties

including CPIML have been sent to

Varanasi to help Ajai Rai of the

Congress in his contest against

Modi and Arvind Kejriwal.

Powerful Muslim candidate

Mukhtar Ansari’s withdrawal from

Varanasi had tilted the scales in

Kejriwal’s favour. But the Left pri-

ority here seem to be not so much to

defeat Modi but to keep AAP in

check and also to hold out an olive

branch to the Congress for a possi-

ble post election game plan.

Will anything change in India with new prime minister? By Amit Kapoor

The mood for change in the

country is strong, and it is

imminent that we would have a

new prime minister and quite likely

with a significant majority. We are all

under the veil of the audacity of hope

thinking in assuming that the office of

the new prime minister will sway a

magic wand and things will immedi-

ately start remarkably improving.

The citizenry in the country is under

a wrong impression as nothing signif-

icantly will be changing in the gov-

ernment. We need to clearly under-

stand and appreciate that changing

someone in the PM’s office will not

change the government. We will have

a new set of ministers in the system,

and that is the limit to change. We

shall see as the government will still,

as always, be run by the bureaucracy

who would have the same set of ideas,

stuck in the past with exceedingly

shallow perspectives. Why do I make

such audacious statements? This is for

a simple reason that within the parlia-

mentary system very little changes.

We are subjected to the same tortur-

ous thought and ethos of the old

bureaucratic setup. We all know that

there is no change in bureaucracy

when the government changes. The

best we can see is the transfer of cer-

tain bureaucrats to different depart-

ments and this is as well seen as an

opportunity by the non-performing

and defunct mind of the bureaucrat.

To assert the point: we can clearly

state that millions within the govern-

ment still remain exactly the same.

The problem within the system is

that the government employees are

permanent (breeding incestuous

ideas) and have the most power (inci-

dentally brutal power with no

accountability). It is a well known,

though ignored, fact that it is really

the bureaucrats who run the govern-

ment. The problem gets accentuated

since the bureaucrat knows that he is

governed by higher ups in the bureau-

cracy with ministers having minimal

influence over their careers. Without a

doubt, civil servants will typically

cover each other's back with nobody

accepting ultimate responsibility and

accountability.

The understanding we need to build

in this country is that if we wish to

change the government than we need

to change the bureaucracy. We need to

imbibe from the US system wherein

the spoils go to the victorious. The

president in the US gets to appoint

everybody at the top and positions of

significance i.e., secretaries of various

departments (who are actually akin to

union ministers in India). The secre-

taries, in turn, fill the positions within

their staff by bringing in new thought

and perspectives. The most signifi-

cant reality of this idea is that the

bureaucrat in this case has not been

part of the governmental system and

is beholden by the idea of performing

and keeping to the mandate as assert-

ed by the president. What matters here

is that newer ideas come in with

incestuous tendencies being taken

care of and most of all having the

ability to fire a non-performing asset

called the bureaucrat. This also gets

rid of the inertia to explore the new

and getting to do new things. We can

rebut this logic by stating that new

people at the top shall cause chaos

though rather we should understand

that it is new ideas that bring in

change and take the country forward.

If India needs to change, then it

needs to change its bureaucracy and

effectively its civil services. We can

start with the idea of getting secre-

taries not from the existing system of

selected bureaucrats but through nom-

inations by the new prime minister.

What we might need is a special com-

mission that tries to understand and

work towards dismantling the archaic

bureaucracy, which is a remnant of

the Raj. The epical commission in in

itself shouldn’t be formed by bureau-

crats or former bureaucrats but by

normal people who have not worked

with civil servants, are outsiders on

secondment, but quite likely have suf-

fered from the hands of the tyrants.

Incidentally we could have Arvind

Kejriwal as the head of the commis-

sion as he understands the bureaucra-

cy, has suffered from its hands and it

could be an exceptional political

move from the next prime minister. I

just hope that Narendra Modi is lis-

tening to this and acts decisively. He

has run the election campaign akin to

a presidential campaign in the US,

and I do hope that he runs the govern-

ment in a similar way with an iron fist

by getting rid of the archaic thoughts

that are personified by the

bureaucracy.

Amit Kapoor is chair, Institute forCompetitiveness, and editor ofThinkers.

Bifurcation of powerbetween Sonia Gandhiand Manmohan Singhwas bad enough, butthe emergence of athird power centre,

Rahul Gandhi, afterthe party’s reasonableshowing in the 2009

elections, turned out tobe disastrous.

Changing someone in the PM’s office will not change the government. We will have a new set of ministers in the system,but we shall see that the government is still, as always, run by the bureaucracy who would have the same set of ideas, stuck

in the past with exceedingly shallow perspectives.

MUSIC 15April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Famous Carnatic vocalist Dr Shobana Vignesh is giving a classical music con-

cert for the first time in New York City on April 19. The concert in a Flushingschool is presented by New York Tamil Sangam to celebrate the Tamil New Year.

Dr. Shobana Vignesh is a Car-

natic vocalist from Tamil

Nadu who had stormed the

classical music scene as a child

prodigy. The Chennai-based grace-

ful lady has given hundreds of con-

certs and showcased her talent in

prestigious venues throughout the

world. Now she is coming to New

York City to give a concert arranged

by the New York Tamil Sangam.

The concert will be staged at An-

drew Jackson School in Flushing,

bear the Ganesh Temple, to cele-

brate the Tamil New Year- Chithirai

Thirunaal.

She is popularly known as ‘Ma-

hanadhi’ Shobana due to her stint as

a child actor and singer in the Na-

tional award winning Indian movie,

“Mahanadhi’ released in 1994.

As a leading performing artist, she

has cut more than 130 albums in

various Indian languages. She has

been trained in Carnatic music by

stalwarts like Sri. P.S.

Narayanaswamy, Prof. T.R. Subra-

maniam, and Sri. Swamimalai

Janakiraman. She has thus both mu-

sical legacy and phenomenal talent.

Mahanadhi Shobana’s voice has an

inherent blend of sweetness and

depth. She displays an astonishing-

ly expressive range, acquired no

doubt through meticulous training

and practice. As an internationally

renowned artist, Shobana has per-

formed in several parts of India, the

US, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri

Lanka. She is often featured by lead-

ing Television channels in India and

other countries and has been per-

forming concerts for the past two

decades. With the unique rendition

of traditional and time-honored Car-

natic music pieces and popular num-

bers from her albums, Shobana en-

thralls her audience with her rich

and mellifluous voice. Apart from

being a popular performing artist,

Shobana holds a Doctorate in Music

and has several publications to her

credit and two of them have been

adapted as book chapters. Her lec-

ture-demonstrations on Carnatic

Music are well received and she

captivates her audience with her in-

depth knowledge in the field and her

practical experience as a performer.

Dr Shobana’s PhD thesis, highly

commended, was titled: ‘A Compar-

ative Study of Western and South

Indian Operas.’ Her M Phil in Mu-

sic thesis, also highly commended,

was titled: ‘Interculturalism in Car-

natic Music, an Ethnomusicological

Perspective’.

As a leading performing artist, she has cut more than 130 albums invarious Indian languages and across genres such as Carnatic,fusion, devotional, semi-classical, folk songs and film music.

Albums across genresShobana rendered her first

audio album at the age of 12.

Since then 1,500 of her songs in

languages like Sanskrit, Hindi,

Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and

Kannada have been recorded in

over 130 albums. She has record-

ed these albums for leading

Indian audio companies such as

His Master ’s Voice (HMV),

Unique Recording Company,

Symphony Recording, Indian

Recording Company and Vani

Recording. Her albums cut across

different genres of music such as

Carnatic, fusion, devotional,

semi-classical, folk songs and

film music including nursery

rhymes for children in English.

She has also sung a poem written

by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the for-

mer President of India, and the

song is featured in the audio

album titled ‘India-A Musical

Journey.’ Shobana received two

nominations for the Global Indian

Music Awards in the year 2010

for her albums, ‘Live in Concert

Volumes 1 and 2.’

With the advent of iTunes,

Yahoo and MSN Music, etc, her

fans and well wishers can now

download hundreds of her songs

anywhere in the world.

Awards and TitlesDr Shobana Vignesh’s most

recent and notable achievement

has been the honor of receiving

the ‘Individual Artist Award’ for

2010 from the Maryland State

Arts Council, USA and a citation

from the Governor of Maryland,

USA for her artistic excellence in

the field of Carnatic music. Some

of other awards and titles con-

ferred on her include:

�Received the title of‘TAMIZHISAI VANI’ from the

Atlanta Tamil Sangam for her

excellence in spreading

Tamizhisai across the globe in

May 2011.

�Honored with the ‘YOUNGACHIEVER’ award in the field

of Carnatic music by the India

Today magazine in 2007.

�Awarded the 'JAYA RATNA'title by Jayadharini Trust,

Chennai during the December

music season 2007.

�Scholarship for ‘OUT-STANDING TALENTED

YOUNG ARTISTES’ (Vocal

Classical Music) by the Ministry

of Tourism and Culture,

Government of India from 2003-

2005.

�‘YUVA KALA BHARATHI’title by Bharath Kalachar award-

ed in the presence of Governor of

Tamil Nadu, Ram Mohan Rao, on

December 12th, 2003.

� ‘YOUNG ACHIEVER OFTHE YEAR 2002’ award by The

Cosmopolitan club of Madras

awarded by the Chief Justice of

High Court, Chennai, Subhashan

Reddy on April 17, 2002.

�Rukmani RamanathanMemorial Special Award for

‘EXCELLENCE IN CARNATIC

MUSIC’ for the year 1998-1999

by Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan

Senior Secondary School,

Chennai.

Publications and Seminars�Dr Shobana Vignesh’s pub-

lished a book chapter, entitled ‘A

Study on Dance Drama and

Musical Plays’ in the book, ‘The

Different dimensions of Dance

and Music.’

�Paper entitled 'South Indian

Operas and Western Operas-A

Survey' in the Journal

'Samakalika Sangeetham' in April

2009.

�Paper entitled ‘A Study onRamanatakam' in the Journal

'Naadhabrahmam' in January

2009.

�Presented a paper,'Contribution to the development

of South Indian Operas' in an

international conference in

February 2008.

�Presented a paper, 'Evolutionof South Indian and Western

Operas' in an international con-

ference in January 2008.

�Book Chapter entitled‘Music across Boundaries’ (Isai

Ellaigalai Kadandhu) in the book

‘A Collection of 50 essays’

(Katturai Kothu) published in

Tamil language.

Social Service ProgramsShobana is associated with vari-

ous non profits and charities in

India and the US and has con-

tributed in the form of performing

concerts for fund raising events

and annual conventions. Some of

the concerts include a fund rais-

ing show for free eye camps con-

ducted by Aravind Eye Hospital,

India, concerts for the Tamilnadu

Foundation across the US, per-

formance for the relief of

Tsunami victims at Chennai, con-

cert for the Cancer Institute,

Chennai, performance for an

AIDS Awareness album, charity

concert at Malaysia for the wel-

fare of spastic children and many

such events.

Shobana has rendered songs for

creating awareness of legal rights

among citizens, highlighting the

rights of women and various legal

help available for them from the

government. She was honored for

these services by the State Legal

Services Authority on Indian

Independence day celebrations at

the Bar Council by Chief Justice

of High Court, Subhashan Reddy

on August 15, 2003.

With the unique rendition oftraditional and time-honored

Carnatic music pieces andpopular numbers from heralbums, Shobana enthrallsher audience with her rich

and mellifluous voice.

16 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoFESTIVALS 17April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Vaisakhi or Baisakhi is a fes-

tival celebrated across the

northern Indian subconti-

nent, especially in the Punjab re-

gion by the Sikh community. More

recently, this festival is also cele-

brated around the world by Sikh di-

aspora. For the Sikh community

this festival commemorates the es-

tablishment of the Khalsa. It is also

celebrated by Hindus and Buddhists

for different reasons including the

start of a new year. People in the

Punjab region regard Vaisakhi as a

harvest festival. So its celebration

has been in the form of a coming to-

gether at a fair called Vaisakhi

where they would buy and sell, eat

and drink, and sing and dance. It

came to be called Vaisakhi because

it was celebrated in the month of

Vaisakh, which corresponds

roughly to the month of April.

Until 1699, Vaiskahi remained

just a socio-cultural festival. But in

1699, at the Vaisakhi fair at Anand-

pur Sahib, one of the five holy seats

of the Sikhs, the Tenth Master of the

Sikhs, Shri Guru Gobind Singh,

created a new sect known as Khalsa

which is known as Sikh religion

today and has a worldwide follow-

ing of 25 million, which makes it

the world's fifth major religion.

Since then Punjabis celebrate

Vaisakhi as traditional socio-cul-

tural event and as a religious event,

being the birthday of the Khalsa.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati

founded the Arya Samaj on

Vaisakhi in 1875.

Vaisakhi is an important day for

the Buddhists as well. The name is

Vesakha, Vaisakha, Vesak or

Wesak. It commemorates the Birth,

the Awakening and the Enlightened

Passing Away of Buddha who was

born as prince Siddhartha.

Many names for theIndian New Year

UgadiUgadi is celebrated as New

Year's Day in Karnataka and

Andhra Pradesh. The name Ugadi

is derived from the name "Yuga

Adi", which means 'the beginning

of a new age'.[1] It is celebrated on

the first day of the Hindu month

Chaitra, which marks the onset of

spring.

Gudhi PadwaGudhi Padwa is celebrated as

New Year's Day in Maharashtra. It

is celebrated on the same day as

Ugadi i.e., the first day of the month

Chaitra. Courtyards of rural houses

are cleaned and plastered with fresh

cowdung. Designs called Rangolis

are drawn on doorsteps. People

wear new clothes and special dishes

are prepared. Lord Brahma is wor-

shipped on this day and the gudhi,

Brahma's flag, is hoisted in every

house as a symbolic representation

of Rama's victory over Ravana.

PuthanduPuthandu, also known as Varuda

pirappu, is celebrated as New Year's

Day in Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated

on the first day of the Tamil month

Chithirai, which falls on 14 April.

Women draw patterns called ko-

lams. A lamp called a kuttuvilaku is

placed on the center of the kolam,

to eradicate darkness. A ritual called

kanni takes place. Kanni means

'auspicious sight'. People watch

jewelry, fruits, vegetables, flowers,

nuts, rice etc., as it is a belief among

Tamil people that it brings prosper-

ity. People wear new clothes and

special dishes are prepared for the

occasion. A car festival is held at

Tiruvadamarudur, near Kum-

bakonam.

VishuVishu is celebrated as the New

Year's Day in Kerala. Vishu falls on

the first day of the

Malayalam month of

Medam (mid-April on

the Gregorian calendar).

It includes fireworks,

shopping for new clothes

and interesting displays

called 'Vishu Kani'.

These are arrangements

of flowers, grains, fruits,

cloth, gold, and money

are viewed early in the

morning, to ensure a

year of prosperity.

Rongali BihuRongali Bihu is cele-

brated as the Assamese New Year

(around April 14–15) and the ar-

rival of Spring. This marks the first

day of the Hindu solar calendar.

The first day of the bihu (last day of

the previous year) is called goru

bihu or cow bihu, where the cows

are washed, smeared with ground

turmeric, worshipped and get new

ropes. This is followed by manuh

bihu on April 15,which is the As-

samese New Year Day. People wel-

come the spring with cleaned

homes and neighborhood and new

dresses.

The third day is Gosai (Gods)

bihu when people worship statues

of god, all households are cleaned

and worshiped hoping for a pros-

perous and happy new year.

Compiled by Parveen Chopra

FESTIVALS

In 1699, at the Vaisakhi fair at AnandpurSahib in Punjab, Guru Gobind Singh created

Khalsa, known as Sikh religion today.

Lord Brahma’s gudhi, or flag, is hoisted as a symbolicrepresentation of Rama's victory over Ravana on this

Maharashtrian New Year Day.

A painting depicting the coronation of Lord Rama after his return from exile and victory over Ravana.

Punjabi families at the White House lawns forVaisakhi and Easter Egg Roll event last year.

Women draw patterns called kolams onthe Tamil New Year.

Influenced by Parswanatha, the 23rd Teerthankara,

Lord Mahavir carved his own path to find release

(Moksha) through Ahimsa and extreme renunciation.

In Jainism, Mahavir Jayanti is also known as Mahavir

Janma Kalyanak and is the most important religious hol-

iday for Jains. This year on April 13, Jains the world over

celebrated Mahavir Jayanti, birth of Lord Mahavir, the

apostle of peace and non-violence.

Lord Mahavir, also known as Vardhamana, was the last

of the 24 Tirthankars (Jain prophets). He was born on in

599 B.C. into a royal family of Kshatriyas to King Sid-

dhartha and queen Priyakarani, known as Trishala Devi.

His birthplace is believed to be near the modern city of

Patna in Bihar, then the democratic republic of Vaishali.

Legend has it that Trishala Devi had a number of aus-

picious dreams all signifying the coming of a great leader

or prophet. The astrologers who interpreted the dreams

seemed to have claimed that the child would become ei-

ther an emperor or a Tirthankar.

It is said at the age of eight Mahavir observed the 12

vows of Ahimsa etc. He also grew up to be a great states-

man but observed celibacy. He lived a life of truthfulness,

honesty and chastity. However, he perceived the transi-

tory pleasures of the world and engrossed himself in Self-

contemplation. He renounced the pleasures and luxuries

of the palace and its kingship, attachment to his parents

and friends and undertook a life of intense penance for

more than 12 years. He realized that renunciation was the

only means of attaining bliss. During his long penance

Mahavir went through a rigorous life of austerities, fasted

and meditated on the pure nature of the Soul. He calmly

bore not only the rigors of Nature but also the torments of

his jealous and sly opponents among his own country-

men. He finally attained self-enlightenment.

According to Kalpasutra (Svetambara texts), after the

final period of intensive fasting, Mahavir attained moksha

- the final liberation from all rebirths. He taught the idea

of supremacy of human life and stresses the importance

of the positive attitude of life. Lord Mahavir’s message of

Nonviolence (Ahimsa), Truth (Satya), Non Stealing

(Achaurya), Celibacy (Brahma Charya), and Non Posses-

sion (Aparigraha) is full of universal compassion.

Even 2500 years after the passing away of that great

Mater the pure and upright tradition of the monks has

been maintained. Even today, we find white clad Jain

monks and Sanyasinis spreading Mahavir’s Gospel of

Peace, non-injury and Brotherhood throughout India.

To celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, devotees visit temples to

meditate and offer prayers. Idols of Mahavir are given a

ceremonial bath or ‘Abhishek’. Sermons are held in the

temples to preach the path of virtue as defined by the Jain

doctrine. Donations are collected to promote missions

like saving cows from slaughter or helping to feed the

poor people. Even in the US, Mahavir Jayanti is widely

celebrated. A number of events are lined up in New Jer-

sey and Queens area of NYC, such as: International Jain

Sangh (IJS) Mahavir Jayanti Program on April 20 that in-

cludes Bhagwan Mahavir Pooja, Namokar Mantra Paath,

Rath Yaatra (Prince Vardhaman’s janm kalyanak on pan-

duk shila), Blessings from Spiritual Leaders, Jainism

messages from dignitaries and other leaders, and Cultural

Program. The program will commemorate the 2613th

birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir at 3050 Woodbridge

Avenue, Edison, NJ. Another cultural program, organized

by Jain Center of America (JCA) is scheduled on May 11

at Martin Van Buren High School Auditorium in Queens.

Mahavir Jayanti: birth anniversary ofthe apostle of peace

Passover or Pesach (in He-

brew) is the holiday celebrat-

ing the Exodus of the ancient

Israelites from their slavery in

Egypt. The specific "passing over"

for which the holiday is named

refers to the way in which God

passed over, or protected, the

homes of the Israelites during the

night they prepared to begin their

journey into freedom.

The central ritual of Passover, the

Seader (order) refers to the care-

fully ordered Passover dinner sym-

posium, typically performed by a

community or by multiple genera-

tions of a family, involving a

retelling of the story of the libera-

tion of the Israelites from slavery in

ancient Egypt -as mentioned in the

book of Exodus, the move from

slavery to freedom -- in story, song,

and conversation.

The evening is anchored by the

drinking, of four cups of wine re-

calling the four times when the Is-

raelites are described as being

redeemed, eating Matzah, and bitter

herbs, and other symbolic foods in-

cluding vegetable dipped in salt

water and hard boiled eggs.

While Passover marks the birth of

the Jewish people as a free nation, it

speaks to the larger human impulse

to be free, and that is why so many

people, both Jewish and not, cele-

brate the holiday.

In addition to the large number of

Jewish families which either in-

clude non-Jewish members or wel-

come non-Jewish guests to their

own Passover celebrations,

increasing numbers of Christian

communities celebrate their

own Seders, emulating what must

have been an important part of

Jesus’ life experience in the

first century.

The holiday known around the world as Easter Sunday

usually brings pleasant images to mind; family gather-

ings, egg hunts, and visits from the Easter bunny.

However, to Christians, Easter has a far deeper, sweeter

meaning. The day symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

The word Easter has its roots in ancient polytheistic religions

(paganism). It is derived from the Eastre, the Teutonic goddess

of spring. Eastre or Ostara in Germany is also the fertility god-

dess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and

growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion

for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants

and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit

(with propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal.

Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring

festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts

of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna.

Eggs — a symbol of rebirth — are considered representative

of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. In addition to egg hunts, some

people do egg rollings, which are symbolic of the rolling away

of the stone from Christ’s tomb.

The White House Easter Egg Roll is an annual family event

to hunt for and race Easter Eggs on the White House south

Lawn while enjoying storytelling and a visit with the Easter

Bunny. The holiday tradition has a long history dating back to

1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened

the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling on

Easter Monday. Successive Presidents have continued the tra-

dition of inviting children to the White House Lawn for egg

rolling and other activities and entertainment. Scheduled for

April 21, the 2014 event theme at the White House presided

over by the First lady is, “Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape.”

Special guests will include Jim Carrey, Miss America 2014

Nina Davuluri, Ariana Grande, Cookie Monster and more.

In Manhattan, the Easter Parade tradition lives on for over

100 years, with Fifth Avenue from 49th Street to 57th Street

being shut down during the day to traffic. Participants often

sport elaborately decorated bonnets and hats at the Easter Pa-

rade and Easer Bonnet festival.

It is believed that Easter processions have been a part of

Christianity since its earliest days. This year Easter Sunday pa-

rade will be held on April 20. Compiled by Jinal Shah

Eggs — a symbol of rebirth — are considered representative of Christ’s resurrection. The White

House Easter Egg Roll is an old tradition. Easter Sunday this year falls on April 20.

Easter symbolizes resurrection of Jesus

Passover marks birth of Jews

Passoverdatesthis yearhavebeenApril 14-22

To celebrate Mahavir Jayanti (it fell on April13 this year), devotees visit temples to

meditate and offer prayers. Idols of Mahavirare given a ceremonial bath or ‘Abhishek’.

Vaisakhi gives vent to theboisterous Punjabi spirit

Ramnavami

Ramnavami celebrates the

birth of Lord Rama to

King Dasharatha and

Queen Kausalya in Ayodhya. The

Hindus’ holy day falls in the

Shukla Paksha on the ninth day

of the month of Chaitra in the

Hindu calendar. At some places

the festival lasts the whole nine

days of the Navaratri. It is

marked by continuous recitals,

Akhand Paath, mostly of the Ra-

macharitamanas, with elaborate

bhajan, kirtan and distribution of

prasad after the puja and aarti.

Images of the infant Rama are

placed on cradles and rocked by

devotees.

18 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

Actress Sunny Leone, who is

riding high on the success of

her latest Bollywood project

"Ragini MMS 2", says she doesn't

look back with regret at her past as

an adult film star.

"As far as my career goes I don't

regret anything that I have done. I

believe that everything that I have

done has led me to today," Sunny told

reporters here Friday at the unveiling of

the cover page of Mandate magazine,

featuring her.

"This is the most amazing time of my

life and this would not have been happen-

ing if my past did not exist. So there are

no regrets regarding my profession," she

added.

The adult film star has been a

part of the Mumbai entertain-

ment industry since her 2011

appearance on "Bigg Boss

5". She made her

Bollywood debut with 2012

errotic thriller "Jism 2".

She will next be seen in

"Tina and Lolo".

Actress Sunny Leone

Actress Alia Bhatt says her father and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt is possessive

about her, but adds that he has taken her on-screen kissing with Arjun

Kapoor in the forthcoming film "2 States" practically.

"Like every father, who don’t want their daughters to get married, even my father

is the same,” Alia said in a group interview.

“Recently, my father told us (Alia and her sister Shaheen) you all can’t go any-

where, I will lock you up in a room. He is honest and blunt about the fact that he

doesn't want us to get married.

“He is not saying just like that, he means it. He is very possessive and he doesn't

want me to get married. If my sister’s boyfriends get me some present, he would

say - even I can get presents, I will get you two," she added.

Currently, the actress is looking forward to her forthcoming film “2 States”.

SRK, Aamir,Salman pushedcinema globally: Big B

Megastar Amitabh

Bachchan has trav-

eled the world, meet-

ing cinema icons from all over.

He feels happy at the growing

reach of Indian movies and

says younger stars like Shah

Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and

Salman Khan deserve the cred-

it for realizing their potential

globally and pushing it in the

world.

Of course, filmmakers like

Satyajit Ray, Bimal Roy and

Mrinal Sen as well as actors

like Raj Kapoor meandered

their way into hearts across

boundaries with their craft, but

the visibility of Indian films -

Hindi and regional - currently

seems to be at an all-time high.

The movies are not just get-

ting screen space at interna-

tional film festivals but are also

getting theatrical releases in an

increasing number of non-tra-

ditional foreign markets like

Peru, Panama and Morocco.

That gives Amitabh, whom

French director François

Truffaut once called a "one-

man industry", a reason to

cheer."Internationally, it is very

heartening to see the interest in

Indian cinema," the 71-year-

old said.

He added that it is because of

works like "Kabhi Khushi

Kabhie Gham", which

"became an iconic film in the

western world", that it was

found that Indian films had a

potential abroad.

"Shah Rukh is as popular in

Germany as he is here, Hrithik

(Roshan) and Salman and

Aamir are loved internationally

in equal proportion. So, obvi-

ously Indian cinema is doing

well.

AliaBhatt

Superstar AmitabhBachchan

Captain America:

The Winter

Soldier" continues

to rule the US box office

in its second week after a

record breaking opening

last weekend with a $96.2

million collection. Marvel

studio's latest release, a

sequel to 2011 release

"Captain America: The

First Avenger", earned

$41.4 million in its second weekend of

release, which now brings the film's

domestic earnings to a total of $159 mil-

lion, reports contactmu-

sic.com.

"Winter Soldier" is also

proving to be successful

in the overseas market - it

has already raked in

$317.7 million in ticket

sales. In new instalment,

the plot occurs two years

after the events in New

York City, where Steve

Rogers struggles to

adjust to the modern world. He is involved

with 'S.H.I.E.L.D', even if he isn't con-

vinced about certain aspects of its ethics.

'Captain America' continues to rule US box office

'Captain America' continues torule US box office

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 19April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Straightaway, this film wins you over

with its clean heart and straight-talk-

ing attitude to the rot that has set into

our governmental system.

You want a change in the nation's poli-

tics? Then change the politicians! It's really

as simple as that. Director Nitesh Tiwari

who co-directed the endearing kiddies' con-

coction "Chillar Party" finally unravels one

of the greatest mysteries of poetic life.

What did Wordsworth mean when he said,

'Child is the father of man'?

Watch little Parth Bhalerao spar effort-

lessly with the formidable Mr Bachchan.

And you see in front of your dazzled eyes

the future of Indian cinema. Parth simply

sails through his slum-kid's role, creating

for his character little pockets of perkiness

and poignancy without ever playing aggres-

sively for effect.

He speaks his lines with the casual grace

of a theatre veteran.

Epitome of gracious screen-sharing that

he is, Mr Bachchan simply slows down to

let his little co-star to take centrestage,

bowing to the little actor's

consummate naturalness

even when faced with

very adult problems like

corruption in politics, the redundancy of

democracy and yes, the validity and imper-

ativeness of the vote.

Firing a topical salvo this ballot drama is

speckled with some disarming display of

feisty homilies. The film builds on the

premise of a benign ghost's friendship with

the slum-kid without allowing the narrative

to become a flashy showcase for either of

the two actors' performing abilities.

The film has three heroes, the third being

the strong sometime over-assertive political

message: If you don't vote for the right peo-

ple you will end up with the wrong people

in the legislature.

Boman Irani as the slimy politician

enriches the political drama further by pro-

viding a tangy tangible flavor of decay and

corruption in this amiably contoured moral-

ity tale.

While the Big B and his little wunder-kid

of a co-star dominate the proceedings, they

get ample support from a bevy of talented

actors both known and unknowns who pop

up as ghosts, scumbags, poverty-stricken

people and other misfits.

'Main Tera Hero': Dhawan's 'son stroke' is full-on dhamaal

It's not easy being David Dhawan.

Over the last 20 years he has con-

stantly kept the laughter alive.

Having generated barrels of mirth

with Govinda and Salman Khan in

the past, now it is time for David's

son to have a blast. Playing Seenu,

the no-good wastrel who cons his

way through a series of outrageous

escapades, Varun Dhawan is to be

seen monkeying around in every

frame.

To his credit, the Dhawan scion car-

ries off the incessant demand on his

performing skills. Varun is a like a

Govinda on steroids. He pumps up

the energy level to the extent that

even his two discernibly dheeli-

dhaali heroines end up looking they

are having fun. It could be just an act.

We will never know. Every character

is in the wink-wink mode.

Cleverly David Dhawan builds on

Varun's contagious gusto. Scene after

scene gives the star-kid a chance to

flex his muscles and demonstrate his

skills at holding a frame up with

gravity-defying laughter.

"Main Tera Hero" is the kind of

loopy, askew-me plot that makes no

claims to any intellectual gratifica-

tion. Its naked, unassuming goofiness

is its greatest USP. And who goofier

than Varun Dhawan who starts off as

a student in a college where the cam-

pus beauty Ileana d'Cruz is an

untouchable. The neighbourhood

goon-like cop, played by Arunoday

Singh, has put a proprietorial seal on

her. To be honest Arunoday has the

most difficult part in this any-goes

comedy of hell-raising errors. He is

shown to be a goon in khaki with

serious anger-management issues.

One of the film's funniest

sequences shows him bashing in his

anger-management therapist, Ashwin

Mushran's face. I don't think this

sequence could have been part of the

original Telugu film ("Kandireega").

Writer Tushar Hiranandani updates

the original material, giving the plot

and the individual scenes a sense of

renewed animation and vigour.

The film is adroitly shot and edited.

Like the leading man's six-pack

abdomen, there is no flabbiness in the

storytelling. The characters do the

stupidest things with a brisk bravado.

Although the plot is skimpier than the

two heroines's costumes put together,

it derives terrific energy and suste-

nance from its leading man's zest for

life. The writing vacillates vibrantly

between the perky and the puerile.

What saves the day is the narrative's

gumption. David Dhawan doesn't

fear falling over as he hurls through

an abyss of absurdity.

The film is low on aspirations and

high on hi-jinks. Moving from

Mumbai to Bangkok, the plot is bol-

stered by a blizzard of low-brow

episodes. Even the song and dances

are engaging knick-knacks, more

memorable for being forgettable than

anything else.

You get the picture? One of the

songs commands "Palat! Tera dhyaan

kidhar hai?" "Hamara dhyaan bilkul

idhar hai, Dhawan Saab. Bright,

bouncy and colourful, the mad mad

world of David Dhawan's 20-year old

smile-a-while scheme gets a renewed

laugh-line in "Main Tera Hero".

While Varun Dhawan goes about the

task of filling up the screen with his

confident zest, David Dhawan

ensures there is enough fuel to fur-

nish the funnies with a furious tempo.

'Kochadiyaan' big stepforward for animation:Imran Khan

Actor Imran Khan, who gave voice-over for

animation film "Rio 2", says southern

matinee idol Rajinikanth's "Kochadiyaan"

marks a big leap for animation movies.

"The fact that a star as big as Rajini sir has taken

part in this (animation) process is obviously a big

step forward. That is the kind of thing that will

encourage other people also. If he can do it, we

can also do it," Imran, 31, said.

Pegged at $350 million, the Indian animation

industry is still struggling to find a firm foothold.

Talking about this, Imran said: "If you look

back, 10 years ago even in Hollywood it wasn't a

big thing. In the last 10 to 12 years, it has started

growing in Hollywood and became part of the

mainstream, so we have to give it a little bit of

time." "Talent is there in India. Most Holywood

films' graphics are being done in India. I am talk-

ing about films like 'Batman' and 'Superman' that

has happened in Mumbai. So, the talent is here,

but the budgets are not there," added the star of

"Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na".

Review

Amitabh Bachchan in the film 'Bhootnath Returns'

Varun Dhawan in a scene from 'Main Tera Hero'

Review

A scene from Rajinikanth's'Kochadiyaan'

20 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoDIASPORA

Canada Governor General honorsShiamak Davar

Vancouver: On April 4, Bollywood’s star cho-

reographer Shiamak Davar was presented with

the Governor General’s Medallion and Citation

for his role in connecting India and Canada by

forging new opportunities for cultural dia-

logues through his passion for the performing

arts.

“The purpose of the medallions is to recog-

nize the contributions made by a small number

of very special individuals to the India - Cana-

da relationship in a number of different fields”

said Consul General Richard Bale. “Shiamak is

a businessperson, he has opened dance schools

in Canada but his contribution is much more

than that. It is an extremely impressive cultur-

al contribution he has made, he has built a

bridge between Canada and India through

dance Mr. Shiamak Davar has long been an un-

official ambassador for Canada in India. He’s a

great friend of Canada who has brought Cana-

dians and Indians closer together through the

power of music and dance.”

“I am so honored and grateful to have re-

ceived the Governor General’s Medallion and

Citation”, said Shiamak Davar. “I consider

Canada my second home, which makes this es-

pecially meaningful for me. Dance has always

been a powerful influence in my life, and I am

so pleased to be able to use my passion for the

performing arts to create a common ground for

our nations.”

Shiamak opened his first international dance

studio in Canada before expanding throughout

North America, Australia and Europe.

Johannesburg: South Africans of Indian origin are the only

population group in Africa's second-largest economy to

have virtually doubled their presence in top management

positions in the past decade, according to an official study.

"The only solid and consistent progress in the percentages

of representation at Top Management level, between 2003

and 2013, takes place in the Indian sub-category of desig-

nated group members. This group virtually doubles its rep-

resentation," the Commission for Employment Equity

(CEE) Annual Report said. South African government in-

troduced Employment Equity laws to address the domina-

tion of white employees in top and senior management po-

sitions in the apartheid era before 1994. But the report says

there had not been significant change in this regard for the

majority Black or the Colored (mixed race) community.

"Unfair discrimination practices in the workplace have

London: An Indian-origin IT specialist at a

bank was on Friday sentenced to life for brutal-

ly murdering his wife with a vacuum cleaner

hose and then burning her body in a garden in-

cinerator to prevent her from revealing he was

gay. Jasvir Ram Ginday, 29, attacked his wife

Varkha Rani at their home with a metal pipe

from a vacuum cleaner just six months after an

arranged marriage ceremony in India.

He strangled the 24-year-old woman then

burnt her body in the garden incinerator, telling

a neighbor he had set fire to rubbish, Wolver-

hampton Crown Court heard.

Ginday had struggled "being a gay man in a

straight world," Judge John Warner told the

court during his summing up.

A jury of seven women and five men at

Wolverhampton Crown Court took around 17

hours to find Ginday guilty of murder after a

three-week trial. The court ruled this evening

that he will have to spend a minimum term of 21

years in jail before he can be considered for pa-

role. Senior investigating officer Detective

Chief Inspector Sarbjit Johal said: "Ginday got

married as a matter of convenience, he tricked a

poor innocent girl into marriage but was living

a lie.” "When she uncovered the truth he could

not live with it and killed her quickly then tried

to dispose of her body and her possessions by

burning them. Had another day passed before

police attended, Ginday may well have success-

fully removed all traces of Varkha.

Gay IT specialist jailed for life for brutally killing wife in UK

Registered NRI voters will have to waitfor future elections

New Delhi: NRIs who are registered voters in

India will not be able to vote from their foreign

locations as the Supreme Court on Friday ac-

cepted that the Election Commission faced

statutory and logistic impediments in extend-

ing overseas voting facilities to them.

Noting that election for some phases has al-

ready been completed, a bench of Justice KS

Radhakrishnan and Justice Vikramajit Sen said

that permitting the NRIs to vote in the remain-

ing six phases would open a "Pandora box" that

in some cases, some NRIs have been allowed

and not the others. Taking note of the practical

problems that confronted the poll panel even

though it was in the favor of extending voting

facilities to NRIs from their overseas locations,

Justice Radhakrishnsan told petitioner

Shamsheer VP that the "point you have raised

is favored by them (Election Commission) but

they have some practical difficulties."

Shamsheer VP has sought the reading down

of Section 20A of the Representation of the

People (Amendment) Act 2010 that mandates

the presence of the listed voter at the polling

station to cast his vote.

He had contended that any distinction be-

tween those physically present at polling booth

and those overseas would be violative of arti-

cle 19(1) as well as article 21 of the constitu-

tion.

The court noted that the Election Commis-

sion has already decided to constitute a com-

mittee to examine the feasibility of different

options that can be considered for facilitating

voting by overseas NRI electors as it adjourned

the hearing till August end for the committee to

complete its work and report to the court.

Allowing the application by Shamsheer to

amend his petition, the court in its order said:

"The respondents (Union of India and the Elec-

tion Commission) are permitted to file a com-

prehensive counter affidavit within a period of

two months."

"Report of the Committee be also filed be-

fore the court," the order said.

Pointing to the paucity of time in putting in

place arrangements for facilitating the NRIs to

exercise their votes from their overseas loca-

tions, the Election Commission said even for

permitting that amendment will have be made

to electoral laws to expand the special catego-

ry voters.

Bollywood choreographerShiamak Davar receiving the

Medallion and Citation

An event showcasing aselection of saris of dif-ferent regions, drapes

and textures, was organ-ized at the Embassy of

India in Berlin on April 7for Willkommen in Berlin(club of 400 women rep-resenting 100 nationali-ties, under the auspicesof Auswaertiges Amt).

Frau Daniela Schadt wasthe chief guest at the

event.

South African Indians only groupto grow in employment equity

led to under-utilization of the greater

portion of the productive population of

South Africa," Labor Minister Mildred

Oliphant said at the release of the re-

port at a conference here.The report

showed that South Africa's skewed

racial make-up of the workplace re-

mained relatively constant with an

over-representation of Whites at 62.7

per cent, nearly five times their eco-

nomically active population (EAP) and

nearly double the sum of all Blacks at

Top Management level.

This is followed by Africans with

19.8 per cent representation, while In-

dians make up 8.3 per cent, more than

double their EAP when compared to

Africans and Colored within the Black

Group. Coloreds make up 5.1 per cent

of the representation at the Top Man-

agement level.

21April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info SUBCONTINENT

India, Pak may resume dialogue after electionsIslamabad: India and Pakistan hope to resume

their composite dialogue once the Indian parlia-

mentary election ends, Pakistan's envoy to the US

has said.

Jalil Abbas Jilani also said in a talk at Harvard

University that there was increasing awareness in

both countries that there can be no military solu-

tion to their problems.

The News International newspaper reported

that Jilani spoke on "Pakistan-India Relations,

The Way Ahead". It was the inaugural event for

the Harvard Kennedy School's annual South Asia

Week. Giving a brief overview of the main prob-

lems affecting India-Pakistan relations, Jilani said

positive changes had taken place and concrete

steps had been taken to improve bilateral ties.

A career diplomat who served in India as

charge d’affaires from where he was expelled in

2003 during high tensions, Jilani talked about the

growing desire for peace.

"There is also a realization that no country can

achieve its economic goals while in a state of ten-

sion with its neighbors," the daily quoted him as

saying.

He said there had been "good progress on con-

fidence building measures like the Jammu and

Kashmir bus service, cross-border trade and

meeting points for divided Kashmiri families".

He said student exchanges needed to be

increased.

Jilani was hopeful that the resumption of the

composite dialogue, suspended since January

2013, and Pakistan’s grant of the Most Favoured

Nation status to India would start to progress

once India’s general elections get over.

India's ongoing parliamentary elections, which

began April 7, end May 12. The results are

expected May 16, with most pundits predicting

that the BJP will finish ahead of everyone else.

Trade between the two countries was steadily

improving, Jilani said. It now stands at $3 billion.

"If the barriers are lifted, it could rise to over

$10 billion over the next few years," he said.

The visa regime between the two countries

needs to be liberalized, Jilani added.

He said it was unfortunate that India had intro-

duced stringent rules that made it difficult for the

poor in remote areas in Pakistan to apply for visas

as these had to be submitted online.

Pakistani expatriates were required to renounce

their Pakistani nationality to apply for an Indian

visa on their foreign passports, he said.

Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan's envoy to the US

Indian Army participated in the Sri Lankan government's 2008-2009 operation against the rebel Tamil organization LTTE.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has

declined to entertain a plea for a

Special Investigative Team (SIT)

probe into the alleged "clandestine"

role of the Indian Army in the Sri

Lankan government's 2008-2009

operation against the rebel Tamil

organization LTTE.

"There are issues which are

absolutely beyond the domain of the

court and this is one of them," said a

bench of Justice R.M. Lodha and

Justice Kurian Joseph as it dis-

missed the plea.

Asking the petitioner, advocate V.

Ram Sankar to approach the compe-

tent authorities, the court asked him

"not to bring the court in this arena.

What can we do"."This is not a mat-

ter of judicial review. Absolutely

not. How such an issue can be gone

into?" Justice Lodha said as Sankar

persisted with his plea for a court-

monitored SIT probe.

Expressing its ability to entertain

the plea from any angle, the court

said: "Court is not equipped to go

into the issues which have different

ramifications and political shades."

Declining the plea, it said: "This is

not a fit case for judicial review and

writ petition is dismissed." The peti-

tion was later withdrawn. Sankar,

who is secretary of Delhi Tamil

Advocate Association, in his peti-

tion sought the SIT probe into "clan-

destine method in which govern-

ment of India has been collaborating

with, aiding and abetting the Sri

Lankan government and its armed

forces against the Tamil minority in

Sri Lank in 2008 and 2009", result-

ing in the loss of life of 40,000

Tamilian and other innocent people.

SC rejects plea to probeIndian army's role in Lanka

Lahore: Will Narendra Modi win?

Will India get a stable government?

What are Arvind Kejriwal's

prospects? Is the Congress fin-

ished? The questions fly thick and

fast in Pakistan, where interest in

India's ongoing parliamentary elec-

tion runs high, for once overriding

questions on all other issues includ-

ing Kashmir.

An IANS journalist who visited

Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital,

to cover the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion

Week, was bombarded with dozens

of questions on the world's largest

electoral exercise.

There was not a single question

on Kashmir!

Many Pakistanis have their

favorites in the Indian political

landscape. Clearly, Narendra Modi,

the BJP's prime ministerial candi-

date, is not the most liked Indian

politician.

A c t i v i s t - t u r n e d - p o l i t i c i a n

Kejriwal's popularity has tran-

scended the borders. He is a

favorite with many in Pakistan.

"I would like to see Arvind

Kejriwal heading the Delhi govern-

ment again," businessman Hardeep

Khullar, a Pakistani Hindu, told

IANS.

"I think whatever he did during

his short stint (as chief minister) is

commendable," said Khullar.

Naved Siddiqui, a 40-year-old

working in the hospitality sector,

agreed, comparing Kejriwal with

cricketer-turned-politician Imran

Khan whose Pakistan Tehreek-e-

Insaf (PTI) once created ripples

like the AAP.

"We see a similar spark in

Kejriwal," said Siddiqui. "His Aam

Aadmi Party did wonders even dur-

ing the short stint. I want him to

win because I like his ideology."

Many Pakistanis seemed to see

Kejriwal as a young and energetic

leader who has his heart in the right

place. "Kejriwal is the youngest of

the lot. So I want him to win," 22-

year-old fashionista Anum Sana

told IANS, quickly adding that she

would also like Modi to win "since

he is a bachelor".

Congress vice president Rahul

Gandhi is out of the reckoning as

far as Pakistanis are concerned.

Despite the publicity he is gar-

nering, Modi remains an enigma in

Pakistan.

Nawazzudin Khan, a young

entrepreneur and PR consultant,

felt that the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP) had erred by declaring Modi

its prime ministerial candidate.

"Modi is still struggling to wash

away the blot of Gujarat's riots of

2002," said Khan. "Also, his atti-

tude towards the Muslim 'topi'

(skullcap) is something that is not

appreciated here."

Interestingly, most Pakistanis feel

that India won't get a stable gov-

ernment even after this Lok Sabha

election, notwithstanding the hue

and cry over a possible Modi-led

BJP victory.

"I guess it's going to be a 'khichdi

sarkar' in India, a coalition govern-

ment, instead of a single party gov-

ernment," felt Ghulam Allauddin,

an Islamabad resident.

"But, yes, Modi is emerging

stronger," he added.

Amarpreet Ahluwalia, a Pakistani

Sikh who lives in Karachi, felt

political parties were wasting too

much money on the election cam-

paign. "I have been hearing a lot of

songs on 'Modi ki Sarkar'. They

(BJP) have spent so much money

on advertisement. I wish they

spend this kind of money on the

common man," he said.

Indian election elicits keen interest in Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan has urged

the Afghanistan government and

the NATO to put in place strong

measures for better management

of Pakistan-Afghanistan border to

check illegal cross-border move-

ment. Tasnim Aslam, Pakistan's

Foreign Office spokesperson, said

the country has carried an extra

burden regarding the protection

and management of the border,

and Afghanistan and NATO forces

must do the same on the other side

of the border.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share

nearly 2,500 km long border.

"Pakistan has more than 12,000

posts to undertake surveillance.

The country is also keen to intro-

duce biometric system but we also

want equally strong measures

from NATO and Afghan sides for

management of the border," the

spokesman said.

Pak urgesAfghanistan, NATO tostrengthen border

management

Many Pakistanis have their favorites in the Indian political landscape.

INTERNATIONAL22 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India calls for safeguarding interests of Ukraine's people

Moscow/New Delhi: Amid esca-

lating tension in Ukraine caused

by pro-Russian separatists, India

has urged for restraint and for a

political and diplomatic solution

that would "safeguard the legiti-

mate interests of all sections of

Ukraine's population" and coun-

tries in the region.

Indian Foreign Secretary

Sujatha Singh, visiting here April

15-17, "reiterated India's posi-

tion, calling on all sides to exer-

cise restraint and work together

constructively to find political

and diplomatic solutions that

would safeguard the legitimate

interests of all sections of

Ukraine's population, of all coun-

tries in the region and of long

term peace and stability in

Europe and beyond", said a state-

ment from the Indian embassy in

Moscow. During talks with her

counterparts, Vladimir Titov,

first deputy foreign minister, and

Aigor Morgulov, deputy foreign

minister, the two sides expressed

hope that the talks involving

Russia, Ukraine, the US and the

EU in Geneva "would make a

positive contribution in this

direction".

Earlier, both Russian officials

conveyed their "perspectives on

the ongoing developments in

Ukraine", where pro-Russia sep-

aratists have strengthened their

grip on several towns in eastern

Ukraine and are demanding a ref-

erendum on joining Russia, in a

Crimea-like situation.

Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh

Washington: US President Barack

Obama once again warned Russia

against further destabilizing

Ukraine. Obama said that it was

"absolutely clear" that Russia had

violated Ukraine's sovereignty and

territorial integrity by annexing

Crimea last month and was continu-

ing to do so by supporting "non-

state militias" in eastern Ukraine.

"What I've said consistently is that

each time Russia takes these kinds

of steps, that are designed to desta-

bilise Ukraine and violate their sov-

ereignty, that there are going to be

consequences," Obama added.

Washington has targeted a number

of key Russian and Crimean offi-

cials as well as a Russian bank fol-

lowing Moscow's move on Crimea.

Obama signed an executive order

in March authorizing expanded

sanctions against more individuals

and entities as well as key sectors of

Russia's economy including energy,

banking, mining and defence.

The Ukrainian government

Monday night launched military

operations to flush out pro-Russian

militants occupying government

buildings in the eastern part of the

country, leaving at least four people

dead. "The sharp escalation of the

conflict" had placed Ukraine "in

effect on the verge of civil war,"

Russian President Vladimir Putin

told German Chancellor Angela

Merkel.Moscow has rejected accu-

sations that Russia was destabilizing

Ukraine.

Barack Obama said that it was "absolutely clear" that Russia had violated Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial

integrity by annexing Crimea

Obama warns Russia over Ukraine

Seoul: At least four people

were killed while 284 went

missing as a ferry, carrying

462 people most of them

being school children, sank

in waters off South Korean

coast, local media reported.

The students were bound

for a holiday island.

The 6,825-tonne passen-

ger ship "SEWOL" cap-

sized and sank into waters

off the Jindo Island, just off

the southwest corner of the

Korean Peninsula, at

around 11.30 a.m.

Wednesday.

The ship sent out a dis-

tress signal at 8.52 a.m. and

had floated in the waters for

some two and a half hours

with its body being on the

careen.

Four people, including a

22-year-old female crew

member and three high

school students, were found

dead as of 9 p.m. local time,

with 174 people confirmed

rescued and 284 others still

missing.

The toll continued to rise

as hundreds of passengers

remained missing around

nine hours after the ship

sank deep into the waters.

The number of death was

expected to surge as people

in the waters can endure

hypothermia only for three

hours.

Among the 174 people

confirmed rescued, 78 were

high school students. A total

of 55 people were trans-

ferred to nearby hospitals,

but they had minor injuries.

According to the head-

quarters's statistics, the

ferry carried 30 crew mem-

bers and 432 passengers,

including 325 high school

students and 15 teachers

who had been on the way

for a school journey.

The ship had departed

from South Korea's western

port city of Incheon

Tuesday night, heading for

the southern resort island of

Jeju. The ship, according to

rescued passengers, began

to careen to the port side

after making a banging

sound on the bow. The ferry

went off the pre-arranged

sea route as it departed

some two and a half hours

later than scheduled due to

a thick fog, they added.

Four dead, 284 missing in South Korea ferry sinking

London: With the number of atheists rocket-

ing in UK and the attendance in Churches

nose diving, prime minister David Cameron

has asked Britons to be unashamedly "evan-

gelical" about its Christian faith as

Christianity could transform the "spiritual,

physical and moral" state of Britain.

In a declaration of his personal beliefs, he

said he was "evangelical" and announced that

he wanted to see a bigger role for religion in

Britain.

He said he had experienced the "healing

power" of religion in his own life.

"For people who do have a faith, that faith

can be a guide or a helpful prod in the right

direction," he said.

"I believe we should be more

confident about our status as a

Christian country, more ambi-

tious about expanding the role

of faith-based organizations and

frankly more evangelical about

a faith that compels us to get out

there and make a difference to

people's lives".

He further said "First, being

more confident about our status as

a Christian country does not some-

how involve doing down other faiths

or passing judgment on those with no

faith at all. Many people tell me it is easier

to be Jewish or Muslim in Britain than in a

secular country precisely because the

tolerance that Christianity demands

of our society provides greater space for other

religious faiths too. Crucially the Christian

values of responsibility, hard work, charity,

compassion, humility and love are shared by

people of every faith and none - and we

should be confident in standing up to defend

them".

Cameron's push for religion in UK comes at

a time when latest data released by the Church

of England shows it is attracting fewer than

800,000 people to its churches on a typical

Sunday mass. Even more worrying is that the

number of Christians fell by 4.1 million over

10 years in UK. This decline is fastest among

youngsters-32% of those under 25 saying they

had no religious belief.

Cameron announced that the

government is investing £20

million in repairing "our great

cathedrals" but also giving £8

million to the Near

Neighbors program which

brings faith communities

together in supporting local

projects.

Cameron urges Britons to beunashamedly “evangelical”

The 6,825-ton passenger ship capsized and sankinto waters off the Jindo Island

British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron

BUSINESS 23April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Corporate Americacommitted to long-term

investment in IndiaWashington: Corporate America has reaffirmed US

companies' commitment to India's growth and focus

on reviving investor sentiment and cross-border col-

laboration in the first year after India's elections.

The US-India Business Council (USIBC), com-

prised of more than 350 of the top-tier US and Indian

companies, made the reaffirmation at a meeting in

New York with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

governor, Raghuram Rajan.

The private meeting was attended by top execu-

tives from global financial services companies and

institutional investors, USIBC said.

They included industry heavyweights like KKR

Co-Chairman Henry Kravis, Harold "Terry"

McGraw, Chairman, McGraw Hill Financial.

It was chaired by Charles "Chip" Kaye, Co-CEO of

leading private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

The industry representatives heard from Rajan the

challenges RBI faces in taming inflation while pro-

moting the growth necessary to keep the engine of

India's economy thriving, all in the midst of factors

beyond the respected institution's control, USIBC

said. USIBC members noted their strong support for

RBI's financial sector reforms including actions to

further deepen India's debt capital markets toward

long-term infrastructure development and manage

risk, it said.

In addition to continued banking reforms, the con-

tributions of non-bank financial companies (NBFCs)

to the real economy - including those wholly-owned

by foreign direct investment (FDI) - were raised.

USIBC said it also discussed with Rajan the impor-

tance of a vibrant payments industry with competi-

tion and dialogue spurring further innovations in

mobile banking, prepaid, and cash transfer remit-

tances for SME businesses and individuals.

USIBC members, it said, welcomed the Governor's

insight on opportunities for meaningful US-India

collaboration in the financial sector.

"American investors are grateful for the Reserve

Bank of India's leadership of the Indian economy,"

said USIBC Director for Financial Policy Melissa

Frakman.

Pace, direction of reformswill fix India's ratings: S&P

New Delhi: The direction and

pace of policy reforms of the

new government that assumes

office after the Lok Sabha polls

will determine India's sovereign

ratings, international agency

Standard & Poor's (S&P) said.

“The direction and pace of pol-

icy reforms, more than which

political party takes control, can

affect the ratings on the sover-

eign,” S&P said in its latest

reports.

According to the reports, the

outcome of India's general elec-

tions can provide an insight into

the political stability, ability, and

willingness of the new govern-

ment to implement reforms for

boosting economic growth.

Two reports in which the

agency made the observations

are titled "India's Election Is

Pivotal For Its Sovereign

Creditworthiness" and "The New

Government's Reform Policies

Will Be Critical To The Credit

Profile Of Indian Corporates

And Banks”.

Standard & Poor's has a BBB-

rating on India with a negative

outlook. This is the lowest

investment grade rating. A

downgrade will give India's sov-

ereign ratings a “junk status”.

In its earlier report the S&P

had warned of the risks of a rat-

ings downgrade in the absence

of structural reforms, fiscal con-

solidation and if economic

growth decelerates further.

"We believe that the current

political landscape in India sug-

gests that no single party could

win an outright majority," said

S&P sovereign credit analyst

Kim Eng Tan.

“An important factor is how

fragmented the government will

be. The more parties involved in

the next coalition government,

the more likely policies will be

incoherent and less supportive of

credit attributes.”

G-20 pushes US to ratifyIMF reforms by yearend

Washington: Expressing

disappointment at the con-

t inued delay over

Internat ional Monetary

Fund's quota and gover-

nance reforms that would

give emerging economies,

including India, a greater

voice, the G-20 has given

the US a yearend deadline

to ratify them.

"If the 2010 reforms are

not ratified by year-end,

we will call on the IMF to

build on its existing work

and develop options for

next steps," the finance

ministers and central bank

governors f rom the

world's leading economies

said.

The group wil l then

work with the Fund's

International Finance and

Monetary Committee "to

schedule a discussion of

these options," they said

in a communique after a

meeting on the sidelines

of the IMF-World Bank

spring meetings here.

The finance chiefs said

they were "deeply disap-

pointed with the continued

delay in progressing the

IMF quota and governance

reforms agreed to in 2010

and the 15th General

Review of Quotas (GRQ)

including a new quota for-

mula."

The reforms would dou-

ble the IMF's resources

and increase the voting

power of emerging

economies like the BRICS

- Brazi l , Russia, India,

China and South Africa.

"We are committed to

maintaining a strong and

adequately resourced

IMF," they said.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor,Raghuram Rajan

Bangalore: With a whopping

Rs.30,000 crore ($5 billion) in its

reserves, cash-rich Infosys has decid-

ed to share a part of its wealth with

its lucky investors by increasing its

dividend to 40 percent of post-tax

profits from 30 percent it was paying

since inception in 1981.

"As our reserves, including cash

and cash equivalents crossed

Rs.30,000 crore ($5 billion) for the

full year (2013-14), the board has

decided to increase the dividend pay-

out ratio to 40 percent to our

investors," Infosys chief financial

officer Rajiv Bansal told IANS here

Tuesday.

The board's decision will be subject

to approval of shareholders at its

annual general meeting in June.

Having paid an interim dividend of

(400 percent) Rs.20 per share of Rs.5

face value for the first half (April-

September) of fiscal 2014, the global

software major has declared a final

dividend Rs.43 per share (860 per-

cent) for second half (October-

March) of the just-concluded fiscal.

The total dividend pay-out for the

fiscal will be Rs.63 or a whopping

1,260 percent to the investors,

including institutional, retail, promot-

ers and employees through stock

options.

"The final dividend outgo for thesecond half will be 40 percent

(Rs.4,259 crore) of our net profit of

Rs.10,648 crore for the fiscal under

review," Bansal said.

The total dividend pay-out for the fiscal will be Rs.63 or a whopping 1,260 percent to the investors

Cash-rich Infosys gifts higher dividend to investors

SPORTS

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has

said N. Srinivasan's name features

in the list of the 13 people named by

Mudgal Committee in the IPL bet-

ting scam and he cannot take charge

if the Board of Control for Cricket

in India (BCCI) has to conduct an

inquiry on its own in the scandal

that rocked Indian cricket last year.

Though the apex court admitted

that all the charges are yet to be ver-

ified, it said that if the BCCI is

given powers to investigate then it

has to be done without Srinivasan at

the top.

Supreme Court had removed

Srinivasan as the BCCI president

and put Sunil Gavasakar as the

interim president in-charge of the

IPL and senior vice-president

Shivlal Yadav in-charge of rest of

the affairs.

The apex court bench of Justice

A.K. Patnaik and Justice Fakkir

Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla said:

"Having come to know the nature of

allegations, we cannot close our

eyes."

Disclosing the content of

a report in a sealed cover

by retired Justice Mukul

Mudgal, Justice Patnaik

said there are 13 peo-

ple against whom

allegations are

there and

Srinivasan's names is 13th.

"There are 13 names. Srinivasan's

is the last name. The twelve others

are very important... we are not con-

cerned with Lalit Modi or

Srinivasan. We are concerned with

BCCI. There are 12 allegations. All

these allegations were told to

Srinivasan. But no action was taken.

That means that he didn't take these

allegations seriously. That

means to his knowl-

edge these things

were happen-

ing," Justice

Patnaik said.

The bench

stressed on

the institu-

t i o n a l

autonomy

of the

BCCI and

said: "If the

BCCI

has to be given power to investigate

then it has to be done without

Srinivasan and till investigation is

complete Srinivasan will not come

back. If there is an SIT (Special

Investigation Team), things will be

different. But IPL must go on."

Asking the BCCI to reflect on the

options given by it for probing the

allegations and come back, the court

adjourned hearing and directed its

listing on April 22, 2014.

The court also passed the

order retaining Sunder

Raman after Gavaskar

told the court to take

a call on the issue.

Srinivasan among 13 named by Mudgal panel: SC

Abu Dhabi: The seventh edition of the lucra-

tive Indian Premier League (IPL) went under-

way here this week with allegations of corrup-

tion and spot-fixing looming over it.

The first 20 matches, from Wednesday to

April 30, will be played in the UAE as the

dates were clashing with India's General

Election. The Twenty20 bandwagon will return

home for matches scheduled from May 2-June

1.

The organizers are hoping that cricket takes

the centre stage and not drama and scandals --

as in the last edition.

The Supreme Court, which appointed leg-

endary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar to over-

see the seventh edition of the IPL, would also

be keeping tabs on the happenings.

Off-field issues aside, IPL-7 promises to be a

closely fought affair. Fresh auctions earlier in

the year saw the merry-go-round of players

and every franchise has a fair sprinkling of

new faces, though most of them have been reg-

ulars in the tournament.

Many iconic players find themselves in new

company, making opponents in yesteryears

comrades today.

For one, Yuvraj Singh, who cost the Royal

Challengers a small fortune, will, along with

his India teammate and franchise captain Virat

Kohli, look to right the wrong of the World

T20 final where he choked against the wily Sri

Lanka attack. With prolific batsmen Chris

Gayle and AB de Villiers, besides Yuvraj and

Kohli, RCB, without doubt, have the most dan-

gerous batting line-up.

Delhi Daredevils, too, spent big and pur-

chased the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Kevin

Pietersen. With the new purchases on board,

the GMR-owned team is expected to do better,

having had a dismal season last year, finishing

at the bottom of the ladder.

Mumbai will be without their talisman and

city icon Sachin Tendulkar but with some key

additions like Mike Hussey and Corey

Anderson, they would look to repeating last

year's winning performance.

Rajasthan Royals, the team most affected by

the spot-fixing and betting charges, will be

without Indian cricket's great wall Rahul

Dravid, but he will be around to advise them.

After winning in 2012, the Kolkata Knight

Riders couldn't quite carry the same form into

the following season, failing to qualify for the

playoffs and finishing a disappointing seventh

in the nine-team league.

The Knight Riders, though, have made some

very smart buys this year. They have brought

in Australian pacer Pat Cummins and Indians

Piyush Chawla and Umesh Yadav to strengthen

their bowling which was a major issue

last year.

IPL kicked off in UAE under shadow of graft

24 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Shuttler Bhatadvances to NewZealand GP semis

Auckland: Recently crowned German

Open Grand Prix Gold winner Arvind

Bhat came out with another fantastic

performance to enter the men's singles

semifinal of the $50,000 New Zealand

Badminton Open Grand Prix here.

The fifth seeded Bhat beat

Malaysian third seed Chun Seang Tan

in 56 minutes to win the quarterfinal

clash 22-20, 9-21, 21-18 in their first

match at the North Shore Events

Centre.

Earlier in the day, the Banglorean

beat another Malaysian Tang Jie Chen

21-8, 21-14 in 21 minutes to proceed

to the last eight. The Indian has a

tough ask ahead as he will take on

Chinese Taipei's top seed Jen Hao Hsu

against whom Bhat has a 1-2 career

record.

Meanwhile, second seed Sourabh

Varma, who hails from Dhar in

Madhya Pradesh, was upset by

Chinese Taipei's 14th seed Kuei Chun

Shih in the third round. Kuei won their

first encounter 21-18, 21-15

in 38 minutes.

IPL: Kohli, Yuvraj take RCBhome against Daredevils

Former BCCIchief N.

Srinivasan hasmoved the apex

court seeking hisrestoration

Sharjah: A fantastic partnership

between Virat Kohli and Yuvraj

Singh guided the Royal Challengers

Bangalore to a convincing eight

wicket win over the Delhi

Daredevils in the second match of

the Indian Premier League (IPL) at

the Sharjah Cricket Stadium here.

The Bangalore-based team

reached their target of 146 with 3.2

overs to spare. Yuvraj with skipper

Kohli struck an unbeaten 84-run

third wicket partnership in only 7.5

overs to take their team home in an

emphatic fashion.

Lately criticised by many for

India's loss in the World Twenty20

final recently to Sri Lanka, Yuvraj

found form in the opening clash to

hit 52 not out in only 29 deliveries

at a staggering strike rate of 179.31.

The southpaw also hit five huge

sixes and three fours all over the

ground.

He was assisted well by Kohli,

who hit the winning run, as he

remained unbeaten on 49 off 38

balls, hitting three sixes and two

fours.

At the start of their innings,

Australian opener Nic Maddinson

perished early in the second over for

six runs but wicketkeeper-batsman

and opener Parthiv Patel played a

responsible knock of 37 off 29

deliveries before being bowled by

leggie Rahul Sharma.

From 62/2 in the ninth over, it was

a Kohli and

Y u v r a j

s h o w .

T o w a r d s

the end, the

duo hurried

towards the

target hit-

ting a flur-

ry of sixes

and the

Daredevils

b o w l e r s

had no

reply to

r e s t r i c t

them.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli

The first 20 matches will be played in the UAE as the dates were clashing withIndia's General Election.

25April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info PERSONAL FINANCE

8th article in the series

Making charitable contribu-

tions is an easy and effec-

tive way to lower your

taxes. You are eligible to take a

deduction for contributions or gifts

made to certain qualified organiza-

tions. The contributions can either

be in the form of money or proper-

ty. You must file Form 1040, U.S.

Individual Income Tax Return, and

itemize deductions on Schedule A,

Itemized Deductions, to take advan-

tage of this deduction.

Listed below is more information

on charitable deductions

Contributions in GeneralA charitable contribution is a

donation or gift to, or for use by, a

qualified organization. It is volun-

tary and is made without getting, or

expecting to get, anything of equal

value in return. Deductible charita-

ble contributions include money or

property given to qualified organi-

zations, your out-of-pocket expens-

es when you serve as a volunteer

for a qualified organization, and

certain expenses you pay for a stu-

dent living with you who is spon-

sored by a qualified

organization.Deductible charitable

contributions do not include the fol-

lowing, even if given to a qualified

organization:

�Cost of raffle, bingo, or lotterytickets Dues, fees, or bills paid to

country clubs, lodges, fraternal

orders, or similar organizations

�Tuition

�Value of your time or services

�Value of blood given to a bloodbank

Qualified OrganizationsYou can deduct contributions

made to a qualified organization. To

be considered qualified, most

organizations (other than churches)

must apply to the IRS. Local

fundraisers for community mem-

bers in need of assistance will not

be considered qualified organiza-

tions unless they have been

approved as such by the IRS.

Examples of some qualifiedcharitable organizations includethe following:�Churches, synagogues, tem-

ples, mosques, and other religious

organizations

�Most nonprofit organizations,such as Salvation Army, Red Cross,

CARE, Goodwill Industries, United

Way, Boys and Girls Clubs of

America.

�Nonprofit hospitals and med-ical research organizations

�Nonprofit schools

�Most nonprofit, educationalorganizations such as Future

Business Leaders of America, 4-H

Club, and Junior Achievement

�Nonprofit volunteer firedepartments

�Public parks and recreationfacilities

�War veterans' groups such asDisabled American Veterans and

Purple Heart

�Federal, state, and local gov-ernments if your contribution is

solely for public purposes, such as a

gift to reduce the public debt

Some examples of non-qualifiedorganizations:�Homeowners' associations

�Political groups or candidatesfor public office

�Organizations whose purposeis to lobby for law changes

�Individuals

�Organizations run for personalprofit

�Civic leagues, social clubs andsports clubs

�Labor unions

�Chambers of commerce

�Foreign organizations exceptcertain Canadian, Israeli, and

Mexican charities

Date of Contribution Usually, you may deduct charita-

ble contributions only in the year

they were actually made. A check

that you mail is considered deliv-

ered on the date you mailed it. A

contribution charged on a credit

card is deductible in the year you

make the charge. The amount of

your deduction may be limited

depending on the type of property

given and the type of organization

to which it is given. Some contribu-

tions that you are not able to deduct

in the current year because of

adjusted gross income limits may

be carried over to future years.

Item (Non-cash)Donations

Extra tax deductions may be as

close as your closet. If you donated

clothing, toys, furniture, or other

household items to charity, you are

allowed to deduct the fair market

value of your donated items.

However, no deduction is allowed

for these items unless they are in at

least good used condition. The IRS

does not provide a guide to deter-

mine the fair market value suggest-

ing, instead, taxpayers survey thrift

and consignment stores for similar

items to provide an indication of

the item's fair market value.

Generally, the deduction for prop-

erty contributed is equal to the fair

market value of the property at the

time of the contribution. Different

rules may apply if the value of the

property has increased or for vehi-

cle donations.

IRS Publication 561, Determining

the Value of Donated Property, pro-

vides general IRS guidelines on

noncash donations.

You can verify the organizations

eligibility before you make a dona-

tion by going to IRS.gov and

checking the Exempt Organizations

Select Check database maintained

by the IRS.

Vehicle DonationsIf you donate a qualified vehicle

valued at more than $500, you will

not be allowed to take a charitable

deduction unless you get a written

acknowledgement of the contribu-

tion from the charitable organiza-

tion (usually within 30 days) and

include the acknowledgement with

your tax return. The amount of your

deduction is limited by the organi-

zation's use of the vehicle. If the

charitable organization sells the

donated vehicle without having sig-

nificantly used the vehicle for char-

itable purposes, generally your

charitable deduction cannot be

greater than the amount the organi-

zation received from the sale of the

vehicle. If the organization uses the

vehicle for charitable purposes, you

should be able to deduct the fair

market value of the vehicle imme-

diately preceding your donation.

The organization should issue a

Form 1098-C to provide you with

the required information. For this

purpose, qualified vehicles include

motor vehicles, boats, and aircraft.

IRS Publication 4303, A Donor'sGuide to Car Donations, providesgeneral IRS guidelines on cardonations.

The author is an eminent CPAwith over 25 years of experienceand having 25 offices in Nassau,Suffolk and Queens counties.email:ksra@ksracpaspc.com.

Book: No Looking Back;

Author: Shivani Gupta;

Publisher: Rupa;

Pages: 246; Price: Rs. 295

Twenty-

t w o -

y e a r - o l d

S h i v a n i

had thrown

a party one

evening -

and awoke

the next

morning in

h o s p i t a l ,

her spine

and her

dreams shattered by a car crash.

Paralyzed and then wheelchair-

bound, it took Shivani years of pain,

struggle and determination to regain

control of her life and her body; to

demand an receive respect from the

world; to gain acceptance from

within and without; to find love and

happiness.

Then tragedy struck again. As the

newly-married Shivani drove to

Manali with her family, an oil

tanker collided head-on with the

car. Bedridden once again, she

watched helplessly as first her

father-in-law and then Vikas, her

husband, succumbed to their

injuries. And yet, Shivani refused to

surrender - she wouldn't let her

inability to walk keep her from

achieving her ambitions.

This book is an inspiring narrative

about surviving the challenges of

disability and indignities faced by

approximately 25 percent of the

world's population, whether in

terms of infrastructure, legislature

or awareness.

Charitable contributions to lower your taxes

Inspirational stories from real-life heroes

By Kanwal S. Sra CPA

Qualified charitable organizations include temples, churches, synagogues, mosques, gurdwaras etc.

Book: Courage Beyond Compare;

Author: Sanjay Sharma and

Medini Sharma; Publisher: Rupa;

Pages: 258; Price: Rs. 295

The 10

sportsper-

sons profiled in

the book are

champions in

diverse disci-

plines like ath-

letics, swim-

ming, bad-

minton and

cricket, who have brought glory to

the country both in national and

international arenas. They over-

came immense physical limitations

to reach the pinnacle of their cho-

sen fields. Powerful and inspiring,

these stories are heart-warming

reminders that a strong mind,

steely will and dogged determina-

tion almost always triumphs over

the limitations of the human body.

Book: Face to Face;

Author: Ved Mehta;

Publisher: Penguin;

Pages: 314; Price: Rs. 499

Bl i n d

s ince

the age of

four, the

author led

a lonely

and turbu-

lent child-

hood in

India until

he was

accep ted

to the Arkansas School for the

Blind, to which he flew alone at

15. America and the school

changed his life, leading to

degrees at Oxford and Harvard and

a fruitful writing career.

This is the author's autobiogra-

phy touching upon his childhood,

blindness and remaking himself.

Book: This Star Won't Go Out;

Author: Esther Earl with Lori and

Wayne Earl; Publisher: Penguin;

Pages: 431; Price: Rs. 699

Di a g n o s e d

with thyroid

cancer at the age

of 12, Esther Earl

was an exception-

ally bright and

talented, but very

normal, teenager.

She lived a hope-

filled and generous, outwardly

focused life as she navigated her

physical decline with grace.

A cheerful, positive and encour-

aging daughter, sister and friend,

Esther died in 2010, shortly after

turning 16, but not before inspiring

thousands through her growing

online presence. This memoir col-

lects her journals, fiction, letters

and sketches. Photographs and

essays by family and friends also

help to tell her story.

At times, one feels burdened by theweight of a stressful life, and all one canthink of is escape. But there are manyinvisible faces who have courageouslytaken on the battles of life. These aresome inspirational tales to reflect on

26 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSELF DEVELOPMENT

Propounding the path of

Bhagwan Mahavira, the

founder of Shrimad

Rajchandra Mission Dharampur

(Gujarat), Pujya Gurudevshri

Rakeshbhai is a spiritual visionary

and a modern day mystic. An

embodiment of universal compas-

sion, He has touched thousands of

lives in various countries through

enlightening discourses and an

array of meditation retreats steer-

ing a multitude of souls towards

the spiritual way of life. His

preaching inspires one to rise

above religious dogma and focus

on the Eternal.

His divine benevolence has

uplifted numerous underprivi-

leged lives through the ten-fold

Love and Care program.

Rakeshbhai is to give discourses

in Gujarati on Mahatma Gandhi –

His life and his message, in New

Jersey on April 26-28. The venue

is Marriott Hanover, Whippany.

More info on: www.shrimadra-

jchandramission.org/nj-retreat

Rakeshbhai to give a discourse on Gandhi in New JerseyPujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai is the torchbearer of the mission of

Shrimad Rajchandra, who wasacknowledged by Mahatma Gandhi

as his foremost spiritual guide.

Are you taking the right vitamins and nutrients?I

f you eat a healthful diet, you

may think you’re in the clear

when it comes to supplying your

body with vital nutrients. But some

experts say that even the most well-

rounded meal plans fall short.

“To get the amount of nutrients

you need to thrive, you can’t rely on

food alone. You really have to turn

to dietary supplements,” says

Michael A. Smith M.D., host of

“Healthy Talk” on RadioMD.com

and senior health scientist with Life

Extension in Fort Lauderdale,

Florida.

If you’ve ever walked through the

supplement section of a natural

foods store or done a quick search

online, you know it can be easy to

become overwhelmed by the choic-

es. Making matters more confusing,

everyone has different nutritional

needs.

“With the exception of a few

foundational nutrients, there’s no

such thing as a one-size-fits-all sup-

plement regimen,” says Smith,

whose new book and educational

tool, “The Supplement Pyramid,”

seeks to help readers design a nutri-

tional regimen that meets their

unique needs. “Like food, it’s help-

ful to think of your supplement

needs in a tiered pyramid structure:

the foundational supplements we all

need, personalized supplements

based on your needs and optimal

supplements for living healthier,

longer.”

Smith is offering guidelines forgetting started:�Bootleg products on the market

can do more harm than good. Invest

in high-quality nutritional supple-

ments. Stick with a company that

has an established track record of

using only pure, potent raw materi-

als.

�There are essential foundationalsupplements that should build the

base of most people’s plans, no mat-

ter what their unique needs are,

Smith says. These include an ideally

dosed multivitamin/mineral, omega-

3 fatty acids, coenzyme Q10 (as

ubiquinol) and probiotics. Check

with your doctor before starting a

supplement regimen.

�Everybody has their own per-sonal medical history and health

needs. With do-it-yourself detective

work, you can arm yourself with the

facts you need to personalize your

supplement plan for disease preven-

tion.

Beyond taking a personal and

family medical inventory, certain

laboratory tests can help you discov-

er out what’s going on inside your

body. Additionally, “The

Supplement Pyramid” contains a

series of medical quizzes based on

clinical risk assessments in different

areas including heart health, cogni-

tive function and immune strength.

�After providing your body withcore, foundational nutrients for sur-

vival and custom-tailored supple-

ments to help prevent disease, con-

sider optimizing your supplemental

regimen with “anti-aging supple-

ments” such as antioxidants, pro-

teins and amino acids. These supple-

ments form the top of your pyramid,

and if you need to cut back on

expenses, should be the first to go.

Getting started is simple. And the

sooner you do, the faster you can

begin properly nourishing and pro-

tecting your body from health risks.

For free tools to build your per-

sonal supplement regimen and for

more information about Smith’s

new book, visit

www.MySupplementPyramid.com

or call 1-855-870-0687.

Even if you juice every morning

and hit the salad bar at lunch every

afternoon, don’t be lulled into nutri-

tional complacency. By learning

more about your body’s needs, you

can live a longer, healthier, happier

life.

"This man (Shrimad

Rajchandra) has won my heart in

spiritual matters, and no one else

has ever made on me the same

impression.”

- Mahatma Gandhi,

'Modern Review', June 1930

Aman as great as Mahatma

Gandhi, the Father of the

Nation, was captivated in

spiritual matters by Shrimad

Rajchandraji, as by none other. "I

have said elsewhere that besides

Kavi (Shrimadji), Ruskin and

Tolstoy have contributed in form-

ing my intrinsic character; but Kavi

has had a more profound effect

because I had come in personal and

intimate contact with Him." That is

Gandhi's public acknowledgment

of Shrimad Rajchandra as his fore-

most spiritual guide in the 'Modern

Review'.

A Close AssociationThe first meeting with Shrimadji

left a deep-rooted impression on

the Mahatma. It happened in 1891

in Mumbai on Gandhiji's return

from England. Gandhi was two

years younger than Shrimadji, and

in that meeting, instantly took a lik-

ing to him. In the subsequent meet-

ings Gandhi’s doubts would get

resolved by Shrimadji. The ease

with which Shrimadji performed

His duties as a jeweler with detach-

ment amazed Gandhi.

In tribute, Gandhi wrote,

“Raichandbhai's commercial trans-

actions covered hundreds of thou-

sands…. But these things were not

the center round which his life

revolved. That center was the pas-

sion to see God face to face.

Amongst the things on his business

table, there were invariably to be

found some religious book and his

diary. The moment he finished his

business he opened the religious

book or the diary. Much of his pub-

lished writing is a reproduction

from this diary….

“And I saw him thus absorbed in

Godly pursuits in the midst of busi-

ness, not once or twice, but very

often. I never saw him lose his state

of equipoise.” [The Story of My

Experiments with Truth.]

Even after Gandhi moved to

South Africa, the meetings contin-

ued, though not in person, but

through correspondence. This close

association contributed a great deal

in molding Gandhi's character. In

fact, he attributes his strong foun-

dation of truth, non-violence and

self-improvement to Shrimadji.

Influence of Shrimadji'sTeachings on Gandhi

Shrimadji's teachings left an

indelible mark on Mahatma

Gandhi. Shrimadji's priceless let-

ters and compositions were his

constant companions - physically

and mentally. He contemplated

upon them and he also often

recited Shrimadji's poem

'Nirkhine Nav Yauvana' to

strengthen his belief in celibacy.

He had also rendered Shri

Atmasiddhi Shastra into English

prose. Shrimadji's unique compo-

sition, 'Apurva Avsar Evo Kyare

Aavshe?' was one of Gandhiji's

favorite compositions which was

included in his 'Ashram

Bhajanavali' sung at daily public

prayer meetings.

Gandhi's memorable accounts

on Shrimadji testify the profound

influence that the latter exerted

on the Mahatma's life.

Shrimadji's emphasis on truth,

compassion and non-violence in

every walk of life, later crystal-

lized as the fundamental tenets of

Gandhism, which played a signif-

icant role in the Indian struggle

for independence. In the history

of India and the world, the suc-

cess of Gandhi's nonviolent

struggle as a means of achieving

freedom will be engraved in

golden letters. Thus the role of

Shrimadji's spiritual teachings in

the regeneration of a new India

can hardly be exaggerated.

Rakeshbhai (foreground) and Shrimad Rajchandraji

(1867-1901).

There are essential foundational supplements thatshould build the base of most

people’s plans, no matter whattheir unique needs are. These

include an ideally dosed multivitamin/mineral, omega-3 fatty acids,

coenzyme Q10 (as ubiquinol)and probiotics.

Shrimad Rajchandra and Gandhi

LIFESTYLE 27April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

New Delhi: If one goes by

a study, Indian couples still

like to consider their par-

ents’ choice for marriage as

over 60 percent weddings

are arranged.

Around 600 couples from

metro cities in India partici-

pated in the study, conduct-

ed by an online matchmak-

ing service Truly Madly.com.

According to the findings, 69 per-

cent marriages are still arranged in

comparison to only 31 percent love

marriages. “Historically, most of the

marriages were arranged by parents,

hence when we did the survey, we

saw this distribution where arranged

marriages are still more active than

loved ones,” Rahul Kumar, co-

founder, Truly Madly.com, said in a

statement.

But he also adds that the new gen-

eration is open to love marriage too.

“However, with the new genera-

tion becoming more and more aspi-

rational, the trend is now shifting

towards love marriages as young-

sters want to make their own choic-

es,” he said.

Los Angeles: Some of the skin

care techniques that people think

are helping their skin are actually

doing more harm than good, says

skin care expert Renée Rouleau

and adds that over time these

habits may harm the skin.

The celebrity esthetician lists six

bad skin habits one needs to

unlearn immediately, reports huff-

ingtonpost.com.

1. Tugging at the delicate skin

surrounding the eye area: The

area surrounding eye has the

thinnest skin on the face, and it’s

the first to show the signs of

aging. Pulling on the skin while

putting in contacts, applying eye-

liner, or rubbing aggressively to

remove stubborn eye make-up can

unnecessarily create wear and tear

on the collagen and elasticity

fibers within the skin.

2. Misting, not wiping, your

skin when using toner: Toners

are designed to remove cleanser

residue and most importantly,

salts, chlorine, and chemicals from

tap water that may dehydrate the

skin. When you mist the toner you

are simply diluting these chemi-

cals, not removing them.

3. Rubbing skin too aggres-

sively with a washcloth: Use a

washcloth or facial sponge during

evening cleansing to fully remove

make-up and residue from the day.

Use a baby washcloth with softer

fibers or a facial sponge.

4. Not washing your face in the

morning: When sleeping, skin is

in repair mode and it secretes

sebum, which can prevent your

morning products from working

optimally. Cleansing in the shower

will give the skin a clean slate to

allow your daytime serum and

sunscreen to better protect and

absorb into the skin.

5. Using the same products

year-round: Without a doubt,

skin has different needs in differ-

ent seasons. In the spring, think

spring cleaning with deep pore

cleansing and exfoliating products

to revive the skin from the winter

dryness. In the summer, the focus

should be on protecting skin from

the sun with sunscreen and antiox-

idants. During the fall, increase

exfoliation to repair the skin from

the summer sun damage.

With the dry air in winter, the

focus should be on increasing

moisturization and using hydrat-

ing products.

New York: Jalebi, one of the favorite

sweets of Indians has featured on

an American news website's list

of fattening food items across

the globe.

Huffingtonpost.com hascome out with the follow-ing list of unhealthy dish-es in the world:�Jalebi, India: Jalebi is

a deep-fried dough that is

soaked in a sugary syrup.

This plain fried dough is

unhealthy on its own.

�Calzone, Italy: A traditionalcalzone uses the same amount of dough

as an entire pizza-which serves four people.

�Acaraje, Brazil: A mere tablespoon of palm oilcontains seven grams of saturated fat that makes the

food taste great but is bad for health. Brazil's acaraje

is a black-eyed peas formed into a ball, deep-fried in

palm oil, and then stuffed with spicy pastes made

from dried shrimp, ground cashews and

more palm oil.

�Churros, Spain: These arefried-dough pastries which are

dipped in sugar and cinnamon

and then dipped in a thick

hot-chocolate drink.

� K h a c h a p u r i ,Georgia: It's a bread bowl

that is stuffed with melted

cheese and topped with an

egg and a large pad of but-

ter.

�Nutella crepes, France:Two tablespoons of sweet choco-

laty Nutella spread has 200 calories

(110 of which are from fat).

�Deep-fried Mars bars, Scotland: A Mars barwhich is deep-fried is a melted chocolate bar.

�Ramen, Japan: Japanese soup dish consistingof noodles in broth, topped with a variety of meats

and vegetables. Soup is basically a health food but

the broth is made with beef, lard and oil that really

packs a fat punch even if the noodles aren't fried.

Indian sweet jalebi among world's most fattening foods

Prince George -thebaby fashion icon

London: Just like his mother and

Duchess of Cambridge, eight-

month-old Prince George is also

proving to be a trendsetter with his

outfits.

According to dailymail.co.uk,

designers of the clothes he has

worn on his first Royal Tour (to

New Zealand and Australia along

with his parents) are reporting a

surge in sales thanks to the

‘George effect’.

Rachel Riley’s dungarees:

There’s now an eight-week wait-

ing list to buy the same dungarees

George wore for a ‘playdate’. It

costs 75 pounds.

Early Days’s pre-walkers shoes:

The brand’s soft leather pumps

with a single button fastening are

flying off the shelves at Trotters in

High Street, Kensington. It is

priced at 24.99 pounds. The store

also stocks the 14.99 body pounds

suit with Peter Pan collar.

Blue is the color: George

matched his father’s choice of

color by wearing a textured navy

cardigan by Rachel Riley. It costs

59 pounds.

Backpack kids Kangaroo Plush

brand: The kangaroo backpack he

was given as a gift in Australia

sold out within hours, so there's no

doubt Prince George's latest Royal

Tour outfit will fly off the shelves.

It’s priced at 8.40 pounds.

Six skin habits to unlearn now

New York: Are 140 characters com-

ing between you and romance in

your life?

You are not alone.

A study contends that those

addicted to Twitter are likely to have

problems with their partners than

those who are not.

The more time you spend on

Twitter, the more harm you are

causing to your relationship, said

the study by researchers of the

University of Missouri.

Of the 500 Twitter users polled,

researchers found the more active

the tweeter, the more conflict a rela-

tionship had.

The findings were not any differ-

ent even for couples who have been

together for long.

“Active Twitter users experienced

Twitter-related conflict and negative

relationship outcomes regardless of

length of romantic relationship,”

Russell Clayton, doctoral student at

Missouri School of Journalism, was

quoted as saying.

However, the researchers said that

Twitter may not bet the sole factor

for the souring of a relationship.

Other contributing factors like

money, and trust, could also end a

relationship, the study said.

Too much Twitter kills romance in life

More Indians prefer arrangedto love marriages: Study

London: Dressing

with confidence

takes time for

sure, but a study

shows that

women can

take as much

as 55 years to

be confident

about their sar-

torial elegance.

Jacques Vert

Group conducted a

survey with over 1,000

participants. The research shows

that 55 is the optimum age a

woman starts to dress with confi-

dence. As many as 85 percent of

the participants aged over 55

said they would feel

confident to dress for

a special summer

occasion - twice

as self-assured

than a woman

half her age,

reports female-

first.co.uk.

“It takes time

to find an outfit

you’re happy with

and that suits you.

So, presentation is the

key as is advice from friends and

stylists - that way you can avoid

fashion faux pas," said Amanda

Lester, brand director for

Jacques Vert Group.

At 55, Britishwomen get confident

about dressing up: Survey

All pilots know that one of the

riskiest parts of a flight is take-

off, since that is when an aircraft

is most at risk of being in a mid-air colli-

sion with a fish.

Which is exactly what happened

recently in Florida. The pilot heard a

crunch and decided to land immediately-

only to find a dent in the fuselage match-

ing the shape of a very freshly deceased

fish on the runway.

How did the fish get there? In the

British Independent newspaper report

forwarded to me about this, unimagina-

tive officials suggested that a bird of

prey may have dropped its seafood din-

ner in the flight path at the moment of

take-off, but what are the odds of that?

The answer is surely something more

believable, involving portals from a par-

allel dimension.

Try this easy experiment to prove that

matter moves between different worlds.

1) Put your neatly looped earphones in

your pocket. 2) Take them out ten min-

utes later. You'll note they spent that

brief interval in a parallel dimension

where boy scouts tan-

gled them into a triple

slipknot, two angler's

loops and a Gordian

knot.

Life's bizarreness fac-

tor is super-high just

now. A European reader

sent me a report from

Germany in which scien-

tists reported finding a

four-eyed fish which can

see in 3D vision in all

directions at once. That's

scary: a creature with a

superpower hitherto seen

only in teachers! A

teacher once caught me

doing something

naughty when she was

100 meters away going

in the opposite direction.

Or she may have just

screamed my name by

chance, knowing the

odds were in her favor.

But going back to

planes, ever since the mystery disappear-

ance of flight MH370, many people have

become nervous about flying. And so

they should be!

As a plane-hopping citizen of Asia, my

main fear in this regard is not disappear-

ances but sudden appearances of the

beautiful, rich fauna of the region. Who

can forget that vulture that smashed into

the cockpit of an Indian Airlines flight

some years back? Or the ducks, goats

and chickens sharing the economy cabin

on flights in Mongolia? A reader was on

a plane in Vietnam when a passenger

threw his briefcase into the overhead

storage bins and smashed a glass jar con-

taining a giant snake, which sprang onto

the passengers below, causing them to

express their delight in life's little sur-

prises by having heart attacks, running

screaming for the doors and the like.

A pilot told me of a 2010 flight over

the African Congo, where a passenger's

hand luggage consisted of a live croco-

dile. It escaped while the plane was

somewhere over Kinshasa. Finding a

croc at the back of the plane, crew and

passengers ran to the front, putting it into

a nose dive.

An animal lover reading over my

shoulder has just pointed out that the

most dangerous type of animal on any

plane is the human being. "Dogs don't

hijack planes," she said.

As far as we know. Dogs are pretty

smart.

Whenever a stranger approaches my

house, my guard dog reacts instantly,

teleporting herself to a hiding space

under the bed. More proof that parallel

dimensions exist.

28 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHUMOR

Funny Bone by Nury Vittachi

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Plane hits fish in mid-air, as oddity factor rises

Pilot Nick Toth holds up a fish in frontof his Gulfstream G-IV at the base in

Tampa, Florida. A fish on runwayapparently caused a dent in fuselage

during take-off.

by Mahendra Shah

Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist andhumorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrantIndians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania.

MODI in AAP Ki Adalat

19th April 2014, Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1

Traits in you: Your ruling planet the Sun blesses you with a

unique character. You are pretty confident, creative, intellec-

tual, optimistic, and enthusiastic. You are gifted with an artis-

tic perception. You are very much social and like to make new

contacts wherever you go. However, you need to control your

mood swings and selfishness.

Health this year: You will enjoy a normal health this year.

Though you will not have any major health issues, you need

to take proper medication. You may practice yoga and medi-

tation for better results.

Finance this year: You will be among major financial gains

this year. You may go for a real estate transaction later this

year and this will bring you a lot of money to cherish. You may

start up a new business. If you are already into business, you

may plan for expanding its territory this year.

Career this year: Professionally, you are a very smart and ef-

ficient worker. So you may need to clarify doubts and help you

peers and juniors in their work. People in your professional

circuit will seek your help at every crucial situation. You may

get promoted as a result of your spectacular performance

throughout the year. You may be assigned a new responsibili-

ty this year. You may go for a job change as well as there will

be plenty of opportunities available.

Romance this year: Your romantic relationship will reach

new heights this year. You may get married this year, if you

are unmarried yet. You need to take care of the emotional re-

quirements of your partner to strengthen your relationship.

Lucky month: April, July, August, November and March

20thApril 2014, Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2Traits in you: Your ruler, the Moon makes you a very friend-

ly individual. You are simple, confident, realistic, sincere, and

optimistic. You are very innovative and try to perform your

work in a different and efficient way. You need to work hard

on your characteristics of being jealous and insensitive at

times.

Health this year: You will enjoy a pretty good health this

year. You need to take care of the health of your family mem-

bers. You need to take extra care of your health if you are hav-

ing some chronic diseases. You may go for domestic health-

care instead of allopathic medicines as it will give better re-

sults for your ailments and save your money as well.

Finance this year: This year will see an increase in your earn-

ings. However, you will end up spending a lot of money on

your family. You will spend enough money to buy luxury and

comforts and this will affect your savings. You may get into

new partnerships to start new ventures towards the end of the

year.

Career this year: You will be very impressive in your pro-

fessional circuit this year. However, you need to work smart

and perform well to grow as a perfectionist. You should take

quick decisions to excel in your field. You may have to help

your ordinates to drive productivity.

Romance this year: The emotional attachment with your

spouse or partner may blossom this year with lot of love, care,

and concern. If you are not married, then you may go for a ro-

mantic relationship. You will enjoy a very blissful time with

your beloved.

Lucky month: May, June, August and December

21thApril 2014, Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3

Traits in you: Being ruled by Jupiter, you are courteous,

courageous, decisive, ambitious, disciplined, and realistic.

You are gifted with high imagination power, optimism, and

enthusiasm. However, behaving restless and dominating may

hamper your characteristics at times. You need to work on

your personality to make yourself better as an individual.

Health this year: You may undergo few minor health issues

this year, which may bother you for a long time. You can go

for yoga or meditation to restore your good health. You need

to take required medication by consulting a doctor.

Finance this year: As far as finance is concerned, you will be

earning a lot of money. You will be assigned to new projects

and those will be highly yielding for you. You will gain enough

profits from your past investments. Your improved financial

status may bring you lot of happiness and joy later this year.

Career this year: You will be given more responsibility this

year as you have proved yourself to be an efficient resource

for your employer. You may expect a promotion or salary hike

later this year. You should guide your ordinates to perform bet-

ter and bring unexpected results for your organization.

Romance this year: Your relationship with your partner may

reach to new heights this year as your love, trust, care and con-

cern will develop towards your beloved. You may get married

towards the end of this year if you are yet to marry.

Lucky month: April, August, November and January

22thApril 2014, Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet Uranus

makes you active, practical, enthusiastic, courageous, ambi-

tious, and highly philosophical. You are very proud of your

traditions, culture and rituals. You are highly religious and

have a very sharp mind. However, you need to work on your

impatient and stubborn behavior.

Health this year: Your health will remain good throughout

the year. You need to take utmost care of your health to main-

tain it and remain fit. The health of your family members

might be a concern for you this year. Try and avoid your bad

habits and start practicing yoga for the betterment of your

health.

Finance this year: You will be fortunate enough this year to

be among financial gains. All you need to do is to grab oppor-

tunities to earn money. You will find plenty of earning oppor-

tunities around you. However, you have to work hard to gain

that money. Overall, this year will give you financial stability

and security.

Career this year: You will get enough opportunities in your

professional life to prove yourself. You will create a better im-

pression on your seniors or higher management, which may

result in promotion. You should work efficiently to maintain

your respect at your workspace.

Romance this year: You will share a blissful romantic rela-

tionship with your spouse or partner. Your marriage is on cards

if you are yet to marry. You will find your partner supportive

enough in every crucial situation.

Lucky month: May, June, November and February

23thApril 2014, Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5

Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mercury makes you realis-

tic, reliable, sincere, and optimistic. You are the master of an

excellent memory power and charismatic characteristics. You

need not get nervous at tough time as it may create a question

mark on your capabilities.

Health this year: Your health will remain good throughout

the year. You need to take utmost care of your health to main-

tain it and remain fit. The health of your family members

might be a concern for you this year. Try and avoid your bad

habits and start practicing yoga for the betterment of your

health.

Finance this year: You may get benefits from your invest-

ments later this year. This year seems to be an ideal one to start

investing in business, land or gold. Your efforts to earn mon-

ey may pay off this time. You may go for new partnerships.

However, you should verify the financial background of your

partner for your financial security.

Career this year: If you are a working professional, you may

face various profession related problems this year. You need

to handle all the issues diplomatically else you may lose your

job. You may create wonder in the creativity field if you are a

writer, singer or actor.

Romance this year: You will find your partner to be a huge

emotional support for you during the tough times of your life.

You may get involved in a matrimonial alliance.

Lucky month: June, August, January and March

24thApril 2014, Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6Traits in you: As you are ruled by Venus, you are simple, gen-

erous, cheerful, friendly, humble, honest and peace loving.

You are pretty interested to stay in harmony with each and

everyone in your surroundings. You need to work on your na-

ture of being restless and pessimistic.

Health this year: You will enjoy a better health this year as

compared to last year. However, the health of an aged family

member may deteriorate and that will make you bothered. You

may end up spending lot of money for the health issues of your

family members.

Finance this year: Your past investments may yield a lot of

money for you this year. You need to be extra cautions while

investing huge amounts as it is a bit risky to put money on un-

predictable things. Overall, you will enjoy a strong financial

condition.

Career this year: You will be given more responsibility this

year as you have proved yourself to be an efficient resource

for your employer. You may expect a promotion or salary hike

later this year. You should guide your ordinates to perform bet-

ter and bring unexpected results for your organization.

Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a relationship, this

year is the ideal time to find a partner. You will get ample sup-

port from your spouse in any critical decision you have to

take. You should show your love to your partner as it strength-

ens your relationship.

Lucky month: July, November, December and January

25thApril 2014, Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7

Traits in you: As you are governed by planet Neptune, you

are blessed with various positive characters. You are confi-

dent, decisive, generous, humorous, honest, modest and opti-

mistic. You are not an admirer of arguments or silly fights. You

should work on your nature of being selfish, pessimistic, and

arrogant.

Health this year: You will enjoy a better health this year as

compared to last year. However, the health of an aged family

member may deteriorate and that will make you bothered. You

may end up spending lot of money for the health issues of your

family members.

Finance this year: Your undisputed energy and enthusiasm to

earn money will make you financially stable this year. You

may go for property sale this year and earn a lot of money.

Career this year: Professionally you will enjoy a smooth life.

You may get recognition in your professional circuit as a re-

sult of your hard work and dedication. Your promotion is on

cards. You should take help of your seniors to learn quickly

and perform exceptionally well as it would help you grow pro-

fessionally.

Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life with your

love interest this year. You will lead a blissful life with your

beloved with lots of love, care, concern, and support.

Lucky month: September, December, March and April

By Dr Prem Kumar SharmaChandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

Stars Foretell: April 19-25, 2014 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

29

ARIES: Timely help of associates will

not only pass difficult times at work but

also help in regaining professional edge.

A promising week to plan things for your prog-

eny. Real estate investment would be lucrative.

A romantic encounter is likely to add spice to

life. Sound physical health will enable to par-

ticipate in outdoor activities. Travel plans for

ambitions are in full bloom. Your personal loan

plans for property could be in progress. You

find many takers for your unique & innovative

ideas.

TAURUS: A promising week to start a

new venture in partnership. All are like-

ly to be benefited. You would be the

center of attraction at a social gathering that

you attend especially with family. Investment

in stocks & mutual funds would help in earning

profits. Romantic partner would try innovative

methods to catch your attention. You will be

successful in getting rid from tensions. A beck-

on destination sounds tempting to you. Your

dream for new house might be full filed now.

You would be full of good ideas especially in

later half of the week.

GEMINI: Your technical expertise

gives a decisive edge over competitors

at work. You would prefer to relax and

enjoy the company of family members in the

evening. Long-term investment in stocks &

mutual funds will enable to earn profits.

Initiatives in love bring positive results as you

catch the desired attention. A sparkling laughter

filled week when most things proceed, as you

desire. Planning a trip for your love will

embrace you and your spouse. Getting your

dream home will be the greatest pleasure for

you. Legal battle proves fruitful as you succeed

in your efforts.

CANCER: The week could force you

to search a new job where your skills

are more useful. You move with new

excitement & confidence as you receive sup-

port from family and friends. Improvement in

finances is certain. Your generous attitude

would contribute much in your love life in this

week. Your enormous confidence would help

in enjoying a healthy life. Enjoy your holiday

with love of your life. Selling a plot might be

profitable as property rates tend to rise sooner.

Favourable planetary position will give you

plenty of reasons to cheer.

LEO: Your gullible nature would allow

people to easily take you for a ride.

Family front seems to go smoothly as

you receive their full support to your plans.

Speculation coupled with some unexpected

gains improves financial health. Extremely

supportive & loving partner would help in

withering away your troubles. A very healthy

week filled with happiness & vitality.

Romantic destinations seems appealing to you.

Lifestyle home is what you are looking for?

Timely help to someone will be

rewarded/acknowledged.

VIRGO: Hard work of the past brings

rich dividends. However continue

enhancing your skills/adopt techniques

for further development. You find relief, com-

fort and affection in the company of family

members. A new source of income will gener-

ate through influential contacts. Romantic

vibrations from someone unknown would lift

your spirits taking imaginations to scaling

heights. Pleasure trip would help in maintain-

ing sound health in this week. Travel for fun

and pleasure is what you demand. Deals on

commercial property can tend to be at full

boom. Forced travelling brings pleasure more

than expectations.

LIBRA: Dedication & loyalty at work

would bring desired results. Time spent

with relatives will be to your advan-

tage. You could find yourself in an exciting

new situation, bringing you financial gains.

Love life brings immense romantic pleasure.

Yoga and meditation would help in keeping in

shape and mentally agile. Small journey with

your office colleagues will be interesting.

Investing residentially is one thing you can rely

on. You are likely to be contacted by an old

friend reminding some sweet memories.

SCORPIO: New ventures start on a

positive note. Family members will be

very positive & supportive to your

plans. Investment made in this week would

enhance prosperity and financial security.

Traveling proves a blessing in disguise by

bringing a love in your life. Blessings of a

saintly person give peace of mind. Your boss

may ask you for your company to a friend’s

party. Investment on overseas property has to

be considered seriously. Involving yourself in

some voluntary work would unknowingly

enable to help someone in distress.

SAGITTARIUS: You succeed in com-

pleting projects efficiently provided

you put in all your efforts. Relatives

will be willing to lend a helping hand at the

time of need. An improvement in financial

position would enable to make important pur-

chases. You are likely to get a new friendship

opportunity in the evening. Chances of recov-

ering from physical ailment are high. Travel

plan with a colleague might lead to a new rela-

tionship. Time to spend money on your homely

accommodations. You find many of your unre-

alisable dreams coming true in this week.

CAPRICORN: Hard work put-in the

past will yield handsome rewards in

business in this week. New relationship

at family front will be long lasting & highly

beneficial. You are likely to earn monetary

profits through most unexpected sources. New

romance that some of you are going to experi-

ence would take the worries off mind.

Inexhaustible energy enables to participate in

outdoor activities. Small picnic organized by

your company is good to change your mood. A

good week to make some investment on

kitchen items. You are likely to enjoy sheer

pleasure & fun if you venture to take a ride in

this week.

AQUARIUS: Business partners

behave supportive on executing strate-

gies to sort out pending problems. You

find family members very supportive but high-

ly demanding. Your brilliant ideas would help

in bringing financial gains. You enjoy a memo-

rable time with partner to cement the lovely

bond. You attain a bloom in health on sharing

happiness with others. Your travel plans are

smooth, but the toughest part is that your part-

ner doesn’t have time. You might be purchas-

ing a refrigerator or any other gadget for your

house. An improved look adds to your person-

ality.

PISCES: Innovative ideas & technical

expertise would enable to win the confi-

dence of seniors at professional front.

Guests visit would make it a pleasant & won-

derful week. A promising week to earn profits

in real estate and financial transactions. You

will be attracted to someone special.

A cheerful state of mind would allow enjoying

the perfect health. If you want to travel start

planning your trip now. Purchasing of electrical

appliances can be done. An auspicious week to

engage yourself in social as well as religious

functions.

April 19-25, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY

If we were to sit next to God and

listen to the prayers being

uttered by millions of people

around the world, we may find that

many go through the mechanics of

prayer, but their mind is thinking of

other thoughts. We may say the

right words, but one person is won-

dering who will win the basketball

game, another is thinking about

whether they will get good grades

on a test, someone else is thinking

about their next vacation, while

another is thinking about their

money problems. How many who

pray are really engaged in true

prayer?

True prayer is a moment in which

we open ourselves up to the Lord.

We sit in humble supplication of

the Creator of all and wait for

God’s love and grace to enter into

our being. How many of us can

keep our mind open enough to

receive what God wants to give?

Are we too busy in our thoughts of

the world to notice what God is

sending us?

In this connection there is the

classic story of Princess Laila from

the Indian tradition. There was once

a princess named Laila who was

always absorbed in the love and

remembrance of her earthly

beloved, Majnu. Once she was

going to the mosque to pray. She

was so lost in her thoughts of

Majnu that she did not notice that

she stepped on the prayer mat of a

holy man. As soon as she had

stepped on the mat, the holy man

jumped up and began scolding her

for her sacrilegious act. She was

startled out of her reverie by this

commotion. He said, “How could

you have committed such a disre-

spectful act, walking on the prayer

mat while I was praying?” She was

apologetic and said, “I am sorry,

but I was so lost in the thoughts of

my earthly beloved that I did not

notice where I was going.” Then,

with great wisdom, she remarked,

“I just wonder, O holy one, that if I

could be so lost in my worldly

beloved that I did not notice where

I was walking, how could you say

you were lost in prayer to God, the

divine Beloved, and yet still notice

me walking on your mat? If you

were truly lost, you would not have

noticed me at all!”

Is our condition like that of

Laila’s or is it that of the holy man?

If we were truly lost in prayer, we

would not notice what was going

on around us and we would not be

aware of any distracting thoughts.

We need to remember that the

thoughts that pull us away from our

prayers or from communion with

the Lord are instigated by the mind.

Just as each of us has a soul, which

is our connection with God, we also

have a mind, which is our connec-

tion with Kal, the Sustaining

Power, also called the Universal

Mind. Thus, every time we are

moved to return to God, Kal sends

an impetus in the form of a distrac-

tion and temptation to keep us from

remembering God. It is like we

have a computer chip programmed

into us that connects us with the

mainframe of God, and we have a

computer chip programmed into us

that connects us with the main-

frame of the Universal Mind. To

which one do we pay attention?

If we want to overcome the pull

of the mind, then engaging in accu-

rate meditation, doing simran, lead-

ing an ethical life, attending satsang

and performing selfless service are

the game moves that outwit the

mind. We do not have to treat the

mind as an enemy; we can, instead,

befriend the mind. This means hav-

ing an understanding with our mind

that it, too, will receive benefits by

following the plan laid out by the

soul. If we reason with our mind,

we can use it as an ally to reach our

spiritual goals.

The mind benefits from medita-

tion in that it develops increased

concentration to make it achieve

more in its worldly goals. It keeps

the mind calm so it can be more

productive and efficient.

Meditation also helps take the mind

back to its home in the third spiritu-

al region. Leading an ethical life

also helps the mind from the rav-

ages of anger, greed, attachment

and ego. Once freed, the mind can

be put to better uses, more creative

uses, and more productive uses for

its achievements of worldly goals.

Satsang also helps the mind

because it gives it a theoretical

understanding of the topic relating

to the soul and God. Selfless serv-

ice helps the mind because it gives

it something useful to do as a posi-

tive contributor to society and to

the world as well as its own spiritu-

al upliftment.

Thus, if we show the mind the

benefits it, too, gains through our

spiritual practices, it will be helpful

to us in developing good habits to

grow spiritually. Then, the mind

will achieve its ends, and the soul

can go on further to its ultimate

destination, back to God.

If we do not wish to be like the

person who goes through the

motions of prayer, but whose mind

is wandering, we can do several

things. First, let us perfect our med-

itations. When we sit for meditation

we can enter into a devotional

mood to create a space between our

worldly work and meditation time.

For some, it may mean having a

special or sacred place in the house

in which only meditation takes

place. It may mean creating a spe-

cial consistent time in which the

mind develops the habit of sitting

regularly. It may mean singing a

devotional prayer or song before

meditating. Some people find exer-

cise, a brisk walk, or a shower

helps them still their mind and

focus on meditation. Others like to

read something from the scriptures,

from the great saints and mystics,

or spiritual poetry to create the right

mood. Then, when we sit for medi-

tation, we are fresh and ready to

concentrate.

Whatever we do, we should do

wholly and solely. Sant Kirpal

Singh Ji Maharaj used to say,

“When you play, you should play.

When you work, you should work.”

He advised us to put our attention

wholeheartedly into whatever we

were doing. By training our mind to

be fully attentive into whatever task

we are doing, we can then ensure

that when we perform our prayers

and when we meditate, we will

fully do so. Our mind will be con-

centrated.

Let us try to keep our mind, heart,

and soul focused on our prayers or

meditations so that we can achieve

the best results. In this way, we can

tame our mind so that our soul can

have free access back to the Lord.

For more visit www.sos.org

How to engage in true prayer

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

30 April 19-25, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSPIRITUAL AWARENESS

Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajis an internationally recognizedspiritual leader and Master ofJyoti Meditation who affirms thetranscendent oneness at the heartof all religions and mystic tradi-tions, emphasizing ethical livingand meditation as building blocksfor achieving inner and outerpeace. www.sos.org.

True prayer is a momentin which we open

ourselves up to theLord. We

sit in humble supplication of the

Creator of all and waitfor God’s love and graceto enter into our being.

Many people pass through

life unaware that God is

always with us. If we

think about our interactions with

others during the day, we may

find that we behave differently

when we think someone is observ-

ing us. We may act better when

we think our employer, superiors,

or others whom we are trying to

impress are watching. What if we

knew that God was watching?

Would we then act according to

higher ethical virtues?

It is human nature to be on our

best behavior when others are

watching. When we are at work or

with our neighbors and friends, do

we find that we act in ways in

which everyone will think we are

good people? If we have any bad

qualities, do we try to hide them

from others?

If people realized that what we

hide from others is an open book

to God, we might be more con-

scious of trying to exhibit good

qualities all the time.

People wonder, "Where is

God?" Masters and saints teach us

that God is within us. Wherever

we are and whatever we do, God

sees us. God is the power that

enlivens us. This power is what

gives us life. Our body, made of

earthly elements of matter, is not

our true self. The power that

moves the body is the power of

God. The portion of that power

allocated to inhabit our body is

our soul. Our soul is a drop of the

infinite power of God. It is a part

of God. As our soul is a part of

God, whenever we do anything,

that information is known to God.

We can think of it as a computer

network. The master computer is

linked up with all the individual

computers in a network. The oper-

ator of the master computer can

know what is going on with the

individual computers simultane-

ously. Individual operators may or

may not be aware that the opera-

tor of the master computer can

know all about what they are

doing on their computers. If they

knew someone had access to their

emails or text messages, they

would be more careful. Those

who are not aware of this may end

up writing things they would not

want anyone to know about.

In the same way, God is the

master operator of the network of

creation and our souls are the

individual computers. Everything

we think, say, and do is known to

God. If we realized God is watch-

ing us at all times, we would act

in a positive way. If we realized

God was watching, our lives

would change dramatically.

If we were aware that God hears

our thoughts and words, and

watches our deeds, think how

quickly our behavior would

improve. We would be super care-

ful to avoid failures in the ethical

virtues of nonviolence, truthful-

ness, purity, and humility. If we

were to remove our failures and

were to spend time in meditation

and doing selfless service,

our spiritual progress would

accelerate.

Our life is an open book to godBySantRajinderSinghJi Maharaj