By Arun Kumar

Washington: The US is getting the welcome

mat out for whoever may be India's new

prime minister, including BJP’s Narendra

Modi, as the law automatically entitles a

head of government to a US visa.

"We will work with whoever the people of

India decide should lead their country," State

Department spokesperson Marie Harf told

reporters Monday as a Congressional

Research Service memo advised law makers

regarding visa policy for Modi.

The memo covering queries from lawmak-

ers suggests that Modi, who was denied a US

visa in 2005 over his alleged complicity in

the 2002 Gujarat riots, will be entitled to a

US diplomatic visa with full immunity if he

becomes prime minister.

"We believe it's a critical partnership, and

we're moving forward with it," Harf said

when asked about the recent memo from the

bipartisan CRS, which analyzes issues of the

day for the

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

excellence in journalismNRI Awards 15India Elections 10

Vol.6 No. 49 April 5-11, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Personal Finance 25 Spiritual Awareness 30

US readies welcome mat,visa for India'snew leader

Washington: The soldier who went on a

shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas , had

a history of mental illness and had been tak-

ing medication for anxiety and depression,

but Army leaders said Thursday that they

had not considered him a potential threat.

Investigators said they were still trying to

clarify a motive for the attack but were

focusing on the fragile state of mind of Spec.

Ivan Antonio Lopez, a 34-year-old military

truck driver and Iraq veteran. Officials said

he killed three fellow soldiers and took his

own life Wednesday in an outburst of gunfire

at one of the country’s largest military instal-

lations.

Lopez, a married father of four, was given

a full psychiatric evaluation last month and

had been prescribed “a number of drugs,”

including the sleep aid Ambien, according to

Army Secretary John McHugh. But the

Army psychiatrist who last saw Lopez found

no “sign of likely

New Delhi: The Congress

and UPA are facing decima-

tion in a wide swath of states

from Delhi and Rajasthan in

the north to Bihar and

Jharkhand in the east,

Madhya Pradesh and

Chhattisgarh in the centre,

Maharashtra in the west and

Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu

and Karnataka in the south.

In sharp contrast, the BJP

and its allies are riding high

in almost all these states,

with Tamil Nadu being an

exceptional case of neither

major alliance doing well,

according to an opinion poll

conducted for a TV channel.

The poll conducted by

Hansa Research for NDTV

and released on Thursday

estimated that the BJP would

win 21 of 25 seats in

Rajasthan, 25 of 29 seats in

MP, eight of 11 seats in

Chhattisgarh, 10 of 14 seats

in Jharkhand, 16 of 28 seats

in Karnataka and four of

Continued on page 4

Congress-led UPA faces rout inbattleground states

Fort Hood shooter had psychiatric issuesbut showed no ‘sign of likely violence’

Continued on page 4Continued on page 4

U.S. Ambassador to India Nancy J Powell had called on Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi in February. She quit her post on March 31.

Iraq veteran Ivan Lopez is identifiedas the shooter

US officials deny that the sudden resignation of US

envoy to India Nancy Powellwas related to recent tensions

between the two countries, but few were buying it.

Narendra Modi will be entitled to a US diplomaticvisa with full immunity if he

becomes India’s next PM

2 April 5-11, 2014 FESTIVAL TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Surati's sixth Holi event was

a resounding success again

with over 2,000 people

enjoying it. Based in Jersey City

and India, Surati for Performing

Arts’s annual Holi Hai festival

event on March 22 was held at

Exchange Place, Jersey City. It

has come to be known as the

biggest Holi celebration of its

kind in the Tri-State area, brought

to the community by Surati

founder and artistic director Rimli

Roy.

The attendees had a rocking

time throwing colors on each

other, savoring the delectable

food, dancing alongside live per-

formers. Surati company dancers

and musicians, including local

artists, performed for an audience

that included the Indian Consul

General in New York,

Dnyaneshwar Mulay, NJ

Assemblyman Raj Mukherji,

Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia

and many other community and

business leaders. City Council

President Rolando Lavarro pre-

sented a Proclamation to Rimli

Roy and Surati for their contribu-

tion to the cultural diaspora of the

community, on behalf of Mayor

Steven Fulop and the City

Council.

This year Surati presented two

guest artistes from India - Sumit

Roy (better known as India's

Calypso King and the "Nat King

Cole of Kolkata") who also hap-

pens to be Rimli's father, and

Rachit Tiwari (Kathak / contem-

porary dancer, choreographer).

Ambassador Mulay,

Assemblyman Mukherji congrat-

ulated Surati for bringing Indian

culture to an international plat-

form, celebrating the festival with

the diverse population in Jersey

City.

Sponsors included the Hudson

County Office of Cultural and

Heritage Affairs and The South

Asian Times.

Mormons throng the biggest Holi event in America

Nearly 50,000 people cele-

brated Holi festival last

weekend at the grounds

of Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple

in Spanish Fork, Utah, said to be

the biggest in this part of the

world.

Revelers danced to music, prac-

ticed yoga and threw colored

corn starch in the air once every

hour during the Festival of

Colors. The large majority of par-

ticipants are not Hindus, but

Mormons, The Salt Lake Tribune

reported. Thousands of students

from nearby Brigham Young

University take part in the festi-

val.

“It’s an opportunity for young

Latter Day Saints (Mormon) kids

to come and celebrate their spiri-

tuality without alcohol or drugs,”

said Caru Das, the temple’s

priest. He added the event feels

more like a rock concert than a

religious ceremony. He termed

the festival a spiritual and finan-

cial success. Funds raised sustain

his religious community and help

the members take Holi to other

cities.

The next Festival of Colors is in

Salt Lake City on May 3.

Crowd shot of Surati’s Holi Hai event in Jersey City against the backdrop of Manhattan skyline.(Photo: Amartya Roy Chowdhury)

Entertainment segment included Bollywood style andclassical dance performances.(Photos: BhushanAhire)

Surati Founder and Artistic Director Rimli Roy, holding a proclamation from the Jersey City Mayor

and City Council, on the stage with dignitaries includingConsul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay (second from left).

(Photo: Nan Melville)

3April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

By Arun Kumar

Washington: No one is buying the

American story that the resignation

of US ambassador in India, Nancy

Powell, was unrelated to recent

tensions between the two coun-

tries, but as yet there is no defini-

tive word about her likely succes-

sor. A section of the Indian media

has speculated that Powell may be

replaced by USAID administrator

Rajiv Shah, the highest ranking

Indian American in the Obama

administration, as the US tries to

clean the slate with India.

But analysts said President

Barack Obama is unlikely to win

Senate approval of a political

appointee in a hurry in a deeply

divided Washington even as there

is bipartisan support for strong

India-US relations.

Time magazine linked the Powell

resignation to the recent diplomatic

row over the Khobragade affair,

noting that it came weeks after

"US-Indian relations floundered in

December after police in New York

City detained and allegedly strip-

searched" Indian diplomat Devyani

Khobragade.

The New York Times said in a

story from the Indian capital that

Powell's resignation "was greeted

by many in New Delhi's diplomatic

community Tuesday with a sense

of hope that some of the grinding

disputes between the United States

and India might soon be settled".

The Washington Post also noted

that Powell had resigned "after

only two years on the job, sparking

some speculation overseas that the

administration may have been

looking to replace her".

Noting that "Powell only arrived

in India in April 2012, and these

diplomatic posts typically last three

years", the Post said: "The buzz in

New Delhi is that Powell's depar-

ture may be related to ongoing ten-

sions over the uproar in India after

the arrest of Devyani Khobragade."

However, State Department

spokesperson Marie Harf Monday

denied that Powell's sudden resig-

nation was in any way "related to

any tension, any recent situations"

between India and the US.

"There's no big behind-the-

scenes story here," Harf told

reporters suggesting "this is the

end of a distinguished 37-year

career".

"I think after 37 years, she

deserves to retire."

"But I want to dispel any rumors

out there that this is related in any,

to anything besides her long-

planned retirement," she said.

"It's not at all related to anything

happening in the relationship, it

doesn't indicate any realignment of

the relationship."

Meanwhile, the US India

Political Action Committee (USIN-

PAC), which describes itself as the

political voice of the Indian

American community, has urged

President Obama to appoint a new

ambassador to India.

"Having a senior leader in New

Delhi is vital to ironing out differ-

ences on some of the issues that

have crept up between the two

countries so that a purposeful new

beginning is made to turbo-charge

the relationship," it said.

Washington: In an unprece-

dented case, a Chicago jury has

indicted a Congress party Rajya

Sabha MP in an alleged interna-

tional conspiracy to bribe state

and central government officials

in India to allow mining of tita-

nium minerals.

K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, aka

KVP and Dr. KVP, 65, a Rajya

Sabha member from Andhra

Pradesh, was indicted by a fed-

eral grand jury in June 2013

along with an Indian-American

businessman and four other foreign nationals,

the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Rao is described as a Member of Parliament

in India who was an official of the state gov-

ernment of Andhra Pradesh and a close advisor

to the now-deceased chief minister of Andhra

Pradesh, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Also charged

was Gajendra Lal, 50, an Indian national and

permanent resident of the US, who formerly

resided in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Under the federal indictment unsealed

Wednesday excluding Rao, five of the six de-

fendants are also charged with conspiracy to vi-

olate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

(FCPA), among other offenses.

According to the indictment be-

ginning in 2006, the defendants al-

legedly conspired to pay at least

$18.5 million in bribes to secure li-

censes to mine minerals in Andhra

Pradesh. The mining project was

expected to generate more than

$500 million annually from the

sale of titanium products, includ-

ing sales to unnamed "Company

A" headquartered in Chicago.

All six defendants were charged

with one count each of racketeer-

ing conspiracy and money laundering conspir-

acy, and two counts of interstate travel in aid of

racketeering. Only one defendant, Dmitry Fir-

tash, aka "Dmytro Firtash" and "DF," 48, a

Ukrainian national, was arrested March 12 in

Vienna, Austria. He was released after posting

125 million euros bail and has pledged to re-

main in Austria until the end of extradition pro-

ceedings. The indictment alleges the defen-

dants used US financial institutions to engage

in the international transmission of millions of

dollars for the purpose of bribing Indian public

officials to obtain approval of the necessary li-

censes for the project.

US jury indicts Indian MP inbribery conspiracy

K.V.P. RamachandraRao is sitting Rajya

Sabha MP fromAndhra Pradesh

Nancy Powell has resigned as US Ambassador to India.(right) Rajiv Shah.

No buyers for Nancy Powell's 'retirement' story

Albany: The New York Legisla-

ture on Monday passed a $140

billion election-year budget that

will expand pre-kindergarten

statewide and provide tax relief to

homeowners and corporations.

The Democratic Governor An-

drew Cuomo said the budget

builds "on the state's progress

over the past three years in order

to grow the economy and create

new opportunities for New York-

ers and their families."

Senate Republican Leader Dean

Skelos said Republicans and De-

mocrats "put party labels aside"

and worked together to "deliver

real results that will truly make a

positive difference in the lives of

the people we represent."

Agreement on the spending plan was reached

by Cuomo and legislative leaders last weekend.

Education was a sticking point for the Legis-

lature, which spent hours debating funding for

statewide full-day pre-kindergarten, charter

schools and the flawed rollout of the Common

Core, a new testing standard.

The deal also includes a $2 billion school

technology bond act to go be-

fore voters in November.

Although a measure pro-

posed by New York City

Mayor Bill de Blasio for a tax

hike on the city's wealthiest

individuals to fund full-day

pre-K was rejected by law-

makers, the budget deal adds

$340 million for pre-kinder-

garten, mainly for New York

City.

"What I said was we need-

ed reliable funding for five

years at the dollar figure we

set," de Blasio said at a news

conference Monday. "What

did we get? Reliable funding

for five years at the dollar

figure we set." The Legisla-

ture also approved an estimated $1.5 billion in

homeowner tax relief tied to local governments

staying within a 2 percent tax cap the first year

and enacting cost-saving plans the second year,

benchmarks for Cuomo, who called his proper-

ty tax relief "the single most transformative

part" of the budget. The plan would also cut

manufacturers' tax rate to zero.

Property tax rebate, expandedpre-K in New York state budget

Media in India is speculating that USAID administrator Rajiv Shah may be sent as US ambassador to New Delhi.

The budget provides$340 million for pre-

kindergarten, mainly forNew York City, a pet

project of MayorBill de Blasio.

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4 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE

US readies welcome mat, visa... Continued from page 1lawmakers. Asked if that included

Modi, the spokesperson said:

"Well, I think it remains to be seen

what the outcome of the election

will be, so let's not try and do too

much predicting in here."

"Secondly, we have a very close

relationship with India on a whole

host of issues, whether it's energy,

the economy, environmental

issues, security issues."

"That has not changed. We look

forward to growing that even

stronger," Harf said. "The people

of India get to decide who leads

their country. We'll work with

whoever they decide."

The March 18 memo from Ruth

Ellen Wasem, specialist in immi-

gration policy at CRS said if Modi

"were to become Prime Minister

of India, he would automatically

be eligible for an A-1 (diplomatic)

visa as head of state, regardless of

the purpose of his visit". The

Immigration and Nationality Act

(INA) "further provides that the

grounds for inadmissibility"

excepting specified terrorist

grounds and documentary require-

ments establishing identity "do not

apply to those on A-1 visas", the

memo noted. Meanwhile, Harf

also denied that the sudden resig-

nation of US Ambassador to India

Nancy Powell Monday was in any

way "related to any tension, any

recent situations" between India

and the US.

Congress-led UPA faces rout in... Continued from page 1seven in Delhi. Thus, in these six

states combined, the party would

bag 84 out of 114 seats on its own.

The BJP with its allies would win

21 of Bihar's 40 seats, 36 of

Maharashtra's 48, 16 of AP's 42

and three of Tamil Nadu's 39,

leading to a total of 76 out of 169

seats in these four states.

As against this, the poll predicts

that the Congress will win just 29

seats in AP, Tamil Nadu,

Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi

put together, while the party and

its allies will win 25 seats in

Bihar, Jharkhand and

Maharashtra.

In short, the overall tally in all of

these states put together would be

160 for the NDA and a mere 54

for the UPA.

In Tamil Nadu, the poll predicts

that the AIADMK will win 25

seats, the DMK alliance 11 seats

and the BJP alliance three seats,

leaving the Congress facing a

blank slate.

In Andhra Pradesh, there would

be two distinctly different battles -

mainly between the TDP-BJP and

the YSR Congress in Seemandhra

and between the Congress and

TRS in Telengana. Put together,

the TDP alliance is estimated to

win 16 seats, the YSR Congress

10, the Congress eight and TRS

seven.

In Maharashtra, the NDA will

win 36 seats and the UPA just 10,

the poll predicted. In Bihar, the

NDA gets 21, the UPA 11 and the

ruling JD(U) a mere six. In Delhi,

AAP will win two seats and

Congress one, the remaining four

going to BJP, the poll predicted.

Fort Hood shooter had ... Continued from page 1violence, either to himself or to

others,” McHugh told a Senate

panel.

Another Army leader described

Lopez’s health in more dire terms.

“We have very strong evidence

that he had a medical history that

indicates unstable psychiatric or

psychological conditions,” Lt.

Gen. Mark A.

Milley, the commanding general

of Fort Hood, said at a news con-

ference. “We believe that is the

fundamental, underlying causal

factor.”

Around the same time that

Lopez visited the Army psychia-

trist, he legally purchased the .45-

caliber semi automatic pistol that

he used in the shooting, Army

officials said.

The soldier bought the firearm

on March 1 from Guns Galore, a

store in nearby Killeen, Tex., offi-

cials said. The shop is the same

one that sold a semiautomatic pis-

tol to Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the

Army psychiatrist and al-Qaeda

sympathizer who carried out a

mass shooting at Fort Hood in

2009, killing 13 people.

India now only country with legislated CSRNew Delhi: With the implementa-

tion of the new company law from

April 1, India has become the only

country in the world with legislated

corporate social responsibility

(CSR) and a spending threshold of

up to $2.5 billion (Rs.15,000

crore).

The new law mandates that all

companies, including foreign firms,

with a minimum net worth of

Rs.500 crore, turnover of Rs.1,000

crore and net profit of at least Rs.5

crore, spend at least 2 percent of

their profit on CSR.

According to industry estimates,

around 8,000 companies will fall

into the ambit of the CSR provi-

sions and this would translate into

an estimated CSR spend of $1.95

billion to $2.44 billion. With higher

economic growth and increase in

companies’ profits, this mandatory

spending will go up.

"India is the only country that has

made legislation for CSR spend-

ing," Sai Venkateshwaran, partner

and head of accounting advisory

services at KPMG India.

"Many big companies have been

actively engaged in the CSR activi-

ties, but the number is low. The

new law will lead to a significant

increase in the numbers," said

Venkateshwaran, adding the man-

dated spending would be in the

range of Rs.10,000 crore to

Rs.15,000 crore annually.

In celebration of

Women’s History

Month, Nassau County

Executive Ed Mangano

announced this year’s out-

standing women of

achievement, who were

honored at a ceremony on

March 31. The ceremony

at the Old Bethpage

Village Restoration Barn

was a fundraiser to benefit

the Nassau Hurricane

Recovery Fund (NHRF).

The ceremony honored 13 dedi-

cated women who have

made outstanding personal

contributions for the

enrichment of the lives of

others in their communi-

ties. Among the honorees is

Indian American Kalpana

Patel of Plainview who

was raised in India with

strong beliefs in giving

back to the community,

which she has done and

still continues to do. Patel

is President and CEO of

Unique Computer Inc.

Kalpana Patelwas one ofhonorees

Mangano honors Nassau’s Outstanding Women

5April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY

New York: Indian American

Forum presented the Third An-

nual Outstanding Women’s

Achievements gala, part of

Women’s History Month and

International Women’s Day

Celebrations. On Thursday

March 27, who‘s who from the

Indian American community

was present at Stuart Thomas

Manor.

First Lady of Nassau County

Linda Mangano was the Chief

Guest and an honoree too.

Master of Ceremonies Renee

Mehrra, well known journalist

and TV anchorwoman on ITV,

made the evening very enjoy-

able. Five women who excelled

in their professions and com-

munity services received the

Outstanding Women’s Achieve-

ments Awards.

Dr Chhaya Patel: Founding

member of ARCH Foundation,

Action Research in Community

Health Development, for her

contributions in field of Medi-

cine and community services.

Swati Vaishnav: Founder of

Nartan Rang Dance Academy

and member of Board of Direc-

tors of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan,

for her contributions and pro-

motion Indian culture, dances

and community services.

Sunila Tejpaul: Founder of

Forest Hills Montessori School

and member of Board of Child

Center of New York, for her

contributions for education, so-

cial and community services.

Sunita Mukhi: Cultural Pro-

ducer and interdisciplinary per-

formance scholar in culture.

Pandita Tripti Mukherjee:

Illustrious Indian classical mu-

sic vocalist from Pandit Jasraj

Music Institute. Chief Guest

Linda Mangano praised the ef-

forts of Indian American Fo-

rum, Indian American commu-

nity, congratulated all honorees

and stressed the importance of

role women play in this world.

Nassau county Executive Ed-

ward P Mangano presented cita-

tions to all honorees and praised

their efforts and congratulated

them for all their achievements.

New York: America's India-born top pros-

ecutor Preet Bharara has said it has been

an "eventful" year for him so far, citing

recent successful prosecutions including

that of former Goldman Sachs director

Rajat Gupta and Osama bin Laden's son-

in-law.

Bharara said a prosecutor's "bread and

butter" and "main mission" is to prosecute

individuals who have committed crimes.

No individual or institution should pre-

sume they have immunity from prosecu-

tion because of their influence or size, he

said while addressing a compliance and

legal society annual seminar in Florida.

"Without a doubt, it has been an eventful

year. Out of my office alone, we have

seen...more insider trading convictions at

trial, including that of Mathew Martoma; a

jury verdict against Bank of America for

reckless mortgage lending practices...the

indictment and subsequent guilty plea of

SAC Capital for engaging in insider trad-

ing on a scale without any known prece-

dent.

"In just the last 12 days alone, we ... saw

the affirmance of Rajat Gupta's insider

trading conviction. We also, by the way,

convicted Osama bin Laden's son-in-law

of terrorism charges but that is perhaps a

topic for a different conference," Bharara

said at the seminar organized by the

Securities Industry and Financial Markets

Association (SIFMA).

Gupta, who had served as the head of

consultancy giant McKinsey, lost his bid

to throw out his conviction after an

appeals court last week upheld the trial

court's order that he should be imprisoned

for two years for insider trading.

"No one should receive a get-out-of-jail-

free card based on size ... there should

never be a presumption of immunity based

on size. That is a dangerous thing," he

added.

Bharara's office also filed a re-indict-

ment in March against Indian diplomat

Devyani Khobragade on visa fraud

charges.

By Jinal Shah

New York: The Indian

Consulate, in association

with Yuva Hindi Sansthan,

New York University and

Columbia announced a 3-

day international regional

Hindi conference on the

theme, "Hindi Language in

the 21st Century Global

World." The Conference, to

be held on April 25, has

two sub-themes: "Hindi as

the Language of the Indian

Diaspora" and "Hindi

Education."

“This conference is con-

tinuation of the efforts of

Government of India which

organized the World Hindi

Conference in New York in

2007. We want the dia-

logue to continue for

assessing and promotion of

India’s language and cul-

ture in this region of the

world,” said Consul

General Dnyaneshwar

Mulay.

Topics for the conference

include - Hindi in mass

media, Hindi as a heritage

language, new initiatives

for Hindi: realities and pos-

sibilities, debate over the

need for Hindi secretariat

in New York City, Hindi

and technology.

Almost 80 US universi-

ties and colleges including

all Ivy Leagues offer cours-

es in Hindi. That rise can

be explained by India’s

growing economy and

Americans’ interest in

Bollywood. But the

demand for Hindi has also

increased because of what

Gabriela Ilieva, Clinical

Associate Professor,

department of Middle

Eastern and Islamic

Studies, calls the “heritage

phenomenon”. “A lot of

Indians who were born

here or moved here when

they were very small want

to rediscover the language

and hence the rise,” she

said.

And even as the demand

is steadily rising, it is the

supply of resources- espe-

cially the use of technology

in promoting the language

or literature that is posing a

challenge.

Ashok Ojha, president,

Yuva Hindi Sansthan, said,

“Introduction of online

courses, development of

new teaching resources and

bringing in qualified teach-

ers is much needed. The

conference will bring

together Indian American

parents, language experts,

school teachers, Hindi

lovers, academicians and

policy makers to build an

environment for teaching

Hindi to both heritage stu-

dents and Americans.”

Preet Bharara: It's been an eventful year

Indian Consulate announces Hindi Conference

From Rajat Gupta to DevyaniKhobragade, US Attorney Preet

Bharara is the man behind severalhigh profile prosecutions

Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano (fourth from left) and First Lady of NassauCounty Linda Mangano (fourth from right), an honoree herself, with rest of

the honorees and IAF members.

Sugandh Rajaram, Chief Coordinator of theConference,Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay,

Ashok Ojha of Yuva Hindi Sansthan and Prof.Gabriela Nik. Ilieva of New York University

IAF honors outstanding women

New Jersey Performing Arts Centerto be transformed into a spiritual

center on July 12, 2014

Event Promotion

The NJPAC, a world-class cultural

center, will be the venue for the First

International Guru Poornima to be

held on July 12, 2014. This event that is

open to public is getting very enthusiastic

response from all over the world. Over 500

spiritually-inclined attendees are expected

from India and other countries.

Guru Poornima, also known as Vyas

Poornima, is a sacred day for Hindus. This

is the day to express reverence towards your

guru, mentor, deities and those who have

made a difference in your life.

The International

Guru Poornima will be

celebrated in the divine

presence of Brahmrishi

Sri Guruvanand Ji Swa-

mi ‘Gurudev’.

A disciple of Yogiraj

Devraha baba, one of

the most esteemed

saints of recent times,

Gurudev is a spiritual

leader, philosopher, hu-

manitarian and a

renowned scholar of

Hinduism, Jainism,

Sikhism and Buddhism.

With over 40 years of

sadhana, Gurudev has

invoked all chakras of his Kundalini—a rare

feat accomplished by a few—that unleashes

immense spiritual energy.

The celebration, organized by World Spir-

itual Awareness Forum, starts at 3 p.m. on

July 12, 2014. Dinner (Prasad) will be

served following the event. Both admission

and dinner are complimentary. Registration

is required to get complimentary admission

pass.

To register, please visit www.GuruPoornima2014.com.

Or call 516-484-0018

6 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY

BAPS hosts 7th Annual Women’s Conference:Lead from Within

Edison: BAPS hosted a Women’s Conference

themed “Lead from Within” at 10 centers across

North America on March 22, 2014.

Over 430 attendees’ women gathered at the

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Flushing,

NY to participate in this annual event, now ob-

serving its seventh year. The conference is in-

spired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the fifth

spiritual successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan,

in an effort to highlight the empowering role of

women in today’s society and also to ensure

their spiritual growth as it will help them sail

smoothly through life’s vagaries.

Mrs. Tracey Edwards, Vice President of Veri-

zon NY and Councilwoman of Town of Hunt-

ington, graced the event in Flushing, NY. She

conveyed the message to “Lead from Within”

through her personal outtakes and stories as a

wife, a daughter and most importantly, a moth-

er. The audience took inspiration from her ac-

counts and realized how they faced similar chal-

lenges in their lives. They understood that the

choices they made every day make them true

leaders.

In the opening dialogue, Ms. Reena Patel, Fi-

nancial research, led an energetic and interac-

tive exchange to identify who they consider to

be leaders and why.

The conference proceeded to discuss leader-

ship essentials that would make a good leader.

Aditi Bhagat, emphasized the need to under-

stand one’s self, one’s belief system, one’s val-

ues, and one’s spirituality. Her talk focused on

the need for a connection with one’s conscience

as it plays an important role in day-to-day ac-

tions.

In delivering the closing talk of the confer-

ence, Kavita Patel, third year Dental student at

NYU, shared fundamental qualities exemplified

by leaders she looks to emulate. She expressed

her admiration for Mahatma Gandhi, his perse-

verance and the personal sacrifice he made in

the cause for independence. She spoke of her ul-

timate role model, her guru Pramukh Swami

Maharaj; conveying touching examples from

his life exemplifying sacrifice humility, stillness

and courage.

Shushma Kotawala, diamond merchant, stat-

ed, as women we lead inmany ways in our life,

we wear many hats and all of those hats are very

important, today we learnt how to manage every

role and every challenge we come across.

The meets highlighted empowering roleof women in today's society

United Nations: Sarod

maestro Ustad Amjad Ali

Khan says he is pleased to

see that India now has a

growing number of young

musicians and artists who

are extremely talented in

playing classical instru-

ments like the sarod, tabla

and sitar.

The maestro, accompa-

nied by his sons Amaan Ali

Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan,

performed here Mar. 24 at

the “Music for Peace” con-

cert, organized by the UN

Academic Impact and the

Indian mission to the UN,

coinciding with Nowruz, the

spring festival marking the

Iranian New Year.

Khan said he is “very hap-

py” to see youngsters in In-

dia turning to music, adding

that technology and social

media has proved to be an

advantage for them.

“I am very happy that

there are many musicians in

India in Amaan and Ayaan’s

generation, much more than

what we had several years

ago. We have very talented

young sitar and table play-

ers, vocalists and dancers.

All of them are at an advan-

tageous situation because of

the growth of technology

and online platforms, which

we did not have earlier,”

Khan said.

Highlighting the role of

music in promoting peace,

Khan said he is keen to see

music being used as a means

to spread peace and tran-

quility in the world.

“We are very keen that

through music, there should

be peace all over. So many

countries like Syria and

Egypt today are facing war,”

he said as he dedicated his

concert to world peace and

harmony. The concert at the

UN was attended by India’s

Permanent Representative

to the UN Ambassador

Asoke Mukerji and other

envoys and diplomats. Muk-

erji expressed gratitude to

the maestro for his perform-

ance, which he said demon-

strates the “innate humanity

that binds us all together and

that expresses itself through

music.”

Khan performed songs in-

cluding “Ekla Chalo Re”

and “Vaishnava Jana to” on

the sarod.

The trio received a stand-

ing ovation from the audi-

ence at the end of its nearly

half-hour-long performance.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan performs at UN Peace Concert

By Parveen Chopra

In the pantheon of saints and yogis in mod-

ern India, one name stands out: Devraha

Baba, who is believed to have lived up to

the age of an amazing 250 years. Yes, there is

proof that he was indeed over 250 when he

gave up his body in 1990. But it is not impor-

tant how long he lived, it is important what

level of spirituality he achieved and what he

contributed to the society.

For somebody like me of the post-Inde-

pendence generation, we grew up reading

about the living legend named Devraha Baba.

There used to be his black and white or sepia

photographs -- matted locks and all - in news-

papers and magazines, aloft a ‘machan’

(wooden platform), blessing people, from

pauper to the prince, by putting his foot on

their heads. Eminent people who sought him

out regularly included Mrs Indira Gandhi and

Rajiv Gandhi, He also ‘touched’ the lives of

visiting dignitaries from abroad.

There are various claims of Baba’s longevi-

ty, starting from 150 years and above. The

most credible account comes from none other

than Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President

of Independent India. Dr Prasad wrote in his

autobiography that he could personally estab-

lish that Devraha Baba was at least 150 years

old. At the age of 73, more than fifty years

ago, Dr Prasad wrote that his father had sat at

the feet of the Baba as a child - that is, in the

middle of the nineteenth century - and Devra-

ha Baba was already elderly at that time.

The appearance of Devraha Baba at the

Kumbh Mela which takes place every 12

years was recorded 12 times. The last time he

was at the Allahabad Kumbh Mela in 1989.

Famous BBC correspondent Mark Tully has

recorded his observations of the Baba from

that Kumbh Mela, which formed a chapter in

‘Penguin Book of Indian Journeys’. Tully was

told that one reason for Baba’s amazing

longevity was that he was forever in Uddiyana

Bandha (literally, ‘upward energy lock’, it

moves the energy up from the earth, water and

fire centers into the heart or air chakra). When

Tully asked, “What does the Baba eat?” his in-

terlocutor replied: “Air. He does not even eat

fruit. You see, any great yogi can extend his

tongue from inside until it touches the top of

his head. That’s where the nectar is situated

and one drop of nectar is all you need to live

for a very long time.”

So, a fairly scientific hypothesis of how

Baba dramatically prolonged his lifespan is

that he drew his required energy from cosmic

sources, thus eliminating the toxic fallout (free

radicals, etc) that occurs from eating food.

Secondly, meditation and a hermit lifestyle

lowered his metabolism, minimizing wear and

tear in the body. Thirdly, yoga postures and

mudras stimulated his endocrine system.

From most accounts, we know that Devraha

Baba was born in the Deoria district in Uttar

Pradesh and was the eleventh in the lineage of

Sri Ramanuja Acharya who founded Vaish-

navism. Though an itinerant yogi, Devraha

Baba was often stationed in Mathura on the

banks of river Yamuna, where huge crowds

would gather to have his darshan and bless-

ings.

We may never fathom the higher levels of

spirituality he achieved, but we can salute

what he contributed to the society. His very

existence inspired people to believe in and

take to the yogic path. All-loving and pre-

scient, he guided people who sought him out

on the right course to take in life. Apocryphal

anecdotes have him warning famous person-

alities against impending danger.

One life Yogiraj Devraha Baba transformed

is that of Brahmrishi Shri Guruvanand Swami

(called ‘Gurudev’ or ‘Guruji’ by his devotees),

who in turn is changing the lives of millions in

present times. Devraha Baba brought Guruji

to his ashram to save his life from a terminal

illness. He predicted that Guruji would

achieve the pinnacle of spirituality and he will

use that divine energy to serve humanity. Yo-

giraj’s predictions have come true. Guruji has

invoked all Chakras of his Kundalini and with

42 years of rigorous Sadhana he has acquired

all Siddhis.

Brahmrishi Shri Guruvanand Swami is us-

ing the enormous divine energy that he has ac-

quired to help those in distress and to uplift the

lives of hundreds of thousands of people

around the globe. He has traveled to over 170

countries to teach people the art of living a

moral, spiritual life. Guruji has made it very

easy for us to understand the true meaning of

religion so we can overcome our Karmic debts

while we fulfill our worldly duties.

The World Spiritual Awareness Forum is de-

lighted that Gurudev will grace the First In-

ternational Guru Poornima to be held at New

Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ,

on July 12, 2014. This event, that is open to

public, is getting very enthusiastic response

from all over the world. Over 500 spiritually-

inclined attendees are expected from India and

other countries.

To learn more and register for this compli-mentary event, please call 516-484-0018

or visit www.GuruPoornima2014.com.

Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with sonsAmaan and Ayaan performing at the UN head-

quarters in New York on Monday.

DevrahaBaba

Did Devraha Baba live for 250 years?

7April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Washington, DC: The University of South

Florida (USF) cricket team, made up of all

but one player from India, has won this

year's American College Cricket (ACC)

championship as the sub-continent's favorite

game finally "arrived" in America.

One sure sign that cricket has arrived in

this land of baseball, basketball and football

was the fact that the 2014 ACC National

Championship was the first ever cricket

game played on American soil to be telecast

live on ESPN, according to USF News.

The rising popularity of cricket on Ameri-

can campuses is also evident from the fact

that 25 teams participated in the 2014 tour-

nament, while there were only six teams in

the first ACC tournament in 2009.

Not surprisingly, the teams are dotted with

players from the Indian subcontinent. The

lone non-Indian player on the winning USF

team is from Pakistan. Interestingly, half the

team members are from Hyderabad.

At the final, played at Fort Lauderdale in

Florida in the T-20 format, USF defeated the

Auburn University Cricket Club, which too

had several Indian players, USF News said.

Apart from picking up the Chanderpaul

Trophy, USF also won several other honors:

Sai Ramesh (from Chennai) was declared

the Most Valuable Player (MVP) as well as

the Best Player of the tournament; Karthik

Achanta (from Hyderabad) was the MVP of

the finals.

USF has reached the finals thrice before -

and finally tasted success this year.

"We were desperate to put up a show and

win for the supporters who were cheering

for us on TV, in the stadium and, most im-

portantly, for USF," said team member Vish-

waksena Reddy Vuppunutula, who is pursu-

ing his Master's in engineering management.

He admits that one reason he chose USF

was "its strong cricket reputation."

USF is one of the pioneering five colleges

that launched the ACC in 2009. The others

are Boston University, Montgomery Col-

lege, Carnegie Mellon and University of Mi-

ami, according to ACC website.

Cricket finally arrives on US soil, India-heavy team is college champion

BJP's supporters bet on 'chai pe charcha' in the US

New Delhi: Six Indian institutions were on

Saturday selected for financial aid from the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to work

out solutions to the poor sanitation levels in

the country.

The institutions were given two years to

develop innovative, safe and affordable

technologies to improve sanitation.

Eram Scientific Solutions and Amrita

School of Biotechnology from Kerala,

Pradin Technologies from Bangalore, Indian

Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in col-

laboration with Fresh Rooms Life Sciences,

Institute of Chemical Technology from

Mumbai and Birla Institute of Technology

from Goa were selected for the grant during

a fair "Reinvent the Toilet" in the national

capital on approaches to improve sanitation.

The 45 exhibits showcased at the fair aim

to bring safe, affordable and sustainable san-

itation to those who need it the most in In-

dia. The institutions will work on self-sus-

tained, modular and electronic toilets with

solar energy for the Indian weather, and con-

cepts to target pathogens and odor-produc-

ing bacteria.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

has done a research study on poor sanitation

in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and

Odisha.

Brian Arbogast, director for water, sanita-

tion and hygiene at the foundation, said: "By

applying creative and new approaches to

sanitation challenges, we can improve peo-

ple's lives. And there is no doubt that these

new partnerships with India will help us

achieve this."

"The foundation is working in collabora-

tion with the department of biotechnology

under the ministry of science and technolo-

gy for better implementation of the projects

in the country," Arbogast said.

Washington,DC: Drumming up support for

Narendra Modi, the Overseas Friends of BJP

(OFBJP) is organizing hundreds of "chai pe

charcha" events in the US and calling up peo-

ple in India to influence potential voters.

OFBJP US president, Chandrakant Patel,

who has been travelling across the US to mo-

bilize non-resident Indians for the "Modi for

PM" campaign, claimed that such high level

of enthusiasm has never been seen among In-

dian-Americans in recent times.

Ahead of the elections, Patel said OFBJP

and several other like-minded organizations

have come together to organize "chai pe char-

cha" at more than 100 places in the United

States. These meetings are being held even in

smaller cities that have only a few hundred In-

dian Americans.

Some of the cities where such events are be-

ing held include Edison, Jersey City, New

Brunswick, Parsippany, Mahwah in New Jer-

sey, Washington DC metropolitan area, Tam-

pa, Melbourne and Orlando in Florida, Hous-

ton and Dallas in Texas, Chicago, Pennsylva-

nia, Los Angeles, Boston, New York and

Memphis.

In the past three months, more than 100

"chai pe charcha" programs have been al-

ready held.

"We need a government that provides vot-

ing rights for NRIs, improves consular serv-

ices, promotes better investment opportuni-

ties and provides a secure feeling that every

NRI looks forward to. They feel this is possi-

ble only with a BJP government," Patel said.

In addition to "chai pe charcha" meetings,

OFBJP has created two separate team of vol-

unteers, one for social media activity and the

other to make phone calls to people in India.

In coordination with the BJP headquarters

in New Delhi and also state units, Patel said

every day OFBJP volunteers are making

thousands of phone calls to potential voters

requesting them to exercise their right to fran-

chise in favor of BJP.

"Our feedback is that these phone calls are

having a tremendous impact on Indian vot-

ers," Patel said.

Taking advantage of the presence of Indian

Americans in the IT sector, Patel said OFBJP

US is garnering a team for volunteers on the

social media platform.

"These are cyber warriors who counter the

negative campaign that rival parties are mak-

ing against BJP and Modi," he said, but re-

frained from giving the number of volunteers

who have signed up for its campaigns.

In addition, a small group of OFBJP volun-

teers and local community leaders are spend-

ing money from their own pockets to travel to

India to campaign in person for the Lok Sab-

ha polls.

Patel is traveling to his home state of Chhat-

tisgarh. It is estimated that several hundred

Modi supporters are traveling to India this

time.

OFBJP-USA also has launched a fund-rais-

ing campaign, the money from which, Patel

said, would be used to give advertisements in

local print as well electronic media.

Six Indian institutes to get aidfrom Gates Foundation

To work out solutions to poor sanitation levels in India

25 teams participate in 2014 against only six in 2009; telecast live on ESPN

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

University of South Florida team with Chanderpaul Trophy

OFBJP supporters at one such ‘chai pe charcha’ event

Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com

8 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Teen suggests US govt to change fontand save millions, ignites debate

Washington, DC: An Indian-American stu-

dent's bold suggestion to the US government

that it could save $136 million a year by sim-

ply switching fonts from Times New Roman

to Garamond in government printing has

caught national attention, with printing offi-

cials terming his work as "remarkable"

while others dismissed it saying he was too

young to understand the "oddity" of font

measurement.

Suvir Mirchandani, a 14-year-old middle-

school student, came up with the suggestion

after analyzing ink use for a school project

and then expanding his research to govern-

ment, which spends a whopping $1.8 billion

annually on printing.

"Mirchandani is only 14, so he can be ex-

cused for not understanding this weirdo odd-

ity of the way fonts are measured but the

biggest issue with his argument is that he

measured Garamond at the wrong size!"

says a feature in Fastcodesign.com.

Citing blogger Thomas Phinney, a font en-

thusiast with an MS in printing, it comes to

the conclusion that using less ink might cost

the government slightly less money but it's

not going to come from switching to Gara-

mond.

"Garamond's letters are smaller at the

same height as other fonts, making it less

legible at the same size when printed out," it

said.

"And even if the government did switch to

a font that maintained legibility at the same

size as Times New Roman while using less

ink, the government would likely not save

much money by switching to it," Fastcode-

sign.com said.

For Suvir, it all started as a science fair

project when as a sixth-grader at Dorseyville

Middle School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,

he decided to figure out a way to reduce the

use of paper and ink, according to CNN.

"Ink is two times more expensive than

French perfume by volume," Suvir was

quoted as saying with a chuckle.

He's right, said CNN noting Chanel No. 5

perfume costs $38 per ounce, while the

equivalent amount of Hewlett-Packard

printer ink can cost up to $75.

Any way, the US government is in no hur-

ry to follow up on Suvir's suggestion. Ac-

cording to CNN, Gary Somerset, media and

public relations manager at the Government

Printing Office, described Suvir's work as

"remarkable."

But he was noncommittal on whether the

GPO would introduce changes to typeface,

saying the GPO's efforts to become more en-

vironmentally sustainable were focused on

shifting content to the Web, it said.

IN BRIEF

Gopal T K Krishna elected co-chair of Iowa Republican party

Hyderabad-born Indian-American

businessman Gopal T.K. Krishna

has been elected as co-chairman

of the Republican Party of Iowa state,

which has traditionally held the first cau-

cus in presidential elections.

Krishna, a successful businessman with

a background in electrical engineering, re-

places Danny Carroll, who has been elect-

ed as chairman, according to an an-

nouncement by the party's state central

committee in Des Moines, Iowa.

"I have been, and am a Republican for

all Republicans. The first three letters of

my name are G-O-P. I ran because I don't

want to wait until the primary elections to

promote unity," he said after his election.

"I want to continue to increase our par-

ty's voter registration advantage and par-

ticipation in the forthcoming elections.

"I look forward to working with Repub-

lican National Committee Chairman

Reince Priebus to advance the Growth and

Opportunity Project, work to reach out to

minorities and bring new people into our

Republican Party," he said.

"As long as I am Co-Chairman of the

Republican Party of Iowa, outreach to all

minority communities will be a priority,"

Krishna said.

Dr Sumeet Chugh wins prestigious cardiology award

An Indian-American cardiologist has

won the American College of Car-

diology's prestigious Simon Dack

Award for Outstanding Scholarship in

recognition of his contributions to its peer-

reviewed medical journals.

Sumeet Chugh, associate director of the

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and a leading

expert on heart rhythm disorders such as

sudden cardiac arrest and arterial fibrilla-

tion, will receive the award at the 40,000-

member medical society's 63rd Annual Sci-

entific Session in Washington.

"Dr. Chugh is leading the quest to unlock

the mysteries of how to prevent sudden car-

diac arrest, which is 99 percent fatal," said

Shlomo Melmed, senior vice-president of

Academic Affairs and dean of the Cedars-

Sinai medical faculty.

"Chugh, the Pauline and Harold Price

Chair in Cardiac Electrophysiology, is an

expert in the performance of radio frequen-

cy ablation procedures as well as the use of

pacemakers, defibrillators and biventricular

devices to correct heart rhythm problems,"

according to the Los Angeles-based Heart

Institute.

Chugh initiated and directs the ongoing

Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study, a

large, comprehensive assessment of sudden

cardiac arrest in a community of one mil-

lion residents.

Chugh leads the World Health Organiza-

tion panel that is charged with performing a

worldwide assessment of heart rhythm dis-

orders for the Global Burden of Disease

Study, a media release said.

Gopal T K Krishna

Suvir Mirchandani says switching fromTimes New Roman to Garamond can

save $136 m annually

Judge disqualifies Vinesh Singh Rathore from

Congressional raceWashington, DC: A Cali-

fornia judge has disquali-

fied an Indian-American

Republican candidate from

a Congressional race to

challenge Democratic

Congressman Mike Honda

but cleared another Indian-

American of any wrong

doing.

The Sacramento county

Superior Court judge

found irregularities in Re-

publican Vinesh Singh

Rathore's nominating peti-

tion, but did not find that

any responsibility lay with

Democratic challenger Ro

Khanna, as a lawsuit had

claimed, according to San

Jose Mercury News.

Ro Khanna, a former

Obama administration offi-

cial who served as the

deputy assistant secretary

in the commerce depart-

ment, has mounted a cam-

paign to unseat seven-term

incumbent Honda to repre-

sent the 17th Congression-

al district -- the first major-

ity Asian-American district

in the heart of Silicon

Valley.

"There was never evi-

dence to support the ridicu-

lous claim and it was dis-

missed by the judge who

examined it," Khanna cam-

paign manager Leah Cow-

an was quoted as saying by

Mercury News.

"It's obvious that the de-

fenders of the status quo

feel threatened by the mo-

mentum behind Ro's

change campaign and now

they've resorted to old-

style political attacks and

dirty tricks."

"The well-funded Khan-

na has been campaigning

for about a year, but the en-

try of Republican Vanila

Singh at the start of this

year and the entries of

Rathore and Joel Vanland-

ingham this month threw

the race's electoral calculus

into a tailspin," the Mercu-

ry News said.

Jeffrey Wald of Fremont,

an Alameda county Repub-

lican Central Committee

member, had sued the vot-

er registrars in Alameda

and Santa Clara counties as

well as the Secretary of

State's Office, arguing that

Rathore and Vanlanding-

ham should be kicked off

the ballot.

"Khanna recruited candi-

dates to enter the race as

Republicans to split the

Republican vote three

ways, effectively diluting

votes that would otherwise

be cast in favor of (Vanila)

Singh," the suit as cited by

Mercury News claimed.

Judge Sumner, who

heard the case, found

Rathore did not meet the

40-signature minimum and

thus could not appear on

the ballot, the Mercury

News said, citing one of

Wald's attorneys.

However, Rathore, 35, a

Google product attorney,

insisted that all those who

signed his nomination pa-

pers were legitimate

voters.

"Judge Sumner ruled to

remove me from the ballot

because there were in-

stances where a husband

filled out his wife's name

and address on the nomina-

tion papers (though both

signed on their own be-

half)," he said in an e-mail

to Mercury News.

US AFFAIRS

Washington DC: The Supreme

Court on Wednesday struck

down limits on federal campaign

contributions for the first time.

The ruling, issued near the start

of a campaign season, is likely

to increase the role money plays

in American politics, says The

New York Times.

The ruling, by a 5-to-4 vote

along ideological lines, comes

after the 2010 Citizens United

decision that abolished limits on

independent campaign spending

by corporations and unions. But

that ruling did nothing to disturb

the other main form of campaign

finance regulation: caps on

direct contributions to candi-

dates and political parties.

Wednesday’s decision in

McCutcheon v. Federal Election

Commission, No. 12-536,

addressed that second kind of

regulation.

It did not disturb familiar base

limits on contributions from

individuals to candidates, cur-

rently $2,600 per candidate in

primary and general elections.

But it said that overall limits

of $48,600 every two years for

contributions to all federal can-

didates violated the First

Amendment, as did separate

aggregate limits on contributions

to political party committees,

currently $74,600.

The decision chipped away at

the central distinction drawn by

the Supreme Court in its seminal

1976 campaign finance decision,

Buckley v. Valeo.

Independent spending, the

court said in Buckley, is political

speech protected by the First

Amendment.

But contributions may be

capped, the court said, in the

name of preventing corruption.

The court added that aggregate

contribution limits were a “quite

modest restraint upon protected

political activity” that “serves to

prevent evasion” of the base

limits.

Wednesday’s decision only

concerned contributions from

individuals. Federal law contin-

ues to ban contributions by cor-

porations and unions.

The court led by Chief Justice

John G. Roberts Jr. has been

consistently hostile to campaign

finance limits in its half-dozen

decisions in argued cases on the

subject so far.

Wednesday’s decision may

increase overall campaign

spending, but it may also

rechannel some of it away from

“super PACs” and toward candi-

dates and parties, says the

Times.

Supreme Court srikesdown aggregate limitson federal campaign

contributions

9April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Washington DC: President

Barack Obama claimed a major

victory as over seven million peo-

ple signed up for medical insur-

ance under his signature healthcare

law at the end of the six-month

open enrolment period.

After a floundering start marked

by computer glitches galore at its

October launch, government run

health market place saw a major

surge as people lacking insurance

rushed to beat the Monday mid-

night deadline. More than 4.8 mil-

lion visits were made to Health-

Care.gov on Monday alone, offi-

cials said.

Taking a victory lap at a White

House ceremony Tuesday, Obama

said that 7.1 million people had

signed up on federal or state ex-

changes for coverage under the

health care law, nicknamed Oba-

macare, that was passed by the

Congress in 2010 without Repub-

lican support.

The number of enrolled was

100,000 more than the original tar-

get of seven million and over a

million more than the revised goal

of six million after what Obama

called "several lost weeks" due to

the glitch-ridden start of the

healthcare website.

Calling the healthcare law "a

force for good" Obama said it was-

n't perfect, but the overall goal of

starting to narrow the gap between

those with health coverage and

those without it has begun, and

millions of Americans are embrac-

ing it.

"That's what the (law) is all

about, making sure all of us and all

our fellow citizens can count on

the security of health care when we

get sick," he said, noting that the

"law is doing what it's supposed to

do. It's working."

“The law is good for the country,

regardless of politics, and that the

numbers show Americans want it

and that it's "here to stay," he said.

The law, whose primary goal is

to reduce the ranks of the 45 mil-

lion uninsured, also includes ex-

panded Medicaid insurance for the

poor in many states, but those par-

ticipants are not part of the sign-up

total. But Republicans, who have

waged a nonstop campaign to re-

peal or roll back the Affordable

Care Act, remained unimpressed.

Michael Steel, a spokesman for

House Speaker John Boehner said

in a statement that the law "contin-

ues to harm the American people"

despite Obama's "victory lap."

Washington: All vehicles under

10,000 pounds (4,500 kilos) sold

in the US must be equipped with

rear visibility technology by 2018

to reduce the number of backover

accidents, say authorities.

According to the new rule, "the

field of view must include a 10-

foot by 20-foot zone directly be-

hind the vehicle," the regulatory

agency National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA)

said.

"Safety is our highest priority,

and we are committed to protect-

ing the most vulnerable victims of

backover accidents - our children

and seniors," said US Transporta-

tion Secretary Anthony Foxx.

US authorities estimate that

backover crashes take an average

of 210 lives and injure some

15,000 people a year, of whom 31

percent are younger than 5-years-

old, while 26 percent being above

age 70.

The NHTSA originally planned

to put the new rule into effect in

mid-2014, but later asked for more

time to finalize the details.

According to the federal regula-

tory agency, the cost to the indus-

try will be an additional $200 per

auto. However, it said that many

manufacturers are already includ-

ing that technology due to growing

consumer demand.

With 7.1 million healthcare signups, Obama nixes repeal chance

Cheered by Vice President Joe Biden, President Obama speaks from the White House about the Affordable

Care Act coming good.

Seaside Heights, NJ: A string of

artificial islands off the coast of

New Jersey and New York could

blunt the impact of storm surges

that proved so deadly during

Superstorm Sandy, according to a

new proposal. It's a big proposal —

one that would cost up to $12 bil-

lion — but it's also the kind of

innovative idea that federal officials

requested as they consider how best

to protect the heavily populated

East Coast from future storms.

"It can save lives and protect

property," Alan Blumberg, a profes-

sor at New Jersey's Stevens

Institute of Technology said.

The "Blue Dunes" proposal is

part of a competition sponsored by

the US department of housing and

urban development to come up

with novel ways to protect

Americans against the next big

storm. It is one of 10 projects that

will be evaluated and voted on next

week, but there's no guarantee any

of them will receive funding. Other

ideas include building sea walls

around cities, re-establishing oyster

colonies in tidal flats to blunt waves

and creating water-absorbent nature

and recreational preserves.

The artificial islands plan was

created by Stevens Institute, along

with the WXY architectural firm

and West 8 Urban Design and

Landscape Architecture. It is

designed to blunt the worst effect of

Sandy: the storm surge that pound-

ed the coast. From Maryland to

New Hampshire, the storm was

blamed for 159 deaths, and New

Jersey and New York alone claimed

a total of nearly $79 billion in

damages.

Artificial islands offNY-NJ to offer storm

protection?

Government to ensure rearview technology in autos by 2018

Washington DC: The unveiling

Tuesday of Representative Paul

D. Ryan’s newest Republican

budget may have redrawn the bat-

tle lines for the 2014 election, de-

tailing what his party could do

with complete control of Con-

gress and allowing Democrats to

broaden the political terrain be-

yond health care and the narrow-

er issues of the minimum wage

and unemployment benefits.

Ryan, the House Budget Com-

mittee chairman, laid out a budg-

et plan that cuts $5 trillion in

spending over the next decade.

He said it would bring federal

spending and taxes into balance

by 2024, through steep cuts to

Medicaid and food stamps, and

the total repeal of the Affordable

Care Act just as millions are reap-

ing the benefits of the law.

Defense spending would in-

crease. Domestic programs would

be reduced to the lowest levels

since modern government ac-

counting. And Medicare would be

converted into a “premium sup-

port” system, where people 65

and older could buy private insur-

ance with federal subsidies in-

stead of government-paid health

care.

“We need to be a proposition

party, not just an opposition par-

ty,” said Ryan, Republican of

Wisconsin. “We believe we owe it

to the country to offer an alterna-

tive to the status quo. It’s just that

simple.”

Even with those tough political

choices, the budget would bal-

ance in 2024 only because

Mr. Ryan is assuming his

cuts would prompt a

burst of economic

growth to raise tax rev-

enues above what inde-

pendent economists

forecast. He also does

not adjust the govern-

ment’s revenue ledger

to reflect the cost of re-

pealing the health care

law’s tax increases and

Medicare cuts, which

could total $2 tril-

lion.

The Ryan budget will be for-

mally drafted on Wednesday in

the Budget Committee and

brought to a House vote on Friday

— if Republican leaders can

muster the 217 votes to pass it

over the concerns of moderates

who say it goes too far and con-

servatives who say it does not go

far enough. Because Senate De-

mocrats do not intend to even

draft a budget this year, the Ryan

plan will serve more as a

political manifesto

than a legislative

roadmap for the

113th Congress.

Ryan’s budget would shave $5T in spending over a decade

House BudgetCommittee Chairman Paul Ryan

10 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoBATTLEGROUND 2014

Modi urges people to elect over 300 NDA MPs

Bareilly/Rewa/Beohari/Jabal

pur: Stepping up his offensive

against the Congress, BJP

prime ministerial candidate

Narendra Modi said that it

faced "certain defeat" in the

Lok Sabha poll and urged peo-

ple to elect over 300 MPs of

NDA to form a strong govern-

ment.

He also urged the Election

Commission to probe the

"delay" in clearance for his hel-

icopters to take off.

Addressing election rallies in

Uttar Pradesh and Madhya

Pradesh, Modi attacked the

Congress-led United

Progressive Alliance govern-

ment over unending farmer sui-

cides in the country.

He also accused the Congress

of wanting to create instability

and said it was prepared to join

hands with the Left and third

front parties to keep the

Bharatiya Janata Party out of

power. After landing in Bareilly

for his first election rally of the

day, Modi said he was at Delhi

airport since 9.30 a.m. but did

not get permission to take off.

"I try my best to ensure that

there is no delay due to me.

Today, I am feeling sad. You

had to wait for so long in heat.

You are doing this tapasaya

(sacrifice) in this scorching

heat. I assure you that I will not

let this go in vain," he said.

In a veiled dig at Congress

president Sonia Gandhi, who is

an MP from Rae Bareli, Modi

said: "Rae Bareli has elected

such strong leaders but see

development there."

Seeking to woo Muslims, the

BJP leader said that most peo-

ple working in kite industry in

his native Gujarat were

belonged to the community.

Modi also took a dig at Uttar

Pradesh Chief Minister

Akhilesh Yadav over the state

government's development

record. The state's ruling

Samajwadi Party has decided

not to put up candidates against

Sonia Gandhi and Congress

vice president Rahul Gandhi.

"UP chief minister asked for

lions from Gujarat. We gave

the lions, hoping he will gain

some courage but we were mis-

taken. Lions had to be caged. I

invite Netaji (Akhilesh's father

Mulayam Singh Yadav) and his

family to visit Gir. Our lions

are not caged and they roam

around freely," Modi said.

He also found fault with the

Congress-led government for

not hitting back after Pakistani

troops killed and beheaded

Indian soldiers on the Kashmir

border."Lal Bahadur Shastri

coined the slogan 'Jai Jawan,

Jai Kisan' but the Congress slo-

gan now is 'Mar Jawan, Mar

Kisan'". Modi referred to

Congress manifesto as "dhokha

patar (a document of deceit)"

and said India needed a stable

government after the elections.

"Please send over 300 MPs of

NDA (National Democratic

Alliance). Elect BJP MPs from

UP. We will give you a govern-

ment you want," he said.

End of dynasty rulehas come: Modi

Palamu/Kodarma/Buxar/Nawad

a: BJP's prime ministerial candi-

date Narendra Modi has called for

an end to dynastic politics, saying

there was no place for it in Indian

democracy.

The Gujarat chief minister, who

Wednesday addressed four rallies

in Bihar and Jharkhand as part of

his Bharat Vijay rally series,

slammed the Congress-led gov-

ernment for not bringing back

black money from foreign banks.

"The Congress is a party of

mother and son, the Samajwadi

Party is a father, son and daughter-

in-law party, the Rashtriya Janata

Dal is a husband and wife party,

the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a

father and son party," Modi said at

a rally at Palamu in Jharkhand.

"Dynastic politics has no impor-

tance in a democracy," the

Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.

In mica-rich Kodarma in

Jharkhand, he said the state's

resources were being looted.

"People of Jharkhand are suffering

because natural resources are

being looted here."

Modi slammed the Congress-led

central government for not know-

ing the grassroots-level realities

while making plans.

"They make development plans

in air conditioned rooms in Delhi,

they have no connection with the

people," Modi said.

"Election in Delhi is about cap-

turing power, it's a narrow view of

democracy."

In Buxar in Bihar, Modi vowed

to bring back black money stashed

in foreign countries if the BJP-led

alliance is voted to power.

"If the Bharatiya Janata Party

government is formed in Delhi, I

promise to bring back the black

money and it will be used for wel-

fare schemes for the poor," he

said.

"Give us all 40 seats in Bihar as

we want to form a government in

Delhi with over 300 seats to take

the right decisions."

He also remembered the victims

of serial blasts during his rally in

Patna in October 2013 - in which

five people were killed and over

80 injured - and slammed the

administration for "sleeping" dur-

ing the blasts.

"The time for promises is gone.

Now Bihar needs resolution,"

Modi said.

Asking people to vote for the

BJP, he said the Congress has not

fulfilled any promises it had made

in the 2009 polls.

"The Congress manifesto is

nothing but a dhokha-patra," he

said.

In a bid to woo Yadav voters,

Modi said he hails from Dwarka

and hence it was natural for him to

be emotionally attached with the

Yadav community.

In his rally at Nawada, Bihar,

Modi accused the Congress-led

union government of promoting

the destruction of the country's

livestock.

Modi said the union government

was slashing subsidies on agricul-

ture to encourage meat export.

"Bihar is a land of people who

worship cows but leaders like Lalu

Prasad have joined hands with

those who are promoting meat

export. The green revolution has

been sidelined and the government

at the centre is destroying the

country's livestock in the name of

the pink revolution," he added.

The BJP supporters during Narendra Modi's

rally in Nawada, Bihar.

My chopper was deliberatelydelayed: Modi

Bareilly: BJP's prime ministe-

rial candidate Narendra Modi

alleged that his chopper was

deliberately delayed by the

Delhi air traffic control when

he was about to leave for an

election rally in Bareilly.

In Bareilly, the Gujarat chief

minister began his speech by

apologising to the crowd for

the delay in arriving. He said

the ATC did not permit his

helicopter to take take off for

over two hours on one pretext

or the other.

Modi, however, told the

people that nothing could pre-

vent him from being with his

own people and supporters.

Slamming the Congress-led

government at the centre, the

Bharatiya Janata Party leader

accused the incumbent

Congress MP of doing nothing

for the region.

"Everyone knows Rae

Bareli but no one knows

Bareilly though this place is

one of the top producers of

'manja' used to fly kites," he

said. "Bareilly has a place in

the country... Bollywood

songs have been written on

the city and it had a place on

the industrial map. But due to

the wrong policies of the state

and union governments,

development has stopped

here," he said.

Modi slammed the Akhilesh

Yadav government in the state

and predicted a rout for the

ruling Samajwadi Party in the

parliamentary election.

BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi with Madhya

Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan during a public

meeting in Satna, Madhya Pradesh.

11April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info BATTLEGROUND 2014

Colorful quotes from the campaign trailIn 1857 the slogan was 'kamal aur roti'

(lotus and bread), in 2014 it is 'kamal aur

Modi' (lotus and Modi).

The BJP of today is not the party that

Vajpayee, Advani and B.S. Shekhawat

had envisioned and aspired it to be. It has

lost sight of its vision and frittered away its

virtue for temporary political gain.

-- Expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh

They (BJP) indulge in politics of hate and

its leaders have their eyes set on the post

of the prime minister.

--Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi

The opposition wants to give power to

just one person (Modi), but we want to

empower all Indians.

--Rahul Gandhi, Congress vice-president

Indian politics, the all-you-can-eat buffet

that comedians have always dreamt of.

--Vir Das, actor/comedianWhy is the media only taking forward

the message of one person in India?

- Kapil Sibal, Indian Law Minister

If Advani wants Modi to listen to him, he

should drop ‘v’ from his name.

Har-Har is meant for invoking gods.

Ghar-ghar is meant for selling tooth-

paste.

--Arvind Kejriwal, AAP chief, onNarendra Modi’s alleged links with the

business group Adani

--Ranvir Shorey, actor, on Modi slogans.

Just imagine, the husband is with Modi and

wife with Samajwadi Party.

--Amar Singh, Rashtriya Lok Dal candi-date on Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan

--BJP prime ministerial candidateNarendra Modi

Iam not

here to

vanish after

the elections.

I want to

come back

and serve

them...espe-

cially take

care of the

concerns that

women in my

constituency

have.

Iam neither an orphan politician nor an

Independent. Now I have my own party. I

am the vice-president.

--PC Sorcar, magician and BJP candidatefrom Barasat constituency in West Bengal

--TV entertainer Rakhi Sawant on form-ing her own party called Rashtriya Aam

Aadmi Party, which will seek green chili aspoll symbol.

12 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Patna: Congress president Sonia Gandhi said

that the UPA government fulfilled most of the

promises made to the people in the last Lok

Sabha polls and was committed to work hard

to improve the lives of people if voted to

power again.

"We have fulfilled most of the promises

(that were) made last time before people,"

Gandhi said while addressing her first election

meeting in Bihar's Sasaram parliamentary

constituency.

Without naming BJP's prime ministerial

candidate Narendra Modi who has accused

the UPA government of failing to fulfill prom-

ises made during the 2009 Lok Sabha polls,

Sonia Gandhi said the UPA government has

implemented MNREGA for job guarantee in

rural areas and provided an opportunity for

education to all through Right to Education.

She said to ensure that no one goes without

food, the government implemented the Food

Security Act in the country.

Gandhi said the UPA government has also

promulgated a new land acquisition act to pro-

tect the rights of land holders.

"Our rivals are levelling baseless charges

against the UPA government and accusing us

of doing nothing. It is far from the truth," she

said. In a reference to Modi's claims of ram-

pant corruption, Sonia said the UPA brought

the Right to Information Act to fight corrup-

tion. She said the Congress' aim is women

empowerment.

"UPA has launched several schemes for it

and provided scholarship to girls for educa-

tion," the Congress president said.

New Delhi: AAP leader Arvind

Kejriwal has vowed to defeat BJP's

prime ministerial candidate

Narendra Modi in Varanasi and

denied speculation that he might

join the BJP.

Addressing impromptu meetings

in east Delhi in support of AAP

candidate Rajmohan Gandhi,

Kejriwal launched a vicious attack

on both the Bharatiya Janata Party

and the Congress.

"If my aim was to reach parlia-

ment, then I would have fought the

Lok Sabha election from a safe

seat," the former Delhi chief minis-

ter thundered from atop an open

vehicle. "I want to defeat Modi.

That is why I am fighting election

from Varanasi. It is also important

to defeat (Congress vice president)

Rahul Gandhi. That is why

(AAP's) Kumar Vishwas is contest-

ing in Amethi.

"Both Modi and Rahul (Gandhi)

need to be defeated... They lead

two parties that believe in corrup-

tion," he said.

Kejriwal pointed out that while

the BJP had fielded the tainted for-

mer chief minister B.S.

Yeddyurappa in Karnataka, the

AAP had put up Rajmohan Gandhi,

a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, in

east Delhi.

"This is the difference between

the BJP and AAP," he said.

It was the second straight day of

campaigning in Delhi by Kejriwal

for the Aam Aadmi Party, whose

minority government collapsed

Feb 14 after just 49 days.

He denied reports in a section of

the media that he might end up

joining the BJP.

"I have never said that, and I will

never join any of these parties,"

Kejriwal asserted, as the AAP cav-

alcade wound its way through

some of the more thickly populated

areas of east Delhi.

Some 800 supporters accompa-

nied him, some on foot and others

on motorcycles. Whenever he

stopped to make short speeches,

hundreds gathered to hear him.

Kejriwal recalled the attacks on

him in Gujarat and Bhiwani in

Haryana, and also how he was pelt-

ed with eggs when he went to

Varanasi.

I will defeat Modi, never join BJP: Kejriwal

BJP poised to do well in Gujarat, MP: SurveyNew Delhi: The BJP could nearly

sweep the Lok Sabha polls in

Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and

make major gains in Maharashtra,

an opinion poll said.

The CNN IBN-The Week March

tracker said the Bharatiya Janata

Party may get between 20 and 26

seats in Gujarat, while the

Congress may get between zero

and four seats.

The opinion poll said "others"

could win two seats in Gujarat,

which has 26 seats.

The BJP may get 55 percent

votes while the Congress could

get 31 percent and the Aam Aadmi

Party could get six percent votes

in Gujarat, the poll said.

In Madhya Pradesh, which has

29 seats, the poll said the BJP

could win 24-28 seats while the

Congress could win one to five

seats.

It said the BJP may get 52 per-

cent votes in Madhya Pradesh if

the Lok Sabha polls take place

today. The Congress may get 28

percent votes.

In Maharashtra, the opinion poll

said the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI

(Athawale) alliance could win

between 24 and 30 of the 48 seats.

Deep flaws in Modi's character,says Chidambaram

New Delhi: Finance Minister P.

Chidambaram launched a strong

attack on Narendra Modi saying

that the BJP prime ministerial

candidate had "deep flaws" in his

character and his remarks reflect-

ed "a dangerous trend" for the

country's democracy.

Talking to reporters at the

Congress party office here, he

also hit out at former finance min-

ister Yashwant Sinha, saying

many of the 18 questions put to

him Sunday by the Bharatiya

Janata Party (BJP) leader were

"puerile."

Chidambaram said with the kind

of image-building being done,

Modi was no longer only a prime

ministerial candidate of BJP but

the party was being supplanted by

an individual "who is saying I will

do it".

"This is dangerous trend. I am

sure people of India will reflect

(in vote for Lok Sabha elections),"

he said.

"If party, democracy, republic,

cabinet, government - everything

is supplanted by one individual,

then it is dangerous," he said.

His attack on Modi came close

on the heels of Modi targeting

Congress president Sonia Gandhi

at an election rally over the 2012

killing of two Indian fishermen by

Italian marines who were then

allowed to leave India.

Chidambaram wondered what

the country of Gandhi's origin had

to do with the issue which was

being dealt by the courts.

He also alleged that Modi had

deliberately referred to full name

of former chief election commis-

sioner J.M. Lyngdoh during an

election campaign in Gujarat, had

in the past referred to practitioners

of Islamic faith as "we five, our

twenty five" and made "dus num-

bri (derogatory)" insinuations by

referring to residential address of

Sonia Gandhi.

"Such a person aspires to be

prime minster. I am

ashamed...there are deep flaws in

character of Narendra Modi," he

said. "He can't resist such deroga-

tory remarks. Such perverse char-

acterisation."

Arvind Kejriwal set for a holy dip in the Ganges in VaranasiFinance Minister P. Chidambaram

UPA has fulfilled most promises: Sonia GandhiNew Delhi: Actor-turned-

politician Smriti Irani said

she will put up the best fight

against Congress vice presi-

dent Rahul Gandhi and is

confident of winning the Lok

Sabha election in Amethi.

It was decided that Irani

will be the Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) candidate against

Gandhi from Amethi con-

stituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to Times Now,

she said that irrespective of

Amethi being a Gandhi bas-

tion for years, "people have

not received the benefits of

development in the con-

stituency, which is a national

shame".

Irani said now the people of

Amethi are wondering about

the chances of change and

development as BJP prime

ministerial candidate

Narendra Modi will come to

power and the Congress will

sit in the opposition.

Reacting to the comments

of the Aam Aadmi Party's

candidate from the con-

stituency Kumar Vishwas,

Irani said it will be a fight

only between the Congress

and the BJP.

"Vishwas has a history of

being disrespectful towards

women. I do not expect an

iota of respect from him," she

said. Vishwas earlier said the

people of Amethi have decid-

ed and it did not matter

whether a Pakistani, or an

Italian or an Irani contests the

election.

Will put up best fight against Rahul Gandhi: Irani

BATTLEGROUND 2014

Actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani

Congress president Sonia Gandhiaddresses a rally in Mewat, Haryana.

13April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info BATTLEGROUND 2014

Varun should use his mind insteadof heart: Maneka

New Delhi: As Varun Gandhi courted controversy by

"praising" his estranged cousin and Congress leader

Rahul Gandhi, his mother and Bharatiya Janata Party

leader Maneka Gandhi on Thursday said her son's

remark on Amethi's development was "not correct"

and advised him to be be careful before making any

statement.

Varun, the BJPs candidate from Sultanpur, had left

his party embarrassed after he praised Rahul on

Tuesday. But, he changed his track the next day saying

his comments should not be seen as an endorsement of

any political party or candidate.

Defending her son's statement, Maneka said he was

innocent and his heart was clean.

"I have told Varun not to comment on anything he

hasn't seen for himself. What Varun has said is

wrong," Maneka told reporters.

Maneka also said she had spoken to Varun in this

regard and whatever he said on development in

Amethi was "not correct".

"I have myself gone to Amethi and there is no devel-

opment there. Nobody should comment on something

unless you have seen it with your own eyes. Some

people might have told him that good work has been

done in Amethi," she added.

When asked whether she would advice Varun to use

his mind rather than his heart while making state-

ments, Maneka said, "Yes...this is true".

Varun had said Rahul is doing good work through

his self help groups for ameliorating the lot of women

and added that he would like to follow it in his con-

stituency while addressing a group of teachers in his

constituency.

Rahul was quick to respond to Varun's comments on

Wednesday, saying, "Varun sahi kah rahe hain" (What

Varun is saying is right).

Varun Gandhi is the BJPs candidate fromSultanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Amethi: The local administration

has canceled application of Con-

gress vice-president and local MP

Rahul Gandhi for issuance of

domicile certificate.

"The application should have

been made by Gandhi himself with

his signature, which was not there.

The application was made by one

Rajendra Singh with is against

law," district magistrate, Jagatraj

Tripathi said when asked about

cancellation of the application. The

papers needed with the application

were also not there, he added.

"If Gandhi has to apply, he

should apply himself in person or

send application signed by him

with all the essential documents,"

the DM said.

Bank accounts of all the candi-

dates are to be opened on direc-

tions of EC and for this domicile

certificate is needed, the officer

clarified.

Congress Amethi spokesman Ra-

jendra Singh had applied for the

certificate showing Munshiganj

Guest house as temporary address

of Gandhi and the administration

had cancelled the application

terming it against rules and

regulations.

Rahul's application forAmethi domicile canceled

Bangalore: Karnataka's 46 mil-

lion electorate is spoilt for choice

as 434 candidates, including 21

women, woo them, with political

parties rolling out their big guns

for campaigning.

National and regional political

parties are bracing up for a hec-

tic campaign over the next two

weeks across Karnataka, going

to the Lok Sabha elections in a

single phase April 17.

With 434 candidates in fray in

the 28 parliamentary constituen-

cies, national parties Congress

and BJP, regional parties like the

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and a

fledgling party like the Aam

Aadmi Party (AAP) are pulling

out all stops.

Of the 28 seats across the state,

five are reserved for candidates

of the Scheduled Castes (SCs)

and two for the Scheduled Tribes

(ST).

Of the total candidates, 195 are

independents and 21 are women,

including three each from JD-S

and AAP, two from the Con-

gress, one from the BJP.

In the 2009 general elections,

428 candidates, including 19

women, contested. The BJP won

19, the Congress six and the JD-

S three.

Of the 19 women, only J.

Shanta of the BJP won, the Bel-

lary ST seat, while Margaret

Alva and Tejeswani Gowda of

the Congress lost in Uttara Kan-

nada and Bangalore Rural con-

stituencies.

The highest number of contest-

ants in this election, 26, is in

Bangalore Central and the least,

eight, in Gulbarga reserved (SC),

where Union Minister of Rail-

ways Mallikarjun Kharge is con-

testing for the second time to re-

tain the seat.

434 candidates woo 46 millionKarnataka electorate

Raigad (Maharash-

tra): NCP chief

Sharad Pawar has

urged his partymen

not to take Raj Thack-

eray's Maharashtra

Navnirman Sena

lightly in the ensuing

parliamentary elec-

tion.

Addressing a meet-

ing of Nationalist

Congress Party work-

ers, the union agricul-

ture minister said that

based on the MNS's

past performance in

Lok Sabha and as-

sembly elections, it

could prove to be an

important factor in the

coming polls.

"Don't take it lightly.

Raj Thackeray has built it up with

great struggles," Pawar said.

On the other hand, Pawar took a

swipe at Shiv Sena chief Uddhav

Thackeray, saying the party in on a

continuing downslide.

"He has not been able to nurture

the legacy he inherited from (the

late) Bal Thackeray," Pawar said.

Pawar's comments assume sig-

nificance in view of the feud that

has again erupted between the

Thackeray cousins as the election

temperatures rise.

Don't take MNS lightly, says Pawar

Congress vice-presidentRahul Gandhi

NCP chief Sharad Pawar

New Delhi: Sahara group ex-

pressed its inability before

Supreme Court to immediately

deposit Rs 10,000 crore for se-

curing bail of its chief Subrata

Roy and two directors.

Recently, the apex court had

agreed to release Subarata Roy

from custody, but only after the

group deposits Rs 10,000 crore

in cash and bank guarantees.

Sahara chairman Roy was ar-

rested on February 28 and has

been held in a Delhi jail since

March 4.

He failed to appear at a con-

tempt hearing in a long-running

legal battle between the group

and the Sebi over the refund of

more than Rs 24,000 crore to

investors.

Can’t pay Rs 10,000 crorefor Roy's bail:

Sahara

14 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoOP-ED

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

By Vir Sanghvi

Everybody knows that Indian elections

throw up surprises. But the interesting

thing about this election is that the sur-

prises have begun even before the first vote

has been cast. There is, first of all, the surprise

over the identity of the principal antagonists.

Pundits had predicted a gladiatorial contest

between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi.

Instead it is Arvind Kejriwal--who few people

took very seriously even a year ago--who has

emerged as Modi's most vocal opponent. In

contrast, Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on Modi

have been far more muted.

Then, there is the surprise over the election's

big issue. The conventional wisdom was that

if Modi became the BJP's prime ministerial

candidate, this would communalise the cam-

paign. The Congress would make frequent ref-

erences to the Gujarat riots while the BJP

would play the Hindutva card. In fact, com-

munal issues have not come to the forefront in

this campaign (despite the symbolism of

Modi's choice of Varanasi as his constituency)

and the 1984 Sikh massacre seems to be

recalled more often than the Gujarat riots.

Even when Kejriwal attacks Modi, it is not

for his role in the riots but for his alleged

patronage of crony capitalists. Similarly Rahul

Gandhi may launch a general attack on the

divisive nature of the Hindutva ideology but

the Congress has abandoned its old anti-Modi

rhetoric: Nobody calls him a 'maut ka sauda-

gar' these days. Rather than try and fix respon-

sibility for the 2002 riots, the Congress would

rather rake up Mahatma Gandhi's assassina-

tion. And Modi, in turn, hardly refers to

Hindutva in his campaign, preferring a secu-

lar, governance platform.

But the biggest surprise of all has been the

emergence of the economy as this campaign's

principal issue.

In a sense, what the Congress, the BJP and

AAP are really arguing about is the legacy of

economic liberalisation.

When Modi talks about governance and

draws parallels with China, his principal accu-

sation is that UPA 2 frittered away the gains of

liberalisation with indecisive, weak and often

corrupt, governance. When he draws attention

to the so-called Gujarat model of develop-

ment, what he’s really saying is this: He

implemented liberalisation and delivered on

growth while the Centre and Congress-ruled

states could not.

Kejriwal's attack is also predicated on the

post-liberalisation legacy. According to

Kejriwal, economic liberalisation has led to a

situation in which governments favour large

corporate houses and enrich them at the

expense of the poor. The attacks on gas pric-

ing, the emphasis on governmental corruption

and the many references to Modi’s alleged

corporate backers (and in particular Reliance

and the Adani group) are really attempts to

argue that the benefits of economic liberalisa-

tion have been hijacked by the few at the cost

of the many.

In the circumstances, it is not surprising that

the educated middle class, which is the most

supportive of economic liberalisation, is back-

ing Modi. So are foreign financial institutions

and the global investment community. That is

why the rupee has strengthened and the

Sensex has soared on the expectation of a

Modi victory and the return of economic liber-

alisation.

This election is different. Yes, identity poli-

tics will play some role. But the basic issue--

the one that really divides the parties--is the

economy and how it should be run. And no

matter which side you are on, we should all be

glad that finally, Indian elections are being

fought over issues of substance.

Economy as an issue takes front seat this election

Is Narendra Modi rattled by AK-49?By Amulya Ganguli

Narendra Modi's rather unusually

harsh criticism of Arvind Kejriwal

can raise the question whether the

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime minis-

terial candidate has been unnerved by the

challenge posed by the Aam Admi Party

(AAP) leader in the contest for the Varanasi

seat.

Compared to the Gujarat chief minister,

who won three successive terms in the state

and is now the numero uno in the BJP,

Kejriwal is an untested novice. Moreover,

his curious way of functioning during his

49-day stint as Delhi's chief minister,

including staging a dharna, induced Home

Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to call him

an 'yeda', an expressive Marathi term for an

eccentric.

For someone like Modi, who is playing a

prominent role on the national stage, the

best way to treat a maverick like Kejriwal is

with amused superciliousness. But to launch

a vicious attack by calling him a "Pakistani

agent" and a "dushman" (enemy) of the

nation is to overshoot the mark. The funny

aspect of his description of Kejriwal as AK-

49, recalling his brief 49-day spell as chief

minister, was lost in the subsequent tirade.

If anything, the tongue-lashing will be

seen not only as excessive but also as a sign

of nervousness. Whether by accident or

design, Kejriwal's response to Modi's trans-

gression of limits was surprisingly mild,

surprising because the AAP leader himself

is not shy of being intemperate.

Yet, he only said that Modi's remark did

not suit a prime ministerial aspirant. If

points were to be notched up with regard to

the verbal duel, the first round went to

Kejriwal.

However, the reason why Modi flew off

the handle is not far to seek. The BJP leader

has been under considerable pressure in

recent weeks. Not only is he engaged in a

strenuous campaign, he is also having to

fight a battle against detractors in his own

party.

Nor are they relative lightweights like

Jaswant Singh (who was once expelled

from the BJP) or Harin Pathak, both of

whom were kept out of the election contest

by him. Instead, Modi is up against two

heavyweights; the octogenarian "mentor",

L.K. Advani, and the silver-tongued orator,

Sushma Swaraj, who was preferred by one

of the BJP's allies, the Shiv Sena, as the

prime ministerial candidate.

Modi must have also come under heavy

strain while trying, albeit successfully, to

dislodge two members of the old guard,

Murli Manohar Joshi and Lalji Tandon,

from their old constituencies, Varanasi and

Lucknow, to accommodate Modi in the tem-

ple town and his camp follower, party presi-

dent Rajnath Singh, in Lucknow.

All this skirmishing is apparently begin-

ning to tell. Besides, Modi cannot be

unaware of the uneasiness in the BJP about

his propensity to be "insular' and "distrust-

ful", as an American diplomat described

him in an internal memo, according to

Wikileaks.

Modi's disadvantages will be enhanced if

he cannot achieve a runaway victory in

Varanasi. Few will doubt that he will win.

But much depends on the margin of victory.

In this respect, Kejriwal can be a spoiler.

The AAP leader already has a reputation of

being a giant killer for having trounced for-

mer Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit by

25,000 votes.

He may not be able to repeat his feat. But

he is a highly effective speaker, capable of

cutting observations which appeal to the

ordinary people because he zeroes in on the

patent weak points of politicians, viz, their

suspected links with moneybags and the

penchant for making tall claims.

If the emails being circulated by saffron

activists about the dollars being credited to

Kejriwal by the Ford Foundation are an

indication, the BJP is not taking the

Varanasi battle lightly. For Modi, the

endgame is not going to be a cakewalk.

In the circumstances, it is not surprising that the educated middle class, which is themost supportive of economic liberalisation, is backing Narendra Modi. So are foreign

financial institutions and the global investment community.

The BJP is not taking the Varanasi battle lightly due to Arvind Kejriwal's entry.For Narendra Modi, the endgame is not going to be a cakewalk.

Elections

Elections

AWARDS 15April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Times Now, India’s No. 1 news chan-

nel, celebrated the success and

achievements of Indians across the

world by presenting the inaugural ‘NRI of

the Year 2013’ awards on March 24 at a

grand ceremony in Mumbai.

Union Minister for Overseas Indian

Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, was the chief guest.

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan was felicitat-

ed with India's Global Icon Award.

The awardees were selected under six

different categories – Enterpreneur,

Professional, Student, Arts/ Entertainment,

Philanthropy and Social Good and contri-

bution to India belonged to the USA, UK,

Singapore, and the Middle East.

The various episodes of the awards

including winner profiles were being

broadcast on Times Now in its global feeds

in over 75 countries. In the USA, Times

Now is available on DISH Network DTH

and Dishworld IPTV in multiple packs

(Hindi Mega Pack, Hindi Premium Pack,

English News Pack, World News Pack,

and also in the Indian Language Packs -

Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Kannada, Urdu on

Dishworld).

Amitabh BachchanGlobal superstar and cinema thespian,

Amitabh Bachchan has tremendous uni-

versal appeal. He is one of the most

admired Indians

across the globe

and millions of

people world

over consider

him as the

g r e a t e s t

icon. He

first gained

popularity in

the early

1970s as the

"angry young

man" of

Bollywood, and has

since appeared in over 180 Indian films in

a career spanning more than four decades.

Bachchan is widely regarded as one of

the greatest and most influential Indian

actors across the globe.

� Won three National award as Bestactor for Agneepath, Black & Paa

� French director Francois Truffautcalled him a "one-man industry.

� He also had a stint in politics in the1980s. The Government of India honoured

him with the Padma Shri in 1984 and the

Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contribu-

tions towards the arts

� In 1991, he became the first artist toreceive the Filmfare Lifetime

Achievement Award, which was estab-

lished in the name of the legend Raj

Kapoor

� In 1999, Bachchan was voted the"greatest star of stage or screen" in a BBC

survey

� In June 2000, he became the first liv-ing Asian to have been modelled in wax at

London's Madame Tussauds Wax

Museum

� On 27 July 2012, Bachchan carriedthe Olympic Torch during the last leg of its

relay in London's Southwark.

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta is an Indian Parsi conductor

of Western classical music. He is the

Music Director for

Life of the Israel

Ph i lha rmon ic

Orchestra and

the Main

C o n d u c t o r

for Valencia's

opera house.

Zubin Mehta

is also the

chief conduc-

tor of

Florence, Italy's

Maggio Musicale

festival.

� At the Israel Prize ceremony in 1991,Mehta was awarded a special prize in

recognition of his unique devotion to

Israel and to the Israel Philharmonic

Orchestra. In 1995, he became Laureate of

the Wolf Prize in Arts. In 1999, Mehta was

presented the "Lifetime Achievement

Peace and Tolerance Award" of the United

Nations.

� The Government of India honouredMehta in 1966 with the Padma Bhushan

and in 2001 with India's second highest

civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.

� In 2005, he was voted the 117th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the

Israeli news website Ynet to determine

whom the general public considered the

200 Greatest Israelis.

� In September 2006 the KennedyCenter in New York announced Mehta as

one of the recipients of that year's

Kennedy Center Honors, presented on 2

December 2006.

� In 2007 he received the prestigiousDan David Prize. Conductor Karl Böhm

awarded Mehta the Nikisch Ring – the

Vienna Philharmonic Ring of Honor.

� Mehta is an honorary citizen ofFlorence and Tel Aviv. He was made an

honorary member of the Vienna State

Opera in 1997.

� In 2001 he was bestowed the title of"Honorary Conductor" of the Vienna

Philharmonic and in 2004 the Munich

Philharmonic awarded him the same title,

as did the Los Angeles Philharmonic and

the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

in 2006.

� On 6 September 2013 , President ofIndia Pranab Mukherjee awarded him the

Tagore Award 2013 for his outstanding

contribution towards cultural harmony.

MA Yusuffali Abu Dhabi, UAE

MA Yusuff Ali is an Indian businessman

from Nattika in Thrissur district of Kerala.

He is the Managing

Director of Abu

Dhabi-headquar-

tered EMKE

LuLu Group

of companies

that owns

the Lulu

Hypermarket

chain in

Middle East.

� The ownerof the EMKE

Group, he has diversi-

fied the business into multiple significant

areas. However the retail sector became

his route to the top.

� EMKE Group opened its first super-market in the early 1990s in Abu Dhabi

and gradually expanded to cover different

parts of the UAE capital.

� Today the LuLu Hypermarkets,Supermarkets and Department Stores con-

trol 32 percent of the retail market share

� Emke LuLu Group has a strongworkforce of 31,440 from 37 different

operating nations

� Apart from his busy businessinvolvement, Yusuffali is equally active on

the social front and is associated with vari-

ous organizations.

� Listed in the Forbes Magazine’sannual tally of billionaires in March 2013

at the 974th position

� "Most Influential Asian BusinessLeader in the MENA region" award by

Forbes ME in 2012.

� "Arab Business Leader of the Year2012" during the third edition of the

Global Arab Business Meeting held in Ras

Al Khaimah.

� Listed in the Indian Rich List 2011by Arabian Business magazine.

� Conferred with the title of PadmaShri in 2008

� Swiss Ambassador’s Award 2012 foroutstanding efforts in promoting Swiss-

UAE relations.

� "Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award"in 2005; the highest Indian government

award given to NRIs.

Rupesh SrivastavaDetroit, USA

After completing his mechanical engineer-

ing from NIT Jamshedpur, India and serv-

ing in the IT industry

for 4 years,

R u p e s h

S r i v a s t a v a

came to the

United States

in 1993 as a

s o f t w a r e

consultant.

He realized

the opportu-

nity and start-

ed his venture

in 1996.

After starting

Youngsoft Inc, USA he

founded the second company ESSPL in

Bhubaneswar, India in 1998.

Rupesh has founded six companies and

is currently the CEO and president of

Young soft and H2H Solutions.

With his multifarious experiences as a

professional, entrepreneur and successful

leader he controls a turnover of at least

$25 million and provides employment to

around 200 persons. ESSPL in India also

employs 200 people in Bhubaneswar,

Orissa.

� He established Young Tech SoftwarePvt Ltd in Varanasi in 2005 with an eye to

provide employment opportunities to aspi-

rants in IT

� He acquired a contract manufacturingcompany which created good job opportu-

nities

� Also acquired a stake in an IT com-pany Ritwik Software Technologies Pvt

Ltd, Hyderabad

� He is also a founding member of anE-learning company Yslearn and job board

company for nurses called Car4nurses in

West Michigan, USA

Rupesh Srivastava has been serving TiE

Detroit as president for over three years

and is working closely with various

Economic Development Organizations to

contribute to the success of Economic

development of Michigan, USA. In this

role he has motivated aspirants to become

entrepreneurs and encouraging and sup-

porting to create more job growth and

resultant employment.

Chandrashekar NatarajanGreater Los Angeles Area, USA

Natarajan is the Vice President of Supply

Chain for The Walt Disney Company. He

has met diverse challenges in emerging

Continued on page 16...

INDIA’S GLOBAL ICON

SPECIAL JURY AWARD

POPULAR CHOICE AWARD

ENTREPRNEUR

PROFESSIONAL

AWARDS16 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Continued from page 15markets that have shaped supply chain man-

agement and achieved

major impacts

around the

world. Several

of his innova-

tion solutions

have become

global stan-

d a r d s .

N a t a r a j a n

has devel-

oped multiple

innovations and

made multiple

contributions to

major industries in both

developed and developing nations. These

contributions have been grounded in

diverse experience with three of the world’s

leading and largest beverage companies:

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Anheuser Busch

InBev as well as with The Walt Disney

Company. These innovations include a new

delivery standard, CoolLift, that completely

reimagined the assets, labour resources, and

timing of deliveries.

“Applying change management skills to

implement my technology vision, I pro-

duced the Consumer Products Group’s first

dynamic order fulfilment warehouse. In

doing so, my team transformed several

legacy systems for which we received 14

international awards as well as winning the

Consumer Goods Technology “Visionary

Award” and the “Supply Chain Innovation

Award” at the Council of Supply Chain

Management Professionals,” states

Natarajan.

Throughout his career, as he managed the

political and social complexities associated

with implementing “big ideas,” this has

been the greatest single challenge he has

faced. He led a team to expand a ColaLife

project on the African continent. As a result,

the team successfully harnessed Coca

Cola’s distribution capability to deliver

medicines in Zambia and Tanzania where 1

in 5 children die before the age of 10 for

lack of basic medications. “Without invest-

ing any additional funds, we were able to

improve the lives of many children,” he

says. The program has won the accolades of

several international organizations.

Vijay Goradia Houston, USAVijay Goradia is the Founder and Chairman

of Vinmar International Limited, a global

distributor of

Chemicals and

Polymers with

headquarters

in Houston,

Texas. He is

also the

Founder and

C h a i r m a n

Emeritus of

P r a t h a m

USA.

Pratham is an

NGO working to

provide quality edu-

cation to the underprivileged children of

India. Pratham was established in 1994 to

provide pre-school education to the children

in the slums of Mumbai city.

In 1998, Vijay Goradia, started Pratham

USA in Houston to raise funds for Pratham

India. With a small band of passionate

donors, Pratham USA raised $275,000 in

1999. Today Pratham USA has 14 chapters

and raises over $10 million for Pratham

India. India had a gigantic problem -- of the

200 million school age children, 100 mil-

lion were illiterate. Every child in India did

not have access to education. In 1994, Dr.

Madhav Chavan started Pratham India as

the first step to solve this massive problem.

From that humble beginning, with the help

of funds contributed by Pratham USA,

today Pratham is the biggest non-profit in

the world in the field of elementary educa-

tion. Pratham's model is unique.

� Pratham takes education to the chil-dren all over India.

� Pratham is an innovator. It was able toteach an illiterate through the Read India

Program. Pratham has touched the lives of

34 million children.

� Pratham was the first NGO to showthat it's inexpensive Balwadi programs

could be scaled up. Today Pratham is in 20

states in India, and was able to persuade the

Government to collaborate with it.

� Pratham's programs are low cost: Itcosts just $25 to educate a child per year.

94% of the funds received go directly to the

program.

� Pratham's Annual Survey ofEducation Report has focused Government

attention on learning outcomes instead of

enrolment. ASER is being used by many

developing countries in the world. Pratham

has become a powerful voice for education

reform in India.

� Based on the needs of the children,Pratham has introduced many programs

from Pratham books, libraries, science,

computer skills, English, remedial educa-

tion to rescuing and rehabilitating child

labourers. From open schools for girls to

vocational and entrepreneurship training.

� Pratham has received the highest rat-ing from Charity Navigator and has

received international awards [Kravis Prize,

Skoll award, Wise Prize] and support.

� Pratham's strength is its army passion-ate and dedicated volunteers all over India.

The impact on the Indian community has

been amazing. The more people have

learned about Pratham India, the more they

wanted to be involved. The man behind

Pratham’s success is Vijay Goradia.

Mala Kiran TalekarHershey, PA, USA

Mala Talekar obtained her pediatric residen-

cy at Sir Hurkisondas Nurrotumdas (HN)

Hospital and Research

Center, a 250-bedded

tertiary care cen-

ter in Mumbai

in 2002-2005.

P e d i a t r i c

R e s i d e n c y

taught her a

lot, including

how certain

paediatric ill-

nesses such as

cancer could

shatter the entire

family. This built

her interest in curing

cancer from the beginning.

Currently Mala is a third year fellow in

Pediatric Hematology- Oncology at Penn

State Hershey Medical Center. She has been

recognized for providing great care to

patients and has been awarded for her oral

presentation on Pediatric Lymphoma. Her

passion is to cure childhood cancer and

wishes to equip herself to battle this horrify-

ing disease in children.

She has been performing experiments on

lymphoma cells in the laboratory to see if a

drug could be used to treat lymphoma, hop-

ing this would be a breakthrough for chil-

dren with lymphoma. So far, her research

has shown that this agent- ONC201 appears

to be very effective on lymphoma in the

laboratory.

Her research was accepted for presenta-

tion at major national meetings in 2013

American Association for Cancer Research

(AACR), American Society for Paediatric

Hematology Oncology (ASPHO), and

American Society of Hematology (ASH).

She is also going to present additional

data at the ASPHO Annual meeting in

Chicago this year.

Mala also received the “Top Oral presen-

tation award” at the Annual Research Day

2013 of Penn State Hershey Medical Center

and the ASH 2013 Abstract Achievement

Award for this research. Personal Project

title: “ONC201 (TRAIL-inducing agent

–TIC10) and combinatorial therapeutics in

paediatric lymphoma: a targeted approach”.

Dr. Kunal Saha, Columbus, Ohio, USA

Dr. Kunal Saha has been fighting to remove

healthcare corruption and to prevent med-

ical negligence in India since the past 15

years. His battle against

“medical negligence”

culminated in

2013 when the

Supreme Court

of India

awarded the

highest com-

p e n s a t i o n

ever in Indian

medical histo-

ry. After losing

young wife and

US-based child

p s y c h o l o g i s t ,

Anuradha Saha, as a

result of gross medical negligence during a

social visit to India in 1998, Dr. Kunal Saha

took over a crusade not only to bring justice

to his departed wife, but also for the mil-

lions of hapless patients in India who are

dying every day because of reckless treat-

ment by the hitherto “untouchable” doctors

in India.

He also took over the seemingly impossi-

ble task to weed out the deep-rooted corrup-

tion that has plagued the Indian medical

education and healthcare delivery systems.

He founded “People for Better Treatment”

(PBT), a registered humanitarian society to

help the victims of medical negligence and

to fight medical corruption in 2001. Over

the past 13 years, PBT has brought hope for

justice for countless alleged victims of med-

ical malpractice and implemented major

changes in the deeply flawed medical regu-

latory system through numerous public

interest litigations (PILs) in the Supreme

Court and High Courts across India.

Categories Name of the Winner CountryIndia’s Global Icon Amitabh Bachchan India

Special Jury Award Zubin Mehta Israel

Popular Choice Yusuff Ali M A UAE

Entertainment Keertika Rawat UAE

My India Dr. Kunal Saha USA

Entrepreneur Dr. Raminder Singh Ranger UK

Rupesh Srivastava USA

Anand Kapoor UAE

Nitish Jain Singapore

Student Husain Khaki UK

Mala Kiran Talekar USA

Abdul Muqeet UAE

Aastha Chouhan Singapore

Professional Dr. Ramesh Babu

Chandrabhan Singh UK

Chandrashekar Natarajan USA

Y Sudhir Kumar Shetty UAE

Venkatesha Murthy Singapore

Philanthropy Suman Kapoor UK

Vijay Goradia USA

Kesavan Muraleedharan UAE

Dr. T Chandroo Singapore

PHILANTHROPY

STUDENT

MY INDIA

AWARDS 17April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The impact of his long-drawn legal

and public fight in India has already

created greater awareness about

patients’ rights and sent a clear mes-

sage to the members of the medical

community across India that human

lives are too precious to treat negli-

gently and that the errant medicos

will be held accountable for the reck-

less treatment of patients.

Perhaps more importantly, Dr.

Saha’s long and unselfish fight over

the years with its culmination in

2013 (with a victory in the Supreme

Court) has brought a new ray of hope

for the countless innocent victims of

“medical negligence” in India who

until now, had no hope for finding

justice in the court of law against the

wealthy and highly influential

doctors/hospitals and as such,

often resorted to take law into

|their own hands and attacked the

allegedly negligent doctor(s) in a

misguided attempt to find justice

after losing their loved ones in front

of their own eyes from gross medical

negligence.

Aron Govil is Chairman & CEO of Ducon Group of

companies, that are involved in turnkey technolo-

gy projects for utilities and industrial companies

globally. Ducon is a multinational company engaged in

energy, environment, material handling, and infrastructure

projects for FORTUNE 500 companies in the field of

petrochemicals, steel, mining, power, food, plastics and

chemicals.

Ducon has been in existence since 1938 and was

acquired by Mr. Govil in 1996. Over the years, Ducon has

developed most advanced technologies, secured over 30

patents and has completed over 30,000 projects around

the world. In 2010, Ducon received “The Niche Market

Player” award in the environmental field from Frost &

Sullivan. Ducon was ranked among the top 50 by Long

Island Business news in 2006 and was ranked as the top

Indian owned company in North America by News India

Times in 2012.

Mr. Govil has also been involved in the entertainment

field since 1985, by conducting Bollywood concerts, of

major film stars, music directors and singers. He was the

leading concert tour promoter from 1985 through 1995 in

North America. Subsequently, he ventured into financing

feature films, and music videos through his company Aron

Govil Productions, which has rapidly grown in the film

distribution and production business and has made or

financed several feature films in India. In 2008, Mr. Govil

produced an English language film, “Shoot On Sight”

with major Bollywood and Hollywood stars. In 2012 he

directed and produced a commercial Bollywood film “U R

My Jaan” with super hit songs that climbed to the top of

Doordarshan music charts in India. Currently he has sev-

eral film projects under production.

Aron Govil migrated from India at age 13 with his par-

ents and completed his education in USA. He has BS in

Chemical Engineering, MBA in Finance and PhD in

Environmental Science. After working for several years in

technical and management positions, Mr. Govil started his

own company in 1986.

Ten years later he bought world renowned Ducon and

merged his own company in it. In 2007, Mr. Govil was

honored by United States Pan Asian American Chamber

of Commerce with the Excellence Award for his outstand-

ing achievements in Business & Entrepreneurship. In

2011 he was named among the 25 most influential Indians

in North America and in 2014 named The Person of the

Year 2013 by Global Indian magazine. Aron Govil resides

in Long Island with his wife Vandana and they have two

sons Vishal and Saagar.

A view of the audience at the awards event held at Trident Hotel, Mumbai.

ASSOCIATE SPONSOR OF THE EVENT Ducon Group of Companies

Aron Govil, Chairman and CEO, Ducon Group, New York

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD18 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Mumbai: Following the

response to her latest

Bollywood release "Ragini

MMS 2", Indo-Canadian adult

film star Sunny Leone is game

to be part of "Ragini MMS 3"

if it is made.

"Ragini MMS 2", the sequel

to the 2011 release "Ragini

MMS", released March 21.

"If 'Ragini MMS 3' will be

made, then I would love to be a

part of it even if it is a small

role," the actress said here at a

party for the success of films'

hit number 'Baby Doll'.

The party was organised by

the composers Meet Bros

Anjjan here Tuesday.

Lauding the film's producer

Ekta Kapoor, Sunny said: "I

think that this brand and fran-

chise which Ekta has created is

so big as people are going mad

over it from the first movie to

the second.

"I think that Ekta has done

an amazing job to make this go

to the next level - whether it is

the songs, acting or story. She

is just amazing in everything

what she has done for this

movie."

Meanwhile, Sunny thanked

all her fans for their love and

support.

"This movie has gone above

and beyond our expectations.

Even on a Tuesday night, we

are getting good collections

and Monday night we had an

amazing collection," she said.

Indo-Canadian film starSunny Leone

Accomplished actor Irrfan

Khan will spend the rest

of this year living out of

a suitcase as he will be shooting

for two films - "Jurassic World"

and "Piku".

This week he leaves for the US

to begin shooting for Colin

Trevorrow-directed fourth part of

the phenomenal "Jurassic Park"

franchise. The film is to be shot

in Hawaai and New Orleans.

“It’s a brief schedule to begin

with, though my role is anything

but brief. At the moment all I can

tell you on record is that it’s a

pivotal role. I am very excited

about the project. It’s the second

American global franchise after

'Spiderman' that I am part of,”

said Irrfan, adding that he did not

share the Indian audience’s dis-

appointment over the length of

his role in "Spiderman".

He said: "It isn’t as if my role

was reduced for ulterior reasons.

Sometimes a particular charac-

ter’s footage suffers for factors

like the film’s length, etc. I was

very happy to be part of

'Spiderman'.

The remaining part of this year

would see Irrfan shuttling

between two projects in two con-

tinents.

“After the first brief first sched-

ule of 'Jurassic World', I’ll be

back in India to shoot for Shoojit

Sircar’s 'Piku'.

Irrfan to shuttle between'Jurassic World', 'Piku'

Big B promoting superstitions, activist tells court

Asocial activist from Pune has accused megastar Amitabh

Bachchan of promoting superstitious beliefs, and filed a

complaint before a court seeking action against the

Bollywood actor. Hemant Patil has demanded a police complaint

against Bachchan and others under the stringent new Maharashtra

Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifices and Other

Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013.

The immediate provocation for the complaint was Bachchan's por-

trayal of a ghost in a TV commercial for a children's health drink.

Mumbai magistrate Sita Kulkarni has placed the matter for hearing

April 18. Bachchan earlier played a friendly ghost in Bollywood

movie "Bhootnath", whose sequel "Bhootnath Returns" is due for

release soon.

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD 19April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

According to Islamic

mythology, the Arabic

word jinn refers to a class

of spirits, lower than angels who

are capable of appearing in human

and animal forms, and influencing

humankind towards good and evil.

Stories about the existence of

angels in the human world seem to

have captured our imagination,

washing away evidence of a third

race, created by fire which we call

jinn. But as much as we fantasize

about the existence of these ‘other

worldly’ creations, do we really

believe in them?

'Jinn' also happens to be the

name of the new supernatural

thriller by the Pakistani American

movie director, Ajmal Zaheer

Ahmad, set to release April 4 in

theaters across North America.

The opening excerpt from the

movie talks about jinn – ‘the third

kind of creation’,

“In the beginning, three were

created… man made of clay,

angels made of light and a third…

made of fire.”

The movie’s cast includes Ray

Park, Faran Tahir, William

Atherton, Dominic Rains and

Serinda Swan. Shawn (Dominic)

and Jasmine (Serinda) are a happy,

newly married couple until their

perfect life is torn apart by a cryp-

tic message warning them of a

curse on Shawn’s family for gen-

erations, and that he and his wife

are now in danger.

Shawn, who lost his parent as a

child, doesn’t pay heed to these

revelations from his past until

strange things begin to happen.

Scared and unable to explain these

happenings, he turns to Gabriel

(Ray Park), Father Westhoff

(William Atherton) and Ali (Faran

Tahir).

And in the process, he discovers

that there is far more to this world

than he had ever thought.

The New York Indian Film

Festival (NYIFF) will open

with Anurag Kashyap's

"Ugly", a sensational tale of cor-

ruption, indifference, and systemic

violence that begins with the dis-

appearance of an aspiring actor's

10-year-old daughter.

Celebrating its 14th year,

NYIFF, widely recognized as the

oldest, most prestigious Indian

film festival in the US showcasing

some of the greatest talents work-

ing in the diaspora, will run May 5

to 10 at a variety of prestigious

New York City venues.

These include the Skirball

Centre for Performing Arts, where

the opening and closing films are

set be screened, NYIFF

announced.

Director Anurag Kashyap

returns to NYIFF after closing the

2012 festival with his highly

received film, "Gangs Of

Wasseypur", a two-part five-hour-

long drama centred around the

coal mafia of Dhanbad,

Jharkhand.

"We are thrilled to be opening

this year's New York Indian Film

Festival with Anurag Kashyap's

new film 'Ugly'," said festival

director Aseem Chhabra.

"Anurag has been in the fore-

front of India's growing indie

films movement, always pushing

the boundaries and inspiring the

new generation of filmmakers.

Personally I am a big fan of his

films."

Kashyap will participate in a

post-screening conversation, to be

followed by the opening night

gala event, with celebrated IAAC

supporters and other filmmakers

in attendance.

NYIFF also announced this

year's centrepiece and closing

films. Renowned actress and film-

maker Aparna Sen will close the

festival with her latest work,

"Goynar Baksho".

She has been demure, submissive; bold,

beautiful; sexy, flirtatious; and daring.

She has also been holier-than-thou and

sometimes, also a vamp -- Bollywood, in it's

over 100 years of existence, has been a can-

vas of the several shades of a woman. But

here's a new color -- the Kangana Ranaut of

"Queen" and the Alia Bhatt of 'Highway' --

free-spirited and living life on their terms,

much like young contemporary Indian

women today.

Take a dekko at Kangana's Rani of

"Queen" -- she leads a simple, protected life

like any other middle-class girl in Delhi's

Rajouri Garden, or largely, across India;

dates a man who doesn't let her dance her

heart out even if she loves to, and isn't com-

fortable with the idea of having a working

woman as his wife.

Rani adjusts -- something that most

'bharatiya naaris' would do. But she comes

into her own when her fiance calls off the

wedding, and she announces to her parents

that she wouldn't grieve and would instead

embark on her honeymoon to Paris and

Amsterdam -- alone. She survives, enjoys

herself, and finds out how there is more to

life than having to settle down with a man

who doesn't care about your dreams and

desires. Ditto with "Highway". But unlike

Kangana's Rani, Alia's character Veera is

rich and well-travelled. Yet, she feels some-

thing amiss and a ride on a highway brings

joy to her life. Her fiance, scared, tries to

curb her desire, but here's Bollywood's new

'I'll do what I want' and 'I'll make you do

what I want' type of heroine, who chooses to

follow her dreams.

When she gets kidnapped, what follows is

a journey of self-realisation for Veera, who

happens to understand that 'travelling' is not

about going up and down in the lift of a

hotel, that life is not about glittering social

gatherings and she soaks in the joys of being

in touch with nature and reality.

Examples of "free-spirited" women in

Bollywood cinema may still be few and

intermittent, but the trend is here to stay.

Katrina Kaif of "Zindagi Na Milegi

Dobara", Deepika Padukone of "Yeh

Jawaani Hai Deewani" and "Goliyon Ki

Raasleela Ram-Leela", Sonam Kapoor of

"Raanjhanaa", Parineeti Chopra of "Shuddh

Desi Romance" and "Hasee Toh Phasee",

Sridevi of "English Vinglish" and the girls in

"Chak De! India" -- they all reflect the new

age women who know what they want from

life.

Bollywood's new 'I'll do what I want' woman

Jinn: Bringing a bit ofPakistan to American cinema

A scene from Ajmal Zaheer Ahmad's film 'Jinn'

A poster of Anurag Kashyap's 'Ugly'

Kangana Ranaut in 'Queen' is an example of free-spirited womenliving life on their terms

Anurag' 'Ugly' to open NewYork Indian film fest

20 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoDIASPORA

Indian-origin actress Somi Guha suing BBC for racism

London: An Indian-origin actress is suing

BBC for up to one million pounds ($1.6 mil-

lion) for a racist remark made by the host of a

popular motor show, media reported Friday.

Somi Guha, 36, has instructed her lawyers to

take action after Jeremy Clarkson, host of the

program Top Gear, made the racist remark dur-

ing a series finale, the Daily Mail reported.

Clarkson allegedly used the word “slope” - a

derogatory term used for people of Asian de-

scent - in the Top Gear Burma Special.

Guha consulted lawyers at Equal Justice who

said this could cost the BBC up to 1 million

pounds.

According to Equal Justice, Guha is one of a

group of people who were offended by the term

and so sought legal advice from the firm, which

previously worked on racism allegations sur-

rounding reality show Celebrity Big Brother.

According to the report, a BBC spokesman

said the corporation has no comment to make

on Guha's action. In the series finale, the three

hosts - Richard Hammond, James May and Je-

remy Clarkson - are tasked with building a

bridge over the river Kwai in Thailand.

After completion of the show, Clarkson, 53,

said, “That is a proud moment, but there's a

slope on it” as a man walked towards him on

the makeshift bridge.

Co-presenter Richard Hammond, 44, replied:

“You're right, it's definitely higher on that

side.” This left viewers outraged with Twitter

users describing it as “not big, not clever, not

funny” and “a gag too far.”

“Casual racism in the media by established

BBC stalwarts is constantly brushed aside,” the

Mail report cited Guha as stating in a written

complaint to the BBC. “Discrimination within

the industry is accepted. Racial profiling of

roles is accepted and expected,” she added.

“I find it offensive that Jeremy Clarkson

refers to people of different races in pejorative

terms.” She wondered what message this gave

to children and stated: “...that it's OK to bully

and make racist comments.”

“Jeremy Clarkson has made derogatory com-

ments about Mexicans. Now he bullies an

Asian person. It has to stop,” she said.

Guha, according to the report, will now have

to apply to a county court under the Equality

Act. In a letter on behalf of Guha to Lord Pat-

ten, chairman of the BBC, Equal Justice writes

of Clarkson: “He and the show must be cen-

sured to ensure that another race or nation is

not targeted.” As an actress, Guha is known for

her roles in the 2006 science fiction movie

'Children of Men' and in hit ITV show,'

The Bill'.

Indian-origin student tweets to successLondon: It took just a simple tweet

from an Indian-origin student to im-

press British Foreign Secretary

William Hague.

Gopal Rao, an MBA student at the

University of Cambridge, answered

a question posed by Hague to win

the UK Twitter prize, according to a

report in Digital By Default News.

Hague marked his 200,000th fol-

lower on Twitter by asking his fol-

lowers to tweet the answer to this

question: “What do you think is the

biggest contribution UK foreign

policy can make to the world?”

The winning entry was from

Gopal Rao (@gopalisation), who

answered: “UK foreign policy

should focus on emancipation of

#girlsandwomen through enter-

prise, supported by vibrant #socent

culture within UK. #meetFS”

The prize was to meet the foreign

secretary and live tweet an event.

Gopal met Hague Wednesday and

discussed the ‘Preventing Sexual

Violence in Conflict’ initiative.

Speaking after the meeting,

Hague said: “Thank you to Gopal

for coming in to the Foreign Office

today, and for the good discussion

we had about preventing sexual vi-

olence in conflict. Through social

media politicians have opportuni-

ties to engage a wider group of peo-

ple than ever before, and this was a

perfect example of the value of

this.”

After the meeting, Gopal sat in on

a part of the ‘Preventing Sexual Vi-

olence in Conflict’ board meeting.

“Seeing the passion and dedica-

tion both of the foreign secretary

and his team was incredible. The

building is imposing but the people

I met in the FCO (Foreign and

Commonwealth Office) are friend-

ly and welcoming. I hope digital

diplomacy reaps rewards,” Gopal

was quoted as saying.

Dubai: A court in Dubai has

awarded one million dirhams (or

$272,257) to an Indian expatriate

as compensation after a car acci-

dent left him paralyzed, a daily

reported Monday.

Identified as A.K., the man was

travelling in a car from Abu

Dhabi to Fujairah in 2012 when

he met with the accident in

Dubai, Gulf News reported. The

Emirati driver of the car was lat-

er arrested and convicted for the

accident.

The court of appeal in Dubai

ordered the insurance company to

pay one million dirhams in civil

compensation to the 47-year-old

victim, who was later repatriated.

He was hospitalized for three

months in Dubai's Rashid Hospi-

tal.

According to the court-appoint-

ed medical committee, the man

sustained a 100 per cent perma-

nent disability and his condition

would not improve.

The victim had lodged a civil

lawsuit against the insurance

company seeking two million

dirhams in compensation.

"A.K. sustained medical, phys-

ical, financial and moral damages

following the accident. He cannot

eat, drink, walk or use his hands

or legs or even use the washroom

without a permanent escort," the

lawsuit said.

Indian wins $272,000 payout in Dubai

Gopal Rao answered a ques-tion posed by British ForeignSecretary William Hague towin the UK Twitter prize.

Supreme Court notice on facilitating voting by NRIs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday is-

sued notice to the central government ask-

ing why NRIs who are registered voters

should not get the opportunity to exercise

their voting rights in the ongoing general

election from wherever they are located.

A bench of Justice K.S.Radhakrishnan

and Justice Vikramajit Sen issued notice

even as Attorney General G.E.Vahanvati

sought to present the logistic problem that

the Election Commission would face in

making arrangements for their voting.

Vahanvati told the court that under sec-

tion 20A of the Representation of the Peo-

ple Act (Amendment), 2010, the registered

NRI voters can vote if they are present in

the constituency on the day of polling.

Describing it a "serious matter" that

needed to be dealt with urgency, the court

asked government to respond to the plea as

it directed the listing of the matter April 7.

Appearing for the PIL petitioner

Shamsheer V.P., senior counsel Harish

Salve told the court that the first phase of

Lok Sabha polling in Kerala was going to

be held on April 10 and matter was of

some urgency.

The court was told that there were

11,000 registered NRI voters living in dif-

ferent parts of the world.

Dr.Shamsheer has contended that the ex-

isting provision under section 20A that

mandates the NRI voter to be physically

present in the constituency to exercise his

vote was discriminatory and violative of

fundamental rights under article 14

(Equality before law) guaranteed under the

constitution and sought it be read down.

"If the relief ... sought ... is granted, then

a total number of 1,00,37,761 people will

be entitled to cast their vote as against a

paltry 11,000 who have registered" at pres-

ent, he said.

The PIL has contended that it was in-

cumbent upon the government to ensure

that NRIs too have the same rights and

freedom as those enjoyed by citizens liv-

ing in India.

It said that any distinction between the

two (those abroad and those who have

come to India) resulting in the denial of

NRIs right to vote would be violative of ar-

ticle 19(1) as well as article 21.

The PIL said 114 countries have adopted

external voting and amongst it are 20

Asian countries.

It said that the external voting could be

by setting up polling booths at the diplo-

matic mission, or by postal, proxy or elec-

tronic voting.

Dr. Shamsheer migrated to the UAE 12

years ago prior to which he was enrolled as

a voter in his hometown of Calicut, Kerala

and had voted in the elections. Subse-

quently he was removed from the voters

list because of his NRI status.

He operates nine hospitals in the UAE

and a pharmaceutical manufacturing unit

with a combined staff strength of around

5,600 people of which 3,600 are Indians.

Jeremy Clarkson (right), host of the pro-gram Top Gear, made the racist remark

about Somi Guha (left) during seriesfinale of Burma Special. He allegedlyused the word “slope” - a derogatory

term used for people of Asian descent.

21April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info SUBCONTINENT

Musharraf indicted, pleads not guiltyIslamabad: Former Pakistan pres-

ident Pervez Musharraf was indict-

ed this week on charges of high

treason. He pleaded not guilty to

all charges.

Justice Faisal Arab, who heads

the three-bench court, read out the

indictment against the former army

strongman with Musharraf plead-

ing "not guilty" to all charges,

Dawn online reported.

"I honor this court and prosecu-

tion, I strongly believe in law, I

don't have ego problems and I

have appeared in court 16 times in

this year in Karachi, Islamabad

and Rawalpindi," the 70-year-old,

who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to

2008, said.

"I am being called a traitor, I

have been chief of army staff for

nine years and I have served this

army for 45 years. I have fought

two wars and it is 'treason'?" he

asked.

A non-bailable arrest warrant for

Musharraf was issued in case he

failed to appear before the court.

For his appearance in the special

court Monday, three different

routes were chalked out by the

capital police before Musharraf’s

departure from Armed Forces

Institute of Cardiology (AFIC).

A police squad and commandos

reached the AFIC early in the

morning to escort Musharraf to the

court.

For the former army strongman's

security, 3,000 police and Rangers

personnel were deployed on the

routes.

Musharraf has been charged with

high treason for suspending the

constitution when he declared

emergency rule in 2007.

He took over in a bloodless coup

when he dismissed the government

of then prime minister Nawaz

Sharif in 1999.

Musharraf, who resigned in 2008

as president and went into exile,

returned to Pakistan in March last

year to run in the parliamentary

elections. However, a court dis-

qualified him from competing in

the general elections in May.

Pervez Musharraf has been charged with high treason for suspending the constitution when he declared

emergency rule in 2007.

Kathmandu: The Nepal gov-

ernment has decided to host the

18th SAARC summit Nov 14

this year, officials here said.

"Even though our govern-

ment has fixed the date for

holding the summit for this

year, the chosen date is yet to

be approved by the SAARC

members," Minister for

Information and

Communication Minendra

Rijal said.

Nepal made the proposal for

the summit in November dur-

ing the meeting of South Asian

Association for Regional

Cooperation (SAARC) council

of foreign ministers held in the

Maldives Feb 20.

Rijal , who is also a

spokesperson of the Nepal gov-

ernment, said the proposal

would soon be forwarded to the

SAARC Secretariat for final

endorsement.

Nepal has previously hosted

the summit twice in 1987 and

2002 since the formation of the

South Asian bloc in 1985.

The last SAARC summit was

held in the Maldives in 2011.

Nepal plans to host SAARCsummit Nov 14

New Delhi: In Pakistan, lack of

support from public institutions,

little awareness about art and the

absence of an ardent collector

base have resulted in "limited"

options for Pakistani artists, who

see India as one of the potential

markets for their work to flourish

in.

In return, Indian galleries have

positively reciprocated towards

Pakistani artists for their distinc-

tive vocabulary in what already is

a stiff-market when it comes to

contemporary art in India.

"Art is growing at a slow pace in

Pakistan, but Indian and Pakistani

aesthetics are so similar that one

can relate to each other's work,"

Pakistani artist Amna Iiyas told

IANS during her visit to India for

a cultural art exchange initiative.

"Some of the Pakistani artists

like Rashid Rana have made it big

in India and the world. So, it is

one of the best platforms for us to

come and showcase our works.

India's art market is growing at a

good rate and has great potential

for us," said the Lahore-based

artist, who had garnered great

response during her first solo

exhibition here in 2010.

According to reports, India's

$400 million art market is pegged

against the worldwide figure of

$65 billion, making it a lucrative

destination for investors around

the globe.

The Islamic country has slowly,

but steadily, gained international

visibility in the past two decades,

with modern masters like Shakir

Ali and Ismail Gulgee and

contemporary artists like Rashid

Rana, Talha Rathore, Aisha

Khalid and Mohammed Imran

Qureshi leaving a significant mark

at the world's art stage.

The 1970s and the 1980s were

the era of calligraphy in Pakistan,

but gradually, the artists moved

into miniatures and 3-D paintings,

creating a visual vocabulary of

their own that was somehow

extremely different from their

Indian counterparts.

While the contemporary minia-

tures became a dominant face of

Pakistani art in the West, Indian

artists started exploring newer

mediums like sound art and instal-

lations.

Even though India was lucky to

have the works of prominent

artists like F.N. Souza, Vasudeo S.

Gaitonde and M.F. Husain repre-

sent the country at several auc-

tions and exhibitions abroad, the

real reckoning came with the host-

ing of the India Art Fair - one of

South Asia's biggest art exhibi-

tions - in 2008. This was followed

by international auction house

Christie's India debut in 2013

where Gaitonde's work sold for a

record Rs.23.7 crore ($3.7 mil-

lion) - making the West to

acknowledge and watch out for

the budding Indian art scene.

India's booming art market on Pak artists' wish list

New Delhi: Human Rights Watch

has urged India to encourage Sri

Lanka to cooperate after the UN

voted to investigate allegations of

war crimes in the island nation.

The UN Human Rights Council

in Geneva Thursday passed the Sri

Lanka resolution by a vote of 23 in

favour, 12 against and 12 absten-

tions. India abstained.

"There will now be an independ-

ent investigation into allegations of

laws of war violations and other

serious abuses by both sides dur-

ing the conflict in Sri Lanka,"

Human Rights Watch said in a

statement."This is a welcome deci-

sion, and one that will encourage

victims and activists in Sri Lanka

who have strived so courageously

for accountability and justice,"

said Meenakshi Ganguly, the

South Asia director of Human

Rights Watch. "India chose to

abstain, but should now encourage

Sri Lanka to cooperate with the

UN human rights office to put this

resolution into motion."

India must askSri Lanka towork with UN Islamabad: To sit quietly as intoler-

ance grows against non-Muslims is

akin to acceptance of communalism,

a leading Pakistani daily said.

The frequent attacks on the Hindu

community in Sindh province of

Pakistan send ominous signals, the

Dawn newspaper said in an editorial.

A Hindu temple in Hyderabad city

of the province was set on fire by

unidentified arsonists last week,

resulting in damage to an idol and

the structure itself, it said.

A dharamshala in Larkana was

attacked by rioters after a Hindu man

in the town was suspected of dese-

crating the holy Quran.

The newspaper said unless consis-

tent efforts were made by the state

and society to address such violent

incidents, the situation will only

deteriorate.

"A number of suspects were picked

up Saturday while Sindh police offi-

cials are looking into different angles

to unmask the culprits behind the

temple attack," the newspaper said.

Apart from the involvement of

extremists, the possible role of land-

grabbers is also being examined.

Attacks on Hindus inSindh send ominoussignals: Pak daily

A fiber glass painting byPakistani artist Amna Iiyas.

INTERNATIONAL22 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

US trying to rope in India, China to isolate RussiaWashington: In a bid to isolate

Russia over its annexation of

Crimea, the US says it is talking

with Moscow's friends like India

and China, but it has not yet asked

them to impose any sanctions.

"Well, I don't think we're there

yet. Obviously, we've been consult-

ing very closely with the Europeans

about sanctions," State Department

spokesperson Marie Harf told

reporters when asked if the US was

going to seek Iran-oil like sanction

from countries outside NATO.

"We have been talking with other

countries diplomatically, though,"

she said noting that in the Security

Council vote last weekend, "it was

significant that China, for example,

abstained and did not vote with

Russia".

"So, we are actively working on

the diplomatic side to isolate Russia

and that means with countries like

China and India and others," she

said. "But on the oil part, we're just

not there yet."

India has not directly criticized

Moscow though when Russian

President Vladimir Putin called

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

last week to explain the Russian

position, Singh, according to the

external affairs ministry, "empha-

sised the consistent position India

had on the issues of unity and terri-

torial integrity of countries".

Manmohan Singh also "expressed

hope that all sides would exercise

restraint and work together con-

structively to find political and

diplomatic solutions that protected

the legitimate interests of all coun-

tries in the region and ensured long

term peace and stability in Europe

and beyond."

Back in Washington, in response

to another question, Harf expressed

disappointment over India abstain-

ing from US-sponsored resolution

against Sri Lanka at the UN Human

Rights Council (UNHRC) in

Geneva. "It is disappointing to us

that India abstained from voting on

this resolution when they voted yes

for the last two years," she said.

"We have made our disappoint-

ment known to Indian officials.

Beyond that, I'd refer you to them in

terms of how they voted," Harf said.

The US resolution called for a

probe into war crimes allegedly

committed in the final stages of the

war against the Liberation Tigers of

Tamil Eelam.

Rejecting the resolution, India

said it ignores the efforts at reconcil-

iation being done by Sri Lanka in

the predominantly Tamil north,

including holding of elections.

India has not directly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putinover its annexation of Crimea

Washington: The US space

agency -- NASA -- has suspended

all contacts with its Russian coun-

terpart Roscosmos except for

ongoing activities aboard the

International Space Station (ISS).

"This suspension includes NASA

travel to Russia and visits by

Russian Government representa-

tives to NASA facilities, bilateral

meetings, e-mail, and teleconfer-

ences or video conferences,"

Xinhua reported quoting an inter-

nal letter published by the US

space news website Spaceref

Wednesday, citing US-Russian ten-

sions over Ukraine and Crimea.

"At the present time, only opera-

tional International Space Station

activities have been excepted," it

said.There are currently two

Americans onboard the ISS.

In addition, multilateral meetings

held outside of Russia that may

include Russian participation are

not precluded under the present

guidance, the letter added.

In March, NASA Administrator

Charles Bolden has repeatedly said

that space cooperation between the

two countries would not be affect-

ed over tensions in Ukraine.

NASA suspends cooperation withRussia except for ISS

Santiago: Five people have

been killed in a massive earth-

quake measuring 8.2 on the

Richter Scale that hit off

Chile's northern coast and trig-

gered tsunami waves, authori-

ties said.

According to the University

of Chile Seismological Service,

the powerful tremor hit off

northern Chile's coast at 8.46

p.m. (11.46 p.m. GMT) and the

epicentre was located 99 km

northwest of the mining port of

Iquique, near the Peruvian bor-

der. The US Geological Survey

initially reported the quake at

8.0 magnitude.

The South American country

is located in one of the seismi-

cally most active regions in the

world. The nation is a long,

narrow strip of land between

the Andes mountain ranges to

the east and the Pacific Ocean

to the west.

Chile borders Peru to the

north, Bolivia to the northeast,

Argentina to the east, and the

Drake Passage in the far south.

Chilean authorities used tele-

vision to order the evacuation

of coastal areas, urging citizens

to leave their homes and towns

speedily.

The Chilean National Office

for Emergency said more than

10,000 people in some coastal

towns have been evacuated.

Power went out and communi-

cation lines were affected in

some areas where landslides

blocked roads and highways to

the region.

The office also said 300

inmates escaped from a

women's prison in the city of

Iquique and the military was

sending a planeload of special

forces to prevent looting.

Lost Malaysian jet: search continuesPerth/Kuala Lumpur: No sightings were reported at

the conclusion of search operation in the southern

Indian Ocean for the “lost” Malaysian Airlines flight

MH370 even as a senior Malaysian official said that

all passengers on board the jet have been “cleared” in

a criminal investigation that is being conducted.

On Wednesday, 10 aircraft and nine ships searched

an area of about 237,000 sq km, about 1,500 km

northwest of Perth, Australia's Joint Agency

Coordination Centre (JACC) said in its latest update.

“There were no sightings reported of any objects

related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight

MH370,” it stated. “Weather in the search area was

fair, with visibility of approximately 10 kilometres.”

The JACC also said that the HMS Tireless, a

Trafalgar Class submarine of the British Royal Navy,

has arrived in the southern Indian Ocean to assist

with the search.

“With her advanced underwater search capability,

HMS Tireless will be a valuable contribution to the

search for the missing plane,” it added.

Additionally, HMS Echo, a coastal survey ship also

of the British Royal Navy, is in the search area to

assist in efforts to locate the transponder on the black

box. It would also play an important role in the search

for debris on the ocean surface and its advanced envi-

ronmental assessment capability will help to optimise

search operations, according to the JACC.

“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau continues

to refine the area where the aircraft entered the water

based on continuing ground-breaking and multi-disci-

plinary technical analysis of satellite communication

and aircraft performance, passed from the interna-

tional air crash investigative team comprising ana-

lysts from Malaysia, the United States, the UK, China

and Australia,” the JACC update concluded.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished mysteri-

ously about an hour after taking off from Kuala

Lumpur shortly after midnight March 8.

The Boeing 777-200ER was scheduled to land in

Beijing the same day. The 227 passengers on board

included five Indians, 154 Chinese and 38

Malaysians.

The US Geological Survey initially reported the quake at 8.0 magnitude.

Brussels/Rome: Italy has

called upon the international

community to emphasise the

principle of 'functional immu-

nity' for two Italian marines,

accused of killing two Indian

fishermen off the Kerala coast

in 2012.

The marines should be

exempt from prosecution in

India because they are service-

men who were working on a

mission, ANSA reported citing

Foreign Minister Federica

Mogherini.

Functional immunity protects

state officials from the jurisdic-

tion of other states as they per-

form actions while on duty.

The minister said the two

marines were not in India for

private reasons but 'on duty'.

"The recognition of such a

dimension is extremely impor-

tant," Mogherini said in com-

ments on the case on the side-

lines of a NATO foreign minis-

ters meeting in Brussels.

Marines Massimiliano

Latorre and Salvatore Girone

are accused of killing the two

Indian fishermen after alleged-

ly mistaking them for pirates.

Rome is seeking international

arbitration in the case, arguing

it is not under Indian jurisdic-

tion as the incident occurred

outside the country's territorial

waters.

Mogherini said the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) had already acknowl-

edged that functional immunity

is important. Italy has long

attempted to win international

support in the case.

Italy has long attempted to win international support in the case.

Five killed in 8.2 magnitude quake in Chile

Italy calls for 'functionalimmunity' for marines

BUSINESS 23April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

EC nod for RBI to issue new bank licencesNew Delhi: The Election

Commission has allowed the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to

issue new bank licences before the

completion of general elections

next month.

"The commission is of the view

that Reserve Bank of India may

take necessary action as deemed

appropriate by the Bank," the EC

said on its website.

The RBI has sought the Election

Commission's nod over the issue of

grant of new bank licences as a

matter of caution on not violating

the poll code of conduct, which

came into force with the March 5

announcement of general elections.

The Reserve Bank of India

Governor Raghuram Rajan said the

granting of new bank licences has

no link with politics and the

process is purely economic and

regulatory.

"This (issue of bank licence) is

not in any way a political process,

it is an economic and regulatory

process and is to be seen as distant

and different (from politics),"

Rajan told media persons here after

announcing the RBI's monetary

policy.

"So, while different political par-

ties may have their views, we have

to undertake what we have to

undertake," he added regarding the

bank's internal processing of

licence applications.

Explaining that the requirements

of due diligence and feedback from

investigating agencies had taken

more time than expected, Rajan

said these reports were received

only by Feb 25, whereby the entire

process had spilt over into the elec-

tion season.

The RBI received 27 applica-

tions, which include from public

sector units India Post and IFCI,

and from the private sector Anil

Ambani and Aditya Birla groups,

Bajaj Finance, Muthoot Finance,

Religare Enterprises and Shriram

Capital.

In the past 20 years, the RBI has

licensed 12 banks in the private

sector in two phases, last two enti-

ties being Kotak Mahindra Bank

and Yes Bank in 2003-04.

Industry for clean, corruption-free govt

Kolkata: Leading industrial

bodies said a clean and a corrup-

tion-free government at the

Centre could take India on a

higher growth trajectory and

prosperity.

"People are absolutely fed up

particularly in the last few years

and have started questioning

now. A corruption-free govern-

ment is absolutely important for

the betterment of the country,"

CII president-designate Sumit

Mazumdar said.

Mazumdar said that whatever

happened to the Indian economy

in the last few years was 'totally

man-made and not linked to any

economic cycle'.

"The downturn in the economy

in the last few years was totally

man-made and not linked to the

global crisis. This was a result of

lack of confidence in the govern-

ment and business sentiments

was adversely affected owing to

rampant corruption", Mazumdar,

who will hold the reins of the

premier industry body next year,

said.

"One can notice that business

sentiments have vastly improved

after the announcement of elec-

tions. The sensex has been ris-

ing, foreign investments are

coming and the core sector is

doing well," he said.

Mazumdar said that this was

because people were expecting a

good government to come after

the elections.

He said since the last few

years, infrastructure develop-

ment had come to a standstill.

The new government should

come with a clear-cut plan on

how to weed out corruption from

the system.

Assocham senior vice-presi-

dent Sunil Kanoria also echoed

similar views. "Corruption has to

be weeded out as it has affected

business sentiments adversely,"

Kanoria said.

RBI leaves policy ratesunchanged

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of

India (RBI), as expected, left key

interest rates unchanged in its first

bi-monthly monetary policy

review and said near-term tighten-

ing is not expected if inflation

continues to ease.

The repo rate, or the interest that

banks pay when they borrow

money from the RBI to meet their

short-term fund requirements, has

been left unchanged at 8 percent.

The reverse repo rate, or the

interest that the RBI pays to com-

mercial banks when they park

their surplus short-term funds

with the central bank, has been

adjusted to 7 percent.

The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR)

is left unchanged at 4 percent. The

marginal standing facility rate and

the Bank Rate is also kept

unchanged at 9 percent.

The status quo in key policy

rates mean the equated monthly

installments (EMIs) on home,

auto and other loans would remain

unchanged as these rates deter-

mine lending and borrowing rates

of the commercial banks.

In its previous policy statement

announced Jan 28, the central

bank had hiked short-term lending

and borrowing rates by 0.25 per-

cent.

The central bank's action is on

the expected lines as most ana-

lysts predicted a status quo con-

sidering the macro-economic data

and election.

"The only thing that is surpris-

ing in the monetary policy today

is lack of surprises," Governor

Raghuram Rajan said while

announcing the policy statement.

Rajan said the central bank's

policy is firmly focused on curb-

ing inflation.

The RBI received 27 applications, which include from public sector units India Post and IFCI, and from the private sector

Anil Ambani and Aditya Birla groups and others

GM boss 'deeply sorry' after deadly crashesWashington: Conceding company officials knew

of their cars' potentially deadly ignition switches

for years, GM chief Mary Barra apologized and

said the automaker had a "civic responsibility" to

make things right.

The manufacturer is under fire for not recalling

Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other General

Motors models over the past decade, despite its

own evidence that the defects were posing a major

hazard. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the

problems, and GM eventually issued mass recalls

this year.Barra said GM has acknowledged the

problem, launched an exhaustive review to deter-

mine what and who is responsible, and pledged

top-to-bottom changes in shifting from a "cost cul-

ture" to a focus on safety and quality.

"Today's GM will do the right thing," she told a

House investigations panel in Washington.

"That begins with my sincere apologies to

everyone who has been affected by this recall,"

she added. "I am deeply sorry."

Lawmakers pointed to internal documents show-

ing GM at first refused to change the faulty

switches because it would have been too costly.

The lawmakers, and Barra, expressed astonish-

ment that the company went ahead with using the

parts even though they did not meet GM stan-

dards. "That is not something that I find accept-

able," Barra said. GM chief Mary Barra

SPORTS

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has

virtually split the Indian cricket

board, naming legendary cricketer

Sunil Gavaskar and board vice pres-

ident Shivlal Yadav as interim heads

respectively for the Indian Premier

League and all other matters in

place of the tainted incumbent N.

Srinivasan.

A bench of Justice A.K. Patnaik

and Justice Fakkir Mohamed

Ibrahim Kalifulla said Gavaskar will

only be in charge of the seventh edi-

tion of the Indian Premier League

(IPL) starting April 16 in the UAE

and asked senior vice president

Shivlal Yadav to oversee the rest of

the work of the Board of Control for

Cricket in India (BCCI).

The court also barred all those

associated with Srinivasan's India

Cements company, which owns IPL

franchise Chennai Super Kings,

from functioning in the

BCCI in any manner.

The court, however,

allowed Chennai

Super Kings as

well as Rajasthan

Royals, whose

owners too are fac-

ing charges of bet-

ting, to take part in

this year's IPL.

"We make it

clear that we

have not

p a s s e d

any order

p r e v e n t -

ing any

player or

team from

participat-

ing in the tour-

nament 2014," the order said.

"Considering the fact that Mr.

Sunil Gavaskar was a cricket player

of great repute and eminence, a cap-

tain of the Indian cricket team for a

long period and has a wide experi-

ence in cricket related activities and

of men and matters, we appoint him,

as an interim measure, to function as

and exercise the powers of the presi-

dent of the BCCI in relation to the

IPL 2014 till we hear and deliver the

judgment in these matters," Justice

Patnaik said in the order.

Gavaskar "will have power to

engage the services of such persons

on whom he has confidence for

work in connection with the IPL

2014," Justice Patnaik said.

"We also direct that it is for Mr.

Gavaskar to decide as to whether

Mr. Sundar Raman, chief IPL opera-

tor, would continue in the IPL 2014

or some other arrangement has to be

made in his place," the court said.

"In case of any difficulty, Mr.

Gavaskar may apply to this court for

appropriate orders,"

it added.

Passing the order, the court said it

had to pass interim orders "to ensure

that all those who love cricket con-

tinue to watch cricket in IPL 2014

and the matches are played by the

players in accordance with the IPL

Rules."

"We make it clear that with regard

to all other matters of BCCI, the

senior most vice president of the

BCCI, Mr. Shivlal Yadav, will dis-

charge the functions of the president

of the BCCI."

Appointing Gavaskar as an inter-

im president, the court noted the

offer made by Srinivasan that till

investigation into allegations against

him is completed, he will not dis-

charge any of the functions of the

BCCI chief.

The court also said Gavaskar

would no more be a BCCI-contract-

ed cricket commentator and he

would be adequately compensated

for it by the board.

The compensa-

tion amount will

be determined

after the court

resumes hear-

ing on April

16, it said.

SC splits BCCI, Gavaskar to oversee IPL

24 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Mirpur (Bangladesh): Two bril-

liant performances from Yuvraj

Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin

saw India through in their last

Group 2 match of the ICC World

Twenty20 against Australia by 73

runs at the Sher-e-Bangla

National Stadium here.

Put in to bat, India were pow-

ered to 159/7 with Yuvraj's blis-

tering knock of 60 from 43 deliv-

eries. In reply, Australia were dis-

mally bowled out for their second

lowest ever Twenty20

International score of 86.

Off spinner Ashwin was the key

as he clinched 4/11 in 3.2 overs,

the best bowling figures by an

Indian in the format.

India did not take off well as

they lost wickets at regular inter-

vals, including star batsman Virat

Kohli

The men from Down Under

never really threatened India any-

time with their batting as they

kept losing wickets right from the

start. Only three of their batsman

reached double figures with

Glenn Maxwell top scoring with

23.

Medium pacer Bhuvneshwar

Kumar swung the ball beautifully

at the start and finished with fig-

ures of 1/7 from three overs. But

it was man of the match Ashwin

who really did the trick with only

14 of his deliveries.

Leg spinner Amit Mishra took

two wickets while Mohammed

Shami and Ravindra Jadeja had to

be content with one apiece.

India now have won four con-

secutive matches on the trot to

top Group 2 with eight points.

They had already qualified for the

semifinals after beating hosts

Bangladesh Friday while

Australia have been knocked out

of the competition.

World T20: India trounceAustralia, remain unbeaten

Sacramento (California): NBA

side Sacramento Kings are host-

ing the team’s first-ever

“Bollywood” themed game

against the L.A. Lakers. The

game will celebrate Indian cul-

ture and cinema with various

performances.

Kings majority owner Vivek

Ranadive, the first Indian-born

owner in NBA history, has creat-

ed an NBA 3.0 philosophy

focused on cutting edge technol-

ogy to enhance the fan experi-

ence, acting as a positive agent

of change in the community and

expanding the team’s global

brand. This season, the Kings

have televised over 20 live

games in India, launched a web-

site in Hindi, sent the

Sacramento Kings Dancers to

Mumbai and signed the team’s

first India-based sponsor.

“The ultimate power of sports

is the ability to connect people

across geographic, economic

and cultural lines,” said

Ranadive.

“The Kings strive every day to

provide all of our fans with a

unique and lasting experience,

which is why we have such

strong support from the Indian

community here and abroad.

Together, we are catapulting bas-

ketball as the fastest growing

sport in India.

NBA Commissioner Adam

Silver and I also have plans to

visit, and we hope to continue

sharing the Kings experience

throughout India," Ranadive

added.

Sacramento Kings to hostBollywood night at NBA games

Chennai: Five-time World chess

champion Viswanathan Anand

promised a couple of surprises in

his team of seconds when he faces

defending champion Magnus

Carlsen in the World Chess

Championship later this year.

Anand at a press briefing here

after arriving from Russia, where

he won the Candidates

Tournament, said he might re-jig

his team of seconds, or players

who help a champion player pre-

pare for the World Championship.

"I would chalk a new path for a

new result. I won't get a new

result if I travel in the old path,"

said Anand.

Asked if he was planning to re-

jig his team of seconds, Anand

said: "I have some ideas. There

would be a couple of surprises.

Ideas are being thought about.

Everything cannot be discussed in

open."

Four-time women's World

champion Susan Polgar of

Hungary had told IANS that

Anand can perhaps add another

strategist to his war-room

team.

Anand's team during last

year's failed title defence

here in his home town

against Carlsen were his

compatriots Sandipan

Chanda, K. Sasikiran,

H u n g a r i a n

Grandmaster Peter

Leko and

P o l a n d ' s

R a d o s l a w

Wo j t a s z e k .

Chanda was

also a second

in Russia

during the

Candidates Tournament.

Queried about

Polgar's views

Anand said: "Ideas

are there but they

cannot be dis-

cussed here."

Anand to add surprises to his war-room team

Chess playerViswanathan

Anand

Legendary cricketerSunil Gavaskar

India now have won four consecutive matches on the trot totop Group 2 with eight points.

25April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info PERSONAL FINANCE

6th in a series

The education of your chil-

dren, or even of yourself and

your spouse, can be a major

investment. Knowing if your col-

lege-age child is still a dependent,

what scholarships are taxable, and

which tax credits are available can

be confusing. You need to consider

your situation to determine which

options are best for you. Tax plan-

ning is essential to make the most

of these benefits. You should deter-

mine whether your adjusted gross

income disqualifies you from using

one of the options or whether your

education expenses qualify for the

benefit you are considering. The

definition of qualified educational

expenses often differs between the

different tax saving options. You

should also consider issues other

than tax, for example, the student's

eligibility for financial aid and who

has control over the money used for

college. In certain circumstances, it

might be better to have the child

pay the education expenses rather

than the parent; in other circum-

stances, it might be better to have

the parent pay the education

expenses for the student.

Keep the following in mind whenpreparing your tax return:

DependentsWhether a student is claimed as a

dependent on your tax return may

affect your eligibility, or the stu-

dent's eligibility, for the different

tax benefits available for education

expenses.

A student is someone enrolled in

school full-time for at least five

months out of the calendar year. A

full-time student under age 24 who

has a job may still be claimed as a

dependent on their parents' return.

If your child must file a return, they

cannot claim their own exemption

if they qualify as your dependent.

Students are allowed to take the

standard deduction even if they are

not claiming their own exemption.

The standard deduction amount of a

dependent may be lower than the

standard deduction of a person who

is not a dependent.

Scholarships and GrantsA candidate for a degree can

exclude from income amounts

received for tuition, books, and

fees. Amounts used for room and

board do not qualify for exclusion.

Amounts received by a scholar-

ship candidate for services such as

teaching or research are taxable

income even if providing such serv-

ices is a required condition for

receiving the scholarship or grant.

Scholarship prizes won in a con-

test are not considered scholar-

ships/fellowships if they are not

designated to be used for education-

al purposes only.

These must be included in gross

income.

Payments from the Department of

Veterans Affairs are not considered

scholarships and are not included in

income.

Scholarship and fellowship pay-

ments for teaching, research, or

other services paid by the National

Health Services Corps Scholarship

Programs or by the Armed Forces

Health Professions Scholarship and

Financial Assistance Program are

not included in income.

Student Loan InterestDeduction

You may be able to deduct up to

$2,500 of interest you paid on a

qualified student loan to attend an

accredited, higher educational insti-

tution.

The loan must have been for you,

your spouse, or someone you

claimed as your dependent when

you took out the loan. This deduc-

tion is an adjustment to income so

you can claim it even if you do not

itemize deductions on Schedule A,

Itemized Deductions. Your modi-

fied adjusted gross income must be

less than $75,000 ($150,000 if

Married Filing Jointly). If you are

filing Married Filing Separately,

you cannot take this deduction.

Tuition and FeesDeduction

You may be able to deduct up to

$4,000 for qualified tuition and fees

paid for higher education even if

you do not itemize deductions.

Qualified tuition and fees are

amounts paid for you, your spouse,

or a person whom you claim as

your dependent. The tuition and

fees must be required for enroll-

ment or attendance at an eligible

educational institution. You may

qualify for the maximum $4,000

tuition and fees deduction if your

modified adjusted gross income is

$65,000 or less ($130,000 or less if

Married Filing Jointly) or a reduced

tuition and fees deduction of up to

$2,000 if your modified adjusted

gross income is greater than

$65,000 ($130,000 if Married

Filing Jointly) but not more than

$80,000 ($160,000 if Married

Filing Jointly). If your modified

adjusted gross income is greater

than $80,000 ($160,000 if Married

Filing Jointly), you cannot take this

deduction.

This deduction is not available:

* If the American Opportunity

Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit

is claimed for the student

* On returns filed with a Married

Filing Separately filing status

* To a person who can be claimed

as a dependent on another person's

return, even if the other person

chooses not to claim the person as a

dependent

Qualified expenses used to take

the tuition and fees deduction must

be reduced by any tax-free benefits

received, such as distribution of

earnings from a Qualified Tuition

Program (QTP) or tax-free savings

bond interest. Qualified expenses

must also be reduced by the full

amount of a Coverdell Education

Savings Account (Coverdell ESA)

distribution.

For example, Charmaine's modi-

fied adjusted gross income is under

$65,000. She incurred qualified

tuition expenses of $5,000 for her

son, Anwar, who is a student

Charmaine claims as her dependent.

Anwar received a $6,000 distribu-

tion as the beneficiary of a QTP, of

which $500 represents the tax-free

earnings. He also received a $1,000

distribution from a Coverdell ESA.

Charmaine's allowable tuition and

fees deduction is $3,500 ($5,000

qualifying expenses less $500 tax-

free earnings less $1,000 Coverdell

ESA distribution).

Coverdell EducationSavings Account (ESA)The Coverdell Education Savings

Account (Coverdell ESA) is a cus-

todial or trust account for the sole

purpose of paying for the qualified

education expenses of the designat-

ed beneficiary. The designated ben-

eficiary is considered the owner of

the account, which may affect the

beneficiary's eligibility for financial

aid. The designated beneficiary

assumes control of the account

upon turning age 18.

In addition to higher education

expenses, qualified expenses

include certain elementary (includ-

ing kindergarten) and secondary

public, private, or religious school

tuition and expenses. Expenses

include books, tutoring, computer

equipment, software and services,

room and board, uniforms, extend-

ed-day program costs, and the

expenses of an individual with spe-

cial needs that are necessary for that

person's enrollment or attendance at

an eligible educational institution.

Anyone, including the benefici-

ary, can establish and contribute to

this account. However, if the bene-

ficiary is under age 18, the parent or

guardian of the beneficiary must set

up this account. You can make a

contribution to a Coverdell ESA if

your modified adjusted gross

income for the year is less than

$110,000 ($220,000 if Married

Filing Jointly). If your modified

adjusted gross income is above the

limit, it is possible for you to pro-

vide the beneficiary with the money

as a gift and have the beneficiary

make the contribution on their own

behalf, as long as the beneficiary's

modified adjusted gross income is

not over the limit. The maximum

total of all contributions for any one

beneficiary cannot be more than

$2,000 per tax year. No additional

contributions can be made to the

account once the beneficiary turns

age 18, unless the beneficiary is an

individual with special needs.

The contributions are not tax

deductible but earnings are tax free

to the beneficiary if they are used to

pay for qualified education expens-

es. A 10% penalty may apply to a

distribution that is not applied to

qualified education expenses.

Money remaining in the account

after paying for a beneficiary's

qualified expenses can be rolled

into another family member's

Coverdell ESA account tax free if

certain conditions are met.

Contributions to a Coverdell ESA

are considered a gift from the con-

tributor to the beneficiary and are

eligible for the annual gift tax

exclusion.

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

Tax filing: Education credits and deductions

In a new trend, more elderly

people in the US are complet-

ing 'living wills' to guide end-

of-life medical treatments - up

from 47 percent in 2000 to 72 per-

cent in 2010, shows research.

“However, even with nearly dou-

ble the number of people complet-

ing advance wills, there was little

difference in hospitalization rates

or deaths in the hospital,” said

researchers from University of

Michigan and the Veterans Affairs

Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

Given the aging population,

there has been a great push to

encourage more people to com-

plete advance directives with the

idea that this may increase hospice

care and reduce hospitalization for

patients during the last six months

of life, explained Maria Silveira

researcher with the VA Ann Arbor

Healthcare System.

Silveira says the increase in

advanced directives indicates that

people are less timid about broach-

ing end-of-life planning and

talking about death with loved

ones.

“People seem more comfortable

having 'the talk' about those dire

`what-if' scenarios and death in

general,” she added.

People want to ease the burden

upon their loved ones who would

undoubtedly face difficult deci-

sions when it comes to handling

finances, medical treatment and

other matters.

More US elderly writing 'living wills'

By Kanwal S. Sra CPA

Tax filing

deadlines

April 15, 2014

Federal Tax Returns

Due!

Taxes must be postmarked by

this date to qualify for

timely filing.

October 15, 2014

Due date for those

who filed an

extension.

Please be aware that anextension of time to file isNOT an extension oftime to pay.

26 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoSELF HELP

As the economy continues to

strengthen, you may wonder

whether to stay in your cur-

rent home or sell while the timing

seems perfect.

Since there are many things to

sort out, the experts at

Homes.com have put together a

comprehensive overview of things

to consider:

�Size: If your home is too small,moving may be a more affordable,

less stressful option than additions,

which can be costly and overwhelm-

ing. You can expect to recoup any-

where from 45 to 75 percent in addi-

tional home appreciation, depending

on the project, according to

Remodeling.com. However, the

return on investment is not always

immediate, which is something to

consider if you’re planning to sell

immediately.

�Renovations: If the necessaryrenovations to stay in your current

home seem overwhelming, it may

be time to move. For example, a

new roof can cost anywhere from

$5,000 to $30,000 or more, accord-

ing to Choice Roofing Group.

Large-scale home issues may

decrease a home’s market value, but

conversely, many home-seekers

love the opportunity to customize

their dream home.

�Competition: Do your

research. Determine your home’s

worth. Then, work with a real estate

professional to determine a competi-

tive price point, and let the bidding

begin.

�Lifestyle change: Just as grow-ing families need more room, a

shrinking family might mean it’s

time to downsize. Retired and look-

ing to travel? Downsizing can free

disposable income for a world

adventure.

�Demand: As demand picks up,builders are ready to keep up, and

that means brand new homes at

varying, competitive prices.

Consider selling to take advantage

of increased demand and tightening

supply.

�Equity: Year-over-year home

equity growth reached 8 percent at

the end of 2013, as reported by the

Homes.com Local Market Index. If

you love your current place, contin-

ue enjoying your home and reap the

benefits of increased equity when

the time comes to sell.

�Local economy: If you live in agrowing town, it may be wise to

stay put. Watch the local economy

grow for a year or two and then

decide if it’s a good decision to relo-

cate.

�Updates: Home updates are anopportunity to add value to a home

and make it feel brand new.

�Location: Consider your neigh-bors, school zone, proximity to

work and daily life activities. Are

you happy where you are?

9 things to consider when decidingwhether to sell your home

Everybody wants to be in shape

for bathing suit season, but all

those fun seasonal activities --

from barbecues to vacations to base-

ball games -- can derail a diet.

Here are some tips to help you

get fit, so you can look and feel

your best all season:

Vacations

It’s tempting to leave healthy

habits behind when heading out of

town. But an off week can perma-

nently wreck your diet.

When possible, opt for active vaca-

tions, such as camping trips or tour-

ing a city by foot. If you’re planning

a more sedentary getaway, stay

somewhere with a fitness facility.

Vacations can be rare, so don’t sac-

rifice all the treats of the trip.

Prioritize meal-time indulgences so

you can enjoy yourself mindfully.

For travel days, pack healthful

snacks such as fresh fruit, nuts and

yogurt as alternatives to high-calorie

airport or roadside food.

Daily Diet

It’s important to assess whether

you’re eating the foods you need to

get “fit,” versus foods that merely

encourage weight loss, say experts.

“Unfortunately, many fad diets

can leave you feeling fatigued, slug-

gish or undernourished,” says

Andrew Eckhardt, Owner and

Founder of ThinSlim Foods and a

veteran diet food consumer.

To eat right, don’t starve yourself.

Stock up on fruits and vegetables,

low-fat dairy and lean meats. And

just because you’re slimming down

or maintaining your already svelte

figure, doesn’t mean you need to sac-

rifice your favorite foods or go carb-

free.

“Alternative foods can allow you

to enjoy favorite options without

expending your calorie budget in one

meal,” says Eckhardt.

Try replacing standard cake or

wheat flours with healthy alterna-

tives, like oat fiber and almond fiber.

In one shot, you’ll cut calories and

increase your protein and fiber

intake. If regular baking is unrealis-

tic, look for brands that replace low-

quality inexpensive flours and sugar

substitutes with good-for-you alter-

natives.

Exercise

Spring is a great opportunity to

start a fitness regimen that you can

stick with all year. You should strive

to get at least two and a half hours a

week of moderate-intensity aerobic

physical activity, preferably spread

throughout the week, according to

the Department of Health and

Human Services.

Additionally, you should incorpo-

rate muscle-strengthening activities

into your regimen to stay strong and

improve your metabolism. A work-

out buddy can help you stay motivat-

ed. Wherever spring takes you, you

can look and feel great, while enjoy-

ing all your favorite foods and

activities.

Tips to get fit this spring

What every small business needsto know about marketing

For small businesses, smart

marketing is crucial for suc-

cess. But what does that mean

in today’s fast paced, highly wired

world?

While online and mobile commu-

nication has gained importance in

recent years, experts say that face-

to-face engagement with people

who matter to you and your organi-

zation remains invaluable.

“In a crowded marketplace, mak-

ing a positive and lasting impression

is crucial,” says Skip Cox, Board

Chairman for the International

Association of Exhibitions and

Events. “There’s no substitute for an

in-person meeting.” No matter the

size or focus area of your business,

exhibitions, trade shows and other

forms of face-to-face meetings can

be a powerful business tool, helping

with sales, networking, education

and business research.

But how do you make the most

of your time at face-to-face

events? Cox is offering some top

tips:

�Socialize: Before the event,identify who you want to engage

with while you’re there. Engage

those individuals in online dialogue

-- retweet them, reply to their mes-

sages and join their groups. This

will make the initial in-person con-

versation easier. Social and mobile

media can help you take conversa-

tions from online to offline and back

again.

�Be more than your booth:Your booth is not the only presence

your brand has at an event. Without

going too far or coming across as

unprofessional, wear something that

aligns with your company to help

you stand out. Consider the stan-

dards of your industry, the image of

your business and the tone of the

event, and find something that fits

with you and your business.

�Connect your connections:Introduce people who may benefit

from knowing one another. Both

parties will be grateful to you and

you’ll be known as someone who

“knows people.”

�Promote: Get your name outthere. Use promotional products

strategically. Investigate sponsor-

ship opportunities.

�Play by the rules: Don’t takeadvantage of the audience attending

an official event by creating non-

affiliated concurrent activities or

events, or use public areas to drum

up personal business without actual-

ly paying to participate. This will

only build negative buzz for you

and your business.

�Strategize: Making connec-tions is half the battle. Making the

right connections is the more impor-

tant half. Do your legwork so you

can figure out exactly who you want

to target. Whether you’re just start-

ing out or you’re a well-established

player, getting to know the people

who matter can help your business.

�Ask, don’t assume: Manyevent organizers are familiar with

the struggles startups and small

businesses go through and will often

work with you to find ways you can

participate at a price you can afford.

Don’t let perceived cost deter you;

ask event organizers what your

options are as even a more limited

presence can help you find a wealth

of opportunities at a fraction

of the price.

How religion, spirituality influence health

Do you know that religion

helps regulate behavior

and health habits while

spirituality regulates your emo-

tions?

According to a new research,

religion and spirituality have dis-

tinct but complementary influences

on health.

“No one has ever reviewed all of

the different models of how reli-

gion affects health. We are trying

to impose a structure on a very

messy field,” said Carolyn Aldwin,

a gerontology professor in the col-

lege of public health and human

sciences at Oregon State

University.

Religiousness, including formal

religious affiliation and service

attendance, is associated with bet-

ter health habits such as

lower smoking rates

and reduced alcohol

consumption.

Spirituality, includ-

ing meditation and pri-

vate prayers, helps regulate

emotions, which aids physiological

effects such as blood pressure,

Aldwin noted.

There can be some overlap of the

influences of religion and spiritual-

ity on health.

“More research is needed to test

the theory and examine contrasts

between the two different path-

ways,” Aldwin commented.

The goal is to help researchers

develop better measures for ana-

lyzing the connections between

religion, spirituality and health and

then explore possible clinical inter-

ventions, the researchers conclud-

ed.

The findings were published in

the Journal Psychology of Religion

and Spirituality.

LIFESTYLE 27April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Designer duo Pankaj

and Nidhi Ahuja's

show at the ongoing

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion

Week (WIFW) autumn-winter

2014 was grand and easy to

fall for.

The autumn-winter range

titled House of cards, which

was showcased here Saturday,

was undoubtedly eye-catching

and the hooting and applause

during the show supports the

fact.

It comprised house of cards

gold embellished evening

dress, Spanish royalty jacket

with Jodhpur pants, liquid

gold applique long dress,

embroidered tuxedo-bib with

silk shirt and draped pants,

queen of hearts print dress and

much more in colors like gold,

black, white and green. Some

of the printed dresses were

even held together with belts.

"The collection is close to

us. It's majestic and grand,"

said Nidhi.

WIFW: Pankaj & Nidhi'scollection to 'fall' for

Designer duo David Abraham

and Rakesh Thakore select-

ed wild silk from northeast

India to create their autumn-winter

collection, which they presented at

the WIFW.

"Our collection is inspired by

empowered women and wild silk of

northeast," said Abraham.

Muga, Tussar and Eri are fabrics

woven from wild silk, which was

used to create the line.

The collection with a palette based

on the golden hues of wild silk,

evoked various shades of khaki.

Unlike most of the autumn-winter

collections showcased at the fashion

event, which started Wednesday,

Abraham and Thakore's new range

adhered to the theme. There was less

skin show and winter outfits like

trench coat over a sari, military

inspired blouson jacket with kurta

and even shawl and scarves were

displayed on the last show of day

three of the fashion event.

But for sari blouse they didn't do

what other designers did. Instead of

hiding arms of models with the help

of full sleeve blouse, they chose to

let the arms show while covering

other parts of the body like waist.

Belts were also used to hold

everything together.

Meant for urban women, the range

with a few pieces beautified by

leopard prints, looked fabulous on

models, who walked in flats. They

also left behind jewelry pieces and

neatly tied up hair.

Actor Rahul Dev, dressed in a pair

of jeans and black shirt with some

of the top buttons open, occupied a

seat in the front row and watched

the show.

She may have walked with

elan in Madhur Bhandarkar's

2008 release "Fashion", but

actress Kangana Ranaut was unable

to move forward smoothly as the

showstopper for designer Namrata

Joshipura at the grand finale of

Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week

(WIFW) autumn-winter 2014 in

Delhi.

The five-day fashion event con-

cluded Sunday and the "Queen"

star was invited to sashay down the

ramp as Joshipura's showstopper.

With her curly locks tied up,

Kangana made her entry in a strap-

less floor sweeping black gown

with metallic embellishment on the

side.

Just after taking a few steps, one

could notice her struggling with her

gown created by Joshipura.

Nevertheless, Kangana gradually

walked on the LED lit runway.

After stumbling a few times, she

slightly lifted her gown up with

both hands to avoid herself from

falling on the stage.

"I feel her show was good and I

feel bad because I let her down,"

the 27-year-old told reporters here

after the show. The designer missed

the chance to walk down the

ramp with Kangana and take

a bow, but she continued

to be happy.

"Stuff happen.

Kangana is larger

than that. She

walked for me

and I am

happy," said

Joshipura.

Despite the

mishap, Kangana was in

some way delighted to be

back on the fashion runway.

"It is nice to be here. Many

years after 'Fashion' I am get-

ting to walk on the ramp. I

was a fashion disaster in

'Queen' and a fashion vic-

tim in 'Revolver Rani'...I

love getting dressed and

looking good for a

change...I like doing

shows," said the

actress, who will be

soon seen in

"Revolver Rani".

Joshipura presented her new

range titled electron, which was

inspired by the future. New tech-

niques were used.

Texturing was used as embellish-

ment, leather palettes were created

and twisted fabrics were woven

into sur-

faces.

There were long and short dress-

es, bodysuits, shorts and jackets in

mostly black. Other colors included

green, blue and red.

The knee length boots, gloves,

gladiator headgear and metal piece

on lips of the models, made the out-

fits more appealing.

Actress Soha Ali Khan

felicitated India's aspir-

ing fashion designer at

an awards ceremony held at

WIFW.

Wills Lifestyle presented the

grand finale of the 8th edition

of The Debut, which recognizes

the country's talented young

designers in the field of fash-

ion. Soha was present at the

occasion.

"The Debut by Wills Lifestyle

is an extremely wonderful ini-

tiative. It gives the young aspir-

ing student designers from all

over India an opportunity to

showcase their capabilities in

front of the celebrated fashion

specialists," Soha said.

Gourav Goel, Pearl Academy,

New Delhi was declared the

winner of The Debut this time.

He received a sponsored trip

to Britain for a course at the

London School of Fashion.

The Debut finale was judged

by popular names like Namrata

Joshipura and Pankaj & Nidhi.

Sohafelicitates

young designerat WIFW

Models display Namrata Joshipura’s collection

Models sashay in Abraham Thakore creations

WIFW 2014 grand finale: Kangana's oops moment on ramp

Kangana Ranaut as the showstopper for Namrata Joshipura

Abraham-Thakore choose northeast wild silk for WIFW range

One ofdesigner

duo Pankajand NidhiAhuja's

creations

These days, people overthink

every decision they make. To

compensate, more people

need to underthink their decisions.

Luckily, many people, including this

writer, do this automatically.

Like the man who spent months

building a nursery for quintuplets,

but learned a few days ago that he

just had a fat girlfriend. (Paul Servat

of Quebec, if you want to look him

up.)

Or the guy in Australia who

recently got lost in his back garden

and phoned the police. "I'm lost."

"Where are you?" "In the garden of

my house in Darwin." "Thought you

said you were lost?" "It's a big gar-

den." A police rescue team found

him 300 meters from his back door,

NTnews.com reported.

Now I can see you starting to

smile but it's really important we do

not laugh at these people. As

Modern Scientific People, we need

to consider the positive side of stu-

pidity.

Exhibit A is the US police force,

which rejected an applicant because

he scored too high in an intelligence

test. The irritated brainy guy, Robert

Jordan, sued. His appeal was reject-

ed by the 2nd US Circuit Court of

Appeals after police chiefs

explained that less intelligent appli-

cants better suited the job and stayed

longer. Judges considered mounds

of data and agreed. Stupid was bet-

ter.

The case took place several years

ago but has been much discussed

recently by researchers. Would-be

cop Jordan pleaded at the time that

he couldn't help being smart, having

been born that way. "I maintain you

have no more control over your

basic intelligence than your eye

color or your gender or anything

else," he said, according to ABC

News. (He should have said: "Me

like being brainiac! Woof woof!")

The good news is that the US

police force can bulk-recruit from

Asia. Recently, the Delhi Police

force admitted that it had had

missed eight years of on-line cor-

ruption tip-offs because no one

could remember the email pass-

word. When they finally managed to

download the messages, they found

600 tips, many referring to people

who had already died, moved away

or been elected to high office.

But how exactly is stupidity good?

Studies say it improves efficiency

(Journal of Management Studies),

boosts productivity (University of

Texas) and increases happiness

(University of Edinburgh). In a

study in top journal Nature, scien-

tists divided people into three

groups: unconfident, accurate and

overconfident. They found that "nat-

ural selection is likely to have

favored a bias towards overconfi-

dence". I would give more details,

but all the studies are full of really

big words.

I learned the wisdom of stupidity

when I was 13. I walked into a gang

of neo-Nazis in London, who told

me they had a policy of beating up

all Pakistanis. A typical bookish

Asian kid, I nervously explained: "I

was born 1,499 miles from Pakistan

in Sri Lanka, as far from the afore-

mentioned country as London is

from Russia." They beat me up. The

next time, I just talked rubbish.

"Yeah! Cool! Manchester United vs

Arsenal, right? I like popsicles!

Gary Glitter sucks!" They greeted

me as a brother.

So I don't worry about the future

of the world. Consider the words of

our greatest modern role model.

"Stupidity got us into this mess, and

stupidity will get us out." (Homer

Simpson).

28 April 5-11, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoHUMOR

Funny Bone by Nury Vittachi

Laughter is the Best Medicine

The wisdom of being really stupid works for me

byMahendra

Shah

MahendraShah is an

architect byeducation,

entrepreneurby profession,

artist andhumorist,

cartoonist andwriter by

hobby. He hasbeen record-ing the plightof the immi-grant Indiansfor the past

many years inhis cartoons.Hailing fromGujarat, he

lives inPittsburgh,

Pennsylvania.

5th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Mercury

Ruled by no :As you are influenced by your ruling planet Mer-

cury, you are intelligent, unique, sensible, business oriented,

dignified, optimistic and charismatic. You are also pretty warm-

hearted and friendly. However, you need not be restless and im-

patient always to get your things done.

Traits in you: You will go through minor health issues this

year. You have to take regular advice from the doctor and prac-

tice healthy nutrition and diet to remain healthy. Meditation and

yoga may help you in retaining a perfect health throughout the

year.

Health this year: Your new business alliances and partnerships

will help you earn financial stability this year. You will receive

all the pending payments and money you gave away as loans in

the past. You should go for investing in real estates and share

market.

Finance this year: You need to focus on your profession and

put your cent per cent effort to achieve your expected goals.

You will be appreciated by your peers and seniors for your ef-

ficient output. You may be assigned extra responsibilities as

you are very decisive and capable of performing wonders.

Career this year: You need to focus on your profession and put

your cent per cent effort to achieve your expected goals. You

will be appreciated by your peers and seniors for your efficient

output. You may be assigned extra responsibilities as you are

very decisive and capable of performing wonders.

Romance this year: You should avoid any kind of conflict with

your beloved. Plan a long holiday with your spouse to make

your relationship stronger. If you are unmarried, you should not

get to a marital relationship this year as the movement of your

stars is not favorable for marriage.

Lucky month: April, May, September and December

6th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6

Traits in you: As you are ruled by Venus, you are optimistic,

modest, focused, punctual, reliable, and dependant. You are

pretty interested in doing social work and charity. However,

you should control your mood swings, impatience, and whim.

Health this year: You need to focus on your health a little more

as you may fall sick frequently this year. You should go for reg-

ular medical checkups to maintain a healthy life. Your parents

may fall sick towards the end of the year and it will put you in

immense pressure.

Finance this year: You will get financial benefits if you have

invested in past. For future financial gains, you may invest on

real estate and stock market. You should study the market well

before investing on anything. Do not be in a hurry to invest as

it may go in loss.

Career this year: As far as your professional life is concerned,

you are expected to get a lot of opportunities throughout this

year. However, you have to work hard and efficiently to con-

vert those opportunities. Being a quick decision maker, you

may have to decide on many critical matters in your profes-

sional circle.

Romance this year: You will share a good relationship with

your spouse. You may decide to turn your relationship into mar-

riage if you are not married yet. However, you need to under-

stand your beloved and provide the required emotional support

for the betterment of your relationship.

Lucky month: May, July, October, January and February

7th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7

Traits in you: By nature you are sober, courteous, unique, hon-

est and courageous as you are ruled by the powerful planet Nep-

tune. Your charming nature attracts people towards you. You

love to face challenges and you fight them pretty well by exe-

cuting perfection. You need to check for your impatience, rude-

ness, and frequent mood swings.

Health this year: You may suffer some minor injuries due to

vehicle accidents. However, it will not be critical. You may go

through minor health issues during the initial months of the

year. Moreover, you will enjoy a sound health throughout the

year with proper medical checkups and medications.

Finance this year: Your financial conditions will be very stag-

nant this year. As you will not earn much or spend much, you

will lead a peaceful life in money matters. You may invest for

future. Do not lend or borrow money from your friends or col-

leagues.

Career this year: This year you will reach to the peak of your

professional career and it will offer you huge financial benefits.

This year will be pretty rewarding for female employees. You

may get a better performance appraisal as well as salary hike as

compared to your expectations.

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: June, August, October and March

8th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8

Traits in you: Your ruling planet Saturn makes you humble,

honest, focused, practical, realistic and enthusiastic. You are

blessed with enormous talent and imagination. Along with the

positive characters in you, there are some negative aspects in

your nature. You need to work on your nature of being envious,

unreliable, and indiscipline.

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 meditation

for better results.

Finance this year: You may try your entrepreneurship skills

this year and you will be successful unexpectedly. You will be

able to get many projects, which you help you establish as a

good businessperson. You should go for investments in real es-

tate and stock market.

Career this year: You may get the chance to complete all your

previous assignments and this will enhance your respect as a

brilliant performer in your professional circuit. If you are into

a profession that demands creativity, then you will be very suc-

cessful this year as far as your career is concerned.

Romance this year: Your relationship with your spouse or part-

ner will blossom this year. If you are not married, you may have

to wait for few more years though you are eligible for marriage.

Lucky month: August, October, January and March

9th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9

Traits in you: Being influenced by Mars, you are believed to

be the master of a charismatic personality. You are courteous,

courageous, energetic, realistic, modest, and responsive. You

follow religion very keenly. However, you have few problems

in your attitude and that needs to be worked on for the better-

ment of your individuality.

Health this year: As far as your health is concerned this year,

you may not remain healthy throughout the year. There will be

few hiccups in your health as you may suffer from many minor

diseases. If you want to stay healthy, you should go for proper

medication and a healthy diet plan. You have to leave consum-

ing alcohol and smoking cigarettes.

Finance this year: Your financial condition will be pretty good

as the movements of your stars are favorable for making mon-

ey this year. You may go for any investment on real estate or

gold. Do not trust anyone when partnerships are concerned.

You should not lend or borrow money as it will

create disputes.

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: Your plans to go for holidays with your

partner may not work because of huge work pressure and this

may create disturbance in your marital life. You need to take

care of the emotional requirements of your partner to lead a

peaceful life this year.

Lucky month: April, July, November and January

10th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no :1Traits in you: Due to the positive effects of your ruling planet

Sun, you will have the characteristics of a good human being.

By nature, you are accountable, unique, courageous, commit-

ted, competitive, coordinated and intelligent. You should work

on your negative personality traits such as selfishness, depend-

ency and pessimism.

Health this year: You need to take an appropriate care of your

health. You may fall sick in the middle months of the year

though those will not be serious. If you are a sportsperson, you

need to be very careful for your diet and nutrition to perform

better in your sporting events.

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 money

may pay off this time. You may go for new partnerships. How-

ever, you should verify the financial background of your part-

ner for your financial security.

Career this year: The nature of your professional work will al-

low you find many new job opportunities with high salaries.

You should take up a new job to flourish in your career. You

will gain required expertise in your profession and perform bet-

ter than ever.

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: May, August, September and November

11th April, 2014 Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2

Traits in you: Your ruler, the Moon makes you a very friendly

individual. You are simple, confident, realistic, sincere, and op-

timistic. 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: Your health will remain fine. However, you

may suffer from various minor diseases say cough, cold, body

pain, loss of sleep and so on. To enjoy a very healthy life, you

need to get a good control on your diet. You have to stay away

from alcohol and cigarettes to avoid any organ dysfunction.

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

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

vesting 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: ou will be successful professionally this year.

You will be additional responsibility and you will well execute

them to perfection. Your success may get you various awards

and rewards as well. You may share your ideas with the higher

management as it would help you grow quickly.

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 strengthens

your relationship.

Lucky month: April, June, November and February

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 5-11, 2014 Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

29

ARIES : At work you will be perfect in

whatever you do in this week. Friends

and family members would lend a help-

ing hand. Monetary position is likely to improve

later in the week. Cupid’s arrows would make

your heart flutter high. Inexhaustible energy

enables to participate in outdoor activities. You

will have to go out of routine work to enjoy your

vacation. It’s time to make some property

investments for your kids. You would be full of

good ideas and your choice of activities brings

positive results far beyond expectations.

TAURUS: Support and appreciation

from seniors would raise your morale

and confidence. An unexpected message

from a distant relative brings happy news for the

entire family. Hard work of previous days brings

good fortune enabling to fulfil monetary promis-

es. You are likely to enjoy a pleasure trip that

will rejuvenate your passions. You attain a

bloom in health on sharing happiness with oth-

ers. Dreaming of travelling is good, but if possi-

ble than plan a trip. Purchasing official acces-

sories can lead to improve growth of your

office. For some boundless creativity and enthu-

siasm leads to another beneficial week.

GEMINI: A very good week to apply

for overseas job. Relatives are likely to

give some valuable advice regarding per-

sonal life. You succeed in making some extra

cash on playing your cards well. Romantic

entanglement would add spice to your happi-

ness. A cheerful state of mind would allow

enjoying the perfect health. Take some time to

travel with your spouse for romance and seduc-

tion. Inheriting property from your relatives

seems to be ahead. Avoiding controversial topics

in friend circle will immensely help.

CANCER: Promotions and monetary

benefits for dedicated professionals.

You receive care and affection from

family members. An auspicious week to invest

money on items that would grow in value.

Chances of your love life turning into life-long

bond are high on the card. Divine knowledge

from a saintly person provides solace & com-

fort. You can make your vacation extra special

by planning it with your family and friends.

Your income can be doubled by renting your

house or a part of your house. Success in avoid-

ing making personal judgment about people and

their motives will highly benefit.

LEO: Pending proposals will get imple-

mented with the help of seniors.

Matrimonial alliance for eligible bache-

lor in family brings joy to all. Investment on

long-term plans would pave the way for earning

financial gains. Exciting week as your long

pending wait for affirmation is going to materi-

alize. Meditation and yoga prove beneficial for

spiritual as well as physical gains. Spiritual

vacation is a quest for life, plan it and enjoy it

with your family. It would be beneficial if you

plan to buy a small property. Your compassion

& understanding will greatly help a friend in

need.

VIRGO: Good week for implementing

new plans and ventures. A new outlook

will be the source of laughter at family

front. Improvement in finances makes it conven-

ient in clearing long pending dues & bills.

Enjoying the company of partner in a lively

restaurant would bring immense romantic pleas-

ure. A very healthy week when your cheerful-

ness gives the desired tonic and confidence.

Vacation full of beauty and history as well as

exciting is waiting for you.

Real estate is one thing on which you can rely

on to invest. You have a good opportunity to

involve yourself in some interesting conversa-

tion during this week.

LIBRA: You are likely to suffer from a

feeling that your core competency and

knowledge is outdated. Enjoying a pic-

nic with family will not only bring joy but also

help in clearing misunderstandings. Successful

execution of brilliant ideas would help in earn-

ing financial profits. The presence of love would

make you feel life meaningful. You are likely to

maintain good health that would also give you

success. Travelling on your own, with a friend

or with the whole family will be exciting and

comfortable too. Investment on construction

business would flourish your income. Legal

matters that have been pending for long time

might be decided to your satisfaction.

SCORPIO : Subordinates/co-workers

would be very helpful. Charming nature

and pleasant personality would make you

the attraction of family function in this week. A

very successful week as far as monetary position

is concerned. Love life brings some memorable

moments that you could cherish rest of your life.

A continuous positive thinking gets rewarded as

you succeed in whatever you do in this week.

Travel in comfort with kids to an adventurous

place might be possible. Dealings for older

properties can be in process. Interacting with

strangers would highly benefit you.

SAGITTARIUS: Travelling brings

new overseas business opportunities.

Family members appreciate the changes

made in & around the house. Indications of

earning financial profits through commissions,

dividends or royalties. You will have to make

some courageous efforts to renew romantic

bond. Creative hobbies are likely to keep you

relaxed. A trip that stimulates and gives opportu-

nity for work is coming ahead. Your possession

for acquiring a plot might be achieved. You use

your hidden qualities to make it the best week

for you.

CAPRICORN: Auspicious week to

start a new venture. Friends and family

members would encourage working

harder. Important people will be ready to

finance anything that has a special class to it.

Your flashing smile would work as the best anti-

dote for romantic partner’s unhappiness. With a

positive outlook & confidence, you succeed in

impressing people around you. A luxurious get-

away type vacation with your spouse waiting for

you. If you invest on smaller properties then it

can be beneficiary for future investments.

Giving an ear to others advice would immensely

benefit you in this week.

AQUARIUS: Professional attitude at

work brings success. You are likely to

hear good news from close relatives.

You are likely to make money, if you put sav-

ings into conservative investments. Sharing can-

dyfloss and toffees with lover/beloved would

bring unlimited joy. Mental alertness would

enable to solve a tricky problem. Thrilling expe-

rience is on your way, as your trip is full of

excitement Your plan to own a house is ought to

be in the right way. Your mere presence would

make a huge difference provided you give your

time to others.

PISCES: Seniors colleagues are likely

to lend a helping hand. An old friend

makes a pleasant visit later in the week.

Property dealings would materialize helping in

bringing fabulous gains.

Company of love partner would inspire to take

initiatives in this week. A cheerful state of mind

brings mental peace. Pack your bags as a happy,

fun-filled holiday is looking forward. Plan to

invest in cafeteria or a bakery shop; it might

create new opportunities for you. Your sharp

observation would help in keeping an edge over

others.

April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY

Once upon a time, there was

a man who lived alone. He

kept his money in a special

jar so that no one could steal it. One

day, while the man was out farming

his land, a thief broke into his

house. Looking for something to

steal, he came across a heavy stone

jar. He could barely jiggle it to hear

the coins inside. He could not lift

the jar. So the man stuck his hand in

the jar to take out the money. His

hand fit perfectly into the jar.

The man grabbed as much money

as he could, holding it in his fist.

But when he tried to pull out his

hand, it would not come out. He

tried his hardest to pull out his

hand, but the fist made his hand

wider. While holding the money, he

could not get it through the neck of

the jar. He let go of the money and

his hand was freed to come out of

the jar. But he was intent upon hav-

ing the money, so he tried again and

again. Each time he enclosed the

coins in his fist, his hand was too

wide to be removed from the jar.

Suddenly, he heard the owner

coming home. He knew that if he

did not get his hand out of the jar,

he would be caught. But he was so

intent upon trying to get the money

out that he would not give up. The

result was that the man came in,

caught him, and had him arrested.

We too are like the thief in the

story. Desires cause us to be caught

with our hand in the jar. Desires

keep us bound to this world. It is

only by letting go of the things of

this world that we can be free. We

need to stop clutching for whatever

binds us as prisoners of our desires

so we can enjoy true freedom. We

need to stop clutching and let go.

Then we will find the joy of free-

dom. What kind of joy did the thief

have in his pursuit of the money?

Instead he ended up a prisoner in

the jail. We too are like prisoners in

the jail of this physical world. We

spend all our time going after

things that will not give us happi-

ness. Whatever material gains we

have in the world can lead us to

more bondage if we are attached to

them. For example, if we want a

big house, we have to work longer

hours to pay for its mortgage. Then

we need to fill it up with more and

more furniture. That will take more

time to work to pay for it, shop to

buy it, and then to clean and repair

everything. Before we know it, the

house that was supposed to bring us

pleasure has made us a slave to it.

We no longer have time for our

family, our children, or pursuits that

will give us more fulfillment. We

spend all our time going after

things that may not give us true and

lasting happiness.

Similarly, we may want to buy a

computer to keep up with the latest

technology. We then find ourselves

working harder to buy all the right

software and equipment to make it

work. Soon we realize that we are

not happy with a simple computer.

We want to upgrade to a faster and

more elaborate computer. Next, we

find the computer that was sup-

posed to save us time is taking up

all our time. We end up spending

hours learning to use the computer.

We spend hours exploring the

Internet. The e-mail system that

was supposed to make communica-

tions faster is taking more and more

of our time. Suddenly, we find fifty

people e-mailing us daily and they

expect an instantaneous response. If

we do not respond right away they

accuse us of being nonresponsive

and indifferent. Soon, we are

spending hours on the computer.

We have become slaves to our pos-

sessions.

How can we end our bondage?

We need to let go and be free.

When we can let go of our desires

for impermanent gains, we can be

free. Then, our soul can experience

the love and beauty that God has to

offer. True happiness comes when

we connect with the source of joy

within us—our soul and God. To do

so, we must turn our attention from

the worldly enticements and listen

to our soul. Beautiful melodies of

God are playing within us all the

time. Light and love are shining

within us. By turning our attention

from the world, we are releasing

our hold on the coins that keep our

hand stuck in the jar. By letting go,

we are gaining eternal freedom.

By sitting in meditation, free

from all worldly desires and attach-

ments, we can let go and find our-

selves free to soar back to God.

True friends are those who

stand by you always. They

will sacrifice themselves for

you, and are people on whom you

can always rely. True friends listen to

your problems and share your bur-

dens. Truly, if we have even one real

friend in life, we are lucky.

If we think about our childhood

friends, how many are still with us

now? Have we parted ways already?

Perhaps they have moved away, or

we have lost contact with them. Let

us consider our close friends today.

Can we imagine that they, too, will

one day be parted from us just as

those friends from our childhood are

gone?

Even if we have one close friend,

or even a few, they can only be with

us up to our last breath, or their last

breath. They can only remain with us

in this life and cannot help us in the

moment of our greatest need—the

time of death.

In this connection, there is an inter-

esting story from the Hindu scrip-

tures. There was a learned pundit

who was the personal minister of

King Prikshat. Each day the minister

would read out the scriptures to the

king. The particular scripture said

that whoever hears the scriptures will

receive spiritual liberation and

enlightenment. Month after month,

the king listened to the scriptures

read by the minister. However, he did

not attain liberation.

One day, the king sat down and

thought, “Here I am—listening to

these scriptures every day, and I am

not yet spiritually liberated. The

scriptures say that whoever listens to

these holy writings will receive sal-

vation once and for all, but I have

not.” Therefore, the king called the

minister and said, “Look here. I have

heard these scriptures so many times

and have not attained liberation. I

will give you one more chance to

read these scriptures to me from end

to end. If I am not liberated after that,

you will be put to death.” Trembling

in his shoes, the minister began the

task of re-reading the scriptures to

the king. By the sixth day he was

nearing the end of the scriptures, and

the king was not satisfied. Fearing

that on the seventh day he would be

put to death, the minister sat down in

his home and started to cry.

“Why are you so sad?” asked his

daughter when she saw him.

The ministered explained the situa-

tion to her, “The scriptures say that

whoever reads them will be liberat-

ed. However, I know that the king is

not liberated, nor am I liberated.

Therefore, tomorrow, I will be put to

death.”

The daughter was wise and had an

idea. “Do not worry,” she said.

“Tomorrow I will speak to the king.”

On the following day, the minister’s

daughter asked for an audience with

the king.

“Why have you come?” he ques-

tioned her.

She told him, “I have come to

reply to the question that you have

asked of my father. But to do this,

you and I must go together to the

wilderness.” The king was per-

plexed, but agreed to go along with

her plan. The girl then sent for her

father. She brought along two ropes

and when they reached the wilder-

ness she tied the king to one tree and

her father to another tree. Both were

then bound, hand and foot. The king

was wondering what all this meant

when the girl asked, “Father, can you

kindly unbind the king over there?”

The minister replied, “I am already

bound! How can I free him?”

The girl asked, “Your Majesty, will

you kindly unbind my father?”

The king replied, “Foolish girl,

don’t you see that I am bound? How

can a bound man unbind another?”

That is all she wanted to hear and

said, “Then how can you expect my

father, who is not free himself, to lib-

erate you spiritually?” The king him-

self had answered the dilemma in

which he had placed the minister.

With that understanding, the king

spared the life of the minister.

At the time of death, we all depart

by ourselves. No friends of this

world can help us. They can sit by

our bedside and hold our hand, but

they can neither protect us from

death nor accompany us. Knowing

this, we still put our reliance on peo-

ple of this world.

Looking back at the friendships we

have had in our lives, how many of

them led us closer to God, and how

many of them have taken us away

from God? What kind of friend

should we look for then? To be truly

awakened spiritually, we should seek

the friendship of the Lord.

We have only a set number of

breaths to reunite our soul with God.

Let us do everything possible to

attain that goal. The best way to

reach the Lord is through meditation,

sweet remembrance, and selfless

service. These activities safeguard us

from being pulled away by distrac-

tions of the world. If we do these

things, then we will be ready at the

time of our death. Having mastered

the art of rising above body-con-

sciousness (by meditating daily on

the inner Light and Sound of God) ,

we will know what awaits us in the

Beyond.

Befriending God makes our spirit

soar. Waves of divine love make our

soul rise to the eye-focus where we

see tremendous Light. Is there any

love or friendship of the world that

can bring us to the eye-focus and

make us rise above physical body-

consciousness?

Only the love of the Lord can make

us wide awake—not only in this

world, but wide awake into the

Beyond.

Learn to let go and be free

Finding a true friend

By Sant Rajinder SinghJi Maharaj

30 April 5-11, 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.

How can weend our

bondage? Weneed to let go

and be free.When we canlet go of ourdesires for

impermanentgains, we can

be free.

BySantRajinderSinghJi Maharaj

April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info

April 5-11, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info