Asian Voice

28th Jan to 3rd Feb 201280p Let noble thoughts come to us from every sideVOL 40. ISSUE 38 First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe

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Brent Council’s Labourleader investigated over

Shridi Sai templeplanning application

Brent Council’s Labour Council Leader Cllr AnnJohn is facing an investigation into the way shesought to influence the decision on a controver-sial planning application for the Shirdi SaiTemple,

Continued on page 6

Cllr Ann John

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Immigration has alwaysbeen the most controver-sial sector in a country.With the current Britishcoalition government andits whims and fancies, wehave had more frequentchanges in its immigrationrules than the Englishweather. Theresa May, thecurrent Home Secretaryhas proposed and dis-posed various plans, yetBritain continues to haveno luck with reducing thenumber of immigrants.The government has alsonever tried to realise thatvery often some of theseimmigrants add morevalue to British society,than the natives them-

selves. The flaw probably lies

in the structure and itsperception.

The nationality of ben-efit claimants has neverbeen recorded until today.

Chris Bryant, the shadowimmigration minister,blamed the Governmentand said the situationwould only get worse due

Britain demonisingthe tax migrants?

Continued on page 2

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP Theresa May, Home Secretary

T h r e e - y e a r - o l dAbhigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya, childrenof Anurup and SagarikaBhattacharya, an NRIcouple living inStavanger, Norway, weretaken under protectivecare by Barnevarne(Norwegian ChildWelfare Services) inMay on grounds thatthey were not lookedafter properly by theirparents.

India’s ExternalAffairs Minister SMKrishna on Mondaytook up the matter withthe Norwegian authori-ties at the highest leveland sources say a solu-tion may be in sight.Continued on page 26

India steps up

pressure for

release of NRI

kids in Norway

is what people are worriedabout.My second point is the

sheer scale of benefits.About 6% of people onout of work benefits areforeign nationals, the greatmajority of them entitledto them, that’s slightly lessthan the proportion forBritish people who have

always been resident here.What we know is that

when migrants come here,for the first five or 10years they are much lesslikely to claim benefits andeven after they have beenhere for five or 10 years,they are slightly less likelythan British people toclaim benefits.It’s fair enough for the

Government to say theywant to get the brightestand best migrants to comehere – we all do that – andwe don’t want peopleclaiming benefits that theyaren’t entitled to, but tosome extent you have totake the rough with thesmooth of migration. It’soverwhelmingly good forthe economy of the coun-try. Some of the peoplewho come here end upbeing Nobel Prize-winnerswho George Osbornepraises in his conferencespeech. A few of them willend up out of work but ifthey have worked and paidcontributions for severalyears, I think they areentitled to claim the bene-fit.”Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP

and the Chair of the HomeCommittee told AsianVoice, “Over 50% of thosewho claim benefits arenow UK citizens or havethe right to remain. Thesefigures do not show howlong they have been in theUK, they could have beenhere for 20 years or more.Many immigrants make agreatly beneficial contri-bution to British society.Migrants are in fact signif-icantly more likely to beworking and supportingthemselves than peoplewho are UK born.”In a recent letter to

Evening Standard, BenPollard, a UK citizen hasrightly written supportingthe immigrants. He saidthat people born abroadare twice as likely to be inwork. Most people whocome to the UK want tocontribute, to build livesand pay tax. And thatclearly infer that all immi-grants are not coming tothe UK to thrive on thestate money. Some havealso contributed largely tomake Britain such a suc-cessful nation.

to lax border controls, ris-ing migration and increas-ing unemployment.Ministers recently

ordered a comparison ofrecords held by the UKBorder Agency,Department for Work andPensions and HMRevenue and Customs.The analysis found therewere 371,000 foreign-bornclaimants for out-of-workbenefits, out of a total 5.5million recipients. Ofthese, 258,000 were fromoutside the EuropeanEconomic Area. But thequestion is who are thesemigrants? The immigrantswho come to the UK fromoutside EEA, they are noteligible for any benefitsuntil they become citizensof the country. That takesminimum 5-6 years and toqualify they need to workcontinuously. Howeveronce they become citizenof a country, they stillvalue their jobs, giventheir age long cultural

influences and traditions.But in difficult situations,when they cannot makeends meet, they mighthave asked for benefits.And most of the time theyhave been entitled to itlawfully. On the other hand,

European nationals active-ly look for work can claimunemployment benefit,moment they arrive inBritain. Those from someeastern European nationscan claim so after 12months on a registrationscheme, but definitelyquicker than other nation-alities.

Dr Matt Cavanagh, theassociate director of thethink-tank the Institutefor Public Policy Researchtold BBC “Around 7,500people who came here asforeign nationals areclaiming benefits. Is that amassive problem? Thatworks out at about one in1,000 of the total numberof people who are on outof work benefits. Clearly,it should be looked at and

sorted out and theGovernment said it’sgoing to do that but I don’tthink [tackling] one in1,000 of the people claim-ing out of work benefits isthe way to reduce theoverall welfare bill, which

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 20122 UK

People■ Priti Patel MP wasthe host at a dinnerorganised by TATAConsulting at theHouse of Commons.

MPs Steve Pound,Virendra Sharma,Matthew Offord andBen Wallace wereamongst those attend-ing.

■ News reaches methat the noble LordDolar Popat has not yet

bought the glitteringtiara for his wifeSandia, Lady Popat.This is required wear-ing for wives of Peers atthe State Opening.

■ Why has DickieStagg’s departure fromNew Delhi gone so qui-etly? But he has gone!New HighCommissioner JamesBevan, a former EuropeDirector, is the newman in India.

one to oneKeith Vaz MP with

Joanna Brown, Chief Executive, Society of Chiropodists & PodiatristsJoanna Brown is the Chief Executive of the Society ofChiropodists and Podiatrists (SCP), the leading profes-sional body and trade union for chiropodists and podi-atrists in the UK.

Joanna graduated from the University of Warwickwith an honours degree in history. After a short spellworking in administration at the Institution of ElectricalEngineers, Joanna moved to the Inland Revenue StaffFederation, the then trade union for Inland Revenueemployees. Joanna was a Negotiations and PolicyOfficer focussing on member representation, organisa-tional structure and equalities.

Joanna moved into the health sector in 1991 asExecutive Secretary of the British Orthoptic Society,and in 1997 joined the SCP. Joanna was initially theSCP Director of Industrial Relations and ProfessionalPractice, and became Chief Executive in 1997.

She is currently a member of the Allied HealthProfessions Federation Board and TUC GeneralCouncil.

Joanna was appointed as a magistrate in 1995 andserves in adult and youth courts on the newly amalga-mated North West London Bench.

Joanna has three grown up children and lives inNorth London.

Please tell us about yourcurrent position?I am Chief Executive ofthe Society ofChiropodists andPodiatrists, the leadingprofessional body andtrade union for chi-ropodists and podiatristsin the UK. The Societyhas nearly ten thousandmembers who work pre-dominantly in the NHSor private practice

What are your proudestachievements?Growing the Society’sannual clinical confer-ence and trade exhibi-tion despite the econom-ic downturn. At our2011 conference in

Harrogate we had over1000 delegates, 80exhibitors and a greatbuzz!

What has been thebiggest obstacle in yourcareer?I would not wish to usethe word “obstacle”, butin common with manyothers I have lacked thetime to do everythingthat I would have liked,be that personal develop-ment or pursuing proj-ects and ideas at workthat are not an immedi-ate priority

Who has been thebiggest influence onyour career to date?

There is no single individ-ual, but during my career Ihave worked with andlearned from many inter-esting and talented peo-ple. I admire the drive andimagination of entrepre-neurs such as Dame MaryPerkins who built upSpecsavers from a smallfamily business.

What is the best thingabout your current role?I really enjoy talking topoliticians in Westminsterand the devolved govern-ments about the impor-tant role of podiatrists inkeeping the populationmobile and pain free. Theageing population andexplosion in diabetes andfoot complications means

there has never been agreater need for podia-trists. This is a particular-ly pertinent issue in theAsian community becauseof the high incidence ofdiabetes. The support thatthe Society receives fromMPs and Peers is invalu-able

And the worst?Juggling competing prior-ities! The Society is amembership organisation,and as such we provide awide range of services,education and representa-tion for our members. Wealso have an importantrole in providing foothealth information for thepublic through our publi-cations, leaflets and web-

site(www.feetforlife.org)

What are your longterm goals?To build an evidencebase that clearly demon-strates through highlevel clinical researchthe economic value ofpodiatric treatments.

If you were PrimeMinister, what one thingwould you change?I would insist on thenumber of podiatristsand other Allied HealthProfessionals in trainingbeing based on a properanalysis of long termoutcomes for patients,not on short term fund-ing considerations. Forexample 100 people aweek in the UK lose alimb due to diabetes, yet85% of these amputa-tions could be avoidedthrough the early inter-vention of a diabeticfoot care team. At themoment there are notenough podiatristsbeing trained to do thepreventative work

If you were maroonedon a desert island,which historical figureswould you like to spendyour time with andwhy?Boudicca, a femaleleader, patriot and work-ing mother! We knowsome of the historicalfacts about her life, thatshe led the Iceni upris-ing against the Romansfollowing the rape of herdaughters and defeatedthe Roman ninth legion,but there is much that islost in the mists of time.I would be fascinated toknow how, as a woman,she inspired the Britishtribes and whether shefelt the ends justified themeans: the loss of lifeand destruction of sev-eral Roman cities.

Continued from page 1

Britain demonising the tax migrants?

People living in benefit-dependent householdshave been urged by thePrime Minister to “goout and work” ratherthan complain about theloss of welfare payments.

David Cameron saidthat living on welfare hadbecome an “acceptablealternative” to workingand suggested that bene-fit payments were tooeasy to receive.He spoke as the

Government faced seri-ous opposition to theplan to cap the maxi-mum benefit paymentsthat can be received byany household at �26,000. The House ofLords is seeking to block

the policy.The Rt Rev John

Packer, Bishop of Riponand Leeds, who intro-duced the successfulamendment, said: “Itcannot be right for thecap to be the same for achildless couple as for acouple with children.Child benefit is the mostappropriate way to rightthis unfairness.”

Go find a Job

Priti Patel MP

Lord Dolar Popat

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Thought for the Week

England should learn to tackle Pak bowlersEnglish cricketers suffered a humiliating defeat at thehands of Pakistan in the first Test at Dubai. The mainwreckers of England were off-spinner Saeed Ajmal andUmar Gul. Ajmal took ten wickets in the Test. Therewere whispers among Englishmen about his bowlingaction after he took seven wickets in the first innings.This is not the first time that doubts were expressedabout his action and the International Cricket Councilhas cleared the same in 2009. Still English cricketersraised doubts about. Andy Flower, the England teamdirector, was asked repeatedly whether he thoughtAjmal was a chucker. He did not answer directly, buthe gave a hint, perhaps of his feelings. “My own beliefsare that it is not possible to bowl the ‘doosra” withoutstraightening your arm, but given the 15-degree lati-tude catered for by the regulations, only the ICC canpolice the situation.”

The Englishmen should not look for alibis for theirdismal performance, but to look at ways to face thePakistani bowlers especially Ajmal. England knowsthat Ajmal’s threat cannot be wished away and insteadthey should turn their minds on how to combat himrather than worrying about the legality or otherwise ofhis actions.

There are three things that England’s batsmen needto workout, how to pick his “doosra,” how to read his

length and how to score. If they won’t work them outsoon, the series would be over quicker than expected.The batsmen can work on the following clues. Anysighting of the back of the hand in delivery signals“doosra,” as does a delivery with a scrambled seam andtop-spin. The quicker ball is, harder its to pick upbecause he flicks it from the arm without any effort,but a flatter trajectory ought to be a warning sign topush forward rather than staying back in the crease.

England knows that there is little to be gained bygrumbling about the action of Ajmal. They have towork out to win at the second Test in Abu Dhabi,which they must win if they are to have any chance ofextending their victorious streak of seven Test series.This Test was also a revelation of the caliber ofPakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq. He was dropped fromthe team in 2010. Rather than burn his kit and give upthe game, Misbah kept up his training and hoped thateven in his mid-thirties, his country might need himagain. Sure enough, it did soon after the corruptionwithin the team was exposed. Not only Pakistan boardwants Misbah to return, they wanted him to return ascaptain. They saw his wise head who could lead a badlyshaken group and a battered nation out of the dark-ness. It was an extra ordinary gamble but one that rich-ly paid off.

Is it fair to strip migrants of benefits?Neither it is fair nor advisable to strip migrants offtheir benefits. But it seems the next big thing is gov-ernment-led migrant bashing. Migrants are not gettingwhat they are entitled for. More than 370,000migrants who were admitted to Britain to work, studyor go on holiday are now claiming out-of-work bene-fits. Media makes it as if migrants are devils, the issueof migrants are hyped from mole hill to mountains. Itis not going to benefit Britain to be negative towardsmigrants who have come from far off countries to set-tle and work in Britain. Is this prejudice simplybecause they have a different colour, creed, communi-ty and country? Please remind yourself that we haveentered the era of globalisation where everyone con-tributes his might for the progress of their adoptedcountry.

Government also understands that the migrants’claims are not unreasonable, but because of their fail-ure to set the economy on the right track, they arethinking that by denying migrants their rights can savethe country few billions. Far from strengthening immi-gration control the Government is returning fewer ille-gal migrants and net migration has continued toincrease. And at the same time increasing number ofpeople born here and abroad are on out-of-work ben-efits because the government's failure on the economywhich pushed up unemployment rate.

But Chris Bryant, shadow immigration minister,blamed the Government and said the situation wouldonly get worse due to lax border controls, rising migra-tion and increasing unemployment. Tory ministers areresorting to rhetoric and misinformation to hide the

reality of their failures on immigration and unemploy-ment. "Ministers should get a grip of rising unemploy-ment and weaker border controls rather than trying tohide behind questionable figures which include peoplewho have been British citizens for many years, anddon't take account of British citizens claiming benefitsabroad.

Many of the migrants have worked for years andhave paid their dues. Many have become UK citizenswith a moral right to get support. It is easy to say thatthose who have been here for short time and have lostjobs should be denied benefits. But while some couldreturn home, others lack the means. If they are desti-tute and we refuse to support them, they will turn tocrime or begging, is that what we really want, ChrisBryant asked.

Agreed that immigration is quite high, it needs tobe reduced, but a wholesale cut in migrants’ benefitsis not the way to achieve it. In fact just two per centof them are claiming benefits illegally. To remind, amigrant who is trying hard to settle in the new coun-try and culture, hunts a job to earn his bread but hedoes not get a job only because of his legal status. Likea young migrant who waited for 11 years for his legalstatus, applied for nearly 400 jobs and was turneddown for each time on the basis that he did not haveany experience in UK. But if he ever gets a chance towork?

If someone is legally in this country, if they’veworked for several years, if they’ve paid taxes for sev-eral years, then clearly they should be entitled to ben-efits, especially if they have become citizens.

Whither NigeriaThe attacks by Islamist militants in the northernNigerian city of Kano killed over 200 people. TheBoko Haram militants who said they carried out theattacks so that they could overthrow the nationalgovernment and install an Islamic state.

This tragedy reminds us of the violence thatbroke out in West Bengal in India, during the parti-tion in 1947. A part of the British Indian province ofBengal was divided between India and Pakistan.This displaced up to 12.5 million people in the for-mer British Indian empire, with estimates of loss oflife varying from several hundred thousand to a mil-lion. The violent nature of the partition created anatmosphere of mutual hostility and suspicionbetween India and Pakistan that plagues their rela-tionship to this day. Muslim League organised day ofAction on 14th August 1946, that murdered over12000 Hindus in Kolkata.

Same is scenario with Kano, where attacks weremassive. A series of explosions ripped apart policebuildings, passport offices and immigration centresaround the city. Hospitals are struggling to deal withthe number of killed and injured. Haram militantshave frequently attacked police stations and othersymbols of state power, but the group has alsobombed churches and killed hundreds of people -mainly Christian, some Muslims too.

But this latest unrest is a worrying indicationthat these tensions remain never far from the sur-face, and that, in a country with such high levels ofpoverty, the underlying issues of access to scarceresources such as land and jobs are as much of anissue as ever.

Whatever the historical justifications, the conflictis always and everywhere about access to scarceresources.

Religious bigotry, unfounded suspicions andhatred create divisions of a country. Sometimes it isaided and abated by the Imperial powers. SometimesChurch and the Mullahs are also hyper active.Kolkata massacre of 1946 convinced many leaders ofthe Congress to cut the losses and allow the MuslimLeague to have a separate state of Pakistan.

Indeed it was Jinnah's desire to have an Islamicstate but it became inevitable. In those horrendousdays, most Hindus and Sikhs left Pakistan or wereforced to leave. Most Indian Muslims chose toremain in India and today more Muslims live in Indiathan Pakistan- by and large more peaceful and are onaverage far better than their religious brethren inPakistan and Bangladesh.

Separate state for Muslims have not given anypeace, pride and prosperity to the people of Pakistan.They can watch over the border (through satellitechannels and Bollywood) and see a secular anddeveloping society.

Sudan is divided between Muslim north andChristian south. Some say oil and minerals wereincentives for the super powers to encourage divi-sion of the country. The omens are bad. The bordersare very insensitive and highly inflammable.Nigerians both Muslims and Christians ought tolearn some lessons from India, Sudan and otherdivided countries. Africa's resourceful nation withhighest population need not end up in permanent orlong lasting religious hatred culminating in warfare.

COMMENT

The Politics of Taxation -What’s the Point of Profits?

Political SketchbookAlpesh Patel’s

So Vodafone does not have to pay some $3 billion to theIndian tax man. But it took an Indian Supreme Court tomake the decision and clarify the law. So I wonder if allthose people protesting outside Vodafone stores inOxford St in the UK over Christmas, claiming Vodafonehad not paid enough to the UK tax man, would beunhappy with this decision.

Presumably, if you are judge and jury as a protestorthat UK companies do not pay enough tax, then youalso wanted them to have paid the Indian tax man $2.9billion? Your argument is not about what is rightly owed,because you do not wait to hear about that. Your argu-ment is that whatever is owed, it tends to be too little aliability.

This matters, because it goes to who best should becustodians of money? Should it be the public, throughtheir governments, or workers of corporations, or capi-talists who own the shares in the companies?

The capitalists argue the workers have too muchinfluence. After all, fat bonuses and rising salaries guar-anteed to go up with or without inflation, go to theworker. Whatever is left over, if anything, after tax tothe government, is left to the company, which may givea dividend to the poor capitalist.

And what kind of dividend? Well, a Vodafone share-holder gets around 5% per annum on their 100 poundsworth of shares…if there is a profit…if a dividend ispaid…for this 87 billion pound company. Shareholderscapital is worth 87 billion pounds. But what do they get?5% return. What does an employee get? Bonuses.Salary, even if a loss is made. What does the capitalistshareholder get? A share price stuck at 1997 levels. Therisk of no returns at all for his troubles.

Clearly the worker has defeated the capitalist. Sowhat about the government then? Have they beaten theworker? The most recent tax bill for Vodafone was 1.6billion pounds. That excludes employer NationalInsurance contributions by the company. That was on9.5 billion pounds of pre-tax profit. That is around 20%in tax. Too little? Should they have bunged some $2.9billion to the Indian tax man too – why not – they’ve gotit.

Actually, why do companies need any profits? Afterall, profits is left over that is not used. It is after wagebills and research and development. So what do youneed profits for? Okay, for dividends, but the capitalistgetting 5% is hardly about to whinge. Or take all prof-its after a 5% dividend. Profits doesn’t make your shareprice go up – clearly – as it is at 1998 levels. So why notconfiscate all profits to the use of the State. Tax profitsat 100% after a dividend is paid out. The employeesdon’t care, they got paid. The shareholder capitalist gothis dividend anyway. And a company, unlike a human,doesn’t need money on personal consumption like foodand drink and fun and expensive spouses and alimony.

Surely they’re better off in the hands of the State?They can build roads, and help protestors to get a job,or just pay them to dig ditches.

So there you have it. Vodafone, should just havegiven the Indian tax man the money, instead of tolawyers. After all, what’s it going to do with profits any-way? At least in India, they could have been put tosome social use.

To be happy in this world, especially when youthis past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merelyan isolated individual whose day will soon beover, but part of the stream of life flowing onfrom the first germ to the remote and unknownfuture.

- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 20124

In brief

Leicester Voice By Meera Majithia

Email: [email protected]

Leicestershire seessignificant drop in crime rateCrime in Leicestershire is reported to have reducedby 11.2% compared with the national figure of 4%,according to the latest figures published in the ‘Crimein England and Wales: Quarterly Update toSeptember 2011’.The figures, which compare the crime rate for the

12-month period from September 2010 to September2011 showed there were 8,559 fewer crimes reported. Recorded violence against the person offences fell

by 4.7% nationally, however Leicester saw this figurereduce significantly with 13.6%. Recorded burglaries fell by 1.9% nationally, but in

Leicester this figure amounted to 16.2%. Meanwhilerecorded vehicle crime fell by 11.5% nationally, yetonce again Leicester saw a higher reduction figure of15.4%.Chief Constable Simon Cole of Leicestershire

Police said: “Whilst it is pleasing to achieve reduc-tions in crime across the board, ourselves and part-ners can’t become complacent. We will continueworking in the coming days, weeks and months toprotect our communities from the harm caused bycrime and anti-social behaviour.� “The support andcooperation of the public are very important factorsin the work we do. I would encourage people livingand working in the in the communities we serve toshare any concerns they have about their local area.”British Crime Survey (BCS*) interviews showed

that 63 per cent of people agreed that theLeicestershire force deals with local concerns; 60 per-cent agreed police and local councils are dealing withlocal issues. Both results were the highest in the EastMidlands.The city performed very well compared with other

forces in its most similar group (MSG).The otherseven forces in its MSG include Avon and Somerset,Devon and Cornwall, Essex, Kent, Lancashire,Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.

Search for overseasplayer continues

Former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf is nolonger in the running to join Leicestershire CountyCricket Club this season. Yousuf, 37 who represented Warwickshire last

year, and last played for his country in November2010, would have been Leicestershire’s overseasplayer in the LV= County Championship. However,the parties were unable to reach an agreement, andso Leicestershire’s search for an overseas batsmancontinues.Chief executive Mike Siddall said: "We have been

in talks for several weeks but unfortunately a prob-lem arose this week which, between us, we could notsolve. We are disappointed and are now looking atother options."The Friends Life t20 champions have already

secured Abdul Razzaq’s return for their defence.

Celebrating NationalLibraries Day

It is often said that the best things in life are free andto celebrate National Libraries Day on Saturday,February 4th Leicestershire County Council’slibraries will be holding a special free day.On the day, hiring DVDs, CDs or talking books

will all be free. There will also be an amnesty onoverdue library items so they can be returned withoutthe need to pay any charges. There will be no chargesfor extra sessions on library computers and users willbe able to get up to six computer printouts free ofcharge. These will join the usual free services such asjoining the library, using your library to find informa-tion, borrowing books and downloading eBooks.Some libraries will also be holding special events

to celebrate the day. These include a talk at OadbyLibrary on Plague, Pestilence and Prostitution - alighthearted history of nursery rhymes with LettysParkyn from 11.00am - 12.00 noon, for which book-ing is essential. Also, there will be the final sessionof serialised readings from a popular children’s bookas part of the Children’s Readathon at HinckleyLibrary from 3 -3.30pm.

David Sprason, Leicestershire County Council’sCabinet Member for Adults and Communities, said:“Whether or not you are a regular user ofLeicestershire’s libraries, celebrating NationalLibraries Day with a free day is an excellent opportu-nity to go along to your local library and take advan-tage of the excellent services which are on offer.”For more information about National Libraries

Day visit: www.nationallibrariesday.org.uk

Georghe Avram (24), GeorgianaToma (31), Kirit Rabheru (59)and Claudia Ghenciu (33) wereconvicted after a 14 day trial atLeicester Crown Court.The defendants were charged

after an investigation byLeicestershire Constabulary’sserious crime team with supportfrom colleagues from the UKBorder Agency (UKBA) and theSerious Organised Crime Agency(SOCA).The victim in this case is a

Romanian national who wasbrought to the UK under the pre-tence that she was going to workin a restaurant but when shearrived in the country she wasmade to have sex with up to 15men a night.

Avram pleaded guilty to con-trolling a prostitute for gain andconspiracy to pervert the courseof justice and Toma pleadedguilty to controlling a prostitutefor gain.Rabheru and Ghenciu were

both found guilty of controlling aprostitute for gain.Ghenciu was sentenced to 12

months in prison and the remain-ing three defendants are due tobe sentenced at a later date.Detective Constable Stu

Palmer from the city seriouscrime team investigated the case,he said: “This was a complexand lengthy investigation whichhas today resulted in four peoplebeing convicted for their part inthe crime.

“The victim has beenextremely brave throughout theproceedings and is slowly recov-ering from her ordeal at thehands of the defendants.“She was brought to the UK

under false pretences and wasshown photographs of her youngdaughter who was in Romaniaand told that her child would beharmed if she didn’t comply withtheir instructions. Rabheru alsoforced the victim to have sexwith him as a way of paying herrent.“All the defendants played a

part in what she was subjected toand I hope the verdicts help hermove on with her life and put theevents of the last 14 monthsbehind her.”

Volunteers are being sought to leadgroups exploring Leicester's parks,nature reserves and green spaces.A number of projects are due to

take place and the council is lookingfor people to help with a number ofdifferent activities, ranging frombulb planting, litter picking, main-taining trees and vegetation, andhelping to clean out local ponds andstreams. Helpers will also be able to train

to become Green Hat volunteers,who lead other volunteers in regularclean-up and planting days.Leicester already has a well-

establish network of thriving 'friendsof parks' groups, made up of com-munity volunteers who care enoughabout local parks to get involved inthe management and developmentprocess, including regular volunteer

activities, helping with on-siteevents, and supporting bids formoney for further development. Leicester City Council senior

park officer, Vicky Hudson, said:"All our parks and green spacesbelong to the people who live andwork in the city, which is why we'reso keen to welcome volunteers andto get them involved with our parks."There are major heritage renova-

tions going on at Spinney Hill Park,and Knighton Park has recentlybecome home to a brand new out-door gym. Neither of these projectswould have been successful in gain-ing funding without the local com-munities' direct involvement andsupport."January events include planting

in Evington Park on Wednesdays,conservation work at Aylestone

Meadows, pruning and mulchingwork at Evington CommunityOrchard, and litter picks atEvington's Sparrow Park andSturdee Road Recreation Ground.There will also be the chance to helpwith coppicing and cutting work atWatermead Country Park. Leicester assistant city mayor

responsible for heritage and leisure,Cllr Piara Singh Clair, added:"Volunteers play a vital role in ensur-ing parks and green spaces are keptlooking their best, and these volun-teering opportunities are a great wayfor people to get involved in theircommunities."To register for a list of each

month's volunteering events andtraining details, visit: www.leices-ter.gov.uk/parks and choose infor-mation on Park Force Volunteers.

Four people found guiltyof human trafficking

Call for green volunteers

Georgina Toma George Avram Claudia Ghenciu Kirit Rabheru

Four people havebeen convictedfor theirinvolvement in ahuman traffickingcase with aRomaniannational.

A magnificent Roman helmet whichlay buried in a Leicestershire field for2000 years, then underwent nineyears of restoration at the BritishMuseum, is finally coming home forpermanent display.The Hallaton Helmet will be pub-

licly displayed for the first time onSaturday 28th January atHarborough Museum, MarketHarborough. It will be reunited withother finds from the HallatonTreasure which were found alongsideit when a native British Iron Ageshrine was excavated by the HallatonFieldwork Group and University ofLeicester Archaeological Servicesbetween 2001 and 2004.The event will be attended by the

Leader of Leicestershire CountyCouncil, David Parsons, and CabinetMember for Adults and

Communities, David Sprason. The new displays will be unveiled

at 10.30am by Mrs Jackie Dickinson,Chairman of Leicestershire CountyCouncil. Roman soldiers from theErmine Street Guard, including cav-alrymen on horses, will be in ChurchSquare between 11am and 3pm tohelp celebrate in true Roman style.The helmet made international

news on 10th January when it wasunveiled to the media at the BritishMuseum in London. An incredibleconservation and restoration pro-gramme was undertaken by theirconservators Marilyn Hockey, FleurShearman and Duygu Çamurcuoglufollowing Leicestershire CountyCouncil’s successful bid for HeritageLottery Funding to undertake thismammoth task. The project waslikened to a 3D jigsaw puzzle made

complex by deterioration of the hel-met during 2000 years in the soil.The mystery of how silver-gilt

covered Hallaton helmet ended up inthe possession of the local nativeBritish population in the years sur-rounding the Roman conquest ofBritain which began in AD 43 hasintrigued experts.

David Sprason, LeicestershireCounty Council’s Cabinet Memberfor Adults and Communities, said: "Iurge everyone to go and see thiswonderful piece of Leicestershire’spast. It really is a fantastic objectwhich has changed how we view theRoman conquest of Britain. To havean artefact of international impor-tance on our doorstep, displayed in afree, community museum is some-thing of which we can be reallyproud."

2,000-year-old treasure returns to the city

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 5UK

On 2 February 2012 theAshmolean will open an exhibi-tion of Indian paintings from theoutstanding private collection ofthe artist Howard Hodgkin.Hodgkin has been a passionatecollector of Indian paintingssince his school days and hiscollection has long been consid-ered one of the finest of its kindin the world. Attimes he hasdevoted almost asmuch effort todeveloping hiscollection as tohis own work as apainter. It will goon show at theAshmolean forthe first time in itsentirety.

The collection comprisesmost of the main types of Indiancourt painting that flourishedduring the Mughal period (c.1550–1850), including therefined naturalistic works of theimperial Mughal court; the poet-ic and subtly coloured paintingsof the Deccani Sultanates; andthe boldly drawn and vibrantlycoloured xxstyles of the Rajputkingdoms of Rajasthan and thePunjab Hills.

Above all, this is a personalcollection, formed by an artist’seye. Artistic quality has alwaysmattered most to Hodgkin – thenarrative content and otheraspects of paintings far less. Allhis Indian pictures are of anunusual or exceptional quality.They include illustrations of

epics and myths, royal portraitsand many scenes of court life orhunting scenes. There is a largeand outstanding group of ele-phant portraits and studies ofthe Mughal and Kota schools.Some of the works in the collec-tion vividly evoke the urban ordaily life of India, a countrywhich has inspired Hodgkin on

his frequentvisits madeover some 50years. Thereis also greatdiversity inthese pic-tures, somec o n t a i n i n gexciting pas-sages or jux-

tapositions of colour, as can alsobe found in Hodgkin’s ownwork. But many others are light-ly coloured brush drawingswhich show an expressive mas-tery of line.

A large part of Hodgkin’scollection has been on long-termloan to the Ashmolean for thelast ten years and selected pic-tures have been shown in theMuseum’s Indian galleries.Others have been lent byHoward Hodgkin especially forthis exhibition. Many of theworks which will be shown havenever been exhibited to the pub-lic before.

The Exhibition has beensupported by CHK CharitiesLtd. The Exhibition EventsProgramme has been supportedby The Nehru Centre.

Ushma Soneji and AndrewRajanathan are among a selectgroup of 30 budding, entrepre-neurs who have been chosen tobe a part of an innovative pro-gramme run by the NewEntrepreneurs Foundation.This programme has been com-pared to the hit show TheApprentice, as it sets out togive young and talented indi-viduals the opportunity to dowork placements at successfulbusiness companies. This willallow them gain practical expe-rience in the business world,and give them an insight intowhat it really takes to run asuccessful business.

The programme’s goal is tofind the next generation ofentrepreneurs who will, in turn,provide a boost for our econo-my. This non-profit scheme hasreceived high praise from allthose involved. 22 year-old oldOxford graduate Ushma Sonejiaspires to establish a socialenterprise, and has said theprogramme helped her gain ‘abase of confidence and knowl-edge’. Her placement was withfurniture retailer DFS whereshe was involved in aiding thedesign process for a new rangeof sofas. Andrew Rajanthan,24, has also been helping withproduct development on hisplacement at online wine-trad-ing platform, Liv-ex. He saidthis scheme has helped with hisambition of becoming an entre-preneur, which is something he

would much prefer to being‘micro-managed’ as part of alarge company. Overall, theyoung entrepreneurs whole-heartedly agree that this pro-gramme is very valued, as it hastaught them a lot and as is giv-ing them the exposure theyneed to leaders in the businessworld.

This non-profit scheme wasput together by those that areno stranger to success in thebusiness world. Oliver Pawle,the chairman of Korn/FerryWhitehead Mann, Lord Daviesof Abersoch, the former bankerand trade-minister and SirNigel Rudd, the chairman ofengineering group Invesys areresponsible for launching thisprogramme. They have highhopes for its success andbelieve there is a possibility of abillionaire or two, eventually

emerging from the first group ofcandidates.

However, questions havebeen asked about the suitabilityof the candidates to prosper inthe cut-throat world of busi-ness. Former channel 4 chair-man, Luke Johnson, ques-tioned whether they have theambition and tenacity to suc-ceed in developing a businessfrom the ground up, when thereare opportunities for them, asan intellectually able people, tomake money more easily incareers such as finance and law.Regardless, Oliver Pawle standsbehind the initiative, claimingthat while they are ‘not going tohave a 100% [success rate]...some will undoubtedly succeedas entrepreneurs and will lookback on the course as a funda-mental part of their develop-ment.’

Real life apprentice scheme aims toproduce business billionaires

Robinson, Soneji and right, Rajanathan with Davies, Pawle and theprogramme’s director Zara Pearson

Visions of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin


It is a known fact thatIndians are successful indifferent fields aroundthe world. We hear nameslike L.N Mittal and IndraNooyi on a daily basis butwhat doesn’t come to ourattention are the namesof those Indians who arenot so famous but areextremely successful intheir professions.

One such examplefrom Britain is London-based Indian couple, MrB P Bhattacharya, SeniorPartner of B S SAssociates CharteredAccountants RegisteredAuditors of GreshamHouse and Mrs. SusmitaBhattacharya, arenowned RabindraSangit Singer andManaging Director ofGresham Hotel , SussexGardens, London. Thecouple own a hotel inLondon in Paddingtoncalled “The Gresham”and last year also boughta beautiful boutiquehotel called “The FrenchPartridge” in Hortonnear Northampton.

Over the weekend Imade a trip toNorthampton to experi-ence the much-talkedabout hotel myself. I wasswept off my feet to expe-rience the warm hospital-ity of The FrenchPartridge. Every littledetail is important tothem and that brings outthe true nature of anIndian welcome.

The hotel spansacross one and a halfacres of land and is about60 miles from London. Itis located in a peacefularea of Horton whichalso is known for a num-ber of banks and finan-cial institutions. Theclientele for this hotel hasalways been the wealthyand prosperous.

The hotel is a charm-ing period building with

gardens to the front andrear and an absolutelyimpressive entrance anddriveway. It is located onthe B526 NewportPagnell Road and is inclose proximity to citiesin Northampton andMilton Keynes. The hotelhas a small beautifully lithallway with a smalllounge and bar area. It

also has a magnificentrestaurant that canaccommodate more than50 people and a separatesmall room for either pri-vate dining or a furtherlounge area.

It has 10 en-suitebedrooms that areextremely classy andimpressive. While itboasts of a traditionalsetting, the décor isextremely modern andsoothes the atmosphere.There are two big win-dows in the room withbeautiful views of lushgreen fields outside – justa perfect way to spend arelaxed weekend, awayfrom the hustle bustle ofa modern day city. Theinteriors have all beendone by Mrs.Bhattacharya with thehelp of a talented younginterior designer.

The hotel was knownfor almost a period of 30years as a destination forquality French food. Itmade its entry into theGood Food Guide alongwith various other culi-nary accolades such asAA rosettes for its tradi-tional French style cui-sine under the charge ofMary Partridge, the firstowner of the property.The Partridges never uti-lized the letting rooms asit served as their familyhome as well as for busi-ness use.

The French Partridgewas earlier a food desti-nation in the village ofHorton and Mr & Mrs

Bhattacharya are aimingto revive that. Therestaurant has a lavishSpanish Tapas menu andthe Sunday Roast is oneof its biggest attractions,prepared by a MasterChef from Spain who hasearlier experience ofworking in Michelin starrestaurants.

During my stay at the

hotel, I made it a point toeat at the restaurant inorder to enjoy the lovelyambience and absolutelydelicious food. Saturdaynight dinner is a veryspecial one at FP. Therewere dim lights, a candleon every table, live per-formance by an extreme-ly talented singer on theguitar and lovely SpanishTapas. What more canone ask for?

The next day –Sunday was the big day.As I made my way to therestaurant at 12:30, itwas already getting full.People from aroundHorton and other nearbyvillages were makingtheir way to the restau-rant to enjoy the famousSunday road with a pintof beer. There was livemusic again as I grabbeda bite of Patatas Bravaswith a glass of sweetlemonade.

Apart from therestaurant, the hotel alsohosts a number of corpo-rate and personal partiesand is looking forward tohosting its first weddingin the summer.

For all those of youwho have been lookingto take a break from thehustle bustle of Londonbut could not find theplace and comfort, hereis your perfect destina-tion. The place haseverything – peace, com-fort and excellent hospi-tality. What more do youneed for your perfectbreak?

Let us know what you think. Email Spriha at [email protected]

Hospitality – Indian style

Me at The French Partridge in Northampton

By Spriha Srivastava

Brent Council’s LabourCouncil Leader Cllr AnnJohn is facing an investi-gation into the way shesought to influence thedecision on a controver-sial planning applicationfor the Shirdi Sai Temple,following serious allega-tions made in a leakedemail from a fellowLabour councillor.According to the emailCllr John is accused of:l Instructing Labourcouncillors on thePlanning Committee tovote against the HinduTemple, in breach of plan-ning law which states thatthe Planning Committeeshould act independentlyand that councillorsshould make up their ownminds about planningapplications based on rel-evant planning considera-tions.l Intimidating a council-lor and threatening disci-plinary action because ofcomments made at thePlanning Committee.l Seeking to removeAsian (Hindu) councillorsfrom the February 2011meeting of the PlanningCommittee which was dueto consider the Hindutemple applicationl Failing to follow thecouncil’s and the LabourParty rules about howplanning applicationsshould be dealt with.

The allegations havebeen reported to the coun-cil’s Monitoring Officerwho has responsibility foroverseeing theCouncillors’ Code ofConduct, which may havebeen breached by CllrJohn. The StandardsBoard for England, whichoversees standards of con-duct in local government,has also been informed.

The Labour leader EdMiliband has also beenasked to look into the way

that Brent Council’sLabour Group of council-lors is run following theallegations of intimidationand inappropriate pres-sure being placed onmembers of the planningcommittee.

Commenting on theallegations, CouncillorDaniel Brown LiberalDemocrat Deputy Leaderon Brent Council toldAsian Voice: “The emailpaints a worrying pictureof the culture in the localLabour group. EdMiliband and the NationalExecutive Committee ofthe Labour Party have thepower to investigate thisand provide assurances tolocal residents about theway the Brent Council’sadministration is run.”

Some of the state-ments in the email aresupported by council min-utes in 2011 which showchanges in the planningcommittee membership atthe times referred to in theemail.

When asked about theabove mentioned allega-tions, Cllr Ann John toldAsian Voice, “This is aload of rubbish and I havenothing to hide.”

Asian Voice hadvoiced the concerns of themembers of the Shirdi SaiTemple in early 2011,when some of the gerry-mandering members ofthe Brent council, hadconspired to close itdown. Asian Voice andGujarat Samachar con-tacted Lords, MPs andmany leaders of Hinduorganisations who wereshocked to know aboutthe problems faced by theShirdi Sai Baba temple,Wembley and came for-ward to support its caus-es. Hindu organisations inLondon and other parts ofBritain were ready to sup-port this temple in all pos-sible manner.

After the temple with-

drew the original planningapplication as per the pro-fessional and legal adviceson 21st February 2011,the council decided tolook into the enforcementnotice. A meeting tookplace on 23rd February2011 to decide the fate ofthe temple, which wasattended by Council offi-cers, Councillors and theTemple Trustees.

On 23rd February2011 protest against theenforcement went on forhours before the PlanningCommittee sat at 7pm atBrent Town Hall. Morethan 200 Sai Baba sup-porters were present toraise their concerns.

The thunderous sup-port for the temple thatplanning committee wit-nessed on that day surelymade a huge impact inheading towards a mutu-ally accepted meetinglater on.

However after muchcoordination with MPs byAsian Voice and GujaratSamachar along withsome stalwarts of thecommunity, with sincerepersuasion by the Trusteesof the Temple, the Saigroup finally received jus-tice. The temple won itscase against the counciland the enforcementnotice was finally with-drawn.

But soon allegationswere made by a LabourCouncillor against CllrAnn John, and accusedher of influencing thedecision of the PlanningCommittee by removingHindu members whocould help to reach a neu-tral and unanimous deci-sion.

Speaking to Shirdi SaiTemple authority AsianVoice learnt that despiteof winning the caseagainst the council, vari-ous problems of the tem-ple still continue to hinderits normal function.

Brent Council’s Labour leader investigatedover Shridi Sai temple planning applicationContinued from page 1

The Umeria family stum-bled across an unlikelybusiness success, whenthey agreed to buy a dozenpairs of wide-fit shoesfrom a visiting manufac-turer.

The Umeria family,who originate fromGujarat in India, havebeen in the shoe-makingtrade for 7 generations.Nayma and Jay Umeriamoved to the UK in 1977 ,and continued the familybusiness by opening ashoe-repair shop inCamden Town, and later ahandmade shoe shop inHarrow. The businessmade enough money toraise their family, butNayma explained it was‘not hugely profitable’.

However, their luckchanged when Nayma,pictured, decided to buysome wide-fitting shoes,and to her surprise, foundthat they were an indu-

bitable success. It turnedout the demand was sohigh, that the family hadto keep increasing theirorder of wide-fit shoes asfast as their tight budgetwould allow. Theirturnover increased from￡40,000 to ￡50,000 inthe space of a year, andNyama realised they had‘found a niche market’.

Profits remainedsteady for 6 years, till thefamily decided to take thebusiness online. In 2006,the website which had

been designed byNyama’s son, waslaunched andorders flooded in.Techno logy - shyNyama was soshocked, she actu-ally called up thefirst online cus-tomer to ‘check theorder was real’.

N o w a d a y s ,Wide-Fit Shoes has

a turnover of ￡800,000and is spreading outsidethe UK. Hollywood starJohn Gooman has evenplaced an order. Around10% of the populationrequire wide-fit shoes andcould risk problems likebunions, corns and arthri-tis without appropriatefootwear. Nyama is happythat their business isimproving the lives of thatsmall but very real per-centage of the market,who is not suited to main-stream shoes.

Success journey: Gujarat to Hollywood via UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 7

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 20128 www.abplgroup.com

News in BriefPolitical pair in power contest Revenue boost, thanks India

A Test Match against India helped WarwickshireCounty Cricket Club achieve a 50% rise in saleslast year, it has emerged. However, despite swing-ing back into the black in terms of operating prof-its, a rise in administrative expenses – up to morethan £3 million compared to £2.2 million last year– meant pre-tax losses grew.

Land Rover thief cagedA thief who specialised in stealing Land Roversfrom a car park at Birmingham airport has beenjailed for two-and-a-half years. Justin Boylan, 39,of Shard End, was caught after his blood was foundon one car he failed to get away with, in addition toCCTV recordings. Boylan pleaded guilty to fourcharges of stealing Land Rovers at Warwick CrownCourt.

Chinese celebrationMusic, dance and a fireworks display will mark thearrival of the Year of the Dragon at Lakeside ArtsCentre at Nottingham University (NG7 2RD) thisSunday (Jan 29). All are invited to the free ChineseNew Year event from 4.30pm to 6pm.

Fraudster accountant A Birmingham woman could face jail after sheadmitted fiddling £195,000 from the Midland firmwhere she worked as an accountant. JoanneSheargold, 41, of Walsall, committed fraud between2006 and 2010 at Portico Ltd, the Aldridge-basedbedroom furnishings firm.

Jobless figure riseUnemployment has risen once again in the WestMidlands. A total of 243,000 people are now out ofwork in the region, after an increase of 9,000 in thepast three months, which means an unemploymentrate of 9.2%.

Police Authority Q&AMembers of the public, councillors and representa-tives of businesses and faith organisations in theWest Midlands are invited to come and ask ques-tions or comment on anything to do with currentand future policy, crime and community safety. Thepublic meeting will take place next Thursday (Feb2) at 1pm at Sandwell Council House, Oldbury(B69 3DE).

Dishonour to achievementsOne of Midlands’ top industrialists could bestripped of his CBE after he was jailed for a stringof sexual offences. Edward Roberts, 72, ofWorcestershire, a former CBI West Midlandsregional chairman, and also worked for Pertemps,was jailed for two years for indecent assault.

Fake cigs, pair jailed Two Midland men caught with 500,000 counterfeitcigarettes have been jailed. Abdullah Sharif Karim,35, of Wolverhampton and Hiwa Najim Ali, 27, ofWalsall, were convicted of tobacco smugglingoffences. At Birmingham Crown Court last Friday,Karim was jailed for 12 months and Ali, ninemonths. The fake fags were branded at Superkingsand cost more than £90,000 in lost revenue.

Missing keys, officer arrestedA prison officer has been arrested following the dis-appearance of a set of master keys fromBirmingham’s newly-privatised jail. Every inmatein the 1,450-capacity prison was placed on lock-down as the keys were hunted but they are under-stood to have never been found. The arrested offi-cer was trying to make a point because he wasn’thappy about his contract terms under the newmanagement, according to a jail source.

Court witness attackedA woman has been spared further time behind bars aftershe attacked a neighbour who was a witness in a courtcase against her. Razwana Bi, 24, from Sandwell, hadconducted a hate campaign against Jasmin Akhtar. WhenBi learned of the case, she dragged her from her home bythe hair and punched her four times. Bi admitted assaultand witness intimidation. She was sentenced to timeserved and given a restraining order.

Jobs u-turn could cost £12.6m A U-turn over Birmingham City Council’s controversialdecision to move IT jobs to India could end up costingthe taxpayer £12.6 million, it has emerged. The council’scontractor Capita was last year set to hire 55 IT special-ists in Pune to work on its Service Birmingham call cen-tre contract. But a massive public backlash over the planprompted bosses to renegotiate the contract and stop thework going abroad.

Cash crisis, mum attemptssuicide

A Birmingham mum tried to kill her-self by taking a drug overdose over herelectricity bill. Charlene Franklin, pic-tured, said she struggled to choosebetween eating or heating the councilflat where she lives with her ten-year-old son. “It’s sad that in 21st centuryBritain there’s people like me up anddown the country living in poverty,”said Charlene who was made redundant from her job asa carer. Charlene, 27, is now being helped by the CitizensAdvice Bureau to pay bills at a rate she can afford.

Men guilty of incitinghatred

Three Muslim men have become the first to be con-victed of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexualorientation after they handed out a leaflet calling forgay people to be executed. Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed andRazwan Javed handed the pamphlet, entitled TheDeath Penalty?, which showed an image of a man-nequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic textsthat said capital punishment was the only way to ridsociety of homosexuality. At Derby Crown Court, theywere convicted by a jury of distributing threateningwritten material intending to stir up hatred on thegrounds of sexual orientation – the first prosecutionof its kind since legislation came into force in March2010. Mehboob Hussain and Umar Javed, who werealso charged with the same offence, were found notguilty.

Man shot dead A Birmingham man hasbeen shot dead inPakistan as he tried toprotect his family. AzharIqbal, 39, fromStechford, was shot inthe stomach. Mr Iqbal,his wife Rubana andstepdaughter Maha werereturning from a shopping trip when two masked menconfronted them and demanded their valuables. MrIqbal “a loving family man” handed over a mobilephone, then tried to fight the thieves off. He wasrushed to a military hospital, but later died.Photo: Mr Iqbal and his wife Rubana on their wed-ding day in Pakistan, August 2008.

Remembrance eventBhajans were held by the family of Narandasbhai Sonito mark his 16th death anniversary. The vibrant event,held at Leicester’s Hindu Temple last Saturday,brought together friends and relatives from all overthe UK. Narandasbhai, who was a pioneer ofLeicester’s extraordinary Bajrang Bhajan Mandal,was elder brother of well-known community activistand accomplished public speaker Madhubhai Soni.The evening began, as per tradition, with bhajans ded-icated to Lord Ganesh, sung by veteran Mandal mem-ber Natubhai Kanabar.

Liberal Democratcouncillor and barristerAyoub Khan hasannounced he wants torun West MidlandsPolice, whilst MahmoodHussain, a former LordMayor of Birmingham,is to stand for theLozells and EastHandsworth seat inMay’s council elections.Hailing from Aston,

Ayoub Khan isBirmingham’s cabinetmember for local servic-es and community safe-ty. Now, he has launchedhis bid to become theWest Midlands’ firstelected police commis-sioner in November.Also contesting for thisrole is Labour’s MikeOlley.Coun Khan said: “I

have been a member of

the Police Authority andappreciate how deci-sions are made. I havegot good all round expe-rience and so far am thebest suited to the job.”His key policy aims areto cut response times,use volunteers and spe-cial constables toincrease opening hoursat police front desks anddeal with the small num-ber of prolific offendersand families who createthe majority of prob-lems.In 2009, Nick Clegg,

Lib Dem leader, wasunder pressure to sackCoun Khan after hefailed to overturn ajudge’s ruling that hehad behaved in a “scur-rilous” manner byattempting to smear aLabour opponent when

Two controversial British Muslim politicians fromBirmingham are to contest for separate positions ofpower, it has emerged.

Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or [email protected] Katwa

Midland Voice

giving evidence inan election court.Elections CommissionerTimothy Straker QC hadfound that Coun Khanhad made up a “sordid”story in an attempt tofalsely accuse AstonLabour councillorMuhammed Afzal of wit-ness nobbling.One senior

Birmingham City Councilofficer, who asked not tobe named, said:“Councillor Khan notonly wants to run WestMidlands Police but thewhole of Birmingham too,eventually. He is verysmart and is succeeding ingetting potential enemieson his side. Let’s hope thedecision-makers alsoaren’t taken for a ride.”Separately, Coun

Khan was heard, alleged-ly, telling a British Muslimhistorian at the launch ofthe British PakistaniYouth Council in June2009, “anything to dowith the Council, just giveme a ring and I’ll make

sure it getssorted.”If he

secures theLid Dem can-didacy CounKhan faces atough battleas his partysupport isspread prettythin in theregion andwill be seen as

an outsider. He is alsocurrently involved in astruggle to keep his coun-cil seat in May.Separately, Mahmood

Hussain, who becameBirmingham’s first AsianLord Mayor in 2002, willstand for the Lozells andEast Handsworth seat inMay’s council elections.He too is no stranger tocontroversy. In 1999, MrHussain was publicallynamed and shamed forbringing the council intodisrepute after putting upa double garage on landhe bought from the coun-cil, contravening a legalconvenant banning build-ing. He said he was naive,had made a mistake andbought out the covenantfor £5,000. Also, how dur-ing his Mayoral role, hehad spent £7,000 taxpay-ers’ money to attend afriend’s wedding inPakistan, a story which, atthe time had hit frontpage headlines in the localpress.

Councillor AyoubKhan

Mahmood Hussain


Veetee Rice Ltd, one ofthe largest rice millers inthe UK, is proud toannounce the launch ofShapla, a new long grainrice brand aimed specifi-cally at the Bangladeshimarket.

Taking its name fromthe national flower ofBangladesh, Shapla is ahigh quality yet affordablelong grain rice and will beavailable exclusively inselected areas of London,Birmingham, Oldham,Bradford and Luton.

“The Bangladeshicommunity accounts for asignificant proportion ofthe UK population; how-ever it appears to be thecase that consumers havehad to rely on productsalready available on themarket up until now. Webelieve that this commu-nity should be celebratedand their specific needscatered for.” says EmmaPozzetti, MarketingAssistant for Veetee.

Using a combination

of vivid packaging, tradi-tional imagery andBengali script, Shaplaaims to capture theessence of Bangladeshiculture.The packs, avail-able in 10kg and 20kg,also feature English andBengali script on pack.

The launch will besupported with eye catch-ing point of sale, a tradePR campaign and printads. In addition, there is acash back offer to rewardbusinesses who supportthe launch of this excitingnew brand.

New rice brand to appealBangladesh community

An Indian origin man,who pleaded guilty tobeing a drug dealer, hasbeen jailed at theManchester CrownCourt for two years aspart of the city’s biggestcrackdown on street-level drug dealing, thepolice said.

Prem Gabroo, 20,was one of 75 peoplearrested by the Greater

Manchester police onDecember 6 as part ofOperation Audaciouswhich is said to be thecity’s biggest crackdownon drug dealing.

The total number ofpeople sentenced so faras part of this operationis now 18, who togetherhave received more than43 years in prisonbetween them.

Indian-origin drug dealer jailed

Experts at consumer mag-azine Which? have recent-ly found that a number offuneral care providers aregiving confusing andsometimes misleadingadvice to bereaved cus-tomers. Undercoverresearch by Which?involved undercover visitsto 20 leading funeraldirectors. They found itwas often hard to get aclear price quote, and aproper explanation of theservices. Only half of thefuneral directors offeredthe ‘simple’ funeraloption. It was oftenunclear what you werepaying for, as Which?researchers rated theadvice they were given as‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ at 14out of the 20 places theyvisited. Findings will bepublished in the Februaryissue of Which? maga-zine.

The confusion contin-ued on the subject ofembalming, as 2 of thevisits revealed potentialbreaches of consumer pro-tection regulations. Thebranches offer the serviceat an extra cost, suggest-ing that it makes the view-ing of the deceased ‘morecomfortable’ as it ‘slowsd e c o m p o s i t i o n ’ .Spokespeople claimedthey are adamant aboutcorrect language beingused when giving adviseand making sales.

Which? health andsocial care expert JoannaPearl says ‘comprehensiveand correct advice alongwith impeccable profes-sional conduct’ are essen-tial in funeral planning.She insists that at a timeof bereavement and dis-tress for families ‘funeraldirectors must get it rightfirst time.’

Bereaved families misled intobuying expensive funerals

Hundreds of resi-dents in a “for-gotten” part ofLondon aredemanding min-isters lengthenthe high-speedrail tunnelthrough theircommunity.

W h e nT r a n s p o r tSecretary JustineG r e e n i n gapproved plansfor the ￡32 bil-lion HS2 link thismonth, sheannounced a 2.7-mile tunnelthrough Ruislip,in a concession toprotesters who saytheir lives will beblighted by noise and dis-ruption.

But their neighboursin Perivale and Greenfordsay they still face theprospect of 225mph trainsthundering past theirhomes on the London-to-Birmingham route, as wellas years of building workbefore its completion in2026.

Accountant ArleneVora, 42, told EveningStandard she lives withhusband Hitesh, 40, andtheir two daughters only50 yards from the pro-posed track in Perivale.They bought the three-bedroom house five years

ago for ￡275,000.Mrs Vora said:

“There’s going to be nobenefit from HS2 for us.There will be years ofnoise and disruption andthen trains going past ourwindow every three min-utes. We moved herebecause it was perfect toraise our children, withthe community, the green-ery and the good schoolsnearby. We can’t just packup and go.”

Boris Johnson has saidhe is “far from happy”with current plans andcalled on ministers to funda new north-southCrossrail line to reducecongestion at Euston.

Community complaints:No benefit from HS2

Hitesh and Arlene Vora, withdaughters Alana, left, and Monique

A shop was raided by aterrifying machete-wield-ing raider when the braveshopkeeper armed withonly a mop fended him off.

The 52-year-old andhis son Kishan had been

getting ready to shut uptheir shop, the PremierStore in Rushden,Northamptonshire, onFriday when three maskedmen pulled up in a car.

Brave shopkeeper fightsraiders with mops

Continued on page 28


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Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seenso euphoric on Monday morning, as theyexpected a couple of Oscars. British Indians inthe UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township ofMumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almostthe entire Bollywood waited in expectation,glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebra-tions as one by one, their heroes, the actors ofthe British Indian film and the music maestro, AR Rahman bagged the top awards in the worldof entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won theOscar after having missed it almost five timesearlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on acleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directedby American director Megan Mylan, won theOscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar

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Securing the Muslim vote

It is outrageous on the part of the Indiangovernment to prevent Salman Rushdiefrom attending the Jaipur LiteraryFestival in Rajasthan due to the pressureapplied by some Muslim fundamentalistsin India.Muslims from the Deoband group

from Uttar Pradesh were against SalmanRushdie attending the Literary festival,even though he had been to India before.Salman Rushdie was born in India

and he has got an NRI Indian Passportand he does not require visa to visitIndia. The Prime Minister was born inPakistan and Sonia Gandhi was born inItaly and Rahul Gandhi is half Italian andthey are treated with high respect in Indiawhereas Salman Rushdie is considered asoutcaste since he wrote ‘Satanic Verse’. Muslims consider ‘Satanic Verse’ as

anti-Islamic book and it was banned inIndia. Majority of Indians are Hindus andthey were not given the choice to judgewhether the book is acceptable to Indianreaders or not.Even though India is a secular coun-

try, no majority should not be dictated byminorities on what to read. SinceChristians objected to ‘ Da Vinci Code’which sold more than 50 million copiesall over the world, the book was bannedin India. Muslims form only 15 per cent of the

Indian population and the election isgoing to take place in densely populatedstate of Uttar Pradesh where Muslimpopulation is over 20 per cent. It is out of order on the part of the

Congress led government dominated byreligious minorities to state that Indiangovernment cannot provide safety for anIndian citizen since hired Muslim assas-sins from the Mumbai underworld maybe on their way to Jaipur to eliminatehim.

Arun VaidyanathanBy email

Aspersions on Gandhi andthe Gita

I read with interest the excellent articleby Nitin Mehta MBE on Lord MeghnadDesai and his aspersions on MahatmaGandhi and the Gita (AV 21 January2012). According to Lord Desai, the Gita

gives a message that killing is legitimateand so how could Gandhi, a man of non-violence, believe in the Gita.Lord Desai is featured in the list of

well known atheists. In my view , he has-n’t grasped the true essence of the Gita.It seems that his views are based on thesuperficial reading of the Gita. This does-n’t do justice to the millions of Hinduswho generally follow the Gita and are onthe whole of a non-violent and peacefulnature as a result.Nitin has adequately summarised the

Gita’s overall purport as being ones dutyto fight injustice. What did Gandhi him-self have to say on this subject. I quotefrom his book The Bhagvadgita whichwas his interpretation of the Gita basedon the discourses he gave in 1926 at theSatyagrah Ashram:“I do not wish to suggest that vio-

lence has no place at all in the teaching ofthe Gita. The dharma which it preachesdoes not mean that a person who has notyet awakened to the truth of non-violencemay act like a coward. This dharma doesnot under any circumstances counte-nance running away in fear. In this world,violence there will then always be. TheGita shows the way which will lead usout of it, but it also says that we cannotescape it simply by running away from itlike cowards.”Well, Lord Desai, there you have it

now – from the man himself!

Uttambhai D MistryBy email

PM shows courage ofconscious

I am glad to acknowledge that British PMDavid Cameron has not used his vetoagainst Christianity, as is the norm formost trendy, left leaning, misguided, do-gooder politicians our country is over-loaded with.Britain is preliminary but not pertina-

ciously a Christian country withChristian values, without upper or ple-beian magnitude that unable us to mixand assimilate with the mainstream pop-ulation with our assiduous, law abiding,family oriented but easy going culture.It was English language, the excellent

educational establishments like Oxbridgeand Christian values that first attractedus to these shores.We have taken full advantage, espe-

cially on education front and our youngergeneration has climbed the carrier ladderas if there is no tomorrow, in law,accountancy, medicine and business andnow even journalism, as GujaratSamachar, Asian Voice and its wonderfulpool of talented young writers so ablydemonstrates.

Haraam to muslims

I was watching the Peace tv channel afew days ago in the evening. Dr ZakirNaik was in the programme to answerquestions from the public - mainlyMuslim audience with a exception of ahandful Hindus or Hindus who mighthave been invited to ask questions to DrZakir.One of the young Hindus asked him

what is his opinion about the wordnamaste which means ‘I bow to you’. DrZakir replied that there may be manymeanings of namaste but because its lit-eral meaning is "I bow to you" thisnamaste is haraam to Muslims.Haraam is an Arabic term meaning

"forbidden" in Islam. It was not pleasantto hear these words from him. What he isdoing is helping to increase friction andhatred between Muslims and Hindus.I have many Muslim friends and they

greet me saying namaste. There havebeen no problems. Dr Zakir Naik mustthink twice before making such an irre-sponsible statement. He must rememberthat he is living in the 21st century wherewe all must learn to respect each otherand our civilisations.He may have a lot of knowledge

about different faiths but having norespect for other faiths than Islam willreflect that he has to go a very long wayto understand the meaning of Allah, Godor Paramatma. For all the AV readers I will like to

define the meaning of namaste. Namasteis a friendly and most common greetinggenerally said by Hindus and often recip-rocated by people of other faiths and cul-tures.I have noticed many white people-

coming forward to greet by namaste. It islike saying "good day" in English. It is arespectful greetings and can be used uni-versally whatever be the gender, age orsocial status.

Dharam SahdevBy email

A positive image for India

Unfortunately, Lord Desai has misusedrostrum in the lion’s den, the Gujarat toslander Gandhiji and Gita. Except for MrNitin Mehta, no one in India or in Britainhas protested against such preposterousabuse.Then why did we defend Gita in

Russia and complain to the BBC aboutTop Gear programme in India, or objectto paintings by M. F. Hussein? Foreigners viz Joanna Lumley,

Francois Gautier, Mark Tully, strive tocreate positive image of India; late“Mother” from Aurobindo Ashram,Annie Besant and Arundel ofTheosophical Society fought for India’sindependence.David Frawley, Conrad Elst and

Stephen Knapp bring shine to India’simage. Meeraben, and Sister Niveditatook pride about brilliant image of India,which sadly Lord Desai failed to appreci-ate.

Lord Desai, indulging in denigrationof Gandhiji and Gita, gives chance toIndian and global adversaries to treatHindus as doormats. Learn from Muslims whose assertive-

ness enhances clean image. Parents ofStephen Lawrence doggedly pursued liti-gation for 18 years to buttress image ofblacks to underscore that blacks will notbe brushed aside under lame excuses. Lord Desai, should project pride in

Indian role models and Gita so thatHindus in Britain can be proud that he isone of us.

Ramesh JhallaBy email

A gift fit for a Queen

The Government has rejected theEducation Secretary, Michael Gove’s,proposal for taxpayers to buy a new yachtlikely to cost in the region of some £60million for the Queen as a present for herdiamond jubilee. The proposal was rejected on the

grounds that there was very little moneyto go around. This would not be the topof the Government’s list of priorities at atime when resources were scarce andschool budgets are being slashed.The Queen does a marvellous job and

a yacht to replace the now defunct RoyalYacht Britannia would be a token of ourappreciation for the 60 years she hasgiven to the country. Having spoken with Her Majesty at a

Royal Garden Party at BuckinghamPalace which I had the privilege to attendat the invitation of the Lord Chancellor, Imust say that I was struck by the graceand dignity with which she carried her-self.Since the Government is unable to

come up with the required money, Iwould like to moot an idea for considera-tion. The UK’s population at 62.3 millionis just over the 60 million mark. If eachand every one of us chipped in with apound each, which is less than the price

YOUR VOICE

It was time some one with authoritychallenges the liberal, almost mischiefmaking views and opinion expressed bythe Church, especially by Dr. RowanWilliams who has expressed sympathywith the summer rioters who brought thiscountry to a standstill with looting, burn-ing and thuggery.It seems so many prominent personal-

ities in the Church hierarchy are willingto reduce, confine Christianity to moraldust-bin on the altar of multi-faith, multi-centralism. It is the duty of every individual to

defend moral values, upheld law andorder and in the face of “moral neutrali-ty” that pervades modern life. It is pro-foundly wrong to believe that promotingChristianity would “do down otherfaiths” according to our PM DavidCameron. It is time other politicians show the

courage and speak up for the well-beingof this nation. After all vote bank politicshas no standing in our multi culturalsociety.

Kumudini D ValambiaBy email

of a cup of coffee, we could easily gathertogether the £60 million.Surely, this would not be too much to

ask and the gift would serve as a lastinglegacy of her Diamond Jubilee. I also hadthe privilege of speaking with PrincessMargaret, the Queen’s sister, when shemade a whistle stop visit to my place ofwork at the then Department ofEducation and Science accompanied byMargaret Thatcher, who was at the timeEducation Secretary, and she too oozedcharm and dignity.

Dinesh ShethBy email

British Economy and thecurrent government

I think most of the people know that MrOsborne, Finance Minister can’t run evena newspaper shop, how can he managethe British economy?I think even a child can bring down

the state deficit by cutting all the bene-fits, public services and jobs.That government is best which rules

the least, same way that party is bestwhich brings down the deficit slowly andgradually without reducing services andjobs.People have now understood that

Labour party policy was exactly doingthat, but of course it's too late now!

J PatelBirmingham

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 1111EDUCATION / COUNCIL VOICE

A fifth of council tenanciesacross the UK have beenfound to hold "indicationsof fraud" following a num-ber of privately led investi-gations to tackle the grow-ing problem.

It has been suggestedthat around 160,000 socialhousing tenants in Londonalone have been cheatingthe system, subletting theirproperties and making mil-lions of pounds at the tax-payer's expense. The scamsinclude individuals takingout mortgages or credit atother addresses whilstclaiming against the bene-fits system.

Housing minister GrantShapps warned the scale oftenancy fraud may be evenlarger than expected. "It iscompletely unacceptablefor housing cheats to get a

home they don't need atmassively subsidised rates,only to rent it out at marketrates and pocket the differ-ence. Social housing fraudhas become big business,ignored for far too long," hesaid.

The government'srecent estimate on fraudu-lent council tenancies hasbeen placed at 1 per cent;suggesting over 50,000 ten-ants in the UK are commit-

ting fraud. In a bid to tack-le the issue, the govern-ment committed to spend-ing £19m through localcouncil initiatives toimprove the housing sys-tem. However, recent evi-dence under a HJK investi-gation indicated somecouncils had not spent apenny on tackling the prob-lem.

Howard Kleinberg,director of HJKInvestigations, the housingfraud specialist which car-ried out the research, said:"If this problem was takenmore seriously, it couldmake a significant dent inthe council house waitinglist. But it will never hap-pen, because of the bureau-cracy and the way moneygets lost in the chain of offi-cialdom."

Around 150 schoolchildrenwill join Mayor Sir RobinWales at Newham TownHall in East Ham on Fridayto remember the horren-dous crimes, racism andvictimisation committedduring the Holocaust.

Candles will be lit onHolocaust Memorial Day,which marks the anniver-sary of the liberation of theconcentration campAuschwitz-Birkenau.

Mayor Sir Robin Walessaid: "The act of remember-

ing is our opportunity tolearn the lessons from theNazi persecution, strength-en our resolve to tackleanti-Semitism and all formsof discrimination andensure that more recentgenocides are neither for-gotten nor repeated."

The theme of this year'sevent at the Town Hallfrom 10am to 12 noon is'speak up, speak out' andchallenges those who con-tinue to seek to deny theHolocaust. Guests include

Gillian Walnes, co-founderof the Anne Frank Trust,and David Gold, chairmanof West Ham United. Bothare tireless campaignersagainst anti-Semitism andhatred.

The event will see chil-dren performing musicfrom Schindler's List andperforming extracts fromthe diary of Anne Frank.There will also be readingsby young people of storiesof survivors of theHolocaust.

Parents are failing to keepup with their children's sci-entific knowledge, a sur-vey suggests. Researchersfor the Big Bang UK YoungScientists and EngineersFair interviewed 2,000 par-ents of children agedbetween five and 16. Two-thirds of parents said theystruggled with their chil-dren's science queries anda quarter felt frustrated.

Professor Brian Cox, aspokesman for the fair,admitted children's sciencequestions could be tricky.Almost one in three par-ents said they werequizzed by their curiousoffspring on a daily basis.The questions often leftparents embarrassed bytheir own failure to pro-vide answers.

Professor Cox said:"With more and moreyoungsters getting stuckinto science and mathsboth in and out of school,it's no wonder they are

constantly questioning theworld around them.Inquisitive minds are fan-tastic but clever questionscan leave parents in atricky situation if theydon't have the answers.The best thing parents cando is work with their chil-dren to find the answers.Not only can it be fun, butyou'll both learn some-thing new along the way."

Children's enjoymentof science and maths wasnot always shared by theirparents, with more thanhalf of those surveyed say-ing the subjects filled them

with dread. More than aquarter of parents thoughttheir offspring knew moreabout maths and sciencethan they did.

Some added that theirchildren's enthusiasm wasfuelled by television seriessuch as Frozen Planet orWonders of the Universe.About a third of parentssaid they activelyresearched answers totheir children's inquiries.But 16% told their chil-dren to ask their partnerand a fifth made up aresponse or pretended thatno one knew the answer.

Children's science questions'stump many parents'

An army of 20,000 volun-teers will be needed for anew initiative to help chil-dren play safely outdoors,say campaigners. They willbe asked to help build newplaygrounds, staff existingones, run play schemes andstreet parties. The govern-ment has given £2m to help

local groups boost outdoorplay in their communities.

Campaign group PlayEngland says childrenshould be able to play out-side after school or in theholidays. The group's direc-tor Catherine Prisk said:"Playing outside, chalkingon the pavement. climbing

trees and riding your bikeare simple pleasures thatmany of today's childrenare missing out on. Play isessential for children'shealth and happiness now,and for making friends,building key skills for thefuture and for feeling youare part of a community."

Army of 20,000 Volunteers needed to helpboost outdoor play

Children to light candles onHolocaust Memorial day

Social housing fraud-big business


Asian Voice columnistDhiren Katwa has beenrecognised for his outstand-ing journalism by theGovernment of India.Dhiren was the youngest of20 non-resident Indians(NRIs) who were honouredat a prestigious ceremony inNew Delhi earlier thismonth. Each awardee waspresented with the BharatSamman Award, which recog-nises individuals of Indianorigin living overseas forexemplary work in theirrespective fields.“I attribute this accolade

to my well-wishers, avidreaders of my column andthose who have stood by meat all times,” said Dhiren,who lives in Birminghamand is senior news editor atAsian Voice. He added:“The fine qualities instilledin me by my parents, grand-parents has enabled me tocampaign tirelessly and fear-lessly for justice, equalityand fairness for all. In addi-tion, without the guidance,support and excellent mentoringfrom my guru, Mr CB Patel, thisaward would simply not be pos-sible.” Dhiren is the son ofRameshbhai and DayabenKatwa and grandson of BhagatRavjibhai Bhoja and SantokbenKatwa, both Late, of Mombasa,East Africa.The annual event, held at the

Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi,was organised by the NRIInstitute, a non-profit, apoliticalorganisation which aims to pro-vide a platform for people ofIndian origin, globally, and pro-motes NRI investments in India.Dr Rami Ranger, who was alsopresent, was given the LifetimeAchievement Award. DrRanger’s company, Sun MarkLimited, is the only UK firm tohave received three consecutiveQueen’s Awards for Enterprise.Dr Ranger’s humorous speechwas applauded by all.Distinguished guests includ-

ed Dr Bal Ram Jakhar, formerSpeaker of Lok Sabha, RajeevShukla, Minister ofParliamentary Affairs, DrBhishma Narain Singh, formerGovernor of Tamil Nadu andAssam, Governor of ArunachalPradesh JJ Singh and JoginderSingh, former CBI director.As part of the three-day

Bharat Pravasi Divas celebra-tions, an evening reception was

hosted by His Excellency JamesBevan, the new British HighCommissioner in India. Held athis residence in Rajaji Marg,New Delhi, the event featuredspeeches from Mr Bevan, eventhost Jagmohan Singh and Dr SY Quraishi, Chief ElectionCommissioner of India.Also honoured was Baroness

Sandip Verma, the first BritishAsian woman in the House ofLords. Sari-clad BaronessVerma, who received theLifetime Achievement Award,paid a glowing tribute to theevent organisers for recognisingthe talents and achievements, onmerit, of NRIs.Other award recipients

included: Atul Pathak, MD ofAPPT Corporation, which man-ages McDonalds; author andSikh historian Peter Bance;Navin Piplani, director ofConservation Studies at YorkUniversity; and educationalistMehmood Khan, an alumnus ofthe Indian Institute ofManagement, Ahmedabad.A day earlier, a separate

awards ceremony was hosted bythe Global Punjabi Society.Distinguished guests includedMarshall of the Air Force, ArjanSingh, Governor of PuducherryDr Iqbal Singh, BaronessSandip Verma and Lord DaljitRana. Those awarded includedformer cricketer Bishan Singh

Bedi, noted fashion designerRanna Gill, editor HindustanTimes City Sonal Kalra, MD ofFortis Healthcare ShivinderMohan Singh, MD of Adidasand Reebok India SubhinderSingh Prem and former HighCommissioner of India to UK,Nalin Surie.Also honoured during this

remarkable series of ceremonieswere: Sir Ponnavaikko, ViceChancellor of SRM University inTamil Nadu; Mr Kriplani TDesai of Shree AvdhootChemicals of Surat, Gujarat;engineer Rishabh Nath Jain ofKuwait; Judge Ajit SwaranSingh, the only judge of Indianorigin in New Zealand; andRennu Dhillon, an early learn-ing specialist and educator.Rennu founded Genius Kids in2001, a model which has provenresults for its unique education-al values of interactive learningwith academics, personality andpublic speaking as the focus foryoung children. Rennu is thedaughter of former MombasaMayor Shamsher Singh Dhillonand Mohinder Kaur Dhillon –who were also present, as wasRennu’s daughter Sheena.Rennu was educated in Kenyaand in the UK, and later emi-grated to East San Francisco inthe USA. To see full list of win-ners and for more informationvisit www.nriinstitute.org

Honoured: Asian Voice columnist Dhiren Katwareceives award from Bal Ram Jakhar and Dr Iqbal

Singh, Governor of Puducherry

Rennu Dhillon Baroness Sandip Verma

Judge Ajit SwaranSingh

Dr Rami Ranger

NRIs honoured by IndianGovernment in New Delhi Rupanjana Dutta

The Moresand Group or morepopularly known as CrystalTravel celebrated its 25thanniversary at a gala lunch eventon Thursday 12th January at theMillenium Hotel in GloucesterRoad. The celebratory lunchbustled with representativesfrom mostly all the airways. Thecompany staff of Moresandgroup were also present at thegala party including their inter-national office heads.

The Managing Director P SKang and Director John Kaliawere around, offering the besthospitality one could provide totheir guests. A family businessin actual, Mr Kang was accom-panied by his children, especial-ly daughter and her fiance andwife, Mrs Kamal Kang.Mr PS Kang told Asian

Voice, “It is a wonderfully proudmoment for myself, our teamand Moresand. It has been along and successful journey andit is indeed a time to rejoice.”The Chief Guest for the

afternoon was Rt Hon KeithVaz, Chair of Home AffairsCommittee and MP for Leicesterwho spoke very highly of thehost and the company.

The reception started with adrink and networking sessionfollowed by a lavish lunch whilethe guests were given moreinformation on the history of MrKang’s vision, the company andformally introduced to the mem-bers of his team. Crystal Travel is a leading

pan-European travel companyspecialising in worldwide travel.A part of Moresand Group,formed in 1986, it is a wellestablished Travel company, sit-uated very close to OxfordCircus in the heart of London. Crystal Travel operates

under multiple brand names likeSam travel, Air travel Guide andAir travel Guru. They offer a fullrange of travel products online,over telephone and throughretail outlets in Central London

and East London and call cen-tres at Colombo, Pakistan, Delhiand Hyderabad.“This is a remarkable

achievement by PS Kang and hispeople, the company that startedwith 3 people and grown to thestrength it’s now. They havegone from an Asian diaspora toa main stream company. This isa family business; through thehard work, the dedication, theout of box thinking, what thecompany has achieved over thelast 25 years is demonstrated

through the huge increase ofrevenue. I am sure there will bemany such successful years tocome and I am quite confidentthat I will come back and cele-brate the 30th and 40th year ofthis company, which surely willbe better and bigger, because atthe end of the day PS Kang andhis family and you all don’t dothis job to just make money, butyou do your job to improve thequality of people’s life and createmore and more jobs. I am proudit’s a British company and someone of Indian origin hasachieved so much for this coun-try through this world classcompany.”PS Kang, founder and MD of

the company spoke about the

yesteryears, his modest start ofthe company and thanked histeam members and long termfriends and supporters whomade Moresand such a success-ful company. It was an incredi-bly noble gesture on his part tointroduce all his team memberswho were present at the celebra-tion. A toast was raised by ex

employee, who spoke about thejourney of Moresand, which ofcourse was not easy, but hepraised P S Kang who kept try-ing, working harder to makeCrystal travel a better andstronger organisation.The afternoon ended with a

tasty luncheon by Ragasaan andentertainment that includedsome exotic performances bygorgeous dancers.

Moresand Group celebrates itssilver jubilee with pomp and gaiety

Directors P S Kang and John Kalia with the Moresand Team

Mr Keith Vaz addressing the audience on the occasion of Moresand Ltd 25th anniversary

Britain’s favourite interna-tional dish has changed! Thetrusty tikka masala has beenreplaced by chinese stir-fryas the number one meal. Thisquick and easy noodle dish isregularly eaten by approxi-mately 20% of Brits at leastonce a week, partly becauseit is so simple to prepare.Statistics show that Brits

have truly become Asianfood lovers, with 9 out of 10favourite international dish-es originating from the sub-continent. The British havebecome fans of exotic spices,rendering much of the tradi-tional British cuisine likesausages and mash as justtoo bland. As a result of

these changing tastes, fami-lies are having an average of3 international meals a week.Other favourites in the topten, include Thai green curry,

Peking duck and sweet andsour chicken.Around a quarter of Brits

are eating more oriental cui-sine than a decade ago. Andas time goes on, it seemslikely that this number willincrease, as a survey hasfound that a third of parentsclaim their child is moreadventurous when it comesto trying new dishes thanthemselves. Nick Thorogood,Managing Director of FoodNetwork EMEA said thattheir research has shown thatnowadays ‘it is considerednormal to be swapping aCottage Pie for a Thai GreenCurry,’ which was definitelynot the case 10 years ago.

Britain’s loveaffair with

Asian cuisinecontinues asChinese stirfry tops tikka

masala


A delegation fromUniversity of East Londonheaded by Prof PatrickMcghee, Vice Chancellor,Lord Kamlesh Patel andothers will be visitingIndia (Hyderabad, Delhiand Mumbai) in March,that may also discussabout UK as a safe desti-nation for foreign stu-dents, was announced in aPress Conference onFriday 20th January 2012in a central London venue.

In a meeting withIndian and British Indianjournalists, UniversitiesUK and British Councilspoke about their deepregrets regarding the mur-der of Indian student fromPune- Anuj Bidve inSalford, while they alsodiscussed certain safetymeasures that are a mustfor any foreign student.

The meeting wasattended by Prof EricThomas, President,Universities UK and ViceChancellor, University ofBristol, Prof PatrickMcghee, Vice Chancellor,University of EastLondon, NicolaDandridge, ChiefExecutive, UniversitiesUK, Helen Clews,Account coordinator andImmigration adviser,British Council, JoAttwooll, Policy Advisor,Universities UK, NigelSemmens, Director of

C o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,Universities UK, HelenBarker, Press officer,Universities UK andGareth Greene, PressOfficer, University of EastLondon.

Prof Eric Thomas, whochaired the discussionwrote in a letter on 4thJanuary, "On behalf of allUK universities in the UK,I am writing to express ourdeep sadness at the deathof Anuj Bidve. This is adevastating tragedy for hisfamily and friends and thedeath of a gifted individualin such a manner is a lossfor us all. The British peo-ple have been appalled bythis terrible event andMonday (2nd Jan) vigilbore witness to national

and local feeling..."He added, "UK univer-

sities take the safety andwell being of all their stu-dents very seriously.Institutions offer induc-tion and orientation ses-sions for international stu-dents which includeadvice on safety.

We at Universities UKwould want to reassurecurrent and future Indianstudents and their aprentsthat this kind of incidentis thankfully exceptionallyrare. Compared to othercountries UK remains asafe and tolerant countrywith low levels of violenceand street crime andindeed the BritishCouncil's survey showedthat only a very small pro-

portion of students hadever experienced any kindof crime here..."

Prof Patrick Mcgheetold Asian Voice that UKremains one of the bestand safest countries forliving, studying and mak-ing friends. It remains oneof the best location forhigher education- highquality and modern.

Helen Clews, Accountcoordinator andImmigration adviser,British Council told AsianVoice that UK receivesaround 534,600 interna-tional students every yearout of which 45,350 areessentially Indian. Everyyear before these foreignstudents leave their coun-try of origin, British

Indian students’ safety discussed by Universities UKCouncil conducts a predeparture guidance. Onarriving to the port of des-tination an orientationprogram is also conductedby the University. It is inorder to make these for-eign students aware ofwhat they may encounteron reaching Britain andessentially familiarisingthem with the surround-ing. The British Councilhas also published a book-let called CreatingConfidence that is meantto guide foreign students

through the life in the UK.However it was unani-

mously advised to all stu-dents to take a licensedtaxi if they are comingback very late in the night.It was also suggested thatthe College StudentsUnion may help in gettinga taxi or fare, if required.They advised internation-al pupils to go out withfriends, talk to other stu-dents regarding safety of acity and research wellbefore visiting a localitylate in the night.

Professor Eric Thomas, Prof Patrick Mcghee, Nicola Dandridge, Helen Clews with othersfrom the Universities UK

37-year-old man to appearbefore magistrates overkilling of Avtar and CaroleKolar who were founddead by their son.

Police have charged aman with the murders of acouple who were founddead in their home inBirmingham. Postmortemexaminations revealedthat both died as a resultof blunt force trauma tothe head, each sustaininga number of blows.

The bodies of AvtarKolar, 62, and his wifeCarole, 58, were discov-ered at their house inHandsworth Wood 2weeks back.

West Midlands policesaid a Lithuanian national

Rimvydas Liorancas, 37,would appear before mag-istrates in Birmingham onThursday morning.

Crimestoppers hasdescribed the double mur-der as a “vile crime” andput up a reward of up to �10,000 for details leadingto the arrest and convic-tion of those responsible.

Man charged withBirmingham double murder

Avtar and Carole Kolar

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 201214 ART & CULTURE

Q & A: Visa to IndiaHow do I apply for MinorChild (Under 16 Years of age)

A copy of the child’s birth cer-tificate showing both the par-ents names.Consent letter addressed to theHCI or its respective con-sulates signed by both the par-ents.Photocopy of Parent’s pass-

ports along with the copy of theircurrent Indian Visa, if already

holding one.In case of Divorce, Child Custody Letter from court inrespect of the child is required.In case of Single Parent, Solicitor’s Letter and ChildBenefit letter will be required.

Applicants can visit India without the ‘02 month entry’restrictions with a valid Long term VISA. This is differ-ent from a Tourist VISA.

What is long term VISA.

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Alina Polianskaya

Alice Ramcharran, founder of brandnew workout program MasalaBhangra, introduces her new class.With Bollywood and Bhangrainspired music and moves, it promis-es to be an exciting and authenticexercise program. I spoke to Alice tofind out more...

Why did you choose Bhangra tobe part of your fitness programme?

I’m always looking for new andexciting ways of keeping people fitand helping them to achieve theirgoals. I was the first one back in2008 to bring Zumba to the HighWycombe area, and when MasalaBhangra announced they would berunning a course in the UK, Ijumped at the chance. My colleagueBridget and I are currently 2 of only16 instructors in the UK.

Do you have a Bhangra dancingbackground?

I actually have a background infitness, not dance, and have been inthe industry since 1999. I havetaught various classes including aer-obics, legs bums and tums, supplestrength, boxercise, circuits, boot-camp, body blitz, body conditioning,step and Zumba, to name but a few!

Why did you decide to getinvolved in Bhangra?

I really love the music, it makesyou want to get up and move andhelps you get fit at the same time!The class uses Bhangra andBollywood moves to create an exhil-arating, fun workout with a differ-ence.

Obviously Bhangra has Asianorigins, what links do you have tothe Asian community?

My strongest links with theAsian community come through myhusband. His family is from Guyanaso he has an Indian/Indo-Caribbeanheritage. Also having lived in HighWycombe all my life, I have manyAsian friends and clients. I have astrong appreciation of the Asian cul-ture and a great deal of my cooking

is inspired by Asian cuisine. I haverecently written a vegetarian cook-book to help my clients follow ahealthy and low-fat diet... mainlybased on Asian and Indo-Caribbeanfamily recipes.

What was the inspiration behindthis new workout class?

The Masala Bhangra workoutwas originally devised by America’sfirst cross-cultural fitness star SarinaJain who choreographed traditionalBhangra alongside modern, funkydance moves to appeal to theAmerican exercise industry. Theoriginal idea for Masala Bhangrawas inspired by her love ofBollywood movies. Masala Bhangrahas now spread further and reachedthe UK in 2011.

Is it high energy? Who in partic-ular is this workout aimed at?

It can be as high or low energy asyou want it to be! It’s suitable for allages, from 14 to 70 plus, and all lev-els of fitness. We encourage every-one to work at their own pace and ifanyone has any pre-existing injuriesor medical conditions, we ask themto get medical clearance first.

How do you select the music foryour classes?

The routines are all set to Asianinspired beats that mix Bhangra

sounds with more modern music. Wewere given music on our MasalaBhangra course, but I also speak toothers and look online to find moresuitable music that has the right beatfor our routines.

What response did you get to thetaster class?

We did a ‘Masala Bhangra’evening back in October 2011 wherewe held a taster session and alsooffered Asian inspired drinks andnibbles. We had a number of differ-ent stalls selling jewellery, beautyproducts, clothes and accessories.We had a great response with over 70people attending. It was the positivefeedback from the taster class thatinspired us to set up a regularMasala Bhangra class whichlaunched on Wednesday 18 January,2012.

How else do you keep fit?Currently I am doing walking,

gym sessions and swimming as wellas many of the warm up routines inmy classes. This is less than I wouldusually do because I’m 6 and a halfmonths pregnant! My colleagueBridget will be taking the MasalaBhangra classes when we firstlaunch, but my baby is due in Apriland I am sure I’ll be straight back toinstructing as soon as I’ve recov-ered!

Alina Polianskaya

Reporter and author RaniSingh appeared at anAsia Programme Meetingat Chatham House to dis-cuss Sonia Gandhi’s lifeand journey into politics.Rani has recently releasedthe first comprehensivebiography entitled SoniaGandhi, an ExtraordinaryLife, an Indian Destiny.

The meeting, whichtook place on January 18,began with Rani giving a30 minute talk about thebiography of Sonia. Shediscussed Sonia’s earlylife including her Italianroots, her studies inEngland where she metand fell in love with RajivGandhi, and her move toIndia where she soonbecame the favoureddaughter-in-law of thelate political leader,Indira Gandhi. Ms Singhtalked about Sonia’s vis-its to disadvantaged areasof India and her turbulentand controversial riseinto politics following themurder of her husband.

This was followed bya half hour question and

answer session, with con-tributions from GarethPrice, a Senior ResearchFellow for the AsiaProgramme. Questionswere asked about howpositive Rani’s account ofMs Gandhi’s life was,despite rumours of cor-ruption. Ms Singhexplained that she want-ed to give a full factualaccount of Sonia’s lifewhich was quite a feat initself. She did not want towaste time with reportsthat were not substantiat-ed, as such allegationswere common of manypoliticians.

The continuation of

Author Rani Singh discusses Life of Sonia Gandhi

Masala Bhangra, the fun new way to get fit!

the Nehru-Gandhi familyline as leaders of theCongress Party was also alarge element of the dis-cussion; as was thedebatable trajectory ofSonia Gandhi’s careerand her leadership style.Rani explained that whileSonia was reluctant atthe start and aware of herown weaknesses, she feltit was her duty to helpcontinue the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Her con-tributions included reju-venating the CongressParty after learning aboutpolitics from her mother-

in-law, her husband andthe attendees at politicalmeetings. Her aimsincluded carrying on herlate husband’s desires tohelp disadvantaged peo-ple. Rani stated that oneof Sonia’s assets was thatshe was always willing tovisit underprivilegedcommunities which let toher developing theNational AdvisoryCouncil.

Ms Singh’s compre-hensive biography wasavailable to buy at theend of the meeting, and ison sale nationwide.

Sonia Gandhi

More street parties will bethrown to celebrate theQueen’s Diamond Jubileethis year than were heldfor the royal wedding,early figures suggest.

Hundreds of peopleacross the country havealready written to theirlocal councils to expresstheir desire to hold publiccelebrations, despite theJubilee weekend beingmore than four months

away. The surge of interestindicates that the weddingof the Duke and Duchessof Cambridge revivedBritain’s love of street par-ties, according to localgovernment leaders.

Organisers predict thesummer weather and theexample set by lastspring’s festivities couldsee up to three millionpeople take to the streetsin June.

Queen’s diamond jubilee to have morestreet parties than royal wedding


Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to

share with us, please write to Shree at [email protected]

Braids, pleats, or plaits -whatever you call them,we're absolutely loving allthings twisted in hair thisseason. Braids have beenconsistently ruling thetrend charts for the lastcouple of years, both onthe runway and the redcarpet, and promise tostay in vogue through thenext season. Once a sym-bol of the plain Jane –think Melissa Gilbert’slong pigtail braids on

“Little House on thePrairie” – the braid hasbeen elevated to highglam. With a few strategictwists, they can give youa whole new look every-day, including bad hairdays. Here are our topstyles:The Herringbone

BraidAlso known as the fish-tail braid, it is deceptivelyintricate but hardly com-plicated. It works bothdressed up and dresseddown. The end result is abraid that mimics thescales on a fishtail – onlysexy. Take notes fromFergie and Leona Lewison how to wear it.The French BraidLike most things French,this is a classic hairstyle.A French braid is anintricate hairstyle thatstarts with three small

sections of hair at the topof the head and weavesmore hair in as you braidtoward the nape of yourneck. Unlike the tradi-tional braid which beginsat the nape; this stylebegins at your hair line.The traditional version isideal for work and playbut try Sarah MichelleGellar’s side French braidtied up in a messy bunmakes for a contempo-rary one.The Wind-Swept

BraidIf the regular braid feelstoo prairie girl-ish, messit up to give a nonchalantvibe. Go for the braid ver-sion of the just-out-of-bed look. This style is ared carpet favourite withBlake Lively, Dia Mirzaand Diane Kruger, sport-ing them. It works best ifyou’re hair is cut in lay-ers. Scrunch your hairwith mousse before tyingit up in a loose braid.The Swiss Braid Soft, feminine, and pret-ty, the Swiss is a braidthat goes around thecrown of your head. It’salso been called a head-band braid, since the hairis sometimes braided tolook like just that. Alsoknown as the milkmaidbraid, it conjures upimages of ethereal fairy-tale women and story-book characters. It’s asimple style that comple-ments the girly side ofyou and we recommendyou wear it with flowing,pastel gowns. Take inspi-ration from Sienna Millerand Sonam Kapoor.The Braided UpdoThis style comes to yourrescue when you arecrunched for time. That’snot to take away from thesophistication and ele-gance of it. We love Heidi

Klum’s version.The Ribbon

BraidAdd a dash of colour toyour hairstyle by incorpo-rating ribbons andscarves into your braid.Feel free to experimentwith colours and tex-tures. We loved theSpring 2011 look atHermes backstage wherethe hair stylists weavedscarves into the model'shair.

Micro BraidsSneak a few intoyour pony tail for a dash

of bohemian chic. Perfectto wear with maxi dress-es and long skirts: look toBlake Lively for inspira-tion.

fashionistaby Debasree GhoshfashionistaAll A-braid!

Pharmacies inBirmingham and Solihullare poised to dispensemore than just medicinesfrom now on, as thelaunch of the city’s first‘Healthy LivingPharmacy’ takes place onMonday.

Each Healthy LivingPharmacy will have a‘Health InformationZone’ with a clear aim toprovide assistance andadvice on everydayhealth issues such asstopping smoking,weight loss and review-ing medicines, they willalso deliver expert sup-port on wider health

needs including supply-ing the morning afterpill, and dealing withminor ailments on thespot.

They have undergonea rigorous training pro-gramme to get to thisstage as Sajj RajaCommunity PharmacyDevelopment Manager,NHS Birmingham &Solihull comments; “Thefuture of healthcare ischanging rapidly, andBirmingham & Solihullare leading the way indelivering a much broad-er range of support serv-ices, expert advice andhelp right on the high

street where it’s accessi-ble to everyone. We areproud to be launchingthe first accreditedHealthy LivingPharmacy in the city.”

The first pharmacy tobe offering the extendedservices is ShahPharmacy on theStratford Road inSparkhill, which is spear-heading the way for moreto follow suit. They areopening their doors for adrop in session onMonday 23rd January,where anyone can findout more about thisexciting new initiative inhealthcare.

Founder’s Days give thestudents and teachers atthe Bhavan an opportuni-ty to display their prowess.Indeed it is one of theunique aspects of theBhavan’s courses, atwhich students are able toperform in front of audi-ences. On Saturday 21stJanuary and Sunday 22ndJanuary, the Bhavan’sMountbatten Auditoriumwas full to capacity onboth days.

On the first Founder’sDay of the weekend, theChief Guest was MrBhaskar Hande, ChiefExecutive of SyndicateBank. Mr Bhaskar paidtribute to the work doneby the Bhavan’s Founder,Dr K.M. Munshi and hisvaluable posterity in pre-serving India’s art, cultureand heritage.

On the second day ofthe weekend, Chief GuestMiss Sangeeta Bahadur,Director of the NehruCentre said that she wasvery impressed with thewonderful quality of theperformances by theBhavan’s students. Shealso promised to continuethe close relationshipbetween the Nehru Centreand the Bhavan.

Audiences were treat-ed to accomplished per-formances of music, dance

and recitations. Some 250students were involved oneach day, under the super-vision of their teachers.On both days, studentsreceived their diplomasand certificates form theChief Guests.

On the Saturday, thevote of thanks was given

by the Bhavan’s ViceChairman, Padma Shri DrJohn Marr. On Sunday,the vote of thanks wasgiven by Mr John Muir,the Bhavan’sAdministrative Manager.

The proceedings werecompèred by Smt ParvatiNair.

Next generation of artistson display at the Bhavan

Chief Guest Mr BhaskarHande, CEO, Syndicate Bank

Bharatanatyam students on stage

Chief Guest Miss SangeetaBahadur, Director of the

Nehru Centre

First ‘Healthy Living Pharmacy’launches in Birmingham

Sonam Kapoor narratedhow she worked her waythrough adolescent obesity,starvation and a depressinglack of self-confidence, to

reach a healthy and sus-tainable figure.I had hair on my faceI've battled my weightsince I was 12. My par-ents took to us to NewYork once, for a holiday,and there I'd buy fruitloops from a 24x7 shopand sit down with mybooks. I never played, Iwasn't that kind of kid -I just read. I ate choco-

lates like peanuts. I was86 kg till I was 19. SanjayLeela Bhansali (thedirector of her debutfilm, "Saawariya") told

me, “you have a beautifulface but neck down, you'relike an Ajanta-Ellora paint-ing.” He was sweet enoughto wait for me, but he said,“you have to wear a back-less choli, you can't haverolls of fat showingthrough.” I had all thehealth problems that comewith being overweight - Iwas diabetic, I had to takeinsulin tablets. I had hairon my face and I blamedmy dad for it! My mom toldme, “you don't have hairanywhere else, you've doneit to yourself.”

At 18, I was seeingsomeone very loving. Hetold me then that I love youthe way you are, but youneed to lose weight! I tooktwo years to lose it all. I didyoga, I followed starvationdiets and that's why I havebad acidity - and at thisage. I can't wear bikinisbecause I have loose skinfrom losing so muchweight!The pressure keeps me ontrackI look at myself in the papersevery day. I look at my com-petition - I have to be thin.

After putting on weight to play the role of avoluptuous sex siren in the biopic “The DirtyPicture” and walking away with accolades,the talented Vidya Balan is now in a race tolose weight as soon as possible, it seems. Thereason – Vidya is all excited to perform herfirst item number in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's“Ferrari Ki Sawaari.”

Sources claim that Balan is leavingno effort spared to look her glam bestfor the song and will be trying out 10different looks for the song. A sourcewas quoted to have said, "Vidya sawsome portions of the film, featuringSharman Joshi, along with producersVidhu Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani. Shetook an instant liking to the film andimmediately agreed to do the song."

Confirming the news, director RajeshMapuskar was quoted to have said, "Yes,we are creatively working out the look.There have been all kinds of item numbersand we want this one to be different."

When it comes to his daughterTrishala, Sanjay Dutt is a very pro-tective father. He does not want herin the showbiz.

The 22-year-old wasinterested in acting butSanjay didn't back her."Absolutely true andunderline it 500times," Sanjay said,about his opposition."If somebody says giveme the reason, I amgoing to show my fin-ger because she is mydaughter. "Trishala isfrom Sanjay's firstwife Richa Sharma,who was an actressand died of cancer.The 51-year-oldSanjay, now mar-ried to Manyatafrom whom he has twins, believeswomen have to struggle a lot in the filmindustry and he doesn't want his daughter toface all this.

"If you want the reason, my father (SunilDutt) never wanted any female from my fam-ily to join the film industry. Not because filmindustry is a bad place for woman, not

because film industry is taboo in the country,only because it's a huge struggle for women.Being the oldest in the family I can't give up

that legacy," said Sanjay, whose motherNargis was atop notchactress of the1950s and1960s.

This restric-tion is not onlyimposed on hisdaughter, but hisnieces are keptaway from thearch light.

Unfortunately,he didn't spendsome quality timein her childhooddays with Trishala,who was raised byher maternal grandparents in the US.

"I have never seen the aspect of father-hood with Trishala. That's a sad thing and mybad luck. I feel sad for her. Anyways that wasmy bad luck. I wish I could spend all thosemoments with her also. Nonetheless, we willmake up."

Hot Garam masala

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 1716 Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012

Zaheer-Isha Sharvani to wed in 2012? Ranbir bags Best Actor award for ‘Rockstar’

The overseas rights of Thala Ajith’s forthcoming‘Billa 2′, a prequel to blockbuster ‘Billa’ has beenbought for a whopping 1 million dollars by GKMedia! It is said that the overseas rights were soldfor Rs 53 million and this is the highest overseas ratefor an Ajith starrer, more than “Mankatha” as well(which was sold for Rs 37.5 million). Earlier in Tamilcinema, Superstar Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijayand Suriya have tasted this success for their filmsoverseas. ‘Billa 2′ by Chakri Toleti has music byYuvan Shankar Raja and is one hot property that iseagerly awaited by fans and movie goers.

Actress Shruthi Haasan says that she will take legalaction against people who are spreading rumoursagainst her. Dhanush and Shruthi Haasan are donningthe lead roles in the film titled “3.” Dhanush’s wifeAishwarya is directing this film. At a stage when thefilm is all set for release, there are rumours linkingDhanush and Shruthi. There was news recently thatShruthi has kissed Dhanush in the presence of his wifeand also that both of them had been to Mumbai. Whenasked about it, Shruthi said, “There is no truth in thenews linking me with Dhanush. Nothing of that sort

has happened.”

Amala Paul who had acted in“Muppozhuthum UnKarpanaigal” and “Vettai” isnow pairing with Siddarth inthe Tamil film titled “KadhalilSodhapuvadu Yeppadi.” She isalso pairing with NagaChaitanya in a Telugu film.She is now worried aboutacting with the leading stars.Director Vijay who haddirected “Deiva Thirumagal”which had Vikram in the leadrole has narrated a story toIlayathalapathy Vijay and hasalso told Amala Paul that shewill the female lead in thatfilm. She is in a confused stateof mind, does not know whenVijay will act in that film andwhether her market will bestable until then. Because ofthis she is very determined topair with other leading actorsafter the release of “Vettai.”

All these years we sawmovies where peopletried to get the loversclose or create jodis, nowget ready to meet the peo-ple, who specialize inbreaking the couples!Madhvan and Bipashaplay the break up expertsin upcoming film ‘JodiBreakers’. Besides itsunconventional pairing thepromos have created agood buzz for its ‘hatke’concept, Bipasha's glamquotient, Madhavan's uber-cool dude look and not toforget a romantic lip-kissbetween the duo.

Zaheer Khan-Isha Sharvani, who havebeen going steady for a long time now,are all set to tie the knot soon. A yearand a half after rumours of their wed-

ding plans surfaced, there's a fresh roundof speculations about cricketer Zaheer

Khan and Isha Sharvani finally tying theknot this year. "Zaheer Khan and Isha

Sharvani have decided to tie the knot atthe end of March. The wedding is just

two-and-a-half months away," discloseda close friend of the couple. The families

of the lovebirds are busy chalking outplans for their nuptial. "Recently, theirfamilies met and finalised the weddingdetails. A final decision will be taken

when Zaheer returns from the ongoingAustralian tour. If they don't marry inMarch, they will do so in October. But

they are keen on March," the source wasquoted as saying.

The 18th Colors Screen Awards, 2012 was

a night full of glitz, glamour and

entertainment. Shree Ashtavinayak

Cinevision's ‘Rockstar’ shined at the

glittering award show as it won three

prestigious awards, including The Best

Actor, Best Playback Singer (Male) and

Best Music categories.

While Ranbir Kapoor's role in the film

won him best actor award, composer A. R.

Rahman, who has multiple national and

international awards to his credit, was

awarded the best music director's trophy

for his chartbusting music in ‘Rockstar.’

Singer Mohit Chauhan won the best

male singer trophy for the song 'Phir Se

Ud Chala' in the musical romantic saga.

The evening was indeed an eventful one

for team “Rockstar.”

If rumours are to be believed, John Abraham has tiedthe knot with his girl friend Priya in USA two weeksago. After his break up with Bipasha Basu last year,John was seen dating Priya, a financial analyst. Theywere spotted together for the Mumbai Marathon too.John has never been a person who hides his relation-ship status. He was the one who told the world firstabout his break up with Bipasha. Neither did he denydating Priya. According to media reports, John hasmarried his girlfriend in Los Angeles in a hush-hushceremony attended by his and Priya’s family. So, thebig question is – has John really tied the knot or is itjust another rumour.

Has John Abraham tiedthe knot with Priya?

Tamil superstar Dhanush and Bollywood actressMallika Sherawat have been voted the hottest vege-tarians in a new poll by People for Ethical Treatmentof Animals (PETA) India. Dhanush and Mallikapipped Vivek Oberoi, Vidya Balan, Sonu Sood,Shahid Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini andKareena Kapoor to top the list, the animal rightsorganization said. "If I had to pick the very best thingabout being vegan, it's my clear conscience," Sherawatsaid. Dhanush said: "Being a vegetarian always mademe feel healthy. I've always felt light. Every time I sitdown to eat, I'm helping the environment. I'm proudto be a vegetarian. Go PETA, go green."

Mallika, Dhanush namedhottest vegetarians

Bollywood actor Lara Dutta and tennis player MaheshBhupathi, who tied the knot in February last year, have beenblessed with a baby girl.

Mahesh Bhupathi tweeted: "ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@DuttaLara. I Love u...."

Over the last few days, Lara has been busy setting uphouse for the little one. "It's fun having my parents here andgetting the house baby ready! Anticipation and excitementin the air!:-) feels good 2 start 2012 like that," Lara wrote onher Twitter page.

The sportstar was keen on having a daughter. “Maheshis very excited and would like to have a daughter. However,as a mother, when you are going through the experience ofcarrying a baby for nine months, the first-and-foremost pri-ority is to have a healthy baby,” Lara said.

Lara Dutta-Mahesh Bhupathi

blessed with a baby girl

Ajith – The milliondollar man

Amala Paul isworriedabout future

Shruthi Hassanthreatens legal action

Your wish will always come true, butyou should have thepatience to wait forit, believes danceguru ShiamakDavar. And hispatience did pay offwhen his dream ofmeeting OprahWinfrey came true.

“I have alwaysrespected the workOprah has done overdecades reaching out topeople from around theworld through her talkshow. Most importantly she has made peo-ple believe in themselves and given themhope. I’m a fan of hers and watch her showkeeping a track of her work and achieve-ment. She is truly God’s messenger,”Shiamak affirms.

Shiamak had the honour of meetingher and presented her with a special dancepiece that left Oprah spellbound. Singingand performing with his dance company,

this one really camefrom the heart forsomeone he admires.

“When I heardabout Oprah’s visitto India, I knewdeep down that wewould meet, andas my dear friendP a r m e s h w a rGodrej steppedin and invited

me for the dinner,she made this

meeting come true. The opportu-nity invoked a child like spirit in me andI’ve been extremely excited,” he said.

Shiamak who has met and interactedwith the best from Hollywood, includingTom Cruise, Michael Douglas, StevieWonder, Bryan Adams left a lasting notesaying Oprah is Oprah!

“To present to her my work, to speak toher and to share with her my guru’s book‘The Laws of the spirit World’ all seemssurreal.”

Shiamak Davar performs

for Oprah Winfrey

Bipasha-Madhavan lip-lock in ‘Jodi Breakers’

No acting career forTrishala: Sanjay Dutt

How Sonamgets her

shape

Vidya Balan to losekilos for her debutitem number

18 Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012

Dear Financial Voice Reader: Me and My Moneyball

I write to you from India. On the flight from the UK Iwatched the movie ‘MoneyBall’ in which the Brad Pitt char-acter turns around a baseball team by picking players basedon a variety of mathematical factors and by mining for dataon all professional baseball players across the US. He looksfor exactly the right mix of batters, fielders, runners to makea team which in composite will beat the baseball teams withfar more money. Brad knows if they are to beat the bestbaseball teams, they cannot do so by simply trying to out-spend them or mimic what they are doing.

His sidekick, a Yale economist, develops a computer pro-gramme to score all players. They scout and then hire a team.The uproar by the fans and the other colleagues is outra-geous. They complain you cannot pick players based on thecharacteristics Pitt chooses. You have to use conventional wis-dom they say. Yet, the team goes on to equal the record fornumber of consecutive winning games. This is a true story.

Before I knew anything about this story, I had asked theUK’s largest seller of private investor software, if they wouldcreate a piece of software for me based on my investing cri-teria. They could market it licensing my name and call it the‘Alpesh Patel Special Edition’ of their main software. I knewif I was to beat the biggest fund managers, with theirdozens of analysts, I could not do so by simply trying to out-spend them. I could not do so by replicating their strategy.I had to look for their perceived strengths and outsmartthem, turning those strengths into weaknesses.

You see the biggest fund managers are not now, norhave they ever been, very good. They are marketingmachines. Statics show they rarely outperform putting yourmoney in a passive index fund. The reason is they have somuch money under management, because that’s how theyearn money, not based on their performance. With so muchmoney they can only invest in the UK’s largest companies.Moreover, with so much money, they have to spread thosefunds across so many of these big companies that they endup replicating an index like the FTSE 100. And then theyturn that into a virtue, by measuring their performance rel-ative to such an index.

So how do I compete with that? How do I compete with-out the analysts, and doing something other than investingin the biggest and best British companies?

So I developed some formulas, based on years of expe-rience and eons of analysis. Not for me evenings out andholidays. Even on rare vacations I would be perfecting theformulae I would eventually use. My magnificent obsession.My nickname among my closest friends became ‘Alpy theObsessed’.

No one stock I picked would be the best, but in com-posite my team of stocks, would outperform the biggestmanagers picking their BPs and Shells. I would ignore someof the criteria for picking stocks that conventional wisdomthought important, and add ones which my researchshowed would be good predictors. After all, I may not be aYale economist, but I am an Oxford one. I would turn theperceived strengths of the big managers against them, andmy perceived weaknesses in my favour.

I would not outspend them with an army of analysts,instead I would use computing power. The great leveller.I’ve been investing since the age of 12, so would use myexperience in knowing what to look for – I had in my blood,what they were paid to do. I saw as a vocation, what theysaw as a job. I live and sleep this stuff, they clock off. Iwould X-ray and dissect thousands of stocks. I would usemy weakness of being small as my strength to slay giants.I would not have billions under management, so I could picksmaller companies, and fewer stocks. My performancewould then not simply track an index.

I did not have a brigade of assistant managers to meetthe companies and the Boards I would invest in, so I wouldhave to make sure I analysed their financials in great depth.

The result? In 2004, we launched the Alpesh PatelSpecial Edition of Sharescope. It has since then year on yearbeaten the biggest and best fund managers in the UK. Ithas trounced them in fact. Not every stock has been bril-liant. But in aggregate, the portfolio as a whole won.

How does the story end? In the film ‘Moneyball’ the BradPitt character is offered a multi-million pound contract toplay for one of the big teams. He turns it down. He wantsto change the game of big money baseball managementforever. How does my story end.? You can watch the movieMoneyball in the cinemas. A ticket costs around 10 pounds.You can buy my software from www.ionic.co.uk – it costsaround 100 pounds a month. You can see on there myannual performance track record. I could have worked forGoldman Sachs. I prefer not to. I do not charge you 2% tomanage your money. You have the software and the powerin your own hands. Has the game of big money manage-ment changed forever? You decide.

I’m still waiting for Brad Pitt to play me in the story ofmy Moneyball. I have started wring the book though.Coincidentally, Moneyball was written by a trader turnedfinancial writer. So maybe Shah Rukh Kahn is available forcasting next year – although I suspect I should set my sitesmore realistically on Govinda. Just need to find a role forKatrina Kaif in the story.

Founder, www.investingbetter.com

The countdown to theOlympics has begun, withsome businesses unpre-pared for the Games.Some of the legal issuesfacing businesses relateto staffing, contingencyplanning and use of prop-erty (though some ofthese issues are equallyrelevant to enterprisesnot directly affected bythe Olympics) and thetime to take action isnow.

The Olympics are anational event and peoplewill want to watch theGames and may wanttime off to do so. Also,work journeys may bedelayed, particularly inLondon if there are prob-lems caused by largercommuter numbers.

If businesses want totake advantage of anyconsumer spending spinoff from the Games prop-er staffing will be espe-cially important. Assuch, businesses maywant to consider alterna-tive working patterns(flexible & home work-ing) and updating discre-tionary holiday policies tochange the notice period(for instance). ACAS thebody which deals withworkplace conflicts sug-gests updating any holi-day request policy to

something simple like“first come, first served”when deciding who willbe given time off.

Someone working fivedays a week is allowed aminimum 28 days holiday(including bank and pub-lic holidays) a year.Unless a contract pro-vides otherwise there isno entitlement to furtherpaid leave. This year willsee an additional bankholiday on 5 June in cele-bration of the Queen’sDiamond Jubilee. Again,there is no statutory rightto paid leave on bank orother public holidays –though it may be custom-ary to get time off or, beexpected by contract.

For about 16 dayswhen the Olympics areon, travel through certainparts of London will bemore difficult which maymake delivering goodsharder. Regardless of theOlympics, if you are con-tract bound to delivergoods, unless there is anAct of God, where youfail to deliver the goodsyou will be liable for this.Only an unforeseen situa-tion such as a riot or anearthquake will in mostcases be covered by aforce majeure clause (an“Act of God” clause)which gives some protec-

tion. Making reason-able plans, such asfinding an alternativeroute or suppliers, willprevent a dim viewbeing taken by thecourts where cus-tomers are left out ofpocket.

Finally, if as abusiness person youare thinking of rentingpremises to be closerto the action, then askyourself what youwant from the shop orproperty and only takeon obligations youneed to. If you wantto just trade for ashort time to takeadvantage of greatervisitor numbers inOlympic areas, then amore informal licencecould be appropriate.However if what is moreimportant is having aproperty which allowsyou to use it exclusivelywithout landlord interfer-ence then a short termlease may be better.

By giving proper con-sideration to the issueswhich your businesscould face, you will bebetter placed to take

advantage of opportuni-ties - whether for boost-ing staff morale or mak-ing money - the Olympicsbring.

If you have any ques-tions you can contact meon [email protected] or 020 84456753 and I will do mybest to respond and dealwith your queries. Youcan contact me

Bhavini Kalaria

Is Your Business a Winner?

In a major victory toVodafone InternationalHoldings, India’s SupremeCourt set aside theBombay high court judg-ment asking the companyto pay income tax of Rs110 billion, holding thattax authorities do not havejurisdiction on an overseastransaction.

A three-judge benchheaded by Chief Justice SH Kapadia held that the ITdepartment has "no juris-diction" to levy tax onoverseas transactionbetween companies incor-porated outside India.

Justice K SRadhakrishnan, who wrotea separate judgment, con-

curred with the findings ofthe Chief Justice and JusticeSwatanter Kumar sayingthe companies (Vodafoneand Hutchison) are incor-porated outside and theirtransaction outside India

has "no underlying nexus"with tax authority in India.

"Vodafone has no obli-gation under section 163clause 1 (c) of Income TaxAct," Justice K SRadhakrishnan said.

The court asked the ITdepartment to return Rs 25billion deposited byVodafone, in compliance ofits interim order, within twomonths along with 4 percent interest from the dateof withdrawal of the moneyby the tax department.

It also asked SupremeCourt registry to returnwithin four weeks, thebank guarantee of Rs 85billion given by the tele-com major. Through theUSD 11.2 billion deal inMay 2007, Vodafoneacquired 67 per cent stakein the Hutchison-EssarLtd (HEL) from HongKong-based HutchisonGroup through companies

based in Netherlands andCayman Island.

Reacting to the judg-ment, Abhishek ManuSinghvi, one of the senioradvocates who appearedin the case, said "we arehappy with the SupremeCourt order. It has minute-ly gone through the caseand come to a conclusion.Irrespective of the result itis a tremendous victory forIndian judicial System"

Earlier, Vodafone hadmoved the apex courtchallenging the BombayHigh Court judgment ofSeptember 8, 2010 whichhad held that Indian ITdepartment had jurisdic-tion over the deal.

Vodafone wins `110 billion tax case in India

The Reserve Bank of Indiacut cash reserve require-ments for banks by 50basis points on Tuesday toease tight liquidity, signal-ing a policy shift towardsreviving growth after near-ly two years of fightinginflation.

With core inflation stillstubbornly high, the RBIas expected left its policyrepo rate unchanged at8.50 per cent for the sec-ond consecutive review.

The central bank hadraised rates 13 timesbetween March 2010 andOctober 2011, which madeit one of the most hawkishcentral banks anywhere.

"The growth-inflationbalance of the monetarypolicy stance has now

shifted to growth, while atthe same time ensuringthat inflationary pressuresremain contained," RBIGovernor DuvvuriSubbarao said in his policystatement.

Bond and swap mar-kets initially applaudedthe cut in the cash reserveratio (CRR) before disap-pointment that there wasnot definitive guidance ona policy rate cut pushedbond yields and swap rateshigher. The BSE Sensex,however, was sharplyhigher, rising as much as1.66 per cent on the day,powered by bank shares.

"RBI has clearly saidgrowth concerns have comecenter-stage despite linger-ing inflationary pressures,"

said Sumedh Deorukhkar,senior economist at BBVAin Mumbai, who expects a25 basis point cut in therepo rate at the RBI's nextreview on March 15 and acombined 150 bps in cutsby the end of 2012.

Expectations hadgrown in recent days thatthe RBI would cut thecash reserve ratio, theshare of deposits banksmust hold with the centralbank. The cut on Tuesdaylowered CRR to 5.50 percent and releases 320 bil-lion rupees of liquidityinto the banking system.

Inflation worry per-sists: The RBI kept to itshawkish stance long aftermost central banks shiftedtheir focus to growth, as

inflation in India remainedhigh due to elevated foodprices, infrastructure bot-tlenecks, and an expan-sionary fiscal policy thatpushed up rural spendingpower and strained gov-ernment finances.

Annual headline infla-tion, measured by thewholesale price index,slowed to a two-year low of7.47 per cent in December,thanks to a sharp declinein food inflation.

However, manufac-tured product inflationedged up from the previousmonth, and the RBI said ina report on Monday thatthe two drivers of rate poli-cy will be core inflation andthe impact of exchange ratechanges on inflation.

RBI cuts CRR by 50 bps, shifts focus to growth

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 19FINANCIAL VOICE

Suresh Vagjiani

Managing Director

Sow & Reap

A Property Investment &

Financing company.

l Property is by nature passive invest-ment, this means it rises in value whilstyou sleep or play!

l You are not the main investor when youbuy a BTL property, you only need 25%the bank gives the rest

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Tips of the Week

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For me property is like peeling an onion, in that there is somethingalways new to learn and only after peeling off one layer you get toknow whatʼs underneath another. It is also true dealing in propertysometimes makes you cry in frustration too!

A few years ago I was negotiating the purchase of a block of sixflats in for £1.1m. The stamp duty on this would at that time havebeen 4% thus amounting to £44,000.

In effect we were purchasing six flats which happened to be heldunder two freehold titles. If we had bought them individually theduty would be £11,000. So there was a big difference between thetwo.

In this scenario the sellerʼs solicitors were happy to sell us sixleases and two freeholds. So from purchasing two titles we were nowbuying eight titles. Using this method our buyer ended up pay only1% in stamp duty as these were all below the £250,000 threshold.Both the lawyers were happy with this.

We have recently done one were we purchased one freehold titlewith three self contained flats. This was purchased at £726,000 atauction, hence I expected to pay 4% on this amount as it was onefreehold title.

The reason for this is that apparently the guidelines have recent-ly been changed and now a freehold block comprising of individualdwellings is only liable for the rate which would be applied to theaverage value of the dwelling.

For example if the freehold of a new block of 20 flats is purchasedfor £2.5 million, the transaction is classed as a relevant transactionfor the purposes of the relief as it involves the acquisition of morethan one dwelling – i.e. the 20 flats. The freehold is treated as if itwere interests in the individual dwellings. The chargeable considera-tion divided by the number of dwellings is £125,000. This is belowthe normal 0 per cent SDLT threshold but the minimum rate of taxunder the relief is 1% The tax due is therefore 1% of £2.5 million =£25,000.

There is a lot of information on the HMRC site regarding stampduty. In fact a client of ours was very surprised when he phoned theHMRC stamp duty department and they guided him on how to getaround paying stamp duty on two flats he had just converted in afreehold house. And this is all the while whilst his solicitor wastelling him he had to pay and there is no way out. One would expecttheir solicitor to look after the clientʼs interest. Generally their aim is

I was pleasantly surprised when the sol icitor, after the transaction was completed,said we were only liable to pay 1% which is the minimum you must pay, whichamounts to a saving of £21,780.

The Real Deal

Real life scenarios from the street A Lesson In Emotions

As part of our focus this year we are aim-ing to offer slightly larger deals, at aroundthe £1m mark, to our investors. With theidea being that the investors club togeth-er and buy in a group in order to haveaccess to these kinds of deals.

Prior to Christmas we saw a rarelyavailable freehold block in Victoria, theproperty was about two mins walk fromVictoria station, and backing ontoEccleston Sq.

It comprised of 1765 sq ft and bydoing a rear extension and a loft conver-sion you would have added another 450sq ft giving you about 2200 sq ft. As theseproperties hardly come on the market theend price is thought to be well above £2m.£1000 per sq ft was a good guide line.The works would have cost no more than£250k.

We were offered this property at£1.25m. And the interesting point is itwas being sold by an investor who was

‘flipping‘ the property. This meanshe had picked it up for even lessand was selling it on for a quickprofit rather than doing all thework.

To be frank I had a psychologi-cal issue with taking somebodyelse’s leftovers. It’s a case of some-one having got there first which isoff-putting, after all everything saidand done we are all still driven byemotions rather than logic and thiswas my hang up. This was clearly agood buy. If we apply a 50% loanthis means we put down £750,000,the return will be £500,000 over aone year period.

The contract was already out onthis property, but being an investor sellingtime was an important consideration sowhilst the other party were still doing thepaperwork we were offered this block ifwe were prepared to do an attendedexchange. This would mean we attend thesolicitor’s office and exchange there and

then giving very little time to the otherbuyer to exchange.

The seller was loath to send a contractout because this would have upset thecurrent buyer perhaps unnecessarily.

Christmas came and went, and I madea decision to propose this to a group ofbuyers who were ready to purchase. They

agreed to go for the block on the basisof our reports. This was on the Fridayevening, however by Monday the prop-erty had gone!

But this is the nature of the beast,a small percentage will always getaway. The important thing to ensure isthat you have the right structure andfunding in place. Properties from timeto time will escape your grasp. But ourgroup of investors are now well poisedto strike on the next one.

One of main reasons for the delayin making the decision on this one wasthat I was so hung up on the fact thatthe current owner was flipping thisone on at a profit at our expense. Inhind sight it should not be have even

been a consideration, when looking at thedeal as long as the numbers stacked upwe should have gone for this.

Funnily enough the current buyer alsowants to resell on with a quick profit. Thisshows the liquidity and demand for prop-erties in this location.

to protect themselves from any compliance issues.I am doubtful if one of these cheap conveyancing firms would

have picked this saving out, as you need a competent lawyer whokeeps up to date with current legislation, and many of these firmshave issues even regarding basic administration. We have had a com-pletion this Friday after a four month delay primarily on the side ofthe buyers solicitorʼs which was one of these ʻfastʼ mass conveyanc-ing firms.

Ordinarily solicitors who don’t inspect files too closely may havelet this one slip, losing a savings of over £20,000, a year’s wages formany. With property transactions there are fast conveyancing firmson the market but you get what you pay for, at the rate these compa-nies charge you cannot afford a qualified professional to look at yourcase.

Our focus this year is to source blocks for groups of investors.This year you will see good opportunities coming up on the market,more so at the higher end. To capitalise on this opportunity you needto have the ground in place so you’re poised to strike when theopportunity presents itself. Call us to see how we can help.

Stamp Duty Changes

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 201220 financial VoICE

[email protected] Fernandes

The Home Secretary hasalways been very clearabout human rights law.In her view it is used topursue useless cases (thelaw is an ass) and accord-ingly she clearly signalledthe need to take an axe towhat she considers areloopholes in the system.As practitioners there isalways a tendency toawait grand announce-ments of Bills (the precur-sor to laws being made)and then to consider theclauses and prepare forbattle. This time howeverchanges are being madequickly and without anyconsultation.

There is currently arule that requires theSecretary of State to con-sider a number of factorsbefore making a decisionto remove a person fromthe UK. It is if you like thefinal opportunity for all thefactors surrounding thecase to be considered.The current law providesthat the following issues(which is a non exhaustivelist) have to be considered:

(i) age;(ii) length of residence

in the United Kingdom;(iii) strength of con-

nections with the UnitedKingdom;

(iv) personal history,including character, con-duct and employmentrecord;

(v) domestic circum-stances;

(vi) previous criminalrecord and the nature ofany offence of which theperson has been convict-ed;

(vii) compassionatecircumstances;

(viii) any representa-tions received on the per-son's behalf.

In the case of familymembers, the factors list-ed in paragraphs 365-368must also be taken intoaccount. These are:

(i) he has qualified forsettlement in his ownright; or

(ii) he has been livingapart from the deportee.

In cases involving chil-dren the following areconsidered.::

(i) he and his motheror father are living apartfrom the deportee; or

(ii) he has left homeand established himself onan independent basis; or

(iii) he married orformed a civil partnershipbefore deportation cameinto prospect.

In consideringwhether to require aspouse or child to leavewith the deportee theSecretary of State willtake account of all rele-vant factors, including, aswell as the following:

(i) the ability of thespouse or civil partner tomaintain himself and anychildren in the UnitedKingdom, or to be main-tained by relatives orfriends without charge topublic funds, not merelyfor a short period but forthe foreseeable future;and

(ii) in the case of achild of school age, theeffect of removal on hiseducation; and

(iii) the practicality ofany plans for a child's careand maintenance in thiscountry if one or both ofhis parents were deport-

ed; and(iv) any representa-

tions made on behalf ofthe spouse or child.

All the above factorswould cover the humanrights of a person and anycompassionate or uniquecircumstances of the indi-vidual.

The UKBA have statedthat they will considerthese factors anyway butthat they do not want theSecretary of State to havethe responsibility of con-sidering this and that inthe majority of casesthese factors are irrele-vant particularly as manyapplicants leave voluntari-ly. They are obviouslystung by the fact that thejudges in the Court ofAppeal have time andtime again stated thatwhere decisions to refuseare made decisions toremove should also bemade at the same timeand this will require con-sidering the factorsabove.

The danger of remov-ing the safeguards whichconsider human rightsissues is that the applicantwill have no safeguardsfrom removal. Para 395Ccame in for that very rea-son. Removing it is amajor step towards water-ing down human rights.

Maria Fernandes hasbeen in practice exclusive-ly in immigration for thepast 25 years. FernandesVaz is based at 87Wembley Hill RoadWembley in Wembley andcan be contacted by tele-phone on 02087330123,by email on [email protected].

Watering down of human rights

Ajay Piramal, the chair-man of Piramal group, isone of India's top 50 rich-est people by Forbes maga-zine. He is a prosperousentrepreneur no doubtwith an estimated wealthof $1.22 billion, but he hasa spiritual and artistic sideto his personality as well.

He has spoken abouthow he has been inspiredby Hindu spiritualitythrough the BhagavadGita. He even co-wrote abook entitled 'Light hascome to me' about howthese teachings have influ-enced his business andmanagement style. MrPiramal has transformedhis Mumbai office into atranquil environment, fullof persian rugs and Hinduartworks. Rather thanharsh, office lights, he optsfor a softer illumination,creating a serene atmos-phere which he says 're-flects [his] interest inHindu spirituality'. Whenhe's not busy managingthe prosperous PiramalGroup, he enjoys a spot ofwildlife photography.

Recalling his career, hefirst took over the familybusiness in 1983, when it'smain focus was on the pro-duction of cotton. Asworker strikes and globalcompetition made it astruggle to survive andthrive in the textiles indus-try, he made the decisionto change direction, andled the company into otherfields including healthcareand phramaceuticals, spe-cialist bottle manufactureand property investment.

He graduated fromBombay University, andhas completed furtherstudy in at both theJamnalal Bajaj Institute ofManagement Studies andHarvard Business School.He has numerous entre-

preneurship awards underhis belt, including IndiaInnovator of the Year(2008) from CNBC TV 18and Ernst & Young'sEntrepreneur of the Year(2004) in the Healthcare& Life Sciences category.

His business focus iscurrently on the drugresearch and the discoveryelement of PiramalHealthcare. This segmentof the company, whichemploys over 400 people,is in the process of devel-oping approximately 40new treatments for dis-eases such as cancer anddiabetes. After previouslyselling off their genericdrug business for a veryrespectable $3.7 billionand pushing their availablespending money towardsthe $5 billion mark;Piramal is looking toexpand further and investin new drug discoverycompanies. Piramal sayshe would like to turn thecompany into a Western-style drug giant, a first tocome out of India with thefocus on innovative newmedical discoveries ratherthan production of exist-ing, generic drugs. He sayshe would like to launch anew drug by 2013.

Piramal Healthcare isthe main asset of PrimalGroup and is responsiblefor 60% of their $1 billionannual turnover. The com-pany also includes PiramalGlass which is responsiblefor production of specialistbottles for perfumes andmedicines, as well as aPiramal finance sector.

India's gross domesticproduct (GDP) is expectedto grow by 7.7 per cent in2012 and 7.9 per cent inthe following year as com-pared to the estimated 7.6per cent in 2011, theUnited Nation's depart-ment of economic affairssaid. "The prospects forworld economy are notgood. The US andEuropean economicgrowth will slow further,"said Nagesh Kumar, chiefeconomist of the UnitedNations Economic andSocial Commission forAsia and the Pacific.Kumar said strong domes-tic demands and high sav-ings rates would help Indiamaintain its current level ofgrowth momentum despitethe adverse impact fromthe slowdown in the USand European economy.

According to the UN'sannual economic reporttitled "World Economic

Situation and Prospects2012", the world economicgrowth will fall to 2.6 percent in 2012 as comparedto the estimated 2.8 percent in 2011 and 4 percent in 2010, mainlybecause of the slowdownin the US and Europeaneconomies.

"India will be able toweather the crisis with alittle scars," Kumar saidafter releasing the report.

The US' economicgrowth is projected to fall to1.5 per cent in 2012 as com-pared to the estimated 1.7per cent in 2011 and 3 percent in the previous year.

Growth in the EuropeanUnion will fall to 0.7 percent this year as comparedto the estimated 1.6 per centin 2011, the UN report said.

Kumar said Asia, espe-cially India and China,would be the main driverof the economic growth inthe coming years.

"It used to be said thatwhen US and Europesneeze the world gets acold. But now the situationhas changed. Today, US andEuropean economies havecold but India and otherdeveloping economies aredoing well," he said.

South Asia's economiesare expected to grow by 6.7per cent this year and 6.9per cent next year largelydriven by the growth in theIndian economy.

However, there is a sig-nificant downward risk."In a pessimistic scenario,GDP growth in south Asiawill dwindle by about twopercentage points," thereport said.

South Asian economiesare particularly vulnerableto volatility in commodityprices. "Double-dip reces-sion in Europe and USwould have a significantimpact on economies' itadded.

In Taiwan’s first majorinvestment decision inGujarat, the China SteelCorporation (CSC) signedan agreement with theGujarat government to setup a Rs 10 billion electri-cal steel plant on a 60hectares land identified inDahej-2 Gujarat IndustrialDevelopment Corporation(GIDC) estate. The agree-ment was signed in chiefminister Narendra Modi’schamber in Sachivalaya.

Introducing seniorexecutives of the topTaiwanese company,Taiwan’s ambassador toIndia TR Jeng said,“Starting from today, a newphase of relations betweenTaiwan and Gujarat havebegun. Till now, Taiwanesefirms invested inMaharashtra, Tamil Naduand Delhi. But consideringGujarat’s excellent invest-ment climate, the ChinaSteel Corporation decided

to set up its plant here.”He added, “Currently,

the total Taiwanese invest-ment in India is to thetune of $1 billion. Weexpect total investmentcoming alone in Gujaratwould be to the tune of$1.2 billion. Just for com-parison, total Taiwaneseinvolvement in ASEAN isto the tune of $75 billion,while in mainland China itis $200 billion.”

The electrical steelproject, which is sched-uled to start in June 2012,expects to fulfil the cur-rent demand-supply gap inthe production of electri-cal sheets, which are usedin the production ofmotors, generators, trans-formers, compressors andvoltage regulators. CSCchairman JD Lin said, thecompany’s products,which will be available inthe Indian market in 2014,will cater to the local

Indian market. Currently,India imports 3.2 lakhmetric tonnes of electricalsheets, while the companyproposes to produce 2 lakhmetric tonnes of electricalsheets per annum,” hesaid, adding, “We proposeto export at the most 5%of our products, mainly tothe Middle-East. In orderto manufacture the prod-ucts, we will import semi-processed iron from theport facilities at Dahej.”

Among the major areaswhich the Taiwaneseambassador identified,apart from electrical steel,for investment in Gujaratinclude petrochemicalsand tyres manufacturingsectors. However, answer-ing a question, he said, “Acouple of delegations ofGujarat government offi-cials have been to Chinafor investment in IT sec-tor. But I am not aware ofany progress here.”

Entrepreneur AjayPiramal has a

spiritual side too

Govt set to allow49% FDI in

Indian airlinesIn a major relief to finan-cially distressed Indian air-lines, the government saidforeign airlines wouldsoon be allowed to acquireup to 49% stake in them.After being debated foryears, aviation ministerAjit Singh announced themove following a 75-minute meeting withfinance minister PranabMukherjee in the back-drop of at least two big air-lines struggling to avoid ashutdown due to financialtroubles.

“The question was toallow foreign airlines toparticipate in FDI… thefinance minister hasagreed. We will bring out anote for the cabinet now.Already, 49% FDI is there.The question was to allow(foreign) airlines to partic-ipate in FDI. The commit-tee of secretaries has alsorecommended that FDIlimit should be raised to49%,” Singh said. The avi-ation ministry was initiallyin favour of a 24% capwhich was later relaxed to26% to attract foreign air-lines as this would givethem some say in runningof the airline. However,the sheer scale of financialstress forced the govern-ment to raise the cap to49%. The same reasonalso led to sidelining oldsecurity fears that such amove would only bringmoney from airlines in theGulf and China which hadtill now held up clearing ofthis move.

Even airline promoterssuch as Vijay Mallya, chair-man of Kingfisher Airlines,have supported 49% FDIfor foreign carriers.

Besides, Sebi has alsoexpressed its reluctance torelax the takeover codeguidelines to permit for-eign carriers to acquireshares from the publicthrough an open offer foran additional 26%.

Taiwanese steel major to setup plant in Gujarat

Indian economy to grow 7.7per cent in 2012: UN report

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 21FINANCIAL VOICE

GBP - INR = 77.90

USD - INR = 50.02

EUR - INR = 64.89

GBP - USD = 1.56

GBP - EUR = 1.20

EUR - USD = 1.30

GBP - AED = 5.72

GBP - CAD = 1.58

GBP - NZD = 1.93

GBP - AUD = 1.49

GBP - ZAR = 12.45

GBP - HUF = 361.32

www.rationalfx.com

Foreign Exchange

Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail [email protected]

Information provided by RationalFX.

None of the information on this page

constitutes, nor should be construed

as financial advice. The exchange

rates used are the commercial foreign

exchange rates provided by

RationalFX. For a live quote or to find

out more about how RationalFX can

help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

WeeklyCurrenciesAs of Tuesday

24th January 2012 @ 3pmThe crisis in the Eurozone isstill far from over. Regardlessof the raft of downgrades of 15European countries the Eurosurprisingly kept its midtermstrength. In 2010 such down-grades would have experi-enced large volatility howeverthis time round the marketshad priced in the move as itwas on the agenda for quitesome time. The move sawEUR/USD trade at a low of€1.2648 but has sincerecovered back to near€1.30 writing off any loos-es sparked by the down-grade.

Support for the Eurocame as French andSpanish bond auctionsreceived a warm welcomewith strong demand miti-gating high yields. The costof borrowing for the secondand fourth largest nationsin the Eurozone eased asthe ECB flooded the mar-kets with €489Bn of long termlending. Whether banks usethe extra funds to purchasebonds or to shore up their bal-ance sheets is yet to be seen.

It is clear that the level offunds required in order toimprove market confidence isfar more than the €1Trillionthe EFSF is looking to offer.

With UK vetoing the proposalfor extra funding as part of theEU treaty, Germany andFrance do not have manyother avenues left. With thisin mind the IMF has come for-ward requesting as much as€600Bn form the world lead-ers to help shore up

economies in need of funding.USA was the first to shootdown the request and the UKare still holding off for furtherdetails for the use of thefunds. The decline came as themove by the IMF is widelyseen as a backdoor bailoutmechanism for the EU.Nevertheless the European

crisis is having an effect onglobal growth as the importsand exports are suppressed.

Further horror for UK pre-vailed as the European crisisthreatens to derail the UKeconomy. The real shock forthe government came asunemployment peaked to a 17

year high leave 2.68m personsout of work. Growth for thelast quarter of 2011 is expect-ed to be in negative figuresand if materialised the GreatBritish Pound could onceagain come under severe pres-sure. However this may not bea bad thing as the BoE is stillkeen on a weak pound, which

is expected to improve anexport led recovery.

Contrary to what is hap-pening in Europe, the US isheading forward with strongindustrial production and alarge drop in jobless claims.The Housing markets havealso shown some level of

recovery. USD has beenthrown between funda-mental and safe havenstatus since the start of2012 however at presentthe strength is on theback of a collection ofgood figures and worrieslooking ahead.

Looking ahead seemsto show a tainted picturefor the world economy.Even though Asia hasbeen progressing thenegative sentiment in theWest is dominating themarkets. Stock marketscontinue to see short ral-lies which are eventually

pared due to negativity.Greece needs to get theirhouse in order immediatelyand convince private bondholders to accept a bailout toprevent a disastrous bailoutwhich could have massiveimplications for the Eurozonewhich has the potential tocause a double dip worldwide.

2012 More doom than Gloom

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 201222 PakIStan-BanglaDeSh-SrI lanka

Islamabad: Pakistan spy chiefLt. Gen Ahmed Shuja Pashahad a secret meeting with for-mer president PervezMusharraf in Dubai and toldhim not to come to the coun-try, a media report said onTuesday.

"General Pasha...held ameeting with him(Musharraf) in Dubai andadvised him not to return tothe country as the situation isnot conducive for his return,"a source told Dawn.

Sources said that after themeeting with the chief of theInter-Services Intelligence(ISI), Musharraf called ameeting of his party to have are-look at his decision to

return to Pakistan.The Senate on Monday

passed a resolution seekingMusharraf's arrest on hisreturn.

Interior minister RehmanMalik has also said that theformer military strongmanwould be arrested the day hearrives in the country.

Musharraf's spokespersonon Jan 19 said that he haspostponed his arrival in viewof the "emerging politicaldevelopments".

The spokesperson forMusharraf's All PakistanMuslim League (APML) saidthat the retired general haspostponed his return on theadvice of several senior party

leaders. Musharraf had beenliving in exile in Britain andthe UAE since he resignedfrom his post in August 2008,fearing an impeachment byparliament.

He had earlier announcedthat he would return to

Pakistan between Jan 27 and30 to lead his party in thenext general elections to beheld in 2013.

Musharraf seized powerin 1999 after he dismissed theelected government of NawazSharif hours after he wassacked as the army chief.

An anti-terrorism courthas issued arrest warrants inconnection with the 2007assassination of former primeminister Benazir Bhutto. InOctober last year, a courtissued a warrant for his arrestover the killing of Balochleader Akbar Bugti in a mili-tary operation in August2006. Musharraf has deniedall charges.

Islamabad: In yet anotherembarrassment for the belea-guered Pakistan government,the supreme court suspendedthe licence of a lawyer closeto president Asif Ali Zardari,as PM Yousaf Raza Gilanifaced the possibility of a casebeing filed against him foralleged misuse of authority.

The apex court temporari-ly suspended the lawyer'slicence of Babar Awan, a for-mer law minister and the pres-ident's close aide, who is act-ing as the government's lawyerin several high-profile cases forfailing to respond to a con-tempt notice. An 11-judgebench headed by the chief jus-tice Iftikhar Chaudhry sus-pended Awan's licence.

Pakistan's main anti-cor-ruption watchdog is consid-

ering a proposal for filing acase of misuse of authorityagainst PM Gilani underwhich he could face a prisonterm of 14 years if convicted.

The NationalAccountability Bureau(NAB) is contemplating fil-ing a case against Gilani inconnection with the appoint-ment of Adnan Khwaja aschairman of the state-run Oil

and Gas DevelopmentCompany even thoughKhwaja had already beenconvicted by court. Gilaniand Khwaja were detained injail together during the previ-ous regime of presidentMusharraf. NAB chairmanFasih Bokhari told the Newsdaily that action will be takenin cases of alleged illegalappointments made on theorders of the premier underthe law and rules.

Former establishmentsecretary Ismail Qureshi,recently arrested on graftcharges and released on bail,has reportedly told NABinvestigators that Gilani andhis principal secretary NargisSethi were responsible forKhwaja's appointment. NABsources said Gilani had vio-

lated a section of the NABlaw that carries a jail term ofup to 14 years.

Gilani gets 2-weekbreather: Earlier Gilani wona two week reprieve for him-self in the contempt of courtfor failing failing to pursuecorruption charges againstpresident Asif Ali Zardari.

Gilani told the court henever intended to "ridicule" thejudges while reiterating hisgovernment's stand thatZardari "has complete immuni-ty inside and outside the coun-try''. "It will not give a goodmessage to proceed against aPresident elected by two-thirdsmajority. A president could notbe handed over to foreigncourts,'' Gilani told the court,referring to approaching Swissauthorities.

Anti-graft panel may spell more trouble for GilaniGerman, Italian aid workerskidnapped in PakistanMultan: A German aid worker and his Italiancolleague have been kidnapped at gunpointin Pakistan's central shrine city of Multan.These gunmen barged into a house andabducted an Italian and a German nationalat gunpoint, Multan city police officer said.

Pak court adjourns 26/11 trialIslamabad: A Pakistani anti-terrorism courtconducting the trail of seven men chargedwith involvement in the Mumbai attacksadjourned proceedings till January 28 afterthe main accused, Lashkar-e-Toiba com-mander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, sought timeto appoint a new lawyer. Lakhvi made therequest as his lawyer Khwaja Sultan Ahmeddied recently. The seven accused filed anapplication asking the court to adjourn pro-ceedings for a few weeks as they were in a"state of shock" at the death of Ahmed.Judge Shahid Rafique adjourned the casetill January 28 and directed Lakhvi toappoint a new counsel before that date.

Spurious drugs claim 67 lives in PakLahore: Spurious drugs provided to cardiacpatients by a state-run hospital in Pakistan'sPunjab have claimed 67 lives - more thandouble the figure initially given by provincialauthorities. Punjab health secretaryJehanzeb Khan confirmed the total numberof deaths while responding to a journalist'squery. Earlier, the Punjab government hadconfirmed the deaths of only 28 cardiacpatients registered with Lahore's PunjabInstitute of Cardiology.

Lanka expels 161 foreignMuslim clericsColombo: Sri Lanka has ordered a group of161 foreign Islamic clerics, includingIndians, to leave the country for flouting visaregulations. Sri Lanka's immigration headChulananda Perera said that the clerics hadno right to preach in mosques as they hadarrived on tourist visas. "They have violatedimmigration laws. A tourist visa is to have aholiday or visit friends and family, and not topreach Islam," Perera was quoted as say-ing. The official also said that some localMuslims had complained that the visitorswere not teaching a moderate form of Islam.

6 NATO troops die in Afghancopter crashKandahar (Afghanistan): A NATO helicop-ter has crashed in southern Afghanistan,killing six members of the international mili-tary force, the US-led coalition said onFriday. The cause is still being investigated,but a coalition statement said there was noenemy activity in the area at the time of thecrash, which brought the number of interna-tional forces killed in Afghanistan this monthto 24. The coalition did not disclose thenationalities of those killed and would notrelease details of the crash until the familiesof the dead were notified.

21 injured in Lanka prison riotColombo: A clash between guards andinmates at a Sri Lankan prison on Tuesdayhas injured at least 21 people, officials said.They said the inmates began rioting todemand the replacement of the prisonchief. Soldiers were deployed to control theinmates, who started a fire inside the prisonin Colombo. Some prisoners were seen onthe roof shouting slogans and holding abanner demanding the removal of the offi-cial. Some threw stones at vehicles on anearby road. A hospital official said oneguard and 20 prisoners were hospitalized.

Pakistan cancels US specialenvoy Marc Grossman's visitWashington: US special envoy MarcGrossman's visit to Pakistan for consulta-tion on exploratory talks with Taliban hasbeen put off as Islamabad rejected themove, a State Department official said. TheUS had made a request for a visit ofGrossman, Obama's special representativefor Pakistan and Afghanistan, as part of hisitinerary to hold consultations with the USallies in the Middle East on a new move toinvolve the Taliban in Afghan reconciliationprocess.

Washington: Fearing arrest,Pakistani-American business-man Mansoor Ijaz, the cen-tral figure in the memo scan-dal, on Monday said hewould not visit Islamabad todepose before a judicial panelprobing the matter and wantshis testimony to be recordedeither in London or Zurich.

Mr. Ijaz, who triggered aconfrontation betweenPakistan’s civilian govern-ment and the powerful mili-tary by making public a secretmemo that sought the U.S.help to stave off a feared coupin Pakistan last year, said in astatement that he was willingto depose before the SupremeCourt-appointed commissionin London or Zurich.

In a statement releasedthrough his lawyer AkramSheikh, Mr. Ijaz said he hadbeen given “no assurance” byany person on behalf ofPakistan government to wardoff his apprehensions regard-ing his security.

“It seems like a well-orchestrated trap to holdMansoor Ijaz indefinitely inPakistan after his depositionbefore the commission.Therefore, Mansoor Ijaz hasdecided to make a request tothe commission to record hisstatement in strict compli-ance with the order of theSupreme Court of Pakistan ...in London or Zurich,” Mr.Sheikh told the media.

Mr. Ijaz had earlier failedto make a scheduled appear-ance before the three-judge

commission on January 16,2012. The commission thenasked him to appear before iton January 24, 2012.

Mr. Ijaz and his lawyerhave repeatedly demandedthat the Pakistan Army bedeployed to protect the busi-nessman whenever he arrivedin Pakistan.

The statement from Mr.Ijaz ended speculation abouthis appearance before thejudicial commission onTuesday.

Doubts persisted as towhether Mr. Ijaz would travelto Pakistan despite hisnumerous assertions that heintended to testify before thecommission.

Ijaz decided to ask thecommission to record hisstatement outside Pakistanafter reviewing securityarrangements for his plannedvisit this morning, Mr.Sheikh said.

Memo scandal witness Ijazfears arrest, not going to Pak

Dhaka: In what sent shock-waves in both Bangladeshand the Indian security estab-lishment, the army in India’simportant neighbouring stateclaimed to have foiled anattempt by some of its offi-cers, apparently driven byreligious considerations, tooverthrow Sheikh Hasina’sgovernment.

Government sources hereconfirmed that those held forthe attempted coup were “anti-India’’ and wanted to undo thechanges effected by the Hasinagovernment last year in theConstitution to make it moresecular. Indian agencies havehad inputs about a possiblecoup in Bangladesh for thepast few days.

While two retired officers,identified as Lt Col EhsanYusuf and Major Zakir, havebeen arrested, some of themain conspirators arebelieved to be based abroad,said agency reports fromBangladesh. They are said tohave links with the 2009

mutiny, only two monthsafter Hasina took over, byBangladesh Rifles which firstexposed the stray extremistelements in the army. BrigGen Muhammed MasudRazzaq told a press confer-ence in Dhaka that the mili-tary had specific evidencethat up to 16 current and for-mer Bangladeshi officerswere involved in the conspir-acy. The foiled coup bid isworrying for India as it hasagain brought to light sim-mering discontent among theIslamists against the friendlyHasina government. Indianot only managed to sign alandmark agreement for com-plete demarcation of the landboundary last year but, underHasina, Dhaka has also triedto ensure that its territory isnot used to carry out terrorstrikes against New Delhi.

“Stringent legal measureswill be taken against personsinvolved in the conspiracyafter proper investigations,”Razzak said. “Banking on thearmy in the past, differentevil forces availed politicalgains and made abortiveattempts to do so but as aninstitution, military still hasto bear the stigma,” headded. Razzak said “someunruly and derailed militaryofficers have been activelyengaged in the execution ofthe heinous conspiracythrough maintaining contactswith fugitive Maj Zia (SyedMohammad Ziaul Huq) bymobile phones and internet”.

Coup bid against SheikhHasina foiled

Don't come back, ISI chief told Musharraf in Dubai

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 23world

Yogesh Patel

With reference to the LibDem peers opposing anamendment to a squattingclause in the Legal Aid,Sentencing and Punishmentof Offence Bill, it brings oneto the question of how farstate and politicians shouldgo to award a crime. Socialjustice cannot be moral if ithinges on endorsing thuggeryby the squatters as lawful, orby creating a new law to pro-tect them, or by ignoring theflaws in the existing law.Quite often in politicaldebates blindness due to thegrandiose ethics and moralsgets carried away by the self-righteousness giving in toignoring the criminal actitself. However lofty the polit-ical correctness may be, thesquatters cannot have therights. Their right regardingthe property they occupy canexist only by the stateindulging in making the

unlawful acts lawful at theexpense of law abiding peoplewho happen to have an emptyproperty at some stage.Fundamentally, such actsmorally remain wrong, arro-gant and dictatorial becausethey terminate the rights ofsomeone or an entity wholawfully owns a property.

Moral philosophy willhave something to say aboutthe ownership of anything ingeneral. At a very rudimenta-ry level, if someone ownsjewellery, and does not use itfor a while - however long -doesn’t mean it transfer theright of ownership or use tosomeone else, even in thecase of a property. If the statearrogantly steps in to imposerestrictions creating a lawabout giving some rights tothe criminals, then it effec-tively indulges in to decrimi-nalising the crime committed.In the case of despotic staterationale may not exist, but isit right in the democratic

state to snatch away individ-ual’s proven right to owner-ship of any lawfully ownedproperty?

There are alternativesthat politicians and law mak-ers could explore. Instead ofindulging in removing prop-erty owner’s rights, the lessdamaging acts can concen-trate on the empty propertiesthemselves, or addressing itsemptiness. One simple exam-ple that one can give is thatthe property owners can beheavily taxed for leaving theproperty empty after anagreed period. That amountdirectly can transfer to sup-porting the homeless. Thiscould release the emptyaccommodations withoutcreating the morally corruptlaws snatching away individ-ual’s right to ownership, andits use. ‘Maintained state ofthe property’ and fines areother areas that may bedebated. It could also createconditions for the direct con-

tributions to the social justiceideals and funds. This is justone example as to how differ-ing political agendas cancome to common ground andprotect the lawfulness ratherthan indulging in to decrimi-nalising the crime committed.

Most people accept theconcept that living together inthe society means balancingeveryone’s right, in most casesto the tolerance norms. It cer-tainly doesn’t mean legalisingcriminal behaviour of somegroup so that it sounds goodas a social justice!

In the case of squatters, ifthe law makers have indulgedin legalizing the law breakingat the expense of law abidingproperty owners, and tried tobe the high priests of morali-ty and social justice, to makeamendments to decriminalisethat law itself must be treatedas an opportunity to begrabbed wholeheartedly. TheLib Dems are failing the soci-ety by not grasping it.

The thuggery of squatters and misguided Lib Dem peers

Washington: Caving to amassive campaign byInternet services and theirmillions of users, Congressindefinitely postponed legis-lation to stop online piracy ofmovies and music costing UScompanies billions of dollarsevery year, giving in to a mas-sive campaign by Internetservices and their users.

Critics said the billswould result in censorshipand stifle Internet innova-tion.

The demise, at least forthe time being, of the anti-piracy bills was a clear victo-ry for Silicon Valley overHollywood, which has cam-paigned for a tougherresponse to online piracy.

The legislation also wouldcover the counterfeiting ofdrugs and car parts.

Congress' qualms under-scored how Internet userscan use their collective mightto block those who want tochange the system.

The battle over the futureof the Internet also playedout on a different front whena loose affiliation of hackersknown as "Anonymous" shutdown Justice Departmentwebsites for several hoursand hacked the site of theMotion Picture Associationof America after federal offi-cials issued an indictmentagainst Megaupload.com,one of the world's biggest file-sharing sites.

The site of the HongKong-based company wasshut down, and the founderand three employees werearrested in New Zealand onUS accusations that theyfacilitated millions of illegaldownloads of films, musicand other content, costingcopyright holders at least$500 million in lost revenue.

New Zealand police raid-ed homes and businesseslinked to the founder, KimDotcom, on Friday andseized guns, millions of dol-lars and nearly $5 million inluxury cars, officials theresaid.

In the US, momentumagainst the Senate's ProtectIntellectual Property Act and

the House's Stop OnlinePiracy Act, known popularlyas PIPA and SOPA, grewquickly on when the onlineencyclopedia Wikipedia andother Web giants staged aone-day blackout and Googleorganized a petition drivethat attracted more than 7million participants.

That day alone, at leastsix senators who had co-sponsored the Senate legisla-tion reversed their positions.The Republican leader of theHouse Speaker JohnBoehner, in statements at thetime and again on Friday,stressed that more consen-sus-building was neededbefore the legislation wouldbe ready for a vote.

After protest, US Congress puts off piracy billLohana community leaderBhanubhai Vrajlalbhai Gadhiapasses awayWell known social worker and vice presidentof Lohana community of East LondonBhanubhai Vrajlalbhai Gadhia has passedaway on Monday. He was 80 and his funeraltook place in Rajkot, India. His contribution tothe welfare of Lohanas will always beremembered. He never flinched in servingthe community. He has been serving as vicepresident of LCEL since last two years andhas worked hard to serve the community.You can send your condolences to BindubenYomeshbhai Gadhia. Tel: 020 8599 9603

Russia hands over Nerpanuclear submarine to IndiaMoscow: Russia's K-152 Nerpa nuclear-powered attack submarine has been hand-ed over to the Indian Navy, a RIA Novoste.In line with the contract worth over $900million, the Project 971 Shchuka-B (NATO:Akula II) class sub has been leased toIndia's Navy for ten years. It will berenamed the INS Chakra. Russian sub-mariners trained their Indian colleagues tosteer the Nerpa in the Pacific Ocean. Itsmaximum speed is 30 knots, maximumoperating depth, 600 m; its endurance is100 days with a crew of 73. India hasbecome the sixth operator of nuclear sub-marines in the world, after the US, Russia,France, Britain and China, though it previ-ously leased another Russian submarinewhich was then returned.

Yemen's Saleh takes off fromSanaa for OmanSanaa: Yemen's outgoing president AliAbdullah Saleh left for Oman on his way tothe United States for medical treatment. Anairport official said the plane took off fromSanaa airport to neighbouring Oman, andan aide to Saleh said he would stay therefor several days before heading to theUnited States.

White House locked downafter smoke bomb attackWashington: The White House was lockeddown for more than an hour after a "smokebomb" landed inside the compound of theUnited States president's residence,breaching the high security cordon aroundthe building. The incident took place whenan estimated 1,000 people of the OccupyWall Street movement were protesting out-side the White House. Panic struck theSecret Service - the federal agency respon-sible for security of the US president - whenthey saw a smoke bomb landed inside thehigh secure ground of the White House.The White House was temporarily lockeddown and streets around the area were cor-doned off. The protesters were peacefullydispersed and the White House was allclear. President Obama, and First LadyMichelle were not at home when the inci-dent occurred.

Egypt army hands over powerto parliamentCairo: Egypt's ruling military, which tookpower when president Hosni Mubarak wasousted last February, on Monday handed leg-islative powers to the new lower house of par-liament, the cabinet said. "Field MarshalHussein Tantawi, the head of the SupremeCouncil of the Armed Forces, has announcedin a letter to the people's assembly the trans-fer of legislative power to the assembly," thecabinet said on its Facebook page.

JFK hearse sold for $ 160,000Washington: A Cadillac hearse that carriedthe body of US President John F. Kennedy toAir Force One aircraft following his assassi-nation in Dallas has been sold for a whop-ping $ 160,000. The car was sold at Barrett-Jackson auction company's annualScottsdale collector car auction held inScottsdale, Arizona. A Cadillac hearse likethis would ordinarily be worth about USD40,000 if not for its connection to theKennedy assassination, CNNMoney quotedJonathan Klinger of the collector car insur-ance company Hagerty Insurance as saying.

Washington: India hasstrongly "objected" to theremark on the Golden Templeby popular US television hostJay Leno, terming it "quiteunfortunate". Leno, the hostof the popular "The TonightShow" on NBC channel,flashed a picture of theGolden Temple, the holiestSikh shrine, in Amritsar onhis programme and termed itas a possible summer home ofRepublican presidential can-didate Mitt Romney.

The visiting NRI affairsminister Vayalar Ravi "object-ed" to the remark and said hehas directed IndianAmbassador to the USNirupama Rao to take up thematter with the StateDepartment. "It is quiteunfortunate and quite objec-tionable that such a commenthas been made after showingthe...Golden temple," Ravitold a group of Indianreporters.

"Golden temple is Sikhcommunity's most sacredplace. Even our PrimeMinister went there for pray-ing in the New Year. I believethat the person who hasshown is not that ignorant.The American Governmentshould also look at this kindof thing," the NRI AffairsMinister said.

"I wish this kind of thingis not shown by any media inthe US," Ravi said, addingthat he has not seen the showpersonally and has heardabout it from the Sikh com-munity. "Freedom does notmean hurt the sentiments ofothers... This is not accept-able to us and we take a verystrong objection for such adisplay of an important placelike Golden temple," Ravisaid. "The embassy is fullyaware of it and they will takeit up," he said.

The comment on Leno'sJanuary 19 show has resultedin a outrage in the small butstrong Sikh community here.They have launched anonline petition against Lenoand have started a Facebookpage to express their angeragainst him. Jay Leno himselfwas not immediately avail-able for comment.

Nairobi: Four prominentKenyans, including deputyprime minister UhuruKenyatta, will go to trial atthe International CriminalCourt over their alleged rolesorchestrating the country'spost-election violence fouryears ago, judges ruled.

Each faces chargesincluding being indirectlyresponsible for murder, rape,forcible displacement of civil-ians and crimes againsthumanity that prosecutorssaid were committed duringweeks of clashes that killed1,300 people.

The highest profile of thefour men are UhuruKenyatta, the country'sfinance minister and deputyprime minister, and WilliamRuto, the former higher edu-cation minister.

Both have said that theyplan to run for president inKenya's next elections, dueby March next year.

Mr Ruto immediately saidthat he was still in the run-ning despite the InternationalCriminal Court's ruling,delivered in The Hague onMonday.

Mr Kenyatta has indicat-ed he will also still stand.

"This is the problem we face,they will use the stand at TheHague to campaign and gath-er support," said JosphatMakundi, a pharmacist inNakuru, a town in Kenya'sRift Valley two hours west ofNairobi which saw some ofthe worst of the 2007-8 vio-lence.

Both Mr Kenyatta – fromKenya's dominant Kikuyutribe – and Mr Ruto – aKalenjin – enjoy significantsupport from rural Kenyansliving in each of their politicalheartlands.

There were concerns thatthe ICC's ruling would pro-voke demonstrations protest-ing against the charges.

Elite armed police andundercover officers havebeen deployed to flashpointtowns across the country.

But there were no reportsof immediate reactions.

Jay Leno's remark onGolden Temple upsets India

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta andWilliam Samoei Ruto

Senior Kenyan figuresfacing InternationalCriminal Court trial

He had moved to Nigeriajust 10 months ago to earnbread and butter for hisfamily. But, 23-year-oldKeval Kalidas Rajput, aresident of Devgadh Bariain Dahod district inGujarat, breathed his lastin Kano, Nigeria’s secondlargest city. Rajput diedduring the ghastly terrorattack that rocked theAfrican country and killedover 200 people onSaturday. Rajput wasworking as a driver withM/s Relchem, a Kano-based company. TusharSingh, Devgadh BariaMLA, is now makingefforts to get his body backto Gujarat.

According to an officialrelease of Indian highcommission in Nigeria,

Rajput and his two co-employees had entered thezone of hostilities duringthe attack. ‘He and his twoco-employees Hari PrasadBhusal and Raj Singh(both Nepali nationals)lost their lives when theircar apparently entered azone of hostilities. Theparents of late Rajput havebeen informed,’ read therelease put on the Indianhigh commission’s web-site. The release has alsoprovided Rajput’s passportnumber issued on March

30, 2010 by regional pass-port office of Ahmedabad.However, there is no infor-mation on whether Rajputdied in gunfire or by bombblasts. Rajput was taken toa local hospital where hedied during treatment.

“I got a call from one ofRajput’s friends stating thathe has received injuries.But on Sunday morning Ilearnt that he has passedaway. I got confirmationfrom Suresh K Makhijani,Indian high commissioncounsellor in Nigeria,” saidTushar Singh.

“We are trying to getRajput’s body back toGujarat for carrying outhis last rites. I have writtento Gujarat chief minister’sPA and other authoritiesfor the same,” Singh said.

Commenting on the differ-ences between UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA)with key partner TrinamoolCongress (TMC), Congressspokesperson Rashid Alvihas said there was no seri-ous problem and that theycould solve whatever dif-ferences through discus-sions.

"To stay in power is notour priority. Power is aninstrument for us to imple-ment programmes. Poweris a medium to implement

one's ideals and thoughts.It is not possible withoutpower. We don't have anysuch problems with theTMC, which cannot besolved with mere criticism.The problems can besolved through discussionsand these will be solved,"Alvi said. The alliance ofthe TMC and the Congresshad run into trouble onseveral issues like the pas-sage of bill for the ForeignDirect Investment (FDI)in the domestic retail mar-

ket and the issue of theLokpal Bill.

Strains were visibleduring the parliamentarydebate on the anti-graftLokpal Bill recently whenTMC did a volte-face andopposed certain provisionsin the government-draft ofthe legislation.

Despite severalattempts by the govern-ment, the TMC has so farrefused to budge from itsstand on the issue, leavingthe Congress party fuming.

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In divine lightBy Rajen Vakil

King Janaka askedAshtavakra, “Which livingbeing sleeps with eyesopen? What does notgrow after being born?What does not have aheart and what growsvery fast?” To this,Ashtavakra replied “A fishsleeps with eyes open, anegg does not grow afterbirth, a stone has noheart, and a small rivuletgrows very fast into amighty river.”

The king was veryhappy and told both,Ashtavakra andSwetaketu, that eventhough they were youngin age they were old inwisdom. He said no onewould be able to defeatthem in the debate andallowed them into theYagna.

Ashtavakra went intothe yagna hall and facingBandi said, “O haughtyBrahmin, you havedefeated many Brahminsin debate and then youhave had them tied upand drowned in the river.Today you will meet yourmatch. Just as the fire ofjudgment can evaporate ariver, I will beat you in thedebate. You have harmedmy family by defeating myfather and having himdrowned in the river.Know me as a poisonoussnake that is going tosting you to death. Comeon let us answer eachother’s questions.”

Bandi said “Only theOne Agni appears as firein many different forms,only One sun lightens theworld, it is only the Onelord Indra who vanquisheshis enemies, and only theOne Yama, the lord ofdeath, rules the under-

world.” Ashtavakra replied

“The Two, Indra and Agni,are friends and roamtogether; there are TwoDeva rishis, Narada andParvat, there are TwoAshwinikumars, the carthas Two wheels, God hasmade Two, both, husbandand wife to be each other’sfriends. Only the Two,intelligence and conscious-ness, by complementingand supporting each otherallow us to experience andenjoy knowledge.Intelligence on its owncannot do anything.”

Bandi said “Peopleperform Three kinds ofacts – white, black, andgrey. When you havelearned the Three Vedas,your life becomes theVajpayee Yagna. TheBrahmins light theAgnihotra in Three peri-ods of the day. There areThree lokas – Bhu,Bhuvaha, and Swaha. Andthere are Three kinds offlames.”

Ashtavakra said “TheBrahmins have Four kindsof ashrams. People are

divided into Four castes,there are Four directionsand the speech we utter isof Four types from grossto subtle.” (HereAshtavakra is talking ofthe Four kinds of soundscalled Vaikhari or spoken,Madhyama or molecular,Pasyanti or electronic, andAnahata or unmanifest.)

Bandi’s next argumentwas, “There are Five kindsof fire or Agnis, the versesof the scriptures or ‘chan-das’ are composed of Fivelines, there are Five typesof yagnas, man has Fivesenses, and the scripturesdescribe Five types ofApsaras.”

Ashtavakra replied,“When lighting theAgnihotra, there are Sixcows to be given as char-ity, in the wheel of timethere are Six seasons, wehave Six senses com-posed of five that aregross and one that is sub-tle, the constellation ofKrittikas is formed of Sixstars and before onelearns the Vedas one hasto perform Six yagnas.” To be continued next week…

All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessedfrom http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

Forest Habitat

Congress confident of sortingout differences with TMC

Never Before Weekend Home

INDIA

The Story ofAshtavakra (Part-4)

Gujarati loses life in Nigeria terrorattack that killed more than 200

BJP president Nitin Gadkarihas endorsed Gujarat chiefminister Narendra Modi forthe top posts of prime min-ister and party head, stirringa fresh debate amongGenNext leaders position-ing themselves for the 2014sweepstakes.

In an interview to a TVchannel, Gadkari ruled him-self out of the race for thePM's post and said hewould not seek an exten-sion as party chief after histenure ends in December. "Iwill never be a candidate forPM nor will I topple any-body. Modi has good poten-tial to be BJP president andPM," he said, adding, "I amready to work as an ordi-nary party worker. I willsupport Narendra Modi totake over the mantle."

While he parriedqueries on the BJP'schoice for the PM's post,saying the party wouldmake the decision at anappropriate time, his firmendorsement of the

Gujarat CM is likely torenew questions about theparty's future leadership.

The Hindutva strong-man is seen to be a polar-ising figure who many feelcould be an impediment inBJP attracting allies with"secular" claims. The hos-tility of Bihar chief minis-ter Nitish Kumar to Modiis known and picking theGujarat leader could ham-per alliance making, there-by negatively impactingthe party's poll prospects.This is said to be the mainhandicap for the leaderappreciated for "good gov-ernance".

The key issue will be theorganizational leadership if

Gadkari refuses a secondterm as BJP helmsman. Theparty will face the questionmuch sooner than it has todecide about elections andthe PM candidate.

Modi is popular withthe saffron cadre and isalso seen by a section asthe panacea for organiza-tional weaknesses whichhave hobbled the BJP incomparison to Congress.

Though the decisionon who should head theBJP may be an internalissue, its tricky naturestems from the fact thatBJP chief would automati-cally get projected as theparty's PM candidate.

BJP strategists areeager that it forge a rain-bow alliance like NDAunder A B Vajpayee. Butmany from Vajpayee'sNDA have since left, citing"secular" concerns, amongthem being ChandrababuNaidu's TDP, NationalConference and BJD ofNavin Patnaik.

Nitin Gadkari backs NarendraModi for PM's post

Keval Kalidas Rajput

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 25INDIA

Petite and soft-spoken, 13-year-old Mittal Patadiyahardly looks like someonewho could hurt a fly, let alonetackle a person more thantwice her size. But when itrequired, the Ahmedabad girlacted nothing less than asuper hero who can fight thedeadliest army unarmed.

It is precisely this mettleand guts of the teen from thecity which has bagged herNational Bravery award forshowing exceptional couragein the face of adversity.Patadiya is among the 24children selected for theaccolade and received theprestigious Geeta Chopdaaward from Prime MinisterManmohan Singh.

On the day ofDhanteras in 2010,Patadia thwarted agang of thieves anddespite sustaining seri-ous injuries, refused tolet them go.

The incidentoccurred on November3, 2010, whenShivkumar Tahiliyani,72, a retired civil engi-neer, his wife Kavita, 66, hisdaughter Komal and theirfoster daughter Mittal weredecorating their residence inNaroda. An autodriverAjitsinh Rehwat rang theirdoorbell and asked for water.As the driver looked familiar,Kavita found nothing suspi-cious but within moments,

two other men came frombehind Rehwat and forciblyentered inside.

"They attacked me andasked where the valuableswere kept. Mittal screamedfor help when she saw thisand acting quickly, shepounced at the auto driver,pulled his hair and even bit

him," Kavita said while pat-ting Mittal's back during anevent in Delhi on Wednesday.The three robbers stabbed the12-year-old in the neck,resulting in blood spurtingout but the girl refused to letgo.

"Mittal's screams caughtattention of other familymembers and neighbours.But neighbours could notenter as the door was locked.Despite being seriously hurt,Mittal fought off the men andopened the door and let theneighbors in to catch thetrio," said Kavita. Mittal waslater admitted to a hospitalwhere doctors took fourhours and 351 stitches toclose the knife wound.

A day after it was ambushedby General V K Singh whotook his battle over his age tothe Supreme Court, an angrygovernment decided to takeon the Army chief frontally inthe apex court.

Incensed by Gen Singh'ssurprise move, and regrettingthat it allowed itself to be out-maneuvered by him, the gov-ernment explored the entirespectrum of options, rangingfrom simply letting the courttake a call on the case to ask-ing the Army chief to resignor go on leave and naming hissuccessor before time.

As of now, the radical stepto sack the Army chief is notbeing considered. It is recog-nized that Gen Singh has man-aged to "manipulate" percep-tion to paint himself as a victim

and, therefore, the first movein the counter-strike should beto blast holes in his version,say government sources.

The Centre has decided tofield attorney general G EVahanvati and solicitor gen-eral R F Nariman in court torebut Gen Singh's case thathe was treated unfairly, hav-ing already moved a caveat inthe Supreme Court to pre-vent him from securing anyrelief without it being heard.

The line of succession willalso be "fully protected", withEastern Army commanderLt-Gen Bikram Singh beingthe frontrunner to replace theincumbent when he retires onMay 31.

With BJP attacking thegovernment for "mishan-dling" the issue, Prime

Minister Manmohan Singhand others, including defenceminister A K Antony and lawminister Salman Khurshid,spent last week strategizingon the various options.

The attorney general andthe solicitor general, it islearnt, also had detailed dis-cussions with PMO officials.Defence secretary ShashikantSharma, too, joined the fire-fighting by cutting short hisofficial trip to Malaysia.

As it seethes with anger,the government is also realiz-ing that it was strung alongby Gen Singh who, sourcesclaimed, gave assurances thathe would accept May 10,1950 as his date of birth:pledges that he reneged timeand again.

Moreover, at least threeministers had gone out of theway to praise the general, lav-ishing superlatives on him.Now it is recognized that thegenerous testimonials may beused by Gen Singh in casethe government takesrecourse to drastic actionagainst him. Hence the needto breach his defence in thecourt by giving a detailedaccount of his "manipulation"and string of broken promis-es, said sources.

Indian Govt decides on toughresponse Army chief’'s legal moveKalmadi gets bail after nine

months in jailThe Delhi High Court granted bail to SureshKalmadi, MP and former chief of theCommonwealth Games OrganisingCommittee, accused in a corruption caserelated to the 2010 sporting event. His aideV.K. Verma was also given bail. The courtallowed bail to Kalmadi on a personal bondof `500, 000 and surety of the like amount.Kalmadi was arrested April 26 last year forhis alleged role in awarding a contract forinstalling the Timing-Scoring-Result systemto Swiss Times Omega at an exorbitant costof Rs 1.41 billion, allegedly causing a loss ofover Rs 950 million to the public exchequer.

MP minister vows to wearshoes sans lacesThe Madhya Pradesh minister for coopera-tives Gauri Shankar Bisen has vowed towear footwear without laces a day afterbeing haunted for getting them tied by ayoung boy on a podium. Apologising formaking the young boy to tie his shoelaces,the minister said he is all set to buy six pairsof shoes without laces. The ministeraddressed a press conference atChhindwara and read out a statementregretting his actions and justifying the rea-sons behind the deed. He also argued thatcontrary to media claims, the teenaged boywas not a tribal but the son of a family friendand member of the same OBC communityas himself. “Rajeev and Rahul are the sonsof Ravi Shankar, a close family friend. Theboys came with me to attend the function inChhindwara.

Priest murders four, thencommits suicideIn one of the most gruesome murders inrecent years in Gujarat, Dharamnath, theassistant of the priest of a Shiv temple inIyava village of Sanand clobbered four peo-ple to death with an iron bar. He also injuredanother three people, including the headpriest, Somnath Bapu. He killed the fourmen in the temple campus and later com-mitted suicide by hanging himself from thestaircase leading to the temple’s dome.

Plot to abduct Sachin: Eight-year jail terms for sixSix Harkat-ul Jihad-al-Islami terrorists whoplotted to abduct cricketers SachinTendulkar and Saurav Ganguly in 2002were Monday sentenced to eight-year jailterms by the Delhi High Court. A trial courthad earlier awarded them life terms.

Shoe hurled at Rahul inUttarakhandCongress general secretary Rahul Gandhi,on Monday, joined the burgeoning list ofpolitical figures that have had shoe hurledat them. The Amethi MP, who kicked off hiselection campaign in Uttarakhand, wasspeaking at Vikas Nagar near Dehradun.Gandhi remained unfazed as a 35-year-oldman, identified as Kuldeep Singh, hurled ashoe towards the dais. It landed 10 metresshort of the Congress scion. While mostpartymen on the dais got rattled, Rahullooked calm and said, “Leave the man andlet him throw more shoes at me.”

4-7 years imprisonment for 41accused in fodder scamA special CBI court awarded four to sevenyears rigorous imprisonment to 41 peopleconvicted in a fodder scam case andslapped fines of Rs.200,000 toRs.3000,000 on them. Special CBI courtjudge P.K. Singh pronounced the quantumof sentence. There were 73 accused in thecase. Nine died during the trial and threeturned CBI approvers. The court onMonday convicted 61 people and sen-tenced 20 of them to one to three yearsimprisonment and fined them betweenRs.30,000 and Rs.300,000. The sentencesagainst the remaining 41 were pronounced.The CBI had filed a chargesheet in 2001and charges were framed in 2004. Themulti-million Animal Husbandry Department(AHD)scam surfaced in the late 1990s,when Jharkhand was a part of Bihar.

Kagwad (Virpur): Allroads on Saturday led toKagwad, a nondescripthamlet of Saurashtra,which eventually etchedits name in the GuinnessBook of World Records.There, 24,435 Leuva Patelcouples (48,870 people)set the record for the mostnumber of handshakes inan event, at one of thebiggest congregations oftheir politically influentialand cash-rich community.

A Guinness Book offi-cial, Lucia, who was pres-ent at the village,announced that this wasthe first event in the worldwhere “most number ofpeople shook hands simul-taneously”.

The couples took partin a shilapujan vidhi(foundation stone layingceremony) of the commu-nity deity Khodal Maa; agrand temple has beenplanned. “Leuva Patelsfrom 11 states and sevencountries attended thishistoric event,’’ saidNaresh Patel, the presi-dent of the KhodaldhaamTrust. “This day will beremembered in the historyof community’s develop-ment.”

Besides creating aworld record, the trustalso collected Rs 1.50 bil-lion in donations from var-ious community membersin just three hours. Themoney will be used to set

up educational institutes,sports academy, and tohelp orphaned children ofthe community. KhodalAgriculture University hasalso been envisaged.

“We plan to promotecommunity farming in allvillages in the state, whichwill ultimately benefit sev-eral small and marginalfarmers,” Patel said. Thespectacular communitygathering began with arain of flowers on thecrowd from a speciallyarranged chopper. Fight injustice, Keshubhaitells community members

Grand old man andformer Gujarat CMKeshubhai Patel in hissternest messages askedthe Leuva Patels to riseagainst “injustice” andgive back a fitting reply.

“Mahatma Gandhitold us that if someoneslaps you, be ready foranother slap. Even I agree,but when you are wrongand someone slaps you,give back two slaps,” Pateltold the gathering.

“We (Leuva Patels)have suffered a lot. So, weneed to get educated andaware. If you are alert, youwill ask for your rights andnobody would dare youdeprive you,” the octoge-narian politician said.

Leuva Patels shake hands, walkinto Guinness record

Six months after the triple blasts inMumbai, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief RakeshMaria on Monday claimed that theinvestigating agency has solved thecase and said they have arrested twopeople, who planted bombs at two ofthe three spots in Mumbai.

The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) ofthe Mumbai Police on Monday alsoarrested two people in connectionwith the case.

Claiming to have cracked the seri-al blasts that rocked Zaveri Bazar,Opera House and Dadar in south andcentral Mumbai, Rakesh Maria saidthe arrests have been made byMumbai Police from Bihar.

Accused identified as Naqi Ahmedand Nadeem Akhtar, both were origi-nally from Darbhanga and held inMumbai, are aged 22 and 23 respec-tively.

Rakesh Maria also thanked theagencies in different states whoextended the willingness to help atevery stage of the investigation.

"Our teams visited 18 states and alead was obtained by the ATS in lastweek of November," the ATS chiefsaid.

"Yasin Bhatkal is the main accusedin this case (13/7 Mumbai blast), hestarted the Darbhanga module," ATSChief Rakesh Maria told reporters.

Maria also said that transfer war-rant was being sought from court for3rd accused, identified as HaroonRashid.

"The wanted accused in the case isYaseen Bhatkal. We will release hissketches soon," he said.

13/7 Mumbai blast

case solved,

Two arrested

Ahmedabad girl wins bravery award

Mittal Patadiya

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 201226 INDIA


The parents said therewere “cultural differences”but the authorities tookexception to, including sleep-ing with the children andfeeding them by hand. Theseare common practices inIndia, where they are seen aspart of the bonding betweenmother and child. Norway’schild welfare denied this, say-ing it only intervened whenparents did not take “ade-quate responsibility”.

Mr Krishna said that hehad urged the Norwegianauthorities “to find an amicableand urgent solution to ensurethat the children are returnedto the biological parents”.

“Given the children’s veryyoung age, removal from thecare of their natural parentsand to be placed in foster care

till they turn 18 is an extremestep which should normallybe a last resort. The circum-stances as known to theIndian government do notappear to justify such meas-ures in the present case,”Krishna said.

He said the Indian gov-ernment was anxious that asolution be found at the earli-est. He said that CPI-Mleader Brinda Karat has alsotalked to him about the issue.

The Indian case is basedon the argument that chil-dren needed to be with theirparents or their families, andit would be cruel to take themaway from their natural sur-roundings. The Indianambassador to Norway, RKTyagi has been asked to stayin touch with the childrenand the parents.

However, the minister did

admit that there was a "prob-lem" since the matter wasbefore the Norway court andthe Norwegian judicial sys-tem was seized of the matterand therefore, it has to be set-tled through Indian missionand other stakeholders.

After his meeting withKrishna, Brun said, "We havea very close and good dia-logue and both the govern-ments have best interest ofthe children at heart.

"Through this constructiveand close dialogue, we arevery hopeful we will have set-tlement that will be bothacceptable within Norwegianlegal system and also in accor-dance with the legitimate con-cerns of the Indian govern-ment. However, he parriedquestions on the time frame.

When asked if the issuecould be resolved before the

expiry of the visa of the parents,,Krishna said he was hopefulthat it can be worked out.

"Let me emphasise, wehave very cordial bilateralrelations with Norway andthey are ready to accommo-date Indian governmentwithin their jurisdiction andif it is a visa issue, it can beworked out," he said.

Barnevarne has placedthem in foster parental careas per the directive of thelocal Norwegian court, man-dated under Norwegian laws.

Meanwhile, Barnevarnehas sought concrete detailsregarding how the childrenwill be looked after, who inthe extended family would bethe children's primary caregiver and how Indian author-ities will follow up the matterand ensure that the children'sneeds are met.

India steps up pressure for release of NRI kids in Norway

The planned video address byBritish author SalmanRushdie to the ongoingJaipur Literature Festival wasscrapped on Tuesday becauseof security fears, police said."(The venue) owners con-veyed to police that it was notpossible for them to allow theorganisers (to hold the videolink) in the present situa-tion," deputy commissionerof Jaipur police VijendraJhala told reporters.

Earlier nearly 30 angryrepresentatives of variousIslamic organisations inJaipur tried to enter thevenue of the festival inprotest against the videoaddress by Rushdie, author of

the banned book "TheSatanic Verses".

The protesters led by AllIndia Milli Council leader,Paiker Farukh, a lawyer, whoalleged that "the festival wastrying to portray authorSalman Rushdie as a hero".

"We have every right toprotest in a democratic man-ner and if the Muslim popula-tion of Jaipur comes out in

protest, you cannot preventus. You cannot take us for aride... we are not fools,"Farukh told the media out-side the venue at DiggiPalace.

The Muslim organisationshad filed a petition at thecourt of an executive magis-trate in Jaipur seeking adirective against Rushdie'saddress following which thecourt had summoned fourorganisers of the festival. Butthe organisers failed to turnup, a representative of theMuslim delegation said.

Police were summoned toplacate the protesters. Thecommissioner of police reas-sured the protesters that their

interests would be taken intoaccount.

"We don't know about thefate of Rushdie's videoaddress," a member of thecore committee of the organ-isers then said.

Rushdie had called off hisvisit to Jaipur citing threatsto his life from "paid assas-sins". But later he accusedRajasthan Police of hatchinga plot about hitmen to keephim away from the festivalwhere he was expected to bethe star attraction. SomeMuslim groups had alsoprotested his proposed visit.But then the festival organis-ers said he would address thefestival through a video link.

Salman Rushdie's video link to Jaipur festival scrapped

Upping the ante on the Lokpalbill ahead of assembly polls infive states, Anna Hazare onSunday shot off a letter toPrime Minister ManmohanSingh asking him to "showcourage" in passing stringentanti-corruption legislation togive the country something toremember him by.

Team Anna also wroteseparate missives toBharatiya Janata Party presi-dent Nitin Gadkari,Samajwadi Party chiefMulayam Singh Yadav,Bahujan Samaj Party supre-mo Mayawati and other lead-ers questioning their party'sstance on aspects of the legis-lation passed by the LokSabha last month.

Using sharp language inthe letters to the prime minis-ter and Congress general sec-retary Rahul Gandhi, Hazaredescribed Home Minister P.Chidambaram as "corrupt" andwondered why the govern-ment wanted to keep CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)"in its grip."

The four-page letter toManmohan Singh, onlysigned by Hazare, said he wasnot sure whether the Congresswill give him another chanceto become the prime ministerand he should use this oppor-tunity to push for a stringentanti-corruption law.

"You have turned 80 andthis country has given youeverything. Now the county

is asking something inreturn... show courage topush for a stringent Lokpalbill. You had put your govern-ment at stake for passing thecivil nuclear liability bill, nowshow courage for a strict anti-corruption law," Hazare said.

"There is no guaranteethat you will again get achance to become the primeminister so you should dosomething that country canremember you always. We

request you to replace thepresent bill with a strict bill."

"Does the CBI have somefiles which the governmentdoes not want to bring inpublic domain? Or is it thatthey want to misuse CBI tosave corrupt ministers? Or isit you want to misuse CBI toensure that the governmentdoes not fall by ensuring sup-port of (Mulayam Singh)Yadav and Mayawati,"Hazare asked.

Hazare wrote that TeamAnna had decided to tour thepoll-bound states and informthe people about the JanLokpal bill and that the teamwill continue to do so till thegovernment brought in astrong Lokpal.

Show courage for strong Lokpal bill: Hazare to Manmohan

13 Jharkhand cops die inMaoist ambushIn yet another gruesome operation, Maoiststriggered a landmine blast in which 13Jharkhand policemen were killed nearGarhwa district’s Lalmatia village, about250 km from Ranchi, on Jharkhand’s borderwith Chhattisgarh. This is the second bigattack since last November’s killing ofMaoist ideologue and chief spokesmanKishenji in Bengal’s Jangalmahal area.Eleven security personnel were killed in ablast that targeted the cavalcade ofIndependent Lok Sabha MP Inder SinghNamdhari in Latehar in December.

India rejects US embargo, toimport oil from IranEven as China cuts down drastically its oilimports from Iran, which is soon likely to runinto fresh sanctions from the US and the EU,India declared it will continue to import crudeoil from the country. Brushing aside US sanc-tions that prevent financial institutions fromdoing business with Tehran and its centralbank, foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai statedthat India will only accept sanctions imposedby the UN. "We have accepted sanctionswhich are made by the UN. Other sanctionsdo not apply to individual countries. We can'taccept that," said Mathai.

India, China agree on borderpeace mechanismLeaving behind the acrimony of late lastyear, when the two countries called offboundary talks because of Beijing's opposi-tion to a Buddhist congregation attended bythe Dalai Lama, India and China agreed toa joint working mechanism meant to pre-vent any flare-up and ensure peace at theborder. The Working Mechanism onConsultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs signed in the presenceof the two Special Representatives (SR),India's NSA Shivshankar Menon andChinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo, aimsat timely communication of information onborder incidents from both sides for appro-priate handling and also for “earnestlyundertaking other cooperation activities inthe India-China border areas".

Yahoo goes to Delhi HCThe Delhi High Court sought response fromthe city police on a plea of Yahoo India PvtLtd challenging the summons issued to it bya magistrate for allegedly hosting objection-able content. "Notice be issued forFebruary 10," Justice Suresh Kait saidwhile admitting the petition of Yahoo Indiafor hearing.The court also allowed YahooIndia's plea that its case be heard separate-ly. Senior advocate Arvind Nigam, appear-ing for Yahoo India, said, "It is a case wheresummons were issued without applicationof mind by the trial court as there was nomaterial against me(Yahoo India)". Nigamsaid the complaint and the order of themagistrate have dealt with alleged objec-tionable material retrieved from variouswebsites including Zombie, Orkut, Youtube,Facebook, Blogspot and none of them per-tained to Yahoo.

��PARIN SHAH

DoB: 31 January 2005Wishing you years of good health

and happiness.We all love you dearly and all our

prays & wishes are with you.

Lots of love, hugs and kisses from,Daddy: Rajnikant Shah, Mummy:Alka Shah, Grandma: MangalabenKantilal, Nani: VimlabenGunvantlal, Kaka: Vijaybhai,Anilbhai, Dineshbhai, Kaki:Anitaben, Binaben, Foiba:Bhartiben, Fuwa: John BustonMama: Pradipbhai, Subodhbhai,Shaileshbhai, Sunilbhai, Mami:Parulben, Ashaben, Pallaviben,Snehaben, Cousins: Aneeka,Parina,Gemma, Lina,Dejan, Rahul,Jinal, Ankit, Hiral, Kinjal, Vishal,Karishma, Jay, Pooja, Malaveand all member of ABPLgroup.

The Gujarat government on Thursdaylast filed a special leave petition in theSupreme Court seeking to quash andhave set aside the order of the Gujarathigh court - delivered on Wednesday -upholding the governor's decision ofappointing Justice (retd.) R A Mehtaas lokayukta. The state governmenthas sought an ex-parte interim stayon the execution of the appointment.

The petition comes a day afterthe severe indictment of chief minis-ter Narendra Modi by Justice V MSahai, the third judge of the HC towhom the matter was referred after asplit verdict by a two-judge bench.

The SLP has been filed on behalfof chief secretary A K Joti and minis-ter of state for law PradeepsinhJadeja, but it could not be taken upon Thursday despite the fact that a

battery of lawyers had been lined upby the Gujarat government.

The three respondents named inthe petition are Justice Mehta, the highcourt of Gujarat and the principal pri-vate secretary to the chief justice of theGujarat HC. It may be recalled thatgovernor Dr Kamla had appointedJustice Mehta as lokayukta in August2011 on the basis of a recommenda-tion by the then Chief Justice of theGujarat HC, S J Mukhopadhyaya, whois now a judge of the Supreme Court.

The Modi government hasargued that the governor had notconsulted the council of ministersbefore making the appointment, aswas required under section 3 of theGujarat Lokayukta Act, 1986. Itquoted Justice Sahai's indictment toask whether the non-appointment of

lokayukta in the instant case owingto various procedural hurdles "can besaid to have invited a grave andexceptional situation perilous todemocracy and rule of law or a con-stitutional mini-crises", so as to war-rant the exercise of personal discre-tion by the governor.

The petition seeks a clarificationif the governor, under Article 163 ofthe Constitution, has any discretionto act contrary to the aid and adviceof the council of ministers and, if so,when the governor has such person-al discretion. It said with the thenchief justice declining to considerthe representation dated 16.6.2011of the chief minister against JusticeMehta, there arose a deadlock whichshould not have been resolved uni-laterally by the governor.

Modi govt moves SC over Lokayukta verdict

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 27tRavel & festival

‘Martyrs’ are the ones whohave sacrificed their lifefor a cause that leads tothe betterment of a major-ity of people. One suchindividual known for hisincredible sacrifice andselfless contribution inorder to achieve freedomfor India was MohandasKaramchand Gandhi,known as Bapuji. January30, 1948 was the dayGandhiji was assassinatedat Birla House where hewas going to attend hisevening prayers.Nathuram Godse was theman who shot bullets atGandhiji. Martyrs day isobserved on this day as aremembrance to the sadand untimely demise ofthis great leader. The dayis also known as GandhiNirman Divas which fallson 30th Jan.

Earlier, the day wascelebrated on the Republicday i.e., on the 26th ofJanuary. However, later itwas celebrated on thedeath anniversary ofGandhiji. Gandhiji alsoknown as the Father of theNation was a follower ofSatyagraha and Non-Violence, which were his

basic tools of war againstthe Britishers.

The day is generallycelebrated by paying hom-age to the martyrs at theIndia Gate in New Delhi.This is done by the chiefsof the army, navy and theair force. In addition tothis, the latest weapons,arms and ammunitionsare showcased. The daystarts with the wailing ofthe siren at 11 am in themorning at the govern-ment establishments.During the wailing, civil-ians too are supposed tostop their chores andobserve silence for a fewminutes.

The president, primeminister, vice presidentand the defense ministerare amongst the high levelauthorities who pay rever-

ence at Rajghat which isthe Samadhi of Gandhiji.Gandhiji never differenti-ated between religions. Allreligions were the same tohim. Hence, on this day,prayers and songs of allthe religions are played infront of Rajghat and bha-jans are sung in hisremembrance.

In the evening, candlelighting service takesplace where school chil-dren, folks of the martyrsand other civilians lightcandles in their remem-brance.

Year 2009 was the60th death anniversary ofGandhiji. As a mark ofremembrance, on thisoccasion the left overashes of the leader wereimmersed in the ArabianSea.

in search of real rootswhich no longer existsin search of real rootswhich no longer existsin search of real rootswhich no longer exists

AV Correspondent

For tourists Kashmir maybe a paradise, but not forpeople who once residedin this paradise. For themthe mention of the placeis like asking a king inexile to visithis paradise.We had leftthe place 21years ago in1992, whenm i l i t a n t sthreatened usand asked us(Pandits) tovacate oura n c e s t r a lhomes. Ourparents leftthe place with their basicnecessities hoping that itwas just a temporaryphase and we wouldreturn to our homes prob-ably after a couple ofmonths. But that neverhappened and now aftertwo decadeswe have decid-ed to revisitour places oforigin.

T h emoment welanded at theairport it gaveus a feelingthat we reallybelong to thisland and couldnot digest thefact that we were actuallyin Srinagar. But all of itfizzled out and we got sad-dened when the addressthat we read out to thedriver was that of a hoteland not a housing colonywhich we had left twodecades ago.

On way tothe hotel, werealised thate v e r y t h i n ghad changedfrom theroads, to theway the hous-es had mush-roomed in var-ious cornersof the city.

The natu-ral beauty is there whichnobody can take away butit was definitely not thecity that we had leftbehind. Images of furiousmobs running behindinnocent people keptcoming as flashes as we

were trying hard to pullourselves back to thepresent.

We were feeling goodas we were able to speakour language in the mar-ket, to the autowallas butwe were soon made to

realise by a close associ-ate, “Do not think ofcoming back and stayinghere, they will give you afeeling that your money iswelcome but you are defi-nitely not.’’

We requested an old

friend to lend us his bikeso that we could go to theplaces where we spentour childhood. We wereable to trace some loca-tions but others justremained as an image.When we stopped to ask

people about some bye-lanes, the only reply was,“Oh they have beendemolished many yearsago and on which daysare you talking about.”And it was sentences likethese which convinced

us, yes the change wasdefinitely visible.

The old temples arethere since the armedforces would not allowany fresh demolitions,but probably during ournext visit they too would

no longer bethere. Andthen began thed e s p e r a t esearch for ourhouse whichwe had left.Images of thearea werethere when wehad left ah o u s i n gcolony ofhardly 30

houses and now the totalnumber of houses in thatareas alone had gone upto 500. We walked roundand round but just couldnot trace the house wherewe spent some of our besttimes and a house which

we had lefthoping tocome backsome day andmake it amulti-storied.

Some oldne ighbours ,who stillremember ourparents, tookus to our oldhouse and toour surprise,

the present occupants areMuslims. You could hard-ly see any Hindus in thearea. The new residentshave retained the originalstructure of the house andthe nameplate outsidehad changed and instead

of our family itwas theirs.

That wasthe last thingthat con-vinced us_thatwe should nothope of get-ting back ourhouse and ifwe have tovisit this placeit was just as atourist and

not like residents even asleaders talk of peace andassure our communityleaders that Kashmir isnow a safe place. Ask usand we will tell you, “ourmoney is welcome there,but definitely not we.”

Shalimar Bagh

Pari Mahal

Shikara

India payshomage to

Gandhiji on‘Martyrs’ day

Republic Day an importantday in india’s

history

The Republic Dayof India commemoratesthe date on which theConstitution of Indiacame into force replacingthe Government of IndiaAct 1935 as the governingdocument of India on 26January 1950.The 26th ofJanuary was chosen tohonour the memory of thedeclaration of independ-ence of 1930.

Although Indiaobtained its independ-ence on 15 August 1947,it did not yet have a per-manent constitution;instead, its laws werebased on the modifiedcolonial Government ofIndia Act 1935, and thecountry was a Dominion,with George VI as head ofstate and EarlMountbatten as GovernorGeneral. On 28 August1947, the DraftingCommittee was appointedto draft a permanent con-stitution, with BhimraoRamji Ambedkar as chair-man. While India'sIndependence Day cele-brates its freedom fromBritish Rule, the RepublicDay celebrates the com-ing into force of its consti-tution.

The Constitution ofIndia became the law ofall the Indian lands. TheConstitution of India waspassed on 26 November1949, but it came intoeffect completely only on26 January 1950. Thus,

applying the constitutionon 26 January, to markand respect 26 Januaryand the freedom struggleand the freedom fighters.

It is one of the threenational holidays in India.While the main paradetakes place in the nationalCapital New Delhi at theRajpath before the presi-dent, the anniversary isalso celebrated with vary-ing degrees of formality instate capitals and othercentres.

To mark the impor-tance of the occasion,every year a grand paradeis held in the Capital,New Delhi, from theRaisina Hill near theRashtrapati Bhavan(President's Palace),along the Rajpath, pastIndia Gate . Prior to itscommencement, thePrime Minister lays a flo-ral wreath at the AmarJawan Jyoti, a memorialto unknown soldiers atthe India Gate at one endof Rajpath, which is fol-lowed by two minutessilence in the memory ofsoldiers. Thereafter hereaches the main dais atRajpath to join other dig-nitaries, subsequently thePresident arrives alongwith the chief guest of theoccasion. First he unfurlsthe National flag, as theNational Anthem isplayed, and a 21-gunsalute is given. Next

importantfunction is thepresentation ofawards like the AshokChakra and Kirti Chakraby the president beforethe regiments of ArmedForces start their marchpast.

The different regi-ments of the Indian Army,Navy, and Air Forcemarch past in all their fin-ery and official decora-tions. The President, whois the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian ArmedForces, takes the salute.Floats exhibiting the cul-tures of the various statesand regions of India are inthe grand parade, whichis broadcast nationwideon television and radio.Also part of the parade ischildren who have wonthe National BraveryAward for the year. Theparade also includes othervibrant displays and floatsand traditionally endswith a fly past by theIndian Air Force jets.

The patriotic fervor ofthe people on this daybrings the whole countrytogether even in heressential diversity. Everypart of the country is rep-resented in occasion,which makes the RepublicDay the most popular ofall the national holidaysof India.

The accent’s verymuch on relationships.

The opening up of a more diverse social life is a pointin favour of romantic attachments, if this is what youwant. You will achieve a lot more, especially whenyou're motivated by your own desires. The general pat-tern of things continues on a progressive and buoyanttheme.

As social life is likely togather a pleasant momentum throughout this week,this is bound to present a better prospect, not only forstriking up new friendships but also romantic encoun-ters. This is going to be one of those times wheninsignificant events give rise to unexpected develop-ments especially regarding work and health.

You will feel confidentas the week begins. The cosmic energies are decidedlyinvigorating at the moment. If you are taking a holiday,so much the better ! Not only do you have Sun puttinga favourable emphasis on travel but, you can be sureof deriving the utmost pleasure from adventures andexcursions.

Although the verypractical affairs of life continue to be highlighted, thisdoes not mean that there will be all work and no play.In fact, you will be very much in demand socially. Froma financial point of view take stock of where you’re atrather than to launch any ambitious new business plan.

Decision making willprove to be a bit of a bind

because of your wavering mind - seek professionaladvice and then steam ahead. Be careful with yourexpenditure as you have a tendency to be extravagant.Relationships need to be scrutinised carefully.Sometimes it is a good idea to stand back and re-assess

life.

This week, be yourdiplomatic best and try not to tread on anyone's toes.Passions will run from hot to cold, and relationshipsmay suffer. Even the most strong-willed Virgoans willbe more open to compromise to keep the peace. Allthings considered, your health should be robust.

Venus's transit in yoursolar 6th house, you will

find it easy to do well at work and rise to great heights.During this transit you will enjoy robust health and findphysical activities very enjoyable. Plan your spendingand set sensible budgets to reach your financial goals.

Life continues to gath-er momentum and put a

strong focus on domestic and family matters. The out-look remains optimistic as developments point the wayforward and bring you a sense of real achievement.Don't be afraid to act if your instinct tells you it's timefor change.

An inspiring boostto matters of communi-

cation but make sure your curiosity on a range of top-ics does not lead to a scattering of mental energy. Witha surge of energy and enthusiasm, this is a favourabletime to make fresh starts. Personal relationships maybe more intense.

Jupiter, the planetof abundance, is tran-

siting your solar 5th house. You have plenty of roman-tic options. Financially you are still not out of the woodsas Sun is transiting your financial sign. At work you willexperience a relaxed atmosphere and this will help youto get on with everyone.

You will have the dis-tinct feeling that everything

is moving ahead at a very satisfying pace. Indeed, youwill be in a forward-looking mood, more inclined toreflect on the future and its potentials. The power ofdestiny is very much in your own hand and any majordecision you make will have a profound effect on yourfuture.

Fortune smiles on theromantically inclined with

Venus transiting your sign. You are likely to experiencea highly satisfying phase in respect of amorous desiresbut you may even find yourself in the flattering positionof having more than one admirer. For those who aresingle, do something positive now.


ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500

UK

This week meet Rasshee Rraga on CB Live for a discussionand some music, celebrating India's Republic day.Hailing from a background of Indian classical music,Rasshee represented the UK in India’s National singingcompetition, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ in 2008 and also performedfor BBC’s Radio Concert with more than 100 pieceSymphony Orchestra in 2010 in London and composed andsang for ‘Indian Seasons’ on Channel 4.The other guest on this week’s CB Live will be Dr MinaDesai CBE, who will be present to talk on cervical cancer.Dr Desai is the Head of Cytopathology Service/Clinical Leadfor Gynaecological Cytology/Consultant Cytopathologist in Manchester Cytology Centre, Central ManchesterUniversity Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

For more information e-mail:[email protected]

CB Live is only a Gujarati programme in UK on MATV SKY 793

7pm to 8pm Every Thursday

If you do not have a SKY, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

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Coming Events

l Indian Republic day Celebration- Thursday 26thJanuary 2012 from 12pm to 1pm, Maha Prashadfrom 1pm to 2.30pm, Flag Raising followed byNational Anthem (Rastra Geet). For more detailscontact Shree Jalaram Mandir Greenford on 0208 578 8088 / 9285l Saturday, 28th January - Charity KathiyawadiBhajan Night in aid of the Heart and Stroke ResearchCampaign, Northwick Park Social Club, NorthwickPark Hospital. Admission and Parking Free. Contact: Sheena on 020 8869 3294/3284. l Cervical cancer and cervical screening in BMEcommunities: raising awareness and overcomingbarriers.10am until 3pm on Thursday 26 January2012, at The King’s Fund, 11-13 Cavendish Square,London W1G 0ANl Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) organisesa major function on the 4th of Feb, 2012 at theSattavis Patidar Centre, HA9 9PE to raise funds for school in East Africa.

Editor: CB Patel

Associate Editor: Rupanjana Dutta

Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: [email protected]

Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa

Freelance Correspondent: Rudy Otter

Chief Operating Officer ABPL: Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013


Chief Financial Officer:

Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 - Mobile: 07875 229 220


Accounts Executive:

Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:[email protected]

Advertising Managers:

Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 151 893


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Media Consultant:

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Tel: 020 7749 4097 - Mobile: 07875 229 219

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Business Development Manager:

Urja Patel - Email: [email protected]

Design and Layout: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086


Customer Service: Ragini Nayak

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Editorial Co-Ordinator (BPO): Nilesh Parmar (M) +919426636912

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Youth Conference 2012

Brave shopkeeper fightsraiders with mops

Dinesh was moppingup just inside the doorwayand Kishan was bringingin signs from outside thestore when one of the mengot out and chargedtowards the shop.

The maskedman, armed with atwo-foot macheteburst into the storebut Dinesh bravelystruck him with themop, forcing thebandit backwards.

The man triedtwice more to getback into the shopbut Dinesh used themop to repeatedlyhit him, while Kishangrabbed a hockey stick tohelp keep the man away.

Two other masked mengot out of the car to jointhe first man, with onethrowing a metal bar atDinesh which he manage

to block with his forearm.The robbers eventually

retreated to their car,drove round the corner -and then stopped tosmash the windows ofDinesh’s van and Kishan’scar. Kishan, 21, said they

were lucky that the onlydamage to the shop hadbeen to the front door.

Nor thamptonsh i rePolice confirmed that theyare investigating the inci-dent, which happened lastFriday just before 10pm.


Dinesh with son Kishan

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar has organised a

Youth Conference at Brunei Gallery, SOAS,

University of London, on Saturday 3rd March 2012.

Time: 11:30am- 4:30pm. Age group 15-25 years.

If you are interested to take part in the

conference, have a heart to heart discussion

with panelists and be guided by some of the

city’s best mentors, please email Rupanjana

with your contact details and age by Saturday

18th February 2011 at

[email protected].

Please note if you do not register before the

conference by writing, you may not be able to take

part in it.

So don’t delay, write to Rupanjana immediately,

with your full name, age and contact details. Do not

miss out an opportunity to be mentored by the

City’s best professionals, absolutely FREE!!

Asian Voice - Saturday 28th January 2012 29HealtH WATch

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Ask yourself what you arelonging for and have athink about whether yourlife feels fulfilled or not. Alot of people think fulfil-ment is driving a nice car,living in a nice house orwearing fancy clothes butas a psychologist, fromwhat I have seen, this isnot the case. I work witha lot of clients who haveeverything they could askfor materially, however,when it comes to the spir-itual and emotional fulfil-ment department – thereis significant dissatisfac-tion. Read on to find outthe simple steps that youcan take to achieve thehappiness and fulfilmentyou deserve.

Firstly, you have tomake a commitment ordecide that you won’tbother trying to createhappiness in your life at all.This sounds harsh, butwhen you live in a state oflimbo, which is neitherhere nor there, you arealways in a place that isnegative. There is no gainwhatsoever in moaning

and complaining aboutyour problems and lifestylebecause this achievesnothing but further disap-pointment with your cur-rent reality. Simply createand commit to taking 3baby steps every day toget closer to the fulfilmentyou deserve. This immedi-ately sets you up for suc-cess and ensures that youare doing something aboutyour current levels of dis-appointment and are get-ting closer to where youwant to be. Start with verysimple things that wouldbe easy to incorporatewithin your day. For exam-ple: take a ten minute walkevery morning or eveningby yourself to have some‘me time’, list 10 thingsthat you’re a grateful for,meditate and continue tobuild on a hobby that youlove. All of these activitieswill start to change yournegative energy into posi-tive energy.

If you lack the energyand effort to create a pos-itive turnaround in yourlife nothing of worth and

weight will ever beachieved. If this soundslike you, look in the mirrorand really think about theconsequences and impactof such thoughts and lackof desire on your life.Every second is a chanceto turn it all around andyou have all it takes toconjure up the strength toget into the driving seat ofyour life. Don’t overanalyse situations, otherpeople of yourself becausewhen you do you createfurther hurdles that youhave to get over, thesethoughts unnecessarilydrain your energy. If youare not happy about yourcurrent situation thinkhard about what you cando to progress out of it.Write down twenty-onepossible ways of makingyour life more positive andthink about how muchcommitment you have toachieve all of these things.Remember you have to beyour own best friend if youwant to achieve and itdoesn’t have to be diffi-cult. Good luck!

Want to be happy and fulfilled?

By Mamta Saha

Psychologist

Any questions write to [email protected]

Hair loss has turned into amajor healthcare issue allover the world. You canuse the following homeremedies for controllinghair loss:

Regular massagingwith basic oils: Regularmassaging of the scalpwith lukewarm oil helps tostimulate the hair follicles.This is also an easy way tocure hair growth deter-rents like dandruff andfungal infections. Regularmassaging increases theblood circulation in thescalp. It is also useful forlowering anxiety or stressthat is often the underly-ing reason for thinning ofhair. You can use coconutor mustard oil for massag-ing. Use it for 3 to 4 timesa week. Keep the oil on forat least six hours beforewashing it off with a mildshampoo. Other oils thatcan be mixed with coconutoil in trace amounts forfaster results includealmond oil.

Natural concoctionsfor preventing hair loss:Coconut milk is among therichest sources of tissue-nourishing, plant deriva-tives. It is an excellenthome remedy for keepingthe hair soft withoutdepending upon chemicalformulations and regener-ating dead hair follicles.You can also use a concoc-tion of coconut oil mixedwith half the amount ofAmla oil. Just add a dashof lemon juice to this mix-ture and you have an effec-

tive, dandruff-fighting andscalp-healing concoctionthat arrests receding hair-line.

Nature’s effective hair-stimulating juices:Wheatgrass juice is one ofthe most effective reme-dies against hair fall. It isknown to decrease theshedding tendency of hairwithin a few weeks of reg-ular intake. Aloe vera juicehas a similar effect.However, aloe gel can beapplied to the scalp too.This is helpful for prevent-ing hair loss due to irritat-ed, dry or infected scalp.After massaging the headwith aloe gel, wash thehair with lukewarm water.This can be done twice,every week.

Effective natural thera-pies: You can make yourown hair fall-preventingmedicine at home by fry-ing some fenugreek(methi) seeds in coconutoil. Strain this mixture andapply it in minimalamounts, rubbed gentlyinto the hair roots.Alternatively, you can boilsome henna leaves in mus-tard oil. After cooling andstraining this preparation,add drops of it in yourcoconut oil container thatyou are using for regularmassaging.

Homemade pastes:You can wash the hair witha paste made from Neemleaves. This is particularlyeffective for hair losscaused due excessive buildup of scalp oil or invasive

skin infections. For restor-ing the alkaline balance ofthe scalp and preventinghair fall, you can followthis with washing the hairwith apple cider vinegar.Other homemade pastesthat can be very usefulinclude a mixture preparedfrom adding honey andolive oil to some cinnamon(dalchini) powder.

Use elementary house-hold items: Before wash-ing your hair, apply thejuice extracted fromcrushed coriander (dha-nia) leaves. You can alsouse a mixture of curd andgram flour (chana atta)that should be kept-on forat least an hour beforebathing.

Change diets: Eat moreseeds and nuts (almondsand peanuts) along withgreen leafy vegetables likespinach and sprouts of avariety of dals (legumes).Basically, foods rich in cal-cium, protein and iron arevital for ensuring overallhealth of the scalp.Combine this with somebasic dietary supplementa-tion, i.e. using over-the-counter products that helpto ensure wholesomenutrition for your hair.Regular intake of Amlajuice ensures adequateamounts of Vitamin C butyou can boost this witheating more guavas.Ensure you take a multivi-tamin that combines beta-carotenes, Vitamin B com-plex, Vitamin E and traceamounts of zinc and iron.

Most of us realize what good food choicesconstitute, what healthy eating habits areall about and the kind of foods we shouldavoid but somehow, we struggle towardseating the right kind of food over anextended period.

Rushed lifestyles, ongoing stressfulissues and the lure of sinful food items thatsurround us, make it hard to stay commit-ted towards healthy eating choices. Onesmart solution to neutralizing the ill-effectsof such mistakes is to gorge upon foodsthat can eat away our fat! Please note thatcholesterol is the basic, core component ofwhat turns into fat or add tissue in ourbodies. Thus, if we can equip ourselveswith some cholesterol-busting foods, weour essentially eating away our fat!

Oatmeal & margarine: With easyavailability, you don’t have reasons toexcuse oatmeal & margarine. Some timeback, oatmeal was considered anAmerican breakfast fad that didn’t findmany takers. Eventually, it has made it tomost retailers across India in the form offlakes and oatmeal-enriched breads.Oatmeal contains a high concentration ofsoluble fiber. This kind of fiber preventsthe bloodstream from retaining choles-terol. Margarine was looked down as apoor cousin of butter. Now, it has beenestablished that margarine is enrichedwith plant sterols. These compounds arenature’s most potent cholesterol busters.Other sources of insoluble fiber includekidney beans, prunes, beans and barley.

Eat apples daily: One of the easiest,

most fulfilling ways of lowering the con-centration of bad or LDL cholesterol is toeat apples regularly. Apples are naturallyequipped with anti-oxidants and pectinthat help to lower and fight cholesterol.

Eat soy: Soy contains a group of com-pounds called isoflavones. These are nat-ural cholesterol-fighting agents. You canhave soy in various forms like soy flour,nuts, granules and energy bars apart fromsoy milk and tofu.

Eat nuts: You don’t need to gorgeupon nuts. Just maintain a steady, basicintake of various kinds of nuts such aspistachios, walnuts and almonds. Nutsare a healthy source of polyunsaturatedfatty acids that help to reduce the thick-ness of blood and fight the harmful effectsof cholesterol. Nuts also contain someamount of omega 3 fatty acids. These areeffective cholesterol-fighting agents thathelp to control the blood pressure also.

Use olive oil: Olive oil is among therare food items that have been endorsedby the most authoritative of global health-care agencies. It is particularly recom-mended to those with a history of cardio-vascular problems and elevated choles-terol levels. Olive oil contains oleic acidwhich is very effective for lowering bloodcholesterol levels. It also contains sterolsand stanols, together called phytosterols,and phenols that help to lower choles-terol. You can choose across various typesof olive oil including virgin olive oil, extravirgin olive oil, extra light olive oil andpure olive oil.

5 foods that eat away your cholesterol

Have you tried out everytrick in the book to loseweight - crash diets, gyms,or simply starving your-self?

Now, try a simple trick- drink a glass or two ofwater before meals, asthat's the best way to curbappetite and shed thosepounds - says a newresearch.

Scientists have report-ed that just two 8-ounceglasses of water takenbefore meals, can lead toweight loss.

"In this recent study,we found that over thecourse of 12 weeks, dieterswho drank water beforemeals, three times per day,lost about 5 pounds morethan dieters who did not

increase their waterintake," said Brenda Davyof Virginia Tech inBlacksburg.

The simple reason isthat it fills up the stomachwith a substance that haszero calories. People feelfuller as a result, and eatless calorie-containingfood during the meal.

And it gets even betterif you replace sweetenedcalorie-containing bever-ages with it.

Although there's noexact amount of water oneshould drink, expertsadvise that most healthypeople can simply let thirstbe their guide.

The general recom-mendations for women areabout 9 cups of fluids -from all beverages includ-ing water - each day, andmen at about 13 cups offluids.

Seven home

remedies to

control hair loss

Waterbefore

meals aidsweight

loss


India got back to secondplace in the ICC ODI rank-ings, thanks to Sri Lanka’stwo consecutive wins againstSouth Africa in the just con-cluded five-match series.

India had lost secondplace to the Proteas after theywon the first three ODIsagainst Sri Lanka, however,the reversal in the fourth andfifth match helped Indiaregain its position.

Virat Kohli remainsIndia’s highest-ranked ODIplayer at number three whileskipper Mahendra SinghDhoni is at number five.South Africa’s Hashim Amlaand AB de Villiers, mean-while, continue to lead thebatting chart.

Outside the top 10, SouthAfrica’s Graeme Smith is oneof the biggest movers, return-ing to the top 20 in 17thposition after gaining fiveplaces following his seriescontribution of 229 runs.Also heading in the rightdirection are Sri Lanka’sUpul Tharanga and DineshChandimal. Tharanga hasgained eight places and isnow in 35th spot whileChandimal is in 65th posi-tion after rising 35 places.

No Indian bowler figures

in the top 10 list. SouthAfrica’s Lonwabo Tsotsobe,who played a key role in hisside’s 3-2 series win over SriLanka, has been rewardedwith a jump of 10 places andputs him in third spot behindPakistan’s spin pair of SaeedAjmal and MohammadHafeez.

Tsotsobe leapfroggedteammates Morne Morkel,who has dropped one placeto seventh spot, and DaleSteyn, who has slipped to15th position after concedingfive places. Sri Lanka’sLasith Malinga has returnedto the top 10 with a gain ofone place to be placed atnumber 10.

India regain second spotin oDI rankings

In the end, a few angry words from thecoach did the trick. India bounced backfrom a 'lost' situation to hold SouthAfrica to a 3-3 draw in the fifth and finalhockey Test at the Major DhyanchandNational Stadium. The Indians put upan ordinary display early on in theinconsequential match, having come tothe tie leading the series 3-1. At thebreather, they were down 0-3. But thingchanged dramatically afterwards.

"I was a little angry. I told the playersto pull up their socks and do more in thefield. I could understand that they werea little complacent having already wonthe series," coach Michael Nobbs saidafter the match. The terse words coupledwith some tactical changes not onlyhelped India score thrice in the secondhalf, but also denied the visitors anyaddition to their tally.

A goal attempt by SV Sunil after afine run on the right flank was stoppedby the rival goalkeeper but Sardar Singhgrabbed the free ball and passed on toYuvraj Walmiki who slammed home inthe 43rd minute for India's first goal.

VR Raghunath scored through

India's fourth penalty corner six minuteslater to further reduce the lead beforeSarvanjit Singh set it up for SK Uthappain the 66th minute to complete the tally.

Earlier, South Africa dominated thefirst half with goals from Ricky West(26th minute), Ian Haley (31st) andMiguel de Grasa (34th). Nobbs said thathe was happy to see his players' abilitiesto salvage the situation from criticalpositions. "Coming back from that posi-tion is a terrific result, a real positive. Inthe last four-five months, whenever we

have trailed, we have often made strongcomebacks," he said.

India fielded comeback menRupinder Pal Singh and DanishMujtaba, who returned to the side afterbrief injury layoffs. Both played for a fairamount of time though they looked a bitrusty. Having done a lot of experimenta-tion with the team in the five-matchseries, Nobbs suggested that his boyswould continue playing attacking hock-ey when they square up during theupcoming Olympic qualifiers.

India hold SA, win hockey series 3-1

Pakistan's discarded batsmanMohammad Yousuf's refusalto play during the month ofRamazan has cost him a con-tract with English countyLeicestershire for the comingseason.

Close friends of the for-mer Pakistan captain con-firmed that Yousuf couldn'treach an agreement withLeicestershire after he keptthe condition that he wouldnot be available for them dur-ing month of Ramazan.

"Yes, Leicestershire werevery keen to sign him on forthe English season butYousuf has decided that hewill not play any cricket inRamazan," a friend said.

"He put forth this condi-tion to the Leicestershire

county officials which theysaid was not feasible for themas it would mean Yousufmissing four importantmatches at a crucial time ofthe season," he added.

Yousuf, who has been outof favour with the nationalselectors since he last playedfor Pakistan against SouthAfrica in the UAE inNovember, 2010, has alsostopped playing domesticcricket.

A national selector saidthat by all intent and purposeit appeared Yousuf had givenup hope of making a come-back to the Pakistan team.

"If he is not playing howcan he be considered forselection," the selector said.

The 37-year-old lastplayed competitive cricket forEnglish county Warwickshireand the Lahore Lions in thesuper eight T20 tournamentin May and June last year.Since then he has focusedmore on his religious obliga-tions and events.

One of Pakistan's topplayers with 90 Tests and 288ODIs, Yousuf fell out withthe selectors over fitnessissues just months after hehad captained Pakistan inNew Zealand and Australia.

Religious Yousuf losescontract with Leicestershire

After much haggling, RCB retain explosive GayleIt wasn’t easy, but RoyalChallengers Bangalore (RCB)have finally managed toretain the explosive ChrisGayle in their squad for theupcoming season of theIndian Premier League (IPL).Gayle, one of T20 cricket’sbiggest draws, came in asreplacement for Australianquick Dirk Nannes last sea-son and helped the team tothe final.

Chris Gayle was on aone-year contract with theVijay Mallya-owned fran-chisee. He had not beenpicked at the last auctionbecause of a lack of clarityon his availability. However,RCB mentor Anil Kumblepulled off a coup of sorts bysigning him on mid-seasonand Gayle promptly turned

the club’s fortunes around.With his signing, or

resigning, with RCB havingbeen in limbo for a while,most of the teams were bank-ing on his availability at theFebruary auction. Accordingto IPL rules, RCB, though,

had first right of refusal andthe deal was clinched withjust one day left for the trans-fer window (which includesretaining of players) to close.

RCB were able to retainGayle, who was being chasedmost by Mumbai Indians,only after they bought out thecontract of South Africanbatsman Jonathan Vandiar.IPL rules allow each team tosign a total of 11 foreignersonly, one up from last season,and now Vandiar must comeback into the IPL fraythrough the auction if he sochooses.

Last season Gayle hadbeen signed on for $560,000and that’s the price he will offi-cially continue to get. This, ofcourse, means RCB will go intothe auction with that amount

deducted from the total purseof $2 million. Sources hintedthat Gayle would earn “much,much more” for endorsementpurposes.

With Gayle out of the fray,the hottest property at theauction is expected to beIndia all-rounder RavinderJadeja, with the Saurashtraplayer having made a con-vincing comeback into inter-national cricket.

According to the listreleased by the IPL, Englandspinner Graeme Swann hasthe highest base price of$400,000. Australian pacerMitchell Johnson - who has-n’t featured in the IPL so far -is also included in the list at abase price of $300,000. JamesAnderson too has a baseprice of $300,000.

Taking potshots at the All India TennisAssociation, senior pro Mahesh Bhupathisaid he was not sure of pairing SaniaMirza in the mixed doubles event of theLondon Olympics because of the nationalbody's "funny politics". Bhupathi lashed outat AITA since it did not pair him with Saniafor the 2010 Commonwealth Gamesdespite the fact they make a very success-ful pair on court. They had won theAustralian Open mixed doubles title in2009 and also reached the final once.Bhupathi pleaded ignorance when asked iffans will see him and Sania competing inLondon Olympics. "Funny enough, the pol-itics of our association are so that we real-ly don't know," Bhupathi told reporters.

Mahesh Bhupathi blastsAITA's policy decision

David Beckham is toremain at LA Galaxyafter signing a newtwo-year deal with theclub. The formerEngland captain, 36,had been linked with amove to Paris StGermain but decided tostay at the team he

joined in 2007 from Real Madrid. "Thiswas an important decision for me,"Beckham said in a statement. "I had manyoffers from clubs from around the world,however, I'm still passionate about playingin America and winning trophies with theGalaxy.'' Beckham, who began his careerat Manchester United, helped Galaxy liftthe MLS Cup last season, meaning he haswon a major trophy with each of the clubshe has permanently signed for.

David Beckham extends LAGalaxy stay with two-year deal

Former Commonwealth Games OC ChiefSuresh Kalmadi has decided to 'step aside'as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)President. Kalmadi, who has not resignedofficially, said that he would not representthe IOA. In a letter to IOA Acting PresidentVK Malhotra, Kalmadi said he would stepaside as the IOA President. "I will not beable to represent the IOA. I will not be tak-ing part in IOA activities for a long time,"writes Kalmadi. Meanwhile, Malhotra hasinformed the International OlympicCommittee that Kalmadi is stepping asidefor the moment. Sports Minister Ajay Makensaid Kalmadi has done the right thing.

Suresh Kalmadi to 'step aside'as the IOA president

Indian para-athletes have clinched fivemedals, including one gold, at the secondKuwait International Open AthleticsChampionship and so far booked fourParalympic quota places. Para-athletesJagseer Singh, Mahabir Singh, SubbaiahThirumalai under Grade A and SurjeetSingh under Grade B have made the cutfor the London event, a ParalympicCommittee of India release stated. Jagseerclinched gold in the long jump event with aleap of 6.55m while Mahabir bagged thesilver. Thirumalai fetched silver in the dis-cus event with a throw of 37.08m.Karnataka's Surjeet Singh accounted foryet another silver medal for the country inshort put with a projection of 11.23m. Inthe 200m race, Rajasthan's SandeepSingh Maan clocked 23.85s to bag the sil-ver medal, the release added.

Indian para-athletes booktickets to London

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England folded to a humiliat-ing defeat by 10 wickets inDubai as their woeful battingperformance helped Pakistango 1-0 up in the three-Testseries.

Trailing by 146 runs,England made a disastrousstart as Umar Gul (4-63)removed Andrew Strauss,Alastair Cook and KevinPietersen cheaply.

Spinners Saeed Ajmaland Abdur Rehman thenclaimed three wickets apieceas England were skittled outfor 160.

Pakistan's openers easilyknocked off the required 15runs to seal victory.

Just as it had been in thefirst innings, England's bat-ting performance made amockery of their number oneTest ranking as their tech-nique and concentrationwere found wanting.

The England batting hasbeen embarrassing at times inthis Test. The conditions aredifferent to what they're usedto, but they're number one inthe world, they've had twothree-day games to prepareand they've got all the analystsyou could want to tell themabout the bowlers they'regoing to face. But they havejust not been able to adapt tothe conditions and applythemselves under pressure.

Kevin Pietersen andAlastair Cook both fell topoorly executed pull shots,while Ian Bell failed to readAjmal's doosra for the second

time in the match.Only Jonathan Trott

showed the necessary appli-cation to survive in unfamil-iar conditions as he becamethe fourth-fastest Englandplayer to pass 2,000 Test runs,but even the unflappableWarwickshire batsman gavehis wicket away on 49 with aloose cut outside off stump.

In total, England's top sixmade only 143 runs betweenthem in the match as Ajmalbecame the first spinner toclaim seven lbw dismissals ina Test.

Perhaps the only crumb ofcomfort for England will bethe fact that the early finishgives them two extra days toregroup before the secondTest in Abu Dhabi startingnext Wednesday.

For Pakistan, the nextTest cannot start soonenough after the most com-prehensive of victories.

Gul began the carnagewhen he had Strauss caughtbehind down the leg side.The England skipper sentBilly Bowden's decision forreview but the verdict wasupheld by third umpire SteveDavis, despite HotSpot fail-ing to show any impact withthe bat.

Cook looked decidedlyout of sorts as he scratchedhis way to five runs off 40balls. Desperate to find somescoring rhythm, he wastempted into a pull shot by aGul bouncer, but only man-aged to feather an edgethrough to the wicketkeeper.

Pietersen at least man-aged to connect with hisattempted pull, but the shotlacked the power to clear therope and was easily caught byRehman at deep square leg.

And Bell was undone byAjmal's doosra, the ball strik-ing him on the back pad

plumb in front of the stumps.Eoin Morgan again

looked relatively comfortableagainst the spin as he groundout 14 runs before nickingRehman behind and MattPrior was pinned back on hisstumps by Ajmal.

Stuart Broad (17) andGraeme Swann (39) delayedthe inevitable with an enter-taining 48-run stand beforeBroad holed out to long-onand Chris Tremlett edged hisfirst ball to slip.

Some lusty hitting fromJames Anderson sparedEngland the ignominy of aninnings defeat but Swann'sdemise to Ajmal ensuredPakistan's target was a mereformality.

Earlier, Pakistan's lastthree wickets had added 50runs as the hosts took theirfirst innings total to 338.

Broad removed Gul in thesecond over of the day andSwann had Ajmal caught atshort leg after another incon-clusive review.

But Adnan Akmal frus-trated England with someimprovised shots, cleverlykeeping last man AizazCheema away from the strikeand reaching 61 - his highestTest score - before he wasstumped to give Swann afourth wicket.

At that stage Englandhopes of a turnaroundremained alive, but afterGul's dramatic opening burst,there was only going to beone winner.

Veteran middle-order bats-man VVS Laxman hassquashed reports of his retire-ment following his poor per-formance in the ongoing Testseries against Australia.

Laxman, who has played133 Tests, has averaged just17 in the three Tests so far inthe series and calls are beingmade to replace him withyoung Rohit Sharma.Laxman's lacklustre fieldingskills and a recurring backproblem have also quelledrumours that he would be the

first of the seniors to retire.After a one-on-one tech-

nical session with coachDuncan Fletcher at theWACA Ground, Laxmanquashed speculation he wason the verge of retirement.

"When approached by anIndian journalist after thesession, the 37-year-oldinsisted reports of hisimpending retirement wereuntrue," the Australian mediareported.

Laxman, who is not aloneamong Indian batsmen who

have had little impact on theseries, has received the fullbacking of his team matesand Gautam Gambhir saidthat it was unfair to single

out an individual for India'sdebacle in the series.

According to reports,Fletcher, who has a poorrecord in Australia evenwhen he was the Englandcoach, spent the last two daysmeeting senior players asIndia hope for a turnaroundin the fourth and the finalTest in Adelaide.

With India staring at theirsecond 0-4 whitewash in anaway Test series in sevenmonths, Fletcher's job is alsoon the firing line.

Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman celebrate Jonathan Trott's dismissal

Gul, Ajmal help Pakrout England in Dubai

Kumar Sangakkara compiled a well-paced century to help Sri Lanka to atwo-wicket win over South Africa offthe penultimate ball in the fifth one-day international at the Wanderers.Sangakkara scored 102 from 97 ballsas Sri Lanka, chasing South Africa's312 for four, reached 307 for five withonly six runs needed off seven balls.

But they contrived to lose threewickets in the space of four deliveriesbefore Sachithra Senanayake struckleft-arm spinner Robin Peterson highover mid-wicket for six.

South Africa, who won the series3-2, owed their total to captainGraeme Smith and AB de Villiers

who each scored 125.Sangakkara anchored Sri Lanka's

run chase, reaching his fifty off 54balls before posting his 12th one-dayinternational.

After striking 10 fours, he fell tothe first ball following the comple-tion of his hundred when he hoisteda delivery from off-spinner JPDuminy to Pietersen at long-off.

Play was delayed for an hourbefore Sangakkara and fellow left-hander Lahiru Thirimanne added100 runs for the fourth wicket on agood batting pitch.

Sangakkara departed with thescore on 275 for four with the

tourists needing just 38 runs off 34balls and 22-year-old Thirimannebrought up his maiden ODI fifty onhis way to 69 at better than a run aball to set up the tense finish.

The result would have been par-ticularly hard on Smith and DeVilliers who had batted superbly dur-ing their team's innings.

The pair combined for a SouthAfrican record third-wicket partner-ship against Sri Lanka of 186 from28 overs. Smith, who had not scoredan ODI century since September2009, reached his ninth one-day cen-tury off 129 deliveries to the raucousapplause of the home crowd.

Sri Lanka win cliffhanger against South Africa

VVS Laxman squashes retirement reports

Australian Ricky Pontingbecame the third batsmanto score 13,000 test runson the opening day of thefourth test against Indiaon Tuesday. The 37-year-old swept a single to deepsquare leg off the bowlingof Ravi Ashwin 20 min-utes before tea to move past the milestoneand reach 81 not out in Australia's firstinnings. The former Australian captainmade his debut against Sri Lanka at Perthin 1995 and reached the mark in his 275thinnings having already claimed his 61sthalf century earlier in the day. The only twomen to have scored more test runs thanPonting, Sachin Tendulkar (15,432) andRahul Dravid (13,262), were both fieldingat the Adelaide Oval.

Ponting scores 13,000th test run

Sri Lanka's TillakaratneDilshan has resignedfrom the captaincy andformer skipper MahelaJayawardene has beenreappointed to the role,the island nation'ssports minister said onMonday. "Dilshan hassent his resignation letter so therefore theselectors met and appointed MahelaJayawardene as the captain and AngeloMathews as the vice captain," SportsMinister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said.Dilshan quit a day after returning fromSouth Africa where Sri Lanka lost the three-match test series 2-1 and five-match one-day series 3-2. Taking over from KumarSangakkara after a six-wicket defeat in the2011 World Cup final against India, Dilshanled the team to England, South Africa andin a home series against Australia but failedto win a single test or one-day series.

Mahela Jayawardenereappointed Sri Lanka captain

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi hasreportedly decided to skip the BangladeshPremier League because of his commit-ments at home. Afridi insisted that hewould instead turn out for Pakistan againstEngland, The Express Tribune reports.Afridi was sold at the auction for theBangladesh Premier League (BPL) for700,000 dollars, the highest bid for anyplayer in the auction, and was poised tofeature in the tournament to be playedfrom February 9 to 28.

Shahid Afridi to skipBangladesh Premier League

Saeed Ajmail was delirious with his 10wickets in the match against England.


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