Vol.8 Issue 20 - September 19-25, 2015

The South Asian Times
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Vol.8 No. 20 September 19-25, 2015 60 Cents
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Indian Christians in US
welcome Popes visit
By Parveen Chopra
New York: T he Indian American
Christian community is ready to wel
come Pope Francis visit to America
next week.
In messages to The South Asian
Times, leaders of the 600,000 strong
community have expressed their admi
ration for the Pope and for his progres
sive views.
John Prabhudoss, President, Federation
of Indian Christian Associations of
North America (Fiacona) said he
was encouraged by the
enthusiasm and level of
participation among all
Christians of Indian origin
for the Popes visit. He
pointed out that the Pope
is keenly aware of the
problems, disturbances
and sufferings of all com
munit ies
including
Christians of all persua
sions in every part of the
Continued on page 4
(Related stories on page 1617)
Paryushan epitomizes the

Jain principles of ahimsa
& forgiveness
By SATimes team
New York: Prof. Dharam Chand Jain, a Jain scholar
from Jodhpur, who is visiting the Jain Center of
America (JCA) in Elmhurst, Queens, to give discours
es, is pleased to see the enthusiasm of the local Jain
community during Paryushan. It is heartening to
note that Jains whether Shwetambar or Digambar, in
big numbers worship together at the temple, showing
unity in the community, he told The South Asian
Times.
Paryushan is a period of 810 days when even
householder Jains take on vows of study and fasting
with a spiritual intensity similar to temporary monas
ticism. This year it was
Continued on page 4
OP ED 12
MUSIC 15
Prof. Dharam Chand Jain of

Jodhpur is giving discourses at Jain
Center of America in Queens.
RELIGION 16
GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Trump slumps
as Fiorina fires
and Bush gains
Washington DC: Wednesdays Republican
presidential candidates debate on CNN in
Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley,
California, drew almost 30 million viewers,
making it the news channels mostwatched
program ever that will be remembered for
finally denting Donald Trumps indestructi
bility.
The biggest gainer of the evening was for
mer HewlettPackard CEO Carly Fiorina. The
only female candidate in the crowded GOP
field, she just about got on to the big stage
after her standout performance in the
undercard first debate with Bobby Jindal
and others on Fox. She was passionate and
articulate, with strong conservative views to
the liking of the GOP establishment. She
gave Trump the biggest thump of the
evening. I think women all over this coun
try heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said,
she said stoically in response to Trump's
earlier comments about her appearance.
Having topped the polls for weeks, the
Donald took a beating this time from all
sides in one of his weaker moments of the
campaign so far. What he starkly lacks is
specifics on key subjects, particularly for
eign policy, more so when standing next to
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Marco Rubio who has been on Senate

Committee on Foreign Relations.
Marco Rubio delivered strong response
after strong response, revealing his charis
ma and articulate oratory skills. He especial
ly continued to show his strength on foreign
policy.
Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon,
who has trailed only Trump in the polls, was
measured and thoughtful as always. But said
nothing that left a mark.
Jeb Bush, the establishment favorite, final
ly hit his stride when defending his brother
(he kept America safe) and while apologiz
ing to his mom for admitting to using mari
juana in his youth. Hell continue to be a
major player in the months to come.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pro
jected himself as a champion of the middle
class when he tried to put a stop to toand
for between Trump and Carly on their
respective career high and low points.
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and
Senator Ted Cruz too may hang on for a
while, but the others Rand Paul, Mike
Huckabee and John Kasich may as well
drop out at this stage. In the debate among
Continued on page 4
excellence in journalism
September 19-25, 2015
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Indias quest for Security Council

permanent seat makes progress
By Arul Louis
United Nations: Boosting Indias efforts
for a permanent Security Council seat,
the UN General Assembly Monday
endorsed a document that will be the
basis for negotiations on reforming the
Council and allowing the stalled process
to make progress.
The Assembly adopted a decision by
Assembly President Sam Kahamba
Kutesa that sets out a negotiating text
for the Council reform and calls for con
tinuing the negotiations in the next ses
sion in a pro cess known as
Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN).
This marks a breakthrough in the
Indias Permanent Representative to the UN, Asoke
longstalled
reform process because of a
Kumar Mukerji, stated that the UNSC reform
lack of negotiating text that can be the
process is now irreversible.
Modi assures AAPI of

engaging in its initiatives
basis of discussions.
Indias Permanent Representative
Asoke Kumar Mukerji, welcoming the
Assemblys endorsement by consensus
of Kutesas decision, said this was the
first time the body has adopted a sub
stantive document on reforming the
Council. He said that the reform process
is now irreversible and the adoption of
Kutesas decision has changed the
dynamics of the Council reform process.
Mukerji said that Council reforms
were essential if the Agenda 2030 devel
opment goals that are to be adopted at a
global summit this month are to be
reached because peace and stability
were its prerequisites and that can only
be possible with an effective and repre
sentative Council.
Without a negotiating text so far, dis

cussions on reforms had not been able
to proceed realistically.
Kutesa circulated in July a negotiating
text based on a survey of member states
laying out the different proposals from
over 120 member nations that respond
ed to it.
His decision adopted by the Assembly
makes the negotiating text an integral
part of continuing the negotiations on
council reforms.
Some countries including Pakistan,
China and Italy that had opposed the
negotiating text joined in adopting
Kutesa decision, but expressed reserva
tions about the document and ques
tioned whether it can be the negotiating
document.
World Hindi Conference

disappoints foreign delegates
By Ashok Ojha in Bhopal
undreds of Hindi professionals and authors
who attended the recently concluded 10th
World Hindi Conference in Bhopal left disap
pointed as the organizers failed to offer specific plans
for promoting Hindi outside India.
The meet raised high expectations as it was inaugu
rated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who acknowl
edged the importance of Hindi as a potent vehicle of
communication for politicians. However, the 3day
conference from Sept 1012 was marred by bitter con
troversies. Instead of providing clear guidelines about
promoting Hindi learning outside India, its parallel
sessions turned out to be addressing political goals
and ambitions of the ruling party in India and in
Madhya Pradesh. Most of the foreign delegates, who
numbered more than 2,000, along with 3,000 Hindi
teachers and students representing colleges and uni
versities from different parts of India, had virtually no
role in academic sessions. Rendered passive listeners,
they returned home empty handed.
The conference, which is mandated by the Indian
constitution to be held once in three years, was organ
ized in India after 32 years. The theme of the confer
ence was Possibilities and challenges of expansion of
Hindi. The conference administration was fully con
trolled by the mandarins of the Ministry of External
Affairs in the presence of politicians. Very few Hindi
professionals, linguistis and educators were in charge
of conducting sessions on issues related to Hindi edu
cation. The Government of Madhya Pradesh provided
logistics support for the conference as it reserved
Dr. Seema Jain (second from left) led AAPI delegations

meeting with the Prime Minister
New Delhi: During a landmark
meeting last week with a delega
tion of American Association of
Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)
led by its President Dr. Seema Jain,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
assured of his ongoing engage
ment with the international Indian
medical diaspora, in particular
with the initiatives of AAPI to
improve healthcare in India.
We were honored that the PM
met us at his residence, Dr. Seema
Jain said after the meeting. We
invited him for the AAPI Global
Health Summit 2016. He compli
mented AAPI and its members for
their ongoing support and collabo
ration towards India's healthcare.
Government of India and its vari

ous Ministries, Educat ional
Institutions and Corporate Leaders
to work collaboratively for a pro
ductive and successful GHS 2016.
With the objective to give back to
our former home land.
AAPIs Chief Patron, the Minster
of External Af fairs of India, Smt.
Sushma Swaraj has confirmed to
be the Chief Guest for AAPI's first
Womens Leadership Forum sched
uled for January 2, 2016, Dr. Jain
announced. Several prominent
women leaders will be invited to
the forum to discuss the future of
women leaders in India, share per
sonal examples of their challenges,
struggles and successes.
The author at the conference venue

most of the fivestar hotels in Bhopal for visiting politi
cians, officials from central ministries and invited for
eign delegates. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
offered all facilities under his command. A huge air
conditioned tent was erected and hundreds of govern
ment and tourist vehicles were at the service of dele
gates. But the organizers failed to impress leading
Hindi literary personalities, who kept away in the
absence of of ficial invitations, even though it was
open for all who registered with Rs5,000. The contro
versy took an ugly turn when General V.K. Singh,
Minister of State for External Affairs, commented that
literary figures were deliberately kept out as the con
ference focused on language promotion. The absence
of megastar Amitabh Bachchan disappointed many.
The lavish show in the name of Hindi may have pro
moted the politicians in power, but it failed miserably
in providing a direction for Hindi promotion around
the world. The next Hindi conference will be held after
three years in Mauritius.
Trump slumps as Fiorina fires...

Continued from page 1
the four low polling GOP presiden
t ial hope fuls earlier the same
evening, Bobby Jindal attacked
President Obama and Trump alike
and gave a call to get rid of his
own Republican party.
"It is t ime to get rid of the
Republican party," he said.
Accusing the Cong ressional
Republicans of failing to stop the
nuclear deal with Iran and throw
ing in the towe l on defunding
Planned Parenthood, the Louisiana
governor said, "The only group
he's (Obama) able to out negotiate
are the Senate Republicans." He
then advised fellow Republicans to
stop treat ing Trump like a
Republican.
Indian Christians in US welcome...
world including the Indian subcon
tinent. Fiacona appreciates his
vocal support for the people who
are threatened on account of their
faith, he added.
Referring to the Popes state
ments to accommodate gays and
his posit ion on abort ion and
remarriage, Korason Varghese,
General Secretary of the Indian
Christ ian Forum, New York,
argued, Let us remember that
Pope Francis did not change the
biblical doctrine on these issues,
but demanded that the church
should be more forgiving and less
judgmental.
As the Pope is the leader of the
largest sing le segment of
Christianity, all Christians in the
US welcome his visit, said Rev.
Wilson Jose, Grace International
Assembly of God, Mineola, NY. A
champion of the poor, the immi
g rant and the vulnerable, the
266th Pope has become one of the
most popular public figure in the
world, he said.
In New York, Dr. Uma Mysorekar,
TURN PAGE
President of the Hindu Temple

Society of North America, and Dr.
Satpal Singh, a Sikh community
leader and professor at the
University of Buf falo, along with
other religious leaders will join
the Pope Francis on Sept. 25 at the
National September 11 Memorial
in Manhattan for a interfaith
prayer service in the memory of
victims of the terror attacks of
2001.
Paryushan epitomizes the Jain...

observed from September 10 to
18. Paryushan, Prof Jain said, epit
omizes the Jain principles of ahim
sa and forgiveness as propounded
by Lord Mahavir and the promo
tion of friendliness among the
human family as well as all living
beings. This is the message of
Jainism for world peace and har
mony, he said.
A founder member of JCA said
the discourses of Prof Jain, on his
first visit to the temple, are schol
arly yet full of practical wisdom
and have been well received.
Dr Jain, Professor of Sanskrit at
Jai Narain Vyas University,
Jodhpur, also expressed satisfac
tion at how the Jain community in
India unitedly raised their voice
and opposed the ban on the Jain
practice of Santhara (voluntary
and systematic fasting to death).
They were supported by Hindus
also at interfaith meetings.
Dr. Jain, a scholar of Jainism and
Buddhism who has chaired ses
sions in national and international
seminars and workshops, cited
ahimsa and its exposition at the
subtlest leve ls as unique to
Jainism. Karma and atman are sim
ilarly delved into at deep and sub
tle levels.
The Jains success and riches he
ascribed to their temperance
in food and lifestyle and money
management.
Pope Franciss US itinerary

ope Francis is scheduled to
visit New York on September
24 after Washington D C
where he w ill meet President
Obama and address a joint session
of Congress.
In New York, the Pontiffs public
schedule includes an address to
United Nations General Assembly,
and visiting an East Harlem school
to meet with immigrant students
and day laborers. He is also joining
a multireligious service at the National

September 11 Memorial & Museum in
Manhattan and say Mass at Madison
Square Garden. His visit also includes a
procession through the western side of
the Central Park.
Arriving in Philadelphia on Sept. 26
for the triennial World Meeting of
Painting in progress of a Families , about 1 million people are
portrait of Pope Francis expected to attend an outdoor Mass
on the side of an NYC
said by the Pope along Benjamin
office building.
Franklin Parkway.
Pope Francis has special gift of

reaching out to people
George Abraham,
Chairman, Indian National Overseas Congress, USA
hope his words would not only be edifying to
his own folks in Catholic Church but also could
empower and unite all mankind. Undoubtedly,
Pope Francis has this special gift in reaching out
to people where the church has failed. He has that
approachability and people around the world are
loving it.
Christianity is facing turbulent times around the
world especially in the Middle East. Christianity,
that predates Islam in that part of the world, is on
the verge of being wiped out there. So, it is critical
Dollar plummets on
Fed statement
New York: The US dollar dived against other major
currencies on Thursday as Federal Reserve policy
makers kept the interest rates unchanged.
The central bank held its benchmark rate near
zero on Thursday, after concluding its twoday mon
etary policy meeting. "Recent global economic and
financial developments may restrain economic activ
ity somewhat and are likely to put further downward
pressure on inflation in the near term," said the Fed's
aftermeeting statement. Analysts said the Fed offi
New Delhi Bureau

Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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Kamlesh C. Mehta
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that the Pope plays a huge role in promoting reli

gious freedom and protecting the freedom of con
science and accomplishing religious harmony. He
has been outspoken in the past in that regard.
I truly hope that Pope Francis' visit to US would
be an enlightening experience for the millions and
a true awakening to the masses not only in terms
of freedom and social justice but also about
upholding the values and principles in our every
day lives. We pray for a successful and safe visit
for the People's Pontiff.
Contributing Editors:Nilima Madan,

Melvin Durai, Dr Prem Kumar Sharma,
Harry Aurora, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Nupur Joshi
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Photo Journalist: Sandeep Ganatra
cials were concerned about the unrealized target of

2% inflation, and they may wait until the next year
to raise interest rates. The dollar index, which meas
ures the greenback against six major peers, was
down 0.83 percent at 94.626 in late trading, Xinhua
reported. In late New York trading, the euro rose to
$1.1405 from $1.1287 in the previous session and
the British pound climbed to $1.5626 from $1.5495
in the previous session. T he Australian dollar
increased to $0.7270 from $0.7190.
Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah

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Bhagwati Creations,
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Biden, Kerry, Swaraj to address Indian VVIPs' ordeal

at US airports to
USIBC 40th annual summit
Bilateral meeting will kick off the first
U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue
Washington, D.C: Vice President
Joe Biden, Secretary of State John
Kerry, Indian Minister of External
Affairs Sushma Swaraj, and other
highranking of ficials from both
governments, along with captains
of industry from both countries,
will address the U.S.India Business
Council on the occasion of its 40th
anniversary on September 21 in
Washington, DC, to kick of f the
first U.S.India Strateg ic and
Commercial Dialogue.
"It's a privilege for USIBC to host
government and business leaders
from both countries on the eve of
the U.S.India Strateg ic and
Commercial Dialogue and on the
occasion of the council's 40th
anniversary.
The founding principle of the
council four decades ago which
grew out of the vision of thenU.S.
Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger

remains even more true today:
the world's largest democracies
share a love of freedom and an
entrepreneurial spirit that if nur
tured can help realize the full
potential of IndiaU.S. relations,"
said USIBC Chairman and
MasterCard President and CEO,
Ajay Banga.
"The U.S. business relationship
with India is one of the most valu
able in the world, and we have
seen great progress over the last
40 years," said President of USIBC
Mukesh Aghi.
"We are honored to welcome
these distinguished speakers from
both countries from both public
and private sectors on the occa
sion of this milestone anniversary.
This level of bilateral engagement
and commitment to furthering
trust and cooperation has been

one of USIBC's hallmarks for the
past four decades and will be for
decades more to come," said USIBC
President, Mukesh Aghi.
The government to government
dialogue at this year's summit will
also include U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Penny Pritzker,
Minister of State for Commerce
and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman,
Minister of State with Independent
Charge for Power, Coal and New &
Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal.
The Council also honors busi
ness and government leaders for
their commitment towards build
ing a more inclusive global econo
my. This year's honorees include
CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo
Indra Nooyi and Chairperson and
Editorial Director of the Hindustan
Times Group, Shobhana Bhartia.
end soon
New Delhi: Former President

APJ Abdul Kalam was subjected
to it, so was Hindi movies star
Shah Rukh Khan. Frisking of sev
eral hig hprofile Indians at
American airports has hit the
headlines in the past. But that
may stop soon. At last an end
seems in sight to the kind of
treatment meted out by US
immig rat ion authorit ies to
Indian VVIPs. India may soon
become part of a US Global Entry
program (GEP) that allows expe
dited clearance for eminent per
sons, upon arrival.
According to sources, PM
Narendra Modis government is
all set to get a concession from
the Obama administration, and
join the select community of
countries on the US GEP list that
is allowed hasslefree entry at
several US airports. Sources said
the government is preparing a
list of 2,000 personalities that

will be forwarded to the US. The
first batch is likely to include
former Prime Ministers and
Presidents, film stars like Shah
Rukh Khan and Amitabh
Bachchan, industrialists like the
Ambani brothers, Gautam Adani,
Ratan Tata, and other VVIPs like
Sachin
Tendulkar,
Lata
Mangeshkar, Azim Premji, and
NR Narayanamurthy. This list
may extend to 15,000 persons in
due course for which the US gov
ernment has given the nod but
the Indian government wants to
go slow and see how it works, a
media report quoted a source.
Those in the GEP list enter US
through global entry kiosks,
present their passport to com
plete the verification process
including customs declaration.
T he kiosks issue transaction
receipts.
DesiHits founder Anjula Acharia Roopal Patel appointed fashion

Bath joins Trinity Ventures
director of Saks store
New York: Founder of DesiHits, Anjula

AchariaBath is the newest partner at ven
ture capital firm Trinity Ventures according
to TechCrunch.com report. Bath has been
named one of Billboards International
Power Players and Top 40 Women in
Music as well as a member of Vanity Fairs
Next Establishment list. But she spent the
last year as an entrepreneurinresidence
with Trinity and decided to join the firm.
The British born and raised founder and
philanthropist has a knack for connecting
Tinseltown to the tech crowd. Shes worked
with a long list of megacelebs like Lady
Gaga and Britney Spears, partnered with
Jimmy Iovine for the U.S. launch of
Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, and has
been an active investor and advisor to start
ups like ClassPass, Mayvenn and the Tyra
Banksbacked shopping platform The Hunt.
T heres definitely this huge thing in
Hollywood right now where everyones like
whoa, I want to make a million dollars and I
have to go to Silicon Valley to do that. They
dont realize most startups fail, its really
hard to be Instagram and Facebook and
Twitter. Its not as easy as it looks, Bath told
TechCrunch. Bath told TechCrunch she
Anjula AchariaBath
would also like a big part of her focus to be
on bridging the gender and diversity gap.
Im definitely driven by diversity and Im
going to be bringing in a lot of that to Trinity
Ventures, Bath, both female and of Indian
descent said.
New York: Indian American

we are so pleased to wel
fashion consultant Roopal
come her to Saks," Metrick
Patel has been appointed the
was quoted as saying.
fashion director of the Saks
Keeping in mind the seis
Fifth Avenue store chain, a
mic changes on multiple
media report said.
fronts in retail industry,
Patel is an expert in trend
Saks reorganized its leader
forecasting and the retailer
ship structure and is now
has pinned hopes on her to
trying to inject a dose of sta
retain a current image and
bility with its leadership
shopping experience of the
placements.
store,
luxurydaily.com
"I am confident that her
reported on Friday.
demonstrated expertise in
She has been recruited as
trend direction combined
the part of the leadership
with Tracy's leadership in
overhaul.
fashion merchandising, will
Patel will be responsible
be invaluable as we contin
Roopal Patel
for selecting trends to stock,
ue to elevate the brand and
creating a story for each
position Saks as a modern
season and finding new designers and col and relevant fashion authority in luxury
lections.
retailing," he added.
The store has also appointed 15year Saks
Earlier, Patel was the senior fashion direc
veteran Marc Metrick as president and tor at "Neiman Marcus Group but resigned
Tracy Margolies as the chief merchant after serving for a decade and joined online
recently.
trunk show retailer "Moda Operandi". She
"Roopal is a respected force in the indus has also worked at Bergdorf Goodman.
try with high energy and a deep understand
Later, she founded her own "Luxury
ing of today's luxury fashion consumer, and Fashion" consulting company in 2012.
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Jains observe Paryushan

to stay with soul
New York: Jains around the world celebrated eight

days of Paryushan and Das Laxana Parva from Sept
1017. This observance falls normally every year in
AugustSeptember during monsoon season in India
when Jain monks stay at one place to avoid hurting
small insects during rainy season. They would give
discourses to strengthen the belief, propagate
knowledge and help purify conduct of the listeners.
During Paryushan, Kalpa Sutra is read in the
morning. It is one of the oldest scriptures describ
ing the life of Bhagwan Mahavir Swami, the 24the
Tirthankar. It depicts the coming in human life
(Garbh), birth, and life of Bhagwan. The scripture
also tells about Lord Parshvanath, Neminath,
Rishabnath, and all other Tirthankars. In the
evening Samayik and Pratikraman is done and
monks/scholars give discourses to the devout.
Fasting is done to the extent possible, even by
children. On the 8th day, Samvatsari Pratikraman is
done to ask forgiveness from all living beings in the
universe. T he Pratikraman has recitation of
Navkaar Mantra (vandan of Arihants, Siddha,
Acharya, Upadhyaya, and Saints) and Logassa (van
dan of 24 Tirthankars). Navkaar Mantra brings
highest quality to a person. Logassa, Navkar recital,
and repentance, also called Chaturvishtistva,
Vandan, and Pratikraman respectively are part of
six necessary and required conducts of Jains.
Recitation of 160 Navkaar Mantra or 40 Logassa is
done by all, sitting in Samvatsari Pratikraman. Next
day Parna is done by those who were fasting. At the
The Paryushan Parv is celebrated in

all Jain centers of America.
end of Paryushan everyone feels more puried.
During eight days of Paryushana, this higher level
of consciousness is achieved by reading of Kalpa
Sutra, pravachana, Navkaar Mantra and Logassa
Uccharan, Deep Bhakti, austerity (Tapa) and learn
ing and staying with our pure soul.
During Das Laxana, the devout strive to remove
anger, deceit, ego, and greed from their conduct, try
to be truthful, keeping senses in check, austerity,
giving up worldly things, and staying with soul.
The Paryushan Parv is celebrated in all Jain cen
ters of America. Many Jain saints and scholars are
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Disruptive Innovations and

Technologies focus of ASEI
30th Annual Convention
Michigan: American Society of
Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI)
Michigan Chapter is hosting the
30th ASEI National Convention at
the Ford Community and
Performing Arts Center in
Dearborn, Michigan on September
19th. The theme of the convention
is Disruptive Innovations and
Technologies with presentations
in multiple tracks.
The objective DIT 2015 is to pro
vide a forum to promote and share
advancements related to disruptive
innovations and technologies. The
program starts with an evening
welcome reception on September
18th and a full day conference ses
sion on Sept. 19th with 2 tracks
covering Innovation in Marketing,
Internet of Things, Autonomous
Vehicles, Connected Car, Advanced
Robotics, Aerospace and Aviation,
and
Biomedical
Medical
Engineering with prominent busi
ness owners, technologists, educa
tors as speakers.
ASEI Engineers are always front
runners of disruption, innovations
and next generation Technologies
as well as prospers on wealth and
job Creation in America, and these

Technologies will help improve the
quality of life here in USA and the
whole world, said ASEI Chairman
Subba Gopavarapu.
Over 500 professionals including
scientists, engineers, technologists,
entrepreneurs and corporate lead
ers are expected to attend this con
vention.
T here w ill be a Youth
Technology Exhibition (YTE) for
middle and high school students to
demonstrate their work based on
Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math.
The convention will end with a
nale awards banquet.
This years Award recipients are
as follows: ASEI Engineer of the
Year K. Venkatesh Prasad; ASEI
Award for Service Excellence
T hiruvengdathan
( Tim)
Mad hanagopal; ASEI Lifet ime
Achievement
Award
Jag annad ham Kottha; ASEI

Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year
Bob Bawa; ASEI Entrepreneur of
the Year Dr. Nanua Singh and
ASEI Founder's Award Kupp
Sridhar.
Teens take to dance, flash mob to

raise funds for Autistic kids
New Jersey: Sharwani Kota, a junior at JP
Stevens High School started a charitable, non
prot organization called Hope4Spandana
when she was in class eight. Her organization
is dedicated to spreading awareness and rais
ing funds for Autism, both nationally and
internationally. She has been working on this
cause for over three years by performing vari
ous arts at senior citizen homes and commu
nity centers to raise funds. We are currently
afliated with St. Peters University Hospital
a wellknown organization that uses its funds
for research and care and family support for
Autism, she says.
Hope4Spandana also adopted a school
named Spandana for children diagnosed with
Autism, in Anantapur, India, and it provides
these poor, impoverished kids with shelter,
food, and therapy. T he funds raised by
Hope4Spandana are split 5050 between St.
Peters University Hospital and Spandana.
With support from Anjali and Kajol last
summer, Sharwani recruited 13 other high
school
and
middleschool
kids
(Alekya,Aarati,Esha,Maria,Riya,Ruhi,Rhea,Sne
ha,Sraavya,Shruthi,Shreya,Shefaali) this year,
to introduce ash mobs, catchy dance per
formances to various public and community
centers. The children had worked very dili
gently, dedicating their entire summer to
working and performing regularly.
We perform choir, instrumental, and dance
shows at senior citizen homes along with
community centers. In addition, we have
come up with a unique idea to use ash mobs
to spread awareness. We believe that a
human mind is a terrible thing to waste and to
Team of Hope4Spandana
compromise the future of a child with Autism,
merely because of his/her disability, is unac
ceptable. There are so many reactions we can
spur to help children nationally and interna
tionally. We want more people to take part in
this chain reaction and help us make a differ
ence. Hope4Spandana is our Hope 4 Autism,
says Sharawani. The Hope4Spandana team
had an eventful summer this year. Within a
month and a half, several dance performanc
es, ash mobs, walks, and booth events took
place in order to spread awareness for
Autism. In this short time, $2500 had been
raised to support Saint Peters University hos
pital and the Spandana school in India.
We believe in the maxim "A Healthy society
is a wealthy society" and that the future of
our nation is in the hands of our healthy
young children. Our goal is to create a move
ment by having ash mobs and booths at
every public location and mall, so that every
one in NJ is aware about autism and can real
ize how serious the issue is, says Sharwani.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
High School Junior gets Dr. Krishna Singh's heart disease

project gets $400,000 boost
White House award
Swetha
Prabhakaran,
founder CEO,
Everybody
Code Now!
Washington, DC: Swetha Prabhakaran, an

Indian American teen entrepreneur and
founder CEO of Everybody Code Now! was
honored with the prestigious 'Champions
of Change' award at the White House on
Tuesday.
Prabhakaran, 15, a junior at Thomas
Jef ferson High School for Science and
Technology, in Virginia, founded nonprot
Everybody Code Now! to empower the
next generation of youth to become engi
neers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
"Under Swetha's direction, Everybody
Code Now! has taught hundreds of stu
dents how to code and has raised thou
sands of dollars for STEM (Science
Technology Engineering and Math) activi
ties in schools," the White House said.
"Her mentorship programs have trans

formed shy young girls into condent stu
dents, community leaders, and budding
technologists," it said.
Prabhakaran is among 11 young women
selected by the White House as recipients
of 'Champions of Change.'
In addition to her passion for science
and computers, Prabhakaran, who was
born in Indianapolis, is an avid
Bharatanatyam dancer.
She did her Bharathanatya arangetram
the debut onstage performance of a clas
sical art student, after undertaking years
of training in Tirunelveli on Aug 2.
Her father, Prabakaran Murugaiah, is
the founder and CEO of techfetch.com.
The family lives in Ashburn, Virginia.
Washington, DC: An
IndianAmerican
researcher
at
East
Tennessee
State
University (ETSU) has
received a $423,485
grant from the National
Institutes of Health for his
project
re lated
to
ischemic heart disease, a
media report said.
T he grant will give a
boost to the project led by
Krishna Singh, professor
in the Department of
Biomedical Sciences at
Dr. Krishna Singh (Photo: johnsoncitypress.com)
Quillen
College
of
Medicine and physiologist
Individuals carrying both copies of the
at the Quillen VA Medical Centre, to study
the role of a protein called ATM, or ataxia mutated ATM gene die in their teens or early
telangiectasia mutated kinase, in ischemic 20s. Patients with one normal and one
heart disease, johnsoncitypress.com reported mutated copy of the ATM gene are spared
from most of the symptoms of the disease.
on Friday.
"The aim of this research is to identify a However, they are more susceptible to can
link between ATM and ischemic heart dis cer and ischemic heart disease.
The study will focus on examining the role
ease, and to understand why ATM decient
patients are more susceptible to ischemic of ATM in heart muscle cell death and heart
function.
heart disease," Singh was quoted as saying.
Singh also holds a VA Merit Review Award
Mutations in the ATM gene cause a rare
genetic disorder known as Ataxiatelangiec from the Department of Veterans Affairs for
tasia, or AT, which affects multiple organs nearly $1 million to study the role of a pro
tein called osteopontin in heart disease.
in the body and leads to severe disability.
CHICAGOAREA TEEN
US cop's assault of Indian
CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME grandfather: Mistrial declared
IN ATTACK ON SIKH
Wheaton, Ill.: A suburban Chicago teenager
already charged with punching a Sikh man
during what authorities describe as a road
rage incident has been charged with a hate
crime, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Further investigation into the incident in
Darien on Sept. 8 revealed that the teen
yelled racial slurs from his vehicle at 53
yearold Inderjit Mukker, the DuPage
County State's Attorney's Ofce said in a
news release.
After the two pulled over, Mukker stayed
sitting in his vehicle but the 17yearold res
ident of nearby Willowbrook approached
and punched him in the face, prosecutors
say. "Crimes based on hatred or prejudices
have no place in our so ciety," State's
Attorney Robert B. Berlin said in a state
ment. "Any physical attack motivated in
whole or in part by an of fender's precon
ceived bias against another individual based
on race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or

sexual orientation is a crime not only
against the victim but against society as a
whole."
The additional charge follows calls from a
faith group called the Sikh Coalition for
prosecutors to charge the teen with a hate
crime after Mukker, a resident of Darien,
told the group that his attacker yelled at
him, calling him a terrorist. The group said
they met with prosecutors Monday and
"shared additional evidence and informa
tion," according to a Sikh Coalition news
release.
"For the Sikh American community, a for
mal hate crime charge was never about a
harsher penalty, but instead prosecuting the
crime for what it was," Sikh Coalition legal
director Harsimran Kaur said.
Because of his age, the teen's name was
not released.
Washington, DC: A US judge has

declared a mistrial in the federal trial
of an Alabama police ofcer who
slammed an Indian grandfather walk
ing in his son's neighborhood leaving
the 57yearold man partially para
lyzed.
The police ofcer, Eric Parker, 26,
was charged with violating the civil
rights under color of law of Sureshbhai
Patel during an incident on Feb 6, just
six days after he had arrived from
India to take care of his grandson.
US District Judge Madeline Hughes
Haikala declared mistrial after 12per
son jury trying Parker in a Huntsville,
Alabama federal court informed her
that they could not reach a verdict
which must be unanimous, Al.com
reported. Based on the nal note the
jury sent to Haikala, no jury changed
their position since de liberations
began anew when an alternate juror
was added on T hursday morning.

Altogether, the new jury deliberated
about 10 hours.
Prosecutor Robert Posey said the US
government will try the case against
Parker again. "We plan to retry the
case and so another jury will get a
chance to see this evidence and hear
the testimony," Posey said. "We will let
them decide."
The Patel family, through attorney
Hank Sherrod, declined to comment on
the mistrial in an email to AL.com.
A retrial won't be far in the future.
Posey said federal law mandates the
trial begin within 70 days, unless one
side asks for a delay and it's granted
by the judge.
"Our team is going to go back and
huddle up and review, as you might
expect, everything that we've done and
see if there's anything we want to
change," Posey said.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Reliance Foundation brings Indian

pichvais art exhibit to US
Mumbai: As part of its core pillars
of promoting art, culture, and her
itage, the Reliance Foundation
showcased the traditional Indian
art form of Pichvais to global audi
ences in Chicago. Re liance
Foundation is the lead sponsor of
the exhibition Gates of the Lord:
The Tradition of Krishna Paintings
to be held at the Art Institute,
Chicago from September 13, 2015,
through January 3, 2016.
Speaking at the inaugural recep
tion, Mrs. Nita Ambani, Founder &
Chairperson, Reliance Foundation,
said: The artists of the temple
town of Nathdwara are renowned
for having preserved their painting
traditions in an unbroken legacy
for more than three centuries.
Reliance Foundation has support
ed this exhibition to provide the US
audience with an opportunity to
celebrate these living traditional
artists who have remained unrec
ognized for far too long.
T hanking
the
Re liance
Foundation for its support, AIC
Director and President Douglas
Druick said: The patronage of
Mrs. Nita Ambani and Reliance
Foundat ion has allowed us to
showcase this collect ion of
Pichvais paintings. This vibrant art
form is sure to enthrall discerning
US audiences. We at AIC are proud
of our historic relationship with
India, and we we lcome Mrs.
Ambani as an honorary member of
the Presidents Council of the AIC.
Pichvais (Sanskrit for back and
hanging) art is an old and living
art ist ic tradit ion of India. It
involves intricate paintings on tex
tiles that are hung behind the idol
of Shrinathji. The themes of these
paintings are Shrinathji, a form of
Lord Krishna as a child, and his
exploits. T he paintings depict
scenes of Lord Krishna lifting the
Govardhan mountain on his little
finger, playing with the gopis
(L to R): Madhuvanti Ghose (Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian,

Southeast Asian, Himalayan, and Islamic Art), Ms. Isha Ambani, Mrs.
Nita M Ambani (Founder & Chairperson, Reliance Foundation) &
Douglas Druick (President and Eloise W. Martin Director, Art Institute,
Chicago) viewing the Gates of the Lord: The Tradition of Krishna
Paintings exhibition. Featured Pichvais: Zardozi Pichvai of Vitthaleshji,
Mid17th Century, Surat, Gujarat, India.
(milkmaids), or pastoral scenes
w ith cows and forests. T he
Pichvais art form, which developed
in the 17th century, is a tradition
of the Pushtimarg sect, founded by

Sant Vallabhacharya about 500
years ago. The Exhibition at AIC
features drawings, paintings and
Mrs. Nita M Ambani arriving at

the Art Institute, Chicago for the
inauguration reception.
historic photographs. This exhibi
tion of the Pushtimarg sect of
Hinduism is the first of its kind
anywhere in US.
Gurbaksh Chahals hearing Harish Jajoo bids to be

postponed amid scandal
Sugar Lands rst
South Asian mayor
Washington, DC: A hear

regarding the incident at
ing for ad tech mogul
the root of the postponed
Gurbaksh "G" Chahal on
hearing, Chahal met his
charges of domestic vio
alleged victim during
lence has been moved to
his trial at the Bellagio
November 13 amid
Hotel in Las Vegas.
reports that he paid a
There, the woman with
politician $1 million to
whom he would go on to
make the charges "go
have a relationship was a
away."
VIP services supervisor.
Chahal was to appear
Chahal, she says, did not
before a San Francisco
disclose the ongoing
court Sep 11 for a hear
trial.
ing on charges of hitting
Brown denied in a
and kicking a woman
radio interview Friday
whom he met while on
that he said he could
trial for 45 felony counts
make the charges against
Gurbaksh Chahal
of similar behavior
RadiumOne CEO Chahal
directed at another woman, SFist reported.
go away, and said what he did do was ethi
No reason for the move was immediately cal, Business Insider reported.
given but the postponement came after the
Chahal originally faced 45 felony counts
Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday for allegedly beating his girlfriend more
that Chahal paid former California assembly than 100 times in one night in August
speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie 2013.
Brown $1 million to get video evidence
Chahal pleaded guilty in April 2014 to two
deemed inadmissible.
misdemeanor charges and is serving three
According to a police report cited by SFist years of probation.
Washington, DC: An IndianAmerican

engineer is making a bid to become the
first South Asian mayor of Sugar Land in
Texas, a media report said.
Harish Jajoo has been a Sugar Land
City Council member since 2011. He has
lived in the city, which has 35 percent
Asian population, since 1985 after
migrating first to Canada and then the
US.
Jajoo, who is one of two Indian
Americans on the sixperson city council,
will face colleague Joe Zimmerman
and possibly others who have not
declared yet in the 2016 election to
replace mayor James Thompson, hous
tonchronicle.com reported on Thursday.
"I look dif ferent, I talk dif ferent,
maybe I eat different...but my values for
the city are no less than the next per
son," Jajoo was quoted as saying.
He said he knows that eventually a
Harish Jadoo
South Asian will be mayor of the city but
stressed that he was "not looking for
that label."
US AFFAIRS
Obama invites new boy hero Obama takes swipe

at Donald Trump
Ahmed to White House
Washington: President Obama has
invited
14yearold
Ahmed
Mohamed to the White House next
month and asked him to bring his
clock.
"Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring
it to the White House?" Obama
tweeted Wednesday, after teachers
in Irving, Texas mistook the teenag
er's science project for a fake bomb
and called the police.
T he W hite House has invited
Ahmed to Astronomy Night at the
White House on Oct. 19, which
brings students together with gov
ernment scientists and NASA astro
nauts. It will be an opportunity to
talk about science and our solar sys
tem and the universe, White House
Press Secretary Josh Earnest said
Wednesday. We are hopeful that
Ahmed will be right at home here.
Earnest said the president hoped
to use the incident as a "teachable
moment." The fact is that America's
best teachers in our schools, in our
best schools at least, nurture the
intellectual curiosity of all of our
students. In this instance, its clear
that at least some of Ahmed's teach
ers failed him," Earnest said. "This
Ahmed Mohamed's bringing a homemade clock to school in

Texas caused suspicion
episode is a good illustration of how
pernicious stereotypes can prevent
even goodhearted people who have
dedicated their lives to educating
young people from doing the good
work they set out to do."
Earnest stopped short of saying
that Ahmed was the victim of racial
or religious bias, but said there are
some dif ficult and penetrating
questions that need to be asked
about why Ahmed was singled out.
He said Obama's concern was
"rooted in the desire to reach out to
a 14 year old boy who, at least what

we know from law enforcement. was
wrongly handcuf fed in his own
school yesterday just for bringing in
a clock."
But would the Secret Service have
raised similar concerns if Ahmed
had tried to bring it to the White
House? Earnest wouldn't say.
"This is a device that was brought
to a school and shown to a science
teacher," he said. "The local police
department looked at it and prompt
ly closed the case."
Washington: At a
Wednesday roundtable
among business lead
ers, President Obama
took a shot at the
Republican frontrun
ner
by
insist ing
America is already
"great."
"Despite the perenni
al doomandg loom
that
I
guess
is
inevitably part of a
America is already great, said Obama
presidential campaign,
"You wouldn't know any of this
America is winning right now.
America is g reat rig ht now," if you were listening to the folks
Obama said. Trump has based who are seeking this office that I
much of his campaign around the occupy," Obama said after prais
slog an, "Make America Great ing the US' economic recovery
since the 2008 sto ck market
Again."
The realestate mogul frequent crash.
"In the echo chamber that is
ly wears various baseball hats
presidential
politics, everything is
bearing those words. He also pep
dark
and
everything
is terrible,"
pers almost every campaign
speech with vows to make the he added. "They don't seem to
offer many solutions for the disas
country great again.
But
Obama,
speaking ters that they perceive. But they're
Wednesday, broadly panned the quick to tell you who to blame. I'm
unnamed presidential candidates here to say that there is nothing
who lament about the state of the particularly patriotic or American
about talking down America."
country.
CABLEVISION AGREES TO BE
BOUGHT BY ALTICE
New York: Cablevision has agreed to be
acquired by Altice Group, a European telecom
giant, the companies said Thursday.
Altice will pay $34.90 for each share of
Bethpage, NYbased Cablevision Systems Corp.
The combined entity will become the fourth
largest cable operation in the US, Altice said.
Cablevision was founded in 1973 by Charles
F. Dolan, a cable television pioneer, who is
chairman. His son, James L. Dolan, is chief
executive. The Dolan family owns a controlling
interest in Cablevision, according to regulatory
filings. Patrick Drahi, founder and president of
Altice, said in a statement, "As a family busi
ness we are proud to be entrusted by the
Dolan family with the ownership of
Cablevision and look forward to continuing
the pioneering path they have paved for us."
Altice said the transaction will be financed
with $14.5 billion of new and existing debt at
The TVinternetphone company also

owned Long Island daily Newsday.
Cablevision, cash on hand at Cablevision, and
$3.3 billion of cash from Altice.
Cablevision is one of the five largest cable
TV companies in the US. It also owns media
properties including Newsday, News 12 Long
Island and amNewYork.
Cablevision has 3.1 million customers, and
had 13,656 employees at the end of 2014,
according to Bloomberg.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos ups his

stake in billionaires' space race
Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Amazon founder Jef f
Bezos unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a
rocket manufacturing plant and launch site in
Florida to better compete with fellow billion
aires using their fortunes and tech prowess to
open a new frontier in human space travel and
exploration. Bezos space startup, Blue Origin,
intends to invest more than $200 million to
build the rocketmaking facility adjacent to
NASAs Kennedy Space Center.
The vehicles will blast off from a refurbished
launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, located just south of NASA's seaside

spaceport. As a kid, I was inspired by the
giant Saturn 5 (Apollo moon) missions that
roared to life from these shores. Today, were
thrilled to be coming to the Sunshine State for
a new era of exploration, Bezos told an invita
tiononly crowd gathered at the company's
launch site. Bezos' announcement comes at a
pivotal time in the U.S. space industry, which is
luring private investment and technological
innovation in an attempt to lower the cost of
space travel and improve safety.
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com
10
INDIA
Election panel issues notification for

first phase of Bihar elections
Patna: The Election Commission

(EC) has issued notification for
the first phase of elections to the
Bihar Assembly.
A total of 49 Assembly seats
would witness elections in the
first phase on October 12. Last
date for filing of nominations for
first phase of e lect ions was
September 23. Two nominations
were filed on the opening day.
Assembly elections in Bihar
would be fought in five phases
between October 12 and
November 5 in a highstakes bat
tle, seen as a major popularity
test for the NDA spearheaded by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and incumbent Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar, who was in alliance

with the RJD and the Congress.
Polls to the 243seat Assembly
would be held on October 12, 16,
28, November 1 and 5. The term
of the current Assembly expires
on November 29.
There are over 6.68 crore vot
ers in the state, of whom as many
as 2.04 crore voters belong to the
age group of 18 to 29 years.
T he BJP, meanwhile, has
released its first list of candidates
for Bihar assembly polls with 43
names. The list, announced after
a meeting of party's central elec
tion committee which was attend
ed by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, has 19 candidates for the
first phase, 15 candidates for the

second phase and nine candi
dates for other phases.
The meeting at the BJP's cen
tral of fice was also attended by
party president Amit Shah, union
ministers Arun Jaitley, Rajnath
Singh, Ananth Kumar, J.P. Nadda
and Dharamendra Prad han,
party's state af fairs incharge
Bhupendra Yadav and former
union minister Shahnawaz
Hussain.
The BJP has decided to contest
160 seats in 243member Bihar
assembly, leaving the remaining
to its allies Lok Janshakti Party,
Hindustani Awam Morcha and
Rashtriya Lok Samata Party.
The BJP has released its first list of candidates with 43 names.
Jaipur lit fest's US

edition kicks off
The Ganesha idols are decorated with garlands and fruits and flowers are offered.
GAIETY MARKS GANESH

CHATURTHI IN
TELANGANA, ANDHRA
Hyderabad: A festive atmosphere prevailed

in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as devo
tees installed Ganesh idols across the two
states to mark Ganesh Chaturthi.
Gaiety marked the firstday of the 11day
long festivities, which began amid tight
security in Hyderabad and other parts of
Telangana and neighboring Andhra Pradesh.
Thousands of idols of different shapes and
sizes were installed at specially decorated
'pandals' or makeshift platforms erected by
various neighborhood and traders' associa
tions. Several trucks were seen carrying
giant idols from Dhoolpet, a market famous
for idolmaking.
Devotees also performed puja to the ele
phantheaded Hindu god in their houses.
The markets were abuzz with activity as
men and women bought flowers, leaves,
fruits and other puja items. E.S.L.
Narasimhan, the governor of the two states,
along with his wife performed first puja to
the tallest Ganesh idol at Khairatabad in
Hyderabad. T he organizers every year
increase the size of the idol. This year it

stands at 59feet. Devotees from twin cities
of Hyderabad and Secunderabad and sur
rounding districts thronged the place for
puja. Speaking on the occasion, Narasimhan
conveyed his greetings to the people of both
the state and expressed his wish for their
prosperity.
Organizers said a 6,000kg laddu would
arrive from East Godavari district in Andhra
Pradesh later in the day for placing it in the
hand of the giant idol.
Te langana
Chief
Minister
K.
Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra counter
part N. Chandrababu Naidu also greeted
people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Naidu performed puja to the idol installed
in TDP office in Hyderabad.
Police have made elaborate security
arrangements for the festival. Additional
arrangements have been made in sensitive
areas in Hyderabad as the Ganesh festival is
coinciding with 'EidulAzha', one of the
major festivals of Muslims.
New Delhi: The Jaipur Literature Festival

opens its account in the US with its first
overseas edition beginning on Sep 19 in
Boulder, Colorado.
The twoday festival, touted as the "great
est literary show on earth" will feature more
than 100 notable writers, thinkers, poets
and performers.
For Sanjay K. Roy, the producer of the
Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), zeroing in
on Boulder came about by accident. I
received the proposal to hold JLF in Boulder
from Buddhist scholars Jules Levinson and
Maruta Kalnins. But I had no idea of the
place and later I discovered that its a beauti
ful city with full of literatureloving people,
Roy said. Tagged JLF@Boulder, the festival
will bring together IndianAmerican, Asian
and Latin American authors to explore a
variety of literary topics and themes of local
and international interest.
Author Namita Gokhale, the codirector of
the Jaipur Literature Festival, said that she
is thrilled to take JLF to Boulder.
I am deeply excited at the opportunity to
read and understand American literature
from a different perspective reading up on
Mexican, Latino, Native American writers,
and a load of new books on subjects as
diverse as neuroscience and family phan
The fest features over 100 notable writers,

thinkers, poets and performers.
toms. Its a unique learning experience and I
feel blessed and privileged to be a part of
the programming process for Jaipur at
Boulder, said Gokhale.
The festival will feature international best
selling author Jung Chang, Pulitzer Prize
winning poet Vijay Seshadri, Morroccan
American essayist and novelist Laila Lalami,
Israeli journalist, political commentator and
author Gideon Levy, ChineseAmerican best
selling author Anchee Min, and journalist,
historian and awardwinning author Simon
SebagMontefiore.
Meat ban can't be forced

down people's throat : SC
he Supreme Court on Thursday dis
missed a plea against a Bombay high
court order staying a ban sale of meat
in Mumbai during a Jain festival saying
there should be a spirit of "tolerance and
accommodation".
"These are issues which cannot be forced
down somebody's throat... There has to be
the spirit of tolerance and anything should
not be thrust on a particular class," the SC
said while noting that the high court order
seems to be elaborate and that compassion

for animals need not be observed only on
festivals. At the outset, the court expressed
its reluctance to stay the order of the high
court, saying, "Halfaday has already gone."
Even good teaching cannot be forced upon
others and people reap what they sow said
one of the judges, who cited a couplet of leg
endary poet Kabir. "Compassion towards
animals does not have to be observed on fes
tival days only," said the apex court.
INDIA
11
INDIA'S BIGTICKET 36 RAFALE DEAL:

Stuck in negotiations
New Delhi: Five months after India
announced the deal to purchase
36 Rafale fighter jets "of f the
shelf " from France, much of the
expectations from the bigticket
deal appears to have evaporated
due to protracted negotiations
that look set to continue for some
more months
While voices from both sides say
there is hope for the deal being
concluded by December this year,
on the French side there is some
frustration at the longwinded
nature of the negotiations.
The deal for purchase of the 36
Rafale jets, by Dassault Aviation,
was announced during Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's visit to
Paris in April. India decided to
purchase the 36 jets from Paris in
a flyaway condition in a govern
menttogovernment agreement.
The Indian Air Force, which badly
The last round of talks between the IndoPak border forces

were held in Dec 2013 in Lahore.
needs to replace its aging fleet of
Soviet MIG aircraft, was looking
forward to the new planes.
However, the offsets clause that
Proud of valor of
soldiers in 1965 war:
PM Modi
Narendra Modi took a tour of the exhibition and was briefed about the
various tableaux and models on display.
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi said the country
was proud of the valor of "our
armed forces during the 1965
war" with Pakistan.
"The valor and sacrifice of our
armed forces during the 1965
war remains etched in the memo
ry of every Indian. We are very
proud of them," the prime minis
ter tweeted after visit ing
'Shauryanjali', an exhibition at
Rajpath here being held to mark
the golden jubilee of the 1965
IndiaPakistan War.
Modi took a tour of the exhibi
tion, and was briefed about the
various tableaux and models on
display. The fiveday exhibition
showcasing major battle scenes
in the 1965 war beg an on
Tuesday. Manoeuvres by fighter
jets would be part of the com
memorative event.
The exhibition, from September

15 to 20, will see the recreation
of major battle scenes of the war
and showcase the role of various
arms and services during the
war.
Covering around 50,000
square metres on Rajpath, the
exhibition has pavilions that
showcase the role of the three
armed forces, Central Reserve
Police Force, media, All India
Radio and the Indian Red Cross
in the war.
Also on display is the gun
mounted jeep that Company
QuarterMaster Havildar Abdul
Hamid deployed to hunt down
and destroy as many as five
Patton tanks of the Pakistan
army. Major battles recreated at
the venue are battles of Asal
Uttar, Haji Pir, Burki, Dograi and
Phillora.
requires 50 percent of indigenous

content in bigticket defence con
tracts is believed to be a stumbling
block, as also the pricing. The deal
is estimated at $8 billion. While

India and France are still involved
in the sticky negotiations, Egypt
has already welcomed three Rafale
jets into the country in July five
months after inking a deal for 24
of the French jets.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah
alSisi inked the contract for 24
Rafales in Cairo in February, in an
estimated $5.6 billion deal. Qatar
also inked a deal in March this
year for purchase of 24 Rafale
jets.
According to reports, three twin
seat variant of the jet were deliv
ered in Cairo on July 21. Egypt
inked a deal to acquire 16 two
seaters and eight singleseaters
Rafale fighters. France is also
training Egyptian pilots to fly the
Rafale.
French Defence Minister Jean
Yves Le Drian visited Cairo a few
days after France delivered the

jets. He was to visit India on
August 31 during which the deal
was expected to be inked. Le Drian
was in Malaysia to hardsell the
Rafale and the Mistral warship.
However, he flew straight on to
Europe after it became known that
the negotiations were not likely to
be concluded soon.
The Indian defence ministry had
at the time refused to confirm his
visit.
According to French envoy
Francois Richier, the defence min
ister had to fly to Europe to attend
a EU defence ministers meeting.
Richier said France is hopeful of
concluding the negotiations soon.
The French side is believed to be
of the view that the Rafale should
not be cheaper priced for India, as
compared to the deals inked with
Egypt and Qatar.
Delhi's ex-minister Bharti surrenders before police

New Delhi: Former Delhi law min
ister Somnath Bharti surrendered
before the Delhi Police to join the
investigation in a case of domestic
violence registered against him by
his wife, Lipika Mitra.
Bharti, an Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) legislator from Malviya
Nag arin south De lhi, had
approached the Delhi High Court
for an ant icipatory bail on
Tuesday, and surrendered hours
after he was given protection
against arrest till September 17.
Following a late night discussion

on the issue with party members,
Bharti is believed to have been
asked to join police investigation.
Bharti's wife Lipika Mitra on
Wednesday said that Bharti misbe
haved with her and used to hit her.
"My complaint is based on facts
and evidence. He (Somnath Bharti)
had misbehaved and beaten me
up... I don't understand how the
AAP, the central government or a
third party is responsible for this,"
Mitra told IANS. "The FIR was filed
three months after I complained

to the Delhi Police. Bharti being a
lawyer should respect the law and
cooperate with the police in the
investigation. If he thinks that the
alleg at ions are false then he
should come forward and make
his point," Mitra added.
Bharti, on the other hand, rub
bished the domestic violence case
filed ag ainst him by his w ife
Lipika Mitra, saying he has audio
and documentary evidence, that
would reveal the actual truth.
Art icon M.F. Husain: Forgotten

on birth centenary!
Mumbai : India's greatest painter

of mo dern t imes, the snowy
haired and bearded, barefoot
Maqbool Fida Husain who died
in selfexile in London four years
ago is a forgotten figure on his
birth centenary on T hursday
(September 17).
Barring a Google doodle viewed
globally and an art retrospective
being he ld in Dubai, nobo dy
seemed aware of the momentous
day in his native country, or even
his birthplace, the small temple
town
of
Pand harpur
in
Maharashtra's Solapur district
where he was born this day in
1915.
"I recall he was remembered and
covered widely on his first death
anniversary in 2012... but it is sad
that today there is hardly any
event being held to commemorate
his birth centenary," Husain's offi
cial biographer and friend for
long, Khalid Mohamed, said.
Maqbool Fida Husain.

A legendary Bollywood chroni
cler and filmmaker himse lf,
Mohamed wrote: "A retrospective
of his work would have been in
order, but if there is any such
event on in Mumbai the city
where he spent the best years of
his life it's been a closely guard
ed secret."
Renowned equally for his
artistry and eccentricities, the
internationally acclaimed artist is
credited with catapulting Indian
art to the world arena though he
was hounded by a spate of contro
versies virtually all his life.
Once hailed as India's 'Pablo

Picasso' by the Forbes magazine,
Husain is largely remembered
among the Indian masses for his
paintings depicting prancing hors
es, women subjects, historical fig
ures and nude paintings of Hindu
gods and goddesses, besides other
events. His portrayal of horses
with their "tremendous lines and
the majestic way that the horses
he ld their heads hig h" as
Sotheby's specialist in South Asian
modern and contemporary art
Priyanka Mathew once said were
held among his most sought after
and highlypriced collections.
Incidentally, horses were the
favourites of the divine characters
in Hindu mythology, the royalty
around the world and the com
moners, besides having erotic con
notations for their supersex drive
and probably Husain was the first
artist to use horses as a subject so
passionately.
12
OP-ED
Sonia, Rahul plough lonely furrow

in darkening political landscape
By Amulya Ganguli
he extension of Sonia
Gandhi's term as Congress
president by another year in
her 17th year in the position is an
admission of the party's failure to
be a living, evolving, dynamic enti
ty rather than an acknowledge
ment of her staying power and
acceptability within the organiza
tion.
Any political party in a democ
racy which adopts the norms of
authoritarian regimes where lead
ers generally have lifelong
tenures mere ly exposes the
pathetic paucity of talent within
the outfit.
In the Cong ress's case, the
resemblance with, say, a dictator
ship like North Korea is strength
ened by the fact that both the
present leader and the already
designated successor belong to
the same family. The obsequious
kowtow ing to the two by
Congressmen is also not dissimi
During her 17 years as president the longest in the history of the

130yearold Congress Sonia Gandhi was too focused on her son's
elevation to prepare others for the job.
lar to the meek submissiveness to
the powersthatbe which charac
terizes totalitarian establishments.
However, in addition to these
unflattering similarities, there is
another aspect of the Congress
Working Committee decision on
Sonia Gandhi which reflects poor
ly on the prospects of her son, the

heirapparent, Rahul Gandhi. It is
that he has obviously been found
wanting in the internal assess
ments which preceded the move
to enable his mother to continue
as party chief.
From this aspect, the fact that
the crown prince remains where

he was can be regarded as a blow
to his prestige. Evidently, the 57
day sabbat ical in a Budd hist
monastery in Myanmar which was
apparently expected to prepare
him for greater responsibilities
has not y ie lded the desired
results.
That even a party which appar
ently looks upon the Nehru
Gand his as demigo ds found
someone with feet of clay in the
family pantheon suggests that the
formerly Grand Old Party hasn't
yet lost all sense of judgment,
even if it cannot get rid of its feu
dal mindset.
For Sonia Gandhi, however, the
latest crown of thorns can prove
to be more prickly than ever. For
one, she is evidently not in the
pink of health. If she has, never
theless, accepted the onerous
responsibility at a time when the
Congress itself is not very healthy
in political terms, it is probably
because of the "after me, the del
uge" syndrome which makes her

unsure about the party's future in
her absence. Her anxieties are
apparently shared by a w ide
crosssection within the party.
There is little doubt that the
delay in his coronation will once
again raise the question within
the party of persuading an other
wise reluctant Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra to play a greater role, for a
not inconsiderable section in the
Congress believes that she is the
answer to the party's leadership
problems.
Arguably, the fault for this
absence of an alternate line of
leaders has to be laid at Sonia
Gandhi's door. During her 17
years as president the longest in
the history of the 130yearold
Congress she was too focused on
her son's elevation to prepare oth
ers for the job.
Now, mother and son will have
to plough a lonely furrow in a
darkening political landscape for
the Congress.
IS TRUMP THE BEGINNING OF

THE END FOR DEMOCRACY?
By Dr Jim Penman
he most startling aspect of the

current primary campaign is
the surge of Donald Trump,
despite or perhaps because he
breaks all the rules. He crudely
insults women, proposes to seize
the Middle Eastern oil fields and
wants to build a vast wall with
Mexico with the Mexicans are
somehow to pay for. He is a notori
ous flip flopper with no clear
beliefs, except in himself. And yet
he is by far the front runner for the
Republican nomination.
A radical new theory suggests
that the Trump phenomenon may
be an early sign of the end of
American democracy. This theory is
biohistory, which proposes that
society reflects the prevailing tem
perament of the people. For exam
ple, when people are enterprising
and creative and work hard for
future benefit, the society tends to
be wealthy. When they are focused
more on an easy life and shortterm
benefits, wealth declines. The same
applies to politics. When people
respect the constitution and rule of
A radical new theory suggests that the Trump phenomenon

may be an early sign of the end of American democracy.
law, democracy flourishes. When
they follow any demagogue who
makes attractive promises, democ
racy decays. This process can be
seen in the fall of the Roman
Republic. By the first century B.C.
the disciplined, patriotic Romans of
early times had become a fickle
mob ready to follow strongmen
such as Julius Caesar who tore up
the constitution but offered bread
and circuses. Biohistory proposes
that the disciplined, hardworking
temperament that makes a society

great has its roots in childhood, in
control and direction by disciplined
parents. Backed by social and reli
gious disciplines such as chastity,
this early experience has epigenet
ic ef fects. Epigenetics is the new
science which shows how the envi
ronment can change the activity of
certain genes, with dramatic and
sometimes permanent ef fects on
attitudes and behaviour.
Romans of earlier times were con
trolled in their personal behaviour

and provided austere discipline to
their children. By the late Republic
growing wealth had made them
more indulgent, both of themselves
and of their children. They were
also less interested in the hard
work of being parents, which is why
the birthrate dropped. The same
pattern has been seen in the West
in recent decades as a direct result
of our own much greater affluence.
The disciplines of religion have fall
en away, as has the discipline of
children. One result has been eco
nomic stagnation and a growing
gap between rich and poor. Another
has been cynicism about govern
ment, political deadlock that causes
debt to spiral out of control, and the
rise of mavericks whose sole appeal
is that they are against politics as
usual. Such antipoliticians are
surging all over Europe, as Trump is
in America.
In the end Trump will likely be
pushed aside as the Republican
majority unites behind a more
mainstream candidate. But the
Trump phenomenon is a frighten
ing sign to what the future holds. In
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
particular, biohistory predicts that

the antipolitician will have
increasingly greater appeal..
The only way to stop this happen
ing would be a reversal of current
trends, a return by the general pop
ulation to the more disciplined tem
perament of the past. The revival of
Christianity and Christian values is
one possibility, but in practice
could not of itself counter the cor
ruption of wealth. This means that
the only hope lies in science, to find
a way of immunizing ourselves
against the malign ef fects of too
much wealth. A multimillion dollar
research program at a number of
Australian universities has given
new insights into how environment
af fects character. Hormonal and
epigenetic effects have been identi
fied, and there are promising clues
on how this might be done. But far
more research is needed if Donald
Trump is not to signal the begin
ning of the end for American
democracy.
(Biohistory: Decline & Fall of the
West by Dr Jim Penman was pub
lished in 2015 by Cambridge
Scholars)
OP-ED
NO HANUMAN SENA CAN STOP ME

FROM WRITING: MM BASHEER
New Delhi: Contradicting reports of

being forced to stop writing after
threats from right wing groups,
Malayalam literary critic M.M.
Basheer said he does not succumb
to such pressures.
"I have never stopped writing and
wouldn't cave under pressure from
anyone. I have finished the series of
articles though I got many abusive
calls. I will write till the time I am
alive," Basheer said in an interview
to IANS. He said Mathrubhumi, a
widely read Malayalam newspaper,
had told him that they were post
poning the last piece, after receiving
threats and abusive calls. "I never
called it off," Basheer added.
Basheer said that he had given
Mathrubhumi six articles at the
stipulated time. "I have seen lot of
posters and hoardings outside the
newspaper of fice calling them
Hindu haters and calling for boycott
of the paper for letting a Muslim
write on Ramayana. That might
have been the reason for them to
withhold the last one," noted
Basheer.
Basheer's articles for Mathrubhumi newspaper dwelled on the

brilliance of Valmiki's critique on Rama's call to Sita to go in for
'agnipariksha'. But some people called the paper Hindu haters,
calling for its boycott for letting a Muslim write on Ramayana.
He is widely respected as a schol
ar and teacher. He is a practising
Muslim but has never been associat
ed with any re ligious group.
Basheer's pieces for Mathrubhumi
spoke about the brilliance of
Valmiki's critique on Rama's call to
Sita to go in for 'agnipariksha'.
The author said that he used to

receive several abusive calls a day.
"After my articles were published, I
used to get at least 250 calls a day
abusing me for writing on
Ramayana. The callers were only
bothered about a Muslim writing
about Ram, though they had no idea
about Ramayana or anything. They

used to resort to abusive language if
I questioned their academic creden
tials. It was humiliating."
The callers, he said, were angry
that the writer had attributed
human characteristics to Rama. "I
have only interpreted Valmiki's ver
sion of Ramayana. Valmiki has por
trayed Rama with human character
istics criticizing his actions," he
explained.
The author said that he was sad
dened by the attacks. "I am deeply
hurt that at 75 I was being reduced
to just a Muslim. I have never lived
my life as a Muslim," he said.
Basheer, a Professor of
Malayalam at the University of
Calicut, has written more than 40
critical works on Malayalam poetry,
short stories and novels.
The author said India had more
than 700 versions of Ramayana and
the story was interpreted in differ
ent ways by many authors. "In one
version, Sita is depicted as the
daughter of Ravana. In Kerala, we
have more than 25 versions, includ
13
ing even a Muslim version called

'Mappilah Ramayanam'," he said.
The scholar was perturbed about
the divisions in the state in the
name of religion. "I have been writ
ing about Ramayana for many
years. It's the first time that I am
facing such an outrage from fanat
ics. Its unfortunate that it is hap
pening in Kerala," he said.
The author attributed the incident
to the growing intolerance to the
freedom of expression across the
country. "We are witnessing bans
on books, movies and beef. The
writers in India are going through
hard time. Instances like silencing
of Tamil writer Perumal Murugan
and the killing of Karnataka writer
MM Kalburgi only shows the grow
ing tendency to curb freedom of
expression," Basheer said.
He said he is finalizing his upcom
ing book which may be a good
response to fanatics. "My book on
Ramayana will come out soon. I
think that will be the best reply to
people who oppose a Muslim writ
ing on Ramayana," he said.
14
OP-ED
INDIA NEEDS BOLD STRATEGY TO

PUSH SECURITY COUNCIL REFORMS
2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The system has not changed much since. UNSC, its most
powerful organ charged with international peace and security, is in dire need to be made more inclusive, representative, and legitimate. India, and other G4 countries -- Japan, Germany and Brazil -- should join hands to force reform, even refuse to take part in
the elections for non-permanent seats on the SC or boycott the process of citing any country for bad behavior.
By B. Ramesh Babu
o assert that the United
Nations the Security Council,
the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and
the whole set of global governing
institutions established after the
World War IIhave become obso
lete is an understatement. They still
reflect the global realities of the
Cold War era and are no longer
legitimate. History tells us that all
institutions go through the phases
of origin, utility, and abuse. Unless
they are reformed from time to time
to reflect the ever changing ground
realities of power and purpose they
will lose their relevance and legiti
macy. Assertion of credentials and
reiteration of entitlement ad nause
um will not work. Those seeking
reform and realignment of the
internal power structure of institu
tions must be willing and able to
play hard ball. India, Japan,
Germany, Brazil and other countries
must force the change through hard
headed political strategies. It is high
time India recognized that hope is
not a policy!
The UNSC reforms debate has
been going on for a long time. In the
beginning the UNSC had five perma
nent members with the right to veto
all decisions and six members elect
ed for a two year term. In 1965, the
number of the elected and nonper
manent members was increased
from six to ten. This has remained
unaltered since then. Security
Council is the only institution in the
UN system whose decisions are
mandatory and legally binding on
all member states.
Notwithstanding the obvious and
universally acknowledged need for
change, the reform process did not
go forward. However, there was no
dearth of proposals for reform
with a variety of permutations and
combinations depending on the per
spectives and interests of the spon
soring countries and regional
groups. Two leading Plans deserve
special attention. i) G4 Plan advo
cated by India, Japan, Germany, and
Brazil envisages a UNSC of 25 mem
bers including 6 new permanent
members (G4 plus 2 countries from
Africa) and an additional 34 elect
ed seats. ii) UN for Consensus Plan
(UNC) which calls for a 25 member
SC without any new permanent
members. But, this plan provides for

new permanent seats for each
geographical region, leaving it to
the group to decide which member
states should occupy the seats for
how long, etc.
Now, take a look at the budget
contributions and size of the popu
lation of the P5 members, G4
countries and 2 African aspirants:
Japan and Germany, which are
not members of the SC, are second
and third respectively in terms of
their contribution to the regular
budget of the UN. Brazil comes 7th
after France, UK, and China. Russia,
by any objective criteria. Its contri

bution to world peace in the Cold
War era and after and to the main
tenance of international peace and
security is monumental. Given the
size of its population and territory,
GDP, civilization and legacy, cultural
diversity, democratic political sys
tem, Indias claim for inclusion in
the SC is unimpeachable. Its role in
the UNs peacekeeping operations
around the world is unequalled.
India was elected to the SC seven
times so far and is once again a can
didate for the 20212022 term.
However, it is high time that
However, there is no clarity on the

veto issue.
The reluctance of the P5 to lose
their primacy and share power with
others is understandable. Global
politics is a power game and each
one of them has their own chestnuts
to take out of the fire. Right or
wrong they have used their veto to
protect their narrow national inter
ests. World peace and international
security, wars and internal conflicts
in other countries, and hunger and
deprivation around the world were
secondary to protecting their own
interests and catering to their egos.
Indias case for permanent membership of UNSC is unimpeachable. Its contribution to world peace in the
Cold War era and after and to the maintenance of international peace and security is monumental.
a P5 member, ranks lower than
Brazil. Clearly, then, going by the
budget contributions and size of
their population, G4 countries
should be in UNSC. Meaningful
reforms will make it more represen
tative and democratic to enable it to
tackle the challenges confronting
the changing world more effective
ly. The recent crises in Iraq, Iran,
Libya and Syria are the latest exam
ples of the failure of the SC as cur
rently constituted. A more inclusive,
representative, and legitimate SC
would have handled the internation
al conflict situations with greater
dexterity and wisdom. UNs mem
bership has grown from 113 in the
1960s to 193 today. But, the com
position of the SC remain frozen in
time. There is no permanent mem
ber from Africa though most of its
work is focused on the continent.
Latin America in excluded and the
large group of small island states
has no voice in the highest decision
making body of the UN.
Indias case for the permanent
membership of the SC is exemplary
India, Japan, Germany, Brazil and

others seeking reforms realized that
hope and wish do not add up to
a strategy. In the global realpolitik,
credentials do not go far. The active
candidates for entry into the SC
should have a political strategy to
force the gate keepers to open the
doors of entry. They should join
hands and fight for their rights in a
combined and coordinated manner.
Since India and Japan regard SC
permanent membership to be very
important, they should take the lead
in mobilizing others for joint action.
China is as adamant as ever in its
opposition to SC expansion. As for
the US, notwithstanding its long
standing public support of the can
didacy of India, when the chips are
down, Washington reversed itself
on the issue. Recent assurance of
support by President Obama him
self suddenly seems less than cate
gorical. Russia joined the other two
in opposing the reforms; but
thought it prudent to reverse its
stand soon after. It voiced support
for India and Brazils membership.
In this context, it is pertinent to

bring in political scientist and peace
researcher Prof. Ramesh Thakurs
comment in the opinion columns of
Japan Times recently. Interestingly,
he advocates the adoption of
Mahatma Gandhis strategy of non
cooperation. To begin with the G4
countries should refuse to take part
in the elections for the nonperma
nent seats on the SC. This nonpar
ticipation for a decade or more
would seriously undermine the
already eroding legitimacy of the SC
in the eyes of the world. To drive
home the point further, the G4 and
other aspirants should refuse to
vote in the process of citing any
country for bad behaviour (like non
compliance with nuclear prolifera
tion obligations to the UNSC). They
should use each and every such
occasion to remind others that since
they do not consider the SC to be
legitimate they could not honestly
support subjection of others to SCs
compulsory mandate. Finally, the G
4 countries should not contribute
troops, civilian personnel, or funds
to the UNs peace keeping opera

tions since it is the SC that authoriz
es such actions. One may also add
that the US had adopted the very
same tactics effectively and it is a
good strategy to follow the
American precept and practice!
These three steps taken together
will throw a monkey wrench in the
UN system and ef fectively under
mine the credibility of the SC in
global affairs. This will compel the
P5 to sit up and find a solution to
the thorny issue of the endless pro
crastination on the much needed
reforms. China has demonstrated
that the reform proof international
financial institutions can be circum
vented by creating alternative
banks! It is good to follow
the Chinese example, T hakur
points out.
I believe that this three plank
peaceful noncooperation with the
UN institutions should be strength
ened if necessary by an ultimatum.
The G4 countries should declare
that they would collectively with
draw from the world body if the P5
countries do not allow meaningful
reform of the SC during the UNs
70th anniversary year 2015
which is also the 10th anniversary
of the UN appointed World Leaders
Forums clarion call for meaningful
reforms of the UN system, including
the SC. It is possible that Germany,
which is included in almost all key
meetings of the world leaders by
their western white cousins, may
not go that far in its bid for inclu
sion in the UNSC. Be that as it may,
India and Japan should take the
lead in mobilizing Brazil and other
aspirants for membership in the SC
for concerted collective action. I am
sure that this will work. If the P5
members still persist in their oppo
sition to reforming the SC, they will
be responsible for the decline and
demise of the UN.
In the long history of mankind
institutions rise and fall and alter
natives emerge from the ashes of
the dead and moribund organiza
tions. Nobody needs to shed tears
over the death of dysfunctional and
illegitimate institutions.
Dr. Babu is Scholar in Residence,
Foundation for Democratic Reforms, a
think tank and advocacy group based
in Hyderabad, India. He was formerly
the Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Professor
at the University of Bombay.
MUSIC
15
Asha Bhosle has

announced that this
tour with Talit Aziz in
America is her last.
Photographs by
Gunjesh Desai/
masalajunction.com
n her last tour as she announced,

living legend Asha Bhosle, 82, has
been mesmerizing audiences in
various cities across America. For The
Iconic Tour 2015: A Tribute to
Bollywood she has teamed up with
ghazal maestro Talat Aziz. They per
formed to sellout crowd at the elite New
Jersey Performing Arts Center on Sept
13. As a playback singer Asha ji has lent
her voice to over 1,000 Bollywood
movies and sung in many genres. Talat
Arijit Singh became a household name with the

release of a soulful "Tum Hi Ho" from Aashiqui 2.
Aziz has given superhit ghazals in films

like Umrao Jaan and Bazaar.
A day before, on Sept 12, Arijit Singh
was live in concert at Sun National Bank
Center, Trenton, NJ.
The playback singer became a house
hold name with the release of "Tum Hi
Ho" from Aashiqui 2 (2013). Also popu
lar are "Mein Tenu Samjhawaan ki",
"Kabira" and "Hamari Adhuri Kahani".
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16
A champion of the poor, the immigrant

and the vulnerable, Pope Francis has
become one of the most popular public
figures in the world today. However, his
progressive statements and directives
on some social issues have created a
furor in the Christian world even
though, some argue, that all he is asking
for the church is to be more forgiving
and less judgmental.
e is often called a miracle
worker. In the short time of
two years since ascending
to the papacy, Pope Francis has
embraced divorced Catholics,
unwed mothers, threw his weight
behind climate change issues,
relaxed the hard stance on gay
marriage and become the first
Pope to address the dangers of
global warming and other envi
ronmental concerns.
Here is where the Pope stands
on some of the sensitive issues:
Contraception
Keeping in line with the churchs
ban on artificial means of birth
control, Francis who was on his
way back from the largest
Catholic nation in Asia earlier this
year, said Catholics may have a
moral responsibility to limit the
number of their children and need
not breed "like rabbits.''
He said there are plenty of
churchapproved ways to regulate
births. He also said no outside
inst itut ion should impose its
views on regulating family size,
blasting what he called "ideologi
cal colonization" of the developing
world.
RELIGION
Peoples Pope
Divorce
In his notsosubtle attempt to
welcome divorcees back to the
fold he asked the church and
hardline Catholics to embrace
those who have divorced and
remarried. Such couples "are not
excommunicated, and they
absolutely must not be treated
that way," Pope Francis told a
Vatican crowd. "T hey always
belong to the church."
His call to grant an annulment
means the church legitimizes
Catholic children of divorce, who
many clerics have long viewed as
illegitimate or lesser Catholics.
Gay marriage
Since ascending to the papacy,
Francis struck a more tolerant
tone than Catholics had heard in
the past. "Who am I to judge
them if they're seeking the Lord
in good faith?" he said when
asked whether gays and lesbians
could be good Christians. He fur
ther stated, "They shouldn't be
marginalized. The tendency (to
be homosexual) is not the prob
lem. They are our brothers." The
move, however, didn't lead to any
concrete change in church doc
trine.
In March, the Pope reaffirmed
his opposition to samesex mar
riage but said the church could
tolerate some forms of civil
unions.
Abortion
In his letter issued to the office
that is organizing the Holy Year
of Mercy (Dec. 8, 2015 Nov. 20,
2016) events, Pope Francis made
it clear that the church still con
siders abortion a grave moral sin,
but he said some women don't
comprehend the "extreme harm
that such an act entails" and
many others "believe that they
have no other option." So, the

pontiff granted priests authority
to forgive the "sin of abortion"
for women who are sorry about
it at least for the Holy Year.
The move doesn't change church
do ctrine, but priests w ill no
longer need a bishop's approval
to grant absolution.
Climate change
In a muchanticipated 184
page doctrine Encyclical on
Climate Change released in June,
the pontif f threw the weight of
the Catholic Church behind a
new appeal to fig ht climate
change, saying, Human beings,
while capable of the worst, are

also capable of rising above
themselves, choosing again what
is good, and making a new start.
In the first encyclical written
ent ire ly under his papacy,
Francis doesnt object to
progress; he acknowledges that
science and tech have enriched
our lives, and provide us count
less benefits. But he notes that
advancements dont necessarily
improve things across the board.
Our immense technolog ical
deve lopment has not been
accompanied by a development
in human responsibility, values,
and conscience.
Dr. Mysorekar invited to pray with Pope

By Jinal Shah
bout a dozen re ligious leaders,
including representatives from
Budd hist, Protestant, Gree k
Orthodox, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh
faiths, will join Pope Francis on Sept. 25 at
the National September 11 Memorial &
Museum in Downtown Manhattan for a
interfaith prayer service honoring those
who perished in the terror attacks of
2001. Dr. Satpal Singh, a Sikh community
leader and professor at the University of
Buffalo, will be one of the faith leaders at
the forum. He is hoping to use the occa
sion to educate the wider public about the
Sikh faith.
The faith leaders invited include Dr.
Uma Mysorekar, President of the Hindu
temple So ciety of North America in
Queens, NY.
Speaking to The South Asian Times, Dr.
Mysorekar shared her views on the inter
faithcommunications, sharing the stage
with Pope Francis and more. Here are her
comments from the interview.
4This is the second time I am invited
Dr. Uma Mysorekar, President of the

Hindu temple Society of North
America
by the Catholic Archdiocese. Last time
when Pope Benedict visited the city, I had
a brief interaction with him. He asked me
about the Hindu population in the coun
try. I also asked for his blessings, as I
would do to any elderly figure, to continue

to practice my faith.
4This year I am invited again to chant a
Hindu prayer for peace.
I still havent decided what prayer I will
recite but it will be a universal prayer for
peace and it will be in Sanskrit. Another
person will translate the prayer in English.
4This service shows that just as politi
cians, religion and faith leaders have
tremendous role to play in the present
context. Such interfaith meetings and
prayer services are important as it high
lights the fact that all religions can coex
ist.
4I once mentioned to a reporter that I
wish there are half as many interfaith
meetings elsewhere in the country as
there are in NYC. Here everybody is hun
gry and thirsty about how to understand
and trust each other. Mayor Bill de Blasio
appointed an advisory council of interfaith
leaders. In the past faith leaders have got
together around several common issues of
concern, especially during the aftermath
of 9/11 attacks. The meetings then were
emotional to the point that it became dis
tasteful, it was violently emotional.

4Faith leaders also joined hands in soli
darity after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks
when Jew ish Community Re lat ions
Council (JCRC) organized many interfaith
meetings and prayers for victims and sur
vivors.
4I look forward to meeting His Holiness
the Pope. He is a broad minded papal and
realizes that religion must change with
changing time. He knows very well that
we cannot be today what we as humanity
were 50100 years ago. It is his forward
thinking nature that resonates with me.
As far as sharing the stage with him
goes, these are very short meetings which
last for about 30 seconds to one minute.
We are still awaiting the agenda. However
being invited by the worlds biggest faith
leader, I am excited that the Hindu faith
and others will be recognized on the world
stage.
4His predecessor (Pope Benedict) was
not as open and broad minded as he is, also
his stay was short. Pope Francis is friendly,
he is vocal and addresses hard pressing
issues such as the refugee crises.
RELIGION
17
Warm welcome and wide

admiration for Pope Francis
The South Asian Times solicited comments from Indian American Christian leaders on the Popes visit.
A beacon of hope for

Christianity
He supports all those threatened

because of their faith
John Prabhudoss
President, Federation of Indian Christian Associations of North America
he Federation of Indian American

Christian Organizations (Fiacona), a
Washington DC based interdenomi
national umbrella organization of Indian
Christians, has expressed its warm wel
come to Pope Francis on his first of ficial
visit to the US. It is an advocacy organiza
tion to act as a channel to voice the opin
ions of the Indian American Christian com
munity to the US law makers and the
administration.
As Fiacona represents Catholic,
Protestant, Pentecostal and every other
group, it is not of ficially holding any
events, but it has been working with its
Catholic leaders on several engagements
involving the Holy Fathers visit, Dr. Raj
Seelan, the Assistant General Secretary,
said.
Admiring Pope Franciss views and initia
tives, former Fiacona President, Dr. Fred
Semendy, a Catholic himself, said, He is a
genuine, unique, down to earth Pope. I con
sider him to be a blessing to the Church as
well as to the world. He added, The Pope
has rightfully become the messenger and
supporter of the poor. This is a welcome
effort from a Pope representing the largest
Christian Church in the world and many
leaders will follow his lead.
Mr. Croos, a former President of Indian
American Catholic Association, which is a
member of Fiacona, said, his parish is very
much involved in the events of the Holy
Father and several Indian American
Catholic families will be attending events.
hen Pope Francis the 266th

Pope journeys through the US
this month, it will be the fourth
time a sitting Pope is coming to America.
Whenever the Pope visits a country, it gen
erates great interest there because as the
leader of the worlds over one billion
Catholics, he holds a unique moral authori
ty and what he says on various issues has
great persuasive influence.
As the first Jesuit pontif f, the first to
choose the name Francis and the first Pope
from outside Europe in a thousand years
and being the first Pope from Lat in
America, Pope Francis has become one of
the most popular public figures in the
world. His openness in speaking his mind
has earned him the nickname Pope Frank.
Since his election to the papacy on March
13, 2013, he has become the champion of
the poor, the immigrant and the vulnerable.
As Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, when he
served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires,
he was known as the Slum Bishop
Fiacona Vice President Dr K.P. Verghese

said he appreciates the Popes conviction
and stand on social issues. The Pope has
spoken strongly in support of the people
suffering at the hands of religious extrem
ists.
Fiacona President John Prabhudoss
added that he is encouraged by the enthusi
asm and level of participation he sees
among all Christians of Indian origin. He
has received several requests from many
such people seeking help for attending
some of the events in Washington DC area.
Mr. Prabhudoss pointed out that the Pope
is keenly aware of the problems, distur
bances and suf ferings of all communities
including Christians of nonCatholic per
suasion in every part of the world including
the Indian subcontinent. Fiacona appreci
ates his vocal support for the people who
are threatened on account of their faith.
The Popes perceived progressive ideas
would not adversely af fect conservatives
base in the US in the long run, Mr.
Prabhudoss said, adding that for most
Indian American Christians, their faith is
personal and important. As a leader of the
religious community, whatever the Holy
Father says would be gracefully accepted
by members of the Catholic Communion.
He also opined that because Indian
American Christ ians support both
Demo crat and Republican part ies in
America, the Popes stand on any sensitive
issues will not really make much of a dif
ference to them either way.
Korason Varghese
General Secretary of the Indian Christian Forum, New York
hanging the course in perfect angles

is not an easy task especially when
talking about spirituality. Pope
Francis turned an ang le in Christian
Ideology which not many dared to attempt.
As a result, he is adored by the liberals,
acclaimed by the poor and has created a
furor in every sect, class and level of reli
gious leaders today. We at the Indian
Christian Forum (ICF), representative body
of the South Indian Christians living in the
USA, salute the Holy Father to the pristine
land of America and to the great City of
New York. ICF is an umbrella organization
of Christians of Indian origin consisting of
Catholics, Orthodox, Evange lical and
Protestant denominations with bishops,
priests and pastors as patrons of a block of
over 35,000 families settled all across
America. We have been instrumental in
bringing up issues of common interest to
the attention of the White House, United
Nations and to many embassies.
Pope Francis has paved a new way and he
has challenged the conservative ideology
where Christianity is rooted in the US. Many
call this Latin Pope a revolutionary who
cocooned the Liberation Theology of yes
teryears. He made discomforting state
ments on ecology and climate change to the
ears of American businesses that are collab
orating with those who make the world a
dif ficult place for the future generations.
His statements to accommodate gays and
his blatant position on abortion and remar
riage is not me lodious for American
Christian conservatives, yet they love and
Indian govt too should

invite him
Rev. Wilson Jose
Grace International Assembly of God, Mineola, NY
because of his commitment to the poor.
As the Pope is the leader of the largest
sing le segment of Christ ianity, all
Christians in the US welcomes his visit, and
that includes Indian Christians too.
The Holy Bible is the most progressive
document written for humanity. It teaches
the importance of individual human rights,
equality of all be fore Go d, including
women, compassion towards the poor, the
downtrodden and the marginalized in the
society. When Pope Francis speaks about
having compassion towards the poor, show
ing care and kindness to those who have
resorted to abortion, went through divorce,
being sympathetic to gays, he is not teach
ing something new, but rather he is restat
ing what the Holy Scriptures clearly teach

and which the church is supposed to
uphold! The Bible teaches that while God
hates sin, He loves the sinner and He is infi
nitely merciful to forgive any sin when it is
confessed and repented.
The media has taken the Popes state
ments out of context and has made them
controversial. The Bibles teachings are
timeless, irrevocable and relevant in the
21st century.
So no one can really water down its
teachings and claim to be true Christians.
Pope Francis has been very successful in
bringing a measure of unity among various
Christian sects. His visit to the US will be
looked posit ive ly by Conservat ive
adore him for many other reasons.

Let us remember that Pope Francis did
not change the biblical doctrine on these
issues, but demanded that the church
should be more forgiving and less judgmen
tal. As he makes headlines every day on var
ious issues, he is certainly listened to by the
world more than many other leaders of our
time. He is simple, fast and pragmatic in
seeking solutions to complex human issues.
Liberation T heology and secular
Christianity were much debated in South
India during the 1970s. It is more relevant
today than ever since the gap between the
top 1 percent and the lower level of the eco
nomic class is getting wider every day and
the middle class is being evaporated. The
unwillingness to share the wealth and for
tune and disregard the less fortunate is the
root cause of the radicalization of societies.
In turn it has resulted in the uncontrollable
overflow of refugees which Europe is facing
today. It also bodes ill for the United States.
No land is secure or no walls can prevent it
if the right Christian gospel is not put to
practice. The importance of the tolerant,
lovable and straight talking Pope Francis
and his mystic brilliance take shape in this
context. He makes sense for today, he is the
chosen one. Religion is important to one as
it prepares the spirit inside. When many
leaders of the spiritual and religious world
failed, Pope Francis seems to show how we
can love our neighbor better. Amid rising
global chaos and encircling disaster, the
pontiff remains a beacon of hope for the
world.
Evangelical Christians as they find soli
darity with him on social and moral issues.
Using Liberation Theology to achieve politi
cal goals by a few clergy in Latin America
became counterproductive while the spiri
tual and social goal of it is Biblical.
As an Indian Christian welcoming Pope
Franciss visit to the US, I strongly encour
age the Government of India to invite and
warmly welcome the Pope to the largest
democracy in the world, which is the land
of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami
Vivekananda who stood for the fraternity of
the religions of the world. What an amaz
ing influence a Papal visit could have on
the Indian conscience promoting religious
pluralism where all the citizens of India will
have the freedom to practice, profess and
propagate the religion of their choice! May
the tour of Pope Francis through the US
bring a sustained spiritual renewal and a
spirit of compassion and love among the
people of all Faith in this great Nation.
Presented by Parveen Chopra
Indian ISIS 'recruiter'

extradited from Dubai
Hyderabad: A Dubaibased Indian

woman allegedly recruiting youth
for terror outfit ISIS in Syria and
Iraq was extradited here on Friday
and arrested on arrival, police
said. Afshan Jabeen alias Nicky
Joseph, who was allegedly recruit
ing youth online for Islamic State
and propagating jihadi literature,
was later pro duced here in a
court.
"There are allegations that she
recruited some people. She was
also propagating Jehadi literature
through Facebook," the police offi
cer said adding that various agen
cies will probe this.
T he woman, a resident of
Hyderabad, was extradited as part
of the investigations taken up by
police following the arrest of a US
returned engineer in January this
DIASPORA
year at Hyderabad airport when

he was allegedly leaving for Syria
via Dubai to join ISIS.
Salman Moihuddin had told
police that he was in touch with
Joseph and they were planning to
leave for Syria via Turkey to join
Islamic State.
The 32yearold techie, who has
a master's degree in electronics
from Houston, that he came in
touch with her over social media
when he was in the US. Police said
Mohiuddin was trying to join ISIS
by traveling to Dubai and from
there to Syria via Turkey. During
questioning he confessed to have
opened several Facebook accounts
along w ith Joseph, who he
described as a British national liv
ing in Dubai and the one who
influenced and invited him to join
her in Dubai in order to go to

Syria.
"Both of them indoctrinated and
motivated several youth via social
media platforms to get attracted
towards the activities of ISIS and
Jihad," a police statement said
Friday.
Initially it was believed that
Joseph is a British national who
converted to Islam and known by
her Islamic name Ayesha.
However,
invest ig at ions
revealed that her real name is
Afshan Jabeen and she hails from
Toli Chowki in Hyderabad. She
migrated to Abu Dhabi during her
childhood. After completing her
intermediate in Abu Dhabi, she
came to Hyderabad and graduated
from Shadan College. She married
Devender Kumar alias Mustafa.
Asha Bhosleinspired $1.5m

restaurant to open in UK
19
Fijians of Indian
descent top
suicide statistics
Suva: The majority of suicide
cases involving Fijian children
are among those of Indian
descent, The Fiji Times Online
reported on Thursday, citing
the ministry of education.
According to the report,
Minister
for
Educat ion
Mahendra Reddy has expressed
concern over the increasing
cases of suicide by children.
"There needs to be an investi
g at ion... Everyone here is
important the parents, the
school," Reddy was quoted as
saying. He added that introduc
ing a law to control the abuse
of volatile substance that leads
to death may help in bringing
down suicide cases among chil
dren.
The Draft Volatile Substance
Abuse Decree, spearheaded by
the national substance abuse
advisory council, could not pro
ceed in 2013 due to constitu
tional requirements.
Under the draft decree, those
wholesalers and retailers who
are found selling banned sub
stances to children under the
age 18 can be punished.
"Yes, I believe by legalizing
the decree it can help decrease
suicide but we need to look at
other factors concerning the
reasons why children abuse
these substances," Reddy said.
Fiji records an average of 120
deaths every year from suicide.
Ashok Sridharan wins a

German citys mayoral election
Germany: Ashok Sridharan, a may
son of a migrant from India and a
oral candidate of Chance llor
German mother, will take over the
Ange la Merke lled Christ ian
reign of the city administration
Democratic Union (CDU), has com
from the outgoing SPD mayor
prehensively won the election in
Juergen Nymptsch on October 21.
Bonn. 49yearold Srid haran
Until now, he served as the treas
secured the absolute majority by
urer and assistant mayor in the
polling 50.06 per cent of the votes
municipal administration of neigh
in yesterdays election in the for
boring town Koenigswinter.
mer German capital, according to
His absolute majority in the first
provisional results. His victory
round
of the e lect ion and his
Ashok Sridharan
marks the end of more than 21
strong lead over his two main
years rule of the city by the So cial opponents came as a surprise to many politi
Democratic Party (SPD). Sridharan, who is the cal observers, who predicted a close finish.
London: Want to taste "Rahul Dev

Burman chingri chaap"? Head to a new
Indian restaurant inspired and co
owned by legendary singer Asha
Bhosle that is set to open for food
lovers in Manchester this week, a
media report said on Wednesday.
The restaurant at the Peter Street
displays portraits of Bhosle and her
family, along with beaded fringing
inspired by her stage costumes and
jewelry, Manchester Evening News
reported on Tuesday.
Bhosle, 82, will be among the guests
at the VIP launch party scheduled on
Thursday and the restaurant will offi
cially open its doors on Friday.

The restaurant is a 170yearold
building and it cost two million
pounds ($1.5 million) for its renova
tion.
The menu is traditional Indian cui
sine with many of the dishes has been
named as a tribute to the singer's con
nections and career. Apart from spe
cial curries like "bharwan tandoori
aloo", "tandoori jhenga" and "murg
masala", the menu includes "Hare
baingan ka bharta" (one of Bhosle's
mother's favorite dishes) and "Rahul
Dev Burman chingri chaap" (a tribute
to her late husband).
Canberra's Sikh taxi drivers to

strike over Uber
Canberra: A number of Sikh taxi owners and

drivers in the Australian capital are planning
to go on a strike on Wednesday to protest the
arrival of ridesharing company Uber in the
city. "We do not want to say (Uber) should not
come to Canberra, because anyone is wel
come here, but we want to know how we will
be looked after when they do arrive," The
Canberra Times quoted the city's Sikh Taxi
Drivers Association chairman Jagjit Singh as
saying.
The strike is set to last between 8 a.m. and
11 a.m. across the Australian Capital
Territory (ACT). Singh said that about 200

drivers are expected to participate in a peace
ful protest at the ACT legislative assembly,
subject to police approval.
"We are paying thousands in registration,
insurance and other fees each month, and
Uber drivers do not have the burden of those
costs. We do not think the public know how
much taxis have to pay," he said. According to
the daily, Uber's general manager David
Rohrsheim has claimed more than 3,000
Canberrans have applied to become partner
drivers.
20
SUBCONTINENT
Sharif, Modi may

not meet in US
Islamabad:
Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif
may not hold bilateral
meeting with his Indian
counterpart Narendra
Modi, despite being in
New York for the UN
General Assembly, a
media report said.
A bilateral meeting
between the two leaders
"is not on the cards",
diplomatic sources told
Dawn in Washington.
When asked at a recent
briefing if Washington
would try to persuade
Sharif and Modi to meet
in New York next week,
It is learnt that the US is also keen on a
US State Department meeting between the two prime ministers.
spokesman John Kirby
said: "These are issues for the two involved" in reducing tensions
to resolve together, and that's between the two neighbors.
The media report cited sources
what we continue to encourage, a
resumption of dialogue between as saying that the US and other
the leaders of both India and permanent members of the UN
Security Councils are urging both
Pakistan."
Diplomatic sources told Dawn Indian and Pakistani leaders not
that despite its reluctance to get to be confrontational in their
publicly involved in IndiaPakistan addresses at the General
disputes, the US was "actively Assembly.
Lankan military involved

in rights violations: UN
Geneva: Sri Lankan government

forces and Tamil Tiger rebels
"most like ly" committed war
crimes including mass killings of
civilians during their long conflict
that should be prosecuted by a
special court with international
judges, the United Nations said.
Despite pledges by the new gov
ernment of President Maithripala
Sirisena to pursue accountability
domestically, the criminal justice
system is not up to the huge task
alone, said the report by the UN
human rights office.
It called on Colombo to remove
from of fice military and security
force personnel and any other
officials "where there are reason
able grounds to believe that they
were involved in human rights
violations" in the 26year war that
ended in 2009.
The report named no suspects,
saying it was a "human rights
investigation, not a criminal inves
tigation".
"This report is being presented
in a new political context in Sri
Lanka, which of fers ground for
hope," UN High Commissioner for
Nepal to get new constitution

on September 20
Kathmandu: Nepal was all set to bring out a
new constitution on September 20 with the
Constituent Assembly (CA) having begun
clausebyclause voting on the muchawait
ed document.
The CA has already started voting on
each and every article of the new constitu
tion and as of Monday, the 601member
house had endorsed 37 articles of the pro
posed document.
The new constitution of the Himalayan
nation under preparation since 2008
will now be officially promulgated by Nepal
President Ram Baran Yadav at a special
function to be held in the assembly build
ing which has seen two Assemblies grapple
with the onerous task over the past seven
years.
Success in framing the vaunted document
eluded the first Constituent Assembly
elected in 2008 and it required a second
assembly to finally evolve the desired con
Nepal President Ram Baran Yadav.

stitution draft which the three major politi
cal parties are now gearing to adopt.
The Nepali Congress of Prime Minister
Sushil Koirala, ruling ally Communist Party
of Nepal (Unified MarxistsLeninists) and
the main opposition United Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist) together command
more than the twothirds majority in the
601seat CA that is required to adopt the
new document.
355 inmates escape in Afghan prison break
Kabul: Taliban militants stormed into a prison outside the Afghan city of Ghazni, freeing
at least 355 inmates, the media reported. According to officials, the prison housed 436
prisoners in all of which at least 355 escaped in the jailbreak, Tolo News reported.
At least 148 of the escapees are considered to be a serious threat to national security.
"One militant rammed a car bomb into the main gate of the prison at around 2:00 a.m.
Shortly after the blast six militants disguised in police uniform entered the jail, and assist
ed the inmates in leaving the complex," deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali
Ahmadi told Xinhua news agency. The initial information showed that 352 prisoners,
including a number of criminal inmates, succeeded in fleeing while security forces suc
cessfully intercepted more than 80 prisoners, the official added.
According to a 2011 UN panel report, up to 40,000 Tamils were killed in a

final offensive ordered by thenpresident Mahinda Rajapaksa
Human Rig hts Zeid Ra'ad Al
Hussein said in a statement. "It is
crucial that this historic opportu
nity for truly fundamental change
is not allowed to slip."
Sri Lanka's government said on
Monday it was setting up a South
Africastyle truth and reconcilia
t ion commission to look into
atrocities, as it came under fresh
pressure to prosecute perpetra
tors, but gave scant details.
The UN report said Sri Lanka
should set up a "hybrid special
court integrating international
judges, prosecutors, lawyers and

investigators" to try war crimes
and crimes against humanity
allegedly committed by both
sides.
Government security forces are
implicated in "unlawful killings
carried out in a widespread man
ner against civilians" including
ethnic minority Tamil politicians,
aid workers and journalists, it
said. T hey allegedly executed
LTTE cadres on May 18, 2009,
"some of whom were known to
have surrendered".
INTERNATIONAL
21
Obama to host China's Xi Jinping for state visit

Washington: Amid increasing ten
sion between the US and China on
cyber security issues, President
Barack Obama w ill host his
Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping
for an ofcial state visit on
September 25, the White House
has said.
"Obama will host Xi Jinping,
President of the People's Republic
of China, at the White House for
an ofcial state visit on September
25, 2015," White House Press
Secretary Josh Earnest said.
This reciprocates Obama's state
visit to China in November 2014,
he said.
"Xi's visit will present an oppor
tunity to expand USChina cooper
ation on a range of global, region
al, and bilateral issues of mutual
interest, while also enabling
President Obama and President Xi
to address areas of disagreement
Obama will raise concerns about cyber security with Xi when they
meet in Washington this month.
constructively," Earnest said.
"The President and Mrs Obama
w ill host President Xi and
Madame Peng Liyuan at an of
Turnbull sworn in as
Australia's 29th PM
Canberra: Former com

municat ions minister
Malcolm Turnbull was
sworn in as Australia's
29th prime minister and
praised the man he oust
ed
as
a
"g reat
Australian".
He was sworn in by
GovernorGeneral Peter
Cosgrove and pledged
his allegiance to Britain's
Queen ElizabethII at a
hastily organized cere
mony at Government
House in Canberra ear
lier in the day, ABC
Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in by
reported.
GovernorGeneral Peter Cosgrove.
Turnbull took the
oath of ofce, w ith deputy by arguing his predecessor
Liberal leader Julie Bishop and should be recognized for his
his wife among the assembled achievements.
"Our nation, our parliament,
supporters.
He staged a leadership coup our government, our party our
on Monday afternoon, culminat parties, the Coalition owe Tony
ing in a Liberal Party room vote Abbott an enormous debt of
gratitude for his leadership and
that he won 5444.
He has pledged to run a more his service over many, many
collegiate, cabinetfocused gov years," he said.
"He led us out of opposition
ernment and to hold the line on
the existing samesex marriage and back into government."
"Tony has discharged his role
and climate change policies that
were endorsed by Tony Abbott as prime minister be it as
leader of the opposition with
as prime minister.
Abbott de livered his own enormous dist inct ion and
speech, conceding he had been achievement," he added.
Turnbull said the free trade
ousted as a rstterm prime min
ister after just two years in ag reements clinched by the
Abbott government were an
ofce.
He has partly blamed internal example of success.
He also congratulated Abbott
"whiteanting" and "character
assassination" in the media for for his border protection poli
his demise, but promised not to cies, arguing they allowed the
"wreck" his Government in retri government to provide for an
bution. Turnbull began his rst additional 12,000 Syrian and
Question Time as prime minister Iraqi refugees.
cial state dinner on the evening of

September 25," he added.
Media reports said that the
Obama administration is planning
imposing sanctions against China

for its alleged cyber espionage
and cyber theft issues, which has
been refuted by Beijing.
During his daily news brieng,
Earnest did not rule out imposing
sanctions, but reiterated these
things can't be discussed in pub
lic. "We will obviously continue to
monitor this situation, and I think
there are a number of steps that
the US has taken, including engag
ing directly between the two
Presidents, from President Obama
to his counterpart, raising signi
cant concerns about China's activ
ity in cyberspace," he said.
"Last year ve Chinese military
ofcials were indicted by the US
Department of Justice for their
actions in cyberspace. So I think
it's quite clear to the public that
this is an issue that the US and the
Obama administration take seri
ously," Earnest said.

"It's quite clear to the Chinese
government that this is an issue
that we take seriously, as evi
denced by the decision of the
Chinese President to send
Secretary Meng to the United
States to meet with a range of US
ofcials in advance of his visit," he
added.
Earnest said it is pretty easily
described that there are some
areas where the two countries are
able to cooperate effectively with
the Chinese to advance the inter
ests of their citizens.
"And whether it's the climate
announcement that you've just
cited or trying to build interna
tional consensus around con
fronting Iran of their nuclear pro
gram you'll recall that China
was a constructive partner in the
P5+1 efforts," he said.
EU to hold emergency meeting

on refugee issue
Brussels: European Union (EU) inte
rior ministers will hold an emer
gency meeting on September 22 to
cope with refugee crisis, ofcials
said.
Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's
Minister for Immigration and
Asylum and President of the
Council, on Tuesday said the meet
ing will focus on the refugee redis
tribution plan among EU member
states. Interior ministers on
Monday agreed on an initial plan to
relocate 40,000 refugees from Italy
and Greece, but failed to reach con
sensus on other important topics.
Luxembourg Presidency of the
Council of the EU said the meeting
intends to provide the followup of
the meeting of Monday.
On this occasion, the Presidency
wants the ministers to adopt a deci
sion on a provisional mechanism for
the relocation of 120,000 persons
Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's Minister for Immigration and Asylum.

in need of international protection
from member states exposed to
massive migratory ows. European
Commission President JeanClaude
Juncker last week called for relocat
ing more 120,000 migrants under a
compulsory scheme, bringing the
total proposed number up to
160,000. Massive inux of migrants

are entering Europe in recent
weeks, in search of refugee in
European countries. Juncker,
together with leaders of Germany
and France have been pressing
reluctant member states to support
Commission proposals.
UN General Assembly opens 70th session

United Nations: The UN General
Assembly opened its 70th session,
the media reported. The much
ant icipated
Post2015
Development Agenda is expected
to be adopted at an upcoming
summit from September 2527.
"It is a great honor for me to
open the 70th session," said
Mogens Lykketoft, president of
this session. "The session, I hope,
will be truly historical."
The 70th session, a regular year
ly event, was declared open by
President Mogens Lykketoft of
Denmark.
He was elected to the current
The 70th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly opened in

New York.
post by the UN General Assembly
on June 15.
Before this election, Lykketoft
was the speaker (president) of the

Danish Parliament, a position he
had held since 2011.
22 September 19-25, 2015
SPORTS
PAES, SANIA CREAT HISTORY, LIFT

US OPEN DOUBLES TITLES
New York: Indian tennis ace Leander Paes,

who clinched his 17th Grand Slam crown,
and Sania Mirza created history after win
ning the US Open mixed doubles and
women's doubles titles with common Swiss
partner Martina Hingis here.
The fourth seeded IndoSwiss pair of Paes
Hing is de feated unseeded Americans
Bethanie MattekSands and Sam Querrey 6
4, 36, 107 in a tricky nal which lasted for
one hour and seventeen minutes.
Paes and Hingis broke their opponent at
love to take a 21 lead in the opening set as
the Swiss hit a forehand passing shot to
secure the break. That bit of momentum was
all they needed, as Paes easily closed the set
out at 54 when Hingis hit a volley winner.
A lone break of serve also decided the sec
ond set, as MattekSands hit two straight
winners to break Hingis serve as the
Americans led 31. Hingis saved three set
points on her serve at 25, but Querrey easi
ly held in the next game to send the contest
into a deciding super tiebreak.
The unseeded Americans were cruising as
they created a 41 cushion when they won
both points on Hingis serve to grab the
rst minibreak.
The IndoSwiss pair took the minibreak
back on MattekSands serve at the next
opportunity.
Sania Mirza paired with Martina Hingis to win US Open women's doubles trophy.
With this title, 42yearold Paes became
the rst man to pocket nine mixed doubles
title, surpassing compatriot and former dou
bles partner Mahesh Bhupathi, who has
eight. In his 17 Grand Slam record, Paes has
eight men's doubles and nine mixed doubles
titles. It was the third mixed doubles crown
of the year for Paes and Hingis, who defeat
ed Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic in

the Australian Open nal and beat
Alexander Peya and Timea Babos in the
Wimbledon title match.
They are the rst team since 1969 and
second in the Open Era to capture three of
four Majors in a calendar year.
Later, Women's doubles top seeds Sania
Mirza and Hingis defeated fourth seeded

Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 6
3, 63 to claim the US Open title.
The IndoSwiss pair took only 69 minutes
to conquer the AustralianKazakh pair at the
Arthur Ashe stadium.
It was Sania and Mart ina's second
women's doubles Grand Slam title together
after winning the Wimbledon earlier this
year and they played with supreme con
dence to win the tournament without drop
ping a set. It was Sania's fth success at the
Majors (two women's doubles and three
mixed doubles crowns).
Sania's partnership with Martina has
helped her become the rst Indian women's
player to be ranked World No. 1 in the dou
bles rankings.
Sunday's nal was Sania's rst in the cate
gory here at US Open. She won the mixed
doubles title last year with Brazilian Bruno
Soares here.
"It has been a great year for us," Sania said
after the win. "To win Wimbledon was a
great year. Then to come back and back it
up to win the US Open, we feel like we're a
really solid team. And we came through
again today." Prime Minister Narendra Modi
congratulated Sania Mirza and Martina
Hingis on their victory in the women's dou
bles nals of the US Open.
Business
Obama urges US
businessmen to pressure
lifting Cuba embargo
Washington: US President Barack Obama has
urged businessmen to pressure Congress to
lift the Cuban embargo, emphasizing the "sig
nicant economic opportunities" created by
the process of normalizing bilateral relations.
After delivering a speech at the Business
Roundtable Headquarters in Washington
where he responded to several questions
from the audience, Obama also said that the
imminent visit of Pope Francis to Cuba will be
"an opportunity" to broaden the "conversa
tions" that are already occurring on the com
munist island.
The president reiterated that Cuba will not
undergo an "overnight transformation" as a
result of the normalization process, but he
added that over time the rapprochement
inevitably "creates space for personal free
dom and, I think, a longterm political transi
tion". "It doesn't make sense for us to keep
sticking to the old ways of doing business,"
the president said, referring to the embargo.
Since the announcement last December of
the process of normalizing relations with
Cuba, Obama has come out publicly in favor
of lifting the embargo imposed on the island
for more than half a century, something that
only the US Congress which currently has a
Republican majority can do.
US President Barack Obama.

Last week, Obama renewed for another year
the legal provision for maintaining the eco
nomic embargo on Cuba to be able to contin
ue exercising his executive authority to relax
sanctions on the island during the course of
the bilateral normalization process.
The renewal of the provision "maximizes
the president's exibility in administering the
Cuban embargo and authorizing specic
transactions," a top US ofcial told EFE.
The historic process of rapprochement
begun in December has led to the reestablish
ment of diplomatic relations, which had been
broken off since 1961, with the reopening in
July of embassies in Washington and Havana.
DON'T 'LIKE' HER POST?

Facebook to soon have
'Dislike' button
New York: Looks as if the social network
ing site has nally listened to its nearly
1.5 billion Facebook users. According to
its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a Dislike but
ton is soon coming to Facebook that will
let you reveal true feelings on your
friends' wall or respond to antihumanity
posts.
During a questions and answers session
at the company's headquarters in Menlo
Park, Caifornia, on Tuesday, Zuckerberg
said: I think people have asked about the
dislike button for many years. Today is a
special day because today is the day I can
say were working on it and shipping it.
Facebook realised people want to
express emotions other than positivity,
especially around posts about sensitive
topics, he told the audience.
The Dislike button will make it easier
for Facebook users to show interest in a
post or story that would be awkward to
Like, Time reported.
He, however, did not explain exactly
how a dislike button would work.
Dislike, button may be about opening
up an avenue for users to interact with
interesting content that would be awk
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a

Town Hall meeting.
ward to do any thing w ith inside
Facebooks current framework.
If you are expressing something sad...
it may not feel comfortable to like that
post, but your friends and people want to
be able to express that they understand,
Zuckerberg commented.
Zuckerberg rst mentioned the possibil
ity of a new button during a Town Hall
Q&A last year.
24
ART & CULTURE
Hindu religion or culture was never under

attack during Muslim rule in India: Book
Washington, DC: At a time when
religious discourse is coming under
friction, a new book by a Stanford
University historian has revealed a
cultural alliance between Muslims
and Hindus in early Sanskrit texts,
a finding that may help ease rela
tionships between the two reli
gions followers.
Titled Culture of Encounters:
Sanskrit at the Mughal Court, the
book by Audrey Truschke, a leading
scholar of South Asian cultural and
intellectual history, argues that the
heyday of Muslim rule in India
from the 16th to 18th centuries
was, in fact, one of "tremendous
crosscultural respect and fertiliza
tion and not religious or cultural
conflict."
Popular thought in India holds
that the origin of this conflict goes
back centuries to medieval times,
when Muslim rule expanded into
the Indian subcontinent.
In her study of Sanskrit and
Persian accounts of life under the
Mughal empire, the author pro
Four of Akbars Nav Ratnas were Hindu born.

vides the first detailed account of
India's religious intellectuals dur
ing this period.
Her research paints a far differ
ent picture than common percep
t ions, which assume that the
Muslim presence has always been
hostile to Indian languages, reli
gions and culture, the Stanford
University said in a statement.
According to Truschke, the divi

sive interpretation actually devel
oped during the colonial period
from 1757 to 1947.
The British benefited from pit
ting Hindus and Muslims against
one another and portrayed them
selves as neutral saviors who could
keep ancient religious conflicts at
bay," she writes.
"While colonialism ended in the

1940s, the modern Hindu right has
found tremendous political value in
continuing to proclaim and create
endemic HinduMuslim conflict,
she continues.
According to Truschke, a Mellon
postdoctoral fellow in the depart
ment of re lig ious studies, her
research shows that much of the
current religious conflict in India
has been fuelled by ideological
assumptions about the Mughal
period rather than an accurate ren
dering of the subcontinent's histo
ry. She argues that the ideology
underpinning such violence erro
neously erases Mughal history and
writes religious conflict into Indian
history where there was none,
thereby fuelling and justifying
modern religious intolerance.
Her work shows that the Muslim
impulse in India was not aimed at
dominat ing Indian culture or
Hinduism. Early mo dernera
Muslims were in fact "deeply inter
ested in traditional Indian learning,
which is large ly housed in

Sanskrit," says Truschke, who is
teaching re lig ion courses at
Stanford. For several months in
Pakistan and 10 months in India,
Truschke travelled to more than
two dozen archives in search of
manuscripts.
She was able to analyze the
Mughal elite's diverse interactions
with Sanskrit intellectuals in a way
not previously done.
Truschke found that highlevel
contact between learned Muslims
and Hindus was marked by collabo
rative encounters across linguistic
and religious lines.
T he research overturns the
assumption that the Mughals were
hostile to traditional Indian litera
ture or knowledge systems.
In fact, the findings reveal how
Mughals supported and engaged
with Indian thinkers and ideas.
She hopes her findings "will pro
vide a solid historiographical basis
for intervention in modern, politi
cal rewritings of the Indian past."
KALBURGI KILLING: Where is Eversion of Collected

freedom of speech, ask scholars Works of Mahatma
New Delhi: The death of Kannada
rationalist and literary scholar M.M.
Kalburgi has sparked protests
among people of all spheres in
Karnataka. Many political leaders
have drawn parallels between his
death and those of rationalists
Narendra Dabholkar and Govind
Pansare.
According to those who were
closely associated with Kalburgi,
the killing represents a worrying
trend of silencing people for hold
ing contrarian views.
The former vice chancellor of
Hampi University, Kalburgi was
shot dead by unidentified assailants
at his home in Dharwad on August
30. Kalburgi was known for his
extensive research on the 12th cen
tury old Vachanas, the literary work
of Basava, the founder of
Lingayatism.
According to activist and writer
based in coastal Karnataka, H.S.
Anupama, the killing of Kalburgi
could have been an act to silence
his ideologies.
"In my opinion, it was a mind tar
get, to silence the person. There are
many people including Kalburgi
who vehemently opposed the Sangh
Parivar and its ideology although
we cannot say his killing was the
work of Sangh Parivar. There are
many facets to this killing,"
Anupama told IANS in a telephonic
Kannada rationalist and literary

scholar M.M. Kalburgi
interview. "Any idea slightly chal
lenging to those in power is not
being tolerated today. Freedom of
speech is a farce and nearly non
existent, with so many in the coun
try being silenced for their ideas,"
she said.
Through his writings, Kalburgi
had pointed out that Lingayats can
not be a part of the Hindu religion
since the community according to
Basava's scriptures does not believe
in idol worship, temple construction
or caste system, Anupama pointed
out, adding that selfrealization was
a key aspect of the community.
Lingayats are a major community
in the political sphere of the state,
and their political leaders were in
merger talks with the BJP of the
state. Hence, Kalburgi's writings, in
a way, posed threats to the
Hindutva ideologues.
His book Marga 1 in 1989, where
he had examined several Vachanas
by
Basava's
second
wife
Nee lambika, had triggered the
Lingayat community to force him to
withdraw some parts of his text.
Other texts of his had the other
Hindu groups raising their brows at
his work.
Kalburgi had called the withdraw
al an "intellectual suicide" to save
his family members.
"His research work on the
Lingayat community, the Vachanas
and the ShaivaVaishnava clash had
created ideological enemies to him
within the community," Anupama
said, adding that the man was like
an 'ajatashatru', someone who knew
no enemies in his everyday life.
Among rationalists, Kalburgi's
killing was roundly condemned.
"Killing a 77yearold man for his
ideologies is an act of cowardice. He
had a scientific way of analyzing
many things. He may have been
killed, but his ideas cannot be," said
Narendra Nayak, president of the
Federation of Rationalists'
Association of India.
Kalburgi, who had written over
100 books, had also shown his sup
port to the Antisuperstition Bill,
which was proposed by the current
chief minister Siddaramaiah in
2013. The bill, which planned to
ban practices like black magic and
witchcraft had received flak from
the BJP and other Hindu groups.
Gandhi launched
New Delhi: I&B

Minister
Arun
Jaitley on Tuesday
launched the elec
tronic version of
the
Collected
Works of Mahatma
Gandhi (CWMG),
which document
the leader's life
from 1884 till his
death in 1948. The minister also
announced that the Hindi version
of CWMG would be digitized
soon. "The intrinsic and heritage
value of the eCWMG project had
the collaboration and partnership
of institutions that have been
founded and nurtured by
Gandhiji himself," said Jaitley on
the occasion.
"This digitized version of the
Collected Works of Mahatma
Gandhi would be instrumental in
preserving the valuable national
heritage and disseminating it for
all of humankind."
The event that was organized at
the Gandhi Peace Foundation.
Hailing Gand hiji as a true
visionary, whose thought process
touched various facets of human
life, Jaitley said Gandhiji's under
standing of a wide range of issues
enabled the creation of a moral

environment which in the long
run forced the British to leave
India. His writings are inspira
t ional in weaving humanity
together. The documentation of
his work through an eversion is
truly inspirational for followers
on the eplatform. At the same
time it is a truly collectors' item
available to all followers of
Gandhiji's philosophy, he said.
T he Collected Works of
Mahatma Gandhi took about 38
years in the making (1956
1994). They are a series of 100
volumes, running into over
55,000 pages, intricately con
nected across the series, as an
integrated whole.
For free download of Collected
Works of Mahatma Gandhi:
http://www.mkgandhi.org/
26
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
"Meet the Patels:
In search of a desi bride

I
t all began when Ravi Patel, a 30year
old IndianAmerican investment banker
turned Hollywood actor, pestered by his
parents on a long flight to India to get mar
ried, agreed to search for his bride the
"desi" way.
And Ravi's sister Geeta, just out of mak
ing a war zone do cumentary about
Kashmir, now learning to handle the cam
era, started filming "half seriously" the
"family af fair" to find a desi partner for
Ravi, who had just broken with his white
girlfriend of two years.
How what began as a family vacation
video eventually turned into a hilarious
romantic documentary about arranged
marriages is an equally heartbreaking story
as the sibling codirectors of "Meet the
Patels" relate it.
"When we got to India, Ravi realized that
what he was going through is what so
many people have gone through," the duo
told IANS on phone ahead of its Friday
release in New York City, Chicago and Los
Angeles. It opens in additional US markets
including Washington DC, Boston, New
Jersey, Philade lphia, North Carolina,
Detroit, and Tampa on Sep 18.

"He felt so many people were living that
story and yet no one had told it properly,"
said Geeta who was equally under parental
pressure to get married.
Many a film and media shows "depict
arranged marriages and semiarranged
marriages in Indian culture more like a
joke like parents are weird, that kind of
thing". "We didn't see it that way. We felt
like our parents (married through this 'desi'
system) were the happiest people we
knew," Geeta said. "We were kind of torn
because we wanted that happiness, but we
didn't know what process was really good
for us to get there."
The conversion of the home video into a
documentary "just happened by accident,"
said Ravi.
"It was just kind of natural evolution"
with "Mom and Dad breathing down our
necks as if a billion people in India care as
much as they do about why we are not
married."
But despite some shaky camera work,
they never thought of reshooting the film.
"The documentary is so authentic and real,
The Patel family.

what happened at the moment," according
to them. "The only stuff that we put a lot of
e f fort was in pro ducing animated
moments," said Ravi.
"The animation came essentially from the
fact that we were making this film about
our family," added Geeta.
"In reality TV, when somebody is emo
tional, they just film it. But for us it's just
disrespectful to film our family going
through a very difficult moment."
But how come their parents did not
appear camera conscious at all. "I know
Salman Khan flanked by Heros lead pair Sooraj

Pancholi and Athiya Shetty.
'Hero' tops
B
box-office,
Salman 'thanks'
audience
ollywood super
star Salman Khan
has thanked fans
for giving a thumbs
up to his latest pro
duction
venture
Hero, which has
marked the debut of
star kids Sooraj
Pancholi and Athiya
Shetty.
According to trade ana
lyst Taran Adarsh, the film
collected Rs.6.85 crore on its
opening day.
"#Hero Friday Rs.6.85 crore. India biz... Very good for a film starring
newcomers... Biz will need to grow on Saturday and Sunday for a
strong weekend total," Adarsh tweeted.
Salman has expressed gratitude to the audience for showing inter
est in the movie, and is happy with the firstday collection.
Thanks to the people who have gone to see 'Hero' and welcomed
Sooraj and Athiya in the film world and all those who are going to see
it. Lots of respect, Salman wrote on Twitter. Collections (are) superb,
whole team of Hero super happy with them. Would not have been
possible without you going to see it. Thank you.
that's crazy, right. It was so natural," said

Ravi. "Part of it is that they never thought
this project would really amount to any
thing partially because of the casual way
we were shooting it."
The brother and sister team spent six
years in making the film and at the end of
it "nobody wanted it." What kept them
going was "Pride," said Ravi.
"I believed in it. Even if nobody watches
it, I am going to be proud that I made
something I like and that mattered to me."
"We both believed in it," chipped in Geeta.
Sanjay Gupta wraps up

'Jazbaa', plans party
ilmmaker Sanjay Gupta

and in a mood to party.
announced a "wrap" on
"Now have to come up with a
the shooting of his much
venue for the #JAZBAA Wrap
ant icipated film "Jazbaa",
Party. Any suggestions," he
which will mark the comeback
asked the Twitterati.
of actress Aishwarya Rai
"Jazbaa", which stars Irrfan
Bachchan.
Khan and Shabana Azmi in
"IT'S A WRAP! And these are
supporting roles, looks like an
my warriors, my direction
intense film.
team that made it happen
The day before the shoot
ever so smoothly. Love you Aishwarya Rai Bachchan came to an end turned out to
in a still from the movie.
guys," Gupta tweeted as the
be special for Gupta as his
caption of an image, which features his longtime friend Sanjay Dutt, out on parole,
team members. The filmmaker is relieved paid a visit to the film's set.
'Calendar Girls' not anti-Pakistan: Bhandarkar
adhur Bhandarkar is surprised by the news

of dif ficulty "Calendar Girls" is facing in
Pakistan re lease. T he filmmaker has
requested distributors across the border to watch
the film before arriving at a decision as it is not
antiPakistan.
We are told Calendar Girls is facing problems for
a release in Pak because of a dialogue the local dis
tributors saw in the trailer. As somebody who's
always tackled hardhitting subjects sensitively, I
earnestly request all distributors in Pak to kindly
watch the film, Bhandarkar tweeted. I assure one
and all that Calendar Girls is not antiPak and
won't hurt any sentiments. Sincerely pray Censor
there watches and gives a goahead, noted the
director, known for films like Page 3 and
Fashion. The film's trailer gives a glimpse of what
all goes behind the glossy life of the calendar girls.
But dialogues in the trailer like Pakistani girls are
as bold as other girls. In fact sometimes they are
bolder than the rest and a protest scene with peo
The film Calendar Girls" is slated for Sept 25

release in India.
ple shouting slogans like Pakistani artist go back
has caused a stir, creating trouble for the film's
release across the border. Jointly produced by
Bhandarkar and Sangeeta Ahir, "Calendar Girls" fea
tures Akanksha Puri, Avani Modi, Kyra Dutt & Ruhi
Singh, among others.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
27
Vidya Balan feels honored

to play Geeta Bali
I'm not anyone to comment on
Ranbir's ups, downs: Deepika
Ranbir
Deepika
in happier
times.
ctress Deepika Padukone

says she's "not anyone" to
comment on the low phase
in Ranbir Kapoor's career, but
she believes her "Tamasha" co
star is "a huge star who brings a
lot in the film".
Deepika was present at the
launch of Axis Banks new pre
paid wallet app Lime here on
Friday.
She was asked if she thinks her
stardom would help Ranbir to
overcome his low phase with
fter being seen as sex siren Silk Smitha in The

Dirty Picture, National Award winning actress
Vidya Balan has now taken on a cameo as
golden era actress Geeta Bali in a Marathi biopic.
She considers it an honor. The biopic, on Bhagwan
Dada, traces the late actordirectors life and the diffi
culties he faced while making his 1951 released musi
cal Albela, which featured Geeta Bali, who was con
sidered a popular star then. Its an honor to be playing
the effervescent Geeta Bali even if it is just a special
appearance, and to be recreating Albela for a Marathi
biopic on Bhagwan Dada, Vidya said in a statement.
For the role, Vidya will sport Geeta Balis look
from the original film, but she wouldnt be
required to speak Marathi, said a source
close to the actress.
"Tamasha".
She smiled and said: I believe
that everyone who comes on
board contributes equally to the
success or failure of the film.
Ranbir is a huge star. Everyone
has their ups and downs through
their career. I don't think I am
anyone to comment on what he
has been through."
To ment ion here, Ranbir's
"Besharam", then "Roy" and his
last venture "Bombay Velvet",
failed to be a success.
2016 will mark

reemergence of my
music: Mandy Moore
A
fter lying "dormant" in the music world

since the re lease of her last album
"Amanda Leigh" in 2009, Hollywood
actress and songstress Mandy Moore is confi
dent that she'll be back with a bang in 2016.
She says she feels "unfulfilled" without creating
music. "I've been working on music steadily for
the last couple of years. I guess 2016 will be the
reemergence of my music. That side of my life
has been dormant for too long in my opinion,"
Moore, who is currently on a trip to India for a
social cause and is curious to learn about Indian
music, told IANS in an interview here.
What kept her away from music?
"I was kind of nesting and taking a break in
my life since I had started working at such a
young age," said the multitalented "A Walk To
Remember" artiste, whose debut album "So
Real" came way back in 1999, when she was all
of 15 or 16. Since then, the "Candy" singer has
doled out a total of six studio albums, including
"I Wanna Be with You", "Mandy Moore",
"Coverage" and "Wild Hope", apart from "So
Real" and "Amanda Leigh".
As for her break from music, the 31yearold
said: "Maybe, I was putting my efforts and ener
gy into some other parts of my career."
Moore referred to the fact that she has been
devoting a part of her time and life to her role
as the global goodwill ambassador of NGO
Hollywood actress & songstress Mandy

Moore feels "refreshed" about
making new music.
Population Services International (PSI), which is
also the reason why she came to India.
"It's a big part of my life now, but I miss it
(music)... I feel there's something in my heart
that's not being completely fulfilled, and I have
to address it," she said candidly.
Moore, who split from Ryan Adams, her hus
band of almost six years earlier this year, also
feels "refreshed" about making new music.
"I've a lot to say, I have a new zest for what I
want to sing about... I don't know how that's
going to manifest itself necessarily, but I'm
excited to figure it out," she said, and added how
"the industry has changed tremendously" since
the time she forayed into the music world.
For the role, Vidya will sport Geeta Balis look.
Gulshan Grover dines

with Prince Charles
ollywood's 'Badman'
Gulshan Grover was
invited for a dinner by
the heir to the Brit ish
throne, Prince Charles, at
Dumfries House here. They
are even said to have dis
cussed how the Scottish
mansion could be used for
a songanddance sequence
in an Indian film.
"It was an honor to be
invited. I was really amazed
at the royal estate in
Dumfries and requested
him to make it available for
a Bollywood film. It is a per
fect setting, I feel, daily
mail.co.uk quoted Gulshan
as saying.
Being the gentleman that
he is, he agreed in principle
to let it happen. I am hop
ing to return to shoot for a
Bollywood Badman looks forward to
movie, or at least all the
welcome Prince Charles in India.
dancing song sequence of
my new film, the 59yearold, who was charity, at Dumfries House.
Gulshan, who reportedly met Prince
last seen in Kaun Kitney Panee Mein,
Charles
earlier this week, added: I hope
added. A Clarence House spokesman
declined to comment on the private he comes to India soon and look for
dinner. It came before Charles met TV ward to taking him to the film studios. I
presenters Ant and Dec, who are filming believe he is making a real difference in
a documentary about the Princes Trust the UK and he can do the same in India.
28
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
IRONY AND THE

ANGEL OF KARMA
MPORTANT: If you are

on a skiing holiday and
you see angels, do NOT
fall backwards and wave
your arms to make an angel
shape in the snow.
They may find it of fen
sive.
Always be politically cor
rect.
Especially to angels.
***
Besides, if I could have
any job I wanted, I would be
the Angel of Karma.
Her timing is like SO TIGHT these days.
This rave review was sparked by reader
Dhruv Banerjee who sent me a news report
about a robber in Illinois who bought a get
away car but failed to pay for it.
At the EXACT MOMENT that he went on a
crime spree at the local mall to raise funds,
karma arranged for a repossession agent to
appear and tow the car away.
Police caught up with the man walking
dejectedly down the road.
Had they listened, Im sure they would
have heard chuckling from a nearby cloud
(and applause from a thousand writers of
bad comedies).
***
To me, the Angel of Karma is a superhero
without the cape and external underpants.
***
More proof arrived in a second carrelat
ed news story.
A Texas woman whose old, brokendown
Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby.
He has been recording the plight of the immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons.
Hailing from Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
car was stolen by a thief with a tow truck

spotted the vehicle in town a month later.
Police helped her take it back, after which
her husband found the thief had fixed the
drive shaft and paid for new wheels.
Victim Chelsea Peters was said to be
"very happy."
***
It aint just America. T hese reports
reminded me of a case in Malaysia in which
a thief parked his getaway car outside an
empty house and broke in.
The owners came back and the villain ran
away, leaving behind his most prized pos
sessions: toolbox, keys and car.
He returned to ask for them back the
same day. The conversation must have
gone something like this.
***
THIEF: "I'm the guy who tried to steal
your stuff but ended up giving you all my
stuff! Life's funny, right? Ha ha."
VICTIMS: [Grim silence]
THIEF: "Maybe I should just go."
[Leaves.]
VICTIMS: "Woohoo! Let's check out our
new wheels!"
***
Sometimes Ms Karma does not go for the
big stuff, but works delicately, with the tini
est of nudges.
In Hong Kong in the 1990s, Yeung Yukit,
a 20yearold mugger, leaped onto a victim
to steal her purse.
In the tussle, Yeung lost her own purse,
dropping it conveniently into the victim's
bag to be carried away.
It was a sort of reverse robbery.
I'm not quite sure what crime they
charged her with.
"Committing a grossly ironic act in pub
lic," perhaps.
***
What does it all mean? I think the Angel
of Karma has risen in the ranks and irony
now rules the world.
Three proofs:
1) A friend bought a pair of expensive
sunglasses and was warned: "Keep them
out of direct sunlight."
2) My local authority canceled Kite Flying
Day because high winds were forecast.
3) I bought a pair of scissors and it came
in a package that could only be opened by
someone who already owned scissors.
***
At least the Angel of Karma has a sense of
humor.
ASTROLOGY
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
SEPTEMBER 1925, 2015

ARIES: You have feelings for some
one and this week is the week to
express them. It will be a smooth run
on the professional front. Support for your
ideas that you had been seeking may not
be forthcoming immediately, but you will
get it in the end.
A business trip can result in a lucrative
deal or partnership. Taking the tips from a
training expert will help you achieve per
fect health.
TAURUS: This is the time to let your
spirit soar. There will be something
to celebrate on the domestic front.
Chances of developing a soft corner for a
workplace colleague cannot be ruled out.
Your desire for something exotic can take
you overseas. A legal case or a property
dispute can be settled in your favour. You
will be able to handle extra workload with
out any outside help. You will maintain
perfect health.
GEMINI: There will be something to
cheer about on the romantic front.
Week is favourable for those want
ing to pop the question or tie the knot.
Your nononsense attitude at work will be
appreciated. You will succeed in getting
your money back from a friend or associ
ate. A lot of time can be wasted on a home
project. A health product will suit your
system well. Mood remains upbeat the
whole week.
CANCER: Some of you are likely to

get the nod for a promotion or
perk. Dont refuse a job opportuni
ty that may not seem lucrative initially.
You will be able to make good money in
speculation. A touch of creativity will help
make the home environment tranquil.
Your eye for detail is likely to impress all
and add to your reputation. You may need
to put lover at ease over an issue.
LEO: Couples suffering a complete
communication breakdown can
contemplate divorce. Chances of
being jilted by the one you love seem pos
sible. Keep your impulsive nature in check,
especially while driving. A controversy
brewing up on the domestic front can
have you at its focus. Students aiming for a
particular institute will require persever
ance. Getting out of shape can motivate
you to take up a healthy act ivity.
Wanderlust can get the better of you.
VIRGO: Those looking for accommo
dat ion w ill find a suitable one.
Commuting problems are likely to be
solved soon. Keep health in mind before
indulg ing in something risky. It is a
favourable week to get a project underway.
Your endeavours on the professional front
may take some time to show results. An
of fice colleague may warm up to your
romantic overtures. Meditation will help you
in dissipating pent up frustrations within.
LIBRA: Homemakers are likely to

overstrain themselves in house
hold chores. You can be he ld
accountable at work for something you
have not done. A steady source of income
will keep the financial boat steady in
rough waters. A missed deadline can put
you in a spot, but you will wriggle out of it.
Your spendthrift nature will require curb
ing. Spending t ime together w ill be
immensely fulfilling for those in love.
SCORPIO: Bitterness over an issue
can overwhelm you at work. Young
couples can find dif ferences grow
ing between them. Some of you can con
template joining hands with a competitor
to enhance profits. Those in the top corpo
rate positions will need to tackle the
downturn head on. Those worried about
their health can lay their fears to rest. You
can be tempted to undertake a long jour
ney, which you will enjoy.
SAGITTARIUS: Frequent breaks
from work are not recommended at
this juncture. A healthy diet and
meditation is the need of the hour for
some. Mall and showroom owners can find
an increase in footfalls. Finances need
attention, so keep a check on spending.
You may not be able to take time out for
the family this week.
Some of you are likely to enjoy nature
with a loved one.
CAPRICORN: You are like ly to

revive old connections on both
domestic and professional fronts.
Some of you will finally be able to secure
yourself financially.
This is the week to reap full benefits of
your investments. Light workout is recom
mended for those going out of shape.
Efforts will be required to move things on
the romantic front. An opportunity to take
a break from a monotonous routine comes
your way.
AQUARIUS: Curb your vengeful
nature before it proves embarrass
ing. Family is likely to be disap
pointed by your performance. Whatever
you do, you will find it dif ficult to woo
your lover this week. A colleague in a fix
may ask for your help. Extending mone
tary assistance to those in need will raise
your stature as a do gooder. A home reme
dy will come in handy for an ailment nag
ging some for long.
PISCES: Opening the lines of com
munications will help sort out per
sonal rivalries. You can be praised
for your contribution to a cause. Love is
certainly in the air and those seeking it
will find it. You will manage to hold the
fort at work in the absence of a senior.
An enjoyable journey is foreseen for some.
This is the week for some fun and frolic on
the family front.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

19th September, 2015
Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: As the Sun is your ruling planet, you
will be hugely influenced by the power and vigor of
Sun. you will be dignified, assertive, humble, mature,
optimistic, positive and selfless. You are very much
fond of interacting with new people and know every
one quite well in your surroundings. However, you
need to work on your nature of being indifferent,
unreliable, indecisive, and arrogant.
Health this year: The health issues of your parents
may keep you bothered throughout the year.
Finance this year: You may attend a lot of social
events this year and come in contact of a lot of influ
ential people. This might help you make your busi
ness expand if you are into business.
Career this year: You will develop a very good rela
tionship with your colleagues, which will guide
toward new peak in your career.
Romance this year: You will find your partner sup
portive enough whenever you require emotional sup
port. This year your love life will reach new height as
you finally decide may get married to your longtime
partner.
Lucky month: November, February and April
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are influenced by your ruling
planet moon, you will be creative, honest, aspiring,
cheerful, courteous, and highly decisive.
Health this year: As your parents will remain sick,
you may take stress for their health.
Finance this year: If you are affiliated to business, it
is the best year for you to start new business plans
and deals. You may earn a lot of money and populari
ty due to the planetary movements. You may cele
brate few religious functions as your home as a
thanksgiving ceremony.
Career this year: Being a very efficient professional,
you know what should be done in which situation.
This makes your colleagues and seniors admire your
proficiency in work. You need to improve your com
munication skills, attitude and behavior towards oth
ers if you want to grow as a professional.
Romance this year: You will find your love life get
ting better day by day this year. You will get every
emotional support from your partner, which will
help you keep going with lots of inspiration. You
should have complete trust on your partner and you
should avoid doubting on your partner for minor
issues.
Lucky month: October, January, May and July
21st September, 2015

Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: You dominating planet Jupiter, makes
you very ambitious, industrious, intelligent, dignified
and generous. Being highly social, you love making
gettogethers with your old friends, roaming new
places, and spending time with them. You know the
art to attract people towards you. That is the reason
you can easily make anyone your friend. You have a
huge friend circle, which may create problems for
you in future. However, you should work on your ten
dencies of behaving arrogant, lazy, and dishonest at
times.
Health this year: You will remain healthy throughout
the year except few minor health issues.
Finance this year: If you are into business, this year is
supposed to bring you lots of success personally and
financially. You will be able to grow in financial status
with the help of your previous investments and pater
nal properties. You may land up in critical problems if
you share your business secrets with your friends, col
leagues and partners. You should not borrow or lend
money to anyone to avoid future discrepancies.
Career this year: You may not get your expected
salary in your professional life, which would make
you dissatisfied with your job. You may go through
various major changes in your professional career
this year. You may go for a job change later this year.
The changes will make your life better though you
may take a lot of time to get adjusted to your new
lifestyle.
Romance this year: You will be in a very good rela
tionship with your love though your partner may
behave indifferent at times. You are able to keep your
relationship going by giving it lots of love and care.
Lucky month: September, Nov., January, April
22nd September, 2015
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: You are very much influenced by your
ruling planet, which makes you humble, honest, inde
pendent, creative, industrious, and reliable. You
should work on your nature of being pessimistic,
ungrateful, and immature.
Health this year: You should go for regular medical
checkups to maintain your good health.
Finance this year: You may go for investments in vari
ous sectors say stock market or real estate this year.
You may plan to build your new house or renovate
the old one towards the end of the year. You may
plan to build your new house or renovate the old one
towards the end of the year.
Career this year: You are well aware of the ways to
utilize your skills and expertise to derive qualitative

results. You utilize your talent to do smart work and it
gets you recognition in your professional life. You
should not be involved in any kind of conflict with
your seniors or higher authorities to avoid losing your
job. You should take your time to think over the mat
ter and act diplomatically if you believe you have
been treated unfairly. You should be careful enough in
taking any brave decision as it may ruin your career.
Romance this year: You will get good emotional sup
port from your partner and this will make things
easy for you by giving you immense relaxation and
peace of mind. You may convert your relationship
into marriage this year.
Lucky month: December, April and June
23rd September, 2015
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Mercury, you will
be very charismatic and independent in nature. You
do not encourage people to interfere in your personal
life and help you take your own decisions. You are
strong, determined, decisive, enthusiastic, and very
mature by nature. You are overambitious and it does
not let you take your life easily.
Health this year: You may have to celebrate religious
functions very frequently at your place to find peace
of mind.
Finance this year: You may get monetary benefits
from different sources if you are a businessperson.
You will not feel running out of money this year and
you will buy luxury and comfort for your family.
Career this year: You believe in running after success.
You do not get peace until you achieve your desired
goals. You need to control your ambitions as it may
make you take the wrong way to get success. You
may witness a huge improvement in your profession
al success this year as you may get rewarded for your
previous performances. You might get surprise from
the higher authorities of your company as you may
get promoted to a managerial position. You will be
able to ef ficiently execute the responsibilities
assigned to you and this may result in a handsome
salary hike.
Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a romantic
relationship, you may seek a life partner for yourself
this year as you feel this year to be the high time.
Lucky month: November, February, May and July
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: Being ruled by planet Venus, you are
fun loving, easy going, focused, faithful, and carefree
in nature. You believe yourself to be selfesteemed,

confident, and very generous. You have a sharp mem
ory power and intelligence. You should work on your
traits of behaving selfcentered, indifferent and pes
simistic.
Health this year: You may suffer with problems in
your eyes and mouth. So you need to get your period
ic medical checkup done on time and take prescribed
medicines without negligence.
Finance this year: It is advisable not to invest hurried
ly as it may make you suffer huge losses.
Career this year: You may get a promotion this year
which will help you earn more money and stabilize
your financial condition. You may be given the respon
sibility of an important role in your organization as a
result of your smart and efficient work. You should get
prepared to become decisive and take quick and cor
rect decisions as you may need to take some crucial
decisions for the organization you work for.
Romance this year: You are going to enjoy a very
pleasing romantic relationship with your love this
year.
Lucky month: October, March, April and June
25h September, 2015
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: Your governing planet Neptune helps
you grow as a mature and perfect individual. You are
unique, independent, realistic and optimistic. You
never believe in losing. You are always try to win
with the help of your hardwork and luck being a
social person you are well known in society and your
helpful nature makes you pretty popular in your
known circles. Your stubborn behavior may hurt peo
ple without your knowledge so you better try and
eradicate it.
Health this year: You should not ignore minor health
issues to avoid bigger problems later.
Finance this year: You may get involved in many prof
itable partnerships, which may help you earn a lot of
money. You may be lucky enough to get your legal
and government work done.
Career this year: You will be able to enhance your
communication skills and your confidence will be at
its best. You can create wonders in your profession as
well as business. Your time management skills will be
key to your success this year. If you can learn new
technologies, it will be better for your financial
growth. You may get a chance to work independently
and prove yourself.
Romance this year: You relationship with your part
ner will be expectational.
Lucky month: September, November, February, May
30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
This article has been selected and reprinted from Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajs
book, Spiritual Pearls for Enlightened Living
Choose between the dark

or the golden age
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
n ancient India, one of the

rulers was Yudhishthira. He
lived in a time when spiritual
values prevailed and people were
filled with virtues. It was a period
when spirituality was considered
to be more important than materi
al wealth. In the last ten years of
Yudhishthiras rule he started
noticing a change in the people.
People began answering the call
of their lower se lf and they
stopped listening to their con
science. He knew that the Kali
Yuga, or the Dark Age, was on the
horizon.
As Yudhishthira was sitting in
his kingdom, two men came to
have an audience with him. They
had a grievance they wanted to
settle, so they came to him for
advice.
One man said, I have bought a
plot of land from this man, and
after he sold it to me, I discovered
there was a treasure buried there.
Since I had only purchased the
land from him, I want to return
the treasure to him because I did
not buy it from him and he is the
rightful owner.
Yudhishthira was pleased at the
honesty of the man who bought
the land since he told the other
Living a spiritual life means putting in time for meditation

so that we can reunite our soul with God. It means behaving
in an ethical manner. It means choosing good over bad,
nonviolence over violence, love over hatred, selfless service
over greed, and truth over falsehood.
man about the found treasure and
even wanted to return it.
The man who sold the land said,
It is true that the treasure was
mine, but when I sold him the
land, he became the owner of the
land and whatever is in it.
Therefore, I would like him to
keep the treasure.
The man who bought the land
said, Please take your treasure
back. I do not want to carry the
sin on my head of taking what is
not rightfully mine.
The seller said, Look, I have
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
he company we keep is important for

our spiritual growth. It is said, A per
son is known by the company he or
she keeps. If we spend time with rich peo
ple, we will think about money all the time.
If we spend time with drunkards, we will be
enticed to drink. If we hang around with
gamblers, we will be easily influenced to
gamble. If we stay around people who fight,
we will tend to be argumentative ourselves.
The following account from the life of the
great Chinese scholar, Mencius, illustrates
this point.
Menciuss mother was a wise woman, as
mothers generally are. During her lifetime,
she moved her residence on three occasions
for the sake of her son, Mencius. At first
they lived near a graveyard. One day, she
discovered that her son was pretending to
be a mourner. The lad would watch the
mourners at the cemetery as they attended
funerals. Since children are impressionable,
he would frequently imitate the behavior of
sold you the land along with what

ever is in it. I cannot accept the
treasure that now belongs to you.
Please do not tempt me and lead
me into greed.
Yudhishthira was highly pleased
with the noble behavior of both
these men.
The men said, We cannot agree
on what to do since we both want
to give the treasure to the other.
We have been arguing over this
for days and we would like you to
settle the case.
Yudhishthira thought over the
situation and said to himself,

These two people are behaving
nobly and ethically. I can see that
the Kali Yuga, or the Dark Age, has
not yet come. Let me wait and see
what happens.
Yudhishthira said to them, I
want you both to come back to me
in a week with this case. So the
men left.
A wee k later, they both
returned. Something had drasti
cally changed. This time the case
they presented to the king was
dif ferent. Now they were both
arguing to keep the treasure

themselves.
The seller said, I decided the
treasure belonged to me. I sold
him the land, but not the treas
ure.
T he buyer said, T hat is not
right. Since I bought the land,
everything in the land belongs to
me.
Yudhishthira saw that greed had
now taken over their ethical
sense. Yudhishthira realized that
this was a sign that the Kali Yuga,
or Dark Age, had come.
Yudhishthira ultimately settled
the case by arranging the mar
riage of the son of one of them to
the daughter of the other to keep
the treasure in the family. But he
knew that the age of spirituality
and ethical living had come to an
end.
Whether we are living in one
age or the other, each human
being has the choice to select how
he or she wishes to live. It is a
choice each can make in everyday
life. Every day we have a choice
whether to succumb to the greed
or temptations of the Dark Age, or
choose to live according to the
spiritual values of the Golden Age.
Living a spiritual life means put
ting in time for meditation so that
we can reunite our soul with God.
It means behaving in an ethical
manner. It means choosing good
over bad, nonviolence over vio
lence, love over hatred, selfless
service over greed, and truth over
falsehood.
BEING WITH LIKEMINDED PEOPLE

We should take a decision as
to what we want in life. Once
having taken that decision,
we should work toward that
goal. Spending time with likeminded people who have the
same goals can help hasten
our footsteps toward fulfilling
the purpose of our life.
the mourners. The mother was alarmed, so
she decided to move.
Next, she moved to an area with markets
and bazaars. After a while, she noticed her
son, Mencius, had started to play the role of
shopkeeper. He would spread out their pos
sessions, pretending he owned a shop. He
started arguing with other people just as he
had seen shopkeepers arguing with cus
tomers and other shopkeepers. The mother
was upset about the influence this company
had on her son, so she decided to move
again.
This time, the mother selected a house
near a school. Soon, she found Mencius imi
tating the scholars, researching subjects and
learning about them. She was happy that
this was the right influence on her son. He
grew up to be one of the noted Chinese
scholars.
This story illustrates the wisdom and sac
rifice of a mother for her child to give him
or her the best. It also illustrates the power
of the company we keep.
If we wish to be an artist, we should spend

time with artists. If we wish to be a doctor,
we should spend time with people involved
in the medical profession. If we wish to
develop positive virtues, we should stay
around people who exhibit goodness. If we
wish to be spiritual, we should spend time
in the company of spiritually minded peo
ple. Our lives are precious. We come here
with a fixed number of breaths. Within that
time, we need to fulfill the purpose of our
life. We can develop spiritually and be of
service to others. Spending time with people
who drag us down and pull our attention
away from these goals is a waste of our lifes
breaths.
We should take a decision as to what we
want in life. Once having taken that deci
sion, we should work toward that goal.
Spending time with likeminded people who
have the same goals can help hasten our
footsteps toward fulfilling the purpose of
our life.

Vol.8 Issue 20 - September 19-25, 2015

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Vol.8 No. 20 September 19-25, 2015 60 Cents

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