Vol. 9 - No. 17 Aug 20 - Aug 26, 2016

The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.9 No. 17 August 20-26, 2016 80 Cents
i n
j o u r n a l i s m
New York Edition Follow us on
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
HAPPY 70th INDEPENDENCE DAY OF INDIA

e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.9 No. 17 August 20-26, 2016 80 Cents
i n
j o u r n a l i s m
New York Edition
Ek Bharat,
Shresth Bharat
Sindhu wins a
silver in Rio
Rio de Janeiro: Shuttler P.V. Sindhu's silver in
the women's singles of the Rio Olympics lift
ed India's spirits
while others in the
nat ions cont in
gent continued to
disappoint.
World
No.10
Sindhu on Friday
went down in
finals to World
No.1
Carolina
Marin of Spain.
T hus,
the
Hyderabadi bad
minton champ became the first Indian
woman to bag a silver in Olympics.
The silver took India's medal tally to a
measly two after woman wrestler Sakshi
Malik settled for the bronze in the 58 kg
Freestyle category on Wednesday.
Follow us on
Prime Minister Narendra

Modi's clarion call in
his I-day speech
New Delhi: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi addressed the
nation for the third time from the
ramparts of the Red Fort on
August 15. Commemorating 70th
Independence Day of India, his
speech touched upon his govern
ments discernible achievements
over the past two years.
He stressed that unity is the only
way to move the country forward.
He reiterated the end of social dis
crimination, and zero tolerance for
violence. Modi also made a clarion
call to his countrymen to make
continuous efforts to realize their
collective dream of Ek Bharat,
Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Best
India).
In his speech, he also tried to
turn tables on Pakistan by refer
ring to human rights abuses in
Balochistan and PakistanOccupied

Kashmir.
India is not 70 years old, but it
is a journey of 70 years postcolo
nial rule. Sardar Vallabhai Patel
unified the country, and now it is
our duty to make this country as
the best nation. To attain good
governance, everyone has to fulfill
his or her responsibilities be it a
Panchayat or Parliament, be it a
Gram Pradhan or a Prime Minister
to strengthen every democratic
institution, Modi said.
More on
Modis
speech on
pg 5 in this
IDay
Special.
Tiranga Yatra in Big Apple!
The South Asian Timess

tribute to
Pramukh Swami Maharaj,
our Person of
the Year 2014,
Minister of State for External Affairs, MJ Akbar, unfurled the tricolor

accompanied by Consul General Riva Ganguly Das, at the Indian Consulate
in New York and flagged off the Tiranga Yatra.
on pages 5052
More reports on India Day Parades and events inside..
OWN YOUR FUTURE

with a degree from SUNY Old Westbury
x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees

x Small classes with exceptional faculty
x A student-centered approach to learning
x Conveniently located in Nassau County
Contact us at: (516) 876-3200 or www.oldwestbury.edu
HILLARY OR TRUMP? 32
CG INTERVIEW 46
OLYMPICS 70
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 76
excellence in journalism
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
INDEPENDENCE DAY
August 20-26, 2016
India on right path
Economy, people
better off today and
more action will
follow, says
Narendra Modi
New Delhi: In his Independence
Day address, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi described the
Indian economy as the most pre
ferred investment destination in
the world and promised to bring
ination down to the targeted four
per cent.
Every major global agency has
ranked India as the best investment
destination as the country's econo
my has continued to grow well
despite the global gloom, Modi said
in his August 15 address to the
nation from the Red Fort here. "Be
it the International Monetary Fund,
the World Bank or the World
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on the 70th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort. (Photo: IANS)
Economic Forum, they have all
declared India to be the best desti
nation for global capital."
On ination, Modi said, "The gov
ernment is working with the RBI
(Reserve Bank of India) to bring it
in the range of four per cent, plus
minus two percentage points."
While the previous government
had allowed ination to cross the
10 per cent mark, his government
has been able to push it back under
six per cent despite two consecu
tive drought years, the Prime
Minister said.
T he Goods and Services Tax
(GST) regime that is being called
the most radical reform in inde
pendent India's indirect tax system
will bring signicant benets to the
economy, Modi said and thanked

all political parties for supporting
the legislation.
"GST is also one such tax reform
that will help us bring nancial sta
bility," he said. "One nation, one
grid and one price is what we have
worked on."
Modi listed areas where he said
India has made signicant progress
in the past couple of years, notably
nancial inclusion through
Aadhaar, expanding energy servic
es to the needy, and faster delivery
of public services like the issuance
of a passport.
The task of nancial inclusion
was impossible as many people
were locked out of the mainstream
institutions, he said. "But the
impossible task was made possible

by adding 21 crore people in the
Jan Dhan Yojana," he said. The
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana
he lps the poor to open bank
accounts. Modi said the govern
ment was trying to link all govern
ment schemes with Aadhaar to
avoid leakage of benets.
"We have connected 70 crore
Indians to Aadhaar and social secu
rity schemes," he said in his
address. Similarly, while it took six
to eight months to get a passport, it
just takes a couple of weeks now
even though about two crore peo
ple apply for it annually compared
with about 20,000 earlier, he said.
On energy, the Prime Minister
said, renewable sources are his
government's focus, notably solar

and wind.
So far, he said, 13 crore LED
(lightemitting diode) bulbs have
been distributed for a price of Rs
50 each and the target is 77 crore
bulbs. "These 70 crore LED bulbs
can save 20,000 MW of electricity
worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore."
To reach electricity to the remote
corners of the country, 50,000 km
of transmission lines are being
installed now as opposed to
30,00035,000 km earlier, said the
prime minister.
"After 60 years of freedom, only
14 crore LPG (cooking gas) connec
tions were added. But we have
added more than four crore new
connections in just 60 weeks."
President attacks intolerance, divisive agenda

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee
denounced "forces of divisiveness and intol
erance" as well as attacks on weaker sec
tions and said they needed to be dealt with
rmly.
In his fth Independence Day eve address
to the nation, the President also attacked
groups and individuals who he said pur
sued a divisive political agenda that leads
to Constitutional subversion.
Without making any specic reference to
communal forces or the recent cow vigi
lantes, Mukherjee said that in the last four
years he saw "with some disquiet forces of
divisiveness and intolerance trying to raise
their ugly head.
"Attacks on weaker sections that militate
against our national ethos are aberrations
that need to be dealt with rmly."
But, he said, "the collective wisdom of our
society and polity gives me the condence
that such forces will remain marginalized".
India w ill ce le brate its 70th
Independence Day on Monday.
The President pointed out that the Indian
constitution was more than a political or
legal document and rather an "emotional,
cultural and social contract".
And he quoted former President S.
Radhakrishnan as saying: "In an ef fective
democracy, its members should be willing
to accept law and lawful authority. No man,
no group can be his or its own law giver."
President Pranab Mukherjee addresses the nation on the eve of

Independence Day. (Photo: IANS/RB)
Democracy, Mukherjee underlined, was
not just about elections.
"Disruptions, obstructionism and unmind
ful pursuit of a divisive political agenda by
groups and individuals lead to nothing but
institutional travesty and constitutional
subversion," he said. "Polarizing debates
only deepen the fault lines in public dis
course." Recalling that at the time of
Independence, doubts were expressed if
India will survive as a democracy, the
President said that seven decades later,
Indians with all their diversity had proved

the critics wrong.
"The strong edice of democracy built by
our founding fathers on the four pillars of
justice, liberty, equality and fraternity has
withstood several threats from within and
without and has grown from strength to
strength."
The President applauded the coming
together of the government and the opposi
tion in the justended monsoon session of
Parliament, saying the passage of the
Goods and Services Tax bill showed demo

cratic maturity.
A unique feature of India was "our
respect for each other's cultures, values and
beliefs. The very essence of plurality lies in
cherishing our heterogeneity and valuing
our diversity," he said.
"In the network environment of today, a
caring society can only be developed by
harmonizing religion with modern science."
Calling for scientic temper, he said: "We
often celebrate the achievements of our
ancient past but it would be wrong to rest
on our laurels. It is much more important to
look to the future."
Indians, he said, "must learn to challenge
the status quo and refuse to accept inef
ciency and slipshod work".
Mukherjee said that backed by a strong
political will, the country must create a
future which would economically empower
600 million youth, build a digital India, a
startup India and a skilled India.
"India will grow, only when all of India
grows. The excluded ones will have to be
included in the development process. The
hurt and alienated have to be brought back
into the mainstream."
He said India has had remarkable growth
in recent times, often growing above 8 per
cent per annum over the last decade. "We
must build on our strengths, so that this
lead can be sustained and furthered."
August 20-26, 2016
TURN PAGE
1st IDay parade in

Floral Park
Lochte sorry for bad behavior in Rio
tar swimmer Ryan Lochte apologized Friday for giving a misleading account of being
held at gunpoint in Rio, saying he "should have been much more responsible in how I
handled myself."
The 12time Olympic medalist posted his statement on social media which he said he
delayed releasing until his three teammates caught in the scandal had been cleared by
Brazilian authorities to return home.
The International Olympic Committee confirmed Friday it has set up a disciplinary com
mission to look into the matter.
Bollywood celebs Manish Paul and Madalsa Sharma are honored by

Comptroller George Maragos of Nassau County at the parade.
ndia Day Parade was held for the first

time in Floral Park Bellerose on Hillside
Avenue on August 14, organized by
Floral Park Bellerose Indian Merchants
Association.
Over 1,500 people belonging to 30 organ
izations marched even as there were 4 deco
rated floats and marching groups led by
NYPD band followed by NYPD personnel.
Bollywood celebrities Manish Paul and
Madalsa Sharma added to the appeal.
Polit ical
dignitaries
included
Congresswoman Grace Meng, State Senators

Jack Martins and Leroy Comri, Comptroller
George Maragos of Nassau County and
Councilman Barry Grodenchik.
Cultural Mela included songs presentation
in various Indian languages.
On the sidelines there were 20 booths for
vendors. Free food and water was distrib
uted by Neelkanth Dham Temple.
Hemant Shah, Prog ram Manager/
Secretary, thanked Chairman Kirpall Singh,
and President Subhash Kapadia.
Ami Bera's father sentenced over election fraud
New York: A US federal judge sentenced Babulal Bob Bera, the 83yearold father of the only
Indian American Congressman, Amerish Ami Bera, on Thursday to a year and a day in
prison for fraudulently funding his son's election campaigns.
Babulal Bera had earlier admitted before federal Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento,
California, that he had illegally contributed $268,726 to the election campaigns in 2009
and 2011 through fraud. Before he was sentenced, Babulal Bera asked the court to consider
an option for him to stay with his 82yearold wife, CBS Sacramento reported. "My father's
accepted what he did was wrong, he's taken responsibility, and I love him more than words
can express," Ami Bera said after his father's sentencing according to CBS Sacramento. "I'm
absolutely devastated and heartbroken for how today's decision will impact our entire fami
ly." Democrat Ami Bera, a 51yearold doctor who converted to the Universalist Unitarian
Church, was reelected in 2014 with a slender margin of just 1,455 votes from a constituen
cy that covers parts of California's state capital, Sacramento. In this year's selection he faces
a tough battle against the influential local Republican Sheriff Scott Jones, who is turning the
Babulal Bera's conviction into an election issue, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Jaipur (India) Bureau

Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Chairman and Co-Founder
Kamlesh C. Mehta
Associate Editors:
Hiral Dholakia-Dave
Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull
Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha
President: Arjit Mehta
IANS Newswire Services

IANS Washington Bureau
Arun Kumar
arun.kumar@ians,in
Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/

masalajunction.com.
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Printing: Five Star Printing, NY
Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra
Contacts
Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Subscribe@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah
Chief Operating Officer:

Ginsmon P. Zacharia
P: 516 776 7061
ginsmon@hotmail.com
West Coast Correspondent

Pooja Jain,
Pooja@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan

Vladimir Tomovski
Bhagwati Creations,
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

P : 516.710.0508
Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi Bureau

Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Web Editor: Bharat Bhushan Chopra

News Service: HT Media Ltd.
Advertisements
Advertise@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
P : 516.390.7847, F : 516.465.1343
Website:
www.TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Printed Every Saturday by: Forsythe Media Group, LLC, ISSN 1941-9333, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801 P: 516.390.7847
Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info Updated Daily
Notice: The South Asian Times is published weekly by The Forsythe Media Group, LLC. POSTMASTER: Send all address notices, subscription orders/payments and other inquiries to The South Asian
Times, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Copyright and all other rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be reprinted without the consent of the publisher. The
views expressed on the opinion pages and in the letters to the editor pages are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of The South Asian Times. The editor/publisher does not warrant accuracy
and cannot be held responsible for the content of the advertisements placed in the publication and/or inaccurate claims, if any, made by the advertisers. Advertisements of business or facilities included in this
publication do not imply connection or endorsement of these businesses. All rights reserved.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
August 20-26, 2016
INDIA CELEBRATES I-DAY
I-Day ends in peace
Barring Kashmir and

Manipur, India celebrated
the 70th Independence
Day with peace and joy
New Delhi : India marked 70 years
of its independence with peace and
joy but the ce le brat ions were
marred by bombings in Manipur
and a militant attack in Kashmir
that killed a paramilitary ofcer.
As the nation immersed itself in
patriotic fervor, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in Delhi and chief
ministers across the state listed
achievements of their governments
in their Independence Day address
es watched by millions.
Many of the governments
announced a string of measures for
their people including a plan by
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to
hike minimum wages in Delhi by
about 50 per cent. The main func
tion of the day was, as every year
since Independence in 1947, held
in Delhi where people in large
numbers assembled in front of the
historic Red Fort to listen to their
Prime Minister on a windy morn
ing. Among other things in his
more than 90minute address to
the nation, Modi urged Indians to
ght social and religious divisions

and make the country stronger.
"Every cit izen should g ht
against the differences in the soci
ety on the basis of caste and class.
We have to take everyone together,
be it Dalits, tribals, oppressed and
people from the nancially weaker
section," he said.
Modi's bete noire, Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged the
Prime Minister to implement his
wage hike scheme throughout the
country.
"T hose who have less in life
should have more in law. So we
have decided to increase the mini
mum wages in Delhi by about 50
per cent," Kejriwal told a packed
Chhatrasal Stadium in the national
capital.
In Delhi, amid terror threats, the
authorities had thrown thick secu
rity cover in and around the city,
including the area around the Red
Fort.
Snipers were deployed and anti
aircraft guns installed around the
historic fort, and much of Delhi
was turned into a garrison town.
Security was also heightened in
the restive Kashmir Valley. But mil
itants still attacked paramilitary
forces in an old city area and killed
a senior Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) ofcer, police said.
Two militants were also gunned
down in the gunght.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti
called for peace in the Kashmir
Valley which has been on the boil
since July 8 killing of a rebel com
mander. It triggered widespread
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
addresses the nation
on the 70th
Independence Day
from the ramparts of
Red Fort. (Photo: IANS)
unrest that has left 56 people dead

and thousands injured.
Srinagar wore a deserted look
following a shutdown called by
separatist leaders in the valley
which has remained under curfew
for much of the past ve weeks.
In the northeastern state of
Manipur, three security personnel
and two girls were injured as two
bombs explo ded on deserted
streets of Imphal amid a shutdown
called by militants, ofcials and
residents said.
In the neighboring Mizoram,
Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla said
the state "is the most peaceful in
the country heading for a steady

progress of development".
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar of
Tripura, also in the northeast,
lashed out at the central govern
ment for what he called its
attempts to snatch all powers of
the state governments and for try
ing to force the states to beg
for aid.
In Mumbai, Chie f Minister
Devendra Fadnavis recalled the
Indian Freedom Movement, servic
es of the freedom ghters and sac
rices of the martyrs for India's
freedom from the British rule.
Down south, Kerala Chie f
By Mohd Asim Khan

New Delhi : A thousand hearts beating with
pride, thousands of feet tapping to patriotic
tunes the sea of humanity in front of
Delhi's historic Red Fort was throbbing with
patriotic fervour as the nation celebrated its
70th Independence Day. T he
crowd erupted with a joyous
roar and school children
stood on their toes to
catch a glimpse as
Prime
Minister
Narendra Mo di's
cavalcade arrived
at the Lahori Gate
of the Red Fort
around half past
seven
amid
a
fanfare.
Clad in a white half
sleeved kurta and skin
tight pyjama, complimented
with a pinkyellowmaroon turban, Modi
looked dapper as he strode to inspect the
guard of honour. He was received by
Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, junior
Defence Minister Subhash Bhamre and
Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar.
On the road in front of the fort, paramili
tary troopers stood in alert while agile
Patriotic
fervor at
Red Fort
Modi interacts with children at Red Fort.
National Security Guard

commandos added to the
vigil. Since no vehicles except
for those with stickers issued by
Defence Ministry were allowed in a two
km periphery of the venue for security rea
sons, the public had to walk a considerable
distance to reach the Red Fort. But that did
not diminish their enthusiasm.
The crowd once again erupted as soon as
Modi appeared on the ramparts, though it
was muted as compared to the thunderous
applause one witnessed two years ago,

when Mo di de livered his maiden
Independence Day speech.
As the Prime Minister unfurled the nation
al ag from the ramparts, overlooking the
historic Jain Mandir and Gurudwara Sisganj
in the front and the Mughal era Jama
Masjid on the left, the booming sound of the
ceremonial 21gun salute lled the air.
T he Prime Minister did not look his
assertive self for most part of his speech,
which sounded repetitive for the most part.
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked

the people to be watchful against
fundamentalists and sought public
support in the stand against sub
versive thoughts and activities.
In Chennai, the capital of Tamil
Nadu, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa
said, "Freedom does not mean just
the right to speak, write... True
freedom rests in economic free
dom."
The Independence Day was also
celebrated in Madhya Pradesh,
Bihar, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh,
Te lengana, Goa, Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat, Jharkhand and Uttar
Pradesh.
As the speech proceeded, and the harsh

August sun shone over them, many school
children perhaps too young to understand
the import of the grave national issues that
Modi was dwelling on became restless.
The teachers and security personnel had a
hard time in keeping them to their places.
It's been an hour sir. How much more, a
boy from a government school was heard
moaning to his teacher, as he tried in vain to
shield his eyes from the sun.
To be fair, there were ashes of Modi's
freeowing oratory on occasion, as when
he pointed to the analogy between the
Upanishads and upagrahs (satellites) and
'Chakradhari Mohan (Lord Krishna) and
Charkhad hari
Mohan
(Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi), or when he shamed
Paksitan over glorifying terror and men
tioned the greetings he received from the
people of Balo chistan and the Gilg it
Baltistan regions of Pakistan.
As Modi nished his speech, school chil
dren and National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets
sang the national anthem as the crowds,
standing at attention, too joined in the
chorus.
Balloons in saffron, white and green lled
the sky oating away an unknown destina
tions and carrying the message of the
Tricolor sacrice, peace and prosperity.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
10 August 20-26, 2016
STATES
Telangana No 1 state
in welfare: KCR
Hyderabad: Telangana is the num
ber one state in the country in wel
fare of the weaker sections as it is
spending Rs 30,000 crore annual
ly on various welfare schemes,
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar
Rao said.
Speaking at the main ofcial
funct ion to ce le brate 70th
Independence Day, he said the
government was implementing 35
schemes for welfare of various sec
tions
He said in a short span of two
years Telangana had attracted the
national attention with its achieve
ments in development and welfare
sectors.
KCR, as the Chief Minister is
popularly known, said the govern
ment this year launched new

schemes like extending Kalyana
Lakshmi to the backward classes.
This scheme for providing nan
cial assistance to girls of poor fam
ilies was so far conned to the
Scheduled Castes(SCs) and the
Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The government also established
250 residential schools for SCs,
STs and minorities from the new
academic year. The Chief Minister
said this laid the foundation stone
for the programme to provide free
education from KG to PG.
KCR reiterated that minorities
and STs will be provided reserva
tion in proportion to their popula
tion in the state. He said steps
would also be taken to improve the
socioeconomic and educational
conditions of these sections as
suggested by the two commissions
which submitted their reports last
week.
He told the gathering that the
process to create new districts is
on and the government w ill

announce new ones on the occa
sion of Dussehra.
He claimed that despite the hur
dles being created by 'antidevel
opment forces', the government
was moving ahead to achieve the
goal of 'bang arua' (golden)
Telangana.
KCR said the government had
launched new irrigation projects
and speeded up the ongoing proj
ects to bring one crore acre under
irrigation. He also spoke about the
initiative taken to sign an agree
ment
w ith
neig hbouring
Maharashtra to facilitate construc
tion of projects across Godavari
river. He said an action plan had
been prepared to provide drip irri
gation facility to 1.26 lakh acres
this year.
Under Mission Kakatiya, the gov
ernment has taken up restoration
of 46,000 tanks. T he work on
8,000 tanks was completed in the
rst phase.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao addresses at

Golconda Fort in Hyderabad.
Maharashtra celebrates
with joy, patriotic fervor
Mumbai: Maharashtra celebrated the 70th
Independence Day on Monday with joy and
patriotic fervor.
School and college students, citizens, politi
cians, freedom ghters and others enthusiasti
cally participated in scores of colorful events
organized across the state.
Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao hoisted the
national ag at the main Independence Day
function in Pune. He was given a salute by
police and security forces contingents, and
greeted the people on the occasion.
Another event was held at Mantralaya, the
seat of the state government in Mumbai,
where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hoist
ed the tricolour, received a salute from securi
ty forces and later addressed a gathering.
Fadnavis in his speech recalled the Indian
Freedom Movement, services of the freedom
ghters and sacrices of the martyrs, which
enabled the country yo earn its freedom from
the British rule.
Fadnavis highlighted several schemes
launched by the state government to combat
drought, unemployment, farmers' suicides,
crop losses, female foeticides and crimes
against women, cyber crimes etc.
Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar hoisted the
national ag at the BrihanMumbai Municipal
Corporation headquarters, garlanded statues
of various national leaders and addressed the
gathering in the presence of Municipal
Commissioner Ajoy Mehta and other senior
ofcials. Western Railway General Manager
G.C. Agrawal hoisted the tricolour, inspected a
ceremonial parade of the Railway Protection
Force while Central Railway General Manager
Akhil Agarwal hoisted the national ag and
took the salute of RPF contingent at their
Muslims in Ahmedabad with pigeons in tricolor.
Maharashtra Governor Chennamaneni

Vidyasagar Rao hoists the
national flag in Pune.
respective headquarters. Schools and colleges
in Mumbai also organised Independence Day
functions with aghoisting, marchpasts and
parades in which millions of students partici
pated. Various political parties, including the
Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, Congress,
Nationalist Congress Party and others, as well
as their afliated youth and students wings
also organised celebrations.
The Independence Day was joyously cele
brated in all districts across the state with the
participation of guardian ministers, local elect
ed representatives, students, youths and citi
zens comprising members of all communities.
In Nagpur, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
chief Mohan Bhagwat unfurled the national
ag, took the salute from swayamsevaks at the
RSS headquarters and later addressed its
activists.
School children celebrate IDay in Hyderabad.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
12 August 20-26, 2016
I-DAY IN PICTURES
India marked 70 years of its independence with

peace and joy as the nation immersed itself in
patriotic fervor. A glimpse...
Border Security Force (BSF) officials exchange sweets with Pakistan Rangers
on Independence Day, at AttariWagah border.
Students of
Maulana
Abul Kalam
Azad school
participate
in IDay
celebrations
in Jodhpur.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during

Independence Day celebrations in Patna.
Independence Day celebrations underway at Red Road in Kolkata.
President
Pranab
Mukherjee
lays wreath at
Amar Jawan
Jyoti, India
Gate on
Independence
Day in New
Delhi.
(Photos: IANS)
August 20-26, 2016
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
Warm Greetings on
70th Independence Day of India
Bank of India
New York:
San Francisco Agency:
New York Branch (Member FDIC)

277, Park Avenue,
New York, NY 10172
555, California Street

Suite 4646,
San Francisco, CA 94104
Tel: (646) 720-0398

E-mail: boiny@usa.net
Web: www.boiusa.com
Tel: (415) 956-6326

E-mail: boisfa@aol.com
14 August 20-26, 2016
STATES
Bengal celebrates
Independence Day
Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar.
Committed to fast
development:
Bihar CM
Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish
Kumar hoisted the national ag
here to mark the Independence
Day and said that he is committed
to the fast development of the
state.
He said 'Sushasan' (good gover
nance) has been established in
Bihar and his government is doing
everything for just development.
"Our resolve is Bihar's develop
ment. The state is developing fast
and it is for everyone to realise,"
Nitish Kumar said.
With reference to the 'seven
resolves' of his government, Nitish
Kumar said the state government
has already fullled one resolve
providing 35 per cent reservation
to women in government jobs.
The government has also initiat
ed works for providing tap water
and electricity to all households
and constructing toilets, he said.
"By February 2017, we will pro
vide facility of free wi in all col
lege campuses," he said.
Nitish Kumar said his govern
ment's decision to ban liquor trade
and consumption is bringing about
a social change in the state. "Liquor
ban has helped to change environ
ment in villages. It is a beginning
of a social change and reform."
He sought help of all sections to
enforce liquor ban in Bihar as a
model for the country.
Nitish Kumar said the state had
developed in the last one decade in
all sectors, including education,
health and agriculture.
Bihar's economy has improved in
recent years as reected in its high
growth rate and development, he
said.
Kolkata: Patriotic fervor marked

the Independence Day celebra
tions here with West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee unfurl
ing the Tricolor at Indira Gandhi
Sarani.
Banerjee inspected a guard of
honor while members of the city,
state police and NCC cadets took
out a parade. The event also saw
colourful performances by folk
dance troupes who came from var
ious parts of the state.
On the occasion several police
ofcers were g iven the 'Chie f
Minister's Medal' for distinguished
service.
Governor K. N. Tripathi paid o
ral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at
Barrackpore. He also spun the
charkha.
T he Border Security Force
observed the day at the Petrapole
Integ rated check post at the
Bangladesh border. Calling for
strengthening democracy and
building up resistance against
communalism, Left Front leaders

and activists led by Chairman
Biman Bose and CP IM West
Bengal Secretary Surjya Kanta
Mishra, formed a human chain in
the city.
The Tricolour was also unfurled
in the districts and elsewhere in
Kolkata while cultural pro
grammes were held in schools, col
leges and residential localities.
Elaborate security arrangements,
including check posts at strategic
lo cat ions, were made in and
around Kolkata for the day.
After Trinamool Congress came
to power in 2011, Banerjee shifted
the location of the Independence
Day funct ion from Writers'
Buildings (the state secretariat) to
Indira Gandhi Sarani, also known
as Red Road. She also started the
Independence Day parades.
West Bengal CM Mamata

Banerjee hoists the national flag
at Red Road in Kolkata.
From Nehru till today, Kashmir

is India's mistake: Mehbooba
Srinagar : Chief Minister
Mehbooba Mufti on Monday
blamed the central leadership from
Jawaharlal Nehru to incumbent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi for
the mess in Jammu and Kashmir
and asked India and Pakistan to
join hands because only a dialogue
and not confrontation will
solve the problem. Mehbooba said
people of her state were not to be
faulted for the turmoil that has
rocked the Kashmir Valley in the
past ve weeks.
"Neither is our country India
bad. In one way or the other, the
mistakes have been committed by
the leadership from the time of
Jawaharlal Nehru to today. The
fault is theirs," the Chief Minister
said after unfurling the national
ag at Srinagar's Bakshi Stadium.
She said the central government
has conned democracy in Jammu
and Kashmir to electoral politics
only. "The biggest part of democra
cy is dialogue. We have resolved so
many issues but why have we
failed to take forward the dialogue
process here," she asked, stressing
on talks to resolve the problems in
the state. Referring to the 1987
rigged elections, she said contest
ants, including Syed Salahuddin of
Hizbul Mujahideen who have now
turned separatist leaders, were
then looking for alternatives to the
National Conference and Congress
True freedom
rests in economic
freedom:
Jayalalithaa
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti inspects
Guard of Honor at Bakshi stadium in Srinagar.
but "it was not allowed".
Mehbooba's rst Independence
Day speech was in sharp contrast
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
address in Delhi. Her PDP and
Modi's BJP govern the state in
coalition.
W hile Modi lashed out at
Pakistan for supporting terror and
openly supported freedom for
Balochistan and Pakistanadminis
tered Kashmir, his ally urged the
two nations to come together and
solve the Kashmir problem jointly.
"So much blood has own in the
Jhelum river and it has no capacity
to bear further bloodshed," she
said. The Kashmir Valley has been
on the boil since the July 8 killing
of a popular rebel commander that
sparked a widespread unrest leav
ing 56 people dead and thousands
injured. The Chief Minister urged
people to denounce violence and

said: "If we can't nd our solution
in the world's biggest democracy,
we won't nd it anywhere else. We
hope that the ef fort that was
incomplete in Atal Bihari
Vajpayee's time would now be
completed under Narendra Modi."
The Chief Minister faced some
embarrassment as she hoisted the
tricolor that fell off the post while
being unfurled.
Witnesses said when she pulled
the string, the ag landed on the
ground. Two security personnel
later held the ag in their hands as
Mehbooba gave the ceremonial
salute to the tricolor. The ag was
later set right and hoisted atop the
post.
The Chief Minister has ordered
state police chief to suspend those
responsible for the incident.
Chennai: True freedom is eco

nomic freedom and the Tamil
Nadu government is taking vari
ous measures towards that, Chief
Minister J. Jayalalithaa said.
Unfurling the national ag at
Fort St. George here on
Independence Day, Jayalalithaa
said: "This day we salute those
who fought for the country's
freedom. Freedom does not mean
just the right to speak, write...
True freedom rests in economic
freedom." Listing out various
measures implemented by her
government in education and
health, Jayalalithaa also
announced an increase in pen
sion payments to freedom ght
ers and to their families.
Jayalalithaa said her government
was taking steps for the welfare
of farmers and Tamil Nadu had
registered a record food grain
production of around 130,000
tonnes.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
16 August 20-26, 2016
MESSAGES
n behalf of President
Obama
and
the
American people, I send
our best wishes to the people
of the Republic of India as you
celebrate your Independence
Day on August 15.
W hen
Prime
Minister
Narendra Modi spoke to the

United States Congress this
past June, he remarked that
the traits of freedom and liber
ty form a strong bond between
our two democracies. It is
worth remembering this today
as India celebrates its inde
pendence. As India celebrates

Independence Day, we recom
mit to working to ensure free
dom and justice for all within
our great democracies.
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
US lawmakers greet India

n the occasion of Indias
70th Independence Day,
top American lawmakers
have said India has now solidi
ed its role as a regional and
global power.
This Independence Day let
us celebrate not only Indias
rich cultural heritage but its bright future
and the continuing strength of USIndia
relations, said Democratic Senator Robert
Menendez from New Jersey.
Let us recognize that India, home to one
of the worlds most diverse and populous
democracies, has seen rapid economic
growth in the last twenty years and has
solidied its role as a regional and global
power, Mr. Menendez said.
Today, one of the U.S.s great allies,
India, celebrates 70 years of independ
ence, tweeted Congressman Gregory
Meeks. The U.S. celebrates with them! he
said. Happy Indian Independence Day to
the largest democracy on earth! U.S.India
AAPI commends
India on IDay
e are immensely proud
to show solidarity with
the people of India on
the 69th anniversary of Indias
Independence Day, said Dr. Ajay
Lo d ha, AAP I president. As
Indian Americans, we are grateful
to live in the worlds longest
standing democracy and maintain
ties to India, the worlds largest
democracy and a shining example
of pluralism in South Asia. We
are thankful that India is hosting
the
10th
annual
Global
Healthcare Summit in Udaipur in
December. This shows our mutu
ally benecial relationship and
the synergy the U.S. and India
share, and AAPI is proud to be a
part of this unique, international

partnership, concluded Dr.
Lodha.
AAPIs Legislative Committee
Chairman Dr. Sampat Shivangi
added, We are pleased to send a
message of congratulations to the
people of India as they celebrate
Independence Day.
There is much to celebrate, as
the people of India live in a free
society and are partners with the
people of America in combating
terrorism, improving bilateral
trade, and serving as anchors of
stability in their respect ive
regions. AAPI is proud to com
mend India on its 69th
Independence Day.
ties must remain strong to pro

tect our homeland and grow our
economy, tweeted Senator Mark
Kirk
from
Illinois.
Congresswoman Grace Meng
from New York also tweeted to
greet India, Pakistan and South
Korea on the occasion of their
Independence days. In a statement,
Congressman Frank Pallone congratulated
the people of India on this occasion.
India is a dynamic and important U.S.
ally, an inuential leader on the interna
tional stage, and an important player in the
world economy, he said.
As a representative of one of the largest
IndianAmerican constituencies in the U.S.,
and cofounder and former chairman of the
Congressional Caucus on India and Indian
Issues, I strongly support strengthening
the U.S.India partnership. I look forward to
our continued work together on global
strategic, economic, and environmental
issues, Mr. Pallone said.
18
August 20-26, 2016
Tristate I-Day
Thousands join IBAs

India Day parade
New Jersey: Undeterred by the
blistering heat, thousands gathered to experience the Indian
Business Associations 12th Annual India Day Parade on Oak Tree
Road. With 24 floats and dozens
of marching groups, this years parade was the largest in the history
of the event. Over 100 New Jersey
based community, professional,
business, and religious organizations participated and supported
the parade, which included ethnic
bands, music, and live performances.

Chandrakant Patel, Chairman of
IBA remarked that this parade reminded him of the very first one
in 2005. That day was very warm
too. But this parade always goes
on successfully, rain or shine he
remarked. A big reason for the success is the number of volunteers
that help with the effort. We generally have about 115 dedicated
volunteers who help with everything from setting up the stage to
decorating the floats explained
Mahesh Shah, trustee for the IBA.
A fan favorite of this years parade was the Air India float which
was occupied by an entire flight
crew. Air India announced the
launch of a new Ahmedabad - Newark flight service. Other highlights

included the Dhol Tasha group,
The BCB Community Bank Float,
the Investors Bank float, and the
Accurate Diagnostics Float.
The community was joined by a
variety of state and local elected
officials from across the state, including Middlesex, Union, Passaic,
Hudson, and Somerset counties.
Congressman Frank Pallone was
on hand too as was New Jersey
State Senator Sam Thompson.
Amongst the attendees were also
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor
Kim Guadagno, Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate and former
Ambassador to Germany Phil
Murphy, Jersey City Mayor Steve

Fullop, and former NJ Bernie
Sanders Chairman Assemblyman
Wisniewski.
The IBA Parade is a statewide
celebration of the Indian community said IBA President Dhiren Amin. Indian American from
across the state get together on
Oak Tree Road, the heart of New
Jerseys little India to celebrate
our common history, traditions,
and culture he continued.
The parade was followed by a
very well attended cultural program. Dozens of local artists joined
Bollywood celebrities Harshika
Poonacha, Aarti Chhabria, and Varenyam Pandya. Everyone enjoyed
IBA volunteers made sure the event went off smoothly.
Tiranga unfurled at the New York Consulate

New York: The 70th Independence Day of India was celebrated
in New York with the unfurling of
the national flag by M.J. Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs.
This was followed by singing of the
National Anthem. The Consul General, Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das
read out the Address to the Nation
by the President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee. The Minister addressed
the gathering and greeted them on
this auspicious and important occasion. He congratulated the large
Indian community gathered at the
Consulate for their many achievements and thanked them for their
support in strengthening India-US
relations and partnering with India
as we march ahead to growth and

prosperity for all.
Elected representatives from
New York City Council and Assemblymen from New Jersey were
also present. Several hundred
members of the Indian community in New York and friends of
India took part in the celebration
in front of the Consulate, which
was organized for the first time
outside the Consulate between
5th Avenue and Madison Avenue.
Refreshments were served to all
participants in the celebrations.
Similar celebratory events were
held in several cities and boroughs all over the 10 states under
the jurisdiction of the Consulate.
our celebrity guests, they really interacted with the spectators said
IBA Trustee Manher Shah.
The highlight of the festivities
was the swearing in of Viru Patel,
who was appointed to the Woodbridge Council. Patel is the first
Councilman of Indian descent in
the history of Woodbridge Township. According to the 2010 census, nearly 25% of Woodbridge
Townships population is Asian.
Patel will represent the 4th Ward,
which includes Oak Tree Road. He
was sworn in by Mayor McCormac. It is such an honor to be
sworn in on India Square together
with so many of my fellow South
Asian Americans said Patel.
As part of the celebrations of Indias

70th Independence Day, Minister of State for
External Affairs,
M.J.Akbar and
Consul General
Ambassador Riva
Ganguly Das were
invited to ring
the Closing Bell
at Nasdaq on August 15th. After a
short welcome by
Nasdaq Director
and screening of
a video on India,
the Minister of
State for External
Affairs delivered
a short message
of goodwill to the
public via satellite
and rang Nasdaq
Closing Bell at 4
p.m. The Minister of State for
External Affairs
was accompanied
by senior officers
of the Consulate,
CEOs of Indian
companies in New
York and community leaders.
19
August 20-26, 2016
I-Day in America
Acharya Lokesh addresses

Chicago I-Day celebration
Chicago: Acharya Dr. Lokesh
Muni addressed the flag hoisting
ceremony organized by Consulate
General Dr. Asuf Sayeed at Richard J. Daley Center Chicago on the
occasion of Indian Independence
Day. President of India Pranab
Mukherjees message was read
out by Consulate General at the
event. In the message President
said that one unique feature that

has held India together is our
respect for each others culture,
values and beliefs. The very essence of plurality lies in cherishing our heterogeneity and valuing our diversity.
In the networked environment
of today, a caring society can
only be developed by harmonizing religion with modern science.
Swami Vivekanand had once observed that What is needed is a
fellow-feeling between the different types of religion, seeing that
they all stand or fall together, a
fellow-feeling which springs from
mutual respect, and not the con-
I-Day celebration at
Embassy Residence
in Washington
Washington, DC: Indias 70th Independence Day was celebrated in Washington DC with a flag-hoisting ceremony on the
morning of August 15 at Embassy Residence. The ceremony was
attended by around 400 members of the Indian community.
Ambassador Arun K. Singh unfurled the tricolor and National
Anthem was sung by all. Thereafter Ambassador addressed the
guests and read out President Pranab Mukherjees address to the
nation. This was followed by a brief cultural program comprising
of rendition of patriotic songs. Commemorative videos highlighting India@70 were also displayed.
Acharya Lokesh Muni Ji

descending, patronizing, niggardly expression of goodwill.
The collective wisdom of our society gives me the confidence that
Indias remarkable development
story will continue uninterrupted.
Acharya Lokesh Muni congratulating Indian-Americans on 70th
anniversary of Indias independence said that Indians around the
world can not only look back on
their history with pride, but can
also look ahead to a future filled
with hope and further progress. Indias non-violent struggle for freedom, its rejection of terrorism and
extremism, its belief in democracy,
tolerance and the rule of law have
been an inspiration and beacon of

hope for people around the world.
Acharya Lokesh said that United
States of America is the oldest democracy in the world and India is
the largest democracy in the world.
Both the countries share a special
bond. India is a growing economy
and the whole world is looking towards Indians for their bigger contribution in the world economy. India is an economic power and in the
future, India will become a world
economic power. Peace is necessary for development but the whole
world is affected by violence and
terrorism. Violence and terrorism
are not the solution to any problem.
The United States and India

need to unite in order to stop terrorism and violence. We should
work together to find ways and
means to propagate peace, harmony and human brotherhood.
Appreciating the contribution of
Indians in global development he
said that Indians not only in India
but all over the globe are giving
their contribution in every sphere
of life. Over two million members
of the Indian American community
are living examples of the bonds
that bind both the nations together. They have immense contribution in American economy as well
as Indian economy.
Stamford City celebrates

Indian Independence Day
Ambassador Arun K. Singh with the artists
who performed on the occasion
Stamford, CT: Stamford Mayor
David Martin hosted Indias 70th
Independence Day celebration at
the Stamford Government Center. Organized by the Connecticut
Chapter of the Global Organization
of People of Indian Origin (GOPIIOCT) on Saturday, August 13th, Indian Consul Sandeep Kumar was
the chief guest who delivered the
Independence Day message and
emphasized on the importance
of Indias independence and its
adoption of democracy. He complimented Stamford Mayor Martin
and GOPIO-CT for this celebration.
Program started with singing of
the national song Vande Mataram,
followed by welcome by GOPIOCT President Shelly Nichani. Program Coordinator Santosh Gannu
introduced and thanked Mayor
Martin for hosting the event.
Mayor Martin spoke on the diversity of the City of Stamford and
said it enriched the whole city.
Congressman Jim Himes and State
Representative William Tong complimented the Indian American
community for its contribution to
America and Connecticut.
The
celebration
included
speeches, children singing patriotic song, a colorful folk dance
and honoring the recent high
school graduates. Namrata Gannu
served as the emcee. American

and Indian flags were hoisted
with the singing of the national
anthems of both countries. The
program ended with refreshments
and a lunch at Tangda Indian Restaurant in Stamford. By celebrating India Independence Day in
America, we are celebrating the success of the democratic institutions
of USA and India, the oldest democracy and and largest democracy respectively, said Dr.
Thomas Abraham, Founder and
Chairman of GOPIO International.
GOPIO-CT officials and dignitaries at the India Independence Day Celebration

at Stamford Govt. Center ion August 13th.
22 August 20-26, 2016
ineola, NY: Nassau County

Executive Edward P Mangano
in association with IDP USA
held the 7th Indian Flag Hoisting at the
countys Theodore Roosevelt Executive
& Legislative Building here on August
15 to celebrate Indias Independence
Day
The ag hoisting ceremony at the
county seat was initiated in 2010 by
Hon Mangano and then Nassau County
Director of Business & Economic
Development, Kamlesh Mehta.
Over 70 people were in attendance as
the American National anthem was pre
sented by young Eesha Butani.
At the event, renowned mathemati
cian and Padma Bhushan, Dr Manjul
Bhargava, Padma Shri oncologist Dr
Dattatrey Nori, both residents of Nassau
County, were recognized for their out

standing achievements and services. Dr
Deepa Pandya, Vimal Goyal, Dr Vijay
Shah, Penny Yogiraj Sandhu and Bina
Sabapathi were honored for their com
munity services.
Commissioner of Nassau County
Public Works Sheila Shah, IDPUSA
President Beena Kothari, and founders
Bobby Kumar and Kamlesh Mehta, Indu
Jaiswal, Peter Bheddah, Dr Narendra
Hadpawat, Dr Urmilesh Arya, Flora
Parekh, Prof Parveen Chopra, Surinder
Rametra were also present along with
many veterans of Indian Army and
members
of
IndianAmerican
Community. Dr Sanjay Sahay, Amita
Karwal, Joyti Gupta presented the musi
cal program. Refreshments were served
by Rajbhog, Hicksville.
NASSAU COUNTY
A Chand Palace venture
Beautiful Outdoor Patio

Overlooks the Valley
Ballroom Can Accommodate 400 Guests
Beautiful memories of a beautiful

time in a beautiful place
Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Indian army veterans

saluting the tricolor flag as it is presented
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
South Asian Weddings
Modern American Weddings
Birthday Parties
Sweet 16 Parties
Proms
The honorees and India Day Parade (Long Island) organizers with
County Executive Ed Mangano.
Dr Manjul
Bhargava with his
mother Meera
Bhargava receiving
the citation from
the County
Executive.
(Photos: Michael
Tamborrino)
1801 Washington Valley Road Bridgewater, NJ 08836
973-722-1534 973-216-0297
www.martinsvillegardens.com
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
24
August 20-26, 2016
Diplomacy
These are good times to

represent India
General
- Consul
Riva Ganguly Das
Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das, who assumed charge as Consul General in New York in March this year, gave
an exclusive interview to The South Asian Times on the eve of Indias 70th Independence Day, in which
she also said that Our objective is to make consular services quick, transparent and corruption free.
By Parveen
Chopra
SATimes: You have made a dramatic change in the 15th August
celebration by holding it in front
of the consulate building (earlier
it used to be indoors). What are
your thoughts behind that?
We would like to see business and

trade grow. We are engaging with
the local chambers of commerce as
well as Indian and US businesses to
identify the opportunities and take
our commercial relations to the next
level. Of course, promoting Indias
main flagship programs like Make
in India, Skill India, Startup India,
Swachh Bharat too are major priorities. People are at the heart of any
Amb Das: As part of our outreach

activities, the Consulate has so
far organized more than 16 programs in all the 10 states under
the jurisdiction of the Consulate
including New York, New Jersey
and Connecticut. We have already
organized visa camps in Long Island and New Jersey areas. We do
plan to organize similar programs
in September and October 2016.
the agency CKGS) and the community should help fill forms,
etc, for the less educated or less
computer savvy. Have community organizations taken initiatives
in that regard?
Amb Das: Indeed we have only authorized CKGS to accept visa, passport, OCI applications. We find that
there are several people within the
Consul General Riva Ganguly Das:

Indias Independence Day, which
falls on 15th August and Republic
Day, on 26th January, belong to
all Indian nationals, Indian Americans, friends of India and all those
who love India and have India in
their heart and mind. We want
to celebrate India with all these
people on this special day which
is our Independence Day. We are
doing the celebration outside the
Consulate premises on the road to
enable a large number of people to
participate in the flag hoisting ceremony in the presence, this year,
of Honble Minister of State for External Affairs Shri M.J. Akbar.
Amb Das: While I would like to

highlight all aspects of India, our
soft power, our economic growth,
the advantages in doing business
with India, education, science &
technology, innovation, tourism
I wish to highlight more, but this
is certainly not an exhaustive list.
There are many other areas which
we will highlight as and when the
opportunity comes.
SATimes: Over the past 6 months,

you would have attended numerous Indian community events here.
What strikes you as noteworthy or
peculiar about the community?
SATimes: What priorities have you

set for yourself?
Amb Das: Giving greater visibility
to India, strengthening India-US
relations and enhancing our engagement with the people of United States, particularly, the Indian
American community, are some of
my priorities. Also, of course, providing efficient, transparent and
corruption free consular, passport
and visa services to the public.
SATimes: Representing India in

your posting here, which aspects
do you highlight more Indias
culture/heritage, its soft power,
the economic growth and commerce or strategic advantage it
offers (to the US)?
relationship and promoting more

people to people contact through
culture and education is another
area which I wish to focus on.
SATimes: We hear of NY Consulate outreach in other states, how

about outreach to different parts
of New York City itself or its suburbs like Long Island?
We are open to any suggestion

about outreach. I would encourage Indian associations, community leaders, etc. to get in touch
with us with proposals and we
will certainly consider requests
for outreach events.
SATimes: You have said there is

nothing like visa agents (except
Indian American community who

are coming forward to provide help
to those who have difficulties in
applying for various services and
I personally feel very proud of the
community that they are ready to
give so much time to other members of the community to help them
deal with some of the technical issues in navigating the net.
Amb Das: The Indian community

has been extremely successful in
this country. It is a group of people
who are well integrated into the
American society. I find interacting with the community extremely
productive. There are always new
ideas which emerge from our interactions. The desire on part of the
community to connect with India
and to contribute to Indias growth
and progress is commendable. As I
had mentioned earlier, I would like
to intensify my interaction with
the Indian community, particularly, those outside New York area
for whom it is not always easy to
visit the Consulate for our various
events and programs.
(left) Interacting with the media with her colleagues, Consul General Riva Ganguly Das underlined her open door policy to resolve community issues.
(right) Amb. Riva Ganguly Das meeting former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
25
SATimes: Women are natural

diplomats, having to maneuver
difficult situations starting early on in life? Do you think they
make better foreign service officers? Besides, what qualities are
a must for diplomats?
August 20-26, 2016
Amb Das: My personal view is that

gender is not really a factor in any
profession. Right from the day we
join the Indian Foreign Service,
we are imparted many skills. A
diplomats life can be very challenging because we keep moving
from one country to another. The
job profile changes and every new
post is a learning process. One
has to quickly learn about the
new job, new surroundings and it
is a training which diplomats get
right from day one. Given Indias
many achievements and particularly, our extremely significant
economic growth, these are very
good times to represent India as
a diplomat. I am very proud of
my profession and would never
choose any other profession if I
am given an opportunity.
Diplomacy
SATimes: Your message for the

Indian community here.
Amb Das: I would like to greet the
Indian community on this auspi-
cious occasion of 70th Independence Day. The Indian community

enjoys strong bonds with India. I
hope that we can continue our relationship so that these bonds are
intensified even further and we

are also able to get young people
to partner with us in this journey that India has undertaken to
growth and progress.
A seasoned diplomat
M
rs. Riva Ganguly Das joined

the Indian Foreign Service
in 1986. She is a Post Graduate
in Political Science from Delhi
University. Prior to joining the
Foreign Service, she was a Lecturer at Delhi University. Her first
posting was in Spain. Thereafter,
she was at external affairs ministry headquarters in Delhi, dealing
with External Publicity, Nepal and
Passport/Visa work. She was then
posted as head of the Cultural
Wing of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. After her return,
she took over as Director at the
United Nations Economic and Social Affairs Division and participated in environmental negotiations, particularly climate change.
She was the Deputy Chief of

Mission in the Embassy of India,
The Hague. She was also the Alternate Permanent Representative of
India to the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at
The Hague.
She served as Consul General of
India in Shanghai from 2008 to
2012. After her return from China, she headed the Public Diplomacy Division and later the Latin
America & Caribbean Division in
the Ministry of External Affairs.
Before joining as Consul General
of India in New York, she was
Ambassador of India to Romania,
Albania & Moldova with residence
in Bucharest. She is married and
has two children.
Consul General Riva Ganguly Das attended the 125th birth anniversary celebration of
Dr B.R. Ambedkar at Shri Guru Ravidas Temple in Queens last month.
Congratulations
to Nassau Countys
Indian Community
on the
70th Independence Day

of India
NASSAU
COUNTY
EXECUTIVE
NASSAU
COUNTY
EXECUTIVE
www.nassaucountyny.gov
26 August 20-26, 2016
IDPUSA PARADE
Celebs like Bobby Deol and Prashantt Guptha and dignitaries line up for the parade as
Bobby Kumar is interviewed for the webcast of the event.
Hicksville, NY: T he 70th
Independence Day of India was
celebrated with a grand parade
and entertainment program by
IDPUSA on August 9 in the fast
growing Little India here.
The debonair Hindi lm star
Bobby Deol was the Grand
Marshal of the Long Island
parade in Hicksville, and coGrand
Marshal was Prashantt Guptha,
who has made a place for himself
as a character actor in Bollywood.
More celebs like rockstar Raghav,
British Singer and song writer
Navin Kundra, and choreographer
Sandip Soparrkar added to the
draw of the event.
Dignitaries who graced the occa
sion included Nassau County
Executive Ed Mangano,
Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John

Venditto and Town of Hempstead
Clerk Nasrin Ahmad. Those who
came to greet the Indian commu
nity included Town of North
Hempstead Supervisor Judi
Bosworth , NY State Senator Jack
M. Martins, former county execu
tive running for Congress, Tom
Suozzi, NY State Senator Michael
Venditto, several county and
Supreme Court Judges.
In a route change from previous
four parades, it started from Apna
Bazar this time and marched down
towards Asa Mai Hindu temple
where in the parking lot the view
ing stage was set up and enter
tainment followed with DJ Kucha
revving up things.
IDPUSA parade, now known for
A festive atmosphere was created along the parade route.
County Executive Ed Mangano and Town of North Hempstead Supervisor

Judi Bosworth flank IDPUSA President Beena Kothari on the stage.
enlisting the collaboration of

numerous community organiza
tions, has had founders like
stalwarts Bobby K. Kalotee,
Kamlesh Mehta, Indu
Jaiswal,
and
Mohinder Taneja.
The fth parade
was held under
President Beena
Kothari, along
with communi
ty leaders like
Continued on
page 28
Bobby Deol won
many hearts by
posing for pictures
and selfies with fans.
Hundreds sat mesmerized by the entertainment program.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
28 August 20-26, 2016
IDPUSA PARADE
Bollywood actor
Prashantt Guptha
was born and bred in
New York and felt
proud to be honored
as coGrand Marshal.
Taking part in the

parade in a fancy car,
Bollywood
choreographer
Sandip Soparrkar
waves
Continued from page 26

Jagdish Sewhani, Past President
Peter Bheddah, and AAP I
National President Ajay Lodha.
As diversied and secular India
is, this parade is attended each
year by diverse and secular
community leaders regardless
of ethnicity or religion, said
Bobby K. Kalotee.
The parade route was lled
with orange, white and green
balloons the colors of Indias
ag. T he air was rent w ith
Indian and US national anthems
and Bharat Mata ki jai slogans
as multicultural oats, cars,
marching bands, pipe bands,
ethnic dancers, elected ofcials,
dignitaries & ce le brit ies
marched down to ce le brate
Indias independence from
Britain. One oat added to the
oomph factor as it was studded
w ith over a dozen beauty
queens, winners of dif ferent

national and international pag
eants. The parade was cheered
on by hundreds of residents
who lined part of the route.
With themes of education,
environment and ecosystems,
the parades festivities started at
around 3 pm in the parking lot
of Grand Sponsor Apna Bazar on
Bethpage Road. At the parades
culmination point a huge stage
was set up where multicultural
performers rocked the event.
Several vendors exhibited
designer clothing, jewelry and
mouthwatering Indian cuisine.
Rides, performances and attrac
tions were a delight for children.
Rafe tickets with a prize of
Free Trip to India found many
takers.
T his threeday mega event
started with a press conference
with Bobby Deol and Prashantt
Guptha and honored Indian
DJ Kucha made former county executive Tom Suozzi dance the bhangra. Suozzi has
enjoyed a good relationship with the Indian community.
American media, followed by
the parade and ended with cele
brations at a gala luncheon at
In a change of the parade route, it started from the parking

lot of Grand Sponsor Apna Bazar.
Swan Club in Roslyn, NY. Bobby

Deol won many hearts by his
graciousness and willingness to
pose for seles with fans.

IDPUSA website is:
http://www.idpusany.org
Bobby Deol posing with the team that organized the successful parade.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
30 August 20-26, 2016
HICKSVILLE PARADE
Team behind success

of Hicksville parade
The IDPUSA committee members share their thoughts about India,
Independence Day and the parade they were proud to be part of.
he spirit of celebrating and

paying homage to our moth
erland is a treat in itself. The
month of August brings together
the patriot ic
memories of
several sung
and unsung
heroes who
strove
for
I n d i a ' s
Independence
Flora Parekh 70 years ago.
Since then,
every Indian
heart takes pride every year in any
part of the world celebrating those
priceless sacrices of those great
leaders that gave us the fruit of
independence. Traditions are pre
served with community leaders
across several organizations com
ing together and marching under
one umbrella, delivering the mes
sage of unity and prosperity across
continents. For the past 5 years,
the spirit, unity and harmony is
seen on Long Island with the par
ticipation of scores of organiza
tions under one umbrella, cele
brating the Independence of India
at the India Day Parade Hicksville.
Parekh Family, Harshil Creations
and Smart Solutions and Events
are extremely proud to be a part of
these celebrations each year.
Secretary, IDPUSA
ong ratulat ions to Beena
Kothari and IDP committee
members for a very success
ful 2016 India
Day Parade.
Peter Bheddah
IDP USA Team. I would like to

thank the founders of India Day
Parade, Mr Bobby Kumar and Mr
Kamlesh Mehta. Thanks to Suhag
Mehta who went to the founders
with the idea and that is how this
Parade started.
On our Independence Day we
respect the sacrices that so many
made to win freedom for India and
we cherish our freedom through
celebrations. The parade brings
back our memories and binds
together our community.
IDP USA Team is blessed
because of their hard working and
positive energy, this is the second
time when there was forecast of
heavy thunder storms on the day
of the parade, but it turned out to
be a bright and sunny day. God
made once again our parade a
grand success.
Treasurer
ven though I am thousands of
miles away from my home in
India, the India Day Parade
makes me feel
like I am still
t h e r e .
Everyone who
came
had
pieces of India
that made me
proud.
Bunty Shah
will like to thank IDP for bring
ing India patriot ism to
Hicksville. So proud to be
Indian
and
part of the
parade.
2014 IDP
Chair
Member
Advisory
Committee
DP USA of Long Island has been

ce le brat ing
Indias
Independence Day for the last 5
years
in
Hicksville. This
year, we cele
brated
the
7
0
t
h
Independence
Day on August
6. Like every
Mukesh Modi year this year
too
the
parade was a grand success. There
was great enthusiasms among the
Sital Shah
wish to salute my nation & the
people who did excellent job in
org anizing the India Day
Parade
in
Hicksville.
"Let's our ag
always
y
high".
Rekha Chinchara
o words are enoug h to

express my deep sense of
gratitude to each and every
one who have
directly
or
indirectly con
tributed
in
making India
Day Parade
2016 super
successful.
Bharat Goradia T hanks to
each
and
everyone for showering your love
& af fection on me and Bobby
Deol.
feel honored to be part of IDP

USA. I was blessed as my role
and responsibility as volunteer
in
he lping
each and every
part of current
organization/
chairs. Regular
weekly meet
ings
w ith
chairs and
Mayur Parikh team mem
bers he lped
me understand all aspects of the
IDP. Each wee k we discussed
where we were and how much
closer we have to be to our united
goal of mounting a grand success
ful parade.
This year we had a small devia
tion in that the parade started
from Apna Bazar. We kicked of f
the parade with town/country
executives, honorees and chanting
Vande Mataram. We had 1012
oats, cars and many marching
group. Watching cultural events
made me feel I am in India. We
had several food options as well as
kids entertainment and shopping
options which made this day a
family outing.
e, at SG Accounting CPA
PC, salute the freedom
ghters during 190 years
of struggle for
independence
of India from
the British. It is
believed that
the rst per
son to raise
voice against
Gautam Sanghavi the Brit ish
Government
was Mang al Pandey on 28th
March 1857. He made the ultimate
sacrice on 8th April 1857. But
the re set by him resulted in the
birth of free India on 15th August

1947. Let us remember and salute
the freedom ghters, and appreci
ate their sacrices. We have built
the foundation of our freedom
from their blood.
The best days of India are yet to
come.
Finance CoChair
ndia Day Parade is the celebra

tion of India attaining inde
pendence in 1947. It is a way of
saluting those
who lost their
lives in the
strugg le for
independence.
Let us honor
the patriotism
of the people
Indu Jaiswal who lost their
lives for free
dom. Let us feel proud to be part
of our glorious nation and hoist
the tricolor ag high, which car
ries the colors of sacrice and
purity.
Dharti Rangili Amber Neela, Har
Mausam Rangila, Aisa Des hai
Mera.
Advisory Committee,
IDPUSA Team
n Independence Day, heres
wishing that our dreams of
a new tomorrow come true
for all of us.
Now
and
always!
Harish Thakkar
Vice
President
his is the day to raise India's

ag very high and wave it
with respect. We had shed
many tears to
get this inde
pendence,
which now lls
us with smiles
and happiness.
Ajay Batra
am grateful to IDPUSA ofcials
and team members for giving
me this platform, opportunity &
privilege to ce le brate Swami
Chidananda Maharaj, of T he
Divine Life
S o c i e t y ,
Rishikesh,
India.
I truly fe lt
celebration of
Swami
Ji's
birth cente
Sushma Kaushik nary was in
essence wor
ship of God. When we celebrate
our 'Great Men', hear of their
actions, thoughts, instructions &
the way in which they led their
lives, we try to put those qualities
into practice in our daytoday life.
I really believe celebrations are
very necessary, constant hammer
ing of sublime ideas on the mind is
essential. Again & again, we should
remember our past & be a link to
the future.
Jyoti Gupta
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
32 August 20-26, 2016
INDO-US
Time for India

to seize its
global role
By Vibhuti Jha
Vibhuti Jha is principal with
Ashcroft Sullivan Jha.
omewhere along the line we

Indians have always been
enamored by this question
Republican or a Democrat, who
will be more inclined to be more
proIndia. This is a benign and
an unnecessary conversation.
The US Presidency is all about
protect ing and de fending
American interests. If any coun
try ts in that essential prole as
a potential partner or a willing
ally, that relationship attains
higher importance in the peck
ing order. That is the harsh reali
ty of international relations in
every sense of the term.
India has of late attained an
important role in the world eco
nomic, political and diplomatic
battleelds. Its 'I' is the only let
ter standing rm in the entire
BRICS! The dreaded word 'ter
rorism', of which India has been
a major, perhaps a lonely voice
in the world , has now attained
g lobal seriousness w ith the
source of that terror now so well
known. T he convergence of
common interests, common suf
ferings and shared challenges
has indeed brought US India
relations to a new level of strate
gic understanding.
Both Trump and Hillary will
pursue a strong relationship
with India, given the current
geopolitical necessities facing
US in its global pursuit of happi
ness! While the Democrats have
had a more esoteric, romantic
allure to India due to its commit
ment to havenots, the
Republicans have pursued a
more pragmatic opportunistic

relationship dened by business
interests and strategic defense
tieups.
The real question is will India
and Indians be ready to take
advantage of the opportunity in
redening India's new role in
the world polity and IndoUS
relations? Will the US ever see
the terror equation in relation to
the obvious "intelligence" about
who the real villains are? Or the
bureaucracies of both countries
once again sink into their tradi
tional immature equations?
Trump will be
better for India
By Dev Makkar
The writer is secretary, IndianAmericans For Trump 2016
illary Clinton will be an

extension of the Obama
Administration, a proven
antiIndia administration. From
April 2015 to March 2016 alone
Obama gave most sophisticated
military hardware worth $1.62
billion to Pakistan despite
strong opposition from some
American lawmakers and India.
History speaks for itse lf:
Republican Presidents are more

friendly with India. Democrats
have never given anything of
signicance to India, rather they
are pro Pakistan. Democrat Bill
Clinton visited India only near
the end of 7th year of his presi
dency to enjoy camel and ele
phant rides, sightseeing and
authentic Indian cuisines paid
by Indians.
In 2008 it was Republican
President George Bush who gave
the civil nuclear deal to India
and Hillary Clinton as Democrat
Senator voted against the deal.
When Hillary became Secretary
of State she wanted the parallel
approach to India and Pakistan
on nuclear matters. T hat is
besides the point. China gave
Pakistan two 300 MW reactors
to be nanced, constructed and
operated by Chinese companies.
There are no stringent condi
tions attached to this deal like
IAEA inspections or other safe
guards imposed on India.
Hillary is a dangerous candi
date for President of America
for Americans and other peace
loving nations around the world.
During her 2008 presidential
run she threatened to totally
obliterate Iran with nuclear
weapons. As Secretary of State
under Obama, she participated
in the overthrow of the demo
cratic government of Honduras.
Her contribution to the destruc
tion of Libya in 2011 was almost
g lee ful and is known to the
entire world. Her tacit support
to Israel and Saudi Arabia has
given birth to ISIS. Saudi Arabia
wants to hurt its arch enemy
Iran and Israel wants to create
Greater Israel by occupying land
of other countries.
One of Clintons closest allies

is Madeleine Albright, the for
mer Secretary of State, who has
been attacking young women
for not supporting Hillary. This
is the same Madeleine Albright
who infamously celebrated on
TV the death of half a million
Iraqi children as worth it. Then
Huma Abedin, allegedly a Saudi
mole since 1996, is serving as
Hillarys body woman, a sort of
gloried personal maid, gentle
condant. She is currently serv
ing as Vice Chairwoman for
Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign
for President!
Above all, Hillary represents
systemic corruption and moral
failings that dene her. She
would gladly sell out our coun
try to the hig hest bidder.
Clintons are running their
Foundation as their personal
piggy bank and taking money
from Muslim countries and
organizations specializing in
spreading Sharia laws with least
regard to human rights and dig
nity of women.
On the other hand, Trump says
the invasion of Iraq was a crime;
he doesnt want to go to war
with Russia and China. He will
stay neutral in the conict
between Israel and Palestine. He
says America has no business to
change regimes or toppling lead
ers of other countries, exporting
democracy and building other
nations after destroying them.
Trump is anti Pakistan and pro
India. Trump is for legal immi
gration and he wants to simplify
rules for family immigration
visa. Moreover, those who come
here from India for professional
studies in prestigious universi
ties as students, Trump wants to
give them green cards. On top of

that, Trump is not nanced by
Israeli or Saudi lobby or arms
companies or defense contrac
tors or the Wall Street or the bil
lionaires club. The danger to the
Americans and rest of the peace
loving countries is not Trump,
but Clinton. Trump is the only
candidate that is able to deliver
on the economy, re building
America and immigration prom
ises because his campaign is not
nanced by any special interest
group.
T his e lect ion is not about
Trump or the Republican party
or Democratic party. T his is
about the future of every
American.
This is a historic, unprecedent
ed and exciting movement as
well as a ght in which Trump
on behalf of the American voters
has challenged the elite, the
power brokers, the billionaire
donors club and their dubious
Super PACs nanced with dirty
money. They are trying to dic
tate to the voters who to vote for
and are trying to trample the
voters intent, those who have
already voted for Trump in pri
maries. Twothirds of the
Republican as well as twothirds
of the Democrat voters want an
outsider, not a establishment
supported career politician. The
proof? When Trump started his
campaign he was at 14% in the
polls and now he is at 47%. He
created history by polling more
than 14 million votes in the
Republican primaries. In the end
Trump will win the general elec
tion to be the next President of
America by defeating the estab
lishment nominee, Hillary
Clinton, the career politician
since 1976, by a convincing
margin. Trump will correct the
imbalances created by career
politicians by signing bad trade
deals to favor their donors. He
w ill create better business
opportunities to create more
jobs. T his will benet every
American, especially the highly
educated and afuent communi
ty IndianAmerican community.
T heir living standards and
wages will improve and India
will also benet under Trump
presidency with a preferred
nation status.
Americans are looking for a
strong President in the White
House, not two coPresidents liv
ing with the ghost of President
Obama in the White House.
Continued on page 33
INDO-US
Hillary disagrees on support

and expansion of free trade with
Trump. Trump wants a stronger
military. In spite of her infa
mous Benghazi record, Hillary
wants to eng age in foreign
issues and Trump wants to dis
engage.
Hillary's stance is kinder to
middle class and upper middle
class families from a Muslim
backg round, which 30% of
Indians come from and this
stance may be encouraging to
foreign born business owners
making them feel comfortable
with doing business in the US.
Her foreign policy encourages
business done outside the US.
Hillary has had support from
Islamic countries while Trump
has expressed his viewpoints
strongly against terrorist organi
zations and ISIS, clearly show
ing his support will indirectly
he lp India's stand ag ainst
Pakistan. Kashmir and other
issues will get moderate atten
tion under Republicans than
Both
candidates
flawed;
neither poses
worry for India
By Nilima Madan
The writer is a well known
community leader and
womens activist
illary or Trump? Or
rather the quest ion
Demo crats
or
Republicans hovers over us
close to the Presidential elec
tion. T here is no obvious or
clear choice this time. The win
ner will be by default since vot
ers denitely do not want any
one of the two candidates left in
the race! To many India's rela
tionship with the USA is tied to
in recent years to bilateral trade,
immig rat ion and security.
However, this election is differ
ent. What to expect is a moot
question. Since it is called a
binary choice, one of the two
major candidates left in the race
for White House candidate has
to w in, no matter that both
Hillary and Trump are marred
by discrediting qualities.
Trump may or may not be as
crazy as he dramatically gains
attention. Perhaps his policies
too may or may not be guided
August 20-26, 2016
There may be some truth to Donald Trump's allegation that

media is biased against him. Time magazine has declared
Trump campaigns meltdown, perhaps too prematurely..
by craziness. On the other hand,
Hillary poses little change from
President Obama's eight years.
Her long, long experience is
touted as her asset, but some
nd it a liability, even as she
tries to be the opposite of crazy.
US Presidents position the
geopolitical Asian situation pri
marily in China, Afghanistan and
Pakistan while India hopes to
become important being right in
the middle of all. USA does not
deliberate on take deep interest
in India per se and has its eyed
peeled on the Middle East. India
has to make itself noticed and
has to make ef fort to nudge
things to serve India's own inter
ests and priorities. Somehow
though, after Narendra Modi
took Indias helm, everyone has
observed that India is welcomes
everywhere and has been receiv

ing world leaders making a bee
line to New Delhi. They are visit
ing not to see 'snake charmers'
but to explore the window of
opportunity for their countrys
presence in India, which is grow
ing its economy at the fastest
pace in the world.
During President George W
Bushs presdieny, the nuclear
deal built closer re lat ions
between the two nations. On
individual rig hts, domest ic
issues, economic issues, defense
and international issues, Donald
Trump is more conservative
than Hillary Clinton. Hillary has
served as an elected ofcial as
US Senator and Secretary of
State for a total of eight year.
Trump has never he ld any
elected ofce.
BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
5168271010
33
Democrats. Trump will also pur

sue Indian real estate.
On a practical note, curbs on
H1B visas can have adverse
ef fect on the US and Trump
talks of stopping jobs and opera
tions going overseas. America's
fabric of business and services is
woven with Indian strength.
Higher visa fee especially for
software professionals may not
go well with either them or the
US.
India should stay as a Non
Aligned state. Recession is what
the country does not want nor
wants free trade to only result in
Made in China. Therefore, busi
ness opportunity and relations
with US matter for India. Trump
has capitalist genes and as a
businessman could be a better
than Hillary who may retain cur
rent policies with India. Yet, nei
ther Hillary nor Trump are
expected to take any decisions
that will come in the way of long
term relations between the two
major powers.
34 August 20-26, 2016
ANALYSIS
Liberty and freedom in

India and in America
By Shivaji Sengupta
s I write this, I am aware that
in a week India will be cele
brating its 69th year of inde
pendence as the worlds largest
democracy. Had I written this
piece last year, I would have said
our country will be celebrating.
However, after being in the US for
48 years, I became an American
cit izen last year. Yes, I am
American now; Even so, like that
comic Hindi song of long ago, my
dil is Hindustani! I have visited
India every year since 2004.
One of the advantages of being
both Indian and American is expe
riencing democracy, and compar
ing its most important byproducts,
liberty and freedom in each coun
try. The two are not the same.
As a 21yearold Indian youth, I
experienced liberty as a political
concept. I was able to vote, had rel
ative freedom of speech, freedom
of assembly and all of the rights
g ranted to me by the Indian
Constitution. But did I have free
dom? My family did not give me
the freedom of deciding what I
wanted to do with my life, had to
wear clothes bought for me by my
parents (mostly, by mother); and,
of course, I wasnt allowed to date!
In college, once we chose our pro
gram of study (again, decided for
us mainly by parents), we were not
free to choose the courses as stu
dents in American universities are.
Dorms were samesex and had
strict curfew. Thus, it seems while
liberty is a political concept closely
connected with democracy, free
dom is a cultural state inuenced
by family, religion, educational
institutions and so on. Liberty is
granted to a whole country that
enjoys a democratic government.
It assures us our right to exist
without unnecessary interference
from the government by allowing
us, within the law, to do our will,
and by not preventing us from
enjoying certain basic rights; not
having to face coercion from the
government to do something that
is against our principle. However,
even a somewhat careful examina
tion of what democracy is may
give us pause to think.
Democracy is important. An indi
cator of how important it is, is the
fact that 166 of the 195 countries
in the world call themse lves
democratic. From Norway to
North Korea, they are all selfpro
claimed democracies! However,

political scientists are not all that
convinced that these countries are
all, indeed, democracies, so they
have created a Democracy Index.
According to this index, Norway is
the most democratic country while
North Korea, the least (U.S. ranks
20th; India, 35th). If you look at
the elements that make up the
Democracy Index, they are the
things I mentioned earlier: free
dom of speech, spoken and writ
ten, freedom of artistic and politi
cal expression, personal identity,
of social and sexual union, and so
on. How many of these freedoms
does the United States have? Does
India?
It is an interesting contradiction
that certain Democratic institu
tions, while professing liberty for
all its citizens nevertheless restrict
most of them from doing certain
things guaranteed by other demo
crat ic governments. In other
words, people of those countries
have liberty but not freedom.
Leaders of those democracies say
that freedom is riskier to grant
than liberty because people misuse
freedom. Take for instance, the ter
rible tragedy of 9/11. It may not
have happened if there were more
restrictions on who could enter the
United States, and for what rea
sons; but the Constitution guaran
tees certain freedoms for an indi
vidual in this country that makes it
impossible for the government
from preventing them from doing
what they want like taking cours
es to become engineers and pilots,
not for the benet of humanity but
to destroy it.
In India also a democratic
country chances of foreign
nationals, especially with Muslim
names, being freely allowed to
train as pilots are very slim.
Another example of the risk of
freedom is possession of re arms.
I dont have to give examples: 91
people die every day in the US
from gunshot wounds; 51 of them
are women; moreover, 62% of all
gunshot deaths here are suicides.
What this points to is that an
important ingredient of freedom is
responsibility. The more freedom
one has socially and environmen
tally speaking the more the
responsibility. Social responsibility
is ones awareness that what one
does may negatively af fect other
people, often in disastrous and
tragic ways, persuading one to
restrain oneself even if there is
overwhelming temptation to do so.
T hus, Asian and some African
democracies point to this contra
diction between freedom and indi
vidual responsibility in order to
Democracy is not just about obtaining liberty and freedom. It is, in fact,
a particularly humane way of looking at the world where social life is infused
with caring and responsibility for each other so that human society as a
whole is assured of progressing with liberty and freedom, said American
philosopher John Dewey, Dr Ambedkars professor at Columbia.
restrict individual freedom.
Western democracies, however,
see this problem between freedom
and responsibility in a far more
complex manner. In fact, philo
sophically they believe that free
dom is not freedom if the govern
ment chooses what freedoms to
allow even if those freedoms
allowed would guarantee good liv
ing. Since freedom is the most
important consequence of liberty,
this philosophy says freedom is a
necessary risk that comes with lib
erty. It has to be given almost carte
blanche. This type of freedom, it is
argued in the west, is actually not
supposed to be availed of by every
one, although it must be granted to
everyone. But when the one in a
million does take advantage of it
through acts of massive humanity,
heroism, worldembracing inven
t ions, all of humanity g ains.
Unfortunately, the opposite is also
true! Still, western democratic
philosophers say, that is the
chance we have to take.
Then there is the question of
what kind of democracy is desir
able for a given nation.
Apparently, American represen
tative democracy has its roots his
torically in its opposition to Britain
which used to rule over here till
1776. The Colonies rejected the

British brand of parliamentary
democracy, presided by a titular
monarch, gravitating toward a
French model of representative
democracy. But the philosophical
justication of this type of democ
racy came much later through the
writ ings of certain American
philosophers such as John Dewey
who had a deep inuence on Dr.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the man
who is largely credited for drafting
the Constitution of India. Dewey,
who was Ambedkars professor at
Columbia University, wrote in
Democracy and Education that
demo cracy is not just about
obtaining liberty and freedom. It is,
in fact, a particularly humane way
of looking at the world where
social life is infused with caring
and responsibility for each other
so that human society as a whole
is assured of progressing with lib
erty and freedom. And education
of a certain type can put us on a
path to such a democracy, Dewey
professed. Ambedkar, who came
from a Dalit family was deeply
touched and inspired by Deweys
educat ional philosophy and
method. Dewey argued and by
extension Ambedkar since
democracy has changed from the
time of the Greeks to our times, it

is the type of education that inu
ences a nations take on democra
cy. But Dewey was also a rm
be liever in the re lat ionship
between the environment and edu
cation. To that, contemporary dis
ciples of Dewey have added cul
ture as another inuential factor.
Thus, there seems to be a stable
relationship between the environ
ment, culture, educat ion and
demo cracy. T he dif ferences
between parliamentary and repre
sentative democracy may have to
do with these variables.
Let us continue the discussion.
The writer is Professor of
English and Vice President for
Academic Affairs at Boricua
College in NYC. He writes regularly
for The South Asian Times.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
36 August 20-26, 2016
DEVELOPMENT
Since it took over

in May 2014, the
government has
not faced a single
corruption charge.
At the same time, it
has brought in one
of the toughest
legislation in the
world to deal with
the black money
menace.
By Anil Baluni
ts time to take stock of the
two years of the Narendra
Modi government. But before
we do so, it is important to
reect on the decade prior to
2014 when we had a prime min
ister who was always helpless
and looked to 10 Janpath for
any and every decision he had to
take.
Unfortunate as it may sound,
that had been the administrative
practice during the two terms of
the UPA regime, from 2004 to
2014. 10 Janpath was far
removed from reality, detached
from the needs of this country
and its people. Perhaps that was
the reason for widespread pes
simism and cynicism about poli
tics in the country then.
However, the situation is com
pletely different today. We have
a prime minister who is strong,
decisive and always available to
the masses. He has a profession
al work style and has invigorat
ed a new work culture in the
government. He routinely con
ducts review meetings with min

isters, top bureaucrats, and
interacts with ofcials across the
country via video conferences.
He talks to people through
Mann Ki Baat, his monthly pro
gramme on radio. He has used
these opportunities to launch
massive campaigns such as the
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and has
been successful in evoking a
sense of patriotism in the youth.
Whether it is an earthquake in
Nepal, or Indians stranded in
Yemen, oods in Kashmir, or a
re in a Kerala temple, the Modi
government has always reached
out to the people with relief and
rescue measures.
The biggest achievement of
this government has been to
curb widespread corruption in
the system. Since it took over in
May 2014, the government has
not faced a single corruption
charge.
At the same t ime, it has
brought in one of the toughest
legislation in the world to deal
with the black money menace.
Barring a few sporadic inci
dents, the borders have been

peaceful. Apart from Pakistan,
relations with all our neighbours
have been cordial. Ties with
Pakistan, too, would have been
better had the civilian govern
ment in that country enjoyed
full autonomy. Even so, in the
last two years, there has been a
slump in the incidents of cross
border terrorism.
According to the latest statis
tics provided by the government,
in the last decade, these past two
years have been the most
peaceful.
By touring the world, Modi has
sent out the message that India
cannot be ignored. Today, he has
personal equations with heads
of state of all major countries
and has established a good rap
port with all nations, big or
small. He has visited countries
where signicant numbers of
the Indian diaspora reside, and
has invited them to invest in
their motherland.
In September 2014, when he
addressed a huge crowd of
Indians settled in US in New
Yorks Madison Square Garden,

at least 40 senators along with
governors of four states were
present in the audience. The per
ception of India is completely
dif ferent today the world
community has more condence
in us compared to two years ago,
and there has been a 42 per cent
increase in foreign direct invest
ment.
Modi has set his sights sky
high but his feet are rmly on
the ground. Soon after coming
to power, he announced that he
was not the prime minister of
India, but the pradhan sewak.
His government has announced
52 programmes which directly
benet the poor, including Jan
Dhan Yojana (bank accounts for
the poor), schemes for housing,
for the girl child, life insurance,
the Atal Pension Yojana, crop
insurance, Startup India, Skill
India and StandUp India.
Following his initiative, at least
19 crore people have opened
bank accounts, more than one
crore people gave up the gas
subsidy, which in turn, has
helped the government distrib

ute new free LPG connections to
ve crore poor households.
When the benets of all these
schemes start trickling in, we
will see how fast the economy
grows. Similarly, the PMs dream
of smart cities has created a lot
of enthusiasm among several
stakeholders. And though the
Congress is creating hurdles in
the passage of major indirect tax
reform, the Goods and Services
Tax, and in bringing a uniform
tax regime across the country,
the government is determined to
go ahead.
The two years of the Modi gov
ernment have proved that, for
the rst time, India has got a
visionary statesman. There has
been a dramatic change in the
way the country has got back on
the path of development, beat
ing the economic slowdown.
There is perceptible change in
the selfcondence of people
today, the days of pessimism are
over. Acche din have arrived.
(Courtesy: The Indian Express)
DEVELOPMENT
August 20-26, 2016
37
Eight promises Modi

made on I-Day 2015
More than 228 million bank accounts opened as on August
3, 2016, an increase of 31 per cent from 174 million in 2015.
Prime Minister's Jeevan Jyoti Bima
Yojana (PMJJBY) to 29.7 million
cit izens as on June 14 2016,
according to ofcial data.
More recent data tabled in the
parliament indicates that 3.04 mil
lion Indians have registered under
APY as on July 20, 2016.
Some were
implemented while
some worksin-progress
By Devanik Saha
7. Rural India:
Agriculture budget increased by
44 per cent from Rs 24,909
crore ($4 billion) in 201516 to Rs
35,984 crore ($5 billion) in 2016
peeding up nancial inclusion,

toilets in every school, reduc
ing LPG subsidy and electri
cation of villages were some of the
key promises made by Modi dur
ing his second Independence Day
Speech on August 15, 2015.
FactChecker reviewed the imple
mentation of the key announce
ments he made, as we did previ
ously for his 2014 speech.
1. Pradhan Mantri Jan

Dhan Yojana:
More than 228 million bank
accounts opened as
on August 3,
2016,
an
increase of
31
per
cent from
174 mil
lion in
2015
24
per
cent
of
t h e s e
accounts had
no money, a
reduct ion of
22 per cent from 2015. The bal
ance in the accounts increased 85
per cent over one year, from Rs
22,033 crore to Rs 40,795 crore.
The previous United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government had
opened more than 50 million "no
frills" accounts as they called
them for the poor over ve
years, but most were never used,
IndiaSpend reported in October
2014.
2. Swacch Vidyalaya
Abhiyan:
Claim of 100 per cent separate toi
lets for boys and girls in all schools
not true
Random checks across seven
states revealed widespread inrmi
ties, such as:
4Many schools, from urban New
Delhi to backward, often remote,
areas, did not have toilets. The spe
cic claim that every school now
has separate toilets for boys and
girls in all schools was not true.
4Existing toilets
in schools either
already built or
new do not
have water or are
not maintained,
making them use
less.
4Newly built toi
lets could not be used
because in the rush to
build them, no drainage
was constructed.
4The campaign aimed at con
struct ing 417,000 toilets in
262,000 schools, or 1.5 toilets per
school. One or two toilets per
school is not quite enough.
4Educating children in using
toilets has proved to be as impor
tant as building them. The con
struction of toilets has been so
rushed that various stakeholders
do not appear to have had time to
understand the importance of the
mission and implement it in full
measure.
3. Give it Up:
10.4 million have given up LPG
subsidy voluntarily, 1.76 million
women get free gas connections
4. LPG subsidy saving

10 per cent of claim
made by govt:
Rs 2,000 crore not Rs
20,000 crore, says auditor
T he Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) also found

systemic problems with cash trans
fers called Pahal of LPG sub
sidy, including diversion of domes
tic subsidy for commercial use and
commercial LPG being used in
homes.
The subsidy discrepancy mostly
stems from a fall in the global
price of LPG imported, the CAG
report said.
5. Electricity to villages:
Govt says 98.1 per cent electri
ed, but electricity supply
suspect
What happened: As
many as 587,569 of
597,464
villages
(98.1%) in India were
"electried" as on June
30, 2016, which means
only 9,895 do not have
electricity, according to
a recent report by the
Central Electricity
Authority (CEA).
A village being
declared "electried"
does not mean a household
w ill
get
electrici
t
y ,
FactChecker reported in November

2015.
"The rst threshold for electri
cation should be at least 50 per
centof homes in a coverage area
(i.e., the majority)," according to
Rahul Tongia, Fellow at Brookings
Institution, and Advisor to the
Smart Grid Task Force of the cen
tral government.
Actual electricity is important
and that there should be no power
cutsto achieve meaningful electri
cation, Tongia wrote in this col
umn in T he
Hindu on
October 7,
2014.
A
n
investiga
t ion
of
rural elec
trication
data
by
The Hindu
found that
the num
ber of vil
lages said
to be electried in
the last year is exaggerated.
6. Social security:
127 million people enrolled for
three major programs
Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has
been given to 2.7 million, Prime
Minister's Suraksha Bima Yojana
(PMSBY ) to 94.5 million and
17, to address growing distress in

rural areas from successive mon
soon failures and several rural
programs launched
But, 5 per cent of farmers still
control 32 per cent of India's farm
land and a "large" farmer in India
has 45 times more land than a
"marginal" farmer, IndiaSpend
reported in May 2016.
The land that can be farmed has
marginally declined, from 182.5
million hectares in 200809 to
182 million hectares in 201213,
mainly for nonagricultural pur
poses, such as urbanisation, roads,
industries and housing, according
to data tabled in parliament.
8. One Rank One Pension

for service personnel:
Approved, but protests continue

Modi approved the OROP pro
posal in April 2016. It will cost the
government an addit ional Rs
7,488 in annual pensions and Rs
10,925 crore in arrears. As many
as 1.6 million pensioners were
paid their rst pensions through
the OROP program; Rs 2,861 crore
was spent until March 31, 2016.
Certain issues and anomalies have
been raised by servicemen, which
a government panel is considering.
38 August 20-26, 2016
DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL INDICATORS
Why India still lags most

South Asian neighbors
The question is just apt as
we enter the 70th year of
Independence Day. The
time is now to take some
immediate action on
several social indicators.
By Chaitanya Mallapur
he world's fastestgrowing
economy, on course to
become the world's third
largest by 2030 with a gross
domestic product (GDP) of $7.3
trillion, India continues to trail
smaller South Asian neighbors in
some instances, Pakistan and
Bangladesh on several social
indicators.
India's per capita GDP of $5,238
in 2013 was 65 per cent lower
than Iran, 54 per cent lower than
Maldives ($11,283), 44 per cent
lower than Sri Lanka ($9,426) and
27 per cent lower than Bhutan
($7,167), according to the Human
Development Report 2015.
India was ranked 130 of 188
countries worldw ide on the
Human Development Index 2015
below Iran (69), Sri Lanka (73)
and the Maldives (104) in South
Asia.
Similarly, on the Human Capital
Index 2016, which measures
national learning and employ
ment outcomes, India ranked 105
out of 130 countries, below Sri
Lanka (50), Bhutan (91) and
Bangladesh (104).
T he HDI ranking focuses on
indicators that lead to a long and
healthy life, the ability to acquire
knowledge, and the ability to
achieve a decent standard of liv
ing. The data for the HDI report
2015 has been collected from var
ious international agencies and
ranges between 2005 and 2014.
India's maternal mortality lags
Iran, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan,
Bangladesh and Pakistan.
India's maternal mortality ratio
of 190 deaths per 100,000 live
births in 2013 was high com
pared to 23 in Iran, 29 in Sri
Lanka, 31 in Maldives, 120 in
Bhutan and 170 in Bangladesh
and Pakistan.
Infant mortality rate per 1,000
live births in 2013 for India was
41.4, lagging Sri Lanka (8.2),
Maldives (8.4), Iran (14.4), Bhutan
(29.7), Nepal (32.2) and
Bangladesh (33.2). Only Pakistan
and Afghanistan did worse, a simi

lar situation as the underve
mortality rate (per 1,000 live
births), which, for, 2013 was the
lowest in Sri Lanka (9.6), followed
by Maldives (9.9). India reported
52.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Universal healthcare is a much
debated issue, with some arguing
that India cannot afford it.
Nobel laureate and economist
Amartya Sen presented a counter
argument: The fact is that at a
basic level, healthcare is a very
labourintensive activity. In a poor
country, wages are low. A poor
country may have less money to
spend on healthcare but it also
needs to spend less to provide the
same labourintensive services
(far less than what a richer and
higherwage economy would
have to pay).
Countries as diverse as Thailand
and Rawanda have implemented
universal healthcare programmes,
cut mortality rates and boosted
life expectancy, Sen argued in a
January 2015 Guardian column,
pointing how some Indian states,
such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and
Himachal Pradesh were moving
towards universal healthcare.
Sen attributes the success of
effective implementation to rm
political commitment to the provi
sion of universal healthcare, run
ning workable elementary health
care and preventive services cov
ering maximum possible popula
tion, paying serious attention to
good administration in healthcare
and ancillary public services,

effective school education for all
and involving women in the deliv
ery of health and education in a
much larger way than is usual in
the developing world.
Involving women in the work
force is a particular Indian failing.
India's female labour force par
ticipation rate the proportion of
women in the workforce was 27
per cent against the global aver
age of 50 per cent in 2013, the
third lowest among South Asian
countries, above only Afghanistan
(15.8 per cent) and Pakistan (24.6
per cent), where women are join
ing the workforce at a faster rate
than India.
Agriculture accounts for more
than 60 per cent of female
employment in South Asia,

according to the Human
Development Report.
India's female employment in
agriculture stood at 47.2 per cent
of all employment; better than
Bhutan (62.2 per cent) and
Bangladesh (47.2 per cent).
No more than 2.4 per cent of
Bhutan's population lives below
the poverty line counted here as
purchasing power parity of $1.25
per day between 2002 and 2012
followed by the Maldives 6.3 per
cent, Pakistan 12.7 per cent, India
23.6 per cent and Nepal 23.7 per
cent.
Bangladesh was ranked at the
bottom with 43.3 per cent of its
population living below the pover
ty line. India's poverty rate
declined to 12.4 per cent from the

201112 estimate of 21 per cent,
according to World Bank data,
IndiaSpend reported in October
2015.
Enrolments in primary schools
in India third best in South Asia
India's gross primary enrolment
ratio in 2014 was 113 per cent,
third best after Iran (119 per
cent), Bangladesh (114 per cent)
and Pakistan (114 per cent).
With 62.8 per cent of its popula
tion aged 15 years and above lit
erate, India lags the Maldives
(98.4 per cent) and Sri Lanka
(91.2 per cent) and Iran (84.3 per
cent).
(Note: The Human Development
Report includes Iran in South
Asia.)
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
42 August 20-26, 2016
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security for all in India!
By Purnima Sharma
. Srinivasa Rao, an agricultural

laborer, lived in Ullipalem vil
lage of Krishna district in
Andhra Pradesh. Being a poor daily
wage labourer and having no xed
assets in his name, he could barely
manage two square meals for his
family. Srinivasa never thought of
opening a bank account till he was
persuaded by Saptgiri Gramin Bank.
He even opted for the Governments
Life Insurance Scheme, Pradhan
Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna and
paid the premium, Rs. 330. But
within months in 2015, he got a
heart attack and died leaving
behind his wife and two small kids.
Luckily, his wife knew about the
insurance cover he had taken under
PMJJBY. The bank ofcials assisted
her in submitting the death claim to
insurance company which settled
the claim in favor of the nominee,

wife of the deceased and credited
the amount of Rs. two lakh into her
saving bank account in November
2015.
With the timely support from the
bank and PMJJBY Scheme, the
deceaseds family got much needed
nancial support and his children
could continue their education. This
is an example where a poor family
having no assets and xed income
beneted from the scheme. This is
the aim of many social security
schemes of the Union Government
to provide nancial security to the
common man in case of any unto
ward and unforeseen situation in
life.
Though India has made immense
economic progress, it remains an
uninsured society as a whole. After
any untoward incident, i.e. accident
or death, every poor family needs
nancial and social security the
most. Social Security is an aspect
the present Government identied
as a primary need. T he Social
Security schemes launched are
aimed to provide insurance services
to the economically weaker section
of society. Keeping in mind the
lower income group, premium of
these schemes has been kept fairly
low. The schemes can be availed via
bank accounts only. T he Union

Government is making tremendous
efforts to universalize banking facil
ities through its nancial inclusion
scheme i.e. Pradhan Mantri Jan
Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).
Under the Pradhan Mantri
Surksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), 9.
61crore policies and under Pradhan
Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna
(PMJJBY), 3.03crore insurance poli
cies have been issued till 21st July,
2016. Nearly 36,000 claims were
registered under PMJJBY of which
more than 31,200 claims have been
disbursed. Similarly, of the 7,025
claims registered under PMSBY,
4,551 have been disbursed till 21st
July of this year.
PMJJBY is a one year Life

Insurance Scheme, which is annual
ly renewable, and it provides cover
age of Rs. 2 lakh in case of death
due to any reason. The scheme is
available to people in the age group
of 18 to 50 years at the annual pre
mium of Rs. 330.
PMSBY is a one year Personal
Accident Insurance Scheme. It is
annually renewable at a premium of
Rs. 12 only. The policy offers cover
age of Rs.2 lakh in case of death or
permanent total disability and Rs. 1
lakh for permanent partial disability
due to an accident. It is available to
the people in the 1870 age group.
Over 4,500 claims had been dis
bursed and provided nancial relief
to the families of affected persons.

The Atal PensionYojna (APY) pro
vides income security for old people
by guaranteeing minimum monthly
pension from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000
from 60 years onwards to the sub
scriber. After subscribers death,
pension would go to his/her spouse
for life and thereafter, the pension
corpus as at the age of 60 years of
subscriber, is returned to the nomi
nee. It is specically focused on all
citizens in the unorganized sector.
Almost 29 lakh subscribers are
enrolled till date.
These schemes are having a posi
tive impact on society. State
Governments and district adminis
tration have been made partners in
the implementation of these
schemes. People are not only
becoming nancially strong, but
also their life is changing for good.
Their ambitions are growing. This is
true nancial inclusion in letter and
spirit. Corruption is declining as the
money is coming directly in the
beneciaries bank accounts. And
this is one of the prime objectives of
these schemes. The horizon of a
new dawn of social security has set
in and more and more people are
getting connected to it.
The author is an independent
journalist and TV anchor in India
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
44 August 20-26, 2016
VIEWS
Saare Jahan se Accha,

Hindustan Hamara
Ankit Tripathi,
a student of Biology
from Canada
By Karishma Asoodani
s India entered its 70th
year of independence it is
hard to imagine the fate of
our country had countless patri
ots not faught for this freedom
so hard earned. But how does the
young India feel about their inde
pendent country? Do they value
it as much?

asked a crosssection of
youngsters from dif fer
ent Indian cities their
take on what would India
be without its freedom?
Soumyani Ghoshal,
a student of Political
Science from Kolkata
cannot choose to forget the

struggle and heroic acts of our
freedom ghters who gave up
their lives to make our mother
land free. From Deshbhakti songs
to recapitulation of all the mar
tyrs, it's a day we all await for. I
believe, if not for those years of
strugg le, we would still be a
nation under the dictatorship of
the British, a nation under that
would never develop with thou
sands of dreams shattered. But to
think of it more closely, are we
really independent? After all
these 70 years of achieving free
dom, we Indians still cling on to
some of the worst social preju
dices of caste system, dowry
,rapes and many such heinous
crimes. Therefore, even though I
am proud to be a citizen of this
free country, there are times I
look back and think are we really
free?
ndia without its freedom could

be any things, It could be a
nation of native slaves continu
ing to struggle for freedom, it
could be a nat ion where the
Colonials struck a bargain with
the natives, or it could be anoth
er one of those pieces of land
that were taken away from its
true inhabitants. Please do notice
how it isn't a nation without its
natives. Most Indians feel the
need to criticize the country for
its failures, more than take pride
in
its
achievements.
Fundamentally, no other country
can fathom the idea of having the
diversity as broad as ours, and
we have made all this progress
regardless. On paper, the concept
of India as a country is awless.
However the polarization of con
servatives and the liberals has
caused only the common people
to live in a narrowed sense of
freedom and experience a sub
conscious sense of threat. And
yet, halfway across the world, I
am proud of my country and
identity as an Indian.
Maroof Kibria, a
student of Psychology
from New Delhi.
t the stroke of the midnight

hour, on 15th August 1947,
India had awakened to life and
freedom. It is the very freedom

that every citizen of this country
enjoys even to day, and has
become an indispensible part of
each of our lives. Thus, to imag
ine an India that is devoid of this
freedom becomes very difcult
for all its citizens, as we nd our
selves to be slaves of the govern
ment that is meant to protect our
rights. The press loses its power
which would make the common
man less informed and by losing
our freedom to vote, we would be
governed by an authoritarian
government with the freedom to
be as fascist as it wants to be
which is a frightening thought.
Despite the evils that surround
me in society, I shall forever be
grateful for the very idea of
democracy that makes me the
free citizen I am today.
Suha Fatima,
a student of Mass
communication from
Hyderabad
ndia without its freedom would

be a robbed nation. Robbed of
its riches, potential for greatness,
basic human rights and a sense
of selfrespect that only comes
with freedom. Freedom to be
who you are without a feeling of
inferiority or fear. It is very
tempting to wish that the British
never colonized India but then if
you think about it, we would
never have a reason to come
together and g ht a worthy
cause, nor would we have the
same opportunities of education
had the British not ruled over a
then very divided country. It is a
sense of pride to be a part of the
country that worked hard, shed
blood, sweat and tears to get rid
of the oppressor and as a side
effect united people of all kinds
under the name of a secular
country, a country that was born
out of struggle because it had a
vision.
Shreya Orungati,
a student of
Journalism from
Mumbai
the world would have missed out

on one of the most diverse coun
tries. If India was still under the
British, India wouldn't have won
the world cup, would never be
that one country that reached
space, would not have had an
Abdul Kalam. India's freedom is
its charm, without it, it would be
a body living like a corpse.
Sharan Mehta,
a student of
Literature from Pune
ndia without its Independence

would be, not being able to go
to your favorite restaurant or
movie because it is owned by a
British man and not being able to
walk the streets without colonial
ism being thrown at us. India
without its Independence would
be a country w ith plenty of
resources, knowledge, talent and
potential that would slowly get
strangled by colonialism in the
due course of time, soon becom
ing stagnant and dead. We as cit
izens of an independent country
are spoilt with the freedom of
choice so much so that we ruin
the opportunity given to us, to be
able to make the country a better
version of itself every passing
day. The mere thought of India
being an alien to freedom is so
devastating. It makes me want to
change every wrong ideology,
construct and opinion that is
overshadowing our capability as
a free country.
Prithvi Raj, a student

of Computer
Engineering from
Hyderabad
ccording to me, India without

its freedom would just be
india and not, "India" The British
rule over India in a way worked
towards uniting us, awakened in
every Indian the resolve to bring
back
its
India.
Every
Independence day, as we see ag
hoisting, we spend 25seconds of
our day thinking would we ever
do this if we were not a free
nation. The term "freedom" in
our lives is not just being free, it
is a journey of 200 years, blood
and sweat of our leaders and
faith and patience of our society.
Proud to be an Indian.
Maithri,
a student of
Advertising from
Bangalore
ithout its freedom, India
would have had an identity
crisis. A country of myriad cul
tures would have never wanted
to be one. Nothing binding us,
nothing to struggle for. Without
its freedom, India would have
been extremely westernized. Did
I say India would have had an
Identity crisis? Strike that, India
wouldn't because we Indians
would have struggled for one.
That's out identity. It has always
been. We are independent but we
are struggling, struggling to nd
ourselves.
ccording to me India if not

for its Independence would
have forever been a country of
slaves. The exposure to our cul
ture and its ethical heritage
would have been murdered and
46 August 20-26, 2016
There is no dearth of
success stories of global
Indians. Since centuries
people of Indian origin
have made their
presence felt wherever
they chose to settle. We
trace the journey of the
hardworking and
enterprising immigrant
Indians who have been
ambassadors of our
culture, traditions and
way of life.
Historical
Emigration
of Indians
South East Africa
efore the larger wave of

migration during the British
colonial era, a signicant
group of South Asians, especially
from the west coast (Sindh, Surat,
Konkan, Malabar and Lanka) regu
larly traveled to South East Africa,
especially Zanzibar. It is believed
that they traveled in Arab dhows,
Maratha Navy ships (under
Kanhoji Ang re), and possibly
Chinese junks and Portuguese
vessels. Some of these people set
tled in South East Africa and later
spread to places like present day
Uganda, and Mozambique. Later
they mingled with the much larg
er wave of South Asians who came
with the British.
Indian migration to the modern
countries of Kenya, Ug anda,
Maurit ius, South Africa, and
Tanzania started nearly a century
ago when these parts of the conti
nent were under Brit ish and
French colonial rule. Most of these
mig rants were of Gujarat i or
Punjabi origin. There are almost
30 lakh Indians living in South
East Africa. Indianled businesses
were (or are) the backbone of the
economies of these countries.
These ranged in the past from
small rural grocery stores to
sugar mills. In addition, Indian
professionals, such as doctors,
teachers, engineers, also played
an important part in the develop
ment of these countries.
Mauritius
utside of India itse lf,

Mauritius is the only coun
try where people of Indian
origin form the vast majority (not
including Guyana, Trinidad &
Tobago where AfroTrinidadians
and IndoTrinidadians have equal
populations, or Fiji where the
IndoFijians once formed the
majority but has declined due to
largescale emigration. The people
known as IndoMauritians form
about 65.8% of the population.
The majority of them are Hindu
(73.7%) and a signicant group is
Muslims (26.3%). There are also
some Bah's and Sikhs, but the
Bah's and Sikh populations are
relatively small in numbers. The
mother tongue of IndoMauritians
is Creole, as well as French and
English in general elds, however
various Indian languages are still
spoken, especially Bhojpuri, Tamil,
Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, and Urdu
are used in religious activities.
Mauritius hosts the Aapravasi
Ghat, the only site of UNESCO in
the world, to pay homage to the
memory of indenture.
INDIA ABROAD
independence
leader
Mahatma
Gand hi worked as a
lawyer in the city in the early
1900s.
United Kingdom
he rst wave of Indians in

the United Kingdom worked
as manual laborers. They
were not respected within the
so ciety. However, this has
changed considerably. Third and
fourth generation immigrants are
on the whole proving to be very
successful, especially in the elds
of law, business and medicine.
Indian culture has been con

stantly referenced within the
wider British culture, at rst as an
"exotic" inuence in lms like My
Beautiful Laundrette, but now
increasingly as a familiar feature
in lms like Bend It Like Beckham.
The main ethnic groups
are
Kannadig as,
Marwaris, Tamils,
P a n j a b i s ,
G u j a r a t i s ,
Beng alis and
AngloIndians.
Punjabi is now
the second most
w ide ly spoken
language in the
United Kingdom.
Canada
he rst known Indian set

tlers in Canada were Indian
Army soldiers who had
passed through Canada in 1897
on their way back home from
attending Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee celebration in
London, Eng land. Some are
be lieved to have remained in
Brit ish Columbia and others
returned there later. Punjabi
Indians were attracted to the pos
sibilities of farming and forestry.
They were mainly male Sikhs who

were seeking work opportunities.
IndoCaribbeans, descendants of
the Indian indentured workers
who had gone to the Caribbean
since 1838, made an early
appearance in Canada with the
arrival of the Trinidadian medical
student Kenneth Mahabir and the
Demerara (now Guyana) clerk M
N Santoo, both in 1908.
The rst Indian immigrants in
British Columbia allegedly faced
widespread racism from the local
white Canadians. Race riots tar
geted these immigrants, as well as
new Chinese immigrants. Most
decided to return to India, while a
few stayed behind. The Canadian
government prevented these men
from bringing their wives and
children until 1919, another rea
son why many of them chose to
leave. Quotas were established to
prevent many Indians from mov
ing to Canada in the early 20th
century. These quotas allowed
fewer than 100 people from India
a year until 1957, when the num
ber was increased to 300. In
1967, all quotas were scrapped.
Immigration was then based on a
point system, thus allowing many
more Indians to enter. Since this
opendoor policy was adopted,
NOTABLE INDIAN ORIGIN PERSONALITIES
South Africa
Harjit Sajjan, is an Indian Canadian

politician. He is
the current Minister
of National Defence.
Navanethem Pillay, an Indian

South African descent who
served as the U.N High
Commissioner for Human Rights.
Madhur Jaffrey is notable

Indianborn British Indian actress,
food and travel writer,
and television personality.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth GCSK,

KCMG, QC, MP, PC, is a Mauritian
politician and currently the PM of
Mauritius since December 2014.
ost Asians in South Africa

are descendent of inden
tured Indian laborers who
were brought by the British from
India in the 19th century, mostly
to work in the sugar cane planta
tions of what is now the province
of KwaZuluNatal (KZN). A minori
ty are descendent of Indian
traders who migrated to South
Africa at around the same time,
many from Gujarat. The city of
Durban has the highest number of
Asians in subSaharan Africa, and
Sir Ben Kingsley of

IndoKenyan descent is an
Oscarwinning actor.
Indians continue to come in large

numbers and roughly 25,000
30,000 arrive each year (which
now makes Indians the second
highest group immigrating to
Canada each year, after the
Chinese).
Caribbean
rom 1838 to 1917, over half

a million Indians from the
former British India, were
broug ht to the Brit ish West
Indies as indentured servants to
address the demand for labor fol
lowing the abolition of slavery.
The rst two shiploads arrived in
British Guiana (now Guyana) on
5th of May 1838. The majority of
the Indians living in the English
speaking Caribbean migrated
from eastern Uttar Pradesh and
western Bihar, while those
broug ht to Guade loupe and
Martinique were mostly from
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
A minority emigrated from other
parts of South Asia, including
presentday Pakistan and
Bang ladesh.
Other
Indo
Caribbean people descend from
later migrants, including Indian
doctors, Gujarati businessmen
and migrants from Kenya and
Uganda. A vague community of
modernday immigrants from
India is to be found on Saint
Martin / Sint Maarten and other
islands with dutyfree commer
cial capabilities, where they are
active in business.
IndoCaribbean's are the largest
ethnic g roup in Guyana,
Suriname and Trinidad and
Tobago. T hey are the second
largest group in Jamaica, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines and
other countries. There are small
populations of them in Bahamas,
Barbados, Belize, French Guiana,
Grenada, Panama, Guatemala, St
Lucia,
Hait i,
Mart inique,
Guadeloupe, and the Netherlands
Antilles. The indentured Indians
and their descendants have
actively contributed to the evolu
tion of their adopted lands in
spite of many difculties.
Australia
efore roads and road trans

port were developed, many
Indians had come to
Australia to run camel trains.
They would transport goods and

mail via came l in the desert.
Some of the earliest Punjabi
arrivals in Australia included
Kareem Bux who came as a hawk
er to Bendigo in 1893, Sardar
Beer Singh Johal who came in
1895 and Sardar Narain Singh
Heyer who arrived in 1898.
Many Punjabis took part in the
rush for gold on the Victorian
elds.
Indians also entered Australia
in the rst half of the 20th centu
ry when both Australia and India
were still British colonies. Indian
Sikhs came to work on the
banana plantations in Southern
Queensland. Today a large num
ber of them live in the town of
Woolgoolga (a town lying rough
ly halfway between Sydney and
Brisbane). Some of these Indians,
the descendants of Sikh planta
tion workers, now own banana
farms in the area.
T he third wave of Indians
entered the country in the 1980s.
After the policy was abolished
many Indian teachers and doc
tors settled in Australia. Another
big inux began with the IT revo
lution. Large numbers of Indian
IT professionals arrived in
Australia from 1976 onwards.
After successive military coups in
Fiji of 1987 and 2000 a signi
cant number of FijianIndians
migrated to Australia as such
there is a large FijianIndian pop
ulation in Australia. FijianIndians
have signicantly changed the
character of the Indian communi
ty in Australia. While most earlier
Indian migration was by educat
ed professionals, the FijianIndian
community was also largely pro
fessionals but also brought many
small business owners and entre
preneurs.
T he current wave of Indian
migration is that of engineers,
toolmakers, Gujarati business
families from East Africa and rel
atives of settled Indians.
INDIA ABROAD
tieth centuries, despite a law

change in 1899 which was
designed to keep out people who
were not of 'British birth and
parentage.' As in many other
countries, Indians in New Zealand
dispersed throughout the country
and had a high rate of small busi
ness ownership, particularly fruit
and vegetable shops and conven
ience stores. At this stage most
Indian New Zealanders originated
from Gujarat. Changes in immi
g rat ion policy in the 1980s
allowed many more Indians,
Pakistanis and Bangladeshis into
the country, and the 1987 and
2000 military coups in Fiji
caused a large increase in the
number of Fijian Indians coming
to New Zealand.
Modern times
uring the 19th century and
until the end of the British
Raj, much of the migration
that occurred was of poor work
ers (mostly Biharis and other
Bhojpuri speaking people from
the Bhojpur district of Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar) to other
British colonies under the inden
ture system. The major destina
tions, in chronological order,
August 20-26, 2016
were Mauritius, Trinidad and

Tobago, Suriname, Guyana, the
Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, East
Africa, and South Africa.
Gujarati and Sindhi merchants
and traders settled in the Arabian
Peninsula, Aden, Oman, Bahrain,
Dubai, South Africa and East
African countries, most of which
were ruled by the British. Indian
Rupee was the legal currency in
many countries of Arabian penin
sula.
After independence
fter the 1970s oil boom in
the Middle East, numerous
Indians emigrated to work
in Persian Gulf countries. With
mo dern transportat ion and
expectations, this was on a con
tractual basis rather than perma
nent as in the 19th century cases.
These countries in the Persian
Gulf have a common policy of not
naturalizing nonArabs, even if
they are born there. Some Persian
Gulf nations give citizenship if
the family has lived there for
many generations or years. Two
examples are Kuwait and UAE.
47
Overseas
Indians'
Day
Since 2003, the Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas
(Overseas Indians' Day)
sponsored by Ministry
of Overseas Indian
Affairs is being cele
brated on January 9th
each year in India to
"mark the contribution
of Overseas Indian
community in the
development of India."
The day commemo
rates the arrival of
Mahatma Gandhi in
India from South Africa
and during a threeday
convention held around
the day, a forum for
issues concerning the
Indian diaspora is held
and the annual Pravasi
Bharatiya Samman
awards are given away.
(Content source: Wikipedia)
NOTABLE INDIAN ORIGIN PERSONALITIES
Zubin Mehta is one of the worlds

leading conductors. He received
the 2,434th star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Sir Anish Kapoor is a BritishIndian

sculptor. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor
received Knighthood in the 2013
and Padma Bhushan in 2012.
Freddie Mercury, lead singer and

cofounder of the immensely
successful rock band Queen, was
of Parsi descent born in Zanzibar.
Chidambaramborn
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a
2009 Nobel Prize awardee in
Chemistry.
New Zealand
ndians began to arrive in New

Zealand in the late eighteenth
century, mostly as crews on
British ships. A small number
deserted; the earliest known
Indian resident of New Zealand
was living with a Mori wife in
the Bay of Islands in 1815.
Numbers slow ly increased
through the nineteenth and twen
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, UK based

chairman and CEO of
ArcelorMittal, the worlds
largest steelmaking company
48
August 20-26, 2016
CITISCAPES
THE NEW INDIA

From the massive solar plant in the Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh to the eco-friendly airports of
Chandigarh and Cochin, the worlds largest elevated metrocoming up at Hyderabad to the Chenab River
Bridge expected to be the worlds largest, the new integrated terminal coming up at the Netaji Subhas
Chandra BoseInternationalAirportin Kolkata to the petrochemicals complex at Dahej in Gujarat, India is
at the crux of some astounding infrastructure projects. We look at four cities that exemplify the new India.
By Anil
Mulchandani
etween Ahmedabad Airport

and the Gandhinagar Capital
City, The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) is designed to be a major financial hub
in this knowledge corridor, already
booming with colleges, universities
and infotech centres. When complete the city will have economic
zones, education, residential areas,
meetings and conventions, hospitality, tech parks, shopping, exchanges
and service units, all with high

quality infrastructure and ecofriendly cooling systems. Some of
the buildings will be set along the
Sabarmati River. Two commercial
towers have been finished.
As you travel from GIFT to
Ahmedabad, you cross canals
covered with solar panels. This
is the unique Canal Solar Power
Project which aims to use the
19,000 km long network of canals across the state to generate
electricity, saving the cost of land
that would be needed for a solar
power plant and limiting evaporation of water.
GUJARATS GIFT
Entering Ahmedabad, you will
soon come to the Sabarmati Riverfront road constructed for the easy
movement of traffic, with pleasant
views of the riverfront parks. Get
off to stroll on one of the promenades
providing
continuous
11.2km long walkways along the
river. The ambitious Sabarmati
Riverfront Redevelopment Project
aims to create a pleasant environment for residential, commercial
and recreational projects.
Get off the road on one of the

bridges, and to avoid driving
through traffic, you can catch
the bus to Kankaria on Janmarg,
also known as Ahmedabad BRTS,
a rapid transit system which runs
on advanced technologies. Dedicated corridors ensure that the
buses move unhindered by other
traffic. Disembark at Kankaria,
where the historic 15th century
manmade lake with carved embankments has for decades been
a recreational hotspot with parks

and a zoological park.
The lakefront has been redeveloped into a recreational zone with
a toy train, tethered balloon ride,
water rides, water park, food stalls,
entertainment facilities and an infotainment centre called the Kids
City. A Stone Mural Park is being
constructed here. Take the walkway
to the island in the center of Kankaria Lake which houses a summer
palace and fountains. The island
has been renovated and is a great
place to end the day in Ahmedabad
with a view of birds coming into
roost on trees at sunset.
(left) The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.

(down) The Kankaria lakefront by night.
(Image courtesy: Dinesh Shukla)
(Image courtesy: businesstoday.in)
MUMBAIS NEW GATEWAY TO INDIA
or many, Mumbai is the

arrival point for India by
flight. The transformation of
Chhatrapati Shivaji International
Airport (CSIA), a brown-field project, is a one-of-its-kind unique infrastructural project in the world,
unlike any other airport development projects. Today, the new
iconic Terminal 2, is Indias first
and most advanced vertical passenger terminal that integrates
world class design, architecture,
infrastructure and operational
efficiency, with a rich infusion of
Indian heritage and cultural character. The T2 is home to Indias
largest public art program titled
Jaya He, a three-kilometre-long
art walk which incorporates Indian aesthetics with a white peacock
theme, illuminated by skylights,
that has over 5000 pieces of artwork and artifacts. Once in the
city, you now have access to some
superb roads. The Santa Cruz
Chembur Link Road, shortened
toSCLR, is a 6.45km long arterial

road connecting Santa Cruz with
the Eastern Express Highway. The
Eastern Freeway is a controlledaccess highway, in Mumbai that
connects the Eastern Express

Highway to South Mumbai. The
BandraWorli Sea Link, officially
called Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link, is
a cable-stayed bridge with pre-
stressed concrete-steel via ducts

on either side that links Bandra
in the Western Suburbs of Mumbai with Worli in South Mumbai. The bridge is a part of the
proposed Western Freeway that
will link the Western Suburbs to
Nariman Point in Mumbais main
business district.
(Image courtesy: coupondunia.in)

(left) The BandraWorli Sea Link, officially called Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link. (right) The Terminal 2 of Chhratrapati Shivaji International Airport
49
August 20-26, 2016
CITISCAPES
NATIONAL CAPITAL REGIONS FAST LANES
ndias busiest airport, Delhis

Terminal 3 building is one of
the worlds 10 largest passenger terminals. The winner of many
international awards, this airport
is well-connected to the eight-lane
Delhi Gurgaon Expressway and
the Delhi Metros Airport Express
Line. From the airport, the Delhi
Metro leads to different parts of
Delhi and satellite cities in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The network consists of five color-coded
regular lines and the airport line.
The metro stations have decorative murals and mosaics done
by students, and some of the major ones have artwork and handicraftsfrom across India or panels
depicting Delhis heritage.
(Image courtesy: realtynmore.com)

(Image courtesy: shobhitmathur.wordpress.com)
The Delhi Metro network consists of six lines with a total length
of 189.63 kms with 142 stations of which 35 are underground.
The Nobel Memorial Wall at
Rajiv Chowk has portraits of the
seven Nobel Laureates from India:
Rabindranath Tagore, CV Raman,
Hargobind Khorana, Mother Teresa, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar,
Amartya Sen and Venkatraman
Ramakrishnan and provide details

about their contribution to society
and a panel each on Alfred Nobel
and the Nobel Prizes. From Noida,
the Yamuna Expresswayis a 6-lane
165 km longcontrolled-access six
lane expressway leading to Agra.
CHENNAIS CHANGEOVER
ne of the key gateways to

southern India, Chennai
has one of the three or four
busiest airports in India which has
recently seen much modernization and expansion. Another major revamp has been the roads of
Chennai, where the government

has constructed grade separators
and flyovers at major intersections, and built Inner Ring Road
and Outer Ring Road.
The Kathipara cloverleaf interchanges is the largest flyover in
the whole of Asia, situated at

Alandur at the intersection and an
important road junction in Chennai. One of the interchanges leads
to theChennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, a state of the art bus terminal
spread over an area of 37 acres.
The 165-km-long Yamuna Expressway cuts across from the Noida-Greater Noida region to Mathura and thenbeyond to Agra.
The Yamuna Expressway has SOS
booths along the route besides a
toll free helpline. CCTV cameras
are installed every 5km along the
expressway for safety and accident
assistance; mobile radars to monitor compliance with minimum and
maximum speed limits; and one
highway patrol every 25km.
The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial
Corridor Project, a hi-tech industrial zone which is one of the worlds

biggest infrastructure projects
spread across seven states with 24
industrial regions, eight smart cities, two airports, five power projects, two mass rapid transit systems and two logistical hubs. The
1,500 km long freight corridor is
an integral part of this project.
The terminus has hotels, eateries, locker rooms, travel services,

shops, supermarkets, ATMs, toilets,
a 24-hour Emergency Medical Care
Centre, a 24- hour Pharmacy, Free
Wi-Fi internet, wheel chair facilities
and a child-friendly center. The
terminus will have an elevated station of the Chennai Metro, which
will be the first metro project in India that will integrate other public
transportation systems.
From the heart of Chennai, the
Rajiv Gandhi Salai runs south
till Mahabalipuram on the East
Coast Road. Popularly called
as the IT Corridor, this road
is lined with a number of BPO
and IT/ITES companies. The International Tech Park, Chennai
(ITPC) is one of the major infotech parks in the area.
Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus
50 August 20-26, 2016
TRIBUTE
The creator of Akshardham and Spiritual Head of BAPS

Swaminarayan Sanstha mourned by countless
devotees and well-wishers worldwide
Ahmedabad: The spiritual head
of BAPS, ce le brated for his
worldwide sociospiritual servic
es, HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj
passed away at the pilgrimage
place of Sarangpur, Gujarat, at
the age of 95 on August 13 at 6
pm.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was
the fth spiritual successor in
the guru parampara tradition of
Bhagwan Swaminarayan. For
more than seven decades he
traveled tirelessly, visiting over
17,000 towns and villages in
India and abroad. However, for
the last two years, because of
age and frail health, he had been
residing at the BAPS Shri
Swaminarayan Mandir in
Sarangpur under the able care
of expert doctors.
Most recently, Pramukh
Swami Maharaj had been affect
ed by a chest infection from
which he had gradually recov
ered. However, due to his long
standing heart problems, he
passed away peacefully at the
BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in
Sarangpur.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was
born on December 7, 1921 to a
humble farmers family in the
small village of Chansad, near
Vadodara in Gujarat. In 1939, he
renounced home to become a
renunciate and received initia
tion into the sadhufold from his
guru, Brahmaswarup Shastriji
Maharaj and was named Sadhu
Narayanswarupdas.
On completing his Sanskrit
studies, he was appointed as the
kothari
of
the
BAPS
Sarangpur in 1946 at the age of
25. Then in 1950, at the age of
28, Shastriji Maharaj selected
him as the President (Pramukh)
of BAPS in his place. Since then,
he had been fondly known as
Pramukh Swami.
Shastriji Maharaj passed away
in 1951, declaring Yog iji
Maharaj as his spiritual succes
sor. Thereafter, Pramukh Swami
served under the guidance and
blessings of Yogiji Maharaj. In

1971, after the departure of
guru Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh
Swami Maharaj succeeded him
as the fth spiritual guru of
BAPS. Over the next 45 years,
his unremitting satsang travels,
seless services to society, saint
ly virtues and profound devo
t ion to Go d earned him the
respect and reverence of count
less worldwide.
His untiring ef forts in uplift
ing lives, liberating thousands
from vices and addictions, pro
viding relief and rehabilitation
to innumerable people in times
of calamity and catastrophe, and
inspiring character and faith in
hundreds of thousands of chil
dren and youths were some of
his many outstanding services to
society.
He also created and consecrat
ed over 1,100 mandirs world
wide and grand cultural com
plexes like Swaminarayan
Akshardham in New Delhi and
Gandhinagar to portray the cul
tural and spiritual heritage of
India.
Renowned spiritual masters
and heads of state have been
deeply touched by his humility,
saintliness and noble works.
These include His Holiness The

Dalai Lama, Indias late presi
dent Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, former
President Bill Clinton, Prince
Charles, former UN Secretary
General Ko Annan, the late
Sheikh Isa bin Salman al Khalifa
of Bahrain, and many royals,
heads of state and other digni
taries. All were profoundly
touched by Swamishris spiritual
personality and humanitarian
services to society.
The news of his earthly depar
ture has created a pall of deep

sadness among countless devo
tees and wellwishers. He was
cremated with complete rituals
and honors on August 17.
PRAMUKH SWAMI
MAHARAJ: A LIFE
OF INSPIRATION
o think is great, to live is
greater and to inspire is
the greatest gift to society.
Dr. Valavanur Subramaniam of
New York is the world renowned

cardiac surgeon who had suc
cessfully operated on Pramukh
Swami Maharaj in 1998.
Himself an agnostic who wor
shiped work and karma alone,
he shared his personal experi
ence of Pramukh Swami
Maharajs power to inspire with
a fellow professional, Dr. Atul
Chokshi. Dr. Subramaniam said,
You read the Gita daily but
today Ill show you someone
who lives the Gita daily, and can
help you live it. The enlight
ened Guru can help us live the
scriptures, primarily because he
lives them himself. He is the liv
ing link, the live connection
between the metaphysical and
the material world.
Emotional Stability : Pramukh
Swami Maharajs wisdom for
life: Paramatma is the alldoer
and provider of inner strength
to cope with all controllable or
uncontrollable, individual or col
lective crises of life. Whether it
be a depressed student or a run
away child, a collapsed business
man or a frustrated wife, a bro
ken marriage or a loss of a job
or death of a loved one, people
overcome their emotional trials
throug h Pramukh Swami
Maharajs care, counseling and
wisdom. One historic account is
Continued from page 50
the Ugandan exodus in 1972,
when thousands of wealthy,
we llsettled Indians were
slaughtered, uprooted and driv
en out, penniless with nowhere
to run. Sir Charles Cunningham
describes in the foreword to Life
and Philosophy of Shree
Swaminarayan: We have seen
recently, in a very striking way,
how this ability to draw strength
from cultural and religious con
tinuity can help in facing the
unpredictable trials of modern
life. When nearly thirty thou
sand people were suddenly
expelled from Uganda and had
to come, often penniless, to start
a new life in Great Britain, their
calmness and dignity, their
readiness to accept hardship,
the uncomplaining way in which
so many of them who had
known success and prosperity
began again at the bottom of the
ladder, impressed us greatly. It
was evident that they had been
sustained by a deep religious
faith which had enabled them to
accept adversity and to rise
above it.
Many
of
these
were
Swaminarayan devotees. Not
only did they survive as
refugees, but soon restored their
wealth and status, overcame this
emotional nightmare, and in
1995 built the BAPS Shri
Neasden, London, hailed as the
rst and the largest traditional
Hindu mandir in the West by the
Guinness World Records.
T hough architecturally, this
mandir is considered a wonder
of the modern world, it is a
greater wonder of unagging
spiritual faith; a timeless symbol
of the love, devotion and dedica
tion of simple devotees towards
their God and Guru, and their
miraculous story of resilience
and resurgence.
Moral Purity : Pramukh Swami
Maharajs w isdom for life:
Paramatma is the allknower
generates a conscience of
uprig htness, honesty and
unshakeable integrity. The hall
mark of a BAPS Swaminarayan
devotee whether a child, youth
or adult is his or her moral
strength. Incidents abound: A
poor boy, Manish Gohil, of
Mumbai on his regular round
of collecting waste news
papers for BAPS
paper
re
cycling proj
ect discov
ered a thick
bundle
of
money mis
takenly discarded in the heap of
newspapers. Without touching a
note, not even to count it, he
knocked on the owners door to
return the money. Even the
August 20-26, 2016
TRIBUTE
ramukh Swami Maharajs

w isdom
for
life:
Paramatma is in everyone
and everything. Focusing on
this, Pramukh Swami Maharaj
has groomed his devotees to
respect and serve others. To
accept and appreciate others.
To rise above the differences of
personal be lie fs and back
grounds, social castes and com
munities and serve society with
dignity and responsibility.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj has
created a committed volunteer
force of 55,000 seless volun
teers who serve with devotion,
dedication and almost zero
administrative cost. Through a
worldwide network of 3,850
centers and a million members,
BAPS performs over 160
humanitarian services in areas
as diverse as environmental,
educational, med
ical, tribal,
social, cul
tural and
spiritual.
It is one
of
the
se lect few
NGOs of India
that are afliated to the
United Nations for its interna
tional services. To cite an exam
ple: in hours after the Gujarat
earthquake near Bhuj on 26
January 2001, Pramukh Swami
Maharaj was amongst the rst
to send in volunteers and sup
plies. Over 6,500 volunteers
reached 409 af fected villages,
rescuing victims, distributing
hundreds of tonnes of relief
51
Social
Responsibility
owner couldnt believe the hon

esty of the boy who declined to
accept any award or recognition.
T he amount was
Rs. 40,000!
F r o m
Narsinh
Solanki
o
f
Ahmedabad, working as a sim

ple electricity meter reader who
refused to accept bribe to a girl
in Nadiad taking her nal sec
ondary exams who declined to
s u p
plies,
serving
1.8 mil
lion hot
meals, nally
construct ing
49
schools for 15,000 students
and rehabilitating 15 villages
by building and rehabilitating
4,190 houses.
Over 91,000 patients were
provided free medical treat
ment while 2,500 were given
employment assistance. It is
regarded as perhaps the largest
and most humane so cial
responsibility shouldered by a
sociospiritual NGO.
Apart from natural disasters,
Pramukh Swami Maharajs care
has saved society from man
made disasters, more than
many times. When two warring
clans of Odarka and Kukkad,
and its surrounding 44 villages
could not make peace for more
than two centuries and contin
ued to kill each other with deep
hatred, Pramukh Swami
Maharaj camped in these
remote villages of Bhavnagar
District,
counse led
and
explained to the village chiefs
and clans, and nally succeeded
in helping them bury their past.
cheat and copy despite the fact

that the rest of the class was
freely copying; one wonders
how teenagers like Vipul
Pate l, study ing at
Harvard, and stu
dents like Amar,
Yogen
and
Sanjay
at
O x f o r d ,
Cambridge
and IIT will
ing ly stop
watching
lms and
television
for life! And
how ofcers
like Prakash
Mehta in the
US Army and
many more in
multi
backgrounds, intellects and tal

ents are inspired to embrace the
most sublime levels of morality
in the form of renunciation. The
answer they all give Pramukh
Swami Maharajs life!
national corporations continue

to avoid meat and alcohol
despite being posted in remote
outposts. Or for that matter, why
educated young men, of varying
Spiritual
Continuity
ramukh Swami Maharajs
wisdom for life: I am atma,
and Paramatma is eternal
ly with me. Realising oneself as
atma, which is not born and
does not die, and offering devo
tion to Paramatma creates an
exalted spiritual state that is far
beyond the momentary experi
ences of meditation, visions, and
wellbeing. Through satsang and
spiritual endeavors people rise
above worldly desires and fears!
Even beyond the fear of death.
Bhagwanji Mandavia, was a
dynamic business administrator
in Toronto.
Act ive in the IndoCanada
Federation, and guiding the
Gujarati community, Bhagwanji
These hundreds of warring vil

lagers made peace on 12 April
1990 and since then, not a sin
gle person has been killed due
to this ancestral enmity.
One of most magnanimous
and exemplary act of restraint
and responsibility by Pramukh
Swami Maharaj and his sat
sangis, was the calm, controlled
and peaceful response to the
inhuman terrorist attack on
Akshardham on 24 September
2002. It helped dissolve fuming
hatred, dif fused the haunting
threat of mass riots and vio
lence and restored peace and
equilibrium in Gujarat.
was enjoying success at its best.
Then in 1985 he was diagnosed
as having blood cancer. Not dis
closing it to anyone except a
close friend or two, he contin
ued with his life. All throughout,
his satsang w ith Pramukh
Swami Maharaj had strength
ened him beyond be lie f. By
1988, he was hospitalized for a
bonemarrow transplant. All the
pains and pressures of loneli
ness, illness, depression and
death were upon him.
Still, his smile never lost its
lustre nor did his voice lose its
vibrancy. No wonder, while he
phoned his friends, almost dying
on his bed, they still thought
Bhagwanji was in ofce! His
inner strength and stability is
spe lt in the reply he wrote
before his death to his brother
in India who had expressed
great grief about his terminal ill
ness. Physical pain comes to
one and all.
So one must never worry
about disease and death. One
must never leave the refuge of a
saint like Pramukh Swami
Maharaj in whom God resides.
Our faith in God and Swamiji
should remain unshakeable.
52 August 20-26, 2016
TRIBUTE
PM Narendra Modi pays emotional final

tribute to Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Sarangpur: On August 15 after
presiding
over
the
Independence Day celebrations
in New Delhi, Prime Minister of
India Narendra Modi arrived in
Sarangpur at 11.55 a.m. to pay
homage to his mentor HH
Pramukh Swami Maharaj. With
folded hands and a melancholy
face, the PM bowed before the
mortal body of Pramukh Swami
and of fered owers in obei
sance. He also met Mahant
Swami Maharaj, the new spiritu
al head of BAPS Swaminarayan
Sanstha, and other senior
swamis and expressed his con
dolences. Modi performed arti
and circumambulations in hom
age to Pramukh Swami.
Speaking on the occasion, Modi
mourned the demise of Pramukh
Swami as 'many have lost a Guru
and I, a father.'Taking pride in
his longstanding association
with Pramukh Swami, he said
that Swamiji has nurtured and
nourished him since the time
when nobody knew him in pub
lic life. As a fatherly gure,
Pramukh Swami would often
PM Narendra Modi paid homage to his 'mentor' and 'father figure'.

point out to him his mistakes
and molded him. T he Prime
Minister applauded Pramukh
Swami's devot ion and his
unswerving
commitment
towards every word that his
guru Yogiji Maharaj had uttered.
He has set before us an example
of how a true shishya should be.
Swamiji, he said, has brought

about a reformation not only in
the Swaminarayan Sampradaya
but among all sadhus. Though
he is not physically with us now,
but we all fee l his presence
through his life, teachings and
works. Modi recalled an inci
dent that occurred way back
British PM Theresa May

pays respects to Pramukh
Swami Maharaj
London:
UK Prime
Minister T heresa May
expressed her condo
lences to the Brit ish
Hindu community over
the
death
of
Swaminarayan sect's spiri
tual head Pramukh Swami
Maharaj.
"I would like to pay my
condolences to Brit ish
Hindus,
especially
the
BAPS
Swaminarayan Sanstha, on the passing
away of Pramukh Swami Maharaj," May
said.
"Pramukh Swami Maharaj inspired mil
lions with his powerful motto: 'in the
good of others lies our own'. This legacy
of seless service will continue to benet
humanity for a long time to come," she
said.
"I remember fondly my
visit to Neasden Mandir in
March 2013, as Home
Secretary, to speak at an
inspiring conference for
Internat ional Women's
Day organized by BAPS
Swaminarayan Sanstha,"
May said in a statement.
"I also had the opportu
nity to see the fantastic work that BAPS
does across the world to improve the
lives of others, and people giving up their
time generously to do it.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj exemplied
the values of British Hindus whose con
tribution helps make the United Kingdom
one of the world's most successful multi
cultural, multifaith democracies."
Governor Chris Christie condoles the

passing of Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Trenton, NJ : Governor Chris Christie condoled the passing of Pramukh Swami
Maharaj: "Mary Pat and I offer our deepest condolences to all who are mourning
the passing of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the creator of Akshardham
and spiritual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. New Jersey had a special con
nection with Pramukh Swamiji, who visited the state during every U.S. tour,
spreading a message of unity and uplifting countless lives. He will be remembered
by all for his selessness and service to others."
during the Shilanyas Vidhi of

Swaminarayan Akshardham,
New Delhi. Swamiji insisted that
he be present in the holy ritual.
Big names in the social and
political spheres were in atten
dance to participate. He was a
relatively unknown face at that
t ime. W hile the puja was in
prog ress, Pramukh Swami

requested a volunteer to provide
him with some coins saying, He
must not be having any money
to of fer during the ritual.
Pramukh Swami knew that my
pockets were empty. Such was
his
oneness
w ith
me.
Reminiscing about another inci
dent, the PM said, Once when
Pramukh Swamiji had stopped
eating for some time and would
not listen to anyone, I had
requested him to eat on the
phone like a son. An hour later
when I enquired, I was greatly
pleased to know that such a
great sadhu had paid heed to my
request and had eaten some
thing.
The Prime Minister commend
ed Pramukh Swamis great life,
morality and saintliness. He con
cluded his hourlong visit after
paying his respects to Pramukh
Swami Maharaj and seeking
blessings from the new spiritual
Head of BAPS Swaminarayan
Sanstha,
Mahant
Swami
Maharaj, for the progress and
prosperity of the nation.
54 August 20-26, 2016
US AFFAIRS
Muslims should help in

combating terror, says
Donald Trump
Washington: Republican presiden
tial nominee Donald Trump has
sought the help of Muslims to help
root out terrorism, saying the com
munity will be blamed if it does not
assist in combating the menace.
The reality TV starturned politi
cian, who earlier drew ak for pro
posing a ban on Muslims entering
the US, appealed to the community
as they would know what is going
on in their community.
Look, we have to be so tough and
so smart and vigilant. And frankly,
the Muslims have to he lp us,
because they see whats going on in
their community. We do not see it.
They have to help us, Trump said
Donald Trump at a recent rally. (Photo courtesy: Reuters)
in a Fox News town hall which was

taped on Tuesday.
And if theyre not going to help
us, theyre to blame also, Trump
said and indicated favoring racial
proling otherwise.
In response to another question,
he said he would throw out
Siddique Mateen, father of Orlando
shooter.
The Republican nominee called
for swift action against the ISIS,
which he said is better than the US
on social media.
We have to take them out very,
very swiftly and viciously if neces
sary, he said, responding to a ques
tion on ISIS.
Responding to another question,

Trump claimed that his Democratic
opponent Hillary Clinton is being
shielded by the media.
She is so protected. They (the
media) are so protective, he said.
She doesnt really do that much.
Shell give a speech on
teleprompter, and then shell disap
pear. I dont know if she goes home
she goes home and goes to sleep, I
think she sleeps.
Who do you want to be at that
phone at 3 in the morning?
Ill be up, I will tell you that. She
wasnt there, he said in reference
to the Benghazi attacks.
PTI
Trump shakes up campaign team Hillary solidifies lead against Trump in battleground states
Stephen
Bannon, new
CEO of Trump
campaign,
had turned
the anti
establishment
Breitbart News
into a
cheerleader
for the
candidate.
Washington:
Republican
Presidential nominee Donald
Trump has overhauled his electoral
campaign team, the media reported
on Wednesday.
Stephen Bannon, of ultra conser
vative Breibart News, will be the
CEO of his campaign, while
Kellyanne Conway, a former poll
analyst and adviser, is the new cam
paign manager.
Conway has experience with pri
mary elections and is highly valued
by Ivanka Trump, the candidate's
daughter, but she has never worked
as a campaign manager.
Paul Manafort, current President
of the Republican campaign, is set
to remain in his post, though the
team shakeup is believed to leave
him with less responsibilities.

With the sudden overhaul, Trump
intended to push his controversial
campaign further and recover from
the sudden drop in popularity over
the past few weeks.
The move came just two days
after Manafort was accused by The
New York Times of receiving almost
$13 million from a proRussian
Ukrainian political party over the
past six years.
The same newspaper revealed
that among the suspicious transac
tions was an $18 million deal to sell
a cable television channel's assets
to a committee set up by Manafort
and Russian oligarch Oleg Depriska,
a close ally to President Vladimir
IANS
Putin.
Washington: Donald Trump's mis

steps since the conventions have
put Hillary Clinton in a dominant
position.
If the election were held today,
according to the latest NPR analysis
of polling, demographics and on
theground reporting, Clinton would
win in a landslide of 2008 propor
tions. She has solidied her leads in
key battleground states and crosses
the threshold of 270 electoral votes

needed to win the White House in
the NPR Battleground Map with just
states where she already has a sig
nicant lead. In other words, she
could lose all of the tossup states
Ohio, Florida, North Carolina,
Iowa, Nevada and Georgia, yes,
Georgia now and still win, as you
can see in the map.
It has meant that key voting
groups have moved more toward

Hillary Clinton. NPR's Asma Khalid,
for example, reported on how white,
collegeeducated voters are convert
ing to Clinton. That's a demographic
found in important places, like the
suburbs of Philadelphia, Denver and
Northern Virginia.It's been about
the worst month any Republican
who wants Trump to win could
Courtesy: NPR
have feared.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
56 August 20-26, 2016
OP-ED
Modi criticizes Pak, its 15-year

terror bill is $118 bn
By Chaitanya Mallapur
s Prime Minister Narendra
Modi criticized Pakistan
without naming the country
for supporting terror groups, 671
inltration incidents and 738 ter
rorist attacks were reported in
Jammu and Kashmir over the last
three years, according to a govern
ment reply to parliament during its
justconcluded monsoon session.
As many as 141 terrorists and 64
civilians were killed across the state
between 2013 and July 10, 2016,
the reply said.
A staggering 23,061 terrorists,
1,431 civilians and 6,220 security
personnel have died in J&K over 28

years to August 7, 2016, according
to the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
About 34,000 AK47 ries, 5,000
grenade launchers, 90 light
machine guns, 12,000 revolvers,
three antitank guns, four antiair
craft guns, 350 missile launchers
and 63,000 kg of explosives, includ
ing RDX, and more than 100,000
grenades were seized by security
forces from terrorists in J&K over
the last 25 years, Modi said on
August 12, 2016 at an allparty
meeting on J&K.
"During this period, more than
5,000 foreign terrorists were killed,
which is almost equal to the
strength of ve battalions (of the
Indian Army)," said Modi.
Terrorism has cost Pakistan $118
billion over the last 15 years in
direct and indirect costs, according
to Pakistan's Economic Survey
201516. Pakistan forgets that it
A staggering 23,061 terrorists, 1,431 civilians and 6,220 security

personnel have died in J&K over 28 years to August 7, 2016.
bombs its own citizens using ghter
planes. The time has come when
Pakistan shall have to answer to the
world for the atrocities committed
by it against people in Baluchistan
and Pakistanoccupied Kashmir,
Modi said on August 12.

As many as 351 incidents of vio
lence were reported against minori
ties in Pakistan between 2012 and
2015, according to the 2016 report
State Of Re ligious Freedom In
Pakistan by Jinnah Institute, a pub

lic policy advocacy in Pakistan.
Sindh and Balochistan, in partic
ular, witnessed persistent targeted
killings and bomb attacks against
members of the Shia community. In
Balochistan, antiShia messaging in
public spaces and in the press con
tinued with impunity, the report
said. People in Balochistan had
thanked him for standing by them,
according to Modi.
In 2015, 247 civilians were killed
in Balochistan, of which 114 were
attributed to militant outts and
143 were considered the work of
the state apparatus and its surro
gates, according to South Asia
Terrorism Portal.
Since 2004, till April 17, 2016, at
least 922 civilian killings were
reported by militant outts. In addi
tion, 463 people went missing and
157 bodies were found mutilated in
Balochistan in 2015.
INDIA YET TO REALIZE

ITS ECONOMIC FREEDOM
By Amit Kapoor
t has been just over 69 years since the
stroke of the midnight hour when India
awoke to life and its freedom. Over the past
69 years, we have had many of the pledges
realized not wholly or fully but quite substan
tially. Barring some time periods, our freedom
as a people has remained largely intact. It is
thus important at this juncture to look at some
critical aspects of what this freedom has come
to mean to us particularly from an economic
viewpoint and what has been the role of the
state in helping India expand the freedom of
its people.
We were, at a recent conference, asked some
basic questions on our personal preferences
and choices. Since freedom in a fundamental
sense is also related to the expansion of our
life's choices for realizing one's potential we
list some of these questions here.
There were questions like the number of
participants approaching the Indian legal sys
tem for sorting disputes, the number of people
approaching a policeman for safety purposes,
the number of people going to a private doc
tor, the number of people sending their chil
dren to private schools, the number of people
buying bottled water and the number of peo
ple with diesel generators at home, to name
just a few.
A large number of people were reluctant to
take the rst two questions and a large pro
portion of people, to questions three to six,
talked about taking private alternatives and
the failure of the state. While one may cite the
sample size as well as the sample as a problem
India, in our view, is still to realize its economic freedom as

it celebrates its 70th year of independence.
(since most of the participants were from the
National Capital Region (NCR) and about 60 of
us were in the room) these do, to an extent,
reect some basic realities pertaining to choic
es and preferences which people in India
make.
In places where the people are largely tak
ing the public system, it is not due to their
choice but the lack of viable and proper pri
vate sector alternatives at affordable prices.
Now this is not to mean that private sector
does not have its own set of problems in India.
These include greed and incompetence, like in
the healthcare system, which appears to be
outside the ambit of most of India's popula
tion, as well as high school fees that people
often complain about. In this fundamental
sense, the Indian state has essentially been
minimal (a specic term in political philoso

phy meaning a state performing only the basic
function of maintaining law and order) but in
a unique sense of being present in most sec
tors but not performing any duty properly,
barring national defence (where India has a
well trained and professional human resource
pool) but it's defence production and acquisi
tions too are less than satisfactory.
The fundamental problem appears to be
that of priorities and understanding the role of
the state. The basic purpose of a nation state
is security. Apart from that, essential elements
include providing education and healthcare.
Here the private sector in India is propped up,
largely as the state system is inadequate,
inherently inefcient and slow with resolving
problems in primary education. The problems
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
are similar in the public healthcare system.

Post the 1980s, after India gave up the social
ist model of development, the state has shrunk
and has faced competition from the private
sector in these as well as other distinct sectors
of the economy. The choiceset for people has
expanded largely not due to the state but in
spite of it.
We have more cars to choose from, more
pharmaceutical companies, more power pro
ducers, more choice with respect to air travel,
more choice for banking services including
ATMs, more choice for digital and mobile
phone connectivity and the like. All these sec
tors evolved and competition essentially took
care of prices as well as quality better than the
state was able to.
The role of the state has been restricted to
creating the conditions for free and fair com
petition, which was taken care of by setting up
independent regulators.
The citizens, too, have to demand less from
the state in terms of goods and services and
more in terms of setting up conditions that
enable their provision of those goods and
services. India, in our view, is still to realize its
economic freedom as it celebrates its 70th
year of independence, which is dependent con
ceptually on important elements like protec
tion of property rights, voluntary exchange
and freedom to compete in markets. We hope
in the years ahead, India realizes this econom
ic freedom and enables any citizen to be able
to approach the legal system or police without
fear and favor. That is the yardstick by which
the Indian state should measure its perform
ance and enable India's true tryst with destiny.
58 August 20-26, 2016
INDIA
Jaishankar accepts Pak's invite for talks
Police on job
in case filed by
V.K. Singh's
wife
New Delhi: Delhi Police were

conduct ing searches for
Pradeep Chauhan, who has
been missing for the past few
days after an FIR for black
mail and extortion was led
against him by the wife of
Union Minister V.K. Singh.
Chauhan had earlier been
questioned by the police fol
lowing the FIR. His mobile
phones are switched of f for
the past two days, police
sources said.
V.K. Sing h's w ife Bhart i
Singh had on late Tuesday
led a case against Chauhan
at Tughlaq Road police station
for allegedly blackmailing her
and demanding Rs 2 crore as
extortion money.
In a related development,
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader
Sanjay Singh on T hursday
said that Chauhan met him on
Sunday and claimed that he
has "evidence" against two
union ministers of plotting
murder.
But the audio and video evi
dence did not have anything
substantial, the AAP leader
said.
Sing h told IANS that
Chauhan
also
wanted
an AAP ticket for the Punjab
elections.
"He (Pradeep Chauhan)
came to my ofce on Sunday.
He said he is a nephew of Gen
(retd) V.K. Sing h and has
worked for him from
Sahibabad during elections,"
Sanjay Singh told IANS.
"He further said that he has
evidence against two union
ministers of hatching a con
spiracy to get a few people
murdered and assured that he
has audio and video evidence
of the same," Singh added.
"When I asked him to show
the audio and video evidence
there was nothing substantial
in them," the AAP leader
added.
New Delhi: Amid escalating bilat

eral tension over the unrest in
Kashmir Valley, India said that
Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar
will go to Islamabad for talks with
his Pakistani counterpart, but will
fo cus on "aspects" re lated to
crossborder terrorism.
According to sources, while
accepting the invite by Pakistani
Foreign
Secretary
Aizaz
Chaudhry, India has conveyed
that it "rejects the selfserving
allegations (of Pakistan) over
Jammu and Kashmir in totality"
and asserted that the northern
state is an integral part of India
"where Pakistan has no locus
standi".
"Since aspects related to cross
border terrorism are central to
the current situation in Jammu
and Kashmir, we have proposed
that discussions between the
Foreign Secretaries be focused on
them," the sources said.
Indian High Commissioner to
Pakistan Gautam Bambawale was
handed over an invitat ion
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar meets Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz

Ahmad Chaudhry in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS/MEA)
addressed to Jaishankar to visit
Pakistan "for talks on the Jammu
and Kashmir dispute that has
been the main bone of contention
between India and Pakistan".
Jaishankar's acceptance of the
invite comes as Defence Minister
Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday

commented that going to Pakistan
was akin to "going to hell".
The Foreign Secretary's would
be the second highranking visit
after that of Union Home Minister
Rajnath Sing h who was in
Modi's comments on
Balochistan right: BJP
Islamabad early this month for a

Saarc ministerial.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's
scheduled visit to the neighbour
ing country to attend a twoday
Saarc nance ministers meet later
this month is still under a cloud.
The conference is on August 25
26 in Islamabad.
Rajnath Singh's visit was cloud
ed in controversy after he landed
amid antiIndia protests by sever
al groups. He also facedoff with
his counterpart Chaudhry Nisar
Ali Khan over Jammu and
Kashmir during their respective
speeches, and skipped a dinner
invite to Saarc ministers.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of
arming and training militants
ghting in Jammu and Kashmir.
IndiaPakistan ties have become
frosty after large scale violence
broke out in Jammu and Kashmir
following the killing of popular
militant commander Burhan Wani
on July 8. Over 60 people have
died in clashes w ith security
forces in Kashmir Valley.
Najma Heptulla, Mukhi

appointed Governors
Hindu Sena
activists stage a
demonstration
in support of
people of
Balochistan in
New Delhi.
(Photo: IANS)
New Delhi: Hitting back at the Congress

for its remarks on the government policy
on Pakistan, the BJP said that Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had sought to
name and shame the neighboring coun
try for atrocities it is committing day and
night in Balochistan.
In a statement here, the Bharatiya
Janata Party said that the Congress
remarks on Modi's Independence Day
address was nothing but opposition for
opposition's sake, indicative of the great
panic due to propeople work of the gov
ernment.
We are not surprised about the
Congress' absurdities. After all, a party of
'parivar sevaks' (servers of a family) duty
bound to do 'parivar seva' (serve the fami
ly) can hardly comprehend the efforts of
a 'pradhan sevak' (people's servant)
immersed in nation's service, the state
ment said.
It said the distinction was also clear in
the domain of foreign policy. The state
ments of then Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh at Sharm e lSheikh in Egypt
brought immense shame to the nation.
"There was a prime minister who was
open to debating India's role in

Balochistan and here is a prime minister
who has categorically sought to name and
shame Pakistan for the atrocities it is
committing day and night in Balochistan,
the statement said.
The overwhelming support from the
oppressed and subjugated brave men and
women of Balochistan for Prime Minister
Modi illustrates the chord his address has
struck on the issue and displayed the
rmness with which India has dealt with
the issue, it added.
Referring to the Congress remarks on
Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP said Modi
had spoken in detail during the allparty
meeting on the prevailing situation in the
state. It said he had visited the state on
multiple occasions.
The BJP alleged that most simmering
situation in Jammu and Kashmir took
place in 2010 when the Congress was a
partner of the ruling coalition.
The round of protests in 2008 took
place under a Congress Chief Minister.
Never has the Congress spoken for the
rights of Kashmiri Pandits, the party
alleged.
Former Union Minister Najma Heptulla.

New Delhi: Former Union Minister Najma
Heptulla, who resigned last month after crossing
75 years of age, has been appointed Governor of
Manipur.
Heptulla was among four Governors named by
the Centre along with those for Assam, Punjab
and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Former Member of Parliament V.P. Singh
Badnore has been appointed Governor of Punjab,
which is scheduled to have assembly polls next
year, said an ofcial communique from the
Rashtrapati Bhawan.
In other appointments, senior BJP leader
Jagdish Mukhi has been appointed Lt. Governor of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Banwarilal
Purohit the Governor of Assam.
Heptulla, 76, had resigned from the union cabi
net on July 12, almost a wee k after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of
Ministers.
T he 73yearold Jagdish Mukhi has been
appointed Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar
Islands in place of Lt. General A.K. Singh (Retd).
August 20-26, 2016
60 August 20-26, 2016
NATIONAL
Silicon Valley mogul Gurbaksh Chahal

jailed in domestic violence case
Indian-Americans
donate $60,000 to
families of killed
Dallas cops
Dallas: The IndianAmerican
community in Dallas has donat
ed $60,000 to the family mem
bers of the Dallas police ofcers
killed by a gunman during a
recent protest against the fatal
police shootings of black men.
A check of $60,000 was
recently presented to the Dallas
Mayor Mike Raw lings and
Executive Assistant to Dallas
Police Chief David Pughes, by a
group of IndianAmerican com
munity leaders led by AK Mago,
founding chair of the US India
Chamber of Commerce in
Dallas.
"We appreciate the protection
you give us. We wanted to rec
ognize what you do for us every
day," MMr ago was quoted as
say ing by the lo cal Dallas
Morning News.
"This is more than generous. I
have such respect for the Indian
community," Rawling said.
About half of the amount
came from USIndia Chamber
and its members.
Other groups, such as the
Dallas Indian Lions Club, DFW
Hindu Temple, the DFW
Gujarati Samaj, the Karya Siddhi
Hanuman Temple, the Jain
Society of North Texas and the
India Asso ciat ion of North
Texas, donated about $5,000
each, the daily said.
On July 7, a gunman
ambushed and red upon a
g roup of police ofcers in
Dallas, killing ve ofcers and
injuring nine others.
(PTI)
San Francisco: A Silicon Valley internet

mogul who sold his startup for $300 million
at the age of 25 and appeared on "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" as a highly eligible bachelor
was sentenced on Friday to a year in jail for
violating his probation in a domestic violence
case, the Associated Press reported.
However, Gurbaksh Chahal, 34, will not
immediately begin serving the sentence
because San Francisco Superior Court Judge
Tracie Brown cited questions about the evi
dence while giving him time to appeal her
ruling.
Brown determined last month that Chahal
had violated the probation ordered after he
pleaded guilty in 2014 to misdemeanor
charges of battery and domestic violence
battery.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage from

his San Francisco penthouse showed him
punching and kicking his girlfriend more
than 100 times and trying to smother her
with a pillow.
Chahal entered his plea to the reduced
charges after the woman stopped cooperat
ing with authorities and a judge said the
video could not be used as evidence because
it had been improperly obtained.
He was accused of violating his probation
by kicking another girlfriend, who also didn't
cooperate with prosecutors.
Chahal said both women had cheated on
him, according to prosecutors.
Gurbaksh Chahal
(Image courtesy: dolcemag.com)
Vanita Gupta leads drive

Dream events,
innovative culinary arts against police brutality
Bridgewater, NJ: T he
denit ion of a dream
event, according to Ajay
Chaudhry, is an innova
tive theme setting with
memorable tongue tin
gling culinary experi
ence. After acquiring and
renovating a place which
was in ruins, and pre
senting an individualized
dining experience for about 25 events in
2 months after it reopened, Martinsville
Gardens, the new acquisition of Chand
Palace at the Watchung mountains in
Bridgewater, NJ, has excellent feedback
from guests.
Distinguishing himself as a culinary
entrepreneur and breaking all myths by
hiring and training locals of any back
ground to create this specialized Asian
fusion cuisine and theme settings for
events, Ajays vision is to open a chain of
Asian Fusion restaurants.
Ajay Chaudhry brings with him 26
years of experience in the culinary indus
try from heading the largest convention
centre at The Ashok, New Delhi to his
most prestigious assignment of organiz
ing State Banquets for the prime minister
of India and visiting dignitaries, including
former President Bill Clinton and Hillary
on their visits to India. His knowledge of
the Culinary Arts and combined Banquet
Management expertise is turning a good
fornothing property into a thriving local
business, benetting the community and
State, creating jobs.

Ajays innovat ive
ideas and culinary skills
earned
him
the
Presidential award for
making Delhis Hotel
Ashoks convention cen
ter the best in his coun
try. He proudly says
that guests after attend
ing an event catered by
him and with his selection of appropriate
ly themed food remarked that their taste
buds were tingling with excitement.
His experience enables him to merge
his culinary knowledge with his market
ing savvy settings. This is true whether
an event includes bridal couples, birth
days or anniversaries, businesses and
charities implementing an innovative cui
sine and theme help. To be ahead of com
petition, he keeps developing new set
tings for presentation, new ideas and new
dishes.
Hosting a charity or fundraiser at a
minimal fee, or perhaps just for the cost
and preparation of the food, gives back to
the community, he says. For local hires,
he looks no further than the students
from the Culinary Arts Program at the
Community College of Morris, where Ajay
is on the advisory board. More especially
when the aim is to create one fusion cui
sine palatable to every guest keeping in
view the diversity of America.
The world will be a much better place
to live with one cuisine and one religion.
New York: An Indian American ofcial spear

heading the Obama administration's campaign
against police bru
tality and mistreat
ment of minorities
has
issued
a
scathing indict
ment of the city of
Baltimore, accus
ing its police force
of violat ing the
Constitution and
federal ant idis
crimination laws.
The Head of the
federal
Civil Rights
Vanita Gupta, head, Federal
Division,
Vanita
Civil Rights Division
Gupta, who over
saw an inquiry into police brutality and excesses
in the city, said on Tuesday that its African
American community "bore the brunt." Speaking
at a news conference to release a Department of
Justice report from the inquiry, she said her
agency had entered into an agreement with
Baltimore to reform the police.
Gupta, who is also the Principal Deputy
Assistant Attorney General, is the most promi
nent of several Indian Americans working in the
civil liberties arena.
All the six police ofcers charged in the case
were either acquitted or had the charges with
drawn leading to outrage among African
Americans and civil liberties activists.
The Baltimore incident came after the police
shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson,
Missouri, the previous year sparked massive riots
and turned national attention to police killings of
African Americans.
DIPLOMACY
August 20-26, 2016
61
Prabhu Dayal serves

hot Karachi Halwa
I
t was the second half of 1981,

and my tenure as Second
Secretary at the Indian Embassy
in Cairo was coming to an end. The
three and a half years that I had
spent in the Egyptian capital were
a highly rewarding experience for
a debutant in the complex world of
international diplomacy.
Soon after my arrival in Cairo,
Egypt and Israel had signed the
Camp David Accords in September
1978, which paved the way for the
Peace Treaty which was signed in
March 1979. In recognition of this
momentous
achievement,
President Sadat and Prime
Minister Begin were jointly award
ed the Nobel Peace Prize for that
year. In his acceptance speech,
Sadat had said, Let us put an end
to wars, let us reshape life on the
basis of solid equity and truth.
T his Peace Treaty ended the
state of war that had existed
between Egypt and Israel since
1948. It made Egypt the rst Arab
country to recognize Israel, but for
the same reason, it became unpop
ular in most of the other Arab
countries. In their view, Sadat had
betrayed the concept of Arab
unity, and Egypt was suspended
from the Arab League in 1979.
In short, it was a period of hectic
diplomatic activity. I was on my
toes all the time trying to cope
with the tasks assigned to me. As a
result, I was now looking for a
good break. It was no secret to my
colleagues at the Embassy that I
was sure that I would soon be
winging my way towards Europe
or America for my next posting. I
started daydreaming about all
those wonderful places I might be
headed to.
On one such day, a colleague
walked into my ofce with a broad
grin on his face and a telex mes
sage in his hand.
Great news! he proclaimed.
Trembling with excitement, I
asked
him:
Washington?
London?
His grin was so broad that I was
sure it had to be one of these.
He handed me the telex in
those days emails or even fax
messages had not yet arrived on
the scene, and all good and bad tid
ings were sent by the External
Affairs Ministry by telex.
KARACHI? I screamed in disbe
lief, while his grin grew even
broader. Not even in my worst
Ambassador Prabhu Dayal, former Consul General of

India in New York, has penned Karachi Halwa, a witty
and insightful account of his posting as a diplomat in
Karachi, Pakistan, from 1981 to 1985. The book was
launched in New York and New Jersey last month.
An extract from the book, The Prologue:

nightmares had I seen myse lf
being packed off to Karachi from
Cairo.
I had every reason to believe
that the Pakistanis would be hos
tile to me. Our two countries had
fought wars in 1948, 1965 and
1971, respectively, and in the last
amongst these, we had achieved a
decisive victory that resulted in the
creation of Bangladesh.
I was miserable at the thought of
being sent of f on a posting to a
country where I was sure to be
regarded as an enemy.
I stayed in Cairo for a few weeks
more, agonizing each day over how
fate had dealt me such a cruel
blow. I was so dejected that I could
well have sat down to write my
own obituary.
There was, however, nothing
else I could do about it.
Omar Khayyams famous verse
would often come to my mind:
The moving finger writes,

and having writ,
Moves on; nor all thy
piety nor wit
Can lure it back to cancel

half a line
Nor all thy tears
wash out a word of it.
While briey in Delhi en route
from Cairo to Karachi, I received a
message from Additional Secretary
S.K. Singh asking me to see him. It
was his moving nger that had
decided to send me to Karachi, for
he was the allpowerful head of
administration at the Ministry of
External Affairs. Some years later,
he would become the Foreign
Secretary and move his nger with
even greater authority to decide
the fate of his colleagues even
the most senior ones.
We are sending you to a chal
lenging assignment, he told me.
I interpreted this to mean that it
was an assignment for which there
were no takers.
Throughout our meeting, it was
quite evident that he was just try
ing to cheer me up and boost my
morale.
We had a chat about Karachi and
the tasks for the Consulate. In a
lighter vein, he remarked: I love
Karachi halwa. Its de licious,

though it often gives me indiges
tion.
Halwa is an Arabic word mean
ing a dessert or sweet that is gen
erally our or nut based. T he
dessert itself has been adopted by
many cuisines, which have intro
duced their own variations, and
halwa is now part of the lexicon of
many languages. The Indian sub
continent is home to many differ
ent types of halwa too, but Karachi
Halwa is a highly regarded and
wellliked speciality.
Though I embarked on my stint
in Karachi with no hint of enthusi
asm, the three and a half years I
spent there turned out to be unfor
gettable in several respects and ll
me with nostalgia even today, after
the passage of three decades.
My diplomatic career has taken
me to several continents, but I
must admit that in no other coun
try did I feel such an overpowering
sense of a common heritage as I
did in Pakistan. In both countries,
the issues in focus are those that
divide us. This is of course unfor
tunate since presentday India and

Pakistan have existed under simi
lar inuences for millennia and
have remarkable similarities in a
number of areas such as language,
literature, art and architecture.
I found that there was something
rather unique about the experi
ence of living amidst my colonial
cousins. The warmth and affection
I somet imes received remain
etched in my memory.
One occasion that I remember
fondly was when I wanted to buy a
camelskin lamp and found a shop
that had just what I wanted. As I
was paying the bill, the elderly
shopkeeper somehow gured out
that I was from India, and asked
me which city I hailed from. When
I told him that I was from
Allahabad, he refused to take any
money from me as his wife was
also from there! Finally, he agreed
to let me pay, as long as I would
accept two lamps for the price of
one!
During my stay in Karachi, I met
several people who were the very
embodiment of sophistication and
renement. Remnants of the leg
endary Nawabi era, they were a
charming blend of wealth and cul
ture poignant reminders of an
age fast receding into the past.
There were also many enchanti
ng evenings I spent at spellbinding
concerts of Pakistani maestros, or
at mushairas (Urdu poetic sym
posia) graced by the participation
of renowned Pakistani poets. I felt
truly enriched by such cultural
estas.
Then there were those equally
enjoyable evenings that I spent
just relaxing in the company of a
few close Pakistani friends. These
occasions gave me the opportunity
to savor the best of Karachi humor
always original though at times,
somewhat cynical.
These and many other memories
ll me with sweetness even today.
On the other hand, I was often
witness to the unabashed lying
and duplicity that Pakistani lead
ers have developed into a ne art.
Their pronouncements were often
at such variance with ground reali
ties that they were difcult to
digest.
My posting in Pakistan turned
out to be so much like Karachi
Halwa!
'Karachi Halwa' is published in

India by Zorba Books and the
Kindle edition is available online at
Amazon. Prabhu Dayals wife
Chandini Dayal has provided illus
trations for the book.
62 August 20-26, 2016
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
From Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan to Deepika Padukone,

the presence of Bollywood faces in Hollywood is increasing
swimmingly as we enter the 70th year of independent India.
Priyanka crowned
Hollywood's 'It Girl'
fter starring in the successful
American TV Series Quantico,
Priyanka Chopra has been
a ch i e v i n g o n e m i l e s t o n e a f t e r
another! Rig ht from w inning a
Peo p l e ' s C h o i c e A w a r d f o r t h e
series to g racing the covers of
many international magazines, she
has surely become a global icon.
A USbased magazine, Harper's
Bazaar recently made a list of 'Find
out who the Hollywood "It Girl" was
the year you were born' and our
desi girl made it to the list for the
year 2015.
It also includes iconic Hollywood
actresses like Audrey Hepburn
(1961), Elizabeth Taylor (1963),
Meryl Streep (1979), and Julia
Roberts (1990).
"Chopra has long been a star of
Bollywood, but in 2015, her ABC
show Quantico premiered and she
w a s e v e r y w h e r e, p l a y i n g t h e
The Warrior put

Irrfan on world map
Tom Hanks, Irrfan Khan and Ron Howard.
The Bollywood diva will be seen next in the second season of

Quantico and Project Runway.
smartest woman in the world,
tasked with saving America even as
she's accused of terrorism, the
magazine said. T he actress will
next be seen in the second season

of Quantico and also in Baywatch
w i t h D w a y n e J oh n s o n a n d
Zac Efron.
My Hollywood journey
hasnt been easy: Deepika
he
trailer
of
Deepika
Padukones Hollywood lm
with Vin Diesel XXX fran
chise The Return of Xander Cage
has already created a lot of buzz.
Now, the actor has been featured in
popular American magazine Vanity
Fair. The world is waking up to
[new] talent. Having said that, it is
all about whether an actor suits a
role or not. An actor should be cast
in a movie only if his or her talent
brings something unique to the
table. I dont think an actors reli
gion, gender, or the region he or she
belongs to, should be the reason to
sign him or her for a lm, says
Deepika.
She admits her journey in
Hollywoo d hasnt been easy.
Initially, I didnt feel like I was
ready [to take up an international
project]. I was of fered lms in the
Actors Vin
Diesel and
Deepika
Padukone in
a scene from
xXx The
Return of
Xander Cage.
past too, but they just didnt feel

right.
I have always followed my heart
and my instinct, says Deepika,
adding that she was mainly offered
stereotypical roles in the past. It

is up to you to say yes or no to a
role that doesnt excite you. The
lms I was of fered earlier didnt
excite me, she adds.
fter starring in Jurassic World, one of the biggest

hits of 2015 as well as one of the highest gross
ing movies of all time, Irrfan is back in 2016
with Inferno. Ron Howards adaptation of the Dan
Brown novel, which is a sequel to Angels & Demons,
sees Tom Hanks reprise his role as symbology profes
sor Robert Langdon.
Khan plays Harry Sims who aids Ben Fosters scien
tist in his mission to address the issue of overpopula
tion.
Hanks has several scenes with Khan in Inferno,
which opens in India on October 28, and the
Hollywood star confessed that he is beguiled by
Khans magic eyes.
The National School of Dramatrained actor is one of
the busiest in the business.
Apart from a robust career in mainstream, Khan
makes into the coproductions by Indian directors who
have a strong base in the West (Mira Nair, Ritesh
Batra) and appears in television dramas and arthouse
movies by American lmmakers who have followed his
work over the years (Darjeeling Limited, In Treatment).
The 48yearold actor appears in a few scenes in The
Amazing Spiderman (2012), in which he plays a scien
tist. In Jurassic World.
Khan had sweated through Mira Nairs Cannes Film
Festival winner Salaam Bombay! (1988), the British
television miniseries Bombay Blue (1997) and Sturla
Gunnarssons Mumbaiset Such A Long Journey
(1998), but its his lead role in The Warrior (2001)
that made his crossover possible.
British director Asif Kapadias stunning debut, set
sometime in the distant past, features Khan as
Lafcadia, an enforcer for a local feudal lord who gives
up violence and embarks on the path of renunciation.
Several Indian actors have appeared in foreign lms
over the years, including IS Johar, Shashi Kapoor,
Roshan Seth, Pavan Malhotra, Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Anil Kapoor and Freida Pinto.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
64 August 20-26, 2016
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Celebrities greet nation

on Independence Day
s the nation celebrated its
70th Independence Day,
celebrities like Shabana
Azmi, Shah Rukh Khan and
Priyanka Chopra took to Twitter
to greet fans, calling it a day "of
pride, happiness and love".
Actress Priyanka Chopra, who is
currently in New York shooting
for "Quantico", missed being" in
India to revel in the patriotic fer
vor.
Here's what the stars tweeted:
Happy Independence Day to the

country that is my identity.
Big B hopes
India
is free
from rape
A.R. Rahman: Wishing you

independence from all the nega
tive inuences in the world.
Ajay Devgn: This Independence
Day, let's pledge to ght for free
dom from hunger.
Farah Khan: Where the mind is
without fear and the head is held
high! Happy Independence Day.
Shah Rukh Khan: Happy

Independence Day to my country
women and men Aug 15, 2016.
A day of pride, happiness and
love.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan.

our
strength.
Independence Day!
the problem
Shabana Azmi: On our 70th
Independence Day, lets all take a
pledge that we will attempt to be
part of the solution not part of
Riteish Deshmukh: Happy

Independence Day. Born Indian.
Proud. Tricolor. Jai Hind
Kajol: We are a country that

was born with diversity. Today
let us celebrate it and make it
Happy
Priyanka Chopra: And how

much I miss being home today.
On IDay, UN stamp in
Subbulakshmis honor
Vir Das: Happy Independence

Day! We have T hird largest
economy in the world soon.
Largest working population under
30 on Earth! A bright future
Kangana gives
video tribute
to Indian Army
angana Ranaut has paid a tribute to
the Indian armed forces in a video.
The anthem titled Love Your Country
was released online. It focuses on social
issues such as rape, female infanticide, child
marriage, dowry and apathy, read a state
ment.
The 3 minutelong video has Kangana
saluting and lip synching to the song sung
by Siddhart Sharma, Piyush Wasnik and
Yash Chauhan.
Do you vote? asks Kangana, clad in a
white outt, in the anthem.
This song comes after
Kangana created
waves with a
video
on
cleanliness
is next to
godliness
addressing
P r i m e
Minster
Narendra
M o d i s
Swachh
Bharat
Abhiyan.
On IDay, the megastar

wished for happiness
and prosperity for India.
o r I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y,
m eg a s t a r
A m i t a bh
Bachchan, who campaigns
for various social causes, has
expressed hope that India be
free of the evil of rape.
"Independence Day 15th
August pledge... May India be
independent from rape... Bharat
aazad ho rape se," tweeted the
73yearold, who even shared
the poster of his upcoming
thriller "Pink". The movie stars
three women, and its trailer
hints that they deal with a case
involving sexual assault.
The actor also retweeted a
message by writercomedian
Radhika Vaz, and asked his fol
lowers to always remember it
by captioning the message as
"Say it again..."
"A woman's body is not a
democracy, it's a dictatorship,
and its about time the dictator
took charge," read the message.
He also tweeted, happiness
and prosperity for all, particu
larly for our country.
M.S. Subbulakshmi performing at the General Assembly Hall in 1966

as part of the UN Day celebrations.
he UN honored M.S. Subbulakshmi by
issuing a stamp on Independence Day to
mark the birth centenary of the "Queen of
Music". This year was also the 50th anniversary
of Subbulakshmi's legendary concert in 1966 at
the UN and A.R. Rahman performed there as a
tribute to her on August 15. "As India cele
brates its 70th Independence Day, the event will
emphasize that the wisdom of Indian traditions
remains relevant to current global thinking,"
the Indian Mission to the UN had said in a state
ment. "The musical evening will provide a
glimpse of gaiety and dynamism of India on the
o ccasion of India@70." During the
Independence Day celebrations at the UN, an
exhibit ion on the life and music of
Subbulakshmi was also to be he ld.

Subbulakshmi, hailed by Jawaharlal Nehru
as "T he Queen of Music", was the rst
Indian to perform at UN when she was invit
ed by then Secretary General U Thant to give
the UN Day concert on October 23, 1966.
Her visit, which also included a concert at
New York's Carnegie Hall, was arranged at the
initiative of C.V. Narasimhan, who was a UN
Under Secretary General then. The highlight of
the UN concert was Subbulakshmi singing
a hymn in English a rare occur
rence. It was written by C.
Rajagopalachari, the freedom
ghter and the rst Governor
General of independent India.
The anthem titled

Love Your
Country was
released online.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
66 August 20-26, 2016
India ranked world's top

exporter of ICT technology
United Nations: India has been ranked

the world's top exporter of information
and communication technology in a UN
agency report that recommended that
the country leverage this lead to inno
vate in emerging areas where biology
and materials sciences intersect with
computing.
Overall, India leapt 14 places from the
85th rank last year to the 61st in the
latest Global Innovation Index (GII)
re leased in Geneva by the World
Intellectual Property Organisation
( WIPO) in partnership with the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
on Monday.
India ranked 8th in the world for pro
ducing graduates in science and engi
neering and showed the most signicant
improvements in human capital and
research moving up 40 places to 63.
WIPO, a specialized agency of the UN,
worked also with Cornell University and
INSEAD, the international business
school, to prepare the ninth edition of
the index.
In a nod to India's "jugaad" tradition
India ranked 8th in the world for producing graduates in science and
engineering and showed the most significant improvements in
human capital and research moving up 40 places to 63..
of innovation, the report said that its
culture of "frugality and sustainability"
can help it capture global markets.
"For this to happen, however, India's
industries need to have the hunger to be
at the top of the value chain, its cus
tomers have to be more demanding, its
policies have to be more transparent,
and its talent pool has to get more
handson experience while simultane
ously growing to leverage the global tal
ent pool," the report said.
WIPO quoted CII Director General
Chandrajit Banerjee as saying: "The
commitment of India to innovation and
BUSINESS
improved innovation metrics is strong

and growing, helping to improve the
innovation environment. This trend will
help gradually lift India closer to other
topranked innovation economies."
Areas where India is lagging include
the business environment, where it is
ranked 117, and education at the 118th
spot.To leapfrog into the emerging
areas that combine biology, computing
and material sciences, the report recom
mended that the industry double its
research and development (R&D) invest
ment and the government provide R&D
grants to industry.
Apple faces revenue

decline even after iPhone
7 launch: Report
New York: Apple will post the rst annual decline in

iPhone shipments despite the launch of iPhone 7 in
September, said a study, adding that India has
emerged as a hot smartphone market and Apple must
look seriously into making further inroads into the
country.
The latest report by market research rm Canalys
also noted that despite growing global smartphone
sales (up by ve per cent), Apple's struggle in China
will continue.
The launch of the iPhone 6 saw Apple's shipments
in Greater China skyrocket, but the company has
struggled to maintain this momentum, Jessie Ding,
Canalys research analyst, was quoted as saying.
The iPhone 6s had a lacklustre reception in compar
ison and the iPhone SE is unlikely to make a big differ
ence to Apple's fortunes in the region this year.
Huawei, Oppo and Vivo of fer products with better
specications at signicantly lower price points, Ding
added.
The analyst advised iPhone makers to include fea
tures such as waterproong and wireless charging,
adding that if Apple wants to grow, it needs to catch
up in these areas.
In the highgrowth Asia Pacic region barring the
Greater China region the smartphone growth will be
13 per cent in 2016, Canalys indicated.
T he smartphone markets in India and the
Philippines are performing well in 2016, with annual
growth expected to reach 21 and 26 percent respec
tively, noted research analyst Ishan Dutt.
Smartphone penetration in these markets remains
low, meaning there is a big opportunity for vendors,
he added.
SUBCONTINENT
Hindu Marriage Bill

tabled in Pakistan's
National Assembly
Islamabad: The muchdebated
Hindu Marriage Bill has been
tabled in Pakistan's National
Assembly.
Member of the Nat ional
Assmbly (MNA) Ramesh Lal, one
of the bill's movers, said on
Wednesday that it took around
10 months for a house panel to
clear the bill and another six
months for its report to be
tabled in the house.
The delay was possibly because
of extraordinary debates and
discussion around the bill, but at
least now the government
should consider tabling it in the
house in the next session, Dawn
online quoted Lal as saying.
The bill was approved by the
standing committee on February
8, and has received support
from the Hindu community and
liberals.
However, some of the more reli
gious members of the Hindu
community have expressed
strong reservations regarding

the bill's contents including
allowing separated individuals
to remarry, and also states that
a Hindu widow is entitled to
remarry and shall have the right
to do so, of her own will and
consent, after a period of six
months since the death of her
husband.
It is expected that the cases of
abduction of married Hindu
women will stop once this bill is
enacted, Dawn online reported.
The law would give the Hindu
community proof of marriage in
the form of a 'shadiparat', which
is similar to a Muslim 'nikahna
ma'.
Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and Balochistan have consented
to the federal government for
mulating a Hindu marriage law
that they would then adopt,
while Sindh had formulated its
own Hindu marriage registra
tion law.
US asks Pakistan to do 'utmost' to fight terror

Washington: The US has asked
Pakistan to do "the utmost" to
ght terrorism in the South Asian
region and said it is for greater
dialogue and counterterror coop
eration between Islamabad and
New Delhi.
US State Department spokesper
son Mark Toner said in a press
brieng: "It's important that
Pakistan do the utmost to prevent
terrorists from carrying out acts of
terror not just in Pakistan, but

elsewhere in the region."
Responding to a question
regarding Pakistan's invitation to
India for talks, Toner reiterated
that the US had always encour
aged dialogue between New Delhi
and Islamabad which was for the
good of the entire region.
He also said that both India and
Pakistan should cooperate on
counterterrorism.
"I've said this before ... we would

encourage greater dialogue and
counterterrorism cooperation
between both Pakistan and India.
"It's for the good of both coun
tries ... for the good of the region.
Frankly, it's for the benet of the
US," Toner said.
He said that the US was commit
ted to encouraging both the coun
tries to take efforts for dialogue or
collaboration in various elds.
Nepal accords China priority in foreign policy

Beijing: Nepal accords China a place of priority in its
foreign relations and will strengthen coordination
and cooperation with China, visiting Nepali Deputy
Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.
Mahara, visiting here as a special envoy of new
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda",
reiterated the new Nepal government's position dur
ing his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in
Beijing.
Mahara said Nepal will strengthen coordination and
cooperation with China and implement all consensu
ally reached accords between the two countries. It
also abides by the oneChina policy, he added.
Li said China appreciates the importance attached
to relations by the new Nepali government.
China plans to expand bilateral cooperation in areas
as trade, connectivity and infrastructure construction
Nepali Deputy Prime Minister

Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
and to also help Nepal in natural disaster relief and
postdisaster reconstruction, Li added
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
68 August 20-26, 2016
INTERNATIONAL
Ready for martial law if crisis

deepens: Ukrainian President
Aleppo on brink of
siege, warns Inquiry
commission
Kiev: Ukrainian President

on their positions in east
Petro Poroshenko said he
ern Ukraine on Wednesday
was ready to impose martial
night, Poroshenko said
law in the country if the cri
there was a risk that the
sis in the eastern regions
conict in the restive
and near the separation line
region may escalate fur
with Crimea deepens.
ther.
"We don't rule out the
At the same time,
Poroshenkos warning
possibility of introducing
Poroshenko
stressed that
comes before Ukraine
martial law and declaring
Ukrainian
troops
were
celebrates the anniver
mobilization if the situation sary of its independence fully prepared to repel a
in the east and in Crimea
possible offensive.
from Soviet Union.
escalates," Poroshenko said
"Our armed forces are
during his visit to Ukraine's western Lviv ready to resist the enemy in the east of
region.
Ukraine, where the rival is occupying
Noting that government forces have Donbas, and along the administrative
experienced a "record number" of attacks border with Crimea," Poroshenko said.
Geneva: The Independent Commission

of Inquiry of Syria warned that the
intensied attacks to control rebel
held areas and main supply lines in
Aleppo are in tune with the use of
siege warfare. "These attacks appear
to form the pre lude to a siege,
designed to force the capture of the
city through an alreadydocumented
strategy of 'surrender or starve',"
Xinhua news agency quoted the com
mission as saying.
"Neighborhoods of Aleppo city are
now being pounded daily by aerial
bombardments by the government
A file photo shows people visiting

the citadel of Aleppo in Syria.
and progovernment forces, causing
mass civilian casualties," a commis
sion statement said. According to the
commission, over 25 hospitals and
clinics including maternity hospitals,
pediatric units and emergency wards

were destroyed by aerial bombard
ments since the eginning of 2016.
"There is limited food, water, and
supplies for babies and infants. Access
to medical care in these areas is large
ly nonexistent," it said.
The commission also documented
scores of civilians dying in govern
menthe ld areas, as coalitions of
armed groups including Ahrar al
Sham, Jaysh alIslam, and the militant
group Jabhat Fatah alSham conduct
indiscriminate ground shelling to
counter government military attacks.
Pakistan to
'forcefully' raise
Kashmir issue at UN
Pakistan
Prime
Minister
Nawaz Sharif.
Islamabad: Pakistan is to "forcefully" present its stance on India's

"state terrorism" in Jammu and Kashmir at the upcoming UN
General Assembly in New York, the Foreign Ofce said.
"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is going to take this issue very
forcefully at the UN platform," Nafees Zakaria, Foreign Ofce
spokesman, said in his weekly press brieng.
Zakaria said Pakistan has always raised the issue of Jammu and
Kashmir at the annual UNGA session and mentioned Sharif 's
speech at last year's session "where he strongly highlighted the
internationally recognized dispute".
He said most UN Security Council members had "already been
taken onboard on the continued human rights violations" in
Kashmir Valley.
At least 65 people, including children, have been killed in
Kashmir Valley battling the worst outbreak of unrest in many
years.
The latest round of violence in Kashmir was triggered on July 9,
a day after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was hugely
popular on social media, was killed.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
70 August 20-26, 2016
SPORTS
Shuttler Sindhu storms into

Olympics final
Narsingh banned
from Olympics for
four years
Narsingh was preferred over

Sushil Kumar to take part
in the Olympics.
Rio de Janeiro: Narsingh Yadav's
dream of competing at the ongo
ing Rio Olympics has come to an
end with the Court of Arbitration
for Sport (CAS) upholding the
World Anti Doping Agency's
(WADA) appeal against the clean
chit given to him in a doping vio
lation case.
The ad hoc division of the CAS,
which met to hear the WADA's
appeal against the clearance to
Narsingh by the National Anti
Doping Agency (NADA), also
slapped a fouryear ban on the
Mumbai wrestler.
"WADA led an urgent applica
tion before the CAS ad hoc divi
sion to challenge the decision of
NADA India to exonerate
Narsingh Yadav following two
positive antidoping tests with
methandienone on June 25 and
July 5. The athlete asserted that
he was the victim of sabotage
(food/drink tampering) by anoth
er person. WADA requested that a
fouryear period of ineligibility be
imposed on the athlete," the CAS
said in a statement.
"The CAS panel did not accept
the argument of the athlete that
he was the victim of sabotage and
noted that there was no evidence
that he bore no fault, nor that the
antidoping rule violation was not
intentional. Therefore the stan
dard fouryear period of ineligi
bility was imposed by the panel,"
the statement added.
"It is very sad and unfortunate.
We were hopeful until the last
proceeding of the CAS that he will
get through which unfortunately
did not happen," Indian Chef de
Mission Rakesh Gupta told IANS
after the hearing.
"It is really very sad because he
had a real potential to clinch a
medal." Wrestling Federation of
India ( WFI) President Brij
Bhushan Sharan Singh called for
a probe by the Central Bureau Of
Investigation (CBI) into the whole
affair.
Rio de Janeiro: India's P.V. Sindhu

thumped Nozomi Okuhara of
Japan to enter the nal of the
women's singles event of bad
minton competitions, assuring the
country at least a silver medal at
the Olympic Games here.
World No.10 Sindhu registered a
2119, 2110 triumph in the semi
nals over world No.6 Okuhara to
become the rst Indian shuttler to
enter the nal of the Olympics.
With this win, double World
Championship bronze medalist
Sindhu improved her headtohead
record ag ainst reigning All
England Open champion Okuhara
to 23.
In the nal, she will face two
time reigning world champion
Carolina Marin of Spain, who beat
defending champion Li Xuerui of
China 2114, 2116.
Sindhu warned the top seed that
her best is yet to come, playing a
mental game before the nal. "Of
course, I am yet to give my best.
That's in the next game. I will de
nitely make the wish of our coun
try people for gold come true. I will
play my heart out," Sindhu told
reporters.
Irrespective of the color of the

medal in the nal, it will be India's
second medal in the Rio Games
after wrestler Sakshi Malik bagged
a bronze medal in the women's
58kg category.
"My target now of course is to
win the gold. Denitely I hope I
will give my best performance and
for me to be here for the rst time
in Olympics and reach the nal is a
great feeling," Sindhu said.
For Sindhu, who was on a giant
killing spree after dismissing two
hig herranked opponents
Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying and
World No. 2 Wang Yihan of China
in the prequarternal and the
quarternal respect ive ly
Thursday's win was also an exten
sion of her good form.
Sindhu's height and long reach
gave her a lot of advantage against
the pintsized Okuhara, who also
had her right thigh strapped.
Especially, Sindhu's sharp cross
court game and half smash helped
her get off to a ne start.
P.V. Sindhu thumped Nozomi

Okuhara of Japan to
enter the finals.
Sakshi takes bronze to

end medal drought
Indian
wrestler
Sakshi
Malik and
coach
Kuldeep
Singh.
Rio de Janeiro: A diminutive 23
yearold girl from Mokhra village
near Rohtak in Haryana, Sakshi
Malik, touched glory at the Rio
Olympics by reaching out and grab
bing the bronze medal at the 31st
Olympiad. Sakshi brought an end to
India's long medal wait, when every
hopeful had failed one by one. She
clinched the bronze in the Women's
Freestyle 58kg category with a spir
ited comeback victory over Aisuluu
Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan.
The young wrestler overturned a
05 decit in a hectic second round
to script an 85 victory in the medal
bout at the Carioca Arena 2 here.
"I have stood up to the hopes of
the country for the rst medal. I
was condent that I can win in the
end even being down. The last two
hours were the most difcult for me
thinking whether the medal will
come or not," she said in her initial

comments soon after winning.
"This is the rst time that a medal
has come for women. It's a success
of my 12 years of dedication. My
hard work has succeeded," Sakshi
said. It was a rousing display of
ghting spirit and neversaydie
attitude from the Indian.
Aisuluu was clearly the superior
wrestler in the totally onesided
opening round, displaying impres
sive strength and technique to take
ve points and open up a formida
ble lead.
But Sakshi who has previously
shown a knack of staging strong
comebacks was a totally trans
formed grappler in the second
round, taking eight consecutive
points to send the sizable number of
Indian fans in the stands into wild
delirium.
Dipa misses medal but

wins millions of hearts
Agartala: Ace gymnast Dipa
Karmakar narrowly missed
the Rio Olympics gymnastics
bronze, but won the hearts of
millions in Tripura and other
parts of the country.
Dipa's parents, relatives,
friends and admirers said
that though she missed the
medal by a whisker, the
Tripura girl performed better
than earlier.
"My daughter's perform
ance in the nal event was
goo d. We are extreme ly
happy about her perform
ance," Dipa's father Dulal
Karmakar told reporters here
soon after television screens
ashed the result.
He said he was proud his
daughter went to the world's
top class gymnastic event
from a modest household in
India's small state like
Tripura.
Dipa's mother Gauri Devi
said: "Our daughter will do
better in the 2018 Winter
Olympics. She will win gold
denitely."
The 2018 Winter Olympics
are set to take place in South
Korean city of Pyeongchang.
Dipa Karmakar competing at the

womens vault final.
August 20-26, 2016
SPORTS
71
A tale of two cricket tests
By Shivaji Sengupta
he third Test Match between

the West Indies and India
ended w ith yet another
thumping 237run. In between,
however, the Caribbeans seem to
wake up from their slumber to
compete on equal footing to draw
the second Test. Meanwhile, peo
ple have been condemning this
series as boring, and onesided.
Obviously, there is some truth to
that. But what about the fact that
the Indians, who used to be such
notoriously poor performers
abroad, are performing these days
with aplomb? Since the end of
2014, they have played 11 Tests
outside India: against Australia,
the number one cricket playing
nation in the world, they lost two;
lost a Test against Sri Lanka; and
won four. Not terribly impressive
gures, but when you compare it
with the previous three tours in
which they lost seven out of
twelve, winning just one, it is much
better. The second Test at Jamaica
was drawn primarily for two rea
sons: rain, and the sudden rear
guard action by the West Indies.
India had scored 5009. The West
Indies,196. Then, in their second
inning, on a severely rainaffected
fourth day, the Caribbeans limped
Dubai: An impressive performance
in the third Test against the West
Indies lifted Indian middle order
mainstay Ajinkya Rahane to his
careerbest eighth spot in the
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Test rankings, released here on
Monday.
Rahane, who went into the Test
at joint 11th spot with Pakistani
veteran Younus Khan, scored 35
and 78 not out to guide India to a
237run win over the hosts at St.
Lucia. With the win, India also
took an unassailable 20 lead in
the fourmatch series.
Meanwhile,
Younus
has
returned to the top ve of the
rankings after belting his sixth
career doublecentury which
helped his side record an impres
sive 10w icket victory over
England in the fourth and nal
Test of the series at The Oval.
Younus slammed a ne 218 in
the rst innings to shoot up to
fth in the latest batting table,
which is led by Australia captain
Steve Smith. The veteran right
hander started the series in fth
Indians celebrate after winning the third Test against West Indies at Darren Sammy National Cricket
Stadium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia. (Photo: IANS)
to 484. Everyone expected a mas
sive victory for India. Their best
batsmen were back in the pavilion.
On the fth morning, the Indian
team was a crouching tiger, ready
for the kill.
What they didnt anticipate was
the hidden dragon.
Reston Chase and Jermain
Blackwood are relatively new to
Test Cricket. For Chase, this was
his second Test Match. But already
he had taken a ve wicket haul in
Indias inning, and on this fth day
of the Test Match, Chase scored an
unbeaten 137 (only nineteen other
test players out of some 1,954
have achieved such a feat!).
Blackwood, Dorwich and the cap

tain Jason Holder kept him compa
ny, each of them scoring a half
century. With a score of 3886, the
West Indians had saved the Test!
What happened? Why such a
turn around? The Indian captain,
Virat Kohli, generously compli
mented the oppositions batting
performance. He pointed out, how
ever, that the pitch itself had gone
a bit at (meaning runs were easi
er to score), and that the runs were
scored easily also because India
attacked from the outset. T he
more attacking the eld place
ments, with elders crouching
near the batsmen to grab the bat
position, dropped to ninth after

the third Test at Edgbaston, and
again to eleventh position.
Among other gainers, former
New Zealand skipper Ross
Taylor's unbeaten
kno cks of 124
and
67
a g a i n s t
Zimbabwe
has seen
him g ain
ve places
to reach
ninth rank
after his
team won
the
second
Test at Bulawayo
by 254 runs to clinch
the twomatch series 20.
England's Moeen Ali has also
gained six places to move to 26th
position, while his compatriot
Jonny Bairstow (14th) and the
Pakistan duo of Asad Shaq (15th)
and Azhar Ali (17th) have also
gained one place each.
West Indian batsmen Darren
Bravo (27th), Kraigg Braithwaite
(33rd) and Marlon Samuels (40th)

are other batsmen to move in the
right direction.
The bowler's list has remained
large ly unchanged but New
Zealand's Neil Wagner
has gained one spot
to reach 13th,
while Eng land
pace bow ler
Chris Woakes
has g ained
two spots to
reach 18th in
a list led by
England pace
man
James
Anderson.
Pakistan's
pace
bowling pair of Wahab
Riaz and Sohail Khan, and the
West Indies' Miguel Cummins also
made noticeable gains.
Leftarmer Wahab has gained
six slots to reach 27th after grab
bing a total of ve wickets at The
Oval, while Sohail's six wickets
during that Test has seen him
jump 21 places to 41st rank.
Cummins has rocketed 59 places
andpad catches, the popups

caused by inadvertent defensive
shots, the more the batsmen get
opportunities to score by forcing
their strokes. Had the lead been
only about 100 or so, Kohli
explained, India might have been
more defensive, tried the oppo
nents patience, yielding wickets.
And, although Kohli didnt say it,
they lost hope.
The Fourth Test wasnt too dis
similar in terms of circumstances.
Here too, a whole day was lost to
rain. Here too, there were two
Indian centurions, Ravichandran
Ashw in (yes, ag ain!) and
Wridhiman Saha getting his maid
en hundred helping India to a size

able rst inning lead. In the second
inning the West Indies were
required to score 356 in the fourth
inning to win the match. But here
the comparison ended. The hosts
folded tamely for only 108, con
ceding a huge victory to the
Indians.
T he dif ference is, Kohli
explained, they learned from the
previous Test. Circumstances
should not deter the team from
pressing for victory. Think of it as
an opportunity to w in, not a
chance lost. Thus, taking their
inspiration from a devastating
spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar in
the rst inning, when, taking ve
w ickets, he broug ht the West
Indies down from 2023 to 225 all
out, the Indian pacers relentlessly
attacked the opposition in the sec
ond inning, with irritatingly accu
rate bowling at fairly high speeds,
and razorsharp elding. The victo
ry at GrossIslet was as decisive as
the one in Antigua. Even the draw
in Jamaica might not have been a
draw had it not rained for most of
one day. The Indian team has been
professional and purposeful, win
ning the two Tests with surgical
precision. But once again let us
remind this young team not to
gloat. Remember who the opposi
tion is. Remember, too, what lies
ahead: England and Australia.
And remember what Yudhishtir
of the Mahabharat said: an exam
ple of victory is defeat. Be humble.
(The writer is Professor of

English and Vice President for
Academic Affairs at Boricua
College in NYC. He writes regularly
for The South Asian Times.)
Rahane
rises to
career-best
No 8 spot
Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo: www.bcci.tv)

to 55th after match gures of nine
for 102.
The allrounders' rankings are
led by India's Ravichandran
Ashwin, while Australia's Mitchell

Starc has broken into the top ve
for the rst time in fth position
after rising two places.
72
August 20-26, 2016
HUMOR
Humor with Melvin Durai
Laughter is the Best Medicine
The PunjabGeorgia
Farmer Exchange Program
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.
he word spread quickly through the

farming community in Georgia: thou
sands of Indian farmers, mostly from
the northern state of Punjab, were heading to
Georgia to buy large parcels of fertile land.
Whos selling it to em? Thats what I
wanna know, Jack Turner said to his friend
Conrad Brown, as they sat in the annual
meeting of the Georgia Farmers Association
(GFA).
Heck if I know, but I heard theyre getting
it dirt cheap. Like $500 an acre.
Whoa! I never heard of dirt so cheap. You
sure its in Georgia?
Yes, its Georgia all right. Saw it on the
Internet with my own two eyes.
Dang! How come we cant find land so
cheap?
I dunno, but I heard Indians are good at
bargaining. Thats what my friend Ronnie
says. He used to own a Quality Inn in
Gainsville and tried to sell it to an Indian guy
for $4 million, but the Indian guy said, Just
sell me the Inn for $1 million, you can keep
the Quality.
And did he sell it to him?
Yes, its now called Quantity Inn. They
allow ten guests per room.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in
Punjab, two farmers were discussing the
opportunities in Georgia.
Im dying with excitement, Satwinder. I
looked at a map and Georgia is next to
Florida. My cousin, Sukhdeep, lives in
Florida. When I tell him I might be visiting
him soon, he will be dying too.
I hope your cousin is smarter than you,
Mandeep. Were not going to the state of
Georgia were going to the country of
Georgia.
Country of Georgia? You mean Georgia is
an independent country now? When did it
break away from America? Stupid Google
hasnt updated their maps.
Meanwhile, in the country of Georgia, two
farmers were drinking tea and discussing the
influx of farmers from India.
Theres just too many of them coming.
Every day, another planeload.
You want the government to stop giving
out so many visas?
Yes, that would be a good idea. But not
until my brother and sister get here.
Oh, Mohinder, you cant just bring your
relatives over. Its not fair to the rest of our
village.
Thats true, Kulwinder. But if they all come
here, well be back in India.
Meanwhile, at a tavern in Tbilisi, the capital
of Georgia, two men were drinking Kazbegi
beer and arguing about the benefits of allow
ing Indian farmers to purchase so much land.
What do you have against the Indian
farmers anyway, Levan?
Theyre so different from us, Zurab. Look
at them. They wear turbans and they speak a
strange language and theyre using up all the
carbon dioxide.
You mean they dont breathe oxygen like
us?
No, you idiot. Im talking about all the
plants theyre growing.

Meanwhile, at a courthouse in Tbilisi, the
authorities were pleased that they had finally
caught one of the foreigners doing some
thing illegal and brought him before a judge.
Youve been accused of operating a phar
macy without a license. Is it true?
Yes, it is true, your honor. But it is not my
fault.
You
see,
my
name
is
Charanmanjayavarun. People are having
trouble pronouncing it, so I say, just call me
Farmer C. Next thing I know, people are com
ing from all over Georgia, asking me for med
icine. So I bring some from India. Ayurvedic
medicine. Im only trying to help.
Do you have something for back pain? My
back has been killing me.
Come and see me. I will give you a special
mattress from India. Ayurvedic Posturepedic.
Your pain will disappear.
You brought a mattress from India?
Well, it is really a mat. I am exaggerating
about the tress part. But it is very good for
your back.
Thank you, Charanma Farmer C. You
are free to go.
Meanwhile, back in the state of Georgia,
Jack Turner and Conrad Brown were study
ing a map.
So thats where it is, Jack I didnt realize
it was so close to the mountains.
Are you sure were doing the right thing?
We dont even know how to speak
Punjabian.
We cant afford to pass this up. Look at
the incentives the government is offering us:
land subsidies, free water, lifetime supply of
suntan lotion. They need new farmers to
replace the ones whove left.
This is really crazy. Were going there and
theyre coming here.
Yeah, I know. What is this world coming to?
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
74
ASTROLOGY
August 20-26, 2016
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
Stars Foretell: August 20-26, 2016

ARIES: You will be successful in regaining
your professional touch. Family
front seems to go smoothly as
you receive their full support
to your plans. An improvement
in financial position would
enable to make important pur
chases. Romantic imagination occupies mind
forcing to go out of the way to please part
ner. Charity work undertaken will bring
mental peace & comfort. Enjoy your holiday
with love of your life. Your search for a
house is towards its final destination.
TAURUS: Selfconfidence helps in making an

impact at professional front this
week. You find relief, comfort
and affection in the company of
family members. You are likely
to earn monetary profits
through most unexpected sources.
Cupids arrows would make your heart flutter
high. Meditation & selfrealization prove ben
eficial. Romantic destinations seems appeal
ing to you. Your personal loan plans for prop
erty could be in progress. Appreciating others
will invest in your relations.
GEMINI: Valuable support from a colleague

would help in professional mat
ters. Time spent with relatives
will be to your advantage. A
sudden inflow of funds will take
care of your bills and immediate
expenses. You are likely to enjoy a
pleasure trip that will rejuvenate your pas
sions. You will have ample time to do things
to improve your health.Your dream for new
house might be full filed now. Helpful nature
would encourage giving a helping hand to the
distress people.
CANCER: Good week for computer profession

als as they realise their dreams.
Family members will be very
positive & supportive to your
plans. Monetary position is like
ly to improve on recovering of
delayed payments. Romantic entan
glement would add spice to your happiness.
Sound physical health will enable to partici
pate in outdoor activities. Small journey with
your of fice colleagues will be interesting.
Getting your dream home will be the greatest
pleasure for you.
LEO: An excellent time for developing pro

fessional contacts. Relatives will
be willing to lend a helping
hand at the time of need.
Investment in antiques & jew
elry brings monetary gains and
improvement in financial position.
Chances of your love life turning into life
long bond are high on the card. You will be
successful in getting rid from tensions. Your
boss may ask you for your company to a
friends party. Selling a plot might be prof
itable as property rates tend to rise sooner.
VIRGO: Senior colleagues cooperation

brings success at professional
front. New relationship at fami
ly front will be long lasting &
highly beneficial. Long pend
ing arrears and dues will finally
be recovered. Exciting week as
your long pending wait for af firmation is
going to materialize. A sparkling laughter
filled week when most things proceed, as
you desire. Travel plan with a colleague
might lead to a new relationship. Lifestyle
home is what you are looking for?
LIBRA:Business partners would be enthusias

tic about new plans & ventures.
Guests visit would make it a
pleasant & wonderful week.
this week investment concern
ing residence will be profitable.
Enjoying the company of partner
in a lively restaurant would bring immense
romantic pleasure. Your enormous confi
dence would help in enjoying a healthy life.
Small picnic organized by your company is
good to change your mood. Deals on com
mercial property can tend to be at full boom.
SCORPIO: Female colleagues would help in

completing pending work. You will
be in the mood to celebrate with
family & friends this week.
Financial hassles seem to get
over as someone lends a timely
helping hand. The presence of love
would make you feel life meaningful. A very
healthy week filled with happiness & vitality.
Official journeys prove to be more fruitful for
you. Investing residentially is one thing you can
rely on. You are likely to be blessed with an
excellent eye for whats good and bad for you.
SAGITTARIUS: A promising week for ambi

tious professionals to demonstrate
technical skills & abilities. Good
advice from family members
brings gains. Promising week to
invest surplus money in real
estate. Love life brings some mem
orable moments that you could cherish rest of
your life. Pleasure trip would help in main
taining sound health this week. Fly away with
your dreams, new business horizons are
ready to explore. Investment on overseas
property has to be considered seriously.
CAPRICORN: Politicians find a very smooth

sailing as results go in your favour,
thus immensely boosting confi
dence. The company of family
friends will keep you in a happy
& relaxed mood. A sound finan
cial health would enable to invest
on lucrative schemes. Your flashing smile
would work as the best antidote for romantic
partners unhappiness. Yoga and meditation
would help in keeping in shape and mentally
agile. A fun filled holiday at an amusement
and theme park with your family is there.
AQUARIUS: People engaged in tourism will

have the energy to keep pace with
fast taking events thus giving
themselves an edge over others.
Parental guidance in your deci
sion would immensely help.
Your brilliant ideas would help in
bringing financial gains. Sharing candyfloss
and toffees with lover/beloved would bring
unlimited joy. Blessings of a saintly person
give peace of mind. An interesting cruise ship
is next place for your vacation. A good week
to make some investment on kitchen items.
PISCES: Betterment awaits people engaged in

the field of graphic designing. A
week when misunderstandings
at family front are sorted out
with ease. A promising week to
earn profits in real estate and
financial transactions. Company
of love partner would inspire to take initia
tives this week. Chances of recovering from
physical ailment are high. Breathtaking beau
tiful site scenes are your lovers desire. You
might be purchasing a refrigerator or any
other gadget for your house.
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

20th August, 2016
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Moon, you are
blessed with characteristics such as imaginative,
smart, trustworthy, generous & authoritative person.
Health this year: You may go for a pilgrimage to at
tain peace and mental comfort. This year you will
suffer from various minor health issues and this will
keep you disturbed.
Finance this year: This year will bring you job secu
rity and financial stability. You need to deal with
your money carefully to avoid loss. Your assump
tions in taking hasty decisions may cause financial
loss to you. If you are a businessman, you may get
into new contracts to enhance your business. If you
get into any overseas venture, you may be befitted fi
nancially from it.
Career this year: Being an excellent professional, you
will be recognized as a very efficient resource and
people may seek your advice and support. However,
you have to avoid being selfish and moody.
Romance this year: This year is the perfect time for
you to be in an emotional relationship or you may
get married.
Lucky month: September, January, April and May
21st August, 2016
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: By your inborn nature, you are intel
lectual, distinguished, cheerful, kind and optimistic.
Health this year: You need to take more care of your
health to avoid future complicacy.
Finance this year: Your business may earn you a lot
of money if you plan your budget intelligently. You
need to have a trustworthy plan in place before you
implement your budget in the business. You should
not go beyond your budget if you do not want to be
in loss. Your past investments will earn you money
this year and make you financially sound. You may
find the property or legal dispute settlement satis
factory.
Career this year: Being good at your work, you get
lot of appreciation and respect from others. Your
good work pays off with rewards. However, you
should not behave dominating and arrogant. You
may find this year promising enough when growth
is concerned.
Romance this year: You may plan an overseas trip
with your beloved to spend quality time. Your rela
tionship will grow more strong with lots of love and

care.
Lucky month: October, February and March
22nd August, 2016
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: By inborn characteristics, you are ac
tive, disciplined, and efficient. You are the master of
an appealing personality. You are highly social and
helpful. However, you should work on your nature of
being jealous, selfcentered, and destructive.
Health this year: You will be in good health through
out this year. To maintain your ggod health, you
need to practice exercise or yoga.
Finance this year: You will be financially benefited
from different sources of income. You will acquire
new projects and that will improve your financial
condition. If you are travelling for business purpose,
it will yield positive results for you and you will be
successful in your business trips this year. You may
invest in buying house or stocks. However, it is rec
ommended to have a good research on the stock be
fore you invest. You may feel restless due to the
abrupt expenses for the health issues of your family
members. You may end up spending a lot of money
to settle down your legal issues. You might decide to
buy property or vehicles this year.
Career this year: You will be rewarded for your work
this year. You will gain enough professional recog
nition for your knowledge, skills, and efficiency. The
ongoing projects may get a continuation.
Romance this year: You will enjoy a better romantic
a life as compared to the last year. You will be un
derstood by your partner and get enough support in
everything you do.
Lucky month: December, February and March
23rd August, 2016
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mercury makes you
an active, practical, sensible, systematic and highly
diplomatic person. You need to be a bit careful and
remove stubbornness from your nature.
Health this year: If you are a chronic patient, you
have to take extra care for your health to avoid
grievances in future.
Finance this year: You might sell your property in a
good price, which would help you enhance your fi
nancial stance. You may schedule your travel to main
tain distant relationships and gain some financial sup

port. Some of you may get the opportunity to travel
abroad for business purpose. You should avoid lend
ing and borrowing money to stay financially stable.
Career this year: You love music and literature and
want to pursue your career in those fields. You will
be able to improve your confidence level as you may
find a lot of opportunities to be grabbed.
Romance this year: Some of you also may get your
marriage fixed this year. Your romance life would get
to its peak.
Lucky month: November, January, April and May
24th August, 2016
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: Your planet Venus makes you kind, re
alistic, helpful, and adaptable. You are very simple as
a person who believes in high thinking. You are
hardworking and sincere, which helps you get ap
preciation from others. However, you need to check
your nature of being rude and interfering in the af
fairs of others. If you do not work on your behavior,
you may end up criticized badly.
Health this year: You will enjoy a better health this
year as compared to last year. You may suffer from
some minor health issues such as joint aches, back
pain, headache and so on.
Finance this year: You will enjoy financial prosperi
ty and a good health throughout this year. If you are
a businessman, you will get ample opportunities to
expand your business by investing in more prof
itable areas.
Career this year: If your profession is associated with
creativity, such as artists, media professionals, and
advertising professionals, you may gain popularity,
appreciation, and fame. If you want to create profes
sional and social contacts, you have to achieve it
through frequent gettogethers and travelling. You
may receive some help from your near and dear
ones, which may prove to be instrumental in im
proving your confidence in your professional life.
Romance this year: You will find your spouse to be
very cooperative this year. You will find your re
quired emotional support from your spouse through
love, care and concern even if you find it difficult to
understand your partner. If you are unmarried, you
may find your romance interest this year.
Lucky month:
September , November and
March
25th August, 2016

Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: Being dominated by Neptune, you are
adorned with characteristics such as responsibility,
affection, creativity, simplicity and emotions.
Health this year: Your spouse may suffer from stress
related health issues, which may lead to roaming in
the premises of a hospital.
Finance this year: You are supposed to be benefited
financially from your assumptions while investing
money. However, that does not mean you will invest
blindly.
Career this year: As you are committed towards your
undertaken works, you are appreciated and award
ed consistently. However, you have to work on your
nature of being fickle minded and careless always.
You may realize your ideas and plans this year. You
will be able to execute your plans efficiently.
You will get plenty of support from your partners
and colleagues to improve your morale and
confidence.
Romance this year: You will be in a blissful roman
tic relationship with your partner this year.
Lucky month: October, December and February
26th August, 2016
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: Under the influence of Neptune you
will develop your characteristics to be a dynamic, re
liable, organized, sober and disciplined person. You
are a born fighter.
Health this year: You will have few minor health is
sues this year, which can be cured by regular med
ication.
Finance this year: If you have made any investments
in real estate or stocks, you will be hugely benefited
this year. You may have a foreign trip for business
purpose.
Career this year: You would never fidget in adverse
situations and fight back all the problems in your
life. However, your stubbornness may make you lag
behind others so it will be better for you to take oth
ers opinion.
Romance this year: You will find lot of love and care
from your spouse. You may think the last quarter of
the year to be idle for you wedding. Some of you may
get involved in romantic relationships, which you
help you enjoy your life the most.
Lucky month: November, February and April
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016
76
August 20-26, 2016
Spirituality
Attain True Independence
Spiritually
- Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
India celebrates Independence Day on August 15. While in the world this holiday
marks the day a country declared itself an independent nation, independence also
refers to the liberation and freedom of our soul. Just as one country may be a
colony of another country, our soul has been colonized and taken over by the
coverings of our mind and body.
Most of us think of ourselves as a body and a mind; few realize that we have
another part that is our true essence, our soul. When our soul declares its own
independence from the bondage of the mind and body, it soars with exhilaration
and freedom. Instead of being bound to the limitations of time and space of this
earthly realm, the soul experiences its unlimited nature as it experiences the bliss
and joy of regions of creation that exist beyond this realm.
Scientists of the soul, often referred to as saints, mystics, philosophers, or

Masters, have been exploring the regions beyond since recorded history. They
came to the same conclusions. We are more than the body and mind; we are the
soul. The soul can travel into spiritual realms and merge back in its source, the
Oversoul, the Creator, or the Divine. They have all achieved this realization by
inverting their attention, whether it is called prayer, inversion, or meditation.
They tell us our true independence comes when we sit in silence, close our eyes,
direct our attention within, and experience the Divine.
The journey begins with our inner awareness or inner eye opening up to see inner
light and hear celestial music. Through further absorption in these, our soul
transcends awareness of the physical body to become aware of the inner realms,
such as the astral, causal, and super causal regions, until it merges into a region of
all spirit, the home of the Divine. We then discover our soul, which is spirit, is the
same essence as the Creator, which is also spirit. The two merge back into one
and we experience limitless bliss, joy, and divine love.
When we celebrate the outer independence days in our respective countries,

whether it is August 15 in India, or on different dates in different countries, let us
also strive to achieve our spiritual independence. We can do so by meditating on
the inner Light and Sound which will lead our soul to recognize that we are more
than the physical body and intellect. We are soul, a part of the Divine,
and our true nature is bliss, joy and love.
INDIA DAY SPECIAL
August 20-26, 2016

Vol. 9 - No. 17 Aug 20 - Aug 26, 2016

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Vol. 9 - No. 17 Aug 20 - Aug 26, 2016

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

The South Asian Times

Vol.9 No. 17 August 20-26, 2016 80 Cents

New York Edition Follow us on

HAPPY 70th INDEPENDENCE DAY OF INDIA

The South Asian Times

Vol.9 No. 17 August 20-26, 2016 80 Cents

New York Edition

Prime Minister Narendra

Balochistan and PakistanOccupied

Tiranga Yatra in Big Apple!

The South Asian Timess

Pramukh Swami Maharaj,

Minister of State for External Affairs, MJ Akbar, unfurled the tricolor

More reports on India Day Parades and events inside..

OWN YOUR FUTURE

x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees

INDIA DAY SPECIAL

August 20-26, 2016

August 20-26, 2016

India on right path

economy, Modi said and thanked

impossible task was made possible

government's focus, notably solar

President attacks intolerance, divisive agenda

President Pranab Mukherjee addresses the nation on the eve of

Indians with all their diversity had proved

Goods and Services Tax bill showed demo

August 20-26, 2016

1st IDay parade in

Lochte sorry for bad behavior in Rio

Bollywood celebs Manish Paul and Madalsa Sharma are honored by

ndia Day Parade was held for the first

Congresswoman Grace Meng, State Senators

Ami Bera's father sentenced over election fraud

Jaipur (India) Bureau

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull

Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

President: Arjit Mehta

IANS Newswire Services

Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/

Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra

Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah

Chief Operating Officer:

West Coast Correspondent

Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

New Delhi Bureau

Web Editor: Bharat Bhushan Chopra

INDIA DAY SPECIAL

August 20-26, 2016

August 20-26, 2016

INDIA CELEBRATES I-DAY

I-Day ends in peace

Barring Kashmir and

ght social and religious divisions

unrest that has left 56 people dead

the country heading for a steady

By Mohd Asim Khan

Modi interacts with children at Red Fort.

National Security Guard

applause one witnessed two years ago,

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked

As the speech proceeded, and the harsh