Friday, September 07 2012 | Vol. 31, No. 36
Indo American erican News
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CELEBRATION OF UNITY
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IMAGH Board members with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (center) and Indian Consul General P. Harish (in black Sherwani).
Stallions vs. Avengers in HPL 2012 Finals
Book Release
The Entrepreneurial Instinct
Monica Mehta’s first book will be released nationally on September 14 It’s celebration time for the victorious Avengers team along with co-owner George Eapen (left) & manager Rohan Bavadekar (right)
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An Eid Celebration of the Unity of Indian Culture and Identity
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: For the third year in a row, the Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston held an Eid Milan for the overall Indian community at India House. In the process, the IMAGH has once again showcased the multi-faith and multi-cultural facets of the Indian community in the Bayou City and shown it to be just a microcosm of society in India itself. In the wake of the senseless killings at the Gurudwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and the subsequent outpouring of sympathy and calls for a united front among religions The Matki Band of Senior Citizens sang a prayer from the movie Kurbaan. to stamp out hate, the Eid celebration held last Saturday, Hasan of Le Virage Banquet facil- was followed onstage by Dr. Saleha Khumawala who teaches at the September 1 at 4:30pm only reaf- ity. firmed the message of common Hussain explained that the University of Houston and who values, especially as they relate to IMAGH aims to develop and echoed his concepts and the meanIndians of all faiths. strengthen the Indian Muslim ing of Eid. “Eid should be less of The audience of over 400 people identity, culture and interfaith me and more of you,” she stressed. who came together represented a events, especially between youths. Adding to this was the experiences cross section of Muslims from the The next scheduled event is to in- of seven young kids who related Ahmadiyya, Ismaili and Dawoodi volve the grandparents who are in a few words what Eid meant to Bohra communities, many hail- at home with the youth. Later in them as they quickly strode to the ing from Bombay and Hyderabad, the program, Dr. Zafar Taqvi ex- microphone. The evening started with a soDeccan, India; as well as many panded on this vision and the imcial hour and then progressed to Hindus and some Sikhs. Adam portance of education. Hartley, an Anglo who converted The Grand Patron of the event, speeches, including those by the to Islam a couple of years ago, Sheikh Nooruddin Yamani dignitaries who attended, Among gave the opening prayer, first in showed his appreciation for the those were the new Indian Consul Arabic and then translated into hard work that Hussain had done General P. Harish and his famEnglish. over the past 90 days in pulling to- ily; other staff members from the “We are indeed grateful to the gether the event by presenting him Indian Consulate; the Honorary India Culture Center for propping an embroidered, cream colored Consul General of Sri Lanka Dr. our organization up in our forma- woolen shawl – a mark of great Bandula Wijay; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Harris County tive years” said IMAGH Presi- honor – as the two were onstage. dent Latafath Hussain. Hussain Yamani then explained the sig- Sheriff Adrian Garcia and Sugar also thanked the leadership of the nificance of Eid ul Fitr through Land Councilman Harish Jajoo. Garcia, Lee and Harish gave Board of Directors Chairman Dr. the eons and reminded all not to Maqbool Haq, the Board of Ad- forget the original principles of their felicitations on Eid and asvisors Chairman Abeezar Tayebji Islam; that Eid was a time to re- sured their solidarity to the Indian and a respected advisor, Lutfi Has- furbish broken hearts, help those community. Harish explained how san for their help in promoting the less fortunate, heal the sick, spend he had seen Eid celebrated in the organization and the yearly event. time with youngsters. “Eid is a different places he had been postThe evening was emceed by Dr. time for reaffirmation of love and ed. “In all these places and here, Samina Salim and the sumptuous goodwill among Man; a time of there is a different cultural context food and decorations were catered caring, sharing, happiness and but the same spirit,” he said, addonce again this year by Azam wealth,” said Sheikh Yamani. He ing “Diversity in India is part of
The organizers also appreciated the efforts of the ICC, Sheikh Yamani (who is known by his title, Amil Saheb), Aftab Ghesani and Mohammed Zafarullah for their support. The IMAGH also made a $30,000 donation to the Islamic Women in the Service of Humanity charity, which presented a slideshow of their activities, and accepted by Mary Hasan. After dinner at 9pm, the event continued on till midnight with a musical entertainment program featuring Uma Photos: Quaid Tinwala Mantravdi and several our DNA,” to much applause. ICC talented artists from the President Rajiv Bhavsar quoted Houston area who stirred the evefrom Swami Vivekananda, “the ning up with enjoyable songs. Earquality of your Life is the quality lier, during the speeches portion of your relationships” to exempli- of the evening, the Matki Band fy how ICC works. of Senior Citizens (the youngest Several awards were given to 52 and the oldest 87) sat in four deserving individuals who helped rows on stage in the canary yelproduce the event including low monogrammed polo shirts Fakhruddin Sabir, Moyeen Haque, and sang a prayer (from the movie Shahid Bilal, Malik Himani, Sam- “Kurbaan”) followed up with a ina Salim, Iftikar Sheikh, Karim resounding and animated musical Maknojia, Nisar and Mirza bhai, number (visit www.indoamericanRafi Ansar and Uma Mantravadi. news.com for a video clip).
Abeezar Tyebji (left) , Latafath Hussain, N. Yamani and Consul General P. Harish.
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September 07, 2012
Eid Milan Celebration 2012 Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston in association with India Culture Center, Houston September 1, 2012
India House, Houston, Texas
See Page 3 for Story
PHOTOS BY QUAID TINWALA INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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September 07, 2012
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For Some, a Special Instinct Drives Them to Risk Branching Out on Their Own
BY JAWAHAR MALHOTRA HOUSTON: By the time she was in high school she had already been exposed to the world of retail fashion, helping out in the weekends and after school in the sixteen stores that her parents owned and operated in Texas. The fact that the stores were named “Lady Monica” – named after her and her pet dog Lady - also drove the concept of the family business home to the growing young girl. She had seen how her parents took a big chance when they first got to Houston in 1980 by buying a container load of Indian handicrafts and trying to market them to other retailers. None of them took the merchandise, so Sunil and Rita Mehta took another gamble: they opened their first shop in Memorial City Mall. “The timing was right, just before Thanksgiving and Christmas,” chuckled Sunil remembering those days, “and we made a tidy profit. But then came January and the customers just dried up.” Realizing that they needed a change in direction, the Mehtas turned to selling women’s clothing and opened their first “Lady Monica” store. There was no master plan, just learning as they went along and Monica Mehta absorbed the tenacity and zeal that drove her parents along. Without knowing it, she had gotten the entrepreneurial bug but she stayed focused on her education, got good grades and went to the Wharton School of Business. In her senior year, she accepted a job to join L’Oreal as the brand manager for fragrances and mascara, and later went on to another private firm dealing with strategic investing. “But I always had this thought in the back of my head; ‘when will I be an entrepreneur?’” she recalled thinking and wondering what it would take. She understood that schooling was the key to success, but it didn’t teach how to take risks. She also slowly realized that risk taking had nothing to do with having a job or a person’s IQ, but had a lot more to do with a person’s personality. At Wharton she had been able to do some outreach work counseling small businesses and in 2007 she had a chance to do that again and realized how much she missed that interaction. MSNBC featured her in a short story on one company that took off and asked her to come back for a follow-
up interview. A year later BusinessWeek approached her to write a small business column. From there, her insight and communication skills brought the attractive, telegenic brunette to the notice of the Fox News network and ABC News and she began frequent columns for The Wall street Journal. But the family business was never too far off the radar and Monica joined the family’s investment firm, Seventh Capital to help with private capital funding for their strategic investments in real estate and retail. Despite having settled in New York City after her marriage to Greek-American Demetrios Tsipras, Monica remains very close to her father and visits her hometown Houston often.
Monica Mehta’s first book The Entrepreneurial Instinct will be released nationally on September 14. For more information, visit monicamehta.com.
The family’s latest real estate venture is called Talia Trail Development, named after her three year-old daughter Talia. Intrigued by what made some people such good risk takers in business, Monica turned her writing and research skills on a quest to find the answer. She started researching the topic in the Fall of 2009 and delved into the psychology behind the risk-taking entrepreneur and by January 2012 had submitted the manuscript for her book, The Entrepreneur-
ial Instinct Instinct, to several publishers. It was picked up by McGraw-Hill which will release it nationally on September 14. “Writing the book was very therapeutic,” Monica said in a telephone interview. “I didn’t want to make it very technical, yet still wanted to see if there was any single point at which you could identify an entrepreneur.” In The Entrepreneurial Instinct, Monica, who is 36, interviews 24 people from all walks of life – among them Houston’s wellknown “Mattress Mack” Jim McIngvale; rock music journalist Neil Strauss; NBA Los Angeles Clippers player Grant Hill; scriptwriters for the TV show, Grey’s Anatomy – to find what made them take risks and create new opportunities inspite of repeated failures, and in the case of Hill, four years of injuries. The book investigates if there are neurochemical transmitters and synaptic pathways that trigger the desire to take risks. And it looks at the commonalities of the entrepreneurial trait that other research-
ers have found. What she found was that professionals and entrepreneurs answered the same questions about business similarly, but when it came to, what Monica termed “the Hot Buttons”, entrepreneurs took the higher risk. They exhibited more adaptability to roll with the punches and were itching to find new opportunities. She theorized that this could be because the hunger to succeed drove them on, and had little relation to high performance in school, which Monica felt taught people how to adaptify risks but not to take them. The book makes the case for how the neurotransmitter dopamine may play an important role in the brain of entrepreneurs by giving them pleasure when they pursue their goals passionately. “There’s an entrepreneur in all of us, some of us are born with a genetic lottery to take risks,” said Monica. “There’s something very natural about being an entrepreneur. If you understand that, you can be a risk taker and leap at the opportunity with imperfect information but without much of the angst.” Monica Mehta will give a lecture on her book, The Entrepreneurial Instinct, at the Asia Society Houston at 6:30pm on Tuesday, October 23.
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COMMUNITY
September 07, 2012
Guruji shri Chandra Bhanu Satpathy Ji Enthralls Devotees in Dallas
DALLAS: Guruji Shri Chandra Bhanu Satpathy ji enthralled a packed hall of devotees at “An Evening with Sāt-guru Shri Shirdi Sai and Lord Shri Jagannatha” hosted at Courtyard Theatre, Plano, TX by the DFW Orissa Society on September 1, 2012 that was attended by all members of the DFW Orissa Society, other members of Orissa Society of America along with participation of devotees from various communities in Dallas metro area and sixteen other states in USA and Canada. The event started with ceremonial lighting of the lamp by Shri Satpathyji and offering of prayers with the audience of the packed hall joining in the prayer with Guruji The evening was compèred by Subharekha who along with Tapan Padhi, Convener of Orissa Society of America, gave a brief introduction about Guruji’s accomplishments and his selfless service towards mankind. Little master Pratyush left the audience spell bound with his sweet voice with the song titled “Payoji Mere”. A short slide presentation on Shri Shirdi Sai Baba and Shri Guruji gave the audience a brief outline of Baba’s life and teachings and Guruji’s activities. A dance performance by a group of nine kids under the direction of Mousumee Chand ensued. They danced to the tune of the famous song by Guruji- “ Hey Sai tere charnaon mein, hum sub ko thodi si jaagaha de”. The dance performance mesmerized the audience and was acknowledged by Guruji. Addressing the audience in his own lucid style, Guruji spoke about the emerging new religion, “SAISM” in the coming years. He emphasized on developing simplicity and purity of mind and soul which Shri Sai Baba had preached. His words about Lord Jag-
Dr. C.B. Satpathy ji, reverentially addressed to as “Guruji” is an author, lyricist, music composer, philanthropist and spiritual guide to millions of followers of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba across the world
ananth and its tradition were an eye opener for the audience. One can worship Shri Sai as a father, a mother and a friend. He further said one should love Shri Sai as one love’s their parents and seek His blessing at all times. He said, shunning one’s ego serve human beings to bring happiness and a little smile. He predicted that Dallas is going to be one of the hubs in USA in spreading “SAIISM” across North America region. It was truly a great evening in the august presence of Guruji which will be remembered for a long time by the devotees of Dallas and
those from other places as well who were present. After the address, senior members of the DFW Orissa society Prof. Digambar Mishra, Sri Jagannath Rath and Sri Hari Patro honored and felicitated Guruji on behalf of the society for his selfless service to humanity combined with spiritual, artistic, literary and philanthropic excellence. This was followed by Global release of two Audio CDs by Guruji titled ‘Sriman Narayan Sai’ and ‘Jagannathya Namah’ written and composed by Guruji himself. The first set was presented to elder members of Orissa society- Dr. Panchanan Satpathy and Loknath Patra on the dais. The program ended with vote of thanks by Biswaranjan and Mousumee Jenna to all the guests, sponsors, volunteers and participants. The great evening came to end with distribution of Prasad to all. The visit to Dallas started with Guruji paying homage to Shri Shirdi Sai Baba at the Hindu Temple in Flower Mound, TX on August 31 where he was ceremoniously received. After offering his prayers, he spent some time with the temple members answering their questions and providing suggestions pertaining to Sai movement. Dr. C.B. Satpathy ji, reverentially addressed to as “Guruji” is an author, lyricist, music composer, philanthropist and spiritual guide to millions of followers of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba across the world. His work has been pivotal in the globalization of Shirdi Sai movement with over 200+ Shirdi Sai temples in and outside of India including USA. His books in English titled “Shirdi Sai Baba and other Perfect Masters” and “May I Answer” have been translated
into various Indian languages. His papers, short articles and write ups are regularly published in over a dozen periodicals every quarter in different languages. His most recent book “Shree Guru Bhagabat”, a spiritual treatise, originally written in nine letter poetic meter in Odia and translated into English and Hindi, is a four part book series, depicting the glory of the Perfect Masters, the Spiritual Masters, and the Disciples, with various divine aspects of the master disciple relationship and related topics. His music compositions have been rendered by such famous Indian vocalists as Suresh Wadkar, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Kailash Kher, Shankar Mahadevan, Sukhvinder Singh, Sadhana Sargam, Rekha Bharadwaj, Mohit Chauhan, Shilpa Rao, Ajit Kadkade and others. The premier music company in India, Times Music has released his Hindi albums “Living With Sai”, “Aao Sai” and “Sai Mantra – Thubyam Namami” under its banner in 2010 and 2011, whereas another leading music company HMV Saregama has released his Mantra albums “Shri Sainathaya Namah Namah” and “Hiranyagarba Shriman Narayan Sai” earlier this year. His musical compositions have also been rendered in various albums in Odia and Telugu. Well known cultural institutions of India have appreciated his service and honored him with recognitions. Guruji Dr C.B. Satpathy ji will be honored and presented with “Building bridges across nations” award at the Washington State summit on US-India Trade & Commerce, on September 27 at Seattle Cultural Center, Seattle, Washington for his service to humanity across nations.
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September 07, 2012
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Obama Names IIT-Bombay Graduate to Key Post WASHINGTON (TOI): US President Barack Obama has appointed Romesh Wadhwani, an Indian American founder of several software and IT companies, on board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts. Announcing his intent to appoint Wadhwani and nine other general trustees of the centre, Obama said, “These dedicated men and women bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this Administration.” “I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” added Obama, whose administration has over a score Indian-Americans serving in senior positions, more than any other previous adminstration. Set up in 1971 as a living memorial to former US President John F. Kennedy, the centre is the busiest performing arts facility in the United States and annually hosts approximately 2,000 performances for audiences totaling nearly two million. According to a White House announcement Wadhwani, who received a BA from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and an MS and Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon University, is the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Symphony Technology Group.
Romesh Wadhwani is the founder and Chairperson of the Wadhwani Foundation and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies
He is actively involved in Kennedy Centre initiatives, having served as Co-Chair of the Maximum India Festival in 2011 and as a supporter of the 2010 Honours Gala. He is the founder and Chairperson of the Wadhwani Foundation, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, Wadhwani was the founder, Chairman, and CEO of several software and IT companies, including Aspect Development, Inc.
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Sunita Williams Creates History with Second Longest Spacewalk
MOSCOW (SI): Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide completed almost a record long spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS), reported NASA. NASA Flight Engineer Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Flight Engineer Hoshide spent eight hours and 17 minutes in the outer space doing maintenance work on the ISS. Williams and Hoshide, however, failed to fulfill their task of installing a new Main Bus Switching Unit (MBSU) on
Sunita Williams completed almost a record long spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS)
the International Space Station’s s-zero truss as they had difficulties driving the bolts to secure the equipment. The longest spacewalk of 8 hours and 56 minutes was undertaken by U.S astronauts Susan Helms and James Voss in 2001. Williams holds the record of the longest space flight (195 days) for a woman in 2006. It was the second spacewalk outside the ISS of the current station’s Expedition 32. The previous spacewalk was completed Aug 20 by Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Yury Malenchenko.
Priyanka to Sing for NFL ‘Thursday Night Kickoff’ BY LISA TSERING (Indiawest) Bollywood starturned-international pop singer Priyanka Chopra has been named a featured artist for “Thursday Night Kickoff,” the pregame show for NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football,” according to an Aug. 24 press release from DesiHits. Her spots will start airing Sept. 13. Chopra will use the venue to reveal her debut pop single, “In My City,” featuring will.i.am and produced by RedOne (Lady Gaga) and Brian Kennedy. Chopra recently shot an advertising piece that will air every Thursday night before and after “Thursday Night Football.” “It’s been an honor working with the NFL Network to create such a fantastic launch for my debut single,” said Chopra in a statement. “I’m really thrilled to bring my music and a touch of India to America and its football fans.” This international push is part of Chopra’s shift away from an exclusively Indian career. In 2011, Chopra was signed to 2101/DesiHits/Interscope Records to record a pop and dance album which is expected to release later this year.
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September 07, 2012
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Into the Sacred City Exhibition in Austin
AUSTIN: In a presentation exclusive to the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin, eight rare and never-before publicly exhibited Tibetan works from the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) will be on view from September 16, 2012 through January. 13, 2013. Into the Sacred City: Tibetan Buddhist Deities from the Theos Bernard Collection explores the rich art and religion of this fascinating region through five mandalas and three thangkas dating from the 15th to 20th centuries. Originally used to explain Buddhist teachings to early nomadic Tibetans, thangkas are meticulously detailed hanging scroll paintings on silk that also serve as meditation aids in Buddhist ritual practice. The works in the Blanton’s presentation feature fierce and sublime deities such as Mahakala, a protector of monasteries, and Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Mandalas are elaborate, intricate circular diagrams reflecting a sacred, idealized universe. They are created as a spiritual exercise and are used in meditation to guide individuals along the path to enlightenment. As a special program accompanying the exhibition, the Blanton
Tibetan, Padmasambhava before conservation treatment (detail), 18th-19th century Colors on cotton
has invited 10 monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta to create a 5-foot sand mandala in the museum’s Rapoport Atrium. The sand mandala project will begin on Nov. 14 and run for five days. “This exhibition provides the community the unique opportunity to engage with centuries-old Tibetan art,” said Blanton Director Simone Wicha. “Many of the pieces were restored for this exhibition and have never been seen before by the public. These beautiful objects offer an enlightening view into the ancient culture of this im-
11
portant part of the world.” In 1937, after spending a year in India studying yoga and Tibetan language, the adventurer and scholar Theos Bernard was among the first westerners given permission to enter the legendary city of Lhasa in central Tibet. Granted unprecedented access to study Tibetan culture and beliefs firsthand, he became the first American ever initiated into the rites of Tibetan Buddhism. He documented his journey extensively through film and photographs, capturing Tibet at a pivotal moment in its history. British and American journals widely publicized the travels of this charismatic, self-proclaimed, “White Lama.” Through his memoirs and books such as Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience, lecture tours, and founding of the first Tibetan Buddhist research center in the United States, Bernard was one of the most influential voices introducing yoga and Tibetan culture to America. In 1947, he vanished mysteriously in the Himalayas while in search of rare manuscripts. Today, scholars continue to unearth new details about Bernard’s life and to reinterpret the actions and legacy of this controversial figure. For more information call 512471-7324 or visit www.blantonmuseum.org.
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
COMMUNITY LIFE & STYLE A. SHRIKUMAR (The Hindu) It was little before midnight in last November, when Srinivasan Natchiappan, an NRI from Singapore urgently needed five units of B positive for his father who was battling death at a private hospital in Madurai. Srinivasan turned to facebook as he knew no one in the city and was fortunate to find ‘Madurai Blood donors’, a group page. He posted his requirement and within two hours, a donor saved his father’s life. Many such posts keep pouring in on this online page. (http://www.facebook.com/#!/ groups/boom.rcofmaduraipandiyan/) The people behind are youngsters from various walks of life driven towards donating little drops of the life-saving fluid. Started a year ago with nine members, the fb page currently has over 3,700 donors from all over the State and has so far donated nearly 800 units of blood. “Initially we came up with a project called ‘Boom’ (Blood donors of Madurai) and went around donating blood. But to increase visibility and accessibility we started an fb page., Over the past year, more than half of the demand comes from the page,” says Vigneshwaran, one of the core members of the group. “Nowadays, we get calls and requests from all over and our work is not just restricted to Madurai.” Starting spark The spark to start this came from a little girl’s painting at a competition.Vigneshwaran reminiscences, “The painting said, ‘when can you share, why to shed?’’ Apart from donating and arranging for blood for people in need, the members also give talks in colleges and schools to sensitize the youth to the issue. “Many are still apprehensive of giving blood. Some are superstitious
September 07, 2012
Donating Drops of Life
Members of Madurai blood donors group. Photo: A. Shrikumar
Madurai Blood donors, an online page on Facebook, is a group of dedicated youngsters working towards a common lifesaving cause while many have misconception that taking 350ml of blood may weaken the body,” says Charan. “Moreover, there are many private hospitals that charge for blood given by volunteers. They sell blood and often uneducated people fall prey. We are against selling blood and have fought at private hospitals. We mostly donate only to the GRH here.” “Blood is something so precious and can’t
be priced. And when a volunteer willingly donates his blood, how can someone else sell it to the recipient,” says Ranjith Kumar who has also designed the logo for the group. “I am currently making a short film on blood donation. I have made four short films on various social issues and we screen them in colleges and schools.” Shiva, an active blood donor of the group was once reluctant to donate. An evening converted him into a regular donor. He recollects, “I was told that a woman in critical condition needs O positive but I was not very keen. Later, my friends took me to the hospital and seeing the patient’s plight, I was moved. From then, I have been regu-
13
larly giving blood every three months.” Tracking donors “The demand is always high from GRH. and How much ever we donate, there is always a shortage. Keeping track of donors and their blood groups is also very difficult,” says Satish. MCA students Esaki, Xero and Guru have designed software for the government hospital to maintain a database of blood donors, groups and recipients. “Yet, many times, finding the right donor at the right time is not easy.” Whenever someone knocks their door for blood, the members of Boom make calls, coordinate and network with people to find a donor. “Most times, we also arrange for transporting the donor,” says Vigneshwaran. He lauds the efforts of certain regular donors in the city. “A welder in Sellur and a petty shop owner in Arapalayam are regular donors. They are ready anytime though they have rare blood groups.” Boom, also coordinates with other blood donors’ organizations such as Mubarak in Mapalayam and Christian Church clubs. “Once even a political party approached us to conduct blood donation camps on the birthday of their leader,” beams Charan. “But, we are not much into camps as most blood is sold by hospitals and a large quantity also gets wasted.” These youngsters take pride in what they do. “Recipients see you as god. And the satisfaction you get after donating blood for someone is immense,” says Das. “We are planning to organize a ‘Go red’ campaign,” says Srirenganathan, the mentor of the group. Boom is an initiative of the Rotaract Club of Madurai Pandiyan, an extended arm of Rotary Club.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
14 September 07, 2012 COMMENTARY Is Bihar Letting Down its Women?
BY CHANDAN YADAV (The Hindu) ‘Long queues witnessed as women voters come out in large numbers’, ‘Using boat, women come out to vote,’ ‘Dewar bites Bhabhi for voting for Nitish’ — all of these were news items at the time of the Bihar Assembly elections of 2010. These elections were seen by many as a watershed, with a huge increase of over 10 per cent in the number of women who came out to exercise their franchise. In the myriad identity politics that dominated Bihar’s political landscape, people argued that Nitish Kumar had actually managed to carve out a separate constituency of his own, of women voters, transcending caste and class. Women talked about getting employment, dignity and security in his regime, something they could not even dream of earlier. And Nitish took credit for the same. Fast forward to 2012, and the wheel, however, seems to have turned full circle. Looking at newspaper and other media reports over the last couple of months, one cannot but wonder if Nitish’s bubble is bursting. Not a day goes by without a report of some kind of atrocity or another being committed against women. Rape, molestation, eve-teasing, dowry deaths have become common stories in the daily newspapers. Gaya, Nalanda, Aurangabad, and not even the capital city of Patna, have been spared. The Patna gangrape case is fresh in the minds of everyone. A schoolgirl was gangraped and CDs and MMS of the incident circulated to blackmail the victim, something unheard of till date in Bihar. Moreover, the slipshod investigation, suggesting attempts at a cover-up by the State government, which had so far held itself up as a beacon to women, is a far cry from the situation that was projected in 2010. Analysing the crime figures of Bihar of the last few years, one notices a consistent increase in rapes, along with other crimes against women. So is it now perhaps the time for a reality check? Looking at the figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recently for Bihar for 2011, one realises that the State has actually become an increasingly unsafe place for women. The crime rates against them have increased from
6,186 cases in 2008 to 10,231 cases in 2011, a 65 percentage point increase in just the last three years. Fifty-six per cent of the women between ages 15 and 49 are subject to physical and sexual violence. Nitish may have given bicycles to girls to go to school, but he has clearly failed in making the roads to the school safe for these girls, many of whom complain of eveteasing and lewd comments. Even abduction of young girls is on the rise, with a massive 71% of all kidnapping cases in the State reported against women and children. Some 3,050 cases of kidnapping and abduction of women were reported in 2011, a 104 percentage point increase over 2008! In fact, Bihar ranks second in the country in kidnapping cases, with a total of 4,268 cases registered in 2011. The recent uterus scam from Samastipur has shown that crime and corruption continue to prevail, with teenagers, pregnant women and even men being on the list of those whose organs were removed! The sex ratio has seen a decline over the last decade. And not just women, Bihar today ranks among the top three States in murder (3,198), attempt to commit murder (3,327) and culpable homicide not amounting to murder (348), dacoities (556), riots (9,768) and arson (705). Some 26,003 violent crimes were committed in 2011, a 10% share of all India crimes, the second highest after Uttar Pradesh. During his first term, Nitish tried to ensure political empowerment of women, reserving 50% of all posts at the panchayat levels for them. However, this is clearly not in sync with overall social sensiti-
sation, empowerment and uplift of society as a whole, resulting in Bihar today ranking second, behind U.P., in dowry deaths and dowry-related crimes against women. Even as the Chief Minister keeps talking of Bihar ka Samman, Bihar ka Gaurav and Bihar ka izzat, it is apparent that the samman, gaurav and izzat of the women are under attack. If Nitish takes credit for the 13% economic growth that Bihar has achieved during his tenure, he should also accept the blame for crime figures and take immediate steps to address the issue. Clearly, there is a lot more that needs to be done for the overall empowerment of women and societal transformation, along with immediate improvement in the law and order machinery. The first crucial step could be to empower, staff and provide infrastructure to the Mahila police stations, and allow for fast-track disposal of cases against women to ensure justice. Perhaps then, Bihar will be able to improve its current record of having nearly 36% of cases from the previous year still pending investigation. Awareness and sensitisation programmes for society, conducted jointly by civil and political society — through workshops, seminars, public awareness campaigns, gender studies courses etc., — are an urgent need. It is essential to encourage women to perform in all spheres of life, without any threat to their safety and security. Perhaps, then, one can dream of producing its own Saina Nehwals and Mary Koms, who will bring laurels to the country in the national and international arenas.
INDIA
Baba Ramdev Announces Fresh Anti-Congress Agitation from Oct 2
NEW DELHI (IE): Yoga guru Ramdev announced a fresh agitation targeting Congress from October two that will last till next Lok Sabha elections with immediate attention on upcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Addressing a press conference, Ramdev said he will continue his work despite Congress targeting him and his fight will be for a change in power and system. “People will give a suitable answer to Congress (for targeting us). What will it do to us when it is on a dissolving path on its own,” he said. Though the location of launch of the fresh campaign was not announced at the press meet, Ramdev said the programme is likely to start from Himachal Pradesh. He said the immediate priority is the upcoming Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Asked whether he was on a collision course with erstwhile Team Anna as it is likely to announce its political party on the same day, he said he was not in competition with anybody and that he will not comment on whether he will support them. Queried about a survey which put Anna Hazare above him, he refused comment initially but later said it was done by a foreign agency. “Media only said when I came (to Jantar Mantar for Hazare’s agitation), crowd came and when I went, the crowd left,” he said. Targeting Congress on the coal block allocation issue, Ramdev alleged the party has garnered
“gold medal in scams” and described it as a “sinking ship” Asked why he was shying away from pointing fingers at BJP, whose state governments were also named in the CAG report that he used to target Congress, he said, “Many parties are involved in this. But Congress is in the leadership. They have got the gold medal in scams. Whoever is involved in corruption should be punished. This whole allocation should be cancelled.” He alleged the amount involved in the coal scam was much more than the figure of Rs 1.86 lakh crore provided by CAG and Congress received commission for it. Ramdev alleged the government was using several machinery to harass him and his aides, including Balkrishna who was arrested in connection with allegedly providing fake documents for obtaining an Indian passport. He also alleged some people, probably at the behest of government, had approached his people, offering them money to defame those associated with him and his movement. “We have filed a complaint with police regarding persons who came to our institution and offered money. They told aides, including my driver, to defame those involved with me. They also asked them to plant some articles. It could be dangerous substances also,” the yoga guru claimed. Ramdev also asked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to restrain her party leaders not to use “derogatory words” against him and his associates.
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COMMUNITY
Fareed Zakaria Resigns from Yale Governing Board
WASHINGTON, D.C: After a long association with Yale University, noted Indian American writer and journalist Fareed Zakaria has resigned from its governing body to focus on his journalistic career. Zakaria, who received his bachelor’s degree from the university, was associated with the Yale Corporation for the past six years. The decision of Zakaria to shed some of his non-journalistic responsibilities has come close on the heels of accusations of plagiarism against him. However, CNN and Time magazine said they have completed their probe into the matter and revoked their month-long suspension slapped on the writer. “With great sadness, I have decided that I will not be able to serve a second term as a Successor Fellow of the Yale Corporation. I am re-examining my professional life and I have recognized that, in order to focus on the core of my work, I will have to shed some of my other responsibilities,” Zakaria informed Yale University in his resignation letter, according to a university statement Aug. 20.
September 07, 2012
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Fareed Zakaria has resigned from his position on Yale University’s governing board to better focus on his work.
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18
EDITORIAL
September 07, 2012
Body Politic
Even as Arvind Kejriwal and comrades campaigned against the alleged perfidy of coal block allotments, and Kiran Bedi argued for accommodation of the “less corrupt”, and “Team Anna” splintered into many self-interested agendas, Anna Hazare himself was far, far away from all this grimy politics. He was doing a detox routine, eating fresh fruit and healthful salads, practising yoga postures, getting his colon cleaned out and having mudbaths at the Jindal Nature Retreat in Bangalore. The yoga and naturopathy centre, “abode of health since 1978”, is run by the Sitaram Jindal Foundation. Jindal, a mining and metals magnate, is one of the biggest known benefactors of India Against Corruption. But why would Anna Hazare, with his fiercely virtuous habits, need a detoxification regime? His health and austerity have been his primary talking points — heart ailments and blood pressure were afflictions for lesser mortals, Anna Hazare reserved his strength to fight for the nation’s causes. His team never quit reminding us how much Anna suffers for our unworthy sakes, living in a temple, owning only two sets of clothes, never marrying, having practically nothing in his bank account. What are we to make of the periodic spa visits, then — the occasional indulgence in a monastic life, or an admission that the flesh is weaker than he would like? Hazare, of course, hasn’t always shunned the comfortable way. Through his fast in Delhi, he was cosseted by the most expensive medical crew in the city. He has been seen to travel in SUVs. So why not unwind at the Jindal Nature Retreat? Indian Express
Jaya’s Low Kick
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa cracked down on fun and games with Sri Lankans after she discovered that Royal College Colombo had played football with a Chennai Customs team in Tamil Nadu. The next scheduled inter-school game was cancelled and she suspended the official who had permitted the game to take place in a state-run stadium. Meanwhile, Naam Tamizhar Iyakkam activists have raised the pitch on Sri Lankan students on a cultural exchange programme in Trichy. A couple of days ago, the Sri Lankan government issued a travel advisory to its citizens, warning them of the “increasing number of instances of intimidation” in Tamil Nadu. To prove how real the threat was, buses carrying a group of Sri Lankan tourists from the Velankanni shrine to the airport were attacked the next day. This is a highly regrettable turn of affairs. No matter how strongly felt, a political disagreement with a neighbouring nation should never flare into a rejection of their people, a severing of sporting ties and cultural connections. This strategic finessing may not suit sentiments in Tamil Nadu. It is important, however, to separate matters of high politics and foreign policy from informal people-to-people contact. Tamil Nadu’s chief minister only appears mean-spirited by taking on students, sportspersons and pilgrims. Indian Express
The 50-Paise Terror Campaign BY SARITHA RAI The week gone by has been a week of 50-paise terrorism in Bangalore. It was as cheap, quick and easy as starting an SMS rumour and sending it forth into the city, then watching it spin into a frightening text tornado. In the aftermath of the Assam violence and the riots in Mumbai, Bangalore reeled under the impact of a swirling rumour which sent a large community of people into panic mode and drove thousands to flee the city within a matter of hours. The ensuing terror refused to subside for days. Ironically for India’s tech hub, technology came to bite it in the back. SMS threats circulated in great waves. On social networks, doctored photos of bleeding limbs, bloody faces and videos with hazy faces made the rounds. Local television stations endlessly aired footage of the panic. It is like nothing that tech-savvy and global Bangalore, India’s IT hub, has ever seen. The government, the police and railway officials were taken completely by surprise as thousands of Bangalore residents of north-eastern origin started thronging the ticket counters and platforms at the city’s railway stations, bus stations and even the airport. They all were frantic to take the first available means to return home. It was nothing short of an exodus. Many young men and women were incoherent in their panic. They had heard from fellow northeasterners that, following the bloody violence in Assam and a spontaneous riot in Mumbai, they would be targeted next for vicious retaliatory attacks after the end of Ramzan early next week. Stories of initial warning attacks were being relayed by SMS, those departing said. They each had dozens of such text messages to show. Api Raikhan, 23, a hairdresser, said she and her friends had received several warning messages asking them to leave. “I’m really scared,” said Raikhan, a Manipuri who has worked in the city for four years. Fellow Manipuri Gladson
Ningle, 24, a salesman at a sports store said he and his friends had shut themselves indoors for the past few days. They desperately wanted to return home but train seats were impossible to get and airfares to Dimapur were exorbitant. The Karnataka government and the city police have been slow to respond. The home minister summoned student and community leaders a full day later but this delayed response did not stem the departures. Neither did the doorto-door canvassing by policemen in neighbourhoods populated by northeasterners help. Instead, north-easterners started fleeing Mangalore and Mysore too. Several additional trains to the Northeast could not clear the departing rush for several days. “Even at its worst, Bangalore has not been like this,” said a befuddled Vincent D’ Souza, Bangalore’s deputy commissioner of police (intelligence). The police were flummoxed as the usual incendiary triggers — a riot, an attack, a provocative statement — were conspicuously missing in the Bangalore exodus. Instead, the warnings spread mainly by SMS, the simplest of technologies. Within hours, an entire community of over 300,000 residents was consumed by panic. In perhaps a turning point for terrorism in India, mere rumour and gossip devoured a city. Who are the perpetrators of this campaign? The police floundered for an answer. In the past decade, Bangalore has slowly transformed into India’s America. If in the 1970s and 1980s, many Indians went West to study and seek their for-
tune, in post-liberalisation India, Bangalore emerged as that much-desired destination where many Indians, from every state and region, arrived to study and to carve out a career. Gradually, the city emerged as a destination for not just young tech workers but career seekers in varied fields, entrepreneurs, ambitious businessmen and a whole army of enterprising workers to support the new affluence. Joining the rush from all corners, thousands of people from the north-eastern states too arrived in Bangalore and made it their home. The city’s relaxed feel and its mild climate felt close to home for some. Its cosmopolitan atmosphere and commonplace use of English attracted others, a wide spectrum from the educated to the working class. So popular a destination is Bangalore that the Assam chief minister recently lobbied to set up an Assam Bhavan in the city. With their pleasant demeanour, service-oriented attitude and graceful appearance, many northeasterners have slowly become an indispensable part of the city. They are the service backbone in many sectors. They are the housekeeping providers in Bangalore’s technology parks. They are the security guards in many residential and office buildings. They are the serving staff in restaurants and sales assistants in many shopping malls. They are the beauticians and hairdressers in the city’s spas and salons. Sure, the fear will eventually subside in Bangalore. Economic reasons are a powerful, irresistible magnet to draw back those who have left the city. Then again, the situation would not have escalated to this if Karnataka had a strong government. The state is now on its third BJP chief minister in four years and, tragically, not one has distinguished himself for governing the state. A 50-paise terrorism campaign could not have been so successful but for this anxiety-ridden setting. IE
Indo American News FOUNDER: DR. K.L. SINDWANI PUBLISHER: JAWAHAR MALHOTRA EDITOR: PRAMOD KULKARNI PARTNER: KRISHNA GIRI MANAGING EDITOR: MANASI GOKHALE ADVERTISING & ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER: VANSHIKA VIPIN CORRESPONDENTS HOUSTON: PARTH DWIVEDI, SOWMYA NANDKUMAR, CHETNA SAMAL CHICAGO: NAND KAPOOR, INDIA: RAJ KANWAR ®All rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be published without the written consent of the publisher. The deadline for advertising and articles is 5 pm on Monday of each week. Please include self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of all unsolicited material. Published at 7457 Harwin Drive, Suite 262, Houston, Texas 77036. Tel: 713-789-NEWS or 6397 Fax: 713-789-6399, email: indoamericannews@yahoo.com, website: indoamerican-news.com
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Ex-Maid Wants to Win Legal US Status
NEW YORK (TOI): An Indianorigin woman, accused of keeping an illegal immigrant from her native place as a maid at her mansion here, claims the housekeeper is cooperating with the prosecution as she wants to secure permanent legal status for herself and her children to continue staying in US. 40-year-old Annie George has been charged with harbouring an illegal immigrant for private financial gain. Prosecutors say George kept a middle-aged widow from India, identified in court papers only as VM, as a servant in her upstate New York mansion for five years without paying her adequately for her services. George’s lawyer Mark Sacco said in a trial brief submitted in US district court, Northern District of New York, that George’s late husband had asked VM to work at their home. VM was provided a room, boarding and a stipend which was forwarded to her children in India. “As an avenue to secure permanent legal status in the United States for both herself and her children, she has condemned my client,” Sacco said in
the trial brief. George, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to go on trial on August 27 and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Sacco had sought dismissal of the charges and said the pay dispute of about USD 40,000 could be settled
in a civil court instead. Prosecutors say VM was offered USD 1000 per month for working as a live-in servant for George, her husband and six children. However, VM was paid about USD 26,000 for her five years of service at the George household that included cooking, cleaning and child care every day from 5:30 am to 11 pm all year round.
VM had no bank account, passport or identification documents and spoke limited English. During the five years she worked for the George family, VM never saw a doctor or dentist and could not leave the house unless her work was complete. Prosecutors say George should pay VM $256,000 in wages and $87,000 in overtime based on the minimum wage. Homeland Security agents had found that VM had come to the US in 1998 on a G5 visa which permitted her to work in America as a domestic servant for a family associated with the United Nations. VM had worked for an Indian family till 2005 after which she left her job for a romantic relationship that ended. Having been left homeless, VM was taken in by a church which helped her find employment with the George family. Assistant US Attorney Richard Belliss said VM is still in the US and has temporary status pending the outcome of the trial. She could testify at the trial. Immigration investigators had removed her in May 2011 from the George household after her son in India called the National Human Trafficking Resources Center, which says it has identified hundreds of similar US cases.
US has Much to Learn from Sikhs: Harvard Professor Diana Eck
NEW YORK (ET): As the Sikh community in the US makes efforts to recover from the tragedy of the Gurudwara shooting, a Harvard professor has said Sikhs have emerged as a role model for Americans who can learn from the dignity and generosity the community. “Most Americans still know little of the Sikh Americans whose history in the United States, dating to the early 20th century, is now firmly part of our common history.” “While we catch up on our basic education, however, it is important to know that Sikhs share three distinctly and deeply American values -- the importance of hard work, a commitment to human equality, and the practice of neighbourly hospitality,” Harvard University professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies Diana Eck said in an editorial in the Dallas Morning News. Eck said if the gunman Michael Wade Page had been simply a neighbour or a local visitor, he would have been warmly welcomed by the community and served food in the gurudwara. The assailant would have “discovered a religious community so confident and expansive in its hospitality that it would embrace a complete stranger”.
“The dignity and generosity of the Sikh community in the wake of this violence remind us just how much we have to learn from these neighbors,” Eck added.
In the face of immense tragedy after the shooting, Sikhs still offered the food they had prepared to the hundreds of emergency workers, police officers and staff who surrounded the temple. “The dignity and generosity of the Sikh community in the wake of this violence remind us just how much we have to learn from these neighbors,” Eck added. Eck said no other religious community demonstrates the meaning of hospitality as abundantly as the Sikhs, noting that the huge, “industrial-size kitchens” in gurudwaras prepare food for community members and strang-
ers alike. “This hospitality is not just a gesture; it is foundational to the Sikh faith. Eating together is what knits the Sikh community together and breaks down the barriers that divide the wider human community,” Eck said adding that eating together symboliSes a Sikh’s personal rejection of discrimination and
prejudice. “Sikhs remind us that eating together is one of the important liturgies of the human community, for people of every faith and none,” the professor said. Six members of the Sikh community were killed in the Wisconsin gurudwara on August 5 when Page opened fire as they were getting ready for Sunday morning prayers. Page was wounded by a police officer and died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head. The shooting shocked the peaceful Sikh community, which received wide spread support and sympathy.
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Educarion Funding Travels at a Snail’s Pace BY HIMANSHU UPADHYAYA (IT) The Comptroller and Auditor General’s recent performance review of elementary education inTripura has once again brought to our attention prolonged delays in release of funds meant for schools. The performance review, of accounts spanning the last five financial years, underlined that delays ranged from 18 to 196 days at the State level; from district to block levels the delays ranged from 2 to 314 days, and from the blocks to the schools delays ranged from 17 to 340 days. Thus even if delays were at the minimum end of these ranges, it would take more than a month for money to travel from state capital to a school! Assuming the worst at each level, it could take two and a half years! The logical corollary to such prolonged delays is that funds remain unspent with the District Education Officers and Inspectors of Schools. It was found during audit scrutiny in two test checked districts that Rs 5.37 crores and Rs 25.26 crore were lying unspent with DEOs and ISs. A similar performance review in Assam brings us even more shocking news. In that state, schematic and other funds to the extent of Rs.304 crores were lying unspent/undisbursed with the Department of Elementary Education as well as in seven districts in the form of DCRs/Bank Drafts/Bankers Cheques in the current accounts of the DDOs for periods ranging from three months to 33 years! The audit scrutiny in Assam also revealed abnormal delays in releasing the 1st and 2nd installments of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan funds, ranging from 42 to 216 days both by the Union and State governments. In Assam, it was also found that the SSA Mission indulged in a dodgy accounting practice - to show funds as spent as soon as they were released to districts without taking into account the funds lying unspent at the district level! This resulted in a mismatch between the state expenditure on the books and actual expenditure on the ground. Those maintaining accounts at SSA had also paid no attention to check why despite significant short releases of funds, there remained huge unspent balances. In Jammu and Kashmir, for the years 2006 to 2011, the CAG review revealed that 32 to 72 per cent of funds were released by State Implementation Society to Chief Education Officer (District level) at the fag end of the financial years. Similarly delays in the release of funds by CEOs (District level) to ZEOs (Sub-district level) ranged between 24 to 354 days. The review of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in Manipur shows us that there were delays ranging from 9 to 327 days in the transfer of central funds to the state authority, and similarly there were delays ranging between 110 days to 254 days in the State transferring its share to the mission (whose costs are shared between the Centre and the States). There is more bad news. In Tripura, the CAG found the mid-day meal
All the increased budgets for education in the country may not amount to much, if the States don’t move the money fast enough to the intended uses, which is not happening now.
scheme funds were not withdrawn and disbursed by the Inspector of Schools, compelling the institutions to run the scheme on credit for months together, which raises doubt on the quality and proper implementation of scheme by schools. Audit scrutiny also showed that 300 schools could not provide the meals at all for anywhere between 1 and 11 months during 2010-11. In Manipur too, there were delays between 19 and 750 days !! Scrutiny of e-transfer records pertaining to cooking costs showed that the funds meant for October to December 2009 amounting to Rs 5.97 crores were transferred to SDMC accounts in September 2010 and funds meant for July to September 2010 amounting to Rs 5.86 crores were transferred to SDMC accounts in March 2011. A recent PAISA report that tracked the receipt of SSA grants says that in 2008-09, only 64 per cent of schools reported receiving their grants. the next year, it improved to 74 per cent but again dropped back to 66 per cent in 2010-11. In some months during the study period the figures were as low as 24 per cent. In Assam, the CAG tracked the receipt of SSA grants by 115 sample schools for the period 2006 to 2011, and revealed that 21 per cent did not receive their Annual Maintenance and Repair grants, 59 per cent did not get their School grants, and 13 per cent did not get their Teaching Learning Materials grant. As if these things are not bad enough, there are delays of another kind, which the CAG’s review does not talk about. These are delays in the transfers from the Union government under SSA grants. In a working paper on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), a civil society watchdog writes that the Union Government usually transfers funds in two installments to state governments - once in April and then again in September. However, the second installment is released only after the
state government has transferred its matching funds. They also argue that the first installment itself is usually delayed, making the schools that are planning pre-monsoon repairs desperate for funds. CBGA’s working paper states that as against the ideal two installments, Chhatisgarh had received funds in eight installments in 2004-5, seven in 2005-6, six in 2006-7, and five in 2007-8, with the major share of transfers happening at the end of each year. CBGA also found during fieldwork that delays in transfer of funds were common at sub-district levels also. In Dongargaon block of Rajnandgaon district, CBGA’s team found that the money came to the block in 19 installments in 2006-7, and 27 installments in 2007-8, making it an ordeal for block level officers to manage this fund flow (receiving and disbursing money) rather than spend quality time on monitoring programme implementation. Similarly, CBGA’s paper notes that in Uttar Pradesh because of the time taken for funds to move from one level of government to another (from state project office to District and then to Block) most of the money got disbursed to the intended recipients only in the third and fourth quarters each year. As an example, money meant for a Block Resource Centre was released by the State Project Office in August 2007, but the District Project Office Lalitpur released the money in February 2008. Even worse examples could also be found. The performance audit of SSA in Manipur reported that during audit scrutiny of the District Project Office, Ukhrul it was found that grants for Chingai block amounting to Rs 7.71 lakhs for the year 2009-10 were released in the third quarter of 2010-11. And sometimes, money was transferred without the letting recipients know why they were getting it. For instance, the SSA Mission credited funds to bank accounts of SMCs without intimating their intended use. Most SMCs came to know about receipt of funds when they turned up for updating bank passbook (thereby letting funds lie idle in banks for days!) CAG auditors also notes with a concern that most SMCs were maintaining a single cash book in which all transactions were entered and since many of them failed to furnish expenditure vouchers, it was impossible to check proper utilization of funds received under major interventions. It seems there are so many different ways in which the funds flow is failing that there is little hope of their proper utilisation to achieve the goal of the education system - to teach children. Instead, officials and teachers alike are merely going through the motions of transferring money, with little attention paid to the enormous time lost in making these transactions. And in the process, for millions of children across the country, an education delayed is becoming an education denied.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
BUSINESS INDIA
September 07, 2012
21
Sanjay Verma: The Glass-Half-Full Guy
BY SEEMA CHOWDHRY (Mint) The day Sanjay Verma landed in Delhi in July, he hot-footed it to see Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1. The 41-year-old, Shanghai-based Cushman & Wakefield Asia-Pacific CEO misses not being able to see Hindi movies in China. “I can work out of anywhere in Asia and that’s why for two months when my children have a school break, we move to India.” An Anurag Kashyap fan, Verma says, “The first part of Wasseypur could have been done in 11/2 hours but that is not the Anurag Kashyap style. This is unapologetic moviemaking at its best.” Verma, who took over as Asia-Pacific CEO two years ago, travels two weeks in a month and is happy with Shanghai as his base (for Cushman, as for every other company, China is key). But since other centres are equally important, Verma has ended the concept of a regional headquarters and spread his leadership team across Singapore and Hong Kong. “If everyone is in the same place, only strategy meetings happen and people get out of touch with what is happening in the market,” he says. This is our second meeting in seven months; the first one was in early January over cognac, lemonade, Caesar salad and dosa on the lawns of The Imperial, New Delhi. This time, we meet in the Cushman & Wakefield boardroom in Gurgaon. The last few months have been busy for Verma— he appointed Sanjay Dutt, a former colleague, as executive managing director, South Asia, and is overseeing the start of operations in the Philippines, Taiwan and Sri Lanka, besides two new offices in China and the recent launch of the Ahmedabad office in India. “The Asia business is just 13 years old for us. In the next three-four months, you will hear that we have acquired 10-15 people at senior positions in Asia. We are growing our business here because our scale here is not proportional to the brand’s image. Currently, we are in ‘the balancing the platform’ phase in Asia.” Insisting that the blinds be raised so that I can view Gurgaon’s skyline from the 14th floor, Verma, dressed in a formal navy blue suit, excuses himself for a few minutes to sort out a household glitch over the phone. “When I first joined this business, it was important to establish credibility and to differentiate myself from the general perception people have about ‘property dealers’. People used to think that we were not educated enough so I always wore jackets to overcome that perception,” he had explained previously when I had wondered how comfortable he would be in a suit in the sweltering Delhi summer. An electrical engineer from the Delhi College of Engineering (now Delhi Technological University), Verma chose a career in real estate quite by accident. After a three-year stint as a team leader, engineering projects, at Voltas Ltd, Verma joined the Manage-
Realty firm Cushman & Wakefield’s AsiaPacific CEO on Anurag Kashyap, Hindi poetry and the India story. was. For a few years, I left it vague and they just knew I worked with a multinational company with a fancy name. I don’t think they would have been too thrilled with the idea of their engineer son turning into ‘a property dealer’,” he laughs. Verma’s parents, both educationists who hold PhDs in Hindi, are based in Dadri, a small town 2 hours from Noida, adjoining Delhi. Verma, who studied in a government school in Delhi, says he was surrounded by Hindi literature when he was growing up and even today this is the other thing he misses about not living in India. “Kindle is of no help. You just do not get Hindi books to read on it,” he says. It was not just Verma’s parents who needed convincing; in the late 1990s, it was tough to explain to potential clients how a realty company could help add value to their business. “A decade ago, property was a dead asset in the balance sheet. Today, it is dynamite. Companies are aware about its importance and want to make it a part of their overall development strategy,” says Verma, explaining why realty is now a favoured career option for many B-school graduates. Verma, who joined Cushman & Wakefield in 1999 as a general manager-asset service, finds today that though things have improved in the last decade, much more needs to be done for it to be a more effective industry.
While chief financial officers (CFOs) have got more involved in how real estate can benefit a company 20 years down the line and want to have a real estate strategy in place, getting accurate information is not easy in India. “It is still a challenge to find out who is building what and what is the true progress of the space. There are no secondary sources tracking the market to give an accurate picture and not all developers share the absolute truth. The inefficiency in the system is a challenge, bureaucracy frustrates people and infrastructure still remains a bottleneck. In Singapore or Hong Kong, a real estate company can get killed if they don’t plan keeping all these aspects in mind.” The big India question for international clients who want to set up offices here continues to be about infrastructure. “The sad story is, although it has changed significantly, the administration is unable to provide data. When you get the data, it looks too good to be true. The implementation and execution of projects is always a big question mark. But I am a glass half-full kinda guy, and still think that the India attractiveness has not taken much of a beating,” he says. At present, Verma says, he has set five main tasks for himself in line with Cushman & Wakefield’s five-year growth strategy. “We need to continue to grow China and India irrespective of the downturn; strengthen Singapore and Hong Kong since they are the nerve centres of Asia; Australia, where we entered just three years ago, is a weak spot and it has to grow. We have to identify new emerging markets and finally expand service line bases such as improving capital markets platforms.” Alongside this, he is working on keeping alive his dream of retiring at 50, and trying to finish writing a book of Hindi poems.
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Verma misses not being able to interact directly with clients all the time. Jayachandran/Mint
ment Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, for a master’s in business administration in 1995, majoring in finance and marketing. “A bit of me wanted to be a banker, another wanted to be in sales and marketing. Then there was a bit that wanted to be a copywriter in advertising. The sales and marketing dream got killed when I did a summer internship at Dabur in 1996.” He learnt the hard way that in the initial stages a sales career had little scope for creativity. “You hardly plan strategies or work with advertising agencies, which is what I wanted to do. My job was to convince shopkeepers to keep the just launched
Real juice product packs in their stores.” It was pre-placement talk at the MDI campus that convinced Verma to appear for a recruitment interview with Colliers Jardiene, a commercial brokerage firm operating in India. “I had read that a part of the job in the services side of real estate dealt with investment and this excited me, as did the fact that realty was not an established industry here but was well-entrenched in Europe and the US.” But joining an industry that is not well-established had its challenges. “Initially, it was tough to explain to my parents what exactly my job
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
22
Marrying an NRI is No Longer in Vogue
BY ARUNIMA MAZUMDAR (TOI) Nervous, excited, anxious... it is indeed a cocktail of feelings when you’re about to get married, and to a non-resident Indian (NRI) at that. But doesn’t the emotional hullabaloo appear trivial as compared to the attraction that the West offers? Well, in the present times, the consensus has to be, negative. Five years ago, came a marriage proposal from the West for Mrs Walia’s eldest daughter, Anchal. The software professional working with a world-renowned IT consultancy firm in New Jersey proudly flaunted his sound bank balance, offered a promising (read secure) future, which made the Walias very happy. Not a minute was wasted and the newly married couple flew to their abode in the US. But that was five years ago. Today, when the family is once again on a groom-hunting mission for Anchal’s younger sister, their priority, or rather interest, strictly denies any overseas prospect. “Our daughter has been away for a long time. She and her family can visit us only once in two years. We don’t want the same situation with our younger daughter,” says a changed Mrs Walia, who has let her outlook take a gradual U-turn. Over
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the years, the fascination for the West, especially when it comes to matchmaking, has undergone a complete transformation. Modern Indian families that solely rested their decisions
insecurity is a thing of the past, travelling overseas is a part of the job now, and most importantly, people want to be closer to home. More than parents disapprov-
on common baits like financial security, better standard of living, and career growth for their to-be-married children, refuse to get lured any more. Reasons are galore - India is progressing at a breakneck speed, there is no dearth of better paying jobs here, job
ing the idea of marrying NRIs, it is the children who are indifferent towards relocating to another country. Sharmistha Basu, an IT professional from Bangalore says, “My parents had reluctantly looked for a match for me from someone in the US but since I had never
been eager to live elsewhere except India, I turned it down. They were overjoyed with my decision. I just don’t want to stay far away from them since I am the only daughter.” Concurring with the waning interest in NRIs, Murugavel Janakiraman, CEO of a matrimony website, says, “The demand for NRIs, grooms and brides alike, is not the same as it was 10 years ago when we started the business. There’s been a tremendous decline in the number of profiles opting for NRI matches. Today, out of 100, only 25 per cent of profiles would click on the preference for NRI groom/bride matches, so you can well imagine the plunge.” Indian brides might be on a spree of ignoring eligible NRI matches but it seems that the grooms are in for hard
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luck. Gaurav Kapoor, a resident of the United States, is one such case. “My parents were keen to get me married to a girl of Indian origin. They thought it’d be rather easy to find a match for someone like me who is born and raised here. Two years have passed and we still haven’t been able to find a girl who is affirmative about the idea of marrying an NRI,” says he. At a time when most people are rejecting this concept, there is a still significant faction that doesn’t mind a conjugalWestern leap. Darpan Nijjar decided to get married to a UK-based professional on seven days’ notice. “It was chat mangni pat byah for us, just like a fairy tale. I was excited about moving to London with him and hence said a prompt yes,” says she. The craze of the West is indeed in the depth of despair. Globalisation is one prime reason for this declining demand for NRIs, but it’s also because people have started realizing that in the long run, embracing the West eventually loosens their grip over the emotional bond with parents. Dr Sameer Malhotra, Senior Consultant Psychiatry and Psychotherapy shares a case study where an aged couple was affected by the absence of their children, “Initially, parents encourage children to take up the offers for a stable career and life but with time they start missing them. When the children are away, their basic needs go unaddressed and that is when they feel the void.”
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OPINION INDIA
September 07, 2012
Ajmal Kasab’s Hanging will Cost Only Rs 50 ($1) BY SWATI DESHPANDE MUMBAI (TOI): To keep him safe, the state has already spent more than Rs 50 crore. In his execution, the budget permitted by an archaic law is only Rs 50. Not just this, the confirmation of death sentence for Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, for his role in the 26/11 attacks in the city that left 166 dead, has turned the spotlight on other quirks of a set of rules framed well over a century ago. The course to be taken and interpretation of the rules is further mired in a fog as their use is rare. The last execution in Maharashtra was in Pune’s Yerawada jail when Sudhakar Joshi was sent to the gallows in August 1995 in a murder case. Now 17 years later, the hanging ropes are likely to measured and tested again whenever the execution date is set for the terrorist after a few more legal procedures are completed. The jail superintendent has to inform Kasab that he has seven days to make a written mercy plea. Then the ball will be in the Maharashtra governor’s
and, further on, the President’s court. If the pleas are turned down, the execution goes ahead. Meeran Borwankar, inspector general (prisons), told that there is no execution fee or payment to be made to the hangman. (More in box) Executions in India, one of the 96 countries that still allow death penalty, are governed by laws that date back to 1894. The Prisons Act in India, though amended from time to time, is the principle Act which empowers states to make rules for execution. Four decades ago, the state adopted the
Maharashtra Prisons (prisoners sentenced to death) Rule, 1971, that heavily borrows from its parent. A defining book on the rights of prisoners written by a Bombay high court lawyer, A B Puranik, in 1992 notes how prison laws in Maharashtra lay down that, except as provided in sub-rules, “the body of an executed convict shall be taken out of the prison with all solemnity”. Where possible, the body must be taken in a municipal hearse or ambulance hired to transport the body to the jail cremation or burial ground. The jail “superintendent may incur a reasonable expenditure up to Rs 50 for the transport and disposal of the body”. Once a convict is sentenced to death, the prison staff has to first measure the neck and weight of the convict. It all boils down to height, weight and neck measurement with the height measured very accurately to the angle of the jaw immediately below his left ear. The height and weight are scientifically used to drop the rope to a certain height during the execution which is open to a dozen male relatives of the convict and other ‘spectators’ allowed by the jail superintendent. Kasab has no relatives in India. And while a bullet wound, like the many Kasab delivered on 26/11, would perhaps kill instantly, the prison rules say even after hanging the condemned convict must be left suspended for half an hour and till a medical officer certifies him dead.
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Mallya Gives Rs. 5,904 Cr. Guarantee to Kingfisher Lenders NEW DELHI (The Hindu): Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya gave guarantees worth Rs. 5,904 crore for the carrier’s loans and other liabilities in 2011-12, but did not get any commission for the same because of lenders’ opposition. While guarantees given by Mallya fell from Rs. 6,156 crore in the previous year 2010-11, the guarantees provided by Kingfisher’s holding and associate companies rose from Rs. 8,863 crore to Rs. 8,926 crore in this period. Mallya had got a commission of Rs. 51 crore for these guarantees in 2010-11, but the airline has said that payment of such commissions has been withdrawn after directions from the consortium of its lenders. As per the company’s latest annual report 2011-12, sent to shareholders last evening ahead of their Annual General Meeting on September 26, the airline did not make any payments to Mallya during the fiscal. On the other hand, remuneration paid to its CEO Sanjay Agarwal nearly doubled from Rs. 2.12 crore to Rs. 4.01 crore, although the total employee remuneration fell marginally by one per cent to Rs. 669.5 crore on account of lower headcount. Kingfisher said its headcount fell by 1,651 people or 22 per cent to 5,696 persons in the last fiscal and the carrier is planning further measures for optimising its “human
resources utilisation.” Writing on behalf of the company’s board, Chairman Mallya said in the ‘Report of Directors for the year 2011-12’ that Kingfisher is working on a “holding pattern” basis with limited operation, pending policy changes. “Due to the current situation, your company is operating as a “holding pattern” with limited operation, pending policy changes which are in the offing,” Mallya said. In aviation parlance, an aircraft is said to follow ‘holding pattern’ when it makes several mid-air turns waiting for a clearance to land, or to avoid hitting other plane. Kingfisher’s net loss more than doubled to Rs. 2,328 crore in 2011-12, from Rs. 1,027 crore in the previous year. Its total long-term borrowings stood at Rs. 5,695 crore as on March 31, 2012, down from Rs. 6,306 crore a year ago. Besides, it had short-term borrowings of Rs. 2,335 crore at the end of 2011-12, up from Rs. 604 crore as on March 31, 2011. For these loans, the airline has used as security all its movable assets, trademarks, ‘goodwill’ of the company, credit card and other receivables and a mortgage on Kingfisher House. The airline said the government is actively considering relaxing FDI norms to allow foreign airlines to pick up equity in domestic players, after representations made by it and other domestic carriers.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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September 07, 2012
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Indian Herbal Medicines, Cow Urine Seized in UK LONDON: In a major haul, Britain’s border officials have seized 45 large boxes containing ground tiger claws, herbal remedies, massage oils and cow urine that had been illegally imported from India, official sources here said. The boxes were destined for an address in Birmingham before being stopped by officials at Felixstowe Port in Suffolk. The material is in demand in the Asian community in the west Midlands and other areas with large minorities of Asian origin. UK Border Force said that it was the first time that ground tiger claws, which may have come from tigers that were illegally poached, had been found by Customs in the UK. The boxes also had cow urine, poisonous plants, and goat meat. Officials examining the load also found several large cockroaches that had fermented in the boxes. The import and export of tiger
derivatives is strictly controlled under the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES) and items can only be brought into or sent out of the EU if the correct permits have been applied for and issued, Border Force said. Details of the seizure have been
referred to customs authorities in India, which will decide whether to take further action against the exporter. The importer in Birmingham has also been contacted and issued with a warning following the find, Border Force said.
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SYDNEY (The Hindu): People Even better would be to also cut who eat a bar of dark chocolate in the down on salt and step up exercise, Admorning and drink a glass of red wine elaide University’s Karin Ried said. at night are lowering their blood pres“Eating chocolate reduces blood sure and so prolonging their lives. pressure by about 2-3 millimetres of mercury (while) exercise and other dietary measures can reduce blood pressure by 3-7 millimetres.” Reid and her team of fellow Australians picked apart 20 studies involving 856 participants that looked at the effect on blood pressure of a daily dose of cocoa for two weeks. Cocoa is rich in flavanols, which are known to dilate blood vessels
and so allow blood to flow more freely. “Smaller dosages may be as effective as larger dosages,” she said. But a 100-gram bar of dark chocolate would be a handy dosage. Flavanols are also present in green tea, dark berries and red wine. Salt is known to elevate blood pressure. Exercise helps reduce blood pressure. “Dark chocolate has 50-85 per cent cocoa and milk chocolate up to 30 per cent,” Ried said. “As the flavanol content is responsible for blood pressure reduction, cocoa-rich foods are preferable.” Unsurprisingly, only one in 20 of those who agreed to help the march of science by eating a daily bar of chocolate reported any unpleasant side effects. The study was reported in the Cochrane Library.
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
INDIA
September 07, 2012
Ratan Tata Says Goodbye
KOLKATA (HT): An emotional Ratan Tata said little about the operations of Tata Global Beverages (TGB) on Friday, when he rose to address shareholders at the company’s AGM in Kolkata on Friday. He didn’t have to. Shareholders, it seemed, had come to the ballroom of Hotel Oberoi Grand only to bid Tata who will retire on December 28 when he turns 75, a very fond farewell at his last AGM as chairman of the Tata group. The normally stoic Tata acknowledged the occasion. “I am appearing in front of you for the last time; so, let me stand this time,” he said amid loud applause as he rose to answer shareholders’ queries. He remained on his feet for the next 45 minutes answering questions. None of them related to TGB’s performance. Every shareholder who rose to speak heaped praise on his leadership and repeated how they would miss him in future. They also had a word of advice for him: “Please, please never join politics. Politicians have always troubled you a lot. I heard that Sonia Gandhi wanted you to be a member of Rajya Sabha, but you refused. You did the right thing,” one shareholder said. Others wanted to be photographed with him. Tata graciously agreed. He also stood patiently as dozens of shareholders filed past shaking his hand. One even garlanded him.
Ratan Tata poses in front of a Nano car made of gold during a ceremony in Mumbai Photo: Reuters
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Chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata with deputy chairman Cyrus P Mistry at the Annual General Meeting of Tata Global Beverages in Kolkata. PTI Photo
The praise was well-earned. When he took over as chairman in 1995, Tata Tea (as TGB was then called) was an India-focused tea plantation company with few large brands. Over the next 17 years, he helped transform it into a brands-focused multinational beverages company with a presence in every continent except South America. “You have given me a tremendous feeling of reward and satisfaction. We are leaving behind a healthy company for the new chairman. Cyrus Mistry will take over from me. I hope you will extend the same support to him as you have extended to me,” he said.
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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India, Pakistan to Ink 3 Pacts to Boost Economic Activity
BY SUJAY MEHDUDIA (The Hindu) Hoping that the forthcoming visit of External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna would lead to a liberal visa regime agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister, Anand Sharma, on Tuesday, said India and Pakistan would soon ink three agreements in the areas of customs co-operation, mutual recognition of standards and redressal of trade issues to give a fillip to economic activity. Addressing a Pakistani Parliamentary delegation at FICCI’s first IndiaPakistan Parliamentary Dialogue, Mr. Sharma said India was ready to grant multi-entry and multi-city visas to businessmen from Pakistan. “I am only hoping that the agreement is signed soon. Mr. Krishna is visiting Pakistan this week-end, and, hopefully, something will happen,” he remarked. Mr. Sharma said there was a need to also open up more land routes to allow more people-to-people exchange and smooth entry and exit of business community from both nations. “The agreements will be signed soon. It is a matter of weeks, maximum,” he added.
Minister for Commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma with members of Pakistani Parliamentary delegation in New Delhi on Photo: V. Sudershan
“We will soon be coming out with detailed clarification and guidelines on granting permission to Indian business houses and individuals to invest in Pakistan. There were some doubts, whether the Indian industry is allowed to invest or not. The answer is yes. It is just a procedural formality. I have been informed that it is getting addressed. It is a just a matter of days. So, both ways investment flow will start,” he said. India recently allowed Pakistan nationals and companies to
invest in India through the semi-automatic approval route. Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan stood at $2.7 billion in 2010-11. Haider Abbas Rizvi, a member of Pakistan National Assembly, said that increase in trade and investment would help both sides to resolve other matters. “Our relationship should not become hostage to any issue or incident. Our dialogue process should be irrevocable. We have to ensure this in the future,” he added.
Hike in Petrol, Diesel, LPG Prices Likely After Monsoon Session NEW DELHI (HT): An increase in petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene prices looks “imminent” after the finance ministry said it has no money to provide for fuel subsidy. “This (hike) is imminent. There is no question of holding back now,” a top oil ministry official said. In all possibility, prices may be increased after the current monsoon session of Parliament ends on Friday. Diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene rates have not been changed since June 2011 even though cost of production has soared 28%.
State-owned fuel retailers are losing Rs. 560 crore per day on sale of diesel and cooking fuel, and are forced to resort to short-term borrowings to meet funds needed for importing crude oil (raw material). Borrowings of the three fuel retailers have shot up to Rs. 1,57,617 crore at end of June from Rs. 1,28,272 crore as on March 31. Besides, they are losing close to Rs. 5 per litre on petrol, a fuel that was decontrolled in June 2010 but rates of which haven’t moved in tandem with cost.
“Finance ministry says it is not left with funds to subsidise oil companies. Oil companies are jewels of India. They need to be saved at all cost. Governments come and go, but oil companies will be required to fuel the country,” the official said. Diesel is being sold at a loss of Rs. 19.26 a litre, kerosene at Rs. 34.34 per litre and domestic LPG at Rs. 347 per 14.2-kg cylinder. At current rate, the three firms are projected to lose Rs. 1,92,951 crore in revenues in the financial year ending March 31, 2012.
FM Hopeful of GST Bill Approval in Current Year NEW DELHI (The Hindu): Even as a number of hurdles are yet to be crossed, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, on Friday, expressed the hope that the Constitutional Amendment Bill for rolling out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime would be passed before the end of the current financial year to usher in “a more effective and efficient substitute” for a plethora Union Finance Minister P. Chidamof indirect taxes. Addressing the third meet- baram in New Delhi on Friday Photo: Kamal Narang ing of the consultative comon account of reduction in the rate mittee attached to his Ministry, Mr. Chidambaram pointed out of CST (Central sales tax) and the that though there were still some divergent viewpoint between the issues relating to GST and its net- Centre and the States over the comwork (GSTN) to be resolved, yet pensation issue. “...firstly, the issue they were not insurmountable. The of loss to the States [must] be settled Finance Minister told committee to the satisfaction of all States before members that the objective of imple- we march forward. This is causing menting the GST regime in lieu of delay on the part of the States in most indirect taxes was to put in accepting GST and this uncertainty place an effective and efficient tax may be settled once for all,” they system, which was friendly and fair said. Some of the other members to the taxpayers. “Once GST is im- suggested that the decision-making plemented, it will not be adversarial process of the GST Council should be made more practicable by proto the taxpayers,” he said. According to an official statement viding decisions with two-third mahere, members of the consultative jority of the States, rather than on committee participating in the dis- consensus basis. Similarly, issues relating to discussion offered various suggestions relating to GST and its network. pute settlement mechanism and exWhile they viewed the GST regime clusion of certain products from the as good for all stakeholders, includ- GST system, among others, were ing the Centre and the States as also raised during the discussions. While these specific issues relatwell as traders and business communities, a number of issues were ing to delay in implementation of the raised pertaining to GSTN, includ- GST regime came up for discussion, ing security of data, settlement of the Constitution Amendment Bill disputes, and integration of direct is under scrutiny by the Standing tax information system into the GST Committee on Finance headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. The system. Some members highlighted the panel is expected to submit its report need to resolve the issue of loss in the current session of Parliaaccruing to the State governments ment.
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2012 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
28
SPORTS
September 07, 2012
India Beat New Zealand in Second Test to Clinch Series 2-0
slowly, offering the BY S. RAJESH bowlers plenty of reBANGALORE spect. His first scoring (Cricinfo) Virat Kohli, stroke, though, was an the architect of so many emphatic one - a fluent ODI run-chases, scriptcover-drive off a Trent ed another one, this Boult half-volley - and time in a Test, to hold when he followed that together India’s nervy with an off-drive in the batting line-up and lead same over, he was on his the team to a 2-0 seway. Between the gorries victory. On another geous drives, though, tense day of what has was plenty of circumbeen a wonderful Test spect batting, as he dematch, on a wonderful fended solidly, and left Test pitch, New Zeadeliveries outside off. land fought hard all the After scoring no runs in way, and came up on his first 15 balls, Kohli top against some of the scored 17 off his next heavy weights of In34. Only after having dia’s top order. Kohli, faced around 50 balls however, held firm, and did he show more exwith MS Dhoni offering travagance, exquisitely sensible support, India whipping one from Pafinally chased down the tel through wide mid-on, target of 261 late in the and then creaming three evening, under lights, fours off a Southee over on another overcast - a whip through midday in Bangalore, with wicket, a cover-drive, Dhoni ending the conand a straight-drive. His test with a four and a last 34 came off 33 balls, six off successive balls. in what was the defiThe end was emphatic, nition of a well-paced but for much of the day, innings. the chase wasn’t. Virat Kohli paced his innings well to score his fifth Test Dhoni, on the other India’s top four bats- fifty in a critical situation. Photo: AP hand, was frenetic at men, all topped 25, but none got to 50, as New Zealand 5, with only Dhoni and the tail for the start, scoring 19 off his first 16 scraped and forced errors. Kohli company. With the ball bouncing and balls, including a slog-swept six off walked in to bat at 152 for 3, after Sa- seaming around a bit, and with Jeetan Patel. That eased the pressure somechin Tendulkar was bowled through Patel getting some turn and bounce, what, with Ross Taylor perhaps missing a trick by keeping Patel on instead the gate for the third time in the series, India, and Kohli, had much to do. As is his habit, Kohli started of attacking Dhoni with pace from and soon saw India slide to 166 for
both ends. As Kohli upped the tempo, Dhoni eased off, taking singles, rotating the strike, and not striking another boundary till victory was well within reach. The partnership between the two was worth 96, and it was a matchwinning one. The sixth-wicket pair finally won it for India, but for most of the day New Zealand put in a terrific performance in the field: the fast bowlers mixed up their lengths on a responsive pitch, testing all the Indian batsmen with the short stuff, while Patel flighted it, bowled at a slower pace, and flummoxed more than one batsman in a line-up which usually plays spin well. The only passage when they seemed lost for ideas was when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were spanking it to all parts during a firstwicket partnership of 77 in less than 12 overs. However, once they broke through, with Sehwag charging down the pitch and getting deceived by the flight, they fought all the way. Gambhir lost his way after a fluent start, scoring one off his last 20 balls after making 33 off 38 in Sehwag’s company. Cheteshwar Pujara, who had starred with 72 in India’s win over Australia at the same ground on his debut, had a mixed time here, mixing some pleasant drives with some nervy moments against both spin and pace: his hooking didn’t always inspire confidence, while Patel repeatedly had him playing and missing at straight deliveries. He finally dismissed Pujara off a bat-pad catch for 48 with the score on 158, but would have dismissed
him 24 runs earlier, with Pujara on 37, had Brendon McCullum, keeping wicket instead of the injured Kruger van Wyk, not muffed up a simple stumping chance. India seemed to have taken a stranglehold on the game when Pujara and Tendulkar were involved in a 69-run stand, but New Zealand continued to press hard. The pair had to fight off a tense period before lunch as New Zealand recovered after the opening onslaught: only 17 runs came off the 12 overs after Sehwag’s dismissal. However, both Pujara and Tendulkar were getting into groove, with the batsmen managing forcing shots through the off side to ease the pressure, when a 40-minute rain delay, which forced an early tea, stopped India’s momentum. Soon after resumption, India slumped from 147 for 2 to 166 for 5. Tendulkar was bowled for the third time in three innings, playing across the line to a full one from Southee that moved in a bit, while Suresh Raina had a brain freeze: not yet off the mark after facing nine balls, he charged wildly at his tenth, tried to blast it over midwicket, missed, and found his middle stump knocked back. It’s a stroke that should give him nightmares, especially if he doesn’t get another opportunity at Test cricket in the near future. In five home Tests against New Zealand, Raina has scored 84 in seven innings at an average of 12. At that stage there was plenty to do for India, but then Kohli and Dhoni ensured there’d be no further hiccups.
ICC Refuses to Include Ajmal’s Name in Awards List KARACHI (The Hindu) The ICC has dismissed Pakistan Cricket Board’s objection on Saeed Ajmal’s omission from the shortlist for Test Cricketer of the Year award, saying it was an independent jury who cast out the off-spinner from the list. The PCB raised questions on governing body’s selection procedure and urged it to revise the policy. But the ICC refused to reconsider Ajmal’s case. “The ICC has no authority to change the results of the academy. The voting results are final and binding on everyone,” an ICC spokes-
man told ESPNcricinfo. The 34-year-old Ajmal, despite finishing as the top Test wicket-taker with 72 wickets in Tests between August 4, 2011 and August 6, 2012, was not included among the four nominees for the coveted Test Cricketer of the Year award and the PCB lodged a protest with the ICC. The Pakistani off-spinner has been in good form but his bowling action has come under scrutiny with former England captain Bob Willis and some other former cricketers questioning its legality. Explaining the reason for Ajmal’s
exclusion from the final list of nominees, the ICC spokesperson said, “It is important to understand the process which is very simple and transparent, and monitored by independent auditor Ernst & Young.” For Classifieds Call us 713-789-NEWS (6397) Visit us online at:
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Exodus 2012: Rout Cause
It wasn’t just rogue SMSes that fuelled the northeasterners’ flight from the IT cities BY PUSHPA IYENGAR & MADHAVI TATA (Outlook) Raju Basmathi from Assam arrived in Bangalore on August 21—nothing extraordinary on any other day. But days after 30,000 northeasterners fled the city, scared by rumours that Muslims would attack them to avenge the death of their brethren in Assam, he was one of a handful on the train from Guwahati. With the scare now diminishing, the real reasons for northeasterners fleeing the city are emerging. It was not so much the threatening rumours on SMS or the violence in Bodoland but, as many Bangaloreans told Outlook, a potent mix of politics aimed at polarising the city (elections are due next May), intelligence failure and a police administration that had looked the other way for years while northeasterners were being subjected to racial profiling. “This was orchestrated to divert people’s attention away from political scams,” says a long-time resident. “But those who hatched the plot did
Escape route Fleeing northeasterners aboard a Guwahati train
not anticipate the scale of the consequence.” Adds Bangalore resident Lawrence Liang, who is of Chinese origin, “The exodus points to an underlying insecurity, particularly among the lower strata like security guards.” They are virtually ghettoised in areas like Neelsasandara and are among the majority who fled.
Even in Hyderabad, it was the security guards, maintenance staff in IT companies and MNCs in HiTec City or cooks in small hotels who fled. While the police refuse to give numbers, the deserted look in two Madhapur colonies—Siddique Nagar and Anjaiah Nagar near HiTec City—tells the story quite eloquently.
The few locals who live in the area say at least 4,000 workers have left. Extra coaches on trains to Guwahati were filled with passengers, not because they had received any direct threat, but because folks back home were worried. There are some exceptions, though. Ajnabi Das Baruah, a management trainee, for instance, talks of having received tremendous support from her neighbours in the city. “My parents are worried,” she says, “but I feel I will stay on and just try to stay safe.” Not everyone is so sure. While Karnataka DGP Lalrokhuma Pachau may claim that the police is cracking down “very, very seriously”, Benmila, a student, says, “How serious the police are in solving our problems can be seen from the fact that some of them gave a nine-digit mobile number for a helpline.” Police apathy is what migrants commonly recount and one of the main reasons why the panic spread so fast. Rev Dr Daniel Fernandes, principal, St Joseph’s College, has sheltered 38 boys and
five girls because “they are afraid something will happen even when they walk on the road.” P.V. Joseph, a student from Manipur, says, “One of my classmates was beaten with sticks.”Another reported overhearing at a butcher’s, “Today you can buy meat, tomorrow we’ll butcher you.” Rumours of four Muslim youth abusing some Assamese workers in Hyderabad’s Siddique Nagar triggered such panic that some Assamese citizens even sold their cycles and electronic equipment to raise money for going home. Though not a single attack on an Assamese has been reported in Hyderabad, people continue to rush home. It’s helped little by the fact that people like BJP president Nitin Gadkari continue to stoke the fires rather than help calm them. “The attacks in some parts of the country on people from the Northeast is unfortunate....,” he said, in commiseration. Only to drive home his own point: “These are being perpetrated by illegal migrants living in the country. There is a foreign hand in this.”
Abdul Qadeer Khan Mulls Politics, Urges Youth to Bring Change ISLAMABAD (Dawn): The Pakistani scientist who sold nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya, may try his hand at politics to rescue a country he says has become worse than a banana republic. Abdul Qadeer Khan, still lionised as the father of Pakistan’s atomic bomb despite his fall from grace in 2004, may have some appeal ahead of elections due next year. Many Pakistanis are deeply frustrated with their leaders over everything from chronic power cuts to their strategic ties with the United States, and they might welcome someone seen as a national hero on the political stage. “I want to bring change and help the people of Pakistan, like I did back in 1974, when India test fired its nukes,” Khan told Reuters in an interview at his heavily guarded Islamabad home. “Now, today, once again this country needs my help.” Khan’s new movement, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Pakistan, or Movement for Protection of Pakistan, is urging the South Asian nation’s youth to be heard through national elections and break the stranglehold of traditional political dynasties. The 76-year-old scientist says Paki-
Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan waves to journalists from the front door of his house in Islamabad in this August 28, 2009. — File Photo by Reuters
stan’s young people should stop wasting time watching “useless” current affairs talk shows which dominate the airwaves every night and purge the country of corrupt politicians through the ballot box. “The youth is 47 per cent of this country’s population, they can bring the change,” said Khan, sitting in his study, near swords given to him by heads of state hanging on walls and Urdu poetry books on shelves. “They should realise the importance of their vote and select those people in the next election who are clean.” Khan was at the centre of the world’s biggest nuclear proliferation scandal in 2004 when he confessed to
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selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. He was pardoned but placed under house arrest in 2004 by then president Pervez Musharraf. The government relaxed restrictions on him in 2009 but his movements are still limited. There is a widespread belief in Pakistan that Khan was the victim of an international conspiracy against the country’s nuclear programme. Pakistani authorities deny any connection to Khan’s smuggling ring but have never let foreigners question him. Many Pakistanis still hail Khan as the man who enabled Pakistan to respond to India’s nuclear detonations with its own tests in 1998. He fondly remembers working on Pakistan’s nuclear programme in the 1980s and how then military ruler General Zia ul-Haq once kissed him on his forehead when significant progress was made. Khan said his movement would register as an official political party if it gained momentum. So far, it is winning support from businessmen in the commercial capital, Karachi, as well as from a religious party, students and others. “Lots of army officers … a large
number, still believe that I have done my best for this country, they respect me,” he said. “They know if I were not there, (the) Indians would have beaten them now.” Khan appeared healthy and said he gets a check-up every day from a nurse. He said he gets up at 6:30am., never misses prayers and reads newspapers and makes calls. In the afternoon, friends often drop by to see him, he said. Khan seems determined to change what many see as a stale political landscape that has held the country back. Civilian leaders are often preoccupied by power struggles or tension with the military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its 65-year history. Critics say little attention is paid to a dizzying array of problems including a fragile economy, a stubborn Taliban insurgency, poor roads and infrastructure and an inadequate school system. “All the previous promises have not come true. People are jobless. They have no food to feed themselves. This country is even worse then a banana republic,” said Khan. Pakistan, created out of Muslimmajority areas in colonial India 65
years ago, could face the same fate as Arab states which were swept by revolts if more effective leaders were not elected, he said. “Let me tell you to come out of the fantasy that nothing will happen to this country because it was conceived in the name of God,” he said. “All the Arab and Middle East and other Muslim states were created with the same ideology but what happened to them?” Khan says he has received invitations to lecture at universities and he intends to make road trips to visit supporters. “So far, 1.5 million people from all over Pakistan have contacted us,” he said. It’s not clear whether Khan will manage to translate his status as a national hero into votes, especially since he does no have total freedom of movement. “I am at the moment only enticing people to come forward and bring change through their vote by selecting good people,” said Khan, who has a dog and nine cats, and feeds dozens of wild monkeys that descend on his garden and pool from nearby hills. “It looks difficult but if people start joining bit-by-bit it can get successful.”
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September 07, 2012
Avengers and Stallions to Clash in HPL 2012 Finals
BY ROHAN BAVADEKAR HOUSTON: The 2012 Houston Premier League (HPL) reached a crescendo this past weekend with all the teams completing their final round of games along with the Eliminator and the finalists booking their spots for the Championship game. This year’s edition has been a thrilling competition with nearly each and every game being significant, and some of them turning out to be nail-biting contests. The quality of cricket has sky-rocketed with some international stars turning up for their respective teams. The past weekend saw the Stallions advancing to the finals in comprehensive fashion. They were joined in the finals by the brilliant Avengers. The Avengers, who were in fourth place at the start of this weekend, and having lost their previous game against the Gladiators, were facing a must win situation in their game against the Rangers on Sunday. They bounced back in rousing fashion by demolishing the Rangers to qualify for the Eliminator (which was to be played on Labor Day). If Sunday saw the Avengers go berserk with the ball and in the field, Monday saw their top order run riot while chasing a challenging target set by the Gladiators. By beating both the Rangers and the Gladiators by 9 wickets, theAvengers have set-up a much anticipated match up against the Stallions on Saturday, September 8. The game on Saturday, September 1 was played between the Lions
Avengers skipper Niraj Shah gets the game MVP cheque from former Houston Cricket League President, Yogesh Patel.
and the Gladiators. The Lions were dismissed for 140 in their allotted 20 overs with Jawad Khalid being the star with 65. The Gladiators chased the target of 141 quite comfortably by 5 wickets and therefore qualified for the Eliminator. Jermaine Levine of the Gladiators was the game MVP for a devastating spell of 5-13. Sunday, September 2 featured games between the Stallions and the Texans followed by the Avengers playing the Rangers. The first game was an inconsequential game, since the Stallions had already qualified for the final and the Texans had been eliminated from contention. The Stallions successfully chased the Texans total of 133/7 with 6 wickets to spare. Shehzar Mohammad was the game MVP for his unbeaten 51. The last game between the Avengers and the Rangers was a virtual knockout game for both teams with a place in the eliminator at stake.
The game began with the Rangers captain Ahmed Butt winning the toss and deciding to bat first. That was the last thing that went the Rangers’ way, who were already without their star Ryan Corns. The Avengers then took control of the game with some incisive new-ball bowling and sharp fielding. The highlight of their bowling was a dominating performance by Sumit Bhakta, who was simply unstoppable from the start. He devastated the formidable Rangers top-order with some skillful swing bowling to finish with 5-17 from his allotted 4 overs. He was strongly supported by the rest of the Avengers bowlers with skipper Niraj picking up 2 wickets and Shiraz and Krishna getting a wicket each. The Rangers were dismissed for a paltry 43 with none of their batsmen getting into double figures. Facing an easy target of 44, the Avengers openers Mustafa Hemani and Manas Dasaraju came in
and began solidly with a partnership of 24. After Manas was dismissed for a rapid 19, Mustafa Hemani and skipper Niraj Shah saw the Avengers home in the 8th over. With this win, the Rangers failed to qualify for the play-offs, while the red-hot Avengers moved to third place in the final team standings and qualified for the Eliminator. Sumit Bhakta, who rocked the Rangers batting line-up with 5-17, was named the game MVP. Monday’s (September 3) eliminator began with Gladiators winning the toss and electing to bat first. While the Gladiators were playing without their superstar Sushil Nadkarni, the Avengers were missing their top rungetter Ashish Mayekar due to injury. The Avengers’ bowlers continued their terrific form, showing excellent discipline with the ball, backed by their alert fielders. The Gladiators were never allowed to gather any momentum in their innings and were restricted to a total of 126. The bowling was excellent with Krishna picking up 3, Niraj 2, Shiraz and Pani taking a wicket each. Facing a challenging target, the Avengers lost their opener Sai Ramesh in the first over. Manas was joined by Niraj in the middle, and they began the chase by going straight into top-gear. Niraj chose the best possible moment to come back to form and played a dazzling array of strokes all over the park. The two put up an unbeaten partnership of 123, a season record for any wicket, as the Avengers stormed into the Final with
this emphatic victory. Niraj scored an explosive 69*, with Manas scoring an equally exciting knock of 46*. The MVP award unsurprisingly went to captain Niraj Shah, leading from the front, for an excellent, all-round performance by getting wickets and finishing off the match with the bat. “It’s hard to express the feeling at the moment. Reaching the final has been a dream and thanks to the efforts of each and every member of the squad, it has come true. But the job is only half done, and winning the Final is our ultimate goal. We want to play at an even higher level in the Final, and hopefully bring the trophy home. We want to thank all our supporters and most importantly, our proud sponsor Wheatstone Resource Group and their President Ajith John for his constant encouragement and showing a huge amount of faith in our team.”, said a visibly elated co-owner George Eapen, after the victory. The Final promises to be a humdinger between two evenly matched teams, both in their debut season. The Avengers are looking to carry the momentum with their eyes set on the championship, while the Stallions aim to be the unbeaten winners of this year’s HPL. With a great game and a list of other fun activities lined up on Saturday, September 8, diehard cricket fans would want to be at Sardar Patel Stadium with their families & friends. For more information, see HPL ad on page 32
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