Friday, September 04, 2020 | Vol. 39, No. 36
Indo American News
September 04, 2020
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2 September 04, 2020 SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook Bans BJP’s T. Raja Singh for Violating Hate Speech
T. Raja Singh has been making controversial comments about the Rohingya Muslims.
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censoring pro-India content. On Tuesday, technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and said the platform was censoring content posted by right-wing users While Facebook removed the profiles related to Mr. Singh, some groups and pages with large followings remained on the platform Thursday. One group, called “Friends who like Tiger Raja Singh Fan Club,” has more than 23,000 members. Another group, “Tiger Raja Singh Fan Club,” has more than 77,000 members. -- Tech Crunch, WSJ, Associated Press
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a parliamentary committee on information technology over allegations of political bias and a role in spreading hate speech in India. The closeddoor hearing followed accusations in newspaper reports that Facebook was allowing antiMuslim hate speech on the platform and that its top policy official in India had shown favoritism toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The social media giant has denied the allegations. After a hearing that lasted three and a half hours, the committee “agreed to resume discussions later, including with representatives of Facebook,” chairman Shashi Tharoor said in a tweet. Tharoor, an opposition Congress party
lawmaker, did not give any details about the hearing. India is Facebook’s largest market with nearly 328 million users. Facebook also owns WhatsApp, which has more than 400 million users in India As usage has spread across India, Facebook and WhatsApp have become fierce battlegrounds for India’s political parties. Leaders of Modi’s BJP party have come under scrutiny for running online campaigns laced with false claims and attacks on the minority Muslim population. Modi’s party and its leaders have repeatedly denied the allegations and instead accuse Facebook of
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New Delhi: Facebook has banned a politician from India’s ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party, for violating its policies against hate speech on its platform, the company said , weeks after inaction on the politician’s posts landed the social giant in hot water in its biggest market by users. The company said it had removed profiles of T. Raja Singh, who had posted about Rohingya Muslim immigrants to be shot among other anti-Muslim sentiments. Singh will no longer be allowed to create profiles across Facebook services and pages, groups, and accounts set up to represent him will be removed, too. Singh, termed as a “dangerous individual” by Facebook, has a history of voicing problematic and hateful views on social platforms and in public appearances. Several of those posts, for which Facebook has banned him, remain online on Twitter and YouTube. The move comes weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported that a top Facebook executive in India had chosen to not take any actions on Singh’s posts because she was afraid it could hurt the company’s business prospects in the country. A person familiar with the matter and local media reports claim that Facebook had removed some of Singh’s posts in the past. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the aforementioned Facebook executive — Ankhi Das — also showed support to BJP’s Narendra Modi before he was elected as Prime Minister in 2014 and disparaged the opposition party, Indian National Congress. In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said, “the process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove his account.” In the last few weeks, Facebook has received some of the harshest criticism to date in India, where it reaches more than 400 million users. Politicians from both sides — the opposition and ruling party — have accused the company of having political biases. In a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, India’s IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad earlier this month expressed concerns about the alleged political leanings of the company’s staff and accused them of suppressing pages that support right-wing views Facebook India executives were grilled Wednesday by members of
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COMMUNITY
September 04, 2020
3
Sewa Serves Needy with Food Kits: Service to Humanity is Service to Divinity
Houston: Sewa International Houston Chapter, along with community partners Vadtal Dham, Deep Foods, SVG Charity and Lo’s Jewel Foundation conducted parallel food drives for the residents of Meadows Place Senior Village apartment and Park at Fort Bend apartments in Stafford on Saturday, Aug 29th. The large turnout at two separate food drives indicate that many
Houston area families are stressed with their financial situation as the COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. Around 225 families showed up in the food drives and each of them went home happily with 25+ lbs food kits loaded in their carts & cars by Sewa volunteers. LaToya Sanders, property manager of Park at Fort Bend apartment said “Thank you all so much for blessing our community. We
had a lot of fun during the distribution and everything ran smoothly.” Lonneka from Lo’s Jewels Foundation said “Our hearts are overjoyed by today’s event. We are happy that coming together during this pandemic placed smiles on families faces. Thanks a million!” We are humbled to be able to continue our community service during this pandemic. Several
elected officials not only supported the distribution but also volunteered during this drive. Big Thank you to Shri Aseem Mahajan, Counsel General of India in Houston, Fort Bend County Judge KP George, Council Member Ken Mathew, Council Member Naushad Kermally and Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton. Sewa International is committed in responding to the needs of our
community and continues to serve vulnerable people who are experiencing food insecurity and are struggling to put food on the table for feeding their families during the COVID-19 crisis. For the last six months, Sewa hosted 17 food drives in Houston with partner organizations. More information is available at https:// www.facebook.com/sewahouston/ and at www.sewausa.org.
Harris County Sheriff’s Hurricane Laura Relief Effort for Louisiana’s First Responders Houston: The Harris County Sheriff’s Office today announced the first phase of the agency’s Hurricane Laura relief effort, which will focus on getting much needed supplies to Louisiana’s first responders and their families. On Tuesday and Wednesday, all five Sheriff’s Office substations will serve as collection sites for those able to donate water, nonperishable food, tarps, electrical generators and other supplies that are in high demand in parts of Louisiana that were devastated by Hurricane Laura last week. The donation sites will be open both days from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the goal of making an initial delivery to those in need by the weekend. “When Hurricane Harvey struck our community three years ago, our Louisiana neighbors rushed to our aid and worked at our side as long as we needed them,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “Now, it’s our turn to support our friends. We know that first responders are unable to take time off
from work after a disaster to take of their own families, so we’re going to step in and give them all the support we can muster during their time of need.” The following supplies are in high demand and will be collected during this initial supply drive: COVID-19 PROTECTION SUPPLIES • Hand Sanitizer • Facemasks ROOFING SUPPLIES • Roof Tarps: Water-resistant, reinforced, UV resistant, min. 20’x15’ • Lumber: 1x2 or 2x2 - 8’ or lon-
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• Mosquito Spray • 3’x3’ Cardboard Boxes or Plastic Tubs with Lids PLEASE DO NOT SEND: Clothing, Perishable Food, or Furniture. Donation sites include: Cypresswood Substation 6831 Cypresswood Drive Spring, Texas 77379 Humble Substation 7900 Will Clayton Parkway Humble, Texas 77338 Wallisville Substation 14350 Wallisville Road Houston, Texas 77049 Clay Road Substation 16715 Clay Road Houston, Texas 77084
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INDIA
September 04, 2020
President Pranab Mukherjee: Politics of Consensus By Neerja Showdhury New Delhi: His name carried the correct initials — “PM” — for the top job but the office of Prime Minister eluded Pranab Mukherjee all his life. India’s 13th Rashtrapati, a “Bharat Ratna” who strode the political stage for half a century, was number two in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet in the early Eighties. A quarter of a century later, he remained number two in Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet. The first time I went to see him — he would see scribes in that side room at 13 Talkatora Road, where he lived for over 15 years — I was struck to see a picture of Kautilya and a copy of the Arthashastra in his room. It was his favourite book and he would refer to it often. When you went in to see him, you knew instinctively not to sit down till he had asked you to do so. Several journalists would keep standing, if he was poring over a file. “Were you a bureaucrat in your last birth?” he teased one of them. But Pranabda was a stickler for protocol. He did not like it when an editor remarked that there was no ashtray on his table. He ticked off a leading TV anchor, on camera, for asking questions in a raised voice. He was, after all, speaking to the former President of India who deserved courtesy. The diminutive man was conscious of his political stature; Indira Gandhi had told him that “political standing must never be compromised”. Pranabda was a paradox in more ways than one. He supported the Emergency, which abridged fundamental rights, and was indicted by the Shah Commission. Impressed with his talents when he had campaigned for V K Krishna Menon
in 1969, Indira Gandhi had given him a Rajya Sabha seat when he was only 33. And yet, in the latter part of his life, he became a convinced believer in the import of democratic rights, possibly because he saw it as the only way to run a country as diverse as India. He said later that emergency could have been avoided. He called Parliament, the “Gangotri of our democracy”. He was cast in the mould of a Nehruvian, and his political DNA stayed with him till the end. He sent shock waves through the corporate world when he defended the retrospective amendment in the income tax law that would force British telecom operator Vodafone to pay Rs 23,000 crore as tax and penalty. His words — “Indian Parliament is omnipotent” — were meant to demonstrate the authority of the Indian State, with its own message to the MNCs. Yet, he enjoyed an excellent relationship with Indian business houses. Though Indira Gandhi called him a “man for all seasons”, he was not really trusted by Rajiv Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi. In 1984, when Rajiv won with a whopping 404 seats, Pranabda kept waiting for an invitation to join the Cabinet. It was said that Pranabda had expressed the view that the number two in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet should take over, after her assassination, as had happened after the death of Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri. But he always denied this.
He was expelled from the Congress in 1986. But he did a “ghar wapasi” after three years in the wilderness. He had hoped that Sonia Gandhi would choose him as the PM in 2004. But she plumped for the “apolitical” Manmohan Singh, not the politically sharp Pranabda. In 2007, he almost became President. But Sonia Gandhi ruled it out, saying she could “not spare him”. However, in 2012, he outmanoeuvred her, with the last-minute support of Mamata Banerjee. And he moved into the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Though he saw himself as a “constitutionally correct” President, he was not really cut out for a ceremonial role. Starved of the political tidbits, he would often call up his former Congress colleagues to find out what was happening in Parliament and in the Central Hall. India will remember Pranabda for his contribution as a minister heading virtually every important ministry. He will also be remembered as a leader who saw consensus as the way to run a country as heterogeneous as India, and believed in holding conversations across the political divide. -- Indian Express
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BUSINESS
September 04, 2020
5
Swapnil Agarwal’s Nitya Capital Acquires One Westchase Office Building
square feet of space, a newly renovated lobby, abundant covered parking space, and 24-hour security services. In addition, business tenants will enjoy fantastic onsite amenities including deli, fitness center, and conference facilities. One Westchase is conveniently located mere minutes away from the Westchase Shopping Center, The Marriot, Hilton, as well as Beltway 8. Just as One Westchase Center served to be an inspiration for Swapnil to grow and build his dreams of becoming an industry leader in the real estate world, so too will this same, newly renovated office complex serve to build the dreams of future business industry leaders!
Houston: For CEO and founder of Nitya Capital, Swapnil Agarwal, success and achievements never came easy. Coming from humble beginnings as a son of a working class Indian immigrant family in Houston, much of Swapnil’s youth was defined by observing and learning from the success of others. As he worked his first few jobs, Swapnil remembered vividly his weekly route for flyer distribution for his family’s small business in which he would always take a moment stare at the grand corporate office building across the street on Westheimer. Its majestic modern glass architecture was always bustling with accomplished, busy businessmen and women. This office complex represented everything Swapnil dreamed of becoming: a leader and a pillar in the business world.
Today, Nitya Capital under Swapnil has just now acquired that very same corporate office building from all those years ago. Introducing One Westchase Center, Westheimer’s monumental 12 story business plaza! This incredible luxurious complex features unique pod floor plans of up to 20,000
Temporary Relaxation for H1B Spouse Visas Mumbai: Spouses of H-1B workers, several of whom are waiting for a few months to obtain their employment authorisation document (EAD) cards, can now breathe a sigh of relief. Lack of a valid EAD card will not result in a job loss, as US employers can rely on a notice of approval issued to such individuals. However, inordinate printing delays in issue of EAD cards and settlement of a class action lawsuit initiated by an Indian citizen, has led the US immigration agency – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to introduce this temporary relaxation. “This is a significant accommodation for employers who no longer need to wait many months for the creation of a plastic card to lawfully employ an authorised, critical foreign worker,” points out Mitchell Wexler, California based partner with Fragomen, a global immigration law firm. -- ToI Indo-American News • Friday SEPTEMBER 04, 2020 • www.indoamerican-news.com
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COMMUNITY
September 04, 2020
Foundation for India Studies Presents Distinguished Lecture on India-China Competition
Houston: On Sunday, August 23, 2020, the Foundation for India Studies (FIS) presented its first virtual webinar in its Distinguished Lecture Series. The lecture, titled “India China Competition in South Asia: the Past, Present and Future,” was presented by Dr. Constantino Xavier of the Brookings Institute in New Delhi. Dr. Xavier’s presentation focused on the competition between the two largest countries by population in terms of their efforts to support and influence neighboring countries in South Asia, such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Among other things, Dr. Xavier highlighted the importance of economic collaboration and the modernizing of India’s economy as critical next steps in strengthening India’s position as a major power in the region. Along with his analytical take on the future of Indo-Chinese relations, Dr. Xavier cast a critical eye on both the present and past of the centuries’ long relationship between the two countries. One element Dr. Xavier described as particularly important was India’s prior and current stance towards economic development, including analysis of both PM Nehru and Modi’s similar but divergent stances toward economic self-reliance. In addition to a riveting and thought-provoking lecture, Dr. Xavier answered numerous questions posed by the community in a live Q/A session. The first question was posed by Col. Raj Bhalla,
DVM, MS (Ret.), a prominent leader and member of the Houston IndoAmerican community and an advisory board member of FIS who first joined the Indian army in 1953. Other Q/A participants chimed in from various places across the globe, including Kyrgyzstan, India, and all across the United States, posing incisive questions across a panoply of subjects. Questions ranged from current assessments of America’s upcoming election on India’s relationship with China, to granular, academic questions regarding political and economic theory. The questions were presented to Dr. Xavier by FIS’ event chair and event moderator, Nischay Bhan, a Houston native and attorney who also serves as the organization’s Secretary. Mr. Bhan conducted the webinar seamlessly from start to finish, guided by FIS Chairman and Founder, Krishna Vavilala and ably supported in all aspects of technology and planning by Chandra Sekhar of Washington,D.C.,Harsha Devulapalli of New Delhi and FIS Directors, Amanda Vavilala and Harshith Marepalli of Houston, The event was run in a timely manner, and due to the sheer
amount of community involvement and the number of questions posed
by audiencegoers, was extended past its scheduled time by audience request. The lecture by Dr. Xavier marks just the first of many ZOOM-based lectures from FIS, which as part of its fifteen-year anniversary celebration remains committed to providing the Indo-American
community with timely, insightful and thoughtful lectures regarding current issues. Other events handled by FIS include the Indo American Oral History Project and the MLK Grande Parade. Other distinguished lectures presented by FIS include a look at Indo Israeli relations with the consuls-general of India and Israel, a lecture with anti-corruption advocate and former Indian Supreme Court justice, Santosh Hegde, and an unbiased take on India’s 2019 Election by Dr. Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.
American Chemical Society Honors Kashinath Patil Houston: Dr. Kashnath Patil was recognized by the American Chemical Society at a recent banquet for his outstanding 60 years of service. Dr. Patil received the certificate of servce and was able to share the recognition with his wife Manda and his family and friends. During his 60-year career, Mr. Patil has published numerous technical papers for the American Chemical Scoeity as well as other professional technical societies. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur with an M.Tech degree in highpressure technology and catalytic reactions. Mr. Kashinath Patil with his wife Manda holding the certificate of recognition from the American Chemical Society.
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COMMUNITY
September 04, 2020
7
It’s the Final Mural and Final Chance to Take the YES! to 2020 US Census
Houston: The deadline to respond to the Census 2020 is less than a month away. Now more than ever it is important for Houstonians to unite for the good of their community. The census-dedicated Second Ward mural depicts the historic cultural bond the East End community members share between the past and present. With cultural ties visually reinforced through the artwork, the Yes! to Census 2020 campaign hopes to remind all to respond before it is too late. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Councilwoman Karla Cisneros will host the 6th and final mural release on Friday, September 4, 2020, from 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. at the seminal Lenox Barbecue at 5420
Harrisburg Boulevard. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Senator Carol Alvarado, Representative Ana Hernandez, and other elected officials are invited to deliver urgent census remarks at the final mural event. “This Yes! to Census 2020 mural aims to keep the culture of Harrisburg and the East End alive while reminding us that participating in the census is vitally important to retaining our neighborhood’s unique identity by funding programs for improvements to infrastructure, keeping our past alive, and our eyes on the future,” states Councilwoman Karla Cisneros. “The time to complete the form by phone, mail or online is
now. Census door-knockers will be canvassing neighborhoods and visiting those residents who have not responded to date.” The mural was created by artist Carlos “Empire” Alcaraz, a Second Ward native who works at the Harrisburg Art Museum. Empire created a homage to the past and present of the Second Ward through easily recognizable images that are unique to the area. A series of painted Polaroid photographs depicts a timeline of this Houston legacy neighborhood, beginning with a view of Harrisburg Blvd.; the Grupo de danza Azteca that performs during Second Ward East End events; the iconic Maxwell House Coffee Factory;
a group of Mariachis, reflective of the deep-rooted ties to Mexican culture; the Harrisburg Art Museum, complete with a smiling Cheech Marin; and finally, an image of Eastwood St. depicting the tree-lined street with beautiful homes that were constructed in the early 1900s. “With the deadline to complete the census moved to September 30, it is critical that anyone who has not completed the questionnaire do so immediately. Our response rate is 55.6%, well below the national average. We are the 4th largest city in the nation and the most diverse, but if we leave federal funding on the table because of low census response rate,
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it will affect our quality of life,” added Cisneros. “We encourage everyone to self-respond online or open their doors to in-person enumerators.” Completing the census is important, urgent, safe and easy. To respond online, visit my2020census.go The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be conducted once every 10 years. Census data helps determine the number of seats each state holds in Congress and how billions of dollars in funding are distributed to states and local communities every year for services and infrastructure, including health care, jobs, schools, roads and bridges.
8
MOVIES
September 04, 2020
Sadak 2 Review: Sanjay Starrer is a Terrible Movie By Shubhra Gupta Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Jisshu Sengupta, Priyanka Bose, Makrand Deshpande, Gulshan Grover Director: Mahesh Bhatt Rating: One star All those waiting to pounce on all those who dared to like Sadak 2, kindly exhale. The film is, in one word, terrible: why would anyone want to make something so dated, so jaded, in this day and age? Harking back to the 1991 Sadak, a high-pitched romance between a lanky taxi-driver and a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, brings back memories of a time when Bollywood knew how to tell stories. There was nothing madly original about that Sanjay Dutt-Pooja Bhatt starrer, but something about the mix of pulpy plot and performance, toplined by the incomparable Sadashiv Amrapurkar as the evil Maharani, made it one of the most memorable films of that era. Nearly thirty years later comes this ‘sequel’, and straight away you know that this one is a lost cause. Not that Sanjay Dutt, now appropriately older and attractively grizzled, reprising his role as the strong-of-heart taxi-driver Ravi, has lost anything. And it isn’t as if Alia Bhatt, whose heiress-on-therun Aarya needs desperately to hit the road, isn’t a solid performer. The supporting cast isn’t too shabby either: Jisshu Sengupta, who has been making steady in-
roads into Hindi cinema, is here as Aarya’s father, with Priyanka Bose as her sinister mother. The usually reliable Makrand Deshpande, gets a chance to vamp it up madly as a ‘dhongi baba’. And for a bit of the late 80s, early 90s nostalgia, up pops Gulshan Grover, briefly. But not one of these actors is given anything credible to do. Who dreamt up this hare-brained plot? Sure, it’s perfectly acceptable to have wicked mommies and befuddled daddies and greedy swamis who prey upon the innocent. And there can be brave girls, accompanied by their faithful swains (Roy Kapur) who want to go up against the ungodly. To fight against ‘andhvishwas’, as Sadak 2 patently wants to, is a good thing, but like this? With not one believable scene, or character, or twist? It’s hard to believe that this comes from Mahesh Bhatt’s baton, who has given us such classics as Arth, Naam, and the 1999 Zakhm, which spoke so eloquently and emotively to the growing rift between religions, and people.
That was a landmark film. In his best work, Bhatt had the ability to catch the flavour of the moment and translate that into smart mainstream fare, and it was a wrench when he decided to stop directing. The only one who keeps struggling against the leaden storyline is Dutt. Those with long memories may recall how Dutt, never a great actor, had screen presence, and how he and Pooja Bhatt (whom we see in frequent flashbacks in the sequel) made a pair we cared for. In these intervening years during which he experienced personal and professional turbulence, Dutt learnt how to fill out a role, and make us believe. In Sadak 2, despite all the ludicrousness, he stays the last man standing. But it doesn’t do this unbelievably tacky film the least bit of good. Maybe some day Mahesh Bhatt will make something watchable with Alia, one of the most exciting actors of this generation. Sadly, Sadak 2 is not that film. -- Indian Express
OBITUARY
Shanti Khetpal: A Lifelong
Learner, Passes Unexpectedly Houston: Shanti Khetpal, a deeply caring and loyal person, and an extremely loving and wonderful mother passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, August 15, also the anniversary of India’s independence. She had complained of wheezing and had gone to take a nap in the morning but was found unresponsive and could not be revived by medics. She was 78. Thoughtful, sensible, and determined, Shanti always took time to make sure to care for everyone in the room, and would crack a smile no matter what situation she was thrown into. She was an amazing chef and loved to share the marvels she made in the kitchen. Her caring personality had no bounds, no matter who you were, as she always cherished every moment she shared with you. To her twin children, Akshay and Shushmita, Shanti was a hero who showed them strength to face all obstacles. She taught them to show compassion and kindness to every friend, family member, and acquaintance no matter how long since the last encounter. She made them realize that the ones closest to them should always be looked after and cared for lovingly. Shanti was born in a small village in Kandkot, Sindh in prePartitioned India on February 7, 1942. Without electricity in her village, she studied under the light of kerosene lamps and lanterns. After she got married to Kewalram Khetpal, the couple moved in
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Kim Ogg
H a r r i s Co u n t y D A . C O M Indo-American News • Friday, SEPTEMBER 04, 2020 • www.indoamerican-news.com
1972 to Dubai where she learned English. There she also learned Arabic as well, showing off her true eagerness to learn. Nine years later, in 1981 the couple moved to the United States and they worked hard to set up their air conditioning business, United A/C Supply on Westpark Drive in Houston. Though she lacked any formal business degree or education, Shanti helped to manage one business, learning how to use computers and to handle the company’s accounting. She actually even trained new employees on the computerized systems and how the company did business. In 1998, after the couple’s twin children were born, she left the business to take care of them. Due to the COVID epidemic, a small funeral and cremation was held at Winford Funeral Home on Tuesday, August 18. With the blessings of a Hindu priest from Siddivinayak Temple, Shanti’s ashes were scattered in the Brazos River six days later.
COMMUNITY
September 04, 2020
Bloody Partition of India: An Eyewitness Account
By Manu Shah PART I Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Yash Pal Lakra has made his peace with a painful past, but the memories refuse to go away. Yash, now a retired surgeon in the US, was only eight years old when the Indian subcontinent was sliced into two nations – India and Pakistan. Overnight, the prosperous Lakras went from a life of affluence to being homeless and penniless. They were stripped of everything - wealth, property, status, their very sanctuary and life as they knew it in their small village of Bopalwala, in Sialkot, a district in present day Pakistan. The partition of India has been labelled as the “biggest mass migration in human history” with the Hindus fleeing from Pakistan and Muslims fleeing India. The catastrophic event uprooted fifteen million people and killed over a million. Simply because they happened to be a Hindu or a Muslim. The atrocities inflicted on innocent people as they crossed the border in the scorching summer of 1947 is well archived. Survivors, grown men today, break down and cry as they recall this period of troubled history. Not only is it a black blot on humanity but it is paradoxical because the violence was based on religion – the very religions that tell us to love each other, live in peace and abstain from harming anyone. His voice trembles as he revisits the traumatic experience: the stench of mutilated bodies, the cold fear of being butchered by angry mobs, the ordeal of walking for miles on an empty stomach or the humiliation of begging for food. He grieves as he evokes his father’s struggles to keep his daughters’ honor safe in the mayhem, or his pregnant mother’s parched lips pleading for water. Memories flood his mind and he often pauses to compose himself. The sensitive eight-year-old mind saw death and deprivation in all its grotesqueness and their ghosts still haunt him. The grief has lessened, and some wounds have healed but the whyof-it-all continues to trouble him. He questions how neighbors, who co-existed peacefully for generations and fought shoulder to shoulder against the British for independence, could turn into blood thirsty monsters, all in the space of a few months. What drove mobs to go on killing sprees? What stroked the fires of such hatred against those praying to a different God? Was it an outlet for the pent-up anguish and fear? A reaction to the past few months? A survival instinct or were they victims of circumstances? He speculates that it may have been a combination of all these reasons. The nightmare began around June 1947 – a few months before independence. Yash’s father Niranjan Das returned from a busi-
Yash Lakra’s father Niranjan Das and mother Shanti Devi. Recent photo of Yash Pal Lakra (right).
ness trip in Lahore with troubling news of the escalating hostilities between Hindus and Muslims. Hindu homes were being looted and burned, their women raped and abducted. An uneasy fear descended on the household. The Lakras were residents of Bopalwala, a farming community with a population of about eight to ten thousand people. Hindus occupied the central part of the village, the Sikhs lived in another section of the village while the Muslims lived on the fringes. A prosperous and highly respected family, they had the distinction of being one of the two richest families in the village. Their ancestral house was the highest in the village and was used by the Indian army as an Observatory Post during World War 2. They ran a flourishing textile shop and a manufacturing unit that fabricated shells for locks and galvanized metal sheets to make buckets and boxes. While his grandfather lived in the imposing ancestral house, Yash’s family lived a few houses away in a sprawling four-bedroom house with a huge verandah that jutted out and covered the narrow street. On 15 August 1947, India and Pakistan attained dominion status. Yash remembers the moment vividly. His mother Shanti Devi was cooking lunch when his sister came running in to announce India’s freedom from the British. There was jubilation at the news, but the family did not own a radio and so had little inkling of the inflamed tensions brewing beyond their village. Before too long, trouble reached Bopalwala. In a matter of days, the gulf between Muslims and Hindus widened: Hindus would refer to Gandhi as Mahatma which translates into “Great soul” while Muslims used the denigrating term “Maha tamma” – denoting a “greedy man.” Fears were further fanned when a Sikh man was lynched by a Muslim mob. When his son went to the Kazi (the Urdu title for the head of police) to file a complaint, he was also knifed. The simmering tensions drove a wedge of distrust between the two com-
munities and the Lakras went as far as terminating all their Muslim employees. The galvanized iron sheets used to make buckets were now employed to make body vests to protect family members from attacks by knives and swords. The situation deteriorated so rapidly that Hindus began to feel unsafe after dark, even in the confines of their own homes. Prominent Hindu families congregated at the Arya Samaj building every night seeking safety in numbers. Yash remembers those long, dark nights when even the clouds eclipsed the light of the moon. The Arya Samaj building was a one storied corner house. Huge cauldrons of boiling water were kept ready to be tipped over in case the Muslims attacked or climbed the building. Heaped trays of ground red chilli powder were stocked to fling into the enemy’s eyes. Women huddled in the center, rocking their babies to sleep, sharing their fears with each other in hushed whispers. Men took turns standing guard all night patrolling the walls of the house. This continued for a few days until the Hindus realized that these makeshift devices were not going to save them from frenzied mobs. This feeling of being unwanted led to the exodus of many families to India. The Lakras were divided here. Yash’s grandfather Labha Mal refused to leave the village but Niranjan Das decided to migrate to India with his family. They would later learn that after their departure for India, an angry mob entered Labha Mal’s house with sticks and swords. A neighbor intervened and persuaded the goons to spare his grandfather’s life in exchange for money. Soon after this, the senior Lakra hired a horse carriage to take him and his wife to the nearest railway station to board the next train for India. Before Niranjan Das left for India, he needed to gather their money and jewelry from their safe deposit box in Sialkot. The Lakras had transferred their money to the city a few months ago believing it would be safer there than the village.
The keys to the safe deposit box were stored in a little alcove next to another bunch of keys which a relative who had fled to India had given them for safe keeping. His father described the keys he needed and Yash’s eldest sister brought them and handed them to her father. Accompanied by an army escort, Niranjan Das departed for Sialkot. At the locker, Niranjan Das inserted the key into the keyhole but it did not turn. He tried again and again, his trembling fingers now desperately twisting the key to force the safe open, but the door would not budge. His horror can only be imagined when he realized that he had the wrong set of keys in his hand. So vivid are Yash’s memories of the sound of his father slapping his sister, tears streaming down her face, the despondency on his father’s face as he paced agitatedly in the dawning realization that there was no time to make another run to the safe. To this day, the Lakras have no idea what has happened to the considerable wealth they left behind. Each new day presented a different challenge. The army truck had room for only nine members of the family of eleven. It was decided that Niranjan Das would take his full-term pregnant wife, the daughters as their “honor” had to be protected and the younger children with him. Yash and his older brother would follow later. In late August, a military truck drew up in front of their house. It was a teary separation – his mother wept inconsolably as she clung to her sons. His father locked the house with a heavy heart, the family turned to look at it one last time and boarded the truck. The two little boys stood forlornly and watched the taillights of the truck slowly disappear. They moved in with their grandfather but a few days later, an army truck pulled up again at the door. It transpired that Yash’s father pleaded with the camp officer in charge of the food supplies to allow his two sons to come with them to India. As the camp was running low on food, the officer agreed
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in exchange for food grains. The price for each boy was one bag of wheat. The Lakras stayed at the army headquarters and for the first time in their lives, slept on the bare floor. Every morning they would rise, eat a sparse breakfast, pack their meager belongings and leave for the station in the hope that a train would arrive. Their desperation to leave intensified when a bomb exploded near them one day. After several days, a train finally arrived to take the Hindus and Sikhs to Dera Baba Nanak, the first station across the border on the Indian side. During this historic train journey, the young Yash would witness unimaginable depths of savagery and hatred. He would see the remainders of a stomach-turning carnage, a beheading and survive a harrowing walk on the bridge of a gushing river. He would replay these scenes with stinging clarity all his life. While travelling on the train from Dera Baba Nanak to Amritsar, Yash recalls being seated next to six Sikhs. A little into the journey, one of the Sikhs had a niggling doubt that the man sitting opposite them in the garb of a Hindu Pandit was not really who he claimed to be. They pulled the alarm chain to stop the train, dragged him out and disrobed hm He was circumcised. Incensed, one of the Sikhs drew out his sword and swung it at the man. The man ducked and the blade snipped a few strands of hair. With the second swing, the sword found its mark and to Yash’s traumatic horror, the man’s head separated from its owner. The splatter of blood on the ground, the streaks on the sword and the eruption of gleeful cheers that accompanied this grisly act is imprinted in Yash’s mind. He remembers cheering from his seat, but today the cold-blooded killing evokes feelings of shame, remorse and revulsion. In another incident, the Lakras were waiting at the Dera Nanak Station to go to Amritsar when a rumor spread that a train carrying Muslims to Pakistan was arriving shortly. Hindus and the Sikhs instantly armed themselves with swords and sticks to massacre the unsuspecting passengers with frenzied cries of “Har har Mahadev and “Jo Bole so Nihal.” As the train chugged into the station, the mounting anticipation of killing the Muslims and the bloodthirsty slogans grew fiercer and louder. The train slowly screeched to a halt. One by one, the people on the platform dropped their swords and fell silent. In an act of providence, the train was completely empty. Strangely enough, Yash sensed a palpable relief among the crowd that the slaughter had been avoided. To be Continued
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September 04, 2020
The Inevitable GDP Collapse The inevitable has happened. India’s GDP suffered its steepest contraction on record in the April-June quarter, as output shrank 23.9% from a year earlier, provisional data show. It is evident that the stringent COVID-19 lockdowns in force through the first third of the quarter, and substantially in May, hollowed out demand. Private consumption spending, which accounts for almost 60% of GDP, contracted 26.7% as consumers abjured almost all discretionary spending. And exports, which contribute to a fifth of GDP and reflect overseas demand for Indian goods and services, shrank by nearly 20%. Investment activity was the worst-hit, collapsing 47% and shrinking in share of GDP to about 22% from 32% a year earlier as larger businesses conserved cash and refrained from any capital spending in the face of uncertainty, and smaller firms prioritised survival. Across the real economy, every single industry and services sector shrank with the solitary exception of agriculture, which grew 3.4% and outpaced the year earlier quarter’s 3% expansion. Construction suffered the most, plunging 50%, followed by the omnibus services category — trade, hotels, communication, transport and broadcasting — which shrank 47%, hit by the pandemic-linked restrictions. Manufacturing too took a severe beating, contracting 39% as demand for products deemed non-essential evaporated, and factories, even after reopening, struggled to run amid shortages of labour and added safety norms. It was left to the government to keep the bottom from falling out on demand as the Centre’s pandemic mitigation expenditure helped expand its consumption spending by 16.4% year-on-year and softened the overall blow to GDP. However, with the fiscal deficit already having exceeded the full-year’s budgeted target in just the first four months, and revenue receipts impacted by the economic contraction, the government is unlikely to maintain a similar trend in expenditure growth over the next three quarters. Unless, of course, it is prepared to forsake its vaunted fiscal conservatism and finds innovative ways to mobilise resources. The still rising trajectory of new COVID-19 infections and a high level of job losses and income erosion are also sure to retard any recovery in momentum. If the latest survey-based data from IHS Markit show manufacturing PMI for August signalling growth for the first time in five months, the same researcher’s findings also stress that “job shedding continues at a strong rate” in the industry. Equally significantly, the output numbers which are expected to undergo revision given the acknowledged difficulties in collecting data, do not capture a swathe of informal sector activity that was severely impacted. Agriculture too faces headwinds in the form of higher-than-ideal rainfall in August in several key crop growing regions in western and central India and with the impact of recent farm market ordinances yet to play out, it may be a while before the end of the tunnel is sighted. -- The Hindu
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
Trump or Biden: Desis Can Make History By Bhamy Shenoy For once, President Trump spoke the truth during the recent Republican convention. He roared that this election is the most important one deciding which direction the country will take. While we hear such warnings during each election, this time the wolf has finally come to town. I am sure that Desi Indians, most educated and most affluent are fully aware of this warning. Still, it is a mystery that both mainline and ethnic papers are writing that more than 30% Indian-Americans (during the 2016 general election close to 80% voted democratic) are likely to support Trump. Desis can indeed make a difference, first by voting and second by registering their opposition to what Trump stands for. No papers write about how even the young children who are neither left nor right are urging their parents and relatives to vote against Trump. This is based on my informal survey. It is true that children cannot vote, but it shows how they feel about Trump. In the next election more than 1.5 million Indian-Americans are likely to vote. In three battleground states - Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin- there are 320,000 Indian-Americans. Trump’s winning margin in these three states was 43,000, 10,700 and 21,000 which is just 23% of total potential votes by Indian-Americans. Three factors which are often mentioned as the reason for Desis supporting Trump are: tax cuts by Trump which has reduced the income tax for the rich, the opposition by few democratic Congressmen like Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, etc against India’s Constitution Amendment Act and perceived strong friendship between Trump and Indian PM Modi. However when these factors are stacked against the compelling reasons for voting out Trump, any rational thinking Indian-Americans will be swayed. Vote for Biden is a vote to preserve democracy and noble principles the US stands for. Just like Brutus in Shakespeare’s drama is an honorable person, Trump is also an honorable person. It is just that he is incapable of comprehending com-
plex issues, or not interested in getting facts, or thinks he is already an expert on most subjects (recall his statement that he does not need any advice on foreign relations). Trump “seeing many sides” and “good people on both sides” after the violent confrontation between White Supremacists and other protestors in Charlottesville, Va, brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin etc has clearly shown the ugly side of racism during Trump era and what may follow if he gets reelected. Let me give some more shocking examples of Trumpism based on an article in the New York Times - one of the enemies according to Trump. Trump has stated that a judge of Mexican ancestry can’t do his job. He makes fun of a disabled reporter without any remorse. For him, Haiti is a “shithole.” country. He does not hesitate to suggest that the “Second Amendment People” can/maybe do something about Hillary Clinton. Even a high school student studying the statistics of the US rate of infection and death by Covid-19 pandemic vs. other countries can comprehend how Trump has singularly failed to control the menace. First he claimed it was a hoax. Later he announced that it would disappear. He has failed to heed to the advice of his scientific advisors. US population is 4.5% of world population but Covid-19 related deaths are 22% and number of infected is 24%. It is a cruel joke to claim that the US has achieved energy independence. Not only has the US shale revolution come to an end with oil production falling significantly after the collapse in world oil demand, there is no chance of it recovering in the near future. Judges on the Supreme Court are expected to vote strictly according to the constitution and laws. However how a judge interprets them
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is influenced by their conservative, neutral or progressive views. Since Indian-Americans are fully aware of how the Supreme Court judgment is of critical importance to the future of the US and not the three factors discussed earlier, they may not like to give an opportunity to Trump to appoint some more conservative judges as he has done during his first term. When Trump chants mantra of “Make America Great Again”, his hidden agenda is to strive for “Make America White Again”. When most scientists agree on the need to act urgently on climate change, Trump has done everything possible to dismantle all the strategic steps taken by previous governments and put the world and the US on a path to future disaster. Recent Hurricane Laura in the US Gulf Coast, unprecedented wildfires in California, and many such events throughout the world are a few of the warnings by nature. Not only does Trump not believe in global warming, he also criticizes climate scientists as “prophets of doom”. History will consider withdrawing from the Paris accord as the most dangerous decision made by Trump if it is not undone by voting him out. Just for this life and death issue alone, Indian-Americans should take active part in this election and work for the defeat of Trump irrespective of whatever problems they may have with Biden’s position on Kashmir. Biden has not hesitated to change his position when he is properly briefed and learns about new facts. Most likely he will change his position on Kashmir as well. One should recall that Biden as chairman of Foreign Relations Committee played a key role in Indo-American nuclear deal. It was during the Obama era, the US supported India’s bid for the security council in the UN. In conclusion, while voting rational Indian Americans will be swayed by their moral compass (Trump stands no chance against Biden) and make history to ensure that the US will remain a strong democratic and vibrant economy to promote world peace. The writer moved to the US in 2005 and is currently residing in Missouri City.
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Mama’s Punjabi Recipes During the days of Navratri and just preceding Dusserah, the truly devout emulate the types of foods that Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman ate while they were in exile. They had vowed to eat only foods grown in the forest, fruits, honey. Sabudana (large grain or pearl tapioca) is one such food and this recipe is repeated with a few additional tips, just in time for the Hindu holiday season.
Sabudana di Kheer (TAPIOCA PUDDING)
Whereas chawal di kheer (rice pudding), along with ras malai (cheese in sweetened cream) and gulab jamun (syrup rose dumplings) have become some of the main desserts in many Indian restaurants, the sabudana kheer (tapioca pudding) has not. It is equally as easy, simple and inexpensive to make as kheer. I think the main reason is most restaurants don’t make it in the tasty way that it can be appreciated by the public. And just like chawal di kheer, the sabudana kheer shouldn’t have a thin milky syrup, but must be made properly: thick and sprinkled with iliachi for taste. Sabudana is a starchy substance extracted from the stems of sago palm trees, and then processed into small, circular pellets, which are sometimes called pearls. Tapioca pearls, on the other hand, are made with the starch from cassava, a root crop. It is not a low-calorie food but is used to an energy-boosting ingredient in soups, puddings, side dishes and main entrees. Sabudana is high in carbohydrates, with 86 grams of carbs in each 100 gm serving. Sago balls are larger than tapioca pearls, and both are sold in different sizes, colors, and flavors. In most parts of Southeast Asia, tapioca pearls can be bought already cooked and ready for use but elsewhere, these are sold in dried form and require boiling before use. When dried, tapioca pearls are white and opaque, but after cooking, they swell to almost twice its original size and become translucent. Sabudana kheer is easily made with sugar and cardamom in thickened milk. It is prepared for festivals and many special Hindu occasions though it is especially popular during the navratri time (nine days prior to Dusserah or Ramanavami) because it is made with sago and not grains like rice or wheat, which are avoided by devout people during those days. Sabudana kheer has become popular as a chic dessert at weddings where the thickened variety is presented in small earthen dishes and even with a small piece of sona ka varak (gold film). The secret to a tasty dish, prepared much faster, is to soak the sabudana much longer in the water, and to make sure the milk is thicker when you mix it in. If you use the large pellet sabudana, then you should soak the pellets in longer.
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Ingredients: • 4 cup doodh (milk) – whole is best, but low-fat will do too • 1 cup sabudana (sago or tapioca) • ¼ cup chinni (sugar) • ¼ tsp iliachi powder (cardamom Directions: 1. Pour the sabudana in a bowl full of water, cover and let it soak for two hours so that it swells up. 2. Pour the milk in a saucepan or small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to make sure the milk does not stick to the pot, and let it thicken up a little. 3. Pour the sabudana through a strainer to drain the water, then pour it into the milk and stir continuously for 10 minutes but not more so that the kheer does not get too thick.
4. Now, add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle with the crushed cardamom powder. 5. Thicker sabudana kheer tastes best. It can be served hot, but most people prefer to eat it cold, so refrigerate for an hour or two before serving. Shakuntla Malhotra is a skilled cook of Punjabi dishes made in the old-fashioned style that she learnt as a young woman in her ancestral home in Lyallpur, India (since renamed Faisalabad) before it became part of Pakistan after the Partition in 1947. People have often admired her cooking for its simplicity and taste that comes with each mouthful. Even in her early-nineties, she continues to cook daily and agreed to share her delectable Punjabi recipes for
MAMA’S TIP O F THE
WEEK SOAK SABUDANA TO MAKE KHEER , BUT NOT WHEN Although sabudana MAKING COLD SWEET S is mostly used for especially makin
those in g khee variety pearls to other South East Asian countriesr, some people, th , add tapioca ei r fro zen ice cream, sh along with some sw erbets and iced co ee t to pp in ffee gs . For this, the sabu be soaked as the pe da of boiling water – arls will lose their shape. Just add na should not they are transluce four cups of water for one cup of them to plenty sa nt But to make khee and they will come out nice and robudana – till r, und. be su re to soak the tapioca water first as the sa ately and they will starch will begin to dissolve the budana in cold milk, the pearls wi lose their shape. Later when you pearls immedisame when using ll start to congeal into a milky puboil them in the to room-temperatupowdered tapioca starch: if you dding. It’s the you add a teaspoonre water, the starch will mix into add a teaspoon the wa into hot water, it wi ll form into a lum ter, but if p.
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