Friday, October 23, 2020 | Vol. 39, No. 43
Indo American News
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October 23, 2020
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Published weekly from Houston, TX
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Durga Puja at VSGH
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COMMUNITY
October 23, 2020
Shri Sita Ram Foundation’s 9th International Diwali -Dussehra Festival
Houston: Diwali & Dussehra is the largest festival of India celebrated by more than 1.35 billion people world wide. Shri Sita Ram Foundation has organized this festival in the Houston area on a large scale in the fall of each year since 2012 to a capacity crowd of over 10,000 people at Skeeters Stadium in Sugarland, Texas. This festival has grown tremendously since it started and continues to grow every year. The team is innovative in finding unique ways to promote Indian Vedic culture to people of Houston, Texas and neighboring states. Last year it initiated efforts to make it International by involving Consul Generals of 15 countries in the parade. Participating Consulates this year has increased to over 20. Over the years this festival has gained more recognition and has been attended by dignitaries such as Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston, Mayor Zimmerman of Sugarland, other Mayors and several Congressmen , Senators , judges and members of the Consular Corps. in Houston This year, because of the pandemic, the event will be celebrated Semi - Virtually via Zoom, Facebook live, and YouTube live . Virtual nature of the event has created an opportunity to expand India’s culture and soft power rapidly to other countries than originally planned. This year representatives of over 30 countries are participating in the event . Foundation has received a tremendous response to our call to join us in an International effort to celebrate this festival celebrating ‘Victory of Good Over Evil’ , and showcase India’s culture and soft power worldwide. Temples, Performers and viewers will be participating from several countries as a result of this outreach effort by the Foundation
team. The Foundation continues to add new features to this festival. A highlight for this year will be the live performance by Padama Shri Anuradha Paudwal ji via Zoom from Mumbai. It will be a delight to hear her velvet voice on the 7th Nov. Apart from Padama Shri, She has won the Filmfare award 4 times, has been a recipient of the Lata Mangeshkar award and several national and international awards and recognitions. Another feature added this year is the inclusion of major temples, worldwide. To name a few from India; Hanuman Ghari from Ayodhya, Tirmula Triputi Devastanam temple from Andhra Pradesh, Shri Jagannath temple from Puri , Prem Mandir & Shri Rangnath ji temple from Vrindaban, Kashi Vishwanath Temple , Bhadrachalam TempleBhadradri Sita Ramachandra swamy Devasthanam from Telangana, Radha Govind ji temple from Jaipur , Shrinath ji temple from Nathdwara and
several others temples are participating . Several temples from US, Canada, New Zealand, Myanmar, Australia, Singapore , South Africa, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Thailand , Mauritius and others are also participating in the event this year to celebrate this major festival. All temples world wide will be showcasing their temples briefly and telling the viewer how they celebrate Diwali. Another new feature which has received overwhelming response is the Ramayan Skit contest where
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A feature involving highlights from prior years has also been added. Several dignitaries from US and from India are expected to join this Virtual event. This festival is from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (CST) on the 7th Nov. 2020 and can be viewed on Facebook Live ( https://www. facebook.com/ShriSitaRamFoundation) and YouTube Live ( https://youtu.be/wueMezMzQY). Links are also available at the Foundation website, www.ShriSitaRam.org. For enquiries please contact 713-597-6941 or email: Info@ShriSitaRam.org
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teams of participants from several countries will be competing with each other in showcasing skits/ episodes from Ramcharit manas. Another feature which shall be broadcast all over the world shall be Shri Sita Ram Kalyanam ( the divine marriage of Sita ji and Ram ji ) which will be enacted on stage this year by Hanuman Swami of Sri Rama Jaya Niketan , a new temple coming up in Katy, Texas Apart from the new features added this year, the festival will present world class Ram Leela Play, score of amazing dances, Dussehra parade, Ravan Dahan , Fire works and Maha Aarti.
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SCIENCE
October 23, 2020
Teen’s Covid-19 Project Wins $25K 3M Challenge Frisco, Texas: A 14-year-old Indian-American girl has won a $25,000 young scientist challenge for a discovery that could provide a potential treatment for Covid-19. Anika Chebrolu, an eighth grader from Nelson Middle School in Frisco, has won the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, regarded as the US’ premier middle school science competition, for her work using in-silico methodology for drug discovery to find a molecule that can selectively bind to the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 virus in an attempt to find a cure for the coronavirus pandemic, according to the 3M Challenge website. Chebrolu decided to take part in the Young Scientist Challenge after she battled a severe influenza infection last year. She wanted to find a cure for influenza. However, that all changed after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the website said. Why did you enter the Young Scientist Challenge? I have always been amazed by science experiments since my childhood and I was drawn towards finding effective cures for Influenza disease after a severe bout of the infection last year. I would like to learn more from 3M scientists to pursue my drug development and with their help, would like to conduct in-vitro and in-vivo testing of my lead drug candidat Here are some questions and answers with Anika. What is your favorite invention of the last 100 years, and why? My favorite invention is the Internet because it allows us to explore so much with just a few clicks. I find it a treasure trove of information and it has become a valuable asset in pursuing knowledge and conducting research
Anika Chebrolu with her Covid-19 project display.
from anywhere and at anytime. I am amazed at how vast and profound it is and cannot imagine a world without the internet. When coupled with proper judgement and use, we can achieve so much more and I am enthused at its potential each time I use it. In 15 years I hope to be... A medical researcher and professor. Anika’s 3M Mentor was 3M scientist Dr. Mahfuza Ali. Have you ever used masking or painter’s tape? Then you may have encountered the science of Dr. Mahfuza Ali. Dr. Ali is a Corporate scientist in 3M’s Materials Resource Division. She invented and developed a novel Quaternary Ammonium Materials Technology Platform that has generated several highly successful commercialized products for 3M, including antistatic polarizer films used for laptops and TVs, ink-receptive films used for printing durable, brighter images and antimicrobial coatings. Since joining 3M in 1984 after graduating with a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Kentucky and completing one
year of post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Mahfuza has worked on product-development efforts with several business units of 3M and co-authored numerous patents that cover a large variety of commercialized products in multiple markets. She was also recently selected as North America’s top Industrial Chemist for 2020 by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific community. The second winner in 2020 of the 3M Challenge was Hannah Herbst. Hannah’s Ocean Energy Probe aims to provide a stable power source and fresh water to developing countries around the globe by using untapped energy from ocean currents. The energy is stored in a generator, and then can be harnessed for many uses, including the desalinization of water. Finalists in 2020 included Laasya Acharya of Mason, Ohio. Her project allows farmers to easily and effectively detect diseased and unhealthy crops to reduce food waste and loss during the harvesting phase.
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October 23, 2020
Hindu Groups Offended by Caricature of Kamala as Durga
falo demon ‘Mahishasura’. The image also showed Democratic Houston: Hindu Presidential nominee groups in the US have Joe Biden as a lion, sought an apology from the ‘vahana’ (vehicle) the niece of Senator Kaof the goddess. mala Harris for tweeting “If you think you are an ‘offensive’ image, going to win Hindu which depicted the Demvotes by mocking us, ocratic vice presidential think again. This imnominee as goddess Duage is highly offensive rga. and insulting to HinThe tweet has now dus. Our Divinities are been deleted by Meena Harris, 35, who is a law- Kamala Harris, back row at left, in an undated family NOT cultural curios yer, a children’s book photo. Next to her, from left, are her grandmother Rajam for you to mock and author and the founder of Gopalan, grandfather P.V. Gopalan and sister, Maya trivialise. And you dethe Phenomenal Woman Harris. With them are Maya’s daughter, Meena, left, and lete without an apology?” noted author Action Campaign, an or- Harris’ cousin Sharada Balachandran Orihuela. Shefali Vaidya said in ganisation that works to a tweet. delete the tweet, and no one bring awareness to interOver the weekend, Joe Biden else. Our religious iconography sectional social causes. ‘Your tweeting a caricature of should not be used in the service and Kamala Harris had greeted the feminine divine, Maa Durga, of politics in America -- I said the Hindu community in the US on with faces superimposed, deeply same when the Fort Bend County Navratri and wished for victory of aggrieved many Hindus globally,’ GOP did it in an ad in 2018, and good over evil once again. ‘As the Hindu festival of Navratri Suhag A Shukla of the Hindu Amer- it holds the same here,’ Bhutada begins, Jill and I send our best ican Foundation said in a tweet on said. Ajay Shah, convener of Ameri- wishes to all those celebrating in Monday. HAF, which represents the Hindu can Hindus Against Defamation, the US and around the world. May American community, has issued a said in a statement the image has good once again triumph over evil guideline for commercial use of im- offended and outraged the reli- - and usher in new beginnings and opportunity for all,’ Biden, 77, had gious community. ages relating to the religion. In the now deleted tweet, tweeted. Rishi Bhutada of the Hindu Amer“@DouglasEmhoff and I wish ican Political Action Committee a screenshot of which is besaid the ‘offensive’ picture was not ing retweeted by some people, our Hindu American friends and created by Meena Harris herself. It Meena Harris says: “I am actu- family, and all those celebrating, had been circulating on WhatsApp ally speechless, other than to say a very Happy Navratri! May this prior to her tweet and the Biden that the first day of Navaratri was holiday serve as an inspiration to all of us to lift up our communicampaign confirmed to him that the LIT.” In the image, Kamala Harris, ties and build a more inclusive and image was not created by it. “Given that, I personally believe depicted as goddess Durga, was just America,’ 55-year-old Senator that an apology should come from seen killing US President Donald Harris had tweeted. -- PTI Meena Harris even though she did Trump, who was depicted as buf-
POLITICS/LETTERS HGH Seeks Apology from Emgage
By Lalit K. Jha
To: Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage National Emgage Foundation, Inc. 3425 US HWY 98 N Lakeland, FL 33809 United States of America Email: walzayat@emgageusa. org Reference: Protest against Activities of Emgage in Texas District 22 We write in protest of your recent announcement of non-endorsement in the Texas Congressional District 22 race. We are unconcerned about who you choose to endorse; rather, we are shocked at the language used in describing many Hindu community leaders who donated to one of the candidate’s campaigns. Almost all of these leaders have been involved with interfaith dialogue, advocacy coalitions, and even public events with the Houston Muslim community – to describe them as “fascists” and “inspired by Nazism” can only be described at the best as profound ignorance, if not downright malicious. We also condemn the description in your announcement of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, a US
organization that explicitly says on its website that it is inspired by the idea that “the whole world is one family.” HSS has had over 2000 selfless volunteers across 27 states participate in COVID-19 relief efforts, including the distribution of over 625,000 masks and working with over 350 food pantries and local first responder agencies to provide food donations and hot meals. Your characterization of them as anything other than an organization interested in the welfare of humanity was uncalled for and wrong. It appears Emgage has never taken the time to interact with the Hindu community here in Houston, and instead chose to believe the words of anti-Hindu propagandists. On behalf of the Hindu community in Houston, we demand an apology for your statement, and seek that we engage in further dialogue after the election to discuss issues that affect our respective communities. Thara Narasimhan President@hindusofhouston.org Hindus of Greater Houston
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RELIGION
October 23, 2020
Durga Puja at Vedanta Society of Greater Houston Streamed Online
Rupa Ghosh singing devotional songs. Photos by Jiten Patel.
Swami Atmarupananda praying to Mother Durga.
By Sanchali Basu Houston: As the saying goes, “One has to change and keep up with the times,” Durga Puja at the Vedanta Society of Greater Houston (VSGH) also had to evolve with the times. In this unprecedented year of the COVID pandemic, only volunteers who were directly involved with the Puja were allowed inside the temple during the worship on October 17, when VSGH celebrated the Durga Puja. The proceedings started the previous evening with the Durga idol being moved to the dais of the main temple. Kalabau was placed
next to Lord Ganesh and the idol of Mother Durga with her children was decorated beautifully. Due to travel restrictions, Swami Kripamayananda who visits us every year from Toronto for this occasion, unfortunately could not join us this year. This happened after him visiting us 7 years in a row. Our resident sannyasi, Swami Atmarupananda who could not assist with conducting the Puja last year, was at the helm of affairs this year. The Puja started at 10 AM sharp with great austerity and devotion, and the livestream started on the VSGH YouTube channel. Rupa Ghosh’s melodious devotional
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songs during the entire Puja made the temple reverberate with divinity. The entire choir could not participate due to Covid restrictions and there was no accompaniment of musicians either. The Puja ended with the beautiful Arati performed by the Swami with the chandelier lamp to the beat of the traditional dhak, by Nirmalya Roy and Kansar ghanta, by Ramyani Roy. Devotees were then requested to offer flowers to the Mother (Pushpanjali). The few volunteer devotees in the center got to offer Pushpanjali with the chanting of Durga mantras. Once the Puja concluded, devotees were allowed into the center
through the main entrance, one family at a time to pray and offer flowers at Ma Durga’s feet. They were greeted at the entrance by Swami Atmarupananda. Then they were requested to exit through the side entrance and pick up boxed sweets and fruit prasad on their way out. All visitors were requested to wear a mask to allow entry into the center. Some devotees sat on the center lawn area to eat the prasad maintaining social distance and enjoying the lovely, breezy mild October weather. Although it was unfortunate that devotees could not attend the Puja in person, the online streaming provided everyone with a good
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flavor of the Puja. The puja was conducted in a very efficient, devout, and smooth manner by Swami Atmarupananda. He requested devotees for the annual contribution to the center for its regular maintenance and upkeep. A donation box was kept at the entrance, where devotees were dropping off their donations. In this unique year of the Covid pandemic, devotees were thankful and grateful that they were allowed a semblance of the real Durga Puja, if not live, at least virtual. For more information about the activities at VSGH, please visit: www.houstonvedanta.org
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MOVIE REVIEW
October 23, 2020
Mira Nair-directed Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy� to Stream on Netflix Published in 1993, Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy runs for almost 1,500 pages and is deemed as one of the longest novels. Seth’s densely populated world has been adapted into a six-episode series by Mira Nair which will stream on Netflix starting October 23. And before you start watching, here’s a primer on what the novel is about. Seth’s ambitious and expansive novel is set in post-Independence India and begins with an Austenesque mother telling her daughter she too will marry the man the former chooses for her. They had all gathered for protagonist Lata Mehra’s elder sister Savita’s wedding to university lecturer Pran Kapoor. Post this, the lives of Mehras and Kapoors are intertwined but Seth’s world is hardly limited. He places the domestic turmoil against the country basking in the afterglow of its newfound independence and recovering from a colonial hangover. But in 1951 there were fissures in India than one could perceive. Post partition, anti-Muslim sentiments too were rife. Placing his story in a country so deeply divisive, Seth explores the enduring mending quality of love and harmony. A Suitable Boy is about four families — the Mehras, The Chatterjis, The Kapoors and The Khans. Through their interpersonal relationships, Seth presents the India that is eroding, the one that fails to keep up with time, one that is aspirational and hopeful one and
the other that persists. In many ways, training her ears to hear the voice of her heart and discovering herself through the lens of her heart, Lata is the face of new India. When the novel opens she is a student of English Literature in Brahmpur college and comes across fellow student Kabir in a library. They fall in love between meetings even before she could know his last name or that he is a Muslim. After the initial heartbreak, she goes to Calcutta and from there, her journey through suitors brings her closer to herself. She meets an author and brother of her sister-in-law-Amit Chatterji and later a shoe-businessman Haresh Khanna.
On the other side stands Maan Kapoor, brother of Pran and son of politician Mahesh Kapoor, the state Minister of Revenue. Hopelessly and recklessly in love with courtesan singer, Saeeda Bai, Maan represents an India which is aspirational but also one whose world views are sustained by privilege. His journey runs in parallel with Lata but is coloured with darker hues and tempered with more traumatising tragedies. By the end, the road he travels on runs divergent with Lata. If she finds a suitable boy, he loses his, quietly underlining how in the new India the ability to love too is a privilege. Owing to the scale of the novel,
many compared it to Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. But it probably comes closer to Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children in its ability to encapsulate the essence of post-
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independence India and upholding the changing contours of the country as well the different meaning of freedom to people in the country. In the article, Vikram Seth’s Big Book Richard B Woodwork had written about Seth’s ambivalent reception in India and the author, in turn, blamed it on the book. “Seth believes that his years of sequestered labor on A Suitable Boy when he didn’t speak to journalists and saw few friends, has given him an undeserved bad name. His brow wrinkles and his voice registers distress as he answers the charges. This book has gouged out my 30s. I don’t want to spend my 40s so isolated. That’s one of the reasons I want to write plays, which take less time and are very intense and put me in touch with people. I have a reputation for being hermit-like. I’m not. I’m just obsessed with my work.� -- Indiaan Express
Kim Ogg
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CONSULAR SERVICES
October 23, 2020
India Allowing Entry of OCI/PIO Holders New Delhi: The Home Ministry on Thursday further liberalised the visa restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic by allowing entry to all foreigners except tourists. Besides, the government has also allowed all Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card holders and all other foreign nationals to visit India. Following the Covid-19 outbreak, only a certain category of OCI card holders and foreigners were allowed into the country until now. “The government has now decided to make a graded relaxation in visa and travel restrictions for more categories of foreign nationals and Indian nationals who wish to enter or leave India. Therefore, it has been decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a tourist visa,” an MHA statement said. The MHA said OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals can enter by air or water routes through authorised airports and seaport immigration check posts. ” This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry
of Civil Aviation. All such travelers will, however have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other health/Cobid-19 matters,” the MHA statement said. Under this graded relaxation, the government has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, tourist visa and medical visa). “If the validity of such visas has expired, fresh visas of appropriate categories can be obtained from Indian mission or post concerned. Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply afresh for a medical visa, including for their medical attendants. Therefore, this decision will enable foreign nationals to come to India for various purposes such as business, conferences, employment, studies, research, medical
purposes etc,” the government said. The government had suspended all visas on March 11. In June, the Centre allowed the entry of foreign minor children with at least one parent who is an Indian citizen or an OCI card holder. Entry of foreigners married to Indian citizens and single foreign parents whose children hold an Indian passport or an OCI card were also allowed. -- Indian Express
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October 23, 2020
Vote!
Early voting for the 2020 elections started October 13. If you haven’t already voted, please vote as early as possible until October 30 and before the final day of voting on November 3. In Fort Bend County, do not walk out with your paper ballot. If needs to be scanned into the system for your vote to be registered.
Quiet, Please! The time since the pandemic struck has been a period of isolation but not of silence, at least as far as US politics is concerned. The first debate between US President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden held last month was, not to put too fine a point on it, not a debate at all. At one point, fed up with Trump’s interruptions, jibes and taunts, Biden asked his rival to “shut up”, and even called him a “clown”. Trump managed to frustrate the moderator as well, who, too, was barely allowed to finish a sentence. For the final debate, to be held on Thursday, the bipartisan debate commission has decided that the producers of the debate will be given a “mute” button. On every issue, when each candidate gets two minutes to speak, his opponent will be remotely silenced. Trump and his campaign have already called the mute button partisan and unfair. But the problem of a coarse public discourse will not go away, nor is it limited to the US alone. There is no technical solution to the problem of grand egos and the inability or unwillingness to listen to those who disagree. In the age of social media, when politicians have managed to replace public debate and press conferences with pulpits and Twitter accounts, there is no mute button strong enough to ensure a civil discussion. -- Indian Express
Misogyny with Hypocrisy Part of the oxygen that sustains misogyny in high political ranks is that the criticism of it is highly polarized. Even woman politicians tend to speak up only when the ‘guilty party’ is from an opposing party, and choose to stay quiet when one of their own misspeaks or worse. In this context erstwhile Congress president Rahul Gandhi has done the uncommon and the right thing, by saying that he doesn’t like the language leader of opposition in the Madhya Pradesh assembly Kamal Nath used at an election meeting, against a BJP woman candidate. Nath referred to the BJP woman candidate for the Dabra (SC) constituency as “ye kya item hai” to the accompaniment of laughter, enjoying a nudge, nudge, wink, wink moment with his audience. The role of such participative laughter in perpetuating prejudices is not insignificant. In an overlapping context, consider how the Democrat VP candidate Kamala Harris’s name was bandied into “Kah-MAH-lah or KAH-mah-lah or Kamamboamamla” on a Republican election stage recently, building upon and feeding into anti-immigrant and sexist thinking. On the other hand, BJP leaders demanding that Congress strip Nath of his party posts is a bit rich, given the propensity to defend and shelter similar speech acts in their own ranks. A better marker of redress may be, only do unto others as you would have them do unto you. -- Times of India
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY The Fault is Not in Our Stars By Jerry Pinto You so want to be Kalidasa and Balasaraswathi; you so are Manmohan Desai and Helen. You so despise yourself. And this despising is turned on to the object of love. (Illustration by C R Sasikumar) Could it be that we are in the middle of a caste war and we have not been able to see it? There has been enough evidence of the contempt we hold for the performing arts. When I was a young freelance writer, I asked the editor of a broadsheet whether I could review Hindi cinema for him. He asked, “Do you like Bollywood?” I said, “I love it”. At the back of my head was the ghostly voice of John Ruskin, admonishing us that he who loves detective fiction should review detective fiction, etc. He sighed and shook his head, “My readers want someone who despises Bollywood”. I must have looked askance for he said, “They may love (it) but they want to believe they despise it”. Being middle class is to be caught between what you love and what you despise. Being middle class is to be unsure of whether what you love is worthy of you. (I should know. I am middle class.) I know what ambivalence is. I know how terrible it is to be caught in a moment where everyone around you assumes you have an appreciation for the kitsch of an art form, when your tears are real and your heart pounds for the cheesiest of speeches. You so want to be Kalidasa and Balasaraswathi; you so are Manmohan Desai and Helen. You so despise yourself. And this despising is turned on to the object of love. Caste politics allows you to clothe that hatred by requiring you to hate bhaands, even as they are sexualised. Why do you think Devdas works so well for the middle class that more than a dozen cinematic versions of it have been made across the country across the decades since it was written? Was there ever a man who despised himself as much as Devdas and then turned his pain
into violence and rejection? Thus, we would like to believe that Bollywood is a filthy place because we are really not sure how clean we are. A nation obsessed with purity and pollution, which has one of the filthiest public spheres, must spend a huge amount of psychic energy managing this dichotomy. What can we do with this fatigue? We can turn it into hate. If hatred were an Olympic sport, we would be the undisputed champions. Is it nepotistic? No more than any other family-owned company. No more than you are, dear reader, for you are piling up whatever you can so that your children will benefit. And no one thinks it is bad. Nepotism sneaks up on you. Consider the son of a poet from Allahabad who is refused a job in All India Radio even though his voice is now considered his signature. He is an outsider. But his son? How inside is his son? Do you fault his father for picking up the phone and calling in his dues for his son? Would you not do the same? Does everybody do drugs? No more than those in most offices across the country. I grew up in a time when there was a clear-cut divide in the student community, or so I imagined. There were the charsis (as they were known) and there were the rest of us. The rest of us fitted on to the bell curve, and we could be handled. We were no threat to the status quo. The charsis were the difficulty. Everyone feared them and hated them and tried to pretend that they sympathised. But we were warned: Dreams will drown when sugar is brown. Meanwhile, Dad worked at a tobacco company and Mom made everything with white sugar.
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Indo-American News • Friday, OCTOBER 23, 2020 • www.indoamerican-news.com
The Hindi film industry is only a reflection of the society around it. It is corrupt because we as a nation are corrupt. It is nepotistic because it never occurs to us to tell our sons to go out and earn a living on their own; they always start as VPs and end up as the creepies who ruined the company. But it is glamorous and it demands, commands our adoration. We hate the stranglehold it has on our dreams. We love the stars but only because we see in them a pale imitation of our dreamselves. And when they fall, we love them maliciously all the more in the time when they are summoned by the authorities. So not us. In the 1980s, the common housefly was about the only entertainment you could get on television news. Safely ensconced in government funding, the newsreaders wore their saris and their khadi kurtas and read out scripts. When a fly troubled a newsreader and she actually waved a hand at it, it was news. In no way did we ever think of the television as a source of information. It was a status symbol; for entertainment, we went to the movies and considered each other’s lives. Perhaps, the grim delight with which newspapers are reporting on the contretemps between Bollywood and the television channels is only an extension of that caste war, our hatred and fear of the bhaands, our contempt for ourselves that we can love them so much. (Some television anchors are now stars.) I stopped watching television news many years ago. I disconnected from most social media after a few years of flirtation. I have never missed any of them. I rely on the newspapers and on the dispassionate look of words that have been edited and which seek balance and objectivity, even if these are mythical possibilities rather than actually achievable targets. Pinto is a Mumbai-based writer and novelist
SUDOKU/POLITICS SUDOKU/RECREATION Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
October 23, 2020
11
2020 Presidential Election: Debate on Hindu-American Issues
Send us the correct answer before October 28, 2020. Email us at indoamericannews@yahoo.com. Please send us your solved Sudoku for your name to be published.
Solution Next Week
Last Week’s Solution
San Francisco: A coalition of Hindu American organizations joined hands to conduct a first of its kind debate to discuss issues relevant to the Hindu American community in the upcoming presidential election. On Sunday, October 18, 2020, six Hindu Americans, split evenly between the two presidential candidates, met virtually to debate topics as they related to the Hindu American community in the following three broad areas: domestic policy, foreign policy, and overall party stance. For each of the three areas, the debaters presented positions favoring their candidate as well as opposing the other candidate. The debaters, all of whom had demonstrated a commitment to the Hindu American community through their activism or spirit, were vocal supporters of the candidate they were representing. The debaters for the Trump side were Jay Kansara, Srilekha Reddy Palle, and Utsav Chakrabarti. The debaters for the Biden side were Nish Acharya, Tushar Dhayagude, and Niki Shah. In an active and, at times, very passionate debate, the debaters discussed, among many others, sub-topics such as the interactions and commitment of each candidate to the Hindu American community, President Trump’s presence at the Howdy Modi event last September, the Hilal-i-Pakistan award presented to Candidate Biden by
the Pakistani government, and the commitment of each candidate to helping Hindu and Sikh persecuted minorities in Afghanistan. Jay Kansara, who served for nine years as Director of Government Relations at the Hindu American Foundation, spoke in depth about his experience of working with the Trump administration to foster a closer working relationship between the Trump administration and the Hindu American community. “I must say that the Trump administration is far more inclusive of Hindu thought or Hindu perspectives than the alternate, than the Obama-Biden ever was,” said Mr. Kansara. The other two debaters to represent the Trump side were Srilekha Reddy Palle, the Political Director for the American Hindu Coalition and an active leader in the Trump campaign and in the Republican party, and Utsav Chakrabarti, an active contributor to lawmakers on Capitol Hill and to representatives of the Human Rights Commission at the United Nations. Nish Acharya, who was appointed by President Obama to be a Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of Commerce and Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and is currently a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress, spoke about the similarities between the Democratic party in the US and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s platform in India. “The re-
ality is, I would like to point out, that the BJP agenda in India actually is fairly progressive, in line with the Democratic Party. So when you look at some of Prime Minister Modi’s biggest agenda items...these are all efforts to progressively, economically, and socially empower Indians from the bottom everywhere and connect them to society so they have a chance for success and survival... That is an agenda of progressive economics that we all see on the Biden side,” said Mr. Acharya when questioned about the past relationship between the then Senator Biden and Pakistan as well as the excess foreign aid given to Pakistan under the Obama-Biden administration. The other two debaters for the Biden side were Niki Shah, a member of the Hindu Americans for Biden and a National Co Chair for South Asians for Biden, and Tushar Dhayagude, an active contributor to the political process by writing opinions and rebuttals. The event was sponsored by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), the Hindu American Political Action Committee (HAPAC), HinduPACT, HinduVote, and the Coalition of Hindus in North America (CoHNA). The full video of the debate can be viewed here: h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=4ULUchW4ubs
Amul Butter’s Comment on the Vice Presidential Debate
Last Week’s Winners Kanubhai Patel
Indo-American News • Friday OCTOBER 23, 2020 • www.indoamerican-news.com
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October 23, 2020
JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS WILL BUILD BACK BETTER
ș Expand and protect access to affordable quality health care
ș Ensure free access to COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines for everyone
ș Fight for the resources our country needs to safely reopen
JOE BIDEN will ensure that INDIAN AMERICANS ARE REPRESENTED in his administration, starting with his vice presidential nominee, SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS, whose MOTHER EMIGRATED FROM INDIA to study and build a life in the United States. PAID FOR BY BIDEN FOR PRESIDENT
We need leaders who have a plan for our country’s future, will invest in the next generation and value the rich contributions of Indian Americans.
MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE EARLY
By Nov 3rd vote for
JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS
TO FIND OUT WHERE AND HOW YOU CAN VOTE, VISIT IWILLVOTE.COM
Indo-American News • Friday, OCTOBER 23, 2020 • www.indoamerican-news.com