Vol.9 Issue 32 - Dec 3-9 Dec, 2016

The South Asian Times
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Vol.9 No. 32 December 3-9, 2016 80 Cents
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Bharara to stay as federal DEMONETIZATION

prosecutor under Trump US backs Indias
New York: Indian American Preet

Bharara will continue in his job as
a highprofile federal prosecutor
with charge of Wall Street and
important security matters in New
York. Bharara, who was appointed
by President Obama, told reporters
after meeting with the President
elect on Wednesday that Donald
Trump has asked him to continue
as the US District Attorney for
Southern New York and "I agreed."
An incoming President can keep
or change all US attorneys.
Bharara has the reputation of
being a crusader against financial
institutions that have been blamed
for the recent great recession and
have been attacked by Trump for
causing economic hardship around
India born Preet Bharara is US

District Attorney for
Southern New York
the nation. He has taken action
against major banks like Citibank
and JP Morgan Chase, forcing
them to pay billions of dollars to

the government to settle the cases.
He has prosecuted over 100 of
Wall Street executives for irregu
larities such as insider trading.
They include several Indians like
Rajat Gupta, the former head of
McKinsey, who served two years in
jail for colluding with the Sri
Lankan American hedge fund
operator Raj Rajaratnam in a stock
market scam.
Bharara has also prosecuted sev
eral New York politicians for cor
ruption, both Democrats ander
Republicans. Born Preetinder Preet
Singh Bharara in Ferozepore in
1968, he immigrated to the US as
a child.He sparked a diplomatic
Continued on page 4
Chhattisgarh CM in No talks with Pak amid

US to woo investors continued terror: India
Dr Raman Singh, CM of Chhattisgarh

(left), was honored by Dr. Mukesh Aghi,
President, US India Business Council, at
the Indian Consulate in New York.
By Ashok Ojha/SATimes
New York: Dr. Raman Sing h, Chie f
Minister of Chhattisgarh, claimed that his
state, one of the youngest in India, was
ripe for investment. Speaking to business
professionals and investors at a meeting
organized by the US India Business
Council at the Consulate General of India
here, he talked of robust infrastructure
his state offeres. We have skilled labor
force, surplus land and power to support
your industry, he Continued on page 4
New Delhi: Ruling out any substantive bilateral talks between

visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz on the sidelines
of the Heart of Asia (HoA) conference, which begins in
Amritsar on Sunday, India on Thursday said it will never
accept continuing crossborder terrorism as the new normal
in the relationship. We have not received any request from
Pakistan for a bilateral meeting. India has always been open to
talks but obviously it cannot be that talks take place in an
atmosphere of continued terrorism. India will never accept
continued terrorism as the new normal of the bilateral rela
tionship. Let me make that very clear, said Ministry of
External Af fairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup. On Donald
Trumps conversation with Pakistan Continued on page 4
Diwali stamp dedication at UN

New York: The Permanent
Missions to the UN of India
and Belarus will cohost the
dedication ceremony of USPS
Diwali stamp on December 5
at the Trusteeship Council
Chamber of United Nations
here. T he event w ill also
honor the 7year quest and
Continued on page 4
step to cut graft
Washington:
T he
US
on
Wednesday described Indias
demonetization drive as an impor
tant and necessary step to curb
illicit cash and shadow economy.
This was, we believe, an impor
tant and necessary step to crack
down on illegal actions, Mark
Toner,
State
Department
spokesperson, said in response to
a question.
Mr. Toner said the demonetiza
tion exercise followed on a series
of steps that the Modi government
took over the past two years to
reduce black market money.
I think it also included a four
month amnesty for tax evaders in
India, which resulted in... the dis
closure or declaration of billions of
dollars in hidden assets. This was
an action Im talking about the
discontinuance of the 500 and
1,000 rupee notes designed to
target illicit cash proceeds from
corruption and tax dodging, he
Continued on page 4
Ranju Batra, Chair of Diwali
Stamp Project, will be
honored at the event
Related stories on
pgs 12, 13 and 23
US nod for
India as key
defense ally
Washington: The US is set to rec
ognize Indias status as a major
defense part
ner. This is
part of the
National
D e f e n s e
Authorizat ion Act
2017 scheduled to pass in the
US Congress next week. T he
draft bill released Wednesday
said technology transfer to India
and defense cooperation must
be consistent with United States
conventional arms transfer poli
cy. A move supported by a pro
India group to designate India a
major nonNATO ally in the bill
was abandoned earlier this year
after it failed to garner enough
support among powerful mem
bers of the Congress. The US has
Continued on page 4
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December 3-9, 2016
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
December 3-9, 2016
After Nikki Haley, 2nd Indian Shalabh Kumar to be part of

Trump inauguration committee
American gets key role
in Trump admin
New York: Presidentelect Donald
Committee Chairman, who is
Trump selected on Monday a sec
nominated for Secretary of
ond Indian American, Seema
Health and Human Services.
Verma, for a highlevel position
Announcing the nomination,
in his administration, assigning
Trump said: "Together, Chairman
her "to the dream team that will
Price and Seema Verma are the
transform our healthcare sys
dream team that will transform
tem". As the Administrator of the
our healthcare system for the
Centers for Medicare and
benefit of all Americans."
Medicaid Services, she will play a
About Verma, Trump said: "She
crucial role in carrying out the
has decades of experience advis
highpriority Trump campaign
ing on Medicare and Medicaid
promise of scrapping President
policy and helping states navi
Seema Verma, as administrator
Obama's health care program and
gate our complicated systems."
for Medicare and Medicaid, will
replacing it with "something bet
Verma, who heads a healthcare
also play a role in healthcare
ter."
consulting company, SVC Inc., has
overhaul. She has worked
Last week Trump announced
worked close ly w ith Vice
closely with Vice Presidentelect
that South Carolina Governor
Presidentelect Mike Pence, the
Mike Pence, the Governor of
Nikki Haley w ill be the US
Governor of Indiana, in designing
Indiana, in designing the state's
Ambassador to the United
the state's health care system. She
healthcare system.
Nations, a cabinetlevel post.
has also consulted with other
Although Verma's job is not of cabinet rank now, Republicanrun states on healthcare issues.
it has great political importance and she will be in
Verma has a Masters degree in Public Health
the national spotlight because of the Republican with concentration in health policy and manage
vow to repeal and replace Obama's signature ment from Johns Hopkins University and a
healthcare reform. She will be working with Bachelor in Life Sciences from the University of
Congressman Tom Price, the House Budget Maryland.
Chicago: A prominent Indian

American industrialist who played
a leading role in mobilizing Hindus
for Presidentelect Donald Trump
has been appointed to the
Transit ion
Finance
and
Inauguration committee.
Shalabh Shalli Kumar, founder
and president of Republican Hindu
Coalition (RHC), said in a state
ment, I am honored to accept
these positions with the transition
team and the inauguration com
mittee.
I am looking forward to rolling
up my sleeves and working togeth
er with Steve and the other mem
bers of the Trump administration
to Make America Great Again, he
said.
Kumar along w ith Steven
Mnuchin, Trumps pick for treas
ury secretary, also played a key
role in organizing the Aab Ki baar
Trump Sarkar ad campaign.
Kumar collaborated on Humanity
United Against Terror event in
New Jersey on October 15, and on
other events during the campaign,
including a meet and g reet
President of the Republican Hindu

Coalition, Shalabh Kumar has been
a big donor to Trump campaign
between Donald Trump and Hindu
leaders in Orlando just days before
the election, as well as a visit by
Trumps soninlaw to a Hindu
Temple.
He also donated $898,000
towards Trumps victory campaign.
The Inaugural events are, to a
large extent, privately funded so as
to not use taxpayer dollars. Donald
Trump will be inaugurated as the
45th President for a fouryear
term at a g rand ceremony in
Washington DC on January 20.
Did Trump say all those 'fantastic'

things about Nawaz Sharif?
Islamabad/Washington:
Did
Donald Trump actually shower
those g low ing comments on
Pakistan and its Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif during their tele
phone conversation?
W hile Sharif 's of fice has
released a readout of his conver
sation with Trump, the President
elect's team has issued bare mini
mum information, triggering much
bemusement both in mainstream
and social media.
"We know that the two spoke on
the phone Wednesday. What was
said during that call is what's at
issue," CNN commented.
"After the conversat ion, the
Pakistan Prime Minister's Of fice
put out a statement directly quot
ing Trump a violation of diplo
matic protocol in which he
glowingly praised Sharif," the net
work said.
Readouts of phone calls between
world leaders are usually written

safely in order to protect them
from incidental backlash like
the one the Trump team put out, it
said.
"T hey're dry and diplomatic
statements summing up conversa
tions using carefully chosen buzz
words," it said, adding that such
calls themselves are usually quite
formal. "A president wouldn't gush
over a foreign leader the way that
Donald Trump did. He wouldn't

volunteer to do all these things,"
says CNN political analyst David
Gergen.
When making that call, a presi
dent would likely have a press aide
and national security advisers at
his side, according to Gergen.
"You'd carefully think through
any call like that, you'd make your
two or three points, [then] over
and out," he said. "Especially don't
leave them in a position where

they could put out something so
gushing that it hurts your relation
ship with India."
T he Washington Post, in its
report on the SharifTrump conver
sation, said, the Pakistani readout
is "unusual in that it fo cuses
almost entirely on Trump's contri
butions to the conversation, and
reproduces them in a voice that is
unmistakably his."
"Lavishing praise on the
Pakistanis would be a major turn
around for the presidentelect. In
2012, Trump took to his favorite
social media platform, Twitter, to
denounce Pakistan," the leading
American newspaper said.
According to Pakistani account,
Trump lavished extravagant praise
upon Sharif and Pakistani people.
"You have a very good reputation.
You are a terrific guy," it goes. In
addition, Pakistan is "a fantastic
country, fantastic place" with the

most "intelligent" people and "your
country is amazing with tremen
dous opportunities".
Not sat isfied w ith that, the
account, commonly known as read
outs, culminates with this flourish:
"Please convey to the Pakistani
people that they are amazing and
all Pakistanis I have known are
exceptional people, said Donald
Trump."
"It is unclear to what extent
these are direct quotes, but there
was much bemusement both in
mainstream and social media," the
BBC commented.
Cricketerturned politician and
opposition Pakistan Tehreeke
Insaf chief Imran Khan tweeted
"Good news is Trump spoke to
Nawaz Sharif. Bad news for NS is
this won't save him from Panama
scandal not even if a Trump letter
arrived!"
December 3-9, 2016
TURN PAGE
Companies leaving US will face punishment: Trump

Indianapolis: Presidentelect Donald
Trump has warned American firms
wanting to relocate abroad that they
will face punishment, as he announced a
deal with air conditioning manufacturer
Carrier to keep jobs in the country.
"Companies are not going to leave the
United States any more without conse
quences. Not going to happen," Trump
told workers at the Carrier plant in
Indianapolis in his first major public
remarks since winning the White House.

"They can leave from state to state, and
negotiate deals with different states, but
leaving the country will be very, very
dif ficult," Trump added. During the
presidential campaign, the Republican
billionaire threatened to slap tariffs on
firms that decamped for places like
Mexico or Asia where labor costs are
cheaper. It became a repeated refrain of
his victorious campaign.
US backs Indias step to cut graft

Continued from page 1
said. Acknowledging that the move inconve
nienced people, Mr. Toner said it was a nec
essary one to address the corruption. As it
was an inconvenience for many Indians, it
was an inconvenience for Americans who
were also there . American citizens, who
are working and living in India, I think have
the proper information now to exchange
those notes or to get new notes, and its a lit
tle bit of an adjustment, just as it was an
inconvenience, Im sure, for many Indians,
he said.
US nod for India as key defense ally

already recognized India as a major
defense partner in June, during PM Modis
visit, but the implications of it remains
undefined. ..we would be treated at a level
similar to the closest allies and partners of
the U.S. and that it sort of allows for better,
higher quality, faster technology access on
the defense side and also more liberal
access to the duel technology side, Foreign
Secretary S. Jaishankar had said then.
Recently, Peter Lavoy, Senior Director for
South Asia at National Security Council, said
requests for high technology from India
were considered these days with a pre
sumption of approval compared to the
presumption of rejection that used to
exist.
The NDAA authorizing expenditures for
2017 has a section on enhancing defense
and security cooperation with India. It man
dates to designate an individual within the
executive branch who has experience in
defense acquisition and technology to
ensure the success of bilateral defense ties
Bruhud New York Seniors leaders Shashikant Patel and Gopi Udeshi organized Diwali celebration on
November 18 in Long Island City, graced by Senator Tony Avella and Councilman Barry S. Grodenchik.
and to he lp resolve remaining issues

impeding them. It also calls for strength
ening the ef fectiveness of the USIndia
Defense Trade and Technology Initiative
and the durability of the Department of
Defenses India Rapid Reaction Cell, a spe
cial unit that reviews ties with India.
The new law will tighten the screws on
Pakistan to take more credible action
against the Haqqani terror network. It pro
poses to tie $400 million of the total $900
million in coalition support funds for
Pakistan for 2017 to a certification by
Secretary of Defense. In 2016, the amount
was $300 million, which was not released
after Secretary Ash Carter refused to certify
in favor of Pakistan. The law will require the
Defence Secretary to certify, among other
things, that, Pakistan has taken steps to
demonstrate its commitment to prevent the
Haqqani Network from using any Pakistani
territory as a safe haven and has shown
progress in arresting and prosecuting
Haqqani Network senior leaders and mid
level operatives.
Bharara to stay as federal prosecu

tor under Trump
standof f between India and the United
States in 2013 when he had a Dalit Indian
diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, arrested and
stripsearched over allegations that she had
made a false statement in the visa applica
tion for her maid.
Chhattisgarh CM in US to woo
investors
said. During the past 16 years we have
given priority to developing infrastructure
in road, power and railways sectors in order

to give a boost to industrial growth in our
state, Dr Singh said. Chhattisgarh was
carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000. A
former ayurvedic doctor, he took over as its
chief minister in 2003. So by now he is the
longest serving BJP chief minister in India.
Praising the Indian community, Singh
said, I learned a lot from your enterprising
spirit. He added that he was on his third
visit to USA that helped him promote his
policies and values among the people in
India. He hoped that Chhattisgarh would
attract more investment from USA in future.
United States and India can be mutually
benefited through cooperation in trade and
development.
Subo d h Kumar Sing h, Secretary of
Commerce and Industry, of Chhattisgarh,
added that the state planned to achieve
installed power generation capacity of
35,000 MW in 201617. Asserting that his
state was fully equipped to support start
ups in solar energy, food processing, IT and
plastic industries, he said, We have provid
ed facilities to enable investors submit their
plans online and make initial clearance for
land, power and other facilities with con
cerned departments. As it ranks among the
top states for producing coal, tin, iron and
other minerals, , Chhattisgarh has emerged
as one of the most preferred investment
destinations in the country. It is the iron and
steel hub where millions of tons of steel is
annually produced at Bhilai steel plant.
Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Deputy
Consul General of India, introduced the
Chief Minister.
Dr Raman Singh was also visiting Chicago
and San Francisco during his 9day visit to
the US.
Jaipur (India) Bureau

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

Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha
President: Arjit Mehta
No talks with Pak amid continued

terror: India
PM Nawaz Sharif, he said there was sort of
a rejoinder to Pakistans statement by the
US. He also said that terrorism is the most
outstanding of all outstanding issues
between India and Pakistan, and India
would welcome a conversation between US
and Pakistan on the issue. Two days after
the Nagrota terror attack, he said, We are
await ing detailed informat ion on the
specifics of the Nagrota attack before we
decide on the next steps. But I do wish to
emphasize that the government takes this
incident very seriously and will do what it
feels is required for our national security.
Responding to questions on Pakistans
role, the MEA spokesperson articulated
Indias hardened position in the wake of the
recent attacks. Pakistan is a country which
has a long record of carrying out crossbor
der terrorism which it regards as an instru
ment of state policy. This puts Pak at odds
with the rest of the international communi
ty. Over the years, India has suffered many
heinous terrorist attacks which have been
supported and sponsored by Pakistan.
Diwali stamp dedication at UN

advocacy of Ranju Batra, Chair of Diwali
Stamp Project, which culminated in the
USPS re leasing the Forever stamp on
October 5 to honor the foremost Indian fes
tival of Diwali. With over 170,000 Diwali
stamps already sold through the Diwali
Stamp Project, the stamp made history by
becoming a USPS No 1 bestseller. The UN
event is cosponsored by Permanent
Missions of several other countries.
IANS Newswire Services

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

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Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
December 3-9, 2016
New York Tamil Sangam celebrates deepavali

with Crazy Mohan dramas
New York: New York Tamil Sangam
(NYTS) celebrated Diwali in a spectacular
fashion due to concerted ef fort of the
President of NYTS, Vijay D. Vijayakumar
and all its Executive Committee mem
bers.
Hindu Temple Society Auditorium in
Flushing was packed to brim at the com
edy extravaganza held on November 19.
NYTS arranged Crazy Mohan dramas
for this Deepavali celebration. Crazy
Mohan, wellknown for his continuous
jokes has written countless comedy dra
mas and more than fifty comedy movies
in association with Padma Shree Kamal
Hasan and Super Star Rajnikanth.
Crazy Mohan and his team from
Chennai Crazy Creations captivated the
audience of 800 with their impeccable
performance. NYTS staged two plays for
Crazy Creations name ly Goog le
Gadothgajan and Meesai Yanaalum
Manaivi. Both are super and mega hit

comedy dramas in Chennai and around
the world.
Crazy Mohans brother Maadhu
Balaji, the hero in both the plays stole
the hearts of the audience along with all
other artists with their nonstop humor
and superb performance. The audience
said it was a laughriot throughout with
out breathing time.
In this Deepavali program, NYTS hon
ored their longtime supporter and well
wisher Prem Sarangarayar of Prince
Jewelry in Flushing New York with a tra
ditional Ponnaadai (shawl) and plaque.
Thiru Kumar, who through his hard work
got the recognition for the Tamil ethnic
food Dosa and earned a name for him
self around the world as NYC Dosa Man
was also honored by NYTS with a tradi
tional Ponnaadai (shawl) and plaque.
NYTS recognized Maathu Balaji the hero
Professor Latha
Chandran appointed to
SUNY distinguished rank
Stony Brook, NY:
Latha Chandran MD,
MPH, a member of
the
Pediatrics
D e p a r t m e n t ,
Founding Director of
the
David
and
Miriam
Donoho
Academy of Clinical
and
Educat ional
Scholars, and Vice
Dean
for
Undergraduate
Medical Education at
Stony
Brook
University, has been
appointed to the
rank of Distinguished
Professor, approved
by
the
State
University of New
York (SUNY) Board of
Trustees.
Dr.
Chandran is one of five Stony
Brook professors recently
approved for the appointment of
SUNY Distinguished Faculty
Ranks, which now totals 1,070
members in the Distinguished
Academy.
Stony Brook University is for
tunate to be home to five new
SUNY Distinguished Faculty
members who provide the high
est levels of thought leadership
and innovation in their respec
tive fields, said Stony Brook
University President Samuel L.
Stanley Jr., M.D. Their contribu
tions, guidance and standards of
scholarship are a valued
resource to the institution and
to our students, he said. On
Prof Latha Chandran

behalf of Stony Brook, I congrat
ulate all five on this we ll
deserved honor.
Dr. Chandran is the recipient
of the Aesculapius Award for
Excellence in Medical Teaching,
the President and Chancellors
Award for Exce llence in
Teaching as well as the Best
Teacher in Resident Continuity
Clinic Award. She is a member of
the Arnold P. Gold Foundations
Gold Humanism Honor Society,
and she has been recognized as
a national leader in pediatrics
education and educational schol
arship in her role as a coleader
and codeve loper of the
Academic Pediatric Associations
Educational Scholars Program.
of the two plays for his astounding per

formance. Finally NYTS recognized Crazy
Mohan for his contributions to Tamil
Theatre and film industry and conferred
the title Comedy Perarasu meaning
Emperor of Comedy with a traditional
Ponnaadai (shawl) and plaque.
Crazy Mohan thanked NYTS as they
donated $2500 for Sapiens Health
Foundation for which Crazy Creations
are actively fund raising for kidney ail
ments and transplants in Chennai.
After the felicitations, Crazy Mohan
released a colorful NYTS Deepavali2016
Souvenir along with Dr. M N Krishnan
and Kanchana Poola of NYTS and with
NYTS longtime supporters and sponsors
Dr. Kasinathan Rengaswamy of
Environmental Engineering Solutions of
Peekskill and Senthil Kumar of Maharaja
Farmers Market in Long Island/
Bellerose.
Crazy Creations team being felicitated at the event
December 3-9, 2016
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Community comes out in

support of Army veterans
uring
the
Thanksgiving
week,
mem
bers of Indian Ameri
can community came
together and started
an initiative for Our
Veterans Families in
USA. Collection for
Veterans
Families
was started by NY
State Senator Kemp Hannon in Garden
City, Long Island.
Several members of IAF, IALI, Ladies
Club and other groups started collect
ing nonperishable items to be sent as
donations to soldiers and veterans of US
Army.
Donations were given on Nov 22 at
Senior Bethpage Community Center in
Hicksville Long Island. IAF conducts
senior programs at the Bethpage Center
every fourth Tuesday of the month.
Richard Olson, President of Adopt a
Battalion Program in Massapequa ac
cepted the donations on behalf of the
Veterans Group. Senator Hannon
praised the efforts of the Indian Ameri

can community and thanked them for
this initiative.
Beena Kothari, President of India As
sociation of Long Island Presented
Medals of Appreciation to Senator Han
non, Richard Olson, Vijay Goswamy and
to Anu Gulati.
Members of Ladies Club, Dr Manju
Sharma, Ranu Jajoo, Dr Usha Bansal, Dr
Urmilesh Arya, Dr Ami Walia, Dr Veena
Arora, Indus American Bank and HAB
Bank coordinated the collections and
donations.
Dr Rakesh Dua, Dr Tarun Wasil from
AAPIQLI also donated for the purpose.
Institute of International Social

Development honors Bhakti Charu Swami
Prakash Mehta from Flushing, NY was conferred an NYPD award

November 15th for contributing 25 years of service.
District leader Dr Neeta Jain

hosts Thanksgiving lunch
r. Neeta Jain, Democratic District

Leader of the 25th Assembly Dis
trict in Queens, sponsored and
served a vegetarian lunch at Self help In
novative Senior Center in Flushing on
November 26th to celebrate Thanksgiv
ing. She was joined by various commu
nity leaders and friends. Jane Qiu, Pro
gram Director at the center, joined and
took great pride in introducing District
Leader Dr. Jain to the Self Help commu
nity. She told them about Dr. Jains self
less service to the community for the
past 20+ years.
Dr. Neeta Jain also expressed her
strong belief in nonviolence and peace
as the incentive to serve a vegetarian
meal on Thanksgiving. She believes that
every soul has a right to live and we
should respect all living beings.

Dr. Jain had a great time and enjoyed
being surrounded by the seniors, espe
cially Won Leonor, a 95yearold mem
ber, Cynthia and several more who
came forward and welcomed her.
Coliseum operators to hire

1,300 workers
(L to R): Sharon HamiltonGetz, Vice President, IISD, New York; Srila Bhakti Charu
Swami; Dr. Hanifa Mezoui; and Shomik Chaudhuri, President, IISD, New York and UN
Representative of IISD, India. (Photos: IISD, New York)
nstitute of International Social De

velopment, an international NGO
based in India in Special Consultative
Status with ECOSOC of the United Na
tions, celebrated its 20th anniversary
by honoring two leaders from the Unit
ed Nations and Spiritual backgrounds.
The event was held on November 17, at
the Tillman Hall in the Church Center of
the United Nations, in New York.
The 2016 Institute of International
Social Development honorees were Dr.
Hanifa Mezoui, Senior Advisor, Human
itarian Affairs and Civil Society, United
Nations Alliance of Civilizations; and
Bhakti Charu Swami, Gaudiya Vaishna
va swami and a religious leader of the
International Society for Krishna Con
sciousness (ISKCON).
Dr. Mezoui accepted the award saying
civil society engagement and dialogue is

at the heart of UNAOCs work. The foun
dation of the Alliance is based on the
recognition that religious dif ferences
have a crucial role in shaping the hu
manitarian and socioeconomic policies
of the Member States. The UNAOC has
become a leading United Nations plat
form for interfaith and intercultural di
alogue and will continue to work
through the four pillars of youth, edu
cation, media and migration.
Srila Bhakti Charu Swami also accept
ed the award saying that the problems
in the world arise from the desire to
want more than our needs. It is greed
that is filling the world with haves and
havenots. If we can cut down this
greed, there will be no hunger, poverty
and deprivation.
he new operators of the Nassau

Coliseum have begun a search to
hire 1,300 full and parttime em
ployees, ranging from account execu
tives to ushers and cooks, to staf f the
arena when it reopens in April after 18
months of renovations. The hiring
process will give first consideration to
local Uniondale residents.
We are looking to hire the best in
class for every open position, said Matt
Felker, general manager for the arena,
which has been renamed the Nassau
Veterans Memorial Coliseum presented
by New York Community Bank.
AEG Facilities of Los Angeles, which
will manage operations at the Coliseum,
will hire account executives, box office
ticket sellers, ushers and attendants to
clean staf f uniforms. AEG also needs
workers to lay down the hardwood at
basketball games and the ice at hockey
games, install and remove the hockey
glass, and to set up portable seating ris
ers. Levy Restaurants of Chicago, which

will oversee food services at the arena,
will hire for a variety of jobs, including
bartenders, servers, concession stand
workers, cooks and dishwashers.
While some positions, such as box of
fice manager and ticket sales account
executive, will be fulltime, the hours
and wages for most titles will be subject
to collective bargaining, of ficials said.
All jobs are expected to be unionized.
Applicants can apply now with the
state Department of Labor at the web
site labor.ny.gov/coliseumjobs. Depart
ment staff will screen applicants, based
on factors including experience and ed
ucation. All candidates will be subject to
background checks and drug tests.
The Coliseum closed in August 2015
for a $130 million renovation that in
cluded downsizing capacity to 13,000
seats for hockey, and 14,500 for con
certs. The arena will reopen April 5,
2017, with a Billy Joel concert.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
December 3-9, 2016
New immigration rules make H1B

friendlier until Trump takes over
Chicago: Even as broader uncertainty looms
over the fate of the H1B visas under the
incoming Donald Trump administration,
some recent changes by the United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
make them friendlier to those already on
them. The USCIS will now allow terminated
H1B visa holders a grace period of 60 days
to either leave or sort out their paperwork
for new jobs. Although the existing rules did
not explicitly state that the terminated H1B
worker had to leave immediately, there have
been cases where such H1B workers had to
find a way to leave the country immediately.
Decisionmaking in such cases came down to
the individual discretion of the immigration
officer.
"The immigration authorities have now
clarified that that is not the case ending what
many thought was an inhuman provision,"
Neeraj Bhatia, a Silicon Valley based head of
an accounting firm and an expert in immi
gration issues, told IANS.
Under its Final Rule published on
November 18 which will be ef fective from
January 17, 2017, the USCIS will now allow
terminated H1B workers a grace period of
60 days to either leave or sort out their
paperwork for new jobs.
Another change will also prevent the revo
cation of I140 by employers for those

employees who have held it for more 180
days but whose services were terminated.
What this does is help such employees not
lose their turn in the protracted green card
process once they change over to new jobs.
One more significant change that the
USCIS has announced relates to employment
authorisation for H4 visa holders who come
as spouses of H1B visa holders. Under this
change, those H4 workers will not have to
wait for the approval of their extension for
them to continue working.
Coming as it does just before President
elect Donald Trump, who is known to be
averse to work visas, is set to take over on
January 20, 2017, this is a remarkable
change. Of course, the visas' longterm viabil
ity could come under serious strain if Trump
carries out what he has promised during his
rather abrasive presidential campaign.
In its preelection position paper the
Trump campaign had said this: "We graduate
two times more Americans with STEM
degrees each year than find STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) jobs,
yet as much as twothirds of entrylevel hir
ing for IT jobs is accomplished through the
H1B program. More than half of H1B visas
are issued for the program's lowest allow
Real estate CEO Sandeep Mathrani

may join Trump administration
New York: Presidentelect Donald Trump
who is scouting for talent to join his
administration has met Indian American
real estate executive, Sandeep Mathrani.
His name was on a public list of those
who met Trump on Monday, but no fur
ther details were available.
The Chicagobased executive is the third
Indian American to meet with Trump and
the other two, Nikki Haley and Seema
Verma, have been selected for positions in
his administration.
Crain's Chicago Business said that
Mathrani is the CEO of General Growth
Properties, which owns malls.
It quoted a company of ficial, Kevin
Barry, as saying on Monday: "Sandeep is
meeting with Trump today, I can confirm
that, but no further color available."
Crain's Business said: "Mathrani earned
$39.2 million last year more than any
other CEO of a U.S. real estate investment
trust so leaving the private sector for a
government post would involve a major
financial sacrifice."
Sandeep Mathrani
(Image courtesy: indiatvnews.com)
Haley was selected for the cabinetrank
post of Ambassador to the UN and Verma
to be the next head of the government
health insurance programs.
In addition, Tulsi Gabbard, the first
Hindu elected to Congress, has also met
with Trump. She is a Democrat, but like
Trump she is a critic of US interventions
abroad while advocating a strong action
(IANS)
against terrorism.
able wage level, and more than eighty per

cent for its bottom two. Raising the prevail
ing wage paid to H1Bs will force companies
to give these coveted entrylevel jobs to the
existing domestic pool of unemployed native
and immigrant workers in the U.S., instead of
flying in cheaper workers from overseas.
This will improve the number of black,
Hispanic and female workers in Silicon
Valley who have been passed over in favor of
the H1B program."
"It is ironic that the position paper did not
realize that a majority of STEM students con
sists of foreign students from India and else
where who eventually get jobs via the H1B
visas. It is wellknown that not a lot of
American students go for STEM programs,"
Bhatia pointed out.
The Trump campaign's position paper had
also called for requirement to hire American
workers first, adding: "Too many visas, like
the H1B, have no such requirement. In the
year 2015, with 92 million Americans out
side the workforce and incomes collapsing,
we need to companies to hire from the
domestic pool of unemployed. Petitions for
workers should be mailed to the unemploy
ment office, not USCIS."
While the H1B system may yet change sig
nificantly under the new president, for now,
as pointed out by Bhatia, President of

Bhatia& Co. with of fices in Silicon Valley,
New York and New Delhi, the latest USCIS
clarifications do make things smoother.
On the issue of retention of priority dates,
Bhatia wrote on his blog: "Workers with
approved Form I140 petitions, will general
ly be allowed to retain their priority date as
long as the approval of the initial Form I140
petition was not revoked for fraud, willful
misrepresentation of a material fact, the
invalidation or revocation of a labor certifi
cation, or material error. The final rule pro
vides that Form I140 petitions that have
been approved for 180 days or more would
no longer be subject to automatic revocation
based solely on withdrawal by the petitioner
or the termination of the petitioner's busi
ness."
On the question of Employment
Authorization Document (EAD), Bhatia said:
"The rule automatically extends the employ
ment authorization and validity of existing
EADs issued to certain employmenteligible
individuals for up to 180 days from the date
of expiration, as long as a renewal applica
tion is filed before the expiry of previous
EAD based on the same employment authori
zation category as the previously issued
(IANS)
EAD."
AAPI asks Trump to enact

medical liability reform
Washington, DC: The largest body of Indian
American doctors the American
Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
(AAPI) on Friday asked Presidentelect
Donald Trump to enact medical liability
reform, which it claims is driving up health
care cost in its current shape through "extra
testing and the practice of defensive medi
cine." "AAPI supports a healthy doctor
patient environment by curbing aggressive
litigation targeting physicians," AAPI presi
dent Ajay Lodha said in a statement in
which he congratulated Trump on his victo
ry in the presidential election.
Lodha said, "Such lawsuits have had a
chilling ef fect and driven up the cost of
healthcare, through extra testing and the
practice of defensive medicine."
In the 112th Congress, the 'Help Efficient,
Accessible, Lowcost, Timely Healthcare
(HEALTH) Act of 2011', limited the condi
tions for lawsuits and punitive damages for
healthcare liability claims. It established a
statute of limitations and limited noneco
nomic damages to $250,000, he rued. AAPI

wants modification of the Affordable Care
Act (ACA), he said.
Under the ACA, hospitals and primary
physicians would transform their practices
financially, technologically, and clinically to
drive better health outcomes, lower costs,
and improve their methods of distribution
and accessibility. "We believe that the cur
rent ACA could be improved upon greatly.
To merely repeal the ACA would result in
20 million losing their health insurance cov
erage and that would be problematic to say
the least," he said. "A more reformed system
with emphasis on freemarket while retain
ing the provisions protecting consumers
with preexisting conditions would be ideal,"
he said. AAPI represents the interests of
over 60,000 physicians and 25,000 medical
students and residents of Indian heritage in
the US. In the statement, Lodha also invited
Trump to address the delegates at the AAPI
Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey next
(PTI)
year.
December 3-9, 2016
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Khalistan supporter in US pleads guilty

of planning terror attack in India
New York: A 42yearold Indian man who re
ceived asylum in the US has pleaded guilty to
planning terror attacks in India by providing
material support and resources to terrorists
involved in the Khalistan movement.
Balwinder Singh, a resident of Nevada,
pleaded guilty before US District Judge Lar
ry Hicks to one count of conspiracy to pro
vide material support to terrorists, knowing
and intending that such support would be
used to carry out terrorist attacks overseas,
Acting Assistant Attorney General for Na
tional Security Mary McCord said.
"Balwinder Singh attempted to provide
material support and resources to terrorists
to create violence and disruption abroad,"
McCord said. "Identifying, thwarting and
holding accountable individuals who pursue
international terrorism is a top priority of
the Department of Justice," she said.
A citizen of India and permanent US resi
dent, Balwinder Singh went by the aliases of
Balwinder Singh
"Jhaji", "Happy" and "Baljit Singh" and has
been detained and charged since his arrest
in December 2013.
He faces the statutory maximum penalty of
Aadhaar Gala raises over $40,000

for education of Austin kids
Austin, TX: The 2nd Annual Aadhaar Gala
raised a whopping $40,000 to support
scholarships for economically disadvantaged
students in Austin.
Aadhaar Gala is an annual fundraiser
organized by the Austin based leading non
profit organization called Hindu Charities for
America (HC4A). The 2015 Aadhaar Gala
was the organizations first launched
fundraiser. The HC4A 2 nd Annual Aadhaar
Gala was held on November 5. The word
Aadhaar means support hence the name
Aadhaar Gala.
Aadhaar Gala raises funds to support edu
cation by sponsoring vocational training
scholarships and school supplies for under
privileged and economically disadvantaged
students in Austin and surrounding area
school districts as well as community college.
A recent research (ThirdWay.org) revealed
that while college degrees are expensive and
takes time with reported 55% dropout rate,
vocational training takes only 6 to 24
months to qualify or get certified. The speed
of a nations development depends on its
workforce and HC4A is committed to bridg
ing that gap by providing opportunity for
students with vocational scholarships.
The 2nd annual Aadhaar Gala held on
November 5 at the Crown Plaza, Austin was
a grand success a fun packed evening
geared towards fundraising with over 400
The main attraction of the evening

was the Aadhaar Glamor Walk
invitees; attendees cheered the gala while
enjoying the entertainment and sumptuous
food. The main attraction of the evening was
the Aadhaar Glamour Walk a celebrity
fashion show presented by Bollywood fash
ion designer MEthnique; Monsoon Dance.
Silent auction, sponsored raffles, sponsors
booths, dancing and music were the major
highlights of the gala. Indian Consul Amrit
Paul of Houston Indian Consulate was the
chief guest and Travis County Judge Sarah
Eckhardt, the guest speaker, mesmerized the
audience with her eloquent speech. The
most insightful presentation of the evening
was rendered by one of HC4A scholarship
recipient Laura who shared her story of how
HC4A scholarship helped her achieve her
dreams.
15 years in prison and deportation following

his release. His sentencing was set for Feb
ruary 27. His indictment says that Balwinder
Singh obtained asylum in San Francisco us
ing a false identity. According to the court
filed documents and admissions made in
connection with the plea agreement, be
tween September and December 2013, Bal
winder Singh conspired with others to sup
port terrorist attacks in India.
Balwinder communicated with coconspir
ators by telephone to discuss these plans
and agreed to provide material support by
facilitating a coconspirator's travel to and
within South Asia, providing funding and
materials necessary to carry out an overseas
attack.
In October 2013, Balwinder and the co
conspirators agreed that one of them would
travel to India that same year and carry out
"likely an assassination or maiming of an In
dian governmental official." The final target
would be determined after the coconspira

tor arrived in South Asia.
Balwinder purchased two sets of nightvi
sion goggles, gave them to a coconspirator
who was going to carry out the planned at
tack.
In December 2013, the coconspirator at
tempted to board a flight from the San Fran
cisco International Airport to Thailand in or
der to carry out the attack, but was prohibit
ed by the US law enforcement from boarding
the flight.
As a result, the planned attack was never
executed.
After this, Balwinder Singh and his cocon
spirators continued to discuss and plan ter
ror attack in India until he was arrested. The
defense attorney noted that a clause in the
plea agreement would allow Balwinder
Singh to ask to be sent to a third country, not
India, under the US Convention Against Tor
(PTI)
ture.
Spiritual classic Autobiography of a

Yogi turns 70 this December
Los Angeles, CA: The book, Auto
biography of a Yogi by
Paramhansa Yogananda has cap
tured the hearts and minds of peo
ple from fields as diverse as acade
mia, business and popular culture
from Harvard's Diana Eck to the
Beatles' George Harrison, from the
late Apple founder, Steve Jobs, to
American Hip Hop maverick and
entrepreneur, Russell Simmonsis
celebrating its 70th anniversary in continuous
print in December. First published in 1946, the
critically acclaimed spiritual classic remains the
goto book for millions of seekers and yoga en
thusiasts around the world (and it was the only
book that Steve Jobs allegedly had on his iPad).
Still topping the bestseller lists, it is recognized
around the world as a literary masterpiece with
translations in 45 languages to date, ranging
from Icelandic to Arabic.
The San Diego Tribune reported, For those in
terested in learning about Eastern philosophy
and meditation techniques Autobiography of a
Yogi is one of the most compelling books avail
able today. It was honored as one of the 100 best
spiritual books of the 20th Century and recog
nized by Time Magazine as a meditation primer.
Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of SelfReal
ization Fellowship (SRF) and subject of the award
winning documentary AWAKE: The Life of Yo
gananda, made an indelible impression on the
spiritual landscape of the United States and is
widely regarded as the father of Yoga

in the West. His teachings have influ
enced a diverse array of luminaries,
from peace apostle Mahatma Gandhi
to legendary star Elvis Presley, and
the enduring appeal of his autobiog
raphy seems only to increase with
time. You would be hardpressed to
find anyone on the spiritual path
whose life has not been influenced by
this profound work of literature,
states author Jack Canfield, cocreator of the
Chicken Soup for the Soul series, whose own
personal journey began by reading Autobiogra
phy of a Yogi. In the 300plus interviews con
ducted for the book American Veda, author Philip
Goldberg found that Autobiography of a Yogi
prompted more Americans to explore Indian
spirituality than any other text.
The book is both a beautifully written account
of an exceptional life and a profound introduc
tion to the ancient science of Yoga and its time
honored tradition of meditation. Yogananda de
voted himself to writing the book following a ten
year period of lecturing in major cities in the
United States and Europe (19251935) and a re
turn trip to his native India. He did most of his
writing at the coastal hermitage of SRF in Encini
tas, CA, as well as at his retreat in the California
desert and at the Los Angeles headquarters of
SRF, drawing from the 25 years he had spent
gathering facts and verifying stories about the In
dian saints he met during his early years in India.
What NRIs can do with

Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes
New York: For the nonresident Indians
(NRIs) who keep Indian currency, the move
to demonetize Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes
may spell hardships. As per the clarifica
tion issued by the Reserve Bank of India,
the recourse for an NRI is to deposit the
specified bank notes (Rs500 and Rs1,000)
to his nonresident ordinary rupee (NRO)
account. There are many BUTs..
But what happens if the person doesnt
have the bank branch in her country of res
idence?
But will the foreign branch accept rupee
notes?
But according to Jose K. Matthew, head
retail business, Federal Bank Ltd; an NRI
cannot deposit cash in NRO account from a
foreign country.
At this moment the very inconvenient
way is to get it converted in India either
travel to India for it or get it converted it
through someone in India.
1. Travel to India before December 30.
Indian government has allowed time till
December 30 to deposit money in the
December 3-9, 2016
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
bank accounts. There is no limit on the

money that can be deposited in one's own
account, provided all the KYC forms are in
place.
For all transactions above Rs50,000,
account holders will have to furnish their
PAN cards. "NRIs can carry up to Rs25,000
per person when they travel to India and
have it exchanged or deposited into their
bank accounts until December 30.
2. Travel to India after December 30: If you
are traveling to India next year, you can
visit any RBI office and convert the Indian
currency into any other with due proof and
reasons of delay.
3. Authorize someone to deposit in India
In case you are unable to travel to India
in the coming six weeks, you can send the
money through someone to India along
with an authorization letter, identity proof,
such as copies of the passport, PAN card,
etc., and entry and exit stamps from and to
the Indian destination.
(Source: Anil Gupta, NRI news coordina
tor on LinkedIn)
Indian-American
executives arrested on
fraud charges in US
Washington, DC: Two top Indian
American executives were arrested for
allegedly misrepresenting their com
panys finances to inflate its stock
price. Nandu Thondavadi, 62, CEO of
Schaumburgbased Quadrant 4
System, and Dhru Desai, 55, its chief
financial of ficer and chairman, were
charged with wire fraud and certifying
false financial reports related to two
acquisitions and the settlement of a
lawsuit against the company in 2013.
T hondavadi faces an additional
charge of making false statements to
the Securit ies and Exchange
Commission in May during an investi
gation into the company's financial
practices. Both appeared in Chicago
federal court to hear the charges,
which carry a maximum penalty of 20
years each for wire fraud and certify
ing false financial reports.
The company also has its of fice in

Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and
Madurai.
Quadrant 4, which launched in
2010, provides software and consult
ing services to health care and educa
tion customers. The firm reported $52
million in revenues and a net loss of
$516,000 for 2015, according to
financial filings.
As a publicly traded company,
Quadrant 4 is required to provide to
the SEC on a quarterly and annual
basis a detailed report of its financial
condit ion. Federal authorit ies
launched an investigation of the com
pany earlier this year based on indica
tions that the firms recent annual
reports to the SEC contained false
information, the complaint states, the
Department of Justice said in a state
ment. (PTI)
IndianAmerican lm on unregulated
supplements makes a splash
Washington, DC: A movie on the dangers
of unregulated dietary supplements
based on the real life story of a young
IndianAmerican who succumbed to them
has been making waves in various film
festivals besides prompting top US of fi
cials to initiate steps against the menace.
'The Last Smile', directed by Shankey
Srinivasan, is the story of Amit Zutshi
the son of the film's producer Jeevan
Zutshi who died in 2008.
"The movie was produced with the sole
purpose of educating the masses about
the dangers and life threatening impact
of taking unregulated supplements that
are available over the counters in the US,"
Zutshi told PTI in an interview.
It was screened at the Philadelphia
Asian American Film Festival last week
end and will have its Italy premiere in
Florence next weekend at the 2016 edi
tion of River to River Florence Indian
Film Festival.
"The last smile of my son Amit, three
days before his passing on March 19,
2008, due to the dangerous unregulated
supplements will never die, through Amit
Zutshi Foundation, my book and movie
'The Last Smile' is the story of Amit Zutshi,

son of the film's producer Jeevan Zutshi
who succumbed to dangers of
unregulated dietary supplements in 2008.
The Last Smile as a tribute to him and as
a vehicle to save other lives," Zutshi said,
before leaving for Italy this week.
Based on Zutshi's book with the same
title, the movie was screened at Capitol

Hill early this year which was attended by
several lawmakers and influent ial
Congressional aides. It was of ficially
screened by Cinequest Film Festival on
March 10, voted Best Film Festival by
USA Today, for its world premiere.
Since then it has been screened at vari
ous prestigious international festivals
including Palm Beach International Film
Festival in April, Vancouver Asian Film
Festival in November, Livermore Valley
Film Festival as well as a film festival in
North Carolina.
After the unfortunate death of his son
Amit, Zutshi has been singlehandedly
running a campaign against unregulated
drugs talking to lawmakers and con
vincing the government to initiate action
against manufacturers of dietary supple
ments.
As a result, the Justice Department
itself has taken action against more than
100 makers and marketers of dietary
supplements.
The New York State Attorney has asked
four major retailers Walmart, GNC,
Target and Walgreens to cease sale of
their store branded herbal supplements

as they do not contain the herbs purport
edly listed on their labels.
"As the Indian consumer market is
aping the west, and such supplements are
now flooding Indian stores, it is impor
tant for the Indian government to take
steps against them," Zutshi said, adding
that very few of the dietary supplements
which claim to be miracle pills are backed
by scientific research.
From Italy, Zutshi is headed to India,
where he plans to screen his movie.
"It is very important to raise awareness
about it in India," he said. "I have paid a
very heavy price because of this. My life
changed forever because of these evil
manufacturers and dealers of these
unregulated supplements."
Zutshi said his campaign is against the
multibillion dollar pharmaceutical indus
try involved in marketing the "life threat
ening products", a market that remains
totally unregulated by the FDA.
In the US, as many as 23,000 people
end up in hospitals every year due to
dietary supplements, Zutshi said refer
ring to a study.
10
December 3-9, 2016
Terrorist with
Pak link attacks
Ohio university
New York: A young terrorist with Pakistan links

launched an attack at Ohio State University (OSU)
using his car and a butchers knife injuring 11
people before being shot dead by a police officer.
The attack was carried out at the OSU campus in
Columbus by Abdul Razak Ali Artan.
Artan had spent seven years in Pakistan after
leaving his native Somalia before coming to the US
as a refugee two years ago. The attack turns a spotlight on Republican President-elect Donald Trumps
calls during his campaign for a temporary halt to
Muslim immigration while screening procedures
are tightened. Trump has since softened his stand,
leaning towards heightened vigilance towards those
coming from some countries linked to terrorism.
While national leaders were reluctant to even
call the incident terrorism, a Republican Indian
American Ohio lawmaker, Niraj Antani, jumped
into the fray with a challenge. Democrats see such
acts as a result of the proliferation of weapons
rather than the motivations. In line with this Tim
Kaine, who was the Democratic Partys candidate
for vice president, reacting to first reports of the
shooting, tweeted that he was deeply saddened
by the senseless act of gun violence.
State Representative Antani, who at 25 years
is among the youngest elected officials in the US,
tweeted back at Kaine, But not saddened by the
senseless act of machete or car violence?
US Affairs
Harvard in varsities list who will

protect students from deportation
Washington: Donald Trump vowed during his campaign to deport millions of
illegal immigrants from the country. For
many US universities, particularly those
with significant numbers of undocumented students studying under the protection
of a 2012 policy instituted by the Obama
administration, this is unacceptable.
Students, alumni, and faculty members
across the US have spent the weeks since
Trumps Nov. 8 election lobbying university
administrators to designate their schools
sanctuary campuses, or spaces where students of iffy legal status can study without
facing the threat of deportation. Columbia,
Yale, and Oberlin are among the still-growing list of schools where such petitions have
been circulated. (While some universities like
Wesleyan have outright declared themselves
sanctuaries, others like Princeton have declined to take on the official title while still
pledging their support to undocumented
students.) Harvard has now joined those taking a stand. University president Drew Faust
sent an email to the schools affiliates this
week to expressly reaffirm our clear and
unequivocal support for these individuals.
Without using the exact word sanctuary,
Faustwho signed a letter along with more
than 300 other college presidents last week
in support of Obamas Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 2012 program
promised that the school would not disclose the immigration status of individuals
The list of sanctuary campuses is growing in the US.

or allow them to be deported without due
legal process. She added that the administration recognizes the deep anxiety that
campaign rhetoric and proposals have
created for many members of the Harvard
community. Fausts skirting of the term
sanctuary campus is also partly because
its somewhat meaningless. If the Trump
administration does roll out aggressive
deportation policies and they are ruled
tobe legal, schoolslike any other American organizationwill have to comply.
Thats why school leaders are directly

asking Trump to not repeal DACA; Californias three biggest university systems
on Nov. 29 sent a letter imploring him
to allow undocumented students to continue to pursue the American dream.
And, purely symbolic as they may be,
university pledges to protect illegal immigrants under Trump hint at a broader
tension already simmering between the
US president-elect and the countrys institutions of higher education.
White House denies Trumps new claim of election fraud

Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a Somali
immigrant, was shot dead by the police.
Trump calls for

revoking flag
burners citizenship, or jail time
Washington: Since the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, politicians have periodically announced with fanfare that they would introduce a
bill to strip the citizenship of Americans accused
of terrorism. The idea tends to attract brief attention, but then fades away, in part because the
Supreme Court long ago ruled that the Constitution does not permit the government to take a
persons citizenship against his or her will.
But on Tuesday, President-elect Donald J.
Trump revived the idea and took it much further
than the extreme case of a suspected terrorist.
He proposed that Americans who protest government policies by burning the flag could lose their
citizenship meaning, among other things, their
right to vote in future elections as punishment.
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American
flag - if they do, there must be consequences - perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!, he tweeted
on Tuesday. Mr. Trump wrote the post shortly
after Fox News aired a segment about a dispute
at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, which removed the American flag from its campus flagpole
after protests over his election victory; during one
demonstration, someone burned a flag.
Washington: The White House said that

there is no evidence to support the alleged
election fraud claimed by President-elect
Donald Trump, who on the weekend said
that millions of people voted illegally
for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in
the November 8 election.
On Sunday, Trump said on Twitter that
he would have beaten Clinton in the nationwide popular vote if you deduct the
millions of people who voted illegally.
He also called into question the results
in three states he lost to Clinton, saying
Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New
Hampshire and California -- so why isnt
the media reporting on this? Serious bias
-- big problem! but offering no evidence

of the supposed fraud.
However, there has been no evidence
produced to substantiate Trumps claims,
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday.
Trump has resurrected the claim of election fraud in an apparent attempt to divert
the media focus on the vote recounts requested by the Green Party in Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania and in Michigan.
The moguls transition team insisted
on Monday that there is evidence of election fraud.
Trumps reaction came after Clintons
campaign said on the weekend that it
would participate in the Green Partys

recount effort.
Meanwhile, Trump transition team
spokesman Jason Miller told reporters
on Monday that it is ridiculous wasting
oxygen on recounts, labeling it a fundraising scam by Jill Stein in an election
already conceded and an effort that will
not change the overall election result.
Trump won 306 votes in the Electoral
College to Clintons 232, putting him
above the 270 votes needed there to win
the presidency.
But the Colleges electors are scheduled to formally vote on the matter late
this month.
Mosques in US receive
threatening letters
New York: At least three mosques in

California have received letters threatening Muslims and praising President-elect
Donald Trump, media reports said.
The hate-filled letters were discovered
at the Islamic centers of Long Beach and
Claremont as well as a mosque in San Jose.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a copy of the handwritten and photocopied letters, received over
the course of the week, CBS News reported.
Calling the Muslims vile and filthy
people, the letter said that their day of
reckoning has arrived.
Theres a new sheriff in town -- President Donald Trump. Hes going to cleanse
America and make it shine again. And hes
going to start with you Muslims, the

letter, signed by American for A Better
Way, read. Hes going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.
The council has called for an increased police protection and a proper response from
authorities in such cases. We urge local
law enforcement authorities to work with
Muslim community leaders to ensure the
safety of all houses of worship, said CAIR
Executive Director of CAIR in San Francisco,
Zahra Billoo, in a statement on Saturday.
Though Trump has said he is not aware
of such attacks, more than 700 acts of such
bias targeting Muslims, blacks, Latinos,
immigrants and LGBTQ people have occurred since Election Day (November 8).
Largest mosque in US
is in Dearborn, Michigan.
December 3-9, 2016
US AFFAIRS
11
Donald Trump vows steps to avoid business conflicts

New York: Presidentelect Donald J Trump
on Wednesday said he would take steps to
separate himself from his vast, global
business empire in the hopes of prevent
ing the appearance of a conflict of interest
as he becomes president.
But Trumps announcement, delivered in
a series of earlymorning posts on Twitter,
drew an immediate rebuke from legal and
ethics experts in Washington, who said
that a close reading of the actual words in
the posts suggests that Trump is not plan
ning to take sufficient steps to eliminate
the conflicts.
The presidentelect provided few details,
but promised to hold a major news con
ference with his adult children in two
weeks to reveal legal documents that will
remove him from what he called the busi
ness operations of his company. He
vowed to leave the Trump Organization
in total to focus on running the country
from the White House.
The emphasis on business operations,
not on ownership, hinted that Trump is
Presidentelect Donald J Trump

not ruling out retaining a financial stake
in the Trump Organization or putting his
children in control of the company. Ethics
experts said such moves would leave
Trump vulnerable to accusations that his
official actions are motivated by personal
financial interests.
Although it is of course important that
he have no involvement in Trump busi
ness operations, in order to avoid conflicts

he must also exit the ownership of his
businesses through using a blind trust or
equivalent, Norman Eisen, who served as
a White House ethics lawyer in the Obama
administration, and Richard Painter, an
ethics lawyer in the Bush administration,
said in a joint statement to The New York
Times.
Noah Bookbinder, executive director of
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a
liberal nonprofit group that promotes
ethics in government, said: Unless his
solution is to sell the business outside the
family and put the proceeds in a blind
trust, hes not really doing anything to
solve the problem. Just because you say
something on Twitter doesnt make it so.
It remains unclear what the president
elects plan will look like, but simply
removing Mr. Trump from operational,
daytoday control of business decisions
still could allow him to benefit financially
from payments made to his companies by
foreign governments, which may be pro
Nancy Pelosi reelected

House minority leader
Washington: Democratic Congress
members reelected Nancy Pelosi
as House minority leader on
Wednesday as she defeated Ohio
Democratic Representative Tim
Ryan by 71 votes, media reports
said. Pelosi, a 76yearold pro
gressive from San Francisco who
has led her colleagues in the
House since 2002, won 68 per
cent of the votes in a secret ballot.
She earned 134 votes to Ryan's
63. In a tweet, Pelosi said she was
"honored" to be reelected and
urged the party to get to work, the
Guardian reported.
Pelosi vowed on Wednesday to
unify the Democrats in efforts to
defend President Obama's legisla
tive legacy from the incoming
Trump administration, while pro
posing caucus reforms so as to
empower younger Democratic
Nancy Pelosi has led her party members in the US House since 2002.
lawmakers who have been frus
trated by the lack of leadership
opportunities. "My heart is broken
that we didn't w in the W hite
House this time," she said. "We

know how to win elections, we've
done in the past and will do it
again."
CIA chief warns Trump against

ripping up Iran deal
Washington: CIA director John
Brennan warned on Wednesday
that tearing up the Iran nuclear
deal, as US Presidente lect
Donald Trump promised during
his election campaign, would be
"disastrous". "I think it would be
the height of folly if the next
administration were to tear up
that agreement," Brennan told
the BBC.
He said it would be "almost
unprecedented" for one adminis
tration to tear up an agreement
made by a previous one.

Brennan warned "it could lead
to a weapons program inside
Iran that could lead other states
in the region to embark on their
own programs, with military con
flict".
Since his election, Trump has
been more circumspect, not pub
licly discussing the international
deal with Tehran aimed at pre
venting the Islamic republic from
developing nuclear weapons. But
his pick to succeed Brennan as
head of CIA, Mike Pompeo, is a

strident critic of the agreement.
In the BBC interview, Brennan
also expressed hope there would
be an improvement in relations
between Washington and
Moscow.
But he warned: "I think
Presidentelect Trump and the
new administration need to be
wary of Russian promises.
Russian promises in my mind
have not given us what it is they
had pledged."
hibited by the socalled emoluments

clause of the Constitution, Mr. Eisen said.
And Mr. Trumps Twitter posts said
nothing about whether his children
who serve as advisers on his presidential
transition committee would continue to
have roles in his administration.
If the business is run by his children,
they must be entirely separated from gov
ernment operations, Mr. Eisen and Mr.
Painter said. That means they could not
participate in meetings with world lead
ers, like the prime minister of Japan, as
Ivanka Trump did this month.
Without an ethics firewall that is set up
at once and continues into the administra
tion, scandal is sure to follow, their state
ment said.
Aides to Mr. Trump did not immediately
respond to requests for more detail.
Reince Priebus, who will be the White
House chief of staf f, said on the MSNBC
program Morning Joe that he was not
ready to provide any more information
about the legal discussions.
Donald Trump's Treasury pick

targets taxes, trade reforms
Tax reform with large middle income tax cut
would come within 90 days of Trump presidency.
Washington: Presidente lect
Donald Trumps pick to lead the
US Treasury, Steven Mnuchin,
said on Wednesday the adminis
tration would make tax reform
and trade pact overhauls top pri
orities as they seek a sustained
pace of 34 per cent economic
growth. Mnuchin also signaled a
desire to remove US mortgage
finance companies Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac from govern
ment ownership, a move that
could have wideranging ramifi
cations for how Americans pay
for their homes.
The onetime Goldman Sachs
banker, together with Wilbur
Ross, Trumps nominee for com
merce secretary, outlined
Trumps economic agenda,
including what Mnuchin called
the largest tax overhaul since the
Ronald Reagan administration,
in an interview on CNBC.
Mnuchin and Ross reinforced
the sweeping proposals Trump
put forth in September to simpli
fy the tax code and slash the cor
porate tax rate to 15 per cent,
cutting the top rate for all busi
nesses from the present 35 per
cent. We think by cutting corpo
rate taxes well create huge eco
nomic growth and well have
huge personal income, Mnuchin
said in the interview.
Tax experts have questioned
Trumps assertion that the pro
posals would not add to the
nations debt and deficit.
Mnuchin and Ross said lower
tax rates would be of fset by
US Treasury secretary nominee,

Steven Mnuchin, is a onetime
Goldman Sachs banker
reductions in the number of
income tax deductions.
In a separate interview on Fox
Business Network, Mnuchin said
a major tax reform that includes
a large middle income tax cut
would be achieved within 90
days of the Trump presidency.
He also said he expected to
reach 3 per cent to 4 per cent
economic growth in the next
couple of years. I think its very
achievable, Mnuchin told FBN.
Mnuchin and Ross also criti
cized the financial reform legis
lation known as DoddFrank,
passed after the 20078 finan
cial crisis, as too complicated
and cuts back lending.
Asked on CNBC about Federal
Reserve Chair Janet Yellens per
formance, both men said they
believed she had done a good
job. That assessment conflicts
with Trumps earlier criticism of
Yellen during the campaign.
Ross said he believes it is likely
the Fed will raise interest rates
at its meeting in December.
12
December 3-9, 2016
INDIA
DEMONETIZATION:
Lok Sabha deadlock continues
New Delhi: The opposition again disrupted

Lok Sabha proceedings persistently demand
ing a discussion on demonetization under a
rule that entails voting, forcing Speaker
Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the house for
the day shortly after noon.
Soon after the house met, Trinamool
Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyay raised
the issue of delay in landing permission to a
plane carrying West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee at Kolkata airport despite
a technical glitch.
The TMC leader said the aircraft circled
overhead for about 30 minutes and alleged
that the Air Traffic Control delayed giving
the landing permission even though the
pilot pointed out that the plane was running
out of fuel.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha,
Mallikarjun Kharge, said Banerjee's life was
in danger as she was travelling from Kolkata
to Patna and Lucknow and holding rallies
against the November 8 demonetisation.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok
Gajapati Raju, however, denied the charge,
saying the flight hovered for only 13 min
utes before it landed at the airport.
Raju said the Director General of Civil
Aviation (DGCA) had ordered an inquiry.
Soon after, the opposition, led by the
Congress and the TMC, trooped near the
Speaker's podium to demand the discussion
on demonetization as Speaker Sumitra
Mahajan tried to conduct the Question Hour
amid the din.
Long queues at banks, ATMs were seen on the first pay day after demonetization.
Members of the Left parties, the
Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress
Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal stood in
the aisles in solidarity with the other opposi
tion members.
AIADMK members also stood near their
seats. Amid the din, Sports Minister Vijay
Goel answered a few questions.
However, the opposition continued with
its tirade against the government, after
which Mahajan adjourned the house till
noon.
When the House reassembled, Mahajan
disallowed all notices of adjournment
motion on different issues.
Sushma Swaraj seeks

report on Indian
stranded in UAE
Dubai: External Af fairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj has soug ht a
report from the Indian Consulate
in Dubai about an NRI after local
media reported about the man's
desperate bid to return home.
Jagannathan Selvaraj, 48, who
hails from Tiruchirappalli in
Tamil Nadu, has walked over
1,000 kilometres over the last
two years to attend court pro
ceedings in a bid to obtain a flight
ticket back home in India.
"I have asked for a report from
the Indian Embassy in Dubai,"
Swaraj tweeted on Thursday. The
Minister took the step after
Khaleej Times reported the story
of the Indian man on Tuesday.
Speaking to Khalee j Times,
Selvaraj said he has braved traf
fic, heat, sandstorms and exhaus
tion while trekking along the
busy highways of Dubai, travel
ling a distance of 22 km one way
to reach Dubai Courts from his
Sonapur accommodation (on the
outskirts of Dubai) to attend the
labour court proceedings.
Selvaraj began his court jour
neys after his mother died in
People's problems
only for one or
two quarters:
Jaitley
External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj
Tamil Nadu and he was denied
permission to go and attend her
funeral.
His case has gone on for almost
two years and Selvaraj said he
must have walked at least 20
times to Karama district in Dubai
from Sonapur and back
every time covering a distance
of 50plus kilometres in four
hours.
Kharge, supported by Bandopadhyay,

demanded discussion under any rule which
entails voting.
"This is a big scandal. It's a scam. People
are not getting their salaries. There is com
plete chaos. We want to discuss the issue
while the government is running away from
discussion," Kharge said.
The Lok Sabha has experienced a virtual
washout since the winter session of
Parliament began on November 16 as the
government and the opposition have
locked horns over demonetisation and
the consequent cash crunch faced by the
people.
Bhubaneshwar:
Union
Finance
Minister
Arun
Jaitley said the
hardships faced by
the people after the
November
8
demonetization will
last only for one or
two quarters but its
e f fect on the
Finance Minister
Indian economy
Arun Jaitley
will be longterm.
"The effect of demonetization will remain
for one or two quarters, but its ef fect on
the economy will be seen in the long term,"
Jaitley said on the sidelines of the 'Made in
Odisha Conclave' here.
T he Minister thanked Odisha Chie f
Minister Naveen Patnaik for backing the
Center on demonetization and the GST
(Goods and Services Tax).
Hailing Odisha's high growth rate this
year, Jaitley said: "If Odisha's state gross
domestic product grows faster than the
national GDP, it will help in improving the
national GDP."
Odisha registered a State GDP of 9.2 per
cent, two per cent higher than the national
GDP.
Twitter account restored,

Rahul tweets love for
'beautiful haters'
New Delhi: A day after his Twitter

account was hacked and exple
tives posted on it, Congress Vice
President Rahul Gandhi tweeted
to say he "loves all my haters and
they are beautiful".
"To everyone of you haters out
there: I love all of you. You're
beautiful. Your hatred just doesn't
let you see it yet," Rahul Gandhi
said on his Tw itter account
@Of ficeOfRG after it was
restored. The Twitter account of
the Congress too was hacked on
Thursday morning but restored
later on.
On the other hand, the
Congress said on its Twitter han
dle @INCIndia:"Hello everyone!
We are back. The tweets in the
morning lacked wit, evidently.
Anyway, Mr Modi, back to peo
ple's questions, care to answer?"
The party had filed a complaint
with the cyber cell of Delhi Police
on Wednesday night after Rahul
Gandhi's twitter account was
hacked.
Cong ress Communicat ion
Department incharge Randeep
Singh Surjewala in his reaction
Congress VicePresident Rahul Gandhi.

said: "First @OfficeOfRG and now
@INCIndia hacked by lumpen fas
cists. Free speech and right to dis
agree in India is under attack by
licensed trolls."
"Such despot ic and vulg ar
attempts reflect the extremities of
an intolerant culture that resorts
to abuse when cornered and left
answer less," added in his tweet.
Surjewala said Congress has
fought "such hatred and animosi
ty with Gandhian compassion and
tolerance. Sabko Sanmati dey

bhagwan (in hindi)".
He said that the cyber bullying
should be "An eye opener for
Modiji!"
On Wednesday, the hackers also
removed Rahul's profile picture
and changed the account title
from @Of ficeOfRG to Retarded
g and hi.T he Cong ress said it
smacked of "sinister conspiracy
and reflected disturbing insecuri
ties of prevalent fascist culture".
INDIA
December 3-9, 2016
13
Government clarifies exemption limits for gold seizure

New Delhi: In connection with
search operat ions for black
money, the government on
Thursday clarified on the exemp
tion limits for seizure of gold jew
elry and ornaments as being 500
grams per married woman, 250
grams per unmarried woman
and 100 grams per male member
of the family.
"A reference to instruction
No.1916 is ... invited which pro
vides that during the search
operations, no seizure of gold
jewelry and ornaments to the
extent of 500 grams per married
lady, 250 grams per unmarried
lady and 100 grams per male
member of the family shall be
made," a Finance Ministry
release here said.
"Further, legitimate holding of
jewelery up to any extent is fully
protected," it said. The govern
ment clarificat ion comes in
500 grams per married woman, 250 grams per unmarried woman and
100 grams per male member of the family are allowed.
response to apprehensions aris
ing from the amendments to the
tax laws proposed through the
Taxat ion
Laws
(Second
Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed
earlier this week by the Lok
Sabha to deal with the situation

arising out of the November 8
demonetization measure. The
Taxat ion
Laws
(Second
Amendment) Bill, proposes up to
85 per cent tax and penalty on
Jio users to get free voice, data

till March 31: Mukesh Ambani
Mumbai: Taking Jio's offer a step
further, Mukesh Ambani,
Chairman and Managing Director
of Reliance Industries Limited
launched 'Jio Happy New Year'
of fer for its new and existing
customers.
"Starting Dec 4, 2016 every
new Jio user will get data, voice,
video and the full bouquet of
applications absolutely free till
March 31, 2017. We are calling
this Jio Happy New Year of fer.
All existing Jio customers will get
extended benefits of Jio Happy
New Year offer on current SIMs,"
Ambani said in an address to
stakeholders at RIL's Navi
Mumbai office.
Start ing its service in
September, Jio has already
bagged over 52 million cus
tomers, he said, adding: "In the
first three months, Jio has grown
faster than Facebook, Whatsapp
or Skype."
Ambani said that on an average
a Jio customer was "using 25
times more data than the average
Indian broadband user."
He said under the Jio Happy
New Year of fer., Jio customers
will get 30 times the average
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance

Industries Limited (right). (Photo: IANS)
usage on other networks
absolutely free till March 31,
2017.
Jio has signed up more than 6
lakh customers every single day
in the last three months, with the
help of fasttrack Aadhaarbased
eKYC, which allowed SIM activa
tion in five minutes.
"Today, Jio has successfully
rolled out eKYC across 2 lakh
outlets in India. To put this in
perspective, this is nearly equal
to the total number of ATMs in
India. We are in the process of
doubling this network, to 4 lakh
dig itally enabled outlets, by
March 2017," Ambani said.

Talking about the contentious
issue of points of interconnec
tions between Jio and other tele
com operators, Ambani said "we
have not received the required
support from existing operators."
"In the last three months, near
ly 900 crore voice calls from Jio
customers to the networks of our
three largest competitors were
blocked. The benefits of Jio's
superior voice technology have
been denied to Indian customers
due to such anticompetitive
behavior of incumbent opera
tors," he added.
undisclosed wealth that is discov

ered by tax authorities during
search and seizure. The state
ment said some rumors going
around recently that all gold jew
elery, including ancestral jewel
ery, would be taxed at 75 per
cent plus cess, with a further
penal liability of 10 per cent of
tax payable, were totally
"unfounded and baseless".
"It is hereby clarified that the
Bill has not introduced any new
provision regarding chargeability
of tax on jewelery.
The Bill only seeks to enhance
the applicable tax rate to be
charged in case of unexplained
investment in assets," the state
ment said.
The Bill, currently under con
sideration of the Rajya Sabha,
seeks to amend Section 115BBE
of the Income Tax Act to provide
for 60 per cent tax and a 15 per
cent surcharge on it for black

money holders.
Another section provides for an
additional 10 per cent penalty on
being established that the unde
clared wealth is unaccounted or
black money.
"Tax rate under sect ion
115BBE is proposed to be
increased only for unexplained
income as there were reports
that the tax evaders are trying to
include their undisclosed income
in the return of income as busi
ness income or income from
other sources," the Ministry said.
"T he provisions of sect ion
115BBE apply mainly in those
cases where assets or cash etc.
are sought to be declared as 'un
explained cash or asset' or where
it is hidden as unsubstantiated
business income, and the
Assessing Of ficer detects it as
such," it added.
SC orders playing
of National
Anthem in theaters
New Delhi: The Supreme Court
directed cinema halls to play
the National Anthem before
the start of movies, saying it
will instil "constitutional patri
otism as well as committed
patriotism and nationalism".
The playing of the anthem
will be accompanied by an
image of the Tricolor on the
screen, the court said while
barring its commercial
exploitation, dramatization or
playing of an abridged version.
T he order shall be g iven
effect to within a period of 10
days.
T he court said when the
National Anthem is sung or
played, it is imperative on the
part of everyone present to
show due respect and honor
by standing up.
" I t i s b ec a u s e w h e n t h e
National Anthem is sung, the
concept of protocol associated
with it has its inherent roots in
national identity, national
integrity and constitutional

patriotism," the court said.
"All cinema halls in India
shall play the National Anthem
before the feature films start
and all present in the hall are
obliged to stand up to show
r e s p ec t , " s a i d a b e n ch of
Justice Dipak Misra and
Justice Amitava Roy.
It said before "the National
Anthem is played or sung in
the cinema hall on the screen,
the entry and exit doors shall
remain closed so that no one
can create any kind of distur
bance which will amount to
disrespect to the Nat ional
Anthem".
The doors to cinema halls
c a n b e o p e n ed a f t e r t h e
National Anthem is played or
sung.
The order was passed on a
public interest litigation filed
by Shayam Narayan Chouksey
w h o s o u g h t gu i d e l i n e s o n
playing the National Anthem.
December 3-9, 2016
14
OP-ED
NEW PAK ARMY CHIEF:

Will there be a change of narrative?
l By Brig Anil Gupta (Retd)
new chapter was heralded in
Pakistan's history on November 29
when, for the first time in two decades,
the incumbent Chief of Army Staf f relin
quished of fice on the appointed date.
Despite best ef forts by ousted dictator
Pervez Musharraf and an appeal by the
Pakistan Supreme Court, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif refused to succumb to pres
sure and exercised his constitutional power
to appoint a new Chief of Army Staff.
It would have been a very dif ficult deci
sion to make for Nawaz Sharif because he
has not been very lucky in his earlier choic
es for the same post. While Musharraf over
threw him in a military coup and exiled him,
the civilmilitary balance remained tilted in
favor of the latter during the tenure of out
going COAS, Gen Raheel Sharif.
Raheel Sharif almost made Nawaz Sharif a
lame duck Prime Minister as far as foreign
relations and matters military were con
cerned. Nawaz Sharif's authority was con
fined to routine domestic affairs and social
development projects. While Nawaz must be
heaving a temporary sigh of relief and keep
ing his fingers crossed, the exit of Raheel
Sharif and appointment of Gen Qamar Javed
Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Bajwa as his successor has aroused keen
interest in India at a time when relations
between the two countries are in their worst
phase.
Though in Pakistan the constitutional
executive head is the Prime Minister, de
facto control of the nation's defence and
security policies, domestic security, strategic
assets and the allpowerful InterServices
Intelligence (ISI) rests with the army
meaning the COAS.
Raheel Sharif not only exercised all these

powers but also remained in a state of con
stant conflict with the Nawaz Sharif govern
ment leading some to believe that he har
bored postretirement political ambitions.
This only time will tell.
After the surgical strikes by the Indian
Army, Raheel Sharif's professional reputa
tion was badly hit and in order to restore his
selfpride he brought IndiaPakistan rela
tions under severe stress through repeated
ceasefire violations amounting to nearly
200 and barbaric acts of their Border Action
Teams (BAT). He earned the distinction of
being India's bete noire. Gen Bajwa will
inherit this legacy of his predecessor. Will
he alter it?
It is believed that Gen Bajwa is a thorough
professional with an image of being apoliti
cal and one who believes in not interfering
much in matters of the civilian government.
He has been appointed by Nawaz Sharif
superseding three other contenders.
It is believed that Nawaz rejected the can
didature of Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad,
Multan Corps Commander and a favorite for
the job, for being overbearing. The reputa
tion of being humble and rooted to the
ground has tilted the balance in favor of
Bajwa.
By appointing Gen Bajwa as COAS, Nawaz

Sharif is trying to restore the delicate civil
military balance in Pakistan. We, in India,
hope that he succeeds this time around
because it is nearmandatory for restoring
peace and normalcy in the subcontinent.
This is the reason the appointment of the
new COAS has evoked lot of interest and
debate in India.
Gen Bajwa is reported to believe that inter
nal extremism is more dangerous for
Pakistan than India. Therefore, it is certain
that he will go hammer and tongs after the
extremist elements at home. He will also
need to address the menace of growing radi
calism within the army that is affecting its
professional lan.
He will definitely carry forward his prede
cessor's fight against domestic extremism
and terrorism forcefully. One hopes that he
would no longer consider the Indiaspecific
terror groups as "strategic assets" and "force
multipliers" but treat them as "liabilities"
Pakistan can illafford to support.
As far as Kashmir is concerned, it appears
that there will be no change in the policy of
the Pakistan Army under Gen Bajwa. But he
is likely to permit the civil government to
put the issue on the backburner so that
talks with India can be resumed.
'Lesscash' society can ensure financial, digital inclusion

l
By Amit Kapoor
ith the government deci

sion to withdraw Rs 1,000
and Rs 500 notes as legal
tender, an ongoing debate on cash,
nocash or lesscash society has
gathered steam. Before moving into
a debate on cash, it is necessary to
understand the nature of money.
It is hard to define what money
is. If one looks at the nature of
money, one is inclined to agree
with Aristotle who believed that
every object has two beings one
for which it was created and other
a value for which it could be
bartered or sold. From the coral
shells in Africa to minted coins dur
ing the Roman Empire to the paper
currency notes during the Tang
Dynasty in China to Stockholm
Banco issuing the first notes in
Europe in the late 17thcentury,
money/currency has undergone
several changes but yet has
remained the same. The rise of the
central bank came next, and post
that the innovation of charge cards,
which later transformed into credit
cards, debit cards and travel cards.
After the 1990s, with digitization,
there is an interesting story that is
unfolding around digital currency.
Before discussing the merits and
demerits of cashversusdigital, it is
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is right when he says that the move is towards a more
'lesscash' society rather than a complete "cashless" society.
pertinent to note the function
money serves. Money has primarily
three functions, namely, as a store
of wealth, as a unit of measure
ment, and as a medium of
exchange. The first function can be
served well by a physical asset as
well like gold or a piece of real
estate but the other two func
tions of money as a unit of meas
urement and as a medium of
exchange seem to be better con
ceived in terms of cash currency
than physical objects/commodities.
With respect to an exchange, this is

especially acute since money also
acquires a liquidity aspect. You
cannot exchange land for money
very quickly. Similarly, real estate
and value of gold can change con
siderably with time and are
dependent on cash. So cash has
utility in being used as a meaning
ful means for transactions to take
place between individuals who
don't know each other.
Despite these benefits, in recent
times, cash's utility has been ques
tioned. In his recent book on cash

titled 'The Curse of Cash', Harvard
economist Kenneth Rogof f raises
some fundamental concerns about
cash in advance economies in gen
eral and the US 100 dollar bill.
"Even as people in advanced
economies use less paper money
there is more cash in circulation,"
he argues. A record $1.4 trillion, or
$4,200 for every American, is cir
culating, mostly in $100 bills. He
raises concern about this excess
cash being used for tax evasion,
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
corruption, terrorism, the drug

trade, human traf ficking and the
like of a massive global under
ground economy.
Another problem of cash in
developed markets is of limiting
possible monetary policy choices in
a negative interest rate regime
where people will stockpile more
cash and abandon treasury bills. In
the Indian context, too, these prob
lems of cash hold true barring the
last one as the interest rate situa
tion is very dif ferent at present
from what it is in developed coun
tries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
right when he says that the move is
towards a more 'lesscash' society
rather than a complete "cashless"
society. Even governments else
where are taking a hard look at
where cash and digital currency fit
the need of citizens to store and
exchange goods and services in an
economy.
In that, the Indian government
has taken a bold and hard step
(critics say rather abruptly) and
fundamentally shifted the balance
towards "lesscash", not more of it.
Over the coming years, it must
think about making this "lesscash"
society plug more leakages and
bring in more financial and digital
inclusion of the masses.
EVENT
December 3-9, 2016
15
Yuvraj Singh weds Hazel Keech

in celeb marriage of the year
Chandigarh: Star cricketer Yuvraj

Singh tied the kno t with actress Hazel Keech on Wednesday as per Sikh
traditions at a gurdwara in Punjabs
Fatehgarh Sahib district.
Sporting a red Sherwani with
cream coloured churidar, Yuvraj was
all decked up as the groom with a red
turban and Sehraa. He had grown a0
beard for the ceremony.
Hazel wore a heavily embroidered
Lehenga with her head covered with
an embroidered dupatta. The marriage ceremony was solemnized as
per Sikh traditional Anand Karaj
at the gurdwara about 40 km from
Chandigarh. Hazel, after their wedding, is now named Gurbasant Kaur.
Hazel Keech, 29, is a British-Mauritian model and actress who has appeared in Indian television programs
and films , and reality TV program
Bigg Boss 7 in 2013. She got engaged
to Yuvraj Singh, now 32, a year ago in
Bali after a long courtship which survived Yuvrajs tumor and chemotherapy and disruption in cricket career.
At the wedding, Yuvrajs mother
Shabnam Singh, relatives and close
friends were among the limited number of guests.
Yuvrajs father, ex-cricketer and
Punjabi actor Yograj Singh who is divorced from Shabnam Singh, did not
attend the ceremony at the gurdwara.
He had attended another function of
his cricketer son at a hotel in Chandigarh on Tuesday evening.
The couple ushered in their wedding functions with a Cocktail Sangeet
on Tuesday evening at a hotel where
they were joined by the Indian cricket
team, which earlier won the third Test
match against England in Mohali.
The couple will have more celebrations in Mumbai and Goa followed
by a big reception in New Delhi on
December 7.
(From top left clockwise) Star cricketer Yuvraj Singh and model-actress Hazel Keech looked splendid in their wedding
finery to suit a Sikh ceremony - Hazel takes the Sikh name Gurbasant Kaur. Yuvraj and Hazel at their sangeet/mehendi
ceremony -- the lovebirds decided to tie the knot after a fairy tale romance and engagement a year ago. On Tuesday,
Yuvraj Singh took to Instagram to share an intimate picture of him and Hazel from their mehendi ceremony.
National cricket team add glitz to glamorous ceremonies

Indian Test team captain Virat Kohli,
coach Anil Kumble and other team members
joined Yuvraj and Hazel for the pre-wedding
ceremony at the Chandigarh hotel.
After India beat England inside four days
in nearby Mohali on Tuesday, the star players were able to grace the occasion. Besides
Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Parthiv Patel, Ishant Sharma were the first ones to arrive and
seemed relaxed after a satisfying result on
the ground. Also in attendance were cricketers Ashish Nehra, Mohammad Kaif, former
India captain Kapil Dev, PCA officials, commentator Gautam Bhimani, and others.
Virat Kohli looked sharp in the traditional
attire and finished his look with a stole around
his neck. The Indian skipper spoke earlier in
the day about how the team can unwind at
Yuvis function, and chill for longer, as they
are 2-0 up in the Test series against England. Kohli was rumored to grace the occasion with his off-on girlfriend Bollywood star
Anushka Sharma, but she did not show up.
Led by Virat Kohli, the Indians won the Test match against England in Mohali and
were able to attend their team-mates marriage ceremonies in nearby Chandigarh.
16
December 3-9, 2016
Aamir went through 'dramatic

body transformation'
S
uperstar Aamir Khan, who went

through a body transformation for
his forthcoming film "Dangal", says
it was one of the most dramatic ones in
his career.
"Though I went through body building
to get a certain look for my film, this
('Dangal') one was one of the most dra
matic body transformations so far. The
film has two phases. For one part, I had
to put on weight. So, I weighed 96 kgs
with 38 per cent body fat and that I had
to reduce to 9 per cent body fat within
five months. That was a huge task,"
Aamir said.
He added: "I would like to mention that
putting on weight and losing it so fast is
very unhealthy. I did it for my film under
the supervision of experts, but it is very
unhealthy for any regular person."
However, he said that his doctor sug
gested not to try such drastic weight and
body transformation in future. But being
a creative person, he tends to get "excit
ed to do everything if I get a good script".
What made him put on so much weight
instead of using bodysuit for his charac
ter?
He said: "When you put on weight, it
affects your breathing and body lan
guage. That naturally reflects on your
performance. You cannot get that from a
bodysuit."
But he had a gala time while putting on
weight.
"I ate everything that I was not sup
posed to eat otherwise. I had samosa,
vada pav, chocolate, cakes, brownies... I
indulged in everything. Then when I had
to lose the weight, I had a very different
diet of 25 gms of upma and papaya.
After gym, a glass of protein
shake," said Aamir.
Aamir will be seen as
Mahavir Singh Phogat,
father of wrestler
Geeta Phogat, who
won India's first
ever gold medal in
wrestling at the
Commonwealth
Games in 2010.
The biopic,
directed by Nitesh
Tiwari, is set to
release on
December 23.
Aamir during an on
location shoot of
his upcoming film
"Dangal" in
Ludhiana.
Ranbir & I share great

camaraderie: Ranveer
yricist and poet Javed Akhtar admitted that his

son Farhan Akhtar starrer "Rock On 2" was hit by
demonetization as the film released close to the
November 8 decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
to scrap Rs 500 and Rs
1,000 notes.
"Rock on 2 was
obviously affect
ed by demonetiza
tion," Javed Akhtar,
who wrote the lyrics
of the movie which fared
poorly at the box office, told
mediapersons. "It released (November 11) days after
the decision was taken and failed to do well because 84
per cent of the currency was banned and people were
struggling," he added. Javed Akhtar, however, said he
was a "die hard optimist" about the success of demone
tization.
"I am a die hard optimist in this case also. These
are phases. What is bigger is the interest of the
nation itself. Resilience of the nation."
"Politics is not nation, politics can influence
or imprison nation for a while but the nation is
much more important than all politics put
together. Because nation is people."
2' hit by
'Rock On
tization,
demone
r
ed Akhta
v
a
J
s
y
a
s
ctor Ranveer
Singh says he and
"Yeh Jawaani Hai
Deewani" star Ranbir
Kapoor share a great
camaraderie.
The two recently
appeared in an episode
of filmmaker Karan
Johar's TV show "Koffee
with Karan". On the show,
Ranbir said that Ranveer
and actress Deepika
Padukone should marry
and make awesome
babies together.
Reacting to that,
Ranveer said: "'Koffee with
Karan' is a timepass show.
A lot of silly talks happen
in the show which should
n't be taken seriously."
The actor was interacting
with media at the promo
tion of his forthcoming film
"Befikre" at the radio sta
tion Radio Mirchi.
Speaking about his chem
istry with Ranbir in Karan's
chat show, Ranveer said:
"Ranbir and I share a great
camaraderie. I watched the
show and I thought it was
damn funny."
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
n
Ranveer will be next see
e.
fikr
Be
vie
mo
in the
the box office.

'Rock On 2' bombed at
Ahan Shetty a
star in waiting:
Karan Johar
Filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala will

be launching Ahan Shetty.
ilmmaker Karan Johar says actor
Suniel Shetty's son Ahan, who is report
edly in London for a special training
for his debut film, is a "star in the waiting".
Ahan, who is the brother of actress Athiya
Shetty, will be soon making his acting
debut in Bollywood with filmmaker Sajid
Nadiadwala.
Karan praised Ahan on Twitter. "In full on
training mode... A star in the waiting. Introducing
Ahan Shetty. Congratulations to Sajid Nadiadwala
and Suniel Shetty," Karan captioned a photograph
which featured Ahan. Suniel also welcomed his
son to the "beautiful world of films" and asked him
to stay "grounded". "God owes us nothing but gives
us everything. Always stay grounded Ahan.
Welcome to the beautiful world of films. Always
there for you. Papa," Suniel tweeted.
Would act in any lm that

inspires me: Abhishek
ctor Abhishek Bachchan says he would like to
act in any film that inspires him, irrespective
of its language. Asked if he would like to try
his hand at Hollywood like his father Amitabh
Bachchan, Abhishek said: "I think the world
has become a much smaller place
and these kind of boundaries
are evaporating. There is a
huge exchange of talent
both ways... I would act in
any film that inspires me
or that I feel like being a
part of, regardless of the
language." Abhishek, who is
the brand ambassador of
the luxury timepiece brand
The 40yearold actor Omega, says we have a "lot
has starred in films
of foreign talent that comes
like Guru and Yuva.
and works here (Hindi
showbiz) and a lot of our talent that goes and works
there (Hollywood)". "At the end of the day, we are
all actors and we are part of a large community of
actors. It just depends what language you want to
do it in," he added. The 40yearold actor, known
for starring in Hindi films like "Guru", "Yuva",
"Dostana" and Paa", has also acted in Bengali films
like "Antarmahal" (2005).
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
'Dear Zindagi':
Lengthy life lessons
sans drama
December 3-9, 2016
17
Just one minute of bold scene

in 'Wajah...': Vishal Pandya
The star cast of the movie Wajah Tum Ho

irector Vishal Pandya, who is
gearing up for the release of
his forthcoming "Wajah Tum
Ho", says there is just a one minute
bold scene in the film.
"People come to me and say that,
'it's a bold film and a bold concept'
but I would like to clear that there is
just one minute of bold scene in the
film and that's it. Rest of the film is
purely based on a strong story line
D
Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt and filmmaker
Gauri Shinde at a press conference.
auri Shinde's "Dear
Zindagi" is a youthcentric
cathartic film which gives
you a glimpse of how they deal
with life, relationships and the
issues that bog them down.
Perhaps, it is only the youth who
will relate to the heartaches,
seeking their dream job, prob
lems with parents, et al.
Kaira aka Koko (Alia Bhatt) is a
25yearold Mumbaibased cine
matographer, who is independ
ent, busy shooting ad films and
longing to shoot her first full
length feature. Carefree, happy
golucky, she is in and out of
relationships, some unrequited,
others unfulfilled.
She cringes at the very men
tion of Goa where her parents
live as she does not enjoy a great
relationship with them. A heart
break leads her to the couch of a
therapist Dr. Jehangir Khan
(Shah Rukh Khan) and her life
changes.
Alia as the freespirited, emo
tional youngster, craving love
shines all the way. The film
belongs to her and she does full
justice to her character, emoting
effortlessly, making the audience
empathize with her highs and
lows. Whether it is venting her
pentup pain or playing kabaddi
with the waves on a beach, she is
a treat to watch.
In fact, she almost singlehand
edly carries the film with a weak
plot on her fragile shoulders.

Shah Rukh Khan as Dr.
Jehangir Khan aka Jug, the
"DimaagkaDoctor", lights up
the screen with his charisma and
persona, in an immensely like
able character he portrays, but
has limited scope. He is still SRK
and not the character on screen
and his dialogue delivery still
remains very Shah Rukh
Khanesque.
Kunal Kapoor as Raghuvendra,
one of Alia's love interests in the
film, is lackluster and there is a
feeling of deja vu watching him
on screen.
The film belts out life lessons
in abundance through verbose
expositions, profound dialogues,
some in conversations, but many
in the therapy room, all of which
make sense but tend to be repeti
tive beyond a point.
The film lacks drama and is
stretched to over 2.5 hours on a
waferthin plot, making for
tedious viewing. Humor comes in
the form of some lighthearted
moments but is not enough to
give respite.
The second half of the film
drags endlessly, although the
pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of her
life fall into place as she makes
peace with life.
"Dear Zindagi" could have been
a lively, fun film albeit with life
lessons, rather than the long
winded slice of life it is.
Big B's 'Pink' to be

screened at UN
egastar Amitabh
Bachchan's film "Pink",
which deals with crime
against women, has been invited
for a special screening at the
United Nations head quarters in
New York. The 73yearold actor,
who essays the role of a lawyer
in the film, took to Twitter to
make the announcement.
"'PINK' invited for a special
screening of the film at UN Head
Quarters, in New York by
Assistant Secretary General...hon
ored," Amitabh posted.
The film is a courtroom drama,
directed by Aniruddha Roy
Chowdhury, written by Ritesh
Shah, and coproduced by
Rashmi Sharma and Shoojit
Sircar. "Pink" also stars Taapsee
Pannu, Andrea Tariang and Kirti
Kulhari in lead roles.
It released on September 16.
The Pink team on a

promotional tour.
with a thriller element," he said.

"It can't be called specifically as
an erotic film as it has a very strong
story line," she added.
Directed by Vishal Pandya,
"Wajah Tum Ho" also features Sana
Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary,
Sharman Joshi and Rajniesh
Duggall.
Pandya further went on to say
Sana was uncomfortable while
shooting for the bold scenes.

"It's not easy to shoot the bold
scenes but I have made sure that I
have shot every single frame aes
thetically without making it look
vulgar. As far as Sana is concerned,
she was uncomfortable shooting it
but she is a thorough professional
and I am so proud of her," he said.
"Wajah Tum Ho", produced by T
Series, releases on December 2.
Not making a sequel of

'Main Hoon Naa': Farah Khan
horeographerturnedfilm
maker Farah Khan con
firmed news that she is
working on a script but denied
she was making a sequel of
"Main Hoon Na".
"Yes, I am working on a script
but I am not making a sequel of
'Main Hoon Na'. I did not
announce anything
officially on that.
Many times, we chat or
joke about something
and that goes all over
(in the media).
However, nothing
concrete is there.
Currently the script
is in a developing
stage... the story is
very different and
there is no big hero in
that," Farah said.
Asked if she is interested
in making a sequel of "Main
Hoon Na" as once she
tweeted about it, she
said: "There are many
sequels made and some of
them did not do well at the
box office in recent
time.
"Since 'Main Hoon Na"
is a cult film, if I want to
make a sequel, the story has to

be good! People have a huge
expectation from that film. We
might just take the character of
Ram Prasad Sharma (played by
Shah Rukh Khan) to the next
level in the sequel but nothing
substantial has been scripted. So
I cannot say
anything on
that."
Farah says Main Hoon Na

a cult film.
18
FASHION
December 3-9, 2016
F rom
I N D I A
(from left) Models walk the ramp at the launch of The Upper Story in Mumbai on Nov 24. Actress Bipasha Basu walks the ramp during the Blenders Pride
Fashion Tour 2016 in Kolkata on Nov 26. Actors Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor during the cinema-inspired ethnic wear fashion brand Divani fashion
show in New Delhi on Nov 23.
Both sides of the border
India and Pakistan may be diverging politically, but ethnic fashion across the border keeps converging.
F rom
P akistan
Models present creations by designer Zonia Anwaar on the first day of the 13th Edition of Bridal Couture Week in Lahore on Nov. 25.
The 3-day event organized by Fashion Pakistan Council showcased the latest collections of bridal wear.
Photos: IANS
December 3-9, 2016
DIASPORA
19
Demonetization hits Indians working in UAE

Dubai: Expatriates in the UAE are strug
gling to send money to their families in
India postdemonetization of Rs. 500 and
1,000 currency notes, according to media
reports.
Their families are facing a tough time
withdrawing cash from banks since
Prime Minister Narendra Mo di
announced the move on November 8.
The cash crunch has badly hit rupee
remittance transaction to India through
bank transfers and instant cash transfers,
Gulf News quoted the staf f at certain
money exchanges in Abu Dhabi as saying.

"I sent money for my family but my son
is unable to withdraw it from the bank
because of long queues," Shamseer Singh,
who works with an insurance company in
Abu Dhabi, was quoted as saying.
He said many bluecollar workers from
his state of Punjab depended on instant
money transfers, which are very conven
ient for their families to collect.
The situation has deprived Indian expa
triates of an opportunity to cash in on a
record low exchange rate of rupees.
Indian rupee fell to a record low of

68.86 ag ainst the US dollar last
Thursday, making one dirham worth 18.7
rupees.
On Sunday, rupee was around 18.58
against dirham. Despite that there were
not many customers to send money to
India.
A Deutsche Bank research report said
on Sunday that the rupee is expected to
see further depreciation in the coming
months and may breach the 70level
(against dollar) by December and touch
72.50 by the end of 2017.

"Whenever rupee goes down against
dollar, there used to be a huge rush; but
not now," said a money exchange employ
ee.
Western Union, confirming the continu
ing currency crunch at their collection
points in India, said on Sunday that in
addition to cash payout, they were facili
tating direct to bank account services and
providing consumers with an option of
receiving remittances via account payee
cheques, said the report. (IANS)
Demonetization Hailing beti bachao woman drives

from London to Maharashtra
hits NRI weddings,
travel plans
Dubai: Indians living in the UAE
are mourning the demonetization
of high value currency by the
Indian government, which has hit
their families back home, ruining
many NRI weddings, travel and
house construction plans, a media
report said.
Several Indian families living
abroad, who had plans to visit
India around the yearend, are
keeping a close watch on the pre
vailing situation. According to
travel agents, if the present cash
shortage situation in India doesn't
improve in a few days, many fam
ilies are going to cancel their visit
to the country, Khaleej Times
reported.
NRIs living in UAE told Khaleej
Times they are getting distress
calls from families back home,
telling them how difficult it is to
withdraw cash from banks and
ATMs to meet their basic needs.
NRI weddings and house con
struction plans are among the
worst af fected as workers and
contractors refuse to accept the
demonetized Rs. 500 and Rs.
1,000 notes that used to consti
tute more than 80 per cent of
money in circulation in India.
Afsal, a restaurant manager in
Dubai, was quoted by the paper
as saying: "The situation back
home is more serious than what
we see in the media. It is not a
good time to spend more money
and every NRI family is enforcing
strict credit controls on family

budgets."
"In the absence of correct
change and shortage of small
denomination notes in India, peo
ple have no other option but to
spend more money for unwanted
things. Just for buying an item
worth Rs. 200, the customer
spends Rs. 1,800 extra to adjust
the change. Many shops don't
have change and traders are even
planning a strike in protest,"
added Afsal.
Tourists visiting India are stuck
with cash shortage. A travel agent
said: "Many NRI families have
cancelled their travel plans in
view of the severe cash shortage
in India. Even though they have
money in banks, they cannot
spend that because of cash with
drawal limits from the govern
ment. While some can use credit
cards, those from the rural and
semi urban areas cannot use plas
tic cards."
An Indian expatriate living in
Dubai said: "My daughter has to
pay her pending hostel bill but
she has no time to go and wait in
the long cue by skipping her
classes. The ATMs have run out of
cash and she is struggling a lot."
"NRIs who are planning a vaca
tion to India have many big plans
but since they can withdraw only
Rs. 4,000, their plans may
change," said Gopi K.L., an Indian
social worker in the UAE. (IANS)
Mumbai: An Indianorigin woman

from London drove alone in a car to
reach Maharashtra in support of
Central government's 'Beti Bachao,
Beti Badhao' scheme.
Bharulata Kamble was welcomed
by the Union Minister of State for
Social Justice Ramdas Athavale on
Tuesday.
"Kamble went to China via Russia.
She entered India from Myanmar.
She traveled through Assam to Uttar
Pradesh and from there she traveled
towards Maharashtra. It took her 75
days in her lone journey by car to
reach Mahad in Maharashtra," RPI
(A) said in a statement.
Originally from Navsari in Gujarat,
Kamble's inlaws hail from Mahad in
Bharulata
Kamble
(Image :
siasat.com)
Raigad district. Kamble, a lawyer in

London, will be felicitated by state
minister for social justice Rajkumar
Badole tomorrow.
'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' is a
Government of India scheme that

aims to generate awareness and
improve the ef ficiency of welfare
services meant for women.
(PTI)
Memorial in honor of Indian bus driver to come up in Brisbane

New Delhi: Australian authorities
have pledged to build a memorial in
honor of an Indianorigin bus driver
whose brutal killing in Brisbane last
month had triggered massive out
rage among the Indian community in
the country. A preliminary investiga
tion by the Australian authorities
into the killing of 29yearold
Manmeet Sharma alias Alisher has
indicated mental illness of the
assailant as the probable cause of
the horrific crime.
Minister of State for External
Affairs V K Singh, replying to a ques
tion in Rajya Sabha, said the
Brisbane City Council has pledged to
honor Manmeet, who was a well
known singer in the Punjabi commu
nity, by setting up a permanent
memorial for him.
He said the Council has set up a
fund to support Manmeet's family to
Manmeet Sharma
(Image courtesy: pedestrian.tv)
which an initial contribution of
$10,000 each has been made by the
Lord Mayor's office and Queensland
Premier's Office.
Manmeet was burnt to death on
October 28 and the incident had trig
gered strong outrage among the
Indians in Australia.
"Motive for the attack is still under
investigation but preliminary inter
rogation has indicated mental illness
of the assailant as the probable
cause," said Singh. A 48yearold man
had been taken into custody over the

incident.
Manmeet was driving a Brisbane
City Council bus when he was target
ed by a man who threw an "incendi
ary device" at him which sparked a
fire. He died on the spot while sever
al passengers on board the bus at
the time managed to escape through
the rear door. Singh said as per
reports, there were 11 passengers in
the bus at the time of the attack, who
were rescued by a taxi driver passing
by. He said India has called for a
thorough investigation so that jus
tice is delivered to the bereaved fam
ily. "On October 30, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi telephoned Malcolm
Turnbull, the Prime Minister of
Australia and conveyed concern over
the brutal killing. Prime Minister
Turnbull assured that the matter is
(PTI)
being investigated," he said.
20
December 3-9, 2016
SUBCONTINENT
Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa is Pak's new army chief

Islamabad: Setting at rest weeks of
intense speculat ion, Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed
Lt General Qamar Javed Bajwa, a
career infantry of ficer from the
Baloch Regiment, as Pakistan's
new army chief.
Sharif also finalized Lt General
Zubair Hayat as the new Chairman
Joint Chief of Staf f Committee
(CJCSC), Dawn online reported.
Bajwa and Zubair will be pro
moted to the rank of fourstar gen
erals and take up their new posts
from November 29, the day the
current Army Chief Raheel Sharif
retires.
Bajwa, who takes over as
Pakistan's 16th army chief, is cur
rently serving at the GHQ as
Inspector General of the Training
and Evaluation, the position Gen
Raheel Sharif held before becom
ing army chief. Lt General Bajwa
has also commanded the 10 Corps,
Pak's new army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (L) receives
change of command baton from the outgoing Chief of the
Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
the Pakistan army's largest, which
is responsible for the area along
the Line of Control (LoC).
Bajwa has extensive experience
of handling affairs in Kashmir and
Nepal constitutional
amendment
proposal tabled
The proposal was supported by most major

political parties of Nepal.
Kathmandu: After a year's hiatus
and political standof f, the Nepal
government tabled a constitution
al amendment bill in the
Legislative Parliament to address
the demands and grievances of
agitating Madhesbased political
parties.
Before registering the proposal,
a Cabinet meeting endorsed the
fourpoint proposal regarding the
addressing the row over federal
boundaries, citizenship, language,
inclusive representation of all
marginalized communities in vari
ous state entities, including the
Upper House on the basis of popu
lation ratio.
Minister for Law, Justice and
Parliamentary Af fairs Ajay
Shankar Nayak registered the
amendment proposal at the
Parliament Secretariat on Tuesday
evening.
Besides the main opposition
Communist Party of NepalUnited
Marxist Leninist, the proposal was
supported by most major political
parties of Nepal.
This will be the second amend

ment, if endorsed by Parliament
with two third majority. The first
amendment was made on January
23, four months after the promul
gation of the new Constitution.
According to the Bill, the demar
cation of provinces 4 and 5 will be
changed by swapping some dis
tricts.
As
per
the
Language
Commission recommendations,
new languages will be given the
national language status and
included in the Constitution's
schedule.
Likewise, any foreign woman
married to a Nepalese citizen can
obtain naturalized citizenship
after she relinquished her citizen
ship of the country of her birth.
To make the Upper House more
inclusive, the proposal seeks rep
resentation of one member each
from Dalit (untouchable), woman
and marginalized community cat
egories and the remaining five to
be elected on the basis of popula
tion of each province.
the northern areas of the country.

As a major general, he led the
Force Command Northern Areas.
He also served in the 10 Corps as
lieutenant colonel, where he was
GSO, according to Daily Pakistan.

Despite his extensive involve
ment with Kashmir and northern
areas, he is said to consider
extremism a bigger threat for the
country than India.
Bajwa has served with a UN mis
sion in Congo as a brigade com
mander alongside former Indian
army chief Gen Bikram Singh, who
was also there as a division com
mander.
He has previously also remained
the commandant of the Infantry
School in Quetta.
His military colleagues say he is
not attentionseeking and remains
well connected with his troops,
said Daily Pakistan.
Lt Gen Bajwa is also said to be an
apolitical person without any bias
es. He is from the infantry's Baloch
Regiment, which has given three
officers to the post of army chief
Gen Yahya Khan, Gen Aslam Beg
and Gen Kayani.

General Zubair has served as
Bahawalpur corps commander. He
graduated from Command and
Staf f College Camberley, United
Kingdom, and National Defense
University, Islamabad. The general
served in key posts throughout his
career.
As a major general, Hayat served
as General Of ficer Commanding
(GOC) Sialkot and led Staff Duties
Directorate. He was elevated to
lieutenant general in January
2013 and was made corps com
mander Bahawalpur, reported Geo
News.
He was later appointed director
general (DG) of the Strategic Plans
Division in December 2013. The
division, formed in 2001, is vital to
research and deve lopment of
Pakistan's nuclear weapons, and it
works as the secretariat of
National Command Authority.
Rohingya refugees flee

torture, rape in Myanmar
Nay Pyi Taw: Fleeing ethnic vio
lence that has plagued Myanmar's
western coastal state of Rakhine
for weeks, thousands of Rohingya
refugees have been flooding into
neighboring Bangladesh, media
reports said.
Some refugees told CNN that
they suffered rape, torture or saw
their homes burned down and
family members executed.
"If (the military) finds any boys
aged above 10 years old, they kill
them. Men are also being picked
up by the military," Lalu Begum
said. "When the military came, we
fled from our home. I don't know
if my husband is dead or alive."
Begum, currently staying at the
Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh,
said several women in her village
were raped by regime soldiers.
"When they see pretty ladies,
they ask for water, then they get
inside the house and rape them,"
she said. An estimated one million
Rohingyas live in Rakhine, where
An estimated one million Rohingyas live in Myanmars Rakhine state.

they are a persecuted, stateless
ethnic minority.
The government does not of fi
cially recognize the Rohingyas,
regarding them as illegal Bengali
immigrants. John McKissick, a UN
re fugee agency of ficial in
Bangladesh, said the Rohingyas
are "the most oppressed people in
the world".
"It seems to be the aim of the
Myanmar military to ethnically

cleanse this population," he said.
Bangladesh has tightened secu
rity to try and push refugees back,
as the country struggles to cope
with the influx. Thousands of peo
ple from Myanmar have already
crossed into Bang ladesh and,
according to Dhaka, "thousands
more have been reported to be
gathering at the border".
Sri Lanka arrests former LTTE leader for corruption

Colombo: Sri Lankan investi
g ators arrested a former
Tamil Tiger leader over alle
gations of fraud and corrup
t ion during the previous
Mahinda Rajapaksa adminis
tration.
Vinayagamoorthi
Muralitharan alias Karuna
Amman was arrested by the
Financial
Crimes
Investigations Division after
being questioned for hours
for allegedly misusing a state
vehicle. Amman was a former

rebel leader who virtually
ruled the Eastern province
when he was part of the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE). He broke away
from the LTTE in March 2004
and later entered mainstream
politics. He was a deputy min
ister in the Rajapaksa admin
istration but currently holds
no
polit ical
posit ion.
Rajapaksa lost the presiden
tial election in 2015.
Karuna Amman was a deputy minister

in Rajapaksa administration.
INTERNATIONAL
France presidential race: Fillon

wins conservative candidacy
Paris: Francois Fillon is to be the
conservative candidate in 2017
French presidential election after
his rival Alain Juppe admitted
defeat.
With virtually all the results
counted, Fillon won runof f with
nearly 67 per cent of the vote
against his moderate rival Alain
Juppe who collected 32.6 per cent,
BBC reported.
"It is a fundamental victory built
on convictions. Progressively, I felt
this wave broke all the written sce
narios in advance. My approach
was understood," Xinhua news
agency quoted Fillon as telling sup
porters.
"The future is ahead of us. We
have all the assets to be a sovereign
nation, to lead Europe. Now, I have
the duty to convince the whole
country that our project is the only
one that can lift us up," he added.
21
British PM says
Brexit keeps her
awake at night
Francois Fillon is set to represent the biggest opposition party in the

2017 French presidential race.
Fillon promised to build a fairer
society, saying France wants "truth
and it wants action".
He is likely to face a Socialist can
didate and the farright's Marine Le
Pen in next April's election. Juppe,
the more moderate candidate, con
gratulated Fillon on his "large victo
ry" and pledged to support him in

his bid to become President.
"I support him and I wish him
good luck for his presidential cam
paign and the victory in May,"
Xinhua news agency quoted him as
telling his supporters after results
were released.
Israel won't allow IS to open

new border front: PM
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu warned that
Israel will not allow a new "front
of terror" in the Golan Heights, a
day after Islamic State (IS) mili
tants clashed with Israeli soldiers.
"There have been attempts to
attack our forces," Netanyahu said
referring to the shooting and mor
tar attack launched by IS militants
near the IsraeliSyrian border.
"We will not allow radical Islam
to open a front against us in the
December 3-9, 2016
Golan Heights. Israel will not

allow any drizzle of assaults, and
will attack if necessary," Xinhua
news agency quoted Netanyahu as
saying. IS militants fired at Israeli
soldiers from a machine gun
mounted truck. Israel quickly
responded w ith an airstrike,
killing four gunmen in the vehicle.
In addition, Israel's Air Force
struck a compound used by IS mil
itants in the southern Syrian
Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu.
British PM acknowledged huge challenges facing her.

London: Theresa May admitted
that of all of the challenges she
faces as Britain's Prime Minister,
it is the challenge of how to
make Britain "a country that
works for everyone" after Brexit
that keeps her awake at night.
"It is a moment of change. It is
a hugely challenging time. And
we need to get on with the deal
in terms of Brexit. And I'm very
conscious of that. I want to
make sure that everything we
do ensures Britain is a country
that works for everyone.
"And that we really get out
there and forge a new role in the
world postBrexit. We can make
a success of it, we will make a
success of it. But these are really

complex issues," the Guardian
quoted her as saying.
May said her faith as "a prac
ticing member of the Church of
England and so forth" lay behind
what she does.
"It's not like I've decided to do
what I'm going to do and I'm
stubborn. I'll think it through,
have a gut instinct, look at the
evidence, work throug h the
arguments, because you have to
think through the unintended
consequences. But ultimately if
you've done all that and you
believe it's the right thing to do,
then you should go and do it
but sometimes it is difficult."
S Korean President calls on Parliament to decide her fate

Seoul: South Korean President
Park Geunhye called on
Parliament to decide her fate
ahead of an expected impeach
ment vote, the media reported.
Park said she will follow the
National Assembly's decision,
including a shortened presidency,
following a scandal involving her
and longtime confidante Choi
Soonsil, her decadeslong friend
who has been indicted on charges
including abuse of power and
extortion, Xinhua news agency
reported.
Park became the first South
Korean President to be investigat
ed as a criminal suspect after the
scandal emerged in October,
Yonhap news agency reported.
"If ruling and opposition parties
find a way through discussion to
minimize confusion and vacuum
in state affairs and to stably trans
fer power, (I) will step down from
the presidency in accordance with
the schedules and legal proceed
Park is the first South Korean President to be

investigated as a criminal suspect.
ings (determined by Parliament),"
she said.
Park did not mention the volun
tary resignation, demanded by
opposition parties, the public and
even by some members of her rul
ing Saenuri Party. Her statement
came ahead of the scheduled par
liamentary vote on a bill to

impeach the President between
December 2 and December 9.
As opposition parties and some
members of the governing party
reached a tacit agreement on put
ting the impeachment motion to
vote, it is highly likely for the bill
to be passed through the 300seat

National Assembly.
There are 172 opposition and
independent legislators who want
to remove Park from office, with
as many as 40 lawmakers of the
ruling Saenuri Party expected to
vote in favor of it.
After the passage of the
impeachment resolution, Park
would immediately be suspended
and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo
ahn would become an interim
President.
Following the impeachment,
presidential election is required to
be held within 60 days, according
to the constitution.
Hig her probability for the
impeachment passage encouraged
the ruling party's lawmakers close
to Park to ask for an "honorable"
resignation.
Park's speech, however, indicat
ed her reluctance to voluntarily
step down.
Opposition parties denounced
the address which they claimed to

be a ploy to delay the impeach
ment process.
Park Jiewon, floor leader of the
casting votewielding People's
Party, said President Park
refrained from scheduling her
own resignation and threw the
responsibility to Parliament from
the strategy that rival parties
could not agree to the scheduling.
Choo Miae, chairwoman of the
biggest opposition Minjoo Party,
said her party will continue to
push the impeachment vote as
Park's speech was aimed at pass
ing the buck to parliament.
Choo noted that Park's immedi
ate and unconditional resignation
was the sole way to normalize
state affairs.
Saenuri Party's whip Chung Jin
seok told the media that he wants
to call on opposition parties to go
back to the starting point to re
schedule the impeachment,
Yonhap reported.
22 December 3-9, 2016
INTERNATIONAL
Pragmatic revolutionary:
Fidel Castro and his legacy
l By Vikas Datta
s a teenager, he once wrote to
a US President congratulating
him on his reelection and
requesting a $10 bill because he
"had never seen one and would like
to have one of them", but within a
few decades, turned to be the near
est but most longlasting bugbear
for a whole series of American
Presidents, who tried their best to
dislodge or eliminate him. But the
Commandante saw all of them fall
flat. When Fidel Castro took power
in Cuba, Eisenhower was US
President, Khruschev ran the Soviet
Union, Jawaharlal Nehru was India's
Prime Minister and the Berlin Wall
was yet to be built. He would go on
to outlast all of them, and many oth
ers too, while building a Leftleaning
system that has stood the test of
time while others of the ilk col
lapsed, but also went on to inspire
the whole Latin American region
though the 'Pink Tide' is currently
on wane.
In his almost halfcentury rule,
Castro dealt with ten US presidents
(down to George W. Bush whom he
termed the worst of all, while living
through Barack Obama's tenure and
Donald Trump's shock victory). He

had personal and friendly relations
with Nehru, Gamal Abdel Nasser,
Josef Tito, Willy Brandt, Yasser
Arafat, Indira Gandhi (his "dear sis
ter", whom he once surprised with a
bear hug), Salvador Allende, Mikhail
Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, King
Juan Carlos of Spain, Ne lson
Mandela, Pierre Trudeau and more,
as well as the likes of JeanPaul
Sartre, Ernest Hemingway,
Graham Greene, Pablo Neruda,
Gabrie l Garcia Marquez,
Robert
Redford,
Jack
Nicholson, Steven Spielberg,
Oliver Stone and Diego
Maradonna.
Stepping down from power
"temporarily" in 2006 and
fully in 2008, he was we ll
among the most influential rev
olutionarystatesmen of the 20th
century as well the last of a genera
tion of mythical insurgents that
included the likes of Ho Chi Minh,
Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba,
and others, among the most recog
nisable due to his burly, bearded,
uniformed appearance and certain
ly one of the most polarising.
His critics blame him for nearly
leading the world into a nuclear war
(the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962),

repression, and destabilising not
only the Caribbean and the
Latin American region but a
faraway continent by
exporting revolution (and
soldiers) to Angola,
Mozambique
and
African apartheid regime, through

its defeat of its elite
army
in
the
Angolan
Civil
War,
where
Cuban
troops
were actively play
ing their part.
But even some of
his fiercest critics do
acknowledge than he
never used his
position to
enrich him
self or his
family,
e v e r
encour
aged a
cult of
Cuban revolutionary leader
p e r
Fidel Castro died at 90. (Photo: nxl/IANS)
sonali
Ethiopia. On the other hand, there ty like the one that grew around
are those who praise him for his his friend and associate 'Che'
social and health reforms on his Guevara, save his habit of long,
impoverished and exploited home impromptu speeches (made without
land, for steadfastly opposing impe notes and displaying an astonishing
rialism and inequitable globalisation grasp of current happenings and
(which he called to oppose by all drawing from various disciplines).
means save violence, strengthening Marquez, who knew him we ll,
the NonAlignment movement, and described his addresses, "as inspira
credit him (Mandela among them) tion, an irresistible, blinding state of
with expediting demise of the South grace, which is only denied by those
who have not had the glorious expe

rience of living through it".
Despite all the assassination and
coup attempts inspired by the
Americans and not getting the $10
dollar note though he did receive a
reply, which he was proud of, Castro
never displayed any rancor against
his powerful neighbors (one biogra
pher notes he had a bust of
Abraham Lincoln in his of fice),
meeting various members of the
Kennedy family, and inviting former
President Jimmy Carter to visit Cuba
and speak his mind. (Carter did take
up the invitation and both also
opened a baseball game together).
In a lengthy series of interviews to
French academician and author
Ignacio Ramonet in the early 2000s
that became nearest to an autobiog
raphy he would write, he admitted
with his background, he could have
well become conservative in outlook
but made himself into a revolution
ary, starting as a rebel when six or
seven, not against his father but
"authority". He, however, had all
respect for his parents, praising his
father's achievements and generosi
ty, while also crediting his mother
who ensured he and his siblings had
all they wanted, but never spoiling
them.
W hat could be his legacy?
Ramonet cites maintaining Cuba's
sovereignty while ensuring housing
and education, abolishing racism,
emancipating women, eradicating
illiteracy, drastically reducing infant
mortality, and higher level of gener
al knowledge.
'If you don't talk to Pak, you give terrorists what they want'
l By Tarun Basu
ndia's former National Security Adviser

Shivshankar Menon says there is no
alternative to talking to Pakistan to
resolve outstanding issues because not
talking is to allow terrorists to have a
"veto on the relationship" and submitting
to the "agenda of terrorists and their spon
sors".
"If you don't talk, you are actually giving
the terrorists and their sponsors what
they want, because they don't want talks...
They want to control the dialogue. They
want to have a veto on the relationship.
So, I don't see why you should allow them
to do that," Menon, who also served as
Foreign Secretary and ambassador to
important capitals, including Islamabad
and Beijing, told IANS in a chat ahead of
the formal launch of his book, "Choices
Inside the Making of India's Foreign
Policy" (Penguin Random House).
"Talking doesn't mean you don't do the
other things necessary to deal with the
terrorists. You have to eliminate the ter
rorists, do what a state is supposed to do.
"But that also doesn't mean you stop
talking. If you have an opportunity, do
talk, and you have a lot to say... you do
want the ceasefire to be restored, you
don't want the standoff in the relationship
with crossborder terrorism going on and
on... and a lot of this with the support of
the Pakistani state, and elements of the
India's former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon.

Pakistani state. "We need to raise this and
talk to them about it," Menon stated.
He was speaking in the context of
reports that Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan's foreign
policy adviser, was coming to Amritsar
early next month to attend the multina
t ional 'Heart of Asia' conference on
Afghanistan, raising questions about
whether or not there should be bilateral
talks between the two countries to break
the ice following the Uri terror attack that
left 19 Indian soldiers dead in September

and a reprisal strike inside Pakistan by
Indian Special Forces.
Menon thinks use of application of mili
tary force or "surgical strikes" as India's
crossborder action against "terror launch
pads" in Pakistan were described had
"limited utility".
"It is not going to change the mind of the
Pakistan Army which sponsors this cross
border terrorism or the ISI (InterServices
Intelligence) or the jihadi tanzeems who

undertake it, nor is it going to destroy
their infrastructure or the courses they
espouse and what motivates them. That is
not going to change."
He said any way the tanzeems "seek
martydom" and are not afraid to die.
Menon reiterated that "covert crossbor
der action" had been undertaken by the
previous administration too, but the gov
ernment of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh decided not to go public with it as
these strikes were more focused on out
comes rather than on influencing public
opinion.
"If your goal is to effect public opinion
at home, you have to deal with its conse
quences," said Menon, adding that these
often raised public expectations of results
and then "control of escalation becomes a
challenge".
The moment you go public, then these
(expected outcomes) are unlikely to hap
pen because then both sides' faces are
involved. Both sides have to show that
they have not been deterred or fright
ened." He said the Manmohan Singh "kept
quiet for a reason" on the covert actions
that were undertaken "and the reasons
(for not publicizing them) are still valid".
Menon said the dilemma of dealing with
Pakistan was that "there was not one
Pakistan" as there were "large portions of
Pakistani society that was not inimical to
India".
Deember 3-9, 2016
BUSINESS
Indian economy grows

7.3% in JulySept: Govt
New Delhi: The Indian economy grew at 7.3 per
cent in the September quarter of current fiscal,
up from 7.1 per cent in the previous three
months, mainly on improved performance of
manufacturing, services and trade sectors.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or national
income was 7.6 per cent in the second quarter
of the last fiscal.
According to the data released by the Central
Statistics Office (CSO), the Gross Value Added
(GVA), which is estimated at the basic price,
showed a growth of 7.1 per cent in the second
quarter of 201617, compared to 7.3 per in the
year ago period.
The GDP growth data is calculated under the
new methodology at market price, while GVA is
calculated primarily at factor cost. GDP is GVA
plus taxes on products, minus subsidies on
them. The sectors which registered growth of
over 7 per cent in JulySeptember quarter are
'public administration, defense and other servic
es', 'financial, insurance, real estate and profes
sional services', 'manufacturing' and 'trade,
hotels and transport and communication and
services related to broadcasting', the data said.
Growth in agriculture; forestry and fishing; min
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

ing and quarrying and construction is estimated
to be 1.8 per cent, ()0.4 per cent, and 1.5 per
cent respectively.
23
Tata companies to benefit

from rating uplift: Moody's
Mumbai: Credit rating agency
Moody's Investors Service
said rat ings of four Tata
Group companies Tata
Motors, Tata Chemicals, Tata
Steel and Tata Power will
continue to benefit from an
uplift from the group's main
holding company Tata Sons,
despite the group's ongoing
board reshuffle. "We expect that Tata
Sons can continue to extend support
to its key operating companies, should
the need arise, owing to its substantial
cash holdings and the significant
value of its listed equity investments,
and despite an ongoing boardroom
reshuf fle," Kaustubh Chaubal, a
Moody's Vice President and Senior
Analyst was quoted as saying in a
statement.
The report comes after Tata Sons
replaced Cyrus Mistry as Chairman
with his predecessor Ratan Tata.
The holding company of the indus
trial conglomerate is also seeking to
remove Mistry from the boards of four

rated group companies and independ
ent director, Nusli Wadia, from the
boards of three rated group compa
nies.
Tata Sons, the holding company of
the Tata Group companies, removed
Mistry, 48, as its Chairman last month
and reinstated Ratan Tata in an inter
im capacity.
The holding arm for the group has
said that Mistry had lost the confi
dence of the board due to several fac
tors and that the trustees were
increasingly concerned with the grow
ing trust deficit.
Modi seeks bank details Lok Sabha passes IT

tax amendment bill
from BJP MPs, MLAs
New Delhi: In an apparent bid at
transparency, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi asked all MPs
and MLAs of the BJP to provide
details of their bank transactions
between November 8 when
demonetization came into effect
and December 31, the day the
drive ends.
But opposition parties lambast
ed the move as meaning less,
demanding that Modi ask his leg
islators to provide details of all
bank transactions for six months
prior to November 8.
Modi's instruction came at a
BJP Parliamentary Party meeting
held here. Informed sources said
he asked Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) lawmakers to submit their
bank transaction details to party
President Amit Shah by January
1, 2017.
The move, seen as an effort to
blunt opposition criticism that
BJP members knew in advance
about the demonetization of Rs
500 and Rs 1,000 bank notes,
was instead dubbed by the oppo
The move is seen as an effort to blunt opposition's criticism.

sition as an attempt to fool the
people.
"This is a cosmetic attempt to
pull of f another PR spin to fool
the people of India," Congress
leader Sanjay Jha told IANS.
"Why not make public all cash
deposits/withdrawals prior to
that period? W hy isn't Modi
declaring the source of electoral
funds of the BJP during 2014
elections," he asked.
Congress spokesperson Tom
Vadakkan, while reiterating the
demand that disclosures should
extend to the period prior to
November 8, wondered why the
information was being submitted
to the BJP chief. "The informa
tion should come out in the pub
lic domain and not just be sub
mitted to Amit Shah," he said.
New Delhi: The logjam in

both houses of Parliament
continued over demoneti
zation as the Lok Sabha
passed amid opposition
protest an income tax
amendment bill to facili
tate levy of 60 per cent tax
on undisclosed income.
While opposition mem
bers in the Rajya Sabha insisted
on Prime Minister Narendra
Mod's presence, the opposition
in the Lok Sabha stuck to its
demand for a discussion under
the rule governing an adjourn
ment motion which entails vot
ing.
In the Lok Sabha, the Taxation
Laws (Second Amendment) Bill,
2016, was passed as the oppo
sition protested and raised slo
gans against the government.
According to the Bill, the
declarant will have to pay a tax
of 60 per cent and an additional
surcharge of 25 per cent of the
tax (i.e. 15 per cent of income),
resulting in a total tax compo
nent of 75 per cent.

Union Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley, while moving the bill for
considerat ion and passing,
called it one of the steps by the
Center to curb black money.
However, the opposit ion
members insisted that the
lower house first take up a
de bate on demonet izat ion
under the rule pertaining to an
adjournment motion, and the
bill be taken up thereafter.
Earlier in the day, the Lok
Sabha was disrupted repeatedly
as opposition members created
ruckus over the fiscal chaos fol
lowing the November 8 demon
etization.
24 December 3-9, 2016
SPORTS
India beat England in 3rd Test, take 20 lead
Virat Kohli celebrates after winning the third test

match in Mohali. (Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
Mohali: Parthiv Patel struck a

whirlwind halfcentury to enable
India thrash England by eight
wickets in the third Test at the
Punjab Cricket Association IS
Bindra Stadium here.
Patel stormed to 67 runs of f
54 balls as India overhauled the
103run target a short while
after the tea break on the fourth
day of the Test.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli
remained unbeaten on six runs at
the other end. Patel hit a bound
ary to overhaul the target in style
as India finished their second
innings at 104/2.
Pacer Chris Woakes and leg
spinner Adil Rashid bagged a
wicket each for England.
India now lead the fiveTest
series 20. The hosts had won the
second Test in Visakhapatnam by
246 runs while the first match of
the series had ended in a draw at
Rajkot.
India thus maintained their
record of not losing a Test match
Doomed plane ran

out of fuel: Pilot
Medellin: The chartered flight carrying a
Brazilian football team ran out of fuel
before crashing into a Colombian hillside,
a leaked audio recording has revealed.
The pilot of the British Aerospace CP
2933 aircraft can be heard requesting
permission to land, citing "fuel problems",
reports Xinhua.
An air traffic controller told the pilot to
maintain a circular holding pattern while
another plane with mechanical problems
was given priority to land.
In the frantic final seconds of the con
versation, the pilot says he is flying at an
altitude of 9,000 feet (2,743 metres) and
shouts "complete electrical failure, no
fuel".
Moments later, the plane slammed into
the Cerro Gordo mountain on the out
skirts of Medellin, killing 71 of the 77
people on board, including 19
Chapecoense footballers.
The absence of an explosion at the
moment of impact added further weight
to the pilot's assertion that the plane ran
out of fuel.
Authorities are investigating whether
the lack of fuel was caused by a leak or
because the plane did not carry enough.
An investigation into the cause of the
accident is expected to take months as
authorities check the aircraft's history
and data stored in two black boxes.
While the probe into the crash contin
ued, fans of Chapecoense and Atletico
Nacional de Mede llin the team
Chapecoense was due to play on
Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa
Sudamericana final staged candlelight
vigils at their respective stadiums.
Tens of thousands of fans turned up
clad in white at Atlet ico Nacional's
at this venue for the last 22

years. The first Test hosted by
this venue was in December 10
14, 1994, which saw then cricket
powerhouse West Indies beat
India by 243 runs.
Resuming the fourth day's play
at the overnight score of 78/4,
England lost quick wickets to end
their second innings at 236 runs.
Haseeb Hameed posted a half
century in difficult conditions to
remain unbeaten on 59 and help
take England past the 200run
mark.
The visitors were all out for
283 runs in their first innings
while India had posted 417.
Chasing a paltry target of 103,
Patel started of f India's second
innings in confident fashion with
a boundary through the covers
off Woakes.
Vijay, howver, continued his
run of poor form, edging Woakes
to Joe Root at second slip later in
the same over.
Pujara then joined Patel in the
After losing
3 series to
England,
India hope
to win back
rubber
l By Shivaji Sengupta
The illfated plane crashed, killing 71 of

the 77 people on board, including 19
Chapecoense footballers.
(Photo: (Xinhua/Noticias Telemedellin)
Atanasio Girardot Stadium in a moving
display of solidarity with the Brazilian
club.
"Everybody has been so af fected by
this. We have come here to show our sup
port for Chapecoense and the families of
all the people who died," Atlet ico
Nacional fan Liliana Echeverry said.
It was not the first heartwarming ges
ture from Atletico Nacional since the
tragedy.
On Tuesday, the Colombian outfit
issued a statement request ing that
Chapecoense be awarded the Copa
Sudamericana title "in posthumous hom
age to the victims killed in the accident".
Rival Brazilian clubs also rallied behind
their crestfallen rival. Corit iba,
Corinthians, Palmeiras, Portuguesa,
Santos and Sao Paulo issued a joint state
ment in which they offered to loan play
ers for free in 2017. They also called for
Chapecoense to be exempt from relega
tion to Serie B for the next three seasons.
Meanwhile, players such as Lione l
Messi, Neymar and Wayne Rooney also
expressed their support on social media.
middle and the duo ensured that

there were no more hiccups till
the tea break.
Pujara, who scored 25 runs,
perished after tea while attempt
ing to sweep a Rashid delivery
which was pitched a little outside
legstump. The Saurashtra bats
man misjudged the bounce and
ended up offering a top edge to
Root at short fine leg.
As Kohli joined him at the other
end, Patel continued to go after
the England bowlers to end up
with 11 boundaries and a six,
and India won in dominant fash
ion.
Ravindra Jadeja, who posted
his career best Test score 90
runs during India's first innings
and also bagged a total of four
wickets, took home the Man of
the Match award.
Earlier, striding to the middle
with England tottering at 107/6,
Hameed was involved in crucial
partnerships with Root, Woakes
and James Anderson.
t the conclusion of the third cricket

Test Match in Mohali, India have
gone up 20. The first, at Rajkot was
drawn, with England enjoying a slight
advantage; but the next two, at
Vizagapatam and Mohali, India's victory
was decisive. England is, of course, India's
oldest opponent in Test Cricket. They have
been playing each for 84 years, since 1932.
The history between them is that India usu
ally lose in England; likewise, England
lose in India. There have been excep
tions which, proverbially, only
proves the rule. However, one
such exceptions was in 2012,
when the England team, led by its
present captain, Alastair Cook, beat India,
starstudded with Tendulkar, David,
Laxman and Sehwag, 21. Then when India
went to England in 2014 and lost again,
England were in a position to boast three
consecutive series victories against them.
Thus, the present series has taken on a
huge significance at least from the point of
view of India's supporters though the crick
eters themselves tend to play down all this
revenge talk, at least in public.
But why is it that these two teams gener
ally play poorly in their opponent's coun
try? The weather and the pitch are two ele
ments usually cited as reasons.
England is cold and dreary even in the
N
ME
CO
summer. I saw the Indian team play there.

The temperature wasn't much above 50
degrees Fahrenheit, amidst steady drizzle;
the wind howled, drifting the balls away
from the poor hapless Indian fielders. Even
the pitch had grass on it, so that the balls
seamed away or into the batsmen at high
speed.
India is its mirror opposite: hot and
humid in Chennai or Mumbai even on a
December day. Pitches have absolute
ly no grass and often begin to turn
square from day one. It has to be
acknowledged, however, that on
this tour of England the Indian cricket
authorities have tried to give them a fair
pitch which would help both the pace
bowlers and their seam bowling, as well as
the spinners. Nevertheless, England lost.
They are two down with two more matches
to go, so India is assured of at least a drawn
series, if England win the last two Tests,
something which at this point seems highly
unlikely. India needs to win this series, in
order to win back the Rubber, a term used
to indicate the ultimate winner between
two opponents in Test cricket. Since
England won the last series in England 31,
a drawn series in India would mean that
England will still hold the Rubber. India is
winning for several reasons. Unlike the last
Test Series against New Zealand, it is not
one thing spin bowling that has decided
ly made India victorious.
SCI-TECH
December 3-9, 2016
25
Innovator of IceStupas to set up

Ladakhs rst university
New Delhi: Sonam Wangchuk, labelled as
The Real Phunsuk Wangdu of Ladakh,
announced here on Thursday his ambitious
project of opening a university in the cold
desert of the Himalayan region, to be known
as Himalayan Institute of Alternatives
(HIAL).
The Rolex Award Winner 2016 spoke here
at the first edition of Future Talk series
organized by the Future Institute, and
emphasized that the problems of mountain
people are peculiar to their region and their
solutions must be sought locally.
We are preparing to launch our most
ambitious project till date Himalayan
Institute of Alternatives in Ladakh, an alter
native university for mountain development.
It will use our 25 years of experience of
handson practical education at SECMOL
(Students Educat ional and Cultural
Movement of Ladakh) school and scale it up
for higher education at international level,
he said at the talk.
He said he will use his Rs 1 crore award
amount from Rolex Award as seed money
for the project.
I have decided to donate the award
money of roughly one crore rupees towards
this university, to quickly begin the greening
of desert while funds for construction, etc.
start flowing in, he said.
He also launched a global crowdfunding
campaign to seek potential donors who
might interest themselves in the building of
the learning centre, at a place where no one
stood ever, while the local government has
donated 200 acres of land for establishing
the university.
Wangchuk also hoped to generate revenue
from the use of his innovation ice towers
which won him the coveted award. Ice
Towers, or Ice Stupas, as he preferred to
For his alternative university for mountain

development, Sonam Wangchuk will use
his Rs 1 crore award amount from his
recent Rolex Award as seed money.
Sonam Wangchuk is said to be the

inspiration for the character of Phunsukh
Wangdu played by Aamir Khan in
the iconic movie 3 Idiots.
call them, are a form of artificial glaciers
formed in a conical shape, innovated by
Wangchuk to overcome the irrigation prob
Sonam Wangchuk is one of the most fascinating and advanced developers of projects
with nature. He is researching and producing new energy systems, passive houses, irriga
tion systems and Ice Stupas which let glacier grow again.
lem in the raindeficient region. In sum
mers, the glaciers melt late in June, whereas
the sowing starts in April and May. To make
water available in the required months, I
thought of channeling the water downwards
from the melting glaciers during winter in a
pipe, which then because of gravity comes
out with such a force that it spouts the water
in the form of a fountain jet, he told IANS.
Such expansion then makes the water lose
its latent heat and the minus 20 degree cel
sius forces it to freeze as it falls, giving it a
conical form, said Wangchuk, who is a
trained mechanical engineer.
We are also planning to generate revenue
by turning the icestupas into tourist spots
and use the money to sustain the universi
ty, he said.
The same technique of forming artificial
glaciers vertically is also being sought by

the Swiss, but for the special purpose of
tourism only, and turning them into holiday
rooms.
Instead of going for conical shape, they
experimented with the domeshaped glacier,
supporting the ice with a skeletal structure
made up of bamboosticks in the desired
shape, Wangchuk explained.
Wangchuk started his SECMOL school in
1988 when he realized that the local kids
were losing interest in the conventional
methods of learning, manifested in high
number of students failing. But the situation
improved as the school gained its ground
and word spread of its fame.
Together we can change the face of high
er learning in both mountains and plains,
he said.
WISE: Making women technologically more efficient

l By Vivek Singh Chauhan
New Delhi: Two years ago, Sri Charvitha, a
student of the B.V. Raju Inst itute of
Technology, walked into the Microsoft cam
pus in Hyderabad to join the Women in
Software Engineering (WISE) mentoring pro
gram. Dreaming of leveraging it to land a
reputable job, she transformed herself from
a rookie coder to an enlightened developer.
Microsoft launched WISE in 2014 to
inspire women engineers to pursue reward
ing careers in the field of software technolo
gy. "We have worked with partners who
interacted in local and regional colleges to
help the volunteers of fer the students a
strong platform that nurtures their technical
capabilities and enhances their soft skills to
be jobready at the end of the program,"
Charumathy Srinivasan, Partner Group
Software Engineering Manager at Microsoft
India Development Center, told IANS.
The idea stemmed from a group of women
engineers at Microsoft India who wanted to
help women engineering students carve out
successful careers in technology.
"When we began the WISE mentoring pro

gram, our first batch had 10 students from
the B.V. Raju Institute of Technology and
each of them developed interesting applica
tions. The students worked from the ideating
phase to actually publishing the app,"
Srinivasan added.
The WISE program comprises a mentoring
ring of volunteers who aim to create an
experiential learning for the students to
hone their professional skills and cultivate a
"can do" attitude. Additionally, it also allows
participants to enhance their learning in the
area of their technological interest.
After the success of first batch, the second
focused not only on helping students build

apps but also introduced deeplearning mod
ules with a focus on Big Data and Machine
Learning.
The second batch students built nine appli
cations across platforms, demonstrating
their understanding of agile development of
solutions.
"The feedback from the college faculties
was also extremely favorable, with recogni
tion of how the sessions had enhanced the
students' academic and personal develop
ment. Earlier this month, we inducted 35 stu
dents for our third batch," Srinivasan noted.
Another part icipant in the prog ram,
Lalitha Gade, has inspired her fellow stu
dents by building a school bus tracking
application called Trackyaan as a part of
WISE. She credits her transformation into an
industryready professional to the Microsoft
mentors.
"The WISE Mentoring Ring has been an
ideal platform to help us transform into pro
fessionals by enhancing our skills and confi
dence. The mentoring sessions helped us
learn the latest technologies from the
experts and gave us an opportunity to build

Trackyaan and publish it. Our mentors trans
muted us into industryready professionals,"
Gade told IANS.
"WISE Mentoring Ring helped me gain
invaluable knowledge in both technical and
soft skills. The sessions made us competent
to develop and publish an app, WalletLog, on
Google Play Store. During the sessions, I
have learnt how to communicate effectively,
collaborate with teams and carry myself
with poise even in tough situations," Sravya
Kanagarla, another student, said.
"While we run an industry collaboration
program with Talent Sprint for Women in
Software Engineering, the perspective of
applying their learning in a large organisa
tion environment is daunting and challeng
ing to a student," Ravichandran Rajagopal,
Vice Chair, Sri Vishnu Educational Society,
one of the institutional partners, told IANS.
"T he fact that women mentors from
Microsoft came together and volunteered to
mentor girl students to adapt their career
and create a product company mindset was
unique and appealing," Rajagopal added.
26
December 3-9, 2016
BOOKS
A politically incorrect guide to

the world's diverse peoples
l By Vikas Datta
xuberant Americans, reserved

Eng lishmen,
orderly
Germans, fatalistic Russians,
unorganized Italians, charming
and chic French, inscrutable
Japanese, laidback Australians,
gregarious and feckless Irish... are
these descriptions a valid guide to
these nationalities, and are there
any such universal national char
acteristics at all? Do they just stem
from personal, subjective experi
ence or are mere ethnic stereo
types.
There may be protests or aca
demic condemnation, aggrieved
parties may move courts or com
plain to the government but the
human tendency to seek to classify
people, situations and other infor
mation in existing slots ensure that
stereotyping, ethnic or otherwise,
will remain a feature of our mental
landscapes and so will such
jokes. The problem arises when
such thinking starts to guide
action or decision, excluding any
other consideration, thus mutating
into xenophobia. But equally to
blame is a lack of knowledge of
other cultures and peoples or mis
conceptions, and one easy, enter
tainingly funny, yet useful way, to
remedy this is to peruse this series
of books, ironically named "The
Xenophobe's Guides".
There are 32 books in the Xenophobe's Guide series.

Terming its mission to highlight
the unique character and behavior
of various nationalities in a man
ner that is "almost guaranteed to
cure xenophobia" through judi
cious dose of humor and the irre
pressible laughter it engenders,
the series was started in 1993 by
Anne Taute "as a humorous take
on the UK being an island nation
and its prevailing attitude being
'us' (the British) and 'foreigners'
(everyone else)".
The humor is typically British
wittily irreverent, deprecating
(selfdeprecating when needed)
and uproariously hyperbolic at
some points, though the writers
are not necessarily only British,

but, in many cases, hail from the
country they seek to profile or
have lived there extensively.
Among them is Zhu Song, author
of "The Xenophobe's Guide to the
Chinese" (2010), who confesses
she dislikes three phrases: "Where
are you from?", "Why, you speak
perfect English!", and "You're so
lucky to be able to speak Chinese!"
The series, which presently com
prises 32 installments, with all,
except three, dealing with a specif
ic nationality (the exceptions are
the Scots, the We lsh and the
Californians, who dif fer from the
rest of their countrymen in taking
"their beliefs so seriously that

many lose touch with what doesn't
need to be believed").
Almost twothirds deal w ith
Europe, with its entire western and
central parts, Scandinavian/Nordic
part and some of southern part
(Italians and Greeks) covered. Non
European nationalities comprise
the Americans, Canadians,
Australians, and New Zealanders,
while Asia is presently represented
by the Chinese, Japanese and the
Israelis. One on the Brazilians is
expected next year.
The format is more or less the
same with most of the smallsized
books divided into sections on
nationalism and identity (including
how they perceive themselves and
others, usually neighbors, perceive
them), character, attitude and val
ues, manners and etiquette, obses
sions, behavior, sense of humor,
leisure and pleasure activities, cus
toms and traditions, the family,
health and hygiene, culture, eating
and drinking, government and
bureaucracy, systems, law, crime
and punishment, business, lan
guage and ideas, and conversa
tions and gestures.
There are witty observations
aplenty. We learn that "a wise trav
eler realizes that a few happy
moments with an American do not
translate into a permanent com
mitment of any kind. Indeed, per
manent commitments are what

Americans fear the most. This is a
nation whose fundamental social
relationship is the casual acquain
tance" or that for "many English
people, petowning is the closest
they ever get to an emotional rela
tionship with another being".
Furthermore, for Germans, "a car
or a washing machine which
breaks down six months after pur
chase is not a nuisance, it's a
breach of the social contract", the
French "insist that everything is
done comme il faut (properly), an
expression that applies to address
ing an envelope or addressing a
teacher, filling in a form or stuff
ing a duck", and the Swiss are the
only nation to "make the Germans
appear inef ficient, the French
undiplomat ic and the Texans
poor".
Nothing is taboo. We learn that
among the Swedes, who "indulge
in sport for leisure and sex for
pleasure, some people treat sex as
a sport in order to combine leisure
with pleasure, and thus save time
and energy".
But beneath the lighthearted is
a serious point that all cultures
have their plus and minus points,
have, in their own way, contributed
to civilization, and no one should
take themselves too seriously. We
need more of these series any
one keen to profile the Indians?
Knowledge deficit in the google age - and its consequences

l By Vikas Datta
little knowledge is a dangerous thing,

we are told, and some recent political
developments may prove it. Diehard
Donald Trump supporters said they feared
that white Americans were becoming a
minority in their own country, while
Brexiters were concerned about the rising
tide of immigrants on the island. Were
their apprehensions genuine or justified?
Not by a long shot. The author asked a
national sample of fellow Americans for
the percentage of Asians and received an
average estimate of 13% the US Census
2010 says it is 5.6 %. Average percentage
estimates for Hispanics, AfricanAmericans,
gays and lesbians, Muslims and Christians,
in other surveys, were 25, 23, 11, 15, and
56, respectively as against 17, 12.6, 1.7,
1 and 78 actually.
Similarly, immigrants are 13% of the
Brit ish populat ion, and Muslims 5%,
against 24 and 21% estimates of most peo
ple.
Are these positions, or many other simi
lar to them, the outcome of a "politics of
fear" resorted by some rather unscrupu
lous politicians or does the reason lie clos
Head in the
Cloud - The
Power of
Knowledge in
the Age of
Google;
by William
Poundstone;
Oneworld
Publications/Pa
n Macmillan;
Pages: 320;
Price: Rs 599
er to us? They are actually one though
potentially most worrying symptom of
our growing knowledge deficiency, and
that too in an age where technology has
made information collection and retrieval
nearly instant and ef fortless, contends
American author and columnist William
Poundstone in this thoughtprovoking
book.
We, he argues, are increasingly becoming
of the opinion that we don't have to know
stuf f we can easily find on the internet,
which we can access right from where we
are with a few swipes and taps, with no

thought about its credibility or provenance.
And then we go on to base our actions and
decisions on what we think we know and
become victims of the DunningKruger
ef fect (that those most lacking in knowl
edge and skill are the least to appreciate
this fact, or to be even aware of it). This
effect was devised by Cornell psychology
professor David Dunning and his graduate
student Justin Kruger in the late 1990s,
inspired after the former read about a
bankrobber, who showed up at a premises
in broad daylight and face uncovered. He
told police he had applied lemon juice to
his face to make him "invisible", knowing
that it is used for writing secret messages.
He kicks of f his investigation into the
worth of knowledge "in the golden age of
rational ignorance where more people
know who Khloe Kardashian is than who
Rene Descartes was".
Primarily depending on analyzing origi
nal surveys of the public's knowledge in
key areas of knowledge from science to
history and sports to sex, Poundstone
divides his investigations and findings into
three parts, which focus (with some over
lap) on three themes. First, he shows us
that the internet does not make us stupid,

but much less aware of what we don't
know, and such "incomplete knowledge
creates distorted mental maps of the
world" which, in turn, affect choices, behav
ior and opinion. He then displays how abili
ty to know answers to socalled "trivia
questions" across a wide spectrum corre
lates with a higher income, better health,
happiness and other indexes of a success
ful life. He though repeatedly emphasizes
that correlation does not necessarily imply
cause, but the connections should not be
ignored.
Finally, he outlines how contemporary
media can be used to stay informed, but
most importantly, how democratic polities
"can make wise choices despite lowinfor
mation voters". Poundstone's book, despite
the hilarious levels of dumbness it show
cases, is actually a wakeup call to us to not
allow our devices to take over, to the
extent we forgo thinking for ourselves. It
also shows how basic knowledge and cul
tural literacy the sort less enlightened
parents, teachers and peers dismiss as
"irrelevant" to academic and career goals,
ranks besides eternal vigilance as the best
guarantee of our liberty and rights.
Santa Claus fantasy may

damage parentchild bond
London: With the
onset
of
Christmas sea
son, millions of
parents will lie to
their children
about the exis
tence of Santa
Claus
or
Christmas Father.
A new study has
suggested that
this lie may dam
age their bond.
The study, pub
lished in Lancet
(Image courtesy: shutterstock.com)
Psychiatry,
"Many people may yearn for a time
showed that the children's trust in their
parents may be undermined by the when imagination was accepted and
encouraged, which may not be the case
Santa lie.
"T he morality of making children in adult life," Boyle said.
"The persistence of fandom in stories
believe in such myths has to be ques
tioned. All children will eventually find like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Doctor
out they've been consistently lied to for Who well into adulthood demonstrates
years, and this might make them won this desire to briefly reenter childhood,"
der what other lies they've been told," added Kathy McKay from the University
asked Christopher Boyle, Professor at of New England, Australia.
However, the study contended that
the University of Exeter in Britain.
But, according to the authors, the lying to children may sometimes be
Christmas father fantasy may not be right.
"An adult comforting a child and
purely for the children. Parents may not
be motivated by purely creating magic telling them that their recently deceased
for their children, but by a desire to pet will go to a special place (animal
return to the joy of childhood them heaven) is arguably nicer than telling
graphic truths about its imminent re
selves.
For adults, it's a chance to go back to a entry into the carbon cycle," Boyle
observed.
time when they believed in magic.
Yogic breathing can help

fight depression
(Image courtesy:
aoluniverse.org)
New York: Meditation can help alle
viate severe depression in people
who do not fully respond to drugs,
reports a new study.Researchers
found significant improvement in
symptoms of depression and anxiety
in medicated patients with major
depressive disorder who participat
ed in the yogic breathing technique.
The Sudarshan Kriya yoga helped
those suffering from depression and
on medication when compared to
those who took medicines but did
not do any breathing exercise.
"The study found a promising,
lowercost therapy that could poten
tially serve as an effective, nondrug
approach for patients battling
depression," said Anup Sharma, doc
toral student at the University of
Pennsylvania.
The meditation technique, which is
practiced in both groups and at
December 3-9, 2016
LIFESTYLE
home, includes a series of sequential,

rhythmspecific breathing exercises
that bring people into a deep, restful
and meditative state.
It involves slow and calm breaths
alternated with fast and stimulating
breaths. Patients, who practised
Sudarshan Kriya yoga, also showed a
significantly greater improvement in
mood, interest in activities, energy
levels. It also brought down suicidal
thoughts and feelings of guilt among
other symptoms of depression.
"Sudarshan Kriya yoga gives people
an active method to experience a
deep meditative state that's easy to
learn and incorporate in diverse set
tings," Sharma added.
Past studies suggest that yoga and
other controlled breathing tech
niques can potentially adjust the
nervous system to reduce stress
hormones.
27
The high price of being a

'nice' woman: Less salary
London: Ladies, please take note. The nicer or

more agreeable you are at work, the lower
your salary is likely to be, says a study.
Dominant, assertive women, who clearly
express their expectations and do not retreat
from their demands, are compensated better
than their more accommodating female
peers, the study found.
"We found that women aren't aware that
more agreeable women are being punished
for being nice," said one of the researchers
Michal Biron from the University of Haifa in
Israel. "The nice women we polled in our
study even believed they were earning more
than they deserved," Biron added.
The same goes for dominant men versus
their more conciliatory male counterparts,
but even dominant women earn far less than
their male colleagues, dominant or otherwise,
the researchers said.
The research, published in The European
Journal of Work and Organizational
Psychology, examined status inconsistencies
between men and women through the lens of
traditional male and female characteristics.
For the purpose of their study, the
researchers surveyed 375 men and women at
a Dutch multinational electronics company
with 1,390 employees.
The participants were selected at random
from all 12 of the company departments.
The researchers used both objective and
subjective criteria for the study.
For objective data, they analyzed tenure,
education and performance data relative to
income and promotion statistics.
"We found that women were consistently
(Image courtesy: bpwinternational.org)

and objectively statusdetracted, which
means they invest more of themselves in
their jobs than they receive and are compen
sated less than their male colleagues across
the board," Biron said. For subjective data,
they examined how the individual perceived
the fit between their education, experience
and performance on the one hand, and their
income and rank on the other.
In the subjective part of the study, nearly
all the employees responded that they felt
dissatisfied with their inputcompensation
ratio, but agreeable and nondominant
women answered that they felt they earned
too much. "This blew our minds," said Sharon
Toker of the Tel Aviv University Coller School
of Business Management in Israel.
"The data shows that they earn the least
far less than what they deserve. And they
rationalize the situation, making it less likely
that they will make appropriate demands for
equal pay," Toker noted.
People find WiFi more important

than sex, chocolate or alcohol
London: The craze for wireless internet connection
has gone up so much that almost half of the people
now crave for WiFi on the go even more than
chocolate, alcohol and, yes, sex, show results of a
new survey.
The everincreasing influence of WiFi on our daily
lives was revealed in a recent survey of more than
1,700 people conducted by iPass, a leading provider
of global mobile connectivity
The results showed that while 40 per cent of
respondents chose WiFi as their number one daily
essential, 37 per cent chose sex, 14 per cent pre
ferred chocolate and only nine per cent prioritized
alcohol.
"We all want WiFi first, because of faster speeds,
lower prices and the better user experience it
af fords," said Patricia Hume, Chief Commercial
Officer of iPass.
Nearly 75 per cent of respondents said that WiFi
has improved their quality of life, according to "The
iPass Mobile Professional Report 2016".
For mobile professionals who do not want to be
stung by data bills or exorbitant roaming charges,
WiFi has also become a travel essential, influencing
hotel, airport and other travel choices.
The survey showed that 72 per cent of respon
dents have chosen a hotel based on the WiFi experi
ence, with 21 per cent saying they do so all the time.
It also showed that 72 percent respondents use free
WiFi at airports if it is available.
"Mobile professionals, in particular, expect to
remain connected at all times, whether at home,
(Image courtesy: stocknewsusa.com)

traveling between client meetings, at their hotel or
even inflight," Hume added.
Sixty per cent of the respondents for the survey
came from North America, and 40 per cent were
from European countries.
"The WiFi experience is increasingly af fecting
mobile professionals' travel choices, even at 30,000
feet, with more than a third of respondents having
selected their airline based on its WiFi connectivity
offerings," Hume pointed out.
"Long gone are the days when WiFi was only a
'nicetohave' at airports and inflight. Mobile profes
sionals are no longer content to sit and wait for
their flights. Instead, they want to remain produc
tive or simply unwind during this valuable time,"
Hume said.
28
December 3-9, 2016
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
Just call me Big Onions from now on

W
henever my children express a

low opinion of their parents, I
remind them that author Dallas
Clayton named his son Audio Science, actor
Jason Lee called his child Pilot Inspektor,
singer Frank Zappa called his son Moon
Unit and that I have the legal right to
change their names at any time (probably
not true).
Worst of all, the singer Sting named his
daughter Fuchsia. No, I don't know what he
calls her for short. Yes, I can guess what
the other children at school call her for
short.
A reader sent me a news report about
names. After a mayoral e lect ion in
Romania had been won for years by a man
named Vasile Cepoi, a rival political faction
fielded a candidate who they also named
Vasile Cepoi and a third challenger also
changed his name to Vasile Cepoi.
In the end, that election earlier this year
saw Vasile Cepoi reelected, Vasile Cepoi
pipped to the post, and Vasile Cepoi humili
ated by low support.
This gives me an idea. If everyone on
Earth changed their name to Vasile Cepoi,
we might all start acting like one big fami
ly. Cepoi apparently means "big onions" in

Romanian, so that's kind of an egobooster,
right, guys?
That incident reminded me of the boxer
George Foreman, who has five sons, all
called George. (His daughter's name is
Georgetta.) Important Note: I am NOT
implying that Foreman has a ludicrously
oversized ego, because I would never say
such a thing about a man who can crush a
metal garbage can with one hand, even
though it's clearly true. On a practical
basis, it must be hard for George to get the
kids to do anything. George: George, I told

you to stop that! George: I thought you
meant George. George: I'm not doing any
thing. George: It wasn't me, it was George.
George: Did someone call me? And so on.
That, in turn, reminded me that the plan
et Uranus was originally called George. The
guy who discovered it named it Georgium
Sidius which is Latin for "George the Star".
(I am not making this up.) I wish they'd
kept the name, which is easier to grasp
than the usual names for things in space,
such as Corona Borealis, Epsilon, Tau Seti,
Majoris, Twinkle and the like.
But going back to massive egos, did you
know that all three of Michael Jackson's
children are called Michael, including the
girl? It sounds like a madeup story, and
there IS a wonderful piece of literature
with the same plot: Too Many Daves by Dr
Seuss.
Worse than giving all your children the
same name is giving your child the same
name twice. In a column, I mentioned a
real person named Ho Ho, commenting
that she had one of the happiest real
names ever. Reader Angela Sias responded:
"Not if she is a girl."
I know there's a famous politician in
Afghanistan called Abdullah Abdullah.
What if his middle name is also Abdullah?
Years ago, I met a guy in Hong Kong
named So Soso. I was tempted to ask him
how he was feeling, purely so that I could
have the following conversation. Me: "How
are you feeling today, So Soso?" So Soso:
"Soso."
Laughter is the Best Medicine
BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
5168271010
Mahendra
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist, cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
December 3-9, 2016
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
DECEMBER 39, 2016

ARIES: Your greatest gains will come
through your creative ideas at profession
al front. You are likely to hear a good
news from close relatives. Promising week to
invest surplus money in real estate. Your flash
ing smile would work as the best antidote for
romantic partners unhappiness. Creative hob
bies are likely to keep you relaxed. If adventure
is your style of holidaying, then plan it and
move around. Investment in hotel industry can
be the right choice to be made. The week
requires you to be prudent and careful in all
aspects.
TAURUS: Success is certain provided you
work as a team. An old friend makes a
pleasant visit later in the week. A sound
financial health would enable to invest on lucra
tive schemes. Sharing candyfloss and tof fees
with lover/beloved would bring unlimited joy.
With a positive outlook & confidence, you suc
ceed in impressing people around you. A beauti
ful vacation you awaited for is on your cards.
Investment on construction business might give
fruitful results. Make sure you avoid the tenden
cy to be overly critical to save personal
interests.
GEMINI: You will be on the seventh
heaven when you receive recognition for
your achievements at work. Evening
enjoyed with family and close relatives brings
immense pleasure. Your brilliant ideas would
help in bringing financial gains. Company of
love partner would inspire to take initiatives
this week. Mental alertness would enable to
solve a tricky problem. Destination with a great
deal is on your way, be ready for traveling.
Investing on a ship or a cruise is an exciting
venture to be made. You find yourself sensitive
in tune with life and the people around you.
CANCER: Brace yourself to tackle pro

fessional problems by keeping spirits
high. You are likely to plan a short trip
with family. A promising week to earn profits in
real estate and financial transactions. Love
works like a panacea as you find sanity. A cheer
ful state of mind brings mental peace. Be ready
to travel with a challenge, new connections will
help you. The best ideas for investment are to
on invest on real estate business. A wonderful
week to contact persons with whom you can
share your dreams/aims.
LEO: Your creativity will amaze people
around you besides enhancing career
prospects. Unexpected visit by old friend
could give you a pleasant surprise. An improve
ment in monetary position makes it convenient
to purchase essential items. Love partner touch
es soul that would take imagination to unlimited
heights.
Good time to divert attention to spirituality to
enhance mental toughness. Traveling abroad
can be exciting adventure that will be remem
bered forever. Are you longing to buy a farm
house, try for it? Make sure you dont take any
body for granted.
VIRGO: New job opportunities for some
will be better than expected. Good
advice from family members will help in
reducing mental tension/pressure. This week
longterm investment would enable to make
substantial gains. Someones timely help would
enable visualizing succeeding in love. A pleasure
trip gives the muchneeded tonic to health.
Finally you have found the time for your deserv
ing break, travel will be favourable. If you want
to invest on property, then go for residential
one. Avoid being extra careful in small things at
the cost of great.
LIBRA: At work you are likely to win

appreciation and awards for past efforts.
Sudden good news in the evening will
bring cheers for the entire family. Financial has
sles will be eased out with the help of your
friends. Romantic imagination would keep you in
a jovial & cheerful mood. Cutting down the num
ber of parties and pleasure jaunts would help in
keeping in good mood. Adventurous holidays, the
best way to experience with your friends, time to
enjoy. Selling your home privately can be an
excellent way of saving on costs.
SCORPIO: Timely and swift action would
give an edge over others at professional
front. Your efforts bring success & happi
ness at family front. Certain important plans will
be executed, bringing fresh financial gains. The
company of love partner makes you forget about
the work. A beneficial week to work on things
that will improve your health. Take a trip, as
there is some place waiting for you. Of fplan
property investment is one of the easiest and
most profitable methods to maximize gains in the
real estate market. A desire to change things
around you in personal life is likely to overtake
you.
SAGITTARIUS: Colleagues and subordi
nates will lend a helping hand enabling
to complete the work on time. You
achieve success in personal work with the timely
help & support provided by family members.
Speculations are likely to bring monetary profits.
Sudden romantic encounter will lift your spirits.
Your confidence and energy will be high this
week. Great time for perfect family vacation to an
exciting destination. Your property prices will
boost in the coming period. Make sure you dont
afraid of confronting negative or destructive
people.
CAPRICORN: Success in completing diffi

cult assignments brings a lot of laurels at
work. Misunderstandings with near ones
in the family will get cleared. Monetary position
is likely to improve later in the week. Attending a
social event/family function brings a romantic
encounter. A week when smile will perpetually be
on your face and strangers will seem familiar.
Travel opportunities full of challenges are often
the beginning of great enterprises. Buying prop
erty can lead to gains as property prices continue
to increase. You are likely to sacrifice personal
priorities for others.
AQUARIUS: Selfconfident would enable
to convey your point of view with ease a
workplace. Children would do their best
to keep you happy. Hard work of previous weeks
brings good fortune enabling to fulfill monetary
promises. Your physical charm would catch the
attraction of opposite sex. Your energy level will
be high. Better to channelise it in a positive direc
tion. You will discover travel destinations that are
unique and magical. You could buy the property
that you are looking for. Time to be alert to the
opportunities for advancement at personal front.
PISCES: Mental clarity gives a decisive
edge over all competitors at professional
front. You are likely to be benefited as
family members positively respond. You succeed
in making some extra cash on playing your cards
well. Love life blossoms paving the way for lovely
times ahead. Positive outlook impresses those
around you besides keeping you fit & fine. A trip
that is unconventional and adventurous will be
favourable enjoy every minute of it. Investing on
properties which are under developed will be
profitable. You need to be careful of the motives
of people you are associated with at personal
front.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

3rd December, 2016
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no : 3
Traits in you: Being number 3, you are confident, ambi
tious & independent person who loves to work with opti
mistic attitude. You are a born leader, and you are always
appreciated for your work, whether it is at home or work
place. Your efforts are always sincere and thats why you
balance your personal and professional life very smoothly.
Health this year: This year you will make efforts to enjoy
the true happiness. You need to keep in mind that physi
cal happiness is attained by selfrestraint, eating simple
but balanced & nourishing food and daily exercise. You
will start participating in any sports or outdoor activities
to keep yourself in good health.
Finance this year: As far as finances are concerned, you
need to invest your hardearned money wisely. Look at all
the aspects of business before putting your money, then
only it would enable you to fetch good returns.
Career this year: Your ability to express your views and
ideas, will take you to the top of hierarchy, in the year
ahead of you. Your superiors will notice your sincerity and
loyalty. They will entrust a lot of responsibility on your
shoulders. You will be able to fulfill all these duties to the
utmost, making everyone happy.
Romance this year: This year, you might meet the sweet
est dream of your life, means a person of your dream,
whose thoughts have kept your memory radiant. It is now
upto you to take initiatives to develop friendly relations
with him/her.
4th December, 2016
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no : 4
Traits in you: Being number 4, you are a person who likes
to take responsibilty and do your work with full dedica
tion and honesty. For the coming year, we would advice
that try to take all precautions while signing any legal
documents. If you are planning to sign a partnership, you
will have to weigh all the pros and cons, before getting
into any legal matters.
Health this year: You can enjoy a sound health only by
keeping yourself stressfree. This is a year for you to
realise that even short intense periods of stress may have
long term consequences on the functioning of the brain.
Therefore better to make it a habit to remain tensionfree
to enjoy the life to the fullest.
Finance this year: This year your financial position will
improve, as you might get some unexpected monetary
gains either from foreign transaction or major govern
ment contract. At the same time if you are planning to go
for some investments, invest after a careful thinking.
Career this year: The coming year will bring changes,
which will be beneficial to you. A change in job is likely for
some. This year your hard work will bring you success
and recognition. Partnership in business will be fruitful.

Romance this year: This whole year you will be enjoying
your personal life, as you and your partner will share
some most cherishing moments of your life. To enjoy your
romance, understand each other's requirement and try to
fulfill them. You can plan to go on a vacation too.
5th December, 2016
Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no : 5
Traits in you: Being number 5, you are very strong headed
person with friendly nature and practical thoughts. You
inspire others to do their work with full dedication and
perfection. You have an ability to make many friends and
the best is that you are known as a very loyal friend to all
your friends. This year keep control over your moody
nature, which can put you in trouble. You strongly believe
in destiny and have strong concentration power. This year
you will feel more inclined towards religious activities.
Health this year: There is this phrase 'Donate blood to
reap happiness'. Its true that when we donate our blood, it
brings unlimited happpiness to you. This year make this
a habit to donate blood every twothree months. Overall
your health will be fine.
Finance this year: Travel will bring you both prosperity
and pleasure. You will travel to distant lands in the com
ing year. This will allow you to make the most of newer
opportunities and will also be a source of good income,
relaxation and enjoyment.
Career this year: Your planning and methodical approach
to work, will catch the attention of your seniors. You will
be handsomely rewarded for you efficient and honest
approach to your professional career. The ability to judge
the weaknesses of your opponents, will be an asset to you,
and you will be able to use this to your advantage.
Romance this year: Though it will be shortlived but this
year you will have a happy romance. The relationship
would give you sweet memories, which you can cherish
for the whole of your life. Keep in mind that we should
enjoy the life as it comes to us.
6th December, 2016
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no : 6
Traits in you: Being number 6, you are lover of simplicity
and originality. You have the ability to inspire those around
your. Your mere presence, makes people happy and full of
enthusiasm. This year too your attractive personality &
helping nature will bring happiness in other's life.
Health this year: Health will generally remain normal. You
will enjoy a sound physical health on imbibing positive
thinking in your life. However, it will be in your interest to
continue physical exercises to keep diseases a bay.
Finance this year: You will earn a lot of money in the com
ing year, but on the other hand you will also spend it all
on buying expensive clothes, jewellery and luxuries of life.
Remember that you should save some money for your

future too.
Career this year: You have an special attachment towards
art and music. Those of you who are in the profession of
dance and poetry, will do exceeding well in your profes
sional career, in the year ahead of you. Others will be able
to impress their counterparts in the workplace.
Romance this year: Your warmth and attractive personali
ty will draw many friends towards you. You will always be
a centre of attraction amongst friends and relatives, but
this year you will be bowled by someone special. You
might fall in love.
7th December, 2016
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no : 7
Traits in you: Being number 7, you are an intelligent, inde
pendent and kind hearted person. You know how to play
with words. Using your this quality you will easily impress
people around you. Your supportive nature makes you
famous in your group. You love to be a leader in a group
and can easily sense positive and negative energies com
ing from the people around you. This year you might go
for a foriegn trip, which would be both pleasureable and
rewarding.
Health this year: This year positive attitude and a preven
tive care would bring immense relief from your ailments.
You might have some teeth problem, but otherwise you
will be enjoying a healthy life.
Finance this year: This year travel will be an important
part of your life. Most of you are likely to travel to distant
lands for business purpose or office work. There is also a
possibility of developing business ties abroad, which will
fetch good financial returns.
Career this year: You will be able to handle difficult situa
tions with ease and authority. You will be able to express
your views with clarity, whenever required. But, you tend
to become a little stubborn at times, and try to impose
your ideas on your colleagues and friends.
Romance this year: Romantic life could face a testing time
this year, when it will be publically known to everyone.
However, Don't get disheartened /discouraged, as you will
have to cement your love bond, so that you can enjoy
your love to the fullest.
8th December, 2016
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no : 8
Traits in you: Being number 8, you are a person who loves
challenges in life and always come out as a winner which
ever task you take in hand. You are very practical, system
atic and friendly person who is always there to help needy
people. You determination and sincerity at work will fetch
you both good finances and respect in society. Although
you don't like anyone assisting you, but when you do any
mistakes, you accept them easily and learn not to repeat it
again.
Health this year: This year you have decide to eat well.
This is really nice on your part, but at the same time it
would be better to develop a habit of wanting good nutri
tious food. This would make you feel lighter and more
energetic, and you will be away from illnesses.
Finance this year: Financially this year, you will be able to
handle your money matters with ease & with your efficient
planning you will even save some earning for the future.
Career this year: In the coming year, your efficiency and
sincerity, will clearly reflect in your work. Your seniors
will notice this and you will be rewarded for your hard
work and dedication. Your ability to see both sides of a
problem, will be an asset to you, and you will be using this
for your and others benefit.
Romance this year: Your sense of duty towards your loved
ones, will make you do your best for them this year. You
can expect peace and harmony at the domestic front, in
the year ahead of you. Those looking for life partner, will
get an opportunity to meet the person of their dreams.
9th December, 2016
Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no : 9
Traits in you: Being number 9, you are one of the most
energetic, courageous and brilliant person, who success
fully completes the work taken in hand. You can be called
cleanliness freak person. You always help those who need
your help. You love to be in the company of those people
who are intelligent and sophisticated. You are good at
evaluating any situation and work accordingly. For you
emotional happiness is more important than material
happiness. Being focused in life, if you want to climb the
ladder of success.
Health this year: By nature you are short tempered and
get easily irritated over small matters, which also affects
your mental and physical health. You will have to learn to
control your temper, otherwise you will find yourself
alone, making you depressed person.
Finance this year: Travel will be an important part of your
life, in the coming year. This will bring more opportunities
for you and also help you to broaden your outlook and liv
ing style. You will be investing some of your savings for
your brighter future.
Career this year: Courage and alertness, will allow you to
face any obstacle without much difficulty this year. You will
be undertaking new ventures in your professional field. You
will finish your project with sincerity & dedication.
Romance this year: If you are unmarried and ready to
embrace marriage, then there are chances that by the end
of this year you will find your soul mate. But if you are
married or in a serious relationship, then you need to be
little cautious, as someone might create misunderstanding
between two of you.
30
December 3-9, 2016
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Concluding part of the discourse 'Show gratitude by giving'
Inculcate virtue of giving in our lives
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
nother example of this spirit
of giving is illustrated in the
life of Sant Darshan Singh Ji
Maharaj. During the partition of
India, train service was not run
ning as usual. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji
informed Sant Darshan Singh Ji
that the health of their Master,
Hazur Baba Sawan Sing h Ji
Maharaj, was failing and he should
come immediately to see Hazur.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji rushed to
the train station in Delhi to catch a
train to Beas. Unfortunately, the
last train was already packed, and
the gates to the train were closed.
Being athletic and determined to
get on that train, Sant Darshan
Singh Ji climbed the fence. There
were absolutely no seats left in any
train compartment. Thus, he had
to ride along with other passen
gers on the top of the train. The
ride took many hours. At night, the
temperature dropped, and it grew
colder. As Sant Darshan Singh Ji
rode on the top of the train, he
noticed a man who had no coat.
The man was shivering tremen
dously. Sant Darshan Singh Ji,
moved by compassion, took off his
own coat and wrapped it around
the shivering man. As a result, Sant
Darshan Singh Ji had to bear many
hours of being in the cold night air,
with the wind whipping around
him. As a result, Sant Darshan
Singh Ji contracted chronic asth
ma. This asthma plagued him for
many years to come. But, as is the
case of all saints, he put the needs
of others before his own needs. His
compassion for the suf fering of
others was so great that he gave of
himself, even if it meant he had to
sacrifice his own health, his own
time, his own money, or his own
comfort.
Such cases are just a few exam
ples of the long history of saints
giving of themselves to help oth
ers. As we advance spiritually, we
become immersed in the love of
God and are filled with a never
ending stream of bliss coming
from within. This love is so great
that we no longer feel pleasure
from the outer gifts of the world or
for wanting things for ourselves.
We then realize that whatever we
have is a gift of the Lord. We also
realize that all creation is part of
our family, as brothers and sisters

in God. Just as we freely share
what we have with our parents,
children, or siblings, in the same
way we see all as our family and
freely share with them. We are
then generous not only to our own
family but even to strangers. We
no longer consider anyone a
stranger. We are then ready to give
to anyone who needs our help.
As Sant Darshan Singh Ji
Maharaj said in a verse:
Others have disowned their kith
and kin,
But I have made even strangers
my very own.
Sant Darshan Singh Ji is saying
that most people feel obligated to
help their families. We mostly
focus on our immediate family
who lives in our household, such as
our parents or children. Then, we
go out of our way due to family
obligations for our brothers and
sisters, our aunts and uncles, our
grandparents, or our grandchil
dren. But beyond that, most people
stop. They think that the problems
of people who are not related to
them are the problems of other
peoples families. We often only
give out of social obligation at the
time of Christmas or Thanksgiving
to org anizat ions that collect
money for the poor. We may
donate to an organization that pro
vides toys to needy children or toi
letries to needy families. We may
open up our pockets at the time of
an international disaster such as a
flood, hurricane, tsunami, earth
quake, volcano, or fire. Some peo
ple do this because everyone else
is doing it, and they do not want
to be perceived as being selfish.
But beyond these occasions for
giving, we seldom consider the
need to help a stranger.
It is only when we meditate and
rise above consciousness of this
physical world to travel as soul in
the spiritual realms beyond that
we gain a new awareness. We
begin to see that we are not sepa
rate people anymore. There is no
such thing as a stranger. We expe
rience that the same Light of God
shining in us is in all other people.
We feel connected to all other
human beings as if we were all one
family of God. We love others and
want to help them. We turn a new
page in our life and begin to help
everyone. We live by the principle
that Sant Kirpal Singh Ji lived by
which said, I have come to serve
all.
The more we meditate, the more
we develop this angle of vision.
Then, one day, we too will be filled
with extreme generosity and will
share whatever we have with all
creation.
Let Thanksgiving not just be a

day in which we thank God and
our family for our many gifts. Let
this be a day in which we make a
commitment to give and serve oth
ers. We should not be like a
sponge in which we soak up all the
gifts from others. We need to
squeeze the sponge so that the
water within us flows out to oth
ers.
How can we inculcate the virtue
of giving in our own lives? We can
give in many ways. We can give
physically, intellectually, emotion
ally, financially, and spiritually.
There are two areas of the intro
can flow to reach others. We are

not doing seva for our own gains,
but doing so in the name of God
and the Master. During these
moments, we are humble. We are
spending our time engaged in
helping others. What is more, we
are spending our lifes breaths
engaged in activities that do not
create any new karma. When we
act in our own name, we are creat
ing karma. Even when we do good
deeds we are accumulating good
karma for which we must stay in
the physical world to reap physical
rewards. If our aim is to wind up
karmas in our lifetime, then we do
Let Thanksgiving not just be a day in

which we thank God and our family for our
many gifts. Let this be a day in which we
make a commitment to give and serve
others. Seen in the picture, in a group
effort, women preparing food for langar.
spection diary designed to help us
develop the qualities of giving and
selflessness. One area of the diary
lets us record the number of times
we fail per day in a particular
virtue. One of these is selfless serv
ice, which is also called seva. Each
time we are presented with an
opportunity to help someone and
we do not avail ourselves of that
chance, we note that as a failure. In
this way, we become more attuned
to these opportunities that present
themselves and make a concerted
effort to help someone next time
around. T he other area of the
introspection diary provides a
place in which we mark the time
we spend in selfless service or giv
ing. This means that it is not only
that we take each opportunity for
se lfless service, but that the
amount of time we spend in serv
ing selflessly is equally as impor
tant. Why? Time spent in seva is
time in which we are remembering
God and are acting as a humble
vessel through which Gods grace
not want to come back to this

physical realm. Any karma,
whether for good deeds or bad
deeds, requires us to reap rewards
or consequences. This physical
realm is one in which we pay for
all our karmas. Thus, any karma is
going to bring us again and again
to this world. When we do so, we
have to pass through the ups and
downs of life in this physical realm
again.
Our goal should be to rise above
the three lower realms of karma.
We need to transcend the physical
realm, the astral realm, and supra
causal realm. When we do so, we
enter the supracausal realms and
Sach Khand, where we are no
longer touched by our karmas. We
are then free from the cycle of
births and deaths, and live in an
eternal realm of all peace, joy, and
bliss. To free ourselves of this cycle
of births and deaths, we have to
stop accumulating new karma and
burn off our old karma.
How can we pay off our karma?
T here are three blessings we

receive when we come to a spiritu
al Master that wind up our karma.
First, the Master takes over our
karmic accounts at the time of ini
tiation. This means that Master is
the accounts keeper of our destiny.
He can determine how best we can
w ind it up for our maximum
progress.
Second, the Master helps us pass
through the sanchit karmas allot
ted for this lifetime in an easier
fashion. Thus, what was supposed
to be the gallows could be reduced
to a pin prick.
Third, the Master lays out a path
by which we can avoid incurring
further karmas. He tells us that
daily meditation on the inner Light
and Sound can help burn away
new karmas we create just by the
process of living. Each day, without
intending to do so, we may step on
insects, drive over insects or tiny
creatures, kill microscopic life
forms just by breathing, and take
the lives of plants given by God to
eat for food. Even though killing
plants incurs the least karma of all
living things, there is still some
karma. T hus, each day we are
adding karma just by virtue of
being human. By meditating, we
can burn off the added karma we
create each day. Also, when we
keep the introspection diary, we
are weeding out the negative traits
that incur more karma. By leading
lives of nonviolence, truthfulness,
chastity, humility, and selfless
service we are avoiding creating
bad karmas for which we will have
to return to the earth to pay of f.
The Master also gives us the gift of
meditation and selfless service.
When we spend time in those two
activities, we are not incurring any
new karma, as long as we remain
selfless. That is why entering the
time spent in seva is important,
because each hour we spend in
selfless service, we are not incur
ring more karma. But that seva
must be selfless, in which we do
not want any material gains for
ourselves. We do seva in the name
of God and the Master, whereby
our help is given and we only reap
the spiritual rewards in the form of
blessings from Go d and the
Master.
It is okay to want spiritual bless
ings from God and the Master for
our seva. That is because those
spiritual blessings move us to the
true purpose of our lives, union of
our soul with God. Each time we
give of ourselves in selfless service,
we are not incurring more karma
and are attracting the grace of God
and the Master, whose blessings
will uplift us so our soul can merge
back into God.
December 3-9, 2016
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The South Asian Times

Vol.9 No. 32 December 3-9, 2016 80 Cents

New York Edition

Bharara to stay as federal DEMONETIZATION

New York: Indian American Preet

India born Preet Bharara is US

them to pay billions of dollars to

Chhattisgarh CM in No talks with Pak amid

Dr Raman Singh, CM of Chhattisgarh

New Delhi: Ruling out any substantive bilateral talks between

Diwali stamp dedication at UN

step to cut graft

OWN YOUR FUTURE

x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees

December 3-9, 2016

December 3-9, 2016

After Nikki Haley, 2nd Indian Shalabh Kumar to be part of

Chicago: A prominent Indian

President of the Republican Hindu

Did Trump say all those 'fantastic'

world leaders are usually written

Donald Trump did. He wouldn't

leave them in a position where

country, fantastic place" with the

December 3-9, 2016

Companies leaving US will face punishment: Trump

remarks since winning the White House.

US backs Indias step to cut graft

US nod for India as key defense ally

and to he lp resolve remaining issues

Bharara to stay as federal prosecu

in road, power and railways sectors in order

Jaipur (India) Bureau

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull

Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

President: Arjit Mehta

No talks with Pak amid continued

Diwali stamp dedication at UN

IANS Newswire Services

Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/

Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra

Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah

Chief Operating Officer:

West Coast Correspondent

Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

New Delhi Bureau

Web Editor: Bharat Bhushan Chopra

December 3-9, 2016

New York Tamil Sangam celebrates deepavali

Manaivi. Both are super and mega hit

Prof Latha Chandran

of the two plays for his astounding per

Crazy Creations team being felicitated at the event

December 3-9, 2016

Community comes out in

praised the efforts of the Indian Ameri

Institute of International Social

Prakash Mehta from Flushing, NY was conferred an NYPD award

District leader Dr Neeta Jain

r. Neeta Jain, Democratic District

should respect all living beings.

Coliseum operators to hire