The South Asian Times

e x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
Vol.11 No. 20 September 15-21, 2018 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Hindus don't oppose anyone, Key defense

don't want to dominate: RSS chief
Chicago: Asserting that Hindus
neither oppose anybo dy nor
aspire to dominate, Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief
Preservation of India’s heritage is nationalism:
8 Vice President Naidu at Hindu Congress in Chicago pact signed at
Religions support human welfare and
8 development: Acharya Lokesh Muni
2+2 meeting
Mohan Bhagwat last Saturday
said the community needs to
unite to end its centuries of suf‑
ferings.
Speaking at the 2nd World
Hindu Cong ress here that Pact a milestone, sanctions
marked the125th anniversary of
Swami Vivekananda's historic not meant to harm India: US
speech at the Parliament of
World Re lig ions in 1893,
Bhagwat said the key to unite the
world is to control ego and
accepting the consensus.
"We do not have any aspects of
dominance. Hindus do not live to
oppose anybody. We even allow
Continued on page 4
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Acharya Lokesh Muni,
SEE PAGE 15 FOR Swamis Swaroopananda and Purnatmananda, and
RELATED COVERAGE. Satguru Dalip Singh at the Congress opening.

India needs Rs 50‑tln Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and
Sensex loses 1,000 points in investments in Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with their US counterparts
Mike Pompeo and James Mattis in New Delhi.

2 days as rupee hits new low
New Delhi: In a major setback,
Indian equity markets on
Tuesday witnessed a bloodbath
for the second successive day,
dragged by weak cues on both
global and domestic fronts.
The 30‑share BSE Sensex lost
509.04 points to close at
37,413.13. Having shed 464
points on Monday, the gauge has
now lost close to 1,000 points in
just two sessions. The broader
50‑share NSE Nifty closed at
11,287.50, down 150.60 points.
Both the indices lost to the tune
of 1.30 per cent.
The rupee continued to hit
investor sentiments, plunging to
hit a new record low of 72.73, a
drop of 28 paise against the US
dollar, in late afternoon trade.
infrastructure: CII
Bengaluru: The infrastructure sec‑
tor in India would require about Rs
50 trillion ($778 billion) by 2022
as a key growth driver across the
country, said an industry of ficial
on Tuesday.
"The infrastructure sector, com‑
prising core sectors like power,
roads, highways and renewable
energy, will require Rs 50‑trillion
Investors were cautious since
investments over the next 4 years
morning as trade war concerns
to have sustainable development
between the US and China rose
in the country," said Confederation
and a persistent weakness in the
of Indian Industry (CII)'s
rupee became a lingering con‑
Karnataka unit Chairman N.
cern leading to volatility in the
Muthukumar at a conference here.
market, brokers said.
Participating in the CII annual
“The market will continue to
conference on infrastructure
remain under pressure for some
themed "Impact of Technology on
time, likely until the end of the
Infrastructure Development &
week, as it is already over‑
Chang ing Workplace",
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
New Delhi: India and the US last
Thursday signed a long‑negotiated
defense pact that enables Indian
armed forces to buy more sensitive
military equipment from
Washington but there was no
progress on securing a waiver
from American sanctions that bar
New De lhi from purchasing
Russian weapons or Iranian oil.
During their first 2+2 dialogue,
the two sides also pledged to coop‑
erate in ensuring "a free and open
Indo‑Pacific" region to contain
China's allegedly expansionist
designs in the South China Sea and
Indian Ocean Region.
Indian External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj and De fense
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
and De fense Secretary James
Mattis for the strategic talks that
culminated in the signing of
Communications, Compatibility,
Security Agreement (COMCASA).
However, the US appeared to
have stuck to its hardline position
on barring countries, including
India, from doing business with
Russia and Iran on which it has
imposed sanctions.
India has been maintaining that
purchase of Iranian crude is cru‑
cial to its energy security and that
it would go ahead with its pur‑
chase of S‑400 missile defense sys‑
tem from Russia whose agreement
is ready to be signed in the coming
months. "With respect to the S‑
400, no decision has been made.
We are working to impose (sanc‑
tions) in a way that is appropriate
and lawful and to exercise that
waiver authority only where it
Continued on page 4

OP ED 14 BOLLYWOOD 16 LABOR LAWS 25 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30 excellence in journalism

TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 15-21, 2018
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY September 15-21, 2018 3

160 days of cricket on Hotstar kicks

off with Unimoni Asia Cup
Asia Cup Highlight: India Vs Pakistan Match on Sept 19
New York: 160 Days of Cricket on Hotstar
starts with the Unimoni Asia Cup, which will
feature some of the most prominent cricketing
nations in the world. The tournament will
begin with Bangladesh taking on Sri Lanka in
Dubai on September 15. Participants include
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
Defending champion India will face arch rival
Pakistan on September 19 in the marquee
matchup of group play. India and Pakistan will
be joined by Hong Kong in Group A, while Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan compete
in Group B. The top two teams from each
group will qualify for the Super 4, and the
tournament final will follow on September 28
in Dubai.
Hotstar, the exclusive and of ficial digital
streaming partner for Unimoni Asia Cup, will
live stream all the matches for the duration of
the tournament. To keep the momentum going,
Hotstar has 160 days of cricket over the next
year. Tournaments to look forward to include
the Paytm India vs. West Indies Series in
October, followed by the ICC Womenʼs World
T20 in November, the Paytm India vs. Australia
Series in February 2019, the VIVO IPL in April
2019 and, finally, the ICC Cricket World Cup in
May 2019. “Hotstar has just completed its first
year in the United States, and the response
from the Diaspora has been phenomenal,” said
Ipsita Dasgupta, President of Hotstar
International and Strategy at Star India. “As we
embark on our second year, we have a compre‑
hensive cricket calendar for fans and enthusi‑
asts in the U.S., who have come to expect this
level of engaging and premium programming
from our platform.”
To supplement its cricket calendar, Hotstar
has introduced an attractive, annual subscrip‑
tion for $99.99, which will give consumers
complete access to the cricket calendar and
entertainment library throughout the year. For
monthly subscribers, an entertainment pack is
now $9.99 a month, and a sports + entertain‑
ment pack is $19.99 a month.
Hotstar, Indiaʼs largest premium streaming
platform for Indian TV shows, movies and live
sports, is now also available in the U.S. and
Canada.
A subsidiary of Star India and 21st Century
Fox, Hotstar was launched in India in 2015 and
became the fastest app to reach a million
downloads.

Acharya Lokesh honored with New Yorkʼs Primary

Election on Sept 13
Worried about rupee drop, Indian
govt mulls tapping citizens overseas
US Congress Peace Prize T his yearʼs primary election in the
state will take place on Thursday, New Delhi: India expressed $426 billion in mid‑April. The
September 13, rather than the usual concern about the rupeeʼs official said Indiaʼs reserves
Chicago: Founder of Ahimsa Vishwa
Tuesday, so as not to conflict with the decline for the first time and position was comfortable and
Bharti, eminent Jain Acharya Dr. Lokesh
end of Rosh Hashanah or the 17th said itʼs considering a plan to authorities could take meas‑
Muni is the first Indian presented the
anniversary of 9/11. Polling spots tap its citizens overseas, ures such as tapping overseas
U.S. Congressional Danny K Davis Peace
will open at 6 a.m. in New York City, according to a government Indians and other moves to
Prize 2018 for his ef forts to promote
& close at 9 p.m. For governor: On the official. The local currency, plug the current account gap.
Interfaith Dialogue for World Peace and
Democratic ticket, Cynthia Nixon is Asiaʼs worst performing major In 2013, the central bank
Harmony. The Award was presented by
challenging incumbent Andrew so far this year, which plunged lured inflows of about $34 bil‑
Congressman Danny K Davis, Ranking
Cuomo in the race to be New Yorkʼs as much as 1.3 percent to a lion through discounted for‑
Member Of the U.S. House Ways and
next governor. Nixon has been record low Monday, pared eign‑currency swaps, helping
Means Committee, at his Chicago office.
backed by Bernie Sandersʼs Our losses after the comments. lift the rupee from a record
Many eminent people and Congressmen
Danny K Davis, Congressman for 20 Revolution organization and the The relief may be temporary low.
were present at the ceremony.
T he earlier awardees include the years, conferred Acharya Dr. Lokesh Working Families Party. given concerns about a widen‑ Data on Friday showed,
Muni with Peace and Harmony Award Lt governor: Incumbent Kathy ing current account and trade Indiaʼs current account deficit
speaker Mudasiru Ajaee Obasa of
In his acceptance speech, Acharya Hochul is facing of f against chal‑ gap on the back of elevated widened to a five‑year high,
Nigeria's Logos State House Assembly
Lokesh said that violence and terrorism lenger Jumaane Williams, who cur‑ prices of oil, Indiaʼs biggest with little respite in store amid
(2015), Canada's Woman Foundation's
cannot solve any problem. Violence rais‑ rently represents the 45th district in import item. The finance min‑ a yawning trade gap. The
chairman Gabby Adityo (2016) and
es counter‑violence. It is possible to solve New York City Council. istry and the Reserve Bank of trade data for August due out
President of Burma's Republic of
every problem through dialogue. Attorney general: There are four India are in touch and the cen‑ later this week are likely to
Burundi, Dr. Klait Reverse (2017).
Violence in the name of religion is harm‑ democratic contenders: Leecia Eve, a tral bank is intervening in the show that imports, especially
Congressman for 20 years Danny
ful to world peace. Violence, terror and lawyer who currently sits on the Port currency market when need‑ costly crude, outpaced
Davis on the occasion said that Acharya
tensions that prevail in society disturb all Authority Board of Commissioners, ed, the government official exports.
Lokesh has set an example in the field of
the developmental activities. Unity in NYC public advocate Letitia James; told reporters in New Delhi on The gap for last month is
world peace, harmony and inter‑religious
diversity is the fundamental characteris‑ Sean Patrick Maloney, the representa‑ Monday, asking not to be likely to come in at $17.45 bil‑
dialogue. He is a ray of hope for a world
tic of Indian culture. By adopting this tive for New Yorkʼs 18th identified citing rules. The RBI lion, according to a Bloomberg
fighting terrorism and violence. He said
philosophy we can establish universal Congressional District and Zephyr has been selling dollars, albeit survey, compared with $18
that through Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti inter‑
harmony and world peace. Acharya Teachout, a Fordham University law in a restrained manner, lead‑ billion in July and much worse
national branch, which was launched a
Lokesh said that India and America professor who ran against Cuomo in ing to a drop in Indiaʼs foreign than the average $15 billion
few months back in the USA, the efforts
should work together to eradicate pover‑ the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial exchange reserves to $400 in the April‑June quarter amid
of world peace will reach different parts
ty and terrorism. primary. billion from a record high of higher oil prices.
of the world.
 4 September 15-21, 2018 TURN PAGE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

White House pays tribute to 9/11 victims

O n the 17th anniversary of the 9/11
attacks President Donald Trump and
First Lady attended a ceremony in
Shanksville, PA "where a new Tower of
Voices memorializes the victims of Flight
93, which crashed there 17 years ago,” the
White House said. Trump marked the
anniversary by paying tribute to his lawyer
and former New York City Mayor Rudy
Giuliani before heading to the memorial
service. "Rudy Giuliani did a great job as
Mayor of New York City during the period
... His leadership, bravery and skill must
US India Business Council (USIBC) held their 43rd Anniversary Annual General Meeting & never be forgotten. Rudy is a TRUE WAR‑
India Ideas Summit in Mumbai on Sept 5‑6. It was followed by Chairmanʼs Executive RIOR!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday. The
Mission to India all day event in New Delhi on Sept 7. The USIBC board members also First Lady took to Twitter with an image
called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. from the moment of silence held last year
at the W hite House. "#NeverForget
9.11.01," she tweeted. Press Secretary
Sarah Sanders tweeted: "We received a ter‑
rible reminder of the evil in our world. In
the midst of horrific tragedy America stood
strong. We will never be the same, but we
will always resilient. Today we honour the
memory of those who died, and those who
keep us safe."
CORRECTION
In Sept 8‑14, 2018 issue, on page 6 we
carried a review of Nritya Saagaram
Dance Academyʼs event. It was written by
Sandhya Malhotra, MD. Her byline was
inadvertently dropped. Photo courtesy
was: Nritya Saagaram Dance Academy.

Key defense pact signed
at 2+2 meeting
Continued from page 1
makes sense," said Pompeo. About
Iran, he said the Americans had
told the Indians "consistently that
on November 4 the sanctions will
be enforced, and that we will con‑
sider waivers where appropriate".
He, however, said the US expected
that the purchases of Iranian crude
oil would "go to zero from every
country, or sanct ions w ill be
imposed".
Swaraj and Sitharaman said the
conclusion of the pact had taken
the already close India‑US strategic
and defense ties to an advanced
level.
"We are also putting in place an
enabling framework for closer
cooperation between our defense
forces. The signing of COMCASA
w ill enable India to access
advanced technologies from the US
and enhance India's defense pre‑
paredness," Sitharaman said.
Top defense sources said the
ag reement, which comes into
ef fect "immediately" and has a
lifespan of 10 years, didn't mean
India would have to necessarily
buy American military equipment.
The US has these agreements,
usually limited to NATO allies, with
Japan, South Korea and Australia ‑
the major powers in the Indo‑
Pacific it is looking up to contain
China's military expansionist aims
in the region in India's backyard,
threatening sea trade on the key
maritime line.
Pompeo told reporters that the
US and India shared a commitment
to "a safe, secure, prosperous, free
and open Indo‑Pacific region".
This week a US spokesperson
talking to the Indian media from
Washington called the 2+2 meet‑
ing a “consequential and a strate‑
gic milestone" adding that the cur‑
rent American sanctions are not
intended to adversely impact coun‑
tries like India, but are designed to
impact Russia.
Hindus don't oppose
anyone, don't want to
dominate: RSS chief
Continued from page 1
the pests to live. There are people
who may oppose us. You have to
tackle them without harming
them," said Bhagwat addressing
delegates from across the globe.
"Why are we suffering for 1000
years? We had everything but we
forgot to practise values. We also
forgot to work together. Hindu
society has the largest number of
meritorious people in many sec‑
tors. But they never come together,
stay together. "Coming together of
Hindus itself was a dif ficult task.
Earlier, when our Swayamsevaks
would try to organize people, they
would say 'a lion never walks in a
group', but even that lion or a
Royal Bengal Tiger who is the king
of the jungle... if he is alone, wild
dogs together can invade and
destroy him...," he said calling upon
Hindus to unite. He cited
Mahabharata, "Of all the main
characters, Krishna never contra‑
dicted Yudhishthir and Yudhishthir
never disobeyed Krishna because it
is important to work unitedly,
keeping your ego aside."
Sensex loses 1,000 points
in 2 days as rupee hits new
low
Continued from page 1
stretched,” RK Gupta, managing
director at Taurus Asset
Management told news agency
Reuters. Among sectors, all the
sub‑indices finished in the red with
Nifty FMCG losing more than 2 per
cent. All the other sectoral sub‑
indices closed lost more than a per
cent each.
India needs Rs 50‑tln
investments in infrastruc‑
ture: CII
Continued from page 1
Muthukumar said while core sec‑
tors would drive the investments in
the years to come, with proper
infrastructure, land use by indus‑
tries could be reduced by 40 per
cent. "Infrastructure development
influences the overall development
of the economy. The private sector
is emerging as a key player across
various segments, from roads and
communications to power and air‑
ports," said Muthukumar, who is
also President of Automotive Axles
Ltd. Noting that the infra sector is
critical to propelling growth, Volvo
India Managing Director Kamal
Bali said as good infrastructure
and logistics are pre‑requisites for
a healthy economy, India has a
long way to go.
"The cost of logistics in India is
14 per cent of the GDP as opposed
to 8 per cent in the rest of the
world, resulting in a wastage of
$150 billion a year. With 62 per
cent of logistic movement in the
country by road, stress on surface
infrastructure is huge, resulting in
75,000km per year per truck as
against 450,000 km in China," Bali
said.
Though urabanization is a sign
of a developing economy, Sri City
President Satish Kamat said, pro‑
viding right infrastructure is criti‑
cal, as mistakes in the sector could
not be corrected easily.
"Infrastructure affects a nation's
social and economic fabric and
when intertwined with technology,
it becomes a force multiplier,"
asserted Kamat.
He advocated the use of Internet
of Things, Artificial Intelligence,
machine learning and deep learn‑
ing in infra development to ensure
longevity and effectiveness.
Highlighting the issues facing
the infra sector, Kamat said lack of
long‑term finance, skill upgrada‑
tion and technology solutions are
holding up its growth pace.
"We need the right infrastruc‑
ture, developed at the right speed
and using the right technology to
ensure the country is future
ready," asserted Kamat.

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY September 15-21, 2018 5

NY businessman laments bad

run of investing in India
Special to The
South Asian Times

New York: An Indian‑

American entrepreneur
with import‑export busi‑
ness in New York has
appealed for justice as
he is likely to lose a sig‑
nificant investment
made in Maharashtra.
Harssh Madhok appar‑
ently created 200 jobs in
Thane, near Mumbai, by
setting up a Volkswagen
car dealership. He is now
faced with a situation
Harssh Madhok addressing the press conference
where all that will come
to a naught. “We did everything legally. Madhok, accompanied by his grown up
We go there with life savings and things children at the press conference, noted,
donʼt go the way they should. We are not “We donʼt want to say that everyone there
treated the way we deserve to be treated,” (in India) is bad; thereʼs nothing wrong
he told a news conference in Manhattan with the value system there.” He, however,
Sept 6 in the presence of members of FIA blamed for his plight a personal assistant
and Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce, and other bureaucrats in Fadnavisʼ office.
cautioning potential NRI investors against The entrepreneur alleged that the local
bureaucratic and other hurdles in India. dealer for Honda and Tata cars under‑
Madhok claims that as part of the first mined his business by using his political
phase of his project, with an estimated clout and bribery. “The landlord bypassed
outlay of Rs 500 crore, he entered a lease the legal system, broke open my show‑
agreement over a 70,000 sq ft dealership room locks (in June) and made threaten‑
showroom in Thane. Last year he opened ing calls to me,” he claimed, adding the
the showroom, the first of many planned CMʼs assistant apparently received a luxu‑
to create hundreds of jobs in Maharashtra ry car as bribe. The vandalism resulted in
as he was drawn by Prime Minister the destruction of computers, furniture
Narendra Modiʼs invitation to NRIs to help and other items in the showroom, he
develop India. reported.
He claims that his business was “illegal‑ Highlighting corruption in setting up a
ly” hijacked and he was denied access to business in India, Madhok said he had
the leased space. “Even worse, when I tried approached high level of ficials in New
to seek justice I was met with threats from Delhi, US‑India Business Council and
the landlord, the police department and Indian missions here. But to no avail.
local officials,” said a press release issued Madhok said he is mulling taking legal
on his behalf. His frustration grew as he action while accepting that it is going to
got no response from the office of Chief take a long time before the courts settle
Minister Devendra Fadnavis. the matter.

Indian origin techpreneur

develops app for NY cabbies
New York: Indian‑orig in The app currently provides
entrepreneur Jack Pohani the following utilities: Google
has deve loped an app to Maps, weather updates, calen‑
help taxi drivers with Taxi dar, note pad and options to
and Limousine Commission transfer money.
modalities. Having started with NYC,
Called “TLC Drive Ezee,” Pohani says in a press release
the app will provide all rele‑ that he plans to expand TLC
vant TLC‑related informa‑ Drive Ezee and Drive Ezee
tion to the drivers at the Deliveries to Chicago and San
click of a button. Francisco.
The app will also provide Jack Pohani has a degree in
step by step application sup‑ Business Management and
port for new and renewal of has deve loped various E‑
applications on the phone or Commerce and dig itally
Jack Pohani
on online, help with the TLC inclined businesses successful‑
practice tests by providing study guides ly. He has been closely associated with
and provide a platform for all drivers to TLC drivers since he was sharing an
connect, network and get assistance as apartment with a few of them. Thatʼs how
well. All content on the app, including he understood their pain points, their
study guides and prep test is available in problems, and their ways of maneuvering
all major languages, and also in an audi‑ those problems faced while going through
ble format. TLC processes.
 6 September 15-21, 2018 TRISTATE COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

NRIs spread colors of Indian culture Meera Gandhi hosts

across oceans: Prachi Tehlan
New York: Prachi Tehlan, a sweet, soft‑spoken
upcoming actress from India, was the ambas‑
sador along with veteran actor Anupam Kher
and Kamal Haasan at the IBA India Day
Parade in New Jersey.
The sportsperson turned actressʼs first US
visit revealed to her the colorful side of the
NRI world. This is how she described the
India Day Parade in Edison, NJ: “It looked like
a mini India here. It was beautiful to see peo‑
ple cheering and happy spreading Indian cul‑
ture on Independence Day in a foreign land.
All seemed to love to wear traditional clothes.
They bring children just like as in India.
Children born and bred here also speak about
spirituality, yoga, meditation. It is a surpris‑
ing revelation to me,” said Prachi.
Prachi was representing India on an inter‑
national platform many years after she car‑
ried the India torch as a sportsperson. In the
Commonwealth Games in 2010 she was the
youngest captain of the Indian team winning
a silver medal for netball. Currently Prachi is
busy with a big budget Malayalam film,
Mamankam, costarring Mammootty. This
marks the biggest acting break for her and
the first film down south. She is receiving
offers from the Tamil film industry as well.
“Mamankam is a period drama and my
Prachi Tehlan as Guest of Honor at the
IBA India Day Parade in New Jersey.
character with a lot of dance and long dia‑
logue delivery is an interesting challenge that
is keeping me busy,” said Prachi. She is defi‑
nitely one of the modern hard‑working,
charming and level‑headed actresses. She
calls herself a product of destiny that is writ‑
ten by the ink called hard work. Her two ini‑
tial movies in Punjabi, Bailaras and Arjan,
were well received.
Prachiʼs unusual 5 ft 11 inch height for an
actress has helped, not hindered her career
moves.
reception with Anupam Kher
and Suhel Seth in attendance
New York: Meera Gandhi, affluent global
philanthropist and owner of the Giving Back
Foundation, hosted a reception in September
2018 in Park Avenue, New York with
Bollywood actor Anupam Kher and
Marketing Guru Suhel Seth in attendance.
Meera Teresa Gandhi is a well‑known
global philanthropist and the owner of the
Giving Back Foundation, an organization
that works for the development of women
and children through education. Since its
inception in 2010, the organization has
adopted schools, partnered and donated to
several global charities (including the Anupam Kher, Meera Gandhi and Suhel
Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership Center and Seth at the reception
(Image : Mohammad Jaffer/SnapsIndia)
Kennedy Centre for Justice & Human
Rights). She has also come up with a line of and management gurus, and is also a highly‑
products, the Giving candle, film, book and regarded columnist, was also in attendance
fragrance for which 100% of the proceeds and spoke at the reception as well.
go back into charity. Ms Gandhi is known her philanthropic
The reception at her residence in Park actions and projects and regularly gathers
Avenue was attended by legendary influential people to do more good in the
Bollywood actor, Anupam Kher who is also world. She believes that if the leading
the current Chairman of Film and Television spokespeople unite and promote giving back
Institute of India. Suhel Seth, who is known to those who need help and support, the
as one of India's most admired marketing society will follow.

IALI donates 100 backpacks for LI students HSS North Charlotte organizes ‘Make
Hicksville, NY: India Association of Long Shashi Malik, Community Outreach
your own Ganesh murti’ program

Island, through the generous donations
of its members, donated 100 backpacks
filled with back‑to‑school supplies on
August 31st at the IALI Center to Nassau
County Dept of Social Service and Long
Island schools. The recipient organiza‑
tions in Long Island will distribute the
bags to children in foster homes, parents
serving sentence and families in need on
Long Island.
Notably present were Sunita
Manjrekar – Representative of Nassau
County Dept of Social Service, IALI
President Gunjan Rastogi, Secretary
Shruti Naik, Priyanka Sharmawin 2018 Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists
New York: Shruti Naik, an Indian
American scientist, who works as an
Assistant Professor in the New York
University School of Medicine, has been
chosen to receive the prestigious 2018
Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young
Scientists. Another Indian American
researcher, Priyanka Sharma, a post‑
doctoral researcher at Stony Brook
University, received honorable mention
in the “Chemistry” category. She was
recognized for her pioneering work on
Chair Mukesh Modi and other mem‑
bers of IALI. After distributing bags at
IALI Center, IALI Members visited to
Superintendent of Freeport Schools Dr.
Kishore Kuncham and Superintendent
of Hicksville Schools Marianne
Litzman and handed over bags in per‑
son to them. Mukesh Modi,
Community Outreach Chair, thanked
donors and participating organizations
as they proudly distributed backpacks.
Participating organizations included:
schools in Hicksville and Freeport, and
Nassau County Dept. of Social Service.
the low‑cost conversion of untreated
biomass to carboxycellulose nanofibers,
which have applications in biomedicine
and water purification.
Instituted by the Blavatnik Family
Foundation and the New York Academy
of Sciences, the awards support out‑
standing postdoctoral researchers in
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Naik was nominated in the Life
Sciences category for demonstrating
that skin stem cells retain a “memory”
The bags will reach children in foster
homes, parents serving sentence and
families in need
of previous inflammatory experiences,
allowing for a more robust and rapid
response to subsequent injury, accord‑
ing to a press release.
Since skin tissue is sustained by pools
of long‑living epithelial stem cells, Naik
discovered that the exposure of these
stem cells to noxious stimuli can induce
an inflammatory “memory” that alters
stem ce llsʼ genetic landscape and
makes them respond more quickly and
robustly to a subsequent insult.
H
indu Swayamsevak
Sanghʼs (HSS) organ‑
ized Make Your Own
Ganesh Murti (Idol) program
on Sept 1st on the occasion
of the upcoming Ganesh
Chathurti festival in North
Charlotte, NC. It was well
received by Hindu diaspora
of Charlotte. The program
was org anized by HSSʼs
North Charlotte chapter and
was held on September 1st
and saw many enthusiastic
Hindu families participating
with their kids who enjoyed
making an eco‑friendly
Ganesh murti from a scratch.
The program started with
the tradit ional Deep
Prajwalan (lamp lighting)
and recital of Ganesh van‑
dana led by the very young
volunteers (under 7 years) of
North Charlotte
Balagokulam. A presenta‑
t ion on HSS and
Balagokulam by Aravind
Modini gave an overview
of the organization, its activi‑
ties, presence in US and how
local Hindu families can con‑
nect with their Hindu roots.
The presentation highlighted
the fact that Balagokulam
activities are for the entire
family wherein
adults/young/kids can par‑
ticipate in physical, intellec‑
tual, music and other fun
activities and at the same
time learn interesting things
about Hindu dharma and be
proud about their Hindu
identity.
The highlight of the pro‑
gram was the workshop on
how to make the Ganesh
idol. Detailed instructions as
to how to make the idol were
handed over to each family
at the time of the registra‑
tion. HSS volunteer Neha
Talap who guided the kids
and parents with step by
step instructions made this
activity easy and fun. The
idols were decorated with
colors and everyone was
offered prasad as they left.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY September 15-21, 2018 7

Indians in USA should not Finance consultant from

forget their spiritual & cultural Andhra Pradesh among 3 killed
roots: M Venkaiah Naidu in Cincinnati bank shooting
New York: Vice President of India,
M. Venkaiah Naidu has advised the
Indian diaspora not to forget their
spiritual and cultural roots and
contribute their mite towards
building a new and resurgent
India. He was addressing the mem‑
bers of 21 Telugu Associations
based in USA, in Chicago on Sept 9.
The Ambassador of India to USA,
Navtej Sarna and other dignitaries
were present on the occasion.
The Vice President asked them
to uphold Indiaʼs core values and
beliefs of sharing, caring and treat‑
ing the ent ire world as ʻOne
Familyʼ – Vasud haiva
Kutumbakam.
Pointing out that India is the
spiritual capital of the world, he
said India was one of the oldest
surviving civilizations and recalled
the invaluable contribution made
by Indians over the centuries in
different fields from zero to Yoga.
T he Vice President said that
never forget or neglect your moth‑
er tongue, native village, mother‑
land, parents and the Guru, who is
ʻContribute your mite towards
building a new and resurgent
Indiaʼ ‑‑‑ M Venkaiah Naidu,
Vice President, India
(Image : indiatoday.in)
responsible for your success, he
told them. T hose who want to
move ahead in life should never
forget their past, he added.
While complimenting the Telugu
community for their contribution
to the progress of America, the
Vice President observed that it was
a matter of pride that many
Telugus are occupying high posi‑
tions in dif ferent fields. While
accepting and assimilating the best
practices from elsewhere in the
world, he asked them to always
remain rooted to Indiaʼs rich cul‑
tural heritage and traditions.
We need to celebrate our festi‑
vals and uphold our customs, he
said. At the same time, the Telugus
and other Indians in the USA
served as a bridge in strengthening
the t ies between India and
America. People‑to‑people contacts
were essential to strengthen the
bonds of friendship, he added.
Referring to Indiaʼs emergence
as the fastest growing economy, he
said the world was looking
towards India which is moving on
the trajectory to become one of the
top global economies in the next
10‑15 years. “I would like all of
you to join in fast‑tracking Indiaʼs
growth story,” he said.
Observing that about 32 million
Indians and Persons of Indian
Orig in were living across the
globe, he told the overseas Telugus
to always strive to enhance the
image of India and Indians. He also
appealed to them to adopt villages
in their native districts and help in
deve loping them into mo de l
villages.
New York: A 25‑year‑old Indian
man was among three people
killed when a gunman opened
fire in a bank building in
Cincinnati before police shot him
dead on Thursday.
Pruthviraj Kandepi, who
belonged to Andhra Pradesh's
Guntur district, was killed when
29‑year‑old Omar Enrique Santa
Perez from the town of North
Bend, Ohio, opened fire at the
headquarters for the Fifth Third
Bank near Fountain Square in
downtown Cincinnati, police
said.
India's Consul General in New
York Ambassador Sandeep Pruthviraj Kandepi
Chakravorty told news agency
The two other victims of the
PTI that the consulate is in touch
Cincinnati bank shooting were
with the police, Kandepi's family
identified as 48‑year‑old Luis
as well as members of the com‑
Felipe Calderon and 64‑year‑old
munity.
Richard Newcomer.
An official of the Telugu
Five people were shot, some
Association of North America
multiple times, in the incident,
(TANA) said that Kandepi was
they said, adding that the gun‑
working with the bank as a con‑
man was killed in a shootout
sultant. Arrangements were
with the police.
being made to send his body to
(PTI)
India, he added.

Bigg Boss 12 to premiere

Sept 16 on Aapka Colors
S
aas‑Bahuʼs drama,
Mama‑Bhanjaʼs cama‑
raderie, Sita‑Gitaʼs
inseparable bond, Bade‑
Chhoteʼs playful connection, a
helperʼs deference towards his
master, a grandmotherʼs undy‑
ing love for her grandson ‑
striking jodis such as these,
since time immemorial, have
always brightened our spirits.
And now, putting them all
under one roof and knocking
at your doorstep is Indiaʼs Host Salman Khan
welcomes ʻvichitra jodisʼ
No.1 Reality show ‑ BIGG
to the Bigg Boss House
BOSS. Equipped with daily
tasks, weekly tasks, luxury tasks, secret
tasks, special tasks and lucky tasks, Bigg
Boss in its 12th season will astound you
with yet another innovative theme. Amid the
dreamy setting of a beach, #BiggBoss12 will
pack a punch with its assorted couple jodis
battling it out to survive 100 days under the
constant glare of multiple cameras and host
Salman Khanʼs lively supervision.
Raj Nayak, COO Viacom18, said, “Bigg
Boss is a classic example of disruptive‑inno‑
vation. The show has not only earned us a
loyal audience base over the years but has
also earned us rich dividends in terms of our
partnerships and alliances. Our 9‑year asso‑
ciation with Salman Khan has been extreme‑
ly gratifying and his charm and persona
have only made the show larger than life.”
Giving a deeper perspective on the upcom‑
ing season of Bigg Boss, Manisha Sharma,
Programming Head – AAPKA
COLORS, said, “We have a
very good line up of unusual
pairings of family and friends
from across India. Itʼs a chal‑
lenge for us to take this show
to newer heights every year
since itʼs the most popular
brand in the Hindi GEC space.
Non‑fiction content from
AAPKA COLORS has always
set a benchmark, and now
with the success of Dance
Deewane and Rising Star our
endeavor is to make the
12th Season of Bigg Boss a
chart‑buster.” Returning as the host for the
9th season in a row, superstar Salman Khan
said, “Bigg Boss is a show that not only the
Nation looks forward to but even I look for‑
ward to with equal gusto. Though I have
been hosting it for 8 years, every time it
brings in a new experience for me and I
make a few more connections. The theme
ʻvichitra jodisʼ is very amusing and the vast
array of couples that we have shortlisted will
surely keep the viewers engrossed in the
show. Itʼll be fun to see whether the jodis
have each otherʼs back or fall apart during
the hard times.”
Watch Bigg Boss 12ʼs grand launch on
Sunday, 16th September at 8:30 PM ET/PT.
Subsequent episodes will air Monday‑
Sunday at 8:30 PM ET/PT on AAPKA COL‑
ORS. ʻAAPKA COLORSʼ is Viacom18ʼs flag‑
ship brand in the entertainment space.
 8 September 15-21, 2018 NATIONAL COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Vanita Gupta questions DOJʼs Madhulika Sikka hired to

stand in lawsuit against Harvard
New York: A coalition of civil
rights and Asian‑American advo‑
cacy organizations, led by the
former head of the Department
of Justiceʼs Office of Civil Rights,
Vanita Gupta, have slammed the
amicus brief filed by the depart‑
ment in support of the lawsuit
filed by Asian‑American stu‑
dents and parents ag ainst
Harvardʼs race‑conscious admis‑
sions policy.
Harvard is being sued by a
group calling itself Students for
Fair Admissions which is work‑
ing to have the school dismantle
its race‑conscious admissions
policy, which it said discrimi‑
nates against Asian‑American stu‑
dents.
The Justice Department on Aug. 30
in its amicus brief, said that Harvard
has “failed to demonstrate that it does
not discriminate on the basis of race,”
siding with the Asian‑American stu‑
dents, including some Indian‑
Americans suing the Ivy League
schoolʼs race‑based admissions policy
as discriminatory. The brief said,
“Harvard is engaging in outright
racial balancing.”
Last year, the DOJ opened a Title VI
investigation into Harvardʼs admis‑
sions process, based upon a com‑
plaint filed by several Asian‑American
organizations that also included some
Indian‑American organizations, argu‑
ing that admissions should be based
create flagship podcast at
Washington Post
of race as a factor in college
Vanita Gupta admissions as recently as 2016.
“T he Just ice Departmentʼs
investigation is unprecedented,”
Vanita Gupta, who had led the
Just ice Departmentʼs Civil
Rights Division under President
Obama, had said in 2017. She is
now president and CEO of The
Leadership Conference on Civil
and Human Rights. “The Justice
Department has never been a
party in these cases directly
investigating an institution.”
Gupta has filed an amicus brief
opposing Harvardʼs motion for
summary judgment in the case.
Guptaʼs filing argues that the Madhulika Sikka
strictly on merit. Just ice Department, under Je f f
Some reports have suggested that if Sessions, “opposes constitutionally New York: The Washington Post has hired award‑winning
Harvard and other institutions that sound strategies that colleges and journalist and veteran audio storyteller Madhulika Sikka
have a race‑conscious admissions pol‑ universities are using to expand edu‑ as an executive producer on The Postʼs audio team. Sikka
icy eliminate these policies, the Asian‑ cational opportunity for students of will hire a team and oversee the creation of a new flag‑
American student population would all backgrounds.” ship podcast set to launch later this year.
rise to as much as 40 percent for a The Justice Department recently Madhulika Sikka, who begins her new assignment Sept.
population of approximately 6 per‑ filed a statement of interest in the 10, is also a former senior producer of Ted Koppelʼs
cent in the U.S. while the African‑ lawsuit which has called Harvardʼs “Nightline” on ABC News and most recently served as
American and Hispanic‑American stu‑ af firmative action policy discrimina‑ public editor at PBS. The podcast is expected to launch
dents admitted could drop drastically tory against Asian‑Americans. later this year.
with the African American students Gupta called justice officialsʼ action “The Post is making a major investment in audio follow‑
admissions being reduced to less than one more example of “the administra‑ ing the tremendous success of podcasts like “Can He Do
2 percent. tionʼs contempt for efforts to build a That?” and “Presidential,” said Emilio Garcia‑Ruiz, manag‑
“Despite a lot of these programs, more inclusive, just society. It is now ing editor at The Washington Post. “Madhulika brings to
blacks and Hispanics are underrepre‑ backing Edward Blumʼs longstanding this role incredible news judgment and deep knowledge
sented in colleges and universities political agenda to undermine diversi‑ about the medium, positioning her to develop a show that
today even more so than they were in ty in education and opportunity for aligns with The Postʼs commitment to high‑quality jour‑
1980,” Gupta said. millions of young people.” nalism and innovation.”
The Supreme Court has upheld use (Source: theunn.com) (Source:theunn.com)

Prof. Somasundaran named Indian-origin persons

to National Academiesʼ
Board of Global Health
New York: Ponissseril Somasundaran, LaVon
Duddleson Krumb Professor of Mineral
Engineering in the Department of Earth and
Environmental Eng ineering at Columbia
Engineering, and a world leader in surfactant sci‑
ence, has been has been invited to serve as a mem‑
ber of the National Academiesʼ Board on Global
Health by Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the
National Academy of Medicine.
The Board on Global Health is charged with mon‑
itoring the broad field of global health and the
pursuit of critical concerns in three major areas:
U.S. policies and programs in global health; health
problems in developing countries; and health
issues of mutual concern to the United States and
other industrialized and industrializing societies.
The Board provides expert analysis and judg‑
ments to the National Academies, the United States
government, and other audiences on the meaning
to the United States of health developments
beyond its borders, and areas of U.S. international
health investment that are most likely to benefit
the health of the U.S. population and promote
global well‑being, security, and economic develop‑
ment.
Somasundaran is also the founding director of
Langmuir Center for Colloids & Interfaces, a
research center at Columbia that brings together
experts from mineral engineering, applied chem‑
istry, chemical engineering, biological sciences,
and chemistry to probe complex interactions of
colloids and interfaces with surfactants and
macromolecules, and founding director of the
National Science Foundation Industry/University
Cooperative Research Center for Particulate and
Surfactant Systems (CPaSS).
Somasundaran uses his expertise to take on
problems as wide‑ranging as the enrichment of
scarce minerals from ultra‑lean ores, the impact of
cigarette smoke on lungs, noninvasive ways to
diagnose plaque formation in the heart, the clean‑
ing of oil spills, and the behavior of nanoparticles.
Increasingly focused on sustainability, he is look‑
ing at the “big picture,” studying the full scope of a
productʼs lifecycle, from manufacture and shipping
to use and disposal, and inventing ways to reduce
waste.
Author of 15 books and 600 scientific publica‑
tions, Somasundaran was elected a 2016 Fellow of
the National Academy of Inventors.
Somasundaran has received numerous awards,
including, most recently, the 2017 AIME
(American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers) Presidential Citation Award.
among 15 indicted in
US call center scam
Washington, DC: Fifteen people,
including some of Indian‑origin,
and five India‑based call centers
have been indicted in a multi‑mil‑
lion call center scam that victim‑
ized thousands of people in the
US. Seven people were arrested on
T hursday in the US for their
alleged involvement in the scam
that victimized over 2,000 people,
resulting in over $5.5 million in
losses, the US Justice Department
said in a press release.
Seven defendants and five call
centers in India were also charged
for their alleged involvement, offi‑
cials said.
Mohamed Kazim Momin, Palak
Kumar Patel, Mohammed Sozab
Momin, Devin Bradford Pope,
Nicholas Alezander Deane, Drue
Kyle Riggins and Jantz Parrish
Miller were arraigned before US
Magistrate Judge Janet F. King.
"This indictment makes clear
that the IRS impersonation scam
has risen to a new level, with
indictments against five call cen‑
ters and seven co‑conspirators in
India who allegedly directed their
employees to participate in the
scam," said J. Russe ll George,
Treasury Inspector General for
Tax Administration.
The indictment alleged that the
defendants were involved in a
"sophisticated scheme organized
by co‑conspirators in India,
including a network of call centers
in Ahmedabad."
The five India‑based call centres
that were indicted were Excellent
Solutions BPO, ADN Infotech Pvt.
Ltd, Infoace BPO Solutions Pvt.
Ltd., Adore Infosource, Inc. and
Zurik BPO Services Pvt. Ltd.
The other indicted people were
Shylesh Kumar Sharma,
Dilipkumar Kodwini, Radhishraj
Natarajan, Shubham Sharma,
Nirav Janakbhai Panchal, Athar
Parvez Mansuri, Mohmmad Samir
Memon and Rodrigo Leon‑Castillo.
(IANS)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY September 15-21, 2018 9

India to cancel OCI card India seeks non‑

of Sherin Mathews' parents,
relatives in US
Houston: India has decided to
revoke the Overseas Citizenship of
India (OCI) cards of the Indian‑
American adoptive parents of
Sherin Mathews, the three‑year‑old
girl found dead in a culvert in
Dallas, and some of their relatives
and friends.
Counse l General of India in
Houston, Anupam Ray said India is
cancelling the OCI cards of Wesley
Mathews his wife Sini and the cou‑
ple's some relatives and close asso‑
ciates as public opinion in India on
this issue is inflamed and travel of
these people to India is not in public
interest.
Manoj N Abraham and Nissy T
Abraham, friends of the Mathews
family, were among the first to
Sherin Mathews was found dead in
a culvert near her house in Dallas
receive a notice of cancellation of
the OCI, which they have challenged
in Delhi High Court. Wesley's par‑
ents are also in the list.
"India has not forgotten this little
child and in public interest, the
Consulate will recommend their
names for insertion in the 'Blacklist'
maintained by the Government of
India at the earliest,” the Counsel
General of India said.
After Houston Consulates exten‑
sive research on this case, "It has
come to the knowledge of the
Consulate through diplomatic and
privileged sources that Manoj
Abraham and Nissy T Abraham have
been in close contact with the adop‑
tive parents of Sherin Mathews
before, during and after the mur‑
der," Ray said. "We would have
found out more about the circum‑
stances of this heartless murder if
Abraham had cooperated in provid‑
ing information."
"The case is developing in Delhi,
but our position on providing visa is
unchanged," Ray confirmed.
(PTI)
discriminatory approach
to H‑1B visa regime
New Delhi: India on Thursday called
upon the US to ensure a non‑dis‑
criminatory and predictable
approach to issuance of H‑1B visas,
largely availed of by Indian IT firms.
"I sought Secretary Pompeo's sup‑
port to nurture our people‑to‑peo‑
ple links," External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj said while address‑
ing the media after participating in
the first ever 2+2 India‑US
Ministerial Dialogue along with
Defence Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman, US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo and Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis.
"Specifically, I conveyed our
expectation for a non‑discriminato‑
ry and predictable approach to the
H‑1B visa regime, given its high
impact on innovation, competitive‑
ness and people‑to‑people partner‑
ship, all of which are a vital source
of strength for our relationship,"
Sushma Swaraj said.
In February, the US President
Donald Trump came up with a new
visa policy that makes the proce‑
dure for issuing H‑1B visas tougher.
According to the new policy, the
hiring company would have to
prove that its H‑1B employee at a
third‑party worksite has specific
and non‑qualifying speculative
assignments in specialty occupa‑
tion. Sushma Swaraj said she men‑
tioned to Pompeo that on the basis
of the friendship between Trump
and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Indians believe that the US will not
work against their interest.
"I have mentioned to him to main‑
tain the trust of Indians," she said.
(IANS)

DIASPORA

Indian delegation at Indian-origin man killed by UK teen for refusing to sell cigarette paper
TIFF 2018 to push London: A 16‑year‑old has been sen‑
tenced to four years' imprisonment
for the murder of an Indian‑origin
Indian cinema's shopkeeper who refused to sell him
cigarette paper because he was
end of the trial in July.
"The CCTV shows he was simply standing
with his hands in his pockets doing nothing,"
the judge told the boy during the sentencing
hearing this week.
"What happened next was that you deliber‑
ately moved to the left and launched yourself
at Patel, taking him of f his feet and to the
ground. He was completely defenceless and
did not move. You struck him," he said. (PTI)

overseas scope underage.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting in collaboration with the Confederation
of Indian Industry (CII) has sent a 15‑member delega‑
tion comprising directors, producers, distributors and
studio officials to the Toronto International Film
Festival (TIFF) to promote Indian cinema in the over‑
seas market and encourage foreign collaborations.
The delegation was part of an India Pavilion to facil‑
itate new business opportunities, said a statement.
Ashok Kumar Parmar, Joint Secretary (Films),
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, represent‑
ed the government in the Indian delegation to TIFF
2018. The market potential for Indian content in
Toronto is huge because of the strong presence of the
Indian diaspora and great interest in Indian cinema.
India‑Canada are in a co‑production treaty and the
delegation will explore opportunities to work on co‑
producing films with Canada.
The objective is to promote Indian films across lin‑
guistic, cultural and regional diversity to forge an
increasing number of international partnerships in
the realms of distribution, production, filming in India,
script development and technology, thereby accelerat‑
ing the growth of the film sector in India. The Indian
delegation, through various interactions, will promote
ease of shooting films in India through the Film
Facilitation Office (FFO) that facilitates single window
clearance for filmmakers and provides the platform
for 'film tourism' in India.
They will also showcase India as a post‑production
hub, promote collaborations for films with interna‑
tional production houses and encourage Indian
Panorama Films for sales and syndication as the 49th
edition of the International Film Festival Of India
(IFFI) is set to be held in Goa from November 20‑28.
This year, among the Indian films being screened at
TIFF are "Manmarziyaan", "Manto", "Mard Ko Dard
Nahi Hota", "Bulbul Can Sing", "The Sweet Requiem",
"Reaso", "Circle" and "The Field." TIFF 2018 is being
held from September 6‑16. (IANS)
The shopkeeper, Vijaykumar Patel
sustained a fatal head injury in the
unprovoked attack by the boy,
whose name has not been revealed
for legal reasons, outside a mini‑
market in Mill Hill, north London, in
January. T he 49‑year‑old had
refused to sell the tobacco related
item to the boy and his two friends
who came into his shop on January
6 because they were under 18 years
of age.
Sentencing the teenager at a hear‑
ing on Friday, Justice Stuart‑Smith
described the boy as a "time bomb",
who had been out on bail at the time
of the attack.
"The record, the facts of this case,
the contents of the PSR (pre‑sen‑
tence report) with the analysis of
very high risk of causing significant
harm. I do not find the PSR surpris‑
ing at all," the judge noted.
He sentenced the boy to four
years' detention and a further three
years on licence, or under monitor‑
ing.
A trial at the Old Bailey court in
London was told the boy, who had
five alcoholic drinks at a party on
the evening of the attack, became
aggressive and shouted abuse before
hurling himself at Patel outside the
shop. The attack was captured on
CCTV and it was possible to see the
moment Patel was hit.
Patel was rushed to St Mary's
Hospital in central London but died
the following day from the injury to
the back of his head. The teenager
had claimed self‑defence but was
found guilty of manslaughter at the
 10 September 15-21, 2018 US AFFAIRS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Death of a Salesman: ʻFearʼ, Anonymous and a President

Op-Ed by Woodwardʼs book mentions a presidential
Shivaji Sengupta memo directing that the U.S. abruptly end a
trade agreement with South Korea, a step

O
ur President has set the American
intelligentsia on fire. Ever since the
businessman took the oath for the
highest office in the country, our establish‑
ment politicians, intellectuals and egg heads
have been sounding the alarm over and over
again: beware President Trump, heʼs going
to take us a down a path Americaʼs never
been before.
We were slowly getting used to the din.
Twenty‑one months into his presidency –
almost half his term – we have become
accustomed to the president being very dif‑
ferent from the others. From what I see and
hear, people very unlike myself – conserva‑
tives in the populist sense, poor and undere‑
ducated ‑ still root for him. Here in Suffolk
County, Long Island, for example “Trump:
Four More Years” bumper stickers are not
uncommon. As we found out in 2016, there
are enough of them in this country to bring
him back in 2020.
From the 63 million people who voted for
him, very few have changed their minds.
Personally, I do not approve of him as presi‑
dent; but neither do I know of a way to
unseat him other than launching massive
grassroots voters, appeal to the young
adults who took such exception to him over
the last year over gun control, and rally
younger women and the minorities, African‑
Americans and the Latinos – in other words,
through the ballot box.
But my fellow members of the American
intelligentsia – made up of journalists, acad‑
Cover of the book by Bob Woodward, and NYT Op Ed headline.
emicians and social activists – however,
have a different concern. To them, Donald
Trump is not just a very dif ferent kind of
president, he is a president who has lost it,
who is not in control of his own mind, who,
apart from being a megalomaniac, is actual‑
ly deranged. He is mentally unfit, and hence
needs to be removed from presidency before
the 2020 elections.
Two publications have gone a long way to
fan this fear. One appeared as a New York
Times Op Ed last Wednesday, anonymously
entitled, “I am a Part of the Resistance Inside
the Trump White House,” and the other is an
assured block‑buster book, Fear – Trump in
the White House, written by Bob Woodward
of Watergate fame. The actual book was
released to the public on 9/11 (perhaps
intentionally) – but already it was widely
previewed by the media. This book may, in
fact, have the same effect as his first one, All
the Presidentʼs Men (1973, coauthored with
Carl Bernstein), had on the Richard Nixon
presidency. It ended it.
The Times Op Ed, apparently published
independently of Woodwardʼs book, may be
held up as a real‑life illustration of the main
point of Woodwardʼs book: that the presi‑
dent is absolutely so deranged, and there‑
fore, so reckless and ignorant of world poli‑
tics, that the members of his own Cabinet
and other staf f have to hide, rescind, and
even obliterate the presidentʼs directives
simply because had they listened to him it
would have plunged the world and, with it,
the United States into complete chaos!
that according to the opinion of senior
White House staf f would have “disastrous
consequences” on U.S. relations with not
only South Korea but the entire Korean
region. The memo, which Woodward actual‑
ly stole from the Presidentʼs desk, is quoted
in full as proof.
I am puzzled by all this. I remember vivid‑
ly the national agony that everyone went
through when in 1974 President Nixon had
to resign before he was impeached by
Congress because he lied under oath.
According to Woodwardʼs book, President
Trump has been eager to testify in the
Mueller investigation on the possible collu‑
sion between Trumpʼs election campaign
and Russia. His attorney, John Dowd, whom
he eventually fired, did not want him to tes‑
tify because he thinks that the only way
Trump could escape is by lying. He doesnʼt
want him to go the Nixon way. It is highly
possible that Donald Trump barely knows
about the history of Nixonʼs perjury. Fools
rush in where angels fear to tread.
Is Donald Trump, self‑proclaimed consum‑
mate salesman turned businessman turned
president losing it, just like Willy Loman in
Arthur Millerʼs The Death of a Salesman?
Like Loman he brags; says something and
immediately contradicts himself; like Loman
he is slowly losing control on reality; and,
like Loman too, he is caught in adulterous
relationships. Is Trump going Willy Lomanʼs
way? Or Richard Nixonʼs?
We shall see.

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.

White House narrows US takes aim at war crimes

search for anonymous
op‑ed writer
Washington: White House aides
are said to have narrowed down
their search for the anonymous
author of the New York Times op‑
ed that alleged an internal resist‑
ance to President Donald Trump
in his own administration, an
informed source told CNN.
Trump is still "obsessed" with
finding the person, though he is
being counseled by White House
Chief of Staff John Kelly to let it
pass, to avoid bringing more
attention to the claims in the op‑
ed that shook the political world.
T he op‑ed published last
Wednesday, just a day after
excerpts from veteran journalist
Bob Woo dward's new book,
"Fear: Trump in the W hite
House", were published.
The anonymous writer said the
resistance inside Trump's admin‑
istration is not the same as the
resistance from the political left.
The author wrote that the resist‑
ance inside the government
wants "the administration to suc‑
court, and to shut PLO office
Washington: President Trumpʼs
national security adviser, John R.
ceed ... But we believe our first
Bolton, fleshed out his bossʼs
duty is to this country, and the
“America First” foreign policy on
President continues to act in a
Monday, disparaging an interna‑
manner that is detrimental to the
tional organization vilified by
health of our republic".
conservatives and reaf firming a
The author also wrote that the
pro‑Israel tilt by announcing the
"root of the problem is the
closing of the Palest ine
President's amorality" and assails
Liberation Organizationʼs of fice
Trump's "reckless decisions",
in Washington. But on one of Mr.
"erratic behavior" and what the
Trumpʼs signature projects,
of ficial describes as the
nuclear diplomacy with North
President's "impetuous, adversar‑
Korea, he parted company,
ial, petty and ineffective" leader‑
reports The New York Times.
ship style. More than 25 high‑
On the same day that the White
ranking Trump administration
House welcomed a letter to Mr.
of ficials have come out publicly John Bolton, President Trumpʼs national security adviser, warned the
Trump from Kim Jong‑un, pro‑
denying having penned the op‑ International Criminal Court against pursuing an investigation of
posing another meeting of the
ed, including Vice President Mike American troops in Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy AP)
two leaders, Mr. Bolton struck a
Pence, Secretary of State Mike
markedly less optimistic tone, International Criminal Court with invest ig ate the conduct of
Pompeo, Ambassador to UN,
expressing frustration that Mr. sanct ions if it invest ig ated American troops in Afghanistan.
Nikki Haley, Director of National
Kim had not yet begun to fulfill American troops in Afghanistan. He said the goal was to stop the
Inte lligence Dan Coats and
his promise to rid North Korea of His announcement of the closing investigation in its tracks, and
Defense Secretary James Mattis.
its nuclear weapons. of the P.L.O. office reinforces how offered a litany of familiar argu‑
On Friday, Trump said he wants
Mr. Boltonʼs remarks came after far the White House has moved ments ag ainst the court: It
Attorney General Jeff Sessions to
a speech to the Federalist Society from the role of a broker in the infringed on American sovereign‑
investigate and uncover the iden‑
̶ his first major public appear‑ reg ion. Mr. Bolton said his ty, had unchecked power and was
t ity of the individual who
ance since taking his job in April remarks were prompted by indi‑ “inef fective, unaccountable, and
authored the opinion piece.
̶ in which he threatened the cations that the court wants to indeed, outright dangerous.”
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Hurricane Florence threatens the
Carolinas, 1 Million ordered to evacuate
New York: As Hurricane Florence
gained muscle over the Atlantic
Ocean on Monday and sped toward
the shores of North and South
Carolina, government of ficials in
both states were taking few chances,
exhorting more than a million resi‑
dents and tourists in coastal areas to
grab their essentials, jump into their
cars and head inland as part of a
great coastal emptying.
The fear us that Florence could
become one of the most catastroph‑
ic hurricanes to hit the Eastern
Seaboard in decades. Carrying
winds of up to 140 mph as a
Category 4 storm, it was expected to
strengthen and become a Category
5 storm Tuesday. It's then forecast
to close in on North or South
Carolina on Thursday, hitting a
stretch of coastline that's vulnerable
to rising sea levels due to climate
change. "Please be prepared, be
careful and be SAFE!" President
Donald Trump tweeted Monday
evening.
South Carolina's governor ordered
the state's entire coastline to be
evacuated starting at noon Tuesday
and predicted that 1 million people
would flee. At noon on Tuesday, CBS
The hurricane can bring potentially torrential rainfall in
as far as New Jersey and New York.
News correspondent David Begnaud
says lanes will be reversed on four
of the largest roads leading to the
South Carolina coast, so cars will
only be able to drive inland. Similar
evacuations are happening all the
way up to Virginia, where the gover‑
nor has ordered a mandatory evacu‑
ation for residents of some low‑lying
coastal areas.
The storm's first ef fects were
already apparent on barrier islands
as dangerous rip currents hit beach‑
es and seawater flowed over a state
highway. For many people, the chal‑
lenge could be finding a safe refuge:
US AFFAIRS September 15-21, 2018
Trump again
asks Apple to start
manufacturing in US
Washington: After Apple hinted
at increasing the price of its
products owing to tarif fs on
China, President Donald Trump
has once again asked the iPhone
maker to shift manufacturing
from Beijing to Washington.
Apple has written a letter to
the Trump administra‑
tion, saying the pro‑
posed $200 billion
tarif fs on China‑
made pro ducts
If Florence slows to a crawl just off
w ill make the
the coast, it could bring torrential
Apple Watch,
rains to the Appalachian mountains
AirPods headphones,
and as far away as West Virginia,
Home Po d smart
causing flash floods, mudslides and
speaker, Macs and key
other dangerous conditions. The
computer parts more expensive.
storm's potential path also includes
"Apple prices may increase
half a dozen nuclear power plants,
because of the massive Tariffs we
pits holding coal‑ash and other
may be imposing on China ‑ but
industrial waste, and numerous hog
there is an easy solution where
farms that store animal waste in
there would be ZERO tax, and
massive open‑air lagoons. Airlines,
indeed a tax incentive," Trump
including American and Southwest,
tweeted on Saturday.
have started letting passengers
"Make your products in the
change travel plans that take them
United States instead of China.
into the hurricane's possible path.
11
Start building new plants now.
Exciting! MAGA."
In January 2017, Trump said
he spoke to Apple CEO Tim Cook
over the phone and he promised
to build "three big plants" in the
US. But Cook never directly
responded to that claim.
What Apple actually
announced in
January was to con‑
tribute $350 billion to
the US economy over
the next five years
that includes an
estimated $55 bil‑
lion investment in
2018.
In a letter written to the US
Trade Representative on Friday,
Apple said some of its popular
products will get hit by the 25
per cent increase in import tax as
proposed by the Trump adminis‑
tration on Chinese products.
Apple is set to unveil new
iPhones and other services on
September 12.
 12 September 15-21, 2018
Bharat Bandh: Opposition rallies against BJP
New Delhi: T he Bharat Bandh
called by the Congress and Left on
Monday against rising fuel prices
and tumbling rupee evoked mixed
response in the country as the
opposit ion closed its ranks
against the Modi government. The
BJP dubbed the protest a failure.
The day‑long shutdown affected
normal life in Odisha, Karnataka,
Bihar, Kerala and Tripura and trig‑
gered a mixed response in
Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra,
Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir,
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
But it was mostly ineffective in
Mamata Banerjee‑ruled West
Bengal.
Shutdown enforcers resorted to
blocking roads and rail tracks dis‑
rupting traffic in several parts of
the country. In Bihar, a critically
ill two‑year‑old girl died on her
way to a hospital in Jehanabad
town apparently due to a road
blockade.
Band h supporters allegedly
resorted to violence and clashed
with the police in some parts
areas, prompting the ruling BJP,
which dubbed the shutdown a
"complete failure", of accusing the
Win 2019 and remain in
power for next 50 years: Shah
New Delhi: With slog ans of
"Ajeya Bharat" and "Atal Bhajapa"
the two‑day BJP Nat ional
Executive concluded here, not
only pledging to return to power
in 2019 but also to remain there
for the next 50 years on the basis
of performance and its organisa‑
tional strength. BJP President
Amit Shah claimed that if the BJP
succeeds in 2019, there would
be no one to remove it from
power for the next 50 years.
T he execut ive meet also
formed a strategy to reach out to
every household involving its
workers from booth leve l to
national level and called upon
party activists to work tirelessly
to strengthen Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's hands to turn
the country into new India.
Addressing the party workers,
BJP President Amit Shah said the
hard work of the Prime Minister
and his dedication for the coun‑
try has made him unbeatable till
date. "Modiji has not taken rest
after the 2014 election. He has
covered almost 300 Lok Sabha
constituencies after becoming
Prime Minister and he will cover
the rest of the parliamentary
constituencies before the 2019
elections," he said.
"Our Prime Minister works tire‑
lessly for the country. I am sure
we will win in 2019 and will
remain in power for next 50
Former Prime Minister and Congress leader Manmohan Singh at a
protest rally at the Ramlila ground in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS)
Congress of creating an "environ‑
ment of fear" by violently enforc‑
ing the shutdown.
Normal life was paralysed in
Odisha with vehicular movement
and train services thrown out of
gear as Congress workers blocked
roads and trains. Hundreds of
Congress activists were arrested.
The Railways cancelled 12 trains
while schools and colleges were
closed.
BJP President Amit Shah.
years," Prasad quoted Shah as
saying. "The Congress came to
power in 1947 and remained
undefeated till 1967," he said
adding that he was not saying in
arrogance but on the basis of
government's performance.
"The people of the country are
getting more oriented on per‑
formance and works of the gov‑
ernment," he said.
"Modiji has not lost a single
election since 2001 because of
the kind of the work he has done
in the state," he said.
To win the 2019 e lections,
Shah asked nine crore dedicated
party workers to visit about 22
crore families to highlight the
work of the government in the
last four‑and‑half‑years.
"By contacting them we can
reach out to every household
before 2019," Shah said.
INDIA NEWS
Normal life was hit in Bihar with
the shutdown supported by the
Rashtryia Janata Dal (RJD), Left,
Hindustani Awam Morcha and Jan
Adhikar Party of Pappu Yadav.
Hundreds of Congress and other
opposition parties leaders and
workers took to the streets.
Shutdown supporters blocked
national and state highways, dis‑
rupted rail and road traf fic for
hours and stranding thousands of
Modi sets tone for 2019,
attacks Mahaghatbandhan
New Delhi: Setting the tone for
2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime
Minister Narendra Mo di has
termed the proposed
Mahagathbandhan a compulsion
of leaderless grouping with BJP
chief Amit Shah asserting that if
the party succeeds in next gener‑
al election, it would remain in
power for the next 50 years.
At the BJP National Executive
meeting here, Modi said that the
BJP does not see "any challenge"
and those who failed in govern‑
ment also failed in opposition.
He said the disparate parties
coming together was a vindica‑
tion of his government's success.
Modi evoked memory of for‑
mer Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee who passed away last
month and gave the call of "Ajeya
Bharat" and "Atal Bhajapa."
Law Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad later briefed the media
about Modi's remarks.
"Today, there is discussion
about Mahagathbandhan. People
who do not see eye to eye, who
cannot walk together, who have
no political or ideological under‑
standing, who can't even tolerate
each other are thinking of forg‑
ing a Mahagathbandhan and
embracing each other. It is the
biggest vindication of our suc‑
cess," Prasad quoted Modi as
saying.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
passengers. Demonstrators
clashed with police in several
places while dozens of vehicles in
Patna were damaged.
In Karnataka, normal life was
affected as public transport kept
of f the roads across the state.
Schools and colleges were closed
although state and central govern‑
ment of fices remained open.
Global software firms like Infosys
and Wipro functioned normally.
Life was thrown out of gear in
BJP‑ruled Tripura with most mar‑
kets, shops and business estab‑
lishments closed and private and
passenger vehicles of f the roads.
Government of fices and some
banks were open but employee
attendance was low.
But the Bharatiya Janata Party
claimed that Bandh was a failure
in Tripura.
BJP‑ruled Uttar Pradesh saw
stray incidents of protests. The
response was mixed in Jharkhand,
with few shops closed and long
route buses not plying. In Mumbai
and other cities, large numbers
took to the streets, railway sta‑
tions, bus depots, and other public
places.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the BJPʼs national executive
meeting in New Delhi. (Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi)
"Mahagathbandhan ‑‑ its leader
is not known, the policy is
unclear and intention is corrupt.
These are so powerful words of
the Prime Minister...," Prasad
said.
Re ferring to the Cong ress,
Modi said that "nobody is pre‑
pared to accept its leadership.
Even small parties are not willing
to accept its leadership. Some
treat it as a burden."
The Prime Minister said that
there should be an ef fective
opposition in a democracy for
But suburban trains, BEST
buses, schools and colleges func‑
tioned normally. Shops and com‑
mercial establishments downed
shutters in many localities. The
shutdown was mostly inef fective
in West Bengal. Banks, education‑
al institutions in Kolkata were
mostly open while trading activi‑
ties in the city were more or less
normal.
Meanwhile, in the national capi‑
tal, Congress President Rahul
Gandhi led the opposition's show
of strength, staging a foot march
in support of the Bharat Bandh
from Rajghat to Ramlila Maidan in
the heart of the city.
Manmohan Singh hit out at the
BJP for "miserably" failing to con‑
trol fuel prices.
Rahul Gandhi flayed Modi for
his stoic silence over rising fuel
prices, tumbling rupee, Rafale
fighter jet deal and agrarian dis‑
tress in the country.
The Left parties took out a sepa‑
rate rally in the national capital.
Meanwhile, the BJP said the
hike in fuel prices was a "momen‑
tary dif ficulty" and claimed the
shutdown was a complete failure.
accountability.
Mo di made veiled digs at
Congress President Rahul Gandhi
saying opposition parties were
not prepared to accept Congress
leadership, some even regarded
it a burden and there was also a
situation of the leadership not
being acceptable w ithin the
party.
He accused the party of speak‑
ing "lies" and asked BJP workers
to fight them while taking the
work done by the government in
last four years to the people.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA September 15-21, 2018 13

After years of battle, SC decriminalizes homosexuality

New Delhi: In a historic verdict that the gay
community rejoiced, the Supreme Court has
decriminalized homosexuality between con‑
senting adults by declaring as "manifestly
arbitrary" Section 377 of IPC, the penal provi‑
sion which criminalised gay sex.
In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five‑
judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice
Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman,
Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra
struck down the British era law insofar as it
criminalised consensual sexual acts of adults
in private.
Chief Justice Misra began reading out the
eagerly awaited verdict, quoting German
thinker Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who
had said: "I am what I am, so take me as I am."
Misra said attitudes and mentality have to
change to accept others' identity and accept
what they are, and not what they should be.
"It is the constitutional and not social
morality which will prevail. An individual has
full liberty over his or her body and his or her
sexual orientation is a matter of one's choice.
"Time to bid adieu to prejudicial percep‑
tions deeply ingrained in social mindset. Time
to empower LGBTIQ community against dis‑
crimination," said the Chief Justice, giving a
Members of the LGBTIQ community cele‑
brate in Nagpur after the Supreme Court
in a landmark decision decriminalised
homosexuality. (Photo: IANS)
final ruling on an issue that has been
embroiled in legal battles since 1994.
Section 377 will not apply to consensual
same‑sex acts between homosexuals, hetero‑
sexuals, lesbians, the court said, clarifying
that sexual act without consent and bestiality
will continue to be an offence.
The bench said it was no longer an offence
for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgen‑
der/transsexual, intersex and queer/question‑
ing) community to engage in consensual sex
between two adults in private.
Justice Indu Malhotra said history owed an
apology to the LGBTIQ community for all that
they have suf fered on account of the igno‑
rance of the majority about homosexuality.
"LGBTIQ people have a right to live unshack‑
led from the shadow."
In a concurring judgement, Justice Nariman
said homosexuality was "not a mental disor‑
der or disease". He said the LGBTIQ communi‑
ty had an equal right to live with dignity and
were entitled to equal protection of law. He
directed the Centre to give wide publicity to
the judgment to remove the stigma attached
to homosexuality.
Justice Chandrachud said to deny the LGB‑
TIQ community their right to sexual orienta‑
tion was a denial of their citizenship and a
violation of their privacy.
The verdict assumes significance as in an
earlier round of litigation in 2013, the top
court had reversed a Delhi High Court ruling
decriminalising homosexuality.
The verdict sparked street celebrations in
the LGBTIQ community across the country.
Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi
Tharoor said the "government has no space in
bedrooms".

No blanket waiver for

India-Russia defence
trade: US official
New Delhi: Amid speculations over the fate of
India's purchase of the S‑400 Tiumf air
defence missile system from Russia following
Washington's sanc‑
tions on Moscow, a
senior US of ficial
said that there will
be no blanket waiver
for defence trade
with Russia.
"On the S‑400,
there is no blanket
waiver or country‑
Alice Wells, the US
Principal Deputy specific waiver,"
Assistant Secretary Principal Deputy
for South and Central Secretary of State
Asian Affairs. for South and
Central Asia Affairs
Alice Wells said while briefing the Indian
media over phone from the US about the first
ever 2+2 India‑US Ministerial Dialogue. "The
authority granted by the Congress allows the
President to make a determination on individ‑
ual waivers," Wells said. External Af fairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim
Mattis he ld the 2+2 Dialogue here on
September 6.
With US President Donald Trump adminis‑
tration's law ‑‑ Countering America's
Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)
‑‑ coming into effect in January 2018, India's
defence deals with other countries have come
under the scanner.
CAATSA targets countries doing business
with Russian, Iranian and North Korean
defence companies. It is a matter of concern
for India as it is a major defence partner of
Russia. The most controversial issue is India's
purchase of four S‑400 missile systems from
Russia at a cost of more that Rs 40,000 crore.
 14 September 15-21, 2018 OP-ED TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Ruling on gays: Is the BJP out of

sync with modern realities?
By Amulya Ganguli ernism which are anathema to any judge bench can overturn an earli‑
group which wants the society to er judgment in favour of criminal‑

M
ore than the social
impact of the Supreme
Court's judgment on gay
rights, what will be of concern to
the ruling party at the Centre is its
political fallout. Hence, the elo‑
quent silence of the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) on the subject.
For the BJP and its ideological
mentor, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), any
expansion of the concept of civil
liberties is fraught with danger to
their restrictive worldviews since
a widening of human rights car‑
ries the prospect of greater indi‑
vidualism.
If the rights of the homosexuals
to live without legal constraints
are conceded, it can only encour‑
age the people to free themselves
of other restrictions as well such
as on choosing live‑in partners (of
whatever sex) and eating, dressing
and speaking as they please.
It is noteworthy that the verdict
be bound by shackles of ortho‑
doxy and obscurantism.
It is ironic that although the
Hindutva brotherhood speaks of
decolonising the Indian mind, the
two colonial laws which have long
been its favourites are the section
on homosexuality in the Indian
Penal Code and on sedition.
Now that one of them is gone,
there is little doubt that these
closet followers of Britain's 19th
century politician Lord Macaulay ‑
‑ even as they decry the secular
groups as "Macaulay's children" ‑‑
The LGBTIQ supporters celebrate in New Delhi after the Supreme will hold on resolutely to the law
Courtʼs decision to decriminalize homosexuality. (Photo: IANS)
on sedition as their only safe‑
on gays has come close on the described as an "elitist" concept. guard against the "anti‑nationals"
heels of the judgment which For the Hindu Right, as also for who, they believe, stalk the land.
described the right to dissent as a other religious fundamentalists, It is also possible that the saf‑
"safety valve" which the govern‑ this dalliance with civil rights ‑‑ fronites will keep a hawk's eye on
ment can only shut off at its peril the freedom to criticise the gov‑ any social problems that may
lest there is an explosion. ernment, the exaltation of privacy arise because of the assertion of
Moreover, the court had also and now the decriminalisation of gay rights. As the BJP MP
upheld not long ago the right to homosexuality ‑‑ entails a push Subramanian Swamy has said,
privacy which the government towards liberalism and mod‑ with eager anticipation, if a five‑
ising homosexuality, a larger
bench can undo the present ver‑
dict if gay bars begin to flourish
and there is a rise in the cases of
HIV (human immunodeficiency
virus) infections.
Interestingly, what these judg‑
ments underline is how the judici‑
ary is more attuned to the chang‑
ing world than the elected repre‑
sentatives of the hoi polloi who
often argue in favour of giving
greater primacy to the legislature
than the judiciary since they claim
to represent the people while the
judges are unelected denizens of
an ivory tower.
However, one possible reason
why MPs and MLAs, especially of
the BJP, seem to be out of sync
with the present‑day world is the
presence in their midst of a large
number of criminal elements who
can hardly be regarded as the
most progressive sections of
society.

IF PAK SHUNS ʻANCIENT INDIAʼ IN

HISTORY BOOKS, IS IT TO BLAME?
By Haroon Khalid Nothing came of that conflict, but ensued ̶ divorced from the politi‑
perhaps Jinnah saw both India and cal realities that dictated their

A
few months ago, I visited a
newly‑opened museum in
Lahore that, along with sec‑
tions on Partition and the contem‑
porary history of Pakistan, also
included an exhibit on its ancient
and pre‑colonial history. It was
titled “Ancient Pakistan” and includ‑
ed references to the Indus Valley
civilization, the Mauryan Empire,
the Kushan dynasty and even the
Khalsa Empire of Ranjit Singh. The
title of the section stood out as a lit‑
tle odd. It felt like a modern catego‑
ry had been imposed on the ancient,
a trend increasingly on the rise
across South Asia. The generally
used term “Ancient India” perhaps
would have not evoked a similar
reaction.
The overarching nationalistic tilt
of the museum might explain why
its curators were reluctant to use
the term “Ancient India” for its
exhibits. In such a nationalistic
framework, there is only one India
̶ the Republic of India. In this nar‑
rative, the nuance of the term
“Ancient India” ̶ which, in addition
to including parts of contemporary
India, also includes areas of
Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh ̶
Ruins of Mohenjo‑daro in present‑day Sindh, Pakistan, one of the
largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
(Pic: www.ancient.eu)
is lost. So, contemporary India
becomes the modern‑day incarna‑
tion of the ancient civilization that
is India.
However, this phenomenon is not
unique to Pakistan and its national‑
ist discourse. The Republic of India,
which emerged after the Partition
of British India, embraced its
ancient Indian heritage, becoming
the visible successor of Ancient
India. What helped its cause was
the continuity in the names ̶
India. The contemporary Indian
state drew historical continuity
from its ancient past, and its exclu‑
sive use of the name “India” also
helped spread the perception glob‑
ally that it was the only rightful
inheritor of the legacy of Ancient
India.
A couple of weeks ago Shoaib
Daniyal wrote an incisive piece on
Scroll.in in which he pointed out
that for a brief moment in the histo‑
ry of South Asia, Muhammad Ali
Jinnah objected to the use of the
name “India” by the new country,
arguing that it should be referred to
as Hindustan.
Pakistan as the successors of histor‑
ical British India.
The name “India” was picked by
the British after the formation of
their Empire. It has Greek roots. The
Greeks referred to the land across
the Indus as India. In all academic
discourse, the pre‑Partition history
of Pakistan and Bangladesh contin‑
ues to be referred to as “Indian his‑
tory”. Maybe Jinnah anticipated
that the Republic of Indiaʼs use of
the name “India” might gradually
exclude Pakistan from this collec‑
tive Indian heritage.
What also did not help was the
subsequent attitude of the Pakistani
state toward its Indian heritage.
Slowly, as relations between the two
neighbors began deteriorating, in
Pakistan, the term “India” stopped
being associated with a larger
peninsular identity, but was solely
identified with the modern state.
Pakistan began distancing itself
from its own history, allowing its
antagonistic relationship with India
to shape its attitude and perception
of its Indian heritage.
Pakistanʼs history came to be
defined in opposition to Indiaʼs his‑
tory. A celebration of Muslim rulers
actions ̶ while all other history
and heritage of the Indian subconti‑
nent began to be ignored.
A fairly complicated situation
exists today. In global academia, the
term “Indian history” encapsulates
the history of the entire region. But
in the popular imagination, Ancient
India ends up being reduced to
relating to the past of Independent
India. For example, the demand that
the British return the Kohinoor dia‑
mond to India shows how historical
India and contemporary India are
seen as an extension of each other.
Within Pakistan, there has
increasingly been some acknowl‑
edgement of this past. The bone of
contention, however, has been how
to refer to it and package it.
Referring to it as “Ancient Pakistan”
has the potential to mislead.
However, even if Pakistan today
decides to change its attitude
towards its Indian heritage and
chooses to accommodate it in its
identity, it would find it difficult to
shape the global narrative that it is
indeed one of the successors of
Ancient India, along with
Bangladesh and India.
(Op‑Ed: Courtesy, Scroll.in)

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info HINDUISM September 15-21, 2018 15

Mohan Bhagwat, Acharya Lokesh inaugurate World Hindu Congress

PM Modi, the Dalai Lama, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar sent messages for conference attended by 2000 representatives from 80 countries.
Chicago: T he World Hindu
Congress organized here from 7 to
9 September 2018 to celebrate the
125th anniversary of historical
speech given by Swami Vivekanand
at Parliament of Worldʼs Religions
was inaugurated by RSS Chief
Mohan Bhagwat, the founder of
Ahimsa Vishwa Bharti, Acharya Dr.
Lokesh Muni, Swami Swarupanand,
Puranatmananda , Sadguru Dilipji
and others. Over 2000 representa‑
tives from 80 countries took part in
the program.
Prime Minister of India Narender
Modi sent his message for the
Congress. The Dalai Lama and Art
of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar gave video message on the
occasion. PM Modi in his message
ing our epics and scriptures in digi‑
tal form. He expressed hope that
the conference will discuss how
India can connect intellectually and
culturally with the world in a better
manner through the ancient treas‑
ures of its knowledge...
Acharya Lokesh Muni said that
India has always shown the path of
spirituality to the world. This was
proved 125 years back by Swami
Vivekananda and Shri Vir Chand
Raghav Ji Gandhi who represented
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Acharya Lokesh Muni, Swami Jainism at the Parliament of
Swaroopananda, Swami Purnatmananda, Chair SP Kothari, VP of Religions. He said that India is a
Suriname Ashwin Adhin, Satguru Dalip Singh symbol of Unity in Diversity. Manu
said that various aspects of Hindu connect more and more people who religions like Hindu, Jain, Buddh
philosophy can solve many prob‑ believe in Hindutva. He added that and Sikh were born in India, and
lems confronting the world. Yet, he we can better connect the younger their followers even today live in
insisted on the use of technology to generation with Hindutva by bring‑ harmony. Followers of Christianity,
Islam, and Parsis and Jews too came
to India and they were accepted
with open hearts. “I want to send
the message that all re ligions
preach humanity. Since early civi‑
lization religion has always brought
people together to move ahead
towards development.”
Acharya Lokesh expressed pride
in belonging to Jainism, which has
taught the world both tolerance and
universal acceptance. He called the
Jain philosophy of Non‑Violence,
Peace and Harmony as the need of
the time for humanity when people
are faced with myriad problems like
violence, g lobal warming and
income inequality. Dr. Abhay
Asthana was Coordinator of the
World Hindu Congress.

Preservation of Indiaʼs heritage is

nationalism: Vice president Naidu
life and share and care is the core of Hindu
philosophy.”
He elaborated on some of the essential ele‑
ments of Hinduism, namely the breadth of its
vision in treating the world as one family, tol‑
erance and acceptance of plurality, unity in
diversity, and that truth is one though wise
should guard against aberrations in
Hinduism.” “To serve fellow countrymen is
patriotism,” according to Naidu.
“Kanyakumari to Kashmir, India is one
nation, irrespective of religion or regions,”
Baidu said. The organizers announced that
the third World Hindu Conference will be
held in Bangkok, Thailand, from Nov. 4 to 6,
2022. The conference theme will be “Victory
of dharma, not adharma.”

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu
extensively referred to Swami
Vivekanandaʼs epoch‑making 1893 address,
which described Hindu philosophy as
“discovering of spiritual wellsprings” that
have sustained the world for centuries.
Krishen Khanna. News of Gandhiji’s Death, 1948. Oil on canvas. Radhika Chopra and Rajan Anandan. Photography by Richard Goodbody
men describe it in different ways.
Naidu especially highlighted the place of
women in Hindu society and discredited the
view that womenʼs role is at home. All rivers
in India have been named after women and
the country itself is called motherland, he

I
ndiaʼs Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu
appealed to the 2nd World Hindu
Congress delegates to follow the ideals of
Swami Vivekananda. He was delivering the
keynote address at the concluding session of
the congress that marked the 125th anniver‑
sary of the great saintʼs exposition of
Hinduism to the western world in Chicago.
Naidu peppered his speech with generous
Sanskrit and Telugu quotes. He extensively
referred to Swami Vivekanandaʼs epoch‑mak‑
ing address, which described Hindu philoso‑
phy as “discovering of spiritual well springs”
that have sustained the world for many cen‑
turies.
The philosophy of tolerance and acceptance
of all religions, was an essential part of the
timeless, eternal, holistic, integrated and uni‑
versal worldview of Hinduism.
Naidu reiterated that “Hinduism is a way of
said. Citing Mahatma Gandhi, Naidu said
“Rama rajya is not complete without gram
rajya,” meaning rejuvenation and celebration
of rural India, with an emphasis on agricul‑
ture and farming. That is a necessary tool to
bridge the urban‑rural divide, he said.
One should not condemn or appease other
religions for the sake of votes, Naidu noted.
Compassion, service, charity, gender equality,
protection of the environment and such
noble aspects are key ingredients of Hindu
philosophy and they are more relevant today
than ever before, he said.
The theme of the World Hindu Congress,
“Think collectively, achieve valiantly,” was an
apt motto, Naidu said.
True nationalism is in the preservation of
Indiaʼs invaluable heritage, though some may
consider the term Hindu as undesirable or
untouchable. In this context, Naidu said, “We

Permanent secretariat proposed for Hindus worldwide

H indu worldwide should become more
visible as positive change makers in
their respective countries they call home,
wherever they may be today, was the main
consensus emerging from World Hindu
Congress 2018, Dr. Abhaya Asthana, con‑
vener of the conference, said at the con‑
cluding session on Sunday. The Hindu
Political Conference, a subset of the
Congress, has suggested the need for a
permanent secretariat in the US or UK for
the cause of Hindu rights around the
globe. To accomplish this task, a group of
eminent persons will be recruited.
The political conference highlighted the
importance of asserting a strong political
voice especially in countries like the
Caribbean, Fiji and African countries, and
developing young political leaders. A
ON VIEW THROUGH JANUARY 20, 2019
dynamic digital database of all political
leaders by country is to be developed.
To plan your visit or find out about related programs, visit
The congress hosted other parallel ses‑
AsiaSociety.org/SeasonOfIndia
sions: on youth, media, economy, women,
education, and Hindu organizations. To
create awareness about atrocities commit‑ Asia Society and Museum | 725 Park Ave. (at 70th St.) | New York City
ted against Hindus around the world.
 16 September 15-21, 2018
Love is love: Bollywood
celebrates victory for LGBTQ
A
s the Supreme Court
passed a landmark
judgement on
Section 377 by decriminaliz‑
ing homosexuality, the
Bollywood fraternity hailed
the decision.
From filmmakers Karan
Johar and Hansal Mehta to
actors Aamir Khan, Abhishek
Bachchan and John Abraham,
several celebrities took to the
social media to express their
joy over the judgment.
Filmmakers Karan Joh
Karan, who in his book "An
Unsuitable Boy", said he didn't
feel the need to scream out his sexual orien‑
tation "because I live in a country where I
could possibly be jailed for saying this",
called the apex court's judgment "historical".
"So proud today. Decriminalizing homosex‑
uality and abolishing Section 377 is a huge
thumbs‑up for humanity and equal rights.
The country gets its oxygen back," tweeted
Karan, one of India's most popular filmmak‑
ers. Abhishek and John, who posed as homo‑
sexuals in the movie "Dostana", are also
happy for the LGBTQ community.
"Well done India," Abhishek tweeted, while
John wrote: "Stand tall in honor with pride.
LGBTQ."
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, whose film
"Aligarh" made a crucial statement on a gay
professor, wrote: "The verdict is clear. Two
consenting adults irrespective of sex, reli‑
gion, cast and gender cannot be rendered
criminals by the law. We as a society need to
understand this before bringing bestiality,
paedophiles etc as a counter to today's land‑
mark judgement."
Actress Swara Bhaskar, known for fearless‑
ly expressing her mind on socio‑political
issues, wrote: "Good on you Honorable
My struggle in Bollywood
might inspire many: Govinda
B
ollywood actor Govinda, who is
coming up with a new comedy
film 'Fryday' says, though he is
not in a mood to watch a bio‑pic on his
life soon, his journey as an outsider who
achieved success, would be inspirational
for many budding artistes.
During the trailer launch of 'Fryday',
while asked about his interest in biopic
on his life, Govinda told said: "I do not
think that making a biopic on my life at
this point of my career is a good idea ‑‑ I
am working on films. But I think starting
from zero, in a film industry that does not
give any newcomers a chance easily, to make
it to the top is surely an interesting journey
of my life; that is inspirational."
He said: "While in poverty, people tend to
get depressed it is wise to accept the situa‑
tion and win over it (that I did). So that will
be an interesting watch," added the 'Saajan
Chale Sasural' famed actor.
The occasion was graced by the cast and
crew of the film "Fryday", including Varun
Sharma, Vijendra Kale, director Abhishek
Dogra among others.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
ar and Hansal Mehta
hailed the jud gement.
Supreme Court and thank you. I hope the citi‑
zens of India are listening. 'Majoritarian
views and popular morality cannot dictate
constitutional rights. We have to vanquish
prejudice, embrace inclusion and ensure
equal rights.'" Here's what other stars tweeted:
Aamir Khan: We thank the Supreme Court
for its decision to strike down article 377. It
is a historic day for people who believe in
equal rights for all. The judiciary has done its
duty, and now we must do ours.
Kubbra Sait: The verdict is here. I am who I
am. Congratulations to everyone who voiced
their hearts out. India Pride. Section 377
decriminalized.
Farhan Akhtar: Bye bye 377. Thank you
Supreme Court. No more dicrimination. Love
is love.
Sonam K Ahuja: This is the India I want to
live in. Not one filled with hate, bigotry,sex‑
ism homophobia and intolerance. This is the
India I love.
Vidya Balan: I am what I am. So take me as
I am... Hail the Supreme Court Of India.
Grateful that so many people I love won't
need to live in fear of ʻbeing found out' any‑
more.
comic caper
Actor Govindaʼs new
October release.
ʻFrydayʼ is set for an
Remembering one of his early days, he said:
"A film becomes hit with the equal participa‑
tion of every actors and crew members.
When I was doing 'Shola Aur Shabnam', I was
so amazed to watch Anupam Kher‑ji, that I
couldn't deliver dialogues properly. The
same happened with Kader Khan saab. After
ages, I met the actor Vijendra Kale who
amazed me to that level with his perform‑
ance. I am so glad to work with these talent‑
ed people."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
'Paltan': A realistic
but lame war film
B
ased on a true story,
this J.P. Dutta's film
opens with a scene of
high tension that soon trans‑
ports the viewer exactly
where he or she would never
want to be, in a war zone on
the Indo‑China Border.
Paltan is the tale of the pla‑
toon from the Rajputana
Rifles, under the command of
Major General Sagat Singh
With a multiple star cast, ʻPaltanʼ seems
(Jackie Shroff ). On the ground
to have been lazily packaged.
level the platoon is led by
Lieutenant Colonel Rai Singh missing. What's more, the film seems to
Yadav (Arjun Rampal). He is seconded by have been lazily packaged. There
Major Bhishen Singh (Sonu Sood) and are several instances that makes
EW
REVI
Major Harbhajan Singh you want to reject the film. For
(Harshavardhan Rane) and they one, the English dialogues which
are assisted by Captain Prithvi Jackie Shroff frequently breaks into. Two,
Singh Dagar (Gurmeet Chaudhary). Each the plot meanders for the better part of
one of them have their moments of on‑ the film.
screen glory. Probably, that's what gears us to the
Designed in a formulaic manner, the nar‑ third act, which is something bad is going
rative of this war film is interspersed with to happen and that takes too long to come.
the personal lives of the protagonists. And thirdly, you crack up when Colonel
Each one has his share of onscreen per‑ Rai Singh Yadav's wife essayed by Esha
sonal moments, either with their parents, Gupta in an emotional parting scene turns
wife or fiancé. So if you have seen any of up with false eye lashes and baby in arms
J.P. Dutta's earlier films, then this is no dif‑ to bid farewell to her husband who is
ferent. The novelty in the treatment is going to join his posting.
Shahid Kapoor,
Mira blessed with son
B
ollywood actor Shahid Kapoor and feel complete with his arrival.
his wife Mira Rajput became par‑ The "Padmaavat" actor took to Twitter to
ents again as they welcomed a son thank his fans and followers for their
at a hospital in Mumbai. They had daugh‑ wishes.
ter Misha in 2016. The boy was born at "Zain Kapoor is here and we feel com‑
the Hinduja Hospital here, a source said. plete. Thank you for all the wishes and
They have named their second child
"Zain Kapoor" and the actor says that they
blessings. We are overjoyed and so grate‑
ful. Love to all."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Filmland break‑ups are like messy murders
By Subhash K. Jha
I
hate to say this, but I saw it coming.
Film Producer Madhu Varma Mantena
had been in pain for a while. A week
before he told me he has something
important to tell me.
Then came the announcement that he
and his wife of three years, Masaba Gupta,
are bringing their marriage to an end. The
announcement came on social media. This
is where lives and relationships are made
and unmade these days. Long live the
sanctity of privacy.
Prior to Madhu, it was another friend,
Arjun Rampal, who quit his marriage by
"mutual consent". Arjun told me he and
his wife ‑‑ married for 20 years ‑‑ had
parted "as friends".
This, I find hard to believe. The effort to
make a ruptured, amputated marriage
look like a clean split is plainly an eye‑
wash. Filmland marriages want to look
squeaky‑clean when they break up. But
they are like messy murders. You can't
wash away the blood no matter how hard
I've unleashed my wilder
side in 'Manmarziyaan':
Vicky Kaushal
B
ollywood actor
Vicky Kaushal,
who plays a DJ
from Amritsar in his
upcoming film
"Manmarziyaan", says
the role has given him
the opportunity to let
loose the wilder side of
his personality.
"I unleashed my
wilder side in
ʻManmarziyaan' while
playing the character,
who is impulsive, color‑
ful, does things without
thinking too much... He
is free. I rarely got a
chance to color my hair
blue and wear such col‑
orful clothes, put a lot of
tattoo on my body‑ in
real life. But somewhere
that side is hidden in
me," Vicky said.
"So, narrating this character
gave me a chance to liberate
myself. I felt free to narrate him,"
he added.
With the last nine months,
Vicky has had four films releases
‑ "Love Per Square Foot", "Raazi",
"Lust Stories" and "Sanju". In each
film, by playing very different
characters, the actor has proved
his versatility as a performer.
Which character did he enjoy
playing the most?
"Whether it was my character
as Iqbal in ʻRaazi' or Kamli in
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
For film producer Madhu Mantena,
fashion designer Masaba Gupta
seemed to be for keeps.
you try. Hrithik Roshan and his former
wife go on vacations with their children
even after their marriage ended. It's just
Actor Vicky
Kaushal's
'Manmarziya
an' releases
on
September
14
ʻSanju', I would aspire to be a hus‑
band and friend like them. On the
other hand, it was fun playing
Paras in 'Lust Stories' because I
found it little challenging to play
such a character convincingly
who lives is a bubble and is very
stupid as a guy.
"However, I played my alter ego
in ʻMamarziyaan' as Vicky
Sandhu... And I enjoyed that the
most," added the actor, who
gained critical acclaim with
"Masaan" in 2015.
The film is releasing on
September 14.
September 15-21, 2018
not real. If they wanted to go on family
vacations, why break the marriage? And if
they did decide to mutually break the
marriage, why the show of togetherness
with pictures going up on social media
even before the vacation has started?
Madhu co‑founded Phantom Films with
Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and
Vikramaditya Motwane, which brought
out successes such as "Lootera", "Queen",
"Hasee Toh Phasee" and "Bombay Velvet".
Madhu's next film, "Super 30" ‑‑ on the IIT
success story ‑‑ is awaited.
I have to admit, though, that Madhu has
been singularly unlucky in love. He was in
a very comfortable relationship with
actress‑author Nandana Sen for nearly
eight years.
Madhu, Nandana and I had dinner once
in Mumbai where they just couldn't keep
their eyes and hands off one another.
When that relationship ended, Madhu,
who always gets into relationships think‑
ing they are for keeps, was determined to
find love again. He got into another rela‑
tionship with an author which ended as
Aishwarya receives Meryl
Streep Award with daughter
A ctress Aishwarya Rai
Bachchan was honored with
the inaugural Meryl Streep Award
for Excellence at the Women in
Film and Television (WIFT) India
Awards in Washington, DC.
She was accompanied to the
event by her daughter Aaradhya
and mother.
The former beauty queen on
Sunday took to Instagram to thank
her fans for their beloved wishes.
She wrote: "A heartfelt thank you
to all my well‑wishers from India
and all around the world, for being
my inspiration and strength. God
bless and all my love."She also
posted a few pictures in which Aishwarya with her daughter after
she can be seen holding a trophy receiving the Meryl Streep Award.
All my films should be banned: Twinkle
W
riter‑producer debut with "Barsaat" in 1995
Twinkle Khanna, and thereafter featured in a
who once an series of unsuccessful films
actress in the Hindi film like "Itihaas", "Zulmi" and
industry has said that all the 'Mela'. She quit acting after
films which featured her in getting married to Akshay
the lead should be banned so Kumar in 2001.
that no one can watch it. Asked which film of hers
Twinkle interacted with the should now be remade, she
media at the launch of her jokingly said: "I haven't given
book "Pyjamas Are Forgiving", a single hit in fact. I think
along with husband Akshay that all my films should be
Kumar and mother Dimple banned so that no one can
Kapadia, as also with Karan watch it."
Johar, Ranveer Singh, Sonam Earlier, Twinkle wrote a
Kapoor Ahuja, Bobby Deol, book titled "The Legend Of
Tanya Deol, R. Balki, Gauri Lakshmi Prasad" which was a
Shinde, Abhishek Kapoor, collection of short stories ‑
Mana Shetty and Sikandar one of which was adapted for
Kher in Mumbai. Akshay's "Pad Man", pro‑
Twinkle made her Hindi film duced by Twinkle.
17
suddenly as it had begun.
Masaba seemed to be for keeps. Madhu
just couldn't get enough of her.
Smothering your partner with love could
create serious space problems. It did for
Madhu's marriage. He is now single and
not quite ready to mingle. There is a lot of
pain in the parting.
Madhu never wanted the marriage to
end. But the show business saps you. Only
the thick‑skinned survive. Star‑wives who
have successfully managed to forge a life
of their own, away from their star‑hus‑
bands' shadows have succeeded in keep‑
ing their marriages going. You think they
don't know about their husbands' furtive
flings?
Madhu's marriage with Masaba was a
fairytale coming together of two people. It
soured because they never found a mid‑
dle‑ground between his targets as a pro‑
ducer and her goals as a dress designer.
Now as things stand, barring one, every
one of the partners at Phantom ‑‑ Anurag,
Vikas and Madhu ‑‑ has a broken marriage
behind him.
in her hand and her daugh‑
ter and mother beside her.
The "Fanney Khan"
actress also penned a mes‑
sage for 6‑year‑old
Aaradhya. "You my
Aaradhya complete me.
Divine, blissful and eternal
love," Aishwarya captioned
the photograph of her
daughter.
Apart from Aishwarya,
filmmaker Zoya Akhtar
received the Wyler Award
for Excellence in Direction,
and "Dhadak" star Janhvi
Kapoor was also honored
with the WIFT Emerald
Award.
Writer‑producer Twinkle Khanna made
her Bollywood debut with ʻBarsaatʼ.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 15-21, 2018

MUMBAI CHEATS MANHATTAN

Indian Origin US Investor’s “Make In India” dream foiled
INDIAN DIASPORA INVESTOR'S PROJECT RUINED DUE TO
BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE AND CORRUPTION IN MAHARASHTRA
Harssh Madhok's dream project was turned into his worst nightmare in Thane. Madhok, a
Manhattan based investor, was looking to expand his ambitious venture and create new
jobs in Maharashtra when the interference of politicians and bureaucratic forces allowed
corruption to supersede progress. In his attempt to get justice, Madhok
approached the political system including the chief minister of Maharashtra with no avail.

Volkswagen Thane

Harssh Madhok
MD & Chairman

• Local influential Honda and TATA Auto dealer in Mumbai trying to hijack Madhok's Volkswagen dealership
• Madhok opened a state-of-the-art showroom with a vision
• To open 100 more showrooms in India creating over 20,000 jobs
• His dream was turned into his worst nightmare as his business was illegally hijacked
• Influential Auto dealer tried to use political clout, bureaucracy, and bribery to push Madhok out
• Indian-born US citizen Harssh Madhok appeals for justice
• Madhok created over 200 jobs for Maharashtrian families
• Madhok opened his dream project, a state-of-the-art Volkswagen showroom in Thane, Mumbai
• His business was ILLEGALLY hijacked
• Landlord bypassed the legal system, broke the showroom locks, and placed threatening calls
in an attempt to silence Madhok
• No response from Maharashtra chief minister’s office for over two months
• PA working for Maharashtra CM’s Office rumored to have received a car as BRIBE
to leave this matter in limbo
For more information, visit http://www.nriinternet.com/A_Z/M/Harssh-Madhok/index.htm

Press conference was held on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at New York, NY

Any further inquiries contact (732) 447 3460 • CommunityAppeal@gmail.com

TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Minority issue: Top economists Mattis meets
Afghan President,
quit Imran Khan's panel
Islamabad: London‑based econo‑
mist Imran Rasul became the sec‑
ond member of Prime Minister
Imran Khan's Economic Advisory
Council (EAC) to resign after Atif
Mian stepped down from the body
following a backlash in Pakistan
over his Ahmadi faith.
"With a heavy heart, I have
resigned from the EAC this
(September 8) morning," Rasul, a
professor of economics at
University College London (UCL),
tweeted.
"The circumstances in which Atif
was asked to step down are ones I
profoundly disagree with," Rasul
said in a series of tweets.
His resignation comes a day after
two prominent Pakistani econo‑
mists resigned from the EAC after
the Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf (PTI)
government asked one of them to
step down.
At if Mian, a professor at
Princeton University and Woodrow
Wilson School of Public Policy, had
said he was resigning because the
government was facing pressure
regarding his appointment.
Terming the reasons for Atif 's
removal and subsequent resigna‑
tion as "irrelevant factors", Rasul
expressed his disappointment and
said it would be hard to replace the
Princeton economist.
Commenting on the formation of
the economic body, Rasul said the
body of fered a great opportunity
for better economic policies but
"events these past 10 days have
shown the best and worst of
Pak may become 5th largest
n-state by 2025: Report
London: Pakistan
is expanding its
uranium‑enrich‑
ment and plutoni‑
um pro duct ion
facilities, trigger‑
ing fears that it
may become the
5th largest nul‑
cear‑weapon state
and have 220 to
250 warheads
w ithin the next
seven years, a
Pakistan may have 220 to 250 warheads within
report has said.
The report pub‑
lished on August 31 by the Bulletin of fissile materials production industry…
the Atomic Scientists authored by We estimate that the country's stock‑
members of the Federat ion of pile could… grow to 220 to 250 war‑
American Scientists says that Pakistan heads by 2025, if the current trend
was also developing several delivery continues," said the 12‑page report.
systems.
"Pakistan continues to expand its Defence Weekly, a London‑based mag‑
nuclear arsenal with more warheads, azine that reports on military and cor‑
more delivery systems, and a growing porate affairs said.
SUBCONTINENT
It was earlier hoped
that PM Imran Khan
shall have a tolerant
government.
Arif Alvi takes oath as
Pakistan President
S
enior Pakistan Tehreek‑i‑Insaf leader Arif Alvi took oath as the
country's 13th President, a day after outgoing President
Mamnoon Hussain's five‑year term ended.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar administered the oath to
Alvi, who was elected to the National Assembly from Karachi's NA‑247
constituency in July, reports Dawn news. Alvi, who was up against
Pakistan People's Party's Aitzaz Ahsan and Jamiat Ulema‑e‑Islam's
Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the post of President last week won the
election with 352 electoral votes ‑ 44 more than his two rivals could
collectively obtain.
Pakistani politics at the moment". decision on Twitter shortly after
Protesting the government's deci‑ news spread that Mian was not part
sion to withdraw the nomination of of the EAC.
Atif Mian on the EAC, celebrated The first meeting of the recently
economist Asim Ijaz Khwaja reconstituted EAC was presided
resigned from the newly‑formed over by Prime Minister Imran
body, saying "being a Muslim I Khan. With the resignat ion of
can't justify this". Rasul, all three international econo‑
Khwaja ‑ who was one of the ini‑ mists of Pakistani origin on the
tial 18 members of the EAC that council are no longer part of the
Mian was part of ‑ announced his advisory body.
Nepal not to join BIMSTEC
military drill in India
Kathmandu: Nepal will
not join the first‑ever
joint military drill among
the armies of the Bay of
Beng al Init iat ive for
Multi‑Sectoral Technical
and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
members, to be hosted
by India next week, an
advisor to the Prime
Minister said.
Kundan Aryal, Press
Adviser to Prime
Minister K.P. Sharma Oli,
the next seven years. told Xinhua news agency
that Nepal will not join
the joint military drill to
be org anized in Pune
from September 10‑16.
"Nepal will not participate in
the BIMSTEC joint military
The report first appearted in Jane's
drill. This is the of ficial deci‑
sion of the government," he
said, without giving details
about the reasons behind the
September 15-21, 2018 19
assures support
Kabul: US Secretary of
Defense James Mattis
made a surprise visit to
the Afghan capital and
in a meeting with
President Mohammad
Ashraf Ghani assured
Washington's long‑
term support to
Afghanistan.
Mattis also assured
that his country would
continue its security
and economic coopera‑
tion for enhancing
bilateral relations
between the US and
Afghanistan, according US Defense Secretary
James Mattis made a surprise
to a statement released
visit to Kabul.
by the Presidential
Palace. Heading a ranking dele‑ when Washington is trying to
gation, which also included make headway in Kabul after
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs 17 years of war.
of Staff Joseph Dunford, Mattis The arrival of Mattis coincid‑
in the meeting with Ghani also ed with the recent takeover by
exchanged views on the impact Austin Miller from John
of US strategy on Afghanistan Nicholson as NATO‑led
and South Asia, the upcoming Resolute Support Mission and
Afghan parliamentary and pres‑ US Forces Afghanistan com‑
idential elections, the war on mander, Efe news reported.
terror and talks with Pakistan, Mattis, who reached Kabul in
it said. the morning from New Delhi,
The Afghan President, accom‑ had, along with the US
panied by Chief Executive Secretary of State Mike
Abdullah Abdullah, said that the Pompeo, discussed with their
Afghans and their government Indian counterparts, Nirmala
were thankful to Washington Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj
for its support to Kabul, the respectively, the importance of
statement added. both India and the US in
Mattis arrived here at a time Afghanistan.
Top Asian leaders at the fourth BIMSTEC Summit
decision. military drill among the armies
Official sources told Xinhua of BIMSTEC members.
that the decision was made by BIMSTEC ‑‑ founded in 1997
the Nepali government amid ‑‑ is a regional bloc grouping
growing criticism from multi‑ India, Bang ladesh, Bhutan,
ple quarters over the country's Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka
participation in the first ever and Thailand.
 20 September 15-21, 2018 INTERNATIONAL TheSouthAsianTimes.info

China accused of Johnson compares Brexit

'human rights violations'
against Muslims
Beijing: A rights group accused the Chinese
government of conducting a mass, systematic
campaign of human rights violations against
Muslims in the far western region of Xinjiang.
T he new Human Rights Watch (HRW )
report comes after a UN committee last
month raised alarm at the "numerous reports
of detention of large numbers of ethnic
Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities held
incommunicado and often for long periods,
without being charged or tried, under the pre‑
text of countering terrorism and religious
extremism", CNN reported.
In the report, HRW documents the increas‑
ing government control over the 13 million
Muslims living in Xinjiang.
It is estimated that in the area, one million
are currently detained in re‑education camps
where they are forced to learn Mandarin and
sing the praises of the Chinese Communist
Party.
"The Chinese government is committing
human rights abuses in Xinjiang on a scale
unseen in the country in decades," Efe news
quoted said Sophie Richardson, HRW China
director, as saying.
Detainees in these political re‑education
camps have not been charged with any crime,
have no access to lawyers or contact with rel‑
atives.
"I asked (the authorities) if I can hire a
lawyer and they said, 'No, you shouldn't need
a lawyer because you're not convicted.
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There's no need to defend you against any‑
thing. You're in a political education camp ‑ all
you have to do is just study'," a man who
spent months in the camps told HRW.
"Nobody can move because they watch you
through the video cameras, and after a while
a voice came from the speakers telling you
that now you can relax for a few minutes... We
were watched, even in the toilet," another
detainee told the rights group.
Outside these centres, Xinjiang citizens are
under mass surveillance with high‑tech sys‑
tems such as phone spyware, biometrics, QR
codes and big data, and officials make regular
visits to their homes where they stay, the
report said.
plan to 'suicide vest'
London: Boris Johnson, the
former UK Foreign Secretary,
attacked Prime Minister
Theresa May's Brexit plan,
saying she had "wrapped a
suicide vest" around the
British constitution and
"handed the detonator" to
Brussels.
Writing in the Mail,
Johnson said the plan had
opened the UK to "perpetual
political blackmail", reports
the BBC.
Johnson resigned from his
post in July after the plan
was agreed by the cabinet.
In his article, Johnson
accused the European Union Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
accused EU of ʻbullyingʼ UK.
(EU) of "bullying" the UK.
He said that rather than getting a by two senior Conservative MPs, said
"generous free trade deal", Britain is the BBC.
saying, "yes sir, no sir, three bags full Former Army officer and member of
sir", to Brussels. the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
"At every stage of the talks so far, Tom Tugendhat graphically described
Brussels gets what Brussels wants... It is the aftermath of a suicide bomb that
a humiliation. We look like a seven‑ had gone off near his office in Helmand
stone weakling being comically bent out province, Afghanistan.
of shape by a 500lb (pounds) gorilla." He said comparing such an attack to
This is Johnson's second attack on the the May's plans "isn't funny", adding:
May's Brexit strategy inside a week. "Some need to grow up".
Last week, he used his Daily Telegraph Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan
column to say the deal "means disaster" said the article was "one of the most dis‑
for Britain. gusting moments in modern British pol‑
Johnson's attack has been criticized itics".

Absence of nukes at New Australian PM faces

N Korean military election wipe‑out: Poll
parade hailed Canberra: Australia's governing
Liberal‑National Party coalition is
Washington: US President facing a landslide defeat in the
Donald Trump has hailed the upcoming general election, accord‑
absence of ballistic missiles at ing to a leading opinion poll.
the military parade held by The Newspoll said that the coali‑
the North Korean government tion trailed the Australian Labour
on the 70th anniversary of Party (ALP) 44‑56 on a two‑party
the country's founding. preferred basis.
"North Korea has just The results indicated that the
staged their parade, celebrat‑ government's reputation took a sig‑
ing 70th anniversary of nificant hit following August's lead‑
founding, without the custom‑ ership crisis that saw Scott
ary display of nuclear mis‑ Morrison sworn‑in as Prime
siles," Trump wrote on his Minister and his predecessor,
Tw itter account, Efe news A parade was held in N Korea on Malcolm Turnbull, retire from poli‑
reported. the 70th anniversary of the tics, Xinhua news agency reported.
The US President added that country's founding.
The Liberal‑National Party coali‑
"Theme was peace and economic thank Kim for the gesture, adding tion is the alliance of two centre‑
development." that "We will both prove everyone right parties ‑‑ the Liberal Party Australian PM Scott Morrison's performance was
He added, citing Fox News, that wrong! There is nothing like good overshadowed by that of his government.
and the National Party of Australia.
"Experts believe that North Korea dialogue from two people that like Morrison's performance was support for the party since 2010 Respondents to Newspoll rated
cut out the nuclear missiles to each other! Much better than overshadowed by that of his gov‑ and approaching the 43.3 per cent energy prices (22 per cent), hospi‑
show President Trump ... its com‑ before I took office." ernment with the ALP set to win as that carried the party to a landslide tals and aged care (21 per cent) and
mitment to denuclearize." T he North Korean leader many as 90 of 150 seats in the victory in the 2007 election. assistance to farmers (21 per cent)
@FoxNews This is a big and very presided at the parade but did not House of Representatives in the It came ahead of Morrison's first as Morrison's most pressing issues.
positive statement from North deliver a speech there and authori‑ next election, due to take place by parliamentary sitt ing wee k as Those who identified as coalition
Korea." ties opted not to display any inter‑ May 2019, according to the poll of Prime Minister where he was voters said that the budget deficit
Trump, who met with North continental or medium‑range bal‑ 1,653 voters. expected to lay out his policy agen‑ was their top priority while ALP
Korean leader Kim Jong‑un in listic missiles among the military The ALP's primary vote rose to da reg arding economy, power voters said it was hospitals and
Singapore on June 12, went on to hardware in the procession. 42 per cent, the highest level of prices and the droug ht. aged care.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info BUSINESS September 15-21, 2018 21

Alibaba's Jack Ma to retire next year

Beijing: Alibaba's Executive Chairman Jack
Ma will step down in September 2019 and
hand over the reins to Chief Executive
Daniel Zhang, the Chinese e‑commerce
giant said on Monday.
Ma, who co‑founded the company
almost 20 years ago which now is the
world's biggest e‑commerce behemoths,
said in a letter to his employees that "tran‑
sition demonstrates that Alibaba has
stepped up from a company that relies on
individuals, to one built on a culture of tal‑
ent development".
Ma, who was a school teacher in China's
small town of Hangzhou where Alibaba is
headquartered and now one of the richest
men in the world, will get to back to edu‑
cation, the billionaire said in a letter to his
employees.
On the company's 20th anniversary on
September 10, 2019, Zhang will take
charge as the new chairman.
The development comes days after his
imminent retirement in a report by the
New York Times, refuted by the company.
"Ma will continue as the executive chair‑
man of the company over the next 12
months to ensure a smooth transition to
Zhang," a statement from the firm said.
Ma's net worth is $36.6 billion.
Zhang, who was earlier the Chie f
Executive Of ficer (CEO) of Taobao, an
online shopping portal owned by the
Alibaba Group, was appointed the CEO of
the group in 2015. He has been with the
company since 2007.
The co‑founder of the company, Ma, will
however, remain as a board member of
the Alibaba Group until the annual share‑
holder meet in 2020, which marks the
21st anniversary of the e‑commerce and
tech conglomerate.
"While remaining as executive chairman
in the next 12 months, I will work closely
with Daniel (Zhang) to ensure smooth
transition," Ma said in a letter to the
shareholders and employees on the occa‑
sion of the company's 19th anniversary
on Monday.
T he transit ion demonstrates that
Alibaba has stepped up from a company
that relies on individuals, to one built on a
culture of talent development, Ma's letter
addressed to the company's 86,000
employees said.
Ma, who turned 54, will remain a life‑
time partner in the Alibaba Partnership
and is a member of its partnership com‑
mittee, the statement added.
Founded in 1999, Alibaba stands among
one of the largest companies in the world.
As per its statement, the company's rev‑ Jack Ma, Alibaba founder and executive
enue was $39.9 billion for fiscal 2017‑18. chairman. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei/IANS)

Rupee hits new low Samsung launches 2

of 72.67 per dollar mid‑range devices in US
San Francisco:
Mumbai: Continuing its free fall, the Indian rupee Expanding its mid‑tier
touched a new low of 72.67 on Monday, depreciating offerings for consumers
by almost a rupee from its previous close of 71.73 per in the US, Samsung has
US dollar. It traded at its lowest‑ever level of 72.67, launched two mid‑range
after opening at 72.18 per greenback. Android devices ‑‑ the
Along with the decline in global currencies against Galaxy "A6" smartphone
the dollar and persistent trade tensions, a wider cur‑ and a 10.5‑inch tablet
rent account deficit of India also weighed on the Galaxy "Tab A".
rupee, analysts said. Single‑SIM "Galaxy
The key Indian equity indices traded on a negative A6", priced at $359.99 comes on Saturday.
note owing to weak rupee and negative global cues, with a 5.6‑inch super AMOLED The "Galaxy Tab A", costing
with the benchmark Sensex losing nearly 400 point "Infinity Display", 3GBRAM and $329.99, sports a 10.5‑inch
so far. 32GB internal storage, which is thin‑film‑transistor liquid‑crys‑
Both the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty50 fell expandable up to 400GB. tal (TFT LCD) display, 3GB
around one per cent so far. The smartphone runs on RAM and 32GB internal memo‑
Globally, markets sentiments were subdued on con‑ Android 8.0 Oreo and is fuelled ry, which is expandable up to
cerns that the US might impose further tarif fs on by a 3000mAh battery, along 400GB.
Chinese imports. Among the sectoral indices, heavy with fingerprint as well as The tab features an 8MP rear
selling activity was witnessed in banking, auto and oil facial recognition unlock sys‑ camera with auto focus (AF)
and gas counters. tem. and a 5MP front camera with
The BSE Sensex, which had opened 38,348.39 "The Galaxy 'A6' joins the flash.
points, traded at 38,003.89 points, lower by 385.93 Galaxy J, S and Note series, Powered by Qualcomm
points or 1.01 per cent from the previous close of while 'Galaxy Tab A' joins the Snapdragon 450 Octa‑Core
38,389.82 points. It has touched a high of 38,354.52 Galaxy Tab S4 tablet. The chipset and 7,300mAh battery,
points and a low of 37,967.08 points so far. strengthened mid‑tier gives the device runs Android
India's current account deficit in the April‑June peri‑ consumers more flexibility to Android 8.1 Oreo OS.
od stood at 2.4 per cent of the gross domestic product choose the phone or tablet that The US‑specific devices will
(GDP), against 1.9 per cent of the GDP in the January‑ Globally, markets sentiments were subdued on best fits their needs," the com‑ be available for consumers
March quarter of 2017‑18, according to data released concerns that the US might impose further starting on September 14.
pany said in a statement late
by the Reserve Bank of India. tariffs on Chinese imports.

PNB fraud: Interpol issues red corner notice against Nirav's sister
New Delhi: Interpol has issued a
red corner notice (RCN) against
Purvi Deepak Modi, sister of fugi‑
tive diamantaire Nirav Modi who
is wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore
Punjab Nat ional Bank (PNB)
fraud case, of ficials said on
Monday.
According to the Enforcement
Directorate (ED) the Interpol
issued the RCN against Purvi
Modi on the charge of money
laundering, as requested by it.
In August, a special court in
Mumbai had issued public sum‑
mons to Nirav Modi's sister Purvi
and brother Neeshal, who are
Belgian citizens, to appear before
it on September 25. The court
also said that if they fail to
appear then their properties
would be confiscated under the
newly enacted fugitive offenders
act.
According to ED officials, Purvi
Modi and other family members
of Nirav Modi were the recipients
of the proceeds of the crime.
Last week, Interpol issued a
RCN against Nirav Modi's close
aide Mihir Bhansali in connection
with the case.
Bhansali, who was an executive
in Nirav Mo di's Firestar
International firm, is absconding
since the probe started in the
alleged $2 billion PNB fraud case.
The RCN is issued to seek the
location and arrest of wanted
person(s) with a view to extradi‑
tion or similar lawful action.
The ED wants to question Purvi
Modi and Bhansali to unearth
further details of the fraud com‑
mitted by Nirav Modi and his
uncle Mehul Choksi of the
Gitanjali g roup to cheat the
Mumbai‑based PNB's Brady
House branch.
T he Interpol, in its not ice,
requested its 192 member coun‑
tries to arrest or detain Bhansali
so that his extradition process
could begin.
The Interpol has issued a simi‑
lar notice against Nirav Modi,
who as well as his family and
uncle Choksi left the country in
January, a month before the
fraud came to light.
The notice mentions Bhansali's
birth place Mumbai and gives his
date of birth as November 15,
1977. Purvi Modi's photo is also
pasted on the notice.
 22 September 15-21, 2018
Serena Williams fined for violating code of conduct
New York: Tennis star Serena
Williams has been fined $17,000
by the organizers of the US Open
for committing three violations of
the code of conduct during the sec‑
ond set of the women's final, which
she lost on the weekend to Japan's
Naomi Osaka 6‑2, 6‑4.
Williams was sanctioned in the
second set by the judge seated at
the net, Portugal's Carlos Ramos,
for receiving help ‑ in the form of a
hand signal ‑ from the box of her
coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, break‑
ing her racket against the court
surface and verbally abusing the
judge by calling him a 'thie f ',
reports Efe news.
Williams called the judge's deci‑
sion "sexist" at a later press confer‑
ence, saying that she had seen male
players calling umpires "several
things" but they were not penalized
for their behaviour.
Her actions eclipsed the triumph
of the 20‑year‑old Osaka, who
became the first Japanese tennis
player to win the US Open and a
Grand Slam single's tourney.
The US player, 36, who was com‑
peting in her 14th US Open, failed
to win her seventh title in the sea‑
son's last Grand Slam event, a win
that would have been the 24th of
her career, thus allowing her to tie
the legendary Margaret Court of
Australia in terms of tourney wins.
Williams received $1.85 million
for playing in the final. Her fine
will be deducted from that amount.
Ramos called out three violations
Fifth Test: England take
healthy lead against India
London: Playing in his final
Test, Alastair Cook looked
solid and helped England take
the upper hand in the fifth
and final rubber against India
despite Ravindra Jadeja's bat‑
ting heroics, at the end of day
3 here.
At close of play, Cook was
unbeaten on 46 runs in his
last international innings as
England reached 114/2.
Captain Joe Root (29 bat‑
ting) was at the crease along‑
with the veteran southpaw as
the pair put on 52 runs for the
third wicket to help the hosts
take a 154‑run lead.
Earlier, all‑rounder Jadeja,
coming back into the fold,
remained unbeaten on 86
while de butant Hanuma
Vihari scored 56 to help the
tourists trim the lead to 40
after resuming the day on
174/6.
India posted 292 in reply to
SPORTS TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Djokovic wins third US
Open men's singles title
Naomi Osaka of Japan receives the trophy after defeating
Serena Williams in the women's singles final in US Open in
New York. (Photo: Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)
against Williams in the second set: of the Williams sisters claimed that
the first being a warning about male tennis players go unpunished
receiving coaching, the second a even when they argue and use bad
penalty point for racket destruc‑ words on court all the time. Novak Djokovic (right) of Serbia and Juan Martin del Potro of
tion and the third another penalty "I've seen other men call other Argentina with their trophies after men's singles final at US Open.
for verbal abuse for calling him a umpires several things. I'm here
"thief." "He took a point from me. fighting for women's rights and for New York: Novak Djokovic of three hours and 15 minutes,
He alleged that I was cheating, and women's equality and for all kinds Serbia has defeated the third here on Sunday, Xinhua news
I wasn't cheating. Then I had a of stuff. For me to say 'thief' and seed Juan Martin del Potro of agency reported.
good conversation with him. I said, for him to take a game, it made me Argentina in straight sets to T his is Djokovic's second
Listen, you know my character. You feel like it was a sexist remark. He's claim his third US Open men's straight Grand Slam singles
know me really well. I don't cheat never taken a game from a man singles title. t itle this season follow ing
to win. I'd rather lose," Williams because they said 'thief,'" said Djokovic, the sixth seed, Wimbledon 2018 and a 14th
said. Williams at the press conference. tamed the Argent ine big overall to tie American Pete
"Then when I sat down, I said it Williams then argued that her artillery 6‑3, 7‑6 (4), 6‑3 in Sampras for third all‑time.
again (...) I can understand what protest could serve as an example
you saw because it may have for people who have emotions and just an example for the next person be allowed to do that because of
looked (...) like I was getting coach‑ want to express them with total that has emotions, and that want to today. Maybe it didn't work out for
ing, but I'm telling you, that's not freedom. "I just feel like the fact express themselves, and want to be me, but it's going to work out for
what I do," she added The younger that I have to go through this is a strong woman. They're going to the next person," said Williams.
Shooting Worlds:
Hriday wins junior
10m air rifle gold
Changwon (South Korea): India's Hriday Hazarika
clinched the gold medal in the men's junior 10m
England's first innings total of Rahul at second
air rifle, while Elavenil Valarivan and Shreya
332. slip of f Ishant
Agrawal claimed silver and bronze medals respec‑
In the third and final ses‑ S h a r m a
tively in the women's junior 10m air rifle event at
sion, Cook and Keaton (0/11)
the 52nd ISSF World Championships here.
Jennings (10) stretched their when he
The 16‑year‑old Hriday prevailed in a shoot‑off,
opening partnership to 27. w a s
Things did not work for India batting Ravindra scoring a decisive 10.3 against Iran's Amir
Jadeja. Mohammad Nekounam, who came up with a 10.2.
as they spurned two reviews on 14.
Junior World Cup gold medallist Hriday and
on the openers within three Jadeja
Amir finished tied at 250.1 points after nine series,
overs after the break. did get
comprising 24 shots.
On both occasions, Jadeja Moeen
The podium was completed by Russian Grigorii
(1/36) and wicketkeeper
Shamakov, who scored 228.6 points. The fourth
Rishabh Pant were at
place was taken by Marco Suppini of Italy with
fault for asking
207.2 points. India, however, failed to win a medal
skipper Virat Kohli
in the team competition in this category. By setting
to go for the
a new record, China took the team gold medal with
reviews, despite the
1876.2 points. Iran followed in 2nd place with
ball missing the off‑
up their 50‑stand off 80 balls. 1874.3 points, while the Russian side won bronze
stump. soon after, bow ling him
The score crossed 100 in with 1873.7.
Mohammed Shami (1‑32) through the gate as the ball
the 38th over as the hosts In the women's junior 10m air rifle event,
then got rid of out‑of‑form spun a mile after kicking up
assumed a commanding posi‑ Elavenil (249.8 points) and Shreya (228.4) finished
Jennings. from the rough.
tion in this Test. behind Chinese Shi Mengyao (250.5).
Cook and Moeen Ali (20) India changed the ball on
Earlier in the day, half‑cen‑ However, the performances of Elavenil and
joined hands for a 35‑run two occasions but Cook and
turies by Vihari and Jadeja Shreya powered India to a gold medal in the team
partnership for the second Root used their reservior of
he lped India get close to event. They won gold along with their teammate
wicket and took England past experience to see the final
England's first innings total. Manini Kaushik with a total tally of 1880.7 points.
50. Moeen was dropped by KL overs with aplomb bringing
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 15-21, 2018
 24 September 15-21, 2018 SELF HELP TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Detoxifying the brain through Kapalbhati

By Anil Rajvanshi This yogic inhaled pollution from household The forceful exhalation creates
pranayama has and automobile smoke, dust and a venturi effect in the nasal pas‑

K
apalbhati is a part of
Pranayam kriya where
one forcefully exhales
rapidly and in short bursts.
Practitioners claim that it helps
in cleaning lungs and in exercis‑
ing the abdomen muscles. It is,
therefore, recommended for
reducing tummy fat.
The word Kapalbhati means
skull illumination. Yogis claim
that practicing it cleans the brain
and gives a shining quality to a
person's appearance. Modern sci‑
ence may give credence to this
claim.
Researchers have known since
1941 that nanoparticles (10‑30
nanometers which are almost 10‑
20 times smaller than those
emitted in cigarette smoke), can
directly reach the brain by
breathing through the nose and
bypassing the blood‑brain‑barri‑
er (BBB). However, this field of
research remained dormant till
the 1990s when scientists,
alarmed by rising environmental
pollution, revisited the early
research and started discovering
the harmful effects of toxin inva‑
sion of brain through breathing.
Today, rapidly growing
research shows that a small part
of the polluted air we breathe
through our nostrils goes direct‑
ly to the brain via the olfactory
lobes (this is the area which gives
us the sense of smell) and the
been promoted
in our time by
Baba Ramdev.
The new
understanding
is that Kapalbhati
may be effective
in flushing out
pollutants that
we are exposed
to now.
rest (major portion) goes to the
lungs supplying the necessary
oxygen to the blood. Thus the
action of inhaling affects both
the mind and the body directly.
Medical researchers have also
shown that though the pollutants
are most of the times flushed out
of the lungs by the body's
immune system the toxic parti‑
cles in the brain go on accumu‑
lating.
This has alarming implications
for modern living since the
general industrial environment
has the ability to directly affect
the nervous system. Recently sci‑
entists have shown that inci‑
dences of increased cancer,
dementia, Alzheimer's disease,
etc., have been attributed partly
to the toxin invasion of the brain
caused by these pollutants.
There are, however, indications
that some of these small particles
might be flushed out by the cere‑
brospinal fluid which floods the
brain. During dreaming episodes,
this flushing mechanism is very
active. However, not all the parti‑
cles leave the brain and hence
affect the brain functioning.
Since these small particles go
into the brain through the olfac‑
tory lobe it is quite possible that
they could be flushed out by the
forceful exhalation of the
Kapalbhati process. This follows
the principle of equivalence.
sage thereby creating a partial
vacuum which might suck out
these particles from the olfactory
lobes. Natural designs are very
efficient and take into account
all paths and forces. Thus the
forceful exhalation of breath not
only exercises the abdomen mus‑
cles but also cleans the lungs and
the brain. This cleaning of toxins
from the brain is the true mean‑
ing of Kapalbhati.
For people living in the present
polluted atmosphere a good
strategy would be to wear a nose
mask which filters out the pollu‑
tants during outdoor activities
and practice Kapalbhati daily to
remove the particles which inad‑
vertently might have gone into
the system.
Anil Rajvanshi is Director,
Nimbkar Agricultural Research
Institute in Maharashtra.

Is your child’s school promoting How a pressure cooker can save

time and energy in the kitchen
healthy habits or junk food?
P
ressure‑cooking may sound intimi‑ opposed to boiling and steaming.

F
ast food coupons used as
prizes, candy sale
fundraisers, vending
machine exteriors ‑‑ these are
just a few examples of the kinds
of junk food marketing that regu‑
larly takes place in U.S. schools,
and such advertising is taking a
toll on childrenʼs health, say
experts.
“Fortunately, significant
progress has been made nation‑
wide to provide nutritious meals
and snacks in cafeterias, vending
machines and school stores. However,
continued marketing of junk food at
school can undermine these improve‑
ments. Over time, those messages being
dating, but itʼs important to keep in
mind that itʼs actually a simple
process that can save you time, energy
and money.
Not only does a
pressure cooker use
up to 70 percent less
energy than a stove, it
combines high pressure
and high heat to dramati‑
cally reduce cooking
times, saving you as much
as two‑thirds the time it
takes to cook with a con‑
identify junk food marketing in their own
ventional stove. Another ben‑
school and community and discuss how it
efit? More vitamins and minerals are
impacts them.
retained by pressure cooking vegetables as
4 Advertising Audit: Despite its preva‑
lence, commercial advertising is usually
Using a pressure cooker is different than
cooking on a stovetop or in the oven, so the
first few times, follow a recipe to get the
feel for liquid
ratios and
cooking
times. Recipes
for all occa‑
sions, as well as tips and pres‑
sure‑cooking advice can be
found on Crock‑Pot.com.
Donʼt let inexperience prevent
you from trying a pressure
cooker. Once you have a few
strategies down, it can become a
useful tool to prepare convenient, quick
meals for your family.

NEW TO PARENTHOOD?
marketed shape childrenʼs food prefer‑ not a substantial source of revenue for
ences, purchase requests, diets and over‑ schools. Ninety percent of school officials
all health,” says Cheryl Anderson, PhD, note that school programs and activities

SMART TECH CAN HELP

nutrition chair, American Heart would not be reduced if advertisements of
Association. unhealthy food ceased, according to
To help make the schools in your com‑ Voices for Healthy Kids. Find out if the

munity a place where children can thrive,
consider these suggestions from The
Voices for Healthy Kids Action Center, a
project of the American Heart Association.
4 Healthier Fundraising: Is your childʼs
school hosting a fundraiser? Get involved
and help organize fundraising efforts that
donʼt involve the sale of junk food.
Instead, focus on selling fruit, plants, jew‑
elry or gift items. You could even help
organize an event like a walk‑a‑thon or
dance‑a‑thon that raises money while get‑
ting the community moving.
4 Learning Life Skills: Some schools
have classroom units on nutrition and
critical thinking. Talk to your schoolʼs
administration about implementing edu‑
cational programming to help students
junk food marketing taking place in your
school district directly contributes to edu‑
cational programming. If so, ask for
healthier food and beverage products to
be marketed instead.
4 Speaking Out: Get involved by calling
school board members and school admin‑
istrators, or by organizing other members
of your community. Tips, resources and
information for getting started can be
found at voicesforhealthykids.org.
“Often companies that sell junk food
spend millions of dollars marketing to
children because it works. Children are
likely to ask for things that are advertised
to them,” says Dr. Anderson. “Be an advo‑
cate for school environments that help the
next generation lead healthy lives.”
B
eing a new mom or dad can
be tough. But smart tech is
revolutionizing the way
parents care for their little ones,
alleviating common parenting
worries, such as sickness, the baby
sleeping through the night and
proper feeding.
Eighty percent of American
adults use or would use smart
products to help care for a new
baby, according to a recent survey com‑ popular? From the bathtub to the nurs‑
missioned by leading faucet manufactur‑ ery, smart technology can help parents
er, Moen and conducted online by Harris keep their babies safer and provide
Poll in April 2018. The poll investigated peace of mind. With smart tech to the
what parents are anxious about and how rescue, you too can enhance your parent‑
smart tech can make their job a little eas‑ ing skills while spending more time
ier. Why are smart home products so enjoying your newborn.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Unemployment benefits for New
Jersey employees who resign?
LABOR LAWS
By Kevin J. O’Connor, Esq.
& Joseph M. Vento, Esq.
N
ew Jersey employers know
that the State's unemploy‑
ment compensation
scheme is geared toward protect‑
ing employees. Consequently, a lot
of employers generally (and wisely)
do not challenge a terminated
employeeʼs claim to unemployment
benefits. A resigned employee, on
the other hand, has historically
presented a different situation, as
the employee typically waives an
entitlement to unemployment by
resigning. A once narrow regula‑
tion provides an exception to this
above rule.
N.J.A.C. 12:17‑9.5 provides that
where an employee is expressly
notified of an imminent (within 60
days) layoff or discharge, he/she
still has the right to seek unem‑
ployment benefits if he/she resigns
before the layoff or discharge.
But what if an employee resigns
because he/she merely thinks a ter‑
mination is coming? In other
words, can an employee who has
not been explicitly notified of a lay‑
off or discharge but still believes
one is coming still collect unem‑
ployment benefits? “Yes”, says the
New Jersey Appellate Division in a
case captioned Cottman v. Bd. of
Facebook, Twitter to face probe over
trying to curb conservative voices
San Francisco: After Wednesday's
congressional hearings, Facebook
and Twitter will now face ques‑
tions from the Justice Department
(DOJ) over allegations of political
bias, an issue flagged by President
Donald Trump.
In a meeting this month,
Attorney General Jeff Sessions,
along with state attorneys general,
would look into whether Facebook
and Twitter are "intentionally sti‑
fling the free exchange of ideas on
their platforms", CNET reported
on Wednesday.
The DOJ announced the meeting
on a day when Twitter CEO Jack
Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl
Sandberg appeared before the US
Congress, admitting to the law‑
makers that they were "too slow to
act" and "ill‑prepared" to tackle
foreign interference on their plat‑
forms.
According to The Washington
Post, Sandberg told the US Senate
Intelligence Committee that they
NJ Appellate Division says ʻYes, they may be eligibleʼ
Review, Dept. of Labor and
Workforce Dev., A‑1908‑16T2
(Mar. 29, 2018).
The Cottman Case
Tamyra Cottman had three spe‑
cial needs children all under the
age of thirteen. She worked the
night shift at a group home as a
residential counselor. One night,
Cottmanʼs babysitter unexpectedly
quit. Her employerʼs policy
required her to find someone else
to cover her shift. Otherwise,
Cottman had to work the shift her‑
self. Unable to find coverage,
Cottman called her supervisor who
allegedly threatened to fire
Cottman if she did not report to
work. Cottman testified as follows:
“I was like I might just (inaudible)
and [the supervisor] was like well
we [sic] just getting off probation.
Itʼs either you can come in or you
might be fired. I wouldnʼt play with
your time.”
In order to avoid a termination,
Cottman resigned and then applied
for unemployment benefits.
The New Jersey Department of
Labor (“NJDOL”) found that
Cottman was not entitled to unem‑
ployment compensation because
she voluntarily quit her job without
good cause attributable to her
were too slow to spot this and too
slow to act. "That's on us."
The social networking platforms
attracted criticism for being vul‑
nerable to Russia‑linked influence
campaigns.
Trump has accused Google,
Facebook and Twitter of trying to
"silence" conservative voices.
Appearing before the House
Committee on Energy and
Commerce on Wednesday in a
hearing on online censorship of
conservative opinions and misin‑
formation activities ahead of the
2018 mid‑term elections, Dorsey
said Twitter will remain an "impar‑
tial" "global town square", and it
does "not shadow‑ban anyone
based on political ideology".
"To serve the public conversa‑
tion, Twitter is incentivized to
keep all voices on the platform,"
he said.
Twitter has constantly denied
the claims by Republicans that
conservative accounts were shad‑
LEGAL MATTERS
work. After the Appeal Tribunal
upheld the denial of unemploy‑
ment, Cottman took her case to the
New Jersey Appellate Division
where she argued that she was
forced to quit because she believed
she was going to be fired if she did
not report for her shift.
The Appellate Division reversed
the DOLʼs decision and awarded
Cottman unemployment benefits.
The Court first recognized that,
with a few exceptions, “leaving
work for personal reasons unrelat‑
ed to work, no matter how reason‑
able, disqualifies an employee from
receiving unemployment benefits.”
However, held the Court citing
N.J.A.C § 12:17‑95, an employee
who “knows that he or she is about
to be fired…may quit without
becoming ineligible.”
Importantly, the Court noted that
the employer failed to dispute
Cottmanʼs version of her phone
conversation with her supervisor.
The Court observed that
“[a]lthough Cottmanʼs use of the
word ʻmightʼ conveys some uncer‑
tainty, she obviously interpreted it
as a near‑certainty.”
Therefore, the Court awarded
Cottman unemployment
benefits.
ow‑banned or their opinions were
censored on the platform.
Earlier in the day, Dorsey testi‑
fied before the Senate Intelligence
Committee on Russian meddling
in the 2016 US election.
Following the meeting, Twitter
shares fell 6 per cent on
Wednesday, CNBC reported.
September 15-21, 2018 25
4Finally, Cottman only further
Important Takeaways for
Employers illustrates how crucial it is for
employers to consult with experi‑
The Cottman decision provides
enced employment counsel before
employers with some important
challenging a claim to unemploy‑
takeaways:
ment benefits. Poorly crafted and
4 Supervisors must be careful
hasty challenges to an unemploy‑
when dealing with employees.
ment claim could end up costing an
Threats or even insinuations of ter‑
employer more in the long run.
mination should almost never be
Indeed, in some jurisdictions, deter‑
made lightly. In cases like this,
minations by state unemployment
employers might do well to consid‑
compensation officials may be
er warning an employee that
used in evidence in later civil suits.
he/she could be disciplined rather
than terminated. Employers should
Kevin J.
also consider re‑evaluating the lan‑
O'Connor, Esq.
guage within any employment poli‑
is a Partner in
cies or handbook provisions that
the
threaten termination in the event
Employment
of an employeeʼs absence or tardi‑
Practices
ness;
Group and
4The case turned on what had
Commercial Litigation Practice at
transpired during a telephone dis‑
Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
cussion. There appears to have
been no documentation of what
Joseph M.
had transpired. Supervisors
should be mindful to document all
Vento, Esq. is a
important interactions with Senior
employees, even if that documenta‑ Associate in
tion is a simple email or note to the
themselves. The importance of Employment
documentation cannot be overstat‑ Practices
ed and should be adopted in most if Group and
not all dealings with employees; Commercial Litigation Practice at
and Peckar & Abramson, P.C.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg
tested before the US Congress last Wednesday.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 15-21, 2018
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Child Status Protection Act
By Dev Banad Viswanath, Esq.
& Michael Phulwani, Esq.
T TALK
he Child Status Protection
Act (CSPA) permits certain
aliens to retain classification
as a “child”, even if the child has
reached the age of 21, for immigra‑
tion purposes.
In part I of the article, we dis‑
cussed about various steps in mak‑
ing determinations as to whether
CSPA applies to the child, (1) when
the childʼs age is frozen under CSPA,
(2) age of child when the priority
date becomes available minus the
period of times taken by the U.S.
Citizenship & Immigration Services
(USCIS) in approving the petition,
(3) whether the application for the
immigrant visa, Form DS‑230, was
filed or the fee was paid for the
child within one year, from the date
when the visa became available. In
cases where the principal applicant
(parent) adjusted status as a perma‑
nent resident, the parent should
have filed Form I‑824 within one
year from the date the visa became
available.
We now continue to discuss in
detail information about calculating
CSPA applicability and eligibility
VISA
under Family and Employment pref‑
erence categories.
Benefits under
USA Patriot Act
An alien who is the beneficiary of
a visa petition or application filed
on or before September 11, 2001,
can deduct an additional 45 days
under the CSPA calculations, to
determine his/her age for the pur‑
poses of CSPA. The Patriot Act
grants such aliens 45 days extra in
addition to the number of days that
the petition was pending, and
allows them to deduct this number
from the age of the child for the
purposes of CSPA.
Other Important
Considerations
Assuming CSPA applies, based
upon the abovementioned explana‑
tion, the determination of age of the
child is made under various family‑
DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS
IMMIGRATION
Part 2 of a 3 part series
and employment‑based categories
as follows:
Family Preferences
Immediate Relatives (Children of
U.S. citizens):
4The age of the child will freeze
on the date of filing of Form I‑130
and the child will permanently qual‑
ify as a child under Immediate
Relative (IR) category as long as
he/she does not marry.
4Naturalization of a parent who
filed a family‑sponsored second
immigrant visa petition (as a lawful
permanent resident alien) for an
unmarried child under the age of 21
would result in the childʼs classifica‑
tion as an Immediate Relative even
if he/she thereafter crosses the age
of 21 years, provided the parentʼs
naturalization occurred while the
age was below 21 years of age. As
indicated above, CSPA provides for
the automatic transfer of prefer‑
ence categories when the parent of
an unmarried son or daughter natu‑
ralizes, but also provides the
unmarried son or daughter the abil‑
ity to request that such transfer not
September 15-21, 2018 27
F2A category – Unmarried Sons &
Daughters under the age of 21 of
permanent residents:
occur. If an unmarried son or If CSPA applies, the age of the
daughter does not want such auto‑ child should be calculated by taking
matic transfer of preference cate‑ the age of the child on the date that
gories to occur upon his or her par‑ a visa first became available and
entʼs naturalization, the subtract the time taken by USCIS to
Immigration Service (USCIS) shall adjudicate the petition. This has
accept such request in the form of a been discussed at length in the
letter signed by the beneficiary. If opening paragraphs of part I of our
the beneficiary does make this writ‑ series on the CSPA.
ten request to the Immigration Derivatives in Other Family &
Service (USCIS), then the beneficia‑ Employment Preference Categories,
ryʼs eligibility for family‑based DV and Asylee cases:
immigration will be determined as If CSPA applies then the age of
if his or her parent had never natu‑ the derivative child should be deter‑
ralized. mined on the basis of guidelines
provided above. To Be Continued…
Preference Categories
Dev Banad Viswanath is the Principal Attorney of
The Banad Law Offices PC in the United States, and
Banad Immigration in India for which Attorney
Michael Phulwani is also affiliated as Of Counsel.
With Offices in Manhattan, Queens, Bangalore, and
Mumbai, the firm is able to assist clients with all
facets of the immigration process, including
Employment Visas, Consular Visa Assistance,
Student Visas, Removal & Deportation, US
Citizenship and Green Card Applications based on
Family or Employment. Dev B. Viswanath can be
reached at Dev@Banadlaw.com and 718‑361‑5999.
 28 September 15-21, 2018 HUMOR TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

The shortest marriages in history

I
have been alive for several decades
now but STILL don't know whether I
like broccoli. Not my fault! Guys have
"commitment issues."
The topic of difficult decisions was trig‑
gered by a recent news report sent to me
by reader Shaan Alwi. It said that a man in
Dubai got married a few days ago ‑‑ and
then started divorce proceedings on the
way out of his own wedding. The groom
was so annoyed by his in‑laws that he
started to have the marriage dissolved 15
minutes after signing on the dotted line.
In the comments under this news report
were many references to pop singer
Britney Spears, who was married for 55
hours. Western TV channels are full of
shows where strangers are urged to try
married life and then asked if they like it,
the same technique parents use to get
their kids to eat vegetables. In fact, many
liberal‑minded US people seem to inter‑
pret the "till death do us apart" bit of the
marriage ceremony as "for a week or
two."
But the truth is that this columnist can
look in his files and prove there are mar‑
riages in Asia and the Middle East that
make Britney's 55 hours seem inter‑
minably lengthy. In Mumbai in 2010, a
woman stormed out of her groom's house
and went back to her father after just four
hours of marriage, talking darkly about
an argument in the bedroom. (It was
probably whether or not to have the air‑
conditioner on.)
In Mumbai in 2010, a
woman stormed out of
her groom's house and
went back to her father
after just four hours of
marriage.
In 2012, a Dubai man had a quarrel
with his bride while they were signing
marriage documents. He marched out of
that court and into the one next door to
demand a divorce. "How long have you
been married" the judge asked. The
groom replied: "The ink on my marriage
certificate has not dried yet." That meant
the marriage lasted minutes or seconds.
Distraught friends and family members
snapped into action ‑ getting out their
camera phones and phoning the Guinness
World Records.
Meanwhile, Google and Amazon have
both announced that a large number of
guys have been proposing marriage to the
female AI personalities in their gadgets.
In April this year, a Google executive said
that 450,000 men had proposed to
Google Assistant in India alone. If you ask
Siri on the iPhone to marry you, she says:
"I sure have been receiving a lot of mar‑
riage proposals recently."
A colleague reading over my shoulder
(GO AWAY) said she was not surprised
that men found it easier to propose to
robots because they wouldn't get upset if
the guys kept changing their minds.
"But one thing I totally don't understand
is how men can get excited about female
cartoon characters," she said. I pretended
to share her puzzlement, although
Daphne from the Scooby Doo cartoon
flashed into my head.
Anyway, here's a useful bit of philoso‑
phy for readers who are hesitating about
doing something: "If the human society of
the future doesn't send a terminator back
in time to stop you doing whatever you
want to do, then it can't be that bad,
right?"
I need to stop here to see if Scooby Doo
is on YouTube.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422‑S Broadway
HICKSVILLE By Mahendra Shah
NY 11801 Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by
516‑827‑1010 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.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY September 15-21, 2018 29

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

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

SEPTEMBER 15‑21, 2018

ARIES: Keep your priorities right on the
professional front. A dip in the financial
graph may seem worrisome, but is likely
to be a temporary phase. Singles should be
cautious in their approach for new relation‑
ships. Impulsive decisions could lead to mis‑
takes. Learn to accept other peopleʼs point of
view; they may suggest you something valu‑
able. Have more fruits to beat the heat. You
are likely to be appreciated for the efforts you
put in arranging things for the upcoming fami‑
ly get together.
TAURUS: You are born with the art of
perfection; make use of it to organize
things effectively rather than trying to
do everything by your own. New opportunities
may seem interesting on the surface but on
deeper investigation may not be worth your
time. You may have to juggle your schedule to
accommodate work & domestic obligations.
Use your charm to settle the differences with
your beloved. A family youngster is likely to
add a feather to your cap.
GEMINI: Venturing out of your comfort
zone and allowing your creativity to
flow relentlessly will turn the tide in
your favour. It is perhaps the right time to
rethink about the goals youʼve set for yourself.
Absorb information that you come across to
avoid rushing into decisions without a deeper
insight. You may be feeling troubled because
of the changing equations in relationships.
Learn to handle the situations amicably.
Brainstorming sessions will be productive for
students.
CANCER: Your ability to consistently
deliver quality results will attract
recognition and will be beneficial in
opening up new avenues soon. Do not waste
an opportunity by not exploiting a contact
even if it is from your past. This is also a good
time to bring harmony and cooperation in
your romantic af fairs. Focus on investments
that bring steady returns while safeguarding
your principal. Unnecessary expenses need to
be taken care of. Balance idealism with practi‑
cality.
LEO: Be discreet while expressing your
enthusiasm at work as there are
chances that your actions could be mis‑
interpreted. You do not need to worry about
the financial health on this wee kend.
Impulsive remarks can create tensions; while
listening to your heart and following an objec‑
tive approach will help resolve major differ‑
ences. Fun family outings are much indicated.
Be objective about the emotional issues that
can have a long term impact.
VIRGO: Clarity of thought and sharp
analytical skills will help you success‑
fully deal with several tasks at one go.
You can depend on suggestions from friends
to gather more information before investing
your hard earned money. Those already in
relationships may like to take it to the next
level.
Avoid imposing the work pressure on the
re lat ionships that you value the most.
Romance is good and can get better provided
you become supportive.
LIBRA: Your ability to shoulder odd
jobs in a mature way w ill prove
advantageous as you may be entrust‑
ed with new responsibilities at work. Donʼt let
the momentarily tensions in your personal life
interfere with your goals. Your ef fort in the
past has not gone unnoticed and now is the
time when you will be reaping rewards for it.
Make sure you donʼt lend or borrow money
this week. Romantic relationships might be
intense. Your calibre to achieve more and
more will add to your sense of well being.
SCORPIO: It is a hectic period and you
will be able to accomplish more only if
you delegate tasks and work in close
cooperation with colleagues. Your dynamic
frame of mind will help you initiate new chal‑
lenging projects. Efforts in the right direction
will help you achieve the desired goals. Sudden
changes on the financial front could take you by
surprise. Loved ones seem to plan something
exciting for you. Excellent time to begin a proj‑
ect you have been thinking about all this while.
SAGITTARIUS: Colleagues you had
known in the past will help you a great
deal in setting the futuristic goals for
yourself. You may find yourself a bit restless
at work but should tone down your approach
while interacting with seniors. Delegating
responsibilities will ease your workload and
allow you to focus on the bigger picture. Donʼt
be too harsh on yourself, if things do not turn
the way you planned. Give it some time and
things should be better. Meditate to embark
on a new spiritual journey.
CAPRICORN: Channelling your ener‑
gies on constructive projects of your
interest will help you reap the maxi‑
mum benefits. You may get motivated to emu‑
late someone on the career front for improve‑
ment. Bliss on the marital front is assured, as
spouse makes the effort to infuse happiness
and harmony at home. This is a good time to
make some tweaks in your fitness regime to
gain more out of it. Opportunities for new
romantic encounters will unfold if you begin
to attend social events.
AQUARIUS: It is important for you to
put forth your ideas in a convincing
way, for them to be accepted by the
top management at work. Overburdening
yourself with work will only make you neglect
home duties and as a result relationships can
suffer. Making a decision to forgo a committed
relationship is not a very good idea at the
moment. Travel plans could go through some
changes. Spending time with your loved ones
will help you relax and unwind.
PISCES: Think twice before you speak
this week as there is a possibility that
you may land in a troublesome situa‑
tion. There is no harm in listening to what
people have to say. You never know some of
their ideas or advice could just click and
appeal to you. Support from seniors will boost
your confidence. Love life could go through
some ups and downs. Kill your suspicious
nature and avoid being too argumentative.
Advice regarding a financial decision is a
must.

15th September, 2018
Traits in you: Venus, being your rul‑
ing planet makes you lively, elegant,
attractive, helpful, diplomatic and
realistic. You have a charismatic per‑
sonality and your confidence makes
you popular in your friend circle.
However, you should work on your
nature of being outspoken and rest‑
less.
Health this year: If you have some
chronic disorders, you need to get
your medical checkup done on a regu‑
lar basis. You may try meditation and
yoga for better results.
Finance this year: Your financial sta‑
tus will be improved this year fol‑
lowed by your new business plans.
You will be successful in multiplying
your investments, which would result
in except ional profits this t ime
around.
Career this year: You will be able to
implement all your learnings and edu‑
cation in your profession and this will
bring you lots of appreciation, respect
and even a promotion.
Romance this year: Towards the end
of the year you may get married. If
you are not planning to marry this
year, you may continue with your
romantic relationship.
16th September, 2018
Traits in you: Being ruled by
Neptune, you are the master of all the
positive characteristics. You are reli‑
able, loving, caring, creative, and very
much emotional. Whatever may be the
situation, you always smile and that
makes your nature an attractive one.
You can easily make friends. Despite
being very intelligent, you do not have
control on your arrogance and stub‑
bornness. To become an improved
individual, you need to work on your
negative characteristics.
Health this year: You will enjoy a
sound health this year. However, sick‑
ness of a family member will be the
reason of concern for you.
Finance this year: You need to work
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
hard this year to get maximum bene‑
fits from your previous investments.
You will get enough support from
your family members if you suf fer
losses and they will also help you take
crucial financial decisions. If you want
financial growth, you should visit
overseas for the same. You will get
chances to meet popular and influen‑
tial individuals during your foreign
trips.
Career this year: You will be suc‑
cessfully completing you previous
pending projects and works and this
will bring you satisfaction and mental
peace.
Romance this year: You will be
deeply involved in the romantic rela‑
tionship you are currently in. You may
decide to get married this year.
17th September, 2018
Traits in you: Your governing planet
Saturn helps you become elegant,
realistic, truthful, disciplined, and cre‑
ative. By nature you are helpful and
committed to your friends so you will
enjoy respect in your friend circle.
However, you have to work on your
nature of being jealous and rigid.
Health this year: Some young fami‑
ly member may fall sick and you may
feel stresses and concerned for the
same.
Finance this year: This year, you will
be able to find various profitable
investment opportunities. However,
you need to be selective in investing
your money. Do a vivid research on
market conditions and risk factors
before going for any investment. You
should not disclose your plans to the
people you do not trust as it may
cause problems in future. You will be
able to expand your business by part‑
nering with other profitable associ‑
ates.
Career this year: You will be highly
rewarded this year if you are a jour‑
nalist, doctor and marketing profes‑
sional
Romance this year: If you are eligi‑
ble for marriage, it may happen this
year.
18th September, 2018
Traits in you: Mars being your rul‑
ing planet blesses you with intelli‑
gence, courage, energy, enthusiasm,
and so on. Your have strong decision
making capabilities and your deci‑
sions always stand correct. You have
strong analytical skills and you are
very much diplomatic to handle any
kind of problems in your personal and
professional life. You should control
your temper to improve as a person.
Health this year: You should avoid
alcohol and smoking to remain
healthy and physically fit.
Finance this year: You will be hugely
benefited from your past investments
as it will earn you unexpected money.
Your legal matters may settle down
and you will be benefited from it. You
may receive gifts from your friends
and relatives to hold your confidence
high. You will start your business with
a high note.
Career this year: You need to con‑
centrate on your career this year by
putting your maximum ef forts. You
may get satisfactory results for your
efforts.
Romance this year: You will enjoy a
happy personal life during this year
with love and support from your
spouse or partner.
19th September, 2018
Traits in you: As you are influenced
by the Sun, you possess the nature to
become strong, truthful, reliable, con‑
fident, responsible and creative. You
are devoted to your father as you con‑
sider him to be your friend, mentor
and inspiration. Despite of being a
well mannered individual, you are
stubborn and careless. You need to
work on your negative characteristics
to improve as a human being.
Health this year: You will find peace
of mind if you follow spirituality.
Finance this year: You may go for
transaction of your properties. You
may go for constructing new house or
renovating old one.
Career this year: Association with
creative individuals will help you gain
a lot of knowledge, money apprecia‑
tion, and recognition. This year your
performance will be exceptional and
you can easily impress your seniors
and higher management. You will be
able to showcase your responsibility
taking capacity in your profession and
that will allow you grow and reach
new heights.
Romance this year: Your romantic
life would be extra ordinary this year.
You will not find your spouse to be
supportive enough. You may suffer a
lot in your personal life as well.
20th September, 2018
Traits in you: Under the influence of
your ruling planet, you have obtained
characteristics such as creativity, emo‑
tions, honesty, simplicity and generos‑
ity. You are very good at understand‑
ing critical situations and act accord‑
ing to the demand of the criticality of
the situation. You are also an eternal
learner as you believe learning is a
never ending process and ever help‑
ful. Though you have an attractive and
pleasing personality, you also have
shortcomings as a human being. You
should not show your mood swings as
that creates a negative impression.
Health this year: As far as your
health is concerned, it will be sound.
However, your parent's health may
degrade and make you a bit worried.
Finance this year: You may plan fre‑
quent business trips this year and all
your trips will be successful as they
will earn you a lot of money and busi‑
ness.
Career this year: You will be confi‑
dent enough to fight any adverse situ‑
ation or take any challenge in your life
this year. If you are looking for a job
change, the middle months of the year
will be ideal to do so as you may
receive exceptional job offers.
Romance this year: You will enjoy
an exceptionally good time with your
partner. You may plan for marriage
this year as well.
21st September, 2018
Traits in you: Your governing planet
bestows energy, honor, ambition, dig‑
nity and intelligence on you. As you
have a charismatic personality, you
will easily make friends. Your commit‑
ment and honesty helps you gain
appreciation and rewards. You should
control your ambitions as it may make
you rude and careless at times.
Health this year: Your health will
remain good provided you take a good
care of your health. You may consult
doctor to take preventive vaccines and
medicines to remain healthy.
Finance this year: If you are into
consulting business, this year will
bring you lot more customers and of
course a huge income. You may invest
but you should be well aware of loses
that may happen if you invest without
any prior research on the market con‑
ditions. You should not behave extra
friendly with strangers. You should
not disclose your innovative ideas or
plans to someone else as it may make
you face loses later. It is advisable not
to lend or borrow money. If want to
lend money, then be extra cautious.
You need to take care of your valuable
personally to avoid loss and theft.
Career this year: You may not find
your new project beneficial at once.
However, it will grow gradually to
benefit you.
Romance this year: You may get
involved in a new romantic relation‑
ship. If you have reached the age to
marriage and you are financially sta‑
ble, you may get married later this
year.
30 September 15-21, 2018
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
I
f we were to look down upon this
physical world from a high vantage
point, we would find the light of bil‑
lions of souls shimmering throughout the
world. Like a foaming sea, they move
about from one life to another, from one
form of living thing to another. All the
souls, when seen in their true perspective,
are the same. They are all a part of God's
consciousness; they are all Light, and they
all have an innate bliss.
But if we look at the condition of our
world, we are appalled and shocked by
the suffering and pain each form of life is
undergoing. We find strife and dissension
throughout the world. We find countries
at war. Many nations are embroiled in
internal conflicts. We see religious groups
at odds with each other. Community strife
is widespread. Even within families we
find discord and disharmony. We find
human beings killing various forms of life,
including other human beings.
We wonder how there can be so much
pain and turmoil caused by people who
have within them the same divinity of
God. This seeming "fragmentation" of God
into so many souls was meant to bring an
increase in the Lord's happiness.
Just as a couple bear children to
increase their mutual love and joy, so did
God bring about the creation of so many
souls, so many children. Yet the result is
far from what was intended. We who are
moving packets of bliss and all‑conscious‑
ness are aware of great pain and torment.
If we could return to our true state and
realize we are soul, we would find lasting
peace and ecstasy. If we could tap deeply
within ourselves, penetrating beyond the
outer form of this physical body and
mind, we would find a wellspring of eter‑
nal peace and happiness. We would dis‑
cover the secret of unity underlying this
Universe.
Honoring saints
and founders of all
religions through
meditation
The various religious and spiritual tra‑
ditions have more commonalities than
differences. The common core of each is
the same. They believe in a higher power,
although called by different names, which
created all of us. They also believe that
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
PEACE, HARMONY &
HUMAN UNITY
Through meditation,
we will find the
treasure of spiritual
pearls to enlight‐
ened living that will
bring us peace,
happiness, and bliss.
God wants us to live
in eternal peace and
bliss in the spiritual
realm.
we have a spiritual core within us created
by the higher Power. They also speak of
tapping into this spiritual side of our‑
selves through prayer, meditation, or
inversion to uncover our Source. While
language, terminology, and customs dif‑
fer, at the heart of all are practices that
connect our true essence, the soul, with
the higher Power.
Saints, Masters, spiritual teachers, and
enlightened beings, such as Buddha, Jesus
Christ, Mahavira, Moses, Krishna, Rama,
Guru Nanak, Kabir, Maulana Rumi,
St.Teresa of Avila, Mira Bai, Hazur Baba
and many others came to help connect
people of their times with the divine with‑
in them.
To understand the role of saints and
Masters, there is a story about a lion cub
that became lost from its mother. A moth‑
er sheep found the lion cub frightened
and alone in the wilderness. Out of com‑
passion, the sheep took the cub and
raised her as her very own. The cub grew
up with the other sheep and began acting
like them. Crying, “Baaah, baaah,” it even
began to believe it was also a sheep.
One day, a lion came by and thought it
strange to hear this young lion baaahing
like a sheep.
The lion asked, “Why are you making
sounds like you are a sheep?” The young
lion said, “Because I am a sheep.”
T he lion said, “Come w ith me.” It
brought the young lion to a pool of water.
“Look down into the still pool,” said the
lion. When the young lion looked down, it
jumped back startled to see a lionʼs face
staring back at it.”
“See! You are a lion,” the older lion told
him. “That is who you really are.”
We are in the same predicament as the
lion. We think we are the body and the
mind. We do not realize that we are soul.
We are not sheep; we are lions̶true sons
and daughters of the Divine. The stillness
of meditation is the reflecting pool in
which we can see who we really are.
When our body and mind are still, we can
see our own true self as soul.
Meditation is a practical method in
(Image courtesy: stockphotos.ro)
which we can discover our true self as
soul and achieve spiritual consciousness
by reuniting our soul with the higher
Power. It is a way to discover our true
purpose in life and to reach the goal of
enlightenment in this lifetime. In this way,
we can uncover who we really are and
can truly say that we know ourselves.
Enlightened living
There is a quotation by the great Greek
philosopher, Socrates. He said, “Our
prayers should be for blessings in gener‑
al, for God knows best what is good for
us.” This quote coincides with the prayer
to God to give us whatever is good for us.
Time and again, whenever we demand
something from God that is continually
denied to us, it is usually because we are
asking for something that is not good for
us ultimately.
There have been many instances in
which people prayed to God for some‑
thing, and God did not grant their wish.
Later they came to learn that receiving
the wish would not have been a good
thing after all. Will a mother allow the
child to have poison? The child may cry
for it and throw a tantrum, but if it is poi‑
son, the mother will not grant it. Instead
the mother will give the child what is best
for him or her.
The child may not realize it at the time,
but as the child grows and learns, the
child is grateful for all the things the
mother denied him or her that were ulti‑
mately not good.
Many people are anxious about making
choices. The way to be sure we make the
right choices about what to pray for is to
pray that God gives us what is best for us.
God makes no mistake. Rather than pray
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
for something that may or may not be the
best for us, let us pray for Godʼs will for
us.
If we relax and rest in Godʼs will, we will
find that everything works out for the
best in the long run. Meditation is a
pro cess of re laxing in Go dʼs w ill.
Meditation provides a time when we can
let go of all clutching and praying for this
thing and that. It is a time in which we sit
in a state of stillness and surrender to
Godʼs will. It is a chance to let go of all our
wants and desires. We merely sit in a
receptive mood and ask God to grant
what is best for us. We will find that God
will give us much more than we had
expected.That is the secret to enlightened
living.
Through meditation, we will find the
treasure of spiritual pearls to enlightened
living that will bring us peace, happiness,
and bliss. God wants us to live in eternal
peace and bliss in the spiritual realm.
The essence of
religion
Saints from every religion teach the
same truth. They help us find the com‑
mon elements in each. They have love
and respect for other great saints and the
world's religions. They recognize that
they are teaching the same Truth.
Although outer languages, cultures, cus‑
toms, and the way of dressing and greet‑
ing may dif fer from country to country,
the essence of religions is the same: there
is one Go d, we are children of one
Creator, and our purpose is to know our‑
selves, know God, and love all.
(For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 15-21, 2018
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 15-21, 2018