Transition To: Trump Presidency Begins

The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.9 No. 29 November 12-18, 2016 80 Cents
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j o u r n a l i s m
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Transition to Trump Presidency begins

Donald J. Trump clinches a stunning victory to claim
8 the White House. With GOP controlled Senate and
House, he can get much accomplished.
Trumps conciliatory victory speech and promise of
8 cooperation by Hillary Clinton and President Obama

will help put behind the bitterness of the campaign.
5 Indian Americans have won seats in US Congress,
8 one in Senate for the first time.
A Trump-Modi summit is expected in the first 100
8 days of the new presidency.

New York: A businessman with no
political experience, Donald J
Trump has stunned the country and
the world by getting elected 45th
President of America, the most
powerful office in the world.
The polls and political pundits
and the media were predicting and
expecting the Democratic nominee
Hillary to win. Trump made them to
eat crow. What contributed to his
potentially transformational victory
will be analyzed for a long time to
come. The transition to Trump pres
idency is already in full swing.

President Obama invited the
Presidentelect to White House
Thursday and they had a good
meeting.
Trump was at odds with even the
establishment in his own party, but
after many Republicans won seats
in the US House and Senate riding
his coattails, they are coming
around to help him start the work
of building an administration.
Names of his cabinet members are
being discussed. Americans who
Donald Trump making his victory speech on Tuesday night in New York.
The South Asian Times

e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.9 No. 28 November 5-11, 2016 80 Cents
strongly disliked Trump are also

getting around to the view that he
should be given a chance to bridge
the divides and usher in a new era
for economic progress and security
in the country. India can only
expect further strengthening of
Continued on page 4
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CLIFFHANGER
In a tightening race, Hillary Clinton was a mere 12 points ahead nationally. Days
before the election, Donald Trump had the momentum, and was making a play
for battleground states to come tantalizingly close to winning the White House.
Election dominated by the
Coming to terms with a possible
Trump phenomenon Hillary Clinton loss
By Parveen Chopra
While other media was cocksure

of Hillary victory, The South Asian
Times said in last weeks issue that
Trump was the likely next President.
onald Trumps momentum has

brought him only a heartbeat
away from winning the pres
idency. Luckily for him, he has
peaked at the right time. And bad
news hit his Democratic rival,
Mrs Hillary Clinton at the wrong
time. But whether he eventually
becomes the 45th President of the
United States of America or not, the
2016 election will go
into history books
for the Trump
phenomenon.
T he
real
estate billion
aires candida
cy was con
sidered a
joke ini
tially.
He bam
boozled
his
way
through the Republican primaries, beating

16 other contenders including Jeb Bush,
considered prematurely to be a shooin
nominee. The TV channels loved
Trumps controversial state
ments and offthecuff remarks;
keeping the cameras on him
saw their ratings zoom. The
media made him but could not
undo what they had done. His
remarks about Mexicans,
Muslims and women and others
eventually made him
the
favorite
whipping
boy for the
mainstream
Continued
on page 9
More
election
coverage
on page
911.
By Parveen Chopra
ou are a liberalsecu
lar like most
mediapersons.
You lean Demo crat
like a majority of
Indian Americans. You
pored over newspapers
and news sites for
months, and watched
television for hours and
hours to track the
progress of your favorite
candidate Mrs Hillary
Clinton. You digged neg
ative news about
Donald Trump,
which was plen
ty. T he New
York
Times
and sites like
Huf fington
Post
por
trayed him
like
an
If you are 18-year-old

or above, you must vote on
November 8. Voting is both
a privilege & a civic duty.
anomaly in America, who was a dan

ger to democracy. Mrs Clinton did
not enthuse you like Barack Obama
did in 2008, but your mind was
made up anybody but Trump.
A dip in Mrs Clintons poll num
bers made you skip a heartbeat. Her
steady lead almost unsinkable in
most part of October made you
breathe easy. Women voters
were her firewall as well
as minorit ies. T hen
came FBI director chief
James Comeys letter
last wee k to US
Cong ress
about
reopening the case
of her private
Continued on
page 9
Surgical strike on
black money
London:
People are mobbing banks to exchange spiked currency in

India. New Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes are being issued.
A group of prominent members of the IndianAmerican community of Long Island

held Celebration of Democracy in Hicksville two days after the US presidential election.
It was attended by supporters of both major parties and was cosponsored by
Bansi Shah and Kamlesh Mehta. (Photo: Parveen Chopra)
New Delhi: Millions of anxious

people with Rs 500 and 1,000
notes mobbed banks across India
throughout Thursday to exchange
or deposit them after the govern
ment declared them illegal tender.
The sudden, stunning measure is
aimed to curb black money, cor
ruption and funding for terror
from across border. Thousands
Continued on page 4
Related stories on pg 10 & 22.
People queue up at bank counters to exchange

currency notes in Patna on Nov. 10. (Photo: IANS)
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November 12-18, 2016
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Tom Suozzi wins

Congressional race
Tom Suozzi celebrating his victory with Indian American supporters.

Hicksville, NY: Thomas Suozzi,
former 2term Nassau County
Executive, has been elected to US
House of Representatives from
the 3rd Congressional district.
The Democratic leader defeated
Jack Martin of GOP.
Said Varinder Bhalla, Chairman
& Founder of the Indian American
Voters Forum who actively sup
ported Suozzis campaign, I am
thrilled that an extremely capable
person from Long Island, Tom
Suozzi has been elected member
of the US Congress. I believe he
will be a great Congressman for
the US and India and the Indian
American community.
When asked about the presi
dential election result, Bhalla said,
It is being called a historic upset

in the American political history;
but if Donald Trump can unify the
nation and ensure the American
dream for all Americans, it could
become a true historic victory. I
believe that he could do great
things for our economy and make
American great again.
While many people fear Trump
could pursue goals not consistent
with the basic American values,
fortunately, Congress does have
the Constitutional power and a
system of checks and balances
designed to prevent concentra
tion of power in the hands of any
one person including the
President. So I am quite positive
about the future of this country.
''
Bansi Shah, retired engineer,

entrepreneur, community
leader, explains
TrumpModi summit next

year: Shalabh Kumar
New York: Basking in
the glory of Donald
Trumps victory,
Shalabh
Kumar,
chairman of the
Republican Hindu
Coalition (RHC) that
organized a rally for
the Republican nomi
nee in New Jersey
last month, has
expressed confidence
to a TV channel on
Wednesday
that
Trump and Prime
Minister Narendra
Mo di would meet
soon perhaps in the Donald Trump at a Diwali eve event in New Jersey held by Republican Hindu Coalition
floated by Shalabh Kumar (second from right)
first 100 days of the
against Pakistan among a section Many BJP leaders are my
his presidency.
In fact, Trump in the presence of the IndianAmerican Hindu friends.
Kumar, the Indian American
of Mr Kumar had declared at a community following the Uri ter
ror
attack
and
Mr
Trumps
per
industrialist,
said that the whole
Diwali function his appreciation
ceived
hostility
against
Muslims
Trump
family
is involved with
of Hindus and India and had said
that the Hindus and Indian possibly acted as a glue for the Indian Americans.
A Trump son and daughterin
Americans would have a true two to make common cause. Mr
friend in him if he were elected to Kumar also holds that a law ce le brated Diwali at an
Republican administration under Orlando temple.
the White House.
Meanwhile in New De lhi, a
Mr Trump had also said that no Mr Trump will be much more
re lat ionship would be more favorably disposed towards India fringe rightwing outfit called the
Hindu Sena celebrated the victory
important to him than the one than even at present.
When asked whether his organ of Trump in the US polls, saying
with India. This had enthused a
section of the Indian community ization has any links with the rul his Presidency would further
to vote for Trump. T he fury ing BJP in India, Mr. Kumar said, boost IndoUS ties.
Why Trump is good for America
This country needed change

and got it w ith Donald
Trumps victory. Middle class
cit izens had seen their
incomes going down. Trump
is good for business. He will cut
taxes and that will put money in
peoples pockets to spend and
save, fuelling the economy.
US businesses going out should
be encouraged to stay here.
Obamacare is hurting small busi
nesses as premiums go up and
up. Business owners try to
employ less than 50 people or
hire parttimers (not on W2), so
tax revenue goes down. Trump
will likely keep the good parts of
Obamacare while tweaking it.
Trump is right when he says
China is dumping products big
and small in USA. If manufactured
here, that will bring progress
here but we have to become glob
ally competitive.
Trumps immigration plan is
misinterpreted. He is not going to
deport people but just stop illegal
immigration from south side of
the border. Foreigners who study
here or come here legally to work
should be encouraged to stay so
they are useful and boost the
economy and discourage the ones
who have to be given handouts.
The media has twisted many of
Trump statements to give him a
bad name. We should all come
together and work for the better
ment of India. Look at some of
the things said about Narendra
Modi before his election, and he
has done a great job as Prime
Minister of India. We hope Trump
will follow in Modis footsteps in
leading America.
''
Charles Schumer
reelected to US Senate
New
York:
T hreeterm
Democratic New York US Sen.
Charles Schumer easily won re
election on Tuesday.
Schumer is in line to succeed
retiring Nevada Sen. Harry Reid
as leader of Senate Democrats
next year.
In House races, some familiar
winners for the Indian commu
nity included:
Peter King, Kathleen Rice,
Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng,
and Carolyn Maloney.
For New York state Senate,
Carl Marce llino, Michae l
Venditto and Ellaine Philips
won.
For the state assembly,
Michae l Montesano (GOP)
defeated Dean Hart (D).
Sen. Charles Schumer of New York

is set to become leader of Senate
Democrats
TURN PAGE
Hillary is winning the popular vote

Washington: Donald Trump won the White
House Tuesday night but Hillary Clinton
received the most votes, according to the latest
totals.
The latest vote totals show Clinton with
60,212,217 votes, a razor thin lead over
Trump's 59,875,7884. That number will change
as absentee and other ballots come in but if
Clinton's lead holds, she will become the first
presidential candidate since Al Gore in 2000 to
win the popular vote but lose the White House.
Trump secured the victory as his biggest
boost came in battleground states like Florida
(29 Electoral College votes); North Carolina (15);
Ohio (18); Pennsylvania (20); and Wisconsin
(10). T hose wins, which hit in areas once
thought to be in Clinton's camp, swung the elec
tion towards the Republican nominee.
Besides Gore, only three other candidates in
U.S. history Andrew Jackson in 1824 (lost to
John Quincy Adams); Samuel Tilden in 1876
(lost to Rutherford B. Hayes); and Grover
Cleveland in 1888 (lost to Benjamin Harrison)

won the popular vote but lost the election. Each
of those races occurred in the 19th Century.
The 2000 race, like the 2016 one, led to ques
Ousted Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry

approved and adopted by Tata Sons
under the aegis of Mistry." Such a depar
ture from these requirements and con
duct since Mistry was replaced as
Chairman of Tata Sons by Ratan Tata in
an interim position demonstrates his
absolute disregard of longstanding Tata
traditions, values and et
tions about the Electoral College, which was

established in part to put states on a level play
ing field when it came to selecting the presi
dent.
Exit polls reveal a deeply

divided America
Washington: The exit polls show that the US
electorate is very deeply divided in many
ways. Men preferred Donald Trump by 12
points while women preferred Hillary Clinton
by the same number. Whites went overwhelm
ingly (21 points) for Trump, while blacks,
Latinos, and Asian Americans were more than
two to one for Clinton. Young voters 1829
supported Clinton by 19 points, while voters
45 and older had a preference for Trump 89
points. Voters with a high school education
supported Trump by 6 points but those with
some postgraduate study went for Clinton by
21 points. People earning less than $50,000
went for Clinton, but people making more
were Trump voters. Clinton won the cities by a
huge margin (24 points) but Trump carried
small towns and rural areas by 28 points.
Protestants and Catholics voted for Trump,
but Jews and others went for Clinton. Roughly
summarized: Well off, young highly educated
urban voters and minorit ies supported
Clinton, and older, poorer, lesseducated rural
white voters supported Trump.
Jaipur (India) Bureau

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

Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha
President: Arjit Mehta
Continued from page 1

bonds of friendship with US under
President Trump.
Indian Americans also had another
reason to celebrate: five of their own
have been elected to US Congress,
one being Kamala Harris, the first
Indian American in Senate.
Surgical strike on
black money
Mistry must resign as chair of

all group companies: Tata Sons
New Delhi: Tata Sons said that ousted
chairman Cyrus Mistry must resign from
all group companies and deplored the
manner in which he sought the support
of independent directors of Indian Hotels
to continue as its chairman.
"Mistry conveniently forgets that he
was appointed as the Chairman of the
Tata operating companies by virtue of
and follow ing his posit ion as the
Chairman of Tata Sons," Tata Sons said in
a ninepage statement.
"Therefore, it was fair expectation of
Tata Sons that Mistry would gracefully
resign from the boards of other Tata
companies on being replaced from the
position of the Chairman of Tata Sons," it
said.
"This expectation was in line with con
vention, past practice as well as the Tata
governance guide lines that were
Transition to Trump
Presidency begins
Continued from page 1

began assembling outside banks
even before they opened after Prime
Minister Narendra's Modi's surprise
announcement on Tuesday aimed at
curbing black money, corruption and
terror financing.
People jostled to get lower denomi
nations or new currency notes as a
sweeping cash crunch caused chaos
and inconveniences to buy even sim
ple daily essentials.
The government had said Rs 4,000
worth of spiked currency can be
exchanged daily but most banks
halved this amount to cater to most
of the customers.
Innumerable households reported
they had to scrounge for smaller
notes and even coins to buy basic
foo d items on Wednesday and
Thursday. For many who managed to
get hold of the new 500 and 2,000
rupee notes, it was like a war won.
But outside they encountered fresh
problems as they could not get them
changed due to a virtual absence of
Rs 100 and 50 and lower denomina
tion notes in the markets.
Amid the public anger over the
inconveniences, the government
scrambled to clear confusion about
the decision to demonetize. Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley said people
might face problems initially but in
the medium to long run they would
definitely benefit from the move.
"It is only those w ith large
amounts of undisclosed money who
will have to face the consequences
under existing laws," the minister
said.
IANS Newswire Services

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

masalajunction.com.
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IndianAmericans celebrate their impressive victory

Washington, DC: With five
IndianAmericans, including two
women, e lected to the US
Congress, euphoric community
members said that the unprece
dented victory shows they have
become part of the mainstream
political landscape.
Kamala Harris, who was elect
ed to the Senate, and Pramila
Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi
and Ro Khanna to the House of
Representatives entered one of
the citadels of democracy for the
first time, leading to celebra
tions among community mem

bers. Ami Bera was declared
elected for a third consecutive
term.
"It is a no mean achievement.
This is a moment of celebration,"
said M R Rangaswami, a Silicon
Valleybased investor, entrepre
neur and philanthropist. He had
he ld fundraising events for
almost all of them. "It is impor
tant that IndianAmericans
become part of the political
mainstream," he said.
Rangaswami hoped the "his
Trump has changed

US politics forever:
Indian Americans
New York: T he Indian
American community said
Wednesday that Donald
Trumps historic win is a vic
tory of the "silent majority"
and that better days are
ahead for IndoUS relation
ship.
"Today, our nation made
history in electing President
Trump, the voice of the
silent majority spoke loud
and clear. The Trump phe
nomenon has changed US
politics forever," said Puneet
Ahluwalia, a member of the
Trump Asian Advisory
Committee.
"Trump engaged with new
voters from all walks of life
and especially the bluecol
lar voters who related to his
straight talk. It is time to
bring our nation together
and move towards a
stronger
and
g reater
America," Ahluwalia said.
Sampat
Shivang i,
a
Republican delegate, said
that an average American
was tired of two standards
one for the elite and one dif
ferent for a regular Joe
which was unacceptable.
The Americans, therefore,
taught the biggest lesson to
Washington establishment
as they want their past glory,
pride and selfesteem back
and they hope Trump will
provide that, Shivangi said,

adding that they wanted jus
t ice and be lieve he w ill
restore that as well.
"The other bigger benefici
ary I believe would be India.
Trump has promised to be
(the) best friend in the White
House India ever had. I am
sure he will be, especially in
eliminating or transforming
radical Islamists, a menace
that has inflicted the world
especially by Indias closest
neighbor," Shivangi said.
Jassee Singh, founder of
the Sikhs for Trump, said: "It
is victory of (the) silent
majority. T here was an
undercurrent of support in
his favor. He is goo d for
America, good for Indian
Americans and India."
However, Rajwant Singh
from the Sikh American
community said that the
election results are unbeliev
able and are unsettling for
many.
"There is a great deal of
concern among minorities
and especially among people
of color. Donald Trumps
rhetoric throug hout the
campaign had made many
racial and religious minori
ties very nervous and this
e lect ion outcome has
sho cked them further,"
Singh said.
toric election" would encourage

others from the community to
run for not only Congressional
elections, but also those at state
and city levels.
"We are growing up and grow
ing
out,"
said
Se khar
Narasimhan, an activist in the
Greater Washington area.
He has been encourag ing
young IndianAmericans to run
for elected offices.
Ajai Jain Bhutoria from
California, who too had raised
funds for these candidates, said:
"T his is matter of pride for

IndianAmerican community."
IndianAmericans one of the
fastest growing ethnic groups in
the US this year pooled
resources from across the coun
try through fundraising events
and by volunteering time and
effort.
For instance, the Indian
American community in Tampa,
Florida, one of the battleground
states held fundraising events
for Raja Krishnamoorthi, while
those in the greater Washington
Peter Jacob loses

bid for House from
New Jersey
New Jersey: IndianAmerican Democrat Peter
Jacob lost his bid
for the House of
Representatives
from New Jersey
on Tuesday. The
Keralaborn
social worker
lost by a margin
of 15 percent in
the
Seventh
Congressional
District in the
Peter Jacob is of
middle of the
Malayali heritage.
state, which does
not have heavy Indian American presence as in
the Edison area.
Congressman Leonard Lance won reelection
from the traditionally Republican constituency.
But his votes were reduced from 59.25 percent
to 55 percent. Peter Jacob made waves he
received $70,000 in donations after former
White House aspirant Bernie Sanders made a
last minute fundraising pitch for him.
area raised money for Ro

Khanna, Raja and Pramila
Jayapal and several others run
ning for Congress.
After a bitter experience in the
past, in particular with Bobby
Jindal, the community now is
seeking accountability and com
mitment from these candidates.
When some IndianAmericans
from the Silicon Valley held a
fundraiser for Kamala Harris,
they sought her position on
issues re lated to India and
IndianAmericans.
Hillary supporter has a

positive message
New York: Meera Gandhi, CEO and founder of the Giving Back
Foundation, who had active
ly
supported
Hillary
Cliontons election, reacted
positively to her loss.
"I think the people 0have
spoken. Demo cracy is
upheld. The press is dogged
in listing Donald Trumps
(negative) campaign promis
es. But President Obama and
Secretary Clinton have been
dignified in their message in
as much as the President
elect has been gracious. The
country united must move
forward. I think our commu
nity needs to continue to
Meera Gandhi after
support the new President as
voting on Nov 8
we have done in all previous
administrations regardless of who voted for whom. We are a
powerful community and we have a voice that can be used
when necessary. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, the
prolific writer of St Joan the story of Joan of Arc, 'Onward
and upwards my friends'."
'Flash Crash' trader pleads guilty

Chicago: An Indianorigin futures
trader, who was
extradited to
the US after
being arrested
in the UK for his
alleged role in
the 2010 Wall
Street "flash
crash" which
Navinder Singh
w iped nearly
Sarao was
$1 trillion of f
extradited
to the
the value of
US
on
Nov
7
A m e r i c a n
shares in minutes, has pleaded
guilty in a court in Chicago.

Navinder Singh Sarao, 37, of
Hounslow, UK, pleaded guilty to
one count of wire fraud and one
count of spoofing before US District
Judge Virg inia Kendall of the
Northern District of Illinois.
Sarao was extradited to the US on
November 7 and made his first
court appearance. T he charges
against him include his role in the
May 6, 2010 'Flash Crash' when the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
plunged 600 points in five minutes,
the US Assistant Attorney General
Leslie R Caldwell said. "Navinder

Sarao abused sophisticated technol
ogy to make a quick profit, and
jeopardized the integrity of US
financial markets," Leslie R
Caldwell said. "By flooding the mar
ketplace with bogus orders, his
scheme victimized countless indi
viduals," he said. As a result of his
scheme, Sarao admitted that he was
able to make at least $12.8 million
in illicit gains. Sarao was arrested
by British authorities on April 21 in
London at the request of the US
Department of Justice.
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Oncologist Rajiv Dutta in

NCABs Americas Best
Physician list
rominent surgical oncologist Rajiv
Datta, MD, has been named a
2016 Americas Best Physician
by the National Consumer Advisory
Board (NCAB). Physicians who earn the
honor are recommended by peer physi
cians, patients, healthcare professionals
or by the NCABs selection committee.
Dr. Datta is the epitome of a compas
sionate, expert, skilled physician, said
Richard J. Murphy, president and CEO
of South Nassau. His passion for his
work and his commitment to providing
standardsetting patientcentered care
is emblematic of South Nassaus ongo
ing mission to provide the South Shore
communities of Nassau County with the
quality healthcare services that they de
serve.
This honor only confirms what his pa
tients and the South Nassau staff have
known for years.
Dr. Datta is chair of the department of
surgery and medical director of the
BAPS Mandirs celebrate Diwali

with fun and festivity
Rajiv Datta, MD, chair of the

department of surgery and medical
director of the Gertrude & Louis Feil
Cancer Center at South Nassau
Communities Hospital.
Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center at
South Nassau Communities Hospital.
Indian Dental Association

honors Prof Chad Gehani
rofessor Chad P. Gehani of New York
University
received
Lifetime
Achievement Award of The Indian
Dental Association , at their annual
awards ceremony held in Mumbai, India
Dr. Chad Gehani is a man of many quali
tiesa respected clinician, visionary
leader, passionate educator, admired
mentor, humanitarian, and effective col
laborator making significant contribu
tions to organized dentistry, oral health
care and dental education.
In 2014, Dr. Gehani was installed as
Trustee of the American Dental Associa
tion, representing New York State. He was
President of New York State Dental Asso
ciation from 2011 to 2012. During his
tenure, he successfully preserved adult
Dental Medicaid and created a task force
to examine the licensure process
(Post Graduate Year1 Task Force). NYS
DA was successful in passing legislation
offering loan forgiveness to young den
tists/recent graduates willing to serve in
Edison, NJ: Volunteers of all ages came to

gether to organize a Diwali celebration at
the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandirs
across the Tristate and North America on
October 3031st. Colorful intricate rangolis,
decorative oil lamps and Annakut offerings
of vegetarian food before the sacred images
of God filled the atmosphere with a renewed
spirit of the festival.
Children also enjoyed the annual Diwali
fare filled with games, activities and sweet
treats. BAPS youths take great measures to
organize and conduct this annual event for
the younger participants. Attendees experi
enced the culture and traditions of the aus
picious holiday as they offered prayers, well
wishes, and resolved to mark the New Year
with spiritual enlightenment. Many rel
ished the familiar atmosphere of Diwali and
reminisced their childhood days as they im
mersed themselves in the beautiful sights,
traditional songs, and delicious cuisine of
the holiday. Diwali is my favorite festival

because of the excitement that fills the air
when the festival nears. said Jalpa Jhala of
Monroe. But after coming to the BAPS Shri
Swaminarayan Mandir, Robbinsville, NJ, I
felt like I was in India. The exhibition had
various activities for the whole family. I had
a family experience here and we also took a
New Year resolution. I experienced Indian
culture while getting a taste of fine Indian
cuisine. Every person I met had an expres
sion of warmth and happiness on their face.
I truly felt at home. The festivities brought
devotees together to serve a common pur
pose, develop spiritually, and please their
guru Mahant Swami Maharaj and inspirer,
Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Pramukh Swami
Maharaj inspired the celebration of Hindu
festivals at BAPS centers worldwide to keep
the rich traditions and culture of India alive
with emphasis on the true historic and spir
itual purpose of Hindu festivals.
UN Women honors Kavita,

L Subramaniam
Lakshmi Puri UN Assistant

Secretary General and Deputy
Executive Director of UN Women
put a lapel pin of "He For She"
campaign on violin maestro
Dr L Subramaniam as his wife,
Kavita Krishnamurthy looks on
during a brief ceremony at the
Organizations Headquarters
in New York.
Photo: Jay Mandal/On Assignment
Prof Chad P Gehani.

areas of decreased access to care in New
York State.
Dr. Gehanis awards include, Ellis Island
Medal of Honor, 2015.
he UN Women friday honored inter

nationally renowned violin maestro
Dr. L Subramaniam and his wife noted
Bollywood singer Kavita Krishnamurthy by
placing a lapel pin of "He or She" campaign
on him and putting a wrist band in honor of
her pledge to fight for gender equality.
Lakshmi Puri, UN Assistant Secretary Gen
eral and Deputy Executive Director of UN
Women, who placed the lapel pin and band

praised the commitment of the musical cou
ple for the causes dearer to the organization.
Puri said He For She is a solidarity cam
paign for the advancement of the women
and to engage men and boys as agents of
change by encouraging them to take action
against negative inequalities faced by girls
and women.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Many IndianAmericans could be part of Trump

administration: Top Republican leader
Washington: Many prominent Indian
Americans could be part of Donald
Trump's administrat ion, a senior
Republican leader has said, asserting that
the presidentelect has a "history of hiring
the best talent."
With Trump kicking of f the process of
building a formidable team to help him
run the country beginning January 20
next year, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, who
holds the position of Republican National
Committee's National Committeewoman,
said the 70yearold tycoon will look for
the best available talent for his administra
tion.
"Trump has a history of hiring the best
talent. I fully expect to see many promi
nent IndianAmericans in the new adminis
tration," Dhillon, who is the highest rank
Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, RNCs national

committeewoman
(Image courtesy: Voanews.com)
ing IndianAmerican in the Republican
Party, said. Ronald Regan was the first US
president to appoint an IndianAmerican

in his administrat ion. Outgoing US
President Barack Obama has the distinc
tion of appointing a record number of
more than 75 IndianAmericans in his
administration.
Dhillon said Trump's stunning victory
heralded a new era of opportunity and
promise for all Americans, which will also
benefit IndianAmericans.
"As a diverse community with energy
and a desire to succeed and excel in this
g reat nat ion we call home, Indian
Americans can expect the new President to
focus on lowering regulatory burdens,
reducing taxes on individuals and corpora
tions, focusing on jobs and growth for US
before other countries, enforce the laws of
the US, including its immigration laws and
keep our nation safe from harm," she said.

Eminent IndianAmerican Republican
from Texas Ashok Mago said that the vic
tory of Trump was good for India and
Indian Americans.
"Presidentelect Trump is for legal immi
gration and preferably highly skilled indi
viduals and that approach is good for
India," he said, adding that Trump is
against radical Islam and so is India.
Under Trump presidency one should
expect much more cooperation between
the US and India, he said.
"Trump win is historical in US history. He
has changed major political system in USA.
He will be a great president and will build
greater relations with India," said Raju
Chintala, Indiana Chair and Chair for Asian
Americans for TrumpPence Campaign.
TRUMP'S VICTORY: American Sushma offers help to woman,

newborn stranded in US
Muslims express shock, fear
Washington, DC: Fear and shock were
expressed by American Muslims after
Republican Donald Trump was confirmed as
President of the US after months of taking
antiIslamic stands.
The Republican made his most controver
sial remarks about Islam in December last
year, sparking anger among the world's 1.5
billion followers of the religion, when he
called for a ban on Muslims entering the US
after a mass shooting in California, the Daily
Mail reported. For the editor of the Muslim
section of Patheos, a website specialising in
spirituality, Dilshad Ali had never felt the
fear of Trump until now.
"I woke up today and I finally felt it. It felt
personal, like the election was a vote against
me," the 40yearold mother of three told
CNN on Wednesday.
More than seven in ten Muslims had said
they would vote for Hillary Clinton, the
Democratic nominee, according to an
October survey by the Council on American
Islamic Relations.
Just four per cent had said they would
vote for Trump, and perhaps as few expect
ed him to win.
"Our worst nightmare has materialised... A
man that built his platform on bigotry,
misogyny, and the vilification of Muslims
and minorities won the highest office in the
land," said Wardah Khalid, a writer and for
eign policy analyst.
Yasir Qadhi, a wellknown Muslim scholar
in Memphis, Tennessee, said: "Shock.

Complete and utter shock."
"All of us are genuinely worried. I fear for
the safety of my wife in 'hijab'; of my chil
dren in the streets; of minorities everywhere
struggling to understand what happened,"
Qadhi told CNN.
Sahar Aziz, a professor at the Texas A&M
University School of Law, said Trump's elec
tion represents a regression to a less toler
ant and inclusive America.
"The general mood I am seeing among
Muslims is concern that a Trump presidency
will be open season on them. Some Muslims
worry their children may experience bully
ing at school because Trump's victory vali
dated the mainstreaming of Islamophobia.
Some women are afraid to wear their head
scarves in public in case this invites physical
or verbal assault," said Aziz.
Other Muslims said they feared that
Trump will install antiMuslim activists,
whose work he has promoted, in powerful
roles at the Justice Department and other
agencies.
"We could go back to that post9/11,
witch hunttype environment," said Sheikh
Hamza Yusuf, a scholar and cofounder of
Zaytuna College, the country's first accredit
ed Muslim college.
According to the latest survey in 2016,
there are 3.3 million Muslims living in the
US, about one per cent of the total popula
tion.
New Delhi: An Indian woman

hour of tragedy. I have asked
in the US who gave birth to a
@IndianEmbassyUS to help
baby girl few days ago, weeks
you," Swaraj tweeted.
after her husband died of a
Deepika Pandey's family had
heart attack has been assured
initially requested the minister
by External Af fairs Minister
to arrange for medical insur
Sushma Swaraj of all possible
ance for her as the insurance
help.
she had for Boston was not
Swaraj has already directed
valid in New Jersey.
Indian
Embassy
in Deepika Pandey gave birth
Now the family has request
to a babygirl weeks after
Washington to help Deepika
ed the government to ensure
her husband died of
Pandey, who is from eastern
early grant of passport to the
heart attack in Boston.
Uttar Pradesh, and now resid Her family had requested new born by the US authorities
ing in New Jersey.
who by birth is an American
help from Swaraj.
T he woman's husband
citizen.
Hariom Pandey, who was a software engineer,
The family also requested the government
had died of a heart attack on October 19 in to ensure expeditious issuance of Overseas
Boston and days later his friends had taken Indian Card to the new born so that Deepika
her to New Jersey to ensure her better care as Pandey and her two children can return to
they stay there. Deepika also has a fouryear India at the earliest.
old son. "Deepika We are with you in this
(PTI)
Satya Nadella looks forward to work with

newly-elected Trump
San Francisco: Congratulating Donald Trump for becoming the 45th US President,
Microsoft's Indianborn CEO Satya Nadella said he looks forward to working with all those
elected. "We witnessed the democratic process in action here in the US. The results are of
importance around the world, and I know that interest is shared among Microsoft employ
ees," Nadella said in a statement posted on Microsoftowned LinkedIn on Wednesday. "We
congratulate the presidentelect, and look forward to working with all those elected yester
day. Our commitment to our mission and values are steadfast, and in particular fostering a
diverse and inclusive culture," Nadella added. According to The Verge, "Nadella may be con
gratulating presidentelect but he's also crossing his ngers that Trump doesn't follow
through on some of his techadverse campaign promises."
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
Our journey doesnt end

here, more work to do:
South Asians for Hillary
n a press statement South Asians
for Hillary Clinton said that while
the election result was unexpected
and they were much disappointed,
their journey doesn't end here, to the
contrary it has motivated them to do
more. We are fortunate to live in a
country that values the democratic
process, one that ensures a peaceful
transition of power despite having an
unfavorable outcome. As President
Obama has noted, everybody is sad
when their side loses an election, but
the day after we have to remember
that were actually all on one team.
We also know very well from
Americas history, as well as that of
our motherlands in South Asia, that
progress takes time and is a long, ar
duous journey. The outcome of the

presidential election has affirmed
this, conveying to us that we must
work that much harder to reach our
communitys goals. From the mo
ment that Hillary Clinton announced
her candidacy, South Asians for
Hillary (SAHILL) has been a vocal sup
porter of her campaign. She was
someone, who we believe was im
mensely qualified for the job, and who
promised to be an advocate for the
South Asian community. Our decision
to support her was based both on her
long record of public service and on
our collective recognition that Hillary
would be a passionate and effective
advocate for the South Asian Ameri
can community across this country.
USINPAC congratulates Presidentelect Trump

he US India Political Action Com
mittee (USINPAC) Indiana Chair
and Chair for Asians for Trump
Pence Campaign, Raju Chinthala has
congratulated Donald Trump on win
ning and said, Trump win is a historical
in US history. He has changed major po
litical system in USA. He will be a great
president and will build greater rela
tions with India.
Congratulating
Presidentelect
Trump, USINPAC Chairman Sanjay Puri
said, "President Trump must work on
kick starting the economy, tackling ISIS

and terrorism in Asia. The IndianAmer
ican community congratulates Presi
dent Trump on such a decisive win and
pledges to work with the new adminis
tration. USINPAC worked on informing
Indian Americans about the different
Presidential Candidates throughout the
primaries season and also the postcon
vention season, to enable them to make
an educated choice through video con
ferences with the different campaigns
including the Trump Campaign.
Will remain undeterred: SAALT

reacts to election results
outh Asian Americans Leading Together
(SAALT) in a press statement has reiterat
ed its resolve to stand by and fight for
rights of South Asians, immigrants, muslims, all
communities even more so after election re
sults. We have been alarmed and dismayed by
the divisive messages and policies that have typ
ified the election debate over the past year. Our
communities, immigrants, Muslims indeed
huge swaths of our nation have been targeted,
scapegoated, and attacked. Our faith and alle
giance to the US as well as our very place in the
nation has been questioned, yet we are remind
ed that our communities are vibrant and have a
crucial and longstanding place in the US. We

will remain undeterred.
Today and in the days, weeks, and months to
come, SAALT will continue to fight for racial jus
tice, equality, and civil rights for our communi
ties and indeed for all Americans. We pledge to
redouble our efforts to ensure everyone, re
gardless of their race, real or perceived religion,
ethnicity, or immigration status can pray in
peace, walk in safety, and live with the liberty
and equality enshrined in our Constitution. We
will hold the line on justice for our communities
in Washington, DC and we will chart a path for
ward.
Hope to engage with Trump on terror,

Kashmir & Pak : Hindu American Foundation
n advocacy organisation for HinduAmer
icans has said it hopes to engage with the
administration of PresidentElect Donald
Trump on pressing issues such as Kashmir, ter
ror fomented by radical Islam and Americas
ties with nations that sponsor terrorism. The
Hindu American Foundation (HAF) congratulat
ed the 70yearold Republican on being elected
the 45th President of the United States and said
it looks forward to working with his adminis
tration to address issues that are of deep con
cern to many in the HinduAmerican communi
ty. In carrying out our nations foreign policy,
of utmost concern to HAF continues to be: gross
human rights violations borne by Hindus and
other religious minorities around the world, es
pecially in countries such as Pakistan and
Bangladesh, where radical Islam is fomenting
terror and violence, Pakistans proxy war in

Kashmir and violence against Hindu minorities
in Kashmir, as well as bilateral ties of the Unit
ed States with nations that sponsor terrorism,
the group said in a statement issued in New
York on Wednesday.
The group said it looks forward to engaging
the incoming TrumpPence administration on
various economic and security issues to ensure
a safe and prosperous future for all Americans.
Encouraged by Trumps call to bind the
wounds of division, HAF expressed hope this
commitment would extend to issues like moni
toring and combating hate crimes, comprehen
sive immigration reform with specific attention
to religious worker visas, equitable H1B policy,
and accommodation for Hindu refugees fleeing
persecution.
Indias Aniruddha Rajput elected to UN International Law Commission

United Nations: India's Aniruddha Rajput has
been elected by the UN General Assembly to
the International Law Commission.
Rajput received 160 votes Nov. 3, out
polling the other nine Asian candidates vying
for the seven ILC seats for the region. Among
them, Japan's candidate got 148 votes and
China's 146.
A total of 34 candidates were elected to
fiveyear terms on the Genevabased body
that works on developing and codifying in
ternational law.
In his early 30s, Rajput will be the youngest
member of the Commission. He completed his
Ph.D. in law from the National University of
Singapore only last year.
Rajput, who practices before the Indian
Anirudhha Rajput
(Image courtesy: Indiatoday.com)
Supreme Court, was the lawyer for the Jam
mu and Kashmir Study Center's controversial
suit filed last year challenging Article 35A of
the Constitution that allows state govern
ments to give special rights and privileges to
its permanent residents that are not available

to other citizens.
The controversial suit focuses on that arti
cle's application in Kashmir where, according
to Rajput, the state Assembly passed laws that
were drafted narrowly to exclude certain
communities.
The chairman of the ILC, Narinder Singh of
India, will complete his term by the end of
this year. He was first elected in 2006 and
then reelected in 2011.
Singh, who is also the incumbent Secretary
General of the Indian Society of International
Law, is a former External Affairs Ministry le
gal adviser and head of its Legal and Treaties
Division. Rajput's candidature is a departure
from the tradition of India nominating the
heads of the Legal and Treaties Division.

His basic law degree is from the ILS Law
College in Pune and he did his LLM at the
London School of Economics and Political Sci
ence.
According to his biodata circulated by the
UN, Rajput has advised on potential claims in
U.S. courts under the Alien Tort Claims Act
and British courts under universal jurisdic
tion for violations of rights of certain com
munities.
He drafted the Sports Bill, 2012, at the sec
ond revision stage and has advised the state
governments of Haryana and Jammu and
Kashmir on laws relating to industry and min
ing. He is also a member of the Governing
Council of the Global Village Foundation.
INDIAN AMERICANS IN CONGRESS
Indian Americans make big push into Congress

New York: Indian Americans
made a mark in Congressional
politics with one of them becom
ing the first to be elected to the
Senate and four others winning
seats in the House of
Representatives.
Kamala Harris was elected
from California to the Senate

de feat ing fe llowDemo crat
Loretta Sanchez.
Pramila
Jayapal
from
Washington,
Raja
Krishnamoorthi from Illinois
and Ro Khanna from California
will join Ami Bera, who was re
elected from California, in the

House of Representatives.
Tulsi Gabbard, who is a Hindu
although not of Indian descent,
was ree lected to the House
from Hawaii.
All Democrats, they range in
age from 35 years to 52 years
and represent the emerging

class of leaders. "Winning a
Senatorial seat combined with
several Congressional victories,
has made the community some
what reach its goal of political
involvement," Thomas Abraham,
Chairman, Global Organization
of People of Indian Origin, told

IANS.
"T his also help the US and
India to come closer as a global
partner in trade, investment,
education, science and technolo
gy, military cooperation and
fighting terrorism."
Kamala Harris elected for first

time to US Senate
Jayapal becomes first Indian

American woman elected to
US House of Representatives
New York: Kamala Harris made

history on Tuesday, becoming
the first Indian American elected
to the US Senate.
She de feated her fe llow
Democrat Loretta Sanchez in
California to also become the
first Indian American woman
elected to Congress.
Senators are elected by the
entire electorate in their states.
A victory is significant because
California is the most populous
state in the nation with 18 mil
lion voters.
Harris, 52, who traces her
family roots to Chennai, is a
lawyer by profession and was
twice elected Attorney General
in 2010 and 2014.
Harris has a dual identity: She
is also counted as an African
American as her father is a
Jamaican of African descent and
she follows the Baptist faith.
She would become the second
American woman of African
descent elected to the Senate
New York: Pramila Jayapal

became the first Indian
American woman elected to the
House of Representatives, win
ning Tuesday's election from
Washington state.
She w ill join other Indian
Americans in the Cong ress,
Kamala Harris, the first Indian
American elected to the Senate,
and three others in the House of
Representatives.
Jayapal, who calls herself a
"prog ressive fig hter," was
endorsed by Bernie Sanders, the
insurgent socialist who chal
lenged Hillary Clinton for the
Democratic Party presidential
nomination. She defeated fellow
Democrat Barry Walkinshaw.
In a tweet after her election,
she thanked the voters for
"standing up for the values of
our country that welcomed me
as a 16yearold immigrant."
A financial analyst by training,
she has worked on Wall Street
US envoy Richard
Verma congratulates
Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris
(Image : publicbroadcasting.net)
and she joins two other African
Americans in the Senate.
After her parents divorced,
Harris was raised by her mother
Shyamals Gopalan, a cancer spe
cialist from Chennai, giving her
equal claim to Indian heritage.
She is married to fellow lawyer
Douglas Emhoff.
Harris succeeds Demo crat
Barbara Boxer, a Democrat who
is retiring. The first Indian elect
Raja Krishnamoorthi
elected to Congress
New York: Raja Krishnamoorthi
won a seat in the House of
Representatives from Ilinois on
Tuesday, becoming the fourth
Indian American e lected to
Congress.
Democrat
Krishnamoorthi was elected from
the Illinois Eighth Congressional
District that covers some of the
suburbs around Chicago. He
defeated Republican Peter
DiCianni in the traditionally
Democratic constituency.
T he
43yearold
Krishnamoorthi represents the
class of upcoming young political
leaders. At the Democratic Party
Convention in July, the party
leadership presented him as a
"New Leader of Tomorrow."
President Barack Obama gave
him a strong endorsement and
recorded a video urging voters to
e lect his "good friend", who
helped him "develop ideas for
building an economy that works
for everyone". Krishnamoorthi
New Delhi: US Ambassador to

India Richard Verma extended
special congratulations to
Kamala Harris, the first Indian
American elected to the US
Senate. "We offer special con
gratulations to Indian
American senator Kamala
Harris, who was elected,"
Verma said. "I can tell you we
have come a long way from
when I was working in the
House of Representatives as an
intern in 1987, when you could
count on one hand the people
of SouthAsian descent who
were working in the Capitol
Hill," said Verma, who is an
American of Indian origin.
ed to Congress is Dalip Singh
Saund, who won from California
in 1956.
Ami Bera re-elected to
Ami Bera
(Image :modesto bee)
Raja Krishnamoorthi
(Image courtesy: mjbstar.com)
follows Dalip Singh Saund, who
became in 1956 the first Indian
American elected to Congress,
Bobby Jindal elected in 2004 and
Ami Bera in 2014.
Born in New De lhi, he is a
lawyer by profession and has
served as a state assistant attor
ney general on a special assign
ment to fight corruption and as a
state deputy treasurer.
He has since become a technol
ogy entrepreneur heading two
companies.
Krishnamoorthi has a mechani
cal engineering degree from
Princeton University and a law
degree from Harvard.
Congress
New York: Ami Bera, the only
Indian American in Congress, has
been reelected to the House of
Representatives where he will be
joined by three others in the new
session in January.
The California Democrat success
fully overcame the problem created
by his overenthusiastic father who
illegally transferred funds to his
election campaign. Babulal Bera,
83, was convicted of election fund
ing fraud and sentenced to a year
in prison earlier this year. Although
prosecutors cleared Ami Bera per
sonally of any involvement in the
crime, his Republican rival Scott
Jones made an issue of it. But Bera
Pramila Jayapal
(Image : peoplesworld.org)
be fore turning to polit ical
activism that has focused on
immigrant and women's rights
issues. She was recognised by
President Barack Obama in
2013 as a "Champion of
Change" for her advocacy of
immigrant causes.
The 51yearold Jayapal, who
was born in Chennai, is married
to Steve Williamson and has a
son and a stepson. She is the
author of "Pilgrimage to India: A
Woman Revisits Her Homeland."
Ro Khanna topples veteran

Congressman to enter
House of Representatives
New York: Ro Khanna
Brian Parvizshahi,
defeated the eight
alleging that he ille
term veteran Mike
gally
accessed
Honda on Tuesday in
Honda's list of
his second try to enter
donors and other
the
House
of
records. Parvizshahi
Representatives after
resigned from the
a bitter contest.
Khanna campaign.
Khanna, who served
Honda was under an
as
former
Vice
investigation by the
Ro Khanna
President Al Gore's (Image : topnews.one) House
Ethics
chief of staff, will rep
Committee on allega
resent the heart of Silicon Valley tions that he used Congressional
in a constituency where many staf f for campaign work. Forty
tech giants like Apple, Facebook, yearold Khanna has a law
Google and Oracle are located. It degree from Yale University and
is also the only one in mainland specialised in intellectual proper
America with an Asian American ty law.
majority.
He has been a Deputy Assistant
Former President Jimmy Carter Commerce Secretary and a mem
endorsed Khanna, while Honda ber of the White House Business
failed to get President Barack Council. He teaches economics at
Obama's backing this time.
Stanford University and law at
During the heated campaign, Santa Clara University.
Honda filed a federal suit against
Khanna is married to Ritu
Khanna's campaign manager, Ahuja.
10
INDIA
Temple money from 'hundis' New Rs 50, Rs 100,

not to come under scanner Rs 1,000 notes soon:
New Delhi: The cash deposited by
temples from the offerings placed
by devotees in donation boxes or
'hundis' will not come under the
tax scanner, a Finance Ministry
official said.
"For temples, there is an exemp
tion that if the money is from the
donation boxes, we will not ask
questions. There is no limit on that
(deposits)," Revenue Secretary
Hasmukh Adhia told IANS on the
sidelines of the twoday Economic
Editors's Conference here.
He added that charitable trusts
of temples will, however, not be
exempt as they have to maintain
records of devotees giving dona
tions.
"In temples there are trusts. One
is charitable trusts... For them,
there is restriction that if any
donation is taken in cash, they
have to show the name and
address of the person. This is true
for all charitable trusts," Adhia told
IANS.
Following the demonetisation of
Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes by the
government, the authorities at the
Golden Temple in Amritsar
announced that they would no
longer accept such currency notes
Government
The authorities at the Golden Temple in Amritsar announced that they

would no longer accept Rs 500 & Rs 1000 currency notes from devotees.
from devotees.
Over 100,000 devotees visit the
Golden Temple every day and the
cash of ferings run into lakhs of
rupees.
"We have instructed our employ
ees not to accept demonetised cur
rency notes at the 'prasad' and
of fering counters," a Shiromani
Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee
(SGPC) of ficial told IANS, but
added they cannot stop devotees
from putting the banned currency
notes into the 'golak' or chest.
No alliance for UP
polls, says Mulayam
He said all SGPCrun institutions

in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal
Pradesh have been instructed to
deposit old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes on priority basis with the
respective banks.
T he government announced
demonetisation of high denomina
tion notes on November 8 mid
night. The Finance Ministry has
said that small cash deposits up to
Rs 2.5 lakh in individual accounts
will not call for any inquiry by the
tax department.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief

Mulayam Singh Yadav said his
party will not be part of any
alliance in the upcoming Uttar
Pradesh assembly polls.
The announcement comes amid
speculation of a possible grand
alliance involving the Janata Dal
United, Rashtriya Janata Dal and
the Samajwadi Party for the polls.
Flanked by younger brother and
state unit chief Shivpal Singh
Yadav, Mulayam Singh said if any
party wanted to come along, they
were welcome to merge their

party into the Samajwadi Party.
He ruled out any alliance now or
in the future.
"T he party will not form an
alliance with Nitish Kumar's JDU
nor with RJD," he said, adding that
the ruling party in the state would
contest the election on its own
strength.
Samajwadi Party leaders have
also had two meetings with
Congress e lection strategist
Prashant Kishore.
notes are being issued immedi

ately.
Lakhs of anxious people made
a bee line to banks and post
offices on Thursday to exchange
their old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes.
Thousands queued up hours
before the banks and post offices
opened across cities carrying the
notes and identity documents.
Most private and public sector
bank branches were seen jam
packed with customers.
All banks have been directed to
work for 12 hours on Thursday,
Friday, Saturday and Sunday to
clear the rush of desperate cus
tomers for exchange transac
tions and, if required, remain
open even next Sunday
(November 20).
Even ordinary activities of
trade and commerce, grocery
shops, saloons, mult iplexes,
malls and others came to a
standstill on Wednesday in the
neartotal absence of customers
as they ran short of lower
denomination currency notes.
AAP alleges selective

targeting of its MLAs
New Delhi: Alleging selective tar
geting of its MLAs, the AAP said
notices of disqualification had
been issued to nine of its legisla
tors on the basis of a false com
plaint.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Dilip
Pandey said 27 of its MLAs had
been sent notices asking why they
could not be disqualified for being
members of the Rog i Kalyan
Samiti.
Membership of the Samiti did
not amount to holding an Office of
Profit, he told the media.
More important, he said nine
MLAs who had got the notices, the
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
New Delhi: After demonetisation

of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 ban
knotes, the government said new
Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes, having
new design and security fea
tures, will soon be issued without
withdrawing the existing ones.
"Design of Rs 50 and Rs 100
notes will also be changed. These
notes with new design features
will be slowly infused (into the
system)," Economic Af fairs
Secretary Shaktikanta Das told
reporters at the twoday
Economic Editors' Conference
that started here on Thursday.
"The existing Rs 50 and Rs 100
notes will continue to be legal
tender," he added.
Das said new Rs 1,000 denomi
nation notes having new design
and security features will also be
issued soon.
The government demonetised
Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from
November 8 midnig ht. New
notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000
denomination are being issued
starting Thursday in banks and
post of fices. No new Rs 1,000
Delhi assembly Speaker included,

were not even members of this
body, Pandey said and alleged a
conspiracy against the AAP.
"Imagine the harassment these
MLAs have undergone for no fault
of theirs," he said. "Who will take
action against the people who
have acted in a malafide manner
against our MLAs?" He allegd that
even a basic scrunity of the com
plaint against the MLAs was not
done before the notices were
issued.
Pandey blamed the Modi gov
ernment and the Bharatiya Janata
Party for the "conspiracy".
The Election Commission on

November 2 issued showcause
notices to 27 AAP MLAs on a peti
tion seeking their disqualification
for allegedly holding Of fice of
Profit.
"People with an antidemocratic
framework of mind are misusing
reputed institutions for short term
political gains," Pandey said.
Pandey said the Rogi Kalyan
Samiti (RKS) chairperson and
members were exempt from the
Of fice of Profit under The Delhi
Members of Legislative Assembly
of
De lhi
(Removal
of
Disqualification) Act, 1997.
Modi stops in Bangkok to pay

respect to late king
Bangkok: Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, on his way to Japan, arrived
in the Thai capital on Thursday for
a brief stopover to pay homage to
the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej,
the world's longestruling
monarch, who died last month.
Modi laid a wreath and paid his
respects to the mortal remains of
the late king, whose body has been
kept at the Grand Palace complex

in Bangkok. The king's cremation
is likely to take place next year,
amid reports that it may happen
beyond the official oneyear peri
od of mourning.
Modi also inscribed "a message
of condolence at the Grand Palace
in Bangkok" while "paying tributes
to one of Asia's tallest leaders",
External
Af fairs
Ministry
Spokesperson Vikas Swarup
tweeted.
After the Bangkok stopover,
Modi is scheduled to land in Tokyo
for a threeday Japan visit during
which the two countries are
expected hold talks on boosting
ties in areas like trade, investment
and security.
INDIA
Amarinder resigns from Lok

Sabha over SYL verdict
Chandigarh: Punjab Congress
Blaming the ruling Akalis for
President Amarinder Singh
bringing the people to this sit
resigned from the Lok Sabha in
uation, Amarinder Singh said
protest against the "injustice"
Chief Minister Prakash Singh
to the state by the Supreme
Badal and his team had failed
Court in its verdict on sharing
to defend Punjab's stand in the
of water from the Sutlej
court. "The Akalis let down the
Yamuna Link (SYL) canal by
people of Punjab on this criti
states including Punjab and Punjab Congress chief Captain cal issue, selling of f their
Amarinder Singh.
Haryana.
interests to Haryana," he said.
All his party legislators also resigned from
Holding that the Punjab Termination of
their assembly seats. The Supreme Court on Agreement Act, 2004, was not in conformity
Thursday held as unconstitutional the state's with the provisions of the Constitution, the
2004 law intended to deny Haryana its share Supreme Court's constitution bench of Justice
of the SutlejYamuna water.
Anil R. Dave, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, Justice
Amarinder Singh sent his resignation to the Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Adarsh Kumar
Lok Sabha Speaker and sought a personal Goel and Justice Amitava Roy answered in the
meeting next week, party sources said.
negative all the four questions referred to the
The Congress legislators who resigned would top court in a Presidential reference.
meet the assembly Speaker in Chandigarh on
While Justice Dave pronounced the opinion
Friday to personally hand over their resigna for the majority of the judges, Justice Singh,
tion papers, a senior leader told IANS.
while agreeing with the majority view, gave his
In his resignation, Amarinder Singh, who is own observations.
heading the party's campaign for the assembly
At the initiative of the then Congress govern
elections early next year, said he had decided ment headed by Amarinder Singh, the Punjab
to quit as MP from Amritsar "as a mark of assembly had unanimously passed the law ter
protest against the deprivation of the people of minating all the agreements with Haryana,
my state of the muchneeded Sutlej river Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
water". Describing the SYL judgment by the Kashmir, Chandigarh and Delhi on the sharing
apex court as a "major blow to the people of of SutlejYamuna river water. This act was
Punjab," he said in a statement that he had brought to tide over the January 15, 2002
always fought for their legitimate right on this apex court judgment and decree and subse
issue and continued to stand by them.
quent judgment and order of June 4, 2004.
11
Setback for Punjab, SC

strikes down law axing
watersharing
New Delhi: In a setback to Punjab,
the Supreme Court held as uncon
stitutional the state's 2004 law
intended to deny Haryana its
share of SutlejYamuna water.
Holding the Punjab Termination
of Agreement Act, 2004, not in
conformity with the provisions of
the Constitution, the constitution
bench of Justice Anil R. Dave,
Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, Justice
Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice
Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice The Punjab assembly had also passed a law for return
Amitava Roy answered in the neg
ing the farmers land acquired for the canal.
ative all the four questions
T his act was brought to tide over the
referred to the top court in a Presidential ref
January 15, 2002 apex court judgment and
erence.
While Justice Dave pronounced the opinion decree and subsequent judgment and order of
for the majority of the judges, Justice Singh, June 4, 2004.
While answering the Presidential reference
while agreeing with the majority view, gave
in the negative, the court refused to extend its
his own observations.
At the initiative of the then Congress gov interim order of March 17, 2016 by which it
ernment headed by Amarinder Singh, the had appointed receivers under the Union
Punjab assembly had unanimously passed the Home Secretary to ensure that farmers' land
law terminating all the agreements with the that was acquired for constructing the Sutlej
states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Yamuna Link canal was not disturbed.
The Punjab assembly had also passed a law
Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh
and Delhi on the sharing of SutlejYamuna for returning the farmers land acquired for
the canal.
river water.
12
OP-ED
Rs 14 lakh crore cash junked: What this means

By Abhishek Waghmare
s 14 lakh crore or $217 billion, 86
per cent of the value of Indian curren
cy currently in circulation became
useless from midnight of November 8,
2016, part of the governments crackdown
on black, or unaccounted, money.
Rs 500 notes amount to Rs 7.85 lakh
crore (approx. $120 billion), while Rs 1,000
add up to to Rs 6.33 lakh crore ($97 billion),
according to Reserve Bank of India data.
Here are three ways in which this move
should affect the blackmoney economy,
which according to an 2016 report by Ambit
Capital, a financial research company, forms
a fifth of the Indian economy:
The sudden announcement will
directly affect black money hoard
ed by Indians, and will possibly
present them two alternat ives: either
deposit the money after identifying them
selves to banks, or exchange the money by
November 24, 2016.
According to basic calculations, with a
daily limit of Rs 4,000 a day, a maximum of
Rs 60,000 can be exchanged by a person, in
15 days from November 10 to November
24. From November 24 onwards, the
exchange process will be eased for conven
ience, meaning the exchange limit will be
increased. However, there is no limit on
1.
The Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 do not have nano chips' and cannot be tracked,
as WhatsApp forwards have been claiming.
deposits.
As the deadline for Indian individu
als to declare undisclosed income
the Income Declaration Scheme
ended on September 30, 2016, no unac
counted for' money can be declared now. It
ceases to be money, instead it will be a
worthless piece of paper', as PM Modi
termed it in his speech.
Instances of cashforvote prevalent
in Indian elections in the form of
bundles of cash in deligitimised
2.
3.
denominations may not work anymore.

While bank notes increased 40 per cent
from 2011 to 2016, Rs 500 notes increased
76 per cent and Rs 1,000 notes increased
109 per cent, the finance ministry said.
New notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 will be
introduced for circulation from November
10, 2016. Rs 2,000 notes will be monitored
and regulated by RBI.
The Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 do not have
nano chips' and cannot be tracked, as
WhatsApp forwards have been claiming.
The government had earlier withdrawn

old Rs 500 notes from circulation, in effect,
demonetising the currency two years back,
IndiaSpend reported in January 2014.
Cheaper money now illegal, costlier
money stays
The Rs 1,000 note was the cheapest note
produced in India. It required only 0.32 per
cent of its face value to produce but a Rs
100 note requires 1.8 per cent of its face
value, a Rs 50 note 3.6 per cent and a Rs 10
note 9.6 per cent to print.
There are 15.7 billion notes of Rs 500 and
6.3 billion notes of Rs 1,000 in circulation in
India. Thus, 22 billion notes in the country
have been junked.
The move will also have a positive byprod
uct: individuals and households with no
bank accounts keeping all income in cash
and at homes will now have to create bank
accounts to deposit money, making financial
inclusion indirectly inevitable.
Some relaxations on the use of Rs 500 and
Rs 1,000 notes have been given to account
for special situations, for example, pay hos
pital bills, transport expenditure and petrol
pumps till November 11, 2016.
The sectors that could probably be hit the
worst in the shortterm could be bullion and
real estate since they handle a lot of transac
tions in cash.
Pollution, productivity & prosperity in South Asian cities

By Amit Kapoor
hat the environment in
cit ies in India and the
broader South Asian region
in general is in shambles is not a
secret and Delhi recently has
been in a near emergency situa
tion with respect to air pollution.
The PM 10 touched meteoric
levels unheard of in the past with
some places in Delhi at particular
times recording it as high as
1000. PM 10 is particulate mat
ter, which has a diameter smaller
than 10 microns. By US stan
dards, PM 10 above 201 is con
sidered "very unhealthy" and lev
els above 301 are considered
"hazardous' to health. The levels
reflect the enormity of the prob
lem.
Another way of measuring air
quality is by looking at PM 2.5
(particulate matter smaller than
2.5 microns). In some parts of
Delhi, this was reported close to
600 while the WHO guidelines
prescribe it to be less than and
closer to 25 micrograms per
meter cube for a 24hour mean.
Clearly, Delhi has an environ
mental crisis staring it in its face.
And the bad news is it is not
alone.
Most South Asian cities lan
guish under nearly similar condi
tions. A report by the World
Maybe the need is for the governments to shift

the focus to livable cities.
Bank group in 2015 had looked
at livability and prosperity across
381 developingcountry cities.
Not surprising ly De lhi had
topped the list in having the
worst air quality. Nineteen of the
20 cities with the highest annual
mean concentrations of PM2.5
were in South Asia. Another
report from the same organisa
tion released recently pegs the
costs as a result of premature
deaths due to air pollution in the
global economy at about $225
billion in 2013. The report also
finds that annual labour income
losses cost the equivalent of
almost 1 percent of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in South

Asia. What made things to come
to such a pass? Environmental
experts believe there are a host
of factors at play here. There
include, but are not limited to,
the weather conditions at pres
ent with no rains to settle partic
ulate matter; smoke due to the
burning of crop leftovers for
making the fie ld ready for
replantation; rising vehicular pol
lution in Delhi and dependence
on diese l and coal for basic
chores.
Another major factor is higher
density per square Km of land in
relatively underdeveloped set
tings in South Asian cities, which

makes them vulnerable to pollu
tion. But one of the most impor
tant factors is stakeholders' atti
tude to turn a blind eye to this
and live with it, given the con
straints. Citizens are often one of
the causes and often also at the
receiving end of the air pollution
problem. It seems that the air
pollution one is witness is a text
book case of the tragedy of com
mons' whereby a shared resource
is used by individuals in their
own selfinterest contrary to the
common good of all users. Thus
people install ACs and purchase
cars, which benefit them in the
near vicinity but are endangering
their own lives once they move
out of their immediate environ
ment. Both PM 10 and PM 2.5
have the ability to cause severe
problems to cardiovascular
health and impair mental cogni
tion according to several health
experts. Recent studies show that
in some cases this has the poten
tial to af fect productivity of
workers. A recent study in
Harvard Business Review looked
at workers in China and the
impact air pollution can have on
productivity. Their results show
case that a workers are 56 per
cent more productive when air
pollution levels are rated as good
by the Environmental Protection
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
Agency (AQI of 050) versus

when they are rated as unhealthy
(AQI of 150200). It requires no
rocket science to see how much
India is losing out by way of pro
ductivity losses due to its toxic
air quality.
Maybe the need is for the gov
ernments to shift the focus to liv
able cities. Maybe a good starting
point is asking people and espe
cially domain experts on how to
solve the crisis. Some steps
would that could emerge for the
short term include cutting down
on smoke and pollution using
techniques like carpooling, using
masks to cope w ith adverse
impacts and ensuring that the
ban on burning residual crop
remains.
Longterm solutions include
reducing dependence on fossil
fuels, investing in public trans
port, making people aware and
providing them with alternatives
for reduction in an overt depend
ence on cars and sources of ener
gy which cause pollution, making
technologies available that could
help dispose of crop waste in an
environmentally sustainable
manner, fuelling power plants
with technologies that are less
polluting than coal. But all these
options will require investments
and money. But with political will
it can be done.
DIASPORA
13
Despite setbacks, Indians keep Australian dream alive

Sydney: The Indian community in
Australia is growing rapidly. The
increase in numbers is comple
mented by an increase in the aver
age income of the Indian diaspora
settled down under.
The presence of Indian migrants
in Australia is most noticeable in
the annual tax figures. According
to an Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) report released
recently, Indian taxpayers generat
ed a whopping $7.9 billion
(US$6.06 billion) in the financial
year 201112.
According to the ABS report,
Indian migrant taxpayers were
number two on the tax generators'
list, only marginally behind tax
payers from the United Kingdom.
What these figures are telling us
is that the Indian community
seems to be in a rush to realize its
Australian dream. Undoubtedly,
there are a number of impedi
ments which slow down this chase,
but the diaspora members are well
on their way to be counted as first
among equals in this reasonably
prosperous country.
Racism and lack of opportunities
are often cited as two primary rea
sons that make many Indo
In an alleged hate crime, Brisbane bus driver Manmeet Alisher

was burnt alive by an Australian of European descent
(Image credit: sbs.com.au)
Australians wonder whether the
Australian ethos of the "Fair go" is
meant only for the majority Anglo
Saxon community. A rude
reminder came recently, as a
Brisbane bus driver Manmeet
Alisher was burnt alive by an
Australian of European descent for
apparently no reason. Some of the
community members have blamed
racism for the unprovoked attack.
There is no sign whatsoever to
suggest that such tragedies would
discourage skilled Indians from
boarding the flights to Australian
destinations. While there has been

a spike in the Indian arrivals after
2005, a large component of the
diaspora living in Australia con
sists of international students. The
Indian taxpayers are overwhelm
ingly male and 40 per cent of them
are reported to be in the prime
employment age 2534 years.
According to a 2013 ABS report,
Indian migration increased "dra
matically from 2006 to 2011.
Around 53 per cent of the Indian
skilled migrants have arrived in
Australia after 2005".
According to the 2011 census,

about 300,000 Australians were
born in India and there were near
ly 400,000 responses for Indian
ancestry (largest group consisting
of IndoFijians).
In 201112 Indians were the
largest source of permanent
migration (15.7 per cent of the
total mig rat ion prog ram) to
Australia.
The social scene in Australia,
which promotes multiculturalism
as an official policy, is also chang
ing gradually. A visible change can
be noticed in the outer suburbs of
Sydney and Melbourne.
Hindu and Sikh temples in sub
urbs Parklea, Revesby, Rosehill,
Turramurra and Mays Hill in
Sydney, and Craigieburn, Carrum
Downs, Deer Park, etc., in
Melbourne, are a few of the reli
gious shrines which cater to the
increasing number of the diaspora.
While Australian policymakers
may be paying tribute to taxpayers
from India for making significant
contributions to the Australian
exchequer, it would be relevant to
mention here that the Indian link
with Australia goes back thou
sands of years.
According to a research by Max

Planck Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany,
the Indian DNA reached the
Aboriginal population in Australia
141 generations ago. It is believed
that Indian migrants settled in
Australia roughly 4,000 years
back, i.e., much before Captain
Cook located the east coast (New
South Wales Sydney) in 1770.
The first group of Indians to
arrive in Australia governed by the
British roughly three decades after
Captain Cook's wellcelebrated dis
covery of Australia was that of
convict laborers sent by the British
colonial masters in the years
18001816.
The last four decades of the 19th
century witnessed a large number
of Punjabis settling on the eastern
coast of Australia. Most of these
migrants were recruited as labor
ers. The services of the hardwork
ing migrants were also used to run
camel trains.
From running camel trains to
driving luxury cars, Indians have
definitely come a long way in their
chase of the Australian dream.
(IANS)
Indianorigin South Africans unite Mahatma Gandhi Center to be set

to save community radio station up at Indian Consulate in Dubai
Johannesburg: Thousands of Indianorigin
South Africans have joined hands to save an
iconic community radio station after national
broadcast body imposed a 90 per cent local
content quota on its radio stations.
The 33yearold Lotus FM has lost more than
a third of its listeners after the imposition of the
local content quota by the South African
Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in June. SABC
executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng has resisted calls
from the community to allow the station to play
more Indian music. Motsoeneng has been
adamant that all the 18 radio stations in the
public broadcast portfolio play South African
music in all the eleven official indigenous lan
guages of the country.
Lotus FM supporters have seen the popular
music in Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati
and Telugu from Hindi films dwindle to a frac
tion of its output because of the quota restric
tion, while listeners have resisted songs in lan
guages such as Zulu and Xhosa which the sta
tion is now compelled to play.
Local content by South African Indian artistes
is restricted in terms of both quality and quanti
ty, as there is no fulltime Indian music industry
in the country. "The authoritarian imposition of

90 per cent local content on SABC radio sta
tions has jeopardized the future of this iconic
radio station. Since May 2016, Lotus FM has
lost a third of its listenership, with the
inevitable decline in revenue which could force
its closure," said Ashwin Trikamjee, president of
the South African Hindu Maha Sabha. "This has
serious negative implications for minority
groups, especially for South Africans of Indian
descent, and would ultimately mark the death
knell for Lotus FM as a viable, sustainable com
mercial radio station within the SABC stable,"
he said. "Despite representations to explain the
specificity of Lotus FM, there has been no relax
ation of the rule," he added.
The South African Tamil Federation has also
(PTI)
voiced its objection to the quota ruling.
Dubai: The Indian consulate has agreed to a

proposal for setting up a cultural center in
Dubai showcasing the life and work of
Mahatma Gandhi.
Anurag Bhushan, India's ConsulGeneral in
Dubai, also expressed willingness to extend
whatever help possible in this matter.
"The Centre will disseminate literature,
artifact and khadi attire so that the younger
generations get inspired by the Father of the
Nation," Bhushan said.
"I am very happy to announce that we are
going to work together to create a Gandhi
Center. This is a small step but I hope it
becomes big as this is the first such initia
tive," he said. Bhushan was addressing a
gathering of the Indian community after
installing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the
consulate premises to mark the 141st birth
anniversary of Sardar Patel.
"We first thought whether just a bust of
Gandhi can inspire us. Then we agreed that
we should have a Gandhi Center here so that
Gandhiji's values could be propagated,"
Bhushan said. Speaking on the relevance of
Mahatma Gandhi on Saturday, Bhushan said
that we celebrate peace in India as Gandhi
Consul General Anurag Bhushan unveils

the Statue of Mahatma Gandhi
decided on peace as a means to wage war.
"Gandhiji realized that political emancipa
tion is meaningless unless it brought about
economic transformation. This is where his
greatness lies. It was not just the fact that he
gave us a path for political independence, it
was a path that was chosen afterward by
great people like Ho Chi Min, Martin Luther
King, Nelson Mandela and Aung Sang Su
Kyi," said Bhushan.
"He also showed us a way of liberating our
selves from the tyranny of modern con
sumerism. He left us as better people, those
who can truly appreciate the liberating
power of peace.
14
OP-ED
We all should give Trump a chance

By Shivaji Sengupta
onald Trump won the presi
dency. Let's take a moment
to acknowledge this fact,
and congratulate him for this vic
tory. The media, like me, having
backed the wrong horse, are too
quick to pose problems. I think
that's wrong. This election has
been probably the toughest and
most hurtful I have seen in my 48
years in America. It is now time to
heal. For those Democrats who
supported Hillary Clinton, it
should be a time to take stock. I
too was deeply involved in the
e lection campaign of another
Democrat to unseat a Republican
Congressman in Long Island. We
lost. Not surprisingly, this election
has resulted in diametrically
opposite of the 2008 elections.
T hen Democrats had won the
presidency, the Senate and the
House. This year, they lost all
three. What went wrong from the
Democratic perspective? I think
not much. The American people
simply expressed their longing for
change. That is what the exit polls
indicated with as many as 68%
wanting to see a change in leader
ship. T hey had made up their
mind and voted Republican after
eight years of President Obama.

Interest ing ly, althoug h 67%
expressed anxiety and concern
about Trump being President, a
third of them voted for him any
way. To me that spells despera
tion. Change at any cost.
Mrs. Hillary Clinton was not a
representative of change. She was
establishment, a carrier of
Obama's legacy. She could have
dif ferentiated more sharply her
policies from the current presi
dent's. For instance Obama, for all
his success, did not do a whole lot
for higher education, particularly
about the burgeoning student
loans. Mrs Clinton had a plan for

how to protect students from
becoming bankrupt under the
weight of these loans which, in
many cases, ran into six figures.
She did not emphasize this during
the campaign enoug h, even
though she was actively seeking
support of millennial voters who
had flocked to Bernie Sanders. On
trade, she waf fled somewhat,
starting out by supporting Obama
but gradually creating her own
policies. Perhaps out of loyalty to
the outgoing president, she did
not strongly emphasize her differ
ences with him. However, 20/20
is great hindsight! We can all be

Monday morning quarter backs
and pontificate on what Hillary
should or should not have done. I
was happy to hear that she was
gracious in her concession call
with the President Elect and that,
for his part, Donald Trump has
started talking about unity in the
country.
I would fault CNN and those
other media who have already
started talking about how
President Trump would fulfill
some of his more notorious prom
ises, such as deporting undocu
mented workers, hardvetting of
Muslims who want to come to this
country, and, of course, building
the Wall. CNN's Chris Cuomo even
asked Kellyanne Conway, Trump's
campaign manager, whether he
would move to prosecute Mrs.
Clinton, "as he has promised."
Why stir up these flashpoints lit
erally the day after Mr. Trump
won? Seasoned anchormen
should know that no candidate
keeps his promises entirely; and
Trump won't. What politicians say
during campaign is very, very dif
ferent from what they do when
they begin to govern.
T his thing is new to Donald
Trump. He's been a businessman
all his life, and now has to shift

from looking after his own inter
ests to looking after the country's.
Give him a chance.
For Hillary Clinton, this is the
end. Few presidential candidates
have recovered after losing the
elections, and she would be no dif
ferent. An illustrious political
career may have come to an end.
As a Democrat and supporter of
women's rights I wanted her to be
the first woman President of the
most powerful country in the
world. She came close, oh so close!
Here I would like to point out
something else of great impor
tance. It may come to pass that
Hillary Clinton would end up get
ting more popular votes than
Trump. If so, she will be the sec
ond presidential candidate in 16
years to lose an election despite
having won the popular vote. Al
Gore lost to George W. Bush under
similar circumstances. I think the
American people should petition
their law makers to look into this.
Should the Electoral College be
the last say, or should the popular
vote?
A Long Island based academic,

the writer is a regular contributor
to our opinion columns.
Trump dismays liberals all over the world

By Amulya Ganguly
he American voter has turned

President Obama's expectation of a
preference for wisdom and decency
in the presidential poll upside down.
Instead, the electorate has chosen a per
son whose negative aspects range from
racism to misogyny to vulgarity.
If Donald Trump has nevertheless been
preferred for all his seemingly glaring
faults, the reason has to be much deeper
than an intense dislike for "crooked"
Hillary Clinton, who has also been dubbed
a "criminal" by The Donald.
Considering how Trump had no hesita
tion in calling Mexican immigrants rapists
and had an AfricanAmerican dissenter
thrown out of one of his rallies, it is obvi
ous that he deliberately chose to be politi
cally incorrect in order to appeal to what
can be called the base instincts of the vot
ers.
Instead of displaying "wisdom" about, for
instance, global warming, or reinforcing
the standard aversion towards the nuclear
or the socalled "doomsday" weapons, he
appealed to the chauvinistic, antiforeigner
mindset of the American public by blaming
China for the production of greenhouse
gases and asking his policy advisers to
explain why the Bomb cannot be used
although the US has any number of them.
He also exploited the same inwardlook
Trump has accused China and

India of stealing jobs from America.
Hence, his rejection of the
phenomenon of globalization,
which also drove the Brexit voters
in Britain, and the threat to do
away with trade treaties unless
they favor the US.
ing attitude by accusing China as well as
India of stealing jobs from America. Hence,
his rejection of the phenomenon of global
ization, which also drove the Brexit voters
in Britain, and the threat to do away with
trade treaties unless they favor the US.
Trump reflects, therefore, the upsurge of
Rightwing demagoguery which has little
time for diplomatic niceties not only in the
matter of relations between nations, but
also about the relations between different
racial groups. The people in Trump's camp
have been dismissive of the charge of the
support extended to him by the white
supremacist Ku Klux Klan, arguing that the
latter are a minuscule group of little conse
quence. But the fact that Trump represents
the traditionally insular WASP ( White
AngloSaxon Protestants) factor is undeni
able. His support base comprises the large
ly uneducated white middle class which
has borne the brunt of the loss of jobs in

America because of the preference of the
corporate giants for "outsourcing". By this
token, large sections of the electorate the
liberal, educated whites, the blacks, the
Hispanics were supposed to be against
Trump. The same was expected to be true
of women because of his risque "locker
room" banter about his success in "grop
ing" them because of his wealth and
stature.
And, yet, despite this formidable lineup
of social groups which were expected to
root for Hillary Clinton, the putative "out
sider" in the Republican camp has now
become the most powerful Insider to the
dismay of liberals all over the world.
Evidently, an appeal to the gut instincts
of chauvinism both in terms of male and
national superiority pays and so does the
typical exhortation of the unabashed rab
blerouser about his ability to set every
thing right by remolding the existing "rot
ten" system something which the commu
nists also used to say at one time.
In contrast to Trump's bombast, Hillary
came through as the supine creature of the
"system", beholden to Wall Street, with her
private server issue, who was not a "natur
al" politician, as she admitted, like her hus
band and Obama. Perhaps the professorial
"Leftist", Bernie Sanders, might have been a
better foil for the hectoring Rightist.
But The Donald has not only proved
Obama wrong about the innate American

intelligence and niceness, but has also
shown his own Republican Party some of
whose members called him "nuts" that he
is indeed a "genius", as Rudy Guiliani said
for the dexterity with which Trump avoided
paying taxes. It is on the cards, therefore,
that in the process of making America
great again, as Trump has pledged, he will
remake the GOP by taking it further to the
Right with regard to abortion, tax cuts for
the rich and gun control. And the rest of
the world at least those in favor of a
nuanced, sophisticated approach to prob
lems will be on tenterhooks about the bull
in the china shop with Beijing wondering
whether its own smug arrogance has at last
met its match. At the same time, Rightist
parties like the National Front in France
and Alternative fur Deutschland are likely
to see in Trump's victory an omen for their
own success in the coming elections.
In India, there are elements in the saf
fron camp who have a liking for Trump
because of his antiterror and antiMuslim
stance. As a result, they will expect the US
under him to take Pakistan to task with
greater vigor than what the Democrats did.
On the domestic front, however, Narendra
Modi's policy of "sabka saath, sabka vikas"
is a far cry from Trump's blinkered white,
Christian sectarianism.
Amulya Ganguli is an Indian political ana
lyst. Source: IANS.
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
US Elections
15
Trump elected President in voters

revolt against establishment
The Republican Party
also performed well
in Congress, retaining
control of both Senate
and House, even though
the leadership has
been at odds
with Trump.
Trump managed to breach the blue wall, taking

battleground states and romping home with 306 seats.
President-elect Donald
Trump (Photo: IANS)
By Arul Louis
New York: The maverick outsider Donald Trump stunned the world by winning
the US Presidency, the most powerful job
in the world, as voters revolted against a
smug, condescending establishment, rejecting Hillary Clinton - seen as the face of
the status quo.
His victory plunged the nation and the
world into some uncertainty. He quickly
tried to bring calm with a radical makeover
of his style, ditching his brash style for a
Presidential demeanor.
At his victory rally Wednesday morning,
Trump called for national reconciliation,
saying: It is time for us to come together

as one united people.
He offered his pledge to every citizen of
the country to work for them and said he
would seek from those who were critical
of him their guidance and help so we can
unify our country.
Trump spoke of Clintons hard work in
her campaign and declared she was owed
a major debt of gratitude for her service
to the nation.
The forgotten men and women of our
country will no longer be forgotten, he
said to his voter base, which he described
as a movement, not a campaign.
No dream is too big, he said. America
will settle for nothing less than the best.
This was the second time Clinton was robbed of her chance
to make history as the first woman President of the US. In 2008,
Barack Obama blocked her way to the Democratic Party nomination.
His message to the world was that while

for him the US came first, We will seek
common ground, not hostility.
Earlier, Clinton phoned Trump to congratulate him and concede the Presidency to him.
The Republican Party also performed
well in Congress, retaining control of both
Senate and House, even though the leadership has been at odds with Trump.
This would give Trump a free rein to
shape his administration and policies -- if
he can reconcile with the party leadership.
The entire intellectual, media, cultural and entertainment elite were ranged
against him as were Wall Street and Silicon
Valley leaders in addition to even many of
his own party which makes his victory formidable -- and to them threatening.
Trumps style of mocking his opponents
resonated with a large swathe of voters,
who shared the disregard for the establishment, even if the elite held him in contempt.
The US elections were in a way a mirror of
the 2014 Indian election, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi confounded pollsters
and pundits by defeating a political dynasty.
And more recently, the British voters
pulled off a similar coup with Brexit that
passed against all prognostications.
This was the second time Clinton was
robbed of her chance to make history as
the first woman elected President of the US.
In 2008, Barack Obama staged a coup
derailing her all but assured claim to the
Democratic Party nomination. This year,
she made it past the primary but lost to
Trump in an upset. Indian Americans overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party
and Trump made overtures to the community, even if it was focused on Hindus.
He addressed a rally of Hindus, assuring
them that they would have a friend in the

White House and that he would come down
hard on terrorism.
Polls showed that about 65 per cent of
Indian Americans supported Clinton while
only 7 per cent were for Trump.
Trump, a real estate developer and reality
TV character with no previous political or
government experience, ran on a platform of
radical economic changes, of bringing jobs
back to the US and reneging on trade deals.
But he has yet to outline clear plans or
have a line-up of people to help him implement the promises.
Trump has said that he would dismantle
the health insurance open to the uninsured
introduced by President Obama.
Another area of uncertainty is the nomination of judges to the Supreme Court,
which has the potential to radically change
the laws, society and politics of the nation.
During the campaign, his policies on immigration and terrorism and statements
about Muslims were exaggerated by the
media and the political opposition to an extent that they backfired.
The Clinton campaign pursued a policy of
appealing to smaller segments of the nation,
tailoring messages to appeal to them. In the
process, they contributed to fracturing of
the nation and creating a climate of fear.
This in turn turned everyone else into enemies. This forgotten middle, the non-racist
working class and whites bearing the brunt
of globalization and economic disruption,
far larger than what the Democrats may
have thought and which included women,
turned against Clinton.
She spoke and acted as if the Presidency
was hers by right, further alienating many
people.
16
US Elections
Indian Americans
Harry Anand
Former Mayor of Village
of Laurel Hollow, NY
On Tuesday night, democracy won! Media and political pollsters lost! Last month I
had the pleasure of having dinner with John
Zogby, the famous pollster who has been in
polling business since the 1980s. During our
dinner John talked about how polling has
become increasingly inaccurate and

unreliable. One of the primary reasons is the
drop in landlines among the US population.
Since mobile numbers are not published, unless you have volunteered it on a voter registration form, it is nearly impossible to get
the right sampling of general population. Yet
media loves polls because these allow them
to tell their story the way they want the story
told. I posted John Zogbys comments on my
Facebook page on Nov. 3. Hillary Clinton did
not win because she did not deserve to win.
She is part of the same political machine
which people are sick and tired of. She knows
how to play the game because she and Bill
Clinton have played it their entire life.
Donald Trump will shake up Washington
and bring about real change. The office of
the President will shape him and he will be
a great President. He will bring smart and
competent people to be a part of his administration because he is an outsider and he does
need to return any favors to the political elite
in Washington. He understands business and
knows how to make a deal. We will abolish
Obamacare and get this burden off the backs
of businesses and American people. President Trump will be good for India. He loves
India and has investments in India. So hang
on, it would be four years full of excitement,
change and entertainment for sure.
welcome Trump win

Donald J Trump, President Elect,
has won the election because of his message to American people about his proposed policies for business, minimum
regulations on business, repeal of Obama
care and focus on American economy and
business friendly government. He also announced immigration policies, and elimination of terror in and around America.
Being a super successful businessman,
Trump thinks that America should be governed like a business. He believes in tax
cuts so that more money is in the hands of
taxpayers to spend and save which would
increase consumer demand and savings
would result in investment, which in turn
would contribute to growth. He is visionary and wealth builder for all citizens in
the country.
I commend his policies, mandate and
determination to turn around the country,
abolish unnecessary and harassing regulations, abolishing Obamacare (meaningless medical care plan) and come up with
proactive policies and action to govern the
country like a business.
Many people say that he has no experience of politics. I disagree because he has a
knowledge of it and now is the time for him
to intellectually use the knowledge and be
a commander-in-chief to make American
Naveen Shah
President and CEO,
Navika Group
citizens feel proud. I strong support his policies and mandate to eliminate terror and
focus on economy and business community.
Big, Bold and Daring President-elect Donald J. Trump

By Ashok Vyas
Finally, after 18 months of entertaining, engaging, political thriller and roller
coaster of revelations led to the polling day.
American voters have spoken, the verdict is
out. These results have surprised, shocked
many who were expecting sure victory for
democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. These
results have relieved many Americans who
were desperately looking for a change. It
is a new story on the political landscape of
USA. An outsider openly challenged
the establishment. A billionaire proved his
empathy for common folks by drawing them
in thousands across the country. He connected in a language that was considered unsuitable, undignified and unpolished expression
of anger. He rode on the wave of concerns
of the common man that were articulated by
him in simple words compared to the excellent oratory skills of President Barack Obama.
President Obama called the Republican
nominee as unqualified, unfit to be the
president of USA. First Lady Michelle Obama
also surrogated for Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton and evaluated Mr Trump on
the basis of 11-year old audio leak. Is he
the kind of person we would like to see in
the White House, went the refrain.
The other side of the story is that voters
were exposed to drip-drip WikiLeaks information about Mrs Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, her careless handling of classified
material and possible corruption through inappropriate use of her position as Secretary of
State. The sitting President with bigh approval ratings supported her to save his legacy.
But people wanted change. Mrs Clinton
was perceived as an extension of the twoterms of Obama. She wanted to keep Obamacare, which has provided medical insurance
to millions but increasing premiums probably worked against Mrs Clinton.

Well, Trump talked forcefully of counterterror measures and the promise of Making
America Great Again by creating jobs and
making better trade deals. There must have
been something in Trumps unscripted appeal that enabled him to face a seasoned politician like Mrs Clinton in the three presidential debates. Calling her crooked Hillary, he
openly criticized her pay to play as Secretary
of State vis--vis the Clinton Foundation. He
said, you should be in jail, in a manner that
one wouldnt expect to at such a dignified debate watched by millions across the world.
Donald J. Trump is now President elect.
Hopefully he will learn the steps needed to
lead this great nation in the next few weeks
before formally taking charge from President Obama on January 20, 2017.
Meanwhile, there were protests in many
cities against his election. We saw expression of anger by many young voters as
marched silently. Of course, many people
are devastated by this result. This is a reflection of Trumps image created by some
of his own words through tweets and impulsive, unfiltered reactions, but more importantly of his image created by the Clinton campaign and liberal media.
Here are some questions emerging out
of the apprehensions, reservations and reluctance among part of the electorate and
never-Trumpers.
Is he going to work against minorities or
Muslims? Will he act against illegal immigrants? Will he manage to have good relations with other nations? Will he promote
white supremacy? Is it possible to trust him
with most sensitive and significant role of
making important decisions for the nation?
In his victory speech, he came across as
a humble person, who sincerely acknowledged the contribution of Mrs Clinton for
the nation. He has to now share the details
about his team. Time will take care of the
concern about the maturing and temperament that people want to see in a US president. The beauty of American democracy
was displayed by post-election speeches by
President Obama Mrs Clinton.
Indian American community is excited that
in the history of America this is the first time
that the nominee of a major political party addressed them at the Republican Hindu Coalition in New Jersey. Mr Trumps positive expressions for India, for Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and Hindus are being heard again and
again by Indians through different channels.
Mr Trump has proved many pundits wrong
by his determined march to the White House,

which he termed as movement, that has never
been seen before. But this is just the beginning.
How will he translate the hopes and vision and
aspirations of people into action? I am hopeful and confident in the ability of the American spirit to deal with challenges and provide
opportunities to people for their growth.
Here is what the President-elect said in
his victory speech: We will double our
growth and have the strongest economy
anywhere in the world. We will get along
with all other nations willing to get along
with us. No dream is too big, no challenge
is too great, nothing we want for our future
is beyond our reach. America will no longer settle for anything less than the best.
We must dream big and bold and daring.
Ashok Vyas is TV host and Program Director, ITV
US Elections
Thousands take
to the streets to
protest Trump win
New York: Thousands of demonstrators took
to the streets in cities across the US on Wednesday
night in a bid to protest against Republican Donald Trumps victory in the presidential election.
In cities from Boston to Los Angeles, the
demonstrators chanted anti-Donald Trump
slogans, with many yelling not my president,
not today, CNN reported.
As many as 5,000 people were at a protest
in New York, the police estimated. Among the
issues were immigration and Obamacare.
I came out here to let go of a lot of fear
that was sparked as soon as I saw the results,
protester Nick Powers said.
He said he feared the real-estate mogul
will support stronger stop-and-frisk policies
that would put many people in prison. He was
worried that Trumps victory would embolden
sexist views.
Many of the protests were in cities with large
Democratic bases -- Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, CNN noted.
In Chicago, people walked down a normally
busy Lakeshore Drive, carrying signs.
Youngsters attend a protest against

Donald Trumps presidential election
victory outside the Trump Tower in
New York Nov. 9. (Photo: IANS)
Protesters in Austin, Texas, blocked a highway while students burned a flag on the campus of American University in Washington.
In downtown Los Angeles, high school
students crowded the steps of City Hall on
Wednesday afternoon.
Protester Brooklyn White was holding a
sign that said Hate wont win. The 18-yearold voted for Democratic nominee Hillary
Clinton and was disappointed.
At Berkeley High School in California,
about 1,500 students walked out of classes
on Wednesday morning. In Des Moines, Iowa,
hundreds of high school students who left
class to protest of election results.
In Phoenix, about 200 students from Carl
Hayden High School marched to the state
Capitol in protest.
A candlelight vigil for Clinton supporters in
front of the White House on Wednesday evening drew those who wanted to mourn their
election loss.
Stories: IANS
17
Clinton offers to work with Trump, but

says supporters must defend US values
(Photo: IANS)
Hillary Clinton made her concession speech Tuesday in New York.
New York Seeking to heal the national rift, an emotional Hillary Clinton
offered to work with Donald Trump but
added a note of caution saying that her
supporters should be ready to defend
American values.
As she began her speech to her supporters here on Wednesday, she appeared to
wipe a tear from her eyes and fight back
Washington: President Barack Obama,

in his first address after the US presidential
elections, said that he will do everything
he can to hand over office smoothly to
President-elect Donald Trump, and added:
Were are now all rooting for his success.
Obama, speaking at the White House
with Vice President Joe Biden next to
him, also advised that people should not
get cynical due to defeat.
He said he spoke with president-elect
Trump at 3.30 a.m.
It is no secret that the President-elect
and I have some pretty significant differences. But remember that eight years
ago, President Bush and I had some pretty significant differences too.
The presidency and vice presidency is
bigger than any of us.
We are now all rooting for his success
in uniting and leading this country. The
peaceful transfer of power is one of the
hallmarks of our democracy.
tears while her lips quivered during pauses. I hope he will be a successful president for all Americans, she said. We owe
him an open mind and a chance to lead.
She was responding to Trumps call to
bind the wounds inflicted on the nation
by the harsh campaign and heal them,
with a graciousness that matched his.
Hillary Clintons supporters, angry over
what they regard as a lack of scrutiny of

Mr. Trump by law enforcement officials,
pushed for these investigations. In recent
daysd that Mr. Trumps evident affinity for
Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin Mr.
Trump has called him a great leader and
echoed his policies toward NATO, Ukraine
and the war in Syria and the hacks of
leading Democrats like John D. Podesta,
But she tempered that with a veiled
warning to Trump against acting on what
were seen as his aggressive stances towards some people like Muslims and immigrants. Important American values
were the rule of law, freedom of worship
and equality and respect for all, she said.
We cherish these values and must defend
them, she commanded her supporters.
Before her defeat, she had been expected to make history by becoming the first
woman to be elected president. I know
we have still not shattered that highest
and hardest glass ceiling, but someday,
someone will, and hopefully sooner than
we might think right now, she said.
And to all the little girls who are
watching this, never doubt that you are
valuable and powerful and deserving
of every chance and opportunity in the
world to pursue and to achieve your own
dreams, she added.
We are all rooting for

Trumps success: Obama
Ultimately, were all on the same team,

he said. Trump is poised to take over as
the 45th President of the United States.
A lot of our fellow Americans felt exulted today. A lot are less so. But thats
the nature of campaigns, thats the nature of democracy, said Obama.
To the young people who got into politics for the first time and may be discouraged by the results, I want you to know,
you have to stay encouraged... dont get
cynical. Fighting for what is right is important, the outgoing President said.
We lick our wounds, we brush ourselves off, we get back in the arena... we
go forth with the presumption of good
faith in our citizens which is the essential to a vibrant democracy.
On Hillary Clinton, he said I couldnt

be prouder of her... I am proud of her. A
lot of Americans look up to her... Her candidacy and nomination was historic..
President Obama had vehemently

opposed Trumps candidacy.
Bernie warns Trump to eschew anti-progressive policies

Washington: Bernie Sanders warned
Donald Trump that progressives will
work to block racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies in his
first statement after Trumps victory.
The Vermont senator, who lost his bid
for the presidency to Hillary Clinton in the
Democratic primaries, offered an explanation for Tuesdays election alongside cautionary words for the President-elect.
Donald Trump tapped into the anger
of a declining middle class that is sick
and tired of establishment economics,
establishment politics and the establishment media, Sanders said.
To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve
the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared
to work with him. Yet, Sanders continued,
To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.
The statement by Sanders followed a
brief exchange CNN reporter Jeff Zeleny
said he had with a top Sanders advisor
on Wednesday morning. We have nothing polite to say right now, the advisor
said, according to a clip flagged by Talking
Points Memo. Trump had pledged to be
president for all Americans in his victory speech early Wednesday.
Many progressives wonder now

whether Bernie Sanders would
have been a better candidate
against Trump.
18
Washington: Presidente lect

Donald Trump and his advisers
have begun the tedious but
essential work Wednesday of
building out his administration
and considering the policy push
es it
Trump was to meet President
Obama on T hursday in
Washington, D.C., to discuss his
move into the White House and
the role of the presidency before
heading to Capitol Hill for a
lunch with Vice Presidentelect
Mike Pence and House Speaker
Paul Ryan. Melania Trump will
also meet with first lady Michelle
Obama.
Key matters regarding Trumps
business empire still need to be
decided, including how Trump
will disentangle himself from the
Trump Corporation and his vari
ous holdings and investments. He
has previously suggested putting
his company in the hands of his
adult children.
His transit ion team on
Loyalists like Gingrich, Giuliani and Sarah Palin are likely to

be rewarded with cabinet posts. Chris Christie may
miss out because of Bridgegate fallout.
Wednesday launched a website,
greatagain.gov, with updates and
Trump-bounce: Dow
hits new high
New York: The Dow surged as
much as 180 points and blasted
to new record highs after Asian
markets soared overnight as Day
2 of the "Trump Bounce" gets
underway as Wall Street fears
related to Donald Trumps stun
ning election win gives way to
hopes that the presidentelect's
policies could boost the econo
my. Wall Street equities look to
extend their winning streak to
four sessions.
At 10:10 a.m. ET Thursday, the
Dow Jones industrial average
was up about 135 points higher,
or 0.7%, after earlier making a
new intraday high of 18,769.46
and eclipsing its closing record
high of 18,636.05 notched in
midAugust. The Dow jumped
256.95 points Wednesday to
18,589.69.
The broad Standard & Poor's
500 stock index was up 0.2% as
it nears its record close of
2190.15 and the Nasdaq com
posite added 0.1%.
T he postelection rally has
been driven by investors
reassessing their views on a
Trump presidency and beginning
to focus on the growthfriendly
positives for the economy, such
as fiscal spending, lower taxes
and less regulation of businesses
under Trump.
In general, Wall Street is shift
ing its focus from Trump, the
man and presidential campaign
er, to Trump's policies.
US ELECTION
Wall Street also is betting that

Trump's growthfriendly policies
have a better chance of getting
enacted with Republicans con
trolling Congress, adds David
Rosenberg, chief strategist at
Gluskin Sheff.
Japans Nikkei 225 index
surged 6.7% to finish at
17,344.42, while Hong Kongs
Hang Seng index rose 1.9%. The
Shanghai composite index added
1.4% to close at 3,171.28.
Major European stock markets
were also higher as Germany's
DAX index was up 0.4% and
France's CAC 40 rose 0.4%.
The stunning turn in senti
ment suggests there is now a
consensus building that much of
the policy announced during the
campaign was a sales pitch
rather than a commitment to
act, said Michael McCarthy,
chief strategist at CMC Markets.
Investors ignored the poten
tial for damage to international
trade and growth prospects and
focused on Republican control of
both houses of Congress as well
as the White House. This offers
the prospect of reform that could
stimulate the U.S. economy, he
added.
Investors hope Trump's plans
for infrastructure spending, tax
cuts and lighter regulation will
benefit the U.S. economy. They
had worried because his cam
paign promises carried few poli
cy details.
information on new appoint

ments. To fill the top posts in
Trumps White House, including

chief of staf f, names of RNC
Chairman Reince Priebus and
Trumps campaign manager,
Kellyanne Conway, are reported
ly under consideration.
Some of Trumps top advisers
during the campaign, including
former House Speaker Newt
Ging rich, Alabama Sen. Je f f
Sessions and former New York
Mayor Rudy Giuliani, are consid
ered contenders for Cabinet
posts. Giuliani, however, told the
Wall
Street
Journal
on
Wednesday that he likely would
not be interested in an of ficial
role. While Gingrich is a candi
date for secretary of state, for
mer Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin
maybe considered for interior
secretar and Goldman Sachs vet
eran Steve Mnuchin may be in
line to be Treasury secretary.
For other staff jobs, it remains
unclear whether Republicans
who did not support Trump will
be welcome in his administration
or would be eager to sign on.

And some Trump allies are cau
tioning that fairweather appli
cants should be kept at arms
length.
Trumps policy plans for his
first 100 days in office are also
still being drawn. During the
campaign, Trump mentioned that
he would call for a repeal of
Obamacare and beg in to re
examine the countrys existing
trade deals. He has also recently
promised to drain the swamp in
D.C. with ethics reform and regu
lation overhauls.
For now, however, Washington
Republicans are in the dark
waiting to see what plans Trump
and his team will map out, and
whether his approach to govern
ing will differ from his bombastic
style on the campaign trail.
T he truth is, no one has a
clue, said one influential GOP
strategist based in Washington.
Its impossible to know what
hes going to do.
Trump benefited from Modi

policies: Rajnath Singh
Ballia, India: Indian home minis
ter Rajnath Singh said Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's popu
larity could be gauged from the
fact that even Presidentelect
Donald Trump had appreciated
his policies during campaigning.
"During US presidential elec
tion Donald Trump had said that
he would work on policies of
Modi. Now he has become the
President. We should fee l
proud," Rajnath said while
addressing a rally at Town
Polytechnic ground before flag
ging of f the fourth Parivartan
Yatra of BJP here on
Wednesday.
"Modi has not only ensured
that India becomes the fastest
growing economy by eradicat
ing corruption, but also gains
popularity globally through his
foreign policies. This is the rea
son why politicians like Trump

eulogized Modi's image and
policies to boost his prospects in
US presidential election and
won," Rajnath added.
Claiming that Mo di had
extended olive branch to India's
neighbors, Rajnath said, "Modi
had invited heads of several
countries, including Pakistan, to
give them a message of connec

tion through hearts. But this ini
tiative was not reciprocated by
Pakistan.
For improving relations, Modi
had accepted invitation of his
counterpart Nawaz Sharif and
visited Pakistan but it did not
mend its ways."
Source: Media reports
Moscow had contacts with Trump campaign: Russian envoy

Moscow: Russian government
officials had contacts with mem
bers of Donald Trumps cam
paign team, a senior Russian
diplomat said Thursday, in a dis
closure that could reopen scruti
ny over the Kremlins role in the
presidente lects bitter race
against Hillary Clinton.
Facing questions about his ties
to Moscow because of state
ments interpreted as lauding
Russian President Vladi mir
Putin, Trump repeatedly denied

having any contact with the
Russian government.
After the latest statement by
the Russian diplomat, the
spokeswoman for the Trump
campaign, Hope Hicks, denied
there were interactions between
Russia and the Trump team
before Tuesdays election.
But Russias Deputy Foreign
Minister Sergei Ryabkov, in an
interview with the staterun
Interfax news agency, said that

there were contacts with the
Trump team.
Obviously, we know most of
the people from his entourage,
Rybakov said. Those people
have always been in the lime
light in the United States and
have occupied highranking
positions. I cannot say that all of
them but quite a few have been
staying in touch with Russian
representatives.
US ELECTION
Modi calls Trump to

congratulate him
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Narendra
Mo di spoke to US
Presidentelect Donald
Trump and expressed
the hope that IndiaUS
ties will be taken to
new heights under the
new
presidency.
"Continuing to build
on the bedro ck of
strong IndoUS rela
tions. PM spoke just
now
to
@realDonaldTrump to
congratulate him on
his election," External
Af fairs
Ministry
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
spokesperson Vikas
Swarup tweeted. "PM conveyed Democrat Hillary Clinton by a
his best wishes & the two leaders wide margin to become the 45th
looked forward to working close President of the world's oldest
ly to take the #IndiaUS strategic democracy. IndiaUS relations
partnership to a new height," he have been on an uptick no mat
ter whether it is a Republican or
said.
In what was seen as a surprise a Democrat in the Oval Of fice
victory across the world, starting from the times of Bill
Republican Trump de feated Clinton.
19
Look forward to expanding

ties, Xi tells Trump
Beijing: Chinese President Xi
Jinping congratulated Republican
Donald Trump on being elected as
the 45th President of the US and
hoped that two leaders would
work together to expand bilateral
ties.
In his message, Xi said both the
countries have the special respon
sibility of maintaining world peace
and stability and boosting global
development.
"I highly value the re lations
between China and the United
States, and I am looking forward to
working together with you to
expand ChinaUS cooperation in
every field, at the bilateral, region
al and global levels, on the basis of
the principles of nonconflict, non
confrontation, mutual respect and
winwin cooperation, with dif fer
ences controlled in a constructive
manner, so as to push ChinaUS
relations further forward from a
new starting point, better benefit
ing the peoples of the two coun
Chinese President Xi Jinping.

tries and other countries," he said,
according to Xinhua news agency.
To develop a longterm, healthy
and stable ChinaUS relationship is
in line with the fundamental inter
ests of the peoples of the two
countries as well as the general
expectations of the global commu
nity, Xi said. Earlier in the day,

China's
Foreign
Ministry
spokesperson Lu Kang said Beijing
was ready to work with the new
US government.
The ties between the top two
economies of the world have taken
a hit over various issues like the
South China Sea and THAAD
deployment in South Korea.
Despite being a Chinabasher,
Trump has been pre ferred by
Beijing over his Democratic rival
Hillary Clinton who in the past has
angered the Chinese over various
issues ranging from human rights
to the South China Sea dispute.
The volatile Trump, who accused
China of "raping" the US in trade
and threatened to levy 45 percent
tax on Chinese products, is said to
be more suitable to Beijing
because of his inexperience.
However, experts find it difficult
to predict how the relationship
between the world's two largest
economies would unfold.
World to benefit from Trump's

leadership: Berlusconi
Rome: The US will ensure "authoritative and
balanced" world leadership during the presi
dency of Donald Trump, Italy's exPM and
billionaire media magnate Silvio Berlusconi
said.
"T he American people have chosen a
President who will guarantee the US authori
tative and balanced leadership in its arduous
role at the helm of the free world and amid
complex geopolitical equilibriums," he said.
"As a great democracy the US plays a cru
cial role in meeting the challenges of the 21st
century, from the threats to peace, security
and the world economy to terrorist and fun
damentalist aggression," Berlusconi said.
In the statement issued by his conservative
Forza Italia party, he said he would be "forev
er grateful" to the US for having safeguarded
freedom throughout the past century.
Trump, a political outsider achieved a stun
ning victory against Democrat Hillary Clinton
in Tuesday's presidential e lection that
revealed deep antiestablishment anger
among American voters and which repre
sents a leap into the political unknown.
India Inc. seeks policy continuity under
Trump
New De lhi: Besides cong ratulat ing
Republican Donald Trump as US President
elect, India Inc. hopes key policies that have
bought the two countries closer in recent
years will continue under him, with better
access to Indian skilled labor and merchan
dise.
"We hope challenges relating to mobility of
skilled labor, market access for pharmaceuti
cal products from India and for financial
services institutions and SMEs (small and
medium enterprises) will be addressed," CII
said in its reaction.

"It would also be important for critical dia
logues such as the USIndia Strategic and
Commercial dialogue, CEO Forum, Trade
Policy Forum, etc., to continue charting path
ways to augment our partnership," it said.
The chamber also sought to drive home the
point that it was under a Republican
President, George W. Bush, that the USIndia
civil nuclear agreement was activated in
2005. It brought the two countries into a
geostrategic and economic collaboration
and partnership.
Assocham said apprehensions linked to
Trump would certainly prove wrong and
India Inc. looks forward to taking the bilater
al economic engagement to a greater level
under the new administration.
"We saw a dif ferent Trump who as
Presidentelect of the US sounded so concilia
tory and sober, promising a fair deal with the
rest of the world," Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (Asso cham)
President Sunil Kanoria said in a statement.
"His words appeared so convincing that the
financial markets which were nervous in the
beginning recovered quite a ground rightly
hoping that the Republican inmate of the
White House has a great plan for America up
his sleeve."
The Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (Ficci) reacted in a
similar vein.
"The election of Donald Trump comes at a
time when relations between India and the
US are witnessing a paradigm shift marked
by significant convergence on strategic per
spectives and enhanced economic engage
ment," the chamber said.
Donald
Trump's wax
statue being
prepared at
Madame
Tussauds.
Trump victory opens period

of uncertainty: Hollande
Paris: French President Francois Hollande
congratulated Donald Trump on his victo
ry in the US presidential election, but
warned that the American vote would
open a period of uncertainty.
"I congratulate him as is natural between
two democratic heads of state," Xinhua
news agency quoted Hollande as saying.
"This American election opens a period
of uncertainty, that showed the necessity
of a strong France, and a united Europe,
capable of making itself heard wherever
its interests are challenged," he added.
In a televised address, the French presi
dent said France would be frank and vigi
lant in talks with the new American
administration as "what is at stake is
peace". As French presidential election is
approaching in a context of growing pub
French President Francois Hollande.

lic disappointment, Hollande said US mir
rored "concerns that are provoked by the
world's disorders."
20
Indian plane lands

in Karachi as
passenger dies
The flight 9W 202 was operating between New Delhi and Doha.
Karachi: A Jet Airways plane
from India made an emergency
landing at the Karachi airport
after a passenger took seriously
ill. Pakistani doctors declared
him dead.
The pilot took permission to
land in Karachi, Geo News report
ed. The doctors did a medical
checkup of the passenger, Sohan
Singh, but he had expired by
then, the report said.
According to the airline, the
flight 9W 202 was operating
between New Delhi and Doha.

The aircraft later returned to
Delhi. "One of the guests devel
oped a medical condition and the
captain decided to land at the
nearest airport given the emer
gency," the airline said in a state
ment. "Medical assistance was
duly coordinated prior to the
flight's arrival. However, the
guest succumbed on arrival in
Karachi." The airline said there
were 141 passengers on board
the Boeing 737.
SUBCONTINENT
Pak keeps up push against

India's bid for UN seat
New York: Pakistan kept up its
opposition to India's bid for perma
nent membership to the UN
Security Council, warning that cre
ation of new permanent seats
would only "satisfy the hunger of a
few states for power and privilege".
Pakistan's Ambassador to UN,
Maleeha Lodhi, speaking at the UN
General Assembly also blamed the
lack of any progress in the long
running negotiations to restructure
the UN Security Council on a
"handful of countries" in apparent
reference to India, Brazil, Germany
and Japan who, she said, have
remained inflexible in their push
for permanent seats on the 15
member body. "This selfish pursuit
of national ambition is the real rea
son that has prevented us from
making the Security Council more
democratic, accountable, transpar
ent and ef fective," the Associated
Press of Pakistan quoted Lodhi as
saying.
The Security Council is currently
composed of five permanent mem
bers Britain, China, France, Russia
and the US and 10 nonperma
nent members that are elected in
NatGeo's 'Afghan girl' wants

to be deported from Pak
Islamabad: NatGeo's famed
"Afg han Girl" Sharbat Gula
refused to stay in Pakistan any
more, turning down the provin
cial KhyberPakhtunkhwa gov
ernment's offer to help stop her
deportation, the media reported.
A special anticorruption and
immigration court had earlier
ordered the deportat ion of
Sharbat Gula, the greeneyed
"Afg han Girl" whose 1985
National Geographic cover photo
became a symbol of her coun
try's wars and uncertainty. The
court held her guilty of illegally
obtaining
a
Pakistani
Computerized National Identity
Card.
Sharbat Gula and the Afghan
government, in an application
submitted to the Khyber
Sharbat Gula (in burqa) leaves the

court in Peshawar.
Pakhtunkhwa government,
pleaded for her departure from
Pakistan to Afghanistan on com
pletion of her 15day sentence,
Dawn reported. Better known the

world over as the "Afghan Girl",
Gula pleaded guilty to six
charges against her, including
her illegal stay in Pakistan, for
gery, cheating, tampering with
do cuments and violat ion of
Pakistan's National Database and
Registration Authority Act.
T he
provincial
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa government decid
ed to stop her deportation on
Saturday on humanitarian
grounds and as a goodwill ges
ture towards Afghanistan.
The portrait of Sharbat Gula,
whose seagreen eyes and pierc
ing gaze, made her an interna
tional symbol of refugees facing
an uncertain future, first
appeared on the cover of
National Geographic in 1985.
US confirms Qaeda leader's death in Afghanistan

Kabul: The Pentagon has con
firmed that Al Qaeda's top leader
in Afghanistan, Faruq alQatani,
was killed in a US strike.
The airstrike was carried out
on October 23 in Kunar province,
located 230 km east of Kabul and
along the border with Pakistan,
the Pentagon announced.
"This successful strike is anoth
er example of US operations to
degrade international terrorist
networks and target terrorist
leaders who seek to attack the US
homeland, our interests and our
allies
abroad,"
the
US
Department of Defense said.
According to the Pentagon,
Qatani was Al Qaeda's leader for
northeastern Afghanistan and
was tasked with reestablishing

Al Qaeda safe havens in that
mountainous part of the country.
However, Afghanistan's intelli
gence agency, the Nat ional
Directorate of Security, which
had already announced Qatani's
death a few days ago, identified
him as the leader of Al Qaeda in
the country.
The Security Council currently has five permanent members.

groups of five to twoyear terms.
Speaking in a debate on achiev
ing equitable representation in the
Security Council, the Pakistani
envoy voiced support for expand
ing the Council's elected member
ship, while warning that the cre
ation of new permanent seats
would only satisfy the hunger of a
few States for power and privilege.
Pakistan, she declared, remains
firmly opposed to the creation of
new permanent seats on the
Security Council.
Fullscale negotiations to reform
the Security Council began in the
General Assembly in February
2009 on five key areas the cate

gories of membership, the question
of veto, regional representation,
size of an enlarged Security
Council, and working methods of
the council and its relationship
with the General Assembly. Despite
a general agreement on enlarging
the Council, as part of the UN
reform process, member states
remain sharply divided over the
details. Pakistan, a leader in the
Unit ing for Consensus g roup,
stands for creating a new category
of members not permanent mem
bers with longer duration and a
possibility to get reelected.
Security beefed up
at Dhaka airport
after knife attack
The motive behind the attack is unknown yet.

Dhaka: Security at Dhaka's Hazrat
Shahjalal International airport
was beefed up following a knife
attack that left a security guard
dead and three other security per
sonnel injured. A knifewielding
man attacked the security guard
posted at the entrance to the
departure lounge at the airport, a
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)
official said.
"We are not lett ing anyone
enter the airport to see of f peo
ple," Dhaka Tribune quoted
Armed Police Battalion (APBn)
Additional Superintendent of
Police Tanjina Akhter as saying.
"We are trying to ensure that
there is no g athering in the
canopy area," she said. The dead
guard was ident ified as Md
Sohagh Ali, 28, who is a member

of Ansar, a lightlyarmed volun
teer paramilitary force for the
preservation of internal security
and law enforcement in
Bangladesh.
Dhaka Metropolitan Ansar's
North zone chief Ibrahim Bhuiyan
said that an injured Ansar person
nel Zia has been transferred to
the Combined Military Hospital,
where doctors have said his con
dition was also critical". The other
two injured constables, Ashik and
Ishtiak, were being treated at the
Kurmitola hospital. The Dhaka
Metropolitan Police of ficial said
law enforcers shot down the
attacker and captured him alive.
The motive behind the attack was
unknown yet.
INTERNATIONAL
We will free you soon,

Iraqi PM tells Mosul
Baghdad: The Iraqi Prime
Minister has warned the
Islamic State militants
fighting in the besieged
Mosul city to lay down
their weapons if they want
to live, state media report
ed.
Speaking on a visit to the
front line to the east of the
city, Haider alAbadi said
governmentled forces "will
not retreat and will not be
broken," BBC quoted him
as saying.
He said his message to
the people of Mosul was
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider alAbadi.
"we w ill liberate you
soon". The city has been under the IS con Zahra. Satellite images of Mosul reveal how
IS fighters constructed multiple barricades
trol for more than two years.
"My message to IS, if they want to save across key routes into the northern Iraqi
their lives, they should lay down their city.
Concrete barricades and rubble can be
weapons now," the Prime Minister told
media. Government forces also gained con seen blocking key streets, while buildings
trol of Hammam alAlil, about 15 km south near defacto capital airport were leveled
of Mosul on the Tigris river, despite fierce for lineofsight reasons.
Mosul fell to the jihadis in June 2014 and
resistance, the army said.
their
leader, Abu Bakr alBaghdadi, chose a
Lt. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat said security
mosque
in the city as a place to proclaim
forces were in control of the centre of the
the
establishment
of a "caliphate".
town, but did not say whether the IS mili
Before
the
offensive
began on 17 October,
tants had been pushed out completely.
there
were
believed
to
be between 3,000
The operation to take back control of
Mosul continued as government forces tried and 5,000 militants remaining in Mosul,
to clear the eastern districts, including al along with up to 1.5 million civilians.
Russia blasts US for

barring its diplomats
from observing poll
Moscow: Moscow blasted the US for curbing
Russian diplomats access to polling sta
tions to observe the presidential election,
calling the move "unacceptable". But the US
embassy in Moscow denied that the diplo
mats were barred from observing the vote.
"The US administration's law enforcement
officials stop at nothing to cut off Russian
representatives from an opportunity to
assess the provisions of holding the upcom
ing elections," Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergey Ryabkov told RIA Novosti. His state
ment comes hours after Russian Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova
posted on Facebook that "things went as far
as open intimidation of Russian diplomats.
The State Department recommended them
not to approach the polling stations on their
own, and authorities in some states went
further and threatened (the diplomats) with
criminal prosecution". Zakharova added
that in Houston "an entire special operation
was conducted, Hollywood action movie
style, with the blocking of the car belonging
to an employee of the Russian general con
sulate". "They stopped the car and started to
peddle the idea that (the diplomat) should
neither look nor think of the (US presiden
tial) vote. (They said) exactly this: why are
21
China to have 58 mn kw
nuclear power by 2020
China is
expected to
require about
6.8 trillion to
7.2 trillion kw
of power by
2020.
Beijing: China will have 58 million kilo

watts (kw) of installed nuclear power by
2020 as it expands its clean energy net
work and pursues green growth, the coun
try's energy regulator announced.
The government will have around 30
million kw of nulcear energy facility going
into operation and over 30 million kw of
such facility under construction in the next
ve years, according to the 13th FiveYear
Plan for power development released by
the National Energy Administration and
the National Development and Reform
Commission. China is expected to require
about 6.8 trillion to 7.2 trillion kw of
power by 2020, with per capita power
consumption of about 5,000 kw, close to
the level of mediumdeveloped countries,
Xinhua news agency reported.

Nonfossil fuel will play a bigger role as
the government aims to lift its share in
total energy consumption to about 15 per
cent by the end of 2020.
Installed capacity of hydropower, wind
power and solar power will be respectively
about 340 million, 210 million and 110
million kw.
Meanwhile, the installed capacity of coal
red power will be restricted within 1.1
billion kw while naturalgasred power
will reach over 110 million kw by 2020.
China will also promote smart grid
development, address regional power sup
ply imbalances and improve the power
market rules, according to the develop
ment plan.
Italy will no longer obey

EU diktats, says Renzi
Italian PM
Matteo Renzi
at the EU
headquarters
in Brussels.
Russias Deputy Foreign Minister

Sergey Ryabkov
you thinking about our election?"
In October, the Russian embassy in
Washington said that its diplomats in the
US were threatened with criminal prosecu
tion if they attempted to monitor the
upcoming presidential and congressional
elections at polling stations. Relations with
Russia have frequently been in the focus of
the US presidential race. Russia was the
topic that attracted the most attention dur
ing all three presidential debates as well as
the vicepresidential one.
Alessandria (Italy): Italy will no longer obey

the "diktats" of the European Union, which
must share the burden of the migrant influx,
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said.
"The time when we took orders and dik
tats is gone for good," Renzi told local offi
cials in the northwest Italian city of
Alessandria during a visit to the Piedmont
region.
"Immigration policy has got to change.
"We refuse to be a piggy bank for those
Eastern European countries who accept
money (from the EU) and then try to build
walls."
Italy has demanded tough treatment of
Eastern European countries, including
Hungary, that shun migrants.

Last month, Renzi urged cuts to the so
called Visgrad Group's funding from the
bloc's budget.
Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia are refusing to cooperate with a
mandatory quota system agreed by a majori
ty of EU ministers at an emergency summit
in September last year.
The four voted against the plan to relocate
120,000 refugees from Greece and Italy
over twoyear period, but they were over
ruled. Italy and Greece are the main entry
points for many hundreds of thousands of
migrants who seek refuge in Europe annual
ly in recent years.
22
BUSINESS
Demonetization
big step to
counter Pak's
proxy war
India's cash
market in chaos
New Delhi: Tens of thousands of people
struggled in paying for daily essentials
this week after Prime Minister Narendra
Modi invalidated the large currency notes
of Rs 500 and 1,000 in a bid to crack
down on unaccounted wealth, corruption
and terror financing.
The impact of the decision was evident
as shopkeepers refused to accept the large
currency notes available with common
people mostly to serve their daily cash
requirements, in a country where almost
all ATMs would largely disburse mostly Rs
500 or 1,000 bills. According to Reserve
Bank of India data, Rs 17,54,000 crore
worth of currency is in circulation in the
country, out of which 45 per cent is
accounted for by Rs 500 notes and 39 per
cent for Rs 1,000 notes. In other words, Rs
16,32,000 crore worth of currency stands
demonetized after the government's
Tuesday midnight shocker. Of course, a
large proportion of this would be with the
banks reducing the amount in circulation.
Chaos reigned at petrol pumps, tourist
places and toll plazas across India as out
lets were running out of smaller bills,
hampering the effort of consumers to buy
anything that cost less than Rs 500 or Rs
1,000, even though many outlets were
legally allowed to accept the big notes for
People stand in queue outside a bank to exchange banned

Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in New Delhi . (Photo: IANS)
72 hours. The government announced
that Rs 500 and 1,000 notes would be
accepted at petrol pumps, milk booths run
by the government and also to buy medi
cines.
But that didn't help as chaos reigned at
milk booths with people making a mad
rush to the outlets to get change for the
large bills. There were complaints that

some small traders and shop owners were
using the opportunity to mint extra
money. Foreign tourists visiting the Taj
Mahal in Agra had a tough time when the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
refused to accept Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes as entry fee.
Lucknow: Union Home Minister

Rajnath Singh said demonetization of
currency notes of Rs 500 and 1,000
was done to defeat Pakistan in its
proxy war against India.
Speaking at Ballia after flagging of f
the fourth phase of the Parivartan
Yatra of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), Rajnath Singh said the decision
was a message to the neighbouring
country that we would defeat it in all
its nefarious activities.
"Pakistan ko spasht sandesh hai, hum
aapko idhar bhi maar sakte hain, aur
udhar bhi (This is a clear message to
Pakistan. We can hit 'there as well as
here')", he said.
He also took on Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Akhilesh Yadav and said that
the war within the ruling party should
be brought to an immediate end or the
state cabinet should recommend imme
diate elections.
Union Minister of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra,
who was also present on the occasion,
said that the Narendra Modi govern
ment was committed to wiping out
black money. The bold demonetisation
decision was taken by the central gov
ernment keeping in mind many things
like illgotten money and counterfeit
currency.
No harassment over small deposits: Jaitley

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley said nobo dy would be
harassed over smaller deposits
less than Rs 2.5 lakh as people
began thronging banks nationwide
to exchange or deposit Rs 500 and
Rs 1,000 currency notes that have
been demonetized.
"Nobody will face questions or
harassment for small deposits,"
Jaitley told reporters while inau
gurating the twoday Economic
Editors Conference here.
"It is only those w ith large
amounts of undisclosed money
who will have to face the conse
quences under existing laws," the
minister said.
He said people might face prob
lems initially, but in the medium
to longrun they will definitely
benefit from the government's pol
icy of demonitizing large currency
notes in a bid to curb corruption,

unaccounted wealth and terror
financing.
The denominations ceased to be
legal tender from midnight on
Tuesday.
The Finance Minister also said
that the amounts of Rs 1.52 lakh
are too small and the administra
t ion w ill not bother to make
enquire into such deposits.
Earlier, Revenue Secretary
Hasmukh Adhia clarified that peo
ple just cannot walk away by
depositing any amount of cash
without prosecution. But amounts
below Rs 2.5 lakh will attract no
harassment.
What about an amount above Rs
10 lakh which does not match the
income declared? What will be the
penalty and what will be the tax?
"This would be treated as the
case of tax evasion and the tax

amount plus a penalty of 200 per
cent of the tax payable would be
levied as per the section 270(A) of
the income tax Act," Adhia said.
For people who are trying to buy
jewelery to use their unaccounted
cash, Adhia said, "The person who
buys jewelery has to give his PAN
number. We are issuing instruc
tions to the field authorities to
check with all the jewe lers to
ensure that this requirement is not
compromised. Action will be taken
against those jewelers who fail to
take PAN numbers from such buy
ers."
When the cash deposits of the
jewelers would be scrutinized
against the sales made, whether
they have taken the PAN number
of the buyer or not will also be
checked, he said.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
SPORTS
'Surgical strikes' needed in

sports, too, says Shivraj
Bhopal: Launching a scathing attack
on the practice of politicians con
trolling various sports organiza
tions in the country, Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan said 'surgical
strikes' are needed in sports as well
to purge these organizations of non
sports persons.
Speaking at a sports awards cere
mony here, organised by the state's
Ministry of Sports & Youth Welfare,
Chouhan said: "There should be the
spirit of sports in politics and not
the other way round. So, after surgi
cal strikes against Pakistan and
black money holders, there's a need
to launch surgical strike also in the
field of sports."
Taking a dig at a number of politi
cal leaders controlling sports asso
ciations in Madhya Pradesh and
elsewhere in the country, the Chief
Minister said: "Sports bodies are
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

being controlled by people who
have nothing to do with sports. So,
it's time the authority to control
such bodies is passed on to those
directly associated with sports."
Badminton Olympian P.V. Sandhu,

badminton coach Pullela Gopichand
and state's Sports Minister
Yashodhara Raje Scindia were pres
ent on the occasion.
Sindhu says Rio medal

is career's starting point
New Delhi: Olympic 2016 silver medalist
P.V. Sindhu said that she has to take
more responsibilities and work harder
than before to ensure that the Rio medal
"is just the starting point" in her glowing
career. Sindhu admitted that her life has
completely changed after becoming
India's only woman to have reached the
final of an event in Olympic history. Even
though she lost to Spaniard Carolina
Marin in the final, the country rained
praise, adulation and financial incentives
on the 21yearold. After this, however,
expectations will be high about Sindhu
and the double World Championship
bronze medallist is aware of the pressure
that comes with being the latest big star
in Indian sports.
"Life has changed a lot and now, the
responsibilit ies are always hig h.
Everybody's eyes will be on me. Now, I
have to work harder than I was doing
before," Sindhu told reporters here on
the sidelines of the Premier Badminton
League (PBL) auction for players.
"This (career rise) has only started and
it is not over with an Olympic medal.
T here are many tournaments
Superseries, All England and World
Championships so I have to prepare
for that."
Sindhu said that she does not want to
put extra pressure on her thinking about
the expectations of her fans.
"There is no pressure as such but I
really enjoy my game. The way you think
is dif ferent after the Olympic Games
(medal). I have a lot of confidence. In the
last two tournaments (Denmark and
French Open), I lost but I did perform
well," she said. "Everybody is going to
India must compensate for

canceling bilateral series: PCB
Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) execut ive committee
chairman Najam Sethi asserted
that the board has demanded
financial compensation from
the BCCI and the International
Cricket Council (ICC) for losses
incurred due to India's refusal
to play the scheduled bilateral
series.
T he Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) and the
PCB had signed an MoU in
2014 under which the two
countries agreed to play a total
of six bilateral series between
2015 and 2023.
But the increased political
tension between the two coun
tries due to prolonged violence
on the border has severe ly
affected cricketing ties as well.
BCCI President Anurag
Thakur had even asked the ICC
recently not to place India and
Pakistan in the same group
cheer for me. But I have to keep it to

myself and remain focused. I don't want
always to think about winning and not
adding extra pressure will be important."
Asked how dif ferently she w ill
approach her match against opponents
in the coming tournaments given the
newfound confidence, Sindhu replied: "I
played with the seeded players in the
Olympics and when you lose a match
that you should have won (against lower
ranked opponent), it is not a goo d
feeling.
during international tourna

ments. "We have mentioned it
clearly to BCCI and ICC in
recent meeting that either India
should play cricket w ith
Pakistan or compensate us for
damages," Sethi was quoted as
saying by the Dawn after a
meeting of the PCB governing
board.
"We have also demand com
pensation from ICC as the PCB
is suffering financially because
of nonfulfilment of the BCCI's
commitment to play cricket
series with Pakistan," he added.
The BCCI had consented to a
limitedovers series w ith
Pakistan in Sri Lanka in
December last year and had
asked the Indian government
for permission.
India has not played a full
bilateral Test series w ith
Pakistan since the terror
attacks im Mumbai in 2008.
Russia criticizes US
for not issuing
visa to FIDE chief
Moscow: America's refusal to issue a visa to
world chess federation's (FIDE) president
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov contradicts a universal
principle that "sport is above politics",
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova said.
The Russian's attendance at the World
Chess Championship became doubtful after
he was added to a sanctions list by the US
Department of Treasury last November,
reports Tass.
He had been "materially assisting and act
ing for or on behalf of the Government of
Syria, Central Bank of Syria", the US had
claimed. Ilyumzhinov earlier expressed con
fidence that he will be allowed to enter the
US for the event.
Ilyumzhinov claimed to be prepared to
take a lie detector test to prove his inno
cence, having denied the charge and stating
his only contact with Syria was in his role as
Olympic 2016 silver medalist P.V. Sindhu.
23
head of FIDE.
The FIDE president also said he has all the
documents necessary to travel.
"Suffice it to say that the substantiation is
grotesque and does not stand any criticism.
But for the incumbent US authorities, who
have been carried away with imposing sanc
tions on Russia and its citizens, any pretext
is good," Zakharova said.
Zakharova noted that she could only
regret that by this move "a heavy damage
had been inflicted on the RussianUS rela
tions, the White House is again refusing to
observe a universal principle that 'sport is
above politics'".
"As a result, the FIDE president will be
unable to be present at the world chess
championship match in New York, which he
himself has organized, for the first time in
92 years. It is not doing credit to the outgo
ing US administration," Zakharova added.
India 63/0 in reply

to England's 537
Rajkot: India were 63/0 at stumps on the
second day in reply to England's massive
first innings score of 537 runs in the
first cricket Test match here.
Indian openers Gautam Gambhir (28
not out) and Murali Vijay (25 not out)
were at the crease at the close of the
day's play at the Saurashtra Cricket
Association Stadium. Earlier, England

resumed the day's act ion at their
overnight score of 311/4.
Ben Stokes (128) and Moeen Ali (117)
hit centuries to put the visitors in a posi
t ion of strength. Le ftarm spinner
Ravindra Jadeja (386) was the most suc
cessful bowlers for the hosts.
24
SCI-TECH
Sundeep Narang develops app

revolutionizing SEC filings
undeep Narang is an alumnus
of
Tandon
School
of
Engineering, New York
University and Netaji Subhas
Institute of Technology, University
of Delhi. Now based in Queens, NY,
he is currently working with Quality
EDGAR Solutions (QES). Working
with them in the last one and half
years he has single handedly devel
oped "QES EDGAR Edge" and "QES
Section 16 Portal" web applications,
which has revolutionized SEC
(Securities
and
Exchange
Commission) Filings.
He spoke to The South Asian
Times.
What were you doing prior to work

ing for Quality EDGAR Solutions
(QES)?
My first major project was at
Evolving Technologies Corporation.
I built a tool that helped unions and
corporations negotiate contracts. It
brought both parties to the table
and allowed them to see the direct
impact on costs from various sec
tions of the contract. It was certified
by SAP and showcased at SAP
Sapphire Now. After that I worked
with Clickdaily, Inc. to create a tool
that helped small businesses man
age and market their business. I
built a one stop shop for businesses
where they could control all their
social networks, oversee marketing
and manage day to day tasks.
When you learned about QES
needs, what were the expectations?
The process of EDGAR Filing is
extremely tedious, complicated and
costly. There are many rules and
regulations that pertain to these fil
ings and EDGAR operator need to
learn markup languages like HTML,
Sundeep
Narang is
based in
Queens,
NY
XML. QES expected me to develop a

system that took all the complica
tions of the process. Make a system
that works like MS Word, so anyone
could work on their filings, without
the need for learning markup lan
guages. Also, giving them complete
control of their work would elimi
nate the need to contact QES for
small edits. This would not only
save client money but also free QES
employees to more revenue gener
ating tasks and help QES grow.
As a developer what do you feel is
best about the product?
In terms of usability I believe its
best feature is HTML Compare, and
it provides most usability. This
allows users to keep track of their
work as multiple parties are work
ing on the documents. It has also
been praised a lot by clients using
the system.
In terms of programming I believe
the modular architecture of EDGAR
EDGE is what makes it unique,
exceptionally fast and easily scala
ble. Every piece of this system is
divides in small modules that do
specific tasks. Like in a restaurant,
there is a dishwasher and a busboy,
a cook, a hostess everyone with
one specific task thats their respon

sibility. Similarly, EDGAR EDGE
System is made of many small
microservices like a compare serv
ice to just do Compares between
documents, a files service to just
handle files etc. They each deal with
one specific set of tasks that are
independent and exclusive. This
makes sure that the system is never
completely down, there can be
parts of it that may be shut down
for maintenance and upgrades or
by technology issues. However, the
system as a whole is never shut
down. This also makes sure that the
system is easily maintainable as dif
ferent teams can be hired to work
on each service. Also the system can
be scaled by running multiple
copies of the same service, similar
to hiring 2 busboys as business
grows.
What else are you working on
now?
Apart from web application proj
ects that I do at work, I am focusing
on Virtual Reality. I believe that is
the direction technology is headed
now. So I am working to see how
with my Node.js skills I can con
tribute to Virtual Reality Ecosystem.
Trump's win will not

impact IT sector, feel
Hyderabad firms
Hyderabad: T he Information
Technology companies in this
tech hub of Hyderabad feel that
Donald Trump's victory in the US
presidential election will not
affect the sector.
They hope that Presidentelect
Trump will adopt a balanced
approach to highskilled visas
and contribution of India's IT
sector to the US economy.
"We look forward to working
with him and his administration
to advance our two nations'
shared interests," B.V.R. Mohan
Reddy, former chairman of NASS
COM and founder and Executive
Chairman of Cy ient, said.
"Contrary to some mispercep
t ions and polit ical rhetoric,
India's IT sector has long con
tributed to the US economy in
more ways than one," he added.
Reddy pointed out that besides
making US companies more effi
cient and competitive, Indian IT
companies t ime and ag ain
helped them develop new tech
nologies and new products, sig
nificantly benefiting those com
panies,
their
customers,
American job growth and the US
economy.
"T hus we hope that, as the
rhetoric of the presidential con
test fades into the past, the
Trump administration will make
mutually beneficial trade with
India a high priority, and will
take a balanced approach to
highskilled visas and the contri
bution of India's IT sector to the
US economy," he added.
"Even as there was no upfront

indication of the outcome, and
thus a surprise, personally I
don't think this will affect the IT
industry in anyway. US has
always been a business friendly
country, and more so the
Republican Party," said Ramesh
Log anathan, VicePresident,
Pro ducts, and Manag ing
Director, Prog ress Software
India.
"Businesses in the US signifi
cantly benefit from engaging
w ith the Indian IT industry.
Added to that, in recent years the
industry has been steadily work
ing towards higher value servic
es, IP creation and products.
This also helps in ensuring con
tinued engagement," he said.
Ajay Kolla, founder and CEO of
leading
job
portal
Wisdomjobs.com, feels the elec
tion result won't have any signif
icant impact on hiring in the
Indian IT industry in the short
term.
"W hile there were certain
promises made by Trump during
the election campaign, it remains
to be evaluated as to how many
will be implemented," he said.
Kolla said, "In any case, three
things that go in favour of the
Indian IT industry is its cost
ef fectiveness, superior domain
knowledge and availability of
quality talent. Considering these,
it won't be an easy decision for
companies in the US to ignore
the value which the Indian IT
industry brings to them."
Children-centric video app 'YouTube Kids' launched in India

aking it easier for todays
tech savvy kids to find
videos on topics they
want to explore, popular online
video community YouTube on
Wednesday launched YouTube
Kids a huge library of learning
content for children in India.
YouTube Kids comes to India at
a great time for millions of Indian
families, as it provides children
access to content that will enrich
their lives and create new oppor
tunit ies for learning, Malik
Ducard, YouTubes Global Head of
Family and Learning, said in a
statement.
India already has a very diverse
and rapidlygrowing creator base
for kids and learning, with content
in this category growing 100 per
cent year over year, Ducard
added.
The standalone, kidfriendly
At the launch of YouTube Kids in India on Wednesday. (Photo: YouTube)
and mobilefirst app is available

on Google Play and App Store
from Wednesday.
With its playful design, large
images and bold icons, YouTube

Kids makes it easier for the chil
dren to find and navigate through
videos like Little Krishna or one
of the popular videos from

ChuChuTV.
The voice search to let children
find videos when they cannot type
or spell a word correctly makes
the app more kidfriendly.
Indian kids are consuming the
content from local as well as inter
nat ional creators, said Aman
Dayal, Content Partnership
Manager YouTube Kids and
Learning, India and South East
Asia.
Indian creators are exporting
large amount of content as well.
There is a uniformity in the con
sumption as a lot of content creat
ed in India is watched outside and
a lot of content created outside is
consumed in India, Dayal told
IANS. Many top Indian YouTube
Kids and learning creators will be
adding new shows exclusive to the
YouTube platform on the occasion
of the launch, YouTube said.

T hese include new learning
shows from ChuChuTV and Kids
TV, a new season of Cat and
Keet, a popular chase comedy
show by Toonz Animation, the
Gummy Bear song in Hindi and a
new season of Appu The Yogic
Elephant.
The service also offers parental
control option. Parents can broad
en or restrict their kids search
turn on to access millions of
familyfriendly videos or turn off
to restrict their experience.
Parents can also limit their kids
screen time by setting a builtin
timer. They can also put in pass
word, restrict certain content and
access settings in the app.
The YouTube Kids content can
also be watched on big screen
using Chromecast, Apple TV, game
consoles or a smart TV.
LIFESTYLE
25
Using the US election as a learning tool

The world is a learning oyster for kids
By Lina Asher
ways in which the present may be different

in light of this What if weapons of mass
destruction were found in Iraq? What if Al
Gore had won in year 2000 and not George
W Bush? What if Pakistan and India were
still one?
very moment can be a learning and

mind expansion moment if parents and
educators put their minds to it. The
childs direct and indirect environment can
be used as a learning platform. Here are
some examples of using the environment as a
learning tool:
If your child is a preschooler and you are
taking him to a supermarket, you have so
many learning opportunities to engage him
with! If you both cut out, copy or print differ
ent labels of things you want to buy, you can
then let him explore the supermarket, identi
fy them and place them in the trolley. A
super prereading activity.
If you ask him to count some of the pur
chased items, you have a math activity and if
you ask him to sort the fresh goods and the
canned goods or the fruits and vegetables
you have a great classification (science) activ
ity.
If you want your primary school child to
become more mindful of how he is being
marketed to, ask him to count advertise
ments during a preassigned show. The task
is to count and observe the advertisements.
Most children will only count the 'obvious'
advert isements that are interspersed
between the show segments. Then you read
out an article on 'product placement adver
tising'. Then ask them to watch the show
again and become mindful of the placement
of advertisements.
The number of branded cars, phones, com
puters and shoes makes children aware of
how much brainwashing or braininfluencing
takes place in the world.
If your child is a teenager, the best example
right now is following the US presidential
5. Who were the two candidates for the US

presidency? What are the positives and nega
tive traits your child can list for each? If your
child were to vote which way would he vote
and why?
6. Are there any views your child has on
some of the larger debates from the current
election? Abortion? Gun laws? Immigration
laws?
To think that the two families were friends once!

election. It's being followed worldwide and is
forming a part of almost every dinner conver
sation.
Children from all countries are curious
about the elections. The advantage of using
them as a learning moment is immense. For a
start, it gives the child a context of why his
tory is important. How all man's decisions
and actions of the past give rise to the pres
ent and how our decisions and actions in the
present will give rise to what the future man
will experience.
History as a subject can move away from a
memorization of dates, names and events and
move towards the study of the subject as a
prerequisite for understanding politics, social
structure and cultures.
Things that can be done to expand your
child's understanding:
1. Understanding Democracy. There are

many videos available online including Khan
Academy's 'Sal teaches Grover about the elec
toral college'. This is followed by videos on
'The Democrats' and 'The Republicans'. The
first video includes an understanding of a 'di
rect' and 'indirect' democracy.
2. What do the Republicans stand for? The
Democrats? Explore which one your child has
most alignment with and why.
3. Looking at the funding of the elections
and the impact this may have on policies that
'favor' the funding corporations. Discuss who
then really runs the country or who has the
most impact on the way the country is run.
4. Play a game of 'What if'? And explore
7. Now ask your child to write one page of

a 'future' history chapter four years from
today. One page that has Clinton as President
and one that has Trump as President.
8. Explore the media's role during the elec
tions. Which channels, publications seem
biased? How and why? Which ones seem
more object ive? How is the e lect ion
being used as 'entertainment'? Explore some
of the humor and jokes arising from the
election.
Using the environment and current experi
ence as a learning and teaching tool develops
a love of learning in young minds and opens
up the beauty and wonder of science, math
and history.
(Lina Ashar is the founder of a chain of

Kangaroo Kids Preschools and Billabong
High International Schools across 29 cities in
India, as well as in the Maldives, Qatar and
Dubai.)
How to shine at your best friend's wedding

S
idhika Gupta, Fashion Head,
Roposo, has shared a few
tips on styling for the wed
ding season:
Jacket style: Jackets have

become a versatile fashion state
ment that can be modified in
many dif ferent ways. You could
pair it with a lehengacholi or
team it up with an exaggerated
palazzo.
The jacket in zardosi, embroi
dery, or intricate velvet is the
onestop solution for fashion
istas. Pick an opaque master
piece in silkbrocade or go for a
layered chif fon delicate. Fitted,
flowing, flared, short, long, sheer,
open or closed doesn't matter
how you style your jacket
because it's all good.
Pair jackets with exaggerated palazzos and try monotone hues of pink,
turquoise, teal and mint green to make a style statement at your best
friend's wedding, says an expert.
Extended choli: T he choli is

extended further with net or lace
attached to it, falling either high
and low or straight onto the
lehenga. Unique crystal place

ments and mirrors will make you
stand out. The extensions that
flow beneath the actual choli add
length, grace and volume to both
the attire and your style.
seamlessly up your game.

To go a step further you could
go obmre. Ombre has taken over
the latest hair colour, nail paint
and even lipstick trends. Ombre
lehengas are surely the next step.
The trail: Make heads turn and

look your mermaid best in an
exquisite trail. A trend which has
been the favorite on the
Hollywood red carpet. A trail
adds glamour and richness to
any lehenga.
Floor sweeping fantasies: Make a

sweeping statement in the Indian
version of a gown and embrace
its grandeur. So, opt for a floor
length anarkali. Be thoughtful
with layering and take cues from
the season's colours, cuts,
embroidery and embellishments.
Contemporary chic: Try capes,

dhotipants, shararas, palazzos,
and croptops the drapes and
silhouettes are endless.
Neutral and monotone: An
impeccable section of colour can
do as much to your outfit as a
designer does. Choose from the
neutral palette, or go monotone
in blush, turquoise, teal or mint
green, the vibrant colors will
Minimalism: If you don't like

heavy dressing, then this trend is
absolutely for you. Go for taste
ful elegance in place of an osten
tatious display.
Of fshoulder floral maxidress,
chevron printed lehenga or a
classic georgette sari can put you
right under the spotlight.
Source: IANS
26
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Two Kannada actors drown

in film shoot over lake
wo male actors were
drowned in a lake near
Bengaluru during the
shooting of a Kannada movie
while enacting a stunt scene by
jumping from a helicopter, said
police.
"Anil and Uday, aged 31 and
38 years, drowned in the TG
Halli lake after they jumped
from a chopper along with
Kannada hero Duniya Vijay, who
survived the stunt and was res
cued by fishermen," police offi
cer H.L. Nandeesha said.
The Thippagondanahalli (TG
Halli) lake is about 40 km north
west of Bengaluru at the conflu
ence of Arkavathy and
Kumudavathi
rivers
in
Ramanagara district. It is one of
the sources of drinking water
supply to Bengaluru.
"Efforts are on to recover the
The project will feature American,

Chinese, Russian and Indian actors.
RGV goes
international
with Rs 340
crore project
bodies of the two from the lake.

T he fire brigade and the
National Disaster Relief Force
have been searching in the back
waters since 4 pm but did not
find anybody till darkness set
in," said Nandeesha.
ollywood actor Saif

Ali Khan has denied
rumors that his wife
and actress Kareena
Kapoor Khan underwent
a sex determination test
for their baby.
"I want to let everyone
know that we have not
yet had our child and we
still don't know the sex of
the child. We will not be
having our child in
London and the name of
the child will definitely
not be called Saifeena,"
Saif said in a statement,
clarifying all the buzz
around the birth of their
first child together.
There were rumors that
the couple secretly went
in for a gender test of

their yet unborn
child, and that they
had planned to have
the baby in London.
It was in July this
year when Saif, 46,
shared the news that
he and Kareena are
expecting their first
child together in
December.
Saif, who was earlier
married to actress
Amrita Singh and has
two children Sara and
son Ibrahim, tied the
knot with Kareena in
October 2012.
The couple tied the

knot in October 2012.
Deepika is presenter at
MTV Europe Music Awards
ctress Deepika Padukone, who is
gearing up for her Hollywood
debut with "xXx: The Return
of Xander Cage" opposite
Hollywood actor Vin Diesel,
represented India at the MTV
Europe Music Awards 2016.
Deepika, along with her "xXx:
The Return of Xander Cage"
costar Nina Dobrev, was one
the presenters at the award cere
mony, which took place here on
Sunday. The award ceremony was
The stunt act is the climax of a

scene in the upcoming film
'Maastigudi' where the hero
(Vijay) chases the two villains
trying to escape in a chopper
from the lake shore. The hero
too hops onto the chopper,
Saif denies Kareena had sex

determination test
ilmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who

is busy shooting Amitabh
Bachchan starrer "Sarkar 3",
announced he is making an internation
al project titled "Nuclear" on a budget
of Rs 340 crore.
"My 1st international film to be made
at a cost of Rs 340 crore is 'Nuclear',"
Varma wrote on his Twitter page.
He shared a poster with the tweet,
which reads: "An atomic bomb smug
gled into Mumbai; Demand for evacua
tion of Kashmir; Pakistan denies
involvement and America steps in;
America convinces India and Pakistan
to forge forces; At stake are millions of
life and the beginning of World War
III." In another post, he revealed that
the film will be shot across the US,
China, Russia, Yemen and India. And yet
another poster shows people running
helter skelter with a cloud of smoke
emanating from a bomb blast.
The project, which will be produced
by CMA Global, will feature American,
Chinese, Russian and Indian actors.
Rescue operations underway for the actors who drowned.
which flies over the lake's back

waters.
As seen from the film footage,
aired on local news channels, in
a fight between the hero and the
duo, the hero pushes both the
actors from the chopper and
joins them in the reservoir to
carry on the fight.
"We have registered a criminal
case of negligence against the
production unit of the film as no
precautionary and safety meas
ures were taken for the film
shoot," said Nandeesha.
As Vijay survived the fatal
jump, Anil and Uday, who did
not know swimming, drowned in
the middle of the lake before
they could be rescued.
"There were no life jackets or a
rescue team or an ambulance for
such a mishap," added
Nandeesha.
aired in India on Vh1.

Earlier this year, Indian actress
Priyanka Chopra chose a scarlet
number for the red carpet of the
68th Primetime Emmy Awards,
and for the EMAs, Deepika
picked a dress in hues of
green. She wore a Monisha
Jaising ensemble a military
green skirt with a black, sequin
bralette. She completed the look
with long dangling earrings, and a
neat ponytail.
rom Irrfan Khan, Anupam
Kher, Priyanka Chopra to
Deepika Padukone Indian
actors are exploring dif ferent
avenues of foreign cinema. But
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is not
impressed with the trend.
The actor says the concept of
going to Hollywood has become
overrated, and wonders why one
needs to go outside the
country for work
when Indian con
tent itself is
being appreci
ated around
the world.
"What's the
need to go and
work
in
Hollywood when
we have such good
working avenues here? We
have people like Anurag Kashyap
who makes films like 'Raman Raghav
2.0' or 'Gangs of Wasseypur', or we
have films like 'Miss Lovely' and 'The
Lunchbox' which not only earned
money abroad but got appreciated
too," Nawazuddin said. "This has
become overrated actually...
Everyone is going and working
there,"
the
actor
added.
Nawazuddin's projects have gar
nered positive response from the
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' going

steady at box ofce
Going
to Hollywood
has become
overrated:
Nawazuddin
The actor will next

be seen in "Raees.
foreign audience. There were

also reports that he will star in an
international project with Australian
actress Nicole Kidman, though noth
ing has been confirmed so far. All
said and done, the actor is not averse
to the idea of working in the West.
He says he is open to working over
seas, but is not getting spare time
from his domestic projects. "We
have to keep agents for work there...
When the idea will come into my
mind, then I will hire an agent.
Working in Pak
depends on
circumstances
eteran actor
Naseeruddin
Shah, who has
previously appeared
in Pakistani films
like "Khuda Kay
Liye" and "Zinda
Bhaag", says he will
work in Pakistani
films only when the
re lat ion between
the two nat ions
The veteran actor has worked
would be good. He
in Pakistani films too.
feels that the Indian
government should decide Uri terror attack, which left 19
whether Pakistani artistes be Indian soldiers dead, the ten
sions between India and Pakistan
allowed to work in India.
"It depends on the future cir has hit hard on the film industry
cumstances whether I would on both sides of the border.
work in Pakistan or not. I don't Many Indian political organiza
know what circumstances will be tions and artistes have opposed
there (in future). When I will get working with Pakistani artistes.
Asked whether the Indian gov
an offer from Pakistan in future,
then I will look through the cir ernment should think about ban
cumstances and then decide," ning Pakistani artistes from
Naseeruddin said at a press con working in India, Naseeruddin
ference at the fifth edition of said: "T he government w ill
Dharamshala International Film decide what should be done in it.
I feel that we should respect the
Festival.
"I have worked in two government's decision. Whatever
Pakistani films. In last few years the government would decide,
we went to Pakistan to do our that will be correct for me and if
theatre shows, but this year we the government says no to
were not able to go there," he Pakistani artists, than it's obvi
ous that nobody will work with
added.
Following the September 28 them, not even me."
ilmmaker
Karan
Johar's "Ae Dil Hai
Mushkil" (ADHM) has
minted over Rs 150 crore
since its release. "Ae Dil Hai
Mushkil", which was sur
rounded by controversies
due to the presence of
Pakistani actor Fawad Khan,
released on October 28. It
features Ranbir Kapoor,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and
Anushka Sharma.
Produced by Dharma
Productions and Fox Star
Studios, the film also fea
tures a cameo by superstar
Shah Rukh Khan.
According to a statement
issued by the film's makers,
the movie has raked in Rs
169.26 crore worldwide.
The total India box of fice
collection till now is Rs
114.55 crore and overseas
Rs 54.71 crore.
"ADHM had a tremendous
week one and we are

thankful to the audiences
for celebrating love this
Diwali with this Karan
Johar entertainer. The film
has been a runaway hit
with the audiences world
wide, making close to 170
crore gross in just one
week, which is absolutely
phenomenal," said Vijay
Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios.
Singh added: "Overseas
the film has been a smash hit
with week one coming just
under Salman Khan's
'Sultan'. We are expecting a
strong second weekend
worldwide. It is great to have
a hit during Diwali and it val
idates that great love stories
is what people want to watch
during festive season."
The movie has raked in Rs

169.26 crore worldwide.
27
28
HUMOR
Laughter is the Best Medicine

by Mahendra
Shah
Mahendra Shah is an
architect by education,
entrepreneur by profession, artist and
humorist,
cartoonist and writer by
hobby. He has been
recording the plight of
the immigrant Indians
for
the past many years in
his cartoons. Hailing
from Gujarat, he lives in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
Paid work as an incarnated deity increasingly hard to find
BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
5168271010
once had a boss who said: "When in

Rome, do as the Romans do." I told
her that wearing a skirt and crucify
ing people was against my religion.
I soon moved on from that job and
indeed believed that my dream job did
not exist until recently, when a read
er sent me a link to a report about a
paid post of "hermit" being offered by
the Swiss authorities.
Hermits live on mountains and think
about the meaning of life. The down
side is that they traditionally receive no
pay and no company car. Yet this partic
ular hermit was of fered a salary, free
housing and paid holidays. Later, I saw a pic
ture of the man who got the job, and he was
balding with a long white beard this seems
a crucial requirement for the job, but was not
specified in the advertisement, probably to
avoid accusations of sexism, this "look" being
harder for the fairer sex to achieve.
Yet the Swiss town of Solothurn's original
hermit, Saint Verena, was female. She lived in
a cave circa AD 270, so the level of perks has
definitely gone up and in theory could even
tually involve a corporate credit card.
Paid, highlevel spiritual jobs are becoming
depressingly rare. Nepal still has a post of
Incarnated Deity in the temples of the
Kathmandu valley but applicants need to be
female and under 13.
I mentioned this at work and a colleague
pointed out that one can act in a highminded,
spiritual way even in mundane jobs. She sent
me a link to a report about a police traf fic
monitor in the US who spotted a driver run
ning a red light on a recorded surveillance
video. He realised it was him. Of ficer Tim
Glover hit himself with a hefty fine, and
became a hero for his moral uprightness.
Any Asian examples of jobs with a moral
angle? A different colleague told me that in
(Image source: Pinterest)

China, professional "mistress dispellers" are
being paid by married women to track down
their husbands' mistresses and persuade
them to decamp quietly. But it doesn't sound
very moral. Apparently the line that works
best is, "He's not as rich as you think."
Meanwhile, a reader wrote in with a story
about possibly the least moral job of the year.
Most matchmakers offer to find "that special
someone" for sing le people, but Azad
Chaiwala's firm of fers to find that "second
special someone" for men who come from cul
tures that allow multiple wives. It's a bit risky,
since he works from the UK, where polygamy
is illegal.
Chaiwala claims to be a moralist, arguing
that polygamy is more moral than having love
affairs. This is a bit like saying robbing old
people is okay because robbing children is
worse.
I guess in truth, it is harder to be moralistic
now than it used to be. If sexting US politician
Anthony Weiner lived in 1600, he would have
had to commission fine artists to do oil por
traits of him in his underpants and then have
footmen handcarry them to the fathers of
girls he liked. All too much like hard work.
Much better to live on a mountain and think
about the meaning of life, right?
ASTROLOGY
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
NOVEMBER 1218, 2016

ARIES: Selfconfidence would immensely
help in achieving good results at profes
sional front. You would be the center of
attraction at a social gathering that you attend
especially with family. Certain important plans
will be executed, bringing fresh financial gains.
New romance that some of you are going to expe
rience would take the worries of f mind.
Meditation & yoga prove beneficial for spiritual
as well as physical gains. Enjoy your holiday with
love of your life. Your investment can be done on
a cheap or smaller piece of land. Forced travel
ling brings pleasure more than expectations.
TAURUS: The efforts of people aspiring to
join interior designing course are likely to
be handsomely rewarded. You would pre
fer to relax and enjoy the company of family
members in the evening. Speculations are likely
to bring monetary profits. You enjoy a memo
rable time with partner to cement the lovely
bond. A very healthy week when your cheerful
ness gives the desired tonic & confidence.
Romantic destinations seems appealing to you.
Family can be helpful on acquiring your property
or plot. You are likely to be contacted by an old
friend reminding some sweet memories.
GEMINI: Leadership qualities and ability
to understand people would benefit at
work. this week you move with new
excitement & confidence as you receive support
from family and friends. Monetary position is
likely to improve later in the week. You will be
attracted to someone special. You are likely to
maintain good health that would also give you
success. Travel for fun and pleasure is what you
demand. Its time to invest in property and get
most profitable method to maximize your bank
balance. You find many of your unrealisable
dreams coming true this week.
CANCER: At work you will be perfect in

whatever you do this week. Family
front seems to go smoothly as you
receive their full support to your plans. Hard
work of previous weeks brings good fortune
enabling to fulfill monetary promises. Warm
romantic thoughts occupy mind. A continuous
positive thinking gets rewarded as you succeed
in whatever you do this week. Small journey
with your office colleagues will be interesting.
Investing overseas can provide you new busi
ness opportunities. You are likely to enjoy sheer
pleasure & fun if you venture to take a ride this
week.
LEO: Support and appreciation from
seniors would raise your morale and
confidence. You find relief, comfort and
af fection in the company of family members.
You succeed in making some extra cash on play
ing your cards well. Your charm & generosity
bring new romantic opportunities for you.
Creative hobbies are likely to keep you relaxed.
Your boss may ask you for your company to a
friends party.
Selling your plot might increase your bank
balance. An improved look adds to your
personality.
VIRGO: A very good week to apply for
overseas job. Time spent with relatives
will be to your advantage. An auspicious
week to invest money on items that would grow
in value. Love life brightens your week. With a
positive outlook & confidence, you succeed in
impressing people around you. Travel plan with
a colleague might lead to a new relationship.
Buyers will get attracted to your property as
your property value is good. An auspicious
week to engage yourself in social as well as reli
gious functions.
LIBRA: Promotions and monetary bene

fits for dedicated professionals. Family
members will be very positive & sup
portive to your plans. Investment on longterm
plans would pave the way for earning financial
gains. Your wit & charm would help in catching
the attention of opposite sex. Mental alertness
would enable to solve a tricky problem. Small
picnic organized by your company is good to
change your mood. If you wish to achieve a
good deal in property then try at commercial
basis. Shopping with friends would bring unlim
ited joy this week.
SCORPIO: Pending proposals will get
implemented with the help of seniors.
Relatives will be willing to lend a helping
hand at the time of need. Improvement in
finances makes it convenient in clearing long
pending dues & bills. Love partner would be
extremely supportive and in a loving mood. A
cheerful state of mind brings mental peace.
Official journeys prove to be more fruitful for you.
Develop an attitude to be successful on your prop
erty investment plans. An ability to act swiftly
would enable to tackle many personal problems.
SAGITTARIUS: Good week for imple
menting new plans and ventures. New
relationship at family front will be long
lasting & highly beneficial. Successful execution
of brilliant ideas would help in earning financial
profits. A romantic week as you receive all
praises from partner. Good time to divert atten
tion to spirituality to enhance mental tough
ness. Fly away with your dreams, new business
horizons are ready to explore. If you are looking
for a surefine method to earn on your proper
ty, student rental could be exactly what you
need. A week when your favourable stars will
add to your happiness.
CAPRICORN: Subordinates/coworkers
would be very helpful. Guests visit
would make it a pleasant & wonderful
week. A very successful week as far as mone
tary position is concerned. You find pleasure
and enjoy ecstasies of love in the arms of part
ner. A pleasure trip gives the muchneeded
tonic to health. A fun filled holiday at an
amusement and theme park with your family is
there. Looking to buy property, then go for
commercial one. Revealing personal & confiden
tial information would act a blessing in disguise
for you.
AQUARIUS: Trave ling brings new
overseas business opportunities. You
will be in the mood to celebrate with
family and friends this week. Indications of
earning financial profits through commissions,
dividends or royalties.
You enjoy a lovely time as Cupid is on your side
this week. Cutting down the number of parties
and pleasure jaunts would help in keeping in
good mood.
An interesting cruise ship is next place for your
vacation. Good time to purchase a property. A
week when you could attract towards charity &
social servicing.
PISCES : Auspicious week to start a new
venture. Good advice from family mem
bers brings gains. Important people will
be ready to finance anything that has a special
class to it.
A special message from beloved/lover lifts spir
its. A beneficial week to work on things that will
improve your health. Breathtaking beautiful site
scenes are your lovers desire. A good deal for
your new property is ready to be made. Timely
help to a needy friend would help in solving
personal problems.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

12th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Jupiter, you are
dynamic, realistic, af fectionate, caring, religious and
very helpful. You are very much interested in a happen
ing life. You welcome new ideas in your life and take
everything positively. However, you should work on
your nature of being jealous, selfish and rude at times.
Health this year: Your health will remain good through
out the year. You need to take utmost care of your
health to maintain it and remain fit. The health of your
family members might be a concern for you this year.
Try and avoid your bad habits and start practicing yoga
for the betterment of your health.
Finance this year: You will be among major financial
gains this year. You may go for a real estate transaction
later this year and this will bring you a lot of money to
cherish. You may start up a new business. If you are
already into business, you may plan for expanding its
territory this year.
Career this year: You need to focus on your profession
and put your cent per cent ef fort to achieve your
expected goals. You will be appreciated by your peers
and seniors for your ef ficient output. You may be
assigned extra responsibilities as you are very decisive
and capable of performing wonders.
Romance this year: The emotional attachment with
your spouse or partner may blossom this year with lot
of love, care, and concern. If you are not married, then
you may go for a romantic relationship. You will enjoy a
very blissful time with your beloved.
13th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Uranus blesses you
with a charismatic character. You are able to impress
anyone in your surroundings with your nature and atti
tude. You are generous, peace loving, disciplined, and
creative in nature. Your hard work pays off every time
and you get success as a result.
Health this year: You will enjoy a moderate health this
year. You need to take preventive medicines for weath
er changes as it may hamper your health conditions. Do
not neglect your health if you feel uneasy. Consult doc
tor regularly and practice Yoga for better results.
Finance this year: You will be able to stabilize your
financial condition by reaping profits from your past
investments. You may also plan for new investments
this year. You will find enough new opportunities to
start up a new business that would yield money for you.
You should invest in real estate or stock market for
better returns.
Career this year: You will be very impressive in your

professional circuit this year. However, you need to
work smart and perform well to grow as a perfectionist.
You should take quick decisions to excel in your field.
You may have to he lp your ordinates to drive
productivity.
Romance this year: If you are yet to be in a romantic
relationship, this is the ideal time to go for one. You will
enjoy a pleasurable relationship with your spouse or
partner.
14th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mercury makes you
realistic, reliable, sincere, and optimistic. You are the
master of an excellent memory power and charismatic
characteristics. You need not get nervous at tough time
as it may create a question mark on your capabilities.
Health this year: Your health will remain good through
out the year. However, you need to go for regular fit
ness programs or practice yoga and meditation for bet
ter results. Do not avoid your regular medication. Look
out the health of your family members as they may fall
ill frequently.
Finance this year: Your new business alliances and
partnerships will help you earn financial stability this
year. You will receive all the pending payments and
money you gave away as loans in the past. You should
go for investing in real estates and share market.
Career this year: Being friendly and quick in decision
making, you will create many admirers for yourself in
your professional circuit. Your juniors may seek your
advice in critical times to deliver efficient work. It is
advisable for you not to get involved in office politics.
You should handle official matters diplomatically.
Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life with
your love interest this year. You will lead a blissful life
with your beloved with lots of love, care, concern, and
support.
15th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Venus makes opti
mistic, ambitious, caring, aspiring, and determined. You
are very social and love to make new friends and get
into new relationships. You are a huge follower of intel
ligence and education.
Health this year: You need to stop your bad habits such
as smoking and consuming alcohol to remain healthy.
You should take expert advice from a doctor to avoid
health related issues. You should take your medicines at
time to avoid further complicacy in your health. Take
care of the health of your spouse and parents as well.

Finance this year: As far as your financial status is con
sidered, you will enjoy a healthy run this year. You may
redirect yourself to more profitable business. You may
plan for few business trips this year for your growth.
You should not get involved in any kind of partnerships
as it may hamper your business.
Career this year: You will be establishing yourself as a
very efficient and important resource in your organiza
tion this year. Your performance will influence your
peers, seniors and higher management. It is the best
time to look out for a new job as it will help you grow
both professionally and financially.
Romance this year: You will share a blissful romantic
relationship with your spouse or partner. Your mar
riage is on cards if you are yet to marry. You will find
your partner supportive enough in every crucial
situation.
16th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Neptune Ruled by no: 7
Traits in you: As you are governed by planet Neptune,
you are blessed with various positive characters. You
are confident, decisive, generous, humorous, honest,
modest and optimistic. You are not an admirer of argu
ments or silly fights. You should work on your nature of
being selfish, pessimistic, and arrogant.
Health this year: Your overall health would remain fine
this year. Some of the aged members in your family
may fall sick frequently to add your woes. You need to
take care of your family members by providing them
better medical attention.
Finance this year: This year may bring you huge finan
cial benefits. You will enjoy the returns of your invest
ments. If you want to gain financial profits, you have to
work hard. You may invest in various profitable busi
nesses. However, you should not start new partnerships
or trust new friends.
Career this year: Professionally you will enjoy a
smooth life. You may get recognition in your profes
sional circuit as a result of your hard work and dedica
tion. Your promotion is on cards. You should take help
of your seniors to learn quickly and perform exception
ally well as it would help you grow professionally.
Romance this year: For your marital relationship, this
year will be pretty fruitful for you. If you are still single,
you may get into a romantic alliance towards the end of
the year. If you are already in a relationship, you may
plan to convert your relationship into marriage.
17th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: Your ruling planet the Saturn makes you

highly dynamic, hardworking, courageous, trustworthy,
reliable, courteous and friendly. You are very much
inclined to music and literature. You should work on
your impatience. You need to enhance your construc
tive ideas as well.
Health this year: Though you would not face any major
health related issues, you should take extra care of your
health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting your
health in stake. Go for regular medical checkups.
Finance this year: You will be among major financial
gains this year. You may go for a real estate transaction
later this year and this will bring you a lot of money to
cherish. You may start up a new business. If you are
already into business, you may plan for expanding its
territory this year.
Career this year: Your confidence will convert you into
a winner. You will be capable enough to overcome any
challenge you need to face. The chances of your promo
tion and transfer are high due to the organizational
change.
Romance this year: You may try and convert your long
time romantic relationship to a married one. You will be
enjoying a great life with your spouse with lots of
understanding, love, and care. You need not get into any
kind of argument with your beloved this year.
18th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9
Traits in you: Being governed by the planet Mars, you
are adventurous, sensitive, courageous, emotional, hard
working, charismatic and punctual. You are full of
enthusiasm and ambitions. You should try and avoid
your shyness and stubbornness.
Health this year: Though you would not face any major
health related issues, you should take extra care of your
health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting your
health in stake. Go for regular medical checkups.
Finance this year: You may get your pending works
done, which will yield enough financial benefits for you.
You should invest in share market or real estate to get
better benefits. You need not borrow or lend money as
it may create disturbances in your personal life.
Career this year: Being an efficient professional, you
are highly respected in your professional circuit. Your
ordinates and seniors may take advice from you. You
may get your long expected promotion this year. Salary
hike is also likely to happen.
Romance this year: You will find your partner to be a
huge emotional support for you during the tough times
of your life. You may get involved in a matrimonial
alliance.
30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Illumine your self with love

service that Martha was doing
was not good, but it is talking
about how worried and upset she
was. She was not lost in love, but
caught up in the trials and trou
bles of life.
Yes, service is there, but Martha
was only focused on the tasks at
tion we can have, for it is the only

way back to God. If we wish to
continue in separation from God,
then let us only engage in the mil
lions of tasks this world has to
offer that take us away from God.
If we wish to go back to God, then
let us engage in the work of love.
of a Master.
In this verse by Sant Darshan
Singh Ji Maharaj, the lover wants
to be with the Beloved and have
those tresses flowing out freely
for the lover to enjoy. The lover
wants to look at them and be
intoxicated by them. This symbol
hand and criticizing what others

were doing, without being lost in
the love that we need to be lost in
while doing service and while
looking to find God. That is why
Jesus told Martha that Mary had
made the better choice and that
her choice to love was not going
to be taken away from her. It is
talking about Martha who, while
doing service, was not engaged in
love, but instead was distracted,
troubled, upset, and critical of oth
ers. That is not how seva with love
and se lflessness is to be per
formed.
This story points to the fact that
the highest of all pastimes in this
world is love. Love can be having
darshan and enjoying the physical
presence of the Master and it can
be performing seva, but only that
seva which keeps love at the fore
front.
Love is the fabric of life. It is the
most important goal and occupa
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj

has beautifully said in a verse:
izes the ecstasy the disciple expe

riences when in the presence of
the Master. The verse is saying
that those moments are the most
comforting and blissful times we
can have in this life.
Unfortunately, the neverending
problems, stresses, and tasks of
life are pulling the disciple away
from these blissful times. The dis
ciple always wants to be in the
moments of bliss that come from
the presence of the Master. But
life is pulling the disciple and
Master apart from each other.
There is always one excuse after
another that keeps them apart.
One day it may be that the disci
ple has to watch the World Cup
competition of a favorite team.
Another day it may be that we
have to shop for this thing or that
thing. Another day we are grow
ing our business. Another day we
are tied up with this petty prob
lem or another. There is no end to
By Sant Rajinder Singh

Ji Maharaj
f we were to sum up the mes

sage in all the talks and verses
written by the great poetsaint,
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj, we
would find one theme permeates
them all. That theme is divine
love.
Just as the atom permeates all
matter, so does divine love perme
ate all life. The purpose of all exis
tence is divine love. Divine love
means the love between the soul
and God. This love moved God to
create all creation, including each
of us, and this love is what draws
each back to the Creator.
If we are to commit our life to
the highest purpose it would be to
illumine ourselves with love. Who
should we love? We should love
God. When we love God, we also
love all Gods creation, including
all humanity and all creatures of
the earth.
There is a beautiful story in the
Bible that tells how Jesus and his
disciples were traveling. They
came to a village where a woman
named Martha opened her home
to him. She had a sister named
Mary, who sat at Jesuss feet lis
tening to what he said. But
Martha was distracted by all the
preparations that had to be made
for his visit.
Martha was annoyed that Mary
was only sitting at Jesuss feet
basking in his love while Martha
had to do all the work. Martha
went to Jesus and asked, "Lord,
dont you care that my sister has
left me to do the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!" Jesus replied,
"Martha, Martha, you are worried
and upset about many things, but
only one thing is needed. Mary
has chosen what is better, and this
will not be taken away from her."
This story has caused many to
wonder about its meaning. But
those who understand the true
meaning of this story realize that
the heart of the story is love. It is
describing that the highest of all
in life is to love. Mary was lost in
love with her Master, Jesus. She
was enraptured by his glance and
by his presence, and she melted
into ecstasy. The true purpose of
his coming was to enjoy the heart
toheart and soultosoul meeting.
This story is not saying that the
I could have rested in the com

forting shade of your tresses,
But there is no time from the
neverending problems of life.
is emphasizing the sad truth that
we are so caught up in the never
ending problems of life that we
never rest in the comforting shade
of the tresses of the Master. The
Masters have traditionally come
from a culture in which long hair
or tresses was the style. Whether
their hair flows out upon their
shoulders with their silken, glim
mering strands that capture the
heart of their disciples or whether
their hair is tied up in a bun under
a turban, when the turban is
removed the disciples can enjoy
those lovely tresses. Those tresses
symbolize the love and protection
the reasons we are pulled away

from the moments of love.
is saying that if we wait for some
time and we complete this task or
that task, resolve this problem or
that problem, take care of this
person or that person, time will
pass us by. We will never get to
the moments of love that are the
most important pastimes in life.
Love is the ingredient that makes
this life beautiful and worth living.
It beautifies everything. It fills us
with the nectar of bliss to propel
us through the trials of life. Once
we realize that time and problems
are keeping us away from those
blissful moments between Master
and disciple without, and the dis
ciple meeting the radiant form of
the Master within, then we will
attain the goal of love.
It is true that we have some
responsibilities in life to earn our
livelihood, take care of our family,
and perform our duties to our
society. But within positive mysti
cism and performing our duties,
we also need to snatch away as
much time as possible to devote
to spiritual love. We need to real
ize that divine love is the highest
pastime of all. We need to make
time for that every day. Masters
have given us the minimum time
by which we can successfully con
nect with love, and that is ten per
cent of our time, or two and a half
hours a day minimum. That time
can be spent in meditation where
we contact that love within us.
Everyone seeks to love and be
loved. Love is a universal need.
From being newborn babies to
our last dying breath, we seek
love. Children want the love of
their parents, family, and friends.
As adults we seek the love of our
partner, spouses, family, friends,
and children. Listen to most peo
ple on their deathbed, and they
have only three words to say to
those around their bedside, and
that is "I love you," and those are
the last three words they want to
hear from others.
We feel our life is filled with
beauty, warmth, and happiness
when adorned by love. W hen
bereft of love, we feel life is empty
and not worth living.
There are dif ferent degrees of
love we can experience. Most
loves of this world, such as
between parent and child, lovers
and beloveds, spouses, family, and
friends are reflections of a higher
love. They are love on a miniature
scale. They are physical reflec
tions of a love that exists at the
level of spirit. These loves of this
world are but reflections of the
love of God, or divine love.
(To be continued....)

Transition To: Trump Presidency Begins

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Transition To: Trump Presidency Begins

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The South Asian Times

Vol.9 No. 29 November 12-18, 2016 80 Cents

New York Edition

Transition to Trump Presidency begins

8 cooperation by Hillary Clinton and President Obama

8 one in Senate for the first time.

A Trump-Modi summit is expected in the first 100

8 days of the new presidency.

idency is already in full swing.

The South Asian Times

Vol.9 No. 28 November 5-11, 2016 80 Cents

strongly disliked Trump are also

SEE RELATED STORIES ON

New York Edition

Election dominated by the

Coming to terms with a possible

Trump phenomenon Hillary Clinton loss

While other media was cocksure

onald Trumps momentum has

through the Republican primaries, beating

If you are 18-year-old

anomaly in America, who was a dan

People are mobbing banks to exchange spiked currency in

A group of prominent members of the IndianAmerican community of Long Island

New Delhi: Millions of anxious

People queue up at bank counters to exchange

OWN YOUR FUTURE

x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees

November 12-18, 2016

Tom Suozzi wins

Tom Suozzi celebrating his victory with Indian American supporters.

It is being called a historic upset

Bansi Shah, retired engineer,

TrumpModi summit next

Why Trump is good for America

This country needed change

November 12-18, 2016

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York

November 12-18, 2016

Hillary is winning the popular vote

Cleveland in 1888 (lost to Benjamin Harrison)

Ousted Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry

tions about the Electoral College, which was

Exit polls reveal a deeply

Jaipur (India) Bureau

Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull

Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,

President: Arjit Mehta

Continued from page 1

Mistry must resign as chair of

Continued from page 1

IANS Newswire Services

Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/

Printing: Five Star Printing, NY

Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra

Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah

Chief Operating Officer:

West Coast Correspondent

Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

New Delhi Bureau

Web Editor: Bharat Bhushan Chopra

November 12-18, 2016