The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.10 No. 11 July 15-21, 2017 80 Cents
Sushant Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Varun Dhawan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt & Shahid Kapoor at the IIFA
press conference in New York Thursday. The Awards ceremony is on Saturday at MetLife stadium in NJ.
IIFA to rock New York this weekend
New York: The lobby of a hotel at
the bustling Times Square area
here was full of NRIs waiting to
catch a glimpse of their favorite
Bollywood stars, who have
descended in the Big Apple for
the 18th edition of the IIFA
Indian stock markets
hit record highs
Sensex at new high of 32,109.75 in
opening trade on Friday and Nifty
crossed 9,900-mark for first time.
Mumbai: The benchmark
Nifty on Friday raced past
the 9,900 milestone for
the first time and the
Sensex climbed yet
another peak of 32,110.
IT, healthcare, con
sumer durables, oil and
gas stocks were among
the big gainers. Asian
cues remained mixed
though. The 50issue Nifty crossed
the 9,900 level for the first time by
gaining 21.60 points, or 0.21 per
cent, to trade at an alltime high of
TRAVEL 15 BEAUTY 18
i n
Weekend and Awards.
From fans sporting colorful
pagdis and a family of three
flaunting Tshirts reading Shah
Rukhs fan, Salmans fan and Kher, Nawazuddin Siddiqui,
Aamirs fan the excitement
level was unprecedented as they
9,913.30, within striking distance
of 10,000. It surpassed its previ
ous intraday high of 9,897.25
Continued on page 4
OWN YOUR FUTURE
with a degree from SUNY Old Westbury
BOOKS 25 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
j o u r n a l i s m
New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
In Paris,
Trump hints
rethink on
climate deal
welcomed the celebrities for the
kickoff press conference here on
Thursday evening at the Sheraton
hotel. Salman Khan, Anupam
Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Alia
Continued on page 4
India prepares
to pick next President Donald Trump, and First lady Melania Trump dining with
Vice-President
French President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron at an Eiffel
Tower restaurant in Paris July 13. (Photo courtesy Reuters)
Paris: President Donald Trump on Agreement." Speaking about the
New Delhi: Thursday hinted a possible change disagreements, Macron said, "we
Although the in his position over the Paris cli have expressed them and shared
18party mate accord from which he with them several times and I think it is
informal
opposition
drew weeks ago.
"Something could happen with
important to be able to continue to
see how to move forward on this
grouping on respect to the Paris accord, let's subject." "Does this have to ham
Tuesday see what happens," said Trump, per, prevent the discussions we
announced Mahatma's Xinhua reported. have on all the other subjects?
Gopalkrishna grandson "We will talk about that over the Definitely not, in no case," Macron
Gandhi as Gopalkrishna coming period of time and if it said. This afternoon, at a joint
their candi Gandhi is happens, that will be wonderful, press meeting with German
date for the oppositions pick and if it doesn't, that'll be okay Chancellor Angela Merkel, the
August 5 vice for VicePresident too," he added. French president expressed his
presidential election, this will not At a joint press meeting with his surprise following mounting criti
have any bearing on the ruling visiting American counterpart, cism over Donald Trump's partici
BJP's strategy, suggest saffron French President Emmanuel pation in the Bastille Day parade
party leaders. Macron said "on climate, we know on July 14, saying Washington
The question to support him did our disagreements. I respect the remained Paris's "strategic ally,"
not arise, they feel. "We are in a decision of President Trump, but I despite "strong disagreement" over
Continued on page 4 remain attached to the Paris climate change.
x More than 60 undergraduate and graduate degrees
x Small classes with exceptional faculty
x A student-centered approach to learning
x Conveniently located in Nassau County
Contact us at: (516) 876-3200 or www.oldwestbury.edu
excellence in journalism
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 15-21, 2017
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Uncertainty after USIBC moves Ex NYS assembly
to split from US Chamber speakers corruption
Top CEOs including Indra Nooyi voted as board members
to take US India Business Council out of the parent body.
Washington: The board of the US
India Business Council including
CEOs of leading American compa
nies has voted to break away from
the parent body, the US Chamber
of Commerce, exposing many
years of underlying tensions,
including over policy priorities.
The severance has left the fate of
the USIBC and its staff uncertain
for the time being since the US
Chamber has no intention of let
ting go of it, as was stated by its
president and CEO Tom Donahue
in a letter on Tuesday, Hindustan
Times reported.
The USIBC is a part of the
Chamber, and the Chamber does
not plan to transition it anywhere,
Donahue wrote in the strongly
worded letter. He added sternly:
The USIBC has no separate exis
tence and its board has no legal
authority.
If reconciliation efforts slated for
next week dont succeed, members
of the USIBC appear prepared to
start a separate body.
Donahue also announced that
USIBC president Mukesh Aghi had
stepped down last month and that
the chamber had launched a
search for his successor. Khush
Choksy, a senior vice president at
Penn Station repairs during 'summer of hell' to impact thousands
Expanded ferry services provided an alternative for some commuters.
(Photo courtesy New York Times)
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
The Washington Post said that at the center was a fight between the
two august bodies over turf and independence.
the chamber, will serve as interim
president until then.
Aghi quit late last month, the day
29 members of the USIBC board
voted to split with the chamber.
They included Indra Nooyi of
Pepsi, John T Chambers of Cisco,
Ajay Banga of MasterCard and
Warburg Pincus, cochief executive
Charles R Chip Kaye. dispute.
Started in 1975, the USIBC has
emerged as a leading advocacy
body on IndiaUS trade, and is
acknowledged so by the corporate
sector and the governments of the
two countries. It has hosted Prime
Minister Narendra Modi twice dur
ing his US visits, and US vice presi
dents Joe Biden and Mike Pence.
Hosting Pence at its annual lead
ership summit on June 27, the day
after Modi met President Donald
Trump, is understood to have pro
vided the flashpoint that triggered
the rupture.
The chamber was also keen to
host Pence but at a separate event
and the USIBC beat the chamber to
it. Tensions simmering between
the two bodies reached boiling
point with differences over the
The chamber and the council
had serious differences over some
policy issues, going back several
years especially on market
access, free trade issues and intel
lectual property rights, according
to several past and present affili
ates of the USIBC, according to a
source cited by Hindustan Times.
The Washington Post said that at
the center was a fight over turf
and independence.
New York: Commuters were
warned to expect hell going to and
from New York City, but on the
first day of disruptive repairs at
the nation's busiest rail hub on
Monday many said their rides were
no worse than usual for the crowd
ed, delayprone transit system.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had predicted
the partial shutdown at Penn
would cause a "summer of hell" for
the 600,000 who ride the train in
and out midtown Manhattan.
Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and
the LIRR all converge at the station
beneath Madison Square Garden.
All three canceled some services,
rerouted others, and warned trav
elers to expect delays throughout
the duration of the repairs, which
conviction overturned
New York: A federal
appeals court in
Manhattan overturned the
corruption conviction of
former Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver on
Thursday, setting the stage
for a possible new trial
provided prosecutors pur
sue the case.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals found
that jury instructions in
the case did not agree with
Sheldon Silver was a beneficiary of a
a new Supreme Court deci
sion narrowing the scope
narrowing the scope of the type of act a
of the type of act a public
public official had to engage in to be
official had to engage in to guilty in a quid pro quo bribery scheme.
be guilty in a quid pro quo
bribery scheme.
This error was not harmless
because it is not clear beyond a
reasonable doubt that a rational
jury would have reached the same
conclusion if properly instructed,
as is required by law for the ver
dict to stand, the unanimous
threejudge panel ruled, Newsday
reported. Silver, a longtime Albany ing former Virginia Gov. Bob
power broker, was convicted in
2015 of honest services fraud
and other charges for helping real
estate developers and a cancer
researcher who funneled legal
business to him. The Democrat
was sentenced to 12 years in
prison, but has remained free
began Monday and are scheduled
to be done Sept. 1. The upgrades
created disruptions that are
expected to cost Manhattan
employers about $14.5 million for
each hour that commuters are
delayed, according to an estimate
by the Partnership for New York
City, am New York reported.
But many commuters noted a rel
atively smooth ride to kick off the
socalled "summer of hell."
Many riders and transit officials
attributed the relatively smooth
start to a successful public aware
ness campaign, including numer
ous station attendants who
answered questions, handed out
pamphlets and herded disoriented
passengers. "It's my first time," said
July 15-21, 2017 3
recent Supreme Court decision
(Photo courtesy New York Post)
while appealing.
The conviction was one of the
signal victories of former U.S.
Attorney Preet Bhararas cam
paign at public corruption, but the
outcome was known to be in
doubt because of the Supreme
Courts decision in a case involv
McDonnell, which followed Silvers
trial. Former state senate leader
Dean Skelos has challenged his
conviction on the same grounds as
Silver. While his appeal was heard
by a different threejudge panel of
the 2nd Circuit, the Silver reversal
is a promising sign for him.
David Lawner, a database adminis
trator from West Orange, New
Jersey, as he marveled at the warm
breezes of the ferry's opentop
deck. "Isn't this relaxing?" Another
ferry rider, Kathleen Lynn, was less
rhapsodic. "It's going to add 20
minutes," said Lynn, a Summit,
New Jersey, resident who works in
financial services. "Or an hour.
Depends on whether everything
hooks up."
Penn Station, an underground
maze of low ceilings and mediocre
dining spots built in the 1960s,
serves about 95,000 New Jersey
Transit customers and about
116,000 LIRR customers on an
average weekday, according to
2016 data.
 4 July 15-21, 2017
Revised Senate healthcare bill
still lacks the votes to pass
Washington: Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell (RKy.)
released a new proposal to over
haul the Affordable Care Act on
Thursday after spending three
weeks reworking it to win over
wavering lawmakers on the right
and in the center, reported
Washington Post.
But within hours, it was clear that
Senate leaders still didnt have the
votes to fulfill their longstanding
quest to replace former president
Barack Obamas 2010 healthcare
law.
The new draft would lift many of
the ACAs regulatory requirements,
allowing insurers to offer bare
bones policies without coverage for
services such as preventive or men
talhealth care. It would also direct
billions of dollars to help lower and
middleincome Americans buy
plans on the private market.
However, the draft leaves in place
deep proposed cuts to Medicaid
and at least three Republicans
quickly signaled opposition to the
bill, casting doubt on McConnells
plans to pass the bill next week.
The revised Senate healthcare
bill released today does not include
FCRA rules for OCIs
need to change
My name is Ganesh Harpavat. I
was born in a small village in India
and I have been living in America
for over 40 years. Now I am an OCI
and a US citizen. I am deeply inter
ested in the welfare of India. I have
helped many communities in India
in their health and education relat
ed matters. My wife and I started
Indo American Public School in vil
lage Balicha and now over 500 stu
dents are studying there. You may
visit our school website: indoamer
icanpublicschool.com. When I visit
Chairman and Co-Founder
Kamlesh C. Mehta
Co-Founder: Saroosh Gull
President: Arjit Mehta
Chief Operating Officer:
Ginsmon P. Zacharia
P: 516 776 7061
ginsmon@hotmail.com
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra
P : 516.710.0508
Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Printed Every Saturday by: Forsythe Media Group, LLC, ISSN 1941-9333, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801 P: 516.390.7847
Website: TheSouthAsianTimes.info Updated Daily
Notice: The South Asian Times is published weekly by The Forsythe Media Group, LLC. POSTMASTER: Send all address notices, subscription orders/payments and other inquiries to The South Asian
Times, 76 N Broadway, Suite 2004, Hicksville, NY 11801, USA. Copyright and all other rights reserved. No material herein or portions thereof may be reprinted without the consent of the publisher. The
views expressed on the opinion pages and in the letters to the editor pages are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of The South Asian Times. The editor/publisher does not warrant accuracy
and cannot be held responsible for the content of the advertisements placed in the publication and/or inaccurate claims, if any, made by the advertisers. Advertisements of business or facilities included in this
publication do not imply connection or endorsement of these businesses. All rights reserved.
Senators Susan Collins
and Rand Paul remain no votes
the measures I have been advocat
ing for on behalf of the people of
Arizona, said Sen. John McCain (R
Ariz.) in a statement, adding he
planned to offer amendments to
change it.
The GOPs continuing push
and continuing struggle to make
good on a campaign promise it
began invoking seven years ago to
repeal and replace Obamacare premiums for middle class fami
reflected the peril Republicans face
whether they pass a bill or not.
On the one hand, the ACA has
provided medical coverage for mil
lions of Americans and has
grown more popular as a result.
Moderate Republicans remained
concerned Thursday that the new
proposal would make insurance
Letter to the Editor
India I meet many people in small
villages and they ask for my help
in their community development
programs. One such request came
from a headmaster in village Nai
in Udaipur. I am not able to help
such people because I am an OCI,
and, according to FCRA (Foreign
Contribution Regulation Act) rules,
OCIs are considered foreigners
and contribution from them is
treated as foreign source. To be
compliant with FCRA rules these
people have to obtain permission
Associate Editors:
Hiral Dholakia-Dave
Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,
Nilima Madan, Melvin Durai,
Dr Prem Kumar Sharma, Ashok Vyas,
Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha
West Coast Correspondent
Pooja Jain,
Pooja@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
New Delhi Bureau
Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
TURN PAGE
unaffordable for some middle
income Americans and throw mil
lions off the rolls of Medicaid, the
public insurance for disabled and
lowincome Americans.
Yet conservatives continued to
push for a more wholesale rollback
of the ACA highlighting the dan
ger for all Republicans of failing to
achieve a promise most of them
made on the campaign trail.
The new Senate health care bill
is substantially different from the
version released last month, and it
is unclear to me whether it has
improved, Sen. Mike Lee (RUtah),
a conservative who has pushed for
a full Obamacare repeal, said in a
statement. I will need time to study
the new version and speak with
experts about whether it does
enough to lower health insurance
lies. Looming even larger was the
reality that Republicans, despite
their control of both chambers of
Congress and with President Trump
in the White House, have made lit
tle progress on an ambitious agen
da that McConnell had hoped to
move on to next week after a vote
on the healthcare bill.
prior to accepting help from me.
Getting permission from FCRA is a
very cumbersome, lengthy and
tedious process. Above all, there is
lots of bureaucracy in FCRA office.
If FCRA rule could be modified for
OCIs and they could be treated like
Indian citizens, it will be a big serv
ice to these people.
I have written to the Director of
FCRA and Joint Secretary about
this small change. I need to build
public opinion on this matter that
will be a good community services.
Ganesh Harpavat
(gharpavat@gmail.com)
Jaipur (India) Bureau
Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Photographs: Gunjesh Desai/
masalajunction.com.
Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com
Photo Journalist: Sandeep Girhotra
Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah
Art and Design: Dhiraj Kumar Showaan
Vladimir Tomovski
Bhagwati Creations,
Web Editor: Bharat Bhushan Chopra
News Service: HT Media Ltd.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
IIFA to rock New York inflows and widespread buying by
this weekend
Continued from page 1
domestic, institutional and retail
investors continued.
The benchmark BSE Sensex too
Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon
climbed 72.37 points, or 0.22 per
and Sushant Singh Rajput apart
cent, to a new record 32,109.75,
from DJ Dwayne Bravo set the
breaking its previous life high of
pace for the IIFA celebrations
32,091.521 reached on Thursday.
here. We hope this is a weekend
Software services exporter
of laughter, happiness and joy of
Infosys rallied by 1.63 per cent to
coming together in one of the
Rs 992.25 after the company on
biggest cities in the world,
Friday reported 1.3 per cent
Sabbas Joseph, Wizcraft
growth in consolidated net profit
International Entertainment, the
at Rs 3,483 crore for the June
creators and producers of IIFA,
quarter. It maintained 201718
said here. Riva Ganguly Das,
revenue growth guidance at 6.5
Indias Consul General in New
8.5 per cent in constant currency
York, welcomed the stars to the
and 7.19.1 per cent in dollar
city. Its not everyday that the
terms. The US Dow Jones
stars come to New York City. This
Industrial Average ended 0.10 per
is really Indias soft power at its
cent higher on Thursday.
best as we try to develop a rela
tionship with the US further.
I think people are at the heart
India prepares to pick
of relationships and peopleto next VicePresident
people relationships strengthen Continued from page 1
relations between countries. So, I winning mode. So, why should we
think events like this when they think about who is opposition's
happen, its better late than never. candidate," a senior BJP func
New York is a great selection tionary told IANS. Assured of sup
for the show as it gets great visi port from the allies, he said that
bility for India because Times the ruling side had the numbers
Square is really a place where the and that its candidate would easi
world meets. Its a great opportu ly sail through the August 5 elec
nity for us to show our soft tion. The BJP leader, who is also a
power. Rajya Sabha member, listed a
The threeday IIFA gala features series of past instances when
the IIFA Stomp, IIFA Rocks and Gandhi criticized Prime Minister
IIFA Awards. The stars promised a Narendra Modi and the NDA gov
memorable show full of fun and ernment's policies. "Be it Godhra
frolic. At the conference, DJ Bravo or the hard core issues of BJP or
also made the stars groove to a Modi becoming Prime Minister,
number that he sang live, and the he (Gandhi) missed no opportuni
fans cheered for the Bollywood ty to slam the party and its lead
celebrities by shouting Chal beta ers," he said.
selfie le le re, We love you The name of the NDA candidate
Salman and Alia, youre the for CVice President to replace
best. Salman, in his typical style, Hamid Ansari would be
said: Chup baith jao Awaaz lag announced after the parliamen
rahi hai kaan mein. Love you too. tary party meet this weekend,
which would also be attended by
Indian stock markets hit the Prime Minister. For President,
BJPs nominee is Ram Nath
record highs
Kovind who resigned as Bihar
Continued from page 1
governor. The oppoisiton has
touched on Thursday. Capital
picked Meira Kumar.
IANS Newswire Services
IANS Washington Bureau
Arun Kumar
arun.kumar@ians,in
Printing: Five Star Printing, NY
Contacts
Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Subscribe@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Advertisements
Advertise@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
P : 516.390.7847, F : 516.465.1343
Website:
www.TheSouthAsianTimes.info
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY July 15-21, 2017 5

Please forgive me, Rajat Gupta tells IIT alumni

New York: Indiaborn former Goldman Sachs
director Rajat Gupta, who served a twoyear
prisonterm on insider trading charges, has
Former admitted that he made "errors and misjudge
Goldman
ments" and apologized for letting his friends
Sachs
and fellow IIT associates down.
director
Rajat Gupta In one of his first public comments on his
insider trading conviction after completing
(Image : his prison term in March last year, Gupta told
rediff.com) an IIT alumni meet in California he regrets
that five years of his life were taken away
from him and he hopes to tell his side of the
story "in due course" once his appeal is
decided upon.
"While I continue to fight the injustice in
my case, I have to candidly admit that I
made errors and misjudgements and for
that I take full responsibility," Gupta said,
addressing the second annual 'IIT Bay
Area Leadership Conference' held in
Santa Clara last month that was hosted
by the 11000member strong IIT Bay
Area Alumni Association and attended by
hundreds of top executives and entrepre
neurs who had graduated from the presti
gious Indian engineering institution.
Gupta, an IIT Delhi and Harvard Business
School alumnus, expressed regret for failing
to be a role model to the scores of young
people in leading institutions he was associ
ated with, including IIT, Harvard, Indian
School of Business, McKinsey and Gates
Foundation.
"They made me who I am and I was also
fortunate enough to play a leadership role
that shaped many of these institutions but
most importantly I aspired to be a role model
for many of the young people who were part
of these institutions, who looked up to me."
"One of my greatest regrets is I did let
them down. I want to apologize to all of you
at IIT alumni that I really did not live up to
the highest standards you would have rightly
expected me to do. I genuinely ask for your
forgiveness and understanding," Gupta said
as the audience applauded.
Gupta expressed "regret" that five years of
his life were taken away from him when he
could have used them to contribute to philan
thropic causes such as education and health.
Mr Gupta said the last five years that were
consumed by his insider trading case and his
prison term have made him a "better person
and better able to serve the institutions I so
dearly like."
"During this time I saw the underbelly of
our justice system, endured imprisonment
and eight weeks of solitary confinement but
very importantly got to know who my real
friends are. I learnt a lot and was determined
to come out of this experience a better per
son, physically, mentally, emotionally and
spiritually. I wanted to deal with this situa
tion with dignity, with grace, with forgive
ness and humility, without anger or bitter
ness," he said.

US lawmaker calls for removal of Doctor couple from

country quota in Green Card
Washington, DC: An influential American
lawmaker has called for removal of country
specific quota for legal permanent residen
cy, also known as Green Card in the US.
Republican Congressman Kevin Yoder from
Kansas, who became the lead sponsor of the
previously Fairness for HighSkilled
Immigrants Act, argued that the existing
countryspecific quota for Green card is
unjust for people from countries like India
and China.
A report released this week said that the
average wait time for an Indian technology
professional or those seeking green card
under employment category is more than
12 years. The Fairness for HighSkilled
Immigrants Act was previously introduced
by formerRepresentative Jason Chaffetz,
with Yoder as an original cosponsor.
Currently, 230 Members of Congress are
signed on as cosponsors of the bill, with
more than 100 Members from each party in
support. Yesterday, Yoder became its lead
sponsor. The Act reforms the legal immigra
tion system by eliminating the existing, arbi
trary percountry percentage caps that have
caused backlogs in the employmentbased
green card system, he said. Under the exist
ing percountry percentage caps, large
nations like India and China, which account
for more than 40 percent of the worlds
population, receive the same amount of
visas as Greenland, a country that accounts
for oneone thousandth of a per cent of the
worlds population, he said.
With about 95 per cent of the employ
Republican Congressman
Kevin Yoder from Kansas, who
became the lead sponsor of the
previously Fairness for High-
Skilled Immigrants Act, argued
that the existing country-spe-
cific quota for Green card is
unjust for people from coun-
tries like India and China.
mentbased green card applicants already
living and working in America on temporary
visas, the vast majority of applicants are
simply waiting in line to get approved for
permanent residence.
But highskilled immigrants from large
countries are forced wait two to three times
longer under existing law, Yoder said. The
Fairness for HighSkilled Immigrants Act
would correct this problem and leave in
place a system where all equallyqualified,
highlyskilled employees will receive green
cards in the order they apply and based
solely on the skills they are bringing to
America, he asserted.
Asserting that the United States is a nation
of immigrants, as well as a nation of laws,
Yoder said this legislation strikes the perfect
balance by achieving significant reforms of
employmentbased green card system, help
ing American companies hire highskilled
immigrants to help grow the American
economy.
Indiana killed in
plane crash in Ohio
Vijayawada: An Indian
American doctor couple,
hailing from Andhra
Pradesh, was killed when
their private plane crashed
in Ohio. Umamaheswara
Kalapatapu, 63, and his
wife SithaGita Rajyalaxmi
Kalapatapu, 61, residents of
Indiana, were killed in the
crash on Saturday. News of
the death has caused grief
among relatives and
Umamaheswara Kalapatapu & wife SithaGita
friends in their hometown
Rajyalaxmi Kalapatapu
Machilipatnam in Andhra
Pradesh. The couple was on their way to ily members in the town but the relatives
Washington. and friends were grieved upon learning
Umamaheswara was piloting Piper about the tragedy.
Archer PA28, which crashed around They recalled that Umamaheswara stud
10.30 a.m. Rescue workers found the ied up to Class 12 in the town. He studied
wreckage near the village of Beverly in medicine in Guntur. While doing MBBS, he
southeastern Ohio. married his classmate Rajyalaxmi. After
The couple were psychiatrists and run the marriage, they moved to the US and
Raj Clinics in Indiana. While settled in Indiana. Rajyalaxmi hailed from
Umamaheswara was born in a family of top musicians and herself used
Machilipatnam of Krishna district, to play the veena. She had many friends
Rajyalaxmi was a native of Guntur district. among musicians of the Telugu film indus
Their death sent shock wave among rela try. Her husband was a gifted photogra
tives and friends in Machilipatnam. pher. He was recognized as a professional
Umamaheswara was son of Appa Rao, a photographer by the Professional
lawyer in the town. The couple has no fam Photographers of America. (IANS)
6 July 15-21, 2017
GOPIOCT honors ve distinguished Indian
Americans at 11th annual awards banquet
Awardees, scholarship recipients with GOPIO Officials and dignitaries
T
his country is the greatest nation in
the history of the world because of
our diversity, Richard Blumenthal, the
senior United States Senator from Connecti
cut, told a packed audience at the 11th an
nual Gala and awards nite organized by The
Global Organization of People of Indian Ori
gin (GOPIO)Connecticut Chapter in the
Ballroom at The Hilton Hotel in Stamford,
CT on July 8th. We have become a great
nation because of your contributions. We
have welcomed talent, energy and dedica
tion. There is no greater example of this
than our relationship with India; two great
democracies on earth. Our nation faces
biggest challenge to rule of law today than
ever before.
The sold out and much anticipated event
was attended by over 250 guests from
The 2017 MoneyGram Cricket Bee
Bay Area winners announced
O
ver 130 peo
ple registered
for the Bay
Area regional of the
MoneyGram Cricket
Bee held at Chabot
College on July 9.
The top two winners
of the first regional
answered trivia
questions on cricket
to solidify their posi
tion at the finals.
Nithin Valentine of
Santa Clara, CA was declared second run
ner up, Keshava Nuggehalli of Cupertino,
CA was first runner up and the Regional
champion was Adil Khwaja of Santa Clara,
CA.
The competition allows cricket fans to
compete for prizes while sharing their
knowledge of the game in an effort to win
a cash prize of $10,000. Unlike quiz
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
IN BRIEF
across the state of Connecticut, including
community leaders, elected officials, and
honorees and their families. The gala in
cluded a cocktail reception, dinner, music,
live DJ and dances by participants, eloquent
speeches, touching lifestories and inspiring
narratives on the lives of the five distin
guished honorees.
Prominent among those who had attend
ed and spoke at the annual gala included,
Congressman Jim Himes, Stamford Mayor
David Martin, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling,
Connecticut State Senators Tony Hwang
and Toni Boucher and CT State Assembly
men Dr. Prasad .
The honorees included, founder and CEO
of T V Asia, H. R. Shah, Ila Paliwal, Dr. Drau
pathi Nambudiri, Dr. Rupendra Paliwal and
Captain Alpa Ladani.
July 28 to August 20. An evening of Gu
The Bay Area winners
shows, the Cricket Bee will be conducted
so that contestants are actually compet
ing with themselves and the question
posed to them as opposed to their peers.
Cricket enthusiasts can still participate
at the remaining centers in Dallas, Chica
go, New Jersey, and Toronto. Contestants
can register to compete in the game of
their choice at www.cricketbee.com
Congresswoman Grace Meng
endorses Vin Gopal for NJ State Senate
C
ongresswoman Grace
Meng (DNY), Vice Chair of
the Democratic National
Committee (DNC), has endorsed
New Jersey gubernatorial candi
date Phil Murphy and New Jer
sey State Senate candidates
Christine Lui Chen and Vin
Vin Gopal
Gopal. Gopal is of Indian descent.
I am proud to endorse Phil Murphy,
Christine Lui Chen and Vin Gopal, said
Meng. All are exceptional candidates who
will fight tirelessly for New Jerseys hard
working middleclass families. I look forward tant it is to remove one of Chris Christie's
to working with each of them to strengthen
Judge Sabita Singh conrmed to
Massachusetts Appeals Court
J
udge Sabita Singh the first
Indian American jurist in
Massachusetts was unani
mously confirmed on June 21 to
serve on the states Appeals
Court. Singh who served as the
president of the South Asian Bar
Association from 2005 to 2006
Sabita Singh
and has also served as the presi
dent of SABAs Greater Boston chapter was
appointed to the states District Court by
Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006. The jurist was
born in Bihar, and moved to the U.S. with her torneys Office, writing appellate briefs and
parents when she was three. Singh is cur
rently First Justice of the Concord, Massa
chusetts District Court. She is also a member
of the District Courts Appellate Division
where she hears appeals from District Court
civil matters. The Governors Council of Mas civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Attor
sachusetts confirmed the nomination made
OHMKaras Gujarati Jalso
on multiple city tour in US
P
arthiv Gohils dream to bring Gujarati
Jalso musical festival in the US will
be fulfilled by team OHMKara from
jarati lok and sugam sangeet, short drama,
poetry and literature with renowned artists
Sairam Dave, Jahnvi Shrimankar, Gargi
Vora, Manasi Gohil, Utkarsh Mazumdar, Mi
nal Patel, Chirag Vora, Hiten Anandpara,
Pranav Pandya and team of 16 renowned
and talented artists will rock multiple cities
across the US.
The kickoff event will take place on July
29 at Nicholas Music Center in New
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
our economy, create jobs and en
sure equal pay and affordable
health care for all.
Vin Gopal received the Demo
cratic nod for the states 11th
district. "So honored to have
Congresswoman Meng's sup
port," said Vin Gopal. "The Con
gresswoman is one of the highest
ranking women in our party and in Congress
so her recognition of this very important
race here in Monmouth County speaks vol
umes about our candidacy and how impor
closest allies from the State Legislature.
by Governor Charlie Baker last
month. Announcing his nomina
tion last month, Baker said Singh
was well respected within the
District Courts and comes with
decades of experience serving
the Commonwealth. Singh be
gan her career as a law clerk to
the justices in the Superior Court
Department of the Trial Court. She then
went on to serve as an assistant district at
torney in the Middlesex County District At
arguing before the Appeals Court and the
Supreme Judicial Court. Earlier, Singh spent
seven years in the private sector with Bing
ham McCutchen LLP before returning to the
public sector as special counsel for criminal
neys office in Boston.
Brunswick, NJ. More than 10,000 Gujaratis
will enjoy the musical journey of original
Gujarati Jalso after their three successful
festivals in 2013, 2014 and 2016 in Mum
bai. The Gujarati Jalso is supported by Ut
pal Bhayani of Image publications and Ville
Parle Education Trust.
This years program will be a kaleido
scope of original Gujarati music, short
scripted dramas, literature and poetry and
hasya darbaar along with cultural touch
from Gujarat on a stage from wonderfully
choreographed scripted event which was
never organized or seen in a foreign land.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 15-21, 2017
 8 July 15-21, 2017 NATIONAL COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

IndianAmerican Viral Patel invents

dryer that requires no heat
Viral Patels ultrasonic dryer is expected to
be up to five times more energy efficient
and able to dry a large load of clothes in
about half the time of conventional dryers.
Houston: Waiting an hour for your
clothes to dry can feel tedious when you
need something in a rush. But Indian
American research and development
associate Viral Patel and his team of
researchers at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory in Tennessee have developed
a dryer that could make doing laundry
much quicker.
Called the ultrasonic dryer, it's expected
to be up to ve times more energy ef
cient than most conventional dryers and
able to dry a large load of clothes in
about half the time. "It is a completely
new approach. Instead of evaporation, it's
technically performing mechanical
extraction of the moisture within the fab
ric," Patel told Knoxville News Sentinel.
Patel said that traditional dryers general
ly use straightforward technology: as air
gets sucked in from the surrounding
area, it travels through a heater or gas
burner and into the drum where the
clothes tumble around allowing the heat
to absorb the moisture with the air leav
ing the dryer.
However, the ultrasonic dryer uses
piezoelectric transducers to remove mois
ture: when high frequency voltage is
applied to the transducers, they vibrate at
a high frequency causing trapped water
to leave the fabric without heat.
Basically, the dryer shakes the water
out of the clothes, speeding up the
process.
Patel mentioned that GE Appliances is
in the process of developing an agree
ment with the researchers to proceed
toward commercialization.
"We're trying to develop the technology
that has efciency greater than or equal
to the state of the art but with a competi
tive cost, so it can be sold in the US mar
ket because if you walk into a big box
store and you want a dryer, normally the
rst things consumers look for is how
much it costs and not energy efciency.
"GE brings the expertise in that area,
which we do not have," he added, stating
that it will take at least two to ve years
before the ultrasonic dryers be available
in the market.
(PTI)

Indian American Neomi IndianAmerican develops handheld

Rao to lead White House
regulatory affairs office
Washington, DC: The US Senate
has voted to conrm Indian
American lawyer Neomi Rao as
the head of Ofce of Information
and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at
the Ofce of Management and
Budget (OMB).
The 44yearold Rao was con
rmed by a vote of 5441 on
Monday and she would lead the
White House ofce overseeing
regulation, according to Senate's
ofcial website.
"In selecting Professor Neomi
Rao... the President has made an
inspired choice. Since rst working
on my staff many years ago,
Director Rao has proven herself to
be a sharp and principled public
servant," said Senator Orrin Hatch,
senior member and former
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
"She possesses a keen sense for
our duty in Washington to help
small businesses grow and make
lives of Americans easier," he said.
Senator John Hoeven also appre
ciated Rao for her commitment to
work and said that he secured a
commitment from her to address
benet and cost analysis for Army
corps projects and to ensure fair
treatment of publicprivate partner
say the "pocket colposcope"
Neomi Rao
ships. Rao serves as an associate
professor of law and the founding
director of the Center for the Study
of the Administrative State at
George Mason University's Antonin
Scalia Law School.
She graduated from Yale
University and later attended
University of Chicago Law School.
Rao clerked for US Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge
J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the US
Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Circuit.
She is also a member of the
Administrative Conference of the
US and the governing council of the
American Bar Association's Section
of Administrative Law and
Regulatory Practice. (IANS)
device for cervical cancer screening
Houston: An IndianAmerican
professor and her team have
developed a new handheld, low
cost device that will soon check
cervical cancer without using a
painful speculum.
Nimmi Ramanujam and her
team of researchers at Duke
University in North Carolina
which can connect to a laptop
or mobile phone, could even
lead to women being able to
selfscreen.
Ramanujam has developed
the "allinone device" which
resembles a pocketsized tam Nimmi Ramanujam (first from right) and her team at Duke University
pon. Her team asked 15 volun
teers to try the new integrated single touch point." Ramanujam hope to receive by the end of
design and more than 80 per said that current standard prac 2017. Cervical cancer is the
cent said they were able to get tices for cervical cancer screen fourth most common cancer in
a good image. ing require a speculum (a metal women, with more than
According to Ramanujam, device designed to spread the 500,000 new cases occurring
"The mortality rate of cervical vaginal walls apart), a colpo annually worldwide. In the
cancer should absolutely be scope (a magnied telescopic United States, physicians diag
zero per cent because we have device and camera designed to nose more than 10,000 cases
all the tools to see and treat it. enable medical professionals to each year.
But it isn't. That is in part see the cervix), as well as a While more than 4,000
because women do not receive highly trained professional to American women die of the dis
screening or do not follow up administer the test. ease each year, the mortality
on a positive screening to have "We've applied for additional rate has dropped more than 50
colposcopy performed at a funding from the NIH to contin per cent in the past four
referral clinic. "We need to ue these efforts," Ramanujam decades, largely due to the
bring colposcopy to women so said, while noting that the team advent of wellorganized
that we can reduce this compli is working on regulatory clear screening and diagnostic
cated string of actions into a ance for the device, which they programs.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
US move to tighten rules Festival of Globe to honor filmmaker
for foreign students Mickey Nivelli and actor Prashantt Guptha
could hit Indians
Washington, DC: Indians and
other foreigners enrolled in US
colleges and universities could be
required to apply for permission
to stay every year if the Donald
Trump administration approves a
move currently being considered
by the department of homeland
security.
The proposal, rst reported by
The Washington Post, is linked to
the administrations overall plan
to tighten national security. But it
is still at a very preliminary stage
and could take up to 18 months to
be rolled out, if approved for
implementation.
An estimated 166,000 Indians
were enrolled in US colleges in
2016, and together with those
from China, accounted for 47% of
all foreign students in America,
according to Open Door, a govern
mentfunded body that studies
and tracks international students
and scholars.
Also under consideration as part
of the same package is a move to
attach an end date to the study
NATIONAL COMMUNITY July 15-21, 2017 9
New York: The NRI community of
Silicon Valley in California, under
the foundation and leadership of
cardiologist Dr. Romesh Japra,
program, requiring students to
with an intent to create a platform
reapply for permission to stay if
that will leverage access of Indian
they move from one program to
independent lmmakers and tech
another such as undergraduate
nologists/investors of the Silicon
to graduation. If a student isnt
Valley hub have organized
able to nish the program in time,
Festival of Globe (FOG) a one of a
he or she could be asked to reap
kind cultural, business and enter
ply. Prashantt Guptha in a still from Taabeer (right) Mickey Nivelli
tainment platform from August
These moves, which could make
5th to 13th. The festival brings to come forward too. He is bridg Indies. Once known as Harbance
studying in the US more expensive
together lm screenings, special ing ties between Indian cinema Kumar back in the 1970's and
and tedious, are likely to be resis
ized entertainment summits, and Silicon Valley via creating a before, he was the manager of leg
ted by American colleges and uni
celebs from Bollywood and lm festival that will open the endary actor Sunil Dutt and
versities, which actively court
around the world, investors & doors for Indian lms in Silicon worked closely with Kabir Bedi in
international students to increase
high networth individuals, politi Valley (the richest tech hub in the his international phase.
diversity on their campuses and
cians & technology people, and world). As a tribute to India's 70th Mickey has produced and
for the money they make from full
culminates with an awards night Independence, they have ofcial directed several lms in the West
tuitions paid by foreigners.
and grand Indian Independence selected three patriotic lms to Indian territory and language that
There is an overall impact on the
Day Parade. An Indian lm event screen from Bollywood: Vivek went onto become boxofce hits
US economy as well.
at the global Facebook headquar Agnihotri's Buddha in a trafc and oat a ourishing industry
At a White House brieng to
ters is an highlight of the event. jam, debutante director Lom there. His last lm was Rainbow
preview Prime Minister Narendra
Dr. Romesh Japra, founder of Harsh's Yeh hai India and Nirang Raani which gave a debuting
Modis visit in June, a senior
FOG, is a veteran and renowned Desai's Taabeer starring Prosenjit break to another New Yorker who
administration ofcial had said
cardiologist of The Bay Area. He Chatterjee and Neeraj Kabi. is now a rising Bollywood actor,
Indian students generated an esti
owns his own vineyard, founded A moment of pride for New York Prashantt Guptha. Prashantt will
mated $5 billion in economic
the Hindu temple and is now is that veteran lmmaker Mickey be attending the festival in San
activity and supported 64,000
working full swing to bring Indian Nivelli will be conferred with the Jose not only his continued posi
American jobs. That will not be an
entertainment and regions to FOG Lifetime Achievement Award tion as FOG India Ambassador but
easy sacrice for an administra
unite through this festival in for his contribution towards creat also a supporting actor in
tion as focused on jobs as this one.
Silicon Valley and get tech people ing a lm industry in The West Taabeer.
 10 July 15-21, 2017
FBI director nominee says
he will ensure independence
Washington: Christopher Wray,
who has been nominated to be the
next director of the FBI, told the
Senate during his first confirma
tion hearing on Wednesday that
he would uphold the Constitution
and ensure the federal law
enforcement agency's independ
ence.
"The role of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and the FBI direc
tor needs to be one that is inde
pendent of partisan politics,"
Wray said, Efe news reported.
"I believe to my core that there
is only one right way to do this
job, and that is with strict inde
pendence, by the book, playing it
straight, faithful to our
Constitution, faithful to our laws,
faithful to the best practices of the
institution," the 50yearold Wray
said.
In May, President Donald Trump
fired FBI Director James Comey,
who later alleged that the presi
dent had asked him for a pledge
of personal loyalty.
"No one asked me for any kind
of loyalty oath during this
process, and I would sure as heck
not offer one," Wray said in
response to questions from sena
TRUMP ADMIN PULLS KASPERSKY
FROM APPROVED LIST
Washington: The Trump adminis
tration has decided to remove one
of the world's biggest and most
respected cybersecurity firms
from the U.S. government's list of
companies whose products are
approved for use on federal sys
tems, according to U.S. officials.
The decision comes as the
Moscowbased company,
Kaspersky Lab, faces increasing
scrutiny from U.S. officials over
alleged ties to Russian intelli
gence services. The government
list known as a schedule is
maintained by the General
Services Administration, and GSA
"made the decision to remove
Kaspersky Labmanufactured
products" after "review and care
ful consideration," a GSA spokes
woman said in a statement to ABC
News.
"GSAs priorities are to ensure
the integrity and security of U.S.
government systems and net
works and evaluate products and
services available on our con
tracts using supply chain risk
management processes," the
Christopher Wray (Photo courtesy WaPo)
tors. "My loyalty is to the
Constitution and the rule of law,"
Wray said.
Wray led the Department of
Justice's Criminal Division
between 2003 and 2005 under
President George W. Bush. At the
time, Comey was deputy attorney
general.
This was the first hearing on
Wray's nomination to become FBI
director and started a day after
Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr.,
released an email chain showing
Kaspersky Lab is a Russian cybersecurity firm
statement added.
Removing Kaspersky Lab from
the General Services
Administration's (GSA) list would
likely affect only future contracts, Kaspersky, recently said any con
ABC News was told.
The final decision to remove
Kaspersky Lab from the GSA
schedule marks the most signifi
cant and farreaching response
yet to concerns among U.S. offi
cials that Russian intelligence
services could try to exploit
Kaspersky Lab's antivirus soft
ware to steal and manipulate
users' files, read private emails or
attack critical infrastructure in
the United States.
The company has repeatedly
insisted it poses no threat to U.S.
US AFFAIRS
his interest in obtaining from sus
pected Russian sources informa
tion harmful to Democratic presi
dential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The president has described the
investigation of alleged Russian
interference in the 2016 US elec
tion as "the greatest witch hunt in
history."
Wray told senators that he did
not consider the investigation,
which is being led by former FBI
Director Robert Mueller, a "witch
hunt".
customers and would never allow
itself to be used as a tool of the
Russian government.
Kaspersky Lab's CEO, Eugene
issue."
cerns about his company are
based in "ungrounded speculation
and all sorts of other madeup
things," adding that he and his
company "have no ties to any gov
ernment, and we have never
helped nor will help any govern
ment in the world with their
cyberespionage efforts."
Nevertheless, the FBI has been
pressing ahead with a longrun
ning counterintelligence probe of
the company, and in June, FBI
agents interviewed about a dozen
U.S.based Kaspersky Lab employ
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Trump poll panel
puts hold on voter
data request
Washington: President Donald
Trump's commission to investi
gate possible election fraud on
Monday put a freeze on its effort
to collect sensitive voter data
from states in the face of growing
legal challenges.
In an email, the panel's desig
nated ofcer, Andrew Kossack,
asked state elections ofcers to
"hold on submitting any data,"
the commission said in court l
ings. Several state elections of
cials conrmed receiving a letter
from the panel stating that it
would provide further instruc
tions after a federal judge had
ruled on a complaint led by a
watchdog group, the Electronic
Privacy Information Center
(EPIC), which is seeking a tempo
rary restraining order.
Earlier on Monday, the
American Civil Liberties Union
sued the Presidential Advisory
Commission on Election Integrity,
alleging violations of federal law
requiring transparent govern
ment.
The bipartisan panel, led by
Vice President Mike Pence and
Kansas Secretary of State Kris
ees at their homes, ABC News was
told. In addition, as ABC News
reported in May, the Department
of Homeland Security issued in
February a secret report on the
matter to other government agen
cies. And three months ago, the
Senate Intelligence Committee
sent a secret memorandum to
Director of National Intelligence
Dan Coats and Attorney General
Jeff Sessions demanding that the
Trump administration address
"this important national security
of approved vendors shows that
Lawmakers and other U.S. offi
cials point to Kaspersky Lab exec
utives with previous ties to
Russian intelligence and military
agencies as reason for concern.
U.S. officials have yet to publicly
present any evidence indicating
concerning links between
Kaspersky Lab employees and
elements of the Russian govern
ment.
"Kaspersky Lab believes it is
completely unacceptable that the
company is being unjustly
accused without any hard evi
Kobach, asked the 50 U.S. states
for a host of voter data, including
birth dates and the last four dig
its of voters' Social Security num
bers. Most U.S. states have reject
ed full compliance, which many
called unnecessary and a viola
tion of privacy.
This has been a misadventure
from the getgo," Massachusetts
Secretary of State William Galvin,
who had refused to give the com
mission any data, said by phone.
In Wisconsin, elections ofcials
halted plans to inform the com
mission how it could purchase for
$12,500 its public voter data, not
including Social Security num
bers or birth dates.
"We're just putting everything
on hold," said Reid Magney,
spokesman for the Wisconsin
Elections Commission.
Arkansas, however, had already
sent in a limited batch of publicly
available data, according to the
ofce of Secretary of State Mark
Martin. In a court document, the
government said it would not
download the information from
Arkansas and would instead
delete it.
dence to back up these false alle
gations," the company said in a
statement today.
"Kaspersky Lab, a private com
pany, seems to be caught in the
middle of a geopolitical fight
where each side is attempting to
use the company as a pawn in
their political game."
But one senior U.S. intelligence
official said the fact that the U.S.
government was considering the
drastic step of removing
Kaspersky Lab from the GSA's list
such concerns are "nontrivial."
A company lands on the list
after hammering out deals with
the GSA, which uses "the govern
ment's buying power to negotiate
discounted pricing," according to
the GSA.
Hundreds of "federal cus
tomers" and, in some cases, state
and local governments can then
purchase the company's products
without having to each negotiate
their own prices, the GSA said in a
2015 brochure about its opera
tions.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info US AFFAIRS July 15-21, 2017 11

Trump, Russia and selffulfilling fallacies

As with the newest scandal involving Don Jr, the senior Trump is in the White House for
four years at least. So Democrats should rather focus their energy on regaining the House
and Senate in 2018 and 2020 elections and not dislodging Trump,
l By Shivaji Sengupta Trump campaign, through an email, re lease the emails that the
with such a Clinton carrot that President's son released, but by

P
sychologists say that people apparently never actually material doing so first, the White House
have a tendency to predict ized. Young Trump replied to the seems to be assured that it would
something about themselves email, almost immediately, "I would amount to nothing in senatorial
because intuitively they know that love it." And DC goes bananas. The commissions or in court.
it will happen. Then, when that media follows suit. Democrats There are many more incidents in
does happen, there is a big "I told renew their call for impeachment. the past six or seven months of
you so!" by the selfpredictor. This is serious, very serious, they Trump's presidency that have been
I am wondering whether this is say. followed with frenzy.
true of this whole TrumpRussia But, dear reader, what has actual All that is happening is that the
and the 2016 Elections fiasco. ly happened? Trump Jr replied, "I'd Trump team is playing us; keeping

ENT
There are people in this love it." There is no directive, no us from our real work of taking
M
COM
country myself request, not even a further probing back power. Batters do the same
included who of the promise. All the younger thing in baseball: pretend to steal
badly want to see Trump is saying is that he'd love bases to distract the pitcher and
President Trump's fall, impeached, some dirt on the former first lady making him throw a bad pitch to
legally turned out of of fice, the The President and his namesake son, Donald Trump Jr., who has also got who is daring to be president. How the batter at home base until he
embroiled in a scandal involving Russian contacts. (Photo : Reuters)
whole nine yards. So, they interpret will this hold up in court? As evi does so.
every little faux pas by the Trump chase after chimeras, false oases of audiovisually recorded, that some dence of what? All it will prove to My plea to fellow Democrats and
administration, or by the members the next four years without Trump. one in the Trump campaign actual those who already knew that to Americans who do not want
of his family, as the Opportunity. Why is it not going to happen? ly verbally, or through writing, par Donald Trump Jr told a Russian Trump: plan for 2018 and 2020. So
I am a cynic about such things. The charge against Trump is that ticipated in mustering foreign agent that he'd love some dirt far there has been no redeeming
Folks it is not going to happen. his campaign colluded with a for sources to win the elections. about Hillary. That, my Democratic features in the Democrats. They
America doesn't work that way. We eign government to defeat Hillary Let's consider the most recent friends, is not collusion. have lost all the byelections since
put him in the White House and we Clinton. Hillary might believe it; brouhaha over Trump Jr's emails to President Trump's knows it. His Trump beat Mrs. Clinton; the courts
deserve what we got. As Democrats many Democrats as well. But collu Russians regarding damaging infor lawyers know it. The Republican are stashed w ith conservat ive
let's work to sharply reduce sion is extremely difficult to prove mation that the Russians seemed to Nat ional Committee knows it. judges. Yet, they are wasting their
Republican majority in Congress, in a court of law. Plaintiffs will have have about Hillary. The Russians That's why they released it. They time and energy by trying to bring
and take back the Senate. Let's not to show hard evidence, written or seemed to tempt members of the could have let New York Times down Trump. 2016 is gone.

White House crafting plan to slash Legal immigration

Washington: Donald Trump and his
aides are quietly working with two
conservative senators to dramatical
ly scale back legal immigration a
move that would mark a fulfillment
of one of the president's biggest
campaign promises.
Trump plans to get behind a bill
being introduced later this summer
by GOP Sens. Tom Cotton of
Arkansas and David Perdue of
Georgia that, if signed into law,
would slash in half the number of
legal immigrants entering the coun
try each year, according to four peo
ple familiar with the conversations,
reported Politico. Currently, about 1
million legal immigrants enter the
country annually; that number
would fall to 500,000 over the next
decade. The senators have been
working closely with Stephen Miller,
a senior White House official known
for his hawkish stance on immigra
Senior Trump aide Stephen Miller has been working with conservative senators to make
good on Trumps campaign promise. If the controversial move is successful, the number of
immigrants entering the country annually will be halved to 500,000 over the next decade.
Though lawmakers on both sides will raise workingclass wages,
of the aisle have at least paid lip which is why an overwhelming
service to the need to crack down on majority of Americans support it. He
illegal immigration, reducing legal and Sen. Perdue are working with
immigration is more controversial, President Trump to fix our immigra
even among Republicans. tion system so that instead of under
Its unclear how the White House cutting American workers, it will
could pull off such contentious leg support them and their livelihoods,"
islation, given Congress is already said Caroline Rabbitt, a Cotton
bogged down in its attempt to repeal spokeswoman.
Stephen Miller is a known immigration hawk. Steve Bannon, the presi
Obamacare and has not yet serious The reintroduction of the bill is
dent's chief strategist, also has several promises to limit immigration
ly started on tax reform and an likely to mark the beginning of an
scribbled on the walls of his office. (Photo courtesy AP)
infrastructure package two other important battle within the GOP
tion. The issue is also a central pri expanded version of legislation the major GOP priorities. Congress must between immigration hawks, now
ority for Steve Bannon, the presi two senators unveiled in February, also pass legislation by this fall to led by Cotton, who will have the
dent's chief strategist, who has sev known as the RAISE Act, which they avoid a government shutdown and backing of the White House, and
eral promises to limit immigration discussed with Trump at the White to raise the debt ceiling. "Sen. Cotton dovish lawmakers such as Arizonas
scribbled on the walls of his office. House in March, and which the pres knows that being more deliberate John McCain and South Carolinas
The forthcoming bill is a revised and ident praised at the time. about who we let into our country Lindsey Graham.
 12 July 15-21, 2017
l By Sarwar Kashani
New Delhi: The widely condemned
attack on Amarnath pilgrims by
militants in Kashmir has left many
questions unanswered including
why security forces failed to
secure the route to the pilgrimage
site despite specific intelligence
inputs that terrorists planned a
"sensational" strike to kill 100150
Hindus and stoke communal
unrest in the country.
Muneer Khan, the police chief in
the Kashmir Valley long hailed for
battling militancy, had in a June 25
note shared an intelligence input
received from a south Kashmir
police officer that "terrorists have
been directed to eliminate 100 to
150 yatris and 100 police of fi
cers... which they be lieve will
result in flaring of communal ten
sions throughout the country".
Khan had said the input was to
be corroborated but did not rule
out "the possibility of some sensa
tional attack by terrorist outfits" at
a time when thousands of pilgrims
daily trek to the cave shrine situat
ed deep in the Himalayas of south
Kashmir. The input was not specif
ic but it warned of exactly what
happened in Botengoo village on
'Attack condemnation Trump condemns
proves Kashmiriyat is alive' terrorist attack
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti
said the overwhelming condemna
tion of the Amarnath terror attack
by Kashmiris has proved that the
eclect ic culture and tradit ion
known as 'Kashmiriyat' is alive.
Mehbooba Mufti was speaking to
the media after paying homage to
the martyrs of 1931, who laid
down their lives fighting the auto
cratic rule in the state.
She said despite the atmosphere
of fear and terror created by mili
tancy, Kashmiris cutting across
political and ideological divide
have overwhelmingly condemned
the terror attack.
Militants sprayed bullets on an
unescorted private bus carrying
Amarnath pilgrims in the Khanabal
area of Anantnag district on the
JammuSrinagar highway killing
seven pilgrims and injuring 19
others on Monday.
Early on Thursday, the Chief
Minister arrived at the Martyrs
graveyard in Khanyar area of the
old city here. She was accompa
nied by senior Ministers of the rul
ing PDP.
A guard of honor was presented
by a contingent of the state police
at the martyrs grave and floral
tributes were paid.
Former Chie f Minister and
Nat ional Conference working
President Omar Abdullah and chief
of state Congress G.A. Mir also
arrived later to of fer tributes to
Amarnath attack: Security
breach & unanswered questions
The unescorted bus carrying the pilgrims, who came under attack,
breached security protocol and moved on the JammuSrinagar high
way at a time when it was not supposed to.
Monday night. The security forces
still failed to act. Why?
The unescorted bus carrying the
pilgrims, who came under attack,
breached security protocol and
moved on the JammuSrinagar
highway at a time when it was not
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti pays tribute to
Amarnath pilgrims who were killed, in Srinagar. (Photo: IANS)
the martyrs. On July 13, 1931, 21
people were killed in a firing by
the forces outside the Srinagar
Central Jail, where an incamera
trial of Abdul Qadeer, a freedom
fighter, was being held.
The crowd had stormed the cen
tral jail against the detention of
Qadeer when the firing incident
took place. Extraordinary security
arrangements were made around
the Martyrs g raveyard as the
Khanyar area of the old city is
adjacent to Nowhatta where ten
sion was witnessed on Wednesday
because of the killing of a Hizbul
INDIA
supposed to.
The attack occurred around 8.30
p.m. As per the security norms, no
vehicle carrying Amarnath pil
grims should be allowed to move
after 7 in the evening when Quick
Response Teams of the security
militant, Sajad Ahmad Gilkar.
Gilkar, belonging to Pandan area
of Nowhatta, was killed along with
two other Hizbul militants in
Redbug village of Badgam district
on Wednesday.
Police has said Gilkar was
responsible for the lynching of
Deputy Superintendent of Police
Muhammad Ayub Pandit on June
23 outside the Jamia Masjid just
days ahead of Eid.
Police said after masterminding
the police officer's lynching, Gilkar
had joined the ranks of the Hizbul
outfit.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
forces withdraw from the highway.
The movement at the wrong time
made the Gujaratregistered vehi
cle vulnerable to attack.
How did the bus carrying around
60 pilgrims manage to cross multi
ple security checkpoints on the
highway without being noticed
and stopped from moving on?
All pilgrims and vehicles have to
register with the Amarnath shrine
board. But the board, which man
ages the shrine, has denied that the
60 pilgrims and the vehicle they
were traveling in were registered
for the pilgrimage.
How is it possible that some 60
unregistered pilgrims stay at the
north Kashmir Baltal base camp,
take the arduous trek to visit the
shrine and no one notices them?
According to police, the people
who were in the bus had per
formed the pilgrimage on Saturday
and were in Srinagar on Sunday
and Monday for sightseeing.
on pilgrims
Washington: Pledging to
continue alongside India
in fighting terrorism, US
President Donald Trump
condemned the terrorist
killing of seven Amarnath
pilgrims as an attack on
religious freedom.
"An attack on religious
freedom is an attack on
the most fundamental
right of liberty," a White
House statement said. "The
United States and India will
continue to fight together
against terrorist threats in
every part of the world."
The statement issued by
Trump's Press Secretary Sean
Spicer made a clear reference
to the state of Jammu and
Kashmir, dispelling an earlier
controversy over the State
Department calling it "Indian
administered Jammu and
Kashmir."
"The United States strongly
condemns the cowardly terror
ist attack on religious pilgrims
in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir on July 10," the state
ment said. "We extend condo
lences to the victims' families
and the people of India."
Hours before Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's meeting with
A senior Kashmir police of ficer
told IANS on phone that travel
agents usually carry tourists on
pilgrimage trips and club it with
sightseeing and visits to other
resorts in the valley.
"This is not allowed for pilgrims
but somehow some people manage
to do this. This group appears to
be one of them. They returned
from the shrine on July 8 and were
in Srinagar on July 9 and 10. On
Monday evening, they decided to
move to Jammu as tourists," the
officer said.
The Jammu and Kashmir govern
ment has admitted to security laps
es. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal
Singh on Tuesday said the attack
needed to be probed.
"Yes, definitely this is a big lapse.
We have to enquire why the bus
left at 5 p.m., why it was allowed
after sunset. We were told there
was a tyre burst and the driver
took time to replace it," he said.
Trump last month, the State
Department sparked a contro
versy with a referenced to
"Indianadministered Jammu
and Kashmir" while announc
ing the designation of Hizbul
Mujahideen chief Syed
Salahuddin as a global terror
ist.
Seven Amarnath Yatra pil
grims were killed and 19 oth
ers injured in a terror attack on
a bus full of yatris in Jammu
and Kashmir's Anantnag dis
trict on Monday night.
Mary K. Carlson, Charge
d'Affaires at the US Embassy in
New Delhi had tweeted her
condemnation. "We deplore the
attack on Amarnath pilgrims
and condemn all acts of terror
ism. Deepest condolences to
the families and all those
affected," she said.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Patna: A day after Bihar Chief
Minister Nitish Kumar asked him
to come clean, RJD leader and
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi
Yadav dubbed the corruption
charges against him a "conspira
cy" hatched by the BJP brass.
Te jashw i Yadav, facing an
inquiry by the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI), also made
light of the allegations against
him, saying they relate to a period
when he was 14 years old.
As for the ruling Grand Alliance
of the JDU, RJD and Congress, he
declared that it was intact and
would remain so.
After attending his first cabinet
meet ing since the CBI raids
against him, Tejashwi Yadav, the
younger son of RJD chief Lalu
Prasad, said the corruption allega
tions against him were a pack of
lies. T hey were a conspiracy
hatched by BJP President Amit
Shah and Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, he told the media.
He said he too strongly believed
in zero tolerance visavis corrup
tion. He added he would go to the
people to explain how and why
the BJP had conspired against
him. "This allegation relates to
2004 when I was merely 14 years
old, when my moustache and
beard had not begun to sprout. Do
you think a minor would have
committed a scam?"
Tejashwi Yadav said the Grand
Alliance won't break. "Some peo
ple including a section of the
media are disappointed that there
is no break up in the alliance."
He said that since he became
Gandhi's candidature won't
impact BJP's fortunes
New Delhi: Although the 18
party informal opposit ion
g rouping announced
Gopalkrishna Gandhi as their
candidate for the August 5 vice
presidential election, this will
not have have any bearing on
the ruling BJP's strategy, suggest
party leaders.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leaders, though refusing to
speak on record over Gandhi's
candidature, maintained that the
question to support him did not
arise.
"We are in a winning mode. So,
why should we think about who
is opposition's candidate," a sen
ior BJP functionary told IANS.
Assured of support from the
allies, he said that the ruling side
had the numbers and that its
candidate would easily sail
through the August 5 election.
The BJP leader, who is also a
Rajya Sabha member, listed a
series of past instances when
Gandhi criticised Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and the National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) gov
ernment's policies.
"Be it Godhra or the hard core
Bihar Dy CM Tejashwi cries
'conspiracy', Grand Alliance to stay
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
the Deputy Chief Minister, there
had been no corruption allega
tions against him.
"Earlier the BJP was afraid of
Laluji but now they are afraid of
me, a 28yearold man."
Te jashw i Yadav's statement
came a day after Nitish Kumar
asked the RJD to come with a
detailed rebuttal of the charges
against the RJD leader in connec
Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
issues of BJP or Modi becoming
Prime Minister, he (Gandhi)
missed no opportunity to slam
the party and its leaders," he
said.
According to sources in the
party, the name of the NDA can
didate would be announced after
the parliamantary party meet,
which would also be attended by
the Prime Minister.
The last date for filing nomina
tion papers for the vicepresi
dential election is July 18, while
scrutiny of nomination papers
will take place on July 19. The
last date for withdrawal of nomi
nations is July 21.
INDIA
tion with benami property.
The RJD, which has 80 legisla
tors, is adamant that Tejashwi
Yadav will not resign.
JDU spokesperson Ajay Alok
said on Wednesday: "After an FIR
is filed, one has to reply to the
court and the public. Running the
Mahagathbandhan is the respon
sibility of everyone." Nitish Kumar
has said he won't compromise on
No waste dumping within
500 meters of Ganga: NGT
New Delhi: The National Green
Tribunal (NGT) ordered that there
can be no landfill sites or garbage
dumping within halfakilometre
area of the Gang a between
Haridwar in Uttarakhand and
Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.
T he bench also announced a
penalty of Rs 50,000 on anyone
dumping waste near the river.
During the hearing of a petition
regarding the cleaning and rejuve
nat ion of the Gang a, NGT
IndiaChina border standoff:
Sushma calls allparty meet
New Delhi: The government has
called an all party meet on
Friday on the standoff between
Indian and Chinese troops along
the border, government sources
said.
The meeting, which is likely to
be he ld at Home Minister
Rajnath Singh's residence, is
No tie up with JDU: Sushil
New Delhi: Senior BJP leader
Sushil Kumar Modi ruled out any
tieup with the JDU in Bihar even
if it snaps ties with the RJD,
whose leader Lalu Prasad and his
kin are facing corruption allega
tions. Modi also said that nothing
much should be read into the
"issuebased" friendship between
Nitish Kumar and the National
Democratic Alliance in the wake
of the JDU's support to BJP's
Presidential candidate Ram Nath
Kovind. He said only the BJP
Parliamentary Board can decide
on any political developments in
Bihar.
There is no such plan with the
BJP (of tying up with JDU). In
case of any fresh political devel
opment, the BJP Parliamentary
Board alone is empowered to
take a decision," Modi, a former
Deputy Chief Minister, told IANS
in an interview. He was asked to
the issue of corruption.
Lalu Prasad, his wife and former
Chief Minister Rabri Devi and
their son Tejashwi Yadav have
been named accused in a CBI case
related to the transfer of three
Chairperson Swatanter Kumar said
a huge amount of money had been
aimed at briefing the opposition
parties about the situation along
the border in Sikkim where a
standof f has been continuing
since June.
The meeting, for which invita
tion has gone from External
Affairs Minister, comes ahead of
the Monsoon session of parlia
July 15-21, 2017 13
comment on Bihar BJP President
Nithyanand Rai's reported
remarks that the BJP would con
sider providing outside support
to the JDU if it snaps ties with
Lalu Prasad's RJD.
Modi said Rai had denied mak
ing such a statement.
Modi said the Janata DalUnited
and the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) have supported each other
on certain issues but this should
not be seen as the two parties
coming together.
"T he support (in the
Presidential election) is issue
based and nothing more should
be read into it. The BJP has sup
ported Nitish Kumar's liquor pro
hibition policy and he has sup
ported the NDA presidential nom
inee Ram Nath Kovind," he said.
"But for Vice President's elec
tion, his (Nitish Kumar) party has
supported the UPA candidate."
acres of prime land in Patna to the
family by two businessmen
allegedly in return for licences
granted to run IRCTC hotels in
Ranchi and Puri when the RJD
chief was the Railway Minister.
spent on cleaning the river but
desired results were not visible.
In a 543page order, the green
panel said all area within 100
meters of the river should be
declared "no development zone".
The NGT had in April directed 13
polluting industries situated along
the tributary or major drain of the
Ganga river to be shut down. In
December, it imposed a ban on the
use of plastic from Gomukh to
Haridwar along the river.
ment set to start from July 17.
A standof f is cont inuing
between Indian and Chinese
troops along the border in
Sikkim, near IndiaChinaBhuta
trijunction since June. The trou
ble started after China attempted
to build a road in Bhutan's terri
tory.
 14 July 15-21, 2017
IndiaChina: Dangerous brinkmanship
l By Tarun Basu
P
rime Minister Narendra Modi
said very proudly during a
visit to Russia last month that
not a single bullet had been fired
along the border between India
and China for 40 years.
"It is true that we have a border
dispute with China. But in the last
40 years, not a single bullet has
been fired because of border dis
pute," Modi said in a panel discus
sion at the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum.
Modi spoke in the context of an
"interconnected and interdepend
ent world" where, he said, coun
tries may have some disputes but
that should not stop them from
moving ahead in "areas of collabo
ration", like India and China were
doing. In December 1996, when
then state President and
Communist Party of China (CPC)
General Secretary Jiang Zemin vis
ited Pakistan after a trip to India,
he made a very significant state
ment before the Pakistan National
Assembly. Speaking to Pakistani
lawmakers, Jiang advised Pakistan
to adopt the IndiaChina template
in their dealings with New Delhi
and not let contentious issues
come in the way of the develop
l By Saeed Naqvi
I
srael has been in the news in
the context of the Prime
Minister's visit and I may be for
given for a touch of nostalgia. I was
the first Indian journalist to visit
Israel after an Australian fanatic
had set fire to the pulpit of the Al
Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem in
August 1969. The Arab World was
ablaze.
Indian passports in those days
were not valid for South Africa,
Israel and Southern Rhodesia.
Under a special dispensation you
could obtain a separate passport
for travel to countries with which
India did not have diplomatic ties.
Israelis were more practical: They
pinned a piece of paper for entry
and exit which could be pulled out
when traveling to other countries.
The reception I received at Ben
Gurion airport was the stuff of
fairytales for a reporter in his 20s.
Never will Jerusalem Municipality
have a public relations officer
more beautiful than Bathsheba
Herman.
Something that had not touched
the Israelis then was arrogance.
They came across as clever, wise,
modest people, working diligently
on their Kibbutz, the typically
Jewish cooperatives, where
inequalities were not discernible. It
was possible to contemplate Fa
Giladi, the exquisite Kibbutz in the
shadow of Mt. Hermon, as the
There is little doubt that China's aim is to contain
India's rising power through strategic linkages with
the country's neighbors, particularly Pakistan.
ment of their relationship on other
fronts, particularly trade and busi
ness, and peopletopeople ties. "If
certain issues cannot be resolved
for the time being, they may be
shelved temporarily so that they
will not affect the normal stateto
state relations," Jiang said.
Pakistan may not have paid heed
to Jiang's advise, but with peace
and tranquility being maintained
on the border through a series of
agreements, China and India had
managed to keep the peace
MODI'S ISRAEL VISIT:
Memories of a journalist's visits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu at the Olga Beach in Israel. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
dream location for research on the
Palestinian issue.
The simplicity of the people
helped tone down shades of
Zionism instilled in us and which
was the bane of the Palestinian
people. Ambassadors like John
Kenneth Galbraith held Pandit
Nehru in their thrall with their
intellect. But during the Indira
Gandhi years, changes were creep
ing across the diplomatic corps.
Nehru as leader of the NonAligned
and AfroAsian bloc obviously had
a large constituency among left lib
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
OP-ED
between them, despite a disputed
border of over 4,000 km. Indian
officials have often called it a
"managed relationship" where bor
der disputes and differences over
Tibet or Arunachal Pradesh were
kept on a slow track of protracted
negotiations while the two neigh
bors fasttracked their trade and
economic relationships to a level
that made them critical elements of
each other's growth story.
But the inexorable rise of strong
man Xi Jinping coincided with
erals and Muslims. His charm
offensive even on the Arabs
worked such magic that Raees
Amrohvi, an Urdu poet from
Pakistan, was moved to write a
quatrain:
Until 1990s, it was antiintellec
tual to cast positive light on the
Israeli case. When Rajiv Gandhi
became Prime Minister in 1984, he
was advised by Muslim
Congressmen in his vicinity (but
totally out of touch with the com
munity) not to upgrade relations
with Israel because that would
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
muscular projections of Chinese
authority and power on issues that
it considered were "core" to its
strategic and foundational princi
ples, whether it be the South China
Sea, Tibet, or the Belt and Road
project that stood to seal China's
role as a global mercantile power.
As Xi moves to establish com
plete authority over all organs of
party, government and military to
become one of the strongest lead
ers of the People's Republic in
recent times, it is clear that China
has moved much beyond previous
supremo Deng Xiaoping's dictum
of "Lie low, bide your time".
China thinks its time is now and
whatever it does will be in conso
nance and pursuit of this "Chinese
dream" to become one of the
world's preeminent economic, mil
itary and political powers in what
Xi terms "the great rejuvenation of
the Chinese nation".
In line with this political philoso
phy, China is flexing its muscle,
reasserting sovereignty and
expanding its arc of influence
much beyond the South China Sea,
to South Asia, Africa and even to
Latin America. But even as its Belt
and Road connectivity project
becomes a tool to project Chinese
economic and cultural power, it
adversely affect the party's Muslim
support. When I argued against
this line in the Indian Express,
Rajiv had it expanded into an offi
cial note. Muslim leaders, such as
they were, and the Mullah had
shackled the community with
issues like Shah Bano, Salman
Rushdie, Babri Masjid, Muslim
character of Aligarh Muslim
University and now relations with
Israel. What any backward commu
nity needed was employment, edu
cation, entrepreneurial help, I
wrote. After Rajiv was assassinated
half way through the 1991 General
Elections, P.V. Narasimha Rao
upgraded relations with Israel in
1992. There was not a whimper
from the community.
Initially, relations were more or
less mechanically upgraded.
Absence of any real content in the
relationship invited Shimon Peres
to quip in an interview with me:
"IndoIsraeli relations are like
French perfume to be smelt not
drunk." Obsession with survival
and security had injected some
iron in the Israeli soul, but the
Jewish state became hard as nails
has become uncompromising on
issues that it earlier preferred to
"lie low" on, with the latest being
the row with India over disputed
Bhutanese territory north of
Sikkim. China's bellicose position,
coupled with a sharp escalation of
threatening rhetoric, is consistent
with its recent posturing over terri
torial and geostrategic issues.
Suddenly, says Shivshankar
Menon, former Indian National
Security Adviser and former envoy
to Beijing, the old modus vivendi in
IndiaChina ties, that worked to
enhance areas of common interest
while seeking to balance rival sen
sitivities on their strategic con
cerns, has broken down and there
is an urgent need to find a new
modus vivendi. There is little doubt
that China's aim is to contain
India's rising power through strate
gic linkages with the country's
neighbors, particularly Pakistan. It
seeks to browbeat New Delhi in the
hope that the latter will back down
and defer to Beijing's growing
might.
But there is also a danger of the
situation spiralling out of control if
the brinkmanship continues. The
position an unpredictable US takes
might determine strategic equa
tions in Asia in the coming years.
after the 9/11 wars, Islamophobia,
and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime
Minister who visited India on the
first anniversary of 9/11, just when
the waronterror rhetoric was
being amplified here too.
Sensitive defense deals with
Israel begun under Atal Behari
Vajpayee were boosted by
Manmohan Singh. The Palestinian
issue, which was highest priority
up to Indira Gandhi, dipped in
saliency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
visit, however, is fired by an atavis
tic Hindutva adoration for a small
country on top of its mischievous
Muslim neighbors. Ramallah has
been bypassed, of course. But it
should not be lost on the insiders
that during the September Non
Aligned summit in Venezuela the
Indian delegation received instruc
tions from South Block to drop the
routine reference to the Palestinian
issue altogether. It was a tradition
from the earliest days of NAM.
No, Ramallah was not just
bypassed; Palestine has been
downgraded to the level of irrele
vance.
 TRAVEL July 15-21, 2017 15

A lake, forests, mountains...

Pok har as delight s are m an y
spots near the lake. I visited Devis Falls,
By Prashant Sood which gets its name from a Swiss citizen Phewa lake in Pokhara, the tourism capital of Nepal.
Davis who was swept away by its gushing

S tanding by a lake, with forested hills
on one side and snow-capped Hima-
layan peaks on the other, was an unfor-
gettable moment for me in Pokhara, the
picturesque Nepalese city that is arguably
its tourism capital.
Pokhara was a discovery in several ways.
It has a laidback charm that contrasts with
the rush and pollution of capital Kathmandu.
The translucent Phewa lake provided some
breathtaking vistas and the experience of ob-
serving the peaks of the Annapurna range at
close quarters was memorable.
Sarangkot, a hill station near Pokhara,
offers spectacular views of the Annapurna
range and I was told to reach there early
to witness the snow-capped mountains
change hues in the rays of the rising sun.
I left my hotel at 4 am and reached the
designated point well before the sunrise. As
I waited, there was no sign of the sun. There
were clouds and mist and much as I wished
they disappeared, they would not. I, how-
ever, did not leave the place disappointed.
The scene of the valley below was clear-
er and almost like an image from the sky.
The houses looked tiny and there were vast
swathes of greenery. As the valley undulat-
ed, with Phewa lake almost in the middle,
smaller hills gave way to bigger ones and
to still bigger ones.
On the agenda during the day was a boat
ride on the lakes tranquil waters. The 15-min-
ute ride to Tal Barahi temple on an island
in the expansive lake presented panoramic
views as the backdrop shifted from forest-
ed hills to the mountains. A gentle breeze
blew across, adding to the pleasant feeling.
Pokhara has a few tourist and religious
waters in 1961 while taking bath with her
husband. Her body was later recovered af-
ter a lot effort. Not far away is Gupteshwar
Mahadev cave -- its upper part a temple
to Lord Shiva. The lower part, which is
reached by some deft walking, leads to cas-
cading waters that spring out from rocks
after going underground at the Devis Falls.
Pokhara offers good shopping options
and almost all that you get in Kathmandus
tourism district of Thamel is available here,
sometimes at a better price.
The place is also popular with adven-
ture-lovers who have a wide range of op-
tions, including paragliding, rafting, sky-
diving and mountain trekking.
A view of Annapurna range of mountains.
There are eating options galore, with
restaurants serving a variety of interna-
tional cuisines -- Korean, Indian, Chinese,
Japanese, Italian, French and Thai.
One of my fondest memories in Pokhara
is of working while seated outside a restau-
rant on a table and chair crafted from a log of
wood. Working on my computer in this set-
ting, with people of different nationalities and
in different moods passing by, was quite dif-
ferent from the usual work in a formal setting.
The best time to leave Kathmandu for
Pokhara is early morning when there is
less traffic in the capital city. The other op-
tion is to take a flight.
Among the charms of a road journey is
that a large part is along the Trishuli river.
There are agricultural fields carved into hill -- largely comprising green vegetables -- and on the terrace, the view of Machapuchare
slopes, delicate bridges that connect villages the piping hot food helped beat the tiredness. (also known as fish tail mountain) was mes-
to the main road and colorful houses. As I was packing my bag after a satisfy- merizing. The 6,993-metre mountain, re-
There are several eating options on the ing visit, my roommate asked if I had gone vered by the locals, was shinning in golden
way and we opted for a landscaped restau- to the terrace see a clear view of the peaks hues in the morning sun alongside other
rant that served an authentic Nepali thali of the Annapurna range. As I stepped out peaks of Annapurna range.

Bali, Krabi in Thailand are

monsoon getaways for Indians
W hen it comes to international desti-
Ramayan ballet performance in Bali nation, Bali and Krabi find top spot
in the list for Indian travelers, say experts.
In India, they prefer to go to Havelock
and Kasol. Experts at online travel com-
panies MakeMyTrip, Gofro and Abhijit
Mishra, Country Director India at KAYAK,
have listed out the trends catching up this
year during the rainy season.
* 27 per cent more trips are being made
by Indians this monsoon compared to last
year. This year 60 per cent more Indians
are or have travelled to international desti-
nations during monsoon.
* Top leisure destinations during this
period are Goa, Manali, Mysore, Ooty,
Shimla, Munnar, Kochi, Mahabaleshwar
and Nainital while Havelock, Kasol, Neem-
rana, Silvassa and Lansdowne are few fast-
est growing destination this season.
Top international destinations continue
to be the short haul destinations like Dubai,
Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia while
the fastest growing international destina-
tions during the monsoon period are a mix
of short and long haul destinations. With
highest growth seen for Bali, Krabi, Toron-
to, Seychelles and Seoul.
* Kerala remains the preferred location
for Indian travelers planning their domes-
tic holidays. Roughly 30 per cent of the
travelers search for Kerala bookings. This
can be derived from the serenity and vast-
ness offered by the beaches of Kovalam
and Varkala and the lush hill retreats of
Munnar and Vagamon.
* Goa remains pretty stable during the en-
tire season with approximately 25 per cent
searches for this all year round destination.
* The general searches for domestic
destinations have increased at an average
of 30 per cent month on month.
-- IANS
16 July 15-21, 2017 Bollywood

CBFC suggests 14 cuts to

I n d u S a r k a r

F ilmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar said

the Central Board of Film Certification
(CBFC) committee has suggested 14 cuts
to his forthcoming film Indu Sarkar, set
in the backdrop of the Emergency.
Just got out of Indu Sarkar film censor
screening. Am appalled at the 14 cuts sug-
gested by the committee. Will go to the Re-
vising Committee, Bhandarkar tweeted.
The National Award-winning filmmakers
movie is based on the Emergency in India
and characters in the films are inspired by
the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and
forces. It lasted till March 21, 1977.
Indu Sarkar has drawn the ire of the
Congress party even before its release.
Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Niru-
pam had last week penned a letter to CBFC
chief Pahlaj Nihalani, asking for the movie to
be screened for them before it is censored.
The Indore unit of the Congress wrote a
letter to the Cine Circuit Association and
Cine Grah Sanchalan asking them not to
screen the movie. They threatened that
movie theatres in the city will have to bear The actor maintained that he has been trapped.
the responsibility as Congress supporters

her son Sanjay Gandhi. It stars Neil Nitin
Mukesh, Kirti Kulhari, Supriya Vinod, Anu-
pam Kher and Tota Roy Chowdhury.
The Emergency was imposed on June 25,
1975, when Indira Gandhi cited grave threat
to her government and sovereignty of the
country from both internal and external
Malayalam superstar
will stage protests and burn effigies of ac-
tor Anupam Kher and director Bhandarkar
if the movie is released in Indore.
Meanwhile, Bhandarkar has made it
clear that he has no agenda to promote
any specific political ideology through the
Dileep sent to 14 days
film, which is locked for release on July 28.
custody shouting slogans, Welcome to Central Jail.
The police decided to arrest Dileep based
on 19 pieces of evidence that they were able

M alayalam superstar Dileep, who was

arrested in connection with the abduc-
tion and molestation of a popular actress in
February, was remanded in custody for 14
days and was removed as member from vari-
ous film associations. He was questioned at
an undisclosed location, and later the police
probe team recorded the arrest of the actor.
He was brought to the Aluva Police Club.
I am innocent and I will prove my inno-
cence. I was trapped, the actor said before
being taken to the Aluva sub-jail.
Coincidentally, Dileeps last film in 2016
was Welcome to Central Jail and people
who gathered in front of the jail were heard
to gather in connection with the abduction of
the young actress on February 17 when she
was travelling from Thrissur to Kochi by road.
After almost two hours, she was dumped
near the house of director-turned-actor
Lal, who upon hearing her harrowing ex-
perience, informed the police.
Trouble began for Dileep last month af-
ter his name surfaced in a jail inmates let-
ter who had shared the cell with Suni.
Counsel for Dileep, K. Ramkumar, said
that the bail application would be taken up
by the Angamaly court. The police will also
move an application for Dileeps custody,
for further questioning.

Gangnam Style
no longer YouTubes
most-watched video

Gangnam Style held the most-viewed title for five years.

The cuts have left filmmaker Bhandarkar appalled.
P sys Gangnam Style (released in 2012)
is no more the video with the highest
views on YouTube. It was the most watched
YouTube video for the last five years. It had
managed to break YouTubes play counter,
going beyond the highest possible number
of views (2,147,483,647), due to which the
company had to rewrite its code.
Now, its has been replaced by another
music video - Wiz Khalifa and Charlie
Puths See You Again (released in 2015).
The soul stirring ballad has now been
viewed 2,895,373,709 times; beating Psys
present count of 2,894,426,475 views.
If you add this up, it means that See You
Again has played for 21,759 years. The song
had been written for Furious 7, and was
played during the closing credits in tribute to
the late Paul Walker, who passed away in a car
crash before the movie had been completed.
See You Again is regularly played at funer-
als in the UK and was the best-selling song
globally in 2015. It got the best song nomi-
nations both at the Grammys and the Oscars.

Mom : Riveting with Casting couch still
strong performances exists in Mumbai
REVIEW
The film is
solely Sridevis
canvas.
T his fictionalized revenge drama has the same
template as the recently released Raveena Tan-
don starrer Maatr. Here, the story focuses on Dev-
ki Sabharwal, a biology teacher who reprimands her
student Mohit when he sends his classmate Arya an
objectionable video clip. It is later revealed that
Devi is also Aryas step-mom and there are accept-
ability issues between the two.
On Valentines Day, Arya goes with her class-
mates to a party in a rural farmhouse where she
rejects Mohits overtures and soon finds herself hos-
pitalized. A police case ensues and after the inves-
tigators fail to deliver Arya justice, Devki takes the
Not competitive with
my family:
Arjun
Kapoor
H is uncle acts, his cousins act. But fam-
ily members arent competition for
Arjun Kapoor, who will soon be seen in the
same frame with his paternal uncle and vet-
eran actor Anil Kapoor in Mubarakan.
I have never ever looked at my family
members as competition. I am not competi-
tive with my family at all. I want them all
to do well and I dont ever think like that.
Where the house is concerned, for me it has
never been about competition, Arjun said.
The 32-year-old Arjun, whose cousins So-
Bollywood
reins in her hands. This forms the
crux of the tale. Astutely and sen-
sitively mounted, the film begins
with promise. The plot is taut and
every scene is well-crafted. The
tracks in the film are sensitively
handled -- be it the mother-daugh-
ter relationship, the brutal attack,
the post-traumatic agony or the
father-daughter relationship.
Despite the suspense elements
that keep you glued, the cookie
crumbles because of the cinemat-
ic liberties taken, especially in de-
liberately centre-staging the ac-
tors be it Sridevi, Akshaye Khanna
or Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
This is Sridevis three hun-
dredth film and solely her canvas.
She delivers her character pas-
sionately with her distinctive his-
trionics. You are one with her in
her grief, but when it comes to the
revenge bit, you distance yourself
and ridicule the path. Neverthe-
less, she is convincing.
Akshaye Khanna, with his in-
imitable swagger, is wasted in the
one-dimensional role of Mathew
Samuel, the investigating crime
branch officer. He has nothing
much to offer.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the pri-
vate detective Dayashankar Kapoor
aka DK, with an interesting get-up
initially seems walking through his
character with witty one-liners. But
over a period, you realize that his ef-
forts are subtle and worth a mention.
With excellent production
values, cinematographer Anay
Goswamis frames are glossy and
aesthetically captured.
The actor however says
that he is ambitious.
nam Kapoor, Harshvardhan Kapoor and Mo-
hit Marwah too are actors, says that, while he
may not be competitive, he is certainly very
ambitious. Where competition in the pro-
fession is concerned -- beyond my house -- I
have always stated that I am very ambitious.
I want to do well. I want to make a career for
myself as an actor and I am working towards
it day in and out, but I do not get into the
competitive streak of saying I want to outdo
this one or that one because I can only do
that with my work, he added.
July 15-21, 2017 17
SHAB ACTOR
Are you comfortable in bed? This is a
lot in the industry. Whenever I was called
question Ashish Bisht recounts being
by some producers, I was straight away
asked by film producers to newcomers and
questioned, Kya tum bed pe comfortable
aspirants -- like him -- looking to make it
ho (Are you comfortable in bed)?.
big in Bollywood. Casting couch still exists,
When I was new to the city, even the la-
says the debutante whose first film Shab
dies asked me to sleep with them if I want-
is releasing soon, and who claims experi-
ed work. They called me home and tried to
encing it first hand. talk dirty with me, Ashish said.
Without taking names for the fear of There are some film producers in the
ending my career before it starts, Ashish
industry who irritate the hell out of you
said: I have faced that (casting couch) a
with their messages. I feel stuck because
if I respond, what do I
say? And if I dont, they
will see that Ive read the
message. Even if I dodge
the topic, they come back
to the same question, the
29-year-old said.
He says the industrys
reputation is so bad that
when he got Shab, peo-
ple, including his friends,
questioned him about his
integrity -- and especially
because he was working
in a film by Onir, who has
been open about his sexual
orientation. I am lucky
that I got to work with
Onir... But people have in-
deed asked me or talked
behind my back that Ash-
ish must have or has defi-
nitely has compromised to
Ashish pursued modelling before coming into films. get the project, he said.
Tagore intimate
scene to be cut from
Priyankas film
N
ational Award winner Ujjwal Chatter- Tagore on the cheek. Actually we have to
jee, who is helming a trilingual film retain the scene where Nalini kisses her
produced by Priyanka Chopras company fiance because its documented. The other
on the relationship between Nobel laure- scene will be removed, said Chatterjee.
ate Rabindranath Tagore and his English
teacher Annapurna Turkhud, has agreed to
chop off one intimate scene of the bard at
the behest of Visva Bharati University.
I have agreed with Visva Bharatis recom-
mendations on removing intimate scenes. I
am removing one scene. There are no prob-
lems regarding the decisions of the commit-
tee formed by the varsity to look into the
authenticity of research. The shooting will
commence in November this year, and will
take place in Shantiniketan, Jorasanko and
Maharashtra, Chatterjee said.
Annapurna Turkhud, also known as Anna
or Annabai, was the daughter of Atmaram
Pandurang Turkhud, a Mumbai-based
(then Bombay) doctor. Tagore had stayed
with the family prior to his first voyage to
Britain in 1878 and took lessons in spoken
English from Anna. Chatterjee explained in
one scene of the Marathi-Bengali-English
film, Nalini kisses her fiance as Tagore Nobel laureate
looks on while in another Nalini pecks Rabindranath Tagore.
 18 July 15-21, 2017
How to nail red carpet look
Achieve it with glowing skin, de-puffed eyes, pouting lips
R ed carpet looks arent all about clothes
and make-up. Getting the basics like
glowing skin and de-puffed eyes are the
key behind making the right statement.
Celebrity make-up artist Namrata Soni and
dermatologist Rashmi Shetty of Delhi have
shared some tips:
Make your skin glow: Go for an exfo-
liator that has both physical and chemical ex-
foliants. Apply a facial oil or cream and work
upwards, starting at the neck, making sure
you cover each section of your face while
lifting the skin as you move up. Once your
skin takes on a healthy pinkish color, you
can remove the oil with a damp wash cloth.
Do not apply it after a shower, which
may tend to cause irritation as the skin
absorbs things more quickly after being
cleansed. Hence, apply a gel-based mask
before the shower and wash it after taking
bath with a cold water so that the hot wa-
ter doesnt harm your skin. This gives your
skin a lighter feel and flawless glow.
De-puff and lift your eyes: When
your skin is dry, it can allow for pesky fine
lines and wrinkles to appear more pro-
nounced. Around your delicate eye contour,
these lines -- known as crows feet -- can
put a damper on your skins appearance. A
good mask and eye treatment should help
to plump, rejuvenate and give your skin new
life. Apply a hydrating mask in an even layer
and leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes.
BEAUTY
To get rid of dark circles quickly, use a
cold tea bag or a cotton soaked in a cold
rose water as it instantly diminishes puffi-
Lips that are ready for flying
kisses: The skin on your lips needs to be
taken care of and protected just like any oth-
little extra attention. For luscious lips, lightly
exfoliate them with a dry toothbrush, scrub-
bing in circular motions to get rid of any dry
ness and relieves tiredness. Additionally, er part of your body. To pull off the celebrity- skin. After you exfoliate, lock in moisture and
closing your eyes tightly and opening them style air kissing, the pout is bound to need a condition your lips with a nourishing lip balm.
wide 10 times will drain the fluid and ef-
ficiently help to reduce the puffiness.
Hydrate your body: For skin that
looks healthy and radiant on camera, you
would want to layer with hydrating prod-
ucts before you apply any make-up. Start
with a hydrating mist to moisten the skin
and allow your products to penetrate.
Quench dehydrated skin by applying a
light hydrating serum, followed by your
favorite moisturizer. Use a rich eye cream
around the eyes. One final spray of toner
will give your skin a lovely sheen and dewy
finish, leaving you with a perfect canvas for
a flawless makeup application.
Flaunt the legs with style: If
youre going to show off your legs in a clas-
sic deep slit red carpet gown, you will need
to make sure they are ready to be revealed.
Its best to stay away from harmful creams
and painful waxing as they can damage your
skin and cause rashes if you have a sensi-
tive skin. Switch to shaving as it is the safest
method of hair removal. Use a razor that has
skin conditioning ingredients like Gillette Ve-
nus Breeze, which comes with in-built body
butters and glycerin that will help keep your
skin moisturized before and after the shave.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info DIASPORA July 15-21, 2017 19

Top jurist in South Africa shows gratitude

150 dancers and to Indian man who helped in tough times
dholis to pay tribute Johannesburg: An Indianorigin
shopkeeper in South Africa has
become a media sensation after the

to Canada 150 new deputy chief justice recalled his

Toronto: One hundred and fifty
Canadian dancers and dholis will
participate in DANCE 150, a unify
ing celebration for Canada 150 in
the heart of the City of
Mississauga on Sunday, July 9.
The Greater Toronto Area will
ce lebrate the spirit of Being
Canadian with a bang at the
Canadian color festival, Rung De
One (RDO), a colorful celebration
of Canada's multicultural tradi
tion, a press release said.
Rung De One is a pioneer inter
active event which uniquely cele
brates 'Being Canadian' and
embraces the true spirit of 'Being
One.' This year's festival will be
held near Square One at 4219
Living Arts Drive, Mississauga. In
its fourth year, the outdoor color
festival is expecting a resounding
response as Canadians come
together this year to commemo
rate 150 years of Canada.
The natural, nontoxic, water
generosity over four decades ago
when he was looking for a loan to
soluble & environmentally friend
fund his studies.
ly color powder has been especial
Suleman Bux, 76, who at that time
ly arranged for the festival keep
ran a small general store in Ixopo
ing in mind the wellbeing of festi
town, had forgotten about the
val audiences. RDO is a kids and
young man with whom he had
family friendly event.
struck a deal to be a good student
Bollywood's singer & composer
by giving him groceries for his fam
Manj Musik, will entertain audi
ily so that they could save what
ences with his hits and latest
they would have spent on this for
chartbusters. In addition, popular
his studies. Deputy chief justice in the Constitutional Court Raymond Zondo.
DJs playing Top 40, EDM,
Recentlyappointed Deputy Chief Retired businessman Suleman Bux (inset)
Bollywood, dance performances
Justice of the Constitutional Court,
and a wide variety of festive food
Judge Raymond Zondo, 57, recalled explained that he had been doing so ily to thank him personally. Bux
options will comprise a fun filled
how he had skeptically approached ever since he finished his degree, shrugged off the huge media atten
day for attendees at the color fes
Bux when he started his studies in inspired by his own experience with tion. "He gave me a very nice watch,
tival.
1981, unsure of whether he or any Bux, helping students with a range which was very generous. I was
RDO festival is a colorful cele
one else would give a loan to a 20 of financial dif ficulties to pursue moved by the gesture," Bux told
bration of Canada's multicultural
yearold man. their studies. local media, adding that he had not
heritage, which uniquely cele
Without telling his family, Zondo Zondo's emotional video at his expected the issue to have received
brates the oneness of all
approached Bux, who helped him installation to the second highest as much attention as it did.
Canadians. At RDO, attendees play
with groceries for his family. After judicial post in the country recently "I helped him because it was the
outdoors with colour powder,
he began earning, Zondo tried to went viral as he recalled Bux's influ right thing to do. As a Muslim, help
indulge in festival food, dance to
repay Bux but the shopkeeper, who ence on his life, expressing a desire ing others is important, but you do
their favourite tunes and enjoy the
is still running a wholesale store, to meet him again after the fasting it because you want to, not because
spirit of Being Canadian with fel
told Zondo to rather finance some month of Ramadan was over. Zondo you want recognition and for every
low Canadians, the release said.
other young students. Zondo met with Bux and his extended fam one to know," Bux added.

Indian-origin hotel tycoon proposes Indian-origin boy dies from

$6-billion cheaper Heathrow runway plans allergy after 'cheese prank'
London: An Indianorigin passengers, is not the right London: An Indianorigin Cheema's father, Amarjeet,
'wealthy' businessman in the mo de l for the future. boy with an allergy to told the Evening Standard
UK has submitted plans for a Heathrow needs competition dairy products has died newspaper that he was
new third runway at and innovation which puts after suf fering a severe heartbroken. "We were in
Heathrow airport, claiming to passengers and airlines at reaction to a piece of hospital I had to watch
lower costs by five billion the heart of the expansion cheese allegedly forced on him die, no parent should
pounds, a media report said project". him in his school, prompt have to go through that,"
today. "One of the options we ing an investigation by the he said. "My son had aller
Surinder Arora, a hote l have proposed to the gov Metropolitan Police. gies but he was very care
tycoon, has put his proposal ernment includes a possible Karanbir Cheema, 13, ful. He had an allergy to
to the government's public shift of the runway so that it died on Sunday after he dairy products but was
consultation on Heathrow. Surinder Arora does not impact on the M25 Karanbir Cheema
suffered a severe reaction good at avoiding them. I
Ministers have expressed a and M4, as we know the (Image : mirror.co.uk)
to the piece of cheese at don't see how a piece of
preference for the airport's plans for a new M25 junction being af fected threatens the his school in Greenford, west London, last cheese hitting him could have killed him.
runway and terminal costing 17.5 billion deliverability of the whole project. "We month during a break, the Guardian report We have been told very little." A post
pounds, BBC reported. appreciate this is a politically sensitive issue ed on Tuesday. It has been claimed the boy mortem was scheduled for Wednesday to
Heathrow said it was already considering but it is merely an option with additional was "forced to eat" the cheese but others establish the cause of what the Met
some of the ideas, and wanted to lower the savings of 1.5 billion pounds, whereas the said it was "flicked at his face" while his described as "an unexplained death." The
cost too, the report said. rest of our proposals save up to 5.2 billion mother claimed the food was "rubbed head of William Perkin C of E high school,
Arora Group's proposals include changing pounds ($6.44 billion) without the need to against his neck" according to reports. where Karanbir was a pupil, said he was
the design of terminal buildings and taxi amend the runway location," Arora said. Cheema's mother demanded answers treated immediately in the school before
ways, and reducing the amount of land it is Willie Walsh, chief executive of British about whether her son was bullied. paramedics arrived. However, the deceased
built on, it said. Arora said: "We want passen Airways' owner IAG, welcomed the proposals A 13yearold boy was arrested on suspi boy's mother Rina demanded answers as to
gers to be at the heart of our plans and the and said: "The government should look cion of attempted murder and was released how her son, who led a normal life despite
current monopoly at Heathrow, which over closely at Arora's proposal as it would signif on bail pending further inquiries and the his allergies, had managed to become
charges airlines and in turn raises fares for icantly reduce costs." case was passed to homicide of ficers. exposed to the cheese. (IANS)
 20 July 15-21, 2017 SUBCONTINENT TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Border row: China says India 'Pakistan reading from

has 'ulterior motives' Lashkar script to hail Burhan'
Beijing: China said India was claim
ing Doklam as part of the trijunc
tion with Bhutan out of "ulterior
motives".
Beijing reiterated that New Delhi
had violated the 1890 treaty
between the British and China.
Beijing said the place where
Indian troops "trespassed" was
2,000 meters from the point
marked by China as a trijunction
between India, China and Bhutan.
"The socalled trijunction point,
as its name implies, is a point
instead of a line or area. The con
vention between Great Britain and
China relating to Tibet and Sikkim
in 1890 states that Sikkim section
of the ChinaIndia boundary com
mences at Mount Gipmo chi,"
Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Geng Shuang said.
"The illegal trespass by India
border troops took place at the
Sikkim section of the ChinaIndia
boundary that is 2,000 meters
away from Mount Gipmochi. It has
nothing to do with the trijunction
point," he added. "In disregard of
Doklam is a strategic point near India's Siliguri corridor.
the boundary convention, the
Indian side takes the ent ire
Doklam region as part of the tri
junction, that is out of ulterior
motives. "The Indian side intro
duced the idea of trijunction point
into the incident and attempts to
enlarge the point into an area.
That is absurd and out of ulterior
motives," he said.
Beijing and T himphu claim
Doklam, where the Chinese were
stopped by the Indian Army from
New Delhi: India said the Pakistan
government was "reading" from
LashkareTaiba's terror script in
hailing Kashmiri militant Burhan
Wani whose death on July 8 last
year sparked months long deadly
unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
External Affairs Ministry
spokesperson Gopal Baglay con
demned in a tweet the praises
Wani was responsible for several
showered upon Wani and other
attacks against securitymen in
Kashmiri militants by the
Kashmir.
Pakistan government and its
army on his first death anniver Hizbul Mujahideen militant
sary. "First @ForeignOfficePk Wani's "sacrifice" was "testimony"
(Pakistan Foreign Office) read of his and his generation's
from banned LeT's script. Now "resolve" against "Indian atroci
building a road. New Delhi's objec
Pak COAS (Chief of Army Staff) ties." Even Pakistan Prime
t ion to road building by the
glorifies Burhan Wani. Pakistan's Minister Nawaz Sharif paid trib
Chinese army in Doklam, a strate
terror support and sponsorship utes to Wani, saying his death
g ic point near India's crucial
need to be condemned by one had "infused a new spirit in the
Siliguri corridor, is because of the
and all," Baglay tweeted. struggle for freedom" in Jammu
pending ownership of the area.
The tweet was in response to and Kashmir.
Beijing calls the road construc
Pakistan using Wani's death "The blood rendered by Burhan
tion "just", saying Doklam is part
anniversary to rake up the Wani has infused a new spirit in
of its territory.
Kashmir issue. Army chief the freedom movement. The
China has been asking India to
General Qamar Javed Bajwa said Kashmiri people are steadfast to
withdraw its troops from the area
that Kashmiris had the right to take their movement to logical
in order for a dialogue to take
selfdetermination. Bajwa said conclusion," Sharif said.
place.

Bangladesh police nab militant

Sharif's daughter
forged documents: JIT
Islamabad: The Panamagate
Joint Investigation Team (JIT)
has accused Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif's daughter
Maryam of presenting fake
documents on two 2006 dec
larations to the probe team
using the "Calibri" font which
was not commercially avail
able till January 30, 2007.
The JIT, which is probing
allegations of money launder
ing against Sharif and his
family, said Maryam Nawaz,
her brothers Hussain and
Hassan Nawaz as well as her
husband Captain Mohammad
Safdar (retd), had signed false
documents to mislead the
Supreme Court.
The team that probed off
shore assets of Sharif family
Maryam Nawaz has rejected the JIT report.
said in its report that Maryam
Nawaz claimed herself to be "trustee not
the owner" of Avenfield properties in
London, which linked her to Minerva
Services and Samba Financial, Geo News
reported.
The JIT said that her claim turned out to
be completely wrong and it was proven
that she owned the properties managed by receiving heavy gifts from Rs 73.5 million
Minerva Services. The JIT concluded that
Sharif's daughter was the real and ulti
mate beneficial owner of the Avenfield
apartments. It said that the font used in
documents submitted by Maryam Nawaz
suggested that the 2006 declarations
behind Dhaka cafe attack
Dhaka: Bangladesh Police arrested a militant
of the banned Neo JMB outfit who is claimed
last year in which over 20 people, mostly for
eigners, were killed.
to be one of the masterminds of the Gulshan He is one of the five most wanted "mili
caf terror attack and headed the JMB unit tants" in the attack on the bakery last year,
based in India's West Bengal state, media the CTTC chief said.
reports said. Police had been looking for Mahfuz since
The arrested militant Sohel Mahfuz is want the July 2016 attack on the Holey Artisan
ed in India for an October 2014 explosion in Bakery. A senior counterterrorism of ficer
a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan district of said Mahfuz used the alias Nasrullah, who the
West Bengal. India's National Investigation Indian police identified as one of the key sus
Agency has placed a Rs 10 lakh bounty on pects in the Burdwan blast, which left two
him, the Dhaka Tribune reported. killed.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police Counter "He was in India from 2009 to 2014 and
Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) was the chief of the JMB unit there. He used
unit arrested Sohel Mahfuz and three of his the alias Nasrullah," Additional Deputy
accomplices from a mango g rove in Commissioner Abdul Mannan toldbd
Chapainawabganj area. news24.com. "India's National Investigation
Sohel alias Hatkata Mahfuz is the top explo Agency identified Nasrullah as the prime sus
sives specialist of Jamaatul Mujahideen pect of the blast."
Bangladesh (New JMB) and a key arms and Mahfuz, who hails from the western
explosives supplier for the banned outfit. He Bangladesh district of Kushtia, used to go by
had supplied the explosives for the terror several other aliases like Shahadat and
attack on the Holey Artisan bakery in July Rimon, according to police.
were fake and called it a federal crime,
said a report in the Express Tribune.
Maryam Nawaz was also accused of
accumulating "assets disproportionate
and beyond means of known sources of
income", Dawn newspaper reported.
The JIT's report said: "She had been
to Rs 830.73 million within period of
20092016."
Maryam Nawaz rejected the JIT report
in a tweet: "Every contradiction will not
only be contested but decimated in the
Supreme Court."
Police had been looking for Mahfuz since July 2016.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Iraq PM declares liberation of Mosul from IS
Mosul: Iraq Prime Minister Haider
alAbadi has formally declared
Mosul liberated from the Islamic
State (IS) militant group after nine
months of fierce fighting to dis
lodge the extremist militants from
their last major stronghold in
Iraq.
"I declare to the whole world the
end, failure and collapse of Daesh
state, the state of (IS group) ter
rorism, which they announced it
here in Mosul three years ago,"
Abadi said in a speech in Mosul,
Xinhua news agency reported.
Abadi, who is also the
CommanderinChie f of Iraqi
forces, paid a visit to Mosul and
held meetings with the military
commanders before he made a
tour in the eastern side of Mosul,
where hundreds of people wel
comed his presence. Later, Abadi
said "the victory is guaranteed"
China sets up
base in Djibouti
The base will ensure China's performance of missions.
Beijing: Ships carrying Chinese
military personnel left Zhanjiang
in southern China's Guangdong
Province to set up a support base
in Djibouti.
Shen Jinlong, Commander of
the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) Navy, read an order on con
structing the base in Djibouti and
conferred the military flag on the
fleet, Xinhua news agency report
ed.
The establishment of the PLA
Djibouti base was a decision
made by the two countries after
friendly negotiations and accords
Victory celebrations in Iraq.
and the remnants of IS group are
"besieged in the last inches",
according to a statement by his
office. On October 17, Iraqi Prime
Minister Haider alAbadi
announced the start of a major
with the common interest of the
people from both sides, according
to the PLA navy.
The base will ensure China's
performance of missions, such as
escorting, peacekeeping and
humanitarian aid in Africa and
west Asia.
The base will also be conducive
to overseas tasks, including mili
tary cooperation, joint exercises,
evacuating and protecting over
seas Chinese and emergency res
cue, as well as jointly maintaining
security of international strategic
seaways.
INTERNATIONAL
of fensive to retake Mosul, the
country's second largest city.
Since then, the Iraqi security
forces have inched to the eastern
fringes of Mosul and made
progress on other routes around
Meet with Russian lawyer:
Trump's son releases emails
Washington: Donald Trump Jr.,
President Donald Trump's eldest
son, released the email chain relat
ing to his meeting with a Russian
attorney who allegedly promised to
provide incriminating information
about Democratic presidential can
didate Hillary Clinton.
In one email, publicist Rob
Goldstone, who set up the meeting,
tells Trump Jr. that the Russian
lawyer would provide "some official
documents and information that
would incriminate Hillary and her
dealings with Russia and would be
very useful to your father," Efe news
reports.
"This is obviously very high level
and sensitive information but is
part of Russia and its government's
support for Trump," Goldstone said
in the email.
"Seems we have some time and if
it's what you say I love it especially
later in the summer," Trump Jr.
replied on June 3, 2016.
Other emails provide details
about the meeting with an individ
ual identified as "the Russian gov
ernment attorney who is flying over
from Moscow."
Trump Jr. indicated that he would
probably attend the meeting with
the president's soninlaw, Jared
Kushner, and thencampaign chair
man Paul Manafort.
Kushner, senior White House
adviser, and Manafort are being tar
geted by investigators looking for
evidence of alleged collusion
between the Trump campaign and
the Russian government.
T he Russian lawyer, Natalia
Veselnitskaya, said in an exclusive
interview with NBC News before the
emails' release that she had no links
July 15-21, 2017 21
IS confirms Baghdadi's death
Baghdad: The Islamic State militant group has declared that its
supreme leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi has died, the media reported.
The extremist group said it will soon announce a successor to
Baghdadi. "Daesh organization (IS) circulated a brief statement
through its media in the (ISheld) town of Tal Afar in the west of Mosul,
confirming the killing of its leader alBaghdadi without giving further
details," Xinhua news agency cited Iraqi news agency alSumaria News
as saying. "Daesh called on the (IS) militants to continue their stead
fastness in the redoubts of the caliphate and not being dragged behind
the sedition," the report said.
the city, preparing for a major bat the western side of Mosul, locally
tle to storm the city and drive out known as the right bank of Tigris
IS militants. River which bisects the city.
In January, Abadi, declared the Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's
liberation of the eastern side of capital Baghdad, came under IS
Mosul, or the left bank of Tigris, control since June 2014, when
after more than 100 days of fight government forces abandoned
ing against IS militants. their weapons and fled, enabling
On February 19, the security IS militants to take control of
forces resumed the of fensive to parts of Iraq's northern and west
drive extremist militants out of ern regions.
Trump Jr. is at the center of firestorm over Russian connections.
Russia may expel 30 US diplomats
Moscow: The Kremlin may expel dozens of American diplomats from
Russia and freeze some US assets in response to its seized diplomatic
properties in the US. In response to the recent round of US sanctions
against Russia, Moscow is planning to strike back by expelling at least
30 American diplomats and seizing US state property in the country, a
senior Kremlin official told Russian newspaper Izvestiya.
According to the newspaper, Moscow was driven to take such meas
ures by Washington's decision not to return the Russian Embassy's
property, which was confiscated in December 2016. The US had also
expelled 35 Russian diplomats in December in response to alleged
interference in the 2016 presidential election.
to the Kremlin and provided no Veselnitskaya said. The lawyer, who
incriminating information about said she did not work for the
Clinton. Russian government, told NBC that
"I never had any damaging or sen Trump Jr. asked if she "had any
sitive information about Hillary financial records which might prove
Clinton. It was never my intention that the funds used to sponsor the
to have that," Veselnitskaya said. D.N.C. (Democratic National
The lawyer, however, said it was Committee) were coming from inap
possible that Trump Jr. thought she propriate sources." Veselnitskaya
might have such information. said the meeting was set up by a
"It is quite possible that maybe man she did not know.
they were longing for such an infor "I never asked anybody for a par
mation. They wanted it so badly ticular meeting with Donald Trump
that they could only hear the Jr., or with anybody e lse," the
thought that they wanted," Russian lawyer said.
 22 July 15-21, 2017 BUSINESS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Indian markets rise, hit record levels

Mumbai: Expectations of robust
quarterly results, along w ith
healthy buying in energy sector
stocks pushed the Indian equity
markets higher this week.
According to market observers,
g ains were capped due to
investors' reluctance to further
invest in expensive market condi
tions and caution over the upcom
ing macroeconomic inflation and
industrial production data points.
The wider Nifty of the National
Stock Exchange (NSE) closed at a
new high of 9,816.10 points up
30.05 points, or 0.31 per cent.
The 30scrip Sensitive Index
(Sensex) of the BSE, which opened
at 31,813.24 points, closed at a
fresh peak of 31,804.82 points
higher by 57.73 points or 0.18
31,731.43 points during the intra
day trade.
Anand James, Chie f Market
Strateg ist, Geojit Financial
Services, said: "Domestic indices
extended its gains as the oil mar
keting companies soared on the
back of higher crude oil prices,
but caution prevailed in the mar
ket ahead of the key macro data
to be released later today which
held the markets in a range."
"Despite the expectation of soft
inflation in the backdrop of good
monsoon, any dip in CPI could be
seen from a growth angle, espe
Oil and gas sector's stocks gained the most followed by auto, cially with initial GST hassles in
telecom, bank, capital goods. the backdrop."
In investments, provisional data
per cent from the previous day's Sensex touched a hig h of with the exchanges showed that
close at 31,747.09 points. The 31,865.69 points and a low of foreign institutional investors
(FIIs) bought stocks worth Rs
361.25 crore while domestic insti
tutional investors (DIIs) divested
Rs 330.58 crore.
"Hindustan Unilever, ONGC, ACC
and Bharti Infratel gained the
most on both indices, while
Mahindra and Mahindra as well as
TCS were the top losers," said
Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief
Operating Officer of Tradebulls.
"Oil and gas sector's stocks
gained the most followed by auto,
te lecom, bank, capital goods,
whereas IT stocks ended in the
red."
Sectorwise, the S&P BSE oil and
gas index gained 209.96 points,
the banking index by 134.68
points and the automobile index
by 68.56 points.

Deposited demonetized Air India to serve veg

notes still being counted
New Delhi: RBI Governor Urijit Patel told a parliamentary committee
that the amount of junked notes deposited after demonetization was
meals on domestic flights
still being counted. New Delhi: National passenger
Patel gave this information at a meeting of the Parliamentary carrier Air India hopes to save up
Standing Committee on Finance when a member specifically asked to Rs 10 crore per annum by not
him to give details of the value of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes serving nonvegetarian meals on
which were allowed to be exchanged till December 30. all its domestic economy class
He said the total money in circulation in the country now was Rs flights.
15.4 lakh crore against Rs 17.7 lakh crore at the time of demoneti According to a senior airline
zation in November last year, according to sources. of ficial, the move is consistent
At the meeting, Naresh Agarwal of the Samajwadi Party is under with its earlier decision to stop
stood to have demanded the names of 12 industrialists whose out serving nonvegetarian meals on
standing loans amounted to 25 per cent of the nonperforming flights of less than 90 minutes.
assets in the banking system. "The initial estimates with us
show that around Rs 810 crore

US REGULATORY NOD
can be saved through this move,"
sources told IANS adding that the
move has been implemented since

FOR ZYDUS DRUG TO last week. "This is also consistent

with our earlier move to stop
serving nonveg meals on flights
However, business class passengers on domestic flights would still

TREAT DEMENTIA
with duration of less than 90 min
utes. The benefits of the move
Ahmadabad: The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a vary from the fact that it improves
drug by Zydus Cadila used to treat dementia of the Alzheimer's type, on board catering services and
the Indian pharmaceutical company said. reduces food wastage."
"We have received the final approval from the USFDA to market The senior of ficial who wished
Memantine Hydrochloride tablets USP, 5 mg and 10 mg, used for not to be named said that the step
the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's is skewed in favour of prevailing
type," said the citybased drug major in a regulatory filing on the passenger demand.
BSE. "In the recent past we have seen
The drug will be produced at the company's formulations manu a new trend of passenger pre
facturing facility at Moraiya in the city. dominantly choosing vegetarian
"We have 120 regulatory approvals and filed for 300 ANDAs meals on board the particular seg
(Abbreviated New Drug Application) for licensed medication since ment," the official said.
the filing process began in 200304," added the filing. The official added that the move
also reduces the cabin weight,
get nonvegetarian meals.
thereby saving more fuel and to
allow the crew to provide better
on board service.
However, business class passen
gers on domestic flights would
still have an option to choose
between vegetarian and nonvege
tarian meals on domestic flights.
On the other hand, sectoral
experts are of the view that the
move might become counterpro
ductive as the plan which only
offers measly savings might turn
away passengers. As a legacy air
line, AI includes the meal cost in
its overall ticket price, whereas
budget passenger carrier charge
for meals on board.
On official level, G. Prasada Rao,
General Manager, Corporate
Communication department, AI
told IANS: "Air India has taken a
conscious decision not to have
nonvegetarian meals in economy
class on its domestic flights. We
are trying to rationalize our cater
ing service and reduce foo d
wastage."
"The airline is trying its best to
save cost on all fronts."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 15-21, 2017
 24 July 15-21, 2017 SPORTS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

This team can be a better Mithali Raj becomes highest

Test unit: Ravi Shastri
New Delhi: New lyappointed
Indian cricket team coach Ravi
Shastri has predicted that the cur
rent team led by Virat Kohli can be
a better Test unit than any Indian
team of the past.
Shastri, who served as the Team
Director from 20142016,
returned as the head coach of the
side after prolonged deliberations
by the Cricket Advisory Committee
(CAC) comprising the trio of Sachin
Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and
V.V.S. Laxman.
T he 55yearold Shastri was
given a twoyear term till the 2019
ICC World Cup, his first and imme
diate assignment being the Sri
Lanka tour. India are to play three
Tests, five OneDay Internationals
(ODI) and a oneof f T20
International, starting July 26.
Exuding confidence in the Kohli
led side, the former India all
rounder said the current team has
the pedigree to perform in all con
ditions.
"It can be a better Test team than
any Indian team we have had. This
is a team you can travel with.
There is a battery of pacers which
can do well in all conditions. Their
age is such that they are playing at
the right time," Shastri was quoted
as saying by a news channel from
London. Asked about the chal
Newlyappointed Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri.
lenges of coaching the Indian
team, especially after his predeces
sor and former India skipper Anil
Kumble's oneyear stint ended on a
sour note amid widespread reports
of a tiff with Kohli, Shastri said he
is up for the challenge.
"I have always relished a chal
lenge and I am looking forward to
my stint with India. When you are
asked to open the batting in over
cast conditions, it is a challenge."
"I am used to challenges, bring
on another one," Shastri said.
Shastri will be assisted by veter
an India pacer Zaheer Khan as the
bowling consultant and current
India A and Under19 coach Rahul
Dravid, who was appointed as an
overseas batting consultant.
On his equation with former
India captain Ganguly, Shastri said:
"We are two former captains
(Sourav Ganguly), there will be
arguments. But there is mutual
respect."
Shastri and Ganguly were
engaged in a bitter war of words
last year, when the former failed to
appear in person during the coach
selection interview and later lost
out to Kumble.
scorer in women's ODI
Bristol (UK): Indian
women's cricket
team skipper
Mithali Raj has
surpassed former
England captain
Charlotte Edwards
to become the
highest runscorer
in the OneDay
Internationals
(ODI) at the Bristol
County Ground
here. Mithali
achieved the feat
during Wednesday's group
stage match of the Women's
World Cup against Australia
here. She scored 69 runs from
114 balls in the match. Her
innings was laced with four
boundaries and one hit into the
stands. The Indian skipper now
has 6,028 runs in 181 ODIs at
an average of 51.37.
The 34yearold is also the
first woman cricketer to cross
the milestone of 6,000 runs in
the 50over format. She has
scored five centuries and 49
halfcenturies her highest
score being an unbeaten 114
runs against Ireland.
Earlier, Edwards held the
record with 5,992 runs from
191 ODI matches with an aver
Indian women's cricket team
skipper Mithali Raj
age of 38.16. She scored nine
centuries and 46 halfcenturies
during her career, her highest
being an unbeaten 173 against
Ireland. Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) Acting
President C.K. Khanna congrat
ulated the Indian women's team
skipper for her achievement.
"I on behalf of BCCI congratu
late Mithali Raj, Indian women's
team captain, on her spectacu
lar achievement. Mithali Raj
showed her class in her early
days of international career by
scoring a century in OneDay
International debut in 1999.
Mithali Raj has a record for
most consecutive fifties by an
international women cricketer,"
Khanna told IANS.

Australia beat India Bhajji, Raina, Kaif hail Zaheer

to seal semis in New Delhi: Hailing the Cricket
Advisory Committee (CAC) for its
decision to appoint Zaheer Khan as
who won the 2011 ODI World Cup
with Zaheer, tweeted.
Veteran batsman Suresh Raina
the India coach issued dragged on
for a long time.
"Having @ImZaheer as bowling

Women's World Cup bowling consultant of the national

team, several teammates of the
former star pacer wished him all
Bristol: Australia skipper Meg the luck with his new assignment.
Lanning led from the front with "Very happy for my brother
a brilliant unbeaten half century @ImZaheer being appointed bowl
to guide her side to an eight ing coach for @BCCI! All the best
wicket win over India and seal w ith this new role fe lla
their semifinals spot in the #bestchoice #bestbowler," veteran
ongoing Women's World Cup India offspinner Harbhajan Singh,
here. The Australians have now
added: "Cong ratulat ions
@ImZaheer @RaviShastriOfc &
#RahulDravid.
Best wishes for a successful
tenure with TeamIndia."
Former India batsman
Mohammed Kaif also hailed the
decision, terming it as a "fantastic
move". Kaif also hoped that the
focus will now be on cricket after
coach is a fantastic move. Wish
Team India good luck under Ravi
Shastri. Hopefully d focus will be
on cricket now," Kaif tweeted.
Besides Ravi Shastri, former
India pacer Zaheer Khan and cur
rent India A and Under19 coach
Rahul Dravid were selected as the
bowling consultant and overseas
batting consultant, respectively.

Bopanna advances, Sania

10 points in their kitty from six
outings and sit on top of the
table while India are fourth on
the ladder with 8 points from six
matches.
The Indian eves now face a
mustwin situation in their final
group tie against New Zealand
on Saturday, to qualify for the
last four stage of the tourna
ment. Along with Australia, hosts
England and South Africa have
booked their place in the last
four.
Put in to bat, India rode on a
defiant century from opener
Punam Raut (106 off 136 balls,
11*4) and skipper Mithali Raj's
69 (of f 114 balls, 4*4, 1*6) to
post a belowpar 227run target
which the Southern Stars chased
down without much hiccups at
the County Ground here.
Punam and Mithali lifted India
with a 157run second wicket
loses at Wimbledon
Wimbledon: Indian stars Rohan Bopanna and
stand after a disastrous start but
Sania Mirza encountered contrasting fortunes in
failed to continue the momen
their respective mixed doubles matches at the
tum in the later stages of the
Wimbledon tennis tournament here.
innings.
Bopanna and his Canadian patner Gabriela
Allrounder Harmanpreet Kaur
Dabrowski defeated the Croatian pair of Nikola
(23 of f 22 balls, 1*4, 1*6) was
Mektic and Ana Konjuh 76, 62 in 63 minutes.
the only other batswoman to
The 10th seeded IndoCanadian pair will meet
reach the doubledigits as the
the unseeded duo of Heather Watson of Britain
middle order comprising Veda
and Henri Kontinen of Finland in the quarter
Krishnamurthy (0), Sushma
finals.
Verma (6) and Jhulan Goswami
Watson and Kontinen had defeated fourth
(2) failed to provide any sub
seeds Sania and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig
stance to the total.
76, 64 in an hour and 26 minutes.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Making Indian mythology 'cool', one novel at a time
l By Saket Suman
H
is "Shiva Trilogy" "The
Immortals of Meluha", "The
Secret of the Nagas" and
"The Oath of the Vayuputras"
was the fastestselling book series
in Indian publishing history. And
the first novel of his fivepart
"Ram Chandra Series" "Scion of
Ikshvaku" was the fastestselling
book of 2015.
In fact, even two years later,
Amish Tripathi's "Scion..." contin
ues to dominate the bestseller list
and social media cannot stop but
chant praises for the popular
author. In his 7year journey as
author, Tripathi has succeeded in
making Indian mythology "cool",
arousing the interest of many
more readers in the genre.
Now comes the second book of
the "Ram Chandra Series", titled
"Sita Warrior of Mithila". In
Tripathi's telling, Sita's character
is contrary to all that we have
read or heard about her.
Sita is usually perceived as a
Jairam Ramesh's
book lauds Indira
as nature lover
arking the birth centenary
M
of the first woman Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi, a
book "Indira Gandhi: A Life in
Nature", authored by former union
minister Jairam Ramesh was
released in Mumbai on Monday.
Ramesh said that much has been
written, discussed about Indira
Gandhi's career as a politician and
as the PM, but her love for envi
ronment, how it shaped the envi
ronmental laws and decisions dur
ing her tenure has been overshad
owed.
Himself an ardent environmen
talist, Ramesh discusses in the
book the late PM's love for nature
and her efforts towards biodiversi
ty conservation, drawing exten
sively from unpublished letters,
notes, messages and memos.
'Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature'
offers the compelling story of the
late PM as a naturalist, with lively
narratives of a relatively unknown
but fascinating aspect of her
tumultuous public career, he
added. It also serves as a compass
to India at a time when the coun
try faces the formidable challenge
of ensuring ecological security and
sustainability in its pursuit of eco
nomic growth. The book has a
treasure trove of photographs and
letters exchanged between natu
ralists like India's grand old man
of bird, Salim Ali, Billy Arjan Singh
Bestselling author Amish Tripathis latest novel
depicts Sita as a warrior.
symbol of simplicity and is
defined by her submissive nature.
She is the ideal Indian Woman
the "Adarsh Bharatiya Nari". But
in the novel, we come across a
fierce warrior, who is not only
and Anne Wright, notes to supple
ment her letters and writings.
"Be it Project Tiger, Wildlife
Protection Act, Forest
Conservation Act, Environmental
Protection Act, particularly CRZ,
Indira Gandhi's services to the
environment conservation needs
no introduction, and she consulted
BNHS on issues related to wildlife.
We cherish this association with
her," said Bombay Natural History
Society Director Deepak Apte on
the occasion.
Ramesh, Congress MP, has held
several key ministerial portfolios
at the centre and has written sev
eral books including 'Old History,
New Geography: Bifurcating
Andhra Pradesh', "To The Brink
and Back: India's 1991 Story", and
"Green Signals: Ecology, Growth
and Democracy in India".
BOOKS
lished him as the "Maryada
brave but an expert in the art of
warfare. Despite the basic plot of
the series based on Ramayana
being wellknown, Tripathi has
kept readerinterest alive by going
deep into the psyche of each of his
The top aide who ensures a US
President's success or failure
l By Vikas Datta
T
he floundering that marks the
Donald Trump presidency so
far may be due to his ignoring
a crucial tenet of US Presidential
politics since the last half century:
Appointing an efficient "gatekeep
er" in the White House, letting him
work unhindered and supporting
him fully when needed. The US
President may well be the world's
most powerful man but he cannot
do all he has to do, or wants to do,
by himself and his effectiveness
and consequently, success or failure
depends on the caliber of this
close and indispensable aide.
Good ones among them nearly
ensured "Accidental President"
Gerald Ford's return to the Oval
Office, enabled the "Reagan
Revolution", helped Bill Clinton
secure a second term and aided
Barack Obama's efforts to avert
another Depression. Remiss ones
saw their presidents trapped in
scandals like Watergate or the Iran
Contra deal and the morass of the
Iraq invasion. But the full story of
the President's Chiefs of Staff has
never been told until now.
The Chief of Staff, says journalist
and producer Chris Whipple in this
first indepth look at their role,
functioning and performance, has
become the secondmost powerful
job in the US government, despite
being unelected and serving at the
President's whim. For they are his
closest advisers with full access to
him while controlling others'
Sita - Warrior of Mithila
by Amish Tripathi;
Publisher:
Westland;
Rs 350; pages 361.
characters.
The "Scion of Ikshvaku" intro
duced us to Lord Rama and estab
Purushottam" the ideal follower
of rules. Following rules and
thereby maintaining order in his
kingdom was paramount for
Rama and all his actions in the
novel bear testimony to this fact.
The second novel establishes
Sita as a fierce warrior. She can be
seen moving up and down
smoothly, shooting arrows in suc
cession, rolling on the ground for
quick cover, taking a blind shot at
an enemy soldier in the distance
and even fighting effortlessly with
a bamboo stick.
Fancy this: "Sita rolled as she fell
to the ground and quickly stead
ied herself behind a tree. She
The Gatekeepers
by Chris Whipple;
Publisher: Crown/Penguin
Random House,
384 pages, Rs 799
access and the ones he primarily
depends on to fulfill his agenda.
In this account spanning presi
dents from Richard Nixon to
Obama, the author extensively
interviews 17 living postholders,
two former Presidents and other
stakeholders to show how this vital
but demanding job defines presi
dencies. Citing historian Richard
Norton Smith, who contended that
"every President reveals himself by
the presidential portraits he hangs
in the Roosevelt Room, and by the
person he picks as his chief of
staff", Whipple profiles this select
"band of battlescarred brothers" (as
well as why no women figures
among them). Stressing their mutu
al respect despite their differing
July 15-21, 2017 25
stayed low, her back against the
tree, protected for now."
The series tells stories from the
perspective of different charac
ters. After Rama and Sita as pro
tagonists, Ravana will be the cen
tral character in the third novel.
From thereon, the plots will meet
in a singular narrative into the
last two parts of the "Ram
Chandra Series".
Though Tripathi has fictional
ized many events, the overall plot
of Ramayana has not been tam
pered with.
The novel is replete with words
and phrases that are in sync with
contemporary readers. The
author has thus, apart from
attracting already existing
mythology readers, turned many
nonreaders too into those who
wait in anticipation for his upcom
ing books.
It is highly recommended for
anybody who has an interest in
Indian mythology but neither the
time nor inclination to flick
through the original texts.
political affiliations, he begins, in
fact, with a meeting of all his prede
cessors called by George W. Bush's
final Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten to
advise Emmanuel Rahm, who would
serve Obama in this key role.
Bolten, he notes, had expected
about half a dozen of his 13 prede
cessors to attend but 11 did and
were most helpful despite the
incongruity of the advice from one
who had reached the highest politi
cal post among them Vice
President Dick Cheney.
Whipple lets his interlocutors
take prominence, from giving their
take of the major events they were
involved in, to defining the job.
Among the most telling definitions
offered is by Carter's belated chief
of staff, Jack Watson, who says the
"pretty simple" rules include "know
ing your President, and being loyal
to him in the broadest sense.
Wanting him to be a great President
and therefore telling him when
you don't think he is. Being tough
enough to make decisions and to
take a lot of criticism for them..." In
the account, we also get an incisive
and revealing look at the dynamics
of the last eight US Presidencies.
Whipple deems Nixon's Chief of
Staff, Bob Haldeman, as the model
despite Watergate, though express
ing his bewilderment why he failed
to contain the crisis despite success
in heading off some of his
President's earlier wild ideas, while
James Baker, the first for Ronald
Reagan, sets the gold standard.
IANS
 26 July 15-21, 2017
UP has maximum districts with
high fertility rate: health ministry
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh has 57
districts, the maximum among
states, with a total fertility rate of
over 2.1, while 11 of them have a
rate of 4, according to data
released by the Health Ministry
on Tuesday.
A ministry fact sheet has identi
fied 146 districts in seven states
where TFR, or the number of
children that would be born per
woman if she were to bear chil
dren through her childbearing
years according to a current
schedule of agespecific fertility
rates. For a stable population, a
country needs a TFR of 2.1.
Other states with a high TFR
are Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,
Jharkhand and Assam.
The ministry has launched
"Mission Parivar Vikas" program
under which access to contracep
tive methods and other pregnan
cy preventing methods will be
intensified. As part of the pro
gram, injectable contraceptives
were launched on Tuesday.
Among the districts in Uttar
Pradesh that have a TFR of four
are Bahraich, Sitapur, Hardoi,
Shahjahanpur, Banda, Gonda,
Etah, and Balrampur.
According to the fact sheet, 19
districts in Uttar Pradesh have a
Perceived over qualification may help sleep better
may lead to job strain
Boca Raton, Florida: If you are an
employee who perceives you are
overqualified for your position,
chances are you are unsatisfied with
your job, uncommitted to your
organization and experience psycho
logical strain, says a study.
Perceived overqualification occurs
when an employee is expecting a job
that utilises their qualifications but
does not find themselves in such a
position, leaving them feeling essen
tially deprived.
"We invest effort at work and we
expect rewards in return, such as
esteem and career opportunities,"
said Michael Harari, Assistant
Professor at Florida Atlantic
University in the US.
"And for an overqualified employ
ee, that expectation has been violat
ed. This is a stressful experience for
employees, which leads to poor psy
chological wellbeing, such as nega
tive emotions and psychological
strain," Harari added.
Perceived overqualification the
belief that one has surplus skills
compared to job requirements can
Govt launches injectible contraceptives
to control population
New Delhi: Stressing upon main
taining quality in service delivery
of family planning products, the
Health Ministry on Tuesday
launched a slew of initiatives,
including injectible contraceptives,
in the public health system.
Deoxy medroxyprogestrone
acetate injections will be able to
prevent pregnancy for three
months and will be available
among other alternatives to pre
vent pregnancy.
To bring down the Total Fertility
Rate (TFR), the ministry has
launched 'Mission Parivar Vikas'
with a stratified approach for sub
stantially increasing access to con
traceptives and family planning
services in the country. The launch
coincides with the observance of
World Population Day on July 11
to raise awareness of global popu
TFR between 3.5 and 4, while
districts that have a TFR between
3 and 3.5 are 28.
In Rajasthan, Barmer and
have negative implications for
employees and employers alike,
according to the findings published
in the Journal of Vocational
Behavior. The researchers carried
out an analysis of perceived
overqualification synthesizing 25
years of research to clarify disparate
and conflicting findings in the litera
ture. Employees who feel overquali
fied are also more likely to engage in
deviant behavior, Harari said.
This might range from coming in
late or leaving early to theft or bully
ing coworkers.
The more overqualified an employ
ee feels, the more likely they are to
engage in counterproductive behav
iors that impair the effective func
tioning of organizations, Harari said.
Employees who were younger,
overeducated and narcissistic tended
to report higher levels of perceived
overqualification, the findings
showed. "It seems to suggest that
there is a need to take jobs below
one's skill level in order to gain
entrance into the workforce," Harari
said.
HEALTH
Health Minister J.P. Nadda launching population control initiatives.
lation issues. The ministry has
identified 146 high fertility dis
tricts, where the TFR is 3 and
above, spanning across Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand
and Assam. With around 28 per
cent of the total population in
Dholpur districts have a TFR of 4
while in Bihar, Araria, Sheohar,
Kishanganj, Saharsa, Khagaria,
Paschim Champaran,
Having a purpose in life
New York: Older adults who live with
a purpose in life are more likely to
have a good night sleep and less
sleep apnea as well as restless leg
syndrome, a study has showed.
Individuals have more sleep distur
bances and insomnia as they get
older. But, the findings demonstrated
that people who felt their lives had
meaning were 63 per cent less likely
to have sleep apnea shallow
breathing or pauses in breathing
during sleep, several times per hour.
Further, they were 52 per cent less
likely to have restless leg syndrome
uncomfortable sensations in the
legs and an irresistible urge to move
them. They also had moderately bet
ter sleep quality, a global measure of
sleep disturbance. "Helping people
cultivate a purpose in life could be
an ef fective drugfree strategy to
improve sleep quality, particularly
for a population that is facing more
insomnia," said Jason Ong, Associate
Professor at the Northwestern
University Feinberg School of
Medicine. "Purpose in life is some
thing that can be cultivated and
enhanced through mindfulness ther
apies," Ong added.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
India, these districts contribute to
around 30 per cent maternal
deaths and 50 per cent infant
deaths. For a stable population, a
country needs a TFR of 2.1.
"There is need for rightful imple
mentation of initiatives in India.
We need to eliminate the 'chalta
Madhepura, Purbi Champaran
are the districts with the same
TFR. In Madhya Pradesh, the dis
tricts with a TFR of 4 are Panna
Stress in school is
contagious: Study
New York: If students and teachers
of a school appear to be stressed,
the chances of the same feeling
percolating to a new colleague are
quite high, suggests new research.
The study, published in the jour
nal Teaching and Teacher
Education, found a significant link
between burnout among early
career teachers and exposure to
both a schoolwide culture of
burnout and burnout among the
young teachers' closest circle of
colleagues. "If you are surrounded
by people who are downcast or
walking around under a pall of
burnout, then it has a high
hai' (casual) attitude in services
delivery system," Health Minister
J.P. Nadda said while launching the
initiatives here. The government
has expanded the basket of choices
under family planning, which now
include injectible contraceptives
under a program named Antara,
followed by Progesterone pills and
centchroman pills.
According to experts, currently
only 6 per cent of the health min
istry's budget is spent on family
planning, which is not enough.
Problems due to the rising popu
lation are believed to further grow
because India with a 1.3 billion
population has approximately 17
per cent of the world's population
but only 4 per cent of world's
renewable water resources and
resides on 3 per cent of earth's
land area.
and Shivpuri while Chhattisgarh,
Assam and Jharkhand do not
have any districts with a TFR
of 4.
chance of spilling over, even if you
don't have direct contact with
these folks," said Kenneth Frank,
Professor at Michigan State
University in the US. "This study is
one of the first to provide evidence
that the organisational culture in
schools can make a notable differ
ence for earlycareer teachers'
burnout levels," Frank added.
The researchers analyzed the
survey data on burnout of 171
teachers who were in their first
four years in the profession and
289 experienced teachers who
served as the young teachers'
mentors or close colleagues.

Remembrance with love
We say we love God and we often remember Him too but do we experience Him within at all times? Pujya
Gurudevshri elucidates how to remember God that can lead us to the experience of oneness with Him
By Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai
C onnection with the Supreme Being
showers nectar and brings experi-
ence of real peace and happiness. When
God is remembered after realizing the
worthlessness of the worldly life, atten-
tion effortlessly turns within and results
in God-realization. This remembrance can
be understood in three ways:
(1) Remembering God
is Knowing Your
True Nature
You consider yourself to be like a seed,
a human being. If you continue to believe
this, you will end up being just that. You
will never see any possibility to grow and
transcend your conditionings to manifest as
the divine. Unable to find the way out, you
will remain jailed in worldly existence. Only
when you believe yourself to be a flower -
the divine and stay aware of the possibility
that you too can manifest as the divine, you
will begin genuine efforts to transcend your
idea of being a seed a human. Your yearn-
ing to be a flower, to manifest as the divine
will make your way to sprout and let you
break open and grow towards the sky. That
is, through the way of cultivating virtues,
your focus will turn within and you will at-
tain the experience of being the divine.
In this way, to remember God is, to re-
member your divine nature. It is the process
to go beyond your limited identity to mani-
fest the divinity. It is the zeal to bring your
future into the present. It is the cry of trans-
forming your possibility into reality. This
cry becomes the journey. The remembrance
of being of the nature of flower becomes the
cause to manifest as the flower.
The yearning to manifest as a flower be-
gins while you are still like a seed and have
known yourself to be essentially like a flow-
er. This pain occurs to a truly spiritual per-
son who is content with the world but expe-
riences discontent spiritually. Your present
condition is such that you are discontented
with your wealth, house, car, status and so
you want more wealth, bigger house, new
car and higher social status. You are satis-
fied with yourself and have no discontent-
ment whatsoever regarding your spiritual
state. Therefore, you remain focused on the
outside. This is extrovert consciousness.
Once you know the worthlessness of
wealth, social status, family then you do not
get attached to them. Any changes in them
will not affect you. Instead, you remain fo-
cused on how you can overcome your short-
comings and cultivate virtues. Your only dis-
contentment is that you know that you are
essentially a flower but you have not been
able to manifest it yet. The goal to attain a
complete, pure state gives you pain, divine
discontentment until you have attained it.
The goal to stay connected with the eternal,
does not let you remain with the thoughts of
the fleeting for long. Instead, it makes you
grow spiritually and move towards liberation.
Spirituality July 15-21, 2017 27
to them the words of the saints appear bitter seem to you worth mere blade of grass.
(2) Remembering God like poison and not sweet like nectar. The deserving disciple accepts his Gu-
People go to saints, show respect and de- rus invitation and becomes the fortunate
is Thinking of God
If to move towards divinity is to remem-
votion, to seek blessings. But what blessings
you ask for shows what you are interested in,
what is your goal. Saints wont be of any help
one to understand the Gurus inner trea-
sure. Having accepted the invitation, he
wishes to remain in the same state. What
ber God, then its first step is to think about the
to you if you wish to fulfil your worldly de- has occurred in my Guru can happen within
divinity. Just as a man gets a wave of thought
sires like winning a court case, getting your me also. I certainly want that state, that in-
to have a new, bigger house. Seeing others
disease treated, etc. Saints nourish not your ner wealth. He becomes detached towards
big houses, he ruminates on that thought.
worldliness but they strengthen your spiritual worldliness and gets impetus for the in-
This takes the form of remembrance. From
inclination. Else he is not a saint, he is just an- ner journey. His pursuit strengthens and
constant remembrance arises the pain of
other businessman who takes service and re- his waiting becomes joyful. Being with the
discontentment. The growing pain leads to a
spect from you and in return nourishes world- Guru his journey does not feel painful. Even
firm resolve to have a bigger house. Resolve
liness. Beware of such fake so-called saints. though he hasnt completed his journey, he
turns into an imaginary sketch of the house.
does not feel despair or become doubtful.
With it he approaches an architect, who
gives it a proper shape. This becomes a proj- An Invitation His love for the Self grows day and night.
He constantly has only one resolve.
ect. Then buying a plot and the construction
He whose passions have reduced, who Resolve means whether he is eating or in
begins. Constantly looking after it, increases
has become weary of desires of sense business, resting or working, but the mind
love for it, creates a sense of my-ness in it.
pleasures, who has yearning for liberation remains in the Self alone. Just as in singing
The work takes speed and ultimately gets
alone, when such a deserving disciple ap- there is a line that keeps repeating, remains
done followed by the house warming. Thus,
proaches the Guru, the Guru opens up His constant when the verses change; for the
residing in a new house began with just a
inner wealth to him. He receives an invita- deserving disciple the thought of the Self
wave of thought and its accomplishment
tion from the Guru to know about the inner has become constant. Destiny may call him
happened by constant remembrance.
truths, come, understand, recognize and get for any activity but he keeps remembering
In the same way, remembering God is the
the experience. What is within me is within the Self. Living in the transient world, he
beginning of thinking, remembering, dream-
you too. The wealth of the whole world will remains focused on the Self alone.
ing etc. of the unseen goal. A tiny thought
changes the direction: I am whatever I am is
not enough. I can manifest as the eternal. It
is not appropriate for me to rest in this state.
I need to take up the journey. I still have to
blossom into a fragrant flower.
You will need to bring changes in your
goal of life. This is true love. Mere chanting,
visiting temples, putting tilak, lighting lamps
and incense sticks, studying scriptures etc.
cannot lead to realization of the divine. For
that you will need thirst for the divine. Just
as lion does not eat grass, you must want
only and only the divine. Nothing other than
the divine should quench your thirst.
(3) Remembering God
is to Stay Connected
Connection is to live in constant aware-
ness that, I am essentially a flower. I can
blossom like a flower. Though I have not yet
manifested my true nature but I want to be
just that. A man away from home keeps re-
membering his home even when he is busy at
work, with people. A strong desire to go home
keeps pulling him towards his home. All his
energy gets harnessed and one-pointed. The
only desire is to return back home. Such a
connection with your essential nature; not
merely repeating the name of God but stay-
ing connected is the remembrance of God.
You can attain connection with the di-
vine only if you have become weary of the
temporary, when you have seen the worth-
lessness of wanting the impermanent.
Turning away from the fleeting is the be-
ginning of facing the eternal.
Saints address about the eternal to those
who are tired of the transient, who are emp-
tied of worldliness. To those interested in
worldliness, these words pain like piercing
thorns. To those who approach saints to
adorn their world like wishing to win elec- Propounding the path of Bhagwan Mahavira, the founder of Shrimad Rajchandra
tion, get good business deals; to those who Mission Dharampur, Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai is a spiritual visionary and a
are filled with the bitter juice of worldliness, modern day mystic. For more information, visit: www.shrimadrajchandramission.org
 28 July 15-21, 2017 HUMOR TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

The hard lives of irony sufferers

T
raf fic police stopped a
friend of mine and asked: "Is
this your car, sir?" The driv
er, a cheery man suf fering from
advanced irony, replied: "No, I stole
it!" Bad idea. It took him two hours
to convince them that he'd had
congenital sarcasm all his life.
As a fellow suf ferer, I concur
that this is one scary disease.
When applying for a United States
visa, I had to fill in a form asking
whether I "intended to commit ter
rorist acts" while on US soil. (Not a
joke, this is actually what the form
asks)
It is Virtually Impossible for
chronic irony suf ferers not to
answer "yes" to such a question.
Luckily, I was stopped by my com
panion, as my spouse no longer
allows me out of the house unsu
pervised.
Yet it seems to me that people in
general are highly experimental
these days, taking risks at big and
small scales, just to see what hap
pens.
My daughter told me about a
guy who went to a hitech burger
shop and asked the ordertaking
computer for a cheeseburger with
no meat, no bun, no pickles, no
(Image : princessinthetower.org)
salad and no sauce. Result: it gave
him a thin square slice of cheese.
The same week, a reader told me
about a judge in the United States
who set bail for a runofthemill
arrestee at $4 billion just to see
what would happen. The process
went through unchallenged. I'm
sure court staf f were mightily
amused, although the man's family
probably spent a LOT of time with
hands down sofa cracks looking
for cash.
These reports reminded me of a
story I covered as a travel journal
ist in the 1990s. The pilot of a pas
senger plane found an unlabeled
button in the cockpit and pressed
it to see what would happen.
Nothing, as far as he could tell. But
it sent a secret signal to his desti
nation, Manila's international air
port, saying that skyjackers had
taken over the flight. The pilot
landed to find the army waiting
with heavy weaponry pointed at
the plane.
Just a thought: Maybe curious
people who press random buttons
for experimental reasons might
not be ideal pilot material? "This is
your captain speaking. Please
return to your seats and put on
your seatbelts as I want to try
something, yeah, baby."
I once asked a famously irre
sponsible friend who was always
in trouble how he could take such
huge risks, and he replied:
"Because one day the Earth will be
sucked into the sun and humanity
will disappear for ever."
It was a brilliant answer, and one
I've used often. But it doesn't work
on traffic police. I know that now.
T he key to good sarcasm, of
course, is keeping a straight face.
The day before writing this, an
impatient coworker pressed the
lift call button twice. I told him: "If
you press it three times, it goes
into hurry mode." He gave me a
suspicious glance but he pressed
it a third time. Score.
Tip: Sometimes you do some
thing and get "Thanks a lot" in
reply, and you don't actually know
if the respondent is expressing
g rat itude or being sarcast ic.
Simply nod and reply with an
equally ambiguous phrase: "Yeah,
right."

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN

New York Head Quarter

422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801
By Mahendra Shah
5168271010 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.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
JULY 1521, 2017
ARIES: The ef forts of people aspiring to
join interior designing course are likely to
be handsomely rewarded. Dont forget to
spend quality time in the company of family
friends you care. Avoid temper air up especially
in romance during this week. A week when smile
will perpetually be on your face and strangers
will seem familiar. Traveling on your own, with a
friend or with the whole family will be exciting
and comfortable too. Your girlfriends desire for
an apartment might lead to its destination.
Thinking pleasant things would make you feel
better.
TAURUS: A promising week for ambitious
professionals to demonstrate technical
skills & abilities. If possible, join a get
together with family/close friends to make it an
excellent week. Certain important plans will be
executed, bringing fresh nancial gains. If possi
ble, give the gift of time to beloved/lover. Cutting
down the number of parties and pleasure jaunts
would help in keeping in good mood. Holiday,
while fun, could engender some hardship. Youll
be facing some legal issues where your property
matters are concerned. Make sure you act polite
ly & charming to everyone you meet.
GEMINI: This week it would require some
urgent & quick decisions to turn the tide
in your favour at professional front. Your
ef forts bring success & happiness at family
front. Speculations are likely to bring monetary
prots. A romantic week as you receive all prais
es from partner. Make sure you dont get nerv
ous and lose condence on meeting some high
prole personalities. Nothing better for you then
camping or hiking trip, but sitting by a well
might be dangerous. A good deal for residential
property is ahead. You are likely to help people
navigating through rough patches of life.
CANCER: This week there are chances
that you could refuse promotion offer.
You feel lonely at family front on sepa
ration from other members for a short period.
You are likely to suf fer some losses through
speculations. Therefore better to avoid them to
save yourself from nancial losses. You nd it
hard to please romantic partner. Health problem
could make it difcult to concentrate. A trip that
is unconventional and adventurous will be
favourable enjoy every minute of it. Your plan to
buy a plot, may lead to bankruptcy. There are
chances of being deceived on blindly trusting
others.
LEO: Politicians nd a very smooth sail
ing as results go in your favour, thus
immensely boosting condence. You
achieve success in personal work with the timely
help & support provided by family members.
Monetary position is likely to improve later in
the week. You nd pleasure and enjoy ecstasies
of love in the arms of partner. A benecial week
to work on things that will improve your health.
Dreaming of traveling is good, but if possible
than plan a trip. Before you plan a property, just
go through your bank balance. This week, only a
selected few will know the secret behind your
magic charms.
VIRGO: People engaged in tourism will
have the energy to keep pace with fast
taking events thus giving themselves an
edge over others. Dont forget to spend some
pleasant time with your children. Dont give into
unnecessary demands of romantic partner.
Strive to attain selfcondence because it is as
essential for good health as capital for business.
Take some time to travel with your spouse for
romance and seduction. Location is the key to
any property you purchase, so go through it very
well. Promise to the people only after making
sure that you will be able to do so.
ASTROLOGY
LIBRA: Betterment awaits people
engaged in the eld of graphic design
ing. You nd family members very sup
portive but highly demanding. Expenditure
rises but rise in income takes care of your
immediate bills. Make sure you dont get senti
mental on lover/beloveds comments. Your con
dence and energy will be high during the
week. You can make your vacation extra special
by planning it with your family and friends.
Time to make investments on farmlands. The
ability to swiftly tackle problems is likely to
bring recognition.
SCORPIO: Se lfcondence would
immense ly he lp in achieving goo d
results at professional front.
Misunderstandings with near ones in the family
will get cleared. You succeed in making some
extra cash on playing your cards well. You enjoy
a lovely time as Cupid is on your side. Dont for
get to massage body to give relief to tired mus
cles. Spiritual vacation is a quest for life, plan it
and enjoy it with your family. Your investment
plans are at full boom and you might succeed in
them. You devote much of your time in physical
as well as mental activities.
SAGITTARIUS: You nd it very difcult
to achieve set targets at professional
front. Children would do their best to
keep you happy. An auspicious week to invest
money on items that would grow in value.
Harsh words would only ruin romantic friend
ship. Start meditation & yoga to attain sound
health especially mental toughness. Traveling
alone could be depressing for you. Your invest
ment plans are not up to the mark, you will be
in trouble. Chances of erupting of some proper
ty dispute with close friends are high.
CAPRICORN: At work you will be per
fect in whatever you do during this
week. You are likely to be beneted as
family members positively respond. Investment
on longterm plans would pave the way for earn
ing nancial gains. A special message from
beloved/lover lifts spirits. Wasting invaluable
energy by getting irritated over small matters
brings disappointment. A trip that stimulates
and gives opportunity for work is coming ahead.
Its high time to think of purchasing a new ofce.
Travel opportunities should be explored to get
new but different kinds of experiences.
AQUARIUS: Dont get surprised if you
are entrusted with additional respon
sibilities at work. If possible, plan
something exciting & entertaining with family
members. Avoid hasty investment. Your losses
are certain if you dont look at investments
from all possible angles. You need to hold
romantic emotions and shouldnt do anything
making you repent later. Make sure your enter
tainment includes participation in outdoor
activities. Vacation full of beauty and history as
well as exciting is waiting for you. You have to
very patient while dealing with your estate
agent. You are likely to remain agile despite a
hectic week.
PISCES: Leadership qualities and ability
to understand people would benet at
work. If possible share the company of
close relatives who understand your feelings
and needs. Bank dealing needs to be handled
very carefully.
Restrain yourself from doing anything irre
sponsible otherwise it would only ruin romantic
bond. Your energy level will be high. Better to
channelize it in a positive direction. Travel in
comfort with kids to an adventurous place
might be possible. Time to plan a gift for your
parents may be their dream home. You are like
ly to work to your fullest satisfaction.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874
Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
15th July, 2017
Excelled by number 6 and Venus, under the
influence of Mercury. Forthcoming year is full
of success, cachet and lot of surprises for you.
You are as fast as bullet train in taking the deci
sion and all are likely to encourage you. Your
needle always point to attain your aim by your
sheer hard work. You are resolute by nature
which clarifies all your doubts about any work
assigned to you. Your way of working and way
of talking all loved by everyone from your
house to your gaffers. You will be ideal for your
juniors. Your jolly nature infuses happiness in
everybodys life. You are affirmative and ami
able. You will get full support from your
coworkers and seniors which take you on placid
ride. Best time: February, March and July.
16th July, 2017
Favored by number 7 and planet Neptune
and ardently controlled by Mercury, you always
tend to work on Gandhi Jis principle i.e. non
violence. Poking nose in somebody matter will
unduly subject you to critics, so debar such
acts. There might be some grudges that will
come out from your side for your kins as well
as for colleagues, so suggest you to deal
patiently. Your upset state will be consoled by
your kids as they make you laugh for some
time. They try to convert your virtual thinking
into the real one. Your sharp insightfulness and
intellect traits will make you earn handsome
money without any physical stress. Your sover
eignty is all what you need without which your
graph of work may fall down drastically.
Impulse and eagerness are what you need to
check in yourself. You yourself make a small
problem to take the shape of more complex and
complicated one which may annoy you. Golden
time: December, March and July.
17th July, 2017
Run by number 8, Saturn and Mercury, your
excellence is unmatchable in terms of planning
and observing. Your footprints will be followed
by others. You create new opportunities which
are likely to bring a revolution. You are wise
enough to make big bugs for you as well as for
your employer. You do the work in your way.
You are one man army. Your mental and physi
cal state will be improved by following some
spiritual and philosophical lectures. You are
modern by your views and abhor bigoted peo
ple. Your demand for excellence from your sub
ordinates is very high. You are well aware of
your rights and duties and make other to follow
them as well. You are good citizen of your coun
try and keep abreast yourself with any upda
tion related to any change in law and order.
Fruitful months: January, April and July.
18th July, 2017
Preferred by number 9, Mars and Mercury,
your state of being honored will improve in
front of your seniors, parents and all others
related to you. Soft spoken is the key to your
success by which you can grab anybodys atten
tion. Its high time to get a gift from your par
ents which boost you up for the rest of your life.
A long term investment which they had done
for you come to you soon. Academically the
things will be in your favor and you are likely to
enroll yourself somewhere. Your area of inter
est will promises you to bring lot of harmony,
support, name and fame in the near future.
Pinpointing the small issues is what defines you
in the work place. You thoroughly and wisely
use your valuable time to accomplish your
goals. Your guidance is utmost important for
you as well as for others. Indirectly you helped
July 15-21, 2017 29
others to be on right track. Your outspoken
nature will take away others worries. Your pres
ence is likely to warm others heart and soul.
Consequential time: February, March & August.
19th July, 2017
Preferred by number 1, Sun and influenced
by Mercury, your canny way tackling the task is
impeccable. Besides being so levelheaded you
need to mould your timidness into activeness
else your graph may show downward trend.
Your wisdom is immaculate and beyond imagi
nation. Carefully planned activities will thrive
you in your career. Embark on research field as
our country is in short of skilled people in that
sector. Assured prosperity will be there for you.
Fast and furious is your way of working but be
careful as at times you have to control your
anger. You should go for some spiritual classes
which comforts your chaos mind. A trip to some
adventure island is your top priority. You will
explore new exciting and thrilling sports activi
ties as rafting, skiing and diving. Your expecta
tion might get unfulfilled by your spouse that
may irritate you but at the end of the day you
spend quality time with them. Value your better
half emotions carefully. Lucky months August,
February, June and July.
20th July, 2017
Ruled by number 2, Moon and overlooked by
Mercury. Out of our four basic e lements
Water is the one which is talisman for you.
Try to be close to this element. It will not only
provide good vibes to increase your productivi
ty but also take all your worries and makes you
reach the seventh sky. Name, fame, glory and
success are all what comes to you. Bored by
work, go ahead and plan a pleasure trip near
sea shore with your family. You will be delight
ful as so many good things happen around you.
You ought to become a good author as inspired
by your writing skills. Children will get
impressed by the way you teach them. Love is
in the air for you. You are likely to get someone
special in your life who converts you to a
responsible and matured person. Your way of
handling the audience is incredible. You are
blessed with some traits that are the need of the
hour. Derogatory class people will grab your
attention as your emotions flows for them too.
Even if you do not have resources you try to
help everyone out of the box. This makes your
soul to feel atonement. Gaining time period:
October, February, April and May.
21st July, 2017
Supported by number 3, Jupiter and affect of
Mercury also, you have killing looks which
always makes opposite sex to roam around you.
Your gesture towards your social circle will
raise the bar of your respect and glory. Dead
bank balance will come into picture once again
after getting a bumper surprise from your fami
ly members specially father. Home made things
are your taste for the time being. You tend to
spend worth time with your family which filled
you with lot of energy and eagerness towards
life. Socialism is in your eyes. Its good time for
the suffered people as they find you as the solu
tion of their worries and tension. Your mentor
ship and lively mood charged up the atmos
phere where ever you go. Every person wants to
be with you. You are in high demand every
where. Your physical beauty is like drugs for
the people. They find themselves trapped every
time they meet you under your black magic of
your flamboyant and live nature. Your magic
spell liked by everyone. Result oriented time:
September, November and January.
30 July 15-21, 2017 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Healing the body through meditation

peace of mind as we continue our us when we perfect our medita
activities throughout the day. As tions.
we perfect our meditations, we can Recent medical studies are draw
maintain that calm state of mind ing a correlation between patients
even in the midst of turmoil and who pray and meditate before and
strife. We would be more in control after surgery and those who do
of our reactions and would main not. Early studies find that patients
tain an even keel in the face of heal and recover more quickly
other people's conflicts. Reducing from surgery when they pray or
our stress throughout the day can meditate before surgery or after
reduce the risk of becoming victim surgery.
to stressrelated ailments. Spending regular, accurate time
By Sant Rajinder Second, meditation can lift our in meditation has been shown to
Singh Ji Maharaj attention to a higher level of con reduce stress. Many medical cen
sciousness so that we do not feel ters and hospitals offer classes in
the pinching effects of any illness meditation as a way to reduce
octors and scientists have

D
we do develop. Through medita stress and eliminate certain illness
been studying the bodymind
tion, we come in contact with a Recent medical studies are drawing a correlation es. Many people have requested to
connection and its relation
stream of bliss and joy within that between patients who pray and meditate before learn our introductory meditation,
ship to physical health. Medical
researchers have linked certain ill
takes our attention away from the and after surgery and those who do not. called Jyoti meditation, taught at
pains of the world. Through mas our Science of Spirituality centers
nesses to our state of mind and to Early studies find that patients heal and recover
tery of meditation, we have a throughout the world as a way to
our emotional condition. They have
refuge of bliss and peace within, more quickly from surgery when they pray or reduce stress.
found that when we undergo men
tal stress or emotional pain or
safe from the ravages of physical meditate before surgery or after surgery. As you continue to meditate, you
pain. will experience the inner peace and
depression, our physical resistance
Although at times we may get at neardeath experiences to see trauma lying below them, but they bliss. As you do this, you will expe
to disease drops. We become more
sick because we break natural laws, how people who undergo excruci no longer experienced any physical rience a reduction in stress.
susceptible to contracting a disease
meditation can help us rise above atingly painful accidents were lift pain until they returned to the Meditation is an effective means to
because our ability to keep our
the discomfort and find solace and ed above their pain when they tem body. This is one analogous situa help us reduce stress and increase
immune system in top working
peace above the consciousness of porarily left their body. They could tion to give us an idea of the power a sense of calm and peace, which
order decreases.
bodily pain. We have only to look see their body with injuries and of protection from pain afforded to can help us heal our physical body.
Science has pinpointed certain
diseases such as digestive prob

lems, breathing problems, heart
disease, and migraine headaches,
to name a few, that are sometimes
stressrelated.
Meditation can help us in several
ways. First, it can lessen our stress,
and in turn, reduce our chances of
developing a stressrelated illness.
In this hectic world, our mind is
often agitated by stress and pres
sures. Life has become so compli
cated that people seem to have too
much to do and not enough time to
do it. Some people hold jobs that
require long hours and too much
responsibility. Other people work
two jobs and raise a family. Too
much pressure often causes people
to seem to snapthey become irri
table, offbalance, and stressed
out. They begin to act in ways that
are not themselves. Sometimes
they take out their frustrations on
their loved ones and hurt those
they should love the most.
Meditation is a way to eliminate
the lack of balance caused by the
mental stresses of life. By spending
time in meditation, we create a
calm haven in which we restore
equilibrium and peace to our men
tal functioning. Researchers have
recorded that the brain activity in
people who meditate reflects a
state of deep relaxation. Their
mind becomes calmer. Meditation
also calms the body. If we could
spend some time each day in medi
tation, we would find our stress
levels would be reduced and our
health would reach a more opti
mum level.
Besides reducing stress during
meditation, there is a carryover
effect. We can maintain more
T Finding a True
rue friends are those who stand by
you always. They will sacrifice them
selves for you, and are people on
whom you can always rely. True friends lis
ten to your problems and share your bur
dens. Truly, if we have even one real friend
in life, we are lucky.
If we think about our childhood friends,
how many are still with us now? Have we
parted ways already? Perhaps they have
moved away, or we have lost contact with
them. Let us consider our close friends to
day. Can we imagine that they, too, will one
day be parted from us just as those friends
from our childhood are gone?
Even if we have one close friend, or even a
few, they can only be with us up to our last
breath, or their last breath. They can only re
main with us in this life and cannot help us
in the moment of our greatest needthe
time of death.
In this connection, there is an interesting
story from the Hindu scriptures. There was a
learned pundit who was the personal minis
ter of King Prikshat. Each day the minister
would read out the scriptures to the king.
The particular scripture said that whoever
hears the scriptures will receive spiritual lib
eration and enlightenment. Month after
month, the king listened to the scriptures
read by the minister. However, he did not at
tain liberation.
One day, the king sat down and thought,
Here I amlistening to these scriptures
every day, and I am not yet spiritually liber
ated. The scriptures say that whoever listens
to these holy writings will receive salvation
once and for all, but I have not.
Therefore, the king called the minister and
said, Look here. I have heard these scrip
tures so many times and have not attained
liberation. I will give you one more chance
to read these scriptures to me from end to
end. If I am not liberated after that, you will
be put to death. Trembling in his shoes, the
Friend
minister began the task of rereading the
scriptures to the king. By the sixth day he
was nearing the end of the scriptures, and
the king was not satisfied. Fearing that on
the seventh day he would be put to death,
the minister sat down in his home and start
ed to cry.
Why are you so sad? asked his daughter
when she saw him.
The ministered explained the situation to
her, The scriptures say that whoever reads
them will be liberated. However, I know that
the king is not liberated, nor am I liberated.
Therefore, tomorrow, I will be put to death.
The daughter was wise and had an idea.
Do not worry, she said. Tomorrow I will
speak to the king. On the following day, the
ministers daughter asked for an audience
with the king.
Why have you come? he questioned her.
She told him, I have come to reply to the
question that you have asked of my father.
But to do this, you and I must go together to
the wilderness. The king was perplexed, but
agreed to go along with her plan. The girl
then sent for her father. She brought along
two ropes and when they reached the
wilderness she tied the king to one tree and
her father to another tree. Both were then
bound, hand and foot. The king was wonder
ing what all this meant when the girl asked,
Father, can you kindly unbind the king over
there?
The minister replied, I am already bound!
How can I free him?
The girl asked, Your Majesty, will you
kindly unbind my father?
The king replied, Foolish girl, dont you
see that I am bound? How can a bound man
unbind another?
That is all she wanted to hear and said,
Then how can you expect my father, who
is not free himself, to liberate you spiritual
ly? The king himself had answered the
dilemma in which he had placed the minis
ter. With that understanding, the king
spared the life of the minister.
At the time of death, we all depart by our
selves. No friends of this world can help us.
They can sit by our bedside and hold our
hand, but they can neither protect us from
death nor accompany us. Knowing this, we
still put our reliance on people of this world.
Looking back at the friendships we have
had in our lives, how many of them led us
closer to God, and how many of them have
taken us away from God? What kind of
friend should we look for then? To be truly
awakened spiritually, we should seek the
friendship of the Lord.
We have only a set number of breaths to
reunite our soul with God. Let us do every
thing possible to attain that goal. The best
way to reach the Lord is through meditation,
sweet remembrance, and selfless service.
These activities safeguard us from being
pulled away by distractions of the world. If
we do these things, then we will be ready at
the time of our death. Having mastered the
art of rising above bodyconsciousness (by
meditating daily on the inner Light and
Sound of God) , we will know what awaits us
in the Beyond.
Befriending God makes our spirit soar.
Waves of divine love make our soul rise to
the eyefocus where we see tremendous
Light. Is there any love or friendship of the
world that can bring us to the eyefocus and
make us rise above physical bodyconscious
ness? Only the love of the Lord can make us
wide awakenot only in this world, but
wide awake into the Beyond.
(For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 15-21, 2017
TheSouthAsianTimes.info July 15-21, 2017