The South Asian Times
e x c e l l e n c e
Vol.11 No. 18 September 1-7, 2018 80 Cents
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP leaders and partyʼs Chief Ministers. (Photo: IANS)
Will outdo 2014 election tally
next year under Modi: BJP CMs
New Delhi: The ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) has resolved to
achieve a mandate bigger than its
record tally in 2014 in the 2019
elections under the leadership of
Narendra Modi, Chhattisgarh chief
minister Raman Singh said on
Tuesday after an interact ion
between Prime Minister Modi,
party president Amit Shah and BJP
Good medals haul
for India at Asiad
PV Sindhu, first Indian to win
an individual Silver in bad‑
minton at Asiad.
Jakarta: Four‑lap runner Manjit
Singh brought in a gold medal
on the 10th day of the 18th
Asian Games here, even as
Indian men's table tennis team
bagged a maiden bronze and the
FASHION 15 IMRAN KHAN 18
i n
chief ministers at the party head‑
quarters here.
“We will move ahead by taking
everyone along in 2019),” Singh
said at a press conference after
Modi addressed 14 CMs (exclud‑
ing Manohar Parrikar) of states
the BJP governs on its own. The
BJP secured 282 seats, its highest
ever, and the most by any party in
4‑lap runner Manjit Singh
brought in a Gold for India.
countryʼs medals tally touched
50. Manjit led India's top‑two
finish in the 800 metres race
with Jinson Johnson, while
Continued on page 4
See related stories on page 22
BHUTAN LITFEST 24
j o u r n a l i s m
New York Edition
three decades, in the Lok Sabha
elections in 2014.
Singh added that there was no
discussion on alliances or any
manifesto for 2019, and that the
focus was on implementation of
central schemes. “The Opposition
has not been able to finalize its
leader. There is no vacancy for the
Continued on page 4
Google denies skewing
search results against
Donald Trump
Washington: Search engine Google
on Tuesday denied the claims that
its search engines are "biased
towards any political ideology",
thus responding to President
Donald Trump's accusation that
those search algorithms are
designed to silence conservative
voices. "When users type queries
into the Google Search bar, our
goal is to make sure they receive
the most relevant answers in a
matter of seconds. Search is not
used to set a political agenda and
we don't bias our results toward
any political ideology,” Google said
in a statement.
In a series of Tuesday morning
tweets, Trump had said that
"Google search results for 'Trump
Continued on page 4
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
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Tributes pour
in for titan of
US politics
Senator John
McCain
(1936‐2018)
Washington: John McCain, a for‑
mer prisoner of war in Vietnam
who served as a U.S. senator from
Arizona for more than three
decades and twice made a run for
the W hite House, died last
Saturday at the age of 81 from
brain cancer. Tributes poured in
for the titan of American politics
from across the political divide
including from President Trump,
who had a running feud with the
departed leader from his own
party. President Trumpʼs belated
statement read: “Despite our dif‑
ferences on policy and politics, I
respect Senator John McCainʼs
service to our country and, in his
honor, have signed a proclamation
to fly the flag of the United States
at half staf f until the day of his
interment.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
Mcconnell said: “In an era filled
with cynicism about national unity
and public service, John McCainʼs
life shone as a bright example. He
showed us that boundless patriot‑
ism and self‑sacrifice are not out‑
dated concepts or cliches, but the
building blocks of an extraordi‑
nary life.”
Former President Barack Obama
said, “Few of us have been tested
the way John once was, or
required to show the kind of
courage that he did. But all of us
can aspire to the courage to put
the greater good above our own.
At Johnʼs best, he showed us what
that means.”
Former President George W.
Bush wrote: “Some lives are so
vivid, it is difficult to imagine them
ended. Some voices are so vibrant,
it is hard to think of them stilled.
Continued on page 4
SEE RELATED STORY
ON PAGE 10.
excellence in journalism
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 1-7, 2018
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY September 1-7, 2018 3

If I'm impeached, market Indian appointed UN Assistant

would crash, people would
be very poor: Trump
Washington: President Donald
Trump said he doesnʼt see a reason
for Congress to impeach him but
that the stock market would plum‑
met and Americans would be poor‑
er if lawmakers did so.
"I donʼt know how you can
impeach somebody whoʼs done a
great job," Trump said in a wide‑
ranging interview with Fox News
broadcast last Thursday. "Iʼll tell
you what, if I ever got impeached, I
think the market would crash. I
think everybody would be very
poor. Because without this thinking
you would see numbers that you
wouldnʼt believe, in reverse."
Trump faced perhaps the worst
day of his presidency last Tuesday
when his personal lawyer, Michael
Cohen, implicated him in a crime at
almost the same time his former
campaign chairman, Paul Manafort,
was convicted on eight counts of
tax‑and bank‑fraud charges, boost‑
ing Special Counsel Robert
Muellerʼs investigation.
During the interview, Trump also
lamented Attorney General Jeff
Sessions' inability to gain “control”
over the Justice Department, the
practice of prosecutors "flipping"
criminal defendants and illegal
For Trump, Two more dominoes fall after Michael Cohen: David
Pecker, CEO of the parent company of National Enquirer (left) and
Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO (right) have both been
given immunity for testifying in the hush payments case.
immigration. Trump also boasted
about the state of the economy
since his election. Harvard legal
scholar Alan Dershowitz said
Trump's biggest legal worry isn't
the Robert Mueller investigation,
it's the one underway by federal
prosecutors in New York. "I think
he has constitutional defenses to
the investigation being conducted
by Mueller," Dershowitz told ABC
News over the weekend. "But there
are no constitutional defenses to
what the Southern District (of New
York) is investigating. So, I think
the Southern District is the greatest
threat." The deals struck for immu‑
nity by Trump Organization chief
financial officer Allen Weisselberg
and by David Pecker, CEO of the
parent company of the National
Enquirer, came out of New York's
Southern District. Prosecutors
there are looking into whether the
Trump Organization violated cam‑
paign finance laws with payments
of hush money to two women after
alleged affairs with Trump.
Secretary-General
United Nations: Development and
environment expert Satya S.
Tripathi has been appointed an
assistant Secretary‑General and
will head the UN Environment
Programme's New York office.
The appointment made Monday
by Secretary‑General Antonio
Guterres was announced by his
Spokesperson Stephane Guterres.
Tripathi is now the third Indian
at the senior levels of the UN hier‑
archy. He has served the UN for 20
years in "Europe, Asia and Africa
on strategic assignments in sus‑
tainable development, human
rights, democratic governance and
legal affairs," Dujarric said.
Tripathi has been the Senior
Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development at the
UNEP since 2017.
A development economist and
lawyer with over 35 years of expe‑
rience, one of his key roles at the
UN was as the UN Recovery
Coordinator for the $7 billion
post‑tsunami and post‑conflict
recovery efforts in Aceh and Nias
in Indonesia.
He also chaired the Committees
on Laws and Treaties for the UN‑
mediated Cyprus unification talks
in 2004. Tripathi has commerce
and law degrees and a masters in
law from Behrampur University in
Satya S. Tripathi will head UN
environment office in NY
Odisha. Atul Khare, the Under‑
Secretary‑General who heads the
Department of Operational
Services, is the senior‑most Indian
at the UN.
Nikhil Seth, the Executive
Director of UN Institute for
Training and Research, is at the
level of an assistant Secretary‑
General according to last year's
Voluntary Public Disclosure listing
of senior staff's assets.
At the New York office of UNEP,
Tripathi's duties will include sup‑
porting development, coordination
and implementation of system‑
wide strategies on the environ‑
ment for the UN and "catalyzing
transformative change" through‑
out the UN "to integrate the envi‑
ronmental dimension of peace,
security and sustainable develop‑
ment," according to the description
of the post.

Major Sikh studies center coming up in Delhi

New York: A major institution for
Sikh religious studies will come
up early next year in New Delhi
and much of the related work has
been completed, according to
organizers.
The organizers held a news con‑
ference to give an update on the
International Center for Sikh
Studies (ICSS) being set up by the
Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management
Committee (DSGMC). The center
is situated in the Gurdwara Rakab
Gunj Complex, which is close to
the Parliament House. It is
planned to be inaugurated during
the 2019 Vaisakhi celebrations.
“I was there last month and 80
percent of the work was complet‑
ed,” Sant Singh Chatwal, the New
York based hotelier and a major
depicting and presenting sacred
Sikh scriptures including Sri Guru
Granth Sahib Ji, Sikh history, and
art galleries.
Manjit Singh GK, president of
DSGMC, said the information will
be available in English, Hindi and
Punjabi as well as Spanish,
German and Chinese. “One will be
able to access the information
from anywhere in the world,” he
said. The ICSS project, the brain‑
child of Manjit Singh GK, was con‑
Hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, who has given $1 million for the project, and
ceived in July 2015 in New York.
Manjit Singh GK, president of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee,
The project – estimated to cost
who is spearheading the project to come up in the Rakab Gunj Sahib gurd‑
wara near the Parliament building. (Photo: Mohammed Jaffer‑SnapsIndia) Rs 30 crores ‑‑ is designed by
filmmaker Bobby Bedi and archi‑
donor to the project, told journal‑ digital library with thousands of tect Robin Matharu, written by
ists present on the occasion. He books, infrastructure equipped diplomat Navtej Sarna, and pre‑
has donated 1 million dollars for with the latest technology show‑ sented by Kabir Bedi.
the project. ICSS will feature a casing holographic projection, “The Punjab government, previ‑
ously led by the Akali Dal and the
BJP, supported us with an amount
of Rs 10 crore,” Manjit Singh GK
said. “Religious minorities, partic‑
ularly the Sikhs, are facing hate
crimes around the world. And the
center will help focus on the main
principles of the religion, which is
among the newest in the world. It
will help dispel doubts about the
religion."
According to Manjit Singh GK,
the project focus is a dome‑
shaped auditorium in the center
equipped with audiovisual tech‑
nology with 4DX effects and the
Dolby sound system. This will be
the first of its kind in India, he
claimed at the news conference
held on August 24 at one of
Chatwalʼs hotels in New York.
 4 September 1-7, 2018 TURN PAGE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

NTR's son Harikrishna Sanskrit residential camp in New Jersey set to begin New York: The 3‑day Jaahnavi Residential Camp is Experienced teachers from India and the US will teach

dies in road accident ready to take off on Sept 1 at the Radisson Hotel in
Piscataway, N.J.
“We have 250 registrants this year,” said Suresh
Sanskrit to all participants at levels such as beginnerʼs,
intermediate and advanced. Based in India, Samskrita
Bharati is a nonprofit dedicated to propagating the lan‑
Hyderabad: TDP founder cle hit the divider and Shanmughom, the New York coordinator for the guage, particularly the spoken variety. The US branch,
NTR's son and actor‑ collided with another Samskrita Bharati USA‑organized event in New Jersey. established in 1998, has spread to more than 20 cen‑
politician N. Harikrishna vehicle coming from Shanmughom said that a book fair, comprising ters in the country, according to its website.
died in a road accident in the opposite direction. Samskrita Bharati publications, with a souvenir shop For further information, please log on to samskrutab‑
Te langana's Nalgonda He was a member of will also be available at the camp. haratiusa.org
district early on the TDP politburo and
Wednesday, doctors said. brother‑in‑law of TDP Tributes pour in for titan Shah offered “valuable suggestions” While the Indian women's team of
He was 61. President and Andhra of US politics to the respective chief ministers. Muskan Kirar, Madhumita Kumari
Harikrishna sustained Pradesh Chief Minister Continued from page 1 Shah spoke about the Centreʼs deci‑ and Jyothi Vennam lost 228‑231,
crit ical head injuries Actor‑politician N. N. Chandrababu Naidu. John McCain was a man of deep sion to increase minimum support the men's team comprising Rajat
when the car in which he Harikrishna was He is survived by two prices (MSP) to ensure 50% profit Chauhan, Aman Saini and Abhishek
conviction and a patriot of the high‑
was traveling along with brother‑in‑law of w ives Lakshmi and est order. He was a public servant to farmers over the cost of produc‑ Verma lost in the final which ended
two others overturned Andhra Pradesh CM, Shalini, two sons Junior in the finest traditions of our coun‑ tion, fulfil the long pending demand in a shootout after both teams were
Chandrababu Naidu.
while overtaking another NTR and Kalyan Ram try.” Former President Bill Clinton for a constitutional status to the locked 229‑229.
vehicle near Anneparthi. The vehi‑ and daughter Suhasini. sent this message: “He frequently OBC (other backward classes) com‑ PV Sindhu also had to settle for a
put partisanship aside to do what mission and a bill to protect the historic silver after going down 13‑
right of the SC/STs and said differ‑ 21, 16‑21 in just 34 minutes to

Rich tributes paid to

he thought was best for the coun‑
try, and was never afraid to break ent sections of the society were World No.1 Tai Tzu‑ying of Taiwan
the mold if it was the right thing to directly impacted by these deci‑ in the women's singles final. The

former PM Vajpayee do. I will always be especially grate‑ sions. The BJP threw its weight defeat meant that Sindhu became
ful for his leadership in our success‑ behind the national register of citi‑ the first Indian to win an individual
ful ef forts to normalize relations zens (NRC) in Assam, reiterating its silver medal in badminton at the
Hicksville, NY: with Vietnam.” commitment to deal with the men‑ Asiad. It was also the first Asiad
Indian American Former Vice President Joe Biden ace of infiltrations from Bangladesh individual medal for Sindhu.
community organ‑ had this to say: “As a POW, John and other countries.
ized a prayer endured the worst of what human Google denies skewing
meeting at the Asa beings can do to one another. In Good medals haul for India search results against
Mai Hindu temple politics, he fell short of his greatest at Asiad Donald Trump
here, and paid rich ambition. At the end of his life he Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1
tributes to former faced a cruel and relentless disease. 4X400 metres relay team, compris‑ News' shows only the
Indian Prime And yet through it all he never lost ing Muhammed Anas, Rajiv Arokia, viewing/reporting of Fake News
Minister Atal sight of what he believed most: Hima Das and M.R. Poovamma, Media." "In other words, they have
Bihari Vajpayee. Country First.” claimed the silver medal, even as it RIGGED, for me and others, so
Jagdish Sewhani, Pincky Balhara clinched silver, that almost all stories & news is
president of the American India enemies. Will outdo 2014 election while Malaprabha Jadav settled for BAD. Fake CNN is prominent," the
Public Af fairs Committee, said, Padma Shri Dr Sudhir Parikh tally next year under the bronze in the women's 52kg President added. "Republican/
“With his demise, the nation has described Atalji as a great leader Modi: BJP CMs category of the kurash competition. Conservative & Fair Media is shut
lost the tallest leader. It will be and orator and mentioned person‑ Continued from page 1 Among other success stories of out. Illegal? 96 per cent of results
impossible to fill this void. He left al interaction with him during the prime ministerʼs post. We have the day, Indian men's hockey team on 'Trump News' are from National
behind a rich legacy.” reception when he came to New resolved to return to power with a thrashed Sri Lanka to top Pool A Left‑Wing Media, very dangerous,"
Sewhani added that Vajpayeeji York as Prime Minister. greater majority,” he said. and reach the semi‑finals, while Trump said, concluding that
was a great diplomat. He con‑ Others who paid tributes to The conclave discussed in detail Dutee Chand stormed into the "Google and others are suppressing
tributed immensely in improving Atalji included Dr Shashi Shah, Dr the political situation in the three women's 200 metres final after top‑ voices of Conservatives and hiding
the US‑India re lat ionship. Urmilesh Arya, Harpreet Singh poll‑bound BJP run states – Madhya ping the semi‑finals. information and news that is good.
“Though he was in politics, he was Toor, Gunjan Rastogi, Virender Pradesh, Rajasthan and However, India endured defeats They are controlling what we can &
liked by all. He was called Patel, Mohinder Taneja, Gobind Chhattisgarh. in the gold medal matches in cannot see. This is a very serious
Ajatshatru ‑ person who has no Bathija and Shudh Prakash Singh. PM Modi and BJP president Amit archery to teams from South Korea. situation‑will be addressed!"

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Shaddhanjali Sabha of
former Prime Minister
Vajpayee held in Parliament
Acharya Lokesh, Chidanand Saraswati, Cabinet Ministers Paswan and Gangwar
released the book ʻLoktantr ka Mandir Sansad Bhawanʼ
New Delhi: Shradhanjali Samaroh for
Former Prime Minister of India Bharat
Ratan Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was held in
Parliament house in which Founder of
Ahimsa Vishwa bharti Acharya Dr. Lokesh
Muni, Swami Chidanand Saraswati of
Parmarth Niketan, Cabinet Ministers Ram
Vilas Paswan and Santosh Gangwar
released the book ʻLoktantra ka Mandir
Sansad Bhawan.ʼ Book is written by Joint
Secretary of Lok Sabh Secretariat D.S.
Malha and Bhasker Prakash. Program was
organised by Nisha Foundation.
Acharya Lokesh said that Shri Vajpayee
was above party politics and he served the
country like Ajatashatru. He was the idol of
humility and intellect. Acharya Lokesh
Muni recalling the moments he had spent
with him said that Shri Vajpayee Ji was
ready to cooperate in every work which is
in welfare of society, nation and humanity.
Acharya Lokesh said that Sansad is the
temple of democracy. Indian culture and
civilization is the oldest and greatest in the
world, unity in diversity is its unique fea‑
ture. As the result of commitment and
belief in parliamentary democracy we have
been able to protect our country's diversity
and integrity. Swami Chidanand Saraswati
said that Shri Vajpayee Ji lived a simple life
Three Indian Americans
raise $1.5 Million for
Kerala Flood Relief
Chicago: Three Indian Americans from
Chicago, Illinois raised a remarkable
$1.5 million in five days to aid the over
one million victims of the devastating
floods in Kerala, which have claimed 400
lives. Arun Ne llamattom, Ajomon
Poothurail, and Abin Kulathilkarottu – all
natives of the flood‑ravaged state – cre‑
ated a Facebook fundraising page Aug.
15, Kerala Flood Relief Fund from USA:
https://bit.ly/2BCqAeJ. Within five days,
they were able to transfer one crore
rupees to the Chief Ministerʼs Disaster
Relief Fund. The trio shut down the page
Aug. 20, but then were asked by Kerala
TRISTATE COMMUNITY September 1-7, 2018 5
and high philosophy. He always promoted
religious harmony. India's democracy has
been a motivator for the countries of the
world, who are trying to fight from time to
time with their social, economic, religious
and cultural differences.
Cabinet Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said
that Shri Vajpayeeji understood the needs
of people of every section, community and
province of the country. He is one of those
devoted and active leaders of the country
who is there in the hearts of everyone. He
took India on the path of progress and
development. Vajpayee Ji is the few select‑
ed national heads of the world; he served
the country with selflessness.
Cabinet Minister Santosh Gangwar said
that former Prime Minister Shri Vajpayee Ji
understood various dimensions of religion
and made it the path of human welfare. His
polite and accommodating nature made
him lovable by all. Whether he was in
power or out of power, he always support‑
ed the decisions of the country's interest.
On the occasion President of Nisha
Foundation Priyanka Kothari offering trib‑
ute to Shri Vajpayee ji appreciated the
ef forts made by D.S. Malha and Bhasker
Prakash. Program was conducted by editor
of All Zone Times Ashish Jain.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanʼs of fice
to relaunch the fundraising effort.
As of Aug. 23, the site had raised $1.5
million, from 30,000 donations, ranging
in amounts from $20 to over $250. All
donations are being channeled through
the Care and Share Foundation, a 501 (c)
3‑approved charity, which allows donors
to receive a tax credit.
The social activists note that more
than $4 billion will be needed to rehabili‑
tate the state known as “Godʼs Own
Country.” Vijayan has invited all three to
visit the state and receive gratitude in
person.
 6 September 1-7, 2018 TRISTATE COMMUNITY TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Nassau County officials & community leaders celebrate Indian I‑Day

Mineola, NY: Nassau County Legislator
Ellen W. Birnbaum (D – Great Neck),
County Executive Laura Curran and
Indian‑American community leaders
celebrated the anniversary of Indiaʼs
independence during a flag‑raising cer‑
emony in the County Executiveʼs
Ceremonial Chambers on Wednesday,
August 15.
During the event, Legislator Birnbaum
presented the Indian American Forum
with a Community Recognition Award
in celebration of their commitment to
enhancing socio‑cultural interactions
and highlighting the rich traditions of
Indian culture in the district. The award
was presented to Jyoti Gupta, a member
of the organizationʼs board.
“It was a privilege to welcome this
accomplished group of Indian‑American
community leaders from my district to
join us at the Nassau County Legislature
for a joyous celebration of independ‑
ence,” Legislator Birnbaum said. “I
thank everyone who took time out of
their morning to participate in this cere‑
mony and salute the Indian American
Forum for their ongoing efforts to pro‑
mote the culture, heritage and values
embraced by Indians around the world.”
In addition to Legislator Birnbaumʼs
Legislator Ellen
we lcoming remarks, the program
W. Birnbaum,
included speeches by County Executive County
Curran, Indian‑American Forum Executive Laura
Chairperson Indu Jaiswal; Nassau Curran and
County Human Rights Commission Indian‑
Chairman Bobby Kalotee and Dr. Ajay American
Lohda, Chairman of the American community
Association of Physicians of Indian leaders
Origin. Community member Eesha celebrate
Butani led the gathering in the anniversary
American National Anthem, while Hema of Indian
Sardana performed the Indian National Independence
Anthem. In addition, Jyoti Gupta led a at flag‑raising
ceremony
performance of patriotic Indian songs.

Sept 21 to be car free

day on Long Island
Mineola, NY: Nassau County
Executive Laura Curran joined LIRR
President Phil Eng, CEO of NICE Bus
Jack Khzouz and Co‑Chair of Car
Free Day LI, Rosemary Mascali, at a
press conference August 28th to
announce Long Islandʼs 6th Annual
Car Free Day that will take place
this year on Friday, September 21.
Car Free Day is an international
event celebrated every September
during which people are encour‑
aged to use alternative modes of
transportation such as taking mass
Shatrughna Sinha, Deputy Consul General attended the India Festival organized by transit, carpooling, biking, walking
Federation of Indian Associations in Columbus, Ohio on August 25. He interacted and telecommuting. Going car‑free
with members and leaders of the Indian community as well as the local political helps reduce traffic, conserve ener‑
leadership. There was enthusiastic participation from the community with gy, reduce harmful emissions,
numerous cultural performances. It was an opportunity to come together, reduce parking problems and save
interact and celebrate India.
money.

RCHS donates 700 backpacks to service organizations & LI schools

Hicksville, NY: The Rotary Club of
Hicksville South (RCHS), through
the generous donations of its
members, individuals and local
businesses, donated 700 back‑
packs filled with back‑to‑school
supplies on August 23, 2018 at
Hicksville Community Center to
various community service organ‑
izations and schools. The recipi‑
ent organizations in Long Island
will distribute the bags to children
in foster homes, parents serving
sentence and families in need on
Long Island.
Notably present were NY
Assembly Member Charles D.
Lavine, philanthropist and com‑
munity leader Kanchana Poola,
Rotary District Governor Nominee
Jacquelyn Yonick, Superintendent
of Freeport Schools Dr. Kishore
Kuncham and Superintendent of
Rotarians and guests; (inset) a recipient with backpack.
Hicksville Schools Marianne Governor and Charter President of
Litzman. Roopam Maini, President RCHS congratulated the President
of RCHS, thanked the project team and membership for another suc‑
and members of the club for their cessful project. Quddus
commitment to serve the commu‑ Mohammed, Humanitarian
nity. Aleya Jung, Secretary of the Projects Chair introduced the
Club, welcomed the guests, while audience on various current and
Kamlesh Mehta, Past District past club charitable projects,
which included winter coat initia‑
tive, blankets distribution, serving
food for hungry in Hempstead
and more recently helping flood
ef fected families in Kerala, India
and co‑sponsor construction of
school toilets in rural India.
Mukesh Modi, Co‑Chair, thanked
donors and participating organi‑
zations as they proudly distrib‑
uted backpacks to about 75 kids
who were present at the ceremo‑
ny.
Part icipat ing org anizat ions
included: Espoir Youth Program,
St. Ignatius Human Services Food
Pantry, Hempstead Coordinating
Council of Civic Associations, Glen
Cove Boys and Girls Club,
Hicksville Boys and Girls Club,
Rooseve lt Civic Asso ciat ion,
Hicksville School, Freeport school,
Jericho School, Logan Foundation,
Union Metho dist Church of
Hempstead, Safe Center of Nassau
County and JFK Rotary Club.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY September 1-7, 2018 7

Shiromani Akali Dal leader attacked by pro‑ Three American cos directly
Khalistan supporters in California; 3 arrested involved in Nirav Modi-led
New York: President of the Delhi
Sikh Gurdwara Management
Committee (DSGMC) Manjit Singh
GK was attacked in California
allegedly by pro‑Khalistan individu‑
als, during which one of his associ‑
ates was injured.
Sing h, who had trave led to
California following a visit to New
York, said the purpose of his visit
was to hold discussions among the
Sikh community about the 550th
birthday anniversary celebrations
of Guru Nanak, to be commemorat‑
ed next year.
This is the second attack on the
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader.
He was earlier attacked in New
York. Singh was visiting the main
Gurudwara in Yuba City, California
on Saturday when, he said, a group
of 30‑35 people supporting the
'Khalistan 2020 re ferendum'
attacked him.
"I am hurt. They pushed me and
kicked me brutally. It was a brutal
murderous attack," he told PTI over
phone from California.
He said one of his associates has
been hospitalized while the police
has arrested three people in con‑
nect ion w ith the attack. T he
PNB fraud: US probe
Manjit Singh GK
(image : hindustantimes.com)
DSGMC chief said that the attack
will not deter or intimidate him.
"We are not going to shy away,"
he said, adding that those demand‑
ing Khalistan can continue their
fight but resorting to violence is
not the answer.
"We will not be part of this fight
for Khalistan," he said.
Meanwhile, 'Sikhs For Justice'
(SFJ), a group demanding justice
for the 1984 anti‑Sikh riots victims
and supporting the 'Khalistan 2020
referendum', in a statement issued
throug h its leg al adviser
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, accused
Singh and his supporters of "insti‑
g at ing violent attacks on pro‑
Khalistan act ivists" who were
"peacefully protesting" in the SAD
leader's presence in Yuba City
Gurdwara.
Pannun said the SFJ has also filed
a complaint against Singh with the
US Department of Justice for viola‑
t ions of the Foreign Agent
Registration Act (FARA) laws.
He said SFJ filed the complaint
against Singh for holding, attending
and addressing political gatherings
in the US in violations of FARA
laws.
"We will now ask US Immigration
to take notice of illegal activities of
Singh and make him inadmissible
to the United States," he said.
Well‑known community leader
Prof Indrajit Saluja and editor‑pub‑
lisher, The Indian Panorama has
condemned the attack. “Sikhs in the
US are belittling themselves by
indulg ing in acts of violence
against factions which do not agree
with their ideology. It pains peace‑
ful Sikhs in America (and elsewhere
in the world, too) to find a faction
of Sikhs supporting creation of
Khalistan in India, making physical
attacks on those Sikhs who do not
subscribe to their ideology,” he
said.
New York: Three bankrupt US
companies with links to Indian
billionaire Nirav Modi were
“directly involved” in transac‑
tions related to the alleged multi‑
billion‑dollar international fraud
for which Modi has been charged
by Indian authorities, according
to an investigation by the court‑
appointed examiner that was
filed Saturday.
The examiner, John J. Carney,
found “substantial evidence” that
senior officers and directors at
Firestar Diamond Inc., A. Jaffe
Inc. and Fantasy Inc. had knowl‑
edge of and involvement in the
criminal conduct alleged by
Indian officials.
The “intensive” 120‑day inves‑
tigation found substantial evi‑
dence to support the conclusion
by Indian officials that the com‑
panies and their top officials
were involved in the activities,
the report said.
The findings of the examiner in
the US court will likely bolster
the Indian governmentʼs case
against the fugitive diamond
merchant. U.K. authorities have
confirmed to India that Modi has
been located in the UK and
British officials have asked India
for documents necessary to
make a provisional arrest, India
Today TV reported Aug. 23.
The US court examiner also
determined it is “highly likely”
that Firestar and A. Jaffe Chief
Executive Officer Mihir Bhansali
and Chief Financial Officer Ajay
Gandhi were involved in assisting
in the transactions necessary to
the alleged fraud.
The trustee in the bankruptcy
case, Richard Levin, in a state‑
ment Sunday praised the “hard
work” of the examiner and said
the report will be reviewed “in
depth to determine what action
is warranted.” The three compa‑
nies sell jewelry to major retail‑
ers including Costco Wholesale
Corp., J.C. Penny Co., Army/Navy
Stores, Macyʼs Inc. and Zale
Corp., among others, it said.
(Source: Bloomberg)

Indian Americans co‑founded firm to host bootcamp

for entrepreneurs, startups in Malibu
New York, NY: After their stupendous
success last year, Survive and Thrive
Today will again host their annual three‑
day boot camp event at the picturesque
Hess Kramer Camp in Malibu, CA. Last
year some of the countryʼs most powerful
business leaders headlined the Survive
and Thrive Today which drew entrepre‑
neurs from over 11 countries. Created
for mission‑driven entrepreneurs. Shark
Tankʼs original shark, Kevin Harrington,
CEO of Marquis Jets Jesse Itzler,
Motivating the Masses founder Susie
offered business owners the opportunity
to learn, connect, pitch for investments
and grow at a weekend summer camp for
adults.
This year Survive and Thrive Today, a The cofounders of Survive and Thrive Today ‑ Marva Allen, Swatick Majumdar and Sachin Narode
community dedicated to practical and
focused support for entrepreneurs to get to attend the event as well. Last year one Survive and Thrive Today. At Survive and in mind when designing our three‑day
the knowledge, resources and partner‑ of the Indian companies that attended Thrive Today, we do not talk at entrepre‑ event. It will prepare the entrepreneurs
ship they require have assembled anoth‑ went on to raise capital and be featured neurs; we interact with them and put and startups to make the right choices at
er stellar line‑up of Keynotes, Investors, in Forbes and Fortune. them in front of people who can truly the right time with guidance from our
Mentors and awesome startups to contin‑ Only 300 people are invited to Survive influence their g rowth. W hat has mentors, investors and business thought
ue the tradition of mixing work and play. and Thrive Today to ensure maximum changed for several of our attendees in leaders.”
Movie Pass CEO, Mitch Lowe, a company exposure and organic connections. less than a year has been heartwarming. CEO and Co‑founder Marva Allen, a
that is currently undergoing huge shift in “As entrepreneurs ourselves, we know “As a mentor, advisor and a venture serial entrepreneur, tech innovator and
its business will be one of the Keynotes. that success comes from inspiration, sup‑ capitalist to several startups,” says co‑ trailblazer whose platform Wordeee,
He was also a founding member of port and practical solutions,” says co‑ founder Swatick Majumdar, I have wit‑ (wordeee.com) she believes, is the future
Netflix. Along with him Vernice “FLY‑ founder Sachin Naro de, Founder of nessed from ground level the trials and of publishing, has this to say, “I was
GIRL” Armour and Bill Reichert will also Xeniapp, (xeniapp.com), a company tribulations of entrepreneurs. blown away by the entrepreneurs who
be the other keynotes. There are many focused on changing the way people Itʼs a journey of highs and lows; grati‑ turned up from all over the world to be at
featured speakers such as Erik Qualman travel. “I have personally been to hun‑ tude and rejections, loneliness and many Survive and Thrive Today. Their prob‑
and Jesse Draper. An over 25 strong dreds of conferences looking for and not sleepless nights. Therefore, at Survive lems were the same and they provided
Indian startup contingents are planning finding what we have created w ith and Thrive Today we are keeping all that enormous support for each other.”
 8 September 1-7, 2018
BAPS Charities supports environment Emirates flight connects
by providing 300,000 trees
B
APS Charities celebrates a
three‑year partnership with
T he Nature Conservancy
(TNC) through its Walk Green initia‑
tive, a series of walkathons hosted
by BAPS Charities across North
America. Beginning in 2016, BAPS
Charities coordinated ef forts with
TNC to raise funds for the Plant a
Billion Trees initiative, and on
August 24, 2018, presented the
final gift of $166,000 to TNC execu‑
tives and program leadership in
Chino Hills, California. BAPS
Charities volunteers and donors
provided a total of 300,000 trees to
TNC, made possible by $431,000 in
total funds raised over three years
by 23,000 walkers at 76 cities
across the nation. TNC staf f and
leaders attended several of these
walks, educating walkers about the
importance of environmental pro‑
tection and the urgent need for all
people to become active stewards of
the environment.
BAPS Charities volunteers and
Board members presented T he
Nature Conservancyʼs Chris Topik,
Director of Plant a Billion Trees;
Maria Fisher, Donor Stewardship
Of ficer; and Erin Daly, Donor
Relations Manager with the check
which was followed by a tree‑plant‑
ing ceremony. “Tree planting and
reforestation are the most reward‑
2018 World Hindu Congress to bring prominent thought
leaders from all walks of Hindu life to Chicago
I
n a little over a week from now,
the windy city of Chicago will
welcome some of the most influ‑
ential global voices for the 2nd
World Hindu Congress (WHC) – a
three day conference from Sept. 7‑9,
to connect, confer and deliberate
how Hindus around the world can
raise their profile, find their voice
and create a consequential positive
impact on the world stage.
The globally focused event will
draw 250 thought leaders and 2200
delegates from over 50 countries. A
brainchild of IITian Swami
Vigyananand, the landmark event is
considered the “largest gathering of
Hindu leaders to date.” Registrations
were closed two months ago due to
the phenomenal response.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama will
give a message in the inaugural ses‑
sion. The three day event will fea‑
ture Plenary and Valedictory ses‑
sions and seven parallel conferences
on Economy, Education, Media,
Women participation, Hindu organi‑
zations, Youth and Politics. The end
goal is to understand the challenges
facing Hindus globally and collabo‑
rate on possible solutions.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Newark to India,
BAPS Charities donates $166,000 to The Nature Conservancy
which will help plant a billion trees by2025 and
300,000 trees in the last three years.
ing ways to improve wildlife habi‑
tats and cities, foster clean and
abundant waters, and mitigate car‑
bon emissions that cause climate
change,” Chris noted during his visit
to Chino Hills, “Thanks to the con‑
tribution of BAPS Charities volun‑
teers weʼve been able to replant lon‑
gleaf pine trees in the southern U.S.,
which have a natural resilience to
catastrophic storms, but only 3% of
this once common forest‑type
remains.
Your support also planted thou‑
sands of shortleaf pine trees in the
Mississippi Alluvial Valley where
the land has witnessed mass defor‑
Economic Conference: C‑ Suite
business leaders, economists, suc‑
cessful entrepreneurs, and innova‑
tors will come together to inspire
and encourage greater wealth cre‑
ation and wealth surplus –the only
way, as Program Coordinator
Mukesh Aghi puts it, to empower
people and overcome problems such
as poverty, malnutrition and illitera‑
cy. Eminent speakers like CEO
Emerson Electric Ed Monser, CMO
FedEx Raj Subramaniam, VP
Walmart Dan Bryant and Columbia
University Professor Arvind
Panagariya, will hold forth on
Indiaʼs economic trajectory, busi‑
ness potential in India and entrepre‑
neurship.
Sessions will also showcase top
tier corporate leaders and encour‑
age interaction with them to ignite
ideas, innovation and knowledge
growth. Delegates can discuss policy
and trade issues and how these can
be resolved by the business commu‑
nity.
Youth Conference: Strengthening
Hindu identity, encouraging young
Hindu entrepreneurship, addressing
professions where Hindus are
estation due to agricultural overde‑
velopment. These newly planted
trees create opportunities for car‑
bon sequestration and improve
lives.”
Over the last six months, BAPS
Charities hosted their annual
walkathons across North America.
This yearʼs national partner and
beneficiary, the Nature
Conservancy, continues a partner‑
ship between BAPS Charities and
the Conservancy from 2016.
Walkers from all age groups joined
together in the spirit of service and
community support to make each
walk a great success.
underrepresented, changing media
narratives about Hindu Dharma and
Hindu Human Rights and Political
Representation are the five core
issues that will form the crux of the
Youth conference.
Womensʼ Conference: "Increasing
the Role of Women in Hindu
Resurgence and Renaissance" is the
stated goal of this conference.
Accelerating the conversation are
prominent women speakers like
Chandrika Tandon, Dr. Anuradha
Gokhale, Dr. Meena Chandavarkar,
Dr. Vindya Vasini, Prof. Madhu
Kishwar, Ms. Alaka Inamdhar, Dr.
Uma Vaidya, and Padmshri Shital
Mahajan.
Political Conference: Panelists will
spearhead discussions on:
Reasserting a strong Hindu Political
Voice, Expanding and Cultivating
Political Leadership, Collective
Strategies to Address Adverse and
Complex Political Environments,
Strategy for Protecting Hindu
Human Rights and Empowering the
Next Generation of Political Leaders.
Notable panelists include Vice
President of Suriname Ashwin
Adhin, National Federation Party of
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Pakistan, Bangladesh
O
ver the past three
decades, Emirates built
quite a business for itself
connecting the world through its
home base in Dubai, United Arab
Emirates. For its US business, that
means customers flying into and
out of the Indian subcontinent.
"The US to Indian Subcontinent
market is indeed our biggest traf‑
fic flow and we concentrate heav‑
ily on that," Matthias Schmid,
Emirates' senior vice president
for North America, told Business
Insider in an interview.
According to Schmid, the region
accounts for roughly 1/3 of the
airline's entire US business.
Hence the Emirates' decision
this June to shift one of its four
daily flights operating out of JFK
International Airport in New York
across the Hudson River to
Newark, New Jersey.
Emirates Flight EK224 departs
Newark Liberty International
Airport every morning at 11:50
am. From Dubai, passengers can
connect to the 15 cities in India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh served
by Emirates.
The new daily non‑stop flight
between Newark Liberty
Fiji member Biman Prasad and
Member National Assembly SA
Santosh Kalyan. Media Conference:
The power of the pen will be dis‑
cussed by journalists, bloggers,
authors, media executives and facul‑
ty. Various aspects of the media
landscape from print to social
mediaʼs unprecedented reach, accu‑
rate presentation about Hindus,
media analysis, its responsibilities
and technology will also be high‑
lighted. Key speakers include noted
actor Anupam Kher, Editor,
Columnist, Anchor Rohit Sardana,
Founder of Shaktitva Project Neha
Srivastava and writer and columnist
Sunanda Vashisht.
Educational conference:
Organized by the Hindu Education
Board and Coordinator Nachiketa
Tiwari, the fundamental goal is to
bring together educationists, acade‑
micians, publishers, students and
policy makers to discuss the chal‑
lenges and opportunities in the field
of education including access to
quality, innovative, affordable edu‑
cation, the academic study of Hindu
Dharma, society and dharmic values
based education. Speakers include
International Airport and Dubai
joins the airline's existing service
to the Northern New Jersey air‑
port which includes a stopover in
Athens, Greece.
Unfortunately, even with the
presence of its partner JetBlue,
Emirates' Newark passengers will
have limited opportunities to con‑
nect to other destinations in the
US, Schmid said. As a result, the
flight's success or failure will
have to depend on the local mar‑
ket.
Fortunately, New Jersey doesn't
have a shortage of people that
need to fly into and out of India
and its neighboring countries.
According to the 2010 census,
New Jersey's Indian population
grew 72.7% between 2000 and
2010. As a result, 40% of all New
Jersey's entire Asian population
come from India. The state also
boasts large populations from
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Since Newark Liberty does not
have the capability to handle the
Airbus A380 Superjumbo, the
new flig ht is operated using
Boeing 777‑300ER aircraft.
(Source: businessinsider.in)
USCD Neuroscientist Vilayanur
Ramachandran, Chancellor VIT
University G. Viswanathan, Swami
Mitrananda from Chinmaya
University and Ram Subramanian
from IIT Mumbai.
Hindu Organizational Conference:
Conducted by the Hindu
Organizations, Temples and
Associations (HOTA) Forum, the
goal is to bring together a vast array
of Hindu organizations, temples,
associations, and institutions serv‑
ing Hindu societies to share best
practices, experiences, and forge a
strong, united and organized Hindu
society for the benefit of humanity
in general, and Hindu society in par‑
ticular. Prominent speakers include
Bharat Seva Ashram Sangh
President Swami Purnatmananda,
Art of Living Foundation Head Sri
Sri Ravi Shankar, Chinmaya Mission
Worldwide Head Swami
Swaroopananda and All World
Gayatri Pariwar Head Dr. Pranav
Pandya.
To learn more about the 2018
World Hindu Congress, visit
http://whc.2018worldhin‑
ducongress.org
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Top US CEOs worried about forthcoming
changes in H‑1B visa review process
New York: The Trump administra‑
tion's "inconsistent" immigration
policies, including on the H1‑B
visa for professionals, could "dis‑
rupt" operations of American
firms and inflict "substant ial
harm" on their competitiveness,
CEOs from top US companies have
warned.
In a letter to US Home land
Security Secretary Kirstjen
Nielsen, members of the Business
Roundtable, including Apple CEO
Tim Cook, Chairman and CEO of
PepsiCo Indra Nooyi, President
and CEO of Mastercard Ajay
Banga and Chairman and CEO of
Indians third largest group affected Sushma opens ‘Jaipur Foot’ camp in
by UK immigration scandal
London: Indians have emerged as
the third‑largest group af fected
by the United Kingdom's
'Windrush' immigration scandal
involving Commonwealth nation‑
als being wrongly denied their
citizenship rights in Britain.
The 'Windrush' scandal is an
immigration scandal concerning
people who were wrong ly
detained, denied legal rights,
threatened with deportation and
in many cases wrongly deported
from the UK by the authorities.
The group referred to as the
'Windrush generation' relates to
a ship named 'Windrush', which
brought Jamaican workers to UK
shores in 1948.
"T he 'Windrush' generation
re fers to cit izens of former
British colonies who arrived
before 1973, when the rights of
such Commonwealth citizens to
live and work in Britain were sub‑
stantially curtailed," according to
Rob McNeil, Deputy Director of
the Migration Observatory.
"While a large proportion of
them were of Jamaican or
Caribbean descent, they also
included Indians and other South
A banner outside Indian‑Pak grocery store in Richmond, UK
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Cisco Systems Chuck Robbins said
that confusion around US immi‑
gration policy "creates anxiety for
employees who follow the law."
The Business Roundtable, an
association of chief executive offi‑
cers of America's leading compa‑
nies, told Nielsen that "inconsis‑
tent government action and uncer‑
tainty undermines economic
growth and American competitive‑
ness."
Due to a shortage of green cards
for workers, many employees find
themselves stuck in an immigra‑
tion process lasting more than a
decade, they said. To avoid unnec‑
Vietnam; meets 500 beneficiaries
Windrush Scandal: As many as 102 Indians
were provided documentation to formalize
their rights to live and work in the UK by an
emergency 'Taskforce' set up to deal with
cases of Commonwealth nationals who
arrived in the UK before immigration rules
became more stringent in 1973.
Asians," McNeil said.
As many as 102 Indians were
provided documentation to for‑
malize their rights to live and
work in the UK by an emergency
'Taskforce' set up to deal with
cases of Commonwealth nation‑
als who arrived in the UK before
immigration rules became more
stringent in 1973, according to
the latest figures released by UK
Home Secretary Sajid Javid to
Parliament's Home Affairs Select
Committee (HASC).
While the majority of the 2,272
migrants' cases dealt with by the
'Taskforce' came from Caribbean
countries Jamaica, with 1,093
and Barbados, 213. India at 102,
came in third followed by
essary costs and complications for
American businesses, the US gov‑
ernment should not change the
rules in the middle of the process,
the CEOs said, pointing out to the
several policy memoranda over
the past year by the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS)
has issued that has resulted in
"arbitrary and inconsistent adjudi‑
cations."
"Companies now do not know
whether a work visa petition that
was approved last month will be
approved when the company sub‑
mits the identical application to
extend the employee's status,"
DIASPORA
Grenada with 88 and Trinidad
and Tobago with 86, with 690
cases classed as "Others".
Of the 102, a total of 69
Indians were granted their docu‑
mentation under the 'Windrush
Scheme', which ensures that
members of this generation, their
children born in the UK and
those who arrived in the UK as
minors are able to apply for citi‑
zenship free of charge.
"T he experiences faced by
some members of the 'Windrush'
generation are completely unac‑
ceptable and I am committed to
righting the wrongs of the past,"
said Javid, who was born to
Pakistani‑origin parents in the
UK.
Indian racially abused in Canada
Toronto: An Indian in Canada has
been allegedly racially abused over a
parking dispute by a white woman
who yelled "go back to your country"
and called him a "Paki", according to
a media report.
Rahul Kumar, who moved from
India to Canada seven years ago, was
also called a "loser" with "shit‑col‑
ored skin," CTV news reported.
Kumar filmed the encounter outside
his home on his cellphone last week.
In the video, a woman yells at Kumar
over a parking dispute. "You can
September 1-7, 2018
they said. Employees who qualify
for H‑1B jobs often hold degrees
in science, tech, engineering or
math, and are highly sought after
by employers, the CEOs said.
The Roundtable members said
that a confusing immigration sys‑
tem in the US which threatens to
split their families apart, could
encourage them to seek employ‑
ment in a different country. That
would put the American economy
at a disadvantage.
They also noted that in many
cases, the US Labor Department
has determined that "no qualified
US workers are available to do
of India-made prosthetic limb
Sushma Swaraj met 500 beneficiaries of the artificial limb
Hanoi: External Af fairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the
ʻJaipur Footʼ camp here and met with
500 Vietnamese beneficiaries of the
free India‑made prosthetic limb.
Swaraj is in Vietnam on the first leg
of her four‑day two‑nation tour which
aims at deepening Indiaʼs strategic
cooperation with Vietnam and
Cambodia ̶ the key countries in the
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) region.
The minister met with the benefici‑
aries and encouraged a girl to walk
with the newly‑fitted artificial limb.
Swaraj lauded the role played by
the Indian community in Vietnam in
film all you want Paki. Yes Paki,
that's you with the shit‑colored skin,"
the report said, citing the video. The
woman who made the comments
called CTV Edmonton after the
report aired and criticized the cover‑
age, saying that she is "not a racist."
Asked whether the parking disagree‑
ment justifies the racist language
used, she said, "It doesn't matter if it
justifies it or not; it happened and
that's where I took it."
At one point in the video, the
woman mixes up two countries
9
that person's job."
President Donald Trump has
said that some IT companies were
abusing the US work visas to deny
jobs to American workers.
"As the federal government
undertakes its legitimate review of
immigration rules, it must avoid
making changes that disrupt the
lives of thousands of law‑abiding
and skilled employees, and that
inflict substantial harm on US
competitiveness," the CEOs noted.
The Business Roundtable will con‑
tinue to work with Congress to
reduce the Green Card backlog,
they said. (PTI)
consolidating cultural connect
between the two countries. She
praised the Indian diaspora in
Vietnam for strengthening people to
people connect between the two
nations.
T he Jaipur‑based Bhagwan
Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti
(BMVSS) has started an artificial limb
fitment camp in association with the
central government at Myanmarʼs
Yangon city. T he camp is being
organized as per an agreement
between BMVSS and the Ministry of
External Affairs for providing 5,000
ʻJaipur Footʼ to the needy amputees
of various countries. (PTI)
where she thinks Kumar is from
before she mocks his accent. "East
Indian Paki," she shouts at him. "Go
back to your country, man," she
adds. Towards the end of the video,
she can be seen driving off, but not
before she spits on his car and calls
him a "loser." Kumar says he was
stunned by the woman's comments.
"I've never experienced anything like
that." Kumar said he was concerned
because the woman's profanity‑laden
rant was within earshot of children.
"It is very disturbing," he said.
 10 September 1-7, 2018 US AFFAIRS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

ʻI made a small place for myself

in the story of America'
Washington: John McCain, a
proud naval aviator who survived
years as a prisoner of war in
Vietnam and went on to become a
Senator from Arizona and a two‑
time contender for the presidency
has died after a battle with a
malignant brain tumor. He was 81.
McCain died on Saturday at his
ranch near Sedona, AZ. Son and
grandson of Navy admirals, he
was born on August 29, 1936 in
the Panama Canal Zone. He was
diagnosed last year with glioblas‑
toma for which he had been treat‑
ed periodically with radiation and
chemotherapy.
His family had announced a few
days ago that he was discontinu‑
ing medical treatment.
During three decades of repre‑
senting Arizona in the US Senate
he ran twice unsuccessfully for
the White House. The first time, he
lost a bitter primary campaign to
Republican Establishment backed
George W. Bush in 2000. McCain
then returned to win the nomina‑
tion of his party in 2008 only to
be defeated in the general election
by Barack Obama, a charismatic
Illinois Democrat who had served
less than one term as a senator.
John McCain and Barack Obama ran spirited presidential
campaigns in 2008, but evinced none of the bitterness of the
Trump‑Hillary fight of 2016. (Photos IANS)
The Arizonan warrior politician
who survived plane crashes, sever‑
al bouts of skin cancer and brush‑
es with political oblivion often
seemed to be perpetually waging a
race against time and his own
mortality while striving to ensure
that his five‑and‑a‑half years as a
Vietnam prisoner of war did not
stand as the defining experience
of his life.
McCain had not been in
Washington since December 2017
leaving a vacuum in the corridors
of the Senate and the television
news studios he roamed for
decades, CNN said.
In recent months he was not
completely quiet, however, blast‑
ing President Donald Trump in
tweets and statements that
showed while he was ailing he had
lost none of his appetite for the
political fight.
The Senator repeatedly made
clear that he saw Trump and his
"America First" ideology as a
departure from the values and tra‑
ditions of global leadership that he
saw epitomized in the US.
McCainʼs most dramatic break
with Trump came nine days after
the Senator announced on July 19,
Senator John McCain
(1936‑2018)
2017 that he had been
diagnosed with brain can‑
cer. He returned to the
Senate chamber with an
incision from surgery still
fresh above his left eye and
turned thumbs down on a
Republican plan to replace the
Affordable Care Act, aka
Obamacare. His no vote along
with those of two other
Republicans sent his partyʼs signa‑
ture legislative goal hurtling
toward oblivion. It was a jaw‑drop‑
ping move that surprised and
angered his GOP colleagues.
Afterward, he said in a statement
that he could not back the GOP
measure because it offered no
replacement to reform the
nationʼs health care system.
He also questioned why Trump
was solicitous of Russian
President Vladimir Putin whom he Kicking off a kind of feud, Trump said of Senator John McCain:
regarded as an unreformed KGB "He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured.
apparatchik.
I like people that weren't captured." McCain blasted Trumpʼs cozy
summit with Putin in July as "one of the most disgraceful
In one of his final public acts he
performances by an American president in memory”.
blasted Trumpʼs cozy summit with
Putin in July, terming it as "one of "Iʼve lived very well and Iʼve McCain will have a national
the most disgraceful performanc‑ been deprived of all comforts. Iʼve memorial service at Washington's
es by an American president in been as lonely as a person can be National Cathedral on Saturday,
memory". McCain had been plan‑ and Iʼve enjoyed the company of according to the family statement.
ning his funeral services over the heroes. Iʼve suffered the deepest After that, he will be taken to
last year and his family made clear despair and experienced the high‑ Annapolis, Maryland, where he
that Trump was not invited, a posi‑ est exultation. I made a small will be laid to rest. Lying in state,
tion that has not changed family place for myself in the story of according to the Architect of the
friends said on Saturday. America and the history of my Capitol, is an honor reserved for
Obama and Bush were asked to times." "government officials and military
give eulogies. McCain will lie in state in the officers" and involves laying the
In a memoir published in May, Arizona Capitol on Wednesday, casket of the deceased in the
McCain wrote that he hated to according to the state's governor, Rotunda of the US Capitol, where
leave the world but had no com‑ Doug Ducey. After that service, his the public can come and offer
plaints. body will be taken to Washington final respects.
"Itʼs been quite a ride. Iʼve known on Thursday, and will lie in state The Arizona governor will
great passions seen amazing won‑ in the Capitol on Friday, according announce McCainʼs replacement
ders fought in a war and helped to Senate Majority Leader Mitch in the US Senate, and that person
make peace " McCain wrote. McConnell's office. will occupy the seat till end 2020.

TRUMP SLAMS AG SESSIONS

Washington: President Donald Trump has
publicly slammed Attorney General Jeff
Sessions, saying that Sessions does not
understand what was happening under
him at the Department of Justice.
"Jeff Sessions said he wouldn't allow
politics to influence him only because he
doesn't understand what is happening
underneath his command position,"
Trump tweeted on Saturday.
"Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his
gang of 17 Angry Dems (Democrats) are
having a field day as real corruption goes
untouched. No collusion!"
Trump has frequently criticized
Sessions over the Attorney General's deci‑
sion to recuse himself from the Russia
investigation.
The President reinitiated his feud with
Sessions in an interview with Fox News
on Thursday, saying that the Attorney
General "never took control" of the Justice
Department. Sessions, in a rare, strongly
worded statement, responded: "While I
am Attorney General, the actions of the
Department of Justice will not be improp‑
erly influenced by political considera‑
tions. I took control of the Department of
Justice the day I was sworn in, which is
why we have had unprecedented success
at effectuating the President's agenda."
Over the past year and a half, Trump
has broached the idea of firing Sessions
several times, CNN quoted informed
sources as saying.
Each time his aides and advisers have
staved off his impulse, arguing to the
President that such a move could damage
him politically and present further prob‑
lems with special counsel Robert Mueller.
Confirming a nominee to replace Sessions
may also be tedious in the Senate.
But now there are hints that Sessions Now there are hints that Jeff Sessions
may finally be dropped after the mid‑term may finally be replaced
after the mid‑term election. (Photo IANS)
election.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Trump announces
trade pact with
Mexico
Washington: President Donald Trump
said on Monday that US and Mexican
negotiators reached an agreement on
revising the 1994 North American
Free Trade Agreement.
The new pact will not be known as
NAFTA, because that name "has a bad
connotation," Trump told reporters in
the Oval Office.
The US‑Mexico Trade Agreement is
"a really good deal for both coun‑
tries," Trump said before telephoning
Mexican President Enrique Peña in
the presence of the media.
Trump said he planned to contact
Canada about signing on to the new
document, while making it clear that
Washington's pact with Mexico will
go forward regardless.
"I'll be terminating the existing deal
and going into this deal," Efe quoted
the US President as saying in the Oval
Office, calling it a "big day for trade".
The President called it "one of the
largest trade deals ever made", adding
that "they used to call it NAFTA, we
are going to call it the US‑Mexico
Trade Agreement, and we will get rid
of the name NAFTA. It has a bad con‑
US AFFAIRS
The President said he planned to
contact Canada about signing on to
the new document, while making it
clear that Washington's pact with
Mexico will go forward regardless.
The pact will not be called NAFTA
because of its “bad connotation”.
notation because the US was hurt very
badly by NAFTA".
Trump said he would speak with
Canadian Prime Minister Just in
Trudeau "in a little while", adding that
he hoped Canada and the US could
begin talks to resolve their own bilat‑
eral issues subsumed under NAFTA
"almost immediately".
Trump had been pushing to renego‑
tiate NAFTA since he became presi‑
dent in January 2017, having repeat‑
edly called the trilateral pact ‑‑ in
force since 1994 and encompassing
more than $1 trillion in annual trade ‑
‑ a "disaster" for the US.
September 1-7, 2018 11
Trump seeks to end discounts
for international mail
Washington: President Trump renewed his
criticism of U.S. Postal Service policies,
directing U.S. officials to get rid of interna‑
tional discounts that can make it cheaper to
ship goods to a U.S. customer from China
than from an American warehouse.
The decades‑old discounts were estab‑
lished by a United Nations agency to help
people in developing countries afford inter‑
national mail. Now they mean a Chinese
company often can ship a bike part or a T‑
shirt to a customer in Des Moines for a frac‑
tion of the cost paid by a shipper in New
York. Trump in a memo directed the State officials ̶ who point out that package deliveries
Department to renegotiate these rates with the are boosting revenue ̶ they applauded the most
Universal Postal Union at a September meeting so recent move.
Robert Taub, chairman of the Postal Regulatory
they no longer give an advantage to foreign mail‑
Commission, said the international discounts have
ers, reported Wall Street Journal.
long been a problem for the Postal Service and the
The current system “distorts the flow of small
sharp increase in cheaply shipped goods from
packages around the world by incentivizing the
abroad has made it worse.
shipping of goods from foreign countries that ben‑
“The increasingly competitive and commercial
efit from artificially low reimbursement rates,” said
nature of the market has exacerbated these long‑
the memo released last Thursday.
standing distortions,” Mr. Taub said. “President
The memo also is Trumpʼs latest salvo against
Trumpʼs memorandum represents an enormous
the status quo at the Postal Service, which the pres‑
leap forward to finally addressing these problems.”
ident has said gets shortchanged by Amazon.com
The presidential directive doesnʼt establish any
Inc. Mr. Trump set up a task force in April to inves‑
new policies but does warn that the U.S. may
tigate the Postal Serviceʼs contracts with compa‑
decide to set its own separate rates if the UPU
nies like Amazon.
doesnʼt fix the discrepancy. That would represent a
While Mr. Trumpʼs claims that the Postal Service
significant break with the 144‑year‑old body.
is being exploited by Amazon have angered USPS
 12 September 1-7, 2018 INDIA NEWS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Debate on simultaneous elections

good for democracy: Modi
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
said that discussions on simultaneous
elections to the Lok Sabha and state
Assemblies are a "healthy sign" for democ‑
racy.
Addressing the 47th edition of his
monthly radio programme "Mann Ki
Baat", the Prime Minister expressed soli‑
darity with Kerala, where over 400 people
have died in devastating floods.
Modi also assured the Muslim women
the country's support on the issue of
social justice.
"Presently efforts are afoot and discus‑
sions are being held about simultaneously
holding elections to the Lok Sabha and
state Assemblies. The government and the
opposition ‑ both are putting forth their
view points. This is a healthy sign for our
democracy," he said.
Describing Vajpayee as a "true patriot",
he said the late Prime Minister brought
fundamental reforms in the electoral
process.
"I must say that developing healthy tra‑
ditions for a sound democracy, making
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
constant efforts to strengthen democracy,
encouraging open‑minded debates would
also be an appropriate tribute to Atalji."
Modi's remarks on simultaneous polls
comes almost a month after the Law
Commission held discussions with most
political parties opposing the proposal
saying that it was against the Constitution
and would dilute regional interests.
The BJP's stand is "One Nation, One
Election".
Crediting Vajpayee with bringing good
governance to the mainstream and for
injecting positive political culture in India,
Modi recalled how he changed the time of
budget presentation from 5 p.m. to 11 a.m
and framed the rules that made it possible
to unfurl the tricolour in public places.
"Atalji took bold steps to bring about
fundamental reforms, whether in our elec‑
tion process or about the shortcomings
concerning the people's representatives."
He hailed Vajpayee for bringing the 91st
Amendment Act, 2003 which restricted
the size of the cabinet in states to 15 per
cent of the total seats in the Assembly and
also increased the limit under the anti‑
defection law from one‑third to two‑third.
Expressing solidarity with Kerala, he
said people from all walks of life had come
in support of those whose lives were dev‑
astated in the massive floods.
"In today's pressing, hard times, the
entire nation is with Kerala. Our sympa‑
thies are with the families who lost their
loved ones. Loss of lives cannot be com‑
pensated, but I assure the grief‑stricken
families that in this moment of suffering
and misery, 125 crore Indians stand by
them."
He said the sheer grit and courage of
Keralites would see the state rise again.
On the triple talaq bill passed by the Lok
Sabha, he said: "Although it could not be
passed in the Rajya Sabha, I assure the
Muslim women that the whole country
stands by them to provide them social jus‑
tice."
Modi expressed his gratitude to MPs for
the pro duct ive Monsoon session of
Parliament.
He congratulated Indian players on their
success at the ongoing Asian Games and
said they have won medals even in those
sports in which the country's performance
was not "so good earlier".

India reiterates call for peace

in Indian Ocean region
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj meets Japanese
State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kazuyuki Nakane in Hanoi,
Vietnam. (Photo: IANS/MEA)
Hanoi: Pointing out that the seas
around India have nurtured its links
of commerce and culture with its
extended neighbourhood over mil‑
lenia, Indian External Af fairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj said that
nurturing a climate of peace and
stability in this region is an impor‑
tant priority for New Delhi's foreign
policy.
"This region is host to the world's
busiest waterways and three quar‑
ters of that traffic is headed for des‑
tinations beyond our region,"
Sushma Swaraj said while address‑
ing the T hird Indian Ocean
Conference here.
"As an important trade and ener‑
gy waterway, carrying half the
world's container shipment, one
third of its bulk cargo traf fic and
two third of oil shipments, the
Indian Ocean clearly assumes
importance well beyond its immedi‑
ate shores and its littorals," she said.
"Nurturing a climate of peace and
stability in this region is therefore
an important priority for our for‑
eign policy."
Stating that that though there is
diversity within the region, Sushma
Swaraj said challenges within it are
"quite similar".
"Our vision for the region is one
of cooperation and collective
action," she said.
India, along with the US, Japan
and Australia, are part of a quad
revived last year that seeks to work
for peace and prosperity in the
Indo‑Pacific region.
Sushma Swaraj's remarks assume
significance given China's belliger‑
ent attitude in the South China Sea
region and Beijing's attempts to
increase its footprint across the
Indian Ocean.
"Hanoi is therefore a particularly
appropriate setting for us to discuss
developments in the Indian Ocean
and the Indo‑Pacific region," she
said.
Onam brings cheer in
Kerala relief camps
Thiruvananthapuram: Survivors of
Kerala's worst floods in a century
set aside their misery, even if only
temporarily, to celebrate Onam in
numerous relief camps across the
state, relishing the traditional Onam
"sadya" or lunch.
Camp officers ensured availability
of vegetables and other commodi‑
ties after men and women in the
camps insisted they would cook the
sadya themselves instead of accept‑
ing what was being of fered by
NGOs and clubs.
People relishing the traditional Onam 'sadya'ʼ at a relief camp in
Of course, not all the 26 dishes
Kochi. Over 6.05 lakh people are still sheltered in 1,822 camps.
that constitute the sadya could be
readied but people appeared to be are still sheltered in 1,822 camps, helped us learn many things which
happy with what they could pre‑ big and small. "We refused a spon‑ we never ever thought we would
pare. State Ministers, Leader of sored Onam sadya. Our own lunch learn. We feel we have passed the
Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, turned out to be a huge success," litmus test."
superstar Mammootty and hugely said Parvathy, a middle‑aged Bringing solace to a relief camp in
popular singer K.S. Chithra were woman who has been in a camp in Kodungalloor was superstar
among those who had the sadya Alappuzha for the past five days. Mammootty, who urged everyone to
with the people in various camps At a camp supported by a state‑ keep a positive frame of mind.
across the state. run engineering college, student "You are going to rebuild your
Children managed to gather what‑ volunteers joined the Onam cele‑ lives. Remember, many of you were
ever flowers were available in and brations. saved by people who never knew
around the camp sites to prepare In Kottayam, residents of you. Likewise, while a million peo‑
floral carpets. Aymenem and Kumarakom said the ple were affected by the floods, 30
Ever since monsoon rains began Onam sadya provided them huge million Keralites were not. Just like
lashing Kerala on May 29, a total of relief after unending stories of you were saved by unknown people,
417 people have died. This month, human suffering. similar unknown people from
unprecedented floods caused wide‑ "The bonhomie lit up our lives across Kerala will come to your res‑
spread destruction and forced more especially when we prepared our cue when you rebuild your lives.
than a million people to flee their own sadya," said a woman who was "Also, the Kerala government is
homes to take shelter in relief cen‑ getting ready to return to her home. there with you. Just be positive," he
tres. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Added Devika, at a camp in said and served lunch at the camp
Vijayan said over 6.05 lakh people Kozihikode: "T he tragedy has and then had his lunch too.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Rahul in Europe: Emerging
as a tougher opponent
By Naresh Kaushik
T
aking a leaf out of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's
book, Congress President
Rahul Gandhi used his Europe tour
to reach out to non‑resident
Indians, or NRIs ‑‑ a group largely
known to support Modi's Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) in recent years.
Throughout the tour, he targeted
Modi for his style and policies, bit‑
terly attacked the BJP and its ideo‑
logical parent, the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and
tried to project him and the
Congress party as a better alterna‑
tive. Gandhi comes from a family
where access is carefully controlled
and only a select few are allowed to
reach its members. But in London,
he gave the impression that he's
accessible to the common man. He
even mingled with the guests at his
gatherings and shook their hands.
Speaking to journalists, he
mocked Modi for not talking to
them openly. He accused the Prime
Minister of not having the courage
to answer reporters' questions. This
was a reminder of Modi's public
event in London in April, where he
was accused of taking pre‑planned
and selected questions from the
audience and not addressing even a
single press conference. But one has
to remember that Modi was also
accessible to the media before he
became Prime Minister. The ques‑
tion is, will Gandhi attend such open
events and answer unscripted ques‑
tions if he ever becomes the Prime
Minister of India?
But still, this was a new Rahul
Gandhi in London ‑‑ more mature,
aggressive, confident and ready to
challenge his rivals. His sustained
Teach a lesson to saffronizing Modi government: Stalin
Chennai: Moments after his unani‑
mous election as DMK President,
M.K. Stalin on Tuesday dispelled
notions that his party was leaning
towards the BJP by accusing the
Modi government of "saffronizing"
India and said it should be taught a
lesson.
He also charged the BJP‑led gov‑
ernment with trying to destroy the
basics of education, art, culture and
religion through religious hatred.
In a hard‑hitting speech to dele‑
gates at the party's General Council,
which elected him the second
President to succeed his father M.
Karunanidhi, who held the post for
49 years, Stalin also hit out at the
Centre saying it was painful to note
that it was destroying policies of
Congress President Rahul Gandhi addressing the gathering during
a programme in London. (Photo: IANS/twitter/@INCIndia)
attacks on Modi, the BJP and the
RSS were deliberate and sounded
like part of a well‑planned theme.
It's clear that he wanted to provoke
the ruling party in India in order to
set an agenda for debate. By com‑
paring the RSS with Muslim
Brotherhood, he wanted to plant a
doubt in the minds of the Hindu
right‑wing organisation's new sup‑
porters in India. This was also an
attempt to drive away some voters
from the BJP.
By targeting Modi and raising the
issue of the alleged threat to India's
institutions under his government,
Gandhi was trying to become the
darling of the intelligentsia that
supported the BJP in 2014. By
praising Sushma Swaraj, who he's
bitterly criticised in the past, and
attacking Modi for isolating her,
Gandhi sought to create a wedge in
the cabinet and was trying to
impress upon the audience that he
favoured an inclusive government
where individual ministers were as
important as the Prime Minister.
But we all know that Modi'S style
of functioning is very similar to
egalitarianism, social justice and
rationalist thinking. "The social and
political environment that is prevail‑
ing now is a big challenge to the self‑
respect policies. The basics of educa‑
tion, art, literature and religion are
being sought to be destroyed by the
central government through reli‑
gious hatred and on the basis of offi‑
cial power."The selection process in
judiciary, education and state gover‑
nors and the Centre's actions are
aimed at sabotaging the secular prin‑
ciples," he said in a speech, at times
overtaken by emotion.
Setting two immediate tasks for his
party colleagues, he urged them to
join him in the fight against the Modi
government and also the "spineless"
AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu.
INDIA
Rahul Gandhi's grandmother, Indira
Gandhi. And it's a fact that in pres‑
ent‑day India, leaders of all political
parties act like dictators and once in
government they rarely allow indi‑
vidual ministers to have an inde‑
pendent voice.
In Europe, Rahul Gandhi cleverly
avoided talking about his own ambi‑
tions of becoming Prime Minister.
He didn't want other opposition
leaders to stop dreaming about that
ambition and thus jeopardise their
support for an anti‑BJP front during
next year's elections. It also went
with his theme of projecting himself
as a consensus politician.
He fumbled at the press meet ear‑
lier when he seemed to agree with
Pakistan's position that the main
problem currently between the two
countries was that India didn't want
to talk. But later, in answer to a
direct question about Imran Khan's
election, he made it clear that rela‑
tions with Pakistan couldn't
improve as long as institutions like
the ISI continued to export violence
to India.
The Congress president rightly
Confessing at the outset that he
was not like his father and did not
have the command of the language
like Karunanidhi, the 65‑year‑old
said he would dare to try new things
inspired by the late Dravidian leg‑
ends Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy and
C.N. Annadurai.
He said the DMK was a fort found‑
ed on four pillars of rationalism, self‑
respect, social justice and equality.
He charged the AIADMK government
with sacrificing people‑centric
schemes initiated by the DMK and
indulging in "daylight loot" of the
state. "The first duty of the DMK is to
remove these social evils and rescue
the state from the hands of these
thieves," Stalin said, adding that the
biggest danger facing the country
September 1-7, 2018
Will respond once RSS
invite comes: Congress
New Delhi: As the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) plans
to invite Congress President
Rahul Gandhi for a three‑day lec‑
ture series, the party said it will
respond only after receiving an
invitation from the organisation.
"I do not answer hypothetical
speculative questions. I have said
to you categorically upon check‑
ing that we have received no invi‑
tation," said Congress spokesper‑
son Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
"You can be rest assured, as
focussed on the unemployment
issue and was honest in saying that
most countries are facing that prob‑
lem and don't know how to tackle it.
He wanted India to follow China
where he said small and medium
industries had resulted in large‑
scale industrialisation and massive
job creation. But he should know
that a democratic India can't be
compared to a totalitarian China. In
India, no government can take a
decision without attracting scrutiny
by the opposition and the media.
But where Rahul Gandhi didn't
come out really clever and mature
is when he said that the Congress
party was not responsible for the
massacre of Sikhs after the assassi‑
nation of his grandmother in 1984.
For the second day in London, he
failed to correct himself that mem‑
bers of his party were not only
responsible but some of them led
mobs to kill Sikhs. Although later
his party didn't give them tickets
now was the existence of political
parties without any principles with
the single aim of targeting offices of
power and pelf. Telling his party col‑
leagues that they would be seeing a
'new Stalin' from now on, he said he
dreamt of leading the party treating
everyone as equal.
"We are not anti‑God. Even if we
don't believe (in God) we will respect
the beliefs of believers. We will act
against whoever commits wrongs,
including myself," he said.
Stalin vowed to fight for restora‑
tion of individual right of speech and
media freedom, protection of right to
hold individual views and oppose
parties that attempt to obliterate
other languages and view the whole
of India on the basis of religion.
13
and when the Congress receives
an invitation, there will be an
appropriate proper response and
you all will be shared with that
response, he said.
T he RSS was crit ical of
Congress President Rahul Gandhi
for drawing comparisons of it
with the Islamic State (IS) and the
Muslim Brotherhood and plans
to invite him for a three‑day lec‑
ture series next month to enlight‑
en people about the organiza‑
tion.
for parliament and state assemblies,
they were never expelled.
Gandhi's explanation that he con‑
demned all violence and wanted the
guilty to be punished, is similar to
Modi and BJP leaders saying that
they condemned all violence, includ‑
ing those by cow vigilantes, and
wanted the perpetrators to be
brought to justice. All of a sudden,
just months before the general elec‑
tion, Gandhi, has given the BJP and
the Akali Dal a major political issue.
As Sikhs are in large numbers
among the NRIs, he has only man‑
aged to provoke their anger against
the Congress party.
Gandhi still has a long way to go.
He still appears to lack new ideas
and the political acumen required
to take on Modi. But his Europe
tour suggests Modi and the BJP will
have to take him seriously. The man
they dismissed as "Pappu" for a
long time appears to have emerged
as a tough challenger.
M.K. Stalin succeeds his father
M. Karunanidhi as DMK
President
 14 September 1-7, 2018
How inclusive growth still eludes India
By Amit Kapoor
I
nequality and lack of access to
public goods and services has
been the bane of Indian society
for centuries. But never has it
been as stark as it is today, with
10 per cent of India's richest fami‑
lies owning 56 per cent of the
total national income, according to
the World Inequality Report.
It only strengthens the belief
that even after over 70 years of
independence, inclusive growth
has remained elusive, calling for a
serious policy rethink in terms of
redistribution of wealth, equal
opportunities for all and proper
distribution of goods and services
in the country. Take the case of a
rich and progressive state like
Maharashtra with the greatest
nominal GDP among all states. It
too harbours a district like
Nandurbar, which can easily be
grouped with some of the poorest
BURQA HAS NO QURANIC INJUNCTION,
WHY ANNOY HOST SOCIETIES?
By Saeed Naqvi
In normal times, Britain's former
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson's
observation that burqa‑clad women
resemble walking "letter boxes" and
"bank robbers" would evoke laugh‑
ter. But these are not normal times.
Just when liberals were beginning
to pelt stones at him, a startling turn
to the debate was given by Taj
Hargay, Imam of Oxford. "The burqa
is a Wahabi fifth column... We will
wake up in the Islamic Republic of
Britain."
Johnson's observation is mischie‑
vous, and has a political purpose,
the Imam's an exaggeration. The
observations are troubling for an
Indian Muslim.
I am troubled for another reason.
After extensive travel around the
world, I am inclined to cast my vote
in recent years for Britain as a socie‑
ty where human rights, rule of law,
race relations are most secure. That
is why I am uneasy at the two obser‑
vations.
Let me turn to India to bring out
my point, by comparison, in bolder
relief.
The depths to which Hindu‑
Muslim relations have sunk in India
is attributed by pundits to the
brazenly communal politics of the
ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
under Prime Minister Narendra
Modi since 2014. If an ancient civili‑
sation, embracing 1.25 billion peo‑
ple, can be so totally transformed in
merely four years, Modi and his
OP-ED TheSouthAsianTimes.info
ranked 14 on the SPI. It is equally
true for the industrial district of
Ludhiana in Punjab.
Setting up more and more pri‑
mary health centers and local gov‑
ernment hospitals with doctors
from outside, have not really
helped. The Chinese model of
barefoot doctors ‑‑ local youths
trained in basic healthcare servic‑
es and servicing community hospi‑
tals, and specialists taking care of
the major hospitals ‑‑ could be a
ready solution. Even high econom‑
Equity, equal opportunities for all, inclusiveness and well‑being of all ic density and a decent SPI rank is
should be the government's motto rather than having islands of not enough to lure top universities
affluence in a sea of poverty. (Photo: Courtesy, The Dialogue) to a district. Nashik in
districts of the country. among all districts in the country. Maharashtra is a case in point. It
For instance, the difference Even a progressive district like has an economic density of 110
between the economic density, Chennai in Tamil Nadu (ranked and an SPI of 122, but still has a
which is the GDP per square kilo‑ third in the SPI) suffers from poor poor score of 32.2 on the issue of
meter as defined by the World access to health and wellness with access to advanced education.
Bank report of 2011, between a score of 49.6. Kancheepuram Why should a district like the
Nandurbar and Pune is 317. While district in Tamil Nadu too has a diamond capital of India, Surat, in
Pune has a rank of 39 Nandurbar poor record in terms of access to Gujarat, suffer from lack of access
is way down the ladder at 356 advanced education (36.8) despite to information and communica‑
for Partition in double‑quick time.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, former
President of the Congress, and oth‑
ers warned Pandit Nehru that
Partition would mean "unadulterat‑
ed Hindu Raj".
By that logic, once the Congress
Working Committee had accepted a
Muslim state, with a small Hindu
minority, named Pakistan, it logical‑
ly followed that the rest of India
would be Hindustan or a Hindu state
with a substantial Muslim minority.
In other words, on August 15, 1947,
India glided seamlessly from British
Raj to Hindu Raj but Nehru chose
not to use the term "Hindu" for a
variety of reasons.
A "Hindu" state was an affront to
his self‑image. Self‑image was
important to Nehru. In his evolution,
there was a phase when he was
angry with his father for having
hired an English governess for his
sister, Vijaylakshmi Pandit. "Bhai
(brother) was cross," Mrs. Pandit
told me, "because British aristocracy
those days preferred French gov‑
ernesses."
The basic reason why Nehru
London Mayor Sadiq Khan during a recent visit to the avoided the term "Hindu" to
Golden Temple in Amritsar. (Photo: IANS) describe the new found state was
cohorts deserve to be celebrated as the manner in which India's Kashmir. How could a Hindu state
miracle men. Partition was affected. The claim the Muslim majority province
No, the present government has Congress was firmly opposed to the of Kashmir on the principle of conti‑
clearly accelerated the communal two‑nation theory enunciated by guity?
agenda but the ground for it was Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Look at it from the hardcore
diligently laid over 71 years of inde‑ Pakistan ‑‑ that Hindus and Muslims Hindu perspective. After a thousand
pendence. The ruling party for most constituted two separate nations. years of Muslim rule, 200 of British,
of these decades was the Congress. But the Congress accepted Lord the Muslim state of Pakistan does
Social disharmony was built into Mountbatten's June 3, 1947, plan come into being. But, alas, no Hindu
tion (score: 51.38), especially in
this digital age, when all informa‑
tion should be available at the
click of a button? More so, when
the district has a high economic
density of 92 but also an SPI of
71.
Many of these issues like access
to information is likely to be
resolved once the government's
Bharat Net Project ‑‑ connecting
nearly 2.5 lakh gram panchayats
through broadband ‑‑ is complet‑
ed. Proper internet connectivity
will not only help those living in
far‑flung areas to keep abreast of
what is happening nationally, but
internationally too. Inequality
breeds social tensions and hence
constrains the growth of a nation.
Hence, equity, equal opportunities
for all, inclusiveness and well‑
being of all should be the govern‑
ment's motto rather than having
islands of affluence in a sea of
poverty.
state. The sophistry of why it is so is
lost on the millions. This is where
the Hindu communalist pitches his
tent.
It turns out that, over the decades,
a compulsive hatred for Pakistan
has emerged an acid test for nation‑
alism. Into this bubbling cauldron
has been pushed a boulder ‑‑ the
post‑9/11 war against terror. The
Islamophobia this has generated
globally has been grist to the Hindu
communalist's mill too.
The fact that Britain is a
Protestant monarchy did not come
in the way of Sadiq Khan serving as
London's high profile Mayor.
Last year Donald Trump banned
travel to the US from several Muslim
countries. He was therefore not
accorded a "state" visit to Britain
because in that event protocol
would have involved the Mayor of
London. Saving Sadiq Khan this
embarrassment was important
enough for the organisers to deny
Trump a state banquet with the
Queen.
The Home Secretary Sajid Javid
may not be a practicing Muslim but
he is there high in public profile to
make a bid for the top job.
Two years ago when I watched a
Test match there were four Muslims
in the English cricket team. I have
met doctors, teachers, civil servants,
entrepreneurs from the subconti‑
nent, both Hindus and Muslims,
thriving.
The Anglican Church never came
in their way.
 TheSouthAsianTimes.info
GAURANG SHAH
TRANSPORTS FASHION
LOVERS TO YESTERYEARS
Gaurang Shah had a model perform on the song "Mud mud ke na dekh"
from the film "Shree 420" at LFW 2018 in Mumbai.
W
ith old and gold songs
like "Waqt ne kiya kya
haseen sitam", "Mud
mud ke na dekh" and "Yeh hai
Bombay meri jaan" playing as the
background score, award‑winning
textile designer Gaurang Shah's
show 'Anupama' ‑‑ inspired by
yesteryear actresses like Nutan,
Meena Kumari, Nargis and
Madhubala ‑‑ took fashion lovers
at the Lakme Fashion Week
(LFW), back to the 1950s and
1960s.
Men's clothing a bit
under‑challenged:
Amit Aggarwal
A
mit Aggarwal, who is ventur‑
ing into the world of fash‑
ion for males, was asked if
men's fashion is underrated, said:
"Yes, I do think that barring a
handful of designers, men's cloth‑
ing is a bit under‑challenged."
The designer, who started his
label in 2012, says “men now are
very experimental in their clothing
choices. I think we are going to push
the envelope even more. That's what
people can expect from our collec‑
tion," he said.
Aggarwal, who worked as a ready‑
to‑wear assistant designer with cele‑
brated stylist Tarun Tahiliani before
venturing out on his own, says
androgynous is a trend that men are
looking for when it comes to fashion.
“Even with menswear, feminine
aspects will be incorporated, and we
are doing just that. Using innovative textiles in enthralling silhouettes
with exquisite details, it will be approachable to a man, but also experi‑
mental for them.”
FASHION September 1-7, 2018 15
Lakme Fashion Week 2018
Millennialsʼ
effect on fashion
is revolutionary:
Nachiket Barve
F
ashion designer Nachiket match and wear differently. They
Barve, showcasing a collec‑ want to repeat their clothes, but
tion inspired by millennials style them differently. After all,
at the LFW, says the new generation even Maharanis don't have an
has a revolutionary effect on fash‑ unlimited budget," he quipped.
ion. “They see the world differently The designer, who launched his
from the generations before. They eponymous label at the Gen‑Next
want 'La Dolce Vita', the good life show at LFW in 2010, will be
on speed dial. They want to have presented a range titled
beautifully made clothes and style 'Millennial Maharanis' here.
them in their own way. They are He says it is an ode to the
unafraid to break rules and mix royalty of the 1920s and
Indian and Western silhouettes in 1930s who wore Indian as
their own way, quite like the well as Western fashion
Maharanis of yore," he says. with equal elan.
Barve says the millennials
Actress Jhanvi Kapoor
want to be inspired and are walks the ramp for fashion
With a wide range of vintage
hyper aware of trends. "They designer Nachiket Barve.
style saris, dresses and Anarkalis,
want clothes they can mix and (Photos: IANS)
models broke ramp rules by giv‑
ing up towering heels to saunter
BOLLYWOOD'S
barefoot for the show here last
Friday.
The finale of the exuberant
IMPACT ON
show saw a ballet dancer who tip‑
toed onto the ramp in a beautiful
off‑white crop top and a long
FASHION IS
skirt paired with ballet shoes, and
performed on the song "Mud mud
ke na dekh" from the film "Shree
420".
WORLDWIDE:
PAYAL SINGHAL
W
ith names like Priyanka Chopra,
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Aishwarya
Rai Bachchan and Deepika
Padukone walking the red carpet internation‑
ally, designer Payal Singhal says Bollywood
has an impact on fashion worldwide.
"Their (Bollywood) impact is now world‑
wide, even in countries they don't visit. People
from around the globe follow them. But yes
mostly it's an Indian consumer," Singhal told
IANS here.
Singhal, who has clients in places like New
York, Miami, Hong Kong and London, is
happy that Indian actors are doing their best
to promote Indian style. But she wishes some
of them would wear more Indian designs
abroad.
Singhal, who has experience in fashion of
over a decade, feels that the definition of cou‑
ture has not changed over the years.
"Though the only difference then and now
walks
Actor Shahid Kapoor is that the consumer is very well informed e
the ramp for fashion alks th
al.
and aware of couture fashion and luxury
Ha asan w ners
designer Amit Aggarw i
ut ig
wear. Some people, however, do misuse the ss Shr shion des 8.
Actre for fa t LF W 201
term couture and market products under that ram p inn i a
dK
ha an
tag which is very misleading for the con‑ Saaks
sumer," she said.
 16 September 1-7, 2018
Deepika‑Ranveer wedding When Sunny Deol got
preparations in full swing beaten up by Dharmendra
Actors Deepika and Ranveer have never announced their relationship publicly.
D
eepika Padukone and Ranveer
Singhʼs rumored wedding is on
schedule, with a new report pro‑
viding further details about their upcom‑
ing nuptials.
According to a SpotboyE report, a grand
puja will be organized 10 days before the
wedding in Deepikaʼs hometown,
Bangalore, which will be followed by a lav‑
ish reception in Mumbai expected to be
attended by the coupleʼs Bollywood
friends. A source close to the Padukones
has told SpotboyE that a Nandi Puja will be
held at their Bangalore residence, and that
Deepikaʼs mother Ujjala has spoken to a
Nandi Temple about arranging priests for
the puja. It was previously reported that
Deepika and Ranveer will tie the knot in a
Akshay, Salman in world's
highest paid actors list
B
ollywood
super‑
stars
Akshay Kumar
and Salman
Khan have
secured a spot in
Forbes maga‑
zine's World's
Highest Paid
Actors 2018 list,
topped by
Hollywood ace
George Clooney.
Akshay, known
lately for his Most film of actors Ak
socially conscious make it to the 100 cro
roles in films like
"Toilet: Ek Prem Katha" and "Pad Man", is
in the seventh spot with earnings of
$40.5 million between June 1, 2017 and
June 1, 2018. He minted millions from
backend profits and endorsing some 20
brands, including Tata and Eveready,
Forbes said.
Salman also remains one of India's top
earners with $38.5 million, with hits such
as "Tiger Zinda Hai" and by cashing in on
backend profits, coupled with a slew of
endorsements from Suzuki motorcycles
to Chlormint gum.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
private ceremony in Italyʼs Lake Como on
November 20.
Earlier, in an interview to India Today,
Ranveer had downplayed wedding rumors.
“These are things I think about. I try to cre‑
ate a life and work balance. As much as I
am consumed by my work at the moment,
these things (marriage) are on my mind.
But nothing decisive as of now,” he had
said.
While Deepika and Ranveer have never
announced their relationship publicly, they
have been rumored to be dating since
2013. Theyʼve starred in three films
together ̶ “Ram Leela”, “Bajirao Mastani”
and the recent “Padmaavat” ̶ and have
been very affectionate towards each other
on social media.
an Khan
shay Kumar and Salm
re club.
Clooney, 57, is at the top of the list with
$239 million despite not having helmed a
hit in years. His earnings are thanks to
the up to $1 billion purchase of his
Casamigos Tequila.
The list tallies both onscreen and
extracurricular earnings in the 12‑month
scoring frame.
Earning estimates are based on data
from Nielsen, ComScore, Box Office Mojo
and IMDB, as well as interviews with
industry insiders. All figures are pretax;
fees for agents, managers and lawyers are
not deducted.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
V
eteran actor Dharmendra
has revealed an incident
when he thrashed his elder
son Sunny Deol. Dharmendra and
his sons Bobby Deol and Sunny
shot for an episode of the show
"Indian Idol 10".
On the show, its host Maniesh
Paul played rapid fire with
Dharmendra. He asked the actor
about Sunny and Bobby.
When Dharmendra was asked
whom he loves more, he said one is
my left eye and the other is my
right eye. He also revealed the time
when he had thrashed Sunny, read
a statement. "Both the kids are my
two eyes and I love them very
much. Once I had got a toy gun for
Sunny and he broke all the mirrors
in the house. That was when I had
lost my temper and given him left
and right. Later I felt very bad about
this," Dharmendra said. The three (L to R) Actors Sunny Deol, Dharmendra and
will soon be seen in their film Bobby Deol at the trailer launch of their
"Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se". upcoming film ʻYamla Pagla Deewana Phir Seʼ.
'Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi':
A genial comedy
A still from the movie ʻHappy Phirr Bhag Jayegiʼ.
T
his sequel steals your heart once keep you in splits with their poker face
again. "Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi" but funny banter.
combines a little mistaken identity, Denzil Smith is flawless as the sleazy
romantic comedy and xenophobic musing antagonist Adnan Chow camoflaging as a
into one of those genial films where you suave and erudite businessman.
know everything is going to turn out all Mudassar Aziz's writing is fascinating.
right in the end. His dialogues are packed with punch as he
While in the original, Diana Penty as the plays with words, in Hindi, Urdu and smat‑
lively, determined and bubbly girl, tering of Chinese this time. The gags are
Harpreet Kaur aka Happy who would do taut, fresh and brilliantly interlaid in the
anything for love, was the surprise pack‑ convoluted plot.
age. In this edition we have her namesake The graph of the narrative has
in Sonakshi Sinha who keeps the its crests and trough but never is
REVIEW
fizz going, when she is kidnapped there a moment of equilibrium.
in Shanghai in a case of mistaken Also his climax, though a riot,
identity. This film focuses much on does not have the zing of a mad‑caper.
Sonakshi Sinha and thus you do miss the With excellent production values, the film,
spunky Diana as her role is reduced to shot extensively in Shanghai captures the
that of a supporting cast and so is the case city in all its vibrancy. The songs merge
with Ali Fazal. Jimmy Shergill as the bois‑ seamlessly into the narrative and the
terous but unlucky in love, politician background score enhances the viewing
Daman Singh Bagga and Piyush Mishra as experience. Overall, this film might not
the retired, Pakistani Police Officer have the spark of its predecessor but nev‑
Usman Afridi, return as a comic pair. Their ertheless, it is light‑hearted enough to
on‑screen chemistry is palpable and they bring a smile to you face.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Priyanka‑Nick alliance ticks all Not very hopeful from
mental boxes of the desi girl Bombay film world:
By Subhash K. Jha,
IANS
S V
o it is actually happen‑
ing. After all the hide
and seek, all the will‑
she‑won't‑she, Priyanka
Chopra finally got engaged to
Nick Jonas at a very private
get‑together at the Chopras'
residence.
That she was so serious
about Nick never occurred to
me till now.
Girl, you've come a long way.
I've known Priyanka when she
had stopped dating Aseem
Merchant (remember him?)
and was still to meet Harman
Baweja.
As far as Priyanka Chopra is concerned,
She was a warm and
friendly girl from the start.
At that point of time she was looking for‑
ward to the release of her first film with
Sunny Deol ‑‑ "The Hero", directed by Anil
Sharma. Priyanka told me she was so much
in awe of Deol that she kept her gaze
restricted to his feet.
Priyanka never forgets an obligation.
Years later, when a Sunny Deol starrer with
her in lead was retrieved from the cans, she
rushed to complete the pending film.
I had warned her it would be an instant
flop.
"Ya, but Sunny Paaji had worked with me
when I was a nobody, no?" she said.
Priyanka was destined to move far beyond
her allotted space. She made sure of that.
She was always ambitious and never apolo‑
getic about it. Sadly, her relationships did
not seem to work out. When she was linked
ʻI want to take big
swings at big namesʼ
F
rom speaking of his own
identity crisis while growing
up in the US as an immi‑
grant, to picking on US president
Donald Trump at the White House
Correspondents' Dinner, to tackling
Islamophobia, Hasan Minhaj likes to
add current political and social
issues to his comic narrative.
The reputed Indian‑American
comedian says he is not afraid to
take "big swings", and doesn't think
"log kya kahenge", a Hindi phrase for
"what will people say".
"I am very lucky. I am in an incredi‑
ble privileged position as a comedian
in America and we are given certain
protection. Despite the problems that the
country has, we are given these incredi‑
ble privileges and protections," Hasan
said. "I know a lot of journalists, activists
and performers around the world who
don't get that. So, I just feel incredibly
grateful for the opportunities that I have," gle searching for his identity.
Hasan said before the release of
Lionsgate Films' "The Spy Who Dumped
Me" in India. He essays the role of Topher
Duffer, a CIA Harvard alum in the movie ‑
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
this alliance is for keeps.
with one superstar, he quickly stopped
working with her to pacify his wife. Another
stormy, long‑lasting liaison with a major
superstar was almost her Waterloo as it
took her nowhere.
Nick Jonas is almost like poetic justice
after what Priyanka went through in her
last dead‑end relationship. He is young (10
years her junior), successful and completely
devoted to her. Apparently, Nick insisted on
flying down to India to meet Priyanka's
mother to formally ask for her daughter's
hand.
Both Priyanka and Nick want marriage
and babies. They are made for each other.
That's the beauty of being in love when you
are Priyanka Chopra. This alliance is for
keeps. It ticks all the boxes in her head even
as her heart pounds in excitement.
aj.
median Hasan Minh
Indian‑American co
‑
an action thriller, starring Mila Kunis and
Kate McKinnon in comical roles. Growing
up in the US as a Muslim from Aligarh
was a bumpy ride for Hasan. And he gave
words to his story through "Homecoming
King", filled with anecdotes of his strug‑
Hasan was also applauded for roasting
Trump at White House Correspondents'
Dinner last April, an event Trump had
refused to attend.
Naseeruddin
eteran Bollywood actor
Naseeruddin Shah, known for his
roles in movies like "A Wednesday"
and "Nishant" expressed his disappoint‑
ment with the Hindi film industry, but
maintained that he has no regrets from
life.
"It has been an eventful journey and if I
had a chance to live again, I would love to
do it in the same way. I feel fortunate
about the life I have lived,"
Naseeruddin said here
on the opening day
of the Mountain
Echoes literary
festival.
Shah, however,
said that he was
not very opti‑
mistic about the
film industry in
Astounded by choice, variety of
films Alia is doing: Mahesh Bhatt
V
eteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said
that he was astounded by his actor
daughter Alia Bhatt's choices and the
variety of movies that she was doing in her
immensely successful film career.
Mahesh Bhatt was interacting with the
media at press meet of 3 x 3 Pro Basketball
League (3BL) along with his actor‑filmmaker
daughter Pooja Bhatt, who is the co‑owner
of Delhi Hoopers.
Alia is literally on a roll since the past few
years as she has delivered power packed
performances in films like "Highway", "Udta
Punjab", "Dear Zindagi" and "Raazi" and now,
Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt shares an
affectionate moment with daughter Alia.
September 1-7, 2018 17
Mumbai.
"I am pretty much fed up with the kind
of movies we make. I am not very opti‑
mistic about the film world in Bombay,"
the 68‑year‑old actor said.
He maintained that the Hindi film indus‑
try is "all fluff " and it is hard to find any‑
thing that will make him thrive in the
industry.
He said he was no longer interested in
"60‑day shoots" and was only doing
movies that demanded lesser time on his
part.
"Theatre is what I want to focus more
on. At least you can turn back the
pages and play Shakespeare or any
great works," the National School of
Drama‑trained actor said.
He maintained that it is difficult
to find any creative work in
Bollywood, and that web plat‑
forms like Netflix and Amazon
Prime are the future of film
viewing.
Veteran actor Naseeruddin
Shah says the Hindi film
industry is ʻall fluffʼ.
she is emerging as one of the top actress of
Hindi film industry.
Talking about Alia's journey, Mahesh Bhatt
said: "I think Alia has made us very proud
and she has astounded me in particular. I
knew she was talented and she had this
obsession of being in the movies. But movie
after movie, I am astounded by her choices
and the variety of films that she is doing”.
Talking about what kind of advice he and
his family constantly gives to Alia, Bhatt
said: "She is good but there is always some‑
body far more brilliant than her. She should
keep her eyes open to see that”.
 18 September 1-7, 2018
First Person
Imran
Khan
as I have
known him
By Surekha Vijh
I
mran Khan, the famed former crick‑
eter, was sworn in as the 22nd Prime
Minister of Pakistan. Khan took the
oath of office on August 18 after his party
Pakistan Tehreek‑e‑Insaf (PTI) won the
most parliamentary seats in the July 25
elections but fell short of a majority, forc‑
ing it to form a coalition.
Imran founded the PTI in 1996 after
retiring from active cricket in 1992.
Although it is too early to say, how his
premiership will turn out, in South Asia
especially he is considered an icon who
achieves what he believes in.
I first met Imran Khan almost 30 years
ago in London where I was a student and
part time broadcaster at the BBC World
Service. Since then I have met him half a
dozen times, in three continents: in the
UK, the US, even Pakistan.
The most recent meeting was a couple
of years ago at the George Mason
University in Virginia, where he addressed
South Asian students. We met for tea and
he talked about his political goals, his
party and his aspirations for Pakistan.
My first meeting with him in London
where I interviewed him for BBC turned
out to be a good conversation. Imran was
easy to talk to. He was at the top of his
cricket career yet very down to earth.
There was no visible arrogance in his
behavior, yet he had self‑confidence and
courage. After the interview he invited me
for a working lunch across the street from
the BBC station. It was at a deli where he
picked up salad and milk and I got myself
a sandwich. As we settled down on a small
table, he talked about his love for fitness
and good food. But he had to watch his
diet being a sportsperson, he said. He dis‑
cussed his other interests, and asked me
about my future plans. Before leaving he
gave me his telephone number and
address just outside London, and invited
me for a get together at his place.
A senior colleague at the BBC decided
to accompany me to his place. She hap‑
pened to be attracted to his star status.
Khan was a good host and a gentleman.
SUBCONTINENT
After finishing my studies in
Cambridge I went back to India and
joined the Times of India as a reporter. I
got an invitation to visit Pakistan. I had
heard stories about Lahore, Sialkot and
other places in undivided India, since my
parents came from there before the parti‑
tion. I decided to go to Pakistan and see
what my parents had left years ago.
I met Imran Khan in Lahore. He invited
me to his house in Jamam Park and
showed me around his house and some
popular monuments in Lahore. He seemed
more relaxed in Pakistan than in UK. I
heard him speak fluent Punjabi with his
staff in the house although his parents
were Pathans and spoke Pashto. We
talked about cricket, India and many
things in general. He had a big collection
of books and gave me a crash course in
literature. He said he loved to read besides
his love for sports and fitness.
We met a couple of times in India. then
we met in NYC in the mid 90ʼs. He was
very upset that his mother had died from
cancer and there were no good cancer
hospitals in Pakistan. He said he was rais‑
ing funds to build a hospital in his moth‑
erʼs memory.
During the conversation he mentioned
that he was impressed by rich Indians
who became philanthropists. Even in
Pakistan, he said all the big hospitals were
built by rich Hindus, like the Ganga Ram
Hospital in Lahore. People like Sir Ganga
Ram Agrawal, a civil engineer who served
the British Government, lived a simple life
and used their resources to build hospitals
and schools.
Each time I met Imran he had new goals
and new aspirations. I met him again in
NYC, by which time he had already started
building the Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in
Lahore. He was also gearing up to launch
a political party.
Imran was critical of Benazir Bhutto. He
said she acted like an empress not as a
public servant. He said leaders should
know the pulse of the people. Later he
was critical of Nawaz Sharif, who he felt
was building his own empire rather than
The print and broadcast
journalist has met the cricket
star‐turned‐politician many
times over three decades in
three continents. “Each time
I met Imran Khan (now prime
minister of Pakistan), he had
new goals, an idealistic yet
down to earth approach.”
caring for people.
When we met at George Mason
University in Virginia he was active in pol‑
itics and planned to upset the apple cart
in Pakistan. Many dismissed him, arguing
that he stood no chance against the
Sharifs and Bhuttos and that he was a
novice in the political game. He told me he
was not discouraged by what people said
and believed in taking action rather than
just talking about it.
He said he hated mediocrity. “Whatever
field one chooses one should try to be the
best,” he smiled with a sincere keenness
and child‑like enthusiasm.
Imran grew up with five women ‑‑ his
mother and four sisters. He said his father
never differentiated between his only son
and the daughters, and thatʼs the reason
he considered women as equals. All his
sisters are highly educated.
Born in an upper‑middle class Pashtun
family in Lahore in 1952, Khan was edu‑
cated at Aitchison College in Lahore. Later
he went to the Royal Grammar School
Worcester in Worcester, England, and
Keble College, Oxford. He started playing
cricket at the age of 13. Initially playing
for his college and later for
Worcestershire he made his debut for the
Pakistan national cricket team at the age
of 18, during the 1971 series against
England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
After graduating from Oxford, he made
his home debut for Pakistan in 1976, and
played until 1992 and won the first and
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
only World Cup for his country the same
year. He also served as the team's captain
intermittently between 1982 and 1992
and retired from cricket in 1992 as one of
Pakistan's most successful sportsperson.
He made 3,807 runs and took 362 wick‑
ets in Test cricket, and is one of eight
world cricketers to have achieved an 'All‑
rounder's Triple' in Test matches. In 2010
he was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall
of Fame.
Imran also served as the chancellor of
Bradford University in England between
2005 and 2014 and was the recipient of
an honorary fellowship by the Royal
College of Physicians in 2012.
He has published six works of non‑fic‑
tion, including an autobiography Imran:
The Autobiography of Imran Khan co‑
written with Patrick Murphy.
Each time I met him, he had new goals,
yet an idealistic and down to earth
approach. He said he had ample opportu‑
nities to settle in England or in the US, but
preferred to go back to Pakistan.
During his first address to his country as
Prime Minister Khan, he called for the rich
to start paying taxes and said the country
will begin an austerity drive to reduce
debt, a campaign he will kickstart by sell‑
ing his officeʼs fleet of bulletproof cars.
Only time will tell where he would take
Pakistan under his stewardship, or
whether he would remain the same per‑
son I had known – idealist yet down to
earth ‑‑ or will power change him.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Afghanistan rejects Russia's invitation for talks with Taliban
Kabul: Afghanistan has said it
would not participate in peace
talks with the Taliban, to be hosted
by Russia in Moscow in the begin‑
ning of September.
"Afghanistan would not attend
the Moscow talks and meeting. We
will not participate, the peace
process should be held under the
leadership of the Afghan govern‑
ment and should be Afghan‑led,"
Sibghatullah Ahmadi, spokesper‑
son for the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs was quoted as saying by
TOLO News.
Afghanistan's decision of not
participating in the talks, to which
12 other countries have been invit‑
ed, could come as a blow to the
Kremlin's initiative scheduled for
September 4.
"The processes will give no
result and will achieve nothing in
which Afghanistan is not taken in
the loop and Afghanistan is not
accepted as the main player and
Rohingya children facing danger
of becoming 'lost generation'
Negotiations are on with the Bangladesh govt
for helping Rohingya children.
Geneva: The UN Children's Fund
(Unicef ) has warned that the chil‑
dren from the Rohingya Muslim
minority are facing the danger of
becoming a "lost generation".
"We're talking about risking the
loss or potential loss of a genera‑
tion of Rohingya children," Unicef
spokesperson Simon Ingram told
the media.
"If we don't make the investment
in education now, we face the very
real danger of seeing a lost genera‑
tion of Rohingya children," UNICEF
Bangladesh Representative
Edouard Beigbeder said, adding
"who lack the skills they need to
deal with their current situation,
and who will be incapable of con‑
tributing to their society whenever
they are able to return to
Myanmar", reports Efe news.
Since August 25, 2017, around
700,000 Rohingya people have
had to escape from what the UN
described as "ethnic cleansing"
SUBCONTINENT
People celebrate Afghanistan Independence Day on August 19.
pillar," Ahmadi said.
However, a former Taliban politi‑
cal figure Sayed Akbar Agha said
the Taliban will attend the meeting
and will start discussions on the
unleashed by the Myanmar securi‑
ty forces, fleeing to neighbouring
countries, especially to
Bangladesh.
Having spent several weeks in
the rudimentary camps in
Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar where
the refugees currently live, Ingram
said that despite improvements
that have been made to the camps,
the Rohingya now "are starting to
look forward, they're starting to
wonder, 'What next?'"
"They are starting to think, you
know, what sort of future that they
really have, and this is where a
new level of anxiety and fear starts
to come in," he added.
Unicef is currently negotiating
with the Bangladeshi government
for new programmes for the
Rohingya children, with the aim of
improving the quality of education,
increasing the number of hours
spent in class and hiring teachers
with the appropriate training.
prospects of peace in Afghanistan
with countries in the region.
"Taliban has agreed on the
Moscow talks and they will attend
it. These talks are related to Asia.
Pak will take 'bitter decisions'
on Jadhav: Foreign Minister
Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign
Minister Shah Mehmoo d
Qureshi said the country will
have to take "some bitter deci‑
sions" in the case of alleged
Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav,
hinting at his execution.
"We will try to move forward
under the leadership of Prime
Minister Imran Khan. T he
nation should be ready as we
will have to take some bitter
decisions," Geo News quoted
Qureshi as telling the media in
Multan city.
The minister expressed hope
that Pakistan will win the case
in the International Court of
Pakistan bans VIP protocol at airports
Islamabad: The Pakistan gov‑
ernment has banned VIP pro‑
tocol given by the Federal
Investigation Agency (FIA) to
influential people at airports
across the country, the media
reported.
The decision came into force
as the Interior Ministry direct‑
ed all of ficials concerned of
the agency's immigration wing
to implement it, reports Dawn
news.
"We have decided to strictly
implement the decision to pro‑
vide equal opportunities to all
travellers without any discrim‑
ination," Information Minister
Fawad Chaudhry told Dawn.
"We have seen that influen‑
tial people used to seek assis‑
tance of FIA of ficials at air‑
ports who (officials) accompa‑
September 1-7, 2018 19
Afghan National Security
Adviser resigns
Kabul: Afghan National Security Adviser Mohamad Anif Atmar
resigned due to "serious differences over policies and approaches at
the top level of government", the media reported.
According to TOLO News, Atmar's letter of resignation stated that
he differed in opinion "when it came to national unity, national con‑
sensus, peace and security political management, electoral affairs,
good governance and regional affairs."
"I am stepping down because we haven't reached a consensus,"
Atmar stated in the letter. He has been a close aide of President
Ashraf Ghani since 2014.
Foreign forces have come to Asian talks, reports say.
countries and there are concerns The main objective of the
among these countries about it. All Moscow Format according to the
these countries want foreign organizers was to promote the
forces to withdraw from process of national reconciliation
Afghanistan," he said. in Afghanistan and establishment
Sher Mohammad Abbas of peace in the country, which has
Stanikzai, head of the Taliban's been steeped in conflict since
political office, will lead the mili‑ American troops ousted the
tant group's delegation in the Taliban in 2001.
Justice (ICJ), which will hear it
for a week in February 2019.
"We have solid evidence
against Jadhav and are hope‑
ful we will win the case in the
ICJ," he said. "We will try our
best to present our stance in
an effective manner before the
ICJ.
Jad hav was sentenced to
death by a Pakistani military
court for espionage in April
2017 following which India
moved the ICJ.
A 10‑member ICJ bench
restrained Pakistan from exe‑
Pakistan Foreign Minister
cuting Jadhav till the case was
Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
adjudicated on.
The VIP protocol was usually given to
politicians, legislators, judges etc.
nied them to promptly clear VIP, he would face strict
their luggage," the minister action, the ministry warned.
said. T he VIP protocol was Immigration counters at air‑
usually given to politicians, ports would be monitored and
legislators, senior bureaucrats, if any VIP was seen being
judges, military of ficials and given special treatment, the
journalists. immigration staf f and of ficial
In case any FIA of ficial is in charge of their shift would
caught giving protocol to a be immediately suspended.
 20 September 1-7, 2018 INTERNATIONAL TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Iran calls for lifting of Pope 'ashamed' by

"unjust" US sanctions
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the UN.
The Hague: Iran has requested the
judges at the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) to order the imme‑
diate lifting of sanctions imposed
on the country by the United
States.
"The sanctions are unjust and
harmful," Mohsen Mohebi, head of
the International legal affairs cen‑
ter of the Iranian President's
of fice, told judges at the Peace
Palace here. "The sanctions are
damaging the economy of Iran,
and driving millions of people into
poverty," Xinhua news agency
reported.
Iran asked the judges to find that
the US breached its obligations to
Iran, and order it to terminate the
sanctions without delay, as well as
any threats about further sanc‑
tions.
Iran is also asking judges to
ensure the US guarantees it will
not violate its obligations again,
and will fully compensate Iran for
the violation of its international
legal obligations.
The lawsuit followed the deci‑
sion by US President Donald
Trump in May to quit the nuclear
agreement, also known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA) signed in 2015. The US
has announced the full reinstate‑
ment of nuclear sanctions on Iran
as well as a high level of economic
sanctions targeting, directly or
indirectly, Iran and Iranian compa‑
nies, or nationals.
After the US reinstated the sanc‑
tions, Iran started proceedings
against it before the ICJ on July
16.
According to Iran, the US violat‑
ed a 1955 friendship treaty
between the two countries, the
Treaty of Amity, Economic
Relations, and Consular Rights,
and requested the court to indicate
provisional measures.
Iran has given its oral arguments
and now the US w ill have the
opportunity to issue their reaction.
Church's sexual
abuse failures
Dublin: Pope Francis said he is
ashamed of the Catholic
Church's failure to adequately
address the "repellent crimes" of
sex abuse by clergy and that the
"failure of ecclesiastical authori‑
ties" to address abuse has "right‑
ly given rise to outrage".
"The failure of ecclesiastical
authorities ‑‑ bishops, religious
superiors, priests and others ‑‑
adequately to address these
appalling crimes has rightly
given rise to outrage, and
remains a source of pain and
shame for the Catholic commu‑
nity. I myself share those senti‑
ments," the Pope said during an
address at Dublin Castle.
However, he failed to specifi‑
cally mention the current scan‑
dal over a US grand jury report
documenting at least 1,000
cases of clerical paedophilia. He
also did not discuss concrete
changes in laws or transparency
or address the question of the
Vatican's complicity in the abuse
cases, CNN reported.
"I cannot fail to acknowledge
the grave scandal caused in
Ireland by the abuse of young
people by members of the
Pope Francis made a
powerful and emotional
plea for forgiveness.
church charged with responsi‑
bility for their protection and
education," the Pontiff told a
room filled with members of the
Irish government, lawmakers
and diplomats.
The Pope was expected to
meet some Irish victims of cleri‑
cal sexual predators.
The 32‑hour trip was the first
papal visit to the majority
Roman Catholic Ireland in 39
years, a country that has under‑
gone seismic social changes in
that time, with the introduction
of divorce, gay marriage and
more recently the legalization of
abortion, as well as a growing
rejection of religion.

US appoints new special Zimbabwe's President sworn in

envoy for N Korea
Washington: US State Secretary
Mike Pompeo has named
Stephen Biegun to be the new
special envoy for North Korea.
The appointment aims to fill
key posts regarding the Korean
Peninsula so as to facilitate
issues like bilateral negotia‑
tions over denuclearization,
peace regime and economic
sanctions, among others.
In a speech to the media at a
press conference, Pompeo said
Biegun's joining is "timely" as
the two of them will travel to
North Korea next week "to
make further diplomatic
progress towards our objec‑
tive", Xinhua news agency
reported.
"As the special representative,
Steve will lead negotiations and
spearhead diplomatic efforts
with our allies and partners,"
Pompeo said, noting that "using
diplomacy to resolve the North
Korean security threat once
and for all remains one of
President Donald Trump's
greatest priorities, and Steve is
eminently qualified for the task
and clear‑eyed in the challenge
before us." For his part, Biegun
US Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo speaks during a press
briefing in Washington.
said he fully understands the
importance of this job.
"The issues are tough, and
they will be tough to resolve,"
he said. "But the President has
created an opening, and it's one
that we must take by seizing
every possible opportunity to
realize the vision for a peaceful
future for the people of North
Korea."
"This begins with the final,
fully verified denuclearization
of North Korea as agreed by
Chairman Kim Jong‑un at the
summit with President Trump
in Singapore," he added.
following disputed election
Harare: T he President of
Zimbabwe took the oath of office, "We are all Zimbabweans; what unites us is
calling for unity following a dis‑
greater than what could ever divide us,"
puted election that the opposi‑
t ion claimed was marred by Mnangagwa said via his official Twitter.
fraud.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75,
won the July 30 election with
50.6 per cent of the vote, after
ascending to the presidency in
November 2017 following a mili‑
tary coup that ousted longtime
leader Robert Mugabe, under
whom he served as Vice
President.
"We are all Zimbabweans; what
unites us is greater than what
could ever divide us,"
Mnangagwa said via his of ficial
Twitter.
"Let me assure you that tomor‑
row is brighter than yesterday!
Let us look forward to the jour‑
ney ahead," his statement contin‑
ued, calling it "a journey of devel‑
Zimbabweʼs new president Emmerson Mnangagwa.
opment, progress and prosperi‑
ty". the National Sports Stadium in since winning independence in
Ex‑president Mugabe and oppo‑ the capital Harare, Efe reported. 1980, while Chamisa sought to
sition leader Nelson Chamisa, a Mnangagwa and Mugabe come tap into younger voters, as 60
40‑year‑old lawyer, did not from the generation of politicians per cent of the country's 5.6 mil‑
attend the swearing‑in ceremony who fought to end white‑minority lion registered voters were under
held in front of a large crowd at rule and who have run Zimbabwe 40.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
US Fed to continue gradual
rate hikes to manage risks
Washington: US Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell has reiterated
that the central bank will stick to
the strategy of gradual rate hikes
to manage potential risks and sup‑
port domestic economic recovery.
Speaking at an annual economic
symposium in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming, Powell said the central
bank faces two major risks ‑‑ "mov‑
ing too fast and needlessly short‑
ening the expansion, versus mov‑
ing too slowly and risking a desta‑
bilizing overheat ing", Xinhua
reported.
"I see the current path of gradu‑
ally raising interest rates as the
FOMC's approach to taking seri‑
ously both of these risks," he said,
referring to the Federal Open
Market Committee (FOMC), the
Fed's policy‑making committee.
While US inflation has recently
moved up near 2 per cent, Powell
said he sees "no clear sign of an
acceleration above 2 per cent" and
there does not seem to be "an ele‑
vated risk of overheating."
"T his is goo d news, and we
believe that this good news results
in part from the ongoing normal‑
ization process, which has moved
the stance of policy gradually clos‑
er to the FOMC's rough assess‑
ment of neutral as the expansion
has continued," he said.
SpiceJet operates India's
first flight partially
powered by bio‑fuel
New Delhi: Budget passenger carri‑
er SpiceJet has successfully operat‑
ed India's first test flight partially
powered by bio‑fuel.
A concoction of bio‑fuel mixed
with aviation turbine fuel (ATF)
powered a SpiceJet's Q400 flight
which was flew on Monday.
The flight took off from Dehradun
to Delhi. It was received by Cabinet
ministers and airline officials at the
Indira Gandhi International Airport,
Terminal 2.
The government will make an
environment friendly aviation
action plan till 2035, Civil Aviation
Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
The development assumes signifi‑
cance as the high ATF prices have
Powell's remarks came after
President Donald Trump last week
criticized the central bank's rate
hikes and expressed his displeas‑
ure w ith the Fed chair at a
Republican fundraising dinner.
Trump said that he had nominat‑
ed Powell to lead the central bank
because he expected him to keep
interest rates low, according to
local media reports.
But Powell signaled that the Fed
is likely to continue gradually
increasing interest rates as the U.S.
economy "is strong" and inflation
is near the central bank's 2 per
cent target.
"If the strong growth in income
and jobs continues, further grad‑
dented the Indian airline sector
with almost all players reporting
losses for the first quarter of 2018‑
19. Currently, fuel prices constitute
50‑55 per cent of the overall opera‑
tions cost of domestic airlines.
India's ATF prices are one of the
highest in the world due to the
addition of state levies and taxes.
The fuel is not under the GST
ambit like the bunker fuel used for
the shipping industry.
Accordingly, a cabinet note on the
standardization, use and policy of
bio‑fuel blended with ATF will be
prepared soon, said Road Transport
and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari
at the media briefing after the
arrival of the flight.
BUSINESS
US Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell.
ual increases in the target range
for the federal funds rate will like‑
ly be appropriate," he said.
The Fed in June increased inter‑
est rates for the second time this
year, and pencilled in two more
rate hikes for the year. Most mar‑
ket participants had expected the
central bank to raise rates again in
September and December.
"Moreover, wide‑ranging tarif f
increases would also reduce the
purchasing power of US house‑
holds. Further negative ef fects in
such a scenario could include
reductions in productivity and dis‑
ruptions of supply chains," the
minutes said.
Erdogan urges Turks to fight
'economic war' by US
Ankara: Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has called for
joint efforts to "combat attacks
on Turkey's economy" amid its
persistent row with the US.
"The commitment and determi‑
nation of Turks is the guarantee
needed to combat attacks on
Turkey's economy," Erdogan said
in a statement released to com‑
memorate the anniversary of the
Battle of Manzikert in 1071,
Xinhua reported.
The historic battle saw Seljuk
Turks defeat a Byzantine army
and open up Anatolia for Turkish
domination.
Turkey's biggest safeguard is
"the determination of our people
to protect their independence,
September 1-7, 2018
Sensex nears record
36,700, Nifty hits 11,684
Mumbai: Continuing their record
run, the key Indian equity indices
surged over 1 per cent with the
S&P BSE Sensex hitting a fresh
all‑time high of 38,694.23
points.
The wider Nifty50 on the
National Stock Exchange also
touched a record 11,684.40
points, following firm cues from
the global markets.
According to analysts, healthy
buying was witnessed in bank‑
ing, consumer durables and
Personal information of about
2 mn T-Mobile users leaked
New York: US‑based wireless net‑
work operator T‑Mobile was hit by
a data leak in which the personal
information of millions of its users,
including phone numbers, e‑mail
addresses and account numbers,
were exposed to hackers, the com‑
pany has revealed.
The carrier said three per cent of
its customers were affected, or
about two million to 2.5 million of
its 77 million customers.
"On August 20, our cyber‑securi‑
ty team discovered and shut down
an unauthorised access to certain
information, including yours, and
we promptly reported it to authori‑
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan.
their motherland and their
future," Erdogan noted, drawing
parallels between this military
victory and the ongoing rift with
the US over the detention of an
21
metal stocks.
The benchmark BSE Sensex,
which had opened at 38,472.03
points, traded at 38,675.16
points, higher by 423.36 points
or 1.11 per cent from its previ‑
ous close of 38,251.80 points.
So far, it has touched an intra‑
day low of 38,416.73 points.
The top gainers on the Sensex
were Power Grid, State Bank of
India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and
Kotak Mahindra Bank, while Sun
Pharma was the only loser so far.
ties. None of your financial data
(including credit card information)
or social security numbers were
involved, and no passwords were
compromised," the company said
in a statement.
"However, some personal infor‑
mation may have been exposed,
which may have included one or
more of the following: name,
billing zip code, phone number,
email address, account number
and account type (prepaid or post‑
paid)," it added.
All affected customers have
been, or shortly will be, notified,
said the company.
American pastor in Turkey.
Last week, a Turkish court
rejected a renewed appeal for
the release of the 50‑year‑old
Andrew Brunson charged with
espionage.
Following Turkey's refusal to
free the pastor, US President
Donald Trump has doubled tar‑
iffs on Turkish aluminium and
steel and threatened to expand
trade sanctions.
In response, Ankara steeply
hiked taxes on some US products
including cars, alcohol and tobac‑
co. The Turkish lira has tumbled
about 35 per cent since the start
of this year, in what Erdogan
called an "economic war" from
the US.
 22 September 1-7, 2018
4 medals in athletics, new firsts for Sindhu, Saina
Jakarta: Javelin thrower Neeraj
Chopra's historic gold medal,
along with three silver medals in
athletics, continued success sto‑
ries of P.V. Sindhu and Saina
Nehwal and the men's table ten‑
nis team's first‑ever medal assur‑
ance marked a successful day for
India at the Asian Games here.
India continued to shine in ath‑
letics for the second straight day,
w ith Neeraj creat ing a new
national record on his way to the
title, while Dharun Ayyasamy
(400m hurdles), Sudha Singh
(3,000 metres steeplechase) and
Neena Varakil (women's long
jump) clinched the silver medals.
India now is ninth in the medal
standings with 42 medals (8
gold, 14 silver and 20 bronze).
Global superpower China leads
the table with 191 medals, fol‑
lowed by Japan (136 medals)
and South Korea (106 medals).
The day, for India, began with
the performances of the bad‑
minton superstars, Sindhu and
Saina. The latter had to settle for
bronze after suf fering a 17‑21,
14‑21 defeat in the semi‑finals to
Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan. The 28‑
year‑old's bronze was the first
individual badminton medal at
the Asiad for India in 36 years.
However, Sindhu soon brought
joy to the Indian fans as she
stormed into the final with a 21‑
17, 15‑21, 21‑10 victory over
World No.2 Akane Yagamuchi of
Japan.
India have chance to emulate
what Bradman's Australia did
London: On Donald Bradman's
110th birth anniversary, former
England captain Ray Illingworth
said India have a chance to match
the exploits of the Australian cricket
great and his team, adding that the
ongoing India‑England Test series is
still on the balance.
After winning the first two Tests,
England were given a reality check
by Virat Kohli and Co. at Trent
Bridge where they scripted a mas‑
sive 203‑run victory.
With two more matches to go,
there are talks of whether this team
can ape Bradman's Australia in over‑
turning a 0‑2 de ficit ag ainst
England in the Ashes and winning
the five‑match series 3‑2 way back
in 1936‑37.
"Well, India have shown they have
come here to fight. They did very
well to make a comeback in the
series by winning the Test match at
Trent Bridge convincing ly,"
Illingworth told Anandabazar
Patrika here.
"I would say, the series is 50‑50
SPORTS TheSouthAsianTimes.info
T he 23‑year‑old Sind hu took the lime lig ht as it the indoor athlet ics events. that even his lowest throw of
became the first Indian defeated Thailand 5‑0 in its Reigning Asian champion Neeraj 83.25m was better than the
shuttler to reach final Pool B match to enter threw nearest competitor.
the final of the semi‑finals. Rani 88.06 Sud ha g rabbed her second
badminton Rampal (37th, 46th, medal at the Asian Games as she
singles com‑ 56th minutes) scored claimed a silver medal in the
pet it ion at a hat‑trick while metres women's 3,000 metres steeple‑
the Asiad. It Monika (52nd) and in his third chase. Sudha, the reigning Asian
will be the Navjot Kaur (55th) attempt champion, clocked 9:40.03 min‑
first time also found the target to clinch utes to finish behind Bahrain's
India will in the fourth the gold, Winfred Yavi, who completed the
have two a n d bringing race in 9:36.52 minutes.
sing les India's second In table tennis, the Indian
shuttlers medal in the men's table tennis team edged
standing event in Asiad past Japan 3‑1 in the quarter‑
on the history. Gurte j final to assure itself of a historic
podi‑ Sing h had taken a first medal, while women's lost
u m bronze at the 1982 edi‑ their quarter‑final clash against
i n tion in New Delhi. Hong Kong. Prior to this edition
Such was the domina‑ of Asiad, India had not won any
tion of the 20‑year‑old medal in table tennis.
Neeraj Chopra during the men's javelin throw final of athletics at
the Asian Games 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Lili/IANS)
Pos Countries Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 China 88 62 43 193
2 Japan 43 37 57 137
3 Korea 30 37 44 111
4 Indonesia 23 17 28 68
5 Iran 17 15 15 47
6 Chinese Taipei 12 13 19 44
7 DPR Korea 12 6 7 25
8 Thailand 9 10 33 52
9 India 8 14 20 42
the cont inental quadrennial final quarter to help India post a
Silver medalist Sudha Singh (left) during the award ceremony for
Games. comprehensive victory.
women's 3000 meter steeplechase at the Asian Games.
Then the women's hockey team Thereafter, India shone bright in (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei/IANS)
Top seed Halep loses
and after the Trent Bridge win, India
has a chance to do what no other
in US Open first round
New York: Top seed Simona
team could manage to do in many
Halep's US Open campaign was
many years after Don Bradman's
cut short in the first round after
team in 1936‑37.
losing to Kaia Kanepi, who
"But I would still say, both teams
needed just two sets to score
have equal chances. England have to
the first big upset of the sea‑
pick up and improve on their per‑
son's last Grand Slam at 6‑2, 6‑
formance at the Trent Bridge. India,
4.
on the other hand, would be much
T he Romanian became the
more confident now after their con‑
first top seeded woman to lose
vincing victory," added Illingworth
in the US Open first round in
who was the England captain in
the professional era, reports
1971 when India won their historic
Xinhua news agency.
first Test in England.
Halep also lost in the first
The 86‑year‑old further opined
round at last year's US Open to
that the current Indian bowling
2006 champion Maria
attack is faster than that of England.
Sharapova, but she was not
"T heir attack was complete ly
world No. 1 at that time.
dependable on spinners. Now they
"It's always about the nerves," Simona Halep of Romania at the 2018 US Open in New York.
have not one, not two, but four gen‑
said Halep. (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)
uine quick bowlers, who all are
"Even when you are there in
faster than the England bowlers. June, came into the US Open Kanepi, ranked 44th in the
the top, you fee l the same
This is a remarkable change for 2018 flying high after a string world, reached the quarterfinals
nerves. You are human. I'm a
Indian cricket," he said. of big results during the US here last year ‑‑ her best result
quiet person, so maybe I like
The fourth Test begins on August Open series, lifting the title in at any Grand Slam ‑‑ but has
the smaller places," she added.
30 at the Rose Bow l in Montreal and reaching the final struggled to find her form after
Halep, who had claimed her
Southampton. in Cincinnati. suffering a series of injuries.
first Grand Slam title in Paris in
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 1-7, 2018
 24 September 1-7, 2018 BOOKS & MEDIA TheSouthAsianTimes.info

India‑Bhutan 'Mountain Echoes'

takes neighbors a step closer
Thimphu: An Assamese band per‑
forming Bihu folk songs to a gath‑
ering of Bhutanese locals in a
nightclub; Rajasthani delicacies
including the popular Daal‑Baati
and three types of Churmas being
relished by men and women
dressed in the traditional Gho and
Kira; tales arising from India's
northeastern states coming alive
for students of the Himalayan
country, along with a host of sev‑
eral other well‑curated programs
at "Mountain Echoes" literary fes‑
tival here brought India a step
closer to Bhutan by enhancing
people‑to‑people ties.
Diplomatic relations between
countries find utterance in a mul‑
titude of ways, but at a time when
joint naval and military exercises
have become the norm for dis‑
playing solidarity between nations
with friendly relations, the just‑
concluded lit fest has set a bench‑
mark by directly engaging with
the Bhutanese people and intro‑
ducing them to the cultures,
cuisines, literature and art from
their neighboring country.
It is also striking that while
Bhutan has an almost unified cul‑
ture and religion, diversity is the
lifeblood of India's democracy.
This is clearly something that
Bhutanese are not accustomed to
seeing on a day‑to‑day basis.
But India's diversity came alive
at the three‑day festival as various
sessions explored themes that are
quintessential to different parts of
India. For example, a session titled
"Binodini: A Photographic
Memoir" opened a window into
erstwhile royal household of
Manipur. L. Somi Roy, through the
photographic memoir, enchanted
Namita Gokhale, founder‑director of the 'Jaipur Literature Festival',
speaking at a panel at the 9th edition of "Mountain Echoes" literary festival.
the audience with nostalgic tales
of a bygone era. The session fea‑
tured Roy in conversation with
Pramod Kumar K.G., exploring the
recreation of history and imagina‑
tion of kingdoms long lost.
Similarly, Rajasthani delicacies
held a place of pride during the
festival as signature flavors from
Jaipur's famed street food destina‑
tion, Masala Chowk, descended
upon Thimphu.
The delicacies were served to
guests at the welcome dinner as
well as the dinner hosted by the
Government of Rajasthan at
Thimphu's Taj Tashi. Apart from
Daal, Baati and Churmas, the buf‑
fet also featured "Ultay tawe ke
paranthe", "laal maas", melt‑in‑
the‑mouth "galoutis" and "gatte ki
sabzi".
Celebrated classical dancer and
Padma Vibhushan recipient Sonal
Mansingh reflected on the
essence of the "Natyashastra",
considered as the foundational
text of performing arts in India, in
a session titled "The Inner Dance".
Several similar sessions and off‑
the‑schedule events brought India
a step closer to the Bhutanese
audience over the course of the
festival.
The essence of the Indo‑Bhutan
relationship was highlighted on
the opening day by Bhutan's
Royal Queen Mother Ashi Dorji
Wangmo Wangchuck when she
said that long before diplomatic
relations were the norm, the pris‑
tine waters from the lofty
Himalayas of Bhutan nurtured the
Great Plains in India while spiritu‑
al nourishment from India
enriched the verdant valleys in
Bhutan. But Mountain Echoes was
not just about India.
It featured as many as 51 ses‑
sions, and the Himalayan coun‑
try's rich cultural and religious
heritage also came alive for the
audience during the festival. In
fact, the Bhutanese speakers (42)
outnumbered their Indian coun‑
terparts (26). Sessions like "Songs
of Milarepa" and "Translating the
Sutras" threw light on little known
aspects of Bhutanese culture and
spiritual practices.
"Every year Mountain Echoes
opens a window to Bhutan's hid‑
den cultural and religious tradi‑
tions and offers a magnificent set‑
ting that stimulates calm reflec‑
tion by thinkers from Bhutan,
India and elsewhere," India's
Ambassador to Bhutan Jaideep
Sarkar told IANS.
Other well‑attended sessions
were themed around music, phi‑
losophy and environment.
Keeping in mind the audience,
who are primarily the young
Bhutanese students, youth‑cen‑
tered sessions involving singer
Usha Uthup were greeted with
packed houses.
"I look forward to this festival
every year. I am attending it for
the third year and it gives me an
opportunity to know more about
India and also other countries.
Last year (Australian writer)
Markus Zusak had come here and
I read 'The Book Thief' after lis‑
tening to him. I also heard a lot
about your former President (Dr
A.P.J Abdul Kalam) and was
impressed by his body of work so
I read a book of his essays,"
Sonam Tenzin Wangchuk, Class IX
monitor of Educating for Lifelong
Citizenship High School, told
IANS.
The young student asked a
brave question to noted environ‑
mentalist Daniel C. Taylor and
even differed with one particular
assertion that Taylor made during
his session on Environmental
Justice. This was not the scene
just a few years ago. Bhutan's
Royal Queen Mother said that she
has herself been witness to the
transformation that the annual
event is bringing to young
Bhutanese.
Notably, the ninth edition of the
festival took place at a time when
Indo‑Bhutan friendship has
become all the more crucial as the
two nations navigate their paths
together in the face of Chinese
aggression.
The festival, organized by India‑
Bhutan Foundation (IBF) and
Siyahi, a Jaipur‑based literary con‑
sultancy agency, is a result of a
landmark investment by the two
countries.
The IBF was established in
August 2003 during the visit of
the present Bhutanese King Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
(then Crown Prince) to India with
the aim of enhancing people‑to‑
people exchanges in focus areas
like education, culture and envi‑
ronment protection.
The Royal Government of
Bhutan and the Government of
India have contributed Rs 5 crore
each as the main IBF corpus and
the entire amount of Rs 10 crore
has been kept in a fixed deposit in
Bhutan.
The interest earned from the
fixed deposit is used for financing
proposals received from
Bhutanese/ Indian citizens and
NGOs on studies, research and
similar activities. Mountain
Echoes has enjoyed the support of
IBF on similar lines.
The ninth edition of Mountain
Echoes was held from August 23‑
25. The organizers said that over
17,000 people attended the festi‑
val, which is about three times the
footfall festival saw the previous
year.

Editors Guild pays Nayar served the country in various

tributes to Kuldip Nayar
New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India paid
tributes to veteran journalist Kuldip
Nayar, one of the doyens of Indian jour‑
nalism and a founder member of the
Guild who died here last Thursday.
The Guild said in a statement that as its
President, Nayar provided it energetic
and visionary leadership.
"Known to be a reporter's editor,
Kuldip Nayar held many leadership
positions in news organizations includ‑
ing The Statesman and The Indian
Express, where he provided both
edge and depth to its formidable team of
reporters and editors.
"His many legendary news scoops will
continue to inspire generations of young
journalists for their sharpness, credibility,
speed and standards of due diligence. An
exemplar, Kuldip Nayar fought through
his writings the oppressive Emergency
capacities: Manmohan Singh
F
ormer Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has condoled
the death of veteran journalist
Kuldip Nayar saying that he served
the country in various capacities with
great distinction.
In a condolence letter to Nayar's
wife, Bharti, Manmohan Singh wrote:
"I have learnt with profound sorrow
about the sad demise of your
beloved husband. He served the
country in various capacities
with great distinction.
regime that had imposed curbs on media
freedom and as a result of which he was
also arrested," the statement said.
A prolific writer and an author of many
"He was a veteran journalist, diplo‑
mat, parliamentarian and author. He
wore many hats in his decades of his
public life... I write to convey to you
and members of your family my
heartfelt condolences on this sad
occasion."
Nayar, 95, breathed his last at the
Escorts Hospital last Thursday.
Born on August 14, 1923, in Sialkot
(Pakistan), Nayar was among the
country's first syndicated columnists
and wrote several books.
books, Kuldip Nayar was also a human
rights activist and was India's High
Commissioner to the UK and later nomi‑
nated as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info September 1-7, 2018
 26 September 1-7, 2018
F
or the first time ever, the
logo of a Bollywood film
has been made by artisans.
The marketing team of Sui
Dhaaga – Made in India wanted
to celebrate the rich and diverse
culture of making Indian handi‑
craft. So the team reached out to
local artisans and craftsmen from
across the length and breadth of
the country to create the logo of
the film in their unique stitching
styles.
“To position our film Sui
Dhaaga – Made in India, we real‑
ized that it was just not enough
to act like a film marketeer. In
fact we had to look at ourselves
as a team marketing the art and
handicraft culture of our country.
With this embodiment of our
strategy we needed an idea that
would be the fulcrum of our
entire campaign. And what could
be a better idea than inviting the
Beauty colors for every skin tone
C
hoosing make‑up for
your skin tone goes
far beyond getting
the foundation right.
However, there are a few col‑
ors in make‑up products that
look flattering and stunning
on anyone, irrespective of
skin tone. Roy N Subramoney,
Managing Director, INGLOT
Cosmetics, APAC and Middle
East, lists some trends that
will work well on every skin
tone:
(Image courtesy: pinkvilla.
4 The iconic red lipstick:
There is a shade of red lipstick
for every skin tone. Fair toned
women can pick cool‑toned red lip‑
sticks with hints of blue and purple.
For medium skin tones, orange‑red
shades work well. A poppy red also
helps cancel out any sallowness in
medium skin tones. On dark com‑
plexions, deep, bright, matte reds
work well. One can opt for, candy‑
apple reds.
Concept of co-working spaces catching on in India
F
or Indiaʼs commercial real
estate, which is reviving
after around four years of
downturn, the concept of co‑
working spaces, popular across
many countries, is attracting busi‑
nesses and is growing in demand.
A co‑working space, as the
name suggests, refers to an office
area where a number of organiza‑
tions work out of a shared space
or floor, contrary to the conven‑
tional office area where a particu‑
lar space is leased out or used by
a single organization. It also pro‑
vides its members flexibility of
space or desks as per its require‑
ment and all the logistical ameni‑
ties are taken care of by the space
provider. The price per seat in a
co‑working space varies from as
low as Rs 5,000 per month to pre‑
YRF's Sui Dhaaga's logo made in 15
different Indian art forms
artisans of our country to design
the logo of our film. We reached
out to 15 uniquely skilled
artists/artist groups across the
lengths and breadths of our
nation who helped us design our
film logo. It has been an exhaus‑
tive and most rewarding experi‑
ence for all of us at YRF. It has
taken six months to plan,
research and execute our logo in
15 different styles that cele‑
brates our countryʼs diversity and
entrepreneur spirit.” says Manan
Mehta, VP – Marketing and
Merchandising, YRF.
The Sui Dhaaga logo has been
done in a striking, globally popu‑
com)
4 Neutral colors in eyeshadows:
Whether fair/medium/dark skin
tones, one can create sultry looking
eyes with neutral eye shadows.
Neutral tones are the best to create a
natural look which works well as day
wear, for brunch and other day occa‑
sions alike!
4 Bronze toned blush: A cinna‑
mon or deep bronze toned blush
works well for all skin tones be it
mium slots going for Rs 35,000
per month, depending upon the
operator and the market dynam‑
ics.
There are over 600 shared
workspaces with over 1.80 lakh
seats across the country. Area
under co‑working spaces is cur‑
rently around 13.5 million square
feet, data from consultancy firm
CBRE showed.
In the overall office market
space, co‑working spaces have
seen a rise in demand, especially
among start‑ups, Anshuman
Magazine, Chairman, India and
South East Asia, CBRE, told IANS.
“While co‑working companies
took up a modest 0.17 million
square meters (1.8 million square
feet) in 2017, the first quarter of
2018 itself has exceeded the
LIFESTYLE
lar Indian hand needlework
forms of Kashida and Sozni from
Kashmir, colorful Phulkari from
Punjab, the intricate thread work
forms Rabari and Mochi Bharat
from Gujarat, Phool Patti from
Uttar Pradesh and Zardozi work
from Lucknow. It has also be cre‑
ated in Rajasthan's prominent
crafts like Aari, Banjara and Gota
Patti, Tamil Nadu's popular Toda
style and Karnataka's Kasuti
design.
Traveling towards the east,
which constitutes of over 50 per‑
cent of the India's handloom
exports, the film's logo has been
made in Pipli style from Odisha,
fair/ medium/dark and works like
magic to transform a muted regular
wear look into a glamorous glow.
Debasmita Panja, Senior Brand
Manager, Color Category at AVON
India, shares inputs:
4 Color correcting (CC) cream:
Whenever in doubt, a CC Cream with
SPF 50/ PA is the best option as a
make‑up base. Women with fair to
light skin tone can opt for wheat
shade and others can go for nude
shades.
4 Matte lipsticks: Different
shades of orange complement all
skin‑tones ‑‑ like true orange or tan‑
gerine tango shade suits well on fair
skin whereas bright nectar or coral
burst works best on tanned skin
tone.
4 Pretty blush: Dab your way to
fresh, natural finish, eye‑popping
shades. Whether you have fair,
wheatish, or olive skin tone, almond
and peach shade will give your
cheeks a natural, pretty glow.
annual tally of 2017 at 0.19 mil‑
lion square meters (2 million
square feet),” according to a
Knight Frank report.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Handloom work from Assam,
Kantha stitch work from West
Bengal.
By creating a logo in as many
as 15 different needle art forms
from India, Sui Dhaaga hopes to
create awareness of Indiaʼs cul‑
ture amongst todayʼs youth and
the impact that it leaves on mod‑
ern design, fabrics and fashion at
large. Interestingly, YRF also
chose to release the logo on
National Handloom Day that cele‑
brates the magnificence of Indian
handloom the world over.
A film about finding love and
respect through self‑reliance,
Varun Dhawan and Anushka
The only person who can make you feel
judged is you, says stripper in her memoir
B
orn in San Francisco in
1970, life was anything
but planned for Sita Kaylin,
who started working as a stripper
during her college days to earn
money. Fifteen years on and she
penned a tell‑all memoir that
sums up her journey so far ‑‑
"Anything But a Wasted Life."
The book, published by
HarperCollins, has just hit the
stands in India and in an email
interview, Kaylin spoke at length
about the eventful life she has
lived, her understanding of the sex
industry and the nature of human
needs and desires.
Asked if she has ever experi‑
enced prejudice and the factors
that keep her motivated in the sex
industry, Kaylin said that the only
person who can make you feel
judged is yourself.
"Because I know who I am, no
one affects the way I see myself.
My inner peace with what I do for
a living allows me to live by exam‑
ple, thus showing an alternative
reality to the one often misunder‑
stood or poorly portrayed by the
media/entertainment industry,"
she said.
Sharma starrer Sui Dhaaga ‑
Made in India is a heart‑warming
story that celebrates the spirit of
self‑reliance. The filmʼs plot is
inspired by Mahatma Gandhiʼs
philosophy and takes a leaf out of
the hugely acclaimed Make In
India campaign. While Varun
plays the role of a tailor, Anushka
plays an embroiderer in the film.
The National Award‑winning
team of director Sharat Kataria
and producer Maneesh Sharma
team up again for Yash Raj Filmsʼ
entertainer Sui Dhaaga ‑ Made in
India that is set to release on
September 28 this year, just
before Gandhi Jayanti.
In her memoir, she recounts that
some of her acquaintances
worked at strip clubs, and were
"full of glitz and financial free‑
dom" while she was "broke."
Desperate as she was to find a
way to balance everything and
tired of not having enough money,
she decided to give stripping a try.
The planned law school never
happened, but within a year, she
was making more money than the
judges in the San Francisco court
system.
Asked if there were some things
she could have done differently in
life, Kaylin lamented that she did
not take up the pen earlier.
"I wish I had started writing ear‑
lier. I would have loved to have
captured the in‑the‑moment expe‑
riences during my nine years at
the iconic strip club Mitchell
Brothers O'Farrell Theatre in San
Francisco. Not to mention that I
would be more established in my
writing career and perhaps not
still in the sex industry. However, I
believe everything happens for a
reason so there's only today and
the future to look forward to," she
said.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
WAIVERS AVAILABLE FOR
NON‑IMMIGRANT VISAS
By Michael Phulwani, Esq.
& Dev B. Viswanath, Esq.
M TALK
any individuals who
are denied immigrant
or nonimmigrant visas
believe that after they are
charged with any ground of
inadmissibility or removability,
they can never get a visa. This is
not true. The fact is that waiver
of the ground of inadmissibility
may be available for those
denied an immigrant visa if the
applicant meets various require‑
ments which require a qualify‑
ing relative and extreme hard‑
ship.
Unlike waiver requirements
for immigrant visas, waiver of
inadmissibility for non‑immi‑
grant visas such as visitor,
artist, work, or student visas are
available to any individual who
has substantial equities relating
in the U.S. or who has qualifying
family members in the U.S. and
VISA
can show extreme hardship.
However, the waiver for a non‑
immigrant visa is temporary
and only for a specified period
of time.
The 212(d)(3) waiver over‑
comes almost every ground of
inadmissibility listed in section
212(a). This includes health‑
related grounds, criminal
offenses, prostitution, smug‑
gling, fraud or willful misrepre‑
sentation of material fact to
gain immigration benefits, false
claims to U.S. citizenship to gain
benefits under federal, state or
immigration law, and unlawful
presence in the U.S.
In Matter of Hranka, in 1978,
the BIA listed three criteria of
DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS
IMMIGRATION
determining whether to
approve or deny a Section
212(d)(3) waiver: (i) The risk of
harm to society if the applicant
is admitted; (ii) The seriousness
of the applicantʼs prior immi‑
gration law, or criminal law, vio‑
lations, if any; and (iii) The rea‑
sons for wishing to enter the
U.S. The reasons for wishing to
enter the U.S. need not be “com‑
pelling.” In Hranka the court
considered evidence of the
applicantʼs rehabilitation for its
decision on the case. In addi‑
tion, according to the Foreign
Affairs Manual at 9 FAM
Section 40.301 “the law does
not require that such waiver
action be limited to exceptional
humanitarian or national inter‑
est cases… consular officers
may recommend waivers for
any legitimate purpose such as
family visits or medical treat‑
ments.”
Section 212(d)(3) waiver does
September 1-7, 2018 27
not bar granting a waiver for waiver, the ultimate decision
those individuals who have
been convicted of an aggravated
lies with the Admissibility
Review Office (ARO) within the
felony. Although it may be diffi‑ Customs & Border Patrol (CBP)
cult to satisfy the Hranka crite‑ branch of the Department of
ria if you have an aggravated Homeland Security.
felony it is an available option if People who have been
you donʼt have another choice. charged with inadmissibility
To obtain a waiver under and refused non‑immigrant
Section 212(d)(3) is not easy, visas to the United States,
and while Consular Posts may should seek the advice of a
make recommendations to qualified attorney to see if they
grant a nonimmigrant visa qualify for a 212(d)(3) waiver.
Dev Banad Viswanath is the Principal
Attorney of The Banad Law Offices PC in the
United States, and Banad Immigration in
India for which Attorney Michael Phulwani is
also affiliated as Of Counsel. With Offices in
Manhattan, Queens, Bangalore, and Mumbai,
the firm is able to assist clients with all facets
of the immigration process, including
Employment Visas, Consular Visa Assistance,
Student Visas, Removal & Deportation, US
Citizenship and Green Card Applications
based on Family or Employment. Dev B.
Viswanath can be reached at
Dev@Banadlaw.com and 718‑361‑5999.
 28 September 1-7, 2018 HUMOR TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Funny Side by Nury Vittachi

How not to impress a woman

U
seful tip: Guys, end every sen‑
tence you speak to a woman with,
"But I could be wrong". This saves
time. Example: "Good morning! But I
could be wrong!"
That thought was inspired by a news
item I just read. A man robbed a bank and
then threw some of the money over
singer Taylor Swift's fence "to impress
her".
More evidence that most men have NO
IDEA how women think. Bruce Rowley
was arrested as he left Taylor's home in
Rhode Island a few days ago. Bruce, you
do NOT impress wealthy women by
throwing cash over the fences of their
mansions. You throw property deeds,
credit cards and in your case, I think
vasectomy papers would be essential.
It reminded me of a case in India where
a young man stole a train for his girl‑
friend. Ketan Kumar, 24, thought his
beloved would be pleased to be presented
with the 8.20 p.m. express to Amrapali.
Sadly for him, both girlfriend and police
were significantly unimpressed. Ketan,
buddy, you need to know more about how
girls think. Big, ugly steaming lump of
metal? Great for guys. But for girls? No.
A colleague, hearing about this column's
topic, forwarded me a news video from
Chechnya. It shows a five‑year‑old boy
walking down the street hand‑in‑hand
with his girlfriend. He swiftly breaks into
a car and turns on the engine to show off.
The five‑year‑old girl, way smarter than
her companion, swiftly backs away while
he drives off, pursued by adults.
This all adds to the tonnes of evidence
that males are born thinking women are
impressed by extreme stupidity and
immorality, and it takes us years ‑‑ let's be
honest, decades ‑‑ to realize this is not the
case.
Young males should take advice from
fathers of girls, who are forced to learn
something about the young female brain.
For example, I now know that fathering a
daughter means pretending you're
thrilled when they spend half your salary
having an eighth of an inch cut off their
hair. The tricky thing is that they don't
tell you whether they've had an invisible
haircut, their eyebrows plucked or a com‑
plete head transplant, but just burst
through the door saying: "Well, Dad, what
do you think?" You MUST reply: "It looks
great" and then leave the country before
there are any follow‑up questions.
In fact, when a young woman asks her
father for his opinion on any matter, what
she is really saying is: "I wish to hear my
opinion repeated in a deeper voice."
Stop press: A colleague forwards anoth‑
er example. On April 24, several media
reported that a man named Zach Doell
decided to pick up his girlfriend from the
University of Louisiana in a different
funny vehicle every day, including the
Batmobile, a car that looked like a giant
hot dog, and an ice cream van.
He thought this was highly impressive.
His, er, thrilled girlfriend Brianna Garcia
told the media it was "embarrassing".
So there you have it. It is this colum‑
nist's fervent hope that this information
will help young men and young women
understand each other and communicate
better.
But I could be wrong.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter Mahendra
422‑S Broadway
HICKSVILLE By Mahendra Shah
NY 11801 Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by
516‑827‑1010 profession, artist and humorist, cartoonist and writer by
hobby. He has been recording the plight of the immigrant
Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from
Gujarat, he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY September 1-7, 2018 29

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

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

SEPTEMBER 1‑7, 2018

ARIES: Some serious career moves is
important at this point. This is certainly
not the suitable time to take liberties in
business matters. Prioritize spending time at
home on this weekend. Sharing your concerns
and worries with your partner will ease some of
your burden. Tone down your over competitive
tone on the work front. Financial gains are in
the offing. Students preparing for competitive
exams can begin processing their documents as
stars favor their aspirations.
TAURUS: You make a niche for yourself
on the professional front, as you manage
to pull some high‑end clientele. If you
are attempting daring and bold expansion
plans, donʼt be swayed by seemingly attractive
long term prospects. You will be successful in
delegating work to beat an approaching dead‑
line. Try and keep your options open as new
commitments or proposals need to be studied in
detail. Letting bygones be bygones, you will be
able to resurrect a flagging relationship. Travel
is indicated for some.
GEMINI: Boredom threatens to set in at
work, so take steps to make your life
exciting. Delay in some legal work can
cause concern. Avoid any transactions this
week. An old ailment may pester you, but will
be taken care of. Getting rid of negativity vitiat‑
ing your mind may be easier said than done.
Check someone close going astray, but do it in
subtle manner. You are creatively inspired and
communication flows, ensuring popularity
amongst your social circle. Avoid overspending
on unnecessary things.
CANCER: Appearance of a close com‑
petitor at work can be a bit unsettling,
but you will handle it ef fectively.
Creative and decorative undertakings will make
you shine. Curb your short temper attitude if
you do not wish to alienate friends. Family
members might prioritize looking the right
match for singles. Some of you may be hard
pressed to give quality time to lover.
Counselling youngsters is favored with chances
of a positive impact. Working towards spirituali‑
ty is a possibility.
LEO: Praise for a job well done at work
is in store for some. A workplace rival
will not be able to upstage you, as you
will be able to stay a step ahead. There may be
opportunities hidden in current situations but
you will need to aggressively seek them out.
Tips are likely to come in handy for those want‑
ing to play the stocks. Chance meetings could
bring up memories and make you nostalgic.
Enemies who troubled you in the past will start
stepping back. Avoid fat‑rich foods to remain
healthy.
VIRGO: This is the right time to invest,
as things look bright on the financial
front. If there are any wills/legacies left
to be completed, they must be done without the
slightest delay. Donʼt get emotionally swayed by
a scheming person and give in to his or her
demands. Performance at work can take a nose‑
dive, as you find it hard to cope up. Spending
time with family members will relax you from
the tensions at the work front. Plan a trip to a
nearby resort to recharge your senses.
LIBRA: Professionals need to give ade‑
quate time to their clients, if they want
to retain them. Lover will be more than
happy to help you balance work and romance.
Certain financial proposals may not be as clear
cut as you think, gather more relevant informa‑
tion before you make any decision. Your over‑
insistence on something can put of f lover. A
family youngster may need guidance in con‑
serving money. Avoid your finicky behavior to
enjoy these moments in your life. Health
requires attention.
SCORPIO: Your ability to discuss sensi‑
tive issues will be a powerful asset in
this week. You can expect full support of
family in all your endeavors. Those in pursuit of
romance could finally grasp that desired prize.
Probably you need to pay more attention to
detail as you are likely to make some mistakes
if you underestimate the situation. Donʼt take
any information at the face value; verify all the
facts yourself before investing your hard
earned money somewhere.
SAGITTARIUS: You have a reason to
rejoice on the professional front. Good
earning will keep your morale high and
boost your self‑esteem.
Your performance on the professional front is
likely to be lauded by all. Those married can be
at daggers drawn with spouse over some sensi‑
tive issue. Auspicious news relating to a close
friend or family member will make you happy.
A new acquaintance may present a truly moving
cultural experience. Accidental benefits are indi‑
cated.
CAPRICORN: Work will be hectic and
you will be asked to maintain a balance
between focusing on your tasks and
helping colleagues with their projects. So stay
prepared to put in extra hours at work in this
week. Meeting old pals will make you nostalgic.
Lethargy and inaction may get you out of shape,
if you donʼt do something about it soon. Singles
could meet someone special in the family func‑
tions. Family matters need more tactful tackling
with understanding and sensitivity. Someone in
the family is prone to ill health; take care!
AQUARIUS: This is your lucky period,
when whatever you touch turns to
gold! Professional front will be most
satisfying, as things run smoothly. Someoneʼs
prosperity is likely to make you green with
envy. You may want to find ways to increase
your contribution at workplace. Focus your
efforts on the domestic front where the happi‑
ness seems to be a little disturbed. Spouse or a
close friend can provoke you to do something
that you may later regret. Stay alert!
PISCES: You achieve much by being
proactive at work. Your analytical skills
will be an asset and help you find inno‑
vative ways to deal with complex issues espe‑
cially on the financial front. You will not go
wrong anywhere if you maintain the same cur‑
riculum. Performance of a family youngster can
become a matter of pride for you. Fitness buffs
are likely to enjoy perfect health provided you
quit drinking. Relationships improve as you
want to exploit the pleasures of sin and sensa‑
tion.

1st September, 2018
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Sun
showers energy on you. You are realis‑
tic, distinguished, and intelligent. You
possess a high intelligence quotient as
well. You are aware of handling any
adverse situation with you calmness,
composure and tactfulness. You need
to deal with situation more efficiently
this year.
Health this year: You may perform
some religious exercises at your home
to attain peace, health, and wealth.
Finance this year: This year your
investments will give you high returns
and your financial conditions will be
improved drastically. This may make
you spend more on buying luxury and
comfort. Guests may keep visiting you
throughout the year and they may
bring you gifts and financial support
Career this year: You need to
improve your professional relationship
with your colleagues and clients as it
will help you grow as a professional.
You should plan team outings and get‑
togethers to come closer to your co‑
workers.
Romance this year: If you are in a
romantic alliance, you will enjoy the
relationship this year. You may get
married this year.
2nd September, 2018
Traits in you: The calmness of your
ruling planet makes you a person with
a composed nature. You epitomize sim‑
plicity, responsibility, trust, creativity,
intelligence and talent. You believe in
living each and every moment of your
life. You want to enjoy life to the fullest
and. You are capable enough to
become a writer, thinker or a philoso‑
pher. However, you should not let your
ego overpower your talent and ruin
your beautiful personality.
Health this year: If you feel mental
disturbance, you may take help of a
spiritual person to restore the peace.
Finance this year: You will grow
financially as the year progresses. You
are expected to get enough returns
from your investments.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
Career this year: You may face a lot
of problems and challenges this year.
However, your steady willpower and
assistance from your close ones will
make you come triumphant in each
adverse situation.
Romance this year: You will enjoy a
great relationship with your partner even
there will be problems between you.
3rd September, 2018
Traits in you: Your dominant planet
Jupiter blesses you various noble char‑
acteristics to make you attractive,
determined, dignified and helpful. You
will have your own methodologies and
principles to live your life. You are
strong enough to take your own deci‑
sions and you will be admired for your
ability to make quick decisions. You
love independence as you want to live
your life with your terms. However,
you need to work on you nature of
being rude, stubborn and hypocrite.
Health this year: You may suf fer
from some minor health issues and
that would not bother you very much.
Finance this year: If you are planning
to set up your new business abroad,
you should go ahead as it will bring
you lot of money, professional recogni‑
tion, and prosperity. You will regain
your confidence as the new sources of
income will earn you lot of money. If
you are planning to invest in real
estate business, it will be proved to be
a correct decision toward the end of
the year.
Career this year: If you are a working
professional, you will be benefited
from the professional changes that are
supposed to happen in the middle of
the year.
Romance this year: You will enjoy a
very supportive relationship with your
partner or spouse. You may need to
take extra responsibility of your family
as your family member may behave
more demanding.
4th September, 2018
Traits in you: Being ruled by Uranus,
you have developed characteristics
such as confidence, dignity, fun loving,
disciplined and so on. This year is so
lucky for you that you can turn mud
into gold just be your mere touch pro‑
vided you put your best effort in any‑
thing you do. You can behave a bit
down to earth as it will suit and
enhance your personality.
Health this year: If you are a chronic
patient, better you have your periodic
medical check up to avoid future
health issues. You have to take your
preventive medicines regularly to stay
healthy.
Finance this year: If you have some
properties, you will be in ample mone‑
tary gain. If you are into business, you
may travel to distant places for busi‑
ness purpose to obtain better financial
benefits. You may spend a huge
amount of money in renovation of your
existing house or construction of a new
one.
Career this year: You should not
bother about your career this year as it
is expected to blossom with lot of
opportunities and success. As your per‑
formance will be good this year, you
will be appreciated by your colleagues,
clients, seniors and higher manage‑
ment. You may celebrate your success
and growth throughout the year and
reach a new height in your profession.
Romance this year: You may plan to
spend time with your partner to make
him/her happy and develop a better
understanding so you may travel to get
pleasure and relax themselves from
their busy lives.
5th September, 2018
Traits in you: You are blessed with
intelligence and a very sharp memory.
Mercury being your ruling planet
makes you realistic, emotional, honest,
helpful, and diplomatic. You always
want to make your life happening by
filling it with lots of joy and excite‑
ment. You are very much interested in
exploring new places and meeting new
people. However, you need to refrain
yourself from getting nervous as it
may be counted as a short coming in
your rich personality. You will be
appreciated by your near and dear
ones for showing your emotional side
and helping nature.
Health this year: You will be enjoying
a very good health this year despite lot
of stress.
Finance this year: The second half of
the year will be the ideal time to final‑
ize your financial deals as it would
bring you excellent returns. However,
you need not invest in a partnership.
You may face loss.
Career this year: You should concen‑
trate on your goals set for this year
and work hard to achieve them. If you
can achieve the goals, you will gain lot
of financial rewards. You may have to
face losses and public embarrassment
due to your lack of ability to gather
accurate information. It is advised to
concentrate on everything you do.
Romance this year: If you are in a
romantic relationship, you may decide
to get married this year.
6th September, 2018
Traits in you: The influence of your
ruling planet Venus makes you
adorable, independent, ambitious, and
charismatic. You are a huge believer of
love, peace and harmony. Your attrac‑
tive personality and friendly nature
allows you to make friendship with
strangers easily. However, you should
be more careful in your life. Work had
to get a control over your mood
swings. It will help you improve as a
person.
Health this year: This year will take
you to new heights by of fering you
with an excellent health. You will be
enjoying a better health this year as
compared to the previous year in spite
of following a more hectic work sched‑
ule and taking lot more pressure in the
first few months of the year.
Finance this year: You may end up
spending much more on your luxury
and entertainment. This year you may
purchase valuable assets such as furni‑
ture, television, washing machine and
so on.
Career this year: You will be reward‑
ed for your efforts and people in your
professional circuit will recognize you.
You will be able to handle tougher
things with your improved confidence
and steady determination.
Romance this year: Casual friend‑
ships may turn into strong romantic
relationships this year.
7th September, 2018
Traits in you: Your ruling planet
Neptune is believed to bless you with
positive approach. By nature you are
very much active with lots of energy.
Being witty enough, you are confident,
vigilant and sharp. Being the owner of
undisputed imagination, you can easily
win over anyone. However, you need to
control your stubbornness, which may
prove to be harmful for you at times.
Health this year: You will be enjoying
a better health as compared to last
year. However, you need not neglect
your regular medication.
Finance this year: You may get huge
benefits in your business if you do not
invest wrongly. Try to avoid partner‑
ships in your new ventures to avoid
loss.
Career this year: Your stars will help
you touch new heights this year as you
will be enjoying prosperity on each
and everything you undertake. You will
be able to nurture your imagination
power to help yourself gain more
rewards. You can improve your knowl‑
edge, skills and intellectual level by
participating actively in debates and
interesting conversations.
Romance this year: You should cre‑
ate new contacts and revive old ones as
this year is the best time to make
romantic relationship stronger. You
may convert your romantic relation‑
ship to marriage this year. You may
carry on with your relationship if you
are not prepared to marry this year.
30 September 1-7, 2018
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
W
hen we apply for a job
and write a resume, we
usually try to highlight
all the good things about our expe‑
rience, our background, and our‑
selves. Many people hide all the
difficulties they have had in their
career and focus on their great
achievements. When employers
read such resumes, they often feel
each is describing the greatest per‑
son who ever lived. We try to put
ourselves in the best possible light
to land the job.
When going to a bank for a busi‑
ness loan, we also list our greatest
financial achievements and best
references. We want to appear to
be a safe client and not a credit
risk. We write down all our busi‑
ness and financial successes in the
hope that the loan officer will grant
a loan.
When applying for college or
business school, we collect all the
best references from former teach‑
Life is restless for peace in the world
By Sant Rajinder
Singh Ji Maharaj
M
ystic poetry and litera‑
ture is rich in verses
addressing the way to a
peaceful, calm life. One of the
greatest mystic poet‑saints of the
past century, Sant Darshan Singh
Ji Maharaj, has written a verse
that captures the way to lead lives
in which we reduce stress and
anger to produce calm and peace
within ourselves and for the whole
world.
The verse by Sant Darshan Singh
Ji says:
Let this world become a temple
of love and peace.
Let love and Truth illumine the
world, And the adversaries of
peace awaken to its Light.
This sacred land of God has been
trampled with the burden of
oppression.
Life is not a dagger stained with
the blood of hatred;
It is a branch filled with the
flowers of love and compassion.
Life itself is restless for peace in
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
How to improve spiritually?
ers so that a college will find us
appealing as a candidate. Few peo‑
ple would request letters from
teachers who would describe them
as slacking off or misbehaving. We
want to show ourselves in our best
light.
When we attempt to gain any‑
thing in the world, it is often based
on the concept that we put our‑
selves forward and hide our weak‑
nesses. This is typical in worldly
affairs. In this connection, there is
a true story from the sports world.
A university football team was con‑
ditioning themselves by practicing
running. One of the players had the
position of lineman. This large
player was in a tackle position and
considered the fastest lineman in
the team. One day, he walked up to
his coach and asked if he could run
sprints with the fastest running
backs. The coach gave him permis‑
sion.
The lineman went out daily to
run, but each day he came in last.
Day after day, he continued to run
with the fastest backs, even though
each day he lost. This was to be
expected because linemen are gen‑
erally not considered as fast as the
running backs.
T he coach, thinking it was
strange, asked himse lf, “W hy
would this football player want to
play with the best runners and con‑
tinually come in last when he could
run with the linemen and be the
fastest?”
The coach observed the young
man and finally, after seeing the
the world.
Let its noble dream materialize.
May the garden be illumined
with wave after wave of Light.
May the wealth of love grow
greater and greater and enrich
every heart.
These verses capture the
essence of what I consider the pur‑
pose of life and have been the
inspiration of my life. These pene‑
trating words by Sant Darshan
Singh Ji Maharaj, a past master of
meditation on the inner Light and
lineman lose for many days, decid‑
ed to ask him: “Wouldnʼt you prefer
to be a winner and run with the
other lineman, rather than keep
being a loser running with the
backs?”
He was surprised to hear the
football playerʼs answer.
The young man said, “Iʼm not
here to outrun the linemen. I
already know I can do that. Iʼm
here to learn how to run faster, and
if you have noticed, Sir, I lose to the
backs by a little less each day!”
This account holds the secret to
our spiritual progress. Whereas in
worldly work, we always want to
appear the best, when it comes to
spiritual work, we cannot hide who
we are from God. Our progress is
an open book to the Lord. The
grace we receive to progress spiri‑
tually is based on sincere efforts.
We cannot hide the truth of our
spiritual gains and failures from
the Creator.
The football player learned that
he would not improve by living on
past glories. He knew he could only
Sound, illumine a way to achieve
peace through uncovering the
Divine within. Once this uplifting
peace permeates our being, it can
spread to others, bathing this
planet in peace.
These verses describe the
unity at the heart of all creation.
The poet realizes that the same
Light of God within us is also in all
others, making us one human fam‑
ily. Even science points to our ones
through the Genome project.
Scientists have found that more
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
improve by challenging himself. By
seeing his weaknesses as a runner,
he could work on them to improve.
By pitting himself against those
who were better than he was in the
area he wanted to master, his
shortcomings would become visi‑
ble and he could work on overcom‑
ing them. He was after improve‑
ment, not accolades and praise.
A way to improve spiritually is to
take an honest look at our failings
and weaknesses. By doing so, we
can weed them out and work on
improving. Besides noting our posi‑
tive efforts, we should also analyze
our failings. Through this brutally
honest look at ourselves, we would
see areas for improvement. If we
looked at only our successes, we
might become complacent and
think we have reached the pinnacle
of g lory. T hen, we would not
change; we would be satisfied with
what we are and take longer to
reach our goal.
The football player could see
what the other runners were doing
and could work on developing his
than 99% of the genes of all
human beings are the same, with
only less than 1% being different,
accounting for differences in our
hair, skin, and eye color, or our
size and shape. When we realize
we are all one family, we would
not cause pain or suffering to oth‑
ers. As we would not want to hurt
our parents or children, we would
not want to hurt any other human
being. The walls that divide us
through nationality, social status,
or appearance tumble down as we
realize that we are all children of
the one Creative Power.
Through meditation on the inner
Light and Sound within each of us,
we can have a firsthand experi‑
ence of our unity. Through absorp‑
tion into this Light and Sound cur‑
rent, we experience consciousness
of higher spiritual realms. This
inner journey leads back to the
source of this current and we
experience oneness with the
Creator. Saints and mystics have
described within us a series of
realms. Beyond the physical realm,
there is the astral, causal, and
supracausal realms, and a purely
A way to improve
spiritually is to take
an honest look at
our failings and
weaknesses. By
doing so, we can
weed them out and
work on improving.
ability. The losses showed him
what he needed to do better the
next time. By doing this, each day
he lost by a little less. When we
look at our failures, we know what
we have to do to do better each
day. Then, by making an effort, we
will have fewer failures than on the
previous day. Over time, we would
ultimately reach a stage in which
we have improved and reach zero
failures.
To progress spiritually, we can
honestly analyze the areas in which
we need to improve. We are not
applying for a job with God and are
not writing a spiritual resume to
show ourselves in a good light. We
are not applying for a credit loan
from God where we conceal our
business failures and show only
our successes. Rather, we are
applying for union with God, the
abode of all purity and virtue. To
enter into that union we need to
weed out any ethical failures. We
cannot hide our failings from God,
who sees all. God wants our honest
efforts in overcoming the failures.
spiritual realm, called Sach Khand.
Each realm contains greater and
greater light, celestial music, joy,
and love. We ultimately merge
back in the source of all conscious‑
ness, love, and light. Then, we rec‑
ognize that all humans and all
forms of life are created by the
Divine and comprise one family.
This nondenominational medita‑
tion practice, called Shabd
Meditation, or meditation on the
Light and Sound, can be per‑
formed by people of all cultures.
The introductory form of medita‑
tion, called Jyoti Meditation can be
practiced by any one at any place.
The more time we spend in medi‑
tation, the more we realize the
unity within each. Spiritual
progress is enhanced by an ethical
life of non‑violence, truthfulness,
humility, love for all, and selfless
service.
As we gaze at the wonders with‑
in through meditation, we can
experience the inner light, enjoy
its nourishing peace and bliss, and
radiate that loving luminosity to
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