21 - Vol 8 - Epaper

The South Asian Times
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Vol.8 No. 21 Sept 26-Oct 2, 2015 60 Cents
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Over 700 perish in

Haj stampede
At least 14 Indians
among those killed
New Delhi: At least 14 Indians
were killed in the stampede
that took place in Saudi
Arabia's Mina city on Thursday,
External Af fairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj said on Friday.
"Our Consul General Jeddah
reports loss of 14 Indian lives
in stampede. We have 13
injured in hospital," tweeted
Sushma Swaraj who is currently
in the US.
At least 717 people have been
confirmed dead and hundreds
are wounded in the Thursday's
stampede, the worst tragedy to
hit the world's holiest Muslim
pilgrimage in 25 years.
Detailed story on pg 21
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a group photograph with the leading Fortune 500 CEOs
at a special event in New York Sept 24, 2015. The $4.5 trillion club!
Modis signal
India is open
for business
Emergency workers tending

to one of the injured
in the stampede.
By SATimes Team
Pope tells America to

be kind to immigrants
New York: India is open for busi

ness and the top priority for his
government was reforms in gover
nance, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi told a group of top execu
tives of America over a dinner
meeting organized by the presti

gious Fortune magazine.
T he dinner was attended by
some 47 CEOs of Fortune 500
companies on Thursday.
Day one of the Prime Ministers
6day visit to America to attract
capital and boost his Make in
India initiative kicked of f with a

strong investment pitch to nine top
American CEOs from the financial
sector at the power packed
roundtable conference.
Among the CEOs who attended
the conference were Jamie Dimon,
Continued on page 4
Obama and Putin to meet in NYC;

Syria and Ukraine vie for attention
Not only ordinary folks who thronged all events of Pope Francis, even
Speaker of the US House John Boehner (right) was moved by the
Pontiffs speech that he helped organize at the joint meeting of
Congress in Washington DC on Thursday. The Pope called on Americans
to embrace immigrants from Latin America & around the world.
Washington: US President Barack

Obama and Russian President
Vladimir Putin will meet in New
York next week at a time of high
tension in Europe and the Middle
East, but the Kremlin and the
W hite House disag reed on
Thursday over the top priority for
the talks.
The White House insisted the
meeting would focus on eastern
Ukraine, where Russianbacked
(See more stories and pictures on page 9)
US AFFAIRS 10
RELIGION 15
BOLLYWOOD 27
Continued on page 4
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
excellence in journalism
September 26-October 2, 2015
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
US lawmakers hail Modi's

trip to Silicon Valley
Washington: Welcoming Prime

Minister Narendra Modi`s second
visit to America, several US law
makers have hoped it would
deepen Indian investment in the
US and drive more development
in India with use of US technolog
ical knowledge.
"Under your leadership, our
bilateral relationship has been
revitalized and India has under
gone a domestic transformation
while engaging with the world
and continuing to serve as a dem
ocratic model," the lawmakers
said in a welcome letter.
The letter was signed among
others by Ami Bera, Cochair of
the Congressional Caucus on
India and IndianAmericans, and

Tulsi Gabbard.
Ed Royce, chairman of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee,
and Senator John Cornyn,
Republican cochair of Senate
India Caucus also issued separate
video messages welcoming Modi.
Applauding Modi and President
Obama, the lawmakers said,
"Close collaboration between our
governments has led to progress
in several areas including coun
terterrorism, nonproliferation,
cybersecurity, science and tech
nolog y, know ledge economy,
energy, space, and health to name
just a few." Modi`s "decision to
open up domestic markets to FDI
has helped grow US investment

into India to $28 billion, they
said noting that trade between
the two countries has reached
about $120 billion.
Modis trip to "California, which
marks the first time an Indian
head of government has visited
the Golden State in 33 years" with
a visit to "Silicon Valley will help
showcase the exciting contribu
t ions Indians and Indian
Americans make to the US tech
nology industry", the lawmakers
wrote.
Modi is also touring several
Silicon Valley companies this
weekend, including Facebook,
Google, and Tesla,
Media helped improve

IndiaUS ties: Shobhana Bhartia
By SATimes Team
New York: Media played a crucial
role in bringing IndiaUS closer
said Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson
and editorial director of Hindustan
Times Group, in her lecture at the
Indian Consulate Sept 17. Bhartia,
who was a guest speaker at the con
sulates Media India Lecture series,
spoke about The Role of Media in
Promoting IndiaUS relations. The
Indian media baron was in town to
receive the 2015 Global Leadership
Award from the US India Business
Council.
She touched upon a range of sub
jects from Bill Clintons visit to India
to the IndoUS nuclear deal and
how media helped shaped Indias
image. In her lecture she mentioned
that India was not getting proper
respect from America during the
early 1990s, as the good work
done by India was not getting trans
lated and the relationship was not
so strong but the scenario changed
after President Clintons India visit.
It was the turning point. We moved
forward from there. And media
played a very important role there
as a thawing agent.
She also said that the biggest
Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson and editorial director of Hindustan

Times Group, and Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay.
turning point in the re lations
between the two countries after
Clintons visit was signing of the
nuclear deal and medias proactive
role was a major player there too.
Bhartia, former Rajya Sabha MP,
admitted that there was a major dis
cord within the ruling party in India
at the time regarding the deal but it
was the Indian media that actually
collectively created the right con
text which allowed the ruling party
to take the right decision.
On Tuesday Bhartia along with
PepsiCo Chairman Indra Nooyi
received USIBCs 2015 Global
Leadership Award.
After accepting the award
Bharatia said, "As the representa
tive of a media group that realizes

the importance of looking at both
India Shining, and the Other India
to get a real picture of what is hap
pening in our country, and as a
woman leader in a nation where
women are finally coming into their
own, I am delighted to receive this
award."
"Our two countries, both democ
racies, have a strong and free media
and I see increasing opportunities
for collaboration as media and tech
nology companies from India and
the US navigate the evolving digital
landscape," she added.
US Vice President Joe Biden,
Secretary of State John Kerry,
among others, spoke at the event.
Columbia SIPA to set up Center

on Indian Economic Policies
New York: The School
viding scholarly sup
of International and
port for bilateral and
Public Af fairs (SIPA)
multilateral initia
at
Columbia
tives.
University has set up
The Center, which
the Deepak and Neera
is the first of its kind
Raj Center on Indian
in the United States,
Economic Policies
will pursue this work
thanks to a generous
throug h research
Gift from Deepak and
gift from the couple,
projects,
highvisibili
Neera Raj provides
which be launched on
ty
programs,
publica
funding for Center
Oct 5 by Arun Jaitley,
tions, and events.
Indias minister for finance.
Pravin Krishna, the Chung Ju
Deepak Raj is managing director Yung Distinguished Professor of
of the private investment firms Internat ional Economics and
Rushbrook Partners and Raj Business at Johns Hopkins
Associates. The launch event on the University, will serve as deputy
Columbia campus will convene director. Arvind Panagariya, a
elected officials, policymakers, aca noted economist and SIPA profes
demics, and privatesector leaders sor who is currently serving in the
on the Columbia campus. Also cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra
attending will be Arun K. Singh, Modi, led ef forts to establish the
Indian Ambassador to the US.
Center.
Under the leadership of Columbia
SIPA Dean Merit E. Janow said,
Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, who is We are grateful to Deepak and
the inaugural director, the Center Neera Raj for their generous sup
will provide research and expertise port of SIPAs efforts in this vitally
necessary to inform policy deci important field of inquiry. By sup
sions, deliver increased prosperity, porting critical research and schol
and define Indias future role in the arship, programming, and more,
global economy. The Center will the new Center will underscore
also make comparative study of the SIPAs leadership in this area of
experience of India and the US in research and enhance curricular
policyrelevant areas such as cli of ferings and opportunities for
mate change and federalism, pro students.
TURN PAGE
ObamaModi summit to
focus on climate change
Washington: Climate change will be a
key focus of President Obama's sum
mit with Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, officials said as US looks at India
as critical to a successful global effort
to combat climate change.
Obama will have a bilateral meeting
with Modi on Monday after his
address to the UN General Assembly,
the President's Deputy National
Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told
reporters Thursday in a conference
call. "This will give the two leaders an
opportunity to build on the discus
sions they had earlier this year during
the President's historic trip to India,"
he said.
"We are deeply committed to
strengthening the USIndian relation
ship, building our economic and com
mercial ties, advancing our political
and security cooperation in Asia and
around the world," Rhodes said.
"Notably, India will be critical to a
successful global effort to combat cli
mate change, so the two leaders will
certainly address their shared vision of
how to approach the upcoming meet
ings in Paris," he said.

A UN conference on climate change
in Paris in December aims to reach an
accord that commits every country to
curbing their emissions.
Noting that climate change "has
been a core priority of the President's,
at home and abroad," Rhodes said it
will be high on the agenda in Obama's
bilateral meetings with President Xi
Jinping of China at the White House
Thursday night and Friday.
"As the two biggest emitters of the
world, the leadership shown by the US
and China heading into the UN session
and the meetings in Paris will be criti
cal to a successful outcome," he said.
After the breakthrough last year in
terms of the US and China both
announcing targets in terms of emis
sions reductions, they hoped to have
additional commitments the two
nations will be taking into Paris,
Rhodes said. While Pope Francis had
put his moral authority behind global
efforts to combat climate change, the
UN Secretary General had put it at the
top of the UN's agenda.
Rate hike likely by year end: US Fed chief

Washington: An increase in the US Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate
is probable "sometime later this year", Fed chief Janet Yellen has said.
"Most of my colleagues and I anticipate that it will likely be appropriate to
raise the target range for the federal funds rate sometime this year," Yellen
said on Thursday, referring to the members of the Federal Open Market
Committee, the central bank's policymaking body. Nine of the 10 members of
the FOMC voted at their meeting last week to keep the rate below 0.25 per
cent, where it has been since December 2008. The FOMC said in a statement
that while the US economy remained on the path of "moderate" expansion,
"global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity
somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the
near term", in a clear reference to recent volatility in China. On Thursday, how
ever, Yellen appeared to minimize the impact of international events on the
domestic economy.
India is open for business...

Continued from page 1
CEO and president of JP Morgan, Blackstones
Steve Schwarzman, Warburg Pincus Charles
Kaye, KKR CoCEO Henry Kravis, General Atlantic
CEO Bill Ford, AIG Insurance CEO Peter Hancock,
Tiger Global Managing Partner Chase Coleman,
and NY State Common Retirement Funds Vicki
Fuller.
They control billions of dollars of investment
and the opportunity to interact directly with the
Prime Minister has given them further confi
dence in India, Ministry of External Af fairs
spokesperson Vikas Swarup said after the meet
ing.
Swarup said the Prime Minister took on board
the concerns raised by the investors and prom
ised speedy resolution to them. Financial sector
leaders flagged red tape, slow pace of deregula
tion, and unpredictable tax regimes, as their main
concerns.
The PM told the investment community that
the massive scale of Indias development ambi
tions held forth the best opportunity for them in
the world, Mr. Swarup said, adding that Mr.
Modi mentioned development targets such as
building metro rails in 50 cities, complete rural
electrification and housing for all among initia
tives that would provide attractive investment
opportunities.
Swarup said all the leaders were bullish about
India and appreciated the PMs bold measures in
improving the ease of doing business and the fact
that financial sector reforms have now begun.
"It was a great meeting with PM and very con
structive as well" said Jamie Dimon chairman,
CEO and president of JP Morgan.
"India has one of the highest levels of growth
and has a proreform government," said Stephen
A. Schwarzman,CEO, Blackstone.
Modi continued with his pitch at the second
round of conference this time with the top execu
tives of major media and communication compa
nies, presenting India as a technologydriven
society. Modi pledged protection to Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) at the second roundtable
hosted by News Corps Rupert Murdoch.
This is a technology driven era. We are a tech
nology driven society, he said at a roundtable
meeting.
The focus of the Prime Ministers meeting with
over dozen media honchos was to understand
about the trends in media and communication
New Delhi Bureau

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technologies and the opportunities for India.
We are committed to protecting IPR which is
essential to fostering creativity, Modi told them
at the roundtable on Media, Tech &
Communications.
Among top media executives who attended the
meeting with Prime Minister Modi were Rupert
Murdoch, CEO, News Corp; Brian L Roberts, CEO,
Comcast; Jeff Bewkes, CEO, Time Warner; Martin
Sorrell, CEO, WPP; and John Skipper, President,
ESPN. They discussed issues related to intellectu
al property rights.
Modi also held a bilateral meeting with his
Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina and met
President David Arthur Granger of Guyana.
Modi also met Marillyn Hewson, Chairman of
the aerospace and defence giant Lockheed
Martin Corporation, and Mike Burke, Chairman
and CEO of infrastructure firm Aecom.
On Saturday, PM Modi will host German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese PM Shinzo
Abe and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in a
special summit of what is known as the G4
group countries which back each other's bid for
permanent seats at the UN Security Council.
On September 26 and 27, the PM will travel to
the Silicon Valley, with a special emphasis on pro
moting a startup culture in India.
Obama and Putin to meet in NYC...

Continued from page 1
forces are fighting the Kiev government, prompt
ing tough sanctions that have damaged Russia's
economy.
Moscow, however, said the main focus would
be on Syria, where Russia has built up its military
forces in recent weeks with combat aircraft,
tanks and other equipment in support of
President Bashar alAssad.
Put in's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told
reporters: "Of course, the primary topic will be
Syria." Asked whether Ukraine would be dis
cussed, he said: "Well, if time allows." "There will
be time," Obama's spokesman, Josh Earnest,
retorted during a briefing in Washington.
Earnest, speaking at the White House, played
down the possibility for any "major announce
ment" from the meeting.
The leaders will be in New York to address the
United Nations General Assembly on Monday
morning. Peskov said the meeting would take
place after Putin's speech, but Earnest declined to
say when it would happen.
Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah

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TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Darshan Mela in honor of 2 spiritual

luminaries attracts hundreds
Amityville, NY: On September 13,
hundreds of people came from
throughout the TriState area to
the Science of Spirituality
Meditation Center here to cele
brate the birth anniversaries of
two great spiritual luminaries,
Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj
and Sant Rajinder Sing h Ji
Maharaj and their message of
peace. Science of Spirituality
sponsors a festival on this special
occasion combining fun activities
for the whole family, along with
inspirational presentations to
nourish the spirit.
The Darshan Mela festival has
become a muchanticipated yearly
event at the Amityville Science of
Spirituality center. At 1:00 pm the
outdoor festivities began with a
range of fun activities. A free
luncheon was served consisting of
a wide variety of vegetarian food
stalls of fering dishes from
throughout the world. An expan
sive spiritual bookstall and photo
The day long fest had fun activities for whole family
exhibition were on display. During
the day there were a variety of
games, kids entertainment, rides
and colorful face painting for the
children.
There was live music presented
by the Center's own musical
g roup called Junoon, and an
Workshops were hosted on meditation and healthy

vegetarian lifestyle
underlying spiritual message

throughout all the programs of
kindness and unity. For the
grownups there were workshops
on the many benefits of medita
tion, and a healthy vegetarian
lifestyle. For those new to the idea
of vegetarianism, it was a delight
ful surprise to see the amazing

variety and taste the delicious
dishes that were offered.
Science of Spirituality is a non
profit, multifaith organization
that provides a forum for people
to learn meditation, experience
personal transformation, and
bring about inner and outer peace

and human unity. It is currently
under the direct ion of Sant
Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, who is
internationally recognized for his
work toward inner and outer
peace through spirituality, pro
moting intercultural and global
understanding.
T he Science of Spirituality
Meditation Center holds programs
weekly in multiple languages
including Eng lish, Hindi and
Spanish. On October 31, 9:30 am
3 pm, the Center will be hosting
an allday event entitled Living
Healthy, Living Happy!~ A Day of
Motivation, Inspiration & Spiritual
Rejuvenation, with workshops on
ways to destress, learn medita
tion, healthy eating and yoga. All
are welcome. To learn more about
events happening at the Science
of Spirituality Meditation Center:
6 3 1 . 8 2 2 . 7 9 7 9 ,
infotristate@sos.org, or visit
www.sos.org/location.
AIAs benet gala for Putting spotlight on campus racism

DEEPAVALI FESTIVAL
on Sunday
New York: T he Association of
Indians in America, NY Chapter
(AIANY) is hosting a Benefit Gala
in support of its 28th Annual
Deepavali Festival at the Swan
Club in Roslyn, Long Island on
September 27. The Gala will be
attended by many respected indi
viduals and dignitaries from the
community including members of
the media and sponsors that have
showcased their continued com
mitment and support for the
Deepavali Festival.
The Deepavali Festival will take
place at the South Street Seaport
on October 4 from 12 noon till
7pm, culminating in a spectacular
display of Fireworks. The event is
one of the largest in the tristate
area, attracting 75,000 100,000
people. The festival will be a full
day celebration with numerous
corporate booths, food & clothing
vendors, performances and activi
ties for the whole family including

a live grand display of fireworks.
Among the honorees are
Hote lier and President of
Vegetarian Vision, Dr. Chandra
Mehta; Dr. Harish Mistry of Lord
Shivas Propert ies & Vijaydev
Mistry Foundation. Also to be rec
ognized are Young Physician
Leader, Dr. Mukul Arya, Director of
Advanced Endoscopy at the New
York Methodist Hospital. The first
female amputee to climb Mt.
Everest Ms. Arunima Sinha will
also be in attendance.
The evening will comprise of
cocktails, light entertainment by
musicians and a special perform
ance from returning participants
of the highly successful intercolle
giate dance competition, Naach
Inferno.
AIA is the oldest notforprofit
organization of Asian Indians in
America founded in 1967.
New York: A Saturday night incident

that happened with Rini Sampath,
vice president of University of
Southern Californias Undergraduate
Student Government has turned the
focus on racism on campus often
experienced by immigrant students.
While walking back from a friends
apartment someone leaned out of a
fraternity house window and shout
ed: You Indian piece of s! Then he
hurled a drink at her.
Once his fraternity brothers real
ized it was me, they began to apolo
gize, she wrote on her Facebook
page on Sunday. This stung even
more. I couldnt quite figure out
why their afterthefact apologies
deepened the wound. But one of my
friends explained it to me the best
this morning: Because now you
know, the first thing they see you as
is subhuman. After the incident,
Sampath said she was in shock. It
brought back all these memories of
growing up as immigrant in
America, she told The Washington
Post. All the things people said
started playing back in
my head, over and over, like a bro
Rini Sampath spoke out after

bitter experience.
ken record.
It makes me wonder what would
have happened had it been someone
else. Thats an aspect that concerns
me. It just makes me wonder: Is this
how they see us first and foremost
for the color of our skin?' Sampath,
a senior international relations
major, opened up about the incident
on her Facebook page because, she
said, she wants to call attention to
racism on her Los Angeles campus
and to encourage others who have
been victimized by it to come for
ward and share their own stories.
Some people dont believe racism
like this can happen on our campus,

she wrote in her post. Some people
continue to doubt the need for safe
spaces and the need for expanded
cultural resource centers or the need
for gender neutral bathrooms or the
need for diversity in our curriculum
or the need for diversity in our pro
fessors or the need for diversity in
dialogue. And to those who contin
ue to believe were just playing the
race card, I ask you this whats
there to win here? A sense of
respect? A sense of humanity? A
sense of love and compassion for
others regardless of how they look
like? Almost immediately, Sampath
said, university officials reached out
to her in support. Students sent mes
sages showing they care, she said.
And the student responsible for cre
ating what has turned into a nation
wide uproar contacted her to apolo
gize, Sampath said.
I appreciate it, but hope it
becomes a learning experience, she
told The Post. Apologies dont fix
these deep wounds. . . . [the slur] was
a verbal assault on my identity on
who I am as a person.
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
USIBC honors Nooyi, Bhartia with

Global Leadership Award
Washington, DC:
PepsiCo
Chairman Indra Nooy i and
Hindustan Times Group chairper
son Shobhana Bhartia have been
presented with the 2015 Global
Leadership Award of the US India
Business Council, for their com
mitment to driving a more inclu
sive global economy and their
roles as women leaders.
Nooyi and Bhartia were honored
w ith this prest ig ious annual
award during the annual gala of
the USIBC, the top advo cacy
group for India and American
companies in the US.
US Vice President Joe Biden,
Secretary of State John Kerry,
among others, addressed on the
occasion. Noting that USIBC plays
a crit ically important role in

strengthening the IndiaUS rela
tionship, Nooyi said, there are
tremendous opportunities ahead
to work together in new ways that
capitalize on their collect ive
strengths and pave the way to
shared prosperity for the coun
tries, companies and citizens.
Bhartia, also Editorial Director
of the HT group, said, "As the rep
resentative of a media group that
realizes the importance of looking
at both India Shining, and the
Other India to get a real picture of
what is happening in our country,
and as a woman leader in a nation
where women are nally coming
into their own, I am delighted to
receive this award."
Silicon Valley couple

sued over autistic
son's behavior
New York: Neighbors of an Indian
American couple living in
Sunnyvale, Calif., have led a law
suit over the couples 11yearold
autistic sons behavior.
Neighbors of Vidyut Gopal and
Parul Agrawal said ling the law
suit was a means to an end to the
young boy allegedly pulling chil
drens hair and biting women, as
well as other disruptive actions.
Despite Gopal and Agrawal hir
ing caregivers, giving special med
ications and putting him in thera
peutic classes, nothing worked,
leading to the lawsuit, which
called the boy a public nuisance.
The legal battle, which began a
year ago when two couples on
either side of the Gopal and
Agrawal house Robert and Marci
Flowers, and Bindu Pothen and
Kumaran Santhanam led a law
suit, has embroiled parents of
autistic children far beyond
Arlington Court in Sunnyvale.
This has been pretty devastat
ing for us, said Gopal in a San Jose
Mercury News report published
Sept. 17. But we are doing our
best to cope with it.
According to the suit, the boys
behavior has created an asyet
unquantied chilling effect on the
otherwise hot local real estate
market and that people feel con
strained in the marketability of
their homes as this issue remains
unresolved and the nuisance
remains unabated, the Mercury
News reported.
The Flowers family moved from
their home on the street about a
month ago. A Santa Clara County
Superior Court judge issued a pre

liminary injunction against the
couple last October to ensure the
boy does not strike, assault or bat
ter anyone in the neighborhood,
or their personal property.
The case is scheduled to return
to court Sept. 22 with arguments
about whether the plaintif fs
should have access to the boys
school and medical records.
The Indian American couple
being sued Gopal, an engineer,
and Agrawal, a research scientist
at NASA Ames Research Center
are focused on helping their son,
with intentions of raising aware
ness and educating people on
autism and challenges families
face.
The Mercury News reported
that other families in the neigh
borhood feel compassion for the
couple but believed the lawsuit
needed to be issued.
T he boy also allegedly hit a
baby with his hand, tried to ride
his bicycle into neighbors, and
repeatedly sat on a neighbors cat.
Sue Alford, a 61yearold retired
registered nurse who lives next to
one of the plaintif fs, told the
Mercury News, We all met with
them and talked to them about
their son, but they didn't see our
point of view," and that ling the
lawsuit against Gopal and Agrawal
was painful.
Meanwhile, Gopal and Agrawal,
who now rent their Arlington
Court home to another family, say
the family has no intentions of
going back to their previous
home.
Renowned IndianAmerican
artist, Natvar Bhavsar who is
known for his abstract expres
sionism and "coloreld" painting
was awarded the Art ist ic
Achievement Award.
"My work aims to transcend
boundaries and I am honored to
receive this award that recognizes
my Indian roots and my training
in arts that took place in the
United States," he said.
"I would not be the artist I am
today had it not been for the
inspirations that have guided me
in my absorbing the gifts offered
by both cultures, my birthplace
India and my half a century's par
ticipation in the creative life of
New York City," Mr Bhavsar said.
PepsiCo Chairman Indra Nooyi, Hindustan Times Group chairperson

Shobhana Bhartia
Breastfeeding in public:
NYC library apologizes
New York: A library in New York
has apologized to an Indianori
gin woman after an employee of
the public library asked her to
stop breastfeeding her daugh
ter in public. "We will be giving
our staff additional coaching to
remind them about the proper
practice for maintaining a wel
coming environment," CBS New
York online on Tuesday cited a
library statement as saying.
Sherry Singh, a regular visitor at
the Forest Hills library, was last

weekend told to stop feeding
her child in the library and
breastfeed her fourmonthold
daughter in the restroom.
"Me and my other daughter
were play ing w ith puppets,
when this little one started cry
ing. I started nursing her," Singh
was quoted as saying.
"An employee came over and
told me not to breastfeed my
daughter there," Singh said.
Donna Lieberman, executive

director of the New York Civil
Liberties Union, said the law
allows breastfeeding in public.
"It has been the law for quite a
while. It is every woman's right
to breastfeed in public,"
Lieberman said.
Sing h has accepted the
library's apology and is not tak
ing any legal action, but she
wants the story to go out to edu
cate others.
7 liquor store owners

charged with tax evasion
Washington, DC: Seven Indian
American liquor store operators in
Chicago have been charged with
sales tax evasion and could be
jailed for three to 15 years, a
media report said.
Law enforcement authorities
led charges against Cherag Patel,
Dipakkumar Patel, Jiggarkumar
Patel, Mukesh Patel, Nishant Patel,
Rajanikant Patel and Vishal Patel

following a twoyear criminal tax
investigation, NBC Chicago report
ed Sept. 18 citing a statement from
the attorney general's ofce.
Charges were also framed
against two other operators identi
ed as Abdel Fattah Hammad and
Yasir Kanan. The nine defendants
collectively defrauded the state of
Illinois out of more than $3.5 mil

lion in sales taxes between July
2010 and December 2013, accord
ing to the authorities.
"This should send a message that
doing business in Illinois means
following the state's laws without
exception," Attorney General Lisa
Madigan was quoted as saying in a
statement.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Indian diaspora launches

'Mission 2022'
Washington, DC: The three million
strong Indian diaspora in the US
has launched "Mission 2022" in
partnership
w ith
the
Confederation of Indian Industries
to make USIndia partnership a
dening partnership of the 21st
century.
"We have set a goal called
Mission 2022, which is to have a
series of dialogues with the diaspo
ra over the next seven years as
India turns 75," entrepreneur M R
Rangaswami said during a recep
tion hosted by CII and Indian dias
pora, which among others was
attended by US Commerce
Secretary Penny Pritzker and

Commerce Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman.
These dialogues would be held
every six months.
"The goal is that by 2022, the
USIndia partnership is a dening
partnership of the 21st century,"
he said yesterday.
Highlighting the signicant posi
tive change taking place within
India, CII president Sumit Sumter
invited the diaspora to invest in
India's transformation, avail the
immense opportunities available
today and be part of the mutual
growth story.
Sitharaman applauded the vision

of President Barack Obama and
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
highlighted the signicant deepen
ing of commercial ties between the
two nations and their businesses.
Pritzker stressed on the work cut
out by both the governments to
make this into a $500 billion eco
nomic engagement between the
oldest and the largest democracies
in the world.
Together the two leaders high
lighted the substantial steps taken
by the two governments in the
direction of boosting trade and
investments.
Regional Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas
in LA in November
Washington, DC: India will hold a
regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
in Los Angeles in November.
The announcement has been
welcomed by the United States.
Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
(PBD) in Los Angeles is part of
the ef fort of the Indian govern
ment to increase its engagement
with the large IndianAmerican
community, which numbers
more than three million.
A joint statement issued after
the rst India US Strategic and
Commercial Dialogue, appreciat

ed the intense eng agement
between the two countries under
various institutional bilateral dia
logue mechanisms and peopleto
people contacts.
It welcomed India's announce
ment to hold a regional Pravasi
Bhart iya Divas (PBD) in Los
Angeles in November this year,
to further increase peopleto
people contacts between the two
countries. The last regional PBD
was held in New York in 2007.
Producer Anthea
New Indian American group aims
Bhargava wins rst
to boost Republican candidates
Emmy for THE VOICE
New York: Indian American produc
er Anthea Bhargava won her rst
Emmy Award for Outstanding
RealityCompetition Program as
part of the production team respon
sible for the reality singing competi
tion, T he Voice, at the 67th
Annual Emmy Awards in Los
Angeles Sept. 20.
Bhargava beat out the production
team of Indian American model and
te levision personality Padma
Lakshmis reality cooking show
Top Chef, which was nominated in
the same category.
The 37yearold line producer of
The Voice was also a production
manager for the 45th and 46th
annual Grammy Awards before
becoming an associate producer for
the 47th edition of the show, and
Anthea Bhargava
has worked as a production manag
er, associate producer and line pro
ducer on several other award
shows, including the BET Awards
and Latin Grammy Awards, accord
ing to IMDB.
Kailash Kher to perform at Modis reception

ailash Kher is all set to
enthrall thousands at the
SAP Center in San Jose, CA,
when Prime Minister Modi
will attend community recep
tion hosted in his honor on
Sept 27. Hi Bay AreaSilicon
Valley This is Kailash Kher.
Im coming with my band for the
Community Reception! said the
popular Indian poprock singer.
The su singer, 42, was

one of the brand ambas
sadors nominated by
Modi for his Clean India
campaign.
Having sung over
5,000
songs
for
Bollywood, Kher and has
his band Kailasa have performed in
more than 1000 concerts globally
over the past ten years.
Washington, DC: Shalabh "Shalli"

Kumar, an Indian American busi
nessman and a major supporter of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
has taken the lead in forming the
Republican Hindu Coalition,
which aims to promote conserva
tive principles such as free mar
kets and limited government, with
a focus on how they re late to
Indian Americans, Fox News
reported last week.
T he organization is modeled
after groups like the Republican
Jewish Coalition and plans to
spend big in next year's elections,
the report said.
"This is a very important time in
history. The country has suffered
so much so dramatically in the last
eight years, and another four or
eight years of the same direction,
the U.S. as we know it will come to
an end," Kumar told FoxNews.com.
While many Hindus are ideologi
cally conservativeleaning, they
have not yet mobilized to vote for
Republicans, he said.
"Hindu Americans tend to be like
other minorities when it comes to
voting they are Democrats or
are neutral, or they just don't vote,"
said Kumar, chairman of AVG
Advanced Technologies.
Yet the RHC is hoping to change
this, and has gained the backing of
some bigname Republicans, with
former House Speaker Newt
Shalabh Shalli Kumar has taken the lead in forming

Republican Hindu Coalition
Gingrich agreeing to serve as hon
orary chairman for the group.
Kumar said they have received a
great deal of support from the
Republican National Committee
and highranking congressional
Republicans.
They are also hoping to organize
a congressional delegation to trav
el to India after they formally
launch the coalition next month.
Additionally, the RHC is hoping
that in light of the 2014 election of
the businessminded Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, the U.S.
and India can draw closer on a
number of issues, including getting
the U.S. to rely more on India for
manufacturing than China. We
are actually giving away our eco
nomic future to China, the world is
a lot less secure today than it was

seven years ago, and conservatives
and Republicans have to win and
take the White House. This is the
t ime when Hindu Americans
should very actively get involved,
Kumar added in the FoxNews.com
report.
Kumar said that while the RHC is
proud that Indian American
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
is running for president, they have
not yet backed any of the candi
dates seeking the Republican nom
ination in 2016.
However, Kumar has pledged to
personally donate at least $2 mil
lion and raise millions more for the
eventual Republican nominee,
Senate and House candidates and
Republican groups.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Renu Khator honored

with leadership award
Houston: Renu Khator, the Indian American

University of Houston president and chan
cellor, has been honored with the 'Excellence
in Leadership Award' by the United States
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The Excellence in Leadership Award pays
tribute to an extraordinary woman who has
devoted her professional career and person
al life to revolutionizing the world of busi
ness, education, philanthropy, or govern
ment.
Previous honorees include US House of
Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy
Pelosi, iconic journalist and talk show host
Cristina Saralegui and seventime Grammy
Award winning artist Gloria Estefan.
"I was literally surprised and asked at least
twice, 'Are you sure? Are you sure it is me?',"
said president Khator, who was honored
with the award at the organization's national
convention this week.
"I consider it a big honor to stand on the
national stage, represent the University of
Houston and accept this award on behalf of
all the great work done by all of us togeth
er," she said.
The USHCC said that as the first woman to
lead the UH System and the first Indian
University of Houston president and

chancellor Renu Khator
immigrant to oversee a major research uni
versity, Khator was the perfect fit for the
award.
"President Khator has not only broken the
glass ceiling, but her commitment to educa
t ion has served as an inspirat ion for
Americans, women, and immigrants of all
backgrounds," USHCC President and CEO
Javier Palomarez said in a statement.
Prerna Guptas app

offers 'books for
Snapchat generation'
New York: With more and more teenagers
giving up books for Facebook and Twitter,
an IndianAmerican businesswoman cum
author has recently launched an app that
features short fiction for young readers or
what she calls the "Snapchat generation."
Each book on the app called Hooked will
be roughly 1,000 words and is designed to
be read in about five minutes.
The stories will be told entirely through
dialogue and read like texts. Messages
show up on screen when readers click
"Next," CNN Money reported.
While initially, the app, developed by
Prerna Gupta, will only feature content
from screened contributors, eventually
users will be able to submit content of
their own.
The app is free to download and features
one free story a day. Readers can unlock
more stories with the subscription service.
A week of unlimited stories costs $2.99. A
month is $7.99 and a year is $39.99, the
report said. Telepathic, the company Gupta
Prerna Gupta
founded with her husband, Parag Chordia,
has raised $1.9 million and closed its first
round of funding.
Gupta was cofounder and CEO of Khush,
the leading developer of intelligent music
apps like Songify, an app that turns speech
into music.
Indian Americans rm gets U.S.

Muslims, the latest punching patent for highthreadcount fabric
Letter to Editor
bag in GOP 2016 campaign

n unidentified man, who spoke at the
Trump town hall in Rochester, NH,
asked the mogul at the meeting on
Thursday night. "You know our current
president is one. You know he's not even
an American" and then he went on spewing
hateful tirade against Muslims.
Donald Trump did not stop him. He
should have corrected the man who started
to insult our President, and then lumped
1.6 billion Muslims with ISIL terrorists in
Syria and Iraq. Does he not know that sev
eral Muslim countries in the Middle East
are a part of the U.S. led coalition engaged
in military operations to destroy ISIL ter
rorists?
Can Trump answer this question for a
man from Dallas, I am an African
American Muslim born and raised in this
great country? Where am I in your vision
of Making America Great Again?
In 2008, a woman at a John McCain
Campaign event insisted that Obama was
"an Arab." "No ma'am," McCain replied.
"He's a decent, family man, citizen that I
just happen to have disagreements with on

fundamental issues."
We see the signs of desperation, when
people resort to such insults; it shows they
are operating from a position of weakness.
Americans are not stupid, Trump can try to
tear America apart, but we are hopeful that
people of goodwill will keep America
together. I hope Je b Bush and other
Republican candidates for President in
2016 call him out and do not outtrump
his ugliness. Ambassador Islam Siddiqui,
President of American Muslim Institution
(AMI) said, "As Americans we cannot
remain silent, we call upon all the
Presidential candidates to be aware that
there are over 7 million peaceloving and
hardworking Americans who happen to be
Muslims. We hope Americans of all faiths
will stand up for each others rights, which
is the least we can do to build a safe and
prosperous America for all.
Mike Ghouse
American Muslim Institution
Washington, D.C.
Dallas, TX: Nextt, a

tionary fabric, we expect
Dallasbased leader in
to double sales within
the U.S. home textile
two years. Nextt is
industry, has developed
showcasing the Alpha
a new fabric category
Cotton product at the
and been awarded a
New
York
Home
patent for a distinctive
Fashions Market this
weaving process that
week.
combines polyester
Nextt is a $500 mil
yarns with cotton in a
lion revenue, privately
unique way to create a
held company that pro
highthreadcount.
vides textiles to all of
Called Alpha Cotton
the major U. S. retailers
this luxurious fabric is
including Dillards, Belk,
primarily used to make
WalMart and Kohls.
Nextt CEO Arun Agarwal with Alpha
sheets and is 30 to 40
Nextt also has a robust
Cotton sheets
percent cheaper than
portfolio of leading
100 percent cotton. Mumbai, Indiabased celebrity brands, such as Beautyrest, Ellen
Alok will be the leading manufacturer of Tracy, Jessica McClintock and Royal Sateen.
the product, with Nextt poised as its official
Nextt CEO Arun Agarwal was awarded
American marketing arm.
NRI of the Year by TIMES NOW and ICICI
Other suppliers will be able to buy the Bank in 2015 and was selected as a 2014
fabric directly from Alok or license the Minority Business Leader by the Dallas
technology for their own use. Nextt CEO Business Journal, while Agarwals company
Arun Agarwal says this patent will allow for was ranked 17th in the 2014 Dallas 100
explosive growth within the company in list of fastest growing companies selected
this category, which currently accounts for by
the
Caruth
Inst itute
for
$1 billion in annual sales. With this revolu Entrepreneurship of SMU.
THE POPE IN AMERICA
Pope Francis holds the head of a small child as he leans from the popemobile during a parade, Wednesday in Washington.
(Right) Pope Francis and President Obama on Wednesday at the White House, where the pontiff was welcomed with an elaborate ceremony.
Washington, DC: Welcomed with a fanfare

of trumpets and a chorus of amens, Pope
Francis introduced himself to the United
States on Wednesday with a bracing mes
sage on climate change, immigration and
poverty that ranged from the pastoral to
the political.
On a day that blended the splendor of an
ancient church with the frenzy of a mod
ern rock star tour, Francis waded quietly
but forcefully into some of the most polar
izing issues of American civic life. Along
the way, he underscored just how much he
has upended the agenda of the Roman
Catholic Church and reordered its priori
ties, reported The New York Times.
Perhaps no one was more pleased than
President Obama, who greeted him with
an elaborate arrival ceremony at the
White House, where the pope explicitly
embraced the administrations ef forts to
combat climate change. At a later speech
to American bishops, Francis, the first
pope from Latin America, pressed for
openness to immigrants, marking a signal
day for Hispanics in the United States.
While the last two popes focused on tra
ditional moral issues like abortion and
homosexuality, Francis left those to the
side in Mr. Obamas presence. Humanity
has the ability to work together in building
our common home, the pope told a crowd
of thousands on the South Lawn of the
White House in his first major speech in
English. As Christians inspired by this cer
tainty, we wish to commit ourselves to the
conscious and responsible care of our
common home. Still, in a lowkey but evi
dent break with Mr. Obama, Francis at the
end of the day made a previously unan
nounced stop to see the nuns at the Little
Sisters of the Poor to underscore his sup
port for religious freedom, a Vatican
spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi,
said. The Little Sisters religious order sued
the federal government over the birth con
trol mandate in Mr. Obamas Af fordable
Care Act.
Wearing his white cassock and skullcap,
Francis was greeted everywhere he went
by joyful crowds. Catholics and non
Catholics alike juggled their cellphones

and small flags of the Holy See as they
craned for a glimpse of the 266th pope
only the fourth to visit the United States
and third to visit Washington.
T he spiritual leader of 1.2 billion
Catholics led a short parade around the
Ellipse in his openair popemobile, waving
and making the sign of the cross as
Vatican of ficials brought him babies to
kiss. He later celebrated Mass for more
than 20,000 people and presided over the
first canonization in the United States. In
his first visit to the United States, Francis,
78, seemed eager to pass over his previous
criticisms of a materialistic, capitalist cul
ture and instead reach out to the worlds
most powerful nation. He praised the
countrys devotion to freedom of liberty
and religion even as he cautioned that its
vast resources demanded a deep sense of
moral responsibility. God bless America,
he said at the White House.
Mr. Obama thanked the pope for his
help in restoring American diplomatic
relations with Cuba and hailed him for
speaking out for the worlds most impov
erished. You shake our conscience from
slumber, he said.
You call on us to rejoice in good news
and give us confidence that we can come
together, in humility and service, and pur
sue a world that is more loving, more just
and more free.
In his own remarks, the pope noted the
countrys origins at a time when critics of
illegal immigration were pushing to build
a wall at the southern border. As the son
of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a
guest in this country, which was largely
built by such families, Francis said.
He devoted more of his address to cli
mate change than any other topic. Mr.
President, Francis said, I find it encour
aging that you are proposing an initiative
for reducing air pollution. He added that
there was still time to heal the planet for
its children. To use a telling phrase of the
Rev. Martin Luther King, we can say that
we have defaulted on a promissory note,
and now is the time to honor it, he said.
IN ADDRESS TO
CONGRESS, POPE
URGES US TO
EMBRACE
IMMIGRANTS
Washington: Pope Francis, a symbol of
unity for the worlds 1.2 billion Catholics,
on Thursday became the first pontif f in
history to address US Congress, speaking
to Americas elected representatives about
preserving the dignity of your fellow citi
zens in the tireless and demanding pursuit
of the common good.
The pope, himself a son of immigrants,
implored Americas leaders to put aside
political differences and accept immigrants
as their own children.
Each son or daughter of a given country
has a mission, a personal and social
responsibility, the pope said in heavily
accented English. Your own responsibility
as members of Congress is to enable this
country, by your legislative activity, to
grow as a nation. The event would have
been politically impossible through much
Pope Francis addresses a joint meeting

of Congress on Capitol Hill. (AP photo)
of American history, when Catholics
especially waves of immigrants from Italy,
Ireland and central Europe in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries suffered wide
spread discrimination.
Before speaking to Congress, Pope
Francis met with Speaker of the House
John A. Boehner (ROhio), a devout Roman
Catholic who on Wednesday described hav
ing the pontiff at the Capitol as a oncein
alifetime moment, a glimpse of grace.
Boehner and Vice President Biden (D),
who is also Catholic, sat behind the pope.
There are 164 Catholics in this Congress,
or 31 percent of the members. Thats a
higher proportion than in the overall U.S.
population, which is 22 percent Catholic.
Pope tells Bishops that clergy abuse must not be repeated

Washington DC: Pope Francis told
American bishops Wednesday that the
of fenses of the Catholic churchs sex
abuse scandal must never be repeated.
In an address to hundreds of bishops
assembled in Washingtons Cathedral of
St. Matthew the Apostle, the pope told
them: I realize how much the pain of
recent years has weighed upon you and I
have supported your generous commit
ment to bring healing to victims in the
knowledge that in healing we too are
healed and to work to ensure that such
crimes will never be repeated.
T he pope, speaking in the soaring
cathedral, also spoke of the devil, the evil
one, (who) roars like a lion, anxious to
devour joy, and listed the churchs chal

lenges in the future:
The innocent victim of abortion, chil
dren who die of hunger or from bomb
ings, immigrants who drown in the search
for a better tomorrow . . . the victims of
terrorism, wars, violence and drug traf
ficking, the environment devastated by
mans predatory re lat ionship w ith
nature.
The popes words on the pedophile
priest scandal drew some quick reaction.
Marci Hamilton, a law professor at
Cardoza University who has represented
hundreds of sex abuse victims, said she
wished the pope had focused more on the
victims, rather than the church.
10
US AFFAIRS
Will Bronx Borough President Ruben

Diaz challenge Mayor De Blasio in 2017?
By Robert Golomb
oliticians are known to kiss babies,

rather than their peers. Tell that, how
ever, to Bronx Borough President
Democrat Ruben Diaz, who planted what
appeared to be a totally spontaneous kiss on
the cheek of Manhattan Borough President
Democrat Gale Brewer this past June ninth.
In defense of Mr. Diaz, whom I interviewed
last week in his Grand Concourse of fice, it
could be argued that the kiss was more than
appropriate for the event that ensued that
day. T housands of residents from both
Manhattan and the Bronx had come to join
Diaz and Brewer and several other elected
of ficials to celebrate the reopening of The
High Bridge, a pedestrian and bike rider over
pass, connecting the Bronxs High Bridge
neig hborhoo ds
w ith
Manhattans
Washington Heights.
Under the days circumstances, Diaz
explained the kiss came naturally: Borough
President Brewer came extemporaneously....
that day was not only a day of joining two
areas geographically, but also a day of joining
two families together once again.
Diaz, however, told me that he was aware
that while the bridges reopening enjoyed
strong support among both his and Mrs.
Brewers respective constituents, he was also
aware that some residents of Washington
Heights had expressed concerns that the
bridge could serve as a convenient route for
lawbreakers in the Bronx to come to upper
Manhattan and commit crimes. I take the
concerns of every New Yorker living in any of
the five boroughs very seriously, particularly
in the area of crime and public safety, said
Diaz. But it needs to be pointed out that
crime in the Bronx is currently at the lowest
levels since the 1960s. So I think the con
cern about crime emanating from the Bronx
is based more on the old Bronx than the new
Bronx.
Diaz quickly added, though, that he under
stands that when access in and out of neigh
boring communities is expanded, modifica
tions in policing can be required. I met with
the Chief of the Police of the Bronx and the
commanding officer of the Bronx side of the
High Bridge, and my counterpart Gale Brewer
has done the same thing on the Manhattan
side. There is now added police presence
on the bridge, which should serve to continue
to keep both communities safe.
Diaz was soon to find his borough facing a
crisis that would be far more dif ficult to
resolve. In early July, a deadly outbreak of
Legionnaires Disease spread throughout that
lowincome area. Before New York City
Department of Health of ficials had
announced in late August that the epidemic
had ended, 12 people had died from the dis
ease and more than 125 had been seriously
infected, but had survived.
To Diaz, the diseases deadly toll might
have been lessened had the city requested
help from the federal government back in
early July. When I learned that Mayor De
Blasio and City Health Commissioner Dr.
Bassett had spoken to the federal govern
ment about the outbreak but did not request
federal assistance, I was puzzled. Had we

received help from the federal government
early on, it is not certain, but still possible,
that lives could have been saved, he stated.
Yet, Diaz added, he did not intend that last
comment to be interpreted as a political crit
icism of fellow Democrat Mayor De Blasio or
Commissioner Bassett. Rather, he told me, he
was focusing on how to avoid a repetition of
such a tragedy in the future. At our urging,
he said, The City Council recently passed a
bill that mandates stringent oversight of cool
ing towers. This bill... was a giant first step in
making the Bronx and the entire city a
healthier place for all. This is an issue of pub
lic health, not politics.
Still, there appears to be a strong feeling
among several Bronx Democratic party
sources with whom I spoke that Diazs criti
cism of the Mayors handling of the
Legionnaires Disease crisis was heartfelt and
was, in fact, filled with political implications,
leading him, among other factors, to possibly
launch a primary challenge against the
Mayor in 2017. The opinion shared by each
of these insiders (as well as some in the
media) that a Diaz run for Mayor was
inevitable with the only question asked
being when, not if, he would run for City Hall
comes, probably, as less than breaking news
for those inside and outside of politics from
the Bronx and upper Manhattan who have
followed Diazs almost 20year political
career. The 42yearold married father of
two sons, one a junior in college, the other a
recent college graduate, Diaz enjoyed his first
political victory in 1997 with his election to
the State Assembly at the age of 23, making
him the youngest person elected to that
of fice since T heodore Rooseve lt, back
in1881. Diaz quickly became known in
Albany and throughout the Bronx as a seri
ous legislator, sponsoring or cosponsoring
more than 100 bills that were signed into
law, including statutes relating to tenants
and workers rights, environmental protec
tion and school safety.
When in February 2009 the job of Bronx
Borough President became open after then
Bronx BP Adolfo Carrion resigned to assume
the position of Director of the Obama White
Houses Of fice on Urban Af fairs, Diaz was
seen by many in the borough as the obvious
choice to succeed him. To those versed in
Bronx politics, the rest is well known. In early
April, Diaz won a special election for Borough
President, garnering an attention gathering
87% of the vote against his Republican oppo
nent. In 2013 he won reelection, with, once
again, an overwhelming majority of the vote.
Since then Diaz has continued to be on a
roll. With crime in the Bronx on the decline,
new affordable housing units being built in
record numbers and thousands of new work
ers added to the job market, Diaz, approach
ing his sixth year as BP this past spring was
building a record reportedly leading him to
be viewed as a likely and viable candidate for
NYC Mayor in the future. The question, as
noted earlier, was when in the future.
Prior to this calendar year, the future for a
Diaz mayoral run was seen by many to be in
2021. According to that hypothetical time
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. greets his constituents along the Grand
Concourse during the 26th Annual Gran Parada Dominicana de El Bronx (Bronx
Dominican Day Parade) on July 26, 2015.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer,
Congressman Jose Serrano (R), NYC Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson (L) and NYC Parks
Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver (middle L) at the opening of The High Bridge in Bronx on
June 9, 2015. (Photos: Bronx Borough Presidents Office).
line, Diaz, having just completed his pre
sumptive third term as BP, would run for
mayor to replace presumptive two term
incumbent Mayor De Blasio, with both legal
ly prohibited from running again for their
respective offices due to term limits (a since
changed law allows Diaz to be grandfathered
to be permitted to run for a third term as BP,
should he choose to).
Currently, though, the term presumptive
two term Mayor seems to no longer apply to
De Blasio. In addition to the two month
Legionnaires Disease crisis, during which
time De Blasio, on top of the criticism he had
received from Diaz, was engaged in a widely
reported feud over its handling w ith
Governor Cuomo, a personal friend and polit
ical ally of Diaz, there are other issues driving
De Blasios poll numbers down to where they
are now, with 47% of New York voters saying
the Mayor does not deserve to be reelected
and only 41% saying he does.
With the murder rate up approximately 8%
and incidents of rape up 6% this calendar
year one of the major issues challenging the
Mayor is the rise in violent crime. That at the
same time the rate of violent crime has
increased in total numbers citywide yet is on
slight decline in the Bronx has added to the
speculation of a 2017 Diaz run.
Another key issue is the rise of homeless
ness, whether fair or unfair to the mayor who
receives most of the criticism, the three
major New York newspapers frequently run
news stories accompanied by pictures depict

ing the homeless causing havoc on the citys
streets and subway stations.
So in light of all of this, Diaz, I assumed,
would not be surprised when I asked him the
question that is said to be on the minds of
many people, including, perhaps, the mind of
Mayor De Blasio: Are you planning to chal
lenge Mayor De Blasio in 2017? I wasn't sur
prised when Diaz of fered an answer that
seemed to be intended to be ambiguous: I
have no plans of running for mayor at this
moment, but you never know what the future
brings. You never know what the future has
in store, but I am focused for now on being
borough president serving the people of the
Bronx When I then asked, however, what he
believes has fueled the increasing specula
tion that he might run for mayor in 2017,
Diaz was far less equivocal. People see all of
the things that we are doing here {in the
Bronx} in spite of us being written off in the
past, in spite of the things you see in the
entire city of New York, he asserted. We
have experienced such a boom in develop
ment.... We have worked with the community
and the police department to reduce crime.
So people naturally tend to question about
running for mayor because of our success.
Stay tuned.
Robert Golomb is a nationally and interna
tionally published columnist. Mail him at
MrBob347@aol.com and follow him on
Twitter@RobertGolomb
US AFFAIRS
11
Fiorina rockets to No. 2

Carson, Trump
behind Trump in GOP field comments to alienate
Washington: Carly Fiorina shot into second

place in the Republican presidential field on
the heels of another strong debate perform
ance, and Donald Trump has lost some sup
port, a new national CNN/ORC poll shows.
The survey, conducted in the three days
after 23 million people tuned in to
Wednesday night's GOP debate on CNN,
shows that Trump is still the party's frontrun
ner with 24% support. That, though, is an 8
percentage point decrease from earlier in the
month. Fiorina ranks second with 15% sup
port up from 3% in early September. She's
just ahead of Ben Carson's 14%, though
Carson's support has also declined from 19%
in the previous poll. Driving Trump's drop and
Fiorina's rise: a debate in which 31% of
Republicans who watched said Trump was the
loser, and 52% identified Fiorina as the winner.
During the CNN debate, Fiorina clashed with
Trump over his personal attacks and their business
records and scored points for her condemnation of
Planned Parenthood.
But Fiorina remains handicapped by her contro
versial record as CEO at Hewlett Packard.
The top three contenders underscore a key
theme in the 2016 race: In a jampacked GOP presi
dential field, the leading candidates are the only
ones who have never held political office. But one
established politician has seen his standing rise
after flashing foreign policy chops on the debate
Muslims from GOP
GOP presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina

stage. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida identified as
Wednesday's winner by 14% of Republicans, put
ting him second behind Fiorina is now in fourth
place with 11% support, up from 3% in a previous
poll. In fifth place is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush,
at 9%. He's followed by Sen.
Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee at 6% each, Sen. Rand
Paul at 4%, Gov. Chris Christie at 3%, Ohio Gov.
John Kasich at 2% and former Sen. Rick Santorum
of Pennsylvania at 1%. Significantly Wisconsin Gov.
Scott Walker, leading at one point in the key early
voting state of Iowa, dropped out of the race as his
support in polls fell below less than onehalf of 1
percentage point.
Washington DC: In the last week,

two 2016 Republican presidential
hopefuls have caused controversy
over comments they made about
Muslims, which may indicate the
political party has a Muslim prob
lem, according to news reports.
First, GOP hopeful Donald Trump
said on Sundays Meet the Press
that he doesnt believe President
Obama is anything but Muslim. He
then went as far as to say that
many believe that the United States
has had its first Muslim president
(in Obama).
This came days after he let an
audience member quest ion
Obamas religion and nationality,
saying the president was Muslim.
Trump also said he wouldnt feel
comfortable voting for a Muslim
president, mostly because of the
problems some MuslimAmericans
create, The Huffington Post report
ed.
"I feel strongly that Muslims are
excellent. I know so many Muslims
that are such fabulous people,"

Trump told Todd. "But there is a
problem. I mean, there's no ques
tion about it. And we can be politi
cally correct, and we can say there
is no problem whatsoever, but the
fact is there is a problem with
some. And it's a very severe prob
lem."
Creating more controversy and
inviting flak some from his ownpar
ty, GOP candidate Ben Carson said
Sunday on Meet the Press that
Islam isnt compatible with the U.S.
Constitution and he wouldnt vote
for a Muslim to become president,
according to Politico.
"I would not advocate that we put
a Muslim in charge of this nation. I
absolutely would not agree with
that," he said on the broadcast,
CNNs Peter Bergen reported.
The Council on AmericanIslamic
Relations, the biggest Muslim civil
rights group in the country, called
for Carson to quit the presidential
race.
Clinton healthcare proposals

to help common man
Des Moines, Iowa: Hillary Clinton proposed
Wednesday to guarantee Americans three doc
tor visits annually that would not count
against a patients insurance plan deductible,
the threshold amount patients must pay out of
pocket before some insurance plans kick in.
The Democratic presidential candidate is
also proposing a tax credit to help offset other
outofpocket medical costs for Americans
squeezed by rising patientborne costs for doc
tor visits, prescription drugs and other medical
expenses. The changes would be part of
Clintons expansion of the Affordable Care Act,
a signature domestic initiative of President
Obama that Clinton is running to preserve and
extend. Clinton has also proposed a $250
monthly cap on outofpocket drug costs for
patients with chronic and serious illnesses.
Most of her proposed changes would require
further legislation, an unlikely proposition
under a Republicanled Congress. Although
Clinton says the law is here to stay, she also
predicted in an interview with the Des Moines
Register on Tuesday that Democrats may be
able to retake control of the Senate in 2016
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary

Clinton speaks during a community forum on
health care, Sept. 22 in Des Moines. (AP Photo)
but not the House. The Clinton campaign cited
a Kaiser Family Foundation survey this week
that found the average deductible this year is
$1,318 for single coverage. That outofpocket
cost has grown seven times faster than work
ers wages since 2010, the Kaiser study said.
No one should have to worry about paying
large outofpocket costs when they get sick
and need a checkup during the year, whether
its a common cold or a more harmful illness,
Clintons campaign said.
Hofstra to be backup site for Presidential debates 2016

Here is the full schedule from the
Commission on Presidential Debates
First presidential debate
Sept. 26, 2016, Wright State University,
Dayton, Ohio
Second presidential debate
Oct. 9, 2016, Washington University in St. Louis
Third presidential debate
Oct. 19, 2016, University of Nevada,
Las Vegas
T he commission added that Hofstra
University in Hempstead, N.Y., would serve as
a backup site. Another college, Dominican
University of California, in San Rafael, will
lead an initiative to use technology and
social media to engage young voters in a dis
cussion of major issues in the 2016 debates,
the commission said.
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385

718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.com
12
PM MODI IN AMERICA
Modi pushes global investments

in attractive India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends Roundtable on Media Technology and

Communications Growth Story for India on the sidelines of 70th UNGA on Sep 24 in
New York. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is standing next to Modi on the right.
New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Thursday made a strong pitch to global
investors to Make in India, saying India
remained a fast growing economy even in
the current g lobal crises, of fering
immense potential for investments.
Our economic growth rate last year was
7.3 percent. There has been a 40 percent
increase in foreign direct investment
(FDI), the prime minister told chief execu
tives at the roundtable on financial sector

in New York.
He also said that the IMF, the World
Bank and ratings institutions such as
Moodys have maintained that the eco
nomic climate in India was bound to
improve further.
Among the CEOs present at the round
table were Jamie Dimon, chairman, chief
executive and president of JP Morgan;
Prime Minister Modi meeting the participants of Roundtable meeting

on Financial Sector at New York on Sept 24.
Steve Schwarzman, chairman, chief execu
tive and cofounder, Blackstone; and
Charles Kaye, cochief executive, Warburg
Pincus.
Other leading figures at the roundtable
were Henry Kravis, cochairman and co
chief executive, KKR; Bill Ford, chief execu
tive, General Atlantic; and Peter Hancock,
president chief executive, AIG Insurance.
Chase Coleman, cofounder and manag
ing partner, Tiger Global; and Vicki Fuller,

chief investment officer, NY State Common
Retirement Fund, were also present.
During the hour long interaction, Modi
also outlined steps taken to simplify the
countrys tax laws and in attracting invest
ments, domestic and foreign, especially in
infrastructure.
He said much had been done to ease
doing business in India.
Patels cancel Modi protest as Gujarat

announces Rs 1,000 cr package
Gandhinagar: In a bid to quell the agitation
led by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS)
fighting for reservations for Patels, the
Anandiben Patelled Gujarat government on
Thursday declared an economic package of Rs
1,000 crore for all economically backward
classes, reported First Post.
By announcing this package, the BJP has
also ensured that voices of resentment from
other backward castes would also be negated.
Speaking to reporters, government
spokesman and senior cabinet minister Nitin
Patel said, Any family from any caste with an
annual income of 4.5 lakh per annum can
apply for this scholarship.'' The Gujarat gov
ernment's decision comes at a time when

Prime Minister Modi is on a crucial visit to
America. As he arrived in New York, a section
of the Patel community called off the planned
protest, saying they would welcome him. The
government and BJP must have heaved a sigh
of relief because even a small protest would
have been amplified by the media taking the
spotlight away from a highstakes visit.
"We never spoke of protests, always spoke
of a welcome rally," Alpesh Patel, spokesper
son of the group that had reportedly planned
a show of support for Hardik Patel, who is
leading a campaign in Gujarat for reservation
for the powerful Patel community, told NDTV.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi being greeted warmly by people on his arrival
in New York on September 23. The media was also wellrepresented.
AT UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SUMMIT, ALL EYES ON INDIA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Bangladesh

counterpart Sheikh Hasina in New York and discussed the status
of bilateral relations and ways to take these forward.
This is the third meeting between the two leaders in the recent
months and came against the backdrop of settlement
of the boundary question.
New York: Two days before the

heads of over 150 countries meet
at the United Nations headquar
ters in New York to adopt a new
set of g lobal goals on ending
poverty, hunger and inequality,
there is an unprecedented empha
sis on the role of India. Less on
account of its posit ion as an
emerging leader and more by the
size of its footprint on the devel
oping world, it is apparent to all
that if the UNs Sustainable
Development Goals have to show
measurable results around the
worlds poorest nations by the
time the target year of 2030 rolls
around, everything hinges on

whether India is able to success
fully implement the goals.
From diplomats to economists
and from civil society players to
UN officials, everybody associated
with the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) Summit to be held
from September 25 to 27 readily
cites the China analogy: The rela
tive successes of the Millennium
Deve lopment Goals (MD Gs)
declared and adopted in 2000
owe pretty much everything to
Chinas runaway success on
growth parameters in the same
period. And, everyone concedes,
China wasnt really implementing

the MDGs. China was merely set
ting its own growth trajectory.
Thats one reason that summi
teers in New York are now enthu
siastic about various Indian lead
ers declaration that the current
government is already implement
ing 11 of the 17 sustainable
development goals through its
various showcase prog rams.
Examples include, of course, the
Swachh Bharat campaign that ties
in neatly with the goal on sanita
tion, the solar energy push that
matches the SDG on energy and
more.
OP-ED
13
Modi's US visit traverses two worlds:

SILICON VALLEY AND THE UN
By Aniruddh Bhattacharya
n about a week, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi will return to Banistan. No, this isnt
a domestic departure from his global trav
els (some unkind critics have said the only
way to keep him going on foreign trips is to
get him nonskid shoes). Rather, itll be his
second consecutive visit to the UN during its
general assembly session, lead, of course, by
secretary general Ban kiMoon.
New York isnt his only destination. Hell
also be in Silicon Valley, moshing with the
crowds at yet another public reception, while
campushopping to the sprawling HQs of
Facebook, Google and Tesla. His destinations
wont just be on the opposite coasts of the
country, but will cross two opposing mind
sets: From a digital heartland to a bureaucrat
ic wasteland, as different from each other as
chalk and chips. Ironically, that place of slow
moving objectives is in a city thats vibrant,
while the swiftmode centre is situated within
Americas suburban dreariness.
It may just be ironic that the headquarters
of the United Nations in midtown Manhattan
is in a locality thats known as Turtle Bay.
Here, change is as distant as it can be instant
at those locations on that other coast.
Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg

with PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Obviously, the prime ministers agenda will
include lobbying for reform in the UN
Security Council. Nineteen seventyone
marked the last change in composition of that
body, when China replaced Taiwan on the
UNSC. In that year, computers with the power
of your smartphone would need to occupy a
space as large as the UN headquarters. The
current CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, wasnt
even born.
In fact, the current clamor for reforms com
menced in the early 1990s and the collective
period of the process is almost equal to the
cumulative age of Google, Facebook and
Twitter. If Silicon Valley had been a UN enter
prise, we would probably still be debating 18
different versions of proposals for upgrading

of telex machines.
There is, we are told, much reason for opti
mism about UNSC reform during the 70th
anniversary of its parent organization. A text
has been adopted for negotiations on that
issue. Formally, the UN noted: The Assembly,
by the text, decided it would convene the
Openended Working Group on the Question
of Equitable Representation on and Increase
in the Membership of the Security Council
and Other Matters related to the Security
Council during the seventieth session, if
Member States so decided.
In UNspeak, there was disagreement over
whether Rev2 or Rev3 were being discussed.
Thats just about the only time the term rev
appears in the context of this global body.
The alphabet groups that comprise pressure
points within the UN system were souped up:
The C10 wanted one version, the L69 anoth
er, G4 (of which India is a part along with
Germany, Japan and Brazil) a third.
Uniting for Consensus, a group that
includes Pakistan, doesnt even want more
permanent members, just that the UN keep its
own caste system in place. Thats perfectly
fine with permanent members, China, Russia
and the United States, which didnt even want
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
their views cast into that context. So much for

textual healing of an ailment afflicting the UN
for seven decades.
Lets be real, however much the prime min
ister may campaign for expansion of the per
manent seats, thats not happening without
the P5 being on board.
Only in the United Nations can such a nego
tiating instrument be described as historic.
In Silicon Valley, a document that comprises
ideas, many outdated, generated over genera
tions of failure, would be described as prehis
toric.
Modi will arrive at the UN after completing
his tour of the Valley, speaking to another
fawning audience in San Jose, talking to
frothy tech leaders in places like Santa Clara
and Fremont. This is where digital initiatives
will gather momentum or a renewables thirst
receive a thrust.
It will take the prime ministers plane about
six hours to traverse the breadth of America,
from northern California to New York City,
but in terms of the venues for his visits, these
places are lightyears apart: From a broad
band corridor to a centre of narrow concerns.
(Anirudh Bhattacharyya is a Torontobased
commentator on American affairs. The write
up appeared in The Hindustan Times.)
14
INDIA
Modi connects with Indian

diaspora in Ireland
Dublin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected
with a rapturous Indian diaspora in Dublin, prom
ising more prime ministerial visits to Ireland in
future.
Modi, who was on a daylong visit to Ireland, in
his address to a crowded reception by the Indian
diaspora apologized for not being able to give the
Indianorigin people more time.
Taking a dig at previous governments for not
having visited Ireland earlier, Modi said "There
are many who would remember that sometime (in
the distant past) an Indian prime minister came to
Ireland" evoking laughter from the rapturous
crowd. Modi's visit is the first prime ministerial
visit in 59 years. In a veiled dig at previous
Congressled governments, he said that every
year when Indian dignitaries fly to the US, they
have to fly via Ireland, implying that earlier the
leaders did not bother to visit the country.
"When people have to go from Delhi to New
York, they have to fly this way. But your love for
me drew me here, and pulled me down from the
sky," he said to loud cries of "Modi, Modi".

Modi said he spoke at length with Irish Prime
Minister Enda Kenny and had a very good meet
ing and there were many areas of convergence
between the two sides.
"I think IrelandIndia relations should be mere
stronger," he said. Modi said that in 2016, when
Ireland celebrates the centenary of its independ
ence, India would also participate in the celebra
tions. Modi congratulated the Irish children who
recited Sanskrit shlokas in his welcome.
In another veiled dig at the opposition, Modi
said "I congratulate the children for reciting
Sanskrit shlokas. In Ireland, we can do it, but in
India if we did this, then so many questions would
be raised on secularism issues", evoking loud
laughter. On India's growing stature, Modi said
countries were now increasingly paying attention
to India. Modi said India will be able to meet the
challenge of keeping the growth rate high, thanks
to the strength of its demography of 65 percent of
the population aged below 35 years.
Modi is the first prime minister to visit Ireland in 59 years.
Grand alliance names 242

candidates for Bihar polls
The blasts left 189 people dead on the evening of July 11, 2006
2006 MUMBAI BLASTS:
Sentencing of
convicts on
September 30
Mumbai: A Mumbai Special
Court said it would pronounce
the quantum on punishment on
September 30 on 12 people con
victed in the July 11, 2006 serial
blasts in suburban trains that
killed 189 commuters and left
over 800 injured. Special Public
Prosecutor Raja Thakre, terming
all the 12 convicts "merchants of
death", sought the death penalty
for eight and life imprisonment
for the remaining four at the
Special MCOCA Court.
Special MCOCA Judge Y.D.
Shinde said he would deliver his
order on sentencing on
September 30.
On September 11, Special
Judge Shinde found guilty 12 of
the 13 accused for the suburban
train blasts during the peak
hours of the rainy evening of
July 11, 2006.
The trial continued for eight
years in which the prosecution
examined 192 witnesses, includ
ing policemen, civil servants,
medicos, officials of various gov
ernment departments, com
muters, survivors and a person
summoned as a court witness,
with their deposition running
into over 5,500 pages.
Patna/New Delhi: T he g rand

alliance of Janata DalUnited,
Rashtriya Janata Dal and the
Congress on Wednesday released
the first list for the Bihar elec
tions, naming all but one candi
date for the state's 243 assembly
constituencies, while seeking to
balance caste equations in view
of their support base.
According to a press release
issued by the grand alliance, 55
percent of the 242 candidates
be long to Other Backward
Classes and Economically
Backward Classes, 16 percent
belong to the Scheduled Castes
and the Scheduled Tribes, 14 per
cent are Muslim, and the rest are
Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar.
from general or upper castes.
About 10 percent of the candi
dates are women.
Bihar Chie f Minister Nit ish
Kumar along with RJD state pres
ident Ram Chandra Purve and
state Congress president Ashok
Choudhary announced the list at

a joint press conference here. The
JDU and RJD are contesting 101
seats each while the Congress
will be in the fray for the remain
ing 41 seats.
Nitish Kumar said the name of
remaining one candidate would
be announced soon.
"We have tried to ensure repre
sentation to all sections of socie
ty. There are no complaints with
in the grand alliance over the
names of candidates and seat
adjustments," he said.
Polling will be held in Bihar
between October 12 and
November 5. Counting of votes
will be taken up on November 8.
Dayananda Saraswati's demise

personal loss: Modi
rime Minister Narendra
New Delhi to bless him.
Mo di on T hursday
However, after his demise
mourned the death of
Mo di wrote on Tw itter,
Swami Dayananda Saraswati
"Swami Dayananda Saraswati
with whom he had an associa
ji's demise is a personal loss. I
tion since his RSS days.
pray that his soul attains eter
Dayananda Saraswati, who
nal peace."
was battling kidney failure,
In another Tweet he stated:
died at his ashram in
"My thoughts are with the
Rishikesh on Wednesday. On
countless people inspired by
September 11, Mr. Modi had
Dayananda Saraswati ji. He
visited his ailing guru at the
was a powerhouse of knowl
guru's
Rishikeshbased
edge, spirituality & service."
ashram.
Renowned teacher of the
Prime Minister Modi considered the
According to sources, dur
Vedas, Upanishads, and
Swami his guru.
ing their 20minute talk Modi
Advaita Vedanta, the Swami
had expressed his wish for Swami Dayananda was 85 and in America known for setting up Arsha
Saraswati to recover soon and visit Modis office in Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg, PA.
RELIGION
15
Brahmrishi Shri
Gurvanand Swami
THE
DIVINE
GURU
H
is Holiness Brahmrishi Shri

Gurvanand Swami Ji is the Divine
Guru, an embo diment of divine
Existence (sat), Consciousness (anand). This
saccidanand swarup Divine Incarnation has
entered the terrestrial sphere to impart to
humanity the supreme knowledge, the lib
erating knowledge that empowers and
implores us to pursue a Divine Life (divya
jeevan).
Invested with the divine energy and
power (divya shakti) and imbued with infi
nite love (prema) and supreme compassion
(karuna), Shri Gurudev has sanctifed our
age and times to guide the suf fering and
toiling masses, to help them raise their
human consciousness to Divine
Consciousness.
The life and teachings of Shri Gurudev
bear testimony to the divine care, the
unblemished pursuit of wordly engage
ment, and a life of service and sacrifice. His
entire life has only one objective, only one
purpose, only one goal, bringing his bhak
tas and greater humanity to the shore of
the infinite ocean of divine compassion
(karuna), where they taste the ambrosia
(amrta) of life of eternal love (prema).
Hundreds of thousands of devotees have
found solace in Shri Gurudevs inspiring
words of wisdom and experienced the liber
ating power of His infinite love. The sweet
ness of His speech and his loving exhorta
t ions has transported a mult itude of
humanity into the divine realm of supreme
peace (param shanti) and eternal bliss
(param ananda).
Each spoken word coming out of his
blessed lips, each phrase uttered by Him
with infinite loving care, the sincerity of His
utterances, and the simplicity of His mes
sage has only one goal to transform our
mundane human life into a life sanctified by
sweet Divine Love (daivi prema).
A Sat Guru is an incartion of a part of the
Supreme Diving (amsavatara). Like a drop
of water or an atomic particle of any mat
ter, the Sat Guru, the Divine Particle, while
apparently limited in body and appearance
contains the essence of the whole and rep
resents the whole. Shri Gurudev is such a
Sat Guru, whose advent on earth in our age
is for the purpose of showing the seeker of

Truth the way of Dharma to overcome
adharma by raising human consciousness
to Divine Consciousness to attain liberation
(moksha).
Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita
declares:

Whenever there is decline of Dharma, O
Arjuna! for the ascendance of Dharma I
create myself a body (incarnate); for the
purpose of saving the pious and destroying
evil, and for the establishment of Dharma, I
come in every age.
Shri Gurudev, in His own inimitable way,
epitomizes the very spirit of the prophecy
of the Bhagavad Gita. He exemplifies the
divine promise for intervention in human
history in each age marked by the need for
Dharmic renaissance.
T he guiding principles of Santana
Dharma, embo died by Shri Gurudev,
illustrate the ideal of an active and engaged
God, a God who has not left the world and
its inhabitants to an uncharted destiny.
Rather, the ideal is a God of compassion
(karuna) who cares for his erring children
and has concerns for lifting the souls of
fallen humanity. Shri Gurudevs personality
embodies a divine spark of love (prema)
that is constantly involved in the affairs of
the gurubhaktas in the world, with the
specific purpose of guiding them in their
spiritual quest and bringing to them the
Divine g ift of ult imate freedom, the
Moksha.
Shri Gurudev personifies the Divinity that
is not a passive Go d forsaking all
responsibilities for human spiritual quest in
the mundane world, leaving human beings

to chart their own course of life and action
without any Divine aid and comfort.
T he evereng aged and act ive Shri
Gurudev, the g reat being (mahatma)
epitomizes the Supreme Self (Parmatama)
that is actively involved in the creation
(srasti) as its Divine Substance (sat), its vital
Divine Consciousness (cit), and the Divine
Bliss (anand).
The trinity of sat, chit and anand of the
Supreme Spirit (Brahman) is conjointly
present in the supreme personality of Shri

Gurudev as the Divine Energ y (divya
shakti), constituting the driving force that
moves humanity towards a Divine Life
(divya jeevan) as the ultimate destiny of all
human beings.
Excerpted from the coffee table book The
Divine Guru: The Divine Personality and
Teachings of His Holiness, Brahmrishi Shri
Gurvanand Swami, written by Braj M Sinha,
published by Vishwa Dharma Chetana
Manch, Tirupati, India.
Gurubhaktas miraculous
experiences
n Palos Verdes in California, I was unsure of him and was not so enthusiastic to be
bowing to him. At one point during the procession of devotees lining up for his
blessing, I noticed him slightly turning his eyes to me (I was watching him from the
side of the room) and he seemed to be whispering a mantra then all of a sudden I
felt a clear and distinct strong heat forming under my feet in the cool marble floor I
stood upon, in fact a very hot sensation where it should not and could not normally be,
and then a very warm energy circled from my feet rising up my legs to the base of my
spine. It happened in a few seconds.
Gurudev did very graciously manifest several objects over several visits including an
oval coral gemstone on his second visit, a metallic Christian cross on the stage at the
Jain Temple on his third visit... at Diamond Bar, CA, he manifested a single moon
shaped rudraksha with metal decoration and eyelets for wearing on a neck chain. I
wear the cross and moon shaped rudraksha around my neck. I am very grateful for his
very kind prasad. In each case each object dropped into my open hands from his. I was
of course quite amazed at this all in each instance.
N.M., Los Angeles
hose days I was undergoing chemotherapy as a cure for colorectal cancer.

Within me I sincerely prayed to Guruji for his mercy. The next morning when I
went to the hospital, the doctor in charge informed me my cancer was cleared
and no more treatment was required. My sincere prayers were answered. Anyatha
sharnam nastiGod always protects his bhaktas.
Krishna Bhat, Edmonton, Canada.
Divya Darshan & Gurudevs Blessings, October 4, 2015, Colden Center, Queens College, Flushing, New York.
Gurudev will bless each one with energized (Shakti Jagrut) rudraksha. Free admission, call 516-620-4565.
DIASPORA
Indian sailors stranded

off Sharjah coast for
eight months
Abu Dhabi: Seventeen Indian sailors and
their captain have been stranded on a
ship anchored of f the Sharjah coastline
for the past eight months, a media report
said on Wednesday.
The crew of a Panamaregistered vessel
"M/V Aegean Princess" is anchored in the
waters of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
since January 18 with limited food and
water, no pay, and in grim conditions,
Khaleej Times reported, citing a letter of
complaint that is with the Dubai Maritime
City Authority.
The ship's captain, Tin Ko Ko, who is
from Myanmar, has urged the authorities
to send help as soon as possible as health
of the crew was deteriorating.
A Dubaibased Indian man, Brajendra
Kumar Chakravarty of Vihaan Trading, is
the owner of the vessel. He has been mak
ing false promises to alleviate the plight
of the crew, crew said.
Hemadri Upadhyay, first officer of the
vessel, said provisions were sporadic and
"even when supplied, they last only three

to five days."
"Whenever we call they say they are
trying, trying, trying, but there is a limit.
This is the fault of the ship's ownership."
According to the letter, the crew have
not been provided phone cards. T he
sailors have to share sleeping space on
the bridge, mess room and the captain's
cabin.
The crew also complained of not get
ting salaries since the time they signed
on board. A few, however, have received
an occasional advance.
Apart from the shipping company's
apathy, no reason has been cited in news
reports for the vessel being anchored off
Sharjah for over eight months.
Documents with the daily show that "of
the 18 men on board, nine have already
completed their contracts and wish to
sign of f, while the remaining nine have
been on board for over two months and
have received nothing."
remarks said the endowment

was valuable for the university
in these formative years.
"We are specially thankful that
the Joshis despite their back
g round in pharmaceut icals
decided to support the School of
Historical Studies to acknowl
edge the importance of this dis
cipline in the present age. At a
time when history and indeed
the Liberal Arts need a lot of
support a gesture like this is
immensely valuable."
Rajendra Joshi founded a phar
maceut ical
company
Fumapharm with other partners
in Switzerland and is credited
w ith deve lopment of hig hly
effective drugs for the treatment
of psoriasis and multiple sclero
sis. Fumapharm was bought over
by USbased company Biogen
Idec and the drug that Joshi
developed, now a very successful
medicine globally, is marketed as
19
Singapore Hindu
community consecrates
102yearold temple
Singapore: The consecration ceremony of
the 102year old Sri Ruthra Kaliamman
Temple, one of Singapore's leading Hindu
temples, was held here with 50 new stat
ues installed at the historic religious site.
The ceremony, held every 12 years for
Hindu temples, was attended by deputy
prime minister and minister for finance
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a Singaporean
Hindu of Ceylonese Tamil ancestry,
besides some 5,000 devotees.
Shanmugaratnam, who was guest of
honor at the ceremony, was joined by law
and foreign minister K Shanmugam and
Minister in the prime minister's of fice S
Iswaran, both of Indianorigin.
"Devotees will now get to pray to the var
ious forms of Kali which feature mainly in
South Indian and Sri Lankan temples," said
VK Ramachandra, temple management
committee chairman. Holy waters brought
in from rivers such as Ganga were sprin
kled from rooftop of the temple which has
statues of goddess Kali mainly from south
Indian and Sri Lankan Temples. The cere
Nalanda varsity gets $1 mn

from Indianorigin couple
New Delhi: Nalanda University,
an international center of learn
ing coming up in Bihar, on
Tuesday received a personal
endowment of $1 million from
an Indianorigin couple to sup
port a Professorial Chair in the
School of Historical Studies.
The endowment was made by
Rajendra Joshi, who is now a
Swiss citizen but who hails from
Rajasthan, and his wife Ursula
Joshi.
The symbolic check was hand
ed over by Ursula Joshi to
Nalanda vice chancellor Gopa
Sabharwal at a function held on
Tuesday
at
the
India
International Center.
Nalanda University has also
received endowments from
countries like Australia, China,
Singapore, Laos and Thailand. It
has also received endowments in
the form of books from individ
ual donors. Sabharwal in her
Tecfidera.
Ursula Joshi said Nalanda
University was one of the oldest
universities of the world, and the
couple wanted to contribute in
revival of the prestigious institu
tion particularly by supporting a
Professorial Chair in the School
of Historical Studies.
Nalanda University based in
Rajgir, Bihar was established by
an Act of Parliament in 2010
and is designated as an
"Inst itut ion
of
Nat ional
Importance".
Nalanda is supported by sever
al East Asia Summit countries.
T he university admitted its
first batch of students in the
School
of
Ecolog y
and
Environment Studies and the
School of Historical Studies in
2014. It plans to start "T he
School of Budd hist Studies,
Comparat ive Re lig ion and
Philosophy" in 2016.
mony was conducted by 37 priests at the

temple dedicated to the goddess Sri Ruthra
Kaliamman one of Kali's forms. Fifty new
statues, handcrafted by artisans from
Tamil Nadu, were installed at the temple.
The temple in suburbindustrial zone's
Depot Road was upgraded for 1.2 million
Singapore dollars and traces its roots to
1913, Straits Times reported.
"Like many Hindus, we try to participate
in consecrat ion ceremonies across
Singapore. We believe it is good to see it
and that we will be blessed as well," said
Viva S, who attended the ceremony with
his family.
New gurdwara
coming up in Ontario
Toronto: Hundreds of Sikhs
gathered at a ceremony for the
start of construction of a new
gurdwara in Gue lph city,
Ontario, a media report said on
Tuesday.
"The ceremony marked the
beginning of a building process
that starts now (Monday) and
should take about nine months
to complete," Guelph Mercury
newspaper quoted Ravi Rai,
spokesperson for the Guelph
Sikh Society, as saying.
"T he estimated cost of the
building is seven million
Canadian dollars (US $5.3 mil
lion)," he added.
Rai said 200,000 Canadian
dollars (US $150,000) were
raised over the weekend while
hundreds of thousands of dol
lars had been donated by devo
tees previously. About 5.1 mil
lion Canadian dollars (US $3.8

million) in loans have been
secured. At the ceremony, Rai
also talked about the challenges
the Sikh community has faced
over the past two decades in the
city, including acts of vandalism
and prejudice.
"We deserve to have a place to
worship where our elders can
convene, where our children can
learn," he said.
The planning for the gurdwara
began five years ago but the
gurdwara construction faced
opposition from Westminster
Woods Residents' Association
who pressurized the Ontario
Municipal Board to reject the
proposal of construction.
T he
construct ion
was
approved after the challenge
was dropped and the planning
and designing work was started.
INTERNATIONAL
21
Over 700 perish in Haj stampede,

worst tragedy in 25 years
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: At least two
Indians were among the over 700
people killed on Thursday in a hor
ric Haj stampede in Saudi Arabia,
the worst tragedy to hit the worlds
holiest Muslim pilgrimage in 25
years.
Over 800 pilgrims were reported
injured in the disaster that took
place on the rst day of Eid al
Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrice.
The incident took place near Mina
and about 5 km from Makkah, the
Saudi Civil Defence said.
Indian leaders expressed distress
over the deaths and injuries as it
emerged that Bibi Jaan, an elderly
resident of Hyderabad, had died
and an unidentied man from
Lakshadweep had been injured in
the tragedy.
With some 136,000 pilgrims
from India, the Indian government
said it was closely monitoring the
situation.
Thursdays stampede took place
barely two weeks after a massive
crane fe ll in Makkahs g rand
mosque, killing over 100 people
and injuring over 200. Eleven of
the dead were Indians.
This was also highest number of
deaths after 1990 when 1,400
people were killed in a stampede

in an overcrowded pedestrian tun
nel.
It was not clear what caused the
stampede on Thursday in the pil
grimage that draws millions from
around the world and which had
been incident free for nearly a

decade.
Saudiowned Al Arabiya TV
reported that the head of the
Central Haj Committee, Prince
Khalid alFaisal, had blamed the
stampede on some pilgrims with
African nationalities.
But the head of Irans Haj organi
zation, Said Ohadi, told IRNA news
agency that two routes to the
Jamarat Pillars had been inexplica
bly closed by the Saudi authorities,
resulting in a buildup of pilgrims.
T hursdays ritual was taking

place at a vestorey structure
known as the Jamarat Bridge,
which cost more than $1 billion to
build and was used during earlier
pilgrimages, media reports said.
Almost one kilometre long, it
allows 300,000 pilgrims an hour
to carry out the ritual.
Saudi security forces and res
cuers poured into the disaster site
within minutes after the tragedy.
But by then hundreds were dead
on the streets, and the injured
were in agony and distress.
Rescuers rushed the injured on
stretchers to hospitals. Saudi
authorities, overwhelmed by what
had happened, quickly updated the
death toll.
T he Haj pilgrimage in Saudi
Arabia has seen several disasters
that have claimed 2,788 lives in
the past 25 years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
crurrently in the US, condoled the
loss of lives. Distressing news
from Mecca. Pained at loss of lives
due to the stampede. Condolences
to families of the deceased and
prayers with the injured.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi
expressed shock and distress.
Subcontinent
26/11: India, US urge Pak to

bring perpetrators to justice
Washington: India and the US
called on Pakistan to bring to jus
tice the perpetrators of the 2008
Mumbai terror attacks, while reiter
ating the threat posed by the D
Company, LashkareTaiba, al
Qaeda and Haqqani network.
India has repeatedly alleged the
groups operate from safe havens in
Pakistan, with the exception of al
Qaeda, which has bases elsewhere
in the world. The 2008 militant
assault on India's nancial capital
Mumbai had killed 166 people and
injured 293 people.
India and the US "reiterate the
threat posed by al Qaeda, Lashkar
eTaiba, JaishiMuhammad, D
Company and Haqqani network
and other regional groups that seek
to undermine stability in south
Asia", the two countries said in a
joint statement issued after the
conclusion of the rst IndiaUS
Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.
"We strongly condemn the July
27, 2015 terrorist attack in
Gurdaspur in Punjab and August 5,
US Secretary of State John Kerry (C) with India's Minster of External

Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (L) and US Commerce Secretary Penny
Pritzker at the USIndia Strategic & Commercial Dialogue.
2015 attack in Udhampur, Jammu
and Kashmir," the joint statement
said. India has blamed Pakistan
based terrorists for both attacks.
"This demonstrates the fact that
we are determined to ght terror
ism together," India's external
affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said
in response to a question at an
address she made jointly with com
merce minister Nirmala Sitharaman
and US secretary of state John
Kerry and his cabinet colleague
commerce secretary Penny

Pritzker.
The need for a separate declara
tion on counterterrorism, said
Indian ofcials, demonstrated the
salience attached to the issue by
both sides it makes a statement
of principle. Cooperation in this
sphere would normally have g
ured in an overarching joint state
ment earlier, covering everything
from health to science and technol
ogy cooperation.
Implementing new
constitution challenging:
Nepal minister
K a t h m a n d u :
Constituent Assembly.
Implementing Nepal's
Mahat admitted that
new constitution will
there were challenges
be a challenging task,
in distributing eco
Finance Minister and
nomic and so cial
Nepali
Cong ress
rig hts among the
leader Ram Sharan
seven provinces.
Mahat has said.
Stating that a nan
Addressing an event
cially feeble country
in Pokhara recently,
would have a hard
Mahat said the newly
t ime
manag ing
promulgated consti Nepali Congress leader expenses for seven
Ram Sharan Mahat.
tution was the "most
states, national unity
progressive, excellent
was a must to settle
and inclusive in Asia", T he disputes and difculties in the fed
Himalayan Times quoted him as eral model.
saying.
He requested the Madhesbased
Nepal on September 20 adopted parties and others opposed to the
the new constitution, the rst full new constitution to discuss their
edged one in the Himalayan differences.
nation after it became a democrat
"It is natural to have some dissat
ic republic in 2008.
isfaction. No country in the world
A federal and secular Nepal will has made a constitution with 100
have seven provinces, each with its percent people's participation. And
own legislature, according to the we can amend the statute to
new constitution. It was endorsed address the discontent," Mahat
by over 90 percent in the added.
22
BUSINESS
Indian tech industry does not take away US jobs

Washington: Dispelling the myth
that Indian tech companies take
away jobs from US professionals, a
new report on Monday said the
Indian tech industry contributed
nearly 411,000 jobs to the US
economy this year.
The Indian tech industry also
helped American firms to bring
better, innovative, costcompetitive
solutions to improve their global
market, said the report by the
National Association of Software
and Services Companies (NASS
COM).
Titled "Contributions of India's
Tech Industry to the US Economy",
the report was released by India's
Commerce Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman here ahead of the first
IndoUS Strategic and Commercial
Dialogue.
According to the report, India
Indiabased IT companies providing services to American businesses

and other customers invested more than $2 billion in 20112013.
based IT companies providing
services to American businesses
and other customers invested
more than $2 billion in 2011
2013; paid $22.5 billion in taxes
to the US Treasury in the last five

years; and today support more
than direct and indirect 411,000
jobs in the US.
A majority of these job are held
With over 400 million users,

Instagram pips Twitter
Washington: Facebookowned popular
photosharing website Instagram has
added 100 million new users in the past
nine months to zoom past the microblog
ging site Twitter which currently has 316
million monthly active users.
Out of over 400 million users, more than
75 percent of Instagram users now live
outside of the US, Forbes reported.
"When Instagram was launched nearly
five years ago, 400 million seemed like a
distant dream, Facebook said in a blog
post.
"Now, we continue to strive to improve
Instagram? helping you experience the
world through images and connect with
others through shared passions, the post
added.
Of Instagrams 100 million newest mem
bers, more than half live in Europe, Asia,
Out of over 400 million users, more than

75 percent of Instagram users now live
outside of the US.
Brazil, Japan and Indonesia.
More than 80 million photos are shared
on the service every day, up from 70 mil
lion in June.
According to the global research firm
eMarketer, Instagrams ad revenue will
reach about $1.5 billion in 2016 and $2.8
billion in 2017.
Microsoft's Office 2016 may eventually replace email
New Delhi: Redmondbased technology major Microsoft has globally launched its new
suite of office applications Office 2016 which may just sound the death knell for
email as we know it. It also throws down the gauntlet at Google's collaborative apps
that run inside a browser. "We set out to make working together easier and more
impactful by building a suite of integrated apps and services that removes barriers and
empowers teams to do and achieve more," Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president
of Microsoft's Office Client applications and services team, said in a blog on the occa
sion. Currently, over 1.2 billion people use MS Office for simple word processing and
personal finances, to powerful number crunching at large enterprises. The new Office
comes with a 'share' button on topright corner of the screen which allows the user to
share rights, editing permission of the file and share a message along with the file.
Multiple users can edit the file with effects showing in real time.
by US citizens and permanent resi

dents, said the report.
It also documented charitable
activities by Indian IT services
companies in the US through vol
unteers, scholarships and grants
such as a $35 million gift from
Tata Consultancy Services to
Carneg ie Me llon University
announced last month.
Sitharaman said Indian IT organ
izations benefit from access to the
US market, "just as American IT
organizations benefit from their
investments and operations in
India".
"This momentum is surely going
to increase manifold with new
partnership opportunities emerg
ing in the areas of Digital India and
Smart Cities for American technol
ogy firms." "The twoway flow of
investments and intellectual talent
is central to the growing commer

cial and strategic relationships
between India and the US," noted
NASSCOM
president
R.
Chandrashekhar.
Direct and indirect jobs support
ed by India's IT sector in the US
grew at an annual rate of 10 per
cent in 2011 to 2014, or about six
times higher than the average jobs
growth rate of 1.7 percent during
that same period, the report said.
States leading the number of
direct jobs created by India IT sec
tor operations and investments are
California, Texas, Illinois, New
Jersey, New York, Georgia, Ohio,
Washington, Michig an, and
Pennsylvania.
Texas, Michig an, Illinois,
California and Georgia had the
fastest rate of job growth in 2011
2013.
Volkswagen Group
CEO quits amid
emissions scandal
Frankfurt: CEO of Volkswagen Group
Mart in Winterkorn on Wednesday
announce resignation as the company was
caught in an emissions scandal following
VW's admission that 11 million of its vehi
cles have been fitted with a device designed
to cheat emission tests Winterkorn made
the announcement in a statement published
on the website of the company.
Winterkorn said he accepted responsibili
ty for the "irregularities" that had been
found in diesel engines and had requested
the Supervisory Board to agree to his resig
nation as CEO of the VW Group.
The German company has revealed the
potential financial liabilities for the first
time. VW is putting aside 4.7 billion euros
to deal with the potential costs of the crisis,
prompting a further 20 percent fall in its
share price.
Shares of other car manufacturers have
also fallen heavily, with Peugeot down
seven percent, BMW down five percent and
Daimler, the owner of MercedesBenz, also
down five percent.
The VW financial update was issued on
Tuesday after its US chief said the company
had "totally screwed up" over the emissions
scandal. Michael Horn admitted on Monday
in New York that VW had been dishonest
with regulators and the public.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said,
"This is about showing complete trans
parency, clearing up the entire case."
"The transport minister is in close contact
with the company, and I hope that the facts
will be put on the table as quickly as possi
ble," Markel said.
VW could face a fine of up to $18 billion,
as we ll as criminal charges for its
executives and legal action from customers
and shareholders amid claims in the
US that it used a device to falsify emissions
data.
The device recognizes when the car is
being tested and immediately cuts emis
sions to a level much lower than normal
and which would be unsustainable under
normal driving conditions.
24 September 26-October 2, 2015
SPORTS
WITH JAGMOHAN DALMIYA,

THE ERA OF GIANTS OVER
By Veturi Srivatsa
an't remember the exact date and

place of meeting Jagmohan Dalmiya
for the rst time, but it was sometime
in 1979 when he and his close friend
Inderjit Singh Bindra were seen as the new
kids on the block on the cricket scene.
The two had shaken the then khalifas of
Indian cricket who had a complete sway on
the running of the sport for decades. Few
could stand up in any meeting of the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) where
the highprole politicians and bigtime
industrialists had a stranglehold.
Bindra and Dalmiya had cricket at heart
besides being ambitious and impatient to
end the laidback attitude of the czars in the
board. In a board where the ofcials of the
state associations only heard the bigwigs in
rapt silence, the two were refreshingly dar
ing to question their authority.
Dalmiya had the board's fudged gures on
his ngert ips, and Bindra, an Indian
Administrative Service (IAS) ofcer, the abil
ity to articulate the duo's thinking. The awe
some twosome was too much to handle for
the then board ofcials. T he two gave
courage to a couple of other ofcials to
stand up to the bosses and soon a pressure
group started taking shape.

Dalmiya proved to be an expert in man
management and till the end nobody could
understand how he managed and manipu
lated the numbers. He was so good in elec
tion arithmetic. The only time he was check
mated was when Sharad Pawar successfully
settled an old score to become the board
president, defeating Jaggu Das handpicked
Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the eldest son of
the wily Haryana politician Bansi Lal, as his
proxy.
When Dalmiya was elected BCCI president
a second time earlier this year, Bindra wrote
an impassioned letter lauding his desire to
"clean up the system", and that his zeal
"nostalgically, reminds me of the Jaggu of
yore, and gives hope that the old spark will
ignite to arrest the decay and mitigate the
wrongs wrought on the game of cricket."
Dalmiya was ruthless in exercising his
new found power as the ICC chief. He could
give Bangladesh the Test status much
before its time, save bowlers like Shoaib
Akhtar suppressing the voices questioning
his bowling action, and deal rmly with the
Mike Denness issue when he chose to
penalise six Indian players, including Sachin
Tendulkar, on various counts. Every action
of his translated into votes for him. He
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Jagmohan Dalmiya's death
triggered shock and sorrow among the fraternity who termed it a great loss to the game.
made even the ICC rich. T he biggest
achievement of Dalmiya and Bindra was to
end the monopoly of Doordarshan and
bring in satellite television and live interna
tional sports into the Indian living rooms
before the 1996 World Cup, convincing the
Supreme Court to allow uplinking of the

Hero Cup pictures live. With it, the face of
cricket and the board changed and money
gushed into its coffers.
With Dalmiya's death, the era of giants in
India's sports administration is over.
Game on to succeed Dalmiya

as interim BCCI chief
Kolkata: Sharp and smart chessboard
moves have started in the BCCI to ll the
slot left vacant by the death of board presi
dent Jagmohan Dalmiya, with the names of
Sharad Pawar, Rajeev Shukla and Amitabh
Choudhary doing the rounds as possible
claimants.
As per the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI) constitution, the interim presi
dent has to be chosen though a special
general meeting (SGM) in case of death of
the incumbent.
The BCCI secretary (in this case Anurag
Thakur) will have to announce the date of
the SGM within 15 days of the death of the
president (in this case, Dalmiya, who
passed away on September 20), giving
three weeks' notice to the afliate units.
With the six east zone units of the BCCI
Sourav Ganguly is set to become CAB

president with Mamata Banerjee's backing.
now having their turn to eld candidates
for the president's post, the contenders
would have to get proposers (and not any
seconder, as it is a byelection) to jump into
the fray. If the candidate gets a proposer
and is backed by the other ve units, he
would sail through.
Mumbai bags US Open champion

Pennetta, Hingis in Team Hyderabad
Mumbai: Reigning US Open champion
Flavia Pennetta will play for Mumbai
Masters while Swiss veteran Martina
Hingis will represent Hyderabad Aces in
this year's Champions Tennis League
(CTL). Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj,
who is the mastermind behind this league,
announced that the second season of the
CTL will see 13 matches played over a
twoweek period from November 23 to
December 6.
T he rst match w ill be played in
Mumbai. The league will feature a total of
six teams, of which ve have been nal
ized.
Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Raipur
and Nagpur are the ve franchises. The
sixth team will be selected from among
Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru within 10
days.
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
Events in
India are
larger than
life: Lauren
Seen at Pan Nalins Angry Indian Goddesses premiere at TIFF (L to R) actresses Pavleen Gural, SarahJane
Dias, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sandhya Mridul, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande, and Anushka Manchanda.
(Photo: Juanito Aguil/WireImage)
'Angry Indian Goddesses'

wins runnerup award at TIFF
ndian director Pan Nalins film
"Angry Indian Goddesses", a
story about a group of Indian
girls in Goa gone wild, has been
voted as the first runnerup at the
40th Toronto International Film
Festival (TIFF).
A huge cheer went up when TIFF
creative directive Cameron Bailey
announced the name of "Angry
Indian Goddesses" as the first run
nerup for the Grolsch People's
Choice Award at this years festival.
Of the seven girls in the film,
Sandhya Mridul and Rajshri
Deshpande, who were present in the
audience, shouted with joy at the

announcement of the award for the
film. Toronto film festival CEO
Piers Handling said tongueincheek
that he hopped "Angry Indian
Goddesses" as the audience clapped
for the Indian film.
"When we started this film, we
never expected it anything. We
were not even sure whether or
when we will complete it. We are so
excited now," said Sandhya.
Sandhya said her experience in
the communications field stood her
in good stead in playing her role in
the film.
India puts 'Court' in Oscar race

n humble and honest cinematic multilingual
gem "Court" a courtroom drama that brings
alive injustices of India's legal system has been
chosen to represent the country at the 88th Academy
Awards. Debutante director Chaitanya Tamhane is
elated at the "surprise", while a jury member resigned
from the panel over differences with the chairman.
"Court" made the cut as India's official entry in the
Best Foreign Language Film category for next Oscars
after careful selection by a Film Federation of India
appointed 17member jury, led by actorfilmmaker
Amol Palekar. The film, which premiered at the 71st
Venice International Film Festival last year, had first
left the director surprised when it won the National
Film Award in the Best Feature Film category for 2014
even before its theatrical release in India.
The multilingual film, which has dialogues in
Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English to capture the
realism of daily humdrum, puts the spotlight on the
Indian judicial system through the trial of an ageing
folk singer in a lower court in Mumbai.
Other in the race for India's Oscar nomination
included "Baahubali The Beginning", "PK", "Haider",
"Masaan", "NH10" and "Kaaka Muttai". Meanwhile,
Bollywood director Rahul Rawail, who was on the
selection committee, has submitted his resignation
from the committee who alleged that Amol's "general
conducting of proceeding was often manipulative".
"We shot the film in 40 to 45

days... mostly in Goa and some in
Mumbai," she said.
Rajshri, who plays the role of
housemaid Lakshmi in the film,
said: "We had great fun doing this
film, and we are happy that the
audiences at TIFF have liked our
film. Hopefully, the film will go on
to do will when it opens in India."
"Angry Indian Goddesses" is a
powerful portrayal of new girl
power in contemporary Indian soci
ety the girls who want to have
fun, the girls who are uninhibited.
Source, NewsEastWest.
Danceractress Lauren Gottlieb.

anceractress
Lauren
Gottlie b be lieves that
events in India have much
bigger turnout than anywhere
else in the world.
"I think events here in India are
larger than life. The people who
come to the events, the way
events are glamorized is much
bigger than abroad. I think we
get a much bigger turnout here
than anywhere else," Lauren said
at the EEMAX awards here.
"I have been doing many won
derful events since I landed in
India. I am a performer and an
artist, so I love doing events," the
American dancer added. Lauren,
Aamir shares first look of

'Dangal', leaves fans curious
27
is face emerges
out of what seems
to be a mud
wrestling pit with an
intense and fierce gaze
that's the visual impres
sion that the first look of
Aamir Khanstarrer
"Dangal" accords. The
superstar, who has
undergone intense train
ing to acquire a
wrestler's body, shared
the first look of his
In the first look, Aamir's face is superimposed onto a muddy backdrop.
forthcoming film on
Twitter on Monday.
Produced by Aamir, Kiran Rao, Siddharth Roy
The first look with tagline "Aaj se dangal Kapoor, "Dangal" is said to be based on the
shuru" doesnt give out much, and only leaves life of wrestler Mahavir Phogat. It is yet
a hint that the movie revolves around the life another of the superstar's films to release on
of a wrestler a fact that has been known Christmas weekend a time when he also
since long. In the first look, Aamir's face is scored hits with "Taare Zameen Par", "3
superimposed onto a muddy backdrop. The Idiots", "Dhoom: 3" and "PK". Trade guru
actor, whose weight fluctuations for his Taran Adarsh has given a thumb up to the
movies raised alarm bells in his family, has first look of "Dangal", and said: "Looks incredi
beefed up for the Nitesh Tiwari directorial. ble!
who made her presence felt with

her beauty and dancing prowess
in Remo D'Souza's "ABCD" fran
chise, says "it's too cool" to see
her fans at events.
"It's too cool to see your fans
when you're out. When you are
on set, there are only 200 people
but once you step out you get to
see so many fans you have. So
many people are watching you.
T here is nothing like it," she
added.
Lauren, who is one of the
judges on "Jhalak Dikhla Jaa
Reloaded", will next be seen act
ing in Punjabi film "Ambarsariya"
opposite Diljit Dosanjh.
Emmy nominee flaunts

India-born designer's work
merican actresssinger Jane

Krakowski, who was nominat
ed in the Outstanding
Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Series category of the 67th Emmy
Awards, opted for an of fshoulder
gown, designed by Indiaborn Bibhu
Mohapatra, who is based in New
York. Mohapatra, who specializes in
women's luxury wear, especially
day wear and evening wear, shared
a photograph of Krakowski wearing
his creation.
Krakowski in designer Bibhu

Mohapatra ensemble.
28
HUMOR
Funny Side by Nury Vittachi
HATE YOUR LEADER? START YOUR OWN ENCLAVE
HEN A VISITING Westerner airily

dismissed Asia as a region of natu
ral disasters and incredibly nasty
leaders, I was really upset.
The truth hurts.
***
A similar point was made in the shape of a
request I received from a reader who did not
want his name or address printed: Dear Mr
Columnist Person, nobody likes our govern
ment. Can we form an enclave?
Yes, you can. Enclaves are hot right now.
Many people recommend the quick and
easy Beijing system of territorial expansion,
where you just build stuf f in the sea and
look outraged when anyone complains.
***
But be warned. Enclaves, city states and
territories are often independentish bits of
OTHER peoples countries, so the whole
issue can be VERY touchy.
* Look at a map and you can see that
Singapore is really just a teensy bit of
Malaysia, but it is not polite to say that.
* Malaysia itself is half in Thailand and
half in Borneo, but you must never say that,
either.
* Hong Kong is part of China, but the
residents think they are a separate citystate,

and no one has the heart to tell them the
truth.
***
This summer, sadly for people who love
micronat ions, arguably the strangest
enclave on the planet has just disappeared
in a deal between two countries.
Dahala Khagrabari enclave was legally a
piece of India, but it was inside an enclave of
Bangladesh that was itself inside an enclave
of India that was surrounded by land which
was definitely Bangladeshi. This is not a
joke.
Nor was it a joke for residents, who techni
cally crossed numerous borders every time
they took their bullock cart out for a spin.
CHILD: Are we nearly there, Daddy?
DAD: Were st ill in India, son. No,
Bangladesh. No, India. No Bangladesh.
***
so when it got late, drinkers simply moved to

tables on the Belgian side of the room and
ordered another beer, he said.
***
A European colleague tells me that an odd

enclave exists in his region: a splodge of
land inside the Netherlands that is legally
part of Belgium.
The boundary runs right through lots of
actual buildings. In the past, legal closing
time for bars was earlier in the Netherlands,
But back to the reader who wants to start

his own country.
The Beijing system is to grab a bit of land
and then announce that it has belonged to
you since the earth formed from interstellar
dust.
W hen Beijing used this line in East
Turkestan, the residents complained that

they had lived there for centuries before it
became a newly acquired territory for China.
Beijing vehemently denied this, but its
argument was severely undermined by the
fact that it renamed the area Xinjiang, which
is Chinese for newly acquired territory.
(This is also not a joke, believe it or not.)
***
Column done: time to vacate my desk or,

as I prefer to call it, my personal enclave.
Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Mahendra Shah
Mahendra Shah is an architect by education, entrepreneur by profession, artist and humorist,
cartoonist and writer by hobby. He has been recording the plight of the
immigrant Indians for the past many years in his cartoons. Hailing from Gujarat,
he lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
ASTROLOGY
29
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma
SEPTEMBER 26OCTOBER 2, 2015

ARIES: A good professional phase begins.
You will be much more at ease as you find
your rhythm at work. A friend whom you
had helped financially is likely to reciprocate in
the same coin soon. Parents are likely to be sat
isfied with your progress on the academic front.
Romantic thoughts threaten to disrupt your
focus. The best way is to set some time apart for
love. This will not let your focus get disturbed.
You remain hygienically conscious and avoid
seasonal ailments. You can enjoy long drives,
especially with friends. Be more open to others,
to avoid misunderstandings.
TAURUS: Distractions can make you lose
your focus at work. This can pose prob
lems for those pursuing a course or
undergoing an important training. A lot of
encouragement from the family is in store for
those wanting to do something different. You
can develop feelings for someone, but whether
it is love or just infatuation you will need to find
out for yourself. Some of you can look forward
to visiting an out of town relation. You will man
age to plan your finances well and avoid tight
situations. Health front holds no worries as you
exercise good control on your diet.
GEMINI: Those reluctant to get them
selves medically examined will do well
not to ignore it. A tight financial situa
tion can make some desperate. Keep the option
of taking a loan open. Office politics are best
not indulged in as you can become its victim. It
is best to keep a professional rival at an arms
length. You can get upset on the social front as
someone close may choose to overrule your
plans. Paucity of time will become a hurdle in
spending time with lover. A tip will prove indis
pensable for those travelling. A property matter
will be amicably resolved.
CANCER: An innate characteristic that

you possess is your ability to take
reverses in your stride and keep your
focus on the big picture. Something important
can be entrusted to you at work. Becoming a
confidante of someone important cannot be
ruled out for some. An opportunity for earning
an extra buck can come to you. You will feel
much happy and contented on the family front.
Spouse will be caring and loving. Positive sig
nals can be expected from an opposite camp for
those seeking love. A happy mix of rest and
exercise can find you at your physical best.
LEO: A social gathering can have you on
the centre stage. Some people are likely
to approach you with much expecta
tions, so dont disappoint them. Your
attempts at rejuvenating your love life will suc
ceed, so spare some exclusive time for together
ness. Decisions taken by you on the professional
front will pass scrutiny. Some of you are likely
to lead from the front in a team effort. You can
feel reluctant in taking on an additional finan
cial burden, but weigh it well before taking a
decision. Adopting healthy alternatives will help
keep weakness and lethargy at bay.
VIRGO: The opportunity you had been
waiting for on the professional front is
like ly to come to you sooner than
expected. A job opening can make some jump at
the chance. Things start looking much better
than before on the financial front. Your ailment
will be more due to your current mental state,
than by anything physical, but you will succeed
in overcoming it. Breakdown in communication
with spouse may need to be restored. The newly
married will have to give some more time for
love and understanding to grow. Take life as it
comes should be your motto.
LIBRA: You may feel yourself being

swayed by the moods and desires of
someone close. This may cramp your
own individuality. Try to break free of this situa
tion without rubbing anyone the wrong way.
Consider the demand of a family youngster
carefully before giving in. Discuss it with others,
if need be. Patience of lover may run thin on the
romantic front, but dont get rushed into any
thing which you may regret later. If you own a
vehicle, it will be a good idea to help someone
out. You will manage to keep lethargy at bay.
SCORPIO: The rebellious nature of a fam
ily youngster can alarm you. But, there is
no point in becoming unnecessarily
harsh. Your extra keenness to impress those
who matter on the professional front can be
resented by coworkers.
If you have made promises on the romantic
front, it will be wise to keep them or the conse
quences can be bad for you. You will need to
keep security in mind while undertaking a long
journey, especially by train. Savings made in the
past are likely to come in handy now. Being
irregular in your daily routine can affect health
adversely.
SAGITTARIUS: There is likely to be thaw
in your relations with someone on the
social front, who had been ignoring you
in the past. Those fond of food can
expect a culinary bonanza! Help from someone
close is likely to ease your commuting prob
lems. There may be issues on the professional
front that you are not an expert at. There is no
shame in taking the help of those who possess
the knowledge. Saving is good, but dont become
too tightfisted. The more you give, the more
you getlet this be the key to your romantic
life.
CAPRICORN: Your habit of loud thinking

at the most inopportune time may get
you on the wrong side of those around.
Restrict it within the confines of your four walls!
You yearn for recognition at work and if it is not
forthcoming, you lose interest in whatever you
are doing. Curb this tendency, before it harms
you. Becoming too beeminded in the guise of
saving may not go down well with other family
members.
On the love front, you will feel much more near
er to the one you love. Spending time together is
foreseen for young lovers.
AQUARIUS : If you can establish your
self on the academic or professional
front initially, it will go a long way in
solving much of your problems later. Some of
you can get serious about your health and will
not hesitate to take outside help just to come in
shape. There seems no urgency in cutting down
on spending as of now, as you earn well.
Someone close can prove a nosey parker and
interfere in your personal life.
Love life will prove more of a routine, than sub
lime in the absence of any genuine sharing of
feelings.
PISCES: Now that you have achieved sta
bility both professionally and financially,
you have the opportunity to turn your
ideas into action. Issues that were dis
turbing you mentally at work are likely to disap
pear. A payment you had given up as lost may
be received. Slowing the pace of life will have a
beneficial effect on health. Calling some people
over to boost your social life cannot be ruled
out. You will succeed in winning the one you are
attracted to. Property front looks promising and
is poised to add to your wealth. A short vacation
is possible.
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK

26th September, 2015
Ruled planet: Saturn Ruled by no: 8
Traits in you: As you are ruled by planet Saturn,
you are selfless, sincere, reliable, realistic, and
confident. Being the owner of huge intelligence
and talent you are pretty interested in acquiring
knowledge on trending technology. You should
try to eradicate pessimism and negativity from
your characteristics.
Health this year:You will enjoy an overall good
health though you may suffer from some minor
diseases.
Finance this year: You may find your trips educa
tive and profitable this year. You should not lend
or borrow money this year as it may put you in
various problems. You will be benefited from the
real estate investments if you have any.
Career this year: The success in your profession
al life may depend on your responsibility han
dling ability. You may have to work on different
places, which may prove to be a challenge for
you to coordinate with you colleagues and pro
vide a qualitative output.
Romance this year: Your charismatic personality
will attract opposite sex. Your relationship with
your partner would be pleasurable.
Lucky month: December, April, June and August
Ruled planet: Mars Ruled by no: 9
Traits in you: Your ruling planet Mars makes you
daring and intelligent by birth. Your other per
sonal traits are dignity, independent, enthusiasm,
optimism, selfconfidence, and discipline. You
have exceptional leadership qualities since birth.
So you can influence anyone to work according
your plans. You should not behave arrogant and
impatient for the betterment of your personality.
Health this year: You will be in a merdiocre
health condition this year. You have to take regu
lar medication to stay fit.
Finance this year: You will be able to improve
your financial condition as money may flow from
various sources. You may go for overseas jour
neys for business purpose.
Career this year: You will be posthumously
rewarded for your efforts throughout the year.
You will make huge leaps as far as your career is
concerned. Professionally, you will be very suc
cessful as you will be able to create a positive
impact on your seniors and higher management.
Romance this year: You along with your partner
will solve every personal issue that has been
proved to be a huge headache for you and your

family. Your romance with your partner will
touch new heights.
Lucky month: November, May and July
load of work or business trips. You should add

more life to every moment you spend with your
partner.
Lucky month: October, January, May and August

Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: By the influence of your ruling
planet Sun, you have become very original, posi
tive, confident, vivacious and optimistic. You
need to control your mood swings to get more
success.
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 will get a lot of chances to
earn money and improve your standard of living.
Career this year: You do not bother about fre
quent job changes as you want expertise in a par
ticular domain. Your honesty and helpful nature
wins you admiration, trust and respect from your
colleagues and seniors. You may take immense
interest in your profession and it would help in
your salary increment.
Romance this year: Your relationship with your
partner and family members may get af fected
due to the volume of work you are assigned to.
Lucky month: September, December, April and
June

Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: Being ruled by Jupiter, you are
ambitious, confident, creative, dignified and opti
mistic. People trust you as you are very helpful
and you win their trust with your behavior. You
need to work on your nature of being jealous and
arrogant.
Health this year: You may suf fer from some
minor health issues and that would not bother
you very much.
Finance this year: Your quick decision making
capability will help you gain enough money.
Your social life would be very pleasant this year
as you may go on developing various profitable
contacts to get help in your business. You may
frequently travel and go for parties in various
social events.
Career this year: You will gain respect in your
organization as a hardworking and efficient pro
fessional. Your colleagues would seek your
advice in critical situations. Your value as an
employee would increase in your organization
and you will b e considered as an asset to the
organization.
Romance this year: You may not find enough
mental support from your partner, which may
weaken your relationship with your partner.
Lucky month: December, April and July

Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: The calmness of your ruling planet
makes you creative, friendly, disciplined, innova
tive, responsible, reliable, and imaginative.
Health this year: You will be enjoying a very
good health this year despite lot of stress.
Finance this year: You are very careful when
money is concerned. You do not spend money
unnecessarily. You will enjoy a satisfactory finan
cial condition throughout the year. Though you
will have a lot of expenditures, you need not
spend all money alone as your partner will sup
port you financially.
Career this year: Your dedication towards your
work will bring you lot of name and fame later in
the year. Your introvert nature may make you lag
behind others so you better try to work on it and
act proactively. You deserve a lot than you are
getting now. This year you may be rewarded as
per your expectations.
Romance this year: You may not find much time
to spend with your partner this year due to huge
1st October, 2015

Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: Being governed by the Sun, you are
endowed with uniqueness and philosophy. You
are courageous, daring, courteous, affectionate,
decisive, and very determined. You need to work
on your impatience and short tempered nature.
Health this year: You may remain worried for the
health of your spouse. Your health will remain
fine though it needs extra care. You should regu
larly visit to your doctor for checkups. Try to
secure your parents health as they may suffer
from minor ailments throughout this year.
Finance this year: Financial gains are sure for
you this year as you may get into new business
ventures. However, try to avoid partnerships as
much as you can. You may get benefited from
your past investments or sale of paternal land or
property. You may go for renovation of your

house and that will make you spend enough
money. You may go for business trips later in the
year and you will succeed in bringing new busi
ness.
Career this year: The nature of your professional
work will allow you find many new job opportu
nities with high salaries. You should take up a
new job to flourish in your career. You will gain
required expertise in your profession and per
form better than ever.
Romance this year: You will be in a peaceful
relationship with your beloved this year. You
should take care not to get involved in any kind
of confrontation or argument with your partner.
You may get into marital relationship this year if
you are yet to marry.
Lucky month: December, March, April and
August
2nd October, 2015
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: The influence of your ruling planet
Moon makes you simple, dynamic, charismatic,
creative, reliable and focused. You need to con
trol your frequent mood swings and stubborn
ness to become a better individual.
Health this year: You will enjoy an overall good
health this year though you may go through
minor health issues throughout the year. You
should practice yoga and meditation for better
result. Your parents may fall sick and this might
make you tensed. Take special care of your
spouses health. Take a normal diet and medi
cines to remain healthy.
Finance this year: Your past investments may
yield a lot of money for you this year. You need
to be extra cautions while investing huge
amounts as it is a bit risky to put money on
unpredictable things. Overall, you will enjoy a
strong financial condition.
Career this year: You will enjoy a great profes
sional career this year. If you are involved in arts
or creative field, this year will be very good for
you. You will reach new heights in your career
and you will gain enough recognition. You may
seek help from an experienced person to succeed
in your career.
Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life
with your spouse. If you are unmarried, you may
get into a matrimonial relationship towards the
end of this year.
Lucky month: January, April and October
30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Finding Fulfillment
in this World
By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj
ost people are trying to

fulfill their desires. We
might have a desire to buy
a car; we might have a desire to
buy a house; we might have a

desire to study history or the sci
ences, or we might desire any
objects of this world. Our emphasis
is on being able to fulfill those
desires.
Life goes on in a way in which
we are always trying to fulfill one
desire after another after another.
What happens is that desires do
not end. When one is fulfilled, then
we have another desire. As we try
to fulfill that one, then we have
another desire, then another.

Life just keeps on passing by. We
are searching for happiness all
over the world.
Little do we realise that the true
wealth, true happiness,and true
love are waiting within us.We
think that happiness is outside
ourse lves.We think it lies in
wealth,name and fame,possessions
and relationships.
Since our human system is set up
to focus on fulfilling our desires,
what is needed is the right kind of

desire. First, we need to choose a
goal. And the rig ht goal is to
choose God, to have the merger of
our soul in the Lord.God lies within
us. God's love is within. There is
nothing in the outer world
that can compare to that. We
spend our precious life breaths
pursuing the fulfillment of our
every wish in the worldly sphere.
In the end we find that none of
those wishes brings us the happi
ness, love, and contentment we

really want.Instead of seeking the
true treasures outside ourselves
,we should sit in meditation and
find the true wealth within. If we
would stick to being conscious of
our true self, as soul, we would
find more love and happiness
than we can have
from the fulfillment of any desire
in the world. Then we will find our
lives filled with love,bliss,and eter
nal peace and happiness.
THE CURRENT OF LIGHT AND SOUND
By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji

Maharaj
he beginning of our souls journey is

the contact with the Light and Sound of
God, the two primary manifestations of
the power of God. It is said that when God
desired to bring about creation, that thought
resulted in a current emanating from God.
That current was manifested as Light and
Sound. It was a divine stream that brought
all creation into being. As it moved further
from its source, the vibratory rate changed.
Thus, different regions of varying vibrations
were brought into being and sustain all cre
ation.
The Light and Sound principle ultimately
brought the physical universe into being.
Our physical universe is operating at the
densest vibratory rate, so dense that it mani
fests as matter. It is only in the last few
decades that scientists have begun to under
stand that what we thought was solid matter
are really dancing packets of energy. At the
core of matter is an energy, which is light
and sound. We know that when we split an
atom, there is a tremendous burst of light
and sound. This light and sound energy
within our physical universe is the densest
vibration of the current of Light and Sound
emanating from the Creator.
The Light and Sound current flows out
from God. It also flows back to God. We can
catch this current at the point known as the
third or single eye, or the sixth chakra. That
is the connecting point between our soul (or
attention in the body) and the Light and
Sound current. If we can concentrate our
attention at that point, we can contact the
Light and Sound current and soar on it back
The Light and Sound

principle ultimately
brought the physical
universe into being.
Benefits of a
Vegetarian Diet
Our physical
universe is operating
at the densest
vibratory rate, so
dense that it
manifests as matter.
It is only in the last
few decades that
scientists
have begun to
understand that what
we thought was
solid matter are really
dancing packets
of energy.
through the higher regions of existence. The
Light and Sound will ultimately lead us to
the Source, back to God.
By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji

Maharaj
ith the opening of Veggie Fest this

week at Benedictine University in
Lisle, Illinois on August 15 and 16,
we are discovering how many people from
all walks of life, locally and from out of town,
are showing an interest in attending to learn
more about the vegetarian diet.
Vegetarianism is more popular now than it
was decades ago due to the many benefits
proven by do ctors and researchers.
Vegetarian food has been shown to cut ones
risk of many diseases such as cancer and
heart disease, and digestive and circulatory

problems, among others. As information
about the benefits spreads, more restau
rants and supermarkets are offering more
vegetarian choices for consumers.
Along with a vegetarian diet, meditation
can also improve our health by reducing
stress. The combination of a vegetarian diet
and meditation can help reduce our risk of
stressrelated ailments.
People are trying out vegetarianism and
meditation as preventive measures to stay
healthy. Through experimentation one can
discover for ones self and ones family their
value in having a healthier life.

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21 - Vol 8 - Epaper

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The South Asian Times

Vol.8 No. 21 Sept 26-Oct 2, 2015 60 Cents

New York Edition

Over 700 perish in

Emergency workers tending

Pope tells America to

New York: India is open for busi

meeting organized by the presti

India initiative kicked of f with a

Obama and Putin to meet in NYC;

Washington: US President Barack

(See more stories and pictures on page 9)

September 26-October 2, 2015

September 26-October 2, 2015

US lawmakers hail Modi's

Washington: Welcoming Prime

India and IndianAmericans, and

has helped grow US investment

Media helped improve

Shobhana Bhartia, chairperson and editorial director of Hindustan

tive of a media group that realizes

Columbia SIPA to set up Center

September 26-October 2, 2015

ings in Paris," he said.

Rate hike likely by year end: US Fed chief

India is open for business...

New Delhi Bureau

Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra

President: Arjit Mehta

Contributing Editors:Nilima Madan,

Strategy and Marketing

Obama and Putin to meet in NYC...

Cartoonist: Mahendra Shah

September 26-October 2, 2015

Darshan Mela in honor of 2 spiritual

Workshops were hosted on meditation and healthy

underlying spiritual message

ful surprise to see the amazing

bring about inner and outer peace

AIAs benet gala for Putting spotlight on campus racism

ties for the whole family including

New York: A Saturday night incident

Rini Sampath spoke out after

like this can happen on our campus,

September 26-October 2, 2015

USIBC honors Nooyi, Bhartia with

a crit ically important role in

Silicon Valley couple

Superior Court judge issued a pre

PepsiCo Chairman Indra Nooyi, Hindustan Times Group chairperson

the Forest Hills library, was last

Donna Lieberman, executive

7 liquor store owners

Rajanikant Patel and Vishal Patel

Illinois out of more than $3.5 mil

Indian diaspora launches

Secretary Penny Pritzker and

Sitharaman applauded the vision

September 26-October 2, 2015

Commercial Dialogue, appreciat

Kailash Kher to perform at Modis reception

The su singer, 42, was

Washington, DC: Shalabh "Shalli"