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The South Asian Times

e x c e l l e n c e

Vol.9 No. 30 November 19-25, 2016 80 Cents

i n

j o u r n a l i s m

New York Edition

Trump in hectic parleys


for cabinet picks
Mitt Romney, Nikki Haley considered for Secretary of State
New York: Presidentelect Donald
Trump will meet this weekend
with one of his fiercest critics:
2012 Republican nominee Mitt
Romney, a discussion that could
include the position of secretary of
state. The two men are set to dis
cuss "governing moving forward"
and potentially a role for Romney
in Trump's cabinet, a senior
Republican source told CNN on
Thursday.
Romney has told friends that he
would like to serve in government
again and the one job he is inter
ested in is secretary of state, a sen
ior Republican with knowledge of
the transition tells CNN.
On Thursday, Trump also met
with South Carolina Governor

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DEMONETIZATION

Over $40 billion


deposited in
banks in 8 days
Prime Minister Modi's bold step to crack

8 down on black money & terror funding


General public facing huge

8 difficulties but welcoming the step


Nikki Haley in the Trump Tower in
Manhattan for a potential cabinet
position, maybe even secretary of
state. There is concern in Trump
transition team about frontrunner
Rudy Giuliani's chances of confir

mation as secretary of state, con


sidering that he has lot of baggage.
Trump has been maintaining a

Govt promises to resolve problems

8 of NRIs, diplomats and tourists

Continued on page 4
Related stories on pg 1217.

Dont take democracy


for granted: Obama

Graffiti at a Wellsville NY playfield

437 hate crimes


against minorities
since Trumps victory
Washington: In the wake of Donald Trumps victo
ry in the US presidential election, an unpleasant
reality is rearing its ugly head. Hate crimes, racial
and Islamophobic slurs are on the rise against
Muslims, nonwhites and homosexuals in America.
Since Trumps triumph, there has been rise in
targeted violence against minority groups in the
form of hatespeech, of fensive graf fiti and even
physical abuse. The Southern Poverty Law Center
(SPLC), a group that
Continued on page 4

The new Rs 2,000 note. The old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes
will cease to be legal tenders.
President Obama & German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in Berlin on Nov. 17.
Berlin: President Obama and German Chancellor
Angela Merkel on Thursday issued a joint defense of
strong American leadership in global security, free
trade and combating global warming while cautioning
against cozying up to Russia, in what appeared to
serve as a message to Presidentelect Donald Trump.
Eight years after his massive rally in Berlin turned
Obama into a global phenomenon, he wrapped up his
final official visit to Europe on Thursday with a plain
tive warning to Western
Continued on page 4

New Delhi: Forbes magazine has


seconded India governments
assertion that demonetization is
working. Indian banks received 2
trillion rupees ($29.8 billion) of
cash after the governments Nov. 8
surprise move to abolish Rs 500
and Rs 1000 banknotes from Nov
9 to midday of Nov 12, the
Ministry of Finance said in a state
ment late Saturday. The haul is

estimated to be $40 billion since


then.
Of course, with the banned bills
account ing for 86 percent of
money out of circulation, there is
tremendous pressure on the
nations banking system to replen
ish the cash. More than 70 million
transactions were recorded till
midday Nov. 12, the Ministry of

Continued on page 4

Related stories on page 910, and 24.

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November 19-25, 2016

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November 19-25, 2016

Trump will clear bill on


Trump meets Indian
Pak as terror state: partners, hails Modi's work
Shalabh Kumar
New Delhi: President Elect
Donald Trump will approve a
Congress bill to declare Pakistan
a terror state when the legisla
tion reaches him in White House
in what would be a shot in arm
for India's antiterror narrative,
said Shalabh Kumar, a key mem
ber of Trump's Advisory Council
and prominent businessman
based in Chicago. He spoke to
Economic Times
A bill has been introduced in
the House for America to declare
Pakistan a terror state. Mounting
pressure on Pakistan in the back
drop of the Uri terror attacks ,
two influential US Congressmen
had introduced the legislation in
September. Congressman Ted
Poe, Chairman of the House
Subcommittee On Terrorism,
along with Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, introduced the bill.

The Legislation Calls On The US


Administration To Provide A
Report On Designat ion Of
Pakistan As A State Sponsor Of
Terrorism.
Kumar, founder of the
Republican Hindu Coalition that
supported Trumps campaign,
claimed that senior Indian of fi
cials are in touch with Trump
team to ensure continuity In
IndoUS ties.
Dismissing fears of loss of jobs
for Indian IT professionals under
Trump presidency with stricter
rules for H1B visas, Kumar
argued that as US economy will
grow by 45% annually under
Trump and will bost America's
service sector. "This will increase
the demand for Indian techies in
America. He also predicted an
increase in IndoUS trade over
the next four years.

Mumbai: Presidentelect Donald


Trump on Tuesday praised Prime
Minister Narendra Modis work
when he met with his Indian
business partners.
Donald Trump praised Modi for
doing a great job in India, Sagar
Chordia, Director of Panchshil
Realty, told Economic Times by
phone from New York. Trump, he
added, expects to strengthen and
expand US relationship with
India.
Trump met Atul Chordia, Sagar
Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta at
Trump Tower in New York on
Tuesday. Trump family including
Ivanka, Eric And Donald Trump
Jr, were also present. Kalpesh
Mehta is MD of Tribeca
Developers, Trump's India repre
sentative responsible For sup
porting the Brand in the country.
Trump has five luxury projects
in India including a Trump
Tower, a 46apartment block
with Panchshil Realty in Pune,

(From Left) Atul Chordia, Sagar Chordia and Kalpesh Mehta meeting
Donald Trump in New York.
and a 300apartment project in
the works in Mumbais Lower
Pare l with the Lodha Group.
These are not equity joint ven
tures. Trump has lent his name
to the projects in return for roy

Congress dedicates November 12 as


Dilip Chauhan Day in New York
New York: November 12 was dedicated
as Dilip Chauhan Day from the 6th
Congressional District in New York by
Rep. Grace Meng. On the same day, the
Long Island Gujarati Cultural Society
(LIGCS) honored Dilip Chauhan, well
respected advocate and leader of the
South Asian community, as Guest of
Honor at their annual Diwali gala at
Gujarati Samaj in New York. The event
was attended by about 600 people.
Said Grace Meng, Dilip Chauhan is
an outstanding community leader in
New York. His presentation, Gateway
to South Asian American Community
of New York, has educated many elect
ed officials about the community in the
last 10 years. I thank him for his
invaluable years of diligent and noble
service. Bakul Matalia, President of
LIGCS, said, We felicitate Mr. Dilip
Chauhan for his persistent and praise
worthy service to Indian community in
general and Gujarati community in
particular, as well as his selfless
actions, tireless advocacy and numer
ous outcomes for individuals, business
es and organizations. In his accept
ance speech, Dilip Chauhan said, I am

The Congressional proclamation from Rep Grace Meng was presented to


Dilip Chauhan at the Nov 12 gala of LIGCS in the presence of Naveen Shah,
Dilli Raj Bhatta, Arvind Vora, Bakul Matalia, Virendra Patel and Vijay Shah.
(Photo courtesy: Vijay Shah)
humbled on receiving two such honors
on the same day. I am grateful for the
recognition I have received for my
work. I sincerely thank Pujya Pramukh
Swami Maharaj, Pujya Mahant Swami
Maharaj and my parents for inculcat
ing high values and inspiring me all
these years with spirit of community
service. I also want to encourage
25,000 plus Gujarati Americans living
in Long Island to promote Gujarati lan
guage to become an official language
in New York. I also urge small business

owners to register their businesses,


and get MWBE Certification, so you
can be a part of government contract
ing process. As Nassau County
Comptroller George Maragos liaison to
the South Asian community, Chauhan
has contributed to Community
Relations Department, which provides
information and advocacy to county
residents and helps to increase respon
siveness and resolve problems that
impact the quality of life for individu
als and families.

alt ies. According to Mehta,


Donald Trump Jr expressed satis
faction with the pace of Trump
Organizations India business
and showed interest in expand
ing it further.

Harish Thkkar honored


at City Council Diwali
New York: Conscious of the valuable contribution made by the
Indian community, NYC Council and Democratic district leader
Dr. Neeta Jain
invited a cross
section of the
community to
celebrate
Diwali in the
Mayors ofce
at City Hall on
November 15.
Community
Harish Thakkar flanked by (from left)
leader Harish
Assemblyman David Weprin, Council Member
T hakkar was
Barry Grodenchik, Democratic Queens district
honored at the
leader Dr. Neeta Jain, Council Member Rory
event with a
Lancman and Councilman Peter Koo.
proclamation
presented by Council Member Barry Grodenchik. Harish Thakkar
has received many honors for his community work for organiza
tions such as Lohana Samaj of USA, BAPS and Association of
Indians in America and organizing walkathon for cancer
research, Diabetic Society and childrens Diwali event at Queens
Public Library. In his acceptance speech, Thakkar pointed out
that the biggest Diwali event in the world outside India happens
right here at South Street Seaport in early October every year. I
can tell every person here is committed to helping keep this NYC
Council Diwali going strong, and its really inspiring to see. May
we all continue to work together, nurture and support each other
and help grow the unique image of New York City as a dynamic,
creative place to live and work.

November 19-25, 2016

TURN PAGE

Teen hacker thanked for


pointing flaws in Indian
missions websites
New York: An Indian External Af fairs
Ministry official has thanked a 17yearold
hacker who exposed flaws in Indian diplo
matic missions' web sites that allowed
intruders to gain access to nonpublic infor
mation, and said the problems were being
fixed. "Thank you for your advice," Sanjay
Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary, eGovernance
and IT wrote to the hacker who uses the
identity, Kapustkiy. "We are fixing codes
one by one."
"Your help in probing websites of various
Indian embassies is a great help," he added.
Kapustkiy, who posted Verma's message
to him on his Twitter account and copied to
an IANS correspondent, has broken into

web sites of Indian diplomatic missions in


eight countries.
Meanwhile, the Indian Consulate here said
that its we b site was being secured.
Kapustkiy had posted on a web site some
personal information of 418 people regis
tered with the mission, that he said he got
by intruding into its web site.
"T he consulate has taken immediate
action to secure the contents of its website,"
L. T. Ngaihte, the head of chancery, said in a
note to IANS.
Kapustkiy is a student in Tokyo. "I didn't
want to do any damage but to let adminis
trators to pay attention (to the vulnerabili
ties)," Kapustkiy said.

Letter to the Editor


Dear Sir,
I appreciate and encourage many reports in your
paper which are seldom found anywhere else.
To cite just two, the first published in July 2329,
2016 issue by Quaid Najmi on late singer Mubarak
Begum. The article was informative, was detailed and
an eye opener.
The second article I appreciated was published in
July 30Aug 05, 2016 issue on Twinkle Khanna.
During my high school years and college years in
Mumbai in the late 60s, I was witness to the Super
Stardom of Rajesh Khanna. Naseeruddin Shah came
on the scene much later. Honestly, Shah was never a
big draw or capable of carrying a movie on his shoul
ders, unlike Rajesh K. For him to comment adversely
on Rajesh K's ability to act, reflects on himself, simi
lar to a saying in Hindi (Naach na jane aangan
tedha). I admire Twinkle's coming out with her tweet
of disapproval. Rajesh K lives on in the hearts of mil
lions of his fans his charisma, mannerism and pop
ularity are unsurpassed even today. You have more
indepth stories on a wide range of events, compared
to some other publications, which are a vehicle for
selfpromotion.
Rasik Desai
rasikdesai17@gmail.com

Bob Dylan not


going to
Stockholm to
accept Nobel
Copenhagen, Denmark: Bob
Dylan wont be coming to
Stockholm to pick up his 2016
Nobel Prize for literature at
the Dec. 10 ceremony. T he
Swedish
Academy
said
Wednesday that Dylan told
them he w ishes he could
receive the prize personally,
but other commitments make
it unfortunately impossible.
T he 75yearold American
singersongwriter was award
ed the prize on Oct. 13 for
having created new poetic
expressions within the great
American song tradition.
Details about who would
accept the award on Dylans
behalf were unclear more
informat ion on that was
expected Friday.

Over $40 billion deposited


in banks in 8 days
Continued from page 1
Finance said. The aim of the shock measure
is to clamp down on Indias severe problem
with black money as well as terrorist
financing and forgery of the bank notes.
Despite opposition to the move, the Modi
government is not going to roll back demon
etization. Said finance minister Arun Jaitley,
"A big regret is that people are getting
inconvenienced, but currency replacement
of this magnitude will cause some problems.
There are long, but orderly queues. Such a
big currency replacement can't be done
overnight." The concerns expressed by
NRIs, diplomats, foreign tourists, and money
changer associations abroad are being
referred to the Department of Economic
Affairs of the Ministry of Finance, a senior
official said on Thursday.

note, which said the scarf isnt allowed any


more.
8 An NYU Muslim student group made a
chilling discovery after a vandal scrawled
the word Trump! on a door to their prayer
room on the night of the election.
8 Minnesota high school student Moses
Karngbaye said he was terrified to see racist
graffiti scrawled inside a bathroom.
8 A note reading Bye Bye Latinos Hasta
La Vista was found on a whiteboard in
Kivette Hall Room 100 at Elon University.
Donald Trump, in an interview after his
victory, said he was so saddened to hear
about vitriol hurled by some of his support
ers against minorities.
If it helps, I will say this, and I will say
right to the cameras: Stop it, said Trump.
AntiTrump demonstrators have taken to
the streets in 25 major cities, protesting and
chanting, Not my President.

Trump in hectic parleys for


cabinet picks

Dont take democracy for


granted: Obama

Continued from page 1


jampacked schedule his team looks to tamp
down reports of disarray and infighting
within the transition effort, which has been
slow to ramp up following Trump's shock
ing victory last week.

Continued from page 1


democracies at a time of rising populism.
Do not, he said, take for granted our sys
tem of government and our way of life.
He conceded things left undone saying
it would be naive to envision a break
through in Syrias raging civil war before he
relinquishes the White House. But, speaking
to reporters beside a woman described as
his closest European ally, Obama said he
remained optimistic about Trumps presi
dency, despite having sharply criticized him
during the long, bitter election campaign.
Yet Obama also drew a stark picture of a
world without evenhanded US leadership
a world in which a divided United States
would lose its way and disengage.
The United States is the voice that insists
on rules and norms governing international
af fairs, the voice that helps to steer the
world away from war wherever possible;
thats our voice more often than not,
Obama said. And were not always success
ful, but if that voice is absent or divided, we
will live in a meaner, harsher and more
troubled world. On antiTrump protests in
American, he said, I would not advise peo
ple who feel strongly or who are concerned
about some of the issues that have been
raised during the course of the campaign, I
wouldnt advise them to be silent.

437 hate crimes against


minorities since Trumps victory
Continued from page 1
monitors hate speech in the US, has docu
mented 437 cases of abuse towards minori
ties from November 915.
Theyve been everywhere in schools, in
places of business like Walmart, on the
street, SPLC President Richard Cohen said
on Monday.
Trumps victory has proved divisive for
the American populace, especially since one
of his election planks was to keep immi
grants and Muslims from coming into the
country. Immigrants were targeted the most
in cases of hate crime and harassment,
according to the SPLC.
Here are some of the incidents:
8 The Nazi symbol and a quote Make
America White Again popped up at the
Quackenbush field in Wellsville last week.
8 A 24yearold Muslim school teacher in
the US was told to hang herself with her
headscarf in a handwritten anonymous

Jaipur (India) Bureau


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Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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Contributing Editors: Meenakshi Iyer,


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Dr Akshat Jain, Ashok Ojha

President: Arjit Mehta

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arun.kumar@ians,in

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TheSouthAsianTimes.info

TRISTATE COMMUNITY

November 19-25, 2016

Ban on immigrants to end incredible US experience: Joe Biden


Washington, DC: Describing the
Washington,
DC:the Indian
contribut
ion of
American community as breath
taking, outgoing Vice President
Joe Biden has warned that any
ef fort to stop the flow of immi
grants to the US would end the
incredible American experience.
"The amazing contribution of
the IndianAmerican community is
breathtaking because many of you
and your friends came here not
out of some sense of ...the
Diaspora that ended up in
Delaware were the most educated
people when they arrived in
America. As a matter of fact they
made it hard for other people,"
Biden said at the Diwali reception
held at his residence.
"The day we shut things down,
the day we cut these out, the day
we decide to go back ... that is
happening now, that's getting to

the end of this great incredible In the middle of his remarks,


experiment," he said.
Biden asked them to the podium.
Organised in association with
Biden praised Khan for taking a
Indiaspora, it was attended by strong stand against religious
some top IndianAmerican leaders hatred during the general elec
and several current and past tions, he appealed to the atten
members of his Administration dees not to be disappointed by the
from this community.
results of the election.
"You are incredible group of
"This is America...This is kind of
Americans," he said welcoming who we are," Biden said referring
the guests as he commended to Khan. "You reminded millions
Diwali as celebration that opens of Americans why there is hope
its arms to people of all faiths.
and faith. I will say you that the
In his remarks, Biden congratu fact that the other team won does
lated three new IndianAmericans not mean that that was rejected,"
e lected to the House of Biden said.
Representative on November 8
"We lost because of awful lot of
Pramila
Jayapal
(from hardworking Americans who live
Washington
State),
Raja in areas where we did not pay
Krishnamoorthi (from Illinois) and much attention to. Barack Obama
Ro Khanna (from California).
won these people. They are not
The Gold Star father Khizr Khan racist. They did not vote for the
and his wife Ghazala Khan were Democrats this time," he said.
New Jersey:
the special invitees for the event.
Vice President Biden identified

globalization as among one of the


key
reasons
for
the
Democratic party defeat.
Globalization, despite all
its advantages, hurt people
in the US. "I do not want any
body to walk away thinking
that you know because
Donald Trump says some
awful things...He is the most
unpopular elected President
in American history. Just as
Hillary was very unpopular.
There has been no election
in American history when
the negatives of both the can
didates have been this high,"
Biden said.
"I do not care what your politi
cal affiliation is we have to
not give up. One elec
tion willNew
not York:
change
Outgoing Vice President Joe Biden was
America," he added.
speaking at Diwali reception held at
(PTI)
his residence (Image courtesy: cnn.com)

India incredibly important


for me: Pramila Jayapal

New York:

Washington, DC: Describing India as


"incredibly important", Pramila Jayapal,
the first ever IndianAmerican woman to
be e lected to the US House of
Representatives feels there is a lot to be
done to make sure the US continues to
support India on everything from poverty
to clean energy.
Jayapal, 51, was elected to the US House
of Representatives from the Seventh
Congressional District of Washington
State. She is the first IndianAmerican
woman to be ever elected to the House.
"I think India is not only incredibly
important to me not only because I was
actually born in India. Iam very deeply tied
with India. My parents still live in India.
They live in Bangalore. My son was born
in India. For me the relationship between
the US and India is not only a political
relationship, but also a personal relation
ship. It is actually what I live every day,"
Jayapal told PTI.
Born in Chennai, she left India at the age
of five for Indonesia, Singapore and then
came to the US at the age of 16. Currently
in Washington DC to attend reorientation
for the new e lected members of the
Congress, Jayapal said she believes there
is still work to be done to make sure the
US continues to support the forward
movement of India on everything from
poverty to clean energy. "That is going to

Chicago:

Pramila Jayapal is first IndianAmerican


woman to be ever elected to the House
(Image courtesy: nbcnews.com)
require that we put resources to it. It is
going to require that we strengthen our
diplomatic relationship. And it is going to
mean that we continue to advocate for
democracy in the bigger sense of the word
that includes religious freedom and toler
ance in both India and the US," Jayapal
said. "I come from the land of Gandhi.

Believe that war should be our last option


and not our first. Both the US and India
have some work to do where we go on
that front," she said.
She also said it would be difficult for any
kind of bipartisan support the agenda of
the Republicans, who control both the
House and the Senate, if the president
elect tries to implement some of his cam
paign rhetoric including those against reli
gious minorities and undocumented immi
grants.
"The priorities that I ran on and that I
remain deeply committed to includes free
college, really making college af fordable,
raising the minimum wage and providing
economic opportunities to working peo
ple," she said, adding that, it includes
working on climate, environment and
expanding social security.
"But all of those feel a little bit distant at
this time because of the (incoming) Trump
Administration. We are waiting to see
what happens," Ms Jayapal said.
"We have to be absolutely ready to take
on any behavior, rhetoric or legislation
that attacks our constitution and civil
rights that is against Muslim Americans,
whether it is against undocumented immi
grants or whether it is against the LGBTQ
movement. I feel my first priority is to
make sure I never back down from a nec
essary fight," she said. (PTI)

Donald Trump
will build greater
relations with
India: USINPAC
New York: Donald Trump should begin
work to kickstart the economy, enforc
ing immigration laws and tackling ter
rorism in Asia, a USIndia political action
committee has said, as it expressed con
fidence that the US will have "greater
re lat ions" w ith India under his
presidency.
T he USIndia Polit ical Act ion
Committee (USINPAC) congratulated
Trump on w inning the 2016
President ial race and commended
efforts of all IndianAmerican support
ers who canvassed and fund raised for
this successful campaign.
USINPAC Indiana Chair and Chair for
Asians for Trump Pence Campaign Raju
Chinthala described Trump's election
win as "historical" in American history,
saying "he has changed major political
system in USA. He will be a great presi
dent and will build greater relations
with India."
Assuring the support of Indian
Americans to a Trump administration,
USINPAC Chairman Sanjay Puri said
Trump "must work on kick starting the
economy, tackling ISIS and terrorism in
Asia. The IndianAmerican community
congratulates President Trump on such
a decisive win and pledges to work with
(PTI)
the new administration."

November 19-25, 2016

TRISTATE COMMUNITY

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Nehrus legacy celebrated on his birth anniversary


New York: On November 14, the
Indian National Overseas Con
gress, USA (INOC) and the Nehru
FoundationUSA jointly celebrated
the birth anniversary of Pt Jawa
harlal Nehru, the first Prime Min
ister of India at the Sohna Punjab
restaurant here.
Speakers eulogized the work
and contribution of Pt Nehru.
George Abraham, Chairman of
INOC, described him as the archi
tect of modern India, especially
pointing out his many contribu
tions in education, such as the
founding of IITs and Indian Insti
tute of Science.
INOC President Mohinder Singh
Gilzian dwelt on how Nehru built a

Democratic leader Uma Sengupta speaking. In the picture (from left)


INOC chairman George Abraham, president Mohinder Gilzian,
Prof. Bipin Sangankar, President of the Nehru FoundationUSA and
keynote speaker Indrajit Singh Saluja.
solid constitutional framework for
the nation. Prof. Bipin Sangankar,

President of the Nehru Founda


tionUSA, recalled his personal in

SUNY names Oswego's Alok


Kumar a distinguished teacher
Oswego, NY: The State University of New
York has recognized Oswego physics pro
fessor Alok Kumar as a Distinguished
Teaching Professor, one of the SUNY sys
tem's highest honors.
Kumar was one of only eight faculties in
the system approved by the SUNY Board of
Trustees as earning a distinguished honor
in professorship, teaching or service an
nounced by SUNY on Nov. 10.
Kumar is an internationally recognized
scholar and teacher, a distinguished trans
lator of ancient texts and a historian of the
evolution of medieval science. He has been
honored internationally by peers for his
numerous contributions to teaching, and
has served as a principal investigator on
many research projects that have ad
vanced the science of physics.
He has been an ardent advocate for the
inclusion of nonWestern perspectives on
science in the teaching of all sciences, not
just physics. He is considered a worldclass
authority on the development of science
and mathematics throughout antiquity,
particularly among the ancient Hindus.
Kumar and coauthor Scott L. Mont
gomery's 2015 book, "A History of Science
in World Cultures: Voices of Knowledge,"
published by Routledge, traces the origins

Dr Alok Kumar
of European scientific "discoveries,"
demonstrating that many derived, at least
in part, from much earlier work in China,
India, Persia, Babylonia and other cultures.
That work followed his 2014 book, "Sci
ences of the Ancient Hindus: Unlocking
Nature in the Pursuit of Salvation."
Kumar joined the SUNY Oswego family
in 1992. He holds a Ph.D. from Kanpur
University in India, with his master's and
bachelor's degrees from India's Meerut
University.

Former car dealership


converted to Temple
in South Carolina
New York: A Hindu Temple & Cultural Center (HTCC) is re
portedly functioning at a former Ford dealership in Or
angeburg (South Carolina), hosting various religious ac
tivities. Currently in the last stage of redevelopment, it is
planned to open it for public community events during the
first few months of 2017.
It would include three banquet facilities spread over
about 22,500 square feet with seating capacity of about
1,500; providing a gathering place for area Hindus, re
ports suggest.
Mission of HTCC, founded in 2013, includes promoting
the Hindu ethos in many ways ranging from cultural, reli
gious, social, festive, charity events to the practice of yoga
and educational.

teraction with Nehru and admired


his many accomplishments that
put India on a solid footing.
The keynote speaker Prof. In
drajit Singh Saluja, chief editor of
The Indian Panorama, recalled his
amazement at the size of the
crowd when he attended Nehru's
funeral in Delhi and said it was a
testimony to his devotion to the
people of India. Analyzing Nehru's
vision for India, he concluded that
he was ahead of his time and stood
tall amongst statesmen of the
world. Democratic activist Mrs.
Uma Sengupta recounted her as
sociation with Nehru and how she
found him to be a very kind per
son and how he loved children

earning him the title Chacha


Nehru.
In an open session moderated by
Oommen Koshy members from
the audience gave their respective
viewpoints and told of their fa
vorite stories by which they re
membered Nehru and his skillful
character.
Harbachan Singh drew attention
to Nehrus books especially, Dis
covery of India and applauded his
longest term in office as PM for 17
years.
Smita Guha and her daughter,
Ananandita, sang some favorite
songs of Nehru, such as Sare ja
han
se
achcha,
Hindustan
hamara.

INOC (I) welcomes


exTelangana minister
New York: Indian
National Overseas
Congress (I) USA
Telangana Chapter
organized a meet
and greet event with
former Pradesh Con
gress
Committee
(PCC) President and
exMinister Ponnala
Lakshmaiah on No
vember 12. The
event was attended
by NRIs from Telan
Former PCC president and exminister Ponnala Lakshmaiah
gana based in New
(middle, in Nehru jacket) with Shudh Parkash Singh at event
Jersey.
Shudh
organized by INOC (I) USA Telangana chapter
Parkash Singh, Na
tional Chairman of the INOC USA, said, Unlike pose the ground reality and the problems
other politicians, Sonia Ji says what she really faced by the people of the state.
Ravinder Thota said that democracy is a
means and does what she says! The perfect
proof is how much she fought to deliver on her continuous process and parties switch be
promise to create the state of Telangana. Pon tween ruling and opposition, so the ruling TRS
nala had blessed the formation of the Telan (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) should not have
gana chapter of INOC USA when he was the the misconception that they will always be in
TPCC President, Shudh added. Ponnala Laksh power.
In an interactive session, Ponnala answered
maiah, while blaming the Telangana govern
ment for pressurizing the media not to report questions related to Telangana. Guests cele
any negative news from the state, urged all re brated formation of INOC Telangana chapter
sponsible NRIs to rely on social media to ex and Childrens Day during the event.

AdMark Communications
congratulates the Presidentelect
The South Asian advertising agency was behind the successful Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkar ad campaign
South Plainfield, NJ: AdMark Communi
cations, the fastest growing South Asian
Advertising and Public Relations agency,
congratulated the presidentelect Donald
J. Trump on his historic win in the 2016
general elections.
The American people have spoken.
On behalf of the members of AdMark
Communications, I extend congratula
tions to Presidentelect Donald J. Trump
for his remarkable victory in the elec
tion, said Shyamal Modi, President of
AdMark Communications. AdMark was
responsible for the media placement and

media buying strategy for the successful


Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkar ad campaign
that targeted the Indian American popu
lation in the U.S. Shyamal Modi in asso
ciation with Shalabh Kumar of the Re
publican Hindu Coalition created a 30
and 60 seconds advertisement in Hindi
for the Trump campaign. This was the
first time that an U.S. presidential candi
date had specifically targeted the Indian
American vote bank.
We had the honor of working with Re
publican National Committee and Mr.
Trump on this ad campaign that aimed

at the growing Indian American voting


population, said Mr. Modi. AdMark was
also instrumental in handling the mar
keting and media buying of a massive
star studded charity event for Republi
can Hindu Coalition on October 15,
2016 at the NJ Convention & Expo Cen
ter in Edison where President elect Don
ald J. Trump was the Chief Guest and
was attended by 10,000 Indian Ameri
cans. The commercial was also picked up
by major American news channels like
ABC news and TV shows including Jim
my Kimmel live.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

NATIONAL COMMUNITY

November 19-25, 2016

Nikki Haley being considered Nooyi on Trump win: Need to


for Secretary of State
assure minorities they are safe
New York: Indian
American Governor
Nikki Haley is one of
the contenders for
Secretary of State or
other cabinet positions
in the Donald Trump
administration, accord
ing to media reports on
Wednesday.
Haley, a trenchant
crit ic
of
fe llow
Republican Trump dur
ing the election cam
paign, is scheduled to meet with him
here on Thursday, according to his
spokesman Jason Miller.
CNN and MSNBC reported independ
ently that the South Carolina governor
is being considered for the top diplo
mat ic job. T hey quoted unnamed
sources in Trump's transition team that

is working on gearing
up his new administra
tion that will take over
in January.
Trump and Vice
Presidente lect Mike
Pence are reaching out
to those who were criti
cal of them for filling
posit ions in the new
administration. A rising
star in the Republican
Party, 44yearold Haley
was elected earlier on
Wednesday as the vice chair of the
Republican Governor's Association.
Former US Permanent Representative
to the UN, John Bolton, and former New
York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, have also
been mentioned as possible picks for
Secretary of State.
(IANS)

Kamala Harris to take on


Trump's immigration policies
Washington, DC:
Indian
American Kamala Harris, who
scripted history by winning a
Senate seat, has said
she would open a bat
tle front
ag ainst
Presidentelect
Donald Trump's anti
immigration policies,
say ing "we must
re ject racism and
xenophobia in our
politics."
"I recognize that
Tuesday's election has made mil
lions of people in this country feel
powerless and afraid of what is to
come,"Harris, 52, said in an email
sent to her supporters launching
a signature campaign against
Trump's policies on immigrants.
Harris, the first Indian
American elected to the Senate
from California, described
Trump's immigration policies like
mass deportations and wall along
the USMexico border as
"absolutely unrealistic" at a news
conference in California. A two
term Attorney General of
California, she would be sworn in
as US Senator on January 3. "Our
diverse movement and the
responsibility the people have
granted me in this of fice comes

into play. We have the power to


give a voice to the voiceless in
Washington as we advance an
agenda rooted in jus
tice and equality, she
said. "It is no secret
that there exists two
divergent directions
for our country to
take on immigration
reform and the treat
ment of our immi
grant communities,
both do cumented
and undocumented.
"One side believes it is okay to
demagogue immigrants, has pro
posed unrealistic plans to build a
wall, and is promising to break up
families by deporting millions of
people. The other side believes in
respect, justice, dignity and equal
ity as part of an approach to bring
millions of people out of the shad
ows," she said. Harris said she
wants every immigrant family in
this country as well as the new
Trump administration to know
exactly where she stands on
immigration reform. "We must
reject racism and xenophobia in
our politics as we work to protect
our immigrants through real
reforms. Right now is a time to
bring people together.

New York: Expressing disappointment, Indra


Nooyi, CEO, PepsiCo and Hillary supporter
said,Is there a box of tissues here? when
asked about her reaction to the
election results last Thursday at a
business conference in NYC.
T hough Nooyi congratulated
Presidentelect Donald J. Trump
she professed a deep sadness
about the outcome.
I had to answer a lot of ques
tions, from my daughters, from my
employees they were all in
mourning, she told NYT. Our
employees are all crying and the
question that they are asking, especially those
that are not white: Are we safe? Women are
asking, Are we safe? L.G.B.T. people are ask
ing, Are we safe? I never thought Id have had
to answer those questions.
Asked about the coarseness of the language
used during the election as well as the domes

tic violence issues confronting the National


Football League, which Pepsi sponsors, she
said: Forget the Pepsi brand how dare we
talk about women that way? Why
do we talk that way about a
whole group of citizens?
She said she did not think there
was a place for a type of language
that has sometimes been dis
missed as locker room talk. Not
in locker rooms, not in football
players homes, not in any place.
If we dont nip it in the bud,
Nooyi added, this is going to be a
lethal force that takes over socie
ty. It has got to stop, she said.
Nooyi emphasized the need to offer reassur
ances, as a nation, to women, racial minorities
and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community.The first thing we
have to do is assure everyone that they are
safe, she said.

Bobby Jindal among probables


in Trump's cabinet
Washington, DC: Twoterm
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal,
the first ever IndianAmerican to
be elected as a state Governor, is
among the shortlisted candidates
for Donald Trump's Cabinet,
according to a media report.
If appointed, the 45yearold
will be first ever IndianAmerican
to be included in the president's
cabinet and second ever to be
elected to the US Congress.
As per the news report in The
Wall Street Journal, Jindal is
being considered for the position
of Secretary of Health along with

Ben Carson. His name also figured


in the list of Politico whereas it

was absent in the Buzfeed's list of


potential Cabinet members of the
Trump Administration.
Both Carson and Jindal are for
mer Republican presidential can
didates. While Jindal, after drop
ping out of the race, endorsed
Senator Ted Cruz for presidency,
Carson supported Donald Trump,
the winner of the US presidential
elections. Jindal, who has been
keeping a low profile after drop
ping out of the Republican presi
dential primary, did not respond
to queries on his possible Cabinet
(PTI)
position.

AMUL THAPAR ON TRUMP'S LIST FOR


SUPREME COURT JUDGE NOMINEES
Washington, DC: Amul Thapar, an
IndianAmerican jurist, may be
nominated as a Supreme Court
judge by US PresidentElect
Donald Trump.
T hapar's name figured in
Trump's second list of individuals
who would be considered for the
nomination of a Supreme Court
judge. The list was announced on
September 23. The nomination
list now assumes significance
since Trump, as the 45th presi

dent of the United States, would


be in a position to nominate the
three Supreme Court judge.
At present, Thapar holds the
position of US District Court Judge
for the Eastern District of
Kentucky. T he first Art icle II
Judge of South Asian origin, he
was nominated to this position by
the former Republican president
George W Bush.
"He has taught law students at
the University of Cincinnati and

Georgetown. Thapar has served as


an Assistant US Attorney in
Washington and the Southern
District of Ohio," the Trump
Campaign said.
Judge Thapar received his law
degree from the University of
California, Berkeley.
"This list is definitive and I will
choose Justices of the United
States Supreme Court only from
it," Trump had said in September
while releasing the list.
(PTI)

November 19-25, 2016

NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Ash Kalra, Niraj Antani, Jay Chaudhuri


win statelevel elections

ndian Americans Ash Kalra,


DCalif.; Niraj Antani, ROhio;
and Jay Chaudhuri, DN.C.,
were victorious in their respec
tive election races Nov. 8.
Kalra, a Democratic city coun
cilman in San Jose, won a spot in
the 27th state Assembly district
ag ainst
fe llow
Demo crat
Madison Nguyen, the former San
Jose vice mayor and city council
woman. Kalra is a law professor
at Lincoln Law School of San
Jose and previously taught at
San Jose State University and at
inner city Washington, D.C., high
schools.
Prior to serving on the San
Jose city council, Kalra was an
attorney for the Santa Clara
County Public Defender's Office
where he spent time in drug
treatment court where clients
were given the opportunity to
complete a rehabilitation pro
gram and turn their lives around.
Kalra earned a bache lors

degree in communications from


U.C. Santa Barbara and a law
deg ree from Georgetown
University. He will take over for
Nora Campos, who has termed
out.
Niraj Antani, 25, voted as the
second
most
influent ial
Republican under the age of 30
by Newsmax earlier this year
was reelected as a state repre
sentative in Ohios 42nd District.
After running unopposed in
the primary, the GOP candidate
who was looking to make real
change was challenged by
Democrat Patrick Merris in the
Republicanheavy district.
Antani defeated Merris handily
in the Nov. 8 general election,
receiving 63 percent of the vote
to Merris 37 percent.
A g raduate of Ohio State
University, receiving a bachelors
in political science, as well as a
juris doctorate degree from the
University of Dayton School of

Law, Antani was previously the


communications director for the
Ohio State University College
Republicans during the 2012
presidential election, as well as
the chair for the Young
Americans for Romney in Ohio.
Antani was named to Forbes
Magazines list of the top 30
Under 30 people in the United
States for Law and Politics in
2015. In addition, he was named
to the Top 30 Conservatives
Under Age 30 in the United
States list by Red Alert Politics.
And in 2013, the Montgomery
County Republican Party named
him the Republican Man of the
Year. Jay Chaudhuri won the
March primary over fe llow
Democrat Ellis Hankins, 63 per
cent to 37 percent, and was
appointed the state senator posi
tion in North Carolinas 16th
District in April as Josh Stein
resigned to focus on his run for
attorney general.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Sikh teen shot dead


in California
San Francisco: A 17yearold Sikh
boy has been shot dead when he was
returning home from work, prompt
ing the police to launch an investi
gation.
The incident took place last week
at his home in his garage on Kandin
sky Way in California.
The family of Gurnoor Singh Na
hal, who was a highschool student,
says he was returning home from
work when he was shot.
They do not suspect anything was
taken and cannot understand the
motive behind the attack.
"We cannot imagine it. We are
lost," his uncle Tejinderjit Singh was
quoted as saying by the CBS Local
News. Nahal's grandmother found
him lying in the garage. She said he
cried for help but it was too late.
"She heard it and it was very loud
and I think when she heard that, she
came out and then she saw him,"
Singh said.
His neighbors say that things like
this do not happen in their North

Gurnoor Singh Nahal


(Image: deccanchronicle.com)
Natomas neighborhood. "It was a
young kid. We have kids a 19year
old and a 17yearold, so it's really
sad," said a neighbor, Gil Garcia.
Gurnoor went to Inderkum High
and was supposed to graduate this
spring. Police responded to the
scene and investigated the area for
hours asking witnesses for help.
They have not determined a motive
(PTI)
in this case, the report said.

Bay Area author turns to Kickstarter


Truck company settles
to publish childrens book
discrimination suit with Sikh drivers
New York: Four Sikh truck drivers have settled
a discrimination case against an American
trucking giant which will pay $ 260,000 in
damages for denying them employment after
they refused to cut their hair and remove their
turbans for the company's drug tests. The
Sikh truck drivers reached a settlement agree
ment with JB Hunt trucking company follow
ing a sevenyear federal investigation in which
the US Equal Employment Opportunity Com
mission (EEOC) found evidence that the com
pany had discriminated against them due to
their religious articles of faith, said a release
issued by the Sikh Coalition, a Sikh civil rights
organization.
JB Hunt has agreed to pay $260,000 in
damages as well as amend company policies
and practices to comply with federal antidis
crimination laws.
The company will be obligated to train its
hiring personnel on antidiscrimination laws
and submit reports to the EEOC for the next
two years about its workplace antidiscrimi
nation efforts.
"I am relieved by this resolution because no
one should have to face humiliation because
of their religious beliefs," said lead com
plainant Jagtar Singh Anandpuri.
"I have been driving a truck for years, and I

know there is nothing about my faith that in


terferes with my ability to do my job," he said.
Three complainants were denied accommo
dations after they informed the company that
they could not cut their religiously mandated
hair for drug testing.
The fourth client was denied an accommo
dation to the company's demand that he re
move his turban while providing a urine sam
ple.
In each case, JB Hunt automatically denied
employment, despite the clients' otherwise
impeccable job qualifications, the release said.
It added that the US Department of Trans
portation, which imposes safety standards
and regulations on the commercial trucking
industry, does not require hair sample tests
for employment.
However, alternative forms of drug testing
are available, including nail sample tests.
"Our clients repeatedly asked for alterna
tives within the drug testing regimes that
would allow them to follow their religious
tenets, and those requests were denied.
Thankfully J B Hunt has finally switched gears
and moved into the right lane to comply with
federal antidiscrimination law," said the Sikh
Coalition's Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur.
(PTI)

New York: Bay Area based writer


Sand hya Acharya has turned to
Kickstarter for her second childrens
book titled Ten Gulab Jamuns.
Acharya grew up in Mumbai and previ
ously worked in corporate finance. She is
mother to two young boys, a dance and
running enthusiast.
She selfpublished her first book Big
Red Firetruck on Amazon Kindle Direct
Publishing. She is now working on a
Kickstarter for her second childrens
book titled Ten Gulab Jamuns. It is a
delightful story with two adorable broth
ers, ten Gulab Jamuns and one hearty
misadventure.
We live in a diverse world. Our chil
dren are constantly exposed to new
friends from new backgrounds, new lan
guages, new foods. We need to expand
our childrens outlook, help them be
more accepting and curious. These are
important life skills that we need to
imbibe early. We need to help them be
proud of their own cultural heritage and
teach them to share their world with oth
ers. But we need to do this in a non
pedantic way. In a way that is fun and
relatable for everyone.
What better way of talking about it and

learning together with your child than


through picture books. Every night when
you read to him is an opportunity for
him to become that ideal global citizen.
And every night when you read to him is
an opportunity to have a few laughs, hug
them closer and enjoy every moment
together, she says.
37% of children in US identify them
selves as multicultural but only 10% of
children's content is multicultural. The
percentage of Indian/South Asian con
tent is even lower. There is a big gap
that I think we need to fill, she adds.
You can stop by on Kickstarter and
support the campaign at bit.ly/tengulab
jamuns

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

November 19-25, 2016

INDIA

Cash withdrawal norms eased


for farmers, agritraders, weddings
New Delhi: The government on Thursday
announced a set of seven decisions pertain
ing to demonetization, mainly aimed at
smooth sowing season ahead, including
permission to farmers to withdraw up to Rs
25,000 per week and registered agri
traders Rs 50,00 per week from their bank
accounts.
This apart, for families that have an
upcoming wedding, one member of the
household can withdraw up to Rs 250,000
onetime, subject to furnishing an under
taking that no other individual will be avail
ing such a concession for the purpose and
also upon giving the PAN card details.
However, the amount of money that an
individual can exchange from banks by
handing over the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes has been lowered to Rs 2,000 from
Rs 4,500 with effect from Friday. The use
of indelible ink for such withdrawals will
continue.
Giving these details, Economic Af fairs
Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters
here that since the country is at the com
mencement of Rabi sowing season, the gov
ernment wants to ensure farmers get

Israeli President
wishes Sushma
immediate recovery
New Delhi: Visiting Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin called on External Af fairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj, who is suffering from kidney
failure, and wished her immediate recovery.
"'Bless you with immediate recovery'.
@PresidentRuvi
conveys
to
EAM
@SushmaSwaraj while calling to enquire about
her health," External Af fairs Ministry
spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
Sushma Swaraj tweeted about her health con
dition: "I am in AIIMS because of kidney failure.
Presently, I am on dialysis. I am undergoing
tests for a kidney transplant. Lord Krishna will
bless."
The team of doctors for the treatment of
Sushma Swaraj includes Head of Endocrinology
Nikhil Tandon, Head of Pulmonary Medicine
Randeep Guleria, Chief of Cardio Thoracic and
Head of Nephrology Sandeep Mahajan. Earlier,
Sushma Swaraj was admitted to AIIMS for sev
eral weeks in April this year due to chest con
gestion.
Rivlin is visiting India from November 14 to
21 at the invitation of President Pranab
Mukherjee.

The amount of money for exchange has been lowered to


Rs 2,000 from Rs 4,500 with effect from Friday.
smooth supply of inputs such as seeds and
fertilizers.
"Crop loans are sanctioned by various
bank to farmers. The government has
allowed Rs 25,000 per week for farmers to
draw in cash, subject to the limit of which

crops they are sowing. This cash can also


be taken from their Kisan credit card," Das
said.
Another concession is for farmers who
sell their produce through the various
Ag ricultural
Pro duce
Market ing

Committees.
"Farmers who sell their produce in man
dis, against the payments they receive by
way of cheque or RTGS method (electronic
transfers into their bank accounts), they
can draw up to Rs 25,000 per week from
their own account," Das said.
Similarly, agritraders registered with
such marketing committees, can withdraw
up to Rs 50,000 per week from their desig
nated bank accounts.
The secretary said both Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley decided to favorably consider the
representations made by families that have
upcoming weddings hence the Rs
250,000 withdrawal allowance.
Two other decisions taken on Thursday
are: A 15day extension in the payment of
crop insurance by farmers and an
allowance for withdrawing Rs 10,000 as
advance for central government employees
up to Group 'C' to be adjusted against their
November salary.
This will also apply to employees of
Indian Railways, defence and staterun
units.

Withdraw demonetization in three


days, demands Kejriwal
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal asked the government to take
back the demonetization decision in three
days or face a revolt by the common man.
Addressing a public rally with West
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Benerjee
here, Kejriwal alleged a conspiracy behind
the spiking of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes
that has led to a cash chaos across the
country. "Do you think people are fools?"
he asked rhetorically. "Don't fool us. Don't
say that standing in queues (outside banks
and ATMs) is patriotism.
"Take back this decision in three days...
Don't test people's patience. Otherwise,
there will be a 'bhagawat' (revolt) by peo
ple," he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader also blamed
the government for the reported deaths of
40 people in the country that have been
linked to the dramatic announcement of
November 8 that the high value currency
would no more be legal tender.
"W ho is responsible for these 40
deaths?" he asked.
Kejriwal again hurled corruption allega

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.


tions at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
There was a time, he said, when he too
thought that Modi was an honest man. But
Kejriwal flashed what he said were Income
Tax department's documents to allege that
two corporate houses had paid huge bribes
to Modi when he was the Gujarat Chief

Minister.
Kejriwal said the government hoped to
collect Rs 10 lakh crore from people fol
lowing the demonetisation to make up for
the massive losses the banks have suffered
by giving out whopping loans to corporate
houses that have now become bad debts.

10

November 19-25, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

INDIA

Around 6 months needed to


replenish Rs 500 notes
New Delhi: Will new notes which
replace the demonetized curren
cy find itself in circulation soon?
Unlikely, if the capacity of all the
currency printing presses in the
country is taken into account.
The latest calculation, based
on capacities of the currency
printing presses, shows that
replenishment would take
around six months.
This is particularly true for the
new Rs 500 notes, whose print
ing, presumably, started after
November 10. Till those are
replenished in adequate num
bers, the "currency pain" would
not go away since Rs 2,000
notes are dif ficult to exchange
for lower denominations.
However, enough of the new
Rs 2,000 notes may already
have been printed, calculations
show.
The central government had
demonetized Rs 500 and Rs
1,000 currency notes on
November 8, sending the whole
nation into a tizzy. Long queues
outside banks have been a daily
occurrence since then because
enough currency notes are not
available with them.
New information gleaned from
public sources show that the
government may be too opti
mistic in claiming that "adequate
amount" of money would soon
be in circulation.
That's because of the limited
capacity of the printing presses
in the country for such a sud

The central government had demonetized Rs 500 and


Rs 1,000 currency notes on November 8.
den, huge job.
There are four currency press
es one each in Nashik
(Maharashtra), Dewas (Madhya
Pradesh), Salboni (West Bengal)
and Mysuru (Karnataka).
The first two are owned by the
central government through the
Security Printing and Minting
Corporation of India Ltd.
According to information avail
able in the Finance Ministry's
latest annual report, the yearly
currency printing capacity of
these two presses is around 40
per cent of the total in the coun
try. The other two presses in
Salboni and Mysuru are part
of the Bharatiya Reserve Bank
Note Mudran Pvt. Ltd. (BRBNM

PL), a whollyowned subsidiary


of the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI). These two, comprising 60
per cent of the total capacity,
can print 16 billion notes in two
shifts per year, according to
information available on
BRBNMPL's website.
In essence, it means that total
capacity in the country would be
26.66 billion notes in two shifts.
If all three shifts run, as the gov
ernment says is happening now,
the four presses would be able
to print 40 billion notes a year,
irrespective of the denomina
tion.
Now, according to the govern
ment, the total money in circula
tion before Rs 500 and Rs

1,000 notes were declared ille


gal was Rs 17.54 lakh crore or
Rs 17,540 billion. Of this, 45 per
cent was in Rs 500 denomina
tion equivalent to Rs 7.89 lakh
crore or Rs 7,890 billion and 39
per cent in Rs 1,000 notes
amounting to Rs 6.84 lakh crore
or Rs 6,840 billion.
In other words, there were
15.78 billion notes of Rs 500
denomination in circulation and
6.84 billion notes of Rs 1,000.
But if they are going to print
Rs 2,000 notes equivalent to
value of the Rs 1,000 notes
declared illegal, that is, worth Rs
6.84 lakh crore, they would have
to print only half, or 3.42 billion
notes.
If the printing started in early
September, as has been claimed
by some printing press officials,
they would need only a little
over two months to meet the full
requirement, even at 50 per cent
capacity. In other words, they
should have printed all the
replacement needs of Rs 2,000
notes till now.
Further, how long will they
need to print Rs 500 notes, now
that the machines would not be
printing Rs 2,000 notes?
Assuming an 80 per cent run
(remember Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
comprised 84 per cent of all cur
rencies), the time taken for the
new Rs 500 notes, which began
printing, presumably, on
November 10, would be: 5.9
months.

India forms
task force to
facilitate notes
exchange for
Nepal, Bhutan
Kathmandu: The Reserve Bank of India has
formed a task force to deal with the issue
of providing noteexchange facility to
Nepali and Indian residents in the
Himalayan nation who possess Indian bank
notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomina
tion that were pulled out of circulation on
November 8.
In a communication to the Nepal Rastra
Bank, the Nepali central bank, the RBI said
the task force will come up with a modality
to address the problems faced by residents
of neighboring countries like Nepal and
Bhutan, where the circulation of the now
banned Indian notes was high.
Indian currency is freely exchangeable in
Nepal and Bhutan and following the Indian
move to demonetize its highvalue bank
notes, it came to light that billions of
Indian rupees are stuck in banking chan
nels and huge amounts have been hoarded
by the public.
After the ban, Nepali Prime Minister
Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Finance
Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara and NRB
Governor Chiranjibi Nepal spoke with their
respective Indian counterparts Narednra
Modi, Arun Jaitley and Urjit Patel.
Patel, in his conversation with counter
part Nepal, informed him about the forma
tion of the task force. Other senior NRB
officials have also spoken with RBI officers
on a daily basis to avert any currency crisis
and the Indian officials have indicated that
problems, if any, would be resolved soon.

Trump has sent mixed signals on India


Comment
By Bhaswati Mukherjee

Trump's approach to India has been contradictory with


much doublespeak.

hat are the implications


for India of Donald
Trump getting elected as
US President? Much would
depend on his choice of Secretary
of State and whether his gover
nance style would be decentral
ized with the President depending
on a team of dedicated tech
nocrats. This would be the best
option, given his ignorance on
global and strategic issues.
Trump's approach to India has
been contradictory with much
doublespeak. During the final
presidential debate he referred
positively to India, its high growth
rate and spoke of his business
relationships here. At a Hindu
American rally in New Jersey in
October, he spoke of being a big
fan of India.
But early in the campaign, he

complained of outsourcing, about


jobs being "shipped out" to India
and alleged misuse of H1B visas.
He voiced strong criticism of call
centers being outsourced to India
and Indians. After he used a false
Indian accent to mock Indian call
centre workers, he sought to wrig
gle out of it by clarifying that
India was a great place and his
anger was not against India but
against outsourcing. Whether this
is feasible or possible remains to
be seen, but it has troubling impli
cations for our bilateral relation
ship.
His statements on Pakistan have
been equally ambiguous with
hints that he would seek help
from India and other nations to
address the "problem" of what he
described as a "semiunstable"
nucleararmed Pakistan. In an
early interview he said: "The prob
lem with Pakistan, where they
have nuclear weapons which is a
real problem. Pakistan is semi
unstable. We don't want to see

total instability." It is not clear


whether as President this would
translate into a reversal of US pol
icy towards Pakistan. Possibly not,
since even Trump, as President,
would need to respect the fine line
defining US foreign policy based
on American interests.
His policy on Afghanistan is
equally unclear with hints that he
would cut down on US commit
ments overseas. This would have
direct implications on Indias
peace and security w ith the
increased threat of terrorist
attacks in case of a premature US
withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is
unclear at this moment whether a
Trump presidency would strongly
support NSG membership and its
candidature for permanent mem
bership of the Security Council
and strengthen the IndoUS
Strategic Partnership, which is
also based on common concerns
on the rise of China.
Bhaswati Mukherjee is a former
Indian ambassador.
IANS

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

OP-ED

November 19-25, 2016

11

Modi cuts the Gordian knot of black money


By Amulya Ganguli

To the denizens of the infamous "parallel" economy,


who have reveled for so many years in their dexterity
to evade the long arm of the law, Modi's "surgical
strike" could not but have come as a rude shock.

fter several halfhearted and


unsuccessful attempts by
various governments over
the years to untangle the Gordian's
knot of black money, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has used
the celebrated method of cutting it
at one stroke.
The fallout may have been huge
ly disruptive for the common man
if only because the banks and post
of fices rarely the epitome of
competence have been unable to
respond effectively to the sudden
change. Hence, the International
Monetary Fund's advice for manag
ing the transition prudently.
But the dramatic step has
exposed the futility of negotiations
with the Swiss authorities or speci
fying a period during which the
government promised that no
questions would be asked about
large bank deposits.
To the denizens of the infamous
"parallel" economy, who have rev
eled for so many years in their dex
terity to evade the long arm of the
law, Modi's "surgical strike" could
not but have come as a rude shock.

Arguably, only a Prime Minister, who is known for his spartan lifestyle
despite his sartorial elegance, could have outlawed
unaccountable stacks of currency.
It will take time for the economy
to feel the effects of the bold initia
tive, but the immediate impact of
the demonetization of the Rs
500/Rs 1,000 notes on those who
merrily hoarded them will be little
short of bewildering.
For them, the sudden realization

that they have been rendered virtu


al paupers for the time being must
be disorienting, for they have to
forsake the habit of spending lav
ishly on friends and families.
The first signs of demonetization
are likely to be noticed in the forth
coming assembly elections in Uttar

Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Goa and


Manipur.
Cynics may say that more than a
desire to keep the promise to
unearth hidden wealth, the ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has
used the economic measure to
boost its own prospects by demon
strating its seriousness in tackling
a problem which has plagued the
country for decades.
But they cannot deny that the
step will eliminate the kind of
excessive spending in the elections
which is suspected of occasionally
influencing the outcome in a num
ber of constituencies, and which
underlines the root cause of cor
ruption at various levels and is
responsible for the pernicious
politicianbureaucratcriminal
nexus.
What is surprising, however, is
the almost universal condemnation
of the Centre's decision by the
opposition parties with the

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

Congress spokesman, Ghulam Nabi


Azad, describing the move as remi
niscent of Nadir Shah's style of
functioning and Bahujan Samaj
Party leader Mayawati seeing the
promulgation of an economic
emergency.
They seem to have realized that
Modi now has another ef fective
propaganda weapon in his hands
in addition to the surgical strikes
on terrorist camps in Pakistan. Any
indication that he has set the cat
among the pigeons where the
treasure trove of clandestine earn
ings is concerned is bound to tilt
the electoral scales in the BJP's
favour.
Arguably, only a Prime Minister,
who is known for his spartan
lifestyle despite his sartorial ele
gance, could have outlawed unac
countable stacks of currency. It can
be called a big bang reform for
which the country has been
waiting.

12

November 19-25, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

US AFFAIRS

Trump denies transition disarray after sackings


Washington: Amid reports of disarray in
his team, Presidentelect Donald Trump
has defended his handling of the transition
to the White House.
Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday that
the process of selecting his new cabinet
and other positions was "very organized".
According to the US media, two senior
members of the transition team working
on national security have been forced out.
The New York billionaire won an unexpect
ed victory ag ainst Demo crat Hillary
Clinton in the November 8 election. He
replaced New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie with VicePresidentelect Mike
Pence as head of the transition team.
Trump's soninlaw and close adviser Jared
Kushner was behind the change, BBC
reported.
Christ ie was New Jersey Attorney
General when Kushner's father was tried
and jailed in the state for tax evasion, ille

gal campaign contributions and witness


tampering in 2004.
Former Cong ressman and House
Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike
Rogers, who was handling Nat ional
Security for the transition, announced on
Tuesday that he was leaving.
Rogers and another member of the
Nat ional Security team, Matthew
Freedman, were sacked, according to the
New York Times. Rogers is thought to have
been close to Christie, while Freedman is a
protege of Paul Manafort, Trump's former
campaign manager who quit in August. But
Trump sought to calm fears of turmoil.
"Very organized process taking place as I
decide on cabinet and many other posi
tions," he tweeted.
"I am the only one who knows who the
finalists are!" Trump has spent the week
since his e lect ion holed up in the
Manhattan skyscraper that bears his name.

He's been looking to


fill key posts in
his cabinet,
but the early
indications
are it's proving
a
lessthan
straightforward
task.
T here have
already been
calls
for
Trump
to
rescind one of
the appoint
ments he has
made that of
the former head
of the right wing
Breitbart we bsite
Steve Bannon as senior
White House adviser.

Vice President
elect Mike
Pence is now
heading the
transition team
as NJ Gov Chris
Christie has
been ousted.

Sen. Charles Schumer Trump soninlaw not applied


elected minority leader
for White House role
Bernie Sanders elevated to a leadership post

New York Senator Charles Schumer will replace


Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada who is retiring.
Washington: Sen. Charles E.
Schumer of New York was elected
by Democrats as minority leader
of the Senate on Wednesday, and
he quickly added new leadership
posts for members representing
the party's left and right flanks
following this month's stinging
election losses.
Schumer will take over from the
retiring Sen. Harry Reid of
Nevada, who tapped his former
lieutenant for the top spot. Sen.
Richard Durbin of Illinois and Sen.
Patty Murray of Washington kept
top spots. But Schumer also
broadened the Democratic leader
ship tent with the intent of
improving the party's standing
with both its progressive wing
and its workingclass base, two
groups whose frustration with the
party and Democratic nominee
Hillary Clinton helped lead to
Presidentelect Donald Trump's
victory.
Joining the leadership team are
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont,
who challenged Clinton for the
presidential nomination, conser
vative Sen. Joe Manchin of West
Virginia and Sen. Tammy Baldwin

of Wisconsin.
Populist Sen. Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts also kept a top
spot. "There's a debate going on
about whether we should be the
party of the diverse Obama coali
tion, or the bluecollar American
in the heartland," Schumer said,
referring to the broad swath of
heavily minority voters who
helped put President Obama in
office.
"We need to be the party that
speaks to and works on behalf of
all Americans and a bigger, bold
er, sharperedged economic mes
sage that talks about people in the
middle class," Schumer said. He
said Democrats should also con
front "the unfairness in the
American economic system."
Sanders had been angling to
become ranking member of the
Committee on Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions, a powerful
legislative perch for his agenda.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of
California will take over as rank
ing Democrat on the Judiciary
Committee, a key role as Trump
moves to nominate a justice to fill
the Supreme Court vacancy.

New York: Jared Kushner has not


applied for a role in the adminis
tration of Presidentelect Donald
Trump, nor has he applied for
security clearance, Trump cam
paign manager Kellyanne Conway
said Thursday.
He has not applied for anything
formally and I just think many of
these press reports are false and
inaccurate, Conway said on Good
Morning America. I would just
call on everybody to just give us a
little bit of time to form our feder
al government, get those appoint
ments in place and respect the
election results and allow this man
to do his job. Kushner, 35, has

Jared Kushner, pictured with wife,


Ivanka Trump, is playing a role in
the transition team
been married to Trump's eldest
daughter, Ivanka, since 2009. He

Paris agreement
unstoppable, Trump will
change mind: UN chief
Marrakech, Morocco: UN Secretary General
Ban kiMoon on Tuesday said he is confident
that US Presidentelect Donald Trump would
distance himself from his election rhetoric
against the Paris Climate Change
Agreement, saying "now it has become
unstoppable". "Last week I spoke to Mr.
Trump and I brought up many issues, peace
and security issues, including the issue of
climate change. I remain very optimistic
about our effort to combat climate change,"
Ban told reporters here.
Terming it historic, he said the Paris
agreement, now ratified by 109 countries,
has come into force in record time. "Never in
the history of the UN, any convention, agree
ment or treaty has entered into force in such
a short period of time. And it also has the
highest number of member states.
"The global unity around climate change
once seemed to be unthinkable but now it
has become unstoppable," said an optimistic
Secretary General, who is going to demit
office by the end of this year after a 10year
long tenure.

has been a close adviser to Trump


and a mainstay at the Trump
Tower while the transition teams
maps out next year's administra
tion.
Conway said Kushner, who
inherited a real estate fortune like
Trump, is taking into considera
tion his business responsibilities
in New York City as well as the
three small children he and Ivanka
are raising.
He will continue to be very
important to his fatherinlaw, who
just happens to be the next presi
dent, Conway said. Jared was
incredibly important to our cam
paign effort and to the election.

Mayor de Blasio told Trump:


New Yorkers are fearful
New York: New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio met with
Presidentelect Donald Trump
for more than an hour at
Trump
Tower
here
Wednesday, saying afterward
he told the Republican that
many New Yorkers were afraid
of his presidency.
I let him know that so many
New Yorkers are fearful, that
more had to be done to show
that this country can heal, and
that people will be respected,
De Blasio, a Democrat, said
outside
the
Midtown
Manhattan tower.
The Mayor who supported
Democratic presidential nomi
nee Hillary Clinton , has long
been critical of Mr. Trump,
describing him as dangerous
and unfit to lead the country.

Last year, Trump called De


Blasio the worst mayor in the
US.
Mayor de Blasio described
the meeting with Trump as
candid and respectful. He
said he tried to provide per
spective of the NYPD, as he
expressed concerns about
Trumps plans on immigration,
telling him deportations would
cause a rift between communi
ties and lawenforcement that
would make the city less safe.
Mr. de Blasio said he told
Mr. Trump the city was never
going back to the widespread
use of the policing tactic
known as stopandfrisk, an
approach Mr. Trump has said
should be expanded but that
critics say unfairly targets
minorities.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

November 19-25, 2016

OP-ED

13

Donald Trumps election as President has evoked extreme reactions positive


and negative. Being non-partisan, fair and balanced, The South Asian Times
will continue to publish such reactions and views.

Trump is good for America, and good for India


l By Dr Sampat Shivangi

t was one of the greatest vic


tories of our time in the histo
ry of any nation, more so in
the United States.
A man, who never ran for any
public office, never held any pub
lic post, could be the President of
the greatest country on earth. Yes,
Donald Trump bulldozed the
Clinton machine in one sweep.
What a victory! Now, Trump
owns the White House, US Senate,
US House and the US Supreme
Court shortly.
An average American was tired
of two standards, one for the elite
and one different for the regular
Joe, which was unacceptable. And
people taught the biggest lesson
to the Washington establishment
as they want their past glory,
pride and selfesteem back and
they hope Trump will provide
that. They wanted justice and they
believe Trump will provide that.
They have showed their resent
ment ag ainst the Demo crat ic
party and Washington by voting

Dr. Sampat Shivangi with Reince Priebus (right), appointed chief of staff
by Presidentelect, and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour
in for Donald Trump who wanted
to clean the Washington swamp,
its status quo, its bureaucracy and
corruption.
On the other hand, voters did
not appreciate the liberal immi
gration policy of the Democratic
party of President Obama, Hillary
Clinton and four more years of

same old policies of Obama that


she would continue. It was OK to
have legal liberal immigration
policies but not to open flood
gates especially for immigrants
from the Middle East without
strict verification and vetting.
A blue collar worker or Midwest
farmer was not appreciated by

Obama and this would have con


tinued with Mrs. Clinton, robbing
job opportunities for Americans.
T here was a revolt ag ainst
Washington and Trump was suc
cessful in igniting the flame of
patriotism, of making America
great again.
The other bigger beneficiary I
believe would be India. Trump has
promised to be the best friend in
the White House India ever had. I
am sure he will be, especially in
eliminating or transforming the
menace of Radical Islam that has
inflicted on the world, especially
by India's neighbor on the west.
Trump has extended his hand of
friendship to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and this is one of
the big welcome signs of IndiaUS
relations in the coming months. I
am sure India is ready to embrace
Trump who has soug ht to
strengthen growing IndiaUS rela
tions that have taken leap forward
under President Obama.
Many were circumspect with
Hilary Clinton and her stance
towards Pakistan w ith Huma

Abedin, her confidant who is


reported to be closer to the
Pakistani establishment.
Obamacare, which weighed on
many American minds, is one of
the most controversial legislation
ever created by a President and
now Hillary Clinton, the original
author of a similar care bill, has to
pay the price. Of course, I am not
suggesting that this is the only
reason the Democratic Party lost
the Presidency, US House and the
Senate, but it is one of the fore
most reasons if one can analyze
their recent debacle in the polls.
We lcome, President Donald
Trump. We pray and wish you
every success in your endeavors
to bring peace, prosperity to the
US and the world. You can do it as
a President of USA and leader of
the Free World.

Dr Shivangi, MD, is National


President, Indian American Forum
for Political Education, and
Delegate, Republican National
Convention 2016. Contact:
drssshivangi@aol.com

Ab ki baar Trump Sarkar: The tragedy of our times?


l By Roopsi Narula

he night of 8th November, like many women, I had also


been excitedly waiting to witness history being made in
the USA, the breaking of the glass ceiling and the elec
tion of the first woman President. I wasnt really a Hillary
Clinton supporter because I had been feeling the Bern too
strongly ever since the spotlight on Presidential elections
began. However, supporting a candidate, who would publicly
objectify women, deny them the right to their own bodies and
call them pigs, dogs, slobs etc was a complete dealbreaker
for me. I obviously could not believe, 'No one respects women
more than I do' or Bahut hua naari par waar, abki baar Trump
Sarkar!
I also never found anything particularly impressive about
Hillary in the three Presidential debates. I did notice that per
haps the media was backing her too much while mocking
Trump too much. However, I did admire her rising to a place
no other woman ever had. I also could not help being
untouched by the enthusiasm of so many women at the possi
bility of the first woman President of America. We were to wit
ness history in the making for the second time in the US in the
last few years (first being Barack Obamas presidency). We
were excited. In terms of policies, I had liked a few things
about both Hillary and Trump and wondered if a middle
ground could be possible, which could in fact benefit the
whole country while maintaining the inherent strength of
America. A notsorecent immigrant, I wasnt eligible to vote
but it was not possible for me to stay apathetic to the election
process. The results were shocking. Postmidnight, I was one
among the many who shed tears on Hillarys loss. The feminist
movement had indeed gone back by many years with that ver
dict. A nation had ended up voting for a man who had been

Not only Hillary Clinton could not break the highest glass
ceiling, but also the feminist movement has gone back by
many years. A nation had ended up voting for a man who
had been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.
accused of sexual assault by multiple women.
I took at least two days to come to terms with the reality of
living in a country, which had Trump as the President. The
paranoia further got fed by the news of nationwide protests
and racist attacks. In the past there had been times, when I
had wondered aloud, Where will I go, if Modi rules India and

Trump rules USA . Stop overthinking, I was told. It is not


going to affect you.
I was also told, 'Please do not compare Modi and Trump.
But to me, the comparison only seems natural. Both Modis
and Trumps rise is in tune with the rise of right wing nation
alism sweeping elsewhere in the world as well. There is a
strong sense of the majority being denied of their rights
resulting in the majority backlash or whitelash or the call for
'All lives matter'. While Trump went on to call women pigs,
animals etc, Modi in an interview had said that Gujarat had
child malnutrition because the beauty conscious girls did not
want to drink milk because they did not want to become fat.
While Trump has called for a complete ban of Muslims enter
ing the USA, Modi has never expressed the slightest regret on
the killing of hundreds of Muslims in the Gujarat riots.
Both Trump and Modi are happily oblivious of the climate
change. While Trump called climate change a hoax, Modi
said, Climate has not changed, we have changed. The election
of both triggered fear in the minorities. Then there is KKK and
RSS as well. So for now, I do stand by my comparisons
between Modi and Trump.
While many of us are still feeling the aftershocks of the US
elections and the antiTrump protests are going strong for a
week, in conclusion I can only hope that both these leaders
representing such important democracies of the world, pro
ceed on a path of inclusion and work to allay the fears of
minorities in their countries. May we see acche din in both
USA and India!

Roopsi is a digital marketing professional in New Jersey. A


not so recent immigrant in the US, she is trying to come to
terms with her life as a Sikh and a woman of color in Trump's
America. Contact: roopcnarula@gmail.com

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

14

November 19-25, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

OP-ED

The fallen Democrats! What should we do?


There isn't much point in supporters of Hillary Clinton rioting in the streets. Trump won the
election fair and square. It is far more important for Democrats to regroup, and work
toward the mid-term elections, to get more Democrats in the Congress.
l By Shivaji Sengupta
ow that Hillary Clinton has lost, leav
ing behind the wreck of a plurality of
voters, it is slowly becoming time to
take stock: what is going to happen to our
country, now that Trump, more than the
Republicans, has won? I say more than the
Republicans' because he ran almost as a
thirdparty candidate, eschewing the tradi
tional Republicans like Romney and the
Bush family; making his sentiments against
Ryan clear; and espousing policies, some of
which are way to the right of the party.
To be sure, now that he is the President
Elect, the Republicans are themselves lining
up behind him, as they should. The question
is: will the party now be molded by Donald
Trump, or will it make him into a "proper
Republican"?
And what about all those millions of
Demo crats who outnumbered the
Republican voters by over a million in
final tally and have literally nothing to
show for it? They do not have majorities in
the Senate, nor in the House. Will they just
helplessly stand by as Trump deports mil
lions of undocumented Latinos, breaking up
families in the process; makes immigration
of Muslims unfairly tough by elaborate vet
t ing pro cesses; rips the heart out of
Affordable Healthcare; and tries to imprison
Hillary Clinton?
As Hillary herself has said, let's give

Two women hold hands as they attend a


protest against Donald Trump's presidential
election victory near the Trump Tower in
Manhattan on Nov. 13. (Photos: IANS)
Donald Trump a chance. Now that we elect
ed him our president (yes, we Democrats are
bound by the nation's Democratic process
just as the Republicans are), let's receive him
with an open mind. The immediate signals
from the contenders have been pacifying.
Trump graciously acknowledged America's
lasting debt to Hillary over the past 40
years. Hopefully, as President he will not be
as vindictive as Trump the candidate was.
And then, of course, American law, in most
cases, protects everybody from unfair acts
regardless of who it is that tries to break it.
The conciliatory aftermath notwithstand
ing, we should be bracing for what is to

come. The questions I put forth in my open


ing paragraph have all to do with internal
af fairs. There are a whole slew of foreign
affairs issues that need attention: ISIS being
only the most popular, but not necessarily
the most immanent, if only because the US
strategy of driving them out of Iraq seems to
be gradually succeeding. NATO bears watch
ing, as does the relationship between the
United States and China and Putin's Russia;
and, then, of course, there is always Mexico
paying for the Wall. All these are of crucial
importance to our country, outweighing the
disappointment Democrats feel.
While I am on this subject, I truly believe
that there isn't much point in supporters of
Hillary Clinton rioting in the streets. The
election was won fair and square whether
we like it or not. It is far more important for
Democrats to regroup, and work toward the
midterm elections, to get more Democrats
in the Congress, something we failed to do
enough. That's what will bring about change,
not disturbing public peace.
Finally, what about the fact that Hillary
Clinton lost the presidency to the Electoral
College, even though she won a million more
votes than Donald Trump? Should there be a
national conversation about this? After all
this is the fifth time such a thing has hap
pened. Now, five times in 232 years doesn't
sound too frequent; but this has happened
twice since 2000. I was talking to a taxi driv
er who voted for Clinton and said he just

didn't understand this Electoral College


business. "Why don't we elect our president
by popular vote only?
The answer, of course, lies in the fact that
we are a representative government. When
we vote for a president we are actually vot
ing for an elector selected by each states
Demo crat ic or Republican party. T he
Constitution provides for this because, ulti
mately, the framers of the Constitution felt
that the populace cannot be trusted entirely.
There needs to be a "safeguard" against the
population running wild and choosing some
body simply because he is popular. (In fact,
this is precisely what some of the traditional
Republicans said about Trump when he won
the primaries that he isn't fit to govern).
Some of my Indian American friends felt
that the Indian system of parliamentary
democracy is better where citizens choose
the party which would govern through pop
ular votes.
True, but there the people do not choose
the prime minister. It is the party in power
that chooses. So, it is similar. In my opinion,
the Electoral College should stay. The
Democrats and Hillary Clinton lost primarily
because of faulty election strategies losing
states like Wisconsin, Michig an and
Pennsylvania. Not because of the Electoral
College.

The writer is a regular contributor to our


oped columns.

Inclusion of minorities must for President Trumps success


l By Chandra K. Mittal, PhD
onald Trumps election has made many people express
gloom, disappointment, uncertainty, fear, insecurity,
alienation and anxiety. The migrant community, reli
gious minorities particularly, have feared some type of
reprisal or backlash, which could af fect their livelihood,
careers, families, etc. These reactions are primarily rooted in
the highly polarizing and divisive election rhetoric of the can
didate Trump that demonized immigrants, Muslims,
Mexicans, etc. creating a negative public perception about
them. Although in his victory speech Trump did try to heal
and spoke of a united America to make it a great country, he
needs to take concrete steps and show substance behind his
words. His actions should reflect his instincts for inclusive
ness and genuineness of his intentions at the beginning of his
Presidential term to reassure minority communities. The
PresidentElect needs to reach out publicly to various
groups reflecting countrys diversity.
Unfortunately, already there are people on both sides of
American political spectrum, who are attempting to pollute
the pond, so to say. They are trying to influence the future
trajectory of America and pressure Trump to their point of
view. All this is happening weeks before inauguration day in
January.
People on the Right are urging him to strictly abide by the
conservative agenda he laid out to get elected and not at all
deviate from it. They are looking for confrontation. For exam
ple, the conservative rightwing talkradio hosts are urging
Mr. Trump not to accommodate the policies of the past lead
ership both in domestic and foreign arena, and reverse them.

Unfortunately, already there are people on both sides of


American political spectrum, who are attempting to
pollute the pond, so to say
They feel that over the past 50 years United States has gone
too liberal, leading to economic and moral decline of
America.
The liberal leftleaning groups, on the other hand, are sus
picious of Trumps intentions and are engaged in protesting
his victory and are opposed to his proposed policy direction.
AntiTrump demonstrations have broken out in several US
cities. The same has occurred at several college campuses
where the millennials do not see Trump identifying with
them in his approach to solve national challenges. Overall,
such sentiments, rhetoric and actions are creating a stereo
type among Americans us versus them. This is making
many people nervous and feeling insecure religious and
racial minorities, immigrant communities, LGBT, etc. This is

negative human spirit that is demoralizing and can lead to


social segregation. It can also generate animosity against the
majority population ultimately creating instability in society
not a pleasant situation.
Some in the immigrant communities have even talked of
leaving the country. This toxic atmosphere can also trigger
exploitation and mistreatment of the minority communities
since the socalled real owners of the country may feel
inherently entitled to repress or suppress minority communi
ty members and deny them full citizenship rights, something
the world has experienced in the past.
Despite all this, President Trump deserves a fair chance to
lead the country and succeed in his mission of making
America great again. This will, however, require the partici
pation of all Americans and tranquility among citizens
regardless of their race, religion, and ethnicity. He is elected
to take the country forward along with everyone and not just
a few. So, he will have to stay above the fray and not show
loyalty or preference for any particular group of citizens
even in the face of pressures from various quarters. It is in
the pursuit of this broad objective and achieve success that
President Trump should make a deliberate and conscious
effort to reassure minority communities that they are not
alien or marginalized group in the US but part and parcel of
it. He should take the Centrist path, actively dispel the neg
ative stereotypes created by the zealots on both sides of
political spectrum, and be openly inclusive of minorities in
both policy formulation and implementation arenas.

Dr. Chandra Mittal is Professor at Houston Community


College and CoFounder of IndoAmerican Association (IAA).

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

US Affairs

Trump vows to
immediately
deport up to 3M
undocumented
Washington: In line with his
hardline
immigration
stance,
President-elect Donald Trump has
vowed to immediately deport up to
three million undocumented immigrants, saying we are getting them
out of our country or we are going
to incarcerate.
What we are going to do is get
the people that are criminal and
have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of
these people, probably two million,
it could be even three million, we
are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,
Trump told CBS News.
But were getting them out of
our country, theyre here illegally,
the 70-year-old business tycoonturned politician said in an excerpt
released ahead of broadcast of the
interview.
During the election campaign,
Trump had warned that those countries which do not accept these illegal immigrants, he would enforce
the legal provision of stopping of
issuing of visas to people of those
countries.
There are an estimated 11 million
documented immigrants in the country. Several hundred thousand are
believed to be Indian-Americans.
The President-elect said he
would take a call on the fate of the
rest of the illegal immigrants, after
the border is secured.
After the border is secure and after everything gets normalized, were
going to make a determination on
the people that theyre talking about
who are terrific people, theyre terrific people but we are gonna make
a determination at that, Trump said.
But before we make that determination...Its very important, we
are going to secure our border, he
said in response to a question.
Trump insisted that he is determined to fulfill another campaign
promise of building a wall along
the Mexican border.
For certain areas I would, but certain areas, a wall is more appropriate, he said. Im very good at this,
its called construction, Trump said.
Since Trumps election on Tuesday
night, the realities of actually building that wall have begun to set in
and the Mexican government has
publicly reminded him that Mexico
will not pay for the wall.
Asked about the wall, Trump
transition co-chair Newt Gingrich
said the wall was a great campaign
device.

Stories: IANS/PTI

Washington: President-elect
Donald Trump on Sunday chose
Reince Priebus, the chairman of
the Republican National Committee and a loyal campaign adviser,
to be his White House chief of staff,
turning to a Washington insider
whose friendship with the House
speaker, Paul Ryan, could help
secure early legislative victories.
In selecting Priebus, Trump
passed over Stephen Bannon, a
right-wing media provocateur.
But the president-elect named
Bannon his senior counselor and
chief West Wing strategist, signaling an embrace of the fringe
ideology long advanced by Bannon and a continuing disdain for
the Republican establishment.
The dual appointments with
Bannon given top billing in the

November 19-25, 2016

15

Trump hires Priebus as chief,


but Bannon becomes story
official announcement instantly created rival centres of power
in the Trump White House.
Bannons selection demonstrated the power of grass-roots
activists who backed Trumps
candidacy. Some of them have
long traded in the conspiracy
theories and sometimes racist messages of Breitbart News,
the website that Bannon ran for
much of the last decade.
Much of the media and Democratic commentators have denounced Bannon hire as a wrong
signal to give to minorities.

Many progressives wonder now whether Bernie Sanders


would have been a better candidate against Trump.

Obama and Clinton urge Democrats


to rebuild party after election defeat
Washington: Hillary Clinton
and Barack Obama urged their
party to reflect on what went
wrong as Democrats search to find
a new leader and rebuild after her
stunning defeat to Donald Trump.

On a conference call with congressional lawmakers, Clinton


offered a raw evaluation of how
the loss has impacted her but encouraged Democrats to fight for
the partys values harder than

ever in the Trump era.


No one is sorrier than me, she
said, according to a Democrat on
the call. Heartbreaks dont heal
overnight, and this one wont.
Clinton said the party must
analyze and warned lawmakers against becoming
distracted or divided in the
many fights ahead.
Meanwhile, Obama addressed supporters on a conference call late on Monday,
congratulating Clinton on a
history-making race while
acknowledging how painful
it is to lose.
Expected losses are hard
enough, unexpected ones are
just worse, Obama said. I
was telling my team, youre
allowed to mope for a week
and a half, maybe two if you
really need it. But after that,
weve got to brush ourselves
off and get back to work.
Weve got to come together
and focus on a way ahead.

Like Clinton, Obama encouraged the party to evaluate what


went wrong and to rework its
strategy at a grassroots level.
We have better ideas, Obama
said. But they have to be heard
for us to actually translate those
ideas into votes and ultimately
into action. Also on Monday,
Clinton officially won New Hampshires four electoral college
votes by a razor-thin margin of
less than 1%. Trumps campaign
had until Monday evening to ask
for a recount but did not do so.
In the end, Clinton won 232
electoral college votes to Trumps
306, which is the only measure
that counts in determining the
outcome of a US presidential
election. Although final vote tallies are not in, Clinton is leading
the popular vote by more than
800,000 votes. Our vision for
America earned more votes
We cant afford to be is discouraged or divided. We are stronger
together, she told Democrats.

FBI Directors letter cost me the election: Hillary Clinton


Washington: Hillary Clinton
has blamed the FBI for her loss at
the hands of her Republican challenger Donald Trump, claiming the
decision to revive the probe into
her email accounts stopped her
momentum towards a historic win.
There are lots of reasons why
an election like this is not successful. Our analysis is that Comeys
letter raising doubts that were
groundless, baseless, proven to
be, stopped our momentum, Clinton told fundraisers and donors
during a conference call.
Clinton said her campaign was
winning until FBI Director James
Comey wrote a letter to the Congressional leadership that they
have reopened the investigations
into the email scandal.

Two days before the elections,


the FBI again sent a letter to the
Congressional leadership that itdid not find anything new in the
investigation that was primarily
screening of some 650,000 emails
that it found in a laptop of one of
her aide, Huma Abedin, which she
shared with her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner. The second
letter, even that gave her the clean
chit, hit her more as this energized
Trumps supporters. Although she
got more popular votes, Trump was
declared the winner as he grabbed
more than 270 electoral college
votes, required to win the presidential elections, said the 69-yearold former Secretary of State.
We dropped, and we had to
keep really pushing to regain our

advantage, which going into last


weekend we had, she said.
We were once again up in all but
two of the battleground states, and
we were up considerably in some
that we ended up losing. And we
were feeling like we had to put it
back together, Clinton said.
In an internal campaign memo,
Clintons campaign manager Robby Mook claimed that the former
Secretary of State was poised to
win the elections, but the two letters from FBI changed the scenario.
There is no question that a
week before the Election Day,
Secretary Clinton was poised for a
historic win. In the end, less than
110K votes out of tens of millions
cast on Election Day made the
difference in the race, Mook said.

He also appeared to blame the


third party candidate.
It is worth mentioning that
Jill Stein alone got 130K votes
in those States - and though her
votes dont distribute perfectly to
cover the margin across the three
States, it is an important reminder of third party votes, he said.

James Comey, FBI Director

16

November 19-25, 2016

profile

Trump Hotel Las Vegas whose exterior


windows are gilded with 24-karat gold.
Everything in his life was great and successful.

By SATimes Team
A real estate mogul, businessman, pageant owner, reality TV star Donald Trumps
election as the 45th president of the United
States of America came as a shock to many.
Skepticism over Trumps candidacy
stemmed not only from his controversial
platform on immigration and outrageous
campaign style, but from his celebrity past.
But the septuagenarian had the last
laugh when he defied all predictions to
beat much more seasoned politicians in the
Republican primary race.
On the road to securing an historic win,
Trump promoted himself as the ultimate success story. He dated beautiful women, married three of them (including current wife
and former model Melania), had his own television reality show and erected skyscrapers
that bore his name in big gold letters.
Everything in his life was great and successful. His critics however assailed his experiences with bankruptcies, the failures of
his Atlantic City casinos in New Jersey and
what they viewed as the misplaced pride he
showed when presented with evidence he
avoided paying taxes.

Donald J. Trump - From business


baron to President of America

Defying outsized odds, the colorful realty and reality stars dogged determination
has led him to the most powerful office on earth.
Born in the New York City borough of
Queens in 1946, Trump was the fourth of
five children of Fred Trump, who would
become one of the citys biggest developers and landlords. It was Fred Trump who
taught Donald the value of self-promotion
and a killer instinct.
Not an easy child, Trump says his parents
sent him to the New York Military Academy in the eighth grade in hopes of instilling needed discipline. Through student and
medical deferments during the Vietnam War,
Trump would never serve in the US military.
After graduating from the University of
Pennsylvania, Trump went to work for his
fathers company which owned an estimated
15,000 apartments. Charged with racial bias
in their rental practices in 1973, the Trumps
reached a settlement with the US government.

Trump says he got into real estate with a


small $1million loan from his father before
joining his company. He helped manage his fathers extensive portfolio of residential housing projects in the New York City boroughs,
and took control of the company - which he
renamed the Trump Organization - in 1971.
Trump eventually went into business
himself in Manhattan with a $1 million loan
from his father. He became a regular at
some of the citys most exclusive clubs and
developed a reputation as a ladies man.
Soon, he made his mark with a series
of real estate and development deals. He
opened his flagship, 58-storey Trump Tower in Manhattan, in 1983 which serves as
both his primary residence and Trump Organization headquarters.
Trumps projects had mixed success. His

failures included the real estate-oriented


Trump University, Trump Mortgage, Trump
Airlines and Trump Vodka but it was his experience with four casinos in Atlantic City that
dented the reputation of his empire the most.
Trump had claimed he had a fortune of
$10 billion but in September, Forbes magazine estimated it at $3.7 billion, making
him the 156th richest American.
Trump has been married three times,
though his most famous wife was his first Ivana Zelnickova, a Czech athlete and model. The couple had three children - Donald
Jr, Ivanka and Eric - before they filed for
divorce in 1990. The ensuing court battle
made for numerous stories in the tabloid
press. Those stories included allegations
that Trump was abusive towards Ivana,
though she later downplayed the incidents.

Trumps family played a key role in his campaign victory, and are expected to
continue to be his formal or informal advisers during his presidency. (from left)
Tiffany, Donald Jr, Melania (to be First Lady), Donald Trump, Ivanka and Eric.

profile

With President Ronald Reagan in 1987. Trump had toyed with the idea of
running for president earlier too, but jumped into the fray only in 2015.
He married actress Marla Maples in 1993.
They had a daughter named Tiffany together before divorcing in 1999. He married his
current wife Melania Knauss, a model, in
2005, and the couple have one son, Barron
William Trump. His children from his first
marriage now help run Trump Organization,
though he is still chief executive.
The jump between business and politics
has never been grand, and Trump flirted
with the idea of several political candidacies from the 1980s onwards.
For two decades from 1988, the property mogul drifted between the Democrats
and the Republicans but finally settled
on the latter after the election of current
President Barack Obama, towards whom he
quickly established a vicious enmity.
After 2008, he became one of the most
outspoken members of the birther movement, which questioned whether Barack

Obama was born in the US. Those claims


have been thoroughly debunked; Mr Obama
was born in Hawaii. Mr Trump finally admitted there was no truth in the claims during the presidential race, although, characteristically, there was no apology.
It was not until June 2015 that Mr Trump
formally announced his entry into the race
for the White House.
We need somebody that literally will take
this country and make it great again. We can
do that, he said in his announcement speech,
promising that as a candidate with no need
to fundraise he answered to no special interests and was the perfect outsider candidate.
Under the banner Make America Great
Again, Trump ran a controversial campaign
built on promises to strengthen the American
economy, build a wall on the border with Mexico, and to temporarily ban immigration by
Muslims until our countrys representatives

November 19-25, 2016

17

Despite long acrimony between the two, President Obama


has promised smooth transition.
can figure out what is going on.
Despite massive protests at his campaign
events and the best efforts of his Republican
rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, Trump became the presumptive Republican party nominee for president after the Indiana primary.
Trumps run at the presidency marked
an ascent that has defied expectation from
political analysts, the media, and rivals in
both major US parties alike.
Trump survived not only the fallout from
his populist rhetorical outbursts during the
campaign but also revelations dating back
decades involving racism, sexual harassment,
tax avoidance, among other accusations.
Even though most polls gave his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton a slight edge,
Trump won because he had the backing of
large swaths of the country, for whom he the self-proclaimed outsider - is a voice of
protest against the establishment.

They turned out in enough numbers, especially in key swing states, and brought about
the biggest political shock in recent memory.
He took inspiration from the successful campaign to get Britain out of the European Union,
saying he would pull off Brexit times 10.
It was something few pundits believed
would happen as polling day approached,
despite his campaign receiving a late boost
from fresh controversy over an FBI investigation into his opponents emails.
As his stunning victory was still sinking
in across the US, his supporters got the
chance to see him in the Oval Office when
he and President Obama met for transition
talks two days after election day.
He will be the first US president never
to have held elected office or served in the
military, meaning that he has already made
history before he is sworn in as Americas
45th president in January.

Melania and Donald Trump with Senate majority leader


Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill in Washington this week.

18

November 19-25, 2016

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Not okay with just one country,


want the world: Priyanka
ctress Priyanka Chopra is not
ready to slow down despite being
caught up in the midst of juggling
between her work in India and the US.
She says her aim is to work around
the world, and not just one coun
try.
"I'm still doing it (Bollywood).
Two continents. I'm not okay
with just one country. I want
the world," Priyanka said
during an appearance on
talk show "The View".
The actress is busy
shooting for the second
season of American TV
show "Quantico".
Priyanka, who was
seen essaying an FBI

The actress will also


make her Hollywood
debut in a negative
role in "Baywatch".

'Padmavati' will be
very tough, but I'm
ready: Deepika

agent named Alex Parrish in the first


season of the American drama series, is
now portraying a CIA agent in its second
season, which airs in India on Star World
and Star World HD.
The former beauty queen, who has
garnered applause for her cinematic
judgments with films like "Fashion" and
"Mary Kom", also shared that deciding to
be away from India to come and work in
the US was tough.
She said: "Leaving my country and
coming to completely different country,
that's always difficult. I'm alone, my fam
ily is not here, my friends are not here,
though my cast always tries to make me
feel really comfortable whenever, we
have Diwali or any of our holidays. They
always try and make it really festive for
me. "Their hair and makeup trailer is
decorated, because everyone knows I am
away from home. But that was hard and
television is a huge commitment. So, you
know leaving your country, coming here,

I wasn't sure."
She will also make her Hollywood
debut in a negative role in "Baywatch"
the big screen version of the globally
popular TV series featuring Dwayne
Johnson and Zac Efron.
The actress says there is a massive
frenzy in India for "Baywatch".
"It was massive in India. I think more
than David Hasselhof, everyone knew
who Pamela Anderson was. Definitely
did! And the show, people loved watch
ing the show. I guess it was the represen
tation of the great American dream at
that time. It was in the 1980s or the
1990s.
"I don't think people around the world
ever put it down. I find it amazing, ever
since I have been talking about
'Baywatch' in America, people have been
like It's cheesy, whatever'. But around
the world people love that show, I actual
ly really liked it. I watch reruns," she
said.

Bollywood gives a thumbs up


to demonetization move

Deepika has her plate full with some top notch


Bollywood and Hollywood projects.

ctress Deepika Padukone, who has completed


nine years in Bollywood, feels she has just
started in the film industry and says she is
ready for bigger challenges like "Padmavati".
"I don't feel like I have completed nine years. I feel
like I have just started off. I feel like I have a lot
more to give. I feel like I am ready for even more
challenging roles and films. And I am excited about
one of those experiences because 'Padmavati' is
going to be extremely difficult," Deepika said.
"But I think I'm ready for that experience and that
journey," Deepika added, speaking at the red carpet
for Lux Golden Rose Awards.
The "Bajirao Mastani" star was also happy to talk
about her debut film "Om Shanti Om" being made
into a Japanese musical.
"They are making it into a play and the Japanese
people loved Shantipriya (her role in the movie). The
premiere of the musical is going to be in July next
year. Most probably, Farah Khan and I would be
going together for that," she said.

he
demone
tization
move by Prime
Minister
Narendra Modi
took the coun
try by surprise,
but a large sec
tion, including
the Hindi film
industry, endors
es the brave deci
sion, says a
Firstpost report.
Aamir Khan,
whose film
Dangal is all set
to hit the theaters
this December,
stated that he
would not mind if
the business of his
film gets affected
by demonetization as he is looking at
the larger picture. ''During such situa
tions, we should think about what is
good for the country. People are facing
some issues, but we should focus more
on the longterm benefits of this drive.
Even if this drive affects the business
of my film, I would have no issues with
it," he said. While Khan's film is slated
to release a month later, it is John
Abraham's film Force 2 which hits the
theaters this Friday. However, he also
endorsed the PM's move and hoped
that his film does not get affected by
the impact of demonetization. As per a
report by Glamsham.com, he said, "I
hope Rock On 2 does well. Even if

PM Modi took the radical monetary step on November 8.


demonetization affects the box office
business, it will last only till the imme
diate weekend as the banks and ATMs
are not functioning properly. But I
hope everything is fine when Force 2
releases on 18 November."
Arjun Rampal, who is a part of Rock
On 2, admitted that his film felt the
brunt of demonetization but he looks
it as a casualty in the longdrawn war
against black money.
According to an Indian Express
report, he said, "The move is good for
the future. Rock On 2 has sacrificed
its profit for a larger cause.
Demonetization will ward off several
evils like terrorism and drug smug

gling." Shahid Kapoor echoed the same


view according to a report by
Bollywood Spy. "I think it is too early
to say anything as there are a lot of
practicalities involved. But if it is able
to curb the issue of black money and
fake money, then it is a bold move.
When the corruption is so widespread
and rampant, such a bold move
becomes essential."
Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai had
also lauded the decision of the ruling
party. While Khan said that he will get
his currency notes exchanged,
Aishwarya also dubbed demonetiza
tion as a brave move in the longterm
war against black money.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD

November 19-25, 2016

19

Films have become easy 'Befikre' to premiere


at Dubai film fest
target: Farhan Akhtar
A
ctorfilmmaker
easy target to
Farhan Akhtar
create eyeballs
says movies have
because you are
become easy targets for
taking on a real
people who want to
ly popular per
grab eyeballs.
son with noth
Time and again, peo
ing to lose. I do
ple, organizations and
feel the govern
groups raise their voice
ment is the one
against films and makers
who gives
of movies that may touch
clearance to
upon issues deemed con
release your
troversial by them.
film, so it's
Whether it's trouble with
also at some
the censor board or by
level has a
way of petitions from indi
duty to pro
viduals, this has become
tect you," he
rampant over the years.
added.
ya.
Asked about what has
Farhan, who
Hai and Laksh
s like Dil Chahta
m
fil
ed
ct
re
changed about the film
has
directed
di
s
Farhan ha
industry, Farhan said: "It
films like "Dil Chahta Hai", "Don"
depends from film to film. As cre Broadcasting says. Their
and "Lakshya", has featured in
requests and recommendations
ative people, we will abide by
"Rock On 2". He says he is happy
are served to us through censor
whatever the Ministry of
with the kind of scripts he is get
board. "Films can become an
Information &
ting as an actor.

Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor at the trailer launch of "Befikre".

Manoj Bajpayee
yearns for
'crisp acting'

Manojs next is a hilarious take on relationships.

ctor Manoj Bajpayee, currently lauded for his


act in the short film "Ouch", says he yearns for
crisp acting and likes to challenge himself
with different roles.
In "Ouch", he plays a middleaged man caught
between the domestic pull of his family life and the
lure of the forbidden.
Talking about the kind of roles that interest him,
Manoj said in a statement: "Crisp acting is some
thing I yearn for and I like to challenge myself with
different roles that demand different things from
me." "It makes me work towards being more versa
tile and cross my last mark. I have been very blessed
that I have been able to do what I have stated above
and have been receiving so much love for it."
Manoj was honored with the Best Actor award for
his performance in the short film "Taandav" at the
Flamingo Film festival earlier this year. He also
received Best Actor award for "Ouch", directed by
Neeraj Pandey, at the Delhi Shorts International Film
Festival.

Awards don't define a person's


acting talent: Taapsee
ctress Taapsee Pannu says
awards don't define act
ing talent of a person.
Taapsee won the title of
Rising star of the Year at
the Lux Golden Rose
Awards in Mumbai.
How did the "Pink"
actress feel after win
ning the award?
Taapsee said in a state
ment: "Awards definite
ly don't define acting
Taapsee Pannu was last
talent of a person. It's
seen on the big
not the final word about
screen in Pink.
how good or bad you
are at your work, but it just assures you that some
other people, apart from you, believe you are good
at what you do." "Feels nice to know that my work
has been noticed and appreciated in this big indus
try of ours where there is no dearth of talent."

ditya Chopra's directorial


"Befikre" will have its
world premiere at the 13th
edition of the Dubai
International Film Festival (DIFF)
next month.
The Ranveer Singh and Vaani
Kapoor starrer romantic comedy,
will premiere on December 8.
Shot widely in Paris, "Befikre" is
a progressive, fresh interpreta
tion of love as viewed in the 21st
century.
"The world premiere of the
eagerly anticipated 'Befikre'
from Yash Raj Films and directed
by the incredibly talented Aditya
Chopra following a hiatus of
seven years is a major scoop for
DIFF," Abdulhamid Juma, DIFF
chairman, said in a statement.
"This refreshing new film will
appeal not just to the expatriate
community but also to Arabs

who have a strong affinity for


Bollywood films," Juma added.
"Befikre" is a freespirited, con
temporary love story of Dharam
(Ranveer) and Shyra (Vaani),
who find love in an impulsive,
engaging series of experiences.
Nelson D'souza, Yash Raj Films,
Head of Operations MENA said:
"Yash Raj Films and DIFF have a
long history and we're privileged
and honored to have been a part
of this remarkable journey with
DIFF from the beginning. We're
delighted that the Festival has
selected 'Befikre' as it is a film
very close to our hearts."
Past editions of DIFF have
screened Yash Raj Films's pro
ductions like "Kabul Express",
"Rocket Singh: Salesman of the
Year" and "Ladies vs Ricky Bahl".
The festival will be held from
December 714.

It's a great time to take risks in Bollywood: Sonakshi


onakshi Sinha, who feels the lines
of gender divide in Bollywood are
fast fading, says this is a great
time for female actors to take risks
with new characters and stories.
From Sonakshi who was recently
seen in an action avatar in "Akira" to
Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Deepika
Padukone to Anushka Sharma...
Bollywood's women brigade is seen
exploring new cinematic zones with
each of their projects.
"If there is any time to take risk, it is
now with films, filmmaking and charac
ters, because we never know what
clicks with the audience. And every

The actress will be doing some heavy


duty action scenes in "Force 2".

time you give them something dif fer


ent, they accept it and lap it up,"
Sonakshi said.
The 29yearold actress feels the gen
der scale of the industry will find a bal
ance soon.
"It is a very good time to be a girl in
the industry because they are making
characters for women. Roles keeping
women in mind, and scripts are being
written for women. So, I feel that way it
is definitely on a rise," she said.
The actress will be doing some heavy
duty action scenes as a RAW agent in
"Force 2", and then will be seen as a
journalist in "Noor".
Sonakshi says the fact that the proj
ects are diverse, gives her professional
satisfaction.

20

November 19-25, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

INDIA FEATURES

Why 10 mn Indian women secretly


undergo abortions every year
A family planning program and budget skewed towards sterilization
leaves one in five women with an unmet need for contraception in India,
according to the District Level Household and Facility Survey 2007-08.
By Charu Bahri

n 2008, Arti Chauhan (name changed to protect identity),


mother of a 12yearold girl, a 9yearold boy and a 6year
old girl, became aware that two pills mifepristone and
misoprostol could induce an abortion, a procedure she con
sidered when she got pregnant when her boy was just a year
old. Chauhan, 28, wife of a daily wager in Rajasthan's Sirohi
district, did not want another child so soon.
"A neighbor told me about the medicine," she said. "I bought
it from the medical store for Rs 500. I aborted in 10 days. It
was easy. It was much cheaper than having to pay for a surgi
cal abortion." Three years earlier, Chauhan had paid Rs 2,000
to a private doctor in Abu Road for a surgical abortion.
Chauhan's story is echoed across India: Millions of women
become pregnant because they lack access to contraceptive
devices to limit or space their families, or are ignorant about
them. More than 10 million women terminate their pregnan
cies in the privacy of their homes, reflecting the government's
failure to adequately address family planning needs, endan
gering mothers and keeping India more populated than it
might be if women had access to, and knowledge of, contra
ceptives.
A family planning program and budget skewed towards
sterilization leaves one in five women with an unmet need for
contraception in India, according to the District Level
Household and Facility Survey 200708.
Eliminating all unwanted births by adequately meeting the

need for contraceptives would reduce India's total fertility


rate below the replacement level a stage where the popula
tion neither increases nor decreases of 2.1.
India's fertility rate is currently 2.3, but if women were pro
vided contraceptive devices and guaranteed safe abortions,
the fertility rate could fall to 1.9 (the same as US, Australia
and Sweden), according to a National Family Health Survey
estimate.
"If the government adequately focuses on preventing
unwanted births and on empowering women to make the
right decisions, India's population could actually start falling,"
said Poonam Muttreja, executive director, The Population
Foundation of India, an NGO working on population issues.
After the birth of her third child a girl she did not want
the Chauhans wanted a second boy. A neighbor suggested
contraception. "Then I started using MalaD," she said.
Otherwise, she would be repeatedly popping pills to termi
nate unwanted pregnancies, with likely complications such as
severe abdominal or back pain, heavy bleeding with clotting,
cramps, fever, vomiting, nausea, foulsmelling discharge, per
foration and injury.
An estimated 2 to 5 per cent Indian women require surgical
intervention to resolve an incomplete abortion, terminate a
continuing pregnancy, or control bleeding, according to WHO.
The taking of pills to induce an abortion enters the national
data as no more than pharmaceutical industry sales data.
"Most of India's unreported abortions are not to terminate
unwanted teenage or singlewomen pregnancies," said

Muttreja. "Medical abortion has become a proxy contraceptive


for married women from socially and economically less privi
leged households."
Against 0.7 million reported annual abortions, India logged
sales of 11 million units of popular abortion medicines,
mifepristone and misoprostol, according to Lancet, a global
medical journal.
At present, Indians have a choice of five stateprovisioned
contraceptive methods condoms, combined oral pills, intra
uterine devices, male and female sterilisation and starting in
March 2016 in Haryana, the first state to implement a new
government directive, an injectable contraceptive.
Surgical abortion was legalised in India with the advent of
the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971,
marking a major step forward for Indian women. "Abortions
by quacks were putting women at great risk," said Suneeta
Mittal, Director and Head, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Fortis
Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon.
Until the legalisation of mifepristone and misoprostol in
2002, no more than 6 per cent of primary health centres and
31 per cent of larger community health centres nationwide
offered safe abortion services. Now, women can pop pills in
the privacy of their home.
"Medicine eliminates the cost and risk surrounding hospital
admission, anaesthesia and surgery; and it offers more priva
cy than a surgical abortion," said Mangala Ramachandra,
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Fortis
Hospitals, Bengaluru.

GROUNDWATER CRISIS:
Water levels fall in 65% wells in a decade
By Charu Bahri
arely three per cent wells reg
istered a rise in water level
exceeding four meters in
2015, according to a Central
Ground Water Board (CGWB)
report. Only 35 per cent of wells
showed any rise in water level,
which declined in over 64 per cent
of wells. Average water levels in
January 2016 were lower than the
average water level between 2006
and 2015.
Behind the trend of falling water
levels is India's 251 cubic kilometer
(cu km) annual groundwater extrac
tion rate equivalent to 26 times
the water stored in the Bhakra Dam
making the country the world's
biggest consumer of groundwater,
according to a 2012 Unesco report.
With annual extraction rates of 112
cu km, China and the US tie at a dis
tant second.
Over ninetenths of groundwater
is extracted for irrigation, according
to the Ground Water Year Book for
201415 released by the CGWB,
underscoring India's dependence
on groundwater for irrigation it
provides water for 60 per cent of
the irrigated area. Over the last

Groundwater should be consid


ered a community resource and
not belonging to the owner of the
land, suggests Rajendra Singh, the
renowned water conservationist
from Alwar, Rajasthan.
four decades when India commis
sioned roughly half of its 50 biggest
dams around 84 per cent of the
total addition to the net irrigated
area has come from groundwater.
A wellrecharging project imple
mented by the Jal Bhagirathi
Foundation (JBF), a Jodhpurbased
notforprofit, enabled farmer
Mahaveer Singh of T humbo ka
Golia village to switch from grow
ing only castor oil to chillies, veg
etables and, of late, Thai apple ber;
his income grew by 40 per cent and
could increase by 250 per cent if
the berries yield the return Singh
expects. "Now my well yields the
same water flow even in the sum
mer months," Singh told

IndiaSpend. "Now the water is


sweet, earlier it was salty," he
added, referring to the improved
quality of water.
In contrast, the average farmer in
Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana
faces the prospect of having no
groundwater left for irrigation by
2025. T he problem and the
advantage with groundwater is its
decentralized access. A license is all
you need to sink a well on owned
land
and
extract
water.
Consequently, India has an estimat
ed 30 million groundwater struc
tures. In Punjab, Rajasthan and
Haryana, groundwater extraction
exceeds the rate at which it is being
replenished through rainfall, back
flows from irrigation and seepage
from canals, other water bodies and
conservation structures. A license
does not prevent groundwater
exploitation, and instead breeds
corruption within the system, said
Rajendra Singh, a water conserva
tionist from Alwar, in Rajasthan.
"We cannot police 30 million
groundwater structures," said the
July 2016 government report,
instead suggesting that groundwa
ter be recognized as a "common
pool resource", which means that it

be considered a community
resource and not a resource belong
ing to the owner of the land. The
report also suggested that the gov
ernment promote "communitydriv
en decentralized water manage
ment".
Local stakeholders are best posi
tioned to police the use of water,
and they are more likely to do so
honestly because their lives depend
on its availability.
"Communitydriven decentralized
water management was the norm in
India until about 100 years ago,
prior to the development of the
modern canalbased flood irrigation
system and extraction technology,"
said Singh.
Through his NGO Tarun Bharat
Sangh, Singh has actively promoted
communitydriven decentralized
management of natural resources,
including wells around the river
Arvari in Rajasthan.
"We have created Neer Nari
Panchayats to monitor well with
drawals. They don't allow the water
table to fall beyond a certain level,
so that even the poorest people
who rely on shallow wells are not
disadvantaged," he explained.
Mazhapolima, a communitydriv

en project to recharge wells in


Thrissur, has made life easier for
thousands, including the family of
Madhavan Ramadas, 42, a banana
and coconut farmer. A good 75 per
cent of T hrissur's population
depends on about 4.5 lakh open
wells for their water needs. Up until
2008, summers were a nightmare
for the Ramadas family.
"Water shortages were the norm
as our well used to run dry by
April," Ramadas said. "Seventy per
cent of wells in Thrissur would dry
up during summer."
In 2008, Ramadas signed up for
Mazhapolima, which involved set
ting up a system to harvest and
channel rainwater to recharge his
family's open well. As a result, in
2009, the family had suf ficient
water to last through April. A year
later, the well water lasted until
May, and by 2010, summer water
shortages were a thing of the past.
Mazhapolima has increased the
groundwater potential in a coastal
area covering 7.6 sq km by 43.35
million litres, as well as improved
the quality of water, he added.
Both features by IANS in arrange
ment with IndiaSpend.org, a public
interest journalism platform.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

November 19-25, 2016

DIASPORA

21

Engineer sold as slave in Saudi returns home, courtesy MEA


Kolkatta: Jayanta Biswas, the young auto
mobile engineer who was sold as a slave to
a Saudi Arabian man soon after landing in
the country after being conned with a
lucrative job of fer, returned to India on
Tuesday. He has put up at his brothers
place in Mumbai and reached Naihati
home in North 24Parg anas on
Wednesday.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Jayanta
said, I took an AirIndia flight from Riyadh
this morning and reached Mumbai at
around 2pm.I was not sure about return
ing home till late last night, Jayanta said
before revealing the finalhour ordeal he
went through in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Jayantas brother Uttam Biswas thanked
the government and the Indian high com
mission in Riyadh for their utmost coop
eration in getting his brother freed. The

Family of Jayanta had written to MEA and


Sushma Swaraj seeking his safe return
Biswas family had appealed to external
af fairs minister Sushma Swaraj for her
personal intervention in the matter recent

ly and she pursued our case earnestly,


Uttam said.
Incidentally, the ministry shifted to top
gear in getting Jayanta back home soon
after his story was published in Hindustan
Times Kolkata edition on November 8.
Jayanta had escaped his master (kafeel)
Naief Bookmes home and was staying
with a friend in Riyadh, even as he appre
hended that his master would raid the
place anytime and take him away.
An of ficial of the Indian mission in
Riyadh assured us on Monday evening that
they would arrange Jayantas return with
the help of an NGO. He would just have to
collect an emergency certificate from the
high commission to leave the country, the
official said and added that Jayanta would
be boarding a flight from Dammam, a city
500 km from Riyadh, on Tuesday morn

Dubai social worker in Guinness


record for collecting stationery
Dubai: A Dubaibased Indian
so cial worker, Venkatramam
Krishnamoorthy, has set a
Guinness world record by collect
ing the largest amount of sta
tionery for charity in 24 hours.
He received 10,975 kg of sta
tionery from schools, corporates
and individuals last month in an
attempt to help one lakh refugee
children around the world.
The donations included around
50,000 notebooks, 3 lakh pencils
and 2,000 school bags along with
items like crayons, pencil sharp
eners, scissors. Four hundred vol
unteers joined hands for the mis
sion at Dubai's Al Diyafah School.
T he Emirates Red Crescent
organization would be delivering
it to the refugee camps.
"Joyful giving is the motto of
this mission. It's all about bring

Venkatramam
Krishnamoorthy
collected
record 10,975
kg of stationery
to help refugee
kids around
the world.

(Image:
khaleejtimes.
com)
ing smiles on the faces of needy
children around the world,"
Krishnamoorthy said.
T he 57yearold chartered
accountant was born in Tamil
Nadu's Tirunelvelli. He has been
living in Dubai since 1992. His
nonprofit
init iat ive

'educat ion4all' collects used


books and toys for its school
library projects in India and
African countries, helping chil
dren in remote areas.
The previous Guinness record in
this category received 4,571 kg in
2015, in Saudi Arabia.

NRIs in UK will get help to deposit banned notes: Indian envoy


New Delhi: The government is
looking at ways to help NRIs who
may possess some banned cur
rency notes so that they can
deposit them at a branch of an
Indian bank overseas, India's act
ing high commissioner to the UK
said. "Our endeavor is to help
everybody. We have asked New
Delhi about it (any banned notes
with NRIs). I have a feeling we
will work out something so that
people who have carried certain

amount of cash in their pocket,


should be able to deposit it in any
Indian bank abroad," Dinesh
Patnaik said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
had announced a ban on Rs. 500
and Rs. 1,000 notes as part of an
anticorruption drive earlier this
week, giving Indians the option to
exchange them at banks across
India until December 30.
The Indian envoy highlighted
that under currency rules, people

are allowed to carry only less


than Rs. 10,000 when leaving
India.
"Basically, it means people
abroad should not have more
than that. Also, not everybody will
have an account with an Indian
bank either they will have to
open one or find an alternative.
So, it is something we will have to
look at very closely.
"There is a lot of time, until
December 30," he said. (PTI)

ing, Uttam said.


However, the situation changed dramati
cally within an hour.
Jayantas master Naie f arrived at
Jayantas friends place and started beat
ing him up. He then took away the battery
of his mobile phone and the SIM and mem
ory cards before dragging him away and
speeding off in his car with him.
He took me to Riyadh airport, abusing
me all the while during the journey, hand
ed over a plane ticket and threatened me
to leave the country on the flight, without
creating any further trouble for him,
Jayanta said. But I was penniless, and
clueless about how to contact my family.
Finally, I took the flight and reached
Mumbai airport from where I took a taxi to
reach my brothers home. He paid the taxi
(Source: Hindustan Times)
fare.

UK teen commits
suicide allegedly
after bullying
London: A 15yearold Indianorigin
boy hanged himself to death alleged
ly after being bullied in a school in
the city of Leicester in the East
Midlands region of England.
Brandon Singh Rayat died in
August but his mother, Mina Rayat,
decided to speak out on Monday at
the start of National AntiBullying
Week.
"I begged doctors to hospitalize
him because it was all too much. I
told them he wanted to kill himself,"
she told 'Leicester Mercury' newspa
per.
Although Brandon received help,
he was never detained. His anxiety
got worse so that it became a com
plete phobia. He wouldn't leave the
house in case he bumped into any
one from school," the 44yearold
added.
A full inquest into the teenager's
death will take place in January.
He was found hanging in his bed
room with a scarf on August 9, after
several failed suicide attempts
including drinking bleach as well as
slashing his wrists.
The teenager became suicidal after
his schoolmates started calling him a
"paedo" and a "faggot" as part of pro
longed cyber attacks.
He
stopped
attending
Judgemeadow Community College in

Brandon Singh Rayat


(Image courtesy: thesun.co.uk)
Leicester last November.
Mina, a hair and beauty therapist
who lives with her 41yearold hus
band Raj, a shop worker, said: "We
feel totally let down, by both the
school and by the doctors. Those
boys who were his friends once have
killed him. They have taken his life
away and they have ruined our lives.
There is a hole left in our hearts and
there was no need for it. He deserved
better treatment. I wouldn't want
any other parent to go through what
(PTI)
I've been through."

22

November 19-25, 2016

Hundreds of people take


arms against Afghan Taliban
Kabul: Hundreds of Afghan
people have taken up arms
against Taliban in the north
ern Jowzjan province after the
fundamentalist rebel group
intensified its armed activities
in the neighboring Saripul and
Faryab provinces. "Several
hundred people gathered in
Faizabad district of Jowzjan
province this afternoon and
vowed to support government
forces in the war ag ainst
Taliban rebels," Xinhua news
Civilians took up arms to defend the govt against
agency quoted a progovern
Taliban in Jowzjan.
ment armed man as saying. He
said the people have bought arms and insurgents to either lay down arms or
ammunition with their own money to face dire consequences of the people's
fight Taliban insurgents, and "the reme wrath. Taliban militants in their recent
dy to eliminate Taliban rebels is mobiliz onslaught have captured some villages in
ing people against the hardliner group parts of Faizabad and Ghormach district
and have set ablaze several houses,
and backing government forces".
Taliban militants fighting the govern according to locals.
Even scores of women have taken up
ment to regain power, according to
locals, have killed innocent civilians, arms in parts of Jowzjan province to
destroyed schools and ruined health clin fight the Taliban over the past couple of
ics. "We have been fed up with the months. The armed rebel group in its lat
Taliban's harsh interpretation of Islam est offensive against government inter
and their despotic policies," another pro ests launched coordinated attacks in the
government armed commander, Sahib southern part of Jowzjan's neighboring
Khan, told Xinhua. He warned the armed Saripul province, triggering fighting.

Pakistan says 7 soldiers


killed on LoC

Islamabad: Pakistan said that seven of its sol


diers were killed in firing by Indian troops
along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and
Kashmir, and termed it a "threat to peace". The
Indian High Commissioner was also sum
moned. "Seven soldiers embraced 'shahadat' at
the LoC in Bhimber sector in crossfire LoC vio
lation by Indian troops," said a statement by
InterServices Public Relations, the Pakistani
army's media wing.
The LoC divides the Indian and Pakistan
parts of Kashmir.
It said Pakistani troops responded to India's
"unprovoked firing" and "targeted Indian posts
ef fectively". Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz
Chaudhry
summoned
Indian
High
Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to "con
demn the unprovoked ceasefire violation by the
Indian occupation forces on the LoC," a Foreign

Bangladesh takes delivery of


two submarines from China
Dhaka: Bangladesh took delivery
of two Ming class submarines,
bought from China, as it seeks to
boost its naval power in the Bay
of Bengal.
Bangladesh navy chief Admiral
Nizamuddin Ahmed received the
submarines during a ceremony
at Liao Nan Shipyard in Liaoning
province's Dalian city, according
to an Inter Services Public
Relation Directorate release, the
Dhaka Tribune reported.
T he type 035G class sub
marines will become part of the
country's naval fleet at the begin
ning of next year. T he sub
marines w ill be named BNS
Nabajatra and BNS Joy jatra
respectively.
Bangladesh is reported to have
paid over $203 million for the
two submarines.
Bangladesh had ordered the
two boats from China in 2013.
The Bangladesh Navy was origi
nally keen on buying S 20 and
Type 039 Song class submarine,
which costs $250 million per
boat, but decided on the Ming
class submarines due to budget
limitation.
The Ming class submarine is
developed from Russian Romeo
Class submarine of the '50s
which has been extensively mod

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

SUBCONTINENT

Bangladesh and Chinese officials hold talks.


ified by the Chinese. The Romeo
Class boat in turn was based on
the German Type XXI submarine
of World War II.
T hese diese le lectric sub
marines displace 2,110 tons and
have a surfaced endurance of
8,000 nm allowing them to stay
at sea for about 60 days.
They are manned by a crew of
57 personnel and carry 18 torpe
does with an option for carrying
32 mines also, according to
reports.
In all likelihood, Chinese crew,

though in a small number, could


be present on these submarines
to guide the Bangladesh crew
through the initial stages of
operations.
The Chinese are also likely to
be involved in setting up the
shore infrastructure like repair
yards, training facilities and
operational support establish
ments for smooth conduct of
submarine operations.
Xi Jinping last month became
the first Chinese president in 30
years to visit Bangladesh.

Office statement said.


The Foreign Secretary emphasized that this
"belligerent attitude of Indian occupation
forces was a serious threat to the regional
peace and security" and may lead to a "strate
gic miscalculation".
Chaudhry asked Bambawale to convey to the
Indian government that "it must stop the
provocative firing and observe the ceasefire".
Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Affairs Advisor to Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif, condemned the "unpro
voked" firing and expressed "grave" concern
over the "recently increased frequency and
duration of indiscriminate firing from the
Indian side". Accusing the Indian troops of
deliberately targeting villages and civilian, the
Adviser voiced apprehension over the Indian
actions, which he said "constitute a threat to
the maintenance of peace and security".

Indian soldiers in
action at the Line
of Control.

Madhesi parties in
Nepal issue fresh
ultimatum to govt
Kathmandu: T he "Sanghiya
Gathabandhana" an alliance of
29 Janjati and Madhescentric
parties protesting against the new
constitution issued a 15day
ultimatum to Prime Minister
Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'
to register a proposal for a consti
tutional amendment that accom
modates their demands.
Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum
Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav
submitted a reminder letter on the
matter to Prachanda at his office
in Singha Durbar on behalf of the
alliance.
According to a source, Yadav,
while handing over the memoran
dum, said: "The registration of the
amendment proposal won't suf
fice unless it accommodates our
opinion. The proposal should be
agreeable to us and fulfill our
demands. "We are ready to wait
for another 15 days. But the pro
posal should be agreeable to us."
In response, Prachanda assured
him that he was working to regis
ter the amendment proposal in a
couple of days.
T he Madhescentric parties
associated with the alliance have
been carrying out a protest move
ment pressing for fulfillment of
their demands, especially demar

PM Prachanda has been issued


a 15day ultimatum.
cation of the provincial borders,
citizenship and proportional inclu
sive representation based on pop
ulation, among others.
Noting that the main achieve
ment of the Madhesi movement
was the downfall of the K.P. Oliled
government, the 'Sanghiya
Gathabandhana' demanded imple
mentation of the agreement
signed by the alliance, the Nepali
Congress and the Communist
Party of NepalUnity Centre at the
time of the formation of the pres
ent government.
The alliance has also mentioned
in the memorandum that it would
be compelled to again resort to a
protest movement if the amend
ment proposal is not registered
within the set deadline.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

INTERNATIONAL

Egypt's ousted
president
Mohamed
Morsi gestures
behind the
defendants'
cage at a court
during his trial.

Egypt court revokes ousted


President Morsi's execution
Cairo: An Egyptian court revoked the death sen
tence of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and
ordered a retrial in a mass jailbreak case, media
reported.
Morsi was sentenced to death in June last
year in connection with a mass jail break during
the country's 2011 uprising, Xinhua news
agency reported.
The first President to be democratically elect
ed after the 2011 revolt, Morsi was overthrown
in a coup led by now President Abdel Fattah al

Sisi in 2013.
Morsi, who was immediately arrested after
the coup, has received lengthy jail sentences
related to other charges, including two high
profile espionage cases. Tuesday's court ruling
means he will no longer be executed.
The court said Morsi would be given a new
trial alongside five other leaders of his now
banned Muslim Brotherhood group, whose
death sentences in the same case were also
quashed.

November 19-25, 2016

23

'Brexit could be
delayed by two years'
London: Brexit could be de layed by
months, even as long as two years, after a
Supreme Court judge of Britain suggested
that "comprehensive" legislation was
required to trigger Article 50.
Lady Hale told an audience in Kuala
Lumpur that "another question" for the
court was "whether it would be enough for
a simple act of Parliament to authorize the
government to give notice, or whether it
would have to be a comprehensive replace
ment for the 1972 (EEC Accession) Act",
Sky News reported.
Sky News reported last week that the
government was preparing a short bill
to push through both the Commons
and the Lords to try to keep its
March deadline for triggering
Article 50. Labour has said it would
A High Court ruling has stated that
not block such a bill in the House of
PM Theresa May cannot trigger Brexit.
Commons. Lady Hale's comments
come after a High Court ruling that Prime the government could have to pass its
Minister Theresa May cannot trigger Great Repeal Bill before triggering Article
Brexit without putting it to a vote in the 50. The Great Repeal Bill is currently not
House of Commons. That shows that the planned to be introduced until the next
Supreme Court could adjudicate not just session of Parliament after May. Lady
the validity of the government's appeal Hale, who will sit as one of the judges
against the ruling, but also the precise hearing the government's appeal, also said
remedy the Government must offer to the unequivocally that the "referendum was
claimants if it loses its appeal. This means not legally binding on Parliament".

'Over 56,000 displaced from Mosul'


Israel demolishes
Palestinian structures
in Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Jerusalem: Israeli authorities
demolished several Palestinian
structures in East Jerusalem and
the West Bank city of Hebron,
according to the UN Of fice for
the
Coordinat ion
of
Humanitarian Affairs.
T he OCHA told EFE that a
structure in East Jerusalem's Ath
T huri village under Israeli
occupation since 1967 had
been demolished, as had a struc
ture in the southern West Bank
city of Hebron, EFE news report
ed. Excavators arrived early with
Israe li soldiers to the East
Jerusalem districts of Silwan and

Jabal Mukkaber, where they


demolished agricultural struc
tures.
The number of such demoli
tions has increased over the
course of this year in East
Jerusalem so far this year, they
have tripled those of last year,
according to Israe li NGO Ir
Amim.
Many of the structures are
built without permission from
the Israeli authorities, who rarely
authorize construct ion for
Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
T he reason for demolitions
remained unknown.

Mosul: More than 56,000 people


have fled Mosul and surrounding
areas, where military operations
began to retake the embattled Iraqi
city from the Islamic State (IS) mili
tants began a month ago, a monitor
ing organization said.
The exodus from Mosul has dou
bled over the past two weeks from
22,224 on 4 November, to 56,412,
the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) said. IOM is ready
ing for much larger numbers of dis
placed people as Iraqi and Kurdish
Peshmerga forces battle their way
into Mosul and aim to recapture the
strategic town of Tel Afar, cutting
IS's supply lines from Syria.
East of Mosul, IOM is building an
emergency site at Qayara Airstrip
and where it has erected a camp
with 3,000 tents and is building a
camp with a further 1,000 tents in
nearby Haj Ali which was recently
retaken from IS. IOM said it is work
ing with the Iraq government's min
istry of migration and displacement

Iraqi people living on the outskirts of wartorn Mosul flee their homes.
to identify further locations for
refugee camps, to develop these
sites, also to provide refugees with
longerterm help.
"T hrough IOM's emergency
response, as well as assistance for
those displaced longer term, we aim
to provide support to improve condi
tions for those who have suffered so
greatly," said IOM Iraq's chief
Thomas Weiss. Besides shelter, IOM
is providing winter non food relief
kits including blankets, heaters and
carpets to refugee families in Haj Ali,

many of whom had to leave every


thing behind when they fled from
battle zones. Health and psychoso
cial assistance is also being offered
to refugees, IOM said. Meanwhile,
the United Nations World Food
Program has said it is "very con
cerned" about the food security of
people trapped inside Mosul, espe
cially children. WFP has distributed
food aid to some 100,000 people
who fled the fighting between IS and
Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces
and around in the city.

French president wants to extend state of emergency


Paris: French President Francois
Hollande said he wants to extend
the state of emergency until the
presidential election in AprilMay
2017, on the sidelines of the ongo
ing COP22 in the Moroccan city of
Marrakech.
Faced with terrorist risks, we
need measures that are, of course,
except ional," Hollande said,
Xinhua news agency reported cit

ing French newspaper Le Parisien.


"And since there will be a presi
dential election, rallies in the com
ing weeks, the government has
made me the proposal to extend
the state of emergency and it will
be submitted to parliament,"
Hollande said. The state of emer
gency rules would, in particular,
allow for house arrest and widen
the possibility of searches.

Hollande spoke on the sidelines


of UN climate talks in Morocco.

24

November 19-25, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

BUSINESS

Demonetization: Opposition seeks


President's intervention
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress supremo
and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee and leaders of three other parties
including the Shiv Sena sought President
Pranab Mukherjees intervention over the
problems faced by people following the
"financial calamity" unleashed by the
demonetization move.
Joined by the leaders of Nat ional
Conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP
ally Shiv Sena, Banerjee and 40 of her
Trinamool MPs marched to Rashtrapati
Bhavan demanding rollback of demonetiza
tion of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind
Kejriwal gave the march a miss, with MP
Bhagwant Mann representing the party.
Dubbing demonetization as a "big black
scheme", Banerjee said the currency spike
decision has led to the deaths of around 20
30 people across the country and resulted in
a loss of Rs 2 lakh crore to the GDP.
"This is a big black scheme, today there
are no vegetables in the market, no milk for
babies and no medicine for the sick and the
ailing. Around 2030 people have already

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, National
Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann and others
party leaders march to Rashtrapati Bhavan against demonetization move. (Photo: IANS)
died, many of them due to stress," said
Banerjee. She also called for a probe into the
rise of the banks' nonperforming assets
(NPAs). "In the last six months, nonperform
ing assets (of banks) have increased sub
stantially, there should be a probe into this.

Even the government's income declaration


scheme did not attract a single paisa," she
claimed.
Equating Modi with the medieval era Delhi
Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, Banerjee
ridiculed "the totally unplanned" demoneti

Tell how you will deal with


cash chaos: Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday
asked the Center to explain the steps it has
taken or will take to deal with chaos outside
banks and ATMs following the demonetiza
tion move and observed that people should
not suffer.
Asking the Centre to file a reply without
formally issuing notice, a bench of Chief
Justice T.S. T hakur and Justice D.Y.
Chandrachud said they will not interfere
with the government policy but said stand
ing in queues for hours was traumatic.

Refusing to stay the November 8 decision to


demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency,
as sought by one the four petitioners, Chief
Justice Thakur told Attorney General Mukul
Rohatgi: " ...instead of forcing citizens to
stand in queues for their own money, why
can't you raise their cash withdrawal to a
reasonable limit? It is traumatic for people
to stand in lines for hours doing nothing."
"We are wondering if you can do something
to reduce the trauma of the common peo
ple," the bench said as senior counsel Kapil

Sibal told the bench that it was the small


sellers or street vendors who were suffering
the most as they are dependent on cash
transactions. Sibal, appearing for one of the
petitioners, described demonetization as a
"surgical strike against the common man".
Pointing to hardships faced by the people
and provisions of the law governing demon
etization of notes, Sibal said: "You can have
surgical strikes against black money but
you can't have surgical strikes against the
common people.

Indelible ink to prevent multiple cash withdrawals


New Delhi: Indelible ink will henceforth
be used, as is done during elections, to
prevent people from making cash with
drawals more than the permissible limit
from bank counters, the government
announced.
Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta
Das told the media that Prime Minister
Narendra Modi held a second review
meeting on demonetisation with officials

of the Finance Ministry and the Reserve


Bank of India (RBI) to ascertain why long
queues were continuing at banks.
"It was found that in many places, the
same set of people are coming to get
cash. They are going from one branch to
another branch. As a result, the benefit of
withdrawal is getting restricted to a few
people," Das said.
"To prevent this, indelible ink marks

will be made, like in elections, at the bank


cash counters," he said, adding unscrupu
lous elements were trying to convert
their black money into white by going to
different bank branches several times in
a day.
Operating instructions will be issued to
banks on how to use indelible ink and
this process will start in all major cities,
he said.

zation move. "Now ATM means 'Aayega toh


milega'," said Banerjee reflecting on the
cashstarved citizens' ordeal.
"The move was implemented without any
planning, this has created financial calamity
and financial emergency in the country. The
country has been pushed towards anarchy,"
she said.
Banerjee also said the Trinamool will bring
an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha on
Thursday against demonetisation.
She hoped the President will take appro
priate steps.
"We told the President that you are the
custodian of the Constitution, you talk to the
government so that normalcy is restored.
Otherwise the condition will worsen, people
will die of hunger, there will be riots.
Because of this agricultural production has
suffered, there will be no food then.
"The peaceful country has been pushed
towards anarchy, this has led to law and
order problems. National Conference leader
Omar Abdullah was among leaders who took
part in the march that started from the
Parliament House premises.

TRUMP EFFECT:
Global investors sell
bonds and grab stocks
New York: Global investors have rendered their
verdict on Donald J Trump as president: Sell
government bonds and pile into stocks that will
benefit the most from a resurgent US economy.
From Indonesia to America, government
bonds are undergoing a sharp se llof f as
investors large sovereign wealth funds and
hedge funds, as we ll as the accounts of
American retirees restructure investment
portfolios to try to capture the fruits of what
they expect will be a freespending Trump presi
dency. Across the board, the yields of these
bonds, which move up as their prices decline,
are pushing higher. The yield on the 10year US
Treasury note a benchmark for mortgages
and other lending rates has risen to 2.2 per
cent from 1.5 per cent in less than two months.
The yield on Germanys 10year notes has gone
to positive.
And the Swiss 10year is now on the cusp of
paying investors to borrow money after close to
two years of trading in negative interest rate
territory. It does not surprise me that the mar
kets have reacted this way, said Luciano
Siracusano, chief investment strategist for
WisdomTree asset management in New York.
This is a very progrowth agenda, and we have
not had that in a while.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

China Open: Sindhu, Prannoy,


Jayaram enter next round
Fuzhou (China): Olympic medalist
P.V. Sindhu won her opening match
while Saina Nehwal crashed out in
the first round of the women's sin
gles category at the China Open
badminton tournament at the
Haixia Olympic Sport Center here.
Sindhu coasted to a 2112, 2116
win over Chia Hsin Lee of Taiwan in
her round of 32 match.
Sindhu, who took the bronze
medal at the Rio Olympics earlier
this year, will face Beiwen Zhang of
Singapore in the prequarterfinals.
Zhang defeated Ya Ching Hsu of
Taiwan 2116, 2118 in her cam
paign opener.
Sindhu is playing her first tourna
ment since the Rio Olympics.
Saina, meanwhile, lost to Porntip
Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in a
hard fought encounter.
T he London Olympics bronze
medallist lost the opening game
before staging a strong fightback to
win the second game and level the
scores. Porntip, however, dominat
ed the third and decisive game to
script a 2116, 1921, 2114 win.
Porntip will now take on He
Bingjiao of China in her next match.

November 19-25, 2016

SPORTS

India overcome anxious


moments to draw rst
Test against England
Rajkot: Chasing a 310run tar
get, India survived anxious
moments before posting 172/6
in their second innings to draw
the first cricket Test match
against England on the fifth and
final day here.
India skipper Virat Kohli
played a responsible unbeaten
kno ck of 49 runs. He was
accompanied by Ravindra Jadeja
(32 not out) at the Saurashtra

Cricket Association Stadium


when the match ended inconclu
sive ly. Spinner Adil Rashid
(3/64) was England's most suc
cessful bowler in the second
innings. Earlier, Eng land
declared their second innings at
260/3, an overall lead of 309
runs, with captain Alastair Cook
slamming a fine knock of 130
runs his 30th Test century and
fifth in India.

Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu.


He defeated compatriot Zhang
Yiman 2022, 2117, 2119.
Saina was playing her first tour
nament since recovering from a
knee surgery she underwent in
August after the Rio Olympics.
Indians enjoyed a better outing in
the men's singles section with both
H.S. Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram win
ning their respective first round
matches. Prannoy entered the sec
ond round following an easy 2113,
2113 win over Ka Long Angus Ng
of Hong Kong. Prannoy will take on

Bin Qiao of China in the last 16


stage. Qiao outclassed Tien Chen
Chou of Taiwan 2111, 2113 in a
onesided affair. Jayaram defeated
Zhu Siyuan of China 2119, 2022,
2117 in an exciting encounter.
Jayaram will face Wei Nan of
Hong Kong in his next match. Nan
got the better of South Korea's Wan
Ho Son 2116, 2123, 2115.
It was curtains for B. Sai Praneeth,
however, as he lost 1621, 921 to
Marc Zwiebler of Germany in the
first round.

Virat Kohli played a responsible unbeaten


knock of 49 runs in the second innings.

2017 will be a year of world


records: Leander Paes
Kolkata: India's most decorated
tennis player Leander Paes said
that 2017 will be a year of world
records for him.
"2017 will be a year of world
records. T here are couple of
world records I wanna achieve
and that's why I still go in there
and put in the hard yards which
at my age is not fun anymore like
it was when I was 19," the 43
yearold Paes told reporters.
Winning the French Open
mixed doubles w ith Sw iss
Martina Hingis last year was one,
Paes said, as the tourney was the
one Grand Slam he had never
won earlier.
"I have come to a point, espe
cially at the French Open last
year when I had won every single
Grand Slam and the doubles and
mixed doubles that there was to
win and then came the French
Open. That coupled with my sin
gles medal in the Olympics, the
showcase is complete. It really is.
"The year 2016 was about win
ning the French Open and to get
to the Olympics and be there in
the best shape. Unfortunately it
wasn't such a great outing. The
other goal I had for the year was
to covet my e luding French
Open," said Paes who has won 18

25

Leander Paes.
Grand Slam crowns eight dou
bles and 10 mixed doubles.
Among the plethora of records
he owns, Paes became the oldest
player to win a Grand Slam title
at 40 when he clinched the US
Open doubles title with Radek
Stepanek in 2013.
But Paes said since then, he has
not found a compatible doubles
partner. "It's been a tough few
years in finding a new partner
ever since Radek Stepanek whom
I played with for three years. We
were winning Grand Slams and
that partnership was magical. "In
the last few years I have really
struggled to find a compatible

partner that we can go out there


and win Grand Slams. So in mixed
doubles I am doing really well
with Martina Hingis and we have
a great understanding and cama
raderie on and off the court and
that's why we win," Paes said.
Saying that the men's doubles
game has evolved over the years,
he said: "In the men's game, it has
evolved now with lot of singles
player playing, the ball's getting
heavier the court is going slower.
"You notice a lot of the doubles
teams that are winning are also
play ing from the base line.
Serving and staying back, not
necessarily serve and volley, the

trajectory of the ball has changed


a lot because of this big top spin
ground strokes that they hit. So
to find the right partner to adapt
is something that is important.
"I am really looking forward to
my new year in 2017 snd trying
to covet a few more Grand
Slams."
Asked whether he plans to
retire anytime soon, Paes who
competed at his seventh
Olympics at Rio 2016, a record
for any Indian athlete, said: "As of
right now, I am very geared up
and charged up to create a few
more world records.
"I am ready to go into my of f
season training coming up in
December for three weeks. I leave
no stone unturned to prepare for
something. I will get that record.
That's something I am training
hard for."
"Winning Grand Slams has been
one of the greatest experiences
for me. It's been a long journey
since my first one in 1990 to now
in 2016, many years have come
and gone," said Paes, who was
speaking at the felicitation cere
mony of just appointed All India
Tennis Association (AITA) secre
tary
general
Hironmoy
Chatterjee.

IndiaNew Zealand
ODI series highest
rated in last 3 years
New Delhi: The IndiaNew Zealand
OneDay International (ODI) series
was the highestrated bilateral ODI
cricket series in the last three years,
principal broadcasters Star Sports
announced.
The ODI series against the Kiwis
delivered 7,397 (000) average
impressions on the network, sur
passing last year's IndiaSouth
Africa series which secured 6,153
(000) average impressions. The
average impressions are measured
in units of thousands '000.
To complement its scale, the
broadcast was bolstered by new
look graphics and the best of
experts on the commentary panel,
cutting across demographic bound
aries and capturing the imagination
of a diverse fan base.
"The IndiaNZ ODI series setting a
new record benchmark as the high
estrated bilateral ODI series in the
last three years further affirms that
nothing is adored like quality crick
et in this country," Star Sports CEO
Nitin Kukreja said in a statement.
"With a packed home season of
cricket coming up with world class
opponents like Eng land and
Australia visiting India, Star Sports
network is committed to delight
cricket fans across India with the
most comprehensive coverage of
this sport," he added.

26

November 19-25, 2016

SCI-TECH

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

What does India's first potential


Smart City promise?
l By Meghna Mittal
Ahmedabad: With 110 skyrises,
metro service, bus rapid transport,
elevated walkways, automated
waste collection and a host of
other amenities, the Rs 70,000
crore ($11.1 billion) Gujarat
International Finance Tec City (or
Gift City) between Ahmedabad and
Gandhinagar not only wants to
emerge as India's first Smart City,
but also become a model for oth
ers to follow.
Being built from scratch on 886
acres under a joint venture of
Gujarat Urban Deve lopment
Company and Infrastructure
Leasing and Financial Services, the
infrastructure for the first phase
has already been executed with
4,000 people working in it, of fi
cials said.
"Till now Gift City has invested
Rs 1,000 crore in infrastructure
and operational expenses. When
the entire planned builtup area of
62 million square feet is complet
ed, our infrastructure investment
alone w ill come to around Rs
5,0006,000 crore. Rest will be by
private players," said Ajay Pandey,
Managing Director of Gift City.
"As per our estimates, the total

An artists impression of Gujarat International Finance


Tec City (or Gift City)
investment by 202224 will go up
to Rs 70,000 crore," Pandey, also
the Group CEO, told IANS.
"We are going on a project fund
ing basis. The first phase funding
has come from a consortium of
bankers."
Despite all the buzz around cities
turning smart, the actual changes
that will differentiate a Smart City
from a regular one is the deploy
ment of technology for the resi
dents, he said.

A look at some of these distinc


tive features of Gift City:
8 It will have 110 towers, out of
which two towers of 122 meters

height with 28 floors each are


ready. It will house offices of the
financial and IT sectors, interna
tional finance, trade offices, along
with residential and social facili
ties.
8 It will have both Metro rail
and Bus Rapid Transport Service
from
Gand hinag ar
and
Ahmedabad. Four stations inside
will ensure a walking distance of
no more than 500 meters from
any building.
8 With Multiservices Special
Economic
Zone
and
an
International Financial Services
Centre, the project has been con
ceptualized as a global financial

and IT hub touted as the first of


its kind in India in the league of
London, Dubai, Singapore and
Hong Kong.
8 When fully operational, the
project is expected to have created
500,000 direct and an equal num
ber of indirect jobs.
8 Sweden's internationally
renowned company Envac has
developed its Automated Waste
Collection System and Segregation
Plant which ensures minimal emis
sions with least impact on environ
ment and human intervention.
8 The District Cooling System,
instead of airconditioning, devel
oped by Dubai's ETA Engineering,
comprises a cooling plant in which
water is chilled to 4 degrees cel
sius, and supplied through under
ground pipes to buildings, result
ing in low noise and vibrations,
improved air quality and 30 per
cent reduction in costs compared
to conventional options.
8 The city will have drinkable
water from any tap thanks to the
nextclass water treatment plants
with a capacity of 15 million litres
per day, with water supplies from
the Narmada river.
8 The entire city will sport a
utility tunnel through which water

pipes, power cables, optic fiber


cables, district cooling pipes and
waste collection tubes will be rout
ed.
8 Localized sewage treatment
plants will be fed by a crisscross
of pipelines to transport effluents.
8 Infrastructure will include a
data center, public wifi, smart
lights, arterial and subarterial
roads, elevated walkways and trav
elators.
8 The domestic area will have
25,000 smarthomes with intelli
gent functions for lighting, cooling
and ventilation, for people working
in Gift City. Construction is due
from early 2017.
8 The City will ensure 99.999
per cent power reliability with an
outage of no more than 5.3 min
utes in a year, thanks to a 66 KV
substation. Solar power will also
be generated.
"From the ideation to its opera
tional phase, we have strategically
roped in experts and agencies
renowned in their respective fields
of work, for designing specific
aspects of the city," said Pandey.
"The project encompasses top
notch infrastructure facilities,
many of which are being intro
duced in India for the first time."

Google Pixel XL: Real, direct competition to Apple iPhone 7


l By Sourabh Kulesh
New Delhi: When Google launched
artificial intelligence (AI)powered
premium devices Pixel and Pixel
XL earlier this month, the message
was clear: The device with the per
sonal Google Assistant built right
in sounded the threat bugle for
Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
The comparison is natural, espe
cially in the absence of another
flagship device, the Samsung
Galaxy Note 7, which leaves
Google and Apple fighting for the
premium segment.
Google has been synonymous
with innovation. This time, with a
brand new Android OS Nougat
and Goog le Assistant, Pixe l
devices are set to counter Apple's
iOS 10 and intelligent assistant
Siri. Let us see what the 5.5inch
Pixel XL (32GB, black color) has
for Indian consumers who are
searching for a premium smart
phone. The aluminum and glass
built device looks elegant and fits
comfortably in the palm. Unlike
Nexus 6P, which had a thin glass
strip at the top, Pixel XL's back
panel has almost onethird glass
covering.
As for Siri comparison, when

The newly launched Rs 67,000 Google Pixel XL


has Google Assistant built in. The device runs
on Android Nougat 7.1 OS. (Photos: IANS)
(above) Google Pixel XL has the best camera
rating ever. The photos were taken in the
night and are displayed without any editing.
asked "are you a man or a
woman?", Goog le Assistant
responded with answers like "I'm
all inclusive :D" and "Does it really
matter?" while Siri staidly replied:
"I was not assigned a gender."
To "Who will win the US presi
dential election?" Google Assistant
displayed poll results by the New
York Times, The Telegraph and
Independent while Siri returned
Wikipedia and Quora with an iOS
10powered iPhone.
While searching restaurants
near our of fice, Google Assistant
displayed food joints as close as
300 meters while Siri said that the
nearest restaurant is 600 meters
away.
To further test its intelligence,

Google Assistant was asked, "Who


is Siri?" It explained, "Siri is
Apple's intelligent assistant. She is
very witty."
Siri, however, was more informa
tive than Google Assistant when
asked "Who is the Prime Minister
of India?" While Siri threw up
results like when Narendra Modi
became the Prime Minister,
Google Assistant came back only
with his name.
Google Assistant can tell jokes,
remember your passwords and
even set the alarm for you in a
clear voice.
The "Pixel Imprint" fingerprint
scanner is located at the back and
is very responsive. It not only
unlocked the device in a split sec

ond but also accepted (authorized)


half a fingerprint for unlocking.
Goog le has retained TypeC
charging port that charged the
3,450 mAh battery in a flat 48
minutes. T he device w ith
Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon
821 Quad core processor and 4GB
DDR4 RAM will get first updates
and free unlimited cloud space is
not to be missed.
Google has put in a lot of acces
sories including a twoway TypeC
port cable ensuring OTG device
(also included) support. With this
cable, one can charge Pixel XL
w ith another phone having a
TypeC port.
T he smartphone runs like a
charm on Android Nougat 7.1
the only device till date to have it.
The apps explorer icon is replaced
by a pullup App Drawer which is
more convenient.
A swipe right on the screen
brings the notable search results
in line with browsing history.
When we swiped right, informa
tion about the FC Barcelona vs
Manchester City football match;
updates about the Indian Soccer
League tournament; and scores
for the India vs New Zealand One
Day cricket match popped up.

Pixel's 12.3MP rear camera with


f/2.0 has been rated the highest
ever 89 DxOMark Mobile score. It
is very fast, responsive and has a
video stabilizing mode. As expect
ed, the photos in broad daylight
were stunning. Even in "very low
light conditions", the camera did
not disappoint.
Under natural light at 7 pm, the
photos clicked without flash had
clarity and little grains while the
photo taken with flash were sharp
er. As compared to shooting video
in normal mode, we noticed a
remarkable dif ference when we
shot the same video with "Video
Stabilisation" on. There were low
or no jerks and no picture distor
tion.
The 8MP camera works fine and
while using it with Google's video
calling app Duo, the receiver gets
a sharper image (as compared to
the Nexus 6P).
What doesn't work?
Pixel devices are not waterproof.
At a time when Samsung Galaxy
S7 Edge (and the now discontin
ued Galaxy Note 7) and Apple are
of fering IP68 rating (waterproof
ratings), Pixel smartphones fall
behind in this category.
IANS

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

LIFESTYLE

Indian women say it


takes two to raise
happy, healthy baby

New Delhi: A majority of Indian


women strongly believe in the
power of two to raise a happy
and healthy baby, a new survey
has revealed.
Conducted by Pampers in
association with AC Nielsen, the
survey which had a sample
size of 432 parents (216 moth
ers) of children up to three
years of age in Beng aluru,
Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata
highlights how the involvement
of both the mother and the
father is extremely crucial for
the cognitive, social as well as the emo
tional development of the baby.
It is conducted in correspondence with
Pampers' latest campaign 'It Takes Two'
(#ItTakes2) that talks about the impor
tance of both mother and father's involve
ment in wholesome development of the
baby.
The results of the survey indicate that
97 per cent of the mothers said it takes
two to raise a happy and healthy baby,
and 90 per cent of the women surveyed
said they want their husbands to be more
involved in baby care. As many as 88 per
cent of the mothers agreed that their hus
bands hesitate to change diapers.
Among the men, 88 per cent of them

said baby chores primarily need only the


mother's involvement.
Commenting on the survey, a P&G
Spokesperson said: "The survey brings
forth the fact that a happy, healthy baby
needs active participation from both
mom and dad, rig ht from Day one.
Paediatricians and child psychologists
also agree that involvement of the mother
as well as the father towards baby care
has a direct correlation towards better
cognitive and social development of the
baby.
"The results thus pose a very interest
ing question to all the young parents out
there, If #ItTakes2 to make a baby,
shouldn't It Take 2 to raise a baby?"

New Delhi: India's


famous couturier
Sabyasachi
Mukherjee has
joined hands with
C h r i s t i a n
Loubout in yet
again. The French
designer says the
collection is just
like a walk into a
candy store, but
for Sabyasachi it
has a whimsical
feel.
This is the sec
ond t ime the
designers
are
coming together.
Their first collabo
rat ive line was
(Image : fashionlady.in)
t itled
'Bater',
told IANS. Sabyasachi said that after
which was launched last year in July.
This time, the collection of women's "a small little range", they have
and men's shoes and bags, is stamped expanded the collection. Last year,
w ith their signature styles and 'Bater' was a dark and Gothic af fair
infused with glamor. "The range is with sexual hints. This time, the range
evolving. When we met for the first is a little bit of everything. "This is a
time, we organically decided that we lot more whimsical and quite mad.
want to do a collaboration. There We have everything in it. It has a little
were no real roots, or contracts. We bit of everything," Sabyasachi said.
To that, Louboutin said: "It is more
just said that let's work together and
that is how we started," Sabyasachi of a candy store."

27

Mustvisit amusement
parks around the world

(Image : happyho.in)

Sabyasachi goes 'whimsical' for


new line with Christian Louboutin

November 19-25, 2016

New Delhi: The exciting


world of theme parks
of fers perfect destina
tions for families with
children. But it is
important to pick an
amusement park which
has something for
everyone, says an
expert.
Amit Agarwal, Senior
Marketing Manager
India and Southeast
(Image courtesy: smartdestinations.com)
Asia, online accommo
dation booking website Hotels.com, lists some Located in Carlsbad, California, about 30 miles
north of San Diego, Legoland is a 128acre
amusement parks you can explore:
8 Cedar Point: If you're a rollercoaster park that is a combination of rides and hands
junkie and love that sinking feeling in the pit on activities, aimed at children aged 2 to 12.
8 Universal Studios: Universal Studios has
of your stomach, then Cedar Point in Ohio is
the perfect place for you and your family. The capitalized on its movie inventory to create
park has more roller coasters than any other what most moviegoers want to experience
park in the world which will guarantee to be being part of the film. At both the Orlando and
Hollywood locations, guests can relive "Men in
the best day for your kids.
8 Disneyland: What can we possibly say Black" and get attacked by aliens, fight a torna
about Disneyland that hasn't been said before? do in Twister, and ride bicycles through the air
There's a reason why when most people think just like in "E.T.".
8 Paramount Parks: Paramount is giving
of "theme park" they think of Disney. Nobody
does it better. Disneyland in Hong Kong is one Universal competition for moviethemed rides
of the most popular theme parks. It is on and parks. At Paramount's Kings Islands in
Cincinnati, guests can ride on 12 roller coast
Lantau Island in Hong Kong, South China.
8 Legoland California: Growing up, did you ers and swim in an outdoor water park. Kids
ever wonder what exactly you could build with will like the Rugrats and HannaBarbera
millions of Legos? Legoland Park, which has themed rides, such as the Rugrats Runaway
over 30 million Lego bricks, is one answer. Reptar. There is also a standup coaster.

Healthy lifestyle
improves brain function
London: If you exercise before
work, or forego fried food for
fruits and salads, you can
expect brain funct ions to
improve over time, according
to a new study.
Living a healthier lifestyle
could increase executive func
tion, which is the ability to
exert se lfcontrol, set and
meet goals, resist temptation
and solve problems, the study
said.
"People who make a change
to their health behavior, like
participating in physical activ
ity, eating less processed food,
or consuming more fruits and
vegetables, can see an
improvement in their brain
funct ion over t ime and
increase their chances of
remaining healthy as they
age," said one of the
researchers Julia Allan from
University of Aberdeen in
Britain.
The researchers analyzed
the re lat ionship between
physical activity and executive
function, adjusting for other
variables such as age, gender,
education, wealth and illness

(Image courtesy: newscrab.com)


and found evidence that the
relationship between the two
is bidirectional.
Specifically, individuals with
poor execut ive funct ion
showed subsequent decreases
in their rates of participation
in physical activity and older
adults who engaged in sports
and other physical activities
tended to retain high levels of
executive function over time.
Researchers noted that
while the study, published in
the journal Front iers in

Neuroscience, fo cused on
physical activity and its rela
tionship to executive function,
it is likely a positive feedback
loop also exists between exec
ut ive funct ion and eat ing
nutritious foods.
Similarly, it is likely that
negative feedback loops also
exist, in that unhealthy behav
iors such as smoking or drink
ing too much alcohol will be
both a result of and a predic
tor of declining execut ive
function, the researchers said.

28

November 19-25, 2016

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

HUMOR

Humor with Melvin Durai

Trump hoodwinks his way to the Presidency


M

ore Americans voted for Hillary


Clinton than Donald Trump, but
because of an outdated system of
selecting the president called the Electoral
College which Trump himself called a disas
ter for a democracy in 2012 tens of mil
lions of Americans awoke on Nov. 9 with a
severe case of PTSD (President Trump Stress
Disorder).
What made it worse was that pollsters had
convinced most Americans that Hillary
Clinton would win. One Princeton University
professor had crunched the numbers and
determined that the chances of Donald Trump
winning the presidency were as miniscule as
the chances of him going an entire day with
out telling a lie.
All politicians lie, of course, but Trump was
nt a traditional politician thats why he was
able to set a Guinness World Record for most
lies told during a political campaign. Yes,
Trump shattered the record previously held
by Robert Mugabe, president/dictator of
Zimbabwe for more than 35 years, who was
recently pictured watching a Trump speech,
shaking his head and saying, How does this
man live with himself?
Trump told 1,452,652 lies during the cam
paign and thats a conservative count. The

liberal count is much higher. To be fair, some


of these lies were duplicate lies, such as
when he claimed over and over that he had
been against the war in Iraq. And some lies
can be attributed to his sense of humor, such
as when he said, Nobody has more respect
for women than I do. It would be like my dog,
Legacy, saying to another dog, Nobody has
more respect for fire hydrants than I do.

But many of Trumps lies were blatant lies,


such as when he claimed that he did not know
any of the women who had accused him of
sexual misconduct. He had indisputably met
several of them, but saying I dont know
these women was apparently a good way of
convincing his supporters that he was totally
innocent. After all, many of his supporters
were evangelical Christians and they would
never elect a sexual abuser as president,
would they?
Trumps bigotry and misogyny repulsed
many Americans and terrified minority
groups but most evangelical Christians were
apparently okay with that. Jesus called upon
them to love your neighbor as yourself, but
surely he never imagined that theyd one day

be neighbors with Mexicans and Muslims.


Many of these evangelical Christians were
alltooready to build the wall not just the
wall between America and Mexico, but also
the wall between themselves and integrity.
Some may argue that they voted for Trump
in spite of his bigotry not because of it. They
supported him because he promised to shake
up Washington D.C. and bring back jobs. The
message to our children is clear: the end justi
fies the means. Go ahead and bully your class
mates. Go ahead and cheat on your exams. Go
ahead and lie on your rsum. Go ahead and
sleep around. Just make sure you get the job,
the money and the power. And dont forget to
brag. Bragging is important.
Were electing a president, not a pastor,
was the refrain of some evange lical
Christians. Thats fine, but when your teen
aged daughter brings home a hatespouting
skinhead with a Trump tattoo on his forearm,
please welcome him with open arms. And
please try to smile when your daughter says,
Dont worry, Mom and Dad. He just wants to
be my boyfriend, not my pastor.
We can only hope that Trump is able to put
all the intolerance and lies behind him and
become a new man. Perhaps after 70 years on
this earth, he will change his ways and start
treating all people with respect. Perhaps he
will make a speech in which he denounces the
Ku Klux Klan and all the white supremacists
out there. Perhaps he will tear down more
walls than he builds. And perhaps, just per
haps, all the people who have been offended
by Trumps intolerance will find a way to tol
erate a Trump presidency.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

BEST
RATE
FOR
INDIA
AND
PAKISTAN
New York Head Quarter
422S Broadway
HICKSVILLE
NY 11801

5168271010

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.

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

ASTROLOGY

November 19-25, 2016

29

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


Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

NOVEMBER 1925, 2016


ARIES: Professional attitude at work
brings success. The company of family
friends will keep you in a happy &
relaxed mood. Property dealings would mate
rialize helping in bringing fabulous gains. Love
companion will be eager to meet you this
week. Your confidence and energy will be high
this week. Time to relax and enjoy your visit to
a relatives place.
Buying overseas property will be beneficiary
for you. You find yourself doing much for oth
ers and less for yourself.
TAURUS: Seniors colleagues are likely
to lend a helping hand. Parental guid
ance in your decision would immensely
help. You are likely to earn monetary gains
through various sources. Proposing might
benefit, as chances of succeeding in love are
high. A week when smile will perpetually be
on your face and strangers will seem familiar.
Journey to some famous historical place
sounds exciting to your kids. You can apply for
your home loan.
Maintain a distance from people trying to
influence you with bad habits.
GEMINI: Hard work & dedication would
win the trust of seniors at work. A week
when misunderstandings at family
front are sorted out with ease. Increase in
income from past investment is foreseen.
Search for a true romantic friend might end
this week.
Your energy level will be high. Better to chan
nelise it in a positive direction. Romance is in
full bloom, a journey full of pleasure is your
crave. Your search for a house is towards its
final destination. Reputation will suffer if you
get
asso ciated
w ith
dubious
characters.

CANCER: Mental clarity would remove


past business confusions. Believe it or
not someone in the family is watching
you closely and considers you a role model.
Monetary gains from unplanned sources will
brighten your week. Blossoming love life
brings happiness. Positive outlook impresses
those around you besides keeping you fit &
fine. Its time to travel with innovative imagina
tion. Your personal loan plans for property
could be in progress. Make sure you dont dis
agree with influential people unless looking
for some trouble.
LEO: Travel undertaken for establishing
new contacts and business expansion
will be very fruitful. An important devel
opment at personal front brings jubilation for
entire family. New moneymaking opportunities
will be lucrative. Romance is likely to intensify
through recreational activities & entertainment.
Charity work undertaken will bring mental
peace & comfort. Are you longing to go on a
vacation then be ready for it? Your dream for
new house might be full filed now. Those trav
eling outstation need to be careful about their
luggage and important documents.
VIRGO: Your artistic and creative ability
would attract a lot of appreciation. A
happy time in the company of friends
and relatives as they do many favours to you.
You get some financial rewards as dedication &
hard work gets noticed. Romantic opportunity
comes your way as your sparkling sunshine
smile injures a lively & tender heart. Meditation
and selfrealization prove beneficial. Be ready
to hang out with your friends. Getting your
dream home will be the greatest pleasure for
you. Avoid picking up an argument over petty
issues especially in friend circle.

LIBRA: A long pending decision gets


finalized at professional front.
Enjoying the company of close rela
tives will brighten your evening. Monetary
gains are likely to be from more than one
source. Romance touches new heights, as part
ner positively responds. You will have ample
time to do things to improve your health. By
traveling you will learn about new places, ulti
mately its a great deal for yourself. Selling a
plot might be profitable as property rates tend
to rise sooner. Cutting down parties and pleas
ure jaunts are certain later in the week.
SCORPIO: Plans for new ventures get
streamlined with the help of seniors.
Shopping with family members will be
highly pleasurable and exciting. A new finan
cial deal gets finalized paving the way for fresh
money. You are likely to find someone with
whom you will enjoy the ecstasies of love.
Sound physical health will enable to partici
pate in outdoor activities. Pack your bags and
some eatables and go out for a picnic. Lifestyle
home is what you are looking for? Dont blame
your ill stars for selfcreated problems.
SAGITTARIUS: Female colleagues lend
a helping hand in completing impor
tant assignments. You will be at the
limelight in a social gathering provided you
attend. Financial position will improve later in
the week.
Love comes your way as friendship turns into
romance. You will be successful in getting rid
from tensions. Many people want to fly inter
national and you are one of them. Deals on
commercial property can tend to be at full
boom. Traveling fails to bring immediate
results but will lay a good foundation for
future benefits.

CAPRICORN: At work you will be a part


of something big, bringing apprecia
tion & rewards. You will be the star of
attraction of familys gettogether this week.
Real estate investment would be lucrative. You
are likely find comfort in the arms of romantic
partner. A sparkling laughter filled week when
most things proceed, as you desire. By travel
ing youll learn about new places and cultures,
which is ultimately a great deal about yourself.
Investing residentially is one thing you can
rely on. You will be attracted to the materialis
tic needs, but do not let this ruin happiness.
AQUARIUS: You are likely to establish
yourself a good manager on managing
people and situation without any prob
lem. Help from family members would take care
of your needs. Investment in stocks & mutual
funds would help in earning profits. Love and
romantic encounter will this week keep you in a
cheerful state. Your enormous confidence would
help in enjoying a healthy life. You and your
loved ones been busy for quite sometimes and
have finally decided to go on a vacation.
Investment on overseas property has to be con
sidered seriously. Postponing group activities
for a while would be in your interest.
PISCES: You will be successful in realis
ing your targets at professional front.
You will enjoy the time spent with fami
ly members and friends. Longterm investment
in stocks & mutual funds will enable to earn
profits. Sudden romantic encounter is foreseen
this week. A very healthy week filled with hap
piness & vitality. Your next journey is to a place
which is full of natural beauty and ravishing.
Time to spend money on your homely accom
modations. this week you can expect friends to
support you through an ordeal.

ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK


19th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Sun Ruled by no: 1
Traits in you: Your ruling planet the Sun blesses you
with a unique character. You are pretty confident, cre
ative, intellectual, optimistic, and enthusiastic. You are
gifted with an artistic perception. You are very much
social and like to make new contacts wherever you go.
However, you need to control your mood swings and
selfishness.
Health this year: As far as your health is concerned this
year, you may frequently fall sick. You need to undergo
regular medical checkups and take your prescribed
medicines on time. Join a gym and try practicing medi
tation to retain your fitness.
Finance this year: You will be able to earn more money.
However, you may end up spending a lot of money on
luxury and comfort. You may go for new business or
investments this year as the movement of planets
ensures you good monetary benefits.
Career this year: You are quite capable of handling criti
cal issues in your professional life. You will succeed in
your attempts of performing well in your work. You will
get appreciations from your peers, seniors, and the
higher management. You should help others to make
your presence felt.
Romance this year: You may try and convert your long
time romantic relationship to a married one. You will be
enjoying a great life with your spouse with lots of
understanding, love, and care. You need not get into any
kind of argument with your beloved this year.
20th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Moon Ruled by no: 2
Traits in you: As you are influenced by the Moon, you
are confident, emotional, imaginative, simple, creative,
courteous, and warm hearted. You can easily make
friends because of your nature so you enjoy enormous
respect amongst your friends. You should control your
mood swings and you should not be lazy.
Health this year: Your health would remain very good
this year. However, you need to go for regular yoga
exercises. You should not ignore your healthy diet plan
to remain in shape. Go for regular medical checkups to
avoid any hiccups further.
Finance this year: You will be in ample financial gains
this year. Your new business ventures will be successful
this year. You should go for new partnerships and busi
nesses as your star favors your luck this year. You may
go for investments in any sector. Do not spend unneces
sarily in luxury and comfort.
Career this year: Being a hardworking professional, you
may create wonders for your organization. You need to

learn more and look for better options. You may not get
your expected promotion or salary hike in spite of your
hard work and efficiency.
Romance this year: You will be enjoying a better rela
tionship with your partner or beloved. You will get the
required emotional support from your partner whenev
er you seek.
21st November, 2016
Ruled planet: Jupiter Ruled by no: 3
Traits in you: Being ruled by Jupiter, you are courteous,
courageous, decisive, ambitious, disciplined, and realis
tic. You are gifted with high imagination power, opti
mism, and enthusiasm. However, behaving restless and
dominating may hamper your characteristics at times.
You need to work on your personality to make yourself
better as an individual.
Health this year: You need to take an appropriate care
of your health. You may fall sick in the middle months
of the year though those will not be serious. If you are a
sportsperson, you need to be very careful for your diet
and nutrition to perform better in your sporting events.
Finance this year: You should invest in real estate to
get better benefits. Your legal matters will settle down
and provide you with the flow of the blocked money.
You need to decisive enough before investing on some
thing else but real estate as there are chances of loss.
Career this year: Your communications skills will be
proved instrumental in the overall improvement of your
professional career. You will be able to make enough
contacts and you will get regular projects and assign
ments. You may get promotions and salary hike
towards the end of the year.
Romance this year: You will find your partner to be a
huge emotional support for you during the tough times
of your life. You may get involved in a matrimonial
alliance.
22nd November, 2016
Ruled planet: Uranus Ruled by no: 4
Traits in you: Uranus, being your dominating planet
helps you become dynamic and creative. You are posi
tive, realistic, responsive, and sincere. You need to work
and overcome the weaknesses in your personality to
attract more people towards you.
Health this year: Your health will remain good through
out the year. You need to take utmost care of your
health to maintain it and remain fit. The health of your
family members might be a concern for you this year.
Try and avoid your bad habits and start practicing yoga
for the betterment of your health.
Finance this year: Your innovative ideas to earn money

may not meet your expectations. However, you need to


keep trying until you succeed. You will find it tough to
make money this year. You may go for investments in
various sectors like shares, gold, land and so on.
Career this year: With an enhanced confidence and
brushed up skills, you will become very successful pro
fessionally. You will do justice to the role assigned to
you. You may get promotion or a hike in your current
salary. If you are in creativity field, this year will bring
you much more success and recognition.
Romance this year: This is a quite good year for women
when romance is concerned. You will enjoy a very
strong relationship with your spouse. You may decide
to get married towards the end of the year.
23rd November, 2016
Ruled planet: Mercury Ruled by no: 5
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Venus, you are sim
ple, generous, cheerful, friendly, humble, honest and
peace loving. You are pretty interested to stay in har
mony with each and everyone in your surroundings.
You need to work on your nature of being restless and
pessimistic.
Health this year: Your health will remain fine but the
fluctuations in the health of your spouse may create
huge problems for you. You should take care of the
health of yourself as well as your family members to
avoid future health problems.
Finance this year: You will be among major financial
gains this year. You may go for a real estate transaction
later this year and this will bring you a lot of money to
cherish. You may start up a new business. If you are
already into business, you may plan for expanding its
territory this year.
Career this year: You will get enough opportunities in
your professional life to prove yourself. You will create
a better impression on your seniors or higher manage
ment, which may result in promotion. You should work
efficiently to maintain your respect at your workspace.
Romance this year: Your romantic life will become stag
nant this year as you may not give enough time to your
beloved. If you are unmarried and planning to marry
this year, it may not happen because of the negative
movements of your stars and planets.
24th November, 2016
Ruled planet: Venus Ruled by no: 6
Traits in you: As you are ruled by Venus, you are sim
ple, generous, cheerful, friendly, humble, honest and
peace loving. You are pretty interested to stay in har
mony with each and everyone in your surroundings.
You need to work on your nature of being restless and

pessimistic.
Health this year: You may enjoy a great health this year.
However, that does not mean you will start neglecting
your health. You need to take care of your diet and
nutrition to maintain a good health. You may practice
some exercises to remain fit.
Finance this year: You would not be able to save any
money for future this year as your earnings will be
spent for something or the other. You may face unex
pected expenses, which would make you a bit financial
ly weak. You may go for new business ventures but
need not get involved in any partnerships.
Career this year: As far as your professional life is con
cerned you may find your job a bit monotonous. You
need to go for innovative ideas to get better in your
profession. Your decision making capacity may make
you the favorite to win an award in your professional
circuit.
Romance this year: You will spend a peaceful life with
your love interest this year. You will lead a blissful life
with your beloved with lots of love, care, concern, and
support.
25th November, 2016
Ruled planet: 7 Ruled by no: Neptune
Traits in you: As your governing planet is Neptune, you
are simple, dignified, unique, charismatic, reliable, trust
worthy and confident. You have a great leadership skill
and you are very creative. You should not be pessimistic
and show your stubbornness.
Health this year: Though you would not face any major
health related issues, you should take extra care of your
health. Do not take unwanted risk of putting your
health in stake. Go for regular medical checkups.
Finance this year: Though you will be able to improve
your financial status, you may end up spending a lot of
money in buying luxury and comfort for yourself and
your family. You may put your money in real estate for
better returns.
Career this year: Professionally, you are a very smart
and efficient worker. So you may need to clarify doubts
and help you peers and juniors in their work. People in
your professional circuit will seek your help at every
crucial situation. You may get promoted as a result of
your spectacular performance throughout the year. You
may be assigned a new responsibility this year. You
may go for a job change as well as there will be plenty
of opportunities available.
Romance this year: This is a quite good year for women
when romance is concerned. You will enjoy a very
strong relationship with your spouse. You may decide
to get married towards the end of the year.

30

November 19-25, 2016

SPIRITUAL AWARENESS

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Part two of the discourse 'Illumine your self with love'

God is the power of love


By Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharaj

o be truly happy in life, we


want to be filled with a love
that is lasting. The only per
manent love is the love of God,
which is divine or spiritual love.
Why? When we love others in
this physical world, we focus on
the outer form of the person, and
forget the inner love of the
Divine that connects us. The real
love we experience is the heart
toheart and soultosoul love.
The outer form is but a vehicle or
outer packaging that shrouds
that true love that is at the core
of that person.
Suppose you had some cereal
to eat. T he cereal can be
wrapped in a plastic baggie, or it
can be in a box. It is not the bag
or the box that we want to eat,
but the cereal w ithin them.
Similarly, when we say "I love
you" to a person, we are direct
ing that love to the essence of
that person. The outer wrapper
or physical form is not who we
are really loving; we are really
loving the persons essence with
in that form. How do we know
this? Look at how many changes
a person goes through in life.
They morph from a tiny infant, to
a toddler, to a schoolage child, to
a teenager, to an adult, to an
adult in his or her thirties, for
ties, fifties, sixties, seventies,
eighties, nineties, and over a
hundred. We can love someone
through that entire span of time,
although the outer packaging is
growing and aging. It is the per
son within that outer form who
we love.
The secret is that when we tap
into loving the essence of that
person, we are tapping into that
persons true nature, and that
nature is love itself. That love is
like the genetic code for all life.
Just as 99.9 percent of all
human genes are said by scien
tists to be the same, the genetic
spiritual heart of all life is love,
and that is the same for every
one. At the core of everyone is
love. That love is within you and
that love is within me, and that
love is within everyone. When we
connect with that love, we are in
bliss.

Sant Mat is the path of love.


Sant Mat translates into "teach
ings of the Masters or saints."
Study any of the worlds religions
and we find that the founder of
each religion taught the same
exact message, which is that God
is love, our soul is love, and the
way back to God is through love.
How simple and clear this mes
sage is, but we lose sight of it.
Thousands of books are written
to speculate about God, but the
founders of every religion had it

trons, electrons, and protons is a


pull of attraction that keeps them
tied together as molecules of
matter, or we would be just one
loose universe of floating energy
with no matter. Electricity is the
flow of charged particles from
the positive part of a circuit to
the negative part. Magnetism is
based on the flow of energ y
between positive and negative
poles. Physics is just an expres
sion of the law of love.
As Gods love flows out, cre

because we have forgotten that


love. Our separation from God is
due to forgetting this love.
This outer shell of the body we
wear is formed from the actions
and reactions of a long stream of
lifetimes in which we cycled
away from Gods love. We may
have been sent out for one expe
rience, but if we became enam
ored by Gods universes instead
of Go d, we ended up being
attracted to living in the realms
of creation instead of returning

Just as 99.9 percent of all human genes are said by


scientists to be the same, the genetic spiritual heart of
all life is love, and that is the same for everyone. At the
core of everyone is love. That love is within you and that
love is within me, and that love is within everyone.
When we connect with that love, we are in bliss.
correct. They boiled it down to
one word, and that is love. God is
the power of love. It is love that
blossomed forth into expression
as creation. Whether we poetical
ly describe Go d as a parent
whose love wanted to create chil
dren, or God as an artist whose
love to create burst forth into
song, paintings, poetry, or sculp
ture, the essence of that creation
is love.
If we look at nature we find at
the core of all the physical sci
ences is the law of attraction.
T his whole universe is he ld
together by the law of love
expressed as physics. Gravity is
the law of attraction that keeps
objects within the atmosphere of
the planet, or we would all float
off into space. The dance of neu

ation comes into being. Love lies


at the heart of all Gods expres
sions, from the spiritual realms
of creation, to the physical realm,
and all matter and energy that
exists within these realms.
Love is at the heart of all forms
of life in creation as well. It exists
within every living thing from
the plants, to the animals, to
humans. We name that love with
in us as the soul. The soul is a
spark of God, and as God is love,
our soul is also lovepure and
simple.
All problems that exist in cre
ation are due to forgetting the
love of God within us. If we were
to remember Go ds love, we
would be one with God, from
whom we were created. If we are
here on this planet today, it is

to God. How few returned to God.


It is said that only ten percent
wanted to go back to God, but
they had already accumulated
karma in their sojourn away
from God, and that had to be
paid off before they could return.
Think of the ninety percent who
have not yet remembered they
came from God, and how much
karma they are accumulating in
each successive life away from
God.
As long as we think we are the
body and mind and not the soul,
it is easy to forget love. What we
call love in this world is really a
manifestation of desire. How
many of us really love the
essence of other people for the
pure love within them? How
many love others conditionally

because we want something?


Some people claim to love others
but really want something from
them, like money, possessions,
control, power, favors, and the
like. When we love someone for
who they are at their core, that is
love. When we just love someone
for the sake of loving them, and
do not care to gain anything
from them, that is love. But most
people call something love when
it is nothing more than filling a
desire for money, belongings,
security, attachment, control, or
power.
These reasons for loving end
up dragging us through the mud
of anger, greed, attachment, and
ego. Thus, the socalled love only
adds to our karmic load. True
love frees us from karma
because we do not want anything
for ourselves.
So long as we have forgotten
love, we are in separation from
God. To end the separation from
God, we need to illumine our
selves with love, the expression
of God. That love is innate within
all of us. When we are illumined
with that love within, we connect
back to God.
Every religion stressed this key
purpose of life. Each religion has
love at its core. Each saint taught
the way to illumine ourselves
with that love. Once we find the
love within ourselves, we have
found God.
We think finding God is so
complex and technical. We think
that it is something that only a
lucky few throughout history
have done.
Finding love is so easy it can
be done by a child or person of
any age, whether literate or illit
erate. It is like digging for a
treasure hidden under your
house. Just dig and you will find
it. Instead we are looking for the
treasure everywhere else instead
of where it waits for us.
Imagine there is a treasure. Yet
we are ignorant of it. How can we
find it? We need someone with
the map to show us the right
place to dig for the treasure. That
person can show us the right
tools we need, the right place to
dig, and the technique for
digging.
Similarly, the treasure of Gods
love is within us. We have forgot
ten it is there, forgotten how to
dig for it, and forgotten the tech
nique. Masters are the catalyst
by which we can find and
reawaken that love within.

(to be continued....)

TheSouthAsianTimes.info

November 19-25, 2016

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