Sudhan Thomas, an Indian-American 9/11 historian docent is running for a key educational office in New Jersey and if elected the position could help him play a key role in the U.S. state’s education system.
Sudhan Thomas, a business professional who has been active in the Indian-American community, is running for the Jersey City Board of Education. Thomas is one of the 180 certified 9/11 historian docents who educates visitors at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, where his work has impacted millions of visitors and students.
He has also been actively involved in supporting veterans and LGBTQ equality. If elected, Thomas would be the first Indian-American in the Jersey City Board of Education. His campaign gained momentum after he received top endorsements in New Jersey, including by Ron Greco, president of the Jersey City Education Association.
“In vision, in experience and in leadership, Sudhan Thomas is the champion that our students need and believes in the promise of public education,” Greco said. New Jersey Assemblyman Raj Mukherji: “Sudhan Thomas is the right person at the right time for Jersey City. He is a parent and a business professional who has been active in the community, championing various initiatives over the last two decades. He represents a new generation of leadership that Jersey City desperately needs to address the challenges we face in urban public schools.”
Mukerji is the only South-Asian Assemblyman in New Jersey City, which has a large Indian-American population. “Now is the time to end the gridlock and initiate a progressive agenda in our schools. It is troubling that some Jersey City children attend school in trailer classrooms, without basic school supplies and infrastructure,” Thomas said.
College Democrats of New Jersey has also endorsed Thomas describing him as a parent, educator, business professional, and a taxpayer who possesses that skill set which will significantly benefit students.
Raju Kosuri, 44, and Smriti Jharia, 45, a married couple from Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty Aug. 25, to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and visa fraud, among other charges.
Kosuri and Jharia were indicted on April 27. According to the plea agreement, Kosuri, Jharia, and their co-conspirators fraudulently applied for more than 900 illegal immigration benefits under the H-1B visa program.
Since 2008, and at much greater scale since 2011, Kosuri built a staffing business that amounts to a visa-for-sale system, in violation of federal law, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia noted in a press release.
Kosuri and Jharia also admitted to defrauding the Small Business Administration in connection with a scheme to obtain HUBZone certification for a business named EcomNets Federal Solutions. Kosuri agreed to forfeit proceeds of his fraud schemes in the amount of $20.9 million.
New Jersey Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that nine additional individuals have been charged criminally with filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to Superstorm Sandy. Since March 2014, the Attorney General’s Office has filed criminal charges against 71 people for allegedly engaging in this type of fraud, including the nine individuals charged today.
They were charged for allegedly filing fraudulent applications for federal relief funds related to ‘Superstorm’ Sandy, among them an Indian-American from Edison, New Jersey. Sandipkumar Patel, 43, a motel owner, and 8 others are among more than 70 people charged since March 2014, with fraud in connection to the October 2012 storm that destroyed thousands of homes on the East Coast, Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced Aug. 22.
Sandipkumar Patel, 43, of Edison, N.J., allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $81,567 from the FEMA Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program. Under the TSA program, FEMA directly paid participating hotels and motels for rooms temporarily occupied by residents displaced by the storm. Patel owns the American Motel on Route 166 in Toms River, N.J., with his wife. FEMA paid the motel $133.28 per day for each room occupied by storm victims.
It is alleged that Patel fraudulently billed FEMA a total of $81,567 in the names of 11 individuals. Eight of the individuals allegedly never stayed at the motel at all, while the other three allegedly stayed for shorter periods or, in one case, shared a room that Patel already had billed to FEMA in the name of the other occupant. In some cases, Patel allegedly falsely billed for stays of multiple weeks or even months. He allegedly billed FEMA more than $50,000 in the names of several of his personal relatives who live in New Jersey but who were not displaced by the storm. Patel is charged with second-degree theft by deception.
“Stealing any type of public aid is reprehensible, but it’s especially egregious to steal relief funds in the context of a historic disaster, when every dollar is needed for recovery,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “We’ll continue to pursue these prosecutions with our state and federal partners, so we can guard these funds and deter this type of criminal conduct in future emergencies,” Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice, is quoted saying in the press release.
In some cases, Patel allegedly falsely billed for stays of multiple weeks or even months. He allegedly billed FEMA more than $50,000 in the names of several of his personal relatives who live in New Jersey but who were not displaced by the storm.
Elmont, New York: India’s 70th Independence Day celebrations at the Kerala Center started in the afternoon of Sunday, August 14 and was celebrated with fun games and barbecue dinner. The Indian National Flag was hoisted on the center’s flagpole by Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kerala Center with the singing of the Jana Gana Mana by Ms. Lauren Vattakalam. Then the goodly crowd of the Center’s members and friends withdrew from the hot and humid sun to the cool of the auditorium. Mr. Thambi Thalappillil, Center President welcomed the gathering to the celebration and introduced Board Member Abraham Thomas as Event Coordinator. Thomas stated that the festivities were youth-oriented and put together by the Center’s Youth Club Committee: Jake Thottam, Joel Thomas, Amrita Pulianapallil, Noel Kuzhiparambil, Melvin Manumkal, Anil Paradiyil, Jasmin Uralil, Niel Chaco, Maryann Philip and Lauren Vattakalam.
CMC, famous story teller and beloved member of Sargavedi, delivered a poignant and brief message. Dr. Bhaskaran, inaugurated the youngster’s games with a few great words of patriotic fervor, and Dilip Varghese, a Founder Grand Patron of the Center, played a few of those games, at a dollar for a try. The floor was arranged not with rows and rows of chairs as for a formal meeting, but with various play stations. Soon the adults left the children to their laughter and clatter and re-paired upstairs for card game competitions. There were 36 participants, at $10 per head, for Game 28 and Game 56. The competition progressed through Elimination, Semi Finals and Finals. Card Game Tournament Winners received medals and cash awards. The winners for he card games are as follows: Game 56: Somanathan Nair, Jose Madathilkunnel and Mathew Chacko, Second : Jose Thottam, Thomas Thottam and James Pattiyalil; Game 28: Binchu John, Abraham Abraham, and Anthony Kunjeria, Second: Raju Thomas, Dr. Nandakumar Chanayil and Sani Ambookan. Besides, a fund-raising raffle put some green bills into one lucky pocket.
Meanwhile, barbecue grills had been fired up in the yard. Finally it was time to eat. To eat at leisure. All of Nature’s bounty into the tummy. To be washed down with soda or beer. The eating went on till 8:00 pm, with song, dance and play. The whole event was fun, relaxed and truly celebratory.
Longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin announced here on Monday, August 29th that she and former US Rep. Anthony Weiner are separating after new reports surfaced that he sent sexually suggestive photos again.
“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband. Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy,” Abedin said in a statement.
Abedin was “furious and sickened” by the picture of Weiner and their 4-year-old son, Jordan, according to two people close to the family. Media reports quoting the sources said she did not know about it or details of the latest sexting exchange until this weekend.
Photos published by The New York Post late Sunday show the man completely and others feature Weiner’s face, but the photo of the boy has been partially blurred out, and the woman’s face is blurred out in her photos. The Post, which did not completely identify the woman, said she provided 12 selfies from Weiner. The paper described her as a 40-something divorced woman from the West.
Abedin and Weiner have been “essentially” separated for months, a close friend to Abedin said after she officially announced their separation on Monday. Weiner had resigned from Congress in 2011 after he accidentally posted a lewd photo of himself on his Twitter account. In the midst of Weiner’s first sexting scandal, it became known that his wife was expecting their first child.
Two years later he was caught again, sexting with an aspiring porn star from southwest Indiana named Sydney Leathers. During his run for mayor, Weiner, had adopted the online pseudonym “Carlos Danger.”
Weiner, who torpedoed his own political career five years ago with a sexting scandal and whose wife is Clinton’s closest adviser, deleted his Twitter account after the latest report surfaced.
Reports stated that the two of them exchanged racy photos over the course of about a year, including one exchange where she alleges that he sexted her with his son apparently sleeping next to him.
“Someone just climbed into my bed,” Weiner allegedly wrote in a message, sent July 31, 2015, according to the New York Post. He then is alleged to have sent a picture of a barechested man with white boxers and a bulge, while a small child is asleep beside him. “Your do realize you can see you(r) Weiner in that pic??” the woman replied, according to the Post.
Abedin and Weiner had been distant and “heading on a path apart” for a few months, but she was reluctant to leave, according to the two sources close to the family. Her faith is a big part of that, as she has told friends and even Vogue magazine, and she knew it would draw headlines. “She did not want this to be another distraction for Hillary,” one friend was quoted to have said. Abedin is reportedly Clinton’s most well known aide.
August 30th, New York – A 13-day cultural festival attended by over 1,000 people from 60 countries, ends today in Queens, NY. The ‘Songs of the Soul’ concert at NYU’s Skirball Center in Manhattan, hundreds of musical and theatrical performances, poetry, and sports events held in Rockland State Park and Queens, NY all celebrated the life and work Indian-born peace luminary Sri Chinmoy. The events were organized for the occasion of Sri Chinmoy’s 85th Birth Anniversary.
The festival began with the Sri Chinmoy Poetry Festival and launch of the first international Bengali-English edition of The Garden of Love-Light by Sri Chinmoy. The Bengali language is the author’s mother tongue and very close to his heart. Main presenters included Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury and Award winning writer and professor Neelima Shukla-Bhatt. President of the Jharna-Kala Art Foundation and festival director Ranjana Ghose introduced the book “as some of Sri Chinmoy’s earliest and important poetry
Ambassador and former UN Under Secretary-General Anwarul K. Chowdhury offered the opening remarks. “I am very happy that Sri Chinmoy’s spirituality, his work for peace, his humanism, his belief in the oneness of humanity has continued to inspire me in my work over many, many years.”
Professor Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, Director of South Asia Studies at Wellesley College, related that when she was at Harvard doing her Ph.D research on expressions of devotion through poetry and song, and on cultural forms and resources that tie people together across boundaries, she studied Sri Chinmoy’s poetry and was delighted to be now, years later, speaking at the Sri Chinmoy Poetry Festival.
Sri Chinmoy set music to all 140 poems in The Garden of Love-Light , and singer Debashree Bhattacharya and her accompanists performed a selection including the title song of the book, Premaloker Kanane: In the garden of Love-Light, In silence-dream, O Beauty Eternal!, and This heart of mine is in Your embrace.
At the ‘Songs of the Soul’ concert the following evening, an international orchestra, world music ensembles from around the globe and the Sri Chinmoy Bhajan Singers performed more of Sri Chinmoy’s musical compositions selected from a vast body of over 21,000 songs. The Songs of the Soul Concert was held at the Skirball Center at NYU in Manhattan to a capacity audience.
August 27th, Sri Chinmoy’s actual birthday, featured fireworks and a Guinness world record: 72,000 candles lit on a giant birthday cake spanning 45 by 10 feet (13.5 by 3 meters) organized by Ashrita Furman with 100 assistants.
During the festival Ranjana Ghose read out messages which had come from world luminaries around the world including President Mikhail Gorbachev:”I am glad to address your large international gathering in New York on the occasion of Sri Chinmoy’s 85th birth anniversary. As you may know, Sri Chinmoy and I were born in the same year… We had a strong mutual understanding which grew into friendship. Sometimes I read his books and I notice that his words give me strength to face the challenges of our times…
On the website of our foundation is the Motto which is very important to me. I’d like to quote it here: “The XXI century will be a сentury either of total all-embracing crisis or of moral and spiritual healing that will reinvigorate humankind. It is my conviction that all of us – all reasonable political leaders, all spiritual and ideological movements, all faiths – must help in this transition to a triumph of humanism and justice, in making the XXI century a century of a new human renaissance.”
And Archbishop Desmond wrote: “Sri Chinmoy gave his life to work for the dream of a world where peace will emerge victorious. He strove for the oneness of all peoples, especially by reaching out to the youth. May God bless all of you gathered to observe Sri Chinmoy’s Birth Anniversary as you continue with your wonderful service to our fellow humanity. In this way you will honour Sri Chinmoy’s life and work more than you can imagine.”
Donald Trump is planned to deliver remarks at an event hosted by the Republican Hindu Coalition next month, as he looks to expand his outreach to minority voting blocs. He is expected to speak against terrorism on September 24 at the PNC Bank Art Center in Holmdel, New Jersey.
The event, titled “Humanity United Against Terror,” will take place in Holmdel two days before the Republican presidential nominee is slated to meet Hillary Clinton on the debate stage in nearby Hempstead, N.Y. According to a press release, Trump will also meet with members of his campaign’s Indian American Advisory Board at the event.
The coalition was formed by Shalli Kumar, an Indian-American businessman and GOP mega donor, who said last fall that the group planned to raise around $10 million to contribute to Republican congressional candidates this cycle. The group’s honorary chairman is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a top ally and adviser to Trump, and someone who has encouraged the GOP to reach Indian-American voters through issues like national security.
Kumar has emerged as one of Trump’s largest campaign donors. On July 16, Kumar wired $449,400 to Trump’s campaign, the maximum amount an individual can donate to the fund in one election cycle. His wife then made an equal donation of $449,400. Kumar said he expects 25,000 people to attend the event. The RHC is offering tickets from its Web site to anyone who donates $101 or more.
“It’s Trump being Trump,” said Indian-American business person and co-founder of the RHC, Shalli Kumar. “He’s just misunderstood. He is just as color, religion, race-blind as anyone could be. He’s a business person.”
In an exclusive interview with Diya TV, Kumar lauded this first of its kind event specific to Indian-Americans. “The goal is to unite Hindu-American community with conservative values together and expand the RHC and at the time same time help the victims of terror throughout the world.”
Trump will meet with members of his campaign’s Indian American Advisory Board at the event. Bollywood stars and major Hindu spiritual leaders are also scheduled to attend. Kumar believes the four hour spectacle will attract 25,000 to 30,000 people, featuring surprises he does not want to disclose yet. The event is just one part of the effort the GOP is making to appeal to America’s most affluent and educated ethnic minority.
“When the Republican party leaders launched the Republican Hindu Coalition, they had a purpose to expand Republican outreach to India, Indian-Americans in particular along the lines of Jewish Americans,” said Kumar. The RHC plans to raise around $10 million to support various Republican congressional candidates this cycle.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has endorsed Democrat challenger Indian American Peter Jacob, who hopes to unseat Republican incumbent Leonard Lance in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Somerville and several other Somerset County municipalities.
Jacob and 60 other liberal Democrat candidates running for local, state and Congressional office in November’s election, are included on Sander’s preferred list of candidates and ballot initiatives on the Our Revolution website. The site was officially launched Wednesday on Sanders’ home turf with thousands of supporters in the audience and 2,600 viewing parties nationwide watching a Live Stream broadcast online.
Sanders’s endorsement is expected to give a big boost to the election campaign of 30-year-old Jacob, who is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Leonard Lance who has represented Congressional District 7 of New Jersey since 2009. “Raised in Union, New Jersey, in an Indian-American family, Peter understands how important a safe and caring community is to success,” the website said. “Through various community organisations, Peter has helped fight the ongoing scourges of child abuse, human trafficking, and disastrous Iraq War,” it said.
Jacob, whose parents immigrated from India in 1986, hoped that this would help him enter the Congress. “Everyone at our campaign is incredibly touched and thankful for where we are at right now, however, we have a long way to go. With the backing of Senator Sanders, the Our Revolution campaign, and your help, we can bring the people’s voices back to Washington,” he said in a statement. Jacob is the only campaign selected by Sanders in the State of New Jersey.
This is the same Congressional district from where Upendra Chivukula – the first Indian American to be elected to the New Jersey State Assembly – tried his luck in 2012 and lost to Lance by more than 50,000 votes. The 7th Congressional District of New Jersey is said to be a strong Republican bastion. The party has retained this seat for the last 100 years, except for six years between 1975-1981.
Jacob’s political agenda embodies much of what Sanders has advocated – $15 an hour minmum wage, free college tuition, redistribution of wealth, less reliance on fossil fuels and other progressive initiatives. “Yesterday, we had the honor of being endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders and his new non-profit organization, Our Revolution. Not only did Our Revolution endorse us, but our candidacy became the first and only New Jersey campaign selected to carry the torch that he lit just last year,” Jacob said.
Our Revolution has begun, a movement of millions of people standing up and saying enough with politics as usual,” he added. “We deserve a candidate who will bring the people’s voice back to Washington, and we are honored Senator Sanders and Our Revolution believe in us to do exactly that,” Jacob said.
After attending Union County College, in New Jersey, Jacob continued undergraduate studies in Sociology at Kean University. Soon after, Peter studied at Washington University in St Louis, earning a Master of Social Work from the top-ranked program in the nation. During his undergraduate and graduate years, Peter was a student activist and leader.
Why would Zia want to climb five floors of a hotel? Why did someone think Zia could fix his TV? Was Zia practicing urine therapy? What did Christopher Lee and Alyque Padamsee have in common? Ambassador Prabhu Dayal’s latest book, KARACHI HALWA seeks to answer these and many other questions. The book was launched in New York and New Jersey last month.
KARACHI HALWA is a witty but insightful portrayal of Zia ul Haq’s rule in Pakistan. Ambassador Prabhu Dayal shares his recollections of that period and keeps you laughing throughout his account of the bumpy ride of Pakistan’s domestic politics and its relationship with India. He tells you how a Sahiwal cow was brought into the equation, and where an elephant comes in.
He says, ‘The past, the present and the future are in one continuous motion. Whatever I witnessed in Pakistan during Zia’s rule extends its long shadow not only over the present times but will do so well into the future also’. He poses the ultimate question whether the two South Asian giants can live as friends, offering his own suggestions.
Halwa is an Arabic word meaning a dessert or sweet that is generally flour or nut based. The dessert itself has been adopted by many cuisines, which have introduced their own variations, and halwa is now part of the lexicon of many languages. The Indian subcontinent is home to many different types of halwa too, but Karachi Halwa is a highly regarded and well-liked speciality.
The Prologue states: “It was the second half of 1981, and my tenure as Second Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Cairo was coming to an end. The three and a half years that I had spent in the Egyptian capital were a highly rewarding experience for a debutant in the complex world of international diplomacy.
Soon after my arrival in Cairo, Egypt and Israel had signed the Camp David Accords in September 1978, which paved the way for the Peace Treaty which was signed in March 1979. In recognition of this momentous achievement, President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for that year. In his acceptance speech, Sadat had said, “Let us put an end to wars, let us reshape life on the basis of solid equity and truth.”
This Peace Treaty ended the state of war that had existed between Egypt and Israel since 1948. It made Egypt the first Arab country to recognize Israel, but for the same reason, it became unpopular in most of the other Arab countries. In their view, Sadat had betrayed the concept of Arab unity, and Egypt was suspended from the Arab League in 1979.
In short, it was a period of hectic diplomatic activity. I was on my toes all the time trying to cope with the tasks assigned to me. As a result, I was now looking for a good peak. It was no secret to my colleagues at the Embassy that I was sure that I would soon be winging my way towards Europe or America for my next posting. I started daydreaming about all those wonderful places I might be headed to.
On one such day, a colleague walked into my office with a poad grin on his face and a telex message in his hand. “Great news!” he proclaimed. Trembling with excitement, I asked him: “Washington? London?” His grin was so poad that I was sure it had to be one of these.
He handed me the telex – in those days e-mails or even fax messages had not yet arrived on the scene, and all good and bad tidings were sent by the External Affairs Ministry by telex.
“KARACHI?” I screamed in disbelief, while his grin grew even poader. Not even in my worst nightmares had I seen myself being packed off to Karachi from Cairo. I had every reason to believe that the Pakistanis would be hostile to me. Our two countries had fought wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971, respectively, and in the last amongst these, we had achieved a decisive victory that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. I was miserable at the thought of being sent off on a posting to a country where I was sure to be regarded as an enemy.
During my stay in Karachi, I met several people who were the very embodiment of sophistication and refinement. Remnants of the legendary Nawabi era, they were a charming blend of wealth and culture – poignant reminders of an age fast receding into the past.
There were also many enchanting evenings I spent at spellbinding concerts of Pakistani maestros, or at mushairas (Urdu poetic symposia) graced by the participation of renowned Pakistani poets. I felt truly enriched by such cultural fiestas.
Then there were those equally enjoyable evenings that I spent just relaxing in the company of a few close Pakistani friends. These occasions gave me the opportunity to savor the best of Karachi humor – always original though at times, somewhat cynical.
These and many other memories fill me with sweetness even today. On the other hand, I was often witness to the unabashed lying and duplicity that Pakistani leaders have developed into a fine art. Their pronouncements were often at such variance with ground realities that they were difficult to digest. My posting in Pakistan turned out to be so much like Karachi Halwa!” ‘Karachi Halwa’ is published in India by Zorba Books and the Kindle edition is available online at Amazon. Prabhu Dayal’s wife Chandini Dayal has provided illustrations for the book.
Huma Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president, has come under scrutiny, for suspected ties to Muslim Brotherhood. “Why aren’t we talking about Huma [Abedin] and her ties to the Muslim Brotherhood? Why aren’t we talking about the fact that she was an editor for a Sharia newspaper?” Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), asked in an interview on CNN, on August 23, 2016.
Abedin had worked for her when Clinton was first lady, a senator and secretary of state. Abedin is now vice chair of the Clinton campaign. She is married to former representative Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who had resigned in disgrace over sex-tinged social media posts.
According to a report in Washington Post, Abedin has been the subject of suspicion on the right, given that she grew up in Saudi Arabia (after being born in Kalamazoo, Mich.) before attending George Washington University. Roger Stone, a top adviser to GOP nominee Donald Trump, described Abedin on Aug. 23 as a “Saudi asset.” Her name popped in the news again after the New York Post published an article on Aug. 21 titled, “Huma Abedin worked at a radical Muslim journal for a dozen years” – what Duffy was referring to when he said she was “an editor for a Sharia newspaper.” The Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamic movement that is a force in Middle Eastern politics – and labeled by some countries as a terrorist organization.
However, Washington Post has reported that “Abedin was not associated with a newspaper but a staid academic journal called the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. The journal is edited by Abedin’s mother, Saleha Mahmood Abedin, who is a dean of a Saudi woman’s college in Jiddah that Clinton visited when she was secretary of state.”
The Post clarified that the fact that “Huma Abedin was listed as an assistant editor between 1996 and 2008 is not news, as that had previously been reported in 2012. The Clinton campaign says Abedin played no role in editing articles; her brother and sister are also listed as staff members.”
Washington Post wrote: “The New York Post described the journal as “a radical Muslim publication” but that’s ridiculous, according to experts on Islam and members of the advisory board. The New York Post report cherry-picked quotes and mischaracterized articles published over the years, including by Saleha Abedin, according to a review of the articles by the Fact Checker.
“I wouldn’t consider it ‘radical.’ Quite the contrary,” said Noah Feldman, director of the Julius-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard Law School. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of articles expressing conservative viewpoints, of course. But I’ve never seen anything in any way radical.”
Regarding Huma Abedin’s supposed “ties” to the Muslim Brotherhood, Washington Post reported that Abedin’s mother founded an aid organization in the 1990s called the International Islamic Committee for Woman and Child, which at one point was said to be affiliated with International Islamic Council for Da’wa and Relief. IICDR was banned in Israel years later for allegedly supporting Hamas, a Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, under the auspices of yet another group, the Union of Good. The Union of Good was designated by Treasury in 2008 for aiding a terrorist organization.
According to Washington Post, Duffy asked why the alleged Muslim Brotherhood connections to Huma Abedin are not being talked about. “Perhaps it’s because they are bogus. Abedin has lived in the United States for nearly a quarter-century, working in the White House, the Senate and the State Department. Vague suggestions of suspicious-sounding connections to her parents don’t pass the laugh test, even at the flimsiest standard of guilt by association. The journal edited by her mother, meanwhile, is not “sharia newspaper” but a sober academic journal with a range of viewpoints on Muslim life around the world.”.
Navtej Sarna, India’s high commissioner to UK, is expected to take over from Arun Singh as India’s next ambassador to the US. Sarna has only recently been sent from South Block where he was secretary (west) to London as high commissioner. Reports here say, Navtej Sarna is being asked to move to Washington as the country’s next ambassador, as the U.S. prepares for a presidential transition.
Sarna’s name was discussed and cleared at the highest level, reports said. He will take over from Arun Kumar Singh who retires by month-end. Sarna has had a previous posting in Washington when he was Minister for Press, Information and Culture between 1998 and 2002.
Before moving to London, Sarna was Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs where he oversaw the successful hosting last October of the India-Africa Forum Summit that was attended by a record number of 53 African countries.
If appointed, Sarna would keep an informal tradition alive by being the third former ambassador to Israel to make it as either deputy head or ambassador in Washington DC. Sarna is likely to be joined by Santosh Jha who is currently joint secretary (policy planning) in MEA, tasked by foreign secretary S Jaishankar with the job of completely revamping this division. Jha is likely to be the next deputy ambassador there.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally very happy with the organization of the Summit and had congratulated External Affairs Sushma Swaraj for it. It is clear Modi wanted someone in Washington he was confident would be able to steer the multi-faceted India-U.S. relations into a new phase with a new administration.
Sarna was among the longest-serving spokespersons of the ministry between 2002 and 2008. In his 35-year diplomatic career, Sinha has served in India’s diplomatic missions in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America. He has had postings in Moscow, Warsaw, Tehran, Geneva and Thimphu. Sarna is also a prolific author of many fiction and non-fiction books, with the most recent being ‘Second Thoughts: On Books, Authors and the Writerly Life’ that was released last year. He was a big hit in London’s literary circles and had also become, in a short span, a popular figure in the Indian community in the U.K.
An exhibition showcasing the life and works of Mother Teresa, who spent most of her life in service of the destitute in India, will be organized at the United Nations headquarters next month in celebration of the Nobel Laureate being canonized on September 4.
The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN, together with non-profit legal organisation ADF International, will host the exhibition dedicated to her “words, witness, and works” from September 6-9.
The exhibition will open just days after Mother Teresa, who had founded the “Missionaries of Charity”, is declared a Saint by Pope Francis at a ceremony in the Vatican on September 4.
The date chosen for her canonisation is the eve of the 19th anniversary of her death. The Pope had cleared the way for her sainthood last year when he recognised a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresa.
“Mother Teresa was a true advocate for the sanctity of life and the family,” ADF International Executive Director Doug Napier said in a statement.
“Sometimes she used words to present her ideas, but her actions and example spoke louder than her words. She acted faithfully and relentlessly. It is this passion that makes her a great role model for anyone working with or at the United Nations,” Napier said.
Napier said the exhibit should remind the world of her wisdom, outstanding work and her “radical love for every human being, the poor, the sick, the unborn, and the dying.”
The exhibition would culminate with a conference on 87-year-old Mother Teresa’s “enduring message to the international community.”
The conference will also focus on aspects of her life and work, such as caring for the poorest of the poor, advocating for peace, and leaving no one behind, ADF said.
UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar had introduced the Catholic nun before her speech in front of the General Assembly in 1985 by saying “Mother Teresa is the United Nations” to illustrate that she embodied what the UN’s mission is supposed to be.
Meanwhile, back in India, in order to mark Mother Teresa’s canonisation ceremony in Vatican on September 4, a special postal cover will be released by the Indian postal department to honour the late Roman Catholic nun. Made of pure silk, India Post will release a special postal and numismatic cover of Mother Teresa, the first of its kind, on September 2.
“A five-rupee commemorative coin issued by the Indian government in 2010 to mark the centenary birth celebrations of the legend will be engraved on the cover. This is a special feature as it combines the two collectible items of coins and stamps,” eminent philatelist Alok K Goyal, who designed the stamps, said.
The collectors’ item will be released in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces. The Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office also had announced that a special 95-cent stamp featuring Mother Teresa would be released two days prior to the Sept 4 canonisation ceremony.
Besides this, the Republic of Macedonia, where Mother Teresa was born in 1910, has also announced to release a special gold-plated silver coin on the Nobel laureate. The coin will have a face value of 100 Macedonian Denars and will be released next month.
Up to 5,000 pieces of the coin will be minted for the global market out of which 50 will be made available for the Indian market, said Goyal, an international dealer in unusual stamps and coins.
At the centre of the coin is a statue of Mother Teresa dressed in her trademark plain white sari with three blue stripes along its border.
The coin also has the image of a clematis flower known as “Matka Teresa” (Mother Teresa) bred by Stefan Franczak, Polish Jesuit monk. It also carries the Latin inscription “Sancta Teresia de Calcutta” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta).
“We are hoping that this coin will be a hit not only in the Indian market but all over the world as she has her fans in every corner,” Goyal, who represents the International Coin House in India, said.
In Kolkata, where Mother Teresa had worked all her life and established the Missionaries of Charity, a life-size bronze statue of her will be installed at the Bishop House next to the statue of Pope John Paul IIon Aug 25, the eve of her birth anniversary.
Built by Church Art, a Kolkata-based firm engaged in making various works of art, the 5.5 feet long statue is made of bronze imported from Italy. The statue has been donated by Namit Bajoria, Designate Honorary Consul of the Republic of Macedonia in Kolkata. The government of Macedonia has also announced that they will mark thecanonisation of Mother Teresa with several events.
Siddharth Chatterjee, the Representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Kenya, has been appointed UN Resident Coordinator, where he will lead and coordinate 25 UN agencies in East Africa. At the same time, he will also serve as the Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
At UNFPA, he and his team spearheaded efforts to reduce the unacceptably high maternal deaths in Kenya putting the spotlight on the challenges faced by adolescent girls, including child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and sexual and gender based violence.
Before he joined UNFPA, Chatterjee served as the Chief Diplomat and Head of Strategic Partnerships and was also responsible for resource mobilization at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) since 2011.
In 1997 he joined the UN in Bosnia and over the next two decades served in Iraq, South Sudan, Indonesia, Sudan (Darfur), Somalia, Denmark, and Kenya. He has worked in UN Peace Keeping, UNICEF, UNOPS, the Red Cross and UNFPA.
Welcoming the appointment, Ruth Kagia, Senior Advisor, International Relations and Social Sectors in the Office of the President of Kenya said, “Sid’s insightful understanding of clients’ needs as the UNFPA Representative in Kenya has translated into tangible gains in maternal, child and adolescent health. His relentless energy and focus on results has helped build relationships and networks of trust and confidence with the highest levels of Government, civil society, the private sector and development partners.”
Chatterjee is expected to continue his advocacy for women’s empowerment in Kenya where he has led notable initiatives to advance reproductive, maternal, neo-natal, child and adolescent health.
Chatterjee is expected to continue his advocacy for women’s empowerment in Kenya where he has led notable initiatives to advance reproductive, maternal, neo-natal, child and adolescent health.
Dr Julitta Onabanjo, UNFPA’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa said, “Sid resolutely pushed UNFPA’s mandate in the hardest to reach counties and service of the most vulnerable. He mobilized resources and partners in the private sector to join this drive to leapfrog maternal and new-born health. This bold initiative was highlighted by the World Economic Forum in Davos and Kigali”.
Among Chatterjee’s other career achievements include mobilizing the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement to join the eradication of polio initiative; negotiating access with rebel groups to undertake a successful polio immunization campaign in the rebel controlled areas of Darfur; leading UNICEF’s emergency response when conflict broke out in Indonesia’s Aceh and the Malukus provinces; and overseeing UNICEF’s largest demobilization of child soldiers in South Sudan in 2001.
A prolific writer, Chatterjee’s articles have featured on CNN, Al Jazeera, Forbes, Huffington Post, Reuters, the Guardian, Inter Press Service, as well as the major Kenyan newspapers. He was recently profiled by Forbes magazine in an article titled, “Passionate Leader of UNFPA Kenya Battles Violence against Women, FGM and Child Marriage.”
His early career was in a Special Forces unit of the Indian Army, where he was decorated in 1995 for bravery by the President of India. Chatterjee holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Princeton University, USA and a Bachelor’s degree from the National Defence Academy in India.
Chicago IL: Adarsh Shastri, Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Dwarka constituency in Delhi and Parliamentary Secretary heading IT initiatives in Delhi government, was in Chicago past weekend to participate in Independence Day parade organized by FIA Chicago. Col CD Kamboj (retd), AAP leader from Punjab was present on the occasion as well. They addressed volunteers and supporters of the party in an event organized on Friday, August 19th at cascade banquets.
Mr Shastri highlighted the innovative solutions Delhi government has been implementing since they formed the government in field of Education or Healthcare or Transport and other areas. How a simple concept of Mohalla clinics, 105 of which are operational and additional 1000 are being planned to open by March 2017 across Delhi, are a game changer for poor people and even lower/upper middle class as quality and free healthcare is starting to be made available close to their pace of residence helping them not only financially by avoiding expensive private healthcare but also cutting down log travel times to hospitals. In addition to clinics, the existing hospital infrastructure has been drastically improved along with rolling out of free medicines in hospitals as well.
Several initiatives have been undertaken to reform education sector in Delhi with 8000 new class rooms being added from this year onwards in Delhi school system, significantly cutting down the number of students in each class. New state of art schools and skill training centers have been opened as well with a mission of making Delhi government operated schools better than education, infrastructure and other facilities being provided in private schools.
Corruption has largely reduced, highlights of which can be seen in the money being saved in construction of flyovers and other projects across Delhi where major projects are finishing under budget and before time without compromising on quality. The money saved from such budgeted initiatives is being routed to provide further benefits like free medicines to people of Delhi.
Shastri and Kamboj also shared significant progress being made by party not only in Punjab but state of Goa and Gujarat as well. Various dialogues that are underway across the state of Punjab and Goa to gather feedback from people in areas of drugs, unemployment & jobs, education, corruption, safety and security, farmer suicides and governance in general. Aam Aadmi Party will be releasing separate manifestos for each of these highlighted areas with concrete plans to address the issues raised by local people when party forms the government in Feb 2017. Both leaders encouraged the gathering to whole hardheartedly support the party to save Punjab from clutches of corrupt current and prior establishment who have pushed a flourishing state few decades back to absolute rock bottom as compared to other states in India.
AAP Chicago team Ajeet Singh (Convener), Lakhbir S Sandhu (co-convener),Atul Anand(Treasure) Gurmukh S Bhullar(Media Inchrage) Mat S Dhillon(secretary) and Gurinder S Sandhu(coordinator) and Satinder S Susana (Coordinator) welcomed the gathering and thanked them for their continued support to the party.
In yet another sign of growing close ties between India and the United States signed a landmark defense agreement Tuesday, August 30th, that will increase the military cooperation between two of the world’s largest democracies.
The agreement, coming after nearly a decade of painstaking discussions, was finalized during a visit to Washington by Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, and it was touted as a symbol of deeper defense ties between the two nations in an increasingly tense part of the world.
In a joint statement, Parrikar and Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said discussions ranged from “increased strategic and regional cooperation, to deepened military-to-military exchanges, to expanded collaboration on defense technology and innovation.”
New Delhi had strong reservations about this agreement for nearly a decade, despite the growing strategic proximity between the two nations. Many security officials and politicians in the previous Indian administration had warned that it could lock their country into a formal and irreversible military alliance and push New Delhi into supporting U.S. conflicts, a move that could upset countries such as Russia and China and friendly nations in the Middle East.
The United States is a second-largest defense-equipment retailer to India, with about $4.4 billion value of deals in a past 3 years. It is also India’s many common partner in troops exercises. Six years ago, President Obama called a ties with India “the defining partnership for America in a 21st century.”
The Logistics Exchange Memorandum Of Agreement allows for reciprocal sell of logistics support, reserve and services between a dual countries’ armed forces. This includes food, water, fuel, gangling parts, repair, transportation, communication and medical services.
Washington, which has signed more than 100 such agreements with partner nations, promoted the deal as a way to build interoperability between the two militaries.
It has been a bumpy road to greater military cooperation. Every time the United States reached out for a closer strategic embrace, New Delhi would take an awkward step back.
The agreement signed Tuesday “does not create any obligations on either party to carry out any joint activity. It does not provide for the establishment of any bases or basing arrangements,” the Indian governmentstatement said.
The agreement applies exclusively to authorized port visits, joint exercises, joint training, humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief efforts. It streamlines relations between the two militaries, allowing, for instance, refueling without having to come up with a new agreement each time, analysts said.
“It’s like having a tab at the local bar. It is an easier way of doing things. It will facilitate cooperation in high seas,” said Ben Schwartz, director for defense and aerospace at the U.S.-India Business Council.
Neera Tanden is among a four-member transition team appointed by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The team — called the Clinton-Kaine Transition Project — will be based in Washington and will be led by longtime Clinton confidants and supporters.
Neera Tanden, a Clinton policy advisor who has been with Clinton since her time as first lady, Maggie Williams, Clinton’s chief of staff in the first lady’s office, Tom Donilon, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm are the three members of the team. Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is the chair of the team which has the critical job of building a government -in-waiting during the 73 days between the Nov. 8 election and the presidential inauguration.
Among other massive tasks before it, the transition team has to find candidates for some 4,000 political appointments, and draft a budget for the $4 trillion federal government,Neera Tanden, head of the Washington, D.C. – based think tank, Center for American Progress, has been working with Hillary Clinton for decades. As per reports, Tanden’s visibility in the Clinton campaign has been rising, specifically her nationwide involvement in turning out the vote during the primaries. She also connected more closely with Indian-Americans as the community geared up for a more visible role in swing states and formed several ‘Indian-Americans for Hillary’ organizations.
Neera Tanden is the President and CEO of the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Tanden has served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, as well as presidential campaigns and think tanks. Most recently, Tanden served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Center, where she oversaw strategic planning, operations, and fundraising.
Tanden previously served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, working on President Barack Obama’s health reform team in the White House. In that role, she developed policies around reform and worked with Congress and stakeholders on particular provisions of the legislation.
Prior to that, Tanden was the director of domestic policy for the Obama-Biden presidential campaign, where she managed all domestic policy proposals. Tanden had also served as policy director for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, where she directed all policy work, ranging from domestic policy to the economy to foreign affairs, and managed day-to-day policy announcements. In that role, she also oversaw the debate preparation process for then-Sen. Clinton (D-NY).
Before the presidential campaign, Tanden was Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at CAP. Prior to that, she was one of the first senior staff members at the Center, joining as Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy when CAP first opened its doors. In between, Tanden was legislative director for Sen. Clinton, where she oversaw all policy and legislation in the Senate office. In 2000, she was Hillary Clinton’s deputy campaign manager and issues director for her Senate campaign in New York. Tanden also served as associate director for domestic policy in the Clinton White House and senior policy advisor to the first lady.
Tanden has appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’s “Face the Nation,” “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” MSNBC, CNN, and Fox. She was named one of the “Most Influential Women in Washington” by National Journal and received the India Abroad Publisher’s Award for Excellence in 2011. Tanden was recently included on Elle magazine’s “Women in Washington Power List” and recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Politics.” She received her bachelor of science from UCLA and her law degree from Yale Law School. A longtime supporter of and advisor to Hillary Clinton, Neera Tanden is expected by many to play a key role in any future Clinton administration—maybe even as Hillary’s White House Chief of Staff.
At the recent GOPIO General Body Meeting, Dr. Thomas Abraham was re-elected as the Chairman of GOPIO International after a lapse of seven years. Chairman is the head of the organization, as well as coordinates and chairs the General Body meeting. The Chairman also oversees the functioning of the Executive Council, GOPIO Councils and conducting elections every two years. Outgoing Chairman Inder Singh was elected as Executive Trustee of the GOPIO Foundation.
A new position GOPIO’s Global Ambassador was created by the GOPIO General Body by a constitutional amendment. Outgoing Executive Vice President Sunny Kulathakal from Bahrain was elected as GOPIO’s Global Ambassador. As GOPIO Ambassador, Kulathakal has been given the responsibility to initiate chapters in all cities and countries where GOPIO is yet to make its presence with chapters and Life Members.
The GOPIO Chairman, Executive Trustee and GOPIO’s Global Ambassador serve as ex-officio members of the Executive Council headed by President Niraj Baxi, who serves as CEO of the organization.
GOPIO’s General body also adopted a resolution to launch GOPIO International Chamber of Commerce (GICC). It will be worldwide body working within the GOPIO organization. The new Executive Council is business oriented and keenly interested to connect with businesses with India and across the world. The new chamber GICC will focus on some of Indian Prime Minister’s initiatives such as Make in India, Skill India and Digital India. With our 70 chapters in 30 countries, name recognition and with our extensive level of contacts, GOPIO hopes to grow this new chamber as a globally networked business promotion\
Dr. Thomas Abraham can be given great credits to the Indian Diaspora movement in the last four decades. Dr. Abraham coined the word PIO (people of Indian origin) in 1989, when he served as the Convener of the First Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York. Dr. Abraham initiated, nurtured and built up several community institutions including the Federation of Indian Association (FIA) of New York Metro Area, the National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA), GOPIO, National Indian American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC) and South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS). Was also co-founder of Indian American Kerala Center in New York and served Co-Chair for the campaign to raise funds for Jagdish Bhagwati Chair for Indian Political Economy at Columbia University. A material scientist and nanotechnologist by profession, Dr. Abraham is president of Innovative Research and Products, Inc.
Inder Singh regularly writes and speaks on Indian Diaspora. He is the author of The Gadar Heroics – life sketches of over 50 Gadar heroes. He is Executive Trustee of GOPIO Foundation, was chairman of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin from 2009-16 and president from 2004-2009, chairman of National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) from 1992-96 and president from 1988-92. He was founding president of Federation of Indian Associations in Southern California.
Publicist, author, publisher and community worker Sunny Kulathakal is a Post-Graduate in Economics. After a stint in the editorial department of a leading newspaper, he served as the Director of Development Department of a college in Bangalore for eight years. From 1977 onwards in the Middle East, Kulathakal did a series of research studies on Indians in the Gulf which were published as cover stories in the Illustrated Weekly of India, a Times of India publication. From 2004 onwards, Kulathakal is in Bahrain publishing The Gulf Who’s Who Directory. After receiving the community service award from GOPIO in 2004, he has been serving GOPIO in various capacities.
GOPIO is a non-partisan, non-sectarian and secular global organization with 70 chapters, over 200 life members in over 30 countries. It actively promotes the interests of people of Indian origin worldwide by monitoring and addressing current critical issues of concern, and by enhancing cooperation and communication between groups of Indians living in various countries. For more info, visit www.gopio.net
A record three women of Indian origin are in race for the first time in the US, seeking to enter the US Senate/Congress. Pramila Jayapal is running for House of Representatives from the state of Washington. Kamala Harris is running to enter the Senate from California. While Harris and Jayapal are Democrats, Lathika Mary Thomas is running for the House on a Republican ticket from Florida. This is the first time a woman of Indian origin has come thus far to fight a seat for US Congress from the state of Florida.
Congressman Dalip Singh Saund, a Democrat from California was the first ever Indian American elected in 1956 and the first Asian-American to serve on Capitol Hill. Since then, there have been only two others who made to the US Congress.
Ami Bera from California is the only Indian-American Congressman in the current Congress. He is among the three Indian-Americans elected to the Congress ever. While Ami Bera serves in the Congress, Boby Jindal, who was the second Indian American to be elected to the US Congress, later on became the Governor of the state of Louisiana and had an unsuccessful run to be the Republican nominee for US President.
In 2010, Nikki Haley (R-SC) made history by being elected the first female Indian-American governor in the United States. She is regarded as a rising star by those inside and outside the Republican Party
In the past two decades, several Indian-Americans have been making political inroads, from city councils to state capitols. “We certainly are looking at how to get Indian-Americans more engaged in politics,” said Bera, a Sacramento County physician and currently the sole Indian-American in Congress. “They should think about running for office.”
Harris, the twice-elected state attorney general is widely considered the front-runner in the California Senate race. Harris, whose mother is Indian-American and whose father is Jamaican-American, would be the first Asian or black American elected to the Senate from California.
She’s running in a presidential election year, which means higher voter turnout overall and more Democrats coming to the polls. Her candidacy showcases the diversity within the Asian-American community and has generated a lot of excitement.
If elected, Harris would be the second black woman in Senate after Carul Mosley Braun in 1992 and the first Indian-American in the Senate. Harris, who has been endorsed by US President Barack Obama is currently the California Attorney-General.
Jayapal, who earned an endorsement from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, would be the first Indian-American woman in Congress, if she wins the elections in November. According to latest polls, both Jayapal and Harris are expected to win their respective elections. Jayapal says she is running for Congress because “because our system is rigged for corporations and the wealthy, but we can fight back. The time has come to tackle this inequality: we need to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security and Medicare and ensure debt-free college for young people across America.”
Like Jayapal, Latika Mary Thomas if elected to the US House of Representatives seat from Florida would be the first Indian-American woman in the Congress.
Lathika Mary Thomas is running for US Congress from the Second Congressional District in Florida. If elected, Mary would make history as the first Indian-Malayalee American woman elected to Congress. Mary was born in Charleston, South Carolina to physician parents who arrived in America in 1972. Mary’s dad Dr. Tom Thomas is from Alleppey and mom Dr. Annie Thomas is from Palai, both in Kerala state, India.
Mary is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law. She also holds a Masters of Law from the University of Miami and a Bachelors degree from the University of South Florida. Mary was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to immigrant parents who arrived in America from India in 1972 with their educations and the hope of living the American dream. The Thomas family eventually settled in Pinellas County, where they started a successful small business.
She introduced herself as the daughter of legal immigrants from India, a wife, mom and Christian. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, who relocated with her family to Florida as a child, is hoping to become the first Indian-American elected to Congress from the state, something she said “would truly be an historic event.”
In addition to these three women, there are several other Indian American women candidates who are in race to win elections in various parts of the country, and create history of sorts. It’s also very much on the cards that more Indian American women will win elections this year than their male counterparts.
There are several incumbent Indian American politicians at present: Aruna Miller (D-MD) has served in the Maryland House of Delegates since 2011. Kshama Sawant was elected to the Seattle City Council in 2013. In Iowa, Swati Dandekar (D-IA) was a member of the state legislature for several years before being appointed to the Iowa Utilities Board by Governor Terry Branstad. Anu Natarajan served on the Fremont City Council for more than a decade before becoming the city’s vice-mayor. Reshma Saujani served as New York City’s Deputy Public Advocate before founding the popular technology non-profit Girls Who Code. In Manhatttan’s 65th Assembly District, Jenifer Rajkumar is running for New York State Assembly.
Asian-Americans, which include Indian-Americans, are the fastest growing demographic group in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center.Nearly 600,000 of the country’s 3.1 million Indian-Americans live in California, and the state boasts a number of notable elected officials. Besides Bera, who was born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents, they include Californian Attorney General Kamala Harris, who could become the first Indian-American elected to the U.S. Senate.
Though Americans of Indian descent account for only 0.1 percent of the U.S. population, they are the most affluent and best educated of any immigrant group in the country, according to Pew. They lean strongly toward Democrats, yet two Republican governors, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Nikki Haley of South Carolina, are of Indian descent.
A Pew Research Center report last year found that 65 percent of Indian-Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the party, the highest level of affiliation among Asian-American groups. Asian-Americans as a whole overwhelmingly voted for President Barack Obama in 2012, even outpacing Latinos.
While Bangladesh is among the top five countries at risk of disaster, India ranks 77th on the World Risk Index, marginally better positioned than Pakistan which is placed 72. The index is part of the World Risk Report 2016 released on Thursday by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
The index assessed the risk of disaster in 171 countries through the combined analysis of natural hazards and societal vulnerabilities. Ranking No1, the island state of Vanuatu displayed the greatest risk in 2016. The researchers concluded in the report that lack of critical infrastructure and weak logistic chains substantially increase the risk that an extreme natural event will become a disaster.
“When it comes to aid measures following extreme natural events, the challenges mostly lie in the ‘last mile’ of the logistics chain: organising transportation despite destroyed streets or bridges and ensuring fair distribution when there is a shortage of (for example) water, food, and shelter,” explained Peter Mucke, Project Manager of the World Risk Report and Managing Director of Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft.
Crumbling transport routes, unreliable electricity grids, and dilapidated buildings not only hinder humanitarian aid from overseas, but also delay crucial aid for those affected in the event of a disaster, Mucke noted.
“The international community must invest more in the establishment and development of critical infrastructure even before disasters occurs,” Matthias Garschagen, Scientific Director for the report and Lead Scientist at United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, observed.
“Sufficient, high-quality infrastructure, which is well-managed institutionally, can not only prevent the often catastrophic consequences of natural hazards such as flooding or storms, but it can also play a crucial role in the distribution of humanitarian aid supplies in the event of a disaster. Critical infrastructure can thus reduce the risk of natural hazards for populations and absorb economic losses,” Garschagen said.
Renu Khator, chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of the University of Houston, will be inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. Gov. Greg Abbott announced the 2016 inductees last week.
“I am honored to welcome these five extraordinary women into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame,” Abbott said. “Whether in public service, the arts, business or education, these leaders have inspired generations of Texans to reach new heights, achieve new goals and elevate the Lone Star State.”
The Texas Women’s Hall of Fame honors native or current Texas residents, living or deceased, who have made significant contributions to the state. The honorees are selected by a panel of judges after Texas residents submit nominations.
“This honor must be shared with my family members, who have given me such support over the years, and with the University of Houston, which provided me with an opportunity to fulfill my dream of leading a great institution of higher learning,” Khator said. “I am flattered and humbled to be included with these accomplished and remarkable women.”
In addition to Khator, 2016 inductees include aviation pioneer Emma Carter Browning, who died in 2010; entrepreneur Susie Hitchcock-Hall, founder of Susie’s South Forty Confections in Midland; Ginger Kerrick, division chief of the Flight Operations Directorate Integration Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and Grammy Award-winning Latin recording artist Selena Quintanilla, who died in 1995. The 2016 induction ceremony is set for Oct. 21 on the campus of Texas Woman’s University in Denton.
Appointed in 2008, Khator is the first Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive public research university in the United States and the first female chancellor of a Texas higher education system. In announcing her selection for the Hall of Fame, the governor’s office noted that UH earned Tier One status and has seen record-breaking research funding, enrollment and private support during her tenure.
She also has been named to serve as the American Athletic Conference representative on the NCAA Division 1 Presidential Forum and is chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Board of Directors. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and several Houston-area boards and recently served as chair of the American Council on Education.
Two Indian-American women have been selected for the prestigious White House Fellow programme that offers first hand experience of working at the highest levels of the US federal government. The White House Fellows Program was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B Johnson to give promising American leaders “first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs”.
Selection as a White House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of professional achievement, evidence of leadership potential and a proven commitment to public service. Each Fellow must possess the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute meaningfully at senior levels of the Federal government.
Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from California and physician Tina R Shah from Chicago are among the 16 White House Fellows appointed from across the nation for the year 2016-17, officials said. Shah is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician-scientist focused on transforming healthcare delivery for patients with chronic diseases.
She recently completed her clinical fellowship at the University of Chicago (UC), where she redesigned the care cycle for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), dramatically reducing hospital readmissions. As the recipient of the inaugural UC Innovations Grant, Shah also led an inter-professional research team to evaluate this value-based care delivery programme.
Shah was a trustee for the Chicago Medical Society and has held leadership positions in other medical societies to advocate for her patients and for a sustainable medical workforce. She received a BS and an MD from the Pennsylvania State University/Jefferson Medical College accelerated six- year medical program and MPH from Harvard.
Tripathi, an astrophysicist recently at Harvard University, focuses on the formation and evolution of planets. She has pioneered the characterisation of planet forming environments and developed the first 3D simulations of planets evaporating due to extreme atmospheric heating.
Tripathi has also been involved in modelling the Milky Way and the search for dark matter. Previously, she has conducted particle physics, seismology and engineering research at Fermilab, Caltech, MIT, and NASA JPL, as part of the mission operations team for the Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Her commitment to improving her community has been recognised by Harvard, MIT, and the American Red Cross.
Tripathi will receive her Ph D In Astronomy from Harvard, where she earned an AM in Astronomy as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. She received M.Phil in Astronomy from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar and SB in Physics, with a minor in Applied International Studies, from MIT.
A Department of Education study showed that Asian-American enrollment at Brown and Yale has been stagnant since 1995, and at Dartmouth since 2004, despite an increase in highly qualified Asian-American students applying to these schools during that time.
In fact, data show that Asian Americans must score, on average, “approximately 140 point[s] higher than a White student, 270 points higher than a Hispanic student and 450 points higher than a Black student on the SAT, in order to have the same chance of admission.” The groups suspect Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and other Ivy League schools “impose racial quotas and caps to maintain what they believe are ideal racial balances,” harkening back to the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
While the population of college age Asian-Americans has doubled in 20 years and the number of highly qualified Asian-American students “has increased dramatically,” the percentage accepted at most Ivy League colleges has flat-lined, according to the complaint. It alleges this is because of “racial quotas and caps, maintained by racially differentiated standards for admissions that severely burden Asian-American applicants.”
Now, a coalition of Asian-American organizations have asked the Department of Education to investigate Brown University, Dartmouth College and Yale University, alleging they discriminate against Asian-American students during the admissions process, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
The schools named in the complaint all said they used a holistic approach and evaluated each applicant individually in an effort to build a diverse class. The complaint, said a spokesman from Brown, is without merit.
The complaint is the latest in a long line against selective colleges on behalf of Asian-American applicants, but the Education Department has never found that schools are deliberately discriminating against members of that group.
The Education Department does not confirm receipt of complaints. Last year the Education Department dismissed a complaint against Harvard University, deferring to the much-anticipated Supreme Court ruling on the race-conscious undergraduate admission policy at the University of Texas at Austin. Oral arguments for that case were heard in December.
The complaint filed Monday by the Asian-American Coalition for Education, which consists of more than 100 organizations, makes many of the same points as the previous complaint against Harvard. It charges that the number of Asian-Americans at the three schools is capped and a special “just-for-Asians admissions standard” is in place. Admissions officers “often treat Asian-American applicants as a monolithic block rather than as individuals, and denigrate these applicants as lacking in creativity/critical thinking and leadership skills/risk taking.”
According to reports, after the Department of Education started investigating Harvard in 1988, its admission rate of Asian-Americans jumped to 16.1% in 1991 from 10.8%. After students filed a complaint against Princeton in 2006, its admission rate increased to 25.4% in 2014 from 14.7% in 2007.
Chicago, IL: Janmastami, the Appearance Day or birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, is being celebrated in the Chicago area on August 25 at the Hare Krishna Temple in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.
Krishna is respected as the author of the famed Bhagavad-gita by scholars, and revered as the Supreme Personality of Godhead by hundreds of millions of worshippers across the world. He has been the center of South Asian temples, art, and music for centuries. Often portrayed as the all-knowing, yet ever-youthful God who plays tricks on his friends, he also lovingly invites all forgetful souls to join his divine pastimes in the spiritual realm.
“The Sanskrit wisdom texts, the Vedas, explain that God is the all-attractive person and most intimate friend of everyone,” says Amrita Hari, ISKCON spokesperson. “That’s why Janmastami, the Appearance Day of Lord Krishna, is one of the most celebrated and joyful events in all of India.”
A big reason for his expanding popularity is the Hare Krishna movement, which celebrates its own 50th Anniversary this year. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) began in New York City’s lower east side in 1966, when a 70 year-old swami from India set up a storefront temple there.
ISKCON’s founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, taught that the path to happiness was not found in material pursuits but in simple living, high thinking, and in awakening love of God—Lord Krishna.
The swami found an audience for his message among the 1960’s youth and his society took root. Over the last 50 years ISKCON has grown into an international community with more than 600 temples, 100 vegetarian restaurants, and 516 million of its books in print in 87 languages. The society’s international food relief programs feed 1.2 million children each day in India alone.
“Swami Prabhupada did not teach anything new,” says Professor Graham M. Schweig, author of Dance of Divine Love, a translation of the millennium old Bhagavat Purana, which tells the story of Lord Krishna. “His expertise was in making the wisdom of the bhakti or devotional yoga tradition relevant to the modern world. His achievements are remarkable.”
ISKCON is rooted in the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, a monotheistic tradition, within Hindu culture. Its tenets include that the soul is eternal and different from the body; that chanting God’s names, or mantra meditation, can awaken knowledge of the self; and that healthy life comes through the practice of cleanliness, self-discipline, mercy, and truthfulness, and avoiding intoxication, illicit sex, meat-eating and gambling.
Janmastami will be celebrated at ISKCON temples around the world—and in Chicago at the ISKCON Temple in Chicago, IL —with a variety of drama performances, live music, sacred chants, adoration or darshan of sacred images in the temples, reading sacred texts, and a vegetarian feast. All are welcome. The event, including vegetarian feast, is free.
The festival of Krishna Janmastami—the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna—has been celebrated since ancient times. Vaishnavism, the worship of Lord Krishna, is one of the principle branches within the broad Hindu tradition. Vaishnavas are monotheists, and believe Lord Krishna to be the same God worshiped by Christians, Jews and Muslims.
The scriptures of India teach that Lord Krishna personally descends to Earth to reestablish religious principles and to save human society from forgetfulness of God. Janmastami celebrates the day that Krishna appeared on Earth, over 5,000 years ago. For devotees of Krishna, it is a joyous occasion, replete with the singing of devotional songs, dance, worship services, and partaking in a sanctified vegetarian feast.
The Hare Krishna movement, formally known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), was founded in 1966 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who brought the ancient Vaishnava tradition to the West.
Since then, it has grown into a worldwide confederation of more than 600 temples, farms and eco-villages, and 100 vegetarian restaurants across six continents. Its practitioners come from a variety of backgrounds. While some members live in temples and ashrams (monasteries) as monks and nuns, most Hare Krishna devotees live and work in the general community, practicing Krishna consciousness in their homes and attending their temple on a regular basis.
We live in an unequal world. World Bank figures for world poverty reveals a higher number of people living in poverty than previously thought to be in most nations today, Inequality—the gap between the rich and the poor—is quite high and often widening. High levels of inequality will affect social cohesion and lead to problems such as increasing crime and violence. Almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (567 million people) is less than the wealth of the world’s seven richest people combined. One billion children live in poverty today, which is half of world’s total children. Eighty percent of the global wealth is in the hands of 15% of the “privileged.”
Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s peoples and nations. A report on inequality published by The Economist recently corroborates this sad scenario that deserves attention: one in two people live on less than two dollars a day, one in three have no access to electricity, one in five have no access to drinking water, one in six is illiterate. One in every seven adults and one child in three suffers from malnutrition. Every five seconds a child dies of hunger in the world, although there is fertile land for growing food.
If the world around is facing poverty, the United States, the world leader, is not free from this evil. The US Census Bureau states that nearly 13 to 17% of Americans are living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some point within a 10-year time span. The recession that the country has been going through has affected the poor more than the others. Poverty rate in the US in 2009 was 14.3 percent — up from 13.2 percent in 2008, the second statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004. In the same year, 43.6 million people were in poverty, up from 39.8 million in 2008 — the third consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty. This number is the largest in the 51 years for which poverty estimates have been published.
The relative poverty rate is higher among the colored people. Between 2008 and 2009, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites from 8.6 percent to 9.4 percent, for Blacks from 24.7 percent to 25.8 percent, and for Hispanics from 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent. For Asians, the 2009 poverty rate was 12.5 percent, not statistically different from the 2008 poverty rate.
Poverty reduction is a central feature of every country’s agenda and contemporary poverty reduction strategies increasingly focus on “targeting the poor.” Over the past decades, policies and programs by nations across the globe have not resulted significantly in alleviating poverty. In recent decades, economic and social policies of the nations of the world have contributed to increasing poverty levels around the globe.
Government policies and their priorities play a significant role in poverty reduction or its increase. Quoting aCensus Bureau report, Ronald Brownstein, a columnist, wrote that the United States lost ground during George Bush’s two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country’s condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton’s two terms, often substantially. Under Bush, the number of people in poverty increased by over 8.2 million, or 26.1 per cent. When Clinton left office in 2000, the Census counted almost 31.6 million Americans living in poverty. When Bush left office in 2008, the number of poor Americans had jumped to 39.8 million, the largest number in absolute terms since 1960.
President Barak Obama recently acknowledged that inequality is on the rise “even though the economy is growing.” That growth hasn’t helped many people who lost mid-wage jobs during the recession. Half of the U.S. population is now considered poor or low-income. The U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet nearly one-quarter of the nation’s residents recently said they had trouble putting food on the table over the past year, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.
A recent report from the International Labour Organization says, income inequality in the U.S. is much worse than it is in other industrialized countries, where it is also an alarming problem. The gap between the rich and the poor is only getting wider as the median wage continues to fall. The top 1% own as much as 80% of the nation’s wealth whereas, the bottom 80% of the people own only 7% of the nation’s wealth.
Income inequality has become a familiar part of American life over the last half-century. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston says, the bottom 90 percent of Americans saw their incomes grow by just $59 between 1966 and 2011, where as the average income for the top 10 percent of Americans rose by $116,071 on average over the same period.
In comparison with the US, the poverty level in India is even more alarming. The sheer number of people below poverty line is shocking. Although, the number of people living below the poverty line has shrunk to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption, the total number of people in a country of over 1.1 billion is alarming.
According to Dean Nelson of The Telegraph, India now has a greater share of the world’s poorest than it did thirty years ago. Then it was home to one fifth of the world’s poorest people, but today it accounts for one-third, nearly 400 million. Based on a recent study, Nelson says, the number of extremely poor people had declined from half the world’s population in 1981 to one fifth in 2010, but it has increased in Sub-Saharan Africa and in India. On an all-India basis, there were 217 million poor in rural areas and 53 million in urban areas in 2011-12, as against 326 million and 81 million, respectively, in 2004-05. This means that roughly every fifth Indian lives below the poverty line.
Thomas Chandy of Save The Children said 200 million people had been lifted from poverty in the last two decades but the recent economic growth had left one third of the population untouched. “India’s status has gone down despite the economic growth, inequality has widened which makes the poor poorer. In child mortality, infant mortality and maternal mortality, India seems to have the largest populations in all these categories. We would like to see focused interventions [because] the most difficult areas remain untouched,” he said.
A recent United Nations Flagship report tilted, Combating Poverty and Inequality, based on extensive analysis of country case studies, found that increases in inequality are linked to a range of economic policies that have dominated the development agenda in recent decades. These include financial liberalization, regressive taxation, privatization in the context of weak regulation, public expenditure policies that fail to protect the poor during crisis or adjustment periods, and labour market policies that lead to precarious forms of flexibility, informalization and an erosion of minimum wages and union bargaining power. Other causes of rising inequality include disparities in educational attainment, technological change and employment policies that widen wage gaps between skilled and unskilled workers; rural-urban wage differentials in the process of structural change; inequality in asset ownership (including land); and unequal access to credit and basic production inputs, particularly in the agricultural sector.
World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said while the overall decline was “remarkable progress,” the remaining 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty was “a stain on our collective conscience.” Poverty around the world is very alarming. More than 1.4 billion people across the globe are reported to be living in poverty so extreme that they can barely survive. Nearly 25,000 people die from hunger each day. At the same time, a new billionaire is created every second day. The call for a global safety net for all human beings has never been so urgent. The sharp and cruel realities of inequality and unjust policies must compel the international community to transform economic priorities and guarantee the universal securing of basic human necessities.
Former President Bill Clinton told Yale seniors that today’s college graduates will be left to deal with a world that has three major problems. “It is too unstable; it is too unequal, and it is completely unsustainable.” He urged them to change that, and said that will mean working together. I am reminded of what Victor Hugo, a French novelist, wrote: “The real relief to be provided to the poor is the abolition of poverty.” That’s the challenge that we all face today.
Recently, I had the privilege to attend a ceremony where 14 young and talented Indian American students from across the United States were honored in New York City. They had won an Essay contest on “My Role in Eradicating Hunger in India” organized by The New York Life. Of the hundreds of youth, who had participated, these 14 were chosen and they were sent out on a 14-days Journey to discover and experience India and its people.
The event in New York was the culmination of their journey. These 14 youngsters were full of zeal to “give back to their motherland.” These 18-23-year-old youngsters were born and raised in the US, studying in professional colleges here, ranging from Medicine to Computer Sciences. Now, after returning from India, where they witnessed and were face to face with real life struggles of the people in India, they had returned with full of zeal and enthusiasm to give back and enrich the lives of the people back in India.
In their personal sharing with a select audience, many of them adhered to the fact that this spirit of generosity and openness to reach beyond their own selves and see the larger interest of the community was instilled in their hearts and minds by their parents. They also said, they saw this spirit of giving to the less fortunate and to those who are in many ways are suffering from disadvantages in their lives, in their parents. After coming to this nation of plenty, they have not forgotten their origins, and their past lives back in India. Their parents were successful in imbibing in these youngsters the spirit of generosity and kindness.
I was touched by the stories of each individual as he/she shared with us how each of them found in the suffering people in India a sense of hope. They are not despaired in the midst of suffering and pain. They taught these youth the value of the many gifts and blessings of life we all take for granted everyday in our lives. These poor, illiterate, and disadvantaged people taught these educated young professionals the value of looking at the positive things in life rather than being discouraged by the obstacles of daily living. The lepers and the handicapped persons whom they met while in India, taught the youth to see how lucky they are to have a healthy body and mind.
These rich experiences have enriched the lives of the young tourists and they are ever enthusiastic about returning to India, especially after they graduate as Doctors, Teachers, Social Workers, Computer Professionals and Scientists, trying to touch the lives of as many people as possible.
Soon after coming back from India, many have already started doing fund-raisers for various projects back in India. One of them said, he will use his musical talents to raise awareness on the problems he saw in India. Another said, he has developed a website to share with other youth of his experiences, trying to inspire many others to come forward and give a helping hand to the people who are in suffering and pain.
Many of them have vowed to return to India, after they graduate and dedicate their time and resources at the service of the needy that they saw while they were in India during the two-week long journey. People such as these are the HOPE for a better world.
Living in a world that is self-centered, it’s important to imbibe in our children the values of generosity and kindness. When we as parents are willing to come forward to touch the lives of the needy, our children are witnesses to this reality and want to follow in our footsteps. When we forget our roots and are comfortable taking care of our own families here and forget our neighbor, we are not challenging our children to go beyond their personal selves and touch the lives of others.
The tragedy, often, is that when we are busy with our own work and the challenges of taking care of our own families, we tend to forget the path we have undertaken to reach where we are today. We have forgotten the people and the institutions that have helped us reach where we are and accomplish the achievements that we are so proud of. We are so engrossed in our lives, we tend to forget that there are many who need our helping hands to reach the heights that we have been able to climb.
A teen who identified himself as half-Indian was escorted out of a Donald Trump rally last week out of concern that he was a protester, but the man insisted he was a Trump supporter and said he feels that he was racially profiled.
Jake Anantha, an 18-year-old from Charlotte, was approached by a member of Trump’s security team and then ushered out by police. He was told that he resembled another man who had previously disrupted Trump rallies.
Anantha is reported to be a registered Republican wearing a Trump T-shirt, a Trump fanboy who had come to cheer the man he thought was for all Americans. As he stood outside the door of the convention center watching “all these white people” streaming in after he was removed, Anantha says he stopped believing Trump stood for everyone.
“When I saw him on TV, I personally didn’t mind his rhetoric,” he told the local Charlotte Observer. “I defended him. When people called him a racist, I said he’s a critic of our flawed immigration system. He’s strong on Islamic terrorism.”
Jake’s father Ramesh Anantha, who also counted himself as a Republican, says his son’s ardor for Trump made him go “whoa!” before the incident. “It’s unbelievably ironic… he should have been looked at as a perfect Trump supporter. He should have been somebody they’re putting up on stage,” said Anantha, whose parents migrated from India.
“It was a very rude introduction into the world of politics,” said Anantha, who works in financial services. “We realize Donald Trump himself had nothing to do with this problem, but it’s the type of campaign he’s running.” He believes, “I do think it was because I was brown,” Anantha said.
Explaining the run-up to the incident, Jake Anantha said he had been waiting near the stage just before Trump arrived when a security staffer tapped his shoulder and asked him to come with him. He says the staffer told him, “We know who you are. You’ve been at many other rallies.”
“I told him I’ve never been to another rally in my life,” Anantha said. “I’m a huge Trump supporter. I would never protest against Trump.” Anantha later tweeted that he would be voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in November. “I will definitely be voting Johnson on November 8th,” he wrote.
India has been ranked as the 7th wealthiest nation among all countries on earth, according to a report by New World Wealth. And the emerging South Asian country is among the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world with a total individual wealth of $5,600 billion. The United States tops the chart. The US is the wealthiest in the world in terms of total individual wealth held at $48,900 billion.
China stood second and Japan third, with total individual wealth of $17,400 billion and $15,100 billion, respectively. Others in the top 10 club include the United Kingdom (4) with a total individual wealth of $9,200 billion, followed by Germany (5th, $9,100 billion) and France (6th, $6,600 billion).
India is ahead of Canada ($4,700 billion), Australia ($4,500 billion) and Italy ($4,400 billion), which came in at 8th, 9th and 10th slots, respectively. Wealth refers to net assets of a person. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities, the report said adding that it excludes government funds from its figures.
The ranking of India as one of the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world is largely because of its large population. “Australia’s ranking is impressive, considering it only has 22 million people living there,” the report explained. Over the past 5 years, China was the fastest growing wealthiest country in terms of dollar wealth growth.
On India, the report stated, “Australia and India also grew strongly and India, Australia and Canada have just overtaken Italy over the past 12 months.” The study ranked the wealthiest countries in the world as of June 2016 in terms of total individual wealth held.
Indo-Canadian director-scriptwriter Deepa Mehta will officially inaugurate the fifth annual Washington D.C. South Asian Film Festival 2016 here. The three-day annual film festival, which will kick off with a red carpet reception and gala Sept. 9, will screen movies and documentaries from South Asian countries.
Bengali filmmaker Suman Ghosh’s romantic movie “Mi Amor,” starring Parambrata Chatterjee and Raima Sen, is the opening feature film of the fest. “Mi Amor” is the story of two Indians, who are in their 30s and live in Miami. The staleness and loneliness of their diaspora life in the U.S. makes them embark on an unusual romantic journey in an effort to spice up their life together.
As a tribute to the late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, the festival will screen the documentary “Kaagaz ki Kashti,” which is also the closing film. The Kalki Koechlin- and Naseeruddin Shah-starrer “Waiting,” and Juhi Chawla’s “Chalk n Duster” are among the other films to be screened at the event.
Other eminent attendees of the film festival are director Jeffrey Brown, actress Seema Biswas, actor Rajit Kapur, Rati Agnihotri, Palomi Ghosh, Pakistani actress Amna Ilyas and Pakistani director Harune Massey.
Manoj Bajpai said, “My experience at DCSAFF was enriching. Meeting creative people in a different country and celebrating cinema is something that has always been my passion. DCSAFF is filled with many passionate and devoted volunteers, who are the key to success of any creative venture.”
Aparna Sen, another talented actor commented, “It was wonderful being at the 4th DCSAFF this year! There was an interesting collection of films that I enjoyed viewing. I felt honored and happy that my film SAARI RAAT was sold out for the first show and was grateful to the organizers for arranging a second screening. I was struck by the enthusiasm of the audiences who crowded into the theatres, took part actively in the Q&A sessions after the screenings and attended seminars and workshops with an enthusiasm that warmed my heart.”
Chicago IL: The Consulate General of India hosted the Annual Cultural Festival “Kala-Utsav-2016” on August 22, 2016, at McAninch Arts Center, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn in collaboration with 23 different Indian Cultural Organizations to promote the rich heritage of Indian Art and Culture in the US Mid-west.The event provided a useful platform for over 250 renowned Indian artists, from across the US Midwest to showcase their inherent talents through top-class performances.
The function started with a stunning performance of “ChendaMelam” by the Chicago Kalashetra which is the best –known and most popular kshetram vadyam (temple percussion) genre. The festival was inaugurated by Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General of India by lighting of the lamp as per the traditional Indian customs. He was joined by Mrs Farha Sayeed, OP Meena, Head of Chancery at the Consulate, Harish Kolasani and members of participating organization of Kala-Utsav 2016. This was followed by the Indian and the US National Anthems.
Nearly 500 people comprising of the Indian-American Diaspora hailing from different parts of India, including many US nationals and diplomats attended the event. In his inaugural address, Consul General Dr Ausaf Sayeed underlined the ancient, deep-rooted and diverse culture of India, dating back to five thousand years. He added that the objective of the annual ‘Kala-Utsav’ festival, which was launched by the consulate in August 2014, is not only to encourage and showcase the extraordinary talents in the Indian-American community but also to reiterate and celebrate the concept of India’s diversity and oneness.
The cultural events began with Rhythmic Collaborations presented by Kala Eternal Rhythms, School of Indian Classical Music, Chicago followed by a sequence of captivating dance performances representing the classical, folk and modern dance forms of India from different dance schools.
The classical dance segment included two Bharatnatyam performances presented by the Nritya Geethanjali Dance Academy and Natya Dance Theatre, two Kathak performances presented by Anila Sinha Foundation & Tarana Kathak Dance Academy, two Kuchipudi performance presented by Samyoga School of Dance, Indiana and Eshanjali Dance Academy, IOWA. While the Utkala Center for Odissi Dance presented an Odissi composition, Ganesha Vandana, the Nritya Bharathi Institute of Dance, Indiana presented Fast paced Classic Dance.
The folk dance segment was quite large. There were 10 folk dance representing nine States of India. The Telangana Folk Dance Group presented the Telangana folk dance, Bathukamma, Shingari’s School of Rhythm presentedKerala Folk Dance, Oppana, Amitha Mushyam presented Andhra folk dance, Andhranatyam & Kolatam, Rhythms & Grace Dance Studio presented Rajasthani folk dance, Ghummar, the Assam Association of Greater Chicago presented Assam’s Folk dance “ Sattriya” theBalaji Vidhypeetham School of Balaji Temple presented North Indian Folk dance “ Bappa Morya” , I Radha Group presented high energy Punjabi folk dance “Bhangra”, Maharastra Mandal presented Marathi folk dance “Ghondhal” and Amrapali Dance group presented Bengali folk dance. The performance ofGidha, Punjabi folk dance, by Hari Om Mandir Dance Group enthralled the audience.
There were four presentations under the Contemporary/Fusion dance category in which over thirty artists participated. These presentations captured the hearts of the audience. The presentation ‘Colors of India’ by Team Ghungru attempted to keep the flame of vibrancy and patriotism alive in our hearts. Kalapriya Center for Indian performing arts presented “ Navarasa”, “Bollywood Dhamaka” was presented by Bollywood Rhythm and Rina Rockers presented a semi classical dance performance with remix version of Hanuman Chalisa. Tarun Mullick ably anchored the event as emcee and kept the audience engaged with his hilarious narration, Balle Balle. Mr OP Meena proposed a vote of thanks.
The number of cases of inter-country parental child abduction related to Indians in the US is the second highest next only to Mexico, a senior US government official said here last week. “We are handling more than 1,000 cases of inter-country parental child abduction,” Michele Bond, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, said during a media interaction here. “At this time, our case-load with India is the second largest that we have after Mexico,” she said.
Inter-country parental child abduction is the situation that arises when one parent takes a child to a foreign country and keeps him or her there with the hope that the parent will be able to establish custody of that child and prevent the other parent from having access or being able to share custody.
Bond said that Mexico was the US’s immediate neighbour and hence it was easy to take a child across the border while it was not so easy to travel to India. “There are approximately 80 (Indian) family cases involved and more than 90 children,” she said.
Stating that children were vulnerable and were unable to protect themselves, she said: “We recognise that India shares those concerns and this has been highlighted in the joint statement that was released during Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s visit to the United States in June.”
In the joint statement issued after Modi’s meeting with US President Barack Obama, one of the points stated that “the leaders intend to renew efforts to intensify dialogue to address issues affecting the citizens of both countries that arise due to differences in the approaches of legal systems, including issues relating to cross-country marriage, divorce and child custody”.
Bond stated that the US was among the 94 countries that were members of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or Hague Abduction Convention for short.
The Convention facilitates the prompt return of abducted children to their country of habitual residence and helps deter international parental child abduction. “We hope that India will make the decision to accede also to that Convention,” Bond said.
She said that under the Convention, the court in the child’s country of habitual residence would take the decisions about custody and visitation rights among other issues. “We applaud the Indian government for recently publishing for comment implementing legislation for the Hague Abduction Convention,” the US official said.
“We encourage India to continue progress to its accession because we genuinely believe that this is a significant issue for this country.”
She said that this problem was likely to grow as there was an increasing number of Indians living outside the country. “We also have a handful of cases of children who have been abducted from India to the United States,” Bond said. “We are working to help those parents to go to court and request the return of their children to India.”
Bond came to India to attend the annual bilateral consular dialogue that was held here on Monday during which issues like facilitating tourism and business and other travel between the two countries, visa assessing, protection of US citizens in India, transparent international adoption, and preventing international parental child abduction cases were discussed.
“Indian citizens receive almost 70 percent of all the H-1B visas issued worldwide,” Michele Bond, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, said during a media interaction here. “Overwhelmingly, Indian applicants are the ones who are successful in qualifying for these visas,” she said. Bond said that in US fiscal year 2015 (October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015), more than 110,000 H-1B visas were issued to Indian citizens.
Despite a hefty hike in fees of US H-1B and L-1 visas, there has been no drop in number of applications from India and the country continues to be the highest recipient of H-1B visas, the highest US official in Washington dealing with international visa issues said here last week.
As for L-1 visas, she said that Indian citizens received around 30 percent of all such visas issued. The US doubled the visa fees to $4,000 for H-1B and to $4,500 for L-1 at the end of last year. Indian IT bellwethers have most of their employees working on site holding H-1B visas. “This is a priority for us because we are part of a bilateral India and US effort to grow their economic and commercial ties,” she said.
Asked if there has been any move to revisit the issue of hike in visa fees, she said: “These specific visas where the fees changed — the H and L visas — we have seen no drop in the number of applications for those visas, no lessening of interest in obtaining those visas. It was a legislative change, so we were implementing that law.”
Bond came to India to attend the annual bilateral consular dialogue that was held here on Monday during which issues like facilitating tourism and business and other travel between the two countries, visa assessing, protection of US citizens in India, transparent international adoption, and preventing international parental child abduction cases were discussed. While she led the US delegation, P. Kumaran, Joint Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa) in the Ministry of External Affairs, headed the Indian side.
INOC, USA an organization that promotes Democracy, Freedom and Justice for all, demands that the Government immediately drop all accusations of ‘SEDITION’ against Amnesty International for hosting a Kashmir event. INOC supports the right to freedom of expression for everyone, including Amnesty.
It is quite evident that the ABVP, the student wing of the BJP is increasingly being used as a political tool to advance ultra-nationalist agenda and it runs counter to the ethos and long-cherished traditions of a pluralistic India.
The so-called sedition laws are the vestiges of a colonial era, and it requires particular remedy without assaulting the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly that is the cornerstone of a vibrant democracy.
“If a reputed organization like Amnesty can be silenced, what would be the fate of an average citizen who may want to speak his/her mind on an issue that is critical to the well-being of the nation?” asked George Abraham, Chairman of the INOC, USA.
According to a report, in the first three months alone this year, 19 people have faced sedition charges in India. The increased use of law enforcement mechanism to silence the critics of human rights violations flies in the face of the following remark by Prime Minister Modi soon after coming to office, “Our democracy will not sustain if we can’t guarantee freedom of speech and expression”. It is important to remember that sometimes, that freedom may also express views that are unpopular, critical or even offensive. That is the price we pay for freedom!
Chicago IL: The Federation of Indian Associations (est. 1980) hosted its annual Indian Independence Day Parade and Banquet on August 20-21, 2016 in Chicago Il. Despite the rain, the annual parade took place as scheduled in Devon Avenue in the heart of Indian community in Gandhi Marg. Chief guests included 9th District Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, MLA Govt of NCT Delhi Parliamentary Secretary Adarsh Shashtri, Redberri Chairman and CEO Deepak Kant Vyas, Former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown, Illinois 8th District Democratic Candidate Raja Krishnamoorthy, former FIA Trustee and community leader from Indiana Dr. Bharat Bharai, and Smita Shah, Parade Chair of Chicago Sister Cities and Co-Chair Syed Hussaini from Wintrust.
Despite the recent decreasing participation in the event by the community due to last minute changes in the program; the entire leadership of FIA (est. 1980) gathered to celebrate the event with great enthusiasm and verve. The 2-hour event, started with a marching band and flag hoisting ceremony led by representative from Indian Consulate General Office Consul D.B. Bhatti and President of FIA (est. 1980) Minhaj Akhtar and all dignitaries; followed by procession of floats from local community groups including Air India a and new entry the Indian Motorcycle club who represented the 70thIndependence Day celebration.
Despite the turn out, Chief guests Adarsh Shashtri and Patt Quinn both were impressed with leadership. “I think it’s very special for everyone who believes in democracy, the United States the first democracy and India the largest democracy. 69 years ago at midnight the democracy of India began and it is very important that we honor that and also honor the friendship of the people of India and the people of America. I have been a part of this parade when it started and its been a long time, it’s a great parade,” commented Patt Quinn. FIA, Chicago president Minhaj Akhtar thanked the audience, dignitaries and sponsors.
“It is phenomenal to see the enthusiasm from the community leaders. Indian Americans in the US are a part of the greatest county and democracy of the world and they have come from a country, which is largest democracy. They fact that these 2 democracies can work together not just as countries but as people is the biggest message that we can carry forward,” said Adarsh Shashtri.
The next day FIA held its annual Independence Day banquet at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, Ill, which featured Chief Guest Indian Consulate General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed. The event began with the rendition of patriotic songs by Jitendra Bulsara who infused the atmosphere with patriotism.
FIA Treasurer Ajeet Singh who invite and give brief introduction. In opening remarks were given by, Adarsh Shastri, who offered his best wishes to the FIA. “ I would like to thank FIA and Minhajbhai to provide me the opportunity to participate and speak to the community. Today even more than15,000 KM away from our motherland I am proud and congratulate you on celebrating our nation’s Independence with such enthusiasm and love it is so endearing. “
Adding the progress of Indian as nation has been supplemented greatly by the Indian Diaspora, “ I think a quote by John F Kennedy once remarked people see things which there and ask why, I see things which never were and ask why not? I think that clearly demonstrates the sentiment of Indian people where we have made great strides in development in various aspects of social life, community and country. Over that last few years India has seen a lot a changes politically and economically. I bring a message here that we may have or political differences but when it comes to nation we are united. I hope that in the future we will continue to build a better nation together.”
FIA Founder and Trustee Bhailal Patel introduced Philanthropist, Chairman and CEO Of Redberri Deepak Kant Vyas and thanked him for his whole hearted participation in both the parade and banquet. Patel announced that through the leadership of the FIA (1980) Vyas will donate funds for a bust or statue of Mahatma Gandhi on Gandhi Marg and in one of the City of Chicago parks.
Vyas talked about the importance of Mahatma Gandhi’s contribution to world in his address, “As we celebrate 70 years of India’s independence 100 years back “pravasi” like us come back to India with one mission to unite and lead us to Independence and his teachings are more relevant than ever today, and become of the greatest brands India has, which was Mahatma Gandhi. He gave to us not only Independence but also the vision for “Swaraj” and has become the core basis for peace, inspired not only our freedom but freedom across the world.”
Tim Choi representative from the Office of Leslie Munger Chief Financial Officer of State of Illinois shared her message stating, “My heartiest congratulations to FIA of Chicago, in the State of Illinois Indian Americans represent great pride and a limitless potential.”
FIA honored Dr. Deepak Kant Vyas Chairman and CEO of Redberri Group for his support to the Indian American community. The FIA honored Midwest Bureau Chief Vandana Jhingan for her work in the community. The award was presented by Dr. Ausaf Sayeed on behalf of the FIA in recognition of Jhingan’s “fearless journalism” and community service that she has been rendering to Chicago land for more than 20 years. FIA also honored Khan Lateef Khan the chief editor of India largest Urdu newspaper Munsif also businessmen from Chicago. Also for his Urdu Munsif TV worldwide establishment.
The highlight of the event was a patriotic skit and dance performed by Shalini Saxena, which commemorated the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives to achieve Indian independence 70 years ago. The patriotic performance received a standing ovation from the entire audience.
Consul General Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, in his address, said, “\I would like to congratulate the FIA (1980) for carrying out the Indian Independence and Republic Day events with due dignity and solemnity. It is very important that when we celebrate any national events, they are celebratory in nature but at the same they are very solemn. There have been enormous sacrifices made by thousands of people who have made these days possible by shedding their blood and their lives, and these events serve as a tribute to them. I was very moved and emotional by the performance of Shalini Saxena.” Vote of thanks was delivered by FIA Chicago Trustee Satish Gabhawala and Banquet MC Sanhita Agnihotri.
Over a decade-long efforts by numerous individuals, groups, political organizations, and officials, have finally resulted in the United States Postal Service (USPS) issuing a Diwali stamp. “The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the joyous Hindu festival of Diwali with a Forever stamp,” a press release issued by the USPS stated. “The Wednesday, Oct 5, first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony will take place at the Consulate General of India, New York. The stamp design is a photograph featuring a traditional diya oil lamp beautifully lit, sitting on a sparkling gold background. Diya lamps are usually made from clay with cotton wicks dipped in a clarified butter known as “ghee” or in vegetable oils.
The statement also explained the festival of Diwali, also known as Deepavali, celebrates the triumph of good over evil. Spanning five days each autumn, it is considered by some to be the start of the new year. On the Hindu calendar, Diwali falls on the eve of, or on, the new moon that occurs between mid-October and mid-November. In 2016, the main day of the festival will be celebrated Oct. 29 for South Indians and Oct 30 for North Indians. Diwali is a shortened version of the Sanskrit word Deepavali, which roughly translates as “a necklace of lights.” During Diwali, the flickering oil-wick diyas sprinkle the homes of observers around the world.
According to USPS, Sally Andersen-Bruce of New Milford, CT, photographed the diya. Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA, designed the stamp and William J. Gicker of Washington, DC, service as the project’s art director. The Diwali stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. This Forever stamp will also be equal in value to the current First Class Mail 1-ounce price.
The Postal Service receives approximately 40,000 suggestions for stamp ideas annually from the public. Stamp subjects are reviewed by the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee. Of that, approximately 25 topic suggestions for commemorative stamps are selected by the Committee for the Postmater General’s approval.
Indiaspora’s community engagement resulted in over 10,000 letters and postcards being mailed to the USPS urging them to create and release a Diwali Stamp. The organization also launched an online campaign encouraging Indian Americans to call and write their elected officials on this subject. Indiaspora’s blog, social media and newsletters kept up the drumbeat, it said.
“This is the successful culmination of a long-sought goal of the Indian American community, behind which Indiaspora and many other people and organizations put in unyielding and resolute effort,” Indiaspora said, adding its thanks to the volunteer group who helped make the stamp creation possible.
The stamp design is a photograph featuring a traditional Diya oil lamp lit, sitting on a sparkling gold background. Diya lamps are usually made from clay with cotton wicks dipped in a clarified butter known as “ghee” or in vegetable oils, the USPS said in a statement.
“Indiaspora lauds Rep. Maloney for introducing House Resolutions in Congresses to urge USPS to release the Diwali Stamp. Her efforts played an important role in the eventual achievement of this cherished objective of the Indian American community,” Indiaspora founder M.R. Rangaswami said in a statement.
Rangaswami went on to say that the culmination of their efforts showed a maturation of the Indian American community. “We have come of age and are getting more engaged in community issues and also becoming more politically active,” the founder said. Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., was ecstatic with the issuance of the stamp in advance of the festival.
“I am thrilled that the United States Postal Service has issued a stamp to celebrate Diwali,” Bera, a co-chair of the India Caucus in the House of Representatives and the only Indian American currently serving in Congress, said in a statement. “Nearly a billion people around the world celebrate this Festival of Lights, including 2 million right here in the U.S., and this stamp represents the hard work and achievements of all Indian Americans.”
Indiaspora added thanks to Maryland-based physician Dr. Shailendra Kumar for initiating the cause in 2001. Congress in 2007 recognized the significance of Diwali with President Barack Obama lighting a diya in 2009 at the White House.
Also in 2015, in conjunction with the Hindu American Foundation, Indiaspora volunteers walked the halls of Congress, meeting with elected officials and staff members at several hundred congressional offices, and convinced dozens of them to sign on to the congressional resolutions supporting the Diwali Stamp. By the end of 2015, Indiaspora and HAF sent a community letter signed by more than 100 organizations to the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee urging them to approve a Diwali Stamp.
Ravi and Ranju Batra of New York helped compile more than 400,000 online signatures calling for the stamp in 2013. And Indiaspora, when approached by community leaders in 2014, committed to making the stamp a reality, the organization said. In 2015, Senate India Caucus co-chairs Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced Senate Resolution 113, calling for a Diwali Stamp in the U.S.
In a conversation with this writer, Ranju Batra said, “Having served as Cultural Chair for 10 years of AIA-NY, I decided to focus and get the Diwali Stamp issued. During 2011-12, as president of AIA-NY, I uplifted the Diwali Celebrations at South Street Seaport to their highest level ever – such that the New York Times recognized that effort and reported that “more than 200,000 people attended the event…”.
Many events were held in New York and in the Congress, with many members of Congress participating, including, Congressmen Grace Meng, Ami Bera, Mike Honda, and Tulsi Gabbard. Carolyn Maloney introduced House Resolution 47 on January 25, 2013 in the 113th Congress calling upon Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee of the United States Postal Service to issue a Diwali Stamp.
Ravi Batra added, “I am so proud of Ranju and Carolyn – the Diwali Girls – who never gave up, and today, the United States Postal Service relented and agreed to issue a Diwali Stamp because these two leaders – Carolyn in Congress and Ranju at the grassroots’ level never gave up!”
“Today, history changes – as Diwali finally join Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Eid to have its own Stamp. India’s 1.2 billion people, represented here by the dynamic Amb. Riva Ganguly Das, India’s Consul General, along with almost 4 million Indian-Americans yearn for such inclusive recognition, and issuing the Diwali Stamp will help USPS’ bottom line. Diwali’s “Light over Darkness” – is intellectual, emotional and financial,” Ranju Batra said.
Indian American former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta’s latest bid to have his insider-trading conviction overturned should be rejected, prosecutors have told an appeals court here, asserting that he got a fair trial and the jury convicted him for his “criminal” conduct.
In a lengthy brief filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit this month, Indian American U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said Gupta’s conduct of repeatedly tipping his business partner Raj Rajaratnam with material non-public information in “ways that furthered Gupta and Rajaratnam’s shared financial interests” remains “criminal” and he is “not actually innocent.” Bharara said Gupta’s appeals from an order denying his motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence should be rejected and he is not entitled to the relief he seeks.
In May, Gupta, 66, had filed an exhaustive brief in the appeals court, arguing that the judgment of the Manhattan district court finding him guilty of insider trading “should be reversed” and his “conviction should be vacated.”
India-born former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, a free man now after a 2-year jail term on insider trading charges, has approached a US court to overturn his conviction, arguing that there is no evidence to show that he “received even a penny” for passing confidential boardroom information to his friend.
In an exhaustive brief filed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, 66-year-old Gupta’s team of lawyers argued that the judgement of the Manhattan district court finding Mr Gupta guilty of insider trading “should be reversed” and his “conviction should be vacated.”
Mr Gupta’s appeal comes on the back of a landmark ruling by the Manhattan appeals court that for an insider trading conviction prosecutors must show that a defendant received a personal benefit for passing illegal tips.
Mr Gupta’s lawyers have cited the ruling that led to the reversal of insider convictions of hedge-fund managers Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson in December 2014.
“As this Court has noted, not every disclosure of corporate information violates the insider trading laws. Given the stakes in a criminal case, and the apparently boundless use being made of the securities laws by prosecutors, this Court in Newman imposed a clear rule: The tip must be shown to have been part of a quid pro quo agreement,” the lawyers wrote in the brief.
“Rajat Gupta was severely prejudiced by the erroneous instruction. The government lacked evidence showing Mr Gupta received even a penny from his alleged wrongdoing. There was no quid pro quo,” they said. Gupta was convicted in 2012 of passing confidential boardroom information to now jailed hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam.
On a beautiful Monday morning of August 15th, at the ceremonial chambers of Nassau County Executive building on Long Island, NY was decorated with white , orange and green colors. Sounds of Dhol and music was playing and enthralled the guests. Occasion was Celebration of 70th anniversary of Independence Day of India hosted by Nassau County Executive Honorable Edward P Mangano , Indian American Forum, IDPUSA and India Association of Long island. Program started with Independence Day March led by Dr Urmilesh Arya, Board of trustees of IAF and Nanga, member of Indian Veterans Association. And several other dignitaries, honorees and members joined in., Patriotic songs and Dhol reminded everyone of Independence Day in India.
Honorable County Executive and members of Indian Veterans Association unfurled the flag and saluted the Indian Flag. Program started with American National anthem sung by Eesha Butani and Indian National anthem by Christy Narine. Welcome remarks were given by Indu Jaiswal IAF Chair and Beena Kothari President IALI and IDPUSA.
Bobby Kumar Kalotee, introduced NASSAU County Executive Honorable Edward P Mangano. Dr Parveen Chopra, trustee of IAF and well known Community Leader spoke about Indo American relations and thanked Mr Mangano for his continued support towards Indian American Community.
On this occasion India Independence Day Awards were presented to the following by Honorable Edward P Mangano. Dr Dattatreryudu Nori, is professor and Chairman of the radiation Oncology Department and Director of the Cancer Center at New York Presbyterian/Queens and professor and Executive vice Chairman of the Radiation Oncology department at New York Presbyterian Hospital=Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr Nori has an international reputation as a pioneer and authority in the cancer field, Dr Vijay Shah is Vice Chairman of Friends for good health whose mission is to serve preventive health care to our sisters and brothers all over the world. An Oncologist by profession and good Humanitarian
Penny K Sandhu, has been in journalism for over three decades. Founder of Jus Punjabi and several other channels providing community support, world class broadcasting and services through several TV Channels
Dr Manjul Bhargava is the Brandon Fradd Professor of Mathematics at Princeton university, an also hold Adjunct Professor positions at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. Professor Bhargava is widely acclaimed for his teaching and his efforts to disseminate mathematics and improve mathematics education
Dr Dipali Pandya, Pediatrician by profession, providing unconditional services to the senor programs in long Island. Bina Sabapathy, known in the tristate area for her community services and social contributions. Member of several prominent associations in New York, Vimal Goyal, Treasurer of India Association of Long Island and well known business man, known for his community services and philanthropy. Program ended with patriotic medley presented by Sangeet forum of IALI, organized by Jyoti Gupta. Also presented was Shila Shah Gavnoudis, commissioner of Nassau County Department of Public Works, Sunita Manjrekar, Director of Employment Programs at Nassau county, and several distinguished members of Indian American Community. Guests enjoyed traditional Indian Breakfast and sweets provided by Rajbho
Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano, along with the county commission on human Rights, hosted a flag-hoisting ceremony at the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola on Aug. 15 celebrating the 70th Independence Day of India.
A number of individuals from the community were recognized on the occasion for their contributions in various fields. “I would like to congratulate all of today’s honorees, who have contributed so much to their communities and who continue to serve as role models to their friends and neighbors,” Mangano said at the event.
“I am pleased to join everyone in celebration of the 69th Anniversary of Indian Independence Day,” said County Executive Mangano. “I would like to congratulate all of today’s honorees, who have contributed so much to their communities and who continue to serve as role models to their friends and neighbors.”
The honorees from the Indian American community were: Dr. Vijay Shah; Penny Yogiraj Sandhu; Dr. Manjul Bhargava; Dr. Dattatreyudu Nori; Vimal Goyal; Dr. Dipali Pandya; and Bina Sabapathy.
The killing of a nine-year-old Indian girl from Punjab by her stepmother took a sordid turn on Sunday, August 21 when authorities arrested her ex-husband and accused him of helping her hide. Raymond Narayan was accused of helping his ex-wife Shamdai Arjun Pardas leave her home after allegedly strangling her stepdaughter on Friday and trying to hide her in his house, Ron Brown, the top public prosecutor for the New York city district of Queens, said in a statement on Sunday.
As per reports, the ex-husband, Raymond Narayan, 65, refused to allow police to enter his home and Arjun refused exit the house, police said. About an hour later, Narayan opened the door and he and Arjun emerged. Earlier in the day, at about 5:30 p.m., the couple were seen leaving the Richmond Hill home where Arjun lived with her stepdaughter, Ashdeep Kaur, and her father, investigators said.
Meanwhile, Pardas was produced in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday and formally charged before Judge Gerald Beibovitz with murdering Ashdeep Kaur, who had come from India to the US about three months ago to join her father.
“This is a horrifying case of a child, a defenceless nine-year-old, who was left in the care of her stepmother who allegedly strangled her to death,” Brown said. “Her actions, if true, are beyond comprehension and must be severely punished.”
Judah Maltz, Pardas’ lawyer, asked the judge to place her in protective custody in jail, the New York Daily News reported. This will keep her away from other prisoners as New York jails are notorious for brutal attacks by fellow inmates on those accused of heinous crimes, especially those involving children.
When authorities produced her in the court, she wore a white jump suit made of a tough plastic material, Tyvek. Maltz said the 55-year-old Pardas denied killing the child and claimed there was no proof that she did it. Arjun was arraigned on the murder charge Sunday and ordered held without bail.
Michael Curtis, the assistant prosecutor, made chilling new revelations in the court. He said that on Tuesday Pardas had told Kaur’s father, Sukhjinder Singh, 35, that she would kill the child, the News reported. She had “repeatedly and on numerous occasions threatened to kill the victim”, Curtis said. “On Friday, she made good on this threat.”
Curtis told the court that circumstantial evidence that Pardas killed the child is “overwhelming”, according to the News. Brown gave the following account: Narayan, who is 65 years old, was seen by a witness leaving Singh’s house in Richmond Hill around 5.30 p.m. on Friday with Pardas and two of her two grandchildren.
When detectives went to Narayan’s house in South Ozone Park he kept them at bay for over an hour refusing to come out or letting them in, before relenting and coming out. Narayan and Pardas were then arrested. He is charged with “obstructing governmental administration” and faces a year prison if convicted. Pardas faces 25 years to life in prison.
Pardas told a witness as they were leaving that Kaur was in the bathroom and waiting for her father to pick her up. The witness called the child’s father and said that the light had been on in the bathroom since 11.30 a.m. Singh asked the witness to break open the door and the child was found dead in the bath tub.
This is the second recent incident involving step-mothers of Indian origin in New York city. Last month 35-year-old Sheetal Ranot was convicted of slashing her 12-year-old step-daughter with a broken metal broom handle and cutting her left wrist to the bone, Brown said.
Sheetal Ranot and her husband, Rajesh, of Ozone Park were also accused of torturing Maya Ranot for two years, Brown said. They locked her up in a room without food or water long periods of time and when she was found by authorities she weighed only about 26 kg.
Sheetal Ranot faces up to 25 years in prison. Rajesh is waiting for his trial. They were both arrested in 2014, but the first case came up for trial only last month. Richmond Hill has a sizable population of people of Indian descent, while South Asians have a significant presence in the Ozone Park neighborhoods.
Nita K. Patel, 53, and Kirtish N. Patel, 53, have pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to separate information charging them each with one count of health care fraud.
The Rockaway, New Jersey, husband and wife who owned a mobile diagnostic testing company today admitted receiving more than $4.3 million from Medicare and private insurance companies for diagnostic testing and reports that were never interpreted by a licensed physician, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in Court: From 2006 through June 2014, Nita and Kirtish Patel owned and operated Biosound Medical Services Inc. and Heart Solutions (collectively, “Biosound”), of Parsippany, New Jersey, which were mobile diagnostic companies and approved Medicare providers. The companies provided mobile diagnostic testing, including ultrasounds, echocardiograms and nerve conduction studies that were used to diagnose heart defects, blood clots, abdominal aortic aneurysms and other serious medical conditions.
Biosound technicians would travel to the office of a primary care physician in the New York and New Jersey area to conduct diagnostic testing. Biosound was responsible for sending the tests to a “reading physician” – an appropriate specialist who would interpret the results. After the reading physician prepared a report, Biosound was responsible for providing it to the referring physician. Biosound was paid millions of dollars by Medicare and other payors for the diagnostic testing, the reading physician’s interpretation of the results and the reports.
Kirtish Patel admitted to, from October 2008 through June 2014, fraudulently interpreting and writing diagnostic reports produced by Biosound despite having no medical license and knowing that the reports would be used by the referring physicians to make important patient treatment decisions. Nita Patel admitted assisting her husband in forging physician signatures on the fraudulently produced reports to make them appear legitimate. Nita and Kirtish Patel also admitted falsely representing to Medicare that the neurological testing performed by Biosound was being supervised by a licensed neurologist.
According to the informations, more than half of the diagnostic reports generated by Biosound between October 2008 and June 2014 were never actually reviewed or interpreted by a physician. Nita and Kirtish Patel were paid more than $4,386,133.75 by Medicare and private insurance companies for the fraudulent reports, which they used for personal expenses, including multiple residences and luxury vehicles.
The health care fraud charge to which Nita and Kirtish Patel pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for March 15, 2016.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation leading to today’s pleas.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Alfonzo Walsman of the U.S. Attorney’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit. U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $640 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.
New York, NY: Tens of thousands of people from the New York Tristate region converged on Madison Avenue in New York City, waving the Indian flags and chanting Bharat Mata ki jai marking the 36th annual India Day Parade, considered the largest parade outside of India, on Sunday, August 21, 2016. The parade was organized by the Federation of Indian Associations of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, the Grand Marshall, led the parade from Madison Avenue from 38th Street to 25th Street, cheering the marchers and the floats, as they passed through the salute stage, as the dozens of colorfully decorated floats with loud music showcased the diverse culture of India. Baba Ramdev, who popularized yoga all over the world, was the guest of honor.
South Indian superstar Chiyaan Vikram and Priyanka Kothari, Consul General Riva Ganguly Das and leaders of the Federation of Indian Associations, New York (FIA-NY), were among others who led the parade and greeted the people. Baba Ramdev pointed out that the world recognizes India’s strength and its contributions in various fields. He noted that India is moving forward with spirituality and modernism to greater glory. As for yoga, he said it was not mere physical exercise but a way of living which promotes non-violence and harmony.
Bachchan said he was amazed at the turnout and the enthusiasm of the people for India. He also thanked the community in the US for the support it gave artists like him. He noted that he had attended the parade 19 years ago in 1997 when his father Amitabh Bachchan, was the Grand Marshal celebrating the 50th anniversary of India’s Independence. ‘It is a great honor to be here and represent the beautiful nation of ours,’ he said. Amitabh tweeted, “And this Abhishek in New York a short while ago… Grand Marshall for the India Day Parade in Manhattan NYC, USA. A proud moment… I was appointed the same years ago… now son follows.”
Amid chanting of full-throated slogans of Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai, people held banners, buntings and flags of both India and the U.S., waiving their hands and cheering at colorfully decorated floats that rolled down the parade route one after the other in a moving show of the country’s quintessential unity in diversity. Groups representing various states and regions, their diverse dress, dance and music, merged into one monumental display of Indian culture and identity on American soil, and yet dazzled like jewels in the crown throughout the cultural jamboree
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) TV Asia, Parikh Worldwide Media, and Royal Albert’s Broadcasting Network along with Air India and others came out with colorful floats. Manning the Air-India float were people dressed as crew members, including a pilot, all in official outfits. Brahma Kumaries, dressed in white, marched in large numbers, carrying billboards and calling for peace and respect for all. Christians carried the statue of Velankanni Matha while Jains marched advocating ahimsa and noting that Gandhiji was inspired by it.
Shalli Kumar from Chicago came out with a float under the banner of the Republican Hindu Coalition supporting Donald Trump. It carried the photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Hindu leaders, too. Police officers belonging to the Indian Officers Association at the NYPD joined the event in sizable numbers. It is a new organization after officers of Indian origin lost control of the original desi organization. A larger number of young men in police uniforms showed that there has been a welcome change in our community as well as in the police.
The Overseas Friends of BJP marched in the parade but the opposition Indian National Overseas Congress was not on view this time. Marchers from Telangana did carry a photo of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, thanking her for the formation of Telangana, a state carved out of Andhra Pradesh. It played a role in the party losing both states in the Lok Sabha elections!
The Keralite and Sikh communities appeared to have kept away. Usually, Kerala organizations such as Fokana and Fomaa march in the parade. Last week, most of them participated in the first ever parade in Queens, a borough of New York City. It was the first time, New York City had two parades to celebrate India’s Independence Day.
Sunderlal Gandhi came dressed as Mahatma Gandhi for the eighth year. The 83-year-old Gandhi, a retired Central Government official who moved to the US about 15 years ago, had met his better-known namesake twice and become a lifelong Gandhian. Many people crowded around the American Gandhi and took photos with him. He said he came dressed as Gandhi to create awareness about that icon of the non-violent movement. And yet, he said he does not want to say anything about problems endemic in India, such as corruption, and that his words have no relevance.
George Abraham, chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, said, “The INOC salutes India on its 70th anniversary of independence and also pays tribute those who sacrificed so much for the freedom and the dignity the people of India now enjoy. We are especially grateful to Indian National Congress which has led the way and secured the freedom and the individual liberty for all of us.”
The celebrities were hosted by FIA at a gala dinner reception in Royal Alberts Palace in Ford, New Jersey on August 22. It was attended by about 900 people, most of them associated with the FIA, including its board members and many of its past office bearers.
“We do not have the final estimate as of now, but our guess is that close to 200,000 people were present, including people who were present only during the cultural program at Madison Square Park,” FIA President Anand Patel said. The parade ended with the cultural event at Madison Square Park attended by the celebrities, including Bachchan, Vikram and Kothari.
“In these four years, I also saw with, some disquiet, forces of divisiveness and intolerance trying to raise their ugly head. Attacks on weaker sections that militate against our national ethos are aberrations that need to be dealt with firmly. The collective wisdom of our society and our polity gives me confidence that such forces will remain marginalized, and India’s remarkable growth story will continue uninterrupted” so said honorable Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, addressing the nation on the eve of the 70th year Independence Day from British colonialism.
It is indeed quite an emphatic and forceful statement coming from the bully pulpit of the highest office in the land. It also put to shame those who refuse to acknowledge the growing intolerance and prejudice that is sweeping across India by the rightwing zealots who are emboldened by the election of Narendra Modi to power. The question to ponder is whether this is only an aberration or a growing trend that may have disastrous consequences to the way of life as we experience it today!
Just as India was celebrating its Independence Day, the word has come out from Bengaluru that SEDITION charges are being filed against Amnesty International of India, an organization that promotes human rights and creates awareness when it is violated in any part of the world. Once again, it appears that the law enforcement agencies are made pawns by ultra-nationalists who bent upon imposing their version of cultural hegemony on the diverse people of India.
Millions of Indians everywhere must be feeling the shame of India as the President has spoken out on the continuing assaults of Dalits. In a recent incident in Una, Gujarat, four Dalit youths were severely beaten up and dragged on the road for nearly a kilometer for allegedly possessing beef. It is widely known that the so-called upper castes will not touch the carcass and the Dalits are forced clear or handle it and when they do, they are mercilessly beaten up in the name of self-appointed ‘Gau Rakshak Samiti.’
Dalits who constitute one-sixth of India’s population, some 170 million people, live in precarious existence, shunned by much of Indian society because of their rank as “untouchables” or Dalits – meaning broken people – at the bottom of India’s caste system. Dalits are discriminated against, denied access to land and basic resources, forced to work in degrading conditions, and routinely abused at the hands of police and dominant caste groups that enjoy state’s protection.
It appears that the Prime Minister had finally broken his silence when he made a statement in a town hall meeting saying that “I feel really angry that some people have opened shops in the name of cow protection. I have seen that some people commit anti-social activities through the night, but act as cow protectors by day”. It is noteworthy that Modi did not call for the prosecution and punishment of these cow vigilantes but asked the authorities to prepare ‘dossiers’ on them and keep them under control!
Almost a year ago, a mob lynched Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri U.P. on suspicion of possessing beef in his home refrigerator. Subsequently, the meat was sent for forensic examination. In June, Baliyan, who is a member of Modi’s Council of Ministers, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath and BJP MLA Sangeet Som defended the killers and demanded action against the dead man’s family for the ‘crime of eating beef.’
If there is growing intolerance on the dietary habits of Indians and rising violence by the emboldened vigilante groups who have taken up law unto their hands, many in the current leadership are in complicity lending credence to their nefarious activities with their overt or covert support to this highly charged environment.
Amit Shah, the President of BJP, boasted once that wherever there is a BJP government, there is a ban on the beef. Raja Singh, a member of Parliament, went even further stating that he extends his full support to all those who take it upon themselves to teach those Dalits a valuable lesson! Mohinder Lal Khattar, the current Chief Minister of Haryana, is on the record saying that Muslims can live in the country only if they give up eating beef. Panchajanyam, an RSS newspaper has quoted Vedic scriptures that ordered the killing of sinners who slaughtered cows and the Union Minister of Agriculture Radhamohan Singh termed cow slaughter a ‘mortal sin.’
There is no doubt that these vitriolic statements from higher ups have given fodder and cover to these cow vigilantes who roam the streets and become the judge, jury, and the executioners. Since BJP came to power, states like Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand have tightened laws against cow slaughter, but those in the leadership used the beef issue as an emotive political tool without any repercussions from the Prime Minister. In Maharashtra state, one may get five years incarceration for possession of beef as opposed to two years for sexual harassment of a woman!
Prime Minister himself effectively conjured up the specter of a ‘pink revolution’ – cow killing on a mass scale – in the event of a BJP’s defeat in the 2014 election as a part of a strategy to motivate people and to vote for his party. Both in Western Uttar Pradesh and again in Bihar Modi spoke at length about the dangers of ‘pink revolution.’ “ The agenda of the Congress is the pink revolution,” he said. “we have heard of the green revolution and white revolution but never pink, and this means the slaughter of animals (pashu). You see, the color of mutton is pink, and they are committing the sin of exporting it and bringing revolution…Because of this, our animal wealth is being slaughtered, our cows are being slaughtered, or sent abroad to be slaughtered….And now the Congress is saying, ‘if you vote for us, we will give you permission to kill cows’”
It is quite apparent that if Modi has to call the heinous and brutal beating of the Dalit boys in Gujarat as criminal wrongdoing and ask that the perpetrators to be punished, he would have to cross that ideological line he and his party have helped to formulate in attaining the power. However, what he has done with his recent statement to the nation is an attempt to soothe the bruised feelings of Dalits who are critical to the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming elections in U.P. and Punjab. What else could explain his silence in all these months when Muslim youths were lynched or beaten up by cow vigilantes?
The very idea of a consolidated vote bank based on the ideology of ‘Hindutva’ to include the Dalits and other backward castes may be fast unraveling as the video footage of the beating has gone viral and stoked Dalit Anger. The nation also witnessed the de-recognition of the Ambedkar Students Association in Chennai, mistreatment and subsequent suicide of the Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula in Hyderabad, torching of a Dalit home in Haryana and killing of the two children. All these incidents may only reinforce the age-old Dalit thinking that BJP is essentially a party dominated by an upper caste ideology, and there may be very little room left in it for anyone else!
(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations and Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA)
New research seems to prove the theory that brainy people spend more time lazing around than their active counterparts. Findings from a US-based study seem to support the idea that people with a high IQ get bored less easily, leading them to spend more time engaged in thought.
And active people may be more physical as they need to stimulate their minds with external activities, either to escape their thoughts or because they get bored quickly.
Researchers from the Florida Gulf Coast University gave a classic test – dating back three decades – to a group of students. The ‘need for cognition’ questionnaire asked participants to rate how strongly they agree with statements such as “I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems”, and “I only think as hard as I have to”.
The researchers, led by Todd McElroy, then selected 30 ‘thinkers’ and 30 ‘non-thinkers’ from the pool of candidates.
Over the next seven days both groups wore a device on their wrist which tracked their movements and activity levels, providing a constant stream of data on how physically active they were.
Results showed the thinking group were far less active during the week than the non-thinkers.
The findings of the study, published in the Journal of HealthPsychology, were described as “highly significant” and “robust” in statistical terms.
But the weekends showed no difference between the two groups, something which has not been able to be explained.
Researchers suggested the findings could lend weight to the idea that non-thinkers get bored more easily, so need to fill their time with physical activity.
He suggested that the less active people, no matter how clever they are, should aim to raise their overall activity levels to improve their health The British Psychological Society quoted the study, saying: “Ultimately, an important factor that may help more thoughtful individuals combat their lower average activity levels is awareness.
“Awareness of their tendency to be less active, coupled with an awareness of the cost associated with inactivity, more thoughtful people may then choose to become more active throughout the day.” Despite highlighting an unusual trend, generalising the findings should be done with caution due to the small sample of participants, it added.
Sushil Kumar Shinde, an ex-Chief Minister of Maharashtra and former Home Affairs of India formally launched the Maharashtra Chapter of INOC, USA on Aug. 16, 2016, at an animated gathering at a prestigious Manhattan Restaurant and inaugurated Devendra Vora as its new President. Mr. Vorah hails from Maharashtra and has been an active supporter of the Congress Party and its ideology for a long time.
In his speech, Shindeji urged the Congress supporters not to lose heart but to continue to work hard to earn people’s trust again. ‘Congress was in similar predicaments before but always came back when people realized that Congress party is their best option to keep political tranquility at home while achieving sustained growth.’ He recollected efforts as Home Minister in dealing with various domestic upheavals and expressed doubts that the current Government is pursuing proper strategies that could bring peace and harmony at home. He also agreed with current assessment within the party that it hadn’t done a great job communicating its achievements to the public at large and hoping to do a better job in the future.
After welcoming the Chief Guest and Shri Sangat Singh Gilzian, MLA from TANDA URMUR District of Punjab, Harbachan Singh, Secretary-General of INOC, USA, thanked both dignitaries and the distinguished guests for gracing the event. He dwelt in some detail upon some of the landmark achievements of the Congress party and how it had transformed India as one of the leading countries of the world. “India is more connected today than it has ever been – networks of railways, roads, airlines, information, communication, people and media where new ideas emerge, develop and take flight very rapidly,” he said. He opined that youth which forms a great chunk of India’s population would undoubtedly unleash their talent and energy through modern technology and play a greater role in forming future governments. He reminded that the Indian people have and will continue to throw out governments that fail them and which does not fulfill campaign promises.
Mohinder Singh Gilzian facilitated the new Chapter officers and members and was happy to see them join the dozen other Chapters already established since a long time.
George Abraham, Chairman, felicitated the Chief Guest and lauded his brilliant career in politics from his humble beginnings to becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Governor of Andhra Pradesh and the Home Minister of India. He congratulated the newly appointed President of Maharashtra Chapter Mr. Vora and wished him and Ms. Malini Shah (Chairperson) well in their development of the chapter.
Sangat Singh Gilzian, was very appreciative of the work of INOC, USA and reassured everyone that the Congress party alone, with its rich long experience and established institutions, can provide maximum benefits to the people and develop the country not only to keep pace with the advanced countries of the world but also to compete with them effectively. He was proud that some of the best talents in the world in every sphere of human activity, science, and technology, were trained in India. He said that the foundation laid by the Congress Party is very strong, and it had already embarked on eradicating irrational red-tape and outdated laws which were suffocating India of the speed of progress it desired so critically. The placing of the Shawl on Mr. Devendra Vora, amidst a big applause, by Shri Shindeji, highlighted the event.
Devendra Vora ji, thanked, Shri Shindeji, Shri Sangat Singh ji and INOC, USA for the confidence and the responsibility entrusted to him. He vouched that he took his responsibilities seriously and would do his best to live up to their expectations.
Zach Thomas (Vice-Chairman), Harry Singh (Joint Secretary), Subash Kapadia, Mohammed Islam, Arvind Vora, Priscilla Pinto, Megha Mehta, Hema Virani, Rajesh Joshi, DiveshTripathi, Kaushik Dave, and Peter Shah were amongst the many prominent dignitaries who attended.
An estimated 30 million people of Indian origin live outside India, although estimations vary greatly. For most “Indians” living abroad, for more than 3-4 centuries, many have never been there, or if they have, it has been as ordinary tourists, without particularly making any effort to visit the region where their ancestor came from – whose very name they may no longer recall.
Uniting them, bringing these people of Indian origin now, spread around the globe, in as many nations as they exist today, and reminding them of their ancestry, and reuniting them with their motherland, is no doubt, a huge uphill challenge. Dr. Thomas Abraham dreamt of uniting them all under one umbrella, connecting them with their sisters and brothers living in as many as 200 nations.
When PIOs were only a handful in the United States and had fewer cultural, religious and linguistic groups, Dr. Thomas Abraham, dreamt of uniting them all under one group. He founded the Federation of Indian Association (FIA) of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (1977). After seeing its grand success, he dreamt of bringing the numerous FIAs from around the nation, under the National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA) in 1980.
Hosting former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New York 1983.
Dr. Abraham’s public service and Indian community involvement started in 1974 at Columbia University where he mobilized the Indian student group under India Club of Columbia University. He was elected as its president in 1975. Later on, he became the Chairman of the Joint Committee of India Organizations in 1976 which he transformed as the Federation of Indian Association (FIA) of New York. He served as FIA president from 1976-81. It was one of the biggest achievements to bring all community groups spread around the New York Metropolitan area under one umbrella of FIA and simultaneously initiating FIA umbrella organizations in all major cities of the United States. The New York based FIA organizes the largest India Day parade outside India. Other FIAs initiated by Dr. Abraham organize Indian Day Parades and Festivals all over the US.
In 1980, Dr. Abraham organized the first convention of Asian Indians in North America in New York City and subsequently formed the National Federation of Indian – American Associations (NFIA). Today, it is the largest Indian organization in America, and has over 200 Indian organizations as its members. He served as the NFIA President from 1980-86; and Chairman of its Board of Trustees in 1988 and ’90. He continues to serve as an advisor to it. As president of FIA and NFIA, Dr. Abraham has organized large community meetings, honoring former Prime Ministers, Morarji Desai, Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Dr. Thomas Abraham speaking at the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin 1989
Dr. Abraham also served as the National Coordinator for the American Committee for the Rehabilitation of Cyclone Victims in India in 1978, Chairman of the Committee to Honor the Prime Minister of India in 1978 and 1983, Vice-President of the Indo-American Council which was responsible for promoting the Festival of India in 1985-’87, and National Coordinator, Asian Indians for Liberty which raised substantial funds for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Not satisfied with bringing the people of Indian origin under one group within the United States, this visionary embarked on a journey to unite PIOs living around the globe. Dr. Abraham has been justifiably credited to be the founder of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in 1989.
Today, no doubt, we can justifiably give credit to the Non Resident Indian or the People of Indian Origin movement in the last three decades to Dr. Abraham, who coined the word PIO (people of Indian origin) in 1989, when he put together the First Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York. The greatest achievement of Dr. Abraham is initiating and building several NRI/PIO Indian community institutions in the last 42 years of his career.
Dr. Thomas Abraham with dignitaries, clockwise from top left, With former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2008, Receiving Pravasi Bharatiya Samman from Pratibha Patil in 2008, With former President the late Dr. Abdul Kalam in 2009 and Meeting former US President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1985.
“I served as the first president of the Federation of Indian Associations of New York in 1980 and the National Federation of Indian American Associations,” recalls Dr. Abraham. “At that time when we were taking broader issues of the Indian American community, the major concern that was affecting the global community was the human rights issue in different parts of the world. The advantage that Indian Americans had was that we were different from the groups in the other parts of the world. Education level was high and there were more people interested in civic and community activities. So we decided to take up some of these issues and set up a committee to explore them. Finally, all these efforts led to a conference in 1989 in New York City and the Government of India extended its support and sent a delegation headed by Madhav Rao Scindia. We had around 3,000 delegates from 26 countries and that is how GOPIO (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin) was born.”
Some of the other major contributions in establishing distinct groups/organizations by Dr. Abraham include: Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center (1993); Jagdish Bhagwati Chair for Indian Political Economy at Columbia University ($4.0 million endowment, (1992-2000); National Indian American Association for Senior Citizens (NIAASC, 1998); South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS, 2000); The Indus Nanotechnology Association (TINA 2011); and, The New Kerala Initiative to promote new technology to Kerala’s development in since 2014.
In addition to creating these organizations, Dr. Abraham has helped build a solid base for Indian American community as well as the Indian Diaspora spread around the world. As a community activist, Dr. Abraham has taken up several issues of the global Indian community for the last 35 years. A follower of Gandhian principles of peace and non-violence, Dr. Abraham had taken several initiatives for organizing programs of community harmony in the New York area since the 1970s.
Hosting former President the late Dr. Abdul Kalam in 2009 in New York
As the founder, first president, and currently serving as the Chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), a worldwide organization founded in 1989 looking after the interests of Non-Resident Indians and People of Indian Origin living outside India, has been instrumental in bringing the concerns and aspirations of the Indian Diaspora before the Indian government.
Dr. Abraham says, “We had several issues that we brought to the attention of the Government of India. GOPIO monitors issues that are of larger interest to the community. Some resolutions that we adopted were Voting rights for Indian Citizens living outside of India, Price Differentiation for PIO’s for hotels and archeological sites, restoring ‘not ordinarily a resident status from two years to nine years on global tax of returning PIO’s/NRI’s and a demand for Rajya Sabha seats for NRI’s. Other issues were repealing the new VCA clearance rules for adoption of orphaned children from India and protection of real estate investments. We initiated the PIO card and Dual Nationality resolution. It took some time but in 2001 PIO card was introduced and after a long times, dual nationality (Overseas Citizenship) was recognized in early January of this year.”
In early 1980s, he was invited by the Select Commission on Immigration to testify on behalf of the Indian community on the various rules governing the new immigration law. This along with efforts by other organizations helped to preserve the family reunification clause of the new immigration laws ratified by the US Congress. In 1988, NFIA under the leadership Dr. Abraham testified in the US Senate to stop the supply of sophisticated military equipment including AWACS to Pakistan.
Dr. Abraham also edits the publication “GOPIO News” which currently has the largest circulation among the Indian Diaspora online publications. Some of the achievements of the organization include campaigning on PIO Card, Dual Nationality and GOPIO being admitted as an NGO at the UN Conference against Racism and Racial Discrimination.
Dr. Abraham was the co-chair of the managing committee to establish Jagdish Bhagwati Chair for Indian Political Economy in 1990s. In 1998, Dr. Abraham initiated a conference on Indian senior citizens resulting in the formation of National Indian American Senior Citizens Association. Another conference by him in 1999 resulted in the formation of South Asian Council for Social Services in 2000. Dr. Abraham is also the Founder President of The Organization for Universal Communal Harmony (1990) is currently a Board member of the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI).
Very youthful in his thinking, Dr. Abraham hears and understands the needs of the young. “College students have developed a network and after they graduate they have professional groups for activities of their interest. It is the high school children that are not well organized and we thought it a good idea to cultivate this group by providing services to the local community or even helping in charities in India, cities, villages and schools in bringing a civic awareness among the people. We have just started this initiative from New York and we feel it has great potential for expansion,” he says.
If public life has been a huge success for DR. Abraham, his professional life has been exemplary. Dr. Abraham is an expert in advanced materials and nanotechnology, and is the President of Innovative Research and Products (iRAP), Inc., a Stamford, CT (USA) based technology and market research firm. Before, starting iRAP, Dr. Abraham served as Vice President for Research at the Business Communications Co. (BCC), a market and industry analysis company in Norwalk, Connecticut. Dr. Abraham is experienced both as a materials scientist and technical economic analyst in the field of advanced materials and nanotechnology. Dr. Abraham has chaired BCC’s annual Nanomaterials Conference since 1998 to 2005. Since 1986, Dr. Abraham has been directing the market and industry analysis of advanced and nano materials, and related areas at BCC. In this capacity, Dr. Abraham also served as editor of a monthly publication, “High-Tech Ceramics News,” for over seventeen years. A graduate of Columbia University, Dr. Abraham had worked earlier for the Univ. of Denver and Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Dr. Abraham has been a frequent invited speaker on the state of the nano and advanced material industries at several professional society meetings. Dr. Abraham was part of the US delegation to the US-Australia Cooperative Workshop on Sustainable Nanomanufacturing held in Brisbane and Melbourne from February 22nd to 25th, 2008.
Dr. Abraham has organized over a dozen ten international conferences in High Tech Adhesives, Fine and Nano Powders, Nanoparticles, Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials. A graduate of Columbia University (MS and PhD.), Dr. Abraham had worked earlier for Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Denver. Dr. Abraham has written over 50 papers that are published in the various professional journals and magazines.
In recognition of his leadership and service to the Indian American community, Dr. Abraham has been honored with several community service awards. Dr. Abraham was presented with several awards in addition to several other community service awards by various organizations, institutions and the State of Connecticut. He was the proud recipient of the Bharatvanshi Gaurav (Person of Indian Origin Pride), presented Award by former Vice President of India Bhairon Singh Sekhawat on Janaury 4th, 2008.
He received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honor) Award, presented by the President of India on January 9th, 2008 for his outstanding service to the Indian communities worldwide and India.
Other awards include, Asian American Lion Club Award, Federation of Indian Associations Award, India Tribune’s Gandhi Community Service Award; International Malayalam Conference Award; Federation of Kerala Associations of North America Award for Outstanding Community Service; Asian Who’s Who Award; Outstanding Community Service Award from the National Indian Americans Association for Senior Citizens; Outstanding Alumnus Award by the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) at its annual convocation in November 2008 and the Life Time Achievement and Service Award from India Abroad, June, 2012.
Dr. Abraham is married to Susy, a physician, specialized in Geriatrics. Abrahams have two children, Nitya, a female urologist and assistant professor at Montefiore in the Bronx. New York and Jay, an aircraft engine design engineer currently working for Pratt &Whitney in East Hartford. Abrahams live in Stamford, CT, USA. Nitya is married to Terrance, General Manger at OpenX while Jay is married to Jessica, an accountant executive with Cigna.
According to Dr. Abraham, “Now the most successful and emerging Diaspora is the Indian Diaspora, and we play a major role in the world. To bring them together, you have to tell them what it is in it for them. That is where we come in GOPIO – pooling our resources and networking that will help our country professionally as well as financially and help communities wherever they need help. To me, that is the only way we can join this movement. It is a challenge, because there is no issue on a personal basis for a successful Indian American. But, here is something that we can accomplish as a global community whether it is a charitable issue, or a humanitarian issue, or a human tragedy as a Katrina here or an earthquake in Pakistan. And those are some of the compelling issues that has brought the people of Indian origin under the GOPIO umbrella.”
United Nations — August 15, 2016: A.R. Rahman enthralled a packed audience at the iconic United Nations General Assembly Hall with his renditions of Indian Carnatic legend M. S. Subbulakshmi’s music, Sufi songs and the foot-tapping ‘Jai Ho’ at a concert to celebrate India’s 70th Independence Day on August 15th, 2016.
The musical concert, organized by India’s Permanent Mission to the UN with the support of Sankara Nethralaya, an India-based not-for-profit organization, on India’s 70th Independence Day, was a tribute by Rahman to Subbulakshmi on the occasion of her birth centenary. Through the nearly three-hour long concert, Rahman and his troupe performed Subbulakshmi’s music and compositions.
Oscar-winning composer Rahman (49), made history by becoming the only second Indian artist after Subbulakshmi, who had performed at the United Nations 50 years ago. The audience of ambassadors, diplomats and Indian-Americans welcomed Rahman with a thunderous applause and loud cheers as he stepped on stage, dressed in traditional Indian attire.
The world body’s iconic General Assembly hall, from where world leaders address the globe, reverberated with Rahman’s enchanting music. Through his performance, Rahman paid homage to Subbulakshmi, the first musician ever to be awarded India’s highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna. The concert coincides with the completion of 50 years of Subbulakshmi’s performance in the UN General Assembly hall with the support of Chennai-based Sankara Nethralaya, a not-for-profit eye institution.
The concert honoring Subbulakshmi at the UN aims to “perpetuate the memory of not only one of the greatest musicians India had ever produced but that of a greatest soul who lived a life of philanthropy and goodwill for all humanity”, Sankara Nethralaya’s Chairman Emeritus S S Badrinath said.
Rahman, known to be a man of few words, said in the beginning of the concert that he had a long speech prepared but decided against delivering it, letting his music do the talking for him. In his homage to Subbulakshmi, Rahman said she had performed at the UN a year before he was born. “For us, she is a case study” of how a person with humble beginnings can conquer and rise above the caste and class system and become an “ultimate icon” for every aspiring singer.
Her life was the inspiration behind Rahman’s Sunshine Orchestra, which was started about a few years ago and teaches eastern and western classical music to underprivileged children, he said. “Today these children have pushed their boundaries and are almost ready for the world,” he said. “It is one of my duties to come here and celebrate her,” he said, adding that he considers the music legend “God of my culture”.
The concert was a way of celebrating M S Subbulakshmi’s performance at the UN General Assembly hall on 23 October 1966. The first ever musician to be awarded India’s highest civilian honor the Bharat Ratna, Subbulakshmi was invited by the then UN Secretary General late U Thant to perform at the General Assembly, becoming the first Indian to perform there. “It feels really, really good. I think 1966 was just one year before I was born. It’s been 50 years. So, (it was) coming back in a special way to celebrate one of my city’s icons, one of India’s icons- MS Subbulakshmiji,” Rahman was quoted to have said.
A highlight of the concert was performances by students of Sunshine Orchestra, an initiative by the A.R. Rahman Foundation, that teaches music to underprivileged youngsters. “From today, you are privileged, you are not underprivileged anymore,” Rahman said as a word of encouragement to the students as they geared to perform on the UN stage.
Rahman’s two sisters also performed on stage along with noted singers Javed Ali and renowned percussionist Sivamani. Rahman, sitting amid his musical instruments on one side of the UN stage, rendered one soulful number after another as his troupe gave mesmerising performances of Subbulakshmi’s Carnatic music. “Music has given me everything, this is a small thing in return,” Rahman said about the special backup.
To loud cheers and applause, Rahman also performed some of his most popular songs including from movies such as ’Dil Se’ and ‘Bombay’ as well as a rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ Towards the end of the concert, Rahman and his group performed Sufi songs, including ‘Khwaja Mere Khwaja’, ‘Kun Faya Kun’ and ‘Maula, Maula.’
The grand finale was the foot-tapping song ‘Jai Ho’ from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, for which Rahman had won Oscars and several prestigious global awards. As Rahman and his troupe began the song, several people in the audience broke into a dance.
A Photo Exhibition about M S Subbulakshmi’s life and times is also being held from August 15-19, 2016 at the United Nations. It depicts various facets and moment’s and provides a rare insight to the music legend’s achievements. United Nations Postal Administration issued a stamp to mark the birth centenary of Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi.
India’s Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar addressed the audience, and said, “Music is at the soul of the nation, that is India.” Akbar lauded the significance of music in India’s freedom struggle as well as its role as a unifying power. “Our journey towards freedom is represented by two songs — ‘Vande Mataram and Jann Gann Mann’,” Akbar said. He said that while other countries first formed a nation and then created an anthem, India “created anthems first and then formed a nation”. “Music is the most powerful expression of the soul of India because it inspires that spark of divinity that lives in every human soul,” he said, describing musicians as “ambassadors of God. Every morning in India begins with music. Every morning in every corner in India begins with the music of the Azaan, followed by the music of the Hanuman temple, followed by the music of the Gurudwara and then by the music of Church bells,” he said amid a huge round of applause, adding that one should “thank destiny for making us Indians”.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin noted that the UN is observing its 70th anniversary as India’s celebrates its 70th independence day.
“We hope this event will reinforce the belief that diverse cultural traditions reflecting each others values remain relevant to global thinking and the UN,” he said. Subbulakshmi is among the best musicians India has given to the world, Akbaruddin said. “Remembering a legend. Photo exhibition @UN in memory of MS Subbulakshmi August 15-19,” he said in a tweet.
The UN takes inspiration from various contributions made by India to the world, including the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent teachings and the harmony of Yoga, the world body’s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. The video message was played during the concert at the UN on Monday.
In his message to India on its 70th Independence Day, Ban said the occasion also celebrates India’s partnership with the UN. India is a founding member of the UN, Ban said and expressed his gratitude to the country for its significant contributions to the world body’s peacekeeping operations. “We are also celebrating India’s strong partnership with the UN,” he said in his message, which he began with a ‘Namaste’.
Closing the concert, Rahman made an appeal for peace saying killing one another will not solve the world’s problems. “…We still kill each other. In my lifetime I want to see a world where people do not fight and kill each other but find better methods to solving conflicts. Let us hope in our lifetime we see this change.”
Suresh Bazaj is an entrepreneur who has been working in the Telecom industry since 1973. As a volunteer before joining the board, he was instrumental in TURN receiving a $340,000 Cy Pres award to support our telecom advocacy. This Silicon Valley tech from California, has had a yearning to help blind children in India.
In India, roughly 1.5 million children under the age of 20 are completely blind, Bazaj explained. And with TTS software not able to help kids learn in certain dialects and languages, they were not able to keep up their education on par with sighted children.
Now, through an app for Android devices created by Hear2Read and a team of students at Carnegie Mellon University, along with CMU professor Alan Black, Indian children will have the capability of TTS software for the major languages spoken in India. The app will expand to Windows devices in the future.
“Making it available as free, open-source software thus was a key goal,” said Black, a professor in the School of Computer Science’s Language Technologies Institute at CMU, in a statement. “People should be able to download this and it should just work. We put a lot of effort into making this accessible and easy to use.”
“I observed over the years the children (at schools for the blind) still weren’t getting proper education,” Bazaj noted. “They were being relegated to low-paying jobs, destined to a life of poverty.” Bazaj, who has had retinal detachments in both eyes that were successfully repaired, wanted to change that.
After graduating from IIT Kanpur and the University of Michigan, Bazaj spent the better part of four decades working in the computer software industry, both for major companies as well as startups. He had an underlying itch that he needed to scratch, however.
“For a long time I was sending money to help support my parents who had been supporting a school for the blind in Varanasi,” Bazaj told the media. He retired from the corporate life in 2012 and shifted his focus to giving back. In 2013, Bazaj founded Hear2Read, which helps blind children through Touch To Speak software.
“When I started digging into it, I realized the blind (in the U.S.) go to the same school as everyone else,” Bazaj explained, adding he noticed blind people in the U.S. have high-paying jobs, which wasn’t the case in his native country. “And the reason they are able to keep up with other people and read all the material is because they are using the TTS software for English.
“I wanted to change the outcome I saw from the schools for the blind in India,” he said and added that, with his background in the tech industry, he wanted to build a “game-changer” to help the blind in India.
The Hear2Read project inspired Black and his students to develop a system for doing so repeatedly, efficiently and for producing user-friendly software, according to a Hear2Read statement.
By the end of the year, the app will service Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu. In 2017, it will expand to Assamese, Malayalam, Oriya and Urdu. The 12 languages account for 93 percent of the people, added Bazaj, though he said he’s unsure if the software will add the remaining 10 Indian languages.
“Each language is different, and historically TTS systems have been done one at a time,” Bazaj said in the statement. “We looked at commonalities of Indian languages and developed tools to apply the same technology to multiple languages.”
The system developed by Black’s research team enables creation of a baseline TTS system after recording two to three hours of clear, consistent speech from a native speaker, it added.
Not only will the app, named Hear2Read, be able to help blind children, it will also be used to assist the millions of visually impaired children, as well as elderly people who have become visually impaired in their advanced age, Bazaj noted.
Additionally, the future of Hear2Read’s app will aim to offer machine-generated voices to instantly turn e-books into audio versions of the book and will help children learn the native languages of their parents, and overall could serve as a language-learning software, he said.
The app, which runs in real time and without Internet access, is available on lower-income android devices in India as part of the Indian government’s ‘assisted for disabled persons’ program, which helps low-income people with disabilities.
Bazaj, with some support from friends, funds an MS student at Carnegie Mellon University, to the tune of $35,000 annually. It is the largest expense of the company, Bazaj noted. Hear2Read, a strictly volunteer-run venture, has dozens of supporters to evolve the TTS software but continues to seek additional donors. And while Bazaj said this app won’t make all blind children turn into company heads in the future, he believes it will at least give them a fair playing field. “I’m not going to say all the children will all become stars, but they will have the same opportunity as sighted children,” he said. “With this software, everyone will have the chance to excel.”
International Institute of Education and Management (IIEM) has honored Jesuit priest Fr Varghese Paul with its prestigious Award, JEWEL OF INDIA. The Award was presented to him “for Outstand Achievements” as the Certificate says, by Former Governor of Tamil Nadu Dr. Bhishma Narain Singh on July 25, 2016.
The Seminar and Award presentation function was held in a fully packed auditorium of the Indian Society of International Law, Krishna Menon Bhawan, New Delhi. Many other Awards and Gold Medals were also given away to a number of eminent men and women from different parts of India and abroad for their achievements in different fields like development, research, fine art, education, etc.
Varghese Paul, SJ
In the Seminar on Education and Development, Dr. Bhishma Narain, IIEM Chairman Dr Mahan Vir Tulli (I.F.S. Retd), an author & familiar TV friendly-face Shri Joginder Singh and others congratulated the Award winners and described the audience as “a mini-gathering of India”.
Fr. Varghese Paul’s extensive travels in India and abroad (34 countries) for studies and attending international seminars and presenting papers in World Congresses; his contributions to Gujarati and English periodicals as well as his books (43 in Gujarati, 4 in English, 3 in Malayalam and 1 in Hindi) and his three popular web sites; regular face book contributions are counted among his outstanding achievements.
Rev. Paul has been the director of Catholic Information Service Society (CISS), which is a diocesan print media communication center in the diocese of Ahmedabad in India since its beginning in 1984.
He was born on May 31, 1943 at Ennalloor in Ernakulam district, Kerala as the eldest son with four sisters and four brothers. After completing High School, he joined the Jesuits Society. He completed two years of Novitiate and spent one year each to study English and Gujarati. Then he joined St. Xavier’s College at Ahmedabad and graduated from Gujarat University with Gujarati and Sanskrit literature in 1968.
He completed his post graduate studies in philosophy at Pune and Theology at Gregorian University, Rome and journalism in London School of Journalism in London. He was ordained a priest in Rome on June 21, 1977 was in the US with further studies in writing and editing.
On returning to Gujarat, he edited DOOT for two years from January 1978. “Then I took up a very challenging job as Founder-Director of South Asian Religious News (SAR News) a Church news agency under the aegis of Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA) and the South Asian Catholic Press Association (SACPA) for four years,” says the writer/editor.
As the Editor-in-Chief of SAR News, he got exposed to the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP). He attended first time the 13th UCIP World Congress in September 1980 at Rome and was elected a member of the International Federation of News Agencies (FIAC) and consequently a member of UCIP Council.
When he returned to Gujarat, he was appointed editor of DOOT for a third time from January 1984. In 1984 he also launched Catholic Information Service Society (CISS) as its Founder-Director under Ahmedabad Diocese with Bishop Charles Gomes, S.J. as its President. As an Executive Body member of ICPA, he helped to organize the first UCIP World Congress at New Delhi in 1986. In the Congress he was elected as the President of South Asian Catholic Press Association (SACPA) and consequently he became a board member of UCIP with six monthly meeting in Switzerland or elsewhere for 3 years.
“With knowledge and expertise gained through SAR News and UCIP with interacting with print media personnel around the world I went to make DOOT a modern popular monthly without deviating from the goal of DOOT as a religious magazine for the formation of the Christian community,” recalls, Rev. Paul.
After doubling the DOOT circulation in two years in January 1987 he was instrumental in changing the format of DOOT from a book-size periodical to a standard magazine size monthly and increased the pages. “Reaching 5000 plus paid subscribers among a Catholic population of two lakh target audience DOOT had the highest circulation for any Church periodical in India with one copy for every 40 Catholic Christians or 20 literate Catholics,” Rev. Paul says proudly.
Traveling to and spending 10 days in New Delhi every month from 1994, he had set up the ACECI National Office in New Delhi. The then Pro Nuncio to India H. E. Archbishop George Zur inaugurated the office on September 11, 1994. He had served as the Executive Secretary of the ACECI National Office until 2002. Presently Rev Paul is the President of ACECI.
Gujarati Lakhak Mandal (GLM – Gujarati Writers Association) has unanimously elected Fr. Varghese Paul as its Chairman in the board meeting in July 19, 2013. Fr. Varghese succeeded an eminent journalist and author of more than 400 books, Yashwant Mehta who was the Chairman GLM for 12 years. Varghese was Vice President of GLM for two terms from 2007. He joined GLM in 2004. He continues to be in the editorial team of GLM quarterly publication: “Lekhak and Lekhan”.
“My jobs and responsibilities in mass media helped me to cultivate and enjoy my hobbies of reading, writing and traveling,” says Rev. Paul, “I have I had the opportunities to study 10 languages and have traveled far and wide in India and abroad for my studies or for participating or conducting seminars and workshops and also for attending World Congresses and Council Meetings of UCIP. So far I have visited 34 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. I believe that my writings have been enriched by these traveling and world-wide contacts.”
Water scarcity is a huge problem across the globe. Clean drinking water is even more scarce. In a move that could be a global game-changer for countries like India, where clean drinking water is a big issue, a team of researchers including an Indian American engineer has found a way to use graphene oxide sheets to transform dirty water into drinking water.
“We hope that for countries where there is ample sunlight such as India, you’ll be able to take some dirty water, evaporate it using our material, and collect fresh water,” said Srikanth Singamaneni from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The novel approach combines bacteria-produced cellulose and graphene oxide to form a bi-layered biofoam.
“The process is extremely simple,” Singamaneni said. “The beauty is that the nanoscale cellulose fiber network produced by bacteria has excellent ability move the water from the bulk to the evaporative surface while minimizing the heat coming down, and the entire thing is produced in one shot,” he added. “The design of the material is novel here,” the researcher added.
“You have a bi-layered structure with light-absorbing graphene oxide filled nanocellulose at the top and pristine nanocellulose at the bottom. When you suspend this entire thing on water, the water is actually able to reach the top surface where evaporation happens,” he explained.
Light radiates on top of it, and it converts into heat because of the graphene oxide — but the heat dissipation to the bulk water underneath is minimized by the pristine nanocellulose layer. “You don’t want to waste the heat; you want to confine the heat to the top layer where the evaporation is actually happening,” Singamaneni said. The cellulose at the bottom of the bi-layered biofoam acts as a sponge, drawing water up to the graphene oxide where rapid evaporation occurs. The resulting fresh water can easily be collected from the top of the sheet.
Professor Singamaneni joined the Washington University in St. Louis faculty in January 2010. From 2006 to 2009, he was a graduate research assistant in Professor Vladimir V. Tsukruk’s lab. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2013), Dean’s Faculty Award for Innovation in Research (2013), MRS graduate student Gold Award (Fall 2008), Materials Research Society Best-Poster Award (Spring 2007) and departmental creative and scholarly award at Western Michigan University in 2004. Professor Singamaneni has co-authored over 85 refereed articles in archival journals, eight invited reviews, six book chapters and a book.
Professor Singamaneni’s research interests include Plasmonic engineering in nanomedicine (in vitro biosensing for point-of-care diagnostics, molecular bioimaging, nanotherapeutics), photovoltaics (plasmonicallyenhahced photovoltaic devices), surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based chemical sensors with particular emphasis on the design and fabrication of unconventional and highly efficient SERS substrates, hierarchical organic/inorganic nanohybrids as multifunctional materials, bioinspired structural and functional materials, polymer surfaces and interfaces, responsive and adaptive materials and scanning probe microscopy and surface force spectroscopy of soft and biological materials.
New York: On July 1, 2016, the beginning of the new Rotary year Suraj P “Raj” Bhatia was invited to serve as Rotary International’s alternate representative to the United Nations in New York by the President of Rotary International.
Each year, the Rotary President appoints a team to serve as representatives to the UN and other organizations. These representatives serve as Rotary’s unofficial “ambassadors” and work to strengthen Rotary’s participation and reputation in the international community.
Raj has served Rotary since 1994 and was elected District Governor in 2009. Raj received the Vocational Service leadership award & Governor’s citation, and was awarded the prestigious “Service Above Self” award by the President of Rotary International. The Rotary Board considers this award to be Rotary International’s highest honor to bestow on a Rotarian. Raj is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a Benefactor of the Permanent Fund and a Member of the Bequest Society of Rotary International.
Raj received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in India and received a scholarship to pursue for his Master degree at the University of Florida and an MBA from the Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Raj joined IBM Corporation in New York, where he held senior management position in both IBM US and IBM Latin America Headquarters.
For his Community Service and Volunteer work Raj received The President’s Volunteer Service Award, given by the President’s Council on Service and Civic participation, and a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of Meritorious Public Service as a member of Supreme Court of New Jersey’s District Fee Committee. Raj is the founder and Executive Director of Lakshmi Dream Foundation Inc. which helps under privileged children in India and provides warm jacket to children in our local communities in the Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties in New Jersey. Raj is a past Trustee of the Walter D. Head Foundation and the Gift of Life Foundation.
Raj is also a recipient of the prestigious 2010 Ellis Island Medal of Honor for community service. Raj is also listed in the Coffee Table Book published by Roshni Media titled “Global and Emerging leaders.”
Actress, writer, and director Mindy Kaling, made famous on the small screen by her series about a raunchy Indian-American physician in search of love, is now looking to enter the big screen.
Not satisfied to rest on her laurels with ‘The Mindy Project’ Kaling revealed at a press conference Aug. 5, at Hulu’s Television Critics Association meeting, that she had finished writing a feature length script for the big screen, etcanada.com reported. She will play a small part in the movie which will be set in New York City, and it may be related in some way or form indirectly to the news world, she hinted.
Kaling, 37, whose offbeat manner both on and off screen has endeared her to a loyal fan following, said she does not have a name for the movie. “I’m bad at naming things — that’s why my show is called ‘The Mindy Project,’” she quipped.
It is not a romantic comedy as most of those who follow her would assume, and that she said, surprised her as well.
Born Vera Chokalingam, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Kaling was a long-time script writer for the hit TV series ‘The Office’ where she was the only female writer on staff at the age of 24. She appeared as Kelly Kapoor in some of the episodes. Her first solo venture, The Mindy Project, ran on Fox for 3 seasons from 2012 to 2015. When Fox cancelled the contract, Kaling took the series to Hulu, where it has run since 2015.
Kaling has authored two books, ‘Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns)’ which featured on the New York Times Best Sellers list, and ‘Why Not Me?’. She was the voice of Disgust in Pixar’s award-winning animated movie, Inside Out. She made her feature film debut in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
“I always thought the first thing I’d do [for the big screen] was a romantic comedy and what I realized was we write that so much on [‘The Mindy Project’] that I kind of decided that, you know what, I’m going to save that stuff for the show and this is about something completely different,” she is quoted saying in the news report. “It’s inspired by movies I love, like ‘Broadcast News’,” she said, but added, “It’s not in the news world.”
The Swaminarayan Temple of Secaucus, New Jersey, celebrated its 15th anniversary last week with hundreds of followers, and members from the local Indian-American community attending the Aug. 6-7 event.
The celebrations Aug. 6 kicked off with a flash mob dance to welcome Acharya Swami and also commemorate the 25th anniversary celebrations of the SmrutiMandir, an all-marble, hand- carved temple located in Ghodasar, India. The religious discourses, prayer services, a youth skit, and religious hymns were also part of the first-day celebrations.
The Aug. 7 program commenced with religious discourses as well as a grand annkut, a large offering of food. MuktjeevanSwamibapa Pipe Band escorted Acharya Swami, Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli, Secaucus Councilman Rob Constantino, Secaucus Councilwoman Susan Pirro, and Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari to the entrance of the temple for the opening of Penhorn Avenue which has been renamed ‘Swamibapa Way’ to honor MuktajeevanSwamibapa, the religious leader who was the first to bring the Swaminarayan sect to the United States in the late 1970s. Balloons and white doves were also released to commemorate the occasion.
The program continued in the temple’s community hall, with over 500 individuals in attendance. The Swaminarayan GadiSansthan donated $1,000 to the Secaucus Fire Department and $1,000 to the township’s office of emergency management. Acharya Swami delivered a sermon preaching peace, love, devotion, and unity.
“Anyone who travels on Swamibapa Way will be on their way towards salvation,” he said. “All of this devotional love that we practice should be done selflessly. Our talents are given to us by the Lord as vehicles of devotion” he added.
The two-day festival featured religious discourses about peace and unity, performances by North America’s First Indian American Pipe Band – Swamibapa Pipe Band, cultural concert and skit, traditional Indian feasts, and more.
A few thousand devotees of Shree Swaminarayan Temple, Loyadham in Raritan, New Jersey, gathered for the 2nd anniversary celebrations of the temple July 26-31 that coincided with the 58th birthday of its founder GhanshyamMaharaj , popularly known as guruji.
The five-day celebrations were held at the facility of Temple Beth-El. It was attended, among others by Mayor of Raritan Borough Charles McMullin along with his family. One of the highlights of the celebrations was the surprise announcement by the mayor to hand the symbolic key of the town of Raritan to GhanshyamMaharaj. The mayor noted that the religious guru has been a resident of Raritan for 40 years and said that he was privileged to give the township’s key to the spiritual master. The attendees were overjoyed at the announcement and gave him a big round of applause.
On the opening day after the ceremonial worship of the holy scriptures brought to Beth-El were performed, GhanshyamMaharaj began the holy discourse on the SatsangiJivan.
After the discourse, devotees and saints made offerings to mark his birthday celebrations. Pure gold ornaments weighing 2.25 kg for GhanshyamMaharaj was also offered by the devotees.
On July 29, female devotees of Loyadham of all ages performed cultural dances and various religious plays for all the attendees. A newly prepared idol of NeelkanthVarni was installed the next day for the well-being of all the devotees. Abhishek will be performed on the idol once every month.
GhanshyamMaharaj offered Mayor McMullin and distinguished guests, including philanthropist Piyush Patel, with a royal turban as an honor. Dr. Sudhir Parikh, publisher of Desi Talk and a Padmashri award winner, was honored as well for his contribution to the community and his philanthropy. The honors recognized individuals and companies that have made extra achievements in their fields.
On July 31, the ritual of Abhishek of PiyudaGhanshyamMaharaj started in the early morning with recitation of Vedic mantras followed by worship of GhanshyamMaharaj adorned in gold ornaments and with an offering of an enormous annakut.
Jennifer Rajkumar, an attorney at Sanford Heisler Kimpel LLP and a district leader on the West Side, New York, is hoping to win a seat to the New York State Assembly. The young Indian American, who had in 2013 run unsuccessfully against City Council member Margaret Chin, had pulled in more than 40% of the vote share. Jennifer is running for New York state Assembly from Manhattan’s 65th District, fighting a tough battle to win in the Sept. 13 election to fill the seat vacated by convicted former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Democratic District Leader Jenifer Rajkumar, 33, is running against 5 other candidates, one of them elected earlier this year to finish Silver’s remaining term. Rajkumar said she would be a candidate of change, someone dedicated to reclaiming the assembly seat for the people in the aftermath of the Sheldon Silver corruption scandal. “For too long.” she asserted, “Tammany Hall and corrupt machine politics has pushed our most vulnerable out of mainstream society, into the darkest corners of the city.” Too many people have been pushed out of their homes, out of higher education and out of decent jobs, she argued. “It is time to dismantle cronyism and the pay to play politics that benefits a small few at the expense of many.”
Rajkumar said she would be a proponent of “community-minded leadership.” She said the activism of parents at P.S. 137 on the Lower East Side, who created their own after-school program, inspired her. Rajkumar also highlighted Chinatown housing protests, which she has joined, by a group called the Coalition to Protect Chinatown and the Lower East Side. She singled out the Grand Street Cooperatives, saying, “I see people gathered here today who have banded together to make sure the co-ops honor their history and the cooperative spirit and honor the principles of transparency.”
Rajkumar rattled off a number of priorities, including: saving the Elizabeth Street Garden from development, making sure repairs are made in NYCHA buildings and pushing for meaningful ethics reform.
Other contenders in September are: Yuh-Line Niou, who ran on the Working Families Party line in the recent special election; Paul Newell, a district leader who lives at Masaryk Towers; Community Board 3 Chairperson Gigi Li, local businessman Don Lee and Lower East Side resident Christopher Marte.
On Aug. 8, Rajkumar’s campaign announced an unusual endorsement from former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, whose traction in a New York state Assembly district is doubtful. Crist, a Republican turned Democrat, running for the U.S. Congress and endorsed by President Obama, appealed to the many “snowbirds” in Florida who hail from New York’s 65th District, to support Rajkumar. “Snowbirds” refers to the mostly senior voters who escape to Florida’s warmer climes every winter.
“This will, without a doubt, resonate,” Michael Tobman, Rajkumar’s campaign spokesperson, told Desi Talk about Crist’s endorsement, which he said, is “a clear recognition of Jenifer’s independence, sincerity, and accomplishments from a dedicated public servant who has proven himself to be extremely thoughtful.”
According to a local news outlet, thelodownny.com, Rajkumar came out on top in terms of cash in hand for her campaign in the July 31 financial report, grossing more than $204,000 in contrast to the remaining candidates, all of whom had below $100,000.
According to Statisticalatlas.com, 42.3 percent of the population of the 65th District is of Asian origin, mostly Chinese, 33.8 percent White, around 15.7 percent Latino, and 5.2 percent Black, belonging to upper and lower income groups. Of the total “foreign-born” population, only 2.1 percent are from India, and more than 50 percent from China.
Over 900 million Android devices are affected by ‘high-risk’Quadrooter flaw warns security company Check Point software technologies. Found in devices runningQualcomm processors, QuadRooter includes four vulnerabilities, any of which can be used by hackers to take control of any smartphone. “If exploited, QuadRooter vulnerabilities can give attackers complete control of devices and unrestricted access to sensitive personal and enterprise data on them. Access could also provide an attacker with capabilities such as keylogging, GPS tracking, and recording video and audio,” says Check Point in a blog post.
Hackers can trigger any of these four vulnerabilities using a malicious app. “Such an app would require no special permissions to take advantage of these vulnerabilities, alleviating any suspicion users may have when installing,” adds the post.
The blog notes that QuadRooter affects smartphone drivers which control communication between the various chipset components. Since the vulnerable drivers are pre-installed on devices at manufacturing level, it can only be fixed if the OEMs or carriers issue a software patch.
Check Point recommends users to download and install the latest Android updates as soon as they become available, avoid side-loading apk files, read app permission requests carefully while installing apps and more.
Some of the latest smartphones that are vulnerable to the QuadRooter are Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge , OnePlus 3, Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, LG G4, LG G5 , LG V10, OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3 and more.
Earlier this year (in May), it was found that several million Android smartphonesrunning on Qualcomm processors are exposed to a glitch that can be exploited by hackers to gain access to the device. Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.
It appears that Boyz II Men, plus the entire golden age of baby-making music, is wasted on millennials. More young adults born in the 1980s and 1990s are choosing not to have sex, according to the results of a new study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.11
In fact, they’re twice as likely to be virgins, compared to GenXers—people born in the 1960s and ’70s—when they were the same age.
“A few years ago, I would have been very surprised at this result,” says study author Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University and author of the book Generation Me. It certainly seems surprising, given Twenge’s recent data that same-sex hookup rates have doubled in the U.S. and young Americans are more sexually free and less traditional. But other recent research, and some from the CDC, all points in this direction: that young adults these days have fewer sexual partners and are starting to have sex later.
Twenge and her team wondered if people who weren’t having any sex at all were contributing to this sexless trend. So they analyzed data from a nationally representative group of 26,707 adults, focusing on GenX’ers, Millennials and the generation after them, which some people call iGen. Fifteen percent of young adults ages 20-24 who were born in the 1990s said they had no sex partners since age 18, while just 6% of GenX’ers admitted the same when recalling the romps of their early twenties.
How, for all the handwringing over today’s hookup culture, can this be true? And why are more young adults pushing off sex? They’re impossible questions to answer without conducting a randomized controlled trial (which you just can’t do in this area) so researchers can only speculate. But Twenge has some compelling ideas. “There’s been a general pattern over the last few generations for people to become adults or cross adult milestones later: things like getting married, having a child, settling into a stable career, buying a house,” she says. An extended adolescence used to mean that people were starting to have sex but putting off marriage and kids. “Now, it seems Millennials and iGen are putting off everything—including sex,” she said.
Another intriguing explanation is that Millennials and the generation after them have grown up with a strong emphasis on safety. “That may potentially impact their sexual behavior, if they’ve gotten the message that you can get sick or even die from sex,” Twenge said. The safer-is-better state of mind is reflected elsewhere as well: underage drinking is at an all-time low, and protests on college campuses often call for safe spaces and safer sex.
It could be, too, that young adults are increasingly living on their phones. “If you’re on your phone communicating with people more often, and not seeing your peers in person as much, that could lead to less sex,” Twenge says. And while phones may be helping some people get laid, dating apps like Tinder likely leave out a whole segment of the population—perhaps the one not having sex. “Maybe if someone who isn’t physically attractive meets someone in a bar, they can charm the other person with their engaging personality and humor,” Twenge explains. “On Tinder, it’s a picture.”
More young adults are likely choosing to forgo sex for a range of reasons. But the trend is clear: kids just aren’t growing up as fast as they used to.
Ajay Devgn’s second directorial venture, “Shivaay,” is the story of an ordinary man in an extraordinary circumstance. Young, cool, contemporary, dexterous, swift and foolish, Shivaay is a Himalayan mountaineer who is an innocent everyman and, yet, is capable of TRANSFORMING into a mean DESTROYER when he needs to PROTECT his family.
Shivaay sports a snake and Trishul tatoo, dresses in a cool grunge style and sports a “calm before the storm” demeanor. His abundant held energy can pre-empt nature, and his observation skills are as developed as his brawn. Thus, his anger can be channelized for a larger common good.
Shivaay lives by the leitmotif that destiny is pre-written. He is satisfied in his isolated world and is not very ambitious. He believes that: “Joh ek baar Shivaay ban jaaye use aur kuch banne ki kya zaroorat hai” (translation: once a man becomes a “Shivaay,” he does not need to become anything else).
An avid, risk-savvy mountaineer and hiking trainer, he is leading a simple peaceful life in the lap of the Himalayas, until one fine day he is pushed to leave his comfort zone to protect his family.
Challenged at every step, he must now use all his faculties to defeat evil. When faced with a large mass of faceless villains spread all over the world and pushed against nihilism, Shivaay eventually becomes a DESTROYER.
In pre-production for more than two years, the film “Shivaay” has employed an unprecedented and invincible team from five different countries to execute action sequences in extreme locations that have never been seen before in Bollywood.
What makes it even more special is that every action sequence in the film is led by emotion; the film is a large-scale adventure action caper with strong emotions. A German action team, a mix of Polish, British, Bulgarian and Indian specialists and actors creates the film’s international look.
The 400-strong crew had to go beyond their comfort zone to create something new and shoot in minus 19 degree Celsius conditions. The visuals of the film are on a grand Hollywood scale. The production house, ADFFilms, had the task of coordinating with a global crew that spoke several languages including Hindi, English, Polish, Bulgarian and German.
One crosses many landmarks in the course of a 177-year journey. Even so, August 8, 2016 marked an important milestone for the Times Group as the first academic session of Bennett University+ formally got underway.
The university, promoted by Times Group, already has two research papers on management in reputed journals to its name and five part-time PhD students in engineering. But it’s only just getting started+ .
“We’re starting with 300 students but hope to reach 12,000 in 10 years,” said Vineet Jain, managing director, Bennett and Coleman Co. Ltd (BCCL), and also the university’s first chancellor, addressing the new students and their parents. “Education…is arguably the best means to open the mind and expand it. It is our endeavour to equip you for the future…with academic skill on par with the best universities in the world.”
Registration for the post-graduate MBA programme began over a week ago; for engineering, it started on Sunday. Through Monday, students and their parents trooped into the spanking new premises+ of the university in Greater Noida, ready to make it home for the next couple of years. The total number admitted is about 240 and students have come from all over the country.
Apart from Jain, Shrijeet Mishra (COO, BCCL), Yaj Medury (vice-chancellor), Suneet Tuli (dean, engineering), Saji Gopinath (dean, management), Anil Kumar (director, external relations) and Ajay Batra (Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship), and the rest of the faculty were on hand to meet the excited students and parents. Ravi Soni, physics professor at Indian Institute of Technology, who’d come to drop his son off had queries about the engineering curriculum, to which Jain responded, “It is being designed with the support of Georgia Tech.” “This will be the private university everyone will talk about,” said an impressed Soni. Jain was introduced to many among the university’s diverse student body – including four sisters from Telanganaand Sankarsh Chanda from Hyderabad who has already written a book on finance and picked Bennett because he believes it’ll help him get his finance start-up going. “He left all the colleges in Andhra Pradesh,” said his mother, Sangeeta Chanda. But most just wanted to meet the people they’re entrusting their kids to and click photographs.
“The infrastructure here is very impressive and the faculty is renowned. But, more than that the varsity’s thrust is on the process of self-exploration, which is very rare here. We already have had a workshop at Pegasus, Dehradun. I am looking forward to more such workshops with international organisations as well,” Surbhi Arora, a first year MBA student said. A few minutes before, Mishra had told students, “You will discover yourself”. Raj Jain, CEO, BCCL, told students to take the next few years finding out “who [they] really are.”
Management student Ayesha Akhtar said she likes the “hatchery” of the varsity where students can develop and test ideas. “Our focus will be on entrepreneurship across courses. Even an engineer would be taught entrepreneurship,” assured the chancellor. As one teacher put it, entrepreneurship training isn’t an extra – it has been worked into the curriculum.
Vice-chancellor Yaj Medury hopes to start an undergraduate business administration course and expand the engineering programme to include civil engineering and biotechnology. “This is just the beginning of the journey,” said Vineet Jain, promising more programmes in engineering, management, journalism, law, design, pure sciences, liberal arts and public policy. “I know you are too knowledgeable to be given gyan. But don’t stop being curious and never stop questioning conventional wisdom,” he concluded.
Mira Nair’s biographical drama film, “The Queen of Katwe,” the long-awaited biopic of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi, is among the films chosen to be featured in this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Konkona Sen Sharma’s directorial debut “A Death in the Gunj,” is another film by an Indian-origin director at the premiere Film Fest to be held from September 8th to 18th.
The Festival also marks the world premiere of several films by and featuring Indians, preseting a diverse and exciting lineup of films that includes the Dev Patel starrer “Lion,” “The Headhunter’s Calling” featuring Anupam Kher, and “Barry” by New York-based Indian American filmmaker Vikram Gandhi.
Oscar-nominated Indo-Canadian screenwriter, director, and producer Deepa Mehta’s drama, “Anatomy of Violence,” based on the 2012 heinous gang rape of a young medical student in New Delhi, will also make its world debut at the prestigious festival in the “Masters” category. The film, part of the Canadian lineup, will mark Mehta’s return to the festival after her crime drama, “Beeba Boys,” saw its world premiere last year.
The Canadian contingent also includes Indo-Canadian photojournalist Dilip Mehta’s documentary “Mostly Sunny,” which tracks the life trajectory of adult actress-turned-Bollywood starlet Sunny Leone.
Prolific actor Anupam Kher, 61, will be seen playing an Indian American pediatric oncologist in “The Headhunter’s Calling,” which stars Gerard Butler, Alison Brie and William Dafoe. It is written by Bill Dubuque, who earlier penned the Oscar-nominated movie “The Judge” and “The Accountant.” In the film, a ruthless corporate headhunter (Gerard Butler) battles his rival for control of their job placement company, until a family tragedy brings his personal and professional lives into conflict.
The last time Kher, known for international films such as “Bend It Like Beckham” (2002), “Bride and Prejudice” (2004) and “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012), attended the TIFF was in 2012 for the premiere of “Silver Linings Playbook,” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.
Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman star in Garth Davis’ “Lion,” a true story of Saroo Brierley, who was adopted by an Australian couple after being separated from his parents in India at the age of five, and who then located his family using Google Earth 25 years later. Also seen in the film will be actorsNawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Deepti Naval.
With “A Death in the Gunj,” award-winning actor Konkona Sen Sharma makes her feature debut as a writer-director. This coming-of-age story about a shy young Indian student who quietly and fatefully unravels during a family road trip stars Vikrant Massey, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin, Gulshan Devaiah, Tillotama Shome, Jim Sarbh, Tanuja Mukherjee, Om Puri and Arya Sharma.
In Mira Nair’s “The Queen of Katwe,” a young girl from rural Uganda discovers a passion for chess, and sets out to pursue her dream of becoming an international champion. This film based on the life of Uganda’s chess champion, Phiona Mutesi, stars Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”) and David Oyelowo (“Selma”).
Set in 1981, Vikram Gandhi’s 104-minute-long film, “Barry,” follows a young Barack Obama during a “crucial year” in the life of the future American president. All the above films, which will be featured in TIFF’s “Special Presentations” category, will see their world premiere at the ten-day-long festival.
900 million Android smartphones affected by security flaw in Qualcomm processors: Report
Over 900 million Android devices are affected by ‘high-risk’Quadrooter flaw warns security company Check Point software technologies. Found in devices runningQualcomm processors, QuadRooter includes four vulnerabilities, any of which can be used by hackers to take control of any smartphone. “If exploited, QuadRooter vulnerabilities can give attackers complete control of devices and unrestricted access to sensitive personal and enterprise data on them. Access could also provide an attacker with capabilities such as keylogging, GPS tracking, and recording video and audio,” says Check Point in a blog post.
Hackers can trigger any of these four vulnerabilities using a malicious app. “Such an app would require no special permissions to take advantage of these vulnerabilities, alleviating any suspicion users may have when installing,” adds the post.
The blog notes that QuadRooter affects smartphone drivers which control communication between the various chipset components. Since the vulnerable drivers are pre-installed on devices at manufacturing level, it can only be fixed if the OEMs or carriers issue a software patch.
Check Point recommends users to download and install the latest Android updates as soon as they become available, avoid side-loading apk files, read app permission requests carefully while installing apps and more.
Some of the latest smartphones that are vulnerable to the QuadRooter are Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge , OnePlus 3, Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, LG G4, LG G5 , LG V10, OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3 and more.
Earlier this year (in May), it was found that several million Android smartphonesrunning on Qualcomm processors are exposed to a glitch that can be exploited by hackers to gain access to the device. Stay updated on the go with Times of India News App. Click here to download it for your device.
Known as Superwoman on her YouTube channel IISuperwomanII, which has earned over 9 million subscribers, Indo-Canadian YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, who, after making TIME’s list of the 30 Most Influential People on the Internet, has won two coveted prizes within the web/digital category: “Choice Web Star: Female” and “Choice Web Star: Comedy” during the Teen Choice Awards 2016 held July 31 in Inglewood, CA.
Singh, who performs stand-up comedy, raps, hosts events, acts, and has appeared as a motivational speaker, was in Italy and did not attend the awards ceremony, Instagrammed the speech she says she would have given. “I’ll start by saying that I’m so incredibly proud to be a part of this amazing moment in time when people are making real changes in the world by using the Internet,” she wrote. Singh added: “I’m beyond proud to be a part of #TeamInternet and if you still have doubts about our validity, please exit 2001. We are not just numbers and views, we are creators who own businesses and are here to stay.”
The confident vlogger is garnering so much love from fans, and acknowledging that TIME noted that she is rapidly becoming “one of the biggest stars on YouTube, both on and off-screen,” adding that as her “alter ego Superwoman, she is equal parts funny and motivational.”
Most people believe her sincerity and raw honesty shines through her videos and probably that’s what draws fans to her. She has amassed more than 8 million global subscribers and over 1.1 billion total views.
Earlier this year, Singh, who goes by the moniker “Superwoman,” made the Forbes’ Top-10 list of Top-Earning YouTube Stars. In September 2015, the digital creator also won “Best First-Person Series,” beating out four other video stars at VH1’s “5th Annual Streamy Awards” in Los Angeles.
“When I was younger, I always wanted to be someone in the entertainment industry. In my eighth grade slideshow, when everyone was like “show us what you want to be,” everyone [said] doctor, lawyer, [but] mine literally said rapper. I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a superstar, I wanted to be on stage, I wanted to perform, I wanted to be in movies. But as you grow up, those dreams kind of fade away and you’re hit with reality and you’re like, oh, not everyone can be Lil’ Bow Wow? Fine,” says Lilly Singh.
From creating a lipstick shade to headlining a world tour, which was subsequently made into a documentary, Singh is constantly venturing into different territories. And now she is adding book author to her glittering resume. The book, “How To Be a Bawse: A Guide To Conquering Life,” will hit stores in March 2017. “Bawse” means “someone who doesn’t just survive but conquers life, really exudes confidence, gets hurt efficiently, hustles hard and just makes stuff happen,” Singh told Jimmy Fallon, during her recent appearance on his show, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Singh wants her “creative process is a bit manic at times, to be honest. I wake up Monday and Thursday stressed because I don’t have a video. I usually — with the exception of maybe a handful of videos — wake up, write the video, shoot the video, edit the video, release the video all in the same day. I literally walk around my house thinking, “OK, what happened in my day?” Because the number one thing I want my videos to be is relatable. That is a priority above the coloring, production, angle and whatever. Half of my videos are out of focus! (laughs) I know this, but I want them to watch my video and think, “This happened to me and I can relate to this.” I’ll rack my brain thinking about what happened to me [and] can I make this into a story? If I really can’t think of something, honestly, I’ll ask my fans because they’re the ones who watch it and know best.
“I want my channel to be a place people go even if they don’t care about Lilly. I don’t want them to have to know about Lilly or care about me as a person to enjoy my content. After a long day at work, I want someone to come home, turn on my video and think, “Oh my god, how girls get ready? This is hilarious, I love this, I’m forgetting about all my problems.”
Barack Obama strode to the stage at last month’s Democratic National Convention in an unusual speaking slot. He spoke in the primetime hour Wednesday night, a spot typically reserved for a vice-presidential nominee.
In 2000, for instance, former President Bill Clinton spoke on Monday night of then-Democratic nominee Al Gore’s convention. Former President George W. Bush, deeply unpopular in his second term, didn’t show up for then-Republican nominee John McCain’s party in 2008.
Obama’s speaking slot was by design. It previewed an outsize role in his final campaign: Electing Hillary Clinton to be his successor in the White House.
“President Obama gives Hillary Clinton a hat trick: He can help unite the party by bringing out Bernie Sanders supporters into her camp, deliver an aggressive contrast about the threat posed by Donald Trump, and ensure that all the supporters of the Obama coalition show up in November,” Ben LaBolt, a former spokesman for Obama’s presidential campaigns, told Business Insider earlier this year.
Obama is prepared to campaign for his party’s presidential nominee more than any sitting president in recent history. That could be a big problem for the GOP and its nominee, Donald Trump. And a huge boon for Clinton.
The president’s approval rating got its own convention bump: In a CNN/ORC poll conducted after the convention, 54% of Americans said they approved of Obama’s job performance. It was his highest mark since right before his second inauguration in 2013. Just 45% disapproved.
That number is significant. Earlier this year, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that President Barack Obama’s approval rating had jumped to 51% — its highest point since his second inauguration. NBC’s team of political analysts called it the “most important number” out of the poll.
“Why is it important? Because it means that Obama will be an asset to Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail unlike he was in the 2014 midterms, when his approval rating was in the low 40s,” NBC’s Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Carrie Dann wrote. The threshold might seem arbitrary. But historical precedent suggests it could bode well for Clinton, Obama’s former secretary of state.
Early this year, Obama’s approval rating hit 50% in the weekly average from Gallup’s daily survey. As of Friday, it stands at 51%. For Obama, whose approval ratings have been stuck in the mid- to low-40% range for much of his second term, it was a notable bump.
“While it’s hard to pinpoint precisely why Obama’s approval rating has risen among Democrats recently, there are a number of plausible explanations,” wrote Andrew Dugan, a Gallup analyst, and Frank Newport, the organization’s editor-in-chief, in a post earlier this year.
One of the explanations, the pair concurred, was that “the unusual status of the Republican primary race — exemplified in particular by frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign style and rhetoric — may serve to make Obama look statesmanlike in comparison.”
rump has come into Obama’s crosshairs repeatedly as he has hit the trail for Clinton. And with good reason: More so than at any other presidential hand-off in recent history, so many elements of the current administration’s legacy are at stake.
The Republican nominee has pledged to undo signature achievements on healthcare (the Affordable Care Act), the environment (historic new regulations aimed at curbing climate change), and foreign policy (the Iran nuclear deal).
Those themes will become evident as the president launches into what will be his final campaign: Preventing a Trump presidency.
“Not only does he have strong standing among Democrats and independents, but he has a unique ability to mobilize the young voters and diverse communities she’ll need to win,” LaBolt said.
Obama’s approval ratings at this point are far better than those of Bush, his predecessor, off whose unpopularity Obama thrived during his 2008 run. His level is most directly comparable to former President Ronald Reagan, who in March 1988 held a 51% approval rating, according to Gallup.
That same year, voters selected George H.W. Bush — Reagan’s vice president — to succeed him. “Yes,” said Ari Fleischer, President George W. Bush’s former press secretary, when asked earlier this year if Obama’s apparent rising popularity poses a problem for the Republican Party.
“Certainly, going into an election spring and summer, it’s better to have an incumbent president increasingly popular rather than less popular if you’re the incumbent party,” he told Business Insider.
The numbers present a striking contrast to some data points associated with the current Republican presidential frontrunner. A recent Gallup survey revealed that 42% of voters view Trump in a “highly unfavorable” light, compared with 16% who see him highly favorably. That’s the highest negative percentage for any major presidential candidate since at least 1956, according to Gallup.
“I’ve been doing this [since] 1964, which is the Goldwater years,” NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart told NBC of the relative unpopularity of many of the candidates earlier in the year. “To me, this is the low point. I’ve seen the disgust and the polarization. Never, never seen anything like this. They’re not going up; they’re going down.”
It helps explain why Clinton is attaching herself to much of Obama’s legacy. And Obama remains favorable to wide swaths of constituencies that Clinton needs to turn out to vote in November. The president holds high approval ratings among African-Americans (90%), Democrats (82%), Latinos (73%), and voters aged 18 to 34 (64%), according to Gallup.
And despite the strong primary challenge from Sen. Bernie Sanders, in many ways, Clinton has run an incumbent-style campaign, and she has had much of the party’s establishment rallying behind her candidacy.
As Gallup’s Dugan and Newport wrote earlier this year: “In comparison, the two most recent candidates running to succeed a two-term president of the same party — John McCain running to follow the unpopular Bush, and Al Gore trying to succeed the popular but scandal-prone Bill Clinton — went to greater pains to ensure they were not associated with the outgoing president.” They concluded: “Prior to that, George H.W. Bush in 1988 presented himself as a natural heir to the Reagan legacy and was able to win his own term.”
After winning millions of hearts in India, this dusky, leggy model-turned-actor, Deepika Padukone, made her way to Hollywood. Without much hullabaloo or over-hyped publicity, Padukone silently won a meaty action role in the upcoming film “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.”
Padukone was in the news recently for becoming the most highly paid actress ever in Bollywood. On Aug. 3, the prestigious Vanity Fair magazine placed her among 11 top brass actors to look out for. Calling them the ‘Hollywood’s Next Gen,’ the article goes on to describe the chosen ones with the following blurb, “They may be fresh on the scene, but the latest batch of Hollywood up-and-comers has a retro edge clearly on display in this time-traveling style portfolio.”
Padukone is photographed wearing a red pantsuit with a fur jacket, stepping out of her car with a short interview description. Followed by a vintage behind-the-scenes video featuring other young actors such as Elizabeth Debicki from “The Great Gatsby,” Lily Collins who played Snow White in “Mirror Mirror,” and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough, who was seen in “Mad Max: Fury Road.” The video titled, “Beyond the Red Carpet,” shows actors talking about their personal style.
Deepika Padukone apparently has become the first heroine whose paycheck will cross a billion (Rs. 10 crore) — the film being Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Padmavati.” Having given a tentative nod after a narration two months back, she got the final narration a few days ago — and the proposal of Rs. 11 crore plus taxes from Bhansali Jun. 13 works out to over Rs. 12 crore.
The nearest remuneration to this among heroines that we have heard of is Kareena Kapoor getting paid Rs. 7 crore for “Golmaal 3” in 2010. Heroes like Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan are reportedly getting Rs. 50 crore for their new films, which is the minimum packet Salman Khan will make from the 50 percent profits clause for “Sultan!”
Vanity Fair’s list includes young actors like Elizabeth Debicki from The Great Gatsby, Lily Collins who played Snow White In Mirror Mirror, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keogh, who was seen in films like Mad Max: Fury Road. Speaking about her personal style and fashion choices, Deepika Padukone was quoted by the NDTV as saying, “It’s always comfort over anything else. You need to feel complete, you need to feel like you are wearing the clothes and the clothes aren’t wearing you. If I had a choice between a gown and a sari, I’d wear a sari,” she adds.
As India is emerging as an economic power on the world stage, there is another contrarian reality by its side which is quite unsettling. Even in this technologically advance new millennium, there are tens of thousands rural-tribal areas in India, which are yet to be touched by the existential necessities and amenities, that we all routinely take for granted. Many of these areas seem frozen in time. There are no approachable roads nor basic educational or healthcare facilities within their reach. “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation”, has been supporting functional-literacy, healthcare, and integral development in such places, for past 27 years. As of now, there are 53,000 Ekal-schools (and counting), in almost 30 states throughout India, including in Nepal & Jammu-Kashmir. For just $365, Ekal is able to provide education and healthcare training to a group of 30-40 children (termed as one Ekal school) for the entire year. The main objective of this social-venture is not only to eradicate illiteracy, but also, to empower these rural lives by providing sustainable village-based skills. ‘Ekal’ achieves this objective by raising funds, primarily in India and USA.
Every year Ekal-USA, hosts a series of fund-raising concerts, between February and June, in all major U.S. metropolises by bringing well-known Artistes from India. In addition, the funds are also raised by direct appeals to consistent, major donors. In recently concluded fund-raising efforts, ‘Ekal’ hosted 62 concerts, all across U.S. through its satellite ‘Chapters’. According to Dr. Jawahar Taunk, Regional President of Florida, $400,000 was raised in his region alone. Through concerts only, Ekal has raised more than $4 Million so far this year. In addition, for newly initiated ‘Endowment Fund’, $1 Million has been pledged by couple of generous donors in U.S. and Canada. A handful of entrepreneurs have also picked up their own specific projects based on necessities in certain areas. Inspired by Hon. PM Modi’s clarion call for ‘Clean-India’ campaign, Himanshu Shah of ‘Shah Capital’, has taken responsibility to make a cluster of villages ‘environmentally clean’ by devoting his personal resources. Moreover, considering 30% of total funds come into Ekal-coffer, each year, during November-December, Ekal is pretty confident to cross $7.5 Million mark, this year, just for USA alone. This is also a great tribute its 1,000 strong selfless dedicated volunteers in USA.
This year ‘Ekal’ had invited two groups of artistes to headline its various events. One group was headed by ‘Rajdeep Chatterjee & Pallabi Roy Chowdhuri’ and another was headed by ‘Anand Vinod & Vibhavari Yadav’. All the concerts pulled record crowds everywhere confirming, once again, not only the popularity of the quality programming by Ekal, but also, people’s overwhelming support to this divine cause. All concerts were preceded by DVD-briefing on Ekal’s major activities and futuristic plans. During the concerts, the people were also treated to highly focus ‘Power-Point’ presentation that depicted Ekal’s historic progress from its inception, allocation of funds and the model for accountability, at every level. It is worth noting that Ekal renders its services without any credence to caste, creed, religion and region and its overhead is in single digit.
Iconic CEO of ‘ZEETV’, Dr. Subhash Chandra’s induction as the Chairman of ‘Ekal Global’ has been a boon to “Ekal Abhiyan” in attracting major industrial houses and entrepreneurs. Earlier this year, while releasing Subhash Chandra’s autobiographical book, ‘ZEE Factor’, Hon.PM Modi also lauded Ekal’s awe-inspiring comprehensive rural work as a role model for other organizations to follow. Now, Students and young adults around the country are also gravitating to Ekal to play a key role in this ‘people’s movement’. Earlier this year, “Health Foundation for Rural India (‘HFRI’)”, a health wing of “Ekal Abhiyan” had taken a group of Medical student from USA to Indian villages under its ‘Internship Program’. The rationale behind it was, not only to acquaint them with unique healthcare problems in rural areas, but also, to groom them for selfless service for these neglected masses. Every month, new donors are coming on board to support Ekal as they realize that it is the largest grass-root NGO movement of its kind, globally undertaken by Indians and NRIs. Ekal is in dozen countries, including in some ‘Middle-East’ regions. For your support and participation in ‘Ekal Movement’, kindly visit its web www.ekal.org.
Stamford, Conn. – August 5, 2016 – AmeriCares is deploying medical teams to Assam and Bihar, where relentless flooding has killed more than 90 people and forced nearly 1 million into relief camps. The first teams, organized by the AmeriCares India office in Mumbai, are already on the ground in some of the worst-affected areas, delivering medicines and treating survivors.
AmeriCares is focused on ensuring families affected by the floods have access to critical primary care services, including medication, as well as health and hygiene products that will help prevent the spread of communicable diseases. The emergency response and global health nonprofit is also delivering water purification supplies in areas without access to clean water.
“Waterborne diseases are always a major concern after severe flooding,” said Shripad Desai, managing director of AmeriCares India. “We are working to ensure survivors have access to essential medicine and safe drinking water to help prevent the spread of infectious disease.”
After two straight years of drought, heavy monsoon rains uprooted trees, damaged swaths of land and snapped telephone lines. Landslides and heavy rains have blocked highways and submerged homes in several feet of water.
AmeriCares has been aiding survivors of natural disasters, political conflict and extreme poverty around the world for nearly 40 years, saving lives and building healthier futures for people in crisis. AmeriCares India provides emergency medical and humanitarian aid in response to floods, cyclones, earthquakes and other disasters. Most recently, the AmeriCares India team responded to the Nepal Earthquake, the 2015 flooding in Tamil Nadu and the 2014 flooding in Jammu and Kashmir. AmeriCares India also provides health education, supports health workforce safety programs and operates seven mobile medical clinics that provide free primary care services at 130 locations throughout the slums of Mumbai. To make a donation to AmeriCares India Disaster Relief Fund, please go to americares.org/IndiaRelief
AmeriCares is an emergency response and global health organization committed to saving lives and building healthier futures for people in crisis in the United States and around the world. Every day, AmeriCares puts critically needed medicines and supplies in the hands of frontline health workers and develops innovative, sustainable health improvements in their communities. For more information, visit americares.org
Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and other South Carolina Republicans jumped to the defense of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the grieving parents of a Muslim soldier who died defending the United States.
The Khans, from Pakistan, have been subject to scrutiny by Donald Trump and his supporters since they took to the stage of the Democratic National Convention Thursday to denounce the Republican presidential nominee for his proposed ban on Muslim immigrants.
“As a member of a military family, and the governor of a proud military state that has been recognized as the most patriotic, my heart and my unending thanks go out to the Khan family for their enormous sacrifice for our country,” Haley said in a statement Monday. “As far as I’m concerned, they have the standing to say whatever they want in the political process and should not face criticism for it.”
After Khizr Khan rebuked, among other things, Trump’s Islamophobia, at the Democratic National Convention, Trump suggested that Gazala Khan mutely standing beside her husband as he spoke had something to do with Islamic culture which oppressed women. Later in a television interview Gazala Khan said she didn’t speak at the convention as it is very difficult for her to control her emotions with her slain son’s photos displayed on the podium screens. Following what seemed like a national outrage, Haley joined the chorus of Republican leaders, including House Speaker Paul Rayn, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jon McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham, denouncing Trump’s disparaging remarks and praise the sacrifice of Humayun Khan and his family.
Haley’s husband Michael is a captain in the South Carolina Army National Guard and a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan. Despite her criticism, however, Haley remains in lock step with the Republican national leadership in not withdrawing her support for Trump’s candidacy, which President Obama said renders GOP leaders’ criticism of Trump’s egregious comments and positions as “hollow.”
For someone born on June 19, 2000, Kanak Jha has done well to fit in with the older crowds. This year, 16-year-old Kanak Jha picked up the paddle as the youngest member of the United States’ Olympic team in Rio. He is the first American born in the 2000s to qualify for the Olympics. He’s also the youngest person in the history of the sport of table tennis to qualify for the Olympics.
His final win at the Olympic qualifier was the reason why U.S. table tennis gets to compete in the team event. While California-born, he trains in Sweden because the sport is more competitive and popular in Europe. He’s going into his junior year of high school, though he won’t be going into a “traditional secondary school environment,” NBC Olympics reports. He takes online classes.
Kanak, who had begun playing table tennis at age 5, didn’t start taking the sport more seriously until he was 9 or 10, when he stopped calling it “ping-pong” and started calling it table tennis. Kanak competed in both singles, and team competitions at the Olympics.
He believes age is just a number when it comes to his abilities. “I don’t think about it at all,” he tells NBC Olympics. “I’m just trying to prepare for the Olympics. In the end, it doesn’t really matter how old you are.”
He’s one of the 16-year-olds going to the Olympics for Team USA this year, including Laurie Hernandez, a gymnast. His 19-year-old sister, Prachi, is also talented at table tennis — she’s also a national team member.
“It’s definitely a very great experience,” Jha says. “I didn’t know the atmosphere would be as good as it was in this match.”
He knows what a VHS is and grew up watching a few video tapes. Before Pokémon took off on people’s iPhones, he remembers collecting stacks of the trading cards. His iPod includes classics by Michael Jackson and Queen. Jha is still a kid but he also holds the distinction of being the first U.S. Olympian born in 2000 to compete at the Summer Games. He competed in Thursday’s preliminary round of table tennis, losing 4–1 to 23-year-old Nima Alamian of Iran.
The 16-year-old isn’t quite finished yet—he’ll compete in the team event on Aug. 12—but he’s here to enjoy his first Olympics. He did a good job of doing just that on Friday night at the Opening Ceremony, which included selfies with the U.S. men’s basketball team, Michael Phelps, Jordan Burroughs and several other athletes that he gets to call teammates. At this point, his phone is packed with photos of these famous encounters, as he also snapped away at Olympic team processing, taking photos with members of the track team and gold-medalist fencer Mariel Zagunis.
The son to immigrant parents from India, Jha started playing at five years old and has never been a stranger to facing much older competition. When he was seven, he played someone 10 times his age but still came away with the victory over the 70-year-old, his father Arun recalls.
“I didn’t really have too many expectations going into that semifinals match and it was kind of a dream that I played so well,” Jha says. “It gave me a lot of confidence and I started to think about the Olympics more.”
In 2013, Jha had a very successful season, winning 27 of his 28 matches. That’s when he made his first trip out to Sweden to explore his options playing table tennis at an elite level. “We had all two years planned out with the Olympics as the final moment of the goal and decided to give it a shot,” Arun says. “For Kanak to go into very formalized training with league matches, he would have to stay in Europe. The realization of the Olympics was in 2013.”
In table tennis, it’s common for American players to head over to Europe or Asia to train and dedicate most of their life to the game. So in 2015, at just 15 years old, Jha made the move to Hamlstad, Sweden, with his sister, Prachi. Table tennis remains Jha’s sole focus as he takes online classes and will enter his junior year of high school in the fall. When he’s not practicing, he’s your typical 16-year-old hanging out with friends, playing with his dog Shadow or watching Breaking Bad on Netflix—which he watched sometimes hours at a time. “I see these athletes and so many of them are gold medalists in their sport,” Jha told the media in late July. “It’s humbling to be around them. Many of them don’t know I’m 16.”
Pramila Jayapal, a state senator in the state of Washington, is poised to become the first Indian American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress in November. Jayapal, a Democrat and a Bernie Sanders supporter during the primaries, won the open primary from Washington’s District 7, making her all but a winner in the Democratic Party leaning district. Pramila Jayapal handily won an open Congressional primary last week to set up a November showdown with a second-placed rival.
Jayapal fought a primary against Joe McDermott and Brady Walkinshaw, also Democrats, for Washington state’s 7th Congressional district that includes the city of Seattle. With endorsement from Bernie Sanders, Jayapal polled 38% of votes, leaving the two men to duke it out for second place with around 20% vote each.
Six other candidates, including Arun Jhaveri, another Democrat, polled less than 9% of the vote. The top two vote-getters will move on to the fall election after all of the votes are counted and final results are certified in about two weeks.
Jayapal describes herself as progressive and was among the first congressional candidates endorsed by Bernie Sanders. “We’re building a movement that can clearly stake out a positive vision for the future of America at a time when too many people feel cynical about change, and when too many people are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table,” Jayapal said. Jayapal ran on a platform of pledging to fight for a higher minimum wage, debt free college, and expanded Medicare and social security.
The Indian-born Jayapal will face off one of the two other Democrat candidates in the top-two primary system, which much like California, will pit the top two primary vote-getters against each other irrespective of their party affiliation.
Jayapal was one of the first 2016 congressional candidates to be endorsed by Sanders. Following her victory, The Nation quoted Sanders as saying: “Pramila just proved that candidates can run a strong progressive campaign funded by small-dollar donors and win big. The people-powered movement that propelled our campaign to victory in states around the country is already changing how campaigns are run up and down the ticket.” The Nation, a left-leaning magazine which endorsed Sanders, said Jayapal “scored one of the biggest progressive victories of 2016.”
Jayapal’s path to Capitol Hill was paved through a stint on the Wall Street and progressive activism in support of women and immigrants’ rights. She came to the U.S. in 1982 as a student.
Jayapal is hoping to take over the seat held since 1989 by Congressman Jim McDermott, who announced his retirement earlier this year after serving 13 terms in the House of Representatives. A physician who travelled often to India for medical work even before he entered Congress, McDermott was a strong votary of US-India ties. Jayapal, who was born in Chennai and was raised in Singapore and Indonesia before coming to the US at 16, has been a longtime civil liberties and immigration activist in the Pacific Northwest, which is home to a large foreign-born population.
It was during the annual convention of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) that I got to listen to the inspiring lecture at the Leadership Seminar on “Aligning management thinking with patient care: Building an effective medical practice” by Dr. Dipak C. Jain, Director of the Sasin Graduate Institute ofBusiness Administration of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok,. Although, he had exceeded his given time at the Seminar, his witty, personal and wisdom narratives filled with anecdotes from his own life won the hearts and souls of over thousand AAPI delegates that had filled the auditorium. His inspiring words echoed in every delegate the convention that after giving him a standing ovation from the delegates, they asked the organizers to arrange to have another talk by Dr. Jain during the convention.
Dipak C. Jain is a globally recognized marketing and innovation expert whose insights have inspired a generation of business leaders to pursue success with significance. As Dr. Jain is advancing the strategic goals of Sasin Graduate Institute that has long benefited from his affiliation as a visiting professor and member of the Sasin Executive Council.
Dr. Jain’s influential career spans nearly three decades as an educator, a senior business school administrator, and a consultant to corporations, governments, and world-renowned figures. His inclusive leadership style, rooted in a framework that embraces diversity and respects the unique value of each person, encourages others to achieve their full potential while contributing to organizational excellence. Dr. Jain has worked tirelessly to champion management schools as cross-disciplinary intellectual hubs. Throughout his career, he has furthered a pedagogical model that combines academic excellence and business relevance to produce high-impact results with social significance.
Prior to being named Sasin’s Director in 2014, he served from 2011 to 2013 as Dean of INSEAD, an international business school with campuses in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Before joining INSEAD, Dr. Jain was Dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management from 2001 to 2009. Before that appointment, he served as the Kellogg School’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 1996 to 2001, working closely with Dean Donald P. Jacobs to set the school’s agenda for curriculum design and faculty research initiatives. In recognition of his many scholarly achievements and outstanding teaching, he also was named in 1994 the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Professor of Marketing at Kellogg, whose Marketing Department he joined as a faculty member in 1986.
Dr. Jain’s academic career began as a student in Tezpur (Assam) India. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics (1976) and his master’s degree in mathematical statistics (1978) from Gauhati University, where he taught for four years before enrolling in the University of Texas (Dallas), where he completed his Ph.D. in Marketing in 1986.
An award-winning scholar in his own right, Dr. Jain’s areas of research expertise include the marketing of high-tech products; marketsegmentation and competitive market structure analysis; cross-cultural issues in global product diffusion; new product innovation; and forecasting models. He has published more than 60 articles in leading academic journals and has earned the prestigious John D.C. Little Best Paper Award. He has taught courses on marketing research, new products and services, and statistical models in marketing. Among the many distinctions for his teaching and service, Dr. Jain received the Outstanding Educator Award from the State of Assam in India. He also has received the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas from the Prime Minister of India, an award that recognizes exceptional leadership contributions.
Dr. Jain has served as the departmental editor for the journal Management Science, the area editor for Marketing Science and associate editor for the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics. He was also a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing Research.
Dipak Jain’s board service also has earned him distinction. He currently serves as an Independent Director on Boards of John Deere &Company (USA), Northern Trust Corporation (USA), Global Logistics Properties (Singapore) and Reliance Industries (India). He is a former director at United Airlines, Hartmarx Corporation and Peoples Energy. He has served as a consultant to many firms, including Microsoft, Novartis, American Express, Sony, Nissan, Eli Lilly and Company, and Hyatt International. In addition, he has been appointed as Honorary Advisor of the Marketing Association of Thailand (MAT). He has designed and delivered training programs for several organizations in Thailand, such as SCG, Fiscal Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
As an academic innovator with decades of leadership experience in Asia, the Americas, and Europe, Dr. Jain continuously explores new ways of anticipating and meeting global market demand. Through his teaching, research and administrative vision, he is leading Sasin’s efforts to produce the next generation of management talent to create value in the ASEAN region and beyond.
In a fraught global economic environment, exacerbated by climate change and shrinking resources, ensuring food and nutrition security is a daunting challenge for many nations. India, Asia’s third largest economy and the world’s second most populous nation after China with 1.3 billion people, is no exception.
The World Health Organization defines food security as a situation when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life. The lack of a balanced diet minus essential nutrients results in chronic malnutrition.
The global food security challenge is unambiguous: by 2050, the world must feed nine billion people.
According to the Global Hunger Index 2014, India ranks 55 out of the world’s 120 hungriest countries even behind some of its smaller South Asian counterparts like Nepal (rank 44) and Sri Lanka (39).
Despite its self-sufficiency in food availability, and being one of the world’s largest grain producers, about 25 per cent of Indians go to bed without food. Describing malnutrition as India’s silent emergency, a World Bank report says that the rate of malnutrition cases among Indian children is almost five times more than in China, and twice that in Sub-Saharan Africa.
So what are the reasons for India not being able to rise to the challenge of feeding its poor with its own plentiful resources? Experts ascribe many reasons for this deficit. They say the concept of food security is a complex and multi-dimensional one which becomes even more complicated in the context of large and diverse country like India with its overwhelming population and pervasive poverty and malnutrition.
According to Shaleen Jain of Hidayatullah National Law University in India, food security has three broad dimensions — food availability, which encompasses total food production, including imports and buffer stocks maintained in government granaries. Food accessibility- food’s availability or accessibility to each and every person. And thirdly, food affordability- an individual’s capacity to purchase proper, safe, healthy and nutritious food to meet his dietary needs.
Pawan Ahuja, former Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, says India’s problems result mostly from a deeply flawed public distribution system than anything else. “Despite abundant production of grains and vegetables, distribution of food through a corruption-ridden public distribution system prevents the benefits from reaching the poor,” says Ahuja.
There are other challenges which India faces in attaining food security, adds the expert. “Natural calamities like excessive rainfall, accessibility of water for irrigation purpose, drought and soil erosion. Further, lack of improvement in agriculture facilities as well as population explosion have only made matters worse.”
To grapple with its food security problem, India operates one of the largest food safety nets in the world — the National Food Security Act 2013. India’s Department of Food and Public Distribution, in collaboration with World Food Program, is implementing this scheme which provides a whopping 800 million people (67 percent of the country’s population or 10 percent of the world’s) with subsidised monthly household rations each year. Yet the results of the program have been largely a hit and miss affair, with experts blaming the country’s entrenched corruption in the distribution chain for its inefficacy.
The global food security challenge is unambiguous: by 2050, the world must feed nine billion people. To feed those hungry mouths, the demand for food will be 60 percent greater than it is today. The United Nations has set ending hunger and achieving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030.
“To achieve these objectives requires addressing a host of critical issues, from gender parity and ageing demographics to skills development and global warming,” elaborates Sumit Bose, an agriculture economist.
According to the economist, India’s agriculture sectors have to bolster productivity by adopting efficient business models and forging public-private partnerships. Achieving sustainability by addressing greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste are also crucial, he adds.
To work towards greater food security, India is also working in close synergy with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is not only an implementer of development projects in the country, but also a knowledge partner, adding value to existing technologies and approaches. The agency has helped India take the holistic “seed to plate” approach.
Also being addressed are challenges like livelihoods and access to food by poorer communities, sustainability of water and natural resources and soil health have moved centre stage. The idea, say experts, is to augment India’s multilateral cooperation in areas such as trans-boundary pests and diseases, livestock production, fisheries management, food safety and climate change.
FAO also provides technical assistance and capacity building to enable the transfer of best practices as well as successful lessons from other countries to replicate them to India’s agriculture system. By strengthening the resilience of smallholder farmers, food security can be guaranteed for the planet’s increasingly hungry global population while also whittling down carbon emissions.
“Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less in the same area of land and use natural resources wisely,” advises Bose. “It also means reducing food losses before the final product or retail stage through a number of initiatives including better harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure, market mechanisms, as well as institutional and legal frameworks.
“India is a long way off from all these goals. The current dispensation would do well to work towards them if it aims to bolster India’s food security and feed its poor.”
BAZODEE – a new style Bollywood musical with a distinctly Caribbean island flavor – releases in theaters nationwide this Friday, August 5. Legendary actor Kabir Bedi stars in this hotly anticipated film delivering a very different kind of role.
Anita Ponchouri (Natalie Perera), the dutiful Indian daughter of a deep-in-debt businessman (Kabir Bedi) is about to marry a wealthy Londoner (Staz Nair) when a chance encounter with local Trinidadian singer, Lee de Leon (Soca music star Machel Montano) sets things askew. In search of a muse, de Leon agrees to perform at the engagement party. Unable to deny their mutual attraction, and with the excitement of Carnival approaching, Anita must now choose between the answer to her family’s financial prayers and the possibility of real love.
Set on the vivid, colorful islands of Trinidad & Tobago and pulsing with the sensuous dance rhythms of soca music, BAZODEE is a new style Bollywood musical with a distinctly Caribbean island flavor.
This description sounds straight from a Bollywood potboiler, right? Except that it’s not. This is the premise of “Bazodee,” a soca (a genre of Caribbean music)-infused Bollywood-style international film starring acclaimed Indian actor Kabir Bedi, British actress Natalie Perera, Indian-Russian actor Staz Nair, and Trinidadian soca singer-record producer-songwriter Machel Montano. This global star cast was directed by American filmmaker Todd Kessler (“Bloodline”).
“This is a story about people of the Indian diaspora,” Bedi, who plays businessman Ram Panchouri, told India-West. “It was also a coming together of the West Indian world and the Indian world.”
This grand visual narrative with a distinctly Caribbean island flavor, which unfolds on the vivid, colorful twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, saw its international premiere in New York at the PlayStation Theatre, Times Square, July 27.
“Bazodee,” a Trinidadian slang, which translates to a state of dizziness or confusion – often used with regards to love or infatuation — will remind people of India and all things Indian, said the actor who starred in the 1983 James Bond film, “Octopussy.”
“There is so much Indianess in the film that people are really going to enjoy it because you can relate to these people, these families, the music, the crazy things that happen when people fall in love,” he told India-West.
This light-hearted take on love, Bedi said, will make an emotional connect and resonate with the Indian diaspora. “It’s a family entertainer and reflecting the experience of Indian families living abroad,” he explained. “That’s what attracted me to it, and also it gave me the opportunity to play a much lighter role than I normally play, a much more playful performance. I hope people are going to enjoy it.”
The film, which showcases the unique and distinct cultural identity of the island of Trinidad and Tobago, is also loaded with sequences reflecting the cultural similarities between the island nation and India. This intersection of music and culture, Bedi said, made the whole filming experience extra special.
“There is this thing that they serve which looks like ‘chhole bhature’ to us but it’s something called ‘doubles’ out there,” he said. “There is Bollywood music everywhere you go. You’ll get the sense of the Indians of the diaspora, which is what our viewers are.”
The prolific actor, who has worked in theater, movies and television spanning three continents and in several languages, is also awaiting the release of the Ashutosh Gowariker-directed epic adventure-romance film, “Mohenjo Daro.” The film, set in the ancient city of Mohenjo Daro, Sindh Pakistan, in the era of the Indus Valley civilization that dates back to 2600 BC, and which stars Hrithik Roshan in the lead role, casts him in a pivotal role. Bedi, who plays Maham, a despot who rules Mohenjo Daro using uninhibited force and violence, is making quite an impression on the audiences in the trailer of the film.
“I have a very powerful and strong role in the movie,” Bedi said. “It’s a great film. I want people to see ‘Bazodee’ and then see ‘Mohenjo Daro.’ I want two weekends from them. Each will be a very different experience and entertaining experience.”
Bedi, last seen in a cameo in the Shahrukh Khan starrer “Dilwale,” told India-West that theater in Canada and films in Italy have kept him busy all this while, adding that he will be seen in an Italian film, the details of which he could not reveal at the moment.
Talking about his role in “Mohenjo Daro,” Bedi said, “It’s the first big role that I am doing in a while. And I really saved myself for that. I got a lot of smaller offers that I wasn’t interested in. But this was a role I could really get my teeth into. I am very happy with the role and the film.”
Since 1982, Bedi has been a voting member of the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which decides each year’s Oscar nominees and winners. He is also the recipient of the highest ranking civilian honor by the Italian Republic and was bestowed the title of “Cavaliere” (Knight) of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
“All these things give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that you have achieved certain benchmarks, but the best is yet to come, I always say,” Bedi told India-West. “And hopefully you’ll see some of that in August.”
“Bazodee” hits theaters in the U.S. Aug. 5 and “Mohenjo Daro” releases Aug. 12.
Kabir Bedi sat down to discuss his latest movie role in BAZODEE in this exclusive new interview:
Tell us about your character Ram Panchouri in BAZODEE and his storyline.
Basically Ram is a guy who is an NRI like a lot of people, and he is living in the West Indies and his daughter is getting married to the son of an equally nice industrial family from England that is very well-to-do. But the truth is that I am deeply in debt so when my daughter decides to do things I wouldn’t want her to it really complicates life a lot. So it’s really the story of a man fighting for survival but yet dealing with his daughter’s heart going in a different way. It’s a film of fun, it’s Calypso, it’s Soca music, it’s the glory of the West Indies setting and of course Machel Montano’s incredible music that takes it to another level. It’s a fun film to see for the family.
How was this character different from many of the other characters you’ve played in your extensive career?
It’s a lot different! It’s a lighter side of me, it’s a far more playful side of me. I mean I’ve played an Asian pirate, and in the James Bond film Octopussy I fought Roger Moore throughout the film, I’ve played Shah Jahan on stage and on screen, so those are serious characters. This is a much more pop role. Interestingly different!
What was it like filming in Trinidad & Tobago? Any specific things you enjoyed there?
I just loved the feeling of Trinidad & Tobago and the warmth of the people. There’s also the spectacular Maracas Beach out there where you have big shark sandwiches which are just incredible! And there is such a great music tradition there too so it’s a lovely place to be and to film and to meet people and get to know another country. It’s a country worth knowing! And Tobago reminds me of Goa from 30 or 40 years ago, really peaceful and beautiful beaches. Pigeon Point Beach was extremely beautiful to see there too.
What are some of the themes in BAZODEE that those in the Indian diaspora would be able to relate to?
It’s our story! It’s a story of people like us. And therefore if you want your stories to be told you must see and support them and go out and see them. That’s part of the process. I think it’s a film people will enjoy in the diaspora because it’s about them.
What are some of your favorite places in the U.S to visit?
I stayed in Los Angeles for 15 years in the 1970s and 80s and I certainly have a deep and abiding love for L.A. It was a wonderful place for me because when I did the series The Bold and the Beautiful, I got to know the cast and got to know all the subcultures there and the fans that surround that. You have the sea, you have the mountains, wide roads for driving, smooth cars to drive, it’s a creative community, I had an enormously productive time in L.A. And of course San Francisco too. I adore San Francisco, so much beauty. Boston is where my sister is and I love going to the Northeast. New York I enjoy too. Houston, Orlando, Miami, a lot of special places for me there!
After working in Trivandrum in Kerala, India, in various capacities, Theobald L. Pereira came to the US in 1972 to pursue his graduate studies. After earning two Master’s Degrees, a Master of Educational Counseling from Fordham University and a Master of Theology from New York Theological Seminary, Theo began his long professional career in a humble manner.
Theo married Susan Simon in 1978, and the couple have two beautiful daughters. Their older daughter, Suthe is married to Saj and have two daughters, Revani and Danica. Seema, their younger daughter is married to Joe and the couple have a son, Raphael and a daughter, Divya.
Theo founded and ran a successful export company, Supente, Inc. for 30 years. His wife, Susan, worked as a Registered Nurse for 39 years before retiring. Not satisfied with a happy and successful life for themselves in this land of opportunities, Theo and Susan are responsible for the immigration of about 354 people to the US in successive generations.
As a pioneer from the Catholic community to have immigrated to the US, Theo has been instrumental in founding the Latin Catholic Association in New York. He had been at the forefront in organizing the conventions in New York for many years. All along, he has worked hard to keep the community together and has devoted his time and talents for the growth of the community. People of all faiths and regions look up to him and respect him for his humility and unassuming demeanor.
Compassionate, caring, hard-working and dedicated to his family, his profession, and to the larger community, Theo has been at the forefront, advocating for those who are oppressed or denied basic human dignity. Susan Periera, who is married to Theo for the past 38 years, says, “From the very beginning, I was impressed by his compassion, kindness, generosity and going beyond. He understands me as I am and accepts me and has helped me grow. Among the many other things, I am always grateful to him, for taking care of my mother, loving her as his own, until she breathed her last at the age of 99.”
His elder daughter, Suthe recalls, “When we would express our disagreement, my dad would say, ‘Thank God that we can help them. What else are we here for?” Theo has been genuinely compassionate to the needy and forgiving. He has been accepting and forgiving even of those who have misused the trust, love and concern they had experienced from Theo and family. True to his nature, Theo always went out of his way to help all those who had approached him in difficulties.
His younger daughter, Seema, a lawyer by profession and mother of two beautiful children, says, “My dad has always been a source of great inspiration to me–from demonstrating the mental fortitude to begin a new venture later in life to ensuring our family’s well-being throughout our lives. What I appreciate most about his character is the fact that he has not been preachy or boastful about his good deeds. In fact, I’ve often learned of how he has served other people through their voices, and not his. He has truly led by example. He is genuine in his encounters, and does not seek or expect anything in return. He recognizes that his life is blessed and has had the humility, commitment, and desire to share his life’s blessings.”
Many would jokingly make fun of him, saying, “You should make the airport your home.” He is found at the airport regularly, either picking someone from the airport or bringing someone to the airport. Giving a ride to friends, relatives and strangers, and taking them to places even when in difficulties has been a norm for Theo. His wife, Susan has been the very backbone of Theo’s generosity and it is their hard work together that has allowed them to fulfill their dream of providing for the complete education of the children of three parishes in Kerala, while making their house a place countless people have called home, here in the US. Her hospitality, love and genuine care for others is visible at all times.
Hundreds of priests, Bishops, individuals and families vouch for his genuine love and affection, which each of them have experienced. “My father in law is an admirable man. People from all different generations look to him as an example. He knows what is right and he acts accordingly. Being a good person comes naturally to him and it always has. He treats everyone with respect, even those who may not deserve it. I am truly blessed to have him as a father in law,” says Jospeh Palmerson, Theo’s son-in-law .
Mini Ajay, who resides now in Connecticut recalls, “After we had moved to Connecticut, I was expecting our second daughter, Navya. I was so touched, when Theo and Susan had cooked and brought us food from Long Island in a cool container, keeping it fresh and cool on a summer day. When Archana and Navya were born, I could not think of anyone else but you and Susan to be their god-parents. And we are so fortunate that you have so graciously become part of our life.”
Selvan Albert, an IT professional, living in California, said, “I always identify him with the Latin Catholic community. He has done a lot for the people and the diocese of Trivandrum in many ways. He is a good parent, wonderful husband, and loved and cared for his mother-in-law until she breathed her last.”
Paul Panakal, a community leader and former president of the Latin Catholic Association, echoes these sentiments: “Theo is one person who always wanted and strived for the unity of the community. He has always gone out of his way to bring together and unite all of us and focus on the well being of the community.”
Abey Oommen from Hawthorne, NY, says, “I have always admired and looked up to you. You’ve always shown great hospitality in having family over for Christmas and taking care of great Ammachi for all those years. Since I was younger I have always noticed the examples you have set and I know that I will follow them in many ways. I remember when I was younger, every time I came to the house you would love to pinch my cheeks before hugging me. I loved those moments and I will not forget them.”
According to Franklin & Hazel Pereira from Singapore, “We are just glad that God the Father have created a perfect mold when He shaped your heart of gold, for everything a loving brother is supposed to be, I am thankful for the gift of you.”
Cynthia Manuel from Louisiana states, “I want to express to you how great it is to be your niece. Uncle, you are a man with a BIG heart, always doing for others and expecting nothing in return – welcoming anyone to your home and always making them feel so loved. My life changed with your encouragement to come to the US, taking care of me and being a father figure to me as I was far away from home and family means a lot to me.”
Powlin Manuel from Louisiana recalls his close friendship with Theo for about fifty years. “We did many things together, when we were both young – working together, traveling together, and staying together. We worked together in his free clinic in Kerala; we traveled together when I first came to the United States; we stayed in his place for many days after I came to USA. Theobald has had a tremendous influence on my life, first as a friend and mentor and then as a family; he has touched the lives of many of us.”
George Paul, Brooklyn, NY, recalls, “Growing up, your kindness, your humor, and your respect for others is what I remember most. You always treated me as an adult with adult humor even though I was a child and teenager. You also showed respect to everyone, whether it was an older man like my father or a simple child as I was. That respect for all is a lesson you have instilled in me without even realizing it! That respect you have given to others has been given back to you a thousand times over. And the love you have given others is given back a million times over, through your friends but most of all your family. While we may not be related by blood, we count ourselves as part of your family in our hearts.”
Faith In Action: Theobald L. Pereira
Rev. George Pereira from Delhi, India, recalls, his long friendship with Theo. “How shall I capture in few words the essence of Theobald Pereira who has been a caring brother, a true friend and confidante, a mentor and support to me for over half a century? Theo, your heart and home have always been a resting place of comfort for me. As a married man you stand out as an ideal husband, father and grandfather. You and Susan are known as an ideal couple–blending the past and present, East and West, assimilating the best of both cultures and passing on your vision and values to posterity – a heritage that your children are proud of and on which they have built the foundation of their lives.”
Theo’s life has been all about doing little things, and meeting Christ in every individual he meets. True to the Gospel, “to love your neighbor as yourself” Theobald has been welcoming everyone into his home.The UPS Driver Al Smith, who made daily deliveries to their home office for Supente Inc., would shout out, “Welcome to Hotel Theo!” as he looked at the many and new faces seated in the living room. Even strangers have lived in his home for years. He has found jobs for them, supported them with finance and accepted them as his true brothers and sisters.
His actions and the testimonials from his close friends and families are a witness to what Theo is. And he takes pride in his deep faith in God and the abiding love for his family, friends, and the larger community. And, justifiably, Theo’s daughter, Suthe, summarizes his life: “We have been raised to practice our faith in the very littlest things and to try to bring joy to the lives of others. And that has been my dad’s life and mission all along.”
Last year “Peepli Live” co-director Mahmood Farooqui was accused of raping an American woman pursuing a Ph.D from Columbia University who was in India for research work. On July 30, a Delhi court convicted Farooqui of raping her.
Farooqui, who was out on bail, was taken into custody immediately after the pronouncement of the judgement. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain held Farooqui guilty of offence under section 376 (punishment of rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
The court fixed the matter for hearing arguments on sentence Aug. 2. The offence of rape entails a minimum of seven years of rigorous jail and a maximum of imprisonment for life.
The woman, in her complaint, had alleged that Farooqui was drunk when he raped her at his house where she had gone to get his help for her research work last year.
The police had lodged the FIR against Farooqui on the woman’s complaint on June 19, 2015 after which he was arrested.
Police had filed a charge sheet against Farooqui on July 29, 2015 alleging that he had raped the research scholar at his Sukhdev Vihar house in south Delhi on March 28, 2015. The court had started the trial in the case after framing rape charges against Farooqui on Sept. 9, 2015.
An Indian American chef was attacked outside of his workplace in Omaha, Neb. in what authorities are classifying as an apparent hate crime.
Suthahar Subburaj, 30, a chef at Kurry Xpress in Omaha, told police he was attacked just before 11 p.m. on July 15 as he was taking out the trash, according to a report from the Omaha World-Herald.
A man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt punched Subburaj in the face and kicked him in the leg. He also told Subbraj, who said he was punched multiple times in his forehead, face and mouth, “ISIS (expletive), get out of my country,” according to a police report, which used an acronym for the Islamic State.
The man fled the scene as one of Subbraj’s coworkers called police.
“He knocked me out,” Subburaj told local news network, KETV. The bone above his teeth may have been fractured, according to the Herald’s report.
The chef has lived in Omaha for about two years but doesn’t have any family in the United States. He hopes his attacker is caught and punished, but is also educated about the differences in religions and races.
“His motivation and why he beat me, I don’t have an answer for that,” Subburaj said. He’s Hindu, he said, not Muslim.
Police deemed the attack a hate crime against religion. They have no leads on a suspect.
After getting word of the alleged hate crime, the Anti-Defamation League Omaha chapter issued a statement condemning the attack.
“When a person is targeted for a crime because of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability, it not only harms the individual victim, but also deeply affects entire communities, chapter director Mary-Beth Muskin said. “We must all stand together against bigotry, hatred and prejudice. We urge law enforcement to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime, and hope that the perpetrator will be apprehended swiftly and brought to justice.”
Several Indian Americans have been featured in the first ever list Makers and Shakers of Education Technology Index created in association with the World Innovation Summit for Education, EdTechXGlobal, the organizers of education technology-focused conferences EdTechXEurope and EdTechXAsia. Among those on the list are: Reshma Saujani, Anant Agarwal, Nivi Sharma, Satya Nitta, Vamsi Krishna, Sugata Mitra and Sashwati Banerjee.
The international index celebrates 50 of the most innovative EdTech thought leaders, organized by four geographical regions — Europe, Americas, MENA and Asia, is described as the first comprehensive global listing of ground-breaking innovators in the EdTech field.
The organization announced in a statement last month, stated that the index honors these luminaries who, through digital and physical technologies, have introduced innovative new ways of learning to the market through play, construction or interactive design.
The “Makers” were defined as rising stars of education technology, innovating and pushing boundaries for future success. “Shakers” are considered established leaders in their region, inspiring worldwide EdTech change.
“The Makers & Shakers of Education Technology is a global index that elevates education innovators and thought leaders as 21st Century social rock stars. The index rewards talent, creativity, impact and influence in education,” said EdTechXGlobal co-founder Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet in a statement.
Agarwal is the CEO of edX, an online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT. He taught the first edX course on circuits and electronics from MIT, which drew 155,000 students from 162 countries, according to his Makers and Shakers bio.
Additionally, Agarwal has served as the director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT.
Outside of academia, the IIT Madras and Stanford graduate has co-founded several companies including Tilera Corporation and Virtual Machine Works.
Nivi Sharma is the president of BRCK Education and a co-founder of eLimu. She is a thought leader in education technology for emerging markets, her bio page said.
As a social entrepreneur, volunteer and technophile, Sharma has dedicated her career to education and is passionate about digital access and community initiatives that foster learning through fun, it added. A graduate of Ithaca College, Sharma is also a 2014 East Africa Acumen fellow.
Krishna is the co-founder of Vedantu, an ed-tech startup that offers personalized live online tutoring, along with Saurabh Saxena, Pulkit Jain and Anand Prakash. The group previously founded Lakshya in 2006, a test prep company in Punjab, which eventually was acquired by MTEducare.
The second venture of the group, Vedantu, was established with the vision of creating a world of learning that is personalized and democratized, according to Krishna’s bio page.
A graduate of IIT Bombay, Krishna has been a teacher for more than six years. At Vedantu, he primarily looks after strategy and product roadmap and oversees critical functions like branding and marketing, and has helped raise $5 million in funding within six months of its launch.
Saujani is the founder and chief executive of Girls Who Code and the former deputy public advocate of New York City. As executive director of the Fund for Public Advocacy, Saujani brought together public and private sectors to encourage entrepreneurship and civic engagement across New York City, her bio page said.
Today, she has galvanized industry leaders to close the gender gap in STEM education and empower girls to pursue careers in technology and engineering, it added.
She ran for Congress in 2010, in which she campaigned for smarter policies to create jobs and spark innovation. Saujani is an advocate for a new model of female leadership focused on risk taking, competition and mentorship, the profile said.
Mitra is a professor of educational technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences at Newcastle University in the U.K. Mitra’s work at NIIT created the first curricula and pedagogy for that organization, followed by years of research on learning styles, learning devices, several of them now patented, multimedia and new methods of learning, according to his bio page.
Since 1999, he has demonstrated that groups of children, irrespective of who or where they are, can learn to use computers and the Internet on their own using public computers in open spaces such as roads and playgrounds. His work inspired the Oscar winning movie of 2009 “Slumdog Millionaire,” it added. He is the recipient of various awards in India, the United States, the U.K. and many other countries throughout the world.
Banerjee leads Sesame Workshop’s educational mission in India to create innovative and engaging content that maximizes the educational power of all media to help children reach their highest potential, her bio page said.
As founding managing director of Sesame Workshop India, Banerjee spearheads Galli Galli Sim Sim, a multiplatform initiative that combines the power of media with educational outreach to prepare children for school and life, it added. With rising demand, Banerjee launched Sesame Street Preschools in India.
Additionally, Banerjee serves on the board of Point of View, an organization promoting the points of view of women using media, arts and cultures and New Delhi-based feminist human rights organization CREA.
Nitta has deep experience in inventing, building world class teams and developing groundbreaking technologies in both the hardware and software areas of computing with hundreds of millions of dollars of impact to IBM, his bio page said.
He is currently the worldwide leader and program director of the Cognitive Sciences and Education Technology research department at IBM Research which he envisioned, created and built from the ground up.
Nitta’s global team invents and develops technologies at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and cognitive computing and employs multiple techniques in fields ranging from machine learning, natural language processing, virtual and augmented reality, to experimental and computational neuroscience, it added. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Nitta has earned a number of IEEE engineering awards.
The Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations in Geneva adopted a Declaration on the Right to Peace by a majority of its Member States recently. It is the result of three years of work with all stakeholders led by Costa Rica, through its Ambassador Christian Guillermet-Fernández.
The draft resolution L. 18, in which the Declaration was annexed, was presented by the delegation of Cuba. In its presentation, they highlighted not only the hard work of its Chairperson-Rapporteur, his team and Secretariat during the negotiation and preparation of this text.
They’ve emphasized that the adoption of this Declaration is framed in the context of the bilateral ceasefire and cessation of hostilities signed in Havana, between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) on 23 June 2016.
While Costa Rica has provided the necessary guidance towards its completion from the first session of the Working Group on the Right to Peace, held in February 2013, to the last session in April 2015 in Geneva, the HRC’s work was aided by the invaluable mobilization and leadership shown by public figures from the world of art, culture and sport, gathered around Peace Without Borders founded by Miguel Bose and Juanes.
Furthermore, the wide-ranging civic engagement is reflected in the wording contained in the first article, which states that “everyone has the right to enjoy peace”.
In light of this Declaration, the main elements of the right to peace agreed among the various international actors, including most of the civil society organizations which actively participated in the intergovernmental process, are the following: the principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations; the absolute obligation to respect human rights in combating terrorism; the realization of the right of all peoples, including those living under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation; the recognition that development, peace, and security and human rights are interlinked and mutually reinforcing; the peaceful settlement and prevention of conflicts; the positive role of women; the eradication of poverty and sustainable development; the importance of moderation, dialogue, cooperation, education, tolerance and cultural diversity; the protection of minorities and the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
In promoting the right to peace, it is imperative that we implement the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, which focuses its attention on human security and the eradication of poverty, disarmament, education, development, environment and protection of vulnerable groups, refugees, and migrants.
The Declaration invites all stakeholders to guide themselves in their activities by recognizing the great importance of practicing tolerance, dialogue, cooperation and solidarity among all peoples and nations of the world as a means to promote peace. To reach this end, the Declaration states that present generations should ensure that both they and future generations learn to live together in peace with the highest aspiration of sparing future generations the scourge of war.
At the level of implementation, the Declaration recognizes the crucial role of UNESCO, which together with the international and national institutions of education for peace, shall globally promote the spirit of tolerance, dialogue, cooperation, and solidarity. To this end, the Declaration recognises in its operative section that “University for Peace should contribute to the great universal task of educating for peace by engaging in teaching, research, post-graduate training and dissemination of knowledge”.
Based on the resolution A/HRC/32 /L.18, the HRC recommends that the General Assembly adopts the “Declaration on the Right to peace” as contained in the annex to this resolution, which will occur in the 71st regular session of the General Assembly, which began its work in September 2016.
Thanks to research, the academic contribution and the trust of many people, governments and institutions, this joint adventure has successfully concluded in Geneva. In particular, the Declaration is the result of the important role played by some sectors of civil society for years, which have shown that genuine dialogue among all stakeholders and regional groups are the foundation of peace and understanding in the world.
Bina Ramesh was recently denied entry to the Six Flags amusement park in Jackson, NJ because a male security guard deemed the shirt she was wearing to be “inappropriate”.
You may be think that Ramesh was wearing some sort of see-thru halter top or shirt with an offensive message, but think again! Ramesh was wearing a simple v-neck cut grey t-shirt, similar to the style you would find in any department store. Ramesh was told by the security guard she would have to change her shirt if she wanted to be allowed in the park.
Here’s where the story takes an interesting turn. Ramesh returned to the parking lot and switched shirts with her male friend to prove that there was nothing offensive about the shirt itself. Lo and behold, when the pair went to re-enter the park they were allowed admission without a single issue.
In a Facebook post regarding the incident, Ramesh says “Apparently, when a boy wears the same top, it’s fine, so thank you for swapping shirts with me in the parking lot because we still live in a world of
“As I was entering Six Flags I was stopped by security because my top was considered inappropriate for the park’s standards,” Ramesh, 22, posted on Instagram July 10 about the incident.
Her shirt (as seen in the above photo) was a basic gray V-neck style cutoff T-shirt. She then returned to her car and exchanged shirts with her male friend, Adonis Blanco Jimenez, and then went back to the entrance and both were admitted into the park.
“Apparently when a boy wears the same top, it’s fine,” she added. “So thank you for swapping shirts with me in the parking lot because we still live in a world of ridiculous double standards and sexism.”
Ramesh also tweeted the same day, “s/o @SixFlags security guard for inconveniencing my day because he couldn’t keep his eyes off my cleavage.”
The young woman also posted her angst from the amusement park incident on Facebook, which had hundreds of people supporting her with nearly 400 likes and about 150 shares.
After voicing her displeasure throughout the social media space, Six Flags issued Ramesh an apology. Ramesh posted the apology on her Instagram.
“We are extremely sorry for the experience you had while at the park. Our goal is for all our guests to have a fun visit and we understand this was not the case for you. Our team members are trained, and then asked to use their judgement in carrying out our policies. These particular officers did not use good judgement and there is no reason you should have been denied entry,” the apology read.
Additionally, Six Flags offered her and her friend — who are both season pass holders — to return to the park.
Ramesh said she intends to return to the park, but was voicing her opinion on the incident solely to receive acknowledgement from the park that she was treated unfairly, which she accomplished.
Many media outlets, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue and Elle, ran the story and it went viral, leading to the park apology.
The Maheshwari Mahasabha of North America, founded in 1983 by a small number of Maheshwari families mainly in the Northeast, held its 8th biennial convention at Stamford Hilton, in Stamford, Conn., from July 1-4.
Riva Ganguly Das, consul general of India in New York, the event’s special guest of honor, delivered a message of goodwill towards the community and said she looked forward to working with the community leaders.
A lifetime achievement award was given to Hanuman Das Lahoti of Detroit, Michigan, for dedicated lifetime service and for helping in the advancement of the Maheshwari community, the report said.
“We were pleasantly surprised with the number of youth who not only attended the convention this year, but also actively engaged in our Rajasthanis Abroad Youth Samaj events! After months of hard work and planning, this weekend definitely exceeded our expectations,” Priya Malani Manchanda, president of RAYS, was quoted as saying.
Diya TV, a South Asian broadcast TV network reported that other guests included Vinod K. Agrawal, special chief secretary, Telangana government and Govind Chandak, a prominent businessman who addressed the crowd.
MMNA President Parag Bajaj was given a special excellence in leadership award for his many initiatives, including launching a matrimonial website and for his inclusive leadership style.
The report said that Mridula Sinha, governor of Goa who was slated to be the chief guest, could not make it but set a video message complimenting the work of MMNA in bringing the community together to keep Rajasthani culture present in America’s younger generation.
In response to the youth turnout, one of the founding members of MMNA, Vimal Sodhani of Sodhani Foundation, declared a major initiative to assist MMNA in providing seed money to develop young entrepreneurs, the Diya TV reported.
The foundation plans to donate $100,000 each year to MMNA. “I felt that there is great potential of developing a few of our youths as entrepreneurs by helping them financially,” Sodhani was quoted as saying. MMNA has an existing educational fund that has helped needy students. Over $40,000 was raised during the convention to augment this fund, according to news reports.
An airline passenger has been charged with sexually touching a sleeping woman aboard a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced on August 2.
Veerabhadrarao Kunam, 58, of Visakhapatnam, was charged by complaint with one count of abusive sexual contact. He appeared August 1 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark federal court and was released on $50,000 secured bond.
The abusive sexual contact charge carries a maximum potential penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Kunam was arrested on July 30, the day his flight arrived in Newark, and was taken into federal custody by the FBI.
According to the complaint, Kunam was seated next to a woman who occupied a middle seat on a Virgin America overnight flight from Los Angeles to Newark. While the plane was in the air, the woman fell asleep. She awoke to find Kunam massaging her genitals and rubbing his bare feet against her bare feet.
The victim alerted her male travel companion who traded seats with the victim and confronted Kunam. Kunam allegedly told her companion that he wanted everyone to forget about the incident and offered to buy her companion a drink for any trouble he may have caused. The companion declined Kunam’s offer and alerted a flight crew member about what had occurred.
A member of the flight crew then moved Kunam to another seat and instructed him not to return to his original seat. Kunam allegedly told the flight crew member that he would not touch the victim again.
Sheetal Ranot, an Ozone Park, Queens woman charged with starving and beating her pre-teen stepdaughter faces 25 years in prison after she was convicted Friday of assault and child endangerment.
Sheetal Ranot, 35, was found guilty of slashing the girl, then 12, with a shattered metal broom handle that cut the girl’s wrist to the bone – and coldly leaving her in a pool of blood, authorities said. Ranot and her husband Rajesh tortured the child for nearly two years in their Ozone Park house of horrors, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
The duo have allegedly locked the girl in her bedroom without food or water for extended periods, with her weight dropping to 58 pounds, officials said. Rajesh Ranot, the victim’s biological father was also charged with second- and third-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child. The husband and wife’s case was severed at the start of Ranot’s trial. Rajesh Ranot will be tried at a later date.
“A jury weighed the evidence, which included the once-undernourished victim’s testimony in court, and found the defendant guilty of abusing the girl for more than a year and half. The pre-teen was locked in her bedroom by her step-mother without food or even water for extended periods of time,” District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement.
“The victim was struck with a metal broom handle and a wooden rolling pin until she was bloody and still carries these scars and others on her body to this day. No child deserves to be treated in this manner,” Brown said.
The girl, identified in published reports as Maya Ranot, weighed a skeletal 58 pounds because of the escalating violence. She, however, survived to tell the tale of her suffering and torture at the hands of her parents in their Ozone Park home.
After a day of deliberations, a jury convicted Ranot of first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter, who presided over the three-week-long trial, set sentencing for September 8.
On May 6, 2014, when medical personnel arrived at the family residence after Sheetal Ranot hit Maya with a broken metal broom handle, they found Maya lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen with the tendons to her left wrist cut to the bone.
At that time, Maya was transported to Elmhurst Hospital where she underwent surgery for her wrist and received stitches to her knee. Doctors observed several bruises, marks and scars in various stages of healing throughout Maya’s body during that hospital stay.
“Thank God! It’s about time they locked him up. Everyone is afraid of him . . . How could he do this to his own daughter?” the Daily News quoted one of Rajesh Ranot’s former in-laws who was not identified by his name as asking.
Maya was beaten with everything from a rolling pin to a baseball bat to a broken metal broom handle — but never said a word because she feared her four step-siblings would be sent to foster care, officials were quoted as saying. “Fortunately, she found the courage to speak up,” Brown said. “It is not too hard to imagine that this case would have ended in the child’s death.”
A September 2014 New York Times report said Maya’s ordeal started in 2011, when a custody dispute placed her with her father. Relatives and a friend of her mother, Ramona Roy, said Ranot fabricated claims that Roy abused Maya. Their contention could not be verified by the newspaper because family court records are not public.
At that time the Times report said quoting neighbors that they noticed that Maya’s clothes were often dirty and that she was always doing chores and caring for her four stepsiblings, who looked healthier and cleaner. “I was told this is normal — stepmothers don’t like stepkids in India,” neighbor Bematie Singh from Guyana told the newspaper. “Maya was like the maid.”
BOSTON, Mass. — Biomedical researchers in India will soon be using microscopes invented at University of Massachusetts Boston. According to UMass Business News, physics professors D.V.G.L.N. Rao and Chandra Yelleswarapu have reached a licensing deal with Lab Engineers (India), a registered corporation in Bangalore, India, based on their patent for a Fourier phase contrast and multimodal microscope.
This new technology is less cumbersome, has fewer moving parts, and is more user-friendly. Additionally, the images created by the microscope will be brighter. This is the first licensing deal for an invention solely owned by UMass Boston.
The two Indian American researchers’ invention builds on the technology of the phase contrast microscopes, which have been used in labs since the 1950s. Combining phase and fluorescence imaging, it allows scientists to see the structure and function of a cell simultaneously.
Currently, microscopes that show both types of images must take two different images and combine them via a computer. This new technology can also be adapted for quantitative phase imaging with potential applications in monitoring drug efficacy in cancer diagnostics.
The licensing deal with Lab Engineers has been in progress for five years. This is the first such agreement between UMass Boston scientists and a private company. According to Rao, the growth of the biotech and medical industries in India has created demand for this type of technology.
Erasing Borders is a richly provocative exhibition by artists of the Indian diaspora who confront issues of sexuality, terror, disease, the environment, racial and sectarian politics in painting, prints, installations, video, and sculpture. With great technical mastery and diversity of theme and style, these works combine traditional Indian aesthetics with Western elements, and speak to the powerful experience of personal and cultural dislocation in the global village. In its twelfth year, Erasing Borders is curated by Vijay Kumar and produced by the Indo-American Arts Council.
The Exhibition remains open from July 14 – August 17, 2016 from 11 am – 5 pm Monday – Friday at the Kapoor Galleries, 34East 67th Street (between Madison & Park), NYC. Exhibitions are Free and Open to the Public.
Indian American director Meera Menon, director of “Equity,” a refreshingly female-centric thriller set in Wall Street, was released from Sony Pictures Classics on July 29 in Los Angeles and New York, and on September 2 nationwide. Equity is breaking down the barriers and defying stereotypes about women on Wall Street and how.
The premise of the film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is this: A female investment banker (Anna Gunn), fighting to rise to the top of the corporate ladder at a competitive Wall Street firm, navigates a controversial tech IPO in the post-financial crisis world, where loyalties are suspect, regulations are tight, but pressure to bring in “big money” remains high.
In Equity, a new thriller about female executives working on Wall Street, it’s okay for women to be ambitious and like money. The brainchild of Sarah Megan Thomas and Alysia Reiner, who produced and starred in the film alongside two-time Emmy winner Anna Gunn, the film was largely the result of interviews with — and financing from — roughly two-dozen powerful current and former Wall Street women. Together with screenwriter Amy Fox and director Meera Menon, Equity also fielded an all-female creative team.
The 100-minute film, which stars “Breaking Bad’s” Anna Gunn, “Orange is the New Black” actress Alysia Reine, James Purefoy, Sarah Megan Thomas and Samuel Roukin, among others, is written by screenwriter-playwright-author Amy Fox and produced by Alysia Reiner and Sarah Megan Thomas.
The story follows Bishop, played by Gunn, a top-tier investment banker in her 40s hoping to secure a tech firm for a big IPO. Early in the film, Bishop is denied a promotion from her boss because, he tells her, “the perception is that you rubbed some people the wrong way.”
Krawcheck was among the businesswomen consulted for Equity, and she said that she was glad to see a positive representation of those working in the financial services sector — particularly the women. “You don’t see any films about women on Wall Street, let alone films about women on Wall Street with honorable characters,” said Krawcheck. “This is a pretty important film from that perspective.”
Menon, the director of the 2013 critically acclaimed road-trip comedy, “Farah Goes Bang,” said this consciously gender-specific film was the brainchild of Reiner and Thomas. “They saw that there wasn’t much opportunity for the type of roles they were interested in playing like the complex, smart, intelligent women in the workplace that are engaged in the drama that relates to their professional life,” she said. “They were looking for a female director to put forward interesting, complex roles for women on screen, and so they wanted to hire as many women behind the camera.”
Menon, who was awarded the inaugural Nora Ephron Prize for a groundbreaking woman filmmaker by Tribeca Film Festival and Vogue for “Farah Goes Bang,” was also showcased as one of Glamour Magazine’s “35 Women Under 35 Running Hollywood” that year. More recently, she was selected to be a Fellow at 20th Century Fox’s Global Directors Initiative.
Menon, who received her bachelor’s degree in English and art history from Columbia University, and her MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, said she had always been intrigued by the financial world of numbers, even writing a script on the subject during film school. But for the film, she said she relied heavily on the research conducted by Fox.
“The only way I can think of doing that is to try and find a way to bring those marginalized perspectives and pull them into the center,” she said. “I want to continue to find stories about immigrant identities, female identities, people of color and use old genres, genres you know audience likes but use a fresh perspective, a new way to tell them.”
The paucity of women in lead roles is definitely a concern for this filmmaker, but she is also perturbed by the negligible number of South Asian women in mainstream roles. Now that she has a foot inside Hollywood’s door, she said she wants to do as much as she can to support other women.
“The scripts that I generally respond to are films with female leads because those characters I understand the most intuitively,” Menon told India-West. “The only way to tell a good story is to tell stories that you know. That’s why we need more women, more diversity behind the camera, because that’s what will help us get more stories in front of the camera.”
Menon’s father, Vijayan Menon, is a film producer and the founder of Tara Arts, which has been showcasing various musical and cinema artists from South India to members of the Indian diaspora for close to 40 years. As a result, she naturally gravitated towards the film world. But her parents, she said, were still very apprehensive about her choice of career.
“I had the benefit of being raised by a father who was in his own way involved in the industry even though he was an engineer by trade,” she said. “But because of his interest and love and passion for the arts, I was given a bit of a license to pursue as a profession.”
Being a second generation immigrant, Menon said she realizes the hard truth about Hollywood’s racial diversity problem and the subsequent lack of South Asian representation in the industry. “It’s still a challenge and that’s a conversation or a change of wave I’d like to be a part of,” she said. “I have so many incredibly talented South Asian friends who really struggle to find good roles for themselves. There is still a lot of stereotyping in television and movies.”
But she has a plan for those talented South Asian artistes. “I am collaborating with another South Asian director friend to create a web series to present South Asian friends, to see more people that look like me on TV,” she said. “Growing up here there was literally nobody on TV that looked like me. It affects the way kids grow up here because they don’t see themselves in TV shows or movies; they end up feeling different like they are not normal.”
Menon said if she gets herself more directing opportunities, perhaps she could “convince people to cast more South Asians in roles they wouldn’t conventionally or traditionally think them in.”
Sree Sreenivasan has been appointed as the Chief Digital Officer for the City of New York, where he will work to promote access to City government through technology and support the city’s tech ecosystem.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sree Sreenivasan as the City’s new Chief Digital Officer on August 1st. Sreenivasan has served as the first Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first Chief Digital Officer of Columbia University, and has also been a mayoral appointee on the Commission on Public Information and Communication (COPIC) since October 2015, where he assisted the public in obtaining access to City information, and helped develop strategies for the use of new communications technologies to improve access to, and distribution of, City data. As Chief Digital Officer, Sreenivasan will work to increase access to City-led technology initiatives, focus on outreach to the tech community, and direct citywide digital policy. He will begin his new role this fall.
“To move our city’s digital ecosystem into the 21st century, we need to ensure our city’s resources are at the fingertips of every New Yorker. With Sree Sreenivasan’s wealth of experience, I am confident that he will work to promote transparency, access, and progressive values with our digital tools, helping spread access across the five boroughs,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“It’s a real honor for me to serve as the CDO of the world’s greatest city,” said Chief Digital Officer Sree Sreenivasan. “There are so many opportunities to extend the Mayor’s Digital Playbook, collaborate closely across various sectors and help bring more startups here. I will draw on what I’ve learned working in four critical NYC industries: education, media, arts and culture, and nonprofits, and look forward to building on the great work of my predecessor Jessica Singleton and her predecessor, Rachel Haot.”
In his new role, Sreenivasan will direct the Office of Digital Strategy (NYC Digital) to launch digital products that encourage civic engagement, increase government transparency, and support New York City’s thriving tech ecosystem. The Chief Digital Officer reports to the Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, Alicia Glen.
Prior to his work at City Hall, Sreenivasan served for three years as the first Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he led a 70-person team to increase the museum’s digital presence. In October 2015, he was appointed by Mayor de Blasio to the Commission on Public Information and Communication (COPIC), where he worked to increase access to, and education about, City information online. Before his work at the Met, he spent 20 years as a member of faculty of the Columbia Journalism School and a year as Columbia University’s first Chief Digital Officer. He was a founding member and contributing editor at neighborhood news site DNAinfo, and throughout his career, he has written for various publications, including the New York Times, and was a popular technology reporter on WABC-TV, WNBC-TV and WCBS-TV.
An immigrant from India, Sreenivasan was born in Japan and lived in Bhutan, the former Soviet Union, New York City, Myanmar, India and Fiji before receiving a Bachelor’s degree in History from St. Stephen’s College in Delhi and receiving a Master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1993. He is a proud graduate of P.S. 6 in Manhattan and also attended St. Joseph’s of Yorkville. He and his wife, Roopa Unnikrishnan, a Rhodes Scholar and innovation consultant, live in Manhattan and are parents of twins who study in a NYC public school.
Sreenivasan replaces Jessica Singleton, who stepped down last month, according to govtech.com, to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. Days after he had to resign from his $328,900-a-year job at Met, Sreenivasan described in an interview to Quartz magazine how he pulled off turning “a public firing into a masterpiece of personal branding” —and how his methods might work. “He demonstrated a deft, natural mastery of his medium, social media, and gave his network the ammo they would need to help him out of his predicament,” the magazine wrote.
The City of New York is dedicated to improving engagement with residents and businesses by developing tools that will enhance government transparency, improve delivery of City services, and promote civic engagement. The Office of Digital Strategy (NYC Digital) works closely with the Mayor’s Office of Operations, Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, NYC Economic Development Corporation, NYC Law Department, Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, NYC & Co, Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation, Department of Small Business Services, and the Mayor’s Communication’s Office to help develop forward-thinking policies and usage for digital tools to better serve the public and support the growth of New York City’s tech ecosystem.
Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy from the state of Connecticut have committed to join the US Senate India Caucus at community meetings organized by the Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) last month. Senate India Caucus was started in 2004 at the initiative of the Indian American community with former Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton and Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn, who continues to serve as its Co-Chair. Senator Mark Warner is now the Co-Chair from the Democrat side. As a bipartisan body, Senators Cornyn and Warner have been working to engage Indian Americans and Indian government officials to expand cooperation between the United States and India, the world’s largest democracy.
At an interactive breakfast meeting organized by GOPIO-CT last month in Stamford, CT, Senator Murphy noted the increasing cooperation between the USA and India in defense, containing terrorism, trade and commerce, education, IT and technology areas. Addressing GOPIO-CT Annual Banquet held last month, Senator Blumenthal thanked the Indian American community for its enormous contribution to America. When a question was raised to both Senators at separate meetings about them joining the India Caucus, they made commitments publicly to do so.
“We want a strong set-up in the US Capitol for India which could bring more synergy in the next level of cooperation between the two largest democracies of the world,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO who had initiated the effort with both the Senators.
“With Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a joint session of both houses in June, there is much more awareness of India among the lawmakers and this is the right time for the community to reach out lawmakers who are still not yet members of the India Caucus and GOPIO will continue to do such effort,” Dr. Abraham added.
The President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft, has helped spearhead a push for a more open and transparent selection process for the next UN Secretary-General.
Media spoke with Lykketoft one week after the 15 members of the UN Security Council cast their first votes in a straw poll to indicate which of the 12 candidates for the UN’s top job they support.
The results of the informal initial vote, which took place on Thursday 21 July, were not publicly released, but were leaked almost immediately. On behalf of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly, Lykketoft publicly called for the Security Council to convey the results to the other UN member states soon after the vote took place.
However Lykketoft also noted that the straw polls are an initial vote and that the positioning of candidates may well change, noting that new candidates may also emerge.
“It’s much too early to draw conclusions from the straw polls,” said Lykketoft. “Positioning and tendencies … can change over time.”
“The real influence from the membership is now to express to their colleagues in the Security Council if they have preferences among the candidates,” — Mogens Lykketoft.
A second straw poll is planned for next Friday August 5, he added. However one potential further candidate, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced on July 29 that he would not be running, as he did not receive an endorsement from the Australian government.
“We’ll try to arrange as quickly as possible, if a new candidate comes forward, the same kind of hearings that we have had with the 12 candidates,” he said.
However while the informal dialogues have opened up the selection process for the next Secretary-General to the 193 member General Assembly, it is still likely that the UN Security Council will ultimately decide a single candidate to put forward to the assembly for endorsement.
There have been calls for the Security Council to break with this custom and put forward more than one candidate to the General Assembly, however Lykketoft noted that any change to the current system was up to the Security Council, and that it wasn’t even clear whether the “majority of the General Assembly would ask for more candidates.”
“The real influence from the membership is now to express to their colleagues in the Security Council if they have preferences among the candidates,” said Lykketoft.
“Because we’ve had these informal dialogues, these hearings, we much better know the personalities and the priorities of candidates than one did at any previous occasion, simply because all the other times there wasn’t an established list of candidates, we didn’t even know outside the Security Council which names were brought to the table.”
“That has changed and that means also that all the friends, allies and colleagues of the members of the Security Council can express to them their priorities and that gives a real possibility for influence.”
“I have also said continuously if among the many candidates (there are) clear favourites, I don’t think the Security Council would come up with some quite different names. But we’ll see.”
In addition to consultations with the General Assembly as a whole, candidates for Secretary-General had separate consultations with the 134 members of the Group of 77, as well as with the regional groups, which Lykketoft described as a “very useful” addition to the selection process.
He noted that members of the Group of 77, which represents 134 developing countries at the United Nations including China, see development issues and climate change as priorities.
This was reflected in questions posed to the 12 candidates for the role of Secretary-General on behalf of the Group during the informal hearings in the General Assembly. Each of the 12 candidates also held closed hearings with the 134 members of the Group of 77 at the UN on 13 and 14 July 2016.
Reflecting on his own role, Lykketoft touched on changes to the office of the President of the General Assembly. Fiji has been elected to hold the 71st Presidency of the UN General Assembly, when Denmark’s term finishes in September 2016.
Lykketoft noted that as a Small Island Developing State, Fiji does not have the same resources to draw on to support the office of the President as other richer and bigger countries. The office of the President of the General Assembly relies on contributions from member states. Lykketoft particularly highlighted the importance of member states seconding staff to the office.
“There’s been 35 people from 26 different countries working in the office of the President of the General Assembly, which is a very interesting and very well functioning operation,” said Lykketoft.
There are currently 12 candidates for the position of UN Secretary-General. They include former heads of state and high-level UN officials. According to leaked reports, Antonio Guterres, former Prime Minister of Portugal and former head of the UN High Commission for Refugees, topped the first straw poll, with Danilo Turk, former President of Slovenia, placing second and Irina Bokova, of Bulgaria who is currently Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) placed third. Other candidates which received “encourages” from 8 or more members of the SC include Srgjan Kerim, of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Vuk Jeremić of the Republic of Serbia and Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Administrator of the UN Development Programme.
In addition to the push for the selection of the next Secretary-General to be more open and transparent, there have also been calls for the ninth Secretary-General to be the first to come from Eastern Europe or the first to be a woman.
HOUSTON – On Thursday, 21st July, 2016 Houston saw some hard core fans of Thalaiva queued outside the theaters for the screening of Superstar Rajnikanth’s new release KABALI. It has been a while since the viewers have seen the Superstar appearing in a don avatar and the dazzling teaser had created an impression all across the globe. The first day first show in Houston began with a huge celebration organized by Houston Desi Friends & US Desi Gals – two major social media WhatsApp groups in Houston & Radio Hungama, first Telugu radio in Houston.
Houston Desi Friends group with 3000 members on WhatsApp and Facebook is a brain child of Kishore Ramaraju who brought all the Indians in Houston to a common platform. This non-profit group conducts seminars on immigration, finance, digital marketing, college education on a monthly basis. US Desi Gals is a WhatsApp based group founded by Kavitha Vijay with an intention of sharing info, deals, events in and around Houston amongst the Indian women community & help in empowering them.
The event witnessed hundreds of audiences who had come for watching the movie. The event was sponsored by Deep Foods, Cinegalaxy Inc & Fun Asia, Carmike Theatres, Radio Hungama, Hot Breads Houston, United Real Estates, Pepon Inc., TV9 & NTV. The program had fun filled games and contests wherein the Thalaiva fans created a buzz and won Kabali T-shirts and gift hampers from Deep Foods. The eye stealer of the show was the dance performance by US DESI GALS dance team to the tunes of famous Rajini songs. The dance was choreographed in a short notice of time & performed by a group of US DESI GALS members who are not professional dancers but had a passion for dancing. Thalaiva fans also tapped their feet to the tunes of “Neruppu da” along with the dance team. Sridhar Dadi, owner of Radio Hungama enthralled the whole crowd with his wit . The show ended with the cake cutting ceremony by the sponsors and an open flash mob.
The greatest democracy on earth is all set to elect the next President. With the year-long primary season and the conventions out of the way, both the major political parties are focused on the general election and with the challenging task of electing the new President of the United States.
However, the just concluded primaries, where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were elected by their own party’s registered voters, has had only less then 10% of the total population excercising their voting right.
According to surveys/research, the United States is home to 324 million people. 103 million of them are children, noncitizens or ineligible felons, and they do not have the right to vote. 88 million eligible adults do not vote at all, even in general elections, based on the share of eligible adults who voted in the 2012 general election.
An additional 73 million did not vote in the primaries this year, but will most likely vote in the general election. This number does not include people who voted in caucuses, which have less reliable turnout numbers. A small percentage of people vote in primaries but not in general elections, and they are also not included.
The remaining 60 million people voted in the primaries: about 30 million each for Republicans and Democrats. But half of the primary voters chose other candidates. Just 14 percent of eligible adults — only 9 percent of the whole nation — voted for either Trump or Clinton.
The overall shares were about the same in 2008, the last cycle without an incumbent president running. Trump and Clinton will be working to win the votes of these three groups. Polls suggest they will be separated by just a handful of votes, which will be the victory margin, between the loser and the winner, who will be holding the most powerful elected office on earth.
The Allahabad District Court ordered a criminal case against the Mountain View, Calif., company, Indian American chief executive officer Sundar Pichai and India head Rajan Anandan for including an image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the “top 10 criminals in the world,” according to a Times of India report.
The complaint was filed by advocate Sushil Kumar Mishra. Mishra noted in the complaint that Modi’s image pops up among the results in a search of the top 10 criminals of the world. Additional District Judge Mahtab Ahmed July 18 issued a notice to Google.
In 2015, Google apologized for the misunderstanding, but Mishra went ahead with the complaint, bringing it to the Civil Lines police station in Allahabad. Additionally, Mishra had written to Google to take the image down but the request was ignored.
Instead, Google followed up with a statement, saying, “These results trouble us and are not reflective of the opinions of Google. Sometimes, the way images are described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries. We apologize for any confusion or misunderstanding this has caused. We’re continually working to improve our algorithms to prevent unexpected results like this.” Google added that results to the query “top 10 criminals in India” was due to a British daily which had an image of Modi and erroneous metadata. The next hearing is slated for Aug. 31.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 1, 2016– Press freedom is essential pillar of the UN human rights system guaranteed through Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (freedom of opinion and expression) and a part of customary international law which means that every UN member is duty bound to enable the exercise of this right.
“The UN plays an important role in shaping norms and setting agendas so it is an important the UN put journalist safety and press freedom at the heart of its work, from human rights to sustainable development and everything in between,” Radsch told IPS.
But in reality far many UN member states continue to undermine press freedom through restrictive laws, by jailing and killing journalists or not properly investigating attacks on journalists and bringing perpetrators to justice.
An UN Committee responsible for giving non-government organisations (NGOs) UN accreditation has had one of its decisions overturned by other UN member states as it seems to be restricting NGOs which are perceived to be critical of governments.
On Monday 25 July, a larger meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted to give ECOSOC consultative status to The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) a United States based NGO, after its application was rejected by the smaller ECOSOC committee for the fourth time.
The only reason CPJ was finally accepted was because a vote by the Economic and Social Council was forced by supportive member states, overriding the previous denial from the NGO committee, Courtney Radsch, CPJ’s Advocacy Director told IPS.
“It’s ironic that that the NGO Committee has no NGO participation and comprises several governments that are actively persecuting NGOs.” — Mandeep Tiwana, CIVICUS.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power told ECOSOC on 25 July that during the four years that CPJ was denied accreditation 863 journalists have been imprisoned, 19 have gone missing, and 304 have been killed, quoting CPJ figures.
“The UN NGO committee seems less interested at ensuring the voices of civil society are present to contribute to matters of great concern, and rather at excluding these voices because of the uncomfortable truths they espouse about member states.” Radsch told IPS.
“Being granted consultative status is a highly politicized process that is aimed less at ensuring that our CPJ meets the criteria for membership, such as supporting the world of the UN and working on relevant matters, not to mention our recognized standing in the field,” said Radsch.
Mandeep Tiwana, Head of Policy and Research at CIVICUS, told IPS that the Committee to Protect Journalists’ long and bruising struggle to gain ECOSOC status shows how the UN is not taking press freedom seriously, and that the UN NGO Committee is excluding NGOs simply because they are critical of governments.
Chicago IL: First time in the History of the Indian community in America, a crowd of more than 200 supporters gathered today outside at Daley Plaza, Chicago on July 29th, 2016 to show support and peacefully protest for the pending case of “Justice of Pravin”. This event was heavily publicized on social media platforms for 3 months after a few leaders from the US Indian community noticed that the case for Pravin Varughese was being unfairly handled by the authorities involved in the case.
Pravin Varughese was a 19 year old bright kid from the Chicago suburbs, who went to SIU Carbondale University to study Criminal Justice. He went missing the night of Feb 12, 2014 on his way back home from a party with his cousins. He went missing for a week and was found deceased in a wooded area in Carbondale. The police said they didn’t expect foul play and the difficult terrain and low temperatures were believed to have contributed to Pravin’s difficulty finding his way out of the wooded area. But the bruises on Pravin’s body that his mother and family found told a very grim story.
“Pravin Action Council” was formed in 2014 to assist the family in seeking justice. In July 2016, the first winner of Pravin Varughese Memorial Scholarship was announced on Facebook. It is a $1000 scholarship for a High school senior intending to pursue a degree in Criminal justice or law. “Pravin Action Council” is headed by Mariamma Pillai and Gladson Varghese, both community leaders from Chicago.
For the past two years, the family and friends of Pravin Varughese have been working tirelessly to get justice and the truth behind Pravin’s death. The unfairness and the falsified reports with innumerous accuracies and blatant attacks on Pravin’s character showed unfairness. With the help of community leaders from the US Indian Community in Chicago and this initiative by the Kerala Community in Chicago and around the US, bought together leaders and supporters to peacefully protest for the Justice of Pravin on July 29th, at Daley Plaza,
Organizers said, the main goal of this protest was to get rightful attention of the officials such as Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan as well as the Governor of Illinois, Bruce Rauner on Pravin Varughese’s case. They are the officials who can take action on the investigators and officials of the Carbondale Police Dept., the Illinois State Police and Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr whose conclusion and claim did not present key evidence in this case.
Michael Carr’s report did not say that the toxicology report was negative even though a toxicology report conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. James Jacobi showed Pravin Varughese had no drugs in his system and no alcohol other than ethanol produced during post-mortem bodily changes. Again, the family commissioned a second autopsy that was performed by Dr. Ben Margolis of the Autopsy Center of Chicago in February of 2014. Margolis found multiple deep bruises on the forehead and right arm of Pravin Varughese and determined blunt-force trauma was an underlying cause of death. The findings in the second autopsy were not shown to the grand jury. The officials unfairly covered up this case while the poor parents continued to look for answers to their dear son’s death.
Carbondale police on the other hand did not suspect foul play at the time of Pravin’s death and criminal charges were never filed. In Feb 2015, a Jackson County, IL grand jury determined there will be no criminal charges in the death of SIU-Carbondale student Pravin Varughese even though there was a dashcam evidence from an Illinois State Trooper with the suspect in the case on that fateful night. The family representatives strongly believe that the grand jury did not receive all the relevant information from the officials in this case.
For over the last two years, Monica Zukas, a radio host/media personality from Carbondale has helped the family by sharing a lot of pertinent information to the public on this case on her Facebook page. You can read about some of the most recent findings on this case published by her on her Facebook page.
Under the leadership of Jiby Thomas Moloparambil, a community empowerment call was organized on June 30th, 2016 for the Indian/Kerala community to bring together individuals from across the nation to brainstorm ideas for next steps for this protest. About more than 500 individuals and personalities from different states across the US and India, joined the call to input their opinion and suggestions. For more info and for ways to get involved, please go to http://www.justiceforpravin.org
Pratham’s flagship Read India program was one of 14 programs from across the globe selected by the Brookings Institution for an in-depth study on scaling and learning. The recently released study, Millions Learning: Scaling up quality education in developing countries, tells the story of where and how effective learning interventions have scaled up in low- and middle-income countries.
Researchers identified 14 core ingredients in different combinations that contribute to scaling quality learning and found that success often occurs when new approaches and ideas are allowed to develop and grow on the margins and then spread to reach many more children and youth.
Key lessons learned from the Read India case study included: Pratham’s willingness to experiment with and rigorously test new teaching-learning models provides its government partners with an evidence-based menu of program options, which enable flexible, context-specific decision making to maximize impact in the presence of competing needs and scarce resources.
Pratham’s philosophy of “learning by doing” helps to maintain the organization’s focus on keeping learning methodologies, activities, materials, and assessment tools simple so they can be embraced by individuals at all learning levels and by governments with a wide range of resources.
Pratham’s commitment to an evidence-based approach ensures purposeful integration of monitoring and evaluation into its operations and decision making.
Pratham’s comprehension that change happens locally allows it to strategically institutionalize interventions by leveraging existing government infrastructure, resources, and policy opportunities when possible.
Pratham’s understanding that making small, incremental change visible at a large scale is necessary to show stakeholders that change is possible.
Pratham’s ability to identify and partner with the local champions within the government—and to use evidence from the Learning Camps to ignite their excitement—has been critical for garnering political will and support at the top to create the conditions needed to scale up and have an impact from below.
Pratham’s flexible, long-term focused donors allow for the building of trust, which gives Pratham the organizational autonomy, space, and independence needed to experiment, take risks and innovate.
In a path-breaking initiative, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approved the proposed two-match Twenty20 International series against the West Indies cricket team in Florida, United States of America later this month. The decision was taken during the board’s Working Committee meeting held in Mumbai. The two games will be played at the Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, USA on August 27 and 28 respectively.
The Indian cricket team, for the first time, will be playing an international match in the United States of America. It will take on reigning World T20 Champions West Indies in a two-match T20 International series in Florida’s Fort Lauderdale. According to reports, the matches will start at 19:30 IST. BCCI president Anurag Thakur said, “As part of our continuous efforts to reach out to new markets and audiences, I am very happy to announce that Team India will play two T20Is against the current world champions West Indies in the United States.”
“This will be a great initiative in our continued efforts to develop cricket in the Americas (North and South America) a very important market,” said Whycliffe Dave Cameron,West Indies Cricket Board President.
India lead 1-0 in their four-test series against West Indies, and the Twenty20 matches will mark the first full member games in the United States in four years, when New Zealand played West Indies.
The Broward Stadium is the only ground in the United States that meets international cricket specifications, and organisers say they have invested about $1.4 million to bring it up to standard including tweaking the floodlights to point at the pitch and erecting big video screens.
The United States would be a big market to crack for cricket bosses. The Twenty20 format is likely to be the most appealing form of the game, in the face of traditional U.S. sports, thanks to explosive batting and a relatively short matches.
“This will be a great opportunity for the cricket fans in America to watch the two champion sides in action. This will be developed into an annual cricketing event in the United States,” BCCI president Anurag Thakur said in a statement. “This will be a great initiative in our continued efforts to develop cricket in the Americas, a very important market,” Whycliffe Cameron, president of West Indies Cricket Board, said.
Hillary’s America by Indian American conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, takes audiences on a gripping journey into the secret history of the Democratic Party and the contentious rise of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
In Hillary’s America, New York Times #1 best-selling author and celebrated filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza attempts to tell his side of the story about Hillary and the history of the Democratic Party. “This eye-opening film sheds light on the Democrats’ transition from pro-slavery to pro-enslavement; how Hillary Clinton’s political mentor was, literally, a cold-blooded gangster; and how the Clintons and other Democrats see foreign policy not in terms of national interest, but in terms of personal profit,” says a report by the from the creators of America: Imagine The World Without Her and 2016: Obama’s America .
And with the anti-Hillary film now becoming the highest-grossing documentary of the year to date at the U.S. box office, the decision to time the release of the film with the Democratic and the Republican national conventions is reaping rich dividends. The docu-drama has made $5.2 million in just 12 days. “Oh no! IndieWire is calling me the new Michael Moore! Did I just lose 50 IQ points? Say it ain’t so!” D’Souza quipped on his Facebook page July 27.
“To understand Hillary, we must solve the Hillary enigma. The Hillary enigma is why anyone – any American, any Democrat, even Bill – would consider voting for her,” reads the opening sentence of the book “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party” by author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza.
“What I am hoping the movie will do is reach well-meaning people in the middle, sincere Democrats who go ‘I can’t believe this,’” he was quoted as saying by Fox News.
“We have had people who have been in the movie, particularly minorities particularly Hispanics and blacks, and they say ‘Dinesh the only question I have to ask you, is this true? Because if they are true it changes everything,’” he was quoted as saying.
According to Hollywood Reporter, the 100-minute film doesn’t pretend to be nonpartisan. A trailer for the doc refers to Bill and Hillary Clinton as “depraved crooks” and Democrats as “the party of corruption” that is associated with slavery, lynchings, the KKK and forced sterilization.
Along with analyzing Clinton’s time as President Obama’s secretary of state and her motives, the film challenges the core policies of the Democratic Party. D’Souza, a conservative commentator who shot to fame with his Obama documentary, also comes with some baggage of his own. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance fraud.
He served as president of The King’s College in New York City from 2010 to 2012, when he abruptly resigned after it was revealed that D’Souza, married with one daughter, had an extramarital affair.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pledged to introduce comprehensive immigration reform, including stapling a green card to the diploma of every foreign STEM graduate, within the first 100 days after taking office, according to a fact sheet released by her campaign’s AAPI policy committee July 26.
The candidate reiterated her pledge on the closing night of the Democratic National Convention July 28, as she accepted her party’s nomination. “We will build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy,” she said, to cheers from the large audience at the Wells Fargo Convention Center.
“I believe that when we have millions of hardworking immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be self-defeating and inhumane to kick them out. Comprehensive immigration reform will grow our economy and keep families together and it’s the right thing to do,” said Clinton.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had told voters in Nevada that she would address immigration reform in the first 100 days of her presidency. “This is at the top of the list,” Clinton said during an MSNBC/Telemundo town hall, two days before Nevada’s Democratic caucus. “It’s going to be introduced, and then I’m going to work as hard as I can to make sure we get it moved through the congressional process. I can control the introduction of legislation, but Congress has to get its act in gear. That’s why we need to elect a Democratic senate so we have some friends.”
“I believe that when we have millions of hardworking immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be self-defeating and inhumane to kick them out. Comprehensive immigration reform will grow our economy and keep families together and it’s the right thing to do,” said Clinton.
The AAPI policy committee fact sheet stated that Clinton would offer a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented residents currently residing in the U.S. “Asian immigrants make up 11 percent of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, the vast majority of whom have lived in the U.S. for over a decade,” according to the fact sheet.
Clinton has pledged to support President Barack Obama’s beleaguered executive orders – Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and an expanded version of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – which he announced in November 2014. Twenty-six states immediately sued, noting the costs of issuing thousands of new drivers’ licenses and challenging the constitutionality of the proposal. The Supreme Court was split in its ruling on the case June 23, and threw the issue back to a lower court.
At a recent New America Media briefing on immigration reform July 7, Sally Kinoshita, deputy director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, told India-West that Indian Americans would be the second largest group of immigrants to benefit from the proposed DACA/DAPA initiative. Currently, an estimated 284,000 undocumented Indian nationals reside in the U.S. About 40 percent of them would have benefitted from the president’s deportation relief program, which provides work authorization, the ability to obtain a driver’s license, as well as relief from deportation.
Clinton has also proposed clearing the back-log on family-based visas. In some categories, Indians waiting to enter the U.S. to be reunited with family members face a delay of more than a decade.
The former secretary of state has also proposed the first-ever federal Office of Immigrant Affairs to “ensure there is a dedicated place in the White House where integration policies and services for immigrants and refugees are managed.”
Clinton has also pledged to support small businesses by expanding access to capital, providing tax relief, expanding access to new markets and fighting discrimination in the lending market. Noting that AAPI women face a larger wage gap – 86 cents for every dollar a white male earns – Clinton has promised to break down barriers that AAPI women face in achieving pay equity, and to ensure that all women are on equal footing with men.
She has also pledged to combat bullying of Asian American school children. In her prime-time speech to the nation, Clinton promised that her administration would reflect America’s diverse populations.
Clinton’s comments marked a more aggressive embrace of immigration reform. A few months ago, the Democratic presidential front-runner, while pledging to provide a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants.
“As president, she will build on President Obama’s progress of appointing AAPIs throughout the executive branch. From special assistants to cabinet members, AAPIs will play a key role in helping to shape her administration and its policy priorities,” the policy committee noted in its fact sheet.
Donald Trump is taking issue with a speech at this week’s Democratic National Convention by Muslim lawyer Khizr Khan, whose Army captain son was killed in action and who said on stage that Trump has “sacrificed nothing and no one” for America. But Democrats and advocates for veterans’ families say the Republican presidential nominee went too far in his response.
Khan made the comment during his tribute to his son, Humayun, who posthumously received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after being killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004.
As Khan spoke, his wife Ghazala, Humayun’s mother, stood silently by his side. Trump, during an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” said: “She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”
And Trump challenged Khizr Khan’s claims about having sacrificed nothing. “I’ve made a lot of sacrifices,” Trump said. “I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.” Ghazala Khan has said she didn’t speak because she’s still overwhelmed by grief and can’t even look at photos of her son without crying.
Trump’s comments sparked immediate outrage on social media — both because they critiqued a mourning mother and because many considered them racist and anti-Muslim. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has previously raised concerns about Trump’s previous comments about Muslims.
“Our commander in chief shouldn’t insult and deride our generals, retired or otherwise,” Hillary Clinton told a crowd gathered July 30 on a factory floor in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. “That should really go without saying.”
At a rally in Pittsburgh, she was introduced by Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner, technology investor and television personality who recently endorsed her. “Leadership is not yelling and screaming and intimidating,” said Cuban.
Rep. Ami Bera, Neera Tanden and Raja Krishnamoorthi, were among the three prominent Indian Americans, who took the stage before the 4,765 national delegates and the world during the Democratic Party Convention that ended in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 28th. There were about 300 Asian American delegates and a “sizable” number of them were Asian Indians. There were also scores of Indian Americans volunteering at the convention.
Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, made an impassioned speech on Wednesday in support of the party candidate for president Hillary Clinton, declaring: “Hillary will always have our backing.” Congressman Ami Bera of California was presented as a leader reflecting the diversity of the Democratic Party in Congress. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for Congress from Illinois, came on stage as a “New Leader of Tomorrow.” He told the media about the moment in the party limelight: “I am thrilled.”
Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democratic Congressional candidate from Illinois, was introduced as one of the party’s emerging leaders during the Democratic National Convention. Krishnamoorthi, 42, is among only two Congressional candidates to have been invited on to the DNC stage here as the party’s rising star or emerging leader.
Krishnamoorthi, a lawyer and a technology and environmental entrepreneur, joked that he probably had a “mutant gene” that made him turn to politics in a community that focuses on careers in medicine, technology and education.
He said his family was in “dire economic straits” and had a difficult time when he was a baby, but the “generosity” of the United States helped them come out of it. “Ever since then, I have been wanting to make sure that others have a shot at the American dream” like his family, he said.
If elected, he would join Ami Bera in the US House of Representatives in the next Congress beginning January 2017. Bera, meanwhile, is seeking his third-term in the November general elections. Krishnamoorthi has the distinction of being endorsed by US President Barack Obama.
Congresswoman Grace Meng, the head of an influential Asian American political action committee, called at the Convention for supporting Krishnamoorthi and said the presence of the Asians in Congress would grow with his election. “From being a marginal minority, we can be the margin of victory,” said Rep. Judy Chu, D-California, chair of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus in Congress.
Neera Tanden would made her political debut in the US elections when she stood behind the lectern to address thousands of delegates of the Democratic party and its top leadership in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. Tanden is a close confident of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, and highly speculated as a potential cabinet appointee in her administration. “I expect to have a full unified party over the next couple of day,” Tanden told reporters on the eve of her address to the Democratic National Convention. She was a key member of the Democratic Platform Committee. You will see in Hillary’s speech on Thursday really welcoming everyone and that includes Indian-Americans, includes South Asians and the great diversity of the country,” Tanden said.
Tanden spoke candidly of her family’s travails after her father divorced her mother when she was five and how the public safety net saved them and helped her eventually get an Ivy League law degree and to become Hillary Clinton’s adviser and play important roles in her campaigns.
According to a 2015 Pew Research study, 65 percent of people of Indian Americans lean Democratic and 18 percent Republican. Even though Indians are less than 1 percent of the US population, they can play a crucial role in the “battleground states” – the six or so states like Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio where both parties are almost evenly balanced – according to Toby Chudhuri, a former White House strategy and communications adviser. “There is no longer a mainstream, but many streams” in the US and it was important for the Indian American community to actively get involved in politics and have their voices heard, he said.
Others who made news with their presence at the convention included, an 18-year-old delegate from Iowa, Sruthi Palaniyappan, introduced her state delegation’s announcement of its votes during the Convention roll call Tuesday. She said that she “definitely” plans to run for public affairs. A Hillary delegate, she said she started at the local precinct level and worked her way up to get elected as a national delegate.
Neil Makhija, another delegate at the convention, is a candidate for State Representative in Pennsulvania. The 29-year-old said that while people are more focused on the presidential elections, issues that directly affect the people like education are decided at the state and local levels. That was why he was running for the state legislature.
Samai Kindra from Maryland has taken a year off after high school to work as an intern with the state Democratic Party working on mobilising people to register to vote.
Shefali Razdan Duggal, nominated member of the Rules Committee of the Democratic National Convention, said, she looked to the older generation to mobilize the youth, using their experience. she was “absolutely confident that every (Indian-American) delegate, from each state, is putting the entirety of their hearts into this very important moment of their lives,” adding, “They are representing candidates in, arguably, the most important election of our lifetime.”
With general election mode set in, and the primaries behind them, Indian Americans have founded organizations to rally support for Clinton and other candidates and to raise funds for campaigns. Indian Americans for Hillary Clinton (IAFHC) founded by Rajan Natarajan, said that presence of high political figures at their rallies was a sign of the recognition the Indian American community was now receiving from politicians. IAFHC Co-Chair Devang Shah explained how a small community like Indian Americans can play an outsize role in elections in the battleground states.
Shekhar Narasimhan has set up the Asian American Pacific Islander Victory Fund, which he said had raised $300,000 and has a target of $1.5 million. It will fund drives to mobilise voters in the six swing states and promote progressive candidates.
While the Republicans had a long paragraph on India in its platform during the GOP Convention in Ohio, the Democratic Party’s platform summed up its position on India along expected lines. “We will continue to invest in a long-term strategic partnership with India — the world’s largest democracy, a nation of great diversity, and an important Pacific power,” the platform said.
That was the only reference to India in the 51-page documents, indicating that the Indo-U.S. relations built on solid foundations of mutual cooperation and friendship, particularly during the years of Obama administration, are to continue even with a change in leadership in Washington.
In a telltale sign of the Democrats’ apparent interest in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the only world leader who appeared in the introduction video of President Barack Obama at the convention.
India’s Ambassador Arun K. Singh continued his outreach with American political leadership, and met with top Democratic lawmakers, including officials of the Hillary Clinton campaign, to underline the importance India attaches to Indo-U.S. relations. Singh, according to reports, was given rare access to the top leadership of the party, including to lawmakers like Senator Patrick Leahy, Ranking Member of Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi as well as top Democratic lawmakers Nita Lowey, Frank Pallone, and Joe Crowley who is Vice Chair of Democratic Caucus and former co-chair of the House India Caucus. John Podesta, chair of Hillary Clinton’s Campaign and former counselor to President Barack Obama also met with Singh.
The reports said that top Indian-American community leaders attending the four-day national convention held a reception for Singh, “Chai and Chaat” which among others was attended by Senator Corry Booker, Ranking Member of Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guards. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for House of Representative race from Illinois, Raj Goyle, former Democratic Member of Kansas House of Representatives, were present at the event.
Singh in his address underscored the important role being played by Indian-American community in strengthening India U.S. ties. Singh also addressed another event titled “South Asians for Hillary” and attended a diplomatic reception by American Jewish Committee. On August 12, Indian American leaders will be meeting in Las Vegas to see how they can help put more of their community in public offices, according to one of the organizers of the meeting.
Hillary Clinton made history by becoming the first woman to accept a major political party’s nomination for president. Her achievement comes 180 years after the first non-white man was elected to a major political position. The former secretary of state crossed her required 2,383-delegate threshold during the Democratic National Convention’s night roll-call vote on Tuesday, July 26th. Senator Bernie Sanders concluded the roll call, moving for all votes to be cast for Clinton.
At the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, just three miles from Independence Hall where the nation was born, a sense of history is palpable — as is Clinton’s willingness to finally enjoy it.
“What an incredible honor that you have given me, and I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet,” Clinton said via satellite after a video montage showed the faces of all 44 male presidents before shattering like glass to reveal Clinton waiting to address the convention from New York.
“This is really your victory. This is really your night,” Clinton told the cheering crowd. “And if there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say I may become the first woman President. But one of you is next.”
The world’s oldest and greatest democracy took over two centuries to accomplish this huge milestone in history. In fact, as the New York Times reported in story recently, a closer look at milestones in politics for women and minorities tells of the gradual progress of American politics and the evolution of democracy in this great land of opportunities.
Western states granted women the right to vote earlier than the rest of the country, which led to the first women being elected to a state legislature — Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly and Frances Klock in Colorado — and to Congress — Jeannette Rankin, from Montana. More women began running for office once suffrage was granted to all women in 1919. Bertha K. Landes became the first female mayor of a major American city, Seattle, in 1926.
Many of the first female governors and senators were elected or appointed to fill vacancies after their husbands died. In the Senate, Hattie Wyatt Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was appointed in 1931 to complete her husband’s term after he died. She won a full term the following year, becoming the first woman elected to the Senate.
Margaret Chase Smith, a Republican from Maine, initially won a special election to complete her late husband’s House term. She served several terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 1948.
Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a Republican from Kansas, was the first woman to win a Senate seat without first being appointed to finish her husband’s House or Senate term.
The history of female governors begins in 1924 when Nellie Tayloe Ross, a Democrat from Wyoming, was elected in a special election to complete the term of her deceased husband.
That same year, Miriam Ferguson, known as Ma, a Democrat, was elected governor of Texas. She campaigned as a surrogate for her husband, who was governor but could not run again after he was impeached, according to Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics.
The next woman to serve as governor was Lurleen Wallace. She was put on the ballot in 1966, also as a surrogate for her husband, George C. Wallace, when the Alabama Legislature refused to alter the state’s Constitution to allow him to serve two consecutive terms. It was not until 1974 that Ella T. Grasso, a Democrat from Connecticut, became the first woman to be elected governor in her own right — not to fill out her husband’s term or serve as his surrogate.
Alexander Twilight was elected to the Vermont Legislature in 1836. He was also the first African-American to graduate from college. Black men were not elected to Congress until several decades later, during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War, when former slaves in Southern states were given the right to vote and to hold public office. But it wasn’t until the civil rights movement that blacks made more significant, albeit still modest, gains.
Massachusetts voters elected Edward W. Brooke, a black Republican, to the Senate more than 50 years after the 17th Amendment allowed voters to cast direct votes for United States senators. Carl B. Stokes, the great-grandson of a slave, defeated the grandson of President William Howard Taft to become the mayor of Cleveland and the first black man to lead a major American city.
And Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman in the House after a court-ordered redistricting carved a new congressional district out of her Brooklyn neighborhood.
All of the major Hispanic “firsts” in politics came from states that were formerly Spanish territories, like California and New Mexico.
Antonio Francisco Coronel became mayor of Los Angeles shortly after California became a state. And Romualdo Pacheco was the first Hispanic representative to Congress with full voting rights. Most recently, Susana Martinez, a Republican of New Mexico, became the first female Hispanic governor.
Many of the first Asian-Americans to be elected have been from California or Hawaii, which became the 50th state in 1959. laine Noble became the first openly gay person elected to a state legislature by winning a seat in the Massachusetts State House.
Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, became the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress. She now is the only openly gay person elected to the Senate.
There are still many firsts to come.
There has not been an openly gay man elected to the Senate. Or a Hispanic woman. And there haven’t been any black women or openly gay or lesbian governors. As a group, women have often been elected second among the firsts, even decades after being granted the right to vote.
Hillary Clinton’s clinching the nomination follows a pattern that has been repeated at many levels of government throughout American history: White women are often the second or third group to break through the glass ceiling, usually after a black or Hispanic man has done it first. “It is an evolutionary process,” said Ms. Walsh of the Center for American Women and Politics.
First women had to get used to the idea that they could participate in the electoral process. Later, “the powers that be were not encouraging women to run for office,” she said. “All of the gatekeepers were men.”
On July 7, 2016, CNN published a video story featuring our client, Captain Simratpal Singh, the first Sikh soldier in over a generation to receive a religious accommodation while serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. Click here to view!
“We worked for weeks with producers at CNN’s Great Big Story to help ensure that CPT Singh’s story was told. The platform draws an incredible 40 million views a month, and we hope you join the many who watch,” producers of the documentary said. .
“We hope you share the CNN piece using #LetSikhsServe. CNN’s video now joins The Daily Show and the CBS Evening News segments as the most recent national video news story that the Sikh Coalition has delivered this year,” they added.
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC – iamc.com), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos expressed satisfaction that progress was made in reversing some of the Islamophobic content that had been injected into the California curriculum.
On July 14, 2016, the California State Board of Education passed recommendations to accurately include Sikh history in the curriculum framework. The purpose of this framework is to provide clear guidance for educators, curriculum leaders and textbook publishers.
For years, the Sikh Coalition has been working tirelessly with community leaders and scholars from across the nation to ensure that Sikh and South Asian history is documented accurately. In California, advocates from a multi-faith and multi-caste community came together to form South Asian Histories For All (SAHFA). This coalition worked together to advocate for the accurate inclusion of Sikh, Dalit, and Muslim history in the California curriculum framework.
At the public hearing in Sacramento on July 14th, the Board of Education responded positively to a letter by the Muslim Studies Faculty Group, a formidable collective of 25 scholars on Islam and Muslim Civilization from premier institutions such as Harvard, UCLA, Georgetown University and Berkeley. The scholars had called on the Board to delete Islamophobic content from the curriculum, while also urging a reversal of false and malicious statements on Islamic history introduced by the Hindu nationalist lobby in the US
Adding to the weight of scholarship represented by the letter from the Muslim Studies Faculty Group, was a letter from the major American Muslim organizations , urging the State Board of Education to reverse the factually incorrect and biased edits that had made their way into the curriculum framework during the review process. These edits comprised of painting Islamic history in the Indian subcontinent as one of forced conversions, and projecting Islam as an inherently war-mongering religion. The hearing witnessed a large turnout from the American Muslim community, who were motivated by the desire to ensure that their faith was not misrepresented in order to serve an Islamophobic and Hindu supremacist narrative.
Essentially, the State Board of Education accepted three of the five edits recommended by the Muslim Studies Faculty Group, and overturned several edits proposed by the alliance of Hindu nationalist organizations comprising of Hindu American Foundation (HAF), Uberoi Foundation and the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF).
IAMC has expressed its sincere appreciation for all the coalition partners in the “South Asian Histories For All” (SAHFA) coalition, a broad-based interfaith and inter-caste alliance comprising of Dalits, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, as well as the American Muslim organizations whose support was instrumental in achieving this progress.
Despite much pressure brought upon the State Board of Education (SBE) by the Hindu nationalist groups, the SBE accepted alternative language recommended by the Muslim Studies Faculty Group that represent a more accurate and balanced portrayal of the faith and its complex history.
“It is ironic that while publicly claiming to seek a fair portrayal of Hinduism, Hindu nationalist organizations expended considerable resources in order to inject Islamophobia into the California curriculum,” said Mr. Umar Malick, President of the Indian American Muslim Council. “The State Board of Education’s courageous stance in resisting political pressure and a well-funded PR machinery demonstrates that those seeking to normalize anti-Muslim bigotry are running a fool’s errand,” added Mr. Malick.
Indian American Muslim Council is the largest advocacy organization of Indian Muslims in the United States with chapters across the nation. For more information, please visit our website at: http://iamc.com/
Suresh Ramamurthi, chairman and chief technology officer of Weir, Kan.-based CBW Bank, has been honored as one of the 2016 “Digital Bankers of the Year” by American Banker, for leading the development and launch of the industry’s first digital banking architecture that enables real-time payments across multiple channels.
“Suresh Ramamurthi has been on American Banker’s radar for some time now. Ramamurthi, one of the finalists for the 2016 Digital Banker of the Year, keeps innovating. In the past 12 months, he and his team have introduced a healthcare payment portal based on a faster payment platform they created,” said Penny Crosman, editor at large of American Banker, in a recent article. “The technology behind CBW’s new application, and many of its APIs, is a system built by Ramamurthi’s team at Yantra Financial Technologies, where he’s also CEO, that uses debit networks to instantly disburse payments across multiple channels, including cards, the automated clearing house and internal systems.”
Each year at its annual Digital Banking Summit, American Banker recognizes the professionals that guide the development, implementation and advancement of digital banking technologies at his or her bank, and provide customers with a top-notch digital banking experience. Winners are selected based on their role in progressing the capabilities and adoption of digital banking at their institution or within the industry, as well as the technology’s impact on the customer experience. Previous honorees include: Heather Cox, chief client-experience, digital and marketing officer at Citigroup; Niti Badarinath, senior vice president and head of mobile banking at U.S. Bank; and Jim Smith, executive vice president and head of digital channels at Wells Fargo.
The bank, with resources from Yantra Financial Technologies, leverages the digital banking architecture to offer the ONECard and BlastPay solutions. ONECard is a consumer account product that enables consumers to view and manage their funds, send money instantly within the U.S. as well as to India, and create multiple accounts and debit cards linked to these cards. BlastPay is an FDIC insured business bank account that supports the disbursement of mass payments across multiple channels.
“Accelerated payments support a wide range of use cases and provide valuable, industry-specific benefits, yet most financial institutions are hesitant to introduce new products and payment methods because of regulatory and compliance concerns,” said Ramamurthi. “However, by respecting the compliance restraints of the banking industry and incorporating risk management features at the outset, we have successfully modernized the payments process to meet the needs of various customers and business verticals.”
Ramamurthi is also the recipient of several other recent accolades, including American Banker’s 2015 “Innovator of the Year” and the 2015 Payments Innovation Award by Your Electronic Payments Core of Knowledge (EPCOR). Ramamurthi was also named in Bank Innovation’s 2015 Innovators to Watch and was recognized by Bank Technology News for leading one of the Top 10 Community Bank IT Projects. This consistent recognition demonstrates Ramamurthi’s commitment to transforming how businesses and individuals send and receive money.
A team of international researchers, including an Indian-origin graduate student, is developing software that could let you control your smartphone through eye movements to play games, open apps and do other stuff.
The team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Georgia and Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Informatics has so far been able to train software to identify where a person is looking with an accuracy of about a centimetre on a mobile phone and 1.7 centimetres on a tablet, MIT Technology Review reported.
According to study co-author Aditya Khosla from MIT, the system’s accuracy will improve with more data. To achieve this, the researchers created an app called GazeCapture that gathered data about how people look at their phones in different environments outside the confines of a lab.
Users’ gaze was recorded with the phone’s front camera as they were shown pulsating dots on a smartphone screen. To make sure they were paying attention, they were then shown a dot with an “L” or “R” inside it, and they had to tap the left or right side of the screen in response.
GazeCapture information was then used to train software called iTracker, which can also run on an iPhone. The handset’s camera captures your face, and the software considers factors like the position and direction of your head and eyes to figure out where your gaze is focused on the screen.
About 1,500 people have used the GazeCapture app so far, Khosla said, adding if the researchers can get data from 10,000 people they’ll be able to reduce iTracker’s error rate to half a centimetre, which should be good enough for a range of eye-tracking applications.
The study results were recently presented at the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition in Seattle, Washington.
Other potential usage of the software could be in medical diagnoses, particularly to diagnose condition,s including schizophrenia and concussions, Khosla said.
Aziz Ansari made history last week as he became the first ever Indian-American actor to land a lead comedy-acting Emmy nomination for his series “Master of None”. Ansari is also just the fifth person of South Asian descent to be nominated in an acting category.
“I am very happy but it is a very specific accomplishment,” Ansari told USA Today after the nominations were announced on Thursday, July 14. Ansari, who is also nominated for writing and directing “Master of None”, co-created the Netflix comedy with Alan Yang.
The 33-year-old actor plays Dev, an actor trying to make it in New York. “Master of None”, which is up for best comedy, crystallized diversity challenges in Hollywood in the show’s fourth episode, titled “Indians” on TV.
“I think every minority actor runs into that. You hear people say things like, ‘Oh, they already got the black guy.’ Or, ‘Oh, they already got their Asian lady.’ It kind of feels like, to minority actors that I’ve spoken with, once they have one (minority actor cast) they’re like, OK, we’ve placated the ‘diversity issue.’ That was coming from a real place,” Ansari said.
Casual racism has also been also addressed in the show. “If you’re a minority, you’re experiencing all sorts of casual racism all the time. And at a certain point, you just get numb to a lot of it, and you’re like, whatever.” Ansari said he he and Yang are currently busy writing season 2 of “Master of None”, which will debut on Netflix next April.
After more than a decade on the standup comedy scene, and six years on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” the actor took a leap in 2015 by creating “Master of None,” a deeply personal and biting comedy in which Ansari plays a 30-ish actor much like Ansari, albeit with much less success.
On his role in the play and how he got to do the show, he said, “I think they just really believed in me and Alan and the ideas we had for the show. We had a certain, for a lack of a better word, vision for what we wanted to do. We were really specific, and they just really trusted us and believed in us, and let us do what we want. They let us play.”
“It was crazy because it had a reach far beyond what I expected,” he was reported to have told in a CNN interview. “So many people have come up to me, from so many different backgrounds. There’s never been a South Asian person nominated in a leading role? I didn’t know that. That’s crazy.”
The festival of Krishna Janmastami—the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna—has been celebrated since ancient times. Vaishnavism, the worship of Lord Krishna, is one of the principle branches within the broad Hindu tradition. Vaishnavas are monotheists, and believe Lord Krishna to be the same God worshiped by Christians, Jews and Muslims.
After welcoming the Chief Guest and Shri Sangat Singh Gilzian, MLA from TANDA URMUR District of Punjab, Harbachan Singh, Secretary-General of INOC, USA, thanked both dignitaries and the distinguished guests for gracing the event. He dwelt in some detail upon some of the landmark achievements of the Congress party and how it had transformed India as one of the leading countries of the world. “India is more connected today than it has ever been – networks of railways, roads, airlines, information, communication, people and media where new ideas emerge, develop and take flight very rapidly,” he said. He opined that youth which forms a great chunk of India’s population would undoubtedly unleash their talent and energy through modern technology and play a greater role in forming future governments. He reminded that the Indian people have and will continue to throw out governments that fail them and which does not fulfill campaign promises.
Sangat Singh Gilzian, was very appreciative of the work of INOC, USA and reassured everyone that the Congress party alone, with its rich long experience and established institutions, can provide maximum benefits to the people and develop the country not only to keep pace with the advanced countries of the world but also to compete with them effectively. He was proud that some of the best talents in the world in every sphere of human activity, science, and technology, were trained in India. He said that the foundation laid by the Congress Party is very strong, and it had already embarked on eradicating irrational red-tape and outdated laws which were suffocating India of the speed of progress it desired so critically. The placing of the Shawl on Mr. Devendra Vora, amidst a big applause, by Shri Shindeji, highlighted the event.
Devendra Vora ji, thanked, Shri Shindeji, Shri Sangat Singh ji and INOC, USA for the confidence and the responsibility entrusted to him. He vouched that he took his responsibilities seriously and would do his best to live up to their expectations.
The world body’s iconic General Assembly hall, from where world leaders address the globe, reverberated with Rahman’s enchanting music. Through his performance, Rahman paid homage to Subbulakshmi, the first musician ever to be awarded India’s highest civilian honor Bharat Ratna. The concert coincides with the completion of 50 years of Subbulakshmi’s performance in the UN General Assembly hall with the support of Chennai-based Sankara Nethralaya, a not-for-profit eye institution.
