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The Sands Of Mars Are Green As Well As Red, Rover Perseverance Discovers
Newswise — The accepted view of Mars is red rocks and craters as far as the eye can see. That’s much what scientists expected when they landed the rover Perseverance in the Jezero Crater, a spot chosen partly for the crater’s history as a lake and as part of a rich river system, back when Mars had liquid water, air and a magnetic field.
What the rover found once on the ground was startling: Rather than the expected sedimentary rocks – washed in by rivers and accumulated on the lake bottom – many of the rocks are volcanic in nature. Specifically, they are composed of large grains of olivine, the muddier less-gemlike version of peridot that tints so many of Hawaii’s beaches dark green.
Planetary scientists Roger Wiens, professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, and Briony Horgan, associate professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, in Purdue’s College of Science, were instrumental in the discovery and analysis of this data, recently published in a suite of papers in the journals Science and Science Advances.
Wiens led the design and construction of Perseverance’s SuperCam, which helps analyze the rock samples and determine their type and origin. Horgan helped select Jezero Crater as the rover’s landing site and now uses the Mastcam-Z cameras on Perseverance to put its discoveries into geological context.
“We started to realize that these layered igneous rocks we were seeing look different from the igneous rocks we have these days on Earth,” Wiens said. “They’re very like igneous rocks on Earth early in its existence.”
The rocks and lava the rover is examining on Mars are nearly 4 billion years old. Rocks that old exist on Earth but are incredibly weathered and beaten, thanks to Earth’s active tectonic plates as well as the weathering effects of billions of years of wind, water and life. On Mars, these rocks are pristine and much easier to analyze and study.
Understanding the rocks on Mars, their evolution and history, and what they reveal about the history of planetary conditions on Mars helps researchers understand how life may have arisen on Mars and how that compares with early life and conditions on ancient Earth.
“One of the reasons we don’t have a great understanding of where and when life first evolved on Earth is because those rocks are mostly gone, so it’s really hard to reconstruct what ancient environments on Earth were like,” Horgan said. “The rocks Perseverance is roving over in Jezero have more or less just been sitting at the surface for billions of years, waiting for us to come look at them. That’s one of the reasons that Mars is an important laboratory for understanding the early solar system.”
Scientists can use conditions on early Mars to help extrapolate the environment and conditions on Earth at the same time when life was beginning to arise. Understanding how, and under what conditions, life began will help scientists know where to look for it on other planets and moons, as well as lead to a deeper understanding of biological processes here on Earth.
The search for life is one of Perseverance’s main goals and one of the reasons it landed in Jezero Crater in the first place. Discovering the potential for habitable environments in something as uninhabitable as Jezero Crater’s aged lava flows raises hopes for what lies in the sedimentary rocks the mission is examining now.
“We’re excited to see even better results about organics and ancient habitable environments,” Horgan said. “I think it’s really setting the stage that Mars is this watery, habitable place, and all the samples we’re getting back are going to help us understand the history of ancient microbial life on Mars.”
The equipment and innovative instruments are helping the rover carry out its mission in a way no other rover yet has, emphasizing the need to land on the planet so scientists can examine and understand what’s really going on.
“From orbit, we looked at these rocks and said, ‘Oh, they have beautiful layers!’ So we thought they were sedimentary rocks,” Horgan said. “And it wasn’t until we were very close up and looked at them, at the millimeter scale, that we understood that these are not sedimentary rocks. They’re actually ancient lava. It was a huge moment when we figured that out on the ground, and it really illustrated why we need this kind of exploration. The tools we have on the rover are vital because it was impossible to understand the origin of these rocks until we got up close and used all our amazing microscopic instruments to look at them.”
The search for life is one of Perseverance’s main goals and one of the reasons it landed in Jezero Crater in the first place. Discovering the potential for habitable environments in something as uninhabitable as Jezero Crater’s aged lava flows raises hopes for what lies in the sedimentary rocks the mission is examining now.
“We’re excited to see even better results about organics and ancient habitable environments,” Horgan said. “I think it’s really setting the stage that Mars is this watery, habitable place, and all the samples we’re getting back are going to help us understand the history of ancient microbial life on Mars.”
The equipment and innovative instruments are helping the rover carry out its mission in a way no other rover yet has, emphasizing the need to land on the planet so scientists can examine and understand what’s really going on.
“From orbit, we looked at these rocks and said, ‘Oh, they have beautiful layers!’ So we thought they were sedimentary rocks,” Horgan said. “And it wasn’t until we were very close up and looked at them, at the millimeter scale, that we understood that these are not sedimentary rocks. They’re actually ancient lava. It was a huge moment when we figured that out on the ground, and it really illustrated why we need this kind of exploration. The tools we have on the rover are vital because it was impossible to understand the origin of these rocks until we got up close and used all our amazing microscopic instruments to look at them.”
Newswise — Scientists on NASA’s Perseverance mission made a surprising discovery about the composition of rock in Jezero Crater, one that will help them get a better idea of when water existed on Mars, and ultimately, help them understand if the red planet was ever habitable to microbial life.
“The SuperCam instrument suite of remote chemical and mineralogical tools on the Perseverance rover has made some exciting new detailed observations regarding Jezero Crater’s history that could not be fully understood before landing,” said Sam Clegg, deputy principal investigator for SuperCam. “This exciting new data will really help us better understand when the crater held water, and it also gives us insight into Mars’ climate history.”
The new research, published today (Aug. 25) in Science Advances, shows that Jezero Crater is largely made up of igneous rock, rather than sedimentary rock.
The crater where Perseverance landed in 2021 held water billions of years ago. For that reason, scientists predicted that rock in the area would be sedimentary, formed over time from settled mud, which would be the case for lakebeds on Earth. But to their surprise, they found that rock in Jezero is igneous, which is formed by volcanic magma.
Igneous rock is easier to date and could give researchers a more accurate way to estimate when Mars had water.
The rock analysis was done by SuperCam, a Los Alamos National Laboratory-designed instrument. SuperCam uses a focused infrared laser beam to remove dust and material from rock surfaces in a technique called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). The energy burst from each five-nanosecond pulse creates a flash; its optical spectrum (specific colors) reveals the elemental chemistry of targets up to about 25 feet away.
“Finding these igneous rocks in the bed of an ancient lake on Mars was quite a surprise. One would have expected lakebed sediments, but it shows that Mars’ history is more complicated than expected, including lava flows in this ancient site,” said Roger Wiens, principal investigator on the SuperCam instrument.
What exactly is Cam Show?
What is a camshaft show?
A cam demonstrate is a live video broadcast of a erectile act between two people. There are numerous types of cam displays, and each a person offers an exclusive experience just for the viewer.
Some sites are more focused on sexually effective shows, whilst others offer a range of types. A large number of sites have time to use, but some require a registration to view all the shows. Some also have a pay-per-view option.
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The very first thing you need to get started out is a good quality camera, and then some decent lighting equipment. Make sure that your camera has https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porn_Studies the best resolution and may handle an easy frame rate. You want to be able to call at your model clearly, and you’ll need the lighting to make a sexy vibe.
A second important factor is a good top quality internet connection. When you’re going to become doing a lots of video buffering, make sure your internet acceleration is sufficient to guide it. This will likely ensure that your video fields are soft, without any lag or holds off.
You don’t need to be a specialist version to have a good show, but you do need to know what you’re doing and practice before you start. The more you practice, the greater comfortable you are likely to become plus the better the effects will be for everyone and your visitors.
Private cam reveals are one of the most popular techniques for girls to generate money over the internet. It’s a great way to gain extra cash, and it can also help you build up a reputation on a particular site.
When you’re buying new present, be sure to read all the information that may be included with the package. This will provide you with a better idea of what to expect and whether or not the girl is an excellent fit for you.
There are many models in these websites, thus there is no deficit of options to choose from. You will find solo displays, couples and even threesomes.
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The biggest advantage of these kinds of types of camshaft shows is the fact you don’t have to procure a subscription https://camshowsites.com/reviews/myfreecams-review/ or perhaps pay-per-view. These types of sites acknowledge credit or “tips, ” which are given in electronic format to the styles, allowing them to interact with the audience in a variety of ways.
These sexy online features could be pretty addictive, and you will probably find yourself with them more than you thought you may. You’ll also be in a position to enjoy the encounter more when you have a partner, as possible watch jointly while the model does indeed her point!
Connect with Brides in City Ukraine
One of the most exquisite cities in Ukraine is Kiev. It is residence to a large number of stunning girls that want to meet someone special. Fortunately, there are plenty of methods to find the right woman. In fact , there are plenty of online dating services websites that make it easy for men to achieve this.
There are various of programs out there that can help you find the girl of your dreams, from Muslim to Slavic to other ethnicities. You are able to browse through the background of various ladies or even arrange a meeting with a girl you like. You can order presents for your upcoming bride without leaving your home. You may also learn a great deal about Ukrainian culture.
In Kiev, you will see many chapels where you could pay off your values to regal relatives. The city was once a thriving commercial middle, and has some of the most extremely famous monuments in Ukraine. It is also where the first of all Christian marriage was held.
If you are looking to get a serious romantic relationship, you should have a look at some of the postal mail order brides to be of Kiev. These women are ready to give you the love and affection. They will https://ukraine-brides.org/cities/nikolaev/ are educated, well-spoken, and hard-working. These women are also family-oriented. They are going to make a wonderful spouse.
You can get a head start on your search by signing up for an internet dating site. These websites are a great way to meet people, and they save you time. You can examine the user profiles of various amazing young ladies or strategy a meeting with a potential partner. You can also send characters to the girls you’ve observed.
Should you haven’t tried online dating but, it’s period you gave it an attempt. You can find the perfect person for you, and you can save considerable time and effort in doing so. https://apposto.com.br/a-wench-that-can-find-her-way-back-into-the-heart/ There are a number of different things you can do to build your dating experience more fun and exciting.
One of the most interesting features of online dating certainly is the opportunity to chat with women instantly. The more you talk, the simpler it is to shape a connection. On this factor, you can also experience the fun of video chatting with your new bride. You can also get a lot of advice in order to communicate with the prospective loved one in an interesting and authentic way. You can even consult her questions and find out what your woman thinks about issues.
You may have heard about the old-fashioned values of girls in Ukraine. You can get a flavour of them when you are on a Ukraine singles tour. It’s a good idea to have a fun, competitive, and safe trip. You can expect to expect to have an incredible experience, and you’ll get a chance to meet some of the most pretty and exquisite women on the globe.
When you are on a Ukraine true romance tour, you can expect to have got a remarkable and pleasant experience. You’ll be able to satisfy some amazing and lovely girls, and you will be able to locate a whole new aspect to the Ukrainian culture.
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How you can Know What Should Marriage Be Like
Marriage is among the most important romantic relationships in your life. It needs commitment, devotion, and significant period. You should treat your marital life like a main concern and choose a partner feel special. If you have concerns about what a marriage should be like, consult with your spouse to determine what she or he thinks. Always be respectful of the partner’s vistas and listen closely to them thoroughly.
If you need to know exactly what a university marriage should certainly https://www.gleneagledental.ca/author/leadeight/page/3331/ be like, think about every one of the ways you and your husband enjoy spending some time together. Make the most of your time and efforts by organizing activities you may both experience. Whether going ice-skating, watching a movie, or perhaps playing golf, you should do things you both love. Spending some time with close friends and other people you enjoy is also a great way to shell out your time.
Physical nearness is a very important a part of a romantic relationship. Some companions like sitting and holding hands, while others believe that it is easier to possess a physical connection through forcing blood into, hugging, and eye contact. Regardless of your preference, physical closeness could be a great way to boost intimacy. Nevertheless , it is important to tell the truth about how you really feel. Your partner will be able to trust you to be honest with him or her.
Being willing to allow your spouse-to-be’s weaknesses is vital to a healthful marriage. Don’t hide anything from the partner and don’t try to push those to do things that they don’t experience. Whether you will absolutely cooking or managing the checkbook, your partner are able to trust you happen to be honest with him or her.
A healthy relationship is characterized with a balance among fun and dedication. There are times when you can expect to disagree in big problems, but your marriage really should be a joy. This is particularly authentic if you job to resolve those issues. Otherwise, you will equally be sleepless out and annoyed.
Any time you have a problem, it is always far better discuss it with your spouse. Discuss it along with your partner to ascertain what basic steps you should choose to adopt fix it. Employing empathy is also crucial to a wholesome relationship. Frequently , it’s easy to disregard your spouse-to-be’s feelings or thoughts, yet it’s important to end up being willing to accord with him or her.
The most important element to remember is usually that the goal of respecting your spouse should be to make her / him feel appreciated. In addition , drinking be able to give your partner the time and attention he or she requires. By giving your partner enough time and interest he or perhaps her requirements, you will be showing them that you just care and appreciate them.
Staying devoted and supporting is a determination that continues forever. When almost everything is going very well, it’s easy to commit. However , the moment anything goes wrong, you ought not give up. You should stay committed actually through the tests of lifestyle.
Besides being loyal and supporting, a healthy marital relationship is built on respect. Respect is definitely the glue that holds a romance together. Whilst being a good partner is probably not measured simply by scientific explore, it is an individual bridewoman.org of the most extremely important features of your healthy love.
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Giorgia Meloni, First Female Premier To Lead Government In Italy
(AP) — A party with neo-fascist roots won the most votes in Italy’s national election, setting the stage for talks to form the country’s first far right-led government since World War II, with Giorgia Meloni at the helm as Italy’s first female premier, media reports stated.
Italy’s lurch to the far right immediately shifted Europe’s geopolitics, placing Meloni’s euroskeptic Brothers of Italy in a position to lead a founding member of the European Union and its third-largest economy. Italy’s left warned of “dark days” ahead and vowed to keep Italy in the heart of Europe.
Right-wing leaders across Europe immediately hailed 45-year-old Meloni’s victory as sending a historic, nationalist message to Brussels. It followed a right-wing victory in Sweden and recent gains by the far-right in France and Spain.
Still, turnout in the Italian election Sunday was a historic low of 64%, and pollsters suggested voters stayed home in protest, disenchanted by the backroom deals that had created the country’s last three governments and the mash-up of parties in outgoing Premier Mario Draghi’s national unity government.
By contrast, Meloni was viewed as a new face in the merry-go-round of Italian governments and many Italians appeared to be voting for change, analysts said.
The victory of Meloni’s just 10-year-old Brothers of Italy was more about Italian dissatisfaction with the decades-long status quo than any surge in neo-fascist or far-right sentiment, said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs.
“I would say the main reason why a big chunk of (voters) … will vote for this party is simply because it’s the new kid on the block,” she said.
The election’s sharp swing to the right, “confirms that the Italian electorate remains fickle,″ said London-based political analyst Wolfango Piccoli, noting that an estimated 30% of voters went for a different party than their choice in 2018 elections.
Meloni, whose party traces its origins to the postwar, neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, tried to sound a unifying tone, noting that Italians had finally been able to determine their leaders.
“If we are called to govern this nation, we will do it for everyone. We will do it for all Italians and we will do it with the aim of uniting the people,” said. “shechose us. We will not betray it.”
Near-final results showed the center-right coalition netting 44% of the parliamentary vote, with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy snatching 26% in its biggest win in its decade-long meteoric rise. Her coalition partners divided up the remainder, with the anti-immigrant League party led by Matteo Salvini winning 9% and Forza Italia of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi taking around 8% of the vote.
The center-left Democratic Party and its allies had around 26% support, while the populist 5-Star Movement — which had been the biggest vote-getter in the 2018 parliamentary election — saw its share of the vote halved to 15%.
While the center-right was the clear winner, the formation of a government is still weeks away and will involve consultations among party leaders and with President Sergio Mattarella. In the meantime, Draghi remains in a caretaker role.
The elections, which took place six months early after Draghi’s government collapsed, came at a crucial time for Europe as it faces Russia’s war in Ukraine and related soaring energy costs that have hit ordinary Italians as well as industry.
A Meloni-led government is largely expected to follow Italy’s current foreign policy, including her pro-NATO stance and strong support for supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself against Russia’s invasion, even as her coalition allies take a different tone.
Both Berlusconi and Salvini have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. While both have distanced themselves from his invasion of Ukraine, Salvini has warned that EU sanctions against Moscow are hurting Italian industry. Berlusconi has even excused Putin’s invasion as an event foisted upon him by pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas.
A bigger shift and one likely to cause friction with other EU nations is likely to come over migration. Meloni has called for a naval blockade to prevent migrant boats from leaving North African shores, and has proposed screening potential asylum-seekers in Africa, not Europe.
Salvini has made clear he wants the League to recapture the interior minister post, where he once imposed a tough anti-migrant policy. But he may face an internal leadership challenge, with Meloni’s party outperforming the League even in its northeastern stronghold.
On relations with the EU, analysts note that for all her euroskeptic rhetoric, Meloni moderated her message during the campaign and has little room to maneuver, given the economic windfall Italy is receiving from Brussels in coronavirus recovery funds. Italy secured 191.5 billion euros, the biggest chunk of the EU’s 750 billion-euro recovery package, and is bound by certain reform and investment milestones to receive it all.
That said, Meloni has criticized the EU’s recent recommendation to suspend 7.5 billion euros in funding to Hungary over concerns about democratic backsliding, defending autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban as the elected leader in a democratic system.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen praised Meloni for having “resisted the threats of an anti-democratic and arrogant European Union.”
Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox opposition party, tweeted that Meloni “has shown the way for a proud and free Europe of sovereign nations that can cooperate on behalf of everybody’s security and prosperity.”
Meloni is chair of the right-wing European Conservative and Reformist group in the European Parliament, which includes her Brothers of Italy, Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice Party, Spain’s far-right Vox and the right-wing Sweden Democrats, which just won big there on a platform of cracking down on crime and limiting immigration.
“The trend that emerged two weeks ago in Sweden was confirmed in Italy,” acknowledged Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta, calling Monday a “sad day for Italy, for Europe.”
“We expect dark days. We fought in every way to avoid this outcome,″ Letta said at a somber news conference. “(The Democratic Party) will not allow Italy to leave the heart of Europe.”
Thomas Christiansen, professor of political science at Rome’s Luiss University and the executive editor of the Journal of European Integration, noted that Italy has a tradition of pursuing a consistent foreign and European policy that is bigger than individual party interests.
“Whatever Meloni might be up to will have to be moderated by her coalition partners and indeed with the established consensus of Italian foreign policy,” Christiansen said.
Anyone Living In India Is Hindu, Says RSS Chief
All people living in India are Hindus in terms of identity, said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday, September 21st explaining his organization’s philosophy. Elaborating the RSS’ philosophy, Bhagwat said that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life.
Bhagwat was speaking on the third day of his lecture series in Delhi when he explained the RSS’s views on Hinduism, education and caste. “It’s Indian culture and Hindutva which believe in working with other schools of thought. All people living in India are Hindu in terms of identity and nationality,” Bhagwat said.
“Hinduism is a wrong word—“ism” is a closed concept. Hindutva, Hinduness is not any “ism” but a dynamic process. Gandhi ji has said the endless search for truth is called Hindutva. S Radhakrishnan has said Hindutva is a continuous process,” Bhagwat was quoted by the RSS’s Twitter handle as saying.
“We think everyone must abide by the Constitution…The RSS has never gone against the Constitution. (Sure), The words secular and socialist were added later, but now they are there,” he said.
Bhagwat said the concept of a Hindu Rashtra or Hindu nation does not rest on segregation or rejection of any community or faith. “Hindu Rashtra doesn’t mean there’s no place for Muslims. The day it becomes so, it won’t be Hindutva. Hindutva talks about one world family,” Bhagwat said. The RSS is the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing a gathering in Shillong, the RSS chief said all are Hindus as all Indians are the inhabitants of Hindustan, which, he said is in the south of the Himalayas, north of Indian Ocean, on the bank of the Indus River. “The habitants of this area are traditionally called Hindus. This is also called Bharat,” said Bhagwat, who arrived here on Saturday on a two-day visit.
He said that even before the Mughals who have spread Islam and the British rulers who spread Christianity, Hindus were already in existence. Highlighting the ideology of RSS, Bhagwat said the term ‘Hindu’ covers all those who are the sons of ‘Bharat Mata’, descendants of Indian ancestors and who live in accordance with Indian culture.
Ruling out the fear of religious conversion, the RSS supremo said to become Hindu one does not have to change since everyone here is Hindu. “India is not a country with a western concept. It has been a cultural country since time immemorial; in fact, it is such a country, which has taught the world the lesson of humanity.”
Since Saturday, he has attended a series of events, including the meeting of RSS functionaries and workers across the hill state. Several BJP leaders, members of Hindu organisations attended the events organised by the Meghalaya unit of RSS.
Bhagwat’s visit to Meghalaya — a Christian majority state, assumes significance as Assembly elections are scheduled to be held there in February next year. Elaborate security arrangements were made in the state in view of the visit of Bhagwat, who has a ‘Z Plus’ security cover. (IANS)
Congress President: Tharoorism Is Not Enough
By, A. J. Philip
The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded by Allan Octavian Hume, a British civil servant. He was a great ornithologist, who had the single largest collection of Indian bird specimens. He was posted at Etawah, now in Uttar Pradesh, when the first war of independence in 1857, also called Sepoy Mutiny, happened. Though the revolt was brutally dealt with, he knew that violence of the kind could erupt any time and the British would not be able to control it.
Though he held senior positions in the government, he believed that the British could not stay in India for long and they should, therefore, be ready to transfer power to the Indian people. It was also true that India did not have enough academically qualified people who could be administrators. The setting up of the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857 marked a turning point in the history of India.
That the 1857 mutineers were clueless people could be gauged from the fact that they chose a “poet” as the emperor. They were inspired more by religion than by nationalism. Hume understood the situation much better than the mutineers, who promised that they would reintroduce sati and would keep the lower castes in their old, pre-British position.
Higher education, the resultant sense of nationalism and the rise of the middle class marked a new beginning. It was during this time that Hume, who had earned the displeasure of the British, thought of taking the lead to form a political organisation that would help solve the problems of the people vis-a-vis the administration. In 1883, he wrote a letter to the graduates of the University of Calcutta in which he said, “If only fifty men, good and true, can be found to join as founders, the thing (Congress) can be established and the further development will be comparatively easy.…
“And if even the leaders of thought are all either such poor creatures, or so selfishly wedded to personal concerns that they dare not strike a blow for their country’s sake, then justly and rightly are they kept down and trampled on, for they deserve nothing better. Every nation secures precisely as good a government as it merits”. Until then, nobody had given such a clarion call.
Two years after Hume wrote this letter, the Indian National Congress was founded with Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, a co-founder, as the first president at its session held in Bombay. The president of the Congress did not enjoy any administrative powers but it became the most coveted position for an Indian. Before and after Independence, the persons who held this post were undoubtedly some of the greatest leaders India produced.
There were Christians, Muslims, Hindus of all castes, Parsis and atheists who held this post, many of them with distinction. Mahatma Gandhi held this post only once, though no one exercised greater control of the organisation than him. The Congress was not just a political party. It represented the aspirations of the people. Even after Independence, the post of Congress president was far more prestigious than a Cabinet Minister’s or Governor’s post.
Elections used to be held regularly in the party and the presidentship was, initially, for just one year. Politically, the post was on a par with that of the Prime Minister. K. Kamaraj wielded considerable influence as Congress president, though he did not know a word of Hindi. S. Nijalingappa was another president who did not consider himself lower than the Prime Minister.
With the loss of power at the Centre and in most states, the Congress is no longer what it used to be. In the last Assembly elections in UP, the party could win only two seats. The Muslims began deserting the Congress when the party prevaricated on the issue of Babri Masjid. The Brahmins began to shift to the BJP. The Yadavs had their own party and the Scheduled Castes found their leader in the late Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. The Congress was left with some Nehru loyalists in Amethi and Rae Bareli. Now, they, too, have disappeared forcing Rahul Gandhi to cross the Vindhyas to get votes and win a seat in Parliament.
The rise of regional parties in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and many Northeastern states has further damaged the Congress. All this while, the BJP has been growing from a party with just two seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to its pre-eminent position today thanks to the systematic exploitation of divisive issues which have little to do with the common man’s bread and butter needs.
The RSS, founded in 1925, has been working at the grassroots level moulding public opinion that finds reflection in crude anti-minority rhetoric. It also helped in the growth of the BJP. One only has to remember how the BJP and what is now the Aam Aadmi Party under the leadership of Anna Hazare organised a powerful campaign to demand the setting up of the Lok Pal.
The purpose was to drive out the Congress from power. These parties no longer mention rise in petroleum prices or the falling value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar.
It is in this context that election to the post of Congress president is taking place. It is not clear who the candidates are. What is clear is that nobody from the Nehru family — Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi — will contest. The Congress has one problem. Its leaders want the Gandhi family to win elections for them. Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi could win elections for them.
Rahul Gandhi has rightly realised that he cannot win elections for others. That is why he does not want to be the president. Politics is the art of the possible. Anyone who masters it succeeds.
In the BJP, Narendra Modi was not the first choice. There were better claimants for the post of Prime Minister in 2014. He knew how to manage the situation and before L.K. Advani, who was projected as the leader of leaders, realised what was happening, he found Modi telling him and Murli Manohar Joshi that they could not even be ministers as they were above 75. Advani would have rued his decision to allow Modi to sit on the Rath during the Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya. He got his first public exposure.
So far, only one person has shown interest in becoming Congress president. He is Shashi Tharoor. When he first contested against a fellow Asian for the post of UN Secretary-General, it was considered bad politics. His vast experience in the UN administration, where he held a senior post, should have stood him in good stead.
The then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was blamed for sponsoring his campaign at great state cost and prestige. Once bitten, he should have been twice shy. Far from that, he managed to get nominated by the Congress for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in 2009. Congressmen in Kerala were not consulted when he was chosen for the seat.
Tharoor knew only a smattering of Malayalam but he banked on the fact that it was Thiruvananthapuram which elected V.K. Krishna Menon, whose knowledge of Malayalam was worse. There was one fundamental difference. Menon contested against the Congress as an independent with CPM support. Curiously, Menon had opposed the formation of Kerala for fear that the Communists would come to power. He wanted a UP-like large state comprising Kerala, Tamil Nadu and part of Karnataka.
The dyed-in-the-wool Congressmen in Kerala were uncomfortable when Tharoor not only learnt to speak Malayalam but also proved that he could remain in the Congress without being a member of any faction. His oratorical skills, literary felicity and mastery of English helped him carve a niche for himself in Indian politics.
Politicians in Kerala hated the fact that he could attract public attention. They, in fact, feared his presence on the stage. Sooner than later, they also realised that he could garner votes. He has become the most popular speaker during elections. In Kerala, not elsewhere!
Tharoor proved all the doubting Thomases wrong when he retained the Thiruvananthapuram seat for a third time in 2019. He has faced many personal tragedies and he braved them as he kept on churning out bestsellers that make him one of the most popular writers in India. Those who have read him like this writer know that most of his books are the result of cut and paste. His book on British rule, which won the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award, is a classic case of shallow research and high success.
On the subject of writing, I was shocked when Tharoor wrote that it was possible for the statues of Ganapati to drink milk in a column in The Hindu. I wondered how a young, educated person could accept such bogus claims when scientists explained that it was the result of capillary action. His request to the UN chief to let him serve under him after contesting unsuccessfully against him was unthinkable, if not unethical, to say the least.
Tharoor thinks that he has the dynamism, the clout and the ability to hold the post of Congress president. Few doubt him on any of these scores. He would surely know that in the history of the Congress party, only one Malayali became its president. He was Chettur Sankaran Nair, who became president when the Congress held its session at Amravati in 1897.
Nair was a member of the Viceroy’s Council, the highest post an Indian could hold, but his links with the Congress ended when he wrote a book titled “Gandhi and Anarchy” that caricatured Mahatma Gandhi and called him a dictator. Thereafter, the party never trusted a Malayali with this post. It is just a coincidence that Tharoor and Nair belong to the same Palakkad district.
It is a jigsaw puzzle what Tharoor’s chances are if the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is his rival. That he was a member of the Group of 23 which questioned the leadership of Rahul Gandhi means that he is assured of some pan-India Congress votes.
Tharoor was present with Gandhi when he travelled through Thiruvananthapuram during his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. Few in the Congress or other parties can speak English as fluently as he can. He is a good debater who cut his teeth as a debater while he was at St. Stephen’s College. Few people know that he has a good command of Hindi and, if need be, he can speak fluently in the other official language also.
These are certainly attributes the president of the Congress should have. He is also a master of social media who can give a tit-for-tat, though he can at times find himself in “cattle class”! Does all these make a person a great leader? Mahatma Gandhi’s oratorical skill was nothing to write home about. Yet, the people were mesmerised by his simple speech. He understood the pulse of the people as the latter understood him.
Of course, it is scandalous to compare Tharoor with Gandhi. The circumstances in which he lost his ministership do not crown himself with glory. He relied on a St. Stephen’s alumnus, who ultimately landed him in trouble. A good debater need not necessarily be a good leader.
A good debater is one who can argue for or against a subject. George Fernandes proved that he could one day speak for the government and the next day speak against the same government. His debating skill was proved but in public memory he remained a turncoat, whom nobody wanted to touch with even a barge pole.
A leader is one who can inspire the people. Modi has that quality, rightly or wrongly. People know that Rahul Gandhi is a wonderful person, sincere and hardworking but he does not have the ability to inspire people. One can only hope that his Bharat Jodo Yatra will transform his persona.
The biggest challenge for Tharoor is not to retain Thiruvananthapuram for a fourth time but to win elections for Congressmen all over the country. Can he do that? If he can’t, nobody would be inspired by his use of words like higgleddy-piggleddy and ultraantidisestablishmentarianism! (https://www.indiancurrents.org/article-congress-president-tharoorism-is-not-enough-a-j-philip-1370.php)
Putin Grants Edward Snowden Citizenship
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, September 26th signed a decree granting citizenship to former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden. He was among 75 foreigners granted citizenship by Putin’s new decree.
Snowden fled the U.S. in 2013 after he leaked classified information about government surveillance programs and was charged with espionage. He’s been living in exile in Moscow for nearly a decade to avoid prosecution on American soil.
He said in 2019 that he ultimately hoped to return home if the government guaranteed him a fair trial, but he contended the U.S. wasn’t willing to let him defend his actions as having been made in the public interest.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Snowden requested an extended residency permit that would allow him to spend three more years in Russia. Later that year, Russia granted him an unlimited permit.
Weeks after securing permanent residency, Snowden and his wife, Lindsay Mills, announced they would apply for Russian citizenship ahead of the birth of their first child. Snowden said at the time that he and his family would work to maintain dual U.S.-Russian citizenship and would not renounce their U.S. passports.
The move comes on the heels of a partial mobilization order that would call up thousands of Russian reservists to fight in the war in Ukraine. The country has a mandatory conscription system, and most men enter the reserves after completing military training.
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Snowden’s lawyer reportedly told the Interfax news agency that he is not eligible to be mobilized because he has not served in the Russian forces.
Though outspoken about U.S. politics on his Twitter account and in his Substack newsletter, Snowden has been quiet about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Terrorism Should Not Be Used As Political Tool: Jaishankar
Amid repeated holds on proposals to designate Pakistan-based terrorists under the UN sanctions regime, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that terrorism should not be used as a “political tool” and the idea that something is blocked without assigning a reason challenges common sense.
“We do believe that in any process if any party is taking a decision, they need to be transparent about it. So the idea that something is blocked without assigning a reason, it sort of challenges common sense,” Jaishankar said as he spoke to a group of Indian journalists here on Saturday after wrapping up the New York leg of his visit to the US with his address to the UN General Assembly high-level session.
He was responding to a question by PTI on the issue of repeated holds and blocks on proposals to list Pakistan-based terror group leaders under the UN sanctions regime and whether this came up in his talks with his global counterparts as he met them during the high-level General Assembly week. “We do believe that in any process if any party is taking a decision, they need to be transparent about it. So the idea that something is blocked without assigning a reason, it sort of challenges common sense,” Jaishankar said.
“It came up in some of my meetings. I also mentioned it in my BRICS intervention,” he said referring to the meeting held last week on the margins of the General Assembly between the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group – Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco Franca, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa Naledi Pandor.
China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, has repeatedly put holds on listing proposals by India, the US and other allies to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions regime of the Council.
Last week, China put a hold on a proposal moved at the United Nations by the US and co-supported by India to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir, wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, as a global terrorist.
Last month, China put a hold on a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar and a senior leader of the Pakistan-based terror organisation. Abdul Rauf Azhar, born in 1974 in Pakistan, was sanctioned by the US in December 2010.
In June this year, China had put a hold, at the last moment, on a joint proposal by India and the US to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.
Jaishankar, in his UNGA address on Saturday, said that no rhetoric, however sanctimonious can ever cover up blood stains and nations who defend proclaimed terrorists in the United Nations advance neither their own interests nor their reputation, a clear reference to China and Pakistan.
“Having borne the brunt of cross border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach. In our view, there is no justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation. And no rhetoric, however sanctimonious can ever cover up blood stains,” Jaishankar said in the UN General Debate.
“The United Nations responds to terrorism by sanctioning its perpetrators. Those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril. Believe me, they advance neither their own interests nor indeed their reputation,” he said.
With the Chinese Foreign Minister listening, Jaishankar had said during a ministerial meeting in the Security Council on Ukraine this week that the fight against impunity is critical to the larger pursuit of securing peace and justice. The Security Council must send an unambiguous and unequivocal message on this count.
He had said “politics should never ever provide cover to evade accountability. Nor indeed to facilitate impunity. Regrettably, we have seen this of late in this very Chamber, when it comes to sanctioning some of the world’s most dreaded terrorists.” “If egregious attacks committed in broad daylight are left unpunished, this Council must reflect on the signals we are sending on impunity. There must be consistency if we are to ensure credibility,” he said.
“We hope that reason would prevail and people, first of all, would not arbitrarily or politically block,” Jaishankar said, underlining that the message is that this is “not inter-state politics which we are talking about.”
“We are trying to get across our message that terrorism is not political. It should not be used as a political tool, its consequences should not be made political.
If you go into the UN and say does everybody consider terrorism a common threat, everybody will say yes. So we are saying well, if that’s what your position is, then why don’t your policies and your actions follow up on it,” he said.
Pound Plunges Against Dollar
By, Jill Lawless And Danica Kirka
UK markets were in focus as the pound crashed to an all-time low and bond yields surged to the highest in more than a decade, sparking talk of emergency action by the Bank of England on Monday, September 26th. The market mayhem unleashed by the government’s fiscal plan on Friday went into overdrive after the government pledged further tax cuts.
The Bank of England sought to reassure financial markets after the British pound touched an all-time low against the U.S. dollar, but its entreaty fell flat for investors concerned about a sweeping package of tax cuts that further jolted a faltering economy that the government’s plan was meant to prop up.
The central bank said it was “closely monitoring” the markets and would not hesitate to boost interest rates to curb inflation. Its statement came after the pound plunged as low as $1.0373, the lowest since the decimalization of the currency in 1971, on concerns that tax cuts announced Friday by Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng would swell government debt and fuel further inflation as the United Kingdom teeters toward recession.
The bank, which raised rates Thursday, said it would fully assess the government’s tax and spending commitments before it meets next in November and “will not hesitate to change interest rates by as much as needed to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term.”
Also Monday, the U.K. Treasury said it would set out a medium-term fiscal plan on Nov. 23, alongside an economic forecast by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
The statements did little to ease misgivings about the government’s economic policies, with the pound dropping from $1.0857 to $1.0664 after they were issued. The pound had rallied from the record low earlier in the day on expectations that the central bank might take action to stabilize the currency.
The weakening pound piles pressure on the new Conservative government, which has gambled that it can slash taxes to spur economic growth while at the same time borrowing billions of pounds to help consumers and businesses struggling with soaring energy costs. Many economists say it’s more likely to fuel already high inflation, push down the pound and drive up the cost of U.K. government borrowing — a potential perfect storm of economic headwinds.
Kwarteng has been criticized for failing to release any independent analysis of the plans when he announced the U.K.’s biggest tax cuts in 50 years.
The government plans to cut 45 billion pounds ($49 billion) in taxes at the same time as it spends more than 60 billion pounds to cap energy prices that are driving a cost-of-living crisis.
Kwarteng and Prime Minister Liz Truss, who replaced Boris Johnson as prime minister on Sept. 6, are betting that lower taxes and reduced bureaucracy eventually will generate enough additional tax revenue to cover government spending. Economists suggest it is unlikely the gamble will pay off.
Opposition Labour Party economy spokeswoman Rachel Reeves accused the government of “a return to trickle-down economics, an idea that has been tried, has been tested and has failed.”
“They are not gambling with their money — they are gambling with yours,” she told an audience at the party’s annual conference Monday.
The new and untested Truss also faces pressure from a nervous Conservative Party, which faces an election within two years.
Some Conservatives have welcomed the tax-cutting moves as a return to free-market values after years of state intervention in the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. But others worry it is unconservative for the government to rack up huge debts that taxpayers will eventually have to pay.
Monday’s turbulence follows a 3% fall in the pound Friday, the biggest one-day drop against the U.S. dollar since Johnson announced Britain’s first COVID-19 lockdown on March 18, 2020. Before that, the pound lost more than 10% of its value immediately after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union in June 2016 before rebounding.
The sense of a government losing control led some to compare current events with Sept. 16, 1992 — “Black Wednesday” — when a collapsing pound against the backdrop of high inflation forced the U.K. to crash out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which was meant to stabilize exchange rates. It took the U.K. years to recover from the economic shock.
Kwarteng insisted the government was acting responsibly — and said there were more tax cuts to come.
“We’ve only been here 19 days. I want to see, over the next year, people retain more of their income because I believe that it is the British people that are going to drive this economy,” he told the BBC.
As it is cutting taxes, the government plans to cap electricity and natural gas prices for homes and businesses to help cushion price rises that have been triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine and have sent inflation to a near 40-year high of 9.9%.
This program will cost 60 billion pounds, and the government will borrow to finance it, Kwarteng said Friday.
He said Sunday that it was the right policy because the government needed to help consumers squeezed by the unprecedented pressures caused by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.
Britain can afford the cost because its debt as a percentage of gross domestic product is the second lowest among the Group of Seven large industrial economies, Kwarteng said. He said the government would announce a “medium-term fiscal plan” for reducing the nation’s debt in the coming months.
Rupee Nosedives As Dollar Continues To Gain
A hattrick of record low: The rupee plunged 54 paise to provisionally close at a new all-time low of 81.63 against the US dollar on Monday. It had ended at its lowest ever on both Thursday and Friday, making Monday’s deeper plunge the third successive record low levels in three sessions.
There’s panic: It has been created by the dollar index, which has witnessed strong buying as a strong hedge against interest rate hikes and inflation cycle. The downtrend may continue for the rupee until positive triggers are not witnessed from the inflation forefront, experts feel.
The main story: The dollar has become profitable as the US Fed is hiking rates to tame inflationary trends in its market. The dollar rally reflects the ‘flight-to-safety’ approach by investors. As a result the Asian markets have become riskier and are experiencing crisis-level stress again. Two most significant Asian currencies — the yen and the yuan — have been falling under the dollar’s assault. The US is hawkish, the Asians are dovish.
RBI has a job to do: Its monetary policy committee (MPC) is meeting this week and is expected to hike rates by 50 basis points. Market experts feel this could provide some respite to the rupee but it still may lie in the 80.50-81.50 range.
Pressure on forex: RBI has been holding the rupee for quite some time through rate hikes and by selling dollars from its foreign exchange reserves. But this meant that India’s foreign exchange reserves fell below $550 billion for the first time in nearly two years last week, which marked the seventh successive week of forex decline.
And shares? The 30-share BSE index tanked 953.70 points to settle at 57,145, recovering after plummeting 1,061 points during the day. The NSE Nifty fell 311.05 points to close at 17,016. In the last four sessions, the Sensex has lost about 2,575 points and the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies reduced by over Rs 13.3 lakh crore. (Times Of India)
Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan To Cost $400 Billion
President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive $10,000 in federal student debt for most borrowers will cost the government about $400 billion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in an estimate released Monday.
The CBO’s evaluation of the administration’s policy said the price tag is “a result of the action canceling up to $10,000 of debt issued on or before June 30, 2022.”
The estimate applies to the plan Biden announced last month to forgive $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and $20,000 for borrowers who received Pell Grants.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said 43 million borrowers shared $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt as of June 30. Under Biden’s plan, about $430 billion of that debt will be wiped out, the reporting shows.
The CBO also estimated the costs for the Biden administration’s recent renewal of the moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual, which had been set to lapse at the end of August. The extension, which punts the deadline to the end of the year, was projected to cost $20 billion in the new report.
As of the end of June, 43 million borrowers held $1.6 trillion in federal student loans and about $430 billion of that debt will be canceled, the CBO estimated. The White House, borrowing language from the CBO analysis, responded by focusing on the agency’s own assessment that its $400 billion estimate was “highly uncertain.”
“CBO called its own estimate ‘highly uncertain.’ We agree,'” the White House said in a memo. “By law, the federal budget computes the complete cost of student loan relief over the lifetime of the loans, and then records that cost in the year the loans are modified,” the memo continued. “But that’s not how this program will affect the bottom line in reality. The cost to the government is not the long-term score, but rather, the annual lost receipts.”
Desai Foundation Brightening Lives for 25 Years!
More than 400 of the TriState area’s creme-de-la-creme philanthropists, socialites, and celebrities are expected to rub shoulders at the Desai Foundation’s annual Festival of Lights fundraiser, Diwali on the Hudson, at HK Hall (605 W 48th St., between West End Avenue and West Side Highway) on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, from 7 to 11:30 p.m.
Pop artist Rhea Raj will light up the stage this year, along with other celebrity guests from media, film, and entertainment. Check out Rhea’s latest release “Outside,” which is making waves on international pop charts and all over social media.
The event will celebrate Diwali, the Indian New Year, which signifies luck and the triumph of good over evil, through dancing, dining, and partying for a purpose. “The global pandemic has given us a renewed appreciation for friends, family, and colleagues,” said President Megha Desai, “as well as the knowledge that the work of The Desai Foundation is more important now than ever before.” This year, the non-profit was invited to participate in the prestigious Clinton Global Initiative, a community of doers who are taking action on the world’s most pressing challenges.
The charity gala will feature an open bar, rocking entertainment, big NYC personalities, and delicious food from Desi Galli. All funds raised will go directly to long-term COVID relief efforts in rural India. Tickets range from $201 to $295 and can be purchased HERE. For more information about the organization and its mission, please visit www.thedesaifoundation.org.
Physician Burnout Up Significantly Since Beginning Of COVID-19 Pandemic
By, Jeffrey Bendix
Burnout was a significant problem for doctors and other health care workers (HCWs) even before the arrival of COVID-19. Now a new study reveals just how much worse the pandemic has made it.
Researchers surveyed more than 107,000 HCWs across a wide range of health care-related occupations in 2019, 2020 and 2021-22 to measure and compare both individual levels of emotional exhaustion (EE) and workers’ perception of EE among their colleagues. They found that the overall EE rate among HCWs jumped from 31.8% in 2019 to 40.4% in 2021-22. The increase in individuals’ perception of EE among others—what the authors call the emotional exhaustion climate—was from 54% to 65%.
Perhaps surprisingly, EE among the three categories of physicians studied—residents, attending/staff physicians and physicians not working in a hospital–remained the same or declined between 2019 and 2020 a result the authors attribute to decreases in patient volume and the flexibility offered by telehealth resulting from the pandemic.
But the situation reversed dramatically in the following years, so that by 2021-22 the percentage of residents reporting EE had increased from 24.6% to 34.4%, from 33.4% to 40.1% among attending/staff physicians, and 29% to 34.6% among doctors not working for a hospital. These were, the authors say, “the largest single-year increases reported by any roles across any time frame, exceeding what was found during a three-year period when EHRs were introduced nationally.”
Among non-physicians, the largest growth in EE—from 27% to 39%–was among physical, occupational and speech therapists. Other occupations seeing significant increases included technologists (32% to 43%), technicians (33% to 42%), administrative support staff (29% to 38%), and nurses (40.6% to 49.2%).
Based on their findings and those of other studies, the authors call HCW burnout a “parallel pandemic that will be felt for many years to come.” Addressing it, they say, will require focusing on HCW well-being using both institutional and individual resources. Moreover, those resources need to be evidence-based and accessible to all employees, and their use must be role-modeled by organizational and institutional leaders.
The study, “Emotional Exhaustion Among U.S. Health Care Workers Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2019-2021” was published September 21 on JAMA Network Open.
(https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/senator-moves-to-end-covid-19-pandemic-national-emergency)
QUAD Leaders Sign Humanitarian Assistance Partnership Guidelines
United States on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, hosted a ministerial meeting of The Quad grouping with India, Japan and Australia, the first such meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The leaders from the Quad countries signed the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) partnership guidelines.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is here on a 10-day official visit to the United States, said, “Given the turbulent times, it’s important that Quad goes further in constructive agenda that we’ve set for ourselves that we work together on the delivery of public goods, that our efforts and particularly what we’re signing today the HADR partnership which we discussed and finalized in Tokyo is extremely timely.”
He said there were other initiatives in the making, some a little further in the pipeline like STEM fellowship.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who lost his father overnight and is likely to rush out of New York, hosted the Quad meeting.
Blinken announced that the meeting in New York is evidence that Quad is “strong and is getting stronger”.
“Not one of us alone can do what is necessary to meet these challenges and seize these opportunities and that is the inspiration behind Quad,” Blinken told his counterparts.
“This is the first time that the foreign ministers of the Quad nations got together at the UNGA so my hope is that it will be held as a regular feature at the meetings,” Blinken added.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong talked about Australia’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.
“Quad is a forum committed to bringing tangible benefits to the region and ensuring a region which is peaceful, stable, prosperous and where sovereignty is respected, where the countries are free to make their own choices,” Wong said.
Wong took a veiled dig at China over the country trying to dominate the Indo-Pacific and said, “No one in this room wants to see a region where countries are not able to make their sovereign choices, where any one country or any one perspective dominates.”
The Indo-Pacific region is being reshaped economically and strategically, she asserted. “We want to represent countries to navigate this period of change together. So this is the heart of the Quad,” Wong noted.
Japan Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa highlighted the importance of Quad and, in a veiled swipe at Russia and China, referred to attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by “force”. The minister stated that free and open international order based on rule of law is under threat.
“It is extremely significant for us to demonstrate together to the international community our firm commitment to the UN charter and free and open Indo Pacific (FOIP),” the minister asserted.
“At the same time, FOIP cannot be achieved without working together with countries in the region. I am confident that the guidelines for Quad partnership on HADR here will further strengthen our collaboration to effectively respond to disasters in the Indo-Pacific region,” the minister concluded.
Kalinga Institute Of Social Sciences Wins UNESCO Literacy Prize 2022
The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, Orissa, won the prestigious UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2022 for its outstanding literacy program. KISS is considered the largest institute for the indigenous students in the world, according to a PRNewswire release. The award was presented Sept. 8, 2022, at a global award ceremony hosted by UNESCO in Côte d’Ivoire on Sept. 8 and 9, to celebrate International Literacy Day.
A non-profit established in 1992-93 by well-known educationist Dr Achyuta Samanta to empower the indigenous population through education, KISS is a fully free residential educational institution that provides holistic education, comprehensive skilling and sports empowerment.
“I thank UNESCO for recognizing our efforts and social innovations in the field of education, literacy and indigenous empowerment. In my childhood, I struggled to get proper education and now I put all my life and soul to provide holistic education to millions at margins,” Dr. Samanta said in his message.
The India-based Institute is credited with adopting “innovative pedagogies as learning tools and bringing about a perceptible change in the socio-economic lives of the indigenous population through education,” the press release said.
The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Korea and recognizes contributions to mother language-based literacy development. KISS has received the award in the category of ‘Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education programme’. The award carries an endowment of US$ 20,000, a medal and a diploma. KISS is a constituent of the KIIT Group of Institutions.
Every year, the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes focus on a specific theme. This year, the spotlight was on Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces. KISS is the fifth institute from India and the first from Odisha to receive this international prize. It is also the third among the non-profit NGOs and first indigenous based organisation to be conferred with this award.
According to the press release, KISS has transformed the lives of 70,000 indigenous children (30,000 children pursuing education and 40,000 alumni) directly and about 700,000 lives in the indigenous communities indirectly.
NRIs Reflect On India At 75!
Continuing with our series on sharing the diverse perspectives of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in the current issue of www.theunn.com, we are happy to present in this issue, the views/thoughts on India at 75 by Doctors, academicians, artists, business leaders, media personnel and executives.
We are excited and admire India, which has come a long way since it gained freedom from the British. The development and growth India has achieved in the past 75 years has been enormous, making us all proud. It was heartening to be witness several influential US lawmakers joining in India Day celebrations organized by AAPI on Capitol Hill in Washing DC last week. Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, recalled his visits to India, and said, he saw in action “the greatness of the largest democracy in the world in full action.”
US Congressman Pat Fallon (TX-04), while speaking to the AAPI delegates during the 75th anniversary celebrations at the Indian Embassy in the nation’s capitol, compared India and the United States, as both have gained independence from Britain. Both are today the greatest democracies of the world, he said and added that India at 75th anniversary of Independence Day is doing better and greater than how the US did at its 75th anniversary of its Independence.
True! However, in spite of the great achievements and progress by India, there are several indicators that make us all pause and think, if this is the India we want to have in the 21st century and beyond.
India, the world’s largest democracy ranks 46th in the Global Democracy Index 2021 due to a series of intolerant and repressive policies stifling free speech and true freedom to its 1.4 billion citizens. On the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2021, that assesses the gap between high-income, talent-rich nations and the rest of the world, which is widening, India ranks 88th among the nations of the world.
The Human Development Index 2020 by the UNDP based on the three basic dimensions of human development- a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living, India ranks an abysmal 131st place, far below many Third World nations. The Global Hunger Index 2021 that is based on four indicators; Undernourishment, Child Wasting, Child Stunting, and Child Mortality, India has been placed 101st among the nations of the world.
American think tank Cato Institute and Fraser Institute in Canada placed India at 119th place, while measuring the performance of 165 countries, covering 79 indicators of Human Frwhichm Index 2021.
World Happiness Report 2021 by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network by the United Nations, which measures the performance of 149 countries while surveying how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be, placed India at the very bottom with a ranking of 136th.
Not long ago, media reports pointed to business conglomerate Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani has become the world’s second-richest person after overtaking Louis Vuitton’s Bernard Arnault, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List. Adani’s net worth was USD 153.9 billion, compared to Arnault’s net worth of USD 153.7 billion.
According to UNDP, while there is much to be done, there are promising signs that such poverty can be – and is being – tackled. In India, the 271 million people moved out of poverty between 2005/06 and 2015/16, most of which occurred during Manmohan Singh’s regime. The poverty rate nearly halved, falling from around 55 percent to around 28 percent over the 10-year period.
While the rich like the Adanis grow richer every day, nearly 200 million people in India are living below the poverty line of $1.90 per person per day. The World Bank reports, poverty in India stood at 10.2 percent in 2019.
These measures and the rankings of where India stands today globally should lead us all to reflect on the reasons for its current lopsided growth. This calls for action on identifying implementing ways to make India great in its quest to be a world leader in the real sense.
While we are proud of India’s glorious past and its rich contributions to the world for centuries, we need to work hard to make the future of India even more glorious by making India a nation that cares for all of its 1.4 billion people, a model democracy that is inclusive, tolerant, and equitable where everyone can experience the fundamental values of true freedom, equality, and justice.
Ajay Ghosh
Chief Editor, www.theunn.com
Political Equality Requires Social Inclusion And Mobility
As a constitutional scholar, I see India’s greatest achievement as establishing a constitutional democracy that has been maintained for more than seventy years. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar believed that a secular constitutional democratic republic would be essential to India’s future – both on a domestic level and as a rising global partner. He ensured that both social and economic rights, along with civil and political rights were incorporated into the document.
After all, political equality requires social inclusion and mobility. It is important nevertheless to continue to reflect on the implementation of those principles to make sure gaps in social and economic inequality and political divisions do not undermine the important constitutional principles that have remarkably persevered for seven decades already, and continue to serve as the framework for the world’s largest democracy.
Dr. Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox
Associate Professor of Legal Studies, Chair of Justice and Law At Quinnipiac University
Democratic party candidate for CT Assembly
India Has Great Potential For Growth And Democracy
Congratulations to India on its 75th Independence Day! India, in the last 75 years is going from a developing country towards a developed country in a rapid fashion. India has great potential for growth and to be the greatest democratic country in the world.
The Indian diaspora extends to all over the world, and its members are involved in helping many nations in practically every field but especially that of technology and medicine.
This can be strongly attributed to the young population and the many great steps taken by the government over the last 25 to 30 years to open up the country to development opportunities.
In the United States, every sixth patient is being seen by a doctor of Indian origin, and a significant number of medical students are of Indian origin in medical schools as well.
In the business world, CEOs of Indian origin are heading a number of multinational companies.
We even have congressmen and women of Indian origin (jokingly referred to as the “Samosa Caucus”) and many legislatures at the state level. Given that the Vice President of the United States has Indian roots and there is great interest from second generation Indian-Americans to be part of the political system, I am sure we will see a President of the United States that is of Indian origin in the near future.
Thanks to the hard-working nature, emphasis on family and educational values, and a strong determination to succeed that has come to characterize many members of the Indian Diaspora, this group has increasingly been at the forefront as leaders of change and growth and has helped shape both their homeland and adopted land in their own way.
Jai Hind.
Sreeni R. Gangasani M.D.,FACC.
Member, Georgia Composite Medical Board, Founding Partner, Cardiovascular Group,
Chair, CME Committee AAPI 2022-23; Past Board of Trustee and Vice chair, AAPI
Chair, AAPI Convention 2019 & 2021
A Musical India
On this 75thAnniversary of Indian Independence it is a good time to reflect at how far the growth and influence of Indian Music has come in that time. From music of Bollywood movies that were once low budget compared to western productions. To today where they are an influential powerhouse of production and music trends across the Globe. Bollywood, Bhangra , Desi Pop and Indian Music artist are crossing so many bridges into pop, hip hop, R&B, fusion and other genres. The artistic influence of India post Independence has slowly been unleashed around the world.
It has been a great journey to watch the explosion of the Indian culture through the music. How it also keeps the culture strong in the NRI community. How it keeps growing and expanding and pushing new boundaries in the young generations coming into their own. Blending their own integration into the Countries they live in today with strong cultural influences given to them by their families, communities and , many who still have the influence of music coming out of India. And also mainly the UK.
Which was probably compared to India itself a hub for the spreading the popularity and modernization of Bhangra into a mainstream accepted music. The future is definitely looking bright for the NRI community in the Music and Arts scene. New Artists are coming out and bursting onto the scene everyday. Over the years I have performed with many musicians, and brought many Artist to perform at events across the USA. From Sukhbir, Mika Singh, Bappi Lahiri, to newer generations like Jay Sean, Tesher, and Raghav.
Indian movies and music continue to grow and spread globally through the 17.5 million NRIs , which are the largest Overseas Diaspora around the World. They spread the musical influences and the culture around the World as it continues to blossom and grow with new generations. Constantly pushing the boundaries of it’s sound and where it will go in the future. I know I personally look forward to it’s continued growth and expansion of it’s influence. I can see a day where it will become as common as English/Western, Latin/Spanish music is today internationally. We should all be very proud and supportive of the Music , Traditional , Classic and Modern. And Supportive of our Indian and South Asian Artists that continue spreading and bringing the Indian culture and influence through the Music. The Journey has only begun!
Mihir Marfatia aka.. DJ MAGiC MiKE
First Professional Full Time Indian DJ and Remix Producer in the USA and Global Pioneer. Helped launch the Indian Wedding Industry and Event Party Industry in the West. www.magicmikedjs.com
India’s Middle Class Should Not Be Left Behind
Some of India’s greatest achievements are the monumental scientific and technological advancements it’s made. In my own lifetime, electricity and the internet have been made available throughout the country. India is a global leader in medicine on many fronts. It is called the pharmacy of the world, and much of the world’s medicine is made in India. During the global pandemic, India supported the world by manufacturing covid vaccines. India has also come leaps and bounds with its outer space program. The list could go on and on.
In this time of repair and recovery, I would like to see middle-class families and small businesses receive the support from the government that they deserve. During my visit to India, I came across many middle-class people who are suffering, especially due to the pandemic. During the pandemic, underprivileged people received aid from many government and private organizations. The rich had enough money to survive, but the middle class suffered the most. I met families that didn’t have dinner on their tables for days. They were too embarrassed to stand in line for food.
Neeta Bhasin
President, ASB Communications, A Multicultural Marketing Company
An Honest And Transparent System Needed In India
India @ 75!
The greatest achievement for India lies in creating and maintaining the world’s largest democracy. We still have not achieved the “Swaraj” as envisaged by our freedom fighters.
India needs to curb corruption at all levels starting from the top.
The corrupt nexus encompassing politics – bureaucracy- judiciary – media – corporates need to be replaced by an honest and transparent systems to realize full potential and to be a world leader by India @ 100!
Shivender Sofat, CPA CFE FCA
President, GOPIO-Manhattan; COO/Partner, Goldfine & Co CPA PC
A Vibrant, Young, Confident, And Optimistic India
Congratulations to India on its tremendous social and economic progress over the last 75 years. Top of mind for me are technology, telecommunications, space exploration and education. Today when I visit India, I see a vibrant, young, confident, and optimistic workforce and I am particularly impressed with the growing number of women in the workplace and their passion and drive. With its entrepreneurial spirit, India minted its 100th unicorn this year and Indian talent has contributed to enterprises across the globe.
For continued future success, I believe India will need to be focused on ecosystems that will ensure clean water, renewable energy and most importantly education for every child.
I see improvements and optimism every time I visit India. As an Indian American, I am proud of the achievements of my country of birth and I share the optimism on India’s future growth trajectory.
Abha Kumar
A board member at Vahanna Tech Edge Acquisition Corp and Bynry, Advisor Board Member at Shanti Bhavan, and previously served as CIO at Vanguard.
The Changes India Needs To Make
India @ 75!
I will let go about all the good things and the progress India has made since 1947.
I would like to touch on the topic of what changes India needs to make.
Senior politicians need to loosen their grip on the political power in the both houses of the Legislature. A younger generation needs to be given the opportunities.
Politicians need to have interest of common good of the society and not just count on the votes of the poor and uneducated people of the country.
Admission Quotas of minorities need to be abolished. This is resulting in a brain drain of young generation to other countries. Because the majority of them cannot go to advanced education schools so they choose to leave India.
I will be very glad and appreciative of our Indian leaders, if they could work on these above suggestions.
Dr. Vimal Goyle
Vice President, GOPIO Manhattan Chapter
At UN, Despite Global Morass, Hope Peeks Through The Gloom
By, Ted Anthony
(AP) — The head of the United Nations had just warned of a world gone badly wrong — a place where inequity was on the rise, war was back in Europe, fragmentation was everywhere, the pandemic was pushing onward and technology was tearing things apart as much as it was uniting them.
“Our world is in big trouble. Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. Challenges are spreading farther,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday morning as he opened the general debate at the 77th U.N. General Assembly. And he was, on all counts, incontrovertibly correct.
Yet barely an hour later, here were two U.N. delegates — one Asian, one African — grinning and standing in the sun-dappled lobby of the U.N. Secretariat Building, thrilled to be there in person on this particular morning as they snapped photos of each other, laughing along the way as they captured the moment.
Hope: It can be hard to find anywhere these days, much less for the people who walk the floors of the United Nations, where shouldering the world’s weight is central to the job description. After all, this is an institution that listened last year as the president of the not-yet-at-war nation of Ukraine described it as being “like a retired superhero who has long forgotten how great they once were.”
And when world leaders are trying to solve some of humanity’s thorniest problems — or, to be frank, sometimes to impede solutions to those same problems — it’s easy, from a distance, to lose sight of hope through the haze of negative adjectives.
Yet beneath the layers of existential gloom Tuesday — and this is no doubt a pandemic-exhausted group of people representing a world in a really bad mood from so many disquieting challenges — there were signs of brightness poking through like persistent clovers in the sidewalk cracks.
“For each and every one of us, the U.N. is a unique platform for dialogue and for cooperation,” Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke of his country being an “optimistic” nation for whom “solutions are within our collective grasp.”
“There’s one friend of mine who is a neurosurgeon who said my problem is I’m a congenital optimist,” U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with Guterres. “But I am optimistic. I think we can make things better.”
And David Kabua, president of the ocean-besieged Marshall Islands — a man who has little reason to express optimism these days — came to the United Nations and spoke of “this iconic hall, the symbol of humanity’s hope and aspiration for world peace, prosperity, and international cooperation.”
“As humanity strives to defend freedom and build lasting peace, the U.N.’s role is indispensable,” said South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
There were many other such moments Tuesday and Wednesday. Taken together, they are noteworthy: There seems a collective sense — echoed by leader after leader in different, sometimes oblique ways — that even when it disappoints or falters, the United Nations must be a place of hope amid the cold-eyed pragmatism.
Why is that? Part of it is the unswerving commitment since the U.N.’s very beginnings to the principle of multilateralism, a $10 word for playing nicely with each other. And to play nicely when your feuds are ancient or bloody or seemingly insurmountable — to even try — requires hope.
That’s always been true, though. There’s also something else, something unique to this year, to this moment. In the frightening early pandemic days of 2020, the U.N. General Assembly was all virtual, and leaders stayed home and made videos. Last year, despite a theme of “Building Resilience Through Hope,” the hybrid General Assembly produced spotty leader attendance and little sense of the world congregating.
Now, though the pandemic persists, the U.N. grounds are alive with people from most of the planet’s backgrounds and traditions, interacting and talking and generally doing what the United Nations was built to do — take nations and turn them into people, as the late Sen. William Fulbright
“It’s the only place in international organizations where there is this effort to define what is collectively shared,” says Katie Laatikainen, a professor of political science and international relations at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, who studies the United Nations.
“They’re working to figure out what it means to be part of the international community,” she says. “They’ve learned the language of appealing to the `we,′ and it encourages others to define the `we’ and commit to the `we.’”
Guterres made sure to infuse that sensibility as he opened the proceedings with his doom-saturated speech. He told of a ship called the Brave Commander, loaded with Ukrainian grain and — helped by the warring nations of Ukraine and Russia — headed for the Horn of Africa, where it can help prevent famine.
It flew under a U.N. flag, and Guterres said it and the dozens of ships that followed were not only carrying grain; they were carrying “one of today’s rarest commodities” — hope.
“By acting as one,” he said, “we can nurture fragile shoots of hope.”
So, no: Hope is not absent at the United Nations this week. That much is certain. It’s contained, it’s muted, it’s tentative. But it is there, gossamer though it might be — even if some might find the notion naive. “Our opportunity is here and now,” said the president of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary.
The world, after all, is not an easy place. Was it ever? The second secretary-general of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, understood that. “The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven,” he said, “but in order to save us from hell.”
(Aource: AP coverage of the UNGA, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly)
Modi’s ‘Rebuke’ Of Putin Heard In US
By, Yashwant Raj
The “abrupt and unheralded change” in India’s stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as reflected in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “public rebuke” of Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, has been heard in official Washington DC with some relief and satisfaction.
Prime Minister Modi made it “clear to Putin’s face that the invasion is wrong”, said Ro Khanna, an Indian American lawmaker who has been critical of India’s refusal to condemn the invasion. Speaking at a community event on Wednesday, he went on to suggest Modi could also help in a “peaceful resolution and a ceasefire”.
Earlier the same day in New York, a senior White House official pointed to the new Indian position as testimony to the Biden administration’s strategy of just laying out the facts on Ukraine for other countries to see and judge for themselves instead of forcing them to change their stand.
“The US strategy has borne fruit insofar as you are seeing increasing signs of countries that did abstain, to include countries like India speaking out in a different way, including directly in front of Putin,” the official said. “And, you know, we’d like to see more than that, obviously, in the days ahead.”
India was among 34 countries that abstained in an UN general assembly vote in March that deplored Russia for invading Ukraine. China had also abstained.
New Delhi came under significant pressure from the US and its western allies to condemn the invasion and either stop buying Russian oil or not ramp it up, as it would enable Moscow to withstand the economic sanctions imposed on it to force it to end the war and leave Ukraine.
India did neither. Until last week. “Today’s era is not of war,” Prime Minister Modi told Putin in public remarks ahead of their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. That went much further than India’s expression of ‘grave concern’ over the killing of civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha, and call for respecting the UN charter that protects the sovereignty and integrity of all member nations.
US frustration with India’s refusal to condemn Russia and stop oil from it, had led to a rather unfortunate outburst from a senior White House official sent to New Delhi for these talks. He had warned India of “consequences”.
“I’ve been clear about India, and I think India ought to be condemning Putin and India ought not to be getting oil from Russia or China. We ought to rally the world to isolate Putin,” Khanna said on Fox News in days after the UN general assembly vote.
Khanna had gone on to say that it was time for India to choose between the US and Russia. “First, India should condemn Putin in the UN for the blatant human rights violations. Second, they need to realise, they have to pick sides,” he said, adding, “We, the United States, were with them when China invaded India. Putin wasn’t there. And it’s time for them to buy weapons from the United States, not Russia. We’ve got to look at how we can facilitate that and make that easier. We need India as an ally ultimately to contain China.” (IANS)
MSCK And MSSNY Hold Joint Legislative Meeting In Brooklyn
The Medical Society of the County of Kings (MSCK) and The Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) held a joint legislative meeting at Brooklyn Borough Hall on September 15, 2022. Attendees included guest of honor Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Chairman of Health Committee, NY Senator Gustavo Rivera, NY Assembly woman Stefani Zinerman, NY Assemblyman Michael Tannousis and NY Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
MSCK President Dr. Jagdish Gupta began the evening by welcoming the participants and presenting a unique opportunity for them to engage in dialogue with elected representatives. In introducing NYS Senator Hon. Gustavo Rivera, Dr. Gupta said: “Senator Rivera has made it his duty to fight the long-standing health inequalities in our communities.”
Dr. Gupta thanked the Senator for his committee’s support on the following legislation:
• Telehealth payment parity
• Extension of the Excess Medical Malpractice Insurance Program
• Increasing Medicaid Payments by Restoring Medicaid Cuts of 1.5 % of 2020 and
increasing Medicaid Physician Payment for E&M services to 70% of Medicare.
• Providing 75% increase in Loan Repayment Program to Physician Students
He went on to thank him for his efforts in passing the following:
• Requirements for same specialty Peer Review process by Health Plans
• Prohibiting Health insurers from Preventing patients from using Co-Pay cards or
Coupons
• Preventing Health insurers from imposing Step Therapy or Fail First Protocols
• For lowering the age of screening colonoscopy to age 45 years
• Providing additional due process protection to Healthcare Providers audited by OMIG
Dr. Gupta stressed that the Wrongful Death Liability Expansion Bill, if enacted into law, would be devastating to physicians and safety net hospitals and will increase liability for businesses and municipalities in New York.
“The people of New York deserve the best possible healthcare. New York trains the highest number of trainees, but they leave NY because the environment for medical practice is challenging, said MSSNY President Dr. Parag Mehta. “MSSNY is willing to discuss with all who are interested in our common goals and offer its expertise to find ways to improve our healthcare system and healthcare delivery.”
Physicians have been heroes, especially during the Covid pandemic, and many physicians lost their lives fighting the Covid crisis. “They faced the Covid crisis with courage and compassion, said Dr. Mehta. “Healthcare heroes are facing a new crisis today: the potential increase in their liability premium by 40-45% if the wrongful death bill becomes effective. We urge Governor Hochul to veto this bill.”
Dr. Gupta has been serving the Brooklyn Community for the last 45 years. He has been actively involved in Organized Medical Societies leadership at the Kings County and New York state Medical Society level for a long time. Through innovative research exploring the links between gastrointestinal and neurological diseases, Dr. Gupta has made his mark upon medical literature. In addition to his many contributions to peer review journals, he has co-authored chapters in many medical textbooks. As a researcher dedicated to the detection, prevention and treatment of GI disorders including cancer, he has been recognized and awarded numerous teaching awards. He has been on the TOP DOCTORS list of Castle Connolly for more than twenty years, consecutively and also has been designated as SUPER DOC by New York Times magazine for three years.
The Medical Society of the County of Kings (MSCK), the oldest scientific organization in Brooklyn, New York was established on March 2nd, 1822 by a group of doctors gathered at Auld Lang Syne Tavern on Fulton Street in Brooklyn Heights, with the lofty mission “to foster progress in the science and art of medicine and to promote, preserve and enforce the highest of standards of ethical and proficient medical care”. In 1900, the Society opened its grand new colonial revival building at 1313 Bedford Avenue, the geographical center of Brooklyn and It was headquartered there until 1996.
The Society had hosted numerous Scientific Conferences at the McNaughton Auditorium where local, national, and international luminaries in medicine presented important and often original scientific works. The Medical Society grew exponentially to more than 3,500 members by the mid-20th century and according to the Directing Librarian for the Society, for some time boasted as the 5th largest medical library in the country.
India Is On The Side Of Peace In Russia-Ukraine War, Jaishankar Tells At UNGA
As the months-long Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to rage on, India on Saturday, September 24, 2022 told the United Nations General Assembly that it is on the side of peace and that it will remain firmly there. Speaking at the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India is on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles.
“As the Ukraine conflict continues to rage, we are often asked whose side we are on. And our answer, each time, is straight and honest. India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there,” he said. “We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles. We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out. We are on the side of those struggling to make ends meet, even as they stare at the escalating costs of food, of fuel and fertilizers,” Jaishankar added.
He also said that it is in our collective interest to work constructively, both within the United Nations and outside, in finding an “early resolution” to this conflict. In another note, Jaishankar has left the door open for a possible role for India in mediating the Ukraine-Russia war. Mexico proposed last week at the UN Security Council that a committee of Heads of state and government, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis, could help UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres end the war.
Jaishankar’s response to a question about a possible role for India in mediating an end to the Ukraine-Russia war expertly framed. He did not rule it out. But he also made it clear India is not campaigning for it. “If we can help in some way we will be obviously responsible enough to do that,” the Minister said, adding, “I think the participants know that the rest of the world knows that. Beyond that what happens that’s in the realm of diplomacy so I can’t say anything.”
Mexico has proposed that Modi should mediate between Russia and Ukraine. Foreign Minister Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubon suggested it officially during a meeting of the UN Security Council debate on Ukraine in New York. “Based on its pacifist vocation, Mexico believes that the international community must now channel its best efforts to achieve peace,” Casaubon said.
“In this regard, I would like to share with you the proposal of the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to strengthen the mediation efforts of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through the formation of a Committee for Dialogue and Peace in Ukraine with the participation of other heads of state and government, including, if possible, His Excellency Narendra Modi and His Holiness Pope Francis.”
According to media reports, Jaishankar kicked off a four-day visit to Washington DC with a first-of-its-kind public interaction for an Indian External Affairs Minister with the Indian American community: a Q&A in which he took unscreened questions from the audience, which, it must be noted, comprised largely of old fans and new fans — the moderator, for instance, repeatedly called him a “rockstar”, and his every answer was greeted with multiple round of applause, with the most excited springing to their feet.
Noting that while the global attention has been on Ukraine, Jaishankar said that India has also had to contend with other challenges, especially “in its own neighbourhood”, in an apparent reference to the unresolved standoff with China in eastern Ladakh and strained relations with Pakistan.
“Having borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a ‘zero- tolerance’ approach. In our view, there is no justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation. And no rhetoric, however sanctimonious, can ever cover up blood stains,” he said.
“The United Nations responds to terrorism by sanctioning its perpetrators. Those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril. Believe me, they advance neither their own interests nor indeed their reputation,” the external affairs minister stated.
The Minister answered a range of questions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Pakistan to Kashmir, education, health and his own experiences as a long-time career diplomat. “Very honestly, it’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well, nor (is it) serving American interests,” the Minister said in response to the F-16 spares, which has greatly exercised some Indian-Americans. He framed his criticism of the package in the overall context of a bilateral relationship, which he argued, has been mutually dysfunctional for both Pakistan and the US.
“It is really for the US today to reflect … the merits of this relationship,” Jaishankar added, asking what it wants with this package. For someone to say I’m doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content and so, when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and what is their use,” the Minister said, and added, “You’re not fooling anybody by saying these things.”
He slammed the Biden administration’s proposal to provide $450 million worth of spares and services for Pakistan’s F-16s, saying no one is fooled by claims that these highly capable fighter aircraft are meant only for counter-terrorism operations.
The Biden administration informed the US congress earlier in September that it proposed to provide $450 million worth of spares and services for Pakistan’s US-made F-16 for their “sustainment”. No new capabilities or munitions are part of the package, which, it was stated, will also not alter the military balance in the region.
The US administration claimed in the notification that these F-16s are meant for counter-terrorism operations. But Pakistan has used them for other purposes as well, most recently in an air combat with Indian fighters jets in February 2019. India later said it shot down one of the F-16 deployed.
“If I were to speak to an American policy-maker, I would really make the case (that) look what you are doing,” Jaishankar said further. “Forget about us. It’s actually not good for you what you’re doing, reflect on the history, look at the last 20 years.”
Jaishankar will have the opportunity to convey his advice to plenty of American policy-makers he will be meeting over the next few days, including his US counterpart Antony Blinken. (IANS)
Green Mentors Organizes Green Scholl Conference 2022
Dilip Chauhan Presented With Patron For Planet Award 2022
Green Mentors, an India-based Responsible Education Solution Provider organization successfully its 6th NYC Green School Conference -2022 at SUNY Maritime College New York on September 24, 2022. This Conference was the 1st Conference on Responsible Education in the America during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Responsible education empowers Schools and Universities to accept accountability for the future of their pupils’ and responsibility of the local environment. The conference was associated with Climate Week NYC, the largest event on climate on the Planet.
This conference was held months after the India and the U S held the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue and agreed further to strengthen cooperation in education and skill development through collaborations and promote student and scholar mobility to build people-to-people linkages between the two countries.
School leaders of India and America has launched the Indo – American Green School Network at this conference. The first network of schools will bring Indian and American Schools together to build a sustainable future for every child. The conference was divided in the eight sessions, including Rethinking for Responsible Education, Leaders to learn from, SDG 4.7, and inspiring stories from outdoor Learning. In addition, Green Awards were presented to the celebrated Individuals and institutions for their exceptional contributions toward sustainable education. In every session, inspiring speakers presented their inspiring green stories, vision, and plans for sustainable and responsible education.
Virendra Rawat, the event organizer, said that this event inspired schools, Universities, Policymakers, education leaders and the member states of the United Nations to bring back responsible education for a sustainable future. Event Keynote Speaker was Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of New York City Mayors Office for International Affairs. During his address Mr. Chauhan mentioned that New York City Mayor Eric Adams t launched Building Action NYC a new citywide campaign to promote steps to make New York City’s buildings greener and more resilient while fostering a healthier future for the city and New Yorkers.
The city’s more than one million buildings — covering more than five billion square feet — constitute the largest source of the city’s carbon emissions, contributing almost 70 percent of the city’s total emissions. The work to limit building emissions will be a critical component of the city’s work towards reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. “Buildings are the largest emitters of carbon, so we are investing in bringing renewable energy to them and making New York City a national leader in green buildings — creating tens of thousands of jobs for New Yorkers and delivering environmental justice for our city.
Event was attended by high profile speakers from around the world, like Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Office for International Affairs, New York delivered the Keynote Address in the Conference, Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis, President of SUNY Maritime College, New York, Dr Henry Stoever, President& CEO of Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), Ryan Mcenany, Director, Energy & Resiliency of PaceUniversity,New York, Paulo Vasconi Speroni, Coordinator of Youth Leadership and Innovation of United Nations, Dr.Nick Pozek, Assistant Director of Parker School of Foreign & Comparative Law at Columbia University, Arlae Castellanos Executive Director, Green Schools Alliance, Laura Johnson Collard Executive Director, Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education, Sibyl MaerFillo Director,Washington Outdoor School, Dr. Helen Bond, Professor ,School of Education Howard University, Washington DC, Deepa Vedavyas from Neighborhoods and Environment, Cleveland Foundation, Ramya Shivkumar Director of Energy & Sustainability Windward Engineers and Consultants, Dr. Frederick Kakembo Deputy Vice Chancellor Ndejje University Uganda, Birgilio Rivera Cabrera, CEO of Civil ssociation,Mexico, Julio C. Garay, Professor Bronx Community College of the CUNY have presented their inspiring stories at the conference.
The Committee presented PATRON FOR PLANET AWARD 2022 to Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner for NYC Mayor’s Office for International Affairs
Indian Design Firm Wins 2022 Global Muse Creative Award
Bengaluru -based Design Services firm, Aifat UX, a leading UX/UI design services provider has announced that they won the 2022 Muse Creative Award in the educational app design category. Aufait UX’s design for StockPe, a stock trading and investment education platform was selected from over 6000 entries worldwide as the Gold Winner. The international competition was judged by experts and industry professionals from 30+ countries belonging to reputed companies.
“At Aufait UX, we believe in creating world-class designs that stand out for its quality and perfection. The Muse Awards is a testament of our craftsmanship and relentless pursuit of creating awesome designs. I would like to extend my thanks to the StockPe team for their excellent customer support and my design team for their wonderful teamwork”, said Bijith Ahmed, chief designer and co-founder of Aufait UX.
“It comes as no surprise that Aufait UX has bagged this international recognition for their designs. We were truly impressed with their design for the StockPe app. With their attention to details, out of the box thinking and passion for design, they went above and beyond in meeting our requirements. They truly deserve this honor”, said Shubham Rawal, co-founder of StockPe.
The MUSE awards is a series of competitions hosted by the International Awards Associate (IAA), an organization that has continuously strived to honor creatives and designers for their excellence. The theme for the 2022 Muse awards was “Stride Forth”. This year the MUSE Awards honored those who are dauntless in adversity; who take on challenges with an unwavering will, set the standards for the world and inspire others to reach higher.
Aufait UX is a leading UI UX design agency based out of Bangalore, India, providing UX/UI design services to their customers across the globe. Aufait UX is recognized for mobile app, web app and website designs, recognized by independent analysts and analyst platforms including Clutch, Manifest and Visual Objects. Aufait UX provides design services for industry verticals including healthcare, education, fintech, ecommerce, government and utilities.
StockPe is a stock market learning app that simplifies financial learning for Indians through gamification. It provides a platform for people to experience finance education in a fun and rewarding way, radically different from the traditional theoretical and lengthy learning model. With gamified tournaments modeled on live stock market data, StockPe helps users to learn trading and practice their knowledge in real time.
USAID, UNICEF Partner With Doordarshan To Launch TV Series, Duur Se Namaste
Tthe U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF formally launched the Doordarshan and YouTube series titled Duur Se Namaste (“Greetings from a distance!”) at an event held today in New Delhi.
Duur Se Namaste, a fictional Hindi series developed in an entertainment-education format, highlights the challenges of a post-pandemic world and promotes the adoption of healthy behaviours and practices. Weaving messages on COVID-19 vaccine promotion and the need to continue COVID-19-appropriate behavior, the series includes tips for navigating mental health issues for children and young people and supporting children’s learning recovery as they return to school.
Additional Secretary and Mission Director (National Health Mission), Ms Roli Singh and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ms. Neerja Sekhar were present at the inauguration. Ms. Singh spoke on the COVID-19 pandemic and outlined the way forward for the post-pandemic world. Ms Sekhar spoke on the critical role of Mass media and communications in health promotion.
Sharing the vision of the edutainment series, Ms. Veena Reddy, Mission Director of USAID India, said, “COVID-19 knows no borders, and no one is safe until everyone is safe. USAID is proud to support Duur Se Namaste, highlighting life’s challenges in the new normal and ways to navigate these through good health practices.”
Highlighting the importance of using mass media for behavioural change, Mr Arjan de Wagt, UNICEF India Deputy Representative a.i, said, “We know from scientific studies in India how impactful television can be in catalysing effective behaviour change, and we have seen the power of visual communication during the pandemic.
I am very pleased to join you for the launch of Duur Se Namaste, which is sure to provide not only excellent entertainment to a large audience but also create a space to discuss important themes like supporting children as they are now back to school, psychosocial support for children of all ages, and mental health challenges among young people.”
Reiterating the commitment of Doordarshan, Mr. Mayank Agrawal, CEO, Prasar Bharati and DG, Doordarshan said, “Duur Se Namaste is a very relevant show in the present times and as India’s Public Service Broadcaster, it is our mandate to ensure that such shows reach the public. We are happy to have this partnership with UNICEF and look forward to continuing our work together for public welfare.”
A theatrical film on Duur Se Namaste was screened at the event, taking the audience through the main story, and showing how the messages of vaccine promotion and COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) have been interwoven in the entertainment education series. The event also included a panel with the show’s lead actors Ankit Raizada, Dolly Chawla and Atul Parchure moderated by Manav Rath and Mannish Singh, from the creative team.
The series is produced by National Film Award winner and Padmashee, Nil Madhav Panda’s production house, Elleeanora Images Pvt. Ltd.
The edutainment series Duur Se Namaste has been on air on DD National at primetime slots since August 14, 2022. The show is broadcast every Sunday from 11 am to 12 noon, with repeat telecasts on Saturdays from 6-7 pm. The show is also available on Duur Se Namaste YouTube channel.
About the cast:
Ankit Raizada: Ankit is the main lead of Duur Se Namaste. A popular television actor, who has worked on shows like Jodha Akbar and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Ankitt plays Vishu, a COVID hero in the series, who helps his neighbours with their challenges and problems and works as a volunteer for the elderly and infected during the peak of the pandemic.
Dolly Chawla: Dolly plays Geet on the show Duur Se Namaste, a fun and career-oriented girl, who models women chasing their dreams. Dolly played lead roles in Sasural Simar Ka, Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana, Thapki Pyar ki among other shows.
Atul Parchure: Atul Parchure is a well-known Indian movie, television and theater actor. He is mainly known for his comedy roles in Marathi and Bollywood film industry. His career spanning over two decades includes roles in the popular Kapil Sharma Show, Jago Mohan Jago, R K Laxman ki Duniya among others.
Jaipur Literary Fest Takes NYC Arts Scene by Storm
Technology, visual art, high fashion, and literature merged on the same stage last week at the closing night event for the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) New York Edition, curated by cultural producer Myna Mukherjee of Engendered, a trans-national arts and human rights organization based in New Delhi. After a hiatus of 10 years, Engendered returned to New York City’s High Nine Gallery in Chelsea with Techné Disruptors, a hand-picked NFT collection featuring some of South Asia’s most cutting-edge artists, including Ram Rahman, Waswo X. Waswo, Veer Munshi, Raghava KK, Puneet Kaushik, Harshit Agrawal, Nur Mahammed, Balbir Krishan, Amritah Sen, among others.
Co-presented by Avid Learning and High Line Nine Gallery and powered by Technology Partner, Polygon, the show has been conceived through the lens of urbanism and a post-colonial gaze. It engages Indian futurisms, indigenous technologies, and future-forward aesthetics while retaining the notion of cultural perpetuity. Techné Disruptors is coming to New York after celebrating unprecedented success in its first outing in New Delhi (April-May 2022). The show not only helped reshape sedentary categories of art but also radically shifted the way art is viewed, understood, experienced, and sold. For the first time, over 80% of a largely digital exhibition was collected by one of India’s most reputed institutional collectors.
The closing reception of JLF, featured the NFT book launch of Seema Kohli’s “Mitr Pyaare Nu,” as well as closing remarks from Managing Director, Teamwork Arts Sanjoy Roy and Indian politician Shaiza Ilmi. The evening concluded with a fashion show presented by South Asian New York Fashion Week (SANYFW), showcasing the designs of Untitled by Nikita, AKS Mathur, Aara by Sana, Aazadi by Naseer Khan and Pakistani headliner Nomi Ansari.
The three-week-long event in Chelsea Arts District with rotating exhibitions (a new chapter each week) features works imagined with the most future-forward technologies of our times including AI (Artificial Intelligence), AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), holographs, and works from brand new minted collections of Global South NFTs curated with a critical need to strengthen south-south collaborations.
The exhibition looks at the bridging of the old and the new, the physical and the digital, and lends voice to largely invisibilized conversations and personal stories in the complex landscape of gender, sexuality & marginalities. It speaks to the cultural consequences of migrations within, from, and to the Indian subcontinent as artistic inquiries into difference and belonging.
The artists include: Seema Kohli | Veer Munshi | Ram Rahman | Puneet Kaushik | Waswo X. Waswo | Amina Ahmed | 64/1: Raghava KK & Karthik Kalyanaraman | Harshit Agrawal | Balbir Krishan | Amritah Sen | Babak Haghi | Ritu Kamath | Nur Mahhamed | ‘Rharha’ Rochelle Nembhard | Minne Atairu | Satadru Sovan | Abhishek Singh | SK Sahni | Mahula Ghosh | Adil B. Khan | Santosh K. Das | Sukanya Ayde | Portia Roy | Mandakini Devi | Aamir Rabbani | Arvin Ombika | Ahsan Masood | Baishali Chetia | Chathuri Nissansala | Dominique V. Castelano | Ipshita Thakur | Isha Yadav | Sawan Taank | Mohd Shaze
East, South, West, Or North: What Is The Best Direction To Sleep?
“Interestingly, Anandakanda, an Ayurvedic text, mentions the directions in which one should sleep to enjoy a deep, restful sleep,” Dr Gopinath said.
Be it Ayurveda or modern science, experts constantly stress the need for a good night’s sleep for the healthy functioning of our mind and body. This is because lack of sleep can significantly impact your well-being and put you at risk of serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and mental health issues, among others. Apart from ensuring that you are sleeping an adequate number of hours, you must also pay special attention to the direction you are sleeping in, says Ayurveda.
Highlighting the importance Ayurveda places on sleep, Dr Arun Gopinath, Senior Medical Officer, Kerala Ayurveda said, “Farmers often leave their fields fallow, allowing the soil to regenerate and recoup its lost fertility. Sleep works in a similar manner – it is the period when we renew and revive our senses for a fresh start and a productive day. Sleep or nidra is highly vital in Ayurveda – so much that it is included in the three pillars of life or the Traya Upasthambhas along with food or Ahara and sexual conduct or Brahmacharya.”
He added that Acharya Charaka – one of the principal contributors to the ancient system of Ayurveda – hailed sleep as ‘Bhutadhathri‘, “indicating that restful sleep nourishes our body like a mother, or dhatri nourishes her child.”
However, despite its many benefits, many people struggle to get restful sleep. While we often blame lifestyle factors for it, little attention is paid to the direction we sleep in, which could have a significant impact on the quality of our sleep, and also our health. “Interestingly, Anandakanda, an Ayurvedic text, mentions the directions in which one should sleep to enjoy a deep, restful sleep,” Dr Gopinath said.
The best direction to sleep
According to Ayurvedic expert Dr Dixa Bhavsar Savaliya, one should sleep with their head facing south as it is considered the direction of deep, heavy sleep. “As South is negatively charged and your head is positively charged, there is a harmonious attraction between your head and the direction. Instead of energy being pulled out if you sleep with your head to the north, energy is drawn into your body promoting health, happiness and prosperity. That means you should sleep like a log with your head facing south,” she explained.
Agreeing, Dr Gopinath said: “In mythology, it is believed to be the direction of Lord Yama, meaning you will enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep and longevity or deerghayu in this direction.”
A study, published in the National Library of Medicine, stated that hat those who were instructed to sleep with their head in the south direction for 12 weeks had the lowest systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and serum cortisol.
Worst direction to sleep
Is there a worst direction to sleep, too? Just like the south is considered to be the best direction to sleep in, Ayurvedic experts suggested avoiding facing north while sleeping. This is because “sleeping towards the north makes the positive pole of earth coincide with the positive pole of our body, which repels each other. You will, thus, have nightmares and disturbed sleep,” Dr Gopinath explained.
Dr Dixa added that, in this direction, you won’t get a restful night’s sleep and are likely to wake up exhausted from the unconscious war that’s been going on all night long. “This magnetism is understood, Ayurvedically, to affect blood circulation, stress and cause disturbance of the mind,” she said.
What about east and west?
Now that it is established that sleeping with your head towards south and north are the best and worst positions, respectively, let’s delve deeper into the remaining two directions and their effect on your sleep and, in turn, health.
East: This sleeping direction is considered beneficial for students as it is believed to be a memory enhancer. “As the sun rises in the east, this direction signifies rejuvenation and positive energy characterised by intellect and creativity,” Dr Gopinath said.
Dr. Dixa added that this direction helps improve concentration, and promotes meditative sleep and very good health.
West: Sleeping west, on other hand, is linked to an unsettled night’s sleep. “Vastu Shastra says that this is the direction of striving which could give you unsettling dreams and not a very restful night’s sleep,” she explained.
Additionally, sleeping with your head towards the west can lead to emotional distress, Dr Gopinath mentioned. “It increases Rajas or restlessness, and you may suffer from nightmares. But it also makes a person success-driven, so it is for those who want to succeed in life and are not bothered about their sleep quality,” he added.
New York City Celebrates Krishna Janmashtami @ Hare Krishna Temple
Krishna Janmashtami, the appearance day or birthday of Lord Krishna, was celebrated at the New York Hare Krishna Temple on Friday, August 19th, from 4pm until midnight with over 2500 guests taking part in the festivities.
The free cultural and spiritual event encompassed a full experience of bhakti yoga practices, including live music, sacred chants, reading of sacred texts, dance and dramatic performances, meditation classes, books, gifts, and food sales. and opportunities for children to take part in Krishna related arts and crafts. A free vegetarian feast was served in the evening to all visitors.
Special guests at the Temple’s celebration included Jenifer Rajkumar, New York State Assembly member – District 38, Dilip Chauhan, NYC Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, Dr. Varun Jeph, Deputy Consul General of India, Sheetal Desai, Milan Cultural Association NY and Harish Thakkar, President of Association of Indians in America, NY Chapter.
Honoring the significance of the celebration and the work of ISKCON, the Temple received proclamations from Ms. Rajkumar, on behalf of the New York State Assembly, and from Mr. Chauhan on behalf of NYC Mayor Eric Adams. In his proclamation, Mayor Adams, declared August 19th, 2022, as ISKCON Day in New York City. Also Deputy Commissioner Chauhan emphasized the great community service of ISKCON during the time of COVID-19 by providing free vegetarian food to the needy people.
Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings you all the devotees are so blessed to have a ISKCON temple in the heart of New York City.
Lord Krishna is revered as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the speaker of the famed Bhagavad-Gita, by hundreds of millions of people across the world. “India’s sacred wisdom texts, the Vedas, explain that the ultimate personality of God is an ever youthful, all-attractive person, and the most intimate friend of everyone,” says Hansa Rupa Das, ISKCON NYC Temple President, “That is why Janmashtami, the appearance day of Lord Krishna, is such a joyous occasion for us all.”
Today, Sri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated by people of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds across the world.
75 Hindu Youth Honored For Inspiring Leadership
Seventy five Hindu youth were recognized and honored for their strong sense of community, fostering conversations about Indian culture, and inspiring the next generation of leaders with their contributions on September 10th. HGH Past President Partha Krishnaswamy’s brainchild of awarding 75 Hindu youth this year to commemorate India’s “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” – (75 years of India’s Independence) won instant approval by the HGH team. After weeks of intense planning, the event came together at the newly renovated auditorium at Sri Meenakshi Temple. The evening, hosted by the temple, drew over 500 people and was packed to capacity.
Over 44 organizations participated, 75 awardees were selected and included those of Caucasian, African American, Caribbean, Nepali, and Indo American origin. The event was attended by representatives from participating organizations, donors, HGH Advisory board members, community leaders and distinguished guests.
Following tradition, the event commenced with the lighting of the lamps by the Young Hindus of Greater Houston and Hindu Heritage Youth Camp followed by dignitaries and distinguished guests. A soul stirring musical ensemble by the youth of Houston raised the piety of the evening.
The evening was replete with insights, inspiration, and practical takeaways. HGH and Hindu Temple of The Woodlands Founding member Beth Kulkarni highlighted HGH’s prominent role in “encouraging and mentoring” the youth to take pride in their heritage, identity, and their involvement in their organizations.
Renowned strategist, thinker, and motivational speaker Partho Ghosh offered a transformative way of thinking with his brilliant keynote address. His seven-point vision to make the world a better place was compelling, informative, and inspiring. He also dwelt on Vedanta philosophy, how its tenets can drive better leaders and the traits of future leaders.
Young speakers Somansh Agarwal and Naisargi Jaiswal of the National President of Hindu Students Association shared pointers on ways to engage with others in promoting Indian culture and traditions and how the youth could take these practices forward in their colleges.
Interspersed with the speeches was a scintillating Kathak performance from the Shivangini Academy of Performing Arts followed by a brisk Bharatanatyam Thillana by the Abhinaya School of Performing Arts.
Deputy Consulate General of India Sandeep Choudhary congratulated the awardees and spoke briefly of the importance of connectivity of the youth awardees with those in India.
The award presentations were followed by one of the highlights of the evening – a group picture of the 75 Hindu youth holding their awards. The stand-out moment received thunderous applause, and the picture went viral on social media.
Interfaith Ministry of Greater Houston Program Manager Kim Mabry thanked HGH for inviting the Interfaith Ministries to the Hindu Youth Awards ceremony. Highly appreciative, he described the evening as “a beautiful display of the life, art, and culture of the Hindu community of Houston “ and observed that the “entire program presented hope and promise for future generations on the importance of maintaining a Hindu identity in our rapidly changing society.”
The event concluded with a delicious dinner catered by Indian Summers and a surprise 75-item dessert station. The idea of the 75-item dessert station cropped up during a conversation between Meenakshi temple Council Chair Dr. Padmini Ranganathan and HGH Past President Partha Krishnaswamy. The sweets were prepared by BAPS Shayona and Bombay Sweets while Nalini Kannan of Decor One decorated the dessert station in tune with the theme of the evening.
Tanveer Kazi, an attendee, reflected that the evening allowed them to “witness the celebration of the youth, diversity, art, and the cuisine of India’s rich culture. He also appreciated the keynote speaker’s message about the application of rationale and objectivity in today’s era of misinformation.
Anjali Agarwal , an awardee had this to say: “ I am extremely grateful to be honored as a Hindu Youth Awardee in the community. It is a blessing to see all future leaders from all Hindu temples and organizations being recognized as one”.
The meticulous planning, dedication and flawless execution made the evening a super success. Not only was it a fitting way to celebrate India’s 75th year of independence but it also aligned with HGH’s motto of bringing Hindus together. It was clearly a memorable one for the 75 youth who were energized about contributing their time and talent to keeping India’s traditions alive
Jayashree Ullal Heads List Of Richest Indian Professionals
The richest Indian professional-person of Indian origin is a woman, Jayashree Ullal of Arista Networks. Ullal, born in London and raised in India, heads the Arista Networks, US and is the richest professional with a wealth of Rs 16,600 crore, as per the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022.
India has proved itself to be the progenitor of some of the most brilliant professional managers in the world. Professional managers in the list consist of individuals who joined the business after it has been founded, helped it grow and these managers were given stock options from which they have created their wealth, said the statement.
Thomas Kurian (Rs 12,100 crore) of Oracle is in the second position and is followed by Nikesh Arora (Rs 8,500 crore) of Palo Alto Networks.
Barring two, the top 10 rich professional executives in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich is populated with Indian-Americans.
The two exceptions are Ignatius Navil Noronha of Avenue Supermarts (wealth Rs 6,500 crore) and Aditya Puri of HDFC Bank (Rs 1,600 crore).
The others in the rich professionals list are: Ajaypal Singh Banga of Mastercard (Rs 6,500 crore), Satya Nadella of Microsoft (Rs 6,200 crore), Sundar Pichai of Google (Rs 5,300 crore), Indra K. Nooyi of Pepsico (Rs 4,000 crore), Pepsico and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe (Rs 3,800 crore). (IANS)
King Charles Interprets ‘Defender Of The Faith’ For A New Britain
An estimated 4 billion people worldwide were predicted to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on television and online, with Presidents Joe Biden of the U.S. and Emmanuel Macron of France and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attending the obsequies in London’s Westminster Abbey in person. The medieval abbey, the sublime music and military processions were all a visual and aural feast, but the event was at its heart a Christian ceremony, with the coffin placed in front of the altar and presided over by robed clergymen.
The queen’s funeral, in this sense, was not entirely representative of Britain’s increasingly secular population. Even its believers are less likely to be Christian than at the start of Elizabeth’s reign, with 2.7 million Muslims, 800,000 Hindus and a half-million Sikhs, among many other faiths. Christians, who once consisted mostly of various Protestants — chiefly members of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and the Church in Wales — and Roman Catholics, have been joined by a growing Pentecostal movement and other evangelical churches, according to the BBC.
There is nothing like a royal wedding or funeral to remind us that the Church of England remains the official, established church, with the monarch as its Supreme Governor, and since Elizabeth’s death on Sept. 8, we’ve seen it in the ascendant. Yet there are also signs that the late monarch, now-King Charles III and the Church of England have recognized that the time has come to adjust.
In a landmark speech in 2012 at Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the queen said of the Church of England that “Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.”
She credited the established church with having done so already. “Gently and assuredly, the Church of England has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely,” she said.
The new king has endorsed those words as recently as Sept. 9, the night after his mother died, in his first televised address to the British nation as its king. “The role and the duties of Monarchy also remain,” he said, “as does the Sovereign’s particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England — the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.”
But he continued, ”In the course of the last 70 years we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths.”
Nearly 30 years ago, as prince of Wales, Charles articulated concern about other faiths and Christian denominations in modern Britain not feeling included, and controversially suggested that when he became king he should be called Defender of Faiths — plural— rather than the title Defender of the Faith bestowed on Henry VIII by the pope in 1521 and used by England’s monarchs since.
Anglicans reacted harshly to Charles’ gambit, fearing he would not be fully wedded to assuming his role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England when the time came. Even after he rescinded his statement in 2014, the moment haunted Charles. His statement on Sept. 9 came in part to reassure doubters, who then heard him proclaimed king and Defender of the Faith the next day before the Accession Council, who proclaimed him the new monarch.
Then, bit by bit, we saw more evidence of how the king and his advisers, as well as the late queen, through her funeral plans, tried to embrace other traditions.
Britain’s King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, leave after a Service of Prayer and Reflection for the life of Queen Elizabeth II, at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
The Sept. 12 service of thanksgiving for the queen’s life was held at Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral, the main church of the Church of Scotland. Representatives of other faiths were in attendance, and the Gospel was read by Mark Strange, primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the other main Protestant church in Scotland besides the Church of Scotland.
More surprising, a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans was read by Leo Cushley, the Catholic archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, and included lines often interpreted as encouraging ecumenical dialogue: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
When Charles then paid a visit to Northern Ireland, more efforts were made to include the Catholic population, for whom the monarchy has long been a sensitive issue. At St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast — where the president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, and Taoiseach (as Ireland calls its prime minister) Micheál Martin were in attendance — Eamon Martin, the Catholic archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, offered a prayer; others were said by Methodist and Presbyterian church leaders. At a service during Charles’ stop in Wales, prayers were said by Muslim and Jewish representatives as well as representatives of several Christian denominations.
But a reception at Buckingham Palace for 30 faith leaders on Friday (Sept. 16) — before the new king met any world leaders in London for the funeral, and even before he took part in a vigil with his siblings at the lying-in-state of his mother — spoke volumes about the importance Charles assigns religion in Britain.
Charles welcomed not only the Catholic archbishop of Westminster but Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy and Imam Asim Yusuf, telling them that Britain’s sovereign has an “additional” duty — presumably in addition to being Supreme Governor of the Church of England — to protect “the space for faith itself” in Britain. This duty, he said, is “less formally recognized but to be no less diligently discharged.”
He added: “It is the duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for faith itself and its practice through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals. This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith.”
That Charles’ words were backed up by his mother was evident in the state funeral Monday. The specialness of the Church of England and of multifaith, diverse Britain was acknowledged as a procession of religious representatives entered Westminster Abbey in advance of the main funeral party: Jews, Baha’is, Jains, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus, as well as Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis; Pope Francis was represented by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states.
Reading prayers during the service were the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; Shermara Fletcher, principal officer for Pentecostal and charismatic relations for Churches Together in England; the Rev. Helen Cameron, moderator of the Free Churches; and Roman Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
This balancing act will be tested again in the next few months when the new king’s coronation takes place. By then, new coins embossed with Charles’ head will likely have been minted, with the legend “Charles DG Rex, FD”: Latin acronyms for Charles, by the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith. While proclaimed as that Defender, he has indeed reinterpreted what it means, even if not altering the wording as he once suggested. It looks as if the reign of King Charles III will be dedicated to offering that protection to believers.
But what of those in Britain of no faith? Soon the results of the most recent national census, of 2021, will be published, showing who believes what, and whether the nonbelievers have grown. Last time, in 2011, a quarter of the population said they had no religion. Finding a way to make them feel connected to a coronation blessed by the Church of England and replete with Christian justifications for monarchical power might be a far tougher test than organizing a procession of Buddhists, Jains and Catholics.
Bill Clinton Says Democrats Can Retain Congress, But Republicans Could Scare Swing Voters
Former US President Bill Clinton said Democrats can retain control of Congress in the 2022 midterms, but warned Republicans will “scare the living daylights out of swing voters”.
The Congress – the House of Representatives goes to the polls to elect all of the 435 members and the Senate is on the ballot for 30 of its 100 seats.
A lot of Mayoral and Gubernatorial posts are up for grabs and both parties are struggling to retain their candidates with the backlash of inflation and MAGA campaign frittering out to save democracy threats sounded by the liberals.
In both houses, the Democrats have a wafer thin majority to pass legislation. In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats are divided 50:50 but the Vice President casts the tie breaking vote to give the Democrats the advantage on passing legislation with a simple majority.
“We could hold both these houses, but we have to say the right things because we know the Republicans can always close well,” Bill Clinton said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
He was asked if Democrats, who have seen encouraging signs about their midterm prospects in recent weeks, can break the decades-long trend of the President’s party losing control of Congress in the midterm elections.
“Absolutely, we could hold both these Houses, but we have to say the right things,” Clinton told CNN in the interview, which aired Sunday. “And we have to know the Republicans always close well. Why? Because they find some new way to scare the living daylights out of swing voters about something. That’s what they did in 2021 when they made critical race theory sounds.
“They just scare people,” Clinton said. “And in the end, the breakpoint in American politics is not that much different than the 90s. You still have to get those people, it’s just that there’s so many fewer of them, because as the parties have gotten more ideological and clear and somehow psychically intolerant, they pull more and more people towards the extremes.”
Increased polarisation and partisanship since Clinton held office in the 1990s means fewer persuadable swing voters and fewer willing to cross party lines. The 2020 election, for example, saw record-low numbers of voters splitting their tickets between electors. But still “there’s some people who are hanging on there and trying to think, and trying to understand what’s going on,” the former President said in the interview.
Republicans face a potential backlash in November after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on abortion rights bringing women electors together. A new WSJ poll shows Democrats gaining ground among independents, young and women voters.
Republicans spent much of the year pummeling Democrats on inflation and hoping to cruise on a “red wave” in the November midterm elections. But the huge swell they once envisioned may end up being more of a ripple instead, the Business Insider said in an analysis.
Part of it may also be tied to recent Democratic victories on their economic and climate agenda, gun safety, and improved healthcare access for veterans.
Some Republican lawmakers have released proposals meant to showcase the party’s support for families in more modest ways, reflecting a conservative reluctance to back a sizable expansion of the safety net. The GOP has staunchly opposed President Joe Biden’s ambitious proposals for childcare, paid leave, and monthly checks to parents. (IANS)
Priyanka Advocates Child Rights At UNGA, Shares Stage With Malala Yousafzai, Amanda Gorman
Actress Priyanka Chopra, who became the Global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2016 and has been associated with the organization for almost 15 years, spoke about children’s rights at a recently held conference at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
She took to her Instagram to share the pictures and videos from the event where she can be seen advocating for the cause and posing with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and US poet Amanda Gorman.
She captioned the set of pictures and videos with a long note: “Walking through the gates of the United Nations this morning to speak at UNGA for the second time, as a proud representative of @unicef, gave me real pause.”
Shedding the light on the agenda of the UN for the year 2022, she further wrote in her note: “At the top of this year’s agenda are the Sustainable Development Goals. Today was all about action, ambition, and hope. It was about what we must do together to make the SDG’s a reality, and we don’t have a moment to lose. A special thank you to Secretary-General @antonioguterres for having me today.”
She also spoke about the importance of education for children – something which is a birthright of every child, “The second moment I had the privilege of participating was the Transforming Education Summit. It’s hard to believe that nearly 2/3 of children across the low- middle- and high-income countries cannot read and comprehend a simple story. The system has failed them.”
“As the US Secretary of Education @seccardona put it so candidly, education is the great equalizer, but if we continue to do what we have done, we are going to get what we have gotten. We owe every child this basic birthright, an equal chance to learn and reach their full potential (sic),” she added.
She concluded her note with the words of Gorman, with whom she posed along with Malala, “And as the incredible Amanda Gorman said, “I dare you to shape our fate. Above all, I dare you to do good, so that the world might be great.”
Kalinga Institute Of Social Sciences Wins UNESCO Literacy Prize 2022
The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, Orissa, won the prestigious UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2022 for its outstanding literacy program. KISS is considered the largest institute for the indigenous students in the world, according to a PRNewswire release. The award was presented Sept. 8, 2022, at a global award ceremony hosted by UNESCO in Côte d’Ivoire on Sept. 8 and 9, to celebrate International Literacy Day.
A non-profit established in 1992-93 by well-known educationist Dr Achyuta Samanta to empower the indigenous population through education, KISS is a fully free residential educational institution that provides holistic education, comprehensive skilling and sports empowerment.
“I thank UNESCO for recognizing our efforts and social innovations in the field of education, literacy and indigenous empowerment. In my childhood, I struggled to get proper education and now I put all my life and soul to provide holistic education to millions at margins,” Dr. Samanta said in his message.
The India-based Institute is credited with adopting “innovative pedagogies as learning tools and bringing about a perceptible change in the socio-economic lives of the indigenous population through education,” the press release said.
The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Korea and recognizes contributions to mother language-based literacy development. KISS has received the award in the category of ‘Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education programme’. The award carries an endowment of US$ 20,000, a medal and a diploma. KISS is a constituent of the KIIT Group of Institutions.
Every year, the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes focus on a specific theme. This year, the spotlight was on Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces. KISS is the fifth institute from India and the first from Odisha to receive this international prize. It is also the third among the non-profit NGOs and first indigenous based organisation to be conferred with this award.
According to the press release, KISS has transformed the lives of 70,000 indigenous children (30,000 children pursuing education and 40,000 alumni) directly and about 700,000 lives in the indigenous communities indirectly.
QUAD Leaders Sign Humanitarian Assistance Partnership Guidelines
United States on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, hosted a ministerial meeting of The Quad grouping with India, Japan and Australia, the first such meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
The leaders from the Quad countries signed the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) partnership guidelines.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is here on a 10-day official visit to the United States, said, “Given the turbulent times, it’s important that Quad goes further in constructive agenda that we’ve set for ourselves that we work together on the delivery of public goods, that our efforts and particularly what we’re signing today the HADR partnership which we discussed and finalized in Tokyo is extremely timely.”
He said there were other initiatives in the making, some a little further in the pipeline like STEM fellowship.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who lost his father overnight and is likely to rush out of New York, hosted the Quad meeting.
Blinken announced that the meeting in New York is evidence that Quad is “strong and is getting stronger”.
“Not one of us alone can do what is necessary to meet these challenges and seize these opportunities and that is the inspiration behind Quad,” Blinken told his counterparts.
“This is the first time that the foreign ministers of the Quad nations got together at the UNGA so my hope is that it will be held as a regular feature at the meetings,” Blinken added.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong talked about Australia’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.
“Quad is a forum committed to bringing tangible benefits to the region and ensuring a region which is peaceful, stable, prosperous and where sovereignty is respected, where the countries are free to make their own choices,” Wong said.
Wong took a veiled dig at China over the country trying to dominate the Indo-Pacific and said, “No one in this room wants to see a region where countries are not able to make their sovereign choices, where any one country or any one perspective dominates.”
The Indo-Pacific region is being reshaped economically and strategically, she asserted. “We want to represent countries to navigate this period of change together. So this is the heart of the Quad,” Wong noted.
Japan Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa highlighted the importance of Quad and, in a veiled swipe at Russia and China, referred to attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by “force”. The minister stated that free and open international order based on rule of law is under threat.
“It is extremely significant for us to demonstrate together to the international community our firm commitment to the UN charter and free and open Indo Pacific (FOIP),” the minister asserted.
“At the same time, FOIP cannot be achieved without working together with countries in the region. I am confident that the guidelines for Quad partnership on HADR here will further strengthen our collaboration to effectively respond to disasters in the Indo-Pacific region,” the minister concluded.
Physician Burnout Up Significantly Since Beginning Of COVID-19 Pandemic
Burnout was a significant problem for doctors and other health care workers (HCWs) even before the arrival of COVID-19. Now a new study reveals just how much worse the pandemic has made it.
Researchers surveyed more than 107,000 HCWs across a wide range of health care-related occupations in 2019, 2020 and 2021-22 to measure and compare both individual levels of emotional exhaustion (EE) and workers’ perception of EE among their colleagues. They found that the overall EE rate among HCWs jumped from 31.8% in 2019 to 40.4% in 2021-22. The increase in individuals’ perception of EE among others—what the authors call the emotional exhaustion climate—was from 54% to 65%.
Perhaps surprisingly, EE among the three categories of physicians studied—residents, attending/staff physicians and physicians not working in a hospital–remained the same or declined between 2019 and 2020 a result the authors attribute to decreases in patient volume and the flexibility offered by telehealth resulting from the pandemic.
But the situation reversed dramatically in the following years, so that by 2021-22 the percentage of residents reporting EE had increased from 24.6% to 34.4%, from 33.4% to 40.1% among attending/staff physicians, and 29% to 34.6% among doctors not working for a hospital. These were, the authors say, “the largest single-year increases reported by any roles across any time frame, exceeding what was found during a three-year period when EHRs were introduced nationally.”
Among non-physicians, the largest growth in EE—from 27% to 39%–was among physical, occupational and speech therapists. Other occupations seeing significant increases included technologists (32% to 43%), technicians (33% to 42%), administrative support staff (29% to 38%), and nurses (40.6% to 49.2%).
Based on their findings and those of other studies, the authors call HCW burnout a “parallel pandemic that will be felt for many years to come.” Addressing it, they say, will require focusing on HCW well-being using both institutional and individual resources. Moreover, those resources need to be evidence-based and accessible to all employees, and their use must be role-modeled by organizational and institutional leaders.
The study, “Emotional Exhaustion Among U.S. Health Care Workers Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2019-2021” was published September 21 on JAMA Network Open.
(https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/senator-moves-to-end-covid-19-pandemic-national-emergency)
Desai Foundation Brightening Lives for 25 Years!
More than 400 of the TriState area’s creme-de-la-creme philanthropists, socialites, and celebrities are expected to rub shoulders at the Desai Foundation’s annual Festival of Lights fundraiser, Diwali on the Hudson, at HK Hall (605 W 48th St., between West End Avenue and West Side Highway) on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, from 7 to 11:30 p.m.
Pop artist Rhea Raj will light up the stage this year, along with other celebrity guests from media, film, and entertainment. Check out Rhea’s latest release “Outside,” which is making waves on international pop charts and all over social media.
The event will celebrate Diwali, the Indian New Year, which signifies luck and the triumph of good over evil, through dancing, dining, and partying for a purpose. “The global pandemic has given us a renewed appreciation for friends, family, and colleagues,” said President Megha Desai, “as well as the knowledge that the work of The Desai Foundation is more important now than ever before.” This year, the non-profit was invited to participate in the prestigious Clinton Global Initiative, a community of doers who are taking action on the world’s most pressing challenges.
The charity gala will feature an open bar, rocking entertainment, big NYC personalities, and delicious food from Desi Galli. All funds raised will go directly to long-term COVID relief efforts in rural India. Tickets range from $201 to $295 and can be purchased HERE. For more information about the organization and its mission, please visit www.thedesaifoundation.org.
Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan To Cost $400 Billion
President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive $10,000 in federal student debt for most borrowers will cost the government about $400 billion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in an estimate released Monday.
The CBO’s evaluation of the administration’s policy said the price tag is “a result of the action canceling up to $10,000 of debt issued on or before June 30, 2022.”
The estimate applies to the plan Biden announced last month to forgive $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and $20,000 for borrowers who received Pell Grants.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said 43 million borrowers shared $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt as of June 30. Under Biden’s plan, about $430 billion of that debt will be wiped out, the reporting shows.
The CBO also estimated the costs for the Biden administration’s recent renewal of the moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual, which had been set to lapse at the end of August. The extension, which punts the deadline to the end of the year, was projected to cost $20 billion in the new report.
As of the end of June, 43 million borrowers held $1.6 trillion in federal student loans and about $430 billion of that debt will be canceled, the CBO estimated. The White House, borrowing language from the CBO analysis, responded by focusing on the agency’s own assessment that its $400 billion estimate was “highly uncertain.”
“CBO called its own estimate ‘highly uncertain.’ We agree,'” the White House said in a memo. “By law, the federal budget computes the complete cost of student loan relief over the lifetime of the loans, and then records that cost in the year the loans are modified,” the memo continued. “But that’s not how this program will affect the bottom line in reality. The cost to the government is not the long-term score, but rather, the annual lost receipts.”
Rupee Nosedives As Dollar Continues To Gain
A hattrick of record low: The rupee plunged 54 paise to provisionally close at a new all-time low of 81.63 against the US dollar on Monday. It had ended at its lowest ever on both Thursday and Friday, making Monday’s deeper plunge the third successive record low levels in three sessions.
There’s panic: It has been created by the dollar index, which has witnessed strong buying as a strong hedge against interest rate hikes and inflation cycle. The downtrend may continue for the rupee until positive triggers are not witnessed from the inflation forefront, experts feel.
The main story: The dollar has become profitable as the US Fed is hiking rates to tame inflationary trends in its market. The dollar rally reflects the ‘flight-to-safety’ approach by investors. As a result the Asian markets have become riskier and are experiencing crisis-level stress again. Two most significant Asian currencies — the yen and the yuan — have been falling under the dollar’s assault. The US is hawkish, the Asians are dovish.
RBI has a job to do: Its monetary policy committee (MPC) is meeting this week and is expected to hike rates by 50 basis points. Market experts feel this could provide some respite to the rupee but it still may lie in the 80.50-81.50 range.
Pressure on forex: RBI has been holding the rupee for quite some time through rate hikes and by selling dollars from its foreign exchange reserves. But this meant that India’s foreign exchange reserves fell below $550 billion for the first time in nearly two years last week, which marked the seventh successive week of forex decline.
And shares? The 30-share BSE index tanked 953.70 points to settle at 57,145, recovering after plummeting 1,061 points during the day. The NSE Nifty fell 311.05 points to close at 17,016. In the last four sessions, the Sensex has lost about 2,575 points and the market capitalisation of the BSE-listed companies reduced by over Rs 13.3 lakh crore. (Times Of India)
Pound Plunges Against Dollar
UK markets were in focus as the pound crashed to an all-time low and bond yields surged to the highest in more than a decade, sparking talk of emergency action by the Bank of England on Monday, September 26th. The market mayhem unleashed by the government’s fiscal plan on Friday went into overdrive after the government pledged further tax cuts.
The Bank of England sought to reassure financial markets after the British pound touched an all-time low against the U.S. dollar, but its entreaty fell flat for investors concerned about a sweeping package of tax cuts that further jolted a faltering economy that the government’s plan was meant to prop up.
The central bank said it was “closely monitoring” the markets and would not hesitate to boost interest rates to curb inflation. Its statement came after the pound plunged as low as $1.0373, the lowest since the decimalization of the currency in 1971, on concerns that tax cuts announced Friday by Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng would swell government debt and fuel further inflation as the United Kingdom teeters toward recession.
The bank, which raised rates Thursday, said it would fully assess the government’s tax and spending commitments before it meets next in November and “will not hesitate to change interest rates by as much as needed to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term.”
Also Monday, the U.K. Treasury said it would set out a medium-term fiscal plan on Nov. 23, alongside an economic forecast by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
The statements did little to ease misgivings about the government’s economic policies, with the pound dropping from $1.0857 to $1.0664 after they were issued. The pound had rallied from the record low earlier in the day on expectations that the central bank might take action to stabilize the currency.
The weakening pound piles pressure on the new Conservative government, which has gambled that it can slash taxes to spur economic growth while at the same time borrowing billions of pounds to help consumers and businesses struggling with soaring energy costs. Many economists say it’s more likely to fuel already high inflation, push down the pound and drive up the cost of U.K. government borrowing — a potential perfect storm of economic headwinds.
Kwarteng has been criticized for failing to release any independent analysis of the plans when he announced the U.K.’s biggest tax cuts in 50 years.
The government plans to cut 45 billion pounds ($49 billion) in taxes at the same time as it spends more than 60 billion pounds to cap energy prices that are driving a cost-of-living crisis.
Kwarteng and Prime Minister Liz Truss, who replaced Boris Johnson as prime minister on Sept. 6, are betting that lower taxes and reduced bureaucracy eventually will generate enough additional tax revenue to cover government spending. Economists suggest it is unlikely the gamble will pay off.
Opposition Labour Party economy spokeswoman Rachel Reeves accused the government of “a return to trickle-down economics, an idea that has been tried, has been tested and has failed.”
“They are not gambling with their money — they are gambling with yours,” she told an audience at the party’s annual conference Monday.
The new and untested Truss also faces pressure from a nervous Conservative Party, which faces an election within two years.
Some Conservatives have welcomed the tax-cutting moves as a return to free-market values after years of state intervention in the economy during the coronavirus pandemic. But others worry it is unconservative for the government to rack up huge debts that taxpayers will eventually have to pay.
Monday’s turbulence follows a 3% fall in the pound Friday, the biggest one-day drop against the U.S. dollar since Johnson announced Britain’s first COVID-19 lockdown on March 18, 2020. Before that, the pound lost more than 10% of its value immediately after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union in June 2016 before rebounding.
The sense of a government losing control led some to compare current events with Sept. 16, 1992 — “Black Wednesday” — when a collapsing pound against the backdrop of high inflation forced the U.K. to crash out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which was meant to stabilize exchange rates. It took the U.K. years to recover from the economic shock.
Kwarteng insisted the government was acting responsibly — and said there were more tax cuts to come.
“We’ve only been here 19 days. I want to see, over the next year, people retain more of their income because I believe that it is the British people that are going to drive this economy,” he told the BBC.
As it is cutting taxes, the government plans to cap electricity and natural gas prices for homes and businesses to help cushion price rises that have been triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine and have sent inflation to a near 40-year high of 9.9%.
This program will cost 60 billion pounds, and the government will borrow to finance it, Kwarteng said Friday.
He said Sunday that it was the right policy because the government needed to help consumers squeezed by the unprecedented pressures caused by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.
Britain can afford the cost because its debt as a percentage of gross domestic product is the second lowest among the Group of Seven large industrial economies, Kwarteng said. He said the government would announce a “medium-term fiscal plan” for reducing the nation’s debt in the coming months.
Terrorism Should Not Be Used As Political Tool: Jaishankar
Amid repeated holds on proposals to designate Pakistan-based terrorists under the UN sanctions regime, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that terrorism should not be used as a “political tool” and the idea that something is blocked without assigning a reason challenges common sense.
“We do believe that in any process if any party is taking a decision, they need to be transparent about it. So the idea that something is blocked without assigning a reason, it sort of challenges common sense,” Jaishankar said as he spoke to a group of Indian journalists here on Saturday after wrapping up the New York leg of his visit to the US with his address to the UN General Assembly high-level session.
He was responding to a question by PTI on the issue of repeated holds and blocks on proposals to list Pakistan-based terror group leaders under the UN sanctions regime and whether this came up in his talks with his global counterparts as he met them during the high-level General Assembly week. “We do believe that in any process if any party is taking a decision, they need to be transparent about it. So the idea that something is blocked without assigning a reason, it sort of challenges common sense,” Jaishankar said.
“It came up in some of my meetings. I also mentioned it in my BRICS intervention,” he said referring to the meeting held last week on the margins of the General Assembly between the foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group – Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco Franca, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa Naledi Pandor.
China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, has repeatedly put holds on listing proposals by India, the US and other allies to blacklist Pakistan-based terrorists under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions regime of the Council.
Last week, China put a hold on a proposal moved at the United Nations by the US and co-supported by India to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Sajid Mir, wanted for his involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks, as a global terrorist.
Last month, China put a hold on a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar and a senior leader of the Pakistan-based terror organisation. Abdul Rauf Azhar, born in 1974 in Pakistan, was sanctioned by the US in December 2010.
In June this year, China had put a hold, at the last moment, on a joint proposal by India and the US to list Pakistan-based terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki under the 1267 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.
Jaishankar, in his UNGA address on Saturday, said that no rhetoric, however sanctimonious can ever cover up blood stains and nations who defend proclaimed terrorists in the United Nations advance neither their own interests nor their reputation, a clear reference to China and Pakistan.
“Having borne the brunt of cross border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach. In our view, there is no justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation. And no rhetoric, however sanctimonious can ever cover up blood stains,” Jaishankar said in the UN General Debate.
“The United Nations responds to terrorism by sanctioning its perpetrators. Those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril. Believe me, they advance neither their own interests nor indeed their reputation,” he said.
With the Chinese Foreign Minister listening, Jaishankar had said during a ministerial meeting in the Security Council on Ukraine this week that the fight against impunity is critical to the larger pursuit of securing peace and justice. The Security Council must send an unambiguous and unequivocal message on this count.
He had said “politics should never ever provide cover to evade accountability. Nor indeed to facilitate impunity. Regrettably, we have seen this of late in this very Chamber, when it comes to sanctioning some of the world’s most dreaded terrorists.” “If egregious attacks committed in broad daylight are left unpunished, this Council must reflect on the signals we are sending on impunity. There must be consistency if we are to ensure credibility,” he said.
“We hope that reason would prevail and people, first of all, would not arbitrarily or politically block,” Jaishankar said, underlining that the message is that this is “not inter-state politics which we are talking about.”
“We are trying to get across our message that terrorism is not political. It should not be used as a political tool, its consequences should not be made political.
If you go into the UN and say does everybody consider terrorism a common threat, everybody will say yes. So we are saying well, if that’s what your position is, then why don’t your policies and your actions follow up on it,” he said.
Putin Grants Edward Snowden Citizenship
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, September 26th signed a decree granting citizenship to former National Security Agency contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden. He was among 75 foreigners granted citizenship by Putin’s new decree.
Snowden fled the U.S. in 2013 after he leaked classified information about government surveillance programs and was charged with espionage. He’s been living in exile in Moscow for nearly a decade to avoid prosecution on American soil.
He said in 2019 that he ultimately hoped to return home if the government guaranteed him a fair trial, but he contended the U.S. wasn’t willing to let him defend his actions as having been made in the public interest.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Snowden requested an extended residency permit that would allow him to spend three more years in Russia. Later that year, Russia granted him an unlimited permit.
Weeks after securing permanent residency, Snowden and his wife, Lindsay Mills, announced they would apply for Russian citizenship ahead of the birth of their first child. Snowden said at the time that he and his family would work to maintain dual U.S.-Russian citizenship and would not renounce their U.S. passports.
The move comes on the heels of a partial mobilization order that would call up thousands of Russian reservists to fight in the war in Ukraine. The country has a mandatory conscription system, and most men enter the reserves after completing military training.
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Snowden’s lawyer reportedly told the Interfax news agency that he is not eligible to be mobilized because he has not served in the Russian forces.
Though outspoken about U.S. politics on his Twitter account and in his Substack newsletter, Snowden has been quiet about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Congress President: Tharoorism Is Not Enough
The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded by Allan Octavian Hume, a British civil servant. He was a great ornithologist, who had the single largest collection of Indian bird specimens. He was posted at Etawah, now in Uttar Pradesh, when the first war of independence in 1857, also called Sepoy Mutiny, happened. Though the revolt was brutally dealt with, he knew that violence of the kind could erupt any time and the British would not be able to control it.
Though he held senior positions in the government, he believed that the British could not stay in India for long and they should, therefore, be ready to transfer power to the Indian people. It was also true that India did not have enough academically qualified people who could be administrators. The setting up of the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1857 marked a turning point in the history of India.
That the 1857 mutineers were clueless people could be gauged from the fact that they chose a “poet” as the emperor. They were inspired more by religion than by nationalism. Hume understood the situation much better than the mutineers, who promised that they would reintroduce sati and would keep the lower castes in their old, pre-British position.
Higher education, the resultant sense of nationalism and the rise of the middle class marked a new beginning. It was during this time that Hume, who had earned the displeasure of the British, thought of taking the lead to form a political organisation that would help solve the problems of the people vis-a-vis the administration. In 1883, he wrote a letter to the graduates of the University of Calcutta in which he said, “If only fifty men, good and true, can be found to join as founders, the thing (Congress) can be established and the further development will be comparatively easy.…
“And if even the leaders of thought are all either such poor creatures, or so selfishly wedded to personal concerns that they dare not strike a blow for their country’s sake, then justly and rightly are they kept down and trampled on, for they deserve nothing better. Every nation secures precisely as good a government as it merits”. Until then, nobody had given such a clarion call.
Two years after Hume wrote this letter, the Indian National Congress was founded with Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, a co-founder, as the first president at its session held in Bombay. The president of the Congress did not enjoy any administrative powers but it became the most coveted position for an Indian. Before and after Independence, the persons who held this post were undoubtedly some of the greatest leaders India produced.
There were Christians, Muslims, Hindus of all castes, Parsis and atheists who held this post, many of them with distinction. Mahatma Gandhi held this post only once, though no one exercised greater control of the organisation than him. The Congress was not just a political party. It represented the aspirations of the people. Even after Independence, the post of Congress president was far more prestigious than a Cabinet Minister’s or Governor’s post.
Elections used to be held regularly in the party and the presidentship was, initially, for just one year. Politically, the post was on a par with that of the Prime Minister. K. Kamaraj wielded considerable influence as Congress president, though he did not know a word of Hindi. S. Nijalingappa was another president who did not consider himself lower than the Prime Minister.
With the loss of power at the Centre and in most states, the Congress is no longer what it used to be. In the last Assembly elections in UP, the party could win only two seats. The Muslims began deserting the Congress when the party prevaricated on the issue of Babri Masjid. The Brahmins began to shift to the BJP. The Yadavs had their own party and the Scheduled Castes found their leader in the late Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. The Congress was left with some Nehru loyalists in Amethi and Rae Bareli. Now, they, too, have disappeared forcing Rahul Gandhi to cross the Vindhyas to get votes and win a seat in Parliament.
The rise of regional parties in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and many Northeastern states has further damaged the Congress. All this while, the BJP has been growing from a party with just two seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to its pre-eminent position today thanks to the systematic exploitation of divisive issues which have little to do with the common man’s bread and butter needs.
The RSS, founded in 1925, has been working at the grassroots level moulding public opinion that finds reflection in crude anti-minority rhetoric. It also helped in the growth of the BJP. One only has to remember how the BJP and what is now the Aam Aadmi Party under the leadership of Anna Hazare organised a powerful campaign to demand the setting up of the Lok Pal.
The purpose was to drive out the Congress from power. These parties no longer mention rise in petroleum prices or the falling value of the rupee vis-a-vis the dollar.
It is in this context that election to the post of Congress president is taking place. It is not clear who the candidates are. What is clear is that nobody from the Nehru family — Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi — will contest. The Congress has one problem. Its leaders want the Gandhi family to win elections for them. Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi could win elections for them.
Rahul Gandhi has rightly realised that he cannot win elections for others. That is why he does not want to be the president. Politics is the art of the possible. Anyone who masters it succeeds.
In the BJP, Narendra Modi was not the first choice. There were better claimants for the post of Prime Minister in 2014. He knew how to manage the situation and before L.K. Advani, who was projected as the leader of leaders, realised what was happening, he found Modi telling him and Murli Manohar Joshi that they could not even be ministers as they were above 75. Advani would have rued his decision to allow Modi to sit on the Rath during the Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya. He got his first public exposure.
So far, only one person has shown interest in becoming Congress president. He is Shashi Tharoor. When he first contested against a fellow Asian for the post of UN Secretary-General, it was considered bad politics. His vast experience in the UN administration, where he held a senior post, should have stood him in good stead.
The then Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, was blamed for sponsoring his campaign at great state cost and prestige. Once bitten, he should have been twice shy. Far from that, he managed to get nominated by the Congress for the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in 2009. Congressmen in Kerala were not consulted when he was chosen for the seat.
Tharoor knew only a smattering of Malayalam but he banked on the fact that it was Thiruvananthapuram which elected V.K. Krishna Menon, whose knowledge of Malayalam was worse. There was one fundamental difference. Menon contested against the Congress as an independent with CPM support. Curiously, Menon had opposed the formation of Kerala for fear that the Communists would come to power. He wanted a UP-like large state comprising Kerala, Tamil Nadu and part of Karnataka.
The dyed-in-the-wool Congressmen in Kerala were uncomfortable when Tharoor not only learnt to speak Malayalam but also proved that he could remain in the Congress without being a member of any faction. His oratorical skills, literary felicity and mastery of English helped him carve a niche for himself in Indian politics.
Politicians in Kerala hated the fact that he could attract public attention. They, in fact, feared his presence on the stage. Sooner than later, they also realised that he could garner votes. He has become the most popular speaker during elections. In Kerala, not elsewhere!
Tharoor proved all the doubting Thomases wrong when he retained the Thiruvananthapuram seat for a third time in 2019. He has faced many personal tragedies and he braved them as he kept on churning out bestsellers that make him one of the most popular writers in India. Those who have read him like this writer know that most of his books are the result of cut and paste. His book on British rule, which won the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi award, is a classic case of shallow research and high success.
On the subject of writing, I was shocked when Tharoor wrote that it was possible for the statues of Ganapati to drink milk in a column in The Hindu. I wondered how a young, educated person could accept such bogus claims when scientists explained that it was the result of capillary action. His request to the UN chief to let him serve under him after contesting unsuccessfully against him was unthinkable, if not unethical, to say the least.
Tharoor thinks that he has the dynamism, the clout and the ability to hold the post of Congress president. Few doubt him on any of these scores. He would surely know that in the history of the Congress party, only one Malayali became its president. He was Chettur Sankaran Nair, who became president when the Congress held its session at Amravati in 1897.
Nair was a member of the Viceroy’s Council, the highest post an Indian could hold, but his links with the Congress ended when he wrote a book titled “Gandhi and Anarchy” that caricatured Mahatma Gandhi and called him a dictator. Thereafter, the party never trusted a Malayali with this post. It is just a coincidence that Tharoor and Nair belong to the same Palakkad district.
It is a jigsaw puzzle what Tharoor’s chances are if the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is his rival. That he was a member of the Group of 23 which questioned the leadership of Rahul Gandhi means that he is assured of some pan-India Congress votes.
Tharoor was present with Gandhi when he travelled through Thiruvananthapuram during his ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. Few in the Congress or other parties can speak English as fluently as he can. He is a good debater who cut his teeth as a debater while he was at St. Stephen’s College. Few people know that he has a good command of Hindi and, if need be, he can speak fluently in the other official language also.
These are certainly attributes the president of the Congress should have. He is also a master of social media who can give a tit-for-tat, though he can at times find himself in “cattle class”! Does all these make a person a great leader? Mahatma Gandhi’s oratorical skill was nothing to write home about. Yet, the people were mesmerised by his simple speech. He understood the pulse of the people as the latter understood him.
Of course, it is scandalous to compare Tharoor with Gandhi. The circumstances in which he lost his ministership do not crown himself with glory. He relied on a St. Stephen’s alumnus, who ultimately landed him in trouble. A good debater need not necessarily be a good leader.
A good debater is one who can argue for or against a subject. George Fernandes proved that he could one day speak for the government and the next day speak against the same government. His debating skill was proved but in public memory he remained a turncoat, whom nobody wanted to touch with even a barge pole.
A leader is one who can inspire the people. Modi has that quality, rightly or wrongly. People know that Rahul Gandhi is a wonderful person, sincere and hardworking but he does not have the ability to inspire people. One can only hope that his Bharat Jodo Yatra will transform his persona.
The biggest challenge for Tharoor is not to retain Thiruvananthapuram for a fourth time but to win elections for Congressmen all over the country. Can he do that? If he can’t, nobody would be inspired by his use of words like higgleddy-piggleddy and ultraantidisestablishmentarianism! (https://www.indiancurrents.org/article-congress-president-tharoorism-is-not-enough-a-j-philip-1370.php)
Anyone Living In India Is Hindu, Says RSS Chief
All people living in India are Hindus in terms of identity, said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday, September 21st explaining his organization’s philosophy. Elaborating the RSS’ philosophy, Bhagwat said that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life.
Bhagwat was speaking on the third day of his lecture series in Delhi when he explained the RSS’s views on Hinduism, education and caste. “It’s Indian culture and Hindutva which believe in working with other schools of thought. All people living in India are Hindu in terms of identity and nationality,” Bhagwat said.
“Hinduism is a wrong word—“ism” is a closed concept. Hindutva, Hinduness is not any “ism” but a dynamic process. Gandhi ji has said the endless search for truth is called Hindutva. S Radhakrishnan has said Hindutva is a continuous process,” Bhagwat was quoted by the RSS’s Twitter handle as saying.
“We think everyone must abide by the Constitution…The RSS has never gone against the Constitution. (Sure), The words secular and socialist were added later, but now they are there,” he said.
Bhagwat said the concept of a Hindu Rashtra or Hindu nation does not rest on segregation or rejection of any community or faith. “Hindu Rashtra doesn’t mean there’s no place for Muslims. The day it becomes so, it won’t be Hindutva. Hindutva talks about one world family,” Bhagwat said. The RSS is the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing a gathering in Shillong, the RSS chief said all are Hindus as all Indians are the inhabitants of Hindustan, which, he said is in the south of the Himalayas, north of Indian Ocean, on the bank of the Indus River. “The habitants of this area are traditionally called Hindus. This is also called Bharat,” said Bhagwat, who arrived here on Saturday on a two-day visit.
He said that even before the Mughals who have spread Islam and the British rulers who spread Christianity, Hindus were already in existence. Highlighting the ideology of RSS, Bhagwat said the term ‘Hindu’ covers all those who are the sons of ‘Bharat Mata’, descendants of Indian ancestors and who live in accordance with Indian culture.
Ruling out the fear of religious conversion, the RSS supremo said to become Hindu one does not have to change since everyone here is Hindu. “India is not a country with a western concept. It has been a cultural country since time immemorial; in fact, it is such a country, which has taught the world the lesson of humanity.”
Since Saturday, he has attended a series of events, including the meeting of RSS functionaries and workers across the hill state. Several BJP leaders, members of Hindu organisations attended the events organised by the Meghalaya unit of RSS.
Bhagwat’s visit to Meghalaya — a Christian majority state, assumes significance as Assembly elections are scheduled to be held there in February next year. Elaborate security arrangements were made in the state in view of the visit of Bhagwat, who has a ‘Z Plus’ security cover. (IANS)
Giorgia Meloni, First Female Premier To Lead Government In Italy
(AP) — A party with neo-fascist roots won the most votes in Italy’s national election, setting the stage for talks to form the country’s first far right-led government since World War II, with Giorgia Meloni at the helm as Italy’s first female premier, media reports stated.
Italy’s lurch to the far right immediately shifted Europe’s geopolitics, placing Meloni’s euroskeptic Brothers of Italy in a position to lead a founding member of the European Union and its third-largest economy. Italy’s left warned of “dark days” ahead and vowed to keep Italy in the heart of Europe.
Right-wing leaders across Europe immediately hailed 45-year-old Meloni’s victory as sending a historic, nationalist message to Brussels. It followed a right-wing victory in Sweden and recent gains by the far-right in France and Spain.
Still, turnout in the Italian election Sunday was a historic low of 64%, and pollsters suggested voters stayed home in protest, disenchanted by the backroom deals that had created the country’s last three governments and the mash-up of parties in outgoing Premier Mario Draghi’s national unity government.
By contrast, Meloni was viewed as a new face in the merry-go-round of Italian governments and many Italians appeared to be voting for change, analysts said.
The victory of Meloni’s just 10-year-old Brothers of Italy was more about Italian dissatisfaction with the decades-long status quo than any surge in neo-fascist or far-right sentiment, said Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute of International Affairs.
“I would say the main reason why a big chunk of (voters) … will vote for this party is simply because it’s the new kid on the block,” she said.
The election’s sharp swing to the right, “confirms that the Italian electorate remains fickle,″ said London-based political analyst Wolfango Piccoli, noting that an estimated 30% of voters went for a different party than their choice in 2018 elections.
Meloni, whose party traces its origins to the postwar, neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, tried to sound a unifying tone, noting that Italians had finally been able to determine their leaders.
“If we are called to govern this nation, we will do it for everyone. We will do it for all Italians and we will do it with the aim of uniting the people,” said. “shechose us. We will not betray it.”
Near-final results showed the center-right coalition netting 44% of the parliamentary vote, with Meloni’s Brothers of Italy snatching 26% in its biggest win in its decade-long meteoric rise. Her coalition partners divided up the remainder, with the anti-immigrant League party led by Matteo Salvini winning 9% and Forza Italia of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi taking around 8% of the vote.
The center-left Democratic Party and its allies had around 26% support, while the populist 5-Star Movement — which had been the biggest vote-getter in the 2018 parliamentary election — saw its share of the vote halved to 15%.
While the center-right was the clear winner, the formation of a government is still weeks away and will involve consultations among party leaders and with President Sergio Mattarella. In the meantime, Draghi remains in a caretaker role.
The elections, which took place six months early after Draghi’s government collapsed, came at a crucial time for Europe as it faces Russia’s war in Ukraine and related soaring energy costs that have hit ordinary Italians as well as industry.
A Meloni-led government is largely expected to follow Italy’s current foreign policy, including her pro-NATO stance and strong support for supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself against Russia’s invasion, even as her coalition allies take a different tone.
Both Berlusconi and Salvini have ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. While both have distanced themselves from his invasion of Ukraine, Salvini has warned that EU sanctions against Moscow are hurting Italian industry. Berlusconi has even excused Putin’s invasion as an event foisted upon him by pro-Moscow separatists in the Donbas.
A bigger shift and one likely to cause friction with other EU nations is likely to come over migration. Meloni has called for a naval blockade to prevent migrant boats from leaving North African shores, and has proposed screening potential asylum-seekers in Africa, not Europe.
Salvini has made clear he wants the League to recapture the interior minister post, where he once imposed a tough anti-migrant policy. But he may face an internal leadership challenge, with Meloni’s party outperforming the League even in its northeastern stronghold.
On relations with the EU, analysts note that for all her euroskeptic rhetoric, Meloni moderated her message during the campaign and has little room to maneuver, given the economic windfall Italy is receiving from Brussels in coronavirus recovery funds. Italy secured 191.5 billion euros, the biggest chunk of the EU’s 750 billion-euro recovery package, and is bound by certain reform and investment milestones to receive it all.
That said, Meloni has criticized the EU’s recent recommendation to suspend 7.5 billion euros in funding to Hungary over concerns about democratic backsliding, defending autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orban as the elected leader in a democratic system.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen praised Meloni for having “resisted the threats of an anti-democratic and arrogant European Union.”
Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox opposition party, tweeted that Meloni “has shown the way for a proud and free Europe of sovereign nations that can cooperate on behalf of everybody’s security and prosperity.”
Meloni is chair of the right-wing European Conservative and Reformist group in the European Parliament, which includes her Brothers of Italy, Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice Party, Spain’s far-right Vox and the right-wing Sweden Democrats, which just won big there on a platform of cracking down on crime and limiting immigration.
“The trend that emerged two weeks ago in Sweden was confirmed in Italy,” acknowledged Democratic Party leader Enrico Letta, calling Monday a “sad day for Italy, for Europe.”
“We expect dark days. We fought in every way to avoid this outcome,″ Letta said at a somber news conference. “(The Democratic Party) will not allow Italy to leave the heart of Europe.”
Thomas Christiansen, professor of political science at Rome’s Luiss University and the executive editor of the Journal of European Integration, noted that Italy has a tradition of pursuing a consistent foreign and European policy that is bigger than individual party interests.
“Whatever Meloni might be up to will have to be moderated by her coalition partners and indeed with the established consensus of Italian foreign policy,” Christiansen said.
MSCK And MSSNY Hold Joint Legislative Meeting In Brooklyn
The Medical Society of the County of Kings (MSCK) and The Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) held a joint legislative meeting at Brooklyn Borough Hall on September 15, 2022. Attendees included guest of honor Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso,Chairman of Health Committee, NY Senator Gustavo Rivera, NY Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman, NY Assemblyman Michael Tannousis and NY Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
MSCK President Dr. Jagdish Gupta began the evening by welcoming the participants and presenting a unique opportunity for them to engage in dialogue with elected representatives.In introducing NYS Senator Hon. Gustavo Rivera, Dr. Gupta said: “Senator Rivera has made it his duty to fight the long-standing health inequalities in our communities.”
Dr. Gupta thanked the Senator for his committee’s support on the following legislation:
• Telehealth payment parity
• Extension of the Excess Medical Malpractice Insurance Program
• Increasing Medicaid Payments by Restoring Medicaid Cuts of 1.5 % of 2020 and
increasing Medicaid Physician Payment for E&M services to 70% of Medicare.
• Providing 75% increase in Loan Repayment Program to Physician Students
He went on to thank him for his efforts in passing the following:
• Requirements for same specialty Peer Review process by Health Plans
• Prohibiting Health insurers from Preventing patients from using Co-Pay cards or
Coupons
• Preventing Health insurers from imposing Step Therapy or Fail First Protocols
• For lowering the age of screening colonoscopy to age 45 years
• Providing additional due process protection to Healthcare Providers audited by OMIG
Dr. Gupta stressed that the Wrongful Death Liability Expansion Bill, if enacted into law, would be devastating to physicians and safety net hospitals and will increase liability for businesses and municipalities in New York.
“The people of New York deserve the best possible healthcare. New York trains the highest number of trainees, but they leave NY because the environment for medical practice is challenging, said MSSNY President Dr. Parag Mehta. “MSSNY is willing to discuss with all who are interested in our common goals and offer its expertise to find ways to improve our healthcare system and healthcare delivery.”
Physicians have been heroes, especially during the Covid pandemic, and many physicians lost their lives fighting the Covid crisis. “They faced the Covid crisis with courage and compassion, said Dr. Mehta. “Healthcare heroes are facing a new crisis today: the potential increase in their liability premium by 40-45% if the wrongful death bill becomes effective. We urge Governor Hochul to veto this bill.”
Dr. Gupta has been serving the Brooklyn Community for the last 45 years. He has been actively involved in Organized Medical Societies leadership at the Kings County and New York state Medical Society level for a long time. Through innovative research exploring the links between gastrointestinal and neurological diseases, Dr. Gupta has made his mark upon medical literature. In addition to his many contributions to peer review journals, he has co-authored chapters in many medical textbooks. As a researcher dedicated to the detection, prevention and treatment of GI disorders including cancer, he has been recognized and awarded numerous teaching awards. He has been on the TOP DOCTORS list of Castle Connolly for more than twenty years, consecutively and also has been designated as SUPER DOC by New York Times magazine for three years.
The Medical Society of the County of Kings (MSCK), the oldest scientific organization in Brooklyn, New York was established on March 2nd, 1822 by a group of doctors gathered at Auld Lang Syne Tavern on Fulton Street in Brooklyn Heights, with the lofty mission “to foster progress in the science and art of medicine and to promote, preserve and enforce the highest of standards of ethical and proficient medical care”. In 1900, the Society opened its grand new colonial revival building at 1313 Bedford Avenue, the geographical center of Brooklyn and It was headquartered there until 1996.
The Society had hosted numerous Scientific Conferences at the McNaughton Auditorium where local, national, and international luminaries in medicine presented important and often original scientific works. The Medical Society grew exponentially to more than 3,500 members by the mid-20th century and according to the Directing Librarian for the Society, for some time boasted as the 5th largest medical library in the country.
Captions for the pictures:
Picture #1 Title: With Assembly Persons
Captions from Left to right: Lisa Eng DO, Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman, Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, Medical Society President Jagdish K Gupta, MD and Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz.
Picture # 2 Title: Panel-1
Captions from Left to right: MSCK President Jagdish K. Gupta MD, Health Committee Chairman Senator Gustavo Rivera, MSSNY President Parag Mehta MD, Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, Lisa Eng DO (Standing)
Picture #3 Title Group Picture
India Is On The Side Of Peace In Russia-Ukraine War, Jaishankar Tells At UNGA
As the months-long Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to rage on, India on Saturday, September 24, 2022 told the United Nations General Assembly that it is on the side of peace and that it will remain firmly there. Speaking at the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India is on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles.
“As the Ukraine conflict continues to rage, we are often asked whose side we are on. And our answer, each time, is straight and honest. India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there,” he said. “We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles. We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out. We are on the side of those struggling to make ends meet, even as they stare at the escalating costs of food, of fuel and fertilizers,” Jaishankar added.
He also said that it is in our collective interest to work constructively, both within the United Nations and outside, in finding an “early resolution” to this conflict. In another note, Jaishankar has left the door open for a possible role for India in mediating the Ukraine-Russia war. Mexico proposed last week at the UN Security Council that a committee of Heads of state and government, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pope Francis, could help UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres end the war.
Jaishankar’s response to a question about a possible role for India in mediating an end to the Ukraine-Russia war expertly framed. He did not rule it out. But he also made it clear India is not campaigning for it. “If we can help in some way we will be obviously responsible enough to do that,” the Minister said, adding, “I think the participants know that the rest of the world knows that. Beyond that what happens that’s in the realm of diplomacy so I can’t say anything.”
Mexico has proposed that Modi should mediate between Russia and Ukraine. Foreign Minister Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubon suggested it officially during a meeting of the UN Security Council debate on Ukraine in New York. “Based on its pacifist vocation, Mexico believes that the international community must now channel its best efforts to achieve peace,” Casaubon said.
“In this regard, I would like to share with you the proposal of the President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to strengthen the mediation efforts of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through the formation of a Committee for Dialogue and Peace in Ukraine with the participation of other heads of state and government, including, if possible, His Excellency Narendra Modi and His Holiness Pope Francis.”
According to media reports, Jaishankar kicked off a four-day visit to Washington DC with a first-of-its-kind public interaction for an Indian External Affairs Minister with the Indian American community: a Q&A in which he took unscreened questions from the audience, which, it must be noted, comprised largely of old fans and new fans — the moderator, for instance, repeatedly called him a “rockstar”, and his every answer was greeted with multiple round of applause, with the most excited springing to their feet.
Noting that while the global attention has been on Ukraine, Jaishankar said that India has also had to contend with other challenges, especially “in its own neighbourhood”, in an apparent reference to the unresolved standoff with China in eastern Ladakh and strained relations with Pakistan.
“Having borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism for decades, India firmly advocates a ‘zero- tolerance’ approach. In our view, there is no justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivation. And no rhetoric, however sanctimonious, can ever cover up blood stains,” he said.
“The United Nations responds to terrorism by sanctioning its perpetrators. Those who politicise the UNSC 1267 Sanctions regime, sometimes even to the extent of defending proclaimed terrorists, do so at their own peril. Believe me, they advance neither their own interests nor indeed their reputation,” the external affairs minister stated.
The Minister answered a range of questions from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Pakistan to Kashmir, education, health and his own experiences as a long-time career diplomat. “Very honestly, it’s a relationship that has neither ended up serving Pakistan well, nor (is it) serving American interests,” the Minister said in response to the F-16 spares, which has greatly exercised some Indian-Americans. He framed his criticism of the package in the overall context of a bilateral relationship, which he argued, has been mutually dysfunctional for both Pakistan and the US.
“It is really for the US today to reflect … the merits of this relationship,” Jaishankar added, asking what it wants with this package. For someone to say I’m doing this because it is all counter-terrorism content and so, when you are talking of an aircraft like a capability of an F-16 where everybody knows, you know where they are deployed and what is their use,” the Minister said, and added, “You’re not fooling anybody by saying these things.”
He slammed the Biden administration’s proposal to provide $450 million worth of spares and services for Pakistan’s F-16s, saying no one is fooled by claims that these highly capable fighter aircraft are meant only for counter-terrorism operations.
The Biden administration informed the US congress earlier in September that it proposed to provide $450 million worth of spares and services for Pakistan’s US-made F-16 for their “sustainment”. No new capabilities or munitions are part of the package, which, it was stated, will also not alter the military balance in the region.
The US administration claimed in the notification that these F-16s are meant for counter-terrorism operations. But Pakistan has used them for other purposes as well, most recently in an air combat with Indian fighters jets in February 2019. India later said it shot down one of the F-16 deployed.
“If I were to speak to an American policy-maker, I would really make the case (that) look what you are doing,” Jaishankar said further. “Forget about us. It’s actually not good for you what you’re doing, reflect on the history, look at the last 20 years.”
Jaishankar will have the opportunity to convey his advice to plenty of American policy-makers he will be meeting over the next few days, including his US counterpart Antony Blinken. (IANS)
At UN, Despite Global Morass, Hope Peeks Through The Gloom
(AP) — The head of the United Nations had just warned of a world gone badly wrong — a place where inequity was on the rise, war was back in Europe, fragmentation was everywhere, the pandemic was pushing onward and technology was tearing things apart as much as it was uniting them.
“Our world is in big trouble. Divides are growing deeper. Inequalities are growing wider. Challenges are spreading farther,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday morning as he opened the general debate at the 77th U.N. General Assembly. And he was, on all counts, incontrovertibly correct.
Yet barely an hour later, here were two U.N. delegates — one Asian, one African — grinning and standing in the sun-dappled lobby of the U.N. Secretariat Building, thrilled to be there in person on this particular morning as they snapped photos of each other, laughing along the way as they captured the moment.
Hope: It can be hard to find anywhere these days, much less for the people who walk the floors of the United Nations, where shouldering the world’s weight is central to the job description. After all, this is an institution that listened last year as the president of the not-yet-at-war nation of Ukraine described it as being “like a retired superhero who has long forgotten how great they once were.”
And when world leaders are trying to solve some of humanity’s thorniest problems — or, to be frank, sometimes to impede solutions to those same problems — it’s easy, from a distance, to lose sight of hope through the haze of negative adjectives.
Yet beneath the layers of existential gloom Tuesday — and this is no doubt a pandemic-exhausted group of people representing a world in a really bad mood from so many disquieting challenges — there were signs of brightness poking through like persistent clovers in the sidewalk cracks.
“For each and every one of us, the U.N. is a unique platform for dialogue and for cooperation,” Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke of his country being an “optimistic” nation for whom “solutions are within our collective grasp.”
“There’s one friend of mine who is a neurosurgeon who said my problem is I’m a congenital optimist,” U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting with Guterres. “But I am optimistic. I think we can make things better.”
And David Kabua, president of the ocean-besieged Marshall Islands — a man who has little reason to express optimism these days — came to the United Nations and spoke of “this iconic hall, the symbol of humanity’s hope and aspiration for world peace, prosperity, and international cooperation.”
“As humanity strives to defend freedom and build lasting peace, the U.N.’s role is indispensable,” said South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
There were many other such moments Tuesday and Wednesday. Taken together, they are noteworthy: There seems a collective sense — echoed by leader after leader in different, sometimes oblique ways — that even when it disappoints or falters, the United Nations must be a place of hope amid the cold-eyed pragmatism.
Why is that? Part of it is the unswerving commitment since the U.N.’s very beginnings to the principle of multilateralism, a $10 word for playing nicely with each other. And to play nicely when your feuds are ancient or bloody or seemingly insurmountable — to even try — requires hope.
That’s always been true, though. There’s also something else, something unique to this year, to this moment. In the frightening early pandemic days of 2020, the U.N. General Assembly was all virtual, and leaders stayed home and made videos. Last year, despite a theme of “Building Resilience Through Hope,” the hybrid General Assembly produced spotty leader attendance and little sense of the world congregating.
Now, though the pandemic persists, the U.N. grounds are alive with people from most of the planet’s backgrounds and traditions, interacting and talking and generally doing what the United Nations was built to do — take nations and turn them into people, as the late Sen. William Fulbright
“It’s the only place in international organizations where there is this effort to define what is collectively shared,” says Katie Laatikainen, a professor of political science and international relations at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, who studies the United Nations.
“They’re working to figure out what it means to be part of the international community,” she says. “They’ve learned the language of appealing to the `we,′ and it encourages others to define the `we’ and commit to the `we.’”
Guterres made sure to infuse that sensibility as he opened the proceedings with his doom-saturated speech. He told of a ship called the Brave Commander, loaded with Ukrainian grain and — helped by the warring nations of Ukraine and Russia — headed for the Horn of Africa, where it can help prevent famine.
It flew under a U.N. flag, and Guterres said it and the dozens of ships that followed were not only carrying grain; they were carrying “one of today’s rarest commodities” — hope.
“By acting as one,” he said, “we can nurture fragile shoots of hope.”
So, no: Hope is not absent at the United Nations this week. That much is certain. It’s contained, it’s muted, it’s tentative. But it is there, gossamer though it might be — even if some might find the notion naive. “Our opportunity is here and now,” said the president of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary.
The world, after all, is not an easy place. Was it ever? The second secretary-general of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld, understood that. “The United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven,” he said, “but in order to save us from hell.”
(Aource: AP coverage of the UNGA, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly)
Avantajado Jogo /br/the-ming-dynasty/ De Cata Níqueis
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Direto, os caça níqueis móveis tiveram um esguio atalho até chegarem onde eles chegaram hoje. Imediatamente eles curado tanto bons quanto as versões para laptop como computadores criancice alimento, alguns deles curado até melhores. Continue reading “Avantajado Jogo /br/the-ming-dynasty/ De Cata Níqueis”
Priyanka Advocates Child Rights At UNGA, Shares Stage With Malala Yousafzai, Amanda Gorman
Actress Priyanka Chopra, who became the Global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2016 and has been associated with the organization for almost 15 years, spoke about children’s rights at a recently held conference at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
She took to her Instagram to share the pictures and videos from the event where she can be seen advocating for the cause and posing with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai and US poet Amanda Gorman.
She captioned the set of pictures and videos with a long note: “Walking through the gates of the United Nations this morning to speak at UNGA for the second time, as a proud representative of @unicef, gave me real pause.”
Shedding the light on the agenda of the UN for the year 2022, she further wrote in her note: “At the top of this year’s agenda are the Sustainable Development Goals. Today was all about action, ambition, and hope. It was about what we must do together to make the SDG’s a reality, and we don’t have a moment to lose. A special thank you to Secretary-General @antonioguterres for having me today.”
She also spoke about the importance of education for children – something which is a birthright of every child, “The second moment I had the privilege of participating was the Transforming Education Summit. It’s hard to believe that nearly 2/3 of children across the low- middle- and high-income countries cannot read and comprehend a simple story. The system has failed them.”
“As the US Secretary of Education @seccardona put it so candidly, education is the great equalizer, but if we continue to do what we have done, we are going to get what we have gotten. We owe every child this basic birthright, an equal chance to learn and reach their full potential (sic),” she added.
She concluded her note with the words of Gorman, with whom she posed along with Malala, “And as the incredible Amanda Gorman said, “I dare you to shape our fate. Above all, I dare you to do good, so that the world might be great.”
Bill Clinton Says Democrats Can Retain Congress, But Republicans Could Scare Swing Voters
Former US President Bill Clinton said Democrats can retain control of Congress in the 2022 midterms, but warned Republicans will “scare the living daylights out of swing voters”.
The Congress – the House of Representatives goes to the polls to elect all of the 435 members and the Senate is on the ballot for 30 of its 100 seats.
A lot of Mayoral and Gubernatorial posts are up for grabs and both parties are struggling to retain their candidates with the backlash of inflation and MAGA campaign frittering out to save democracy threats sounded by the liberals.
In both houses, the Democrats have a wafer thin majority to pass legislation. In the Senate, Republicans and Democrats are divided 50:50 but the Vice President casts the tie breaking vote to give the Democrats the advantage on passing legislation with a simple majority.
“We could hold both these houses, but we have to say the right things because we know the Republicans can always close well,” Bill Clinton said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
He was asked if Democrats, who have seen encouraging signs about their midterm prospects in recent weeks, can break the decades-long trend of the President’s party losing control of Congress in the midterm elections.
“Absolutely, we could hold both these Houses, but we have to say the right things,” Clinton told CNN in the interview, which aired Sunday. “And we have to know the Republicans always close well. Why? Because they find some new way to scare the living daylights out of swing voters about something. That’s what they did in 2021 when they made critical race theory sounds.
“They just scare people,” Clinton said. “And in the end, the breakpoint in American politics is not that much different than the 90s. You still have to get those people, it’s just that there’s so many fewer of them, because as the parties have gotten more ideological and clear and somehow psychically intolerant, they pull more and more people towards the extremes.”
Increased polarisation and partisanship since Clinton held office in the 1990s means fewer persuadable swing voters and fewer willing to cross party lines. The 2020 election, for example, saw record-low numbers of voters splitting their tickets between electors. But still “there’s some people who are hanging on there and trying to think, and trying to understand what’s going on,” the former President said in the interview.
Republicans face a potential backlash in November after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on abortion rights bringing women electors together. A new WSJ poll shows Democrats gaining ground among independents, young and women voters.
Republicans spent much of the year pummeling Democrats on inflation and hoping to cruise on a “red wave” in the November midterm elections. But the huge swell they once envisioned may end up being more of a ripple instead, the Business Insider said in an analysis.
Part of it may also be tied to recent Democratic victories on their economic and climate agenda, gun safety, and improved healthcare access for veterans.
Some Republican lawmakers have released proposals meant to showcase the party’s support for families in more modest ways, reflecting a conservative reluctance to back a sizable expansion of the safety net. The GOP has staunchly opposed President Joe Biden’s ambitious proposals for childcare, paid leave, and monthly checks to parents. (IANS)
King Charles Interprets ‘Defender Of The Faith’ For A New Britain
(RNS) — An estimated 4 billion people worldwide were predicted to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on television and online, with Presidents Joe Biden of the U.S. and Emmanuel Macron of France and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attending the obsequies in London’s Westminster Abbey in person. The medieval abbey, the sublime music and military processions were all a visual and aural feast, but the event was at its heart a Christian ceremony, with the coffin placed in front of the altar and presided over by robed clergymen.
The queen’s funeral, in this sense, was not entirely representative of Britain’s increasingly secular population. Even its believers are less likely to be Christian than at the start of Elizabeth’s reign, with 2.7 million Muslims, 800,000 Hindus and a half-million Sikhs, among many other faiths. Christians, who once consisted mostly of various Protestants — chiefly members of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and the Church in Wales — and Roman Catholics, have been joined by a growing Pentecostal movement and other evangelical churches, according to the BBC.
There is nothing like a royal wedding or funeral to remind us that the Church of England remains the official, established church, with the monarch as its Supreme Governor, and since Elizabeth’s death on Sept. 8, we’ve seen it in the ascendant. Yet there are also signs that the late monarch, now-King Charles III and the Church of England have recognized that the time has come to adjust.
In a landmark speech in 2012 at Lambeth Palace, the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the queen said of the Church of England that “Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.”
She credited the established church with having done so already. “Gently and assuredly, the Church of England has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely,” she said.
The new king has endorsed those words as recently as Sept. 9, the night after his mother died, in his first televised address to the British nation as its king. “The role and the duties of Monarchy also remain,” he said, “as does the Sovereign’s particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England — the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted.”
But he continued, ”In the course of the last 70 years we have seen our society become one of many cultures and many faiths.”
Nearly 30 years ago, as prince of Wales, Charles articulated concern about other faiths and Christian denominations in modern Britain not feeling included, and controversially suggested that when he became king he should be called Defender of Faiths — plural— rather than the title Defender of the Faith bestowed on Henry VIII by the pope in 1521 and used by England’s monarchs since.
Anglicans reacted harshly to Charles’ gambit, fearing he would not be fully wedded to assuming his role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England when the time came. Even after he rescinded his statement in 2014, the moment haunted Charles. His statement on Sept. 9 came in part to reassure doubters, who then heard him proclaimed king and Defender of the Faith the next day before the Accession Council, who proclaimed him the new monarch.
Then, bit by bit, we saw more evidence of how the king and his advisers, as well as the late queen, through her funeral plans, tried to embrace other traditions.
Britain’s King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, leave after a Service of Prayer and Reflection for the life of Queen Elizabeth II, at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
The Sept. 12 service of thanksgiving for the queen’s life was held at Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral, the main church of the Church of Scotland. Representatives of other faiths were in attendance, and the Gospel was read by Mark Strange, primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the other main Protestant church in Scotland besides the Church of Scotland.
More surprising, a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans was read by Leo Cushley, the Catholic archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, and included lines often interpreted as encouraging ecumenical dialogue: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
When Charles then paid a visit to Northern Ireland, more efforts were made to include the Catholic population, for whom the monarchy has long been a sensitive issue. At St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast — where the president of Ireland, Michael Higgins, and Taoiseach (as Ireland calls its prime minister) Micheál Martin were in attendance — Eamon Martin, the Catholic archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, offered a prayer; others were said by Methodist and Presbyterian church leaders. At a service during Charles’ stop in Wales, prayers were said by Muslim and Jewish representatives as well as representatives of several Christian denominations.
But a reception at Buckingham Palace for 30 faith leaders on Friday (Sept. 16) — before the new king met any world leaders in London for the funeral, and even before he took part in a vigil with his siblings at the lying-in-state of his mother — spoke volumes about the importance Charles assigns religion in Britain.
Charles welcomed not only the Catholic archbishop of Westminster but Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy and Imam Asim Yusuf, telling them that Britain’s sovereign has an “additional” duty — presumably in addition to being Supreme Governor of the Church of England — to protect “the space for faith itself” in Britain. This duty, he said, is “less formally recognized but to be no less diligently discharged.”
He added: “It is the duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for faith itself and its practice through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals. This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith.”
That Charles’ words were backed up by his mother was evident in the state funeral Monday. The specialness of the Church of England and of multifaith, diverse Britain was acknowledged as a procession of religious representatives entered Westminster Abbey in advance of the main funeral party: Jews, Baha’is, Jains, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus, as well as Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis; Pope Francis was represented by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states.
Reading prayers during the service were the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; Shermara Fletcher, principal officer for Pentecostal and charismatic relations for Churches Together in England; the Rev. Helen Cameron, moderator of the Free Churches; and Roman Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
This balancing act will be tested again in the next few months when the new king’s coronation takes place. By then, new coins embossed with Charles’ head will likely have been minted, with the legend “Charles DG Rex, FD”: Latin acronyms for Charles, by the Grace of God, King, Defender of the Faith. While proclaimed as that Defender, he has indeed reinterpreted what it means, even if not altering the wording as he once suggested. It looks as if the reign of King Charles III will be dedicated to offering that protection to believers.
But what of those in Britain of no faith? Soon the results of the most recent national census, of 2021, will be published, showing who believes what, and whether the nonbelievers have grown. Last time, in 2011, a quarter of the population said they had no religion. Finding a way to make them feel connected to a coronation blessed by the Church of England and replete with Christian justifications for monarchical power might be a far tougher test than organizing a procession of Buddhists, Jains and Catholics.
Jayashree Ullal Heads List Of Richest Indian Professionals
The richest Indian professional-person of Indian origin is a woman, Jayashree Ullal of Arista Networks. Ullal, born in London and raised in India, heads the Arista Networks, US and is the richest professional with a wealth of Rs 16,600 crore, as per the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2022.
India has proved itself to be the progenitor of some of the most brilliant professional managers in the world. Professional managers in the list consist of individuals who joined the business after it has been founded, helped it grow and these managers were given stock options from which they have created their wealth, said the statement.
Thomas Kurian (Rs 12,100 crore) of Oracle is in the second position and is followed by Nikesh Arora (Rs 8,500 crore) of Palo Alto Networks.
Barring two, the top 10 rich professional executives in the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich is populated with Indian-Americans.
The two exceptions are Ignatius Navil Noronha of Avenue Supermarts (wealth Rs 6,500 crore) and Aditya Puri of HDFC Bank (Rs 1,600 crore).
The others in the rich professionals list are: Ajaypal Singh Banga of Mastercard (Rs 6,500 crore), Satya Nadella of Microsoft (Rs 6,200 crore), Sundar Pichai of Google (Rs 5,300 crore), Indra K. Nooyi of Pepsico (Rs 4,000 crore), Pepsico and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe (Rs 3,800 crore). (IANS)
75 Hindu Youth Honored For Inspiring Leadership
By, Partha Krishnaswamy
Seventy five Hindu youth were recognized and honored for their strong sense of community, fostering conversations about Indian culture, and inspiring the next generation of leaders with their contributions on September 10th. HGH Past President Partha Krishnaswamy’s brainchild of awarding 75 Hindu youth this year to commemorate India’s “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” – (75 years of India’s Independence) won instant approval by the HGH team. After weeks of intense planning, the event came together at the newly renovated auditorium at Sri Meenakshi Temple. The evening, hosted by the temple, drew over 500 people and was packed to capacity.
Over 44 organizations participated, 75 awardees were selected and included those of Caucasian, African American, Caribbean, Nepali, and Indo American origin. The event was attended by representatives from participating organizations, donors, HGH Advisory board members, community leaders and distinguished guests.
Following tradition, the event commenced with the lighting of the lamps by the Young Hindus of Greater Houston and Hindu Heritage Youth Camp followed by dignitaries and distinguished guests. A soul stirring musical ensemble by the youth of Houston raised the piety of the evening.
The evening was replete with insights, inspiration, and practical takeaways. HGH and Hindu Temple of The Woodlands Founding member Beth Kulkarni highlighted HGH’s prominent role in “encouraging and mentoring” the youth to take pride in their heritage, identity, and their involvement in their organizations.
Renowned strategist, thinker, and motivational speaker Partho Ghosh offered a transformative way of thinking with his brilliant keynote address. His seven-point vision to make the world a better place was compelling, informative, and inspiring. He also dwelt on Vedanta philosophy, how its tenets can drive better leaders and the traits of future leaders.
Young speakers Somansh Agarwal and Naisargi Jaiswal of the National President of Hindu Students Association shared pointers on ways to engage with others in promoting Indian culture and traditions and how the youth could take these practices forward in their colleges.
Interspersed with the speeches was a scintillating Kathak performance from the Shivangini Academy of Performing Arts followed by a brisk Bharatanatyam Thillana by the Abhinaya School of Performing Arts.
Deputy Consulate General of India Sandeep Choudhary congratulated the awardees and spoke briefly of the importance of connectivity of the youth awardees with those in India.
The award presentations were followed by one of the highlights of the evening – a group picture of the 75 Hindu youth holding their awards. The stand-out moment received thunderous applause, and the picture went viral on social media.
Interfaith Ministry of Greater Houston Program Manager Kim Mabry thanked HGH for inviting the Interfaith Ministries to the Hindu Youth Awards ceremony. Highly appreciative, he described the evening as “a beautiful display of the life, art, and culture of the Hindu community of Houston “ and observed that the “entire program presented hope and promise for future generations on the importance of maintaining a Hindu identity in our rapidly changing society.”
The event concluded with a delicious dinner catered by Indian Summers and a surprise 75-item dessert station. The idea of the 75-item dessert station cropped up during a conversation between Meenakshi temple Council Chair Dr. Padmini Ranganathan and HGH Past President Partha Krishnaswamy. The sweets were prepared by BAPS Shayona and Bombay Sweets while Nalini Kannan of Decor One decorated the dessert station in tune with the theme of the evening.
Tanveer Kazi, an attendee, reflected that the evening allowed them to “witness the celebration of the youth, diversity, art, and the cuisine of India’s rich culture. He also appreciated the keynote speaker’s message about the application of rationale and objectivity in today’s era of misinformation.
Anjali Agarwal , an awardee had this to say: “ I am extremely grateful to be honored as a Hindu Youth Awardee in the community. It is a blessing to see all future leaders from all Hindu temples and organizations being recognized as one”.
The meticulous planning, dedication and flawless execution made the evening a super success. Not only was it a fitting way to celebrate India’s 75th year of independence but it also aligned with HGH’s motto of bringing Hindus together. It was clearly a memorable one for the 75 youth who were energized about contributing their time and talent to keeping India’s traditions alive
New York City Celebrates Krishna Janmashtami @ Hare Krishna Temple
Krishna Janmashtami, the appearance day or birthday of Lord Krishna, was celebrated at the New York Hare Krishna Temple on Friday, August 19th, from 4pm until midnight with over 2500 guests taking part in the festivities.
The free cultural and spiritual event encompassed a full experience of bhakti yoga practices, including live music, sacred chants, reading of sacred texts, dance and dramatic performances, meditation classes, books, gifts, and food sales. and opportunities for children to take part in Krishna related arts and crafts. A free vegetarian feast was served in the evening to all visitors.
Special guests at the Temple’s celebration included Jenifer Rajkumar, New York State Assembly member – District 38, Dilip Chauhan, NYC Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, Dr. Varun Jeph, Deputy Consul General of India, Sheetal Desai, Milan Cultural Association NY and Harish Thakkar, President of Association of Indians in America, NY Chapter.
Honoring the significance of the celebration and the work of ISKCON, the Temple received proclamations from Ms. Rajkumar, on behalf of the New York State Assembly, and from Mr. Chauhan on behalf of NYC Mayor Eric Adams. In his proclamation, Mayor Adams, declared August 19th, 2022, as ISKCON Day in New York City. Also Deputy Commissioner Chauhan emphasized the great community service of ISKCON during the time of COVID-19 by providing free vegetarian food to the needy people.
Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings you all the devotees are so blessed to have a ISKCON temple in the heart of New York City.
Lord Krishna is revered as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the speaker of the famed Bhagavad-Gita, by hundreds of millions of people across the world. “India’s sacred wisdom texts, the Vedas, explain that the ultimate personality of God is an ever youthful, all-attractive person, and the most intimate friend of everyone,” says Hansa Rupa Das, ISKCON NYC Temple President, “That is why Janmashtami, the appearance day of Lord Krishna, is such a joyous occasion for us all.”
Today, Sri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated by people of diverse ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds across the world.
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Indian Nurses Association Of New York Receives Grant To Fight Anti Asian Hate
By, Paul Panakal
The Indian Nurses Association of New York (INANI), the voice and representative organization of Indian professional nurses in New York State, has received a grant from New York State for its work against discrimination and hatred against Asian Americans. The grant amount is ten thousand dollars. The INANY leadership is proud stand behind this grant as a recognition and acknowledgment of the services this professional organization of nurses has rendered over the years and its ability to effectively influence the communities it represent.
Asians in America have been subjected to a great deal of discrimination and hate violence since the start of the Covid pandemic. Similarly, the University of Southern California’s Center for Economic and Social Research’s Understanding Coronavirus in America survey reports that Asians experience mental illness at a higher level than other social groups consequent to the beginning of the pandemic.
A recent survey by Pew Research Center finds that 63 per cent of Asian Americans say that violence against Asian Americans in the US is increasing. Dr. Anna George, the Association’s current president said “At a time when there is a need to take evidence-based measures to alleviate this problem or address the hate, violence, and discrimination experienced by Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, INANY is ready to step forward in partnership with other community service organizations of interest”.
About 2.1 million, about 11 per cent of New York State’s population are Asian Americans. It is nicknamed the ‘model minority’ because it generally stands ahead of all other social groups due to educational attainment, socioeconomic success, representation in managerial and professional occupations and household income.
The stereotype has also created consequences. The poor and helpless are often ignored, misunderstood or left unaccounted for. The reality is that those who suffer from poverty, linguistic isolation and overcrowded housing are invisible behind the big headline of ‘model minority’. The Asian American Pacific Islander Community Fund is included in the New York State budget to address this plight.
Dr. George explained that the project of INANY Grant will be implemented in collaboration with the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. A committee of professional nursing leaders including Dr. Soleymole Kuruvilla, Dr. Shyla Roshin, Paul D Panakal, Dr. Ani Jacob, Grace Alexander, Aleyamma Appukkuttan, Jessy James, Jincy Chacko and Dr. George who have rendered selfless services in the society has been formed for the project. She emphasized that the project will have completed its implementation in March 2023.
East, South, West, Or North: What Is The Best Direction To Sleep?
“Interestingly, Anandakanda, an Ayurvedic text, mentions the directions in which one should sleep to enjoy a deep, restful sleep,” Dr Gopinath said.
Be it Ayurveda or modern science, experts constantly stress the need for a good night’s sleep for the healthy functioning of our mind and body. This is because lack of sleep can significantly impact your well-being and put you at risk of serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and mental health issues, among others. Apart from ensuring that you are sleeping an adequate number of hours, you must also pay special attention to the direction you are sleeping in, says Ayurveda.
Highlighting the importance Ayurveda places on sleep, Dr Arun Gopinath, Senior Medical Officer, Kerala Ayurveda said, “Farmers often leave their fields fallow, allowing the soil to regenerate and recoup its lost fertility. Sleep works in a similar manner – it is the period when we renew and revive our senses for a fresh start and a productive day. Sleep or nidra is highly vital in Ayurveda – so much that it is included in the three pillars of life or the Traya Upasthambhas along with food or Ahara and sexual conduct or Brahmacharya.”
He added that Acharya Charaka – one of the principal contributors to the ancient system of Ayurveda – hailed sleep as ‘Bhutadhathri‘, “indicating that restful sleep nourishes our body like a mother, or dhatri nourishes her child.”
However, despite its many benefits, many people struggle to get restful sleep. While we often blame lifestyle factors for it, little attention is paid to the direction we sleep in, which could have a significant impact on the quality of our sleep, and also our health. “Interestingly, Anandakanda, an Ayurvedic text, mentions the directions in which one should sleep to enjoy a deep, restful sleep,” Dr Gopinath said.
The best direction to sleep
According to Ayurvedic expert Dr Dixa Bhavsar Savaliya, one should sleep with their head facing south as it is considered the direction of deep, heavy sleep. “As South is negatively charged and your head is positively charged, there is a harmonious attraction between your head and the direction. Instead of energy being pulled out if you sleep with your head to the north, energy is drawn into your body promoting health, happiness and prosperity. That means you should sleep like a log with your head facing south,” she explained.
Agreeing, Dr Gopinath said: “In mythology, it is believed to be the direction of Lord Yama, meaning you will enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep and longevity or deerghayu in this direction.”
A study, published in the National Library of Medicine, stated that hat those who were instructed to sleep with their head in the south direction for 12 weeks had the lowest systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and serum cortisol.
Worst direction to sleep
Is there a worst direction to sleep, too? Just like the south is considered to be the best direction to sleep in, Ayurvedic experts suggested avoiding facing north while sleeping. This is because “sleeping towards the north makes the positive pole of earth coincide with the positive pole of our body, which repels each other. You will, thus, have nightmares and disturbed sleep,” Dr Gopinath explained.
Dr Dixa added that, in this direction, you won’t get a restful night’s sleep and are likely to wake up exhausted from the unconscious war that’s been going on all night long. “This magnetism is understood, Ayurvedically, to affect blood circulation, stress and cause disturbance of the mind,” she said.
What about east and west?
Now that it is established that sleeping with your head towards south and north are the best and worst positions, respectively, let’s delve deeper into the remaining two directions and their effect on your sleep and, in turn, health.
East: This sleeping direction is considered beneficial for students as it is believed to be a memory enhancer. “As the sun rises in the east, this direction signifies rejuvenation and positive energy characterised by intellect and creativity,” Dr Gopinath said.
Dr. Dixa added that this direction helps improve concentration, and promotes meditative sleep and very good health.
West: Sleeping west, on other hand, is linked to an unsettled night’s sleep. “Vastu Shastra says that this is the direction of striving which could give you unsettling dreams and not a very restful night’s sleep,” she explained.
Additionally, sleeping with your head towards the west can lead to emotional distress, Dr Gopinath mentioned. “It increases Rajas or restlessness, and you may suffer from nightmares. But it also makes a person success-driven, so it is for those who want to succeed in life and are not bothered about their sleep quality,” he added.
Jaipur Literary Fest Takes NYC Arts Scene by Storm
Technology, visual art, high fashion, and literature merged on the same stage last week at the closing night event for the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) New York Edition, curated by cultural producer Myna Mukherjee of Engendered, a trans-national arts and human rights organization based in New Delhi. After a hiatus of 10 years, Engendered returned to New York City’s High Nine Gallery in Chelsea with Techné Disruptors, a hand-picked NFT collection featuring some of South Asia’s most cutting-edge artists, including Ram Rahman, Waswo X. Waswo, Veer Munshi, Raghava KK, Puneet Kaushik, Harshit Agrawal, Nur Mahammed, Balbir Krishan, Amritah Sen, among others.
Co-presented by Avid Learning and High Line Nine Gallery and powered by Technology Partner, Polygon, the show has been conceived through the lens of urbanism and a post-colonial gaze. It engages Indian futurisms, indigenous technologies, and future-forward aesthetics while retaining the notion of cultural perpetuity. Techné Disruptors is coming to New York after celebrating unprecedented success in its first outing in New Delhi (April-May 2022). The show not only helped reshape sedentary categories of art but also radically shifted the way art is viewed, understood, experienced, and sold. For the first time, over 80% of a largely digital exhibition was collected by one of India’s most reputed institutional collectors.
The closing reception of JLF, featured the NFT book launch of Seema Kohli’s “Mitr Pyaare Nu,” as well as closing remarks from Managing Director, Teamwork Arts Sanjoy Roy and Indian politician Shaiza Ilmi. The evening concluded with a fashion show presented by South Asian New York Fashion Week (SANYFW), showcasing the designs of Untitled by Nikita, AKS Mathur, Aara by Sana, Aazadi by Naseer Khan and Pakistani headliner Nomi Ansari.
The three-week-long event in Chelsea Arts District with rotating exhibitions (a new chapter each week) features works imagined with the most future-forward technologies of our times including AI (Artificial Intelligence), AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), holographs, and works from brand new minted collections of Global South NFTs curated with a critical need to strengthen south-south collaborations.
The exhibition looks at the bridging of the old and the new, the physical and the digital, and lends voice to largely invisibilized conversations and personal stories in the complex landscape of gender, sexuality & marginalities. It speaks to the cultural consequences of migrations within, from, and to the Indian subcontinent as artistic inquiries into difference and belonging.
The artists include: Seema Kohli | Veer Munshi | Ram Rahman | Puneet Kaushik | Waswo X. Waswo | Amina Ahmed | 64/1: Raghava KK & Karthik Kalyanaraman | Harshit Agrawal | Balbir Krishan | Amritah Sen | Babak Haghi | Ritu Kamath | Nur Mahhamed | ‘Rharha’ Rochelle Nembhard | Minne Atairu | Satadru Sovan | Abhishek Singh | SK Sahni | Mahula Ghosh | Adil B. Khan | Santosh K. Das | Sukanya Ayde | Portia Roy | Mandakini Devi | Aamir Rabbani | Arvin Ombika | Ahsan Masood | Baishali Chetia | Chathuri Nissansala | Dominique V. Castelano | Ipshita Thakur | Isha Yadav | Sawan Taank | Mohd Shazeb
USAID, UNICEF Partner With Doordarshan To Launch TV Series, Duur Se Namaste
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF formally launched the Doordarshan and YouTube series titled Duur Se Namaste (“Greetings from a distance!”) at an event held today in New Delhi.
Duur Se Namaste, a fictional Hindi series developed in an entertainment-education format, highlights the challenges of a post-pandemic world and promotes the adoption of healthy behaviours and practices. Weaving messages on COVID-19 vaccine promotion and the need to continue COVID-19-appropriate behavior, the series includes tips for navigating mental health issues for children and young people and supporting children’s learning recovery as they return to school.
Additional Secretary and Mission Director (National Health Mission), Ms Roli Singh and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ms. Neerja Sekhar were present at the inauguration. Ms. Singh spoke on the COVID-19 pandemic and outlined the way forward for the post-pandemic world. Ms Sekhar spoke on the critical role of Mass media and communications in health promotion.
Sharing the vision of the edutainment series, Ms. Veena Reddy, Mission Director of USAID India, said, “COVID-19 knows no borders, and no one is safe until everyone is safe. USAID is proud to support Duur Se Namaste, highlighting life’s challenges in the new normal and ways to navigate these through good health practices.”
Highlighting the importance of using mass media for behavioural change, Mr Arjan de Wagt, UNICEF India Deputy Representative a.i, said, “We know from scientific studies in India how impactful television can be in catalysing effective behaviour change, and we have seen the power of visual communication during the pandemic.
I am very pleased to join you for the launch of Duur Se Namaste, which is sure to provide not only excellent entertainment to a large audience but also create a space to discuss important themes like supporting children as they are now back to school, psychosocial support for children of all ages, and mental health challenges among young people.”
Reiterating the commitment of Doordarshan, Mr. Mayank Agrawal, CEO, Prasar Bharati and DG, Doordarshan said, “Duur Se Namaste is a very relevant show in the present times and as India’s Public Service Broadcaster, it is our mandate to ensure that such shows reach the public. We are happy to have this partnership with UNICEF and look forward to continuing our work together for public welfare.”
A theatrical film on Duur Se Namaste was screened at the event, taking the audience through the main story, and showing how the messages of vaccine promotion and COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) have been interwoven in the entertainment education series. The event also included a panel with the show’s lead actors Ankit Raizada, Dolly Chawla and Atul Parchure moderated by Manav Rath and Mannish Singh, from the creative team.
The series is produced by National Film Award winner and Padmashee, Nil Madhav Panda’s production house, Elleeanora Images Pvt. Ltd.
The edutainment series Duur Se Namaste has been on air on DD National at primetime slots since August 14, 2022. The show is broadcast every Sunday from 11 am to 12 noon, with repeat telecasts on Saturdays from 6-7 pm. The show is also available on Duur Se Namaste YouTube channel.
About the cast:
Ankit Raizada: Ankit is the main lead of Duur Se Namaste. A popular television actor, who has worked on shows like Jodha Akbar and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Ankitt plays Vishu, a COVID hero in the series, who helps his neighbours with their challenges and problems and works as a volunteer for the elderly and infected during the peak of the pandemic.
Dolly Chawla: Dolly plays Geet on the show Duur Se Namaste, a fun and career-oriented girl, who models women chasing their dreams. Dolly played lead roles in Sasural Simar Ka, Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana, Thapki Pyar ki among other shows.
Atul Parchure: Atul Parchure is a well-known Indian movie, television and theater actor. He is mainly known for his comedy roles in Marathi and Bollywood film industry. His career spanning over two decades includes roles in the popular Kapil Sharma Show, Jago Mohan Jago, R K Laxman ki Duniya among others.
Indian Design Firm Wins 2022 Global Muse Creative Award
Bengaluru -based Design Services firm, Aifat UX, a leading UX/UI design services provider has announced that they won the 2022 Muse Creative Award in the educational app design category. Aufait UX’s design for StockPe, a stock trading and investment education platform was selected from over 6000 entries worldwide as the Gold Winner. The international competition was judged by experts and industry professionals from 30+ countries belonging to reputed companies.
“At Aufait UX, we believe in creating world-class designs that stand out for its quality and perfection. The Muse Awards is a testament of our craftsmanship and relentless pursuit of creating awesome designs. I would like to extend my thanks to the StockPe team for their excellent customer support and my design team for their wonderful teamwork”, said Bijith Ahmed, chief designer and co-founder of Aufait UX.
“It comes as no surprise that Aufait UX has bagged this international recognition for their designs. We were truly impressed with their design for the StockPe app. With their attention to details, out of the box thinking and passion for design, they went above and beyond in meeting our requirements. They truly deserve this honor”, said Shubham Rawal, co-founder of StockPe.
The MUSE awards is a series of competitions hosted by the International Awards Associate (IAA), an organization that has continuously strived to honor creatives and designers for their excellence. The theme for the 2022 Muse awards was “Stride Forth”. This year the MUSE Awards honored those who are dauntless in adversity; who take on challenges with an unwavering will, set the standards for the world and inspire others to reach higher.
Aufait UX is a leading UI UX design agency based out of Bangalore, India, providing UX/UI design services to their customers across the globe. Aufait UX is recognized for mobile app, web app and website designs, recognized by independent analysts and analyst platforms including Clutch, Manifest and Visual Objects. Aufait UX provides design services for industry verticals including healthcare, education, fintech, ecommerce, government and utilities.
StockPe is a stock market learning app that simplifies financial learning for Indians through gamification. It provides a platform for people to experience finance education in a fun and rewarding way, radically different from the traditional theoretical and lengthy learning model. With gamified tournaments modeled on live stock market data, StockPe helps users to learn trading and practice their knowledge in real time.
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Making India A Developed Nation By 2047: An Agenda For The Nation
By, Ambassador Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd)
Achieving developed country status by 2047 is a commendable goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India on this Independence Day. The big question now is to determine an effective path and encourage the whole of society, that includes all Indian residents, into contributing their might and mite to achieve that goal which is today a distant dream. In a secular, democratic society this will require the recognition and upholding of all the fundamental rights of Indian citizens and allowing them the freedom and means to achieve their best potential to contribute to the upliftment of the nation.
Since the Constitution guarantees individual freedom of religion, people should mutually respect the external marks of faith that any one may choose to wear and not discriminate in access to goods and services on the basis of faith. As the choice of faith is a fundamental right of an Indian, the question of changing faiths must be left to the individual conscience and not prevented or denied by social or legal means. We must feel Indian first and not make faith our primary identity.
Similarly, the question of forward or backwardness must have only an economic basis and not be based on social or community considerations. A new classification based on income level must replace our present system of reservations. BPL people must be fully supported to achieve a basic income level necessary for the nation to be considered developed. Religion should not be the basis of political ideology, nor should it influence the administration of the state, at Central or state/UT government level.
Informal economy
The objective of developed country can be achieved in such a short time only by releasing the animal spirits not merely of the formal economy but more importantly of the informal one which, despite demonetization, constitutes over 90 percent of the Indian GDP today. A significant share of the necessary annual growth rate of 11 percent or more must come from the knowledge economy and its innovative output.
To eliminate the digital divide in our nation demonstrated during the Covid pandemic, cybercafes with a minimum of two computers can be encouraged in every village. The Internet service backbone must be strengthened to an average speed of 100 mbps, which now prevails in developed countries, to enable quick output and service delivery.
Trade and business licenses should be given freely online, along with a PAN, and require all sales to be through banking channels by freely distributing POS machines through the customer’s bank. The process of registering a business must be streamlined so that it takes no more than a day. People should be free to start whatever business they want and the market will take care of excess supply. A humane bankruptcy process is necessary to restructure failed enterprises so that banks do not suffer increased NPAs from social sector lending.
Aggregators and marketers may be encouraged to collect output for sale through more outlets. Villages and panchayats may be encouraged to create self-help groups to add value to output and develop new products and uses. Business creation, operation and wind-up must be made far easier so that savers become investors.
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Innovation and discovery is the key to growth. Literacy and numeracy must become universal. The consumption of knowledge and its use in creating effective solutions to widespread problems depends upon making education inquiry-based from the primary stage. Students should be encouraged to acquire to apply their learning in practical ways to invent things or new processes. Much more investment is required in R&D activities,
Taxes
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Unless we achieve a long-term trade surplus by increasing exports by diversifying both export baskets and importing countries, we will be increasingly hard-pressed to pay for essential imports such as fuel. Extracting investable surplus should be made primarily by market forces through issue of project-specific bonds or other instruments.
Small investment must be encouraged by offering inflation-linked floating interest rates, so that the value of investor funds does not depreciate. This will encourage the emergence of wealth hitherto hidden or locked up in households that are not liable to pay income tax. State level resources may be augmented by monetizing municipal and other services.
For example, those issued trade and professional or similar licenses may be charged an annual fee depending upon the nature and scale of business. If the investment made is in certain identified priority sectors, it may be useful not to question the source of funds, but to rather tax the earnings from such investment.
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National outlook
Politics is today regarded largely as the refuge of the reprehensible. This attitude must be changed by the parties themselves agreeing upon a common set of objectives for the nation and using their organizations to devise possible alternative pathways to achieve those national objectives without their cadres physically fighting one another. Parties are made of of people with a particular set of opinions about a set of objectives.
If all parties debate over these rather than vying to control State and Central resources for their own ends, there will be less corruption, violence, delays and wastage of stretched national resources. They must think of the national rather than the community or personal good to keep our nation unified, strong and prosperous. We must set an example in probity integrity human values and scientific knowledge for all our neighbours and the world to look up in admiration rather than dismiss us in disdain.
The other pillars of democracy, the judiciary and media, must remain steadfastly independent and impartial guardians of the Constitution. The people still repose their greatest faith in them to protect their rights and uphold their aspirations.
Finally, the structure and systems of governance must concentrate on the four pillars of finance, territorial integrity and security, communications and foreign relations as well as the others included in the Central and Concurrent Lists of the Constitutions and leave the States to get on with their own listed activities without being denied their due share of revenues by the Centre.
Let the nation and its people be free to get on with the rest of the action required to raise the per capita income to developed country levels within 2047 without increasing the inequalities that already mar so badly our economic and social fabric.
(The author is a retired Indian ambassador. Views are personal) Read more at: https://www.southasiamonitor.org/perspective/making-india-developed-nation-2047-agenda-nation
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How A Small Town In Wisconsin Became Home To Four Dharmic Houses Of Worship
(RNS) — Tucked away on a hill beyond a vast commercial landscape are the first two Dharmic temples to exist in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin.
The 22 acres that are home to the Hindu and Jain Temples of Wisconsin were situated in “the middle of nowhere” when they were built in 2001, according to Sarvesh Geddam, the secretary of the two congregations. Now, the area is laden with fast-food restaurants and surplus warehouses, and Pewaukee, a village next to Waukesha in Milwaukee’s far-west suburbs, has become home to two more groups: devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba, a 20th-century Hindu saint, and BAPS, or Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a larger Hindu denomination that follows gurus, or swamis, and is often recognizable for its grand temples.
When the Hindu and Jain temples were finished 20 years ago, the community was decidedly unmarked by South Asian culture. Even today, outsiders might wonder that the Wisconsin suburbs — and a state known predominantly for its freezing temperatures (as well as its dairy farming and its importance in national elections) — would draw people from the homelands of Hinduism and Jainism.
In fact, the Indian population of Wisconsin is the second-largest minority Asian group after the Hmong and has grown in population by more than 80% since 2000-2010, according to Wisconsin’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Health Forum.
The midwest offered the members of the four temples what it has offered any immigrant: space to call their own.
Of the nearly 2 million Indians in the United States today, more than half identify as Hindu. The earliest immigrants to arrive worshipped at makeshift shrines in people’s homes, but with the expansion of immigration quotas from Asian countries in 1965, more than 1,450 temples now exist in the U.S. In New Jersey, California and Texas, where the majority of South Asian Americans live, there are enough adherents to populate temples dedicated to particular deities, as is common in India.
Although Jainism also contains multiple sects within it, the JAINA society now has more than 80 Jain centers nationwide and an estimated population of 30,000 worshippers.
“This is a pan-Indian umbrella,” said Geddam. “We are helping people who are struggling to cope with the change of coming here.” When the first worshippers came to the temple, said Geddam, they felt grateful and amazed to find a slice of home.
To cater to the nearly 1,000 Wisconsinites who attend the Pewaukee Hindu temple, the building was built to accommodate what Geddam calls an “arcade” of deities — a collection of marble statues depicting the many manifestations of God that Hindus worship, Krishna, Shiva and Ganesh being just the most widely recognized of dozens of forms of the divine known as deities or gods.
The Hindu temple initially offered to host Jain idols as well, but it soon became apparent that different sects had different needs. The Jain holiday Samvatsari and the Hindu one of Ganesh Chaturthi often fall on the same day, for instance. While the Jain holiday is about quiet meditation and reflection, the latter is an event of great jubilation and noise.
As the South Asian community continued to grow, the two other Indic faiths began to meet at the Hindu temple. The Sai Baba devotees and BAPS members used to schedule worship around each other at the Hindu temple, but soon they, too, wanted their own spaces.
In 2013, the Sai Baba devotees walked into a nondenominational church that had come up for sale in downtown Pewaukee and saw a great hall with no benches or pews to remove. The followers of Sai Baba, who also center themselves on serving others, raised $200,000 in just two days from the small surrounding community, many of whom had never stepped foot in an Indian house of worship.
The location, now the Wisconsin Shirdi Sai, has the feeling of visiting Baba’s home temple in Shirdi, India, say its new owners, who claim on their website that it was selected by their founder, Sai Baba himself.
“It was not magic, it was a miracle,” said Satya Karri, the temple’s main trustee. “We were waiting, and with Baba’s grace we got it.”
The BAPS’ Swaminarayan temple got its start in 2018 on the same street as the Hindu and Jain temples in what used to be a mattress warehouse. BAPS temples are nearly uniform wherever they are found, with a store offering Indian snacks and books, classrooms separated by gender and a large assembly hall.
The idea is to create continuity with not only the faith but the culture of western India, where BAPS originated. “When they come here, it gives them a feel of where they grew up,” said Mayur Brahmbatt, the teenage son of the temple’s head priest, about its elder members.
For larger events that cater to a wider audience, like Diwali, the Hindu temple is still the hub. Thousands of Indian Americans, young and old, flock to this little epicenter of Midwestern India.
The ornate entryway into the Hindu and Jain temples located next to each other in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. RNS photo by Richa Karmarkar
The surrounding community, more than 70% Christian and many of them evangelicals, responded with typical midwestern hospitality and practicality, mixed with curiosity. Teachers in the local school district attended seminars at the temple to learn more about their Indian students. The temples have given back to the community as well: In 2020, they hosted clinics that administered 5,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, more than 87% of them to non-Hindus.
“We believe we can attain “moksha” here in this lifetime,” said Geddam, referring to the devotion to service that characterizes Dharmic beliefs.
While the temples have helped anchor new South Asian American families in the U.S., Kamal Shah, president of the Jain Temple, said they also foster hope that basic Jain teachings, like vegetarianism and ahimsa, will pass down to following generations.
“When I first came here, people said, ‘When you come to this country, you can’t continue to be in the old religion,’” said Shah. “Though our belief is very, very ancient, we are able to keep this up in America. That is the biggest transformation.”
Longer, Hotter And More Frequent Heat Waves In Cities
Newswise — Hot days followed by sweltering nights without any temperature relief in between might become a new norm towards the end of the 21st century. Researchers from the University of Zurich have analyzed the frequency, intensity and length of such extreme events for five Swiss cities. Lugano and Geneva would be most affected.
Climate change is making extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods and droughts more frequent and intense. The hot summers in recent years already had severe impacts on human health, particularly in cities, due to heat accumulation during the day and lack of cooling at night. Such compound concurrent hot day and night extremes are of greater concern for health than individual hot days or hot nights, and they will become longer lasting and more pervasive in Swiss cities in the future, as a UZH study shows.
Heat waves might become up to eight times more frequent
Researchers from the Department of Geography have investigated how adaptation options and various future scenarios affect the frequency and intensity of compound concurrent hot day and night extremes in the five Swiss cities Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lugano and Zurich. Their projections suggest that the frequency of compound extreme heatwaves, exceeding previous day and night temperature highs, could increase by up to 7.8-fold and that their duration might increase by up to 5.3-fold in all cities in Switzerland by the end of century. “Our findings underline the need for Swiss cities to adapt to extreme heatwaves by reducing daytime heating, improving cooling at night and strengthening the resilience of the population toward more severe heatwaves,” says first author Saeid Ashraf Vaghefi.
Three metrics applied on three time periods
In their study, the researchers defined three metrics to analyze heat waves: a) the annual number of concurrent hot days and nights, where the threshold for both day and night is exceeded, b) the annual frequency of such events, where the threshold is exceeded for at least two days in a row, and c) the duration of the events. These metrics were combined with three emission scenarios (low, moderate, high) and adapted to three time periods of 30 years each: the past (1980–2020), the near future (2020–2050) and the distant future (2070–2100).
Lugano and Geneva are more strongly affected
The results demonstrate a significant rise in the number of hot day and night events in all cities, but more notably in the cities at low latitude. The highest increase occurs in Lugano with 65.8 days in the past period, 110 days in the near future and 371 days in the distant future, followed by Geneva with 48 days in the past, 108 and 362 in the near and distant future respectively. Still significant, but less pronounced, are the increases in Basel (48/74/217 days), Bern (15/44/213 days) and Zurich (14/50/217).
“In our study, the projections consistently show that the compound hot day and night extremes will become more likely and more intense in all cities and under all emission scenarios, but notably significant under high emissions scenarios and after the 2050s,” says Vaghefi. “A hot day followed by a hot night without relief may become a new norm towards the end of the century. Therefore, we suggest that policymakers and stakeholders perform a systematic adaptation analysis prior to the implementation of any adaptation options.”
In an ongoing project, UZH researchers are investigating how different adaptation measures such as increasing vegetation density, improving usage of existing water bodies, reducing anthropogenic heat by using green and renewable energy, and changing the hours of outdoor activities can help to manage the thresholds of different drivers of extreme events.
South Asia’s Most Cutting-Edge Artists To Be Featured In New York
Even as artists of color begin to gain a foothold in the upper echelons of the art world, naming widely celebrated Asian diasporic artists with cemented legacies in the art historical canon remains challenging. Oftentimes, it feels as though we’re constantly excavating long overlooked or ignored artistic practices.
Some of the rising artists of the Asian diaspora are currently based in the United States. Many of these artists have been experiencing substantial career momentum in recent months, exhibiting in art institutions or international biennials one after the other. Some have honed their craft and bypassed educational barriers, exhibiting in solo shows at leading galleries without an MFA, and sometimes even without a BFA.
Techné Disruptors, an upcoming exhibition from the Global South that will focus on works by South Asia’s most cutting-edge artists will be held in New York for 3 long weeks starting September 12. Along with it, the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), New York is also set to commence on the same day.
Curated by curator Myna Mukherjee, the exhibition will showcase some of South Asia’s leading artists. The works that will be displayed are hand-picked from NFT (Non-fungible token) collections and are curated by international curator and cultural producer Myna Mukherjee at the India Habitat Centre, Delhi, with the support of the American Center & Italian Embassy Cultural Center.
The exhibition begins with the opening panel for the Jaipur Literature Festival in New York City titled ‘State of the Contemporary: NFTs and the Global South’. There will also be panel discussions and participation from mainstream institutions, including MIT Media Labs, MoMa Web3 and Polygon Studios. Mukherjee, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, is a trained Odissi dancer, cultural producer and curator, speaking about the exhibition.
Fewer Than Half Of Americans May Be Christian By 2070
(RNS) — America has long prided itself on being a country where people can choose whatever religion they like. The majority has long chosen Christianity. A new report projects Americans’ future — a future where Christianity, though diminished, persists, while non-Christian faiths grow amid rising secularization.
By 2070, that may no longer be the case. If current trends continue, Christians could make up less than half of the population — and as little as a third— in 50 years. Meanwhile, the so-called nones — or the religiously unaffiliated — could make up close to half of the population. And the percentage of Americans who identify as Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and other non-Christian faiths could double.
Those are among the major findings of a new report from the Pew Research Center regarding America’s religious future—a future where Christianity, though diminished, persists while non-Christian faiths grow amid rising secularization.
Researchers projected possible religious futures for the United States using a number of factors, including birth rates, migration patterns, demographics like age and sex, and the current religious landscape. They also looked at how religion is passed from one generation to another and how often people switch religions — in particular, Christians who become nones, a number that has been increasing in recent years
They projected four different scenarios, based on differing rates of religious switching — from a continued increase to no switching at all.
“While the scenarios in this report vary in the extent of religious disaffiliation they project, they all show Christians continuing to shrink as a share of the U.S. population, even under the counterfactual assumption that all switching came to a complete stop in 2020,” according to the report. “At the same time, the unaffiliated are projected to grow under all four scenarios.”
Currently, about a third (31%) of Christians become disaffiliated before they turn 30, according to Pew Research. Twenty-one percent of nones become Christian as young adults. Should those switching rates remain stable, Christians would make up 46% of the population by 2070, while nones would make up 41% percent of the population.
If disaffiliation rates continue to grow but are capped at 50% of Christians leaving the faith, then 39% percent of Americans are projected to be Christian by 2070, with 48% percent of Americans identifying as nones. With no limit placed on the percentage of people leaving Christianity and with continued growth in disaffiliation, Christians would be 35% of the population, with nones making up a majority of Americans (52%).
If all switching came to a halt, then Christians would remain a slight majority (54%), while nones would make up 34% of Americans, according to the projection model.
Non-Christian faiths would rise to 12–13% of the population, largely due to migration, in each scenario. Migration does affect the percentage of Christians, as most immigrants coming to the U.S. are Christians, said Conrad Hackett, associate director of research and senior demographer at Pew Research Center.
“Still the greatest amount of change in the U.S., we think currently and in the future, will come from switching,” he said.
Researchers stressed the report contained projections based on data and mathematical models, not predictions of the future.
“Though some scenarios are more plausible than others, the future is uncertain, and it is possible for the religious composition of the United States in 2070 to fall outside the ranges projected,” they wrote.
One reason for the decline among Christians and the growth among the nones in the models is age. While Christians have more children than nones, they are also older. Pew estimates the average Christian in the United States is 43, which is 10 years older than the average none.
“The unaffiliated are having and raising unaffiliated children while Christians are more likely to be near the end of their lives than others,” Stephanie Kramer, a senior researcher at Pew, told RNS in an email.
Using mathematical models, Pew has also projected the future of religion around the world. Those models were adapted for different regions, said Hackett. Muslims, for example, he said, tend to have the youngest population and the highest fertility rates, driving the growth of that faith. However, he said, in the Gulf states, migration has brought many Christians from other countries to the region as temporary workers.
“Young Americans are now less likely to become or remain Christian…and more likely to become of remain unaffiliated” Graphic courtesy of Pew Research Center
The current report takes advantage of the amount of data collected about the U.S. religious landscape. Researchers also looked at intergenerational transmission for the first time, said Kramer.
“The variables we use to study that were: What is the mother’s religion? And what is the teen’s religion,” she said. “If that was a match, we consider the mother’s religion transmitted.”
Researchers also looked at a relatively new trend of disaffiliation among older Americans. Sociologists have long focused on younger people, who are most likely to switch religions. But in the U.S. and other countries, older people are also starting to switch at growing rates.
“It’s not as large scale, but it’s still significant,” said Hackett. “And it’s contributing to the religious change that we have experienced and that we expect to experience in the years ahead.”
Hackett said that the projections do not show the end of Christianity in the U.S. or of religion in general, which he expects to remain robust. And most nones, while claiming no religion, do not identify as atheists.
Kramer said the U.S. appears to be going through a pattern of secularization that has happened in other countries, though “we may be a bit behind,” she added.
Other factors outside the model — such as changing immigration patterns and religious innovation — could lead to a revival of Christianity in the United States, according to the report. But none of the models shows a reversal of the decline of Christian affiliation, which dropped from 78% in 2007 to 63% in 2020, according to Pew research.
In the report, researchers note that “there is no data on which to model a sudden or gradual revival of Christianity (or of religion in general) in the U.S.”
“That does not mean a religious revival is impossible,” they wrote. “It means there is no demographic basis on which to project one.”
Ahead of the Trend is a collaborative effort between Religion News Service and the Association of Religion Data Archives made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. See other Ahead of the Trend articles here.
Kochi Institute Wins Patent For Nanomedicine For Liver Ailments
Researchers from School of Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham here have won a patent in the US and Australia for a novel nanomedicine that holds great promise for early detection and treatment of liver cirrhosis and liver tumour.
The invention is the outcome of a research project funded by the Nanobiotechnology Task Force of Deptartment of Biotechnology of Government of India.
Shantikumar V. Nair and Manzoor Koyakutty from Amrita School of Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine in Kochi led a team to create a special type of nanomedicine that responds to radio wave signals sent from outside the body.
Once the nanoparticles are injected into a tumour, they can be heated up using external, medically approved radio waves. Doctors can visualise the tumour using an MRI machine and burn it off in a controlled manner.
Amrita researchers have demonstrated that the novel technology can be used for early detection of liver cirrhosis and liver tumour, early-stage image-guided treatment of liver tumour using radio-frequency ablation therapy as well as labelling and tracking the movement of stem cells inside the body after stem-cell transplantation to assess how effective the therapy has been.
Koyakutty said that they have made a unique nanomedicine that can be used for medical imaging, combined with drug delivery.
“Its particles are made of synthetically prepared calcium phosphate, a biomineral present in our bones. Generally, chemically prepared inorganic nanoparticles cause safety issues when used as nanomedicines. However, as a biomineral, calcium phosphate is biocompatible and biodegradable, hence totally safe for human use,” said Koyakutty.
Shantikumar V. Nair said that they are currently investigating cancer-immunotherapy application potential of these nanoparticles with support of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and an Indo-Swiss collaboration with Ludwig Cancer Research Institute, University of Lausanne, and University of Geneva, Switzerland.
“We are now testing regulatory safety studies in large animal models. We expect to conduct human trials of the nanomedicine within the next one year,” Nair said. (IANS)
People Are Trying To Flee The Empire State For Warmer Destinations. Here’s Why.
New York has lost more residents than any other state, a new report by moveBuddha, a company that calculates moving cost, said. New York, maybe the people don’t quite love you anymore.
According to a new report by moveBuddha, a site where people can calculate their moving costs, New York lost more residents than any other state between April 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.
Over that period, the state lost 319,020 people. New York state’s population as of 2020 was 20.2 million, according to the Census Bureau.
The report also used data collected from users looking for moving options on moveBuddha’s website between January 1, 2022 and August 5, 2022. There were around 282,000 queries during this period.
New York is the fourth most-searched state to move out of this year, the company added. That’s behind New Jersey, California, and Illinois.
People are leaving for reasons that include unemployment or underemployment, skyrocketing rents, high cost of living, and high taxes, as compared to other states, moveBuddha said in the study.
People also appear to be leaving the Empire State for warmer pastures. New York to Los Angeles was the most popular search on moveBuddha. About 20% of New Yorkers looking to move were planning to head to Florida, followed by California, and Texas.
Of course, some parts of New York City are still hot. Rising rents and increasing pressure for workers to be in the office is driving demand for apartments in the city.
There’s also evidence that some people who left New York City earlier in the pandemic are coming back. And some are ready to spend on real estate. ‘Out of towners’ returning to New York (many of whom are actually returning former residents) have an average maximum housing budget of $1.3 million, while locals have budgeted an average maximum of $998, 011 for a home purchase, a recent Redfin report found.
But moveBuddha says that neighborhoods in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn all have more folks looking to leave, rather than move in, this year.
The report also found that four of the top 10 counties that saw a population decline between the same time period are in New York City: New York County (i.e. Manhattan), Kings County (i.e. Brooklyn), Bronx County, and Queens County.
Based on users searching on the moveBuddha site, the number of moves-out outnumbered the number of moves-in Jamaica, N.Y., Bronx, N.Y. and Staten Island, N.Y. the fastest.
In other words, for every 100 people moving out of Jamaica, only 27 people moved in. In the Bronx, that number was 36, and in Staten Island, 27.
The most popular city of origin for people moving to New York was San Francisco, moveBuddha added.
Nonetheless, there have been some gains for the Empire State: moveBuddha saw a lot more people moving in than out into Webster, N.Y., Ithaca, N.Y., and Fairport, N.Y.
The typical home price in Webster and in Fairport, or otherwise together known as Rochester, N.Y., was around $218,000, according to Zillow’s Home Value Index. Home values are up 11.2% from the previous year.
In Ithaca, a college town, the typical home is roughly $302,000, according to Zillow. Homes have grown in value by 21.3% from last year.
Got thoughts on the housing market? Write to MarketWatch reporter Aarthi Swaminathan at aarthi@marketwatch.com
Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter Of AAPI In Partnership With Red Cross Plans 2nd Blood Drive
The NORTHEASTERN Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in partnership with the local Red Cross has planned to organize its 2nd Community Blood Donation Drive at the Training Room, 256 North Sherman Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 on Monday, September 26, 2022 from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Dr. Dipti Pancholy Founding President NEPA-AAPI, said, “After the first ever Blood Drive held in Dember last year, we are excited to organize our 2nd Blood Drive in fulfilling our mission, which is to improve quality, access and delivery of health care by creating an environment of professionalism, and rewarding service as well as merit in Northeastern PA and globally.” Excited about the very positive and encouraging support from the community for the 1st ever Blood Drive, Dr. Pancholi had said, “We plan to conduct future blood drives in the 11 counties that north eastern Pennsylvania.”
Dr. Pancholi praised the efforts and contributions of her Team members, who are working towards the success of the Blood Drive by meticulously planning the event on Sep 26th, including, Dr. Kishori Veerabhadrappa, a Hematologist by profession and the Coordinator of Blood Drive for NEPA-AAPI; Dr. Sanketkumar Dalwadi, Chairperson of Community Service Committee; Dr. Sandhya Desai, Secretary NEPA AAPI; Ms. Judy McGovern, Red Cross Volunteer; and, Ms. Heidi Deleo Lackawanna, County Red Cross Director for their generous support in helping organize the highly successful event.
“I am looking forward to the dozens of local AAPI Chapters, and the newly formed NEPA AAPI Chapter for initiating and organizing the Blood Donation Drives and Stem Cell Registration across the nation, in honor of the Fallen Heroes of Covid-19, and as India is celebrating 75 years of our Independence, AAPI has taken this initiative to do National AAPI Blood Donation Drives in 75 cities,” said Dr. Ravi Kolli, President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI,) the largest ethnic organization in the United States.
“Well done, Dr. Dipti Pancholi and NEPA AAPI team. So glad you all are an integral part of our AAPI team. AAPI has launched 75 city blood donation drive. It only takes 15 minutes of one’s time and each pint of blood can save 3 lives. So let us all be the heroes and life savers. We all are one humanity and one family, Vasudhaiva Kutubakam,” said Dr. Ravi Kolli added.
Each blood component of whole blood transfusion can help up to three different people. Pointing to the fact that Blood cannot be manufactured despite medical and technological advances. The only way we can give blood to those who need it is through donation. It doesn’t cost us anything to donate but your donation saves lives. Blood is needed every two seconds, said Dr. Meher Medavaram, Chair of the national blood donation drive.
NEPA-AAPI is a newly formed, nonprofit association of physicians and dentists in the 11 counties of northeastern Pennsylvania and a chapter of the American Association of Physician of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic physician organization in the United States
To join the Blood DSrive and Donate Life saving Blood to people who need, please Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: NEPA APIO to schedule an appointment.
Streamline your donation experience and save up to 15 minutes by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass to complete your pre-donation reading and health history
questions on the day of your appointment. You may download the Blood Donor App today. Get your digital donor card, schedule your next appointment, track your lifetime donations, view your blood pressure, and follow your donation on its way to a hospital.
“We are grateful to Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (NEPA AAPI) for participating in a national initiative of AAPI that has initiated and organized Blood Donation Drives across the United States, in honor of Fallen Heroes of Covid-19,” said Dr. Pancholy. For more details on AAPI, please visit: www.aapiusa,org
Book On Rise Of Indian Americans Presented To Indian Minister
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was presented a book on the phenomenal rise of Indian Americans in diverse fields by M R Rangaswami, founder of Indiaspora, in Palo Alto, California last week.
The book, “Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans,” a first-of-its-kind anthology on the Indian American community in the US, was presented to Goyal during an interactive Indiaspora lunch event to discuss trade, regulation, tech infrastructure and diaspora issues.
Inspired by the US Vice President, the book evidences the progress and accomplishments of the Indian-American diaspora through 16 essays written by influential Indian Americans.
From politics to the new administration, entrepreneurship to technology, medicine to hospitality, science to academia, business to entertainment, philanthropy to social activism, leaders from various arenas detail their own paths to success and offer their perspectives on diasporic progress. These stories culminate in a larger narrative of the Indian-American community’s coming-of-age in the US.
Edited by the Delhi-based veteran journalist and foreign policy analyst, Tarun Basu, the book was released by New Delhi-based publisher Wisdom Tree and is available in the US via Amazon at: https://bit.ly/HarrisIA – Amazon India book link, and at https://bit.ly/HarrisIndAm – Amazon USA link.
Authors who have contributed to the Book include: former Indian ambassadors TP Sreenivasan and Arun K. Singh; Deepak Raj, chairman of Pratham USA; businessman Raj Gupta; hotelier Bijal Patel; Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor of UC San Diego; scholar-professor Maina Chawla Singh; Sujata Warrier, Chief Strategy Officer for the Battered Women’s Justice Project; Shamita Das Dasgupta, co-founder of Manavi; and journalists Arun Kumar, Mayank Chhaya, Suman Guha Mozumder, Ajay Ghosh, Vikrum Mathur, and Laxmi Parthasarathy.
Ganesh Festival Attracts Thousands Over Five Days In Jersey City
The non-profit corporation, Shri Ganesh Events, hosted one of the biggest Ganesh Festival celebrations Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, 2022, in Jersey City, N. J.
Events began daily at 10 am and continued till 9 pm. They featured dances and various kinds of other entertainment at India Square on Newark Avenue in Jersey City.
The Ganesh Sthapana (installing of the idol) took place on Aug. 31 morning. And the Ganesh Visarjan (immersing the Lord’s idol in water) happened on Sept. 4.
A Hindu priest performed the daily poojas and ceremonies; prasad and sweets were distributed to all devotees, worshippers and even visitors; the murti on the stage was elaborately decorated; and there was a separate stage for the various cultural events. Local groups performed dances; the Marathi Dhol was also part of performances, as was classical Indian dance. Indian television personalities also attended.
Shri Ganesh Events is run by “a team of successful entrepreneurs with a common goal to get the Indian festivals, music and entertainment in front of the Indian diaspora in Indian centric areas in United States of America,” the website of the organization says (ganeshfestivalusa.org).
The festival is believed to bring peace, prosperity and well-being in the community.
Sponsors included Parikh Worldwide Media, and the main organizers of the event were Bhavesh Patel and Suresh Patel.
American Tamil Entrepreneurs Association National Conference To Be Held In New Jersey
The American Tamil Entrepreneurs Association (ATEA) will host CATEALYZE 2022, the National Entrepreneurs Conference at the newly re-designed Bell Works, in Holmdel, N.J., Saturday, September 17, 2022. The Patel Foundation, an initiative of the Patel Family office, will be the title sponsor of CATEALYZE 2022, a press release from ATEA said.
“The conference is structured to deliver empowering sessions, enriching conversations, elevating opportunities, and engaging moments for the attendees who will be startup founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and business professionals,” organizers said, adding that the agenda will include experts from industries that are seeing renewed and new interest in investments including fintech, supply chain, digital health, and sustainability.
“To be prepared for the future, one must understand the opportunities that will drive it,” Ram Nagappan, co-founder of ATEA is quoted saying in the press release. “The experts at the helm of the CATEALYZE 2022 have scanned the horizon to evaluate how today’s market, product, funding, and networking opportunities can transform your current ideas into the businesses of the future,” he added.
Keynote speakers:
Francisco D’Souza, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Recognize
Sowmyanarayan Sampath, Chief Executive Officer at Verizon Business
Additional speakers:
Lakshmi Narayanan, Managing Partner, Patel Family Officer
Ravi Koganti, Chief Information Officer, Capital Health (US)
Ajay S. Mookerjee, Exec Chair, Warburg Pincus LLC
Balaji Krishnamurthy, Global Head, Enterprise Technology, Bloomberg
Navneet Kathuria, Chief Medical Officer – Regional, Lumeris
Vineet Gulati, CEO, Harmony Health
Gayathri Rajan, Chief Product Officer, DriveWealth
Eash Sundaram, Venture Capital & Digital ExecutiveTailwind Capital
Chandra Subramanian, Head of Retail & Manufacturing Vertical, ORS GROUP
Prabhu Palani, Chief Investment Officer, City of San Jose Retirement System
Sowmya Gottipati, Head of Global Supply Chain Technology at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Roopesh Das, SVP Digital Acceleration, Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Kwanzaa Hall, former U.S. Congressman representing District 5
Moderators:
Suresh U. Kumar, Vice Chairman, Monroe Township Economic Development Advisory Board
Karishma Vanjani, Markets Reporter, Barron’s
Siva Nadarajah, Co-Founder, JOGO Health
Chandra Subramanian, Head of Retail & Manufacturing Vertical, ORS GROUP
Hiral Desai, Head of Marketing, DriveWealth
“The Patel Family is honored to be an integral part of this groundbreaking event which brings together the best and brightest within the Indian American community,” said Dipika Patel, chairwoman of the Patel Family Office and Patel Foundation. “The vision of ATEA and this event aligns perfectly with our foundation’s core values – to support and encourage the spark of excellence within us all.”
The Patel Family Office is a privately held, 3rd Generation organization focused on UK retail, US hospitality, global real estate and other financial sectors since the late 1970’s.
The American Tamil Entrepreneur Association (ATEA) is a business-focused non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the vision of creating and providing a platform for networking, exchanging business ideas, seeking mentorship and investments, making connections, and creating an atmosphere for entrepreneurial thinking among NRIs and Americans of Tamil origin.
The conference planning is led by Venkatesh Sadagopan and Krishna Chari, who are the organization’s New Jersey Chairs. Event tracks are planned by Ponnarasi Raj and Karthik Sundaram and supported by marketing experts Priya Kartik and Karthik Rangarajan and Annamalai Sambanthan, the key member of the treasury. The program’s media and public relations lead is Suji Iyer.
Indian Content Creators Make Runway Debuts At New York Fashion Week
Heralding a massive coup for the homegrown content creator community, celebrated Indian couturier Archana Kochhar has roped in leading social media influencers of Indian origin as showstoppers for her fashion outings at New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. Her New York Fashion Week showcase was hosted in association with The Society at Hall Of Mirrors on September 11.
Delhi-based husband-wife duo, Gaurav Taneja and Ritu Rathee Taneja, of Flying Beast fame, were joined by Mumbai-based lifestyle influencer Aashna Hedge to walk the runway at New York Fashion Week, while Mumbai-based entertainment influencer Nagma Mirajkar will walk the runway at London Fashion Week, setting the stage for increased representation of Indian influencer presenters at global platforms.
This creative confluence marked the debut of these Indian social media stars at international fashion weeks, also marking the very first time that they are being integrated on the main runway in the history of New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week.
Other American social media influencers show-stopping at New York Fashion Week include Tik-Tok’s favourite ‘it’ girl Mckenzi Brooke and actor-musician teen sensation Gavin Magnus, who will be walking for one of the world’s youngest self-made multi-millionaires and child reality TV star, Isabella Barrett.
Kochhar’s London Fashion Week will be conducted in association with the British Fashion Council and Vivz World Fashion Week on Sep. 17 in London.
Kochhar, who had roped in film actress Sunny Leone and acid attack survivor Reshma Qureshi for her first-ever New York Fashion Week showing, is the only fashion designer to be handpicked from India to support the Make In India campaign (which was launched by Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, in 2014) at both of these reputed fashion weeks this year.
Gaurav Taneja and Ritu Rathee Taneja of Flying Beast stated, “We are extremely excited to make our international inaugural fashion innings at New York Fashion Week as the first content creator couple from India. It is an honor to be handpicked from the Indian content creator community to represent India on the world stage. It is so heartwarming to see such great reception, and this association truly showcases the advent of the content creator community in recent times. We hope our participation in his runway will open up many more avenues for the influencer community of India.”
Aashna Hegde states, “New York Fashion Week is the most iconic event of the fashion world and this feels like a ‘dream come true’ moment for me! I have been an ardent fashion enthusiast and have always wanted to bring to the fore my experimental fashion persona on the global stage. It’s such an honor to represent the Indian fashion community on such a global stage and help leverage the cause of sustainability.”
Kochhar added, “I’m very excited as this is my fourth showing at New York Fashion Week and my first-ever showing at London Fashion Week. In today’s technology-driven era, social media influencers pose as powerful thought leaders in the world of entertainment and fashion. Their equation with the community at large is highly nuanced and hence, just like actors, musicians and sports stars, they too enjoy a massive fan following as role-models. Each of these content creators will promote and propel the cause of ‘vocal for local’ on a world stage for the very first time.”
Her New York Fashion Week collection, Jharokha, highlights the importance of sustainability in fashion. A marriage between traditional handloom fabrics and inimitable Western silhouettes, the showcase boasted of a burst of colors and abstract designs. The collection primarily focused on handmade locally-grown textiles with a low carbon footprint, curated by women weavers from the interiors of the state of Madhya Pradesh.
3 Common Thinking Traps And How To Avoid Them, According To A Yale Psychologist
The mind is a tricky thing. It can lead us to believe that we can confidently sing “Bohemian Rhapsody” at karaoke even though we haven’t heard the song in years, or that one terrible review on Yelp is reason enough not to go to a 4-star rated restaurant.
These thinking errors are what people in the psychology community call cognitive biases. And that’s the focus of a new book out this month, Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better, by Yale psychology professor Woo-kyoung Ahn. In the book, Ahn highlights some of the most pernicious cognitive slip-ups we make — and how biases can cloud our judgment and affect the people around us.
Researchers suspect that many of these biases are evolutionary, says Ahn. During times of scarcity, our ancestors had to make quick judgments in order to survive among predators or thrive in a difficult environment. But in a time of abundance, she adds, these quick judgments don’t always do us good.
However, we can do our best to try to correct these thinking traps, says Ahn, which she teaches her students how to do in her popular undergraduate course at Yale. In general, she says, the key is to pause before making assumptions — and be aware of our tendencies for different kinds of bias.
This is known in the field of psychology as an “illusion of fluency,” which describes our tendency to be overconfident in our abilities without sufficient evidence. This can lead us, for example, to bungle career-altering presentations because of inadequate preparation, or dramatically underestimate the time it takes to complete projects.
In her class at Yale, Ahn uses an experiment to illustrate this phenomenon with her students. She shows them a dance clip from the song “Boy with Luv” by the K-pop group BTS. After watching six seconds of the easiest choreography moves over and over again, she invites the students who believe they have the dance down to do it themselves. One after another stumbles.
“People can have overconfidence about what they can accomplish by watching other people do it so fluently,” Ahn says. When the pros dance in a way that looks effortless, they think they can do it effortlessly too.
How to counteract it: You can correct this bias, she says, by doing what the Yale students did: Try it out yourself. It will quickly put any feelings of overconfidence to rest.
You can also fight this tendency by over-preparing and considering potential obstacles beforehand, says Ahn. For example, if you’re working on a home remodeling project for the first time and have no idea how long it will take, don’t try to guess. Talk to friends who went through a recent remodel or consult with a few contractors to understand how long the project might take and what problems may arise. The more information you have, the better and more accurately you can assess a situation.
The bias: We tend to fixate on the negative
The concept of “negativity bias” illustrates our propensity to weigh negative events a lot more heavily than an equal amount of positive events. It explains why a friend’s unenthusiastic review of an Oscar-nominated movie, for example, might spur you to watch something else. Or why you might be less inclined to hire a potential employee after hearing one negative thing about them, despite positive referrals.
Negativity bias can be dangerous because it can lead us to make the wrong choices. It can hold us back from making a decision about something, say a big purchase like a house, or even a political candidate, out of fear there was once a negative event associated with an otherwise good choice.
How to counteract it: When making a choice, play up the positive attributes of your options, says Ahn. Marketers use this tactic all the time. For example, instead of saying that ground beef contains 11% fat, they label it is as 89% lean. These are both true and accurate descriptions of the same product, but flipping the framing of it can make it a more attractive choice for buyers concerned with fat intake.
The bias: We cherry-pick data to fit our worldview
Ahn considers “confirmation bias” — the tendency to seek out or interpret information to support what we already believe — the worst bias of all. That’s because of its potential to lead us to miss an entire range of possibilities for ourselves and others.
Ahn and Matthew Lebowitz, a psychology professor at Columbia University, conducted an experiment in 2017 to illustrate the pitfalls of this bias. They gathered a group of participants and told some of them they had a genetic predisposition to depression – even though they did not. The results of that group’s depression self-assessments showed much higher levels of depression than people in a control group who were told they did not have the predisposition.
Because of confirmation bias, the participants who were told they had a genetic risk of depression retrieved “only the evidence that fit with that hypothesis,” says Ahn. And in doing so, they managed to convince themselves that they were actually depressed. The study shows that if we believe something is a fact, even if it isn’t, our mind can find information to support those views.
Now imagine this bias at work on a societal level. Ahn says it can lead to under- or over-representation in say, leadership in politics, business and other industries, which can feed gender or racial inequality.
She shares an example. Let’s say you’re a male scientist and you’re looking to hire other scientists to join your company. Because you see that the most prominent scientists in your field are currently men, you’ve convinced yourself that the next generation of great scientists will also be men. This colors your decision-making in hiring — and so you fill the positions with men.
That choice will continue to have a ripple effect, says Ahn. For others looking at the new hires, it might perpetuate the idea that “only men can be great scientists — and that’s exactly how prejudice and stereotypes get formed in society.”
How to counteract it: Allow yourself to examine all possible explanations before you make a judgment. For example, if an actor landed a part but her parents were also in the entertainment business, many of us might attribute her employment to nepotism. Since we’ve seen many examples of parents giving their kids a leg up in business or politics, another example of a child benefiting from their parents’ success would fit that theory.
But could it also be true that she gave the best audition? By looking at the issue from many different viewpoints – not just your own – it challenges your confirmation bias. And you might realize that perhaps there is another side to the story.
The audio portion of this episode was produced by Michelle Aslam. The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. (Courtesy: NPR)