Author: Staff Reporter

A Cashless Society via Demonetization?  India’s uncertain future

Staff ReporterFinance/Economy, India 0

By George Abraham

When Dr. Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, criticized the ongoing demonetization program championed by the Narendra Modi Government as “organized loot” and “legal plunder”, it struck a cord with many of the skeptics including me, who felt initially that if this program could reduce corruption and eliminate black money, it would be well worth the effort. Then again, it was quite uncharacteristic of Dr. Singh to use such strong words without reason. He called the whole initiative a ‘monumental management failure.’ It is noteworthy that this rebuke comes from a person who had served the centre as chief economic advisor, finance secretary, the finance minister, deputy chairman of the planning commission, and RBI Governor.

There is little doubt that what is unraveling in today’s India is a near disaster probably not brought upon the nation with bad intentions but certainly with botched execution by the Modi administration. Today, India is reeling from the disastrous implementation of the demonetization program with no end in sight. The crisis started when the Prime Minister surprised the nation on Nov 8th with the announcement that he would withdraw two-highest Denomination Bank Notes, (500 and 1000). He injected an element of nationalism in his speech and exhorted Indians to join this endeavor to ‘make his contribution to the country’s progress.’

In a country where cash is used by 98% of the consumer transactions, a sudden unavailability of money has brought untold sufferings to people across India especially in the rural areas forcing factories to be idle; small retails shops to close and the farming industry to come to a near halt. Millions of people are now spending their valuable time waiting in line at the Bank branches or ATMs to exchange or withdraw their money under various restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India.

This whole effort was made under the assumption that the banknotes are a way the rich people have stored their wealth. The poor folks are made to believe that those corrupt rich guys are finally getting soaked for their past sins, though the real burden of this reform measure has mostly fallen upon them. It is quite delusional to think that the rich have kept all their black money in 500 and 1000 rupee notes in a pillow case somewhere under the floor.  The truth of the matter is that the ill-gotten wealth of the much rich may only be added up to 7% in cash, but the rest are invested in real estate, equities, and jewelry or other investments. With more than 13 lakh crores of rupees that already returned out of the 15.44 lakh crores and the rest is expected to be accounted shortly, Government is vigorously challenged to explain what happened to their assumptions on black money?

The biggest casualty in this regard appears to be the credibility of the banking system. Anand Sharma, senior leader, and spokesperson for the Congress party alleged that ‘crores and crores of newly printed currency notes are going out” from the “back doors” of the banks while ordinary people were denied their right to withdraw their hard earned money they have deposited in these banks. “People had faith in the banking system, however, today, people’s trust in the Indian banks is shattered, and the reputation of RBI is dented,” Mr. Sharma told reporters in New Delhi.

There are also stories of BJP leaders going on a buying spree of real estate just before Prime Minister’s announcement. A report by ‘Catch news’ alleged that the BJP had brought land worth crores before announcing that RS500 and RS1000 notes are no longer valid. They also claimed to have the deeds of ten such transactions done by BJP functionaries on behalf of the higher-ups in the party, including party president Amit Shah.

As many as 111 deaths are directly attributed to this crisis so far along with stories of struggles of daily laborers, shopkeepers, and farmers for their daily survival. P. Chengal Reddy, Secretary General, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association says that the country is divided into India and Bharat. ‘Farmers are like a living corpse in India’ he added. The ruling class that includes the bureaucrats, Industrialists and so-called City-based experts do not see their plight and the demonetization have amplified how detached they are from this vital sector.

The government has also decided to exclude co-operative banks from this demonetization process alleging that they are not trustworthy. There are those who suspect that it is a deliberate move to destroy these cooperative banks in favor of big commercial ones or to bring them under stricter reserve bank guidelines. In thousands of villages, people depend on these cooperative banks for their banking and unfortunately they are allowed to run dry with little or no infusion of new currency notes.

To any independent observer, it is quite amusing to watch how the Government is dealing with the crisis with ever changing terms of the scheme and daily issuance of new directives. Originally, the purpose was to expose black money and to stop the terrorist funding directed by Pakistan. Lately, the BJP leaders sound as if they had a hidden agenda for this program all along that is to transform India into a cashless society.  One doesn’t know whether it was the original intent or shifting of the goalpost since the game has started. If it is all about black money, one wonders why Modi has failed to take any action against the unaccounted fortune hidden in offshore accounts!

Any rational mind would know that most of the Indian villages are a century behind the urban centers. They still do not have necessary facilities for education, medical care or banking and it is preposterous to talk about digital transactions and cashless society with these folks before helping them to meet minimum goals in human development. I am not sure whether our political leaders are making these decisions based on the cost-benefit analysis with an ample input of the current capabilities of the target population or they are falling victims to the utopia offered by the titans of the service sector which are dominated by Tech companies.

It is a known fact that half of the Indian population does not have access to any credit or debit cards. Also, only 53 percent of the population has access to a bank account, and the Internet is unavailable in the remote areas of the country. Security is also of paramount concern to many as the country is still reeling from a massive leak of credit card information from a database of 3 million card holders.

Sweden, an advanced economy with 10 million people, is currently undertaking the cashless experiment and the latest report showed that Sweden’s central bank had put a brake on that effort in the interim. With only 20% of the retail payments in Sweden were made in cash, they were in a better position to make that effort. However, they are having second thoughts stating that ‘we welcome digital development, but cannot leave any group behind’!  Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank has recently advised all those online banking services to change their business model to include cash.

After all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetization may have this ulterior motive of digitizing the Indian economy. If the demonetization is a step in that direction, the government needs to be deliberate and transparent in that process. The digital payment industry supported by the World Bank, multi-nationals, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID seem to be hard at work nudging world leaders who are susceptible to political opportunism and conscious of their inflated ego to demonetize and drain the liquidity of the banks. For those global elitists, there is a fortune to be made in the days ahead and if it takes leaving half of the population behind, so be it!

More than a month after demonetization, many city dwellers especially the working poor still support the policy. However, the country can’t wait any longer to get back on its feet and normalize the situation. If this is not resolved in the immediate future, some of the damages inflicted on the real economy from this protracted economic slowdown may end up being irreversible!

(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations and Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA)

Rekha Nandwani to run for Jersey City Ward Council

Staff ReporterCommunity 0
Rekha Nandwani, a Jersey City, N.J., committeewoman, has announced her campaign in pursuit of becoming a Jersey City Ward C councilwoman. The Indian American candidate held her first fundraising event on December 15 at Curry On restaurant in Jersey City to get her campaign off the ground.
She has been involved in the local politics at the grassroots level for a long time, had drew a large crowd, including Jersey City Council President Rolando Lavarro, Hoboken Council President Ravi Bhalla, Woodbridge Councilman Viru Patel and former Mayor of Edison Jun Choi.
“I am humbled by the level of support I have received so far in my campaign to be the next councilwoman for Jersey City’s Ward C,” Nandwani said in a statement. “I am encouraged by the constituents I hear from throughout the ward that tell me they need a leader that will represent their interests in the community and that is exactly what I intend to do,” she added.
Dozens of community leaders joined in celebrating Nandwani’s candidacy, including Jersey City Council president Rolando Lavarro, Hoboken Council president Ravi Bhalla, Woodbridge Councilman Viru Patel and former mayor of Edison Jun Choi.
“Rehka is a friend, and an advocate on neighborhood issues and for Asian Americans,” said Lavarro. “She gets the community’s concerns and is a tireless worker.  I have no doubt she possesses the skills, determination, and community support that make for a formidable Council candidate.”
In addition to serving as a Hudson County Democratic committeewoman for Jersey City’s Ward C-1, Nandwani is also the president of her neighborhood association and a Steering Committee member within the New Jersey Democratic State Committee’s South Asian American Caucus.
The Ward C council seat is up for election in November 2017.

Rahul Anand is Rutgers “Student Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016”

Staff ReporterBusiness 0
After eight tries and 17 rounds of interviews, Anand was hired as one of the first members of the pilot team that created Google Knowledge Graph. Over time, the team grew to 17,000 globally, but as Anand was poised to move on, he realized his gastronomy degree would not help him advance in his career.
So he applied to undergraduate business programs near his sister in New Jersey and chose Rutgers. Anand, 27, arrived at Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick in the fall of 2013 to study marketing. After one quiet semester to adjust to language and cultural differences, he widened his world. He joined the Dean’s Advisory Council to help engage students and restarted a defunct, in-debt Indian Students Association. Classes were going well, he was getting to know more people, but something was lacking.
“I missed having problems to solve,” Anand says.
In need of a challenge, he decided to start a digital marketing services business in the competitive New Jersey-New York market while a full-time student. “I figured if I’m pursuing a degree in marketing, I should be able to market it, because if I can’t do this, I might be in the wrong field,” he says.
The first $450 he earned – for helping a car repair shop owner establish a web and social presence and gain market traction through banner ads — helped him buy the fledgling company’s first server. “It was the beginning,” he says. By spring 2015, a few more students joined, bringing sales and graphics skills.

By the end of that summer, there were six. A year and a half later, the staff of The Ideas Maker has been as many as 16 in the summer of 2016 to 11 now. They have worked with 18 clients and reached a goal of $50,000 in revenues by the end of the summer. The new goal: $75,000 by the end of the year.
“Rahul has the ability to rally a team and find ways to help everybody who is on his team,” says Alfred Blake, assistant director of undergraduate entrepreneurship programs in the business school’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development. “He is a true entrepreneur who can draw people in by helping them see the value in it for them.”
Growing a successful student-run business is only one of the reasons why Anand was chosen Student Entrepreneur of the Year 2016. While building The Ideas Maker and pursuing his courses, Anand helped organize a Google I/O Extended event in May 2016, bringing Google’s well-known annual developer conference to Rutgers in Newark.
The next month, 90 people – entrepreneurs in and around Newark as well as students – turned out for an Entrepreneurship Summit planned by Anand and the student entrepreneurship organization he helped start. Serial entrepreneur and millennial branding expert Gerard Adams spoke at the event.
In October, Anand helped organize a two-day hackathon based on the recently released Google Cloud Machine Learning API. “We had over 60 people – 12 teams started and 8 teams made products over the two days,” Anand says. The winning team combined a vision API with an audio API to create an app that would allow a visually challenged person to scan another person’s emotions via a phone’s camera.
“Rahul has great analytical skills to begin with but he also couples these skills with outstanding intellectual curiosity, interpersonal rapport, and grit – that is a very powerful combination in any setting, and sets him apart,” says Can Uslay, associate professor of marketing and co-director of the RBS Center for Market Advantage.
Anand also was named to a Newark 30 Under 30 list recognizing young people who are collaborating with other organizations and individuals in Newark.
“I think he is unstoppable and has already made us proud at RBS with his current accomplishments,” Uslay adds, “but I think he is just getting started on a very bright career and his future accomplishments will amaze us all.”

Ravi S. Rajan, Dean at SUNY to lead California Institute of the Arts

Staff ReporterEducation 0
Ravi S. Rajan, the dean of the School of Arts at Purchase College, State University of New York, has been named the president of the prestigious California Institute of the Arts December 13. Ravi S. Rajan, Dean of the School of the Arts at Purchase College, and a highly regarded artist whose work reaches across disciplines, has been selected as the fourth president of California Institute of the Arts.
Rajan will begin his tenure June 1, 2017, and succeed President Steven Lavine. “I’m humbled by this opportunity, excited to be a part of this great community, and I look forward to building upon the innovative pedigree of CalArts,” said Rajan.
After evaluating more than 500 applicants, Rajan was appointed in a unanimous vote by the CalArts Board of Trustees, who were advised by a committee encompassing the entire CalArts community.
Rajan will be the first Asian American president of CalArts, one of the world’s premier arts colleges. His innovative and thoughtful leadership, in addition to passion and vision for arts education, aligns with the CalArts community, said Tim Disney, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Ravi shows the fiery passion for the arts that was at the core of CalArts founding,” continued Disney. “His commitment to excellence and exploration and innovation will help continue CalArts rich legacy and unbounded future.”
Rajan’s education included undergraduate studies at the University of Oklahoma, before going on to graduate work at Yale. He then launched into a dynamic career combining artistic practice and campus leadership. In addition to executive roles in higher education, Rajan is also a noted collaborator in the production of art, music, theatre/dance, and film/video. He is a member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London, and President of the Asian American Arts Alliance.
Abigail Salling, a student representative on the presidential search committee, said Rajan was impressive during the interview process. “He was dynamic and energetic, and talked about diversity, student debt, and artistic experience. I think CalArts will be strong under his leadership. I’m excited to see where our school goes.”
David Roitstein, faculty trustee from The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts, and also a member of the presidential search committee, echoed Salling’s assessment. “Ravi is exceptionally well-prepared for this role and I am very excited to work together with him.” Roitstein went on to compliment the search process, calling it “one of the highlights of my time at CalArts. It was open, diverse, and extraordinarily thorough.”
As Dean of the School of the Arts at Purchase, Rajan successfully proposed and guided a $100 million capital renovation of the Art + Design division’s facilities, the first such renovation in its history. His boundless advocacy helped strengthen the culture of philanthropy among supporters of the college, resulting in securing the largest individual donations to Purchase College since its founding. In an effort to foster change within the arts on a global scale, Rajan spearheaded the creation of a new MA in Entrepreneurship in the Arts, the first graduate degree of its kind in the world.
“Ravi brings the perfect combination of personal artistic commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, which is vital to CalArts, along with broad experience as an educator, and significant accomplishments as a senior administrator at Purchase College,” said CalArts’ President Steven Lavine. “I am thrilled he will be the person to lead CalArts into its future development as one of the great artistic and educational institutions in the world.”

Interfaith celebrations to forge unity held

Staff ReporterCommunity 0
In the midst of hatred, violence and divisions, especially after the recent elections in the United States, members of the South Asian community came together to unite people of different faiths. The New Jersey-based South Asian Community Outreach organization held an ‘Interfaith Holiday Party’ in Edison, N.J. on December 14th. Attended by leaders of different faiths, elected officials, and others, the highlight of the event was the coming together of the Indian and Pakistani communities, organizers said.
Exceptional elected officials, members of the community, and organizations were recognized at the event including Freeholder Sergio Granados (SACO Civic Award); and NAACP Rahway /CARTERET Chapter (SACO Martin Luther King Junior Human Rights Award); Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America (SACO Community Service Award); and Sparsh Shah and Phu Patel also received awards for service. Numerous other awards were also handed out to community members.
Among those attending the event were Consul General of Nepal Krishna Kumar Subedi, Consul General of Pakistan Raja Ejaz Ali, New Jersey State Senators Sam Thompson, Ray Lesniak, Pat Diegnan, N.Y. State Assembly members Nancy Pinkin and Raj Mukherji, Edison Mayor Tom Lankey, Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry, East Brunswick Mayor-elect Brad Cohen, and Somerset Freeholder Brian Levine.
Interfaith leaders attending included Rabbi Joel Abraham, Temple Sholom; Hindu leader Colonel Virendra Tavathia; Imam Syed Rizwan Rizvi, Masjid-e-Ali; Reverend Karen Johnson, The Unitarian Society; Sikh spiritual leader Giani Gurbachan Singh; and Buddhist spiritual leaders H .Kondanna chief monk of Staten Island.

North America’s Largest Sai Temple to Hold Grand Opening in July

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0
By Upendra Mishra
GROTON, MA—With construction in full swing and the exterior wall and framing nearly complete, North America’s largest Sai temple is gearing up to hold its grand opening ceremony in July 2017. The two-story, 40,000-square-foot temple in Groton, MA, is being built by New England Shirdi Sai Parviaar, known as NESSP. Built on 28 acres of land, upon completion the temple will become the largest Sai Temple in North America.
“Even we cannot believe the progress we have made. We are very thankful and grateful to our supporters and volunteers, who have worked tirelessly on this project,” says NESSP President Mahender Singh.

Project architect B. D. Nayak of Braintree, MA-based B.D. Nayak Architects & Planners Inc., says the location of the temple is perfect. “The most important for a temple is to be on a higher ground and people should be walking up there,” said Nayak, who has designed six temples in New England. “This site is on high ground. Also, from a Vastu point of view, all the statues of Gods and Goddesses will have a perfect location.”

It all began in 2006, when 10 like-minded Massachusetts families got together and formed New England Shirdi Sai Parivaar, a non-profit organization for the growing Shirdi Sai Baba devotees in New England. “Our mission was very clear to promote the philosophy of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba and to support religious, spiritual, cultural and charitable activities in New England,” said Singh, adding that initially the group rented a tiny place for temple purposes and later expanded to a 7,200-square-foot rented facility.

When they outgrew this space, the devotees decided to take a giant step and build their own facility where they could fulfill not only their spiritual needs but also serve as a community center open to people of all faiths and communities.

“We have grown from 10 families to 1,500 families now,” said Singh. “We did not have any experience in building a temple. All we did was believed in the philosophy and teachings of Baba and worked hard to start this project.”

NESSP currently operates out of a 7,200-square-foot rented facility in Chelmsford, MA, and will relocate to the new facility when it is completed in July 2017. NESSP acquired the land for $1.14 million and plans to spend an additional $10 million to build the new complex. As of now, the temple has already raised over $7.5 million.

The temple has been receiving donations from across North America and from states like North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, California, and Atlanta in addition to being supported by devotees from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

When fully completed, the two-story temple will be largest Sai Temple in North America. The sprawling 28-acre campus is located in the two neighboring towns of Groton and Littleton in Massachusetts. Four acres of the land is located in Littleton.

Reading, MA-based NM Construction Corp. is the general contractor. The temple will be open to everyone and will hold weddings, ayengetrams and other community and cultural events. The temple complex will provide a great venue for poojas, learning and weddings where open-air havans can be held, where the barat (wedding party) can come with horses and full traditional festivities can occur.

Founded in 2006, New England Shirdi Sai Parviaar (NESSP) is a non-profit organization. Its mission is to promote the philosophy of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba and to accordingly support religious, spiritual, cultural and charitable activities. NESSP was formed by devotees who share their love for Shri Shirdi Sai Baba and are inspired by His teachings. For more information, visit www.NESSP.org.

Dr. Purvi Parikh serves in Zambia as part of UN Foundation’s vaccine initiative

Staff ReporterHealth 0
Dr. Purvi Parikh, a New York-based pediatric allergist and immunologist for adults and children, recently traveled to Zambia as part of the United Nations Foundation’s vaccine initiative Shot@life. A passionate advocate for public health committed to good healthcare policy, Dr. Parikh cites her recent experience in Zambia to advocate for vaccinations.
As a clinical instructor of medicine and pediatrics at NYU-Langone Medical Center who practices at Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill, Dr. Parikh administers vaccinations daily, and often has to fight with passionate vaccination skeptics about its benefits. But what awaited her at Simonga Clinic in Zambia was unlike anything she had witnessed before.
As the sub-Saharan heat beat down on the team while it walked the few steps from the air-conditioned bus to the Simonga Clinic outside Livingstone, she thought of the Zambian women with their children in tow, sometimes making 18 km treks to clinics to vaccinate their sons and daughters. They occasionally encountered other obstacles such as monsoon rains and even animals such as elephants, zebras, and rhinos.
The Simonga Clinic works in the midst of major problems to deliver services to the thousands within its purview – dealing with labor and delivery amid power outages, no anesthesia, and of course, load shedding where power can go out for extended periods and solar power keeps vaccines from expiring.

Yet, miraculously, or rather because of the dedication of those serving and those receiving the services, the clinic manages to reach 98 percent of its vaccination rates! “That’s because of the motivation of mothers who have seen measles wipe out the children of entire villages,” Dr. Parikh says.
“They have seen the ravages of preventable diseases like pneumonia or the flu. Inoculation is a gift for them and even for new vaccines, there’s barely any skepticism.” Communicating with the population is through radio, TV, public service announcements, and texting on the cell phones, a boon in places where power is intermittent or non-existent. “God bless Martin Cooper, the inventor of cell phone technology, which can transcend socioeconomic classes, cultures, phone lines, power lines, and geography, and keep the world connected,” Dr. Parikh says.
Talking to women and children who come to the clinic, she and her teammates understand how critical the vaccine is for them – allowing some semblance of a normal life in extremely underserved areas. “It strikes me that things we take for granted such as going to school, studying, playing with our classmates, all are in jeopardy for these kids without their vaccines,” observes Dr. Parikh. Even mothers with no formal education cannot understand why parents would forgo this benefit and risk bringing back diseases considered eradicated, she notes.
That experience in Zambia has led Dr. Parikh, president of the New York Allergy and Asthma Society, to urge Americans to get behind Shot@Life (www.shotatlife.org) and donate it this holiday season. Even locally, for every vaccine received at Walgreens pharmacy, a vaccine will be donated by the company to shot@life.
Dr. Parikh is the national spokesperson for the non-profit Allergy and Asthma Network, and sigs on the health and public policy committee of the American College of Physicians.
She has published in scientific journals and presented research at national and international meetings. Dr. Parikh also sits on the advocacy council for the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

Bhairavi Desai-led union helps Uber Driver win Employee Status & Unemployment Benefits in NY

Staff ReporterBusiness 0
New York – “Uber’s refusal to own up to its responsibilities as an employer is hurting drivers across the board as the company seeks to replace full-time jobs with unstable gig work and part time pay,” said Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “We are heartened that Jeffrey Shepherd has received his unemployment benefits and that the Unemployment
Jeffrey Shepherd, an Uber driver in New York found to be an employee by the New York State Department of Labor is possibly the first Uber driver in the country to receive unemployment benefits after he was forced to quit driving for Uber due to poverty wages. Jeffrey Shepherd sometimes brought home as little as a penny in a workweek, after Uber deducted its fees and leasing expenses from his paycheck.
“Uber promised that I could make a good living driving for them. But they took car payments straight out of my paycheck so that sometimes after working seven days a week, I was left with pennies in income,” said former Uber driver Jeffrey Shepherd. “My car was repossessed because eventually I didn’t even make enough money working for Uber to make my leasing payments. At 54 years old, it’s humiliating to have to depend on my 76-year-old father for support, but for a long time I didn’t have the money to buy food, pay my bills, or even to pay for gas to drive to a job interview. I’m still struggling to dig myself out of the hole of poverty I fell into working for Uber, but I am thankful to finally receive unemployment benefits. I’m speaking out now so that no one else has to go through what I did.”
Shepherd is the third Uber driver to be declared an employee by the New York Department of Labor for the purposes of unemployment – which has the narrowest threshold for employee status. In June, the Brooklyn Legal Services filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the two other drivers, Jakir Hossain and Levon Aleksanian, and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance against Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state’s Department of Labor for not processing Unemployment claims by Uber drivers. In October, NYTWA announced that the two driver plaintiffs in the suit were determined to be employees of Uber.
In one email cited in the federal complaint a Department of Labor employee wrote, “The information we are being given is these claims (not just yours) are under executive review, which means the Dept of Labor is not making the decision whether or not this employment is covered.” The email was, according to The New York Times, “hinting at possible intervention by the governor’s office.”
“Appeals Board has consolidated the three unemployment cases,” Desai said. “We will keep fighting against Uber as long as it continues to treat workers as disposable. We know that Uber wants to replicate this model of exploitation and poverty pay across New York State and indeed the entire world. The company has a pattern of skirting labor laws and, when that fails, trying to change the laws themselves. We will continue to fight at every step of the way Uber and its lackeys continue their assault on workers’ rights by attempting to deregulate taxi services and destroy labor protections in our state.”
Founded in 1998, NYTWA is the 19,000-member strong union of NYC taxicab drivers, representing yellow cab drivers, green car, and black car drivers, including drivers for Uber and Lyft.  We fight for justice, rights, respect and dignity for the over 50,000 licensed men and women who often labor 12 hour shifts with little pay and few protections in the city’s mobile sweatshop.  Our members come from every community, garage, and neighborhood. To find out more visit NYTWA.org or like us on facebook.com/nytwa.

INOC, USA is lending a hand in Punjab election campaign

Staff ReporterPolitics 0
 Although the complete list of the candidates is yet to be released, Mr. Mohinder Singh Gilzian, President of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA is already on the ground in Punjab and campaigning for Congress candidates. ‘We are committed to supporting Captain Amarinder Singh and the Congress party to return to power in the state where corruption and mismanagement under Akali rule have become the order of the day and negatively impacting the lives of the ordinary citizens’ said Mr. Gilzian. We want to see Punjab return to its glory days as a model state where we have achieved greater development in the social and economic realm’ he added.
It is expected that elections in Punjab will be held towards the end of January or early February. The political parties are already busy at creating alliances and selecting candidates who might give them an edge. The Akali government was derelict in not attending or inadequately attending to the host of issues people are concerned about.  Corruption, drugs, and unemployment were listed high on the list of grave concerns and fear of hooliganism was affecting the security level of the people.  In the villages, the number of suicides was increasing and Punjab being a border state with Pakistan was made to bear colossal damages and sufferings, as well as the residents, were being uprooted and displaced from their homes for indefinite periods.
 A worrisome fact was that Punjab was slowly buried under huge state debt. Lethargic government bureaucracy was using antiquated laws and procedures so much so that many Non-resident Indians were not willing to invest in Punjab and that some foreign companies were also closing down and moving out causing unemployment problems.  The YSL river water issue was also not solved properly.
INOC, USA strongly believes that only the Congress Party under Capt. Amarinder Singh can solve such problems well and that the Captain has a track record to prove it.  His new Congress Manifesto is full of descriptions of programs to successfully deal with each such problem.
INOC, USA promises to do all it can that include sending additional volunteers to Punjab to help the party win back the state for the sake of its citizens and the Congress party.

NRI youth arrested for painting Swastika Graffiti

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0
Jasskirat Saini, a 20-year-old was arrested at Nassau Community College and charged in connection with a string of racist graffiti incidents at the Long Island, New York school over the last two months.

A Daily Caller report said quoting BC7 that swastikas were first found at Nassau Community College on a men’s bathroom Oct. 15 and later that month several more were found. In December there were two more incidents of swastika graffiti. Nassau County police found Saini writing two swastikas Dec. 21 on the exterior of a building and “KKK” on the floor of another. Saini is being charged with aggravated harassment and according to ABC7 the charge is in connection with 110 anti-Semitic drawings.

Police on Long Island say they have arrested a student in connection with a spate of racially-charged graffiti, including swastikas, at Nassau Community College. Nassau County police say 20-year-old Jasskirat Saini, of Plainview, was arrested Tuesday on charges of aggravated harassment.
Police say the man scrawled swastikas and KKK at two campus buildings on Tuesday. Earlier this month, police say swastikas were discovered written in black ink on a handrail and a wall on the campus. And in October, police say swastikas were written on the walls and urinals in various men’s rooms. One location also included an anti-Semitic comment. Saini is expected to be arraigned in Hempstead on Wednesday.

Pakistani Executive Charged In $140 Million Fake Diploma Scheme

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0
The executive of a Pakistani company was charged in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday for his part in an alleged $140 million “fake-diploma mill” scheme, the latest step in a global crackdown touched off by arrests in Pakistan last year, according to a report by Reuters.

Umair Hamid, 30, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scam that impacted tens of thousands of consumers.

Hamid, an executive at software firm Axact, was arrested on Monday, according to a statement by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Hamid’s lawyer could not be immediately identified. An email sent to Axact seeking comment bounced back.

Pakistan had asked U.S. authorities last year to help it investigate Axact, which had been suspected of earning millions of dollars from the sale of bogus university degrees online.
Hamid resumed selling fake diplomas, duping U.S. consumers into paying upfront fees to enroll in fake high schools and colleges even after Pakistani authorities shut Axact down in May 2015, according to Bharara’s statement.

“Hamid allegedly took hefty upfront fees from young men and women seeking an education, leaving them with little more than useless pieces of paper,” Bharara said.

Contemporary Artists Investigate the Plurality of Identity in 21st Century Iran at the Aga Khan Museum

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0
Beginning February 4, 2017, a pioneering and insightful collection of post-revolution Iranian art will be presented for the first time at the Aga Khan Museum. Featuring works by 23 contemporary artists, the world-premiere exhibition Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians showcases the many identities of today’s Iranians through 27 works selected from the private collection of Iranian-British financier and art collector Mohammed Afkhami.

The works of art featured in the exhibition confront such issues of today as gender, politics, and religion — topics familiar to those in the Western world — through quiet rebellion, humour, mysticism, and poetry. These paintings, videos, sculptures, and photographs created since 1998 present a different side of Iran, previously unseen by Western audiences, and yet very familiar in its medium and meaning.

“Despite the sanctions, isolation, and political unrest characterizing Iran in this millennium, the creative forces of Iranian artists have not been dampened,” says Dr. Fereshteh Daftari, curator of Contemporary Persians. “The narratives presented in the exhibition are woven out of genuine obsession and eloquent resilience. This is not the first exhibition on the subject, but it is the first to cast these artists and their works in light of their fortitude.”

Exhibition highlights include: A digital portrait from the Miss Hybrid series by Tehran-based artist Shirin Aliabadi; A fighter jet made from 32 stacked Persian carpets by Shiraz-born artist Farhad Moshiri; A painted fiberglass sculpture standing nearly two metres tall by renowned Iranian-Canadian artist and sculptor Parviz Tanavoli; and, A triptych from the Snow White series, which began just after the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution, by late photographer and filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

In addition to being renowned for his contributions towards preserving and promoting modern art from the Middle East as a collector, Afkhami is also well known for his art philanthropy – as he is a Founding Member of the British Museum’s ‘Middle East and North Africa Art Acquisition Committee,’ a member of the Guggenheim Museum’s ‘Middle East and North Africa Art Acquisition Committee,’ and a member of the Board of Patrons for Art Dubai.

“A passion for the arts of Iran, tinged with patriotic undertones, is part of Mohammed Afkhami’s family history,” notes Dr. Daftari. “In a little over a decade, Afkhami has acquired some 300 works, many of them now iconic, from 1961 to today.”

Exhibition-related programming includes an Artists’ Symposium, featuring scholars from both Iran and Canada, and performances by renowned Iranian artists, such as singer-songwriter Mohsen Namjoo and Tehran-born singer Soley Vaseghi. The Museum’s restaurant, Diwan, will be offering special menu items that celebrate the textures and flavours of Iranian cuisine.

Rebel, Jester, Mystic, Poet: Contemporary Persians is curated by Dr. Fereshteh Daftari in cooperation with the Mohammed Afkhami Foundation, and runs through June 4, 2017 at the Aga Khan Museum.

The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, has been established and developed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The Museum’s mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the contribution that Muslim civilizations have made to world heritage while often reflecting, through both its permanent and temporary exhibitions, how cultures connect with one another. Designed by architect Fumihiko Maki, the Museum shares a 6.8-hectare site with Toronto’s Ismaili Centre, which was designed by architect Charles Correa. The surrounding landscaped park was designed by architect Vladimir Djurovic.

Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin lauds Indian American community

Staff ReporterTravel 0
 The achievements and success of the Indian-American community has contributed greatly to India’s diplomatic efforts at the United Nations and elsewhere, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin, said here on December 21st. The Envoy to the UN was speaking at a TV Asia question-and-answer session aired live, praised the diaspora for bringing attention to India.
“We are more effective now because of you, the community,” Akbaruddin said at the session attended by more than a hundred representatives of Indian-American organizations in the tri-state area. Akbarudding stressed that the community’s success in America had not only drawn more attention to India, but also made the job of diplomacy easier.
The Q and A session lasted more than an hour during which India’s envoy fielded questions on the changing political scene in the U.S. with an incoming Trump administration and whether the UN was effective in protecting the human rights of people across the world.
Akbaruddin indicated that while there may be some change, India was expecting new perspectives to be presented at the international body and was prepared to deal with the issues within the framework of the United Nations.
On human rights, a question asked by a 12-year old student, Akbaruddin said it was up to the member-nations of the U.N. to adhere to human rights in order for the organization to be successful. He also said India’s demand for permanent membership on the UN Security Council may take a while. “It was a very interesting and educational sesion and people got an opportunity to ask questions and meet the Ambassador personally,” said H.R. Shah, chairman and CEO of TV Asia.

Meanwhile, India has renewed its demand for international action against Pakistan-based terrorist groups Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and “their shadowy supporters,” and Syed Akbaruddin, India’s envoy to the United Nations, today cited a quote from poet Rumi to send to warn Pakistan.

“Every leaf that grows will tell you: What you sow will bear fruit. So, if you have any sense my friend, don’t plant anything but peace,” Akbaruddin said, quoting the great Persian poet in a Security Council session on the situation in Afghanistan.

The UN envoy’s remark was an apparent reference to terrorist groups operating with support from Pakistan in neighbouring Afghanistan. He said that to bring sustainable peace to Afghanistan, groups perpetrating violence in the country must be denied safe havens in its “neighbourhood.”

“We need to address, as an imperative, the support that terrorist organisations like the Taliban, Haqqani Network, Daesh, al-Qaeda and its designated affiliates such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammed which operate entirely outside the fabric of international law draw from their shadowy supporters outside Afghanistan,” Akbaruddin said.

United Christian Cultural Association hosts Christmas Banquet

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0
 Chicago IL: The inclemency of the Chicago snow storm could hardly ebb the reigning festive spirit of the Christmas celebrations that were held with full compliments of melodious carols, dance presentations, canticles, inspiring remarks and yuletide sermon marking the Grand Christmas Banquet hosted by United Christian Cultural Association [UCCA] on Friday, December 16, 2016 at the Bristol Palace in Mount Prospects, Illinois.
The Christmas carols singing with an ensemble of musical accompaniments including sounds of traditional indian ‘Dhol’ with families and children relishing the joyous canticles of the Christmas augmented by the presence of Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General of India and Movie/TV Actress & Gospel Speaker Divya Vani from India enhanced the evening celebrations of songs, dances, music, worship and dinner.
The evening celebrations set off with the lighting of the Advent Lamp led by Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General, Telugu Movie Actress Divya Vani opened the evening accompanied by a graceful musical carol.  Addressing the guests, Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General   extolled the festival of Christmas and reflected on  the exceptional contributions made by Christians in India  in the field of education, health care, charity, social empowerment, emancipation of women socio-economic  conditions and participation in public life and added that Christianity has profoundly helped strengthen the social fabric in India.  Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed sincerely expressed his appreciation to the UCCA leaders for inviting him and his wife to Christmas celebrations and complimented them for showcasing the spirit and celebrations of Christmas.
Movie/TV Actress Divya Vani in her short yuletide sermon explained the significance of Christmas as a day of celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ into this world and that which symbolizes Jesus Christ as the personification of Divinity.  Divya Vani ‘s message which was interspersed with singing said Christmas is a season of great joy as it emphasizes the incredible mystery of the Lord’s coming to earth in the form of a child and destined to offer salvation to the humanity. In appreciation of her presence and sermon, Divya Vani was honored with a shawl and a flower bouquet.
Earlier, Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, Director of UCCA  welcomed the gathering  and introduced the chief guest Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General of India and later joined by UCCA leaders  honored the Ambassador and his wife by presenting traditional shawls and flower bouquets. Raju Enoch Pasumarthi, UCCA President thanked the gathering of the families. Emmanuel Neela Vice President, Vasanth Charles, Director. Suneeta Christina, Satish Dadipogu Austin D’Souza, Nandan Thogaru, Pravin Neetipudi & Karunakar Mondithoka offered the Christmas greetings and seasons compliments; while Renee Thogaru arranged the Christmas carol choir singing.
The event was emceed by Anitha Tandur and music was provided by Johnson Kodipally, Vijay & Athyun Nagelli.  Several church pastors were also present including Mrs. Subhadra Vipparathi, Rev. David Vidyasagar, and Rev. Samson Purohit who participated in the ceremonies. The evening celebrations concluded with entire hall shimmering in candle lights sang together the traditional Christmas carols “Silent Night” which was followed by the serving of the festive dinner.

Yoga’s benefits being researched in many govt. funded projects across USA

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0
Various US universities-medical/clinical centers-hospitals are undertaking research projects exploring yoga’s possible help in treatment of various illnesses, according to a database published on US National Institutes of Health (NIH) website.
Funded/administered by National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, etc.—all part of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; cost for some of these projects is listed at over half-a-million dollars each.
Project titles listed include looking into yoga’s help in the treatment/relief/intervention/management/care of PTSD, sleep disturbance, chronic pain, symptom management for breast cancer, arthritis, antenatal depression, urinary incontinence, smoking cessation, substance abuse, type 2 diabetes, insomnia, depression, pain perception and pain control, anxiety disorder, etc.
These projects are being undertaken at Indianapolis Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, University of California-San Francisco, University of Minnesota, Duke University, NIH Clinical Center in Maryland, Providence Butler Hospital, Boston Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Rhode Island Miriam Hospital, Alexandria University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston University, etc.; as per as the website.
NIH website also points out that “NCCIH is currently supporting research on how practicing yoga may affect”:  HIV, immune function, menopausal symptoms, multiple sclerosis, diabetes risk, etc.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, welcoming these state funded/administered research projects looking into possible usage of yoga in various health/medical related issues, called it “a step in the positive direction”. Zed urged all major world universities/medical-centers/hospitals to explore various benefits yoga offered.
Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted.
Rajan Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.
According to NIH; yoga may help reduce low-back pain and improve function, relieve anxiety and depression and insomnia, improve quality of life, reduce stress, lower heart rate and blood pressure, improve strength and flexibility. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image.  Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.

GOPIO to honor prominent NRIs at annual Convention

Staff ReporterCommunity 0
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) is hosting its convention on 5th and 6th of January, 2017 at Hotel Le Meridien, Bengaluru in conjunction with Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. This convention in Bengaluru attracts investors, political functionaries, business leaders from India and abroad and would be an important milestone which will chart out a course of action for the future.
GOPIO, founded in New York in 1989, has been serving the 30 million global Indian community for the last 27 years. GOPIO serves as an effective platform to channel NRI/PIO talents and investments to India their motherland. Over the years, GOPIO has taken up issues of civil rights and human rights violations of the Indian Diaspora around the world and are pleased to say that our communities have joined the political mainstream in many of the Diaspora countries. The philanthropic and social causes undertaken by GOPIO among the needy and distressed NRIs and PIOs are acclaimed by one and all.
However, visitors from abroad are ill prepared for the sudden demonetization of high value currency notes in India.  “One group that will be hit hard by the government’s restrictions will be hundreds of delegates reaching Bengaluru for the Pravasi convention from all over the world,” said Sunny Kulathakal, Convention Convener and GOPIO’s Global Ambassador. He added that many of them have in their possession demonetized currency notes that they may find difficult to exchange on arrival in India. GOPIO has requested the government to facilitate the exchange of these notes at various Indian embassies or other means.
Earlier GOPIO President Niraj Baxi wrote a letter Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to extend by six months the cutoff date for depositing the demonetized notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations.
“NRIs and PIOs should be allowed to exchange whatever amount they have as long as they show the proof of past conversion of foreign currency to Indian currency in the last 10 years,” said Thomas Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO International.
GOPIO will discuss this and other issues at the convention in Bangalore on January 5 and 6, 2017 at Hotel Le Meridien, Bengaluru. Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shri. M. J. Akbar will inaugurate the Convention at 4 PM on 5th. The Chief Ministers of Southern States of India and other prominent personalities will attend.
On 6th morning Dr. Shashi Tharoor, MP will inaugurate the panel discussion on Diaspora issues. It will be followed by panel dialogue on philanthropy by Lord Dilgit Rana, Lord Raj Loomba and others. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien will be attending the valedictory function.
The Awards Banquet function at 7 PM on Jan. 6th will be attended by the Governor Vajubhai Vala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other dignitaries. GOPIO Community Service AwardS also will be presented at the Finale Banquet event. This year’s awardees are as follows:
Abraham M. George is engaged in several social projects including: Shanti Bhavan Residential School (www.shantibhavanonline.org) for children from socially and economically disadvantaged families; Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media (IIJNM – www.iijnm.org); Baldev Medical & Community Center to address the healthcare needs of over 15 villages in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. His work in the field of environmental health was instrumental for the removal of lead from gasoline tin India in 2000 and the creation of National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning. George is the author of four books in international finance and environment. His recent book was “India Untouched: The forgotten face of rural poverty.
Chandu Patel has set up the Sabarkantha Health and Research Foundation (SHRF) to augment the state’s healthcare system. He started Krishna General Hospital in Himatnagar and plans to upgrade it to a medical college. The SHRF has also set up Geeta Girls Hostel for 300 college students and C. K. Patel Mahila Arts College. Chandu has also contributed to projects for abandoned children, senior citizens and other marginalized sections of society. His donations helped the victims of the Gujarat earthquake (2001), the Odisha super cyclone (1999) and other natural disasters. Chandu has been bestowed with many honors and awards for his community service and philanthropy.
After a 25 year career in Neonatology that spanned 3 continents, for the last 7 years Dr. Cherian has taken leadership of the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain. The hospital has been providing high quality care regardless of the ability to pay for the last 120 years. The Indian migrants who cannot afford insurance for healthcare have largely been the beneficiaries of hospital’s policy.  A sustainable model of financing to provide this care has been created to enable us to grow and expand our reach. This model of not for profit care can be modeled in all economies of scale in both developed and developing economies.
Vinod Chandra Patel has served Town and District of Ba as a Councillor and Mayor and as an elected Member of Parliament of Fiji on two occasions. His contributions have been in the field of Education, Sports, Religion, Community Health, Local Government, and National Government and in Community and Philanthropy. He has provided outstanding service to business and commerce and in the field of sports especially in Soccer as the National Team Director and Vice President. He is the recipient of several awards given by the Government of Fiji and Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha. His philanthropic contribution to education in Fiji and India are legendary.
Dr. Ram Buxani is a 3 time Forbes awardee.  He is the Chairman of the ITL-Cosmos Group, a diversified global business entity.  He is a visionary entrepreneur, endowed with unfailing business acumen.  His autobiography “Taking the High Road”, is now in its second edition.  He is often recognized as Mr. NRI in Gulf Region.  Truly multi-faceted, he is a community leader, spokesperson of NRIs, writer, theatre actor, cultural ambassador and social organizer. He has been conferred the Doctorate by Washington International University in 2004 and D.Litt Degree by D.Y. Patil University of Mumbai – for his contribution for NRIs and victims of natural calamity.
Jay is currently employed as group head (home care) for Amka, a major toiletry and household company in South Africa. He has been with Amka for 28 years. He studied marketing and sales at various business institutions in South Africa. He has been involved in various community and charity drives within South Africa. He is very passionate about the plight of women and has worked on training women and placing them in employment. He is currently setting up a training academy where abused and unemployed women will be trained and employed.

Share and Care Foundation raises $800,000 at 34th annual gala

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

The New Jersey-based Share and Care Foundation raised $800,000 at the 34th the gala with the theme “I Am Empowered.” The charity hosted its 34th Annual Gala and Fundraiser at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on December 10th. Singer Parthiv Gohil and Indian-American actor Omi Vaidya entertained the audience of more than 1,500 who came to enjoy and give to their favorite charity. Describing Gohil as the “son of Share and Care,” Chairperson Sharad Shah said both Gohil and Vaidya have pledged to support the foundation and its various endeavors.

“Our annual gala is not like anybody else’s,” Shah said. The gala consists of 80 percent fundraising and 20 percent entertainment, he explained. Shah said the foundation uses the event as a platform to interact with their supporters and the community in general. Copies of the financial report are distributed to the audience, Shah noted, and the report is also read out at the event. “Communication with the community, our supporters is key,” Shah said.

share-and-care-foundation-raises-800000-at-34th-annual-galaShare and Care’s signature projects were also highlighted at the event. Two of these programs – Women Empowerment and Nirmal Bharat – have done exceptionally well, Shah said.

Share and Care’s Women Empowerment Committee has been striving to find simple and effective solutions to completely empower rural women in India, Share and Care says, describing gender equality and women empowerment as a multi-faceted and deeply rooted issue in all countries.

Although there is not one single solution to promoting gender equality, small steps can be taken to create significant change, and impact the lives of women all around the world, Shah said, noting, “Equality and equity, both are important.”

The foundation works with women with limited education, who therefore have few skills that can translate to an income or self-sufficient life. They also come from traditional families, where women are not given the same importance or value as men.

The foundation works with these women to provide vocational training, such as fashion design and computer training, to provide skills for employment or starting a business; financial management skills, basic principles of budgeting and saving their own money for their futures; self-defense lessons to help them defend themselves physically when necessary; confidence training, to help undo the traditional mindset of inferiority their communities may have instilled in them and to help them become more confident and self-sufficient; a safe space and legal protection and education for those who have escaped from prostitution; and gender equality education, for both boys and girls starting at a young age, to change the way women are viewed in society.

Rutgers financial whizzes beat Ivy League teams to win championship

Staff ReporterEducation 0

Standing in the boardroom where top economists chart the nation’s financial future, a team of Rutgers University students beat out competition from Princeton and Dartmouth Thursday to win one of the nation’s most prestigious economic competitions.

The Rutgers team, made up of five undergraduates from the New Brunswick campus, were crowned the winners of the 13thannual College Fed Challenge, a national competition about the U.S. economy and monetary policymaking.

The Rutgers competitors gave a 15-minute presentation analyzing economic and financial conditions, then answered questions from top federal officials at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C.

A five-member undergraduate team from Rutgers that included juniors Karn Dalal and Shivram Viswanathan, beat out teams from Princeton, University of Chicago and Dartmouth in competition to win the ‘College Fed Challenge’, a competition that encourages students to learn about the U.S. economy, and the role of the Federal Reserve System, in Washington, D.C. last week.

At the prestigious competition, the Rutgers students evidently demonstrated a grasp of economics that propelled them to the top of the tough national competition.

The Dec. 1 finals took place in the boardroom of the Federal Reserve Bank with five Rutgers undergraduates facing teams from prestigious and Ivy League colleges.

“It was an absolutely stunning moment,” said Jeffrey Rubin, an emeritus professor in the Department of Economics, School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), and the team’s adviser since the competition began in 2003. “There we were in this very imposing boardroom, where the Fed sets policy, and competing against students from these outstanding schools,” he said in a statement.

At the College Fed Challenge students deliver a 15-minute presentation, analyzing current economic conditions and conclude by making a recommendation on monetary policy. The students then respond to a series of questions from a panel of three top economists at the Federal Reserve System who serve as judges.

After defeating Columbia University, among other schools, during the New York Federal Reserve District regional competition in October, the team advanced to the finals feeling relaxed and confident. Shivram Viswanathan, a junior majoring in economics and mathematics, said the other teams’ presentations at the finals were very impressive, and included ambitious and sometimes esoteric references that demonstrated considerable knowledge of macroeconomics.

“But I think what ultimately allowed us to get the edge is our ability to make our presentation in a comfortable, cohesive, and cogent manner,” he said. “We’d tie in a lot of different aspects of the global and domestic economy all at once, working disparate ideas into a single, clear concept.”

But in the boardroom, as the results were announced, the students and Rubin found themselves in a state of disbelief. The judges called the honorable mentions first – ASU, Princeton, and Chicago. “I remember taking a deep breath after the three honorable mentions, and thinking I’d still be happy to get second place,” said Dalal a junior majoring in economics and biomathematics. “Then we hear that second place goes to Dartmouth. That took a moment to register. And then you get that rush in your head and it’s like: ‘Yes! We did it.’”

His teammates had similar reactions.

Sikh Realtor given FBI’s Community Leadership Award

Staff ReporterBusiness, Community 0

Swaranjit Singh Khalsa, president of Sikh Sewak Society International and a resident of the state of Connecticut, has been awarded the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award last week.

In April, 2017, he will travel to Washington, D.C., where he’ll receive a tour of FBI headquarters and will be celebrated along with the other award recipients during a ceremony, according to a report in Sikh 24.com.

FBI Community Outreach Specialist Charles Grady said, according to the Dec. 10 report, that Khalsa was chosen for his work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI to help educate law enforcement officers about cultural differences in Connecticut.

“It’s all about the willingness of an individual to go over and above what’s asked and bring people together from all walks of life,” Grady was quoted as saying. “He was the clear choice.”

The vetting process for the award is extensive A community or law enforcement agency nominates the person after which a special agent narrows down the nominees. Members of the FBI conduct interviews to learn how much of an impact the person has made.

Khalsa came to the city of Norwich in 2010 after graduating in New Jersey. He also serves as a member in commission of city planning, while running his own real estate business and gas station.

He held Connecticut’s first ever Sikh Awareness Day at his gas station where dozens of people including historians, police officers and local residents, turned up. This became the ice-breaker for a number of community-based meetings.

“That was the start of my interaction with the community,” he said. “After that, people were coming in, helping out, asking me to tell them more about my religion and where I came from,” he was quoted as saying.

An award he received at the 10th annual Interfaith Spiritual Wellness Fair symbolizes how far-reaching his efforts have been in the years since. The recognition is granted yearly to 56 people – one for each of the FBI’s field offices. In Connecticut, the Sikh population has been growing for years, Khalsa said. The rise of hate crime against Sikhs and the Wisconsin shootings prompted Khalsa to become proactive. “Sometimes it’s just the fear of the unknown,” Khalsa said.

That’s part of why he got involved educating officers about not only Sikhs, but also Muslims and Arabs. “When people learn, they realize they’re no different than us,” said Khalsa.

“They might look different, but their values are the same. Once we have that feeling among everyone, I think it will be a good thing,” he said. Khalsa said he largely stays away from talking politics but said education is more important than ever, and that the leader of the country sets the tone, so if they are sending a message of hate, that’s what will be spread around.

Khalsa is serving as a Member in Commission of City Planning and has his own real estate and Gas station business. He also held first Sikh awareness day in Connecticut, right at his station. Dozens of people — local residents, police officers, historians — showed up. That, he said, was the “icebreaker. That was the start of my interaction with the community,” he said. “After that, people were coming in, helping out, asking me to tell them more about my religion and where I came from.”

NY Assemblyman Weprin condemns rising hate crimes at South Asian event

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

New York Assemblyman David Weprin (District 24) condemned the recent rise in hate crimes across the great city of New York and nationwide during a panel discussion at the 24th Assembly District South Asian Advisory Panel on December11.

Besides Weprin, the afternoon panel discussion was also attended by Councilman Barry Grodenchik as well as local leaders from the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities and representatives from city agencies and community organizations.

“A hate crime against one of us is a hate crime against all of us, and we must stand together against each one of these incidents” Weprin said. Grodenchik also addressed the audience and noted that there had been an increase in hate crimes against people of all races and religions through the election period in 2016, including incidents of anti-Semitism and crimes against people with a South Asian background.

According to Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows), whose district has the largest South Asian population in the city, there has been a spike in complaints about hate-related incidents since the presidential election last month.

The apparent uptick in hate-related incidents hasn’t been limited to just Muslims or those perceived to be of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent. Weprin said there have also been an increased number of complaints from the Jewish and LGBT communities, among others.

“Obviously, as far as I’m concerned there’s no tolerance at all for any form of hate speech or hate crimes, whether it be physical or verbal,” he said. “We all have to stand together because a hate crime against one community is really a hate crime against all communities.”

Launched in 2015, the South Asian Advisory Panel, inside the assemblyman’s Union Turnpike office, is composed of leaders in the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities. Organizers said the goal is to foster more dialogue between the South Asian community and their elected officials by offering a direct channel for communication.

Several of the 20 or so community leaders in attendance also inquired about IDNYC, the city’s immigrant-friendly municipal ID card program. There has been some concern that program data could be used as a deportation tool under the Trump administration.

Remarks from the elected officials were followed by presentations from Tanjila Rahman of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, Keerthana Nimmala of the Immigration Intervention Project at Sanctuary for Families, Ming-der Chang, of New York-Presbyterian/Queens Hospital, and New York City anti-violence project Equal Justice Works Fellow Nishan Bhaumik.

Mayor de Blasio has pledged the city would seek to shield the information from federal officials — something it’s being sued over — and Weprin encouraged people to continue participating in the program.

Some of the topics discussed during the meeting, the advisory panel’s fifth such session, were somewhat routine: traffic problems at an intersection, concerns about bus service near Hillside Avenue. A representative from the city’s Department of Consumer Affairs also gave a presentation about free tax services that will be available in coming months.

But the most pressing issue seemed to be hate-related incidents and the aftermath of the presidential election. Nishan Bhaumik, who leads South Asian outreach efforts for the New York City Anti-Violence Project, talked for several minutes about ways people can respond if they see someone being harassed on the streets, or in buses and subways. “You should always consider your own safety first, and figure out if it’s safe for you to interject yourself into the situation,” he said. “Just acknowledging the fact that it happened with that person might help them,” he said.

Trishla Jain Debuts “Thank Joy” Capsule Collection  at Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global Pop-Up Store in New York City (NYC)

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

 

NEW YORK, NY: Artist Trishla Jain is debuting a capsule collection of mementos for home and beyond at Thrive Global’s premiere retail experience as a pop-up store in New York. The Thank Joy capsule collection is inspired by the fine art, poetry, and spiritual reflections of international artist and poet, Trishla Jain.  Trishla Jain is an artist, a mother, and a spiritual devotee in service of life’s ultimate purpose: to elevate human consciousness.

Thank Joy will offer a selection of embroidered tapestries, decorative pillows, statement scarves and jackets. Each hints at the signature use of color, texture, play and spirit identified with artist Trishla Jain. The capsule collection will be available for sale from December 1, 2016 through January 15, 2017 at 491 Broome Street.

Every Thank Joy tapestry is derived from Trishla Jain’s original paintings and subsequently hand-embellished with centuries-old techniques of beading, stitching, and jewelling by artisans in India. Two to four artisans work simultaneously to complete the craftsmanship on the tapestries, using up to 108 unique materials. The artisans finish the edges of the tapestries with gold hand-block printing before stretching them on wooden frames. The tapestries vary in size from larger wall hangings to ‘minis’ – a perfect gift offering versatile room adornment for a cozy corner, the boudoir, mantle, personal desk, and the like.

Thrive Global was founded by Arianna Huffington with a mission to lead a cultural shift from surviving to thriving. “We are a company deeply rooted in science and dedicated to helping people go from knowing what to do to bring more well -being into their lives, to actually doing it. I am so excited about the amazing collection of products, services and technologies we’re featuring at Thrive Global that will help people improve their well-being and productivity and lead healthier and more joyful lives.”

Trishla Jain, founder of Thank Joy, stated, “I’m honored to be part of my dear friend Arianna’s bold vision: consciously moving away from default-survival-mode to a full-blossom-thrive way of life. Fueled by daily meditation, my art aims to thank joy and remind us to walk towards the Self with every step.”

Thank Joy’s capsule collection of mementos for home and beyond is a sneak peek of the company’s formal launch in the Bay Area in early 2017 and eventual flagship stores in India.  Thank Joy by Trishla Jain At Thrive Global’s Pop-Up Store from December 1, 2016 – January 15, 2017 491 Broome Street New York, New York 10013 www.ThankJoy.com

Pennsylvania Indian American Physician Couple get humanitarian award

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Drs. Neelima and Mukul Parikh of Mechanicsburg were recently honored with the 2016 Humanitarian Award from United Way of the Capital Region’s Tocqueville Society for their outstanding commitment to improving lives throughout the region during a special reception, sponsored by M&T Bank, Wilmington Trust, Clarion Hotel Partners and The JDK Group.

The society said that the Indian American physician couple, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., were honored for their outstanding commitment to improving lives throughout the region.

The Humanitarian Award is presented annually to a local leader, or leaders, who meets the criteria of having a commitment to voluntary systems of human services; having a creative approach to serving the community; are outstanding in providing leadership and working with others; provide sustained service over a period of years; are inspirational in encouraging others to serve; their actions have had or will have a major impact on changing and saving lives; and, produce results that are clearly visible and tangible.

Neelima and Mukul have practiced anesthesiology since 1984 at West Shore Anesthesia and Riverside Anesthesia Associates respectively and both have served in leadership positions within their profession.

Since the 1980s, Neelima and Mukul have used their medical talents, as well as their spirit for philanthropy to take medical mission trips to parts of Africa, Haiti, India, the Philippines and Thailand. These trips are financed using personal vacation time as well as personal funds. The couple strives to complete two mission trips a year.

In 2013, Mukul and Neelima founded Operation Medical, a nonprofit organization comprised of trained professionals and volunteers committed to providing high quality medical care and education to the most at-risk communities around the globe. Mukul, president of Operation Medical, along with Neelima, conduct surgeries, help secure financial resources, medical supplies, equipment and pharmaceuticals, and inspire others to join in this life-changing work.

Both Neelima and Mukul are very active with the Hindu American Religious Institute (HARI). Neelima served as the first female president of HARI and on its board of directors. Mukul has served as chair of the board of HARI, where he also taught Sunday school for 25 years and coordinated youth group activities for a decade.

Longtime donors to United Way, Neelima and Mukul have continued to grow their generosity. In 2015, they donated $100,000 to our United Way – the largest gift from individual(s) last year. In 2005, the couple established a private foundation to help support the many educational, health care, religious and community service activities they ardently support.

Emerald Media leads $35 Million in Amagi Media Labs

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

By Arun Joseph

Emerald Media, the Pan-Asia company backed by leading global investment firm KKR for investing in the media and entertainment sector, today announced that it has acquired a significant minority stake in Amagi Media Labs (‘Amagi’), the leader in targeted TV advertising and cloud-based TV broadcast infrastructure. Premji Invest, the investment arm of Azim Premji, (an existing shareholder) is also participating in this combination of primary and secondary US$35 million Series D round. Mayfield India and Nadathur Holdings will continue to remain invested in the Company.

Headquartered in Bengaluru with offices in New York City, London, and Hong Kong, Amagi is a next-generation media technology company providing cloud-based managed broadcast services and targeted advertising platforms to customers, worldwide. Amagi enables TV networks to create a complete broadcast workflow on the cloud and deliver content over satellite, cable, IPTV or OTT (Over-The-Top) platforms. Using Amagi’s patented technologies, advertisers can target audiences at a regional level across traditional TV and OTT multiscreen platforms. Amagi has today scaled up to be one of India’s largest TV ad networks, playing around a million ad seconds every month on premium TV channels. With numerous installations of Amagi’s playout and edge insertion servers around the world, they are already a global force in the broadcasting technology domain.  Amagi has deployments in over 30 countries for leading TV networks and is India’s largest TV Ad network supporting more than 3,000 brands.

emerald-media-leads-35-million-in-amagi-media-labs-2The growth capital from this round of funding will enable Amagi to expand its targeted advertising platforms globally, enter new international markets for its cloud-based managed broadcast services and introduce a host of products to cater to the various needs of TV broadcasters and OTT networks.

Baskar Subramanian, Co-founder of Amagi, said, “Emerald Media, has a strong understanding of the TV Broadcast industry and the OTT space and we are very happy to partner with them. Their domain expertise and regional and global media relationships will help us further leverage the transition of the TV broadcasting industry to the cloud and expand our international footprint.”

Rajesh Kamat, Managing Director of Emerald Media, said, “Amagi has harnessed the transformative power of technology (both hardware and software) to change the way TV networks and brands perceive content delivery and monetization. Their cutting-edge technology is disruptive and the need of the hour. Emerald Media will assist Amagi in driving this change in the broadcast and digital industry by providing a distinctive combination of capital, domain knowledge and management bandwidth.”

Paul Aiello, Managing Director of Emerald Media, added, “Baskar, Srinivasan and Srividhya are the pioneers of targeted-TV advertisement in India. Amagi’s cloud-based managed services and monetization solutions, with high degree of workflow automation make TV networks efficient and future-ready compared to traditional broadcast models. With this investment, we expect Amagi to further expand its reach in the global market.”

Prior to this round, Amagi has raised US$25 million from Premji Invest, Mayfield India and Nadathur Holdings. Emerald Media is a Pan-Asian company backed by KKR to invest in the fast-growing media and entertainment industries across Asia for which KKR has committed up to $300mm from its KKR Asian Fund II. Emerald Media is led by industry veterans Rajesh Kamat and Paul Aiello, supported by an experienced team of investment and operating executives. Paul and Rajesh together have a combined experience of more than 30 years in the industry and bring a unique blend of operational and investment acumen to their business approach. Emerald Media has made key investments by acquiring significant stake in YuppTV, one of the world’s leading OTT video platforms for South Asian content, and now with this announcement, Amagi Media Labs, India’s leading targeted-TV advertisement solutions firm.

Emerald Media, primarily focuses on providing growth capital to media, entertainment and digital media companies. The company looks to invest approximately $15-75mn per investment to acquire control or significant minority positions in growing public and private media companies.

Amagi has been honored with the IBC Innovation Award for Content Delivery in 2015, for their work with AMC Networks International (Sundance Channel Global). Additionally, for their ad-tech solution to NDTV 24×7, and has won the ASBU BroadcastPro Middle East Innovative Project Award. Amagi has also been recognized as the winner in the media and entertainment category by Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific. The brand has also been recognized among India’s top 50 Brands in the country by Industry veterans and advertising and broadcasting fraternity in India.

Priyanka Chopra ‘Honored’ to be UNICEF Ambassador

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who has created waves with her stint in the American drama series “Quantico,” says she is honored to serve as Unicef’s Global Goodwill Ambassador.

Chopra on Tuesday wrote on Twitter: “Can’t believe it’s been 10 years! Honored to now serve as UNICEF Global Goodwill Ambassador along with this amazing group For Every Child.”

The former Miss World (she won the title in 2000), who will be seen making her international debut with the film “Baywatch” shared a photograph of herself along with football star David Beckham and actress Millie Bobby Brown on Instagram.

The “Bajirao Mastani” actress thanked Beckham and Brown for introducing her to the Unicef global family. “Thank you David Beckham and Millie Bobby Brown for inducting me into the UNICEF global family. Always delighted to meet like-minded people who believe that there is humanity left in us after all,” she wrote alongside the image.

Chopra, 34, also praised Brown for being a “superb host” and congratulated her for the “Golden Globes nod for every child” she is the only Indian in the USA to have been selected at the state level for the National Opus Honor Choir, extensive charity work back in India and the USA, and joined the CAF and CII in their literacy program and is their ambassador. Member of the support group for the Thalassemic children in U.P., India, participated in the adult education awareness program with the non-governmental organizations in the peripheral areas of Bareilly, joined the Indian Government-sponsored Polio Eradication Program as a volunteer. Raised funds for the destitute in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by participating in a church program.

While shooting the song “Do Me A Favor, Let’s Play Holi” in the movie Waqt: The Race Against Time (2005), she stepped on a live wire and received a shock. She was hospitalized for a day. She did her schooling from La Martinière in Lucknow. She completed tenth grade in Boston and wanted to become a software engineer or a criminal psychologist.

Physicist Raju Venugopalan Honored with Humboldt Research Award

Staff ReporterScience & Technology 0

Raju Venugopalan, a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University, has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award for his remarkable achievements in theoretical nuclear physics. This prestigious international award—issued by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Bonn, Germany—comes with a prize of €60,000 (nearly $70,000 U.S.) and the opportunity to collaborate with German researchers at Heidelberg University and elsewhere. Venugopalan joins 13 other Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers who have received this award since 1974.

“This is a great honor and I’m delighted to be in the company of other Humboldt winners over the past years,” Venugopalan said. “This award gives me a wonderful opportunity to build on and establish new collaborations with my colleagues in Germany, where I’ve been on sabbatical at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Heidelberg University for the past year. I look forward to widening and deepening these connections.”

Venugopalan’s work is focused on developing theories to explain and predict the behavior of extreme forms of nuclear matter—including the several-trillion-degree soup of quarks and gluons, known as quark-gluon plasma (QGP), generated in energetic particle collisions at colliders like Brookhaven Lab’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and Europe’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC). He’s also explored the behavior of matter at the opposite temperature extreme, namely in ultra-cold atomic gases.

“Quark-gluon plasma has remarkable properties—like extraordinarily low friction, strong interactions among its constituent particles, and patterns of flow—that are different from what we observe in ordinary matter,” he explained. “And there are intriguing connections we see across different systems—from the hottest matter ever created in a laboratory to the coldest atomic gases. The microscopic interactions and particles that make up these systems are completely different, but the collective properties can be described by the same equations.”

This award gives me a wonderful opportunity to build on and establish new collaborations with my colleagues in Germany, said Brookhaven Lab physicist Raju Venugopalan.

For example, both systems undergo a similar sort of evolution as they expand from a vastly chaotic state toward equilibrium. “Expanding cold atoms behave the same way as QGP,” Venugopalan said, noting that the particles of each system momentarily get “stuck” in an eddy-like state along the way. “It’s as if you pushed all the particles in a room into one corner, then let them expand, but along the way, they get caught up in a swirling twister for a while before spreading to fill the room evenly,” he said. “How and why that is so is one of the big mysteries.”

The similarities suggest that studies of one system may help scientists better understand the other. “Can we reengineer tabletop experiments on cold atomic gases in ways that will offer insight into the much more complicated equations of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory that describes the behavior and interactions of subatomic quarks and gluons?”

Venugopalan will attend a workshop at Bad Honnef in Germany this December that will bring researchers worldwide together to discuss these ideas. He has also been exploring such topics as an external member of an interdisciplinary collaboration on Isolated Quantum Systems (ISOQUANT) at the University of Heidelberg. The Humboldt award will enable him to continue this work both in Germany and in the U.S. “The award gives me more flexibility to work with other people,” Venugopalan said.

Hindus urge Amazon to apologize & withdraw Lord Ganesha skateboards

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

 

Upset Hindus are urging world’s largest online retailer Amazon.com for the immediate withdrawal of skateboards, bed covers, duvet covers and bedspreads; carrying the images Hindu deity Lord Ganesha; calling it highly inappropriate.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to put your feet on or touch with your feet or sleep on it. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the faithful.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Amazon.com and its President Jeffrey P. Bezos to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing about few dozen of such products, as this was not the first time for the company to offer such products which were deemed offensive by Hindu devotees.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed indicated.

Zed further said that such trivialization of Lord Ganesha was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is worshipped as god of wisdom and remover of obstacles and is invoked before the beginning of any major undertaking. There are about three million Hindus in USA. Amazon.com, Inc., a Fortune 500 company founded in 1994, and headquartered in Seattle (Washington, USA), claims to offer earth’s biggest selection.

US wants a stronger India: US Ambassador to India Richard Verma

Staff ReporterIndia, U.S. 0

Condemning cross-border terrorism targeting India, U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma on December 14 said the Indo-U.S. ties are on a different plane compared to Washington’s “complex” relationship with Pakistan where the focus was on “counter-terrorism”.

“We have always maintained that cross-border terrorism has to end, and the perpetrators needed to be held accountable,” Verma told media persons here to a query on the export of terrorism from Pakistan to India. “Our relationship with Pakistan is complex, based on counter-terrorism. With India it is on a different plane,” the ambassador said at the Press Club in Kolkata. Iterating that the Indo-U.S. bilateral relations have been at their best over the past two years, he said: “We have relied on each other like never before (during this period).”

U.S. has emerged as India’s largest trade partner with the two-way trade touching $110 billion, with the two countries now setting a target to increase to $500 billion. “There are only a couple of countries which are both our strategic and commercial partners. India is one of them,” he said.

The final agreement for the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Deal will be inked next year, while clean energy and climate as emerged as a single most important area of cooperation between the two countries. “The U.S. and India, the world’s to largest democracies, represent 1.6 billion people. if U.S. and India remain good partners, the world will be safe and prosperous,” he said.

Dr. Kiran Patel, Dr. Vijay Patel and Vijay Patel pledge to raise $3.1 million for Akshay Patra

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

By Suresh Bodiwala

Tampa Bay: The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA’s Tampa Chapter raised $2.5 million to build a new kitchen in Mota Fofalia, Gujarat, at its annual benefit recently.  Akshaya Patra is the world’s largest NGO-run school meal program, and provides school meals to 1.6 million children in 13,210 government schools across India.

Dr. Kiran Patel, a local Tampa doctor and community philanthropist, galvanized the event supporters with a $1 million pledge to build a new kitchen in Mota Fofalia, a rural village south of Vadodara.  Dr. Kiran Patel, says, “The gift of education is the best that somebody can give to anyone. Imagine a holistic approach where you also provide nourishment for the needy so you are providing health and education together”.

Dr. Vijay Patel, a local Tampa doctor, community philanthropist, and a member of Volunteer Committee pledged $500,000.  Dr. Vijay Patel, says, “I feel pride in joining with Tampa community and Dr. Kiran Patel to take the path of Akshaya Patra and build a kitchen in Gujarat in where over 50,000 children will be fed.”

Local businessman, Mr. Vijay Patel pledged $250,000 with an additional $250,000 pledged by Tampa bay community members.  Akshaya Patra Director of Development, Manisha Gandhi says, “It has been a remarkable experience to develop Tampa Bay Chapter. This was only the second event but the community is very passionate and came together to fund a kitchen in Gujarat. Dr. Kiran Patel, Dr. Vijay Patel, and businessman Vijay Patel are leading the project with highest in contributions. Dr. Kiran Patel is an inspiration for many in the USA with his Philanthropic efforts. It is heartwarming personally because this kitchen will provide meals for children in my home town of Dabhoi, Gujarat also.”  The Tampa Volunteer Chapter plan to raise a total of $3.1 million.

Dr. Kiran Patel, Dr. Vijay Patel, and Mr Vijay Patel created an appeal video for the Mota Fofalia fundraiser, which can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/dStQtsTSn0E

Desh Deshpande, Chairman of the Akshaya Patra Foundation USA and the event’s keynote speaker, congratulated the Tampa Chapter, saying, “The Tampa Chapter is an example of what a community can accomplish when they come together to improve the futures of children in a community a world away”.

Dr. Kaushal Chari, Chair of the Tampa Chapter, “I would like to thank Dr. Kiran Patel, Dr. Vijay Patel, Mr. Vijay Patel and the Tampa Chapter for bringing the Mota Fofalia kitchen to fruition. When completed, the Mota Fofalia will nourish the dreams of the 100,000 children the kitchen will serve every day. Their outstanding generosity and continued dedication to reaching their $3.1 million goal inspires our organization to reach greater achievements of impact and scale. For every $15 they raise, they are providing food for education”.

The 2016 Tampa Event Volunteer Committee was led by Dr. Kaushal Chari, Mr. Fazal Dasankop, Dr. Dilip Mehta, Dr. Ashok Modh, Dr. Vijay Patel, Mr. Vijaya Prakash, Dr. Raju and Anita Rao, Dr. Madhavi Sekharam and Mr. Sri Sridharan.

Akshaya Patra operates 26 kitchen facilities across India. Each of the 24 centralized kitchens utilizes state-of-the-art technology to freshly prepare 100,000 hot, nutritious meals daily. Each of the kitchens follows the highest standards of hygiene and food safety, and 13 of the kitchens have received already been certified as FSMS ISO 22000:2005 compliant, which means they meet the standards of the International Food Safety Management System (FSMS).  The International Organization for Standardization established the ISO 22000 certification to ensure the safety of the global food supply chain.  Akshaya Patra operates three other kitchens in Gujarat in Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Surat. These kitchens prepare meals for 407,992 children in 1,475 government schools. To support the Akshaya Patra Tampa Bay Mota Fofalia campaign, please visit: https://www.foodforeducation.org/campaign/mota-fofalia-kitchen

Sher -E -Punjab Sports Club Midwest Chicago organizes Annual meet and greet to thank its sponsors

Staff ReporterSports 0

By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago, IL: Sher -E -Punjab Sports Club Midwest Chicago, the annual meet and greet was held at Cascade Banquets, 800 West Irving Park, Bensenville, IL 60106 on Saturday December 17, 2016. The party was held to honor the sponsors of the annual sports tournament. The club organizes kabaddi tournament on Memorial Day every year with much fanfare. This kabaddi tournament is considered to be the best in the Midwest states and is reflected in the organization and number of attendees in the event. Parminder Singh Walia and Amardev Singh Bandesha coordinated the event to acknowledge the support of all the sponsors and committee members.

The president of the club Gurdev Singh Gill welcomed the guests amid much fanfare. He thanked everyone for joining the celebration despite inclement weather. Jesse Singh started off the evening with his beautiful melody ” Jinne de Teri Jean …”. Mr Amardev Singh thanked all the distinguished guests in the audience including Nilesh Topiwala. He also thanked Prachi Jaitly, Staff Writer from Asian Media US for attending the event. Gurvinder Singh Chatha also thanked everyone for joining the occasion. Jaskaran Singh Dhaliwal congratulated the club and its teams for their hard work.

Other sponsors and supporters that were thanked were Balwinder Singh, Gurmit Singh Sallan, Jaswinder S. Gill, Hardeep S. Bandesha, Jinder S. Banipal, Najar S. Gill, Babbi S. Bath Baljit S. Tiwana, Kabul S. Bhullar, Parminder S. Walia, Lakhwinder S. Biharipur, Jindi S. Khangura, Amardev S. Bandesha Surinder S. Bhati, Amritpal S. Gill, Dharminder S. Jaswal, Harwant S. Grewal, Jaswinder S. (Jassie), Darshan S. Pamma, Rachhpal S. Khangura.

Happy Multani sang some very beautiful Punjabi numbers like “Soni Lagdi” providing a beautiful mood to the occasion. He also sang “Jidi kothi daane, ode Kamle vi siyane”. DJ was provided by Rishpal Singh who made the guest dance on some very famous bhangra songs.  Parminder Singh Walia mesmerized the audience with his spectacular Bhangra moves and his wonderful sense of humor.  After acknowledging all the 2016 patrons, everyone gave best wishes to the club and its members for the next tournament with a renewed focus on making the 2017 tournament even more successful

Sushma Swaraj Among Foreign Policy’s 15 Global Thinkers List

Staff ReporterProfiles 0

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been included in Foreign Policy magazine’s 2016 list of 15 Global Thinkers “for fashioning a novel brand of Twitter diplomacy”. In a website posting, the magazine recalled how, when around 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia faced a “food crisis” earlier this year due to job losses, Sushma Swaraj tweeted about the issue to six million followers on the social media website.

“What followed was a weeks-long social media operation in which Swaraj posted information for migrants about rations provided by the Indian embassy, claims for unpaid wages, and government-organized transportation home,” it said.

Stating that this was not the first time that Sushma Swaraj used the internet to reach out to people abroad, the posting said: “From evacuating Indians from Yemen to helping replace lost passports, Swaraj has earned the nickname ‘the common tweeple’s leader’ for her aggressive use of Twitter.”

Swaraj was named in the ‘decision makers’ category along with the Democratic Party US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, German chancellor Angela Merkel and US attorney general Loretta Lynch among others. “Very proud to see our hardworking EAM @SushmaSwaraj part of the @ForeignPolicy Global Thinkers list 2016! Congrats,” PM Narendra Modi tweeted.

The magazine recalled how, when around 10,000 Indian workers in Saudi Arabia faced a “food crisis” earlier this year due to job losses, Swaraj tweeted about the issue to six million followers on the social media website. Sushma Swaraj is currently recuperating from a kidney transplant operation at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

GOPIO – INLAND EMPIRE CHAPTER IN CALIFORNIA INAUGURATED

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

On December 4, 2016, the opening of another New Chapter, in Southern California, GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter, was inaugurated at the Mantra Indian Cuisine in Ontario, California. At the opening were present, the GOPIO Chairman, Dr. Thomas Abraham, The GOPIO Foundation Executive Trustee Mr. Inder Singh, and the Gopio-International Treasurer Mr. Kewal Kanda. There were many supporters and Presidents and CEO of various organizations, Corporations, President of National Federation of Indian Associations, Ashok Madan, President of Chamber of Commerce in Artesia Parimal Shah, President of Rajput Association of America Rajinder Dhunna, ASEI Foundation Chairman Subba Gopavarupa, President of County of Los Angeles Indian American Professional Association Ramesh Ramnani, Executive Member of Indian Cultural Society of Los Angeles Manmohan Chopra, Executive Member of BAPS Swami Narayan Temple (Chino Hills, CA) Kanaksinh Zala, Finance Director of City of Hawthorne Rickey Manbahal, Yogesh Patel of ICS-LA, IT Project Manager Sof uperior Court of California Venkateshwar Rao Peddi, and Franchisee, 7-Eleven Stores Tarlochan Rangi, Chief Marketing Officer of ICB International Inc. Dr. Gurmeet Multani, MD, Dr. Atul Karia D.D.S of Sierra Gateway Dental Office, Madhur Shrivastav of Sunbelt Systems and Dr. Devdat Maheshwari of Vedic Temple of Montclair, Award Winning Fashion Designer Shekhar Rahate, Chair of Inland Empire IARCA Rajbir Bagga and Founder of EVP Technology & Innovation Piyush Malik. There were over 50 attendees at the Event and majority of them were from the Inland Empire Region.

The Foundation Executive Trustee, Inder Singh, gave a scenario of what GOPIO Foundation is all about and the many accomplishments since the establishment of GOPIO in 1989. Dr. Thomas Abraham, the Chairman of GOPIO Foundation, gave the New Chapter members of GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter, advice and explained what the goal of GOPIO International is “Think globally and Act Locally” and how GOPIO International does things differently from other Indian Organizations and is connected with the Indian Diaspora, throughout the World. He also discussed the GOPIO News Publications that reaches throughout the world.

GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham installed the New Gopio Inland Empire Chapter, along with Inder Singh. Executive Committee members are as follows: President: Vasu Pawar, Executive Vice President: Dr. Kanan Modi, Secretary: Ramesh Ramnani, Jt. Secretary: Dinesh Sharma, Treasurer: Rickey Manbahal

Executive Members included Rajbir Husson, Dr. Gurmeet Multani, Baljit Kaur Toor. Venkat Peddi, Shyamal Leonard, Taneja Husson, Bharati Lunagaria, Raj Lunagaria, Raj Bagga, Suren Sabkota, Atul Karia, Tarlochan Rangi, Chanel Beery. Deepicka Mehta

Vasu Pawar, shared information on the Inland Empire region of S. California, which covers approximately 27,000 square miles. All of West Riverside County, S. West San Bernardino County, and E. Los Angeles County, Cities like Pomona Valley through Palm Springs. Inland Empire has a population of approximately 4 million and in the 19th century was predominantly a major agricultural region, of Citrus, Dairy Farms, and Wine making. Now it’s more of a Residential, Industrial and Commercial Development.

Pawar said that that our strength lies in the inexhaustible resources of our people. It is important that we renew that strength and create energy, to secure our Indian heritage, the pride of our nation and the people of Indian Origin. Our voices have to be heard. When we work together with our common values and principles and with confidence, we must reach our destination.

Pawar plans to make GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter, to be the biggest and the most productive chapter in the History of the GOPIO Establishment. The President of GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter, Ms. Vasu Pawar wishes to distinguish herself and her chapter, with uniqueness, and exceptional performance, and professionalism. She looks forward to the wholehearted support and participation of the community in the Inland Empire Region in making the GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter, a Chapter to be remembered.

The GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter President, Vasu Pawar, with a background in English Literature, Education, Finance, and Information Technology, started her carrier in the U.S., as a Systems Analyst and further transitioned into Finance.

She expressed that she has various projects on her mind, which address, Charity, Entertainment, Motivation and Strength to the Indian Diaspora. Pawar thanked everyone for attending the opening of the GOPIO-Inland Empire Chapter, to accomplish a very important task to focus and address issues of our fellow Indians and to help each other, to bring recognition and fame to each and every Indian in our community, and to address values and principles, which guide us.

2 Indians in Forbes list of US’ richest under-40 entrepreneurs

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

Two Indian Americans, investor Vivek Ramaswamy and Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta, were named among Forbes’ “Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40” list, now in its second year. Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has been ranked 24th on ‘America’s Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 2016’ list with a networth of $600 million, and Instacart co-founder Apoorva Mehta, stands at the 31st spot with a $360-million networth.

Ramaswamy, 31, a Harvard University and Yale School of Management alumnus, continues to make waves in the biotech business with his deals and drug development plans, Forbes said. He was behind the biggest biotechnology IPO of 2016, Myovant Sciences, which raised $218-million listing its shares on Nasdaq in October, it said.

Last year, Ramaswamy pulled off the biggest IPO in the US biotech history by listing shares of Axovant, a company that is trying to develop a new Alzheimer’s drug. He runs Roivant Sciences, a biotech holding company with an innovative financial strategy to develop drugs, often by purchasing drugs that have been forgotten or abandoned by the pharmaceutical industry.

He made his roughly $600 million net worth on his own accord and through investments, and continues to make waves in the biotech business with his deals and drug development plans, Forbes said. He was behind the biggest biotechnology initial public offering of 2016, Myovant Sciences, which raised $218 million listing its shares on Nasdaq in October, it added. Ramaswamy formed the company in April and struck a deal with Takeda Pharmaceuticals for a prostate cancer drug and a female infertility drug.

Forbes called Mehta one of Silicon Valley’s youngest immigrant success stories. Born in India, Mehta and his family moved to Canada in 2000, where he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo before working at Blackberry, Qualcomm, and then Amazon. In 2012, he co-founded Instacart, a grocery-delivery service that partners with grocery chains. The company is valued at an estimated $2 billion, and most recently raised funding from Whole Foods Market in March, it said.

The 30-year-old Mehta would not have been included on the list in the inaugural year of 2015. A year ago, the cutoff to make the list was $400, but that dropped drastically with a number of entrepreneurs aging out. The cutoff in 2016 came in at $270 million, allowing the Instacart founder to place No. 31 on the list with his net worth of $360 million.

Mehta is one of Silicon Valley’s youngest immigrant success stories, Forbes said. Born in India, Mehta and his family moved to Canada in 2000, where he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo before working at Blackberry, Qualcomm and then Amazon.

American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin hosts 31st annual convention

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI) held its 31st Annual ASEI Convention focusing on the theme of Technology Driven Future. This convention was held on December 3rd at the California Polytechnic, Pomona, California.

The objective of this convention was to promote and share advancements related to new generation technologies in various engineering disciplines. In addition to ASEI members from various chapters, the convention was attended by over 400 professionals including scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders across USA. This convention featured multiple interactive sessions with prominent business owners, technologists, media personalities, educators, and policy makers. It was a unique opportunity to celebrate success from positive contribution of engineers of Indian origin residing in US.

Hosted by ASEI’s Southern California chapter, this event brought together who’s who of technology and engineering world sharing latest innovations and popular topics in four tracks to tackle the theme of Technology Driven Future. While the morning keynote by ICANN Senior VP Ashwin Rangan stood out with thought provoking technologies, talks like Dr Ravi Tilak’s speech on Ancient Eastern Philosophy and Engineering provided insight with new information. The day long sessions kept the audience stimulated with the latest in learning along four tracks viz. Life Sciences and Health Technologies, Emergent Information Technologies, Smart Infrastructure and Utilities and Emerging trends in small Businesses.

ASEI presented Lifetime Achievement Award to the architect of India’s Telecom revolution – Sam Pitroda who supercharged the audience with his life story and journey. Holder of nearly 100 patents and 20 honorary PhDs, Mr Pitroda emphasized to focus on solving problems of the poor rather than rich people’s problems and to “dream big”.

ASEI Engineering Entrepreneurship award went to B.V Jagadeesh – an Engineer turned Silicon Valley entrepreneur and now an active venture capitalist and prolific mentor to start-ups for co-leading the “Billion Dollar Babies” initiative under the TiE umbrella.  There were several other awards including a special award for long time engineer turned entrepreneur and “Marble King” Manu Shah.

ASEI also recognized Shrikant Agarwal with AS#EI Service Excellence award for his service to the organization over the past 10 years while Jwalant Lakhia was given ASEI Founder’s award for the services rendered last year. Corporate Engineering Recognition Programme (CERP) awards were given to engineers on behalf of sponsors Siemens (Hiren Dedhia), GSR Technologies (Vamsi Krishna), Southern California Gas company (Vijai Atavane) and Smart Utilities Systems (Harman Sandhu, Manoj Singh and Rajiv Gupta).

The highlight of the evening celebratory gala dinner was the ASEI award ceremony and keynotes book ended by engineer-turned comedian Dan Ninan’s emceeing and dance performances by Karmagraphy. Earlier in the day, three students (Sandhya Selvaraj, Raja Kalavacherla & Srinivas Gavini) were awarded for leadership and service to ASEI. Six engineering students (two undergraduates -Mohith Buxani & Shreya Malik and four graduates – Himani Agrawal, Rajthilak Ganesan, Sandeep Gade & Prakruthi Hareesh,) won ASEI Scholarship awards. Since inception, over the past 30 years, ASEI has given out $200,000 worth of merit based scholarships to deserving graduate and undergraduate engineering students. This demonstrates ASEI’s long term commitment towards helping and supporting young engineering students.

American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI) is an organization devoted to the cause of promoting knowledge exchange and sense of community amongst its members who are scientists, professionals, technicians, academics and students in any of the engineering disciplines. Started 33 years ago in 1983 in Michigan, this organization has come a long way by establishing 8 chapters across the nation. After launching the Silicon Valley chapter in 2015 under leadership of Piyush Malik with a focus on STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) enrichment and preparing youth for the technology driven jobs of tomorrow, an announcement of Seattle chapter to be led by Aaron Ghumman was recently made as also the formation of a 501 c (3) Global ASEI Foundation under Chairmanship of Subba Gopavarapu to scale these programs.  More details available at aseiusa.org

AR Rahman in the race again at 89th Academy Awards

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Music Maestro AR Rahman has done India proud again by making it to the nomination list of Oscars in the Best Original Score category for the film Pele: Birth Of A Legend. This time around, he is competing with 145 others in the same category.

Also, the song Ginga from the same film, has been shortlisted in the Original Song category along with 91 other songs. Rahman, who earlier registered a double Oscar victory for his music in “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2009, has been included in a long list of 145 scores in contention for a nomination in the Original Score category for the upcoming 89th Academy Awards.

“Ginga,” Rahman’s acclaimed number from the 2016 biographical film, is in the Oscar race too. It is part of the 91 songs, which are competing for a spot in the final nominations for the Original Song category.

The initial list of contenders for both the categories were released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on its official website on Dec. 13. Final nominations for the 89th Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 24, ahead of the presentation ceremony, which will take place on Feb. 26 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.

In 2009, Rahman was honored for his Best Original Score for “Slumdog Millionaire,” and also for the Best Original Song “Jai ho” from the same film. The track has lyrics by Gulzar.

Rahman started his journey in the music industry by composing scores for documentaries and TV shows before he got his first movie break with “Roja” in 1992.

Since then, he has composed soul-rendering music in films such as “Rangeela,” “Taal,” “Dil Se,” “Jodhaa Akbar,” “Swades,” “Rang De Basanti,” “Rockstar,” “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” and “Raanjhanaa.”

He got his first international break when Andrew Lloyd Webber invited him to compose music for the Broadway musical “Bombay Dreams,” which won him immense fame. He also composed for the stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord Of The Rings” that premiered in Canada in 2006 and in London in 2007.

In 2014, Rahman’s work in Hollywood movies like “Million Dollar Arm” and “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” and Indian film “Kochadaiiyaan” was also among the Oscar contenders. In 2011, Rahman had received two nominations for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards for his original score in Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” as well as original song “If I Rise” for the same movie. However, he did not bring the golden statuette home.

Co-directed by Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist, “Pele: Birth of a Legend” is based on the early life of legendary Brazilian footballer Pele. Meanwhile, Alex Heffes, who composed music for Indian filmmaker Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe,” is also included in both the categories for his compositions in the biographical sports drama film.

Narendra Modi ranked among world’s 10 most powerful people by Forbes

Staff ReporterProfiles 0

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been ranked among the top 10 most powerful people in the world by Forbes in a list that has been topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin for a fourth straight year and had US President-elect Donald Trump in the second place.

Modi ranks 9th on the Forbes list of 74 of the World’s Most Powerful People. Forbes said India’s populist Prime Minister remains hugely popular in his country of 1.3 billion people. “Modi has raised his profile as a global leader in recent years during official visits with Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. He has also emerged as a key figure in the international effort to tackle climate change, as planetary warming will deeply affect millions of his country’s rural and most vulnerable citizens,” Forbes said.

It also took note of the unexpected decision made by Modi last month to demonetize India’s two high value currency notes in a bid to reduce money laundering and corruption, creating a nationwide frenzy to quickly swap out the bills.

The list has been topped by Putin, who retains the title of the world’s most powerful person for four years running. US President Obama comes in on the 48th spot.  “There are nearly 7.4 billion humans on planet Earth, but these 74 men and women make the world turn. Forbes’ annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People identifies one person out of every 100 million whose actions mean the most,” it said.

Forbes said Russia’s 64-year-old president has exerted his country’s influence in nearly every corner of the globe; from the motherland to Syria to the US presidential elections, continuing to “get what he wants”. On the second spot is 70-year-old Trump who will become the first billionaire president of the United States, after upsetting Hillary Clinton in a surprising election victory.

The list includes Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on the 38th spot. Forbes said the 59-year-old oil and gas tycoon sparked a price war in India’s hyper competitive telecom market with the launch of 4G phone service Jio at the annual shareholder meeting of his Reliance Industries in September.

“The USD 44.7 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries is locked in a legal battle with the government related to the recovery of costs associated with developing a gas field,” it said, adding that his wife Nita, who sits on Reliance’s board, is a member of the International Olympic Committee.

The list also includes Microsoft’s India-born CEO Satya Nadella on the 51st spot, with Forbes saying the 49-year-old has steered the company away from a failing mobile strategy and focused on other lines of business, including cloud computing and augmented reality.

The third most powerful person in the world also happens to be the most powerful woman: Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany and the backbone of the European Union.

The list includes Xi on the 4th spot, Pope Francis (5), Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (7), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (10), French President Francois Hollande (23), Apple CEO Tim Cook (32), North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (43) and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (57).

3rd Annual DFW South Asian Film Festival Moves from Plano to Addison

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

The 3rd annual DFW South Asian Film Festival (SAFF) will have a new home in Addison, Texas, starting in 2017. The third installment of curated, award-winning shorts, documentaries and feature films from the South Asian region (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan) will premiere in North Texas from March 3 to 5, 2017. The opening night feature film will be screened on Friday, March 3 at the Hoglund Foundation Theater of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, followed by a VIP cocktail reception at the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall (3rd floor of the Perot Museum) in downtown Dallas. The rest of the line-up will be showcased at the AMC Village on Parkway 9 in Addison on March 4 and 5, incorporating panel discussions with attending filmmakers, after-parties and networking events.

“The Town of Addison is honored to welcome the 3rd annual DFW South Asian Film Festival,” said Addison Mayor Todd Meier. “Addison has a vibrant arts community, and this event will help expand our profile to reach film enthusiasts from all over North Texas.”

JINGO Media, a Dallas and NYC-based, public relations and events management company, produces the annual festival of South Asian independent cinema in North Texas. The third iteration of the festival boasts 15 curated shorts, documentaries and feature films (over a three-day period), which will focus on issues affecting South Asians and explore the lives and stories of the Diaspora working and living in the United States.

“In our third year, we are establishing ourselves as a colorful thread in the fabric of North Texas,” said festival founder and director Jitin Hingorani. “Based on the trends of the past two years, we anticipate about a quarter of our festival audience will be non South-Asians, which means that the Texas mainstream population is slowly, but surely, embracing South Asian independent cinema.”

In addition to the opening night, centerpiece and closing night films, the festival will also showcase thought-provoking, edgy shorts and docs, along with women’s programming, men’s programming, LGBT programming and family programming. “All-access” festival passes, which provide admission to all of the films, networking events and after parties, are currently available on www.dfwsaff.comfor the early-bird price of $150 before February 1, after which the price increases to $175. Individual screenings are $15 per person, but due to sold-out shows, limited tickets will be available at the theater. The entire festival line-up will be unveiled on the festival’s web site in early February.

Demonetization: Class Action Suits Needed Against Govt. and Banks

Staff ReporterFinance/Economy 0

By Chandrakant Pancholi, Overseas India Press

Let me be brief, please.

  1. Take the Indian Banks first. Deposited money before November 8 or after that date is not their personal property. Banks are just fiduciaries holding the money and are supposed to return any or all money instantly when depositors demand.
  2. If Government of India or its administrative branch Reserve Bank of India dictates that depositors can withdraw only a little sum of money and not all the money belonging to depositors, then, ‘it is taking away property without due process of law,’ as the money belongs to the depositors. Order to withdraw only some money and not all if the depositor wishes so, is denial of using part of its property and Government cannot do so without a competent court ordering as such after hearing both parties. Property cannot be taken away without due compensation and that too, only after hearing all parties affected. So, on both counts, suits can be filed asking for :  (a) immediate cancellation of the limited withdrawal orders and (b) compensation to each depositor who was thus harassed by the illegal action, money for standing in line for days, pain, suffering and loss of use of money during the period the illegal orders were in force.
  3. A temporary injection against government’s illegal actions can be asked for, too.
  4. Democracy is a rule of law and not the personal fiefdom of a Prime Minister or any party. Once they have to pay compensation to each depositor and lift the illegal orders, their sanity is likely to return to normalcy.

 

(Chandrakant Pancholi, New York, N.Y, is a lawyer and a Journalist, originally from India)

Religion and Education Around the World

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion, Education 0

Low levels of education attainment among Hindus

Jews are more highly educated than any other major religious group around the world, while Muslims and Hindus tend to have the fewest years of formal schooling, according to a Pew Research Center global demographic study that shows wide disparities in average educational levels among religious groups.

These gaps in educational attainment are partly a function of where religious groups are concentrated throughout the world. For instance, the vast majority of the world’s Jews live in the United States and Israel – two economically developed countries with high levels of education overall. And low levels of attainment among Hindus reflect the fact that 98% of Hindu adults live in the developing countries of India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

But there also are important differences in educational attainment among religious groups living in the same region, and even the same country. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, Christians generally have higher average levels of education than Muslims. Some social scientists have attributed this gap primarily to historical factors, including missionary activity during colonial times. (For more on theories about religion’s impact on educational attainment.

Drawing on census and survey data from 151 countries, the study also finds large gender gaps in educational attainment within some major world religions. For example, Muslim women around the globe have an average of 4.9 years of schooling, compared with 6.4 years among Muslim men. And formal education is especially low among Hindu women, who have 4.2 years of schooling on average, compared with 6.9 years among Hindu men.

Yet many of these disparities appear to be decreasing over time, as the religious groups with the lowest average levels of education – Muslims and Hindus – have made the biggest educational gains in recent generations, and as the gender gaps within some religions have diminished, according to Pew Research Center’s analysis.

At present, Jewish adults (ages 25 and older) have a global average of 13 years of formal schooling, compared with approximately nine years among Christians, eight years among Buddhists and six years among Muslims and Hindus. Religiously unaffiliated adults – those who describe their religion as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” – have spent an average of nine years in school, a little less than Christian adults worldwide.

But the number of years of schooling received by the average adult in all the religious groups studied has been rising in recent decades, with the greatest overall gains made by the groups that had lagged furthest behind.

For instance, the youngest Hindu adults in the study (those born between 1976 and 1985) have spent an average of 7.1 years in school, nearly double the amount of schooling received by the oldest Hindus in the study (those born between 1936 and 1955). The youngest Muslims have made similar gains, receiving approximately three more years of schooling, on average, than their counterparts born a few decades earlier, as have the youngest Buddhists, who acquired 2.5 more years of schooling.

Over the same time frame, by contrast, Christians gained an average of just one more year of schooling, and Jews recorded an average gain of less than half a year of additional schooling.

Meanwhile, the youngest generation of religiously unaffiliated adults – sometimes called religious “nones” – in the study has gained so much ground (2.9 more years of schooling than the oldest generation of religious “nones” analyzed) that it has surpassed Christians in average number of years of schooling worldwide (10.3 years among the youngest unaffiliated adults vs. 9.9 years among the youngest Christians).

Gender gaps also are narrowing somewhat. In the oldest generation, across all the major religious groups, men received more years of schooling, on average, than women. But the youngest generations of Christian, Buddhist and unaffiliated women have achieved parity with their male counterparts in average years of schooling. And among the youngest Jewish adults, Jewish women have spent nearly one more year in school, on average, than Jewish men.

These are among the key findings of Pew Research Center’s new demographic study. A prior study by researchers at an Austrian institute, the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Human Capital, looked at differences in educational attainment by age and gender. The new study is the first comprehensive examination of differences in educational levels by religion. Wittgenstein Centre researchers Michaela Potančoková and Marcin Stonawski collaborated with Pew Research Center researchers to compile and standardize this data.

About one-in-five adults globally – but twice as many Muslims and Hindus – have received no schooling at all. Despite recent gains by young adults, formal schooling is neither universal nor equal around the world. The global norm is barely more than a primary education – an average of about eight years of formal schooling for men and seven years for women.

At the high end of the spectrum, 14% of adults ages 25 and older (including 15% of men and 13% of women) have a university degree or some other kind of higher education, such as advanced vocational training after high school. But an even larger percentage – about one-in-five adults (19%) worldwide, or more than 680 million people – have no formal schooling at all.

Education levels vary a great deal by religion. About four-in-ten Hindus (41%) and more than one-third of Muslims (36%) in the study have no formal schooling. In other religious groups, the shares without any schooling range from 10% of Buddhists to 1% of Jews, while a majority of Jewish adults (61%) have post-secondary degrees.

Over three recent generations, the share of Hindus with at least some formal schooling rose by 28 percentage points, from 43% among the oldest Hindus in the study to 71% among the youngest. Muslims, meanwhile, registered a 25-point increase, from 46% among the oldest Muslims to 72% among the youngest.

Christians, Buddhists and religious “nones” have made more modest gains in basic education, but they started from a higher base. Among the oldest generation in the study, large majorities of these three religious groups received at least some formal education; among the youngest Christians, Buddhists and religious “nones,” more than nine-in-ten have received at least some schooling. The share of Jews with at least some schooling has remained virtually universal across generations at 99%.

Aziz Ansari Says He Owes It All To New York City

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Aziz Ansari says he loves shooting in New York City. There’s the free food, there are the strange passersby who aren’t afraid of a little exposure, and there are the moments when revered indie directors might just happen to be in your neighborhood. The “Master of None” star was speaking at the Gotham

Awards on Nov. 28, where he received the “Made In New York” prize.
Ansari, who also won an Emmy alongside co-creator Alan Yang for their Netflix series, expressed his love for New York City-based production during his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, CBS News reported.

“You guys know how boring it is to shoot somewhere and have zero chance of ruining a take because someone is urinating? Or someone is yelling, ‘Aziz!’ in the middle of a long one-ner?” he told the audience.

When Ansari and Yang first talked about creating “Master of None” years ago, Ansari recalled they were in Los Angeles shooting for “Parks and Recreation,” and were talking about the television show they both wanted to do together. “We only wanted to do 10 episodes – no more – and I wanted to shoot the show in New York,” the 33-year-old said.

“I really do feel like I was made in New York,” Ansari said. “If I did not move here, I would not have this career that I have, that I love and that excites me every day, and I really do feel like I owe it all to the city of New York. He moved to New York in 2000 to go to school at NYU. “Without New York, I would probably be living in South Carolina,” he said.

Ansari began his career performing stand-up comedy in New York City during mid-2000 while attending New York University. In 2007, he created and starred in the MTV sketch comedy show “Human Giant”, which ran for two seasons. He has also acted in feature films, including “Funny People”, “I Love You Man”, “Observe and Report” and “30 Minutes or Less”.

In addition to his acting work, Ansari has continued to work as a stand-up comedian. He released his debut CD/DVD, entitled “Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening” in January 2010 on Comedy Central Records. In 2010 and 2011, he performed his “Dangerously Delicious” tour. He completed his third major tour of new material, “Buried Alive” in the summer of 2013. His fourth major comedy special, “Live at Madison Garden” was released on Netflix in 2015. His first book, “Modern Romance: An Investigation, was released in June 2015.

Donald Trump Calls Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a ‘Terrific Guy’ During Phone Call

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

President-elect Donald Trump lavished praise on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and offered to play “any role” in helping Pakistan address its problems, a Pakistani statement said, even as the US President-elect’s transition team just described their discussion as “productive.”

Sharif called Trump Nov. 30 to congratulate him as the two leaders discussed various issues. “I am ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play to address and find solutions to the outstanding problems. It will be an honor and I will personally do it,” said Trump.

Feel free to call me any time even before 20th January, that is before I assume my office,” Trump told Sharif, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office.

Trump also told Prime Minister Sharif that he has a “very good reputation,” the statement said. “You (Sharif) are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way. I am looking forward to see you soon. As I am talking to you Prime Minister, I feel I am talking to a person I have known for long,” Trump was quoted as telling Sharif.

Trump said Pakistan is an “amazing” country with “tremendous opportunities,” the statement said. “Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people,” the President-elect said.

Sharif also invited Trump to visit Pakistan. In his reply, Trump said, “he would love to come to a fantastic country, fantastic place of fantastic people.”

“Please convey to the Pakistani people that they are amazing and all Pakistanis I have known are exceptional people,” said Trump. However, Trump’s lavish praise for Sharif and his offer to play a role in addressing Pakistan’s problems found no mention in the readout of the conversation between the two leaders issued by Trump’s transition team.

“President-elect Trump and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif spoke today and had a productive conversation about how the United States and Pakistan will have a strong working relationship in the future,” the transition team said.

Director Vikram Gandhi’s Obama Biopic ‘Barry’ Streams On Netflix Dec. 16

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Director Vikram Gandhi’s upcoming biopic “Barry”, about President Barack Obama’s youthful years has already received kudos from a discerning audience at the Toronto International Film Festival where it premiered in September. It will soon be available on Netflix Dec. 16.
The film focuses on Obama’s life at Columbia University where he transferred in 1981. It explores the themes of race and identity as they impinged on a mixed-race African-American whose mother was white and father an African from Kenya.

Australian actor Devon Terrell who Gandhi found after a worldwide search, plays Barry. In the biopic, Barry feels out of place in every racial setting and tellingly says, “I fit nowhere.”

Gandhi, who was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey where he continues to live, earned plaudits for his earlier film “Kumaré”, a documentary where he impersonated an Eastern guru in America, and actually got a following even as a fake persona.

Long before Barack Obama was the “cool, charismatic leader he is today,” he was one of the few black students at Columbia University in the early ‘80’s, majoring in political science and living on 109th street. The film depicts an Obama navigating his way through the judgmental and racist opinions swirling around him, as he tries to find his place in the world.

“It’s about a guy who would one day become the president,” Gandhi said in an interview with Vanity Fair in September after the film premiered at TIFF. “Not the president as he is now.

“Devon probably has as much in common as a human being, with Barry as may be Barack Obama does with the guy he used to be,” Gandhi said. “Just anyone who is in that early age, they change and transform. We were trying to figure out who that kid was,” Gandhi said.

“Barry” was in the works for a long time, and sort of snowballed into the film that one sees, Gandhi recently told Filmmaker magazine. The director read Obama’s seminal autobiography, “Dreams From My Father” some five years ago, around the time of Obama’s re-election in 2012. His interest sparked, Gandhi burrowed into several biographies and articles written about Barack Obama.

“Having gone to Columbia myself, and having lived on West 109th St., in the building next door to where Obama had once lived, the sections about Obama’s college life really resonated with me,” Gandhi said.

“I could see the whole thing playing out in this really nuanced and colorful way — I knew the classes he took, the books he read, the bars he’d gone to, the streets he’d walked down, the music that filled those streets,” Gandhi told Filmmaker.

The year 1981, the director noted, was the time of artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the birth of hiphop. It was also among the most violent years in New York history under the leadership of the quintessential New Yorker, Mayor Ed Koch.

“It’s a New York I’ve only experienced through photographs and writings. I just wanted to see it all come to life,” Gandhi told Filmmaker.

He soon decided this would be his next feature film and began researching everything he could find to write the film script.
Gandhi said his hope is that the audience can see their own story and potential in the humble story of a kid named Barry, especially in this election year with its contentious and vitriolic rhetoric.

“Since we started the development of this film, the dark reality of American prejudice has reared its head,” Gandhi told the magazine noting that hate crimes against blacks continues.

“I keep wishing that Trump is just pulling a Kumaré, and that one day he’ll tell us that his campaign is all a hoax to teach us not to be duped by false leaders,” Gandhi told Filmmaker. The lesson Americans can learn is that the antidote to racism and prejudice “is empathy, seeing ourselves in others.” he said.

‘Hewlett Packard’ & ‘India Today’ honor “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation”

Staff ReporterEducation 0

Energized by its exemplary success in providing literacy and integrated development in villages across India, “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation”, two years back, introduced an innovative digitized supplement to rural life to speed up its integration into the mainstream. This was never before conceived, leave alone an adopted approach to affect rural life. Recently, Ekal was honored with the “Digital Trailblazer Award” at the Digital Conclave organized by ‘Hewlett Packard’ in association with ‘India Today Gr.’ for this unique initiative.

The event was held at the Radisson Blue Hotel in Ranchi, Jharkhand on October 21, 2016. Shri Raghubar Das, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand state presented the award to Shri Lalan Kumar Sharma, Program Director of ‘Ekal Gramotthan’ (village renaissance). Several luminaries including Mr. C.P Singh, the Minister for Urban Development, Mr. Sunil Barnwal, Secretary, Information Technology, Jharkhand state, Mr. Vivek Modwal, Country Manager Hewlett Packard and Ms. Aradhna Patnaik, Secretary Education and Human Resource Development attended the event. The award by Hewlett Packard and India Today is a great testament to the impact Ekal is creating in rural India.

 

Recently, Ekal had another occasion to put a feather in its cap of achievements.  On Dec. 2, the US-India Chamber of Commerce of Dallas/Fort Worth, TX conferred ‘Leadership in Community Service Award’ on “Ekal Vidyalaya” at their annual Award Banquet. Dr. Robert Kaplan, President and CEO of Federal Reserve bank of Dallas was the key-note speaker and Hon.

Anupam Ray, Consul General of India (Houston) was the Chief Guest. According to Kaplan Fruitwala, a member of Ekal ‘Board of Directors’ and Reginal President of South-West region, ‘this Award is given after a rigorous and competitive evaluation  process with regards to consistency, achievements and contributions to the Society and Ekal is very grateful that ‘US-India Chamber of Commerce’ has recognized Ekal’s efforts”.  Last month also saw ‘Better Business Bureau’ (BBB) putting a seal of approval on ‘Ekal’ as the member of ‘Wise Giving Alliance’, a select group of honorable prestigious organizations for public charity.

Ekal, a non-profit organization, runs single teacher schools in over 54,000 rural remote villages that benefit 1.5 Million young children – more than half of which are girls. According to Mohan Wanchoo, who has pledged $200,000 per year for several years, ‘Digital-Ekal’ works on many different levels and is a lightning rod to change the ‘face of villages’ as we know them today.

Through ‘Ekal-On-Wheels’, a mobile computer training lab, Ekal imparts digital literacy to 5,000 students each year. By next year, there would be 9 such computer-fitted van making rounds of villages and 45,000 students computer-literate, each year. They make use of spoken tutorials techniques, specially developed by IIT Bombay. Another initiative of Digital-Ekal is ‘Lok-Vidya’ or educating a common man.

It provides practical information on vast number of topics related to indigenous conditions so as to improve personal health or crop output. To support and flourish this vast number of digital transactions, Ekal has erected several Internet Towers where the power is provided by solar-panels. ‘Tablet-Computer’ pilot program is under way in some of the villages where teachers make use of ‘Tablets’ loaded with educational material.

According to Dr. Shubhangi Thakur, President of ‘Health Foundation for Rural India’ (another wing of ‘Ekal Vidyalaya’), for next year, ‘Tele-Medicine’, that remotely digitally diagnosis most common ailments, is under consideration, with help from ‘John Hopkins University’, Baltimore, USA. There is also a proposal to put the impoverished farmers directly in closer contact with the market-place through digital technology.

Hampered by unsanitary conditions and lack of awareness about personal hygiene, proper healthcare in all its form is a distant call in rural life. Inspired by PM Modi’s ‘Swachchh Bharat’ (Clean India) clarion call, Ekal has embarked on clean environment campaign in several villages where the focus is on awareness and accountability of ones’s action.

Himanshu Shah, CEO of ‘Shah Capital’, who has pledged $100,000 per year for several years, is spearheading these efforts. Village folks are also being trained to conserve clean water and observe cleanliness in daily functionality. For this to become a way of life, habit-changing infrastructure is being vigorously promoted with necessary tools for their success. In short, ‘Ekal’ is expanding its horizon beyond basic Education, healthcare or village-development. With generous support from masses, it wants to play a major role molding the character of the nation itself. Kindly join and help Ekal through www.ekal.org.

Hina Trivedi honored with Asian Exemplary Civic Service Award 2016

Staff ReporterCommunity, Women 0

Chicago:  Hina Trivedi, a Gujarati community leader, President of Indo US Lions Club and a Trustee of Federation of  Indian Associations Chicago, has now two more feathers in her crown, receiving  Prudential Gold Medal from Washington DC and Asian Exemplary Civic Service Award 2016 for her exemplary community services for the past thirty years.

Hina received this Award along with other Asian community members. The award ceremony took place on November 20, 2016 at a dinner banquet at Sheraton Four Points Hotel, 10249 W Irving Park Rd, Schiller Park, IL where more than 200 guests mostly Asian Americans of Chicago & its Suburbs attended the event. The program included musical entertainment and dances. Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White was the chief guest.

President Barack Obama in his letter addressed to Hina Trivedi congratulated her for getting the President’s Volunteer Services Award for 2016 which was presented to her by Secretary of State, Jesse White during the event.
For the last fifteen years, in the month of November The Asian Humanitarian Award is given annually by the Asian Chronicle TV channel to individuals and families who are cohesive and positive role models for others to emulate, extend numerous civic and community services here and/or in their native countries, and they impact the positive image of Asians in America. Asian Chronicle TV channel is a very famous and popular Asian TV Channel in Chicagoland area.

Asian Chronicle USA, a television program on public access cable broadcast in many suburban communities of Chicagoland, had chosen Hina for the Asian Exemplary Services for being a bridge between India and USA serving the community with her command over seven languages and active association with local service organizations.

Hina Trivedi is the president of Indo US Lions Club, a bridge between India and USA. She is multilingual speaking seven different languages and has served more than thirty years in various communities, serving as translator for citizenship interviews, helping people register to vote and assisting seniors in applying for Medicare or Medicaid, and housing.  She tutors children in order for them to be busy and off the streets at CEDA and LIFHITE.

She is also the president of the Federation of Indian Associations, founding member of GOPIO Chicago, Executive Board Member of AIA and MAFS. She has attended many public awareness and social services conferences across the globe and has received many honors and awards from President Barack Obama, Mayor Richard M. Daley, IL Secretary of State Jesse White, Congressman Danny Davis, Representative Jan Schakowsky, and other locally and in India.

In an interview with Asian Media USA after Hina Trivedi received the award she said, “We must care for kids because they are our future, so we must guide them to the right direction and do whatever we can to help them to become proud Americans. It’s an honor and privilege to serve Asian American community. I am always looking for ways to serve our Asian American community and other American community and help improve them. I will continue taking this challenging, exciting, collaborative, and positive attitude to help everyone. I am a cancer survivor. I believe that God gave me a second chance in life, for a reason. Because of this, I am dedicating my life to serving the needy. A smile on the face on a person means a lot to me”.

GOPIO expresses concerns NRIs and PIOs over demonetization

Staff ReporterFinance/Economy 0

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) is the largest organization for the welfare of PIO’s living outside India and is a non-partisan, secular global organization engaged in promoting their well-being and enhancing cooperation and communication between Indians living in different countries.

In a letter written by its President Niraj Baxi to India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, GOPIO has welcomed and expressed its support on Government of India’s desire to curb black money and terrorist funding. However, GOPIO conveyed its concerns on behalf of the NRI/ PIO community. “It is a bold decision by Prime Minister Modi and we fully support him,” said GOPIO President Baxi.

Since the monetization was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, GOPIO received a large number of calls, emails and requests from the NRI/ PIO’s living abroad who are very concerned with actions taken by the Indian Government in regards to the withdrawal of Rs. 500.00 & Rs. 1000.00 denomination notes. Some NRIs/PIOs have left over cash from their previous visits to India, while others have used currency exchanges and banks to obtain the rupees abroad for use on their future trip to India. Many NRIs/PIOs have kept these notes for a while so as to use them on their return to India in the future. Some NRIs/PIOs have used less time consuming means of obtaining currencies from online money exchanges to take back to India .

As per India Government’s recent announcement, the NRI/ PIO’s cannot deposit these notes in their foreign banks (as they are refusing to accept them); do not have bank accounts in India to deposit and even if they do they cannot travel to deposit the notes and cannot exchange the notes as foreign banks and exchange outlets are refusing to accept these notes.

GOPIO has requested the Indian Government to extend the cut-off date by six months, as many cannot return to India by the end of December, 2016; Offer PIO’s with business and other income in India be similar deals as for residents (deposit up to Rs 250,000.00); Assist the PIO’s living abroad by providing an avenue to cash or exchange the Rs. 500.00 & Rs. 1000.00 denomination notes held by them for travelling to India; Increase the limit for exchange to Rs 25,000 when they arrive at the airports.

“NRIs and PIOs should be allowed to exchange whatever amount they have as long as they show the proof of past conversion of foreign currency to Indian currency in the last 10 years,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman of GOPIO International.

Association of Indian Pharmacists in America celebrates Diwali party

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Chicago IL: Harish Bhatt, President of the renowned Association of Indian Pharmacists in America (AIPHA), organized an exciting Annual Diwali Party on Sunday, November 20, 2016 at the Meadows Club, 2950 W Golf Road, Rolling Meadows, IL to celebrate Diwali and the holiday season with members and their families. The AIPHA Annual Diwali Party offers a platform in which members can network amongst themselves, as well as gives them an opportunity to meet and greet with the decision makers that influence change. The program was highly successful with support of the Executive Board, AIPHA members and volunteers. It was a sold out event and attended by many dignitaries.

The evening started with a social hour featuring some tasty appetizers and premium drinks. Masters of Ceremonies for the occasion, Tushar Mehta kicked off the program by welcoming everyone to the gala. As usual, he started with some funny jokes. One minute of silence was observed in memory of Usha Bhatt, mother of Harish Bhatt. Tushar then invited Harish Bhatt on stage to say a few words.

 

Harish Bhatt thanked each and every one for their condolences, cards, flowers, emails, text messages and phone calls. “I and my family are very thankful for your support; I am very fortunate that I have so many friends and they are very supportive” he said.

“To me, my mom is a hero. She came from a very poor family in Gujarat. She went to Bombay and educated herself to become a school teacher. She worked very hard to support the family”. My mother was an astonishing person, a true matriarch of our family, who was loving, caring, compassionate and provided unconditional love,  to anyone who came in touch with her” said Harish Bhatt, President of AIPHA

“This organization has been around for over 25 years. Thanks to AIPHA Board members, their families, our sponsors, advertisers, guests and members who have made today’s program highly successful. ” said Tushar Mehta, AIPHA Board of Director.

Sponsors of AIPHA Annual Diwali Party was Cardinal Drugs, HD Smith Drugs and McKesson Drugs.  Legendary Genius Madan Mohan Kohli’s life and music were explored in a spectacular musical narrative “Betaab Dil,” presented by Madan Kulkarni of Dhrishti Arts & Niche Entertainment. A dream line up of performers led by Vibhavari Joshi along with Rafi Habib and Dhawal Chandwadkar presented gems from Madanji’s creations accompanied by an accomplished orchestra with live narration by noted theater personality Salim Arifji, directed by Milind Oak and conceived by Madan Kulkarni.

The show was backed by informational narrative of each composition, which left the audience spellbound and clamoring for more. Spectacular lights and sound added a punch to the performances. Vibhavari Joshi along with Rafi Habib and Dhawal Chandwadkar gave a memorable show. This top notch show gave a panoramic view of the music virtuoso’s journey and ended with a standing ovation.

Top shelf cash bar & delicious Gourmet dinner was prepared and served by the Chefs and staff of the Meadows Club. The program concluded with some great memories of an evening which was educational, fun and entertaining.

Executive Board: Harish Bhatt (President), Rajesh Chotalia (Vice President), Jitesh Patel (Secretary), Haresh Khakhkar (Joint Secretary), Vitthal Patel (Treasurer), Jignesh Gandhi (Joint Treasurer) and the Board of Directors included Tushar Mehta, Snehal Bhavsar, Jyotin Parikh, Gajanan Trivedi, Manu Patel, Shital Manek, Kishore Chugh, Mahendra R. Patel, Ambalal S. Patel and Ambalal H. Patel.

The Association of Indian Pharmacists of America is an organization dedicated to increasing cultural awareness and promoting diversity through various pharmaceutical services, promotional, and social events. The national organization of the Association of Indian Pharmacists in America (AIPHA) was founded in 1985 by 20 members. Today, there are over 453 members.

Celebration of the Second Constitution Day

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Chicago IL: The second Constitution Day or ‘Samvidhan Diwas’ was solemnly celebrated at the premises of the Consulate General of India in Chicago on 25th November, 2016. The day commemorates the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, considered as the chief architect of the Constitution of India, served as the Chairman of the 389-member Drafting Committee of the Constitution and played a pioneering role in the finalization of Constitution of India. Last year, a National Committee under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister of India took a decision to celebrate the “Constitution Day” every year as part of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

While delivering his opening remarks on the occasion, Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General of India outlined the significance of the ‘Constitution Day’ and recalled the pioneering work done by the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in drafting the Constitution of India.

The Consul General emphasized that the Constitution of India does not discriminate anyone on the basis of religion, creed, sex or any other ground.  It is the duty of every citizen of India, therefore, to uphold the Constitution both in its letter and spirit. The Consul General also read out the Preamble of the Constitution of India.

During the programme, a film on the life and times of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar received from XP Division of MEA was screened to showcase the contribution of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in drafting the Constitution and upliftment of the downtrodden and oppressed section of the Society. A photo exhibition of photographs on Dr. Ambedkar was also organized as part of the celebration.

The event was attended by a cross-section of prominent Indian-Americans residing in Chicagoland. On this occasion, the Indian Diaspora was also briefed about the upcoming events of the Consulate as well as 14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention to be held in Bengaluru from 7th-9th January, 2017. The PIOs/OCIs were encouraged to register and participate in the 14th PBD Convention in large numbers. OP Meena, Consul, proposed a vote of thanks.

GOPIO Chicago Host 2nd Annual Business Convention & Gala with Business Leaders

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Asian Media USA ©

Chicago, IL: Chicago Chapter of Global Organization for People of India Origin (GOPIO) hosted  2nd Annual Business Convention & Gala on November 13th 2016 at Oak Brook Marriott Hotel, 1401 west 22nd street, OAK, Brook, IL 50423. The event was attended by many corporate executives, State and local Government officials, Asian-American and small & minority business leaders and non-profit organization leaders. The objective of the event was to promote common cultural heritage and create binding relationship among business community.

Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General of India, Chicago, in his inaugural address said that GOPIO Chicago created a platform for all the small and large Indian business owners to do business networking and grow their businesses.

Raja Krishnamoorthi, US Congressman Elect, who was one of the keynote speakers, congratulated GOPIO Chicago Leadership for hosting a Business Conference like this and he will support the Indian Community and GOPIO Chicago to create a business environment that will help to grow Indian businesses especially the startup companies.

Mike Quigley, U.S. Congressman said that businesses are failing mainly on account of lack of proper direction to grow and paucity of required funding to launch new technology products. “I will work with GOPIO Chicago to find a solution for this issue”, he added.

Sam Pitroda, Former Principal Advisor to Indian Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Dr. Manmohan Singh added that a Business Conference like this is a first step to bring Indian Business owners under one umbrella and conferences like this need to be held in various parts of U.S cities by GOPIO Chapters. “Also need to participate in events like PBD and to expand their businesses to India as well, since India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world’, he added.

Dr. Deepak Vyas, President & CEO, Redberri Corporation shared his views as to how he started his business as a small startup company, the challenges he faced to grow his company and the strategies he used to grow his company to a large corporation.

Dr. Neeti Parashar, Nobel Prize Winning Team Member added that Indians are very bright in the field of Business and Technology, they are very hardworking and are people with a great vision. She shared some of her research experience, challenges she faced after coming from Delhi as an immigrant, and became a professor in Purdue University. “Eventually dedication and hard work helped me being part of the Nobel Prize Winning Team Member on their invention of Subatomic particles in 2013.

Dr. Gopal Lalmalani, Mayor of Oak Brook shared his career challenges as a Cardiologist, Mayor of one of the affluent suburbs of U.S, bringing more businesses and their headquarters to Oak Brook, balancing the budget for the city after maintaining  lower tax rates. He said that Oak Brook is one of the best and affluent suburbs to live in Illinois and he expressed his gratitude to GOPIO Chicago’s Leadership for hosting the event in Oak Brook. Other CEOs who talked on various subjects at the Business Conference were Dr. Anil Oroskar, CEO of Orochem Chemical Corporation and Mr. Manish Gandhi, CEO of Power Plant Corporation.

Gladson Varghese, President, GOPIO-Chicago, while making his presidential remarks, said that GOPIO is one of the largest Indian organizations outside India with Chapters in over 20 countries. “Indians are highly visible in political and business landscapes and several Indian- Americans hold key positions in Fortune 500 Companies and own large businesses. “Because of their affluence and economic power, Indian-Americans are a natural marketing target for many organizations and businesses”, Varghese added.

GOPIO presented awards to the winners in a Ceremony. Sam Pitroda, former Principal Advisor to Indian Prime Minister & Chairman, was awarded as Businessman of the Year, Deepak Vyas, Chairman, Redberri Corporation was awarded as Community Leader of the Year, Congressman Elect, Raja Krishnamoorthi was awarded GOPIO Presidential Award for Excellence and Prerana Mitta, and medical student was awarded Student of the Year.

The event was attended by the following Board members:  Savi Singh, Vikrant Singh, Joe Nedumgottil, Ashfaq Syed, Hemant Trivedi, Sharan Walia, Krishna Bansal, Ram Saini, VinozChanamolu, Girish Kapur, Ninan Thomas, Nambi Vaithilingam, and Vandana Jhingan

The Business Conference was conducted by Board Member Krishna Bansal and Sharan Walia in a professional fashion. The guests were welcomed by Board Member Vikrant Singh and MC for the evening was Savi Singh, Ashfaq Syed thanked all the dignitaries, GOPIO Board members, CEOs of various companies, Media, Sponsors and all the audience for their support for GOPIO Chicago.  The Business Conference ended with Bollywood style entertainment programs including Dances, Music and DJ. At the end of the program, Indian style Dinner and cocktails served to the guest.  Lauding Patchogue-Medford offering yoga, Hindus urge yoga in all New York schools

USINPAC engages with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

Adhering to its bipartisan approach in representing the Indian American community, USINPAC hosted a Presidential dialogue series with members of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s election campaign and transition team. The interactive dialogue, was attended by a cross section of Indian Americans from across the country. Listeners eager to know more about the incoming administration fielded questions to Congressman Lou Barletta, representing Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional district and Matt Keelen, a republican strategist and consultant for the Trump campaign.

As a former businessman, Congressman Lou Barletta spoke from personal experience when he lamented banking regulations and taxes that hurt businesses today. Donald Trump, with his business experience would work to enable businesses to make profits, which would then be invested back, buy more equipment, hire more people, which would generate more payroll taxes.

Regarding healthcare reform the Congressman supported repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, making it affordable for employers too. Free market would drive prices down, individuals would be able to buy healthcare across state lines, have health savings account.

Congressman Barletta lauded the relationship between India and the United States saying, “India is the world’s largest democracy and United States is India’s second largest trading partner. We have much in common. I believe under a President Trump the relationship will get even stronger as many who come from India to the United States will be able to find a better opportunity to start a business, grow a business, and invest into this economy because this economy will take off under President Trump.

Republican strategist Matt Keelen opined that President-elect Trump understood the importance of US-India ties, as the two nations share the same values, face the same issues with terrorist attacks on our soil. President Trump would promote bilateral ties as President Bush had.

On the possibility of Indian Americans featuring in the new cabinet, Keelen mentioned two prominent names being discussed; Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley and former Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal. Keelen encouraged more Indian Americans to run for Congress, especially those with experience as small business owners and to consider being part of the Trump administration.

Sanjay Puri, Chairman of USINPAC thanking Congressman Barletta and Matt Keelen for engaging with Indian Americans remarked, “We look forward to working closely with the new administration and providing qualified candidates who are looking to work in this administration.”

Indian Americans desiring to work with the incoming administration should send their resumes to trumpadmin@usinpac.com or visit USINPAC to apply.

The US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) is the voice of over 3.2 million Indian- Americans and works on issues that concern the community. It supports candidates for local, state and federal office and encourages political participation by the Indian- American community. Visit www.usinpac.com for more details.

Satya Nadella, Ajita Rajendra, Ajay Banga, Aditya Puri listed as Fortune’s 50 Top Business Leaders Of 2016

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella, A.O. Smith CEO Ajita Rajendra and MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga are among the top business leaders globally recognized by Fortune as Fortune’s 50 Top Business Leaders Of 2016.  The 50-person list stuck with the basics in ranking the top business leaders, Fortune wrote.

“It parses and ranks companies by 12- and 36-month increases in profits, revenues, and stock performance, and factors in return on capital and debt,” the publication wrote. Mark Zuckerburg of social networking giant Facebook has been ranked number 1 in the Fortune magazine’s top 50 business persons list for 2016, which evaluates corporate leaders’ business performance. At the 2nd position in the list was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, followed by Ulta Beauty’s Mary Dillon, Alphabet CEO and Google co-founder Larry Page, and Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella.

Intuit CEO Brad Smith was ranked 6th among the top 50 business persons. The list was based upon the corporate heads’ ability to generate cold, hard cash for their companies.  Look who else is on the list.

Nadella was the lone Indian American in the top 10 of Fortune’s 2016 list, coming in at No. 5. Since Nadella took charge in early 2014, Microsoft has been engineering a stunning turnaround, Fortune said. He has taken a company focused on personal computing but showing promise in its enterprise and cloud-computing businesses, and turned that equation on its head, it added.

Rajendra, the next Indian American ranked at No. 34, is the A.O. Smith CEO, who has been with the Milwaukee-based water heater maker for four years. “Rajendra has kept the company boiling hot, doubling profits and nearly tripling the company’s stock price with strong growth in North America and China,” Fortune wrote.

Banga came a close 40 on the list of top business leaders. Fortune called the Indian American head of MasterCard “one of the apostles of a post-cash world,” helping his company expand overseas. Additionally, the company has formed an alliance with PayPal for in-store purchases as well as buying a rival to PayPal’s Venmo peer-to-peer payment app, Fortune said.

HDFC Bank managing director Aditya Puri was ranked No. 36 on the list. Puri has led HDFC for two decades, growing the bank into the second largest in the country, with $5.6 billion, including $1.9 billion in profits last year.

World Hindu Economic Forum: Galvanising Hindu Businesses to make society prosperous

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

 

Hundreds of Indian American and NRI professionals attended fifth annual world conference Organized by the World Hindu Economic Forum in the Grand Ballroom of central Orange County’s Hotel Irvine from November 18-20 to discuss ways to improve market access in India and help the nation sustain its path as a growing global player.

“With a larger part of Hindu population being youth, there is an inherent potential that is waiting to be unlocked,” Swami Vigyananand said in a statement, published for WHEF attendees. “WHEF is therefore an effort to create that platform which will trigger this creation of surplus wealth by effectively utilizing the available potential.”

He added the forum — the 5th Global Business Leaders Conference — and its annual meetings serve as a catalyst to facilitate greater market access through global collaboration and cooperation.

The World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) brings together financially successful elements within Hindu society such as traders, bankers, technocrats, investors, industrialists, business persons, professionals, along with economists and thinkers, so that each group can share their business knowledge, experience, expertise and resources with their fellow brethren. We encourage, support and mentor budding Hindu entrepreneurs. The end goal is to generate surplus wealth and make society prosperous.

Today, while some economies are passing through a turbulent phase, many emerging economies are providing us great opportunities. The issue is how to leverage the global situation for collective growth. Hindus should cooperate and collaborate globally so that market access is facilitated amongst them. We need to create market access across geographic zones and countries, spreading from Auckland to Alaska and Oslo to Johannesburg, cutting across the entire globe. Similar cooperation can be envisaged in the area of capital, enabling availability of appropriately priced capital. Also, technologically savvy Hindus should be matched with those who can convert technical innovation into business with ideas, funds and market access.

WHEF chairman Agarwal shared his perspective on businesses and the roles people play in companies around the world, saying, “It is time for us to remove barriers and show all are equal and every role being played by individuals is equally important. Can we take a place today that we will practice equality in our minds and our actions? […] Make money with 100 hands and share with 1000 hands.”

WHEF 2017 will be held in Nairobi, Kenya. The forum was previously held in Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi and London.

Rev. Varghese Paul bestowed “STAR OF ASIA AWARD”

Staff ReporterCommunity, Culture/Religion 0

Fr Varghese Paul, a Jesuit priest of Indian origin, to his great surprise received “Star of Asia
Award” from International Business Council (IBC), New Delhi. He got the Award via mail on his return from Philippines on November 3, 2016. He attended at Tagaytay City the World Congress of International Christian Organization of the Media (ICOM). On the occasion he also
visited New Zealand.

The Award says, “Certificate of Outstanding Achievements STAR OF ASIA AWARD presented to FR. VARGHESE PAUL, SJ Director-Trustee, Catholic Information Service Society, Ahmedabad, Gujarat at New Delhi on 30th September, 2016”.

Earlier Fr Varghese had received a letter from the IBC dated August 16, 2016 saying, “We have the pleasure in informing you that your name has been selected for the presentation of ‘STAR OF ASIA AWARD’ and a ‘CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE’ for your outstanding achievements. The Award will be presented to you on 30th September, 2016 in New Delhi at a largely attended prestigious ceremony.”

In reply Fr Varghese had written to IBC saying, “I do not know on what basis you have selected me. I am not a business person and as such I am not qualified to become a member of International Business
Council”. Since he neither received a reply nor he expected to get the Award. So he did not go to New Delhi for the Award Function.

IBC Web site says, “International Business Council, a Non-Profit Foundation registered body of People of Indian Origin, was founded with the aim of providing a platform for the Indians living in India
and abroad. The Foundation highlights the achievements of National & International in their chosen field of activities.”

Fr. Varghese Paul’s extensive travels in India and abroad (34 countries) for studies and attending international seminars and presenting papers in World Congresses; his contributions to Gujarati and English periodicals as well as his books (43 in Gujarati, 4 in English, 3 in Malayalam and 1 in Hindi) and his three popular web sites; regular face book contributions are counted among his outstanding achievements.

Rev. Paul has been the director of Catholic Information Service Society (CISS), which is a diocesan print media communication center in the diocese of Ahmedabad in India since its beginning in 1984.

He was born on May 31, 1943 at Ennalloor in Ernakulam district, Kerala as the eldest son with four sisters and four brothers. After completing High School, he joined the Jesuits Society. He completed two years of Novitiate and spent one year each to study English and Gujarati. Then he joined St. Xavier’s College at Ahmedabad and graduated from Gujarat University with Gujarati and Sanskrit literature in 1968.

He completed his post graduate studies in philosophy at Pune and Theology at Gregorian University, Rome and journalism in London School of Journalism in London. He was ordained a priest in Rome on June 21, 1977 was in the US with further studies in writing and editing.

On returning to Gujarat, he edited DOOT for two years from January 1978. “Then I took up a very challenging job as Founder-Director of South Asian Religious News (SAR News) a Church news agency under the aegis of Indian Catholic Press Association (ICPA) and the South Asian Catholic Press Association (SACPA) for four years,” says the writer/editor.

As the Editor-in-Chief of SAR News, he got exposed to the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP). He attended first time the 13th UCIP World Congress in September 1980 at Rome and was elected a member of the International Federation of News Agencies (FIAC) and consequently a member of UCIP Council.

When he returned to Gujarat, he was appointed editor of DOOT for a third time from January 1984. In 1984 he also launched Catholic Information Service Society (CISS) as its Founder-Director under Ahmedabad Diocese with Bishop Charles Gomes, S.J. as its President. As an Executive Body member of ICPA, he helped to organize the first UCIP World Congress at New Delhi in 1986. In the Congress he was elected as the President of South Asian Catholic Press Association (SACPA) and consequently he became a board member of UCIP with six monthly meeting in Switzerland or elsewhere for 3 years.

“With knowledge and expertise gained through SAR News and UCIP with interacting with print media personnel around the world I went to make DOOT a modern popular monthly without deviating from the goal of DOOT as a religious magazine for the formation of the Christian community,” recalls, Rev. Paul.

After doubling the DOOT circulation in two years in January 1987 he was instrumental in changing the format of DOOT from a book-size periodical to a standard magazine size monthly and increased the pages. “Reaching 5000 plus paid subscribers among a Catholic population of two lakh target audience DOOT had the highest circulation for any Church periodical in India with one copy for every 40 Catholic Christians or 20 literate Catholics,” Rev. Paul says proudly.

Traveling to and spending 10 days in New Delhi every month from 1994, he had set up the ACECI National Office in New Delhi. The then Pro Nuncio to India H. E. Archbishop George Zur inaugurated the office on September 11, 1994. He had served as the Executive Secretary of the ACECI National Office until 2002. Presently Rev Paul is the President of ACECI.

Gujarati Lakhak Mandal (GLM – Gujarati Writers Association) has unanimously elected Fr. Varghese Paul as its Chairman in the board meeting in July 19, 2013. Fr. Varghese succeeded an eminent journalist and author of more than 400 books, Yashwant Mehta who was the Chairman GLM for 12 years. Varghese was Vice President of GLM for two terms from 2007. He joined GLM in 2004. He continues to be in the editorial team of GLM quarterly publication: “Lekhak and Lekhan”.

“My jobs and responsibilities in mass media helped me to cultivate and enjoy my hobbies of reading, writing and traveling,” says Rev. Paul, “I have I had the opportunities to study 10 languages and have traveled far and wide in India and abroad for my studies or for participating or conducting seminars and workshops and also for attending World Congresses and Council Meetings of UCIP. So far I have visited 34 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. I believe that my writings have been enriched by these traveling and world-wide contacts.”

Post-election immigration scams on the rise, NY Attorney General warns

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

There has been a significant increase in the number of calls to immigration organizations, including inquiries regarding potential fraud. For example, since the election, the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights has seen a 266 percent increase in the number of daily calls and 250 percent increase in number of daily walk-ins; on November 10thalone, the organization reportedly received over 100 calls. NYC council members, in response, have introduced a bill aimed at preventing non-attorneys from providing fraudulent and/or unauthorized immigration legal services in New York City.

Immigration fraud typically involves individuals or companies who target vulnerable immigrants by providing unauthorized and fraudulent immigration services. It affects large segments of communities from around the state.

New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a fraud alert last week, warning immigrants to be aware of potential scammers offering immigration services, preying on the increased fear and anxiety in immigrant communities as a result of the current political climate. In recent weeks, the Attorney General’s office and many legal aid organizations that work with immigrant communities have received an increased number of calls and reported scams.

“In the past two weeks, we’ve seen intense fear and anxiety in immigrant communities. New York has zero tolerance for anyone who would prey on that fear to defraud immigrants and their families,” AG Schneiderman said. “We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring to justice those who commit fraud against our immigrant communities.”

On Monday, Nov. 20, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a three-fold civil rights initiative: the creation of a State Police unit to investigate reports of hate crimes, an expansion of the state’s human rights law to protect all students, and the establishment of a new emergency legal defense fund for immigrants—the first of its kind in the nation. Lauded by Steven Choi, executive director of New York Immigration Coalition, the immigration initiative will be administered by the state’s Office for New Americans and be run in partnership with major colleges and universities, as well as law firms, legal associations and advocacy organizations.

“This is a huge step for New York’s four million immigrants,” said Choi, “at a time when the Coalition’s members and their constituents face widespread fear and anxiety about the future.” Speaking at an earlier press conference in NYC, announcing the aforementioned bill, Choi said, “President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of immigrants and communities are terrified about what’s to come. In such a climate of fear, this opens up opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of immigrants by promising relief, permanent residency, or citizenship that they cannot actually provide.”

According to the AG’s office, one of the most common scams right now is unsolicited calls from fake immigration officials. In one instance, a fraudster told an immigrant he was in the country illegally and must immediately pay $1,550. Federal authorities will never demand immediate payment, request personal sensitive information, or threaten you over the phone. If you receive a call like this, hang up immediately and report the possible fraud to Schneiderman’s office via the Attorney General’s Immigration Services Fraud Unit Hotline at (866) 390-2992 or email Civil.Rights@ag.ny.gov.The AG’s office will never ask for your immigration status or share immigration information with federal authorities if you contact the Immigration Services Fraud Unit Hotline.

Victims of crimes may contact the New York State Office of Victim Services, which funds 223 programs statewide, providing direct services, such as crisis intervention and counseling, to victims of crime, including hate crimes.

Shahnaz hysteria grips Trade Fair

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

Shahnaz Husain Visits India International Trade Fair 2016

Shahnaz Husain, who is showcasing her premium Ayurvedic beauty formulations, visited the Trade Fair and gave Free Consultation for skin and hair problems, on Sunday, 20th November, 2016. Her visit created total mob hysteria and the crowd at her pavilion had to be seen to be believed. The people were clamouring for her autograph and asking for prescriptions, so much so that there was fear of the counters and pillars collapsing. The riot police had to be called to control the surging crowds.

The Shahnaz Husain Group, leaders in Ayurvedic Beauty Care, have a spectacular display at: STALL No.27B-02-C, HALL NO.27 (HANGAR);  GATE No.7 (NEAR METRO STATION).

Among the products on display are the newly launched Shahnaz Husain Luxury Organic Range, comprising of a selected blend of chemical-free organic ingredients;  the Shahnaz Husain Yogic Veda Range of formulations for a holistic beauty care routine, as well as the Starlight Range, re-launched in totally new packaging. Specially formulated for film and TV stars, it helps counter the damaging effects of harsh arc lights, sun, pollution, dust, wind and heavy make-up.

With over four decades of expertise, the Shahnaz Husain formulations are internationally renowned for specialized Ayurvedic beauty care and cures. The have received several international awards for Quality Excellence. As a special gesture to visitors to the Trade Fair, Shahnaz Husain is offering several attractive discounts on products and the Beauty Diploma Course. Indeed, the Shahnaz Herbal Stall at IITF 2016 offers the experience of advanced natural beauty care, based on India’s glorious herbal traditions.

NYC Council honors Indian community leader Harish Thakkar at NY City Hall

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Around the world, millions of people celebrated Diwali festival. Conscious of the valuable contribution made by the Hindu community in NYC, NYC  Council and Democratic district leader Dr.Neeta Jain has invited a cross-section of the Hindu community to celebrate Diwali with him in the Mayor’s office at City Hall on Thursday, 15 November.

To commemorate the event , Council Member Barry Grodenchik presented a proclamation to Indian Commuinty Leader Harish Thakkar. Harish Thakkar has received honors for his community work for various American and Indian American Community organizations, including: Lohana Samaj of USA, BAPS and Association of Indians in America and organising walkathon for cancer research, diabetic society and children diwali  event at Queens public library.

At the event  Indian Community leader Harish Thakkar said,  “Diwali is the most important and significant festival for the people of Hindu religion. It has many rituals, traditional and cultural beliefs event  of celebrating it. It is celebrated all over the country as well as outside the country with great enthusiasm. One of biggest Diwali event in the world out side India happens right here in our NYC City at south seaport in October 1st week for last 29 years.

“I can tell every person here is committed to helping keep this NYC Council Diwali going strong, and it’s really inspiring to see. May we all continue to work together, nurture and support each other and help grow the unique image of NYC City as a dynamic, creative place to live and work. On behalf of Indian American Community I thank NYC Council and newly elected Democratic queens district leader Dr. Neeta Jain for organising this wonderful event,” he added.

In Picture: From right corner  Assemblyman David Weprin,  Council Member Barry Grodenchik , Harish Thakkar, Democratic queens district leader Dr. Neeta Jain,Council Member Rory Lancman and at left corner Councilman Peter Koo

Prominent Indian physician’s Tenafly home gains landmark status

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

 

TENAFLY, NJ — The Swiss chalet-style home on Forest Road has seen a variety of notable personalities pass through its decorative front door: A prominent inventor, a famous artist and, most recently, Hillary Clinton.

Now, the “Everett-Dunn House,” built in 1867, has gained historic landmark status so it will be protected from major alteration and demolition. The Borough Council approved the designation at Monday night’s meeting.

The home was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, a prominent figure in American architecture, who was best known for his work on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, the Breakers in Newport, R.I., and the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.

Among the prominent residents of the home were inventor Charles J. Everett and Harvey Dunn, an artist whose sketches of World War I are housed at the Smithsonian.

Hetal Gor, a physician from India who moved into the six-bedroom home in 2010, said she and her husband, Moiz, were immediately drawn to its beauty and historical significance. “They told us it’s a historic house. There were a lot of very important people involved in the house, which made it very intriguing to me,” she said. “There are so many historic details inside. Every person who lived in it left their mark behind.” Gor, who is active politically and serves on the board of BergenPAC, hosted Clinton at a fundraising event she held at the 6,600-square-foot-home in April.

The historic landmark designation is more than an honorary status — it comes with responsibility, noted Karen Neus, chairwoman of the Tenafly Historic Preservation Commission. Owners of such homes cannot make exterior alterations without approval from the Historic Commission. Interior renovations are not included in this rule. “The street view is what’s important,” she said.

The guidelines do not bother Gor in the least. “I love art, history and culture,” she said. “In today’s world, everyone is so shortsighted about things that may take a long time. We need to go above and beyond to save what we have had for hundreds of years.”

Since the commission was established in 1990, at least 65 private properties in Tenafly have gained landmark status. In Tenafly, the owners apply for the designation or they must support a designation. Additionally, the railroad station, Theodore Roosevelt Monument and the Presbyterian Church at Tenafly all have local landmark status. Some — such as the Elizabath Cady Stanton House — are on the national and state Registers of Historic Places.

Councilman Paul Stefanowicz praised the commission for trying to be proactive in saving local historic sites. “It’s hard to keep up with the home sales, and one could spend all day trying to educate sellers or buyers on the benefits of preservation,” he said.

There is no universal standard among New Jersey municipalities protecting local historic landmarks. Some towns have historic commissions, while others do not. And even those that have the groups differ in their approach. Some are strict, while others lack ordinances that would provide preservation guidelines. The lack of consistency has generated criticism among many preservationists. “Historic sites are one of the reasons people moved to Tenafly,” Stefanowicz said, adding that preservation must be a town wide effort.

Tenafly’s commission is not always successful in preserving the past. The 1870  Valley Hotel, where Stanton and Susan B. Anthony attempted to vote at a time when women were not permitted to do so, was razed this summer. Although many residents and preservationists came to public meetings to protest the plan, a daycare center will be built on the site of the former feminist landmark.

Tenafly Historian Alice Rigney hopes the latest designation on Forest Road will spur more interest in local history. “It’s a magnificent house. More people should learn about Harvey Dunn, who was one of our greatest artists and drew sketches during World War I,” she said. Saving historic homes provides “a portrait of what Tenafly was in the past. It’s important for us to remember.”

PICTURE CAPTIONS:

Hetal 1: A living room in Dr. Heta Gor’s Swiss chalet home, which is over 100 years old and has finally gained landmark status in Tenafly, NJ. The home was photographed on Wednesday, November 23, 2016. (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran)

Hetal 2: Owner Dr. Hetal Gor seen here outside her Swiss chalet-style home on Forest Road (Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran)

Teen gets 40 years prison sentence for killing Indian American

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Trayvon Malik Wilhite, a 19-year-old teenager in Chesterfield County, Va., was sentenced to 40 years in prison on November 15 for his role in the attempted robbery and fatal shooting of convenience store owner Harshad Patel.

Chesterfield Circuit Court Judge David E. Johnson brushed aside defense arguments that the teen deserved some leniency because of his troubled upbringing – he was abandoned by his mother at age 8. The judge focused instead on the “senseless and brutal murder” of convenience store owner Harshad Patel, 55, who was fatally shot dead on January 11 as he prepared to close for the night, reported Virginia Post-Dispatch.

The judge said Wilhite intentionally pointed a gun at Patel, a father of two, and fired as the Indian American store owner ducked for cover, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch report.

“He shouldn’t have to take cover in his own place of business,” the judge said, according to the Times-Dispatch report, adding that Wilhite mistakenly believed Patel — who was unarmed — was reaching for a gun and blamed the victim for crouching behind the counter to protect himself. Johnson said Wilhite could then have left the store but instead made a premeditated decision to break the law.

Johnson ultimately ruled that Wilhite, who was arrested in January along with Thomas Jennings, III and a 14-year-old boy, later learned to be Wilhite’s younger brother Tyquise, be sentenced to a total of 73 years in prison with 33 suspended for the killing and attempted robbery of Patel.

After the arrest, Wilhite confessed he was the lone shooter in the crime, which was captured on surveillance video.

The video shows Jennings entering the Marketplace #21 convenience store first, followed by Trayvon Wilhite with a pistol in hand. The single shot taken went through Patel’s right arm and through his chest, fracturing a rib and penetrating the upper lobe of his lung before slicing a major artery that supplies blood to the right arm, the report said. Patel was found by a customer who arrived later to buy lottery tickets.

Chesterfield prosecutor Ken Chitty told the court that investigators found no weapon behind the counter or any guns at all in Patel’s store, the Marketplace #21 at 6811 Walmsley Blvd.

At the conclusion of the 90-minute hearing, Johnson sentenced Wilhite to a total of 73 years in prison with 33 suspended in the killing and attempted robbery of Patel, a native of India whom the judge described as a beloved family man and respected business owner. His death shocked and angered many of the victim’s regular customers who lived near his store.

India’s Vrindavan to build world’s tallest religious skyscraper

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is planning to build a skyscraper temple-cum-heritage centre, touted to be the world’s largest religious structure, here in Vrindavan, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.

The 700-ft tall and 70-storey ‘Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir’ in Uttar Pradesh, India will be taller than St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and Ulm Cathedral in Germany when completed.

A grand temple of Lord Krishna at the centre, a theme park and facilities to hold many social programmes constitute the major components of the edifice, spread across 5.5 acres.
The goal of the project is to acknowledge and celebrate on an epic scale the depth of the ennobling influence Lord Krishna has had on humanity, said Naveena Neerada Dasa of ISKCON Sree Radha Krishna Temple in Bengaluru.

“The forests of Vrindavan will be recreated around the temple. Spread over a sprawling 26-acre campus and designed by leading international landscape designers, the 12 forests of Braj will come alive here,” said Neerada Dasa. “It is our aspiration to create a world-class and iconic monument for Sri Krishna in the holy land of Vrindavan and proudly place Krishna on the world mindscape and Vrindavan on the world map,” he added.

Espousing the mystique of Lord Krishna, the social programmes include welfare events for the widows of Vrindavan, restoration of the Yamuna river and refurbishment of important sites in Braj. The fascinating aspect for visitors would be a capsule elevator that will rise through the temple core taking visitors through different planetary systems in the Universe according to Vedic literature, accompanied by a stunning light-and-sound show.

“The elevator will take visitors to the viewing gallery on top for a breathtaking view of Braj Mandal,” said an official communication. The project will also have apartments and villas around it, which will be sold to devotees to raise money for the skyscraper.

The construction will be earthquake-resistant and state-of-the-art. Numerous consultants of different faiths from across the world are involved in it, while its structural consultant is Thornton Tomasetti, who has designed the tallest buildings across the globe, including Petron as Towers and Shanghai Towers.

The project cost is expected to reach Rupees 800 crore, of which Rupees 50 crore has been spent for the pile foundation work. Donations from devotees are expected to fund the iconic structure.

PMSD in New York implements yoga practice in curriculam

Staff ReporterEducation 0

“I am proud to say my school district has embarked on a whole child journey. The most important ingredients revolves around our extended recess time (we increased recess from twenty minutes to forty minutes), yoga, meditation and mindfulness work for students K-8. Our staff members have been participating in yoga and mindfulness activities as well,” Dr. Michael J. Hynes PMSD Superintendent wrote in a statement here last week.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, applauded PMSD for coming forward and providing an opportunity to students to avail the multiple benefits yoga provided. Zed urged New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New York State Education Department Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa and New York State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia; to work towards formally introducing yoga as a part of curriculum in all the public schools of the state, thus incorporating highly beneficial yoga in the lives of New York’s students.

Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Rajan Zed pointed out.

Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.

According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image.  Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed added.

PMSD, headquartered in Patchogue (New York), whose Mission is “to provide diverse pathways and varied enrichment opportunities that will lead to meaningful learning experiences for all students”, runs 11 schools. Its Tremont Elementary School in Medford, where yoga classes were reportedly held for grades three, four, and five in November, has a “Yoga Room”. An hour-long “Yoga Discussion” was scheduled in “Caffeine with Mike” (Superintendent Hynes) on November 17. Anthony C. O’Brien is PMSD Board President.

Sikh man harassed in Cambridge

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

From News Dispatches

A Harvard student who says he was harassed in a Cambridge store by a man calling him a “f***ing Muslim” has shared his story on social media to encourage bystanders to be engaged and take positive action against acts of intolerance.

Since it was published, the post by Harmann Singh, a first year law student at the Cambridge University, has been shared more than 150 times. He also wrote about his experience in The Boston Globe.

The 22-year-old Sikh Harvard Law School student from Buffalo, New York, said he was shopping in a store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while speaking on the phone with his mother. “Over the weekend, I was confronted by a man who called me a ‘f—-ing Muslim’ and followed me around a store aggressively asking where I was from, and no one in the store said a thing,” Singh wrote on his Facebook page. “While this pales in comparison to discrimination faced by others, and while I’m not particularly rattled/disheartened, bystander intervention is crucial,” his post said. “ Whenever we see racism, sexism, islamophobia, or xenophobia, we need to take a stand—all of us. “I’m going to keep walking with my head held high and with love in my heart—no one will change that. But hopefully we can stand together against intolerance and injustice.”

Writing about his experiences in the Boston Globe, Singh said that since the election last week, many Americans have felt unsafe and incidents of hate have increased dramatically. “However, people of color, immigrants, religious minorities, and other groups have in ways felt marginalized for hundreds of years,” he wrote. Instances of harassment are not new, and their increased frequency makes understanding and responding crucial and timely. Whether this happened last year or on the night of the election, whether the man was white or brown, whether I was actually a Muslim or not – these are irrelevant. Such hate is intolerable whenever, wherever, and against whomever it occurs.”

16-yr-old arrested 5 times in 12 days for driving under the influence

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Sai RamagiriSai Ramagiri, a 16-year-old Indian-American teen from South Brunswick, New Jersey was arrested five times in 12 days on multiple charges, including attempted assault by auto, driving under the influence, and drug possession, media reports here stated.

Quoting local police department, NJ.com reported, the Indian American teen was initially arrested on November 4 by the Plainsboro Police Department for allegedly attempting to run over a friend with his vehicle while under the influence of marijuana. He was then arrested on November 8 after police found Ramagiri “leaned over vomiting” near a Jeep on Monet Court with a shredded rear tire, the report had said.

After two days, firefighters in Monmouth Junction found Ramgiri standing outside a white Porsche against a guardrail on Ridge Road. He told officials the vehicle ran out of gas. An officer found a marijuana cigarette sticking out the Ramagiri front jeans pocket. He was arrested and charged with drug possession and DWI. He was later released on a summons.

The next arrest came as Ramagiri was driving Porche on Ridge Road, and the South Brunswick officer who arrested him 5 days earlier saw him behind the wheel, police said. After stopping Ramagiri they found marijuana in the car. He was charged with drug possession and motor vehicle summonses, police said.

Ramagiri was then arrested Nov. 15 again by the Plainsboro Police after police stopped him in his Porsche for failing to maintain lanes while driving on Plainsboro Road. He was charged with DWI, having open alcohol containers in the vehicle and several motor vehicle summonses, according to the report quoting police.

N.J. Township sued for ‘Denial’ of Mosque permit

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Bernards Township, alleging it violated federal law in its denial of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge’s plan to build a mosque. The proposed site is located in a part of the township that, at the time of the society’s zoning request, permitted the construction of places of worship.

“Bernards Township has treated the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge differently than other houses of worship,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman said. “(Federal law) ensures that municipalities must treat religious land use applications like any other land use application.

“But here, township officials kept moving the goalposts by using ever-changing local requirements to effectively deny this religious community the same access as other faiths.”

The society, led by the former mayor, Mohammad Ali Chaudry, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Newark earlier in March, accusing the town’s planning board of breaking RLUIPA. The proposal to build the mosque was mooted in Nov. 2011 when Chaudry, a retired AT&T executive who has also served as the township’s mayor, decided with some friends to open a mosque in the township where he has lived for some 40 years and has been on its board of education and has led a task force to create the town’s community center. But the society could not have its mosque proposal sanctioned by the board as the latter rejected it year after year under one ground or the other.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleged that Bernards Township’s denial of approval for the mosque discriminated against the Islamic Society based on its religion and the religion of its members; applied standards and procedures on the Islamic Society that it had not applied to other religious and non-religious assemblies in the past; and imposed a substantial burden on the Islamic Society’s religious exercise. The complaint also alleged that the township violated RLUIPA by amending its zoning ordinance in a manner that imposes unreasonable limitations on all religious assemblies.

“Flying 40, Sky Bird Travel Celebrates its 40th Anniversary in New York”

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

 

“We have a great future ahead of us,” declared Arvin Shah, Chairman & President of SKY BIRD TRAVEL & TOURS, one of the largest national Airline Consolidators in the United States during his address to hundreds of airline industry executives at Sky Bird’s gala 40th anniversary and Holiday party celebration at the prestigious St. Regis Hotel in New York City on Wednesday, December 6th.

With total dedication, hard work, solid customer base, and visionary ideals, Sky Bird Travel & Tours is recognized as a world renowned award winning Airfare Consolidator working with more than 90 airlines around the globe. “We have been in business for over 40 years. We can truly say that we are your global partner. We value your needs. Our customer service team makes sure you come first,” Arvin confidently stated to the party’s attendees.

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, served by nearly 300 employees, with 12 satellite offices in the US and many abroad, Sky Bird Travel & Tours has come a long way since Arvin and his wife, Jaya, first started their travel agency, Jaya Travel Inc., in 1974 in Windsor, Canada, working from home. “We literally worked from the kitchen table,” he recalls.

In 1976, the Shah family established Sky Bird Travel & Tours, Inc., alongside with Jaya Travel, in Southfield, Michigan, to cater to the growing South Asian ethnic community throughout the US and Canada by developing a full service leisure travel agency which offers airline tickets, hotels, car rentals and customized tour packages to valued customers.

In 1982, Raj Patel joined the family business as its Vice President. From there, the company was able to grow with its wisdom and experience coupled with innovative and creative ideas which became the hallmark of the success story of Sky Bird Travel & Tours. According to Raj, “We believe there are two elements vital to every company’s success: a great product and great service. Since our founding in 1976, Sky Bird has amassed active contracts with over 90 airlines which has given us the ability to offer you a wide range of options for our clients.”

Arvin’s son Akshay joined the business after his college graduation. Together father and son are working to build and grow more business, challenging all the negatives in the industry. “With Sky Bird Travel, it’s not just about maximizing profits—it’s about becoming a part of our team where we value your needs,” Akshay, while giving an overview of the company’s 40 years of journey through a beautifully made visual presentation, told the airline executives who had come in to celebrate the success story of Sky Bird.  “Our customer service is the reason for our success,” he said.

Within the first decade, Sky Bird Travel & Tours gained a reputation for quality and dependability and continues to provide its clientele with professional quality services along a diversified array of travel destinations, with the highest standards of excellence.

“We did not want to limit ourselves in business and wanted to handle the complete international airline ticketing to India and China, as well as Europe, the Middle East and Far East, Africa, Asia, South Pacific and Latin America from all major cities of origin in the USA”, said Akshay. From there, the Shah’s made the idea feasible and started to manage the task of expanding Sky Bird into the major global travel management business.

Not satisfied with handling just issuing tickets and making reservations, the company created its own tour company Sky Vacations.  Sky Vacations has formed preferred alliances with partners in destination management companies all over the world. It provides a “local presence” and infrastructure within various regions. “Our clients get the advantage of established land package rates combined with our competitive airfares which makes for a very well-priced experience for our customers. This has made us a one-stop-shop for virtually any type of travel program we wish to provide,” Akshay says.

Sky Bird Travel has grown with the changing times and the needs of the tech savvy customers and industry. Its fares database is updated daily to make it easy for travel agencies to provide their clients with instant quotes and to give them the flexibility of adding one’s own markup.

In order to constantly grow in the business, the company concentrated on new challenges in the new technology during a period of major upheaval in the travel business in the late 1990s. Sky Bird became a SolarNet LiveLinx client, which hosts a travel vendor’s database and information search capabilities and accessibility on the Internet as well as four Global Distribution System (GDS) networks: Sabre, Apollo/Galileo, Worldspan and Amadeus and online through its business-to-business web portals.  By embracing technology at an early stage, Sky Bird was well positioned to handle a greater amount and variety of business as well as serve customers worldwide.

With a view to better serve his large clientele and offer a competitive advantage through its customer-driven advanced technology solutions to optimize travel agents’ needs, Arvin and his management staff continue to make technology accessible and affordable to the greatest number of users, by delivering innovative, popular fare distribution systems that are easy to use and access for travel agents. Sky Bird offers fares less than 40-70 percent than most of the competitors, and its tickets are less restrictive than published and/ or web fares.

With Sky Bird, travel agents also get access to ‘Wings’, their in-house booking system which searches the major GDS systems to give instant net fares on over 90 airlines. With the latest in technology along with a pure passion for helping travel agents, Sky Bird Travel Tours remains one of the top Airfare consolidators in the US.

As a first generation immigrant from the sub-continent of India, Arvin Shah and his company Sky Bird are a true story of the American Dream achieved through determination, hard work and persistence.  “It was no easy task and demanded grit, self-confidence and vision. It also meant working under a heavy load of management skills and taking financial risks to gamble in the unpredictable travel business”, he said. “We had our share of ups and downs, until we started thinking more seriously about taking a different approach in the competitive travel industry, while exploring other alternatives like the travel consolidator market. It was an expensive move and involved a lot of risk-taking challenges.”

“Whether it’s dealing with global events, changing economies, or even weather-related difficulties, Sky Bird has managed to consistently provide top-tier customer service, low net fares, and commission checks to travel agents on time. Our commitment to excellence, unparalleled customer support, and travel industry wisdom has undoubtedly helped take their

Arvin feels that Sky Bird success is more like the success of a travel management organization than a travel agency, with all of its various departments IT, customer services, analytics, finance, sales, marketing etc. working in sync. Arvin says, with a sense of joy and pride, “Thank God I came to America – this is the right place. The land of opportunities. I had nothing when I came here. If you work hard, you can achieve anything you desire.”

Arvin’s vision for Sky Bird is to make it into a Billion Dollar Company. “I am confident with the kind of dedicated staff we have and the continued support from our customers, airlines, and tours, Sky Bird will soon be a Billion Dollar Company.” business to new heights in recent years,” Arvin says with a sense of pride and optimism.

Arvin and his company have won the praises and laurels from across the travel industry.  “Congratulation to Mr. Arvin Shah on the success of Skybird Travel excellent customer service and its 40th year celebration,” stated Daryl Yu, Manager of Eva Air.  “Standing strong against the competition and by the sides of its cherished partner – EVA Air, Skybird under the leadership of Arvin Shah has set a benchmark on travel experience with customized packages and tours.  A true consolidator that combines fares and savings in one.  We are very pleased to have Skybird Travel as our partner.”

Throughout its 40 years, Sky Bird Travel has been bestowed with hundreds of national and international awards by numerous airlines and leading travel industry platforms. This high standard was recognized early and rewarded by various segments of the travel industry, involving major awards and citations from numerous international airlines. Air India, Lufthansa, British Airways,  Delta Airlines, Air France, Singapore Airlines are just a handful of the many carriers who have recognized Sky Bird as one of the world’s best serviced for reaching their annual sales target consistently.

In addition to managing Sky Bird Travel and its entities, Arvin and his family are extremely active in the community.  The family has been in the forefront supporting numerous community events in Detroit. Whether it be natural calamities or man-made, they have spent substantial amount of resources to ease the needs of the South Asian as wells the larger society through its non-profit charitable organization, Jaya Foundation.

Jaya Foundation has been a major donor for the Jaya Rehabilitation Institute and Research Center at Bidada Sarvodaya Trust in Bidada, Gujarat in India has been doing amazing work in helping with the rehab process of thousands of people in the region. Jaya Rehabilitation Institute was awarded the Best Rebab Center Award by the President of India for its innovative and dedicated services to its customers.

Since 2005, Jaya Foundation has supported a Maternity Clinic in one of the most remote rural areas, providing much needed healthcare services to the local community. There are numerous other causes across the United States, the Shah family has promoted, including education, training and leadership. For further information on Sky Bird Travel, please visit www.skybirdtravel.com.  You can learn more about Jaya Foundation at www.jayafoundation.com.

Cricket Tournament Trophies Presented at Christmas Banquet

Staff ReporterSports 0
Asian Media USA ©
Chicago IL: The highlight of the Christmas Banquet was the presentation of Cricket Tournament Trophies and Awards by United Christian Cultural Association [UCCA] on December 16, 2016 at Bristol Court Palace in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The trophies and awards for excellence in cricket in various categories were presented by Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Consul General of India and Telugu Movie/TV Actress Divya Vani to the winners and runners teams.
Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed presenting the trophies cheered the winners and the runners for exemplifying the spirit of sportsmanship and the love for the game of cricket. Vinay Bandkalla presiding over the trophy presentation said 2016 cricket tournament showcased a growing momentum among the youth the love for cricket with a renewed spirit of competition. The presentation of awards to the cricket tournament champions were presented to the teams including led by Robert Yesudas, Joseph Prince, Moses Noel  Kujur, Daniel Muppidi, Ravi Penumaka, Rohit Yelavarthi, Praneeth Alluri, Ernest Gulla & Uday.
Movie Actress Divya Vani presenting the trophies said it is gratifying to see the sport of cricket fostering a sense of unity among youth and promoting the spirit of competition while showing the gamesmanship. Among those who joined on the podium at the trophy presentations include Keerthi Ravoori, Raju Pasumarthi, Satish Dadipogu, Emanuel Neela, Vasanth Charles, Suneeta Christina, Karunakar Babu, Austin D’Souza, Pravin Neetipudi & Nandan Thogaru.

Madhu Valli of Virginia crowned Miss India USA

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0
Madhu Valli of Virginia was crowned Miss India USA 2016, while Sarita Pattnaik of Georgia was crowned as Mrs. India USA during a colorful pageant held Fords, NJ on December 18th. The Miss Teen India USA title went to Rhea Manjrekar of New York. A total of 52 contestants from around the country participated in the national pageant. This is the 35th year of the popular beauty pageant for Indian Americans.
“As every year, the event was full of glamour and talent. This year particularly, talent of the contestants was outstanding. Teen contestants did a spectacular presentation of their talents. Contestants from Miss category had varied talents and their presentation was simply splendid,” said Namita Dodwadkar, the first Mrs. India USA and co-host of this year’s pageant.
Madhu Valli is an emerging Indian American hip hop artist, 19, is a student at George Mason University majoring in music and communications. With 14 singles already recorded, Valli’s ambition is to become the next biggest star in the music industry, reports a media release issued by the organizers, Dharmatma Saran, founder of the India USA pageant.
Pattnaik is an interior designer by profession and the mother of two children. She wants to be a social activist and become a voice for women’s empowerment. Rhea Manjrekar from New York was crowned Miss Teen USA. She loves to work to help homeless children and has raised over $50,000 in the last two years for the cause.
Winners of the India USA pageants will go onto the India Worldwide competition, which will be held in Mumbai next year. The pageant is organized and hosted by Dharmatma Saram, founder and president of the India USA pageant. In an earlier interview, Saran had said that of all the competitions, Mrs. India USA, which was started only two years ago, is growing the fastest.
“Mrs. India USA was first started in 2014 and it was my honor to be crowned as the First Mrs. India USA then. Since I was crowned, my goal has been to spread awareness of this unique platform and motivate married women to continue to chase their dreams,” said Dodwadkar. “The contestants in the Mrs. Category bring immense variety to the show. Each one has their unique story and journey to this coveted platform. It gives me immense pleasure to see that the participation in this category has been increasing ever year.”

Indian American Community of Chicago to host 1st ICAN Awards Night

Staff ReporterCommunity 0
By Ashfaq Syed
Rolling Meadows, Chicago, December 10, 2016:  Indian American Community will host 1st ICAN Awards and Gala on March 18th2017, northwest suburbs of Chicago.  The event will be attended by not for profit organization leaders, Indian American business leaders, State & Local Government officials, and several hundreds of people from Chicago and the suburbs.
Jassi Parmar, Professional MC, Radio Jokey, and ICAN Concept & Entertainment Head, while addressing the press conference on December 10th 2016, said that ICAN’s Awards Night will honor individuals from Indian American Community who have been making extraordinary contributions in different fields. “ICAN’s vision is to unite community organizations, build Indian American cultural image, highlight the community’s role models for next Generation,”, Parmar added.
Ravi Rawat, a Leading Business Leader and Head, ICAN Sales & Marketing said that Indian Americans from Chicago have been witnessing the awards functions on television. “ICAN Awards Function will bring them face to face with “Real Awards to Real People”.
Bhavesh Patel, a well-known Business Leader, Bollywood Promoter from Chicago, and Head, ICAN Promotions said that he is proud to be part of the energetic and enthusiastic team of ICAN in bringing this first of its kind event to the US. “Considering the great social relevance of the event, I will contribute my best efforts to ensure that it will turn out to be a great success”, he added.
Girish Kapur, IT Professional and Head, ICAN Technology said that over 40 Awards in such categories as Business, Entertainment, Fashion, Community Service, Education, Social Media, etc. will be presented at the function.
Rita Singh, A successful women entrepreneur, and Head ICAN Public & Media Relations said that Indian Americans have been making spectacular contributions in different fields. “Giving recognition to them will go a long way in sustaining their efforts”, she added.
Neil Khot, Community Leader, Businessman and Head, ICAN Branding & Strategy said that the event will be a source of inspiration for Indian Americans to take up similar activities across the length and breadth of the US.
Sanjeev Singh, Senior IT Professional and Head, ICAN Awards & Process said that nominations will open on December 12th 2016 and the first round will close on December 31st. The Process team will evaluate and publish list of Nominees on the Website. The Nominations will close on February 5th 2017 at 12.00 am. “Indian American Community will declare the Final List of Nominations on February 12th 2017 at 1:00 PM.  The Voting will start on the Valentine’s Day Feb 14th at 9: 00 AM and will close on March 12th 2016”, Singh added.
Haribhai Patel, Eminent Community Leader for Senior Citizens and ICAN Brand Ambassador urged the community members to nominate their heroes so that deserving people get the awards.
Nilesh Topiwala, Community CPA and Head, ICAN Budget & Finance said that proceeds of the event will be utilized for charitable purpose. “IHOPE has done multiple charities in the past and now, with the community support and cooperation, it will be able to help many more needy persons”, he added.
Earlier, Jag Mohan Rawat, Radio Host, and Committee Member of ICAN welcomed the representatives of the Print, Electronic, and Internet media. He also gave an overview of the event, which was broadcasted live through Facebook and viewed by over 4,000 viewers across the globe.
The team has made the Nomination processes very simple, any person can nominate any deserving candidate as long as he/she fits one of the 9 Award Categories listed on ICAN Website (https://icanaward.com ). Here are 2 Simple Steps: 1. Review award categories and choose the best nomination category that fits the nominee; 2. Fill the online nomination form and submit nomination in appropriate category.
Nomination can be recorded and uploaded on ICAN Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/iCanAwards/), When uploading the video the nominator must Say the Name of  Nominee, ICAN Award Category and the reason for nominating the person. The Nominations should be uploaded on Facebook with Social Media Hash Tags #iCanAwards #iCanNomination etc.
The Awards Function is being held under the banner of the iHope Sewa Organization, which is a Chicago based, humanitarian, and not for profit organization registered under Internal Revenue Code 501 (c) (3). Founded in 2016, it is part of an initiative started by Desi Junction. Those who are interested in having more details about the evet may visit the following websites:  www.icanaward.com  and register your nomination too.

Dr. Srinivasan cruises to victory in Connecticut

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

Dr. Prasad Srinivasan has been elected to a fourth term as the State Representative of the Connecticut General Assembly as Republican with an astonishing majority on November 8th.

Dr. Srinivasan, an accomplished Legislator, Physician, Business Owner and Philanthropist, has been credited with winning many endorsements, accolades, awards and recognitions. He is an Assistant Republican Leader and Ranking Member of the Public Health committee in Connecticut General Assembly besides being a member of Finance Revenue & Bonding and Planning & Development.

Dr. Prasad Srinivasan is a long-time resident of the town of Glastonbury near Hartford, CT and has been practicing medicine for over 35 years. He treats pediatric and adult patients with allergies. A physician by profession and committed to giving back to the country, Dr. Prasad Srinivasan challenged his colleagues in the medical profession, during a conference in New York recently, asking them to be hardworking, dedicated to public cause, family-oriented and stay focused, which are keys to becoming state and national elected officials. “We have the choice to be at the table or on the table. Given our heritage, we the Indian Americans belong at the table. Get actively involved in the affairs of the local community and that’s the path to larger role in the nation,” he said.

Dr. Srinivasan is a graduate of Baroda Medical College in India. He was chief pediatric resident at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. He did his fellowship in allergy and immunology at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. He is also certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.
Dr. Srinivasan has been endorsed by several associations, recognized on several occasions and was awarded with numerous Awards. To name a few, Legislator of the Year Award in 2015, Outstanding Leadership and Excellence by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, National Co-Chair of the United States Health Policy Council, Connecticut Magazine Top Doctor 7th year in a row, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Hind Ratan Award by President of India and so on.

Dr. Srinivasan is married to Mrs. Kala Prasad, a professional musician for over 30 years. Their Son, Sashank Prasad, M.D., graduate from Yale University, is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Sashank’s wife, Kerry, is a high school teacher by profession, currently a stay home mom taking care of their two children. Their Daughter, Anusha Prasad-Rodriguez, graduate of MIT and Wharton is the Head of Alternate Investments at Oppenheimer. Her husband, Paul, is a manager at Analysis Group, Inc. They have two daughters.

Four Cardinals Throw down Guntelet Before Cunning Pope

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

By Christopher A. Ferrara, in the Voice of Bombay Laity, 22/11/16

For the past three-and-a-half years we have witnessed the bizarre, completely unprecedented spectacle of a wayward Roman Pontiff engaged in clever maneuvering to impose upon the Church a disastrous fracturing of her bimillenial moral and Eucharistic discipline respecting the divorced and “remarried”—and, even worse, via Amoris Laetitia (especially Ch. 8, ¶¶ 300-305), a form of situation ethics that would institutionalize admission to the sacraments of all manner of people living habitually in situations that are mortally sinful.

(Editorial Note: The Remnant is the mouth piece of the ultra conservative traditionalist wing in the Catholic Church. It has been very critical of Bergoglio ever since he became Pope. But the most beautiful thing about Pope Francis is, that he not only tolerates, but even invites criticism from Cardinals and bishops. He did that openly during the two Family Synods in Rome. No pope before him adopted such an open policy, a Jesus like “Transparency (palam locutus sum”, posing provoking questions to his audience and answering them). Some take advantage of it to peddle in or promote their own views meant to cancel out the Pope’s teachings. Since the Pope feigns insensitive even to sharp criticisms, some of them have started even to pray for his death at the earliest.

The four cardinals seen in the picture had sent their objections and doubts, months ago, but didn’t publish them. Since Francis did not answer them, they have now published them in their official paper “Remnant” and other supporting catholic publications like Catholic Register and The Catholic Herald for the whole world to see, to force the Pope to speak out or to admit his teachings in “Amoris laetitia” to be wrong.

They went one step further by quoting words and sentences from his predecessor John Paul II, whom he made a Saint, but whose teachings are diametrically opposed to what the Pope teaches now. According to them what Pope teaches on adultery, divorce, remarriage, communion etc. are opposed to God’s own teachings and the Bible. So they claim, Francis is teaching heresy and destroying all the moral claims of the Catholic Church.

But the great problem here is this: Who on earth can prove to have a hotline to God? What about the millions who don’t believe in a God? Or those who believe, but in a God who can create humans for a good end only (Good tree produces good fruits only), and is capable of making them reach that goal, not a God who fails in his purpose, like a failed computer, which is an oxymoron, a contradiction? So is the church divided into two unbending, irreversible factions, not ready to bent but only to break up like Titanic and go down, or split for good as in the time of Luther?

If there is a God, He has to be goodness and mercy overflowing, as reason suggests. If there is to be a heaven or hell, they are to be not in the next world but here and now. And the duty of mankind here and now is to try and make the hell that we are living in – due to terrorism, racial and religious conflicts, war mongering and, exploitation of the week by the strong – less of a hell and do all possible things to build a heaven on earth for which Pope Francis is sweating from dawn to dusk.

The four questioning cardinals have raised 5 questions. Though addressed directly to the Pope, indirectly they are five bombshells (especially the central issue “Conscience”) thrown into the midst of a crowded market place (the whole world looking and listening to a Pope they admire) to see how many approve or object in to day’s world of free speech, discussion and dialogue. Rome has spoken and let discussion in all earnest start. james kottoor, editor)
The entire sinister program, the centerpiece of Bergoglianism, is summed up in Francis’ shocking declaration at ¶ 303 of Amoris:

Yet conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal. In any event, let us recall that this discernment is dynamic; it must remain ever open to new stages of growth and to new decisions which can enable the ideal to be more fully realized.

Francis here reveals nothing less than an insane attempt to conjure up exceptions to exceptionless, divinely imposed negative precepts of the natural law respecting intrinsically immoral conduct, such as adultery, reducing those precepts to mere “ideals” to which God does not expect strict conformity “amid the complexity of one’s limits.” This, of course, would represent the total destruction of the moral order in practice.

To accomplish this moral sedition, Francis, post-Amoris, has been winking and nodding to prelates who are now admitting divorced and “remarried” people to Holy Communion, purporting to “absolve” them of their continuing adultery in “certain cases.” At the same time, he observes a studious silence in the face of urgent entreaties from other prelates and large numbers of the laity that he “clarify” his position and retract the errors of Amoris.

Respecting that stonewall of silence, however, Francis’ cunning has finally caught up with him. Having refused to answer a private petition for clarification of Amoris submitted by four cardinals in September, these Princes of the Church—Carlo Caffarra, Walter Brandmuller, Joachim Meisner and Raymond Burke—have taken the extraordinary step of making the document public. EWTN’s National Catholic Register and The Catholic Herald are among the Catholic organs that have just published the entire text of the intervention, which presents five questions for the Pope to answer. The contents are explosive, to say the least. More than that, they constitute what will undoubtedly be a landmark in the history of the Church.

As even the resolutely mainstream Catholic Herald put it in the headlines of its story: “Pope Francis declines to answer four cardinals’ Amoris appeal. The cardinals have taken the unusual step of publicly requesting clarification on Communion and the moral law.” Let me stress the key phrase: “publicly requesting clarification on Communion and the moral law.” That is, the four cardinals recognize that Francis, who is supposed to be the Vicar of Christ, has called the moral law itself into question. Leaving no doubt of this, they note that “while the first question of the dubia is a practical question regarding the divorced and civilly remarried, the other four questions touch on fundamental issues of the Christian life.”

The five questions the cardinals presented to Francis, and now to the Church at large, express grave doubts about his teaching in Amoris:

1. It is asked whether, following the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the sacrament of penance and thus to admit to holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person more uxorio [as if they were married, including sexual relations] without fulfilling the conditions provided for by Familiaris Consortio, 84 [ending the adulterous relationship by separating or living as brother and sister for grave reasons, such as caring for children], and subsequently reaffirmed by Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 34, and Sacramentum Caritatis, 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in Note 351 (305) of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live more uxorio?

2. After the publication of the post-synodal exhortation Amoris Laetitia (304), does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 79, based on sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, on the existence of absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts and that are binding without exceptions?

3. After Amoris Laetitia (301) is it still possible to affirm that a person who habitually lives in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, as for instance the one that prohibits adultery (Matthew 19:3-9), finds him or herself in an objective situation of grave habitual sin (Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, “Declaration,” June 24, 2000)?

4. After the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (302) on “circumstances which mitigate moral responsibility,” does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 81, based on sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, according to which “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice”?

5. After Amoris Laetitia (303) does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 56, based on sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, that excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and that emphasizes that conscience can never be authorized to legitimate exceptions to absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts by virtue of their object?

These five questions are a direct challenge to Francis to declare whether he purports to contradict infallible teachings of the Magisterium “based on sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church” as well as “absolute moral norms.” The polite language of petition aside (the reader may consult the document as a whole in that regard), the four cardinals are essentially demanding publicly that Francis declare whether he intends to teach heresy and undermine the entire moral edifice of the Church!

Further on in the document the cardinals provide an analysis of each question that has clearly been written to force Francis to declare himself. Respecting the first question, the cardinals write that admitting divorced and “remarried” people to Communion while they continue to engage in sexual relations would mean that, in practice, Amoris is teaching “one of the following affirmations about marriage, human sexuality and the nature of the sacraments”:

• [That] people who are not married can under certain circumstances legitimately engage in acts of sexual intimacy.
• A divorce dissolves the marriage bond…. The divorced and remarried are legitimate spouses and their sexual acts are lawful marital acts.
• A divorce does not dissolve the marriage bond, and the partners to the new union are not married… [but] the faithful can approach the Eucharistic table even with consciousness of grave sin, and receiving absolution in the sacrament of penance does not always require the purpose of amending one’s life. The sacraments, therefore, are detached from life: Christian rites and worship are on a completely different sphere than the Christian moral life.
Regarding the second question, the cardinals inquire whether Francis accepts the teaching of the very Pope he canonized, in Veritatis Splendor, that “that there are acts that are always evil, which are forbidden by moral norms that bind without exception (‘moral absolutes’),” including “‘Do not kill.’ ‘Do not commit adultery.’ Only negative norms can bind without exception.” Here the cardinals target Francis’s novel moral notion of “discernment” of “particular situations,” requesting to know whether Francis accepts that: “with intrinsically evil acts no discernment of circumstances or intentions is necessary. Uniting oneself to a woman who is married to another is and remains an act of adultery, that as such is never to be done… and that it is enough to know the species of the act (‘adultery’) to know that one must not do it.

Quite simply, the cardinals—incredibly enough—are asking a Pope to clarify whether he accepts the most basic moral teaching of the Church, which even a child can understand: that God’s commandment “thou shalt not” admits of no exceptions under any circumstances.

Respecting the third question, the cardinals further inquire whether Francis accepts the teaching of John Paul II, also the constant teaching of the Church, that “the question of the admission to the sacraments is about judging a person’s objective life situation and not about judging that this person is in a state of mortal sin.” The cardinals wish to know whether “even after Amoris Laetitia, it is still possible to say that persons who habitually live in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, such as the commandment against adultery, theft, murder or perjury, live in objective situations of grave habitual sin, even if, for whatever reasons, it is not certain that they are subjectively imputable for their habitual transgressions.”

That is, the cardinals wish to know if Francis has overthrown the bimillenial Eucharistic discipline of the Church respecting habitual public sinners!
Respecting the fourth question, the cardinals further inquire—rather archly, I must say—whether:Amoris Laetitia,too, is agreed that any act that transgresses against God’s commandments, such as adultery, murder, theft or perjury, can never, on account of circumstances that mitigate personal responsibility, become excusable or even good.

Do these acts, which the Church’s Tradition has called bad in themselves and grave sins, continue to be destructive and harmful for anyone committing them in whatever subjective state of moral responsibility he may be?

Or could these acts, depending on a person’s subjective state and depending on the circumstances and intentions, cease to be injurious and become commendable or at least excusable?

That is, once again, the cardinals query whether Francis purports to undermine the entire moral order by condoning intrinsically evil acts as excusable or even commendable in certain situations!

Finally, respecting the fifth doubt, citing the astounding affirmation of ¶ 303 of Amoris, which I quote above, the cardinals wish to know if Francis is in accord with the teaching of John Paul II—once again, also the constant teaching of the Church—rejecting attempts “to legitimize so-called ‘pastoral’ solutions contrary to the teaching of the magisterium, and to justify a ‘creative’ hermeneutic according to which the moral conscience is in no way obliged, in every case, by a particular negative precept.”

Here the cardinals note that if this “creative” pastoral approach were permitted “it will never be enough for moral conscience to know ‘this is adultery,’ or ‘this is murder,’ in order to know that this is something one cannot and must not do.” That is, the cardinals indicate that Amoris appears to condone situation ethics, and they ask Francis to “clarify” that this is not his intention—quite an astonishing public request to make of a Roman Pontiff.

To their eternal credit, the cardinals have politely demanded from Francis a simple yes or no answer to each of these five questions, noting that they have presented them in the form of dubia precisely to avoid further Bergoglian equivocation: “What is peculiar about these inquiries is that they are worded in a way that requires a “Yes” or “No” answer, without theological argumentation. This way of addressing the Apostolic See is not an invention of our own; it is an age-old practice.”

In sum, what the four cardinals have issued is, in essence, a politely worded indictment framed in such a way that Francis must, if he says anything at all, plead Guilty or Not Guilty—Guilty or Not Guilty, that is, of teaching objective heresy and engaging in ecclesiastical treason, no matter what his subjective culpability may be in the sight of God.

In the face of an accusation—which is what the cardinals’ document is—a common criminal can remain silent and his silence cannot be used against him in a court of law. But the Catholic Church is not a court of law. It is the Household of the Faith, and the head of that household now has a duty to speak clearly, for once, to the souls who inhabit it, for whose eternal welfare he is directly responsible. If Francis continues to refuse to speak, even when four of his cardinals publicly call upon him before the whole Church to give an answer, his silence will speak for him; the truth he refuses to affirm will convict him, and the bar of history will pass sentence on his disgraceful pontificate, just as it has done with other wayward Popes.

To recall the eerily apt condemnation of the infamous Pope Honorius I by his own successor, Leo II: “We anathematize… also Honorius, who did not attempt to sanctify this Apostolic Church with the teaching of apostolic tradition, but by profane treachery permitted its purity to be polluted.” May the good God deliver us from the profane treachery of the current occupant of the Chair of Peter.(Catch Chris Ferrara’s regular column in the print/e-edition of The Remnant)

Indian American gets 18 years prison sentence for infant son’s death

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Jagsheer Singh, a young Indian American father in Queens, New York, who pleaded guilty to assault and manslaughter in connection with the death of his four-month-old son, who suffered multiple skull fractures, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on November 15th, as per reports by AP.

Prosecutors say Singh, 28-year-old, had been left with his son in December 2014 while his wife, Dr. Reena Malhotra, went to work. The next day the child was taken to the hospital, where an examination showed the skull fractures, brain injury and retinal hemorrhages. The boy died a few days later.

Jagsheer Singh was charged with manslaughter and assault of his son, Nevin Janduher, who had died after suffering multiple skull fractures in December 2014. “As a father, the defendant’s job was to protect and nurture his helpless, innocent son,” said District Attorney Richard Brown. “Instead, the defendant assaulted his son, causing skull fractures and widespread brain injury and ultimately resulting in the child’s death. As a result, the sentence to be imposed by the court is more than warranted.”

Singh first told his wife that Nevin fell off a changing table, but doctors found that his injuries were inconsistent with a short fall and that he had suffered “abusive head trauma.” Medical personnel at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, examined the baby and found he had suffered injuries inconsistent with falling off a table. Doctors said that Nevin had suffered non-accidental inflicted trauma.

The infant died several days later on Christmas Eve after being taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center. Singh is facing up to 18 years in prison when he is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Richard Buchter at Queens Supreme Court on Nov. 4.

Singh was arrested Dec. 21 with first degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges were upgraded after Nevin’s death, to second degree murder and acting in a manner injurious to a child under the age of 17.

In March 2015, Queens radiologist Reena Malhotra, Nevin’s mother and Singh’s wife, wrote to Judge Richard Buchter, who was presiding over the case, to ask that her husband be released. She pointed out that Singh was a “loving and caring father. Our family is his world,” she wrote. “He has a big heart, is a God-loving man, and is a responsible person with a calm demeanor,” she said. In September, to honor their nephew’s second birthday, Nevin’s aunts started a gofundme drive to raise donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “We think of Nevin every day,” wrote his aunts.

Mohammed Hazra Khan of Indian origin sentenced to prison for helping ISIS

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Mohammed Hazra Khan, an Indian American man who tried to go to Syria with his teenaged brother and sister to join the Islamic State terror organization has been sentenced in Chicago to 40 months in prison, media reports stated.

With his conviction on November 19th, Mohammed Hazra Khan, 21, became the first person of Indian origin to be convicted and sentenced in the U.S. for Islamic State connections. The sentencing hits the news just after the victory of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who had called for intensive investigation of Muslim immigrants and, controversially, suggesting that if necessary their immigration should be stopped temporarily till a mechanism for heightened scrutiny was in place.

Federal Judge John J. Tharp sentenced Khan, who had admitted in court last year to the charges of providing support to the Islamic State and trying to go abroad to join it, Mary B. McCord, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said in a statement.

Khan was arrested by anti-terrorism officers two years ago while trying to leave the U.S. from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, she said. He was 19 years old at the time of his arrest. Khan’s brother, who was 16 years old in 2014, and sister, who was 17, were also stopped at the airport but did not face any charges and were let go after officials questioned them.

Khan is an American citizen born in New York. But his family had immigrated from India and lived in the Chicago area. Last year, his mother had publicly asked ISIS leaders to “leave our children alone” and asserted: “The venom spewed by these groups and the violence committed by them find no support in the Quran and are completely at odds with our Islamic faith.”

Gurnoor Singh Nahal, a teen, found dead in garage

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Gurnoor Singh Nahal, a California teenager was found dead in the garage of his home after a reported shooting on November 8th. Gurnoor Singh Nahal, 17, a senior at Inderkum High School was driving home from work at his father’s retail at night and about 10 minutes later, Sacramento police received a report of a shooting near his residence, CBS news reported.

Sacramento police reported receiving a call of a shooting at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday in the 5700 block of Kandinsky Way in the town. “All I heard was a gunshot and then after that, there was like somebody crying and then police came,” Singh’s neighbor Emily Thao told NBC Sacramento.

When officers arrived to the scene of the reported shooting, they found Singh laying dead in his garage. He was pronounced dead at the scene. “I saw him laying out on the ground and blood was on his side,” said Uncle, Tejiderjit Singh.

His family believes Singh was followed home from work and that the shooter may have been after the cash that was inside the car; collected from the family business that day. But, the money was never taken.

“We extend our sympathy to his family and friends, and we’re reaching out to provide support,” the Natomas Unified School District said in a released statement. “This is a difficult day for Inderkum and a sad time for the Natomas community.”

Homicide investigators have spent time canvassing the area looking for evidence and have reportedly spoken to potential witnesses. Singh is the sixth teenager killed in Sacramento County this year, the Bee reported.

Several family members and mourners gathered at the home where the shooting occurred, as well as at a neighboring home where relatives of the victim also live.

Singer Ameet Kamath’s 2nd Album Takes Listeners “Into The Night”

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

A most interesting pop-oriented album that transports the listener into the deepest and darkest regions of the time after sundown” is how music critic Dick Metcalf describes Ameet Kamath’s new Indie-Pop album “Into the Night.” Metcalf raves that Kamath’s vocals are “infused with the kind of energy that guides the listener into the spaces he sings about.”

This is India-born, New York City-raised and Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter Kamath’s second album. In it, he weaves stories of the night with his evocative interpretation of the pop genre. The sound is reflective of an artist born in one world and shaped by another.

All 13 songs invite the listener to the nocturnal world with themes of love, loneliness and heartbreak, before metamorphosing into an upbeat promise of dance and dreams. Kamath, an American citizen and native of India, embraced Western pop and jazz music long before he earned his U.S. passport. Many of his songs redefine the Indian Diaspora, with artistic expression straddling both cultures.

As a young boy growing up in Mumbai, Kamath sang church hymns and anthems at his Jesuit grade school. He was deeply influenced by The Beatles, Culture Club, ABBA and Queen, and treasured his music collection, which included bootleg recordings of American Top 40 and Britain’s Top of the Pops.

He came to New York City as a techie with a self-described “nice-Indian-boy haircut” in 1995. With the money from his first paycheck, he hired a voice coach and, subsequently, gained his performance moxie by busking in city parks and singing in nightclubs, most notably Marion’s Continental in the NoHo neighborhood. The rest is a modern American story.

“I am not your traditional Indian import. I sought out a life in America in order to express myself; that’s the promise America always had for me,” said Kamath, 42, whose debut album, “Greasy Rails,” was self-produced in 2010 after moving from New York City to San Francisco. His debut effort earned him laudable reviews, along with the critical acclaim of his peers and the musical maestros he had worked and sang with over the years.

“In my music, I’m telling stories so that the listeners can understand life as I do – constantly negotiating spaces, first as an American immigrant in the 21st century and now as an artist,” said Kamath. “I am not a starving artist, but I am starving to express myself,” he said, laughing.

Kamath will perform at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23, at The Rockwood Music Hall (196 Allen Street) on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. CD release party to follow the performance.

Nehru’s legacy celebrated in New York on 127th birthday

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

New York: On November 14, 2016, both the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA and the Nehru Foundation-USA jointly celebrated the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India since its Independence, at the Sohna Punjab Restaurant in New York. As his birthday coincided with the birthday of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji, Mr. Harbachan Singh, Secretary General of INOC, USA, felicitated all the Sikhs throughout the world on this joyous and auspicious day and narrated that when Guru Nanak Dev ji was 12 years old he was given 20 rupees by his father to conduct business. Guru ji went to the market, saw some saints and poor people who had not eaten for some time and spent all his 20 rupees and bought food and fed them. Upon his return home, he recounted what he did to his anxious father and left him spellbound.

The birthday celebration of Pandit Nehru ji went into full gear filled with speeches glorifying the work and contribution of Pandit Nehru. Mr. George Abraham, Chairman of the INOC paid tribute by describing him as the ‘architect of modern India’ especially pointing out his many contributions in the field of Education such as the founding of the IITs and Indian Institute of Science among other things.

President Mr. Mohinder Singh Gilzian, dwelt on some of his outstanding achievements that included creating a solid constitutional framework for the nation. Prof. Bipin Sangankar, President of the Nehru Foundation-USA, recalled his personal interaction with Nehru ji and admired his many accomplishments that put India on a solid footing.

The keynote speaker Prof. Indrajit Singh Saluja described of his amazement at the size of the crowd when he attended Nehru’s funeral and said it was a testimony to his devotion to the people of India. After analyzing Nehru’s thoughts and vision for the country, he concluded that Nehru ji was ahead of his time and stood tall amongst the greatest statesmen of the world. He added that Nehru ji laid the foundation for the nation which is always the hardest part of any nation building.

Uma Sengupta recounted her association with him and how she found him to be a very kind person and stated that he loved children very much which earned him the title “Chacha Nehru”.

For a tribute befitting the great scholar, a session was opened to all members of the audience and an animated discussion ensued on the life and teachings of Nehru. Mr. Oommen Koshy was requested to moderate the open discussion session in which many participated and gave their respective viewpoints and told of their favorite stories by which they remembered him and his skillful character.

Several leaders, like T. J. Gill, Devinder Vora, Satish Sharma, Jasvir Singh Nawashar, John Joseph, Amir Rashid, Gautam Sanghvi and Vipul Sanghvi, Shangara Rana, adv. Sarabjit Singh, Prasad Kam, each described how they perceived Nehru and his greatness which was instrumental in building great Institutions for the great Republic of India providing stability to its democratic system of government. In concluding the discussions, Mr. Harbachan Singh also drew attention to his writings especially to his book “Discovery of India” and applauded his longest term in office as Prime Minister of India for 17 years.”

To top up the celebration festivities, Ms. Smita Guha and her daughter, Ananandita, both of whom are famous professional singers and dancers, led the whole group to a singing session of many favorite songs of Nehru ji such as “Sarejahan se acha, Hindustan Hamara.” The audience joined in the singing of the songs that brought a sense of nostalgia and pride.

Indian Consulate in NY website hacked

Staff ReporterTravel 0

The Indian consulate’s website is the latest Indian diplomatic websites to be hacked by a person claiming to be a 17-year-old student in Tokyo who asserts that it was a well-intentioned attempt to show the vulnerabilities that “even kids could exploit,” media reports here say.

The person, using the identity Kapustkiy, who had earlier hacked the web sites of seven Indian diplomatic missions in Europe and Asia, posted on a public web site the partial personal information of 418 people registered with the consulate said to be taken by penetrating its website.

Last week web sites of Indian diplomatic missions in South Africa, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Italy, Switzerland and Romania were hacked and non-public information were posted publicly. In an interview over Twitter on Monday, Kapustkiy said: “It took me only three seconds to gain access to their database.”

“Even the kids could exploit it,” he said of the vulnerabilities in the way the programing language, SQL or Structured Query Language, was used on the web sites. SQL is used by web sites to manage databases. His method was different from the hacking of Indian defence, business and media sites exposed last year by a Silicon Valley cybersecurity firm, FireEye, which said it was likely by China.

Those penetrations required more elaborate efforts like planting spying software in emails sent to people using those sites. But Kapustkiy’s methods appeared to be simpler and more direct, exposing more dangerous vulnerabilities.
The list said to be from the New York consulate was posted on a website, pastebin.com, which is open for public posting of information. The list was still on the site Monday night, even though the earlier postings from other Indian missions have been removed.

The consulate did not respond as of Monday night, New York time, to a request emailed to the press section for comments. The web site says that it is powered by Ardhas Technology India Private Limited, which has its registered office in Erode, Tamil Nadu.

Kapustkiy said: “I don’t describe myself as a hacker or something, but as a security pentester.” Pentester is short for penetration testers who examine the weaknesses of internet sites to intrusions.

On his Twitter account he also describes himself as a “cyber detective”. The hack did not affect functioning of the consulate’s website while the non-public data was being extracted from it. “I didn’t want to do any damage, but [only] to let administrators to pay attention [to the vulnerabilities],” Kapustkiy said.

“I could’ve leaked around 7,500 entries of people,” he said. “But I decided to leak only 400 entries which belong to the employees and not to the people. I could also leak there real address and zip code. But I didn’t do that.” However, the partial list seen by IANS appeared to be information about people who had registered with the consulate rather than employees.

Kapustkiy said that he first reported the problems to the web site administrators but didn’t get a response. “After all the media attention I gain they started to fix it,” he added. He said that Indian officials have not contacted him.

Around 20 domains connected to the Indian missions were hacked in the past and although they have been patched, he said, “there were still some domains that were vulnerable to exploit. You could find the vulnerability in three secs”.

About his future plans, he said, “I think that I will continue look at vulnerables in important websites in Asia.” Asked about his nationality, he said, “I don’t want to tell where I’m from, but most media are claiming that I’m from the Netherlands,

Hindu Americans deeply concerned about post-election violence & bias crime spike

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Leaders of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) are deeply concerned about recent incidents of bias-motivated violence and harassment, as well as violence at protests, following the Presidential election.

Over the past several days, the Southern Poverty Law Center noted a “big uptick in incidents of vandalism, threats, intimidation spurred by the rhetoric surrounding Mr. Trump’s election.”

Nazi symbols have been spray-painted in dorms, on walls, and the ground in attempts to intimidate non-whites. There have been numerous incidents of verbal abuse of non-whites across the country, as well as incidents of Muslim women having their hijab pulled, while being verbally harassed. And though the vast majority of anti-Trump protests have been peaceful, there have been incidents of destruction of property, as well as assaults on Trump supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators alike. A student at Woodside High School in California was also violently attacked by another student for a pro-Trump social media post.

Here at HAF, US-born friends of a Board member were recently told, “Go back to your country.” And a member of HAF’s National Leadership Council was spat at and chased down a street by a person making obscene gestures.

“While feelings surrounding the election may understandably be running high, incidents of hate and violence are unacceptable in a pluralistic, democratic nation operating under the rule of law,” said Suhag Shukla, Esq., the Foundation’s Executive Director.

HAF leaders are encouraged by the words of President-elect Trump in urging his supporters to not harass minorities, but also recognize the unfortunate reality that many such incidents have already occurred and are likely to continue to occur in the days and weeks ahead.

If you or someone you know has been harassed, assaulted or threatened with harm, HAF urges that you not stay silent, and report such acts and threats of violence to law enforcement immediately.

We also ask that that you help us in tracking incidents of identity-based or bias-motivated intimidation, threats, harassment, and violence being experienced in our communities by filling out this form. The more data we have about such incidents, the better we will be able to work with the appropriate authorities, agencies, civil rights advocates, and other stakeholders to identify areas of particular concern and ensure the safety and security of the community. To this end, please share this form widely with your networks.

Also, if you or someone you know believe like you have been or are being discriminated against on religious grounds, HAF’s Know Your Rights provides information about fundamental rights in simple, straightforward terms.

Furthermore, as we have seen numerous incidents of the hateful use of the swastika, presented in an anti-Semitic and Nazi context, HAF encourages everyone to re-acquaint themselves with the multi-thousand year history of this auspicious symbol, sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and many other communities around the world. We encourage you to share the hopeful and uplifting meaning of the swastika with your neighbors, community, and elected officials, so that we may slowly replace the hateful usage with the hopeful.

The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) congratulates Donald Trump on being elected the 45th President of the United States. We look forward to working with the Trump-Pence administration to address those issues, both within the United States and abroad, that are of deep concern to many in the Hindu American community.

We are encouraged by President-elect Trump’s call to “bind the wounds of division” and “come together as one united people,” which recognizes the need for unity amongst the deep political, social, and religious diversity of the United States.

This commitment, we hope, will extend to issues HAF has long advocated for: ensuring hate crimes are monitored and combatted vigilantly, alongside outreach to affected communities to ensure their safety and security; comprehensive immigration reform, with specific attention to religious worker visas, equitable H-1B policy, and accommodations for Hindu refugees fleeing persecution; and continued engagement on issues of law enforcement and cultural competency, so that all Americans can enjoy equal protection under the law.

In carrying out our nation’s foreign policy, of utmost concern to HAF continues to be: the gross human rights violationsborne by Hindus and other religious minorities around the world, especially in countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, where radical Islam is fomenting terror and violence; Pakistan’s proxy war in Indian Kashmir that has led to the ethnic cleansing of over 300,000 Kashmiri Hindu Pandits and ongoing violence against Hindu minorities in Kashmir; and bilateral ties of the United States with nations that sponsor terrorism.

On all these issues we look forward to engaging the incoming Trump-Pence administration to ensure a safe and prosperous future for all Americans.

We also take this opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the Hindu American community. This election has been nothing less than historic. For the first time there are four Hindu members of Congress: incumbent Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) is joined by first time winners Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) in the House of Representatives. We also offer our heartiest congratulations to Indian American incumbent Ami Bera (D-CA), and the first ever Indian American to be elected to the U.S. Senate, Kamala Harris (D-CA).

Hindu Americans also made significant strides in state-level races. Just a few of these include incumbents Niraj Antani (R-OH) and Prasad Srinivasan (R-CT), along with Jay Chaudhuri (D-NC) and Ash Kalra (D-CA), who were elected as first time winners and the first Hindus to serve in their respective state legislatures. Hindu Americans were also elected to many city-level races around the country, too numerous to mention.

The Hindu American community has arrived politically, and it is now upon us to ensure that our elected representatives at all levels of government hear our concerns and needs, and act upon them for the well-being of all.

Amul Thapar Among List For Supreme Court Judge Nominees

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

An Indian-American judge is among those shortlisted for potential nominees for Supreme Court judge, to be picked by President-elect Donald Trump. Amul Thapar, who is the first South Asian Article III judge, is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Prior to his confirmation, Thapar served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and in the District of Columbia, according to his bio data on the Vanderbilt University website.

While a U.S. attorney, Thapar was appointed to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and chaired the Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture Subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee, the Violent Crime Subcommittee and the Child Exploitation working group. Before his appointment as U.S. attorney, he worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and in the District of Columbia. Thapar has also worked for the law firms of Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and Squire Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Between 1994 and 1997, he served as a law clerk to Judge S. Arthur Spiegel on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and for Judge Nathaniel R. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Born in Detroid, Michigan, in 1969, Thapar was nominated by George W Bush on May 24, 2007, to a seat vacated by Joseph M Hood. He was confirmed by the Senate on December 13, 2007, and received commission on January 4, 2008.

Thapar has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where he taught Federal Criminal Practice. He graduated from the renowned Boalt Hall School of Law of the University of California after receiving his undergraduate degree from Boston College.

Indian American couple indicted on forced labor and human trafficking charges

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

An Indian-American couple have been indicted on human trafficking charges related to forced labour of foreign nationals primarily from India, authorities have said on November 17th. A federal grand jury charged Satish Kartan, 43, and his wife Sharmistha Barai, 38, with conspiracy to commit forced labour and the commission of forced labor. Kartan was also charged with fraud in contacting foreign labor and Barai was also charged with benefiting from forced labor.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert of the Eastern District of California announced the indictment.

The indictment alleges that Kartan and Barai struck one worker on multiple occasions, including one incident where Kartan grabbed her hands and caused them to be burned over the flames of a gas stove. Moreover, the indictment alleges that the defendants failed to pay another worker and told her that they would call the police if she tried to leave. When she was ultimately able to arrange to be picked up from the defendants’ house, Kartan refused to provide her with the access code to the gated community so that her ride could enter, said the DOJ statement.

The couple from California were arrested on October 21, on a criminal complaint and were released on bond with special conditions that prohibit them from hiring any non-relatives to perform domestic services or child care work for them. The arraignment is scheduled for November 21.

According to court documents, between February 21, 2014, and October 3, 2016, Kartan and Barai hired workers from overseas to perform domestic labor in their homes in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Stockton and elsewhere in the US.

In advertisements seeking workers on the internet and India-based newspapers, the couple made false claims regarding wages and duties of employment, federal prosecutors alleged.

“Once the workers arrived at the defendants’ residences, Kartan and Barai forced them to work 18 hours a day with limited rest and nourishment. The defendants did not pay wages and used force, physical restraint and coercive conduct to get the workers to perform the labor and services,” it said.

Moreover, the indictment alleges that the defendants failed to pay another worker and told her that they would call the police if she tried to leave. When she was ultimately able to arrange to be picked up from the defendants’ house, Kartan refused to provide her with the access code to the gated community so that her ride could not enter, the court papers alleged. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

New Podcast Series Highlights History Of Hinduism

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

A new podcast series released by the Hindu Students Association aims to bring to light the history of Hinduism and important issues affecting Hindus in the United States and around the world. Shruti, which means “that which is heard,” is named after the set of authoritative scriptures of Hindu philosophy.

The first episode in the series “Arrival in the West: Finding a Place in the New Land” is hosted by the national officers of Hindu Students Association. It focuses on the movement of Hinduism to the Americas, and the unique challenges early Hindu immigrants faced as they sought to practice their religion in a foreign land.

“It seemed appropriate to use the term Shruti,” Hari Venkatachalam, vice president for the HSA was quoted in a press release. “We’re hoping that we can share the Hindu experience in the same way, recreating how Hinduism has been passed from generation to generation for millennia,” he said.

Some of the clips included in the first episode include Budhaditya Mukherjee’s “Hindustani Classical Sitar” in Raaga Behag; “Golden Deer Scene” performed by Central Javanese performers from the Wayong Wong genre; Dr. Natesan Ramani’s Flute performance of “Ninnukori”; Yankaran Isaac’s “Hari Ka Bhajan Karle Mere”; President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Remarks on the Signing of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act; and G. Sivaraman’s interview “Experience with Maha Periyava Dr. Alagappan.”

The HSA was formed in 2009 by a group of Hindu students and young professionals who realized the need for an organization that catered to young Hindus in America and provided a platform for their religious and spiritual development. It aims to empower young Hindu adults through education, service and devotion; to cultivate and foster cross-cultural dialogue and interaction on issues pertaining to Hindus domestically and nationally; to improve the level of representation at colleges/universities with organizational activities and participation in other organizations and media; and to build a network amongst younger Hindus in America.

Indian students enrollment in the US up by 25%

Staff ReporterTravel 0

IANS

The number of Indian students studying in the US has gone up to over 165,000 during academic year 2015-16, a growth of 25 per cent over the previous year, says a report released on Monday.

According to the 2016 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, there are 165,918 students from India, making it the second leading country of origin among international students in the US.

“This was the highest absolute increase of students ever and followed the previous year’s record growth,” said a statement released by the US consulate here.

India accounts for one out of every six international students in the US.

Approximately three-fifths of Indian students are at the graduate level and three-fourths are in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

“Higher education continues to be the bedrock of our people-to-people ties.

“More students from India studied in the US than ever before — at all levels — and I am especially pleased to see the record back-to-back, year-on-year growth in student numbers,” said US Ambassador Richard R. Verma.

“With efforts such as our Passport to India initiative, we are also seeing the number of American students in India beginning to grow,” he added.

The Open Doors report is published annually by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

According to the report, the number of international students in US colleges and universities surpassed one million for the first time during the 2015-16 academic year.

The number of international students increased by seven per cent over the previous year to a new high of nearly 1,044,000, representing five per cent of the total student population at US institutions.

This strong growth confirms that the US remains the destination of choice in higher education.

In 2015-16, there were nearly 69,000 more international students in US higher education compared to the previous year.

Michele Bond, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, had said in Hyderabad recently that last year, the US mission in India issued 60,000 student visas.

The US consulate general in Hyderabad issued the largest number of student visas in India, more than any of the consulates and the embassy.

“This consulate general in Hyderabad issues fifth largest number of student visas in the world. It is at fifth position among more than 200 embassies and consulates around the world,” she had said.

Open Doors also reports that more than 313,000 US students received credit last year for study abroad during 2014-15, an increase of nearly three per cent over the previous year.

India is ranked 13th among the top 25 destinations of US study abroad.

The number of US students going to India to study for academic credit at their home university in the US decreased by 3.2 per cent to 4,438, although this number has remained relatively flat across the last five years at 4,500.

The release of the new Open Doors data marks the celebration of International Education Week, a joint initiative of the US Department of State and the US Department of Education to prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from other countries to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the US.

Nations fast-track to enforce Paris Climate Accord

Staff ReporterEnvironment 0

Countries fast-tracked the political and practical aims of the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement and accelerated global climate action at the 2016 UN climate change conference that concluded in the early hours of Saturday morning in Marrakech.

The 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP 22, hosted by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, saw nearly 500 heads of state or government and ministers attend. By the end of the two-week climate summit, more than 100 countries, representing over 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, had formally joined the Paris Agreement.

On November 15, Marrakech also hosted the first official meeting of Parties to the Paris Agreement, its top governing body, following the accord’s early entry into force on November 4, less than a year after it was adopted last December.

The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The November 8 election of climate denier Donald Trump as president of the United States sent shock waves through the gathering, but it did not deter participants from moving forward in a spirit of determination.

The United States, Canada, Germany and Mexico announced ambitious climate strategies out to 2050, reflecting the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement to achieve climate neutrality and a low-emission world in the second half of this century.

Over 190 governments agreed to the Marrakech Action Proclamation, which sends a strong message of global unity on climate change.

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates, “I have never missed any of the 10 COP meetings during last 10 years. I leave you with the strong hope that we will have the courage, tenacity and wisdom to live up to our responsibility to future generations by protecting our only home: this beautiful planet Earth.”

“I have made climate change a priority since my first days in office,” said Ban. “Over the past 10 years, I have seen great progress in our common journey toward a low-emission, climate resilient future. We have proved the power of multilateral cooperation.”

Ban called the Paris Agreement is “a successful, new model for meeting some of humanity’s greatest challenges.”

A crucial outcome of the Marrakesh meeting was to move forward on writing the rule book, or operational manual, of the Paris Agreement that calls for a significant boost of transparency of action, including for measuring and accounting emissions reductions, the provision of climate finance, and technology development and transfer.

It includes work to design the adaptation communications, the primary vehicle under the Paris Agreement to share individual adaptation efforts and support needs.

Countries pressed forward on this and set a fast track date of 2018 for completion. Countries have already built the foundation for this by peer assessing each other’s actions to cut emissions through a transparent process that began in 2014.

Shortly before the meeting’s end, the 47-nation Climate Vulnerable Forum made a bold commitment to move towards 100 percent renewable energy between 2030 and 2050. Their declaration strengthens the call to limit global temperature rise to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible.

Multi-billion and multi-million dollar packages of support for clean technologies; building capacity to report on climate action plans; and initiatives for boosting water and food security in developing countries were among the many new initiatives launched in Marrakech.

The Global Environment Facility, GEF, a multilateral funding facility, announced the Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency backed by 11 developed country donors providing US$50 million worth of funding.

Countries pledged more than $81 million to the Adaptation Fund, surpassing its target for the year. Countries pledged over $23 million to the Climate Technology Centre and Network, CTCN, which supports developing countries with climate technology development and transfer.

The Green Climate Fund announced the approval of the first two proposals for the formulation of National Adaptation Plans – Liberia for $2.2 million and Nepal for $2.9 million. Another 20 countries are expected to have their proposals approved soon with up to $3 million each. Overall, the GCF is on track to approve $2.5 billion worth of projects.

During COP 22, governments learned that in 2016 more than 30 projects for cutting emissions with technology transfer objectives were approved by the GEF, with $188.7 million in GEF funding and $5.9 billion in co-financing.

Businesses, investors, cities and local governments issued new climate change commitments, adding to the thousands announced in the run-up to the Paris climate conference.

A club of subnational governments, the Under2 Coalition, who have committed to reduce their emissions by at least 80 percent by 2020, announced their membership has grown to 165.

The combined GDP of these 165 member governments is close to $26 trillion – a third of the global economy – and cover a population of around one billion people living in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, said, “The landmark Paris Agreement set the course and the destination for global climate action. Here in Marrakesh, governments underlined that this shift is now urgent, irreversible and unstoppable.”

This new era of implementation and action for climate and for sustainable development was captured in the Marrakech Action Proclamation. “I would like to pay tribute to the Government of Morocco and the President of the Conference, Salaheddine Mezouar, for their remarkable success. COP 22 has been what it needed to be, a COP of action that has accelerated progress under the Paris Agreement across finance, new initiatives, ambition and solidarity between nations and across Continents,” Espinosa said.

Mezouar, Morocco’s environment minister, who presided over the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, or COP 22, said, “The Kingdom of Morocco is fully engaged in the success of this COP and will energetically carry out its role as President. At the outcome of the last 15 days, our vision has been consolidated and we are working to make concrete progress and to carry out breakthrough actions from now until the end of 2017.”

“It will be necessary to respect the commitment of $100 billion dollars from now until 2020. Faced with the magnitude of what is required for dealing with the impacts of climate change, turning billions into trillions is indispensable. 2017 must be the year of large scale projects, of mobilizing finance, and accessing financial facilities that will be necessary for adaptation,” Mezouar explained.

Espinosa said, “During COP 22, the strength, the support for and the robustness of the Paris Agreement was furthered underlined, with nine more ratifications received at the UN in New York and the promise of many more to come. Nations reaffirmed that the agreement is in their national interests and a key catalyst to a better, more prosperous future for their citizens.”

COP 22 took first steps in making the platform concerning local communities and indigenous peoples operational. This marks a new era of addressing the concerns and needs of indigenous peoples in the climate process. Once operational, the platform will allow for an exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices on mitigation and adaptation and ultimately lead to more climate actions.

The UN Environment Programme announced a new global program, the Global Peatlands Initiative, which aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and save thousands of lives by protecting peatlands, the world’s largest terrestrial organic soil carbon stock.

The initiative will mobilize governments, international organizations and academia in a targeted effort to protect peatlands, which contain almost 100 times more carbon than tropical forests.

The Government of Indonesia announced it is implementing a moratorium on clearing intact peatland. The action builds on Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s announcement at last year’s Forest Action Day in Paris, to end new and review existing peat concessions.

Nineteen African Capital Markets Authorities and Exchanges, accounting for 26 African countries, signed and endorsed the Marrakech Pledge for Fostering Green Capital Markets in Africa.

The Solar Impulse Foundation launched the World Alliance for Clean Technologies as a legacy to the first ever solar flight around the world. Its goal is to federate the main actors in the field of clean technologies to create synergies, give advice to governments, and promote profitable solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental and health challenges.

At the close, Fiji was announced as the incoming President of the 2017 UN climate conference, COP23, which will be hosted by the UNFCCC in Bonn.

Inequality and Its Discontents

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Global income inequality among different regions began to increase about five centuries ago, before accelerating about two centuries ago, according to the great economic historian Angus Maddison. After the brief reversal during the ‘Golden Age’ quarter century after the Second World War, higher commodity prices in the decade until 2014, despite protracted slowdowns in most rich countries following the 2008 financial crisis, reduced international disparities between North and South.

Before the Industrial Revolution, inequalities among regions were relatively small, while within-‘country’ inequalities accounted for most of overall global income inequality. But inter-country income inequalities now account for about two-thirds of world inequality, with intra-country inequality accounting for a third.

National income distribution trends do not necessarily follow those for global income inequality. National level inequality in 22 developed economies grew up to the second decade of the 20th century, with inequality declining thereafter until the 1970s. The trend then reversed again with the market fundamentalist counter-revolution and changing role of the state in recent decades.

The general trend for these countries is quite clear, but does not hold for all other countries. For example, many developing countries fared badly in the 1920s and 1930s as primary commodity prices fell, especially during the Great Depression.

The late historian Eric Hobsbawm famously described the period from the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, as the ‘short twentieth century’. Other pundits identify the end of the First World War, or the creation of the ILO in 1919, as an alternative starting point for Karl Polanyi’s ‘second movement’.

For many, the ascendance of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan led the ‘neo-liberal’ counter-revolution against the post-World War Two ‘Golden Age’ marked by decolonization, Keynesianism, the welfare state, agrarian reforms and rapid employment expansion.

The ‘Washington Consensus’ from the early 1980s – shared by different branches of the US government and the Bretton Woods institutions located in the American capital – brought an end to earlier policy interventions associated with Keynesian and development economics.

The breakdown of the international monetary system and other developments of the 1970s led to ‘stagflation’ – economic stagnation despite high inflation — in much of the West while growth accelerated in other regions, notably East Asia. The US Fed raised interest rates sharply from 1980, inducing an international recession, and eventually, fiscal and sovereign debt crises in some developing countries and ‘communist’ economies. High debt and the Volcker-induced interest rate spike forced many governments to pursue macro-financial stabilization policies to defeat inflation besides microeconomic structural adjustment policies.

But the so-called Washington Consensus was not really about market liberalization, as little was done to check, let alone undermine private oligopolistic and oligopsonistic trends. Instead, despite the market rhetoric, neo-liberalism is really about strengthening property rights and capturing rents.

This involved a shift away from public authority and coordination, redefining the role of the state and enhancing private power. Good governance in the new order means upholding the rule of law, especially strengthening property rights and related privileges and entitlements. To secure political support, it appeals to all as consumers, and to all asset-owners, including petty ones and rentiers seeking to maximize net income flows by minimizing rent-seeking costs. Not surprisingly then, recent trends in the functional distribution of income reflect a declining share for labour despite rising labour productivity.

This disconnect between labour productivity and income is not unfamiliar to developing economies with high unemployment and underemployment. In such labour markets, characterized by ‘unlimited supplies of labour’ associated with economics laureate Arthur Lewis, productivity gains did not translate into higher wages, or a ‘producer surplus’, but instead lowered prices, contributing to the ‘consumer surplus’. This contrasts sharply with strong labour market institutions where wages rise with productivity.

Growing wealth concentration in recent decades reflects enhanced rentier power in most economic sectors and activities as well as the ascendance and globalization of finance in recent decades. Rentier income flows from legally sanctioned monopolies associated with intellectual property rights have grown greatly in recent years, increasingly capturing productivity gains at the expense of labour.

Although class has not declined in significance, by shaping the institutional context, political geography has become a key determinant of income. This not only helps explain the continuing strong economic incentive for international migration, but also the growing barriers to such movement, often supported by those who feel threatened about losing their privileges.

Not surprisingly, international labour solidarity has become much more difficult, while foreign advocacy of labour rights or the environment is treated with suspicion as self-interested, or even as protection by another name.

Prayer For World Peace At Gayatri Chetna Center’s Diwali Celebration

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

The Gayatri Chetna Center of New York celebrated Diwali and the New Year Oct. 28 with community gathering, prayer for world peace and expressing gratitude to the veterans and martyrs who have dedicated their life for the service of the nation.

The center is a chapter of All World Gayatri Pariwar, working under Pandit Shriram Sharma acharya and Mata Bhagwati Devi Sharma. The celebrations were held under the patronage and guidance of Pranav Pandya and Shail Jiji.

The festive events started from Dhan Teras and Chopda Puja Oct. 28, followed by Diwali and annakoot Oct. 30. and the New Year celebration Oct. 31. Chopda Pujan was well attended by the community members to mark the beginning of the new financial year from the Diwali. The ceremony was conducted according to the Vedic tradition, imbibing the teachings for generating and using wealth with the right means.

Food offerings in small and big amount were brought by everyone, which was offered as prasad and then distributed as meals to everyone who visited the center.

This, according to the organizers, was a great way to visualize the model of larger family and the oneness where everyone came together and shared the joy to enjoy Diwali.

Queens Borough President Attends BAPS Flushing Temple Diwali

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Scores of BAPS Volunteers came together to organize the Diwali celebrations Oct. 31 at the Swaminarayan temple in Flushing, New York, attended by local community leaders, politicians as well as India’s Consul General in New York Riva Ganguly Das.

The temple said in a press note that over 2,000 people throughout the day visited the temple, experiencing the culture and traditions of the auspicious day as they offered prayers, exchanged well-wishes, and resolved to mark the New Year with spiritual enlightenment.

Designs called rangoli, decorative oil lamps and annakut offerings of vegetarian food before the images of god filled the atmosphere with a festive spirit and bonhomie. Children also enjoyed the annual Diwali festival that was filled with games, activities and sweet treats.

Local community leaders, including assemblymen Peter Koo and David Weprin, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, state senators Toby Ann Stavisky and Tony Avello, and Council Member Rory Lanceman, besides Consul General Ganguly Das attended the fesrival.

Also among the many guests in attendance was Queens Borough President Melinda Katz who spoke highly of the celebration to the assembly, noting that Diwali is the time to celebrate the light over darkness.

Alleged Killers of Rutgers Student Shani Patel Indicted

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

An Essex County jury has indicted two men who are suspected of fatally shooting Shani Patel, a 21-year-old Indian American Rutgers University student, during a break-in at his shared Newark apartment in April.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, on Oct. 27, a jury indicted Marcus Feliz, 25, of Newark, and Fraynned Ramirez, 25, of Hartford, Connecticut, for the April 10 murder of Patel of Toms River, a 21-year-old economics student at Rutgers University’s Newark campus.

The nine-count indictment also charges Feliz and Ramirez with conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, conspiracy to commit murder, felony murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and weapons charges.

The indictment alleges that Ramirez and Feliz broke into their Central Avenue apartment and shot Patel and his 23-year-old roommate. Patel was killed during the encounter; his roommate was injured but survived. Prosecutors said Oct. 27 that Feliz is in custody, but Ramirez remains at large.

NRI Sentenced To Prison For Sandy Relief Fund Fraud

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

An Indian-American motel owner was sentenced to prison Nov. 4 for stealing money from federal disaster relief funds meant for victims of the Superstorm Sandy.

Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced that Sandipkumar Patel, 44, of Edison, N.J., the owner of a motel in Ocean County was sentenced to 3 years in state prison Nov. 4, for stealing more than $81,000 in federal disaster relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by fraudulently claiming to provide temporary shelter to victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels in Ocean County sentenced Patel after he pleaded guilty on Sept. 26 to a second-degree charge of theft by deception. He has paid full restitution.

Patel admitted that he committed fraud when claiming FEMA funds under the Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program. Under the program, FEMA directly paid participating hotels and motels for rooms temporarily occupied by residents displaced by Superstorm Sandy. Patel owns the American Motel on Route 166 in Toms River, N.J., with his wife. FEMA paid the motel $133.28 per day for each room occupied by storm victims.

The joint federal and state investigation revealed that Patel fraudulently billed FEMA a total of $81,567 in the names of 11 individuals under the TSA program. Eight of the individuals never stayed at the motel at all, while the other three stayed for shorter periods than were billed, or, in one case, shared a room that Patel already had billed to FEMA in the name of the other occupant. In some cases, Patel falsely billed for stays of multiple weeks or even months. He billed FEMA more than $50,000 in the names of several of his personal relatives who live in New Jersey but were not displaced by the storm.

34th Anniversary New York Asian Women’s Center’s (NYAWC) Gala Raises $400K For Survivors of Violence

Staff ReporterWomen 0

More than 300 of New York City’s philanthropists, activists and community members from the corporate, finance and entertainment sectors joined forces to raise close to $400,000 at the 34th Anniversary New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC) Gala at the Essex House on Thursday night. Themed “Brightening Our Future Together,” the NYAWC Phoenix Awards honored author and journalist Sheryl WuDunn, the first Asian American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her commitment to the plight of abused women and children around the world (WuDunn’s husband, New York Times journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Nicholas Kristof, was also at the event to support the cause).

NYAWC is the largest Asian American domestic violence organization in the country, and for the past 34+ years, it has helped women and their children overcome domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual violence and other forms of abuse by empowering them to govern their own lives. More than 1400 women and children are served by NYAWC every year.

“This is the most money our organization has ever raised at a fundraising gala,” said Board Chair Karen Elizaga. “Our community has been tremendously supportive, especially since we have witnessed 50% growth, both in the size of our staff and budget, in the last year and a half.”

The masters of ceremonies at the gala were Nina Pineda of WABC-TV and Ernabel Demillo of CUNY-TV/Asian American Life. Speakers included gala co-chair Yogesh Bahl and executive director Larry Lee. Special guests and performers were auctioneer Charles Antin, comedian Aparna Nancherla and indie rock artist Queen V.

Live and silent auctions engaged the audience and helped raise funds. Some of the highest-bid lots included a wine tour at the Napa vineyard of Yao Ming, former NBA athlete for the Houston Rockets, and two tickets to the Broadway show Hamilton.

New Resolution + LA Clippers Celebrate CA Sikh Awareness Month

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

November 10, 2016 (Sacramento, California) – On Wednesday afternoon, Assemblymember Jim Cooper presented Dr. Onkar Singh Bindra and Sikh Coalition Community Development Manager, Harjit Kaur, with the state member resolution celebrating Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. Cities across California have followed suit and recognized Sikh Awareness and Appreciation month with proclamations, including Yuba City, Fresno, and Santa Clara.

On Wednesday night, the Sikh Coalition and the Los Angeles Clippers also hosted over 350 members of the California sangat for the third annual Sikh Awareness and Appreciation game. The game featured a national anthem performance by Raaginder “Violinder” Singh, color guard featuring the Los Angeles Sikh Boy Scouts of America and half-time entertainment by Da Real Punjabiz. The game raised Sikh awareness to the 19,000 inside the stadium and the thousands who were watching on television across the state of California.

“It’s incredible to see Sikh Awareness Night celebrated by the LA Clippers and across the state of California,” said California community member, Jagdeep Singh. “We thank the Sikh Coalition for raising the profile of the Sikh community and educating so many Americans.” The Sikh Coalition also gives special thanks to LA Clippers Group Events Specialist, Jeana Duran, who worked incredibly hard to make the evening possible.

The Sikh Coalition encourages the California community to actively organize and participate in local activities this month. Here are several ways that you and your children can get involved:

• Arrange for a Sikh awareness and bullying prevention presentation to be delivered at your local school or place of business.
• Work with your local city council or school district to pass your own Sikh Awareness and Appreciation month resolution. Contact Harjit Kaur at harjit@sikhcoalition.org for more details.
• Order a “Who are the Sikhs” poster to display in your local school, library or place of business.
• Ask your local library to host a Sikh book reading or put up a display about Sikh Americans.

The Sikh Coalition provides free materials for Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. For more information, go to www.sikhcoalition.org/casikhs or contact our California Community Development Manager, H arjit Kaur, directly at harjit@sikhcoalition.org.

Indian wins 2016 International Creative Writing Contest

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

This is the third time that Geralyn Pinto has won a prize in the Save as Writers annually-held International Creative Writing Contest. Dr Geralyn Pinto, Associate Professor of English at St Agnes College, Mangaluru, has won the first prize for her short story, “Here they are, Saar….” in the 2016 International Creative Writing Contest organized by the Save as Writers Group, Canterbury, England.

The theme of this year’s contest was ‘Rebellion’ in commemoration of the Irish Rising of Easter, 1916. Geralyn’s powerfully-told story won the first place from an otherwise all-British shortlist of nine stories and was described by judge, Derek Sellen, as an amazing story with a sinuous narrative that impressed one right from the beginning.

Geralyn, who views creative writing as an agent of social rebellion and memory retrieval, chose to write on Nangeli, a woman of the Ezhava community of early 19th century Travancore.

The young Nangeli looked at society in the face and decided to show it who she really was. Her self-mutilation in 1803 as a form of rebellion against the levying of the hideous ‘mulakkaram’ or breast tax earned all women, but particularly those of the lower castes, the inalienable right to cover themselves in modesty and decency, if they so chose.

The humiliating tax was eventually repealed by the British Crown, upon pressure from the British Resident of Travancore, Col. John Munro.

Sellen said, upon presenting the prize to Geralyn at the Awards Evening held on October 29 in the hall of St Mary Bredin Church, Canterbury, that he had no doubt when he began reading it that her story would be the top prize winner.

This is the third time that Geralyn Pinto has won a prize in the Save as Writers annually-held International Creative Writing Contest.

The website of Save As Writers introduces it as Canterbury’s liveliest writing group. Founded in 2002 by Luigi Marchini, it started as a small group of creative people meeting to critique each other’s poetry and prose.

Sankara Nethralaya honors M.S. Subbulakshmi at Lincoln Center

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Anoushka Shankar, the daughter of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, mesmerized audiences at the Lincoln Center November 5, performing one of her father’s most prized compositions at an event organized by the non-profit Sankara Nethralaya to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the late renowned classical singer M.S. Subbulakshmi, winner of the Bharat Ratna award.

The Lincoln Center event was the 12th and last event in Sankara Nethralaya’s tribute to Subbulakshmi who was an early supporter of SN. Shankar played her father’s Rāgā-Mālā Sitar Concerto No. 2, to a packed audience of more than 2,600 people, organizers told Desi Talk. She was followed by the New York Philharmonic’s rendition of Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ symphony with Austrian conductor Manford Homeck. Zubin Mehta was supposed to be the conductor but he took ill and Homeck stepped in, K.S. Vasan, managing director of SN told Desi Talk.

The president of the New York Philharmonic, Mathew VanBesien, spoke about the accomplishments of Subbulakshmi, and invited Dr. S.S. Badrinath, founder and chairman-emeritus of Sankara Nethralaya, and his wife Dr. Vasanthi Badrinath to the stage. In his speech, Badrinath gave a history of the organization and how Subbulakshmi had played a critical role in its formative years by lending her name and fame, giving concerts and contributing her songs to raise funds for the organization. She also encouraging Badrinath to stay in India and commit himself fully rather than return to Boston.

Anita Achar performed Maithreem Bhajatha, a song composed by Jagadguru Chandrasekharendra Saraswati specifically for Subbulakshmi. She performed it 50 years ago Oct. 23, 1966, at the United Nations General Assembly on UN Day. This October, Sankara Nethralaya held a commemorative event at the U.N. to honor Subbulakshmi. Musician and composer A.R. Rahman was the highlight at that event. The Lincoln Center event, Vasan said, was a “fitting finale” to honoring the late classical singer. “It also provided tremendous exposure to Sankara Nethralaya’s work of providing eye-care in India,” Vasan added.

India scraps 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes overnight

Staff ReporterFinance/Economy 0

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the 500 ($7.60) and 1,000 rupee banknotes will be withdrawn from the financial system overnight.

The surprise move, announced on Tuesday evening, is part of a crackdown on corruption and illegal cash holdings. Banks will be closed on Wednesday and ATM machines will not be working.

India is overwhelmingly a cash economy. New 500 and 2,000 rupee denomination notes will be issued to replace those removed from circulation. “Black money and corruption are the biggest obstacles in eradicating poverty,” Mr Modi said.

People will be able to exchange their old notes for new ones at banks over the next 50 days but they will no longer be legal tender.

The announcement prompted people across the country to rush to ATMs that offer 100 rupee notes in an attempt not to be left without cash over the next few days.

The move is designed to lock out money that is unaccounted for – known as “black money ” – which may have been acquired corruptly, or be being withheld from the tax authorities.

Finance Secretary Shaktikant Das warned people with large stashes of hidden cash that banks would closely monitor the exchange of old notes for new ones.
Scrapping notes that are very, very common is his biggest offensive yet. Most transactions in daily life are in cash and 45% of those are in notes in denominations of 500 rupees and over.

Not a single news organisation seemed to know this was coming. I saw one news anchor produce a wad of 500s from his own pocket on air wondering whether these were now just pieces of paper – and also wondering if the bars of Delhi would see a sudden surge of business.

It has caught the country completely off guard. There will also be limits on cash point withdrawals over the next couple of weeks.

The 500 and 1,000 rupee notes are the highest denomination notes in the country and are extremely common in India. Airports, railway stations and hospitals will only accept them until 11 November. People will be able to exchange their money at banks between 10 November and 30 December.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party came into power in 2014 promising to bring billions of dollars of black market money into the country’s financial system. His government is half way through its term of office.

The announcement comes just over a month after the government raised nearly $10bn through a tax amnesty for Indians to declare hidden income and assets.
The BBC’s Justin Rowlatt in Delhi says the issue of “black money” is a huge problem in India and the latest move is the prime minister’s big demonstration that he is taking it seriously.

The idea is to lock out money that is unaccounted for and make it visible for tax purposes – banks will be happy to exchange a few thousand rupees, but will be asking questions of those who turn up with hundreds of thousands or millions in currency.

There are no precise figures available but experts say the government’s move could be “a very powerful measure” to curb “black money”. IIFL Holdings Ltd Chairman Nirmal Jain told Bloomberg that it will have “a deflationary impact in general and more specifically on real estate prices – making homes affordable”.

Is there a limit on the amount an individual or household can cash in? It seems not. An individual can put as much as he or she likes into the bank – but withdrawals are limited so the banking system may end up being flooded with cash.

Government guidelines say it is possible to exchange 4,000 rupees – but it is not clear if this is per day or in total. Critics say the new rules may make it especially difficult for people who choose to keep their cash at home rather than in a bank account and for people with large rupee cash reserves who live abroad.

If there is a legitimate explanation for the cash, the authorities say, it will be possible to exchange it. Cash points will close on Wednesday and in some places also on Thursday – a development that it seems may cause cash blockages or queues at ATMs.

It’s a bold step because many people who voted for Mr Modi were small traders who overwhelmingly did their business in cash.

Our correspondent says these are people who probably do have a few hundred thousand rupees – a few thousand dollars – stored under their beds and will have problems when they turn up in the bank on Thursday trying to change their money. The move leaves a lot of uncertainty about the Indian economy at least in the short term.

Diabetes among Asians

Staff ReporterHealth 0

According to a Lancet study, China, India and USA are among the top three countries with a high number of diabetic population. While the numbers climbed from 20.4 million in China in 1980 to 102.9 million in 2014, the rise has been equally dramatic in India from 11.9 million in 1980 to 64.5 million in India.Prevalence of diabetes has more than doubled for men in India and China (3.7 per cent to 9.1 per cent in India and 3.5 per cent to 9.9 per cent in China). It has also increased by 50 per cent among women in China (5.0 per cent to 7.6 per cent) and 80 per cent among women in India (4.6 per cent to 8.3 per cent).

If diabetes is diagnosed early, later complications can be prevented or delayed. Here are a few pointers that you have to look out for. You are at risk if you have: High BP and high blood triglyceride levels; Gestational diabetes or if you have given birth to a baby weighing more than 4kg; Sedentary lifestyle, or obesity and waist circumference more than 90cm in male and 85cm in female; Family history; aging (risk rises at 45 years) certain risk factors like age, family history, and ethnicity cannot be changed.

However, changing other risk factors by eating a healthier diet and increasing physical activity with or without weight loss can prevent diabetes. High blood pressure or rising triglyc erides can be controlled too.

Diabetes often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms can seem harmless or normal.

Frequent urination: Do you visit bathroom more often, or urinate through the day? Urination increases if there is excess glucose in the blood. If insulin is ineffective or insufficient, kidneys find it difficult to filter excessive glucose back to the blood

Increased thirst: If you feel thirsty very often or drink more water than usual, it could mean you are diabetic, es pecially if accompanied with frequent urination. Extreme hunger: Because your body does not digest enough of glucose, it feels the need to take in more and hence constantly sends hunger signals to the brain; Unusual weight loss: The body desperately looks for an energy source because the cells do not get enough glucose. It starts to break down muscle tis sue and fat for energy.

Silicon Valley wants Trump to reform H-1B visa system

Staff ReporterTravel 0

Asserting that H-1B visa creates more jobs, a Silicon Valley-based CEO has urged US President- elect Donald Trump to reform the system and increase the quota of this speciality work visa, which would help in achieving his agenda of spurring growth in the country.

“So here’s a first step: reform the H-1B visa program to allow American companies to hire the high-skilled workers they need to grow and remain competitive,” Alan H Fleischmann founder, president & CEO of Laurel Strategies, a global business advisory and strategic communications firm for leaders, CEOs and their C-suite, said in an op-ed published in the Fortune magazine on Sunday.

“While the broader immigration debate will be heated and highly partisan, reforming the H-1B immigration program enjoys strong bipartisan support,” he said. “President-elect Trump’s stance on this issue is not yet defined. This creates a further opportunity to properly address this policy issue,” Fleischmann said.

He said many of Trump’s voters express concern about being left out of the 21st century tech-based economy and have not seen innovation as a powerful job-creator or a force for good. “Their fears are valid, and Washington with Silicon Valley must do a better job of broadening the promise of technology so that so many disaffected Americans no longer are left behind,” he noted.

Fleischmann said America’s H-1B visa program is designed to permit US companies to recruit workers from abroad to fill highly specialized jobs here in America. “Far different from the more wide-ranging worker visa program, H-1Bs are specifically used to fill specific jobs that companies can’t find enough American workers to fill.

Particularly for technology firms, H-1B visas are a lifeline to the global talent pool of engineers, who can build products and create economic growth here in America, rather than in other countries,” he said. Evidence shows that jobs for Americans would increase and wages would rise under the visa program, he argued.

According to a 2012 report by the US Chamber of Commerce studying foreign students with a STEM degree hired by American companies, each H-1B employee creates 2.62 additional jobs for American workers. According to another report from McKinsey in 2011, “in recent years, the supply of [STEM] graduates has been sluggish at a time when demand for them has been rising.”

Yet despite the overwhelming benefits of the H-1B visa program for America’s economy, the program’s annual cap is stunningly low at just 65,000 per year, Fleischmann said.

Ban H1-B after some years US will beg India and other countries to give people for work, even pay them to come here. US earns by Guns, Students in colleges and people with temporary visa the keep cas… Read MoreTop comment by Alok Nath

“That quota may have been sufficient 30 years ago, but it’s just a drop in the bucket compared with today’s demand for high-skilled workers,” he added.
Noting that Trump was elected with virtually no connection to America’s technology sector, he said convincing Congressional Republicans to support H-1B reform as a job-creator and economic imperative would be a savvy and much-needed first step. “This is a tremendous leadership opportunity for the new administration,” he said.

2016 ‘very likely’ hottest year on record: UN

Staff ReporterEnvironment 0

The year 2016+ will “very likely” be the hottest on record, the UN said today, warning of calamitous consequences if the march of global warming cannot be halted. Average temperatures for the year were set to hit about 1.2 Celsius over pre-Industrial Revolution levels – meaning that 16 of the 17 hottest years on record were this century, said the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

The new record means the world is already more than halfway to the upper limit of 2 C of warming overall, 1.5 C if possible, which UN nations had agreed upon to stave off worst- case-scenario climate change. “Another year. Another record. The high temperatures we saw in 2015 are set to be beaten in 2016,” WMO secretary general Petteri Taalas said in a statement.

The El Nino weather phenomenon had boosted temperatures in the early months of the year, but even after its effects dissipated, the mercury stayed high. In parts of Arctic Russia, temperatures were 6 C to 7 C higher than the long-term average, the statement said. Other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions in Russia, Alaska and northwest Canada were at least 3 C above average.

“We are used to measuring temperature records in fractions of a degree, and so this is different,” said Taalas. The WMO report was published as UN climate talks entered their second week in Marrakesh – the first since last year’s huddle in the French capital concluded with the climate-rescue Paris Agreement.

The Moroccan followup is meant to agree on rules for executing the plans and goals outlined in the pact, which envisions reining in global warming by cutting back on greenhouse-gas emitting coal, oil and gas for energy. Earlier today, the annual Global Carbon Budget report said carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels have been nearly flat for three years in a row – a “great help” but not enough to stave off dangerous climate change. Both analyses warned that concentrations of planet- warming greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continued to rise, reaching 400 parts per million in 2015 and likely to exceed that record in 2016.

‘Remarkable’ resilience of Kandhamal Christians focus of US film

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion, Entertainment 0

The 26-minute film shows Christian communities in India, Turkey and elsewhere which suffer religious freedom violations. The resilience of Kandhamal Christians is portrayed in a new documentary short film Under Caesar’s Sword, directed by Jason Cohen Productions in the United States.

The documentary which focuses on Christian persecution around the world was produced by the Under Caesar’s Sword initiative, a partnership of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture and Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project.

“What is remarkable about persecuted Christians is their resilience. They are not just victims. Understanding this is the key to being in solidarity with them,” said Daniel Philpott, the movie’s co-director and a political science professor at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana.

The 26-minute film shows Christian communities in India, Turkey and elsewhere which suffer religious freedom violations. It interviews Christian families, refugees and regional leaders as well as scholars. Under Caesar’s Sword focuses on their “creative strategies” to survive, build alliances and resist persecution, Notre Dame News reports.

The erasure of Christian culture in the Middle East is one focus, as is human rights activism among Christians in India. In the Kandhamal riots of late 2007 and early 2008, rioters in the eastern India state of Odisha killed 45 people and destroyed more than 80 churches. Christians were targeted for forced conversion to Hinduism.

In the film, the widow of a man who refused to convert recounted how he was tortured and killed in front of her and their two children. “They beat my husband badly as we pleaded with them to stop,” she said. “They dragged him for a kilometer with a cycle chain around his neck.”

Timothy Shah, associate director of Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project, reflected on many Christians’ response to persecution. “Christians have spontaneously responded to their own suffering by enlarging their concern and compassion and work for justice to include others as well,” Shah said. “It’s important because that’s what their faith calls them to, but it’s important too in that I think many Christians realize the only world in which they are going to be more secure is a world in which everyone is more secure.”

Jason Cohen is an Academy Award-nominated producer/director. He has produced and directed all formats of film and television on projects that cover a broad range of topics over the past 20 years. The Under Caesar’s Sword film is available at no cost on-line, as is a discussion guide for groups. It can be seen at the website ucs.nd.edu/film.

GOPIO Europe supports demonetazization

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) meeting in Paris over the weekend paid tribute to Indian soldiers who laid their lives fighting freedom of Europe on Armistice Day in France which honored all those soldiers who were killed at World War I. Over 4,700 Indian soldiers laid their lives fighting with the British. The convention delegates led by GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham visited Indian soldiers memorial at Neuve Chapelle in Richebourg, France on November 11th on Armistice Day and laid flowers at the memorial. The convention passed a resolution requesting UNESCO to recognize this memorial as a World Heritage site.

The convention was inaugurated at the Intercontinental Hotel by Indian Ambassador Mohan Kumar and was addressed by Dr. Satyapal Singh MP and Shri Raj Purohit MLA, Chief Whip of the Maharashtra Assembly. The Chief Guest at the Conference inauguration was Ms. Ericka Bareights, Minister of Overseas Affairs of France. Eight conference sessions followed.

The convention passed a resolution in support of demonetization of the higher end Indian currencies so as to curtail the black money and terrorism funding. However, GOPIO has called upon India govt. to provide same opportunity for NRIs and PIOs as Indian nationals to deposit up to Rs. 2.5 lakhs of Indian currencies in Indian banks in India or outside. The convention ended with a finale banquet dinner cruise on Siene River in Paris.

GOPIO Europe supports demonetazization

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) meeting in Paris over the weekend paid tribute to Indian soldiers who laid their lives fighting freedom of Europe on Armistice Day in France which honored all those soldiers who were killed at World War I. Over 4,700 Indian soldiers laid their lives fighting with the British. The convention delegates led by GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham visited Indian soldiers memorial at Neuve Chapelle in Richebourg, France on November 11th on Armistice Day and laid flowers at the memorial. The convention passed a resolution requesting UNESCO to recognize this memorial as a World Heritage site.

The convention was inaugurated at the Intercontinental Hotel by Indian Ambassador Mohan Kumar and was addressed by Dr. Satyapal Singh MP and Shri Raj Purohit MLA, Chief Whip of the Maharashtra Assembly. The Chief Guest at the Conference inauguration was Ms. Ericka Bareights, Minister of Overseas Affairs of France. Eight conference sessions followed.

The convention passed a resolution in support of demonetization of the higher end Indian currencies so as to curtail the black money and terrorism funding. However, GOPIO has called upon India govt. to provide same opportunity for NRIs and PIOs as Indian nationals to deposit up to Rs. 2.5 lakhs of Indian currencies in Indian banks in India or outside. The convention ended with a finale banquet dinner cruise on Siene River in Paris.

GOPIO Europe supports demonetazization

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) meeting in Paris over the weekend paid tribute to Indian soldiers who laid their lives fighting freedom of Europe on Armistice Day in France which honored all those soldiers who were killed at World War I. Over 4,700 Indian soldiers laid their lives fighting with the British. The convention delegates led by GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham visited Indian soldiers memorial at Neuve Chapelle in Richebourg, France on November 11th on Armistice Day and laid flowers at the memorial. The convention passed a resolution requesting UNESCO to recognize this memorial as a World Heritage site.

The convention was inaugurated at the Intercontinental Hotel by Indian Ambassador Mohan Kumar and was addressed by Dr. Satyapal Singh MP and Shri Raj Purohit MLA, Chief Whip of the Maharashtra Assembly. The Chief Guest at the Conference inauguration was Ms. Ericka Bareights, Minister of Overseas Affairs of France. Eight conference sessions followed.

The convention passed a resolution in support of demonetization of the higher end Indian currencies so as to curtail the black money and terrorism funding. However, GOPIO has called upon India govt. to provide same opportunity for NRIs and PIOs as Indian nationals to deposit up to Rs. 2.5 lakhs of Indian currencies in Indian banks in India or outside. The convention ended with a finale banquet dinner cruise on Siene River in Paris.

Bobby Jindal on Shortlist for Donald Trump’s Cabinet Post of Secretary of Health

Staff ReporterPolitics, U.S. 0

Two-term Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, the first ever Indian American to be elected a state governor, is among the shortlisted candidates for Donald Trump’s cabinet, according to a media report.

If appointed, the 45-year-old will be first Indian American to be included in the president’s cabinet. As per a news report in The Wall Street Journal, Jindal is being considered for the position of Secretary of Health along with Ben Carson. His name also figured in the list by Politico whereas it was absent in Buzzfeed’s list of potential cabinet members of the Trump administration.

Both Carson and Jindal are former Republican presidential candidates. While Jindal, after dropping out of the race, endorsed Senator Ted Cruz for the presidency, Carson supported Trump, the winner of the presidential elections.
Jindal, who has been keeping a low profile after dropping out of the Republican presidential primary, did not respond to queries on his possible cabinet position.

On the other hand, it is almost certain that Carson would be a part of Trump’s cabinet. Trump, in the past, has indicated Carson to be his first choice for the position of Heath Secretary.

Jindal has served as a principal adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Bush administration, during which he excelled with his administrative and management skills and later went on to be elected to the House of Representatives for two terms and thereafter as Louisiana governor twice.

Last year, he ran for president, but dropped out of the race early this year following low polling among a crowded GOP aspirants of 17 candidates. During the primaries, Jindal was highly critical of Trump and his policies.

According to a report in the Shreveport Times, Jindal has previously served as the secretary of Department of Health and Hospitals and as a principal adviser to the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush. He was appointed as the youngest president of the University of Louisiana System in 1999, at age 28. He served as governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016.

Gandhi Samaj of Chicago celebrate Diwali traditional way by lighting Diya

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: While the festival of Diwali is observed by people of different faiths for different reasons, they all acknowledge its underlying theme: the victory of good over evil and the triumph of light over darkness.

Gandhi Samaj of Chicago (GSC) (www.gandhisamajchicago.com) hosted its 32nd Annual Diwali Program on November 5, 2016 at Hanuman Temple in Glenview, IL and was led by Hitesh Gandhi and Keyur Ghayal. Gandhi Samaj of Chicago includes over 120 “Gandhi” families, native of South Gujarat part of India (Surat to Vapi), from Chicago and its close vicinity. The event started with social hour accompanied by Traditional Gujarati (Indian) Cuisine dinner, which was followed by a cultural program. This is a tradition observed by GSC for last 32 years, where families come together as a big united family to socialize and attend cultural program by young and adults.

Dipak Shah, owner and president of Direct Floors in Woodridge, was invited as Chief Guest and Consul General Mr. O.P. Meena bestowed his presence as Guest of Honor. President’s Award was given to Mr. Nitin C. Gandhi for his leadership and excellent contribution as a Vice President of Gandhi Samaj of Chicago 2012-15 term. Community Service Award was presented to Mrs. Sushila N. Gandhi in honor of her active part in the community. Educational Achievement Awards were awarded to the youth, who completed their education from the college.

We are prepared and ready to tackle the big crowd with a solid executive plan. “It was a very smooth execution even though we completely “Sold out” night,” “Thanks to all the sponsors of the grand event without their support it would not be possible to have such a wonderful event also thanks to audience of Chicago and well-wishers who attended the event to make this magnificent event successful” said by Mr Hitesh Gandhi, Exec Vice President of Gandhi Samaj.

Cultural program touched everyone’s hearts as imaginations of performers (from age 5 to 60) showcased their talents. Program started by a small Prayer followed with American & Indian National Anthems. The Bharat Natyam performance of Ganesh Vandana by Krishna Gandhi, Misha Gandhi, Freya Gandhi and Freya Viren Gandhi added a soft touch. The children and adults of Gandhi Community performed Classical and Bollywood Dance performances, songs and other talents. Couple Dance performance on “Char Kadam” song became the highlight when Couples pair performed with glorious energy.

Special Guest performers added the charm to the event. Mrs. Mona Bhalla, who owns album “Kudi-Bindaas” performed live with her 3 beautiful daughters. Dance performance reached to an extreme thrill when Ms. Madhura Sane danced on revival of old and new classic, Mr. Elizar from Arya Dance Academy performed Bollywood Fusion dance. Also, Mrs. Shital Dhanani, founder of Tarana Kathak academy added the Classical touch with her trained Kathak students and Mr. Paul Chopra grabbed audience attention by performing a Mimicry Bollywood act.

A special mention goes out to the committee members of Gandhi Samaj Of Chicago Mr. Keyur Ghayal (President), Mr. Hitesh Gandhi (Executive Vice President), Mrs. Bhumika V. Gandhi (Vice President), Mr. Ashwin Bodalia (Treasurer), Manhar Gajjar (Secretary), Mrs. Roma Bhagat (Cultural Secretary) & Mr. Bharat Ghayal, Ramesh Gandhi, Dipak Ghayal (Joint Secretaries), and Priya Ghayal , Hiren Ghayal (Youth Secretary).

Over 500 attend ‘Indian Seniors of Chicago ‘Diwali’ festival

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: Indian Seniors of Chicago (ISC) celebrated their 14th Annual Diwali Celebration for the benefit of members their family and friends, at Maha Laxmi auditorium at Manav Seva Mandir, Bensenville, IL on Sunday 23, October, 2016. Capacity crowd of over 525 members joined the program.

Shri Hirabhai Patel on behalf of Executive Committee welcomed and thanked all for joining the occasion. Giving outline of the program, he stressed the hard work of the members and volunteers of ISC organization in creation of this event and stressed the audience to enjoy the program including the melodious singing and music from Musical group and his party at the conclusion.

Popular Ageless Jester and Emcee, Mr. Arvindbhai Kotak, commenced held the entire event together with his wit, interactive sessions, jokes and satires. The program kicked off by traditional Lamp Lighting ceremony while Dr. Anantbhai Rawal recited mantras from Rig Vedas. Smt. Janakbala Shah invited luminaries including chief guest Shri Chhotalal Patel, Special Guests Shri Mafatbhai Patel, Dr. Chittranjanbhai Patel, Shri Dahyabhai Prajapati, Dr Ashok Shah, Shri Pradeep Patel, Shri Rajubhai Chauhan and President Dr. Narsinhbhai Patel for this Deep Pragatya formality.

Cultural and entertainment program followed by Swagta Geet combined with classical dance of ‘Jyoti Kalash Chhalke’ performed by Pika Munsi and Swapna Shashidharan, Next number was a recital of ‘Shree Ganeshy Dheemahi’ performed by Kshama Shah, Susan Abrham and Anupama Mangalvedhe. This item was a dance based on a song ‘Tuhi Mere Mandir Tuhi meri Puja’ performed by Executive Committee member Smt. Hema Shastri. Audience was thrilled by this and subsequent presentation of fourth item, a boogie and song ‘Hum kale hain to kya hua dilwale hain’ (Performed in Movie by legendary Bollywood actor Mahamood) performed by Executive Committee member Bhupendra Suthar, Hema Shastri and Anjana Desai. This got enthusiastic response from packed hall.

Half way through the program, Shri Hirabhai Patel invited chief guest Shri Chhotalal Patel special guests Shri Mafatbhai Patel, Dr. Chittranjan Patel, Dahyabhai Prajapati, Shri Pradip Patel, Shri Rajubhai Chauhan and President Dr. Narsinhbhai Patel on stage. Chief guest Shri Chhotalal Patel was greeted with flowers bouquet by Dr. Narsinhbhai Patel, Shri Mafatbhai Patel was greeted with flowers bouquet by Dr. Rasikbhai Shah, Dr. Chittranjan Patel was greeted with flowers bouquet by Dahyabhai Prajapati, Shri Pradip Patel was greeted with flowers bouquet by shri Hirabhai Patel and Shri Rajubhai Chauhan was greeted with flowers bouquet by Arvind Kotak.

Informational presentation on year 2016 highlights of activities of Indian Seniors of Chicago Pariwar was given by President Dr. Narsinhbhai Patel. Sponsors were recognized and honored by Shri Manubhai Shah & Shri Nalin Shah with a gift and a rose flower bouquet by Shri Dahyabhai Prajapati. All the artists were also recognized and honored by Shri Naresh Dekhtawala and hailed with a gift and a rose bouquet presented by Shri Chandrakant Gandhi. The evening concluded following Shri Bipin Shah gave vote of thanks.

For the rest of the evening number, Shri Naresh Dekhtawala introduced nostalgic melodious musical evening to be presented and performed by famed and talented Musical Group artists. Everybody enjoyed and cherished the nostalgic melodious musical evening bringing back those nostalgic days while growing up in India. The music brought rejuvenated youth in many seniors who overcame age related restrictions and performed impromptu Bollywood dance following music beats. The excellent presentation of meet, greet and fun filled evening finally ended in late hours of night.

Indian Seniors of Chicago, a registered not for profit organization is brainchild of founding and pillar member Dr. Narsinhbhai Patel, started in year 2001. The organization main goal is to give a social platform for our senior Diaspora to congregate periodically, help organize cultural activities including monthly meetings, presentation of informational seminars, arranging visitation to interesting places, picnics, group travel to local and international destinations. The organization gives special consideration to widowed spouses of deceased single seniors to help them address their risk of developing depression due to lonesomeness and isolation.

Members of Executive Board: Dr. Narsinhbhai Patel – President, Dr. Rasikbhai Shah – Vice- President, Shri Hirabhai Patel – Secretary, Shri Chitranjan Desai- Treasurer, Shri Manubhai Shah- Jt. Treasurer Shri Arvindbhai Kotak- Jt. Secretary.

“Simple Living and High Thinking”

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Chinmaya Mission Chicago’s Annual Fund Raising Banquet

Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: The Annual Fundraising Banquet for Chinmaya Mission Chicago harmoniously blended inspirational thoughts, spirited fundraising, sumptuous food, and artistic performances into a memorable evening. The event took place at Waterford Banquet and Conference Center in Elmhurst, IL on November 6, 2016. The goal was to raise funds for upcoming Badri center expansion project and to support and enhance the existing programs offered by the two Chinmaya Mission centers in the Chicago area Badri Center in Willowbrook, IL, and Yamunotri Center in Grayslake, IL.

With over seven hundred people in attendance and more than two hundred thousand dollars raised, the event was an overwhelming show of support for the spiritual and service-oriented work being done by Chinmaya Mission, both at the local and global level.

Chinmaya Mission was founded in the 1950s by the devotees of one of the greatest Vedantic Masters of twentieth century, Swami Chinmayananda. Its purpose as stated in the words of Swami Chinmayananda is, “To provide to individuals from any background the wisdom of Vedanta and the practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become positive contributors to society.”

The evening started by welcoming the revered guests, Swami Ishwarananda (resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Los Angeles), Swami Sharanananda (resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Chicago), Acharya Jetindra Nayar & Acharya Swapna Nayar (resident Acharyas of Chinmaya Mission Chicago), Acharya Shanker Pillai (President, Board of Trustees for Chinmaya Mission Chicago), and Acharya Dhiren Khatri (Chinmaya Mission Chicago), and Br. Yatindra Chaitanya (posted to Chinmaya Mission Dallas) were received with the traditional purna-kumbha welcome ceremony, invoking the blessings of Pujya Gurudev for a successful program.

Special invited dignitaries and supporters present were- Drs. Shankar and Jyoti Peruri, Mr. Lakshman & Mrs. Dr. Vedavati Agadi, Drs. Ramesh and Asha Chhablani, Dr. Gopal and Mrs. Neetu Lalmalani, Drs. Shashi and Anil Agarwal, Dr. S. Ramamurthy, Mr. Raghu Raman and Mrs. Remya Raghu Raman, Mr. & Mrs. Nakul Chand Singh, Dr. Varun Khanna (Chinmaya International Foundation) and Mr. and Mrs. Neil Patel.

The highlight of the evening was the inspiration kindled by the Acharyas. Swami Sharanananda gave the inaugural welcome with his usual humor and charm. He is Chicago’s beloved Acharya, who works relentlessly serving many centers in Chicago and its surrounding areas. He underscored in his message that it is very simple to be happy, just love God. Simplicity takes our thinking to the highest.

Swami Ishwarananda’s message brought out the importance of Simple living vs Simply living. While ostentation is seen as a show of one’s abundance and material wealth, simplicity is the expression of inner wealth. A calm mind is a happy mind. The Ultimate Truth is self-evident and therefore one who has realized it does not need anything else for his joy and contentment.

Br. Yatindra Chaitanya spoke on his experience of the Bala Vihar prgram he attended in Chicago and his training at Sandeepany Sandhanalaya in Mumbai under Pujya Guruji, Swami Tejomayananda and Swami Bodhatmananda. Yatindraji is now posted to Chinmaya Mission Dallas-Ft. Worth center.

Dr. Varun Khanna spoke on the Sanskrit University- Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth, an accredited university dedicated to the study of Sanskrit and Indian Knowledge Traditions. The main campus is at Chinmaya International Foundation in Veliyanad, Kerala at the birth home of Adi Shankaracharya and constituent campus at Chinmaya Naada Bindu, Kolwan, Maharashtra. Online courses are also available. Chinmaya Mission Chicago helps support the work of this esteemed institution.

Acharya Shanker Pillai outlined the goals, activities, expansion plans, and the need for funds to continue in meeting the growing needs of the community. The existing Badri building complex expansion plan is in planning stage and is anticipated to be complete within 2 years. He elaborated on the proposed idea of building well-planned retirement homes adjacent to the Badri Center, to support the physical and spiritual needs of senior citizens. Dr. Premal Joshipura (board member of Chinmaya Mission Chicago) elaborated on the current financial obligations of Chinmaya Mission and the various means to help with the funding.

The entertainment for the evening was an enchanting mix of dances and music presented by children from the Bala Vihar program, supported by adult volunteers. Bala Vihar is an integral part of Chinmaya Mission and was started by Swami Chinmayananda to instill good values right from childhood and inspire kids to live a nobler life. In his own words, “Children are not vessels to be filled, but lamps to be lit.”

High school youth provided service throughout the evening by babysitting children of banquet attendees and helping with collecting donation envelopes. Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, popularly referred to as CHYK was represented by Amita Prabhu, who shared her passion for serving CORD (Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development), volunteering to teach weekly Bala Vihar classes, and organizing weekend retreats.

The event came to a conclusion with the chanting of Bhagavad Gita chapter XV, followed by a delicious meal served by India House restaurant. A complementary souvenir book featuring inspiring articles, information about classes offered at Chinmaya Mission Chicago, class pictures, and advertisements from local supporting companies was given to each family as a token of appreciation for attending the banquet. Special mention of Mrs. Smriti Mehta and Mr. Suresh Kumar for the extra effort directed toward the successful production of this booklet.

The message of “Simple Living and High Thinking” resonated throughout the event, evident in the harmonious working of the volunteers, both on and off the stage. For over 37 years, Chinmaya Mission has been serving the Chicagoland area by conducting weekly Bala Vihar classes & adult study groups, summer youth camps, and spiritual retreats.

Please contact Acharya Shanker Pillai (630-886-6442) for details regarding activities at Badri Center (11S080 Rte. 83, Willowbrook, IL 60527/www.mychinmaya.org) center, Mrs. Rajul Bhalala (847-302-2383) for details regarding Yamunotri Center activities (30877 N Fairfield Rd, Grayslake, IL 60030/ www.chinmaya-yamunotri.org), and Mr. Jagadish Devarajan (312-208-8624) for details regarding activities at Chicago City Center.

-+=