Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong and Father Mathew Vellankal, an Indian priest working in the United States, died in a road accident in California on October 10th, when the two were traveling to Clearlake in California along with Father Joseph Parekkatt, another Indian priest.
Their car collided with a semi-truck in Colussa Country, California, according to a press note from the diocese of Oakland. Father Parekkatt, who was seriously wounded, was stable in a hospital, the press note says.
Salesian Archbishop Jala was 68. Reports from Salesian sources in Shillong say Archbishop was going to California to meet his friend. He had gone to the US to attend a meeting of International Commission for English liturgy in New York. Archbishop Jala was born on July 12, 1951, in Mawlai in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.
He was ordained a priest for the Salesians of Don Bosco on November 19, 1977. He was the provincial of the congregation’s Guwahati province before he was appointed the archbishop of Shillong on December 22, 1999. His episcopal ordination was on April 2, 2000.
He was the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Liturgy from 2015 onwards and the member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). He has also served CCBI from 2003 to 2007 as the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Liturgy.
Father Vellankal, a missionary in Oakland Diocese, was a native of Kerala, South India. Father Vellankal, 60, was the pastor of St. Isidore Parish in Danville, California, since 2016. After completing the 12th grade, he joined the Salesians and was ordained a priest in January 1987.
After ordination, Father Vellankal spent three years as an associate pastor in a parish and a year as headmaster of a large school in northeastern India. He then spent two years as the youth director for the Salesian province of Guwahati before being named principal of a school in Guwahati, the commercial capital of Assam.
After two years as principal, he became youth director for the northeastern region comprising 10 dioceses. During this time, Rome appointed him international youth chaplain of the International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth, based in Belgium. The organization serves about 2 million youth in 65 countries. Father Vellankal left the Salesians and joined the Oakland Diocese, according to a source in northeastern India.
The Archbishop, after the Ad Limina meeting with Pope Francis left for the US to meet his old time friend Father Matthew Vellankal. The duo accompanied by another India priest, Father Joseph Parrackett went to Lakeclear for a break and while on their way back at Colusa County, a mini truck hit them from behind.
Speaking to Father Michael Makri over Skype and Whatsapp, Father Johnson of Oakland Diocese gave these details ‘As per the sheriff’s deputy, the accident took place around 2 pm on October 10, 2019 (CA time). They were on an intersection of highway 16 and 20, when their car and semi truck collided. Father Matthew was driving and Archbishop was sitting next to him in front. Father Joseph was sitting behind. Archbishop and Father Matthew died on the spot while Father Joseph was airlifted to the nearby hospital.
The Archbishop and Father Matthew died on the spot, while father Joseph sustain to serious injuries. They were taken to the hospital in Colusa County for autopsy.
Father Johnson said that the police will release the bodies only after autopsy which will take 4 to 6 days as this is week end and Monday is a holiday in California. The bodies of both the Catholic leaders will be flown to India and will be buried there. While the funeral for the Archbishop will be held in Shillong, the remains of Fr. Vellankal will be buried in his native place, Kerala, according to sources.
Archbishop Jala is the second Indian archbishop to die in a car accident abroad. Earlier, Archbishop Alan de Lastic of Delhi died on June 20, 2000, in a car crash in Poland.
“Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA)” sponsored historic 14th annual ‘Hindu Mandir Executive Conference (HMEC)’ in New Jersey concluded with resounding success on Sept.22 at ‘Fairbridge Inn & Suites’ in East Hanover, N.J. This annual fair takes place in different regions of N. America, (includes Caribbean Islands), for the benefit of Hindu temples and religious organizations. The primary objective of this eminent gathering is to collectively enhance their relevance to the Hindu society-at-large and to the rising second generation. In this pioneering effort, VHPA’s role is limited to that of a facilitator or a catalytic-supporter. According to Vipul Patel, the Convener, the theme of this year’s HMEC was – “Sustaining Temples and Institutions by Building security and Strength through community Outreach and Seva programs”. This year, several dozen Temples and Organizations participated in 3-day affair that had 35 speakers and approx. 200 delegates.
The main coordinator of the entire conference was Bhakti Mehta-Modi who kept the tightly paced sessions adequately focused on their subjects from the beginning. The conference began on Friday, September 20 evening with Swami Pratyagbodhanandaji, along with other seers, blessing the event with Sanskrit shlokas and lighting the auspicious lamp. This first session was devoted to safety initiatives and emergency precautions in case of Medical crisis, Fire, Vandalism or an active shooter prowling on the premises. This was expertly handled by representatives of ‘Homeland Security’, Chief Officers of local firefighting unit and emergency management unit. Mark Curcio (Emergency Mgmt.) recommended that all places of worship should have a ‘crisis management team’, adequately installed surveillance gadgets, properly established rapport with local concerned authorities, and periodic safe evacuation drills under their supervision. Most of the temples it seemed lacked this preparedness. Sohini Sarcar’s (Hindu Student Council – ‘HSC’) weeks of interactions with these ‘security professionals’ was not only evident but also was overwhelmingly appreciated by them. Chaplain Shawn Lee’s (‘US Army Chaplaincy’) assertion on how difficult it is to recruit qualified Hindu Chaplains for Army’s spiritual wing came as a surprise to most of the people. This is something the Hindu diaspora needs to delve on in the interest of Hindu soldiers in US Army.
Saturday, September 21 morning session focused on prevention, protection and sustenance. It dealt with adopting a public-relation road map for the surrounding community by educating children about Hindu culture in temple-based classroom, bringing our festivals on public platform to remove any misgivings rather than just internalizing their importance and adopting ‘Seva’ projects. As part of community outreach by temples and institutions, Neha Srivastava suggested that they become catchment centers for society’s ills and address issues like loneliness, caregiving, poverty, domestic violence resulting out of marital discord etc. Given an opportunity of 2 hrs. /wk. time and space, she offered to establish such pilot programs in temples that are willing to give a try. To sustain the cultural values among the college youths, Nikunj Trivedi of ‘HSC’ gave insight into what they had accomplished in past 29 years. In spite of inadequate support system 150,000 students have been nurtured by them at 60+ college campuses.
“HMEC” is not only a vehicle for the executives of temples and religious organizations for their own networking, but also, to collectively overcome various hurdles faced by them by addressing commonality among them or by drafting reference charter-booklets. Abhaya Asthana, President of ‘VHPA’, along with his associate Sanjay Mehta (Gen Secretary, VHPA) expanded on this approach with Sant Gupta, Tejal Shah, Vinod Gupta explaining the subtext of it. It is remarkable to note that through HMEC initiative ‘Hindu Mandir Priest Conference (HMPC)’, ‘Hindu Women Network (HWN)’, ‘Hindu American Vanaprasthi Network (HAVAN) have been established. Moreover, this has resulted in publication of informative books like ‘Hindu Prayer Book’ and a book on ‘Antimsanskar’ (last rites). Abhayaji, also talked on Hindu’s biggest global event – “World Hindu Congress” – that took place last year in Chicago, USA where 3,000 delegates from 65 countries participated. Keeping up with the theme of the conference Swami Pratyagbodhananji, released a new book titled ‘Hindu Temple Security Guidelines’ that details the steps that need to be taken by the members of HMEC for the safety of their institutions and gatherings.
Saturday afternoon was devoted to ‘Media’ as a strategic tool of influence to connect with the larger audience and especially with our second generation. On the outset, Ajay Shah who is vigilant about anti-Hindu defamation attempts, expressed displeasure about the way Hindus are portrayed in the Media by well-financed hate-groups. He advised that more concerted efforts on the part of Hindus are necessary to counter this onslaught. Continuing on 2017 Media-workshop, Fred Stella emphasized that HMEC cadre needs to be Media-savvy (print, audio-visual, Social-media etc.) as the technology is here to stay. He disclosed that, as the raw data was being compiled, a handbook, as a guide, to interact with the Media in positive manner was on its way. Bhakti Mehta-Modi, Parth Parihar and Yogi Jayanathaji touched on modern modes of communications prevalent among younger generation. As an off-shoot of previous HMECs, quite a few ‘guidance books’ are being prepared. Among them, some relate to youth issues, namely, love-hate relation with their own identity, silent suffering when ostracized, freewill marriage, social stigmas atypical to Hindus in alien culture, depression etc. In late afternoon there was a special youth session to tackle their existential problems.
The highlight of Sunday, September 22 was the deliberations on wide-spread ‘religious conversions’ in Caribbean Islands and in India. Pt. Ram Harodwar revealed that lot of religious zealots, worldwide, are raising huge amounts of money to entice Hindus to change their religion. In Guyana, it was alleged that there is 25% drop in Hindu population since their arrival. The panel, consisting of Ram Sahadeo, Dwarka Persaud, Ram Harodwar and Fred Stella blamed the situation on governmental agencies, Hindu’s callous indifference and religious extremists preying on the disadvantaged. The possible solutions? Education, Financial aid, Reconversion, and Temples as help-centers for the people in need – and not just acting as the citadel of rituals. Everyone agrees that spirituality in all its forms is not the only contribution of Hindus to U.S. To encapsulate and celebrate all their contributions & achievements a unique symposium – ‘THREADS Conference 2019’ – is being hosted in Boston, MA on November 1-3 < https://www.threads2019.org >. Jai Bansal, who is one of the conveners of this gathering revealed that, “the purpose is to share the story of Hindu-Americans, appreciate what the America has done to embrace them and increasingly engage them to shape a collective future”.
For the benefit of participating institutions, Sanjay Mehta summarized the action items that the members had agreed on. The gathering resolved to (1) to create ‘Hindu Seva and outreach portal’, after database collection is complete (2) publish visitor’s guide for various Temples spread across the landscape (3) establish ‘HMEC Library’ to catalogue progressive ideas, suggestion and practical projects. Before the historic conference came to an end, Bhakti Mehta-Modi made a constructive suggestion that ~ it would serve everyone’s interests if the ‘Seniors’ give more time and thought to what the youths have to say in executing any task. She further elaborated that the definition of respect for seniors has different resonance to the youths born in USA and they also expect Seniors to take them seriously and not brush them aside. The gathering appreciated VHPA’s comprehensive efforts to bring various institutions together for collective brainstorming on issues that affect them most.
The Indian Overseas Congress (IOC, USA) celebrated the 150 Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi along with the 115th Birth Anniversary of Late Prime Minister of India Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri at Fairbridge Hotel in New Jersey. The event was attended by over 150 people and had dignitaries like Anil Shastri (Son of Late Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri), Salman Khurshid (Former External Affairs Minister), Himanshu Vyas (Secretary – All India Congress Committee) address the gathering with video messages from India. The Popular Mayor of Parsippany Michael Soriano was the guest of Honor. The event started off with a beautiful classical dance performance by second-generation kids. Aarush Rompally sang the American and Indian National Anthems.
The event started with videos on the life of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri with bhajans that both the leaders had liked. The event was attended by Indian Overseas Congress President Mohinder Gilzian, Vice Chairman – George Abraham, Harbachan Singh (Secretary-General), Malini Shah (Vice President) Leela Maret (Kerala Chapter President) along with several dignitaries from the Indian Community like Viru Patel (Councilman, Edison), Bharat Patel, Chandu Patel, Harkesh Thakur, Ram Gadula etc. The event was supported by the Gandhi Ashram Trust run by Bhadra Butala, who gave free biographies of Mahatma Gandhi to all the attendees.
The Mayor – Michael Soriano spoke on the influence of Mahatma Gandhi on his ideal – Martin Luther King and said that the values of Mahatma Gandhi were an inspiration to all generations across the world. He said that the Mahatma’s message of inclusion and service to all human beings, honestly with Integrity are universally accepted principles of good human behavior.
He gave away awards to the following people for Community Service. Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for Community Service – Colonel Virander Tavatia. Mahatma Gandhi Award for Community Service to Mukesh Kashiwala, Ravinder Thota, and Bhadra Butala.
Sam Pitrioda addressed the event from Chicago on Facebook Live. He spoke on the influence of the Mahatma Gandhi had on his life and spoke on how he was influenced by the great man very early in his childhood. He spoke on the portal that they had built under the UPA Government with the help of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He added that the value system Mahatma had espoused is currently under attack and those universal values would inspire more people today and keep India secular and united.
Anil Shastri spoke on how the Mahatma has influenced people across different countries and also said that there were over 2 dozen of the Mahatma’s statues in the USA, a country he had never visited. He also spoke on how his own father Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was influenced by the Mahatma. Salman Khurshid spoke on the relevance of Gandhi’s message in the present context and appreciated the fact that there are still many people who valued the principles of the Mahatma.
He also praised the role of Lal Bahadur Shastri in giving importance to farmers and soldiers and the way he administered the country in critical times after the death of Nehru. Himanshu Vyas spoke on how Gandhi’s message of peace, honesty, environment, service to the underprivileged was still relevant in the present context. He also praised the way Lal Bahadur Shastri guided the country in difficult times with his slogan – Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.
Mohinder Gilzian spoke of the great role of Mahatma Gandhi in shaping a nation with high morals and principles. ‘He has taught us to love everyone – different people, different religions, rich and poor. We should celebrate the differences and make the world a positive place for the generations to come,’ Mr. Gilzian added. He also mentioned the way Lal Bahadur Shastri ran the country and endeared himself to the nation in a short time.
George Abraham spoke about the transformational impact Gandhi continues to have impacted millions of people across the world. He added, ‘Gandhi taught us to accept suffering and even court suffering if we want personal transformation. Gandhi advocated powerlessness as the path to God, and his teachings continue to challenge us to seek God through our own active pursuit of truth and non-violence, and his philosophy is more relevant today than ever’. He also spoke on the high honesty and Integrity of Lal Bahadur Shastri. Harbachan Singh spoke on the value system that the Mahatma has inculcated to the people of India, Malini Shah spoke on the life Mahatma and his message that was conveyed by the way he lived. She also mentioned that she would be hosting her own event on the Mahatma in January 2020. Leela Maret spoke on how the Mahatma has influenced generations of people and continues to inspire people with the way he had lived his life with simplicity and honesty.
The event was planned and organized by Rajendar Dichpally and Dr.Jayesh Patel and supported by Chandu Patel and Harkesh thakur. Ashok Shah helped in arranging the hall and furniture for the event. The event was assisted by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Foundation(India) and Gandhi Ashram (Edison, USA).
India is marking the 150th birthday of Mohandas Gandhi, the man known as the father of the nation, and across the country there are exhibits, commemorations, marches, prisoner releases and even a 1,000-foot-long greeting card.
But the celebrations this week mask a deeper unease. A century and a half after the birth of the revered leader of India’s independence struggle, Gandhi and his legacy are getting an update — and much of it is not positive.
Even as admiration for Gandhi remains widespread, aspects of his life and philosophy are increasingly a source of controversy. Scholars have highlighted the racist language he used as a young man living in South Africa as well as his defense of India’s caste system.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the political spectrum, India’s right-leaning Hindu nationalist ideologues have long had an ambivalent relationship with Gandhi. Some view his dedication to nonviolence as a form of weakness, or think he betrayed the cause of Hindus with his support for religious pluralism. Earlier this year, one politician from the ruling party even described the man who assassinated Gandhi as a “patriot.”
In many parts of the world, “Gandhi is seen broadly as a nice, decent, open-minded, reasonable guy who advocated nonviolence, justice, peace and so on,” said Ramachandra Guha, a historian and author of a two-volume biography of Gandhi. But in India, “his ideas and legacy have been deeply contested.”
Gandhi is often given the title “Mahatma,” or “great soul,” and many in India refer to him simply as “Bapu,” a word for father. He inspired leaders such as Nelson Mandela and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who wrote that Gandhi served as a “continual reminder” that “it is possible to resist evil and yet not resort to violence.” But in his long life in the public eye — his collected works comprise nearly 100 volumes — Gandhi delved not only into politics, but also economics, religion, sexuality, sanitation and even diet.
A growing number of writers and scholars have also criticized Gandhi for his views on India’s caste system, saying he was a conservative who believed in preserving hereditary roles for different caste groups in Indian society rather than eradicating them.
Gandhi denounced the practice of treating certain people as “untouchable” or somehow polluting. Yet he also believed in having a “harmonious social order,” said Anand Teltumbde, one of India’s preeminent scholars on caste and the author of a recent manuscript on Gandhi. “The caste system provided that order,” Teltumbde said.
Other scholars say that Gandhi advocated a gradual reform of the system because he did not want to alienate the upper castes, which were crucial to the independence struggle.
On Wednesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Gandhi at an event in Gujarat, the home state of both men. Gandhi was an advocate for better sanitation, and Modi is using his 150th birthday to celebrate the government’s “Clean India” campaign, which has constructed millions of toilets nationwide. Because of the program, India’s rural areas have essentially eradicated the practice of defecating outside, Modi said, although experts cast doubt on that claim.
Modi also praised Gandhi in an opinion piece published in the New York Times, saluting him for giving “courage to millions globally” and for envisioning “a world where every citizen has dignity and prosperity.” Modi challenged “thinkers, entrepreneurs and tech leaders” to find innovative ways to spread Gandhi’s ideas.
Modi’s emphasis on honoring Gandhi in association with the cleanliness campaign strikes some of those who knew him as a strategic choice. Although Gandhi did advocate improved sanitation, they say, it was not his central message. Those connected to the current Indian regime are using a fragment of Gandhi to destroy the core of Gandhi,” said his grandson Rajmohan Gandhi, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The core of Gandhi is equality and especially minority rights.”
Modi “exalts Gandhi as a prophet of cleanliness and recycling,” added Guha, Gandhi’s biographer. “He never talks about what Gandhi lived and died for, which was Hindu-Muslim harmony.”
Gandhi was assassinated in January 1948 by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist. Godse was a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist organization that is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. (Modi spent much of his life as a full-time RSS worker.)
In May, Pragya Thakur, days before she was elected to India’s Parliament for the BJP, hailed Gandhi’s assassin Godse as a “patriot.” Modi said Thakur’s remarks were “condemnable” and she apologized, but the party ultimately took no action against her.
Some rue the fact that Gandhi is becoming irrelevant in today’s India. He has been reduced “to a ritualistic presence in our collective life,” Apoorvanand, a professor at Delhi University who goes by only one name, wrote this month. “He has been made a lifestyle guru, a feel-good presence — something he never was.” To embrace Gandhi would mean reviving “a politics of dissent . . . which sometimes requires going against one’s own people.”
When Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi, his grandson Rajmohan was 12. Now Rajmohan is 84, older than Gandhi was when he died. Rajmohan said he took heart from a recent video of an Indian high school student reciting a poem praising Gandhi that went viral.
“There is a stubborn core of people who have understood him and know that Gandhi represents the better angels of the Indian nature,” said Rajmohan. Gandhi is “not finished in India — no, sir.”
The ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston was an eye catcher for more reasons than one. While Modi was saying ‘All is Well’ in India, thousands of protestors outside were showing the real mirror to state of affairs in India. At the same time Donald Trump, US president, while on one hand due to face the process of impeachment, on the other he was trying to promote his electoral prospects in the next US elections.
As is his wont he does flatter visiting dignitaries, for achieving goals of his diplomacy. He went on to praise Modi to the sky; as a great leader; saying, “I remember India before was very torn. There was a lot of dissension; fighting and he (Modi) brought it all together. Like a father would. Maybe he is the ‘father of India’.”
Right within US there are many views about Modi. The last time the similar debate cropped up was just before Indian General Elections of 2019. On the eve of the elections US premier magazine Time came out with a cover story “Modi: the Divider in Chief’. Of course in another article in the same issue of the magazine he was presented as the one who is central to the process of economic reforms in India. What we see here in India and what the lead article of Time magazine presented was on the dot, the divisive role of Modi.
The observation here has been that Modi’s coming to power has strengthened the divisive forces, the forces who want Hindu nation. It is precisely these forces who have gone on rampage to unleash their agenda around Cow-Beef, the communal divisions have been deepened and identity issues have come to the fore like never before.
The minorities are being alienated and dalits-Adivasis are being marginalized. Even language wise talk has been floated to make Hindi as national language. The identity issues, which create emotive atmosphere and divide the people are to the fore. While Trump is talking in one tone, the earlier hopeful in previous Presidential elections in America, Bernie Sanders in a tweet hinted that Trump is emboldening the authoritarian leaders like Modi, the leaders who are presiding over religious persecution, repression and brutality against minorities.
Till few years ago Modi himself spoke very divisive language. Now this job has been passed down to his associates. Yogi Adityanath’s anti Muslim utterances abound. Anantkrishna Hegde like many of his ilk have been openly been talking of Hindu nation. To add to the list Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, the accused in Malegaon blast, out on bail, has been praising Gandhi’s killer Godse among other things. Lately the way Article 370 has been abrogated the alienation of people of Kashmir is going up.
In a way Time magazine’s cover story did capture the state of things prevalent here. Trump is no scholar of history, ignorant of the fact as to why India regards Mahatma Gandhi as the ‘father of the nation’.
Trump’s considerations are driven by his political contingency of gradually shifting America’s closeness to India. The reason for US favoring Pakistan in yesteryears was the compulsion of cold war era. Later it kept siding with Pakistan as US designs of controlling oil wealth of West Asia were its prime motive and Pakistan was made a part of American designs in West Asia.
Now with emergence of China as a major power, and China being close to Pakistan, US gradually want to become close to India. These may be some of the factors due to which Trump is making such utterances. But that’s not about all. US is also keeping its Pakistan relationship on some scale and very shrewdly Trump did say that Modi had made aggressive remarks in Houston rally. He seems to be buttering his bread from both the sides at present.
Many a reaction to Trump’s formulations showed his hollowness. Gandhi’s grandson Tushar, tweeted that whether Trump will like to replace George Washington as one of the founding fathers of America?
What Trump has stated has pained those for whom Gandhi is the ‘father of the nation’. Any way the followers of Modi ideology do not regard Gandhi as the father of the nation. Their argument is that India the Hindu nation; is there from times immemorial and so how can Gandhi be its father. Gandhi being father of the nation also relates to the concept of nationalism.
All those who were part of ‘India as a nation in the making’ see Gandhi as the central uniting figure. During freedom movement in the anti colonial movement, it was Gandhi who played the role of uniting the country which was scattered along the lines of religion, region, caste and language. The communalists like the followers of Muslim League saw Gandhi as a Hindu leader and Hindu communalists saw Gandhi as the appeaser of Muslims.
Through the very profound and complex process, India emerged as a Nation with the principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Surely the likes of Bhagat Singh, Ambedkar, Nehru and Patel played great role in making of the modern India. The process had multiple components, anti colonialism being the core where the likes of Bhagat Singh inspired the idea and Gandhi led the greatest ever mass movement, the movement directed against British Empire.
It is due to this that Subhashchandra Bose on July 6 1944, in broadcast from Singapore Radio, sought blessings of Gandhi, addressing him as Father of Nation. Sarojini Naidu on April 6, 1947, on the eve of Independence, addressed Gandhi as Rashtrapita (Father of the Nation). So where do we go from here, the Hindu nationalist followers are going euphoric about what Trump said and all those whole identify with India’s struggle for Independence and uphold democratic values are in anguish due to this statement from US President. Trump’s superficial observation is neither sound in history of India nor knowing of what is happening in India, it’s a mere diplomatic ploy to please the visiting leader.
Chicago IL: The Gandhi Memorial Trust in collaboration with Village of Skokie and consulate general of India, organized the remembrance at larger than life, bronze statue of Mahatma, located at the Heritage Public Park in Skokie, Illinois. Between 10 to 12 PM. Confronting fall type Chicago’s cold windy and rainy day, almost 155 Gandhi admirers and followers attended the occasion, Event began by offerings of flower and reciting his favorite song “Vaishnav vajan…., by Bollywood singer Poonam Bhatia.
October 2, 2019 was the 150th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born in Porbandar, India; He led perhaps the biggest mass movement in the world. The hallmark of this movement was non-violence. It is in recognition of his contributions that the United Nations has declared October 2 as the International Day of Non-violence.
Village of Skokie Mayor, Village Trustees; Indian Consulate General honorable Mr. Sudhakar Dalela with consulate team; Mrs. Santosh Kumar and staff of Universal Metro Asian Services (UMAS), and almost 155 supporters graced the occasion
Opening speech by founder and Chairman Dr. Chandrakant M. Modi, highlighted narration of establishment of Mahatma’s statue 15 years ago. He acknowledged pivotal supportive role played by the Mayor and village Trustees and entire team. Dr. Modi concluded “If Gandhi’s teaching is followed today, no one have to die to go to haven”, that place will be existent right now on our planet.
The Mayor of Skokie Honorable Mr. George Van Dusen started his speech by that Gandhi’s strength came from his spirituality, his honesty and simplicity and, of course, his absolute conviction. “a Quote on Gandhi, by Albert Einstein had who said, “Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.” He further remarked Gandhi’s strength came from his spirituality, his honesty and simplicity and, of course, his absolute conviction. The village of Skokie of appreciates the steadfast services of the Gandhi Memorial representatives to bring here through the sculpture and taking active role in spreading his universal eternal message of truth, tolerance and non-violence. He further added that since inception of the statue, every year, in honor of this universal man Gandhi, the village has proclaims October 2nd as peace day.
Honorable Mr. Sudhakar Dalela, Counsel General of India, shared Gandhi’s role in achieving monumental task of attaining the goal of independence of India by non-violence movement. Gandhi’s words, actions and methods won over the masses and as a result, several joined him as he led momentous the “Dandi Salt March” in 1930. In 1942, he launched the Quit India Movement.
Honerable Daleja also shared the messages from President and prime minister of India on this occasion and congratulated the Gandhi Memorial community to continue spreading the message of Mahatma Gandhi.
Mrs. Santosh Kumar, Chairperson of Universal Metro Asian Services (UMAS), Chicago, thanked everyone for coming out in large numbers to celebrate Gandhiji’s birthday and vowed to keep up serving the community in the best manner.
Special award was Given to the Mr. Adil Syed, one of grandson of freedom fighter Mr. Khan Abdul Gafar Khan also called Sarhad ke Gandhi as he was native of border of pre-independence India and Afghanistan.
Mr. Satish Chander closed the event with a vote of thanks. He specially thanked extra ordinary perennial support from entire Village of Skokie officials including mayor, board of trustee village manager Mr. Lockerby, Ms. Cathy Stevens and staff of forestry dept, Security department including chef of Police Mr. AnthonyScarpelli, Indian consulate Mr. Sudhakar Daleja and whole consulate staff, Mr. Santoshkumar, Mrs. Jasbir Kour and UMAS staff for catering snacks and hot brew. The event like this would not have been possible without volunteer supports; Harish Kolasani, Dayal Patel, Muktesh Shah for help with transport and distribution of Snacks and juices, Mrs. Bharati Shah, Dina and Amee Modi, Mina Patel, Sudha Guruji, Mira Chander, DJ Mr. Safi, Shobhana Patel from Asian Media USA capture this historical event in video.
Snacks and beverages at the conclusion of the event were provided courtesy of Raja food owned by Swetal Patel and Family. Hot tea was served by courtesy of Mrs. Jasbir Kaur and her team of volunteers from MFAS.
(Reprinted from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health News)
In shaky, handheld camera footage from the film The Price of Free, Kailash Satyarthi and colleagues burst into an urban Indian factory, demanding, “Where are the children?” They run through the building in a desperate search, before finally finding a group of scared young boys hiding among bags of product. “Those who think that slavery has been abolished,” Satyarthi says in the clip, “they are wrong.”
Satyarthi spoke at a screening of clips from the film—a documentary about his fight against child labor and exploitation—at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre on September 27, 2019. The event was sponsored by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Faculty of Arts & Sciences.
In introductory remarks, Harvard Chan Dean Michelle Williams spoke about the physical and mental health toll on the 152 million children forced to work in factories, brothels, and other dangerous settings in countries including the U.S. She said that she hoped that the film would raise awareness, the first step toward addressing a crisis.
Satyarthi founded the organization Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save Childhood Movement) in 1980, which has gone on to free more than 80,000 children from forced labor. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his work.
During a discussion following the screening, he shared success stories of a few of the children he has helped, including a young man in India who became a lawyer and took on an exploited girl as his first client. Satyarthi encouraged the many students in the audience to educate themselves about child labor, and to demand supply chain transparency and accountability from companies.
“We’d like to see universities become strong champions for the cause,” he told the Harvard Gazette in an interview prior to the event. “My mission in life is that every child on the earth is free; free to walk to school, free to laugh, free to play. When every child is free to be a child, only then my dream will come true.”
Before inviting audience members on stage to take a selfie with him, Satyarthi concluded his remarks with a folk tale that he said inspires him: When a forest catches on fire, most of its animal inhabitants run away, complain, and despair. But a hummingbird decides to do what she can to help, filling her small beak with water to try to extinguish the flames drop by drop. In doing so, she inspires others to join in to tackle a seemingly insurmountable problem one small piece at a time.
In what could become the first step towards legislative action by American lawmakers against India on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has added an appeal to end what it calls a “humanitarian crisis” in Kashmir in its report ahead of the annual Foreign Appropriations Act for 2020.
The amendment was proposed by Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Delhi this week as a part of a congressional delegation that discussed the Kashmir situation as well as India-U.S. bilateral relations, trade ties and defence purchases with key officials.
According to the report, which was submitted to the Senate by Lindsey Graham, senior Senator and key Republican leader known for his close ties to President Donald Trump, the committee on Appropriations “notes with concern the current humanitarian crisis in Kashmir and calls on the Government of India to: fully restore telecommunications and Internet services; lift its lockdown and curfew; and release individuals detained pursuant to the Government’s revocation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution.”
What makes the report as well as the tough language on Kashmir more startling is that the document was submitted on September 26, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was still in the US, and came just a few days after his joint address at the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston with Mr. Trump, as well as their bilateral meeting in New York.
“This amendment, which was accepted unanimously by the bipartisan committee, is a strong expression of concern by the Senate about the situation in Kashmir and sends the signal that we are closely monitoring the human rights situation there, and would like to see the Government of India take those concerns seriously,” Mr. Van Hollen told The Hindu here, adding that he had “hoped to share his concerns privately” with Prime Minister Modi, but had not been able to meet him.
Van Hollen had met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Washington last week and Senator Bob Menendez, also a part of the delegation, met with Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal this week in Delhi. Both Senators have made public statements in the last two months on the Kashmir situation.
While it is unclear whether their concerns over Kashmir elicited any responses from the government, The Hindu has learnt that Senator Van Hollen was rebuffed when requested permission to visit Srinagar in an effort to assess the situation on the ground.
When asked, MEA officials said the Ministry of Home Affairs handled such requests. No diplomat or foreign journalist has yet been given clearance to visit Kashmir since the government’s decision on Article 370 on August 5.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit in Delhi on Friday, Mr. Jaishankar said many key decision-makers in the US had been “misinformed by their media” and that he had spent considerable efforts in the past few weeks to clear misconceptions on the government’s decision to drop the “temporary” Article 370.
Amnesty India’s hate crime tracker has recorded 181 incidents of alleged hate crimes in the first half of 2019, the steepest rise in such incidents since 2015. The count is almost double that of the same period last year, when 100 such cases were recorded.
Over two-thirds of the victims were targeted because they were Dalits, while 40 of them suffered on account of their Muslim identity. In 37 reported incidents, the victims were killed. In 30 cases, victims were raped or sexually assaulted, with sexual harassment in another 19 cases.
Between January and June 2019, 72 mob attacks were reported. Of the 37 such attacks against Muslims, the victims were lynched to death in five cases. Dalit victims were lynched to death in eight of the 28 mob attacks targeting them. There were seven honour killings and 12 cases of violence against Adivasis.…
Over the course of the nation’s history, there has been a slow but steady decrease in the size of the average U.S. household – from 5.79 people per household in 1790 to 2.58 in 2010. But this decade will likely be the first since the one that began in 1850 to break this long-running trend, according to newly released Census Bureau data. In 2018 there were 2.63 people per household.
Households are increasing in size mathematically because the growth in the number of households is trailing population growth. The newly released data indicates that the population residing in households has grown 6% since 2010 (the smallest population growth since the 1930s), while the number of households has grown at a slower rate (4%, from 116.7 million in 2010 to 121.5 million in 2018).
The increase in household size is significant because it could have implications for national economic growth. Rising household size reduces the demand for housing, resulting in less residential construction and less demand for home appliances and furniture. In general, it leads to a less vigorous housing sector – fewer apartment leases and home purchases, as well as less spending related to housing, such as cable company subscriptions and home accessories suppliers.
The long-running decline in American household size can be tied to at least two demographic trends. The size of immediate families has declined over time as women have had fewer children. In 1790, the total fertility rate of white women was 7.0 births (meaning a white woman had, on average, seven births in her lifetime). By 1870 it had fallen to 4.6 births, and by 1940 it stood at 2.2. For black women, the total fertility rates were 7.7 and 2.8 births for 1870 and 1940, respectively.
Furthermore, the rise of the nuclear family resulted in fewer extended family living arrangements and smaller households. In 1850, almost 70% of those ages 65 and older lived with their adult children. By 2000, fewer than 15% did so. These demographic changes may reflect more fundamental societal changes such as industrialization, urbanization, rising living standards (especially for older adults) and constricted immigration in the first half of the 1900s.
This decade’s likely upturn in average household size reflects several demographic trends.
A growing share of the population resides in multigenerational family households. By 2016, 20% of Americans lived in a multigenerational household, up from 12% in 1980. On average, these families have about two more members than other households. This partly reflects the country’s increasing racial and ethnic diversity. The Asian, black and Hispanic populations are more likely to live in multigenerational households than non-Hispanic whites.
In addition, more Americans in the wake of the Great Recession are “doubled up” in shared living quarters. This arrangement refers to the presence of an “extra adult” in the household, who might be an adult child or parent of the householder, or simply a roommate or boarder in the household. In 2019, 20% of households are shared households, up from 17% in 2007.
Most age groups are living in larger households this decade. The change is most apparent for adults ages 35 and older. For example, in 2017, 67% of 35- to 54-year-olds lived in a household with three or more people, an increase from 64% in 2010. A similar increase in households of three or more is apparent among 55- to 64-year-olds.
While bigger households may be bad for the wider economy, they are often advantageous for the households themselves. The additional household members may be working adults who contribute to household income. The widely noted arrangement of young adults residing with their parents demonstrates the economic benefits of bigger households. Last year, 6% of families that had at least one adult child age 25 to 34 living in the home were in poverty. The Census Bureau estimates that the poverty rate for these families would have been 11.5% if the young adult were not a member of the household.
Average household size will likely exceed 2.58 persons in 2020 if the current pace of household growth holds.
Note: There are two ways to look at trends regarding households in the U.S. In this analysis, which treats all households equally, the average household has 2.6 people. Other analyses look at it through the prism of the average person and find that the average person lives in a household with 3.4 people. The average based on people gives more weight to larger households since there are more people residing in them.
“I would like these three key words – honesty, courage and responsibility – to be at the heart of your work today and tomorrow.”
The Holy Father expressed this in a video message he sent on Monday, Sept. 23, to participants at the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 in New York, while noting the situation is not good and the planet is suffering, Francis said, “the window of opportunity is still open. We are still in time.”
“Let us open it,” he said, “with our determination to cultivate integral human development, to ensure a better life for future generations.”
The problem of climate change, Francis stressed, is related to issues of ethics, equity and social justice, adding that the current situation of environmental degradation “is connected with the human, ethical and social degradation that we experience every day.”
“This,” he recognized, “forces us to think about the meaning of our models of consumption and production, and the processes of education and awareness, to make them consistent with human dignity.”
He reminded that there are a numerous solutions “within everyone’s reach, if we adopt on a personal and social level a lifestyle that embodies honesty, courage and responsibility.”
The Holy Father prayed those words accompany them together with his best wishes and prayer. Here is the Vatican-provided text of the Holy Father’s video-message.
I would like to thank the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, for convening this meeting and for drawing the attention of Heads of State and Government – and of the entire international community and world public opinion – to one of the most serious and worrying phenomena of our time: climate change.
This is one of the principal challenges we have to face. To do so, humanity is called to cultivate three great moral qualities: honesty, responsibility and courage.
With the Paris Agreement of 12 December 2015, the international community became aware of the urgency and need for a collective response to help build our common home. However, four years after that historic Agreement, we can see that the commitments made by States are still very “weak”, and are far from achieving the objectives set.
Along with so many initiatives, not only by governments but by civil society as a whole, it is necessary to ask whether there is a real political will to allocate greater human, financial and technological resources to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and to help the poorest and most vulnerable populations, who suffer the most.
While the situation is not good and the planet is suffering, the window of opportunity is still open. We are still in time. Let us not let it close. Let us open it with our determination to cultivate integral human development, to ensure a better life for future generations. It is their future, not ours. “Although the post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible in history, nonetheless there is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities” (Laudato si’, 165).
With honesty, responsibility and courage we have to put our intelligence “at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral” (Laudato si’, 112), capable of placing economy at the service of the human person, building peace and protecting the environment.
The problem of climate change is related to issues of ethics, equity and social justice. The current situation of environmental degradation is connected with the human, ethical and social degradation that we experience every day. And this forces us to think about the meaning of our models of consumption and production, and the processes of education and awareness, to make them consistent with human dignity. We are facing a “challenge of civilization” in favour of the common good. And this is clear, just as it is clear that we have a multiplicity of solutions that are within everyone’s reach, if we adopt on a personal and social level a lifestyle that embodies honesty, courage and responsibility.
I would like these three key words – honesty, courage and responsibility – to be at the heart of your work today and tomorrow. May they accompany you together with my best wishes and with my prayer.
Chicago, IL: Today, Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a Proclamation declaring October 2, 2019 Mahatma Gandhi Day in the City of Chicago, at an event hosted by the Delhi Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities in partnership with World Business Chicago. The luncheon was held in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birth Anniversary. Smita N. Shah, Chairman of the Delhi Committee, introduced honored guests, United States Senator Richard J. Durbin and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. Also present were four Consul Generals from India, Sudhakar Dalela, Consul General of South Africa Phumzile Mazibuko, Consul General of the United Kingdom John Saville, and Honorary Consul General of Nepal, Marvin Brustin. Other notable guests were Niranjan S. Shah, Vijay Dave, Maarten de Jeu, Babu Patel, Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, and Nick Patel.
“Chicago has a unique history with India, from the Parliament of World Religions in 1893, when Swami Vivekananda came and spoke of the universal unity of religion,” said Smita Shah, chairman of the Delhi Committee. “It is fitting that Chicago is among the first to recognize Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth Anniversary.”
“Chicago and the Delhi Committee is one of the first to have an annual Mahatma Gandhi celebration,” commented Andrea Zopp, former Deputy Mayor and CEO of World Business Chicago. “This is unique, and we are honored to do it.”
“The Delhi Committee of Chicago Sister Cities promotes cultural, social and economic exchange between the citizens of Chicago and the citizens of India,” said Smita N. Shah. “We honor Gandhi today, because it is such a significant example of the value of global exchanges.”
Senator Durbin explained how Mahatma Gandhi “was inspired by American philosopher Henry David Thoreau, in the concept of civil disobedience. In return, he inspired many world leaders, including Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King,” said Senator Durbin. “We can all have an impact on improving lives by working together.”
Senator Durbin also spoke of the importance of immigrants in this country. “Immigrants in this country have made a tremendous contribution,” Senator Durbin noted. “This Senator believes in immigration. This Senator stands by the communities of the City of Chicago.”
Delhi Chairman Smita Shah, in introducing Mayor Lightfoot, noted that “Gandhi’s fight for independence included a desire to fight poverty, create social economic opportunity for citizens and to ensure the preservation of human dignity,”
Mayor Lightfoot gave a moving and impassioned speech about Mahatma Gandhi and his contributions, and how we all can learn from him. “Poverty is the worst form of violence,” she quoted Gandhiji. “We must do better for all of our communities. We must do better for our immigrant communities.”
Smita N. Shah noted, “I see Mayor Lightfoot in that same fight for human dignity for all. Mayor Lightfoot reminds our community and the citizens of this City that strength and conviction belongs to everyone, and that we need to do well for each member of our city. That we cannot be successful unless each neighborhood and community has an opportunity for education and economic opportunity.”
“This is about human dignity,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “We are going to give all people, in every community, especially the neediest and including the immigrant community, their dignity.”
Excerpts from Proclamation:
“Whereas October 2, 2019 marks the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi; and “Whereas, Gandhi is revered the world over for his nonviolent philosophy of passive resistance and as an advocate for all people, including the poor and disenfranchised, championing the causes of education, economic opportunity, and equality amongst all; and “Whereas Gandhi is often named among the 20th century’s most important figures…
“Whereas, founded in 2014 by the Delhi Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, under the leadership of Smita Shah, the Annual Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi Luncheon honors Gandhi’s lasting contributions and inspires us all to follow the example left by him:
“Now, Therefore, I, Lori e. Lightfoot, mayor of the city of Chicago, do hereby proclaim October 2, 2019 to be Mahatma Gandhi Day in Chicago, in recognition of the important legacy of Mahatma Gandhi.”
Friends of MP NYNJ had its 5th Annual Picnic on Sat Sept 21 in Pennington, NJ. Around 300 members attended, hailing from 5 North East states in USA. And all these have roots in different cities and towns of Madhya Pradesh (MP).
It was excellent sunny weather, beautiful park sorrounding and participants of all age brackets had an amazing time. Highlight of MP are its food delicacies. The morning ‘Indore ka Sarafa’ was Pohe, Jalebi, Garadu ; followed by sumptuous tasty lunch of Puri, Shrikhand, Aamras. Lunch was served by volunteers of Friends of MP wearing the Malwi Pagdi. Midday was chilled Jaljeera, Guddi ke Baal, Baraf Gola.
In addition to the usual fun, activities and entertainment, these were some of the highlights of the Picnic this year.
# To preserve the environment, FMP Ladies team made Table Covers of reusable cloth (which used of plastic earlier ). There was a game for kids called ‘Best out of Waste’ to make things of value/decoration. Gift tokens to Elder citizens were plants.
# To promote knowledge of MP , there was a scavenger hunt made about Narmada river. The teams were named after famous Ladies from MP :Sumitra, Ahilya, Lata, Sushma, Aryama, Manikarnika .
# The whole Photo area was made by the theme of a Village (Gaanv) complete with Charpai, Hukka, Well, and other Props, which was very popular for attendees.
# Even the Housie/Tambola game was made around famous spots in MP.
# In addition, there were many games and creativity activities for toddlers, young kids, teenagers and Adults.
# Above all, the underlying theme of any Picnic of Friends of MP is the ‘personal connect’ of participants. People got to meet their old school buddies, found common bonds by chance. The entire day was focused in enabling maximum personal interaction. To facilitate, many of the first- time attendees shared their short Introductory Video Clips which made ‘breaking the ice’ much easier. There was a large number of families who attended the Picnic for the first time.
# Team of Volunteers lead by families of Jitendra Muchhal, Raj Bansal, Rajesh Mittal, Pankaj Gupta, Sandeep Jain, Anupam Sarwaikar, Anjani Mittal had been working for last many months to bring this Picnic alive. There were many who got chance to attend picnic after 2 years wait, as it becomes houseful every year soon. www.friendsofMPNYNJ.com
New York, NY – On Saturday, September 14, 2019, Pratham, one of India’s largest and most successful education-focused charitable organizations, celebrated a quarter-century of transforming lives with an exhilarating gala and benefit concert that raised an impressive $4 million to help expand Pratham’s work into 10,000 communities.
Rahul Mahajan, president of the NY Tri-State Chapter, welcomed guests for cocktails and a medley of Indian street-food in the iconic atrium of 60 Wall Street before they walked across Wall Street, which had been closed specifically for the event, to the Cipriani ballroom for dinner and an intimate Sufi Music concert by the famed Indian composer and musician A. R. Rahman.
“It is so heartening to see the Tri-State community come together to support Pratham,” declared Mahajan. “Their generosity has enabled us to achieve our fundraising goal and help Pratham expand its literacy and learning programs to hundreds more communities.”
Pratham USA Chairman Deepak Raj echoed the sentiment: “We are incredibly grateful to the donors and volunteers who support our work. What Pratham has accomplished over the last quarter century is truly remarkable. We look forward to transforming many more lives in the years ahead.”
“In our 25 years, we have worked on every child in school and learning well,” reflected Pratham CEO Dr. Rukmini Banerji. “More and more children are in school and today over 95% of kids are in school.” In a keynote address detailing the next phase of Pratham, Dr. Banerji outlined the organization’s shift from helping children who have fallen behind–what she calls “catch up”–to investing in them early so they can “make the leap forward,” with a broader goal of increasing community involvement in education.
Banerji was later joined on stage by twin sisters Anjali and Anchal Purabiya, both graduates of Pratham’s Second Chance program, which assists female dropouts in attaining their secondary school certificates. In a Q&A, the girls, who are competitive athletes, elaborated on Pratham’s role in allowing them to continue their education and pursue their dreams of one day competing in the Olympics.
The milestone anniversary was commemorated with a celebratory video featuring some of the first children to attend a Pratham program in the slums of Mumbai. Today they are teachers, social workers and engineers.
The night concluded with a two-hour concert by A. R. Rahman showcasing popular Sufi film compositions, rearranged versions of the masters of Qawwali and culturally inspired collaborations. Featuring an international cast of virtuoso musicians and accompanied by an immersive light show, the hypnotic performance left the audience in a reflective mood befitting the evening’s purpose.
“Our long-time dream of performing Sufi music for human causes came true with this wonderful opportunity with Pratham, Rahman tweeted during the evening. “Thank you for being respectful and extremely generous with the cause today.”
Among the prominent attendees were Consul General of India Sandeep Chakravorty and his wife Taruna Chakravorty and Mayor of Hoboken Ravi Bhalla and his wife Navneet K. Patwalia Bhalla. Sponsors included Persistent Systems, Better.com, TCS, Dome Equities, and Plus 1 Multiline by Orbic.
Pursuing its mission of “every child in school and learning well,” Pratham promotes basic literacy as a means to establish a secure foundation for learning, both in and out of school. Pratham collaborates with governments, communities, educators, and industry to focus on innovative ways to address gaps in India’s education system. By bridging the divide between stakeholders, Pratham raises standards and increases accountability, thereby transforming the lives of children, families and entire communities.
Pratham’s vast network spans 21 Indian states and has reached more than 60 million children and youth since its inception. Pratham’s work has been recognized through major International awards, including the Asia Game Changer Award, the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the WISE Prize for Education, the Henry R. Kravis Leadership Prize, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and most recently the 2018 LUI Che Woo Prize in the Positive Energy category.
Chicago IL: Ganpati Bappa Morya! Regal Foundation, a non-for-profit organization of Regal Jewels and Regal Sari and Regal Law group hosted its 6th annual Ganesh Chaturthi celebration, Starting Monday September 02, 2019 and concluding on Wednesday September 12, 2019 in Chicago. Hundreds of devotees flocked to Shree Ganesh Temple to have Darshan and get blessing from the God whose big attribute is to remove evil and bring happiness in the lives of people.
The idea of Devon Ka Raja was the brain child of Nirmal Shewakramani and his wife Gurbachanji. They had hefty backing of Ramesh Mehtani of Resham and Hemant Brahmbhat of Hi India. This was the Sixth year in succession that Devon Ka Raja came and conquered the Devon Avenue with flourish and the credit goes largely to the trio and the huge army of devotees and a good number of volunteers who gave their selfless service and got recognition from Nirmal Shewakramani at the end.
India is a land of Rajas and Maharajas, but mini-India Town on Devon Avenue that has thick Indian population, had none so far. A well minded community activist, inspired by the famous “Lal Bagh Ka Raja, event in Mumbai India, Regal Foundation started their community event as Devon Ka Raja (“King of Devon”) in response to the imminent need of a house of worship right on Heart Of India or Devon Avenue. The Raja was none other than popular Indian God, his highness, Shri Ganapati, designated as Sukh Karta (giver of happiness) and Dukh Harta (destroyer of unhappiness- impediments.)
Entire Puja was performed by Balaji Temple priest Sri Begur Nagendra Rao. His education from Rigveda Mula – Poorva and Apara Prayoga (8 yrs course on Hindu Philosophy, Hindu Tradition and Hindu Religious Rights) Sanskrit – Sahitya (8 yrs course in Sanskrit Scriptures and Literature)
Community activists were led by president of Hindi Lovers Club, Mrs. Gurbachan Singh, and many Devon area businessmen, friends and well-wishers joined in these celebrations. They transported in a huge life size idol of Lord Ganapati, crowned it as Devon Ka Raja and placed in Shree Ganesh Temple of Chicago, 2545 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL for the occasion. Nonstop 11 days, it was literally festive ‘Mela’ every day for a huge number of Indians flocking in not only from suburbs but also from neighboring States of Indiana and Wisconsin.
Daily there were two prayers (Aartis) in the morning and evening with Bhajans, Garbas, special discourses and Prasads to everyone were other features of the celebrations. The last day saw a special finally or ‘Visarjan’ procession symbolized by immersing the idol in water after the Aarti.
Hundreds of devotees and visitors joined the pomp grand procession fir for the divine king of king, with live band. Throughout the procession of hundreds of worshipers were chanting and dancing as the festival sponsors hoisted the Lord Ganesh in decorated ‘Palakhi’ upon special open truck. 4 block of Devon street was closed
Along the route, King Shri Ganesh showered the surrounding businesses and homes with His blessings, pausing for a special prayer offering good wishes to Sahil Exclusive, Sukhadia’s Sweets, Hindi Lover’s Club, Udapi Palace, Uma Sarees, Punjabi Dhaba, India Sari Palace, Resham’s Handicrafts, NPHi-India Newspaper, Lakshmi Jewelers, Patel Handicrafts, Patel Brothers, Regal Traders, Fresh Farms International Market, Andaaz Jewelers, Joy Allukas, Kamdar Plaza, Raj Jewels, Vitha Jewels, Shewakramani Partnership, Uru-Swati Resturant, Regal Jewels, and Sari Sapne.
After the procession the priest and worshipers bid Ganesh a final farewell as they submerged him into water. Local businesses along with countless volunteers dedicated hours of assistance, offerings of sweets, food and flowers, and praise to the Lord Ganesha, without whom this event would have been impossible.
After the overwhelming success and positive community response, Regal Foundation vowed to celebrate this event every year. The Ganesh Chauthurti has always been welcoming of participants of all faiths to come together and celebration of one of most well-known and revered Hindu gods.
In addition to hosting the annual Ganesh Chauturthi, Regal Foundation is striving to meet the needs of the community by establishing a permanent Ganesh Temple on Devon Ave. Last but not least, the event couldn’t go smoothly and successfully without the hard work of Kaajal Shewakramani Gill and Rahul Gill they are family members.
Regal Jewels is a family owned and operated corporation, established in 1987. Spanning the retail and wholesale markets throughout now India and Pakistan, we have migrated through several countries before establishing ourselves in Chicago. We have proudly served the Chicagoland community for over three decades and through two generations. Visit our website: www.shreeganeshtemple.com Facebook: Devon Ka Raja
GOPIO’s Founding Life Member, former President and Chairman and current Executive Trustee of GOPIO Foundation has passed away this morning at a hospital in the Los Angeles area. GOPIO Treasurer Kewal Kanda has informed me about one hour back. He is going to the hospital now.
I had spoken to Inder last Friday, Sept. 20th. He told me that he would go to the hospital again on Sunday and hopefully return back early this week. In fact, he told me that he had drafted a letter for the GOPIO Election announcement since GOPIO E.C. had entrusted him to conduct the election. He told me that if he could, he would send out the letter this week. From Monday onwards, I tried to call him and couldn’t get him on the phone. So yesterday I called Kewal who told me that he visited Inder in his hospital and that he was not doing well. It is a great loss for all of us, GOPIO, Indian community in the USA and the Indian Diaspora. May his soul rest in peace.
It was in the late 1981, after I founded Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) in New York and served as its president for 5 years, I saw a news item in India Abroad about Inder Singh who organized an India Independence Day Celebration in Los Angeles area under a platform of India Independence Day Celebration Committee.
I called him up and shared our successful experience of bringing all Indian community groups in the New York area under one umbrella of the FIA and suggested him to do so. He immediately changed the group to FIA Southern California and organized the next celebration under that banner. Since then, I had worked with him very closely and brought him into the National Federation if Indian American Associations (NFIA) and organized a very successful national convention in 1986 in Los Angeles.
I handed over the NFIApresidency to Inder in 1988. In the same year, he came to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee against massive military aid to Pakistan. In 1989, when NFIA did the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin in New York, Inder was NFIA President and was a great team player and travelled to Canada to reach out our community and bring them to the convention. He took over as the President of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) in 2004 and served as its Chairman from 2009 to 2016. Later he became the Executive Trustee of GOPIO Foundation till his death.
One of the major contribution of Inder in Southern California is launching Indian Heritage Foundation a society that celebrates and honors academic excellence and achievements of Indian American youth. Since 1987, Inder and his team had honored Indian American high school students who excelled in academic field as well as in extracurricular activities.
Inder has also been responsible to honor the forgotten Gaddar heroes. He, as President and later as Chairman of GOPIO sensitized India Govt. to organize a symposium on Gaddar heroes and their contribution to the India Independence movement during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. He was also instrumental on Govt. of India deciding to renovate and establish Gaddar Center as a museum in San Francisco.
A Republican, Inder, Singh also co-founded the Asian & Pacific American Republicans Coalition which became an officially chartered organ of the California Republican Party in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, he was involved with the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging. With offices in most states, the National Body of Asian Americans caters to the needs of Asian seniors.
“I have had the longest association with Inder Singh in the Indian community activities, he became an Indian Diaspora Institution in Southern California and whenever, any broad based pan-Indian community event happened in Southern California, it was always under the leadership of India Singh.” Said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President and Chairman of GOPIO International.
“It is a great loss for all of us, GOPIO, Indian community in the USA and the Indian diaspora. May his soul rest in peace,” added Dr. Abraham.
Anwar Feroz Siddiqi, a member of the Advisory Board of The Universal News Network (ww.theunn.com) passed away peacefully the morning of Saturday, September 21st at his home in Hillsborough, New Jersey after battling Cholangiocarcinoma. He was 69 years old.
Born in Rajasthan, India, Anwar led a remarkable life, immigrating with his family to Canada in 1980 and working his way from newspaper deliveries to eventually establishing himself as a business leader in the pharmaceutical industry. He spent the bulk of his career at Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey, where one of the highlights of his career was establishing and serving as Executive Director of a group aimed at serving long term care and eldercare patients. He held several key appointments throughout his career, including serving as a Delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 2005. He also touched the lives and careers of hundreds of people who he led during that time. He eventually used this experience to launch his own consulting firm, Paradigm LTC, which was his “retirement”.
He spent a decade as a Strategic Advisor for the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), where he established connections between the Indian healthcare community and doctors of Indian origin in America through an annual conference in India. During this time, he drove initiatives to eradicate diabetes and build awareness of traumatic brain injury among others. He was also President of the Association of Indians in America – South Jersey and led an annual initiative to build awareness of Gandhi’s teachings of non-violence, where thousands of students shared what it meant to them through essays and art-work. He also had served on several non-profit boards over the years, including the Visiting Nurses Association of Mercer County, NJ and Association for Advancement of Mental Health in Princeton.
His pride and joy and how he most loved to spend his time was with his family. He took care of his parents, wife and raised two wonderful children. He was a nature lover and enjoyed annual camping trips in Canada. He loved traveling with family and visited everywhere from the Caribbean to Morocco and France over the years. He was a party planner extraordinaire and shared his passion of Indian food with friends and family through an annual backyard bash. More recently he completely doted on his grandchildren who affectionately call him, “Dada” and “Nana”.
He is survived by his father, Ainul Haq Siddiqi, beloved wife Rana Siddiqi, children Aamir (Karen) Siddiqi, Arshi (Matthew) Duffley, three adoring grandchildren (Alina & Elijah Siddiqi and Zachary Duffley). He’s also survived by his brothers Zia (Parveen) Siddiqi, Parvez (Zehra) Siddiqi, and his sister Shahina (Mashood) Siddiqi.
The funeral was held on Sunday, September 22nd, and the family will host a celebration of life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Cycle for Survival, which invests in research toward rare cancers or Islamic Society of Central Jersey
The number of unmarried partners living together in the United States nearly tripled in two decades from 6 million to 17 million, 7% of the total adult population.
The latest estimates from the Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) show unmarried partners are now older, more racially diverse, more educated and more likely to earn higher wages.
In 1996, only 2% of partners in cohabiting households were ages 65 or older; by 2017, that had tripled to 6 percent.
Other studies have also noted a significant jump in cohabitation among older adults, particularly in the last 10 years as divorce rates went up among this group. Divorcees make up a large proportion of older cohabiters.
Ethnic and Racial Diversity
A higher proportion of unmarried partners identified as Hispanic in 2017 (16%) than in 1996 (11%).
Partners in interracial relationships increased from 6% to 10% of all cohabiters during this same period.
This may reflect broader population trends toward more racial and ethnic diversity across the nation.
Cohabitation may represent an alternative to marriage for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, but there is now a larger proportion of unmarried partners with higher educations and incomes.
In 1996, 16% of unmarried partners had a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 28% in 2017.
Unmarried partners now also earn more on average. The proportion making less than $30,000 annually (in 2017 dollars) dipped from 64% in 1996 to 53% in 2017.
At the same time, the percentage of those making more than $30,000 rose significantly. This suggests that cohabitation has become increasingly accepted by a broad swath of social and demographic groups.
How are Unmarried Partners Counted?
Not all unmarried partners were included in this study.
Prior to measurement changes in 2007, only those in relationships with the householder (the person who owns/rents the home) were counted. The CPS ASEC started allowing all respondents to identify a potential partner/boyfriend/girlfriend in the household in 2007.
Unmarried partnerships that do not include the householder tend to be younger and more socioeconomically disadvantaged, significantly shifting the characteristics of all unmarried partners in ways that make comparisons to 1996 estimates potentially inaccurate. Because of this, partnerships that did not include the householder were excluded from this study.
(Benjamin Gurrentz is a Survey Statistician in the Fertility and Family Statistics Branch of US Census Bureau.)
Norwalk Public Library in Connecticut unveiled India Collection at its main library at One Belden Ave on Sunday, November 15th. The books were donated by Govt. of India. It was an initiative of the Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT).
The program started with a welcome by Library Board President Alex Knoop followed by Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling who welcomed everyone to Norwalk. President Knoop introduced GOPIO-CT Committee Chair Divya Misra, who is also staff at the library, and thanked her for her effort in making this happen. Divya in turn thanked all the library staff and volunteers for helping to put together the program.
Mayo Rilling said that Norwalk is a place where all communities and nationalities stay harmoniously and complimented GOPIO and the Indian American community for its constitution to the city such as offering scholarships at Norwalk Community College.
“I have met GOPIO delegation three times in the last several years in my office and they always emphasize on how they can help the city rather than asking for any help.” Mayor Rilling said.
Senator Bob Said that he has very friendly relations and interaction with the community and works very closely with the community.
Library Director Christine Bradley was very enthusiastic about the new collection for the Library and said that most of the books have been catalogued and the books can be taken out right away by card holders. Bradley thanked the Indian Consulate and GOPIO-CT for making this happen.
GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham conveyed greetings from GOPIO International and said that the objectives of the GOPIO chapters are to involve and help the local communities. “GOPIO-CT has been going great job in that respect by organizing soup kitchens, offering scholarships and other charitable activities,” said Dr. Abraham.
India’s Consul General in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty was the chief guest who complimented GOPIO-CT and the Library for making this happen.
“It was an idea which came up during my meeting held at Mayor Rilling’s office in May this year and now you have completed that task,” Ambassador Chakravorty complimenting GOPIO and the Library. He further said that he would be happy to work with Norwalk Community College. Amb. Chakravorty offered to provide books for other libraries too.
Other dignitaries attending program included CT Assemblywoman Lucy Dathan and Norwalk Common Councilman Greg Burnett. It was a house full program with only standing room for many.
It was another successful event by GOPIO-CT. The program was put together by a committee headed by Divya Misra along with Saritha Akarapu and Prachi Narayan. Rajneesh Misra served as the Master of ceremony for the program which had music and dances from India.
If there is anything that the Sangh Parivar detests the most, it is a free spirit and an open mindset.
India’s Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement on Hindi being the one necessary language for India has stirred quite a big controversy. Shah, on the occasion of “Hindi Divas,” said: “Diversity of languages and dialects is the strength of our Nation. But there is a need for our Nation to have one language so that foreign languages don’t find a place. This is why our freedom fighters envisioned Hindi as Raj Bhasha.”
There is no surprise in Shah’s pronouncement, as the BJP/RSS combine has long dreamed of converting all Indians into Hindi speaking subjects who would adhere to their ardent philosophy of uniformity that is essential for indoctrination and control. If there is anything that the Sangh Parivar detests the most, it is a free spirit and an open mindset. With a brute majority in the Lok Sabha and a dispirited and divided opposition, they are finding it an opportune moment to steamroll and impose their Hindi agenda on India, especially on the people in the South.
There is a misconception among many in India that include some in the NRI community that Hindi is the national language of India. However, it is far from the truth, and according to the Indian constitution, India does not have a national language but has two official languages, Hindi and English, in which Government would conduct its business. Therefore, the agenda in Shah’s statement is no mystery: to marginalize the regional languages by blessing Hindi as the prominent language and to ultimately remove English as an official language. In addition, Hindi would likely be the medium of instructions in academia as well as the language of proceedings in the Judiciary.
The latest data shows that Hindi is the mother tongue of 25% of the Indians, though 44% of the people say they know it. It is still short of a ‘majority’ as it is propagated by the Hindi advocates as a reason for it to be the National language. It reminds me of Annadurai, the erstwhile leader of DMK and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu who was once quoted as saying “Is it because majority speak Hindi? Then why Peacock is our national bird and not crow despite being in the majority?” He may have said it out of his pride for the Tamil, a Dravidian language which has a 4,500-year history and is one of the classical languages in the world. Nevertheless, it is another clear indication as to how many Indians consider the richness and heritage of their own mother tongues.
Although Hindi is now popular and spoken in many parts of the South India, thanks mostly to Bollywood, caste prejudice and cultural arrogance once prevented it from full development. Ironically, it is Christian missionaries such as William Carey who took it upon themselves to develop the language with dictionaries and printing fonts. It is to be noted that the Bible was the first prose printed in Hindi. Also, in many Indian languages, the first novel, drama, travelogue or biography was published by these missionaries. In debating the virtues of Hindi or other vernaculars, the contributions of these missionaries in the development of these languages and the education of India’s backward castes are the most underreported story of our time.
The most acrimonious debate in the Constituent Assembly was not on a Uniform civil code but on the question of the official language for the nation. If we are to go back in recent history, one significant set of events took place in 1965 when Hindi became the official language of India. The architects of modern India felt that India needed an official language as a unifying force for such a diverse nation. However, they wanted to give several more years to this effort as they were very conscious of the sentiment of non-Hindi speaking folks, particularly in South India. However, some of the Hindi zealots in the north were pressing hard to make that a reality soon although many of their sons are daughters were sent to U.K. or USA for English education and higher professional studies. Protests and riots erupted across South India and most of the violent confrontations occurred in Tamil Nadu where men immolated themselves to resist the colonizing power of Hindi. Finally, the Central Government relented and made English the sub-official language of the nation.
When Amit Shah was talking about preventing foreign languages finding a place in India, he is indeed training his guns on the English language which may have become a stumbling block to the current regime in their overall strategy in achieving their pan-India dream — which stretches from Burma to Afghanistan. The BJP’s incessant failure to take control of the power centers in South India may have also factored in for their current pursuit for language uniformity.
Those who are deriding English should pause and think of an India without English. Despite the oppressive and exploitive British rule, the English language brought us Western education, modern nationalism, self-determination, and democracy. Above all, it enabled India in developing software technology or providing high-quality services to multinational companies in the West. Since most of the advanced computing instructions and training materials were written in English, and the project management was conducted using the same, Indians gained a natural advantage over others gaining that expertise and excelling in it. Today, India exports about 150 billion dollars’ worth of software services that provided upward mobility to millions of young people in the global arena. It was learning the language English together with the restructuring of the telecommunication policies by our dynamic and visionary leader Rajiv Gandhi (with the assistance from Sam Pitroda) that has catapulted India to the pinnacle of technology supremacy. It has brought us fame and fortune and probably more respectability around the globe. It is relevant here to recollect a conversation I have had with my superior, an American, at the United Nations while working as the Chief Technology Officer for the U.N. pension Fund: while discussing awarding a software development contract to a vendor from India as opposed to a different country, he said “give to Indians, at least, I can talk to them.’ That answer summarizes our success all across the global arena.
The imposition of Hindi on the Southern States will not only create challenges to the federalist system of government but may also pose a direct threat to the very unity of the Nation. However, a majoritarian government with blind ambitions having utter disdain for the cultural diversity and the linguistic differences of India, the pipe dream of promoting Hindi as the official language at the expense of English takes on nightmarish proportions. The constant stream of uneducated and unskilled labor from the north flocking southwards to engage in low-end jobs the natives refused to do is a poor advertisement for Amit Shah’s much-touted potential of the Hindi language.
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George Abraham is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations.
AIF Circle of Hope kicked off its third year awareness of women with disabilities event. The kick off event was organized by AIF Circle of Hope founding members Farida Kathawalla and Nirmala Garimella
“One in five women are women with disabilities and they are leading the way towards inclusive disability and women’s rights movement around the world,” said Diana Samarasan, Founding Executive Director of the Disabilities Rights fund.
This is the third year of the women’s giving circle based out of Boston that brings women’s philanthropists together to work towards AIF programs impacting women and girls in India.
Ms. Samarasan said that her organizations puts people of disabilities in the decision-making process which is critical to their work as they are the best people to understand the issues and help in policy making.
“Women everywhere in the world who have some form of disability are the most vulnerable and need support. Many of them live in rural areas and do not have access to the opportunities and benefits that can help them” she said.
The Disability fund helps shape policy and puts pressure on governments to pay attention to these issues.
The discussion tied up neatly with the funding that Circle of Hope members had allocated to a program in India called RAISEWISE (Raise women with disability in Social Engagement) in Bangalore last year that ended successfully with 100 women with disability learning self-defense techniques and life skills.
This year, the Project will train 500 girls and women with disabilities in self-defense through the TOT model working with local partners and the women and the girls chosen from the program will be around Delhi NCR. Circle of Hope Boston will fund this program again with a $25,000 grant.
Neeru Oberoi, one of COH earliest members remarked: “An insightful evening. For me personally I never realized that rights, policies and implementation for the disabled requires private funding”
Vibhu Nagral, COH member commented “Beautiful warm evening and thought-provoking insight into giving and supporting people with disabilities.”
Tanuja Sud, also COH member, said:“I am glad that COH is continuing the self defense program that teaches women to take care of themselves.”
All the women members of Circle of Hope hail from New England. They are: Preetha Chally, Neeru Oberoi, Pratima Srinivasan, Nalini Sharma, Anu Chitrapu, Mona Godbole, Namita Krishnan, Sangita Thakore, Asha Shah, Maegan Oberoi,Tanuja Sud, Mithu Bhargava, Vibhu Nagral, Deepa Acharya- Gupta, Sharda Kaul and Alankrita Narang besides the two co-founders Farida Kathawalla and Nirmala Garimella.
GOPIO-CT organized a program of welcoming new Indian students at the Univ. of Connecticut, School of Business from its Stamford campus with a networking dinner on Friday, Sept. 13th at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Stamford. While it was networking event for the students and the Indian American community, it also served as an interactive session with a high-profile panel of Indian American Corporate Achievers from Facebook, Amazon and Vice Media as well as three other entrepreneurs and businessmen.
The program started with a welcome by GOPIO International Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham and greetings from Ms. Laurissa Berk, UConn’s Associate Director for Risk Management Programs at UConn School of Business. The panelists included Joseph Simon, Chief Technology Officer at Vice Media; Shailesh Naik, President of Charles Manganaro Consulting Engineers; Bhavna Juneja, Senior President of IT Services (Stamford, CT); Terrence Moduthagam, Manager Strategy Partnership at Amazon; Anand Chavan, CEO of GuardX, Inc. and Gaurav Venkateswar, Client Solutions Manager at Facebook. The panel session was moderated by Viresh Sharma, President, Laser Systems, Inc.
The students asked the panelists several questions including marketing themselves to get a job, branding, how to reach out the right person within Corporate America, trends in the job market and difficulty of getting jobs after study completion with a practical training visa.
“It was highly successful program with larger interaction by the new students with the panelists,” said Dr. Abraham. Abraham also told the students that when he came to the country in the 1970s, there was a system of a host family to the foreign students since here was not much communication for the students back home. With advent of new communication with WhatsUp and other social media, the host family concept is already gone. Abraham told the students that the community is the host family for the students. The program was concluded by GOPIO-CT Secretary Prasad Chintalapudi, Vice President of Panzer Solutions.
Jal Jhilani Ekadashi was celebrated with great devotion on Monday November 09, 2019 at the Swaminarayan Temple, 1521 N Rand Rd, Palatine, IL. Hundreds of devotees gathered at the Mandir with family and friends to celebrate Jal Jhilani Ekadashi in the presence of Mahant Shree Muktaprasadji. Swaminarayan mandirs around the world celebrate this festival as well.
On Bhadarvo (Bhadra) Sud 11, also known as Parivartini or Jal Jhilani Ekadashi, devotees observe nirjala, a waterless fast. On this day, devotees take a small Murti of Bhagwan, Lalji, and the clay Murti of Ganeshji to a river or lake. Here, devotees perform puja, aarti, and thal of both murtis five times. After each puja, both murtis are taken on a short boat ride. During this time, devotees sing bhajans which describe the importance of sharnagaati, or surrendering oneself to Bhagwan and the Guru. After the puja, the Murti of Ganeshji is submerged into the ocean.
There are a great number of Hindu religious festivals held throughout the world. The festivals typically celebrate events from Hindu mythology, often coinciding with seasonal changes. There are many festivals which are primarily celebrated by specific sects or in certain regions of the Indian subcontinent.
The festive season is widely celebrated. These events have a historic significance and are rooted in various cultural and linguistic norms.
The onset of the famous Diwali is marked by the lighting ‘diyas’, beautifying homes, offering gifts, distributing sweets and visiting friends and family. Similarly, the Holi festival is described as the ‘Festival of Colors”, with its magnificent rain dance and gently throwing the ‘gulaal’ colors on others.
Saints and devotees at Swaminarayan Temple, Palatine, are dedicated to preserve the culture and traditions of our Hindu religion. In temple we celebrate various festivals of our Hindu religion pertaining to Gods Shri Rama, Shri Shyam, Ghanshyam (Shri Swamynarayan Bhagwan).
These festivals are namely Ram Navmi–Shree Ram Janmotsav; Janmashtami-Shree Krishna Mahotsav. To commemorate Janmashtami, the reading of holy Shree Bhagvat Gita, recited by Bhagwan Shree Krishna, was planned by arranging Katha Parayan. Besides these many other festivals are also being celebrated by temple in grand manner.
Enthusiastic and energetic, young Mahant of Swaminarayan Temple Palatine, Shree Muktaprasadji enlightened the devotees by explaining the importance of festivals and temple. With the enthusiasm of all devotee sisters and brothers and cooperation of Saints, all the festivals are celebrated with grandeur.
To celebrate Festival of Ganesh- Ganpati Utsav- this year, the idol of Lord Shree Ganesh is established on 1st. day of celebration that is Bhadarva Sud 4th. –Ganesh Chaturthi, and Aarti is recited by devotees in morning as well as evening.
On the eve of Jal Zilani Ekadashi, the holy Lalji Swaroop of Bhagwan is established in a boat that sails in water. According to rituals, five aartis are offered. Devotees reciting Dhoon and Bhajans, singing and dancing, enjoy the festival.
The upcoming event of Maa Jagat Janani Laxmiji – Navratri will be celebrated gracefully where entire atmosphere will be full of devotion adding glamour by playing world famous Garbas and Raas by Devotees during Navratri.
A great attempt will be made to ignite energy hidden amongst kids leading them to foster the world of religion. Lokladila Mahant Shree Muktaprasadji has delightfully declared this program and has cordially invited everyone to attend and enjoy the program.
TB kills nearly 0.42 million persons (mostly poor and young), more than any other infectious disease, while nearly 2.8 Million persons acquire TB every year causing huge suffering to millions of families. India with highest TB burden is a key player in the global quest to end Tuberculosis. India has incorporated Strategies to achieve TB elimination in its National Health Policy. It envisages Reduction in incidence of new cases, to reach elimination status by 2025 much ahead of the SDG target of 2030.
Understanding this huge challenge, India has initiated concerted efforts with Revised National TB Control Program, the private sector, civil society, communities, Professional bodies and patients.
Considering the vision and mission of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), which is to strengthen the early detection and treatment of TB, recommitting itself to strengthen its efforts to work towards eradicating Tuberculosis (TB) by the year 2025 in India, a workshop on “Recent updates on Tuberculosis” was conducted in collaboration with Zonal Task Force RNTCP- South Zone 1, USAID partner, Karnataka Health Promotion trust, TB Alert, TB Association of Telangana and Government of Telangana, during the recently concluded 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad India.
The main theme of the workshop was “TB free India” with the objective of training the Indian American Physicians on Newer strategies of Diagnosis and Treatment of Tuberculosis, so as to find, treat and cure every case of Tuberculosis. A Total of 150 delegates from USA, Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Jammu Kashmir attended the workshop.
The workshop was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Eric Alexander, Deputy Consul General American Consulate Hyderabad. Mr. Alexander said: “We have been supporting the TB program of the Government of India for two decades now. With our collaboration with AAPI, we aim to strengthen the early detection and treatment of TB, with a focus on drug-resistant strains; continue our assistance to the government to plan and implement evidence-based interventions to reach a TB-Free India, and improve patient-centered TB services.”
In his welcome address, Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, said, “AAPI has an ambitious vision, with a focus on drug-resistant strains; assistance to the government to plan and implement evidence-based interventions to reach a TB-Free India, and improve patient-centered TB services.”
Prof. Behra National Task force Chairman for implementation of Revised National Tuberculosis Control program in Indian Medical Schools spoke on challenges and solutions to end Tuberculosis in India by 2025. Prof. Subhakar Kandi the workshop coordinator spoke Newer Diagnostic Techniques of Tuberculosis. He urged the Indian Physicians to utilise these diagnostic services available free of cost under government program. He also briefed the future diagnostic tests in pipe line.
Prof. Alladi Mohan an authority on Tuberculosis from SVIMS, Tirupathi, spoke on road map for diagnosis and treatment of Extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Prof. Sridhar Director of renowned Tambaram Institute for Tuberculosis, Chennai spoke on Challenges in Diagnosis and Treatment of Multidrug resistant Tuberculosis.
Dr. Sumalatha, an Epidemiologist for Government of Telangana spoke on initiatives and action plan for TB free Telangana. Dr Prakash from KHPT Bangalore a partner of USAID spoke on various projects taken up by USAID in support of Indian government mission to end Tuberculosis by 2025 and requested AAPI to partner.
On July 24th, during a seminar, AAPI leaders reviewed and pledged to expand its efforts to more cities in India, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). AAPI’s leadership, including Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI, and Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President of AAPI, were part of the day-long seminar.
Dr. Manoj Jain, who has been part of this initiative of AAPI, since its launch, thorough video conferencing, shared with AAPI leaders of the progress in involving local leaders to develop a Local Roadmap on how to make more than the current 10 localities TB Free: Indore, Bhopal, Rajkot, Sevek villages in Gujarat, Mumbai-Malad, Ahmedabad, Mysore, Nagpur, Varanasi, and Lucknow, by conducting Field work with local NGOs in these localities to do TB screening in the slum areas. He said, Hyderabad and several other cities will be joining the efforts to make its citizens TB-Free.”
AAPI and USAID along with other NGOs will work together to utilize the 100,000-strong network of physicians of Indian-origin living in the United States to support health programs in India, engage AAPI’s network of private charitable clinics for TB awareness, detection and treatment, and explore opportunities for collaborations between U.S. and Indian medical schools to exchange cutting-edge health care solutions. For more details on AAPI and its many noble programs, please visit: www.aapiusa.org
Dr. Raj Bhayani from New York was honored by Vivek Oberoi and Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP General Secretary at the India Day Parade and Festival of Globe in San Francisco California with the Inspirations to Indian Americans Award on Sunday, August 18th.
Dr. Raj Bhayani, an accomplished neurosurgeon, social activist, entrepreneur, leader, and the first ENT surgeon in India, was honored for his inspiring leadership and achievements in his medical profession and community service.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Bhayani, while thanking the organizers for the event for bestowing the award, referred to India, a great and the largest democracy, which is growing steadily under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Patriotism, which is in our hearts is seen in our actions,” he said. “This Independence Day has a very special meaning for India and all of us, as India, for the first time in our 73 years of Independence history, is going in the right direction.”
Dr. Bhayani, who had completed training in Neurosurgery and had a Fellowship in Facial Plastic & Micro vascular Surgery in India, is currently practicing Medicine in New York. An active member and currently serving as the Treasurer of AAAPI, Dr. Bhayani has held several positions in AAPI and has grown with the organization. He is the President-Elect AAPI-QLI, one of the largest Chapters of AAPI.
His accomplishments in the professional world are well known. During the duration of his medical profession, more than 50 research papers have been published and presented by him, which has resulted in inclusion of his name in the Marquis ‘Who’s Who in America in Medicine and Healthcare’ acknowledging his achievements in the medical field.
Not satisfied with his professional accomplishments, Dr. Bhayani has devoted his life to being actively involved in the philanthropic sector. He currently serves on the boards, and is an active member, of over 20 communities and associations that are involved in philanthropic activities. In addition, he has also served on the Board of Trustees of Save Life Foundation, which has helped in the implementation of Good Samaritan Law and Road Safety Bill to help road side accident victims and to improve road safety in India.
Passionate about giving back to the larger society, Dr. Bhayani says, “Inspired by many individuals, who lead by example. Cause is the driving than actual person.” His life has been an example of how to give back to the community, which has given him much. “Even since childhood, I had the desire to be someone, who wanted to contribute to the common good.”
Recently, he was the chief organizer for ‘Football for Nation’ initiative, in Delhi, by bringing Parliamentarians and Film stars together to play a game of football to raise funds for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Besides, his significant contributions in organizing several health and blood donation camps as well as fund raisers for Aksharpatra, helping millions of kids with Mid-day meal program in India, have earned him great respect and appreciation in the society. He is grand Patron for India Day Parade for celebrating India’s Independence Day in New York.
Imbibed with this passion, Dr. Bhayani did not have to look for opportunities. They actually came his way. “In the society we live in, there are ample of opportunities to do good,” he says. “I always look upon in my friends who do larger good, and have tried to join them or find noble causes that I can support or initiate, with the objective of doing little acts of kindness. I believe small acts of kindness by many of us can achieve tremendous impact on humanity than individual acts.”
The unassuming Dr. Bhayani was instrumental in organizing Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s historic address to the Indian – American community at Madison Square Garden, during his maiden visit to New York in September 2014.
A distinguished Guest Speaker, as a proponent of the Honorable Prime Minister’s vision for India, on popular regional TV shows in USA, Dr. Bhayani is one of the foremost members of the Indian community who has worked tirelessly in increasing awareness of the Prime Minister’s initiatives in the USA, which in return has resulted in the remittance of funds to India for the implementation of these initiatives. His work is an exemplary example of his commitment towards India’s progress.
His outstanding support to the society in his roles as a physician, a leader, and as a philanthropist have not gone unnoticed. Dr. Bhayani has received dozens of awards, recognition and scholarships. He has been felicitated on several platforms and his list of accolades includes Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Samman Award at House of Lords in London, Bharat Gaurav Puraskar and Delhi Ratan Award, Hind Ratan Award, Asian American Heritage Honoree of the year 2016, New York City as well as State Proclamation Award. He has also been awarded ‘United States Congressional Achievement Award’ and is also the recipient of the ‘Most Influential Leader in Indian Community in United States’ recognition award. He has received USA Triologic Society award for his research papers. He has held various leadership positions in the healthcare field and leading hospitals in New York heading the ENT and Facial Plastic Surgery divisions.
With ambitions to grow as a national leader of AAPI, Dr. Bhyani says, “Since my association with AAPI, I have seen with awe and inspiration, how this noble organization has grown over the past 37 years. AAPI has a very strong future with its highly educated, skilled and dedicated membership and leadership. AAPI has a greater role to play in the national arena. And, AAPI is ready to march on and I am there to be part of this great organization and all its diverse and talented membership to make this noble organization a great force with a stronger voice to accomplish its many lofty goals.”
RAJMAAI (Rajasthan Medical Alumni Association) Annual meeting was organized by the President Dr. Vinod Sancheti. Several hundreds of Indian physicians from Medical Alumni of Rajasthan met during the weekend of August 16-18th, 2019, Double Tree Hotel in Downtown Toronto, Canada.
The meeting was studded with world class medical workshops and State of the Art CMEs. The evenings were filled with sumptuous dinners with delicious delicacies from Rajasthan. All the men and women wearing beautiful colors from Rajasthan was an added attraction.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI graced the occasion. He immensely thanked the Rajasthan Alumni for their unconditional support throughout his journey in AAPI and requested the continued support during his presidency.
On behalf of AAPI, Dr. Reddy thanked RAJMAAI for giving AAPI some great leaders such as, Past Presidents: Dr. Ajeet Singhvi and Dr. Ajay Lodha. Past BOT Chairs from the group included Dr. Krishan Agarwal; Dr. Surendra Purohit; Dr. Ram Upadyay; Dr. Rajender Gupta; Dr. Shashi Shah; Dr. Ajeet Singhvi, and Dr. Madhu Aggarwal Charitable Organization chairs who are part of RAJMAAI included: Dr.Krishan Aggarwsl; Dr. Brahma Sharma; Dr. Shashi Shah; Dr. Madhu Aggarwal; and, Dr. Rakesh Gupta. Other prominent AAPI leaders who attended the meeting included, Dr. Ravi Kolli, Dr. Amit Chakrabarty, Dr. Manju Sachdev, Dr. Anjana Samaddar, Dr. Satheesh Kathula and several others.
Rajasthan Medical Alumni Association (RAJMAAI), established in 1987, is a body of medical professionals all over the country who have graduated from any of the medical institutions in Rajasthan (or of Rajasthani Heritage) and have an interest in its culture and activities. RAJMAAI establishes fraternities and exchanges social and cultural activities locally, nationally, and internationally. Our members meet regularly every year for continuing medical education and also bring along their families to socialize and enjoy each other’s company.
Governor Tony Evers has declared Aug 15th, 2019 as the ‘India Day’ in State of Wisconsin, honoring India; recognizing, certifying and endorsing the efforts brought by IndiaFest Milwaukee, a massive community building initiative launched by Spindle India, Inc., in 2013. Former Governor Scott Walker had also recognized and declared August 15th as the ‘India Day’ in Wisconsin in 2018. We celebrated the official India Day of Wisconsin on Aug 17th at IndiaFest Milwaukee, making it a significant milestone, one of its kinds.
“IndiaFest Milwaukee is the largest celebration of India Day in the State of Wisconsin…in addition to celebrating Indian culture, IndiaFest Milwaukee provides a platform for collaboration, connection, education and growth by providing a space for cultural exchange and appreciation; and promotes diversity, inclusion, community, culture and education in Milwaukee by establishing a broad and collective appreciation of India Day, Indian culture and the Indian community”, exclaimed Governor Tony Evers.
“Wisconsin is proud to have IndiaFest Milwaukee, a collaborative and educational service that has been bringing communities together for five years beyond cultures, boundaries, languages, religions and regions; Indian-American’s contribution to the culture, educational and economic fabric of the state of Wisconsin is tremendous”, said former Governor Scott Walker.
Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Travel Wisconsin’s continued support and alliance marks a critical partnership symbolizing the focus around positive economic impact. Travel Wisconsin promotes Wisconsin as a premier travel destination for fun.
Mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett commended Spindle India, Inc. & IndiaFest Milwaukee for dedicated service and leadership, recognized its outstanding contributions to the community and proclaimed Aug 15th, 2019 as the INDIA DAY throughout City of Milwaukee.
US Senator Ron Johnson issued a certificate of special senatorial recognition, presented to Spindle India, Inc., in recognition of 7th Annual IndiaFest Milwaukee with a remark, “Thank you for your continued dedication and efforts to bring visibility to the Indian Community of Milwaukee”. “All the acknowledgements and recognitions are tremendous milestones and proud moment for every member of South Asian Indian population in Wisconsin and beyond”, expressed Founder,
Chairwoman, and President of Spindle India, Inc., Purnima Nath. “We are weaving happiness, as we bring people and organizations together. Our goal is to weave India’s colorful cultural threads into the rich multicultural tapestry of American culture”, she remarked. Each state and union territories of India has a unique combination of languages, traditions, religions, clothing, and history, comparable to countries in Europe. “This myriad of diversity comes together in our celebration,” Nath said. “Diversity is the blood of globalism. Inclusiveness is the mantra of acceptance”, she adds.
“In Brookfield, we have a growing population of people with Indian heritage and I personally greatly appreciate the emphasis, which that heritage places on education. Many students of Indian background do exceptionally well in both our public and private schools. I believe this is because of the strong emphasis, which the Indian culture places, on education and parental involvement in the learning process.”, narrated Mayor of Brookfield, Steve Ponto.
This 7th annual grand scale celebration of “India” (#IFM2019), the official India Day of State of Wisconsin (#IndiaDayWI), inaugurated with observing India’s independence day with hoisting and honoring India’s tricolor flag flying high with the people of Wisconsin and many dignitaries of the community. National anthem of India sung by Children of Hindi School of Wisconsin touched hearts of all. Joseph Scala, an Appleton resident sung American National Anthem beautifully. Patriotic songs and dance by our young children honoring India made it extra special that connected people to our mother land.
IndiaFest Milwaukee 2019 is the most vibrant and exciting experience of “India”, aesthetically, visually, from sound byte to taste buds that tingles all senses with 210+ cultural program participants, 10+ hours of non-stop cultural programs, henna, jewelry, clothing, authentic cuisine & special children entertainment. 3 back-to-back concerts by internationally renowned artists kept everyone occupied. Classical tranquil concert was beautifully executed by Santoor Maestro Nanda Kishore Muley, Indrajot Banerjee in Sitar accompanied by Gouri Sankar Karmakar in Tabla. An amazing fusion of eastern and western instruments by Wahh Fusion Band with Shankh Lahiri (Tabla), Peter Mongaya (Guitar), Jason McKenzie (Drums), Seth Lynn (bass), Indrajit Banerjee (Sitar) and finally Bollywood Hungama beats by Celebrity DJ Dharak was amazingly executed. In the 2nd “IFM Got Talent” Nikita Singhal team of children aged from 5 to 13 years old that presented ‘Cultural Diversity of India’ theme grabbed the 1st prize, following Susan Abraham’s performance at 2nd place; and Ananya Rasal scoring 3rd prize.
Vinu Saravana, Neha Patil, Manu Saravana won 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize in children category in 5th Wisconsin Indian Singing Idol. Faiz Ahmad won 1st prize, followed by Manoj Tripathi and Ravi Nandan in 2nd and 3rd place respectively, in the adult category.
In children category of 4th Wisconsin Indian Dancing Idol, Aishwarya School of dance group grabbed both 1st & 2nd prizes, following the team of Sirisha Kota at 3rd prize. Manpreet Kaur & team and Ria Lahoti & team won 1st and 2nd in youth category team respectively. Ramesh Kindre & team, Bubusuhas Mullaveedu & team, Bhaktilata Sahoo & team scored 1st, 2nd & 3rd prize, respectively, in the adult category.
Supriya Vidwan, Kavita Tawadare and Bhanu Lavanya Arasada were the judges for Singing competitions and Meera Viruru, Drisya Raghuram and Anu Kelkar played the judges roles for dancing competitions.
Second year in a row, “Nepal” was featured at IFM2019 prominently, through cultural representations and exhibition. We thank Milwaukee Nepali Community for their kind engagement and superb collaboration.
Many talented dancers surprised the audience with impromptu flash mobs of Garba too. Vibrant, beautiful, bright and gorgeous traditional to contemporary attire and costumes, which is beyond the fashion or style statement, dressed the occasion in classic, timeless yet fashionable statements. IFM2015 launched DJ K, and he was back to support IFM2019 once again, all the way from San Francisco. Bollywood dance gets the biggest and popular presence, as it appears to have stolen many hearts of our community for its energy and fun, by now.
Authentic Indian cuisine, classical to contemporary music and dance illustrate culture of different Indian states & regions. A cause that is bringing business and people together, by relentlessly promoting Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, Collaboration and Education (#DICCE). Professional development, youth engagement, and service commitment are the primary concentration of work; and it was evident on the day. Play area, children’s activities, bouncy house, arts and craft area surrounded the children entertainment area, all planned and executed by Youth Volunteers (with the supervision of adults), Anoushka & Alabhya Prasad, Neha & Megha Patil.
Henna art, Chalk arts, Dhol were staple at this festival. IFM don’t just bring visibility to the people, organization or businesses that participates in the event; we go above and beyond! At the CBS TV live preview show of IndiaFest Milwaukee, prominent visibility was given to a local dance schools and students.
IFM2019 was supported by State Bank of Chilton, Trayix, Travel Wisconsin, Visit Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public Radio, India Garden, Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin, Inc., Wisdom Infotech, ABC, CBS, 103.7 KISS FM, 99.1 MIX, La Mega Spanish Radio channel has supported IFM2019. Key volunteers contributed towards success of the event are Shubhra & Bharat Prasad, Ravi Shankar Kummary, Manju Patil, Balaji Rangachari, Ashita Verma and Phoua Vang.
We had extreme pleasure of presence of some of the dignitaries and community leaders amongst us. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto, Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, Senator Chris Larson – District 7, Alderman Tony Zielinski, Vanessa Lianas office of US Senator Tammy Baldwin, Danyell Tremmel – office of US Senator Ron Johnson, Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, Milwaukee county Judge Paul Dedinsky & judge Dan Gabler were some of them.
Consul General of India, Sudhakar Dalela thanked and congratulated and complimented us for working with the vibrant Indian American community of Milwaukee to organize IndiaFest every year to showcase India and its rich cultural heritage, traditions and values.
Chicago IL: Federation of Indian Associations, Chicago, under the leadership of Founder President Sunil Shah, Founder and past President Onkar Singh Sanga, Current President Ninad Daftari and past President Neil Khot successfully hosted the 73rd Independence Day and FIA 10th Anniversary Awards Gala Banquet. on August 16th at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows.
The Meadows Club donned the Black and Gold theme of the event. The FIA celebrated its 10th Anniversary by recognizing prominent community members and leaders in a glittering awards presentation ceremony. Amongst the 600 plus attendees the event was attended by many VIPs, Dignitaries and Who’s who of the community. Personalities like Congressman Raja Krishnamurthy, Consul General of India Chicago Sudhakar Dalela, Illinois Senator Christina Castro, Illinois Senator Laura Murphy, Illinois State Representatives Michelle Mussman, Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly, Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig, Village of Oakbrook Mayor Mr. Gopal Lalmalani and Hoffman Estates Mayor William Mcleod made their presence felt at the event.
The Gala evening and the Award ceremony was emceed by Jassi Parmar and Mohan Rawat of Desi Junction. The evening began with a tradition of the American and Indian national anthems. Then the audience was introduced to the entire FIA board of 2019 while an AV on FIA its work and achievements over the last 10 years was played on the screens in the background. This was followed by Ganesh Vandana.
Founder President Sunil Shah along with Mrs. Rita Shah took center stage. They wished the community on the 73rd Independence Day and welcomed those present to FIA’s 10th Anniversary Awards Gala Banquet. Mr. Sunil Shah then invited Congressman Raja Krishnamurthy, Consulate General of India Chicago Sudhakar Dalela and Past President Neil Khot on Stage. Mr. Sudhakar Dalela and Mr. Raja Krishnamurthy wished all present on the 73rd India Independence Day and also congratulated the FIA on its 10th Anniversary. Neil Khot thanked everyone for gracing the event while extending his wishes on the India Independence Day.
He also thanked the sponsors for their support. Mr. Onkar Singh Sanga wished all present a Happy Independence day welcomed all the dignitaries and congratulated all the winners. Ninad Daftari Current President thanked the people who turned out in large numbers and wished everyone for the Independence Day he thanked the FIA Board, all the sponsors, advertisers, volunteers, DJ, Media Partners particularly TV Asia, Asian Media – Suresh Bodiwala and Adbhut Media – Gurmeet Singh Dhalwan and cultural program performers. FIA showed its commitment to stand by community causes by making a donation to Akshaypatra and Ekal Vidyalaya of US $ 2500.00 each.
The stage was then for the awards ceremony. The awards were classified into two main categories – FIA Choice Awards (Awardees nominated and recognized by the FIA) and popular awards (Awardees nominated by the community voted by the community on a open voting platform).
The Awardees for the Popular Vote Awards were:
Best Community Service Organization Award – Bhartiya Senior Citizens of Chicago, Best Community Service Award (Female) – Vidya Joshi President BMM International, Best Community Service Award (Male) – John Trivedi, President Trivedi Hospitality, Best Couple of th Decade – Paul and Gabriela Chawla, Attorney at Law, Best Entertainer Award – Ms. Pratibha Jairath, Entertainer, Best Medical Professional Award – Dr. Dhaval Patel, O Chicago Institute of Plastic Surgery, Best Services Organization Award – Ms. Archana Paranjape, Realtor with D’Aprile Properties, Entrepreneur of the Decade Award- Mr. Anil Loomba CEO Home Mortgage Solutions Inc., Friends of Indian Community Mr. Tom Dailly Mayor of Schaumburg, Most Popular Restaurant Award – Jigar’s Kitchen Catering Service, and Young All Round Star Award – Ani Singh Basketball Player.
The FIA Choice Lifetime Achievement Awardees were:
Ms. Santosh Kumar, Founder & Executive Director, Metropolitan Asian Family Services, Mr. Deepakkant Vyas, Founder of Redberri Global Corp., Dr. Suresh Reddy a Neuro-Interventional Radiologist, Dr. Srinivas Reddy an Interventional Radiologist, Mr. Chhotalal Patel, an established entrepreneur, a pillar of the community known for philanthropic work, Dr. Anil Oroskar & Dr. Asha Oroskar Co-Founders Orochem Technologies Inc., Ms. Smita Shah, entrepreneur manager at Direct Floors, Mr. Syed Hussaini, Senior Vice President & Area Business Manager Small Business Banking with Wintrust Bank, Mr. Manny Gandhi, CEO Power Plant Services, Mr. Brij Sharma, Owner President Power Volt, Mr. Ketu Amin, President Vinakom Communications, Ms. Pinky Thakkar a Community Supporter, Mr. Michael A Gavin Managing Partner, New York Life, Ms. Malini Vaidyaan, Air India, Mr. Madan Kulkarni CEO Owner of Meadows Club.
The FIA also recognized Media Outlets a first for media in Chicago and the Awardees were:
Mr. Hemant Brahmabhatt, Hi India, Ms. Vandana Jhinghan, TV Asia, Mr. Suresh Bodiwala, Asian Media USA, Mr. Gurmeet Singh Dhalwan, Adbhut Media, M Bhailal Patel , Desi Talk, Mr. Jim Baumann, VP and Chief Editor, Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune, and Mr. Prashant Shah, India Tribune.
The Awards were interpleading with a glittering display of dances and cultural events by Dance Groups – Mankruti and Arya Dance Academy, and Fusion Dance by De Sueno Dance, DJ Sanjay provided the musical interludes.
The office of Nassau County Executive Laura Curran Nassau County Legislator Ellen W. Birnbaum (D-Great Neck), the Nassau County Office of Asian American Affairs, Indian-AmericanForum ,IDPUSA, India Association of Long Island and Community Leaders celebrated the 73rd anniversary of India’s independence with a flag-raising ceremony in the Ceremonial Chamber of the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building on Aug 15.
“I recognize and honor your culture, and at these trying times in our nation, we really have to celebrate our diversity and get to know one another even better,” Legislator Birnbaum said.
The program included remarks by Indian American Forum Chairperson Indu Jaiswal, IDPUSA President Jasbir Jay Singh, Asian American Affairs Director Farrah Mozawalla.
Geeta Setia, , Dr. Rajpal Chopra, Jyoti Gupta, and Anjali Purohit sang patriotic Indian songs.
Honorees included Dr Tarun Wasil, Champak Parikh, and Mr Davendra Kumar Verma .
Members of Indian Veterans Association and , Community Leaders Led the Flag March and joined in the Celebrations. .
Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth, Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman and Nassau Legislator Debra Mulé (D-Freeport), Dr Kishore Kuncham, Superintendent Freeport Schools , Air Marshall Rao were among dignitaries who graced the ceremony.
International Ahimsa Foundation USA marched at the Federation of Indian Associations’ India Day Parade on August 18 with a strong call for Non Violence and Peace—“A Message of Lord Mahavir, Live and Let Live!”
Dr. Neeta Jain, President and Founder of International Ahimsa Foundation, welcomed the Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney on the IAF float, saying “We are honored to have Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney at our IAF Float. She is a big fan of Mahatma Gandhi and she is working tirelessly on a Congressional Gold Medal for Mahatma Gandhi. She was the champion of getting the Diwali stamp. We are very thankful for your hard work.”
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, NY Senator John Liu, Assemblyman David Welprin, NYS Senator Kevin Thomas, Consulate General of India in NY Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, and Dr. Jain along with Grand Marshal Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty kicked off the parade.
Other distinguished guests on the IAF float were Consulate General of India in NY Sandeep Chakravorty, Ms. Taruna Chakravorty, AIA President Harish Thakkar, guest of honor actress and model Nargis Fakhri, Miss Glamours World Angle Tetatbe, singer Archit Aryasri, the Masala Bhangra workout dance team marched alongside the float.
Dr. Jain made welcoming remarks to the global community, reiterating the importance of Non Violence, Peace and teachings of Lord Mahavir and Mahatma Gandhi, now more than ever before, and emphasized why and what motivated her to start the IAF organization.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said “I am so thrilled to be here. Live and Let Live, one of the principles of humanity and teachings of Lord Mahavir. I stand here with Dr. Neeta Jain and with my friends. I appreciate India, is the world’s largest democracy and America is the oldest democracy. And its appropriate that we are such good friends and allies. It is long past due that Gandhi become the Congressional Gold Medal. Its on Diwali stamp. It shows the strong partnership between America and India supporting good over evil, light or darkness, when we think of Gandhi.”
The congresswoman continued: “Today we honor the 73rd anniversary of Indian independence which began a nation that, to this day, remains a critical strategic, cultural, and economic partner to the United States. The Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi and so many other inspiring men and women, proved to the world that freedom and self-determination do not require violence, but rather can be achieved through peaceful civil disobedience.
“Today India celebrates 73 years as the world’s largest democracy – a nation who’s growth, vitality and resilience is powerful evidence against the forces of tyranny, dictatorship and oppression.
Congresswoman Maloney added that Mahatma Gandhi’s historic Satyagraha (Sanskrit for “soul-force”) movement of nonviolent resistance inspired a nation and the world. She said: “His example energizes us to devote ourselves to the service of others and inspired civil rights movements around the globe, from Martin Luther King Jr ’s movement for racial equality to Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid. Gandhi’s achievements and legacy deserve our attention and recognition, which I why I introduced H.R. 1127 to award Mahatma Gandhi the Congressional Gold Medal.
“As we celebrate Indian independence, let us remind ourselves of the great contributions that India has given not only New York City but to the rest of the world as well. May we all follow Gandhi’s directive to ‘be the change you wish to see in the world.”
IAF Guest of honor, actress and model Nargis Fakhri, said in her remarks that “I am so excited to join IAF on their float. I am happy to support the foundation’s mission of Non Violence and Peace. Also thanks to Dr. Neeta Jain for organizing and spreading thw awareness of peace and non violence in the world.”
The day was concluded with a lunch at Utsav Indian restaurant to all IAF members and supporters who were invited by Dr. Neeta Jain and Mr. Pramod Jain.
The IAF Float and march for Non Violence and Peace at India Day Parade was supported by Associations of Indians in North America (AIA), Dropadi Jigyasu Ashram, Hindu Center Inc, India Home, Jain Samaj of USA Inc, New Jersey, Jain Vishwa Bharti of North America NJ, Lohana Samaj of NY, Rotary Club of NY Queens, World Yoga Community, and Planned Act of Kindness.
Dr. Jain, the only Indian-American female elected official in New York City. She is a Democratic District Leader for Assembly District 25 Part B in Queens, which includes Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills, Hillcrest and Hillside Avenue.
She was nominated by the Consul General of India in NY, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, and was honoured by the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York, Inc. on International Women’s Day for her tireless work in the South Asian Community.
International Ahimsa Foundation Inc. was formed in 2012 to spread the message of non-violence and peace from Jain principles to the community. The goal of the foundation has been to promote the teachings of non-violence and peace in thought and action by providing dialogue, peace-building activities, and civic engagement across cultures. The Foundation hopes to encourage students and the community at large to get involved in creating a better world.
The talented Manipuri Dancers who came to New York in relation to the 75th India Day Celebration, gave a special performance in Flushing, New York on August 16, 2019. This was arranged by the Indo-American Arts and Culture Form, Inc. in collaboration with the Consulate General of India.
Mr. Harbachan Singh, Chief Executive Director of IAACF, who MC’d the event introduced Ms. Malani Shah, President of IAACF to welcome the audience and the artists.
Special Guest, Ms. Arti Patel, who hails as the best artist in Ahmedabad, Gujrat addressed the audience who gave her a rousing applaud. Having been the lead actress in 35-40 films, she received award from Chief Minister Mr. Andiben Patel. She is also acclaimed as a classical dancer and is currently Director of Media Award Group.
Introducing the lead performer Ms. Padmashri Darshana Jhaveri, whose name has become synonymous with the Manipuri Dance, Mr. Harbachan Singh said that she has been performing for over 60 years both in India and abroad. Likewise, Mr. Singh gave the impressive backgrounds of each of the nine artists which included three who performed the drum dances. All artists had the honor of having received awards for their talents in their respective carriers.
Mr. Singh narrated the setting and story depicted by each dance before each performance. Evidently and throughout, the music, performance, costumes and expressions kept the audience spell bounded.
After the grand finale standing ovation, Ms. Malini and Mr. Singh handed out citations and bouquet of flowers to each performer. Mr. Singh characterized the dances as highly professional, masterful movements, smooth, elegant and thoroughly entertaining
Heads of several Indian fine arts and cultural organizations and representatives from the non-Indian community also attended.
Under the banner of India Day Parade USA and the slogan “Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan” Indians, Indian-Americans, and South Asians, in Hicksville, N.Y. celebrated India’s 73rd Independence Day Aug. 4.
The 7th Annual Parade was organized by IDP USA and started from Patel Brothers on Broadway and ended with festivities at E Barclays Street.
They had celebrity Grand Marshalls, the Consul General of India in New York Sandeep Chakravorty, Bollywood actor Rajkummar Rao, Naveen Shah of Navika Capital, businessman Chintu Patel. Also present were elected officials including Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi; Nassau and Suffolk County State Senators Kevin Thomas and Anna Kaplan; Nassau County Executive Laura Curran; Supervisor of North Hempstead Judy Bosworth; Supervisor of Oyster Bay Joseph Saladino; Supervisor of Hempstead Laura Gillen; State Assembly Members Laura Schaefer and Rose Marie Walker; Farrah Mozawalla of the Nassau County Minority Affairs office; Suffolk County Human Rights Commissioner and 3 times Past President of IDP Beena Kothari; and Nassau Human Rights Commissioner Zahid Syed. Other notable attendees included the President of the parade Jasbir (Jay) Singh, Kamlesh C Mehta, and several community leaders as well as invited guest Arti Patel, co-CEO of Vass Pipe & Steel Co; Sunil Jain, Chanchal Shah.
Advisors for the parade Indu Jaiswal, Sir Peter Beddah, Beena Kothari, Mukesh Modi and other Committee members Mohinder Taneja, Bina Sabapathy, Shashi Malik, Gautam Sanghvi to name a few, inaugurated the parade at Patel Brothers. Satbir Bedi was the emcee for the day. Breakfast was hosted by Patel Brothers and HAB Bank before the flag off.
“The South Asian Community has become an integral part and changed the face of Long island and made Hicksville a prominent, ever developing multicultural home for all Indians sharing pride, passion, presence and social bond as patriotic American Indians,” said a press release from organizers.
Many in the crowd held India’s Flag tricolor umbrellas sponsored by Mohinder Singh Miglani of Aero World. Many organizations from Long Island marched in groups and the tricolor decorated festive floats sponsored by local organizations. Flowers were showered by a helicopter on the whole parade presenting a spectacle for the local residents and visitors.
At the festival grounds, cultural dances by children and students of local dance schools were performed at the beginning and other celebrities were invited to perform on stage after the parade reached E Barclays Street.
Bollywood singer Deepak Kumar of Satellite India and Punjabi stage artist and singer Pooja, had the crowd cheering, taking videos and pictures. A fashion show by Nishi Behl sponsored by Bhavna Sharma of Sarashiva, was held accompanied by upbeat music and beautiful clothes and glamorous ladies.
Naveen Shah of Navika Capital presented a BMW SUV as the super prize of the raffle which had several other prizes including two 50” LG smart TVs. The raffle made sure the crowd kept going back to the three IDP raffle booths. All prizes were drawn on stage and the BMW was won by an especially abled individual.
The recipients of part of the proceeds from the parade were ‘Akshay Patra’ and ‘CRY’, “two organizations that have led by example and changed the lives of thousands with their selfless mission for providing school lunch to poor children and for restoring children’s rights,” the press release said.
The organization IDP USA was started in 2012 and founded by Bobby Kumar Kalotee, Kamlesh Mehta and prominent community leaders. IDP USA 2019 was supported by a 108-member team, countless volunteers, and numerous business sponsors.
The 7th Annual India Day Parade was held in Hicksville, N.Y. Aug. 4, 2019. The slogan of the Parade was “Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan” to recognize the contributions of India’s troops and farmers. Many important public officials and community leaders showed up to register their support for India’s memorable 73rd Independence Day celebrations organized by IDP-USA.
The recent spate of mass shootings has propelled gun safety to the center of public concern, and the share of Americans demanding swift action has increased substantially. But discussion of this issue has been pervaded by myths about what the American people want, and why, and these misperceptions have made an inherently divisive debate even more difficult to resolve. Fortunately, recent survey research helps us clarify this murky issue. In sum: Most Americans are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to do something about it. Although they are divided as to the causes of gun violence and the ability of legislation to reduce it, they come together on a number of options for addressing it. But they don’t expect Congress to act, no matter how urgent the need.
Here, in greater detail, are eight facts about the state of public sentiment on this life-and-death issue.
Fact 1: The perceived threat of mass shootings by American citizens now dwarfs the threat of attacks by Islamist terrorists. 60 percent fear the former more than the latter; only 17 percent disagree. This holds true for Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, men and women, whites with and without a college degree, urban, suburban, and rural residents, and (by a margin of 53 percent to 23 percent) gun owners. But despite the urgency of this threat, only 15 percent of Americans, and fewer than one-third of Republicans, believe that the Trump administration has made the country safer from mass shootings (Fox).
Fact 2: When it comes to the causes of gun violence, the people are all over the map. Roughly equal majorities identify deficiencies in the mental health system and easy access to guns, especially assault-style weapons, as prime factors. Substantial minorities finger media coverage, bigotry of all sorts, and inadequate parenting. As expected, Democrats are substantially more likely than Republicans to cite factors such as access to guns, anti-immigrant sentiments, and the rise of white nationalism, while Republicans are more likely than Democrats to cite inadequate parenting and violent video games. The one exception: majorities of both Democrats and Republicans identify inadequate services for mentally ill individuals displaying violent tendencies as a contributor to acts of mass violence.
Fact 3: Surveys conducted during the past four months have shown strong public support for a range of measures to regulate the sale and possession of firearms.
Fact 4: When the issue is posed more generally and thematically, however, the results are less clear. For example, when the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll asked respondents which was more important, protecting the right of Americans to own guns or limiting gun ownership, respondents were evenly divided, with 44 percent for each option. The NBC/WSJ survey found that 45 percent of Americans were more concerned that the federal government would go too far in restricting gun ownership, while 50 percent were more concerned that the government wouldn’t go far enough. When Fox posed an even broader question, “Would you rather live in a country where people can own guns or where guns are banned,” 57 percent chose the former, which might be termed the “American” option, and only 34 percent the latter, the “European” option. These results reflect deep partisan divisions along the expected lines.
Fact 5: Despite these divisions, there are legislative proposals that could unify Americans. Ninety-two percent of Democrats favor criminal background checks on all gun buyers; so do 89 percent of Republicans. Eighty-eight percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans support red flag laws (Fox). Ninety-two percent of Democrats would require individuals to obtain a license before purchasing a gun; 65 percent of Republicans agree (Quinnipiac).
Fact 6: While support for “stricter” gun laws has risen from its low of a decade ago, it remains below where it stood in the mid-1990s, the last time the federal government enacted such laws. In June of 1995, for example, just 35 percent of Americans were more concerned that the federal government would go too far, 10 points below today’s level, while 58 percent were more concerned that the government wouldn’t do enough, 8 points above the most recent reading (NBC/WSJ).
At the same time, the number of Americans who say it is more important to control gun ownership has steadily fallen over time while the number of Americans who believe it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns has increased.
Fact 7: Despite the widespread impression that Republicans care more about this issue than do Democrats, recent survey research shows that this is no longer true (if it ever was). When Gallup asked respondents whether they would only vote for candidates who shared their views on guns, 23 percent of Republicans and 25 percent of Democrats responded affirmatively. In 1999, 18 percent of Democrats compared to just 9 percent of Republicans said that they would only support such a candidate.
There is a divergence between partisan identification and ideology, however. Two decades ago, by a margin of 19 percent to 14 percent, liberals were more likely than conservatives to vote only for candidates who shared their views on guns. By 2017, this had reversed, with 32 percent of conservatives but only 23 percent of liberals requiring agreement as a condition of their support.
Fact 8+: Although substantial numbers of Americans believe that federal legislation would make a difference, they are dubious (if not downright cynical) that Congress will enact it. For example, Fox found that 42 percent of Americans believe the federal government can do “a great deal” to reduce gun violence, but the same percentage regard it as “not at all” likely that Congress will do so anytime soon.
The efficacy of legislation is contested across party lines, however. Almost two-thirds of Democrats believe that federal action would make a big difference, compared to just 21 percent of Republicans. This makes Republicans’ willingness to support a range of legislative measures all the more noteworthy. It appears that the felt need to go beyond the disturbing status quo is counteracting their skepticism that government action can improve the situation.
The mighty Arabian Sea could be seen advancing rapidly onto the coast, destroying, almost completely, the lone road that runs parallel to the famous Shanghumukham beach, which connects Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram with its domestic airport. Vehicles bound for the airport had to take the extreme risk of traversing the portions of the road which the sea had eaten into in the absence of an alternative route. A little away, police constables could be seen cordoning off the beach with ropes and safety barriers, as the district administration had by this time banned the entry of tourists into the area on account of the continuing sea erosion.
With the sea continuing to erode the airport road, the administration is now soliciting scientific and technical assistance for the reconstruction of this road through an alternative route skipping the Shanghumukham beach area.
Within the city, loudspeakers could be heard cautioning people against offering Karkidakavavu bali (a Hindu ritual) at Shanghumukham beach in view of the heavy depletion of land mass caused by the constant buffeting of waves ever since the onset of the monsoon this year. People were advised by the authorities to offer the ritual at safer locations such as Varkala, Thiruvallam, Aruvikkara, Aruvippuram, and other ghats in the district. At many places on the Thiruvananthapuram coast such as Kovalam, Valiyathura, Bheemapalli, Vizhinjam and Veli, the might of the waves is destroying the sea walls and continuing to devour large tracts of the beach.
In fishing villages like Valiyathura, Kallumoodu and Muttathara, 603 people from 143 families have already been shifted to relief camps after their houses had been devoured by the sea. Local schools and community centres have been turned into relief camps and more families are expected to land up in them in the coming days with the sea continuing to remain hostile during this season.
“These are all recent phenomena that started occurring ever since the construction of the Vizhinjam International Port began. The entire coastal region and the lives of the fisherfolk are now under threat. People in the city are only worried about the lack of connectivity to the domestic airport, and are least concerned about the Adimalathura-Poovar Road, the lifeline of the fishing community, vanishing. In places such as Vettukad, Kannamthura, Kochuthoppu and Cheriya Thura coastal erosion has destroyed houses, schools, dispensaries, community halls and centres of worship. We are in a do or die situation,” laments T. Peter, secretary of National Fish Workers Forum and a resident of Veli beach. According to him, once the 3,000-metre breakwater reef is completed, the Thiruvananthapuram airport and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) units located on the coast would feel the repercussions. “When dredging started adversely affecting the marine life here, fishermen began switching over to other jobs. What we require is a long-term solution,” said Peter.
The Rs 7,525-crore seaport is being implemented by Adani Ports and Logistics as the concessionaire for the Government of Kerala’s Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd. Ever since the construction began four years ago, the fishermen and the local community have been expressing their apprehensions about the port causing large scale coastal erosion.
On land reclaimed from sea
Expected to be commissioned in October 2020, the multi-purpose deep water sea port coming up in 360 acres of land (of which 130 acres have been reclaimed from the sea) would be the largest of its kind in the country when complete, compared to existing ports. As per claims, it can handle 80 percent of the country’s cargo trans-shipments. The Kerala government, which once claimed the port would not cause any disturbance to the ecology of the coast or livelihood, has now admitted that there is an element of truth in the allegations raised by the fisherfolk here.
At a recent meeting on coastal livelihood issues, Kerala Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma said the construction of the breakwater reef for the port has had repercussions on the lives and livelihood of the fishing community in Thiruvananthapuram district.
“There were assertions that the port wouldn’t have any impact on coastal livelihood and ecology. But now we are finding that there are repercussions,” the minister said. The breakwater reef, when completed, would be 3,000 metres long. Now only the first 600 metres of it have been completed, and already the sea has been responding in a ferocious manner, causing huge tides,” the minister said. “We need development, and we are not in a mood to scuttle the port project. Our focus now is on alternatives and solutions that can minimise coastal erosion. In all probability, the problem will get worse when the construction of the breakwater reef is completed,” she added.
According to Richens Morais, a fisherman in Vizhinjam, the minister’s statement had vindicated their stand on the issue. “Coastal erosion has been aggravating during the monsoon every year ever since the dredging for the port began in 2015. Mighty waves have been destroying houses in the coastal region, and those living in them are forced to move into relief camps. Even the sea walls have failed to protect our houses,” he said.
Coastline-altering project
“Curiously, the crucial issue of coastal erosion has not been sufficiently addressed in the environmental impact assessment of the project,” alleges A.J. Vijayan, a Thiruvananthapuram-based expert on coastal issues. He said the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, a government body, had many times pointed out that the coastline in Thiruvananthapuram district was more prone to erosion than the coastline in other districts in Kerala.
“As far as Vizhinjam is concerned, neither the changes that human intervention could bring about have been analysed, nor have the effects of the erosion and shoreline build up been seriously discussed. The terms of reference for environmental clearance specify that the project should not be implemented in high erosion zones,” he said. According to Vijayan, the construction of breakwater reef along with the dredging of underwater rock and sand-mining would further undermine the security of the coastal villages adjacent to Vizhinjam.
According to fisheries scientist K.V. Thomas, an ecologically sensitive area known as Wadge Bank, where abundant varieties of fish breed, is not far from the Vizhinjam coast, and constant movement of ships through this pocket could severely affect fishes’ sustenance.
“Though it is very late, what the region requires is an expert study on how to protect lives and livelihood of the fisherfolk in villages in and around Vizhinjam, which has a long history of beach erosion. Now, with the construction of the breakwater reef the situation seems to be getting out of control. The first breakwater reefs in Kerala came up here in 1970 when the fishing harbour was built. Erosion is affecting the sand movement in the ecosystem. The beaches most eroded are on the northern side of Vizhinjam, areas that include Panathura and Poonthura, while there is sand accretion in the villages on the southern side,” says Thomas. During monsoons, sand and sediments move from the south to the north. Breakwater reefs obstruct this natural movement, and as a result, sand and sediments tend to stay on the southern side of the structure, resulting in accretion in the south and erosion in the north.
Extensive damages to houses and property
According to Sheeba Patrik, Valiyathura ward councillor in Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation, beach erosion begins in Vizhinjam every year with the onset of the southwest monsoon. Last year, as a result of erosion, the concrete building of the National Centre of Earth Science Studies collapsed and the Valiyathura pier was damaged.
“Three rows of houses have been lost in sea erosion here in the last four years. There was a time when local children played football on the beach. Now the whole area has been swallowed by the sea,” said Vipin Das Thottathil of the Coastal Students Cultural Forum.
Officials at Adani Group, when questioned by Mongabay-India in person and over the phone, preferred not to talk about the apprehensions of the local community. The minister’s office said efforts were on to constitute an expert committee to look into the fears and anxieties of the coastal community. A livelihood impact assessment committee is in place with the district collector as its chairman, it has however, failed to address the core concerns of the local community so far.
Meanwhile, sources in the company said the company was doing a lot of charity work for the fishermen community but belives that rehabilitation and resettlement are matters that should be addressed by the state government.
Interestingly, just a week ago, the Kerala coastal zone management authority (KCZMA) decided to issue clearance to the temporary barge load-out facility and transit stock yard meant for storing and transporting rocks to Vizhinjam for constructing the breakwater reef. KCZMA had earlier denied clearance following a writ petition filed in the Kerala High Court against the construction of the load-out facility without obtaining CRZ clearance.
It was in August 2015 that the Kerala government and the Adani Group signed an agreement on developing the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Seaport Project. The agreement courted controversy after the Comptroller and Auditor General, in May 2017, released a highly critical report questioning the project’s viability and the manner in which it had been awarded to the Adani group. A three-member judicial commission, headed by retired Kerala High Court judge C.N. Ramachandran Nair, was formed to probe into the allegations raised by many people against the project. The commission is expected to give its report in a couple of months from now. In the meanwhile, construction works were initiated following clearance from National Green Tribunal.
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India’s cultural diversity and economic and technological progress was on display on Madison Avenue in Manhattan August 18th as thousands of men, women and children packed the barricaded sidewalks to watch the 39th India Day Parade, marking the country’s 73rd anniversary of India’s Independence Day celebrations.
Organized by the Federation of Indian Associations, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut (FIA-NY, NJ, CT), the annual parade, described as the largest India Day parade in the world, saw thousands marching with Indian flags and chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai, sharing their patriotism and love for their motherland, India.
Grand Marshal Suniel Shetty, the star of yester years, Adam Silver of NBA, actress Hina Khan, a native of Kashmir, Gulshan Grover, the ‘bad man’ of Bollywood, Consul General Sandeep Chakravarty, Indian American State Senator Kevin Thomas, State Senator John Liu were among the other stars of attraction.
The cultural show on the stage near the Madison Square Garden after the parade too drew very few people than earlier years, thanks to the rising temperature. Participation from different religious groups was noteworthy this year too – Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Muslim (Ahmadiyya) and Christian groups marched in the parade with their banners showcasing the inclusive culture of India.
As usual, the Brahma Kumaris, dressed in white, marched in large numbers carrying billboards calling for peace and respect for all. The Jains of America and several Hindu groups marched with their own billboards advocating peace and love.
As in earlier years, TV Asia, Parikh Worldwide Media, and Royal Albert’s Palace, Air India, SIEA, the Consulate and others came out with colorful floats.
The many marching bands and dancing on the street by women captivated the people. The Maratha contingent, with colorful dress, drum beating and dances stole the hearts. Bands with colorful dress added sound and charm to the festivities.
The marching groups included the following among several others- Ananda Marga, Bharati Center/ISCKON, CRY-Child Rights and You, Cultural Association of Bengal, Dada Bhagwan Institute, Dhol Tasha Jellosh, USA, Heart and Hands for the Handicapped, Jai Bharati Dhol Tasha, USA, Share and Care Foundation, National Association of Asian Indian Christians in the USA, to name a few.
A few people associated with an organization named ‘standwithkashmir.org’ organized a protest march on the pavement. They claimed that the ‘people of Kashmir are in the grip of state terror imposed by the Indian state–a human rights crisis of massive proportions is unfolding behind a communications blockade.’ One of the marchers said they object fascism everywhere.
‘Support our troops, Salute our troops’ was the theme of the parade. ‘This year’s Parade is dedicated to those who have and continue to sacrifice their lives for the citizens of both our adopted country, America and our motherland India. These men and women who risk their lives go beyond the call of duty to keep us safe are the real reason we are here..’ Alok Kumar, president of FIA said earlier. ‘The parade is an embodiment of our culture and provides a way for us to interact with the community,’ he noted.
Secretary Amit Yadav stated, ‘It is my extreme pleasure to convey my heartiest greetings to you on the occasion of celebrations of 73rd Independence Day of India. I would like to take this opportunity to salute and pay respects to the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of India. It is my honor to be part of the next generation of FIA servers.’
(Chicago, IL. August 18, 2019) American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) the largest ethnic Medical Association in the United States, harnessing the vast potential of over 100,000 Indian American Physicians, has made significant contributions towards addressing several issues affecting the healthcare system in India through its annual Global Healthcare Summit held across the cities in India.
During the groundbreaking 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) held in Hyderabad from July 21st to 24th, AAPI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the HealthNet Global Limited (HNG) – a company owned by Apollo Hospitals Group, with the objective of delivering virtual second opinion consultations to millions of Indians in the vast rural areas of India, where they are unable to get required medical care.
The historic MOU was signed between AAPI by Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI and HNG by Sangitha Reddy, Managing Director of Apollo Group, in the presence of Dr. Sanku S. Rao and Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar and from HNG Dr. Anupam Sibal and Vikram Thaploo on July 22nd, 2019 at GHS, Hyderabad, India.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President, AAPI, added, “It is our love for our motherland, India that brings us to India every year at this annual Global Healthcare Summit. Among other many achievements of the GHS 2019, we are very happy with this collaboration with Apollo Hospitals. It is a great opportunity for all the Indian-origin physicians living in the US to serve the country of their birth.”
Speaking about the MOU, Dr. Prathap Reddy, Chairman and Founder, Apollo Hospitals Group, and President of Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), said, “This collaboration will provide people across the country access to the best specialists of Indian origin residing in the United States. This collaboration is another example of our continuous endeavor to provide affordable and best healthcare services to people across India.”
With this agreement, AAPI members will deliver free virtual consultations to the underserved rural population of Indian states like Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states where HNG has a presence. The collaboration would also enable patients to seek second opinions from distinguished doctors based in the United States of America for complicated clinical problems and procedures.
“As part of our collaboration, HNG will connect AAPI members with the underserved rural population through Medeintegra – our flagship telemedicine platform. People across the country will also be able to access the profiles of all the AAPI physicians through our App to seek consultations and second opinions and make informed decisions about their healthcare needs. Our collaboration is another initiative to use the latest technology to meet the healthcare needs of the people of India,” said Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group.
Dr. Sanku Rao, Past President AAPI and Past President GAPIO commented, “This collaboration will connect AAPI doctors to reach out to patients thousands of miles away using the boon of technology overcoming the geographical barrier.”
“According to the latest data available, the patient to doctor ratio is 1:1,600 and virtual consultations would be a boon to the Indian society at large. Telehealth has revolutionized healthcare delivery and in today’s time, it is nor more an option rather a necessity,” said Dr.Ravi Jahagirdar, Past President of AAPI.
“This collaboration is poised to pave the way for several other collaborations to meet the growing healthcare demands of the people if India,” added Dr. Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals Group.
The following are valuable benefits offered to indigenous population of India free of cost: Health Care advise of High Quality by learned Health Care Professionals in USA; Uniform Standard treatment guidelines perspective; Increase in accessibility to High Quality Health Care Professionals; and, Services being provided free of cost to rural population of India. The virtual consultations will be a boom for the Indian society at large. This platform can also provide private consultation if required from Specialist in USA for a preset fee and the money will be sent to AAPI. Each party may terminate MOU by written signed notice 30 days in advance for any reason.
Founded in 1983 by Dr. Prathap C Reddy, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. Its hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in the country for advanced medical services.
HNG provides integrated solutions and services for connected health and continuum of care through remote healthcare services. HNG is owned by Apollo Hospital Group and provides Remote Healthcare to country. HNG is a part of the Apollo Group. HNG provides integrated solutions of continuous care through remote health care services, including EMR, Clinical Pathways, Drug Data, Software for tele Consultations.
AAPI is a premiere ethnic medical organization of more than 80,000 licensed US physicians and over 30,000 medical students, residents and fellows. AAPI office is in Oakbrook, Illinois, USA. HNG (Health Net Global) is a registered company located at High-tech City Madhapur, Hyderabad, India. For more details, please visit: www.aapiusa.org
The Mill River Park in Stamford, CT on Saturday, August 17th wore a festive look as Indian Americans gathere din large numbers to celebrate India’s 73rd Independence Day wit an annula India Festival. Dressed in colorful traditional Indian attire, with melodious music from the popular Bollywood world, dances depicting the wide variety of Indian culture, kite flying, spicy Indian cuisine, colorful booths decorated with Indian dresses and face art.
Earlier at the City Center, during the flag hoisting ceremony, Stamford Mayor David Martin proclaimed August 17th as India Day to commemorate Indian Independence when Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian flag at the Red Fort on August 15, 1947.
The City joined hands with the Indian Diaspora in Connecticut for a celebration organized by the Connecticut Chapter of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT) by hoisting American, Indian and Connecticut flags at the Government Center in Stamford. Mayor Martin, who was present at the flag hoisting ceremony along with Indian Consul Vipul Mesariya, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
In his proclamation Mayor Martin said that the Indian Independence was marked largely by non-violent resistance and civil disobedience and the Independence Day is celebrated by the Indian Diaspora worldwide. The proclamation further noted that Stamford city will honor Indian community which is an integral part of city’s diversity, success and great future.
In her presidential address, Anita Bhat described the many flagship events the organization organizes every year. “Our mission at GOPIO-CT is to be active participants in the local community through involvement in community events and local politics, and by providing services to the Indian community at large here in Connecticut.
“The India Festival in Stamford, CT is a tribute to a strong and vibrant Indian-American community that has excelled in almost all areas of life in this adopted nation of ours,” Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President and chairman of GOPIO International, who is also a Trustee of GOPIO-CT, said.
The celebration sponsors are First County Bank and Wadia Associates of New Canaan. The program included remarks by the honored dignitaries, brief entertainment of music, presenting a community service award and recognizing high school graduates followed by flag hoisting. If you know any 2019 high school graduates from Connecticut School Systems,.
Independence Day Liberty Award 2019 Recipient for Service to GOPIO-CT and Community Causes was given to Pradeep Govil, who has served as a Board Member and the Executive Vice President of GOPIIO-CT for several years. Pradeep is Program Manager at the World’s largest and successful semiconductor company ASML. He has received over 21 patents and published numerous articles in international journals. Pradeep is an Adjunct Professor at Fairfield University since the early 90’s.
Dr. Krishan Kumar, a pediatric emergency medicine physician in East Meadow, New York and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Nassau University Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital, was awarded with Excellence Award during the 13th annual Global healthcare Summit by AAPI on July 21st in Hyderabad, India. .
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, India’s Minister for Health and family Affairs gave the award to Dr. Kumar at a glittering ceremony attended by over 1,000 physicians of Indian Origin on the inaugural day of the Summit. “It is your love for your motherland that has brought you here today,” Dr. Vardhan said as the audience cheered him loudly. While describing them as leading luminaries, excelling in the medical field, contributing to make a positive impact in the healthcare sector through their dedication, commitment, knowledge and skills.”
A recipient of the prestigious Parvasi Bharatiya Diwas Award, Dr. Krishan Kumar, served as the Chair and Program Director, Department of Pediatrics, Nassau University Medical Center, from January, 2017-April 2019. Dr. Kumar is a Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at NY College of Osteopathic Medicine and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at NY College of Osteopathic Medicine. He has served as the Medical Director, Fire Police EMS Academy- County of Nassau, NY from 2000 to January 2019.
He was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, NY, and was an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, New York Medical College, NY until June 1, 1994. He received his medical degree from G.S.V.M Medical College Kanpur and has been in practice for more than 20 years.
Board Qualified in Emergency Medical Services from the American Board of Emergency Medicine, he is a Board Qualified – Child Abuse Pediatrics from American Board of Pediatrics. In 1995, he received Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from The University of State of New York. Prior to his coming to the US, he had received a Doctor of Medicine (Pediatrics) degree in 1980 from GSVM Medical College, India.
Dr. Kumar is certified in New York State mandated course on “Child abuse and Maltreatment” and is an expert in and teaches: Basic Life Support; Advanced Cardiac Life Support; Pediatric Advanced Life Support; Advanced Trauma Life Support; and Neonatal Advanced Life Support
Dr. Kumar has published and co-wrote several books and articles in Medicine. He has led Grand Rounds and multiple lectures to medical student, Pediatric/ Emergency Medicine residents, pediatric ambulatory fellow, EMS students on Pediatric Emergencies including identification and reporting of chills Abuse, Maltreatment and Neglect”. This also includes Sexual, Physical, Psychological, Verbal and Emotional Abuse.
He was the Convention Chair, INTEM in 2006 on “International Emergency Medicine and Disaster Planning Conference” He has severed as Chair- Liaison committee, American Association of Physician of Indian Origin, Philadelphia,
Dr. Kumar helped develop Emergency Medicine residency and MD in Emergency Medicine in India with the help of Government of India, Medical Council of India, Society of Emergency Medicine in India and Indo-US Emergency and Trauma, and delivered multiple lectures and workshops in India and US to promote the concept of good health and emergency management of diseases.
His community service had no boundaries. He worked as a volunteer doctor in medical camps in El Salvador and with the help of other doctors, treated more than 6000 patients. He was instrumental in developing Vision 2020 by 2020, by helping develop a charitable eye hospital in association of Sankara Eye Foundation in Kanpur, India. The hospital will treat more the 50,000 patient/ year for free and has been a Volunteer doctor in India from 1977 till now.
Dr. Kumar is an Invited International Speaker on various themes related to International Emergency Medicine and Advanced Cardiac Life Support. He led the Development of Emergency Program in India during the Indo US Health Care Conference, 2008. He has served as the Chair of CME Committee, the last being in 2019 during the GHS by AAPI in Hyderabad, Jordan and Israel.
Realizing his expertise and commitment, the NY state and local governments have generously used his services in various Committees of Hospitals relating to Credentialing, Utilization Review and Medical Staff. He has been a Fellow at the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Emergency Medicine, American College of Sports Medicine, and Indian Academy of Pediatrics.
A recipient of numerous Awards, Recognitions, he received the “Dr. J.R. Srivastava Oration award” 2007 for best Pediatrician – Kanpur Medical College, India. He got Honorable Mention “PHYSICIAN OF EXCELLENCE 2006” Award from the Nassau Regional Emergency Services Council, NY in 2006, he received the Nassau Regional EMS Council Award in “Recognition of outstanding dedication and service to the residents of our region, and for your continuing efforts in maintaining the provision of the highest level of Emergency Medical Care possible- Honorable Mention- Physician of Excellence.”
The Nassau Regional EMS Council Award was given to him in “Recognition of outstanding dedication and service to the residents of our region, and for your continuing efforts in maintaining the provision of the highest level of Emergency Medical Care possible- Physician of Excellence in 2007. He received the Medical Director of Excellence Award for “outstanding contribution to paramedic education- Nassau County Fire Police EMS Academy” in 2009.
Dr. Kumar was recognized among America’s Top Pediatricians by Consumer’s Research Council of America- Excellence 2010. The Congressional Certificate of Merit Award- given by Peter King, Chairman, Home Land Security, for “In recognition of being awarded the 2011 community service and leadership award by the South Asian Political Action Committee in October, 2011.
He is a Board Member- Office of the Minority Affairs, County of Nassau, and State of New York. Appointed by C.E. Hon. Ed. Mangano in Sept. 2012. He was a Board Member- Nassau Health Care Corp, County of Nassau, State of New York, which is the only hospital in Long Island, NY, to treat President of America for any emergency.
“It was again a celebration not just of the accomplishments of our awardees, but also a tribute to a strong and vibrant Indian-American community that has excelled in almost all areas,” Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President and chairman of GOPIO International, who is also a Trustee of GOPIO-CT and chairman of the Awards Committee, said, in his opening remarks, while setting the tone for the 13th annual Gala and Awards Nite.
Organized by The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)-Connecticut Chapter in the Ballroom at the Sheraton Stamford Hotel on Saturday, July 27th, 2019, the event honored six distinguished Indian Americans for their achievements and contributions to the greater good of the larger society. The theme for the banquet this year was titled ‘A Better Tomorrow, Green Carpet Gala’ with emphasis on environmental balance and social justice.
Welcoming everyone, GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat said, “Our mission at GOPIO-CT has been to, actively participate in the local community through involvement in community events and providing advocacy on issues important to Indian Americans. This lofty goal of providing services and a political voice to the local Indian population has evolved into an exemplary community service organization thanks to the tremendous support of our local Indian community.”
Bhat described the many flagship events the organization conducts every year. “We take pride in serving at local soup kitchens, addressing important issues through speaker series, participating in local walkathons, celebrate Diwali festival, India’s Independence Day, Cricket matches, organize Health Series, recognize high achievers and our scholarship program funds many students’ education, Bhat added.
The 2019 awardees are: Connecticut State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan for achievement in Political involvement; Dr. Ravi Dhar is George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing, Yale School of Management and Professor of Psychology at Yale University for Business Management; Dr. Sathya Motupally, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Doosan Fuel Cell America for Engineering; Dr. D.R. Nagaraj, Principal Research Fellow at Cytec Solvay for Applied Sciences and Dinyar Wadia, Principal of Wadia Associates for Architecture. In addition, GOPIO-CT President’s Award for a young professional was presented to Dr. Asha Kapur Shah, Associate Hospital Epidemiologist and Associate Director of Infectious Diseases at Stamford Hospital.
India’s Consul General from New York Sandeep Chakravorty, in his address, thanked GOPIO for playing a major role in cementing US-India relations and appealed to lawmakers including Senator Richard Blumenthal who was in the audience for their support to promote bilateral relations.
“India has a special relation with Connecticut since Indian companies are setting up their office in Connecticut as Infosys opened its Technology and Innovation Hub in Harford,” said Consul General Chakravorty.
Consul General Chakravorty also complimented the Indian American community for its achievements in education, income level, economic standing and contributions to the American society. Chakravorty invited the community to attend public the reception for Prime Minister Narendra scheduled to be held in Houston on September 22nd.
Senator Richard Blumenthal said that there are bilateral issues between the US and India which need to be resolved. A previous Friend of India award recipient from GOPIO-CT, Senator Blumenthal said that US-Indian relations would emerge stronger.
Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling said that Norwalk Public Library would have an India collection of books which will be launched on September 15th at the library.
Prominent among those who had attended and spoke at the annual gala included, Connecticut State Senator Tony Hwang and CT State Assemblymen Dr. Prasad Srinivasan. Echoing similar sentiments, Connecticut Assemblyman Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, in his eloquent speech highlighted the need for Indian Americans to come together, stand united and work for the greater good of the larger American society. Senator Hwang congratulated GOPIO for bringing the community together. New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Kevin Moynihan said that New Canaan was happy to have Indian Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the society.
The sold out and much anticipated event was attended by over 250 guests from across the state of Connecticut and New York, including community leaders, elected officials, and honorees and their families. The gala included a cocktail reception, dinner, music, and eloquent speeches, touching life-stories and inspiring narratives on the lives of the six distinguished honorees. The program was compered by GOPIO-CT’s immediate past president Shailesh Naik and Vice President Bhavna Juneja. The gala began with a mesmerizing Kuchipudi dance ‘Swara Pallavi’ by Roopa Modha. Comedian Dr. Sandip Sen took the stage after the award ceremony with his clean jokes on he community and society at large.
For the fifth year in a row, GOPIO-CT Scholarship for College Tuitions were given to four young students from Connecticut towards their higher education. The scholarships were presented to Rahul Katre who graduated from The Academy of Info Technology and Engineering, Stamford; Rishabh Sahu, who graduated from Stamford’s Westhill High School; Annwesha Roy Chowdhury who is enrolled at the Norwalk Community College and Anne Jordan Nanai who graduated from Greenwich High School.
The GOPIO-CT executive committee consists of Anita Bhat, President; Santosh Gannu, Exec. Vice President; Bhavna Juneja, Vice President; Prasad Chintalapudi, Secretary; Gayatri Mahesh, Jt. Secretary; Viresh Sharma, Treasurer; and Shelly Nichani, Immediate Past President. Board of Trustees are: Shailesh Naik – Chair; Dr. Thomas Abraham – Secretary and Comptroller; Srinivas Akarapu, Neelam Narang, Varghese Ninan, Sanjay Santhanam and Anita Bhat- Ex-Officio. The Scholarship Committee has Shelly Nichani (Chair), Pradeep Govil, Bavna Juneja and Viresh Sharma as its members. Board Members are: Meera Banta, Louella D’Silva, Jaya Daptadar, Ritu Johorey, Rajneesh Misra, Udaya Neelam, Beena Ramachandran and Ramya Subramanian.
After the award ceremony Miss India Connecticut Alka Marala and Mamatha Puttaswamy performed Bollywood dances following which the audience joined in.
Over the last 13 years, GOPIO-CT, a chapter of GOPIO International has become an active and dynamic organization hosting interactive sessions with policy makers and academicians, community events, youth mentoring and networking workshops, and working with other area organizations to help create a better future. GOPIO-CT – Global Organization of People of Indian Origin – serves as a non-partisan, secular, civic and community service organization – promoting awareness of Indian culture, customs and contributions of PIOs through community programs, forums, events and youth activities. It seeks to strengthen partnerships and create an ongoing dialogue with local communities.
An Indian American physician couple, and their teenage daughter died in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on August 8, when the private single-engine aircraft Beechcraft Bonanza they were in crashed. The victims have been identified as 60-year-old Dr. Jasvir Khurana, his wife, 54-year-old Dr. Divya Khurana, and their daughter, 19-year-old Kiran Khurana.
Local police officials said no distress call was made prior to the plane crash, reported CBS Philly. Nobody was injured on the ground.
The NTSB says the plane left Northeast Philadelphia Airport shortly after 6 a.m. and was heading to The Ohio State University Airport. The flight lasted for about three minutes before the plane went down. The plane’s final destination was supposed to be St. Louis.
Chris Crane told Eyewitness News he heard a “thunderous bang” and his house shook when the small plane crashed in his neighbor’s backyard.
“I thank God that it missed our homes,” Crane said. Crane added that there was a strong smell of fuel following the crash. “When I walked outside all you could smell was fuel, no flames, no anything else, but the smell of fuel was strong,” Crane said.
Dr. Jasvir Khurana was a faculty member in the Department of Pathology at Temple University. “Dr. Khurana has been a valued faculty member in the Department of Pathology at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University since 2002. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones,” the university said in a statement.
His wife, Dr. Divya Khurana, was a doctor at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. She was a professor of pediatrics and neurology at the Drexel University College of Medicine, specializing in pediatrics, sleep medicine and pediatric neurology. She was also a nationally recognized leader in epilepsy and mitochondrial disorders, according to the hospital, where she had worked for more than two decades.
“[Divya] was loved by her patients and students alike. Her sudden passing has left a void in the hearts of all who knew and loved her,” St. Christopher’s said in a statement.
The couple’s daughter, Kiran, graduated from Harriton High School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, in 2018, reported NBC.
“One of our kindest students,” Harriton High School principal Scott Weinstein said. “She was humble, serving of others and had an extremely bright future. We are deeply saddened by this tremendous loss.” The couple is survived by their oldest daughter who was not on the plane at the time of the crash.
NBC10 obtained audio of Dr. Jasvir Khurana, who had a pilot’s license and was the pilot of the aircraft, speaking to air traffic control moments before the flight took off. In the audio, Dr. Khurana incorrectly repeats back parts of the route that were dictated to him by the tower controller. A frequency mix up is then heard.
When the police came to the crash site, debris could be seen strewn across a length of more than a football field that covers four yards. The aircraft came to rest in a wooded area after striking the ground, a gazebo, backyard shed, fence and several trees.
“There are pieces of debris spread out over four backyards,” Upper Moreland Township Police Chief Mike Murphy said.
The flight-tracking site Flight Aware reports that the plane, tail No. N4082S, reached an estimated altitude of about 1,200 feet before quickly dropping. Flight Aware listed the estimated duration for Thursday’s flight plan to be around 2 hours, 38 minutes.
The previous two flights registered to that tail number both originated and landed at Northeast Philadelphia Airport two weekends ago and lasted less than an hour.
The National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene, and their investigation is underway, according to Adam Gerhardt, an air traffic investigator with the agency, reported LehighValleylive.com.
DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 13 – Today, Governor Kim Reynolds and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst are partnering the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and AAHOA to raise awareness across the state for a unified approach to combatting human trafficking. As part of this effort, they will join the hotel industry for a human trafficking prevention training session with hotel employees at the Holiday Inn Mercy Campus in Des Moines.
The training session comes on the heels of the launch of AHLA’s No Room for Trafficking campaign and AAHOA’s Human Trafficking Awareness Training, which build upon the hotel industry’s long-standing commitment to combatting human trafficking by unifying around the goal of training every hotel worker. Already each year, thousands of hotel employees are trained on how to identify and stop trafficking, and this campaign unites the industry around the shared goal to end human trafficking
“Thanks to our dedicated hoteliers across the country, our industry already has a strong record of combating trafficking and supporting survivors. Today, we are thrilled to continue building on this legacy by partnering with Governor Reynolds and Senator Ernst who are playing a critical role in the fight against human trafficking here in Iowa and throughout the United States,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “While there is still much more to do, we believe our partnership with lawmakers as well as our commitment to training and education will continue to make a difference.”
Today’s event is the first in a series of regional events across the country where the hotel industry will partner with lawmakers and human trafficking prevention partners to raise public awareness and facilitate collaboration with government, law enforcement and hoteliers on best practices for policies, procedures and training to enhance our human trafficking prevention efforts.
“Iowa is committed to leading the charge in the fight against human trafficking, and we are proud to partner with the hotel industry to prevent these horrific acts,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Iowa has already made significant strides in training hotel employees on the signs of trafficking, but there is more to be done to win the war on human trafficking.”
“Collaborating with our industry partners and across all levels of government, Iowa is leading the fight to combat human trafficking. I’m proud to join with the hotel industry and to be a part of their efforts to train every employee in trafficking prevention. Working together, we can end trafficking not only in Iowa, but across the country,” said Sen. Joni Ernst.
“Hoteliers and their employees are the first line of defense to combat human trafficking in the hospitality industry. Education and training initiatives by AAHOA, AHLA, and brands continue to help hotel staff identify traffickers and the victims they exploit and take appropriate action that can save lives,” said Rachel Humphrey, interim president and CEO of AAHOA. “Our industry’s efforts are strengthened when elected officials, such as Senator Ernst and Governor Reynolds, partner with us to raise awareness of this serious issue that affects communities not just here in Iowa but across the nation.”
The hotel industry has long recognized the critical role it plays in ending the scourge of human trafficking, and through innovative techniques and employee training has played an instrumental role in identifying, reporting and stopping instances of human trafficking.
AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the world. The over 18,500 AAHOA members own almost one in every two hotels in the United States. With billions of dollars in property assets and hundreds of thousands of employees, AAHOA members are core economic contributors in virtually every community. AAHOA is a proud defender of free enterprise and the foremost current-day example of realizing the American dream.
Serving the hospitality industry for more than a century, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is the sole national association representing all segments of the U.S. lodging industry. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., AHLA focuses on strategic advocacy, communications support and educational resources for an industry that supports 8 million jobs. Learn more at www.ahla.com.
(August 12, 2019) Chicago, IL. American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) joined the India Day Parade, spreading the message of health and wellness at the India Day Parade in Greater Chicago area with much fanfare for the fifth time in a row on Aug 11, 2019. The float was organized by Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, Dr. Meher Medavaram, Chair of the upcoming Chicago Convention and Dr. Niranjana Shah, President of IAMA, local chapter in Illinois.
“As we celebrate the 73rd anniversary of India’s Independence. AAPI, the premier organization that represents over 65,000 physicians and 25,000 Residents of Indian Origin in the United states, we want to convey our greetings to all the people of Indian origin on this day of national celebration,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, said here on August 11th.
Attendees from AAPI included Dr. Seema Arora, Chair BOT, Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President Elect, Dr. Anupama Gotimukula Vice President, Dr. Ravi Kolli, Secretary and Dr. Raj Bhayani, the Treasurer. Other dignitaries include Dr. Jagdish Gupta, Regional Director, Dr. Satheesh Kathula, Chair of IT Committee and Dr. Rupak Parikh, Past YPS President and. Co-Chair of the Chicago Convention 2020.
Attendees from IAMA (local chapter) were, Dr. Niranjana Shah, President, Dr. Sreenivas Reddy, immediate Past President, Dr. Dilip Shah, Treasurer, and Dr. Ram Medavaram and several others.
Dr. Bharat Barai, Board of Trustee, AAPI also attended the event. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, US congressman was one of the Chief Guests at the event. The much anticipated annual parade, which is one of the largest community event, was organized by the Federation of Indian Americans (FIA-Chicago Chapter).
Around 80 floats paraded through the streets of greater Chicago, while tens of thousands of Indians watched and cheered as the floats pass by. The evening entertainment included a free concert by the famous Bollywood singer Sunidhi Chauhan, and several food stalls representing various parts of India.
Dr. Suresh Reddy and Dr. Seema Arora on behalf of the entire Executive committee and Board of Trustees of AAPI, wishes the entire AAPI community a wonderful India Independence Day this week.
“AAPI takes special pride in saluting our beloved tricolor. Let us recall with pride the great sacrifice of our freedom fighters, whose undying love for India secured us our freedom,” Dr. Reddy said, as the AAPI leaders from across the nation marched at the parade. For more information, please visit: www.aapiusa.org
A Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was conferred on Voice of Specially Abled People (VOSAP). The US based non-profit, which received this rare honor in August, is one of four NGOs working in India in the disability sector to have received this status. It marks a huge step forward for the organization which empowers Specially Abled people by pushing for greater accessibility in public places, economic opportunities, inclusion, and their right to live a life of equality and dignity.
Some of the privileges this status brings are opportunities to consult with member states and the UN system, access to UN’s offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna and the use of their facilities. It also enables ECOSOC to tap VOSAP for its expertise.
For VOSAP’s Founder Pranav Desai who calls this a “milestone achievement,” the cause is very personal. At the age of 4, Desai was stricken with polio and lost the use of both his legs. Tested by daily challenges from climbing stairs (the family lived on the 4th floor for 10 years) to convincing educational institutions to admit him, he credits his parents for never treating him differently from his siblings nor making any particular concessions for him. This matter-of-fact “acceptance of reality” and his own innate drive, he retrospects, allowed him to believe in himself and make a mark in the mainstream world.
Desai’s Engineering and MBA degrees coupled with his expertise in SAP software brought him to the US in 1999. He is currently VP at Nippon Telegraphs and Telephones Data and based out of Los Angeles. Citing his own life as an example, he points to his cane and braces which help him walk, he drives his own car and as Head of Sales travels extensively. He is thankful for these opportunities and his singular goal is to help others achieve the same.
VOSAP, the Ahmedabad native explains, is a global team of 8000 plus volunteers who have come together to help Specially Abled people rise above their disabilities. His wife, Usha is a co-founder and the couple’s efforts has already made a significant impact in India with its “Accessible India” campaign.
Sharing a unique perspective, Desai says that each of us is “temporarily abled.” One mishap, one misstep or the inevitable process of aging can make us disabled. He emphasizes the importance of coming together to uplift the millions of people whose needs and aspirations are largely ignored due to their disability.
The organization’s volunteers reach out to corporations, religious organizations, social and political leaders to “sensitize” them, foster conversations about disability and bring about a greater acceptance for them. Sewing machines, wheel chairs and hearing aids are distributed on a monthly basis, made possible by fundraisers and generous donors. Sparsh Shah, the singing prodigy who was born with the Brittle Bones Disease, is VOSAP’s articulate Youth Ambassador.
According to WHO’s statistics, 15% of the world’s population suffers from some disability but India’s figures are dubious due to social stigma, lack of benefits and its vague definition. Some estimates put the number at seven crores. Additionally, special facilities are scarce to non-existent.
However, this seems to be changing. When the Modi government came to power in 2014, Desai met the Prime Minister in a one-on-one meeting to work on a comprehensive new law for people with disabilities. When the proposals were presented to Modi after 2 years, it was approved by him in six hours, passed through both the Houses of Parliament and went to the President for his signature all “within 30 days.” The law provides for greater awareness of disability, revised building codes, 4% reservation for public sector jobs, insurance and reimbursed training. Desai is also an Advisor to the Department of Empowerment of People with Disability in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
Desai has also created an App (VOSAP) which allows volunteers to photograph a building’s accessibility. The App updates this information using GPS and helps people in wheelchairs find places they can visit based on accessibility ratings and comments.
A motivational speaker, Pranav wants to use his voice for the Specially Abled in every part of the world. Be the change maker in your community, he urges, be compassionate and most importantly, be accepting of those with disabilities. To learn more about the organization, download the App or visit www.voiceofsap.org.
Palatine, IL: State of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a new law on August 3, 2019 designating “April as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month” in the state of Illinois. The event took place at Sikh Religious Society (SRS) Palatine Gurdwara. A mini outdoor office of the Governor was set up in the picturesque front lawn of the gurdwara building, near “Nishan Sahib” to conduct the gubernatorial signing ceremony per their official protocol and tradition.
Governor Pritzker was surrounded by overjoyed members of the Sikh community in the premises of the gurdwara near “Nishan Sahib” when he signed the bill. More than 200 Sikhs and guests attended the ceremony and celebration.
“As we shape our state to be a place that embraces our future with open arms, we would do well to take a page from the Sikh community. That’s why I’m proud to sign this legislation designating the month of April as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker amid applause and expressions of cheers from the Sikh community members assembled at the premises of Palatine Gurdwara.
“As Sikhs throughout the world celebrate the 550th anniversary of the birth of their first guru, we celebrate you as an integral part of the Illinois community. We are tremendously proud that so many Sikhs call this state their home,” tweeted Governor Pritzker. “I hope the new law will provide greater understanding of the Sikh community,” he added.
The HB2832 Bill had first passed the house vote bearing signatures of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael J. Madigan, and the Senate President John J. Cullerton. The State Commemorative Dates Act is amended by adding Section 8 which states – “Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. The month of April of each year is designated as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation month to be observed throughout the State as a month to recognize the many ways that Sikh Americans have influenced American history, achievement, culture, and innovation.”
State Representative Michelle Mussman sponsored the bill which was co-sponsored in the House by State Representatives, Fred Crespo, Stephanie Kifowit, Tom Morrison, and Jonathan Carroll and supported by many others including Mark Walker, Mark Kalish, Karina Villa, Theresa Mah, and Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz.
The bill was filed in the Senate by the Senate president John Cullerton and supported by Illinois Senators Ann Gillespie, Laura Murphy, Laura Ellman, Ram Villivalam among many others. The bill passed in both houses. The governor’s signatures on August 3, 2019 made it a law. The law takes effect on January 1, 2020.
State Representative Michelle Mussman expressed her pleasure to sponsor the house bill HB2832 and praised the Sikh community for their core values, contributions to the society, and service to humanity.
Sikh Religious Society Palatine President Dr. Pardeep singh Gill welcomed and thanked the governor and the guests. President Gill explained the significance of the month of April for the Sikh community. It includes “Khalsa Saajna Divas” (birth of the Khalsa order) and also birth of the founder of Sikh faith Guru Nanak Dev. A Punjabi cultural festival of “Vaisakhi” also falls in April.
Rajinder Singh Mago spoke about the significance of the bill to the Sikh community and introduced the governor. “Signing into law the very important designation of Sikh Awareness month shows Governor J.B. Pritzker’s commitment to ensuring that Sikhs in Illinois are an important and valuable part of our growing society.” said Rajinder Singh Mago. “It also helps us combat the challenges we face everyday when it comes to hate crimes, bias and a lack of understanding about our faith and religious articles,” Mago added.
A poster depicting the bravery of Sikh Soldiers in World Wars I & II was presented to the governor as a token of appreciation by Sarwan Singh and S.R.S. President Dr Pardeep Singh Gill.
The dignitaries in addition to the governor Pritzker who attended the event were, Illinois State Representatives Michelle Mussman and Mark Walker, State Senators Ann Gillespie and Laura Ellman, Palatine Township committee-man Matt Flamm, committeeman Patrick Watson, Hanover Park Township trustee Khaja Moinuddin, and several local communities.
Indian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill to end the Muslim practice of instant divorce two years after the Supreme Court ruled that it violated the constitutional rights of Muslim women.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the bill’s approval by the upper house of Parliament reflects the empowerment of women and India’s changing profile.
The more powerful lower house approved the bill last week. It will become law after India’s president approves it, which is a formality.
Most of the 170 million Muslims in India are Sunnis governed by the Muslim Personal Law for family matters. The law has included allowing Muslim men to divorce their wives by saying “Talaq,” the Arabic word for divorce, three times — and not necessarily consecutively, but at any time, and by any medium, including telephone, text message or social media post.
More than 20 countries, including neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, have banned the practice.
The 99-84 approval last week was a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The opposition had blocked the bill for more than a year, as the ruling party lacked majority support in the upper house. A split in the opposition ranks helped the government cross the line.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Congress party leader, said the opposition parties were opposed to a clause providing a three-year jail term for a husband who divorced his wife in such a way, arguing that no other religion has such a punishment. The opposition also said the bill had no clarity on spousal support if men were jailed for an instant divorce.
Both houses of Parliament rejected the opposition stand and also refused to refer the bill to a parliamentary committee to consider those provisions.
Chicago IL: The great festival organized by the Punjab Sports and Cultural Club, Chicago, on July 7, 2019, at the Bussee Woods, Elk Grove, Illinois, was significant not only due to the huge community turnout, but also the thrilling Kabaddi competitions and heart winning music, as well as the delicious and sumptuous food. Thousands of festival attendees whole-heartedly enjoyed the Punjabi delicacies all through the day
Many of the festival goers had come from far off places like Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, California, and various cities of Illinois. Beginning of the celebrations was marked by reciting ‘Holy Ardaas’ by Bhai Parminderjit Singh, Head Granthi of Sikh Religious Society (Gurudwara Palatine). The Club Members and the numerous guests released the colorful balloons in air.to mark the excitingl inauguration of the Mela.
The Punjab Sports Club, Seattle were declared the First-place winner in the famous Kabaddi competitions, followed by Punjab Sports Club, Chicago as Runners-up. A total of four teams namely, the Punjab Sports Club, Seattle: Sher-e- Punjab Sports Club, Chicago India Asia Kabaddi Team and North Sports Kabaddi Club participated in the Kabaddi tournament. The Sher-e-e Punjab Sports Club, Seattle, was sponsored by Baretty Gill Mohna Seattle Sandip and Varinder.
The first match was played between She-e-Punjab Sports Club, Seattle and India Asia teams, in which the later outplayed the former by 28 to 20 points.
Love Nagra dominated his bout with Jalalpuria. A tough bout was fought between Jalalpuria and Neki. Many tricky moves were applied. Finally, Neki outplayed the opponent in points scored. In another match, Daljit won the contest against Ranjit
In the second match, the Punjab Sports Club Chicago team was winner with 37 points against North America Sports Club score of 31 points. Yaad won the match with Bachitar. Raider Ravi won the public applaud by grabbing the ankle of Daljinder and stopping him. Likewise, in his contest with Jatinder, Bal rightly won the audience cheers by escaping from the former’s tight cross leg. Bachitar vs Khushi; Kale vs Yaad; and Harkhowal vs Bhinder also strongly locked horns.
The first semi-final was played between North America Sports Kabaddi Club and Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club. Jalalpuria successfully trapped Bachitar into a strong cross-leg hold. The tussle between Sandeep and Jatinder was fierce; but Sandeep prevailed. Sethi clearly dominated over Lovely. Dalli won over Jatinder; Sandeep won over Harkhowal; Pale prevailed over Kale; Karambir won over Bunty; Sethi prevailed over Bhupinder; Dule won over Jatinder; Sandeep prevailed over Daljinder: Karambir won over Harkhowal; Dule prevailed over Harkhowal; and Sandeep won over Jatinder and scored the points for their respective teams. Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club Seattle won a place to contest in Finals after defeating North America Sports Kabaddi Club.
In the second semi-final, Punjab Sports Club Chicago remained winner with 32 points whereas. India Asia Club became the runners-up with 32 points. Gauri and Gurwinder fought a tough bout leading to a point victory by Gurwinder. Aman Dasuya dominated the fight with Manna. Love Nagra won over Chattha after a tough fight. A fierce bout between Nagra and Bhupinder saw the victory going to Nagra.
The Final was held between Punjab Sports Club Chicago and Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club Seattle. Dulla was the winner in strong fight with Yaad. Yaad applied a powerful cross-leg hold on Sandeep which the later counter very skillfully and won the wide applaud from the fans.at large.
Khushi and Dulla were a great match for each other, but victory went to Dulla. When Khushi made Daljeet look helpless with a reverse cross leg hold, the audience burst into a loud, hearty cheers. Ravi scored fast points over Jalalpuria. Bhupinder won over Dulla in the power struggle. Between Ravi and Lovely, Lovely won the bout.
Pala Sahota, Ravi, Yodha, Aman Dasuha, Ranjit, Manna and Bhupinder won the admiration for their impressive Kabaddi skills. When the players grabbed the opponents’ wrist, applied the leg locks, clasped around their mid body area, or pushed them outside the circle to score the points, the fans would burst into cheers and rewarded the winner with cash rewards to boost their confidence. Makhan Ali kept the atmosphere alive manifolds by his witty commentary of Kabaddi matches. He sprinkled his comments with poetic couplets full of cultural wisdom. He extolled the youth, “My dear ones! Refrain from the substance addiction and nurture youir lives with high values”. He further high-lighted, “Punjabis have carried Kabaddi with them to where ever they have settled in the world, they have been in love with kabaddi since ages. When they carry raid (in Kabaddi) the earth moves and their great bodies shine, the whole world watches in awe”. They believe in working hard and that the victory would come to them.
Dhavi Khushi, Yaad Kotli, Pehlwan Kahalwan, Bhinder Chadha, Raider Ravi, Pali and Manna representing the Punjab Sports Club Chicago, put in their best to bring honor of victory to their team. They tried many powerful moves of grappling on the opponents, but barely missed grabbing the top position. However, Raider Dule, Sandeep, Daljit Dullee, Karambir Johal, forward Pala Jalalpuria, Sinder Kalasanghia, Lovely and Lucky of Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club Seattle, jointly succeeded in earning the top honors of winning Kabaddi Cup for their team.
Manna Balnu was adjudged the Best Raider; and Pala Jalalpur as the Best Stopper. Amolak Singh Jakhal and Iqbal Singh Gakhal also offered the cash rewards of $500.00 each for the Best Raider and Best Stopper. Regal Jewellars offered gold coins to reward the Best Raider and Best Stopper.
Milwaukee businessman Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, honoring the memories of his father Subedar Kartar Singh, sponsored the first prize. The second prize was sponsored by Ghuman Brothers of Indiana, in memory of their late brother Harbhajan Singh Ghuman. Raja Talan, Raja Bhandal, Dilbag Hothi and Neelon acted as the Refrees. Raghwinder Singh Maahal performed the duties of Scorer.
Volleyball competitions were held among four teams, namely, Bhagat Singh Sports Club Chicago, Volleyball Chicago – B Team, Madison Volleyball and Milwaukee Volleyball. The Bhagat Singh Sports Club, Chicago secured the first position, whereas, Milwaukee team won the second place. Randeep Singh Sanghera, Shaan Sanghera, Mathew, Tony Sanghera and Philips were notable for their excellent performance. Among Milwaukee team, Raj, Gopi, Bhupinder, Vicki, Dharam and Ravi were the outstanding performers. Many competitions were decided on a very narrow margin. Volleyball Tournament was dedicated to the memories of late Harbhajan Singh Gakhal, Harjaap Singh Sangha and Major Singh Mauji. The reward money for Volleyball winners was sponsored by Lakha Dhindsa and Amarjit Dhindsa. The management honored the sponsors by offering them souvenirs.
There were great arrangements for sumptuous food and beverages stalls at the Mela. People fully enjoyed sizzling hot tea and vegetable fritters, ‘jalebis’, ‘Gulab jamun’, ‘samosa’, ‘gol gappa’ efficiently catered by India Café, Milwaukee. The Mela comers whole heartedly enjoyed all these mouth-watering delicacies from the very start till conclusion of event. Event Management Committee had made effective arrangements to maintain the cleanliness throughout the event area. For the music segment, Gary Sandhu arrived attired in Kurta-pajama and specially designed black eye wears, and remarked, “I have come to England after eight years, but arrived in Chicago for the first time.
He started the renditions with famous number “Ek Tera Shara Mil Jaye, Dunia Di Parwah Nahin Karada”, followed by “Banda Baan Jaa, Dilan De Jania”. To strike friendly cord with the listeners, he said ‘I am son of a Jat, but am in love with music. I came to England when I was 19. There immigrants without documentation are referred as ‘Fauji’. And he broke into another number ‘Koi Mourd Liyao Ni, Fauji Mera Bhaj Giya’;(It is noteworthy that Gary Sandhu was deported from England). Gary recited many Punjabi and mixed language songs. He prompted the people with humor, “Give me the Cheer ups to keep me going even when my time portion is over”.
Referring to his co-singer Jasmine Sandels, Gary said that she did not want to sing the duet as ‘Bhabhi’, but we sang the number, it scored a hit. ”Bhabhi Suun Meri Gal, Mainu Ek Kurri Naal Pyar Ho Giya”.We composed a song “Aa Jaa Gallan Kariya Pyar Dian” And then we had a fight “Huun Bolian Vi Nahin Boldi”. He said in a lighter but sarcastic tone that “some ‘Khasamkhana’(scoundresl) filled her mind with arrogance. But I cconfronted her after ingesting two drinks, and scared her with my first ‘Lalkaar’ (challenge), followed by a song dedicated to mothers -”Duniya Wich Ek Cheeze Avali Maa” For the truck drivers’ brotherhood he sang, :Sarak Te Chit Nahin Lagda”; a rap number “Jihri Aa pasand”. He made the people dance on their feet with his number “Hauli Hauli Naach Mitra”.
Gary Sandhu also seemed smitten with the cricket bug of World Cup He showed it as soon as he stepped on the stage imitating a bowling move, instead of offering a bow to the platform. At the conclusion also, he left the stage imitating a swing as if hitting a ’four’ or ‘six’ in cricket. Most of his songs were revolved around his love story. It so seemed that he just presented his love story to the audience as was evident from his selection of songs. He himself narrated that, he fell in love with a girl; they had a fight’ she dumped him; she asks from more time to think about a patch-up; he went to her after drinking two shots; she got scared upon the first confrontation; His shared his realization that “romance is not everything”; now she does not respond to calls; some scoundrel instigated her; let us forget the grouses; let us meet again; I love you; you don’t lose anything if you respond; my beloved. Though Gary did not mention any name, but many in the audience could be heard mentioning a name.
Starting with saying ‘Sat Sri Akal’, the 6th Chicago District Congressman Shan Costine expressed his great happiness for participating in the kabaddi and cultural program. He praised that Punjabi community has made noteworthy progress not only in Illinois but all over the U.S.A. Congressman met with the players. He visited the various tents to greet the visitors and posed for photographs. He was accompanied by Balwinder Shaukar, Laddi Singh, Thakkar Singh Basati and Master Khan. Congressman Raja Krishnamurti also paid a visit at the event. He said that he is very much impressed with the Sikh community and his association with the community goes back a long way. Punjabis have earned a special recognition as result of their resilience and social acumen.
The newly elected Mayor of Schaumburg, Tom Daley, also participated in the festivities at the event. The hopeful for position of Supreme Court Judgeship, Gerry G. Rice, was also seen socializing with the people and distributing his business cards among them. The past contestant for Mayor of Schaumburg, Rehman Nawees was also present. The Counsel General of India could not make it, but was represented by his representative. Jessi White also could not attend the event.
The Secretary of State Jessi White’s famous tumbler team of 19 young gymnast boys and girls performed amazing acrobats including high jumps and long jumps and earned high praise and cheers from the overwhelmed onlookers. Weather was very pleasant. The playground was swaying among soft breeze with scores of artistic buntings of Indian and American national colors. Parking lots were filled to the capacity. The police were seen guiding the tardy arrivals to park their cars outside the forest preserve.
There was an impressive crowd of shoppers around the booths at the Mela selling ladies suits, Punjabi-style shoes. Ladies were also getting the complimentary artistic henna tattoos. Some men folks also had fun of getting the henna applied on their hands. The Desi Kulfi seller also had a hay day with big sales.
Ample quantity of drinking water bottles was available. However, many people had littered the ground floor with used bottles. The cleaning crew were busy filling their boxes by collecting these bottles. A white American Sikh was also seen participating in the cleaning services by collecting the soiled plates and bottles from the floor.
The event was so filled with the people that someone was heard complementing, “Besides the attraction of Kabaddi and melodious music, there is definitely some magical personality in this organization who is successful in attracting such a large crowd from far flung areas with his goodwill”.
Due to the huge crowd, many visitors had to find the parking at far off parking spots. Lucky Sahota, the owner of Safe Way, provided free shuttle service for the comfort of people to ferry them from their parking spots to the area of festival activities. Kabaddi Tournament was very impressive. National players exhibited very competitive kabaddi.
Jaskaran Singh Dhaliwal had enthusiastically made efficient arrangements for all the Kabaddi teams. Star foods had provided Paranthas, Mixed Aalloo, and Dahi for players’ breakfast, which they thoroughly relished.
Once a while, we saw the heated exchanges of words over the award of points, with the referee. Upon which, the commentator had to intervene to calm down the situation. Technical Committee had to intervene in the field and finally, the organizers had to declare that the Referee’s decision would be deemed as the final word.
This time, besides Punjabis, a large score of people from Gujarat, south Indian states, and the Muslim community also attended the event. There was a special arrangement for ‘Moon Walk” for the children, which they thoroughly enjoyed. However, this smooth fun had a bump when the generator ran out of gas causing walk ramp to go limp. This was a unique entertainment experience for the children. Soon enough, the management and Lakhbir Singh Sandhu arrange the gas and succeeded in re-starting the generator.
The stage was handled by Happy heer, Dr. Harjinder Singh Khaira and Gurmukh Bhullar. Lakhbir Singh Sandhu and Pal Dhaliwal had been busy assisting the organizers since morning. In addition to the contributions of scores of people, Chairman Love Minhas, Chief Rajinder Singh Dyal, Meet Chief Amritpal Singh Sangha, and club members happy Heer, Narinder Saraan, Harwinder Singh Billa, Jaskarn Singh Dhaliwal, Lovedeep Singh Dullat, Dr Harjinder Singh Khaira, Gurmeet Singh Bhola, Lakhvir Singh Sahota, Hardip Gill, Midha Mahilpuria and Yadwinder Singh Grewal also gave their best to ensure a successful meet.
(Hyderabad, India: July 23rd, 2019) The 13th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), USA, was inaugurated by Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, with the lighting of the traditional lamp and delivering the keynote address at the famous Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad on July 21st.
“I am glad to learn that AAPI serves as an umbrella organization with a Network of over 160 chapters across USA,” Mr. Naidu told AAPI delegates. “We are indeed proud of our doctors and healthcare practitioners who are rendering invaluable healthcare services in countries across the globe.”
Calling upon the Physicians of Indian Origin to rededicate their lives for the wellbeing of their motherland, India, serving 130 crore people who need their servicers. Mr. Naidu asked of the AAPI delegates not to forget their: Mother, Motherland, Mother Tongue, Guru, and the Culture and Traditions of India. The official GHS Souvenir and a booklet containing CCLS Guidelines was presented to the Vice President of India for consideration by the Government of India and to be made official guiding principles by India.
Shri Venkiah Naidu, VP of India, delivering the inaugural address of the GHS 2019 in Hyderabad, India on July 21st, 2019
In his welcome address, Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, said, “This GHS held in Hyderabad from July 21st to 23rd, 2019 has promised to be one with the greatest impact and significant contributions towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India.”
The groundbreaking Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) organized by AAPI in collaboration with the Government of India, BAPIO & GAPIO, as well as Host Alumni Chapters, including OGKTMA, ATMGUSA, KAMCOSA, and GMCGA, had participation from some of the world’s most well-known physicians, and industry leaders.
GHS 2019 was attended by over 100 opinion leaders and expert speakers from many countries across the globe to present cutting edge scientific findings as these relate to clinical practice, representing major Centers of Excellence, Institutions, and Professional Associations are represented by the invited chairs and speakers.
Offering trainings to First Responders, a CEO Forum by a galaxy of CEOs from around the world, CMEs, first ever Med Quiz, cultural events, interactive roundtables, clinical practice workshops, and meet-the-expert sessions, Women’s Forum by internally acclaimed successful women from India, were only some of the major highlights of the Healthcare Summit, Dr. Reddy, who assumed office as the President of AAPI barely two weeks ago, said.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, delivering welcome address
In his address, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder-Chairman of Apollo Hospitals, praised AAPI’s efforts to help India through its Healthcare Summits in making policies in healthcare delivery more effective. Describing AAPI’s efforts as very significant, he highlighted the Seminars and workshops at GHS and how they help train the physicians and upcoming new generation of physicians in India, by transferring knowledge and expertise.
Earlier on July 21st, the GHS began in the early hours of the day as AAPI delegates, students and faculties from several schools and colleges joined the “Obesity Revolution” Walkathon for creating awareness about Obesity. The walkathon had a record breaking as many as 2,000 participants. Each participant was presented with a certificate for their support and efforts to create awareness about Obesity.
Dr. Seema Arora, the Chairman-Elect of AAPI, BOT, said, “We flew away from India decades ago. However, our hearts are still in India.” Summarizing some of the achievements of AAPI , she pointed to AAPI’s 16 free healthcare clinics, AAPI’s legislative initiatives in the US, and the ongoing collaboration with the government of India and the state governments and several NGOs in helping healthcare efficient and cost effective.
Dr. Sreeni Ganagasani, Chairman of GHS Convention said, “The GHS 2019 features some of the biggest names in the healthcare industry, especially at the 6th annual CEO leadership forum with leaders from across the globe.”
Shri Venkiah Naidu inaugurating GHS 2019 with the lighting of the lamp
A major theme and focus of the 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit is on Women’s Health. A team of physicians, consisting of women leaders of AAPI, including Drs. Uma Jonnalagadda; Soumya Neravelta; Stella Gandhi; Swati Yalamnchi; Pooja Kinkhabawala led the sessions on Women’s Healthcare Needs. In addition, a day-long session on Rural Health Education was held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Hyderabad on July 22nd.
According to Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI, the scientific program of GHS 2019 was developed by leading experts with the contributions of a stellar Scientific Advisory Board and International Scientific Committee, while the event featuring plenary sessions, interactive round-tables, clinical practice workshops, and meet the expert sessions.
Dr. Sanku Rao, a past President of AAPI highlighted the 37 year old history of AAPI and the evolution of GHS.in the past dozen years and the many accomplishments/contributions in the delivery of healthcare in US and in India.
AAPI delegates, students and faculties from several schools and colleges at the “Obesity Revolution” Walkathon for creating awareness about Obesity
“For the first time ever, AAPI organized a popular Jeopardy-type Med-Quiz for the Medical students from all the Medical Colleges from the state of Telengana during the 13th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad, India,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, who had envisaged and planned this firs ever event, encouraging the medical students to be part of the Global Healthcare Summit, and providing them with valuable opportunities for interacting with world renowned medical professionals from across the world. said.
“The essence of AAPI is educational,” Dr. Ravi Kolli, Secretary of AAPI, while describing the purpose of the Med-Quiz, said. “That translates into numerous programs that AAPI has planned to motivate med students, physicians, academicians and researchers to excel and master their areas of work.”
Describing the process for the Med-Quiz, Dr. Raghu Lolabhattu, Co-Chair, Global Health Summit 2019, said, “Each Medical School chose and sent 5 medical students, representing each year of Medical school study. These students competed with students from other med schools from the state of Telengana. The winners at the Preliminary Rounds competed at the Global Healthcare Summit.”
“The purpose of the Med-Quiz is to foster curiosity, enhance knowledge and understanding of the medical students,” Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI, said. According to Dr. Dwarkanada Reddy, Host Chair of GHS 2019, “Competing at a global level and being recognized by an international organization such as AAPI, will instill confidence in aspiring young physicians and will help exposing them to Western ways of learning and mastering their areas of study.”
The semi-final and the Final stages of the Med-Quiz were held during the GHS 2019 in Hyderabad, The winners were awarded citations and cash prizes by AAPI and local organizers. A group of five students from Rangaraya Medical School won the coveted first prize that won them cash prizes, citations and stethoscopes. The 2nd prize went to students from Pinnamaneni Medical School and the 3rd prize went to medical students from Gandhi Medical School. The top six teams from across the state were awarded with citations and cash prizes by AAPI and local organizers.
Women’s Forum where Bollywood Star Jaya Prada became AAPI’s Ambassador for Women’s Empowerment
The Women’s Forum had a galaxy of successful women, who shared with the AAPI delegates their own stories of growing up and facing challenges with conviction and courage, and have today become role models for other women around the world. Bollywood actor Jaya Prada, was the keynote speaker at the Women’s Forum and she has agreed to be “The Ambassador of AAPI in Women’s Empowerment.”
Dr. Sajani Shah, Women’s Forum Cahir and Dr. Seema Arora, Co-Chairwoman of the Women’s Forum coordinated the session. Other panelists included, Dr. Anju Agarwal, a General Practitioner of Medicine in Sydney, Australia; Dr. Sailakshmi Balijepalli, a winner of several national and local awards; and, Ms. Sangita Reddy, the Joint Managing Director of the Apollo Hospitals Group
Through Continuing Medical Education and non-CME seminars by experts in their fields, AAPI will provide comprehensive and current reviews and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states to reduce morbidity and mortality and achieve cost effective quality care outcomes. At the end of the activity, it is expected that attendees will gain an understanding of the causation, diagnosis and the best clinical practices for the management of the diverse group of diseases discussed during this program.
Dr. Krishan Kumar, Chair of CME Committee, spoke on the management of Anaphylaxis, Snake Bites, Scorpion Bites, and Head Injuries. Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, spoke on management of stroke and minimally invasive spinal surgery.
Dr. Vani Vijayakumar and Dr. Sreenivasan Vijaykumar, Dr, Saraswathi Muppana, Dr. Raj Bhayani, Dr. Sarvam Terakonda, Dr. Nikhil Bhayani, and, Dr. Srinagesh Paluvoi were the other speakers at the CMEs. Dr. Sarvam Terakonda educated the speakers on Perception of Beauty and Facial Attractiveness. Dr. Krishan Kumar, and Dr. Udaya Shivangi, the Chair of the CME Organizing Committee. thanked AAPI for giving the opportunity to lead and organize the CME sessions for the entire year.
Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, Past President of AAPI and a Senior Strategic Advisor of AAPI, coordinated the powerful CEO Forum, attended by leaders in the field of healthcare, pharmacy, industry leaders and academicians.
Dr. Ajay Lodha, past President of AAPI, coordinated and led the seminar on AYUSH, Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, & Homeopathy. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of the Government of India, Ministry of AYUSH. Dr. Pratibah Shah from the Council for Ayurveda, helped coordinate the Seminar.
The Tuberclosis Awareness Seminar focused on recent advances in the TB epidemic. AAPI along with the USAID, which was represented by Mr. Eric Alexander, Deputy Consul General of the US in Hyderabad, recommitted its mission to eradicate TB from India by 2025.
Medical Jeopardy Teams with organizers of the event
AAPI continues its focus on women’s education, especially in rural India. The GHS this year focused on preventive health, targeting Rural Health, Women’s Health, and providing special CPR Trainings that equipped First Responders to help save life.
Dr. Vemuri S. Murthy, a well-known resuscitation educator and trainer, a veteran US and international volunteer of the American Heart Association (AHA) for more than three decades, in coordination with Dr. Anupama Gotimukula led the workshop on Resuscitation, educating over 100 Medical students on ways enhance the outcomes after sudden cardiac arrests ongoing community hands-only CPR training and AED awareness. Dr. Murthy said, “The AAPI Resuscitation Workshop 2019 is designed, incorporating the basic and advanced Resuscitation Science (Post-Cardiac Arrest) information including global 2018 updates. The workshop focuses on Indian resuscitation projects to enhance outcomes after sudden cardiac arrests.”
According to Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, the workshop was an effective way “to share information about recent global advances in Adult and Pediatric Resuscitation; and, to share information about the role of simulation technology in resuscitation training, including a simulation session.”
The Galas each night sponsored by OGKTMA, ATMGUSA, had speakers from the Alumni Associations, who spoke passionately about their commitment to give back to their Alma Mater, and to the larger society. Other guests had addressed the Galas included, Director General of Police for the state of Telengana; Ministers of Health and Panchayat, the state of Telengana.
The grand finale was the gala nite, where watching several blind children perform dances both classical and modern was heart touching. The music and melodious songs rendered by these most vulnerable children was heartrending. Reports and emceeing of the cultural programs by these children reading Braille was touching. AAPI rose up to the occasion and raised $20,000 towards the Devenar School for the Blind was a historical milestone for AAPI.
Dr. Satish Kathula, referred to the highly impactful ADOPT A VILLAGE Program, spearheaded by Dr. Jagan Ailinani, a past President of AAPI, and Dr. Alok Aggarwal, who has adopted a village in the state of Telangana as examples of the good work done by AAPI. He said, AAPI provides a platform for many individuals who want to give back to their motherland.
Children Visually Impaired from the Devenar School for the Blind perfroming a classical fusion dance at the closing ceremony
The Pre-Tour of the GHS 2019 took delegates to Jordan and Israel, where AAPI for the first time organized a CPR Training to First Responders. They had a memorable tour of the historic places in both the nation. Post Tour included City Tour of Hyderabad and Thirupathy. AAPI delegates had a memorable tour to the historic Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, where they learnt the rich history of the former Kingdom of Hyderabad ruled by the Nizams.
One in seven Americans is touched by a physician of Indian origin. There is an equally large percentage of medical residents, fellows and students in the USA serving millions of Americans. AAPI’s GHS has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world-renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine.
“AAPI has made significant contributions towards addressing several issues affecting the healthcare system in India,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, said. “We have addressed the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury – the scourge of young India, and helped with the development of management guidelines thereby helping prevent deaths due to road traffic accidents, raising the importance and awareness on smoking cessation, Adopt a Village program and taking the initiatives to make quality healthcare accessible universally to village and taluka and district levels, and most recently a strong collaborative on making India TB Free with the signing of a MOU with USAID. Ten city pilots are well under way and significant progress is being made,” he added.
Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI referred to the voluminous achievements of the past 37 years with a clear vision to move forward taking this noble organization and its vision for better healthcare to newer heights. He said, under his leadership, the 14th edition of GHS 2020 will be held in Visakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
“With the changing trends and statistics in healthcare, both in India and US, we are refocusing our mission and vision, AAPI will continue to make a positive meaningful impact on the healthcare delivery system both in the US and in India,” Dr. Reddy said. For more information on Global Health Summit, please visit www.aapiusa.org
(Hyderabad, India: July 23rd, 2019) “Women face such situations in every field,” Jaya Prada, the popular Bollywood actor, said, while referring to sexual harassment in the fashion-filled movie world. “However, in Bollywood how one presents herself is very important. Many aspire to be in Bollywood where they face challenges and abuses. In politics too, women get targeted. You have to protect yourself and the way you handle each situation is very important.”
She suggested that the #MeToo Movement in India needs to be handled sensitively with a committee and need to be fast tracked for assessment and resolution. The award-winning Bollywood actor, called “the most beautiful face on the Indian screen” agreed to be “The Ambassador of AAPI in Women’s Empowerment.”
Bollywood actor Jaya Prada, was the keynote speaker at the Women’s Forum during the 13th edition of the Global Healthcare Summit of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) at the famous Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderbad, India on July 22nd, 2019.
Organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) the Women’s Forum had a galaxy of successful women, who shared with the AAPI delegates their own stories of growing up and facing challenges with conviction and courage, and have today become role models for other women around the world.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, in his opening remarks, highlighted the importance of Women’s Forum, which has come to be a much sought after event at every Convention and GHS.
Dr. Sajani Shah, Women’s Forum Cahir, moderated the panel discussion. In her address, she referred to The Me Too movement in India, which is a manifestation of the international Me Too movement that occurred in late 2018 in parts of Indian society including government, media, and the Bollywood film industry. Me Too began gaining prominence in India with the increasing popularity of the international movement, and later gathered sharp momentum in October 2018 in the entertainment industry of Bollywood, centered in Mumbai, when actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment, she said.
In her welcome remarks, Dr. Seema Arora, Co-Chairwoman of the Women’s Forum, highlighted the importance of the Women’s Forum at AAPI. Dr. Arora, who is an accomplished physician and the Chair of BOT of AAPI, introduced the Panelists to the audience.
Bollywood star turned politician, Jaya Prada, an Indian film actress and politician, is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and has starred in many Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi films, Dr. Arrora said.
Sharing her own experiences of being born and raised in a small town, Jaya Prada had dreams of becoming a doctor. Her mother enrolled her in dance and music classes when she was seven years old, in addition to going to a regular school. Her break in the film industry came when she was just 13 yrs old, which was a turning point in her life.
Jaya Prada pointed out that the reality is that we are still fighting for equality and safety. Women politicians in India are repeatedly targeted for their identity, is hardly a secret. Women are always at the receiving end of sexual innuendos and jibes at the behest of their male counterparts. The jibes are often on their looks, their clothes– they are victimized for their gender. “Women are highly vulnerable in politics. This not only weakens our democracy, but also the rights of women politicians.”
On the path to change in character, Jaya Prada said, “My characters in the movies have inspired me. India has inspired me. My meeting with Mother Teresa helped me how to reach and serve the needy.”
“I work with my heart but in politics need to work with mind. And that has been a challenge for me. That made me wise. Working with several politicians gave me a long vision about the nature of politics,” she said. “I joined politics to support and help the poor, whose sufferings I have personally witnessed. I am the example of how one could create a path for others in politics,” she said.
The popular Bollywood actress while addressing on Women’s Empowerment, pointed out, it an ongoing struggle for gender equality, equal ages, equal opportunities for education, and jobs and social standing. While acknowledging that things are getting better, she said, “There is still a long way to go. Women who lead the quest for equality, pave way for others.”
Dr. Anju Agarwal, a General Practitioner of Medicine in Sydney, Australia, with Special interest in Women and Children. She currently serves at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, is a Faculty Board area rep United India Association Women’s Steering Committee; Vice Chair area GP Network, and is an Executive member Australia.
Dr. Agarwal said, “Problems of women in Australia are the same as worldwide. “We always try to educate that women are not any less than men, but they are, if not more than men,” she said. “Women are different with unique qualities. They are born leaders as mothers caring and keeping everyone cohesive and together, appreciating others. These are leadership qualities that every woman has, making them born leaders in very family.”
In the medical field, one needs to stand for herself, Dr. Agarwal said. In cases of abuses reported in Australia there are parts of the departments that were completely closed. She told Medical students and Fellows and Doctors to “Take a stand and do what is right in the face of sexual harassment.”
Dr. Sailakshmi Balijepalli, a winner of several national and local awards, is a former pediatrician, shared with the audience about her work in seeking to reduce the child mortality rate among the most poor by raising their access to quality healthcare. To achieve this, she is linking communities, schools, universities, and public providers to public healthcare in order to build health awareness, enhance health seeking behaviors and make care inclusive, accountable, and effective.
“While there exists a large network of government hospitals in India, they are failing to provide quality, timely care to patients, especially to children, because of inefficient management and lack of transparency,” she pointed out. Dr. Sai is building a supportive and educational system that proves minimal investments in administrative and management practices can significantly improve health outcomes.
Focusing on neonatal and pediatric care, Dr. Sai involves stakeholders such as local governments, educational institutions, and private providers to address the gaps in public healthcare. Dr. Sai addresses the major governance and management failures responsible for the poor quality of care—namely drug supply, equipment maintenance, diagnostic capability, and manpower. Dr. Sai is also building a health and prevention-oriented system on the ground by educating communities and raising their agency in monitoring healthcare. These measures ensure the timely manner of quality health interventions. Her work in the rural areas have helped reduce infant mortality rate from 21 to 16 in a very short period of time, she told a cheering audience.
“Watching mothers sitting in hospital, with faith and care and love, especially when there is not enough money to pay for expensive healthcare for her children is truly inspiring,” she said.
While advocating for holistic approach to healthcare needs, she stressed that it would to make lives better and help build self esteem. “Women need to take care of self before taking care of others, she said.” She stressed the need on training the next generation to be ready to face the world. “Show the kids it’s a world of equality to both men and women,” she said.
Ms. Sangita Reddy, the Joint Managing Director of the Apollo Hospitals Group, guides the IT and Human Resources functions and is greatly responsible for evolving the patient-centric culture, a signature of the organization. Passionately committed to transforming healthcare using effective and efficient technology, she steered Apollo Hospitals to harness technological advancements in accelerating positive transformation.
A passionate entrepreneur, Sangita founded Apollo Health Street in 1999, which soon grew to emerge as India’s largest health business process outsourcing organization. Committed to building a more inclusive healthcare ecosystem in the nation, she championed the creation of SACHi (Save a Child’s Heart Initiative) which supports diagnostics and treatment of underprivileged children ailing with congenital heart diseases.
Inspired by her father, Dr. Prathap C Reddy’s mission to bring healthcare within the reach of every individual, Sangita Reddy formally joined Apollo Hospitals in 1983. Widely acknowledged as the pioneer of private healthcare in India and a proponent of integrated healthcare, Apollo Hospitals has touched the lives of over 150 million individuals from 140 countries.
Ms. Reddy spoke passionately about the Zero Tolerance Policy of the Apollo Group against sexual abuse of women in the company who constitute 60 percent of its total employees. Addressing the audience on Sexual Harassment and the #MeToo Movement, Ms. Reddy said, “Having a large women staff, it is very important to create a culture to have a safe environment with zero tolerance for any type of abuse.”
She pointed to her company’s discrete and confidential ways with external social workers to whom they can confide of their experiences of abuses, has helped women to come forward to report and have their concerns addressed without having the fear of being retaliated.
Ms. Reddy urged women to rise up to the occasion, and be fearless in reporting of any type of abuses which helps in empowering them to lead and play critical roles. “Having a strong commitment and having concrete plans to address the issues will help make a change in the world,” she said.
Representing the interests of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, leaders of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic organization of physicians, for 37 years. For more details, please visit: https://aapisummit.org/www.aapiusa.org
(Hyderabad, India: July 21st, 2019) Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, inaugurated the 13th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), USA, with the lighting of the traditional lamp and delivering the keynote address at the famous Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad on July 21st.
“I am glad to learn that AAPI serves as an umbrella organization with a Network of over 160 chapters across USA,” Mr. Naidu told AAPI delegates. “We are indeed proud of our doctors and healthcare practitioners who are rendering invaluable healthcare services in countries across the globe.”
Shri Naidu devoted a good amount of his speech about the great traditions and the greatness of Indian culture and the civilization of India. Pointing out to India being one of the greatest civilizations, that has given birth to renowned medical practices and higher education before any other nation, Mr. Naidu said, “If you want to go abroad, go learn earn and then return,” he quipped.
Calling upon the Physicians of Indian Origin to rededicate their lives for the wellbeing of their motherland, India, serving 130 crore people who need their servicers. Mr. Naidu asked of the AAPI delegates not to forget their: Mother, Native Place, Teacher; Mother Tongue and Culture and Traditions of India.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, delivering welcome address
In his welcome address, Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, said, “This GHS has promised to be one with the greatest impact and significant contributions towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India.”
“Apart from conducting CMEs, seminars and workshops, AAPI must consider collaborating with various governments and other private organizations in establishing a state-of-the-art healthcare facility in each district of the country where affordable treatment is dispensed,” the Vice President of India told the delegates.
The Vice President praised AAPI and its noble “mission for India is to play an important role in making quality healthcare accessible and affordable to all people of India. It is indeed a laudable objective as both accessibility and affordability are the need of the hour, especially in a vast developing country like India with a huge population of middle class and lower middle class.”
“Only a healthy nation can be a progressive and wealthy nation,” the Vice President of India, said. “India has launched ‘Ayushman Bharat’, touted to be the world’s largest health insurance scheme, under the aegis of which 10 lakh people have already received free treatment under the scheme,” he added.
Shri Venkiah Naidu, VP of India, delivering the inaugural address of the GHS 2019 in Hyderabad, India on July 21st, 2019
Describing that India’s healthcare sector as grappling with inadequate public spending, low doctor-patient ratio, high share of out-of-pocket expenditure, inadequate infrastructure in rural areas, lack of penetration of health insurance and inadequate preventive mechanisms, Mr. Naidu said, “We face a huge shortage in the number of qualified medical practitioners in India, especially specialist doctors. It is crucial that we address this huge gap in the supply of trained healthcare practitioners by opening more medical colleges and increasing the number of seats at both graduate and Post graduate levels.”
The Vice President of India urged all medical practitioners of Indian origin working across globe, to collaborate and work with our government and academic institutions to make Indian medical education world class.
Mr. Naidu called upon AAPI to “help in promoting the use of telemedicine in remote rural areas which lack access to healthcare facilities. Telemedicine can be used effectively in radiology, cardiology, oncology, dermatology and a few other areas. It will help in reducing unnecessary visits to the hospitals for consultations with specialists and avoiding long distance travel,” Naidu said.
Shri Venkiah Naidu inaugurating GHS 2019 with the lighting of the lamp
Mr. Naidu said that India needs an affordable health care revenue model to meet the challenges of modern day lifestyle. The Vice President called on the medical fraternity to put in efforts to bring down the costs of medical devices to make healthcare affordable. He further said that youngsters are increasingly falling prey to ailments due to a variety of factors, including sedentary lifestyle, improper dietary habits and job-related stresses.
“We must all focus more on the service. The medical service in India is the need of the hour. India is still lagging behind in spite of a lot of advancement in medication. The Center is encouraging private sector in the medical healthcare sector,” he added.
Claiming that India has the potential to become a medical tourist center in the future, the Vice President said accessibility and affordability of healthcare should be ensured as a large section of the country`s population belongs to the middle and lower-middle class.
The Vice president said that while India is progressing economically and incomes of people are improving, the common man is unable to meet the medical bill whenever there is a medical emergency in the family. With penetration of health insurance remaining quite low and majority of the Indian population preferring to seek medical treatment from private sector in health emergencies by spending from their own pockets, this problem gets compounded, he added.
A section of the audience at the GHS inaugural ceremony standing in salutation as the Indian National Anthem being sung
Naidu urged the Centre and state governments to invest more in the healthcare sector and educate people to get health insurance. Stating that providing proper medical service is the need of the hour, Naidu on Saturday said private sector investments and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model should be encouraged more for the betterment of healthcare in the country.
“The central and the state government must together spend more in the health sector. Also people should be educated about getting health insurance. Many people in India are worried about the cost but health insurance is very much required,” Naidu said.
Observing India has made great medical advancements in recent times, the Vice-President said, “Along with strengthening our Primary Health Centres, we must explore innovative, out of box technology solutions such as tele-medicine. I appeal all the doctors to visit a School every week to counsel children on dangers of lifestyle diseases and unhealthy dietary habits.”
GHS Souvenir being presented to the Vice President of India by Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President of AAPI, Dr. Ravi Kolli, Secretary of AAPI; and Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI
Pointing out that modern lifestyle has made people shun physical exercise, Naidu advocated some sort of physical exercise and spiritual activities during the day which may help keep people fresh and stress-free. “The sedentary lifestyle of Indians have to change and doctors and scientists should educate people,” he said. Naidu said there were 69.1 million cases of diabetes in India, according to a 2015 census, and called for the need to create greater awareness among the youth about the dangers of sedentary lifestyle and eating junk food.
“The modern day lifestyle is creating serious health hazards. The doctors should indicate the people to go back to their cultural roots and follow the disciplined, systematic lifestyle. Diabetes is a major challenge faced in the country,” he said.
Pointing to studies, Naidu said, “India’s burden of diseases has shifted from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases as incomes rose over the last 26 years. More deaths (61.8 per cent) were caused by non-communicable diseases such as cardio-vascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2016 as against 53.6 per cent deaths due to communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases in 1990.”
The groundbreaking Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) organized by AAPI in collaboration with the Government of India, BAPIO & GAPIO, as well as Host Alumni Chapters, including OGKTMA, ATMGUSA, KAMCOSA, and GMCGA, will have participation from some of the world’s most well-known physicians, and industry leaders.
CCLS Guidelines being presented to the Vice President of India
A major theme and focus of the 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit is on Women’s Health. A team of physicians, consisting of women leaders of AAPI, including Drs. Sangeeta Agrawal; Uma Jonnalagadda; Soumya Neravelta; Stella Gandhi; Swati Yalamnchi; Pooja Kinkhabawala will lead the sessions on Women’s Healthcare Needs. In addition, a day-long session on Rural Health Education will be held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Hyderabad on July 22nd.
Dr. Seema Arora, Chair of AAPI’s BOD, summarized some of the achievements of AAPI including the 16 free healthcare clinics, AAPI’s legislative initiatives in the US, and the ongoing collaboration with the government of India and the state governments and several NGOs in helping healthcare efficient and cost effective.
In his address, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Founder-Chairman of Apollo Hospitals, praised AAPI’s efforts to help India through its Healthcare Summits in making policies in healthcare delivery more effective. Describing AAPI’s efforts as very significant, Dr. Pratap Reddy highlighted the Seminars and workshops at GHS and how they help train the physicians and upcoming new generation of physicians in India, by transferring knowledge and expertise.
AAPI delegates, students and faculties from several schools and colleges at the “Obesity Revolution” Walkathon for creating awareness about Obesity
Dr. Sreeni Ganagasani, Chairman of GHS Convention said, “The GHS 2019 features some of the biggest names in the healthcare industry, especially at the 6th annual CEO leadership forum with leaders from across the globe. GHS 2019 is being attended by over 100 opinion leaders and expert speakers from many countries across the globe to present cutting edge scientific findings as these relate to clinical practice, representing major Centers of Excellence, Institutions, and Professional Associations are represented by the invited chairs and speakers.”
According to Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI, the scientific program of GHS 2017? (2019) was developed by leading experts with the contributions of a stellar Scientific Advisory Board and International Scientific Committee, while the event featuring plenary sessions, interactive round-tables, clinical practice workshops, and meet the expert sessions.
AAPI continues its focus on women’s education, especially in rural India. The GHS this year will focus on preventive health, targeting Rural Health, Women’s Health, and providing special CPR Trainings that will equip First Responders to help save life, Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, said.
AAPI delegates, students and faculties from several schools and colleges at the “Obesity Revolution” Walkathon for creating awareness about Obesity
Offering trainings to First Responders, a CEO Forum by a galaxy of CEOs from around the world, inauguration of AAPI-sponsored clinic, CMEs, first ever Med Quiz, cultural events, interactive roundtables, clinical practice workshops, scientific poster/research session and meet-the-expert sessions, Women’s Forum by internally acclaimed successful worm from India, a session on Public-Private Partnership featuring AAPI Healthcare Charitable showcase & innovation, are only some of the major highlights of the Healthcare Summit, Dr. Reddy said.
The official GHS Souvenir was presented to the Vice President of India by Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President of AAPI, Dr. Ravi Kolli, Secretary of AAPI and Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI. A booklet containing CCLS Guidelines was presented to the Vice President of India for consideration by the Government of India and to be made official guiding principles by India.
Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, Past President of AAPI and a Senior Strategic Advisor of AAPI proposed vote of thanks.
Earlier on July 21st, the GHS began in the early hours of the day as AAPI delegates, students and faculties from several schools and colleges joined the “Obesity Revolution” Walkathon for creating awareness about Obesity. The walkathon had a record breaking as many as 2,000 participants. Each participant was presented with a certificate for their support and efforts to create awareness about Obesity.
“With the changing trends and statistics in healthcare, both in India and US, we are refocusing our mission and vision, AAPI would like to make a positive meaningful impact on the healthcare delivery system both in the US and in India,” Dr. Reddy said. For more information on Global Health Summit, please visit www.aapiusa.org
(Hyderabad, India: July 24th, 2019) Healthcare industry in the United States and around the world is rapidly changing, leading to many describing the healthcare environment as dynamic, complex, and highly uncertain. The manner in which the health care environment is perceived and characterized is important for several reasons.
In this context, continuing with the past traditions on the successful experiences of the past twelve years of Global Health Summits, the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States, The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) organized the next edition of the powerful HealthCare CEO Forum on July 22nd at the Taj Krishna in Hyderbad during the 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit 2019.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, welcomed the delegates and industry leaders to this exclusive Forum. “With the changing trends and statistics in healthcare, both in India and US, we are refocusing our mission and vision, AAPI would like to make a positive meaningful impact on the healthcare delivery system both in the US and in India,” Dr. Reddy said. The CEO Forum focuses on the changing trends in the healthcare sector and how they impact the providers, hospitals and corporations as well as the patients, by offering insights into managing efficiently the growing costs in the delivery of healthcare services, he added.
Attended by senior leaders from the healthcare industry, a number of challenges were addressed by multiple renowned speakers from the healthcare field., deliberating on the healthcare delivery system both in the US and in India, with a focus on “challenges of Global contemporary relevance, and harness the vast reservoir of intellect and experience in this group to help provide solutions and direction,” stated Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, Past President of AAPI, who had chaired The Forum, and has ensured the continuity of this Forum, that is now a signature event at the Summit. Dr. Gurava Reddy was the Host Co-Chair of the CEO Forum.
Sudarshan Jain, the Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance of over 40 Indian Pharmaceuticals, in his address, highlighted the national and international presence and impact of the Indian Pharmaceutical industry. Her referred to the progressive vision outlined all the way to 2030, which includes their role in cost containment resulting in affordability, involvement in biosimilars, specialty drugs and gene therapy, and an ambitious plan to expand the impact of Indian pharmaceutical companies across the globe, while seeking to make quality medicine affordable and available to billions of people all over the world.
Sangita Reddy, Joint MD of Apollo group of hospitals and incoming Chairman of FICCI shared her passion for the care of the masses, using technology to reach out. Her conviction in using the Internet for patient management was substantiated by a MOU signed between Apollo Hospitals and AAPI for Telemedicine for Second Opinions. Dr. Anupam Sibel, the Apollo Chief of their Medical Group also outlined the multiple ways they have enhanced access to healthcare.
Ms. Suchitra Ella, Joint MD of Bharat Biotech, recounted how her passion for India resulted in an entrepreneurial company for vaccine productions, that has global presence now. She outlined the challenges to her success, and how these were overcome.
Dr. Mani Srinivasan, the current Chief Medical Officer of U.S. personnel in India, showcased the contributions of AAPI physicians on the Indian landscape. Dr. Nusrat Deen brought her expertise in Clinical Research, and Dr. Azaz Ahmed shared his vision to place India in high international standing for quality care. Mr. Hitesh Dahiya from the Council of Healthcare and Pharma represented a not for profit medical think tank, with a global imprint, and their ambitions.
A new dimension was added by the participation of Dr. Pratibha Shah from AYUSH on Ayurveda’s continued large national presence in patient care and in research, and their leadership role in Aayushman Bharat – the largest Governmental program in healthcare being undertaken under the stewardship of the PM Shri Narendra Modi and the Union Minister of Health, Dr.Harsh Vardhan. “AYUSHMAN BHARAT” – is a brainchild of the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, whose vision is to provide quality healthcare to India’s Billion people – a project that is being watched intently across the Globe for emulation.
Sponsors to AAPI by CEOs, including Mr. Jawahar Shah of Mind Technologies (who gave a glimpse on Homeopathy), as well as Mr. Naishad Desai of Britacel, and Mr. Prasad Jagatap 0f Sangli, were some of the others participants who addressed the Forum. A brief expose of aspirations of young Physicians by Drs. Kushal Hippalgaonkar and Adarsh Reddy was revealing.
A group discussion followed on the topics above, with a white paper to be produced in the near future. The meeting then concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Gurava Reddy. For more information on Global Health Summit, please visit www.aapiusa.org
(Chicago, IL: July 13th, 2019) “India’s Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu is expected to be the Chief Guest and will deliver the Valedictory Address at the 13th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit to be held at the famous Taj Krishna in Hyderabad, India from July 21st to 24th, 2019,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), announced here today.
The groundbreaking Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) organized by AAPI in collaboration with the Government of India, BAPIO & GAPIO, as well as Host Alumni Chapters, including OGKTMA, ATMGUSA, KAMCOSA, and GMCGA, will have participation from some of the world’s most well-known physicians, and industry leaders.
AAPI continues it’s focus on women’s education, especially in rural India. The GHS this year will focus on preventive health, targeting Rural Health, Women’s Health, and providing special CPR Trainings that will equip First Responders to help save life, Dr. Reddy said.
A major theme and focus of the 13th annual Global Healthcare Summit will be on Women’s Health. A team of physicians, consisting of women leaders of AAPI, including Drs. Sangeeta Agrawal; Uma Jonnalagadda; Soumya Neravelta; Stella Gandhi; Swati Yalamnchi; Pooja Kinkhabawala will lead the sessions on Women’s Healthcare Needs. In addition, a day-long session on Rural Health Education will be held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Hyderabad on July 22nd.
The much awaited Women’s Forum at the GHS will be led by a panel consisting of inspiring women leaders who have been in the forefront, and have shown resiliency, confidence, leadership, determination, and dedication, and have withered all obstacles in life, and have become women leaders, and are recognized to be an inspiration to all.
In addition, GHS will feature workshops in various fields of medicine including Oncology, GI, Urology, Cardiology and Pediatrics. These will be attended by hundreds of doctors from India and US.
Venkaiah Naidu at GHS
To generate interest and curiosity among Medical Students, who are the future of healthcare, for the first time ever, AAPI will organize the popular Jeopardy-type Med-Quiz for the Medical students from all the Medical Colleges from the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Suresh Reddy announced here today. “The essence of AAPI is educational,” Dr. Reddy, while describing the purpose of the Med-Quiz, said. “That translates into numerous programs that AAPI has planned to motivate med students, physicians, academicians and researchers to excel and master in their areas of work.”
The semi-final and the final stages of the Med-Quiz will be held during the GHS 2019 in Hyderabad, said Dr. Suresh Reddy, who had envisaged and planned this firs ever event, encouraging the medical students to be part of the Global Healthcare Summit, and providing them with valuable opportunities for interacting with world renowned medical professionals from across the world. The winners will be awarded citations and cash prizes by AAPI and local organizers.
Dr. Seema Arora, the Chair of BOT, AAPI, said, “We flew away from India decades ago. However, our hearts are still in India.” She said, GHS 2019 will focus on several relevant issues to serve the many healthcare needs and delivery of healthcare in India. For the first time, AAPI will organize Medical Jeopardy with cash prizes to winners, she said. She praised the local community and organizers for their enthusiastic support.
Packed with strategic planning sessions such as the much anticipated CEO Forum, Women’s Forum, Launching of Free Health Clinic, First Responders Training, CMEs, promote Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine Education, Research Contest, Medical Quiz, Fashion Show, Cultural Events, pre and post visits for delegates, the GHS 2019 is expected to be one with the greatest impact and significant contributions towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India, Dr. Suresh Reddy reiterated.
Dr. Sanku Rao, a past President of AAPI highlighted the 37 year old history of AAPI and the evolution of GHS in the past dozen years and the many accomplishments/contributions in the delivery of healthcare in US and in India. AAPI is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States, and has been in existence for nearly four decades. The Association has almost 130 local chapters, specialty societies and alumni organizations under its purview, and represents the interests of over 70,000 physicians and 15,000 medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States, Dr. Rao said.
Dr. Dwaraknatha Reddy, Convener of the Summit, said “It’s a well known fact that physicians of Indian origin excel in their respective areas of work and continue to play key roles in patient care, administration, academics and medical research in their adopted land, the United State. In order to cater to its diversity of medical specialties, AAPI continues to use a multi-disciplinary conference format.”
Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Chair of AAPI GHS, said, “Packed with strategic planning sessions such as the much anticipated CEO Forum, Women’s Forum, Launching of Free Health Clinic, First Responders Training, CMEs, promote Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine Education, Research Contest, Medical Quiz, Fashion Show, Cultural Events, pre and post visits for delegates, the GHS 2019 is expected to be one with the greatest impact and significant contributions towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India.
“The purpose of the Med-Quiz is to foster curiosity, enhance knowledge and understanding of the medical students,” Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI, said. “Competing at a global level and being recognized by an international organization such as AAPI, will instill confidence in aspiring young physicians and will help exposing them to Western ways of learning and mastering their areas of study,”
Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President of AAPI, said, “AAPI has made significant contributions towards addressing several issues affecting the healthcare system in India. We have addressed the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury – the scourge of young India, and helped with the development of management guidelines thereby helping prevent deaths due to road traffic accidents, raising the importance and awareness on smoking cessation, Adopt a Village program and taking the initiatives to make quality healthcare accessible universally to village and taluka and district levels, and most recently a strong collaborative on making India TB Free with the signing of an MOU with USAID. Ten city pilots are well under way and significant progress is being made.”
Dr. Ravi Kolli, Secretary of AAPI said, “Through Continuing Medical Education and non-CME seminars by experts in their fields, AAPI will provide comprehensive and current reviews and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states to reduce morbidity and mortality and achieve cost effective quality care outcomes. At the end of the activity, it is expected that attendees will gain an understanding of the causation, diagnosis and the best clinical practices for the management of the diverse group of diseases discussed during this program.”
Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI, said, “AAPI has capped the voluminous achievements of the past 37 years with a clear vision to move forward taking this noble organization and its vision for better healthcare to newer heights.”
According to Dr. Ranga Reddy, past president of AAPI, “One in seven Americans is touched by a physician of Indian origin. There is an equally large percentage of medical residents, fellows and students in the USA serving millions of Americans. AAPI’s GHS has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world-renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine.”
Describing the process for the Med-Quiz, Dr. Raghu Lolabhattu, Co-Chair, Global Health Summit 2019, said, “Each Medical School will choose and send 5 medical students, representing each year of Medical school study. These students will compete with students from other med schools from the state of Telengana. The winners at the Preliminary Rounds will compete at the Global Healthcare Summit.”
Dr. Satheesh Kathula, Co-Chair of the summit, referred to the highly impactful ADOPT A VILLAGE Program, spearheaded by Dr. Jagan Ailinani, a past President of AAPI, and Dr. Alok Agrawal, who has adopted a village in the state of Telangana as examples of the good work done by AAPI members. He said, AAPI provides a platform for many individuals who want to give back to their motherland.
Dr. Manoj Jain, Chair and spearheading the TB-Free India Movement, referred to AAPI’s collaborative efforts with several non-governmental organizations and the USAID, with a commitment to strengthen its initiatives to “make every city, ever district, every village in India TB free.”
There will be a Hands on CPR in two locations simultaneously on the same day at the High School by GMCGA Alumni; and, at the Pragathi Rural Development Center in Burgula by GMCGA. The CPR trainings will be provided to Anganwadi and Asha workers, who are women leaders in the local community.
The trainings are aimed at decreasing the number of deaths, especially from road accidents by enabling the first responders to provide life support to victims of accidents. The training, which includes CPI and other medical services are being provided by professional trainers from the US and is offered to personnel. In collaboration with the American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine, and the American Heart Association, AAPI is organizing the workshop/training (EMTC) trainings for first responders, as part of the GHS 2019.
AAPI has made significant contributions towards addressing several issues affecting the healthcare system in India, AAPI has addressed the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury – the scourge of young India, and helped with the development of management guidelines thereby helping prevent deaths due to road traffic accidents, raising the importance and awareness on smoking cessation.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, President of AAPI, urged all AAPI leaders, local organizers and sponsors to fully participate in order to make the next edition of AAPI’s Global Healthcare a more effective one, serving the many healthcare needs of our mother India.
One in seven Americans is touched by a physician of Indian origin. There is an equally large percentage of medical residents, fellows and students in the USA serving millions of Americans. AAPI’s GHS has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world-renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine.
Representing the interests of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, leaders of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic organization of physicians, for 37 years. For more details, please visit: https://aapisummit.org/www.aapiusa.org
Dr. Vemuri S. Murthy, a well-known champion of global resuscitation training programs in India and the US, was honored at the Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago with the “2019 Humanitarian Global Health Award” on June 27, 2019 at the Spertus Institute, 610 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago. The program was attended by more than 200 invitees from various healthcare organizations of the Cook County and Greater Chicago. The Institute of Medicine of Chicago has been contributing to the practice of medicine and the business of healthcare in Chicago since 1915.
Dr. Murthy, an adjunct faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois @ Chicago, is the immediate past President of the Chicago Medical Society and current Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He is the founder of the Society’s project SMILE (Saving More Illinois Lives through Education) with ongoing community CPR programs encouraging bystander CPR in sudden cardiac arrests. He has been involved with international resuscitation programs for several years and is currently leading a global CPR initiative of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. His contribution in initiating resuscitation training courses in Indian Medical Colleges is well known. He has been a veteran international volunteer of the American Heart Association and is a visiting Professor of the Indian Medical Universities and Institutions.
Dr. Vemuri Murthy’s decades of global service and contributions in the field of resuscitation to enhance outcomes after cardiac arrests have been recognized by various organizations in the US and India. He was recently also honored by the Rotary International with the “Paul Harris International Service Award” in Naperville in May 2019.
The Federation of Indian Association of NY NJ CT held its 26th Curtain Raiser at the Indian Consulate unveiling the 2019 theme of ‘ Support our troops – Salute our troops’. The event was opened with national anthems of USA & India followed by a themed performance done on Bollywood medley. The spectacular performers were from Nritya Dance Academy and the performance choreographed by Meena Basu Naag.
The emcee for the evening was up and coming model and actress Nisha Kalamdani. Addressing the gathering, Alok Kumar, President-FIA, elaborated on the theme and placed emphasis on the need to appeal to the community to do more in saluting and supporting the men and women in uniform. Kumar applauded the contribution of his team and pointed out the hard work that goes in on a day in day out basis by the 100% voluntary team that place a prolonged hard work and effort to bring the parade festivities to fruition. Kumar complimented and expressed gratitude on behalf of the FIA fraternity to the CGI-NY Hon. Sandeep Chakravorty, DCG Shatrughna Sinha and the CGINY team for their warm welcome and reception extended to FIA for nearly 3 decades.
Guest of Honor and keynote speaker, CGI-NY Hon. Sandeep Chakravorty cited the need of including youth and the 2nd generation in the festivities and extended his help and support with elevating youth participation in the parade by including more schools and inviting them to participate as well as engaging the youth. He pointed the need to introspect on how the changing and growing community needs should reflect into a large event such as the India day parade which should become adaptive and inclusive of the changing times in its event format.
FIA Chairman Ramesh Patel reflected in brief on how the parade as an event has evolved and how support from the community needs to grow to further the outreach and grandeur of the parade festivities. The curtain raiser showcased distinguished dignitaries including FIA Trustee & Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, FIA Trustee & Padma Shri Dr. H R Shah, Albert Jasani, Anand Patel-Dunkin Donuts, Anil Bansal, Andy Bhatia, Srujal Parikh, Shobhna & Dr. Dinesh Patel among other speakers. Concluding Alok Kumar acknowledged the women team of FIA along with the 2019 Executive Committee comprising of Himanshu Bhatia-EVP-who also delivered the vote of thanks, Imm. Past President Srujal Parikh, VP-Saurin Parikh, Gen. Secretary Amit Yadav, Jt. Secretary Mardavi Patel & Treasurer Amit Ringasia. The curtain raiser also showcased live music as well as authentic appetizers and a full dinner sponsored by the Royal Alberts Palace.
The Indian-American organization, India Association of Long Island held its annual fundraising gala dinner on June 30, at the Marriott, Long Island. An estimated 270 guests attended according to a press release from the organization. The funds raised at the event will go toward the India Fest, the organization’s flagship event with free admission and parking, scheduled to be held Sept. 22, at the Hyatt in Long Island
At the June 30, 2019, fundraising gala of the India Association of Long Island, gala honorees pose with the president of the IALI, Lalit Aery. (Photo: courtesy IAL)
Bollywood celebrity Jinal Pandya was a special guest at the fundraising gala, and she performed two dances urging the audience to join on the dance floor.
Other special guests were New York State Senators Kevin Thomas, the only Indian-American elected to Albany, and Anna Kaplan, Chairman of Human Rights Commission Bobby Kalotee and Nassau County Human Rights Commissioner Zahid Syed, the IALI press release said.
Treasurer Rajeev Chaudhary and Event Advisor Jyoti Gupta welcomed guests. Emcee Indu Gajwani, cultural chair of IALI, invited two talented artists Khushi and Jigna Oza to perform the Ganesh Vandana, and introduced President of IALI Lalit Aery.
Aery, in his speech, dwelt on the work of the various forums and thanked members who helped organize the fundraiser
Sens. Thomas and Kaplan presented citations to all five Honorees — Indu Chhabra, Dr Vijay Rasquinha, Dr Gopal Kishore , Jasbir Jay Singh and Anupam Goenka. All the special guests and honorees were honored with plaque and a scarf by IALI officers and Executive Committee members.
India Association of Long Island held its annual fundraising gala dinner on June 30, 2019, at the Marriott, Long Island. An estimated 270 guests attended. Seen in photo are honorees with the committee members of IALI. (Photo: courtesy IALI)
For the first time, IALI launched a ‘Membership Card’ for IALI members sponsored by Gary Sikka of Mint Restaurant, Dilip Bansal of the India Visa Center, Batra (Batra Travels) and Sumit Verma of Hicksville Optical, the press release said. Naveen Shah and Madhu Pareek from Navika Group and all the past presidents of IALI cut the ribbon of the box containing the new cards, which were presented to all the officers. Gajwani announced that all the IALI members will get the cards at a later time.
The India Association of Long Island has more than 2,300 members and still growing, organizers said in the press release. “Our aim is to keep our culture alive and we do cultural program to promote the culture,” it added. To engage its members in various activities, the IALI includes a Women’s Forum, Senior Forum, Kids Forum, and Youth Forum, Meditation Forum, and a Sangeet Forum.
Chicago IL: About one hundred members from G Pulla Reddy Engineering College (www.gprec.ac.in) alumni and friends from all cities of the United States, travelled to Chicago on weekend of July 7, 2019 to join the GPREC Alumni Association North America conference held at Fairfield Marriott, 700 National Pkwy, Schaumburg, IL.
This growing community of engineers and professionals from North America region, enjoyed two such events in the past including the first grand inauguration of GPREC Alumni North America Chapter in 2014 at Silicon Valley, CA & Washington DC followed by one in Dallas in 2017. Apart from this special event the Alumni events were previously held in NATA convention as well.
Local Chicago chapter members Mr. Naveen Aduma and Mr. Achyut Kodali welcomed the guests and Mr. Siva Shankar Reddy form Washington DC metro area, conducted the all-day program. The program started with a speech by Mr. KV Reddy, President of the Association explaining the vision, mission of the Association and the distinguished members of the first batch from the institution Mrs. Surekha Nadella, Mr. Srinivas Chada, Mr. Venkatarami Reddy Yerrabolu(2nd batch) & 3rd batch Mr. Raju Datla, Mr. Nagendra Singamsetty, Mr. Veer Karri, Mr. Venu Pajjuri, lighted the lamp and remembered the GPREC founder Late Sri G Pulla Reddy, his vison to provide affordable and quality professional education to all.
The association recognized several successful professionals and business leaders of the community, including Mr. Raju Datla & Mr. Veer Karri of Vistex, Mr. Venkat Pasula of R3 Technology, Mrs. Malathi Karri from the State of Wisconsin, Mr. Kiran Vankamamidi of Driscoll.
The afternoon program was packed with fun and professional activities like speed connect, Technlogy and Leadership Panel Discussion, and recognition of Women in Engineering. The festive all-day program was concluded by Mr. Guru Charan Chitna with recognition and acknowledgements to GPREC Chicago team members Mr. Ajit Gurajala, Mr. Rajeev Gunukula, Mr. Anil Chitreddy, Sreedhar Babu. The Schamburg/WoodField event center was filled with GPREC College atmosphere for the weekend and concluded with a Tech Toast celebration honoring the members worked in the formation of GPREC Alumni North America Chapter.
The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)-Connecticut Chapter will honor outstanding achievers of the Indian American community in Connecticut and those provide service to the community or the society at large at its Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, July 27th at the Stamford Marriott Hotel, Stamford, CT starting at 6 p.m. Six Indian Americans are honored for their achievements in profession and service to the nation.
Chief Guest at the banquet is Indian Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty. Other honored guests include US Senator Richard Blumenthal, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rillings; New Canaan First Selectman Kevin Moynihan; CT State Senators Carlo Leone and Tony Hwang and CT State Representatives Dr. Prasad Srinivasan and Raghib Allie-Brennan.
The 2019 awardees are: Connecticut State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan for achievement in Political involvement; Dr. Ravi Dhar is George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing, Yale School of Management and Professor of Psychology at Yale University for Business Management; Dr. Sathya Motupally, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Doosan Fuel Cell America for Engineering; Dr. D.R. Nagaraj, Principal Research Fellow at Cytec Solvay for Applied Sciences and Dinyar Wadia, Principal of Wadia Associates for Architecture. In addition, GOPIO-CT President’s Award for a young professional will be presented to Dr. Asha Kapoor Shah, Associate Hospital Epidemiologist and Associate Director of Infectious Diseases at Stamford Hospital.
Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan – Achievement in Political Involvement
Community advocate and former Congressional advisor Raghib Allie-Brennan is the State Representative of Connecticut’s 2nd Assembly District which includes the towns of Bethel, Danbury, Redding, and Newtown. His father immigrated to Queens, NY from Guyana and Raghib was raised in Bethel. As a former Congressional adviser in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Allie-Brennan developed policy knowledge on energy and environmental issues, emergency response, foreign policy and civil rights. He had drafted environmental protection legislation that received bipartisan support, served as a lead staffer in efforts to secure Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding, and has testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights regarding environmental justice issue. Raghib graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a Bachelor’s in International Studies.
Dr. Ravi Dhar – Achievement in Business Management
Dr. Dhar is George Rogers Clark Professor of Management and Marketing, Yale School of Management; Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology, Yale University; Director, Center for Customer Insights. Professor Dhar has been involved in pioneering work in understanding the different factors that influence how consumers think and decide. Ravi has published more than 70 articles and serves on the editorial boards of several of the leading marketing journals. A consultant to dozens of Fortune 100 companies, the American Marketing Association has ranked Professor Dhar as the second most productive scholar publishing in premier journals from 2009 to 2016. His research and teaching has been honored with various awards including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the Society for Consumer Psychology, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Management, and the Yale School of Management Alumni Association Teaching Award.
Dr. Sathya Motupally – Achievement in Engineering
Dr. Motupally is Chief Operating Officer (COO), Doosan Fuel Cell America reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and handles Research and Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, Service and Installation, striving for seamless integration across the organization to deliver world-class clean energy solutions to customers. Dr. Motupally has over 17 years of experience in multiple Fortune 50 companies. Prior to Doosan, Dr. Motupally was Head of R&D at UTC Power, a division of United Technologies Corporation and at the Gillette Company. Dr. Motupally has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and DuPont Central R&D and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Motupally has authored over 50 papers and patents in the areas of materials, electrochemical engineering and mathematical modeling. He and his team have won numerous international awards for their ground-breaking work in commercializing fuel cells and has been recognized with many awards.
Dr. D.R. Nagaraj – Achievement in Applied Sciences
Dr. Nagaraj is Principal Research Fellow at Cytec Solvay. He started his career at American Cyanamid in 1979 after his doctorate from Columbia University, and held various positions in Cyanamid/Cytec over the years, but never far from science, research, and education which are his passions. Nag has degrees in both chemistry and metallurgy. He has over 100 journal publications and over 30 patents. Nag has been a part-time educator throughout his career. He is an Adjunct professor at Columbia University, and was a visiting professor for 5 years at JKMRC of University of Queensland, Brisbane. Nag was elected into the National Academy of Engineering in 2006 and inducted into the International Mining Technology Hall of Fame in 2016. Nag is a Distinguished Member of SME.
Dr. Asha Kapoor Shah – President’s Award for Young Professional for Achievement in Medicine
Dr. Shah is a Board Certified Infectious Diseases specialist and has been with Stamford Hospital and the Medical Group for 7 years. She did her Internal Medicine training at the University of Pennsylvania followed by an Infectious Diseases fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. She received her Masters of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Health. She is currently the Associate Hospital Epidemiologist and Associate Director of Infectious Diseases at Stamford Hospital. She has been a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society since 2007 and received the Rookie of the Year Award from the Stamford Hospital Department of Internal Medicine during her first year as an attending. She has been a co-author for a few invited poster presentations at national medical conferences on topics ranging from HIV prevention, C. dificile reduction, and Aspergillosis. She is an active member on numerous committees in the hospital and is also involved in teaching the medical house staff.
Dinyar Wadia – Achievement in Architecture
Dinyar is Principal of Wadia Associates, an architectural firm in New Canaan, CT. Dinyar developed his love of architecture and unerring eye for distinction as a child growing up in Bombay (Mumbai) with the infrastructure of magnificent public buildings erected by the British during their colonization of India. After a bachelor’s degree at the MS University of Baroda, Dinyar and his wife Gool came to the US in 1968 and Dinyar enrolled for a graduate degree at the School of Architecture, Columbia University. After graduating as a William Kinney Fellow, he then went to work for one of his professors, Victor Christ-Janer, at his architectural firm in New Canaan, CT, beginning his career in the modern vernacular. However, Dinyar found himself drawn to the beauty and charm of the traditional buildings in New Canaan and the surrounding towns of Fairfield County. Determined to heed his passion, he decided to strike out on his own in 1975 to design traditionally inspired homes. Over the past 30 years, he has demonstrated a remarkable versatility and adaptability that has solidified his position as the areas’ leading classical architect. With holistic approach to design. Dinyar has been recognized with numerous architectural and landscape.
Commenting on the award selection, GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat said, “We select the awardees, who have made an impact in our society and/or those who provide outstanding service.” GOPIO International Founder President Dr. Thomas Abraham and Chairman of GOPIO-CT Awards Committee said, “These awardees are role models for our new generations and GOPIO-CT has a done great job in building up a good image of India and Indian Americans in Connecticut.”
Over the last 13 years, GOPIO-CT, a chapter of GOPIO International has become an active and dynamic organization hosting interactive sessions with policy makers and academicians, community events, youth mentoring and networking workshops, and working with other area organizations to help create a better future. GOPIO-CT serves as a non-partisan, secular, civic and community service organization – promoting awareness of Indian culture, customs and contributions of PIOs through community programs, forums, events and youth activities. It seeks to strengthen partnerships and create an ongoing dialogue with local communities.
The awardees will be honored at GOPIO-CT’s 13th Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, July 27th at the Stamford Marriott Hotel in Stamford. CT. The program includes dignitaries, entertainment and Bollywood DJ. For reservation or to buy tickets, call Anita Bhat 203-524-2935 or send an e-mail to abnewyork71@gmail.com.
CMEs, Women’s Forum, CEO Forum, Obesity Awareness Walk, Entertainment, Mehfil, Research Contest, Spiritual & Political Discourses, Fashion Parade, Speech Contests, AAPI Has Got Talent, Networking, Fellowship, Honoring of Past Presidents & BOTs Were Highlights of the Convention
(Atlanta, GA. July 7, 2019): Dr. Suresh Reddy, a young and dynamic Neuro-Interventional Radiologist by profession, assumed charge as the 36th President of the President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) for the year 2019-20, at the 37th annual convention in Atlanta, GA on July 6th, 2019.
“I promise to align all the energies to make AAPI an enormous force,” Dr. Suresh Reddy declared immediately after assuming charge of the largest ethnic medical association in the country. As the curtains drew at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, the over 2,000 delegates from across the nation cheered and wished him well in his new role, leading the dynamic and vibrant organization.
Dr. Vinod Shah, former President of AAPI, administered the transfer of office at the solemn celebration, while the audience gave a rousing applause to the new leader of AAPI.
Dr. Reddy received the Gavel from Dr. Naresh Parikh, the outgoing President of AAPI at the final day of the Convention at the Famous Georgia World Congress Center. Dr. Suresh Reddy has a Team with Dr. Seema Arora, who will serve as the Chair of BOT; Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI; Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President; Dr. Vijay Kolli, Secretary; Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI; Dr. Stella Gandhi, President of Young Physician section; and, Dr. Anubhav Jain, President of Medical student and Resident section.
In his farewell address, Dr. Parikh enumerated his several achievements, especially his “efforts and success in enabling AAPI financially sound, cleaning up of AAPI’s Voters List, obtaining and using $9 Million from USAID to eradicate TB from several cities of India; Bringing local Chapters of AAPI and national AAPI closer and bonding through the 10 City Jai HO Musical Tour by Sukhvinder Singh have been some among the many successful initiatives under Dr. Parikh.”
“I am honored to be serving with such an enthusiastic and cohesive group of physicians,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, the soft spoken and unassuming young leader of AAPI, said. In his capacity as the President of the largest ethnic organization of physicians in the United States, Dr. Reddy is committed to take the more than three decades old organization to the new heights and “bring all the AAPI Chapters, Regions, Members of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees to work cohesively and unitedly for the success of AAPI and the realization of its noble mission.”
“At the outset I would like to immensely thank you for electing me with landslide majority in my last three elections. I feel honored to take charge as the President of AAPI. “As I have promised you that, we will bring increased dignity, decency, professionalism and eliteness into the organization, and thus elevate the already existing stand.” Among the goals Dr. Reddy has set before him as he takes on the leadership of AAPI is to: “Make AAPI financially robust and increase our endowments enormously so we can focus on our mission of E, M, R (education, mentoring, research) and service.”
The four-days long annual event was packed with activities, celebrating the success story of Indian American Physicians and the fast growing Indian American community at large, offering an intimate setting that facilitated sharing of knowledge about cutting-edge research through CMEs, promotimg personal, professional and business relationships, and displaying ethnic items, and an array of ethnic cuisine that was appreciated and enjoyed by one and all.
The convention is filled with CMEs, Women’s Forum, CEO Forum, Obesity Awareness Walk, Entertainment, Mehfil, Research Contest, Spiritual & Political Discourses, Fashion Parade, Speech Contests, AAPI Has Got Talent, Networking, Fellowship, Honoring of Past Presidents & BOTs and thus was a treat for all, satisfying to the needs and tastes of everyone.
Shri Sadhguru, recognized around the world for his pioneering efforts to nurture global harmony, inaugurated the convention with his wisdom filled spiritual discourse on July 4th. In his keynote address, Sadhguru said, “The moment we learn to see things as they are, we will be peaceful. No one can make me happy or angry. I do it to myself by choice. You need to treat the lifestyle illness. What happens within you is your choice 100 percent.”
Patricia Harris, MD, President American Medical Association, referred to some the key initiatives AMA is pursuing in recent years. She spoke about AMA’s three strategic areas: attacking the dysfunction in health care by removing obstacles and burdens that interfere with patient care; driving the future of medicine by reimagining medical education, training and lifelong learning for future generation of Physicians, and by promoting innovation to tackle the biggest challenges in health care; and leading the charge to confront the chronic disease crisis and improve the health of the nation. Pointing to the immense contributions of Indian American Doctors, she said, “We value your contributions in healthcare. AMA is your partner and ally in patient care. We all need to work together to address the healthcare needs of the nation.”
On July 3rd, Georgia Chapter of AAPI hosted the inaugural dinner event with gala, recognition of various individuals who had worked hard to put together the convention and mesmerizing cultural events by local artists. In his address, Dr. Sreeni Gangasani acknowledged the efforts of the local committees that made the events spectacularly successful. “The convention team has been working incredibly hard to provide a delightful 4 days of events packed with educational CME credits, world-class entertainment, leadership seminars, networking opportunities, exhibits, and more,” Dr. Gangasani added. “Without their hard work, dedication, talents, skills and generosity, this mega event would not have been a success, I want to thank each one of them personally and on behalf of national AAPI for their dedication.”
In her address, Consul General of India in Atlanta, Dr. Swati Vijay Kulkarni, praised the many contributions of AAPI members in the United States and back home in India. “You have excelled in your fields of medicine, and thus make significant contributions through hard work, commitment and dedication to your profession and the people you are committed to serve,” she said.
Rep. Raja Krishnamurthy praised the achievments of the Indian American community and the Doctors, who are the role models for the rest of America. He urged AAPI leaders to take active role in local and national politics, in order to be able to shape the destiny of the nation.
The crowd cheered loudly as Shankar Mahadevan performed before a packed audience, not disappointing the audience even a single moment of their more than three hours long non-stop songs and music.
An Obesity Awareness Walk led by Dr. Uma Koduri and other AAPI leaders at the famous Centennial Park in Atlanta drew .hundreds of Doctors and their family members as they walked around the Park wearing Yellow T Shirts proclaiming to the world the need to create awareness on healthy lifestyle.
At the Executive Committee Luncheon members of the powerful and dynamic body were honored. Senior Advisors to the Team led by Dr. Parikh, including S. Purohit, Past BOT Chair, Vinod Shah, Dr. Narendra Kumar, and Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar, all Senior AAPI Leaders and AAPI Presidents, were honored.
At the Luncheon Gala hosted by AAPI’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Ajith Kothari provided an updater on the efforts of BOT under his leadership in strengthening AAPI. Dr. Seema Arora, the incoming BOT Chair assumed charge at the event and stated of her commitment to continue to strengthen AAPI and work with the Team to make AAPI financially sound and responsive to the needs of larger AAPI Body.
Also, for the first time, all past AAPI Presidents and past BOT Chairs were recognized and honored with a decorative shawl for their able leadership and continued guidance of AAPI. AAPI honored its members for their achievements.Most Distinguished Physicians Awards were given to Drs. Sanjeev Gupta; Ramesh Vandal; and Enas Enas. Distinguished Service Award was bestowed on Dr. Sanat Gandhi. The Young Physician Award went to Dr. Rupesh Raina & Dr. Sandeep Bagla, while the Most Distinguished Medical Student/Fellow Award was giventn to Dr. Radhika Chimera.
AAPI has got Talent and Mehfil, led by Dr. Amit Chakraborthy and Dr. Hemant Dhingra kept the audience enchanted every night often until early hours of every morning, where AAPI members showcased their talents and skills and art and music spontaneously before their peers. Yoga sessions in the mornings, Speech contests and the Fashion Show Archana Kochchar wer some of the other events that were much appreciated by the delegates.
Golf with Cricketer Kapil Dev and his keynote address at the final gala and special address by Bollywood actor Gulshan Grover and signing of the books by the tow legends and donating their sale of books to AAPI and its Charitable Foundation were other highlights of the convention.
The Women’s Forum, chaired by Dr. Asha Parikh & Dr. Udaya Shivangi, had Bollywwood actor Preity Zinta, Archana kochar. International designer, who promotes India and Indian-ness through fashion. Consul General of India in Atlanta, Ambassador Swati Kulkarni; Aparna Bhattacharya. Executive Director of Raksha, who has won awards for her relentless community service; Malini Moorthy, Vice President of Medtroics, and Dr. Ila Shah, a Physician and AAPI Leader.
In her welcome remarks, Dr. Asha Parikh said, “The Women’s Forum is where successful and powerful women come and share their life’s dreams, challenges and this empower and inspire other women. Today’s Forum is about how career changes by women affect t them and the larger society.” In her keynote address, Preity Zinta said, “Women have come to be successful and they have to be working really hard.” She stressed on the need for equal wages. Respecting women and have them walk shoulder to shoulder with men is the biggest challenge, she said.
The 37th annual AAPI Convention, while providing physicians of Indian origin an opportunity to come together in an atmosphere of collegiality, has enabled them to retrace and appreciate their common roots, culture and the bond that unites them as members of this large professional community. Giving them a platform to celebrate their accomplishments, the annual convention to be attended by nearly 2,000 physicians of Indian origin, it also provided a forum to renew their professional commitment through continuing medical educations activities.
AAPI organization is a dynamic body, spearheading legislative agendas and influencing the advancement of medical care not only in the US, but internationally. AAPI’s impact is seen in areas such as advocating for the increasing physician work force, participating in national health initiatives such as obesity prevention, and investing in global health education. Whether practicing in medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural communities or participating in cutting edge research & academics, Indian physicians form an impressive group.
Almost 10%-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, AAPI represents the interests of over nearly 100,000 physicians, medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States. It is the largest ethnic medical organization in the nation.
Among his several priorities, Dr. Reddy assured that collaboration and cooperation is essential among AAPI leadership that all members of the lead team speak and act in one voice. “I promise you that I will work closely with the next two confirmed presidents so we can start strategic planning on multiple projects,” Dr. Reddy says. This will ensure continuity and smooth transition of programs and initiatives from current President to next.
I promise to align all the energies to make AAPI an enormous force.
(Atlanta, GA. July 7th, 2019) “I promise to align all the energies to make AAPI an enormous force,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, the young and dynamic 36th President of AAPI, declared in his inaugural Presidential address, immediately after assuming charge as the President of as the President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) for the year 2019-20, at the 37th annual convention in Atlanta, GA on July 6th, 2019.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, a Neuro-Interventional Radiologist by profession, told a packed over 2,000 AAPI delegates that, towards this end and the many lofty goals he has set before self as the President of AAPI, the largest ethnic organization of Medical Professionals in the United States, promised that “I am committed to work for AAPI to the best of my ability.”
Dr. Vinod Shah, former President of AAPI, administered the transfer of office at the solemn celebration, while the audience gave a rousing applause to the new leader of AAPI.
Dr. Reddy received the Gavel from Dr. Naresh Parikh, the outgoing President of AAPI at the final day of the Convention at the Famous Georgia World Congress Center. In his farewell address, Dr. Parikh enumerated his several achievements, especially his efforts and success in enabling AAPI financially sound. Cleaning up AAPI’s Voters List, Obtaining and using $9 Million from USAID to eradicate TB from several cities of India; Bringing local Chapters of AAPI and national AAPI closer and bonding through the 10 City Jai HO Musical Tour by Sukhvinder Singh have been some among the many successful initiatives under Dr. Parikh.
Dr. Suresh Reddy delivering his inaugural Presidential address in Atlanta, GA
“I am honored to be serving with such an enthusiastic and cohesive group of physicians,” Dr. Reddy, the soft spoken and unassuming young leader of AAPI, said. In his capacity as the President of the largest ethnic organization of physicians in the United States, Dr. Reddy is committed to take the more than three decades old organization to the new heights and “bring all the AAPI Chapters, Regions, Members of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees to work cohesively and unitedly for the success of AAPI and the realization of its noble mission.”
“At the outset I would like to immensely thank you for electing me with landslide majority in my last three elections. I feel honored to take charge as the President of AAPI. “As I have promised you that, we will bring increased dignity, decency, professionalism and eliteness into the organization, and thus elevate the already existing stand.”
Dr. Suresh Reddy has a Team with Dr. Seema Arora, who will serve as the Chair of BOT; Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI; Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President; Dr. Vijay Kolli, Secretary; Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI; Dr. Stella Gandhi, President of Young Physician section; and, Dr. Anubhav Jain, President of Medical student and Resident section.
Having elected with a resounding victory at every office at the national level, Dr. Reddy is ever grateful to the entire AAPI members for entrusting the trust in him. “As you have elected me with landslide majority several times with immense confidence in me, I am grateful to AAPI members for giving him an executive “team who have ethics and strong principles and great track record and those who can work with me with synergy. I have a team that works with synergy with me to rebuild the organization, so I can produce the best results you all deserve.”
Dr. Suresh Reddy currently serves as the Chief of Radiology at Hines Medical Center, Associate Professor of Radiology at Loyola Medical Center in Chicago, and Affiliated Faculty in the Department of Neurosurgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has had many years of service to the medical community and to AAPI.
Acknowledging that leading AAPI is a daunting challenge, Dr. Reddy says, “I’m very honored, privileged and consider myself fortunate to announce that I have an excellent group of dedicated, hardworking, and loyal officers and executive committee members who are with me to take AAPI to new heights.”
Dr. Reddy with his new Executive Team, BOT members and Regional Directors of AAPI
Involving all leaders and people elected to lead the organization is important. “I promise you that the executive committee will work hard together along with the board of trustees and charitable foundation as we take AAPI to even greater heights,” Dr. Reddy promises.
Having committed to lead AAPI to newer heights, fulfilling the many aspirations and dreams of AAPI membership as a whole, the dynamic leader with a vision for AAPI, says, “I have a dream to fulfill few promises and goals for the upcoming year.”
Dr. Reddy is of the opinion that in the pursuit of raising funds AAPI has changed its course and path. Although raising funds is an important part of the survival of the organization, this organization was built on the foundation of scientific and educational interaction between its members, and those should not be diluted.
Among the goals Dr. Reddy has set before him as he takes on the leadership of AAPI is to: “Make AAPI financially robust and increase our endowments enormously so we can focus on our mission of E, M, R (education, mentoring, research) and service.”
Listening to the concerns/suggestions from members is key to the success of any leader. Recognizing the many noble ideas he has received from several members, Dr. Reddy says, he will work on “the great ideas and suggestions on how to improve AAPI and put it on right track and work towards its mission of Scientific Research and Education.”
Experience and wisdom are the vital in leading a large organization such as AAPI with diversity and numerous interests and needs. Dr. Reddy, a young professional who has been entrusted with the task of taking AAPI to newer heights, relies on the immense experience, skills and talents of AAPI members and experienced leaders of AAPI. He says, “I continue to look forward working under the mentorship of our senior leaders and to lead the next generation into the future.”
Passing of the Gavel from Dr. Naresh Parikh to Dr. Suresh Reddy
Collaboration and cooperation is essential among AAPI leadership that all members of the lead team speak and act in one voice. “I promise you that I will work closely with the next two confirmed presidents so we can start strategic planning on multiple projects,” Dr. Reddy says. This will ensure continuity and smooth transition of programs and initiatives from current President to next.
Education is the core value and lead goal for AAPI. Dr. Reddy promises to initiate “Special E, M, R programs for our high school, medical students, Residents and Fellows” with particular focus on “our children admitted to Caribbean Medical Schools” and “for young physicians coming from India.”
Born and raised in the undivided Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Suresh Reddy did his medical education in India at Kakatiya/Osmania Medical Colleges. He has been educated, trained and board certified in Neuroradiology, Interventional Radiology and Interventional Neuroradiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Dr. Suresh Reddy earned his medical degree from Kakatiya Medical College, Andhra Pradesh, India in 1988 and did Residency training in Diagnostic Radiology at Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He completed research and clinical fellowships in diagnostic Neuroradiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX and spent a further two years at State University of New York at Stony Brook, pursuing a fellowship in Diagnostic Neuroradiology with an emphasis in Neuro-interventional training. Dr. Reddy is extensively trained in Neuroradiology and Interventional Radiology and Interventional Neuroradiology.
As the Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and on Faculty at Harvard Medical School for almost a decade, Dr. Reddy had been involved in the highly specialized techniques and art of treating aneurysms and strokes in the complex part of our body, the Brain. He is also extensively trained to perform complex procedures on the Spine, in the very inaccessible regions of the spine.
His other professional achievements include, publishing many journal articles related to medicine and scientific research. Dr. Reddy has travelled extensively and has been involved in giving specialty lectures in the complex procedures he does. He has been involved in teaching and mentoring many medical students and residents and has received numerous teaching and mentoring awards to his credit including a four time recipient of “Faculty award for excellence in teaching”.
Apart from his very distinguished career as a Neuro-Interventionalist, Dr. Reddy has been applauded for his active involvement in AAPI and its causes. As a member and leader of AAPI, Dr. Reddy is proud that has been working with “young physicians in guiding and mentoring them.”
New Executive Team under Dr. Reddy: Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, President-Elect of AAPI; Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, Vice President; Dr. Vijay Kolli, Secretary; Dr. Raj Bhayani, Treasurer of AAPI
“It has been a great journey of more than a decade to reach here,” Dr. Reddy, who rose to the top of the executive committee from being an ordinary AAPI member to, being elected to lead the noble organization, recalled.
Dr. Reddy has served at the national AAPI in various capacities. He served as Chair of IT and CME Standing Committees for several years. He has rose through the ranks from the level of Regional Director from New England area to the level of President. He has won three elections with a landslide majority in AAPI for the positions of Treasurer, Secretary and Vice-President.
Last year as the Chair of Membership Committee Dr. Reddy was instrumental in integrating several new state chapters under the umbrella of national AAPI. This year as the Chair of the Bylaws committee he has helped close so many loop holes in the AAPI bylaws.
During his active involvement in AAPI, he has taken up many worthy causes, one of them including clearing “Green Card” backlog for Indian physicians in Rural America. He has been involved in increasing AAPI membership. He also has the credit of adding 8 new member chapters to the national organization. He has organized many Independence Day celebrations in Chicago, leading AAPI at the annual parades, spreading the message of health and wellbeing.
Dr. Reddy has successfully organized CME cruises to Alaska, Scandinavia, the Mediterranean and Hawaii along with others and donated the proceeds to AAPI. His upcoming CME family events to Israel, Jordan and Antarctica are sold out events. He believes that “AAPI members connect on a family level in such trips.”
Dr. Reddy has envisaged and meticulously planned the next edition of the Global Health Summit in Hyderabad in July 2019 with a thrust on education, having numerous workshops. In October of 2019, he plans to take a leading role along with the Indian Resuscitation Council to train almost 500,000 lay people in Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation in India. He is a strong supporter of Indian Resuscitation Council being part of International Liaison Committee of Resuscitation (ILCOR).
Dr. Reddy, honored with the Resident Research Award at the (RSNA) Radiological Society of North America’s 2000, has presented widely at national meetings. Dr. Reddy is also honored with several other awards especially for his excellent teaching interests including “Fellow of the Year” award for the year 2001, “Faculty of the Year” and, “Excellence in Teaching the Harvard Medical Students” awards for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004. Dr. Reddy holds the distinction of winning these prestigious awards in three consecutive years.
He also mentored several Harvard Medical School Students and Residents. Dr. Reddy was the Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School for more than ten years. He is always committed to do the best he can to provide quality care to patients while looking for ways to forge bonds with other disciplines to help the overall health care delivery to those who need it the most.
Dr. Reddy says that one of his goals for future is to strengthen ties between the “sub chapters” and AAPI, His vision for AAPI includes, “bridging the next generation of physicians of Indian origin with the current members of AAPI and to serve as a link between AAPI and people of other ethnic origin.” He is committed to “showcasing unity in diversity” for AAPI, and wants to work towards making AAPI a “purely an academic and research society.”
Dr. Reddy currently resides in Chicago with his wife Leela and son Rohun. Dr. Reddy has made the Indian community proud with his innumerable contributions and he is ready to serve AAPI as its President. He dedicates his track record of more than a decade as a foot soldier in AAPI as his strength. His theme is “ask what you can do for AAPI, and not what AAPI can do for you.”
(Atlanta, GA. July 6, 2019): Shankar Mahadevan performed before a packed audience at the 37th annual convention of The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) on July 5th night, 2019 at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, mesmerizing And electrifying the nearly 2,000 audience from across the nation with his powerful and enchanting voice.
The crowd cheered loudly as Shankar and his talented team entered the eloquent stage, not disappointing the audience even a single moment of their more than three hours long non-stop songs and music. Stating that it’s the team’s 24th year of contributions to Music, the lalented artist opened the concert with an invocation to Lord Ganesha praying for all.
As the crowd reached out to him to the stage, the popular playback singer and musician, drawing more inspiration from the crowd, sang his way to stealing their hearts at the over 3 hours long musical concert that went beyond mid night.
Shankar Mahadevan, who shot to fame with the albums, Dil Chahta Hai and Kal Ho Na Ho, which in addition to winning millions of hearts, winning him several national awards and international recognition, flew in from India to be part of the 37th annual convention organized by the Atlanta Chapter of the national AAPI.
Performing before a packed audience Shankar Mahadevan, the lead playback singer was at his best. The team then thundered in, and held the crowd spellbound for next three pulsating hours. The orchestra was magnificent, complimenting the artists. The crowd was in raptures, and very soon, people were crowding the aisles to dance, in abandon to the rhythms of the night.
Earlier, The day began with an Obesity Awareness Walk led by Dr. Uma Koduri and other AAPI leaders at the famous Centennial Park in Atlanta. Hundreds of Doctors and their family members walked around the Park wearing Yellow T Shirts proclaiming to the world the need to create awareness on healthy lifestyle.
At the Executive Committee Luncheon members of the powerful and dynamic body were honored. Drs. Naresh Parikh, President; Suresh Reddy, President Elect; Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Vice-President; Anupama Gotimukula, Secretary; Anjana Samadder, Treasurer; Raj Bhayani, Treasurer-Elect; Ajeet Kothari, Chair, Board of Trustees; Prachi Dua, President, MSRF; Praveen Arla, President, YPS; S. Purohit, Past BOT Chair and Senior AAPI Leader; and Vinod Shah, Senior AAPI Leader and Advisor to AAPI President.
At the gala dinner, for the first time nearly two dozen past presidents of AA{I were called on stage and were recognized for their leadership and making AAPI strong in its journey of 37 years. In his address, Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of AAPI, thanked the leadership of each AAPI president. He said, “The 37th annual AAPI Convention, while providing physicians of Indian origin an opportunity to come together in an atmosphere of collegiality, it will enable them to retrace and appreciate their common roots, culture and the bond that unites them as members of this large professional community. Giving them a platform to celebrate their accomplishments, the annual convention to be attended by nearly 2,000 physicians of Indian origin, it will also provide a forum to renew their professional commitment through continuing medical educations activities.” Dr. Raj Bhayani, AAPI’s IT Chair and Dr. Sathis Kathula emceed the event.
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s Atlanta Chapter, headed by Dr. Sreeni Gangasani. In his address, Dr. Sreeni Gangasani acknowledged the efforts of the local committees that made the events spectacularly successful. “The convention team has been working incredibly hard to provide a delightful 4 days of events packed with educational CME credits, world-class entertainment, leadership seminars, networking opportunities, exhibits, and more,” Dr. Gangasani added. “Without their hard work, dedication, talents, skills and generosity, this mega event would not have been a success, I want to thank each one of them personally and on behalf of national AAPI for their dedication.”
At the Luncheon Gala hosted by AAPI’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Ajith Kothari provided an updater on the efforts of BOT under his leadership in strengthening AAPI. Dr. Seema Arora, the incoming BOT Chair assumed charge at the event and stated of her commitment to continue to strengthen AAPI and work with the Team to make AAPI financially sound and responsive to the needs of larger AAPI Body. Past BOT Chairs were recognized on stage with Shawl for their leadership and commitment to AAPI.
AAPI honored its members for their achievements. Most Distinguished Physicians Awards were given to Drs. Sanjeev Gupta; Ramesh Vandal; and Enas Enas. Distinguished Service Award
Was bestowed on Dr. Sanat Gandhi. The Young Physician Award went to Dr. Rupesh Raina & Dr. Sandeep Bagla, while the Most Distinguished Medical Student/Fellow Award was giventn to Dr. Radhika Chimera.
AAPI organization is a dynamic body, spearheading legislative agendas and influencing the Tadvancement of medical care not only in the US, but internationally. AAPI’s impact is seen in areas such as advocating for the increasing physician work force, participating in national health initiatives such as obesity prevention, and investing in global health education. Whether practicing in medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural communities or participating in cutting edge research & academics, Indian physicians form an impressive group.
Almost 10%-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, AAPI represents the interests of over nearly 100,000 physicians, medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States. It is the largest ethnic medical organization in the nation. For more details and registration for the convention, please visit: www.aapiconvention.org and www.aapiusa.org
(Atlanta, Georgia: July 6th, 2019) “I have to work double hard in Bollywood. Men had lots of freedom and can have their way. Women had to be confined to line always,” recalled Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, in her keynote address at the Women’s Forum to a packed audience during the 37th annual Convention of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) at the world famous World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA on July 5th, 2019.
Organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) the Women’s Forum had a galaxy of successful women, who shared with the AAPI delegates their own stories of growing up and facing challenges with conviction and courage, and have today become role models for other women around the world. Dr. Naresh Parikh welcomed the panelists to the Forum with a warm note. Dr. Naresh Parikh, in his opening remarks, highlighted the importance of Women’s Forum, which has come to be a much sought after event at ever Convention and GHS.
In her welcome remarks, Dr. Asha Parikh, Chairwoman of the Women’s Forum, said, “There is a need for empowerment of women, which means women should be respected at home, at work and in the larger society.” Dr. Parikh underscored the importance of the Women’s Forum in AAPI convention and Global Healthcare Summit, and how it has evolved and today it’s one of the much sought after event, with distinguished panelists on the Forum. “The Women’s Forum is where successful and powerful women come and share their life’s dreams, challenges and this empower and inspire other women. Today’s Forum is about how career changes by women affect t them and the larger society.”
Dr. Parikh, who is a renowned physician and the First Lady of AAPI, is described to be the power behind Dr. Naresh Parikh, the president of AAPI. Dr. Asha Parikh introduced the Panelists to the audience.
Panelists on the podium: Preity Zinta, Archana kochar, Ambassador Swati Kulkarni; Aparna Bhattacharya. Malini Moorthy, Dr. Ila Shah, Dr. Asha Parikh, and Dr. Udaya Shivangi
The Women’s Forum had Bollywwood actor Preity Zinta, Archana kochar. International designer, who promotes India and Indian-ness through fashion. Consul General of India in Atlanta, Ambassador Swati Kulkarni; Aparna Bhattacharya. Founder and President of Raksha, who has won awards for her relentless community service; Malini Moorthy, Vice President of Medtroics, and Dr. Ila Shah, a Physician and AAPI Leader.
Dr. Udaya Shivangi, Vice Chair, AAPI Women’s Forum, led the panelists to a lively discussion on ways how career changes affect women and the inspiration for leading successful career lives. She introduced Dr. Asha Parikh to the audience and welcomed the panelists. Through insightful short questions, DR. Shivangi, a veteran at the Forum since its inception, was able to bring out the best from member of the panel through pointed questions.
Priety Zinta, an Indian film actress and entrepreneur, has earned a name for herself as a popular actress in Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, and English language films. In her free flowing spontaneous speech, now an actor turned entrepreneur, owning several Cricket Teams, said, in a developing country like hours, “Women have come to be successful and they have to be working really hard.” She stressed on the need for equal wages. Respect women and have them walk shoulder to shoulder with men is the biggest challenge, she said.
Zinta said, education of women is critical and the need of the hour. “In fact, education helps to highlight a woman’s strength and how much she can do to better the life of her children.” According to her, great emphasis should be given to every woman to empower her financially and socially, educationally, so that she can be independent. “I believe that woman empowerment means financial independence and self-reliance for women.”
Preity Zinta said, today, I feel proud that women have achieved so much. But we still have a long way to go. Woman has to realize her own potential and strength as an equal member of society. Empowerment is also about women realizing that they should embrace change. Creating awareness is so important, drawing public attention to instances of injustices towards women. “My biggest change in life is being married and I love it and that’s the best change that has ever happened in my life,” the young and talented actor told the AAPI delegates.
Aparna Bhattacharya shared with the audience about her own advocacy role she and RAKSHA, her noble organization working with women are doing in the state of Georgia and other southern states. Describing violence against women as “most shameful,” Bhattacharya stated, the prevalence of violence against women is a global phenomenon. She called for the need for education towards gender sensitization.
Preity Zinta felicitated by Dr. Ila Shah, Dr. Asha Parikh, and Dr. Udaya Shivangi
“I started as a volunteer and was working with survivors and wanted to help victims of crime in my community,” she recalled. “Breaking the silence of talking about violence and able to talk about it and empower those silently suffering has been the biggest challenge,” she said. “Getting to communicate become aware of working with the Administration to get the resources and help someone get services and break the barriers, some of the initiatives she and RAKSHA are committed to work on. According to her, “The biggest challenge is to keep fighting. Women need to support each other and applaud each other’s victory. If you are not doing it no one is going to do it for yourself,” she told the audience.
Malini Moorthy, another panelist, while acknowledging that there is discrimination in the business world, said, in choosing lead positions and when it comes to payments, men are always preferred over women. “We have come a long way. Changes are taking place,” she said. “There are questions raised when such practices are seen happening.” She called upon “more people to speak out against any type of discrimination.” Stressing the need for equality, she said, “I strongly believe in promoting equality. You are the role models for all of us here. Keep fighting and support one another.” In terms of women’s empowerment, “Medtronic has a policy and program for empowering and ensuring recruitment of women from each community, ensuring equal representation to all. We look at leadership as coming from all forms women bring in their unique talents and leadership,” she said. Regarding her personal life, Moorthy said, while she wants to use her talents and skills for serving larger society, but not sure if she wants to fight for any political office.
Archana Kochhar, an Indian fashion designer, who designs have been featured by celebrities like Prabhu Deva, Shriya Saran, Amrita Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bipasha Basu and Vijender Singh among others, spoke about guiding our children to make career choices in the highly competitive fashion world. If one wants to make fashion his or her career, one needs to be prepared to have hard work, right attitude, creativity, how you deal with people, especially being humble and open attitude, she said. “We should work hard on building our brand, Be able to recognize one’s uniqueness inonselfu and build on it and pursue your career.
Sharing her personal experiences with SMILE and ther inspiration to start SMILE, Kochar said, “My journey with SMILE happened accidentally after seeing an acid victim.” In her efforts to help acid victims and help with their treatment, she had an acid victim walk on a New York Fashion Show, which made headlines across the world media. She was able to raise money to help victims of acid victim. Ever since, it has been a passion for this talented fashion designer to be associated with and support acid victims, she said. “When we share our platform for a noble cause, we can create magic for all,” she said.
Dr. Kulkarni, who has changed career from being a Physician to a Career Diplomat shared with the audience her won story of how she happened to change her career. She have credit to her uncle from Mumbai, who “dragged” her into career diplomacy, which she has come to enjoy in life.
Stating that she misses being with patients and caring for their health, Dr. Kulkarni, who has risen to heights through hard work and dedication said, “My Medical career gave me the rigorous discipline which has made me successful in my present career. I miss my OPD, but I love my new career and work,” she said.
In her message to women, Dr. Kulkarni stressed the need for women’s education. “Education is the keyword, which will empower women socially, emotionally, and economically. Financial independence will give one self respect and she can become a key rolemodel for others.”
The three-day historic event, the 37th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly being held from July 3rd to July 7th, 2019 at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, and inaugurated by Sadhguru, offers an intimate setting that facilitates the exchange of cutting-edge research through CMEs, promotes business relationships, and displays and promotes ethnic culture and traditions.
The 37th annual AAPI Convention, while providing physicians of Indian origin an opportunity to come together in an atmosphere of collegiality, it enables them to retrace and appreciate their common roots, culture and the bond that unites them as members of this large professional community. Giving them a platform to celebrate their accomplishments, the annual convention to be attended by nearly 2,000 physicians of Indian origin, it provides a forum to renew their professional commitment through continuing medical educations activities.
Representing the interests of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, leaders of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic organization of physicians, for 37 years. For more details, please visit: https://aapisummit.org/www.aapiusa.org
(Atlanta, Georgia: July 4, 2019) Shri Sadhguru, recognized around the world for his pioneering efforts to nurture global harmony, inaugurated the 37th annual convention, organized by The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) on July 4th at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
Attended by over 2,000 delegates from across the nation, the event began with the welcome address by Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of AAPI. He said, “The 37th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an intimate setting that will facilitate our ability to convoy cutting-edge research and CMEs, promote personal, professional and business relationships, and display ethnic items. The convention is filled with cutting-edge CMEs, product theaters, women’s forum, great entertainment from Bollywood and local talent and lot more.”
A section of the audience at the inaugural gala
Dr. Parikh highlighted some of the major accomplishments during his Presidency, particularly pointing to the campaign to rid India of TB with the $ 9 Million funds from the USAID. Stating that AAPI’s collaborative efforts with the Government of India and local organizations, several cities have become TB Free and there are several others who are on the way to be free of TB Free in India. Dr. Parikh also highlighted the 10 City musical tour by Sukhvinder Singh which has generated closer bonds between national and local AAPI Chapters, energizing the entire AAPI.
In his address, Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Convention Chair, said, “The convention team has been working incredibly hard for the past several months to provide a delightful 4 days of events packed with educational CME credits, world-class entertainment, leadership seminars, networking opportunities, exhibits, and more. Our team is working relentlessly with a great enthusiasm to make this event a most successful one and I assure that you will have great time and would go home with wonderful memories. ”
The 37th Annual AAPI Convention is being held at the Omni Atlanta at CNN Center & Georgia World Congress Center from July 3-7, 2019, offering an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin. Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year.
Sadhguru addressing a packed audience at the 34th annual convention of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in nAtlanta on July 4th
In his keynote address, Sadhguru said, “The moment we learn to see things as they are, we will be peaceful. No one can make me happy or angry. I do it to myself by choice. You need to treat the lifestyle illness. What happens within you is your choice 100 percent.”
The mind is there to perceive, not to cook up nonsense. It has to be like a mirror, showing you everything the way it is. Inner Engineering provides tools and solutions to empower yourself to create your life the way you want it. It gives you the opportunity to intellectually explore the basics of life using methods from the distilled essence of yogic sciences, Sadhguru said.
Sadhguru lamented that being in an affluent land with an immense choice of abundance, millions of people are without healthcare, which is a crime against humanity. Stating that healthcare should become popular not the Doctors, Sadhguru focused on how in recent times, several Doctors and Medical students are committing suicide.
“Today Doctors themselves are having serious illnesses. Those address health need to be healthy. Stress, tension, paperwork rather than patient care are contributing the your health issues,” he told AAPI delegates. Referring to ancient Indian wisdom that stresses that education, spirituality, and medicine should not be commercialized, Sadhguru said, “Market and medicine are two different dynamics. Every Doctor needs to look at one’s system inside self. And you need to put you through cobra test. Unless you are a sage, one cannot be a Doctor,”
Pointing to the larger picture about life, Sadhguru said, “Life is a phenomenon happening all in it. We are all a small part of the large universe. No one knows where it begins and where it ends. Solar system with all it contains, earth is a small part of it. We are here only for a short period of time. Life is short.”
Describing that the brain is the cause of many problems, Sadhguru said, “If you remove half the brain you will be peaceful. you have the most organized brain system which has created lots of problems.” Stating that one’s intelligence has turned against self, Sadhguru said, “More people are ill today because of their own choice. You have not exercised your choice to be happy.”
Being on the spiritual path means understanding that the source of your trouble and the source of your wellbeing are within you. Every cell in your body is working for your wellbeing. If you are in tune with your system, you will naturally be healthy, he said.
Dr. Naresh Parih and Dr. Sreeni Ganagsani with their spouses felicitating Sadhguru
Stating that Human beings are not too different from other creatures, he said, animals do cycles of life blissfully but we do it with lots of fuss. “No one is trying to destroy the planet just as humans are doing today,” Sadhguru said.
Recalling that over 200 years ago, how infection was the main problem, Sadhguru pointed out how modern medicine has developed over the past few centuries from the symptomatic approach to cure the diseases and invent vaccination, which has saved millions of lives. “Many of us are alive due to vaccination,” he said.
Sadhguru pointed out that in today’s world, most illnesses are self created, due to one’s lifestyle, which he called “self help diseases” with dimensional shift that is often self inflicted. “We become affluent to get sick is not fair,” he said. “We need a culture of health.”
Patrice Harris, MD, President American Medical Association, referred to some the key initiatives AMA is pursuing in recent years. A psychiatrist from Atlanta, serving as the 174th president of AMA, the nation’s premier physician organization, Dr. Harris is the first African-American woman to hold the office.
She said, AMA’s three strategic arcs: attacking the dysfunction in health care by removing obstacles and burdens that interfere with patient care; driving the future of medicine by reimagining medical education, training and lifelong learning for future generation of Physicians, and by promoting innovation to tackle the biggest challenges in health care; and leading the charge to confront the chronic disease crisis and improve the health of the nation.
Referring to the AMA Opioid Task Force, which she has chaired since its inception in 2014, Dr. Harris said, “AMA will work to elevate the importance of mental health as a part of overall health, health equity and improving the diversity of the physician workforce, and the impact of childhood trauma on health. And, the programs created to address the opioid crisis.”
AAPI leadership at the inaugural event of the 37th annual convention in Atlanta
“We face big challenges in health care today, and the decisions we make now will move us forward in a future we help create,” Dr. Harris said. AMA is “committed to nondiscrimination through policy and advocacy” and pointed to AMA’s advocacy for fair immigration policies. Pointing to the immense contributions of Indian American Doctors, she said, “We value your contributions in healthcare. AMA is your partner and ally in patient care. We all need to work together to address the healthcare needs of the nation.”
On July 3rd, Georgia Chapter of AAPI hosted the inaugural dinner event with gala, recognition of various individuals who had worked hard to put together the convention and mesmerizing cultural events by local artists. In her address, Consul General of India in Atlanta, Dr. Swati Vijay Kulkarni, shared passionately about her own experiences of working as a Physician, prior to becoming an Ambassador. She drew to the emergence of India as the center of Medical Revolution. She praised the many contributions of AAPI members in the United States and back home in India. “You have excelled in your fields of medicine, and thus make significant contributions through hard work, commitment and dedication to your profession and the people you are committed to serve,” she said.
Shankar Mahadevan, the popular award winning Bollywood playback singer will perform on July 7th nite. Golf With Cricket Star Kapil Dev is another major attraction. Kapil Dev, the popular cricket star who won India the World Cup will be the keynote speaker at the convention. In addition, he will play Gold with AAPI members and will sign a coffee table book on Sikhism – ‘WE THE SIKHS’, by the legendary cricket star. Preity Zinta, the famous Bollywood actor will be the keynote speaker at the much anticipated Women’s Forum, which has come to be a popular agenda item at every convention.
Dr. Naresh Parikh delivering inaugural address
In addition, there will be, for the first time a Youth Public Speaking Competition and the much anticipated and appreciated “AAPI Has Got Talent” where the AAPI members showcase their talents before their colleagues.
The evening g gala on July 4th was dedicated to AAPI Charitable Foundation with Dr. Kapasi leading the campaign for raising funds for AAPI’s numerous noble causes. Dr. Suresh Reddy, President Elect announced a raffle program where in AAPI gives back money to winning members, with discounted rates for AAPI[s cruise tour in January next year.
The finale of the nite, was the much anticipated, “AAPI Has Got Talent” led by DR. Hemant Dhingra and team, where AAPI members showcased their talents in art, cultural events and music,
Continuing Medical Education and non-CME seminars by experts in their fields provide ongoing comprehensive and current reviews and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states to reduce morbidity and mortality and achieve cost effective quality care outcomes at the 4 day convention. At the end of the activity, it is expected that attendees will gain an understanding of the causation, diagnosis and the best clinical practices for the management of the diverse group of diseases discussed during this program.
As though responding to the growing need: “Physician, heal thyself,” especially when there are growing signs of burn out among physicians, AAPI is focusing on themes such as how to take care of self and find satisfaction and happiness in the challenging situations they are in, while serving hundreds of patients everyday of their dedicated and noble profession.
Fashion show by Archana Kochar, and being joined by Dr. Naresh Parik and Dr. Asha Parikh
CMEs, CEO/Leadership/Women’s Forums, Spiritual Discourses, Educational Seminars, Fashion Show, Mega Entertainment, Awards, Contests, Speeches, & Networking mark AAPI’s 37th annual convention in AAPI organization is a dynamic body, spearheading legislative agendas and influencing the advancement of medical care not only in the US, but internationally. AAPI’s impact is seen in areas such as advocating for the increasing physician work force, participating in national health initiatives such as obesity prevention, and investing in global health education. Whether practicing in medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural communities or participating in cutting edge research & academics, Indian physicians form an impressive group.
Almost 10%-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, AAPI represents the interests of over nearly 100,000 physicians, medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States. It is the largest ethnic medical organization in the nation.
“The 2019 AAPI Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin. Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year,” says Dr. Naresh Parekh. For more details and registration for the convention, please visit: www.aapiconvention.org and www.aapiusa.org
AAAPI’s Convention Host Team Working Hard To Make A Memorable Experience To Over 2,000 Delegates in Atlanta
(Atlanta, Georgia: June 30, 2019) Over 2,000 delegates from across the nation are expected to attend the 37th annual convention organized by The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) from July 3rd to July 7th, 2019 at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of AAPI, says, “The 37th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly will offer an intimate setting that will facilitate our ability to convoy cutting-edge research and CME, promote personal, professional and business relationships, and display ethnic items. The convention is filled with cutting-edge CMEs, product theaters, women’s forum, great entertainment from Bollywood and local talent and lot more.”
It’s a well-known fact that physicians of Indian origin excel in their respective areas of work and continue to play key roles in patient care, administration, academics and medical research. In order to cater to its diversity of medical specialties, AAPI continues to use a multi-disciplinary conference format.
Shankar Mahadevan, the popular award winning Bollywood playback singer is all set to take the delegates by storm during the Convention. Shankar Mahadevan and his troupe will perform live at the much anticipated AAPI’s annual convention enthralling over 2,000 delegates from across the nation, who are expected to attend the Convention.
Golf With Cricket Star Kapil Dev is another major attraction. Kapil Dev, the popular cricket star who won India the World Cup will be the keynote speaker at the convention. In addition, he will play Gold with AAPI members and will sign a coffee table book on Sikhism – ‘WE THE SIKHS’, by the legendary cricket star.
Preity Zinta, the famous Bollywood actor will be the keynote speaker at the much anticipated Women’s Forum, which has come to be a popular agenda item at every convention.
In addition, there will be, for the first time a Youth Public Speaking Competition and the much anticipated and appreciated “AAPI Has Got Talent” where the AAPI members showcase their talents before their colleagues.
Continuing Medical Education and non-CME seminars by experts in their fields will provide comprehensive and current reviews and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states to reduce morbidity and mortality and achieve cost effective quality care outcomes. At the end of the activity, it is expected that attendees will gain an understanding of the causation, diagnosis and the best clinical practices for the management of the diverse group of diseases discussed during this program.
Dr. Hemant Yagnick, Academic Chair for the Convention, says, “Medical specialty representation includes pediatrics, psychiatry, anesthesiology/pain management, cardiology, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, gastroenterology pathology, endocrinology, nephrology, rheumatology along with many other fields.”
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s Atlanta Chapter, headed by Dr. Sreeni Gangasani. “The convention team is working incredibly hard to provide a delightful 4 days of events packed with educational CME credits, world-class entertainment, leadership seminars, networking opportunities, exhibits, and more,” Dr. Gangasani added. “This meeting offers a rich educational program featuring the latest scientific research and advances in clinical practice. In addition, physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene to develop health policy agendas and encourage legislative priorities for the upcoming year.”
As though responding to the growing need: “Physician, heal thyself,” especially when there are growing signs of burn out among physicians, AAPI is focusing on themes such as how to take care of self and find satisfaction and happiness in the challenging situations they are in, while serving hundreds of patients everyday of their dedicated and noble profession.
“Many of the physicians who will attend this convention have excelled in different specialties and subspecialties and occupy high positions as faculty members of medical schools, heads of departments, and executives of hospital staff. The AAPI Convention offers an opportunity to meet directly with these physicians who are leaders in their fields and play an integral part in the decision-making process regarding new products and services,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, President-Elect of AAPI, added.
Dr. Raghu Lolabhattu, Co Chair Convention and Convention Alumni Chair, said, “AAPI Convention is just around the corner, almost less than a month. As a Co chair of the Convention, On behalf of our President Dr. Naresh Parikh, Convention Chair Dr. Sreeni Gangasani and our hard working Convention team I would like to invite each and everyone to the great gala. Our team is working relentlessly with a great enthusiasm to make this event a most successful one and I assure that you will have great time and would go home with wonderful memories.
The 37th annual AAPI Convention, while providing physicians of Indian origin an opportunity to come together in an atmosphere of collegiality, it will enable them to retrace and appreciate their common roots, culture and the bond that unites them as members of this large professional community. Giving them a platform to celebrate their accomplishments, the annual convention to be attended by nearly 2,000 physicians of Indian origin, it will also provide a forum to renew their professional commitment through continuing medical educations activities.
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s Atlanta Chapter. In addition to offering over 12 hours of cutting edge CMEs to the physicians, CEOs Forum, fabulous entertainment, and women’s leadership forum. The convention will be addressed by senior world leaders, including US Senators, Presidential candidates, Nobel Lauretes, Governors, Congressmen, and celebrities from the Hollywood and Bollywood world.
“Having Sadhguru at the Convention with his unique ability to make the ancient yogic sciences relevant to contemporary minds, and act as a bridge to the deeper dimensions of life, will make the convention and the delegates from across the nation richer, in so many ways,” said Dr. Anupama Gorimukala, Secretary of AAPI. “His approach does not ascribe to any belief system, but offers methods for self-transformation that are both proven and powerful,” Dr. Anupama Gorimukala, Secretary of AAPI, added.
The convention venue is one of the best ever one has seen with tons of local attractions. Several sightseeing places like CNN tower, Coca-Cola museum, Mercedes Benz sports Arena and many other attractions are within five minutes walk.
“The 2019 AAPI Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin,” says Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Vice President of AAPI. “Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year.”
Dr. Manoj Shah, Convention Treasurer says, Guests will be treated to true Southern hospitality in one of the country’s fastest growing cities—bustling with restaurants, night life, shopping and more. We look forward to welcoming you and your family and thank you for your support in making this convention a great success.”
AAPI organization is a dynamic body, spearheading legislative agendas and influencing the advancement of medical care not only in the US, but internationally. AAPI’s impact is seen in areas such as advocating for the increasing physician work force, participating in national health initiatives such as obesity prevention, and investing in global health education. Whether practicing in medically underserved areas such as inner cities and rural communities or participating in cutting edge research & academics, Indian physicians form an impressive group.
Almost 10%-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, AAPI represents the interests of over nearly 100,000 physicians, medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States. It is the largest ethnic medical organization in the nation.
“The 2019 AAPI Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin. Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta, GA!” says Dr. Naresh Parekh. For more details and registration for the convention, please visit: www.aapiconvention.org and www.aapiusa.org
Coalition welcomes USCIRF’s statement on Tabrez Ansari’s lynching; calls for India to be placed in Tier 1 of “Countries of Particular Concern”
The Alliance for Justice And Accountability (AJA), a coalition of progressive organizations across the United States, today urged the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), to move India into Tier 1 of “Countries of Particular Concern,” on account of the continuing deterioration in the human rights and religious freedom situation in India.
USCIRF had recently issued a statement, condemning the brutal and merciless lynching of Tabrez Ansari in the Indian state of Jharkhand. While the AJA coalition welcomes USCIRF’s statement on a shameful and inhuman murder of a young man on the basis of his religious identity, we believe the US needs to take a stronger stance on the rapid intensification of violence against religious minorities and “lower” castes in India. The first step would be to acknowledge the fact that the state of religious freedom in India at this point has reached a new low, far below the levels of Tier 2 where India had been placed by the USCIRF even before the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gained power in the national elections of 2014.
Tabrez Ansari’s mob lynching is particularly nerve-wracking since the beating, caught on video tape, continued for about 12 hours, at the end of which police took the victim into custody. He was taken to hospital only after 4 days, where he died of his injuries. The fact that the state was complicit in Ansari’s lynching is clear from reports that the police threatened the family with a similar fate when they begged for Ansari to be given medical attention. In the jail, the family found the main perpetrator of the violence berating Ansari, asking why he was not dead yet despite the severe beatings. While eleven villagers have been arrested, past incidents of mob lynching do not instill confidence in the prospect of justice being served.
Ansari happens to be the 11th victim of mob lynching in India this year. “According to web portal lynch.factchecker.in, cow protection was the most common excuse for attacks triggered by religious hate since 2014, with 77 such hate crimes being reported in the last five years,” said Dr. Shaik Ubaid, a coalition leader. “Overall, 124 cow-related hate crimes were recorded between May 24, 2014 and April 30, 2019,” added Dr. Ubaid.
“The inhumanity of the mob that beat Tabrez for hours, forced him to chant Hindu slogans and circulated the video of the beating on social media is undoubtedly shocking. However, the complicity of law enforcement and the lack of outrage in large sections of the Indian polity, is a sign that India’s descent into fascism is rapidly accelerating, ” said Mr. Umang Kumar, a coalition constituent.
Activists in India are rightly alarmed about what the future portends with hateful rhetoric occupying so much of the national discourse. Indian social activist Harsh Mander is a founding member of Karwan-e-Mohabbat (“Caravan of Love”), a solidarity campaign for victims of hate violence, including lynchings. Mr. Mander recently stated, “An environment has been created across the country that enables and encourages this kind of violence.”
The BJP’s landslide victory in the recent polls has emboldened Hindu supremacist groups in India to carry out mob lynchings against minorities and Dalits. In many cases, victims are targeted for reasons as varied as suspicion of possessing beef, protesting against caste discrimination or simply for their religious or caste identity. Last week a Dalit deputy “sarpanch” (village head) was beaten to death by upper caste men in Gujarat. This was the third such incident in that region in less than a month.
AJA has also noted with alarm, the direct assault on civil society in the form of the ruling party’s vendetta against whistleblowers and human rights activists. Sanjiv Bhatt, the IPS police officer who reported having been at a meeting where Mr. Modi gave the green signal for the pogrom against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, was recently sentenced to life imprisonment in a 30 year old case of custodial death. The entire case and his eventual conviction is widely seen as the ruling party’s payback for Mr. Bhat speaking truth to power.
The Alliance for Justice and Accountability has pledged to work with people of all faiths to defend India from the onslaught of hate and divisiveness.
There are plenty of heartwarming stories of Hindu-Muslim unity but it’ll be hard to top the one that took place in Houston recently. The Indian Muslims Association of Greater Houston (IMAGH) invited Ramesh Bhutada, Advisor to the Hindus of Greater Houston (HGH) and Vice President of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, USA (HSS) as the Chief Guest for their annual Eid Milan celebrations. In what turned out to be the evening’s epic moment, Bhutada’s simple yet powerful speech on Hindu-Muslim unity was met with a long standing ovation from every seat in the room including the Consul General of India Dr. Anupam Ray who was among the first to rise and applaud.
Bhutada, a Houston based industrialist, began his address by wishing the members of the Association Eid Mubarak and commended IMAGH on their mission of fostering amity across cultures, communities and religions. The organization was formed 10 years ago to foster harmony, strengthen relationships between religions and cultures, and enrich the community as a whole through various Outreach programs. It is a non-profit, non-political and non-religious organization.
Bhutada deliberately reiterated his introduction as a leader of the HSS and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an organization that inspires him, because he explained, he “wanted to have an open dialogue.” The RSS and HSS, he emphasized, are primarily involved in character building of the youth so that its members can become proud citizens of the country they live in.
Bhutada expressed his concerns about the false propaganda in sections of the media and certain politicians who have sought to separate both communities for their vested interests. He assured the gathering that “the RSS and the HSS would like communal harmony and unity amongst all religions.”
Elaborating on this point, he recalled an interview 10 years ago when RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, then General Secretary of the RSS, was staying at his house. During the course of the interview, the journalist Haider Kazim asked Mohan Bhagwat, “Sir, what do you think of minorities’ development and progress.” Without missing a beat, Mohan Bhagwat replied, “India’s development cannot be complete without the development and progress of the minorities.” As Bhutada framed it, this statement came “straight from the horse’s mouth.” He also recalled spending several hours in discussions with Mohan Bhagwat on matters of India’s national interest.
Coming to the core of his message, he continued, “We all have historical baggage – let’s acknowledge that, but we cannot look backwards. We have to look forward and that is the only way we can lead a peaceful life in this world.”
How powerful is looking forward? To explain this, Bhutada alluded to Speaker Richard McKinney’s keynote. McKinney had served in the Marines for 25 years and harbored a deep hatred for Muslims. But a chance meeting with some members of the Muslim congregation changed his life dramatically and he became a Muslim. Bhutada noted that when McKinney was looking backwards, he was stuck in the mire of hate but the day the Marine began looking forward, his anger faded and was replaced by love. Bhutada observed, “This is the same person but look as the transformation.”
Weaving one more example in his message, Bhutada spoke of another member in the audience – Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray. In 1947, Dr. Ray’s father had to flee East Pakistan, now Bangladesh and in 1971, religious violence forced his maternal grandparents to leave Bangladesh too. But Dr. Ray chose not to let these incidents dictate his life. A few weeks ago, the Consul General had “the heart and the courage” to hold an Iftar dinner at the Consulate, not because he had to as Consul General but because he wanted to. The only way, Bhutada said, we can win the hearts of people is by love and peace, cooperation and unity. That’s the only way the world can progress.
Bhutada briefly touched on his support of the Kalam Center – an NGO started by a young Muslim youth Arshad Sheikh, in the old city of Charminar, Hyderabad. Bhutada did this on a friend’s recommendation and he has been funding their programs for the past four years. Today, the Center provides vocational training to 500 young Muslim boys and girls for ages 8 and up and 70% of the beneficiaries are girls. During the day, the children attend the Madrasas and from 5-7 in the evening come to one of the 20 centers spread across the old city to acquire vocational training in subjects taught in Urdu. Bhutada urged the gathering to support these poor children and give them a chance in “becoming proud citizens of India.”
Lauding this much needed message of harmony and unity, IMAGH’s Past President Latafath Hussain, in a statement said “While we had no doubt that his presence and speech will add charchand to our Eid Milan, even we were overwhelmed when 500+ guests gave a standing ovation to his speech. He delivered it from the heart and the message of not looking back but forward was appreciated by all.”
According to Vijay Pallod, an Advisor on the Board of IMAGH, the Kalam Center Project is just one of Bhutada’s many philanthropic endeavors but Bhutada himself is extremely reticent in talking about them.
Chicago, IL: We appreciate all of you joining us to honor the memory of Vipul Ishwarlal Patel. He passed away due to savior heart attack, on Monday – May 20, 2019, at 1:00 pm in Chicago. Vipul will live forever in our hearts. May his soul rest in peace.
His funeral was well attended by community leaders, family members and friends. Hitesh Gandhi; Vice president of FIA, Lalbhai Patel; Chairman of Umiya Mataji Temple, Chandrakant Modi MD; Chairman Asian Cremation USA, Dinaben Modi, Sailash Masa, Rekha Patel, Usha Masi and Bipin Mama came from L.A. Jayshreeben and Devendra Patel joined from Chicago. Vipul had lots of friends among the photographer and videographer groups, along with Chirag Patel, Hanif, Kalpesh Gandhi, Asish Desai and Urvesh Thakkar. Nilu, Lubna [Threading Salon], Niki, Komal Jani, Manubhai Jani, Amit (Anant) Shah and Sardar Patel Group. Since, his both sons were in India, so, entire “Agni Sanskar Vidhi” was performed by Shital Patel son Devers Desai. Funeral was attended by Shobhana Patel’s coworkers and friends. Even though month of Ramadan, a lot of Muslim friends [Amrin, Noor and Ayesha], also attended the funeral. Kiran Rami and Sonal Rami contribute flowers and David Pimm donate funeral for Vipul Patel. Atul and Alka from Hare Rama and Hare Krushna participate in chanting Chapter 12 and 15 Bhagavad-Gita Adhyāya.
Vipul Patel was a simple man who loved his family and worked every day with reliability and dependably. Vipul was the prime example of accepting perplexing work that others in his profession stayed away. Vipul was successful warrior who met challenges early in life due to death of his father when he was just 11 yrs. old. He became bread winner and concurrently completed Commerce degree. Motivation and hard work with range and depth of his visionary artistic talent and amazing energy lead him to successful, a self-taught, and talented well-liked popular Photo and videographer. He was known to many members of the Health and Engineering professional groups in the Chicago community.
One example comes to my mind. One day on hot sunny humid August 15 India Independence Day on Devon Avenue in Chicago, he was assigned to the parade route to take full length video, lasting several hours. When no one else wanted such weighty task, Vipul accepted the challenge. He carried heavy video camera in poignant spectacle and produced an outstanding product. The highlight from his work was selected for broadcast watched by millions of viewers in the evening news on local TV channel.
Vipul and his wife Shobhana, has been the pillar of strength for Asian Media USA. They both burnt lots of midnight oil means long hours to keep up the professional excellence. Their dedication to raise the quality and delivery standards always moved to the higher levels for Asian Media USA. Vipul relentlessly covered numerous high-power events such as, the Governor of Illinois; and the Mayor of Chicago. He always showed great class in meeting with the elected dignitaries like City Aldermen, Senators and Congressmen. His versatility is evident from the fact that he also covered the press briefing with Honorable Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India. Being an avid sportsman himself, Vipul always took special interest in covering the community sports event like the annual meets of Punjabi Cultural Society, Palatine, Illinois. The wide variety of his professional achievements also included meticulously covering the details of visits of many cultural and movie artists from India.
Vipul, despite his chronic illness exposing him to high risk of becoming dehydrated completed his duty.
His enduring work of creating a photographic memorial will be fondly remembered by many individuals, and families. Despite his health challenges, nothing stopped him from being outwardly, polished professional, running to the event after event, from one location to another, like temples, Consulate Office, Community festivals and community mega events like “Vibrant Gujrat and BJPWorld Hindu Congress”.
He is survived by his wife Shobhana and sons Suril and Ravish. As per the Hindu religious ritual, his body was cremated on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 [12 noon] Vipul has left lasting memory in our heart.
Special messages from Shobhana Patel;
Our hear felt and thanks to all the people who attended funeral services as well as others for their prayers and who sent us massages on social media, e-mail, Text and WhatsApp
West Des Moines Police said Monday afternoon that manner of death of Chandrasekhar Sunkara is suicide while the manners of death for Lavanya Sunkara and the two boys are homicide. “West Des Moines police continue their investigation into the Sunkara family deaths on June 15th,” West Des Moines Police said in a statement. “Forensic autopsies were conducted June 16th. The State Medical Examiner’s Office has determined the causes of death for all four family members to be gunshot wounds. The manners of death for Lavanya Sunkara and the two boys are homicide. The manner of death for Chandrasekhar Sunkara is suicide.”
Officials are working with surviving family members to provide support. Investigators are continuing to review evidence and conduct interviews, police said.
Chandrasekhar Sunkara 44 years old, Lavanya Sunkara 41 years old, a 15 year old boy and a 10 year old boy were pronounced dead at the scene. All four lived in the home.
Heavy.com reported that autopsies determined that Chandra Sunkara killed his wife and two boys before shooting himself.
A family friend from the Telugu Association of North America who wished to remain anonymous told the Times of India that Chandra had been severely depressed and there may have been a family dispute troubling him.
“This tragedy will impact family, friends, co-workers, anyone that new this family” Sergeant Dan Wade said in an earlier statement. “We are continuing to work through this investigation. We will follow through until we have answered as many questions as the evidence allows. We are confident, though, that there is no continuing threat to the community.”
Police said other family members, two adults and two children, were staying as guests. When the victims were discovered, one of the survivors ran outside looking for help. He found someone walking through the neighborhood and that person called 911.
While arranged marriages remain the norm in India, they are evolving into a system of semi-arranged marriages giving women more freedom and making them less vulnerable to domestic violence, according to a UN report.
The report, “Progress of World’s Women, 2019-20: Families in a Changing World”, released on Tuesday, however, blamed economic liberalisation in India for the spread of the dowry practice to more communities and the celebration of pricy, ostentatious weddings.
The report, which dealt with several aspects of marriage, said: “The practice of arranged marriages remains commonplace”, but, “the practice, however, has evolved over time and has been partially replaced by semi-arranged marriages, particularly in urban areas”.
In semi-arranged marriages, “families are involved in suggesting potential matches, but women choose whether to marry and who to partner with” in contrast to the traditional parent-arranged marriages where women often have little say and meet the groom only on the wedding day, the report said.
“Women in semi- and self-arranged marriages are three times as likely as those in family-arranged marriages to exercise agency on key areas of decision-making – including on expenditures, when to have children (and how many) and contraception – and twice as likely to be able to visit friends and relatives unescorted”.
“Those in semi-arranged marriages are also less likely to experience marital violence compared to those in traditional parent-arranged marriages”, it added.
The report was prepared by UN Women, the world body’s group for gender equality and empowerment of women. Releasing the report, its Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said that there was a concerted effort to deny women their rights “in the name of protecting ‘family values’”.
But, she said: “This report counters that pushback by showing that families, in all their diversity, can be critical drivers of gender equality, provided decision-makers deliver policies rooted in the reality of how people live today, with women’s rights at their core.”
The report said that despite feminist campaigns and legal prohibition, the practice of dowry was spreading.
“Dowry has shifted from a signifier of marriage to a central condition for a daughter’s eligibility”, the report said. “Gifts that were once voluntary and/or nominal have become compulsory and have spiralled up in value”.
“Economic liberalisation and commercialisation have contributed to the spread of the practice from upper- to middle- and lower-caste Hindus, as well as to Christians, Muslims and tribal groups,” the report asserted.
Dowry practice also leads to violence and “husbands are the most common perpetrators and mothers-in-law are often implicated”, the report said.
“The status and economic position of families are linked with weddings as a public display of wealth”, it added.
It noted that there were differences in the status of women in the South and North of India. The area that includes India follows a patriarchal family system, but “a somewhat different and less rigid set of gender relations characterises the kinship systems in South India and South-Eastern Asia”, the report said.
In families in the South, the report said that “a greater degree of public mobility is allowed for women. This translates into women’s higher rates of employment, whether in agriculture, marketing or manufacturing, and greater responsibility for managing their household’s finances”.
In these areas women have some rights of inheritance, greater flexibility in where they live and to continue their interaction with their own relatives.
The number of divorces has doubled over the past two decades, although it is still minuscule with only 1.1 per cent of women divorced and most of them in the urban areas.
It noted that “the right to maintenance is weakly enforced” and divorced women are dependent on their parents, brothers or other relatives. (IANS)
When 260 women get together, what can be better than getting inspired, enjoying shared laughter over common experiences, shopping to support emerging women entrepreneurs – and at the same time helping the girl child to get a great education?
All this happened on May 8, 2019 at the much anticipated Children’s Hope India Spring Luncheon at the Carltun in Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, Long Island. This multi-faceted event raised $50,000 for the education and vocational training of girls in India and the New York Metropolitan area, according to a press release.
This pre-Mother’s Day luncheon brought in two generations of Indian-American women to support the cause of education. The guests included Laura Curran, Nassau County Executive and Taruna Chakravorty, wife of the Consul General of India.
Moneesha Sani, emcee of the evening as well as a member of the luncheon committee spoke eloquently about the work of Children’s Hope India and pointed out that over the past 27 years CHI has sponsored more than 20 projects and has helped over 300,000 women and children in India and the US.
A highlight of the spring luncheon is the Woman of Distinction Award, given to a woman who has managed to balance the challenges of the workplace, home and social responsibility. The 2019 Woman of Distinction is Jaishri Kapoor, Vice Chair of the board of trustees of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and supporter of many iconic arts organizations.
In her inspiring talk she spoke about how she had always wanted a career in the arts and has continued to follow her passion by supporting iconic institutions and also young people to achieve their dreams in the arts. She said, “Each of these projects brings me closer to America and yet makes my bond with India that much deeper!” She looks forward to bringing performance arts to the CHI projects in India, and said, “I applaud Children’s Hope for the work they are doing for girls in India and I salute you for using the performing arts to do so.”
Guests at the Luncheon also got more than they bargained for – a barrelful of laughs, thanks to Zarna Garg who was the reason for smiles with her unique standup comedy routine which is very different from that of other comics. Known as funnybrownwoman, Garg is a wife, mother of three kids, a lawyer and a businesswoman, and her comedy touches upon everything from immigrant life to Indian food.
The spring luncheon was spearheaded by CHI board member Kavita Lund, and organized by the CHI benefit committee comprising of Babita Advani, Milan Devjani, Aarti Kamat, Moneesha Sani and Madhulika Shroff. It was coordinated wonderfully by Jharna Jaisinghani of Artistic Affairs, and DJ Sharad provided the fun music for this lively event. Simran Khiantani and Sunita Sadhnani contributed to creating the spring like atmosphere at the luncheon.
The CHI luncheon is always a big supporter of desi women entrepreneurs and this year there was an exciting marketplace of jewelry, shawls, candles, essential oils, chocolates and clothing from many creative and enterprising women, with a percentage going to CHI. These innovative businesses included ReeMat, Dhashi, Artistic Affairs, Kaia- Jewelry from the Heart, Shawlux, Saj Creations, Bija Essence, Manu Cashmere and Argento Silver Styles Inc.
Vikas Kapoor donated for performance art at CHI schools in honor of his wife, Jaishri Kapoor, CHI’s Woman of Distinction. Sponsors for the meet included Knights of York, Sani Family Foundation, Seema Advani and Rita Patel.
Pierce Country Day Camp came in as a supporter of CHI and reached out to the Indian community about its state-of-the-art summer day camps for children in Long Island.
Between photo opps, the shopping, the cocktails in the outdoors, networking with friends and learning about the work that children’s Hope India does, the afternoon raised $ 50,000 for the girl child’s health and education.
The Children’s Hope India Luncheon is now in its 11th year. The CHI Girls High School is set up to educate up to 800 girls from the surrounding villages and slums of Bhopal.
Twenty girls from Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi are pursuing higher education in various colleges and technical institutes through the CHI Tandon scholarship program. Each girl was the first member of the family to even finish high school. Now their dreams of becoming financially independent engineers, doctors, business women and computer analysts are well on the way to becoming reality, said the release.
More than two decades ago, Children’s Hope India started as a small group of women professionals hoping to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children. Now in 2018, Children’s Hope India has over 22 projects across several cities in India and the New York Metropolitan Area, and has impacted over 250,000 children by looking after their health, education and vocational training.
The focus of Children’s Hope India (www.childrenshopeindia.org) is the ‘whole’ child and providing all the tools a child needs to progress from poverty to prosperity with a cradle to career approach.
Indian Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty and Deputy Consul General Shatrugna Sinha were hosted by the Connecticut chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT) last month in Stamford and Norwalk, Connecticut. Arriving at 2.30 p.m.. Consul General Chakravorty called on to Stamford Mayor David Martin at the Govt. Center in Stamford, along with GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat, Past Presidents Shailesh Naik and Shelly Nichani and Treasurer Biru Sharma. Later in the afternoon, both called on to Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling along with GOPIO-CT officials and Norwalk’s Indian community leaders including Raj Misra and Anna Duleep as well as representatives of Norwalk’s Sikh Gurudwara.
The discussions were very cordial with both mayors and there were agreements on many new initiatives. Consul General Chakravorty very graciously offered to send various artists and performers from India visiting the USA to come and do shows in both the cities Stamford and Norwalk. Both the Mayors offered full help and cooperation to facilitate such performances. Both mayors and the Consul General are interested in student exchange programs and the Consul General will further work in the same.
Most importantly the Consul General made an offer to the Norwalk Mayor Rilling and the Sikh community to hold a grand 550th Anniversary of Guru Nanakji’s birth anniversary. He will contact some eminent academician to come and give a talk on the life of the Guru. This was a major accomplishment and a tribute to our Sikh community. Mayor Rilling offered his full support. GOPIO-CT also proposed an India section at the Norwalk public Library which Mayor Rilling agreed and the Consul General has offered to provide books.
On the economic front, both mayors would like to invite Indian companies to consider Stamford and Norwalk to open their US destination. In this regard, Stamford Mayor Martin will take assistance from the Indian Consulate to invite Indian companies to business expo and investment seminars in Stamford. GOPIO-CT will facilitate such efforts.
Consul General Chakravorty also had a very good discussion with Congressman Jim Himes who is a leading member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman Himes is very supportive of India’s interests and values.
CG Chakravorty also had a very informative discussion with Connecticut State Senator Bob Duff, the Majority Leader in Conn. Senate.
n the evening a reception was held at Hampton Inn for the many leaders of Indian diaspora in Connecticut to meet and greet Consul General Chakravorty and Deputy Consul General Sinha. GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat welcomed the guests. GOPIO-CT Treasurer Biru Sharma moderated the session. Connecticut House Representative Matt Blumenthal, who represents Stamford, also joined the dinner meeting. Rep. Blumenthal was very appreciative of the contribution by the Indian American community in Connecticut.
Consul General Chakravorty gave a very descriptive talk on the election in India and how the country is a well-established democracy. A Q&A session followed where the participants asked questions and expressed their concerns.
A donation of $2000 was made to Future 5, an organization in Stamford that takes underprivileged students from local high schools and tutor them in the hours after school.
(Chicago, IL: June 17th, 2019) “For the 1st time ever, AAPI will organize the popular Jeopardy-type Med-Quiz for the Medical students from all the Medical Colleges from the state of Telangana during the 13th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad, India in July 19th to 21st, 2019,” Dr. Suresh Reddy, President-Elect of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), announced here today.
“The essence of AAPI is educational,” Dr. Reddy, while describing the purpose of the Med-Quiz, said. “That translates into numerous programs that AAPI has planned to motivate med students, physicians, academicians and researchers to excel and master their areas of work.”
The semi-final and the Final stages of the Med-Quiz will be held during the GHS 2019 in Hyderabad, said Dr. Suresh Reddy, who had envisaged and planned this firs ever event, encouraging the medical students to be part of the Global Healthcare Summit, and providing them with valuable opportunities for interacting with world renowned medical professionals from across the world. The winners will be awarded citations and cash prizes by AAPI and local organizers.
Dr. Seema Arora, the Chairman-Elect of AAPI, BOT, said, “We flew away from India decades ago. However, our hearts are still in India.” He said, GHS 2019 will focus on several relevant issues to serve the many healthcare needs and delivery of healthcare in India. For the first time, AAPI will organize Medical Jeopardy with cash prizes to winners, she said. She praised the local community and organizers for their enthusiastic support.
Dr. Sanku Rao, a past President of AAPI highlighted the 37 year old history of AAPI and the evolution of GHS.in the past dozen years and the many accomplishments/contributions in the delivery of healthcare in US and in India. AAPI is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States, and has been in existence for nearly four decades. The Association has almost 130 local chapters, specialty societies and alumni organizations under its purview, and represents the interests of over 70,000 physicians and 15,000 medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States, Dr. Rao said.
Dr. Dwaraknatha Reddy, Convener of the Summit, said, “It’s a well known fact that physicians of Indian origin excel in their respective areas of work and continue to play key roles in patient care, administration, academics and medical research in their adopted land, the United State. In order to cater to its diversity of medical specialties, AAPI continues to use a multi-disciplinary conference format.”
Sreeni Gangasani. Chair of AAPI GHS, said, “Packed with strategic planning sessions such as the much anticipated CEO Forum, Women’s Forum, Launching of Free Health Clinic, First Responders Training, CMEs, promote Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine Education, Research Contest, Medical Quiz, Fashion Show, Cultural Events, pre and post visits for delegates, the GHS 2019 is expected to be one with the greatest impact and significant contributions towards harnessing the power of international Indian diaspora to bring the most innovative, efficient, cost effective healthcare solutions to India.
“The purpose of the Med-Quiz is to foster curiosity, enhance knowledge and understanding of the medical students,” Dr. Sudhakar Jonnalagadda, Vice-President 2018-19, said. “Competing at a global level and being recognized by an international organization such as AAPI, will instill confidence in aspiring young physicians and will help exposing them to Western ways of learning and mastering their areas of study,”
Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, AAPI’s Secretary 2018-19, said, “Through Continuing Medical Education and non-CME seminars by experts in their fields, AAPI will provide comprehensive and current reviews and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states to reduce morbidity and mortality and achieve cost effective quality care outcomes. At the end of the activity, it is expected that attendees will gain an understanding of the causation, diagnosis and the best clinical practices for the management of the diverse group of diseases discussed during this program.”
Dr. Ravi Koli, Secretary-Elect AAPI has capped the voluminous achievements of the past 37 years with a clear vision to move forward taking this noble organization and its vision for better healthcare to newer heights,” he said. He said, under his leadership, the 14th edition of GHS 2020 will be held in Visakhapatnam in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
According to Dr. Ranga Reddy, “One in seven Americans is touched by a physician of Indian origin. There is an equally large percentage of medical residents, fellows and students in the USA serving millions of Americans. AAPI’s GHS has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world-renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine.”
Describing the process for the Med-Quiz, Dr. Raghu Lolabhattu, Co-Chair, Global Health Summit 2019, said, “Each Medical School will choose and send 5 medical students, representing each year of Medical school study. These students will compete with students from other med schools from the state of Telengana. The winners at the Preliminary Rounds will compete at the Global Healthcare Summit.”
Dr. Satish Kathula, referred to the highly impactful ADOPT A VILLAGE Program, spearheaded by Dr. Jagan Ailinani, a past President of AAPI, and Dr. Alok Aggarwal, who has adopted a village in the state of Telangana as examples of the good work done by AAPI. He said, AAPI provides a platform for many individuals who want to give back to their motherland.
Dr. Manoj Jain, Chair and spearheading the TB-Free India Movement, referred to AAPI’s collaborative efforts with several non-governmental organizations and the USAID, with a commitment to strengthen its initiatives to “make every city, ever district, every village in India TB free.”
AAPI has made significant contributions towards addressing several issues affecting the healthcare system in India, AAPI has addressed the issue of Traumatic Brain Injury – the scourge of young India, and helped with the development of management guidelines thereby helping prevent deaths due to road traffic accidents, raising the importance and awareness on smoking cessation, Adopt a Village program and taking the initiatives to make quality healthcare accessible universally to village and taluka and district levels, and most recently a strong collaborative on making India TB Free with the signing of a MOU with USAID. Ten city pilots are well under way and significant progress is being made.
Dr. Suresh Reddy, Chair, Global Health Summit 2019, urged all AAPI leaders, local organizers and sponsors to fully participate in order to make the next edition of AAPI’s Global Healthcare a more effective one, serving the many healthcare needs of our mother India. Dr. Reddy, who will assume charge as the President of AAPI in July this year at the convention in Atlanta, USA, said,
“The GHS 2019, planned to be organized by AAPI in collaboration with BAPIO & GAPIO, as well as Host Alumni Chapters, including OGKTMA, ATMGUSA, KAMCOSA, and GMCGA, will focus on preventive health, targeting Rural Health, Women’s Health, and providing special CPR Trainings, that will equip First Responders to help save life.”
Representing the interests of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, leaders of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic organization of physicians, for 37 years. For more details, please visit: https://ghs2019.aapisummit.org/www.aapiusa.org
The 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) was celebrated on Sunday, 16 June 2019 at the iconic Washington Monument in Washington DC.
An unprecedented number of yoga enthusiasts of all ages and from every walk of life took part in the event, including representatives from the White House, US Department of State and other Government agencies, prominent members of the diplomatic community including Ambassadors of Nepal, Mauritius and Myanmar, members of international financial institutions including the World Bank and IMF, cultural and academic institutions, think-tanks, media and the Indian diaspora.
Welcoming the participants to the Yoga Day celebrations, Indian Ambassador Harsh Vardhan Shringla noted that yoga has been widely adopted by people all over the world, transcending linguistic and cultural boundaries, and has millions of practitioners in USA. He said that yoga promotes a message of peace and harmony between the spiritual and temporal aspects of the world, making them philosophically a part of India’s civilizational ethos, echoed in the phrase, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” meaning, “the World is One Family”.
A guided yoga session based on the Common Yoga Protocol was performed by the participants. The session was led by Dr. Moxraj, Teacher of Indian Culture at the Embassy of India, along with other yoga volunteers. In the run up to this year’s IDY, the Embassy had organized several curtain-raiser events in collaboration with yoga organizations and yoga studios at several places in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Washington DC, resulting in a record turnout for the Yoga Day celebrations.
Events to commemorate the International Day of Yoga were also held across USA including in the major cities of New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston and Chicago, where thousands of yoga enthusiasts participated in the events.
Following the IDY event in Washington DC, an Indian Vegetarian Food Festival was organized at the Freer│Sackler, the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian Art, located on the National Mall to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Food connoisseurs in large numbers participated in the vegetarian food festival and savored delicacies from various regions of India. The festival also featured several cultural performances by talented local artists.
Five Conference Sessions Discussed Strengthening Global Connections of Indian Diaspora GOPIO held its annual convention in conjunction with Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas on Jan 19th-to 21st 2019 at the Taj Gateway Hotel in Varanasi. Five conference sessions were as part of the convention. It was headed and coordinated by Dr. Asha Samant from USA who is GOPIO’s International Coordinator-at-Large.
The signature event of the convention was the Finale Awards Banquet on Jan. 20th evening. The chief guest was Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. V.K. Singh. The Guest of Honor was Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam. GOPIO inducted two PIO political leaders who have participated and helped in GOPIO activities in the past to its Honor Roll. They were New Zealand Member of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi and South Africa Member of the Parliament Aumsensingh (Omie) Singh.
GOPIO honored those who have done outstanding service to the community and society -at-large with Community Service Awards at the Final Banquet. This year’s awardees are: Veena Khosla from France, Parsram Punj from Australia, Dr. Indrani Rampersad from Trinidad, K.V. Shamsudheen – Sharjah, UAE and Dr. Deepak Kant Vyas – Saint Louis, USA. GOPIO also presented special awards to GOPIO Associate Secretary and community volunteer Jaswant Mody from the US and Confluence Founder Smita Srivastav from New Delhi, India. A fantastic entertainment was organized by Smita Srivastava of Confluence after the Awards Banquet.
The convention was inaugurated on May 19th evening at the Taj Gateway Hotel. Following the inauguration, GOPIO delegates were hosted with a warm Varanasi reception organized by the local committee consisting of Dr. Markanday Rai, Mr. Satish Rai and Mr. Madan Mohan Upadhyay. The event was held at the Meridian Hotel and sponsored by Rotarian Dr. Karma Raj Singh of Omega Plus Hospital in Varanasi.
Three conference sessions were conducted on Jan. 20th. First session on, Strengthening India’s Relations with Global Community through Indian Diaspora was chaired by GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham. In his Keynote Address, Aumsen (Omie) Singh, Member of Parliament from South Africa was enlightened the audience the campaign against Apartheid and launching of non-violent movement by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa. Later participating speakers presented their opinions on the topic. The speakers were Ms.Purnima Voria, Chair, National India USA Chamber of Commerce, USA, Dr. Markandey Rai, Chancellor, GTAMSU, Senior Advisor UN Habitat Delhil Mr. Nirmal Sinha, GOPIO Founding Member and FIA Columbus, Ohio and Recipient Civil Rights Hall of Fame, State of Ohio in USA. Ms Pooja Thomre, Board Member, National FIA served as Resource person and concluded the session summarizing various statements of speakers.
The session on Opportunities, Development, Business and investment in India and UP was Chaired by Harbachan Singh, GOPIO Intl. Coordinator for North America, New York, USA with panelist team of Manohar Jetley, MLC, Lucknow, UP; Chandran Pillai, Managing Director, Bit technology Singapore; ,Parsram Punj, Parsram Foods Pty Ltd Australia and Radha Krishnan, GOPIO Life Member from Detroit, USA as Resource Person.
Three sessions were presented on concluding day.FRANCOPHONE SESSION by Mehen Poinosawmy, GOPIO Intl. Coordinator for Europe, Paris, France was enlightening and provided a lot of information what was being going on in France and how the community is facing. Speakers/Panelists: Jean Regis Ramsamy, Co-Chair, Media Council, Reunion Island and Vikas Talwar, President of GOPIO France who explained their opinions of the situation. Ms. Charlotte Gressier, French Caribbean Island presented a research paper in depth. Resource Person. Jagdish Lodhia, GOPIO Intl. Coordinator for Oceania summarized the session
A session on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Investment and Start Up India was chaired by Kurian Abraham, GOPIO International Coordinator for South Asia, Kochi, India. Speakers/Panelists included Navin Pathak, Partner, Entry India, LLC, New Jersey, USA; K.V. Shamshudeen, Chairman, Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, Sharjah, UAE; Prof. H. A. Pandya, Vice Chancellor Gujarat University. Ahmedabad, India; Achal Mehra, Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India and Prof. G. Gopal Reddy, Member, University Grants Commission, New Delhi.
Empowering Indian and Diaspora Women was the last Session Chaired by energetic Speakers/Panelists: Mini Guleria, Co-Chair, GOPIO Media Council, Tarzana, California, USA Not to flatter but all the three speakers were amazing. Rini Johar, President, GOPIO-Redwood City/San Francisco, CA, USA spoke pm a handful of activities carrying alone with full commitments. Anju Garg, President, GOPIO-Los Angles, California, USA shared the health-related activities which were being carried by the chapter. Aparna Hande’s presentation was very impressive and full of her dedicated commitment.
After all the sessions, several resolutions were passed to be presented to GOPIO Executive Council for further action. President Ram Nath Kovind delivered the Valedictory Address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi on January 23rd. GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham and President Sunny Kulathakal called on the President. Dr. Abraham briefed him about GOPIO and some of the Diaspora issues as well as how the Diaspora can be mobilized for India’s benefit. Dr. Abraham and Mr Kulathakal presented President Kovind a copy of the book, Global Indian Diaspora – GOPIO Making an Impact.
Naperville, IL: On June 8, 2019 the National Council of Asian Indian Associations, Inc. (NCAIA) Chicago Chapter held its inaugural program to bring together over 45 active Indian American Community Service Organizations under one roof at the Northern Illinois University Campus in Naperville, Illinois. In the program 23 Organizations shared their mission and key accomplishments from various sectors such as Healthcare, Senior Welfare, Water & Environment, Education, Multiple Services, Peace Initiatives & International Relations, and Special Services benefiting millions of people in both US and India.
Indian Consul General, Hon. Shri Sudhakar Dalela, was the Chief Guest and Congressman from the 8th District of Illinois, Hon. Raja Krishnamoorthi, was the Guest of Honor at the program. The Program was sponsored by the Dean, College of Business of Northern Illinois University, Dr. Balaji Rajagopalan. There were around 180 people in attendance including youth. The Organizing Committee members included Harish Kolasani, Dr. Paul Prabhaker, and Dr. Manu Vora.
The National President of NCAIA Mr. Harish Kolasani spoke about NCAIA’s history and played a video of National board members from Washington D.C. they explained the mission and vision of their prestigious organization who hosted the community programs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many Central Ministers and the Indian Ambassadors while working closely with the Indian Embassy as an Umbrella Organization based in Washington D.C. Now, Harish Kolasani’s focused mission is to empower Indian community by promoting the effective community organizations, community leaders and any Indian-American who made or are making positive impact in the community.
Consul General Dalela mentioned about his experience with NCAIA in Washington D.C. and his connection with the Chairman Dr. Har Swarup Singh who was a former Indian Ambassador and congratulated the newly elected President Mr. Harish Kolasani. He also appreciated Harish Kolasani for the step he took to promote the organizations who are directly serving Indian community which will create motivation to all organizations to give effective services and also educate the community with the available free services from Indian organizations.
Raja Krishnamurthy in his statement praised NCAIA for bringing 47 organizations and the vibrant audience under one roof.
After the presentations session, Consul General Dalela praised NCAIA team for conducting this effective program by creating the awareness of the important services rendered by Indian organizations which is very well received by all the community leaders.
Harish Kolasani thanked Dr Manu Vora for working behind the scene and conducting the program very professionally. Also, the NCAIA team and the community leaders who presented their work have sincerely thanked all the media supported this program with great photography and videography without any charge by showing their support to the community.
There are a lot of misconceptions around seniors and technology. There’s a general perception that the elderly are complete technophobes. We’ve all seen, and no doubt chuckled at all the funny memes out there or the jokes like the one where grandpa uses correction fluid on the screen to correct an error.
But let’s take a step back for a moment. It might make for a fun meme to share with your friends, but is this perception of the elderly correct? Not if you take a closer look at the elderly internet usage statistics. You’ll see that this is far from the truth.
In the following infographic about The Elderly & The World Wide Web, we’ll show you the facts. You’ll learn how the elderly really feel about the web and other tech. We’ll look at how they use the net, what type of information they access, and a whole lot more besides. As you’ll see, there are a lot of benefits of seniors using technology and the seniors themselves would be the first to acknowledge that. For more details, please visit: https://medalerthelp.org/elderly-the-world-wide-web-infographic/
The Bee kicked off Tuesday, May 28th with its biggest field ever, and the co-champions bested 557 other contestants ranging in age from 7 to 14 in Thursday night’s prime-time finals. The result was the first time more than two co-champions were named, with winners from five different states.
Seven Indian-origin kids, along with an American, were declared co-champions of the US National Spelling Bee after the tie among the eight couldn’t be broken even after 20 rounds of the finals.
The unprecedented decision to declare eight co-champions was taken Thursday night after the organisers ran out of their selection of difficult words to challenge them further.
The 10-year monopoly of Indian-origin children was finally broken with a non-Indian girl from Alabama, Erin Howard, becoming a co-champion.
They are: Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of California; Erin Howard, 14, of Alabama; Saketh Sundar, 13, of Maryland; Shruthika Padhy, 13, of New Jersey; Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Texas; Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Texas; Christopher Serrao, 13, of New Jersey and Rohan Raja, 13, of Texas.
The eight champions were more than great spellers – they were the best. Each will receive the $50,000 prize that is usually reserved for just one champion. After the Bee, the winners said they were pulling for each other in the final round, spelling each word silently from their seats at the side of the stage.
“It feels amazing that I’m here with all these amazing spellers,” Abhijay said after the Bee. ” I’m speechless.”
With each correct response in the 20th and final round, a roar went up from the audience. When the last of the eight surviving finalists, Rohan Raja, spelled his word correctly to assure that all eight were winners, the ballroom shook and confetti rained down on the stage.
“We will soon run out of words that will possibly challenge you,” Jacques Bailly, the Bee’s longtime official pronouncer, said at the end of the 17th round, calling the eight winners “the most phenomenal assemblage of spellers in the history of this storied competition.”
The 94-year-old competition has become increasingly competitive, with contestants training with coaches and some parents paying to bypass the traditional path to qualify for the annual contest, which takes place at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland.
In the past only two co-winners were declared – most recently Indians in 2014, 2015 and 2016 – making the eight this year a record. The national level contest held in a Washington suburb is broadcast nationally on the sports channel ESPN, giving it the aura of a major sports event and a big audience. The contest is sponsored by the media company, EW Scripps.
The groundbreaking finals capped a day of intense competition that began at 10 a.m. with the field of 50 spellers meant to be narrowed to about a dozen finalists by 2 p.m. In a sign of what was to come, the contestants proved more resilient than ever before.
By 3 p.m., the Bee’s organizers resorted to what Shalini Shankar, a professor at Northwestern University, called a “lawn mower” round of extremely hard words intended to winnow the remaining field. It worked, with spellers knocked out by head-spinning words such as Wundtian, coelogyne and yertchuk. Yet other spellers vanquished the likes of huiscoyol, bremsstrahlung and ferraiolone to advance to the finals.
The day’s high drama mirrored the most nerve-racking moments in sports, a point underscored by a video on ESPN’s big screen that juxtaposed Colette Giezentanner successfully inching her way through the word “choledoch” with Kawhi Leonard’s four-bounce game-winner against the Sixers in the NBA playoffs. When the judge uttered “correct,” the audience erupted in cheers.
Much has changed since Bailly himself won the Bee in 1980. The winning words from that bygone era – croissant in 1970, incisor in 1975, luge in 1984 – would make today’s finalists laugh.
Ansun Sujoe, a 2014 co-champion whose sister Hephzibah reached this year’s finals, said that just five years later, he barely recognizes the event. “What I went through at this phase was two rounds and it lasted less than two hours,” he said. “This lasted five hours. It tells you how much smarter these kids are. My sister knew way more words than I do, and I was like, ‘Wow, good job!’”
Experts say many of the contestants who made it to the final 50 have personal coaches and spent practically every waking hour studying in preparation for this moment. The result is an unprecedented field of master spellers.
Another game-changing development is the new invitational program known as “RSVBee,” now in its second year. In the past, spellers reached the national event only by winning a regional bee and securing a sponsor, often a newspaper, to cover expenses. But with the advent of RSVBee, which supplied 292 of this year’s 565 contestants, families who can afford a $1,500 entry fee – plus six nights at the $300-a-night Gaylord and other expenses – can bypass the traditional path to the Bee.
“It’s made the field balloon in an unprecedented way,” said Shankar, who is also the author of “Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal About Generation Z’s New Path to Success,” adding that the pay-to-play model may “change the character of the Bee and who gets here.” But she noted that even the kids who compete under the aegis of a sponsor typically have the help of a paid coach, “so it’s rare that you see someone of really humble means making it here anymore.”
Scott Remer, a New York-based tutor and author of a spelling bee textbook, coaches three of the 16 finalists. He said winning the Bee takes more than rote memorization. His students study word roots and how to spell sounds in Latin, Greek, German, Japanese and several other languages.
“A good speller knows a lot of words,” Remer said. “A great speller is able to spell pretty much any word that you throw at them because they’re able to use this process to break the word down and come up with a very well-educated guess.”
The Spelling Bee opens in school and the winners go on to contests at the next levels and those champions go to the national competition, along with some who meet other criterion for selection. The Spelling Bee is open to students in eighth grade and below.
In addition to children from all the 50 US states, students also participate from the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea.
Atlanta, GA: Shankar Mahadevan, the popular award winning Bollywood playback singer is all set to take the delegates by storm during the 37th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly to be held from July 3rd to July 7th, 2019 at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI) announced here. Shankar Mahadevan and his troupe will perform live at the much anticipated AAPI’s annual convention enthralling over 2,000 delegates from across the nation, who are expected to attend the Convention.
“AAPI’s Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin,” said Dr. Parikh. “Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year.”
An accomplished musician in Bollywood world, Shankar is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that provides music to Bollywood films. Though a software engineer by profession and having worked with Oracle Corporation, Shankar’s interest in music made him venture into the field of music. He got his first award as a playback singer in Chennai film music, collaborating with A. R. Rahman and winning a National Film Award for his song in Kandukondain Kandukondain. Since then, he has given hundreds of enchanting numbers to the Bollywood world. The grand finale of the AAPI convention will be by Shankar Mahadevan and his team, who will take the audience to the memory line of Bollywood music on the final night, before a packed audience.
Dr. Naresh Parikh, who assumed charge of this premier ethnic organization representing 100,000 physicians and residents a year ago, gave credit to the support of AAPI executive committee, hard work of local Chapter members, and the organizing committee chaired by Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Chairman of the Convention. “Credit for the success of the Convention goes to the entire national organizing committee, AAPI executive committee, and Board of Trustees and all the AAPI members,” he said.
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s Atlanta Chapter. In addition to offering over 12 hours of cutting edge CMEs to the physicians, CEOs Forum, fabulous entertainment, and women’s leadership forum. The convention will be addressed by senior world leaders, including US Senators, Presidential candidates, Nobel Lauretes, Governors, Congressmen, and celebrities from the Hollywood and Bollywood world.
Dr. Sreeni Gangasan says, “This convention has been always one of the much awaited events of the year, there will be an Educational session with CME by world renowned faculty, full entertainment by Bollywood celebrates, Women’s Forum, CEOs Forum, Obesity Awareness Walk, many religious/cultural Activates and many more.”
Founded in 1982, the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin representing a conglomeration of more than 80,000 practicing physicians in the United States, is the largest ethnic organization of physicians. In addition, it also serves as a platform for more than 40,000 medical students, residents and fellows of Indian origin in this country. The AAPI YPS/MSRF (Young Physicians Section/Medical Students’ and Residents’ Forum) runs under the main AAPI umbrella to give representation to them. 1 in every 7 people in the USA is touched by the care of a physician of Indian origin at any given time.
For 37 years, AAPI Convention has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine. “Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country and internationally will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!” said Dr. Naresh Parikh. For more details, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: www.aapiconvention.org and www.aapiusa.org
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory in the world’s largest election as voters endorsed his vision of a muscular, assertive and stridently Hindu India. The election results represent a stunning mandate for Modi and his new Team of Ministers, who are entrusted with the task of leading the nation in the next five years.
Modi, a charismatic and polarizing politician who towers over his rivals, led the BJP to a stunning and historic victory in the Lok Sabha battle, with the ruling party itself winning 303 seats in a marked improvement over its 2014 showing that left the Opposition dazed and demoralized.
For the second successive Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has managed to cross the halfway mark of 272 seats — where it had won 282 seats in 2014, this time, it won 21 more seats to finish with 303 seats. The BJP-led NDA won 348 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats where polling took place in a seven-phase election. The development sent the Sensex breaching the 40,000-mark as India Inc celebrated.
No Indian prime minister has returned to power with a similarly large mandate in nearly five decades. Modi’s win is a victory for a form of religious nationalism that views India as a fundamentally Hindu nation and seeks to jettison the secularism promoted by the country’s founders. While India is roughly 80 percent Hindu, it is also home to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and other religious communities.
Modi first swept to power five years ago on a desire for change and the belief that he would transform this country of more than 1.3 billion people, unshackling the economy and creating millions of jobs. Unemployment has risen to a 45-year high and there are worrisome signals that Indian consumers are buying less, slowing the broader economy.
Such expectations remain unfulfilled, but in this election, Modi pushed a message of nationalist pride and told voters he was the only candidate who would safeguard the country’s security and combat terrorism.
Nearly 900 million people were eligible to vote in the six-week long election. The election results represent a tectonic shift that cements the BJP’s dominance of Indian politics under Modi’s leadership. “Something fundamentally has shifted” with this vote, said Milan Vaishnav, who heads the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The BJP “has emerged as the hegemonic force in Indian politics.”
The Indian National Congress, the country’s main opposition party, had a disastrous showing for a once-mighty political force that governed India for most of its post-independence history. Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi clan, failed to find a strategy to counter Modi’s appeal. Gandhi was unable to retain his own seat in the Congress stronghold of Amethi.
Gandhi, the Congress party leader, tried to dent Modi’s dominance. He attacked Modi for threatening the secularism promoted by the country’s founders and for failing to create jobs for millions of young people or to help struggling farmers.
Modi struck back, calling Gandhi the scion of a corrupt dynasty. Gandhi’s father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as prime ministers of India (the family is not related to independence leader Mohandas Gandhi).
The opposition had “neither a program, nor a leader, nor a narrative,” Pavan Varma, a spokesman for a regional party aligned with the BJP, told the Indian television channel NDTV. The BJP, meanwhile, had Modi as a candidate and a potent election machine, he said. It also had more money than any other party in the race by several orders of magnitude.
Modi’s supporters exulted at the outcome. “It’s nothing short of a landslide,” wrote Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on Twitter, calling the result a political tsunami that had swept the country. Indians have “voted for a clear, unambiguous choice,” he wrote. Several world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese President Xi Jinping, congratulated Modi on his victory as votes were still being counted.
While Modi focused the election debate on national security – particularly after a terrorist attack in February in Kashmir – the next government’s major challenges promise to be economic. Bread-and-butter issues “got very little time and space” in this election, said Puja Mehra, the author of a new book on the Indian economy. Modi was “able to sway voter attention [away] from the economic hardships they faced” and toward issues central to his campaign, such as national security, religion and the importance of strong leadership.
Modi also benefited from considerable popularity among voters, many of whom view him as a corruption-free politician. The son of a tea seller, Modi comes from humble roots and rose through the ranks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a group that seeks to make India a “Hindu nation.”
As chief minister of the state of Gujarat, Modi modernized infrastructure and successfully courted investment by domestic and foreign businesses. In 2002, he presided over the country’s worst communal violence in decades, when more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed by Hindu mobs. Members of his own party wanted him to resign.
Since Modi became prime minister in 2014, reports of violence by Hindu extremists have increased, including lynchings in the name of protecting cows, which some Hindus consider sacred. Some Muslims say they are increasingly fearful about the country’s direction. In the election campaign, senior BJP leaders engaged in anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Modi’s decisive mandate means that India will move further toward becoming a majoritarian democracy, said Suhas Palshikar, a political scientist and columnist. “It is not so much that the formal institutional structure will change,” he said. “What will change are the social and cultural values in the society.” Religious minorities will be “reduced to secondary citizens” while Hindu nationalists “have free play.”
Two months before voting began, a suicide bomber killed 40 security Indian security forces in the disputed region of Kashmir. Modi launched a retaliatory airstrike on an alleged terrorist training camp within Pakistan, an unprecedented step for India.
There is no proof the strikes killed any militants. In the confrontation that followed, an Indian pilot was captured by Pakistan and six Indian soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash now believed to be a case of friendly fire. But on the campaign trail, Modi repeatedly cited the strikes as proof of his government’s unique ability to combat terrorism and his toughness in matters of national security.
After the official campaigning period ended, Modi went to a Hindu pilgrimage site high in Himalayan mountains where he prayed and mediated overnight in a cave, an exercise in piety broadcast across the nation.
India eased to a 95-run victory over Bangladesh in their final World Cup warm-up match on Tuesday after centuries from Lokesh Rahul and Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped them post a mammoth total of 359.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field first but, despite removing openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma cheaply, they failed to take advantage of bowler-friendly conditions in the morning session in Cardiff.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli scored 47 off 46 balls with five boundaries before Rahul and Dhoni added 164 runs in a fifth-wicket stand.
The partnership came to an end with the dismissal of Rahul, who finished with 108 off 99 balls with 12 fours and four sixes.
Rahul made the squad as a back-up opener but he is also competing for the number four spot alongside all-rounder Vijay Shankar and wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik.
“The biggest positive from today was the way KL batted at number four,” Kohli said. “He is such a class player.”
Former captain Dhoni reached his century off 73 balls and went on to score 113 before losing his wicket to left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan in the final over.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya made a 21-run cameo to take the total to 359-7.
Bangladesh openers Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar made a steady start to the run chase before they were rattled by Jasprit Bumrah’s double strike in the 10th over. Sarkar was caught behind for 25 and Shakib perished to a perfect yorker for a first-ball duck.
Das (73) and Mushfiqur Rahim (90) offered some resistance with a 120-run partnership for the third wicket but they failed to step up the scoring rate against India’s wrist spinning duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in the middle overs.
Das was dismissed by Chahal in the 32nd over, triggering a batting collapse as Bangladesh went from 169-2 to 216-8.
Both Chahal and Yadav finished with three wickets each as Bangladesh were bowled out for 264.
Kohli was pleased with his bowling unit ahead of their tournament opener against South Africa on June 5.
“Bumrah got us the breakthrough and Chahal and Kuldeep got us six wickets,” he said.
“In the second half (in the coming matches), the ball might turn a little bit but initially the ball will swing and seam, which will be the most important phase.”
After a long and arduous election, with months of campaigning and voting spread over seven phases, India’s 879 million voters have spoken. And, if not with one voice, then close to it. The Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been handed another historic mandate.
Modi’s 2014 victory was already record-setting — the first time a single party had attained a parliamentary majority in three decades. To win once at that scale was astounding, a black swan event. To win twice means that Indian politics, and India itself, has changed beyond recognition.
For the first decades after independence, India was a democracy but nevertheless a one-‘party state. The Indian National Congress, the party that spearheaded the independence movement, dominated most states and had a stranglehold on power in New Delhi. It was voted out once in 1977, after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi turned towards authoritarianism and was punished by a united opposition. Still, not until the 1990s did the party enter a permanent decline.
At that point, India ushered in an era of coalitions. A patchwork of regional, caste-based and ideologically distinct parties held the balance of power. It’s no surprise that this period also coincided with the growth of the private sector following the liberalization of the economy in 1991. Parties with no monopoly on the state are less likely to seek purely statist solutions.
Modi’s successive victories mark another era of Indian politics. No other political chieftains are holding the balance of power; only Modi matters. Back in the days of one-party rule, a sycophantic Congress politician said of his leader: Indira is India. That was hyperbole. But no politician since Indira Gandhi has had as powerful a claim to be identified with India’s conception of itself as Modi now does.
How has he earned that claim? Multiple explanations for the BJP’s victory have already been trotted out: the organizational strength of the party, its vast advantages in money and resources, the covert and overt backing of supposedly independent institutions — all hallmarks of democratic strongmen globally. Others will point to the weakness of the opposition and its crisis of leadership, or to Modi’s reputation for incorruptibility, his muscular foreign policy and the popularity of some of his welfare schemes.
All these, of course, are factors. But they didn’t determine this election. Neither did the economy. Regardless of the official figures for gross domestic product growth, the economy is under-performing. It’s rare anywhere in the world for incumbents to increase their political strength under such circumstances.
No, India has proved Bill Clinton wrong: It’s identity, stupid. This election was fought and won over identity — the identity of India and the identity of Indians.
Modi is the perfect representative for the young, aspirational, majoritarian, impatient Indians who have put him into office twice now. An overwhelming number of these 400 million voters see in him a self-made man, one who has every intention of asserting India’s centrality to world affairs. More, he appears strong and decisive, and wishes to impose a unity and uniformity on Indian politics. This clarity is comforting for most of his core voters.
The India of the past saw itself as a patchwork of competing identities, represented by the multiple powerful satraps of the coalition era and by the many factions within the umbrella tradition of the Congress prior to that. The BJP, under Modi, permits no such balancing. India is strong if it is united, Modi’s voters feel, and unity requires the welding of these multiple identities into a single one.
Hyper-nationalists on Twitter, as well as cabinet ministers, attack Modi’s opponents as the “tukde-tukde” gang — literally, those who want to break India into pieces. The BJP’s electoral logic has long been incredibly simple: Over four-fifths of India is Hindu and the BJP is the party that best represents Hindu interests. If most Hindus vote for them out of religious solidarity rather than on economic, class or caste interests, then the BJP will win.
The truth is that this is increasingly what Modi and the party have achieved. Their triumph isn’t merely a product of political management. It is a rhetorical and ideological battle, a culture war, which they have won.
All bets are off about India’s future. The West has long seen this country as a natural ally: one that has similar liberal institutions, is outward-looking and acts modestly on the global stage. But that is not the India wanted by the voters who have twice now demonstrated their loyalty to Modi so dramatically. Just as Indians are looking at themselves and their country anew, so the world will have to recalibrate its assumptions about India.
From just two seats in Lok Sabha in 1984 to winning two back-to-back majority in general elections, the BJP now firmly occupies the position of dominance that the Congress once held. The 300+ seats BJP has won in 2019 is the saffron party’s highest ever Lok Sabha tally. It had won 282 seats in 2014.
Narendra Modi is the first non-Congress (and third ever) prime minister in India to return to power after a full five-year term.
In at least 21 states and Union Territories, the BJP has the highest vote share making it a truly pan-India party. BJP’s vote share in rural areas was higher (39.5%) than in urban constituencies (33.9%), which means BJP isn’t just a city-based party either.
The BJP won more than 50% votes in 224 of the 446 seats it contested compared to 136 in 2014. Together with its allies, the party won more than 50% of the votes in 15 states and UTs. In 10 states and UTs, the NDA won all the seats.
In the Hindi heartland, the BJP got over half the votes in 141 of the 198 seats it contested. At least 15 of its candidates won with a margin of over 5 lakh votes. BJP’s victories in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh come within six months of it losing assembly polls in these states. That’s unprecedented.
The party not only kept its core states – the Hindi heartland, Gujarat and Maharashtra – but also posted its biggest victories in West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and the northeast. Only Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh appeared untouched. Even in Telangana, the BJP won four seats.
In 2014, the BJP had won 171 of 185 seats in UP, MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Gujarat. In 2019, though it won a fewer number of 158 seats in these states, its tally outside these states (which account for 358 seats) went up from 111 in 2014 to 142 this year. The BJP also retained over 80% of the seats it won in 2014.
In 2014, BJP’s vote share had gone up by more than 20% in 104 seats making them ‘Modi wave seats’. In 2019, the party has retained 96 of these, making them ‘double wave‘ seats.
After a four-month campaign from 12,000 kilometres away for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Overseas Friends of BJP-USA, known as OFBJP, celebrated BJP win in Indian elections in 20 cities across the United States—from Boston to San Francisco.
BJP supporters from Massachusetts gathered at Brookside Club House in Andover, MA, to celebrate the victory. Overseas Friends of BJP-USA President Krishna Reddy Anugula said celebrations were planned in 20 cities across the United States, including New York, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco.
Anugula told the media that over 1,000 volunteers from his organization participated in phone bank call-a-thons that made more than 1 million calls to people in India asking them to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
During the four months before the elections, the OFBJP also held yagnas, “Chowkidar Marches” and other programs to encourage Indian citizens here to support Modi and to boost the party’s image in India, he said.
As the election trends started trickling in starting at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night (local time), the OFBJP and the US-based station TV Asia began an overnight election watch in Edison, New Jersey, he said. About 400 Indians and Americans kept vigil overnight watching the results at a community center.
The group in a statement said: “Overseas Friends of BJP-USA congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party President Amit Shah, BJP leaders, millions of volunteers and volunteers of OFBJP and NRIs4Modi across the globe who toiled hard for this stupendous victory.”
“Millions of voters, including first time voters have participated enthusiastically in this world’s largest democratic elections to elect an able and proven leader, Narendra Modi,” it said.
Reddy asserted that although the BJP did not make a sweep of his home state of Telangana, his party was emerging as the main challenger to the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi (TRS) improving its position both in the number of votes and seats.
In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the defeat of the Telugu Desam Party showed that the people of the state were ready for change and a corruption-free administration. It presented the BJP future opportunities there, he said.
TV Asia, the largest India-oriented TV operation in the US, held a marathon overnight coverage of the Indian elections for its viewers across the US, News Director Rohit Vyas told IANS.
The news operations, which are separate from the company’s community outreach and is politically independent, had representatives of both the OFBJP and the Overseas Indian Congress, as well as Indian community leaders on its programme analysing the elections, he added.
The re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a strong mandate is a reflection of emergence of New India. By re-electing BJP and NDA, people of India have endorsed the good governance of Prime Minister Modi, his developmental policy based on Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas and his strong national security policy which has zero tolerance to terrorism.
People of India has shown the door to the opposition party’s negative politics and vetted the positive energy and politics of Prime Minister Modi. It shows that they have no faith in a politics that is based on lie and deception, which was the key aspect of electoral campaign of the Congress-led opposition parties.
In five years 2014-2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a high bar of leadership and governance. In just five years, India has become a bright spot of global economy and a world power that can no longer be ignored. In the next five years Prime Minister Narendra Modi would put fast track India’s development. Under Narendra Modi, I am sure, world’s largest democracy would soon become among world most powerful country and top three global economies.
We non-resident Indians (NRIs) are proud of India’s achievements. It’s a no mean achievement that 1.3 billion people have peacefully elected their leader for the next five years. Now that the elections are over, I hope, the opposition parties would respect the mandate of the people of India. And instead of making baseless allegations against EVMs, opposition parties would join Prime Minister Modi in achieving the aspiration and ambitions of New India.
As India gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a historic mandate with the ruling BJP returning to power in the Lok Sabha, here’s how the foreign media covered Modi’s victory.
The UK’s Guardian in an editorial said that the landslide win for Modi will see “India’s soul lost to a dark politics – one that views almost all 195 million Indian Muslims as second-class citizens”.
“The biggest election in history has just been won by one man: Narendra Modi. In 2014 the Bharatiya Janata party won an absolute majority for the first time in its history… Despite a spluttering economy five years later, Modi seems certain to have expanded his parliamentary majority. This is bad news for India and the world,” the editorial stated.
Though the daily called Modi a “undoubtedly a charismatic campaigner”, it said that “rather than transcend the faultlines of Indian society – religion, caste, region and language – Modi’s style is to throw them into sharp relief”.
“He is a populist who speaks in the name of the people against the elite despite being a seasoned public figure. Modi deployed with terrible effect false claims and partisan facts,” the article said.
Pakistani daily Dawn in an editorial said that “communal politics in India has triumphed in an age that will define the future of the republic”.
“The results are astounding, and depressingly show that religious hatred and sectarian politics can be exploited to lure voters.” The daily said that the “focus must now turn to a practical way forward for sustainable peace in the subcontinent”.
The News International said that Modi won because the Congress allowed him to.
“If Modi has won despite the long history of failures on the economic front, bad governance and the open war on religious minorities, it is because the opposition, especially the Congress, allowed him to.
“If the BJP and Modi have won this election, they perhaps deserved to win. They put in a great deal of hard work and have had the hunger to win.
“While we cannot ignore the epic lies, obfuscation, jingoism and hate that the BJP used against Indian Muslims and Pakistan to win this election, you have to acknowledge that the opposition failed to call Modi’s bluff and expose his failures on every front,” it stated.
Author Pankaj Mishra in a piece for the New York Times said: “Over five years of Modi’s rule, India has suffered variously from his raw wisdom, most gratuitously in November 2016, when his government abruptly withdrew nearly 90 per cent of currency notes from circulation.
“From devastating the Indian economy to risking nuclear Armageddon in South Asia, Modi has confirmed that the leader of the world’s largest democracy is dangerously incompetent.”
“India under Modi’s rule has been marked by continuous explosions of violence in both virtual and real worlds,” the opinion piece said.
“Modi’s appointed task in India is the same as that of many far-right demagogues: To titillate a fearful and angry population with the scapegoating of minorities, refugees, leftists, liberals and others while accelerating predatory forms of capitalism.”
Author Vivan Marwaha, in an opinion piece for the Washington Post said: “Despite a record-high unemployment rate, a slowing economy and widespread agrarian distress, Indians overwhelmingly decided to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party a second chance to put the country back on track.”
“The slowdown in economic growth could still have emerged as a possible flashpoint during the elections. But the February suicide attack on Indian paramilitary forces in Pulwama and the government’s subsequent response – which included ordering air strikes on a terrorist camp in Pakistan – helped marshal vast amounts of support for Modi,” he said.
The BJP targeted the Indian millennials, who have largely grown up with social media, as carefully designed memes praising Modi went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp praising him for the terror strikes.
He said Modi was voted back to power as the “young Indians believed they had no credible alternative”. (IANS)
Atlanta, GA: Shankar Mahadevan, the popular award winning Bollywood playback singer is all set to take the delegates by storm during the 37th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly to be held from July 3rd to July 7th, 2019 at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center, Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI) announced here. Shankar Mahadevan and his troupe will perform live at the much anticipated AAPI’s annual convention enthralling over 2,000 delegates from across the nation, who are expected to attend the Convention.
“AAPI’s Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin,” said Dr. Parikh. “Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year.”
An accomplished musician in Bollywood world, Shankar is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that provides music to Bollywood films. Though a software engineer by profession and having worked with Oracle Corporation, Shankar’s interest in music made him venture into the field of music. He got his first award as a playback singer in Chennai film music, collaborating with A. R. Rahman and winning a National Film Award for his song in Kandukondain Kandukondain. Since then, he has given hundreds of enchanting numbers to the Bollywood world. The grand finale of the AAPI convention will be by Shankar Mahadevan and his team, who will take the audience to the memory line of Bollywood music on the final night, before a packed audience.
Dr. Naresh Parikh, who assumed charge of this premier ethnic organization representing 100,000 physicians and residents a year ago, gave credit to the support of AAPI executive committee, hard work of local Chapter members, and the organizing committee chaired by Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Chairman of the Convention. “Credit for the success of the Convention goes to the entire national organizing committee, AAPI executive committee, and Board of Trustees and all the AAPI members,” he said.
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s Atlanta Chapter. In addition to offering over 12 hours of cutting edge CMEs to the physicians, CEOs Forum, fabulous entertainment, and women’s leadership forum. The convention will be addressed by senior world leaders, including US Senators, Presidential candidates, Nobel Lauretes, Governors, Congressmen, and celebrities from the Hollywood and Bollywood world.
Dr. Sreeni Gangasan says, “This convention has been always one of the much awaited events of the year, there will be an Educational session with CME by world renowned faculty, full entertainment by Bollywood celebrates, Women’s Forum, CEOs Forum, Obesity Awareness Walk, many religious/cultural Activates and many more.”
Founded in 1982, the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin representing a conglomeration of more than 80,000 practicing physicians in the United States, is the largest ethnic organization of physicians. In addition, it also serves as a platform for more than 40,000 medical students, residents and fellows of Indian origin in this country. The AAPI YPS/MSRF (Young Physicians Section/Medical Students’ and Residents’ Forum) runs under the main AAPI umbrella to give representation to them. 1 in every 7 people in the USA is touched by the care of a physician of Indian origin at any given time.
For 37 years, AAPI Convention has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine. “Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country and internationally will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!” said Dr. Naresh Parikh. For more details, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: www.aapiconvention.org and www.aapiusa.org
Asian Americans are the fastest-growing major racial or ethnic group in the United States. More than 20 million Asians live in the U.S., and almost all trace their roots to 19 origin groups from East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
Significant differences exist by income, education and other characteristics among the nation’s largest 19 Asian origin groups. These differences have been central to debates about how much data governments, colleges and other groups should collect about Asian origin groups, and whether it should be used to shape policies.
Here are some key differences between Asian origin groups in the U.S. and how they compare with Asian Americans overall.
1Six origin groups – Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese – accounted for 85% of all Asian Americans as of 2015. These groups together largely shape the overall demographic characteristics of Asian Americans. The remaining 13 origin groups each made up 2% or less of the nation’s Asian population. These groups have a variety of characteristics that can differ greatly from the largest groups.
2About half of Asians in the U.S. ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more in 2015, a higher share than other races and ethnicities, but this share varies greatly by origin group. Those of Indian, Malaysian or Mongolian origin, for example, were more likely than other Asian origin groups to have at least a bachelor’s degree. By comparison, fewer than 20% of Cambodians, Hmong, Laotians and Bhutanese had a bachelor’s degree or more. Roughly a third of all Americans ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more.
The differences in educational attainment among origin groups in part reflect the levels of education immigrants bring to the U.S. For example, 72% of U.S. Indians had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2015. Many of them already had a bachelor’s degree when they arrived in the U.S. with a visa for high-skilled workers, such as an H-1B visa. Half of H-1B visas, which require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, have gone to Indians since 2001.
3Seven-in-ten U.S. Asians ages 5 and older speak English proficiently. Large majorities of Japanese (84%), Filipinos (82%) and Indians (80%) spoke English proficiently in 2015. By contrast, Bhutanese (27%) and Burmese (28%) had some of the lowest rates of English proficiency.
4Income inequality is rising more rapidly among Asian Americans than other racial or ethnic groups, reflecting wide disparities in income among Asian origin groups. Asian households in the U.S. had a median annual income of $73,060 in 2015, higher than the $53,600 among all U.S. households. Only four Asian origin groups had household incomes that exceeded the national median for Asian Americans overall: Indians ($100,000), Filipinos ($80,000) and Sri Lankans and Japanese (both $74,000). By contrast, most of the other 15 origin groups were well below the national median for Asian Americans, including the two with the lowest median household incomes – Nepalese ($43,500) and Burmese ($36,000).
5As with education and income, poverty rates vary widely among Asians in the U.S. Asians overall had a poverty rate of 12.1% in 2015, 3 percentage points lower than the U.S. poverty rate (15.1%). Bhutanese (33.3%) and Burmese (35.0%) had the highest poverty rates among all Asian origin groups – more than twice the national average and more than four times the poverty rates among Filipinos and Indians (both 7.5%).
6Immigrants make up a higher share of some Asian origin groups than others. Among all Asians in the U.S., nearly six-in-ten were foreign born in 2015, significantly larger than the immigrant share among Americans overall (13%) and other racial and ethnic groups that same year.
Some Asian groups arrived as immigrants more recently than others. For instance, 85% of Burmese in the U.S. are foreign born, and many of them arrived as refugees starting in 2007. Eight-in-ten Burmese immigrants (81%) have been in the country for 10 years or less.
But not all U.S. Asian groups have high foreign-born shares. For instance, the first Japanese immigrants came to the U.S. in the 19th century as plantation workers in what is now the state of Hawaii. More recently, fewer Japanese immigrants have arrived to the U.S. compared with other Asian origin groups. This history is reflected in the low share of Japanese Americans who are immigrants (27%). Additionally, among Japanese immigrants, two-thirds (64%) have been in the country for more than 10 years.
7Among Asian immigrants, 58% have become U.S. citizens, though naturalization rates vary widely. Nearly eight-in-ten Hmong and Vietnamese immigrants are U.S. citizens (77% and 75%), the highest shares among U.S. Asian groups. Differences in naturalization rates reflect how long immigrants have lived in the U.S. Large numbers of Vietnamese and Hmong arrived in the U.S. as refugees starting in the 1970s and have had more time to naturalize. By contrast, many Bhutanese have arrived in the U.S. as refugees starting in 2008 (98% of Bhutanese immigrants have been in the U.S. for 10 years or less) and only 6% have naturalized, the lowest share of any group.
For more information on Asians in the U.S., see Pew Research Center’s detailed fact sheets for each national origin group and the methodology for the analysis.
If the results of exit polls are to be believed, the BJP led National Democratic Alliance is all set to make a clean sweep at the recently held India’s elections to the Parliament. Private polling commissioned by Indian media outlets points to a second term for the incumbent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), although, given the patchy record of these polls, which have been wrong in past elections, we won’t know for sure until later this week.
It is, however, interesting to note that the most enthusiastic results have been thrown up by exit polls conducted in association with media houses who are perceived widely as cheerleaders of the Modi regime.
But if Modi does return to power, what might Modi 2.0 mean for India? One way of trying to answer that question is to compare campaign 2019 to the one that unfolded five years ago.
In 2014, when Modi first ran for national office — he was already a major regional figure by then, running western Gujarat state for over a decade — his campaign was dominated by his promises to usher in a sort of economic renaissance: Modi spoke of reforms to, among other things, make India an easier place to do business, make it better at generating jobs for the millions of young Indians who enter the workforce each year and to clean house to stamp out corruption.
All exit polls released at the conclusion of the seven-phase 17th general election predicted a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The counting of votes will take place on May 23. Most polls indicated minor to considerable setback for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh where it won 71 of 80 seats in 2014, but they were in agreement that the party would firmly hold on to its strongholds in the north and west and make considerable gains in West Bengal.
In southern States barring Karnataka, the BJP is projected to trail far behind opponents. The Congress and its allies are projected to make significant gains compared to the historic low they hit in 2014, but will end up some distance away from the halfway mark of 272 seats in the 543-strong Lok Sabha, according to these polls.
The polls predicted between 242 to 365 for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and between 77 and 164 for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Parties that are unattached to either side, which include the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) whose coalition in Uttar Pradesh is resisting the BJP, could get between 69 and 125 seats, according to various polls.
Exit polls have a long history of going wrong in India. According to Praveen Chakravarty, chairperson of the Congress Data Analytics Department, who compared exit polls with actual outcomes posted on Twitter: “~80% of exit poll seat predictions for all parties in large state elections since 2014 are wrong.” Exit polls are generally considered more accurate than opinion polls conducted before actual voting.
Around the world also, the credibility of opinion polls and exit polls has taken a beating in recent years. Almost all polls in the Australian election last week got the outcome wrong, and similar was the fate of polls during the 2016 U.S. presidential election and Brexit. But what is common between these polls that went wrong was that all of them under-reported the support for conservative and ultra-nationalist positions. Indian exit polls on Sunday uniformly predicted a massive surge in favour of the Hindu nationalist BJP.
The exit poll projections indicate that Mr. Modi’s campaign to turn the election into a referendum on his persona rather than the performance of his five-year term has been successful.
First up is the News 18-IPSOS poll, the results of which say that the NDA is all set for a landslide victory bagging as many as 336 seats with BJP contributing a lion’s share of 276! This poll has restricted the UPA’s tally to a meager 82. The anchor of the show was seen merrily flying over a CGI globe in a VFX helicopter while the results popped up on screen!
Next up is the Republic-CVoter poll that says that the NDA will get 287 seats while the UPA will be reduced to 128. It gives the Mahagathbandhan 40 seats and others 87. But, interestingly, Republic has another poll with Jan Ki Baat, according to which the NDA will bag between 295-315 seats, while the UPA will win between 122 and 12 seats. The BJP alone is set to score between 254 and 274 seats according to this poll. It is still not clear why they needed to conduct two polls. Not to be outdone by News 18’s helicopter, panelists on Republic’s show drove into the studio in swanky cars!
Another poll that enthusiastically predicts the return of the Modi regime is the Times Now VMR poll that gives the NDA 306 seats, while says that the UPA could win as many as 132 seats. Cocking a snook at News 18’s helicopter and Republic’s cars, Times Now roped in a blue CGI Iron Man to do somersaults as results popped up!
The India Today-Axis poll gave BJP and allies a whopping 339-365 seats, while giving the Congress and allies 77-108 seats. The News 24-Chanakya poll is meanwhile predicting a clean sweep for the Modi regime, especially in the heartland with wins in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi. Meanwhile, the News X Neta poll gives the NDA 242 seats while it gives the UPA 162 seats. It gives the SP-BSP-RLD 43 seats while giving others 88 seats.
While almost all polls have written off the Mahagathbandhan, the ABP-Nielen poll is sticking its neck out and predicting a huge victory for the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh, predicting they will win 56 seats! Over all this poll says NDA could win as many as 267 seats, while the UPA will cobble up 127 seats, leaving others with 148 seats.
TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee has rubbished the exit poll results as gossip, tweeting, “I don’t trust Exit Poll gossip. The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together.”
Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha also echoed similar sentiments in his tweet saying,T”he silent voter will be king on May 23 rd 2019. The ‘fear factor’ playing havoc with respondents to pollsters in an ugly polarized election. Ridiculous #ExitPolls , almost laughable. UPA > NDA when the ‘real counting’ happens.”
But given how miserably exit polls have missed the mark in the past, it is best to exercise caution while accepting these results. Also, few journalists today have the grace to apologise like NDTV chief Pronnoy Roy did in November 2015 for getting the Bihar results wrong.
In his brilliant analysis of how and why exit polls get it wrong in The New Indian Express, Shankkar Aiyar writes, “… exit polls can overstate the case of vocal voters and miss the silent vote—and in India, there is an another factor, false responses driven by fear of retribution. Also, a higher turnout can skew assumed weightages, leading to erroneous calls on trajectory and/or tally. In fact, the impact is aggravated when the data is drilled to deliver outcomes at a granular level.” He cites examples on 2004 and 2009, when pollsters got the trajectory and tally wrong. Aiyar further explains, “Exit polls also tend to get it right when there is a clear edge for one side at the outset of the election. On the flip side, exit polls can go haywire in close contests and when a thin sample is extrapolated to generate conclusions.”
In an age where many a newsroom has dedicated itself to being a mouthpiece of the ruling dispensation, equating in the process all voices and acts of dissent as anti-national, it may be surmised that the declaration of positive results is perhaps their way of keeping their political masters happy and curry whatever last few favours they can till the actual results are declared.
Indian Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty and Deputy Consul General Shatrugna Sinha were hosted by the Connecticut chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT) on May 3rd in Stamford and Norwalk, Connecticut. Arriving at 2.30 p.m.. Consul General Chakravorty called on to Stamford Mayor David Martin at the Govt. Center in Stamford, along with GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat, Past Presidents Shailesh Naik and Shelly Nichani and Treasurer Biru Sharma. Later in the afternoon, both called on to Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling along with GOPIO-CT officials and Norwalk’s Indian community leaders including Raj Misra and Anna Duleep as well as representatives of Norwalk’s Sikh Gurudwara.
The discussions were very cordial with both mayors and there were agreements on many new initiatives. Consul General Chakravorty very graciously offered to send various artists and performers from India visiting the USA to come and do shows in both the cities Stamford and Norwalk. Both the Mayors offered full help and cooperation to facilitate such performances. Both mayors and the Consul General are interested in student exchange programs and the Consul General will further work in the same.
Most importantly the Consul General made an offer to the Norwalk Mayor Rilling and the Sikh community to hold a grand 550th Anniversary of Guru Nanakjis birth anniversary. He will contact some eminent academician to come and give a talk on the life of the Guru. This was a major accomplishment and a tribute to our Sikh community. Mayor Rilling offered his full support. GOPIO-CT also proposed an India section at the Norwalk public Library which Mayor Rilling agreed and the Consul General has offered to provide books.
On the economic front, both mayors would like to invite Indian companies to consider Stamford and Norwalk to open their US destination. In this regard, Stamford Mayor Martin will take assistance from the Indian Consulate to invite Indian companies to business expo and investment seminars in Stamford. GOPIO-CT will facilitate such efforts.
Consul General Chakravorty also had a very good discussion with Congressman Jim Himes who is a leading member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman Himes is very supportive of India’s interests and values. CG Chakravorty also had a very informative discussion with Connecticut State Senator Bob Duff, the Majority Leader in Conn. Senate.
In the evening a reception was held at Hampton Inn for the many leaders of Indian diaspora in Connecticut to meet and greet Consul General Chakravorty and Deputy Consul General Sinha. GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat welcomed the guests. GOPIO-CT Treasurer Biru Sharma moderated the session. Connecticut House Representative Matt Blumenthal, who represents Stamford, also joined the dinner meeting. Rep. Blumenthal was very appreciative of the contribution by the Indian American community in Connecticut.
Consul General Chakravorty gave a very descriptive talk on the election in India and how the country is a well-established democracy. A Q&A session followed where the participants asked questions and expressed their concerns. A donation of $2000 was made to Future 5, an organization in Stamford that takes underprivileged students from local high schools and tutor them in the hours after school.
US President Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to reform the nation’s immigration system, intended to favor high-skilled immigrants and restrict family-based migration. President Trump unveiled an outline for reshaping how immigrants are admitted into the country — seeking to promote a more comprehensive approach to immigration ahead of a reelection campaign in which Democrats plan to portray his hard-line approach at the border as racist.
The new proposal, an effort led primarily by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, appears destined for the congressional dustbin, with no clear strategy from the White House to turn it into law and essentially no support from Democrats who control half of Capitol Hill.
Currently, about two-thirds of the 1.1 million people allowed to migrate to the nation each year are given green cards granting permanent residency because of family ties. Trump’s plan, which does not add protections to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival recipients, is expected to draw little support from Democrats who have railed against the administration’s lack of support for so-called “Dreamers,” who were brought to the United States as children by undocumented parents.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed the proposal as “condescending,” signaling that Democrats would not support legislation that does not include a pathway to citizenship. “They say family is without merit — are they saying most of the people that come to the US in the history of our country are without merit, because they don’t have an engineering degree,” Pelosi asked at her weekly press conference on Thursday.
But the White House and its allies on Capitol Hill have emphasized that the plan — few details of which have been publicly released — is primarily to showcase the kind of immigration that Trump and Republicans can support ahead of next year’s elections.
“We are proposing an immigration plan that puts the jobs, wages and safety of American workers first,” Trump said from the White House Rose Garden in front of an audience of Cabinet officials and GOP lawmakers. “Our proposal is pro-American, pro-immigrant and pro-worker. It’s just common sense.”
The president’s bid to sketch out a vision that could appeal beyond his conservative base represented a potentially risky shift at a time when he is eyeing a tough reelection campaign in which he believes immigration will play a major role.
Speaking at the White House, Trump on Thursday said that his plan aims to create a “fair, modern and lawful system of immigration for the US”, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The biggest change we make is to increase the proportion of highly skilled immigration from 12 per cent to 57 per cent, and we’d like to even see if we can go higher,” Trump said. “This will bring us in line with other countries and make us globally competitive.”
“We cherish the open door that we want to create for our country. But a big proportion of those immigrants must come in through merit and skill,” said the president, noting that immigrants, under the plan, will also be “required to learn English and to pass a civics exam prior to admission.”
According to the White House, the proposal would tighten family-based migration to focus on allowing nuclear families who migrate to the US, rather than extended family members.
The effort, championed by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, also focuses on beefing up border security. Trump has claimed that the nation is being overrun by migrants and asylum seekers and sought to build a wall along the southern border with Mexico by declaring a national emergency so as to bypass Congress and unlock billions of US dollars in funding.
The new White House proposal does not change the net level of green cards allocated each year, but rather prioritizes high-skilled workers over those with family members who are U.S. citizens. It would allow applicants to rack up eligibility based on factors such as age, ability to speak English, job offers and educational background under what Trump called a new “Build America” visa.
But the proposal also sidesteps some major components of the nation’s immigration system that can be far more complex and controversial to resolve, such as the fate of the estimated 11 million immigrants without legal status and visas for temporary, low-skilled workers — issues that have divided the Republican Party and pit the business community against labor unions.
Revathy Ramakrishna, who was bestowed Woman of the Year Award 2019 by an independent panel of nine judges, said that this award is less about her and more about the cause she is so passionate about: Vision-Aid. The 17th Annual Woman of the Year Awards Gala, which was organized by INDIA New England News on Friday at Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA, was attended about 500 people. World-class Carnatic Music Teacher Tara Anand received the Lifetime Achievement Award 2019.
“On behalf of all the volunteers and visually impaired beneficiaries of Vision-Aid, I gratefully accept the award,” said Ms. Ramakrishna. “I feel so very grateful and honored to be selected from such a talented pool of nominees. When I read the profiles of, and met the other 19 nominees, I honestly thought each of them was so much more accomplished than I was. This decision to confer this award on me was less about me and more about the cause I am so passionate about – Vision-Aid.”
“It was inspiring to learn about the many amazing things our nominees have accomplished. It was a privilege to celebrate them all. As an Indian American, it makes you proud to know that their contributions are making a difference not only in our community but also far beyond,” said Ms. Chandra. “Their work spans the preservation of our cultural roots, working with non-profits in several realms, excellence in the fields of law, business and medicine, to much needed work in refugee resettlement, domestic violence and gender issues.”
She said the committee was thrilled to honor Vision-Aid’s Ms. Ramakrishna. “We are thrilled to honor Revathy Ramakrishna as the India New England Woman of the Year, 2019. She demonstrates focus and passion for an idea she has nurtured for over 15 years along with her professional accomplishments and service work in the local community. The impact of her work at Vision Aid to empower and rehabilitate thousands of visually impaired individuals speaks for itself. It can easily be said that in her case the whole is so much greater the sum of the individual parts,” said Ms. Chandra. “While we could only select one winner in a field with a lot of depth, we wanted to recognize two other individuals – Meena Ramamurti and Meena Subramanyam – who received an honorable mention for their terrific professional achievements and their ability to stitch our community together in magical ways.”
Ramakrishna serves as the volunteer Vice-President for Vision-Aid, a non-profit organization that serves the visually impaired by enabling, educating and empowering them to live their lives with independence and dignity. Vision-Aid has blossomed into an organization which has offered enablement, rehabilitation and skills training programs for thousands of blind and visually impaired across 10 locations in India, besides also running several programs online through the Vision-Aid Online Academy. Ramakrishna dedicated the Woman of the Year Award to visually impaired and volunteers of Vision-Ad.
Judges also selected two out of 20 Outstanding Women for Honorable Mentions: Meena Subramanyam, a scientist and an accomplished Bharatanatyam artist and teacher and Vice President and Global Program Leader in the gastroenterology therapeutic area unit at Cambridge, MA-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals; and Meena Ramamurti, Vice President at the Shishu Bharati School of Indian Languages and Culture.
Ramakrishna, the 2019 Woman of the Year, is an electronics engineer and health informatics professional by training. She works as a Program Manager at Fresenius Medical Care North America, a premier health care company focused on delivering the highest quality care to people with chronic renal conditions. She has been with the company for over 10 years and oversees the Government Reporting and Clinical Informatics program related to specific CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) government mandated quality and reimbursement initiatives that are aimed at improving the quality of health care and patient outcomes.
Her analytical and technical background, subject matter expertise and communication and collaboration skills help her liaise as effectively with the Medical Office, Clinicians and business team as with the IT and technical teams to build consensus among diverse viewpoints and build high quality systems.
Ms. Ramakrishna says that she feels privileged to serve Vision-Aid alongside so many other community leaders and volunteers and be in the front-row seat of this amazing cause which aims to bring independence and dignity to the visually impaired while also creating a more inclusive world for them through our advocacy efforts.
“I am very passionate about this cause because I have personally experienced the immense challenges posed by visual disability faced by members of my family and have also seen first-hand how these can be mitigated and overcome, when a supportive environment is provided,” says Ms. Ramakrishna. “Unfortunately, even today, in developing countries like India, too many people still lack this kind of support and are turned away when their impairment cannot be cured by modern medicine and surgery.
“When my husband and I first started Vision-Aid it was a small organization running out of my husband’s home town in Vizag, India, benefiting people in that region. At the present time, it is gratifying to see its more expansive scope,” says Ms. Ramakrishna. “In 2019, Vision-Aid is bringing light into the lives of over 1000 visually impaired in 10 different locations across India each year. Our partners include the Aravind Eye Care system, the largest eye care system in the world, Sankara Netralaya of Chennai, Nethra Blind Schools in Hyderabad and Vizag and other leaders in the field.”
President Trump on Monday lost an early round of his court fight with Democrats, after a federal judge ruled the president’s accounting firm must turn over his financial records to Congress as lawmakers seek to assert their oversight authority.
Trump called the 41-page ruling from U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta of Washington, D.C. “crazy” and said he would appeal, adding: “We think it’s totally the wrong decision by obviously an Obama-appointed judge.
Lawyers for the president are fighting document and witness subpoenas on multiple fronts, and Mehta’s ruling came hours after former White House counsel Donald McGahn was directed not to appear before a congressional committee seeking testimony about his conversations with Trump.
Congressional Democrats have vowed to fight for evidence of potential misconduct by Trump and those close to him, and the president’s legal team is broadly resisting those efforts. How those fights play out in court in the months ahead could impact the 2020 presidential race.
In his decision, Mehta flatly rejected arguments from the president’s lawyers that the House Oversight Committee’s demands for the records from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, were overly broad and served no legitimate legislative function.
“It is simply not fathomable,” the judge wrote, “that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a President for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct — past or present — even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry.”
Trump has argued those congressional inquiries are politically motivated attacks on the authority of the presidency, while Democrats insist the subpoenas are essential to ensuring no president is above the law.
When the lawsuit was first filed, Trump’s private attorney Jay Sekulow said the president’s team “will not allow Congressional Presidential harassment to go unanswered.”
The company said in a statement that it will “respect the legal process and fully comply with its legal obligations.”
While Democrats scored the first court victory in the fight over the president’s financial records, it’s unclear how many of these disputes will reach higher courts, or how those courts might rule.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said the ruling “lets America know that we have ground to stand on and that we have a legitimate argument and the courts support them. . . . I’m glad it was a strong decision, that bodes well hopefully in the future for an appeals process.”
Mehta’s ruling threw historical shade at Trump, drawing comparisons to former president James Buchanan, whom historians have blamed for failing to prevent the Civil War and is generally considered one of the country’s worst leaders. He, too, complained bitterly about “harassing” congressional inquiries.
Judge Mehta noted that Congress also launched an investigation into the conduct of President Bill Clinton before he entered the White House.
“Congress plainly views itself as having sweeping authority to investigate illegal conduct of a President, before and after taking office,” he wrote. “This court is not prepared to roll back the tide of history.”
The judge gave the White House a week to formally appeal the decision, adding “the President is subject to the same legal standard as any other litigant that does not prevail.”
An appeal could test decades of legal precedent that have upheld Congress’ right to investigate — a legal battle that is just one part of a broader effort by House Democrats to examine Trump’s finances, his campaign, and allegations he sought to obstruct justice in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation.
In the Mazars case, Mehta cut down Trump’s lawyers’ complaint that Congress was usurping the Justice Department’s powers to investigate “dubious and partisan” allegations of private conduct, by inquiring into whether Trump misled his lenders by inflating his net worth.
Rather, Mehta said, a congressional investigation into illegal conduct before and during a president’s time in office fits “comfortably”with Congress’ broad investigative powers, which include an “informing function,” or power to expose corruption.]
Trump, his three eldest children and companies also are attempting to block a subpoena, issued by the House Financial Services Committee, seeking Trump’s bank records from Deutsche Bank AG and Capital One Financial Corp. A federal judge in Manhattan is set to hear that case Wednesday. The pace of the president’s legal fights with Congress is intensifying.
House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said Monday that his panel will vote Wednesday to enforce its subpoena for the redacted portions of Mueller’s report, along with certain underlying materials.
Schiff accused the Justice Department of granting Republican lawmakers’ document requests and denying demands from Democrats.
“The refusal by the department, if it persists, will be a graphic illustration of bad faith and a unwillingness to cooperate with lawful process,” Schiff said.
On Monday, the Justice Department issued a formal legal opinion saying that McGahn, the former top White House lawyer, could not be required to appear before lawmakers in response to a congressional subpoena.
Democrats subpoenaed McGahn to testify Tuesday morning, hoping he would become a star witness in their investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice. As detailed in Mueller’s report, McGahn provided critical testimony about several instances of potential obstruction by Trump.
“The Department of Justice has provided a legal opinion stating that, based on long-standing, bipartisan, and constitutional precedent, the former counsel to the president cannot be forced to give such testimony, and Mr. McGahn has been directed to act accordingly,” said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in a statement. “This action has been taken in order to ensure that future presidents can effectively execute the responsibilities of the office of the presidency.”
The 15-page legal opinion written by Assistant Attorney General Steven A. Engel argues McGahn cannot be compelled to testify before the committee, based on past Justice Department legal memos regarding the president’s close advisers.
The memo says McGahn’s immunity from congressional testimony is separate and broader than a claim of executive privilege.
The immunity “extends beyond answers to particular questions, precluding Congress from compelling even the appearance of a senior presidential adviser — as a function of the independence and autonomy of the president himself,” Engel wrote.
Trump told reporters the action was taken “for the office of the presidency, for future presidents. I think it’s a very important precedent. And the attorneys say that they’re not doing that for me, they’re doing it for the office of the president.”
Those comments underscore the high stakes of Trump’s current standoff with Congress — if either side loses a legal ruling by an appeals court, or the Supreme Court, the reverberations could be felt far beyond the Trump administration, changing the balance of power between the executive and the legislative branches of government for years to come.
In the fight over McGahn’s testimony, the Justice Department insists that immunity from testimony does not evaporate once a presidential adviser leaves the government because the topics of interest to Congress are discussions that occurred when the person worked for the president.
As a private citizen, McGahn is not necessarily bound by the White House directive, or the Justice Department memo, to refuse to comply with the subpoena. There was no immediate word from McGahn’s lawyer on whether he would comply with or defy the White House.
The move to bar McGahn from answering lawmakers’ questions angered House Democrats eager to hit back at what they view as White House stonewalling. The defiance raises the possibility that the House will hold McGahn in contempt of Congress, as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) has threatened.
“It is absurd for President Trump to claim privilege as to this witness’s testimony when that testimony was already described publicly in the Mueller report,” Nadler said in a statement. “Even more ridiculous is the extension of the privilege to cover events before and after Mr. McGahn’s service in the White House.”
An increasing number of Democrats also want to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump even though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week privately downplayed the possibility and encouraged her members to focus on their policy agenda.
Some Democrats believe opening an impeachment inquiry will strengthen their hand in trying to force the White House to comply with document requests and witness testimony, including McGahn’s.
House Democrats were hoping to make McGahn their key witness as they seek to unpack the findings of the Mueller report — particularly regarding questions of whether Trump obstructed justice.
At 47.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, India in 2015 had more deaths among children under five than any other country, new research has found.
This is despite the great progress the country has made in reducing child mortality. During 2000-2015, the annual mortality among children under five came down from 2.5 million in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2015, said the study published in the journal Lancet Global Health.
The country had, however, large disparities in the under five mortality rate between richer and poorer states.
The highest mortality rate, in Assam, a state in northeastern India, was more than seven times that in the western state of Goa.
Although most under five deaths were due to preterm complications, preventable infectious diseases featured prominently as causes of death in higher-mortality states.
“India can accelerate its reduction of under five mortality rates by scaling up vaccine coverage and improving childbirth and neonatal care, especially in states where mortality rates remain high,” said study co-lead author Li Liu, Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US.
For the study, the researchers analysed state-level Indian data on the causes of death among children under five for the years 2000-2015.
In 2017, India’s under-five mortality rate matched the global average (39 deaths per 1,000 live births), according to a report released on September 18, 2018, by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. (IANS)
With American women increasingly delaying having children, fewer U.S. babies were born in 2018 than in any year since 1986, according to provisional datafrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
About 3.7 million babies were born in the U.S. last year, 2% fewer than in 2017, according to the NCHS. Birth numbers fell across racial groups, with declines charted among white, black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian women.
In 2018, the U.S. saw not only a 32-year low in total births, but also a record-setting dip in national fertility rates. Based on 2018 data, a group of 1,000 women would be expected to have 1,728 babies in their collective lifetimes, the data say—well below the 2,100 required to replace aging generations without accounting for immigration and emigration, according to the NCHS.
The report, however, deals only with a snapshot in time and may not represent “births foregone. It’s simply births that have been postponed,” says Brady Hamilton, a statistician demographer at the NCHS and lead author of the new report. “Women generally do have, in the end, two children”—they may just have them later in life than did women of previous generations.
In other words, the data don’t suggest that Americans are actually getting less fertile, biologically, says Hans-Peter Kohler, a sociology professor at the University at Pennsylvania who specializes in fertility and was not involved in the NCHS study. Instead, Kohler says, the declining birth rates seem to be driven mostly by sociological reasons, as couples choose to delay starting a family so they can stay in school or the workforce longer, either by choice or out of financial necessity. The NCHS’ latest numbers support that theory: Birth rates fell for younger age groups, but rose slightly for women ages 35 to 44.
Population replacement is an important marker of a country’s public and economic health. If the number of older adults dying and aging out of the labor market is far larger than the number of babies born to eventually take their place, a country’s economy and social services can become unsustainable. But compared to other countries of similar socioeconomic status, like Japan and many in Europe, Kohler says the U.S.’ birth rate is keeping relatively good pace with its rate of population aging. “At the moment, there is no need to panic or see these trends as overly dramatic,” Kohler says.
In fact, some of the trends detailed in the NCHS report “are welcome news” for public health, Hamilton says, like the 7% decline in teen birth between 2017 and 2018—enough for the teen birth rate to hit a new record low, even afteryears of declines.
That’s good, of course, because most teenage pregnancies are “mistimed” or “unwanted,” Kohler says. He notes that the downturn in birth rates for teenagers likely reflects more widespread use of effective and long-lastingforms of contraception, perhaps due to expanded access under the Affordable Care Act.
For the fifth consecutive year, the New York City Council has announced its support and commitment to investing in nonprofits through the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund. CCNSF, the first fund of its kind in New York City, was first announced in Fiscal Year 2015 to grant New York City-based nonprofits the support needed to increase capacity building for emerging and seasoned social services organizations.
69 community based organizations throughout New York City will receive transformative grants to support and create critical functions, provide economic stimuli and capacity building support to emerging and seasoned social services organizations.
These CBOs offer a varying array of services to New Yorkers, and are being funded to address a comprehensive menu of infrastructural needs including leadership development, financial management, and outcomes system development, among others. A representative from NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s office, NYC Councilmember Andy King, a representative from NYC Councilmember Adrienne Adams, NYC Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, the coordinating organizations for the Fund, and representatives from the 69 awardees gathered for a reception at Hispanic Federation on May 16th, 2019.
The coordinating organizations – Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Hispanic Federation, New York Urban League and Asian American Federation have been critical in leveraging dedicated nonprofit funds from the City Council. To date, $7.5 million has been committed to the Fund, which addresses the need for capacity-building funding for nonprofit organizations in communities of color. The monies have had a considerable impact on the sustainability, growth and prosperity of many organizations providing crucial services to the most vulnerable communities in New York City.
CCNSF was championed by NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson and has broad support among Council Members including the Black- Latino and Asian Caucus. Oversight of the funding is provided by the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD).
Through a competitive Request for Application (RFA) process, independent expert allocation committees with knowledge of the nonprofit sector and the capacity building challenges they face, utilized rigorous vetting methods to select grant awardees. Grants were awarded by the partner agencies in three separate funding streams, whose allocations were determined by U.S. Census data. Each awardee was carefully selected to utilize funds to grow capacity, address challenges, and equip communities.
The awardees are community-based organizations from all five boroughs. They offer a varying array of services to New Yorkers, and are being funded to address a comprehensive menu of infrastructural needs including leadership development, financial management, and outcomes system development, among others. In addition to awarding the capacity building awards, the coordinating organizations will conduct several trainings on board development, financial management and fundraising for the awardees.
“For the past 5 years, the Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund (CCNSF) continues to provide important capacity building support and resources to Asian Pacific American (APA) organizations. This fund has enabled us to invest and strengthen nonprofit organizations that provide valuable social services to all New Yorkers. The APA community is the fastest growing population in New York but receives minimal resources. CCNSF is an opportunity to counter this disparity and build capacity within our communities,” said Anita Gundanna, Co-Executive Director, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.
Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Director, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families said, “CCNSF has strengthened APA-led community organizations across New York City that provide the most effective culturally competent and language accessible services. We thank Speaker Corey Johnson and the support of New York City Council for investing in the organizations that provide the most impactful services to address our community’s needs, but also employ many from our community. We look forward to City Council’s continued partnership to strengthen our communities.”
Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director of the Asian American Federation said, “As one of the original partners who advocated for the creation of CCNSF, we are thrilled to see another 69 organizations serving communities of color throughout New York City receive this critical funding to build their capacity. Our communities are best served by community-based organizations that have deep roots and trusted relationships in their communities, so we must invest in their growth and stability if we hope to meet the needs of the most vulnerable New Yorkers. We look forward to working with the City Council to continue to support these important nonprofits.”
“We are thrilled and thankful to the New York City Council for committing to the development and prosperity of New York City’s nonprofits” said José Calderón, Presidentof the Hispanic Federation. “Now in its fifth year, it’s clear that CCNSF has strengthened over 210 organizations providing critical services to our city’s residents. The Fund is a model on how we can work together to ensure the long-term viability of organizations that are the cornerstones of communities all throughout New York City. Now more than ever, we need a robust CCNSF, and we look forward to the City Council’s continued support.”
The annual musical fundraiser held by the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA New England Chapter featured a great musical group that entertained the audience beautifully while helping raise funds to support the holistic development of villages in remote rural India.
The event was held at the Ashland High School in Ashland, MA on Sunday May 12. Women volunteers draped in special uniform sarees (bought at Sree Sai Vogue) and male volunteers wearing uniform jackets welcomed the audience. The lobby was beautifully decorated by Aneesha Karody and featured some beautiful paintings from the Ekal Artist Raksha Soni. Following the lighting of lamps by some of the early and strong supporters of Ekal, the event opened with a welcome by Dr. Subra Dravida , the president of the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA, New England chapter.
Dr. Dravida highlighted the work that Ekal does in over 86000 rural remote villages. Using education, health and skill training as the three focused areas of intervention, Ekal is working to bring about integrated village development. The concerted efforts to make a difference resulted in Ekal Vidyalaya winning the Gandhi Peace Prize, which is the highest honor given to an Non-Profit organization by the government of India.
In keeping with the Mother’s day theme, the EMCEEs for the evening were the mother-daughter team of Sudha Subbaraman and her daughter Vamsi who did a stellar job mceeing the event. The heartbeats group presented several Bollywood numbers. The music was stellar and the audience was rocking through the performance.
A pledge drive was conducted to raise funds for schools. Motivating speeches presented by Manorama Chaudhury and Sachin Goel inspired the members of the audience to give. Ram Nehra, one of the founding members of Ekal New England was given the Ekal Ratna award for his service to Ekal by Dr. Subra Dravida and Puran Dang, Chairman Emeritus for Ekal New England. Ekal Youth Leader, Sanjana Krishna was honored for her tremendous commitment to the cause by Ekal Youth Program director Anuradha Upneja and former Ekal New England President Parveen Minocha. Latha Krishnan, the VP for Ekal New England presented the vote of thanks.
The event was followed by dinner. The attendees overwhelmingly applauded the event as one of the finest musical evenings in New England.
For more information on Ekal, please check out their website at http://ekal.org.
International Ahimsa Foundation USA celebrated Non Violence “A Message of Lord Mahavir” on his 2618th birth anniversary and also commemorated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The event was held at the Consulate General of India in New York, The Master of Ceremonies were Shanie Persaud, Adeen and Shelly Jain. The event began with the American National Anthem sung by Shruti Goyal and followed by the Indian National Anthem by melodious Dr. Smita Guha.
Over 200 guests attended the event from the Indian American community, foreign press, and diplomatic missions and consulates from Italy, Bangladesh, Japan, Georgia and Indonesia.
The evening was graced by distinguished special guests. Among them were the Hon. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Guest Speaker Professor Lawrence A. Babb of Amherst College, Jessica Schaowski, Mayor’s office representative, Hon. Assemblyman David Weprin, and Hon. NYS Senator John Liu, Hon. NYS Senator Kevin Thomas and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney who introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives to posthumously present the Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of nonviolence, said Gandhi has been a “truly inspirational leader, historic figure”.
Mahatma Gandhi was “transformational in so many ways” and an inspiration to all Americans and people across the world, Maloney said. She said Mandela and King both attributed their philosophy of non-violence and their leadership to Mahatma Gandhi and both are recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal.
“Already Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King have received the Medal. It’s only right that the inspirational leader for both of them was Mahatma Gandhi and so he should receive this award,” Congresswoman added.
Ms. Maloney, who spearheaded efforts to have the US Postal Service issue the first Diwali Stamp, urged members of the Indian-American community to reach out to the Congress members and friends across the nation to co-sponsor the legislation to honor Gandhi with the Congressional medal.
“We are working to get the Senate sponsor. We must pass it this year and honour his leadership and his gift to the world,” she said, adding that “we should all work together and have a day of National Service in this special year for Gandhi and to remember him, she said.
“There is not enough that we can do to remember and say thank you to Gandhi for his life’s work, for his gift of non-violent ways of handling problems.” Gandhi brought independence to India with non-violence and recognizing his contributions to values in America, Ms. Maloney said she introduced the bill last year to give him the greatest honour that can be bestowed by the US Congress on an individual.
The medal will “honour his leadership” and his gift to the world of inspiring with his principles of non-violence, Maloney echoed. Other keynote speakers were the Hon, Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty and Samani Malay Pragyaji and Samani Neeti Pragyaji of Jain Vishwa Bharati of North America.
Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty said Gandhi himself was deeply influenced by the work and principle of civil disobedience of American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, emulating it in his life. “Gandhi was deeply influenced by Thoreau and it shows in his life and work. Our freedom fighters were also deeply influenced by the American independence movement and the Constitution,” he said.
Maloney added that India and the US, the world’s largest democracy and the oldest democracies, have several commonalities, share the same values and have been allies across the spectrum. She said that paying homage to the memory and teachings of Lord Mahavir, she said she was not aware that one of Mahavir’s most important message is ‘Live and let live.’ “This slogan is one of the most famous quotes in America.”
The celebration of Non Violence ‘A message of Lord Mahavir and Mahatma Gandhi began with a lamp lighting ceremony with Navkar Mantra by Samani Malay Pragyaji and Samani Neeti Pragyaji joined by the distinguished guest and Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty, Mrs Taruna Chakravorty and Dr. Neeta Jain, President and Founder of International Ahimsa Foundation.
Dr. Neeta Jain gave welcome remarks and reiterated the importance of Non Violence and teachings of Lord Mahavir and Mahatma Gandhi, now more than ever before, and emphasized why and what motivated her to start the IAF organization.
Dr. Jain, the only female Indian-American elected official in New York City, was recently nominated by the Consul General of India in NY, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, and was honored by the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York, Inc. on International Women’s Day for her tireless work in the South Asian Community. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney was the special guest of the evening, joined Consul General Chakravorty and Dr. Neeta Jain, and other distinguished guests in the lamp lighting ceremony.
Consul General Chakravorty was the keynote speaker and Professor Lawrence A. Babb the guest speaker who delivered special remarks and was honored by IAF and CG of India for his scholarship and research work on India. Special remarks also delivered by Jessica Schaowski, the Mayor’s office representative, Hon Assemblyman David Weprin, Senator John C Liu, Kevin Thomas and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
Samani Malay Pragyaji and Samani Niti Pragyaji of Jain Vishwa Bharati of North America also delivered special remarks and graced the evening with Shanti Ki Preksha (Peace Meditation) chants along with the guests.
The guests were entertained by colorful cultural performances throughout the evening by artists and performers from Manglastak Rhythm Dance Academy by Angel Shah, Saurya Doshi, Siddharth Doshi and Shiv Ajmeri and Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram Mahatma Gandhi’s prayer song by United Nations International School, directed by Ms. Ellen Cava.
Hon. Judge Deborah Taylor of The Honorable Society of the Inner Temple presented a video telecast commentary on Mahatma Gandhi.
Consul General Chakravorty, along with Dr. Jain and Vice President of IAF Dr. Raj Bhayani honored the dignitaries –NYS elected officials and the distinguished guests from the diplomatic community CG of Bangladesh Sadia Faizunnesa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN Toshiya Hoshino and Mrs. Hoshino, Ms. Annavaleria Guazzieri, Head of Education Section, Consulate General of Italy to NY, Mr. Giampiero Biagioli, Prof of Linguistics at Rutgers University Italian Studies, Civil Servant at Italian Foreign Ministry, Ms. Emanuela Costa, Italian Language teacher, and Selene Candido, Italian language teacher at Scuola d’ Italia with a shawl and IAF Prayer book.
The finale performance Ghoomar was presented by Rhythm Dance Academy. Artists Khushi Ojha, Jigna Ojha, Nidhi Parikh, Aditi Parikh, Krishna Patel, Jedlina Sarita, Ashmita Saha and Krisha Patel captivated the audience. Vice President of IAF Dr. Raj Bhayani delivered acknowledged the presence of Foreign media from Italy, US, Turkey, Germany, Hungary, China, South Africa, Poland and India.
Dr. Jain gave special thanks to the Consul General and his staff who worked tirelessly and gave unprecedented full support to organize and hosted the IAF Non Violence event and the presence of all elected officials and all guests who were present. The event was generously supported by the media sponsors JITO, JAINA, South Asian Times, TV Asia, PTC, ITV Gold and Parikh Media. The evening began with special Jain vegetarian reception and concluded with Jain vegetarian dinner and desserts
International Ahimsa Foundation Inc. was formed in 2012 to spread the message of non-violence and peace from Jain principles to the community. The goal of the foundation has been to promote the teachings of non-violence and peace in thought and action by providing dialogue, peace-building activities, and civic engagement across cultures. The Foundation hopes to encourage students and the community at large to get involved in creating a better world
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently released an annual report that examines the state of religious freedom in several countries around the world, including India. The countries are categorised into two tiers, with India once again being placed in Tier 2, “for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the “systematic, ongoing, egregious” standard for designation as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA),” the report states. In its key findings, it notes that India saw religious freedom conditions continued on a downward trend in 2018, noting that last year, “approximately one-third of state governments increasingly enforced anti-con- version and/or anti-cow slaughter laws discriminatorily against non-Hindus and Dalits alike.”
The report adds that, in 2018, “approximately one-third of state governments increasingly enforced anti-con- version and/or anti-cow slaughter laws discriminatorily against non-Hindus and Dalits alike,” and notes that Christians were also the targets were mob violence “under accusations of forced or induced religious conversion.” Moreover, the report notes that in cases involving mob violence against a person over false accusations of forced conversion of cow slaughter, “police investigations and prosecutions often were not adequately pursued.”
In its key findings for India, the report takes note of the Supreme Court of India’s highlighting of “deteriorating conditions for religious freedom in some states” in 2018, stating that the court concluded that “certain state governments were not doing enough to stop violence against religious minorities, and in some extreme cases, impunity was being granted to criminals engaging in violence.” The report also highlights Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on these issues, saying he “seldom made statements decrying mob violence,” and noting that “certain members of his political party have affiliations with Hindu extremist groups and used inflammatory language about religious minorities publicly.” These were some of the points the report notes to explain why India was once again termed a Tier 2 country.
The report outlines recommendations to the United States’ government, saying that it should “press the Indian government to allow a USCIRF delegation to visit the country and meet with stakeholders to evaluate conditions for freedom of religion or belief in India”. It calls for working with the Indian government to formulate a years-long strategy to curb religion-driven hate crimes by “pressing state governments” to prosecute public figures, including government officials, “who incite violence against religious minority groups through public speeches or articles.” The recommendations for this strategy also include bolstering the training and capacity of state and central police forces to prevent and punish instances of religious violence, encouraging the passage of the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2018, and assisting the law ministry to work with states to increase prosecution of hate crimes and hate speech targeting religious minorities, among others.
The report says that the conditions for religious freedom have declined in the last decade, stating, “A multifaceted campaign by Hindu nationalist groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang (RSS), Sangh Parivar, and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to alienate non-Hindus or lower-caste Hindus is a significant contributor to the rise of religious violence and persecution.” It notes that in 2017, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) “reported that communal violence increased significantly during 2016,” highlighting that human rights organisations criticised the NCRB last year not adequately including data on mob violence or lynching. Given this, “the NCRB delayed its 2018 report to collect data on nearly 30 new crime categories, which will include hate crimes, lynching, and crimes based on fake news,” the report states.
The report notes that in 2018, Minister of State at the Ministry of Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir told Parliament that 111 people were killed and 2,384 people were wounded in 822 communal clashes in 2017. By contrast, in 2016, 86 people were killed and 2,321 were injured in 703 clashes, the report offers, later adding that independent organisations that monitor hate crimes found that 2018 saw more than 90 religion-based hate crimes that resulted in 30 deaths and many more injuries. However, the report also notes that in December 2018, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that communal attacks had declined 12%, compared to the peak in 2017.
The report also notes how “institutional challenges” have contributed to religious freedom concerns, with “the police and courts overwhelmed,” and highlighting how “worsening income inequality has left more Indians suffering from poverty and has exacerbated his- torical conditions of inequality for certain religious and social minorities.”
The report takes note of anti-conversion laws that are in force in seven states in India, noting that the fundamental right to freedom of religion “includes the ability to manifest one’s beliefs through expression intended to persuade another individual to change his or her religious beliefs or affiliation voluntarily.” The report outlines that in 2018, anti-conversion laws were primarily enforced against Christians and Muslims who were proselytising, and says that religious minority leaders and others were also arrested under these laws. It highlights the case of Hadiya, whose marriage had been embroiled in accusations of ‘love jihad’. The report does not mention this phrase, but takes note of “inflammatory allegations of an organized campaign to coerce Hindu women to marry Muslim men and convert to Islam,” stating that the National Investigation Agency investigated this alleged campaign and eventually concluded that there was no evidence for it. Meanwhile, the report mentions ‘ghar wapsi’ ceremonies, in which those born as Hindus who converted to another religion are converted back, stating that “In some cases, these conversion ceremonies reportedly involve force or coercion,” but noting that it is difficult to determine if such conversions are voluntary or not.
Notably, the report, while discussing the role of Hindutva/Hindu extremist groups, highlights that “moderate and extreme forces within the Hindutva movement point to the rise in the Muslim population from constituting 10 percent of the national population in 1951 to 14 percent in 2011, which in their view necessitates “mitigation” against the growing Muslim community.” It later takes note of the fact that numerous cities have been renamed, such as Allahabad and Faizabad, abandoning the names that had been given during the Mughal period, stating that this “has been perceived as an effort to erase or downplay the influence of non-Hindus in Indian his- tory and as an attack on Muslims within India today.”
The report also discusses cow vigilantism, noting that “cow protection” mobs, “a new phenomenon,” have engaged in more than 100 attacks since May 2015 that have led to 44 deaths and around 300 people being injured. “In 2018 alone, cow protection lynch mobs killed at least 13 people and injured 57 in 31 incidents.” It also takes note of hate crimes against religious minorities, including anti-Muslim rhetoric in West Bengal in April 2018, threats against Christians in Tamil Nadu in October 2018.
Per the report, impunity for large-scale incidents of communal violence persists in India, “without proper accountability or recompense.” Probes and prosecution of those allegedly responsible have been “ineffective” or “absent,” and victims have said that the government has not adequately helped in rebuilding “destroyed neighborhoods, homes, and places of worship.” The report emphasises that while the Supreme Court and fact-finding commissions “have noted common characteristics and causes of such violence, including incitement to violence against religious minorities by politicians or religious leaders,” the failure “to address those common characteristics and causes or to hold perpetrators accountable have contributed to a culture of impunity for such violence.”
Other than incidents and threats that are communal, the report also discusses the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 1976, and details how it has been used to target non-governmental organisations “with missionary and human rights portfolios,” who have been banned from operating in India. It notes that in November 2018, the government “demanded that 1,775 organizations provide further explanation for their failure to submit use of foreign funds over the last six years; these organizations included many non-Hindu religious groups, some Hindu trusts managing major temples, and secular human rights groups.” The report explains that some Hindus, including some “Hindutva extremists,” “perceive Christian missionaries converting Dalits to be particularly threatening, as there are nearly 200 million Dalits in India,” adding, “Many observers assert that it was this fear of mass conversion that led to the 2017 shutdown of Com- passion International, a U.S.-based Christian charity, which provided services to nearly 150,000 Indian children.”
The report also has a section on Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC), which has jeopardized the Indian citizenship of more than four million people. “Widespread concerns have been raised that the NRC update is an intentional effort to discriminate and/ or has the effect of discriminating against Muslims, and that the discretion given to local authorities in the verification process and in identifying perceived foreigners to be excluded from the draft list will be abused,” it notes. It also highlights the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, saying that “concerns about the targeting of Muslims through the citizenship process were separately exacerbated” by its introduction and passage in the Lok Sabha; the bill, which would have provided citizenship to migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan “as long as they were not Muslim,” was dropped in the Rajya Sabha in February 2019, after the reporting period.
The report also discusses religious freedom for women, highlighting the Kathua case, in which an eight-year-old child was “abducted, gang-raped, and murdered as a message and threat to her Muslim nomadic community in Kashmir.” It notes that a priest, his son and a special police officer were charged in the case, and other police officials were charged with covering up the crimes. The report notes that while many protested the incident, “several others organized in support of the men charged, including members of the BJP.” It also highlights the Sabarimala Temple case, saying that following the Supreme Court’s ruling that adult women be permitted to enter the temple, “women attempting to enter the temple were physically attacked and others who publicly stated that they would try to enter the temple received hate mes- sages including death threats both online and in-person.”
The report also mentions a handful of positive developments with regards to religious freedom in India, such as the decline in communal violence in 2018, and the Supreme Court’s directive to the state and central governments to tackle mob violence, asking them to “pursue an 11-point plan, including compensation to hate crime victims, fast-tracking prosecutions, assigning senior police officers to deal with communal issues, and other provisions.” The report also mentions some progress in mob violence cases, citing June 2017’s Alimuddin Ansari lynching case, in which 11 accused were sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2018. Per the report, the Ministry of Minority Affairs was also granted a 12% increase in its budget.
Separately, Tenzin Dorjee, chair of the USCIRF, wrote a note in which he disagreed that religious freedom in India was deteriorating, stating, “While India must address issues related to religious freedom, I respectfully dissent on the views that India’s religious freedom conditions continued on a downward trend, the government allowed and encouraged mob violence against religious minorities, and some states are involved in ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.’” He notes that in the 30+ years he spent living in India as Tibetan refugee, he “mostly witnessed the best of India and sometimes worst due to intractable interreligious conflicts.” He acknowledges that “religious divides and power struggles” resulted in the Partition of India and Pakistan, and also “contribute to egregious violations of religious freedom and tragedies,” but says that in spite of these concerns, “India exists as a multifaith and secular country.” Dorjee says that as a Tibetan refugee, “the most vulnerable minority among all minorities” in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, where he lived, he “experienced full religious freedom,” citing China’s systematic attacks on the Tibetan community in comparison. Dorjee also highlighted isolated incidents of religious harmony, such as a Muslim village donating land and money to build a Hindu temple, and a Hindu head priest carrying a Dalit youth on his shoulders into the Chilkur Balaji Temple’s inner sanctum amid cheers from a huge crowd. He takes note of Nathowal village in Punjab, where Hindu and Sikh communities helped rebuild an old mosque, and Muslims and Hindus helped work at a Sikh gurudwara. “People in this village reported to the Times of India that they celebrated together annual multifaith festivals such as Diwali, Dusshera, Rakhi, Eid, and Gurupurab,” Dorjee writes, opining that such “stories speak for India’s multi- faith civilization, religious freedom, and interreligious harmony.” He ends with an appeal to the Indian government “to continuously respect religious freedom and strive to promote India as a vibrant country of and for the multifaith people.”
(Atlanta, GA: May 10, 2019): Understanding the inherent humanity that unites all nations, religions and cultures, Sadhguru is recognized for his pioneering efforts to nurture global harmony, Dr. Naresh Parikh, President of American association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), said today, while announcing spiritual discourse led by Sadhguru during AAPI’s 37th Convention in New York.
The 37th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly will be held from July 3rd to July 7th, 2019 at the fabulous and world famous Omni Atlanta at CNN Center and Georgia World Congress Center. Expected to have a record attendance of more than 2,000 delegates including Physicians, Academicians, Researchers and Medical students, “the annual convention offers extensive academic presentations, recognition of achievements and achievers, and professional networking at the alumni and evening social events,” Dr. Parikh added.
“Having Sadhguru at the Convention with his unique ability to make the ancient yogic sciences relevant to contemporary minds, and act as a bridge to the deeper dimensions of life, will make the convention and the delegates from across the nation richer, in so many ways,” said Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Chairman of the Convention. “His approach does not ascribe to any belief system, but offers methods for self-transformation that are both proven and powerful,” Dr. Gangasani added.
Named one of India’s 50 most influential people, Sadhguru is a realized Yogi and mystic who works tirelessly towards the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of all. Sadhguru’s work has deeply touched the lives of millions worldwide through his transformational programs.
“We need to create a culture of Health in society, instead of investing in just healthcare,” Sadhguru says. “What we call feeling healthy, is not just the absence of disease, but having a sense of wholeness within us. If we feel like a complete being in our body, mind and spirit, that is when we are truly healthy.”
An author, poet and internationally renowned speaker, Sadhguru’s wit and piercing logic provoke and broaden our thoughts and perception of life. Sadhguru has been an influential voice at major global forums including the United Nations, World Economic Forum, the UK House of Lords, TED among many others.
Just as he has stated, “Your success in this world essentially depends on how well you can harness the prowess of this body and this mind,” Sadhguru believes in dedicating his life for the service of humanity. He established Isha Foundation, a non-profit organization supported by over three million volunteers worldwide. From powerful yoga programs to large-scale humanitarian projects for rural upliftment, education for the underprivileged, environmental restoration, as well as holistic and healthy living, the foundation’s activities are designed to create an inclusive culture and establish global harmony.
His fundamental vision is to offer the science of inner wellbeing to every human being – a science vitally helping realize the ultimate potential within. From this vision stem a multitude of projects, programs, and methods, all towards the same aim: to raise every human being to the peak of their potential, be exuberant, all-inclusive, in harmony within themselves and the world.
Perhaps Sadhguru’s mission is most succinctly summarized in his own paradoxical words: “I have no mission of my own. It is just that when you see a certain need around you, you do what you can do – that’s all. But I have a dream, that someday, walking on a street anywhere in the world, I would be able to meet lots of enlightened or realized beings. That would be the greatest blessing to happen to the world.”
As though responding to the growing need: “Physician, heal thyself,” especially when there are growing signs of burn out among physicians, AAPI is focusing on themes such as how to take care of self and find satisfaction and happiness in the challenging situations they are in, while serving hundreds of patients everyday of their dedicated and noble profession.
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s Atlanta Chapter. In addition to offering over 12 hours of cutting edge CMEs to the physicians, CEOs Forum, fabulous entertainment, and women’s leadership forum. The convention will be addressed by senior world leaders, including US Senators, Presidential candidates, Nobel Lauretes, Governors, Congressmen, and celebrities from the Hollywood and Bollywood world.
Representing the interests of the over 100,000 physicians of Indian origin, leaders of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic organization of physicians, for 37 years, AAPI Convention has provided a venue for medical education programs and symposia with world renowned physicians on the cutting edge of medicine.
“Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country and internationally will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year. We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta!” said Dr. Naresh Parikh. For more details, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: www.aapiconvention.org and www.aapiusa.org
With the election in the largest democracy in the world, coming to a close and the world is awaiting for the crucial results to the Indian Parliament, the media, across the world, is filled with avidity, giving all sorts of analysis and predicting the outcomes. This election is witnessing a headstrong fight between the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the other opposition parties. While the Congress is trying hard to regain its lost ground, the ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance), dominated by Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), has been formed, leaving behind their old rivalry, sheerly to ouster Modi.
Media is playing a very significant role in this election along with allegations of being biased and spreading fake news. Even the global media is intently watching the turnarounds in this election. While Modi is being applauded for improving India’s global status and developing bonhomie with the superpowers, the international media is not all praise for the PM.
Some portions of the media are calling Modi an autocratic leader with his only objective being that of imposing his party’s Hindutva ideology on our secular nation while some are portraying him as the only beacon of home.
American news magazine Time has featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the cover page of its May 20 issue with a headline that may create controversy across India amid the election season. The headline reads “India’s Divider in Chief” that is and carries a caricature of the Prime Minister criticizing Modi.
This title pertains to the article in the magazine, written by Aatish Taseer with the headline “Can the World’s Largest Democracy Endure Another Five Years of a Modi Government?”
The write up compares former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s idea of secularism with the prevailing social “stress” under Modi,” the article read. Besides, the article has also recalled the Gujarat riots that allegedly claimed lives of scores of people.
It is not the first time when the magazine has come with critical commentary about Modi. In its published article in 2012, the magazine described him as a controversial, ambitious and a shrewd politician.
Referring to the 2014 victory, Taseer writes, “The nation’s most basic norms, such as the character of the Indian state, its founding fathers, the place of minorities and its institutions, from universities to corporate houses to the media, were shown to be severely distrusted. The cherished achievements of independent India–secularism, liberalism, a free press–came to be seen in the eyes of many as part of a grand conspiracy in which a deracinated Hindu elite, in cahoots with minorities from the monotheistic faiths, such as Christianity and Islam, maintained its dominion over India’s Hindu majority.
Modi’s victory was an expression of that distrust. He attacked once unassailable founding fathers, such as Nehru, then sacred state ideologies, such as Nehruvian secularism and socialism; he spoke of a “Congress-free” India; he demonstrated no desire to foster brotherly feeling between Hindus and Muslims. Most of all, his ascension showed that beneath the surface of what the elite had believed was a liberal syncretic culture, India was indeed a cauldron of religious nationalism, anti-Muslim sentiment and deep-seated caste bigotry.”
Paradoxically, in the same magazine, there was another article titled, ‘Modi Is India’s Best Hope for Economic Reform,’ wherein the writer, Ian Bremmer, praises Modi for his bold and much-needed reforms like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the biometric identification system- the Aadhar card, strengthening international ties, uplifting the poor through welfare schemes like Ujjwala Yojana and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, among others. “.. India still needs change, and Modi remains the person most likely to deliver. He has improved relations with China, the U.S. and Japan, but it’s his domestic development agenda that has done the most to improve the lives and prospects of hundreds of millions of people. Consider what he’s already accomplished during five years in charge,” the article read.
In an Opinion article, titled, ‘Modi Reminds India of Indira Gandhi. Will He Share Her Electoral Fate?’ published in The New York Times on May 8, the writer, Gyan Prakash, draws parallels between Modi and the former PM Indira Gandhi based on their autocratic form of ruling. The writer even goes on to say that the election results will show whether the public continues to accept an autocratic ruler or removes him like Indira Gandhi was defeated in the 1977 elections post-emergency. He further accuses Modi of destabilizing the democratic institutions.
Prakash writes, “Mr. Modi has ruled India with the iron will reminiscent of Mrs. Gandhi. He brooks no dissent and projects the personality cult of a strong Hindu nationalist warrior combating the nation’s internal and external enemies with “surgical strikes….While Mrs. Gandhi resorted to emergency rule to survive a political crisis, Mr. Modi’s regime thrives on Hindu majoritarian militancy. He stokes majoritarian resentments against the minorities to further his rule. Dissent is denounced as treason, and Hindu nationalists deride critics as elites guilty of “rootless cosmopolitanism.”
He further writes, “Riding to power in 2014 with an overwhelming majority for his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Modi quickly moved to centralize power. His government bypassed the Parliament and issued ordinances to advance his policies. Civil society organizations have faced investigations. Unqualified Hindu nationalists were foisted on educational and cultural institutions. A law was instituted to exert greater control over the appointment of judges.”
In an interview, with the Financial Times’ South Asia Bureau Chief Amy Kazmin and South Asia Correspondent, Stephanie Findlay, discuss the 2019 elections. They start the interview by saying, “India’s election has turned into an ideological battle pitting an inclusive vision of a multi-faith nation against the view that Hindus should have sway.” They even talk about how the 2014 election was fought on the promise of economic development which clearly wasn’t fulfilled. Thus, Modi is fighting the 2019 elections on the basis of national security, by creating an atmosphere of threat and promising that the Modi-led government will protect India as it did through the Uri and Balakot strikes. They have further accused Modi of playing the Hindu nationalism card to seek re-election.
Though the global media is divided in its opinion about Modi and his re-election, one thing which is common across all the sections is the lack of alternate leader for the Indian voters which gives Modi an upper hand in this fierce battle. Taseer rightly says, “Modi is lucky to be blessed with so weak an opposition–a ragtag coalition of parties, led by the Congress, with no agenda other than to defeat him.”
This election has become a fight to uphold our Constitutional principles and our democratic institutions. It is a battle to ensure that religion doesn’t overtake the ideals of justice and equality for all. As rightly described by Prakash, “With an authoritarian, hyper nationalist warrior asking for their support, Indian voters are tasked with making a consequential choice for India’s future. As B.R. Ambedkar, the great Dalit leader and the architect of India’s Constitution, once remarked, Indians were particularly susceptible to “bhakti,” or devotion. This was fine in religion, but in politics, he warned, it is “a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship.”
Taseer argues that To understand the deeper promptings of this enormous expression of franchise – not just politics, but the underlying cultural fissures – one needs to go back to the first season of the Modi story because only then “one can see why the advent of Modi is “at once an inevitability and a calamity for India.”
He says the India offers a unique glimpse into “both the validity and the fantasy of populism” and “forces us to reckon with how in India, as well as in societies as far apart as Turkey and Brazil, Britain and the U.S., populism has given voice to a sense of grievance among majorities that is too widespread to be ignored, while at the same time bringing into being a world that is neither more just, nor more appealing.”
But Taseer notes that Modi is lucky to be blessed with so weak an opposition – a ragtag coalition of parties, led by the Congress, with no agenda other than to defeat him. Even so, doubts assail him, for he must know he has not delivered on the promise of 2014.
“It is why he has resorted to looking for enemies within. Like other populists, he sits in his white house tweeting out his resentment against the sultanate of “them. And, as India gets ready to give this willful provincial, so emblematic of her own limitations, a second term, one cannot help but tremble at what he might yet do to punish the world for his own failures,” he says.
The article also recalled the Gujarat riots of 2002. Taseer describes Modi’s record on women’s issues as “spotty” and calls Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath a “hate-mongering priest in robes of saffron”.
In the wake of the article, reactions on social media were galore with people commenting in favor or against Modi depending on their political persuasions with some calling it a biased article against Modi’s popular government while others welcoming it as an objective thoughtful essay on the divisive politics of the Modi era.
India and nations like Germany, Brazil and Japan are “absolutely needed” as permanent members of a reformed and enlarged UN Security Council to better reflect contemporary realities and the addition of these key members to the UN high-table is among France’s “strategic” priorities, the French envoy to the UN has said.
India is at the forefront of efforts at the UN to push for the long-pending reform of the Security Council, emphasizing that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member.
“In terms of policy, France and Germany have strong policy which is to work together to enlarge the Security Council and to succeed in terms of the negotiations that should lead to the enlargement of the Security Council that we consider absolutely needed to better reflect the world as it is. There is no question about it,” France’s Permanent Representative to the UN François Delattre told reporters here last week.
Speaking along side German envoy to the UN Christoph Heusgen at the end of Germany’s Presidency of the Council for April, Delattre emphasised that France considers that “Germany, Japan, India, Brazil and a fair representation of Africa in particular are absolutely needed at the table to get towards a fairer representation of the Security Council. This is for us a matter of priority.”
He underlined that Paris believes the enlargement of the Security Council with the addition of a few key members is “one of our strategic priorities.”
Noting that when France and Germany launched their alliance for multi-materialism, he said it signifies that the two nations strongly believe in the UN as the core of today’s global governance and that they strongly believe in “multi-lateralism and means that we are actively working to reform and in some respects to refound, reinvent multi-lateralism so that it is really efficient for the decades to come.”
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking at the informal meeting of the Plenary on the Intergovernmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council earlier this year, had said that on the issue of ‘Categories of Membership’, a total of 113 Member States, out of 122 who submitted their positions in the Framework Document, support expansion in both of the existing categories specified in the Charter.
“In short, more than 90 per cent of the written submissions in the document are in favour of expansion in both categories of membership specified in the Charter,” he had said.
Akbaruddin had said that while reform at the UN is a process rather than an event, “there is no process known to us here that has traversed winding pathways in the manner as this process of the Reform of the Security Council.” “In terms of inertia too, it has no peer. While the world is not what it was when we began the process, the objections to moving forward remain the same. While the global challenges of the 21st century have multiplied, we remain divided even about the process to adopt in order to move forward,” he had said.
France has maintained that if the crises of recent times have confirmed the centrality of the UN, they have also reinforced the need to make the organisation more effective and more representative of the current balances in the world.
“That is why France pushes for the expansion of the Security Council by supporting the accession to a permanent seat of Germany, Brazil, India, Japan, as well as a greater presence of African countries,” according to the Permanent Mission of France.
He was the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Liturgy from 2015 onwards and the member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL). He has also served CCBI from 2003 to 2007 as the Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Liturgy.
The cultural show on the stage near the Madison Square Garden after the parade too drew very few people than earlier years, thanks to the rising temperature. Participation from different religious groups was noteworthy this year too – Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Muslim (Ahmadiyya) and Christian groups marched in the parade with their banners showcasing the inclusive culture of India.
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Speaking about the MOU, Dr. Prathap Reddy, Chairman and Founder, Apollo Hospitals Group, and President of Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), said, “This collaboration will provide people across the country access to the best specialists of Indian origin residing in the United States. This collaboration is another example of our continuous endeavor to provide affordable and best healthcare services to people across India.”
The City joined hands with the Indian Diaspora in Connecticut for a celebration organized by the Connecticut Chapter of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT) by hoisting American, Indian and Connecticut flags at the Government Center in Stamford. Mayor Martin, who was present at the flag hoisting ceremony along with Indian Consul Vipul Mesariya, and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong.
The celebration sponsors are First County Bank and Wadia Associates of New Canaan. The program included remarks by the honored dignitaries, brief entertainment of music, presenting a community service award and recognizing high school graduates followed by flag hoisting. If you know any 2019 high school graduates from Connecticut School Systems,.
India’s Consul General from New York Sandeep Chakravorty, in his address, thanked GOPIO for playing a major role in cementing US-India relations and appealed to lawmakers including Senator Richard Blumenthal who was in the audience for their support to promote bilateral relations.
