Category: Community

March 5, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – In a landmark decision on Thursday, a federal judge defended a decorated Sikh American soldier and ruled that the Department of Defense could not subject him to unfair and biased testing on account of his religious beliefs. The message from the court was crystal clear: the United States Department of Defense cannot discriminate and make up new rules to prohibit individual soldiers from serving in the U.S. military.

Earlier in the week, the Sikh Coalition, in conjunction with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and McDermott Will & Emery, sued the United States Department of Defense on behalf of Captain Simratpal Singh. The lawsuit demands that the U.S. military accommodate Captain Singh’s religious articles of faith and abandon the impromptu, discriminatory testing procedures imposed upon Captain Singh.

The testing that the military planned to impose on Captain Singh is not required of any other soldier, even the tens of thousands with medical or religious accommodations, and including previously accommodated Sikhs. Given that Captain Singh has passed the standard safety tests, further testing would clearly be discriminatory.

“We have been advocating for the simple, straightforward, equal right to serve for years, and held onto the belief that the military would correct this injustice once they realized their mistake,” said the Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur. “The military’s treatment of Captain Singh, a decorated soldier, makes it clear that they deliberately want to squash diversity and religious freedom in their ranks; that is not something that any court, or American, should ever tolerate.”

The United States Department of Defense, which had granted and then extended Captain Singh’s temporary religious accommodation until March 31, 2016, is scheduled to make a final decision on Captain Singh’s permanent accommodation by that deadline. Captain Singh, who is a West Point graduate, Ranger, and Bronze Star Medal recipient, has successfully passed the safety tests required of his unit.

“I have so much pride in my Sikh identity and service to my nation,” said Captain Singh last December after receiving his temporary accommodation. “To feel spiritually whole, while continuing my military career, has always been the dream.”

Last year, 27 retired U.S. Generals called on the U.S. Department of Defense to eliminate the ban on observant Sikhs. These generals join 105 Members of Congress, 15 U.S. Senators, and 21 national interfaith and civil rights organizations, who have previously signed letters in support of American Sikhs’ right to serve.

“The U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act make it crystal clear that Captain Singh’s right to practice his faith and serve in our military are not mutually exclusive,” said Amandeep Sidhu, Partner at McDermott Will & Emery. “We are grateful that the court is on the right side of religious freedom with its ruling, which begs the question: does the world’s largest employer really want to be on the wrong side of history?”

Adnan Rashid, 34, of New Jersey has been charged with a 20-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Peoria for alleged tax evasion, filing false tax returns, and mail fraud. Rashid was the sole owner of two Peoria area Marathon gas stations and partial owner of two additional Peoria Marathon stations.  The federal charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Illinois Department of Revenue, Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service.

The indictment alleged that Rashid submitted false sales and used tax returns to the State of Illinois from January 2007 to January 2013.  Rashid allegedly defrauded the State of Illinois of $1.2 million in tax revenue by failing to report approximately $16 million in sales.

Rashid was additionally charged with tax evasion for personal taxes for the 2009 and 2010 tax years, and with the filing of false federal corporation income tax returns for three of the gas stations for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.

“We take allegations of tax fraud very seriously.  Not only does tax fraud deprive the State of critically needed revenues but it also puts businesses that play by the rules at an unfair disadvantage,” Connie Beard, Illinois Department of Revenue Director said.  “I thank our criminal investigation division for their hard work and cooperation with the federal government in bringing forth this indictment.” If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty for mail fraud on 12 counts is 20 years in prison.

Washington, DC: March 7, 2015: In a first of its kind lawsuit, a decorated Sikh-American soldier has sued the U.S. military, alleging that because of his religious beliefs he is being subjected to “discriminatory” testing that no other soldier in the U.S. Army goes through.

Captain Simratpal Singh, 28 was in December of last year granted a temporary religious accommodation to serve in the U.S. Army while maintaining his Sikh turban, unshorn hair and beard.

The accommodation, a rare exception, was scheduled to remain in effect until March 31, but, in an unprecedented step backward, the U.S. Army recently ordered Singh to report on March 1 for “extraordinary, non-standard additional testing as a precondition for remaining in the Army,” international law firm McDermott Will & Emery, representing Singh, said in a statement.

The firm, along with the Sikh Coalition and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, filed the federal lawsuit against the Department of Defense on behalf of Singh, who has earned a Bronze Star for clearing explosives from roads in Afghanistan, and received numerous other military accolades in various positions.

Singh is scheduled to be sequestered for three days to undergo testing that no other soldier in the U.S. Army has ever been subjected to, including the soldiers permitted to maintain beards for medical reasons and previously-accommodated Sikh soldiers, the law firms said.

The New York Times said the tests seek to determine if his helmet would fit over his long hair and if his gas mask could seal to his face.

The lawsuit, which is the first of its kind on behalf of a Sikh officer, demands that the U.S. military continue to accommodate Singh’s Sikh turban, unshorn hair, and unshorn beard and “abandon its unfair and discriminatory” testing.

“For years we have worked to avoid litigation under the guiding belief that the U.S. military would finally do the right thing,” said Amandeep Sidhu, partner at McDermott Will and Emery.

“The U.S. Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act make it clear that Captain Singh has the right to practice his faith in the military and we are confident that the court will agree,” said Sidhu.

Once the testing is enjoined, Singh seeks a further ruling directing the Army to make his religious accommodation permanent.

“I have so much pride in my Sikh identity and service to my nation,” Singh had said in December after receiving his temporary accommodation. “To feel spiritually whole, while continuing my military career, has always been the dream,” he had said.

Rajendra Pachauri, the U.N. climate panel’s former chairman, has been charged with stalking and sexually harassing a woman who worked at the New Delhi environmental think tank he’s headed for more than three decades. Police filed the case in a Delhi court after investigating a complaint by one of Pachauri’s colleagues at The Energy Research Institute, Press Trust of India said.

Police have charged Pachauri, 75, with sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation of the 29-year old woman. Pachauri had headed the four-decade-old think-tank for the last 34 years, when it emerged as a global center for research in efficient utilization of energy and sustainable use of natural resources. It has affiliate institutes in London and Washington.

Pachauri chaired the climate panel — considered the world’s authority on climate science — since 2002, and had accepted the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on its behalf. The panel shared the award with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Pachauri has denied the allegations, but had resigned last year from both the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and from TERI after the researcher’s allegations were published in Indian newspapers. The allegations caused a public uproar in a country where women face a stigma against discussing issues such as sexual harassment in the workplace.

His appointment last month to another top post at TERI renewed outrage, and a second woman, who had worked there for a year, came forward with additional allegations. The court scheduled an initial hearing on April 23.

Separate from the police investigation, TERI’s internal complaints committee examined the evidence presented by the researcher, and questioned nearly 50 other employees, and concluded that the allegations of sexual harassment leveled by the researcher were valid.

In his resignation letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Pachauri said he’d planned to step down on Nov. 2 last year after the release of the final portion of the panel’s fifth climate report, but “close friends and colleagues advised me against that action and to continue with outreach efforts worldwide.”

Pachauri also had colleagues on the panel who had, privately, been eager for new leadership for years. One reason was his habit of mixing personal advocacy with the authority granted by his position.

Chicago IL: On the auspicious occasion of Maha Sivarathri, Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, IL, organized a devotion filled cultural program on Saturday, March 5th in the temple auditorium.  Maha Sivarathri is one of the most important religious festivals for those who follow Sanatana dharma.  This is the time that Lord Siva protected the world by drinking the poison that arose from the churning of the great sea by devas and asuras.  This is the time, in gratitude, Hindus fast, chant, pray, stay awake all night and perform abhishekams with great devotion.

“Om Namah Shivayah” was a unique program consisting of chanting of slokas, classical music and dance performances by featured artists, professional teachers of Chicagoland and their senior students. The classical Indian dance forms of Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi have been presented in the Veluchamy auditorium.

The event began with a fervent invocation – Lingashtakam, Ananda Natamaduvar and Siva Panchakshari Stotram by young students of Smt. Devaki Janakiraman of Noopura Dance Academy. Further setting the devotional mood, students of Smt. Rama Gurupalli of Rama Advanced Music Academy rendered Sambhomahadeva, Mamavasadajanani and Mahaganapatim and students of Smt. Maragatham Mani of Ganalahari School of Music and Culture rendered Bhajans on Lord Siva.

The first of four featured presentations was next, with an exquisite Bharatanatyam performance by Ms. Swetha Ravishankar from Portland, Oregon.   With grace and expertise, she explored the romantic love of mother Parvathi for Lord Siva through Shir Dandayudapani Pillai’s composition and Theruvil Vaarano.  She also presented the item Mallari.

Soorya Dance School under the artistic director Jinoo Varghese presented Ardhanareeswara, a beautiful ragamalika, depicting the union of Lord Siva and Mother Parvathi.  Mudra Dance Academy students, and artistic Director Kshama Shah gave an energetic and inspiring performance of Siva stuti and Natarja Natanam, with beautiful Siva costumes.  Students of Smt. Mahalakshmi Varadhan of Noopura Dance Academy presented Bho Shambho, Nataraja Anjali and Ardhanarishwara Stuthi, which was well received.

The second featured Performance was an enthralling presentation of Bharatanatyam by Ms. Madhavi Reddi of Washington DC.  With finesse and passion she presented beautifully choreographed pieces – Siddi Vinayakam, Adidum Arase and Shankara Shrigiri.

Sushmita Arunkumar of Nrithyanjali School of Dance gave a thrilling presentation of the thunderous descent of river Ganga from her celestial world on to the earth and how Lord Siva effortlessly contains her in his locks, in Thunga tarange gange.  Her students presented Natamadum Nadanadi with ease.

The third featured presentation was a vibrant Kuchipudi performace by Ms Aparna Satheesan, artistic director of Samyoga from Indiana.  With beautiful expression and precise foot work, she presented Ganesha Pravesha Daravu and Ganapathy Kauthuvam in praise of Lord Ganesha and Shiva stuthi where she explored the stories of Markandeya, and Tripurasura and the swallowing of halahala by Lord Siva.

Dr. Hemalatha Burra a Sanskrit scholar and a retired professor of Sri Satya Sai University, India, made a unique sloka presentation.  While her young students rendered Ardhanareeswara stortram and Sivatandava stotram with accurate pronunciation, amazing discipline and musical precision, a group of ladies chanted beautifully Adi Sankara’s Soundaryalahari with English commentary.

The fourth and final featured presentation was by Sri Pabitra Pradhan’s Odissi dance.  His grace of movement, energetic foot work, astounding sense of balance as he rendered Sivapanchaka and Pancha bhuta captivated the audience.

Students of Smt. Sowmya Kumaran of Nrithyasangeeth presented Kapalini beautifully and was well appreciated.  Guru Anupama Rajesh, artistic director of Nrithya Geethanjali Dance Academy, along with her students presented Deva Stuthi, and Idadu padam with great ease and beauty.  A special mention of the item Andanal Ini varumo by Pravalika Bhagavatula, a special needs child, was appreciated by one and all.  This was followed by the concluding presentation of Guru Poonam Mahesh of Nrityanant Performing Arts, and her students show casing Siva kirtanam and Sambho stuti. The beautifully coordinated costumes were pleasing to the eye and the dance was enthralling.

This Sivaratri 2016 event was coordinated by the Balaji temple cultural team.  The emcees – Janaki Madugula and Saroja Ravi were marvelous at their job and were successful in keeping the interest of the audience sustained.  Sri Azad Sunkavalli and Sri Kumar handled the audio. Welcome words and vote of thanks were given by Viji Susarla, co-chair of the cultural committee.

Chicago IL: American Telugu Association [ATA] hosted a grand ATA Day Gala pervaded by palpable excitement and soaring spirits permeating the evening  with overflowing guests packed to the capacity at the grand ballroom in Sheraton Hotel in Lisle, Illinois on Saturday, February 27, 2016. This ATA Day gala was held as a reaffirming precursor leading up to the magnificent milestone silver jubilee ATA Convention to be held in July 1-3, 2016 at Rosemont Convention Center in Chicago, IL.

The highlight of the ATA DAY gala was the huge haul of overflowing donations of over $812,000 from inspired donors touching a groundbreaking milestone to help host grand ATA Convention on an unparalleled scale and magnitude.  The glittering evening   was replete with music, dance, singing enhanced by the presence of prominent Tollywood/Bollywood actress Tapsee Pannu. The central objective of the evening gala was eloquently articulated to inspire Telugu families all across to converge for the milestone 25-years ATA Convention in Chicago and make it a runaway success.  The evening attracted the attendance of prominent ATA pioneering, intermediary and contemporary leaders from all across the country with Democratic front runner for the United States Congress Raja Krishnamoorthi stepping in as an honored guest and spelled out his robust support to the large growing constituency of Telugu people and complimented them for their soaring success in America.

After the lighting of the auspicious lamp by prominent ATA leaders, there was a presentation of an artistically choreographed invocation dance by young children which set the grand ATA Day gala in motion with series of inspiring remarks each convincingly motivating to host one of the most memorable conventions in the annals of the history of American Telugu Association.

ATA Silver Jubilee Convention Convener Chandrasekhar Reddy Palvai welcoming the guests earlier ardently thanked for their spirited pledge of participation in supporting ATA Convention with their resource and urged each Telugu family to be a valued partner in coming together to host the most memorable silver jubilee convention in ATA’s history. Chandrasekhar Reddy Palvai lasted on the podium passionately beseeching the potential donors to rise up to donate generously and identifying the donors and acknowledging them for their support.

Hanumanth Reddy, ATA Founder visibly excited at the unprecedented gathering and the groundswell support from all corners of the country thanked the guests for their proactive support.

Presiding over the fundraising facet, KK Reddy, Convention Director in his persuasive eloquence inspired the guests to step forward to donate.  KK Reddy appealed to the better angels of the spirit of altruism seeking support to help host magnificent ATA convention and the charitable causes ATA is so passionately espouses.  KK Reddy continued to emphasize on the significance of financial partnership from the individuals, organizations and corporations in building a sound financial foundations to unveil a spectacular ATA convention and, in addition, also to build enduring fiscal reserves for ATA’s humanitarian mission projects.

Kamala Chimata, Convention Coordinator spelled out the goals of the convention. Convention Co-Convener Krishna Mushyam conducted the program event with his interspersing introductions; while Jagan Bukkaraju, Convention Co-Convener, Radhakrishna Reddy, Dr. Meher Medavaram Venkat Tudi, Ramana Abbaraju, Uma Katki, Sujatha Appalaneni, Karumuri brothers rendered valuable assistance in conducting program management.  Ramesh Garapaty introduced the cultural programs.

Keerthi Kumar Ravoori made a rousing summation on the grand plans being undertaken to host a massive convention. Among the donors, Srinivas Reddy Sarikonda, Satish Velpuru emerged as one of the highest donors. President-elect Karunakar Asireddy, who spoke on the occasion along with Anil Bodireddy represented a strong contingent of Atlanta ATA team of eight. Some of the key ATA members at the gala include Dr. Murthy Chimata, Yedavalli Ramanamurthy, Ramesh Tummuru, Amar Nettem, Venu & Ramana Abbaraju, venkat Tudi.

Tollywood/Bollywood actress: Taapsee Pannu in her remarks made a stirring pitch for ATA convention and laid- out the significance of paying back to the community, society and the country through financial resources. Actress Tapsee Pannu paid glowing tributes to ATA leaders for their steadfast devotion in promoting humanitarian causes.  To the great amusement of the guests, actress: Taapsee performed an impromptu dance which received sustained applause and cheering.

Some of the convention committee chairs who attended include Srinivas Pedamallu, Mohan Manne, Dr Prakasam Tata, Mani Tellapragada, Usha Pariti, Prasuna Vootkur, Sundar Dittakavi, Raghav Jatla, Sujatha Appalaneni, Satish Chilla, Govind Vundru, Dr. Vijaya Susarla, Srinivas Reddy, Karunakar Reddy Doddam, Jayadev Mattupalli, Sarada Mettupalli, Chalama Reddy Bandaru, Sai Yendamuri, Mohan Kakarlapudi, Srinivas Voruganti, Dr. Viswanatham Susarla, Mahidhar  Musukula, Krishna Rangaraju, Ramesh Poola, Hari Raini, Maruti Ram Gudavalli, Dr. Uma katiki , Bhanu Swargam, Saipriya Reddy, TanviShri Jatla, Harsha Vardhan Reddy, Sarath Yettapu and Saimithra Reddy

Vindya of MAA TV anchored the program; while Rahul Sipligunj crooned late into the night to the captive enthralled audience. ATA hosted a grand evening dinner arranged by Tamarind Restaurant. For more information, please visit ATA website:www.ataworld.org

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Strong ties to the community and a bond between neighbors can help areas affected by natural disasters recover faster, according to a survey conducted by Purdue University students and faculty. Satish Ukkusuri, professor of civil engineering, said that it is important to consider physical infrastructure – the power grid or roads – but it’s also important to understand people and encourage strong neighborhood and community ties that will be instrumental in helping people recover.

The Resilient Communities Research Team found that having a dense social network helps speed the recovery process, said Arif Sadri, graduate student in civil engineering. The team surveyed almost 400 people from the rural southern Indiana communities of Henryville, Marysville, New Pekin and Chelsea, all of which were in the path of deadly EF3 and EF4 tornadoes in March 2012. The survey was part of the project, “Resilient Communities: Strengthening Post-Disaster Recovery by Understanding Interdependent Social and Physical Networks.” Sadri presented the research at the RES/CON Student Research Expo in New Orleans on March 1-3.

The brief survey asked residents to provide information on when, where and how they evacuated the area, and whether it was before, during or after the tornadoes hit on March 2-3, 2012. It also asked about each household’s connection to the people around them and the extent to which those people came to their aid during the recovery process. Sadri said they found that those who were able to rely on their neighbors and community for help were able to bounce back from the disaster a bit faster than those who were not.

Seungyoon Lee, associate professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication, said that there is much to learn about post-disaster recovery. “Very little is understood about how people draw upon their social connections after a disaster and how we can encourage strong neighborhood and community ties that will be instrumental in helping people recover,” she said. “We encourage community leaders and policymakers to consider the importance of social, neighborhood and community factors as they prepare for disasters.”

Engaging senior citizen and civic groups in disaster planning scenarios and encouraging neighborhood events that could build or strengthen social ties are a few ways the team suggests community leaders could better incorporate social factors into disaster preparedness, said team member Megan Sapp Nelson, associate professor of library science.

The research team included Sadri; Lee; Sapp Nelson; Rosalee A. Clawson, professor and head of the Department of Political Science; Abhijit Deshmukh, professor and James J. Solberg head of industrial engineering; Daniel Kelly, associate professor of philosophy; Justin Seipel, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Satish Ukkusuri, professor of civil engineering; and Daniel P. Aldrich, professor of political science at Northeastern University.

The team conducted its study as part of an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant and the 21st Century Grand Challenges project, an initiative created by President Barack Obama in 2013 to harness science, technology and innovation to solve important national or global problems. The $538,000 grant was issued to Purdue in March 2014 for a project titled “Catalyzing the Involvement of Humanists and Social Scientists in Grand Challenge Initiatives.”

March 2, 2016 (Los Angeles, California)  – The Inglewood District Attorney’s Office filed a hate crime charge Tuesday against defendant K.C. Tard, who brutally attacked Balwinder Jit Singh, a turbaned Sikh L.A. County bus driver.

On November 6, 2015, Mr. Singh was called a “terrorist“ and “suicide bomber,” and was accused of hijacking the bus while being viciously assaulted.  The crime left Mr. Singh in the hospital with a disfigured face and infection in his eye that has required weeks of recovery.

Local police initially failed to take into account the hateful slurs used against Mr. Singh, instead classifying the crime as a simple misdemeanor assault. Nearly two months after the incident, the Sikh Coalition urged the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to investigate the case as a hate crime and used the local media to increase public pressure on the case.  The joint legal and communications advocacy resulted in a felony count of Battery on Transit Personnel with a felony hate crime enhancement against Mr. Tard yesterday.

“I was attacked because of my Sikh religious appearance, and the only reason authorities re-examined my case and brought hate crime charges was because of the Sikh Coalition,” said Balwinder Jit Singh.  “I’m grateful to the Sikh Coalition for working with law enforcement, to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, and to the DA’s office.”

The Sikh Coalition was joined in support by nine other civil rights organizations, led by the local L.A. chapter of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, who wrote a letter underscoring the importance of charging this case as a hate crime.

“Mr. Singh’s case sheds light on the failure of law enforcement agencies to recognize and respond appropriately to hate crime cases and the extraordinary efforts required to get them to reverse course,” said Senior Staff Attorney Gurjot Kaur. “We will continue to push for law enforcement agencies to properly identify and investigate hate crimes, and ensure that individuals who resort to racist violence are held accountable.”

In December and January, the Sikh Coalition sent letters to law enforcement agencies and school superintendents in all 50 states about remaining vigilant in protecting the rights of the Sikh community.

In February, www.ReportHate.org was launched to further ensure that all cases of backlash and bias get reported by Sikhs across the United States. “The Sikh turban stands for justice and equality,” said Ms. Kaur. “It should be celebrated, not feared, and we will continue to work tirelessly to further educate Americans while protecting Sikh rights.”

Please notify law enforcement of any threats or violence, and contact the Sikh Coalition at 212-655-3095 or online here. In addition, we urge community members to review our FAQ guide on hate crimes, hate speech and how to report incidents to the authorities and to the Sikh Coalition. Also please view our printable hate crime poster, which is in both English and Punjabi.

Manisha Nagrani, 40, an Indian American woman who raised thousands of dollars online allegedly posing as a victim of a rare blood cancer, was arrested here Feb. 26, and charged with five counts of felony fraud.

Nagrani is currently being held in San Francisco County Jail, on a no bail warrant from Santa Clara County, Max Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, told India-West. She is scheduled to be transferred to Santa Clara County to appear on outstanding warrants from 2011.

According to her booking record, Nagrani has been charged with false personation; receiving or buying stolen property; 2nd degree commercial burglary; and acquiring access cards without the cardholder or issuer’s consent.

When she was arrested Feb. 26 afternoon in downtown San Francisco, she was initially transported to San Francisco General Hospital for medical treatment and then booked into jail, a San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman told India-West.

Nagrani was previously arrested in 2006 and served time before being released on parole. In 2009, the San Francisco Chronicle referred to her as an “accidental entrepreneur” who – after losing a job in public relations – founded a matchmaking business, which introduced over 40 couples who got married.

Sometime around 2014, Nagrani began posting on her Facebook page that she had been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes, a blood disorder affecting stem cells in bone marrow. (ABC’s “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts also suffered from MDS, a rare blood cancer.)

Nagrani – who used the profile Manisha MN and also allegedly used several fake profiles including Matt Marc – stepped up her game on May 27, 2015, posting a lengthy, heart-rending post about her struggle with a terminal disease.

“Twenty days ago I received the news that no one wants to hear – my body is failing at its fight against the MDS. I received an ‘official’ expiration date,” wrote Nagrani.

“Three to four months I was told; one hundred days, give or take. That barely takes me to my birthday – barely makes it to the half marathon I’d plan to walk instead of run because of my failing health and strength.”

“If my doctors are right I won’t be celebrating Thanksgiving again, I won’t see my God-children celebrate their next birthdays, I won’t have the chance to experience some beautiful dreams on my bucket list,” wrote Nagrani.

Supporters immediately began raising funds for Nagrani’s treatments, creating campaigns on the web portals gofundme.com; youcaring.com; and giveforward.com. Nagrani’s fundraising pages are no longer visible on gofundme and youcaring, but her giveforward page shows donations of $17,552, with many donations of over $1,000.

Victims have created an investigation sheet on google docs – Nagrani Investigation Data Sheet – which donors can use to report their complaint. Reports can also be made by calling (415) 553-1754.

People searching for something can find it faster if they know what to look for. But new research suggests knowing what not to look for can be just as helpful. Although previous studies concluded that attempting to ignore irrelevant information slows people down, Johns Hopkins University researchers found that when people are given time to learn what’s possible to ignore, they’re able to search faster and more efficiently.

The results, which offer new insight into how the mind processes difficult information, are forthcoming in the journal Psychological Science and now available online. “Individuals who explicitly ignore distracting information improve their visual search performance, a critical skill for professional searchers, like radiologists and airport baggage screeners,” said lead author Corbin A. Cunningham, a graduate student in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences’ Attention and Perception Lab. “This work has the potential to help occupations that rely on visual search by informing future training programs.”

In two experiments, researchers asked participants to search for certain letters on a computer screen. They had to find either a capital “B” or an “F,” among other letters of assorted colors. Sometimes, the participants were told the “B” or “F” would not be a certain color, like red. Other times they were given no color hints.

When participants were given one color to consistently ignore throughout the experiment, their reaction time slowed at first, but after extended practice, about a hundred trials, they were finding the target letters significantly faster than participants who weren’t given a color to eliminate. In fact, the more information participants were able to ignore, the faster they found the target.

Although trying to disregard distractions might initially slow people down, the researchers concluded that over time, people are more efficient when they know what’s not worth paying attention to. The ability to ignore is a key part of the ability to pay attention, the researchers said.

“Attention is usually thought of as something that enhances the processing of important objects in the world,” said co-author Howard Egeth, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins. “This study, along with some recent work in which we measured brain activity while subjects responded selectively to stimuli presented in the midst of competing stimuli, highlights the importance of active suppression of those competing stimuli. It’s what I think of as the dark side of attention.”

This work was supported by Office of Naval Research Grant N000141010278, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship DGE-1232825, and the Johns Hopkins University Science of Learning Institute.

SAN FRANCISCO: An Indo-Canadian Toronto-based Sikh comedian and YouTube and Vine star, Jasmeet Singh — better known online as ‘JusReign’ alleged that he was forced to take off his turban at the San Francisco airport during a security check, weeks after a Sikh-American actor was barred from boarding a flight in Mexico for refusing to take off his turban.

Although airline officials provided a private room for him to remove his turban so that it could be X-rayed, Singh said they would not provide a mirror for him to retie his turban, and suggested that Singh walk through the airport terminal bareheaded to find a public restroom in which to retie his turban.

“Pretty much the vibe that I was getting was that we’ve done our business, we’ve taken care of our security measures,” Singh told NBC News, “and you’re not our problem anymore. We’re not going to accommodate you now that we’ve done what we need to do.”

“Like any Sikh man in my position, it was demoralizing and embarrassing, to be sent out after being forced to remove my turban,” Singh, whose YouTube channel has nearly 700,000 subscribers and more than 99,000,000 views, said. “I’ve done YouTube videos where I have shown my hair and I have shown how to tie a turban, so I’m more comfortable in the public space, but if it was anyone else in my position — another Sikh man or maybe a woman in hijab — to force them to walk out to use a bathroom to tie their turban or hijab again, it’s kind of ridiculous. Just bringing a mirror to the private screening room will allow them to put it on again, which is not that big of a hassle on their end.”

In response to Singh’s experience, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) told NBC News that they contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ) and TSA as soon as they heard about what happened.

“We are disappointed but unfortunately not surprised by the situation faced by JusReign,” SALDEF Executive Director Jasjit Singh said. “TSA policies have been created to prevent this sort of humiliation. We need more trainings to ensure that security officials on the ground are aware of the policies.”

Harmann P. Singh, a policy fellow at SALDEF, added that SALDEF has worked to conduct trainings with TSA agents in 34 cities, and has trained agents who have served in hundreds of locations across the country. Since Singh began tweeting Sunday night, fans and others have spoken out on Twitter in support.

Prasad Moparti traveled all the way from his native Hyderabad to Sacramento, California, to attend his daughter’s wedding reception in January this year. Last week, police found his body floating in a river a few miles from the reception at historic Grand Island Mansion in Walnut Grove.

Law enforcement officials were unsure as to what had happened to the 55-year-old man who reportedly disappeared from the wedding reception on February 13, or how he landed in river water. He was reported missing that day by his relatives, who told authorities that he had left on foot and never returned.

Reports said quoting family members that he walked away about 4 p.m. from his daughter’s wedding reception at the Grand Island Mansion, a popular waterfront wedding resort in the region’s delta region about 30 miles south of Sacramento. He was reported missing a few hours later.

“Our only focus is to get our father back,” a local Fox affiliate quoted his daughter Durga as saying,’ according to an earlier report by Washington Post. She said she and the family will continue efforts until Moparti was found and brought back home.

But by the time Moparti was found, he was dead. News reports said the Sacramento County coroner confirmed that authorities had found the body of Moparti, Feb. 22 in a waterway about five miles downstream from the wedding reception where he was last seen alive Feb. 13.

The Washington Post earlier said Sheriff’s officials searched for three days for Moparti “utilizing all resources” to find Moparti who was not familiar with the area, but in vain, but the officials said at that time that no foul play or suspicious circumstances were suspected.

Sgt. Tony Turnbull, a sheriff’s department spokesman, told the Post after he went missing that Investigators believed Moparti was suffering from “some kind of depression.” His daughter, however, said that her father was an active participant in the wedding events.

At the wedding itself, “our dad was really very happy,” she said, according to Sacramento Bee. “He was dancing. He was really joyful.” Investigators said they have not determined whether Moparti’s died accidentally. “We may never know what happened,” Turnbull was quoted as sayin

The American Telugu Association (ATA), a 25-year old premier national organization of Telugus in North America, is gearing up to unveil its Grand ATA Conference to mark the celebrations of its silver jubilee on an unprecedented scale.

It will showcase the rich enduring Telugu culture in the form of art, music, dance, literary, religious, social, economic, health forums during July 1-3 in Chicago at Rosemont Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

ATA’s top-tier team from across the country has converged at Westin Hotel in Princeton, New Jersey and 70 important committees have been set up to host this mammoth convention.
The Telangana government will send a 15-member cultural troupe to augment the ATA festivities.

Kamala Chimata, conference coordinator, said the goal of the convention was to promote literary, cultural, educational, religious, social, economic, health and community activities of the people of Telugu origin.

Iftekhar Shareef, Reception Chair, disclosed the plans to rope in VIPs, dignitaries and elected officials both from India and the United States to grace the convention and added that some had already expressed a keen interest in attending.

Sudhakar Perkari, ATA president, Chandrasekhar Reddy Palvai, conference convener, K.K.Reddy, conference director and Hanumanth Reddy, ATA founder, spoke on the occasion.

Washington, DC: K.P. Yohannan, a Kerala-born Indian-American missionary, who founded and runs Gospel for Asia — one of the largest U.S.-based Christian mission agencies — has been charged with fraudulently soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable donations, and misdirecting the money for personal use.

A class action lawsuit filed Feb. 8 in a U.S. District Court in Arkansas alleges that K.P. Yohannan and other agency officials misrepresented how funds would be spent and funneled vast amounts of the hundreds of millions of dollars the organization has collected into for-profit businesses and an expensive headquarters, the Christian Post reported.

Gospel for Asia according to the lawsuit is a global missionary organization that operates in South Asia, primarily within India. The organization tells potential donors that it supplies the “poorest of the poor” with food, provisions, and a Christian message, but lead attorney Marc R. Stanley said in a statement that the agency has been exploiting the goodwill of Christians.

Matthew and Jennifer Dickson, who are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, charge defendants with violations of RICO and the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, as well as fraud and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs allege that Gospel for Asia (GFA), Yohannan, and other GFA officials misrepresented to donors how, when, and where charitable donations would be spent, and funneled vast amounts of the hundreds of millions of dollars the organization has collected into for-profit businesses and an expensive headquarters.

“K.P. Yohannan and his Gospel for Asia inner circle have been exploiting the goodwill and generosity of devout Christians around the country for years. Gospel for Asia should return all the money it’s taken from donors who thought they were contributing to charity,” said Stanley.

According to the lawsuit: “Between 2007 and 2013, GFA solicited over $450,000,000 in donations from the United States alone, where the majority of GFA’s donors reside. Well over one million unique donations are made to GFA each year from tens of thousands of donors who give one time or on a recurring, sponsorship basis. However, despite repeated, explicit guarantees from GFA to donors, only a fraction of the donated money supports the people and causes for which it was donated, as Defendants redirect it for their own purposes.” GFA is present in numerous countries, including Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Laos and Thailand.

Protests against the violation of civil rights at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, where its student body’s president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested last week on charges of alleged sedition, based on a complaint by the ABVP, a student’s body linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, reverberated in the United States this week with Indian-American advocacy groups condemning the incident.

The Alliance for Justice and Accountability, a broad coalition of Indian American organizations working to safeguard pluralism and democracy in India, along with prominent Dalit organizations such as the Ambedkar Association of North America and the Dalit History Month issued a joint statement condemning the “arbitrary arrests and the open violation” of civil rights of the protesting students, according to news reports.

Kumar was arrested Feb. 12 for raising allegedly anti-India slogans at an event organized by students on JNU campus to commemorate the death of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was executed in 2013.

His arrest has triggered widespread outrage among students and teachers and drawn severe criticism from non-BJP political parties, many of which felt this was yet another instance of the ruling party’s growing intolerance of different opinions and views that do not follow party lines.

The university teachers had rallied behind its protesting students, who had gone on strike, and questioned the administration’s decision to allow the police crackdown on the campus. They however, appealed to students to call off the strike.

“Use of sedition laws belongs to the colonial era, not to a modern democracy. It makes a mockery of the freedom of speech provisions of the Constitution”, Two circles Net quoted Umar Malick of Indian-American Muslim Council, as saying. “It clearly points to the penchant of the government to use the law, even archaic ones, as a political tool to silence student protests,” he added.

“We unequivocally condemn the action of the government and the portrayal of student protests as seditious. All citizens that value democracy should be concerned at this development and raise their voice in demanding that government and police stay out of campus politics. This is a direct assault on democracy,” read the statement.

The Indian Diaspora is keenly following these developments in recent months and is alarmed by the labeling of student protests and challenge to BJP allied ABVP as ‘anti-national’ activity. “An India without the freedom of speech is not a democracy,” said Bhajan Singh, founding director of the Organization for Minorities of India. “Students with differences of opinion are the natural byproducts of a vibrant and healthy atmosphere in education, which should be encouraged and not stifled by the ruling party in government,” he was quoted as saying.

The Indian-American organizations have demanded a judicial probe into the civil rights violations of the students and the role of Hindutva organizations in fomenting trouble by framing students as anti-nationals.

The Indian National Overseas Congress, USA also condemned the attack on Anand Sharma, former Union Minister and party leader who went to the campus after the arrest. “This attack is another illustration of growing intolerance in the country to the basic principles of a liberal democracy and the BJP-led Government seemed to have perfected the art of stifling dissent, shutting down debates especially on campuses and bringing sedition charges to silence any opposition”, George Abraham, chairman of the INOC, USA, said in a statement in New York.

The arrest has been widely criticized by political parties, including the Communist party of India (Marxist), and Bahujan Samaj party. Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of CPI(M), and himself a JNU Alumnus, reacted to the strict action taken by Delhi Police under the instruction of Centre against the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. “What is happening in JNU? Police on campus, arrests and picking up students from hostels! This last happened during the Emergency,” Yechury said.

New York City that boasts of people from almost all the nations as being its citizens has rolled a programs to support and protect abused illegal immigrants within its City limits. Out of roughly 11.3 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, 535,000 are reportedly living in the City of New York City. Due to their undocumented status, many immigrants do not report crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking for fear of deportation.

In a bid to provide undocumented immigrant survivors of crime and human trafficking, the New York City last week announced a new initiative to provide them with services in court so that they can have “equal and just protection” under the law without fear of deportation.

According to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner and Chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights Carmelyn P. Malalis, the new initiatives will help such illegal victims of crime and human trafficking to remain in the U.S. during investigation and provide them a pathway to legal permanent residence

“Today, New York City announced that it has expanded its capacity to meet the needs of immigrant communities. U and T visas serve undocumented immigrants who have suffered abuse and encourage them to report the crime regardless of their immigration status. By providing an additional avenue for immigrants to report unlawful activity, the Commission is creating a more fostering environment for immigrant communities,” said Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Nisha Agarwal.

Undocumented immigrants in New York City who are arrested will no longer face the threat of being deported or held at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centers for undetermined periods of time. The Big Apple has been generous with illegal immigrants for long. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a law in November 2014 that severely reduces the city’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities and removes ICE agents from Rikers Island.

“What these bills do is protect undocumented immigrants, or visa holders, and legal permanent residents alike, all of whom have suffered under the previous approach, and ultimately prevent families from being torn apart,” de Blasio said at the bill signing held on the steps of a Our Lady of Sorrows church in Corona, Queens, which provides assistance for local undocumented residents. The bills, Intro. 486-A and Intro. 487-A were introduced by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito in October 2014.

The U. S. Congress created both the U and T visas in 2000 as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act to encourage undocumented immigrants to come forward and report crimes, and to aid law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions of criminal activity.

The U visa allows undocumented immigrant victims of crime to temporarily remain in the U.S. for up to four years while assisting law enforcement in investigations and prosecutions, and provides them with a chance to legally work, integrate into their communities and get on a pathway to lawful permanent residence.

The T visa, which applies only to undocumented immigrants who have been trafficked into the United States, allows victims to remain in the U.S. for up to three years to assist in the investigations or prosecutions of trafficking crimes, and also provides a pathway to lawful permanent residence. Certification by a law enforcement agency is the first step in the visa process and applicants must submit their certification to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for approval to receive a visa.

NEW YORK CITY: Mayor Bill de Blasio of new York City has pledged that the city would spend more than $9 million in “language access” programs including translation and interpretation services in 2016, and that the city’s ad buys in community and ethnic media, which tripled in 2015 from 2013, were on track to outpace last year’s level of $1.3 million.

According to him, the members of the community and ethnic press would gain more ready access to city officials, noting that three seats would be reserved for community and ethnic media representatives at the City Hall press room. The City Hall press office clarified that “three available desks will be rotated to accommodate different outlets, based on request volume.

While saying that he wanted to be careful about making a “blanket pledge” about meeting any and all requests from the ethnic media, Mayor de Blasio said that the city was dedicated to “deepening” its relationship with these diverse media outlets. “My goal is to consistently do more,” he said.

“We are the ultimate city of immigrants. We honor that fact and know that it’s essential to our greatness and that means we need to communicate with people” in a way that they trust, said the mayor. In the past, he said, “New York City government too often attempted to basically communicate with the people of New York City only through traditional mainstream media and didn’t understand the power of community and ethnic media.”

Now, he said, “we’re going to start changing that reality and we’re going to deepen these changes over the next few years. We aim to reach all of the people with everything we do.” On matters from pre-K seats to IDNYC to taking advantage of the earned income tax credit, de Blasio said, the city wants people in diverse communities to be well-informed, and the way to ensure that is through “pushing out more information to all of you than we have in the past.”

With City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on his right and the Commissioner for Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal to his left, the mayor addressed and took questions from more than 50 members of the community and ethnic press in a standing room-only briefing held in the Blue Room at City Hall. Mark-Viverito and Agarwal also addressed the group.

Mark-Viverito said she understood the role that community and ethnic media play in the city, and was “very passionate” about developing a strong partnership with that media, since she is bilingual and bicultural, gets her information from many media, and herself was once a journalist at WBAI. She noted that she had named the first-ever director of media diversity relations for the City Council, Juana Ponce de Leon. The Council speaker said she was “very excited” about the city’s efforts, that this is “just a beginning” and conceded that “it’s overdue – let’s be clear about that.” During questioning from the community and ethnic press, the mayor took notes and told some individual reporters that he would be sure to have their particular questions or complaints about prior inattention addressed. Agarwal, who described some of the city’s new initiatives to improve language access, such as inviting residents to dial 311 with complaints if interpretation services were found wanting, said that “we want to be held accountable in how we are bridging the language barrier.”

ANDOVER, MA—Members from all four centers of growing Chinmaya Mission Boston family are getting ready to kick off the celebration of Swami Chinmayananda’s 100th birthday with a great fanfare on May 8. The young and the young at heart from Chinmaya centers in Andover, Newton, Metrowest, and newest center in Dover, NH, will participate on this joyous occasion. n May 8, 1916 in Ernakulam, Kerala, India, was born a baby boy named Balakrishna Menon who was destined for greatness. His innate curiosity for the truth led him to the sanyasis residing in the Himalayan Mountains from where he returned as Swami Chinmayananda, an enlightened soul, with a mission to share the knowledge of ancient Hindu scriptures with the masses of India.

In 1953, Swami Chinmayananda’s devotees established Chinmaya Mission to accelerate and amplify his work. The goal of the organization is simple yet profound – “To provide to individuals from any background the wisdom of Vedanta and the practical means for spiritual growth and happiness, enabling them to become positive contributors to society.” Swami Chinmayananda, or Gurudev, as he is lovingly referred to by Mission members, was the perfect embodiment of this goal every moment of his life until he attained Samadhi in August 1993.

“Unto Him Our Best” – that is the motto for the yearlong celebration of Swami Chinmayananda’s Centenary. And that is what members of Chinmaya Mission Boston have been offering to Gurudev – their best in their efforts towards spiritual unfoldment, and in service the community.

On Sunday, May 8th, the day will start with a formal offering of our pranams to Gurudev. Given the abundance of talent among Chinmaya members, the organization has a great line-up of musical, dance and theatrical performances throughout the day.

From the traditional/classical genres to more contemporary styles, the performances will be an offering to Gurudev. Some members of Chinmaya Mission of Boston have had the great fortune of having interacted closely with Gurudev.

“We will mark this day by partaking of their experience as they reminisce about his immense spiritual knowledge, his compassion, his wit and his great sense of humor,” organizers of the event said.

In parallel with the cultural program, several interactive display booths and activities will be on hand that will showcase the myriad different initiatives Chinmaya Mission is involved in worldwide. From elementary education to technology colleges, from women’s empowerment initiatives to hospitals, from preservation of our ancient Hindu scriptures to serving the needy, the Mission does it all.

“What a great way to learn about the Mission all under one roof! Want to get a quick primer on The Holy Gita or brush up on your knowledge of it? Then you will not want to miss “18 Chapters in 18 minutes”! Younger visitors will have several opportunities for fun games and craft projects. And for those wanting to de-stress, Yoga sessions will be offered by trained professionals,” organizers said.

They added: “Of course, no celebration would be complete without some delicious food! Just as Gurudev criss-crossed India spreading the wisdom of ancient Hindu philosophy, we plan to have delicacies from Kerala to Uttarkashi, from Mumbai to Calcutta, to satisfy every palate. “

The Chinmaya Mission family extends a warm invitation to one and all to join them in celebrating the life of a great Mahatma, and in the process, learn a little something about his teachings, his life’s mission, and about the Boston chapter.

For more information about the Centenary Celebrations and Chinmaya Mission Boston, please contact: info@chinmaya-boston.org.

New York, NY: Riva Ganguli Das, presently India’s ambassador to Romania, Albania and Maldova, has been named to succeed Indian Consul General in New York, Ambassador Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, according to news reports.

“She is likely to arrive in the next few days. Till the time she arrives, the Deputy Consul General Manoj Mohapatra will hold the fort,” media reports stated. Mulay has been appointed to head the newly formed ‘India Diaspora Division’ in India’s Ministry of External Affairs incorporating the Ministry hitherto known as Ministry of Overseas India Affairs.

Ambassador Das Mrs. Riva Ganguly Das joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986. She is a Post Graduate in Political Science from Delhi University. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she was a Lecturer at Delhi University, according to Indian embassy website in Romania.

Das was first posted in Spain. Thereafter, she was at the Headquarters dealing with External Publicity, Nepal and Passport/Visa work. She was Head of the Cultural Wing of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. After her return from Dhaka, she took over as Director at the United Nations Economic and Social Affairs Division and participated in environmental negotiations, particularly climate change.

She was the Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India, The Hague. She was also the Alternate Permanent Representative of India to the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at The Hague. She served as Consul General of India in Shanghai from 2008 to 2012. After her return from China, she headed the Public Diplomacy Division in the Ministry of External Affairs. Before coming to Bucharest, she was in charge of the Latin America & Caribbean Division in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Los Angeles, CA: The body of Praveen Galla, 23, a second-year engineering student of California State Fullerton University, who had gone missing since February 1st, has been found floating in the waters off Newport Pier in Orange County in the state of California on February 9th.

Media reports quoting police said that body of Galla from Tirupati, India, was found by lifeguards at the beach and the county coroner’s office identified it to be Galla. He was reported missing by his roommates after he failed to return home. The Los Angeles Times reported that Galla had taken an Uber ride on from Fullerton to the campus and arrived there at 5:06 p.m. A friend reported receiving a “check-in” notification on his cell phone later that Galla had been in the Newport Beach area, the report said quoting police.

Authorities believe, the report said, that Galla took a bus from Fullerton to Newport Beach.The body of Galla was found 1,000 feet from the pier in Newport Beach, according to the Orange County coroner’s office which will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. It was immediately not clear what led to his death.

The LA Times report said quoting police that his friends told university police that it was unusual for Galla not to return home and that he was depressed lately about the status of his student visa. “His friends said he wasn’t suicidal, but was depressed about it (the situation)” a police official was quoted as saying.

In an e-mail to the Cal State Fullerton campus community, California State University president Mildred Garcia said that Praveen was a bright young mind and a valued member of our campus. “While we are still learning details of the circumstances surrounding his death, we do know that he will be missed.”

Washington, DC: Sohail Kaskar, 36, Dawood Ibrahim’s nephew, has been caught in the US for conspiring to commit narcoterrorism, providing material support, and unlawfully selling missile launching systems to Colombia’s FARC (Spanish acronym for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

An old associate of Dawood’s gang said the wanted gangster is upset that Sohail went about his dealings without keeping him or other seniors in the loop. His nephew’s arrest is a major “embarrassment” for Dawood, who, a source said, tried his best to keep Sohail at arm’s length from the law.

Sohail and two Pakistani nationals were arrested by the US’s dreaded Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in December 2015 after extradition from Spain, but Dawood and his cronies used all their might and connections to suppress the news to prevent Dawood’s “international image” from getting tarnished, sources were quoted to have said.

Sohail, alias Ali Danish, is Dawood’s deceased younger brother Noora’s older son. Sources said Dawood has engaged a top lawyer for Sohail, who, if convicted, can face a maximum sentence of life in jail and a mandatory minimum term of 25 years in prison.

The lawyer, Tom Keniff, is representing him in the Manhattan federal court, which charged him in December 2015 for supplying surface to-air missiles to FARC and for bringing drugs, mainly heroin, into the US from Pakistan.

Sohail and the Pakistani nationals, identified as Pirzada Hameed Chisti, alias Benny, and Abdul Wahab Chisti, alias Angel, were arrested in Spain in June 2014 on the request of the US government. After extradition, they were taken into custody by the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force.

According to the allegations contained in the indictment and the underlying complaint at the Manhattan court, from 2013 till the date of their arrests, the two Pakistani nationals and Sohail participated in a conspiracy to import heroin into the US, to distribute the drug, and to support FARC.

During meetings in Spain and elsewhere, the trio agreed to sell large quantities of heroin to individuals they believed were from FARC, but who in reality were undercover DEA agents. Sources said there is a tapped conversation in which Hameed Chisti can be heard forwarding Sohail’s bank account information to an undercover DEA officer to facilitate payment for SAMs.

According to the indictment, in April 2014 the Chishtis arranged for the delivery of a kilogram of heroin to the undercover DEA agents in the Netherlands, for transport to the US. After enough proof, the Chishtis and Sohail were arrested.

San Francisco, CA: The lives of millions in this great nation of immigrants changed for ever ever since the nation was attacked on The 9/11 by terrorists. Especially, the lives of the South Asian Americans have indelibly changed who now live in a daily climate of fear and suspicion, said long-time Indian American community activist Deepa Iyer during a reading of her new book, “We Too Sing America” on January 20, 2016.

The 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., was a “watershed moment” for Iyer, who was working at the time as an attorney in New York. “I heard immediately from Sikhs and Arabs and Muslims who were being harassed.”

“Safety is elusive even in our mosques, temples and gurdwaras. We receive messages that we are diluting the culture of America,” said the writer before reading from her book, which chronicles the violence against South Asian Americans in the 15 years since 9/11.

An audience of more than 70 people gathered at The Booksmith in San Francisco’s iconic Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which had sparked a revolution 50 years ago. Four local community activists joined Iyer for a panel discussion after the reading.

Iyer co-founded South Asian Americans Leading Together shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and served as the organization’s executive director for 12 years before stepping down in January 2014. In 2009, Iyer and SAALT developed the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations, an umbrella group of 43 community-based organizations.

She is now a senior fellow at the New York-based Center for Social Inclusion. Iyer, who was born in South India, but moved to Kentucky when she was 12, said she had always experienced episodes of “racial confusion.”

“We entered a process of double grieving for the victims of 9/11 and for the scape-goating our community was facing,” she told her audience. Her goal in writing the book, published by The New Press, was to “document the life experiences of post 9/11 America” and to expose the links between Islamophobia and xenophobia and racial anxiety. Iyer called upon her audience to become “bridge builders” to other communities of color.

New Mexico: Pawankumar Jain, an Indian-American physician in New Mexico, whose license was revoked in 2012, pleaded guilty Feb. 11, to health care fraud that involved unlawfully dispensing drugs and health care fraud. Prosecutors alleged that some of his prescriptions led to the death of several patients.

Jain, 63, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M. He has been in federal custody since April 2014, and his detention will continue until the sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Jain will be sentenced to a prison term within the range of 42 to 108 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Jain was initially charged in a 111-count indictment filed in April 2014, including 61 counts of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and 50 counts of healthcare fraud. A 138-count second superseding indictment filed in June 2015 added new charges for a total of 79 unlawful dispensing charges and 59 healthcare fraud charges, including allegations that his conduct resulted in the death of four patients, a press release from the U.S. Attorney for District of New Mexico said.

The superseding indictment alleged that Jain committed the offenses charged between April 2009 and June 2010, in Doña Ana County, N.M. During that time, he was a licensed physician with a neurology subspecialty who operated a pain management medical practice in Las Cruces. Jain’s medical license was suspended in June 2012, and subsequently revoked in Dec. 2012 by the New Mexico Medical Board.

Jain pled guilty to one count of unlawfully dispensing a controlled substance and one count of health care fraud. In his plea agreement, he acknowledged that in his treatment of one patient identified as “M.E.B.,” he conducted “cursory exams and [that he] did not document a therapeutic benefit from the narcotics he was prescribing for her.” When he last saw that patient on Nov. 25, 2009 Jain said, he “… wrote two prescriptions, each for 270 tablets of methadone 10 mg, one dated November 25, 2009, and the second dated December 23, 2009. M.E.B. filled each of these prescriptions, which were issued outside the usual course of medical practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. . . . Two days after she filled the second prescription, M.E.B. died on December 25, 2009.”

Jain also admitted committing health care fraud in connection with his treatment of M.E.B. Jain’s plea agreement states that he knew M.E.B. was insured by Medicare and that claims to cover the costs of the medication he prescribed for her would be submitted to Medicare for payment. Prescription drug abuse is a leading cause of heroin addiction and overdose deaths in the United States. It has resulted in more than 44,000 deaths in the past year.

San Francisco, CA: A rent increase reportedly asked for by an Indian-American landlord in San Francisco may be the reason why two French-speaking nuns have been serving hundreds of homeless people in the poor Tenderloin neighborhood with home-made lunch from their popular soup kitchen may have to join the people that have giving service to since 2008.

According to Washington Post, Sisters Mary Benedicte and Mary of the Angels have offered the homeless people a refuge from the streets with their baked goods and home cooking.

They devote most of their time to running the kitchen, while seeking donations and selling French pastries to farmer’s markets on the side of their modest space at Fraternite Notre Dame Mary of Nazareth House in San Francisco. The nuns sleep in a tiny back room and prepare daily lunches for hundreds of homeless people.

According to the Post quoting San Francisco Chronicle and agency reports, the sisters have been threatened with eviction if they do not pay increased rent as demanded by landlord Nick Patel. The sisters are part of the greater Fraternite Notre Dame religious order, which was founded in France in 1977. According to the San Francisco chapter’s website, they feed more than 300 people every day.

However, the lawyer for Patel was quoted as saying that no eviction was going forward. “The owner of the building is currently in India, and plans to meet with Mary Benedicte and Mary of the Angels when he returns,” the Post quoted the lawyer as telling the Associated Press.

HICKSVILLE, NY: Responding to a long term need of the Indian American community, Dr. Himanshu Pandya, with his partners Kirit Panchamia and Hiren Patel, announced the creation of My Home at a press conference, held at the center, 256-C W. Old Country Road, Hicksville on February 10

Dr. Pandya said that the Social adult day care programs are designed for those who are well enough to live at home but need daily supervision. The mission is to provide better quality of life for afflicted individuals while maintaining their dignity in our homelike, warm environment. The primary purpose of this program is the promotion of optimum health, prevention of disease and maintenance of participant’s ability to continue residence at home. He stated:” With the support of caring, dedicated and qualified staff, we are committed to providing the best to seniors living in the area”.

Bobby Kumar Kalotee, who spoke about the necessity of the adult care daycare center, relating to his visiting mother in the United States. She just wanted to go back to India, as there was nothing for her to do the whole day, in terms of daily social activities. He encouraged all to serve the seniors in one or the other way. Bobby thanked the participating, majority of Indian Television and Print Media, community leaders and prominent people who made it possible to attend the event at a very short notice.

The Daycare will serve people more than sixty years of age, or the one who are affected by permanent chronicle illness at no cost to individuals. The vegetarian meals with the approval of certified nutritionist will be served. According to the management, structured program of daily activities will include; arts & crafts, yoga, meditation, light exercise, games anda lot more. The Center has door to door transport available at no cost to seniors.

My Home will have an Open House for the next 2 weeks, starting immediately, between the hours of !0 AM and 5 PM.

Amid continuing attacks on journalists, media representatives from around the world will meet in the French capital this week to discuss how to reinforce the safety of those working in the sector.

Organized and hosted by the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, this “unprecedented” meeting between media executives and the agency’s members states on Feb. 5 is an attempt to “improve the safety of journalists and tackle impunity for crimes against media professionals”, UNESCO said.

“As everyone knows, the problem has been increasing over the past five years of killing of journalists in different parts of the world, and the UN system as a whole has become more concerned about this in parallel,” said Guy Berger, director of UNESCO’s Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development.

He told IPS that the UN has been putting “a lot of effort” into trying to get more action against these killings and that UNESCO has been working to create greater cooperation among various groups concerned with journalists’ safety.

But Berger said that the conference wanted to focus on what media organizations themselves could do “to step forward” and bring attention to the matter.

The day-long meeting – titled “News organizations standing up for the safety of media professionals” – will “foster dialogue on security issues with a view to reducing the high number of casualties in the profession”, UNESCO said.

The number of media workers killed around the world totaled 112 last year, according to the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), whose president Jim Boumelha will speak at the conference.

The IFJ, which represents some 600,000 members globally, said that among the deaths, at least 109 journalists and media staff died in “targeted killings, bomb attacks and cross-fire incidents”. This number marks a slight decrease from 2014 when 118 media personnel were killed.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a group that defends freedom of expression, said in its report that the deaths were “largely attributable to deliberate violence against journalists” and demonstrates the failure of initiatives to protect media personnel.

The slayings included those of cartoonists working for the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. Following those attacks, UNESCO organized a conference then as well, under the heading “Journalism after Charlie”.

In the year since, many other media workers have lost their lives, in both countries at peace and those experiencing civil war.

Calling on the UN to appoint a special representative for the safety of journalists, RSF’s Director General Christophe Deloire says that the creation of a specific mechanism for enforcing international law on the protection of journalists is “absolutely essential”.

Deloire will present a safety guide for journalists at the conference, in association with UNESCO. This is part of the aim to “share good practices on a wide range of measures including safety protocols in newsrooms … and innovative protective measures for reporting from dangerous areas”, according to the UN agency. Some 200 media owners, executives and practitioners from public, private and community media are expected to attend the conference, UNESCO said.

“The diversity of media represented, in terms of geography, size and type of threat encountered, is unprecedented and should contribute to the conference’s ability to raise awareness of and improve preparedness for the full range of dangers the media face worldwide,” the agency added.

Berger will moderate the first session, while debates in the second will be led by Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent for the broadcaster CNN and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression and Journalism.

Diana Foley, founder and president of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, is also scheduled to be among the speakers. The institution honours the work of American journalist James Foley, her son, who was abducted while covering the Syrian war and brutally killed by his captors in 2014.

One of the conference’s high-level sessions will focus on “ending impunity together” and will comprise “dialogue” between the media industry and UNESCO member states, according to the programme.

UNESCO says it has been advocating and implementing measures to improve the safety of journalists and to end impunity for crimes against media workers. The agency’s Director-General issues press releases to condemn the killing of journalists and media workers, for instance.

In addition, UNESCO publishes a biennial report that takes stock of governments’ replies to the organization’s request for information about “actions taken to pursue the perpetrators of these crimes”.

In its 2015 report, “World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development”, UNESCO noted that some member countries were not submitting requested updates on investigations into attacks against the media. However, the response rate had still risen to 42 percent (24 out of 57 countries) from 22 percent in 2014.

Ritu Sachdeva, 17, an Indian American teenager was found dead Jan. 31 in her Murphy, Texas home, on the same day a school friend’s body was found in nearby woods. Ritu died of an overdose of multiple medications, Murphy Police Chief Arthur Cotten told India-West. Sachdeva’s parents found her dead body in her bedroom and called police, said Cotten. Within several hours, the remains of Hillary Kate Kuizon, 17, were found by Murphy officers. Kuizon died by hanging in an apparent suicide, said Cotten.

Both girls attended Plano East Senior High and knew each other, said the police chief, noting that investigators are still trying to determine if there is a connection between the two deaths. Sachdeva’s parents gave no indication as to what might have occurred before their daughter died, said Cotten, adding that police had not previously been called out to the home. Both deaths continue to be an open investigation, pending final reports from the medical examiner.

No evidence of foul play has been detected in either case, said Cotten. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the two families,” said the police chief in a press statement. “We are treating these two cases with the care and compassion they deserve, and will continue to seek answers for the families.”

Prachi Sachdeva, Ritu’s mother, told India-West she was not yet ready to talk about her daughter’s death. The family has set up a Facebook memorial page and will hold a memorial service for Ritu on Feb. 7, 2 p.m., at Charles W. Smith and Sons Funeral Home in Sachse, Texas.

“Everyone loved Ritu so so so much,” Suchi Sachdeva, Ritu’s older sister, wrote on her Facebook page. “She was so bright, beautiful, quirky, and just all around amazing, inside and out. Gone too soon, only 17 years young.”

“It’s going to be extremely difficult to move on from this tragic loss. Nothing is going to be the same; her birthday, holidays, going to restaurants, going on family vacations, etc. I’ll always be thinking of her when doing anything good,” said Suchi Sachdeva.

Autumn Hinze, a friend of Sachdeva’s, has set up a $2,000 gofundme.com page called “Flowers for Ritu,” with the aim of filling Sachdeva’s home with flowers and aiding a suicide prevention organization. A sum of $1,926 had been raised in a single day.

“Ritu Sachdeva changed all of our lives. Her bold, beautiful personality infiltrated our hearts and now we are all feeling her loss. I know I can’t process her being gone and I’m sure many feel the same,” said Hinze.

“Even if you didn’t know her that well, you probably know how her personality could fill a room and how she could make a joke about anything. She was a vital member of every group she was ever in and it will take us a very long hard time to feel normal again,” she said.

In 2014, Sachdeva won an honorable mention in the Medicine and Health sciences division for her entry at the Beal Bank Dallas Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Teen suicide is on the rise in the Asian American community. One out of every ten children struggles with mental health issues, reports the National Alliance on Mental Health, noting that Asian American teenage girls have the highest rates of suicide of any U.S. population. (IW, July 10, 2013)

While there is a lack of data related to depression in the South Asian American community, a study released by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum reported that a higher percentage of South Asian Americans, especially between the ages of 15 to 24, tested positive for symptoms of depression. However, South Asian Americans are the lowest users of mental health services because of the perceived cultural stigma attached to mental health issues, noted the APIAHF report.

Mitesh Patel, a young Indian American was killed on  January 29 during an armed robbery at the Bossey Drive-in Dairy he owned in San Bernardino, Calif. Mitesh Patel, 31, leaves behind his wife, Bhavika, and his three-year-old daughter, Vrisha. A memorial page –gofundme.com/miteshpatel – has been set up to establish a college fund for Vrisha.

Desmond Keyontre Stevenson of San Bernardino, 25, and Robert Almond Green of Highland, 23, were arrested Jan. 31 in connection with the murder. According to police reports, Stevenson and Green entered the store at 9:48 p.m., armed with a rifle and a handgun and wearing masks. The pair demanded money from Patel, who gave them all the money in the register — $200 – but then fired a single round which hit Patel in the chest and killed him almost instantly.

San Bernardino Police Lt. Richard Lawhead told India-West that Patel’s brother-in-law – who is not being identified – was also in the store, but in the bathroom during the shooting. When he emerged from the bathroom, the assailants pointed the gun at him and took his cell phone but did not shoot, before fleeing in a get-away car, he said.

Lawhead said the pair then went down the street to another convenience store, which they also tried to rob, but could not, as the cashier was protected by bullet-proof glass. Because they were masked, there was initially some difficulty in finding and capturing the suspects.

Police got an identification of the get-away vehicle – a white Mercedes Benz SUV – which had some distinctive features on the front end, and special wheels. Another officer – who used to work on the city’s gang abatement force – recognized the vehicle. Police then identified the owner, who had sold the car to Jason Allen, 25, who drove the get-away car. Allen was arrested at his home Feb. 1 and is being held on $1 million bail. Stevenson, suspected to be the shooter, is being held without bail. Green is also being held without bail. Both are being held on charges of murder, robbery and street terrorism. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lawhead said Green and Stevenson are documented gang members. Stevenson was released from prison Dec. 23, 2015, having served eight months of a 16-month prison term on weapons charges.

Asked if there was any indication that the shooting may have been a hate-motivated crime, Lawhead said there was no evidence to indicate the incident was anything other than a robbery.

The Southern California South Asian American community has faced a surge of hate-motivated attacks in the aftermath of the Dec. 2, 2015 massacre in San Bernardino, when Muslim Americans Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at a rehabilitation center for handicapped people.

“Mitesh Patel was a beloved father, son, husband, brother, and friend to all who knew him. He was taken away from us far too early in a horrible tragedy that reminds us all how fragile life is,” wrote family members on Patel’s memorial page, which has raised almost $15,000 for Vrisha’s college funds in the five days since it was launched. Donors grieved for the family and “the senseless tragedy.”

The family thanked donors for their support. “Thank you to everyone for your unwavering support during this difficult time. It is very consoling to know that the world is filled with good people who can overcome the kind of hatred that led to this tragedy.” Regular customers at the store described Patel as a generous man.

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The body of Shireen Ahsan, a 19-year-old has been found in Wilder Ranch State Park near Santa Cruz, CA. Shireen Ahsan, a student who went missing after being swept into the sea on January 18. A mountain biker first spotted the body on remote Strawberry Beach about 5:45 pm.  Ahsan’s family was notified shortly after the identification was completed next day, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Lt. Bob Payne.

The search for one of her companion that day, 25-year-old Solaiman Nourzaie of San Jose, continues with watercraft and aircraft. Sheriff’s Lt. Todd Liberty said Ahsan’s body was discovered when the mountain biker, cycling the coast trail above Strawberry Beach, noticed what appeared to be human remains below. He alerted authorities and emergency personnel, who responded to the scene.

Ahsan’s body was retrieved about 7:30 pm. in one of the least-visited parts in Wilder Ranch State Park. A mountain bike trail runs along its lip, and a remote trail cuts down to the beach and through nearby agricultural fields.

Ahsan and Nourzaie were part of a group of five students who climbed down a rope to reach a rocky outcrop south of Bonny Doon Beach on January 18. In 10- to 15-foot surf, Ahsan, Nourzaie and another man were swept off a rock into the ocean. The other man made it to shore uninjured, but Ahsan and Nourzaie disappeared into the sea.

Tasneem Diwan was captured on January 29th at a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and was returned to East Windsor, New Jersey, to face charges of bludgeoning her mother-in-law to death. According to a press statement from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the victim, 75-year-old Safia Diwan, was found deceased by East Windsor police – who followed up on a 911 call — at about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26, in a front office of the home she shared with Tasneem Diwan. Police did not say how long Diwan may have been dead or who made the 911 call. Police also did not say whether there were other people in the home, when police arrived.

An autopsy report indicated that Safia Diwan died of blunt force trauma to the head. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office has accused Diwan of striking her mother-in-law in the head several times with an unknown object. She has been charged with one count of murder, one count of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon. She is being held on bail of $1 million, and had not posted bail as of Feb. 2 afternoon.

The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office reported that a hunt for Diwan began after Safia’s body was found at the home. Diwan was observed late Jan. 29 evening in the bus terminal area of the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. She was detained there by security officers and Atlantic City police. Members of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force and the East Windsor Township Police Department transported Diwan back to East Windsor to continue the investigation.

Before she was captured, Diwan was last seen driving a green 2000 Nissan Quest minivan with New Jersey license plate JYY16P. Police described her as “distraught.”

According to 6abc.com, the victim’s son and the woman’s husband, Dr. Nauman Diwan, is an internist. The report added that sources say Tasneem suffers from mental health issues, which her neighbors say they were unaware of.

Long Island, NY: Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony J. Santino and the entire town board hosted Long Island’s largest India Republic Day Commemoration on January 28, 2016. This holiday marks the establishment of India as a republic and its liberation from British rule.

“The Town of Hempstead is happy to once again join with the Indian community in commemorating an historic occasion that recognizes India’s enduring commitment to democracy and freedom, the same values that Americans hold so dear,” said Santino. “Indian Americans are a vital part of the fabric of our nation, greatly enriching us with their gifts of art, culture, cuisine, intellect, values and abiding warmth. I am proud that we are able to host today’s ceremony here in an area where so many people who trace their roots to India have settled.”

For Hempstead Town’s 13th Annual India Republic Day Ceremony, Santino presented Raji Kuncham and Anand Ahuja, two distinguished Indian-Americans, with special awards in honor of their community involvement.

Raji Kuncham, of North Bellmore, is president of Telugu Literacy and Cultural Association, one of the oldest Indian organizations in the country. Through that organization, Raji has helped promote Indian culture, women’s leadership and strong community partnerships. She also volunteers with the Art of Living Foundation, Interfaith Nutrition Network and the India Association of Long Island.

Anand Ahuja is an attorney with multiple specialties including international business law, domestic violence and women’s rights, trademarks, as well as entertainment and media law. He has represented celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan in her $100 million lawsuit against E*Trade and has been quoted in media outlets including People Magazine, National Enquirer and OK Magazine. He works with many not-for-profit organizations and has been recognized for his dedicated pro-bono work.

Dr. Ajay Lodha, president-elect of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, one of the largest physician organizations in our country, served as keynote speaker for the historic event.
The ceremony, which was co-sponsored by the Indian American Forum, also offered many cultural features including a number of traditional Indian songs and dances. Akbar Restaurant provided Indian delicacies for attendees to enjoy after the ceremony.

“America is the home of choice for many who emigrate from India, and Hempstead Town is especially blessed with a growing number of Indian American residents,” noted Santino. “We are happy to celebrate with one of the most dramatically growing communities in the area and acknowledge how much our culture has been enriched by our Indian neighbors.”

Several Non Resident Indian Groups have welcomed a recent India’s Supreme Court ruling that has opened the door to equal rights for gay, lesbian and transgender citizens. Citing the “constitutional importance” of a petition to reverse its 2013 ruling upholding Section 377 of India’s Penal Code — which criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” — the three-judge panel decided to refer the petition to a five-judge panel headed by India’s chief justice.

Section 377, which dates back to 1861, has rarely been enforced, but it has been used to harass and blackmail gays, lesbians and transgender people. In 2009, the Delhi High Court struck the law down, ruling that Section 377 violated the rights to liberty and equality enshrined in India’s Constitution. But in 2013, the Supreme Court voided the lower court’s ruling, saying it was up to India’s Parliament to change the law. So far, attempts to do that have failed.

In December, Shashi Tharoor, an opposition member in Parliament, introduced a bill that would have rewritten Section 377 to limit the criminalization of private sexual acts to nonconsensual sex and sex with minors, but it was voted down by a large margin.

Mr. Tharoor says he will resubmit his bill this spring — if only to spur public debate on gay rights. But India’s gay, lesbian and transgender citizens should not have to wait for lawmakers to repeal this antiquated and unjust law. When the five-judge panel convenes (no date has yet been set), it should reverse the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision and consign Section 377 to India’s colonial past, where it belongs.

Long Island, NY: Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony J. Santino and the entire town board hosted Long Island’s largest India Republic Day Commemoration on January 28, 2016. This holiday marks the establishment of India as a republic and its liberation from British rule.

“The Town of Hempstead is happy to once again join with the Indian community in commemorating an historic occasion that recognizes India’s enduring commitment to democracy and freedom, the same values that Americans hold so dear,” said Santino. “Indian Americans are a vital part of the fabric of our nation, greatly enriching us with their gifts of art, culture, cuisine, intellect, values and abiding warmth. I am proud that we are able to host today’s ceremony here in an area where so many people who trace their roots to India have settled.”

For Hempstead Town’s 13th Annual India Republic Day Ceremony, Santino presented Raji Kuncham and Anand Ahuja, two distinguished Indian-Americans, with special awards in honor of their community involvement.
Raji Kuncham, of North Bellmore, is president of Telugu Literacy and Cultural Association, one of the oldest Indian organizations in the country. Through that organization, Raji has helped promote Indian culture, women’s leadership and strong community partnerships. She also volunteers with the Art of Living Foundation, Interfaith Nutrition Network and the India Association of Long Island.

Anand Ahuja is a attorney with multiple specialties including international business law, domestic violence and women’s rights, trademarks, as well as entertainment and media law. He has represented celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan in her $100 million lawsuit against E*Trade and has been quoted in media outlets including People Magazine, National Enquirer and OK Magazine. He works with many not-for-profit organizations and has been recognized for his dedicated pro-bono work.

Dr. Ajay Lodha, president-elect of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, one of the largest physician organizations in our country, served as keynote speaker for the historic event.
The ceremony, which was co-sponsored by the Indian American Forum, also offered many cultural features including a number of traditional Indian songs and dances. Akbar Restaurant provided Indian delicacies for attendees to enjoy after the ceremony.

“America is the home of choice for many who emigrate from India, and Hempstead Town is especially blessed with a growing number of Indian American residents,” noted Santino. “We are happy to celebrate with one of the most dramatically growing communities in the area and acknowledge how much our culture has been enriched by our Indian neighbors.”

Dr. Anjali Ramkissoon, a Florida neurologist of Indian origin, who was caught on video last week accosting an Uber driver, has come to justify her action on the ground of her personal afflictions that day, including breakup with her boyfriend. Dr. Anjali Ramkissoon, 30, a fourth-year resident with Jackson Health System in Miami, was seen throwing tantrums at him and cursing the driver after he refused to give the apparently drunken woman passenger a ride because she tried to take the fare from someone else.

Ramkissoon  has since been suspended by the hospital. The video showed the pint-sized doctor berating the Uber driver who pulled up to pick up another ride. An irate Ramkissoon jumped in the car, threw things at the driver and tried to knee him in the groin. “I’m a 5-foot girl that weighs 100 pounds,” she screamed at the driver. “I’m getting really like belligerent right now!” she said.

She was reported to have told ‘Good Morning America’ reacting to the video that went viral after being posted on January 17 that just minutes prior to that altercation with the Uber driver the previous evening, she and her boyfriend of two years had just broken up. Besides, she said her father was hospitalized earlier in the day and that she had been drinking lot.

After cops showed up Ramkissoon apologized to the driver who didn’t seek to have her arrested or charged. The New York Post report said that Ramkissoon told the TV show in her defense that that she was extremely stressed out that day. “It was probably one of the worst days of my life and I was caught at my lowest moment,” she was quoted as saying.

“There’s absolutely no excuse for my actions,” she said, only after GMA host George Stephanopoulos called her out for making excuses. “I’m ashamed, I’m so sorry. I’ve hurt so many people with this – my family, my friends, my job, the Uber driver. No one deserves to be treated that way and that’s not me.” Ramkissoon begged for the public’s forgiveness and said she cannot  stomach watching the video of herself. “I see a person that is not me. I’m ashamed,” Anjali Ramkissoon said of the YouTube video that shows her berating the driver of another customer’s Uber. “I still can’t watch the entire video.”

Tampa, FL: Punishing companies that bring in cheap labor from India and other developing nations to cut the cost of labor, the US workers are beginning to act against such practices. Disney World has been hit by two class action suits accusing it and two outsourcing firms of conspiring to replace workers with less costly foreign ones using H-1B visas, mostly from India.

As per reports in Orlando Sentinel, the lawsuits were filed in a Tampa Florida federal court by Leo Perrero and Dena Moore, who were among 250 Disney tech workers laid off from their jobs at Walt Disney World in Orlando in January 2015.

A furor over the layoffs in Orlando last January brought to light many other episodes in which American workers said they had lost jobs to foreigners on H-1B visas, and had to train replacements as a condition of their severance, an NY Times report stated. The Congress has set a quota of 85,000 H-1B visas each year.

Perrero and Moore said they were told they had 90 days to train their replacements with foreign workers with H-1B visas for high-skilled workers. If they didn’t agree, they weren’t eligible for bonuses or severance packages. Defendants include HCL Inc and Cognizant Technologies, two outsourcing companies, known for submitting a high volume of H-1B petitions each year, according to CNN Money.

“These lawsuits are based on an unsustainable legal theory and are a wholesale misrepresentation of the facts,” Disney said in a statement. The company said it hired more than 100 people back into other roles and offered Moore another position at comparable pay.

Noting that hundreds of employers use H-1B visas, Disney said it complies with all applicable employment laws. The lawsuits were brought by attorney Sara Blackwell, who also brought the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filings on behalf of former Disney workers.

Blackwell said Disney was not the only company using outsourcing firms to hire immigrants to replace American workers. But they’re one of the first to be caught: Typically, companies require employees to sign a severance agreement preventing them from suing or speaking out about the firm. She said some companies will offer as much as $20,000.”Disney didn’t have that. They failed to put the ‘You can’t sue, you cant talk’ clause,” Blackwell told CNN Money.

The New York Times, which first reported the news, said Perrero spent his final months at Walt Disney World in Orlando training a temporary immigrant from India to do his work. He still hoped to find a new position in the vast entertainment company, it said. But Perrero discovered that despite his high performance ratings, he and most of the other 250 tech workers Disney dismissed would not be rehired for at least a year, and probably never.

Bilal Ahmed, a Georgetown dentist, was arrested by New York authorities recently at John F. Kennedy International Airport after deplaning a flight from Pakistan. Ahmed, 43, of Rockville, Md., was released after posting $50,000 bail in New York to return to the District for his first court appearance. Bilal pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday, last week to charges that he sexually assaulted a man who was under anesthesia to have a tooth removed.

In court records, prosecutors say the alleged offense occurred May 21, 2014, at Ahmed’s practice, Universal Smiles, at 2311 M St. NW. According to documents, the man went to Ahmed’s practice for a cracked tooth. Ahmed told the patient that the tooth had to be extracted and that he had to use nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, to sedate the patient during the procedure. The patient was told that his insurance did not cover the nitrous oxide and that he would have to pay out of pocket.

According to the documents, Ahmed had an assistant in the room with them when the gas was being administered. But later, the assistant left the room and closed the door, leaving Ahmed and the patient in the office.
The patient said he woke to find his mask askew and the dentist forcing him into oral sex, according to the court papers. Ahmed then escorted the patient back to the recovery room, the papers said, and the man left Ahmed’s practice two hours later.

After contacting police, the patient called Ahmed six days later in a recorded phone call arranged by a detective. During the call, Ahmed asked the patient how he was feeling. The two spoke about meeting for lunch. The patient, with two officers listening, described what he remembered happening. “You know I’m not crazy,” the patient told Ahmed. “No, not crazy,” Ahmed responded, according to the documents.

At one point, the dentist laughed and said hallucinations can happen when using nitrous oxide, the documents say. At another point, when the patient asked whether he had been hallucinating at the time of the alleged incident, Ahmed said, “No.” At the hearing, Judge Renee Raymond ordered Ahmed’s release but required him sign up for GPS monitoring as part of the court’s intensive supervision.

Raymond also ordered Ahmed, the married father of six children, to have no contact with the victim and not to practice dentistry. Ahmed’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 17.

After the hearing, Ahmed, his wife and his attorneys declined to comment. D.C. police are asking anyone with information about Ahmed to call the sexual assault unit at 202-727-3700 or the police command center at 202-727-9099.

Los Angeles, CA: January, 30, 2016: After ordering celebrity yoga guru Bikram Choudhury to pay $924,500 in compensatory damages in a lawsuit for sexually harassing and firing a female employee, a U.S. court has told Choudhury to pay $6.47 million in punitive damages.

Plaintiff Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, Choudhury’s former legal adviser, said in the lawsuit he inappropriately touched her and wrongfully fired her in 2013 after she began probing sexual abuse claims from other women. “I feel elated and vindicated,” Jafa-Bodden told the New York Daily News after the Jan. 26 verdict that was handed down by a Los Angeles jury consisting of six women and three men.

Meanwhile, 69-year-old Choudhury, Kolkata-born founder of Bikram Yoga – a form of hot yoga – testified that he is “almost bankrupt”. Choudhury told jurors he had no income at all last year and his collection of more than 30 luxury cars has been promised to California Governor Jerry Brown for a children’s school dedicated to automotive engineering.

Jafa-Bodden filed her lawsuit in 2013 claiming Choudhury sexually harassed her with a barrage of misogynistic comments and threatened her and her daughter’s lives when she raised questions about sexual abuse claims brought by numerous women. Jafa-Bodden testified earlier in the trial that Choudhury made her life a living hell after she moved to the U.S. from India to act as his personal lawyer. In one dramatic account, she said Choudhury ran his finger across his throat when she asked about accusations he sexually assaulted a teacher during a training program in Acapulco.

In his closing argument Jan. 26, one of Jafa-Bodden’s lawyers, Mark Quigley, called Choudhury’s treatment of women “shocking”. He highlighted trial testimony from the former White House lawyer who worked for Choudhury after Jafa-Bodden and filed her own wrongful termination lawsuit in August last year.

The lawyer, Petra Starke, told jurors earlier this month that Choudhury presided over a “crazy” work environment with a “sexually charged atmosphere”, Quigley was quoted as saying. Choudhury gained fame by popularizing his sweat lodge-style yoga system which uses a 26-pose routine in a room heated to nearly 38 degree Celsius or more.

Starke testified that she instituted strict sexual harassment policies and training when she took over as CEO and was shocked when she later witnessed Choudhury receiving oral sex from a teaching student in a limo, Quigley said.

The yoga guru also is facing lawsuits by several other women who claim he sexually assaulted or raped them. Choudhury’s lawyers, however, say their client is innocent and that prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges in connection with the women’s claims.

New York, NY: January 24, 2016: Shan Anand, 25, an Indian-American Sikh, his friend Faimul Alam, 23, of Bengali origin, and two others identified only by their initials, M.K., 29, also of Bengali origin, who manages his father’s construction company, and W.H., 23, a Syrian-American, a pharmacy student with his own clothing line, from New York, have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines for $6 million as compensation for being discriminated against and offloaded a plane from Toronto to New York City because the captain felt “uneasy” about them. All the four are reportedly U.S. citizens. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, on January 18. They are demanding a jury trial and asking for $1 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

According to reports, on Dec. 8, American Airlines and its affiliates, “disgracefully engaged in the discrimination of Plaintiffs based upon their perceived race, color, ethnicity, alienage and/or national origin by dramatically removing Plaintiffs, who not only paid for their flights but paid for upgrades as well, from American Airlines flight 4471,” says the complaint filed by the four passengers, a copy of which was made available to the media by their attorney Tahanie Aboushi.  This case “to deter future behavior like this,” attorney for the four plaintiffs, Tahanie Aboushi told the media. “That’s really the push and objective for this lawsuit.”

After they boarded the flight Anand and Alam changed seats with some strangers on the plane in order to be near their friends W.H. and M.K. who had earlier upgraded their seats from economy to Business class. Shortly thereafter, a stewardess “dramatically” woke up W.H. and told the two friends to exit the plane immediately with their belongings. Shan and Alam, sitting close by, realized their friends were encountering some problem.

“Passengers surrounding Alam and Anand made bigoted and racist comments and held their children and belongings close to their person as if something was going to happen,” the lawsuit says. As passengers were watching the scene, the stewardess hurriedly rushed to Alam and Anand and demanded they also exit the aircraft “in a hostile manner” the complaint alleges. “Several passengers stared in fear and hate at Alam and Anand during this ordeal. Said passengers appeared prepared to physically assault Alam. Alam and Anand feared for their safety,” it adds. When Anand and Alam asked what the problem was the stewardess told them to leave “peacefully” and for all of them to return to the gate where boarding originated.

“Seeing a mother holding her child closer to her, looking at you in fear…those stares stay in your head,” Anand is quoted saying in a CNN report. “When I was coming off the plane, I kept thinking, ‘What did we do?’ But it was just because we looked a certain way,” he said. The young men told CBSNews they had never personally experienced racial profiling. “You just hope things change and people are still not, like, this ignorant toward these things, but then when it happens to you, you see it from a different light,” Anand is quoted saying in a CBSNews report.

Rights organizations are up in arms about yet another act of what they allege is profiling of Sikhs and Muslims. While acts of violence against Sikhs and Muslims manifested in several cases of violent, even deadly cases of backlash, discrimination of the type being alleged against American Airlines has been a persistent phenomenon, they contend. That includes bullying of Sikh children in schools.

“We think airlines are going to see more of these lawsuits if they continue to profile actual or perceived Sikhs or Muslims,” Gurjot Kaur, senior staff attorney at the Sikh Coalition said in a prepared statement.

“The airline industry has far too much discretion and power to discriminate — frankly it’s outrageous — and we applaud the plaintiffs for taking action.” Kaur has handled numerous hate crime and profiling cases, a spokesman for Sikh Coalition said.

“It’s this whole thing where the flight crew is uncomfortable or the passengers are uncomfortable. Why are they uncomfortable? Because of a perceived faith and ethnicity that leads to them being thrown off planes. It’s very troubling,” Ibrahim Hooper, the national director of communications for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told CNN. These types of incidents are going to continue he said.

An Indian-origin businessman claiming to be a Hindu monk who performed healing rituals has pleaded not guilty after being ordered to stand trial on charges of sexually assaulting three women.

The Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Maren Dermody said Jan. 21 ‘Swami’ Gokula Nanda of West Hills, Calif., was ordered to stand trial on Dec. 4 last year for six counts of sexual battery.

Nanda, 63, is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Feb. 29 at Los Angeles County Superior Court, Torrance branch, a media release said Jan. 21. Owner of Hari-Om India Market in Santa Clarita, Calif., Nanda was arrested on May 13 following allegations that he sexually assaulted female clients in Torrance and Santa Clarita.

He was released in July on a $100,000 bail pending further court proceedings. According to testimony at the preliminary hearing, Nanda sexually abused the victims while claiming to be a swami by performing healing rituals at various locations, including his Eastern medicine store in Santa Clarita and a park in Torrance between April 2011 and April 2015.

He faces a possible maximum sentence of 19 years in state prison if convicted as charged.

The case remains under investigation by the Torrance Police Department.

According to his Facebook page, Nanda studied at Sivananda Ashram at Vedanta Forrest Academy. He hails from Kalapathara in Orissa.

Two teenagers were last week arrested in connection with the Jan. 16 attack on Majibur Rahman, a Bangladeshi Muslim who was beaten up by the duo on a Bronx street as they yelled “ISIS”, “ISIS” at him. News Reports said a 14-year-old, and a 15-year-old were arrested Jan. 22 and charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment as a hate crime, The names of the teenagers were not released by police because of their age.

Rahman, 43, who was wearing traditional Muslim attire, was picking up his nine-year-old niece from school on Watson Avenue and Pugsley Avenue, a heavily South Asian neighborhood, around 5:30 p.m. when the two suspects attacked him, WPIX 11 TV reported.

The boys punched him in the head and knocked him onto the ground where they kicked him several times, police sources were quoted as saying by WPIX 11 TV. Rahman’s niece was physically unharmed but was “emotionally traumatized” by the attack, according to N.Y. State Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda.

“I was dressed like a Muslim,” Rahman told the Post. “That’s why I was attacked. This has never happened before. I hope and wish this doesn’t happen in the future to anyone else,” he said.

Gothamist said in a report that the teens suspected of carrying out the attack were arrested after the younger boy’s mother overheard them bragging about the assault. She turned in her son, who in turn named the older boy.

“The community is happy that the suspects were caught,” said state Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda (D – Bronx).“Now it’s time for healing and praying for these two kids. It’s a sad day in our society when teenagers attack people because of their religious belief,” he said.

Meanwhile, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the FBI to join the hate crime investigation of the attack on Rahman. “The FBI should add its resources to the investigation of this disturbing incident in order to send a clear message to bigots that attacks on American Muslims will not be tolerated and that perpetrators of such attacks will face the full weight of the law,” said CAIR-NY Director of Operations Sadyia Khalique, according to a CAIR press release.

Dr. Anjali Ramkissoon, a Florida-based physician has been put on administrative leave after the emergence of a video that appears to show her hitting, kicking and screaming profanities at an Uber driver, a hospital spokeswoman reportedly told the media.

Ramkissoon, a fourth-year neurology resident within the Jackson Health System, was removed from clinical duties following January 17^th incident, and hospital officials have launched an internal investigation. “The outcome of the investigation will determine whether any disciplinary action will be taken, up to and including termination,” Jackson Health System said in a statement to The Washington Post.

The video, which was posted on YouTube, shows a woman in white shorts and a long-sleeved orange shirt confronting an Uber driver in a parking lot in downtown Miami. It’s unclear who filmed the incident but it was posted by someone on a YouTube account with the username Juan Cinco.

A narrative published with the video — which has not been verified by authorities — claims the Uber driver pulled up to accept one or more passengers when the woman allegedly got into the car and refused to leave. It states the people he was to pick up told him it was fine, but he did not want to drive the woman.

In the video, Ramkissoon is seen hitting the driver’s face while he tells her to “get some help.” She also damaged the driver’s car and got into the passenger seat. When the driver refuses to give her a ride, she begins throwing paper, scissors and other items out of his car.

The YouTube poster, who explained that he called the Uber and she intercepted, told the Herald, “It was only when they put her in the police car that she started crying, apologizing and claiming that she would lose her medical license … if she got arrested.” According to the poster, the Uber driver accepted a settlement and didn’t press charges. As of Jan. 26, the YouTube video — http://bit.ly/1PvQxGQ  — had been viewed over 5.2 million times.

Houston, TX: January 24, 2016: India Culture Center, Houston (ICC) the oldest community wide organization in Houston held the elections to fill in the Executive Committee posts for 2016. The elections were held on Sunday January 10th at India house and all the positions were filled in unanimously.

According to reports here, the ICC executive team is Rajiv Bhavsar, President. Falguni Gandhi, Vice President. Ajit Patel, Treasurer and Sanjay Sohoni, Secretary. Charlie Patel would continue as Immediate Past President in the Executive Committee.

The Election Committee constituted Jawahar Malhotra, Girish Pandya and Sam Merchant.
The other Board of Directors are– Col Raj Bhalla, Veena Kaul, Nirmala Patel, Sapna Shah, Harshad Patel, Nisha Mirani, Keka Kar, Dilip Dadhich, Pramod Bengani, Manisha Gandhi and Sangita Dua.

The Trustees for ICC are Swapan Dhairyawan, Meera Kapur, Vijay Pallod, Hasu Patel, Lachhman Das, Parul Fernandes and Sangeeta Pasrija. The next signature event of ICC is the 67th Republic day celebrations at Stafford Center. The day long event is themed as Vibrant India. The program this time has activities for one and all. The essay competition will be for ages 10-15 years on “What it is like growing up as Indian American in Greater Houston?” The ICC quiz will be for kids ages 10-15 years covering topics Geography, history, culture, sports, music, Bollywood. The event will have 45+ booths and the cultural program will be showcasing a versatile local talent of over 250+ participants. The Mom and me talent contest will also be first of its kind.

India Culture Center was incorporated in June 1973. ICC is a non-profit and secular organization, serving as a coordinating link among all major Indian Organizations and Individuals of Indian origin living in the Greater Houston and surrounding areas, on issues of common interest and concern. For more information about the event visit www.icchouston.org

(Atlanta, GA: January 22, 2016) Dr. Narendra Nagareddy, an Indian American psychiatrist in Jonesboro, Ga., has been accused of overprescribing opiates and benzodiazepine over a period of several years, a report by Clayton County police chief Mike Register, who told WSB-TV that Dr. Narendra Nagareddy overprescribed the pills which in turn led to the deaths of dozens of patients. “The guy may call himself a doctor, but if the allegations are true, I call him a drug dealer,” Register told WSB-TV.

According to reports, more than 40 law enforcement officials from several agencies converged on Nagareddy’s office Jan. 14 to arrest the psychiatrist and search his office. Police also had searched Nagareddy’s home as part of the raid. Legal documents state, 36 of his patients have died, 12 of them confirmed to have been the result of prescription drug overdoses.

Nagareddy has been charged with prescribing pain medication outside of his profession and not for a legitimate use, according to the county’s district attorney Tracy Graham Lawson. Aside from the criminal charges, the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office has also filed a RICO civil action to seize Nagareddy’s assets.

As per reports, throughout his 15 years practicing medicine, Nagareddy has had no ethical complaints filed against him. The doctor, though it is uncertain if he has hired an attorney, was released on bail Jan. 18, according to police.

The signs they carried said “Sacramento-United Against Hate-United For Peace,” as close to 800 people from many ethnic and religious backgrounds gathered at the steps of the California State Capitol building here Dec. 19 to both condemn the recent terror attacks in San Bernardino (and Paris), and to also unite against all kinds of intolerance, especially targeting the Muslim community.

The list of sponsors of the rally included the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento, Area Congregations Together, MLK365, the NAACP, the Coalition of Tolerance, the Florin Japanese American Citizens League, the Sikh community, Jewish Voice for Peace, OCA, APAPA, HIP, COSVIO, CAIR-Sacramento Valley, American Muslim Voice, Pakistani American Association and PASCO.

The event served a dual purpose. It showed Sacramento’s solidarity with the victims of San Bernardino, condemning terror in all forms. It also raised a voice against hate in reaction to such incidents and in support of the American Muslim community and people who may look like them (Sikhs) who might be targeted. The rally closed with a prayer by Imam Azeez.

Gurcharn Gill, a Sikh American convenience store clerk, working at the Shields Express Market in Fresno, Calif., was stabbed to death on the afternoon of New Year’s day. Lt. Burke Farrah of the Fresno Police Department told the media that Gurcharn Gill, 68, was found by a customer who called 911. Police arrived on the scene, along with emergency medical personnel, and attempted to revive Gill via CPR, but were unsuccessful. Gill was pronounced dead at the scene.

Farrah said police are investigating the events that led up to the fatal stabbing. Gill’s body showed signs of trauma, according to the lieutenant, who said he could not release other details about the injuries Gill may have suffered, as such details are crucial to the investigation.

Police have not yet determined whether the stabbing was a hate crime, said Farrah, adding: “A hate crime is certainly one of the motives we’re considering.” He noted that Gill was not dressed in traditional Indian clothing, such as a kurta, and did not sport a turban or beard.

Police are also investigating the possibility of a robbery or other altercation. “I have a team of dedicated investigators who are working around the clock to solve this case,” stated Farrah. “This is on the front burner for us.” Footage from a surveillance camera inside the store is being examined for clues about the suspect or suspects.

The fatal attack on Gill occurred just seven days after another elderly Sikh man – Amrik Singh Bal – was brutally beaten as he waited for his ride to work in Fresno’s orchards.

Bal – who wears a religiously-mandated turban and beard – was sitting down and waiting when the male suspects pulled up near him and started to curse.

Bal then attempted to cross the street to avoid confrontation, according to police, but the suspects – who have not yet been captured – backed up their car and struck Bal with the rear bumper. They then got out of the car and began to beat the elderly man, striking him in the face and upper body.

Bal was taken to the Community Medical Regional Center in Fresno and treated for a broken collarbone as well as lacerations on his face, head and neck. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime, according to Fresno police. (See I-W, Dec. 29, 2015, http://bit.ly/1NP58iU)

Addressing both incidents, Farrah said the Fresno Sikh community is experiencing a heightened sense of danger. Police are working to resolve both cases as quickly as possible he noted, adding: “Fear is a horrible thing. We don’t want people to live in fear.”

The FBI and the Department of Justice are also investigating both incidents. A reward may be set up through the Fresno Police Department’s Crimestoppers Unit for information leading to the arrest of Gill’s killer. Members of the Sikh American community in Fresno held a town hall meeting last week after Bal was attacked to help the public understand Sikh culture and the role the community has played in the development of Central California’s agrarian roots.

Sikh American community activist Iqbal ‘Ike’ Grewal, a member of the Sikh Council of Central California, told the media that the attacks have “definitely caused some anxiety.” Community leaders are advising Sikh residents to be extremely cautious about their surroundings and not to travel alone, especially at night.

Grewal said the fatal stabbing of Gill was not a robbery attempt and stated that the killing of the store clerk must be investigated as a hate crime. He is attempting to reach out to Gill’s family to gain more information about the slain man.

“It was an accident but the U.S. authorities are saying that our family tried to harm the child. U.S. authorities are saying the child has been treated in an inhuman way and so cannot be handed over to the parents. But this is untrue, it was an accident,” Abhishek Pareek was quoted as saying.

Attorney Gurbir Grewal became the first Indian-American of Sikh faith to be nominated in the state of New Jersey as the chief law enforcement officer of a county om January 4th. Grewal, 42, a leading state attorney, became the first ever Sikh to be sworn in to take over as acting Bergen County prosecutor, in anticipation of a confirmation some time soon. Judge

Bonnie J. Mizdol swore in Grewal as his wife Amrit looked on.

Gov. Chris Christie who had first nominated Grewal to be the Bergen County prosecutor in 2013, told lawmakers in a Dec. 31 letter that he intends to send in a re-nomination request when the state legislative session resumes in the second week of January. The state Senate has to confirm Grewal’s appointment which was stuck in limbo two years ago because the upper house failed to even schedule a hearing to clear the Indian-American nominee.

Grewal has an active advocate in the legislature. State lawmaker Raj Mukherji, told the media that he will be lobbying hard to get his colleagues to clear Grewal’s nomination. “I hope that my counterparts in the Senate act swiftly to confirm this exceptional nominee,” Mukherji said, calling it “historic but long overdue,” in a state that has a significant Asian-American and Indian-American population.

Born and raised in the U.S., Grewal takes over the post held for 14 years by John Molinelli who returns to private practice. Grewal has more than a decade of experience prosecuting cases including some major white collar crimes at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“I’m not only excited that the Governor appointed a South Asian, or that he reached across party lines to appoint a Democrat, but especially that he appointed Gurbir Grewal.” Mukherji said highlighting Grewal’s prosecutorial experience.

When Christie nominated Grewal the first time in 2013, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman praised Grewal’s work and his personality. “He’s a tremendous lawyer; thoughtful, well-prepared, great judgment and well-liked by his adversaries, the judges and his colleagues,” Fishman said, according to a Northjersey.com report.

A graduate of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., Grewal got his law degree from The College of William and Mary – Marshall Wythe Law School. Immediately before he took over as acting Bergen County prosecutor Jan. 4, Grewal was chief of the Economic Crimes Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office since February 2014. Prior to that he was the deputy chief in the Economic Crimes Unit and the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section from July 2013 to February 2014. From November 2010 to July 2013, Grewal was assistant U.S. Attorney, Economic Crimes Unit. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Grewal was in private practice at the law firm Howrey LLP from 2008 to 2010. He also served for three years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, from 2004 to 2007.

Indian National Overseas Congress, USA,  in a resolution passed at the Executive Committee meeting held in New York, strongly condemns the dastardly attack on Pathankot air base by terrorists originating from Pakistan. This attack appears to have been well planned and coordinated, and could not have been executed without the help from powerful sectors in the Pakistani establishment. It is not only an attack on India but of the whole humanity.

“We salute the brave-heart Nawjawans who sacrificed their lives and those who are injured in the process in order to preserve freedom and liberty for all India and its citizens and our deep sympathy and prayers are with their loved ones,” said George Abraham, Chairman of the INOC, USA.

Although it is important to maintain the diplomatic engagement with Pakistan, it is about time the BJP Government re-calibrates their current strategy of dialogue by moving up the issue of terrorism to the top of the Agenda. Experience has shown that good will gestures or political brinkmanship will not advance the cause of peace between India and Pakistan but by only demanding strong measures from Pakistan to curb the cross-border terrorist activities that are intended to destabilize the peace and security of the region.  BJP should avoid theatrics and deal with the subject with due seriousness and gravitas.

Sonal Bhuchar has been appointed to OneStar National Service Commission in Texas that promotes volunteerism and oversees administration of the AmeriCorps programs in the U.S. state. Bhuchar, a professional physiotherapist at Therapeutic Concepts and office manager at Sugar Land Med-Ped was appointed to the OneStar National Services Commission by the Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, with her term lasting up to March 15, 2018.

Originally from Mumbai in India, Bhuchar got her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Bombay University. She currently serves as a board of member in leadership positions for Child Advocates of Fort Bend, chairman for the Literacy Council of Fort Bend, board member for Fort Bend Cares and board member for the City of Sugar Land PARCS.

She has formerly served as a board of trustee and board president for the Fort Bend Independent School District. The Indian-American physiotherapist also ran for the District 26 Texas state representative seat in 2012, but was not elected. Along with Bhuchar, Abbott appointed Ronnie Hagerty as the chairman, Lisa Lucero as vice chairman along with Laura Dixon, Roger O’Dell, and Annette Juba.

The Uttar Pradesh government rolled out a red carpet welcome to some 250-odd members of the Indian diaspora Jan. 4 for the ‘UP Pravasi Diwas’. Uttar Pradesh will soon develop policies and schemes for the 25 million Indian diaspora to have better relations with them, state minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia said on January 5th.

On the penultimate day of the maiden ‘UP Pravasi Diwas’ in Agra, India, the minister, who was in charge of the event, said immediate and serious engagement with the NRIs was imperative to bring in investment, create business opportunities and guide India’s workforce.

On initiatives of the Uttar Pradesh government, Sanjiv Sharan, principal secretary in the NRI department, talked about the newly formed department that would focus on solving grievances of NRIs and helping investors in the state.

A coffee table book was also being conceptualized for promoting the policies and familiarizing NRIs with progress and opportunities in the state, he added. Saran said the department would launch a new portal for NRIs to facilitate and resolve their issues.

FICCI secretary general A. Didar Singh spoke about the importance of connecting the Indian diaspora both emotionally and through technology. “Technology like creating forums for solving issues related to business establishments and showcasing the ease of doing business in the state would not only encourage investment opportunities but also connect the NRIs back to their roots,” he said.

Congratulating the Uttar Pradesh government for the great initiative of engaging NRIs with their roots, Charu Mathur, CEO of the Overseas Indian Facilitation Center at the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, focused on the joint responsibility of both the state and the Center to give a pleasant experience to the NRIs in their business ventures in India.

Addressing the NRIs and PIOs, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said the meet was a beginning of a never-ending dialogue between them and the state government and assured them of all help.

He said that the whole idea behind the ‘UP Pravasi Diwas’ was to reconnect the diaspora with their roots in the state and work on a common and meaningful dialogue of development of the state. “I am overjoyed to see such large number of NRIs here and must admit that the gathering has exceeded my expectation,” he added.

Announcing that the event would be an annual affair, Yadav said that only the venues will change and would rotate among the major cities of the state. “We are here not only to welcome you in the Taj city but also to make you partners as the state endeavors to get its rightful place in the country,” he added to a round of applause.

“I am overjoyed to see such large number of NRIs here and must admit that the gathering has exceeded my expectation,” Yadav said, announcing the event would be held annually from now on though in different venues. “We are here not only to welcome you in the Taj city but also to make you partners as the state endeavors to get its rightful place in the country,” he added.

Other state ministers addressed the gathering outlining the needs of the largest state in the country.

Chicago IL: Moin Haque, a well-known businessman from Chicago, and his better half, Saima Haque, organized a Breakfast Event with the objective to bring a large group of Asian-American Community Leaders and Illinois State Representatives under one roof. The purpose of this “Dialogue for Democracy” was to understand each other’s perspectives and also to find ways and means to ensure that democratic institutions in the US are led by the silent majority, rather than hijacked by the most vocal minority.

‘Lou’ Lang, who represents the 16th District of Illinois State since 1987 and serves as House Deputy Majority Leader, said that while he is concerned about the broader welfare of people, irrespective of their religion, race, color, social background, etc, he is keenly interested in knowing the unique aspirations of each and every community, including those of the Asian-Americans. “Today’s Breakfast Event, therefore, is a rich opportunity to acquire their perspective and also to share with them my expectations from them”, he added.

“Combating hate crime in the US with strong political will is one of the priorities of the Government”, said ‘Lou’ Lang and called upon different minority communities, including Asian-Americans, to pass on their concerns about hate crimes not only to their community leaders but also to elected officials, in order to strengthen the hands of the Government in putting an end to the hate crimes.

‘Lou’ Lang  also highlighted, with a sense of disappointment, that approximately 30% people vote in elections and added that lack of interest in the democratic processes on the part of the staggering-70% of the population has dangerous consequences for them, their families, and next generation at large.  He urged leaders of all the communities to create wider awareness about the importance of enriching democratic institutions in their personal interests and that of our Nation.

He advised talented people from different communities to join the political system of our Nation as their political career and contribute to it. “Otherwise, those candiates who have a view to serving their vested interests, will dominate and control this important organ of the society”, ‘Lou’ Lang added.

Stephanie A. Kifowit, who represents the 84th District of Illinois State, said that a small number of people, who represent a tiny minority, are creating much hate in society and thereby eroding the freedom of religion, freedom to associate, and freedom to enjoy life, all the attributes which make the US a great Nation.

“The people in general, who represent the silent majority, should come out of their respective shells, pay attention to the anti-social forces that are brewing, act decisively when wrong things are being done, cast their votes in elections for candidates that represent them, and play an active part in shaping of the political system of our Nation in order to counter the devisive designs of the most vocal minority in the society”, Stephanie added.

Stephanie called upon people belonging to all sections of society, including Asian-Americans, to find time for nation-building initiatives, as being too busy with the day-to-day routine is not in the interests of the Nation and their communities.

Aadil Farid, an eminent Community Leader, said that the cultural, religious, ethnic, gender, social, economic, linguistic, and racial diversity is the hallmark of the US society. “The networking among different sections of society results in better communication and strengthens democratic institutions”, Farid opined.

Farid stated that the recent events of hate-centric politics has triggered a strong desire among people, especially the youth who are turning 18, to take a proactive part in the electoral process not only to protect their faith, family, and freedom but also to defend the Great American Nation and its Universally-relevant Values.

“Armed with our preference for positive and inclusive politics, and committed to such core values as development, justice, peace, and tolerance, we can add great value to the democratic apparatus of the US and to its very fabric”, Farid added.

Aiman Beg, another renowned Community Leader, in his welcome address, said that 2016 is going to be a very important year considering the Presidential, State, and other Local elections. He further said that all sections of society, including the Asian-Americans, have a significant stake in the results of these elections. He added that, towards this, different Community Organizations should line up interactive sessions of their members with elected officials/candidates running for electoral offices so as to ensure that they understand each other’s vision, perspectives, and aspirations.

“We are Americans, irrespective of the ancesteral countries to which we belonged, and it is our duty to play a proactive role in the functioning of democratic institutions”, said Sadia Gul, a Social Activist. She added that Stephanie Kifowit and ‘Lou’ Lang are broad-minded, inclusive, and development-oriented persons, and above all, they are the true friends of Asian-Americans. She requested people to strengthen their hands by sustained engagement with them.

Ashfaq Hussain, a Senior Banker and a well-known Community Leader, called upon continued interaction, across different sections of society, in order to demolish the walls of hate.

Moin Haque, in his vote of thanks, said that his initiative to hold the Breakfast Event was only a humble beginning. “There is an urgent need to multiply these efforts towards creating a more informed, enlightened, and loving society”, he added.

The Illinois State Representatives, Community Leaders, and the participants unanimously thanked Moin Haque and Saima Haque for hosting the Breakfast Event.

Dr. Harold Persaud, a Westlake, Ohio, cardiologist was sentenced to 20 years in prison for performing unnecessary catheterizations, tests, stent insertions and causing unnecessary coronary artery bypass surgeries as part of a scheme to overbill Medicare and other insurers by $29 million.

Dr. Harold Persaud, 56, was convicted earlier this year of one count of health care fraud, 13 counts of making false statements and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from criminal activity.

“This defendant used his medical license as a license to steal,” the Justice Department’s First Assistant U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon is quoted saying in a Dec. 18 press release. She called the sentence “well deserved” in light of the crimes committed.

Other senior law enforcement officials involved in the investigation and prosecution of Persaud, said he had put patients’ lives at risk as he ripped off taxpayers. Persaud had a private medical practice in Westlake and had hospital privileges at Fairview Hospital, St. John’s Medical Center and Southwest General Hospital, according to court documents and trial testimony.

Persaud devised a scheme through which he carried out the fraud from 2006 to 2012, selecting expensive procedures from the billing code, carrying out unnecessary nuclear stress tests and falsified their results to justify cardiac catheterization procedures that were not medically necessary.

He recorded false symptoms, inserted cardiac stents in patients who did not have the needed minimum 70 percent blockage, and even went to the extent of improperly referring patients for coronary artery bypass surgery that would require further expensive tests he could then charge insurance companies and Medicare. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27, to determine how much he would have to pay in restitution apart from his jail term.

The Gandhi Samaj of Chicago (GSC), Illinois, a not-for-profit organization, established in 1984, and consisting of 700+ members, unanimously elected Keyur Ghayal as  its President for 2016 and 2017, who, in turn, selected, as per the by-laws of the organization, Keyur Ghayal (President), Hitesh Gandhi (Executive Vice President), Bhumika V. Gandhi (Vice President); Ashwin Bodalia (Treasurer), Manhar Gajjar (Secretary), Roma Bhagat (Cultural Secretary), Ramesh Gandhi, Bharat Ghayal, Dipak Ghayal, Hary Gandhi, Hiren Ghayal, and Hiral Gandhi (Joint Secretary), Priya Ghayal (Youth Secretary).

Keyur Ghayal is one of the eminent persons in the Chicagoland, who have been associated with a number of organizations. Other office bearers too have got an excellent track record of community service.

“GSC is a 32-year-old organization which has been led by a number of eminent persons in the past. I take this opportunity to pay rich tributes to them for putting their best foot forward for bringing laurels to the GSC in the US”, said Keyur Ghayal.

Keyur Ghayal extended a deep sense of gratitude to all the members of the GSC for reposing trust in him and his team and assured them of their democratic and transparent functioning. “Even as we pledge to contribute our optimum best for the welfare of the members of the GSC, we seek their wholehearted and continued support”, he added. He assured that he and his team will contribute their best to help keep the inherited culture thriving while assimilating into diverse for the current generation and beyond.

Keyur Ghayal said that the top priority of his team would be to preserve, protect, and defend the integrity and credibility of the GSC. He strongly underlined GSC’s commitment to empower its members to realize their American dream. “We are determined to uphold GSC’s preeminent place in the Chicagoland and to enrich its brand value for the common good of one and all”, he added.

Hitesh Gandhi, the Executive Vice President said that the new team would achieve the GSC’s objectives to achieve and promote unity amongst the members while helping the community to enhance cultural awareness via education and also through celebration of festivals such as Diwali and Navratri.   He said that he would conceptualize and execute a number of innovative events aimed at preserving the unique culture and heritage of India by involving the members belonging to different age groups.  “My vision is also to expand the membership base of the GSC in order to make it an effective platform for providing guidance and support”, he added.

Bhumika V. Gandhi, the Vice President said that her focus will be on involving the youth in the activities of the GSC by organizing a number of events in accordance with their felt needs. “We propose to organize ‘Youth Career Planning Seminar’ on January 31st 2016, in order to expose the youth to the emerging, newer, and innovative career and educational opportunities”, she added.

Directors of the GSC congratulated Keyur Ghayal and his team on their election and assured them of his full cooperation in their endeavors. They advised them to generate more revenues through newer partnerships with businesses in Chicagoland in order to achieve the vision and mission of the GSC with renewed vigor. For more details, please visit: www.gandhisamajchicago.com

Ted Hakey Jr., 48, of Meriden, Connecticut, was arrested and charged on a federal criminal complaint Dec. 17, with intentionally damaging religious property a little more than a month after he shot up the Baitul Aman Mosque in the townNov. 14. This was the first Ahmaddiya mosque founded in Connecticut in 2007.

According to the criminal complaint, Hakey, who lives next door to the mosque, is alleged to have used his high powered rifle to discharge several rounds at the Mosque. Four bullets hit the mosque, with three penetrating the building.

No one was inside the mosque at the time of the shooting and no one was injured during the incident. He committed the act in the early morning hours of November 14, shortly after learning of the terrorist attacks in Paris, the complaint says. Members of the congregation found the bullet holes in the wall on Nov. 15, when they returned to pray at the mosque on Sundayevening, the Courant reported.

The charge of intentionally damaging religious property through use of a dangerous weapon carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000.

“All citizens of this earth should be free to worship without fear of violence,” U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly is quoted saying a the press release, adding, “We stand ready to prosecute individuals when rhetoric crosses the line to threats of violence or—as charged here—actual violence.”

Since the shooting, the mosque has held several interfaith meetings and prayers for victims of the Nov. 13 shootings in Paris and the Dec. 2, massacre in San Bernadino, California The Governor of Connecticut Dannel P. Malloy has visited the mosque to reassure followers. “Right-thinking Americans don’t support this kind of behavior,” he is quoted saying in the Courant report. He also noted that Ahmaddiyas, who belong to an Islamic sect founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in India in 1889, were persecuted in other Muslim countries.

Regional Imam Hamid Malik said his father’s cousin was among some 90 people killed in an attack on an Ahmadi mosque in Pakistan in 2010. Mohammed Qureshi, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Connecticut, thanked local police for their prompt response and speedy investigation into the shooting, the Courant reported.

December 16, 2015 (Bakersfield, CA) – On the afternoon of December 7, 2015, a 78-year-old Sikh man was assaulted while he waited to pick up his grandson from Warren Middle School in Bakersfield, California. An unknown assailant threw an apple with great force at Mr. Gian Singh, hitting his turban. The police have not yet identified or apprehended the individual.

Mr. Singh, who picks his grandson up from school every day, was attacked when an individual in a pick-up truck threw the apple with such force that he almost fell over. The force split the apple, stained Mr. Singh’s turban, and left him with head pain and dizziness for days. Mr. Singh’s son reported the crime to the police that day.

The Singh family has retained the Sikh Coalition for direct legal support. The Sikh Coalition’s legal team is currently advocating for the Bakersfield Police Department to investigate the matter as a hate crime, given that Mr. Singh’s religiously-mandated Sikh turban was targeted.

“In the current climate of fear and backlash, we remain committed to investigating and protecting every Sikh who is subject to a possible hate crime,” said the Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, Harsimran Kaur.

The attack on Mr. Singh occurred only days after vandals spray-painted racial slurs on the Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Buena Park, California and other backlash incidents across the country. During this period of increased anxiety, we urge Sikhs to exercise extra vigilance and caution. Please notify law enforcement of any threats or incidences of violence and contact the Sikh Coalition at 212-655-3095 or legal@sikhcoalition.org.

The Sikh Coalition has 14 years of expertise in providing free legal assistance to Sikhs who believe they have experienced discrimination or bias-based violence. Most recently, the Sikh Coalition worked with the Gurdwara Singh Sabha sangat in Buena Park to successfully pressure police to investigate bias-based vandalism at the gurdwara. An arrest has been made, and the offender delivered a public apology to the sangat on December 13, 2015. He also faces criminal charges. In addition, the attacker of Sikh Coalition client Inderjit Mukker pled guilty to a hate crime charge in DuPage County, IL on December 7, 2015.

Rajinder Kaur, an Indian-American woman from Jersey City, New Jersey, was among six motorists who were indicted last week for allegedly filing crash claims against insurance policies they obtained after the accidents.

Rajinder Kaur, 35, like the other motorists, was charged by a state grand jury with one count of third-degree insurance fraud for allegedly submitting claims for crashes that occurred before their policies were in effect.

The alleged crimes were not connected in any way. If convicted, each of the motorists faces up to five years in prison and $15,000 in fines, according to a a press statement by New Jersey Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman.

According to the indictments, each of the vehicles was involved in an accident and at some point after the accidents the defendants purchased auto insurance. Within days or months of obtaining insurance, the defendants allegedly filed claims for those prior accidents. Kaur filed her claim with Government Employees Insurance Company while the remaining defendants filed their claims with Progressive Garden State Insurance Company.

“Crash-and-buy schemes are one of the most common insurance fraud scams in the country. Like any auto fraud, these scams drive up insurance rates for honest policy holders,” Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi said. “Drivers tempted to commit this kind of illegal chicanery after a crash should think about the serious criminal penalties they’ll face,”Chillemi said.

In a feat caught on surveillance cameras, 59-year-old Amrik Singh fought off a shotgun-wielding masked robber using only his slipper in the store at his gas station in Staatsburg, near New York City. “I’m not really a hero,” Singh told IANS Dec. 18 about the Dec. 15 slipper-shotgun face-off. “And I would not want to be a hero. I am just a working man.”

Singh, who immigrated to the U.S. from Doburji in Punjab’s Moga district 35 years ago and has owned the Citgo gas station and store for 19 years, said he did not have a strategy or a conscious plan to confront the gunman.

But “God told my body to grab the man as he reached for the tray in the cash register,” he said. “When the gunman jumped back, I threw the slipper and hit him on the nose,” Singh said. “I ran and caught him and we were like wrestling.”

Laughing, the turban-wearing Singh said: “He did not expect an old man to fight him. He ran outside and I chased him. He fired a shot at my feet, but it missed and hit the ground and he drove away.”

Asked by media about Singh’s feat, his wife Baljinder said: “It is shocking and crazy. He had a guardian angel protecting him.” When the would-be robber entered the store with the gun, Singh said he was momentarily taken aback. “After that my mind was clear, and I was not nervous at all.”

He said he first tried to reason with the man and offered to give him money. “But he demanded $100 bills. I told him I did not have any. He tried remove the coin tray and search under it.”

That’s when the confrontation caught on the surveillance video that made prime time TV newscasts across the United States Dec. 17 started. Singh does not plan to take chances if there is another robbery attempt. “I am a U.S. citizen, and I am going to apply for a gun license.”

Police do not recommend such acts of bravado. State Trooper Melissa McMorris was quoted by the Daily Freeman as saying, “Thank God, the store owner wasn’t hurt in the confrontation.”

Watch Amrik Singh fight off the robber using only his slipper: (The video can be seen at: https://youtu.be/YbYtHWCi8BQ)

Chicago IL:The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), Chicago held its Annual General Body Meeting to elect the new team of its office bearers for the year 2016-’17 on Sunday, December 13th, 2015 at North Shore Banquet, Devon Avenue, Chicago.  The elections were carefully supervised by the Trustees and professionally conducted by the Election Committee in order to ensure that the election procedures were consistent with the FIA’s by-laws and the entire proceedings and processes were transparent and fair.

More than 25 FIA Association-Members, who participated in the process, elected Minhaj Akhtar as President, Kanti N. Patel as Executive Vice President, Dr Sanhita Agnihotri as Secretary, Girish Patel, Sathisan Nair, and Sher Muhammad Rajput as Vice Presidents, Vijay Ranjan as Joint Secretary, Ajit Singh as Treasurer, and Hemant Trivedi as Joint Treasurer.

The newly elected body had the support and blessings of a large number of prominent FIA Trustees, such as Babu Patel, Kanti S Patel, Sunny Gabhawala, Hina Trivedi, Sohan Joshi, Bhailal Patel, Anil Pillai, Sitaram Patel, Ajai Agnihotri, Keerthi Ravoori, the existing Executive Director, Syed Hussaini, Devon Avenue Merchants, and others. The new team steps into the shoes of the outgoing office bearers, led by Dr. Inderjit Patel, who oversaw a vibrant period of growth at the FIA.

Minhaj Akhtar, who has been serving the FIA, Chicago, for a very long time, in different capacities, is one of the eminent persons who have been associated with a number of organizations in the Chicagoland. Other office bearers too have got an excellent record of community service.

Minhaj Akhtar extended a deep sense of gratitude to all the FIA Association-Members, Trustees, and the community at large for reposing trust in him and his team and assured them of the democratic and transparent functioning of the FIA Chicago. “Even as we pledge to contribute our optimum best for the welfare of the Indian-Americans in Chicagoland, we seek their wholehearted and continued support”, he added.

“FIA Chicago is a 30-year-old umbrella organization led by many a doyen. I pay rich tributes to them for putting their best foot forward for bringing laurels to the Indian-Americans in the US”, said Minhaj Akhtar.

Minhaj Akhtar said that the top priority of his team would be to preserve, protect, and defend the integrity and credibility of FIA Chicago. He strongly underlined FIA’s commitment to the twin-objectives of not only empowering the Indian-American to realize their American dream but also preserving their unique culture and heritage. “We are determined to uphold FIA’s preeminent place in the Chicagoland and to enrich its brand value for the common good of one and all”, he added.

Kanti N. Patel announced that the ensuing Republic Day Celebrations will take place on January 23rd, 2016 at Meadows Club. He added that FIA Chicago will celebrate all events of national importance in order to ensure that the cultural flag of India flies high in the US. “We will continue to acknowledge the services of prominent Indian-Americans in different walks of life”, he added.

All the office bearers urged the Indian-Americans to come forward to contact FIA Chicago, on phone numbers of Mr Minhaj Akhtar 773 552 2000 / Mr. Kanti N Patel 847 571 5781, in order to enable it to achieve its cherished goals.

Armaan Singh Sarai, a 12-year-old Indian American boy who was kept behind bars for three days this month for causing a bomb scare admitted to police he only joked to a classmate about bringing a bomb in his backpack, media reports said Dec. 18. The boy’s family, however, said he was framed. As reported by inquisitr.com, Arlington police Lt. Christopher Cook said that another student, who has not been identified, told a teacher that Armaan Singh Sarai told him (the student) that he (Sarai) was planning to blow up the school.

“Specifically, according to the student, Sarai claimed to have a bomb in his backpack, wired to go off at a certain time, and that Sarai planned to leave the bomb in a school bathroom and flee,” the report added, quoting the police official. According to Cook, during interrogation, Sarai admitted telling his classmate about bringing a bomb, but insisted he was only joking.

“Schools take bomb threats seriously, and that even joking about having a bomb at school is considered a terroristic threat — a felony,” Cook added. Sarai’s family, however, said he was framed.

“A bully in class thought it would be funny to accuse him (Sarai) of having a bomb, and so the principal, without any questioning, interrogation, or notification to his parents, called the police,” Sarai’s cousin Ginee Haer wrote in a Facebook post that has since gone viral. “They kept him behind bars for three consecutive days, before finally releasing him on Monday, December 15th,” Haer wrote in the post.

In another Facebook post, also reported by inquisitr.com, Aksh D. Singh, who identified himself as Armaan’s older brother, said: “My little brother Armaan… was taken from school to Kimbo Juvenile Center because he AND other students were joking about bomb threats. I know we live in a time when such an accusation is serious, but this is outrageous…”

According to media reports, police said they indeed went to Nichols Junior High School in Dallas, Texas, after a student told a teacher that Sarai told him he was planning to blow up the school.

“Worried & frightened at home, his family was concerned as to why he had not reached home right after school. They started calling every police department in the area, only to find out he was sent to a Juvenile facility,” Haer added in her post.

“Armaan was born and raised in Texas by a loving #Sikh family. In his spare time, he loves spending time with his family, watching tv, and playing video games. In his family, are his mom, dad, two sisters and a brother who love him more than life, after all he’s the baby in the family,” the post read.

“His family moved to Dallas, Texas, about three to four months ago, and being the new kid wasn’t that easy for him. It made it especially hard since he isn’t able to get out much, due to a heart condition he was born with,” Haer wrote.

“The heart condition has led him to having three open heart surgeries, and he isn’t able to do a lot of extra curricular activities. But his love from his family and friends has always been enough to keep his heart filled. His family and friends would describe him to be really funny, nice, and a caring human being,” Haer wrote.

The incident has come after a Texas boy, Ahmed Mohamed, was recently taken away in handcuffs for bringing to his Dallas school a homemade clock that the school authorities mistook for a bomb.

The Texas Board of Professional Engineers in Austin has named Sockalingam “Sam” Kannappan its new secretary. TBPE made the announcement last month, adding that the Indian American engineer will be signing all newly-issued licenses. The board issues, monitors and renews roughly 57,000 licenses for engineers.

In addition to his new role as secretary, Kannappan is in the midst of a five-year term as the enforcement committee chairman of the board, which expires September 2017. Kannappan, of Houston, is a professional engineer and senior design engineer for SNC-Lavalin Hydrocarbons and Chemicals in Houston. He also serves as a board member of the Society of Piping Engineers and Designers and advisory board member of the Asia Society’s Texas center.

Previously, Kannappan served as a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Gas Pipeline Safety Research Committee, which defends Houston against bio-terrorism. Additionally, from 2006 to 2011, the Indian American was on the Texas On-Site Wastewater Treatment Research Council.

Throughout his career, Kannappan has received a number of honors and awards, including an award from Crystal Dynamics group of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland for improving laser measurement accuracy.

He also helped raise $20,000 through the Indo-American Charity Foundation while serving as the chairman of the Indo-American Disaster Relief Council, in which the funds went to student representatives of UTMB and the Galveston Recovery Fund in the wake of Hurricane Ike.

Kannappan is a graduate of Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu, receiving a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He later received his M.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas in Austin.

Chicago IL: Pakistan marked the first anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar, termed a “Mini-9/11 for Pakistan”, in which over 150 people, most of them children, were gunned down by Taliban militants on December 16th, 2014. Glowing tributes were paid to the martyrs of the School and strong solidarity was displayed with them. In another display of solidarity with the victims of the attack, vehicular traffic remained halted for two minutes beginning 10: AM in Lahore, and one-minute silence was observed to mark the tragic incident in different cities.

“The first anniversary of this massacre is an occasion to pause and take note that consequent upon the military-led crackdown in the North Waziristan tribal region along the Afghan border and the implementation of the National Action Plan, the acts of terror and serious crimes have fallen by sixty about percent”, said Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Consul General of Pakistan, with a sense of satisfaction. “The anniversary is also an occasion to renew our resolve to continue the campaign, with the hardened resolve, till we permanently uproot the menace of terrorism from the soil of Pakistan and make it a place of eternal peace and vibrant prosperity”, he added.

Tirmizi paid rich tributes to the Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership, which demonstrated exemplary courage in stepping up the action-packed interventions, called Operation Zarb-e-Azb, aimed at checking the domestic terrorism like never before with an iron hand. He said that lifting of moratorium on the death penalty, trying alleged militant extremists in military courts, regulating the country’s religious seminaries, building the walls and extra defenses by all schools,and tightening security systems at schools added a great punch to the campaign. “Today, parents feel safe to send their children to schools, which suggest that the civilian and military leadership was successful in keeping their promises of a secure environment for the students”, he added.

Tirmizi said that a balanced fusion of army crackdowns and educational campaigns would be an enduring solution to the longstanding problem of militancy in Pakistan. “Declaring December 16th as the “Day of National Resolve to Promote Education” by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would be a right step in the direction of defeating the heinous designs of the extremists to put off the flame of knowledge and education”, he added.

“The Government’s two-dimensional policy of using selective force and initiating development in areas most affected by terrorism will be fruitful. The economic transformation, trade promotion, employment generation, and educational development would be of great help in maintaining sustainable peace in the region”, Tirmizi stated.

Tirmizi welcomed the collective and concerted approach towards tackling terror by a large number of countries, from across the globe, in view of the fact that it is not the problem of Pakistan alone. He added that the successful hosting of Heart of Asia Conference in Islamabad on December 9th, 2015, which was attended by President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan and Foreign Ministers of seven countries including that of China, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Latvia,  besides senior representatives of 29 countries, including those of  the US, was an important step in this direction. He called upon all the regional countries too to join hands to make a collective and comprehensive effort, involving further strengthening of the economic, commercial, sporting, and people-to-people linkages with a view to successfully eliminating terrorism from the region.

Tirmizi wholeheartedly welcomed the release of a video by the Pakistani Army commemorating the victims of the massacre, which shows kids singing a song glorifying the role of education in grappling with terrorism: “Mujhe dushman ke bachon ko parhana hai (I want to educate the children of my enemies) and “Mujhe ma us se badla layne jana ha (Mother, I have to go take revenge)”. “Education as revenge seems a fitting response to one of the most shocking terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil, Tirmizi added.

In view of growing violence nationally and globally, diverse northern Nevada faith groups joined hands to pray together on December 20. “Multi-faith Prayer Vigil for Peace & Unity”, coordinated by religious statesman Rajan Zed and hosted by South Reno United Methodist Church (SRUMC) included Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha’i, Shinto and Native American prayers. Attendees signed a banner pledging peace and unity.

Starting with lamp lighting by leaders of diverse faith communities with seriously different faith traditions; prayers were read in English, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Arabic, Pali, Paiute; besides through flutes and Taiko drums.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, speaking on the occasion, said: In view of growing violence nationally and globally, many times targeting innocent people, there is the need to come together in prayer, dialogue, and community to bring light and hope to the spreading darkness. Participants repeated Gayatri Mantra, considered most sacred mantra of Hinduism, in Sanskrit after Zed.

Besides Rajan Zed, other participants included Dawn Pidlypchak, Senior Pastor of SRUMC; Rita K. Sloan, Life-Peace-Justice Commission Coordinator of Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno; Sherif A. Elfass, President of Northern Nevada Muslim Community; Shelly L. Fisher and Matthew T. Fisher, Priests at Reno Buddhist Center; ElizaBeth Webb Beyer, Rabbi of Temple Beth Or and Tahoe Hebrew Congregation; Roya Galata, Baha’i Teacher; Gene Savoy Junior, Head Bishop of International Community of Christ; Joseph E. Johnson, Sparks Stake President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Brian E. Melendez, American Indian Spirituality Scholar; Becky Stockdale, Pastor at SRUMC; Rieko Shimbo, Director of Tsurunokai Taiko; and well know musician Oscar Dallas Smith III.

A California gurdwara, Gurdwara Singh Sabha, along with a community member’s truck in the parking lot, were vandalized with hateful graffiti in early December. The graffiti included the phrase, “Fuck ISIS,” along with gang references. After legal and communications support from the Sikh Coalition, Buena Park Police Department formally opened a hate crimes investigation into the case and made an arrest. According to local police, the suspect confessed to vandalizing both the gurdwara and the truck containing the hateful slurs. The Sikh Coalition will continue to work with the gurdwara and the local prosecutor’s office to push for appropriate charges.

Police in Southern California have opened a hate crime investigation into the vandalization of a Sikh house of worship in Orange County that was defaced with Islamaphobic and gang graffiti, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The graffiti was discovered on the exterior of the Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Buena Park and included the word Islam – spelled “Islahm” – and a reference to Islamic State militants, said the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group for the Sikh community. The defacement, discovered on Sunday, came days after a Muslim couple massacred 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California.

The Sikh Coalition coordinated and secured coverage in dozens of media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. Police are still searching for the owner of the vandalized truck with the hate slurs/graffiti, as this person is both a victim and a possible witness. The driver was possibly from Texas and was passing through the Buena Park area. Please contact legal@sikhcoalition.org or 212-655-3095 ext. 85 if you have any information that can help us find him.

The group said the gurdwara – a place of worship for Sikhs – had reported the incident to the Buena Park police and had asked local and federal authorities to investigate the incident as a hate crime. A spokesman for the Buena Park police told the New York Times that officers were increasing patrols around the building and had opened a hate crime probe. “The writing, because of what it is and because of the history of Sikhs being targeted in the past for retaliation after terrorist attacks, we are investigating it,” Corporal Bret Carter told the paper.

The graffiti, much of it illegible, also included some gang references, the Sikh Coalition said in a statement. Sikhs say they have been singled out increasingly for harassment since the Sept. 11 attacks, with perpetrators believing incorrectly that they are Muslim extremists because of their turbans and beards.

For the fourth consecutive year, California recognized November as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. The Sikh Coalition reached six million Americans through presentations, events and education.  The Sikh Coalition joined with public officials, local governments, South Asian media outlets and hundreds of community members to raise Sikh awareness and education across California. Sikh Awareness and Appreciation resolutions were passed in San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Fremont, Sacramento, Elk Grove, Marysville and Yuba City. In addition to co-hosting a Sikh Awareness and Appreciation game with the Los Angeles Clippers on November 14, 2015, the Sikh Coalition partnered with Inkquisitive Illustration to leverage art to educate the public about Sikhs.  With the help of dedicated community members, Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month was a great success.

Ajay and Mira Shingal, an Indian-American couple has gifted $4.4 million to the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) of Berkeley to establish and endow the first Centre for Dharma Studies in the U.S. Ajay and Mira Shingal chose the GTU for their historic gift because “this is a school that incorporates both deep scholarship and interest in the practice of religion”.

“We understand the need for accredited scholars that can speak about Hinduism with authority in this country,” said the San Jose residents. Both have studied the sacred texts of Hinduism all of their lives and wish for others to be able to explore in depth the treasures of its sacred texts and philosophical principles. They believe the gift of education is one of the greatest gifts one generation can create for future generations, according to a media release.

The Centre will focus on leading edge, multidisciplinary, graduate research and teaching in Hindu Studies and Dharma Studies. The GTU currently offers a graduate certificate in Hindu Studies, MA and PhD degree concentrations in Hindu Studies, and courses in Jain Studies.

The Mira and Ajay Shingal DCF Centre for Dharma Studies will support and strengthen these programmes, and is designed to include in the future other religions or systems of thought and practice that self-identify as dharma traditions. The Centre will also host international conferences, produce resources for the benefit of the general public, and foster research on the resources of religion in engagement with major global challenges faced by humanity.

GTU offers the largest doctoral program in interreligious studies in the US. The new Centre for Dharma Studies is the latest addition to a complex of more than twenty member schools and academic centres at the GTU that together focus on the major religious and wisdom traditions of the world.

Rita Sherma has been named the first Director of the Centre for Dharma Studies and Associate Professor of Dharma Studies. She taught most recently at the University of Southern California as the Swami Vivekananda Visiting Faculty in Hindu Studies. Sherma is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Dharma Studies.

The Centre will also become part of the GTU’s exploration of how religion can positively impact major challenges faced by the world, including religiously spawned conflict, climate change and environmental degradation, and other issues of justice. A consortium of independent theological schools, GTU is home to the largest PhD programme in religious studies in North America. It includes eight seminaries – two Roman Catholic, five Protestant, and one Unitarian Universalist.