Uncertainty prevailed inPakistan as the coalitionpartners discussed chang-ing the prime ministerhours after PM YousafRaza Gilani was onMonday summoned toappear in the SupremeCourt on Thursday for con-tempt of court for failing toreopen graft cases againstpresident Asif Ali Zardari.The National

Assembly, meanwhile,passed the pro-democracyresolution which asks allinstitutions to work withintheir limits under theConstitution.

“The President and hisallies held a meeting (alsoattended by Mr Gilani). Thecoalition partners askedPrime Minister Gilani to

continue but the chances ofhis ouster have not dimin-ished,” a senior governmentofficial privy to the latestdevelopments said.

He added, “The namesof Aitzaz Ahsan andChaudhry Pervez Elahi arebeing considered now (forPM). But the allies willgive some other names tooif president Zardari finallyagrees to change the PM.”During the meeting

with coalition partners,President Zardari saidrelations with the Armyand the judiciary were get-ting better, adding that thegovernment would notclash with these institu-tions. He said they hadfaced the same situation inthe past and would tackleit this time as well.During the meeting,

Mr Gilani offered to stepdown as PM in the wake ofthe worsening political sit-uation and agreed toappear before the SupremeCourt. Mr Gilani said hewas willing to make a sac-rifice for his country.A seven-member

Supreme Court benchissued the notice to thePM for not implementingthe NationalReconciliation Ordinancecase verdict. Before thecourt issued the order,

Continued on page 26

21st January to 27th January 201280pLet noble thoughts come to us from every sideVOL 40. ISSUE 37

First & Foremost Asian Weekly in Europe www.abplgroup.com

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Three men havebeen arrested sofar by the policeregarding the‘atrocious’ mur-der of a couple,who were founddead in theirhome. As theinvestigation con-tinues, condo-lence messages,cards and flowerskeep pouring infrom friends andfamily. The deadcouple’s childrenhave also left card andflowers at the spot filledwith agony for theirirreparable loss.A card left with a

bouquet of roses read:‘Nanny and grandad, welove you to the moon andback. Our life will neverbe complete again.’Another card, which

read ‘In Loving Memoryof a Dear Mother’ read:‘No life will ever be thesame without you. Weadore you and miss youso much. The pain isunbearable.”The bodies of retired

businessman AvtarKolar, 62, and his wifeCarole, 58 (pictured),were discovered at theirhome in HandsworthWood, Birmingham, bytheir policeman son on

Wednesday morning.Post-mortem tests

confirmed the coupledied as a result of bluntforce trauma to the headand that both had beenstruck a number of times.Earlier this week a

large cash reward wasbeen offered to encour-age people to come for-ward with informationabout the ‘atrocious’murder.Crimestoppers have

described the killing as a‘vile crime’ and put up areward of up to � 10,000for details leading to thearrest and conviction ofthe perpetrators.The couple were due

to look after their grand-children, but when theycould not be contacted

Double murder mysteryremains unsolved

Continued on page 28

Italian ship mishap: Indians onboard recollect horror

Costa Concordia

The Italian luxury liner,Costa Concordia, whichcapsized off the coast ofItaly’s Giglio island, hasshaken up the confidence ofhundreds of Indians work-ing on it or people wishingto work on such cruises.While thankful for beingsaved from the sinking ship,

Continued from page 28

Yousaf Raza Gilani, Asif Ali Zardari & Ashfaq Pervez Kayani

Pakistan PM Gilani in fix;gets SC contempt notice

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 20122 UK

one to oneKeith Vaz MP with

Dr Aneela sMajidDr Majid has a degree in Chemistry and Biochemistryand a PhD in molecular biology. She studied at theUniversity of Sheffield before moving to CardiffUniversity and then Columbia University in New York.She moved to Leicester in 2002 and has been workingin the field of Leukemia research since. She has sat asan advisor on a number of committees and is current-ly an executive member of the UKCLL forum, anorganisation that aims to advance the care of patientswith chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Her research hasbeen published in a number of high profile journals,presented at a number of international meetings andshe has been invited speaker at several academic insti-tutions.

Recently she became involved in setting up thepublic engagement lectures for GENIE (GeneticsEducation Networking for Innovation and Excellence),centre for excellence in teaching and learning (CETL)at the University of Leicester. She was particularlyattracted by the success of the existing Outreach pro-grams, both in schools and the wider public throughtaster evenings and their general enthusiasm for pub-lic engagement. The synergy between genetics edu-cation and world class research has resulted in thedevelopment of new educational resources. She iskeen to use this expertise to further promote theseactivities in the Asian community.

1) Please tell usabout the lecture pro-gramme you have setup?This series of public

lectures are designed tohelp make cutting edgescience more accessibleto the public. The hopeis that we would be ableto engage the public (from schools through topostgraduates and thegeneral public) in debat-ing topical issues, pro-moting further dialogueand provide ourselves, asscientists, with an

opportunity to reach outto them

2) What are yourproudest achievements?One of the things that Iam particularly pleasedwith is setting up thecurrent series of publicengagement seminars.This was done on a vol-untary basis, in my sparetime and to get the posi-tive feedback we havehad has been tremen-dous.

3) Please tell us

about your current posi-tion?Currently, I am taking

a 6 month sabbatical fromleukemia research andconcentrating my effortson reaching out to thecommunity. I have beenlucky enough to be offereda position by GENIE, atthe University of Leicesterto this end. I am particu-larly excited by theprospect of promoting sci-ence to the public andengaging them by what wedo.

4) What has been thebiggest obstacle in yourcareer?Being an Asian female

in science has been chal-lenging at times. There isa definite lack of Asianfemale role models in sci-ence and a real lack ofsupport for women whomay want family and acareer. Although timesare changing, the pressure

to conform to traditionalroles for women stillexists.

5) Who has been thebiggest influence on yourcareer to date?I always wanted to go

into scientific researchfrom a very early age, butthere hasn’t been anyonewho has specifically influ-enced my career. I havebeen very privileged towork with some amazingpeople over the course ofmy career and I would saythat everyone I have inter-acted with has influencedme in some way.

6) What is the bestthing about your currentrole?To be given the oppor-

tunity to reach out andgive something back to thecommunity. I hope that Ican communicate my pas-sion for genetics andresearch in a way that mayinspire others to take it upas a career. I am alsoexcited by GENIE’s activerole to promote women inscience.

7) And the worst?It may sound clichéd

but I am really enjoyingwhat I do, I guess whatmay be frustrating in thefuture is if our attempts toengage the community areless successful than I

would hope. 8) What are your

long term goals?Genetic issues affect

everyone and under-standing some of thebasic concepts couldhave huge implicationsfor the community. Itwould be wonderful tomake people aware howchanges to their lifestyleand eating habits couldaffect their future health.Raising awareness of theresources available bothfor counselling and gen-eral queries would alsobe a long term goal.

9) If you were PrimeMinister, what one thingwould you change?I would put more

money into scientific

research. We have a lotof good young talent inthe UK, but lack of fund-ing means we often losegood scientists to othercareers as funding forpositions is so competi-tive. There is often nolong term career struc-ture for young scientists.

10) If you weremarooned on a desertisland, which historicalfigures would you like tospend your time withand why?Charles Darwin

would be an incredibleperson to be maroonedwith. To be able to dis-cuss first hand his theo-ries and engage in deepdiscussion would beunbelievable.

It is that time of yearagain…The Asian VoicePublic and Political LifeAwards nominations. Theawards celebrate theachievements of those whohave made a special contri-bution to our political orpublic life over the last 12months in a variety of fields.The Asian Voice Political andPublic Life Awards representAsian Voice’s modest effortto honour a number of out-standing individuals fromdifferent communities,walks of life and diversepolitical persuasions whoserve society in their ownspecial way, and who contribute significantly, in whateverthey do, towards making a better world today and for thefuture.

These awards are given annually to individuals who havemade a special impact in the preceding 12 months, rangingfrom international politicians to individuals who have made abig difference in their local communities.

It is the fifth year the awards have been presented and asin previous years, the event will be attended by 250 high pro-file politicians from all political parties, business men, com-munity leaders. The awards for the achievements in2011 will be handed out at the prestigious ceremonyin the Members Dining Room of the House ofCommons on 23rd February 2012.

The Asian Voice Political and Public Life Awards 2012We’re seeking your

nominations for the following

categories:l TV Personality of the Year – last year’s winner was Rudolph Walker

l Journalist of the Year – last year’s winner was Paul

l Lewis of the Guardianl Restaurant of the Year – last year’s winner was Curry Fever

l Asian Broadcaster of the Yearl Business Person of the Year – last year’s winner was Fukhera Khalid

l Busines in Community – last year’s winner was Ken Popat

l Broadcaster of the Year – last year’s winner was B4U

l Parliamentary Journalist of the Yearl Local Government Award – last year’s joint winners were Lutfur Rahman and Dr Neeraj Patil

l Diversity Awardl Face of the Future Award – last year’s winner was Arjun Rajyagor

l Sports Personality of the Year Awardl Community Award – last year’s winner was Ranjit Mathrani

l Lifetime Achievement Award – last year’s winner was Nirmal Sethia

Please send your nominations into Political and Public Life Awards at: ppla@live.co.uk

The nominations for the political awards

have been drawn up, and are as follows:

l Cabinet Minister of the Year – last year’s winner was Rt Hon Michael Gove MPThis year’s nominations are: Andrew Mitchell, Ken Clarke and William Hague MP

l Lib Dem Minister of the YearThis year’s nominations are: Vince Cable, Danny Alexander and Sarah Teather MP

l Shadow Cabinet Minister of the Year – last year’s winner was Opposition Leader Ed Miliband.This year’s nominations are: Yvette Cooper, Rachel Reeves, Andy Burnham MP

l Junior Minister of the Year – last year’s winner was Ed Davey MPThis year’s nominations are: Alistair Burt, Lynne Featherstone, Stephen O’Brien MP

l Labour Backbencher of the Year – last year’s winner was Anas Sarwar MPThis year’s nominations are: Stella Creasy, Lisa Nandy, Gloria de Piero MP

l Liberal Democrat Backbencher of the Year – last year’s winner was Dr Julian Huppert MPThis year’s nominations are: Jo Swinson, Duncan Hames, Sir Alan Beith MP

l Conservative Backbencher of the Year – last year’s winner was Nadhim Zahawi MPThis year’s nominations are: Nicola Blackwood, Adam Afriyie, Henry Smith MP

Two arrested andcharged following Asian

gold burglaryThames Valley Police havecharged two 22-year-oldmen with burglary, follow-ing an incident in Sloughwhere Asian gold jew-ellery worth several thou-sand pounds was stolen.

John Hadley Doran,of Priory Close, Denham,Uxbridge, Middlesex, andJohn Purcell, of OakLane, Kingswinford,Staffordshire, were arrest-ed during the evening ofThursday 5 January fol-lowing a burglary inCockett Lane, Langley,Slough, earlier that day.The pair were charged

the following day, andkept in police custodyovernight to appear beforeReading Magistrates’Court the following day.Following their court

appearance, the two 22-

year-olds were remandedin custody.Hadley and Purcell are

also charged with being inpossession of cannabis.They were due to appearbefore ReadingMagistrates’ Court onTuesday.During the burglary in

Cockett Lane, Langley, on5 January, an untidysearch of the house wascarried out and items ofAsian jewellery werestolen from the main bed-rooms including rings,bangles, and earrings.Four watches and a sumof cash were also stolen.The stolen jewellery

was recovered shortlyafter the incident.However the cash andwatches remain outstand-ing.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 www.abplgroup.com 3

Thought for the WeekIndian views of education in Britain have beensomewhat shaken

Pakistan facing a political cyclonePakistan is going through a major turmoil of polit-ical instability. Pakistan's Supreme Court hasslapped a contempt notice on Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gilani, demanding him to appear incourt to explain why he had ignored its directivesto reopen graft cases against his party boss andPresident Asif Ali Zardari. The order escalated thepolitical crisis that could lead to early electionsand cost Gilani his job. Pakistan's NationalAssembly convened for a special session andpassed a resolution reposing "full confidence andtrust'' in the government that could help Gilanioffset the SC ruling's implications. The resolutionasked "all state institutions (to) act within (con-stitutional) limits" in an apparent reference to themilitary for meddling in politics. The resolution isseen as the government's attempt to reassert par-liament's supremacy amid mounting pressure fromthe judiciary. Earlier, Gilani and Zardari, pum-meled for days for making statements againstarmy chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI head LtGen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, went into a huddle afterwhich the PM was quoted as saying that he hadoffered to resign in order to defuse the crisis cre-ated by the confrontation between the militaryand the judiciary on one side and the governmenton the other. There is no immediate threat toGilani, as the contempt case is expected to bedrawn out. But he could be disqualified from hold-ing office and have to step down if convicted ofcontempt. He also faces up to six months inprison. "We are left with no option, as a first step,to issue a show-cause notice. The PM shouldappear personally in court on January 19," thecourt said in its notice. The court initiated proceedings after the gov-

ernment failed to respond to its order outlining sixoptions that it could exercise if it did not complywith its orders. The options included disqualifyingthe PM and the president, holding early electionsbesides contempt proceedings. The court wasincensed after attorney general Maulvi AnwarulHaq told it that he had no instructions from the

government on how to respond to the court'sorders. Later, Gilani, who is the second head of the

government to face contempt of court proceedingssince Nawaz Sharif faced the similar situation inNovember 1997, agreed to appear before the courtafter an emergency meeting with his coalitionpartners and Zardari. Sources said the government would act accord-

ing to a plan and buy time till Senate elections inMarch that would give PPP a majority in theupper house and an important say in legislationfor the next six years. "The PM's decision to comply is a bid to buy

time. They will try to drag the court's proceedingsuntil the Senate elections," said political analystAmir Mateen. Analysts said Gilani would appearbefore the court, commit to implement its ordersand have himself discharged of the contemptnotice. The government has vowed to complete its

term that ends in 2013. But it may call earlier elec-tions after the Senate elections. The PM last weekblinked in a standoff with Kayani and Pasha overa memo that sought the US help to rein the coun-try's powerful military and prevent a coup in May. A probe into the memo threatens to implicate

Zardari and could lead to his impeachment.Former Pakistan envoy to US Husain Haqqani isaccused of authoring the memo on Zardari'sbehest. The court had called Gilani "dishonest''and warned him of disqualification if he did notopen the cases last week. It has repeatedly askedthe government to do so since it threw out theNational Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) thatextended immunity to politicians and bureaucratsfrom prosecution in graft cases, as illegal in 2009. The moot question is whether the army, which

ruled the country for more than half of its life,time will allow the democracy to take root in thecountry. The lure of the power is such that it cancorrupt even the honest. Now the future ofdemocracy is in the hands of army and the court.

Do skills and trainingschemes created toaddress unemploymentreally work and do theygive real value for moneyto the tax payer ? Evenmore to the point dothese schemes actuallydeliver the benefits to thetarget group or do merelyenable a small group ofproviders to get rich atthe tax payers expense?Take the example of

the government’s currentapprenticeship schemewhich has been throwninto sharp focus byrevelations that afootball coach trainingscheme (leaving asidethe question of whatdemand there is forfootball coaches)contracted to the now-defunct scheme run byLuis Michael Training(LMT) in about 80English and Welshfootball clubs includingLeeds, Millwall andNottingham Forest.What strikes me is thatLMT were sub-contracted by eightfurther educationcolleges to providetraining paid for by theSkills Funding Agencyand that LMT in turnsub-contracted otherfirms to deliver thrtraining .Between this myriad

of providers they signedup just 2000 teenagersand promised them thechance to gain coachingqualifications whilelearning in a footballclub settingAccording to press

reports the vast majorityof teenagers whoundertook the trainingnever received anyformal qualification orcertificate. So did thepLMT and the otherprovider really provideany value for money ?The coalition

Government usesapprenticeships as a wayof tackling the problemsof Neets - young peoplenot in education,employment or training -and also providing theskills that employerswant.Those attending full-

time apprenticeshipschemes must work aminimum of 30 hours perweek, and are entitled toa weekly wage - currently£2.60 per hour not muchof an incentive Shouldsome of the moneywasted on

administration bediverted to increasing thepayment to learners?Apprenticeships are

supposed to provide on-the-job training leadingto nationally recognisedqualifications, developedby industry. They wereset up to help attracthigh-quality new recruitsinto industry, from theage of 16.The objective behind

the scheme is laudable .They are meant toencourage youngerpeople into a workforceand help employees of allages to keep pace withnew technologies andworking practices.If properly well the

scheme should benefit allof the real stakeholder –the job seeker, employersand ultimately you andme as taxpayers.There are around 25

000 providers able todeliver Apprenticeshipsacross the UK. Eachapprentice must have anemployer and be paid.About 130,000employers in Englandhave apprentices. Theapprenticeship brandclearly has much tocommend it However itis difficult to gaugewhether the manner inwhich it is governedrepresents real value formoney either for those itis aimed at or thetaxpayerG o v e r n a n c e

structures forapprenticeship inEngland do not look verydifferent across eightleading apprenticeshipcountries (Australia,Austria, France,Germany, Ireland,Sweden, Switzerland).However despite the

fact that England’sgovernance structuresare complex and receivemore public funds thanin those other countriesit is clear from theshambles of the footballscheme that it isproviders who benefitmost from the schemeIt would be a pity if

the apprenticeship brandcontinued to sufferdamage and led to ouryoung people losing outmore than they alreadydo.One quick and easy

way to address the abuseof the system byunscrupulous providerswould be to change therules on sub contracting.

Change the rules on sub contracting

Cllr Rabi Martins

Watford BoroughCouncil

COMMENT

The New Year has sent shockwaves among Indianparents whose children are studying in UK or whoare considering sending them there for higher edu-cation. The three recent cases of murder of Indianstudents in the UK has given rise to panic aboutstudent’s safety in what used to be an educationalhaven. Britain has always been considered safe andknown for quality education but has now become aquestion mark for the Indian parents. How safe ismy child in UK?Recently Indian student Mr Anuj Bidve, 23, was

shot at close range by a gunman in an apparentlymotiveless attack in the Ordsall district of Salford.Police arrested and charged Kiaran Mark Stapletonfor the murder of Bidve. Bidve’s father, SubhashBidve, has been critical of the way the British andIndian authorities have handled the case. He foundout about his son's death on Facebook at home inPune, India, before police in the UK could contacthim. Such was the tragedy of a bright Indian stu-dent who was full of hope for the future. Same wascase of Indian student, Gurdeep Hayer who hadcome to Britain to make his life, but instead lost hislife. He was found dead in Manchester City Centre.He had been missing for eight days. Later his bodywas recovered from River Medlock. Gurdeep hadreportedly taken a taxi and got out at HathersageRoad before reaching an address in the Rusholmelocality in Manchester. It is not yet known bywhom and how he had been murdered. To lookback, such murder had taken place in Australia,when a 17-year- old was given 13 years in prisonfor killing Indian student Nitin Garg in a botchedmugging in January 2011. Such murder of Indianstudents in foreign countries is becoming frequent,and has shifted Indians in panic mode. Countrieslike the UK and Australia are being listed in the badbooks of Indian parents. Bidve’s father commented, “I feel myself, as a

father that this should not happen again because alot of Indian students come here for their educationand they go back to their own countries.” He saidhis son “was very happy staying here and doing hiswork and I feel he could have been a very greatasset not only to India but to the whole globe.”There have been moves in Britain to pre-empt a

crisis of confidence among overseas students.

Operators in the UK and India will be mindful ofthe market decline faced by Australia after a spateof racially motivated attacks on Indians in thecountry in 2009. The attacks caused outrage inIndia and led to a 46% drop in Indian studentmigrating to Australia to study. Now the samecould happen in Britain. Whether it is the killing of an Indian student orracist insults hurled at a football player inLiverpool or even the rioting in London and someother urban areas last year, this is a problem. Sadly,it appears that social unrest and an underlyingracism may once again be raising its ugly head inthe UK, as the economic downturn worsens.Social tensions in a multicultural society such

as the UK usually do tend to get accentuated intimes of economic slowdown. Race crimes are amanifestation of this unrest. But as of today, students and those unused to

being in such environments will be more apprehen-sive than before. And it would raise big problems ifsuch tragedies keep on occurring. Indians will bereluctant to come to the UK. It’s a myth that localslose jobs to immigrants or that immigrants takeaway opportunities from the locals. Due to suchfalse notions, immigrants are visualized as big vil-lains in Britain. In fact immigrants have actuallycontributed to the betterment of the economy anddevelopment of Britain. Specially Indians immi-grants have contributed their talent, skills andworkforce that has also generated a lot of revenueto the country. It becomes the need of the time to investigate

the case of murder of Indians students and takesteps towards the accused being punished andmore importantly to keep a check that such inci-dents do not happen again. For the sake of humanfraternity, British police and Government shouldalso look into the matter and take remedial steps. Itbecomes the duty of the Indian counterpart to askthe British Government to act speedily to book theculprits.The trust of the Indians has to be gained back.

It would align future immigration flows with thenational interest. And any country prospective tocompete in the global economy should not lose itsimmigrants.

We always overestimate the change that will

occur in the next two years and underestimate

the change that will occur in the next ten.

- Bill Gates (1999)

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 20124

In brief

Leicester Voice By Meera Majithia

Email: majithia.meera@gmail.com

Police officers in Leicesterare hoping to make theirservices more accessiblefor people who are deafand hard of hearing bysupporting a new drop-in-service.

The drop-in sessionswill begin on Wednesday1st February 2012 andfrom then on will be heldon the first Wednesday ofevery month from 10am to12pm at the ActionDeafness offices at thePeepul Centre onOrchardson Avenue.

D/deaf awarenesstraining sessions havebeen provided to 16 police

officers by ActionDeafness Cultural, and itis from this group that thedrop-in service will bestaffed. The trainingensures officers under-stand and are better pre-pared to work with peoplefrom the Deaf and hard ofhearing communities.However, British SignLanguage to level onestandard will be providedto police officers by ActionDeafness in the future.

Sergeant SarahWiddowson is the teamleader for the Belgrave andLatimer neighbourhoodbeat teams who work in

this area, and has alsoreceived the awarenesstraining. She said: “Thepresence of the police atthe drop-in sessions willensure people from theDeaf and hard of hearingcommunities benefit fromadvice on a variety ofpolice subjects, for exam-ple neighbour disputes,anti-social behaviour andcrime reporting.

“The service willincrease their accessibilityto mainstream services,and provide a wide rangeof advice and informationto a group within the com-munity that has always

been difficult to reach.The Peepul Centre is inexactly the right location,and is able to host thisservice within its widerange of community serv-ices.”

Jaz Mann, Manager forthe Action DeafnessCultural department said:“We are so pleased thatthe Leicestershire Policehave recognised the needto make their servicesaccessible for Deaf andhard of hearing people,and it is encouraging tosee the innovative wayswe have been able to worktogether.”

New service for people with hearing disability

Prime Minister rewardsofficers for their braveryTwo brave officers were selected to attend a specialreception at No. 10 Downing Street to meet the PrimeMinister.

The event which, which recognises the braveryand significant contribution made by the police andfire services during the period of disorder in Englandand Wales in August last year, was held on Wednesday11th January. The two police officers from Leicesterchosen for the honour are tactical advisor PC EugeneKirby and Special Constabulary Sergeant ShakeelHasham.

Special Sgt Shakeel Hasham said: “I was mosthumbled and honoured to learn that I had been giventhe opportunity to represent Leicestershire Police andmost importantly the wider Special Constabulary atthe reception.

“I felt it was my duty to support the organisationin a time of need, to keep my communities safe. Thenight in question will be with me for a very long timeand I know that effort of the police and emergencyservices were appreciated by the wider community.

“Meeting the Prime Minister, David Cameron is agreat privilege. This recognition should, rightly, beshared with the team I worked with on the night.”

Barrie Roper, Chairman of Leicestershire PoliceAuthority, added: “I’m pleased to see the exceptionalefforts of these two officers being recognised in thisway, which reflects their tremendous commitment totheir role and the safety of local communities.However, the work of everyone involved in the workto contain the disturbances should be acknowledged.”

Loughborough scoops uploo awards

Toilets in Loughborough Town Centre were votedamongst the best in the country, scooping up Loo ofthe Year Awards last month.

The Biggin Street facility was rated five-star for thefifth consecutive year and Market Yard for the eighthsuccessive year in the national national awards

The awards recognise high standards in all types of‘away from home’ or public toilets.

Each toilet received a dedicated inspection andreceived a grading certificate to promote the award-winning facilities. Five Stars is the highest level avail-able in the public toilets category of the awards, whichare promoted by the British Toilet Association and arenow in their 24th year. Councillor Paul Harley,Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member forLeisure and Culture, said: “We are extremely proud tohave won these awards yet again. It demonstrates theCouncil’s commitment to maintaining high standardsfor customers and for making spending a penny inLoughborough a hygienic experience.

“Since introducing a small charge, which helpedus keep our toilets open while some local authoritiesclosed theirs, we have received a huge amount of pos-itive feedback from customers.”

School catchment consultationPeople are being urged to make their views known onschool admission arrangements and catchment areas.

Leicester City Council is carrying out its annualconsultation on school admissions, and this year isalso consulting on proposals to simplify school catch-ment area arrangements. Both consultations began inDecember and are due to end on 10th February.

This year people can also comment on a review ofschool catchment areas, which proposes a single pri-mary and secondary catchment school for eachaddress in the city. Catchment areas have remainedthe same since 1997, despite the closure since then offive secondary schools. The proposals make the linksbetween primary and secondary schools much clearer,so that parents have a better understanding of thepaths open to them.� � The city council and schoolswill make a decision on admissions arrangements for2013 by 15th April, 2012.

People wanting to take part in the admissionarrangements consultation can view paper copies ofthe arrangements for the academic year 2013/2014 atany of the council’s customer service centres, oronline at www.leicester.gov.uk/admissionsconsulta-tion. Packs are also available from the school admis-sions service on 0116 252 7009 or by emailing admis-sions.online@leicester.gov.uk� �

Leicester assistant city mayor responsible for chil-dren, young people and schools, Cllr Vi Dempster,said: “Every year we make sure parents have their sayon admissions arrangements, and this year we are alsofocusing on catchment areas to ensure it is as straight-forward as possible for all pupils to get fair access toschools in their catchment areas.”�

A major project aimed ateasing road congestionacross cities in Europe willbe launched at theNational Space Centre,after a funding of £2.4mhas been secured.

� Set to be launched onWednesday 18th January,the project, which bringstogether research clustersfrom five Europeanregions, is being led by theUniversity of Leicester andLeicester City Council andwill help establish the EastMidlands region as aninternational leader in traf-fic management research.Other local partners areDe Montfort University,The University ofNottingham and AstriumServices (Leicester).� �

They will be working inpartnership with researchclusters from the Moliseregion in Italy, the Midi-

Pyrenees and Aquitaineregions in France and theMazovia region inPoland.� �

Funding of €2.7 mil-lion (£2.4 million) hasbeen secured from theEuropean Commission forthe project with theUniversity of Leicesteracting as scientific leadand Leicester CityCouncil assuming the roleof accountable body forthe overall project.

Called THE ISSUE(Transport HealthEnvironment – IntelligentSolutions SustainingUrban Economies), thethree-year project willsupport scientists, engi-neers and developmentagencies from the differ-ent regions to worktogether, using the latestspace and informationtechnologies, to develop

more effective methods ofeasing road congestionand improving the urbanenvironment.

Around 70 delegatesfrom all the partnerregions and representa-tives from business, otheruniversities and localauthorities will gather atthe launch conference forTHE ISSUE Project.

Cllr Rory Palmer,deputy city mayor and cab-inet lead on transport andclimate change, will give awelcome address to dele-gates at the conference. � �

He said: “THE ISSUEProject is an excellentexample of our commit-ment to working closelywith Leicester’s two uni-versities, and other part-ners, to the benefit of allpeople in the city and, inthis case, much furtherafield.

“Making Leicester alow carbon city is one ofour main priorities andthis kind of research willbe essential to helpingtackle issues around con-gestion and air quality inthe future. I am proud thatthe city council can helpmake this work possi-ble.”� �

Professor Alan Wells,at the University ofLeicester’s Space ResearchCentre, is the scientificleader of the project. Hesaid: “With the EU fundingwe have secured, we cannow coordinate differentresearch activities in thesame general areas of traf-fic and the environmentthat are being carried outby partners from acrossEurope. These sort of out-comes have never beenbrought together in thisway before.”

Leicester leads the way to reduce traffic congestion in Europe

The founder of an NGO, whichhelps women suffering from domes-tic violence, made a special trip toLeicester to speak to local femalesabout the issue.

Dr Ilaben Pathak, who runs theAhmedabad Women’s Action Group(AWAG) and is also the internation-al Vice President of the Women’sInternational League for Peace andFreedom (WILPF), was invited tothe Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre,Rothley Street on Wednesday 11thJanuary by the Asian Foundationfor Philanthropy (AFFP).

Bala Thakrar, founder of theAFFP, which has been running forsix years, said: “The purpose of thistalk is to discuss the domestic vio-lence issues in India and in the UKas it’s an area that people don’t talkmuch about.”

AFFP work actively with AWAGby sending volunteers from the UKto help the organisation in terms ofany development and funding andsupport them by raising awarenessof their work.

In a shocking statistic revealedby the AFFP, people present learnedthat 18 women die everyday inGujarat as a result of domestic vio-

lence – and that is just the officialfigure. According to further researchconducted, India was in the top fiveplaces in the world for being theworst place to live for a women.

Speaking to the Asian Voice, DrIlaben Pathak said: “One of the

study’s conducted found that 80% ofmarried women suffer from domesticviolence. We find that for womensurvival is the biggest problem.”

The NGO, which started work in1981, has six centres in total, four inthe rural areas of Ahmedabad andtwo in the urban areas, dealing withover 600 cases every year.

Dr Pathak added: “I was here (inLeicester) in 2009 and I could seethat women here also suffer from alot of domestic violence but theydon’t open up.”

Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan runs alocal organisation called theZinthiya Trust, which helps localwomen in Leicester. Since theybegan offering their services to thecommunity in 2009, they have sup-ported more than 50 women with adomestic violence background.

It is believed that many womendo not come forward because of thestigma and fear attached to leaving apartner and this is a problem thatorganisations like AWAG and theZinthiya Trust are trying to resolve.

The sad truth is that the nationalstatistic shows that one in fourwomen are believed to be victims ofdomestic violence.

Educating women ondomestic violence

Founder of AFFP Bala Thakrar with

Dr Ilaben Pathak

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 5UK

One in eight Gurkhas willlose their job underMinistry of Defence plansto make 4,000 membersof the Armed Forcesredundant, ministersannounced on Tuesday.More than 400 Gurkhas,equivalent to almost anentire battalion, will beamong the 2,800 soldiersto lose their jobs, whilethe RAF is cutting 1,000and the Navy 500.

The news has perhapsembarrassed AndrewMitchell, theI n t e r n a t i o n a lDevelopment Secretary,who landed in Nepal onTuesday as part of a tripto demonstrate howBritain is helping Gurkhafamilies.

The MoD has sentmore than 14,000 noticesto personnel in each ofthe three services offeringthem voluntary redun-dancy but it is expectedsome compulsory redun-dancies will have to bemade. Soldiers serving in

Afghanistan are amongthose to receive thenotices, although theywill be protected fromcompulsory redundancy.

The 3,400-memberBrigade of Gurkhas hasbeen more vulnerable toredundancies after theirterms of service changedfour years ago, allowingthem to serve for 22 yearsrather than the previous15 years.

Nearly all Gurkhaschose to extend their con-tracts, which increasedthe number in thebrigade. The MoD saysthe changes made it moreexpensive to employthem, making them morevulnerable to cost-cuttingredundancies.

The Daily Telegraphreported that RAF andRoyal Navy commandershope that this will be thefinal round of redundan-cies but the Army is likelyto announce at least onemore tranche of job loss-es.

In what has beendescribed as a ‘highlyunusual and exceptional’case, Sheona Keith 22was spared a prison sen-tence after throwing aglass at a male’s headcausing actual bodilyharm, whilst out in anExeter nightclub. Keith,described by acting judgePhilip Wassall as havingan ‘impeccable character’,had recently been madereduntant from her job asa plumber due to ‘intolera-ble’ sexual harassment ina male-dominated envi-ronment. She had‘uncharacter is t ica l ly ’decided to drown her sor-rows, and affected by thesexual intimidation she’dexperienced at work, shehad believed that the malevictim was ‘eyeing her up’.Judge Wassall hasexplained that while it wasnot an excuse, he wasunderstanding of thethreatened state she wasin, due to the previous

unwanted sexual atten-tion, and gave her a condi-tional discharge and a fineof £400 for compensation.Keith has shown‘immense remorse’ for heractions.

More Gurkhas to lose jobin MoD cuts

Young female plumber avoidsjail sentence

Oxford University donDevinder Sivia, who wasarrested on suspicion ofthe murder of his long-term friend and colleagueProfessor StevenRawlings, has beenreleased on police bail.

Sivia, 50, was arrest-ed on Wednesday night athis home in Southmoor,Oxford, after police dis-covered the body of 49-year-old Prof Rawlings, amarried astrophysicist.

Thames Valley Policesaid the post-mortemexamination had provedinconclusive and DrSivia was being releasedon police bail until April18.

D e t e c t i v eSuperintendent RobMason, from the force’smajor crime unit, said:“This is a tragic incidentand our investigationsare ongoing to establish

the cause of death.”He added: “I would

emphasise that thepolice are investigatingall potential circum-stances that could haveled to his death. Due tothe post-mortem exami-nation results provinginconclusive and furtherexaminations beingrequired, this has neces-sitated a lengthy baildate.”

Prof Rawling’s familywho were struggling tocome in terms withdeath and did not wishto talk to media any fur-ther did not believe thatProf Sivia could havemurdered his friend andblamed his death on “atragic accident”.

Linda Davey, 64,Prof Rawling’s older sis-ter, said he was not thetype of man to get into anargument over anything.

Oxford don released overdeath of professor

Devinder SiviaProf Steven Rawlings

Sheona Keith

A plan to restrict theentry of foreign studentsinto shops to combatrampant shop-lifting andtheft in Britain’s south-western coastal city ofPlymouth has sparked anoutrage, with residentsand immigrants branding

it as “racist”.It provoked scorn and

a welter of protest frompeople across Britainwho branded it as ‘racistand ridiculous’.

The plan envisaged‘special stickers’ inshops restricting the

entry of students at anyone time.

Leaders in Plymouthapologised following anuproar over the plan toprevent shop-lifting andtheft by restricting thenumber of foreign stu-dents.

Plan to bar foreign students in shops stirs protestsTo

advertise in

Asian Voice

call

020 7749 4085

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 20126 UK

Domestic violence is anissue that affects manywomen across the globetoday. And while manywomen come out to fightwith it, some get batteredby the stigma associatedwith it and suffer silently.Ahmedabad Women’sAction Group (AWAG)is one such organisationthat helps those womenwho suffer from domes-tic violence as a socialevil.Last week, the

founder of the organisa-tion, Ila Pathak was inLondon to talk aboutAWAG and enlighten theaudience with the workthat this organisation hasbeen doing for a longtime now. Organised byAsian Foundation forPhilanthropy, the talkbrought to light the issueof domestic violence inrural areas in Gujaratand how AWAG hasgone a long way in sup-porting women sufferingfrom this.In her talk she said

that the aim of the organ-isation is to empowerwomen through asser-tion of their individuali-ty, to assist them in get-ting social justice and tohelp them to regain theirhealth. AWAG, believesthat when a woman’sself-awareness is raised,so is her self worth andthey support women ingetting social justice intheir struggle to surviveand develop as humanbeings. The organisation has

six aims that it strives towork upon - raise theimage of women in socie-ty; protest against ele-ments in society whichdemean the image ofwomen; establishwomen’s equal status insociety; contribute towomen’s participation inthe development of thecountry; support therights of women to livewith dignity and to sup-port their welfare andeducation and work forthe economic bettermentof poor women.AWAG undertakes

work in both the urbanand rural areas ofGujarat. It has offices inthe following four areas,Bhudarpura (westAhmedabad), Bapunagar(east Ahmedabad) and inthe rural areas ofRadhanpur and Rapar.Its work in Bapunagarwas in response to thecommunal riots, betweenHindu and Muslims,which broke out inAugust 1986.It became apparent to

AWAG that manywomen died within theirown homes. Womenwould often liken theirhusbands to Gods, whichmeant that they werereluctant to speak outagainst their abusivehusbands. They would

seek to protect the repu-tation of the husbandand the wider family, atthe expense of their ownwell being.Consequently, incidentsof domestic violenceagainst women areincreasing not only inGujarat, but also inIndia, causing manywomen to take their ownlives, said Ms. Pathak.Ms. Pathak also said,

“The numbers of report-ed unnatural deaths(suicides, suspiciousdeaths) are alarming.However, we havenoticed that in recentyears the number ofcomplaints to the policeexceed the number ofdeaths.” It was alsofound that women wereat their most vulnerablebetween the ages of 11-30 years. In excess of62% of those reporteddeaths fell in this agegroup. 50% of thesedeaths were caused bysupposed kitchen acci-dents. Ila Pathak founded

the organisation with theaim of women’s welfarein mind and the organi-sation has now reachedvarious heights. “We in AWAG rapid-

ly learned that we had toempower women and toteach them not to bepressurised to give uplife, nor to protect theevildoer by making falsestatements. This andsimilar cases keep haunt-ing me, they drive me towork with women in dis-tress and to study legalprovisions to help usprotect them. With thisin mind I have forgedclose links with theCentre for Social Studies

in Gujarat and GujaratVidyapith”, she said.AWAG provides a

number of services towomen in Gujarat. Forinstance, there are coun-selling centres across thestate with a differentapproach from the tradi-

tional counselling. Thecounselling units arewomen-focused and thisdiffers from the tradi-tional interventionistmodels, where counsel-lors support the familyunit and tend to encour-age the woman’s returnto her marital home.Counsellors at AWAGare pro-woman. Inessence they operate onthe premise that womenare oppressed, exploitedand often rendered pow-erless by comparison tomen in society. Havingsaid this, they believethat women are capableof challenging theoppressive structures intheir lives and the coun-sellors assist them in thisprocess and theirempowerment.AWAG also provides

legal aid for womenpreparing their cases incourt. It also providesfor a short stay home forwomen who havenowhere to go after theyhave left their husband’shome.According to AWAG

statistics, approximately75% of the women, suf-fering from mental ill-nesses, had at one timeor another consideredending their own lives.They often feel that thereis no point in living,because they do not addany value to society. Thisis a recurring sentimentand much of the work isaimed at changing thisperception. AWAG hasgone a long way in sup-porting women in thestate of Gujarat and is amodel that should beadopted not only byother states in India butacross the globe.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

AWAG – for the voiceless

Dr Ilaben Pathak with others at a London event by AFP

By Spriha Srivastava

In addition to my politi-cal and voluntary com-mitments, I was Calledto the Bar of Englandand Wales by theHonourable Society ofthe Middle Temple someyears ago now. TheMiddle Temple is one offour Inns of Court, theothers being LincolnsInn, Gray’s Inn andInner Temple. TheseInns historically played asignificant role in boththe teaching and trainingof ‘would-be’ barristersand to this day stillremain a focal point andvalid entity for the pro-fession, including butnot limited to throughoffering courses, lecturesand networking sessionswith other barristers andsenior members of thejudiciary to help providea solid foundation foranyone embarking on acareer at the Bar to gainthe necessary supportand skill required topractise the vocation. Asa practising barrister Iretain links with my Innof Court and oftenattend dining sessionsand other activities andalso generally supportjunior members and stu-dents alike. During theyear, on a few occasionsan activity referred to asa “Bench Call” takesplace where senior mem-bers of an Inn of Courtare made “Benchers” ofthat Inn which in sum-mary is a prominent andsignificant role withinthe Inn which is award-ed to those on merit,mainly to senior mem-bers of the judiciary andeminent QueensCounsel. In addition to

these Benchers who arefrom within the profes-sion a handful of peopleare awarded the title of“Honorary Bencher” ofthe Inn where they are‘made a barrister andBencher on the samenight’ (without practis-ing rights) and bestowedthe title of “HonoraryBencher” for their meritto society. Historically inour lifetime for example,the late-Queen Motherwas made a Bencher ofthe Middle Temple andmore recently both HisRoyal Highness PrinceWilliam and the PrimeMinister, the Rt. Hon.David Cameron MPwere awarded the hon-our. More recently, I waspleased to note that inan Honorary Bench Callceremony held inNovember 2011, theMayor of London BorisJohnson was made anhonorary bencher of theMiddle Temple.Mayor Boris Johnson

has certainly made ahuge contribution inLondon and it is won-derful to note that he hasbeen recognised for thatcontribution to society.Not only has Boris beenaddressing housing con-cerns, crime and the fearof crime and creating sig-nificant employmentopportunities for ouryouth since coming intooffice, but he has alsomade significantimprovements to trans-port despite what theLabour opposition mayclaim. Affecting Brent &Harrow alone he isresponsible for newtrains and signalling onthe Bakerloo and

Piccadilly Lines and fornew air-conditionedtrains with an increasedcapacity of 27% on theMetropolitan Line.Further, he has managedto secure £130millionworth of funding fromthe Government toensure that on average,fares increase onlyslightly above inflation.For London to remain afirst class-city we need toinvest in our transportsystem and any reduc-tion in fares would hin-der the improvementsthat transport userswant in infrastructureand that money has beenearmarked for. It is to hiscredit that Boris Johnsonhas committed to signifi-cant investment in thetransport system andthat he continually deliv-ers for Londoners whilstminimising the financialimpact on commuters byseeking and obtainingsignificant sums ofmoney from theGovernment to offsetagainst fares increases.With Boris Johnson asMayor, not only do wesee improvements inLondon but we see apolitician who is honestand delivers on hispledges and I trust vot-ers will recognise this inthe May 2012 Mayoraland Greater LondonAssembly elections, par-ticularly as Boris hasmanaged to achieve allof this without anyincreases in his preceptelement throughLondoners Council Taxwhich he has frozen forthree years in a row nowfor the benefit of allLondoners.

For the benefit of Londoners

Cllr Sachin Rajput

Conservative Greater London Assembly Candidate

For Brent & Harrow

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Councillor makes fraudulent claim forhousing benefits for a second time

November 2009 andSeptember 2010 at herSwan HousingAssociation-owned proper-ty. Before Akhtar enteredguilty pleas on Monday, awarrant was issued for herarrest after she failed toturn up at court. She sent adoctor’s letter saying shewas unwell and unfit tostand trial. But the judgethrew out her plea andthreatened to issue anarrest warrant if she didnot turn up. Akhtar wasbailed and is due to be sen-tenced on February 6.

A close colleague of TowerHamlets mayor LutfurRahman faced cross-partycalls to resign after fraudu-lently claiming housingbenefits for a second time,a daily has reported on11th January.

Shelina Akhtar, pic-tured, an independentcouncillor, pleaded guiltyto three counts of dishon-estly claiming housing and

council tax benefits for aproperty in Poplar atSnaresbrook crown courton Monday. Despite com-mitting benefit fraud for asecond time she has beenallowed to keep her councilseat.The housing benefit

falsely claimed totalled �1,085 and � 29 council taxbenefit. The charges relat-ed to two periods between

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 7UK

Cllr Muhammed Javed, who hasserved as councillor of two Ilfordwards for 30 years, wasannounced mayor-elect lastweek.The 60-year-old father of four

was the only council member toput their name forward, meaninga ballot was unnecessary.A new system of electing the

mayor was put in place last year.Before this, many of the electedmayors belonged to theConservative group.Cllr Javed, of Dudley Road,

Ilford (pictured) will succeed CllrChris Cummins in May, when heofficially puts on the robes andtakes up his busy schedule ofappointments as mayor – whichconsist of around 500 visits andtrips a year.He has not yet decided on the

charities he will support but tolda local paper: “Elderly and vul-nerable people are very impor-tant. We should all give some

time to help them, even if it’s onehour a month.�On Christmas Day I took one

of my residents to church for aservice, and I also bought oneother elderly lady Christmas din-ner as she hadn’t had one in tenyears,” he added.Cllr Javed also said: “Being a

mayor is an honour. I would liketo thank my colleagues and allthe party members for having thisfaith in me.”

Redbridge’s first Labour mayor-elect in 10 years announced

Asian Tory fundraiser lands in controversyregarding his comments to MoS

A major scandal erupted as theMail on Sunday reported aboutan Asian Tory fundraiser and aprominent activist who wascaught in an undercover inves-tigation boasting to Mail onSunday about his ability toarrange for meetings with PMCameron and supply his per-sonal mobile number for£10,000.

Rickie Sehgal, 50, allegedlyalso said that donors could dinewith the PM - or any otherMinisters - and raise any issuethey wanted, including relaxingimmigration curbs.He allegedly claimed that he

could arrange for Tory MPs tomake personal appearances insupport of business ventures, asreported by the Mail on Sunday. However when he was later

confronted about his claims, MrSehgal (pictured) apparentlyadmitted to the Sunday news-paper that he was ‘highlyembarrassed’ to have beencaught making his boasts,which he said he had exaggerat-ed to impress the undercoverreporter. It was also reported in the

MoS that Mr Sehgal, the chair-man of British AsianConservative Link (BACL),was asked to leave the ToryParty after senior officials stud-ied the evidence gathered by thenewspaper. Fears grew thatBACL, which stages fundrais-ing events to boost the numberof Asian Tory MPs, might also

face being stripped of its rightto use the official Conservativelogo.But the most disturbing dis-

closure that Mr Cameron’smost private contact details arebeing touted around to wealthybusinessmen has promptedfresh concerns over ‘cash foraccess’ at the heart ofGovernment. The Mail on Sunday appar-

ently began its investigation fol-lowing a tip-off from a leadinglegal source who claimed thatAsian businessmen were usingBACL to gain access to seniorTory Ministers. An undercoverreporter posing as a business-man who ran a domestic clean-ing company in East Londonmet Mr Sehgal at his office. Thereporter said he was keen tojoin BACL’s exclusive 1000Club, which its website claimscan give members access toMinisters and MPs for businessand personal benefits.

Membership of the club costs£1,000.This is the latest in a series

of cash-for-access scandals tohit the party since the GeneralElection win of May 2010. Last December, PR firm Bell

Pottinger was accused of offer-ing clients access to SteveHilton, Mr Cameron’s chiefstrategist; Ed Llewellyn, thePrime Minister’s chief of staff;and even Foreign SecretaryWilliam Hague. And shortlyafter Mr Cameron enteredDowning Street, it emergedthat the Tories were offeringprivate dinners and luncheswith the Prime Minister to busi-nessmen who paid £50,000.Since it was set up in 1997,

BACL has proved to be theTories’ main contact with theAsian community, especiallywealthy businessmen. BACL has hosted a series of

lavish dinners at the CarltonClub, an exclusive ConservativeParty haunt, where key Torypoliticians have been wined anddined.Asian Voice wrote to Rickie

Sehgal asking about his reac-tion on the news printed byDaily Mail. Dan Kirkby fromKirkby Monahan Publicity onbehalf of Rickie Sehgal wrote toAsian Voice saying “Mr. Seghaldoes contest much of what wasprinted about him in the Mailon Sunday and other publica-tions....but on legal advise he isreserving his position....”

Five muslim men are due toappear in court after beingaccused of breaking new lawsagainst inciting hatred due to sex-ual orientation. Ihjaz Ali, RazwanJaved, Kabir Ahmed, MahboobHassain and Umer Javed, all fromDerby, are on trial for distributinganti-homosexual leaflets, whichclaim that gay people should bekilled. One leaflet entitled ‘TheDeath Penalty?’ portrayed a man-nequin being hanged and statedthat buggery led to hell. Another

labelled ‘Turn or Burn’ showed aperson drowning in a lake of fire.Prosecutor Bobbi Cheemadescribed it as ‘horrible, threaten-ing literature, with quotationsfrom religious sources and pic-tures, which were designed to stirup hostile feelings against homo-sexual people.’Leaflets were handed out out-

side Jamia Mosque, as well asbeing posted through letter

Five Muslim men on trial forstirring up hatred

Continued on page 30

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 20128 www.abplgroup.com

Rajesh Kutty, a Malayliman, with an MA inAutomotive Design fromCoventry University(2004), currently workswith Bentley and was apart of a team thatdesigned a train that willbe used at LondonOlympics 2012.Rajesh spoke exclu-

sively to Asian Voiceabout growing up, hispassion for designingcars, his future plans andthe journey so far.

AV: As an Indiancoming to Coventry tostudy automotive design,how different was it foryou? Why did youchoose Coventry?I already had a back-

ground in Design fromNID, Ahmedabad, alsoprior to this I had workedat a car studio nearCoventry on a tractorthat I had designed. ThusI was not alien to what Iwas to expect. I choseCoventry as I was alreadyfamiliar with the place,and it is a pretty reputedplace for Car Design inthe world.

AV: You were thewinner of The bestModel of the Show’ atthe Uni, and runner upfor ‘Best ConceptDesign’ at the Graduateshow held at the BritishTransport Museum,Coventry in 2004. Howimportant were they inyour career?For my final project,

there is no doubt that Idid eye to be up there asone of the better designsin class. So it did makeme feel proud to bejudged well amongst abunch of very talentedand hard working indi-viduals. I felt rewardedfor the effort I had put induring the year, and thusgrew in confidence.

AV: Tell us somethingabout your childhood,your family, where yougrew up, what aspiredyou to be an automotivedesigner.I was quite car mad as

a child, and on hindsight Iliked to draw more thanother kids. My fatherworked in theAutomotive industry, andhe was a great influencefor my love for cars. Aftergraduating in EngineeringI learnt more about theDesign world, andrealised that is where Iwanted to be. This leadme to post graduating inIndustrial Design (at thetime there was noAutomotive design coursein India), which then ledme to a tractor designimmediately after. Whileworking on the tractor Ipursued my ambition ofworking in the CarIndustry with what Iloved doing - Design.

AV: Being an Asian inthe field, has it been dif-ficult for you to make amark?I was looking to work

in Europe as I likeEuropean Car Design.This however was noteasy as it meant obtain-ing visas, which very eas-ily limited my scope ofgetting a job in Europe. Ittook me a couple ofmonths and lots of email-ing to get the visas for myfirst car design job inTurin, Italy. This anywaywas only for 3 months!!But as far as design wasconcerned it didn’t affectme as I enjoyed what Iwas doing.

AV: Has the currenteconomic climate affect-ed your field of work?I have been fortunate

in this regard. But itcould have very easilygone the other way.

AV: What is the latesttrend in car designing?Car Designers carry a

lot of influence fromother fields, be it furni-ture design, fashion,yachts, lights or lifestyleproducts. SimilarlyProduct design and otherfields look at cars forinspiration. Thus there isa lot of overlapping interms of design cues etc,while focussing on thebrand of the car.

AV: Are you the onlyAsian in the Bentleydesign team?Indeed I was the only

Non European in theBentley Design team.Although last year theExterior Design teaminducted a Korean.

AV: Today’s youthrelate to car designing, asan extremely ‘cool’ job.Some also aspire to takethe same path as you. Doyou have any tips forthem?Please don’t join Car

Design if you think it is acool job. While it is athoroughly enjoyablething to do, it’s best topursue it only if you arepassionate about it. Also

even if you getAutomotive Design atuniversity is it really whatyou want to do?Especially since it is ahighly specialised job.I was once told by my

teacher at Coventry thatthere are moreHollywood stars thanthere are Professional CarDesigners!The ones with the

best skills get throughwhile others may pursueother fields. So if youtruly believe in yourdream then you can getwhat you want with tal-ent, the right skills andsome luck. Once you getthere then it’s a pleasureworking on what youliked since your child-hood.

AV: Do you plan to goback to India and useyour skills in designingthere?I would love to do

that someday, when thetime is right.

AV: How far do youthink India has excelledin this field?Car Design as we

know it today is a ‘west-ern concept’. Thus obvi-ously its way advanced inthe western world than inIndia. However like manyother things (non Indian)India is doing the catch-ing up. There are variousDesign schools that havecome up in the lastdecade, trainingAutomotive Designamongst others. A lot ofautomotive companiesboast of in house design-ers where it was almostnon existent a decadeback. Also there are aquite a few Indians likeme in other car studiosaround the globe, whichis very encouraging. Sowe are catching up forsure.

AV: What do youthink the future of cardesigning in India wouldbe like?As India is so unique,

like every other foreignconcept/product that getsintroduced in India has torespect the culture andtradition to be successfulthere. Similarly, I thinkthe Indian designerwould have to be verysensitive to what is likedor preferred within India.It is a matter of timebefore India would get itsown Car Design identity.Our own signature forms,use of colours and func-tions offered that wewould portray to the restof the world. Currently Ithink it is on the path todiscovering it.

A guru is one who isregarded as having greatknowledge, wisdom, andauthority in a certainarea, and who uses it toguide others – accordingto Wikipedia. (Funnilyenough that definitionwould probably putWikipedia itself as a gurufor many of us, but let’sleave that for anotherday.) A shishya is simplya student, a devotee, afollower of the guru.It is worth dwelling

on the definition of theguru for just a minute.Increasingly in theIndian sense, the wordhas become interchange-able with ‘teacher’, giv-ing it an almost exclu-sively academic taste. Inthe Western world, weare at the other extreme,where almost anyonewith subject matterexpertise becomes a‘guru’, irrespective of hisor her bhavna (loosely,‘attitude’) to impartingthe knowledge. In theVedic (or Wikipedia-ic)sense, both parts – thebeholder of knowledge,wisdom and authority;and the selfless imparta-tion to guide others – areequally important.Now, the next fre-

quently asked question –is each shishya (theyoung man or womanworking his or her waythrough life) constrainedto having just one guru?The answer, in my mind,is a starch ‘no’. Gurus,to me, come in two broadcategories. First there isthe academic or techni-cal guru – your teacherat school or university –the one who equippedyou with your technicalskills. For the sake ofthis argument it doesn’treally matter whether theacademic guru is singu-lar or plural. In today’sworld having a singularguru from year one atkindergarten to the endof university educationcan broadly be ruled out.At the spiritual level, theAdvaita Vedantic will tellyou that it doesn’t mat-ter because it is the qual-ities and the essence ofthe guru that the shishyaaspires to, not the indi-vidual person. To thatextent, both singular andplural are one and thesame, so ‘sub-gurus’ are

fine. Too deep. Let’s move

on to the second type ofguru – the trade or busi-ness guru. No, not LordSugar or Peter Jonesfrom Dragon’s Den. Thetrade guru is more per-sonal than that – a bitlike the academic guru.The overriding role is toimpart softer skills, suchas influencing and creat-ing gravitas, and to pro-vide guidance or work asa sounding board intimes of difficulty. Onceagain, it is the qualitiesof the guru that willattract the shishya – theaura, the character, therespect, the wisdom andthe authority. It is nocoincidence that thesequalities overlap withour earlier definition ofthe guru. But just asbeauty is in the eye ofthe beholder, these qual-ities will reflect differ-ently to differentshishyas, and it is up tothe shishya to find theirown trade guru. Somaybe Lord Sugar doesqualify as a trade guru tosome of his apprentices.But not necessarily toall.Is the concept of hav-

ing two different gurusfor technical trainingand for learning thetricks of the trade, as itwere, a new phenome-non in an increasinglycomplex world? Notreally. I avoided it so far,but it is almost impossi-ble to complete a guru-shishya debate withoutdiscussing Dronacharyaand Arjuna – probablythe most discussed guru-shishya pairing inHinduism. “Aha, soArjuna just had one cra-dle-to-grave guru,right?” Right? Wrong.He had at least one tech-nical guru inDronacharya, who wasthe school master, if youwill, combined with auniversity professor.H o w e v e r ,

Dronacharya only taughtArjuna the art of warfareand theoretical warstrategies. Chapter Oneof the Bhagavad Gita(verses 26 to 29) will tellyou that Arjuna’s limbsstill quivered at theonset of the great battleof the Kurukshetra, hisbody trembled, his bow

“Who is my Krishna?” - the guru /shishya relationship in the City context

Tarang Katira

India on its path to discoverits own car design identity

The Government of India has recognised thefine journalism of one of our reporters. DhirenKatwa was presented with the Bharat SammanAward in New Delhi. He was the youngestrecipient of the 20 NRIs who were each recog-nised for their exemplary work in their respec-tive fields. Dr Rami Ranger received theLifetime Achievement Award.

Full story next week.

was slipping and his skinwas burning. Later vers-es of the Mahabharatawill tell you that timeand again throughArjuna’s battle, he haddecisions to make wherehe himself may haveerred if it wasn’t for thetimely guidance of LordKrishna. Lord Krishna,Arjuna’s trade guru. Hence I decipher

that Dronacharya andKrishna were both hisgurus, and both in andof themselves, playingthe roles they played,would have been inade-quate for Arjuna’s (andtherefore the Pandavas’)success in theMahabharata.The young man or

woman entering the Citytoday, or indeed onewho has been in the Cityfor a few years but is stillseeking to become the“top dog”, is no differentfrom Arjuna at incep-tion, and/or part-waythrough the battle ofKurukshetra. Asian cul-ture today places empha-sis in making the mostout of academic life, andlearning as much fromthe technical guru’sknowledge as possible.The emphasis seems tohave diminished on thetrade guru. I would urgethe ambitious youngman or woman working,or about to start work,in the City, to rememberto continually ask ofthemselves “Who is(are) my Krishna?”Don’t let your ego, orthe self-perception ofweakness, get in yourway. It may cost youyour success in the City.The City Hindus

Network offers an infor-mal mentorship programto amateur and mid-levelprofessionals in the City.It also offers numerousnetworking opportuni-ties with other City pro-fessionals through regu-lar networking and edu-cational events.

Tarang Katira is theCommunity lead in theCHN. You can sign up tobe a member or find outmore about the CHN atw w w. c i t y h i n d u s n e t -work.org.uk. Dhiren Katwa is currently away

Midland Voice

Rajesh Kutty

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 9

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201210

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Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seenso euphoric on Monday morning, as theyexpected a couple of Oscars. British Indians inthe UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township ofMumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almostthe entire Bollywood waited in expectation,glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebra-tions as one by one, their heroes, the actors ofthe British Indian film and the music maestro, AR Rahman bagged the top awards in the worldof entertainment.

British actress Kate Winslett also won theOscar after having missed it almost five timesearlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on acleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directedby American director Megan Mylan, won theOscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar

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Elephant statues

There is a photograph of elephantstatues being covered with pink clothespublished in the Time magazine.Thesestatues are in the park in the northernIndian State of Uttar Pradesh. Becausethese elephants happen to be the symbolof the ruling party, the statues must becovered ahead of upcoming stateAssembly elections.When you read or hear such news

about India, it disturbs the minds of all ofus thinking what the hell is happening inIndia. It appears that our top politicalleaders and the court judges have nocommon sense to deal with such issues.Elephant statues are everywhere in

India and practically in all the templesand Shri Ganesh ji himself is a symbol ofan elephant, whom we all Hindus wor-ship.Such kind of orders issued by the

court must not be obeyed and Mayawatishould resist the foolish stunts of the cen-tral Government for such actions.It appears Government has lost its

common senses, and important issuessuch as providing minimum standard ofliving for every citizen is also being overlooked. What a Shame!

Dharam SahdevIlford

Education and Religion

In spite of India obtaining independ-ence over 60 years ago, the division onthe basis of religion and caste still persistand it takes major role in the incomingelection in Uttar Pradesh next month.India was divided only on the basis ofreligion and it is outrageous on the partof some political parties to use religion todivide the society.According to the Indian constitution

some sections of the Indian communitywho were educationally backward suchas OBCS and Dalits were reserved morethan 50 per cent of the seats and it clear-ly states that there should not be reserva-tion on the basis of religion and only onthe basis of backwardness. The present appeasement policy of

Indian government has resulted in sever-al parties based on caste and religion andthey are trying to impose how Indiashould be run. In the name of pseudo sec-ularism Indian government has allowedthousands of Madrasas and Christianschools and colleges to operate in India.Madrasas give more importance to reli-gious studies rather than concentratingof basic subjects and hence studentscoming from these schools and collegescannot compete for jobs with studentsfrom secular institutions. It is not sur-prising that Muslims are under represent-ed in higher educational institutions.If government wants to provide good

education for Muslims, they should forceall private institutions funded by the gov-ernment whether run by Christian,Hindu or private charities to take at least5 per cent of the children starting fromnursery schools from Dalit’s and Muslimsirrespective of their social back groundand fees paid by the government. In addi-tion the children from these groupsshould be given free meals and grants foruniforms and classify them as specialneeds children and provide additionalcoaching to bring up to the same levellike other children with middle class background. The way in which Indian politicsin UP operates, it divides the Indian soci-ety on the basis of caste and religion andit may lead to division of India again in50 years.

Arun VaidyanathanVia Email

Body of Brit-Indian studentfound in Manchester river

Murders of Indian students, AnujBidve and Gurdeep Hayer, of Manchesterinvoke question if both were selected,were at wrong place at wrong time, vic-tims of jealousy and frustration amongtinderbox of cashless, hopeless and job-less yobs? Unlike Black community andMuslims, Indians have no gang culture tofrighten yobs who target Indians. IfBritain, Indian community and IndianHigh commissioner downplay attacksunder names - racism, hate crime, andtemporary insanity, murderous psychosmay be emboldened to stage more attackslike in Australia.Unplanned, un-patterned lethal

attacks, on impulse, are painful to fami-lies, police and Britain, showing failure ofpolice, priests, parliament and parents tocurb killer attitude. Add to this violentfilms and television dramas where emo-tionless violence is projected as shortcutto solve problems. Broken family institu-tion undermines parents’ attempts toinculcate humanism and to feel pain atviolence and deaths.It is time for army of priests of all

denominations to educate yobs non-vio-lence and humanism. This can help allaspirants to develop positive attitudewithout losing face or dignity.Secular Yoga and meditation can be

utilised by schools, churches and policeto reform miscreants. Creation of jobs,cash and hope can also ease xenophobia.

Ramesh JhallaVia Email

Another White Elephant

T he Government has given a greenlight for the project to build a, 250 milesper hour, train from London toBirmingham. It decided on 10 January toproceed with the development and deliv-ery of this national high speed rail net-work. The rail will initially link Londonto Birmingham, and eventually go beyondto Manchester and Leeds.The project isestimated to cost in the region of some£33 billion. This is over three and a halftimes the cost of 9 billion pounds for theOlympic Games. Protest groups formedto oppose the scheme say that theplanned route crosses an area of out-standing natural beauty and it will dam-age the environment. They say that thereis no business case, no environmentalcase and there is no money to pay for it.This is going to be another waste ofGovernment and taxpayers’ money.What would the project achieve and

what would be the take up in ticket sales?If there is not sufficient take up by pas-sengers this may turn out to be a whiteelephant of monumental proportionswith irreparable damage to the country-side and the environment. The moneycould deliver more benefits to more peo-ple more quickly for less by investing inthe current rail infrastructure. This vastamount of money could be better spent inrepairing leaking school roofs or invest-ing in better health care services. It couldbe used in not clawing back on CivilService pensions by unilaterally changingthe way the pension increases are calcu-lated in line with the changes in muchfavourable RPI to the changes in CPI. Itcould be spent in providing free highereducation or in reducing our taxes.

Dinesh ShethNewbury Park, Ilford

Arab Spring: A False Horizon

As usual British newspapers had afield day in coming down like a ton ofbricks on Sophie Windsor, wife of PrinceEdward, for accepting gifts, expensivejewellery from the Bahrain royal family,although it will not go to her personally.The recent unrest in Bahrain where

the majority is Shia but ruling family isSunni provoked a widespread condemna-tion in the West. But in reality, mostMiddle East Kingdoms are ruled by aminority, prime example being Sadam’sIraq and Syria where a tiny minority ofShia rules over 80% Sunni leading todaily riots and thousands of deaths withno end in sight.Yet when these demonstrations, peo-

ple power overthrow the dictators, it doesnot result in democratic rule. It gives alicence to the majority to suppress theminority, mainly Christians, as is the casein Egypt where the Coptic Christians areunder constant attack from the followersof Muslim Brotherhood. Half of Iraq’s Christians have migrat-

ed to Syria and Jordan. No wonder theethnic minorities in these countries backthe present rulers, as under so calleddemocracy, vote bank politics take priori-ty over the safety and wellbeing of theminority.The so called butcher of Sudan,

President Umar Hassan al-Bashir forwhom there is arrest warrant for crimesagainst humanity, was given a hero’s wel-come in recently liberated Libya. Gaddafi was a saint compared to al-

Bashir who is alleged to be responsiblefor the death of some half a millionSudanese in the province of GharbDarfur, mainly black Sudanese Muslims.I wonder whether Britain has spent £2billion wisely in liberating Libya who mayend up being another Iran. Arab spring ofhope, democracy and prosperity may yetturn out to be a false horizon, a distantland beyond the reach of the masses.

Bhupendra M GandhiVia Email

A National Shame

I always enjoy reading Alpesh Patel’sPolitical Sketchbook column in AsianVoice. In his article A National Shame (AV

14 January 2012) about child malnour-ishment in India, he quotes, in a toneimplying utter dismay and frustration, aMember of the House of Lords who is apatron of a charity in India as saying “it’sso difficult getting the very wealthyIndians in the UK to give.” Towards theend, Alpesh hammers home this point bysaying, in his characteristic sarcasm,‘You see, it is not the super rich Indiansin the UK who give in proportion to theirworth, it is the middle and working classIndians in the UK who gives dispropor-tionately to their work.’ How true – andhow utterly shameful, too! I have been a trustee of a national

community charity in the UK for manyyears. In a small way, we give support topoor children in India and try to fulfiltheir needs, be it towards education, dis-ability, malnutrition, etc. Our supportcomes from donations from middle andworking class people only. Yet, there aremany wealthy Indians in the UK whomay be able to fund a substantial part ofa charitable project but choose not to.And these are the same people who will,unhesitatingly, finance the cost of a lavishwedding of their children or liberallysocialise themselves or even exploit their

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position in the UK parliament by makingfalse expenses claims!For me and I am sure for many of us

ordinary folks in the UK, I am contentand secure in the knowledge that in ourcommunity charity - as in other verymany similar charities in the UK - every-one involved is an unpaid volunteer andso is their counterpart in India whoworks selflessly in helping the poor with-out any expectation of reward or posi-tion. Let us all keep it that way! And thank

you, Alpesh, for highlighting this issue sosuccinctly!

Uttambhai D MistryBolton

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 1111EDUCATION / COUNCIL VOICE

A UK university is to opena campus in Bangkok inwhat is claimed as the firstUK university to establisha branch in Thailand.The University of

Central Lancashire hassigned a deal with a Thai-based entrepreneur toopen a university campusin Bangkok in 2014.Degrees will be taught

in English and validated bythe UK university. This will be the latest

example of universities"globalising" with overseasbranches. It follows a path set by

the University ofNottingham which set up abranch in China.The greatest concentra-

tion of such branch univer-sities, from UK and USuniversities, has been inAsia and the Gulf states.Newcastle University is

establishing a medicalschool in Malaysia, whereNottingham also has acampus. University CollegeLondon has a campus inQatar.The announcement of

the University of CentralLancashire's plans will givethis "new" university aninternational identity andan opportunity to expand.The University of

Central Lancashire's vice-chancellor, MalcolmMcVicar, said its marketresearch showed "strongdemand" for undergradu-ate and postgraduatecourses in Thailand.Thailand has been

identified as a hub forSouth East Asia, and isexpected to be a "key areafor future global growth".The UK university will

invest £7.5m and will workalongside the entrepreneur

Sitichai Charoenkajonkul.There are other UK

universities which havepartnerships with universi-ties in Thailand, but theUniversity of CentralLancashire is claiming tobe the first from the UK toset up a full universitythere. It expects to have 5,000

students in 10 years andwill offer courses in areassuch as business, built andnatural environment, engi-neering, creative and per-forming arts and lan-guages.

Kevin Van-Cauter,higher education adviser atthe British Council, saysthis is part of an increasingpattern of globalisation inhigher education.Setting up overseas

branches allows universi-ties to "establish a globalbrand", he says.

University to open campus in Thailand

More than a third of jobsfor new graduates aretaken by people who havealready had work experi-ence with that employer,according to the latestupdate on the graduatejobs market.The report from High

Fliers Research shows thatemployers are recruitingmore graduates - but thereare record numbers ofgraduates chasing jobs.Employers are report-

ing a 19% average increasein applications.Those without any

work experience have "lit-tle or no chance", says thereport.The Graduate Market

in 2012 report, based on asurvey of a hundred lead-ing employers, reveals arecovering jobs market forgraduates.There will be 6% more

graduate entry jobs foruniversity leavers in 2012

than there were in 2011,suggests the research.But this optimism is

tempered by the increasein job-hunting graduates,with record numbers ofuniversity leavers compet-ing with those who are stilllooking for jobs from pre-vious years.The research suggests

that a third of job appli-cants for the current roundof graduate entry posts arefrom previous cohorts.

Graduate jobs 'taken by workexperience students'

A 'child poverty map'claims London boroughTower Hamlets is theworst area in the UK forchild poverty.More than half (52%)

of children living there arein poverty, compared tothe national average ofone in five, claims theCampaign to End ChildPoverty.London boroughs

Islington, Hackney,Westminster and Camdenall feature in the top 10list of areas worst affect-ed.The government says

it is "tackling the rootcauses of poverty."Children were classed

as in poverty if their fami-

ly's income fell below 60%of the average income of£25,000.Bethnal Green and

Bow was named as theworst parliamentary con-stituency for child poverty- while Prime MinsterDavid Cameron's Witneyconstituency and DeputyPrime Minster NickClegg's Sheffield Hallamconstituency made the top20 lowest child povertylevels list.A total of 89 con-

stituencies already meetthe government's headlinetarget for 2020 by havingchild poverty rates of 10%or lower, the report said.It warned tax and ben-

efit changes outlined in

the recent AutumnStatement showed thegreater burden was beingplaced on society's poor,which "not only puts chil-dren's wellbeing at risk, itcarries economic riskstoo."The Institute for

Fiscal Studies recentlywarned that a couple withtwo children will be£1,250 worse off per year-by 2015 as families "shoul-der the burden of austeri-ty".At below 60% of the

average income of£25,000, families struggleto meet basic needs likefood, heating, transport,clothing, school equip-ment and trips.

Tower Hamlets 'worst area forchild poverty' claims map

Harrow Council’s proposedvision for the future ofHarrow Town Centre,Wealdstone and StationRoad has gone out for con-sultation this week.Alongside a blog with

information and space forcomments on the Councilwebsite, ten drop in ses-sions are being stagedacross the borough over thenext six weeks where peo-ple can find out more, talkto planning officers andvoice their opinions on thismajor planning policy.The Council has drawn

up a draft masterplan for

the area following work-shops with residents, busi-nesses, developers andcommunity groupsthroughout the last year.Once completed, the

masterplan is expected toshape the planning andrelated investment deci-sions in the area. It couldsee millions of pounds ofnew investment by privateenterprise, the Council andpartners over the nextdecade, creating 3,000 newjobs alongside new homesand infrastructure.Cllr Keith Ferry, portfo-

lio holder for planning and

economic development onHarrow Council, said:"This is a once in a lifetimeopportunity to help create aclear future vision for thisimportant area right in theheart of Harrow."This is about protect-

ing what is great about thearea while putting in placethe planning guidelinesthat manage future devel-opment and exploit it forthe good of everyone inHarrow.”Find out more or have

your say online atwww.harrow.gov.uk/heartofharrow

Have your say on a better future for Harrow

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201212

Scrutator’sIndia’s relationship with the State of Israel is of seminalimportance. India’s External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna’s two-day visit to Israel last week, the first sincehis BJP counterpart Jaswant Singh made his trip toJerusalem in 2000, was clearly time to update ties in thelight of a fast changing region and world beyond. MrKrishna gave voice to India’s desire to fast track the rela-tionship and take it to new heights of endeavour acrossa broad spectrum, from trade and agriculture to scienceco-operation, defence and intelligence sharing

Welcoming Words

Mr Krishna was accorded thewarmest of welcomes by hishosts, who included PresidentShimon Peres, Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu andForeign Minister Avigdor

Lieberman. Agreeing to set theagenda for the next decade,India and Israel toasted eachother, with President Peres say-ing: “For us, India is first of alla culture; then, it is for us thegreatest democracy on earth,and then the unbelievableachievement of overcomingpoverty without becoming poorin freedom…..India was mostfortunate that it had two greatand unforgettable leaders – onewas a prophet and the other aking.”The combination of Gandhi

and Nehru was most unusual,”he averred. He continued: “Weare following India with greatcare and interest, not just in thepolitical sense but being citi-zens of the world, we think thatwithout India and Chinahunger would govern theworld.”

Mr. Krishna described Mr.Peres as a “statesman of highcalibre” and credited Israel forbeing an inspiration for India inits efforts to attain food securi-ty through increased produc-tion of foodgrain.Mr Krishnapaid fulsome tribute to Israelfor sharing with India its unri-

valled expertise in new farmingtechniques, drip irrigation,water harvesting and muchelse. India had benefited expo-nentially from such generosityon Israel’s part, Mr Krishnasaid. The time had come for the

leaderships of both countries toset the agenda for the nextdecades. Mr Krishna said helooked forward to the signing ofan Indo-Israeli Free TradeAgreement (FTA), now in theclosing stages of negotiationthat would lead to a quantumjump in their bilateral com-merce and investment to mutu-al benefit. He was happy at thehigh numbers of Israeli visitorsto India, sign of a thriving peo-ple-to-people interaction.Finally, Mr. Krishna appealedfor greater co-operationbetween the intelligence servic-

es of both countries in the bat-tle against international terror-ism, which, he said, should beeradicated from the earth.Mr. Krishna’s visit ended

with a visit to a 700-year-oldIndian hospice (it has flown theTricolor from 1947) inJerusalem which had fallen onhard times, with steadyencroachments on the site. TheForeign Minister gave a grant of$25,000 for the management ofthe hospice and promised thathis External Affairs Ministrywould defray the annual cost ofits upkeep. The family in chargeof the building has also offeredhospitality to Indian visitors tothe Holy Land. The Ottomanauthorities gave the land to avisiting Sufi traveler, BabaFarid, from Punjab all thosecenturies ago (The Bengal PostJanuary 10, the TelegraphJanuary 11, 12).Mr. Krishna’s visit to Israel

(followed by a detour toPalestine) is ample testimony toa relationship that continues towax, where once, many moonsago, it had waned, largely dueto the political myopia of Indianleaders ever sensitive to pro-Arab lobbies at home andabroad. Such shackles havemercifully been dispensed withunder the belated recognitionthat Indian goodwill was neverfully reciprocated in the Islamicworld. We move on. The past isbehind us. The future beckons.

Upbeat India Inc

Bengal Leads was a week-longmeet in Kolkata which broughttogether the West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee andsenior ministers in her govern-ment and the captains of Indianindustry and their foreign com-peers. Ms Banerjee assuredthem that West Bengal wasready to do business, that landacquisition for new industrieswere not a problem and wouldbe fast-tracked. The era ofstrikes, shut downs and go-slows etc, once the staple ofCommunist-Left Front rule,was over. She promised speedyresponses to investment pro-posals and administrative trans-parency. Feasibility studies are to be

conducted on ways to surmountthe difficulties they represent(Sunday Times of India January8). Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has beeninvited to address an invitedbusiness audience in Februaryby the influential Mumbai-based Indian Merchants’Association whose membersinclude the Tata Group,Reliance Industries, Godrej,Mahendra & Mahendra etc.She has a splendid opportunityto make a pitch for WestBengal, assuring these captainsof industry that the bad olddays of Communist misrule, ofstrikes and violent protest wereover, that the new investor-friendly dispensation wouldrender every possible help tothose keen to set up plants, fac-tories and offices in the state.West Bengal may be on the cuspof seed-time and remedy.

Single-brandRetail passed

The Government of India haspassed into law 100 per centforeign direct investment (FDI)in single retail, paving the wayfor international furnituremaker Ikea and several fashionbrands like Louis Vitton to setup stores in the country andalso boost sourcing from localmanufacturer.Apart from the entry of new

players into the market, thedecision is also expected toresult in several existing playerswho operate through tie-upswith Indian companies as theirprevious investments were lim-ited to 51 per cent. The ForeignInvestment Promotion Boardhas already cleared Frenchretailer Christian Louboutin’sproposal to set up retail chainsin the country. Global brandssuch as Mothercare and Marks

& Spencer who have been oper-ating in India via local firms arecertain to take advantage of thisnew opening.

Indo-Bangla ties deepen

Indian Home MinisterP.Chidambaram has spoken infavour of deepening India’s tieswith Bangladesh by grantingDhaka privileged access to theIndian market. BangladeshPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina,on a visit to the eastern Indianstate of Tripura, has alsoappealed for a deeper relation-ship between the two countries,but asked India, as the biggerpower, to act more generouslyon water and power- sharing onwhich there were currently sig-nificant differences. She askedIndian investors to come toBangladesh, offering her gov-ernment’s help to facilitate theprocess if they did so.

Stinger missiles for IAF

The Indian Air Force has cho-sen the US Apache Longbowheavy duty attack helicopters,22 of which are to be suppliedto the IAF complete with anarms package of Stinger mis-siles, the contract worth $1.4billion. The helicopters aremanufactured by the Boeingcompany, the Stingers by

Raytheon, whose spokesmansaid that Stingers would beavailable for other aircraft ifrequired.The US authorities have

informed the US Congress ofthe upcoming deal as requiredby law, so there should be noimpediments to the deal (TheTimes of India, January 10).

India praised forfood security

Visiting American EconomicsNobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz,giving the ConvocationAddress at the IndianStatistical Institute in Kolkata,praised India’s lead role in rec-ognizing food security for all itscitizens as a basic human right. By doing so, India was

“leading the way for the rest ofthe world and is on the verge ofimplementation of the world’s

largest social protection pro-gramme against hunger.”Hunger, he said, was notcaused by an absolute shortageof grain, but by the lack ofincome of those in poverty ingetting access to it, he said, cit-ing the work of fellow Nobellaureate Amartya Sen.Professor Stiglitz said, one

out of seven Americans todaywere on food stamps, almostan equal number still facedfood insecurity, ruing that,“while India debates whetherthere should be basic econom-ic rights like the right to foodsuch debates are still not partof the discourse in America.” Professor Stiglitz warned

his audience not to be carriedaway by the statistics relatedto the gross domestic product(GDP) as the sole measure ofeconomic advance. There waslittle lasting profit if in postinghigh levels of GDP, the richbecame richer and poor poorer,as was the case in his America. Proof that is all is not well

with India, recently releasedfigures show that 42 per centof Indian children are under-weight, surely a serious failingof the state and society. Thegood news is that during thepast year not a single case ofpolio has been registered in thecountry, a most hearteningachievement, of which everyIndian should take justifiablepride (The Hindu January13).

Nobel laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz meets Union Finance MinisterPranab Mukherjee in New Delhi

President Shimon Peres (R) with Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna inJerusalem

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu meets India's Foreign Minster S.M. Krishna in Jerusalem

MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 13UK

Which is worse: eighty per cent of India‘srural poor rely heavily on agriculture fortheir livelihoods and in 2009 alone,17,368 farmers across India killed them-selves? Or is this worse: Unemploymentis rife among marginalized and underpriv-ileged youth in the urban slums of India.Their families, surviving on as little as £10a month, depend on them?

Politics is about hard choices. EdMilliband, David Cameron agree on thatat least. This week, like all weeks, I wasasked to choose between good causes.But this week was especially difficult. Iwas a member of the Prince of Wales’sCharity, the British Asian Trust’s SelectionCommittee for donations to charities inassociation with Coutts Bank at ClarenceHouse.

So how do I judge? As a Barrister weused to call Circuit Court judges, ‘CircusCourt Judges’ such was the lack ofrespect held by Barristers for the intellectof an average judge. We did respectthose in the Court of Appeal and the nowSupreme Court – all two dozen in total ofthem out of the entire judiciary. So howdo I now apply my intellect to judging?

How do I choose between the eyeclinic in Pakistan and the education ofrural girls in Rajasthan? Each one of proj-ects was equally efficient, effective, withsolid governance, clear what they woulddo with funds we would allocate, theirimpact, ability to affect policy etc etc.

Let me tell you a little about them, soyou can see what is going on in theworld, then I will tell you how I used thewisdom of Solomon to come to my deci-sion.

The Mann Deshi Foundation helps

illiterate women in rural Maharashtra,often heading their households, by pro-viding training that leads to livelihoodsand self-sufficiency. Eighty percent ofIndia‘s rural poor rely heavily on agricul-ture for their livelihoods.

The SAATH-Umeed programme pre-pares young people with little educationand few social skills for employmentthrough practical training that meets theneeds of local employers.

Aangan Trust‘s work begins whenlaws, state policies, communities or par-ents fail to protect a child from abuse,violence, conflict, neglect and exploita-tion. Aangan‘s Project Shakti, launched in2008, encourages vulnerable girls torealise their rights, and gain access toservices such as health care and educa-tion. Vulnerable girls in India‘s poor com-munities are at risk of exploitation, sexu-al abuse, deep neglect and violence. Halfof all girls aged 10-13 in India are robbedof their education. Girls aged 6-14 spendan average of 8 hours a day caring forother children in the family. Some 50%are married before they are 18.

Educate Girls works to improve thequality of girls‘ education in ruralRajasthan. Children of mothers with up tofive years of primary education are 40%more likely to live beyond the age of 5.

Katha works in the slums of NewDelhi to ensure that children receive ahigh quality education to build betterfutures. Some 18% of children aged 7-14are not enrolled in schools in New Delhi.The percentage is much higher in Delhi‘sslums.

Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trustof Pakistan (LRBT) aims to provide free

state-of-the-art eye care across Pakistan.There are 1.7 million blind and 16.5 mil-lion visually impaired people in Pakistan.Eighty percent of blindness is curable, yetnearly 170,000 people become blindevery year in Pakistan. 36% of populationin Pakistan lives below the poverty lineand at least 30% of the households in thecountry are unable to meet their medicalexpenditures.

Developments in Literacy (DIL) aimsto open the doors to quality education forall children, especially girls in remote,rural areas of Pakistan. Pakistan isexpected to have the second largest out-of-school population in the world by2015.

The Pakistan Mental Health Initiative,in partnership with BasicNeeds, aims tointroduce a sustainable, community-based mental health programme toenable mentally ill people to live andwork successfully in their own towns andvillages. It is estimated that mentalhealth problems exist in every fifthhousehold in Pakistan, and every tenthhouses a patient that needs psychiatrichelp

So how did I choose? I analysedeverything of their business plans youwould expect. My solution, since theywere all equally worthy and capable…Iordered them by the ones with the leastmoney to date, so where our donationwould make the most difference. That’spolitics at its best, not worst.

Alpesh is the co-founder ofwww.batrustmarkets.com a trading plat-form, the profits from which go to thePrince of Wales’s Charity, the BritishAsian Trust.

The Politics of Charity and Hard ChoicesPolitical SketchbookAlpesh Patel’s

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The countdown has begun of the top 100 peo-ple thought to be important in 2012. Includedin the list so far is Indian national CyrusMistry, who will be taking over as chairmanof the Bombay-based Tata Group, the ownersof Jaguar Land Rover and Corus Steel. Hecomes from one of the richest Indian familieswho are worth � 4.2 billion and who own 18%of shares for Tata Sons, which is the largestsingle amount. As an individual, he hasworked for Shapoorji Pallonji & Companyand moved his way up through the ranks. Helead them during their expansion from justconstruction to international projects involv-ing the marine, oil, gas and rail sectors, lead-ing to a huge profit increase.

Sajid Javid, the conservative MP ofBromsgrove and CCP to the chancellor, isalso featured. He is particularly well-recog-nised for his speciality in helping to raiseinvestment in developing countries. His pre-vious work includes being the Vice-Presidentof Chase Manhattan Bank in New York at themere age of 25, and going on to beome a sen-ior managing director at Deutsche Bank.Furthermore, he is actively involved in amplecharitable work, including raising � 710,000for the Disasters Emergency Committee. Heis tipped to be one of the top individuals inthe latest Tory intake.

Qatar leader, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is another name to remember as hisambition and actions have helped put Qatarback on the map. He has played a part in theconflict in the Middle East by backing NATOand Lybian rebels in overthrowing Gadaffiand has recently expressed his desire for theMiddle East to help ‘stop the killing’ in Syria.Emir Hammad is seen as a progressive mus-lim leader and aside from general running ofthe country, he is known to actively promoteand participate in sport. This has led to Qatarhosting numerous sporting contests and win-ning the bid for the 2022 Football World Cup.Emir Hammad is a husband to 3 wives and afather to 24 children.

The Times 100 peopleto watch in 2012

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201214 COMMUNITY

There has never been morescrutiny on UK Banks in pro-viding assistance to Small andMedium sized firms – scarcely aweek escapes us withoutnumerous statements by eitherPoliticians or the Banks.However, there is one highlycomplex area in which Bankshave, and continue to take greatadvantage of SME’s – ‘hedging’.Hedging in this context meansprotection against FinancialRisks. A retailer may wish toprotect the cost at which itimports its goods in US Dollarsfrom the Far East; or a NursingHome owner may wish to pro-tect themselves from rising loancosts through higher interestrates.

Many firms, both large andsmall routinely use financialhedging, and when used appro-priately, they can be a veryeffective risk management tool.However, Banks make stagger-ing amounts of profits fromhedging that are actually ‘hid-den’ from their clients sincethere is often no initial ‘fee’ tobe paid for the hedging. These‘hidden’ profits are from theexcessively large profit marginsthat Banks make on the daythey sell the hedging instru-ment to the client. In fact, the‘salespeople’ who work in the

hedging departments couldquite easily make over £250-£500k p.a. which is many multi-ples of what RelationshipManagers typically earn. Toooften Banks ‘advise’ clients totake on more complex hedging,or for a greater amount or termthan required. Due to therecent febrile environment,Banks have struggled to makeprofits from traditional lending,thereby forcing them to rely onever increasing profits from sell-ing these hedging instrumentsand making excessive marginson these products. Just howwidespread is this problem?"We understand tens, and possi-

bly hundreds, of thousands ofthese products have been soldby High Street banks, mainly inthe period 2006 to 2008," saysone lawyer who specializes incases against Banks.

The worrying aspect of thisis that until now there has notbeen any independent adviceavailable to these firms. Thisled Abhishek Sachdev, whowas an Associate Director atLloyds Bank for 8 years, to setup his independent advisoryfirm, Vedanta Hedging.Vedanta Hedging is fully autho-rised by the FSA to adviseclients on hedging. Mr.Sachdevhas recently been interviewedby the BBC on the matter, giventhe growing number of accusa-tions that are now emergingregarding Banks mis-selling tobusinesses.

Vedanta Hedging hasinvested in the same highlysophisticated market pricingsoftware that the UK Bankshave, meaning that they canprice any hedging instrumentin real-time. This allows themto negotiate better and poten-tially lower hedging terms forclients, saving them tens ofthousands of pounds. In itsshort birth, Vedanta Hedginghas already advised dozens ofHotel Groups, Nursing Home

owners and Travel companieson the most appropriate hedg-ing solution for their business(rather than just what the Bankmay show the client) as well ashelping them reduce the cost oftheir hedging. Vedanta workswith clients either by negotiat-ing directly with the Banks, orproviding advice and pricinginformation to clients.Recently, the company saved aNursing Home group over £40kon their hedging costs! Clearlythe Banks do have to make aprofit, but it shouldn’t be soexcessive as is so often thecase. Mr.Sachdev feels thatthere is very little awareness ofbeing able to negotiate withBanks on hedging – so manybusinesses are too trusting oftheir Bank and RelationshipManager, and hence leavethemselves open to be takenadvantage of. The kind ofclients that Vedanta can helpare any businesses turning overbetween £1m - £500m, thathave more than £1m of Bankborrowing, or purchase morethan £1m of currency perannum.

Unfortunately, there arenow many cases coming to lightwhere Bank’s may have takenadvantage of firms who did notunderstand these complex

hedging products. The risks ofthese products were rarely dis-cussed in detail, and now thatinterest rates have fallen tosuch low levels, firms are facedwith crippling costs to exitthese products. In fact, despitesuch low interest rates, manyfirms are shocked to discoverthat they are not able to benefitdue to how some of thesehedges work. Banks ofteninsisted that clients enter intothese hedging products, or theywould not be able to receivetheir loans. A cynic may arguethat it was the tremendousprofitability of these productsthat drove this Banking behav-iour, rather than a genuine con-cern by a Relationship Managerfor his client’s risks.

Vedanta Hedging has beeninundated with stories of hedg-ing that clients feel may havebeen ‘mis-sold’ to them.Vedanta carefully reviews allaspects of the advice and salesprocess versus the FSA rules,and also use their special pric-ing software to expose just howmuch profit the Bank made atthe time of selling the hedge.The aim is to try to use this spe-cialist advice to negotiate withBanks, rather than involvingsolicitors which can sour theBanking relationship.

Independent advice now challenges Banks

Abhishek Sachdev

Women are going DIY inthe wake of the breastimplant crisis. While suchproducts have alwaysbeen popular 99p Storessays its’ padded bras havesurged three-fold in thelast three weeks and therehas been a 600% increasein sales of 99p breastenhancement and anti-wrinkle creams.

Boss of the chainHussein Lalani says allthis could indicate thepublic is losing confidencein cosmetic surgery. Hesuggests woman may beputting “future plans ofimplants on hold in viewof the crisis” and in themeantime looking for“practical non-surgery

MP and Minister in theCoalition Government,Shailesh Vara, along with adelegation of Hindu lead-ers, went to the HungarianEmbassy on Monday 9thJanuary to protest aboutthe treatment of Hindus inHungary .

The delegation fromthe Hare Krishna Templeat Bhaktivedanta Manornear Watford, comprised ofTemple President SrutiDharma das, SpiritualCommissioner of theHindu Forum of BritainGauri das and SeniorTemple MemberPranabandhu das.

Since 1989, theHungarian society forKrishna Consciousnesshas been registered inHungary as a StateChurch. However, from 1stJanuary 2012 the Hindugroup will have to re-regis-

ter in order to qualify as aState Church under theterms of a new constitu-tion.

Mr Vara and the dele-gation expressed their con-cern to the Hungarianambassador, HisExcellency Janos Csak.They were particularlykeen to seek assurancesfrom the Ambassador thatthe Hungarian Hindu com-munity would be treatedequally under the new con-stitution.

Whilst the Ambassadormade no formal commit-ment, he said that hewould convey the delega-tion’s concerns to theHungarian Governmentand that he hoped thatthere would be no prob-lems in the process of re-registration.

Following the meeting,Mr Vara said “The

Ambassador was left in nodoubt as to the strength offeeling on the matter. Itwas made clear to him thatHungarian Hindus are notseeking special treatmentbut simply the right to betreated equally. He haspromised to convey thedelegations’ concerns tothe HungarianGovernment and I hopethat they will listen andtake the necessary actionto rectify this discrimina-tion.”

Gauri das added “Weare very pleased that theAmbassador made time tosee us. The Hindu commu-nity have deep concernsabout what is happening inHungary and clearly it isour hope that theHungarian Governmentwill listen to our message.We will be monitoring thesituation.”

In a unique exhibitiondevoted to the pilgrimageto Mecca, one of oldestKoran’s in the world, dat-ing back to the 8th centu-ry will be on display. Theexhibition known as Hajj:Journey to the heart ofIslam will be held at theBritish Museum fromJanuary 26 to April 15,and will consist of a largecollection of items based

on the Hajj. This ancientcopy of the Koran hasbeen provided by theBritish Library for theduration of the exhibi-tion. The ProphetMuhammed first discov-ered the revelations in the7th century at Mecca,making it a holy placethat all muslims areencouraged to visit atleast once.

MP Vara Takes Hindu Delegationto Hungarian Embassy

Ms Eszter Pataki, Counsellor of Press and Culture; Gauri das, Spiritual Commissioner ofthe Hindu Forum of Britain; His Excellency Janos Csak the Hungarian Ambassador; MP

Shailesh Vara; Pranabandhu das, Senior Temple Member; Sruti Dharma das, Temple President

British Museum to display 8th century Koran

Following in his father’sfootsteps, AbhishekBachchan has becomethe latest Bollywoodstar to sign the famousChak89 wall. Abhishekvisited the exclusiveChak89 Restaurant andBanqueting Suite to pro-mote his new film,‘Players’.

After saying a fewwords about the movieand ordering a meal,Abhishek was delightedto receive a signed blackChelsea shirt, presentedto him by Chak89owner, Frank Khalid.

It was also a joyousoccasion for 3 luckywinners of the Chak89ASDA competition, whoattended this event andgot the chance meet and

greet Abhishek. Chak89 is known as

the home of Bollywoodand is renowned for itsquality, standards andpassion. The venue,which boasts a widerange of delicious cui-

sine, attracts all kindsof celebrities fromaround the world.Abhishek’s autographcan now be seen next toAmitabh Bachchan’s onthe well-known Chak89wall.

Abishek Bachchan enjoys a mealat Chak89

Frank Khalid presents Abhishek Bachchan with signedChelsea shirt

Breast enhancement products soar at 99p storesprofile boosts.”

A little over a decadeago 99p Stores was a one-man band, but in now has173 UK and Irelandbranches with a family ofmore than 2 million week-

ly customers and it is con-tinuing to expand. MrLalani adds that Briton’s“demanding value” will beone of the only goodthings to come out of therecession.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 15UK

Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to

share with us, please write to Shree at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

I have a dark blue MiuMiu bag that’s beengoing everywhere withme for years. The insidesof the bag are ink-stainedand you might find a tick-et stub from the thirdHarry Potter if you reallylooked. It was what fash-ion magazines call an‘investment purchase’and I have earned twicethe return on it. Myfriends all know the bagand unanimously love it,they’d describe it as a

blue leather satchel. Yes,a satchel... that universalaccessory to school yearsthat most of us were gladto leave behind alongwith the compass and theBunsen burner. When Ibought it (way beforeMulberry made Alexa), Ihadn’t even heard ofgeek-chic, but always hada hint of preppy in me. Geek has been chic

for a while, but in 2011 itreally hit the mainstreamand shows no sign of let-ting up. You may nothave owned a satchel

since you were at school,but might want to give ita go if not for hated ‘it-bag’ tag then for it’ssheer functionality. Bigenough to hold all yourdaily essentials, they areideal for both work andplay and the range ofcolours ensures you’llfind the right one to fitvery neatly in yourwardrobe. Just aboutevery designer label hasone in their line -fromMarni to ProenzaSchouler and Chloe - andthe most desirable style isa slouchy briefcaseshape, in traditional tan,with a long shoulderstrap, a handle on topand two smart buckles.For affordable versions,look in Asos, River Islandand Forever21.The satchel is one of

the easiest to wear. Theyare sturdy, practical, realbags that are meant tocarry your life and notpermanently fix yourelbow in a bent positionlike so many of the fash-ion bags do. The satchellooks best when wornwith preppy collegiateattire - think blazers withelbow patches,printed floral mini-dresses, crew neckjumpers andbrogues. But myown experience saysthat it will go every-thing, even a work-suit if you just holdit by it’s top-handleinstead of letting itswing from yourshoulder. For those,who unlike me, are

capable of being in aworking relationshipwith more than one bagat a a time, neon satchelsare a key trend. TheCambridge Satchel com-pany is top of the line forit’s old-school bags inmodern, zingy, fluorocolour. Can’t afford a newbag? Vogue suggests thatyou take an existing bagand knot a long scarfover the handle to fash-ion a shoulder strap, thenwear side-swung. Andtake your time savingmoney for one,becausethis bag is not likely to goout of fashion any timesoon.

fashionistaby Debasree GhoshfashionistaTherapy transportsus to a magical worldof peace and bliss.Relaxation, rejuvena-tion, pampering andcomfort are amongthe positive associa-tions with beautytherapy. You relax togentle backgroundmusic, while youhave your feetsoaked and mas-saged. Your handsare pampered andyour face is steamedand exfoliated toslough away old deadskin CELLS to allow fordeep penetration ofactive ingredients. This iswhat you will get at theBeauty Saloon calledIBar. IBar offers exquisitetherapies for women aswell as men IN ARELAXING ENVIRON-MENT WITH ITSCALMING ANDSOOTHING PINKDECOR, STUNNINGSHINY FLOORINGAND STATE OF ARTEQUIPMENT. ITS APLACE WHERE YOUCAN FEEL THE STRESSEVAPORATE ANDPEACE TAKE OVER. The various treat-

ments offered at IBar areDermalogica facials, avariety of massagesincluding Indian HeadMassage, Manicure, pedi-cure, facials, FULLBODY WAX, FULLBODY MASSAGE,threading, various nailenhancements includingshellac and BioSculpture, OUR CRE-ATIVE NAIL TECHNI-

CIANS WILL ALSOPROVIDE MATCHINGNAIL ART WITH YOUROUTFITS, eyelash exten-sions and MUCH MUCHMORE.

In today’s world weall need some pamperingand relaxation. I Bar pro-

vides various treatmentsfor MEN as well, thisincludes Manicure, pedi-cure, facials, chest wax,back wax, massage forshoulder, neck, back, halfleg and foot and thread-ing.

At I Bar the thera-pists are fully qualifiedwith ongoing trainingand offer a wide range oftreatments for body, mindand soul. They are spe-cialized for fields ranging

from luxury facials, speedwaxing to nail enhance-ments and relaxing mas-sages.IBar professional

therapists answer anyquestions you have ontreatments for instanceone-to-one consultation

with thec l i e n t sr e g a r d i n gfacial skintherapy. IBar only

use the bestp r o d u c t s ,they are veryp a r t i c u l a rwhen itcomes to per-fection withh y g i e n e ,health & safe-ty proceduresand cleanli-ness. Theprocess off a c i a l si n c l u d e scleaning theface twice toremove anysurface germsand any mois-turizer andmake up. This

was followed by an exfoli-ate to ensure removal ofdead skin cells withoutdamaging the regenera-tion of new skin cellsunderneath. This helps tosoften and brighten theskin whilst providingdeep exfoliation and

thorough cleaning deepdown into the pores. Toconclude the facial withadded touch therapy,facial skin is toned, mois-turized and cleansed andis wrapped up in blanketto lock in heat and theclient is allowed to sleepfor a while to ensure theyare fully relaxed. Everyfacial is individuallydesigned to suit individ-ual skin types. At I Barwe like to provide mas-sage before the mask asthe mask can ensure thatall unnecessary oil fromthe massage is removedand not left to build onthe skin. The facial massage

includes chest, shoulders,neck and face. This is aten minute massagealthough this can be

modified to suit client’sneeds and wants. The Indian head mas-

sage for men and womenis done with MacadamiaHair Oil and shouldersare massaged with stressrelief oil. Such treatmentsare one of a kind avail-able only at IBar. Theyassure a hundred percentsatisfaction to the clientswith relaxing treatmentsand a soothing environ-ment.

IBar is famous for itstreatment on nails i.e.manicure, pedicure aswell as nail art. Theyhave professional andwell trained staff to giveyour nails a new dimen-sion. The salon provides

loyalty cards for theclients to show apprecia-tion for their commit-ment. It also offers giftvouchers and special dis-counts to suit individualrequirements. Deliveringhigh standardS of treat-ment is the motto of IBarSaloon. They take everyeffort towards enhancingnatural beauty from with-in and out.Special Seasonal

packages are offeredthroughout the year,these include discountsfor Xmas, New Years,Valentine’s Day,Monsoon and Summerpromotions.

My experience at Ibar

Contact Details:

Ibar Beauty Saloon and Nail Bar

6 College Hill Road, Harrow, HA3 7HH

Tel: 020 8385 8444Timings: Tuesday-Saturday: 10am to 6pm, Sunday-11am to 5pm (Monday closed)

Special offer for GujaratSamachar and Asian Voice readers:Pay for 12 facials and get 2 facialscomplementary. Also take a cut out of thiscoupon and get 10% special discount.Call and book now.

Too cool for school

Al Qaeda’s “right-handman in Europe”, theextremist cleric AbuQatada, cannot be deport-ed because it wouldbreach his human rights,� European judges ruledon Tuesday.In a ruling denounced

by MPs, the EuropeanCourt of Human Rightssaid that 51-year-oldQatada, whose videoswere found in theHamburg flat of 9/11 ring-leader Mohammed Atta,could not be sent toJordan to face terrorismcharges.The judges said the

reason was that there wasa “real risk” that evidenceobtained by torture wouldbe used at his trial andthat it would be a “fla-grant denial of justice” ifhe were deported.The decision means

that fears over torture

now extend not only tothe suspect, but to anyonecontributing evidence tothe case against him.� In akey part of the ruling, theEuropean court rejected

this claim, accepting thata “memorandum of under-standing” struck betweenthe British and Jordaniangovernments has eliminat-ed this risk.However, the judges

still vetoed his deporta-tion because of evidencethat defendants in twoearlier trials, during whichQatada (pictured) hadbeen convicted in hisabsence, had been tor-tured. � Home SecretaryTheresa May reacted withdismay, saying that shewas “disappointed” withthe ruling while vowing tostudy all possible optionsfor ejecting Qatada fromthis country.The Government’s for-

mer terrorism watchdogLord Carlile also hit out,warning that theEuropean judges had“stepped way over themark”

Witness torture fear stopsQatada being deported

After patiently waiting in the sidelines for herBollywood debut for quite a while now, Angela

Jonsson has now landed an exclusive deal withSalman Khan's home production. The Kingfishercalendar model will not only now star in “SherKhan,” she will also star in the sequel of “Partner”

and the remake of “Amar AkbarAnthony,” that will feature all thethree Khan brothers Salman, Arbaaz

and Sohail, both slated for 2013.According to report, "Angela's career in

Bollywood wasn't taking off. But Salman andSohail saw her potential and offered her an exclu-sive contract before she made the wrong careermoves. Now she will be eligible for all of Salman'shome productions, though they don't necessarily haveto sign her for every film they make."

Confirming this, Sohail says, "Yes she has signed anexclusive contract with us. But we haven't decided

which film or films she will be doing. We think she hasgreat potential. We will launch her."

Earlier there was buzz that adult-content actressSunny Leone would be starring in “Sher Khan.”However, the Khan brothers are said to have droppedSunny after they came to know that the Bhatts werelooking to sign her. According to a report, "Besides,Sher Khan is designed for Salman's young fans. Anadult actress didn't quite fit the bill."

Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey is comingto India next week and has expressed desireto meet Bollywood couple AbhishekBachchan and Aishwarya Rai, whom shehosted on her popular talk show, and thejunior B has confirmed the news. 'Oprah iscoming here to shoot a documentary andshe has expressed a desire to meet us,' theactor said.

Aishwarya made hermaiden appearance onthe 'The OprahWinfrey Show' in2005, the year inwhich she fea-tured in anIndo-Britishproduct ionv e n t u r e'Mistress OfSpices'. In2009, shewas invitedw i t hAbhishek tothe show.

Ash-Abhi is looking forward to meetingWinfrey. 'She is always very respectful andvery loving towards both of us and it'll bewonderful to meet her,' said Abhishek.Buzz is that the Bachchan clan is planningto host a private dinner for Winfrey. This isWinfrey's first visit to India and she is alsoexpected to attend the Jaipur Literature

Festival scheduled for later thismonth. The visit is largely a

part of her new show'Next Chapter', which

will see Winfreytravelling around

the world andinterviewingc e l e b r i t i e s .Reportedly,she is plan-ning toi n t e r v i e wIndian spiri-tual guruD e e p a kChopra for

her new show.

Abhi-Ash to meet Oprahon her maiden India visit

It is very common to givecredits to the male protago-nists of Bollywood filmswhen the box-office collec-tion gets multiplied, but itcannot be denied thatactresses also play a pivotalrole for the success of films.And actress Kareena Kapooris undeniably one of the bestactresses in the industry whohad delivered some of thebiggest grossing films.Adding another feather toher hat, KareenaKapoor recentlyemerged ETC's MostProfitable Actress atthe BollywoodBusiness Awards. Witha domestic box officecollections of `2 billionplus movies under herbelt, Kareena emerged theunquestionable moneyspinner female actor.

The actress in the year 2011, hadtwo Rs 1 billion plus films – ‘Bodyguard’(`1.41 billion and RA.One and was hon-ored at the Bollywood Business Awards, onpure basis of box office collections.

Kareena said, "Receiving an award where-in you are being adjudged considering the eco-nomic quotient as a cornerstone for mapping thesuccess gives you a sense of pride. I've alwaysmaintained that commercial success is asimportant as the critical success of a movie. Acommercially successful movie pays evi-dence to the fact that viewers lovedwatching your movie. Thank you, forappreciating and recognizing mywork." Standing tall amidst anindustry ruled by the leading men,Bollywood's Numero UnoKareena is the first actressto join the much covetedRs 1 billion club. Havingstarred in four films thathave netted over `1 bil-lion at the domestic boxoffice in less than 2years, a feat no otherBollywood star has achievedso far.

Hot Garam masala

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 1716 Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012

I am still auntyji for Imran: Juhi ‘Munnabhai 3’ to commence in September

Kamal Haasan said his daughter Shruthi Haasan taughthim American English while he was acting in the film“Dasavatharam.” Kamal said, “Shruthi was not introducedin film through my production house Raj Kamal. She madeher debut through some other production house. She hastaken her own efforts in Tamil and Hindi and has become asuccessful actress. This gives me happiness. ‘Unnai PolOruvan’ is a film which was produced under my banner. Shewas the one who composed the music for this film. Many areasking that whether we both will share the screen. EvenShruthi is interested in it. But there should be a script whichwould suit us. There is no point in acting for the name sake.Now she is a star. I want to produce a film for her.

Vijay‘s blockbuster “Velayudham” has been voted as theBest Movie of 2011. The year-end poll conducted bySouthDreamz.com for various categories gave opportu-nity for our readers to choose the Best of Kollywood in2011 and they have given thumbs up for not only‘Kavalan’ star’s movie but also for his performance inthe film. The closest competitor for ‘Velayudham’ is‘Mankatha.’ While, Vijay‘s film secured 46.9% votes,Ajith starrer film received 31.9% votes. The remainingmovies like Vikram‘s ‘Deiva Thirumagal,’ Surya‘s ‘7am

Arivu’ and Jeeva’s ‘Ko’ got 10.4%, 7.3% and3.5% votes, respectively.

Katrina Kaif has bagged the coveted role opposite legendary actorRajinikanth in “Kochadaiyaan,” being directed by his daughter,Soundarya Ashwin. “Kochadaiyaan,” an epic love story of a king who isa devotee of Lord Shiva, will be shot in 3D. The music has been com-posed by AR Rahman who has reportedly signed 130 musicians fromGermany to record the background score for the film. Most portions ofthe film have already been shot and once Katrina wraps up Yash Chopra'snext opposite Shah Rukh Khan, she will be ready to work with this"Rana" for the first time!

Veteran playback singerAsha Bhosle will be felic-itated with lifetimeachievement award at anaward ceremony. The 78-year-old singer, whorecently entered theGuinness Book of WorldRecords for the most num-ber of single studio record-ings, will be honoured withthe award at Colors ScreenAwards to mark her contri-bution to Indian music. It isalso reported that she wouldappear on a grand chariot toreceive the award, singingsome of her favourite num-bers for the audience.

Juhi Chawla says she had met Imran Khan on the sets of ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ whenhe was six-year-old and she really liked Imran Khan’s gesture of ded-icating a song to her in his upcoming film. Imran has come up witha special tribute for Juhi with a new song called ‘Auntyji...’ in ‘EkMain Aur Ekk Tu’, which has pleased Juhi.

"I am still auntyji for him. I know him since he was six-year-old. He was a cute kid and I used to like him a lot. Heused to call Aamir ‘mamu’ and me ‘auntyji’ on the sets. Heonce proposed to me also but I only told him that I am aun-tyji for you," Juhi said.

Even actress Rani Mukerjee will pay a special tribute toJuhi through a song in her upcoming film ‘Aiyaa’. "I recentlyread about it. She will recreate one of my favourites ‘Tu TuTu Tara’ from my film ‘Bol Radha Bol’. I have full faith in her.I believe, she will do better than me," she said.

The 44-year-old mother-of-two is currently busy shootingAjay Devgn starrer “Son of Sardar.” "It’s a very funny multi-star-rer film. After a long time I will be doing a comic film. Comedyhas evolved in Bollywood with the passage of time. These daysthey have become very subtle but at the same time it will tickleyour funny bones.”

Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi and BomanIrani have been finalized for the third edi-tion of “Munnabhai’ series, while the restof the cast is yet to bedecided. The third edi-tion of the super hitcomedy series“Munnabhai” is all set togo on floors inSeptember this year. Thefilm will be directed byRaju Hirani, who alsohelmed “MunnabhaiMBBS” and “Lage RahoMunnabhai.”

It has been six yearssince “Lage RahoMunnabhai” wasreleased but the makerswanted the third edition to be better thanthe first two. At that time when producer

Vidhu Vinod Chopra decided to make thethird part of “Munnabhai,” he had titledit “Munnabhai Chale Amrika,” where

Sanjay and Arshad'scharacters would takeoff to the US to meet thePresident, but the filmgot delayed due to vari-ous reasons. Later KaranJohar made “My NameIs Khan,” which had asimilar theme andChopra decided toshelve his project.

But now they arealmost ready with thenew script for“Munnabhai 3” and areall set to commence

shooting in September this year, confirmsthe lead actor.

Bipasha Basu escalated her position as not only aleading lady, but one who can dare to bare in Dhoom2. Her bikini scene in the film was the topic of dis-cussion at many a dinner table. Even though Bipashais a fitness freak, getting a perfectly toned body forthe character that she played in Dhoom 2 was not avery easy task. Did you know that before filming herbikini scene, Bipasha Basu lived on oranges for thethree days before shooting it? And she also used towork out thrice a day as she was going paranoid ask-ing, 'am I fat?' And all this was because Bipasha didnot want to look very oomphy in the shot.

Bipasha Basu lived on

oranges for ‘Dhoom 2’

Veena Malik, who is currently in Dubai for finalisingher projects for the year 2012, confirms that she willnot strip for Hollywood. "I will never strip for anyindustry. These are absolutely silly comments com-ing from press and media which upset me and myfans. I'm an actress and every actor in this industrydoes what their role requires. So, I will act accord-ing to my roles, but that does not mean that I've for-gotten my values.' 'She is looking forward to therelease of her debut item song ‘Channo’ in NitinManmohan's “Gali Gali Chor Hai” that will releasein 2012.

Veena Malik won’t strip

for Hollywood

Following his stint in Hollywood, Anil Kapoor's careerseems to be at an all time high. And filmmakers are notwasting any time to approach the actor. It is learnt thatKaran Johar has recently offered Anil his first role in aDharma Production, which will be directed by RensilD'Silva. A source close to the film revealed, "After the way‘MI 4’ was touted, Anil has been regarded as a big star in theindustry. And since his career has taken off as well as it has,he brings a lot of value to a project. That's why Karan Joharand Rensil D'Silva decided to get Anil on-board." Accordingto the source, Anil is yet to sign the film, however, themodalities are currently being worked out. Rensil's untitledventure reportedly stars Emraan Hashmi in one of the malelead roles. "The rest of the cast, including the film's leadinglady is yet to be finalized," added the source.

Karan Johar offers role to

Anil Kapoor

Shruthi Haasan’s lessonfor her father

Vijay beats Ajith,Surya and Vikram

Sanjay Dutt, who is a closefriend of Ajay Devgan,has gone all out tomake up for thedebacle that“Rascals,” their latestfilm together suffered.The actor said, "I havejust bought the rightsof ‘Badri’ (for an esti-mated Rs 4000,000), asuper-hit Telugu actionfilm, and gifted them toAjay. He can decide howand what to do with thefilm. I feel I let him downin ‘Rascals.’ He is morethan family to me and Ishould have looked into allaspects of the film. It is myfault, and I apologise to him.I want to compensate himwell with Badri."

Speaking of which, Dutt explains,"Sanju Baba ko sabhi pyaar karte hai. Idon't compete with anyone nor do I think

my films should touch theRs 1 billion mark. I amhappy even if they gross Rs600 million, as long asthey benefit the industry,my friends, and the peo-ple around me. Besides ifI fall into this trap, I risklosing focus as an actorand a person."

This warmth andcamaraderie extends toall his friends, evenwhen they are rivals.Salman Khan andShah Rukh Khan area case in point.Sometime ago, Dutthad said that hewould try and patch

them up. Asked aboutit, he said, "They are two

mature people and not children. I don'tknow what happened between them, and Idon't even want to know. I love and respectthem both.”

Sanjay Dutt compensates Ajay

Devgan him with film script

Asha Bhosle to get lifetimeachievement award

Angela Jonsson toact opposite Salman

in 'Sher Khan'

Kareenajoins the`1 billionBollywoodclub

Katrina to wooRajinikanth in‘Kochadaiyaan’

18 Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012

Enhancement of FDI capin single brand retail hascome as no game-changerfor foreign brands in India.Nor has it altered much forfresh entrants, as adoptinga franchisee model stillcontinues to be afavourable option for many.

Most retailers said theyhad no intentions of revis-ing their partnerships withforeign brands and viceversa. Despite the growingpotential of the Indianretail market, not many seethe increase in the FDI capas a golden opportunity.From shooting real estatecosts to a still nascent lux-ury market, Indian retailindustry is too rife withproblems to be enteredinto alone, they say.

For instance, Britishbrand Marks & Spencer,that has a 51:49 joint ven-

ture with Reliance Retail,has no plans of re-consid-ering its partnership. “Wehave benefited from work-ing with a partner whichhas significant local expe-rience and expertise inmanagingl o g i s t i c s .We don’tplan to doa n y t h i n gdifferentlyfo l lowingthe recentannounce-ments onFDI,” said Martin Jones,CEO, Marks & SpencerReliance India.

American premiumlifestyle brand, TommyHilfiger, which has a 50:50joint venture with apparelmajor Arvind Brands, saidthat there are no changesin their plans either.

Arvind Brands, which alsohas licensing agreementsfor nine internationalbrands, says that the expe-rience of foreign retailbrands in India has beennot as great yet for them to

be lookingaggressive-ly at themarket.

“Thereare cur-rently onlys e v e ni n t e r n a -t i o n a l

brands in India with aturnover of more than `1billion. The market has yetto pick up. Hundred percent FDI in single brandretail is no gamechanger.Those that have no expert-ise of the market, will cer-tainly look for a local part-ner,” said J Suresh, CEO,

Arvind Brands. Spanish brand, Zara,

which has a joint venturewith Tata Group sub-sidiary, Trent Ltd, andFrench luxury brandHermes refused to com-ment. International luxurybrand, Van Laack, whichrecently opened its firststore at Delhi’s DLFEmporio, has been in thequeue since three years.The German fashionhouse, which could notgain entry in 2008 due tolack of a proper store loca-tion, has recently enteredinto a franchisee agree-ment with Bird Group.

“The Indian retailindustry still has some bot-tlenecks. We need an Indianpartner for better under-standing of the markethere,” said Christian VonDaniels, CEO, Van Laack.

Dear Financial Voice Reader: 7 Warning SignsThat You Really Should Start Worrying

I am not saying the market is bad. I am saying therewill be several warnings signs when it is. These are thethings to watch out for:

Warning Sign 1: The Dow won’t be this close toit’s all time high. The Dow Jones industrial Average, ‘theDow’ which is currently over 12,000 and so 2,000 pointsaway from its all time high, just before the creditcrunch, and some 5,500 points above the low it hit dur-ing the credit crunch – will move 2,000 points lower.Close you may think. Actually those are 1999 levels.

Warning Sign 2: A Dollar will buy one Euro. It cur-rently buys 0.8 Euros. Close you may think. Actually,you would have to go back to 2003 for last time thathappened.

Warning Sign 3: Gold will hit $2,000. I’m kidding.That isn’t a warning sign at all. Gold got close and theworld survived.

Warning Sign 4: The price of UK stocks is so lowthat that the dividends the average dividend of the top10 best paying largest UK companies (those in the FTSE100) goes over 10%. At the moment, if you own stockssuch as Vodafone, you get around 6% in dividendsannually. Something like GVC holdings pays 12.75% andhas risen 36% in the past 6 months – but are a higherrisk small company.

Warning Sign 5: The pound only buys one Euro.At the moment it buys 1.2 Euros. Close? We would haveto be at an all time low weakness for the pound for thisto happen.

Warning Sign 6: The FTSE 100 goes below its lowpoints of 2010 and 2009, ie below 4,800. It’s currentlyat around 5,500. That would mean more than a 10%drop.

Warning Sign 7: Lack of profits in companies. Youmay think this has happened. With the current marketsof the 100 largest UK companies, only 6 showed a lossin their most recent accounts. By the way, the mostprofitable was Shell, then BHP Billiton. Vodafone hit£12billion in profits. You may think banks don’t makemoney. HSBC showed £12 billion in profits too (this is allpre-tax – so probably the same post tax). Barclays toois right up there with £5bln. Lloyds only made £1bln.

But surely not retail stocks? Well Next made half abillion. Bet advertising is down though in the environ-ment? ITV made £270m in profits. I am not sayingthings are rosey. But if we’re looking down the barrel ofa gun, I’d rather be starting from this position.

Oh by the way, whilst I am at it, I get dozens ofenquiries of people looking for jobs. Some quick point-ers – in my experience –it helps if before you contactanyone if you have already tried LinkedIn – where youcan see who may know people at your target compa-nies, you have a list of companies you’d like to work for,have contacted them, and have an idea of which sectorsare profitable and making money so likely to hire – forinstance – Shell might be a good idea?

Suzlon subsidiary wins order

from UK company

South Korea's SamsungGroup has said it wouldinvest a record 47.8 tnwon ($41.7bn; £27bn) thisyear to expand its variousbusinesses.

It will spend 31tn wonto upgrade its factoriesand equipment and 13.6tnwon towards research anddevelopment.

The announcementcomes as global economicuncertainty has seen rivalfirms cut back theirgrowth plans.

Samsung is the world'sbiggest maker of TVs andmemory chips and isSouth Korea's largest com-pany.

The firm has also been

steadily increasing itsshare of the mobile phonemarket.

The company also saidit would hire 26,000 newemployees this year.

'Widen its gap'Samsung is South

Korea's largest businessconglomerate with 80 affil-iate companies rangingfrom electronics tofinance.

Though the companydid not provide a break-down of how much moneywill be invested where,analysts said that themajority of investmentwas likely to go the com-pany's electronics andmemory-chip business.

Analysts said the com-pany was keen to use itsstrong financial position tofurther strengthen its holdon the market.

"Samsung's got strongcash flow to make boldbets in new technologies,"said Lee Sun-tae of NHInvestment & Securities.

"No other IT companycan beat it in terms ofinvestment and that's howSamsung finds new rev-enue sources ahead ofrivals and widen its gap."

Rival South Koreancompetitor, LG Group,announced earlier thismonth that it is reducingits spending by 15% in2012.

India's exports grew at afaster annual pace inDecember than in the pre-ceding month but theoverall picture is still notrosy, trade secretary RahulKhullar said on Monday.

December exports rosean estimated 6.7 per centfrom a year earlier to $25billion, while imports were$37.8 billion, leaving atrade deficit of $12.8 bil-lion, Khullar told reporters.

"It is not rosy... I am notsaying that exports fromIndia will not grow, but in abetter time, when thingswere more buoyant, theywould grow faster," he said.

The next fiscal year,starting on April 1, may bedifficult for exports, headded. "If you get anythingbetween 20-22 per cent(growth) I would be morethan happy in 2012-13."

Indian exportersenjoyed record growth lastfiscal year, but have strug-gled in recent months in theface of economic turbulencein the euro zone, India'sbiggest trade partner.

Exports between April-December rose 25.8 percent to $217.6 billion,Khullar said.

India's exportsaccelerate in

December

Two Indian companies,Infosys and HDFC Bank,along with the US-basedcompany of Indian-originCognizant, figure in anelite group of 10 compa-nies identified by HarvardBusiness Review (HBR) asthe companies that haveconsistently performedbetter than others aroundthe world over a ten yearperiod.

Calling this elite groupof 10 companies as the‘Growth Outlier’ amongnearly 4,800 listed compa-nies with market capital-ization of at least $1 bil-lion, HBR said some of thethings these corporates do‘don’t match up well withsome conventional ideasabout growth’.

Infy, HDFC Bankin HBR’s elite list

Foreign brands ‘prefer’ JV mode in India

Samsung eyes major expansionplan for the current year

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Hi, I'm Bhavini Kalaria,and I'm a Solicitor and thehead of the commerciallaw firm The London LawPractice. I will be teamingup with Asian Voice overthe next few weeks to offerhelp and legal advice toreaders who run or man-age their own businesses.

There are almost 5 mil-lion small and mediumbusinesses in the country,employing more than 50%of the private sector work-force. Small business isthe lifeblood of Britishcommerce. But these aredifficult economic times tobe running your own ven-ture and it’s at times likethis that relationships thatonce were smooth now getstrained. Suppliers are latewith stock, invoices gounpaid, contracts are bro-ken, staff may need to belet go. On top of all this,businesses continue toface legal challenges. Thisyear alone will see changesto parental leave and thenational minimum wage.

If you're a small busi-ness owner faced withthese types of challenges,it can be difficult to knowwhat your rights andresponsibilities are, andwhat you can do to protect

and grow your busi-ness.

But that's where Ican help. Havingtrained at a City lawfirm, and worked in awell known Legal 100firm, I have a greatdeal of experience indealing with businessclients from all back-grounds, whetherlarge and small scale.Also, as head of TheLondon Law Practice,I'm a business ownermyself (as well ascoming from a largefamily of businesspeople) and I under-stand first hand theissues businesseshave to deal withevery day.

My firm is com-mitted to helpingbusinesses work togetherand succeed – as such myfirm is running FreeSeminars covering keyissues for businesses; ourmost recent ones looked atemployment law and debtrecovery. And becausebusiness people are busypeople, we keep themshort, sharp and practical!

Over the next fewweeks I will be writingabout the legal issues fac-

ing businesses, and offer-ing advice on how to dealwith legal problems. If youhave any questions youcan contact me, and I willdo my best to respond anddeal with your queries inmy forthcoming editorials.You can contact meon  info@londonlawprac-tice.com and sign up formy upcoming free semi-nars at www.londonlaw-practice.com.

Legal Advice for Your Business

Bhavini Kalaria

Wind turbine makerSuzlon Energy said itsGerman subsidiaryREpower has signed a con-tract to supply 10 wind tur-bines to England-basedRWEnpower Renewablesfor the Bradwell wind farm.

The turbines atBradwell, with an output of2.05 mw each, will gener-ate enough electricity topower the equivalent ofnearly 12,000 homes annu-ally, Suzlon said in a state-

ment. Value size of the con-tract was not mentioned.

“Signing the contractfor Bradwell has boostedour RWE NpowerRenewables portfolio toover 70 mw,” REpowerEngland managing direc-tor Rick Eggleston said.

REpower has delivered36 onshore wind farms inScotland, England andWales and one offshorewind farm, ProjectBeatrice, in the North Sea.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 19FINANCIAL VOICE

Owning your home is defined as a liability by some individuals includ-ing author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kioysaki. This statement mayseem surprising as the value of your residential home has increased,right?

The reason why it is not seen as an asset by some is because it doesnot put cash in your pocket. Instead it strips money from your income.

There are only two ways to make money from property one isincome and the other is capital growth. Owning your own home stripsyou of income. However, although it is true the mortgage payments docome off your income, a deeper look at this may mean all though itstrips money from your income on a monthly basis, over a 10 year peri-od the underlying asset is likely to increase by more than what you con-tribute to the mortgage.

The alternative to owning your own home and paying the mortgageis to rent. This however also means your monthly cash flow decreases.

There are two advantages to owning your own home. One, there’s astrong chance medium to long term your house will increase in value,secondly the rent will be paid in perpetuity, however the mortgage pay-ments will hopefully drive your debt down to zero.

Rather than purchasing items which drain your monthly cash flowsuch as a car which requires monthly payments, purchasing propertieswith a positive cash flow instead will give you an income and insteadyou can use this income to purchase whatever you fancy. In this wayyour net cash flow is never decreasing.

And increasing your cash flow may not be the best idea for every-one, as if you’re a high rate tax payer gaining extra income and havingto pay almost half to the government may not appeal to you and manyother people. We have a scenario where a two bedroom property wassourced along the canal of Little Venice and purchased for £290,000.The property could be purchased in two ways: one, to get a mortgageon the property itself and raise the 25% from a draw down from the pur-chaser’s main residential home, the other was to raise the whole fundsfrom the drawdown. It makes sense to use the cheap money first and sothe full amount of £290k was used from the drawdown of the client’smain residential home. The borrowing was only 1.5% so the cost offinance was only £4,350pa while the rental income was £495pw givingan annual income of £25,740. So there’s a net income of around £20k.

They are very happy with the purchase and wish to do the sameagain rather than having a fully paid property, they are in a dilemma, onone hand they like the idea of developing strong income streams on theother they don’t want to give half away to the tax man!

So they have a choice either to do the same again and pay the tax

man or focus on capital growth properties, where the net income streamis very little or even soaks up money so the current stream of incomecan get sucked back in.

In this scenario concentrating on capital growth may suit the clientmore, as there is a tax break of £10,600 per tax year, and a flat rate of18% after. The biggest and simplest point to bear in mind is you onlypay capital gains tax when you sell. If you never sell you will never pay.That does not mean you cannot extract the gain, you can take out thegain by refinancing your property.

I have met many successful property people who have followed thebasic strategy of just never selling their property, reasoning what do youdo with cash? Except look for another deal to put it back into.

The first step in property investment is trying to decide what yourequire in terms of capital growth and income. This must be decided inconsideration of you tax situation and future plans. If you would likehelp defining these why don’t you give our office a call?

Suresh Vagjiani

Managing Director

Sow & Reap

A Property Investment &

Financing company.

Your House: A Liability or an Asset?

So saying your own home is a liability is not quite so black and white. Thinking in terms of cash flow however is a good way to think.

l You do not need to sell your property torelease capital it can be refinanced. Thisway you never have to pay Capital GainsTax

l Property is an ideal way to prepare foryour retirement, it gives steady monthly cashflow, now is a good time to start

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Tips of the Week

UK Sales 0207 313 4595 India Sales 0203 384 5323

Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

Specialists in:

l Property Sourcing

l Mortgages

l Commercial Finance

l India Properties

The terraced house is the mosteconomical use of the land tobuild a house. These were builtwith great quantity during theVictorian period. The dimen-sions were two rooms deep andone room a corridor wide. Youcan see rows of these types ofproperties all over England, nor-mally the front garden is nonexistent and they have smallback yards where sometimes thetoilets were located and they arepacked as tight as sardines, likethe ones you see on Coronation Street.

In early Victorian houses the kitchensand associated service rooms were in thebasement. Later on these had disap-peared with the kitchens being relocatedto the rear of the houses. The size of thehouses got bigger too. In the 1800’s thepoorest house consisted of only one roomwhilst in the 1900’s the minimum wouldbe 4 rooms.

Terraced houses, in order to look more

affluent, used various techniques to givethe appearance of semis. One would be tostagger the houses on a curved road,another would be to have subtle decora-tive differences. Another popular methodwas to be used in the 1840’s were baywindows. Bay windows were associatedwith seaside towns like Brighton. Theywere done to maximize the sea view.These were used in terraced houses toincrease their appeal.

A client came to see me who had heldassets in central locations such asPimlico and Kings cross. He hadfocused on the council houses andpicked up 4-5 properties over a fewyears all with extremely high yields.This was in the 80’s when you couldget stonking rental yields of 12% to20%. At the time these propertiescould be picked up for around£45,000 during this period ex-councilproperties really did have a stigmaattached to them and not many peo-ple were touching them, now the stigmahas decreased but still exists. The clientsold these properties many years go, theywere all sold because financing was diffi-cult hence you could not be remortgagethem very easily.

The client runs an import/export busi-ness in north london, and is aged 50, heplans to retire in 10 years and wants todevelop an income stream of about £30-40k by the time he retires. He again likethe idea of purchasing ex-council with the

intention of streams cash flow. On retire-ment he wishes to spend his time helpinghis local temple, so he has a noble inten-tion. Sow & Reap will be sourcing prop-erties to ensure he meets his aim. In myopinion this is a very achievable goalgiven that he has £250k in cash and acommercial property worth £500k fullypaid for. I couldn’t help but tell him howmuch the flats would be worth now if hehad kept them and I bet he hasn’t man-aged to save this much!

The Real Deal The Victorian House

Types and Styles of Housing Real scenarios from the street

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201220 financial voIce

The New Year seems to bebringing some cheer withthe emergence of somegreen shoots in the econo-my. Industrial productionrose by 5.9%, the fastestpace of expansion in fivemonths, on account of abetter performance bymanufacturing and elec-tricity sectors.

What's more, itreversed sentiments, whichfell to new lows following a5.1% dip in factory output

in October when the gov-ernment released the datalast month. Those numbershave now been revised to a4.7% contraction. InNovember 2010, the indexof industrial productionhad grown by 6.4%.

In the last few months,policymakers have been hitby a series of bad news onthe economy as inflationhas remained above 9% andeconomic growth has beenmoderating every quarter,

prompting the governmentto lower the forecast for theyear to 7%. To add to it,investment decisions havebeen put on hold as interestrates have risen and con-sumer demand has beenimpacted.

With food inflation alsofalling 2.9% for the week-ended December 24, thegood news seems to beflowing in. But the badnews is that the recovery inindustrial output may just

prompt the Reserve Bankof India to defer a rate cutin the monetary policyreview later this month.

After raising key policyrates 13 times since March2010, RBI opted againstincreasing rates inDecember. Economistssaid RBI governor DSubbarao may want towatch how the situationpans out over the nextcouple of months and optfor a rate cut later.

India’s civil aviation min-ister Ajit Singh ruled outany bailout package forVijay Mallya promoted-Kingfisher which is underfinancial strain, and addedthat the state-owned AirIndia needed to get its acttogether.

"It's a private enter-prise and the banks canonly lend if they are satis-fied with the business planof the company," the min-ister said.

Singh's response camewhen asked if the govern-ment was willing to giveany financial support toKingfisher. Mallya had

written to the minister andsaid the airline would notbe able to sustain the pres-ent scale of operations if itdid not get funding soon.

"So, they have to givethe business plan and ifthe banks feel they canrecover their money andmake profits, they willlend money. Otherwisethey won’t," said Singh.

Asked about ailingnational carrier Air India,the minister said the gov-ernment had an obligationtowards sustaining thecompany as it was a state-run firm.

"Air India is a public

sector unit, so governmenthas an obligation. Butthere also, Air India willhave to become competi-tive, they will have torestructure their costs in

line with the industry as awhole because govern-ment cannot keep pouringmoney."

Currently, the nationalcarrier has a total debt ofRs.437.77 billion, includ-ing loans and dues it owesto vendors like oil firmsand airport operators. Afinancial restructuringplan is being worked outby SBI Caps ( a financialadvisory subsidiary of theState Bank of India) andconsulting major Deloitte.

"There was a hitch inthe plan given by SBICaps, but I think it willwork out," said Singh.

India’s industrial output upfrom negative to 5.9% in Nov

No bailout for Kingfisher Airlines, says Ajit Singh

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By Roger Aitken

The ‘Big 3’ rating agencieshardly seem to be out ofthe news these days withtheir ability to move mar-kets at a stroke. And, rat-ing agency bashing hasbecome more pronouncedin the light of the recentchequered history of lead-ing agencies in making rat-ing pronouncements overSovereign, corporate orstructured debt. Theseorganisations are not newsagencies, but their actionshit the headlines.

Now following USagency Standard & Poor’s(S&P) decision to reduceits assessment of thehealth of France’sSovereign debt by onenotch to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA’status, leading Germanpoliticians like MichaelFuchs and others havejumped on the agencybashing bandwagon -berating them for “incon-sistent” ratings.

The action on France,which came out after theEuropean markets hadclosed (Friday, 13January) was communi-cated concurrently withdowngrades for eightother European countries -from Austria to Spain. It

also came just severalmonths after S&P “acci-dentally” downgradedFrance through an internalcommunications error.This time they did notrepeat the mistake.

Not surprisingly thebig agencies have theirdetractors. They wereheavily criticised in thewake of the credit crisis forgiven vehicles likeCollateralised DebtObligations (CDO) tripleA ratings, largely based onthe strength of the under-lying financial institutionissuing the debt.

Olli Rehn, an EUCommissioner, evenslammed S&P’s move thisweek to downgrade by onenotch - to ‘AA+’ (from‘AAA’) - the EuropeanFinancial Stability Fund(ESFS), which is chargedwith supporting indebtedcountries. He referred tothe agencies as being thetools of “American finan-cial capitalism”.

Should it matter andcan the agencies ever real-ly win? Probably not.Downgrades made tooearly will always result in abacklash in certain quar-ters of the market or politi-cians in Paris, Berlin orBrussels. Conversely, a

perceived failure to act fastenough through upgrades,downgrades or affirma-t i o n s / c o n f i r m a t i o n sangers others.

So, what’s all the fussabout and how big a deal isthis? Well, ‘AA+’ and‘AAA’-rated securities differvery little in their yields,usually by only 10 basispoints (0.1.%) on average.But it’s perception.

According to data fromMoody’s InvestorsService, one the ‘Big 3’,the ‘average’ cumulativeissuer-weighted globaldefault rates from 1920-2009 (excluding Asset-Backed Securities (ABS)and munis/local govern-ment) indicated that overa 1-year period ‘AAA’ rated

debt exhibited 0.00% vs. a0.07% rate of default for‘AA’ rated debt.

Over a 5-year periodthis moves out to just0.16% vs. 0.72%, respec-tively, and over the 10-yearhorizon, the historicaldefault rates reach 0.85%and 2.22%. The +/- addi-tion adds another level ofgranularity similar toexam grades. Double-digitpercentage default ratesonly start at sub-invest-ment territory level.

More concerning per-haps is whether the mar-ket, investors and sub-scribers can rely on theagencies for the accuracyof their ratings. A numberof examples in recent yearsillustrate just how behindthe curve S&P, Moody’sand Fitch were. Giventheir financial clout andthe analytical resources onhand you might haveexpected better.

Collectively these threetop agencies are today esti-mated to control c.97%-98% of the entire ratingsmarket and c.90% of all rev-enues. Other agencies doexist and nine firms are reg-istered with the U.S. SECas Nationally RecognizedStatistical RatingOrganisations (NRSRO’s).

Not surprisingly thedominant players resistchanges to their businessmodel, which is based onan ‘Issuer-Pays’ model. Bycontrast some rivals suchas Rapid Ratings(www.rapidratings.com),an agency headquarteredin New York, espouse a‘Subscriber-Pays’ model.They are also not remuner-ated by the issuer of thedebt/entity they are rating.

Rapid, for example,has no access to the com-pany they are rating ortheir management. Nor dothey seek it. Instead theyuse a more quantitativeapproach with algorithmictechniques to crunch so-called Financial HealthRatings (FHRs) - from 0 to100 - across a range ofweighted financial rations(62 in fact).

One school of thoughtexpressed by Rapid’s CEOJames Gellert has it thattheir Cardinal-based sys-tem (i.e. numbers) pro-vides a greater granularityand a more ‘absolute risk’vs. ‘relative risk’ perspec-tive. The Ordinal or alphascale (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc)used by traditional ratingsfirms only tells you thatone ranking is better orworse than another. Rapid

argues that there is nothing[under that system] thatguides the market to thereal differences betweentwo ratings grades.

Rapid was the firstagency to signal financialproblems with MF Global,a U.S. commodity broker,as far back as May 2009.This was around 30months before the brokerfiled for bankruptcy latelast year and years beforethe big boys made any sim-ilar moves. This alsoappears not to be a fluke.They made early calls onU.S. housebuilders, whichwere an early signal of thesub-prime crisis, as well asproviding alerts on BearStearns, Enron, Parmalat,Ford and US Steel.

It would appear thatthe incumbent agenciescould do better. However,suggestions recently putforward the EU’s financialmarket watchdog ESMA toeffectively ban ratings on astate or nation - at certaincritical times - wouldrestrict the analysis avail-able and more likelyincrease the crisis of confi-dence. The problem notbeing addressed here isthat the quality of some ofthese ratings may not bevery good in the first place.

On the back of decline inthe prices of food prod-ucts, India's annual infla-tion based on the whole-sale price index fell to atwo-year low of 7.47 percent in December as com-pared to 9.11 per cent inthe previous month, offi-cial data showed.

Inflation has declinedsharply after remainingstubbornly near double-digit for the last two yearsoffering the much neededrelief to the common peo-ple and the policymakers.

Inflation was at 9.45per cent during the corre-sponding month of 2010,according to data releasedby the ministry of com-merce and industry.

Reacting to the month-ly data, finance ministerPranab Mukherjee saidinflation would continueto moderate in the comingmonths and it would be inthe range of 6-7 per centby March.

Factory output, meas-ured in terms of the Indexof Industrial Production(IIP), rose by 5.9 per centin November against 4.74per cent contraction in theprevious month on theback of a significant

rebound in manufacturingactivities, according to offi-cial data released last week.

Easing inflationarypressure and rebound infactory output will givethe Reserve Bank of Indiaroom to keep a pause onthe rate action when itreviews its monetary poli-cy next week.

The RBI last monthkept policy ratesunchanged after hiking thekey rates 13 times sincethe beginning of 2010.

The build up inflationin the financial year 2011-12 till December was 4.95per cent compared to abuild up of 7.12 per centin the corresponding peri-od of the previous year.

The primary articlesinflation fell to 3.07 percent while food inflationdropped to 0.47 per cent.Several food items includ-ing onions, potatoes andother vegetables andwheat became cheaperyear-on-year. In fact, thefood inflation was in thenegative zone in the lasttwo weeks of December.

Annual food inflationwas recorded at minus 2.9per cent for the weekended Dec 31.

India’s inflation falls to two-year low of 7.47 per cent

Roger Roger Aitken is anAssociate Analyst with

benchmarking firm BISSResearch and a former

‘RNS’ editor at the LondonStock Exchange.

Ajit Singh

Should we worry about the track record of the major rating agencies?

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 21FINANCIAL VOICE

GBP - INR = 77.70

USD - INR = 50.63

EUR - INR = 64.40

GBP - USD = 1.53

GBP - EUR = 1.21

EUR - USD = 1.27

GBP - AED = 5.64

GBP - CAD = 1.56

GBP - NZD = 1.92

GBP - AUD = 1.47

GBP - ZAR = 12.38

GBP - HUF = 375.94

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WeeklyCurrenciesAs of Tuesday

17th January 2012 @ 3.30pmThe Euro has taken centre stagein the last few months with itexpected to remain at this spotfor the months to come. As mar-kets expected, more countrieswithin the EU have been down-graded but the main news waswith France being included inthe list. This swept the marketslast Friday and seems to have fil-tered through over this weekcausing the Euro to fall.However the Euros doesn’t seemto be getting much weaker fromthe 1.21 mark it reached beforethe new year, with it managingto keep its head above water atthis level. The market is also

concerned about the EFSF(European Financial StabilityFacility) also being downgraded,which may cause fund managersto sell any non AAA assets. Thiscould hit the markets in a bigway with it already being lookedat closely by investors. Further added turmoil in the

Eurozone also came from last

weekend as Greece debt talkscollapsed, which caused furthernervousness in the markets.There however didn’t seem to bemuch movement; this was dueto a bank holiday in the US.Greece seems to be floating fur-ther and further away from allthe other European countrieswith an uncontrollable tideswaying it further and furtheraway from the shore. Other EUcountries are following in thefootsteps of this debt strickenregion with further downgradesand turmoil expected in the nearfuture. Another date for discus-sions has been confirmed forWednesday 18th January.Another bond auction fromFrance and Spain is also due thisweek, which will give a clearindication of how the down-grade has affected confidence.This week will therefore beanother critical week for the sin-gle currency. On the back of all this news,

the dollar went straight into the1.52 levels against the GBP and1.26 mark against the Euros.Although there wasn’t a bigmovement due to the bank holi-day, the dollar strengthening fur-ther was expected to take placeon Tuesday. The GBP managednot to fall too much against theUSD and found strong support

at the 1.5250 level as EUR/USDselloff took place. The market is still however

looking to sell GBP againstother currencies as further nega-tive news is expected against theEurozone. The UK has theirminutes this week, which will beclosely looked at by investors.The market is expecting MervynKing (Governor of the Bank ofEngland), to talk down theBritish pound in order toincrease exports. This could bethe reason the GBP/EUR mayberesisting the 1.21 levels. If ster-ling was to cross this level theExports will definitely be effect-ed if not already and will cause

further economic problems with-in the region.So to sum it up, a critical

week for both the Euro and theSterling, with the USD followingthe results of whatever happenswithin the Eurozone countries.If the Eurozone do not come upwith some type of austeritymeasure that shows any indica-tion of recovery, then globalmarkets including the UK andUS will once again head into arecession. If this does happen,the question is, how will theglobal economies recover andwill the Eurozone pull some-thing out of the bag which couldturn all this around.

Is there a future for the Euro

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201222

US fires 1st drone in Pakistan in sixweeks; four dead

Bannu: The US carried out its first drone strike intoPakistan since errant November airstrikes by US forceskilled two dozen Pakistani troops along the Afghanborder. The latest missile attack killed four militants,three of them Arabs, according to Pakistani intelli-gence officials. The drone strike took place near MiranShah in North Waziristan, an al-Qaida and Talibanstronghold that has been pounded by the US since thedrone program began in earnest in 2009. The intelli-gence officials didn't give their names because theywere not authorized to speak to the media. Relationswith Pakistan plummeted after the Nov. 26 airstrikesprompted Islamabad to shut down vital supply routesinto Afghanistan and force the US to vacate ShamsiAir Base in southwestern Baluchistan province. TheUS used the base to service drones that targeted mili-tants in the tribal regions close to Afghanistan.

15 Indian MPs in Pakistan for talksIslamabad: A 15-member multi-party parliamentarydelegation from India has arrived in Pakistan to takepart in the third round of the Pakistan-IndiaParliamentarians' Dialogue. The two-day dialogue willbe held from Jan 17-18 in Islamabad where parliamentmembers from both sides will interact on trade and eco-nomic relations between the two countries, the Onlinenews agency reported. Two rounds of dialogues wereearlier held in January 2011 in Islamabad and in August2011 in New Delhi. The Indian delegation comprisesRajya Sabha members Mani Shankar Aiyar, DerekO'Brien, Nand Kishore Singh, Naresh Gujral, P Rajeev,Rajniti Prasad and D Raja. Member of the Lok Sabhajoining the delegation are Yashwant Sinha, AsaduddinOwaisi, Baijayant Jay Panda, Deepender Hooda,Hamdullah Sayeed, Shahnawaz Hussain, ShatrughanSinha, Supriya Sule and Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Bangladesh 'war crimes mastermind'Ghulam Azam arrested

Dhaka: Bangladesh has arrested an Islamist leader oncharges of masterminding war crimes during the 1971liberation struggle against Pakistan. .Prosecutors say thatGhulam Azam, 89, was detained after the InternationalCrimes Tribunal (ICT) rejected his bail application. Theyaccuse Mr Azam of crimes against humanity - includingmurder, rape, arson and looting - in 1971. He denies thecharges, arguing that they are politically motivated. MrAzam, the former leader of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party, is alleged to have created and led pro-Pakistan militias which carried out numerous murdersand rapes during the nine-month war.

BlackBerry refuses to hand Memogatedata to Pakistan

Islamabad: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion(RIM) has said it would not release data regarding amemo that said president Asif Ali Zardari had feared amilitary coup last year. BlackBerry maker has refused torelease data related to the memo that led to the steppingdown of the country's US envoy Husain Haqqani and afestering row between the military and the political lead-ership. The phone manufacturer, based in Canada, hassaid that their privacy laws prohibit disclosure of a cus-tomer's data to any other party without the consent ofthe parties concerned, hence Pakistan cannot have theinformation. Pakistani-American businessman MansoorIjaz had reportedly forwarded the memo to then US mil-itary chief Gen. Mike Mullen in May last year.

Sheikh Hasina honoured by Tripura UniversityAgartala: Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansariconferred an honorary doctorate of Tripura Universityon Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Ansarisaid as the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman, and as Prime Minister, your excellency's tire-less efforts in upholding democratic values andwomen's rights in Bangladesh are recognised and serveas a global benchmark. "We admire your courage,Prime Minister, in facing the threats of terrorism andextremism afflicting humanity, your advocacy of plural-ism, moderation and tolerance, and the ambitiousagenda of economic growth, welfare and social justicethat you have planned for, and implemented inBangladesh," he added.

Avalanches kill 14 in AfghanistanKabul: Avalanches caused by heavy snowfall havekilled at least 14 people in a mountainous region innortheastern Afghanistan. Rescue crews were trying toreach the remote areas of Badakhshan province wherea number of houses were reported to have beendestroyed said Shams ul-Rahman deputy provincialgovernor. Between 6-9 feet (2-3 meters) of snow havefallen in the area, making roads to the provincial capi-tal of Faizabad impassable. "We have reports of at least14 dead and several others injured," ul-Rahman said,adding that several other people were missing.

PakiSTan-BanGladeSh-Sri lanka

Islamabad: IndianCommerce MinisterAnand Sharma has beeninvited to Pakistan nextmonth to sign three agree-ments removing non-tariffbarriers in bilateral trade.

“We have extended aformal invitation to theIndian Commerce Ministerthrough the Pakistani HighCommission in India,” anunnamed official was quot-ed as saying. The officialwas speaking after theSpecial ParliamentaryCommittee on Kashmirwas briefed on trade liber-alisation with India.

Signing of the pro-posed agreements on cus-toms cooperation, mutualrecognition and redressinggrievances is expected toremove all tariff and non-tariff barriers that hinderPakistani exports to India,the report said.

The Indian governmenthas been asked to getapproval from relevantdepartments for signingthese agreements during theMinister’s visit, CommerceSecretary Zafar Mahmoodsaid during an in-camerabriefing for the parliamen-tary panel, the report said.

The chairman of theSpecial ParliamentaryCommittee on Kashmir,Jamiat Ulema-e-Islamleader Fazlur Rehman, hadsought a briefing by theCommerce Ministry on theissue of granting India MostFavoured Nation-status.

The meeting discussedPakistan’s move to changeits trade regime from apositive list to a negativelist as part of the liberali-sation process. Trade ofitems in the negative listwill not be allowed.Pakistani industry has pro-posed 1,000 items for thenegative list, theCommerce Secretary said.The list is expected to befinalised early next month.

Pakistan invitesAnand Sharma tosign trade pacts

Colombo: A political set-tlement to Tamils in SriLanka and a solution thatanswers the aspirations ofthe Tamil community isthe most important issueto be resolved, India’sExternal Affairs MinisterS.M. Krishna told SriLankan PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa, hereon Tuesday.

During the 90-minutebreakfast meeting betweenthe two leaders at TempleTrees, the official resi-dence of the Sri LankanPresident, a wide range ofissues were discussed butthe focus remained firmlyon the Tamil question.

With relations betweenthe Sri Lankan govern-ment and the TamilNational Alliance, the onlycredible representative ofthe Tamil people of thenorth, hitting an all timelow, Mr Krishna urged SriLanka to move towards anexpeditious political set-

tlement of the Tamil issue.Mr Krishna’s call

comes at a time whenreports have appeared in asection of the Sri Lankanpress, saying that theGovernment had called offtalks with the TNAbecause the TNA had notnamed its members to theParliamentary SelectCommittee constituted onthe Tamil question. The

government was alsounhappy with the TNAroundly criticising thereport of the LessonsLearnt and ReconciliationCommission, which stud-ied the war years, andmade recommendations onhow to achieve the goal ofa peaceful and united SriLanka.Rajapaksa’s assurance

Rajapaksa again

assured Mr Krishna thathe stood by his commit-ment to follow the “13thAmendment plusapproach” to achieve apolitical solution to theTamil question.

“I discussed this matter[political solution forTamils] with His Excellencythe President this morning.The President assured methat he stands by his com-mitment to pursuing the13th Amendment [to theSri Lankan Constitution]plus approach,” Mr.Krishnatold presspersons here aftermeeting the Sri LankanPresident. “TheGovernment of Sri Lankahas on many occasions con-veyed to us its commitmentto move towards a politicalsettlement based on the fullimplementation of the 13thAmendment to the SriLankan Constitution, andbuilding on it, so as toachieve meaningful devolu-tion of powers.

Washington: US Defensesecretary Leon Panettastrongly condemned avideo posted online thatpurportedly shows USMarines urinating oncorpses of insurgents inAfghanistan, and prom-ised a probe into theabuse. "I have seen thefootage, and I find thebehavior depicted in itutterly deplorable," thePentagon chief said in astatement, adding that"those found to haveengaged in such conductwill be held accountable tothe fullest extent." The USmilitary is investigatingthe "disgusting" onlinevideo, according to aPentagon spokesman.

The video shows whatappears to be four service-men, dressed in US mili-

tary uniform, relievingthemselves onto threebloodied bodies on theground, apparently awarethat they are being filmed.

"Have a great day,buddy," one of them says,giggling. It is not clearfrom the video whether thedead Afghans were Talibaninsurgents or civilians.

The Pentagon has notyet verified the video, butspokesman John Kirbysaid: "Regardless of the cir-cumstances or who is inthe video, this is... egre-gious, disgusting behavior,unacceptable for anyonein uniform."

"It turned my stom-ach," he added of thevideo, which was postedon the Live Leak website.

If authenticated, theimages -- which conjure up

previous abuses commit-ted by US troops duringthe decade-long war --could spark deep angerand resentment inAfghanistan and the widerMuslim world.

A military official whoasked not to be namedsaid the helmet andweapon carried by one ofthe men seems to indicatethe four could be membersof an elite sniper team.

The official also saidsuch conduct would bepunishable under the UScode of military justice.

The Washington-basedCouncil on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),a prominent US Muslimcivil rights and advocacyorganization, condemnedthe alleged desecration ofcorpses.

Faisalabad (Pakistan): Ayoung, promising comput-er genius Arfa KarimRandhawa aged 16 fromFaisalabad, Pakistan diedon Saturday night aftercomplications resultingfrom an epileptic stroke.She became the youngestMicrosoft CertifiedProfessional at the age ofnine in 2005. Microsoftfounder Bill Gates whohad offered to pay forKarim's treatment, told thefamily that he was sad tolearn about her death andthe loss of such a rare tal-ent, her father said.

Condolences have alsopoured in from around theworld. Funeral prayerswere offered on Sunday inLahore before her bodywas taken to her native vil-lage Ram Dewali,Faisalabad for burial.Scores of people, includingchief minister ShahbazSharif, ministers, politi-cians, friends and Karim's

fellow students gathered tosupport the grieving familyduring the procession.

According to localreports, Karim went into acoma on December 22after suffering an epilepticattack and cardiac arrest.She was admitted fortreatment at CombinedMilitary Hospital inLahore and was on life

support at the IntensiveCare Unit when she suf-fered a tracheotomy com-plication on Saturdayevening that resulted inbleeding in her throat.

Despite earlier reportsher condition hadimproved, doctors wereunable to save her.

Karim rose to interna-tional fame when shebecame the youngestMicrosoft CertifiedProfessional - a title award-ed to those who masterMicrosoft programs - at theage of nine in 2005.

After earning the certi-fication, Karim was subse-quently invited to visitMicrosoft's headquartersin Redmond, Washingtonby founder Bill Gates.Karim, then 10, met withGates and other Microsoftexecutives during the visit,undoubtedly impressingthem with her knowledgeof programming at such ayoung age.

Bill Gates condoles death of computer genius

US disapproves of Marinesurinating on Taliban corpses

Arfa Karim Randhawa

India’s External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna and Sri LankanPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa offer prayers at Temple

Trees, the official residence of the President, in Colombo

Move towards expeditious political

settlement, India urges Sri Lanka

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 23worLD

At a recent event inAhmedabad, India, LordMeghnad Desai gave a lec-ture entitled, 'Gandhiji'sViews on Violence'. Hequestioned Gandhi'sendorsement of the Hinduholy scripture of theBhagvad Gita. The Gitaaccording to Desai gives amessage that killing waslegitimate and theMahabharat war if takenliterally was similar to aholocaust. The inferencewas how could a man ofnon - violence believe inthe Gita. Lord Desai alsoclaimed that Gandhi's atti-tude to Hitler was beyondbelief. The inference hereis that Gandhi somehowsupported or ignoredHitler's monstrosity.

Let us look first at theBhagvad Gita. Throughoutthe Gita Lord Krishna isemphasising that compas-sion and non - violencetowards all living beingsare ideals that a selfrealised soul should fol-low. The Mahabharat wartook place after every pos-sibility of avoiding warwas exhausted. LordKrishna himself urgedDuryodhana to avoid warby giving the Pandavas thebare minimum. ThoughBhagvad Gita activelyencourages non - violenceit does not preach pacifismat any cost. It is indeedones duty to fight injus-

tice. War is justified onlywhen it is meant to fightevil and injustice not forthe purpose of aggressionand terrorising people.Mahatma Gandhi under-stood this message andadopted to a fighting strat-egy of non - violencewhich was best suited tothe circumstances he wasfacing. Lord Desaimay doubt Gandhi'snon - violence butleaders of far greaterstature than him havesuccessfully adoptedhis ideals to fightinjustice. Lord Desaifirst accuses Gandhiof endorsing the mes-sage of violence fromthe Gita and thengoes on to questionhis appeasement ofHitler. Gandhi neverappeased Hitler. On23rd July 1939Gandhi wrote toHitler:

''It is quite clearthat you are today theone person in theworld who can pre-vent a war which mayreduce humanity to thesavage state. Must you paythat price for an objecthowever worthy it mayappear to you to be? Willyou listen to the appeal ofone who has deliberatelyshunned the method ofwar not without consider-able success?"

On 24th December1940 Gandhi again wroteto Hitler:

''But your own writ-ings and pronouncementsand those of your friendsand admirers leave noroom for doubt that manyof your acts are mon-strous and unbecoming ofhuman dignity, especially

in the estimation of menlike me who believe inhuman friendliness. Suchare your humiliation ofCzechoslovakia, the rapeof Poland and the swal-lowing of Denmark. I amaware that your view oflife regards such spolia-tion's as virtuous acts.But we have been taught

from childhood to regardthem as acts degradinghumanity."

The then British PrimeMinister NevilleChamberlain also triedvery hard to avoid a warwith Hitler. One has tounderstand the desperateconditions of the time tosee why many people

would have been des-perate to avoidanother war. It isobvious that LordDesai like so manyIndian intellectualsof his generationhave a deep seatednegativity of thecountry of their birthand its cultural andreligious traditions.They miss no oppor-tunity to highlightthe many failures ofIndia. They seldomhave a single word ofpraise or even anacknowledgementthat without the edu-cation they hadreceived in India theywould not have

achieved success abroad.This is a very peculiarIndian phenomena. Youwill never find intellectu-als of other countries soeager to pass negativejudgments without anybalance on the countriesof their birth. India beingIndia it treats these intel-lectuals as heroes and

even give them prestigiousnational awards!

Lord Desai was recent-ly embroiled in the contro-versy of a Phd degreeawarded to Saif al.Islam,the son of Libyan dictatorcolonel Gaddafi. LordDesai who was ProfessorEmeritus at LondonSchool of Economics wasone of the professors whomarked the paper submit-ted by Saif. The rumoursare that the paper wasghost written and waswidely plagiarised. LordDesai has said that he wasnot aware of any problemswith the paper submitted.The Gadafi Foundationdonated £1.5 million overfive years to LSE and someof the money from whichhas gone to a researchbody called ' GlobalGovernance ' which hasbeen set up by Lord Desai.Lord Desai is on recorddefending the donationfrom the GadafiFoundation. He said :“Academic research needsmoney. Rockefeller was arobber baron but we takehis money. There is noth-ing for LSE to be ashamedabout.” There is irony inLord Desai questioningGandhi's non - violenceand defending acceptingmoney from one of themost ruthless and violentdictators.

-Nitin Mehta MBE

Imag

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urtesy:w

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edia.co.uk

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Lord Meghnad Desai and his aspersionson Mahatma Gandhi and the Gita

Lord Meghnad Desai

Yangon: Myanmar freedsome of its most famouspolitical inmates, sparkingjubilation outside prisongates while signaling itsreadiness to comply withdemands of the US and itsallies for a lifting of eco-nomic sanctions.

Among those releasedwere prominent politicalactivists, the leaders of bru-tally repressed democraticuprisings, a former primeminister, ethnic minorityleaders, journalists and rel-atives of the former dicta-tor Ne Win. The releaseswere part of a presidentialpardon for 651 detaineesthat state radio and televi-sion said would take part in"nation-building."

It was the latest in aflurry of acceleratingchanges in Myanmarsought by the West,including the recentlaunching of a dialoguewith opposition leaderAung San Suu Kyi and thesigning of a cease-fire in along-running campaignagainst Karen insurgents.

Myanmar likely nowfeels the ball is the West'scourt to lift the cripplingeconomic measures.

But the United Statesand allies may take a wait-and-see approach, to see ifgovernment truces withvarious ethnic rebel groupshold, discussions with SuuKyi move forward andscheduled April electionsappear free and fair.

Myanmar frees

many prominent

political prisoners

A major flashpoint aheadof the Jaipur LiteraryFestival has been avoidedwith a jittery Rajasthangovernment persuadingorganizers to ask SalmanRushdie, the main draw atthe book-lovers' jamboree,to call off his visit.

Rajasthan chief secre-tary Salauddin Ahmed islearnt to have called theorganizers to discussRushdie's presence that,sources in the state gov-ernment said, would havecreated a huge securityrisk, given the threat ofprotests by Muslim groups.

"Rushdie's trip has beencancelled. We have beeninformed," said a seniorRajasthan police officer,who spoke on condition ofanonymity. The organizers,however, didn't confirm thecancellation but the BookerPrize-winning author'sevents on the January 20-24 programme were purgedfrom the JLF website.

Anxiety in the rulingCongress in Rajasthan aswell as the Centre duringthis election season hasgrown ever since DarulUloom, Deoband's vice-chancellor wrote to theUnion government earlierthis month, insisting theauthor of 'The SatanicVerses' be barred fromentering India, a surpris-ing demand since Rushdiehas been to the countryfive times since the contro-versy over the book erupt-ed, including one to JLF'sinaugural 2007 edition.

The Deobandis hadasked the government notto give him a visa but with-in hours, Rushdie tweetedthat he didn't need onesince he was categorizedas a Person of IndianOrigin and could come

and go as he pleased. Thatput the government in aspot and forced them tolean on the lit fest organiz-ers to plead with Rushdieto back off. The authorhasn't made any commentsince news of his cancella-tion broke.

Cong leaders wantedRushdie kept out of India :Rajasthan's sensitivitiesover the visit of controver-sial author SalmanRushdie to the Jaipur liter-ature festival, however, areeasier to comprehend.

The state governmenthas been on the defensiveafter the state police wereaccused of failing to pro-tect Muslim protesters inGopalgarh where riots lastSeptember left nineMuslims dead.

It's learnt thatRajasthan CM AshokGehlot and Union law andminorities affairs ministerSalman Khurshid met todiscuss Rushdie's visit andthe demand by conserva-tive Muslim groups, includ-ing clerics in Rajasthanwho had organized a 7,000-strong protest in Jaipur.

Some RajasthanMuslim organizations hadannounced a protestagainst Rushdie's visitwith one even declaring areward of Rs 1 lakh foranyone ready to hurl a

shoe at the author. Rajasthan PCC chief

Chandrabhan had demand-ed a ban on Rushdie's visitand the Congress MP fromJaipur Mahesh Joshi hadbacked him.

Rushdie had two ses-sions, 'Midnight's Child onJan 20' and 'Inglish,Amlish: The chutneyfica-tion of English' the nextday. Organizers toldreporters on Sunday thatRushdie's first session waspostponed. "We haveremoved his trip itineraryfrom the website in view ofthe ongoing controversy,"said a JLF organizer.

TIMES VIEW: SalmanRushdie's decision to notattend the Jaipur LiteraryFestival sends out all thewrong signals. It wouldappear the governmentfailed to reassure theIndian-born author that heneed have no fears aboutvisiting the land of hisbirth; on the contrary, thefestival organizers weretold by the Congress-runstate government thatRushdie's visit could causea law and order problem.The result is the impres-sion that India is a softstate which succumbs eas-ily to pressure. As for theCongress, it is open to thecharge of appeasementonce again.

AV Correspondent

The disease may isolatethem in society, but theHIV positive people arefinding an institutionalsupport to find love andcompanionship of mar-riage in Gujarat thanks tothe efforts of GujaratState Network of PeopleLiving with HIV/AIDS(GSNP+).

The network of HIVpositive people, whichhas been working for theimprovement of the quali-ty of the life of people liv-ing with HIV/AIDS(PLHA) has been organ-izing marriages betweenthe eligible couples. Thenetwork recently organ-ized a marriage fair, whichwas attended by 132 menand 27 women from allover the state. The eventsaw finalization of 14couples.

“We have been tryingto link the positive peopleand arrange such mar-riages for quite sometimenow,” said Daksha Patel,General Secretary

GSNP+. An HIV positiveherself, Daksha has beenworking for the positivepeople in Gujarat foralmost a decade now.“Though we have beenarranging such events forlast four years, it was onlythis year, that things got alittle big and we had somany people,” she added.

“We had put upnotices at all the ART(anti retroviral therapy)centres across districts aswell as in our offices andeven called people upindividually,” Dakshasaid. “The turnout was lit-tle bigger than we hadexpected,” she added.

“This was inspiring tosee that people from allwalks of life came for thefair,” Daksha said. “Wehad the uneducated vil-lagers as well as the edu-cated urbane individualswalking into the venuethis time and this wasgreat,” she added.

“We also had manyparents with HIV positivechildren who came insearch of partners for their

children,” she added.“Apart from the quest of alife partner, since many ofthe positive people do notwant to reveal their HIVstatus openly and sincethey can’t get married, thesocial pressure also startstaking a toll on them,”said Rasik Bhuva, thetreasurer of the organiza-tion. Bhuva too was diag-nosed positive in 1998and has been associatedwith the network since2004.

“As a matter of fact, Itoo had found my wifethrough the network andgot married in 2006,”Bhuva adds. “We maintainthe profiles of all the eligi-ble HIV positive individ-ual’s profile and updatethem regularly,” Bhuvasaid adding that apartfrom organizing suchevents, the network getsin touch with the positiveindividuals wanting tomarry with possiblematches and evenarranges one on one meet-ings to fix up marriages asand when possible.

Two cities of Gujarat, bothindustrial hubs, top the listof cities with lowest sexratio in India. Vapi, theindustrial town in southGujarat, has got the lowestsex ratio in the countrywith only 734 women per1,000 men. Diamond citySurat is second with 754women per 1,000 men. InVapi, of the 1.63 lakh pop-ulation, there are 94,338men against which thereare only 69,267 women. In0-6 age group, the ratio iscomparatively better at870 girls per 1,000 boys.The town, known in Asiafor large number of indus-trial units, especiallychemical units, has 19,899children in this age group.In fact, the town is areverse reflection of thesituation prevailing inMehsana which has lowestchild sex ratio of 760 whilethe sex ratio is compara-tively better at 893 womenper 1,000 men.

Diamond city Surat,also known for high popu-lation of immigrants, has754 women per thousand

men. Valsad district collec-tor CL Patel said the lownumber of women in thetown is a reflection of thehigh number of migrantswho have made the towntheir home for earning aliving. “Over 50 per centof Vapi’s population con-stitutes of migrants fromother states who work inthe industrial units, main-ly small-scale chemicalfactories. In Vapi, there arehomes where 10-12 menlive in a single room,” saidPatel.

Curiously, the townhas 100 per cent literacyrate, as per the Census2011 figures. This is onefact which even took thecollector by surprise. “Iwas not aware of this fig-ure,” Patel said.

Social scientists saythat Vapi’s lowest sex ratioin the country has to bebecause of high number ofmigrants. However, thehigh child sex ratio poses ateaser with no easyanswers. “Similar situa-tion prevailed in Surat adecade ago.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201224

In divine lightBy Rajen Vakil

We last saw Ashtavakrabeing questioned by KingJanaka’s doorkeeper, towhich he replied, “O door-keeper, one is not old bythe colour of one’s hair(the Sanskrit word for oldbeing ‘vrudh’, one whohas grown). The rishis saythat only a person whoknows every aspect of theVedas is called knowl-edgeable. I have comehere to meet Bandi, theking’s scholar. Today, youshall see how we defeatall the scholars, includingBandi, in arguments.”

The doorkeeper said,“You are a child of twelveand I am not to allow youinside, but still I will takeyou to the king.” He thentook Ashtavakra andSwetaketu to the king.

Ashtavakra addressedKing Janaka, “You are agreat king to havearranged this grand yagnaon your own. We haveheard that Bandi defeatsother Brahmins in argu-ments, and then has themtied up and drowned inthe river. I have come todiscuss the aspects ofnon-duality and truth withhim. Just as the light ofthe sun overpowers thelustre of the stars, today Iwill take away the light ofBandi.”

The king answered,“You do not know thestrength of your oppo-nent, yet you talk ofdefeating him. ManyBrahmins have come, lostthe argument, and theirlives. You are still a youngchild, please go back.”

To this, Ashtavakrareplied, “Bandi has not

met an opponent like meand that is why he is roar-ing like a lion. Once hemeets me, he will breakhim down, just like a cartwith a broken axle.”

Janaka said, “Before Iallow you to enter, youhave to answer my ques-tions first. What wheel hassix faces, can be arrangedin twenty four groups, andis made up of twelve divi-sions supported by threehundred and sixty spokes,thus giving thirty degreesto each division? The onewho answers this is agreat poet.”

Ashtavakra answered,“The six faces at the hubof wheel are the six sea-sons. The arrangementsurrounding the hub intwenty-four groups is thatof fortnights, each begin-ning with either a fullmoon or a new moon. Therim or periphery of thewheel is made of twelvemonths, each ruled byone of the twelve astro-

logical houses. From with-in the hub rise three hun-dred and sixty spokes tosupport the periphery ofthe wheel, resulting ineach month comprising ofthirty degrees or days.This, O king, is the wheelof Time, which is perpetu-ally turning and may itguard you from evil.”

The King asked, “Whattwo are attached like apair of mares and dive likea hawk. Out of all thegods, which is the onethat bears both of them inhis womb, and to whomdo these two give birth to,and who is the charioteerof the one born?”

Ashtavakra replied, “Oking, those two are light-ning and electricity whosenature is to dive like thehawk. The two of them areborn in the womb of theGod of the clouds (Megha),the two of them in turngive rise to clouds, whosecharioteer is the wind.”

To Be Continued…

All past articles on the Mahabharata can beaccessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

GSNP+ organizes marriage fairfor HIV positive people

INDIA

Sex ratio in Vapi is the

lowest in India

The Story ofAshtavakra (Part-3)

Scientists may have founda way to counter anupcoming influenza out-break — Google.Researchers at JohnsHopkins have found‘Google Flu Trends’ a pow-erful early warning systemfor emergency depart-ments. They say monitor-ing Internet search trafficabout influenza may proveto be a better way for hos-pital emergency rooms toprepare for a surge in sickpatients compared to wait-ing for outdated govern-ment flu case reports. Areport on the value of theInternet search tool foremergency departments,studied over a 21-monthperiod, was published inthe journal ‘ClinicalInfectious Diseases’.

The team said ‘GoogleFlu Trends’ collects andprovides data on searchtraffic for flu informationon a daily basis by detect-ing and analyzing certainflu-related search terms.The search queries, whencombined, are good indi-cators of flu activity.

‘Google besttool to predictflu outbreak’

Salman Rushdie persuaded to stayaway from Jaipur Literature Festival

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 25INDIA

Her lens captured some ofthe most iconic momentsof India’s 20th Centuryhistory, – from the depar-ture from India of LordMountbatten, Britain’s lastviceroy, to the outpouringof mass national grief thatfollowed the shooting ofMahatma Gandhi.

But for the last 40years of her life, HomaiVyarawalla lived alone andin virtual anonymity,shunning photography, thecraft in which she hadmade her name, in favourof gardening.

Vyarawalla, India’sfirst female photojournal-ist, whose images chroni-cled the birth pangs of theworld’s largest democracy,died in a private hospitalin Baroda on Sundaymorning. She was 98 andhad contracted an illnessafter falling out of bed lastweek.

Born in the town ofNavsari in Gujarat to a

family of Zoroastrians inDecember 1913, Ms.Vyarawala attended schooland university in Bombay,as the city was then known.She first learned how tohandle a camera from herboyfriend in the 1920s,shortly before starting hercareer in photography andmoving to Delhi in 1942.

Her skill as a photogra-pher and ability to capturepowerful images docu-menting India’s independ-ence struggle quicklyearned her nationwidefame – although when shestarted out, prejudiceagainst her as a woman

forced her to publish pho-tographs in her husband’sname. She later workedunder the pseudonym,Dalda 13.

Her pictures coveredlandmark events includingthe hoisting of the firstIndian flag at Delhi’s RedFort after independence in1947, and the funerals ofMahatma Gandhi and for-mer Prime MinistersJawaharlal Nehru and LalBahadur Shastri.

She also covered thehorror of partition as wellas visits to India by QueenElizabeth II and formerUS President DwightEisenhower.

In 2005, she told herbiographer that it was only50 years after taking pho-tographs that “I startedseeing the value of mywork.” At the time, shesaid she “was just earninga living” and had little“thought of preserving itfor posterity”.

Homai Vyarawalla, India’s firstlady of the lens, dead at 98

Internet giants Google andFacebook told the DelhiHigh Court on Mondaythat it is not possible forcompanies to block offen-sive content that appearson their websites, in a casethat has stoked fears aboutcensorship in the world'slargest democracy.

Google and Facebookare among 21 companiesthat have been asked todevelop a mechanism toblock objectionable mate-rial, after a private peti-tioner took the websites tocourt over images deemedoffensive to Hindus,Muslims and Christians.

At the heart of the dis-pute is a law passed lastyear in the country thatmakes companies respon-sible for user content post-ed on their websites,requiring them to take itdown within 36 hours incase of a complaint.

The case was originallyfiled in a lower court, butthe companies haveappealed to the Delhi HighCourt, challenging the lowercourt's ruling asking them totake down some content.

"The search engineonly takes you till the web-site. What happens afterthat is beyond a searchengine's control," NeerajKishan Kaul, a lawyer forGoogle's Indian unit, tolda packed High Court hear-ing on Monday.

"If you use blocks,which is very easy for peo-ple to say, you will inadver-tently block other things aswell. For example: theword 'sex'. Even a govern-ment document like a voterID list or a passport has theword 'sex'," he added.

Siddharth Luthra, alawyer for Facebook toldthe court it was not possi-ble for the social networkto "single out" any individ-ual on the basis of religionor views and said the usersshould be held responsiblefor content they post.

Less than a tenth of

India's 1.2 billion popula-tion have access to Internetalthough its 100-odd mil-lion users make it the thirdbiggest Internet marketafter China and the UnitedStates. Internet users inIndia are seen nearlytripling to 300 million overthe next three years.

Despite the new rulesto block offensive content,India's Internet access isstill largely free unlike thetight controls in neigh-bouring China.

Civil rights groups haveopposed the new laws. Butpoliticians say that postingoffensive images in thesocially conservative coun-try with a history of vio-lence between religiousgroups presents a dangerto the public as Internetuse grows.

The high court willresume hearing the caseon Thursday, JusticeSuresh Kait said. Thejudge was last week quot-ed by local media warningthe websites of China-stylecontrols if they did not cre-ate a means to curb mate-rial seen as offensive.

Congress Party onThursday vowed to imple-ment the proposed reser-vation for minority com-munities following theconclusion of upcomingassembly polls in the fivestates of Uttar Pradesh,Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhandand Manipur.

"The ElectionCommission is an inde-pendent, constitutionalbody. Its main duty is toensure the conduct of freeand fair elections. We donot comment on the deci-sions taken by the ElectionCommission while dis-charging its duties. Thegovernment had proposedto implement a reservationfor minority communitiesbefore the polls wereannounced," said Congressspokesperson Rashid Alvi.

"The ElectionCommission can only pro-hibit the implementationof minority reservation fortwo months, that is, till thepolls are over. After theelections, the governmentwill definitely implementreservation to the minori-ties," he added.

Union Law and JusticeMinister Salman Khurshidhad on Monday promisedto raise to raise the minor-ity reservation as against

the existing quota of 4.5percent reserved forgroups bracketed underother backward classes, ifhis party is elected topower in Uttar Pradesh.

The ElectionCommission later onWednesday asked the gov-ernment to put on hold itsdecision on 4.5 per centsub-quota for minorities infive poll-bound states tillelection process ends thereas a controversy ragedover the issue.

"It has been brought tothe notice of theCommission that theCentral Government hascarved out 4.5 per centsub-quota for minoritiesfrom within 27 per centquota for OBCs in viola-tion of the Model Code ofConduct and should bestopped by theCommission," said theElection Commission in astatement.

Further defending thegovernment, Alvi accusedthe Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) of spreading com-munalism and attemptingto divide and rule.

"The Bharatiya JanataParty has taken the mantleof spreading communal-ism in the nation. The BJPwants to divide the nation.

Cong vows to implementminority reservation after polls

Vishwa Gujarati Samajconferred SardarVallbhbhai Patel VishwaPrathibha Award on LordBhikhu Parekh, renownedacademician, author andpolitical analyst atGujarati Sahitya ParishadHall. Former director ofIIM-A Bakul Dholakiapresented the award toParekh.

Four other dignitariesincluding author andGujarati language scholarfrom UK Dr Jagdish Dave;engineer who has devel-oped $ 200 million busi-ness empire in New Jersey,Piyush Patel; diamondbusinessman and memberof Belgium JewelryCouncil Paresh Sanghvi;and hotelier and founderof Association of IndianAmericans in NorthAmerica Sunil Nayakwere also conferred uponDistinguished NRIAward.

Former Supreme Courtjudge C K Thakkar wasthe chief guest at theevent. Other dignitarieswho presented the awardsto NRIs include presidentof Vishwa Gujarati SamajKrishnakant Vakharia;author Kumar Pal Desai,and Suruchi Trust headShambhubhai Patel.

Vishwa GujaratiSamaj honoursfamous expats

Homai Vyarawalla poseswith her Rolleiflex cameraat her home in Vadodara

Google, Facebook oppose Webcontrol in Delhi High Court

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201226 INDIA

Continued from page 1

Attorney-General ofPakistan Maulvi AnwarulHaq told the court that nodirectives were receivedfrom Zardari and Gilani toimplement the NRO verdict.

Earlier, Gilani andZardari, pummeled fordays for making state-ments against army chiefAshfaq Parvez Kayani andISI head Lt Gen AhmedShuja Pasha, went into ahuddle after which the PMwas quoted as saying hehad offered to resign todefuse the crisis created bythe confrontation betweenthe military and the judici-ary on one side and thegovernment on the other.

There is no immediatethreat to Gilani, as thecontempt case is expectedto be drawn out. But hecould be disqualified fromholding office and have tostep down if convicted of

contempt. He also facesup to six months in prison."We are left with nooption, as a first step, toissue a show-cause notice.The PM should appearpersonally in court onJanuary 19," the court saidin its notice.

The court initiated pro-ceedings after the govern-ment failed to respond toits order outlining sixoptions that it could exer-cise if it did not complywith its orders. Theoptions included disquali-fying the PM and presi-dent, holding early elec-tions besides contemptproceedings. The courtwas incensed after attor-ney general MaulviAnwarul Haq told it thathe had no instructionsfrom the government onhow to respond to court'sorders.

Later, Gilani agreed toappear before the court

after an emergency meet-ing with his coalition part-ners and Zardari.

Sources said the gov-ernment would act accord-ing to a plan and buy timetill Senate elections inMarch that would givePPP a majority in theupper house and animportant say in legisla-tion for the next six years.

A probe into the memothreatens to implicateZardari and could lead tohis impeachment. FormerPakistan envoy to USHusain Haqqani isaccused of authoring thememo on Zardari's behest.The court had calledGilani "dishonest'' andwarned him of disqualifi-cation if he did not openthe cases. It has repeatedlyasked the government todo so since it threw outthe NationalReconciliation Ordinance(NRO) that extended

immunity to politiciansand bureaucrats fromprosecution in graft cases.

The tiff between thegovernment and the armystarted after Gilani sackedthe defence secretaryNaeem Khalid Lodhi. Thedecision comes duringintense friction betweenthe civilian governmentand the powerful militaryover an unsigned memothat sought US help inreining in Pakistan's gen-erals. Gilani's office said ina statement that retiredLieutenant GeneralNaeem Khalid Lodhi wasfired for "gross misconductand illegal action whichcreated misunderstanding"between state institutions.While the tiff with thearmy and the governmentwas going on Zardari wentto Dubai for a day’s visitsparking rumours that hehad fled the country antic-ipating a coup.

India’s Chief of ArmyStaff, General V.K. Singh,has reportedly filed a writpetition in the SupremeCourt with regard to theongoing controversy sur-rounding his age.

General Singh had ear-lier on Sunday said that hehas 'no clue' of any earlyresolution of the ongoingcontroversy surroundinghis age issue, but insistedthat the matter be allowedto rest and not become apublic debate.

To a poser on whetherhe is expecting an early res-olution of the issue sur-rounding his age, GeneralSingh said: "I have got noclue. I am working as I am."

"I don't want to sayanything. He hasexpressed his confidenceand I am following that.Earlier also I have saidthat I am working for theorganisation. I appreciatehis confidence and will tryto stand upto that," headded, when asked tocomment on the confi-dence expressed byDefence Minister A K

Antony in him regardlessof the ongoing issue.

When asked to clarifywhether the issue has beensettled by the DefenceMinistry, General Singhsaid: "Why do you want aclarity? I have said this isan issue that should beallowed to rest, and notbecome a public debate.So there is no requirementto give it any spin, or togive it any more wingsthan what it actually is."

"I think I have alreadysaid a lot of things on thissubject. Actually there isno requirement for me tosay anything on this sub-ject. The reason is that,whatever I say will eitherbe misinterpreted or inter-preted in a manner inwhich somebody will writeit," he added, when askedwhether he would acceptthe government decision,if the age issue is delinkedfrom his tenure in office.

General V.K. Singhhad earlier this month dis-associated himself withthe reports of fresh repre-sentations by him con-

cerning his date of birth.Reports in the media

had earlier indicated thatGeneral V.K. Singh hadwritten to the Governmentthat his date of birth wasMay 10, 1951 and not 1950as entered on the basis ofhis application when heentered the NationalDefence Academy.

According to certainreports, the controversystemmed from different setsof records in the adjutantgeneral and military secre-tary branches of the IndianArmy Headquarters.

While the adjutantgeneral's branch that dealswith pay, perks and pen-sions maintains 1951 as

his year of birth, the mili-tary secretary branch thatdeals with appointmentsand promotions has 1950in its records.

The Ministry ofDefence had earlier reject-ed Army Chief General V.K. Singh's statutory com-plaint seeking a correctionof his date of birth in thearmy records.

According to reports,General Singh has beenconveyed that that he willhave to retire from serviceon May 31, 2012 on comple-tion of his two-year tenure.

General Singh, whohas consistently claimedthat he was born in 1951and not 1950 as main-tained, had in his statutorycomplaint asked theDefence Ministry to con-sider May 10, 1951 as hisdate of birth.Government files caveatin Supreme Court:Meanwhile, Governmenthas filed a caveat in theSupreme Court against thepetition of Gen Singhchallenging the decisionover his date of birth.

Pak PM Gilani in fix; gets SC contempt notice

Boy falls from 13th floor, only breaks legIt was a miraculous escape by any stretch. An 18-year-old youth, who fell from the terrace of his 13-floorbuilding in Powai, Mumbai. survived the steep fall andended up with only a leg fracture. H was working outon the terrace when he lost his balance and hurtleddown. “Pai survived because his fall was first broken bya tree and then his father’s car, which was parkedbelow the tree,” said Powai police. He is in a hospital,and his condition is stable. The youngster was first dis-covered by the building’s security guard, who heard aloud thud behind the building. “Initially I thought acoconut must have dropped to the ground but then Irealized there is no coconut tree around,” said theguard. “So I, along with a driver, rushed to where thenoise had come from. There, we found Pai on the roofof his car. He was conscious but could not speak.”

Dalai Lama urges youth to joinpolitics to end corruption

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has appealed tothe Indian youth to join politics to end corruption.Dalai Lama said that it was necessary for the youth tocome forward and join politics so as to end corruptionfrom the country. "So I say that the dirty politics mustchange. Who is going to change that? If we pray to Godplease come to India and clean this up, it is unrealistic.Young India, you should clean up all these negativethings. No one else can. So if you must join in politicswithin political groups. Then clean up the change. Thatis the only way," he added.Corruption in India has beena long standing problem and last year the stand againstit grew as a result of the anti-corruption movement ledby social activist Anna Hazare.

Fake ration card in Sonia name foundA ration card issued in the name of Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, enlisting names of her two children asRahul and Priyanka, has been found in Maharashtra’sThane district. The card was issued in August last yearby the Thane authorities. The family’s annual incomewas shown as Rs 30,000 and it bore Sonia’s New Delhiaddress, activist Praveen Pandey said. The card wasfound in a parking lot of the Ulhasnagar MunicipalCorporation (UMC), around 60km northeast ofMumbai. “My friend Premchand Jha and I had somework at UMC and while we were parking our vehicle,we found a ration card lying in the parking lot. Wethought someone must have lost it. But we wereshocked to see that it was issued in the names of SoniaGandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka. It evenbore Sonia’s New Delhi address,” he said. Pandeysaid that with municipal polls round the corner in sev-eral parts of the state, such bogus ration cards may beused for illegal voting. He said that their NGO,Ulhasnagar Bachao Abhiyan, had written to theElection Commission and requested that the rationcard be disqualified on the basis of the Delhi address.

Kutch camels get recognisationThe ‘swimming camels’ from Gujarat got nationalrecognition from scientists and experts when twobreeders of Kachchhi Kharai were felicitated by LIFENetwork and National Biodiversity Authority at a func-tion held in Chennai on January 10. A booklet on theKharai camel, the only camels which can swim, wasalso released on the occasion. The duo got the BreedSaviour Award for breed conservation. The twobreeders, Adam Abdreman Jat from Abdasa andAmand Varindh Jat from Bhachau in Kachchh,received a cash prize of Rs 15,000 and a certificatefrom BK Joshi, director of National Bureau of AnimalGenetic Research (NBAGR), Karnal. Ramesh Bhatti,project coordinator from Sahjeevan, a Bhuj-basedNGO involved in camel conservation.

Nehru Jacket finds place among theworld's top political fashion

The stylish 'Nehru jacket' popularised by India's firstPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's has been listedamong the top global political fashionstatements.Nehru's attire has found place in the listthat includes the tracksuit of Cuba's communist leaderFidel Castro's and former Chinese leader Mao Zedong'ssafari suit."The Nehru jacket is a descendant of thenorthern Indian achkan, a closed-neck, coat like gar-ment usually considered court dress for Indian nobili-ty.Indeed, it was when the jacket was marketed toWestern audiences that it took the "Nehru" title, thecharismatic Prime Minister having popularised its stylein public appearances during his tenure in the govern-ment," according to the magazine. Nehru wasn't theonly prominent figure associated with it; the minimal-ist aesthetic of the jacket inspired the likes of theBeatles (who wore the style at their Shea Stadium per-formance) as well as Sammy Davis Jr, who claimed toown more than 200 of the jackets. Mao Zedong alsostarted a fashion trend. Labelled in China as the"Zhongshan suit".

India’s Army chief takes govt to court on age row

Team Anna on Mondayunveiled its campaignplans for the assemblypolls in five states startingwith Uttarakhand onJanuary 21 and spending amajor part of February inUttar Pradesh but will notask people to vote infavour or against any par-ticular party. However,they will not target a singleparty during the campaignbut put forward the needfor a strong lokpal.

"During these tours, theresponse of various partiesto the movement and theirstand on Lokpal Bill wouldbe told to the people.People would be encour-aged to ask all partieswhether they would bring astrong Lokayukta Bill.

"The movement would

not ask people to vote infavour or against any par-ticular party. It would beleft to their wisdom," TeamAnna spokesperson said.

The first state TeamAnna would visit isUttarakhand, where theywould tour for three daystill January 23 followed byPunjab for two days onJanuary 24 and January25. After this they willreturn to Uttarakhand onJanuary 27 and January28.

"The month ofFebruary has been prima-rily dedicated to UttarPradesh elections, whichTeam Anna would visitfrom February 2nd tillFebruary 25," a TeamAnna spokesperson said.

The tour program

would coincide with thedifferent phases of electionin UP.

On February 28, 29and March one, the cam-paign will be in Goa.

"The nitty-gritties ofthe visit like the citieswhich Team Anna wouldvisit, the members visitingthe rallies, etc are yet to befinalised. The campaignmeetings in different citiesare being organized bysmall committees that arebeing formed especially forthis purpose," thespokesperson said.

Team Anna had facedcriticism for its anti-Congress stand earlier andit revised its stand earlythis month after a meakresponse to Anna Hazare'sprotest in Mumbai.

Team Anna to hit the campaigntrail on January 21After taking a day's break

from bashing her ally, WestBengal chief ministerMamata Banerjee wasback in action. At a pro-gramme organized by theWest Bengal MinoritiesDevelopment andFinancial Corporation atNetaji Indoor Stadium,the Trinamool Congresschief again took a swipe atCongress and CPM.

Alleging that the twoparties were trying toderail her effort to put thestate back on tracks, shesaid, "Babu chale bazar,kutta bhowke hazar. Keepshouting on television, Iwill keep working - noth-ing bothers me."

Referring to Congresswithout naming it, shesaid some parties alongwith CPM are making anissue of Nazrul Academy.

Mamata blastsCongress, CPM

General V.K. Singh

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 27festival & HISToRy

By Dr Anil Mehta

Delhi rebels were defeated8 km from the city inSeptember 1857 after abloody fight. Kanpur wasrelieved in mid July of thesame year. However, a realdrama was played out inLucknow, where duringthe siege in June some2000 people includingEuropeans and Indian sol-diers, families, and ser-vants had taken refuge inthe British residency mak-ing a defiant stand againstthe rebels. The siege last-ed nearly five months dur-ing which several desertedor died through enemy fir-ing or diseases. It was lift-ed in November 1857. Thecity itself was recapturedin March 1858 after fiercefighting. The siege capti-vated the imagination ofIndia’s entire community.It is one of the best knownepisodes of the uprising.

W i t hthe fall ofLucknow,t h eB r i t i s hg a i n e dthe upperhand andthe GreatRebellionlost all itsmomen-tum. Thelast bas-tions ofd e f en ceJ h a n s ia n dG w a l i o rw e r erecaptured in April andJune 1858 respectivelyending the 13-month oldconflict.

The rebels’ butchery inMeerut, Kanpur, Jhansiand Gwalior was equallymatched by British bar-barism in Punjab, Delhi,UP, and MP after theirrecapture, resulting in aconsiderable loss of lives.The victorious Britonsoften razed cities and vil-lages, killing and lootingterrified civilians includingwomen and children. Twoof Bahadur Shah’s sonsand a grandson were shotin cold blood while in cus-tody in Delhi by a Britishofficer ‘to ensure the totalextinction of the Mughaldynasty’. Bahadur Shah inhis turn was exiled (jailed)to Burma where he died in1858. Not a dignified endto a Mughal Emperor or toa once mighty empire.

Nana Saheb who dis-appeared in Nepal wasreported to have died offever. Begum HazaratMahal and her son, whohad also escaped to Nepaldecided to stay there. Shedied in 1879. Capturedmutineers were hung orblown from a mouth of acannon in spite of protestby some British officers at

the bloodshed. Final num-ber of deaths from themutiny is not clear.Estimate varies widelybetween tens to hundredsof thousands.

Reasons for defeat:The uprising failedthrough a serious lack ofco-ordination, funds, andammunition. Rebelslearned that the Britishwere not removable bymilitary means. They wereno match for the well-trained government army,experienced commanders,and weaponry. While therebels had fighting spirit,there was little disciplineamong them and weredivided. There was neverany coherent strategy forcampaign or any effective,central leadershipemerged. Also civil sup-port gradually ebbedaway. The mutineers failed

to cut British lines of com-munication while, on theother hand, the use oftelegraph gave the Britisha vital advantage in gath-ering information aboutrebels’ movement andtransmitting orders to thetroops. According to onesenior British officer ‘Theelectric telegraph hassaved us’. Crucially, Sikh,Afghan and Gurkha unitsremained loyal and so didthe Bombay and Madrasarmies ensuring thatsouthern India remainedrelatively quiet. Alsoexcept some rulers affect-ed by the Doctrine ofLapse policy, most stayedaway.

Aftermath: Followingthe restoration of law andorder, the East IndiaCompany’s rule was abol-ished and the British gov-ernment assumed directrule (Government of IndiaAct) in 1858, through anappointed viceroy. LordCanning previouslyGovernor-General becamethe first Viceroy of Indiawho formally proclaimedpeace on 8th July 1859.East India Company’sauthority thus ended aftera century (since Plassey)of rule and like the greatMughal dynasty became

the casualty of the greatuprising.

In the aftermath ofmutiny a sea-changeoccurred in Britain’s rela-tions with India. Britishbecame socially conserva-tive and politically cau-tious. They treated theirsubjects with increasingsuspicion and the propor-tion of British to Indians inthe Indian army wasgreatly increased. Alsothey built separate resi-dential areas (canton-ments) outside the townsand cities across the coun-try. In public work pro-gramme rapid expansionof roads, railways, andtelegraph further preclud-ed the danger of mutiny.In education, English lan-guage continued to bepromoted.

The issue of theoffending cartridges had,

of course, long beenresolved, and the troopsnow greased the car-tridges themselves withwhatever lubricants theypreferred. British officerswere ordered to abstainfrom interfering withIndian beliefs and tradi-tions. Although annexedstates like Awadh were notreturned, there was to beno further annexation.Also, governmentannounced its support forexisting rulers of princelystates, claiming that theywould not interfere in localmatters as long as thestates were loyal to them(the British).

The uprising, after all,was not entirely a lostcause. It was a wake-upcall for British rulers inIndia. They learned a fewclear lessons from themutiny. It was widely feltthat the lack of communi-cation with Indians hadhelped precipitate the cri-sis. From now on the gov-ernment consulted Indianleaders more closely fortheir opinion and interestbefore taking any majordecisions. Moreover, fargreater emphasis wasplaced on respect forIndia’s complex social andreligious structure.

Great Indian Uprising of 1857Part III : Empire strikes back

Revenge : Public execution of mutineers

By Purvi Apurva Shah

India Book of Records isa compilation of so

many Indians who hasdone the ‘impossible.’The book records thelandmark achievement ofIndians who has dared tobe different. Each one ofus is born with some spe-cial, unusual and uniquetalent that makes us standapart from the rest. Toknow the hidden,untapped genius withinus, read the book whichopens the world on newpossibilities for all. Itchronicles the Indianswho has done the impos-sible and also inspire thecomman man to go andbreak the record.

The record of VishnuMehta and his bike expe-dition proved to be fasterthan the running of trainsin Gujarat. DisabledSamir and Madhavi fortraveling fromAhmedabad to Leh-Ladakh by driving selfdesigned hand operatedSUV. Blowing 10,000 can-dles in only 6.2 minutes

and also the record ofdescending 5,500 steps in55 minutes. Recordattempt for standing stillfor longest duration, andalso for the longestscream. One of the inter-esting records is of cuttingvegetables on the stomach

of a person. A painting ina minute or footballstunts, all such recordsthat inspire us also to dorecord breaking feats.

The book chroniclestwo and half feet tiniestmother of India and 6 ft8.5 inches tallest woman

of the country. Oldest sur-viving man in the countryis 110 years old.

The book is also aboutpossibilities, while read-ing one is charged andwants to challenge one-self. The book gives allinformation about how toset a record and how to bea winner.

For the first timerecord breaking festivalswere held, when the booklaunch was made in 12cities all over India. Thebook records 20 recordingbreaking events of India.

The book is the finaloutcome of 12 years of hardwork by Guinness Worldrecord holder BiswaroopRoy Chowdhury, the chiefeditor of India Book ofRecords.

The book comprisesvarious categories ofrecords like human body,biggest and smallest,strange but true, creativi-ty, science and technologyand others, portraying theextraordinary acts of thecitizens of India.

India Book of Records 2012

Purvi Apurva Shah

The 20th international kitefestival of Gujarat saw ahuge response and kiteenthusiasts from differentcountries flocked toAhmedabad in order toparticipate in the event. Asmany as 200 kite-flyersfrom 42 countries and oth-ers from different states ofIndia had gatheredin the kite festivalorganized onSabarmati river-front inA h m e d a b a d .Inaugurated byChief MinisterNarendra Modi,the festival was cel-ebrated with differ-ent verities ofhand-made kites.

Most impres-sive was the kitewith the remotecontrol which wasbeing launched forthe first time inIndia. PaulinMarshal fromFrance haddesigned such akite that can beflied in the skywithout the help ofstring. Anotherremarkable was anorganic kite which wasmade out of leaves of thetree and was designed byHelmi and Bagush fromIndonesia. Sixty–year-oldold Japanese womanMechiki Yamamura is kitedevotee and she hadbrought traditionalJapanese kite for the com-petition. Australian womenJrin had made a huge kitewith traditional Nepal idolof God and symbolic eyes.

But the one whichraised eyebrows was a kitewith a camera. BertMaeters from Belgium hadmechanized such a kitethat carries a camera andclicks pictures of the skyaround when it is flying.He had a remote controlwith a screen that trans-mits the videos capturedby the camera. As soon as

the flying kite takes pic-tures, it can be seen on thescreen on the ground.

It was a good competi-tion with categories ofIndian fighter kite, foreigntype painted kite, Cobrakite and Rokaku (Japanesestyle) kite. Kite festival alsohad adventure sports, food-court, craft-bazaar and kiteworkshop all on the showto entertain kite-lovers.

Pavan Solanki had

made a 40- feet huge kitewhich reminds us of ourhistory when Lord Krishnasat on the lap of dangeroussnake with seven heads.Another kite had designsof Indian rangoli andmehndi. A long huge kitein shape of tiger was dis-played which propagatethe message of savingtigers. Mr Solanki is also

the founder ofRoyal Kite FlyersClub (RKFC)which is a group ofkite makers andflyers. It has partic-ipated in kite festi-vals in variousparts of world. Ithas used the medi-um of kites to edu-cate children, andto introduce ourrich cultural her-itage to the world.He says “TheRKFC is a club ofpassionate kite fly-ers eager to pro-mote the activity ofkiting in all its var-ious aspects.Kiting involves notonly the enjoymentof flying butincludes theaspects of design,engineering, aero-

dynamics, experimentationand innovation as well asthe cultural and historicside of kiting. Our interestsrun from kite making tomulti-line kite competi-tion, from miniature kitesto kite festivals and manymore. Some of us are in thekite trade, but we are not atrade organization. RKFCis eager to gear up theinvolvement of people inkite flying.”

Kite enthusiasts from 42countries flocked to Gujarat

Indian crew members bitter-ly regret the loss of the CostaConcordia, which was theironly source of income.

These stuff have alsochallenged claims that thecrew had deserted passen-gers and were too busy sav-ing themselves.

“We have heard ofreports (about the unseemlybehaviour of the crew) butthey are not true.

The Indian crew mem-bers made themselves safebecause if we are not safe,how can we save others?Then, we saved the lives ofothers. We were the last tocome off,” Santosh Lelhal,31, a security guard whohails from Mumbai, told TheTelegraph.

It emerged that of the

203 Indians on board, onlyone was a passenger and theperson has been listed assafe. The remaining 202Indians belonged to thecrew, of which one TerenceRussell Rebello is still miss-ing. A crew member saidthat Rebello, a waiter, waslast seen helping passengers.

Debabrata Saha, theIndian ambassador in Rome,was on the island of Giglioto supervise the rescue ofthe Indian nationals. Sahawas accompanied by twoIndian officials, V. Negi andSunil Aggarwal, reportedthe Telegraph.

External affairs ministerS.M. Krishna said India wasmaking efforts to traceRebello and was in touchwith his brother Kevin whohad reached Italy.

A rescued Indian crewmember spoke to saidRebello was last seen help-ing passengers.

An Indian official said:“What we know from themis that while the ship’s cap-tain deserted the ship, thecrew members continued tohelp passengers with lifejackets.”

Twenty-one-year-o ldSharan had taken up hisfirst cruise job with theItalian cruise liner only thelast month. In fact, he gothis first salary the day theliner sank, taking with it allof Sharan’s hard earnings,reported a Indian media.

While Sharan and all hiscolleagues made it to safety,his family complained thatthe Indian embassy didnothing for them. Not justSharan’s family, but kin ofanother survivor JonathanPaturi too made similarcharges.

Jordon Paturi- brother ofJonathan, who was one ofthe heroes of the miraculousrescue drama which playedout as the cruise liner listed

dangerously- said the latterhelped save hundreds oflives while manning the lifeboats.

“The Indian embassywas the last to reach thereand the Indian crew hasasked for compensation andsalaries and that this shouldbe given before they leaveItaly as they don’t know ifthe company will remain,”Paturi said.

Jonathan’s uncleSrinivas T. said, “He calledhis parents saying the shipwas sinking and after twohours he called us to tell usthat he was safe. Once hereached safety he decided totry and help others and hemade four other trips on lifeboats to get more than 400people to safety.”

It was not just the crew,but even the chefs whohailed from India were at theforefront saving lives on thefateful Costa Concordia.

The fallout could havebeen worse if the capsizedItalian cruise vessel had runaground a few hours later,when most people wouldhave been asleep, or if theship had been further out tosea, an Indian who survivedthe tragedy said.

John Fernandes, 28, wasa waiter on CostaConcordia, whose fate hasbeen described by passen-gers as ‘Titanic-like’.Fernandes, who hails fromGoa, said, “We were work-ing in the restaurant - it wasthe second sitting - and sud-denly there was a bang, andthe plates and bottles start-ed falling on the floor.”

Fernandes told theSunday Telegraph, “Afterfive minutes there wasanother bang, this time itwas very big, and the lightswent off. There was then anannouncement of a techni-cal problem, we were toldeverything was under con-trol. People were scared,there was panic. Then theship started to tilt.”

He added, “There was ageneral emergency alarm,which means you have to goto muster stations. Afteranother 10 minutes therewas an announcement toabandon ship.” He said,“Some of my colleagues hadno option but to jump - theywere on the tilted side, theysaw the water was veryclose. They survived.”

Russell Rebello’s brotherKevin Rebello said, “Whydid god chose my brother forthis disaster? I don’t want tobelieve that he is no more,”

A resident of Vasai,Russell, 30, has been work-ing as a steward on the

cruise for five years. Hisfamily cannot believe that heis the unlucky one.

Russell’s wife and three-year-old son are goingthrough anxious moments.“His wife is very worried,”said Kevin. “I reached thespot immediately after hear-ing about the accident. I amkeeping my fingers crossed.”

“My sister is desperatelywaiting to hear some goodnews. We are praying forRussell’s safety,” saidRussell’s brother-in-lawVikram Pinto.

Kevin said Russellboarded the ship in October2011 and called his familywhenever the cruise dockedat a port. “I spoke to himlast in November,” he said,adding that Russell broughtlots of gifts for everyonewhenever he returned home.

Since the news broke,hundreds of concerned rela-tives have been visiting theRebello residence at OasisPark, Naigaon (West), hop-ing to bring some solace tohis aged parents, and his 29-year old wife, Wilma.Russel's father, Frank (69),has been paralysed for thelast three years, and is bed-ridden. His son, Rhys, isthree-and-a-half years old.

'I am hoping for a mira-cle, I want my son back, I donot want to lose my son,"uttered Gladys (63),Russel's mother.

"I wish I could havegone to Italy to look for myson, but I am helpless. Ican't leave his ailing fatherbehind," said Gladys, hervoice quivering with emo-tion.

Russel's kin are upset atthe misleading informationthey were given by aMumbai-based recruitmentcompany, which hired mostof the Indian crew membersthat were aboard the liner.

"The recruiting companyfirst told us that Russel wassafe and had been admittedto a hospital. Later, theysaid that he was in a hotel,"Gladys said. "When werelayed this information toRussel's elder brother Kevin(38), who is based in Milan,Italy, he rushed to theTuskan Coast and rum-maged all the hospitals andhotels, but could not findhim."

"We were praying thewhole night, hoping to getsome positive news fromKevin. But he called onMonday afternoon to saythat Russel was nowhere tobe found and that the localofficials were not cooperat-ing," Gladys said. "None of

their son went to theirsemi-detached home anddiscovered their bodies.

Detectives leading thehunt for the killer say theyare looking into whetherthe couple’s murder was areprisal killing connectedto their son’s work. Theyare also examining possi-ble links to a string ofbreak-ins by thieves tar-

geting Asian families forgold. Gold prices haverisen in the credit crunchand Asian gold is thepurest available, making itparticularly valuable.

Birmingham has seena spate of such burglariesand robberies, peaking last

summer when more than50 women were targetedfor their jewellery in streetattacks in the city overjust a month.

Police say the couple,who have four childrenand eight grandchildren,were attacked and killed attheir Birmingham homesome time between7.15pm on Tuesday and8am on Wednesday.

Police also said it was

too early to say whetherthe house had been bro-ken into and refused tocomment on whether any-thing had been taken.

Mr and Mrs Kolar,who had been married for40 years, last spoke tofamily at 7.15pm on

Tuesday. The couple arethought to have beenalone at home overnightand no grandchildren werein the house.

Gurdial Singh Atwal, alocal councillor, said: “I’mshocked by the news, theywere my constituents andthey were very nice peo-ple. I’m sure the policewill arrest the peopleresponsible.”

A 37-year-old wasarrested on Mondaylunchtime on suspicion ofthe murders of Mr andMrs Kolar.

Two other men arrest-ed have been released, a24-year-old on police bailand a 41-year-old withoutcharge, by detectives lead-ing the enquiry.� � Thetime extension would takedetectives until the earlyhours of Wednesday morn-ing, when they mustdecide to charge or releasethe third man or apply tomagistrates to detain himfurther.� � Meanwhile,forensics specialists onMonday continued toexamine the couple’shome for any shred of evi-dence that could lead totheir killers. It is thoughtthey could be at the houseuntil Wednesday.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201228 UK

A friend of murderedSukhwinder Singh hasspoken of the enduringanguish suffered by hisfamily as police makefresh appeals to catchhis killers one year afterhis death.

Mr Singh, pictured,was stabbed through theheart after chasing twomuggers at the junctionof Uphall Road, Ilford,and Victoria Road,Barking.

Police have put up a� 20,000 reward forinformation leading tothe arrest and convictionof those responsible.

Investigators are alsohoping to find a mobilephone – a silverSamsung E250 –and abrown leather handbagwhich was stolen by thepair before they werechased.

Upkar Singh Rai, 45,a friend of Mr Singh,said: “These are difficulttimes. It is not easy torecover from such ashock but Sandeep (MrSingh’s wife) has beencoping fairly well. Shehas a strong characterand a strong family.Gurjinder (his 11-year-old son) still misses hisdad.”

Mr Singh was plan-ning to return to India tobe reunited with his fam-ily for the first time in 10years when he waskilled.

The builder, of HartsLane, Barking, wasattacked at about6.40pm on January 8,2009, and was pro-

nounced dead at theRoyal London Hospital,Whitechapel, later thatnight.

Police say there mayhave been more thantwo people involved inthe attack.

One suspect isdescribed as black, 5ft10in to 6ft tall, skinnywith a young face andwearing a black hoodedtop and light grey jog-ging bottoms.

The second isthought to be a lighter-skinned black man,around 6ft tall, of stockybuild with possible facialmarkings or facial hair.

He was wearing alight blue hooded topwith markings on thesleeves.

Anyone withinformation should call 020 8345 3775, orCrimestoppersanonymously on 0800 555 111.

Fresh appeals one yearafter Ilford murder

Continued from page 1

Double murder mystery continues

Michelle Kirwan and her brother wept as they spoke abouttheir love for their murdered parents

Continued from page

Italian ship mishap: Indians on board recollect horror

Russell Rebello’s wife Wilma with his parents Gladys and Frank

the government officials,from Delhi or the Indianembassy in Italy, have con-tacted us till now. Even therecruiting company istightlipped about the mat-ter," Gladys said.

Alister Nunes (25)- oneof the crewmembers onboard the luxury cruiseship-- has escaped miracu-lously from the wreck. Aftera nail-biting wait, Alister'sfather Hillary Nunes finallyspoke to his beloved son onSaturday afternoon. "Wewere at a function on Fridaynight. After coming home,we saw on TV that a shiphad sunk in Italy. We werepetrified when we discov-ered that the ship was theCosta Concordia. Our sonwas on that ship.

We finally heard fromhim on Saturday afternoon.Alister said that after beingrescued, he and some othersurvivors had been accom-modated in a church for awhile. It was overwhelmingto hear his voice. I can'tdescribe the feeling," saidHillary, a retired BMC offi-cial. The Nunes familyexpressed its gratitude forMeetal, Alister's friend, whowas the first one to informthem that their son wassafe.

Indian External affairsminister SM Krishnasaid,“We have no informa-tion as yet on any Indianpassenger missing apartfrom the crew member.”

Meanwhile, the Indianembassy to Italy is arrang-ing air tickets and docu-ments for the rescuedIndians. “They are safe, andwill be sent to India,” saidIndian ambassador to ItalyDebabrata Saha.

Russell Rebello

Eating bananas are benefi-cial to our health. Here isthe lowdown on why youshould go for bananas:

Naturally rich inPotassium. With ampleamounts of potassium inthem, bananas help main-tain the electrolyte balancein the cells of the body.

Higher levels of potassiumin the body can help lowerthe risk of strokes. Beinglow in salt, it's good for BPpatients as they need to becareful about their dailyintake of salt.

Loaded with Vitamins,minerals: Large sizebananas are known to be

packed with high amountsof vitamins A, which isespecially important forthe development of opticaltissues present in the eyes.Vitamin A is also essentialfor healthy skin and bonedevelopment.

Other benefits: Beinghigh in fibre, they are an

ideal cure for constipation,and an alternative to chem-ical laxatives. Bananas arealso known to be mood ele-vators as it triggers the pro-duction of serotonin. It's agreat fruit for those suffer-ing from ulcers as it is easi-ly digestible and has acidityneutralising properties.

cell phones maysoon help you shed

those extra kilos

Researchers are nowsearching for ways inwhich cell phones couldhelp its users loseweight. Researchers withCalit2's Center forWireless and PopulationHealth Systems(CWPHS) and theDepartment of Familyand Preventive Medicine,at University ofCalifornia, San Diego areexpanding a previousstudy aimed at findingout if cell phone technol-ogy can help with weightloss.

For one year,researchers with the"ConTxt" study will eval-uate the use of cell phonetext messages to remindparticipants to makewise nutritional choicesthroughout the day.

Participants random-ized to the interventionconditions will also begiven tailored messagesfor weight loss andlifestyle changes as wellas a pedometer to moni-tor their daily activity.

"ConTxt is an innova-tive, yet straightforwardapproach to getting peo-ple to monitor their dietand physical activity,"said CWPHS projectprincipal investigatorKevin Patrick.

"We are trying to

make this as pain free aspossible. People won'tstick to something that'stoo difficult and they'reall multi-tasking anyway.We're doing this study toincrease what we knowabout using the cellphone to get messages tobusy people on the go."

ConTxt is recruitingmore than 300 partici-pants for the study.

As a part of tailoringof the program, surveyscompleted during base-line visit will help assessthe participant's lifestyle,for example, assessingnearby grocery stores,finding opportunities forphysical activity and pos-sibly enlisting the sup-port of friends or family.

The intervention isdesigned to send"prompts," text or picturemessages, with specificsuggestions or tipsregarding diet andimproving lifestylehabits.

"It seems like every-body has a cell phone.Those who do usuallycarry it with them at alltimes," explained ConTxtstudy coordinatorLindsay W. Dillon. "Wewant to see if we can usethat same technology toget people to think differ-ently," Dillon added.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 29HealtH WatcH

Headaches can arise dueto various reasons amongwhich stress, sleep deficit,poor nutrition, muscularproblems and wrong pos-ture are the primary rea-sons. Having a headacheat office is perhaps one ofthe most common work-place issues across theworld. Popping aheadache-relieving pill isuseful but its effect lastsfor a few hours and usingit regularly can turn intoan unwanted addiction. Itis better to get acquaintedwith some easy tips thatcan be followed at officefor relieving headache:

Laughter might not bethe best medicine but it isstill a handy remedy Anyhealthcare practitionerwill tell you that when oursenses are occupied withsomething laughable, weinstantly tend to forget ourbodily discomforts.

Whether you need todownload jokes on ourlaptop or get hold of somewitty colleague who candole out the office rumorswith his hilarious version,try to find some sourcethat can help you with afew laughs. Laughing isknown to promote therelease of endorphins - thefeel-good hormones in ourbody that is also a verypotent painkiller.

Refresh your senses:Headaches linked to anxi-ety and poor sleep are themost disturbing ones sincethey surface for longerperiods and are notresolved with over-the-counter painkillers either.When faced with a recur-ring headache, it is betterto ditch the pills and reju-venate yourself. This canbe done in many ways:

• Get Caffeinated -yes, coffee isn't nature’sbest painkiller becausewhen the caffeine rushsubsides, you might feelthe headache again but itworks wonders for a cou-ple of hours, helping youovercome sleep depriva-tion headaches.

• Get Sweaty - try tocomplete two rounds, upand down, the office stair-case. When pushed into an

activity that requires phys-ical strength, your bodyautomatically gets desensi-tized from its pain centers,instantly relieving yourworries.

• Get Chatty - seek thecompany of someone in oraround the office withwhom you can talk for 10minutes or so. Having anengaging conversationmight just be the stimulus

you need to forget youranxieties.

Establish a breakschedule: Your productivi-ty is going to be hamperedeven if you are seated atyour desk throughout theday with a botheringheadache. It is better tosacrifice a few moments ofyour work time forimproving the overall effi-ciency. Try to seek morebreaks. The idea is to take

shorter, timed and produc-tive breaks.

Start chewing awayyour headache: Chewingthe gum is one of the easi-est ways of releasing themuscular tension acrossthe face that often arisesfrom the lower neck region.Chewing gum relaxes theentire facial surface,increasing the flow of bloodminimally. This cannotcure your headache but itcan contribute towardslowering its intensity.

Get your posture right:Try to maintain anergonomic posture at work.This is aimed at reducingthe stress on your back andshoulder muscles. Thesemuscles are known to causeheadaches when strained.

Use office exercises toyour advantage: To relievetensed neck and shouldermuscles, you need toundertake some basicexercises like the SeatedNeck Release. Get startedby placing your right handagainst the right ear. Pushyour hand towards the leftside and resist this forceusing your head. Now, dothe same by using your lefthand placed against theleft ear. This exercise isused in various types ofalternative medicines andyogic postures, underlin-ing its effectiveness.

How to get rid of headaches at office

Why one should eat bananas

Mint is one of the oldestand most popular herbsthat is grown around theworld. There are many dif-ferent varieties of mint,each having its own subtleflavour and aroma. Thisherb is used in a range ofdishes from stuffing tofruit salads.

It is an essential ingre-dient in many Indian andMiddle Eastern cuisineand is pop-u l a r l ymixed withn a t u r a lp l a i nyogurt tomake a 'rai-ta' orb r e w e dwith tea tomake the famous Indian'Pudina Chai'. In Thaicooking, it is added tosoups and to some highly-spiced curries. Mint grownin Asia is much morestrongly flavored thanmost European mints,with a sweet, cool after-taste.

Mint as Minta Spacatais a plant that has beenlong used in diverse cul-tures, such as India,

Middle East and Europe.Mint has a sweet flavour,with a cooling after-sensa-tion. Both, fresh and driedmint are used in preparinga large number of recipes,including curries, soups,chutneys, salads, juices,and ice creams.Its health benefits include:• Soothing the digestive

tract and if you are hav-ing stomach ache then it

can be ofgreat help• Drinkingherbal minttea reducesi r r i t a t e dbowel syn-d r o m e s ,c l e a n s e sthe stom-

ach and also clear upskin disorders such asacne.

• Mint acts as a coolingsensation to the skinand helps in dealingwith skin irritations.

• Mint helps in eliminat-ing toxins from the body.

• Crushed mint leaveshelps in whitening teethand combat bad breath.

• Mint is a very goodcleanser for the blood.

Health benefits of

mint leaves

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Sleep apnoea is a condi-tion in which people stopbreathing momentarilywhile sleeping. Sufferingfrom sleep apnoea? Donot ignore it, better con-sult a doctor, forresearchers claim thatpeople with the conditionhave high blood fat levelsand an increased risk ofheart attack.

An internationalteam, led by SydneyUniversity, hasfound treatmentwith a continu-ous positiveairway pres-sure (CPAP)device reducedpost-meal bloodfat (triglyceride)levels.

The researchers inves-tigated blood fat levelsacross a 24-hour periodafter standard meals in 38patients with sleepapnoea. Patients werestudied both before andafter two months ofCPAP and two monthswith a placebo CPAPdevice.

“We know that bloodfat levels after meals are

an important predictor offuture cardiovascular dis-ease. This research pro-vides a possible reasonwhy patients with sleepapnoea are at increasedrisk of heart attacks andstrokes,” said lead authorDr Craig Phillips.

“Although the resultsneed to be confirmed inlarger studies, we esti-mate that the extent of

the improvement intriglycerides with

CPAP couldreduce the riskfor heartattack in thesepatients by asmuch as 25

per cent,” headded.Co-author Prof

Ron Grunstein said thatanother interestingaspect of the study wasthat triglyceride levelswere particularly high inthe middle of the nightduring sleep, almostseven hours after theevening meal. “Theremay be an influence ofthe body clock that push-es up blood fat levels atthese times,” he added.

Sleep apnoea ‘can

raise heart attack risk’

Get out as much aspossible. Do not be misled

by inconsequential issues as you will have better oppor-tunities if you stick to your main objectives. A tremen-dous amount of planetary activity in your chart signalsa time of mixed emotions as well as personal issues tobe dealt with.

Regardless of the lim-its, you have the capacity

to turn the course of your life in a more fulfilling direc-tion. Saturn in Libra, the sign of balance and diploma-cy, will help you to find a work and home equilibrium.People entering your life now will encourage you tomove beyond your established boundaries of safety.

It would be a mistakealways to blame the other

person if your experience and expectations of love turnout to be disappointing. It is said that if you do notlearn from past experience you will be condemned torepeat it until you do learn. You now have an excellentopportunity to sort out where things may be going

wrong.

This week you willmake your best progress by focusing your mental andphysical energies on what you want to achieve. Intensefocus is what is needed now. The underlying trendseems to be pulling you into a much wider social circlenow. This is bound to enrich your life and give you adeeper sense of purpose.

Resist making any hastymoves when it come to finances - this is a time to focuson consolidation of current assets rather than attempt-ing to make any new investments. Guard against beingtoo impatient and restless. Any obstacles that havestood in the way of your heart's desires should meltinto the background soon.

All close ties of loveand affection will benefit

from the gentle influence of Venus. If you are marriedor have a well-founded relationship, it seems that thepattern of events will somehow draw you closer togeth-er emotionally. For some of you a good time to dosome serious thinking about your career.

It has been a time ofslow and steady progress.

There still are challenging issues on both a personaland practical level. You have got where you are bymaking important decision and choices. You willachieve more, especially when motivated by your own

desires.

It seems that the winds of change begin to gath-er momentum and put a strong focus on domestic andfamily matters. Besides spending more time tending todomestic affairs, the focus can be on cultivating andnourishing your inner foundations, so to speak. Extraenergy and drive will serve you well in getting things

accomplished.

This week you willbe mentally alert and have the ability to sort out anypractical problems. Matters of the heart are favouredthis week, so expect some setbacks. Plan ahead for thelong term where finances are concerned as this is agood time to invest. The atmosphere at home is likely

to be convivial and joyous.

Make a very con-scious attempt to stick to main priorities. Organiseyour time so that it is not taken up entirely by thedemands of other people. You can create your ownopportunities. A good time for restructuring andrethinking your aims and interests. Affairs of the heart

are likely to flourish.

Don't take short-cuts inlegal or official matters. It will be only too easy to feelexasperated by bureaucracy but you won't be doingyourself any favours if you lose your cool. This is a finetime for you to get away from the mundane realities oflife and relax. Some of you will probably go abroad.

The transit of Sun inyour Solar 12th House indi-

cates that experience will put you in a deeply reflectivemood. This is a favourable time for getting away fromusual routines and seeking a retreat for a few days.Meditation, yoga and therapies will help you to get incloser touch with your inner self.

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201230

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

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Five Muslim men on trialfor stirring up hatred

boxes, which led tonumerous homosexualpeople feeling personally‘threatened’ or ‘targeted’.One gay man who hadbeen posted 2 letters wasscared into wonderingwhether the next thingthrough his letterboxwould be ‘a flaming rag’.

The accused menaccept handing outleaflets but deny chargesof intending to stir uphatred on the grounds of

sexual orientation, thepenalty for which is amaximum of 7 years inprison. Ihjaz Ali had pre-viously been arrested forattempting to stage ananti-homosexual protestbefore the start of a GayPride festival. Ali hadallegedly explained it washis duty to convey Allah’slaws.

The trial, which is tak-ing place at the DerbyCrown Court, is set tocontinue for 3 weeks.

Continued from page 7

Founder Partner & GroupManaging Director of AlAnsari Group of Cos. aswell as MGS BoardMember, Mr. Kiran Asherwas conferred with thehighly prestigious PravasiBhartiay Samman Awardat the hands of President ofIndia, Mrs. Pratibha Patilat the valedictory sessionof 10th Pravasi BhartiyaDivas in Jaipur yesterday.

Muscat Gujarati Samajis greatly very proud ofbeing associated with suchan eminent leader &visionary who has relent-

lessly worked towardsenhancing India’s imageabroad, in Oman &beyond.

Kiran Asher becamethe fifth individual fromOman to win this covetedaward. The previous win-ners from Oman includeSheikh Kanaksi GokaldasKhimji (Khimji Ramdas) in2003, P Mohammed Ali(Galfar) in 2004, P N CMenon (The Sobha Group)in 2009, and Suresh KVirmani (BahwanEngineering Company) in2010.

Pratibha Patil awarding Kiran Asher

Muscat Gujarati SamajOman member awarded

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 2012 31SPort wOrlD

Hashim Amla hit a century before SouthAfrica's opening bowlers sent Sri Lankacrashing as the host nation swept to ahuge 258-run win in the first one-dayinternational at Boland Park last week.

Replying to a South Africa’s total of301 for eight, Sri Lanka lost their firstsix wickets for 13 runs before beingbowled out for 43, a record low total forthe tourists.

Amla anchored the South Africaninnings and made 112 off 128 balls. Heshared in partnerships of 144 for thesecond wicket with Jacques Kallis (72)and 91 for the third wicket with newcaptain AB de Villiers (52).

It was a tough target for Sri Lankato chase but their hopes were dashedalmost immediately as they made a dis-astrous start with new ball bowlersMorne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobeboth taking three wickets in their open-ing spells.

Morkel finished with four for 10 totake the man of the match award, whilethe left-arm Tsotsobe claimed three for 19.

Sri Lanka captain TillekeratneDilshan acknowledged that SouthAfrica had produced "fantastic bowling"at the start of his team's innings.

"After that it was very difficult tocome back," he said.

Dilshan took heart from Sri Lanka'scomeback in the Test series when theywon the second Test after losing thefirst by an innings. "The same thing canhappen again," he said.

De Villiers said it had been a "dreamstart" to his captaincy. "It was a qualityteam performance," he said.

Morkel started the collapse whenUpul Tharanga fell to a diving catch byJP Duminy at gully off the second ballof the innings without scoring. Dilshanalso went second ball for a duck,caught behind off a ball from Tsotsobewhich bounced and cut back at him.

Dinesh Chandimal, promoted tonumber four in the batting order, wasbowled by Tsotsobe before KumarSangakkara edged a lifting delivery fromMorkel. Angelo Mathews lasted onlytwo balls before fending another liftingdelivery from Morkel to midwicket.

When Mahela Jayawardene wascaught at point off Tsotsobe, Sri Lanka'sinnings was in tatters at 13 for six.

Kosala Kulasekera showed somefight and made 19, the only Sri Lankanto reach double figures, before Morkelreturned to the attack and he wascaught at deep midwicket pulling ashort ball.

Sri Lanka's previous lowest total was55 against the West Indies in Sharjah in1986/87. Their collapse happened onthe same ground where they dismissedCanada for a then world record low 36during the 2003 World Cup.

South Africa seemed on target for atotal in excess of 300 until pinch hitterAlbie Morkel and Amla were dismissedoff successive balls by Lasith Malingain the 46th over.

Six wickets fell in quick successionwhile 22 runs were added in the final 4.4overs. Malinga finished with five for 54.

The England CricketBoard has offered playersa three-month amnesty todisclose spot-fixing inci-dents without the fear ofprosecution. "Informationis critical in addressingthe threat posed by cor-ruption in sport. Thedecision of the board to provide a window forretrospective reporting of alleged approacheswill greatly assist in compiling a more completepicture of the source and focus of approacheswhich may have taken place in the past," reportsquoted an ECB Anti-Corruption Commissionfor Education member, Chris Watts, as saying.

The statement comes after former Essexpace bowler Mervyn Westfield, 23, admitted toreceiving 6,000 pounds from bookies to bowlbadly in a 2009 match. Former England andEssex skipper Nasser Hussain said the ECBmust impose a heavy penalty on Westfield toroot out corruption in the game. "It shows it'snot just one country, one team, but that thereare other people involved and it is something wehave to keep monitoring," he said.

SA thrash Lanka by 258 runs in 1st ODI

Sachin, Parthiv and Irfan Pathan in India's ODI squad

England Cricket Board offers amnesty

to reveal spot- fixing incidents

Rafael Nadal slams Federer for

snubbing players' campaignSpanish tennis greatRafael Nadal has criti-cized fellow GrandSlam champion RogerFederer for failing toback a players' cam-paign to change theway tennis is organizedand played. Tennisplayers around theworld have beendemanding a reductionin the number of tour-naments that they have to participate in andmore cash from Grand Slams. A players' meet-ing before the Australian Open discussed possi-ble strike action. Nadal has accused Federer ofstaying silent to protect his "gentleman" reputa-tion. "For him it's good to say nothing.Everything positive. 'It's all well and good forme, I look like a gentleman,' and the rest canburn themselves," said Nadal.

Sachin Tendulkar, who has not played aone-day international since last year'sWorld Cup, was named in India's 50-over squad on Sunday for a Tri-serieswith Australia and Sri Lanka nextmonth. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan,who has not played limited overs crick-et since India won the World Cup final,is also back in the 17-member squad.

While the 38-year-old Tendulkar, whois still one short of an unprecedented 100international centuries, has selected hisone-day appearances, Zaheer has beenout of action because of a troublesomeankle. Pace bowler Praveen Kumar, whomissed the test series in Australia with afractured rib, was named as well by theselectors who met in Chennai, the Indianboard said in a statement. Yuvraj Singh,

a key player in India's limited overssetup, is yet to recover from a lungtumour and was left out.

India travel to Adelaide for thefourth and final test starting on January24, hoping to avert their second succes-

sive whitewash abroad. They play twoTwenty20 internationals againstAustralia on February 1 and February 3before Sri Lanka join them for the Tri-series starting on February 5.

Harbhajan Singh was ignored againas the selectors kept faith in off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin, currently withthe team in Australia, and leg-spinnerRahul Sharma.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni(captain), Virender Sehwag,(vice-cap-tain), Gautam Gambhir, SachinTendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma,Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja,Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav,Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, ManojTiwary, Rahul Sharma, Parthiv Patel,Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan.

Sports need to change if it is not to lose its moral valuesBy Alina Polianskaya

Award-winning sports journalist, authorand enthusiast Mihir Bose, has released anew book entitled 'The Spirit of theGame'. This book explores the ways inwhich sport has changed over the years,and speaks of how it's morally sound rootsand Corinithian spirit have been lost, andhow corruption, politics and celebrityhave taken over. With stories of sports-manship and sellouts from the world over,this book is bursting with interestingexamples of how sport has changed themodern world, and who is really benefit-ing from it all. I spoke to Mihir at his booklaunch to find out more.....

Why did you decide to write this bookand what was the inspiration behind it?

The inspiration was to examine wheresport has come to. London is hosting theOlympics, and as a journalist I played apart in making sure that London put in abid. We talked about the spirit of sport...it is a great thing that improves humanbeings and I wanted to find out if that wastrue any longer?

What is the aim of the book? To justinform people how sport has changed, orto actually make change happen throughyour book?

I'm hopefully going to alert people asto how sport has changed. A lot of peopledo not know the history of sport... whereit has come from, what it has done andwhy we are in the present state. I wantedto make people aware that modern sport,which is a British creation, has a problem.That the management of sport is no longercompatible with the amount of money,sponsorship and commercialization thathas come into sport. Therefore it needs tochange, it needs to get better governance

if sport is not to lose its moral values.So why do you think that sport has

lost the original spirit it used to have?Because it has been used by many

people. When sport started it was a recre-ational thing. Now politicians use sport...Sportsmen have become leaders, role-models and celebrities. For example,David Beckham is a celebrity. He's on thefront page, not because he's doing any-thing but because he's in the stand clap-ping for somebody else. That's the differ-ence. If they are going to become that,they have to maintain higher standards.

So, more integrity?Yes, more integrity and more idea of

what sport is. You see, we no longer valuepoliticians, men of business or men ofreligion, we don't even know their names!But Beckham is a household name.

That's true, every 5 year old child willknow the name David Beckham! Do youthink sport will ever return to the pureand morally right way it used to be?

I think that is difficult but sport can atleast try and be properly run. Peopleshould know what all the money cominginto sport is actually for, and should not

be given a false message. The Olympicswill be here and winners will be givenmedals not money, but we know that agold medalist is going to become a mil-lionaire. That needs to be explained.

So what do you think can be done tomake sport go back to how it was before?

Awareness of where sport is, what it isfor, and who benefits from it. That is whatmy book's about.

Do you feel that the spirit of the gamedefers from country to country? Forexample, in football there appear to bedifferences in the Spanish and Englishleagues as to what is accepted, how doyou feel about that?

There is a difference. But you have todistinguish between gamesmanship andillegality. A lot of gamesmanship takesplace and people do try to take advantage,but this has always been the case. I sup-pose this probably happens more in somecountries than others.

Despite your view that sport haschanged, do you still love it as much asalways?

Absolutely! Sport can bring peopletogether and make you feel happy. Whenyour team wins you feel uplifted. It does-

n't put money in your bank account orgive you material rewards but it gives youa spiritual satisfaction that very fewthings can.

So would you say the spirit of thegame is still there in fans?

Definitely, just not in the administra-tors.

Throughout your career, you've writ-ten columns and blogs as well... how doesthe experience of writing a book defer,and which do you prefer?

This is my 25th book, I've written alot! Writing a book is a long term projectand it's great fun. I would love to write abestseller! But with journalism you get aninstant response. There's not really a pref-erence, I like them both. It is a greatmoment to get a book published, liketoday.

What have been the highlights ofyour career?

I started the 'Inside Sports' column inthe Daily Telegraph, I edited the SundayTimes sports, I became the first BBCsports editor and I've attended loads ofsporting events... There have been quite afew highlights.

You've met a lot of great peoplethroughout your career, who made thegreatest impression?

Meeting Nelson Mandela.You've had a lot of success, so what

advice would you give to someone whowants to become a sports-writer or com-mentator like yourself?

Be dedicated, know what you want todo, and keep at it despite the setbacks.

And what's the next step for you afterthis book?

Well, I'm going to write another book!And the London Olympics are coming upso it's going to be a busy time.

Hashim Amla

Sachin &Parthiv Patel

Alina Polianskaya interviewing Mihir Boseat his book launch

Mihir Bose with his new book

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A rampant Australiablitzed India's tail to crushthe hapless tourists by aninnings and 37 runs withmore than two days tospare in the third test andtake an unassailable 3-0lead in the series.

India's misery wascompounded when skip-per Mahendra SinghDhoni was banned for thefourth and final test inAdelaide after his teamwere found guilty of failingto maintain an acceptableover rate in the match.

In a dramatic climax tothe rout, Ben Hilfenhaus(4-54) took three wickets infive balls before PeterSiddle (3-43) removedVirat Kohli for 75 in thenext over to end India's sec-ond innings at 171, just 10runs better than their first.

Australia reclaimed theBorder-Gavaskar trophythey relinquished in 2009and skipper MichaelClarke paid tribute to Manof the Match DavidWarner, whose innings of180 included the fastesttest century by an openingbatsman in 69 balls.

We should be veryproud to have beaten thenumber two ranked testteam in the world

"It's a very satisfyingvictory," he added. "A lotof credit not only to Davy,who batted brilliantly, butalso to his opening partnerEd Cowan. "Our bowlersalso deserve a lot of creditfor taking 20 wickets againagainst a very good battingside. I think we playedreally well and I couldn'tbe happier as a captain."

It was a seventh suc-cessive overseas test defeatfor India after the 4-0drubbing they received in

England last summer tolose the number one testranking, and questions willbe asked about several oftheir experienced batsmen.

"Class is always there,they have the experience,it's just in back-to-backseries that we have failed,"Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.

"We have not adaptedwell to the conditionsquickly enough. Winningin Adelaide is the onlymotivation we have now,the bowlers have shownthey can take wickets, weneed to put more runs onthe board."

India had resumed on88 for four still needing120 runs to match

Australia's first effort of369 and make the hostsbat again.

On a blistering morningat the WACA, which hadthe fans crowding aroundthe complimentary sun-screen dispensers as theystreamed into the ground,the Australians were keptat bay for the first hour.

The Australian bowlers,oustanding in all threetests, continued to makefull use of the bounce onoffer from the wicket butwere forced to wait for thebreakthrough as RahulDravid (47) and Kohli putup stiff resistance.Under PressureKohli has been under pres-sure for his place in the side

for much of the tour butonce again proved to be oneof his team's more impres-sive batsmen, bringing uphis fifty with a flicked fourthrough long on.

He and Dravid had puton 84 for the fifth wicketwhen Ryan Harris finallyseparated them, foolingthe senior partner with aball that swung in, crashedthrough the gate andremoved the leg stump.

It was the fifth time insix innings in the seriesthat the 39-year-oldDravid, known as "theWall" for his strongdefence, had been bowled.

Dhoni lasted just 20minutes before edging aSiddle delivery to RickyPonting in the slips for twowith the former Australiaskipper taking a fine lowcatch.

The tourists scrambledto lunch at 165 for six butmany in the 14,000 crowdwere still getting back totheir seats when the endcame.

Hilfenhaus, who took4-43 in the first innings,despatched debutant R.Vinay Kumar (six) andZaheer Khan (0) in suc-cessive balls and IshantSharma lasted just twodeliveries before he toodeparted for a duck.Clarke took all threecatches in the slips.

It was left to Siddle toperform the last rites inthe second ball of the nextover, steaming in to endKholi's stubborn resist-ance with an edge to wick-etkeeper Brad Haddin.

Australia won the firsttest in Melbourne by 122runs and the second inSydney by an innings and68 runs.

Indian cricket captainMahendra Singh Dhonsurprisingly revealed thathe might consider retiringfrom Test cricket toimprove his chances ofplaying the 2015 cricketWorld Cup in Australiaand New Zealand.

"If I have to seethrough the 2015 (WorldCup), I would have toretire from one of the for-mats," Dhoni told mediapersons ahead of the third Testmatch against Australia.

Dhoni, who has played in 66 Tests so far and won17 of the 36 matches in which he has skippered, almostcasually mentioned it, but it took everyone by surpriseat the press conference. Disclosure by Dhoni seems toconvey what he feels about his future in the game.

Dhoni now being acknowledged as a better one-daythan a Test captain, given his above average battingexploits in the shorter versions of the game.

He had earlier been quoted as saying that he woulddecide by 2013 whether to play the 2015 World Cup ornot. At 2013 end, I have to decide if I am fit enough toproceed in one of the formats. It's not for personal, butfor country and for the individual who is taking myposition. He should have played 70-80 ODIs before hegoes in World Cup. That's my personal thinking," hehad said.

MS Dhoni hints at Testretirement by 2013

Srinath appointed referee

for England-Pakistan Tests

Australia get together after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Asian Voice - Saturday 21st January 201232

Dhoni suspended for 4th testMahendra Singh Dhoni'scasual approach to the artof test captaincy caughtup with him when he wasbanned for India's fourthtest against Australia.

The one-match banfor his team's failure tomaintain an acceptableover rate completed amiserable day for Dhoni,who was dismissed for

two runs as India crum-bled to an innings and 37-run defeat at the WACAto go 3-0 down in thefour-match series.

"The India team hasbeen fined for maintain-ing a slow over-rate dur-ing the third test againstAustralia in Perth," readan International CricketCouncil news release.

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Australia crush Indiato seal series triumph

The Australian media on Mondaydescribed the star-studded Indianbatting line-up as "useless rubble"and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhonias a "passive captain" as it taunts thevisiting team for its abject surrenderin the ongoing Test series.

India meekly surrendered thefour-match series after being humili-ated by Australia by an innings and37 runs in the third Test and the localmedia targeted the visiting side'shighly-rated but struggling batsmenand captain Dhoni for the spinelessshow.

Under the headline 'India's pillarsof strength reduced to useless rub-ble', 'The Australian' wrote, "Dhoni isnot the only shaky pillar of what onlyeight months ago was the number

one cricket nation in the world. VVSLaxman, once the scourge ofAustralian bowlers, is being flayedhimself at home after scores of 2,1, 2,66, 31 and 0.

"Virender Sehwag, who warmedup for this series by scoring thefastest double century in one-dayinternational history, also is trendingsouth faster than Scott andAmundsen, having followed up hiswhirlwind 67 in Melbourne withinnings of 7, 30, 4, 0 and 10.

"Worst of all, Dhoni has failedwith the bat. The Indian captain isno thunderer at the best of times --neither is coach Duncan Fletcher,which may be part of the problem --but how can he demand more of hisbatsmen when he has nowhere to

hide behind scores of 6, 23, 57no, 2,12 and 2? India has not had a singlecentury-maker in the past threeTests," it said.

Dhoni was described as one ofthe most passive captains to have leda side in Australia and one whodoesn't inspire his teammates.

"Dhoni is the most passive cap-tain to visit these shores sinceAndrew 'Freddie' Flintoff, whose2006-07 England side also wascoached, wait for it, by Fletcher. Heallows matches to drift aimlessly andby the time he acts, it usually is waytoo late. Why, for instance, did heallow Warner and Cowan to put on88 runs before introducing hisfastest bowler Ishant Sharma?" awrite up in 'The Australian' asked.

Indian batsmen useless rubble, MSDhoni passive captain: Australia media

Former Indian pacer Javagal Srinath will be the matchreferee for the first two Tests between Pakistan andEngland in Dubai and Abu Dhabi this month.According to the list of officials announced for the Test,ODI and T20 series, New Zealand's Jeff Crowe willreplace Srinath after the first two Tests as match refer-ee for remainder of the series.

Interestingly, the ICC has appointed one of the less-er known umpires on the elite panel, Australian BruceOxenford to supervise the first two Tests of the high-profile series with New Zealander Billy Bowden andAustralian Steve Davis who has also struggled inrecent series. The well-known Simon Taufel will joinDavis for the third Test. The ICC and Pakistan cricketBoard have also decided to give proper exposure for thefirst time to Pakistani umpire Sozaib Raza who willstand in the one-off international against Afghanistan.

Raza will also supervise two of the three T20 inter-nationals.Umpires:First Test: Billy Bowden and Bruce Oxenford Second Test: Steve Davis and Bruce Oxenford Third Test: Simon Taufel and Steve Davis First ODI: Simon Taufel and Ahsan RazaSecond ODI: Aleem Dar and Kumar DharmasenaThird ODI: Aleem Dar and Simon TaufelFourth ODI: Kumar Dharmasena and Zameer Haider First T20: Ahsan Raza and Sozaib Raza Second T20: Ahsan Raza and Zameer Haider Third T20: Zameer Haider and Sozaib Raza.