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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:12: TIDU interviews Radhika, Amer,

Gurmeet and Mahima who went on

a trip down under with ABC pre-

senter Joe Hildebrand to find out

and analyse the stereotypes they

have of Australia

18: Teigan Llyod-Evans wins SBSBollywood Star competition

21: Neeru Saluja talks to Malaika

Arora Khan at IFF 2012

28: Census 2011 proves Harris

Park is the Little India of

Australia

44: Is beauty only skin-deep?

Are they really ?

Amer, Mahima, Radhika and

Gurmeet with Joe Hildebrand


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There has been so muchhype against the carbontax introduced on July 1,

its dissection into minute detail,peoples opinion and polls as ifits impact would have been feltthe moment clock hit 12. It waslike opinions and predictionsbefore crossing the sound barrier

- that the moment an aeroplanehit the speed of sound, therewould be a bang, an explosion,destruction all around.

Is it good or bad to have car-bon tax? In a similar vein, is itgood or bad to pay seweragerates? Are we allowed to pollutefreely; is the industry allowed topump their waste into the riveror the sea? If not, how do weexpect not to be regulated, not tobe taxed to pollute the air andcontrol the emissions.

The argument against thecarbon tax is that other countriesare not controlling their emis-sions. Why should Australia,

then, impose the tax on its citi-zens, make the cost of energydearer and also be uncompetitivein the world market.

The fact, however, is that alldeveloped nations are institutingstricter emissions controls,including the US who have morestringent industry standards thanAustralia. As for other develop-ing nations, they argue thatAustralia is the highest emitter ofcarbon per capita in the air.

Australia, by taking the ini-tiative to reduce the emissions, isencouraging innovation to pro-duce more efficient energy.

There is justifiable debatewhether carbon tax should be

fixed on price per tonne ofcarbon - $23, or there should be

emissions trading scheme toallow more flexibility. The latteroption is harder to implementand the discussion is prolongedthat will do any governmentmore political damage. There isalso political reality that theGreens who have the balance of

power will never support theemissions trading scheme.The Coalition offers the

alternative of direct action togive incentives to industry to bemore efficient to reduce emis-sions. The Labor Governmentargues that those incentives willhave to come from the pockets ofnormal households. This is con-trary to the Government policyof taxing the polluters to givemoney to households.

The Gillard Governmenthopes that the demon of Carbontax that Tony Abbott has beencreating will soon fizzle out asmost of the people will find outthat they have been well compen-

sated for increased living costs.There is a dual purpose to

the Carbon tax of redistributionof wealth from the rich to theones below the line as with twoother reforms that have beenintroduced on July 1. The miningtax and the private health insur-ance rebate means test are directactions in favour of the under-

privileged to bring fairness andequity in the society. This is tobe applauded.

Meanwhile, in India themix of good and badnews continued as

before. First the good news:Pranab Mukherjee, till recentlythe Union Finance Minister, isslated to become the 13thPresident of India. Though BJPand a handful of other parties aresupporting the candidature of PASangma, that is ill-advertised.United Progressive Alliance(UPA) nominee supported byeven some parties of the opposi-tion National DemocraticAlliance, Pranab da will win

handily by a wide margin. Hehas a clean image and is widely

respected in political circles.Congress party is now finding itdifficult to find somebody to fillin for him. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh has himselftaken the finance portfolio forthe time being.

And that is part of the badnews. Just when Indias economy

is seen as weakening more thananticipated, Pranab Da is notthere as a full fledged financeminister to do course correction.Indias economic boom, whichwas resilient enough to shrug offthe global financial crisis, isbeginning to falter, hampered bystubbornly high inflation andyears of political paralysis, econ-omists and business leaders say.The inflation has hit the middleand particularly the lower classreal bad, which can lead to socialunrest.

Worse, the confidence of theforeign has been dented. In theabsence of vocational training for

the millions of young peopleentering workforce, the demo-graphic dividend is feared tobecome demographic disaster.The worst of all is, that in theabsence of vocational training forthe millions of young peopleentering the workforce, Indiasmuch touted demographic divi-dend can turn into demographicdisaster.

Manmohan Singh has madesome noises that there is nopolitical paralysis and therequired remedies will push upthe growth rate. Though he wasthe originator of the economicreforms in the first place asfinance minister, now he is

increasingly seen as having runout of steam.

Hurt from carbon tax for better future

The argument against the carbon tax is that othercountries are not controlling their emissions. Why

should Australia, then, impose the tax on itscitizens, make the cost of energy dearer andalso be uncompetitive in the world market.

A powerhouse seems less powerful: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and

Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress Party, face numerous challenges.

Come July 19, and India will welcome Pranab

Mukherjee as the 13th President.


8/64


Interview

By Aparna Vats

Irecently had the opportunity to speak

with the leader of the opposition,Tony Abbott, in our Paddington based

Radio station. Ready to take on the chal-

lenge of discovering the man, the person-

ality behind the job, this exercise

announced to me loud and clear that

politicians are people, too; they have likes

and dislikes, and most importantly, per-

sonalities. So a word to the wise: don't

judge, overlook or underestimate.

The fact that he is an author of three

books makes us aware of his scholarly

attributes. Then, as a Jesuit he has trav-

elled to India. We also learn about his

sense of vocation developed as a Rhodes

Scholar, his thoughts about the amazing,

magical land called India; his vision and

acknowledgement of the contributions ofthe Indian community in Australia.

Here are some highlights from the

interview:

You went to India around the year

1984?

Tony: No! It was 1981. I had just fin-

ished the college of law in June. I was

going to England to start some studies at

Oxford University in October. I thought,

well, India is on the way to England, its

a fascinating country. Id like to spend

some time there, so I had almost three

months roaming around India. I had basi-

cally a month wandering from Bombay,

up through Rajasthan, through Delhi and

into Kashmir and back across to Bihar. In

Bihar, I spent two months with theAustralian Jesuit Mission in India.

Fascinating time! Bit of time in Hazaari

Bagh, some time out in the hill country

where the Adivasis were and the

Australian Jesuits were working out there.

And then I came back to Mumbai for a

week before heading off to Oxford. So it

was a really interesting time and, I guess,

the thing that impressed me about India

even then is that it was a very economi-

cally and technologically sophisticated

country. I can remember on my first or

second day in Mumbai going past a

nuclear power plant, which Australia had

none and India did have one. Sure, there

might have been bullock carts going into

the nuclear power plant. It was still, for

an Australian, a custom to think of India

in those days as a fairly poor country. It

was interesting to think that India had

nuclear power and Australia didnt.

So what is your fondest memory from

that trip?

Tony: Well, I suppose the memory

that is most with me, is of the time with

the Jesuits there and I was mixing with

both Australian and Indian Jesuits and the

extraordinary efforts that they were mak-

ing to lift people up from poverty into

some kind, of what we would say now, I

guess, is a middle class existence. But the

interesting thing is that even then the

Indian Middle class was quite large.

Whats happened since then is that its

grown exponentially and its become

much wealthier and India itself has gone

from being a relatively poor country to

being really quite a wealthy country. This

is one of the great transformations of

world history. We tend to focus on the

transformation of China but the transfor-

mation of India is virtually as substantial

and the great thing about India, at least

from an Australian context, is that India is

democracy, India speaks widely the

English language and it has the rule of law

which really makes India, I think, a very

prospective country in terms of close rela-

tions with Australia. A country that has

such amazing potential to influence the

wider world in the years to come.

Shifting from politics, may I ask,

what kind of music do you listen to?

Tony: Umm, mostly what many of

your listeners would probably think of as

Golden Oldies -the music of the 1960s

and early seventies, the Beach Boys, Elvis

Presley, the big O Roy Orbison. My

kids think I am very, very old fashioned,

and I said to them once when they accused

me of being hopelessly old fashioned

what about Savage Garden? And they said

but dad that was so nineties...(laughs).

And, does Indian music feature in

anything at all, in your iPod collection?

Tony: I am afraid it doesnt really

Aha! I need to fix that then

Tony: Yeah! Look in my three

months in India I spent a lot of time lis-

tening to Indian music obviously; but its

not something that I have yet taken to. Iwatched quite a few Bollywood movies

over there, and again, not something that

I have yet taken to. But, you know, the

interesting thing is that modern India is

absolutely holding its own in what might

be thought of as wider Western or wider

English speaking culture. I mean there

have been quite a few Booker Prizes won

by Indian authors in recent times. I think,

if I may say so, India itself is moving

beyond the Bollywood phase, if I may be

so bold to suggest that.

So heres a suggestion for you: you

know the song Jai Ho from the Oscar

winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Have you heard that song?

Tony: Look, I watched the movie so I

must have heard the song. I have got to

say it was a really enthralling movie, con-

fronting, but nevertheless enthralling.

You could then perhaps use Jai Ho

as your campaign song, you know in the

off chance you take it on board.

Tony: Not a bad thought.(laughs).

How about the Indian food?

Tony: Yeah! Well there is a restaurant

called the New Indian Times in Bantry

Bay Road, Frenchs Forest, which is

probably the restaurant which more regu-

larly supplies the Abbott household than

any other. I developed a real taste for

Indian food not just in India but when I

was then subsequently a student in

England it was probably the best way to

get an economical decent meal in England

at that time. Incredibly tasty and a palat-

able feast!

If you had an opportunity to cook,which Indian dish would you make?

Tony: I would probably have a go at

Bombay Beef or maybe a Lamb Madras;

theres butter chicken which is.. (laughs)

one of the favourites of the Abbott

household.

You have done something called an

ultra-marathon. Do you still do it?

Tony: Look, I was lucky enough to

get to do the Port Macquarie Iron Man in

2010. I havent done a full Iron Man since

then. Although I have some hopes of

doing one later in the year in Western

Australia. I dont think people should be

as impressed as all that because I didnt do

a particularly flash time; I just thought to

myself it would be a marvellous feather in

your cap to do it. And the important thing

once you decide to do it is not to push

yourself too much but just to finish. So I

was more of a participant than a competi-

tor. I have got to say that when I went

down the tunnel at the end of almost 14

hours of swimming, riding and jogging I

was a very happy man!

Did you pick up any Hindi while you

were in India?

Tony: Chai.( laughs heartily).

Yes, it is the most important word to

know Tony (both laugh).

In closing Tony, no further ques-

tions, open platform, what would you

like to say to our fabulous audience?

Tony: Please continue to make the

most of your life in Australia. Please

cherish the heritage you brought to this

country. And please continue to be confi-

dent that your old heritage and your newheritage have so much in common.

(Aparna Vats is a well known broad-

caster on Voice of India Monika

Geetmala 89.7 FM Sundays 10am -

7pm.)

The real Tony Abbott

The author with Tony Abbot, Australian Leader of the Opposition.

We tend to focus on the transformation of China but the transformation of India

is virtually as substantial and the great thing about India, at least from anAustralian context, is that India is democracy, India speaks widely the English

language and it has the rule of law which really makes India, I think, a very

prospective country in terms of close relations with Australia.


9/64


Julia Gillard set to lead Labor fight backBy Rekha Bhattacharjee

For Julia Gillard, the die has been cast.

With new poll figures not showing

any significant sign of going north

in the near future, Julia Gillard led

Labor party is throwing in everything as

they hit the hustings with new vigour.

Labor has committed funds for an adver-

tisement campaign, handout cheques are

being delivered to the traditional Labor mail-

boxes and there is a perceivable change in

the Labor strategy. This is a definite sign of

a political outfit gaining confidence in itself.

The weeks after carbon tax kicks in on

July 1 would be crucial to determine

whether Julia Gillards recovery strategy is

plausible or the Labor is, as most political

pundits would like us to believe, in a termi-

nal mode.

It would not be the first time in the 120

years or so history of Labor party that theyare looking at certain annihilation in the

Federal polling. But the die-hard Labor

backer has not lost hope of a recovery under

Julia Gillard.

As a political commentator pointed out

recently, Labor has repeatedly demonstrat-

ed its resilience and adaptability in emerging

from lacerating splits, demoralising defeats

and philosophical tussles.

The signs of a comeback were visible

aplenty when Julia Gillard confronted a bar-

rage of difficult questions in a recent Q&A

program on ABC TV with a dignified poise

and transparency which is so conspicuously

missing in the modern day Parliamentarians.

The television screens during the afore-

mentioned Q&A program were flooded with

Tweets gushing over the new Julia Gillard.It is being seen as a turnaround by many of

the Australian PM followers.

Tony Abbotts recent antics in the

Parliament have also helped in the changing

perception over the preferred Prime

Minister. The fact that Labor has changed

strategy while dealing with the Coalitionshortcomings has also registered on

Australian mindsets sickened by Tony

Abbotts negativity.

The conservatives leader in the Federal

Parliament has been relentless in his attacks

on the embattled MP Craig Thomson. There

is a widespread conviction that Tony Abbott

is insensitive to the basic decencies one

should extend to the fellow politicians, for-

get commoners. Labor, on the other hand,

did pretty well in not persisting on a frontal

attack on Tony Abbotts embarrassing flight

from the chambers. Instead of overplaying

the Opposition gaffes, Labor is focussing on

holding the political foes to account for

spreading canards about the impact of the

carbon prince after July 1.

The changing of tacks was also notice-able in the Q&A when Julia Gillard did not

mention the Coalition even once in her

intense interaction with the audience.

In comparison, as many commentators

have been pointing out, Tony Abbott has

made negativity cornerstone of the Coalitionpolicy platform.

The Opposition leader has been inces-

santly deriding the Labor Government and

demeaning Julia Gillard personally. Tony

Abbott has been at his negative best when

attacking carbon tax, NBN, mining tax and

the Labor management of the economy.

The way Tony Abbott has been allowed

to go on downplaying Australian manage-

ment of economic matters is surprising as all

antipodeans should be celebrating the way

we have weathered GFC with so many posi-

tives.

After all, is it not a great economic news

that while OECD countries like Spain and

Greece are experiencing unemployment rates

around 25% (even higher in the youth),

Australia has managed to keep it aroundamazing 5%? Australians should be relishing

strong growth, low inflation, falling interest

rates and good jobs data.

The outlook is, Labor leaders should be

arguing, equally rosy as the Australian econ-

omy has got a tick in the shape of a renewed

triple A rating by Moody and there is a mas-

sive investment in the pipeline. The RBA is

on a song and so is the Federal Government.

The Labor leaders should be asking their

Conservative counterparts what exactly is

wrong with the Australian economy and how

they would change inarguably one of the

best economies in the world.

Probably the most candid description of

the Australian economy has come from a

2011 book The Sweet Spot How Australia

made its own luck - and could now throw it

all away written by Peter Hartcher.

Australians created the sweet spot for

themselves, Peter Hartcher writes. The

country needs to know that circa 2010-11, it

offers the best living conditions available on

the planet. Not because it started out that

way, and not because of the mining boom,

but through building, through reforms andthrough intelligent public-spirited leadership.

And, yes, through a little luck, the book

reads.

But as Donald Horne warned, relying

on luck is an invitation to complacency. And

complacency is a dreadful problem solver,

he writes. If Australia is to have a golden

future, it will not be gilded with the sort of

gold that is discovered by digging deeper

holes in the ground. The necessary gold is

not to be found in the countrys pits but in

its wits, Peter Hartcher concludes.

But who would stop the sliding Labor

fortunes? Not many would concur with this

assertion but Julia Gillard would be the

Labors best bet when polls are called next

year.

Julia Gillard has been fighting an uphillbattle with her back stuck perilously to the

wall ever since she wrested the leadership

from Kevin Rudd.

Gareth Evans honouredBy Rekha Bhattacharjee

Gareth Evans was made a

Companion of the Order of

Australia on 11 June 2012

for eminent service to interna-

tional relations, particularly in the

Asia Pacific region, as an adviser

to governments on global policy

matters, to conflict prevention andresolution, and to arms control and

disarmament.

To the Australian community

Gareth Evans is known as the emi-

nent Australian Foreign Minister

(1988 -1996). He has written or

edited nine books and now has

been Chancellor of the Australian

National University since January

2010 and a Professorial Fellow at

the University of Melbourne since

July 2009. In December 2011

Foreign Policy magazine cited him

as one of the Top Global Thinkers

for 2011 for making the responsi-

bility to protect more than aca-

demic.

In May 2010 Gareth Evans

was awarded the 2010 Franklin

and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute

Four Freedoms Award for

Freedom from Fear, for his pio-

neering work on the Responsibility

to Protect concept and his contri-

butions to conflict prevention and

resolution, arms control and disar-

mament.

Gareth Evans has a soft corner

for India. In his student days he

had travelled around India by train

and had much respect for

Narasimha Rao as the foreign min-

ister.

On the 50th Anniversary of

Indias Independence he had writ-

ten an article in the Indian Post, a

monthly published in Australia for

the Indian community, India: a

fine 50 with an even better century

coming. The following is a part

of his article.

Those who love and admire

India and there are many around

the world are looking forward to

the last strike of midnight ushering

in 15 August this year. Fifty years

ago, at that moment, India awoke

to life and Freedom, in the

words of its first Prime Minister,

Jawaharlal Nehru. At a stroke,

two centuries of European domina-

tion came to an end and a new

nation was born. Not that the

struggle and hardship ended. The

challenges changed but at least

they were Indian challenges.

I spent many months travel-ling around India as a young man

- in rather less style than was later

the case as Foreign Minister!

And have been captivated by the

country ever since. So Indias fifti-

eth birthday is one that, personal-

ly, I am absolutely delighted to

celebrate.

This is a time to reflect on

the magnificent achievements of

India and its people since August

1947.

India, in the face of so many

challenges and difficulties, has

managed over these years to main-

tain a robust and very open

democracy, a strong and independ-

ent judicial system and a society

remarkably cohesive for all its

diversity. In recent years per-

haps a little belatedly, but no less

welcome for that it has put in

place an economic platform that is

now achieving the growth and

prosperity its people so richly

deserve. All that is needed now

for India to fully realise its poten-tial is a long period of stable and

effective political leadership.

In the next 50 years, India

unquestionably will be able to

draw upon its great traditions, tal-

ents and strengths to create a great

future for itself and its people,

winning in full measure the

respect and admiration of the rest

of the international community.

It is set to achieve magnifi-

cently in its next 50 years of inde-

pendence, and beyond trans-

forming itself for the future with-

out losing the best of its past. The

international fellowship of Indias

friends among whom I am

delighted to count myself - will

watch with admiration and affec-

tion. We congratulate Prof

Gareth Evans on the highest hon-

our conferred on him (although

hes a Republican at heart!)

The former Australian foreign ministerand a global thinker who has a soft corner

for India, has been made a Companionof the Order of Australia.

The signs of a Labor

comeback were visible

when Julia Gillard con-

fronted difficult ques-tions in a recent Q&A

program on ABC TV with

a dignified poise andtransparency. Tony

Abbotts antics in

Parliament have also

helped in the changing

perception over the pre-ferred PM.

The Third Eye by Rekha Bhattacharjee

Analysis


10/64


India

Indian economy starts to slow down, but PM promises curesNew Delhi: Indias economic boom, which

was resilient enough to shrug off the global

financial crisis, is beginning to falter, ham-

pered by stubbornly high inflation and years

of political paralysis, economists and busi-

ness leaders say.

In developments that parallel events in

the other Asian powerhouse, neighboring

China, rising prices have forced the govern-ment to steadily tighten monetary policy.

Interest rates rose for the 10th time in 16

months last week.

But business leaders are unhappy. They

say the medicine could be making the eco-

nomic situation worse.

Much of the inflation in India is a func-

tion of higher oil and food prices, factors

that respond poorly, if at all, to higher

interest rates. Instead of depending on the

central bank, the government needs to push

through the kind of agricultural reforms and

investment it has been talking about for

years, analysts say.

Government policy should be focused

on improving agricultural productivity, but

because that isnt happening, the burden is

falling more and more on monetary policy,

said Sanjay Mathur, Royal Bank of

Scotlands Asia emerging markets economistin Singapore. Consequently, a number of

sectors that shouldnt be getting hurt are

getting hurt.

That means growth could fall back

toward 7 percent, some economists warn,

still faster than that of any major economy

except China but below what India could

achieve and needs, if it is to pull hun-

dreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has

taken the reins of Finance Ministry after

Pranab Mukherjee resigned as finance min-

ister on filing his nomination for President.

Singh has sought to assure investors of

every step, including reforms, to restore

confidence on India while also hoping for

higher growth, lower inflation and correc-

tion in the depreciating rupee.

"We need foreign investment - both

portfolio and direct investment," he toldreporters on his way back from G20 and

Rio+20 summits in Mexico and Brazil,

when asked about the ratings downgrade of

India. "If there are any obstacles which

come in the way, and if there are any policy

impediments, we will address them effec-

tively and credibly," the prime minister

added, when asked about the perception of

policy paralysis in India.

"There are problems with regard to the

fiscal management. We will tackle that

problem effectively and credibly. There are

problems with regard to management of the

balance of payments deficit on the current

account. Those problems also we will tack-

le," Singh said.

The prime minister also felt that there

was no sign of any serious threat to the

Indian economy even as he felt the RBI was

competent to act on interest rates, inflationand the value of the rupee.

"There is no stagflation. There is a

slowing down. I am still confident that we

can ensure that the growth rate of the econ-

omy in the rest of the year will improve to

about 7 per cent per annum," he said.

"A lot of things that are not going right

they have their origins outside India. The

2008 financial crisis affected our growth.

Our growth rate fell from 9 per cent to 6.7

per cent," he said.

At Rio, India blames it on rich nations, but content overallRio de Janeiro: As the Earth Summit beganJune 20, India had reasons to be happy,

with its main concerns addressed in the

draft of the declaration to be adopted by the

90 global leaders here, but felt let down by

rich nations for lack of commitment in fund-

ing green programs.

"One significant development has been

the restoration of the centrality of the prin-

ciple of common but differentiated responsi-

bilities," said India's Environment Minister

Jayanthi Natarajan, who was assisting Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh at what is called

the Rio+20 Summit.

Her reference was to the demands of

poor and developing economies that rich

countries, which are seen as having been

primarily responsible for the present envi-

ronmental degradation, must share a greater

burden in restoring the health of our planet.

"Equity and its manifestation -- the prin-

ciple of common but differentiated responsi-

bilities -- are at the heart of international

cooperation for sustainable development.

We are glad that we have collectively

agreed on this key issue," Natarajan said.

But India felt saddened by the lack of

firm commitment by the rich nations on

how to fund schemes, technologies and pro-

grammes that will make planet Earth green-

er and promote growth and inclusion in a

sustainable manner.

But that was not expected given the cur-rent global economic crisis.

"While we remain disappointed with the

weak political will in developed countries to

provide enhanced means of implementation

to developing countries, we are glad we

have agreed to set up two important mecha-

nisms -- one for technology transfer and

another for finance," Natarajan said.

"Both were Indian proposals and

received strong support from G77 countries,

including those from Africa, the least devel-

oped countries and small island-states. We

are now keen to collectively ensure these

mechanisms are operationalised and deliv-

ered effectively for developing countries."

At the Summit, India also sought to

point out the dichotomy between the envi-

ronmental concerns of the rich countries and

those of the poor and developing

economies, particularly since the latter were

being asked to reverse the consequences of

what had been done earlier by the developed

world.

Manmohan Singh with other world leaders at the G 20 summit in Mexico.

Sangma in ring, but Pranab set

to enter Rashtrapati BhavanNew Delhi: United ProgressiveAlliance (UPA) candidate Pranab

Mukherjee has filed his nomina-

tion for the July 19 presidential

poll and sought the "blessing of

god and cooperation of all" to get

elected to the country's highest

office.

In what was turned into a

show of strength, leaders of most

UPA allies, except for the

Trinamool Congress, were pres-

ent. Prime Minister Manmohan

Singh, Congress president Sonia

Gandhi, Samajwadi Party (SP)

chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and

Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RSD)

Lalu Prasad were amongst those

who witnessed the ceremony."I only wish at this time that

we have the blessing of god and

cooperation of all at this junc-

ture," Mukherjee told reporters

after filing his nomination at the

Rajya Sabha secretariat.

As a candidate for the 14th

presidential election, he said he

was being supported by a "large

number of parties who are sup-

porting UPA government like

Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj

Party" as well as by other parties

who did not support the govern-

ment. Listing the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Communist Party

of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the

Shiv Sena, he said: "I am grateful

to them as they have reposed

faith in me to occupy the office

which was occupied in past by

great stalwarts of this country."

Opposition candidate P.A.

Sangma, who is supported by the

BJP, the AIADMK and the Biju

Janata Dal, has also filed his

nomination.

UPA candidate Pranab

Mukherjee has wide support to

become Indias 13th President

Sunita Williams heading back to space againWashington, DC: Indian-American

astronaut Sunita Williams is all set

to return to the International Space

Station, where she spent a record

six months in 2006.

Daughter of an Indian American

father from Gujarat and a Slovenian

mother, Williams is currently mak-

ing final preparations for a July 14

launch from the Baikonur

Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,

according to a NASA announce-

ment.

She will be a flight engineer on

the station's Expedition 32 with

Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko

of the Russian Federal Space

Agency and Akihiko Hoshide of the

Japan Aerospace Exploration

Agency. On reaching the space sta-

tion she will take over as com-

mander of Expedition 33.

Williams and her colleagues

will be aboard the station during an

exceptionally busy period that

includes two spacewalks, the arrival

of Japanese, US commercial and

Russian resupply vehicles, and an

increasingly faster pace of scientific

research, the US space agency said.

Williams is the second woman

of Indian heritage to have been

selected by NASA for a space mis-

sion after Kalpana Chawla. She

holds three records for female

space travellers: longest spaceflight

(195 days), number of spacewalks

(4), and total time spent on space-

walks (29 hours and 17 minutes).

Air India strike is second longest in aviation industryNew Delhi: The strike by a section of Air India pilots

entered the 57th day on Julu 1 to attain the notorious distinc-

tion of becoming the second longest strike in the country's

aviation history.The Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), the union of

Air India pilots, had also struck work in 1974 against cost

cutting measures when fuel prices shot up alarmingly. The

1974 strike lasted for well over 90 days. In 1993-94, a

strike by Air India flight engineers lasted for 56 days. The

current strike started May 8 when pilot members of IPG

went on mass sick leave, protesting the move to provide

Boeing-787 Dreamliner training to pilots from the erstwhile

Indian Airlines. After putting forth an original list of 14

demands, the aviators are now asking for reinstatement of

their 101 sacked colleagues. The airline has maintained that

pilots must first end their strike and the sacked pilots will be

reinstated on a case-by-case basis.The airline has suffered an

estimated revenue losses of more than Rs.610 crore.

Grounded fleet of Boeing 777s, unused manpower and

absence from key routes have hit the airlines' chances of a

financial turnaround.The strike has crippled Air India's

international operations, stranding thousands set to fly to

East Asia and the Middle East.The striking pilots have start-

ed an indefinite hunger strike since June 24. Nearly five of

11 fasting pilots have been hospitalised.Officials at Airlines

House, Air India's New Delhi-based headquarters, are con-

fident of resolving the situation by hiring new pilots.

Astronaut Sunita Williams


11/64


Gilani removed by court; Raza Parvez

Ashraf is new Pak PMIslamabad: Pakistan Peoples

Party has elected its leader

Raza Parvez Ashraf for the

post of Prime Minister of

Pakistan after Yousuf Raza

Gilani was disqualified by

the Supreme Court.

Gilani was disqualified as

an MP by the Supreme Court

two months after he was

convicted for contempt, a

staggering verdict that was

surprisingly accepted by the

ruling-PPP which swiftly

moved to select a new premier. Capping

nearly 30 months of bitter feud between the

judiciary and the government, a three-judge

bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar

Chaudhry held that Gilani,

60, "ceased" to be the Prime

Minister from 26th April

this year.

Gilani was then convict-

ed and sentenced for not

obeying court orders to

reopen graft charges in

Switzerland against

President Asif Ali Zardari.

Contrary to expectations

that the PPP will back him

to the hilt, the ruling party

said it would abide by the

verdict and set in motion the process of

selecting Gilani's successor.Pervez Ashraf

was earlier minister of power and water in

the Gilani government.

Raja Pervez Ashraf

India

Shed fear, invest in Afghan opportunity: India

Rajat Gupta's fall 'from lofty board room

to lowly jail cell'New York: The conviction

recently of the one-time poster

boy of Indian business in

America, Rajat Gupta, on charges

of securities fraud marks yet

another phase in his roller coaster

ride from an orphan to lofty board

room to convicted felon.

A jury at federal court in

Manhattan convicted the former

Goldman Sachs' director of three

counts of securities fraud and onecount of conspiracy. Each of the three securi-

ties fraud charges carry maximum sentences

of 20 years. The jury verdict concluded a

four-week trial that started on May 21. The

sentencing in the case is scheduled for

October and may be light considering

Guptas stellar record as business executive.

It was the highest-profile conviction yet

in a wave of federal cases focused on Wall

Street misconduct.

Ironically, Gupta's fall from grace was

brought about by another Indian American,

Preet Bharara, nicknamed the "Sheriff of

Wall Street", for leading a wave of insider

trading probes over the last two-and-a-half

years, that also fell Sri Lankan American Raj

Rajaratnam, billionaire founder of Galleon.

Gupta joined McKinsey & Company in

1973 and rose to become its MD. He also

served as corporate chairman, board director

or strategic advisor to a variety of large and

notable organizations such as Goldman

Sachs, Procter & Gamble and American

Airlines, and non-profits

including The Gates Foundation

and the International Chamber

of Commerce.

Rajat Gupta was additional-

ly the co-founder of the Indian

School of Business, the

American India Foundation and

New Silk Route with various

partners.

New Delhi: India unveiled its vision of promot-

ing economic rejuvenation and stability of

Afghanistan by asking companies from the

region to invest in that country in the spirit of

solidarity, despite the risks, and called forCEOs to replace generals to lead the country's

reconstruction.

"We need to offer a narrative of opportunity

to counter the anxiety of withdrawal, uncertain-

ty, instability and foreign interference,"

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the

first regional conclave organized in mid June in

India to encourage private sector investment in

Afghanistan.

"India will continue to pursue its vision to

stabilize Afghanistan through trade and invest-

ment and regional cooperation," he said while

jointly inaugurating the conclave with his

Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul.

"We invite international investors and

regional countries to join in this vision for

Afghanistan individually or in partnership with

others," he said.

Afghanistan robustly backed this approach.

"I believe greater investments results in

increased economic national activities in any

country including, but not limited to, additional

revenues, job creation, income generation

opportunities which in turn leads to increasedprosperity and service delivery," said Rassoul.

Hundreds of companies from India,

Afghanistan and other countries participated in

the summit. The Afghan delegation included

five senior ministers. The recommendations of

the day-long investment conclave will be sub-

mitted as a framework at the Tokyo Conference

July 8 where international donors will pledge

funds for Afghanistan after international troops

leave the violence-torn country in 2014.

The key recommendations of the summit

included providing the private sector investment

protection and risk mitigation, providing incen-

tives for investing in Afghanistan, and the cre-

ation of an international fund for SMEs. The

conclave identified key sectors for investment in

Afghanistan that included natural resources,

manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, IT

and telecommunications.

Rajat Gupta

Himangini Singh Yadu, crowned MissAsia Pacific 2012, flanked by 1st Runner up

- Tuyanaa Temenjargal of Mongolia and 2nd

Runner up Diana Kubasova of Latvia.

Himangini is a BCA graduate from Indore.

The beauty pageant was held in Busan,

South Korea, June 16.

Indian girl is Miss Asia

Pacific 2012


12/64

Drunk, Dumb and Racist,

are they really?By Neena Badhwar

The poster is provocative, the

punch line by the main presenter

is straight in the face of

Australians who have always tried to

hide the racist accusation by pushing it

away, shoving it under the carpet, so

to speak according to Radhika

Budhwar, one of the four Indians cho-

sen and invited to be part of the series:

Dumb, Drunk and Racist, Are

Australians really?

DD & R makes an interesting six-

part series every Wednesdays 9.30 pmon ABC 2 that attempts to dissect stig-

mas about Australians through the eyes

of four Indians. Radhika Budhwar is

the wise elder of the four, an education

counsellor from Pune who advises

Indian students seeking to go for high-

er education overseas. Mahima

Bhardwaj works in a call centre in

India who has copped foul language

during her conversations she is

young, innocent yet curious to find out

for herself as she keenly tries to absorb

the experience. Amer Singh is a 21-

year old Law student from Chandigarh

who decided to drop his plans to study

in Australia at the insistence of his

mum and overprotective grandmother.And Gurmeet Chaudhary is a Hindi

TV channel news anchor who hap-

pened to report episodes of violence

against the Indians in Melbourne and

Sydney at the height of Indian student

flare-ups. They speak how they all

changed or did their bit to change the

perceptions of Australians and other

issues they came across in their three-

week trip to Australia with Joe

Hildebrand, a well-known journalist at

the Daily Telegraph and the ABC,

named one of the most influential

Australians on Twitter.

The series tries to look at the issues

in Australia hands on and let the view-ers decide as four Indians are invited to

go through the experiences that ABC

producers tried to plan in an unplanned

manner to experience and elicit their

own individual responses by the four

subjects as they came across people in

different locations, settings and

hotspots where the incidents of vio-

lence against the Indian students had

occurred.

And in the process, the presenter,

the director and the producers also

became part of the experiment them-

selves with the series able to achieve

what it set out to achieve that is to

talk about the stereotypes to do with

Australia and dissect them one by oneas things unfold.

Back in Pune with her family,

Radhika Budhwar says that her

Facebook page is sometimes so full of

hate comments that she is scared to

open it but then somewhere the first

two episodes have created a sort of a

debate.

She says, I am a practicing

Buddhist and there was a lot of battle

within myself when I started out.

Every day I asked myself I must have

the courage to say what I believe I

must say. And if my original impres-

sion was what it was, then so be it. It

was from my heart only because I had

a moral responsibility to the students

who came to me for advice and as a

mother and working as an honorary

voluntary education consultant it wasmy duty to advise that I give them the

right advice about the places which

were safe and that the parents had

made arrangements or had the ability

to call their children back if the situa-

tion turned sour or unsafe. Before the

series started I got a lot of hateful com-

ments but as the series has started peo-

ple have started to say positive com-

ments and even are supportive of what

I say on the show. Some assure me and

even say to me Good on you and we

are looking forward to seeing you in

the next episode.

At times during the series I said

things which were cutting but it came

from my impressions and my researchthat Australia was not a safe place at

the moment and that parents should

rather send their children to UK, the

US or Canada, for example. Even

Singapore seemed a pretty viable edu-

cation destination than Australia.

For me the series was a whole lot

of immersive experience on the outside

as well as within as it made me self-

reflect and process those impressions

that I had of Australia. It required a lot

of courage not to sit on the fence. I

needed to be courageous and wise as

the series and places unfolded. Nothing

was planned as we worked under the

cameras for 13 to 14 hours a day andthen used to unwind with the crew at

night who would try to find us food

according to our requirements, as you

know Mahima is a Brahmin and

Gurmeet a vegetarian.

We discussed things, events only

at nights and it was another day, anoth-

er place or a city the next morning so

we had little time to think our

thoughts. It was as if our first impres-

sions were being recorded and that

needed a lot of courage. We covered a

lot of kilometers in three weeks. It was

quite tiring.

Its been great to be chosen to be

part of the series. While my husband is

jealous of the attention I am receivingwith over 300 comments 80% I must

say are all negative while 20% from

men who just say Vow, Radhika and

some even wager Will Radhika

change her mind.

So did she? Says Radhika, This

was the toughest thing I have ever

done. I think at the end of the show I

feel that Australians are not dumb,

drunk yes to a degree may be racist

I think there are elements of racism

there. But most of all I was moved by

the Aboriginal kids and the stories of

Myall Creek Massacre and what Aunty

Sue told us about the massacre. I could

feel the deep connection with her as

she welcomed me. The aboriginal kids

at school in Alice Springs would not

just leave meI didnt know that I was

being captured cuddling the kids.She adds, Buddhism is a way of

life for me and to a large degree it

teaches us to have deep respect for our-

selves and every person that we

encounter. And I feel that Aboriginal

experience for me was the most mov-

ing experience and every person that I

came across made me feel worthy of

the respect that Australia and

Australian people were sincerely trying

yet the problem with Aborigines needs

to be looked at seriously.

And would you recommend

Australia as a worthy place for Indians

to study. I think Australia is all right.

Only, one must be careful of certain

places and be safe than sorry.Mahima Bhardwaj, the young call

centre worker, says, DD& R experi-

ence was really great. I had assumed

things having worked at a call centre

and how the Aussies abused at times

but it was my first time in Australia,

something that I will never experience

really in a life time.

Mahima, who is back in India, is

curious to know how the series is

going in Australia. She says, From

some of the comments I have seen on

the Facebook I must clarify that we

workers at call centres are not always

about sales. It is sometimes service

centre calls we are supposed to makefor Telstra, for Optus, which is that the

providers ought to let the customer

know whether they would like to

extend the contracts once they are

expired. Please tell everyone in

Australia that we are working late

nights to serve the customers and not

haggle or harass them. They must also

be patient as we try to inform them of

things.

She says, I was scared at first

meeting with the Australians and how

they will be to me but when I met Joe

I was satisfied and my parents were

okay with me coming to Australia.

So what was Mahimas impression

at the end.I dont think Australians are dumb

they are easy going and casual peo-

ple, at times ignorant and they like to

live life to the fullest. Drunk yes they

drink a lot because thats their culture.

And about them being racist I take

my words back. They are not racist

and one should not judge the whole of

Australia by judging the behaviour of a

few people.

Mahima says, I think Australia is

a good place for studies as well as life.

Its a cool place to live. I can see that

the government is taking good steps in

protecting the Indians. I think the

Indian media hiked it up as it is a mat-

ter of TRPs for the TV channels over

here. Even Bollywood movies on

Indian students, like in the recently

released Crook, the director has notportrayed the abroad right.

About Australia and its beauty, says

Mahima, Bondi beach was just so

beautiful and amazing. And, oh my

God, I had not ever seen so many

naked people. Here we see people fully

clothed on our beaches. If ever, only a

heroine in one piece bikini, hardly ever

in two piece.

She adds, having left the call centre

job and working now in HR, I am so

proud that I was chosen out of whole

of India to come to Australia. There

are too many comments on social

media but I try not to read them.

Any problems she came across in

Australia, herself.Oh! Finding vegetarian food for

me and Gurmeet was such a problem.

And yes Aboriginal problem does exist

although they have been given equal

rights to vote and to roam anywhere

they like and treat them special noI

am not in favour of reservations for the

backward classes like they have in

India.

In the end, says Mahima, There is

always a good side and a bad side and

it is but human to judge people.

Would she like to visit Australia

again.

Yestwenty days went just like

that and of course I would like to visitwith my family and perhaps settle

there.

21-year old Amer Singh from

Chandigarh, the youngest of the four,

though keenly interested in the beauti-

ful Aussie girls like any young lad

ought to be, was also the most emo-

tional at times but as he is back in

India, he says he is analyzing his

impressions of the trip more deeply.

He says, Yes there are isolated

cases of racism. We were getting a lot

of conflicting stories from the news

channels, from my friends, different

sources. One of my taxi driver friends

in Melbourne had been telling us about

the rude and very racist behavior of theAussies. I was quite curious and ready

to explore the entire hoopla the Indian

media was trying to bring up how

true was it really?

Community



13/64

Community


Especially when I had a plan to

come to Australia to study and had

given it up due to pressure from mum

and my grandma. In the end I found

out that yes there are certain antisocial

elements everywhere. And its a great

thing that we did encounter some racist

and violent behaviour but then we met

some amazing and wonderful people,

some forward thinking people.

In my eyes the problem with the

aborigines overshadowed any problem

they have in Australia to do with anti-

Islamic views or anti-migrant views

and behavior. If you want to see the

racism then you need to see the abo-

riginals and their treatment there. Ithink city dwellers dont want to think

about them and have put the aborigines

at the back of their minds. Issues with

the aborigines is, in my eyes, a big

issue.

About Indian students I think it is

the behavior of the young and I know

how hot blooded the Punjabi blood can

be. It is possible that the problems that

erupted could be instigated from both

sides, says Amer.

Dumb, Drunk I wouldnt say

that. We Indians drink a lot too. Its all

relative. To call a country dumb is I

think dumb in itself.

So would he like to come and study

in Sydney?.

Yes, hopefully, when I finish my

undergrad law degree. And for the last

time I urge everyone not to draw com-

parisons between India and Australia.

It can become a vicious cycle. In my

opinion Australians are a beautiful

bunch of people and they have some of

the most beautiful girls. It sure is my

kind-a-place.

Gurmeet Chaudhary, the news

anchor at a TV channel who in the

beginning said that whoever attacks

anyone should be shot, changed his

mind by the end of the trip. It has

helped me to broaden my view. I think

Australians are a Fun loving people

who work hard and party hard. Now

I think they are not dumb or racist but

drunk, yes, because they drink a lot.

Racist attacks of 2008 could be due to

global financial crisis and job insecuri-ty due to it which can lead to such

problems. Australians, in my eyes, are

racist, not to Indians, but to their own

aborigine people.

And how will he report Australia

now? Says Gurmeet, Reporting is my

job. I will report news about Australia.

But now there will be a soft corner for

Australians because they are really

very good human beings.

Joe Hildebrand, the presenter of the

show, is a well-known journalist of

Daily Telegraph newspaper. Joe is

funny and says that perhaps ABC

chose him because he looks Dumb,

Drunk and RacistWell, Joe has the

courage to take it on the chin as he

says in the beginning of every episode:

Hi I am Dumb, Drunk and

Racistbecause I am Australian. He is

sympathetic, has empathy while

rounding up all the four Indians, assur-

ing their families that all will be fine.

Says Joe about the series,

Amazing stuff came out, some beau-

tiful, most really weird, creepy, dan-

gerous and often naughty.

There were scary moments as

things sprang out of the woods for the

four Indians whose initial perception

was that Australia is a hostile and an

unwelcoming country. We showed

them the good stuff and the nasty stuff.

We took them to Melbourne where the

Indian student protests happened, we

took them to a heated cricket pitch,

showed them 2006 Cronulla riot

scenes. We showed the worst and thebest images of Australia in a fair and

balanced way. That the Indians were

not looking through some rose

coloured glasses.

In the trip there were plenty of

good things and the Indians had a great

time and completely tried to embrace

the culture. Says Joe, Gurmeet and

Mahima came from a very conserva-

tive and sheltered upbringing but they

realized at the end that the very shal-

low view of Australia they had was

often lot more deeper and the problems

more complex and I must say a lot of

their perceptions were challenged.

I am sure there will be plenty of

people offended on both sides. It has

already become a huge topic of debate

on the internet and is the biggest show

ABC TV has tried to do, Says Joe.

Joe Hildebrand himself says that he

fell in love with Australia all over

again as he went through the trip with

the Indians introducing them to some

of the great local customs such as: how

to down a beer, crack a whip, rodeo

and firing at the feral pigs and making

the unassuming Indians go through

many more Aussie experiences.

Says Aaron Smith, the director of

the series, Joe calling himself Dumb,

Drunk and Racist was his idea. The

series is an exercise in putting the ele-phant in the room, so to speak, an

effort to bring out the debate in the

open, leading to more open discussion

hoping that the change will finally hap-

pen.

We thought how to engage people

in a sort of vox pop yet interesting way

when we made Joe sit with the board

and engage passers by. The board

worked as a good device that opened

the conversation a bit more. It was

deliberately made to look more

provocative asking a question as ran-

dom people came and said things

some careful, others not very nice and

some bit of both.We took a long time in deciding

about places, diverse range of people

and places in Australia we wanted to

give them a short lesson of Australian

history and there was always a surprise

element at the corner as at times the

schedules were changed. Moreover,

we wanted to shoot their first reactions

to things and most exciting stuff came

out of the unplanned footage that we

captured.

It was a great learning curve for

Aaron who says that at the end he him-

self learnt a lot about Australia and

adds, If you take this Australian

experience at local scale and put it in

the general global scale, especiallyIndia with its 1.2 billion people, how

incredible it would be. It just sums up

the worst and the best of mankind in a

general sense that we are not all per-

fect and how can we move forward

and address the bigger issues. We do

have aboriginal problem and that it

started 230 years ago and that it is

quite hard to resolve but the series has

attempted towards a step in the right

direction.

So coming to the problem of

Indians facing assaults, do you agree

that there is a severe law and order

problem with drugs and drink, espe-

cially at night and hence a related vio-lence against the students at night.

Aaron agrees, Yes we need to sort

that out for sure and put more police in

at some places.

Series producer Anita Jorgensen

finally says about Australia being DD

& R, Drunk Australians celebrate

drunkenness, yet pay a high price for

that. Our crime and violence figures

support that. Dumb I dont think we

are dumb there are elements of some

dumb people in any democratic socie-

ty. And about racism there is some

form of jealousy against the newly

arrived, trying to emotionally deflect

something on to them in some form of

racism and ignorance expressed in astupid way. The series at least tried to

open these problems and made every

one openly talk about it which was the

purpose.

Amer, Mahima, Gurmeet and Radhika with ABCs Joe Hildebrand on a trip down under as part of the TV series.


14/64


Community

Its good that ABC tried to do a

series: Dumb, Drunk and Racist,

Are we really? And help start a dis-

cussion to analyse and dissect

stereotypes about Australians with

the help of four intrepid Indians

who held certain views about

Australia and Australians before

they started and how they evolved

their opinion at the end of the series.

The local Indian community

which has lived through Indian stu-

dent problem was always divided in

their opinion about Australians

being racist. Some outright rejected

the silly notion by saying No I

never faced racism in Australia

then others said that Indians do not

know proper etiquettes and talk in

their language and are loud on trains

and hence invited attacks whereas

some others came up with Indian

are quite vulnerable victims walk-

ing late at nights with cash and

mobile and computer notebooks.

There are a few who did face racism

and had the experience etched in

their minds forever - at workplace,

on the street and said that one only

had to see Australia and the domi-

nation of certain fields of certain

sections of community in Media,

Television and even Politics where

the barriers had not been broken.

Yet they said that Australia hadcome a long way from White

Australia policy and as the multicul-

tural mix was growing so also the

tolerance. There were prejudices at

work in certain places and difficult

to prove that they had the skills to

do the rquired job though there were

a quite few Indians who said that

they had wonderful Aussie friends.

About Indian student facing

robberies and physical assaults at

the height of the student problem

many local community leaders got

together, met politicians and the

police during and after the problem

to help take steps to curb it.

A lot of them, people who wereat the receiving end, have now set-

tled back into their normal routine

as life can be busy for newly arrived

migrants, when asked, most of them

said that there was a problem but

Harris Park has now become com-

paratively safe.

Says one resident of Harris

Park, It is a much better place than

what it was then. Police now regu-larly patrol the area. Earlier no one

was listening to us especially the

police that there was a serious prob-

lem. Its good that things came to

their notice to do with law and order

problem and government having

taken some positive steps to repair

the damage.

Harris Park, known and promot-

ed as the Little India of Australia,

Dr Geoff Lee, local MP for

Parramatta region, said to TIDU,

No I am not watching the series

DD & R but a lot has changed in the

last five years as over 39% of the

population of Parramatta comes

from South-Asian backgroundaccording to Census 2011. Indians

are the fastest growing community

of NSW and Parramatta is a perfect

example of multiculturalism at its

best. The government has helped set

up Multicultural Consultative

Committee from the Indian commu-

nity for the government to consult

on various issues to do with any

concerns and to encourage them towork with the mainstream commu-

nity in terms of integration. We

started Parramasala Multicultural

Art Festival in Parramatta to not

only broaden the appeal but as an

excercise of real celebration of the

mix that makes Parramatta and

share it with the broader communi-

ty. As regards to incidents of rob-

beries, assaults the statistics show

that they are falling or rather stable.

Yes, I agree, that there can be some

anecdotal episodes but the effort of

previous Consul General Amit

Dasgupta and the local business

community and the regular business

forums we hold have been helpfulin making the situation better.

The government has done

tremendous work in making Harris

Park safe and habitable by widening

footpaths, installing better lighting,

fencing and CCTV around the sta-

tion area. I can say that Parramatta

is the home of festivals and Harris

Park with its Indian eateries a place

for tourists to come and enjoyIndian food and see a home away

from home.

Area Commander,

Suprintendant Robert Redfern, says,

I think Harris Park is a fantastic

place. I make sure that I come out

and talk to people in the area and the

business forum have done wonders

and the business community is quite

happy with the progress the place is

making. Local Council is improving

and enhancing the area with wider

footpaths, planting trees, better

lighting. Railcorp has installed

CCTV and security fencing with

general attitude in the people that it

is quite a peaceful place.Amarinder Bajwa, president of

UIA, the umbrella body of over 26

Indian associations, who came to

Australia in 2002, says, I myself

did face racism in the sense that I

had to modify myself to find a job. I

cut my hair as it was a matter of sur-

vival for me and my family. Me

being a Sikh I faced the stereotypi-

cal view that with my turban and the

beard I was perceived a threat rather

than getting employment. And this

is because there is a lot of ignorance

about Sikh religion a religion

which has its roots in the belief that

we are all equal. Stereotypes exist

everywhere, including India, but

talking of the stereotypes that exist

here, I think they are due to the

ignorance of the people. We, as

Indians, need to educate people so

that they can understand us better. I

must say since then things have

changed considerably and I find

people more accepting now. Only

because now they can see the grow-

ing ethnic diversity of Sydney and

are becoming more tolerant.

As a community leader and

president of UIA, me and my team

are always looking into ways of cre-

ating better understanding and

awareness of what we are and what

our culture is. UIAs Friendship Fair

is one such example where we

invite local community to come join

us for a day and see what being

Indian, India, its food and culture is

all about.

Census 2011 figures, HarrisPark with its concentration of Indian

community, SBS Bollywood Star

series, ABCs DD & R with four

Indian invited to travel through

Australia and the NSW government

starting Parramasala a multicul-

tural Art Festival, and having invit-

ed A R Rahman and Kailash Kher,

one can say there are efforts to make

the people happy and place peace-

ful.

Australians ...Dumb, Drunk and

Racist...definitely NO...according to

many members of the local Indian

migrant community which has seen

the efforts by all to help reduce ten-

sion and now know that they canapproach the police and the govern-

ment if in need, as everyone tries

their bit for a safer, tolerant society

with people educating each other

with an aim to live harmoniously.

What do local Indians say?

Harris Park - once Traditional land of the Burramutta clan, now a place where theres Indian majority, and a safe place due to measures and steps taken by the NSW govern-

ment, the police and the supportive business community itself. Pic Left: Nitin Setia of Ginger Restaurant talking to Hany Boutros, Rosehill Area Command, and Geoff Lee MP

at Harris Park Station; Pic Middle: Area Commandar Suprintendant Robert Redfern and Right: UIA President Amarinder Bajwa


15/64

Bollywood


By Neena Badhwar

Paresh Rawal, a comedian and actor,

came to Sydney recently with his

stage play Kishan vs Kanhaiya. In

the role of Kishan, Paresh Rawal, as an

antique dealer, took on Kanhaiya, the icon-

ic God we all Indians believe and have faith

in. The play was a take on everything what

was wrong with India and its belief system

and the so-called religious leaders who trade

God to innocent yet superstitious people.

The dialogues were loaded and Paresh

Rawals character brought forth issues that

riddle the Indian society, presented in a

satirical mix which kept the audience

engrossed all the way through. Paresh is a

consummate actor, who, at the centre of the

role, connects the rest of the characters in a

tight yet invisible bond as they all act to his

dominance as a superb stage performer.

IDU talked to Paresh as he sat in a

Brisbane caf enjoying the Australiansun.

How has your journey been from an

actor to villain to comedian, your evolution?It has been a very fruitful and meaning-

ful journey. It has enriched me as an actor,

as a human being and as a citizen of India.

I spend a lot of time now in theatre as my

original work was in theatre before I went

into films. And in acting it is all to do with

timing which is a vital component of acting.

You must understand the role, connect to

the character and know how to deliver lines

and timing is essentially all that.

Aisa lagta hai ki aap sabko hasate

rehte honge (It seems as if you keep oth-ers laughing all the time)? Do you ever

get serious or quiet? How do you perceive

the world? Is comedy difficult to do?I am not a brooding sort of a guy. I am

a normal human being who laughs when

theres something to laugh about and quiet

like any person can be. I take life as it is and

try to observe and see humour in situations,

in people around me. If not, then you will

die. Life can be unfair, unjust and some-

times rosy and bright so one must see the

humour in things that happen around us.

Just laugh it off otherwise you can choke to

death.

You are a frequent visitor to

Australia? Aapko Australia kaisa lagta

haiaur yahan ke log (how do you likeAustralia and its people)?

I am not that frequent a visitor. Last

time when I came it was 2006. Yahan ke logbahut hi acchhe hain. Australia is a very

nice place. It has its virtues, the loneliness,

money and greed and hollowness, yet it is a

very nice place like any other western coun-

try. Although India has come into money

and materialism, yet the people and even the

poor of India are quite spiritually strong and

India as a whole is not spiritually bankrupt.

People are happy even when they have very

little to sustain and survive.

Indian films seem to be covering themes

of the richZNMD, BBB, Cheeni Kum,

while the social problems still exist? India

has the poorest people in the worldstill

there are issues -slumsexploitation of

womenPlease comment.

No films, no dramas or television serial,

no matter how strong, can change or fix

social problems. The media, that is Films,

TV or Theatre can help increase awareness

and the only change anyone can make is

they themselves. The problems in India are

very deep rooted and one cant just wish

them away. In the end you have to work

hard to make a success of your life. No film

maker can help you fight the fight you want

to fight.

Aapke bete yours sons, what do they

do. I find that Bollywood has become a

place where only one can get a break if he

or she is so and sos son or daughter. What

do you say? And what is your wife SwaroopSampat busy with these days.

At the moment one of my sons is study-

ing theatre and the other screen writing.

They will have to work hard like I did,

though they have their fathers experience

as an added advantage. Yet, they must do

their own proving. Swaroop is busy with

charity work and is the UNICEF ambassa-

dor from Gujarat. She did her PhD from

University of Worcester and is busy work-

ing for NGOs like Save the Children and

others.

What are your future ventures any

inspiring comments for the Australian

Indian audience.

To aspiring actors from here I say work

hard and learn as you go. As for me I would

like to continue to learn more in theatre

which is my foremost love. And the Indian

film industry is changing as the times are

changing. New actors, directors are com-

ing. It is a very healthy time for the Indian

film industry which includes me. I will keep

on acting in films and theatre, of course.

Will you ever conduct a theatre work-

shop for local Indian Australian talentwhich is now gathering momentum, with

interest in theatre and films?Oh, no. I am not a good teacher, though

I am a good student. And still learning.

There is no blueprint to teach. You cant

teach people to act. It comes either natural-ly or when they work hard and explore

themselves as they go. Acting is a lot of

hard work. It is a very noble profession yet

it takes a lot out of you. It is rather a 25-

hour job in a 24-hour day.

Acting is essentially timing

- Paresh Rawal

The well-known comedian and actor, wasin Sydney recently with his stage play

Kishan vs Kanhaiya.


16/64


Bollywood

By Neeru Saluja

She has often been touted as the worldsmost beautiful woman. An icon of

beauty and source of pride for India,

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan recently sparked an

international debate for her weight gain after

motherhood. The hourglass figure has given

way to a voluminous figure, the once exotic

face has become plump, the beautiful brown

eyes look fatigued and her perfect face shape

has been lost with a double chin.

Dont get me wrong, Im not here criti-

cising the timeless beauty who is enjoying

motherhood, and in no rush to lose her baby

fat. Im analysing our society who till date

was never bothered if Indian actresses gained

weight post pregnancy or after marriage.

They were actually written off once married

or given roles of the mother or sister. Have

we started reflecting the westernized body

shape? Or do we expect our heroines to

always stay slim and glamorous?

The answer is yes. Lots of Indian actress-

es and models still look hot even if they are

touching 40. Move over Victoria Beckham

and Angelina Jolie, we have our very own

bandwagon of actresses and models that rock.

They made a gracious exit when their biolog-

ical clock was ticking away, but their love for

the tinsel town couldnt hold them back.

Juggling between motherhood and a career,

Bollywood is their passion and looking good

has become a necessity.

Lets start with the once thunder thighs

Sridevi, who looks svelte at the age of 48.

She is making her comeback with 'English

Vinglish' that features French actor MehdiNebbou, Adil Hussain, Priya Anand and

Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo. Discussing

her comeback, Sridevi says, "I never decide

or plan things. I would have grabbed English

Vinglish if the script had come to me even

five or 10 years ago. I didn't plan this as my

comeback film. It just happened. R Balki (the

director) is very close to my husband Boney,

and he came to me with two scripts. I heard

and loved both of them. Any middle-class

housewife will be able to identify with my

character, and that's why I felt this is the

right film for me."

The dhak-dhak girl Madhuri Dixit

shocked the industry by going to the US after

her marriage with Dr Nene. After regular vis-

its to Mumbai, a comeback film, TV shows,

Madhuri finally packed her bags and broughther family to relocate to Mumbai. Such is the

charm of Bollywood. Though she is still wait-

ing for the right film to make her comeback,

rumours are that she is fixed with a whopping

price tag. It is worth it, because her smile still

kills millions!

Karisma Kapoor never looked a day older

even after becoming a mother of two. She has

finally made her comeback with Vikram

Bhatt's 3D venture, 'Dangerous Ishq'. The

film is a woman-centric, supernatural thriller

where Karisma plays the central character.

The mast girl Raveena Tandon will be seen

romancing three men in Shobhnas 7

Nights. The bubbly Juhi Chawla never took

a backseat and be it a sisters role or adver-

tisements, she kept herself going with film

offers.

Remember Bhagyashree who made herdebut with Salman Khan in the 1989 hit

Maine Pyar Kiya, then refused to work with

anyone else except her businessman husband?

She is now back but not as the sweet next

door girl but as a sexy and sensuous woman!

Any takers for her? She can definitely give a

run for money to any actress who has acted

with her then leading man Salman Khan.

Despite having two kids, Kajol has still

been the leading lady of successful films with

the Khans. A natural when it comes to acting,

Kajol never took a backseat in her career.

Growing sexier with every passing day, she

chooses her roles carefully so she can create

a perfect balance between her family and

career.

And the yummiest mummy of all, who

can forget Malaika Arora Khan. Recently in

Sydney for the opening night of the IndianFilm Festival, she looked ravishing in a

shoulderless blue jumpsuit. Neither an extra

pound here nor an extra inch there. Her skin

looked radiant and she looked fulfilled with

what she has achieved with the success of

Dabaang. When asked about the latest mum

baby fat, she replied, Aishwarya Rai needs

to be given a break. The Indian media needs

to back off. Seriously, its not easy shedding

off those extra pounds. We all have gone

through it and we know how difficult it is.

Agreed - it is not that easy to hit the gym

daily amidst nursing a baby and changing

nappies. Maybe that is why our 90s

Bollywood queens Madhuri and Sridevi took

a backseat and made a comeback only when

their kids grew up. But hang on, walking thered carpet at Cannes with six-month old

Aradhaya in toe, couldnt Mrs Bachchan rest

and be with her baby daughter for a few

months more having become a mother at the

age of 38? Whats the hurry to be in the lime-

light and under the cameras which capture

you not in a perfect figure in public. Your

fans demand you to be still the iconic inter-

national beauty representing India and them.

The fans want you to look the best, no matter

what.

Be an actress or a model, your fans still

pin hopes on you and want to see you in your

best shape. Even if youve become a mum,

they dont want to write you off. Rather, they

want to see you mature and grow and be the

role model of beauty still. So cmon Aish,

you had to let go of the lead role in Heroine

due to your pregnancy and attend to the bun-

dle of joy that all the Bachchan household is

enjoying at the moment. Roles suited to you

on screen will come your way. At themoment the role of motherhood is the spe-

cial role assigned to you. We are sure you

will ride the high wave again and surprise

your detractors with your gorgeous looks and

deep and meaningful screen presence.

Once an actor, actor forever!Some famous Indian actresses and models made a gracious exit when their biological

clock was ticking away, but their love for the tinsel town couldnt hold them back.

The Dhak-Dhak girl, Madhuri Dixit is the star judge for the fifth season of

dance reality show, 'Jhalak Dikhla Ja'.

Karisma Kapoor never looked

a day older even after becoming a mother

of two. She has finally made her

comeback with Vikram Bhatt's 3D

venture, 'Dangerous Ishq'.

Aishwarya Rai should have avoided the

red carpet at Cannes after motherhood--

voluminous figure, plump face, fatigued

eyes, double chin and all.

Thunder Thighs Sridevi, who looks svelte at the age of 48, is making

her comeback with 'English Vinglish'.


17/64


Community

By Neena Badhwar

When you talk to Bipen Sharma

of Sharmas Kitchen he will quietly

say, Kyonji, theek hai na, as if

asking for affirmation for simple

philosophies about life. Yet that

simplicity and quest for natural

goodness of Indian homes back in

the times of yore simple, nutri-

tious food served by loving hands

has made Bipen look into food

items that were and are part of our

daily Indian diet for example Dahi

- homemade natural yoghurt that

any Indian household cant do with-

out; Lassi a must since it provides

probiotics essential for the gut.Bipen Sharma not only recreated

but experimented relentlessly with

them till he got them right from his

Hornsby warehouse. And if you do

the work with conviction and mar-

ket it right why wouldnt it be

noticed. Sharmas Kitchen has been

packing up awards after awards

every year since its inception by the

Royal Agriculture Society and by

the National Dairy Industry. Not

only his products Lassi, Dahi,

Paneer have created a niche market

they have been recognized for their

quality, consistency and taste. Year

2012 saw Sharmas Kitchen win

two gold and seven silvers fromboth the bodies. Gold went to Lassi

and Milk Badam another innova-tive product from Bipen. One must

taste fresh pakoras made from

Sharmas Paneeer to vouch for it as

piping hot paneer and its aroma

wafts through when tasting them

and Sharmas Paneer, Masala

Paneer got silver awards. And the

restless entrepreneur is experiment-

ing having come up with Shrikhad

which snapped another silver.

Mango Lassi, favourite of Indians

during summer time, earnt itself

gold last year and silver this year.

Says Bipen, Kyonji theek hai

na? as his wall behind his desk at

the office displays awards, testimo-

nials, news, interviews and recentlySMH Good Weekend interviewed

this busy man who is elusive in the

sense that he is in Sydney one day

and then in Bulgaria the next where

he has set up factory. Work hard and

recognition will follow is his motto

as we find it difficult to find him.

Winning among the biggest

names in the Australian Dairy

Industry is indeed very satisfying,

says Bipen Sharma, it is a special

feeling that we have been consis-

tently recognized for our high stan-

dards.

While winning awards may not

be new to

Documents

E Paper June-July 2012