Indian Weekender 23 January 2014

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www.iwk.co.nz

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The Pulse of Kiwi-Indians Auckland Christchurch Wellington Hamilton Palmerston North Hastings Invercargill

23 January, 2015 Vol. 6 Issue 25 | www.iwk.co.nz

New Zealands frst Kiwi-Indian weekly newspaper FREE COPY

PhotoCourtesy:dnaIndia


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COVER STORY

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T E R T I A R Y C O L L E G E S G R O U P

PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN Paula Ray & Maya Shivam

We have all had our own reasonsto move out of our homecountry in search of greener pastures

and not just that, most of us for years,

have shied away from claiming our

heritage and ethnicity. Often, we are

seen nding reasons to explain why

we are not really Indian.

Lately, however, the tables seem

to have turned; such that even

returning to India seems to be a

viable option worth a try. The grass

denitely looks a lot greener now on

Indian shores.

We had been hearing about India

shining for a few years now. But in

the past few months, our homeland

has been shining so bright that we

can proudly thump our chests and

introduce ourselves as Indians.

What could have possibly

changed to bring about such a

reversal in our psyche? One reason

that immediately comes to mind is

that a clean green India is no longer

a utopian dream, but something that

every Indian is being forced to follow

be it a high ranking government

ofcial, a politician or a school-going

child. Swachch Bharat is de rigueur

and not open to choice.

As for us NRIs (non-resident

Indians), the country has opened its

doors wide open. The government

has granted lifelong visa for PIO

(person of Indian origin) card

holders, implying that we dont have

to wait in long queues to visit our

friends and family back home.

Foreign Direct Investment is

being encouraged to an extent that

the Modi government is wooing

foreign businesses to use India as

their manufacturing hub.

Whats new with that, you would

say? India has been exporting its

produce to western economies for

decades now. The difference lies

in the fact that manufacturing hubs

in India, want to upgrade their

productivity to cater to international

standards. So the next time you see

a Made in India tag on your shirt or

your gym towel, be proud and aunt

it.

The most unprecedented

development in recent times, to

make us truly proud, has been the

successful Mars orbiter mission

Mangalayan, which has made India

the fourth country to reach Mars;

the only country to do so in its rst

attempt and that too at an enviable

cost.

If we look at the nancial status

of the country during the recent

Vibrant Gujarat summit, 21,000

MoUs were signed, to invest Rs 2.5

billion. Not to mention, the galaxy of

star personalities that graced the land,

including UN Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon and US Secretary of State,

John Kerry.

The visit of all of these stars

though will pale with the visit of US

President Barack Obama as the Chief

Guest on the Indian Republic Day

marking his second visit to India

during the same term of ofce.

In preparation for Obamas visit,

innumerable CCTVs are being

installed all over New Delhi and a

battalion of security personnel have

already descended on the capital

city. To quote Indian news media,

the following are arriving along with

Obama:

Continued on Pg 4


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Continued on Pg 5

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ARTISTS IMPRESSION ONLY ARTISTS IMPRESSI

India has achieved a remarkableand sustained socio-economicprogress in the last 20 years in scale,size and pace which is unprecedented

in its own history. I am humblyproud of my birth country India. I amhumbly proud of my home countryNew Zealand and being a Kiwi-Indian.Wishing you all a happy and safeIndian Republic Day.

Dr Sayeeda Bano JPSenior Lecturer of Economics

University of Waikato

Six aircrafts, carrying security

staff

Presidents cavalcade, with 30

cars. One of them might be the

Cadillac One, among the worlds

most high tech cars.

Marine One helicopters

Air Force One, Obamas

plane (equipped to protect Obama

even from nuclear attack)

Which other country in the world

can boast of having its general

election results telecast live at the

Times Square in New York and many

other countries in the world, including

New Zealand? The Manukau Square

had its own telecast and a celebration

for the worlds largest democracy.

It is indeed unprecedented that

a countrys Prime Minister gets a

Rockstar welcome with his own

independent platforms in foreign

lands during state visits, like we

witnessed Modi in Madison Square

Garden with an encore in Sydney.

Alright, thats enough of politics.

Lets turn towards sports and look

for some reason to celebrate. Voila!

Theres Rohit Sharmas 264 runs off

173 balls to cheer for, as is Saina

Nehwals medal at the Olympics.

Mary Kom fetched the rst-ever

Asian Games boxing gold medal

for India, with her biopic reckoned

amongst top Bollywood blockbusters

in the past year.

Talking about lms, Aamir

Khans PK grossed a record Rs 300

crore with a controversial story line

which has become a topic of heated,

Continued from Pg 3


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Continued from Pg 4

Continued on Pg 6

although quite liberating, arguments among

Indians both within and outside the country.

Irrfan Khan has made us proud by his

commendable performances, both in Hollywood

and mainstream Bollywood lms. His acting

prowess in Lunchbox was appreciated at the

Bafta awards in 2014.

Making it to the Forbes list of rich people is

again a milestone that has already been crossed

by many an Indian. Whats interesting is the

second ranking of Shah Rukh Khan in the list of

richest actors in the world, leaving behind the

likes of Tom Cruise, Clint Eastwood and Tom

Hanks. In fact, SRK has also been decorated

with Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur for his

contribution to Bollywood.

As if rocking the world on the AR Rahman

beat of Jai Ho wasnt enough, Priyanka

Chopra, a Bollywood beauty, has not only made

her mark as a pop singer but has also quite

Belonging to a nation where thebasis of existence is universal andnot driven by any stagnant ideologyand a country that has practicedtolerance towards the barbaric worldaround and relentlessly strived toguide it to modern day civilisation;denitely gives a comforting feeling.Irresponsible historians in the past

may have written accolades about thelooters and plunderers that tried to

bruise Indian landmass, but now it isheartening to see that the realised worldunderstands the soul of India the proudaccomplishment for every Indian.

Veer KharPresident, Manukau Indian Association


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Continued from Pg 5

Namaste, kia ora and best wishes to all.

I am honoured to wish readers of the Indian Weekender and

their families a happy Republic Day.

Republic Day marks a seminal point in Indias history, and

we join with you in commemorating 66 years of Indias democ-

racy and statehood.

Auckland has strong links with India, and our growing In-

dian communities can rightly be proud of the place they have

in our region, and their signicant contribution to Aucklands

economic, social and cultural life.

The many different ethnicities represented in our population

set Auckland apart as a truly international city. Our diversity

is one of Aucklands greatest strengths, helping us be globally

connected and giving us greater appreciation of our friends and

neighbours home cultures.

It is important we recognise the positive contribution the In-

dian community makes to our region, and I am proud to join

you in commemorating Indias Republic Day. I wish you all the

very best in your celebrations.

Thank you.

Len Brown

MAYOR OF AUCKLAND

successfully cut an album with Pitbull. Recently, she released her single that is trending on the

top of most charts around the world.

The Indian diaspora around the world seems to have come out of their shells and shining

their own light. Rakesh Khurana was appointed as Dean at the Harvard College and Nitin

Nohria is the 10th and the current Dean of Harvard Business School. He is also the George F

Baker Professor of Administration.

The world over there is a rise in the number of Indians who are being included in foreign

Parliaments and power houses. New Zealand too has three Indian members in its Parliament. As

if this wasnt enough, the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman was recently bestowed on our very own

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi. All these make us walk a few inches taller. To add to this is the Annual

Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame that acknowledges and celebrates the contribution of Kiwi-Indians in

our wider community.

Reecting the global popularity of Indian food, a number of Indian words like keema and

papad have been accepted in the Oxford English dictionary for the rs t time. The ninth edition

of the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, released recently, has included over 240 words

from Indian English.

For years the United Kingdom have had Chicken Tikka Masala as their favoured dish and a

recent survey stated that Butter Chicken is one of the top favourites in New Zealand. New-age

gurus and life coaches around the world are greeting or signing off with Namaste. The recent

inclusion of 21st June as the International Yoga Day is a worldwide recognition of one of the

oldest Indian practices.

Indian scientists and doctors around the world have for years earned acclaim with their genius.

While corruption is said to be largely under control ever s ince Anna Hazare led the India Against

Corruption supporters, the sidelines witnessed the growth through grit and determination of

a chaiwala (tea seller), raising the bar for Indian democracy by getting elected as the Prime

Minister of a country of 1.2 billion people.

We Indians have a long history of a rich and varied cultural heritage which gradually faded

through invasion and long periods of alien rule. Revival of our cultural roots are now clearly

visible. We now have grounds to be proud of our roots and there is no reason for any Indian to

shy away from proclaiming our ethnicity. India is today accepted as the fastest growing country

in the world and we are only just getting started. So lets throw our hands up in the air and

announce with all our heart

YESSS, WE ARE PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN!

We are part of Indian culture, which isone of the oldest in the world. Indian culturehas rich history. It is based on non-violence,family values and helping each other. Welearn to respect each human being and diversecultures. One of the basic principles of beingan Indian, we respect our elders. These valuesmake me feel proud to be an Indian.

Roshan NauhriaMD, Nauhria Precast & Reinforcing Limited

We are very fortunate to have in ourheritage a rich and vibrant culture whichreects our everyday deeds. In 1950, Indiaadopted the Constitution which has set the

blueprint for the Government. Let all Indiansaround the world hold our head high; let theworld know we are Proud to be an Indian. AtVibrant Gujarat, which has turned to VibrantIndia, Modi said: Someones dream isdependent on someones direction. 65 years

ago, a dream was reached; let 2015 be the nextbig milestone in history. Vande Mataramand Happy Republic Day.

Ranjna PatelDirector, East Tamaki Healthcare


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NEW ZEALAND

NZ scientist receivestop award in ChinaScience and Innovation Minister StevenJoyce has welcomed the news that Kiwiscientist Dr Phil Rolston has been awarded the

Chinese Governments most prestigious sci-

ence prize for his work in grasslands seed de-

velopment.

Rolston, Senior Scientist at AgResearch Lin-

coln, received the award at a ceremony in The

Great Hall of the People which was attended by

President Xi Jinping, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang,

and Minister of Science and Technology Wan

Gang.

The International Science and

Technology Co-operation Award of

the Peoples Republic of China is that

countrys highest accolade for foreign

scientists, Mr Joyce says.

Dr Rolston has dedicated more

than three decades of his working life to

advance grasslands seed development

and pasture improvement systems, es-

pecially in Gansu Province. Improved

soil fertility has meant higher-quality

pastures for famers, which is having a

signicant impact on productivity and

protability in the region.

China is an important science and

innovation partner for New Zealand.

Research collaboration between the

two countries is growing rapidly, and

President Xi Jinpings visit to New

Zealand in November highlighted our

deepening partnerships.

This award is a tremendous honour

for Rolston, and a great example of

how our best and brightest are forging

strong and enduring linkages with Chi-

na to build knowledge and expertise in

new areas.

Annual convention forAhmadiyya MuslimCommunity

T

he Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will

be hosting their 26th Annual Religious

Conference in Manukau on Saturday 24th of

January with a large gathering of Muslims and

invited guests expected to attend.

This year the theme for the Annual

Conference is Allah the Almighty, giving

prominence to our creator and our obligation to

humanity (His creation).

Mohammad Iqbal, National President of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, believes that

Allah the Almighty is the Master and the King.

He has no equal or partner and He is the sole

Creator of everything in the universe. Failure

to understand the unity of God has transcended

mankind into all sorts of turmoil, violence, and

brutality in the name of Allah and religion.

said Iqbal.

The Spiritual Head of the Worldwide

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadhrat

Mirza Masroor Ahmad in his closing address at

the Annual Convention held in Qadian, India on

28 December 2014, said .in the rst chapter

of the Holy Quran, Allah has stated that He is

the Lord of all the Worlds and as such He is

the Lord of all people of all beliefs. Thus, it was

impossible for a true Muslim to show anything

other than sympathy for all of mankind.

His Holiness said, We must develop the

very highest standards of compassion for all

humanity. Love for every person should gush

forth from our hearts like water gushes from a

fountain. We must nurse those who are in pain

or those whose hearts ache with grief. Only

then can we be considered true representatives

of Islam.

People can never justify injustices whether

it be politically or economically motivated or

power driven or anger dr iven to use the name

of God to glue the ignorant people together

to justify joining them and ghting and

shedding innocent blood, usurping other rights/

properties, honour and dignity, said Iqbal

In a special session for guests and dignitaries

starting at 11.00 am, the central missionary

Maulana Shaq-ur-Rehman will speak on God,

the Source of Peace.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is

a religious organisation, international in its

scope. It is acknowledged worldwide for its

sincere efforts to promote peace.

The Ahmadiyya annual convention is

celebrated internationally in countries all

over the world including Australia, England,

Germany, Canada and the United States of

America, with tens of thousands of participants.

The convention will be held at 20 Dalgety

Drive, Wiri Manukau on Saturday, January

24 starting at 11:00am. Any member of the

public wishing to attend should contact Mr.

Eqbal Khan, National Secretary for External

Affairs on 021 133 6146. Refreshments and

lunch provided by the Ahmadiyya Muslim

Community.

Dr. Phil Rolston


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NEW ZEALAND

Fun-lled ve days Swati Sharma

More than hundred childrenparticipated in the summercamp organized by Bhartiya Samaj

Charitable trust from 12-16 January.

The volunteers and staff members

made the annual camp a grand

success.

Five days of cultural, fun-lled

and entertaining environment, saw

children and parents satised with

the arrangements and facilities at the

camp.

Founder and trustee of Bhartiya

Samaj Charitable Trust, Jeet Suchdev

said, Ultimately, we are helping

children to believe in themselves.

Whether it is providing our children

with healthy well balanced meals

throughout the day, or nurturing a

healthy and safe environment so

children are recognized for their

personal achievements; everything

we do is about helping our children

reach their own potential.

Other than fun, physical

activities, learning and integrity werethe rules that all children followed.

They were also encouraged to show

respect to other participants and be

honest. They were all found to be

responsible for their own words and

actions, ensuring a positive effect on

the Camp.

Sports activities were followed by

professional team of sportspersons

from Kelly Sports. Coaches did the

maximum efforts to make the camp

enjoyable. The Bolliworks exercise

sessions by Health & Fitness

Educator Ella Kumar were also quite

popular.

Twins conquer seven peaksAfter conquering seven peaks ofthe world, Indian twins Tashiand Nungshi Malik are set to take

on their next adventure. The Malik

twins have each been awarded a New

Zealand India Sports Scholarship

(NZISS) to study the Graduate

Diploma in Sport and Exercise at

the Southern Institute of Technology

(SIT) in Invercargill in February this

year.

The sisters concurred the nal of

the 7 peaks, Mt Vinson in Antarctica

in December 2014. This made the

Malik twins the rst siblings and

rst twins to successfully climb

all 7 peaks of the world. This is

part of mission #2 for 7 which was

born out of the juxtaposition of

our love for mountaineering and

our desire to ght for the cause

of Indian girl child. Coming from

a place with female feticide and

increasing violence against the girl

child, we want to stand for her as

she climbs mountains through lifes

journey. Using our mountaineering

as a metaphor for lifes climbs

and breaking gender stereotypes,

we want to show her that she can

conquer every obstacle thats thrown

her way. (www.nungshitashi.com)

The New Zealand India Sports

Scholarship is funded by the New

Zealand government will cover all

2015 tuition fees to study at SIT for

Tashi and Nungshi plus a contribution

to their living costs. Ten lucky

scholars from India were awarded

a NZISS to study at institutions

in New Zealand. SIT secured the

highest number of awardees with

three of the ten scholarships coming

to study the Graduate Diploma in

Sport and Exercise in 2015. Yogesh

Sharma joins the twins as SITs third

NZISS awardee.

Yogesh is a physiotherapist by

profession and is actively involved

with private Cricket Academies in

Delhi (North India) giving young

cricketers physical training and

cricket coaching. He was a local

physician/trainer for the Canadian

National Cricket Team when they

were in India for the Cricket World

Cup warm-up games. Sharma has

also assisted the Rajasthan Royals

(Indian Premier League) team on

various occasions.

The scholarship winners were

delighted to receive their awards

from Stephen Fleming - Former

Black Caps captain and Primary

Industries Minister Nathan Guy in

New Delhi at a special celebration

to kick off the 2015 World Cricket

Cup (to be held in New Zealand and

Australia).

SIT, CE Penny Simmonds said

she was delighted that SIT had

secured the most scholarships of any

Tertiary Institute and having meet

Tashi and Nungshi Malik she is sure

they and Yogesh Sharma will be real

assets to the Southland community

while they are at SIT next year.

Ms Simmonds said she hoped

community organisations would

make the most of having three high

prole Indian sports people in our

midst by asking them to speak and

take part in community activities.

Children having fun at theSummer Camp


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NEW ZEALAND

The Indian Kite Festival Rizwan Mohammad

The Indian Kite Festival 2015 wassuccessfully celebrated at theAvondale racecourse last Saturday.

More than 9000 people participated

in this once in a year festival of kite

ying and having a wonderful family

outing.

The Kite Festival was organised

by Vaishnav Parivar who have been

doing it for the last 10 years in

Auckland and seeing the massive

turn out of crowd here, this festival

is being replicated in the cities like

Sydney and Melbourne in Australia

too. This festival is an opportunity

that Indian families have been looking

forward to all year, to come together

and celebrate the togetherness of the

whole Indian community.

The program started at 11am and

the crowd kept increasing by every

hour with the peak hours being 2 pm

onwards. Though drizzle did slow

down the momentum of the show for

a couple of minutes but the people

were back again enthusiastic and

lled with energy for the occasion.

Kite festival which is basically a

festival for the Gujrati community,

but it brought together the people

from all different communities

in New Zealand. The Avondale

racecourse was occupied with people

from Gujrat, Punjab, the South

Indian community, Fiji-Indians and

European community too. The venue

itself looked vibrant, bursting with

colourful dresses, single and family

size camping tents, children running

around and food items.

The food stalls had traditional

Indian street king food items like

bhel puri, chaats, sugarcane juice

and ice gola. The venue also had

kids playing corners like karting

with family, cycling and merry-

go-round. The skies were full with

different sizes and designs of kites

like spider-man designed, shark

shaped kites, regular animated and

traditional designed kites that were

being sold for $2 to $5 at the venue.

The crowd comprised of people from

all age groups and it brought families

together on a fun weekend outing.

There were also stage performances

by individuals, face painting for the

kids and hourly draws to win prizes.

Though the rain towards the evening

shortened the show by an hour but the

show altogether was a grand success

for the organisers and the Indian

community.


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NEW ZEALAND

MAYORALDRIVENews from the Council

Second Symposium on managing KauriDieback Disease

Everyone interested in protecting kauri areinvited to attend the second Symposiumon kauri dieback disease (Phytophthora taxon

Agathis or PTA), which can kill kauri of all

ages and sizes.

We held our rst Kauri Dieback Symposium

in 2013 to encourage open discussions about

this disease, the current research and efforts

to reduce the disease spreading, says Kauri

Dieback Programme Leadership Chair, Erik

van Eyndhoven.

Dr Nari Williams, science leader for

the Healthy trees, healthy future; enabling

technologies to combat Phytophthora diseases,

says This event will showcase what our

scientists and new ush of graduate students are

bringing to the programme. It is an exciting way

for scientists to engage with iwi, land owners

and communities to discuss how our research

aims to support kauri dieback management,

now and into the future.

Come and hear more about what is happening

and what it will mean for the protection of kauri

and other key plant species nationally at the

second Kauri Dieback Symposium being held

at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort, Hokianga

on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 February, 2015.

There will also be a panel discussion and

a eld trip hosted by Te Roroa following the

Symposium on Sunday 15 February.

Anyone interested in learning more

about how they can help keep kauri standing

is welcome to register for this free event.

Please register your interest online at www.

kauridieback.co.nz

Remember, everyone has a part to play in

helping prevent the spread of kauri dieback.

Keep to tracks and off kauri roots, and remove

all soil from your shoes, tyres and equipment

before and after visiting kauri forests.

Long Term Planphotographycompetition

The Christchurch City Council is askingphotographers to capture a striking imageof a city in transition for the cover of its Long

Term Plan.

The Plan published in March will shape the

city over the next 10 years and beyond, and

Mayor Lianne Dalziel is keen to nd a very

special cover shot.

Were looking for an image that captures

the mood of a city in transition, a place where

the unexpected is the new normal, a place

where anything is possible. This time we want

your imagination to run wild.

Yes the earthquakes did enormous damage,

but with the rebuild really underway theres

now a sense of new and exciting things ahead

and we want the cover to reect that.

Anyone can enter up to ve images in the

photography competition which closes on 22

February. For further information on entries go

to www.ccc.govt.nz/photocompetition

The winner will receive an acknowledgement

on the inside cover of the Long Term Plan

consultation document which may also feature

other competition entries on inside pages.

The winning image and other highly

commended photographs will also go on show

in the Councils Civic Ofces in March.

Two companiesned for unlawfulworks on residentialdevelopment sites

Two property developers have been ned bythe Auckland District Court for residentialdevelopments carried out in breach of the

Resource Management Act (RMA).

Union Development Ltd, a property

development company, was ned $42,750 for

the discharge of a large quantity of concrete

from a residential development to the Wairaki

Stream in Lyneld. This occurred while a

retaining wall was being constructed. The

concrete was up to 25cm thick in places in

the stream and extended for about 100 metres

through Lyneld Reserve. Several eels and sh

were killed by the concrete.

In sentencing Union Development, Judge

Harland found that the company was negligent

in relation to its environmental obligations:

A message needs to be given that those who

undertake property development, even on a

small scale, need to make themselves fully

aware of their environmental. If the property

developer is not familiar with the requirements,

then the obligation is on them to employ a

person who is.

Another property developer, SCD Ltd,

was ned $17,812 for continually failing to

comply with resource consent conditions by

carrying out works in the drip line of scheduled

Kahikatea and Rimu trees, including severing

several of the tree roots, and pruning trees

without consent. The company had been

warned several times by council employees and

issued with abatement notices, but still failed to

comply with the RMA.

www.facebook.com/indianweekender


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POWER COLUMN

Harnessing the power of the sun

These long sunny days are not onlygood for outdoor family time,they can provide us with abundant

and cheap energy. The conversion

of sunlight to electricity has long

been possible, but reduced costs and

improved efciencies of solar arrays

are now making it cheaper to harness

the power of the sun. Solar power

can displace the burning of coal and

gas, contributing to a lowering of

greenhouse gas emissions that cause

climate change.

Power can be generated in

centralised solar power stations,

but the most exciting development

is rooftop solar. Householders are

now installing solar arrays on their

rooftops, generating electricity

to displace their purchases from

utilities and selling power back to

the grid. This lowers transmission

costs because electricity can be used

locally rather than being sent from

far away (most power comes from

the South Island). Potentially lower

electricity bills, reduced reliance on a

distribution grid and lower emissions

means that its a win-win-win.

As a result, most governments

support solar power and accelerate

its introduction. As an example,

Germany which is not noted for high

sunshine hours, recently produced

more than half of its electricity

through solar power, mainly from

rooftops. Increasingly India and other

developing countries are embracing

the opportunities to generate their

electricity from solar power. Their

companies are at the forefront of the

growing solar industries.

But the New Zealand government

has not supported the introduction

of solar. Instead, the government

continues to give subsidies to oil

and gas and to the coal company,

Solid Energy, supporting the

pollution economy rather than clean

technology. The government has

also allowed the utilities to reduce

the prices they pay from surplus

electricity from household solar,

discouraging households from

installing solar.

The Green Party has policies to

encourage the use of solar, including

requiring the Electricity Authority to

set a fair price for utilities for surplus

electricity, and helping schools and

households to invest in solar arrays.

With government encouragement,

we can become the rst country

to generate all our electricity from

renewable sources. New Zealand

can lead the world in the transition

away from fossil fuels, beneting our

economy, encouraging self-reliance

and reducing our climate change

emissions. This is an exciting vision.

Barry Coates was a Green

Party candidate for Mt Roskill. He

was formerly Executive Director

of Oxfam New Zealand and has

more than 20 years experience of

international negotiations on climate

change. He has a Masters degree in

management from Yale University.

Barry CoatesGreen Party

Looking ahead in 2015

Im looking forward to anotherbusy year as the Governmentfocuses on locking in the hard-won

gains New Zealanders have made

under National. I want this country

to seize the many opportunities

available over the next few years to

get more jobs and higher wages to

support New Zealanders and their

families.

We begin 2015 in good shape.

The economy is in its fth year of

expansion and economic growth is

expected to average around 3 per

cent over the next four years, better

than the Euro area, United States,

United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada.

Employment is growing, with

72,000 more people employed than a

year ago, and an additional 153,000

people are expected to be in work by

mid-2019.

The average full-time wage

is expected to rise by $8000 to

around $64,000 by mid-2019.

Unemployment, currently down to

5.4 per cent, is expected to fall to 4.5

per cent by 2018.

Interest rates are staying lower

for longer, and household disposable

income is increasing faster than

ination rising 9 per cent in real

terms over the past four years. It is

forecast to increase another 9 per

cent over the next four years.

Our positive performance and

outlook in an unpredictable world

led one international bank economist

to call New Zealand the rock star

economy.

However, our goal isnt to be a

rock star. Its to be rock solid. We

want stable, sustainable growth

over the long term to support New

Zealanders and their families.

Well continue to do this by

spending taxpayers money wisely

and responsibly managing the

countrys nances just like youd

expect us to.

Well continue to build a more

competitive and productive economy

because thats the bes t way to create

more jobs and increase your wages.

Well continue to work at

delivering better public services.

These include lifting educational

achievement and upskilling our

workforce, providing better and

more convenient healthcare, getting

more people off welfare and into

work, supporting the vulnerable, and

making our communities safer.

Well also continue to support the

rebuilding of Christchurch because

we pledged we would stand with our

second-largest city, and we are.

This is a remarkable country and

there are many opportunities for us

all.

After a refreshing break with

family and friends Im looking

forward to getting stuck in and

continuing to build the brighter

future our community and all New

Zealanders deserve.

Kanwaljit Singh BakshiNational List MP

Winston PetersNZ First leader

Pressure goes on jobs, hospitals, housing,school from immigration

The Social Development Minister

spoke on radio about the numberof people on welfare benets in New

Zealand. She mentioned that there

was a need to be careful we dont ll

up all the spaces with immigrants.

This was a revelation as National

has refused to act on the record levels

of immigration, both permanent and

temporary, while New Zealand First

has pointed out the numbers are

putting increased pressure on all our

public services like hospitals and

schools, and increasing demand for

housing. There is also pressure on

jobs. Its not as though there is an

abundance of jobs available in New

Zealand.

Low-skilled jobs are being

snapped up by international students,

who National has allowed work

permits, and record migrant numbers

staying each year. However, we have

an ofcial unemployment rate of140,000 and thousands on casual and

part-time work.

New Zealand First has always

believed in immigration that will

benet New Zealand.

Everyone can see the migrant

workforce is growing rapidly.

Service stations and supermarket

counters are manned by foreign

workers, thousands of foreign

construction workers have poured

in for the Christchurch Rebuild, and

the dairy industry has a sea of foreign

employees.

New Zealand First believes its

long since time to take a breather

from ooding the country with

people and concentrate on getting

New Zealanders into work and

taking the heat out of the rental and

home ownership market.

The-OECD warns we have anunmanaged ow of temporary

workers, the biggest among 34

OECD countries, and it says it is

potentially bad for New Zealanders

job chances.

National has just opened the

gates, picking the easy option to keep

wages and conditions down.

At the same time National is

trying to push people off benets

when the few jobs are snapped up by

migrants, many of whom will accept

any conditions, as has been revealed

in Christchurch.

The government is doing little

about job creation. The Minister

claimed on radio that on the East

Coast of the North Island, for

example, it was a pretty good

lifestyle. Obviously she is not

working on job creation in the region

We now know that the government

understands that record immigration

is causing problems. Their inaction is

obviously about playing politics. The

sad reality is that New Zealanders are

the victims.


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INDIA

India-US ties set to move to transformative level Ranjana Narayan

India-US ties are set to move tothe transformative level during

President Barack Obamas India visit

later this week, building also on the

personal rapport developed between

him and Prime Minister Narendra

Modi with both sides keen to have

promising outcomes from the talks on

a range of issues, including defence,

energy, education and economic

cooperation.

Obama, chief guest at this years

Republic Day parade, has described

Modi as a man of action.

The two leaders have met thrice

already in the recent past - in

Washington during the bilateral in

September last year, in Myanmarduring the East Asia Summit and in

Brisbane during the G20 in November.

But the Jan 25 bilateral would be an

important summit meeting in that

it would seek to give a more concrete

shape to many of the agreed points of

the joint statement issued last year in

Washington.

The summit would see a more

broader partnership and more

energized ties between the two sides.

In the eld of defence, both sides

are set to ink a new 10-year defence

framework agreement that would take

defence cooperation to a higher level.

Talks on developing the next

generation aircraft carrier are likely to

gain steam as well as on coproduction

of defence equipment.

The US is keen to replicate in part

the kind of defence cooperation that

India and Russia share, especially

on the lines of the BrahMos missiles

that is jointly developed by the two

countries.

The US is also to cooperate with a

planned National Defence University

to be set up by India.

The agreement for US involvement

the Smart Cities project for Ajmer,

Allahabad and Vishakhapatnam is

also to get a push during the talks.

Talks have been going on betweenrelevant authorities to take forward

the project over the past few months.

It would see the US participating in

the three cities as knowledge partner

in the areas of trafc management,

solid waste management, garbage

disposal, recycling waste water and in

water storage, said sources.

Economic ties are also set to get a

major leg up.

The fact that the US government

and business houses view the Modi

government as business-friendly

is evident from the fact that an

80-member team from the US with

12 CEOs attended the Vibrant Gujarat

Summit in Gandhinagar, led by US

Secretary of State John Kerry.

Kerry had met Modi during the

sidelines of the Vibrant Gujarat for

talks on the agenda for Obamas

visit. The US Secretary of State

later told reporters that both sides

would strive to make progress on the

four main issues of climate change,

defence, civil nuclear cooperation and

economic partnership.

The stalled civil nuclear deal is

also expected to get a major push with

the contact group from both sides

having held two rounds of talks so far.

Issues over Indias liability laws are

expected to be ironed over.

The US is hoping to build on the

Modi governments bold policy

initiatives like Make in India, Smart

Cities, Skilling India and renewable

energy.

After Modis assurance to foreign

companies to ensure ease in doing

business in India by cutting away red

tape, more investments have been

owing into India from the US.

More concrete movement on the

Modi governments Digital India

initiative as well as on Indias proposal

to establish the Global Initiative of

Academic Networks (GIAN, or

Knowledge) would be seen during the

summit.

As part of cooperation under GIAN,

which is part of the joint statement,

India is to invite and host up to 1,000

American academics each year to

teach in centrally-recognized Indian

Universities, at their convenience.

While the American teachers are to be

reimbursed by their parent universities,

India would be looking after their stayin the country and also pay a token

amount.

The process of identifying the

universities on both sides is underway.

The talks would also see forward

movement to cooperation in the

health sector, especially in developing

affordable vaccines for dengue,

malaria, and tuberculosis and also in

cancer research.

Obama is the rst US president

to visit India twice during his tenure

and the rst to attend the Republic

Day parade as chief guest.


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INDIA

Obama visit to bring Make In India tidings Biswajit Choudhury

Happening like a quick follow-up to Prime Minister NarendraModis November US visit that

secured its corporate commitments

of $41 billion in India, President

Barack Obamas visit later this

week is expected to result in major

announcements on the Make In India

front, informed sources said.

Amitabh Kant, secretary in the

department of industrial policy and

promotion (DIPP), is currently

heading a team in Washington for

an outreach on the Make in India

programme Tuesday that will

be attended by all top American

companies with interets in India

A source in the commerce and

industry ministry told IANS that the

outreach will convey the improved

environment for doing business in

India and assure US investors of a

stable policy regime. The delegation

will meet with ofcials of several top

companies to get investments in the

industrial corridors planned in India.

During the Obama visit,

intellectual property rights and a

bilateral investment treaty (BIT)

would be key issues on the agenda,

according to a US State Department

ofcial. The commerce ministry

source said a series of woerking

group meetings are planned on

various issues, including intellectual

property rights (IPR), investment

in manufacturing, a totalisation

pact, market access for agricultural

products and an easier visa regime.

The groups were set up under

the trade policy forum (TPF),

reconvened after a gap of four years

in November, that was co-chaired

by Commerce and Industry Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman and US Trade

Representative Michael Froman.

The US has been pressing for

tightening Indias IPR regime,

while Froman had, in November,

said here that high standards were

being adopted by the Trans-Pacic

Partnership (TPP), and India too

needs to look at its current standards.

While ofcials from both sides

are working on a multi-billion dollar

fund to invest in Indias renewable

energy sector to be announced during

the US presidents visit, solar power

projects have reportedly become

problematic due to the Make In India

campaign.

The governments announcement

last month, of a series of 1,000

MW solar PV (photovoltaic) power

projects that has a mandatory

condition that all PV cells and

modules used in solar plants set up

under the scheme will be made in

India, is reportedly an irritant for the

US.

The US has complained against

India at the World Trade Organisation

over the Jawaharlal Nehru National

Solar Missions domestic content

requirement (DCR) for solar cells

and solar modules in its projects.

India maintains that US subsidies

on solar products threaten Indian

manufacturers and has accused it

of dumping cheap and outdated

technology in India.

India is expected to push for

an easier US visa regime for its

professionals and a totalisation pact

that would exempt Indian workers

from having to make social security

contributions.

Top chief executives from both

countries are slated to meet to meet

on Jan 26 to set the agenda for

economic cooperation.

The US is the sixth largest investor

in India with $13 billion from April

2000 to September 2014. It is also

Indias second largest trading partner

after China with bilateral trade worth

$61.64 billion.

Political leadership in the Indian context Amit Kapoor

The Oxford online dictionarydescribes leadership as: Theaction of leading a group of people

or an organization, or the ability to

do this.

Three points arise from this

denition. First, there has to be

action. It may be thought of as work

as described in karmic terms by

Krishna to Arjuna in The Bhagavad

Gita. Second, there essentially hasto be someone who is willing to be

lead. In other words, there has to be

someone ready to follow a leader.

Krishna, the lord of the world, is

urging Arjuna, his follower, for

action. Third, the ability to lead is

dependent upon authority (by virtue

of position) or exercise of power

(spiritual/moral/physical) by the

leader. In this case, the power of

Krishna is derived from his being the

lord of the universe.

Next week the leader of the

worlds largest democracy will

meet the leader of the worlds most

prosperous and presumably theoldest one. They will discuss the

future of these two great nations.

A pertinent question that comes

immediately to mind is: How much

do destinies of nations depend on

individual leadership? Most people

would agree that institutions are

necessary for the rise and fall of

nations. What about the relationship

of effective leadership to the future

of countries? We believe it is central

but often neglected.

One needs to make a distinction

between leadership, management

and power. Leadership is often

dependent on a purpose and results

in a change in values, ideals, vision

et al. Management is often objectives

driven and results in a kind of stabilityand is based on rationality, process

driven thinking and the fulllment

of contractual obligations. Power

mainly refers to the means leaders

have to potentially inuence others.

The rise of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi has turned the

attention away from the views of

an institution/organization (the

BJP) in the political context to an

individuals and the view of his

leadership ability. While it is early

days to take a position on him as

a leader on the national front, it

must be mentioned that his success

as a leader has inspired a wholepublication industry with books like

Nitin Agarwals 21 Leadership

lessons of Narendra Damodardas

Modi, Andy Marinos Narendra

Modi: A Political Biography and

Sudesh Vermas Narendra Modi

The Gamechanger.

The rst book draws lessons and

principles from Modis leadership

ability that has brought him success.

Marino deals with an analysis of

Modis personal and political life.

Vermas book focuses on Narendra

Modi the man. All these books allude

to a broader point of the need for

undertaking research in political

leadership in postcolonial societies

that has largely been missing atleast

in the academic world in the Indiancontext.

Although one hears of leadership

programmes /modules/development

of leadership in educational

institutions in India, research

in political as well as business

leadership is scant when we compare

it to the US. It could be because

the initial focus in a developing

country context is on building proper

institutions rather than researching

leadership. However, as regards

people, from times immemorial,

leaders have caught their fascination.

In earlier times often the people who

are today recognized as great leaderswere either from the religious/

spiritual domain (think Mohammad,

or Jesus or Kabir or Vivekananda

or even the Dalai Lama today) or

from the political/militaristic domain

(think Alexander, Napolean, Akbar,

Ashoka and the like).

If one looks at the political

context of the previous century to

name just a few political leaders,

some that would immediately come

to mind would be Gandhi, Churchill,

Kennedy, Reagan, Thatcher,

Roosevelt, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini,

Stalin, Mandela and the like. Some

of them did an excellent service to

their nations, others ruined them.

Similarly businesses too have had

great leaders in the previous century -think of the likes of JP Morgan, John

D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford and Walt

Disney, and most recently, Steve

Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani and Ratan

Tata. The list is no way complete and

is only meant to serve a suggestive

purpose. What has their impact

been? What can we learn from their

leadership? While we have taken

leaders, that too a select few from

the governments and corporations,

people in the arts, civil society, the

judiciary and the media have been

equally if not more distinguished.

What impact has their lives made

on the fate of nations? That is acrucial starting point in the analysis

of leadership and its implications for

the rise and fall of nations.

It must be noted that leadership as

a theme is as old as political inquiry

itself. Early examples of people

grappling with the idea of leadership

come from Plato, Machiavelli, Sun

Tzu, Confucius and Kautilya et al.

In the most recent past, it has been

examined through various lenses

and approaches and therefore several

theories of leadership have emerged.

Several experts and scholars too have

actively contributed in the western

world to the research and scholarship

on leadership, most prominent

among them being Warren Bennis,

Stephen Covey, and Peter F. Drucker.Perhaps in the years to come we may

see more inquiry into the nature of

leadership in the Indian context. The

present government would be indeed

wise to remember Ronald Reagans

advice on leadership taken from

21 leadership lessons of Narendra

Modi: To grasp and hold a vision

that is the very essence of successful

leadership. With his recent address

at a global economic summit we

know Modi has a vision for India, but

will he be able to hold on to it, we

will have to wait and watch.

The article is co-authored with

Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcherat the Institute for Competitiveness,

India. The views expressed are

personal. Amit Kapoor is Chair,

Institute for Competitiveness &

Editor of Thinkers.


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FIJI

NEWS inBRIEF

Report analyses electoral processThe Concerned Citizens for Credible Elections group launched the Voter

Perception Based Elections Report last week in Suva, reports Fiji Sun.

Suliana Siwatibau, group chairperson, said the repor t provided an analysis

of the electoral procedures of last Septembers general elections.

We had 106 volunteer researchers of which 100 were ready to gather

information on the set-up of election stations, counting of votes and votersperceptions, Siwatibau said. The purpose was to learn from the exper ience

to improve future elections and election monitoring.

It is our hope that all our efforts will not be in vain but will give rise to

greater citizen participation in election monitoring for increasing faith in our

democratic institutions into the future, she said.

The group is made up of 16 civil society organisations like the Fiji

Womens Crisis Centre, Pacic Dialogue, Fiji Council of Churches and the

Citizens Constitutional Forum among others.

Trade Union electionsCoral Coast Tourism and Catering Union will hold its election in early

February, supervised by the Fijian Elections Ofce.

The union was formed by the employees of the Warwick Fiji Resort

and Spa after being dissatised with the Union of Hospitality, Catering and

Tourism Industries Employees in 2013.

Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem conrmed that in the rst

quarter of this year, a number of trade union elections would be held. Under

the Electoral Decree, trade unions now need to notify the Fijian Elections

Ofce of their intention to organise an election at least six weeks prior to

the date xed for the elections. The new system makes the election of trade

unionists transparent.

Education makes a smart country:PM

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says an educated country is a smart

country. And a smart country can produce the quality goods and services

that can boost Fijis capacity to compete on the international stage to

make our exports a byword for quality and Fijian workers valued the world

over, Bainimarama said at the opening of the Niusawa High School girls

dormitory, reports Fiji Sun.

So I want to leave an important message with you all today that I hope

will resonate across Fiji. That your school motto here in Niusawa nothingwithout work is a motto that should be embraced by every Fijian, he said.

Online water bills from MarchFrom March onwards Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) customers will be

able to access their water bills through the internet. The authoritys Gentrack

billing system will be fully operational by then.

Chief executive ofcer, Opetaia Ravai, said the new system would

replace the outdated billing process that has been in existence since the

Public Works Department (PWD) days. He said the existing billing system

has not evolved with the changing business and customer needs. It is all part

of WAF upgrading, to provide our customers with the latest in technology for

a faster and more efcient services.

Asphalt Shingle

Roofng SpecialistsASPHALT ROOFING (NZ) LIMITED

New builds and Reroofs

Ph. 022 086 1709 | www.asphaltroong.co.nz

New funding scheme beginsdebateThe Oppositions criticism of thenew parliamentary funding forparty ofces demonstrates a

further misunderstanding of

the separation of powers and

parliamentary procedures and

processes, says the Government.

Responding to claims by

Opposition leader, Ro Teimumu

Kepa, at a press conference,

the government spokesperson

said that the new funding

system was imposed on them

without consultation and with

less than 48 hours notice before

implementation, reports Fiji

Sun.

This is unacceptable. The

entire episode is not parliamentary

democracy, but its parliamentary

dictatorship, said the

spokesperson, claiming that the

directive came from Minister forFinance Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

Under the new arrangement,

Secretary-General to Parliament,

Viniana Namosimalua, states that the

new funding system allocates parties

$15,000 per Member of Parliament

per annum.

According to Namosimaluas letter

dated January 8 and addressed to the

secretary-generals of the three parties

in Parliament, she advised them on

the new funding allocation and her

decision to revoke the appointments

of all political parties support staff

in their respective parliamentary

ofces saying that political parties in

parliament will no longer be providedwith established civil service positions

for their parliamentary ofces.

The allocation means FijiFirst (32

MPs) will receive $480,000 a year;

SODELPA (15 MPs) will receive

$225,000 a year while NFP (three

MPs) will get $45,000.

This is funding for the parties

to run their Parliamentary ofces

independently and choose their own

staff outside civil service rules. This

new arrangement is effective from 1st

January, 2015.

All temporary appointments and

extension of appointments of existing

staff in the respective political party

ofces under civil service positionshad been revoked from January 9.

The Government denied

Namosimalua had acted on the

directions of the Minister of Finance

to implement the new funding

arrangement.

Its statement said: To the

contrary, the new arrangement was

implemented by the Secretary-

General in the exercise of the powers

conferred upon the Secretary-General

under the Constitution. The 8 January

2015 letter from the Secretary-

General to all political parties in

Parliament makes it very clear that

the Secretary-General, in the exercise

of her constitutional powers, has

decided that political parties in

Parliament will no longer be provided

with established civil service

positions for their parliamentary

ofces. Instead, all the political

parties will be allocated funding by

the Secretary-General and it will be

the responsibility of the respective

political par ties to engage their own

staff for their political party ofces in

Parliament.

Furthermore, in her 8 January

2015 letter, the Secretary-General

further states as follows: Based on the

funding appropriated for Parliament

in the 2015 National Budget under the

2015 Appropriation Act 2014, I have

reviewed the amounts to be allocated

to each political party for the staff of

their parliamentary ofces and I have

decided that each political party will

be allocated funding of $15,000 per

member per annum.

It is therefore quite clear from

the 8 January 2015 letter that the

Secretary-General decided in her own

right that she will be making

and implementing this new

arrangement for the funding of

stafng of parliamentary ofcesof political parties.

Given the above, the

claims by the Opposition are

misleading and superuous. In

light of the fact that the decision

to implement a new funding

arrangement was made by the

Secretary-General, any claim

that there was a breach of the

Constitution or the Standing

Orders is unfounded.

There is no doubt that the

Secretary-General consulted

and held discussions with the

Minister of Finance, as the

funding of stafng is being

sourced from monies allocatedto Parliament under the 2015

National Budget.

There is nothing unconstitutional

or improper about an independent

constitutional ofce consulting the

Minister of Finance or his Ministry

on budgetary and funding issues, both

before and after the announcement

of the National Budget. Such

consultations on nancial matters are

regularly held and will continue to

be held with numerous independent

constitutional ofces, including the

Judiciary, the Director of Public

Prosecutions, FICAC, Auditor-

General, Supervisor of Elections and

other Commissions established under

the Constitution.

Of course, the Secretary-General

held discussions with the Minister

of Finance regarding resourcing

of Government and Opposition

parliamentary ofces. Indeed, even

before the 2015 National Budget

was nalised, the Secretary-General

had raised concerns with respect to

the provision and management of

staff for the respective political party

parliamentary ofces. These included

hiring of staff who were over the civil

service retirement age, as well as

requests for staff to be appointed to

civil service positions without having

proper qualications and without a

competitive selection criteria being

followed.


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FIJI

Floodgate OpensAoodgate has been constructed in Waikete Village in Tailevuto prevent salt water from reaching farms and crops in thevillage, reports Fiji Sun.

The oodgate is a combined effort by the Ministry of Agriculture

and the Pacic Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Programme

to support families, especially farmers, whose crops are affected

by the high salinity content in the soil.

The Ministrys Land and Water Resource Management

(LWRM) Division director, Colin Simmons, explained that the

new oodgate would also mitigate ooding in the village.

Waikete village is a pilot project area for the PACC Program

and this was one of the last projects for 2014 in the Central

Division, he said.

The Victoria

Residences signed

26 contracts on

rst day of release

A

fter successfully selling down fourcity residential developments in 2013

and 2014, Conrad Properties Limitedhave recently embarked upon anotherprestigiously located

Residences and Retail Development. TheVictoria Residences nestled on the cornerof Victoria Street West and Federal Street isonly a dollar coins throw from the Sky Towerand Sky City Casino. The opening day of theVIP release on Monday welcomed over 100agents from New Zealands top real estaterms, representing many interested buyers

of this distinguished address in AucklandsCBD. Acclaimed Auckland architects,The Leuschke Group, have designed TheVictoria Residences to echo the vibrancy ofits surroundings. Every residence combinesclever design with space saving innovations

and environmental eciencies. There are 161one and two bedroom beautifully appointedresidences and nine ground level retail unitswithin the 25 storey development. Prices forthe freehold strata title superior residencesrange between $385,000 for a one bedroomSky Pad to over $1,000,000 for a top leveltwo bedroom Premium Sky Home. Theopening day saw over 26 sales followed witha strong second day of interest in this undersupplied segment of the Auckland housingmarket. Purchasers have the opportunity tosecure a residence o-the-plan with a low

initial deposit of only $1,000 (which is held inthe stakeholders solicitors interest bearingtrust account). The balance of the deposit(as specied in the Agreement for Sale and

Purchase) is to be paid within 10 workingdays of signing an agreement and thentheres nothing further to pay until settlementand handover of the keys. Construction isexpected to begin in the middle of this yearand should be ready for occupancy in June2017.

I I

I

I I


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NEW ZEALAND

Editorial

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, Auckland

Printed at Guardian Print, Ashburton

Copyright 2014. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Indian Weekender Volume 6 Issue 25

Publisher:Kiwi Media Group Limited

Managing Editor:Giri Gupta | [email protected]

Editor: Maya Shivam | [email protected]

Associate Editor: Paula Ray | [email protected]

Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | [email protected]

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- Mark Caine

Sweet-asPronounced: Sweet-as

A term people say instead of cool or awesome

Usage: That car over there is sweet-as bro!

Funny bone

Pick of the week

TIP from The TreNCheS

Ultimate Note taking with Evernote App

Write notes of all types, from short lists to lengthy research, and accessthem on any device. Collect web articles, handwritten notes, and photos

to keep all the details in one place.Take notes: write in a clean, distraction-free workspace.Get organized: create notebooks and add tags to wrangle projects.Find anything fast: text in notes, photos, and PDFs is searchable.Create a workspace for collaboration with shared notebooks and

share ideas.Keep up with to-dos: make to-do lists and check items off as you go.Manage expenses: organize receipts, bills, and invoices.

The Unreal Times reported that the US will transport 20,000 gallons of breathable air forObamas visit to Delhi for Republic Day. This is how President Obama will roll during hisvisit to Delhi (Base image via indiatoday.com)

The rst step toward success is taken when you refuse to be acapt ive of the envi ronment in which you rst nd yourself.

From the desk of theManaging Editor

Just today, I spoke to a dear friend of mine after a gap of 35years. Needless to say,life had happened to both of us and we had drifted apart. God bless my daughter andtechnology; together they tracked him down. Its often that until you meet or speak to

someone after those many years, is when you actually realize how much you missed them

and how important they are to you. Often we become so busy with our lives and struggles

that we lose track of those who have actually been our building blocks. But then, just as

life caused you to drift apart, it causes you to come together again.

The lesson I came back from this was never to let go of people who are important. Life

is about cherishing the relationships you build.

Talking of building relationships, the mother of all re lationships is what is on everyones

mind these days the growing India and US relationship. It is history in the making it

will be the rst ever time that a President of the United States has visited India twice

during his term and the rst ever time that the US President will be the chief guest at aRepublic Day celebration. There is great speculation and expectation from this impending

Obama visit to India. More so after the very optimistic visit of John Kerry during the

Vibrant Gujarat Summit. We had elaborately covered Mr Kerrys visit in our previous

issue and this issue brings you a curtain-raiser on the Obama visit. The excitement of the

year seems to be really building up and everyone almost seems to be holding their breath

to see how it all unfolds. Please look out for our next issue with all the details and other

reports on the Republic Day celebrations.

The other news thats topping the charts these days is the upcoming Delhi elections and

the Clash of the Titans Kiran Bedi the game-changer for BJP and Arvind Kejriwal of

AAP. The two together are keeping the media very busy and we thought we will serve up

a portion of it before the Obama mania takes over and all other stories take the sidelines.

In this issue we bring you another installment of Razzmatazz. The rst one was very

well received by our readers and this time we have the renowned designer Nikhil Kapoor

of NIFT fame giving us fashion tips for 2015. Hope you enjoy some really beautiful

pictures provided exclusively for Indian Weekeneder.

In this issue our section on Pimp your Cause raises another important and thought-

provoking question. A question that has perhaps been asked a bit too often, but has to datenot brought any clear answer. Perhaps we now as a society need to put our heads together

and think of the answer.

To sign off, on behalf of the entire team at Indian Weekender, wish all our readers a

very Happy Republic Day. Lets spare a thought to those who put the building blocks of

our country so we may one day build it into the India of our dreams. As India prepares

itself for the ight to newer and higher frontiers, heres wishing that all Indians around

the world as they x their gaze on achieving higher frontiers. Lets stand tall and witness

India scale greater heights lets applaud and cheer the vision and the determination of

the man who is making this possible and lets claim our rightful place in the world lets

be proud to be an Indian!

May the Force be with you!

Giri Gupta


17/32

www.iwk.co.nz

23 January 201517

l

OPINION / EDITORIAL

n

cademic

ccountProf Sekhar BandyopadhyayDirector of New Zealand India Research Institute

In this column, I share my experiences thatwould perhaps be familiar to you too.If you can relate to them, please share your

thoughts or similar experiences with me

The message of the greatestPravasi Bharatiya

Iam writing this column from India during thelast phase of my more than a months stay inmy country of birth. During this stay I watched

a number of important events happening, each

having specic signicance for todays India.

The most important of all from my perspective

as a non-resident Indian (NRI) was of course the

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held on 7-9 January at

Gujarats Gandhinagar.

This particular event is being held in India

since 2003 with a mission to reconnect with

about twenty-ve million people of Indian origin

spread across the world. It is to recognise the

achievements of these migrs (Pravasis) and to

benet from their intellectual leadership, skills andcapital investments.

However, this years event was special, as

it celebrated the centenary of home coming of

the greatest of all Indian expatriates, Mohandas

Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma

(the great soul) Gandhi. On 9 January 1915 he

landed at the Port of Bombay after nearly twenty

years of stay in South Africa, where he fought

against a racist regime for the rights of Indians. For

the next thirty-three years, until his assassination

on 30 January 1948, he gave India his incredible

intellectual and political leadership in achieving

independence and attaining nationhood. If India

had the misfortune of being partitioned, it was

because many of his disciples did not listen to his

advice during the last hours of British rule. But thatis a different story, which we need not go into here.

What has struck me however is that in todays

India people should take the Mahatmas message

much more seriously and passionately than they

ever did before.

It was in South Africa that Gandhi realised the

pluralist nature of Indian society and in his famous

book Hind Swaraj

(1909) dened

a universalistconcept of

nationhood, which was not to be based on the

majoritarianism of any particular community, but

would provide appropriate place to the minorities

and the downtrodden. It would even be inclusive

of foreigners, as he wrote: The introduction of

foreigners does not necessarily destroy the nation,

they merge in it. A country is one nation only when

such a condition obtains in it. Such a notion of

inclusive nationhood is worth emulating for all

other nations receiving immigrants. Following

his grand vision, the Indian constitution provided

that the state would show equal respect for all

religions and guarantee social justice for all

hitherto underprivileged castes and tribes of India.

Today India needs economic development,

no doubt, and in this mission the wealthy NRIs

can certainly help with investments, advice and

leadership. But she also needs Gandhis wisdom,

and his message of inclusive nationalism, religious

tolerance and the principles of social justice.

A few days ago Professor Jagdish Bhagwati,

the famous Professor of Economics at ColumbiaUniversity and a great champion of Narendra

Modis Gujarat model of free market economy,

reminded an audience at Teen Murti Bhavan in

New Delhi that these two aspects of development

- economic and social - are complementary to each

other. It is only an inclusive India that can achieve

great heights in terms of economic development.

Temptation lies in the eyeof the beholder

Paula Ray

It was about ve years ago, almost a yearafter Pooja had rst arrived in Auckland.The apartment she was renting in CBD was

managed by a reputed letting agency and their

service was quite commendable.

Midway through her tenancy contract, the

property was sold off and the new owner did

not hire the services of the agency. As is the

norm, thereafter she had to report directly to the

apartment owner in case something needed to

be repaired.

So one day, a window lock snapped into

two and she got in touch with the owner, who

duly asked her to show him the window the

following afternoon. They agreed on a time andPooja waited at home to let him in.

After attending to the lock, he started a polite

conversation and eventually it veered towards

personal information. Pooja did not feel very

comfortable and so she told him that she had an

appointment.

As she walked towards the main door to let

him out, he grabbed the neckline of her T-shirt

indecently. This took her by complete surprise and

she slapped his hand away, pushing him out of the

door. At the same time, it also scared the wits out

of her. The apartment belongs to him and he had

complete right to ask her to leave overnight, or

so she thought. In those days, she was not very

conversant with the New Zealand tenancy laws.

Her rst instinct was to call the buildingmanager, who happened to be one of the rst

friends she made in this city. He was very helpful

and Pooja could talk to him about what had just

happened.

In due time, she found out about the tenancy

laws of the land, mostly via Citizens Advice

Bureau, and decided to report the incident to the

police. She wanted it to be documented, so that

in case something further happened there will be

a record of it.

That took Pooja to the Auckland Police and

an elderly ofcer sat her down in a room to writedown the report. She was asked to narrate the

incident and so she did. From time to time, she

was paused and asked for certain details.

But there was one particular detail that took

the wind out of her sail. She was asked: Please

excuse my question but what were you wearing

that day?

She asked: What do you mean by that?

The ofcer said: I mean to ask were you

wearing anything provocative, like a deep

neckline?

Being a newly-arrived immigrant and not

being familiar with the laws of the land, Pooja

didnt know how to react. All she could muster

to say was: No. Just a casual T-shirt and a

cardie over it.My question is: Should the law enforcer

ask such a question? More importantly, would

a female police ofcer have asked the same

question? Why is it that even in a liberal

western culture, women are held responsible

for the injustice meted out to them? As if, she

was asking for it!

Modi magic may face its severest test in Delhi Amulya Ganuli

The Delhi elections next month will showwhether Narendra Modi continues tond it difcult to score sweeping victories in

states where he faces a modicum of political

resistance.

As was seen in Maharashtra and Jharkhand,

the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was unable

to secure a majority on its own in the state

legislatures because the local parties - the Shiv

Sena in Maharashtra and the Jharkhand Mukti

Morcha in Jharkhand - could not be brushed

aside by the purported Modi wave.

This inability was seen in the general

election as well when the AIADMK in Tamil

Nadu, the Biju Janata Dal in Odisha and the

Trinamool Congress in West Bengal could not

be dislodged from their strongholds.

The BJPs success in Haryana was due

to the fact that its two major opponents - the

Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal

(INLD) - had gone into serious decline with the

topmost INLD leaders being in jail. Jammu and

Kashmir is in a different category because of its

distinctive demographic composition.

Since conventional wisdom suggests that

even if the BJP gets a majority in Delhi, the

Aam Admi Party (AAP) will not be a pushover,

the contest will be yet another major test of the

efcacy of the Modi magic. If the AAP runs

the BJP close, the latter will have only itself

to blame. Had it been a little more energetic in

addressing the problems of the national capital

via Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, at a time when

more than 50 percent of the development funds

have remained unspent, the BJPs prospects

would have been brighter.

But it is not so much the political and ofcial

lethargy in heeding the citys infrastructural

needs which may hurt the BJP as its failure to

rein in the saffron loudmouths, although Prime

Minister Modi is unhappy about their antics,

according to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

However, the result of this failure is the

possible consolidation of a sizable percentage

of minority votes behind the AAP, now that the

Congress is out of reckoning. Since Muslims

constitute 11.7 percent of Delhis population,

their support for the AAP is a gift to the

BJPs main opponent by Yogi Adityanath,

Sakshi Maharaj and others whose blinkered

views make them oblivious of the fact that

fundamentalism has few takers.

The situation may be partly redressed by

the entry into the BJP by one of the AAPs

most visible faces at one time, Shazia Ilmi,

who was earlier with Anna Hazare. But her

critics are likely to say that since the Rashtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) claimed to have

been associated with Annas anti-corruption

movement, Shazia has only come full circle.

The entry into the BJP of another of Annas

former associates, Kiran Bedi, has created

considerable stir because of the belief that

the energetic former police ofcer may be

the partys chief ministerial candidate. She is

however likely to face in-house opposition

from other chief ministerial aspirants like

Vijay Goel and Jagdish Mukhi who have

long been associated with the party and are

not a fair weather friend like Bedi. Moreover,

Bedis earlier critical comments about Modi,

especially about the 2002 Gujarat riots, may

come to haunt her.

It is entirely possible that if the BJP had

been more proactive in the eld of development

at both the state and national levels, the AAP

would have been unable to make much

headway. As it is, the party has lost much of its

earlier middle class support, as its spokesmen

admit. A possible reason is that its chief

minister of 49 days in the winter of 2013-14,

Arvind Kejriwal, still gives the impression that

his penchant for showmanship will come in the

way of governance.

He may no longer sit on a dharna or declare

his anarchist preferences, but it is unlikely that

he will eschew his instinctive confrontational

style in favour of a mature approach to

administration and in the matter of dealing with

other parties.

Even otherwise, the AAP remains a hodge-

podge of ideologies with the left of left

tendencies, as mentioned by its ideologue

Yogendra Yadav, alternating with Kejriwals

assertion of his bania credentials. This medley

stands in contrast to Modis focus on economic

growth, which is the mainstay of his appeal.

It is this approach of the prime minister which

has persuaded the third party in the fray, the

Congress, to decide to look beyond secularism

and the welfare of the poor to reach out to the

aspirational generation. However, as for its

chances in the Delhi election, the decline in its vote

share from 25 percent in the assembly elections of

2013 to 14 percent in the parliamentary polls of

2014 shows that not only the people have retained

their dislike for the Congress, but their aversion

may have intensied.

Although the AAPs vote share rose from

29.5 percent in 2013 to 33 percent in 2014, the

BJPs showing was more impressive since it

won all the seven parliamentary constituencies

in Delhi with 46.1 percent of the votes, a

substantial jump from 2013s 33.7 percent. Will

the BJP be ab

Documents

Indian Weekender 23 January 2014