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VOL 9 ISSUE 9
● NEW YORK
● MAR 06 - MAR 12, 2015
R
IMPACT
All is not well with AAP: Yadav, Bhushan
dropped
NEW DELHI (TIP): AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal stamped
his dominance over the party on Feb 4 when two of his
critics, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, were
removed from the Political Affairs Committee, while his own
offer of resignation as national convener of AAP was
unanimously turned down.
Page 15
Delhi HC upholds 10-yr jail for Chautala,
son
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Airline to launch fourth daily service to the Big Apple
NEW YORK (TIP):
Emirates, a global connector
of people, places and
economies, announced that
it will launch its fourth daily
service from its home and
hub, Dubai International
Airport (DXB), to John F.
Kennedy International
Airport (JFK) on March 8,
2015.
The new service, EK 207,
will depart Dubai at 2:50
p.m. and arrive in JFK at
8:35 p.m. The return flight,
EK 208, will depart at 4:30
p.m. and arrive in Dubai at
1:15 p.m. the following day.
"This new service will
provide passengers with the
contd on Page 3
NEW DELHI (TIP): The Delhi high court on Feb 5 upheld
the conviction and 10-year jail term of former Haryana chief
minister O P Chautala, 80, observing that he cheated the
youth of his state in the JBT teachers' recruitment scam.
Page 15
A huge thank you to our readers for
making The Indian Panorama the second
most read Indian American English language
newspaper in the U.S.
● www.theindianpanorama.com
Emirates to Increase
Services to New York JFK
The Indian Panorama
eaders will recall our investigative story titled A
Benevolent Law Abused, published in February 13
edition. We had also done an investigation a couple
of months earlier in to the abuse of the law by racketeers
who use SIJS to make big money.
The story caught the attention of media and NBCNY
Channel 4 came up with its investigative story for which it
sought the cooperation of The Indian Panorama Chief
Editor Prof. Indrajit S Saluja.
We have since learnt that the authorities concerned
have taken a note of our investigative stories. We will
carry the details of the impact in the next issue of The
Indian Panorama.
● Tel: 646-247-9458
Emirates Cabin Crew mark the celebration of Emirates' fourth daily service from John F.
Kennedy International Airport beginning March 8 with a giant Connect 4 Hasbro game in New
York's Herald Square, Thursday, March 5, 2015.
De Blasio announces 2 Muslim
Holidays for NYC Public Schools
NEW YORK (TIP): New
York City Public Schools
will soon begin recognizing
Muslim holidays, Mayor Bill
de Blasio and Schools
Chancellor Carmen Fariña
announced Wednesday,
March 4. Beginning in the
2015-2016 school year all
contd on Page 34
New York Mayor de Blasio and Schools
Chancellor Carmen Fariña said Wednesday,
March 4 that new Muslim school holiday
closures would honor families
Hillary's private email account
opens up political virus
"I want the public to see my email": Hillary
WASHINGTON (TIP): A March 5 CNN report says
Hillary Clinton broke her 48-hour silence over the
use of her personal email account while she served
as secretary of state with a late-night tweet
Wednesday, March 4, saying she wants "the public to
see my email." But her response is unlikely to tamp
down the pressure for answers as she faces the
deepest scrutiny she's been under since leaving the
contd on Page 34
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Emirates to Increase Services to New York JFK
CONTD FROM PAGE 1
convenience of an afternoon departure
from both Dubai and New York, to
complement the morning and evening
departures of our existing three services,"
said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional
Senior Vice President, Commercial
Operations, West. "New York is one of our
busiest and most popular routes in the
United States. Adding this fourth service will
give our passengers even more choice of
connectivity when flying from any part of
our global network, in particular the Far
East and South Asia. Once in the U.S., our
partnership with JetBlue adds even more
seamless connectivity onto its network of 65
destinations from JFK."
Passengers from New York will be able to
enjoy convenient connections to destinations
such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, India, and
many cities throughout Emirates' Middle
East network with connection times of less
than four hours. Thanks to Emirates' codeshare agreement with JetBlue Airways (B6)
the new fourth daily service will provide
good connectivity with JetBlue flights to
points across the United States and
Caribbean. At JFK, JetBlue operates from its
highly acclaimed Terminal 5, while Emirates
operates from the adjacent Terminal 4,
enabling fast and easy connections between
flights. Emirates and JetBlue's partnership
dates back to 2010 and has deepened over the
subsequent four years, moving from an
interline agreement to incorporating
bilateral code-sharing, terminal co-location
in Boston, and reciprocal benefits for each
airline's frequent flyers. Members of
Skywards, Emirates' frequent flyer program,
can earn miles on JetBlue-operated flights
and also redeem miles for flights to any of
Fans play a larger than life Connect 4 Hasbro game in New York's Herald Square, Thursday,
March 5, 2015, to celebrate Emirates' fourth daily service from John F. Kennedy International
Airport beginning March 8.
Photos/ Jason DeCrow/AP Images for Emirate
JetBlue's 86 destinations throughout North,
Central and South America. Similarly,
members of JetBlue's TrueBlue loyalty
program can earn points for Emiratesoperated flights worldwide.
"As New York's Hometown Airline, we are
delighted to see Emirates continue to
expand at our main base of operations with
this fourth daily service," said Scott
Laurence, JetBlue's senior vice president of
airline planning. "Emirates is a valuable
partner for JetBlue, providing our shared
customers with high standards of service
across an incredible network." The fourth
JFK service will be operated with one of
Emirates' fleet of A380 aircraft featuring 14
First Class Private Suites, 76 Business Class
lie-flat beds and 399 Economy Class seats on
the main deck. Its upper deck features
Emirates' iconic On-Board lounge for
premium passengers and two unique
Shower Spas for First Class passengers.
Passengers in all cabin classes can enjoy
access to up to 1,800 channels of films, TV
shows, music and games through ice, the
airline's award-winning inflight
entertainment system. Emirates launched
services to New York in June 2004 and has
since flown more than 4.5 million
passengers on the route. It currently offers
two other nonstop services between DXB
and JFK, operated by A380s, and one service
that routes via Milan, operated by a U.S.-built
Boeing 777. Passengers traveling in First
Class and Business Class on Emiratesoperated flights, as well as Skywards
Platinum and Gold members, can access the
Emirates Lounge at JFK. Dubai is one of the
world's most exhilarating destinations: a
glittering city that offers swathes of golden
beaches; world-class shopping, dining and
nightlife; hosts electrifying events and
sporting championships; and, for all the
family, is one big adventurous playground.
Where tradition meets ambition and
renowned for its futuristic architecture, this
visionary city is also proud to display its rich
heritage and culture. Emirates and the U.S.
Founded in 1985, Emirates is a global
connector of people, places and economies.
Based in Dubai, the airline's global network
serves 147 destinations in 84 countries across
six continents. Its luxurious amenities,
regionally inspired gourmet cuisine, awardwinning in-flight entertainment system - ice and unmatched hospitality provided by its
iconic multilingual Cabin Crew have made
Emirates one of the world's most recognized
airline brands. Emirates has carried more
than 9 million passengers on U.S. flights
since launching services to New York in 2004.
The airline currently serves nine U.S.
gateways - Chicago (ORD), Boston (BOS), San
Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle
(SEA), Dallas (DFW), Houston (IAH),
Washington (IAD) and New York (JFK), as
well as operating a trans-Atlantic route
between JFK and Milan and a freighter
service to Atlanta. Emirates SkyCargo
transports up to 650 tons of U.S. exports each
week - including auto parts from New York,
apples and cherries from Seattle, and oil and
gas equipment from Houston - stimulating
trade and opening new markets for American
businesses across the Middle East, Africa and
Asia. For more information, please visit
www.emirates.com.
AWESOME Television Celebrates its First Anniversary
EDISON, NJ (TIP): It was a very
special day on February 26th, 2015
for Awesome Television as it
celebrated its first anniversary.
Despite a cold weeknight in New
Jersey, throngs of well-wishers,
friends, family members and media
attended this lavish party that
exuded warmth with a tastefully
decorated ballroom in a beautiful
blue theme with centerpiece candles
and custom monogrammed rose
petals and wine bottles. Hosted at
the Edison Hotel, the party was
hosted by co-founders and
visionaries extraordinaire Ritesh
Parikh and Nutan Kalamdani.
The evening began with a
rendition of a Hindi film song by
the young & talented singer Neel
Nadkarni followed by a welcome
dance performance by the equally
talented students of Satrangi School
of Fusion. One of Awesome
Television's star team member
Samina Mughal, a main stream and
celebrated fashion designer
showcased her exquisite collection
in a fashion show with some of the
most beautiful models from New
York City. Samina showcased 3 of
her collections in three separate
segments.
Ritesh gave a welcome speech
while Nutan introduced the entire
Awesome team of talented
individuals. The latest to join
Awesome Television is Mr. Subroto
Bhattacharya who has worked with
ZEE TV for 15 years and currently
in the US. Having crossed many
milestones and having achieved
many firsts in the industry, Mr.
Bhattacharya was elated to join the
young team at Awesome. Awesome
Television is already beaming with
pride to have the veteran from the
field of media Mr. John Perry on
their Board of Advisors. The duo
have come up with a host of
The Team of Awesome Television with founders Ritesh Parikh and Nutan
Photo Courtesy: Gunjesh Desai
contd on page 34 Kalamdani
4
NEW YORK
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
Indian American Intellectuals
Forum condemns Racial
attack on a Sikh student:
demands safety and security
for Sikh children
NEW YORK (TIP): Narain Kataria and Arish Sahani,
President and Vice President respectively of the Indian
American Intellectuals Forum (IAIF) have condemned the
racial attack on a Sikh student in Georgia. In a statement
released to the press, they said, "We express our disgust,
shock, anguish and pain at the racial attack on a Sikh
student in Georgia. We deeply deplore such actions."
"The shocking video of the Sikh boy seen sitting in what
appears to be a school bus being racially abused and called
"terrorist" by other students has gone viral all over the
USA and created a sense of fear and insecurity in the
minds of all our Sikh children.
"Moreover, this is not the first time that such type of
racial and slanderous epithets have been thrown on our
Sikh brothers. According to our information so far more
than 200 incidents of mistaken identity against Sikhs have
taken place.
"Sikhs are being targeted and victimized in this country
because they are confused with Islamic terrorists because
of their beards and turbans. Most Americans do not know
that Sikhism originated in India. Sikh people in India
have the reputation of being peace-loving, but also
extremely brave, heroic and dignified people. In the
historical past several of the Sikh gurus gave up their
lives and suffered inhuman torture by the Muslims
because they spoke up on behalf of Hindus. That is why
we Hindus always remember the bravery and martial
spirit of the Sikhs with great affection. The relationship
between Hindus and Sikh is akin to the two arms of one
body.
"It is a matter of great regret that because of their attire
and beard, Sikhs are mistaken for cut-throat, radical
Islamists. In fact, Sikhs have nothing to do with Islam,
Middle East or Iranian people.
"Hence, we request the concerned authorities to take
severe deterrent action against the perpetrators of such
religious / racial hate crimes. We ask the US government
to restore the positive image of Sikh people as peaceful
and law-abiding citizens..
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
Telugu Literary & Cultural Association
(TLCA) Holds First Women's Forum
NEW YORK (TIP): For the first time,
TLCA Women's Forum was initiated
by President Raji Kuncham when she
took office in February 2015. To
realize the vision Kuncham created
the Women's Forum Team: Dr. Jyoti
Jasti & Vijaya Nyayapathi (CoChairs),
Nirmala Shastry ( Advisor), Sirisha
Tunuguntla, Rama Vanama, and Uma
Reddy. The purpose of the Women's
Forum is to bring women together in
order to advance women's issues,
foster networking, encourage
participation and bring awareness to
all members of the Telugu
Community. Our mantra is to promote
social and emotional wellness" said,
President Raji Kuncham.
Just a month into inception of new
team, the TLCA Women's Forum
rolled out its very first event,
"Women's Health Initiative" on March
1st 2015. The program centered on
educating women in recognizing a
variety of critical health matters symptoms of common pelvic,
gastrointestinal ,musculoskeletal and
neurological diseases and how they
can be prevented, current screening
guidelines in preventing breast and
colon cancer, understanding and
living with osteoarthritis , ergonomics
to avoid repetitive strain, and the
importance of wellness visits. The
speakers panel included Dr. Tulasi
Polavarupu, Dr. Shalini Patcha, Dr.
Sridevi Bhumi and Dr. Shailaja Kalva
, specialists in Obstetrics &
Gynecology, Neurology
,Gastroenterology and Physical
Medicine & Rehabilitation
respectively. Following the talk, there
was an interactive Q&A session where
President Raji Kuncham welcoming all to the First TLCA Women's Forum Health
Initiative. Panelists: (Right to left) Dr. Tulasi Polavarapu, Dr. Shalini Patcha, Dr.
Sridevi Bhumi & Dr. Sailaja Kalva.
concerns of the audience were
answered by the experts.
The program was moderated by Co
Chair Dr. Jyothi Jasti, who is an
Internist by profession. A sumptuous
lunch, in a congenial atmosphere, was
the perfect prelude to the Health Talk.
The event was well attended despite
the inclement weather. The
overwhelming success of this first
event, and the warm outpouring of
appreciation and encouragement
portend many more milestones to
achieve for the new TLCA team. The
American Association of Physicians
of Indian Origin, Queens & Long
Island Chapter (AAPIQLI) proudly
joined the Telugu Literary & Cultural
Association (TLCA) to bring this
informative health session to the
TLCA members.
The TLCA Women's Forum is
excited and already planning their
next event to commemorate Mother's
Day in early May. The program will
begin with an emphasis on wellnessthe science of breath and
mindfulness, followed by a Mother's
Day luncheon.
The next major TLCA event is the
celebration of the Telugu New Year,
Ugadi on March 28th at the Hindu
Temple Auditorium in Flushing from
3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Nirbhaya documentary to be released in
the US by Women Make Movies
'India's Daughter' by Leslee Udwin screened in the UK, banned in India.
NEW YORK (TIP): The controversial
documentary 'India's Daughter' by BAFTA
award winning filmmaker Leslee Udwin,
based on the horrific gang rape of a 23year-old physiotherapy student on a
moving bus on the streets of Delhi, and
subsequently her death because of the
beastly assault, in December of 2012, has
been banned in India, but will see the
light of day in the US later this month,
through DVDs as well as on-demand
screenings by the organization Women
Make Movies (WMM).
The gang rape and death of the victim,
who was named as 'Nirbhaya' by the
media in India, in compliance with Indian
laws that do not identify sexual assault
victims, led to widespread protests all
over India.
This week, the documentary, which also
carries excerpts of interviews with the
perpetrators of that deadly attack - who
have been sentenced to death and remain
incarcerated in Delhi's Tihar Jail - was
banned in India and will not be broadcast
as scheduled on March 8, the
International Women's Day.
The Indian government's measures also
prompted the documentary to be screened
on BBC Four's Storyville, on March 4,
instead of March 8.
WMM stated that the documentary will
be available in the US later this month,
and is available for pre-order, as well as
for screenings.
WMM, an organization begun in 1972,
which has grown from a feminist
filmmakers' collective into an industryleading nonprofit media arts organization
and distributor, said in a statement: "With
exclusive access, Udwin goes behind
prison walls to interview the rapists and
further exposes an institutionalized view
of women as second-class, undesirable,
citizens, a mindset which leads to such
heinous crimes. An impassioned plea for
change, INDIA'S DAUGHTER pays tribute
to a remarkable and inspiring young
woman and explores the compelling
human stories behind the incident and
the political ramifications throughout
India."
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
USAID Woos Indian American Investors
for Diaspora Investment Initiative
SAN FRANCISCO (TIP): The India
Diaspora Investment Initiative, a unique
program President Barack Obama unveiled
during his visit to India for the Republic Day
celebrations, is seeking investment from
Indian American and other investors to
support sustainable development in India.
In an interview to the media here
Manpreet Singh Anand, deputy assistant
administrator in the Asia bureau of the U.S.
Agency for International Development, said
that it is the first time an initiative
earmarked for a specific diaspora community
in the U.S. has been launched by USAID.
If it is successful, he added, it could be a
model for the agency in other countries.
"It is a new model for development," Anand
said. "It is a more efficient use of resources
to leverage innovation through the private
sector." USAID staff has been working on the
initiative for about a year, he added.
India was not a random choice for the
initiative.
USAID said in a fact sheet that there are
three factors why India was selected: "An
increased desire on the part of Indian
Americans to make a development impact in
their home country; a strengthened diaspora
connection to India after the election of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi; and a strong
demand from Indian social businesses
seeking debt capital to scale up their
programs targeting 'Base of the Pyramid'
populations."
USAID, working with a partner - Bethesda,
Md.-based Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit
with experience in offering "Community
Investment Notes" for sustainable
development - plans to mobilize at least $50
million in debt financing from private sector
financial sector institutions in India and
abroad over the next 18 months.
USAID will provide "up to a 50% credit
guarantee" to three non-bank finance
companies (Caspian Impact Advisors,
Intellegrow and Gramen Impact India) and
two Indian banks (YES Bank and Ratanakar
Bank), who make the loans to small- and
medium-sized enterprises in India.
Anand pointed out that without USAID's
credit guarantee, the barriers for Indian
SMEs to get the loans "would be almost
impossible to overcome." "We want the Indian
diaspora to become engaged and stay
engaged," he added.
It works like this: Investors - Indian
Americans or those wanting to support
sustainable development in India - purchase
a Calvert Foundation Investment Note.
Investors can receive fixed interest payments
every six months and select investment
tenors from one, three, five, seven and even 10
years.
The notes will be available later this year,
Anand said. USAID is negotiating on terms of
the loan credit guarantees with all five
partners.
Calvert will make the loans to the Indian
NBFCs and banks, which invest in social
projects in healthcare, small businesses,
education, agriculture, renewable energy, and
other priority areas for India. USAID
provides its 50% loan guarantee.
"Our new Indian Diaspora Investment
Initiative will allow folks back home to
generate a new stream of financing for
Indian businesses that are investing in nontraditional, and too often overlooked, markets
- from providing healthcare to rural
communities, to improving water and
sanitation, to opening up those new bank
accounts," Obama told the U.S.-India
Business Summit in New Delhi Jan. 26.
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, who in
February left the agency, said in India in
January, "We'll match the diaspora
community's immense passion and resources
to the small businesses that form the
backbone of India's economy."
"By creating a transparent investment
vehicle, any investor can contribute to
sustainable, social businesses that create jobs
and train a new generation of local
entrepreneurs."
USAID's annual funding to India negotiated between the Obama
administration and Congress - is currently
"just short of $100 million a year," Anand
sadi.
It is the Indian American's second stint at
the agency. Previously, he was a presidential
management fellow in the Office of the
Global Development Alliance.
He also worked as a senior policy advisor
on geopolitical and socioeconomic issues at
Chevron Corp., was a senior policy advisor
for South and Central Asia issues on the U.S.
House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and
served in the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative.
Married to a physician, Anand has an
MBA and an M.A. in international studies
from U.C.-Berkeley and a B.S. in electrical
engineering from the University of Texas at
Austin.
Another significant program announced
by USAID during Obama's visit was support
of Modi's Jan Dhan initiative to prioritize
financial inclusion for all Indian citizens.
USAID is partnering with over 20 U.S.,
Indian and international private sector
organizations and the World Economic
Forum to extend the ability for Indian
consumers and businesses to participate in
the formal economy.
"More than 110 million people have signed
Manpreet Singh Anand is a deputy assistant
administrator in the Asia bureau at USAID.
up in India (under Jan Dhan) for bank
accounts in the last few months," said Anand,
who accompanied Shah and Obama on the
India trip in January. "It will really empower
consumers in India when they can use cards
instead of cash."
USAID said that currently only six percent
of retail enterprises in India can accept
digital payments.
One particular area of focus for USAID in
India is reducing child mortality rates. "India
constitutes 24 percent of the preventable
under-five deaths in the world," Anand said.
"There's a lot we can and are doing (to reduce
child mortality rates) in India."
Last year USAID formed the U.S. Global
Development Lab within the agency to
leverage science and technology
advancements for public-private partnerships
around the world, Anand said.
Experts from Google and other technology
companies are forming a think-tank within
the agency to work with NGOs to solve some
of the most pressing social problems around
the world.
For more information on the Diaspora
Investment Note, visit:
http://www.calvertfoundation.org/india.
SMOKING DEATHS HIGHER THAN
FIGURES REPORTED: STUDY
MINORITIES WILL BE MAJORITY OF
US BY 2044: CENSUS REPORT
WASHINGTON (TIP): The US Census Bureau has projected that by 2044
more than half of all adults in America will belong to a minority group.
The report released Tuesday, March 3 projects that the non-Hispanic
white population will still be the largest, but no racial or ethnic group is
likely to have more than a 50 percent share of the total population.
Among the other findings made in the Census report:
●
●
●
●
●
●
The US is already nearly a majority-minority nation among those
under age 18.
By 2020, 50 % of children in the U.S. are expected to be a part of a
racial or ethnic minority.
By 2044, 50.3 % of all adults in America will be from the minorities.
The country's population will swell to 417 million by 2060, compared to
roughly 320 million today.
Nearly 20 percent of Americans will be foreign born by 2060, compared
to 13 percent in 2014. Hispanic will be the largest foreign-born group,
followed by non-Hispanic Asian.
The population of "single-race non-Hispanic White" children will drop
to 36 percent by 2060, compared with 52 percent today.
AUSTIN, TEXAS (TIP):
While many of the dangers of
smoking have been well known
for some time, new research
shows that the consequences
may be larger and deadlier
than previously thought.
According to the U.S.
Surgeon General, 21 different
causes of death are attributed
to smoking, with some 480,000
deaths in the United States each year. A study coauthored by epidemiologist Brian Carter with the
American Cancer Society examined the corollary
health impacts even further.
"We identified at least six new causes of death that
we think are probably associated with smoking,"
Carter said, "and if you look at these as an aggregate,
that would add about 60,000 deaths per year to that
480,000 number."
The additional smoking-related death links include
kidney failure, hypertensive heart disease, infections
and various respiratory diseases, Carter said. The
study looked at data covering about 1 million people
from 2000 to 2011 and was published in the New
England Journal of Medicine.
The analysis also found an
association between smoking
and increased mortality rates
for breast and prostate cancer,
and Carter said the links to
these deaths and the others
identified should spur more
scrutiny.
"I think researchers really
need to look at them in a much
more focused manner to see
exactly how smoking might cause these diseases," he
said. "If they're replicated in other more focused
studies, I think they need to be incorporated into
annual estimates of the number of deaths caused by
smoking."
Current estimates, which don't take into account
the additional health issues outlined in the study, put
the number of smoking-related deaths in Texas at
28,000 per year.
The study is online at nejm.org. U.S. data is at
cdc.gov. Texas smoking data is at tobaccofreekids.org See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/201502-20/health-issues/study-smoking-deaths-higherthan-figures-reported/a446701#sthash.XFpSmDHI.dpuf
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
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8
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EDITORIAL
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
AS I SEE IT
GUEST COMMENT
AAP falls from shining hill
WHO RAPES
Kejriwal's immense loss of credibility
India's daughters?
Time to confront
uncomfortable questions
ex crimes have become a norm in India.
Committed with impunity, even the most heinous
crimes have ceased to shock due to their
recurrence. Therefore, it's strange that a documentary
that exposes the mindset of remorseless rape convicts
has found all the stakeholders of law and justice up in
arms against the film.
Leslee Udwin interviewed Mukesh Singh, the convict
on death row for the Nirbhaya rape case, and other rape
convicts lodged in Tihar jail for her documentary
"India's Daughters." The convicts and the defense
lawyers have blamed the victim for inciting the crime in
the film.
Their statements have shocked the sensibility of a
'woman-worshipping' nation. To sidetrack the issue of
laxity and delay in our law and justice delivery system,
which is the real culprit behind rising crimes against
women, ethical issues are being raised about
interviewing a criminal on death row!
The shocking mindset of rapists has been endorsed
several times in public by our respected politicians,
khap leaders and even judges, repeatedly in the past. If
punishing a criminal is essential, is it not equally
important to understand the mind of a criminal to
scrutinize the sociological aspects of the crime?
In the high-profile Nirbhaya case, that had triggered
changes in the law and was put on a fast track, the
parents of the victim are still waiting for justice. Such
delays embolden criminals. While the judicial system
comes into force only after the crime has been
committed, it is important to probe the society that
produces not only rapists but also such protectors of the
law as the defense lawyer who claimed in the film,
without a trace of qualm, that he would burn his
daughter alive if found crossing the line. Should we
treat sex crimes in a crime-and-punishment manner, or
is it time we probed society for breeding gender
inequality which allows such unbridled power play by
the males that turns fatal victims of rape out of its
women.
(Tribune, Chandigarh)
S
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THE INDIAN PANORAMA
By S Nihal Singh
n the Aam Aadmi Party, morality
collided with realpolitik.
Unsurprisingly, the latter won. Many
supporters of the party, who gave it such
a stunning victory in the Delhi assembly
elections, are nursing their hurt and are
reconciling themselves to the end of
another illusion.
The AAP leader and now Delhi's Chief
Minister, Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, was never
in doubt on two points. One, he had to
stamp his authority on the baby party.
Second, while the morality stick was
good to wave, the hard reality of playing
politics had to take the first place.
Mr. Yogendra Yadav and Mr. Prashant
Bhushan, with their persistent
admonitions and waving the flag of
morality, had simply become too
distracting and inconvenient for Mr.
Kejriwal's plan to rule his fledgling party
with an iron hand. He had had a taste of
their mettle by their objecting to some of
the tainted candidates fielded by the
party and they had raised questions
about large dubious donations.
Mr. Kejriwal thus came to the
conclusion that nothing short of a purge
of the two from the Political Affairs
Committee will do. And he set about it in
the hoary tradition of Indian political
culture pioneered by the Congress party
and followed by all others. First, seek
their resignation while airing Mr.
Yadav's clandestinely taped conversation
with a journalist to embarrass him.
Then offer inconsequential posts to
sideline them.
When every trick failed, they were
voted out in the executive by a
surprisingly narrow 11 to 8 margin. True
to the accepted political tradition, Mr.
Kejriwal absented himself with the
plausible excuse of undergoing
treatment while sending in his own
resignation as party convener,
predictably rejected.
Mr. Kejriwal has won a victory at great
cost. Its quantum remains to be
determined. The plan did not run to
script because neither of the gadflies had
an ulterior motive in raising the
questions they did. They sought to keep
AAP on the straight and narrow: moral
imperatives that had persuaded them
and so many others to support a party
seeking a higher moral ground. The
immense response it got in Delhi was
due to the electors' conviction that here
was a new party of leaders with
conviction who wanted to change the
way politics functioned.
As far as the bulk of supporters are
concerned, the let-down has been
tremendous. While some compromises
are necessary in politics as in life, the
duplication of the traditional
deviousness practiced by Mr. Kejriwal's
henchmen was breathtaking. One can
expect the Delhi Chief Minister to
"While some compromises are necessary in politics as in life, the duplication
of the traditional deviousness practiced by Mr. Kejriwal's henchmen was
breathtaking. One can expect the Delhi Chief Minister to undertake an act of
showmanship to try to surmount his huge embarrassment, but he will find it
difficult to regain trust", says the author.
I
undertake an act of showmanship to try
to surmount his huge embarrassment,
but he will find it difficult to regain
trust.
Perhaps the questioning duo was
being unrealistic in trying to keep AAP
to a high moral benchmark. Perhaps it
also became a question of Mr. Kejriwal's
"amour proper", of men of an
intellectual standing challenging his
actions in the party. Perhaps the leader
who abandoned Anna Hazare's
movement to start a political party felt
that only as an unchallenged leader
could he deliver on his promises.
By their very nature, these are
assumptions, but the crisis in AAP poses
larger questions. Can a party that sought
to give a new direction to Indian political
culture survive the body blow that has
been dealt it? How will Mr. Kejriwal
convince his bewildered supporters that
he is sincere in fulfilling his promises?
Has he indeed misjudged his two critics
in believing that they can be tackled
through traditional methods of placating
or expelling them?
These are portentous questions that go
to the heart of the rationale for a new
party. Judging by the number of
defections to the Bharatiya Janata Party
after its impressive victory in the Lok
Sabha elections last year, politicians
gravitate towards power, especially when
the future of the losing party seems
bleak. To give one example of horsetrading, we all know how Mr. P.V.
Narasimha Rao converted his minority
government at the Centre into a majority
dispensation.
The shock over how the AAP crisis
was managed was in the tawdry nature
of the tricks that were played upon the
dissenting duo by Kejriwal loyalists.
They hopelessly misread the dissenters
who were not raising objections for their
own aggrandizement, but were
highlighting the nature of the
compromises made in winning the Delhi
elections.
Mr. Kejriwal's stance of being above
the conflict by absenting himself from
the executive meeting and sending in his
own resignation are old tricks in the
political game. It is worth noting,
however, that in a vainglorious move, he
has divested himself of all portfolios in
the newly-formed Delhi ministry so that
he remains the monarch of all he
surveys.
The tragedy for those who voted for
AAP in Delhi - and millions more across
the country cheering the new kid on the
block -- is that the melodrama played out
in the executive committee came so soon
after its unprecedented triumph. It
represents a let-down of immense
proportions.
Mr. Yadav and Mr. Bhushan, who were
sought to be banished from AAP, have
not taken the bait. Mr. Yadav has said he
would abide by the party's decisions and
help the party go forward because it had
been founded on so many hopes and
aspirations. Obviously, he will raise
questions troubling him at the party's
larger forums.
Whatever the future holds for AAP, the
party has witnessed its watershed
moment. The party on the hill has
tottered and Mr. Kejriwal's task now is
how to rescue it from the dirty politics
played in his name and presumably
under his direction. He has time to think
through his tactics while undergoing
treatment. There would be little profit in
dissembling to suggest that he was
unaware of what was being enacted.
Many AAP supporters and the wider
public will wonder whether they had
again backed the wrong horse. By
turning the party's back on two of its
most illustrious founder members, it has
betrayed the trust of many. It remains to
be seen whether the duo will be allowed
to play any role in the party's larger
forums, given the level of animosity
Kejriwal loyalists have displayed.
(The author is a well known
columnist and contributes regularly
to The Tribune, Chandigarh)
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
PERSPECTIVE
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
9
BJP government’s Budget: a Fraud in the name of Ramrajya
The non-resident Indian author finds nothing "Progressive, Positive, Practical,
Pragmatic, Prudent, Pro Poor and Pro Growth" in the BJP government's budget.
By Devendra Makkar
JP, the Party that promised to bring Ramrajya under the
leadership of modern Ram PM Narendra Damodardas
Modi has defaulted on its promise. It looks like it was
election rhetoric (Chunavi Jumla in the language of BJP
President Shah).
The truth is the very first full Budget presented by BJP is an
insult to the philosophy of Ramrajya and Hinduism. The nonplan expenditure i.e. just to run the "System" or the
government that includes Police, Military, Judiciary, Postal
Services, President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Governors,
53 Ministries with numerous departments, 1 Department of
Atomic Energy, Commissions, Committees, 543 MP's, various
government employees etc. is Rs 13, 12,200 crore out of the total
budget of Rs 17, 77, 477 crore against the net revenue Rs 11,
41,575 crore. On top of that total debt servicing accounts for Rs
6, 81,719 crore (debt payment Rs 2, 25,574 crore plus interest Rs
4, 56,145). The non-plan expenditure is 74% and debt servicing
is 40% of the total budget that leaves Rs 4,65,277 crore that too
after taking a new loan of Rs 5,55,649 under the plan
expenditure for 1200 crore population out of which 88 crore
are living in acute poverty.
FM Jaitley has not shown or has even pretended that he is
serious to do some thing about the problem or suggested public
or political dialogue on the issue of massive spending on
government and high debt servicing. PM Modi aka Modern
Ram the Supreme Leader of BJP must understand 74% to run
the system and to pay 40% in debt out of the total revenue that
too by borrowing Rs 5,55,649 crores is not permissible under
Ramrajya. Nor does it qualify under good governance i.e. small
government and more governance: his own slogan that
brought him and his party BJP to power in Delhi in 2014.
Jaitley could have announced some measures to at least restructure the 53 Ministries to cut down their massive size,
Complete ban on Official Functions in 5 Star Hotels & Resorts,
Abolish Pension for MP's, Ban on allocation of properties for
Political Party Offices, end to VVIP & VIP culture of providing
security & subsidized housing, pension to MP's, cap on
telephone bills, air travel, foreign trips, rail travel of elected &
appointed officials and un-necessary appointment of officials
under Ministers and various departments, commissions and
committees. Can Jaitley explain how come a law maker is
entitled to Pension and princely perks after winning one
election only even if he never gets elected again; whereas a
government servant is entitled to a pension only after 20-25
years of service? Jaitley could have proposed a road map to cut
down the non-plan expenditure from present 74% to at least
60% in the next 4 years.
Some of the budget announcements without any significant
Expenditure plans for social schemes like Toilets, Nirbhaya
Fund, old age pension, Accidental Life Insurance, education
loans, Mudra Bank for small business loans, National skill
development, Gramin Kaushal yojna (rural skill development)
etc are a step in the right direction. On education loan one has
to pay 12.5% interest they do not have the luxury of paying
0.1% interest reserved for poor corporations like TATA or
Ambani's. National skill and Rural skill development for what?
When village after villages are taken up by industrialists,
builders and government and practically every thing of daily
use in India is made in China that could have used rural or city
youth if made in India. MNREGA with Rs 34,699 crore
allocation has been retained after PM Modi made fun of it
under arrogance and snobbery in Parliament with no
significant increase in its funding even to account for inflation.
PM Modi also forgot his own party under PM Bajpai never did
any thing to re-structure MNREGA. Then on the other hand
expenditure on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan has been cut from Rs
28,000 crores to Rs 22,000 crores, the Integrated Child
Development Scheme from Rs 16,000 crores to Rs 8,000 crores
and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme Rs 13,000 crores to Rs 9,000
crores. On top of that Scheduled Caste Sub Plan allocation has
been cut from Rs 43,208 crore to Rs 30,000 crore and Tribal Sub
Plan from Rs 26,714 crore to Rs19,000 crore.
More significantly, the money needed to implement
MNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, National
Rural Livelihood Mission, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Midday
Meal Program and many others have been shifted to State
plans. Previously, Centre was giving money directly to the
implementing agencies such as Panchayats and Gram sabhas.
Now it will be routed through the State governments. This is
the reason for the decrease in the Center's spending on social
B
sector and rural development and increase in the Center's
contribution to State plans.
Jaitley has Rs 4,65,277 crore only even after taking Rs 5,55,649
crores in new loans to service his so called growth plans for a
population of 120 crore out of that 52% are farmers. He has
allocated a princely sum of Rs 25,000 crore in Rural
Development Fund for 62 crore farmers. That works out to be
Rs 403 per farmer in one year provided there is no corruption.
On irrigation and flood control Rs 5,300 crore that works out to
be Rs 85 per farmer per year. Out of the 12 crore hectare
farming land only 5 crore hectare has irrigation facility rest 7
crore hectare depends on Mother Nature God; if there is timely
rain the farmer will have a crop, if the rain is delayed by a
month or no rain whatever input including his labor the farmer
has put in will go waste. It is a shame even after 67 years after
independence there is no irrigation facility for the farmer.
The government brags about Rs 70,000 crore subsidy to the
farmers where as the fact is it is given to big corporations for
the sale of poisonous fertilizer and pesticides to ruin the health
of the farmers and consumers as well as to ruin the soil. In 2007
there was 17 crore hectare of farming land vs. 12 crore hectare
now. The 5 crore hectare land was given to big corporations
under Special Economic Zones and other projects. Jaitley has
made it very clear that this process will continue and now we
have Japanese bullet train project also. It cannot be disputed
that infrastructure improvements are vital if growth is to be
inclusive. The question is, what types of infrastructure will be
developed or investment undertaken, and who will benefit as a
result. All indications are Rs 20,000 crore spending on
infrastructure will not improve things for ordinary people, but
instead may intensify dispossession and displacement as well
as theft of resources that has already been occurring in the
country under the guise of industrial corridors, Tech Cities,
Luxury housing, Office Complex, Malls and SEZs, etc.
To the middle class Jaitley has told them that they are on
their own by raising indirect taxes on them while not raising
the exemption limit of Rs 2,50,000. This is the same Jaitley as
Lok Sabha candidate from Amritsar on April 20, 2014 demanded
a raise in the Income Tax ceiling from Rs 2, 00,000 to Rs 5,
00,000. Advocating low tax structure, he said, "Direct Tax should
be reduced. If the Income Tax limit is raised from Rs 2 lakhs to
Rs 5 lakhs, 3 crore people will save Rs 24 crore which will lead
to a small impact of 1 to 1.5 per cent of National Tax Fund."
Now he has raised service tax from 12.36% to 14%. On top of
that Increase in basic custom duty on Metallurgical coke from
2.5 % to 5%, on iron and steel and articles of iron and steel
increased from 10% to 15% and on commercial vehicle
increased from 10 % to 40%. A few days before the budget his
counterpart Railway Minister Prabhu raised the passenger and
freight rates by 14%. Even a high school economics student will
tell them that it will bring cost push inflation and affect the
very basic commodities and services needed to live by poor as
well as middle class.
Now the Corporate sector, the darling and massive financial
donors of BJP. Jaitley in an interview to Headlines Today said
he has given Rs 2, 00,000 crore to this sector. They will get Rs
20,000 crore in the first year, Rs 40,000 crore in the second year,
Rs 60,000 crore in the third year and Rs 80,000 crore in the
fourth year. Estimated revenue forgone due to corporate
concessions for 2013-2014 is Rs. 76,116 crore or 19% of collected
corporate tax revenue. By way of comparison this corporate
subsidy is 82% of the food subsidy of Rs 92,318 crore for the
same year. Corporations are celebrating Jailey's intent to bring
down the Corporate Tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent in the
next four years. In USA where the corporate Tax is 35%
according to CAG, US Corporation's effective rate of tax was
12.1% in 2011 that is 40 years low. On top of that the bigger the
US Corporation the less or no tax they pay. U.S. corporations
actually pay incredibly low taxes due to the ever-proliferating
loopholes, credits, and deductions in the tax code and the use of
overseas tax havens. If the effective rate in USA is 12.1% in
India it has to be under 10% or in some cases 0 because Indian
Corporations are more innovative: they get subsidized loans,
land, electricity, break on all kinds of taxes and can book their
profits in foreign countries by over invoicing or under
invoicing and route it back through Mauritius. Besides
plethora of credits and deductions in tax code they buy super
luxury cars, luxury homes & farm houses, air planes and
yachts in their corporation's name for their personal, family,
executive and for the use of politicians and top bureaucrats.
Laws to curb Black Money is nothing but another rhetoric
similar to the one made by Modi during campaigning of
bringing back Black Money and after election labeled by BJP
Party President as Chunavi Jumla (Election Rhetoric). Unless
the route of Mauritius that accounts for 40% FDI to India is
closed how can one stop the generation of black money? Arun
Jaitley as Union Cabinet Minister of Law, Justice and Company
Affairs opened the Mauritius route in 2001 for official money
laundering by big corporations. There are unconfirmed reports
now as Finance Minister he wants to give same status to
Singapore since Ambanis are involved in a scandal for routing
their black money via Singapore. People are living in fool's
paradise if they think Jaitley or Modi are serious about
curbing black money generation or bringing back black money
stashed abroad. All the laws to curb black money are for those
who do not know or do not have the means to use Mauritius
route.
Nowhere in his budget Jaitley has acknowledged rising
economic inequality and shown any intentions to come up with
a plan to stop it. It looks like for FM Jaitley whose net worth is
more than Rs 1000 crore, 88 crore poor, especially agricultural
labor, casual labor, self employed, the name sake business
owners, unemployed youth, schedule castes, schedule tribes
and minorities are invisible. Because they are not organized
like big corporations with lobbyists that can plead their case to
the law makers. They do not have means to have a voice to
make complaints or demand social justice because the Fourth
Pillar of Democracy "The Media" is also owned by industrial
houses and in some cases the law makers themselves through
their spouses or relatives. Above all they are the slaves of an
elite class behaving like British rulers of the past.
Even after Congress party's catastrophic defeat in 2014 due to
rampant corruption and massive scams the country's crony
capitalists are unlikely to suffer as a result. The nexus between
business and politics is as tight as it has ever been. BJP spent
Rs 32,000 crore to bring Narendra Modi to power with massive
corporate donations. BJP is estimated to have spent at least Rs
6,200 crore on print and broadcast advertising alone. Of these
donations, around 90% comes from unlisted corporate sources
who will be rewarded when the time comes. Reliance is now
India's biggest media company, as well as its biggest
conglomerate. Reliance, Adani, Tata, Jindal, Ruias etc have
unprecedented political access and power. All these
corporations unlike East India Company do not have their
private army but soon will be making all kinds of warheads,
missiles, helicopters, air planes, ammunition and other
sophisticated military gadgets because Jaitley has increased
the FDI limit to 49% from 26% for this Industry. Just a few days
before the budget Middleman/Lobbyist has been legalized in
India for deals with the government including defense deals.
Now there won't be any shortage of Radias openly operating in
the corridors of power to influence law makers for favors for
corporate clients.
PM Modi aka modern Ram of BJP has said that this budget
is Progressive, Positive, Practical, Pragmatic, Prudent, Pro Poor
and Pro Growth. Can PM Modi explain on what page or
paragraph the rising economic inequalities have been
addressed by this budget? On what page or paragraph high cost
of governance, British style perks for politicians, nexus
between politicians and corporations, undue economic favors to
corporations etc has been addressed? It looks like Modi and
BJP who worship Shahid Bhagat Singh has no respect for his
ideals. Bhagat Singh said, "There can be no equality, not even in
politics and before the law, so long as there is glaring inequality
in economic power."
(The author is based in New Jersey, USA and contributes
regularly to The Indian Panorama. He can be reached at
[email protected])
10
SOUTH ASIA
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
Shia lawyer shot dead in
Pakistan
KARACHI (TIP): A lawyer from Pakistan's minority Shia
sect, who was a counsel for several activists of the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was shot on March 6 dead by
unidentified gunmen here with police suspecting it to be a
case of sectarian violence.
Advocate Ali Hasnain Bukhari was on way to his office
this morning when two motorcycle-riding gunmen shot him
dead in Korangi area.
The gunmen shot the lawyer three times and escaped
from the site after the attack.
The victim was a member of the MQM's legal aid
committee and was representing several party workers in
cases related to enforced disappearances and arrests.
MQM condemned the murder and demanded immediate
arrest of those responsible for the attack.
Police said the killing could be linked to the sectarian
violence which has rocked the city of over 18 million
people.
Turkish plane skids off runway
at Kathmandu airport, close
shave for 238 people
KATHMANDU )TIP): Nearly 240 people on board a
Turkish Airlines jet had a lucky escape when the plane
missed the runway on landing in dense fog at the
Kathmandu airport on March 04 and skidded onto nearby
grassland.
The Airbus A330 from Istanbul skidded off after overshooting it at the Tribhuvan International Airport as it
missed the central line of the runway while landing.
There were 227 passengers and 11 crew members in the
aircraft and all were safely evacuated from the emergency
door without any injuries, airport authorities said.
The flight from Istanbul had both Nepalese and
foreigners on board.
The Turkish Flight 726 missed the runway central
alignment and landed in between the runway and taxiway
that forced the aircraft to skid onto the grassy patch.
The incident happened at around 7:40 am (local time)
after the aircraft took a circle in the sky before landing due
to poor visibility.
Bad weather conditions and poor visibility were said to
be the main reasons responsible for the incident. However,
the exact cause was being investigated, spokesperson of the
airport Purna Chudal said.
The front wheel and the nose of the aircraft was slightly
damaged after landing.
Reprieve for Sri Lanka as UN
rights council defers report
on violations till Sept 15
ZURICH (TIP): Sri Lankan President Sri Lanka
Maithripala Sirisawa got the good news that his country
has been given a six-month reprieve by the UN Human
Rights Council during his visit to India this month. The UN
Human Rights long-awaited report on alleged human rights
violations in Sri Lanka during the LTTE conflict during the
former Rajapaksa government would be published in
September instead of March 2015 to give the new
government time.
This will be relief also for India, which had been voting
against the previous Sri Lanka government, and supporting
the US in its resolutions in the Human Rights Council, but
now wants better relations with Sri Lanka under a new
regime.
The reprieve followed request by the Maithripala
government to the US to repair relations after his victory in
January elections. Sri Lanka's other allies, China and
Pakistan, are also members of the rights council.
The US had sponsored resolutions against Sri Lanka in
the Human Rights Council in 2012, 2013, 2014, during the Sri
Lanka war under the Rajapaksa government. India had
then worked hard behind scenes to temper these. Under
pressure from the DMK, the UPA government voted against
Sri Lanka and for the US resolution in 2012 and 2013, even
though the DMK had just withdrawn support.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
Musharraf kept Kayani in dark
about Kargil plan, book claims
ISLAMABAD (TIP): Pakistan's former
army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf kept
Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in the dark
about the Kargil operation in 1999 despite
the latter heading forces responsible for
guarding Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
according to a new book by a former
general.
In his book 'Ham Bhi Wahan Mojod
Thay', former minister Lt Gen (retd)
Abdul Majeed Malik asserts that Kayani
headed the 12 Division that was
responsible for guarding Kashmir (PoK)
but he was not taken into confidence over
the operation which brought Pakistan
and India on the brink of a nuclear war.
Kayani was later handpicked by
Musharraf as his successor in 2007 as the
army chief and he served for six years as
head of army.
In his book, Malik said that Gen
Musharraf did not keep Kayani in the
loop, who later opposed the operation.
Kayani or Musharraf have not
commented on the book yet.
Malik said only Musharraf was
entirely responsible for the operation and
even Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif was not told about the complete
Kargil plan.
Sharif maintains that he was cheated
by his army chief over Kargil. But
Musharraf has repeatedly denied it and
said that the prime minister was properly
briefed before operation.
In the book, Malik claimed that
Musharraf called on the phone his chief
of general staff from China to discuss the
Kargil operation which was tapped by
Indian intelligence agencies.
It was a grave breach of security to
discuss such a sensitive issue on a
telephone call, Malik said.
He also criticized Sharif for appointing
FBI to help probe
murder of US blogger
Avijit Roy in Bangladesh
NEW DELHI (TIP): FBI has agreed to help in the
invetigation of the murder of American blogger Avijit Roy
who was assassinated in Dhaka.
Avijit Roy, who critisized religious extremism in his
writings, was killed on February 26 when he was returning
from a book fair with his wife.
The decision to send FBI team came after the Bangladesh
government accepted America's offer to engage them in the
investigation process, bdnews reported.
"The FBI will deploy a small team to Bangladesh shortly to
assist and collaborate with Bangladeshi law enforcement
agencies to investigate the homicide," said Monica Shie, US
embassy spokesperson in Dhaka.
The FBI would be able "to provide technical assistance
with regard to transnational aspects of the investigation."
The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Monday
arrested Farabi Shafiur Rahman, a self-proclaimed Islamist
blogger who had previously threatened Roy multiple times.
"Avijit's father mentioned Rahman's name as he had
threatened to kill his son several times," Commander Mufti
Mahmud Khan, director at Legal and Media Wing of RAB
said.
"A year ago Rahman threatened to kill Avijit Roy, one of
the founder moderators of a popular blog Mukto-Mona," he
said.
January 25 last year, Rahman's Facebook status read, "It's
a holy duty of Bangalee Muslims to kill Avijit."
Then on February 9, last year, he commented on a
Facebook post: "Avijit Roy cannot be killed now. He lives in
America."
A court on Tuesday remanded Rahman in custody for 10
days for questioning.
"He has confessed that he threatened Avijit Roy. Intense
interrogation of Farabi could lead to important clues,"
Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Monirul Islam said.
(With inputs from PTI)
General Ziauddin Butt after dismissing
General Musharraf in 1999 who refused
to step down and removed Sharif instead
and grabbed power.
The book also shares how Pakistan
conducted atomic tests.
Malik has given full credit to Nawaz
Sharif, who, according to him, was
mentally ready to go for atomic tests
despite opposition from certain close
cabinet members.
Malik was once very close to Sharif
but later switched sides to join Musharraf
after the 1999 coup.
Human shield to protect Hindus
celebrating Holi in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD
(TIP): A human
shield was formed at
the Holi
celebrations at
Swami Narayan
Temple in Karachi
to show solidarity
with and protect
Hindus in
attendance.
The National Students Federation (NSF) organized the
formation of a human shield on Friday. The demonstration
is an attempt to promote interfaith coexistence and
cooperation among different religious and ethnic groups in
Pakistan, Dawn reported.
The NSF leveraged social media to spread information
about the event, extending e-vitiations to others who share
their outlook on religious tolerance and wish to participate
in the demonstration.
A member of the NSF describes it as a "progressive leftist
organization" dating back to the NSF of the Ayub Khan era former president of Pakistan .
A member of the NSF, Fawwad Hasan, said, "When we
showed solidarity with Shias at the Imambargah, Jaipaal
Chhabria a doctor by profession joined us and stood
alongside us so it's only fair that as a group, we extend the
same courtesy to all Hindus in Pakistan who face a lot of
prosecution of different kinds."
He cited the desecration of Hindu temples, forcible
religious conversion of girls against their will, and
suppression of culture and religious practices as reasons for
showing solidarity with and protecting Hindus.
"We are not religious fundamentalists who take religion
into our own hands, that is not what we do," he explained.
"Society as a whole has to show change and be a part of
that change. If you don't stand up for someone else's rights
today, tomorrow you will also be targeted and there will be no
one to stand up for your rights."
These sentiments are echoed by the NSF which seeks to
disrupt a narrative of government apathy concerning
religious minorities.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
California man charged with
trying to join Islamic State
HARRISON FORD BADLY
HURT IN PLANE CRASH
LOS ANGELES (TIP): "Indiana Jones" star Harrison
Ford was critically injured March 05 when his small
plane crash-landed on a golf course outside Los Angeles,
media reports and officials said. The 72-year-old suffered
multiple gashes to his head and was left bleeding after the
crash of a vintage two-seater plane, according to the TMZ
celebrity website, publishing a picture of the downed
plane, its nose cone ripped open.A Los Angeles Fire
Department spokesman, who did not identify Harrison,
said the pilot of a single-engine plane was critically
injured in the crash. "We cannot disclose any of our
patients' names," spokesman Erik Scott told AFP,
recounting the early afternoon crash at the Penmar Golf
Course in Venice, southwest of Los Angeles.
"When we arrived on scene we had a small aircraft that
was down on Penmar Golf Course, near the Santa Monica
airport. We had a solo occupant, an adult male, who was
transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
"Fortunately no one (else) was injured and the NTSB
will perform an investigation," he said, referring to the
National Transportation Safety Board. The KTLA
television station cited witnesses as saying Ford was
helped out of the plane, and that he could use his legs.
Delta jet skids off New York
runway as winter storm hits US
NEW YORK (TIP): An airliner skidded off a runway at
New York's La Guardia airport Thursday as a major
winter storm battered the United States from Texas to the
US east coast. Heavy snow was falling as Delta flight 1086
from Atlanta slid off the runway, up an embankment and
into a fence after landing at around 11:00 am (1600 GMT).
A spokesman for New York Fire Department reported
some minor injuries. Video of the scene showed
passengers climbing out of the plane through an exit over
a wing and trudging through thick snow.
It was the most dramatic incident on a day in which a
huge winter storm forced thousands of flight
cancellations, and disrupted life across a broad swath of
the United States. In Washington DC, government
workers were ordered to stay home, schools were closed,
and museums shuttered for the day as icy rain turned to
heavy snow. Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York were
expected to get as much as eight inches of snow, with
wind chill temperatures dipping well below average in
much of the region.
Poor visibility
Forecasters had warned of low visibility in New York,
and some 40 percent of flights had been canceled at La
Guardia before the accident there, according to
flightaware.com. "We just crash landed at LGA. I'm
terrified. Please," passenger Jaime Primak tweeted from
@jaimeprimak. "We have all been evacuated. Everyone is
safe. Thank you for your prayers. God is good."
Delta said the 125 passengers and six crew members
aboard the plane had disembarked via aircraft slides and
were moved to the terminal on buses.
"Our priority is ensuring our customers and crew
members are safe," Delta said in a statement.
The airline vowed to "work with all authorities and
stakeholders to look into what happened in this incident."
The FDNY said on Twitter there was a fuel leak after
the McDonnell Douglas MD88 aircraft skidded off the
runway.
LOS ANGELES(TIP): A 21-year-old man
previously charged with lying on a
passport application so he could fly to
Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist
group was indicted on a charge of trying
to provide material support to a foreign
terrorist organization.
Adam Dandach was also charged in the
superseding indictment with obstructing
justice by trying to destroy records of his
online activity to thwart investigators.
Dandach was stopped in July in the
Orange County airport while trying to
board a flight to Turkey with an expedited
replacement passport he got after he said
he accidentally threw his old one away.
Prosecutors said he knew that wasn't true
and that his mother had confiscated the
passport when she heard about his plan to
go overseas.
The FBI said Dandach told agents he
planned to pledge allegiance and offer to
help the Islamic State in Syria any way he
could. He told agents he believed the
killings of American soldiers were
justified.
When told he could face criminal
charges, Dandach said he was more
disappointed about not going to Syria
than about getting in trouble with the law,
according to court papers.
Dandach is in custody and scheduled to
be arraigned March 16 on the new
charges.
"He's going to plead not guilty and we're
going to fight them in court," defense
lawyer Pal Lengyel-Leahu said.
The defendant, also known as Fadi Fadi
Dandach, previously pleaded not guilty to
lying on a passport application and using
a passport secured through false
statements. Prosecutors added in the new
indictment that he committed those
offenses to facilitate international
terrorism.
If convicted, Dandach could face up to
15 years in federal prison on the terrorism
charge, and up to 25 years on each of the
other counts, federal authorities said.
AAPI CONVENTION & SCIENTIFIC
ASSEMBLY IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA
Over 2,000 Delegates to Attend Convention From June 17th - 21st, 2015
ORLANDO, FL (TIP): Over 2,000
physicians and families of Indian
heritage are expected to gather and
deliberate on ways to further their own
professional knowledge and identify ways
to network and offer a unified voice to
protect the rapidly eroding patient's rights
as well as explore community outreach
opportunities at the 33rd Annual
Convention of American Association of
Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) to be
held from June 17th through June 21st,
2015 at the Hotel Renaissance Orlando at
Seaworld in Orlando, Florida.
"The 2015 AAPI Annual Convention &
Scientific Assembly offers a rare platform
to interact with leading physicians, health
professionals, academicians, and
scientists of Indian origin," says Dr. Ravi
Jahagirdar, President of AAPI.
"Physicians and healthcare professionals
from across the country and
internationally will convene and
participate in the scholarly exchange of
medical advances, to develop health policy
agendas, and to encourage legislative
priorities in the coming year. We look
forward to seeing you in Orlando!"
Early registration with highly
discounted rates for AAPI delegates
groups will end by March 15th 2015. In
order to avail the discounted rates, which
is $119 per room per night is one of the
lowest offered to AAPI delegates at this
desirable venue. The booking is heavy
now, and AAPI members are encouraged
to register and reserve their hotel
accommodation at the very earliest in
order to avoid any last minute
disappointments.
The annual convention this year is
being organized by AAPI's Florida
Chapter, headed by Dr. Amish Parikh.
Elaborating on the efforts and
preparations that have been devoted to
put together this unique event, Dr. Parikh,
chairman of AAPI 201 Annual
Convention, said, "We have been working
for more than two years in putting
together an attractive program for our
annual get together, educational activity
and family enjoyment. I and the CoChairs are fortunate to have a dedicated
team of convention committee members
from Florida helping us. We are expecting
a record turnout and hence I would
encourage early registration to avoid later
disappointment."
"The preliminary program is in place,
the major attractions include 10 - 12 hours
of cutting-edge CME with renowned
speakers, Women's Forum, a first time
Men's Forum, Product Theaters to
highlight the newest advances in patient
care and medical technology, Alumni
meetings for networking, also an AAPIIndia Strategic Engagement Forum to
showcase the AAPI initiatives in India
like Trauma Brain Injury as supported by
Shri Amitabh Bachchan, and recognition
of AAPI Award winners. After hours,
there will be a cultural fare including
fashion shows, the best of Bollywood, and
for the family, fun filled tours to world's
most exciting theme parks." Dr. Parikh
elaborated.
"AAPI members represent a variety of
important medical specialties. Sponsors
will be able to take advantage of the many
sponsorship packages at the 31st annual
convention, creating high-powered
exposure to the highly coveted
demographic of AAPI's membership," Dr.
Jahagirdar, president of AAPI noted.
"Many of the physicians who will attend
this convention have excelled in different
specialties and subspecialties and occupy
high positions as faculty members of
medical schools, heads of departments,
and executives of hospital staff. The AAPI
Convention offers an opportunity to meet
directly with these physicians who are
leaders in their fields and play an integral
part in the decision-making process
regarding new products and services," Dr.
Jahagirdar added.
The American Association of
Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) is the
largest ethnic medical organization in the
United States. AAPI is an umbrella
organization which has nearly 90 local
chapters, specialty societies and alumni
organizations. For over 30 years, Indian
physicians have made significant
contributions to health care in this
country, not only practicing in inner
cities, rural areas and peripheral
communities but also at the top medical
schools and other academic centers.
Almost 10%-12% of medical students
entering US schools are of Indian origin.
Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois,
AAPI represents the interests of over
60,000 physicians and 25,000medical
students and residents of Indian heritage
in the United States. AAPI, the largest
ethnic medical organization in the nation,
and serves as an umbrella organization.
For more details, and sponsorship
opportunities, please
visit:www.aapiconvention.org and
www.aapiusa.org.
Lookout for news, views and reviews, log on to www.theindianpanorama.com
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
US
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
Homeland Security gets another
week – proxy battle over President
Barack Obama’s immigration reforms
WASHINGTON (TIP): Congress
narrowly averted a partial shutdown of
the Department of Homeland Security
(which is responsible for securing the
country against terror threats and for
border control – The department
includes Customs and Border
Protection, the Secret Service, the Coast
Guard, the Transportation Security
Administration and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency) late
Friday amid a proxy battle over
President Barack Obama’s immigration
reforms.
The vote came just hours before the
department faced a partial shutdown.
Both the House and Senate passed a
seven-day extension of funding for the
agency, with the House acting just two
hours before funding was set to expire at
midnight. The House vote was 357-60.
The Senate passed the measure by voice
vote.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., rallied Democrats to support
the one-week extension before funding
expired. She said that voting for the
seven-day measure would put Democrats
on a path toward possible passage next
week of a $40 billion spending bill that
would fund the agency through the end
of September.
The extension was put forward by the
Senate as an emergency measure after
Republican House Speaker John
Boehner, under pressure from his
party’s right wing, refused to allow a
vote on a comprehensive funding bill
cleared by the Senate earlier on Friday.
“This has been a day of confusion
both here in the House and for the men
and women of the Department of
Homeland Security,” said Rep. Lucille
Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., as she urged
lawmakers to pass the one-week funding
bill.
House Appropriations Chairman Hal
Rogers, R-Ky., also called for passage of
the bill, saying that lawmakers would be
abdicating their responsibility to the
American people if they let DHS shut
down.
President Obama called Pelosi and
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, DNev., on Friday night to “ensure that the
Department of Homeland Security does
not shut down,” said White House Press
Secretary Josh Earnest.
Conservative Republicans in the
House of Representatives were angry
that the measure did not include
amendments sought by fellow House
Republicans to block President Barack
Obama’s immigration executive orders
protecting millions of illegal
immigrants from deportation.
Boehner instead proposed a threeweek DHS spending bill that would have
allowed the DHS to function normally
and bought time for Republicans to press
against Obama’s immigration reforms.
However, Republicans, who have a large
majority in both houses after midterm
elections in November, joined with
Democrats in voting down that bill 224203 in the House of Representatives,
with conservatives wanting Boehner and
others to stick by the amendments to the
immigration plan.
House Democrats said the chamber
should instead support the Senatepassed bill to fund DHS through the end
of the fiscal year. But a block of
conservative Republicans wanted the
House to hold firm and continue to
demand that the Senate pass legislation
the House had already passed that would
derail Obama’s immigration programs.
Earnest said Congress’ struggle to find a
final resolution to the funding fight
“exposes the danger of playing politics
with our homeland security.” At the
heart of the funding fight was a battle
over immigration.
House Republicans wanted to use the
DHS funding bill as leverage to stop
Obama’s executive orders on
immigration. Obama issued those orders
in November to protect about 4 million
undocumented immigrants from
deportation and allow them to work
legally in the USA.
Indian-American Dhanurjay ‘DJ’ Patil
named first US chief data scientist
CALIFORNIA (TIP): A 45-year-old IndianAmerican Dhanurjay ‘DJ’ Patil has been
named the first chief data scientist by the
White House to shape policies and practices
that will help the US remain a leader in
technology and innovation.
Patil— who has worked with several bigname Silicon Valley operations, including
LinkedIn, eBay, PayPal, Skype, and venture
capital firm Greylock Partners. Prior to his
work in the private sector, Patil worked at
Department of Defence, where he directed
efforts to bridge computational and social
sciences in fields like social network analysis
to help anticipate new threats to the US.
Patil will now work as Deputy Chief
Technology Officer in the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, reporting to US Chief
Technology Officer Megan Smith. He will also
work on the Obama administration’s Precision
Medicine Initiative, which focuses on utilising
advances in data and healthcare to provide
clinicians with new tools, knowledge, and
therapies to select which treatments will work
best for which patients, while protecting
patient privacy.
Over the course of two decades of work in
the private and public sectors and in academia,
Patil has pioneered new ways for institutions
to benefit from data. As a doctoral student and
faculty member at the University of Maryland,
Patil used open datasets to improve weather
forecasting. He worked briefly for the
Department of Defense, advising on efforts to
use social network analysis, for example, to
anticipate emerging threats to the United
States.
Full story on www.theindianpanorama.com
13
Kent: Another hindu
temple attack in US –
Indians Concerned
WASHINGTON (TIP): A Sanatan Dharam temple was
vandalised in Washington state with windows broken and
the word “Fear” painted on it, less than a fortnight after
another temple was attacked.
Members of the the Sanatan Dharma Temple in Kent,
about 30 km from Seattle, who came for worship Friday
“were greeted by shards of broken glass after vandals
targeted the building,” KING5-TV, a Seattle NBC affiliate,
reported. According to the temple web site, “Amalaki
Ekadashi” was to be observed Saturday.
Bricks were used to smash every window of the
building and parts of the structure were ripped apart, said
KOMO-TV, an ABC affiliate in Seattle. “The crime is smallminded with big intentions, shattering calm with hate,”
the station’s reporter, John Humbert, said. “Silence isn’t
the answer.”Universal Society of Hinduism President
Rajan Zed, said: “Hindus nationwide are highly
concerned” by the second attack on a temple in recent
days. “It was shocking for the hard-working, harmonious
and peaceful US Hindu community numbering about
three million, who had made (a) lot of contribution to the
nation and society, to receive such signals of hatred and
anger.” On February 15, the Hindu Temple Cultural
Centre in Bothell city, about 35 km from Seattle, found a
swastika painted on it and “Get Out” scrawled in large
letters with spray paint. In the US, white supremacists
have adopted the Nazi swastika as an ideological symbol.
The two temple attacks came after President Barack
Obama’s criticism of India at an inter-religious prayer
meeting earlier in February where he said intolerance
there “would have shocked Gandhiji”.
Both temples do not have security cameras “and info on
the vandals remains elusive,” KOMO-TV said. The
incidents are under police investigation.
Several attacks on Hindu temples have taken place
across the US in the last few months. In August a murti
(idol) of Shiva at the Vishwa Bhavan Hindu Mandir in
Monroe in the state of Georgia was desecrated with black
paint. The local sheriff ’s office arrested two people in
connection with the attack.
Between July and October in Loudon county in
Virginia, police have documented 17 separate incidents of
anti-Hindu vandalism, the Hindu American Foundation
said. In a twist to the Kent incident, an Islamic
organisation tried to deflect attention away from
Hinduism, claiming that the attack was directed against
Muslims, even though the building had a large sign, “Kent
Hindu Temple.” Full story on theindianpanorama.com
US-Israel spat intensifies over
Netanyahu speech
WASHINGTON (TIP): The US and Israel
escalated their increasingly public spat on
February 25 over Benjamin Netanyahu’s
Republican-engineered congressional speech
next week, with the Israeli prime minister
accusing world powers of rolling over to allow
Tehran to develop nuclear weapons. Secretary
of State John Kerry openly questioned
Netanyahu’s judgment on the issue.
The comments injected new tension into an
already strained relationship between the
close allies ahead of Netanyahu’s address to
Congress next Tuesday. More Democratic
lawmakers announced they would boycott the
speech, which was orchestrated by Republican
leaders without the Obama administration’s
knowledge.
Netanyahu hopes his speech will strengthen
opposition to a potential nuclear deal with
Iran, President Barack Obama’s signature
foreign policy objective. US and Iranian
officials reported progress in negotiations this
week on a deal that would clamp down on
Tehran’s nuclear activities for at least 10 years
but then slowly ease restrictions. Netanyahu
lashed out at the US and other usual staunch
allies of Israel.
“It appears that they have given up on that
commitment and are accepting that Iran will
gradually, within a few years, will develop
capabilities to produce material for many
nuclear weapons,” he said in Israel.
“They might accept this but I am not willing
to accept this,” he said in remarks delivered in
Hebrew and translated.
Full story on www.theindianpanorama.com
14
INDIA
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
UN lauds India’s improved
disaster risk management
UNITED NATIONS (TIP): Lauding India's improved disaster
risk management and accuracy of its meteorological
department, the UN has said timely warnings on cyclones have
helped "dramatically" reduce mortality during natural
calamities.
The global assessment report on disaster risk reduction
released by the United Nations said that the accuracy of
forecasts made by the Indian Meteorological Department has
greatly improved over the years.
It cited the 2013 cyclone Phailin that hit Odisha, saying "in a
significant improvement" from previous years, warnings were
disseminated four days before the cyclone made landfall.
"The cyclone made landfall in a pre-electoral period,
meaning that both the national and state governments
deployed all available resources to ensure that the disaster was
well managed and its impacts minimised," the report said.
Comparing the casualty figure of 9,843 in the 1999 supercyclone that had hit Odisha, the report said no more than 47
people died during Phailin.
"This dramatic reduction in disaster mortality has been
attributed to improvements in disaster risk management
effected by the Odisha State Government," it said.
The report further said that the case of Odisha is indicative
of a trend in which improving development conditions and
strengthened disaster management lead to dramatically
reduced mortality, at least in those events for which warning
is possible.
The report said that success stories from countries like
Bangladesh, Chile, India, the Philippines in their disaster
preparedness "show that timely and effective warning and
communication coupled with risk information and a prepared
population significantly reduces mortality."
According to the report, an annual global investment of six
billion dollars in disaster risk management strategies would
generate total benefits in terms of risk reduction of 360 billion
dollars.
"For many countries, that small additional investment could
make a crucial difference in achieving the national and
international goals of ending poverty, improving health and
education and ensuring sustainable and equitable growth," the
report says.
While countries are devoting resources to disaster
management, the report stresses that more needs to be done to
foster a culture of prevention and incorporate disaster risk
reduction into the post-2015 development agenda.
The report also noted that the cost of disasters worldwide
has reached an average of USD 250 billion to USD 300 billion
every year, urging countries to increase their commitments to
strengthen their population's resilience.
The report, produced by the UN Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction, stresses that the economic losses caused by
disasters are also hindering countries' paths to achieve
sustainable development, making risk reduction central to
social, economic and environmental progress.
"If we do not address risk reduction, future losses from
disaster will increase and this will impact countries' capacity
to invest money in other areas such as health and education. If
we do not take the necessary measures now, it will be difficult
to achieve development, let alone sustainable development,"
said UN secretary general's special representative on disaster
risk reduction Margareta Wahlstrom.
"The report is a wake-up call for countries to increase their
commitment to invest in smart solutions to strengthen
resilience to disasters," Wahlstrom said, adding that they will
have an opportunity to do so at the third conference on
disaster risk reduction taking place in less than two weeks in
Sendai, Japan.
At the conference, countries will adopt a framework to
success the hyogo framework for action.
Born in 2005 out of the world conference on disaster
reduction, the framework is a 10-year plan, the first to detail
the work that is required from all different sectors and actors
to reduce disaster losses.
The report added that in many countries, climate change is
magnifying risks and increasing the cost of disasters.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
Don’t use RS majority to
stop development: Modi
KHANDWA (TIP): Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on March 5 took on
the opposition over the prospects of
defeat of important bills in the Rajya
Sabha, where the government is in a
minority. "You may have a majority
in the Rajya Sabha, but don't use it to
stop development of the nation," said
Modi while addressing a large
gathering here.
The Prime Minister was referring
to important legislations like the
land acquisition bill which the
government is finding hard to push
in the Rajya Sabha because of a
united opposition. His jibe at the
opposition comes just two days after
parties had united in the Upper
House to force an amendment to the
motion of thanks on President's
address. The opposition's amendment
had referred to the absence of
corruption or black money in
President's speech.
Defending his government's land
acquisition policy, Modi said that a
year ago, the UPA had passed a land
acquisition law to garner votes
before elections, but the farmers
opted to vote for a different
government.
The Prime Minister said the
government wanted a series of small
industries developed in rural areas
as farming alone could not sustain
the economy. "Today's farmer, who
has three sons, does not want all of
them to harvest his fields. He wants
one son to be a farmer and the other
two employed in industries. Where
will employment in industries come
from?" said the Prime Minister, who
was in Khandwa to inaugurate the
first phase of 1,200 MW Shri Singaji
thermal power plant.
Modi said there was no basis in
opposition's charge that he was antifarmer. "They (farmers) need canals
for irrigation. Can irrigation
projects be constructed in the skies?
Government needs land to make
homes for poor. Roads in villages,
schools and hospitals cannot be
constructed in heavens. How can
development take place without
acquisition of land," he asked.
PM pulls up absent MPs after
humiliation in Rajya Sabha
NEW DELHI (TIP): A day after the
government faced embarrassment
due to division of votes in Rajya
Sabha over an amendment to the
President's address, an 'unhappy'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Feb 4 sought explanation from
members of his party (BJP) and
NDA allies for being absent from the
Upper House at the crucial moment
of voting.
As many as 10 out of 46 BJP
members and 12 from allies were
absent in the House when the CPM
members Sitaram Yechury and P
Rajeeve moved the amendment and
pressed for division of votes. The
amendment was passed with 118
votes in favour and 57 against it.
"All these members including
couple of ministers who were absent
in the House during voting have
been asked to explain the reasons of
their absence", said a source.
Though their presence wouldn't
have made much difference as the
NDA is in a minority in Rajya Sabha,
the explanation should ensure that
these members are present in full
strength next time when such a
situation arises.
Since a number of bills are lined
up for the Rajya Sabha in the
ongoing budget session, such a
situation cannot be ruled out.
Besides 46 of BJP, the NDA has six
members from TDP, three each from
Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD), two from PDP and one each
from other smaller parties.
The NDA could, however, get 57
votes during the division despite the
absentees as members from the
friendly AIADMK and couple of
Independents voted against the
amendment.
Though the Opposition was also
not present in the House in full
strength, it could easily manage to
sail through as members of almost
all opposition parties including
Congress, SP, BSP, Trinamool
Congress, DMK, BJD, JD(U) and CPI
voted for the CPM's amendment.
‘LAND BILL NOT AGAINST
FARMERS’
Even as the government is getting
ready to push the contentious Land
Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha on
Monday after the Holi break, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on
Thursday accused the Opposition of
using its majority in the Upper
House to stall the country’s progress.
Virtually taking the impasse over
the land bill to public, Modi said: “I
appeal you to raise your voice
against them.”
He was speaking at inauguration
of two units of 600 MW of Shri
Singhaji Thermal Plant and laying
foundation stone for two units of 660
MW each in Khandwa district of
Madhya Pradesh.
While accusing the previous
government of passing a law that he
termed as “anti-farmer and antidevelopment”, Modi said: “We are
accused of being anti-farmers, but
when I told them in the Rajya Sabha
that I am ready to amend the
legislation, they did not come up
with one point.”
In his old Gujarat election
campaign style, he asked a series of
questions to the gathering to drive
home the point that land was
essential for schools, roads, hospitals
and factories because “they can’t be
built in the sky.”
“Do you want your sons to end up
in slums in Delhi or Mumbai? Would
you rather have your sons employed
in nearby places,” he said, while
accusing the UPA Government of not
allocating land for schools, hospitals
and factories.
“I have no personal business or
interests,” he said and called himself
a chowkidar (watchman), a term he
used frequently during campaigning
for the general elections. Alleging
corruption in the coal block
allocation during the UPA rule and
the subsequent cancellation by the
Supreme Court, he said, “they
sinned and created problems for us.”
Referring to the recent auction of
19 coal blocks and the `1.10 lakh
crore it generated, Modi said his
government has proved the then
CAG right. “We are transparent and
don’t work behind curtains. Not one
paisa will be swindled,” he said and
added, “no one can estimate the
amount that will be generated when
the auction of the remaining coal
mines is over.”
“It’s your money,” he told the
audience while referring to the
`40,000 crore Madhya Pradesh will
get from auction of four coal mines.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
INDIA
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
15
AAP CRISIS
Kejriwal insisted on ouster of Prashant
Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav from PAC
NEW DELHI (TIP): AAP leader Arvind
Kejriwal stamped his dominance over the
party on March 4 when two of his critics,
Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, were
removed from the Political Affairs
Committee, while his own offer of
resignation as national convener of AAP was
unanimously turned down.
While one chapter of the bitter feud in
AAP might have ended now, it may not be the
end of the story. The decision to remove
Bhushan and Yadav wasn't unanimous - in
fact, as many as eight voted against it while
11 voted for - indicating that there are a
number of people in the PAC who share some
of the concerns raised by the Bhushan-Yadav
duo.
Kejriwal himself stayed away from the
meeting, possibly because of his poor health
(he went to Bangalore for naturopathy
treatment of his very high sugar levels), but
more likely to make the point that he was
above the squabbling lot - in other words,
truly the first among the so-called equals.
Kejriwal also avoided engaging with the
Bhushan-Yadav duo on any of the issues
raised by them. Even last night the duo, or
one of them, is learnt to have sought a oneon-one meeting with Kejriwal but there was
no response to the overture. At the end, he
apparently insisted on their removal from the
PAC as a precondition for his staying as the
National Convener. A fresh letter of
resignation as national convener on
Wednesday morning only reiterated his firm
stand.
Before Wednesday's PAC Meeting, there
were serious efforts to sort to bring about a
reconciliation between Kejriwal and the duo.
Many options were considered, including one
where the duo would offer some kind of
apology. Most senior leaders found this
Prasanth Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav
reasonable as they also didn't want the
party's unity to be affected in any way.
However, when the leaders reached
Kejriwal, he insisted on the duo's removal
from PAC, indicating a rather quick
graduation of AAP to hard-nosed power
politics. Sources said that while many
recognized that the issues raised by the duo
were important and needed to be addressed,
their presence in the PAC was untenable
after the recent war of words.
At the meeting, Bhushan and Yadav
suggested that the PAC be reconstituted,
allowing new members to come in. This was,
however, opposed by the Kejriwal loyalists,
who insisted on a resolution seeking the
removal of the duo. The resolution was
moved by deputy CM Manish Sisodia and put
to vote and the duo lost 11-8. Interestingly,
some senior AAP leaders like Anand Kumar,
Ajit Jha, Rakesh Sinha voted against their
removal while Mumbai's Mayank Gandhi and
treasurer Krishnakant Sevada abstained.
Sources said that considering that the
resolution was backed by Kejriwal it was a
democratic process of open voting that was
followed without fear of recrimination.
Yadav was also removed as the party's chief
spokesman.
Kejriwal loyalists criticised Bhushan and
Yadav at the six-hour meeting for not
showing confidence in the Delhi election
team. They pointed out that this lack of
confidence was despite the team crafting a
stunning win for AAP in the election. The
duo's continuing criticism of the team only
showed that they were out of synch with the
popular mood, the loyalists said. Bhushan
and Yadav also raised the need for an
internal ethics committee that had also been
mentioned in their note.
"There is a huge trust deficit between
the two groups and it will take a while for
it to be bridged, if it is bridged at all. In
the last few days a lot of things have been
said which have left everyone with a bad
taste in the mouth. There was criticism
from both sides with very little middle
ground," a senior leader said.
The removal of the Bhushan-Yadav duo
was announced by Kumar Vishwas who
said that the duo have been "freed" of
their responsibilities in the PAC and
would be given new responsibilities. The
new responsibilities were, however, not
spelt out. He said "personal opinions and
personal differences" will not come in the
way of the unity of the party, which will
deliver on its promises and will not betray
the trust of the people.
While there is an unmistakable sense of
triumphalism in the Kejriwal camp,
having removed the "two thorns", leaders
and members close to the duo felt that
Bhushan and Yadav's ouster from PAC
only lent credence to their charge about
the party being made into a "one-person"
show.
Still, Yadav and Bhushan are unlikely to
leave AAP. They are likely to raise the same
issues at the meeting of the AAP National
Council - an all-India body of leaders,
members and volunteers - that is scheduled
for the month-end. The duo believe, said
sources close to them, that the broader body
would be the right forum to test whether
their misgivings was shared by AAP
members or not, or was it just a Delhi-centric
opposition to their criticism.
Speaking after the meeting Bhushan said,
"The NE by majority decision decided that we
should not remain the PAC. I hope that the
party which was created and inspired
millions of people as a party wedded to the
principles of transparency, accountability,
inner party democracy and Swaraj will not
disappoint the people on whose efforts the
party was founded.''
TEACHERS’ RECRUITMENT SCAM
DELHI HC UPHOLDS 10-YEAR JAIL FOR EX-HARYANA CM CHAUTALA, SON
NEW DELHI (TIP): The Delhi
high court on March 5 upheld the
conviction and 10-year jail term of
former Haryana chief minister O P
Chautala, 80, observing that he
cheated the youth of his state in the
JBT teachers' recruitment scam.
Justice Siddharth Mridul also
upheld the prison terms of
Chautala's son Ajay, two IAS officers
Sanjiv Kumar and Vidya Dhar along
with the former CM's political
adviser Sher Singh Baddhami — all
of whom had got 10 years —
pointing out that a teaching cadre
"inducted through patronage,
nepotism and corruption cannot,
morally, be higher than the methods
that produced it and be free from the
sins of its own origin".
"So this is the end of the road,
appeals have been dismissed," the
judge remarked before pronouncing
the verdict. He, however, took a
lenient view of the remaining 50
convicts, recognizing that they were
pressured to be part of the scam and
reduced their jail term to two years.
They had been awarded 4-10-year
terms.
A CBI court had on January 22,
2013, found the Chautalas and others
guilty of illegally recruiting 3,206
junior basic trained teachers in
2000.
The court observed that Chautala,
as the then chief minister of
Haryana, could have been a figure of
hope and inspiration to the youth of
the state. "Cheating them of their
future deserves punishment of the
highest kind," it said, refusing to
show any leniency to the politician
on grounds of his advanced age and
OP Chautala and Ajay Chautala
the fact that he is "towards the tail
end of his political career".
While IAS officer Sanjiv Kumar,
the then director of primary
education, had claimed to be a
whistleblower on the scam, the
court found evidence establishing
his complicity. The other officer,
Vidya Dhar, was the then officer on
special duty (OSD) to the chief
minister.
Justice Mridul, in his 400-page
verdict found "overwhelming
evidence" of the manner in which
the scam was given effect to, adding
it showed the "shocking and spinechilling state of affairs in the
country". It directed Ajay Chautala,
out on medical bail, to surrender
immediately to serve the remaining
sentence.
Referring to the role played by the
politicians and the senior
bureaucrats in the scam, HC noted
that "an ingenious employment
scam spanning across 18 districts of
state of Haryana was given effect to
by persons at the helm of power
and the entire bureaucratic
machinery fell prey to its satanic
influence". It said the common
thread between Chautalas, the two
IAS officers and Sher Singh
Badshami was the "flagrant
disregard towards the system" that
led to shaking of public confidence.
"Each one of them played a role
in disrupting the established
process to achieve their object. Not
only did they offend every duty
they had to the office they were
holding, but in the process, also
challenged the ethical standard of
every other public servant and
compelled them to abandon their
otherwise perfect career records,"
HC observed.
It added that "such scams not
only result in dissemination of
poor quality education to millions
of children who are bound to suffer,
but also unfairly deprive the
competent participants in such
selection processes an opportunity
to gain public employment and
meaningfully serve the country."
16
INDIA
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
ALLEGED RAPIST PARADED
NAKED, KILLED IN
NAGALAND
DIMAPUR (TIP): An alleged rapist, suspected to be an
illegal Bangladeshi migrant, was beaten to death on March
5 by a mob which stormed the high-security central jail in
Nagaland's commercial town of Dimapur, officials said.
At least 10 vehicles were also set ablaze by the unruly
mob forcing the authorities to clamp curfew in Dimapur
district.
Syed Farid Khan, a 35-year-old second hand car dealer,
had allegedly raped a 20-year-old Naga woman on February
23 and 24 at different locations. Police arrested Khan on
February 25 and later a lower court sent him to judicial
custody.
"A mob of around 4,000 people stormed the central jail
after breaking the two gates and took the accused out of jail
and paraded him naked to the city tower in the heart of
Dimapur town, before we could rescue him from the mob,"
district police chief Meren Jamir told IANS.
He said Khan died after he was badly thrashed by the
mob.
"The body was retrieved from the mob after police fired
in the air to disperse them," Jamir said.
"We have clamped curfew in Dimapur district to contain
the law and order situation following the unfortunate
incident," district magistrate Wezope Kenye told IANS.
He said the district authorities had made all efforts to
prevent the mob from storming the central jail.
"We resorted to firing blanks and tear gas shells to
disperse the mob but they managed to pull out Khan from
the jail," Kenye said.
"The situation is tense and we are making all efforts to
restore normalcy in the district," he added.
Thousands converge in
Punjab for Hola Mohalla
ANANDPUR SAHIB (TIP): Tens of thousands of
devotees converged in this Sikh holy town on March 6 to
offer prayers at Gurdwara Keshgarh Sahib during "Hola
Mohalla" celebrations which coincides with the Holi
festival.
All roads towards this holy town, which is home to the
second most important Sikh shrine after "Harmandar
Sahib" (popularly known as Golden Temple) in Amritsar,
experienced heavy vehicular movement with people
coming in hordes on buses, trucks, tractor-trolleys and
other vehicles.
"Thousands of people have arrived here for 'Hola
Mohalla'. It is a great atmosphere. Our family has also
come to offer prayers," Balbir Singh, a resident of Kharar
town, 20 km from Chandigarh.
Anandpur Sahib is located about 85 km from
Chandigarh.The shrine and the town are famous as it
was here in 1699 that the Tenth Master, Guru Gobind
Singh, baptised five men and founded the Khalsa Panth,
which is the modern day Sikh religion.
Elsewhere in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, the
festival of Holi was being celebrated with a lot of
enthusiasm.
Despite rainfall in and around Chandigarh, and some
parts of Punjab and Haryana on Thursday night,
children and youth could be seen playing Holi on early
Friday.
The skies cleared up on Feb 6 morning over
Chandigarh, allowing people to celebrate the festival.
"The rain and clouds went away in the morning.
Otherwise, everyone was worried that the Holi spirit will
be spoilt by the weather. This time, though, the weather
is much colder than in previous years and people may not
be playing as freely with water colors as in the past,"
Ritu Goyal, a housewife in Chandigarh, said.
Nearly 1,000 police personnel and officials were
deployed at various places in Chandigarh to control any
rowdy behaviour.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
Nirbhaya filmmaker allowed
inside Tihar Jail without
background checks
NEW DELHI (TIP): The home
ministry, in its haste to approve British
filmmaker Leslee Udwin's application
to shoot interviews of gender crime
convicts inside Tihar jail, ignored its
own 2012 circular mandating
background security checks to be run
on foreigners seeking to visit Indian
prisons.
According to home ministry sources,
a set of guidelines was issued in
December 2012 to regulate
movement/visits of foreign visitors
inside Indian jails. These norms
specifically state that background
checks should be done on all foreigners
applying for prior permission to visit
jail premises.
The foreigners visiting Indian jails
may not only include mediapersons or
filmmakers, but also criminologists,
researchers, embassy staff, workers of
NGOs engaged in prisoners' welfare, or
those seeking to just celebrate festivals
like Christmas on jail premises. "Their
applications are received from time to
time ... the guidelines were issued to
standardize the parameters for their
access to Indian prisons, and one of
the key conditions laid down was to
verify the antecedents of the foreign
visitor before giving the permission,"
said a home ministry official.
The official added that the
background check could have been
done by the Intelligence Bureau, with
the help of R&AW, or even Delhi Police
in Udwin's case. "Though the decision
on Udwin's application may well have
been positive after the background
check, the fact that this parameter was
not fulfilled by either the home
ministry or the Tihar jail authorities,
is a lapse," said the official.
Leslee Udwin
Meanwhile, the Union home
ministry is also verifying how
Nirbhaya rape convict appeared for the
interview in normal clothes and not in
jail uniform. As per prison rules, a
convict must only wear prison uniform
on jail premises.
‘Nothing sensational in the film’
British filmmaker Leslee Udwin,
whose latest film on December 16
gangrape has created furore in India
for showing the interview of one of the
convicts, said the film is her attempt to
examine the attitude of men towards
women. Leslee also claimed she took
permission from the then Director
general of Tijar jail Vimla Mehra
before interviewing the convict
Mukesh Singh. "I wrote a letter to DG
of Tihar. The DG of Tihar had to
consult with MHA. The letter basically
stated that it was a campaigning film. I
had applied permission in May 2013
and I got the answer 'yes' in two weeks.
Official permission of MHA had also
came. Permission from the prison was
also signed," she said.
India's Daughter tells the story of
the horrific Delhi gang rape in
December, 2012, from the perspective of
the convicts and victim's parents, she
claimed. "We took a lot of time to make
the film, almost two years. If we had
something sensational, then we would
have thrown it out immediately. There
is nothing sensational about the film.
It's a very serious campaigning film in
the public interest. It's designed to see
the change," Leslee told reporters here.
Before making the BBC
documentary, Leslee said she met the
parents of all the convicts including
the juvenile's. "I actually met all the
parents of the convict. Mukesh's
(Singh) mother got him to speak. I
interviewed his mother and told her
we were doing this film and it was
important for us to speak to him. She
told him to speak to us," she said.
In the interview, Mukesh said the
women who went out at night had only
themselves to blame if they attracted
the attention of gangs of male
molesters. When asked why she gave a
platform to the convict, Leslee, who
interviewed Mukesh in 2013, said,
"That's a great pity. Indian media
should highlight what is going on in
their mind. You have to keep repeating
it until it stops and changes. Do you
want things to change... Why do you
resist? Why did I give a platform to
girl's parents? The film looks at the
issue of mindset and gender inequality.
The film paints a picture of a set of
attitudes towards women."
The BAFTA-winning director, who
claimed she had panic attack while
making the film, said the most
touching moment for her was to sit and
watch the film with victim's parents.
"Sitting and watching the film through
their eyes was a touching moment for
me. They were moved by the film. They
are extra-ordinary human beings."
Modi among 30 most influential
people on internet: Time
NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has been named among
the 30 most influential people on the
internet by Time magazine in a list
which also features US President Barack
Obama.
The list, which analysed social-media
followings, site traffic and overall ability
to drive news, also includes British
author of the Harry Potter series J K
Rowling and singers Taylor Swift and
Beyonce.
Time said the Indian Prime Minister
has roughly 38 million followers on
social networking sites Twitter and
Facebook, putting him ahead of any
other leaders in the world except Obama.
"And unlike many of his
contemporaries, Modi recognises that
social media can be invaluable when
trying to reach India's 200 million-plus
online population directly," the Time
magazine said. Modi, an ardent user of
social media to communicate with
people, announced in an unconventional
way, Obama's strategic visit to India in
January this year. He took to Twitter to
make the announcement, "bypassing
traditional media outlets," the magazine
said.Time said given the power of the
social media, anyone with a web
connection can start a global
conversation.
"Yes, it helps to be famous in real life.
But the rise of social networks has
levelled the playing field, allowing
unknowns to command audiences
rivalling those of real-world leaders,
even if by accident," it said.
On Obama's virtual influence, Time
said the US President is the most-liked
world leader on Facebook and the mostfollowed on Twitter.
"But more impressively, Obama is able
to meme himself to push an agenda,"
Time said citing a video he featured in
for American internet news media
company Buzzfeed.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
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18
BOLLYWOOD
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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW
Dum Laga Ke
Haisha
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
KATRINA KAIF’S WAX
STATUE TO BE UNVEILED
AT MADAME TUSSAUDS
ang Bang hottie Katrina Kaif
is all set to join Bollywood
biggies at Madame Tussauds,
London. The actress will unveil the
carefully sculpted wax statue later this
month. Katrina is reportedly trying to
zero in on what she would wear for the
unveiling ceremony. The official
Madame Tussauds Twitter handle had
earlier tweeted, "Katrina has
collaborated closely with our sculptors
and artists to decide a dancing pose and
outfit for the figure, having given a
sitting in Mumbai where all the
measurements required to create an
accurate likeness were gathered. A team
of 20 artists will work on the figure,
which will cost £150,000 to produce."
There is perhaps only one place in
the world where stars like Aishwarya
Rai Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shah
Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan
can come together under one roof. The
prestigious Madame Tussauds wax
museum in London brings the best of
Bollywood together and freezes the
stars in all their glory.
B
CAST: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Sanjay
Mishra, Seema Pahwa, Sheeba Chaddha, Alka Amin
DIRECTION: Sharat Katariya
GENRE: Romantic Comedy
DURATION: 1 hour 51 minutes
STORY: When more-than-pleasantly-plump Sandhya
(Bhumi Pednekar) gets hitched to Prem (Ayushmann
Khurrana), the latter cannot bring himself to look
beyond his wife's size. Her relentless attempts to win
over his attention are in vain and the two end up on the
brink of divorce when she overhears him passing
objectionable remarks about her to friends. Can blubber
hinder love?
REVIEW: Dum Laga Ke Haisha is an unlikely quasioriginal offering from the stable that in recent past has
made sincere efforts to defy the conventional notions of
love.
This film might further the cause of breaking away
from the bastion but it reeks of predictability. Sharat
Kataria pulls off a quaint-yet-flawed film. Set in circa
1995 in Haridwar, he carefully refrains from creating a
staple, syrupy affair. The film's first hour sails smoothly
sans hiccups, but the second half can be faulted for
unspooling tediously.
The movie erects a plot whose on-the-face nostalgia
factor is almost jarring. Its rustic setting, bustling bylanes and old-world charm does an overt job of selling
the VCR era. There's even a desperately-included fight
sequence where the couple aggressively play 90s songs.
Such scenes might crack you up, but the crackling
effect is wiped out as the film moves towards a
predictable climax featuring Kumar Sanu, a steady
fixture since the first scene. It's the only thing that
makes its 'loser' hero look good and is a contrived
culmination of the romance we never find blooming.
The film's subplots are unnecessary and abrupt, like
the sudden demise of a never-mentioned-before uncle
which triggers the final act.
The actors, however, deliver redeeming performances.
For a debutante, Pednekar is surprisingly confident.
Khurrana, is the best he has been since his launch
venture. Sanjay Mishra and Seema Pahwa are at the top
of their game.
But in the end, it isn't extraordinary, failing to rise
above the idea that a fat girl needs some schmuck to
complete her life. Undeniably, the smarts are visible in
its original thinking but it doesn't translate into a
satiating viewing experience.
JACQUELINE FERNANDEZ TO
POST SNIPPETS ON INSTAGRAM
acqueline Fernandez is fast
becoming one of the most loved
actresses of B-town. With her
pretty looks and her charming ways,
she has entranced everyone by
performances that just keep getting
better with each film. And now, we
hear that the talented actress has
reached 1 million followers on
Instagram.
Overwhelmed by the love showered
on her by her fans, the gorgeous lady
made her Instagram profile private
last night, giving access only to her
million followers to view, comment
and like her Instagram posts as she
feels that her first million fans on
Instagram deserve this exclusive
opportunity.
And we hear that she's all set to post
interesting, exclusive snippets all day,
only for her 1 million followers to see.
J
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
HOLLYWOOD
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
CAMERON DIAZ SAYS
EVERYONE NEEDS SEX FOR
HEALTHY LIFE
19
MOVIE REVIEW
Kingsman: The
Secret Service
CAST: Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Firth, Taron
Egerton, Jack Davenport, Mark Strong, Sofia Boutella, Mark
Hamill, Sophie Cookson
ameron Diaz has posed bra-free for April 2015 issue
of Cosmopolitan and said that everyone needs to
have sex to lead a healthy life. The 'Sex Tape' actress
told UK Cosmopolitan in a cover interview that every
individual should do exercise to keep themselves healthy,
and people who look out for some reasons to walk away
C
from it and states that their body doesn't allow it but
actually their mind restrains them of doing so, the Mirror
reported. The 42-year-old actress added that she even treats
herself sometimes with a handful of berries and some
cake, but instructed the readers not have the whole cake,
and have some pieces of it.
UMA
THURMAN
REVEALS
WHY SHE
‘RARELY’
SMILES ON
RED CARPET
Uma Thurman has explained the reason why
she rarely smiles on the red carpet saying that
she was traumatized about her physical
appearance after a childhood incident involving
her pearly whites.
The American actress revealed in a recent
interview that when she was 10-years-old,
someone told her that she had an ugly smile and
she spent the whole of her younger years feeling
embarrassed and never smiling with her mouth
open, Us Magazine reported.
The 'Kill Bill' star added that they all lose their
looks as they get older and there' was a beauty to
older people that was just different to the beauty
of younger people
DIRECTION: Matthew Vaughn
GENRE: Action
DURATION: 2 hours 10 minutes
STORY: The Kingsmen aren't answerable to
governments nor are they externally influenced. When
one of them is killed thanks to agent Harry's (Firth)
judgement error, he backs his fallen comrade's son Eggsy
(Egerton) to become a Kingsman. Later, they will have to
thwart tech tycoon Valentine's (Jackson) evil designs,
involving mind control and mass murder.
REVIEW: Colin Firth's performance as an action man is
nothing short of a revelation. When the impeccably-suited
Harry first meets Eggsy while the latter is a young boy, he
gives him a medal bearing an engraved telephone number,
for whenever Eggsy is in dire circumstances.
Many years later, Eggsy, now directionless , dials it
after a squabble with the law, gives the secret code ( "
Oxfords, not Brogues " ) and is freed from police custody,
no questions asked. Harry then rescues Eggsy from a
brutal beating (Harry's motto being an emphatic
"Manners. Maketh. The Man"), busts some smooth moves
and Eggsy is impressed enough to want to become a
Kingsman. Headed by Arthur (Caine) and trained by
Merlin (Strong), Eggsy and the other recruits including a
woman, Sophie (Cooks on), face a series of gruelling tests
before becoming agents.
Part Bond parody, part serious and a whole lot of camp,
you can't help but laugh (there are plenty of 'LOL'
moments) at the obvious 007 dig when Eggsy tells a
bartender that he'd like his martini with gin, not vodka
("obviously"), stirred a certain number of times whilst
staring fixedly at a fresh bottle of vermouth!
Egerton delivers and Jackson is perfect as the villain
Valentine whose environmentally-conscious concerns
conceal a devious plan for global genocide. His sidekick
Gazelle (Boutella) is a vamp plucked straight out a
Quentin Tarantino wet dream as does a scene involving
hyper-stylized mayhem in a small-town church. Mark
Hamill (Luke Skywalker, anyone?) also shows up as a
genius scientist. Bulletproof brollies that fire bullets, dart
spewing wristwatches and cigarette lighter grenades
aside, there's a smooth balance of good humo u r, buttkicking action and originality too. Kingsman: The Secret
Service is a breath of fresh air in the spy movie genre.
20
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
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THE INDIAN PANORAMA
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
INDIA
PM’S SEYCHELLES,
MAURITIUS, LANKA TOUR
BEGINS FROM MARCH 10
NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will
leave on March 10 on a three-nation visit -- Seychelles,
Mauritius and Sri Lanka -- the External Affairs Ministry
announced today with no mention, however, of the Maldives,
which was being considered earlier.
On his first trip abroad in 2015, the prime minister will be
visiting the three countries from March 10 to 14, the
ministry said.
On March 11, in Seychelles, Modi will hold bilateral
discussions with President James Alexis Michel to
strengthen bilateral maritime ties and enhance development
cooperation.
Modi will be in Mauritius on March 11 and 12 where he
will have extensive meetings with his Mauritian
counterpart, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, to further enhance the
special and unique relations.
The Indian Prime Minister will also be the Chief Guest at
Mauritius's National Day celebrations.
The Sri Lanka leg of the trip will be spread over March 13
and 14. During his visit, Modi will hold meetings with
Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and other senior
leaders across the political spectrum in the island nation.
Modi's visit will provide opportunities for building on the
close contacts at the highest political level and enhance
mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of
common interest, the ministry said.
"The visit of the Prime Minister to our friendly maritime
neighbours is reflective of India's desire to further
strengthen our ties in the Indian Ocean region," the MEA
added.
China says ‘Mausam’ can
be linked to 'One Belt
One Road'
NEW DELHI (TIP): As Prime Minister Narendra Modi
braces to firm up New Delhi’s bid to countervail Chinese
President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt One Road” initiative,
Beijing has now suggested that India’s own efforts to deepen
engagements in the Indian Ocean and Central Asia could
rather be linked to that of China.
“The One Belt One Road initiatives can also be linked
with India’s ‘Spice Route’ and ‘Mausam’ projects, thus
forming a new starting point and a new bright spot in
China-India cooperation,” Le Yucheng, China’s Ambassador
to India, said.
He was addressing journalists and foreign and strategic
affairs analysts on the occasion of the Lunar New Year of
China recently. His remark came just a few days ahead of
Modi’s proposed visit to four Indian Ocean nations –
Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Maldives – later this
month.
The prime minister’s tour to the four nations is likely to
give a give a fillip to “Project Mausam”, which is intended to
boost New Delhi’s engagements with countries in the Indian
Ocean, invoking India’s ancient maritime links with them.
The initiative is ostensibly a bid to countervail China’s “21st
Century Maritime Silk Road” project. New Delhi has also
called for revival of the ancient “Spice Route”, which once
linked southern India with Europe. Xi has been articulating
the idea of a “21st century Maritime Silk Road” reviving
economic connectivity between the Pacific and Indian
Oceans and linking China’s coastline with south-east Asia,
the Gulf and the eastern coast of Africa. He has also been
proposing a “Silk Road Economic Belt” reviving the ancient
link between China and the Mediterranean through Central
Asia. Beijing’s new plan to spread its tentacles further in the
Indian Ocean region and Central Asia caused unease in New
Delhi, which is already wary of China’s strategic assets
encircling India. Though Xi had elicited endorsements from
Sri Lanka and Maldives to his “21st century Maritime Silk
Road” plan just ahead of his last visit to India, Modi had
remained non-committal on supporting the proposal.
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
21
BUDGET 2015-16 GOES FOR
GROWTH, INVESTMENT
NEW DELHI (TIP): Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley on Feb 28
announced a budget that put boosting
growth before painful reforms,
slowing the pace of fiscal deficit cuts
and seeking to put domestic and
foreign capital to work.
In his first full-year budget since
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's
landslide election victory last May,
Jaitley said India's economy was about
to take off. Modi tweeted that the
budget would "further reignite our
growth engine".
Billed as a test of the nationalist
premier's willingness to reform a $2
trillion economy with a bloated public
sector and weak private investment,
the budget was short on structural
reforms and contained revenue targets
some called unrealistic.
It drew a mixed reception from
economists, with some calling it a path
to an investor-friendly India, but
others seeing a missed opportunity to
tackle deep-seated structural
problems.
"Definitely far from what some were
hoping would be an event similar to
the game-changing budget of 1991
which ushered in India's economic
liberalisation," said Devika
Mehndiratta, senior economist at ANZ
research.
Apparently anticipating such barbs,
Jaitley, 62, said his government had
acted "rapidly" to right the course of
Asia's third-largest economy.
"People who urged us to undertake
'big bang' reforms also say the Indian
economy is a super giant, which
moves slowly but surely," Jaitley told
parliament as he wrapped up a 90minute speech.
Jaitley promised higher investment
in India's decrepit roads and railways,
offered the carrot of tax cuts to global
companies and the stick of tighter
rules to get Indian tycoons to invest at
home rather than stash wealth abroad.
Tax evaders face jail sentences of up
to 10 years, he warned.
The tax changes and tougher
enforcement would raise $2.5 billion
next year, he said. Tax receipts overall
would rise 15 percent and government
asset sales would raise $11 billion goals that past experience shows may
be hard to meet.
Although Jaitley forecast that
growth would accelerate to 8-8.5
percent in the fiscal year starting in
April, up from 7.4 percent this year,
the budget contained little obvious
support for Modi's call to "Make in
India".
"It assumes a questionable growth
rate, relies too heavily on divestment
to meet fiscal targets, does not address
the revenue deficit issue head on and
leaves the good things for the future,"
said Arvind Sethi, CEO of Tata Asset
Management.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitleyleaves his office to present the 2015-16 ederal budget
in New Delhi February 28.
Capitalizing on windfall savings
stemming from cheaper oil imports,
Jaitley was able to ramp up
infrastructure investment without
slashing spending on politically
sensitive subsidies and welfare
schemes.
ROOM FOR RATE CUTS?
Jaitley forecast inflation at 5 percent
by the end of the fiscal year ending
March 2016, undershooting the
Reserve Bank of India's 6 percent
target and creating room to cut
interest rates. Annual inflation was 5.1
percent in January.
But he pushed back by a year, to
2017/18, a deadline for cutting the
fiscal deficit to 3 percent of gross
domestic product. In 2015/16, the
deficit will be 3.9 percent of GDP,
above the 3.6 percent target inherited
from the last government.
In volatile trading, the Nifty ended
0.7 percent higher after having briefly
fallen into the red on his comment that
the fiscal deficit would slip.
Ratings agency Moody's gave the
budget a cool reception, saying it was
neutral for India's credit and left
stabilising government finances at the
mercy of economic growth. Moody's
rates India at the lowest notch of
investment grade.
"We were not expecting big bang
reforms," said Atsi Sheth, a Moody's
sovereign ratings analyst. "The big
bang reforms are also not desirable
because they have a higher chance of
rollback. "
22
WORLD
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
Syria says it killed military
leader of al-Qaida group
BEIRUT (TIP): Syrian state-run news agency SANA says
the army has killed the military commander of the alQaida-linked Nusra Front.
The agency says Abu Hommam al-Shami was killed
during a military operation carried out by the Syrian
army that targeted a Nusra meeting in the village of
Habeet, in the northern Idlib province.
It did not elaborate, but the report suggested he was
killed in an airstrike.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights confirmed that a Nusra Front leadership meeting
was targeted in Idlib, killing a number of prominent
leaders, including Abu Hommam.
It said it was not clear whether the meeting was targeted
by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike or a Syrian army strike.
Britain launches a massive
hunt for the Nanteos Cup
LONDON (TIP): A massive hunt has been launched in
Britain to trace a historic wooden cup which which is
believed to have the power to bestow eternal life.
The Nanteos Cup, dubbed the Welsh Holy Grail and
reputed to be the cup used by Christ during the Last
Supper, was stolen from a house in Weston-Under-Penyard
in Herefordshire in July last year. The family and the
police have now offered a £2,000 reward for the Holy Grail.
It was stolen from an elderly woman's house in a small
village in Herefordshire. Burglars struck the house at
Weston Under Penyard and stole the world famous
Nanteos Cup.
Legend has it that the cup was used by Joseph of
Arimathea to catch Christ's blood while interring Him in
his tomb.
Joseph took the cup to Britain and founded a line of
guardians to keep it safe which finally ended up in
Nanteos Mansion near Aberystwyth, Wales.
Visitors in hundreds visit the site to drink from the cup
that measures 10 cm by 8.5 cm believing it has healing
powers. Parts of it have been nibbled off by the sick in the
hope of a miracle cure.
West Mercia Police spokeswoman said "The Nanteos
Cup was stolen in a burglary. The family who own the
Nanteos Cup are now offering a reward for its safe return
and information leading to the arrest and subsequent
conviction of the offender or offenders. The cup is a
medieval mazer bowl, a wooden cup/chalice, widely
regarded as the Welsh Holy Grail. It is a dark wood cup
and was kept in a blue velvet bag".
It added "The family are offering £1000 and West Mercia
Police are offering an additional £1000 for the safe return
of the cup and information leading to the arrest and
subsequent conviction of the offender or offenders.
Some experts say the Cup dates back to the 14th century,
some 1,400 years after the Cruxifiction. Descendants of the
Nanteos' original occupants are reported to have recently
kept it in a bank vault, but loaned it to a seriously ill
woman with connections to the family. The burglars are
believed to have raided her house while she was in hospital.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
China police shoot man dead
after 9 hurt in knife attack
BEIJING (TIP): A man was shot dead
by police and another detained after a
knife attack at a Chinese train station
which left nine people wounded March
06, police said.
The incident at the main station in
Guangzhou happened as China's
communist-controlled parliament meets
in Beijing and just over a year after a
mass stabbing at a railway station in
Kunming, when 31 people were killed and
four attackers died.
"Someone with a knife slashed a crowd
at Guangzhou train station," the southern
city's municipal public security bureau
said on its verified account on Sina
Weibo, China's version of Twitter.
Police shot dead one suspect and
captured another, the statement said. No
further details were provided, and
Guangzhou police did not respond to calls
from AFP.
Domestic reports said one of the
suspects cut a policeman's right hand. A
lone attacker was shot and detained after
a slashing attack that wounded six people
at the same station last May.
Authorities blamed separatists from
the restive mainly Muslim region of
Xinjiang for the attack last March in
Kunming, the capital of the southwestern
province of Yunnan.
Hundreds of people died in Xinjiang
last year, most of them members of the
Uighur minority according to rights
groups.
On March 05 in Beijing China opened
the annual session of the National
People's Congress, the legislature which
is subordinate to the Communist Party.
World's oldest person celebrates
117th birthday in Japan
China hiked military spending
by 10% as Japan moves
towards militarization
BEIJING (TIP): China has announced it will enhance
defense spending by around 10 percent this year. The
announcement signals competitive defense spending as it
comes at a time when hitherto pacifist Japan has declared
a record 2.8 per cent in military expenditure.
From China's point of view, the increase in defense
expenditure is lower than the 12.2 per cent growth seen in
2014, and the lowest in the past five years.
Though the Chinese move is lower than last year's
increase of 12.2 percent in defense expenditure, it will
hugely increase Beijing's spending on top of $131 billion
that was sanctioned in 2014. The new increase of 10 per
cent will be on top of $131 billion that was sanctioned for
spending in 2014 although actual expenditure may have
been higher.
TOKYO (TIP): The world's oldest
person says 117 years doesn't seem like
such a long time.
Misao Okawa, the daughter of a
kimono maker, made the comment on
Wednesday, at a celebration a day
before her 117th birthday.
Appropriately, she was wearing a pink
kimono decorated with cherry blossom
prints.
Okawa, born in Osaka on March 5,
1898, was recognized as the world's
oldest person by Guinness World
Records in 2013.
"It seemed rather short," she said
after Osaka government official
Takehiro Ogura, who brought her a big
bouquet, asked how she felt about
living for 117 years.
Okawa, her hair decorated with a
pink daisy pin, looked up from her
wheelchair and said she was "very
happy" to be that age.
Asked for the secret of her longevity,
she responded nonchalantly, "I wonder
about that too."
Japan has the most centenarians in
the world, with more than 58,000,
according to the government. About 87
per cent of them are women.
Okawa has slowed down in recent
months and is having trouble hearing,
but she still eats well and is in good
health, according to her Osaka nursing
home, where Wednesday's televised
celebration was held.
Okawa married her husband, Yukio,
in 1919, and they had three children —
two daughters and a son. She now has
four grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren. Her husband died in
1931.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
WORLD
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
23
33 MINERS FEARED DEAD AFTER PIT
BLAST IN EAST UKRAINE
DONETSK (TIP): Seventeen miners were
confirmed dead and rescuers held out little
hope for another 16 still missing after a blast
at a coal mine in the rebel-held city of
Donetsk near the battle front in eastern
Ukraine on March 04.
Mine officials said the explosion was most
likely caused by gas and not linked to
fighting in the war between Moscow-backed
rebels and Ukraine government forces.
Nevertheless, Kiev suggested the war had
made the disaster worse, accusing the
separatists of holding up a rescue effort by
restricting access.
Outside the gates of the Zasyadko mine,
about 30 relatives clamoured for information
about any survivors. Sergei Baldayev, a
miner injured in the blast, mingled with the
crowd, his face covered in scratches and one
arm hanging motionless by his side, the
result of a broken collarbone.
The sister of one miner who was in the pit
at the time of the explosion, Alexei
Novoselsky, stood in tears.
"Tell me, are there survivors? Why are you
concealing the truth," she said as a rescue
worker tried to calm her.
The Donetsk regional administration said
16 injured people were in hospital.
Emergency services said that of the 32
people who were in the mine, the bodies 16
had been found, the RIA news agency
reported. Earlier in the day, the body of one
miner was recovered.
Eduard Dmitrenko, a miner who went
down the affected shaft after the blast, said it
was unlikely any of the missing miners
would be found alive. "But they will of course
find bodies," said Dmitrenko, his face covered
with coal dust.
Trucks and buses were driven to the mine
in preparation for transporting the bodies to
local morgues.
Asked what were the chances of trapped
miners surviving, a medical worker said: "It's
getting smaller and smaller all the time,
because of the methane, the hot air, burns to
the airways."
Heavy fighting
Donetsk has been the scene of heavy
fighting between Moscow-backed
separatist rebels, who control the area,
and forces loyal to the government in Kiev.
A ceasefire has sharply reduced the
violence in the past week.
The neighbourhood around the mine
has come under artillery fire, with
fragments from Grad rockets visible on
surrounding roads, but mine officials said
the explosion was unrelated to the
fighting and most likely caused by gas.
IRAQ SAYS ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS
'BULLDOZED' ANCIENT SITE
BAGHDAD (TIP): Islamic State
militants "bulldozed" the ancient
Nimrud archaeological site near the
northern Iraqi city of Mosul on
Thursday using heavy military
vehicles, the government said.
A statement from Iraq's Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities didn't
elaborate on the extent of the damage,
saying only that the group continues to
"defy the will of the world and the
feelings of humanity" with this latest
act.
Nimrud is a 13th century B.C.
Assyrian archaeological site located on
the Tigris River just south of Iraq's
second largest city, Mosul, which was
captured by the Islamic State group in
June. The extremists, who control a
third of Iraq and Syria, have attacked
other archaeological and religious sites,
claiming that they promote apostasy.
Turkey rules out combat mission to
to help Iraq retake Mosul
Earlier this week a video emerged on
militant websites showing Islamic State
militants with sledgehammers
destroying ancient artifacts at the
Mosul museum, sparking global
outrage.
Last year, the militants destroyed the
Mosque of the Prophet Younis - or
Jonah - and the Mosque of the Prophet
Jirjis, two revered ancient shrines in
Mosul. They also threatened to destroy
Mosul's 850-year old Crooked Minaret,
but local residents surrounded the
structure, preventing the militants from
approaching.
Iraq's national museum in Baghdad
opened its doors to the public last week
for the first time in 12 years in a move
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said
was to defy efforts "to destroy the
heritage of mankind and Iraq's
civilization."
The Islamic State group has imposed
a harsh and violent version of Islamic
law in the territories it controls and has
terrorized religious minorities. It has
released gruesome videos online
showing the beheading of captives,
including captured Western journalists
and aid workers.
A U.S.-led coalition has been striking
the group since August, and Iraqi forces
launched an offensive this week to try
to retake the militant-held city of
Tikrit, on the main road linking
Baghdad to Mosul.
In Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister
Arseny Yatseniuk said rescue workers had
been dispatched by the central authorities,
"but the Russian terrorists did not let
them reach the scene of the accident," he
said, using a term commonly used by Kiev
to describe the separatists.
The mine, now owned by a private firm,
has a history of fatal accidents in the 57
years it has been operating. An explosion
at Zasyadko in 2007 killed 106 people. A
cemetery next to the pit holds the graves
of many miners killed in the past.
"When there's an accident, we bury
them all here," said the head of security at
the shaft where Tuesday's blast happened,
who did not give his name. "Coal is a
costly business."
A welder at the mine, who gave his
name as Oleg, said outside the entrance:
"I've been down the pit for 23 years, and
this is the fourth explosion that I can
recall. If they didn't get them out straight
away, then later they will only retrieve
bodies. An explosion is a terrible thing."
The Zasyadko coal mine produced 1.4
million tonnes of coal in 2013. The mine is
in the centre of a Donbass region which is
Ukraine's industrial and coal-producing
heartland.
Ukrainian coal production fell 22
percent in 2014 to 65 million tonnes as the
conflict disrupted mining operations,
leading to some shortages of coal at power
plants.
North Korea praises knife
attack on US ambassador to
South Korea
SEOUL (TIP): The US ambassador to South Korea,
Mark Lippert, was recovering from surgery on Thursday
after having his face and arm slashed by a knife-wielding
activist in an attack applauded by North Korean state
media.
The United States condemned the "act of violence"
which saw the ambassador rushed to hospital where his
condition was described as stable after two-and-a-half
hours of surgery that included 80 stitches to a deep gash
on his right cheek.
Witnesses described how a man armed with a 25centimetre (10-inch) paring knife had lunged across a
table and attacked Lippert at a breakfast function in
central Seoul.
The assailant, dressed in traditional Korean clothes
and identified as Kim Ki-Jong, 55, was immediately
wrestled to the ground and taken into police custody.
During the assault, Kim screamed a slogan in favour of
reunifying the divided Korean peninsula, and later
shouted his opposition to ongoing joint US-South Korean
military exercises.
In a brief despatch, North Korea's official KCNA news
agency called the attack "just punishment" and a valid
"expression of resistance" that reflected South Korean
public opposition to the joint drills which went ahead
over Pyongyang's bitter protests.
Kim was a known maverick activist who had been
handed a two-year suspended sentence in 2010 for
throwing a rock at the then Japanese ambassador to
Seoul.
Video footage showed Lippert, 42, being rushed from
the breakfast event and bundled into a police car, one
hand pressing a cloth to his bleeding right cheek, and his
other hand and clothes smeared with blood.
24
WOMEN
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
RESET BOUNDARIES IN YOUR
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
o you feel anxious, uncertain vis-avis certain relationships? Do you
feel that you are saying 'Yes' too
many times when deep within all you want
to say is 'No'? Learn to reset your personal
boundaries in relationships
Cheryl Richardson's said correctly,
"When your soul says no, say no. Say it
gracefully. Say it lovingly. Say it with
confidence. And don't defend your position,
over explain, or welcome debate."
Saying 'No' means setting clear personal
boundaries. This is essential to have a
mutually respectful, supportive and caring
relationship. If you feel
stressed/uncomfortable by others'
demands/expectations from you, then the
time has come for outlining the
boundaries. This will free you from any
unwanted feeling of being used. Weak
boundaries leave you vulnerable and likely
to be taken for granted.
Yes, the truth is that initially people
around you (for whom you outline the
boundary) will not take it kindly. This is
solely for their own selfish purpose. They
have been used to their own convenience
with very little respect for your well-being.
So, in simple terms, they are not your wellwishers. So, when you set your boundaries,
you might lose some of your so-called
friends. But let them go. They are not
worth your time or energy.
Say no, reset your boundaries
Do you feel anxious, uncertain vis-a-vis
certain relationships? Do you feel that you
are saying 'Yes' too many times when deep
D
within all you want to say is 'No'? Set aside
some time to write down the ways people
around you make you feel. Be honest while
writing it down in clear terms. And then
decide what exactly you want to do to not
face such unpleasant and unhealthy
feelings.
Remember this
As they say, 'No' is a complete sentence.
Be consistent with your new boundaries.
Be very clear in your thought process. You
want to say 'No' cause you feel so from deep
within.
Stay calm at all times. Be firm. Be rooted.
Be responsible for your own emotional
wellness.
Don't feel guilty in saying 'No'.
Remember there's no point in carrying
forward toxic relationships. By saying No,
you are committing a crime.
Invest your time and energy in doing
things that matter to you.
And remember less is more. So having
two happy, positive, joyful friends is far
better than having 10 toxic relationships.
Once you have established strong, clear
boundaries, people will give you more
respect. You will reclaim your own self and
you will feel less stressed. Emotional
manipulators will be relegated to the
background and you will embrace happy,
loving relationships.
USE CINNAMON IN YOUR
BEAUTY ROUTINE
FOOD
Badam ka halwa
hile cinnamon is a spice
that lends great flavour to
your food, it can also be
used in your make-up and skincare
routine! We tell you how.
Use it like a bronzer. Combine
cinnamon, nutmeg, corn starch and
cocoa powder and mix them together.
Check the colour; if you want a
darker shade, add a little more
cinnamon, or if you want a lighter
shade, add some corn starch.
If you have dyed your hair in a
reddish hue, you can use cinnamon to
keep the colour flaming and bright!
Add cinnamon to your conditioner
and once you have applied it to your
hair, wrap them up in a shower cap.
Leave your hair for six to eight hour.
Wash your hair and you will notice
the difference. You can use it to make
W
Ingredients
2 cups badam
2 ½ cups sugar
2 drops kesar colour
1 cup ghee and 1 cup milk
Method
Leave the almonds in hot water for an hour. Remove
the outer skin and grind to a paste with milk. Make
sugar syrup and boil till it reaches one string
consistency. Add the badam paste and cook till it
thickens. Add the kesar colour and ghee and stir
continuously on low heat. Serve hot.
a delicious lip balm. Add a tablespoon
of powdered cinnamon to hot coconut
oil. Once this mixture sets, it will turn
into a balm.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
HEALTH AND FITNESS
FOODS THAT KEEP
YOU HAPPY
o lead a quality life you need to
be energetic and happy. There
are magic foods that can help
you when clubbed in a trio
T
FOODS TO BOOST ENERGY
Whether you are heading out for an
exercise session or suffering from a
mid-afternoon slump, there are times
when we all need energy boost. Here
are three instant pick-me-up foods.
Oats
If you're feeling worn out, weak or
unable to concentrate, you could be
deficient in certain B vitamins. These
vitamins not only help to keep the
brain functioning properly, they also
help the body to break down
carbohydrates into glucose to fuel the
body. For a good source of B vitamins,
try incorporating oats into your diet;
a morning bowl of porridge should do
the trick.
Chocolate
Amongst the many reported health
benefits of dark chocolate (including
its ability to lower heart disease risk,
prevent wrinkles and boost the mood),
the popular treat is also a great pickme-up snack, which is great news for
chocoholics. Chocolate is high in
energy-boosting chemicals including
theobromine (a stimulant found in
many popular energy drinks) and
caffeine.
Beetroot
Beetroot not only provides a
multitude of health benefits, the
vibrant vegetable is also a great
source of longlasting energy. First of
all, beetroot has a high sugar content
which helps to provide an instant
energy boost. It is also high in many
energy-boosting nutrients including
magnesium, iron, vitamin C and
nitrate.
FOODS TO BEAT THE BLUES
We all go through periods of feeling
anxious, irritable or depressed. The
foods you eat can directly influence
the way you feel, so check out these
top three foods to cheer you up.
Marmite
Oily fish
Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily
fish are well known for being good for
the heart. However, they are equally
beneficial for our brain health and
mood. A recent study found that
participants who had lower levels of
omega-3 fatty acids in their blood
were more likely to be moderately
depressed and have a negative
outlook.
Bananas
Bananas are high in natural sugars,
making them a great remedy for low
energy levels which can leave you
feeling down. On top of this they are a
great source of tryptophan, an
essential amino acid which boosts
serotonin levels, helping to regulate
your mood.
If you're struggling to get a good
night's sleep, foods containing
tryptophan should be a first port of
call. Tryptophan, an essential amino
acid, helps to raise serotonin and
melatonin levels in the body, both of
which can help induce sleep. Bedtimefriendly sources include dairy
products such as yoghurt and milk.
Oats
While many of us associate oats
with breakfast time, they are also the
perfect evening snack. Oats are a good
natural source of melatonin, which is
often taken as a sleep aid due to its
ability to help regulate the body's
internal clock. They are also another
good source of tryptophan, especially
when combined with milk.
Flax seeds
FOODS TO HELP YOU SLEEP
If you're feeling anxious, stressed
or depressed, a dose of Marmite, rich
in B vitamins, could help to lift your
mood. B vitamins are important for
normal brain function and producing
moodboosting serotonin, with
vitamins B12 and B6 being
particularly beneficial for regulating
your mood.
Whether it's a one-off occurrence
before a big event or a nightly
struggle, most of us suffer from
insomnia at one time or another.
Fortunately, there are foods that can
help you sleep a little easier.
Dairy products
Flax seeds are great for increasing
levels of sleepregulating substance
serotonin in the body due to their
high levels of both tryptophan and
omega-3 fatty acids. Furthermore, the
omega-3 fatty acids they contain have
been proven to help reduce the
anxiety, depression and stress which
are leading causes of insomnia.
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
25
THREE-FIVE CUPS OF
COFFEE DAILY GOOD
FOR HEART
eople consuming three to five cups of coffee a
day have the lowest risk of clogged arteries and
heart attacks, says new research.
An international team of researchers led by the
Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul, South Korea, set
out to examine the association between coffee
consumption and the presence of coronary artery
calcium (CAC) which is an early indicator of coronary
atherosclerosis (when arteries become clogged).
It can cause the arteries to harden and narrow,
leading to blood clots which can trigger a heart attack
or a stroke.
They studied a group of 25,138 men and women average age 41 - who had no signs of heart disease.
The researchers estimated the CAC score ratios
associated with different levels of coffee consumption
compared with no coffee consumption.
They categorised coffee consumption as none, less
than one cup a day, one to three cups a day, three to
five per day and at least five or more per day.
The calcium ratios were 0.77 for people who had less
than one cup per day, 0.66 for those having one to three
cups every day, 0.59 for those consuming three to five
cups per day, and 0.81 for people having at least five
cups or more every day compared with non-coffee
drinkers.
The researchers found the prevalence of detectable
CAC was 13.4 percent among the whole group of
people and the average consumption of coffee was 1.8
cups per day.
Possible explanations for the findings, said the
researchers, were that chronic coffee consumption
had a possible link to reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes,
a strong risk factor for atherosclerosis.
"Coffee consumption might be inversely associated
with CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk. Further
research is warranted to confirm our findings and
establish the biological basis of coffee's potential
preventive effects on coronary artery disease," the
authors concluded.
P
CURING MOUTH SORES
ore gums can be the result of bad eating habits
and unhygienic mouth conditions. But they can
be extremely painful and can render you foodless for a long time, if they grow too big. Here's how
you can heal them at home.
S
Baking soda
Baking soda has acidic properties that can heal
sores. Just make a thick paste my mixing it with a
little water and apply directly on the sores. Leave it on
for 20 minutes after which you can wash mouth with
some regular water. Repeat this process several times
a day.
Onions
Onions have enzymes present in them that prevent
the bacteria from spreading further and also work at
killing them. They also have cooling properties that
internally cool the body. You can heal sores by either
eating a raw onion or applying onion juice over them.
Teabags
Teas have tannins that are effective in healing all
kinds of inflammations. All you have to do is wash
used tea bags and put them in the refrigerator for twothree hours to chill. Use these over your mouth sores.
Since there is no direct application involved you can
use them as many times as you wish.
26
SCIENCE & TECH
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
USING INDIA MADE INSTRUMENT, NASA
DISCOVERS PLANET IN 4-STAR SYSTEM
NEW DELHI (TIP): Using a new
instrument developed with Indian
collaboration, Nasa astronomers have
discovered a planet 136 light-years away
which is attached to four parent stars. They
also discovered another planet in the care of
a three star family.
The discoveries were made using the new
Robo-AO adaptive optics system, developed
by the Inter-University Center for Astronomy
and Astrophysics located in Pune, India and
the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena. This new system, along with the
PALM-3000 adaptive optics system, developed
by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, California, and Caltech are fitted
to telescopes at the Palomar Observatory in
San Diego.
The four star system called 30 Ari is
located in the direction of the constellation
Aries. While the planet itself was known
before, it was thought to have only three
stars, not four. The new instruments helped
scientists discover the fourth parent star.
This is only the second time a planet has
been identified in a quadruple star system.
The first four-star planet, KIC 4862625, was
discovered in 2013 by citizen scientists using
public data from Nasa's Kepler mission.
"Star systems come in myriad forms. There
can be single stars, binary stars, triple stars,
even quintuple star systems," said Lewis
Roberts of JPL, lead author of the new
findings appearing in the journal
Astronomical Journal. "It's amazing the way
nature puts these things together."
The system's gaseous planet is enormous,
with 10 times the mass of Jupiter, and it
SUN'S HELIOSPHERE
DOMINATED BY TWO SOLAR
JETS: NASA
WASHINGTON (TIP): Contrary to earlier visualisations,
the sun's heliosphere is dominated by two giant jets of
material shooting backwards over the north and south
poles of the sun.
The heliosphere is created by the solar wind, the changed
particles emitted by the sun. The heliosphere extends far
beyond the planets of the solar system. These two jets are
confined by the interaction of the sun's magnetic field with
the interstellar magnetic field.
"Everyone's assumption has been that the shape of the
heliosphere was molded by the flow of interstellar material
passing around it," said Merav Opher, astronomer at Boston
University and lead author of the NASA-funded study.
Scientists have for decades visualised the heliosphere in
the shape of a comet, with a very long tail extending some
464 billion miles. The two jets are similar to other
astrophysical jets seen in space, so studying them locally
could open doors to understanding such jets throughout the
universe.
"Scientists thought the solar wind flowing down the tail
could easily pull the magnetic fields in the heliosphere
along as it flowed by, creating this long tail. But it turns out
that the magnetic fields are strong enough to resist that pull
- so instead they squeeze the solar wind and create these
two jets," said Opher.
The team could determine the new shape when they
adjusted simulations of the heliosphere based on
observations collected from NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft.
The spacecraft recently moved outside of the heliosphere
into interstellar space. "If there were no interstellar flow,
then the magnetic fields around the sun would shape the
solar wind into two jets pointing straight north and south,"
said Jim Drake at the University of Maryland in College
Park.
orbits its primary star every 335 days. The
primary star has a relatively close partner
star, which the planet does not orbit. This
pair, in turn, is locked in a long-distance
orbit with another pair of stars about 1,670
astronomical units away (an astronomical
unit is the distance between Earth and the
sun). Astronomers think it's highly unlikely
that this planet, or any moons that might
circle it, could sustain life.
Were it possible to see the skies from this
world, the four parent stars would look like
one small sun and two very bright stars that
would be visible in daylight. One of those
stars, if viewed with a large enough
telescope, would be revealed to be a binary
system, or two stars orbiting each other.
"About four percent of solar-type stars are
in quadruple systems, which is up from
previous estimates because observational
techniques are steadily improving," said coauthor Andrei Tokovinin of the Cerro Tololo
Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
The new planet with a trio of stars is a hot
Jupiter that circles its primary star tightly,
completing one lap every three days.
Scientists already knew this primary star
was locked in a gravitational tango with
another star, about 0.7 light-years away, or
44,000 astronomical units. That's relatively
far apart for a pair of stellar companions.
The latest discovery is of a third star in the
system, which orbits the primary star from a
distance of 28 astronomical units — close
enough to have influenced the hot Jupiter's
development and final orbit. The fourth star
lies at a distance of 23 astronomical units
from the planet.
Soon, you could talk with
computers like friends
NEW YORK (TIP): Humans may soon be
able to talk to computers and robots the
same way they talk to their friends,
scientists say.
A new programme from the US Defence
Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) aims
to get computers to express themselves
more like humans by allowing them to use
spoken language, facial expressions and
gestures to communicate.
"Today we view computers as tools to be
activated by a few clicks or keywords, in
large part because we are separated by a
language barrier," said Paul Cohen,
DARPA's Communicating with Computers
(CwC) programme manager.
"The goal of CwC is to bridge that
barrier, and in the process encourage the
development of new problem-solving
technologies," Cohen said.
One of the problem-solving technologies
that CwC could help further is the
computer-based modelling used in cancer
research.
Computers previously developed by
DARPA are already tasked with creating
models of the complicated molecular
processes that cause cells to become
cancerous.
But while these computers can churn
out models quickly, they are not so adept at
judging if the models are actually plausible
and worthy of further research.
If the computers could somehow seek
the opinions of flesh-and-blood biologists,
the work they do would likely be more
useful for cancer researchers.
To get computers up to the task of
communicating with people, CwC
researchers have devised several tasks that
require computers and humans to work
together toward a common goal, 'Live
Science' reported.
One of the tasks, known as "collaborative
composition," involves storytelling. In this
exercise, humans and computers take turns
contributing sentences until they have
composed a short story.
"This is a parlor game for humans, but a
tremendous challenge for computers,"
Cohen said.
"To do it well, the machine must keep
track of the ideas in the story, then
generate an idea about how to extend the
story and express this idea in language,"
Cohen added.
Another assignment that the CwC is
planning is known as "block world," which
would require humans and computers to
communicate to build structures out of toy
blocks. But neither humans nor computers
will be told what to build.
Instead, they'll have to work together to
make a structure that can stand up of its
own accord.
Better communications technologies
could help robot operators use natural
language to describe missions and give
directions to the machines they operate
both before and during operations.
PEN TO HELP
DIABETICS
MONITOR
BLOOD SUGAR
LEVELS
WASHINGTON (TIP): Ballpoint
pens filled with high-tech bio-inks
can be used to draw sensors
directly on the skin to help detect
glucose levels in diabetics,
scientists say. The research leads
to an era when anyone will be able
to build sensors, anywhere,
according to researchers at the
University of California, San
Diego.
The team has developed hightech bio-inks that react with
several chemicals, including
glucose. They filled off-the-shelf
ballpoint pens with the inks and
were able to draw sensors to
measure glucose directly on the
skin and sensors to measure
pollution on leaves. Researchers
envision sensors drawn directly on
smartphones for personalized and
inexpensive health monitoring or
on external building walls for
monitoring of toxic gas pollutants.
The team used pens, loaded with
an ink that reacts to glucose, to
draw reusable glucose-measuring
sensors on a pattern printed on a
transparent, flexible material
which includes an electrode.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
BIZ AND FINANCE
Maruti told to pay Rs 1L
each to 425 sacked workers
GURGAON (TIP): A labour court in Gurgaon has
directed automobile major Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to pay
Rs 1 lakh each as compensation to 425 workers, who were
sacked after violence in the company's Manesar plant in
July 2012.
The order was given by the court of additional district
and sessions judge Ajay Parashar on March 2 after more
than 20 hearings after the sacked workers filed a petition
in 2012. Maruti was asked to deposit Rs 4.25 crore with the
court for making payments to workers. The court also
observed that the sacked workers were harassed since July
18, 2012 when violence erupted at the Manesar plant.
According to the order, each worker will receive Rs
85,000 as compensation while Rs 15,000 will go to the court
for expenses incurred. Rajendar Pathak, counsel for the
workers, said the company had taken action merely on
suspicion. Maruti Suzuki Kamgar Union president
Kuldeep Jhangu said.
"The compensation is fine but the sacked employees need
a job. Therefore, the company should reinstate them." A
spokesperson for Maruti Suzuki said, "We will consider
further course of action based on our understanding of
the court's order."
China's 7% growth target
lowest in 20 yrs
BEIJING (TIP): China has set a growth target of 7% for
2015, lowest in two decades. This lowered target reflects
declining exports and foreign investments, besides the
government's fear of slipping into a "middle income trap"
along with problems like industrial pollution.
"Downward pressure on China's economy has continued
to mount, and we have faced an array of difficulties and
challenges," Chinese premier Li Keqiang said, while
explaining why he chose a GDP target that was even lower
than the achievement of 7.4% in 2014. China would end
2015 with the highest ever budget deficit of 2.3 % of GDP
against last year's 2.1 %, the premier said. The country has
entered an era of low growth rates, which is the "new
normal," he added.
Govt mulls regulating air
fares again
NEW DELHI (TIP): The aviation ministry has again
proposed regulating fares to prevent airlines from
charging exorbitant prices in crunch times. Union
minister of state for aviation Mahesh Sharma admitted
that airlines 'gamble' by charging extreme fares - both
while going low as well as on the upper side.
Senior aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju's office
had late last year initiated a move to cap maximum
economy fares at Rs 20,000, a move that did not make much
headway then. Sharma said the ministry has begun
informal discussions on the issue of extreme fares being
charged by airlines. "I feel there should be some limit....but
then there are international guidelines on fares which we
need to study. Airlines should not swing to extremes, this is
gambling."
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
27
INVESTMENT PROPOSALS
DON’T MEET PROMISES
NEW DELHI (TIP): Investment
proposals by corporates are generally
associated with improving business
sentiment and often linked with the
possibility of job creation. The
comparison of proposed investment
with actual implementation and job
creation in the past 23 years, however,
shows that the actual delivery has
fallen well short of the promise.
Data from the department of
industrial policy and promotion shows
that between August 1991 and March
2014, the government received about
94,000 investment proposals. These
proposals include Industrial
Investment Intentions through
Entrepreneurs Memorandum — IEMs
(delicensed sector) and Direct
Industrial Licences (licensable sector).
Put together, these proposed the
investment of more than Rs 102 lakh
crore and were supposed to create 2.3
crore jobs. The data on actual
implementation of these proposals
shows that only Rs 5.1 lakh crore was
actually invested and just 20.1 lakh jobs
created. That's less than 5% of the
proposed investments and 8.9% of the
promised jobs.
A state-wise analysis of proposals
shows that between August 1991 and
March 2014 corporates proposed to
invest Rs 15.4 lakh crore in Orissa —
the highest in the country. It was
followed by Gujarat and Chhattisgarh
receiving over Rs 10 lakh crore of
proposed investments and
Maharashtra just a tad below that
mark. Overall, there were 15 states,
which were each supposed to get over
Rs 1 lakh crore of investments in these
23 years.
When one analyses actual
investments, Haryana has been the
most successful among these 15 states
in converting proposals to reality as
18.9% of the proposed money actually
reached the state. It is followed by
Gujarat (12.6%) and Uttar Pradesh
(11.4%). The states that fared the worst
in this conversion are Bihar,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa,
where less than 1% of the proposed
money actually arrived.
So, what is the investment to job
creation ratio? Overall, the Rs 5 lakh
crore actually invested created a little
over 20 lakh jobs, which amounts to
four jobs per crore of investment.
There were 25 states which witnessed
the actual investment of more Rs 1,000
crore. Among these states, Jammu and
Kashmir witnessed the most labour
intensive investments, while Gujarat
had the most capital intensive ones.
Every crore of rupee invested in
Jammu and Kashmir created about 12
jobs, while in Gujarat a crore of
investment yielded only two jobs.
In the investment to job creation
ratio, Jammu and Kashmir is followed
by Goa, Uttarakhand, Kerala and
Punjab, where ten or more jobs were
created per crore of investment. The
worst state/UTs in this list are Madhya
Pradesh, Jharkhand, Daman & Diu,
Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Oil up in Asia trade despite
US inventories rise
SINGAPORE (TIP): Oil prices
climbed in Asian trade as signs that a
refineries strike in the United States is
weakening overshadowed a rise in US
crude stocks, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas
Intermediate added 21 cents to $51.74 a
barrel and Brent gained four cents to
$60.59 in afternoon trade.
Daniel Ang, an investment analyst
with Phillip Futures in Singapore, said
despite the rise in US inventories,
traders focussed on signs that a
refineries strike the the US could be
settled, allowing more crude oil to be
processed.
"Although they have not come to a
conclusion (on ending the strike) it
seems that workers are coming back to
work, which shows weakness in the
strike and suggests that the strike is
coming to an end soon," he said.
Workers and management are trying
to end the strike at three major US
refineries operated by Royal Dutch
Shell following a stalemate on
February 20.
More than 5,000 workers spread
across around a dozen installations
have been on strike since February 1
demanding improved wages and safety
conditions.
The US Department of Energy (DoE)
on Wednesday said commercial crude
inventories jumped by 10.3 million
barrels in the week February 27,
higher than analyst forecasts.
Inventories have set new records for
five straight weeks, and US oil
production is already high at 9.3
million barrels per day.
Sanjeev Gupta, who heads the AsiaPacific Oil and Gas practice at
professional services firm EY, said the
oil market is also closely watching
developments in the talks between
Iran and the US on Tehran's nuclear
ambitions.
"Any positive news about likelihood
of lifting of sanctions will lead to
downward pressure on the price of
Brent," Gupta said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry
and his Iranian counterpart
Mohammad Javad Zarif wrapped up
three days of "intense" nuclear
negotiations in the Swiss lakeside
town of Montreux on Wednesday with
still no deal, as a March 31 deadline for
a framework agreement looms.
Iran and the so-called P5+1 - Britain,
China, France, Russia, the United
States and Germany - are trying to
strike a deal that would prevent
Tehran from developing a nuclear
bomb, a goal it denies having.
In return, Iran is seeking an easing
of punishing economic sanctions.
RBI eases norms
for home loans
for up to Rs 10
lakh
NEW DELHI: Giving a boost to
affordable housing, the RBI eased
the norms for home loans for up to
Rs 10 lakh by allowing banks to
include stamp duty and registration
charges to the cost of a unit.
These charges form around 15
per cent of the cost of the house
and place a burden on borrowers.
"With a view to encourage
availability of affordable housing to
such borrowers, it has been decided
that in cases where the cost of the
house does not exceed Rs 10 lakh,
banks may add stamp duty,
registration and other
documentation charges to the cost
of the unit for calculating LTV
(loan to value) ratio," RBI said in a
notification.
As per the current practice,
banks do not include stamp duty,
registration and other
documentation charges in the cost
of housing property.
"It has been brought to our notice
that these amounts form around 15
per cent of the cost of the house
and place a burden on the
borrowers from economically
weaker sections (EWS) and low
income groups (LIG)," RBI said
while easing the norms.
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
SPIRITUALITY
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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
28
SURYA THE SUN GOD
s per the Hindu Religion, Surya symbolizes the Sun God. Surya
is considered as the only visible form of God that can be seen
every day. God Surya is regarded as an aspect of Shiva and
Vishnu by Shaivites and Vaishnavas respectively. Surya is also known as
Surya Narayana. Surya, the Sun God is also acknowledged as one of the
eight forms of Lord Shiva (Astamurti). Surya is the lord of excellence
and wisdom.
A
Surya - The Image
The celestial body, Surya (the sun) is visible in the sky. Still according
to the Hindu beliefs, Surya is depicted as a red man with three eyes and
four arms, riding in a one wheeled chariot pulled by seven horses.
Surya - The God of Light
Surya forms the major god of the Navgraha (nine planets).Surya is the
God of light as per the Vedic texts. Surya is the literal source of life.
According to the scientific fact, the whole universe is based on the
process of photosynthesis which takes place due to the presence of
Surya (the sun).
God Surya - The worship
It is believed that Surya has been worshipped since ages to receive
the kind blessings of God. A simple namaskaar (folding hands) to the
lord makes him happy. Offering water to the God is too considered to
receive the mercy. Surya is believed to be a generous deity capable of
curing sick people, in India. It is also proved in Science that sunlight is
a rich source of Vitamin-D. Surya is usually remembered for the
brilliance and light in one's life.
Surya - The Gayatri Mantra
The Gayatri Mantra of the Hindu Religion is also associated with the
Sun God, Surya. Aditya Hridayam is another hymn associated with
Surya, recited by the sage Agatsya to Rama on the battlefield before the
fight with Ravana. Symbol of Surya is also regarded as one of the
auspicious signs of the Hindu religion. People place the sign of the Sun
over main doors as they think it would bring them good luck.
LEGENDS OF GANESHA
here are many stories of Lord
Ganesha regarding his origin and
various others which tell about the
nature and traits of his character. Ganesha is
known as the god of wisdom, literature and
worldly success. He is known as the eldest
son of Lord Shiva and Parvati (Uma),
younger brother being Kartikay. Here are
some legends associated with lord Ganesha.
T
The Elephant Head
This story is about Lord Ganesha's birth
and how he gets the head of an elephant.
Once upon a time, Parvati was going to take
the bath and before going, she made a boy out
of the dirt of her body ,to guard the entrance
of her house. She asked him not to allow
anyone inside .After saying this, she went
inside to take the bath. After this lord shiva
came himself to meet his consort and he was
quite thirsty. Ganesha stopped him at the
door as he was unable to recognize his father
,Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha was beheaded by
Shiva, who took him as an outsider, when
Ganesha was trying to defend his mother's
bath.
When Parvati came to know about this, she
persuaded Shiva, to restore Ganesha to life.
Shiva ordered his servants (Gana) to bring
the head of any creature that they come
across first. An elephant, the wisest of
animals, appeared and became the
spontaneous donor in the head transplant of
Ganesha. Shiva attached the head of the
elephant to the torso of Ganesha. After
looking at the child (Ganesha), Parvati asked
Shiva that who will consider this god with
the face of an elephant.
Understanding Parvati's viewpoint, Shiva
blessed the child, Ganesha that he will be the
lord of beginning and people will worship
him first, before any other God in any kind of
undertaking. He ordained that the annual
worship of Ganesha, should take place on the
fourth day of the bright half of Bhadrapada
(August-September).
Who is elder? Ganesha or Kartikay
This is another interesting story of Lord
Ganesha.Once Ganesha and Kartikay got into
an argument as who was the elder of the two.
The matter was told to Lord Shiva for an
answer. Lord Shiva asked that whoever would
travel around the world and come out first
had the right to be the elder of two. Lord
Kartikay flew off on his vehicle, the peacock,
to take the round of the world. But Ganesha
went round his parents and asked for the
reward of his success.
Lord Shiva said: "Beloved and wise Ganesha! You did not go round the world".
Ganesha replied: "No, but I went round my
parents. My parents symbolize the entire
world.'' The argument was settled in favour of
Ganesha and thereafter recognized as the
elder of the two brothers. Ganesha got a fruit
as reward from his mother Parvati for this.
Ganesha and His Love for Laddoo
Lord Ganesha is very fond of Laddoo
(Modaka - a sweet delicacy). Once upon a day
of Ganesha Puja, Ganesha went from house
to house and accepted the offerings of laddoo.
He stuffed himself to the capacity and
decided to take a ride on his mouse at night.
Along the moonlit road they got to see a large
snake and the troubled rat stumbled, with the
consequence Ganpati fell down .He hit the
ground hard and as a result his stomach
burst open. All the laddoos came out but
Ganesha again stuffed them into his
stomach. He caught the snake and tied it
round his belly.
Moon witnessed the whole event and
laughed heartily. Lord Ganesha lost his
temper and furiously looked about for
something to throw at his tormentor. Getting
nothing, he pulled out one of his tusks and
hurled it at the moon. He cursed the moon
that no one should look at the moon on the
day of Ganesha Puja .If anyone would look at
it , he will get a bad name ,criticism or ill
reputation. If anyone gets to see the moon by
chance, he would be free from that bad name
or blame, after hearing the story of Lord
Krishna's clearing, his personality in respect
of the Syamantaka jewel. Thus, Ganesha was
happy to proclaim this.
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THE INDIAN PANORAMA
ASTROLOGY
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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
"|| SHRI GANESHAYA NAMAHA ||"
Contact BEJAN DARUWALLA:
E-mail : [email protected]
Phone: +919825470377
PREDICTIONS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, 2015
Aries
Ganesha says the pace is frenetic. You
move fast and furious getting things
done. You brook no opposition and are
moving around like a road roller
mowing things down in a slum
improvement scheme. New frontiers
open up at work and you are crowned
with success. You can tame the largest
lion in Serengeti in the mood you are
in. There is luck on your side. And there
is Ganesha.
Taurus
You now go after everything that you
want in the material world without
caring about who or what is in your
path. You should look for mutual
growth. There is enough place even on
the Everest for a team! But whatever
said and done, this is an extremely
productive and growth-oriented period
with substantial meaning too. Along
with the hard work are maudlin
moments too.
security in the knowledge. You have
come to terms with all your inner
demons. Now there is no stopping
you. There are maudlin moments but
they help refine you, humanize you,
and not demonize you. You forgive
those who have hurt you and ask for
forgiveness too. You know that you
could have unwittingly harmed others
and you want a clean slate to start
afresh. You want to forget the
bitterness and move ahead.
much effort. You are in your comfort
zone. Your life is working out well on
your terms. Your consciousness is
raised and there is elevation in your
personal and professional life. You
are less frenzied and look at life with
some calm and detachment.
Ganesha is pleased. You could travel
for experience or get in touch with
your real self with specialized study.
This is also a good time to expand
your business.
Libra
You break free from all restrictions
and obligations of the past. You rebel
against all chains and external
limitations. You move out of your
inner circle and make social
intercourse with those who are
radically different from your inner
circle. If married, there could be a
break-up or, at the very least, serious
problems with your partner. The
institution of marriage may just get
too stifling. You look for ultimate
freedom, a final liberation of the soul.
Capricorn
You spend time with the family. You
realize that you have received
unconditional love from many and
have taken it for granted or been
unable to reciprocate it for a variety
of reasons. You have often been
critical and now you realize that you
were wrong. Such realizations are
powerful. They are cathartic and take
you to new heights as a human being.
You learn to live in gratitude and
thank existence for all its favours.
Aquarius
Virgo
Gemini
There is success in all that you
undertake. This is a period of
reconciliation and consolidation. There
is friendship and love, messages,
journeys, bonding, spirituality, tantra
and mantra. You have achieved a lot.
Now you look for more, something
beyond mere material accomplishment.
You are adamant in your pursuit. Of
course, one eye still remains on the
bank account. Money is a great
intoxicant. It is difficult to let go.
Cancer
Life is good. That is saying a lot in
these strife-ridden times. You have a
smile on your lips and a song in your
heart. You spend beautiful moments
with loved ones. There is a family
outing and you build on existing
relationships. Children bring joy and
the spouse is just perfect! Imagine
having a perfect spouse! But yes, that
is the mood you are in. It is all about
love and bonding. You share joys on a
higher consciousness.
It favors travel, meetings,
conferences, interviews, trips, more
brain power, contacts,
communication, correspondence and
contracts. Mercury has a special
connection with the circuits of the
brain. Chess, crossword and other
such games belong to Mercury. Also,
short-distance runners and spin
bowlers are controlled by Mercury.
Scorpio
It is a gold rush. Nothing can stop you
now. Unless I know your specific
astrological details, I cannot make
accurate predictions. But this is the
general trend. You realize the good
fortune that has smiled on you. In this
period you are liberated from illusion.
You seek out gods and godmen and
finally realize that all paths, though
apparently different, lead to the same
thing. You realize that all the
structures for interpreting the world
have the same limitations and rigidity.
Sagittarius
Leo
There are soft moments. You know you
road map well and there is peace and
Bejan Daruwalla is world's most famous astrologer
today. He appears regularly on world wide TV shows.
Bejan who has been a professor in English, has
authored a number of books on astrology. India's
Prime Minister Narendra Modi , on March 29, 2012,
lunched one of Bejan's books, '2012- End of the
World? Bejan contributes to a number of journals and
There is progress on all fronts. There
is balance and equilibrium in your life.
Your affairs run smoothly without too
newspapers in many parts of the world which include
Berkley Communications (London) Times of India
(Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai) and The Indian
Panorama ( New York and Texas). Bejan's predictions
have mostly been correct and people the world over
rely on his predictions.
You are back to the hard slog. There
is partying and fun times too, but
there is hard work on the cards.
Guard against arrogance,
possessiveness, emotional flare-ups
and dominance. These are your
natural personality traits, depending,
of course, on the type of Aquarius
you are. You sign important
documents. Those in insurance,
realty, banking and the media strike
pay dirt. It is written in the
Dhammapada, 'A ship which is not
well prepared, in the ocean, goes to
destruction together with its goods
and merchants.' You are the wellprepared ship having gone.
Pisces
You are zooming ahead of the
opposition. You are an asset to the
organization with your hard work,
ethics, amiability and reliability.
There are ego drives and you brook
no opposition. Your appreciation of
beauty, your interest in art, music or
poetry are heightened now. You are
also filled with love and want to
share it with that special person.
There are expenses and purchases
and many investments. Mutual funds,
shares, stocks, capital-raising and all
other money matters come to the
fore. You live large.
Bejan Daruwalla is available for astrological consultations. He can be reached at [email protected].
He can also be reached over phone at 011-919825470377.
Bejan Daruwalla's address in India is: A-5 SPECTRUM
TOWER, SHAHIBAUG, AHMEDABAD 380004, GUJARAT.
30
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
SPORTS
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
31
HENDERSON SHOWS WORTH AS
LIVERPOOL DOWN BURNLEY
LIVERPOOL (TIP): Liverpool midfielder
Jordan Henderson underlined his credentials
to succeed Steven Gerrard as captain with an
impressive goal-scoring performance in a 2-0
Premier League victory over Burnley on
March 04.
Gerrard is set to leave Anfield when his
contract expires at the end of the season and
join Major League Soccer outfit Los Angeles
Galaxy.
And Henderson, who has skippered the
side in the absence of the injured Gerrard,
has emerged as the strongest candidate to
replace him since the turn of the year, with
his leadership qualities coming to the fore.
However, it was his ability on the ball that
made the difference against Burnley at
Anfield as he scored one goal and created
another for Daniel Sturridge.
The victory ensured Liverpool kept the
pressure up on their rivals for a Champions
League place and moved back into fifth place,
two points behind fourth-place Manchester
United.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers made
one change to his starting line-up, recalling
Sturridge after leaving the striker on the
bench for the 2-1 win over Manchester City
last weekend, with Lazar Markovic making
way.
His Burnley counterpart Sean Dyche
named an unchanged team for the fourth
successive match, which meant that striker
Danny Ings, who has been linked with a move
to Anfield, led the attack.
Liverpool almost scored in the first minute
when a slick move involving Raheem Sterling
and Adam Lallana carved out an opening for
Sturridge, who saw his bobbly effort pushed
around the post by visiting goalkeeper Tom
Heaton.
Burnley have picked up a point away to
both City and Chelsea this season and their
defensive organisation was evident as they
packed the midfield with bodies and set out
to frustrate the hosts.
It took 20 minutes for Liverpool to create
another meaningful opportunity, this time
when Henderson's low shot from the edge of
the penalty area was deflected behind by
Heaton.
But shortly before the half-hour mark, the
home side had their opening goal.
Philippe Coutinho's initial shot was
Indian girls have improved
a lot: Roelant Oltmans
NEW DELHI (TIP): "They need a bit
of polishing," Roelant Oltmans,
interim coach of the Indian men's and
women's hockey teams, said after an
extended, high-intensity training
session at the Major Dhyan Chand
National Stadium on Tuesday.
The Indian women will take on
Ghana in the opening match of the
Hockey World League Round 2
starting from March 7.
When asked about the level of the
women's team as compared to the best
in the world, Hockey India's highperformance director Oltmans said
his experience of coaching the
women's teams in the past has come in
handy.
"I have coached women before in my
life. I know there are a lot of physical
differences. These girls are very eager
to learn. They work hard and try to
improve every moment we are on the
ground. I see a lot of progress. They
are getting better and better. Our aim
is to qualify for the Olympic Games,"
Oltmans said.
The men's team qualified for the Rio
Olympics after winning gold at the
Incheon Asian Games. The women's
team had finished fourth in the 1980
Moscow Olympics, the only time they
have played in the Olympic Games.
Talking about the upcoming
tournament, Oltmans said: "For this
tournament, our aim is to be in top-2
to make sure that the next step can be
taken. I will step back then as the
coach. Anthony Thornton will be here
next week and start his work with the
women," he added.
New Zealand's Thornton will
replace Neil Hawgood as coach of the
senior women's team. Hockey India
has roped in men's physical trainer
Matthew Eyles for better preparation
of the host team.
"Mathew is working with the
women's team since the men's team
does not have any assignments now
and I can see the results. We had a
meeting today and in a month's time
the girls will have their own physical
trainer," he said.
Talking highly of the improvement
made by the women's team, Oltmans
said the girls are in a good form. "If
you look at Asian Games, the girls
performed quite well. And at the
moment they are better than what
they were at the Asian Games. We
tested them two days back and
compared to the last five tests this was
by far the best we have done," he
pointed.
"These girls are very competitive.
They have improved throughout the
year. They didn't start well in the
Champions Trophy but finished the
year on a high with Asian Games," he
said.
blocked and fell to Henderson 25 yards from
goal, and the stand-in skipper struck a
powerful half-volley into the bottom-right
corner of the net.
Moments later, Coutinho, scorer of two
magnificent goals in Liverpool's past two
league games against Southampton and City,
curled over from a similar position to those
stunning strikes.
Two minutes before half-time Sturridge
was sent clear of the Burnley defence by
Coutinho, only for Heaton to narrow the
angle and block his effort.
The miss did not matter as Liverpool
doubled their lead early in the second half,
and Henderson was once again instrumental.
The 24-year-old showed patience as
Liverpool built up the play before producing
a magnificent right-wing cross that enabled
Sturridge to head in from close range.
Liverpool, on the back of a recent hectic
schedule, took their foot of the gas and
allowed Burnley to creep back into the
contest, with goalkeeper Simon Mignolet
nervously clearing a couple of errant backpasses. However, despite Burnley's spirit and
endeavour to find a way back into the game,
the home side closed out the contest to collect
the three points and notch their seventh win
in their last eight matches.
JAPAN’S NISHIKORI SOARS
TO WORLD NUMBER FOUR
TOKYO (TIP): Record-breaking Japan superstar Kei
Nishikori rose to fourth in Monday's new world
rankings, equalling Kimiko Date-Krumm as his
country's highest-ranked tennis player.
The 24-year-old, who is the top-ranked Asian-born
man ever, tweeted: "Just saw the new rankings. Very
proud of another step...#4 this week."
Nishikori, last year's US Open runner-up, now trails
only Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal
after leapfrogging Britain's Andy Murray, meaning he
will avoid the top three until the semi-finals at the
major tournaments.
"He has the touch of a genius," former Japan number
one Shuzo Matsuoka told AFP. "He has the imagination
and shots you just can't teach."
Nishikori recently won his third successive Memphis
Open, his eighth ATP Tour title. He is fast closing in on
Nadal and trails the 14-times grand slam champion by
just 260 ranking points.
"It's an achievement that's almost impossible to
explain," Matsuoka told Japan's Sankei Sports,
comparing the skinny Nishikori to a sumo grand
champion. "He's really playing 'yokozuna'-grade
tennis."
Nishikori burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old by
winning in Delray Beach as a 244th-ranked qualifier in
2008, and is a huge celebrity in Japan.
Millions woke up at the crack of dawn to watch his
bid to become the first Asian man to win a grand slam
at last year's US Open, where he lost in the final to
Croatian Marin Cilic.
China's Li Na blazed a trail for Asian tennis players
by reaching number two in the women's WTA rankings
last year after winning the Australian Open, capping a
remarkable career in which she also captured the 2011
French Open.
She retired seven months later with knee trouble.
Nishikori's coach Michael Chang, whose parents came
from Taiwan and who was raised in the United States,
is a former world number two who won the French
Open in 1989.
32
TRAVEL
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR
perfect summer getaway, Andaman
and Nicobar, is an archipelago at the
confluence of the Bay of Bengal and
Andaman Sea. With an array of thrilling
water sports, leisure facilities, and a host of
activities, a vacation in Andaman and
Nicobar can be as relaxed or filled with
adventure as you'd like it to be. The weather
is temperate most of the year and the best
time to visit is between December-May. If
you're planning to head here in this summer
break then here's a pick of outdoorsy things
which will keep you busy.
Home to scenic landscapes, gorgeous
sunsets, golden beaches and one of the
richest coral reef ecosystems in the world,
the Andamans is an archipelago of over 570
tropical islands, of which only 36 are
inhabited. With a profusion of wildlife and
verdant forests, the islands are a naturelover's paradise. Be it a lazy afternoon on a
hammock on Asia's best beach, an array of
thrilling water sports or a strenuous trek on
a challenging-yet-scenic terrain—your
Andamans visit is likely to be packed with a
range of interesting experiences.
A
RADHANAGAR BEACH, HAVELOCK ISLAND
Beach number 7 (or more commonly
known as Radhanagar Beach) was bestowed
with the title of 'Asia's Best Beach' in 2004 by
the TIME magazine. Known for its
picturesque sunset, white sand and turquoise
blue waters, the beach is a very popular hub
lying on the western coast of Havelock
Island. There's a watersports centre at the
beach where visitors can hire snorkelling
and scuba equipment and boats.
MANGROVE CREEK, BARATANG ISLAND
Baratang Island is located about 100
kilometres away from the Port Blair city and
offers a boat-safari, amidst the nature-made
tunnel of thick mangrove plantations. A
variety of exotic birds can be spotted along
the lush trail of dense tree knots and
canopies. This mangrove creek leads to the
magnificent Lime Stone Caves, for which you
must carry a torch with you.
Nicobar. Walking barefoot on the base of the
sea offers you an exquisite view of rich
marine-life and the corals. If you're heading
to Andaman and Nicobar, don't miss this.
Skilled life guards accompany you
underwater, to ensure maximum safety.
available on hire from the Andaman Teal
House. Do not forget to acquire food, water,
torch, and first aid, before you start. The best
time to go hiking here is November-April.
MT. HARRIET, THE ANDAMANS
NORTH BAY BEACH, PORT BLAIR
This trek stretches up 16 kilometres starting
from Mt. Harriet to Madhuban, winding across
a picturesque terrain. Expect to see exotic
birds and rare plants along the lush trail.
Taking a guide along is highly recommended.
Tents and all the trekking equipment are
Located in the heart of Port Blair, the Rajiv
Gandhi Water Sports Complex offers an array
of aqua-sports: banana rides, jet skiing,
parasailing, speed boat rides, rowboat
paddling, you name it! This ought to be your
first pit-stop in the Andamans. The Centre is
well-equipped with changing rooms, and
trained staff to ensure safety.
Located just 15 minutes away from the
Rajiv Gandhi Water Sports Complex, the
North Bay Beach offers one of the easiest
water sports—Sea-walking—in Andaman and
RAJIV GANDHI WATER SPORTS COMPLEX
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
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34
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
contd from Page 1
Hillary's private...
government. "I asked State to release
them," Clinton tweeted at 11:35 p.m. ET
"They said they will review them for release
as soon as possible." The developments have
escalated since the personal email account
was first revealed Monday night, turning
into both a political tug-of-war between
Republicans and Democrats. The account
raises questions -- even from within her
party -- about transparency, security in the
government and her future.
While the Clintons have plenty of allies,
some on the left are using this opportunity
as a sign to flag that the Democrats' frontrunner in the 2016 campaign might still face
some of the same organizational challenges
and public relations gaffes her campaign
had eight years ago.
New York Times says Mrs. Clinton's aides
contd from Page 3
AWESOME Television...
innovative and creative ideas to kick start
this decisive second year of Awesome TV
with programming from the US, UK, India
and other countries. Many new and diverse
shows were announced that will be aired
starting this Spring on the channel. A
presentation was shown to summarize the
journey of the channel thus far, along with
the promos of its upcoming shows.
Those who attended were awe-struck and
agreed that Awesome Television has come a
long way and has a long road ahead. With
the passing of each day, the TV viewership
THE INDIAN PANORAMA
on Tuesday sought to play down the
significance of her exclusive use of a
personal email account for State
Department business. But an examination
of records requests sent to the department
reveals how the practice protected a
significant amount of her correspondence
from the eyes of investigators and the
public.
Mrs. Clinton's exclusive use of personal
email for her government business is
unusual for a high-level official, archive
experts have said. Federal regulations, since
2009, have required that all emails be
preserved as part of an agency's recordkeeping system. In Mrs. Clinton's case, her
emails were kept on her personal account
and her staff took no steps to have them
preserved as part of State Department
record.
In response to a State Department
request, Mrs. Clinton's advisers, late last
year, reviewed her account and decided
which emails to turn over to the State
Department.
The State Department says it will now
search the 50,000 emails Mrs. Clinton
provided in response to Freedom of
Information and congressional requests.
public schools will close on September 25
in observance of Eid al-Adha. They will also
be closed for the end of Ramadan, or Eid alFitr.
De Blasio stressed in a statement that the
calendar will reflect the "strength and
diversity" of New York City.
"Hundreds of thousands of Muslim
families will no longer have to choose
between honoring the most sacred days on
their calendar and attending school. This is
a common sense change, and one that
recognizes our growing Muslim community
and honors its contributions to our City," he
said.
De Blasio and Fariña made their official
calendar announcement at PS/IS 30 where
the New York City DOE says 36 percent of
the student body was absent the last time
Eid al-Adha fell on a school day.
"This new addition will also enable a
teachable moment in the classroom for our
students to learn about religious tolerance
and the societal contributions of various
cultures," Fariña added.
The New York City DOE notes that school
districts in Vermont, Massachusetts, and
New Jersey also already recognize Muslim
holiday with school closures.
According to the New York City
Department of Education, the change in
school calendar will make New York City
the largest school district in the country to
recognize the two Muslim holidays.
has grown exponentially and so has their
fan base. Several friends of the channel
right from politics, community and others
were impressed with the progress shown by
the team in the last one year and wished
them loads of luck. The entire team was
equally and immensely thankful to its
viewers, fans, well-wishers and the internal
media team that keeps Awesome Television
going and hoping to make this second year
as AWESOME as the last year has been…or
more so!
Awesome Television is a pioneer in the
field of 'Live Television' on the Internet, as
it streams live entertainment content from
Bollywood, Hollywood, Fashion, Politics and
a host of other media events. It is available
on a wide variety of platforms like Smart
TVs, PCs, Cell phones, Tablets, Laptops,
Chromebooks or any device that has an
Internet connection. Awesome Television
can be watched on www.awesomeitv.com
and one can follow them on Facebook &
Instagram. Awesome Television creates a
brand identity for itself, first and foremost
with the Indian Diaspora migrated,
integrated and settled here in the United
States. Awesome Television covers
everything from an exhibition of our
culture, the evolution of the arts, and the
hustle and bustle of local and social events
beyond compare - always there to cover it
all!
Awesome Television, a unique concept in
the way one can watch television, strives to
provide a familial closeness and instant
awareness at every level, whether it be
local, national or international media with
people in all walks of life. It's through arts,
music, politics, news, fashion, and every
possible event that Awesome Television
connects intimately with the Indian
populace and generally with the crosscultural community that's growing as an
audience. It is a channel like no other, that
blends both sides of the media spectrum
and bridges the gap between the East and
the West. It is after all the Future of
Broadcasting!
For More Information:
[email protected]
De Blasio announces...
The Indian Panorama
New York
and Texas
editions are
available
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THE INDIAN PANORAMA
CWC 2015
www.theindianpanorama.com
FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
35
World Cup 2015: AB is the Neo of the
cricketing world, says Steyn
AUCKLAND (TIP): South Africa captain
AB de Villiers' batting blitzkriegs in the last
two months have been so good that even his
own teammates are in awe of them, fast
bowler Dale Steyn said on March 5.
De Villiers has scored 241 runs in four
innings at the tournament, including a
stunning 162 not out against West Indies
from 66 balls. He has a strike rate of almost
162 and has the most sixes (11) and fours (22)
in South Africa's vaunted lineup.
Prior to the tournament, he belted a 31ball century against West Indies, smashing
the old record for the fastest ODI ton by five
balls.
"Oh, man, it's like watching 'The Matrix'
movie, really," Steyn told reporters in
Auckland on Friday, a day before his side
face Pakistan in their Pool B clash at Eden
Park.
"There is Neo for you right there. He just
doesn't understand how good he is.
"I think he's actually figured out now ...
there is no roof or cap on how good he can
possibly be.
"He's one of those players that's proven in
this year especially just how good he is. I
think he's starting to realise that now.
"Bowlers are struggling to find a way to
get this guy out. The only way to get him out
is when he gets himself out."
Steyn felt sorry for some of his fellow
bowlers having to face his captain, though
he said if he had to bowl to de Villiers he
had a cunning plan that may work.
"I'd trip him on his way out of the hotel ...
and hope that he breaks his ankle," Steyn
Fighting fire: BCCI asks
Virat Kohli to behave
NEW DELHI (TIP): Stung by the
Indian media's severe criticism of Virat
Kohli's abusive rant at a journalist and
the bizarre statement on the issue by
team's media manager RN Baba, the
Indian cricket board (BCCI) rushed in
to douse the fire with a statement of
apology on March 5.
In a carefully-worded statement
released to pacify the angry media,
BCCI's secretary Anurag Thakur
emphasized on the key role media plays
in covering and popularizing the game
of the cricket.
"The BCCI has taken note of the
incident that occurred in Perth a couple
of days ago. The BCCI has been in
touch with the Indian team
management on this issue, and has
advised that this kind of incident
should not be repeated," Thakur said in
the statement.
Thakur's choice of words suggests a
change in BCCI's attitude towards the
journalists. "The BCCI respects the role
played by the media in covering and
popularizing the game of cricket and
acknowledges the support of the media
in its mission to administer and
promote the game of cricket in India,"
Thakur said.
"The player in question has been told
to maintain the dignity of the Indian
team at all times, and avoid any such
behaviour in the future. The BCCI
would like to request the concerned
parties to move on, and focus on the
Indian cricket team's campaign in the
ongoing ICC CWC 2015," Thakur added.
Baba, in his statement on Wednesday,
had strangely dismissed the incident by
saying Kohli had not abused the
journalist.
Iqbal leads Bangladesh to
important win over Scotland
NELSON (TIP): Tamim Iqbal came agonisingly close to
scoring Bangladesh's first World Cup century as his side
completed a six-wicket win over Scotland in their Pool A
clash at Saxton Oval in Nelson on Thursday.
Iqbal scored 95, while Mohammad Mahmudullah (62)
and wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim (60) also contributed
as Bangladesh achieved 322-4, their highest successful run
chase in one-day internationals.
Shakib Al Hasan (52 not out) and Sabbir Rahman (42 not
out) guided Mashrafe Mortaza's side home with 11 balls to
spare to cap off the perfectly timed run chase.
The victory put all the pressure on England for their
showdown with Eoin Morgan's side on March 9 in
Adelaide, with Bangladesh now on five points and level
with third-placed Australia, while England have two.
Both have just two games remaining to play.
Scotland had been well placed to achieve their first
World Cup victory, days after throwing away the
opportunity against Afghanistan, after Kyle Coetzer had
scored a career-best 156 in his side's 318 for eight.
The 30-year-old's innings was the first World Cup
century by a Scotland batsman and also the highest score
by someone from an associate nation at the global
showpiece.
It also ensured his team posted their highest score
against a Test nation.
Coetzer, who was named man-of-the-match, shared in a
141-run partnership with captain Preston Mommsen (39)
and 78 runs with Matt Machan (35) to anchor the innings.
Scotland enjoyed their third 300-plus score in one-day
internationals, having also achieved the mark against
Ireland in 2011 and Canada in 2014.
AUSTRALIA CRUSH AFGHANISTAN BY
RECORD 275-RUN MARGIN
PERTH (TIP): Australia hit the highest
World Cup score in tournament history on
march 4 as they thrashed Afghanistan by a
record 275 runs, a result which was also the
greatest winning margin in tournament
history.The home team made 417/6 at the
WACA led by opener David Warner's 178-run
blitz, his fourth one-day international century
and his country's highest individual World Cup
score as the four-time champions went past the
previous best of 413/5 made by India against
Bermuda in 2007.
said while laughing.
"He's a phenomenal player and seeing the
ball like no other player is seeing a cricket
ball before, and he's playing shots that I
don't think most people have seen before.
"Hopefully he comes out and executes
those same skills tomorrow and going
forward in this competition."
While Steyn had played against Ireland in
Canberra on Tuesday, he said he had been
distracted for much of the week with
bushfires in Cape Town threatening to
engulf his home.
He received about 80 messages and 30
missed calls one night from friends looking
after his house, who relayed they had been
given five minutes to pack what they could
carry and get out.
"I've never been more scared in my life,"
he said.
"I'm sitting halfway across the world, and
everything that I've ever earned or gotten in
my life ...is in that house.
"It's a pretty tough time back home right
now."
It was the third 400-plus total at this World
Cup after South Africa twice went through the
barrier -- 408/5 against the West Indies and
411/4 in the game with Ireland.
In reply, Afghanistan could manage just 142
from 37.3 overs, although Nawroz Mangal, who
top-scored with 33, gave their smattering of
fans at the ground something to cheer about
when he hit Mitchell Marsh for successive
sixes. Johnson did much of the damage to
claim 4-22 from 7.3 overs. Fellow left-armer
Mitchell Starc continued his amazing vein of
World Cup form with 2-18 and has 10 wickets in
the World Cup at just 9.3 runs apiece.
Australia were sent in to bat by Afghanistan
captain Mohammad Nabi, a decision greeted by
a chorus of cheers from the crowd, and then
tormented the minnows.
36
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FRIDAY, MARCH 06, 2015
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