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Vol.11 No. 44 March 9-15, 2019 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info

War clouds clearing,

tensions remain
Safe return of Indian
8 pilot helped de‐escalate
military conflict
New Delhi: Clearly, neither India
nor Pakistan wanted a full‑fledged
war, so after India avenged
Pulwama attack with air strikes
deep in enemy territory, and
Pakistan too saved face by a count‑
er attack, both sides have avoided
further escalation of the conflict.
After the fast and furious events of
the last week, the international
community too advised caution to
the nuclear neighbors.
The capture and release by
Pakistan of the brave Indian pilot
Abhinandan Varthaman played a
part in de‑escalation as he became
the face of the human cost of war.
The tensions between New Delhi
and Islamabad remain, no doubt,
as cross‑firing along the LOC in
Jammu and Kashmir has contin‑
ued. But the Samjhauta Express
train linking the two nations has
resumed its runs. The Kartarpur
corridor talks are going ahead as
Indian dossier has no Pak action against India‐Pak go ahead
8 'evidence', says Pak as 8 terror outfits an 8 with Kartarpur
Masood kin held eyewash, claims India corridor meeting
scheduled in mid‑March.
Yet, Pakistan is still not ready to
genuinely address Indiaʼs main
complaint that Islamabad harbors
the terror masterminds and organ‑
izations that foment trouble in
Kashmir. Islamabad said a dossier
submitted by New Delhi lacks
“concrete evidence” linking
Pakistan with the suicide bombing
that killed over 40 CRPF trooper. It
said on Tuesday that it has arrest‑
ed the brother and son of JeM
chief Maulana Masood Azhar and
42 others as part of a crackdown
on Islamist groups following
intense diplomatic pressure. The
brother, Mufti Abdur Rauf, and
Hammad Azhar, a son of the now
reportedly ailing Jaish‑e‑
Mohammed (JeM) chief, were
Continued on page 4
See detailed stories The safe return last week of IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthman was celebrated across India. His
and op‑eds pages 10‑15. release announced by Pakistan PM Imran Khan was hailed in his country as a master stroke of diplomacy.

Trump ending $5.6 B preferential 59 Nobel laureates urge Modi,

trade program for India Imran to defuse tensions
New Delhi: Downplaying the likely effects of
the US withdrawal of benefits for Indian
exports under the Generalised System of
Preferences (GSP) program, Commerce
Secretary Anup Wadhawan has said the
decision will not have any major impact on
overall Indian exports to the US as the con‑
cessions availed under the scheme were
“minimal”. Speaking to reporters in New
Delhi on Tuesday, Wadhawan said: “Total
GSP benefits availed by India under the GSP
program were to the Continued on page 4
President Trump accused New Delhi of
not providing Washington “equitable and
reasonable access” to its markets.
(Photo courtesy Nation of Change)
Washington: Fifty nine Nobel laureates have
written letters to the Prime Ministers of
India and Pakistan urging them to “defuse
the rising tensions” between the two coun‑
tries, according to a statement.
A letter signed by the Nobel laureates,
under the aegis of the Laureates and
Leaders for Children ̶ a platform founded
by Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi ̶
was submitted to India and Pakistanʼs
Permanent Representatives to the UN on Joint Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash
Saturday, the Continued on page 4 Satyarthi and Malala Yousufzai.

KASHMIR ATTACK AFTERMATH 10 OP-EDS 13 SPORTS 24 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30 excellence in journalism

TheSouthAsianTimes.info March 9-15, 2019
TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY March 9-15, 2019 3

Eros rings Opening Bell at the NYSE for premiere of Metro Park series
New York: Eros Now, the cutting‑edge digi‑
tal over‑the‑top (OTT) South Asian enter‑ Prem Parameswaran, President - North America of
tainment platform owned by Eros Eros International, joined by Omi Vaidya, who stars in
International Plc (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a
Global Indian Entertainment Company, Metro Park, rang the bell and screened two episodes of
announced the release of its latest original
digital series, Metro Park, on March 3. A
the original series for the media.
light‑hearted comedy, Metro Park revolves
around a Gujarati family based in suburban
New Jersey. To celebrate the launch of the
series, Prem Parameswaran, Group CFO
and President of Eros ‑ North America, and
Omi Vaidya, one of the stars of Metro Park,
rang The Opening Bell at the New York
Stock Exchange on March 1.
Deep‑rooted Indian cultural habits are the
catalyst for this situational comedy and the
nine‑part series engrosses audiences while
making them laugh. The story begins with
Kannan and Kinjal, a young couple, moving
out of their small apartment in NYC to New
Jersey to stay closer to Kinjal's sister Payal,
and her husband Kalpesh. New Jersey is
home to many Indian families and this (Kalpesh), Purbi Joshi (Payal), Omi Vaidya perfect blend of Indian characters and Videos, Television Programming, etc, Eros
series highlights their day‑to‑day life in a (Kannan) and Veg a Timot ia (Kinjal). impeccable comedy." Now caters to 128 million registered users
way that is sure to make audiences laugh. Pitobash Tripathy will feature as an assis‑ All episodes of Metro Park are available and 13 million paying subscribers world‑
With Indian values at its core, this come‑ tant in Kalpeshʼs convenience store. exclusively on Eros Now. wide. Eros International Plc is a Global
dy highlights different quirky Indian char‑ Commenting on the announcement of the Eros Now (www.erosnow.com) is Eros Indian Entertainment company that
acters, cultural dif ferences, modern rela‑ show, Ridhima Lulla, Chief Content Officer, International Plcʼs On‑Demand South Asian acquires, co‑produces and distributes
tionships and age gaps. The show promises Eros Group said, "We at Eros Now believe Entertainment Video Service accessible Indian films across all available formats
to build an instant connection with Indian in presenting content that is relevant and worldwide to viewers across internet such as cinema, TV and digital new media.
audiences globally. The well‑defined char‑ will create an instant connection with audi‑ enabled devices including mobile, web and It became the first Indian media company
acters are expertly played by Ranvir Shorey ences across the globe. Metro Park is the TV. With 11,000+ Movie titles, Music to list on NYSE.

Hillary and Bloomberg Protest at UN demands action

rule out 2020 run
New York: Former US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton has said that
she won't run for President in 2020
but will continue to speak out about
politics, saying, "I'm not going any‑
where".
"I'm not running, but I'm going to
keep on working and speaking and
standing up for what I believe," CNN
quoted 2016 Democratic presiden‑
tial nominee as saying in a TV inter‑
view on Monday.
"I want to be sure that people
understand I'm going to keep
speaking out. I'm not going any‑
where." When asked if she would
consider running for any elected
of fice again, Clinton said: "I don't
think so," adding that she loves liv‑
ing in New York and is grateful for
the time she spent as Senator of the
state.
Strike another one of f the long
list of possible Democratic 2020
hopefuls: Michael Bloomberg. He
announced Tuesday that he will not
run for president. “I believe I would
Democratic candidate for WH in
2016 Hillary Clinton and former
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
defeat Donald Trump in a general
election,” the former New York City
mayor wrote in an op‑ed published
by the news outlet Bloomberg that
bears his name. “But I am clear‑eyed
about the difficulty of winning the
Democratic nomination in such a
crowded field.” Bloomberg suggest‑
ed heʼll spend the time and money
he would have spent on a 2020 run
instead on a variety of specific caus‑
es, including the launch of a new cli‑
mate campaign aimed at transition‑
ing the United States to a carbon‑
free economy.
against Pak terror sponsors
United Nations: Members of the
Indian community and internation‑
al supporters held a protest outside
the UN headquarters demanding
action against Pakistani leaders
abetting terrorism and impose an
arms embargo on Islamabad.
The protest on Sunday by about
400 people also included con‑
cerned citizens from the US,
Bangladesh, Caribbean countries,
Sri Lanka and Israel, as well as from
Pakistan's Balochistan province. Indian origin people joined by those from Bangladesh, Israel and
The protesters held up signs list‑ even Pakistan's Balochistan province.
ing various terrorist attacks around and operate internationally. face international sanctions.
the world linked to Pakistan ‑‑ from A memorandum from the protest‑ The JeM claimed responsibility
Pulwama to New York's Times ers to the UN said the world body for the suicide bombing in Pulwama
Square, and from Mumbai to should declare Pakistan a global in Jammu and Kashmir on February
London, and the Pakistani military's terrorist state and JeM leader 14 which killed over 40 CRPF per‑
atrocities during Bangladesh's War Masood Azhar an international ter‑ sonne l. T he memorandum also
of Independence. rorist and impose sanctions on asked the UN to impose an arms
Their posters also listed terrorist them. As a member of the Security embargo on Islamabad and finan‑
organizations like the Al Qaeda, Council, China has been protecting cial and trave l sanctions on
Le T, JeM, Haqqani Network, Azhar and has vetoed ef forts by Pakistani political and military lead‑
Taliban, Laskshar‑e‑Omar, Sipah‑e‑ other members to add him to the ers involved in protecting and aid‑
Sahaba that are based in Pakistan list of global terrorists so he would ing terrorist organizations.
 4 March 9-15, 2019
India beat Australia by 8
runs in last over thriller
Nagpur: A brilliant century by skipper Virat
Kohli and a disciplined bowling ef fort saw
India defeat Australia by eight runs in the
second ODI here re on Tuesday. India now
have a 2‑0 lead in the five‑match series.
Chasing a target of 251 runs, the visitors
were dismissed for 242 runs in 49.3 overs.
Asked to bat first, the hosts were bowled
out for 250 runs in 48.2 overs. Despite
Kohli's century and a disciplined innings
from Vijay Shankar, most Indian batsmen
failed to rise to the occasion.
Coming in to bat after Rohit Sharma was
dismissed in the very first over, Kohli batted
Pak Finance Secretary warns of
sanctions over FATF non-compliance
Islamabad: The federal secretary of the
finance division of Pakistan on Tuesday
warned that Pakistan might face economic
sanct ions over non‑implementat ion of
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recom‑
mendations.
Finance Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan said
Pakistan had to take strict measures to
implement the FATF recommendations.
He said that the country had to proceed
against the banned outfits in the light of
FATF recommendations. He expressed appre‑
hensions that Pakistan might face economic
sanctions if the FATF recommendations were
ignored and not implemented. T he
International Cooperation Review Group
(ICRG) of the FATF that reviewed Pakistanʼs
action plan in recent meetings was not satis‑
fied with the progress on milestones set for
January 2019. This was despite improve‑
ments in the anti‑money laundering and com‑
bating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT)
regime and integrated database for currency
declaration arrangements.
It expressed concern over Pakistani author‑
itiesʼ inability to demonstrate why they con‑
sidered eight proscribed entities to be low
risk as opposed to the high‑risk view of the
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almost till the end, scoring 116 runs off 120
balls with 10 boundaries studding his patient
innings. Vijay scored 46 of f 41 deliveries
before being run out.
The Australian chase was off to a promis‑
ing start with Aaron Finch and Usman
Khawaja putting together an 83‑run opening
partnership. The visitors, however, lost their
way after that as they lost wickets at regular
intervals. Left‑arm wrist spinner Kuldeep
Yadav was the most successful among the
Indian bowlers with figures of 3/54 in his 10
overs. Shankar and Jarprit Bumrah claimed
two wickets each.
Asia Pacific Group (APG) and ICRG.
Therefore, the FATF urged “Pakistan to
swiftly complete its action plan, particular‑
ly those with timelines of May 2019” to
address strategic deficiencies.
Letter to the Editor
Make chai not war
I
am a proud Hindu born in India and
now I am a world citi‑
zen. I am grateful to
Indian philosophy for
teaching me how to try
to live in harmony with
the world. India has been
a spiritual teacher for the
world and I am hoping we can find a solu‑
tion to our conflicts with love and com‑
munication. I will have chai any time with
anybody rather than talk of war.
Please join me in sending positive energy
in this world.
‑Tirlok Malik
Ayurveda lifestyle speaker,
motivational guide, Emmy Award
nominated filmmaker in NYC
Managing Editor: Parveen Chopra
P : 516.710.0508
parveen.chopra@gmail.com
Associate Editor
Hiral Dholakia-Dave
hiral@thesouthasiantimes.info
Contributing Editors:Shaker Nelanuthala,
Prof. Shivaji Sengupta, Surekha Vijh
(Washington, DC), Suchitra Srinivas (New
Jersey), Melvin Durai, Dr Prem Kumar
Sharma, Ashok Vyas, and Dr Akshat Jain
New Delhi Bureau
Meenakshi Iyer
Delhi@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
War clouds clearing,
tensions remain
Continued from page 1
among those whose names were men‑
tioned in the dossier India handed over to
Pakistan last week, Minister of State for
Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi said.
However, the move is being dubbed by
Indian officials as an eyewash as in the
past too, Pakistan had taken several top
terror chiefs under observation, but the
terror organizations continued to grow and
carry out attacks across borders. On sever‑
al occasions, under‑pressure Pakistan took
terror operators into preventive custody.
Jamat‑ud‑Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was
put under house arrest, while 26/11 mas‑
termind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was also in
preventive custody, but India claims that
this is not enough and Pakistan needs to
take some real action against them.
Meanwhile, amid fears that recent India‑
Pakistan tensions could put paid to the
progress of Kartarpur corridor, India is
going ahead with plans as agreed earlier.
The external affairs ministry is ready for a
meeting of officials of the two countries in
India on March 14 to finalize modalities
and decide the coordinates for the crossing
point of the corridor on the international
border. A statement issued by Pakistanʼs
Foreign Office on Tuesday said a delega‑
tion will visit New Delhi on March 14 and
this will be followed by the return visit of
an Indian delegation to Islamabad on
March 28 to discuss the draft agreement.
Trump ending $5.6 B
preferential trade
program for India
Continued from page 1
tune of $190 million on a trade $5.6 bil‑
lion. So, the benefits both in an absolute
sense, and as a percentage of the trade
involved, are very minimal and moderate.”
US President Donald Trump on Monday
announced that he was ending Indiaʼs
trade concessions under the GSP program
accusing New Delhi of not providing
Washington “equitable and reasonable
access” to its markets.
Trump, who is on a mission to expand
market access abroad and end US trade
Jaipur Bureau
Prakash Bhandari
Prakash@TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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deficits, made the announcement in a letter
to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice
President Mike Pence.
The US Trade Representativeʼs Office
(USTR) said that the preferences will end in
60 days after the notification to the
Congress and the Indian government.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
sources said the government will continue
to talk to the US during the 60‑day period.
They said that efforts were being made to
find a reasonable package and said the
problem was not systemic.
The Commerce Secretary also said the US
went ahead with the withdrawal of benefits
despite the Indian government working out
on an “extensive, reasonable, meaningful
package which covered almost all the US
concerns”. “Of course there were some
additional requests beyond that, which
could not be accepted at this time,” he said.
59 Nobel laureates urge Modi,
Imran to defuse
tensions
Continued from page 1
statement said on Sunday. “In the best
interest of our children, we, the Laureates
and Leaders for Children call upon the
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and
the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan
to demonstrate wise leadership and exer‑
cise immediate restraint at this critical
juncture, to avoid any escalation into a full‑
fledged war,” the letter read.
“There is no place for violence, extrem‑
ism and terrorism in a civilized world. This
epidemic has to be uprooted through con‑
crete and time‑bound actions.
“We reiterate that children never create
wars but are the worst sufferers.
Therefore, we appeal to the two Prime
Ministers, faith institutions, media, youth
and the citizens of both India and Pakistan
to work towards the restoration of peace in
the region with utmost urgency,” the letter
stated.
The Nobel laureates who signed the
appeal included Malala Yousafzai, Leyma
Gbowee, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman,
Muhammad Yunus, José Ramos‑Horta,
Edvard Ingjald Moser and May‑Britt Mose
among others.
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE March 9-15, 2019 5

Indra Nooyi named to Passports of 45 NRIs

Amazon board
New York: Amazon Fe b. 25
announced that its board of directors
elected former PepsiCo chief execu‑
tive officer Indra K. Nooyi as a direc‑
tor, as well as naming her to the Audit
Committee of the board.
The announcement was filed by
Amazon.com Inc.'s senior vice presi‑
dent David A. Zapolsky to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nooyi was the CEO of PepsiCo from
October 2006 to October 2018,
where she also served as the chair‑
man of its board of directors from
May 2007 to February 2019.
The Indian American executive was
elected to PepsiCoʼs board of direc‑
tors and became its president and
chief financial of ficer in 2001, and
held leadership roles in finance, cor‑
porate strategy and development, and
strateg ic planning after joining
Indra Nooyi
PepsiCo in 1994. Nooyi has served as
a director of Schlumberger Limited
since April 2015. In connection with
her election, Nooyi was granted a
restricted stock unit award under the
companyʼs 1997 Stock Incentive Plan
for 549 shares of common stock of
the company, to vest in three equal
annual installments beginning on
May 15, 2020, assuming continued
service as a director, Amazon noted in
its report filed to the SEC.
Nooyi also entered into an indemni‑
fication agreement with Amazon in
the same form as its other directors
have entered, the company added.
Nooyi is the second woman ̶ and
the second woman of color ̶ to be
added to Amazonʼs board in the past
month.
Starbucks execut ive Rosalind
Brewer joined the board on Feb. 4,
according to reports.
Amazon now has six men and five
women on its 11‑member board.
canceled for abandoning
their wives: Maneka Gandhi
New Delhi: The government has canceled passports
of 45 non‑resident Indians for abandoning their
wives, Women and Child Development Minister
Maneka Gandhi has said.
The Integrated Nodal Agency made to look into the
matter has been issuing Look‑Out Circulars to
absconding husbands in cases of NRI marriages and
45 passports have been impounded by the External
Affairs Ministry, Gandhi said. The agency is chaired
by the secretary in the women and child development
ministry, Rakesh Srivastava.
Gandhi said the government has also introduced a
Bill in Rajya Sabha to give justice to the women who
have been abandoned by their NRI husbands, but
expressed dismay that the Bill has got stalled in the
upper House. The Bill envisages registration of mar‑
riages by non‑resident Indians, amendment of the
Passports Act, 1967 and Amendment to the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973.
The Bill is a joint initiative of the External Affairs
Ministry, Ministry of Women and Child Development,
Ministry of Home Af fairs and Ministry of Law and
Justice. (PTI)

IN BRIEF

AIA NYʼs Desi Next organizes Women's careers take flight

funfilled valentine event through WINGS for Growth
I
nspired by her late father, Varsha
Waishampayan followed her passion to
give back to others, and in doing so, cre‑
ated WINGS for Growth, a mentoring non‑
profit organization geared for women.
Unlike many mentoring programs, WINGS
takes more of a holistic approach focusing
on external talent development instead of
internal job promotions and corporate cul‑
ture.
WINGS, which stands for "Womenʼs
Initiative to Nurture Growth and Success,"
assists women to navigate their careers by
ensuring they learn the right skills to not
only enter the workforce but survive and
thrive to become leaders. In its first two
years, WINGS mentored 15 women in vari‑
Varsha Waishampayan
ous points of their careers.
(Image courtesy: njbiz.com)
"I knew that women could gain significant
experience from a structured mentoring three dif ferent components ̶ one‑on‑one
relationship and effective curriculum‑based mentoring, coaching through classroom
Over 50 young couples attended the event coaching," Waishampayan said. "At the end, workshops and a project related to the non‑
we see such transformational results in our profit organization of the mentee's choice.

T
he Association of Indians in
America, NY Chapter (AIA‑NY)
organized its first Valentine
Dinner & Dance Event under its recent‑
ly launched “Desi Next” at Leonardʼs
Palazzo in Long Island on March 1st to
promote networking within young
adults while having fun‑filled evening.
Over 50 young couples attended the
event and had a great time. Everybody
was introduced with each other to
encourage conversation between them
and get to know each other while
enjoying the fun valentine games, cou‑
ples photo booth, sit down dinner and
dancing on the vibrant tunes of
renowned DJ. Everybody enjoyed a lot
and complimented the organization
and the young team of Anuj, Atul &
Rajeev for arranging such a fun‑filled
event, which was a huge success.
“AIA NY Chapter has been striving
hard to bring programs focused on
young families and their children with
a view to attract the younger genera‑
tion. We have been trying to continue
to expand and strengthen youth devel‑
opment programs and activities and
have been working towards energizing
our youth while understanding their
concerns,” said Gobind Munjal, the
president of AIA NY Chapter.
almost three years." (Source: mycentraljersey.com)
Before WINGS, Waishampayan spent near‑
ly 30 years on Wall Street. Primarily in the
investment banking field, her last venture
took her to the offices of
JOB OPENING
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC). Her educa‑ Looking for a Cashier / Tech in
tion also includes a bachelor and masters in
chemistry, which allowed her to both men‑
a well established Pharmacy
tor and work as a professor at the university (40 years) in Rego Park, NY.
level. Prior to creating WINGS for Growth, Contact :
she also dedicated her energy to serve as
the Chair for the Maharashtra Foundation – Pharmacist‑In‑Charge
a global non‑profit organization that seeks Phone ‑ 248‑910‑0932;
to enhance the quality of lives of the under‑
Email ‑
privileged.
The signature WINGS program comprises parkcitydrugs@gmail.com
 6 March 9-15, 2019 TRISTATE TheSouthAsianTimes.info

MIT India Conference 2019 reflects on 'India's Competitive Edge'

M
IT India Conference
2019, organized by the
MIT India team that
included the lead chairs, namely
Aditi Shankar, Neil S. Gaikwad,
Kritarth Yudhish and lead vice
presidents, Amit Kumar, Anchal
Goyal, Anupam Jena, and many
others, was he ld on February
16th.
Several eminent speakers from
different fields of life and a large
audience that comprised especial‑
ly students, young professional,
and startup entrepreneurs attend‑
ed the event. Melanie Mala Ghosh,
Managing Director, MIT‑India &
MIT‑South Asia, and Prof. S.P.
Kothari, the Gordon Y Billard
Professor of Account ing and
Finance, MIT Sloan School of
Management were the advisors of
the conference. The theme of the
2019 conference was “Indiaʼs
Competitive Edge” that aimed at
reflecting on what unique factors
allowed India to thrive in science,
sports, art, literature, and technol‑
ogy despite fewer resources at its
disposal. The co‑chairs addressed
the audiences by welcoming them
warmly and requesting them to
observe a 30‑second silence for
the Indian soldiers who died in the
Pulwama terrorist attack on Feb
14th. They also highlighted the
objectives and plans for the con‑
ference. Prof Mala Ghosh made
her remarks about the MIT India
Program and announced awards
and honored Professor S.P.
Kothari and Vikram Kirloskar for
their outstanding contribution to
their fields and community.
Opening remarks of the confer‑
ence were made by Prof. S. P.
Kothari, this episode was followed
by his Fireside Chat with Vikram
Kirloskar. Preetish Nijhawanʼs
presentation on the Impact of MIT
and India on Entrepreneurship
was followed by a fireside chat
with Robin Bose.
For the Session 1: Gearing India
for the future through policy and
institutions, Dr. Subramanian
Swamy joined the session through
a video conference and presented
his brilliant insight about Indiaʼs
Economic Posit ioning in the
Global Perspective. He said that
India is doing good in many eco‑
nomic, finance, and business areas
and suggested some beneficial
measures for the government to
make rapid progress in these
areas.
Shereen Bhan presented her
powerful views on Indian Media:
Tussle Between Accountability &
Freedom.
In Session 2: Business frontiers:
opportunities and challenges, two
eminent businessmen presented
their very interesting talks. Satish
Reddy talked about Indiaʼs
Compet it ive Edge in the
Pharmaceutical industry, Sanjay
Mehta spoke about Building
Sustainable Businesses for a
Healthier Planet.
After this, in a brief video con‑
ference, Anil Kumble talked about
his personal experiences on being
time on and of f the cricket field.
He said that he enjoys not only
playing and coaching cricket but
also being an engineer, he wanted
to accept the new startup opportu‑
nity with Microsoft and succeed in
this new endeavor.
In Session 3: STEAM (Science,
Tech, Eng ineering, Arts,
Mathemat ics), Anupam Kher
spoke on, Evolution of Indian
Cinema. Whatʼs Next. He answered
all the questions of the audiences
in a w itty and funny manner
under Fireside chat with Prof.
Kothari.
Prof. Priyamvada Natarajan
from Yale University presented
her very interesting presentation
on Deciphering the Invisible
Universe. She talked about cosmol‑
ogy, gravitational lensing and
black hole physics. Indrani Medhi
T hies spoke on Designing
Technologies for Global Social
Inclusion.
Session 4: Culture and
Innovation started with a speech
by Manasi Kirloskar on Education
in Free India. Ami Shrof f spoke
about Empowering Women
Art isans throug h So cial
Entrepreneurship.
Anil Kumar Gupta talked about
Creating Knowledge Networks to
Fuel Grassroots Innovations.
D. R. Mehtaʼs presentation on
Af fordable Healthcare: Role of
Entrepreneurship and Technology
created very genuine curiosity
about his projects and selfless vol‑
unteer work. Lastly, in a short‑pre‑
recorded video message Prakash
Javadekar, the current govern‑
mentʼs Union Minister of Ministry
of Human Resource Development
(MHRD), talked about many gov‑
ernments policies that are going
to help to shape his ministryʼs
schemes and projects.

IN BRIEF

Calif. Cub Scout Aryan Tolani earns
Arrow of Light medal
Aryan Tolani was presented
the Arrow of Light medal at a
ceremony on Feb 24 by Mayor
Tara Campbell, City of Yorba
Linda, CA. This is the highest
award in Cub Scouts, leading
to the kid becoming a Boy
Scout. Said Aryan, son of
Prince Organization CEO Sunil
Tolani, "I want to earn the
coveted Eagle Scout rank and
help others and our
communities to clean up
parks, build bike racks. But
seeing news of school
shootings, want to help in
preparing to thwart shooters."
Brooklyn to get a new ice‑cream
shop devoted to flavors of India
Reihan Salam named president
of The Manhattan Institute
T
he Manhattan Institute, a conserva‑
t ive think tank, named former
National Review executive editor
Reihan Salam as its next president in an
announcement Jan. 20.
The Brooklyn, New York‑born Salam is
the son of Bangladeshi American immi‑
grants. He will succeed the outgoing presi‑
dent, Lawrence J. Mone, who has been
with the Institute for 37 years.
Salam was characterized as “literary
Brooklynʼs favorite conservative,” in a
2014 profile in New York magazine. Last
year, Salam released "Melting Pot or Civil Reihan Salam
War? A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case
Against Open Borders,” in which he con‑ vative thinkers and policymakers,” said
cluded that current U.S. immigration poli‑ The Manhattan Institute chairman Paul
cy is creating a permanent underclass. Singer.
“When youʼre looking at folks who are “This is a critical moment for New York
struggling, folks who are lower income, a and for the whole country. Iʼm excited for
very large proportion of them are first or the Institute and for the future,” he said.

P
ooja Bavishi had to be told three
times that she should open her
own ice‑cream business. First by
her own parents, who ran a textile busi‑
ness for most of her life. Then by her
friends, who fell for a ginger and star
anise ice‑cream, she made for
Friendsgiving a few years ago. And finally,
by one of her business‑school professors
at NYU. “Iʼd been talking about it as a far‑
of f dream,” Bavishi says. “I didnʼt trust
myself at that point.” But after taking Penn
Stateʼs three‑day crash course in all things
ice‑cream and perfecting an eggless,
second generation,” wrote Salam, whose Salam is also a National Review Institute
Philadelphia–style base, Bavishi went all‑in
father is an accountant and mother a dieti‑ Policy Fellow, a contributing editor at The
in May 2015, selling ice‑creams influ‑
cian. Atlantic and National Af fairs, and, in
enced by her Indian‑American upbringing
Salam ̶ who has served as the execu‑ 2017, was named a Young Global Leader
at the cityʼs various food markets, under
tive director of the National Review since of the World Economic Forum. He also co‑
the Malai Ice Cream banner. After success
2014 ̶ has also taken several progres‑ authored the book “Grand New Party,”
at markets and in the wholesale realm,
sive views: he supports gay marriage, the with Ross Douthat, which envisioned how
Bavishi finally opened a permanent shop
decriminalization of certain drugs, and Republicans could take back their party.
on Smith Street in Carroll Gardens, March
legalizing prostitution. “Iʼm enormously grateful to the selec‑
2. To start, the shop will showcase 12 of
“I am delighted that Reihan Salam will tion committee and MIʼs board for entrust‑
the 23 flavors Bavishi has developed over
be our new president. Reihan is a New ing me with such an important job,” said
the last 4 years. Some, like Turkish coffee,
Yorker born‑and‑bred, a product of the Salam. “I know not only that ideas matter,
masala chai, salted brown butter pecan,
cityʼs public schools, a brilliant communi‑ in other words, but also that MIʼs ideas
toasted nutmeg, and sea salt vanilla will be
cator, and already a leader among conser‑ can change lives for the better.”
accessible to most ice‑cream lovers.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL March 9-15, 2019 7

Teen Kavya Kopparapu Time for Pakistanʼs

gets 2019 National STEM leaders to stand up against
Education Award extremists: Gabbard
Washington, DC: An Indian‑American
teenager has been conferred with the 2019
Nat ional STEM (Science, Technolog y,
Engineering and Math) Education Award for
her ground‑breaking invention designed to
improve treatments for glioblastoma, the
deadliest form of brain cancer.
T he $10,000 award g iven by STEM
Education US, recognizes Kavya Kopparapu,
19, of Herndon, Virginia, as an "extraordi‑
narily talented and accomplished" individual
"who has meaningfully promoted STEM edu‑
cation."
A freshman at Harvard University study‑
ing computer science and biology, the bud‑
ding scientist has invented GlioVision, a pre‑
cision medicine platform powered by
Artificial Intelligence (AI) that predicts brain
tumor characteristics in a fraction of the
time and cost of traditional methods by
using a scanned image of a biopsy rather
than a DNA sample.
It is a major step to targeted treatment for
patients with cancer which uses a deep
learning computer system to determine the
molecular and genetic signature of a brain
tumor with 100 percent accuracy.
Kavya has been recognized for her com‑
mendable efforts to battle a rare but deadly
Kavya has been recognized for her
invention to improve brain cancer treat
disease, and to encourage others to pursue
their expertise in STEM‑related fields.
Also a social entrepreneur, Kavya is the
founder and CEO of Girls Computing League,
a non‑profit organization which has raised
over $100,000 for computer science pro‑
gramming that impacts more than 3,800
American students.
An experienced speaker, she has delivered
talks at the Smithsonian Institution, NASA
Kennedy Space Centre, and participated in
several AI conferences. (IANS)
Washington, DC: Itʼs time for Pakistanʼs
leaders to stand up against extremists,
Democratic presidential aspirant Tulsi
Gabbard has said, as she slammed the
country for providing terrorists with a safe
haven which is causing tensions with
India. Tensions have escalated between
India and Pakistan after the February 14
Pulwama attack claimed by Pakistan‑
based terror group Jaish‑e‑Mohammed
(JeM). Forty CRPF soldiers were killed in
Nikki Haley
the attack.
Yoho also urged Pakistan to take meaning‑
India carried out air strikes against the
ful steps to address terrorist groups.
biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot. In
“Congress and the Indo‑Pacific region
the operation, the government said several
are carefully watching the latest tensions
JeM terrorists, trainers, senior command‑
between India and Pakistan. The last thing
ers and groups of jihadis who were being
the region and the world needs is a con‑
trained for suicide attacks were killed.
flict between two countries armed with
“As long as Pakistan is providing terror‑
nuclear weapons,” he said.
ists with a safe haven, there will be height‑
“I urge Pakistan to take meaningful
ened tensions between the two countries,”
steps to address terrorist groups operat‑
Gabbard said.
ing within their country and for both gov‑
“Itʼs time for Pakistanʼs leaders to stand
ernments to resolve their dif ferences
up against the extremists and terrorists,”
peacefully,” said Yoho, Lead Republican
said Gabbard, a former co‑chair of the
for the House Foreign Af fairs
House Caucus for India and Indian
Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and
Americans. Gabbard is the four‑time law‑
Nonproliferation. (PTI)
maker from Hawaii. Congressman Ted

Aruna Miller named

Impact Executive Director
Washington, DC: Former Maryland State
Delegate and former 2018 Congressional
candidate Aruna Miller is now executive
director of the Indian American Impact
Project and Impact Fund. Former Maryland
state Del. Aruna Miller has been named the
new executive director of the Indian
American Impact Project and the Indian
American Impact Fund.
She succeeds Gautam Raghavan, the
founding executive director who left the
organization in December to serve as the
chief of staf f to Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D‑
WA. Miller, an engineer by profession,
served in the Maryland State House from
2010 to 2018. Last year, she ran for
Congress from Marylandʼs 6th congression‑
al district. The Impact said in a press
release that the Miller was selected after a
nationwide search. “I am honored and excit‑
ed to work with Impact,” Miller said in the
release. “I am particularly gratified to be
part of an organization dedicated to engag‑
ing Indian Americans, one of the fastest
growing populations in the United States. I
hope to further Impactʼs mission to develop
and support talented individuals have the
desire to become influential leaders in our
democracy.”
The two co‑founders of the organization,
Deepak Raj and Raj Goyle, said Miller as the
right candidate to lead Impact in a key elec‑
tion cycle.
“Aruna shares our passion for building
political power in the Indian American
community,” Raj said. “With her leadership,
will continue building Impact into an
organization that will be extraordinarily
helpful to future generations.”
“As a former candidate and elected offi‑
cial who has campaigned, won votes, and
served in office, Aruna is the ideal person
to lead Impact,” said Goyle, a former mem‑
ber of the Kansas House of Representatives.
“She has the perfect combination of skills
and personal experience to take this organ‑
ization to the next level. Anyone who has
met, worked with, or voted for Aruna
knows her future is bright. We are excited
to have her at the helm of Impact.”
Miller brings along several years of
invaluable experiences in politics and pub‑
lic service as well as her innovative think‑
ing and new vision.
During her tenure at the Maryland State
House, Miller worked to invest in STEM
education, streamlined the regulatory
process for small businesses and brought
jobs to Maryland.
During her bid for Congress in 2018,
Miller came out second out of eight candi‑
dates. She earned endorsements from the
Impact Fund, Emilyʼs List, and the Sierra
Club, among other organizations, as well as
all four Indian American members of the
House of Representatives.
T he Indian American Impact Fund
endorses and supports candidates from the
community who may be embarking on a
political career. It helps to convene, recruit
and train, endorse as well as fund candi‑
dates.
 8 March 9-15, 2019
Bernie Sanders names Ro Khanna presidential campaign co‑chair
Washington, DC: Independent
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of
Vermont, who is seeking another
bid for president after an unsuc‑
cessful try in 2016, has named a
diverse group of co‑chairs for his
campaign, with Indian American
Cong ressman Ro Khanna, D‑
Calif., among them.
In addition to Khanna, others
assisting in the Sanders cam‑
paign include San Juan, Puerto
Rico Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz,
former Ohio state Sen. Nina
Turner, and Ben Cohen, a co‑
founder of Ben & Jerryʼs ice
cream. Cohen, a Vermonter, and
Turner, who is president of the
Sanders‑backed political non‑
profit, Our Revolution, are veter‑
ans of Sandersʼ 2016 presidential
run, Huffington Post reported.
But the addition of Khanna and
Cruz reflects the degree to which
Sanders has expanded his influ‑
ence in the years since he chal‑
lenged Hillary Clinton for the
Democratic presidential nomina‑
tion, the report said.
Whatʼs more, the four‑person
slate provides Sandersʼ bid with
Sherin Mathews' foster
mother released from jail
Houston: The foster mother of
Sherin Mathews, the 3‑year‑old
girl found dead in Dallas in 2017,
has been released from jail after
15 months after child endanger‑
ment charges against her were
dropped due to lack of evidence.
Sherin Mathews, adopted by
Wesley and Sini Mathews in
2016, was found dead in a culvert
near the family home in Texas,
two weeks after her family report‑
ed her missing.
Sini Mathews was charged after
prosecutors said she left her
adopted daughter alone at home
while she and her husband went
to dinner with their other daugh‑
ter, the night before the Sherin
was reported missing.
Coming out of jail Friday, Sini
Mathews told reporters she felt
"blessed" that charges against her
were dismissed and that she has
been looking forward to a
reunion w ith her biolog ical
daughter, who has been living
Senator Bernie Sanders selected Ro Khanna (right) as one of four
presidential campaign co‑chairs. (Image courtesy: therealnews.com)
diverse leadership, a quality that
critics felt his 2016 campaign
lacked. Of the group, just Cohen
is a white man, the Post said.
“To win this election and build
a movement to defeat Donald
Trump, we must bring together a
team prepared to fight for eco‑
nomic, social, racial and environ‑
mental just ice ― and thatʼs
exactly what Nina, Ro, Carmen
and Ben have been doing their
entire lives,” Sanders said in a
statement announcing their
Sherin Mathews, adopted by Wesley and Sini Mathews in 2016, was
found dead in a culvert near the family home in Texas.
with family members in Houston.
She said that the past 15 months
she spent in jail awaiting trial
were "challenging."
Her husband Wesley Mathews
still faces a capital murder charge
and is being held on a $1 million
bond. His trial is set for May.
In a letter to the 282nd
NATIONAL
selection.
“Together, along with a million‑
person grassroots movement, we
will confront the powerful spe‑
cial interests that dominate the
economic and political life of our
country and enact an agenda that
represents all the people, not just
powerful special interests,” the
candidate added.
The co‑chairs will serve as cen‑
tral advisers to Sandersʼ cam‑
paign, helping generate enthusi‑
asm for his candidacy across the
Criminal District Court, the Dallas
County District Attorney wrote
that "after extensive investigation,
it has been determined that the
state cannot prove this matter
beyond a reasonable doubt at this
t ime... the state respectfully
requests that this case be dis‑
missed without prejudice." (PTI)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
country, according to the
Vermont senatorʼs campaign
staff, according to the report.
Khanna, in particular, is likely
to play a critical role in boosting
Sandersʼ chances in California.
The Golden State primary, where
home‑state Sen. Kamala Harris, a
Democrat, would be a natural
favorite, is slated to occur on
March 3, 2020 ― much earlier
than in previous primaries, the
report said.
The San Francisco Chronicle
reports that Khanna said he will
he lp Sanders frame how
Medicare for all and free public‑
college tuition, two cornerstones
of his campaign, will help the
tech sector. He will also help
Sanders craft policies on how to
bring tech jobs to rural parts of
America and communities of
color, particularly as artificial
intelligence looms as a potential
replacement for workers in many
job sectors.
Khanna said he told Sanders
that “Iʼm happy to make the posi‑
tive case for you, but Iʼm not
going to say anything negative”
Raja Krishnamoorthi
named assistant whip
for 116th Congress
Washington, DC: Second‑term
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D‑
Ill., was named an assistant whip
for the 116th Cong ress by
Majority Whip James E. Clyburn,
Krishnamoorthiʼs office said in a
Feb. 25 news release.
“I am honored to be selected
for the assistant whip position,”
the Indian American congress‑
man said in a statement. “This
position is integral in rallying
my colleagues together to pass
important legislation. I look for‑
ward to bringing our diverse
caucus together so that we can
continue to pass legislation that
will deliver meaningful results
for working families across
America.”
Assistant Whips are responsi‑
ble for helping the Whip opera‑
tion get an accurate read on
where members of the Caucus
stand on certain pieces of legis‑
about his fellow Californians Sen.
Kamala Harris, who is running
for president; and Dublin Rep.
Eric Swalwell, who is still making
up his mind, the Chronicle said.
Khanna said he has “total
respect” for Harris and Swalwell,
but backed Sanders because “he
has the most comprehensive poli‑
cies for what will prepare us for
the 21st century,” according to
the Bay Area daily.
Khanna has teamed up with
Sanders on legislation attempt‑
ing to stop U.S. support for the
Saudi war in Yemen, as well as a
bill that helped pressure Amazon
CEO Jef f Bezos into raising his
employeesʼ wages, the
Huffington Post noted.
“Every 50 years, there is some‑
one who can fundamentally alter
the course of American politics,”
said Khanna. “Bernie Sanders has
the chance to reorient our eco‑
nomic policy towards workers
and communities left behind
instead of corporate interests
and to reorient our foreign policy
to prioritize peace, diplomacy
and restraint instead of war.”
lation. They work with members
of the Caucus to answer any
questions or address any con‑
cerns that Members may have
with upcoming bills.
“Iʼm pleased that Congressman
Krishnamoorthi will be joining
my Whip team as an Assistant
Whip for the 116th Congress,”
said Clyburn.
“Congressman Krishnamoorthi
will play a critical role in my
W hip operat ion, he lping us
ensure that every voice of the
most diverse Caucus ever is
heard as we consider legislation
to move our country in a positive
direction,” Clyburn added. “I look
forward to working w ith
Congressman Krishnamoorthi to
ensure that Democrats deliver
on their promise to advance an
agenda that will have a positive
impact on Americansʼ everyday
lives,” he said.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Indian professionals,
students get majority
UK visas in 2018
London: Skilled professionals and students
from India received a majority of UK visas in
2018, according to the latest statistics
revealed by the Home Office on Thursday.
Indian professionals, including doctors
and software engineers, have dominated
Britain's Tier‑2 skilled visa category for
some time, accounting for 54 percent of all
such visas granted in 2018.
In the latest analysis, the Home Office said
that Indian nationals marked the largest
increase in the grant of Tier 2 visas, up by 6
percent at 3,023 more visas compared to
the previous year.
The analysis also noted a hike in the num‑
ber of student visas granted to Indians last
year, up 35 percent to hit 19,505, with
Chinese students dominating that segment
WWII spy Noor
Inayat Khan to get
‘Blue Plaque’ honor
London: Britain's World War II spy Noor
Inayat Khan was on Monday confirmed
as the first Indian‑origin woman to be
honored with a Blue Plaque at her for‑
mer London home. T he Blue Plaque
scheme run by English Heritage honors
notable people who lived or worked in
particular buildings across London. Noor
Inayat Khan's plaque is set to go up at 4
Taviton Street in Bloomsbury, where she
lived as a secret agent during the war.
Ms Khan, the daughter of Indian Sufi
saint Hazrat Inayat Khan, was an agent
for Britain's Special Operations Executive
(SOE) during World War II and was cap‑
tured and killed by the Nazis in 1944 at
just 30 years of age. "It is from this
house that she left on her final and fatal
mission. Noor gave her life in the fight
Do not fall prey to
bogus UAE job offers,
Consulate to Indians
Dubai: The Consulate General of India in
Dubai has asked job seekers to stay away
from fraudulent job advertisements luring
Indians to the UAE.
In a statement, the Consulate said they
have come across at least two fraud job
of fers made to Indian nationals in the
name of UAE companies.
The Consulate said: "Job seekers should
not fall prey to such bogus job offers and
in case of any doubt, may seek clarifica‑
tion from the Consulate by sending an
email to Vice Consul (Labour) at
DIASPORA March 9-15, 2019 9
at 99,723 visas but marking only a 13 per‑
cent hike.
China held on to the tourist visa lead, with
56,095 or 11 percent more visitor visas
granted to Chinese nationals last year com‑
pared to an increase of 43,771, or 10 per‑
cent, for Indian nationals.
"Chinese and Indian nationals together
accounted for just under half, 48 percent, of
all visitor visas granted," the Home Of fice
said.
Last year, British Prime Minister Theresa
May had pledged that Brexit would level the
playing field for migrant workers coming to
work in the UK, with EU migrant workers no
longer being able to "jump the queue" ahead
of those from countries like India under her
government's post‑Brexit immigration plans.
against fascism and her message of
peace and tolerance of all religions is
even more relevant today," said Shrabani
Basu, Chair of the Noor Inayat Khan
Memorial Trust (NIKMT ). "T he blue
plaque will be a wonderful addition to
the area that has a special association
with Noor.
It will be the first Blue Plaque for a
woman of Indian‑origin in Britain and is
a real honor," said Ms Basu, who has
been campaigning for the plaque since
2006 as the author of "Spy Princess: The
Life of Noor Inayat Khan".
Taviton Street is close to Gordon
Square, which the NIKMT chose for the
installation of a memorial bust in 2012
of the spy, a descendant of the 18th cen‑
tury Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.
labour.dubai@mea.gov.in and copy to cgof‑
fice.dubai@mea.gov.in".
It also attached a fake job of fer for
English Lecturer from a university in the
UAE. The document details a lucrative
salary offer and various perks.
However, there is a catch in the job
offer: it asks the candidate to "pay for visa
and work permit processing, as a proof of
readiness and seriousness to join our
team", which is not the procedure as the
employer is required to pay for these
services.
 10 March 9-15, 2019
IAF pilot Abhinandan returns from Pakistan
Attari (Punjab): Ending high‑pitch
drama and uncertainty stretching
over several hours, Indian Air
Force pilot Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman, captured
by Pakistanis two days ago after
his MiG‑21 crashed inside
Pakistan, returned to India.
Dressed in a blue coat, grey
trousers and white shirt,
Abhinandan, with his unique mus‑
tache, was received by senior
Border Security Force officers at
9.21 p.m. at Zero Line that marks
the India‑Pakistan land border.
While one BSF officer shook his
hand, another put his arm around
the pilot to escort him back into
India.
"Feeling good to be back home,"
Abhinandan said in his first reac‑
tion after stepping into India,
according to Amritsar Deputy
Commissioner, Shivdular Singh
Dhillon, who received the IAF
pilot along with senior IAF and
Border Security Force (BSF) of fi‑
cers. Abhinandan was accompa‑
nied from Pakistan side by Group
Captain J.D. Kurian. He was sur‑
rounded by armed troopers of the
Pakistan Rangers up to the bor‑
der gate.
The Wing Commander was in
Pakistani captivity for over 60
hours before his ordeal came to
an end after several hours of
uncertainty on Friday.
Pakistani authorit ies kept
de lay ing his return to India
through the day on Friday for
unexplained reasons. Minutes
be fore his return, Pakistani
authorities released a propagan‑
Masood Azhar's brother
held among 44
Islamabad: Pakistan on Tuesday
detained in a crackdown Mufti
Abdur Rauf, the brother of Jaish‑
e‑Mohammed ( Je M) chie f
Maulana Masood Azhar, along
with 43 others affiliated with pro‑
scribed Islamist organizations
operating in the country.
T he crackdown came a day
after the Pakistan government
issued an order to streamline a
process for the implementation of
sanctions against individuals and
entities of all banned outfits as
designated by the UN Security
Council (UNSC).
Minister of State for Interior
Shehryar Khan Afridi said in a
press conference that the action
was taken without any foreign
pressure, the Pakistani media
reported.
Hammad Azhar, reportedly a
close relative of Masood Azhar,
was among those arrested in the
crackdown.
KASHMIR ATTACK AFTERMATH
Union MoS Defense Subhash Bhamre with IAF Wing Commander
Abhinandan Varthaman in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS)
da video in which Abhinandan
was forced to say tutored things.
He was whisked from the Attari
Joint Check Post (JCP) complex
under t ig ht security to the
Amritsar International Airport for
Delhi. Air Vice Marshall R.G.K.
Kapoor told the media outside the
JCP that the Wing Commander
was "handed to us as per stan‑
dard operating procedure of the
Indian Air Force".
"He will now be taken for a
detailed medical check‑up. The
check‑up is mandated particularly
because the of ficer had to eject
from an aeroplane which would
have put his entire body under
great stress," Kapoor said.
"T he IAF is happy to have
Abhinandan back," said the Air
Maulana Masood Azhar.
"In the first phase of our action
we have taken 44 people into pro‑
tective custody. We won't let any‑
one use Pakistani soil against
anyone so that no force can inter‑
vene in Pakistan's domest ic
issues," Afridi said.
The government also froze bank
accounts and assets of the organi‑
sations banned by the UNSC.
The Interior Ministry said that
the actions will continue as per
Vice Marshal.
Amritsar Deputy Commissioner
Shivdular Singh Dhillon said "hap‑
piness in his (Abhinandan's) eyes
said it all" upon his return.
Dhillon said there was no par‑
ticular reason for the delay by
Pakistan in the pilot's return.
Earlier, Abhinandan was formal‑
ly handed over to officials of the
Indian Hig h Commission at
Wagah (in Pakistan) led by Group
Captain J.D. Kurian.
T he 35‑year‑old Wing
Commander was captured on
Wednesday (February 27) by
Pakistan after his MiG‑21 Bison
was hit by Pakistan Air Force jets
near the Line of Control (LoC) in
Jammu and Kashmir and it
crashed in Pakistani territory.
the decisions taken by the
Nat ional Security Committee
(NSC).
Interior Ministry Secretary
Azam Suleman Khan said: "This is
across the board ‑ we don't want
to give the impression that we are
against one organization."
The crackdown is being linked
to the suicide bombing claimed
by the JeM that killed 40 CRPF
troopers in Jammu and Kashmir's
Pulwama on February 14 and the
later IAF bombing of Je M's
biggest training camp at Balakot
in Pakistan, sending India‑
Pakistan relations on a nosedive.
A dossier shared by the Indian
government with Pakistan last
week on Pulwama also mentioned
the names of Mufti Abdur Rauf
and Hammad Azhar, Khan said. "It
does not mean that act ion is
being taken against only those
individuals who are mentioned in
the dossier.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
BJP flays Congress for raising
questions over Balakot air strike
New Delhi: The aerial strike on
terror camps in Pakistans
Balakot has nothing to do with
politics, the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) has said and
appealed the Congress not to
lower the forces' morale for
"extraneous political" interest.
Union Law Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad said here on
Tuesday that the air strike was
conducted for the country's
prestige, courage and national
security, and against terrorism.
Answering questions raised by
Congress leaders Digvijay Singh,
P. Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal,
Prasad appealed them not to
lower the forces' morale, saying
"what is said here is shown by
Pakistan media there".
"I would appeal the Congress
The Retreat Ceremony at the
Attari‑Wagah JCP between India
and Pakistan was canceled for
Friday by the Border Security
Force (BSF) owing to security con‑
cerns linked to the pilot's return.
Scores of enthusiastic people
assembled at the border since
Friday morning to give a hero's
welcome to the IAF pilot. They
were carry ing the nat ional
Tricolor flags, g arlands and
posters. The people raised slo‑
gans and sang patriotic songs to
the beat of drums to keep up the
India, Pakistan should
avoid further military
action: Pentagon
Washington: Acting US Defence focus is on de‑escalating ten‑
Secretary Patrick Shanahan is
focused on de‑
escalating ten‑
sions between
India and
Pakistan and has
urged them both
to avoid further
military action,
the Pentagon said,
without saying if
he had spoken
with his counter‑
parts from either
nation.
Acting US Defence
In a statement,
Secretary Patrick Shanahan
the Pentagon said
Shanahan had spoken with sen‑ in India a day after Indian
ior US military officials about
the situation.
"Acting Secretary Shanahan's
for the sake of India, please
don't lower the morale, courage
and prestige of our forces for
your extraneous political inter‑
est," said Prasad, adding, "why
doesn't the Congress understand
the mood of the country when
everybody has stood together".
The Minister said the "contem‑
poraneous evidence" of the air
strike was available across the
Line of Control (LoC). Even
Pakistan could not deny the
strike as it said the Indian Air
Force (IAF) launched bombs in
fields. When no foreign country
raised questions over the strike,
the three Congress leaders were
quest ioning it, he said and
accused them of speaking what
Pakistan says and hoped the
country would expose them.
tempo. The BSF, which mans the
check‑post and the 553‑km
Internat ional Border w ith
Pakistan in Punjab, was on high
alert. Punjab Police and other
security agencies had stationed
additional personnel in the area
since Friday morning.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran
Khan announced that the cap‑
tured pilot will be freed as a
"goodwill gesture" after New
Delhi demanded his uncondition‑
al, immediate and unharmed
release.
sions and urging both of the
nations to avoid
further military
action," the state‑
ment added.
Tensions
between the two
nuclear‑armed
nations are still
running high
despite Pakistan
sending back one
of the captured
IAF pilot.
Pakistani jets
had targeted mili‑
tary installations
fighter jets crossed the Line of
Control and carried out air
strikes at a major terror camp.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info KASHMIR ATTACK AFTERMATH March 9-15, 2019 11

Air Force doesn't count casualties: IAF chief

Coimbatore: Amid a raging contro‑
versy over the damage inflicted on
the Jaish‑e‑Mohammad (JeM) terror
camp in Balakot, IAF chief B.S.
Dhanoa on Monday said his force
does not count human casualties
but the airstrike had hit the "target".
"The Indian Air Force is not in a
position to clarify the number of
casualties. The government will
clarify that. We don't count human
casualties. We do not count how
many people were dead. We count
what targets we have hit or not. We
hit our target. The air force doesn't
calculate casualty numbers. The
government does that," he told the
media here.
"T he target has been clearly
amplified by the Foreign Secretary
in a statement. If we plan to hit the
target, we hit the target. Otherwise
why would he (Pakistan Prime
Minister) have responded. If we
dropped bombs in the jungles why
would he respond," Dhanoa said in
his first public remarks on the
February 26 air force operation as a
IAF chief B.S. Dhanoa (Photo: IANS)
consequence of the February 14 on Sunday that more than 250 ter‑
Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF rorists were killed in that airstrike.
personnel were killed. Union Minister S.S. Ahluwalia had
There has been a controversy said that the Balakot strike was to
over the number of people killed in convey a message that India has the
the attack on the JeM camp in capacity to strike deep inside
Balakot. While officially no figures enemy lines and was not intended
have been given, BJP President to inflict any human casualties.
Amit Shah claimed in Ahmedabad Dhanoa said the bomb damage
assessment was a dif ferent aspect
and it was dif ficult for the IAF to
confirm casualties. How many peo‑
ple were inside the targets cannot
be said.
He also defended the use of the
vintage MiG‑21 Bison in the aerial
engagement with a large package of
intruding Pakistan Air Force (PAF)
fighters on the Line of Control
(LoC).
"One is a planned operation in
which you plan and carry out. But
when an adversary does a strike on
you, every available aircraft goes in,
irrespective of which aircraft it is.
All aircraft are capable of fighting
the enemy.
"The Mig‑21 Bison is a capable
aircraft, it has been upgraded, it has
better radar, air‑to air missiles and
better weapons system," he said.
Refusing to get drawn into Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's comment
that the outcome would have been
different had Rafale jets joined the
service, Dhanoa said that after the
upgradation, the Bison is 3.5 gener‑
ation with a range of missiles and
avionics.
He said it has all the systems like
chaffs, flares and other features.
The IAF chief also said that the
first Rafale should come to India by
September.
Amidst various reports in the
international media questioning the
veracity of the Indian claim of
shooting down a PAF F‑16, Dhanoa
said it is confirmed that the
American jets were used.
On the question of the US object‑
ing to Pakistan using F‑16s in a
combat role against India, the IAF
chief said he was not aware what is
the end‑user agreement between
Washington and Islamabad over F‑
16s.
"I don't know about the end‑user
agreement between Pakistan and
the US."
He said India has got the evidence
of F‑16 fighter planes being used by
Pakistan in its attack on India as a
part of the AMRAAM missile was
recovered from the Indian soil.

'Ban on Jamaat‑e‑ Navy chief

Islami will curb
separatism in Valley'
New Delhi: The "sole" agenda of the
Center's ban on Jamaat‑e‑Islami (J&K) is
to curb separat ism in Jammu and
Kashmir as the organization has been the
"brain" behind the All Party Hurriyat
Conference (APHC) which, the investigat‑
ing agencies claim, has been ideologically
supporting Pakistan‑sponsored terrorism,
said sources in the Ministry of Home
Affairs.
Sources said the JeI (J&K) has been
"instrumental behind the APHC's role in
terror activities, especially in the Valley,
with the support of Pakistan for the last
three decades."
"The ban on JeI (J&K) is to ensure com‑
plete non‑functioning of the APHC as it
has been the brain behind the separatist
group," said a Home Ministry official. The
ban would help the National Investigation
Agency (NIA) and other agencies take
action against the JeI (J&K), which has
been providing "logistic support" and
feeding "new ideas" to the APHC for
spreading terrorism in the Valley, under
the provisions of the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act (UAPA), said the official.
The UAPA is aimed at prevention of
unlawful activities and associations in the
country.
Normally, the of ficial said, the probe
agencies or the police would have to go
through legal documentations and collect
"more strong evidence" to prove the ille‑
gal activities of any organization.
The APHC, the of ficial said, is a con‑
glomerate of organizations with "sepa‑
ratist and terrorist leanings" and has been
warns of seaborne
terror strikes
instrumental in "stone pe lting" and
"recruit ing youth to join terrorism
through radicalization" in the Valley. The
NIA has already registered a case against
it besides arresting several separatist
leaders.
The Home Ministry's decision to ban
the JeI (J&K) came after it received inputs
that the Hurriyat has become active to
increase the "overground workers" sup‑
port on the JeI's instructions for enhanc‑
ing terrorist activities, not only in J&K but
across the country, said the official.
Asked about the number of "overground
workers," another senior Home Ministry
official told IANS it was not "as small" as
it could be ignored and not "as big" as it
couldn't be controlled.
The JeI, banned on February 28 for five
years for indulging in activities prejudi‑ Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba. (File Photo: IANS)
cial to internal security and public order
with the potential to disrupt the unity and New Delhi: Observing that India is facing "T his violence was perpetrated by
integrity of the country, was proscribed state‑sponsored terrorism, Navy chief extremists aided and abetted by a state,
first time in 1975 for two years by the Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday warned which seeks to destabilize India. We also
J&K government. It was again banned by about terrorists being trained to carry out have reports of terrorists being trained to
the central government in 1990, which attacks even via sea route. carry out attacks with varying modus
continued till December 1993. Addressing the Indo‑Pacific Regional operandi, including through the medium of
The of ficial said after the ban on JeI, Dialogue, Admiral Lanba without taking the sea," said Lanba.
the government now has full authority to names hit out at Pakistan for abetting ter‑ "We have seen how quickly terrorist
check the "balance sheets, account details, rorists, who carried out the February 14 groups evolve across the globe and this
activities and supporting figures" of the Pulwama attack in Jammu and Kashmir particular 'brand' of terror may we ll
organization. It can paralyze the Hurriyat that killed 40 CRPF troopers. become a g lobal problem in the near
Conference. "India, however, faces a far more serious future.
The Home Ministry sources said a size‑ version of terrorism ‑‑ state‑sponsored ter‑ "The Indian security establishment is con‑
able section of JeI cadres have overtly rorism. You have all witnessed the horrific tinuously working to address this menace.
worked for militant organizations, espe‑ scale of the extremist attack in the Indian It is imperative that the global community
cially the Hizbul Muzahideen (HM), one of state of Jammu and Kashmir just three acts to contain and eliminate terrorism, in
the biggest terror groups active in J&K. weeks ago," he said. all its forms," he added.
 12 March 9-15, 2019
Will be there after 2019, don't worry: Modi
Ahmedabad: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi expressed confi‑
dence that the Bharatiya Janata
Party, under his leadership, would
return to power in the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections.
"Don't worry... I am coming
back in 2019 so if you need
anything from the Central gov‑
ernment, you can tell me," he told
a massive g athering of the
Patidar community at Jaspur near
here.
The Prime Minister was speak‑
ing at the foundation stone‑laying
ceremony of the Rs 1,000 crore
Umiya Mata Temple complex of
the community on the outskirts of
Ahmedabad.
Congressʼ no to
AAP, Kejriwal
alleges
Congress‑BJP
secret pact
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi: In a blow to the opposi‑
tion's bid to forge a grand alliance,
the Congress on Tuesday ruled out
aligning with the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) for the Lok Sabha elections.
The move prompted Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal to allege a
"secret Congress‑BJP understand‑
ing". The decision was taken at a
meeting of the Delhi Congress unit
led by its chief Sheila Dikshit and
Congress President Rahul Gandhi at
his residence here.
While the Delhi unit was firm on
not tying up with the AAP from the
beginning, the central leadership had
been exploring the possibility of an
understanding harping on the need
for all opposition parties to put up a
united front against the BJP.
The AAP on March 2 declared can‑
didates for six of the seven Lok
Sabha seats in Delhi, claiming that
the Congress has already said "no" to
the alliance. AAP chief Kejriwal took
to Twitter on Tuesday to express his
anguish over the Congress' move.
"At a time when the whole country
wants to defeat Modi‑Shah duo,
Congress is helping BJP by splitting
anti‑BJP vote," said Kejriwal.
"Rumors (are) that Congress has
some secret understanding with BJP.
Delhi is ready to fight against Cong‑
BJP alliance. People will defeat this
unholy alliance," he added.
PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Ahmedabad.
2019 Lok Sabha polls: Women voters
hold the key, says report
New Delhi: Women are likely to
play a decisive role in the upcom‑
ing general elections as their vot‑
ing participation is likely to be
higher than that of men in the
2019 polls, a Centrum report said.
According to the report, "Election
2019 ‑ The Swing Factor", men still
outnumber women in terms of reg‑
istered voters, but the actual
turnout of women voters is increas‑
ing at a rate faster than that of
men, and that would make the dif‑
ference this time.
"Their (women) rising participa‑
tion at the ballot represents a
remarkable trend; by 2019, it is
plausible that women's turnout will
meet ‑ or even exceed ‑ that of
men," said the report empahsizing
"she matters".
"Rising turnout and the growing
political assertiveness of Indian
women are making their voices
and policy preferences heard loud‑
ly across the country's political
stage. As is evident, women voters
are agents of change ‑ they vote
dif ferently than men and can
In the last few years, concerns regarding women and their issues have gained importance..
INDIA NEWS
af fect re‑election prospects," it
said.
It observed that although educa‑
tion and awareness are the impor‑
tant drivers of this trend, another
major factor is peaceful polls as
evident in women's turnout in
states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan,
where previous polls were marred
by violence.
Data from the Elect ion
Commission showed that the aver‑
age turnout in general elections
increased significantly in 2014 and
the gender gap in terms of voter
turnout was also lowest in the last
general e lect ions since
Independence.
In the last few years, the con‑
cerns regarding women and their
issues have gained importance and
received attention from the politi‑
cal class, at least in slogans and
speeches. Women's issues are a key
in political manifestoes, though
their effectiveness is debatable.
The current NDA government
also has rolled out several schemes
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Modi a habitual liar: Rahul
New Delhi: Calling Prime Minister
Narendra Modi a 'habitual liar',
Congress President Rahul Gandhi
said the ordnance factory Modi
inaugurated in Amethi had been
producing small arms for a while.
Modi inaugurated the ordnance
factory which will produce AK‑
203 assault rifles and subse‑
quently export them to other
countries
Wishing all success to the
trustees of Umiya Mata
Foundation for this project, Modi
said, amid huge applause, "If you
and legislative measures during its
tenure including the Maternity
Benefit (Amendment) Act 2016,
"Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme
and "Sukanya Samriddhi Account".
These schemes, implementation
and benefits actually availed by
women as a result of these meas‑
ures may play a role in forming the
preference for women voters.
A significant yet unaccomplished
demand for better political repre‑
sentation of women may also be a
factor in the upcoming elections.
T he Women's Reservation Bill,
which was passed by the Rajya
Sabha in 2010, still awaits clear‑
ance by the Lok Sabha, according
to the report.
The political spectrum including
the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) and the Congress have also
set their eyes on the young voters
and are speaking of their needs
such as employment. More than
150 million of these first‑time vot‑
ers played an important role in giv‑
ing additional seats to the BJP in
2014 elections.
"Prime Minister, I laid the foun‑
dation of Amethi's ordnance fac‑
tory in 2010. For the past several
years, it has been producing
small arms. Yesterday, you went
to Amethi and being forced from
the habit, you lied again," the
Congress President tweeted in
Hindi.
He also questioned if Modi
"don't feel ashamed at all".
need anything in this, my home in
New Delhi is all yours, and don't
worry I am there even after 2019
(elections)".
BJP web‑
site down
after
alleged
hacking
attempt
As of now, nearly 70 Indian
government websites have
been targeted by hackers.
New Delhi: The website of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
went into maintenance mode
after an alleged hacking attempt
early on March 5.
Social media was abuzz with
screenshots of a meme featuring
Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Below the meme was a music
video of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
The meme poked fun at a clip
in which German Chance llor
Angela Merkel walks past Modi
as he extends his hand.
Later, while trying to open the
website, it showed the following
message: "We will be back soon!
Sorry for the inconvenience but
we're performing some mainte‑
nance at the moment. We'll be
back online shortly."
The party was yet to comment
on whether it was a hacking
attempt or the site was undergo‑
ing maintenance. Earlier media
reports said that nearly 70
Indian government websites
were targeted by hackers.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED March 9-15, 2019 13

Stop reducing war to a spectacle

By Rajdeep Sardesai being questioned because they Until now, neither Kashmir nor
donʼt endorse a boycott of the Pakistan has ever been a central

W
ar is not a cricket match
and a remarkably daring
cross‑LoC air strike
should not be reduced to a political
spectacle. But we are in election
season which might explain the
well‑choreographed celebratory
note struck in the aftermath of the
pre‑emptive, non‑military strike on
the Balakot terror camp in
Pakistan.
As the collective conscience of a
nation craves for avenging the bru‑
tal killing of 40 CRPF soldiers in
Pulwama, the dominant national
mood leads one to ask: Have
Pulwama and Pakistan become the
core narrative that will influence
voter behaviour in the 2019 gener‑
al elections?
In the week leading up to
Pulwama, battle lines were drawn
in more predictable terms. While
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leadership spoke of a majboot
sarkar (strong government) versus
a maha‑milawat (hotchpotch) coali‑
tion, the opposition was focused on
the alleged failed promises of the
Modi government, from jobs to
agrarian distress.
Now, in the aftermath of the air
The implicit message is that a vote against the BJP is no longer just a
vote against Narendra Modi but also a vote for anti‑national forces.
strikes, the BJPʼs political man‑
agers are seeking to shape the elec‑
tion around the more emotive
theme of muscular nationalism and
Modiʼs strongman image as a
leader who has shown the political
will to teach the enemy a lesson.
The implicit message is that a vote
against the BJP is no longer just a
vote against Modi but also a vote
for anti‑national forces.
With a jingoistic television media
rooting for war and a large army of
cheerleaders on social media as
staunch allies, there has been a
concerted campaign to create an
environment in which anyone who
questions the government is imme‑
diately branded an anti‑national.
Then be it the glaring intelli‑
gence lapses in Pulwama, the lack
of direction in Kashmir and ad hoc
Pakistan policy, the government
has sought to cover up its failings
under the guise of the need for a
unified national response to a
snowballing crisis.
T he frenzied response has
stretched to ludicrous extremes at
times with even the patriotism of
cricketing legends like Sunil
Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar
Pakistan cricket team at the forth‑
coming World Cup.
This is not the first time that the
BJP has attempted to equate the
party and its leadership with the
credo of Hindu nationalism. A simi‑
lar stratagem was also used when
Modi spearheaded the BJPʼs con‑
troversial 2002 Gujarat campaign.
The burning to death of kar sewaks
in a train compartment in Godhra
had been the trigger for revenge
attacks. The identification of the
train saboteurs, not just with local
Muslims but with neighboring
Pakistan, aroused sub‑nationalistic
passions under the guise of
Gujarati pride or asmita. The ensu‑
ing fury ensured a two‑third major‑
ity victory for the BJP in the elec‑
tions that followed.
Will this model of the 2002 elec‑
tions now be replicated on a
national scale in the 2019 elec‑
tions? By drawing a link between
Kashmiri Muslims, Pakistan‑based
jihadi groups like the Jaish‑e‑
Mohammed and their patrons in
the Pakistani army, a scary narra‑
tive is being woven of a nation at
risk from internal and external ene‑
mies.
issue in an Indian general election,
not even the 1999 elections, which
a Atal Bihari Vajpayee‑led BJP won
in the immediate aftermath of the
Kargil war triumph. A warlike
atmosphere does unify the nation
and create a sense of national pur‑
pose. In north India, especially
Uttar Pradesh, where there are
more raw and enduring wounds of
a bloodied partition, any political
consolidation over firm action
against Pakistan could give the rul‑
ing party a decisive boost.
However, an escalating conflict
between nuclear neighbors is a
highly risky proposition, and for all
the josh (energy) a film like Uri
might generate in a cinema,
ground realities demand a more
cautious approach.
In the real world, long‑term
strategic goals must not be con‑
fused with temporary election
advantage: news channels can look
for Television Rating Points, a
responsible government canʼt take
a war for votes approach to nation‑
al security.
(Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior
journalist and author. The article
appeared in The Hindustan Times)

It's advantage Narendra Modi, but...

By Amulya Ganguli political purposes, few will doubt the 50 per cent limit set by the
that the BJP will continue to Supreme Court to woo a new

C
onsidering that previous
governments had backed
away from a military
response to terrorist provoca‑
tions from Pakistan ‑‑ notably in
November, 2008, when a
Lashkar‑e‑Taiba suicide squad
attacked Mumbai ‑‑ the raid by
Indian jets on a Jaish‑e‑
Muhammed terror camp in
Pakistan has shown that India
has dropped its policy of strate‑
gic restraint.
Since the change has taken
place under the Prime Minister's
leadership, it has reinforced
Narendra Modi's macho creden‑
tials.
T he political fallout of this
image is immense. At one stroke,
it has relegated to the back‑
ground all the domestic issues
which were impeding the (BJP)
political advancement of the
Bharatiya Janata Party.
No one expressed this jubilant
moo d better than B.S.
Yeddyurappa, the BJP's leader in
Karnataka, who said that the lat‑
est surgical strike (there was a
limited one in 2016) will enable
articulate its claims to be a party
of nationalists and doers as the
polling days approach.
The opposition, therefore, is in
a bind. It now realizes that the
issues of unemployment, agrari‑
an distress, low investments or
Rafale, which constituted its
main talking points, w ill no
longer make the kind of impact
which they earlier did as the
country basks in the sunshine of
military glory and diplomatic
success.
The gains for Indian diplomacy
are evident from the way that
the international community,
including Pakistan's close
friends like China and Saudi
Arabia, leant heavily on
Islamabad to ensure that the mil‑
itary situation did not go out of
hand. As for the BJP, it no longer
has any need to look for an emo‑
tive issue like the Ram temple to
boost its electoral position as the
Even if it is "Advantage Modi" at present, the results are far from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
being sealed and delivered in the BJP's favor. (RSS) was doing on its behalf a
the party to win 22 of the 28 he has been quoted out of con‑ few months ago. Nor does the
parliamentary seats in the state. text after being told not to use BJP have to introduce quotas for
Although he has since said that the military's achievement for targeted groups over and above
group of voters.
In its present smug, celebrato‑
ry mood, the BJP may even tone
down some of its strident criti‑
cism of the Congress's first fami‑
ly as Modi has been doing dur‑
ing virtually all his speeches,
including the one on the inaugu‑
ration of the war memorial in
Delhi.
For the scion of the first family,
Rahul Gandhi, the challenge has
become much bigger than what
he may have envisaged when the
Congress won three assembly
elections and the other national
opposition parties won a series
of by‑elections in Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar.
So, even if it is "Advantage
Modi" at present, the results are
far from being sealed and deliv‑
ered in the BJP's favor.
T he touchstone will be the
crowds which Modi and Rahul
will attract at their election ral‑
lies. Modi's will undoubtedly be
bigger, as they usually are, but it
is from Rahul's meetings that
inferences can be drawn about
the way the wind is blowing.

The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
14 March 9-15, 2019
India: Return of
the political will
Balakot was a 'preemptive non‑military strike targeting
militants and not the people or the State of Pakistan'.
The note of understanding struck by the US, UK,
France, Russia and even China on the operation
vindicates India's policy against terrorism
By D.C. Pathak
Former Director,
Indian Intelligence
Bureau
T
he successful
strike made by
a dozen
Mirage 2000 jets of
the Indian Air Force
on Feb 26 to take out the biggest training
camp of Jaish‑e‑Mohammed at Balakot in
the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of
Pakistan, within days of the terror attack
on the CRPF at Pulwama speaks as much of
the decisiveness of the Modi regime on the
national security front as of all that obvi‑
ously went into that action by way of
defense preparedness, functional consoli‑
dation of India's intelligence set‑up and a
comprehensive diplomatic reach out to the
world by Prime Minister Modi himself.
India has retained the moral high ground
in going after a set of dangerous terrorists
condemned even by the UN Security
Council. Pakistan had consistently project‑
ed them as 'non‑ state' actors on its soil but
had remained totally complicit with them
for reasons known to the entire world. The
event gives a new turn to Indiaʼs relations
with Pakistan leaving little scope for New
Delhi to shift from its firm stand against
cross‑border terrorism.
India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale
disclosed credible intelligence about JeM
training fidayeen for attempting further
suicide terror attacks in India and that, in
the face of this imminent danger, a pre‑
emptive strike had become absolutely nec‑
essary. He called the action at Balakot a
'preemptive non‑military strike targeting
militants and not the people or the State of
Pakistan'. The forthright statement of India
has helped to give the right message to the
world about India's bona fide in respond‑
ing to a grave threat to its national securi‑
ty. The note of understanding struck by
major powers like the US, UK, France,
Australia, Russia and even China on the
Balakot operation vindicates India's policy
against terrorism.
For decades now, Pakistan's deep state
had been unabashedly pursuing a 'proxy
war' against India in the name of Kashmir,
using faith‑based terrorism to avenge the
ignominious defeat of 1972 it had suffered
in the Bangladesh war.
It first instigated militant separatism in
Kashmir ‑‑ throug h the slog ans of
Plebiscite and Azadi and also sponsored
the armed 'Khalistan' movement in Punjab
but could not derail the overpowering dem‑
ocratic processes there. It was in the 1990s
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
OP-ED
that, following the success of anti‑Soviet
armed campaign in Afghanistan for which
Pakistan was given all the credit by the US‑
led West, the Pak army‑ISI combine
planned to replicate the Afghan Jehad in
Kashmir by sending in Mujahideen from
across the border and subduing the
Kashmiris to the call of Jehad through its
agents and acolytes. Jamaat‑e‑Islami outfits
like Hizbul Mujahideen and Dukhtarane
Millat were made to take orders from the
Pak‑based Lashkar‑e‑Toiba chief Maulana
Hafiz Sayeed. The Hurriyat totally convert‑
ed into a Pak proxy. The network of Pak
agents within the administration and out‑
side, including those who took shelter
under the umbrella of politics was con‑
stantly expanded to create an atmosphere
of alienation and public unrest.
Also, JeM, which was an old collaborator
of Al Qaeda‑Taliban combine was utilized
for raising fidayeen or suicide bombers.
The attack on the CRPF convoy at Pulwama
was the doing of a Jaish Fidayeen who used
a car bomb with over 60 kg of RDX mix.
The act owned by JeM was a manifestation
of the new level of escalation of terror
caused by the Pak army after it had discov‑
ered that stone pelting and grenade lob‑
bing on security camps by its agents in
Kashmir was bringing it diminishing
returns.
PM Modi, unlike his predecessors, took a
hard line towards Pakistan once he discov‑
ered ‑‑ after extending the hand of friend‑
ship to then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ‑‑
that in Pakistan the civilian government
was a mere fig leaf for its army and that
the Pak army‑ISI combine was determined
to use terrorism as the instrument of state
policy to get hold of Kashmir. The punitive
surgical strike on terror launch pads car‑
ried out by Indian troops across the LOC
within days of Uri attack was in glaring
contrast to the supine response of the gov‑
ernment of the day to the deadly LeT spon‑
sored Mumbai attack of 2008.
In the current geo‑political context,
Pakistan is left with no option but to sue
for peace ‑‑ its sabre rattling by way of
sending some F‑16s to unsuccessfully
attempt to bomb a military establishment
on our side of LOC a day after the Balakot
strike, has not taken it anywhere.
Meanwhile, India's war machine should
remain in full swing to take on any military
adventure of Pakistan ‑‑ the threat of
nuclear flash point does not work for
Pakistan any more. Pakistan, however, is
likely to step up its aggressiveness in
Kashmir and it would be quite in order for
India to take to an approach of 'offence is
the best defence' along the LOC.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Cross-border
adventurism, Modi’s
election gimmick?
By Vijaylakshmi seems that PM Modi had no intentions to
Nadar wage war and wanted to be merely seen as
Independent a strong, muscular leader, the kind of leader
journalist and that the country needed, post the 2019 elec‑
political activist based tions. The attack, to win brownie points
in Dallas, TX before the elections, was limited to sending
jets into the Pakistan territory with no
S
adly, the series intended casualties and no attack on the
of events fol‑ military establishment.
lowing the Feb The Pakistanʼs immediate retaliation
14 terror attack in Kashmir point to the fact therefore came as a surprise and put paid to
that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is prov‑ Modiʼs pre‑election entertainment package
ing to be far more dangerous to the country for the country.
than its long standing enemy Pakistan can The joy and jingoism unleashed by sec‑
ever be. While Pakistanʼs asymmetrical war tions of the Indian media, claiming the
on India through terror in Kashmir contin‑ deaths of 300 JeM terrorists, including JeM
ues after the 1971 war, the damages are chiefʼs brother, Azhar Masood, however got
limited to the state, while Modiʼs mis‑gover‑ subdued within a few hours when interna‑
nance and mis‑handling of events before tional media pointed out that the fighter jets
and after the dreaded attack almost plunged had merely bombed a deserted JeM hideout.
the country into war with Pakistan last Besides a few trees and an injured villager
week. there was no other casualties.
Modiʼs extensive smiles
at public functions fol‑
lowing the Indian air
strikes soon turned into
stony silence after the
capture of the IAF pilot,
Abhinanadan Varthaman,
and shooting down of
one of its jets in a retalia‑
tory action by the
Pakistanis.
Since the Pulwama
attacks, Modiʼs every
action and word is prov‑
ing to be detrimental to
peace, whereas his coun‑
terpart in Pakistan, Imran
Khan is making all the
right moves, by not only
saying no to war, but also
substantiating it with the
release of the captured
Indian pilot. As a result of
the contrasting leader‑
ship, the situation at the
moment in both the
Indian defense analysts are claiming that the threat of
countries, seeming ly
nuclear flash point does not work for Pakistan any more. But
poised on the precipice
even a full‑scale conventional war will devastate the two
countries economically, not to speak of the human cost. of war, is starkly differ‑
ent. As if to echo the
A shoddily edited video tape, surfacing well‑established belief that leadership mat‑
less than an hour after the terror attack in ters, a large section of Pakistanis stand with
Pulwama, supposedly released by JeM stak‑ their leader in echoing demands for peace,
ing claim to the attack, and a past shared while most Indians are echoing the senti‑
history with Pakistan, triggered the Indian ments of their prime minister, in favor of
air attack on Pakistan territory on February war, subdued only after the pilotʼs capture.
26, despite the Pakistan PM Imran Khan While he was riding high on the soldiers
claiming that they had no hand in it. In an of the Indian Air Force and with war cries
address to the nation, he stated that both raging, it was widely believed that Modi had
the countries had suf fered from terror the 2019 elections in his pocket, But the
attacks and need to look for a joint solution. capture of the Indian pilot brought the
Though he asked for a report on the attack, focus back to the damages of war and sane
the Indian government sent one only after voices on both sides of the border are pray‑
launching its air strikes beyond the LOC and ing for peace. Now for Mr Modi winning re‑
after Pakistanʼs retaliation the next day. election, let us wait for the Lok Sabha elec‑
From the incidents in the last few days, it tions likely within the next 3‑4 months.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Kashmir is not about India or Pakistan
any more: It is about Kashmiris
Op-Ed by
Shivaji Sengupta
This is Kashmir as it used to
be: The Moguls aptly called
Kashmir “Paradise on Earth,
when they journeyed across
the hot plains of India to the Valleyʼs cool env‑
iron in summer. Here they laid with great love
Srinagar's many formal waterfront gardens.
When the fourth Mughal Emperor, Jehangir,
saw the Kashmir Valley he is said to have
exclaimed: Agar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast,
hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast.” (If there
is paradise anywhere on earth, it is here, it is
here, it is here!)
This Kashmir as it is now as described by
the journalist and novelist, Pankaj Mishra:
“The valley of Kashmir now hosts the
biggest, bloodiest and also most obscure mili‑
tary occupation in the world… With more
than eighty thousand people dead in an anti‑
India insurgency backed by Pakistan. In addi‑
tion to the everyday regime of arbitrary
arrests, curfews, raids, and checkpoints
enforced by nearly 700,000 Indian soldiers,
the valleyʼs four million Muslims are exposed
to extrajudicial execution, rape, and torture.”
This is what we have become. From the
Kashmiri pandits, one of the original inhabi‑
tants of the region, to the thousands of mis‑
guided Muslim youths who think nothing of
reducing themselves to a suicide bomb,
killing thousands, Kashmir is one of the most
dangerous places in the world, arguably a
flashpoint of immanent nuclear war.
And yet, when something like Pulwama
happens, Indians living in the US seem to go
into a fit of frenzied patriotism. This time it is
about a Kashmiri youth committing a suicide
bombing attack on an Indian army convoy,
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
Oxford students from
subcontinent say no to war
I
ndian and Pakistani scholars and students
of Oxford University in England held a soli‑
darity demonstration at the Radcliffe
Camera in Oxford last Saturday. The group in
a statement condemned the suicide bombing
in Pulwama and denounced terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations. The statement said:
“As students in a foreign land weʼve always
marveled at how we seamlessly gravitate
towards each other, and how we are able to
OP ED March 9-15, 2019 15
COUNTERPOINT
Indian newspapers never acknowledge that
well over 35,000 civilians have died in
Pakistan because of internal terrorist attacks.
Moreover, BJP, Indiaʼs ruling party, has sys‑
tematically refused to acknowledge the new
Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khanʼs plea
for dialogue with India. I witnessed, side by
side, Imran Khanʼs speech in Pakistani parlia‑
ment, and Narendra Modiʼs speech after
Pulwama. It was the difference between a
sober intellectual, a rational human being
The scene of the site of the blast in that Imran showed himself to be, and the rab‑
Kashmir was once the scenic and serene
Pulwamaʼs Lethpora area, some 20 km ble‑rousing, crude, arrogant Donald Trump‑
location for romantic Hindi film songs.
from Srinagar. (Photo PTI) like image Modi projected. In his speech, the
killing 44 paramilitary soldiers. Within prime minister of Pakistan made a point that
scale with the crimes of Indian forces.
moments Indians here launched verbal every Indians should think about: Why is it
According to Amnesty International, as of
typhoon on the government of Pakistan, mim‑ that Kashmiri youths are so misguided? What
June 2015, no member of the Indian military
icking the Indian newspapers in India, blam‑ is the Indian government doing that has driv‑
deployed in Jammu and Kashmir has been
ing ISI, Pakistan's military establishment, for en the Muslim youths there to such desperate
tried for human rights violations in a civilian
the heinous act. The bomber, as he was from measures? Should the Indian government
court That is not what we read in the papers.
Indian Kashmir, is Indian, one of those thou‑
We read about the same old tired tirades rethink the way they are administering
sands of rebellious youths who do not want
about how the ISI is behind the militant insur‑ Kashmir? Should we clap at Modiʼs self‑brava‑
India governing Kashmir.
gencies (true), and how the Pakistani govern‑ do for having bombed Pakistan?
This fact that there is overwhelming sup‑
ment is tacitly or even openly supporting the Shivaji Sengupta is Professor of English and
port in Kashmir to become a free, independ‑
radical Islamist groups creating havoc in the Vice President for Academic Affairs at
ent state, seems to be completely overlooked
valley (probably not as true anymore). Major Boricua College in NYC.
by traditional Indian and Indian‑American
commentators: thanks to the complete and
brutal mismanagement of the Indian govern‑
ment in Kashmir, Kashmiris have had it. They
want out. An opinion poll conducted by the
Chatham House international affairs think
tank found that in the Kashmir valley sup‑
port for independence varies between 74%
to 95% in its various districts.
Indian forces have committed many human
rights abuses and acts of terror against
Kashmiri civilian population including extra‑
judicial killing, rape, torture and enforced
disappearances. Crimes by militants have
also happened but are not comparable in
Children who attend free, full-day,
high-quality pre-K learn through play,
build skills, and work together.
nyc.gov/prek
come together in community in ways we canʼt
back home. Call 311 | Text “prek” to 877-877*
“We urge our fellow Pakistanis and Indians
both within and outside the subcontinent to
stand together in unity, focus on our common‑ New York City families with children born in 2015 can apply
alities, and reject divisive narratives. We call for the 2019-20 school year.
upon the leaders of our countries to develop *Receive automated recurring messages from NYC DOE. No purchase necessary. MSG and data rates may apply.
de‑escalation protocols, organize constructive
peace talks and dialogue for the resolution of
all bilateral issues.”
 16 March 9-15, 2019
Patriotic films on a new Priyanka's funny reason behind
'high' in Bollywood working in 'Isn't It Romantic'
A still from
ʻUri: The
Surgical Strikeʼ.
T
he 'josh' for patriotic films is 'high' in
Bollywood. After the success of "Uri:
The Surgical Strike", Hindi movie buffs
can gear up to watch "Kesari", "Major",
"RAW", "Batla House", "Panipat", "Saare
Jahaan Se Accha", "Mission Mangal", "'83"
and a biopic on Kargil war hero Vikram Batra,
among others.
Amid the escalating tension between India
and Pakistan, netizens turned to past and
recent patriotic films to dig out memorable
dialogues, the most recent being from "Uri:
The Surgical Strike", based on the surgical
strikes that India conducted on terror camps
in Pakistan in 2016.
The Indian Air Force's air strike on terror
camps in Pakistan, which was in retaliation to
the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, led to
social media speculations that a "Surgical
Strike 2" could be made.
From wars to fighting social evils and
telling heroic tales of sportsperson ‑‑ various
shades of patriotism have been depicted on
the big screen through a stream of films in
recent times. The narrative shall continue
through 2019 and beyond.
As the treatment and subjects around patri‑
Kangana defends her 'Pakistan
destruction' statement
A
ctress Kangana Ranaut says her
"Pakistan destruction" comment
came naturally to
her after hearing about the
Pulwama terror attack. In
her address at the India
Today Conclave in New
Delhi, the "Manikarnika:
The Queen of Jhansi"
actress defended her con‑
troversial remark against
Pakistan, stating it was an
"instinctive sentiment"
Following the attack,
Kangana reportedly said
"Pakistan ban is not the Actress Kangana Ranaut
was speaking at a conclave
solution, but Pakistan
in New Delhi.
destruction is". When asked
about her statement at the conclave, she
said: "I think it was very sort of instinctive
sentiment that we all felt that time when
BOLLYWOOD
otic films evolve, there is a greater influx of
stories themed on combating terrorism, cele‑
brating the country's glorious achievements
and talking about social issues.
Army‑based films like "Border", "LOC
Kargil", "Lakshya" and "1971" have been cele‑
brated in the past.
This March 21, the audience can look for‑
ward to "Kesari", on the 1897 Battle of
Saragarhi in which 21 Sikhs of the 36th Sikh
Regiment (now the 4th Battalion of the Sikh
Regiment) of British India, defended an army
post against more than 10,000 Afghan and
Orakzai tribesmen.
There will also be a yet untitled biopic on
Kargil war hero Vikram Batra. It will front
actor Sidharth Malhotra.
A newly announced project is "Major", on
the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a
National Security Guards (NSG) commando
who lost his life while fighting terrorists at
the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in 2008.
There are heroic stories from the sports
field too. "'83", starred by Ranveer Singh, will
narrate India's historic victory in the 1983
Cricket World Cup. A film on badminton star
Saina Nehwal is in the works.
we were faced with that type of shocking
incident. It was possibly the most brutal
and most inhuman in cen‑
turies, it will always be a
deep scar, wound in our
conscience." According to
Kangana, she got "deeply
moved by brutality of the
action". "You cannot be
such a victim of your own
mind that at that moment
also, you are letting your
thought process take over
and be like, 'What is the
best response to this? Let
me think about it'.
"It's okay to let your
instinct take over," she
added. Kangana mentioned that "she even
felt to go to the border and sort of snatch
somebody's gun and do the deed."
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
A
ctress Priyanka Chopra says it is funny to admit
the reason behind saying 'yes' to Hollywood
film "Isn't It Romantic".
"Isn't It Romantic" tells the story of a New York
architect Natalie (Rebel Wilson) who works hard to
get noticed at her job, but is more likely to be asked to
deliver coffee and bagels than to design. Priyanka
essays the role of a yoga ambassador. It is available
on Netflix.
"Actually, it is very funny to admit this but
the film happened to be perfectly within
the schedule of my free time," Priyanka
told IANS.
"It was being shot in New York. I was
in between season two and season
three of 'Quantico'. And had one and a
half month off and we were shooting
at exactly that time. So it made perfect
sense," she added.
The actress says she loved the story.
"And I love Rebel. She is the producer in
the film. She has made the movie for her‑
self. It is her first leading role. And I thought of
all these things like supporting her through it
Actress Priyanka Chopra
and playing a really funny character with an essays the role of a yoga
amazing cast." ambassador in the film.
'Luka Chuppi': Strong
performances elevate this
light‑hearted entertainer
By Troy Ribeiro
REVIEW
S
et in Mathura, Director Laxman
Utekar's "Luka Chuppi" is a straight‑
laced, frothy rom‑com that panders
to the concept of a "live‑in‑relationship".
You never know where the heart is going
to lead, and often, it is to the most inappro‑
priate places. This is what happens when
Guddu Shukla (Kartik) the anchor of a local
cable channel, professes his love to Rashmi
(Kriti), the daughter of a local politician
Trivediji (Vinay), who is not commitment‑
phobic but a cautious young lady of today's
generation.
She unabashedly tells him that she would
want to indulge in a "live‑in‑relationship" to
test their compatibility, before committing
to get married.
How their relationship unspools to their
respective families, forms the crux of the
tale. The writing by Rohan Shankar, rarely
misses the rom‑com beat despite its pre‑
dictable and meandering plot that drags. It
is not a wickedly humorous narrative, but
yes the film has its moments of fun and
thrill, with situational and slap‑stick come‑
dy. The dialogues are colloquial, witty and Actor Kartik Aaryan as Guddu
Shukla is charismatic and Kriti Sanon
laced with the right amount of funniness
as Rashmi is charming.
that is relatable. What keeps you glued to
the screen, are the unfaltering performanc‑ with convivial ease and flourish.
es by the abled cast in well‑etched charac‑ On the directorial front, some scenes were
ters. not astutely crafted, especially the prologue,
While Kartik as Guddu is charismatic and the denouement and the scenes with the
Kriti as Rashmi is charming, their on‑screen nosy neighbour in Gwalior. They made the
chemistry is perfunctory, nevertheless they film appear amateurish and lazily mounted.
bring the right amount of energy and real‑ The sermonizing at the end too, appears
ism to their characters, playing their roles forced.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
When Shekhar Kapurʼs
mother played dead to save
his life during partition
I
n the times of Indo‑Pak ten‑
sion, several film celebrities
took to Twitter to share
their feelings on social media.
Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur got
emotional on listening to the
updates of an Indian Air Force
pilot who was held captive in
Pakistan and shared his own
story of survival.
He shared his emotional story
about how his family suffered
during the Partition. He
revealed how his mother enact‑
ed dead to save his and his sis‑
terʼs life during the massacre on Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur spoke about how
an India‑bound train.
He tweeted, “I was born in
Lahore. My mother escaped massacre by
hiding me n my sister under her body in a
train to India. Playing dead. Most people
were killed. One million people died in
Partition. 10 million refugees. On both
sides. India n Pakistan were created of the
blood of one people.”
He had once shared his family photo on
Sanjay Leela Bhansali to
launch Javed Jafferyʼs
son with next film
F
ilmmaker Sanjay Leela
Bhansali will be launch‑
ing a new talent
Meezaan with his yet‑untitled
upcoming production.
"Being an actor was not a
childhood dream but it was
Sanjay sir who not only gave
me this dream but also believed
in me and made it real by
launching me," Meezaan said in
a statement.
Bhansali has seen Meezaan
grow and has also been
involved personally in prepar‑
ing him for his entry into
Bollywood.
Prerna Singh, CEO at Bhansali
Productions Pvt Ltd (BPPL),
said: "When I saw Meezaan for
the first time in the office, the
immediate thought that
crossed my mind was such a
versatile face. In this exciting
phase of the industry, there
couldn't have been a better
time but now to launch him.
We have signed him for three
films and continue our aim at
BPPL to give the industry more
talent."
Meezaan has been an assis‑
tant director on Bhansaliʼs
Bajirao Mastani and has trained
Meezaan Jafri was an assistant director on
in theater acting and
filmmaker Sanjay Bhansaliʼs ʻBajirao Mastaniʼ.
martial arts.
BOLLYWOOD
his family suffered during the Partition.
Twitter. He had captioned it, “Last pic of
our whole family together. I was 18. Left
for London that night. Since then we have
all lead our own lives away from home.
Only to come together under the same roof
for our parents death. What forces in mod‑
ern India tear us apart yet a love that binds
us together?”
March 9-15, 2019 17
What is Madhuri doing
in 'Total Dhamaal'?
By Subhash K. Jha
W
hile the 'boys' in Indra Kumar's
rumbustious ode to rowdyism
and toxic masculinity, "Total
Dhamaal" are out to have fun, what is the
mythical Madhuri Dixit doing with them?
She is as out of place here as a riff of gospel
music in a rave party. Not much of a choice,
really since her comeback in 2007 was a
bit of damper. The Yash Raj film about an
NRI returning to her roots and Indian clas‑
sical dancing in "Aaja Nachle" was specially
designed for her. The film flopped and
Madhuri hastily returned to her home in
the US. But the itch to face the camera
never leaves a movie star, unless she is
Rajshri, Vyjanthimala or Suchitra Sen, the
only three actresses I know who never
looked back once they retired. As far her movie career is concerned,
actress Madhuri Dixit seems to have
Jaya Bachchan and Sridevi made a spec‑
hit a permanent roadblock.
tacular comeback in "Silsila" and "English
Vinglish", respectively. Dhamaal" to an imaginary comic rhythm is
If only Madhuri Dixit were that lucky! like watching Deepika Padukone play the
After her failed attempt at a comeback in lead in "Gully Boy". It is not becoming for
"Aaja Nachle" she again made a comeback an actress of Madhuri's dignity and grace to
in Abhishek Choubey's "Dedh Ishqiya". This be hopping and skipping in the Big Boyz
time the critics were happy and the audi‑ Burlesque Club.
ence was tantalized as her character had Surely there are far better vehicles for an
shades of lesbianism in it. actress of Madhuri's stature? Why must she
However "Dedh Ishqiya" was not a block‑ be doing a role that seems to have been
buster and it did not open the floodgates written for the Marathi actress Ashwini
for Madhuri's second innings. During the Kalsekar? Why can't Bollywood come up
same year, Madhuri was seen in another with a role befitting her iconic status? She
female‑hero avatar in "Gulabi Gang" which has Karan Johar's "Kalank" coming up for
flopped resoundingly. consideration in April where she plays a
As far her movie career is concerned dancer in a period film. This could be the
Madhuri seems to have hit a permanent
roadblock. In 2018 she did her first
vehicle that Madhuri and her fans have
been waiting for ever since she quit acting
Marathi film, "Bucket List" which seemed after her role as "Chandramukhi" in Devdas.
inspired by Sridevi's "English Vinglish" and Otherwise if she insists on doing inane stuff
Vidya Balan's "Tumhari Sulu". "Bucket List" like "Total Dhamaal" the song "Maar daala"
was not the success it was meant to be. may acquire an entirely unforeseen rele‑
To see her prance in a trance in "Total vance.
Spielberg to express
Netflix concerns at
Oscars to Academy
F
ilmmaker Steven Spielberg is
likely to take his criticism of
Netflix films at the Oscars to the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences.
Spielberg's Academy Award attention
is devoted to ensuring that the race
never sees another "Roma", a Netflix
film backed by massive sums, that did‑
n't play by the same rules as its analog‑
studio competitors, reported
indiewire.com.
He feels Netflix should only compete
for awards in the Emmy arena. As the
Academy Governor representing the
directors' branch, Spielberg is eager to
support rule changes when it convenes
for its annual post‑Oscar meeting.
"Steven feels strongly about the dif‑
ference between the streaming and the‑ Filmmaker Steven Spielberg feels
atrical situation," said a spokesperson Netflix should only compete for awards
for Amblin Entertainment. in the Emmy arena.
 18 March 9-15, 2019 FEATURES TheSouthAsianTimes.info

The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose museum in Delhiʼs Red Fort salutes the iconic leader of the Indian National Army (INA)
who fought for an undivided and free India. The museum is housed in the very barracks where once
some of the soldiers were tried for treason by the British over 73 years ago.

'Bose and Indian National Army' museum

recounts saga of valor, patriotism
New Delhi: 'History echoes from
these walls', the Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose museum in Delhi's
Red Fort informs its visitors as
they enter the reclaimed barrack
building where brave soldiers of
the Indian National Army (INA),
fighting for an undivided and free
India, were once court‑martialed
and tried for treason by the
British over 73 years ago.
A fitting tribute to the life and
contribution of the iconic leader
on whose patriotic call thousands
had deserted the British Indian
Army to join the INA, along with
many Indian expatriates, the
'Bose and Indian National Army'
museum was inaugurated on his
122nd birth anniversary by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
January 23.
Presented to Modi by Netaji's
g rand‑nephew and polit ician
Chandra Kumar Bose, Netaji's
w ide ly‑recognized cap is the
'piece de resistance' of the exten‑
sive museum and garners signifi‑
cant attention from the visitors.
Equipped with archival materi‑
al, medals, uniforms, newspapers,
memoirs, audio‑visual films, and
other historical artefacts, the
three‑story museum also has on
display an unusual, empty space,
separated using glass partitions.
"This is the space where the trial
judge used to sit. So we have left
the space like that," a panel said.
The museum's galleries depict
Netaji's life from his childhood,
his revolutionary college days
and early political activity in
Calcutta, to his commanding the
Azad Hind Fauz (INA), clarion
calls of 'Dilli Chalo', 'Tum mujhe
khoon do, main tumhe azadi
dunga' (Give me blood, and I shall
give you freedom), and ultimately
takes one to his last available
photograph in which Netaji is
seen "de boarding a plane at
Saigon from where he is said to
have taken a flight to Touraine
and Taipei on August 18, 1945".
"What happened after that is
shrouded in mystery and dif fer‑
ent viewpoints have been
expressed. Amidst them, all we
can say here is that Netaji has dis‑
appeared. The mystery shrouding
this remains inconclusive," the
museum said in its last panel.
Similarly, the role of INA from
its inception till the trials of its
soldiers is also depicted, taking
into account its organization, bat‑
tles fought, the awakening it cre‑
ated and its popularity in India.
As one enters the museum, the
photographs of the first three
officers to be tried in the barrack
‑ Col. Prem Sehg al, Lt. Col.
Gurbaksh Sing h Dhillon and
Major General Shah Nawaz Khan ‑
are put up for view.
Information on Netaji is still
available in some abundance oth‑
erw ise, but the museum has
brought details about the INA to
the fore under one roof, which I
think is very educational.
The oral testimonies of several
INA veterans, many of them now
in their 90s, also feature in docu‑
mentaries that play in the gal‑
leries. Also exhibited are the mili‑
tary uniforms of INA's special reg‑
iment, the women‑led Rani Jhansi
Regiment consisting of women
from all sections ‑ indentured
laborers, middle class, and busi‑
ness families.
Mounted alongside Netaji's
sword and sheath, and his historic
chair ‑ broug ht from INA's
Myanmar headquarters to India
by his nephew Amiya Nath Bose ‑
an interactive digital panel counts
days and years passed since the
1945‑46 INA trials.
The museum, created by the
Archaeological Survey of India,
has as its chie f historian
Professor Kapil Kumar, Director
of Indira Gandhi National Open
University's Centre for Freedom
Struggle and Diaspora Studies. It
is curated by Design Factory
India.

Frida Kahlo's personal artefacts,

paintings to be exhibited in Brooklyn
New York: The United States' largest
exhibition in a decade, on iconic
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907‑
1954), known across the globe exten‑
sively for her self‑portraits, will kick
off on March 8 at the Brooklyn
Museum here.
"Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be
Deceiving" explores Kahlo's creative
vision and self‑crafted identity
through a presentation of the artist's
clothing and other personal items,
paintings and drawings by the artist,
photographs, film and documentation
as well as related objects from the
museum's collection, the museum
said. The exhibition marks the first
time that Kahlo's personal objects
from the Blue House, in Mexico City,
will be on view in the US.
Her clothing and other personal pos‑
sessions were rediscovered and inven‑
toried in 2004 after being locked
away since Kahlo's death in 1954.
Kahlo's personal artefacts ‑‑ which
range from noteworthy examples of
Kahlo's Tehuana clothing, contempo‑
rary and pre‑colonial jewelry, and
some of the many hand‑painted
corsets and prosthetics used by the
artist during her lifetime ‑‑ were
stored in Casa Azul (Blue House), the
longtime Mexico City home of Kahlo
and her husband, muralist Diego
Rivera. The exhibition explores her
creative vision and self‑crafted identi‑
ty by displaying the artist's clothing
and other personal items, and paint‑
ings and drawings. "The objects shed
new light on how Kahlo crafted her
appearance and shaped her personal
and public identity to reflect her cul‑
tural heritage and political beliefs,
while also addressing and incorporat‑
ing her physical disabilities," the
museum said.The exhibition is based
on exhibitions at the Frida Kahlo
Museum (2012) and the V&A London
(2018). It will run through till May 5
here. The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was known across the globe for her self‑portraits,
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
China says never recognized
India, Pakistan as nuclear states Peace Prize: Imran Khan
Beijing: China said it has never
recognized India and Pakistan as
nuclear powers and ruled out
extending such a status to North
Korea following the unsuccessful
second summit between US
President Donald Trump and
North Korean leader Kim Jong‑un
in Vietnam.
“China has never recognized
India and Pakistan as nuclear
countries. Our position on this has
never changed,” Chinese Foreign
US troops to exit Afghanistan Won't accept any more Rohingya
by 2024: Report refugees, Bangladesh tells UN
The death toll of US personnel in Afghanistan
has surpassed 2,400 since 2001.
Washington: The US will with‑
draw its troops from Afghanistan
over the next three to five years
under a new Pentagon plan, the
American media has reported.
The plan, which was supposed
to help talks between the US and
Afghan Taliban, also called for
cutting by half the 14,000
American troops currently in that
South Asian nation in coming
months, The New York Times
reported.
The plan, which has reportedly
received broad acceptance in
Washington and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO) headquarters in Brussels,
stipulates that the 8,600
European and other international
troops stationed in Afghanistan
would focus on training the
Not worthy of Nobel
Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told
a media briefing here.
He was replying to a question
whether China would recognize
North Korea as a nuclear state like
India and Pakistan as talks
between Trump and Kim at the
second summit in Hanoi broke
down over Pyongyangʼs refusal to
give up two nuclear processing
plants. China has been blocking
Indiaʼs entry into the 48‑member
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on
Afghan military, shifting US
forces' task to counterterrorism
operations.
Pentagon spokesman Kone
Faulkner though made it clear
that no decisions have been made
as peace talks were ongoing, and
the US "is considering all options
of force numbers and disposi‑
tion", the NYT report said.
The Pentagon has reportedly
stepped up airstrikes and special
raid operations in Afghanistan to
the highest levels since 2014,
aiming to give negotiators lever‑
age in peace talks with the
Taliban.
The death toll of US personnel
in Afghanistan has surpassed
2,400 since it invaded the coun‑
try in 2001 following the 9/11
attack on the World Trade Center.
SUBCONTINENT
China has been
blocking Indiaʼs
entry into the 48‑
member Nuclear
Suppliers Group.
the ground that New Delhi has not
signed the Nuclear Non‑
Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
After India applied for NSG
membership, Pakistan too applied
for the same following that China
has called for a two‑step approach
which states that NSG members
first need to arrive at a set of prin‑
ciples for the admission of non‑
NPT states into the NSG and then
move forward discussions of spe‑
cific cases.
Dhaka: Bangladesh has told the
UN that it won't accept any more
Rohing ya re fugees from
Myanmar, the first time the coun‑
try has threatened to close its bor‑
ders to members of the Muslim
minority fleeing violence.
Bangladesh is now sheltering
more than a million refugees in
camps, some 700,000 of whom
have poured over the border in
the past 18 months having fled a
military‑led crackdown in Rakhine
state where thousands were
killed, women were raped and vil‑
lages razed, the Guardian report‑
ed.
Speaking to the UN Security
Council, Bang ladesh Foreign
Secretary Shahidul Haque said: "I
regret to inform the council that
Bangladesh would no longer be in
a position to accommodate more
people from Myanmar."
Most of the Rohingya arrived in
Bangladesh between August and
December 2017 in the midst of
the brutal campaign of violence
the UN has described as ethnic
cleansing and possible genocide.
Last year, about 16,000
Rohingya crossed the border to
Bangladesh, fleeing ongoing abus‑
es.
Bangladesh was lauded for its
willingness to keep its borders
open and welcome the hundreds
March 9-15, 2019
Islamabad: Pakistan Prime
Minister Imran Khan, addressing
calls by his countrymen on social
media and in his government to
award him a Nobel Peace Prize
for "de‑escalating" tensions with
India, said that he is not worthy of
the honor.
"I am not worthy of the Nobel
Peace Prize. The person worthy of
this would be the one who solves
the Kashmir dispute according to
the wishes of the Kashmiri people
and paves the way for peace and
human development in the sub‑
continent," he tweeted.
Supporters and officials of
Khan's administration started lob‑
bying for a Nobel Peace Prize for
him following his announcement
to release Indian Air Force (IAF)
officer Wing Commander
Abhinandan who was captured by
Pakistan on February 27 after his
MiG‑21 crashed inside Pakistani
territory. He was released on
March 1. Soon after the Indian
pilot was handed over to the
Indian authorities, the hashtag
"#NobelPeacePrizeForImranKhan
" started trending in Pakistan on
Most of the Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh
between August and December 2017.
of thousands of refugees with
open arms.
However Haque said the situa‑
tion in Cox's Bazar ‑ where the
millions of mainly Rohing ya
refugees are living in what has
become the world's largest
refugee camp ‑ was now unten‑
able and had gone from "bad to
worse".
"Is Bangladesh paying the price
for being responsive and respon‑
sible in showing empathy to a per‑
secuted minority population of a
neighboring country?" Haque
asked.
Haque expressed his frustration
with both the Security Council
and the international community
19
Pak PM Imran Khan believes
Nobel should go to a person
who solves the Kashmir issue.
Twitter. A resolution was also
submitted in the country's
National Assembly Secretariat last
week for the same. The motion
stated that Khan played a "saga‑
cious role in reducing tension
between Pakistan and India which
was created due to warmongering
attitude of the Indian leadership".
Meanwhile, the Pakistan
Peoples Party, which had earlier
questioned the timing of the
release of the Indian pilot,
expressed its sorrow over the
ongoing campaign for the award.
at the lack of concrete action to
solve the crisis.
He accused Myanmar of trying
to shift the blame by accusing
Bangladesh of harbouring terror‑
ists when in fact the Bangladesh
government had "a zero‑tolerance
policy" in this regard.
Initial attempts to begin a repa‑
triation process for the Rohingya
last year collapsed after Myanmar
failed to provide assurances to the
refugees that they would be safe
from violence, be allowed to
return to their original homes,
have freedom of movement and
be given a pathway to citizenship
in Myanmar, which the Rohingya
were stripped of in 1974.
 20 March 9-15, 2019
Sanders vows to fight racial, economic injustices in US
Chicago: Vermont Senator Bernie
Sanders has made a passionate bid
to win the Democratic nomination
for President, promising a fight
against racial and economic injus‑
tices in the US if he is elected in
2020.
Addressing thousands of his
supporters on Sunday during his
nearly 40 minutes of speech at the
Navy Pier's Festival Hall here, the
77‑year‑old said his second presi‑
dential bid would finish the politi‑
cal revolution that began in 2016,
Efe news reported.
"We have got to do it together
by the millions. We are going to
finally create an economy and
government that works for all and
not just the one person," the
Senator said.
"Together we are going to create
a political system which is based
on the democratic principle of one
person, one vote and end a cor‑
rupt political system in which bil‑
lionaires are buying elections."
Sanders said his struggle was
Rep Ilhan Omar blasts AT&T acquisition of Time Warner
GOP over 9/11 poster survives court challenge
Washington DC:
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has
condemned a poster linking her
to the 9/11 attacks displayed at
a Republican stall in the West
Virginia legislature.
She said the "anti‑Muslim dis‑
play likening me to a terrorist"
encouraged threats of violence
against her, the BBC reported on
Monday
West Virginia Republicans
said they did not support hate
speech and had told the
exhibitor to remove the poster.
Omar was elected last
November, one of the first two
Muslim women to have been
elected to the US Congress.
The poster at Friday's West
Virginia Republican Day in the
state legislature in the town of
Charleston showed her and the
burning twin towers in New
York alongside the words:
"Never forget ‑ you said. I am
the proof ‑ you have forgotten."
In response, Omar said the
image showed why she was the
target of threats.
"No wonder I am on the
'hitlist' of a domestic terrorist
and 'Assassinate Ilhan Omar' is
written on my local gas sta‑
tions," she said.
The poster of Omar was next
to a poster for ACT for America,
West Virginia Public
Broadcasting reported.
The Southern Poverty Law
Center, a rights group, lists ACT
for America as "an anti‑Muslim
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders greets supporters after a rally
at Brooklyn College in New York on March 2. (Courtesy Reuters)
not "just about defeating Donald
Trump" but to trounce crony capi‑
talism by taking on the "incredibly
powerful institutions that control
the economic and political life of
our country".
He said the fight was against
Wall Street, insurance companies,
The anti‑Muslim poster
was displayed at a Republican
party event in West
Virginia state legislature.
hate group".
However, ACT said in a state‑
ment that it had nothing to do
with the poster of Omar and had
a "zero‑tolerance policy towards
discrimination".
West Virginia House of
Delegates member Anne
Lieberman later resigned after
she was accused in the House of
making an Islamophobic
remark.
Last month, Omar apologized
for tweets implying US lawmak‑
ers only supported Israel
because of lobby money.
"Anti‑Semitism is real and I am
grateful for Jewish allies and
colleagues who are educating
me on the painful history of
anti‑Semitic tropes," she said.
US AFFAIRS
drug companies, the military‑
industrial complex and the prison
industrial complex.
"Today, I want to welcome you
to a campaign which says loudly
and proudly that the underlying
principles of our government will
not be greed, kleptocracy, hatred,
Washington: An appeals court last
month re jected the Just ice
Department's bid to overturn a
ruling that cleared the way for
AT&T's acquisit ion of Time
Warner.
The decision from the US Court
of Appeals for the DC Circuit caps
of f the protracted legal battle
between AT&T and the Justice
Department, which said that it
does not plan to appeal the ruling.
Time Warner has since been
renamed WarnerMedia. CNN is
part of WarnerMedia.
AT& first announced its inten‑
tion to purchase Time Warner,
which included HBO, Warner Bros.
and the Turner cable networks, in
October of 2016. Just over a year
later, the Justice Department sued
22 killed in Alabama tornadoes
Washington: At least 22 people
were killed in the US state of
Alabama as a cluster of storms
ripped through the country's
Southeast region, spawning mul‑
tiple tornadoes and leaving a
trail of destruction.
The first tornado warning in
central Alabama went out at
around 1 p.m. on Sunday. As the
storms pushed east, the torna‑
does left a path of destruction
that stretched from Alabama into
Florida and Georgia, reports The
New York Times. The reported
deaths were all in Lee County,
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
authoritarianism and pathological
lying." If he were elected to the
White House in 2020, "the princi‑
ples of our government will not be
racism, sexism, xenophobia, homo‑
phobia, and religious bigotry",
Sanders added.
"The principles of our govern‑
ment will be based on justice, on
economic justice, on social justice,
on racial justice, and environmen‑
tal justice." Sanders, in his no‑
holds‑barred speech, said his cam‑
paign was to te ll corporate
America, the billionaire class and
other powerful special interests
"who control so much of our eco‑
nomic and political life that we
will no longer tolerate their insa‑
tiable greed".
He said this greed had resulted
in the US having more income and
wealth inequality than any other
major country in the world.
He reiterated his vow to raise
the minimum wage to $15 an
hour and asked American compa‑
nies like "WalMart, and the fast
A New Yorker magazine report says that President Trump pressured
his economic adviser Gary Cohn to try and block AT&T's Time Warner
deal, perhaps because CNN, his bete noire, is owned by Time Warner.
to stop the deal on ant itrust
grounds. The AT&T acquisition of
Time Warner is considered a "ver‑
Alabama, where two tornadoes,
one at least a half‑mile wide,
wrecked homes and uprooted
trees. The East Alabama Medical
Centre in Opelika had received
more than 60 pat ients as of
Sunday nig ht, said John
Atkinson, a spokesman for the
center. He said the conditions of
the patients varied. President
Donald Trump said in a tweet on
Sunday night that people in and
around Alabama should "be care‑
ful and safe".
"Tornadoes and storms were
truly violent and more could be
food industry and other low‑wage
employers" that they should stop
pay ing workers "starvat ion
wages".
In a bid to win over black voters,
Sanders noted that the US still had
a long way to go to end institu‑
tional racism and income dispari‑
ties in a country where the aver‑
age black family has one‑10th the
wealth of the average white fami‑
ly. "Have we made progress in civil
rights in this country since the
early 1960s when I lived here? No
question about it. Do we still have
a long way to go to end the institu‑
tional racism which permeates
almost every aspect of our socie‑
ty? Absolutely," he said. Sanders,
who competed for the Democratic
presidential nomination in the
2016 primaries, which were won
by Hillary Clinton, began his sec‑
ond campaign last Saturday in
New York where he addressed
thousands of followers and vowed
to defeat Trump, describing him
as "very dangerous" for the nation.
tical merger" because it's a con‑
tent distributor, AT&T, buying a
content producer, Time Warner.
coming... To the families and
friends of the victims, and to the
injured, God bless you all."
In Georgia, one tornado on
Sunday damaged dozens of
homes and businesses.
Meredith Wyatt, a meteorolo‑
gist with the National Weather
Service in Birmingham, Alabama,
said the strong line of storms
moved quickly across the area on
Sunday afternoon. She said it
was unclear how many torna‑
does touched down but said the
service issued at least six warn‑
ings on Sunday afternoon.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
TARGET: TRUMP
House Democratic leaders are planning to roll out a “slow-bleed strategy with lengthy public hearings and
scores of witnesses to pick apart Trump's finances and presidency,” according to Axios.
US House
initiating
many probes
intoTrump
In his speech at Conservative Political
Action Conference March 3 in Maryland,
President Trump called Special Counsel
Robert Mueller an "unelected prosecutor
running unchecked". (Photo courtesy AP)
Washington DC: A committee of the US
House of Representatives is seeking docu‑
ments alleging obstruction of justice, cor‑
ruption and abuse of power by President
Donald Trump and his aides.
Judiciary committee chairman Jerrold
Nadler told ABC news that 60 individuals
and entities would be receiving requests
from Monday, the BBC reported on Sunday.
Nadler said he be lieved Trump had
obstructed justice. But any impeachment
move would depend on the results of the
Mueller inquiry.
President Trump has consistently denied
any wrongdoing and accused Democrats of
a witch hunt.
On Saturday, he launched a furious attack
on Special Counsel Robert Mueller, railing
against the inquiry into alleged collusion
between his presidential campaign and
Russia.
Mueller is expected to hand in his report
to Attorney General William Barr shortly.
Targeting Mueller repeatedly ‑‑ as well as
firing the former FBI chief over the Russia
inquiry ‑‑ were among the issues Nadler
cited as "clear" cases of obstruction of jus‑
tice by President Trump.
But the Democratic congressman added,
"Impeachment is a long way down the road,
we don't have the facts yet, but we're going
to initiate proper investigations."
"Tomorrow (Monday), we will be issuing
document requests to over 60 dif ferent
people and individuals from the White
House to the Department of Justice," he
said. Among those receiving the requests
would be Donald Trump, Jr.
Democrats are now in control of the
House of Representatives, with Republicans
holding the Senate.
House Dems ask WH for Enough Senate votes look to
security clearances info reject Trump's border emergency
Washington: Democratic
House committee chairman has
demanded key documents and
interview potential witnesses
from the White House in the
wake of a report that President
Trump personally intervened to
grant his son‑in‑law a top‑secret
clearance despite legal and
national security concerns.
Veteran Congressman Elijah
E. Cummings who heads the
House Oversight and Reform
Committee, on Friday accused
the White House in a new letter
of delaying his requests for
information and implied that if
it did not comply voluntarily, he
would issue a subpoena to com‑
pel its cooperation, reports The
New York Times.
He said Thursday's report,
published by The New York
Times, added new concerns
that Trump was lying to the
public about his role in the
clearance process to existing
and broader questions about
irregularities surrounding who
should have access to sensitive
government secrets.
"If true, these new reports
raise grave questions about
what derogatory information
career officials obtained about
(Jared) Kushner to recommend
denying him access to our
US AFFAIRS March 9-15, 2019 21
The White House has so far
not denied that President
Trump personally inter‑
vened to grant his son‑in‑ After the House resolution last week overturning Trumpʼs national
emergency declaration over the border wall, the Senate has to vote with‑
law Jared Kushner a
in 15 days, paving way for the first veto of his presidency. (Photo : WaPo)
top‑secret clearance despite
legal and national security Washington: Opponents of majority Democrats to try and block
concerns. (Photo : AP) President Donald Trump's declara‑ his effort to divert funding to a bor‑
tion of a national emergency at the der wall without congressional
nation's most sensitive secrets,"
U.S.‑Mexico border appear to have approval.
Cummings wrote in a letter to
enough Senate votes to reject his "Is your oath of office to Donald
Pat Cipollone, the White House
move, now that Republican Rand Trump or is it to the Constitution of
counsel. The letter went on to
Paul of Kentucky has said he can't the US?" House Speaker Nancy
ask about "why President
go along with the White House. Pelosi asked her Republican col‑
Trump concealed his role in
Three other Republican senators leagues in a speech on the floor
overruling that recommenda‑
have announced they'll vote "no" ̶ ahead of the vote. "You cannot let
tion... and why your of fice is
Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa him undermine your pledge to the
continuing to withhold key doc‑
Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Constitution."
uments and witnesses from this
Tillis of North Carolina. Paul makes The resolution of disapproval,
Committee".
it four, and assuming that all 47 under the National Emergencies Act
Thursday's report said that
Democrats and their independent of 1976, serves as the easiest mech‑
Trump's intervention so con‑
allies go against Trump, that would anism for Congress to end Trump's
cerned senior administration
give opponents 51 votes ̶ just past declaration.
of ficials that John Kelly, the
the majority needed, but not enough Under the Congress regulations,
then White House chief of staff,
to make it veto proof. the resolution must now be taken
documented the action in a con‑
Last Tuesday, the US House of up by the Senate within 15 days.
temporaneous internal memo
Representatives passed a resolution Trump issued the emergency dec‑
that said he had been "ordered"
to overturn President Trump's dec‑ laration February 15, as part of a
to grant Kushner a top‑secret
laration of a national emergency, deal to keep the government open
clearance.
with 13 Republicans joining the after a 35‑day partial shutdown.
 22 March 9-15, 2019 INTERNATIONAL TheSouthAsianTimes.info

UNSC blacklists Osama US will continue to

bin Ladenʼs son engage with N Korea on
United Nations: A UN Security
Council committee added Hamza bin
denuclearization: Pompeo
Laden, one of the sons of Osama bin Manila: US Secretary of State Michael any answer, Xinhua news agency
Laden, to its list of terrorists, saying Pompeo said that Washington will con‑ reported.
he is seen as the next leader of al tinue to engage with Pyongyang in Rejecting the US claims, North Korean
Qaeda, the terrorist outfit founded by order to achieve denu‑ Foreign Minister Ri
his father, the Hindustan Times clearizat ion of the Yong Ho said that
reported. Korean Peninsula. Pyong yang only
The UN designation, which came a Pompeo, who was in demanded part ial
day after the United States Manila for an removal of sanctions.
announced a reward of $1 million for overnight trip, said that "W hat we proposed
information about his whereabout, the US was "anxious" to was not the removal of
will require UN member nations to get back to the negoti‑ all sanctions, but they
freeze Hamza bin Ladenʼs assets, ating table after the are partial removal," Ri
impose a travel ban on him and for‑ Hanoi summit between said, adding the
bid them from selling arms to him. President Donald regime only asked for
US Secretary of State
In the announcement of the new Trump and North Michael Pompeo. those sanctions imped‑
Hamza bin Laden is seen as Korean leader Kim ing the livelihood of its
designation, the UNSC committee the next leader of al Qaeda.
said Hamza bin Laden is “seen as the Jong‑un failed to reach a deal. people to be removed first.
most probable successor” of al Qaedaʼs current ing the United States and has repeatedly called "We are anxious to get back to the Pompeo, nevertheless, said these
head, Ayman al Zawahiri, an Egyptian, who has for followers to target the US and its western table so we can continue the conversa‑ "expansive" issues will be clarified in
run the group since Osama bin Laden was allies. He is said to be hiding in the region tion that will ultimately (bring) the future meetings between the two sides.
killed by American commandos in a raid on his along the Afghanistan‑Pakistan border. peace and stability, better life for the "It's one of the reasons I hope we can
hideout in Pakistan in May 2011. Bin Ladenʼs listing was announced by the North Korean people and (bring about) get back so we can put some definition
The younger bin Laden is said to be around same 15‑member UNSC committee that is cur‑ a denuclearized North Korea," Pompeo around that," he said.
30 or 33 years of age and is married to daugh‑ rently considering a fourth proposal to desig‑ told a press conference. The top US leader travelled to the
ter of Mohammad Atta, leader of the al Qaeda nate Masood Azhar, the founder and leader of He said North Korea had indeed Philippines from the Vietnamese capital
group that carried out the September 11, 2001 Pakistan‑based Jaish‑e‑Mohammad that carried demanded for full sanctions relief at Hanoi where he participated in the
attacks in the United States. Bin Laden has out the recent Pulwama terrorist attack. China the Hanoi summit, which the US was Trump‑Kim summit as well as bilateral
vowed to avenge his fatherʼs death by attack‑ had blocked all three previous attempts. not prepared to do or prepared to offer meetings with Vietnamese leaders.

Netanyahu faces READY TO CONSULT WITH

corruption charges US ON VENEZUELA: RUSSIA
Jerusalem: Israel's attorney Moscow: Russia is ready for consultations ment said. The UN Security Council failed
general intends to indict Prime on the Venezuela crisis with the US in to adopt two competing draft resolutions
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accordance with the principles of the UN on Venezuela, sponsored by the United
on corruption charges. Charter, the Russian Foreign Ministry has States and Russia respectively.
Netanyahu faces possible said. According to a statement by the min‑ Lavrov condemned Washington's threats
charges of bribery, fraud and istry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei against the legitimate Venezuelan leader‑
breach of trust in connection Lavrov discussed the situation around ship, which is "blatant interference" in
w ith three cases, the BBC Venezuela with US Secretary of State Mike Venezuela's internal affairs and a "flagrant
reported. Pompeo during a telephone conversation, violation" of international law.
The Prime Minister is alleged Xinhua reported. Incitement and destructive external influ‑
to have accepted gifts from "In connection with Washington's pro‑ ence under the hypocritical pretext of ren‑
wealthy businessmen and dis‑ posal to hold bilateral consultations on dering humanitarian aid has nothing to do
pensed favors to try to get Venezuelan issues, it is indicated that we with the democratic process, he said.
more positive press coverage. are ready for this, but it is necessary to The two sides also agreed to continue
Netanyahu, who faces an elec‑ strictly follow the principles of the UN contacts on international issues including
tion, said in a TV address that Charter, since only Venezuelans have the Syria, Afg hanistan and the Korean
the case would "collapse like a right to determine their future," the state‑ Peninsula, the statement said.
house of cards".
In a defiant broadcast, he
repeated his assertion that he is Russian Foreign
the victim of a left‑wing "witch‑ Minister Sergei
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu faces possible Lavrov has
hunt" intended to topple him charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
ahead of the closely contested slammed threats
election on April 9. A final hearing, prob‑ have been in return for help with a US against the
legitimate
ably after the election, will determine visa and tax breaks.
Venezuelan
whether the charges go forward. The In two other cases, Netanyahu is
leadership.
Prime Minister will have an opportunity accused of trying to get more favorable
to make his case then. press coverage for himself.
Netanyahu is set to be charged with The most serious case is seen as that
fraud and breach of trust for accepting involving media mogul Shaul Elovitch,
expensive gifts ‑‑ including cigars, pink controller of Israel's largest telecom
champagne and jewe llery worth company, Bezeq.
$264,100 ‑‑ from an Israe li‑born Netanyahu is accused of seeking favor‑
Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan able coverage from an Elovitch‑owned
and the Australian billionaire James news site in return for regulatory deci‑
Packer. sions that would benefit the media
The gifts from Milchan are alleged to mogul.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Trump to end $5.6 billion preferential trade program for India
New York: US President Donald
Trump has announced that he is
ending India's $5.6 billion trade
concessions under the
Generalized System of
Pre ferences (GSP) prog ram,
accusing New Delhi of not provid‑
ing Washington "equitable and
reasonable access" to its markets.
Trump, who is on a mission to
expand marker access abroad and
end trade de ficits, made the
announcement on Monday in a
letter to House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Vice President Mike
Pence in his capacity as the
Senate President.
The US Trade Representative's
Office (USTR) said that the prefer‑
ences will end in 60 days after the
notification to Congress and the
Indian government.
Meanwhile, Trump said that he
will continue to monitor if India is
"providing equitable and reason‑
able access to its markets" and
meet the GSP eligibility criteria.
India had opposed proposals to
end the GSP saying that it would
be "discriminatory, arbitrary" and
hurt the country's development.
ED questions Chanda Kochhar
Mumbai: T he Enforcement
Directorate (ED) on Monday ques‑
tioned former ICICI Bank CEO
Chanda Kochhar for the fourth
consecutive day in the ongoing
probe into the alleged irregulari‑
ties and corrupt practices in sanc‑
tioning a Rs 1,875 crore loan by
the bank to the Videocon Group.
Chanda Kochhar's questioning
began at ED's office around noon.
Her husband Deepak Kochhar and
Video con Group promoter
Venugopal Doot were also ques‑
tioned in connection with the case.
The Kochhars were questioned
for over nine hours while Dhoot's
questioning continued till late
night.
T he ED quest ioned Chanda
Ko chhar for the first t ime on
March 1 at her south Mumbai resi‑
dence along with her husband. On
Sunday, she was questioned for the
third straight day.
The agency also quizzed Nishant
Kanodia, chairman of Matix Group
and son‑in‑law of Essar Group co‑
founder Ravi Ruia, reg arding
U.S. President Donald Trump. (File Photo: IANS)
India is the largest beneficiary
of the GSP exporting goods worth
$5.6 billion to the US under the
program. Congress establishes the
conditions of eligibility for GSP,
which include "providing the US
with equitable and reasonable
market access, protecting work‑
ers' rights and combating child
labor".
Trump wrote in his letter: "I am
taking this step because, after
intensive engagement between
Chanda Kochhar. (File Photo: IANS)
investments made by his
Mauritius‑based firm Firstland
Holdings in NuPower Renewables
Pvt Ltd, a company run by Deepak
Kochhar.
Deepak Kochhar and Dhoot were
on March 2 were quizzed till late
night in the case.
The ED on March 1 also carried
out raids under the Prevention of
BUSINESS
the US and the government of
India, I have determined that
India has not assured the US that
it will provide equitable and rea‑
sonable access to the markets of
India."
The USTR said: "India has imple‑
mented a wide array of trade bar‑
riers that create serious negative
effects on US commerce", but did
not mention the specifics in its
statement.
"Despite intensive engagement,
Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at
five offices and houses owned by
the Kochhars and Dhoot.
The ED started the probe after
registering a criminal case under
the PMLA in February against the
Kochhars, Dhoot and others, taking
cognizance of a first information
report filed by the Central Bureau
of Investigation.
March 9-15, 2019
India has failed to take the neces‑
sary steps to meet the GSP criteri‑
on", it added.
The total India‑US trade was
$126.2 billion in 2017, with a
$27.3 billion deficit for the US,
according to the USTR. India's
total exports were worth $76.7
billion and the end to GSP affects
only a small part of it limited to
$5.6 billion.
At a hearing held by the USTR
last June on withdrawing India's
GSP, the Minister in charge of
Commerce at the Indian Embassy
in Washington, Puneet Roy
Kundal, said that withdrawing the
GSP benefits "would be discrimi‑
natory, arbitrary, and detrimental
to the development, finance and
trade needs of India, which is a
vast and diverse developing coun‑
try with unique challenges".
The primary aim of the GSP is to
help developing countries, partic‑
ularly in sectors where the bene‑
fits can reach the poor.
Trump also said that he was
ending the GSP for Turkey
because of its economic success
and rising living standards that
Amethi Kalashnikov plant
a symbol of Indo‑Russian
friendship: Putin
Amethi (Uttar Pradesh):
Russian President Vladimir
Putin said the Kalashnikov
rifles manufacturing unit
launched here by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will
bolster India's defense poten‑
tial besides creating employ‑
ment. In his message read out
at the unveiling ceremony of
the Indo‑Russia Rifles Pvt
Limited unit in Amethi, Putin
stressed decades of military
and technical cooperat ion
between the two countries and
pointed to the setting up of
around 170 military and indus‑
trial facilities in India with
assistance from Russia.
"The Indian defense‑industri‑
al sector will have the opportu‑
nity to fulfill the needs of
national security agencies in
this category of small arms,
23
would no longer make it eligible
for the programme that is meant
to help developing countries.
The President has been on a
warpath against what he said
were high tariffs on US imports to
India. W hile pushing for the
Reciprocal Trade Act in January,
he brought up India's duty on
American whiskey, which he said
was 150 per cent and on Harley
Davidson motorcycles that he
asserted he had gotten reduced
from 100 to 50 per cent.
The decision to end the GSP
may not entirely be influenced by
high tarif fs imposed by India on
US imports. The two countries
have had dif ferences over the
restrictions placed on e‑commerce
by Amazon and on Walmart sub‑
sidiary Flipkart and on data hous‑
ing by Visa and Mastercard.
The decision comes as the US is
reported to be making headway in
trade negotiations with China
aimed mainly at cutting American
trade deficits with a deal expected
soon. Ironically, a trade group
warned that taking ending GSP for
India could end up helping China.
resting upon advanced Russian
technologies," said Putin.
"I am convinced that commis‑
sioning of the new enterprise
will contribute to stronger
defense potential of India, to
further advance the scientific
and industrial basis of the
nat ional economy, w ill be
instrumental in terms of creat‑
ing new jobs for qualified work
force, and w ill provide an
impetus to professional educa‑
tion and personnel training,"
he said.
The Indo‑Russian joint ven‑
ture will produce the latest
series of the iconic
Kalashnikov rifles.
Putin said the plant itself will
become another "symbol of
friendship and constructive
cooperation between our two
countries".
 24 March 9-15, 2019
Jadhav, Dhoni star in India's win over Australia
Hyderabad: Kedar Jadhav sent a
strong message to selectors before
the World Cup with a street‑smart
81 to guide India to a six‑wicket
win over Australia in the first ODI,
here. Jadhav, whose unbeaten 87‑
ball 81 was laced with nine fours
and a six, was supported by
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (59 not out
of f 72 balls) as India took a 1‑0
lead in the five match series, which
is their last before the World Cup
in May.
Wearing their brand new jerseys,
the men in blue were asked to
chase a modest 237 by the visitors
after the home team bowlers did a
brilliant job to restrict them to
236/7.
Dhoni who hit the winning runs,
a four off Marcus Stoinis over the
infield, with 10 balls to spare
joined hands with Jadhav for an
unbroken 141‑run stand for the
fifth wicket.
Dhoni came in to bat when India
were in a spot at 99/4 with skip‑
Wrestlers Punia, Dhanda
grab gold in Bulgaria
Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia
Ruse (Bulgaria): Star Indian
wrestler Bajrang Punia outclassed
Jordan Oliver of the US to win
gold in the men's 65 kilogram
freestyle category at the Dan
Kolov‑Nikol Petrov Ranking Series
here.
Be fore Punia's feat, Rio
Olympics bronze medalist Sakshi
clinched silver medal in the
women's 65kg category and Pooja
Dhanda won gold in the women's
59kg.
After being 0‑3 down, Punia
stepped up the gas and won 12
straight points to clinch the gold
against his American opponent. "I
dedicate this medal to Wing
Commander Abhinandan
Varthaman. He has been an inspi‑
ration. Some day I would like to
meet and shake his hands," Punia
said after the win.
Facing Henna Johansson of
Sweden, Malik was beaten to the
gold medal by a 3‑8 marg in.
India's Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni celebrate after India won the
first ODI against Australia in Hyderabad. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
per Virat Kohli (44 of f 45 balls)
and vice‑captain Rohit Sharma (37
off 66 balls) back in the hut.
Dhoni's innings was studded
with six fours and a six but it was
Jadhav who guided India past the
Besides the silver medal, Malik
will also take back some confi‑
dence after beat ing reigning
World and European Champion
Petra Olli of Finland in the semis.
"The win over World Champion
Olli has given me a lot of confi‑
dence and will keep me in good
stead for the upcoming Asian
Championships," Malik said.
What was notable was that she
competed in a category higher
than her usual 62kg.
"From here we have trials in
India for the Asian
Championships and then another
event in the USA. To lose weight
thrice in one month or so would
af fect my performance as there
would be lot of diet control and
that af fects training too," Sakshi
explained.
Dhanda won gold as she went
undefeated in the women's 59kg
category, which followed had a
round‑robin format.
SPORTS
finishing line. Jadhav scored his
fifth half century, while Dhoni
brought up his 71st in his 339th
ODI, play ing throug h cramps
towards the later part of the
match. The visitors started well,
Honor to wear West
Indian crest: Gayle
Dubai, (IANS): West Indies swash‑
buckling batsman Chris Gayle,
who blasted 77 runs in 27 balls
in his final home one‑day interna‑
tional match reflected on his two‑
decade international career, and
what it meant playing for the
national side.
The 39‑year‑old expressed his
gratitude to the people of the
Caribbean for their support
throug h this series and his
career, according to the ICC's
website.
"This is my last ODI series in
the Caribbean so I was giving the
fans a nice wave. Right through
the tournament, they have been
superb from both sides: West
Indies and Eng land sides. It
would be nice if it was in
Jamaica, but the crowds have
been fantastic," Gayle was quoted
as saying by ICC's website on
ICC declines BCCI plea to isolate Pakistan
Dubai: The International Cricket
Council (ICC) has turned down
the BCCI's request for isolation
of Pakistan from the g lobal
cricket community.
T he Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI) had in a
letter to the ICC, following the
Pulwama terror attack, demand‑
ed that the international cricket
community sever cricketing ties
with nations from where "terror‑
TheSouthAsianTimes.info
shaving of f the Indian top order
under 100 runs by the 24th over.
Nathan Coulter‑Nile (2/46 in 10
overs) and Adam Zampa (2/49 in
10 overs) caused the damage.
Rohit and Kohli had stitched
together a partnership of 76 for
the second wicket but just when
they were looking threatening,
Kohli was trapped in front by
Zampa. The umpire initially turned
down the appeal, but reviews
showed the ball had pitched in line
and was hitting the wickets.
Rohit was removed by Coulter‑
Nile with a cross seam delivery
that took the leading edge and
went to mid‑off for skipper Aaron
Finch to grab the opportunity.
Ambati Rayudu (13) was caught
behind off Zampa as India looked
in trouble. From there on, Dhoni
and Jadhav paced the chase to per‑
fection with the former playing
second fiddle and the latter taking
the charge. Earlier, Indian bowlers
once again underlined their collec‑
West Indies swashbuckling
batsman Chris Gayle.
Sunday. "It's been an honor to
wear the crest and entertain the
people around the Caribbean.
West Indies is No.1. This is the
ism emanates". However, the ICC
board at its meeting refused to
accept the BCCI request.
"The ICC has made it clear that
this request cannot be imple‑
mented, as of now. The ICC did
concede to our demands on secu‑
rity at the World Cup, but
refused to accept this demand of
ours," a BCCI official said.
Several former cricketers, like
Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan
tive might by not allowing the
Aussies to ever get going.
Pacer Mohammed Shami led the
attack with figures of 2/44 in 10
overs as chinaman bowler Kuldeep
Yadav (2/46 in 10 overs) Ravindra
Jadeja (0/33 in 10 overs) and
Jadhav (1/31) made up for a rare
off‑day by Jasprit Bumrah (2/60 in
10 overs).
Usman Khawaja (50) and Glenn
Maxwell (40) scored the runs for
the visitors but never looked in full
flow as the Indian attack displayed
its versatility.
Shami was on song from start to
finish as he bowled a brilliant
wicketless first spell, which was
seen of f by Stoinis (37) and
Khawaja who added 87 runs for
the second wicket after the early
dismissal of skipper Aaron Finch
for a duck.
The Powerplay yielded just 38
runs with Stoinis and Khawaja
then changing gears of f Vijay
Shankar's bowling.
best achievement you can have in
the Caribbean as a cricketer. This
is the best thing, to be honest
with you," he added.
Since announcing his retire‑
ment, Gayle has scored 424 runs
in four matches at a strike‑rate of
134. Gayle had been a diminish‑
ing force before the start of this
series. Runs had deserted him in
T20 leagues around the world.
Gayle also went unsold twice at
the 2018 auction before being
bought by Kings XI Punjab for his
base price ($200,000 approx).
"I'm thankful for the form. I
wasn't getting any runs in the
T20 tournaments I was playing.
When you get a chance to score
runs, make sure you score heavy.
But it's the best (I've played) in
my home condit ions and I'm
happy and grateful for that," he
said.
Singh and former of ficials like
Rajiv Shukla, had demanded that
India should boycott the June 16
World Cup match ag ainst
Pakistan and persuade the inter‑
national cricket community to
isolate Pakistan.
The BCCI has, however, not
taken any decision to boycott the
match yet, saying it will follow
the government instructions on
the matter.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info BOOKS March 9-15, 2019 25

Sudhanshu Mittal bats for Ram Mandir in new book

C
ultural restoration of sites of wor‑
ship has been going on since cen‑
turies, says BJP leader Sudhanshu
Mittal, who in his new book "RSS: Building
India throug h sewa" calls for a Ram
Temple at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi‑
Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.
"This struggle for a Ram Mandir to be
constructed in a country where the majori‑
ty population is Hindu, is unparalleled any‑
where in the world. Can we imag ine
Christians being unable to reconstruct a
church if the one in the Vatican was
destroyed by invaders, with devotees cry‑
ing for centuries?" he asks in the book, that
was scheduled to be launched by Union
Minister Smriti Irani and RSS General
Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on March 1.
Mittal maintains that it is an "undisputed
fact" that a Ram Temple existed until its
barbaric destruction by the forces of
Muslim invader Babur, led by Mir Baqi in
1528.
He says that it is only Hindus, owing to
their non‑violent nature, who have been at
the receiving end of "this huge historical
wrong".
Mittal, a prominent member of the BJP
since its inception, further says that the
BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal and the title page of his new book on RSS
RSS has always had a consistent stand on
the issue that a Ram Mandir must be built
at the site in Ayodhya. He also says that
the RSS's affiliate bodies have worked hard
on the legal front and in mass advocacy for
the cause.
"But nowhere has RSS given the call to
destroy any structure. For many in India
fed on a diet of biased news, it is easy to
see the demolition of the already dilapidat‑
ed Babri Masjid by kar sevaks in 1992 as
an assault on democracy and what not,
when only a sensitive heart can see that
action as the expression of a hurt and
aggrieved Hindu community that has suf‑
fered injustices and historical wrongs and
was forced to see a monument dedicated to
Babur, a mass murderer of Hindus, on the
sacred site of Lord Shri Ram," he notes in
the book, published by New Delhi‑based
Har Anand Publications.
Mittal asserts that the Hindu identity was
suppressed by a "forcefully imposed secu‑
larism into the Preamble of the
Constitution during the Emergency". He
says that the Ram Janmabhoomi move‑
ment galvanized Hindu identity in a way
that nothing else had before.
"It is important to reiterate that the RSS
view is not anti‑Muslim. It believes in a
strong cultural identity of India based on
the civilization's Hindu roots and that all
who are Indians, irrespective of the reli‑
gion their ancestors adopted, are of the
same blood and identity. Hence, there
should be no discomfort for Muslims to
enable the peaceful construction of Ram
Mandir in Ayodhya," he remarks in the
book.
Mittal notes the "immense patience and
decency" of the Hindu population in India
that, according to him, chooses to follow
the law and wait for justice.
"Indeed, there is no majority community
anywhere in the world like the Hindus of
India," he says.
Mittal, who has formulated the political
strategies for BJP in several elections in
India, attempts in his book to enlighten his
readers on the working of the RSS, its
model of selfless service and how it posi‑
tively impacts people's lives, cutting across
caste, socio‑economic status and religion.

Hindu nationalism taps into people's Nayantara Sahgal unveils

longing for tradition: Raghuram Rajan new novel, slams Modi
V
eteran author Nayantara

T
racing the rise of populist on it. ilies and the communities they live Sahgal unveiled her new
nationalism worldwide to "India's challenge in the years to in. novel "The Fate Of
the diminution of the com‑ come is not its democracy, which is Rajan, currently a University of Butterflies" at a function attended
munity at a time of heightened eco‑ probably the only way to keep a Chicago professor and one of by bibliophiles and several known
nomic worries, former RBI country with such varied communi‑ whose earlier works predicted the faces from the literary and politi‑
Governor Rag huram ties together, but 2008 global financial crisis, draws cal world, here on Wednesday.
Rajan says that liberal the need to India's parallel with China, both of The novel, Sahgal said, con‑
"open‑access" values strengthen state whom have large young migrant fronts the toxic dangers of "war,
Veteran author Nayantara Sahgal
are under threat in capacity and pri‑ populations "yet to be integrated religious polarization and authori‑
and the cover page of her new novel.
India from the Hindu vate sector inde‑ into solid new communities" who tarian charisma ‑‑ a dystopian
nationalist movement pendence." are ideal raw material for populist future that is already upon the was under a dictatorial regime. She
which taps into people's Given the pletho‑ nationalists' vision of a "cohesive world". It is published by Speaking said while Germans were told that
desire to anchor them‑ ra of languages, nationalist community". Tiger. In a conversation with Sanjoy Jews were a danger to them, the
selves to tradition in a re ligions, castes "The Hindu nationalist movement Roy at the Jaipur Literature Festival, majority community in India is being
context of rapid change. and ethnicit ies, tries to tap into such people's Sahgal said all her novels have been told that it is under threat from the
The local community India needs a sys‑ desire to anchor themselves in tra‑ stories of the times she has lived in country's Muslims. She said minis‑
is at the center of tem that allows dition. It exploits the sense among and how they contributed to the ters have spread this fear.
Rajan's latest book "The grievances to be the majority Hindu population that making of India. "But this novel is Remarking that she is a believing
Title page of book Third Hindu, Sahgal said she "absolutely
T hird Pillar: How expressed through they have bent over backwards to about the unmaking of India," she
Piller by Raghuram Rajan.
Markets and the State democratic protest appease minorities, especially said, pointing to the horrors of inno‑ rejects" the ideology of Hindutva.
Leave the Community Behind", pub‑ and dialogue, "rather than one that Muslims." cent people being lynched. "What's happening in the country
lished by HarperCollins India and bottles them up so that they "The committed Hindu majoritari‑ Sahgal, a member of the Nehru‑ has nothing to do with Hinduism,
released last week. It explores how explode later", he says. an leader," Rajan says, "are a seri‑ Gandhi family and one of the most but a political ideology that has
globalization and technological The "Third Pillar" is a philosophi‑ ous threat to a liberal tolerant inno‑ vocal critics of Indira Gandhi during nothing at all to do with religion,"
advancement have also produced a cal exploration of the imbalances vative India." the Emergency, alleged that India she said. ‑IANS
strong backlash of populist nation‑ between state, markets and local
alism. The community is the third communities, and Rajan writes that
pillar that has got left behind as the wrong choices could derail human
two other pillars ‑ the state and the economic progress at this critical
markets ‑ scaled up and expanded moment in history.
their powers at the expense of the Noting that the questions pop‑
former, Rajan says. ulist nationalists are raising are
"India, with its more pluralistic reasonable, the former Governor
and open‑access political system is says that re‑emergence of populist
better positioned for the communi‑ nationalism in the industrial West
ty to create more separat ion is based on economic worries.
between the state and the markets. The "primary source of worry"
Its weakest pillar is the state," he seems to be that moderately edu‑
writes. cated workers are rapidly losing or
"India also has a private sector at the risk of losing good "middle
that is still dependent on the state, class" employment, and this has
which makes it a feeble constraint grievous effects on them, their fam‑
 26 March 9-15, 2019 HEALTH TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Don't ignore heart attack Indian made stents safe,

symptoms while traveling
Tokyo: You should never ignore heart
attack symptoms, especially while travel‑
ing, as researchers say cardiovascular dis‑
eases (CVD) are the leading causes of death
among people on the move.
The study, presented at Acute
Cardiovascular Care 2019 in Malaga,
Spain, indicates that the long‑term out‑
comes after a heart attack while traveling
can be good if one gets
prompt treatment.
"If you are traveling and
experience heart attack symp‑
toms, such as pain in the
chest, throat, neck, back, stom‑
ach or shoulders that lasts for
more than 15 minutes, call an ambulance
without delay," said co‑author Ryota Nishio
from the Juntendo University in Japan.
"Long distance travel may lead to condi‑
tions like dehydration, leg cramps, elec‑
trolyte imbalance, fatigue, motion sickness
and fluid shifting due to venous blood
pooling that can precipitate a CVD,"
Deepak Khurana, a senior cardiac surgeon
at Yatharth Hospital in Noida.
For the study, the researchers included
2,564 patients who had a heart attack and
received rapid treatment with a stent (per‑
cutaneous coronary intervention or PCI)
between 1999 and 2015.
A total of 192 patients (7.5 percent) were
found to be traveling at the time of suffer‑
ing the heart attack. Patients who were
traveling were younger and had a higher
prevalence of ST‑elevation myocardial
infarction (STEMI), a serious
type of heart attack in which
a major artery supplying
blood to the heart gets
blocked, the study said.
Heart attacks during a trip
were associated with a 42
percent lower risk of long‑term all‑cause
death than those that occurred in resi‑
dents, after adjusting for many factors
such as age, sex, hypertension, and dia‑
betes. "It is important that when you are
over the immediate emergency phase and
return home, consult your doctor to find
out how you can reduce your risk of a sec‑
ond attack by improving your lifestyle and
potentially taking preventive medication,"
Nishio said.
effective: Lancet
New Delhi: Indian made stents seem to
be a safe and effective alternative to
stents of global standard, reports a
study in the Lancet. A cardiac stent is a
device used to unblock clogged arteries.
Drug‑eluting stents are coated with
medicines that help lower recurrence
chances of an artery narrowing after
corrective surgery.
The study compared Surat‑based stent
manufacturer Sahajanand Medical
Technologies's Supraflex with US‑based
Abbott's Xience ‑‑ regarded as the glob‑
al standard in safety and efficacy for
drug‑eluting stents.
While Supraflex is a sirolimus‑eluting
stent with a biodegradable polymer
coating and ultra‑thin struts, Xience is
an everolimus‑eluting stent with a
durable polymer coating.
"Supraflex seems a safe and effective
alternative drug‑eluting stent to other
stents in clinical practice," the report
stated.
The international team, including an
Indian team of doctors led by Upendra
Kaul, cardiologist at the Batra Hospital
here, examined 1,435 patients from
seven countries ‑‑ UK, Netherlands,
Poland, Spain, Italy, Hungary and
Bulgaria.
They randomly assigned patients to
implantation of either a sirolimus‑elut‑
ing stent with a biodegradable polymer
coating and ultra‑thin struts (Supraflex)
or an everolimus‑eluting stent with a
durable polymer coating (Xience).
The results indicated that repeat per‑
cutaneous or surgical revascularization
at 12 months was 4.9 percent with
Indian‑made and 5.3 percent with glob‑
al peers, a difference that met criteria
for non‑inferiority.
"The Supraflex stent was non‑inferior
to the Xience stent for a device‑oriented
composite clinical endpoint at 12
months in an all‑comers population,"
the report stated.
"There remained a perception that
stents produced outside of India were
superior to homegrown devices. There
were demands from Indian manufactur‑
ers to prove that their devices are com‑
parable to those made elsewhere in
robust clinical trials," Kaul said in a
statement.

New treatment offers Wockhardt's prostate cancer

promise for stopping, even
reversing Parkinson's
London: An experimental treat‑
ment that delivers a drug direct‑
ly to the brain has shown prom‑
ise for slowing, stopping, or
even reversing Parkinson's dis‑
ease, say, researchers.
The study, by a team led by
University of Bristol
researchers, in a clinical trial
investigated whether the treat‑
ment called Glial Cell Line
Derived Neurotrophic Factor
(GDNF) ‑‑ a natural protein,
found in the brain ‑‑ can regen‑
erate dying dopamine brain
cells in patients with
Parkinson's and reverse their
condition, something no exist‑
ing treatment can do.
The results potentially
demonstrated that the new
treatment was starting to
reawaken and restore damaged
brain cells and that repeated
brain infusion is clinically feasi‑
ble and tolerable, according to
the Journal of Parkinson's
Disease. The study "represents
some of the most compelling
evidence yet that we may have a
means to possibly reawaken
and restore the dopamine brain
cells that are gradually
destroyed in Parkinson's", said
principal investigator Alan L.
Whone, from the University of
Bristol in the UK.
"This trial has shown that we
can safely and repeatedly infuse
drugs directly into patients'
brains over months or years,"
said Steven Gill, lead neurosur‑
geon at North Bristol NHS Trust,
Bristol, UK
"This is a significant break‑
through in our ability to treat
neurological conditions, such as
Parkinson's because most drugs
that might work cannot cross
from the bloodstream into the
brain due to a natural protec‑
tive barrier."
drug receives USFDA approval
Mumbai: Pharmaceutical and
biotechnology major Wockhardt
on Friday received approval from
the US Foo d and Drug
Administration (USFDA) for its
generic drug to treat prostate
cancer, that is being manufac‑
tured in India.
The approval was for the 250
mg tablet of Abiraterone acetate,
which is used for men w ith
prostate cancer that has spread
to other parts of the body.
"This is one more product in
Wockhardt's growing portfolio of
Anti‑vaccine movies removed
from Amazon after CNN report
Los Angeles: Amazon has
apparently started removing
ant i‑vaccine do cumentaries
from its Prime Video streaming
service after a CNN Business
report highlighted the anti‑vac‑
cine comment available on the
site. Anti‑vaccine movies that
were previously available free
for Prime subscribers, like "We
Don't Vaccinate!", "Shoot 'Em
Up: The Truth About Vaccines",
and "VAXXED: From Cover‑Up
to Catastrophe", are now "cur‑
rently unavailable", CNN
reported on Friday.
oncology products in the US and
has several pending ANDA
(Abbreviated New Drug
Application) for oncology prod‑
ucts," Habil Khorakiwala,
Wockhardt Founder Chairman
and Group CEO, said in a state‑
ment.
"Along with oncology products,
Amazon did not respond to
questions about why the films
are no longer available on
Prime Video.
However, while some anti‑
vaccine videos are gone from
the Prime streaming service, a
number of anti‑vaccine books
were still available for pur‑
chase on Amazon.com as of
Friday afternoon, and some
were still being of fered for free
t o K i n d l e U n l i m i t ed s u b ‑
scribers.
Amongst the titles taken
d o w n a r e " VA X X E D : F r o m
specialty pro ducts remain a
focus area for our US business
and for creating a sustainable
growth worldwide," he added.
Wo ckhardt's Abiraterone
acetate tablet is a generic version
of Zytiga, marketed in the US and
other countries by Johnson and
Johnson.
The product, which is manufac‑
tured at a contract manufactur‑
ing facility, based near
Hyderabad, will be launched
in the US soon, the statement
noted.
Cover‑Up to Catastrophe", the
notorious anti‑vaccine docu‑
mentary that was banned from
the Tribeca Film Festival in
2 0 1 6 , a n d w h o s e d i r ec t o r,
Andrew Wakefield, is one of
the central figures in the anti‑
vaccine movements.
The development also comes
hours after California
Democrat Adam Schif f wrote
an open letter to Amazon CEO
Jef f Bezos, saying he was con‑
cerned "that Amazon is surfac‑
ing and recommending" anti‑
vaccination books and movies.
TheSouthAsianTimes.info SOCIAL MEDIA March 9-15, 2019 27

How social media 'shifted' India's focus

to Abhinandan's release
By Gokul Bhagabati over the past 10 days?

Make Chai "In such a case when self‑regula‑

T
he hysteria unleashed on
social media platforms after
Indian pilot Abhinandan
Varthaman's plane crashed in
Pakistani territory on February 27
is partly responsible for the sud‑
den shift in focus from fighting
cross‑border terrorism to bringing
the pilot back home, experts
believe.
The country erupted into joyous
celebration following Varthaman's
release after spending over 60
hours in Pakistani captivity.
"Social media did help to build
pressure on Pakistan to quickly
release the pilot which is excellent.
But the hectic activity on social
media contributed to derailing the
counter‑terror measures that the
government had initiated after the
Pulwama attack on February 14
that killed 40 CRPF troopers,"
Pavan Duggal, one of the
nation's top cyber law experts,
told IANS.
In a video circulated on social
media, the IAF pilot was shown as
demonstrating great courage in
withholding sensitive information,
including his whereabouts in
India. However, social media users
wasted no time in giving away that
information, without realizing that
whatever they posted was avail‑
able for a global audience.
"Indian social media users did
not exercise the restraint that they
were supposed to have in times
like these. They were posting with‑
out understanding their ramifica‑
tions. The way they were circulat‑
ing information, most of which
was fake, demonstrated that they
became victims of psychological
warfare controlled by foreign
powers," Duggal said.
"Abhinandan was part of a
broader strategy, but that broader
strategy receded into the back‑
Not War
ground partly due to the hectic
activity on social media," he said,
adding that a lot of what the main‑
stream media showed was some‑
how linked to content on social
media.
Leading tech policy and media
consultant Prasanto K. Roy agreed
with Duggal when he said that
much of the information that was
moving fast in social media plat‑
forms like Twitter and Facebook
was neither genuine nor true.
"We have seen a flurry of fake
information and edited videos
being circulated on social media
from both sides of the border,"
Roy told IANS, adding that some of
that information circulated in
social media might have been very
painful to the family of the Indian
pilot who was captured in
Pakistan.
"The impact of social media has
been overwhelmingly negative
during the period following India's
air strike targeting terror camps in
Pakistan on February 26," he
added.
So what happens when people
do not exercise self‑restraint in a
situation like the one India faced
tion becomes ineffective, it will be
a good idea to come up with spe‑
cific guidelines which should gov‑
ern the behavior and the acts done
on social media during important
moments of our national interest,"
Duggal said.
"We have in place something
called Information Technology
(Intermediaries guidelines) Rules,
2011 which often asks service
providers to inform people not to
do certain activities on their plat‑
form.
"But the IT Rules 2011 don't
have teeth. I think there should be
now a dedicated provision for
legal consequences should you
violate these provisions," Duggal
noted.
Overall, he said, this episode can
be seen as a learning experience
for social media users as this is the
first time they were confronted
with a situation of this magnitude
and importance.
"Social media users should
become warriors for the country
rather than impacting India's sov‑
ereign interest. At the same time,
the government should also not be
influenced by the change in the
course of social media discourses,"
Duggal said.

IMMIGRATION COLUMN
By Dev Banad Viswanath, Esq.
& Michael Phulwani, Esq.

Alien Smuggling under INA

T
he Immigration &
Nationality Act (INA)

Section 212(a)(6)(e)
defines an alien smuggler
as “any person who knowingly has
encouraged, induced, assisted,
abetted, or aided” any other per‑
In order to request a waiver, an community in some way such as alien smuggling and are qualified

VISA
son to enter or try to enter the
United States unlawfully. It does individual must have a qualifying volunteer work or owning a busi‑ to file a waiver it is best for them
not matter if the individual enter‑ relative which is clearly defined ness that provides jobs to others. to hire an attorney.

ing the U.S. unlawfully is a family
member of the alien smuggler or if
it was done for monetary gain.
Alien smuggling can result in a
ground of inadmissibility, a
ground of deportability, a bar to
good moral character, and if con‑
victed of alien smuggling it would
count as an aggravated felony.
Alien smuggling entails affirma‑
tive and knowing conduct. It has
been found by courts that an indi‑
vidual must have made 1) an affir‑
mative and 2) knowing act in
order to be found to have commit‑
ted alien smuggling. An individual
who was involved in alien smug‑
gling may be eligible for a waiver
of inadmissibility in order to avoid
removal or allow the individual to
continue with their application for
TALK
an immigration benefit such as a
family based visa. To qualify for a
waiver of inadmissibility an indi‑
vidual must be a lawful permanent
resident or must be applying for a
family‑based immigrant visa or
fiancé visa. A waiver of inadmissi‑
bility would not apply for any
other type of petition. Next, an
individual can apply for a waiver if
the person they were trying to
bring to the U.S. was their spouse,
parent, son, or daughter at the
time of entry. For a married indi‑
vidual, they may apply for a waiv‑
er even if they are no longer mar‑
ried after the smuggling occurred.
under the statute and regulations.
In the application, an individual
will be required to show U.S.
Immigration and Citizenship
Services (USCIS) that they deserve
a waiver for humanitarian purpos‑
es, to keep family unity, or
because it is in the public interest.
For humanitarian purposes, USCIS
will grant a waiver if an individual
shows they will suffer serious
hardship if the application is
denied. For family unity, USCIS
will grant a waiver if an individual
shows they have a spouse and/or
children in the U.S., they are
responsible for caring for their
family, or if most of their family is
in the U.S. For public interest,
USCIS will grant a waiver if an
individual shows they benefit their
Every waiver petition must Every waiver for alien smuggling
include supporting documents. is only one of a kind so an attor‑
USCIS and immigration judges ney would be able to help an indi‑
would like to see proof to support vidual gather the right documents,
what the individual tells them in prepare for an interview if needed,
their application. If an individual and guide them through the whole
was found to have committed process.
Dev Banad Viswanath is the Principal Attorney of
The Banad Law Offices PC in the United States,
and Banad Immigration in India for which
Attorney Michael Phulwani is also affiliated as Of
Counsel. With Offices in Manhattan, Queens,
Bangalore, and Mumbai, the firm is able to assist
clients with all facets of the immigration process,
including Employment Visas, Consular Visa
Assistance, Student Visas, Removal &
Deportation, US Citizenship and Green Card
Applications based on Family or Employment.
Dev B. Viswanath can be reached at
Dev@Banadlaw.com and 718‑361‑5999.
28 March 9-15, 2019 HUMOR TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Humor with Melvin Durai

Crawling down the path

to electric vehicles
hen it comes to

W adopt ing new

technology, Iʼm
not what youʼd call a
“trendsetter.” Iʼm more
like a “trend wetter.” I
splash water on the
trend, try to make it go
away. Unlike some peo‑
ple, I donʼt stand in line
for hours to buy the lat‑

BEST est gadget at an exorbi‑

tant price. I wait for

RATE everyone around me to buy the gadget, then

try to get one of them to sell it to me at the
Thatʼs a question I will undoubtedly ask
when I finally buy an electric vehicle, proba‑

FOR used gadget price.

But before I buy the new gadget (which
bly a decade or two from now. The entire
world, not just me, has been far too slow in

INDIA isnʼt really new any more by the time I buy

it), I make sure that the previous gadget (the
AND one being replaced) has either stopped work‑
ing completely or has become an annoyance.
PAKISTAN The latter was the case with my familyʼs old
TV, which we recently replaced with a slight‑
ly bigger and immensely smarter TV. (Itʼs so
smart that it refuses to display Fox News.)
New York Head Quarter Both TVs were made by Samsung, but the
previous one was almost 10 years old and
422‑S Broadway
would periodically turn off and on, usually at
HICKSVILLE the most inopportune moments, such as dur‑
ing the last two minutes of the Super Bowl.
NY 11801
One moment, Tom Brady is dropping back to
516‑827‑1010 throw the football, the next moment people
in Philadelphia are climbing light poles and
all my guests are screaming at me.
When I finally bought a new TV, it was so
much better than the old one that I found
myself asking, “Why didnʼt I do this sooner?”
replacing gasoline‑powered vehicles with far
more efficient and environmentally friendly
electric vehicles.
In America, where Tesla and other
automakers are planning to introduce
dozens of electric and hybrid cars in 2019,
sales of such vehicles accounted for only 2
percent of total car purchases in 2018.
Thatʼs largely because electric cars cost
more than gas‑powered cars and charging
stations are few and far between. If you run
out of power between two stations, you canʼt
get a friend to bring you a canister of elec‑
tricity. And if youʼre looking for a boost in
Montana or Wyoming, you are more likely to
get it from a charging bull than a charging
station.
While it takes only a few minutes to fill up
at a gas (petrol) station, it can take as long as
40 minutes to get an 80 percent charge with
one of Teslaʼs Superchargers, according to a
New York Times article. Itʼs possible to

Laughter is the Best Medicine charge your electric car overnight at home,
but if you have a long drive to work, you
may need to find another outlet, both for
your car and your frustration.
In India, electric cars are a long way from
By becoming common, but electric two‑wheel‑
Mahendra ers are rapidly catching on. According to the
Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles
Shah
(SMEV), only 1,200 electric cars were sold in
Mahendra Shah the entire country in fiscal 2017‑18, drop‑
is an architect ping from 2,000 the previous year. The aver‑
by education, age Indian is more likely to invest in skiing
entrepreneur by equipment than an electric car.
profession, In contrast, sales of electric two‑wheelers
artist and more than doubled from 23,000 units to
humorist, 54,800 over the same period. By the year
cartoonist and 2030, more than 2 million electric two‑
writer by hobby. wheelers are expected to be sold annually,
He has been which means that even your grandma will be
recording the driving one. And sheʼll be scolding your
plight of the g randpa for forgett ing to plug it in
immigrant overnight.
Indians for the Of course, 2030 is more than a decade
past many year away. But at least weʼll see lots of electric
in his cartoons. vehicles on the highway. And perhaps by
2040 or so, Iʼll be ready to buy one myself.
Hailing from
With my luck, electric cars will be consid‑
Gujarat, he
ered old technology by then. Newer cars will
lives in
be running on something else, perhaps low‑
Pittsburgh,
fat milk.
Pennsylvania.
The most popular car, of course, will be the
Chevrolet Cruze LT (lactose tolerant).
TheSouthAsianTimes.info ASTROLOGY March 9-15, 2019 29

Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874

By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899
psharma@premastrologer.com; w.premastrologer.com

MARCH 9‑15, 2019

Aries: A promising week is foreseen
as you get excellent opportunity to
achieve professional goals.
Celebrations at home are likely to bring
tremendous joy. Combine your personal
charm with positive & powerful thinking
to win‑over your adversaries. If you
attempt difficult talks or encounter tough
situations you are likely to come out as a
winner.
Taurus: You can only achieve bloom
in health on making some personal
ef forts. At work dominant behav‑
iour of seniors could make you worried.
However, developing a harmonious rela‑
tionship with them would benefit you.
Lucrative incentives of fered by reputed
companies for investment would attract
you.
However you need to invest only after
checking all the details.
Gemini: Your plan to own a house is
ought to be in the right way.
You are likely to get relief from the
tensions and strains of life experiencing
for long. Keep your positive approach to
get successful results on the academic
front.
Computer professionals would be able to
prove their mettle. Vigilant eye and hawks
thinking would be needed on your part to
invest money.
Cancer: A quarrelsome behaviour
would come in the way of enjoying
romance. It is therefore high time
for you to avoid this to save romantic
bond. There are chances that some of you
might leave your present job and head
towards a marketing field, which would be
best for you.
If you are associated with foreign ventures
and investments you are likely to reap
good profits.
Leo: Your strong resilience and
fearlessness would tremendously
enhance the power of mental facul‑
ties. Be careful as your long term invest‑
ment plans are going to face some legal
issues. Journey undertaken for better
career prospects may materialise.
Romantic life could face a testing time.
Take some immediate initiatives to clear
all misunderstandings on the romantic
front.
Virgo: Friends and relatives would
extend a helping hand whenever
required. Make sure you put your
intelligence and management skills on
work to achieve business targets. However
you need to set the achievable targets and
then work hard to get them. Your timely
action would be handsomely rewarded.
Appreciate your partner if you want to
invest in your relationship.
Libra: You would easily attract the
attention of seniors by decent
manners and intellectual talk. This
would even brighten your chances for pro‑
motion. Misunderstanding the feelings of
romantic partner would create a void in
your relations.
You need to act judiciously to save the
relationship. Heart patients will have to go
in the shelter of exercising.
Scorpio: Make changes in your
lifestyle to enjoy sound health. You
are likely to travel to a distance
place to complete an important
assignment.
People who are planning to join some
financial institutes need to make up their
mind. You need to save yourself from
investing in dubious financial schemes. A
promising week as far as love life is con‑
cerned on enjoying the company of a true
partner.
Sagittarius: Developing new con‑
tacts by attending social gather‑
ings/parties would augur well for
your future. If you want to enjoy a hassle
free trip then plan your expenses in
advance. Donʼt run after speculations
chances of losing money are high. Keep in
mind that seriousness is highly required
on your part to succeed academically and
professionally.
Capricorn: An exciting new profes‑
sional career awaits you provided
you g rab the opportunity.
Attractive personality brings desired
results, as you succeed in attracting the
desired attention. Making compromises
for love sake would please partner.
Investing little amount in reputed compa‑
nies shares would be beneficial. Shape
your travel plans in such a way that they
are not stressful.
Aquarius: Troubles fade away as
the bright side of your personality
enables to take things in a stride.
Your inquisitive & curious mind would
enable you to get a hand‑on‑experience to
bring quick results. For getting success at
workplace you will have to be action‑ori‑
ented and prepare yourself to face any
kind of challenges squarely. Mutual fund
schemes would help in meeting financial
goals.
Pisces: Innovation brings better
monetary results making your
future brighter. Avoid unhealthy
eating habits to enjoy a perfect health. You
are likely to get an opportunity to join the
company of like‑minded people to start a
new business. It is time for you to be more
serious & open in romant ic af fair.
Changing the job would be beneficial for
some.

March 9, 2019 tinations. Change is indispensible in

Satisfying number and planet
would be 9 and Mars, bravery is in
your soul which makes you fight
against all your odds. You are too
busy with your mundane job that you
are left with less time to fulfill your
aspirations. The desire for recogni‑
tion is deeply embedded in you and
you will draw a path to grab your
ambition. You need to cast the bear‑
ish attitude of your kinʼs in different
mould before it gets too late. Love
and affection of your loved ones will
grow day by day for you.
Lopsidedness of medicine may bear
you to revisit your health checker.
You always talk to yourself, if you
could do something more to increase
the intensity of your love affair. Soon
you might be freed from all your
responsibilities of your children. Your
financial status will be back on track
by your sheer hard work. Desires and
education are co‑related and go hand
in hand. Your smartness, greed for
power, and holistic approach will
ironed out all the obstacles in your
way. You always live with your
dreams and got remarkably success
oriented stints. Productive time:
February and March.
March 10, 2019
Outshined by number 1 and the
Sun, you always believe in yourself
and relied heavily on the decision you
take for yourself. You need to hold
your hotheaded nature of taking vin‑
dication on trivial matters. You need
to match with the wavelength of suc‑
cess to taste it. You always abide by
the laws and bylaws of the system
you adopt to fulfill your burning
hopes. You need to do extensive
workshop to kick start your creative
work. You need to open your hawk‑
ANNUAL PREDICTIONS: FOR THOSE BORN IN THIS WEEK
eye to curb the evil spirits of your
foes. Avoid interacting with your fel‑
low members which may act as sym‑
bol of angst for you. By the second
half of the year you will sound more
mellower then before. Time will heal
all your bruises. More flavoured and
seasonal love will catch you soon.
Avoid oblique stand which may be
troublesome for you. Chucked out
your innocence and learn to play
some politics also. Health needs your
attention, take some time from your
busy schedule. You will always find
your family members to stand by you
in all spheres of life. Targeted months
would be June and July.
March 11, 2019
Your thrilling and spine‑tingling
nature will lift the downgrading spir‑
its of the audience. You can adapt
yourself according to situation. You
always tend to draft a strong and
ef fective ploy for your undertaking.
You try to go to any length to execute
and attain your set plans. Discussions
with your family members turn out to
be bitter but at the end space will be
filled by sweetness only. You are
authoritative and thoroughly probed
all the facts before embarking on any
project. You may not be satisfied by
your health conditions. Your help to
poor and needy will help to wipe off
their tears through pecuniary help
which you might get through your
luck. Your career might have lot of
twist and turns and needs lot of cau‑
tious behavior from your side. You
will be blessed by your seniors
throughout your life. Festive season
will shower all its diviness on you in
terms of money which makes your
cof fers filled to the capacity they
have. Development period would be
May and June.
March 12, 2019
Fate decider for you is number 3
and planet Jupiter, you always try
and fight back in your life and no
matter what the odds are against you.
You are a storehouse of stimulating
and challenging feelings which makes
you to do what most others canʼt
even think about. People will love to
know about your life experiences and
its contents. Win‑Win situation for
you in romantic affair. Your intimacy
will likely to get increase and might
be you will be busy in designing your
wedding card. Your spouse will cover
up all your criteria, you will get what
you want. The number of person who
admires you will get increase contin‑
uously and for this you have to tra‑
verse a long passage. During this time
you have everything i.e. love, sacri‑
fices, provocations, disengagement,
and peace. Learning with experience
will always brings the desired results
for you. There are many ways to cul‑
tivate and build your health from
some minor distortion. As a student
you need to train yourself rock like
resilience and welcome attributes to
qualify for the high profiled profes‑
sion. Your income graph ought to
show an upward trend from now.
Number 2, planet Moon, and the
months of July and August will all
provide a good back up in your life.
March 13, 2019
Lucky for you number 4 and planet
Uranus, you are highly optimistic
towards your academics. Area of
interest would be Literature and
Science. Your insatiable hunger for
achieving your set goals will make
you a great person. Urgent need of
the time is to avoid over display of
winning emotions. You will take life
as it comes to you without any
demands and complaints. Series of
ups and down is what you encounter
in your life. Avoid conflicts between
your admirers else grudges may keep
you people apart. X factor in you
makes you distinguishable. Once you
learn to do bit of hard work the going
will be easier for you. Prevention is
better than cure, needs to know this
before going for any check up. Extra
income sources will likely to amelio‑
rate your financial well being. Your
relations need adjustments from your
side to make it worth moving.
Everybody needs umbrella in mon‑
soon season, so save little bit for
unfortunate time. Planning to do
something new then wait for
Tuesdays, T hursdays or Fridays.
Spiritful time will be May and June.
March 14, 2019
Reign by number 5 and Mercury,
“Every man is the architect of his own
future” people should learn this from
you. You love to live life on your own
terms. Opportunities will knock at
your door, you need to be cautious to
encash them. You are creditworthy
for all your deeds. Key to your suc‑
cess is your ef fective governance.
Your industrious nature deserve to be
awarded by some elite post. You
might hit a jackpot which in turn
amend your monetary status. Your
systematic approach towards life and
work needs a push to attain your des‑
everybodyʼs life which you under‑
stand and welcome it by unfolding
your arms. After some time you your‑
self change the things from time to
time. Your family has the tendency to
shout less and act more towards you.
On health front, a lighter footprint is
advisable towards doctor for advices.
You will end up all your creditors on
happy note by providing them what
they want and from now and finally
lead an independent life. Plenty of
opportunities in Nov. and December.
March 15, 2019
Eclipsed by planet Venus and num‑
ber 6, you are a good orator as you
can convey things to people in an
appropriate manner. Lots of people
will knock on your door for help.
They pinned their hopes to be ful‑
filled by you and after lot of hard
work you will be upto their expecta‑
tions. You abhor those who unneces‑
sarily poke their nose in somebodyʼs
work. Even if you love to work behind
the scenes, people will follow your
imprints. Your ongoing af fair might
get converts into lifelong kinship.
Those who looking for arrange mar‑
riages should not judge the book by
its cover only. You try to reach out to
people in your contact but may end
up with nothing in your hand.
Meditation accompanied by medical
remedies will save you from extra
botheration of your dependencies on
bad stuff like consuming alcohol etc.
You may need to visit your health
counselor time and again. Control
your out of pocket expenses as you
may need it in near future to accom‑
plish your long dreamt task. Elders
and employers all will admire you for
your mellowed behavior. Enlightened
time for you is Oct. and November.
 30 March 9-15, 2019 SPIRITUAL AWARENESS TheSouthAsianTimes.info

Swimming in the ocean of love

God that soothe our soul. When our
soul is soothed, our body and mind
are naturally at rest.
If this divine pool is always within
us, why donʼt we take a swim in it?
Unfortunately, we are swimming
with the mind. Swimming with the
mind is like swimming with sharks.
Its intent is to devour us. If we opt
By Sant Rajinder Singh to swim with the mind, the lovely
Ji Maharaj pool becomes muddied. The calm
waters turn into a mud hole. It is

W
hen we swim in the crys‑
tal clear, pure ocean of
God, we can see the
reflection of our true self or soul.
There is no grime or dirt to
muddy it. We can see to the depth
of the ocean, undistracted by any‑
thing that keeps our attention from
the calm of the water. Its loving
waves lap against us. There are no
attractions to lead us away from our
peace. Instead of transitory pleas‑
ures of the outer world, we enjoy
the eternal bliss of God. There is no
ill effect from having too much love.
When we swim in the ocean of God,
we experience ecstasy.
A blissful pool of divine water is
within all the time. We can dip into
it anytime. When we tap into this
pool, we are free from worries. We
enter total relaxation. Its soothing
waters caress our being, washing
away the tensions of the mind and
body. When our soul is bathed, bliss
also permeates our mind and body.
The mind is under control so it does
not disturb our tranquility at the
level of the soul.
The origin of the word ʻspaʼ
means taking of the waters; On a
holiday people often like to go to a
spa and swim in a pool or soak in a
hot tub to relax. We have our own
internal spa fed by the waters of
thick, sticky, and heavy, and it
entraps us.
It is like quicksand. When you
step into quicksand, it pulls down
your body deeper into the muddy
ground. It is a horrifying experi‑
ence. When we swim in the pool of
the mind, this is what happens. The
mud pulls us down and on our own,
we cannot get out.
What has caused the pool to be
muddy? The mind is filled with
desires that lead us into ego, lust,
anger, attachment, and greed. When
our pool is filled with the mind, we
become stuck. We are burdened
with more problems and our lives
are filled with stress.
Rather than swimming with the
mind, we should swim with God.
When we swim with God, we are
satisfied. We fall in love with God
and lose our ego. We are like those
who are so much in love that they
forget themselves. We become so
lost in God that we lose ourselves
and become one with God.
It is said that a salt doll went into
the ocean to take a dip. As soon as it
stepped into the ocean, it dissolved
into the ocean and became one with
it. When we are immersed in God,
we are like that salt doll. We dive
into the ocean of God and become
immersed in it, losing ourselves in
intoxication. It is not an annihilation
of self, but an expansion of our self
to be one with God and eternally
permeated with bliss and love that
knows no end.
When we swim with God, we do
not have any desires for the sensual
pleasures of the world, because the
love of God is fulfilling. The bliss
that permeates the soul when we
swim with God is thousands of
times greater than any worldly sat‑
isfaction.
When we swim with God we are
filled with calm. We have no time or
interest in judging others because
we are focused on being with our
divine Beloved. A verse by Sant
Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj says:
Those who are lost in divine
intoxication,
Have no time to laugh at the con‑
dition of others.
When we swim with God, we have
everything and are content. There is
nothing of this world that compares
with the ecstasy of swimming with
God. Our entire being, from the core
of the soul, is ravished by Godʼs
divine love and embrace. Who
would want to tear oneself away
from an ocean of incredible love?
No desires of the world can pull us
away from that bliss. We realize
that everything and everyone in this
world is transitory. We know that
one day we will pass away, or those
we love will pass away. Only the
soul and God are permanent. When
we lose our attachment for the tran‑
sitory world and attach ourselves to
God, we gain permanent happiness.
We realize that when we fall in love
with God, we are with a Beloved
who will be with us for eternity.
We can swim with God anytime
we want. God has sent the Master to
teach us how to swim in bliss. We
can do so by meditating. Meditation
is not just a mechanical process; it
is diving into a pool of bliss. We
focus our attention into the pool of
love between our two eyebrows and
dive in. With our mind still, we
plunge into the soothing waters of
the divine Beloved and are in pure
ecstasy.
Through meditation, we plunge
into the heart of the ocean and are
immersed in the ocean of love.
Even when we are not meditating,
we can be swimming in ecstasy.
How? We can keep our attention on
the divine Beloved all hours of the
day and night. While driving, while
working with our hands or body,
while cooking food, while eating,
while exercising, or doing any other
activities, we can remember God.
When we go to satsang, if we are
receptive, we can let the waters of
divine love flow into us. Swimming
with God fills us with love, and we
become the abode of nonviolence,
truthfulness, purity, humility, and
selfless service. By diving into the
pool of God we can swim eternally
in bliss.

On an inner voyage
By Sant Rajinder unimaginable vistas more beauti‑ but was known to the disciples
Singh Ji Maharaj ful than anything ever seen in this through an oral tradition whereby
world? What if that vacation filled Masters passed on the trave l

A
vacation offers a chance to
take a break from the
stresses of daily living. We
usually seek places that are relax‑
ing, enjoyable, and beautiful. Yet
going on an outer vacation is
often stressful. We have to earn
money for the trip; book tickets;
undergo the rigors of trave l,
whether by road, train, bus, or air;
find the right accommodations
and food service, and face unex‑
pected inclement weather. Often,
we return from a vacation more
exhausted than we had left.
What if we could experience a
vacation that did not cost any‑
thing and in which we could
instantly travel to and experience
us with relaxation of our body,
mind, and spirit, and had the
added benefit of putting us into
the states of tremendous love, joy,
and bliss? What if we could tap
into a restful peace that washed
away our troubles and stayed with
us even when we returned from
the journey? What if we could
take this trip anytime we wanted,
as many times as we wished, by
just closing our eyes?
This is not science fiction. This
journey is not imaginary. Many
enlightened beings, saints, mys‑
tics, and spiritual masters have
taken this inner voyage. Through
the ages, the spiritual journey was
largely a mystery to the masses
directions for this journey.
This experience is still available
today to all who want to under‑
take this incredible voyage. The
way within is through meditation.
Meditation is the art of inverting
our attention from the world out‑
side to that within. Sightseeing in
the physical world may attract our
senses with interesting and beau‑
tiful sights, sounds, smells, tastes,
and feelings. Yet inner sightseeing
dazzles us.
The inner voyage thrills our
soul with bliss, love, and joy that
far surpass any sensory delights
experienced in this physical
world.
(For more visit www.sos.org)
TheSouthAsianTimes.info March 9-15, 2019

Sindoor can contain lead,

which can cause learning and
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN LEAD behavior problems in children,
miscarriage in pregnant
women, and infertility.
„ Wash your hands after
handling.
„ Keep away from children.
„ If you use sindoor, ask
your doctor for a blood
lead test.

Call 311 or visit nyc.gov/leadfree

for more information.
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Oxiris Barbot, MD
Commissioner
TheSouthAsianTimes.info March 9-15, 2019