The Indian Panorama

Year: 2017

  • USCIRF Report on India’s Deteriorating Religious Freedom

    USCIRF Report on India’s Deteriorating Religious Freedom

    INOC USA expresses concern, HAF questions Credibility

    NEW YORK (TIP): Indian National Overseas Congress, USA expressed serious concern over the recently issued annual report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a powerful freedom body that exercises considerable influence on the US Senate and Administration, which cited that religious tolerance has deteriorated and religious freedom violations have increased in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime.

    On the other hand, The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) slammed the report saying that “US Religious Freedom Commission Outsourced Its Credibility with Attack on Hinduism and India.”

    “It is unfortunate that the last two years have witnessed a steady deterioration of religious freedom and human rights in India especially that of the minorities and the current administration cannot shirk their responsibility in that regard,” said George Abraham, Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA.

    According to the recently released report, India faces serious challenges to both its pluralistic traditions and its religious minorities. Christians, Sikhs, and Jains generally are fearful of what the future portends. Dalits also are increasingly being attacked and harassed.

    But HAF feels the report by Iqtidar Cheema, a Pakistan-origin author known for his anti-India stand and director for Institute for Leadership and Community Development, in Birmingham, England, is completely biased. In a blog post, HAF executive director Suhag Shukla wrote, “Cheema’s work provides cover to Pakistan’s long-standing support of a bloody proxy war to separate the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from India. Not surprisingly then, this report fails to mention the plight of over 300,000 Kashmiri Hindu Pandits cleansed from their ancestral homeland in the Valley at the hands of Islamist radicals. Previous commission reports have ignored the same.”

    She also feels that USCIRF has lost its credibility. “How could USCIRF outsource a report harshly critical of India, one of the most important democratic allies of the United States, to an activist with a history of supporting separatist causes against India that too often employ terrorism against innocent civilians? How can USCIRF give its imprimatur to a report citing debunked sources and smearing the Hindu religion?”

    In the report, USCIRF urged the Indian government to immediately lift its sanctions against non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are working for the welfare of the minorities in India. It also pointed out that FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) is increasingly being used as a tool to shut down foreign-funded minority NGOs.

    In an unusually sharp criticism of the Modi Administration, the USCIRF wants the US administration to identify and act against “Hindutva groups that raise funds from US citizens and support hate campaigns in India”, adding “such groups should be banned from operating in the US if they are found to spread hatred against religious minorities in India.”

    INOC, USA urged the growing Indian community in the United States to refrain from funding these organizations that promote hatred and bigotry against the minorities in India.

     

     

  • Early setback for Mr. Trump

    Early setback for Mr. Trump

    President Donald Trump suffered a big political blow on Monday, barely a month into office, when his National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned over his Russia contacts.

    Mr. Flynn, a close aide of Mr. Trump, admitted that he had “inadvertently” briefed Vice-President Mike Pence with “incomplete information” about his phone conversation with the Russian ambassador in Washington, Sergey Kislyak.

    The allegation is that Mr. Flynn discussed American sanctions on Russia with Mr. Kislyak in the waning days of the Obama presidency and told him that Russia should wait till Mr. Trump’s inauguration.

    He later denied speaking of the sanctions, and based on his brief, Mr. Pence publicly defended him. But after the media reported that they had sources vouching that Mr. Flynn had discussed the sanctions with the envoy, it became impossible for the White House to defend him.

    Technically, Mr. Flynn’s calls with the Russian ambassador before he became part of the government are a breach of an 18th century law, the Logan Act, that makes it illegal for private individuals to conduct foreign policy. The context is grave for the Trump administration.

    There are already allegations that Moscow interfered in the presidential elections in favor of Mr. Trump and that the Russians have some compromising personal information about Mr. Trump.

    The resignation, however, is unlikely to contain the scandal. It raises even more questions about administration officials’ dealings with Russia and the way the government functions. Mr. Flynn, for example, already faces allegations that he acted with the knowledge of others in Mr. Trump’s transition team, and his past Russian links are being probed. If the scandal widens, it could derail Mr. Trump’s Russia reset plans. He could have avoided this early embarrassment had he paid more heed to those who questioned his picks for top jobs in the administration. Mr. Flynn, who was fired by President Barack Obama in 2014 as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was particularly unpopular in Washington. Mr. Trump’s other picks, be it Attorney General Jeff Sessions who faces allegations of racism, or Education Secretary Betsy DeVos who needed the Vice-President to cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate for confirmation, are other cases in point. Such decisions cannot be unmade now. But Mr. Trump could learn some lessons from the Flynn episode. He could use better judgment when he chooses his next NSA. He should set his house in order and formulate a cohesive approach towards domestic and foreign policy issues, including stating clearly what his Russia policy is. If not, his administration could well be trapped in crisis mode.

  • ‘No work…no school’: Dallas among U.S. cities targeted for ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protests

    ‘No work…no school’: Dallas among U.S. cities targeted for ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protests

    DALLAS (TIP): Organizers in cities across the U.S. are telling immigrants to miss class, miss work and not shop on Thursday as a way to show the country how important they are to America’s economy and way of life.

    “A Day Without Immigrants” actions are planned in cities including Dallas, Austin, Philadelphia, Washington and Boston.

    The protest comes in response to President Donald Trump and his 1-month-old administration. The Republican president has pledged to increase deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally, build a wall along the Mexican border, and ban people from certain majority-Muslim countries from coming into the U.S. He also has blamed high unemployment on immigration.

    In Dallas-Fort Worth, activists encouraged immigrant parents to pull their children out of school as a show of solidarity.

    “I don’t work … no work … no school,” Dallas activist Carlos Quintanilla said on Facebook. “Today my people. This fight is all.”

     

    “Imagine if 30 stores closed for one day … how much taxes go to the government,” Juan Carlos Flores told NBC5. “It’s a major impact.”

    Employers and institutions in some cities were already expressing solidarity Wednesday with immigrant workers. Washington restaurateur John Andrade said he would close his businesses Thursday, and David Suro, owner of Tequilas Restaurant in Philadelphia and a Mexican immigrant, said he also planned to participate.

    The Davis Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts said it would remove or shroud all artwork created or given by immigrants to the museum through Feb. 21.

    Organizers in Philadelphia said they expect hundreds of workers and families to participate.

    “Our goal is to highlight the need for Philadelphia to expand policies that stop criminalizing communities of color,” said Erika Almiron, executive director of Juntos, a nonprofit group that works with the Latino immigrant community. “What would happen if massive raids did happen? What would the city look like?”

    Almiron said that while community groups have not seen an uptick in immigration raids in the city, residents are concerned about the possibility.

    Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is among leaders in several cities nationwide who have vowed to maintain their “sanctuary city” status and decline to help federal law enforcement with deportation efforts.

    Many people who make the choice to skip work Thursday will not be paid in their absence, but social media posts encouraging participation stressed that the cause is worth the sacrifice.

  • H 1B visas help American firms remain competitive, says Indian envoy Navtej Sarna

    H 1B visas help American firms remain competitive, says Indian envoy Navtej Sarna

    H1-B visas, sought-after by Indian IT professionals, help make US firms competitive globally and contribute to generating jobs locally, India’s envoy has said amid reports the Trump administration plans to cut down the scheme.

    “The H1B scheme has been crucial in making US companies competitive globally in increasing their client base, in increasing their innovation. And it is the Indian tech industry, which has actually been creating jobs here (in the US),” Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna told a news channel.

    “There are reports and analysis by very respected houses, which say that over 400,000 jobs have been directly and indirectly supported in the US,” he said, adding that Indian tech companies had invested USD 2 billion in four years and paid USD 20 billion in taxes.

    H1-B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows American firms to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The tech companies depend on it to hire thousands of employees each year.

    “Out of every 100, H-1B visas have resulted in support to 183 jobs in the US. This is very important because nine out of the 15 top tech companies in India are American companies,” Sarna said.

    “This is a relationship which is symbiotic and which has a potential of becoming even stronger for both the countries,” he added.

    India is one of the top sources for international workers in the American tech industry, accounting for a major chunk of all H1-B visas. And any move by Trump, who has vowed to put an “America First” policy, will have an adverse impact in India.

    However, those demanding a revision of the policy say the program hurt American interests.

    In an op-ed piece in ‘Fortune’ magazine Senator Chuck Grassley, argued that the flaws in H1B program hurt American workers, American innovation, and even H1B workers, who are in many cases “benched” without work or pay for long periods.

    Grassley is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-author of H1-B and L1 Visa Reform Act of 2017.

    Earlier this year, he introduced the bipartisan legislation with Senator Dick Durbin to tackle these problems and return the program to its original intent: filling gaps in America’s skilled labor market.

    Schumer said his bill explicitly prohibits companies from replacing qualified American workers with H1-B workers. It also requires companies to post job openings and make good faith efforts to hire qualified American workers before seeking H1-B visas.

    “Companies would also be prohibited from laying off American workers 180 days prior to and following the hiring of an H1-B worker. These provisions ensure that qualified American workers are considered for jobs first,” he said.

    “To ensure that limited number of annual H1-B visas go to the best and brightest workers, our bill prioritizes petitions, starting with foreign nationals who received advance science and engineering degrees right here in the US,” he said.

  • Trump campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence’: Sources

    Trump campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence’: Sources

    Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and his other associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year prior to the election, officials said.

    President-elect Trump and then-President Barack Obama were both briefed on details of the extensive communications between suspected Russian operatives and people associated with the Trump campaign and the Trump business, US officials familiar with the matter told CNN.

    The communications were intercepted during routine intelligence collection targeting Russian officials and other Russian nationals known to US intelligence, the report said on Wednesday.

    Among several senior Trump advisers regularly communicating with Russian nationals were then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and then-adviser Michael Flynn.

    Adding to US investigators’ concerns were intercepted communications between Russian officials before and after the US elections discussing their belief that they had special access to Trump, said two US law enforcement officials. The intercepted communications also included other associates of Trump, whom the officials declined to identify. On the Russian side, the contacts also included members of the government outside of the intelligence services, they said.

    The call logs and intercepted communications were part of a larger trove of information that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was sifting through as part of an investigation on the links between Trump’s associates and the Russian government, as well as the hacking of the Democratic National Committee computers, according to federal law enforcement officials.

    Manafort denied that he was in contact with Russians known to US intelligence. “This is absurd,” he said.

    “I have no idea what this is referring to. I have never knowingly spoken to Russian intelligence officers, and I have never been involved with anything to do with the Russian government or the (Vladimir) Putin administration or any other issues under investigation today,” he said.

    Manafort, who has held business ties with Russian and Ukrainian individuals, also emphasized that his work for the Yanukovich government in Ukraine should not be interpreted as closeness to the Russians.

    The intercepted calls are different from the wiretapped conversations in 2016 between Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael T. Flynn and Sergey I. Kislyak, Russia’s Ambassador to the US.

    In those calls, which led to Flynn’s resignation on Monday night, the two men discussed sanctions that the Obama administration imposed on Russia in December.

    On Tuesday, top Republican lawmakers said Flynn should be one focus of the investigation, and that he should be called to testify before Congress. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said Flynn’s resignation would not stop the committee “from continuing to investigate General Flynn, or any other campaign official who may have had inappropriate and improper contacts with Russian officials prior to the election”.

  • Progressive Caucus condemns arrest of Dreamer Daniel Ramirez

    Progressive Caucus condemns arrest of Dreamer Daniel Ramirez

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP): The New York City Council Progressive Caucus condemned the Trump administration’s continual affront to immigrant communities, most recently with the arrest of DACA recipient and DREAMer Daniel Ramierez Medina, who was arrested by ICE agents in the Seattle area and stripped of his DACA protections.

    The statement reads “We are alarmed and outraged at the President’s erratic and immoral approach to immigration which spreads fear in marginalized immigrant communities, and does not make our country any safer. The NYCC Progressive Caucus recognizes the wide contributions of immigrants to our city and to our nation, and the Caucus has long advocated for rights and protections of New Yorkers who are vulnerable due to documentation status. We urge ICE to free Daniel Ramirez Medina, and urge the Trump administration to cease its attack on immigrant communities”.

  • Air India to get 4 more Dreamliners this year

    Air India to get 4 more Dreamliners this year

    NEW YORK (TIP): Air India is scheduled to take delivery of the four remaining dreamliners – Boeing 787-8 planes – this year with the last one to be delivered in October. The airline has acquired 23 dreamliners from September 2012 to January 9, 2017, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha, acknowledging the aircraft ‘have experienced technical reliability issues’ since induction.

    Terminals at 4 ports for cruise tourism: To boost cruise tourism, the government has developed terminals at four major ports – Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore and Cochin – and also allowed foreign vessels to call without licence from the Director General of Shipping, Parliament was informed . Also, a new cruise terminal is under development at Chennai Port and scheduled to be completed by February.

  • Indian American convicted for H-1B visa fraud

    Indian American convicted for H-1B visa fraud

    NEWARK, NJ (TIP): The 34-year-old Patel pleaded guilty before US District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court. Patel worked to fraudulently obtain visas for foreign workers visas. She recruited workers through two Information Technology (IT) firms in New Jersey. However, these workers were not employed full time or paid according to federal rules, PTI reported.

    Patel, who is from Jersey City, was the human resource manager of the IT companies SCM Data Inc and MMC Systems Inc. The companies offered consultants to clients in need of IT support, and recruited foreign nationals, often student visa holders or fresh graduates.

    She admitted her involvement in preparing false leave slips for the foreign workers on behalf of the companies in February and March 2015. Patel’s conspirators represented that the foreign workers they recruited had full-time positions and were paid an annual salary. They showed compliance with the visa requirements as laid by the US Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the news agency reported.

    In reality, however, the conspirators violated the H-1B program rules and paid the foreign workers only when they were place at a third-party client who entered into a contract with SCM Data and MMC Systems.

    They also asked foreign workers, who were not currently working, to come up with what their gross wage would be in cash and give it to companies in order to maintain their H-1B visa status. They also made the workers submit bogus payroll checks to USCIS as proof that they were working as full-time employees. The fraud was discovered by the US Department of Labor in an audit at SCM data and MMC Systems.

    The conspiracy to commit visa fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Patel faces sentence in June, 2017.

  • ILEANA D’CRUZ DOES THE ‘MACARENA’ DANCE WITH FRIEND

    ILEANA D’CRUZ DOES THE ‘MACARENA’ DANCE WITH FRIEND

    Actress Ileana D’Cruz says she couldn’t find a ‘corny’ photograph for Valentine’s Day and instead ended up doing the ‘Macarena’ dance with her best friend. Ileana shared a black and white video of herself along with her friend on Instagram on Tuesday.

    The two can be seen sporting unicorn onsies. “I tried to find a corny photo of me holding a heart up or something, but I didn’t have any so I decided on this video instead, of my bestie and I dancing to the ‘Macarena’ in onesies, of course. She’s gonna kill me after she sees this Happy Valentine’s Day to you!” Ileana captioned the video.

    On the work front, Ileana will be seen in Anees Bazmee’s upcoming film ‘Mubarakan’. The film also stars Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor and Athiya Shetty.

    The film is set to hit the screens on July 28.

  • Jolly LLB 2 – MOVIE REVIEW

    Jolly LLB 2 – MOVIE REVIEW

    STORY: Jagdishwar Mishra aka Jolly (Akshay) starts out as a prominent lawyer’s sidekick in Kanpur. Driven by ambition, he hoodwinks a pregnant widow, Hina Siddique (Sayani Gupta) on the lookout for justice. He lands the murder case of her husband, but when she realises he is a fraud, she kills herself. Leaving Jolly with guilt on his conscience and an unresolved case in his hands. Now, he wants justice more than ever.

    REVIEW: On the face of it, apna Jolly is a novice indulging in petty crimes because he knows the loopholes in the law. At home, he is the hen-pecked husband of lush, Pushpa Panday (Huma) who loves whisky, Gucci dresses and her chubby son in that order. But these are just asides and not the main premise of courtroom drama, which in many ways follows the template of the 2013 prequel, Jolly LLB.

    Writer-director Subhash Kapoor who has studied India’s burgeoning legal system of `I-will-see-you-in-court’, definitely knows as much about the Indian Penal Code as most legal sharks because of his deep study of the subject. While the last instalment dealt with a hit-n-run case, this one deals with the case of mistaken identity of a J & K terrorist. The plot has enough laugh-out-loud situations and emotional outbursts to keep you invested especially in the razor-sharp first half. The film also provides the right dose of action inside and outside the courtroom. With cops playing villains and terrorists changing religions, legal greenhorn Jolly finds himself dodging bullets in Kanpur, Lucknow and Manali(doubling up for Kashmir.)

    Post interval though, the film hits a pause button at times. The maker tries to pack in too much legal diatribe between Jolly and his adversary, the topnotch, Pramod Mathur(Annu Kapoor), in Judge Tripathy’s (Saurabh Shukla, delightful as always) Lucknow courtroom. Their weighty arguments do educate and entertain to some degree. But there are portions that seem contrived.

    Akshay changes shades from crooked to straight, like a chameleon. In top-form, he puts up a perfect display of a street-smart lawyer who hasn’t read legal tomes but who has instead picked up tips from courtroom corridors to become Jolly LLB. Huma and Annu are also compelling enough. It is the fine display of histrionics by all these refined actors, which makes the movie, worth seeing.

  • KAREENA KAPOOR: I WANT PEOPLE TO ACCEPT ME IN EVERY PHASE

    KAREENA KAPOOR: I WANT PEOPLE TO ACCEPT ME IN EVERY PHASE

    Actress Kareena Kapoor Khan has revealed that though she was wary about her post pregnancy look, she wants her fans to accept her in all phases.

    “I did not know what’s in store for me post pregnancy. I did not know what this phase would be like. I am lot more energetic, happy and content. I work I am multitasking I enjoy everyday,” Kareena said during a ‘Facebook chat’ last evening with celebrity dietitian Rujuta Diwekar.

    “Everything has been changing around in the nine months and it takes time to get back (in shape). I remember telling Rujuta that let’s get back to ‘Tashan’ diet (referring to her ‘size zero’ look) and she told me we can’t do it and we need to do it in progression,” the 36-year-old star said.

    Actresses are often under scanner for their weight gain post pregnancy and Kareena too was talked about on the social media and called overweight post delivery of her son in December last year.

    “How can somebody say I am overweight? We are monitored always. I want people to accept me in every phase,” she said.

    According to Rujuta, Kareena’s diet has been sustainable and she is glowing and looking good.

    “I have heard one should not have dairy products but Rujuta thinks otherwise. I have been having a glass full of milk, yogurt. I have bajra roti with ghee, jaggery, rice twice a day -morning and night or khichdi. It’s about eating right kind of food and in right proportion, quantity.”

    Beside following the diet, Kareena said she walks, which according to her is the best form of an exercise.

    “I do walk. At my house if I sit with my son in my arms he cries and so I walk around the house. He wants me to walk. He is keeping me on my toes. He is preparing me for the future, for the days to come,” she said.

  • SOFIA VERGARA CALLS HUSBAND JOE HER ‘HINDU MONK’

    SOFIA VERGARA CALLS HUSBAND JOE HER ‘HINDU MONK’

    Modern Family’ star Sofia Vergara has revealed that she calls husband Joe Manganiello her ‘Hindu monk’.

    The 44-year-old actress has shared in an interview her significant other has helped her become a calmer person.

    “Joe is very spiritual and deals with everything very well. I call him my Hindu monk. I’m all, ‘Aaaaaaaaahhhhh’ and he’s like … nothing,” Sofia said.

    The star added that she is grateful to Manganiello for teaching her the art of meditation and he is ‘never in a bad mood’.

    “Thank goodness he showed me how to meditate… Finding Joe has brought me a lot of peace. A very profound calm,” she added.

  • BEING A WORKING MOM AN INCREDIBLE CHALLENGE: SCARLETT JOHANSSON

    BEING A WORKING MOM AN INCREDIBLE CHALLENGE: SCARLETT JOHANSSON

    Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson says being a working parent is both incredibly challenging and yet, a gift. And she feels she’s “barely holding it together”.

    “I don’t profess to know anything about parenting, anything more than anybody else,(but) being a working mom is an incredible challenge, (and) it’s an incredible gift,” Johansson told etonline.com.

    “I think you always feel a little bit of guilt… If you’re at work, you feel like you’re missing out on those special moments with your kid. If you’re with your kid, you feel like you’re not giving enough to your job. It’s a balance. I have a lot of huge admiration for working moms. I’m barely, barely holding it together,” she added.

    The actress’ marriage has been rumoured to be in trouble, and she brought her mother, Melanie Sloan, along as her date to the amfAR Gala here on Wednesday. The 32-year-old star couldn’t have thought of anyone “better” to take along to the event. She said: “I really couldn’t think of anybody else that I’d rather (have) with me here tonight. (She’s) been incredibly inspiring for me in many, many ways, but certainly as a young girl. “She never shielded us from what was going on in the zeitgeist in culture. She always made us aware, you know, socially aware. She always encouraged us to be politically and socially active, so I couldn’t imagine a better date tonight.”

  • Hitler lookalike arrested in Austria

    Hitler lookalike arrested in Austria

    Austrian police arrested an #AdolfHitler lookalike on Monday after he was spotted wandering around the Nazi dictator’s hometown sporting his infamous moustache and side parting, a spokesman said.

    The 25-year-old Austrian national was detained in his flat in the quaint northern town of Braunau am Inn where the Fuehrer was born on April 20, 1889.

    The man, who reportedly called himself “Harald Hitler”, was arrested under a 1947 Austrian law which made it illegal to promote Nazi ideology.

    “It was obvious that he glorified Hitler,” police spokesman David Furtner told AFP.

    Authorities became aware of his existence after photos emerged on social media of the man posing outside Hitler’s actual birth house, a large yellow corner house in the town’s historic centre.

    Other snaps showed him standing in a Braunau pub dressed in traditional garb including a loden jacket and lederhosen.

    According to local media reports, the copycat introduced himself to patrons as “Harald Hitler” and insisted on being served “Austrian mineral water”.

    The suspect who offered no resistance during his arrest had moved to Braunau in mid-January, police said.

    The case once again puts the spotlight on Braunau, a town of 17,000 on the German border which has repeatedly made headlines because of its historical ties to Hitler.

    Most recently it drew attention after the government in December expropriated the dilapidated building where Hitler came into the world.

    The move followed years of bitter wrangling with owner Gerlinde Pommer who had been renting the premises to the interior ministry since the 1970s and refused to sell or carry out essential renovation works.

    The government said the seizure had been necessary to stop the building from becoming a pilgrimage site for Nazi sympathisers.

    In response, Pommer launched proceedings against the expropriation last month, arguing it was unconstitutional. The court is yet to rule on the case.

  • Indians in the United States of America: Significant Achievers

    Indians in the United States of America: Significant Achievers

    India gained independence from British raj on August 15,1947 and adapted a constitution becoming a Republic on 26th January 1950. On this occasion of 68th Republic Day, we can very proudly say that Indians have been contributing significantly in the building and progress of their homeland and adapted land-USA.With a population of about 3.8million (either born in India or reported Indian ancestry or race), they are among the wealthiest communities in the US, with a median annual household income of $88,000 compared with the national median of $49,800. They are among the most highly educated racial or ethnic groups in the U.S. According to the data from the American Community Survey, 40.6% of Indian Americans 25 and older have graduate or professional degrees, and 32.3% have bachelor’s degrees; an additional 10.4% have some college education. constitute ten percent of all medical students in America.

    Indian migrants began arriving in the United States in the beginning of 19th century. In 1813, a group of daring Indians established a Ghadar Party with dedicated patriots like Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barakatullah, and Rashbehari Bose. They started a weekly Urdu newspaper “Ghadar” launching Ghadar Movement seeking India’s independence from Britain. Many members of this Party were later executed by the British Sarkar on their visit to India. The Washington Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) launched centenary celebration of the Ghadar Movement that was followed up by multiple events at different parts of the USA. I had the great honor and privilege to be the president of GOPIO at that time.

    Indian Americans are becoming increasingly visible in US politics, journalism, academia, or business.In the field of science and technology, Indians have become back bone of recent inventions. Two Indians have been awarded Nobel Prize for their contributions to science and medicine. They are: Hargovind Khorana Nobel Prize for Physiology & Medicine in 1968, and S. Chandrashekar Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983.

    Indian doctors, numbering more than 35,000, constitute over five percent of all physicians in USA and about 36% of scientists at NASA are Indians.

    Indians with significant achievements as academicians, inventors, and high-level administrators include: Vinod Khosla (co-founder of Sun Microsystems), Vinod Dham (creator of the Pentium chip), Sabeer Bhatia (founder and creator of Hotmail), Arun Netravalli (president of AT & T-Bell Labs), Rajiv Gupta (GM of Hewlett Packard), Sanjay Tejwrika (Microsoft Testing Director of Windows 2000, Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar (Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart), Rakesh Khurana (Dean of Harvard College), Jamshed Bharucha, (President Emeritus of Cooper Union previously Dean of Arts & Sciences at Dartmouth College and Provost at Tufts University), Vijay K. Dhir (Dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science), Dinesh D’Souza (President of The King’s College, New York), Anjli Jain (Executive Director of CampusEAI Consortium, Dipak C. Jain (former Dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University), Vistasp Karbhari (President of the University of Texas at Arlington), Pramod P. Khargonekar (Vice Chancellor of Research, University of California, Irvine), Renu KhatorChancellor of the University of Houston System and President of the University of Houston), Pradeep Khosla (Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego), Vijay Kumar (Associate Dean of School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania), Geeta Menon (Dean of the Undergraduate College at New York University Stern School of Business), Nitin Nohria (Dean of Harvard Business School), Sethuraman Panchanathan (Executive Vice President and Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Arizona State University), Michael Rao (President of Virginia Commonwealth University), Beheruz Sethna (President of the University of West Georgia), Dr. Paul Shrivastava ( Distinguished Professor and Director, David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise, Concordia University), Molly Easo Smith (President of Manhattanville  College), Kumble R. Subbaswamy (Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst), Subra Suresh (President of Carnegie Mellon University), Satish K. Tripathi (President of University at Buffalo).

    Other academicians of international fame are: Manjul Bhargava (Professor of mathematics at Princeton University and winner of Fields Medal, 2014), Abhijit Banerjee (Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT), Kaushik Basu (Chief Economist of the World Bank), Jagdish Natwarlal Bhagwati (Professor of Economics at Columbia University), Raghuram Rajan, Professor University of Chicago and former Governor of Reserve Bank of India), (Salman Akhtar, Distinguished Professor at the Jefferson Medical College), Muzaffar Alam and C. M. Nain (Professors in South Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Chicago), Akhil Amar (Professor of Law at Yale Law School).

    Indra Nooyi (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo), Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google), Ajay Banga (President and CEO of MasterCard), Rono Dutta (former President of United Airlines; Chairman of Air Sahara), Rajiv Gupta (General Manager of Hewlett Packard), Anshu Jain (former co-CEO of Deutsche Bank), Sanjay Jha (CEO of Global Foundries and former CEO of Motorola Mobile Devices), Vyomesh Joshi (Executive Vice President of Imaging and Printing Group, Hewlett-Packard Company), Thomas Kurian (President of Product Development at Oracle Corporation), Victor Menezes (Chairman of Clearing House Association; former Chairman and CEO of Citibank), Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft), Ranji H. Nagaswami (Chief Investment Officer for AllianceBernstein Fund Investors), Shantanu Narayen (CEO of Adobe Systems), Dinesh Paliwal (Chairman and CEO of Harman International), Arati Prabhakar (Director of DARPA), Rajeev Suri (CEO of Nokia), Padmasree Warrior (CTO of Cisco Systems), Rakesh Gangwal (former CEO and Chairman of US Airways Group), Rajat Gupta (former Managing Director of McKinsey & Company), Vikram Pandit (former CEO of Citigroup), Kanwal Rekhi (former EVP and CTO of Novell), Deven Sharma (former president of Standard & Poor’s), Salman ‘Sal’ Khan (founder of Khan Academy, a free online education platform), Amar Bose (founder and chairman of Bose Corporation), Bharat Desai (co-founder and chairman of Syntel), Sant Singh Chatwal owner of the Bombay Palace chain of restaurants and Hampshire Hotels & Resorts), Vinod Khosla (founder of Khosla Ventures; co-founder of SUN Microsystems), Vinod Dham (designed the Intel Pentium Chip Processor).

    Indians are being recognized in the field of arts and entertainment. Some of the recent successes include:Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014; M. Night Shyamalan (Hollywood director), Mira Nair (director and producer), Kal Penn (actor), Omi Vaidya (actor), Sheetal Sheth (actress),Waris Ahluwalia (fashion designer), Aziz Ansari, Russell Peters, Aman Ali, Russell Peters,Rajiv Satyal, Anish Shah, Azhar Usman ((actors and comedians). Norah Jones (singer and winner of multiple Grammy Awards).

    Fareed Zakaria (columnist for Time magazine and host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN), Zubin Mehta (former conductor, New York Philharmonic Orchestra; receiver of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame), Zarin Mehta (executive director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra), Nicki Minaj (pop singer and rapper), Nina Davuluri (crowned Miss America 2014).

    Kiran Desai (winner of the 2006 Man Booker Prize), Siddhartha Mukherjee (physician and 2011 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction), Anita Desai (novelist; shortlisted for the Booker prize three times), Vikram Seth (poet, novelist, travel writer), Uday Singh Taunque (first Indian American to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom; posthumously awarded Bronze Star and Purple Heart gallantry awards),

    Indians have started making their mark in political and administration both at local and national level. Notables include: Kamala Harris (United States Senator from California), Nikki Haley (former Governor of South Carolina and now US Ambassador to the UN), Kumar P. Barve (majority leader Maryland House of Delegates), Mervyn M. Dymally (41st Lieutenant Governor of California, (1975-1979); member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1981-1993), Kashmir Gill (mayor of Yuba City, California, Faz Husain (first native of India to win elected office in Michigan), Bobby Jindal (former Governor of Louisiana; Vice Chairman of the Republican Governors Association), Aruna Miller (member of the Maryland House of Delegates), Ami Bera (U.S. Representative for California’s 7th congressional district), Raja Krishnamoorthi (U.S. Representative for Illinois’s 8th congressional district), Ro Khanna (U.S. Representative for California’s 17th congressional district), Pramila Jayapal (U.S. Representative for Washington’s 7th congressional district), and Dalip Singh Saund (first Asian-American member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California).

    Preet Bharara (United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York), Cathy Bissoon (judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania), Nisha Desai Biswal (Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs), Joy Cherian (first Asian head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), Huma Abedin (aide to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton), Arif Alikhan (former Assistant Secretary for Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; former Deputy Mayor for Homeland Security and Public Safety for the City of Los Angeles), Preeta D. Bansal (member and past chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; former Solicitor General of New York), Aneesh Chopra (Federal Chief Technology Officer of the US), Rashad Hussain (U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation), Neel Kashkari (former interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability in the United States Department of the Treasury), Neal Katyal (Solicitor General of the United States), Gopal Khanna (Chief Information Officer of Minnesota), Narayana Kocherlakota (President of Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis), Kris Kolluri (New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation), Vivek Kundra (Federal Chief Information Officer of the US), Farah Pandith (Special Representative to Muslim Communities for the United States Department of State), Rachel Paulose (former United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota), Anant Raut (counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee), Rajiv Shah (formerUnder Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics; current Administrator of USAID), Ambassador Islam A. Siddiqui (Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative), Rajen Anand (Executive Director, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion), Sabita Singh (first judge of Indian descent in Massachusetts history), Subra Suresh (Director of National Science Foundation), Vinai Thummalapally (served as U.S. Ambassador to Belize), Richard Verma (Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, at the Department of State), Vince Girdhari Chhabria (judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California), Manish S. Shah (judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois), Srikanth Srinivasan (judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit), Kalpana Chawla (NASA space shuttle astronaut, who died in space shuttle blast), Sunita Williams (NASA astronaut), Vivek Murthy (Surgeon General of U.S.; former Vice Admiral of U.S. Health Corps), Sanjay Gupta (neurosurgeon; CNN chief medical correspondent; declined offer by President Barack Obama to be nominated U.S. Surgeon General) Our young generation is making us proud. About 73% of National Spelling Bee winners since 1999 have been Indian Americans. Indian Americans Account for Nearly One-Third of Science Talent Search Finalists.

    (The author can be reached at 1509 Coat Ridge Road, Herndon, VA 20170; raabta.india@gmail.com)

  • Trump’s H-1B Visa Bill spooks India’s IT companies

    Trump’s H-1B Visa Bill spooks India’s IT companies

    It may not be a good time to be a non-American in Trump’s America.

    India, the largest exporter of IT workforce to the US, could be jolted if the H-1B Visa Bill, which was tabled in the House of Representatives, becomes a law.

    The country’s biggest IT companies, TCS, Infosys, Wipro and others, that enjoy significant cost advantages by sending Indian engineers to the US, are likely to be hit if the minimum salary cap for H-1B visas is raised to $130,000 from its current $60,000.

    In anticipation of the eventuality, India’s top four IT company stocks plunged on the Bombay Stock Exchange today. Mashable India reached out to these companies but they declined comment.

    Meanwhile, NASSCOM, the industry body for software and services companies, was not pleased with the development. “The bill does not treat all IT service companies with H-1B visa holders equally, and the provisions are biased against H-1B dependent companies,” it said in a statement.

    “The bill does nothing to address the underlying shortage of STEM-skilled workers, which has led all companies to have a calibrated strategy of hiring locally and bridging the skills gap by bringing skilled workers on non-immigrant visas including H-1Bs,” it added.

    The US issued more than a million visas to Indians in 2016, which accounted for 70% of all H1B visas issued worldwide.

    India happens to be the largest receiver of H-1B visas in the world. The US issued more than a million visas to Indians in 2016, which accounted for 70% of all H1B visas issued worldwide, according to news reports.

    IT analysts reckon that the new law, if and when it passes, will have far-reaching implications not only on Indian companies but on the US economy as well since most US-based Fortune 500 organizations are “deeply invested and dependent” on Indian IT services providers.

    “Skilled foreign workers who come to work in the US by the route of H1-B visas don’t just directly supplement the US IT industry with specialized skillsets, they also contribute indirectly to other industries in the US. Often H1-B workers bring their families along and thereby bring additional business for other industries like real estate, banking, hospitality to name a few. The effects of this announcement will impact the GDP and the overall business economy and growth of US,” says Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research

    While the final outcome of the Bill is yet to be known, NASSCOM said it will continue to engage with the US administration and legislators both directly and through the Government of India. The focus would be on highlighting the value contribution of India’s IT sector as a “net creator” of jobs in the US.

    FUN FACT: The CEOs of both Microsoft and Google are of Indian origin.

  • IMMIGRATION UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: EXECUTIVE ORDERS UNDER REVIEW

    IMMIGRATION UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: EXECUTIVE ORDERS UNDER REVIEW

    In less than a month in the Oval Office, President Trump has issued few Executive Orders (EO), each of which has potential to stir extreme vetting, racial profiling and deportations. We briefly discuss some of the EO below and their immediate impact.

    Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States: This EO placed a 90-day ban on the issuance of US visas and to entry into the United States of any one who is a national of one of the seven “designated” countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, suspended the US Refugee Admission Program for 120 days (for Syrian refugees, the ban was indefinite), suspended visa interview waiver program and extensive review by Department of Homeland Security of any individual, from their country to determine their visa, admission or other immigration benefit and that they are not threat to security or public safety.

    Current Impact: The impact of this EO is currently neutered. The US District Judge James Robart granted Temporary Restraining Order on a “nationwide basis” and the Ninth Circuit unanimously refused to reinstate EO. If Supreme Court takes up the case, it will be a split decision and Ninth Circuit’s decision would stand. But is believed the Trump administration may reintroduce this EO with some changes in it. Nevertheless, this EO created climate of chaos and confusion and clearly showcased discrimination based on religion. We hope this stays on hold permanently.

    Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States: This EO directs the Executive departments and its agencies to employ all lawful means, to enforce the immigration laws of the United States. It sets aliens on priority who have criminal backgrounds, committed crimes, abused public taxpayer benefits or are a national security concern. Federal grants will not be given to sanctuary cities. The Department of Homeland Security will deputize state and local law enforcement officers to perform functions of federal immigration agents.

    Current Impact: This EO may cause greatest danger to the unauthorized immigrants. The local police will transform in to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers. The “enforcement priority” will effectively include all the unauthorized immigrants in the United States, irrespective of their criminal record. An instance of this was witnessed on February 14, 2017, when ICE agents near Seattle, WA, detained and threatened to deport a 23 years old immigrant who is currently under the DACA program with no criminal background. This arrest appears to be arbitrary and denial of administrative and constitutional rights. The past week also observed raids by ICE agents throughout the country and detaining people with criminal background.

    We are hopeful checks and balances are placed on the President’s power and the Government policies adhere to the American values!

  • Modi’s war on civil society; Minority NGOs are specially targeted

    Modi’s war on civil society; Minority NGOs are specially targeted

    Indian law stipulates that non-governmental groups register under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) to operate while receiving foreign donations. Increasingly this provision is being used by this government as a political tool to stifle dissenting opinions and to undermine the constitutional rights of its citizens”, says the author – George Abrahim.

    During the recent confirmation hearing for the job as the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson was urged by Cory Gardner, the Senator from Colorado to take up the issue of ‘Compassion International,’ a Christian Charity that operates 580 centers in India for destitute children, with authorities in India.

    ‘Since 2014, Compassion (International) has been the target of multiple coordinated governmental attacks because of its unapologetically Christian belief, but it has been delivering humanitarian services to hundreds of thousands of Indian Children. But due to restrictions by the Indian Government, they have been unable to fund its India operations since February 2016, despite having broken no laws. I believe the State Department should take notice that this ill treatment of Compassion International should stop, and it is a broader pattern by the Government of India, where other NGOs have seen similar problems’, Senator Gardner said at the hearing.

    Mr. Tillerson responded by saying that he appreciated the Senator bringing this issue during the hearing and assured that he would work with the Senator on the matter once he is confirmed. The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Mr. Bob Corker who was said to be actively engaged with the Indian Government over this issue for a year now followed up the exchange with a comment of his own saying that he was grateful for Senator Gardner for raising this issue and further stating that the Chairman Ed Royce of the House International Committee also cares deeply about this matter.

    The broad pattern that was referenced by the Senator on Non-Governmental Organizations in India appears to be real and disconcerting to freedom loving people everywhere. What is unraveling in Modi’s India today is the systematic banishment of those organizations that do not share his sectarian or environmental vision.

    Indian law stipulates that non-governmental groups register under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) to operate while receiving foreign donations. Increasingly this provision is being used by this government as a political tool to stifle dissenting opinions and to undermine the constitutional rights of its citizens.

    Civil rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who has fought hard for justice for the 2002 riot victims of Gujarat and accused the Modi Government of allegedly overseeing the violence now stands accused of defrauding funds from ‘Unity for Peace & Justice and Sabrang International,’ an organization she headed and subsequently lost the FCRA license. Green Peace India’s Priya Pillai was removed from a flight en route to London to attend a conference on the charges that she would have damaged India’s ‘national interest’ and further yanking out its FCRA privilege. Even NGOs who were engaged in Rights-based advocacy work such as Amnesty International were not spared.

    Cancellation of these FCRA licenses would mean that henceforth these organizations are forbidden to receive foreign donations, thereby essentially killing their operations. Many of these NGOs solely depends on the foreign funding as Corporations or other entities in India are reluctant to fund them often characterizing them as either politically charged or a risk due to fear of reprisals from the power centers. It should also be noted that with all the wealth creation that occurred in the last three decades or so, the Indian attitude towards charitable giving is still much to be desired!

    It is estimated that FCRA licenses of 20,000 NGOs have been canceled. Some of these organizations have come together and issued a joint statement accusing Modi government of using FCRA as a tool of repression. ‘Prima-facie it appears FCRA license non-renewal is neither legal nor objective and thereby impinging on the rights of the human rights defenders in access to funding, including foreign funding,” the apex human rights watchdog in the country said in a notice.

    Apart from the sound and fury created by these exchanges between some of the world renowned NGOs such as Green Peace and Amnesty International and the government, there is also a secret war being waged against Christian NGOs that are engaged in welfare work for the very poor in rural India. Caritas International that works with 350 NGOs across India that boasts a force of 25000 volunteers is another victim to Government’s authoritarian agenda and being accused of indulging in anti-India activity.

    Undoubtedly, there appears to be an unprecedented, deliberate and systematic effort to dislodge various Christian NGOs from India that may have nothing to do with their performance or violations of any rules. A joint statement from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the government was using the FCRA to muzzle NGOs. “The law’s use of broad and vague terms such as ‘public interest’ and ‘national interest’ have left it open to abuse”, read the statement. The ‘national interest’ government invokes in these cases seems to be an excuse for strengthening the Hindu identity of the country and is egged on by the Hindutva activists led by RSS.

    Almost eighty percent of the Charity work among the poorest of the poor is delivered by Christian NGOs in India often on difficult terrains and under trying conditions. ‘Compassion’ began operating in 1968 in India, where today its Indian-staffed development centers care for more than 145,000 children. ‘Compassion sends about $50 million per year in humanitarian aid to India. That makes it the single largest contributor of aid for children living in extreme poverty’ said Tim Glen, the US communication director for the organization.

    Why Modi government is shutting down ‘Compassion’ and denying vital services to this vulnerable part of the society may be debatable considering that this particular organization or similar entities rarely get involved in policy debates to the discomfiture of the establishment! However, one thing is certain, the politicians and bureaucrats who are formulating these disastrous policies are unaffected in their own bubble and do not seem to give a hoot about the well-being or the future of these children. “In Compassion’s case, Prime Minister Modi’s Government has since April blocked $3.5 million in aid to India’s most vulnerable children, as far as we can tell, no other reason than that Compassion is founded on and demonstrates Christian values” wrote Compassion president and CEO Santiago Mellado in an article for the ‘Hill’.’The Ministry of Home Affairs views Christian values as a threat to the ‘national interest’, particularly if those values are taught to the poor’ said Charity’s lead Attorney Stephen Oakley.

    In December 2016, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce convened a hearing to discuss Compassion International’s work in India. The hearing was entitled “American Compassion in India: Government Obstacles”. As the Chairman of the India Caucus and champion of the US-India civil nuclear agreement on the House floor, Mr. Royce was well placed in mediating a resolution to the standoff but to no avail. The belligerence from the administration was finally on full display when a Compassion official was subjected to a ‘dressing down’ at the Ministry of External Affairs thereby dashing any hope for a positive outcome.

    These moves appear to be consistent with the Hindutva philosophy that the Modi government has embraced to advance the saffron agenda that challenges the very idea of India as a multi-cultural and pluralistic society. Modi appears to pay lip service to Gandhiji’s idea of India upon his visits abroad but remains silent when Institutions that are supposed to promote those principles come under attack back at home.

    While the BJP government is hard at work restricting Christian NGOs from receiving funds from abroad, no such limitations are placed on the Sangh Parivar organizations that collect millions of dollars from Western Democracies. A recently released report from the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) states that “While the Indian government continues to use the FCRA to limit foreign funding for some NGOs, Hindutva supported organizations have never come under the scrutiny of the FCRA. With the new amendment to the FCRA, these foreign-based radical Hindu organizations will be able send funds to India, without restriction, to support hate campaigns. Under the new definition of FCRA, so long as the foreign company’s ownership of an Indian entity is within the foreign investment limits prescribed by the government for that sector, the company will be treated as “Indian” for the purposes of FCRA.” The latest report on the constitutional and legal challenges faced by religious minorities in India comes after the controversy last March when Indian government denied USCIRF the visas to visit the country. The powerful US religious freedom body that exercises considerable influence on the US Senate and Administration had at that point described the situation in India as “worrisome”.

    It is also common knowledge that Christian church leaders from the United States have a harder time obtaining a visa to visit their fellow faithful in India or attend a conference while no such restrictions are placed on Indians based on religious affiliations. It is indeed hypocritical to deny a religious conference visa to an American citizen while crying foul about H1B visa program that could take jobs away from American workers!

    More than 100 million children in India live without access to proper nutrition or other basic needs. The government does not have well established anti-poverty programs to address this critical issue and relies primarily on foreign aid groups for humanitarian relief. It would not only be irresponsible on the part of the government but immoral to let these children fall through the cracks for the sake of political expediency orin the name of religious bigotry.

     

  • Islamic State suicide bombing at Pakistan shrine kills 75

    Islamic State suicide bombing at Pakistan shrine kills 75

    An Islamic State suicide bomber struck inside a famed shrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 75 people in the deadliest attack in the country in more than two years.

    The bomber entered the main hall of the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan and detonated his payload amid dozens of worshippers, according to three security officials, who said at least 20 women and nine children were among the dead.

    The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. Fazal Palejo, a senior health official in Sindh province, confirmed the toll.

    The Islamic State group claimed the attack in a statement circulated by its Aamaq news agency, saying it had targeted a “Shiite gathering.” The Sunni extremist group views Shiites as apostates and has targeted Pakistan’s Shiite minority in the past. It views Sufi shrines like the one targeted Thursday as a form of idolatry.

    Raja Somro, who witnessed the attack, told a local TV network that hundreds of people were performing a spiritual dance known as the Dhamal when the bomber struck.

    “I saw bodies everywhere. I saw bodies of women and children,” he said.

    Local TV showed graphic footage of the aftermath of the blast, with wounded worshippers crying out for help and the floors covered with shoes, blood and body parts. Women cried and beat their chests in grief.

    Ghazanfar Shah, the custodian of the site, said security was lax at the shrine, which is entered through two gold-plated doors.

    Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed that security forces would track down the perpetrators of the attack, according to Pakistani state TV.

    “Each drop of the nation’s blood shall be avenged, and avenged immediately,” Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, said in a statement. “No more restraint for anyone.”

    The US State Department condemned the attack and offered its support to Pakistan in bringing the perpetrators to justice. “We stand with the people of Pakistan in their fight against terrorism and remain committed to the security of the South Asia region,” said a statement by acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

    Thursday’s attack was the deadliest in Pakistan since December 16, 2014, when militants assaulted an army-run school in Peshawar, killing 154 people, mostly schoolchildren.

    Pakistan has been at war with the Taliban and other extremist groups for more than a decade. In recent years it has launched major offensives against militant strongholds in the tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan, but insurgents have continued to carry out attacks elsewhere in the country.

    The Islamic State group has been expanding its presence in Pakistan in recent years and has claimed a number of deadly attacks, including a suicide bombing at another shrine in November 2016 that killed more than 50 people.

    The government has downplayed the IS affiliate, insisting that only a small number of militants have pledged allegiance to the group.

    Afghanistan and Pakistan have long accused each other of failing to crack down on militants who operate along the porous border.

    The army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, said acts of terrorism were being carried out “from hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan,” without elaborating. Pakistan closed the main Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan shortly after the attack.

  • Resetting ties: Pakistan may appoint new India envoy

    Resetting ties: Pakistan may appoint new India envoy

    NEW DELHI (TIP): India and Pakistan are likely to press the reset button in bilateral relations with Islamabad looking to appoint a new high commissioner to India, top diplomatic sources said.

    Pakistan’s high commissioner to India Abdul Basit will complete three years here next month and he has been recalled in yet another sign that Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif is in complete control of foreign policy.

    “Pakistan will announce the name of the new high commissioner in a few days,” said a diplomatic source on condition of anonymity.

    One of the names being considered is that of Sohail Mahmood, a career diplomat of 1985 batch. He has earlier served in Washington, New York and Ankara. Basit was said to be a certainty for the position of Pakistan’s foreign secretary but was pipped by Tehmina Janjua, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva.

    Janjua is said to be the choice of Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. The fact that Basit was seen as taking a hawkish position on most contentious issues with India is said to have gone against him in Islamabad’s choice of foreign secretary.

    Sharif in the past few months, or more specifically since the retirement of former army chief Raheel Sharif, has been keen to reach out to India. This has reflected in some of the steps taken by his government, including the release of Indian fishermen in December on his birthday and later also in the release again of an Indian soldier who was said to have “inadvertently” crossed over into Pakistan territory the day India carried out its surgical strikes across LoC.

    While the house arrest of JuD chief Hafiz Saeed probably has more to do with the change in US administration, the timing has only lent credence to the perception that Sharif is serious about improving ties with India. As has been reported earlier by this newspaper from Islamabad, the fact that Sharif could conveniently ignore Basit’s claim to the foreign secretary’s post only shows his growing clout after the departure of Raheel Sharif. (PTI)

  • Comptroller Stringer Debars Contractor that Cheated Immigrant Workers out of $1.7 million in Prevailing Wages and Benefits

    Comptroller Stringer Debars Contractor that Cheated Immigrant Workers out of $1.7 million in Prevailing Wages and Benefits

    (New York, NY) – New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today assessed $3.2 million in fines against K.S. Contracting Corporation and its owner, Paresh Shah, for cheating dozens of workers out of the prevailing wages and benefits they were owed under the New York State Labor Law. In addition to being assessed $3.2 million in unpaid wages, interest, and civil penalties, K.S Contracting and Mr. Shah will be barred from working on New York City and State contracts for five years.

    K.S. Contracting was named as one of the worst wage theft violators in New York in a report by the Center for Popular Democracy in 2015.

    “With President Trump taking clear aim at immigrants across the country, we need to stand up and protect the foreign-born New Yorkers who keep our City running. Every New Yorker has rights, and my office won’t back down in defending them,” New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer said. “Contractors might think they can take advantage of immigrants, but today we’re sending a strong message: my office will fight for every worker in New York City. This is about basic fairness and accountability.”

    K.S. Contracting was awarded more than $21 million in contracts by the City Departments of Design and Construction, Parks and Recreation, and Sanitation between 2007 and 2010. Projects included the Morrisania Health Center in the Bronx, the 122 Community Center in Manhattan, the Barbara S. Kleinman Men’s Residence in Brooklyn, the North Infirmary Command Building on Rikers Island, Bronx River Park, the District 15 Sanitation Garage in Brooklyn, and various City sidewalks in Queens.

    The Comptroller’s Office began investigating the company after an employee filed a complaint with the office in May 2010. The multi-year investigation used subpoenas, video evidence, union records, and City agency data to uncover a kickback scheme that preyed on immigrant workers.

    After a four-day administrative trial in May 2016, the Comptroller found that K.S. Contracting routinely issued paychecks to just half of its workforce and then required those employees to cash the checks and surrender the money to company supervisors. Those supervisors would then redistribute the cash to all of the employees on a jobsite, paying them at rates significantly below prevailing wages. K.S. Contracting, however, falsely reported to City agencies that all employees on the jobsite who received checks were paid the prevailing wage.

    Between August 2008 and November 2011, the company cheated at least 36 workers out of $1.7 million in wages and benefits on seven New York City public works projects. K.S. Contracting reported that it paid its workers combined wage and benefit rates starting at $50 per hour but actually paid daily cash salaries starting at $90 per day. The majority of the workers impacted were immigrants of Latino, South Asian, or West Indian descent.

    The New York City Comptroller’s office enforces state and local laws which require private contractors working on New York City public works projects or those with service contracts with City agencies to pay no less than the prevailing wage or living wage rate to their employees.


    When workers are underpaid, the New York City Comptroller’s office works to recoup the amount of the underpayment plus interest.

    Examples of Paysheets Used by K.S. Contracting
    https://gallery.mailchimp.com/bf606302e0aec6b092c87b850/images/f4826601-549b-4809-8a26-16fe4084040d.png

    https://gallery.mailchimp.com/bf606302e0aec6b092c87b850/images/9156f4d5-3926-4145-892f-5c399adaaf17.png
    https://gallery.mailchimp.com/bf606302e0aec6b092c87b850/images/5eb1841c-56b9-4363-b17c-9d47fba13364.pngSince taking office in 2014, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer’s Bureau of Labor Law has assessed over $20 million and barred 40 contractors from state and City contracts due to prevailing wage violations, both record amounts. The assessed violation number includes underpayment of wages and benefits with interest payable to workers, and civil penalties payable to the City treasury.

    “We applaud the Comptroller for standing up for the rights of immigrant workers and debarring bad actors like K.S. Contracting – a company identified by the Center for Popular Democracy as one of the worst violators of wage theft laws in New York. The Comptroller’s aggressive enforcement of prevailing wage law is a perfect example of what is needed to effectively combat wage theft throughout the city and state,” said Kate Hamaji, Center for Popular Democracy.

    “We commend Comptroller Stringer for defending the rights of immigrant workers and ensure that they receive the wages and benefits that they deserve,” said Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. “In a time when immigrant communities are worried for their future in this country, it is essential that we have strong city advocates who will ensure that their rights are protected.”

    “At a time when exploitative employers are feeling increasingly emboldened by Trump’s hateful rhetoric, it is imperative that our City’s leaders are taking a strong stance in defense of immigrant workers. Wage theft is a persistent and pervasive problem in New York, with employers like Paresh Shah cheating their immigrant workers out of millions of dollars in lawful wages and benefits each year. We commend the Comptroller for fighting to recuperate wages for the workers at KS Contracting and for showing employers like Paresh Shah that their behavior will not be tolerated by the City of New York,” said Deborah Axt, Executive Director, Make the Road New York.

    “I want to thank New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer for taking the lead in fighting wage theft. Unfortunately wage theft is a crime that is running rampart throughout the construction industry. Hard working men and women, who expect nothing more than a fair day’s pay for a fair’s day’s work are constantly seeing their hard earned wages stolen by dishonest, criminal employers. By debarring KS Contracting for five years, Comptroller Stringer and his office have sent a message loud and clear – stealing workers’ wages will not be tolerated in New York.” said Robert Bonanza, Business Manager, Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York, LiUNA!.

    “I would like to thank Comptroller Stringer and his team in the Bureau of Labor Law for bringing justice to the workers at K.S. Contracting. Unfortunately the Comptroller’s task is made more difficult by the fact that many City agencies do not put top priority on monitoring projects for labor violations. Too many employers in New York City exploit minority and immigrant workers. And it’s no secret that many immigrant workers are fearful of retaliation for standing up for their rights, especially in an environment where they are afraid of being deported. This undercuts labor standards for all workers, and safe, educated workers are our City’s most valuable resource. We need more responsible and proactive leaders like Comptroller Stringer to protect that resource,” said Lowell Barton, Vice President/Organizing Director, Laborers Local 1010, LiUNA!.

    “In a city where diversity is our greatest strength, we will not let anyone target our immigrant workers for abuse. Undermining labor standards for immigrants it’s an attack on all workers. I commend Comptroller Stringer for standing up for immigrant workers and against wage theft at a time when our immigrant communities are under attack,” said Renata Pumarol, Communications Director, New York Communities for Change.

    “We at the Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL) are extremely conscious of the rights of every human being who lives in this great nation no matter what their immigration status. Many hard working individuals are taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers. We greatly applaud Comptroller Scott Stringer’s aggressive approach to combat wage theft violations and in this way protect the rights of all workers. I applaud his historic record of debarring 40 contractors since taking office and assessing over $20 million in prevailing wage violations, including today’s order against K.S. Contracting,” said Maf Misbah Uddin, ASAAL National President.

    To read more about how the Comptroller’s Office sets and enforces prevailing wage and benefit rates on New York City public works projects, please click here.

  • TRUMP RAILS AT MEDIA FOR ITS REPORTING, REPEATING UMPTEENTH TIME CNN IS ‘FAKE MEDIA’

    TRUMP RAILS AT MEDIA FOR ITS REPORTING, REPEATING UMPTEENTH TIME CNN IS ‘FAKE MEDIA’

    The leaks are real. But the news about them is fake. The White House is a fine-tuned machine. Russia is a ruse.

    It was a 90 minute show of bravado by a super performer. Trump bullied reporters, dismissed facts and then cracked a few caustic jokes – a combination that once made the candidate irresistible cable TV fodder. Now in office, he went even further, blaming the media for all but sinking his not-yet-launched attempt to “make a deal” with Moscow.

    For its stunning moments and memorable one-liners, Donald Trump’s first solo news conference as president has no rivals in recent memory. For all the trappings of the White House and traditions of the forum, his performance was one of a swaggering, blustery campaigner, armed with grievances and primed to unload on his favorite targets.

    That matters, Trump said in one of his many improvisational asides, because he’d been briefed and “I can tell you … nuclear holocaust would be like no other.”

    This was his and his aides’ attempt to get the boss his groove back. Trump used the event to try to claw his young administration back from the brink after a defeat in court and the forced resignation of his top national security adviser.

    He taunted reporters and waved away their attempts to fact-check him in real time. He (incorrectly) touted his Electoral College total and repeatedly blasted his November opponent – somehow mentioning Hillary Clinton more than anyone else in his defense of his administration’s early days. He bragged that his White House is “a fine-tuned machine” and claimed “there has never been a presidency that has done so much in such a short period of time.”

    If only the news media would give him credit. Over and over, he accused the political press of being dishonest and suggested that any negative coverage of his administration was “fake news.” He unloaded a torrent of grievances while positioning himself as the stand-in for the everyman, who, he declared, hates and distrusts reporters as much as he does.

    “The press – the public doesn’t believe you people anymore. Now, maybe I had something to do with that. I don’t know. But they don’t believe you,” Trump charged. “But you’ve got to be at least a little bit fair, and that’s why the public sees it. They see it. They see it’s not fair. You take a look at some of your shows and you see the bias and the hatred.”

    It was a far cry from the “buck stops here” mantra popularized by Harry Truman and other presidents who believed that the ultimate responsibility for any White House struggles lay with the president himself. Trump was eager to assign blame elsewhere, ignoring the nation’s healthy economy and relative peace when he took office to say “to be honest, I inherited a mess, a mess, at home and abroad, a mess.”

    He mostly blamed the media for his woes, rebuffing suggestions that he was undermining confidence in the press or threatening the First Amendment by trying to convince the nation that “the press honestly is out of control.”

    “The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people,” he said. “Tremendous disservice.”

    Never before has a president stood in the White House and so publicly maligned the press or attacked reporters by name, according to presidential historians. Not even Richard Nixon in the days of Watergate.

    But for Trump, it continued a defining theme and amplified his chief strategist Stephen Bannon’s decree that the media are “the opposition party.”

    Trump had put claims of press prejudice at the center of his campaign in an unprecedented way and earlier this month falsely accused the media of refusing to cover terrorist attacks across the world. Though Thursday’s news conference was a messy, fact-challenged affair, it may well have been cheered by Trump supporters across the country who had packed arenas last year to jeer reporters and chant “tell the truth” at the press pen.

    An Associated Press-GfK poll taken on the eve of the election revealed that 87 percent of Trump’s supporters saw the media as biased against him.

    Trump retains support among Republicans, and solid majorities of Americans say he is following through on his promises and is viewed as a strong leader, according to a Gallup survey. But his overall job approval rating is much lower than those of past presidents at the same point in their administrations. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 39 percent of Americans approve of his job performance while 56 percent disapprove.

    But he also made a point of complimenting a softball inquiry about the first lady as “a very nice question.” He teased CNN reporter Jim Acosta for having the same last name as his new pick for labor secretary – Alexander Acosta, whose appointment was ostensibly the reason for the news conference – and said he asked his staff to make sure the men weren’t related.

    He chided a Jewish reporter wearing a kippah for asking a question about anti-Semitism. He asked an African-American reporter whether she could help set up a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. He displayed a rare moment of introspection when he discussed his love for kids amid his “very, very hard” decision whether to potentially deport young immigrants who came to the United States illegally as children.

    But mostly it was Trump’s bravado on display, as when he incorrectly asserted that his Electoral College victory had been the largest of any president since Ronald Reagan – and then simply dismissed a reporter’s attempt to correct him.

    “Well, I don’t know, I was given that information,” said Trump. “But it was a very substantial victory, do you agree with that?”

  • Sasikala’s pick Palaniswami takes over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

    Sasikala’s pick Palaniswami takes over as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

    CHENNAI (TIP): The political potboiler in Tamil Nadu ended on February 16 with the swearing-in of jailed AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala’s proxy, Edappadi K Palaniswami, as the chief minister.

    A long-time confidante of former AIADMK supremo and chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Sasikala’s hopes to become the CM were dashed when the Supreme Court sent her to prison for four years in a two-decade-old corruption case, prompting her to name Palaniswami as her successor and brought two nephews into the party who were expelled by Jayalalithaa.

    Palaniswami retained almost all the ministers in the O Panneerselvam government, barring the ousted chief minister as well as education minister MF Pandiarajan who have rebelled against Sasikala. Governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office to the chief minister and his 30-member council at a function in which Sasikala’s family members took the front row, leaving no room for guesswork as to where the party leaders draw their strength from. The governor invited Palaniswami to form the government after he presented a list of 124 AIADMK lawmakers supporting him. The new chief minister will have to take a floor test in the assembly in a fortnight to prove that he enjoys support of the majority of legislators.

    The AIADMK posted on its twitter handle that the trust vote will be held on Saturday.

    Senior party leaders said the leadership wanted to get it done without delay – lest some of the legislators changed their mind and crossed over to the Panneerselvam camp that has vowed to fight the “wrongdoing”.

    Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami after taking the oath of secrecy administered by governor Vidyasagar Rao during the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on February 16. Photo courtesy PTI
    Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami after taking the oath of secrecy administered by governor Vidyasagar Rao during the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on February 16. Photo courtesy PTI

    Until then the MLAs would remain at Golden Bay resort at Kuvathur, 80km from Chennai, where they have been staying since Sasikala corralled them there last Wednesday night to stop them from switching loyalties.

    Panneerselvam backers were confident about several legislators joining their side.

    “During the floor test, even if seven MLAs switch sides, the government will be in a minority. Wait and see what happens,” former education minister Pandiarajan said.

    The Panneerselvam camp requested the election commission to nullify the election of Sasikala as the AIADMK general secretary, alleging that the process violated the party constitution.

    “Freeing the party from the control of Sasikala is the larger battle and this is a step in that direction,” said Rajya Sabha member V Maitreyan, who went to poll panel with the request in New Delhi.

    The 61-year-old Sasikala – a long-time confidante of former AIADMK supremo and chief minister J Jayalalithaa – had been anointed as the late leader’s successor by the ruling party and was due to be sworn in last week.

    But she was pulled into a bruising power struggle by Panneerselvam, who alleged he was forced to resign. Since then, he has been backed by several MPs and MLAs who have switched sides but a majority of the party lawmakers is said to be behind Sasikala.

    Her hopes were dashed when the Supreme Court sent her to prison for four years in a two-decade-old corruption case, prompting her to name Palaniswami as her successor and brought two nephews into the party who were expelled by Jayalalithaa.

    The conviction disqualifies her from holding a public office and contesting elections for the next 10 years. She is now lodged in Bengaluru central jail as prisoner number 9324, but political analysts said she would wield the remote control with a proxy heading the government.

    Panneerselvam, also known as OPS, vowed to free the state from the clutches of Sasikala and her family.

    “We will defeat them in the assembly,” he told his supporters outside his home in Chennai. But for now, the initiative appears lost in the rebel camp. Sasikala supporter and senior minister OS Manian was confident that the government would complete its term, a little more than four years to the next assembly elections. “Most of the MLAs with OPS will return to us. You wait and see,” he said, hinting that the cabinet would be expanded after trust vote.

    The lawmakers would prefer to complete their term, rather than going for fresh elections without their charismatic leader, Jayalalithaa, and with the burden of an ugly power spat. The fear of facing the ballot will bind the AIADMK legislators, political analysts said.

     

  • US, Russia agree to boost military talks

    US, Russia agree to boost military talks

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The US and Russian militaries agreed to “enhance communications” after a meeting between their top commanders in Azerbaijan today (February16), the Pentagon said. Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford and his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov discussed military relations between the two countries as well as security in Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere during their meeting in the capital Baku.

    The two sides “have undertaken efforts to improve operational safety of military activities in order to decrease the prospects for crisis and avoid the risk of unintended incidents,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “The leaders further agreed to enhance communications on such stabilizing measures.”

    The United States and Russia already maintain a permanent military communications line over their air operations in Syria to avoid incidents between their aircraft. The last face-to-face meeting between the two highest US and Russian military officers took place in January 2014 between Gerasimov and Dunford’s predecessor Martin Dempsey. The Baku meeting comes amid widespread speculation about the future of US-Russian relations following US President Donald Trump’s election.

  • Vikas Swarup is India’s new envoy to Canada

    Vikas Swarup is India’s new envoy to Canada

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Ministry of External Affairs is all set to get a new public face with its current spokesperson Vikas Swarup headed to Canada as the High Commissioner.

    Gopal Baglay, Joint Secretary in charge of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan Division in the ministry, is likely to succeed Swarup. Baglay earlier served as Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan and as Director in MEA’s External Publicity Division.

    Swarup, a 1986-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, had replaced Syed Akbaruddin as the MEA spokesperson in 2015. He shot to fame when his novel Q&A was made into a Hollywood movie, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, which won eight Oscars. He is expected to take up his new assignment shortly.