NEW YORK(TIP): Bidushi Rosy Dutta, renowned classical singer from Kolkata, won the hearts of music lovers across USA during her recent tour. Throughout her musical journey, Rosy enthralled the audience at prestigious classical music concerts in US including Shikshayatan Center of New York, Vedanta Center of Washington DC, Bharatsevasram of New Jersey, North American Hindu Temple society of New York , Brooklyn Raga Massive of New York, Liver More Temple of San Francisco, and Fremont Temple of San Francesco.
After her mind-blowing performance at the Shree Shikshayatan center of New York on June 3, 2018, Shikshayatan President Purnima Desai honored Rosy. Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, chief editor of The Indian Panorama was the guest of honor at the concert.
Rosy got her training from Pandit JVS Rao (the legendary disciple of Pandit Vinayak Rao Pattabardhan) and Pt Biresh Roy. At present she is undergoing training under the able guidance of Dr. Sunanda Patnaik (another legendary disciple of Pt Vinayak Rao Pattabardhan), the ‘Tarana Queen’ and the living legend of Indian Classical Music.
Rosy Dutta (third from left)was honored by Shikshayatan President Purnima Desai (second from left). On extreme right is Guest of Honor Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, publisher / editor of The Indian Panorama
She had performed at many prestigious classical concerts in Kolkata as well as other renowned musical conferences of India like Uttarpara Sangeet Chairs, Salt Lake Music Festival, Sangeet Piyasi of Pandit Samar Saha, West Bengal State Music Conference, Dakshini Sangeet Sammelan Behala, Pandit BhimsenJoshi Sangeet Samaroh in Gadag(the birth place of Pt BhimsenJoshi), Karnataka, 100 years Celebration of Great Pt Puttaraj Gawai from Puttaraj Gawai Seva Samity in Dharwad of Karnataka, and Guru ShishyaParampara Utsav in Bangalore. In Dharwad, she was felicitated by Great Vocalist Padmasree Dr. Neela M. Kodli, daughter of Pt Mallikarjune Mansoor.
Rosy had performed a number of times in Bangladesh as an invited artist of Bangladesh Government and other foreign countries including Spain, Nepal, and Dubai among others.
Prem Parameswaran, Group Chief Financial Officer and President of North America of Eros International, and Metro Park actor Omi Vaidya attend the ceremony
NEW YORK (TIP): Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a Global Indian Entertainment Company, announced, March 4, the release of its latest original digital series,Metro Park, on March 3rd. A light-hearted comedy, Metro Parkrevolves around a Gujarati family based in suburban New Jersey.
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Prem Parameswaran addresses a press conference and guests at the premier of Metro Park at the New York Stock Exchange, March 1
o celebrate the launch of the series, Prem Parameswaran, Group Chief Financial Officer and President of North America, and Omi Vaidya, one of the stars of Metro Park, rang The Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday March 1st.
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 New York City to New Jersey to stay closer to Kinjal’s sister Payal, and her husband Kalpesh in New Jersey which is home to many Indian families and this series highlights their day-to-day life in a way that is sure to make audiences laugh.
With Indian values at its core, this comedy highlights different quirky Indian characters, cultural differences, modern relationships and age gaps. The show promises to build an instant connection with Indian audiences globally. The well-defined characters are expertly played by Ranvir Shorey (Kalpesh), Purbi Joshi (Payal), Omi Vaidya (Kannan) and Vega Timotia (Kinjal). The very talented Pitobash Tripathy is also featured in the comic role of an Assistant to Kalpesh.
Commenting on the announcement of the show, Ridhima Lulla, Chief Content Officer, Eros Group said, “We at Eros Now believe in presenting content that is relevant and will create an instant connection with audiences across the globe. Metro Park is the perfect blend of Indian characters and impeccable comedy. The production value and the cast of the original -series further enhances viewer’s digital content consumption experience.”
All episodes of Metro Park are available exclusively on Eros Now
About Eros International Plc
Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) a Global Indian Entertainment company that acquires, co-produces and distributes Indian films across all available formats such as cinema, television and digital new media. Eros International Plc became the first Indian media company to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Eros International has experience of over three decades in establishing a global platform for Indian cinema. The Company has an extensive and growing movie library comprising of over 3,000 films, which include Hindi, Tamil, and other regional language films for home entertainment distribution. The Company also owns the rapidly growing OTT platform Eros Now. For further information, please visit: www.erosplc.com.
About Eros Now
Eros Now is Eros International Plc’s On-Demand South Asian Entertainment Video Service accessible worldwide to viewers across internet enabled devices including mobile, web and TV. With 11,000+ Movie titles, Music Videos, Television Programming and others Eros Now caters to 128 million registered users and 13.0 million paying subscribers worldwide with the promise of endless entertainment Product features, such as video in HD, multi-language subtitles, movie downloads, and high-quality original drama series differentiate the Eros Now entertainment offering. To see, watch now: www.erosnow.com
What we have witnessed following the strike , from the Government and the BJP leaders would not only sully the image of India but also the nation’s credibility through overt politicization of this conflict, as the country is preparing itself for a critical election.
By George Abraham
Ever since the attack in Pulwama by a suicide bomber killing 42 of India’s security personnel, the country has been on the edge, fearing an all-out war with Pakistan. Any civilized person could view the barbarity of this dastardly terrorist act only with disgust and rage. However, a confrontation between these two nuclear powers is neither in the interest of these two nations nor does it bode well for the future of this turbulent region. Pakistan has been waging a proxy war with India over the Kashmir issue from the time of Independence, and a final solution to this crisis is not within sight.
Some would argue that this is the time of war and everyone should keep their apprehensions about its conduct or any other questions they may have close to their chest. However, a massive intelligence failure of this magnitude over the Pulwama tragedy should not be missed. How did a young man in his twenties, who was already on the radar of the Security personnel, come to possess, pack & conceal, and then drive 300KG explosives towards a military convoy undetected? Reports from the region suggest that a police advisory was already in effect a week before this, stating that the Central Reserve Police Force deployment would be targeted. Where is the accountability on these massive security lapses?
A recent New York Times report paints a scathing image of India’s vintage military equipment and its impact on military readiness. “India’s armed forces are in alarming shape. If intense warfare broke out tomorrow, India could supply its troops with only 10 days of ammunition, according to government estimates. And 68 percent of the army’s equipment is deplorably old. It is officially considered ‘vintage’”. A swollen bureaucracy together with lack of funding obviously rendered these procurement and training processes anything but cumbersome.
Nevertheless, India was left with no choice but to retaliate. Pakistan has been aiding and abetting Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leader Masood Azhar for long despite the pressure from the U.N. and other international bodies. The Air Force was tasked to strike the terror targets in Balakot region: an order that was carried out despite bad weather conditions. The Indian Military has been known for its professionalism and respect for civilian leadership in a democratic setup. Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa refused to give a casualty count saying “IAF doesn’t count the number of dead” and the “casualty figure in an air strike on Balakot camp will be given by the government,” referring to the air strike it had carried out on February 26, 2019.
Another shameful spectacle that is unfolding in India today is the blatant display of jingoism by the media and their networks to propel a wider war. Instead of bringing together the nation at a time of crisis, some of these news channels are creating divisions, promoting hate and sowing discord.
However, what we have witnessed following the strike , from the Government and the BJP leaders would not only sully the image of India but also the nation’s credibility through overt politicization of this conflict, as the country is preparing itself for a critical election. First, the leaked information from sources to the media put the casualty count at 300 to 350. Western intelligence sources and the International press immediately cast severe doubt on these numbers, and some reports directly from the ground characterized the damages as minimal.
However, in public speeches, Amit Shah, the President of the ruling party BJP, talked about 250 terrorists being wiped out. Other BJP leaders like BS Yeddyurappa said that his party would win 22 seats in Karnataka after the strike. It is as if BJP leaders are relishing these moments of war and salivating about the prospects of riding to victory in the fog of a protracted fight between the two nations. It boggles one’s mind to believe that after the Pulwama attack, the terrorists associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed just gathered together to sleep in one place, making an easy target of themselves for the IAF!
Anyone who questioned the veracity of the BJP leaders’ claims is called an anti-national and accused of doing Pakistan’s bidding. “At a time when our army is engaged in crushing terrorism, inside the country and outside, some people within the country are trying to break their morale, which is cheering our enemy,” Modi said at an election rally. “I want to know from Congress and its partners why they are making statements that are benefiting the enemies”, he added. Modi is apparently absent from the capital in managing the conflict. Instead, he is entirely taking advantage of the ongoing battle on his campaign trail, vilifying the opposition and questioning their patriotism for political advantage.
Another shameful spectacle that is unfolding in India today is the blatant display of jingoism by the media and their networks to propel a wider war. Instead of bringing together the nation at a time of crisis, some of these news channels are creating divisions, promoting hate and sowing discord. They broadcast manufactured news; shamelessly appropriate nationalism; and designate a segment as enemy’s allies. Many of them have become vassals of special interests mostly controlled by crony capitalists aligned with the ruling party.
It is also sad to hear that there is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation created for Kashmiri students across the country, as Sangh Parivar forces target them for revenge attacks. “It is no secret that the Bajrang Dal and the student wing of the Sangh were foremost in fomenting trouble against Kashmiri students in various parts of India. This was done keeping in mind the upcoming general election”, Omar Abdulla, former Chief Minister of Kashmir said. “It is obvious that BJP sees an advantage in such environments. It helps them paper over Modi’s mistakes like demonetization, joblessness, India’s poor economic growth and the distress faced by the country’s agricultural sector” he added.
We collectively admire the bravery and sacrifice of our armed forces. They are fighting to keep all Indians safe and protect the sovereignty of the nation from terrorists and a country that provides haven to them. Moreover, they are fighting to safeguard our democratic traditions and way of life. As Sashi Kumar, a commentator eloquently put it recently, “they are not fighting for this or that political party; they are not fighting for the electoral gains of the ruling party or of the opposition. However, they are, if anything, fighting the religious fundamentalism of one kind but not to replace it with the rampant religious fundamentalism of another kind, even of the majoritarian variety”.
The BJP’s strategy appears to be clear and straightforward: playing up Hindu nationalism; linking Kashmiri youth and Jihadi terrorists supported by an enemy, Pakistan; and providing ‘red meat’ to a large segment of the voting public, who are so disappointed with Modi’s failure to deliver his campaign promises. However, this is all at the risk of endangering India’s democratic and pluralistic values, and accelerating animosity between two armed nuclear neighbors, which may even put them on a path to potential disaster!
(The author is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations and current Vice-Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, USA)
WILL INDIA CAPITALIZE ON “USA-INDIA CLOSE ALLY” STATUS?
WILL INDIA SEIZE THE OFFER OF THE USA TO TRANSFER 100% OF US TECHNOLOGY?
WHAT LESSONS INDIA LEARNED AFTER THE AIR SKIRMISHES WITH PAKISTAN ON 26th and 27th FEBRUARARY?
“Prime Minister Modi must take full advantage of ‘CLOSE ALLY’ relationship and start doing business with the USA that will benefit both. China opened its economy in 1979 and within 20 years it became the second economic power in the world. India has excellent credit and therefore India can mobilize resources needed for modernizing India and its defense. India must embrace capitalism as China did, and not continue to fool around with socialism”.
At the outset, I must say that this is the first time India received worldwide support since its independence in 1947.During the end of Harry Truman’s Presidency, Pakistan aligned with the USA by signing a Mutual Security Agreement. President Trump changed this after his election. He canceled aid to Pakistan and gave ultimatum to Pakistan to get rid of all terrorist organizations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashhar-e-Taiba .These two major Pakistan’s homegrown terror organizations with the implied support of Pakistan’s military and the I.S.I. (intelligence agency) attacked the Indian Parliament in 2001. In 2008, they tried to seize Mumbai and thru terror tactics killed 165 Indians and foreign nationals. Since then, various governments of Pakistan refused to mete out justice to the assailants, the leaders of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Pakistan’s military and the I.S.I. have been ruling Pakistan. The military has installed Prime Minister Imran Khan. The so-called civil government and its parliament are mere window-display.
PAKISTAN HAS BEEN VIOLATING THE LINE OF CONTROL BETWEEN INDIAN KASHMIR AND PAKISTAN OCCUPIED KASHMIR
Pakistan has been violating the Line of Control systematically resulting in thousands of deaths of Indian soldiers during the past two decades. On 14th February, Pakistan used Jaish-e-Mohammed as its proxy and killed 41 Indian military police. Prime Minister Modi said, “Enough is Enough. India cannot and will not tolerate.” And he ordered his military to take action.
USA-INDIA CLOSEST ALLY STATUS IN PLAY
Before India took military action, India created a favorable political atmosphere in the world that pumped out political support from the sole superpower, the USA. The National Security Adviser, John Bolton and the Secretary of State, Pompei extended vehement support. This was followed immediately by discussion in the U.S.Congress. Several leaders of the U.S.Senate and the House of Representatives accused Pakistan and offered their overwhelming support to India. There was a general consensus that Pakistan must take action to get rid of all terrorists. The leadership of the USA was followed by the European Union, Australia, Japan, Canada and many countries. The United Nations discussed the matter and asked Pakistan to get rid of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. I am explaining to show that India did not act hastily and alone. It even had the implied support of China.
INDIA NEUTRALIZED CHINESE SUPPORT OF PAKISTAN
It must be pointed out that China chose not to support Pakistan against Indian attacks. Instead, China appealed to both India and Pakistan to use restraint and settle the differences. But China emphasized that Pakistan must get rid of its terrorists. It is also important to note that China refused to intervene or support Pakistan in 1971, when India used force to liberate East Pakistan and created Bangladesh. This is in spite of the historical fact that India and China had fought in 1962 on territorial differences.
Pakistan had banked on Chinese support and was disappointed. Significantly, China did not even mention the territorial violation of Pakistan by India. Equally, Pakistan was furious that the U.N. was silent when India attacked Pakistan’s airspace and violated its sovereignty.
It is interesting that India’s Foreign Minister, Sushma Swaraj timed her strategic meeting in Peking during the crisis, and she told her counterpart:
“No military installations were targeted. The limited objective of the preemptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of Jaish-e-Mohammed in order to pre-empt another terror attack on India. India does not wish to see further escalation of the situation. India will continue to act with responsibility and restraint.”
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE AIR SKIRMISHES WITH PAKISTAN
INTELLIGENCE: On the 26th attack on Balakot, Pakistan, Indian intelligence failed to target the right place for bombing.
TECHNOLOGY: On the 27th dogfight, the Indian pilot, Abhinandan Varthaman, was downed because his MIG-21 was no match to Pakistan’s F-16. Even the latest MIG-35 is no match to F-16. Thus, superior technology matters.
PUBLIC RELATIONS: Public Relations is also very important. P stands for Performance and R stands for Reporting. Indian bureaucrats failed to report. The media and the public wanted to know when and where F-16 plane was downed and how. The speculation is the Indian pilot before he was downed also inflicted damage to the F-16 forcing its pilot to go down. Also, when India failed to identify the target in Balakot, India claimed it had destroyed the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s training camp of 300.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION TO CAPITALIZE ON “INDIA-USA CLOSE ALLY” RELATIONSHIP
India must take bold steps to make its economy modern and grow its GDP @10% minimum for the next decade.This will create multi millions of jobs badly needed by the unemployed.
Liberalize and open the economy.Make it most business friendly and create most favorable environment for foreign investment.
Modern warfare is won using sophisticated technologies and superior intelligence.India must be prepared to make dynamic changes in its military preparedness. India must once and for all decide to buy the best and most superior military hardware from the USA. India should be prepared not to depend on Russia. Indian factories that make Russian MIGs are outmoded and should be closed. What is the use of buying cheap or paying in rupees if you cannot win the war?
China’s defense budget is $175 billion, India’s is $45 billion Out of India’s budget, $28 billion is allocated for salaries and pensions, leaving only $17 billion for military hardware. To protect India’s sovereignty and its international standing, India has no choice but to increase its defense budget to $175 billion.
India has ammunitions to last only for 10 days of war.This is precarious and not acceptable.
India should immediately allocate $100 billion to buy sophisticated military hardware, especially, quantity fighter planes to defend against China and Pakistan.
NEXT STEP: Prime Minister Modi should make a definite schedule for President Trump to visit India for at least three days. He will be accompanied by a large delegation of Fortune 500 corporations, investment banks etc. During the visit Prime Minister Modi could discuss with President Trump, India’s requirements to build its economy and defense. Instead of India negotiating to buy directly from American military hardware manufacturers, President Trump could negotiate as he is good at cutting the price to the bottom. He helped Vietnam finalize purchase of planes from Boeing during the North Korean summit held in Hanoi.
President Trump’s grand strategy is to balance against the aggressive and growing Chinese influence in Asia. He is interested in replacing China with India as a source for consumer and industrial goods. However, today India does not have the necessary infrastructure to manufacture on large scale. India must deliver water and energy to all for 24/7. India has a large supply of engineers and managers. India has a comparative advantage with China . India must privatize its public sector corporations and release resources. Lockheed Martin, United Technologies, Boeing, Raytheon and others are ready and willing to manufacture in India. Making weapons in India has a comparative advantage especially with an oversupply of professional engineers and managers.
Prime Minister Modi must take full advantage of ‘CLOSE ALLY’ relationship and start doing business with the USA that will benefit both. China opened its economy in 1979 and within 20 years it became the second economic power in the world. India has excellent credit and therefore India can mobilize resources needed for modernizing India and its defense. India must embrace capitalism as China did, and not continue to fool around with socialism.
(Ven Parameswaran, MBA, Columbia University, lives in Scarsdale, N.Y. He is a Senior Adviser to Imagindia Institute, a think tank in New Delhi)
The Attorney General of India’s submission to the Supreme Court, later retracted, that the Government was considering action against The Hindu under the undemocratic and draconian Official Secrets Act (OSA) was unwarranted and awkward. Casting the legalese aside, the Government was seeking to shoot the messenger for publishing secret documents that questioned the Rafale deal. The AG could have sounded more credible if he had argued that the secret documents revealed by the media house were incorrect or irrelevant to the case. If these documents were not edited to tamper with the context or to further political or corporate interests, they remain valid.
Instead of arguing on the validity of the information put out in the public domain, the Government has given the impression of threatening journalists for raising uncomfortable or inconvenient questions. The Editors’ Guild has rightly noted that any attempt to wield the Official Secrets Act against journalists is as ‘reprehensible’ as asking journalists to disclose their sources. If the aim was to stop the courts from looking at those documents merely because they were suspected to be purloined, the ploy failed. Journalists have every right to obtain documents and publish them for greater public good. A journalist’s public-spirited attempt to bring out the truth should go beyond handout journalism and it can never be termed a breach of national security. The court has rightly turned down the AG’s plea not to look at evidence just because it was obtained through leaks. All great stories have been leaked out by some public-spirited official or the other.
Unless the Government proves that these documents have been planted on the newspaper for partisan reasons, the consequences of the documents being declared genuine are indeed far-reaching. For they seem to hint at an attempt to compromise the Defence Ministry’s negotiating position due to the interference of the Prime Minister’s Office as well as suppression of facts from the Supreme Court. More reprehensible is the threat to force journalists to reveal their sources. It is universally recognized that the relationship between the media and the State ought to be adversarial, with the media playing an Oppositional role. It should remain so for our democracy to remain vibrant and viable.
Freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Paul Manafort’s “little” jail sentence
ALEXANDRIA, VA(TIP): Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was sentenced on Thursday, March 8, to 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians, much less than what was called for under sentencing guidelines.
Manafort, sitting in a wheelchair as he deals with complications from gout, had no visible reaction as he heard the 47-month sentence. While that was the longest sentence to date to come from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, it could have been much worse for Manafort. Sentencing guidelines called for a 20-year-term, effectively a lifetime sentence for the 69-year-old.
Manafort has been jailed since June, so he will receive credit for the nine months he has already served. He still faces the possibility of additional time from his sentencing in a separate case in the District of Columbia, where he pleaded guilty to charges related to illegal lobbying.
Before Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentence, Manafort told him that “saying I feel humiliated and ashamed would be a gross understatement.” But he offered no explicit apology, something Judge Ellis noted before issuing his sentence.
Manafort steered Donald Trump’s election efforts during crucial months of the 2016 campaign as Russia sought to meddle in the election through hacking of Democratic email accounts. He was among the first of Mr. Trump’s associates charged in the Mueller investigation and has been a high-profile defendant.
But the charges against Manafort were unrelated to his work on the campaign or the focus of Mr. Mueller’s investigation- whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russians.
A jury last year convicted Manafort on eight counts, concluding that he hid from the IRS millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine.
Manafort’s lawyers argued that their client had engaged in what amounted to a routine tax evasion case and cited numerous past sentences in which defendants had hidden millions from the IRS and served less than a year in prison.
Prosecutors said Manafort’s conduct was egregious, but Judge Ellis ultimately agreed more with defense attorneys. “These guidelines are quite high,” Judge Ellis said.
Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys had requested a particular sentence length in their sentencing memoranda, but prosecutors had urged a “significant” sentence.
Outside court, Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing, said his client accepted responsibility for his conduct “and there was absolutely no evidence that Mr. Manafort was involved in any collusion with the government of Russia.”
Though Manafort hasn’t faced charges related to collusion, he has been seen as one of the most pivotal figures in the Mueller investigation. Prosecutors, for instance, have scrutinized his relationship with Konstantin Kilimnik, a business associate U.S. authority say is tied to Russian intelligence, and have described a furtive meeting the men had in August 2016 as cutting to the heart of the investigation.
After pleading guilty in the D.C. case, Manafort met with investigators for more than 50 hours as part of a requirement to cooperate with the probe. But prosecutors reiterated at Thursday’s hearing that they believe Manafort was evasive and untruthful in his testimony to a grand jury.
Manafort was wheeled into the courtroom about 3-45 p.m. in a green jumpsuit from the Alexandria jail, where he spent the last several months in solitary confinement. The jet-black hair he bore in 2016 when serving as campaign chairman was gone, replaced by a shaggy gray. He spent much of the hearing hunched at the shoulders, bearing what appeared to be an air of resignation.
Defense lawyers had argued that Manafort would never have been charged if it were not for Mueller’s probe. At the outset of the trial, even Judge Ellis agreed with that assessment, suggesting that Manafort was being prosecuted only to pressure him to “sing” against Mr. Trump. Prosecutors said the Manafort investigation preceded Mr. Mueller’s appointment.
The jury convicted Manafort on eight felonies related to tax and bank fraud charges for hiding foreign income from his work in Ukraine from the IRS and later inflating his income on bank loan applications. Prosecutors have said the work in Ukraine was on behalf of politicians who were closely aligned with Russia, though Manafort insisted his work helped those politicians distance themselves from Russia and align with the West.
In arguing for a significant sentence, prosecutor Greg Andres said Manafort still hasn’t accepted responsibility for his misconduct.
“His sentencing positions are replete with blaming others,” Mr. Andres said. He also said Manafort still has not provided a full account of his finances for purposes of restitution, a particularly egregious omission given that his crime involved hiding more than $55 million in overseas bank accounts to evade paying more than $6 million in federal income taxes.
The lack of certainty about Manafort’s finances complicated the judge’s efforts to impose restitution, but Ellis ultimately ordered that Manafort could be required to pay back up to $24 million.
Freshman New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Paul Manafort’s “little” jail sentence Thursday, saying it’s proof the US justice system is broken.
“Paul Manafort getting such little jail time for such serious crimes lays out for the world how it’s almost impossible for rich people to go to jail for the same amount of time as someone who is lower income,” the Bronx-born congresswoman tweeted.
She added: “In our current broken system, ‘justice’ isn’t blind. It’s bought.”
Earlier Thursday, President Trump’s former campaign chairman was sentenced to just under four years in prison for a massive fraud scheme tied to his work as a political consultant for Ukraine’s pro-Russian government.
Sentencing guidelines recommended 19 1/2 to 24 years. But Judge T.S. Ellis III said that was “excessive.”
In the D.C. case, Manafort faces up to five years in prison on each of two counts to which he pleaded guilty. The judge will have the option to impose any sentence there concurrent or consecutive to the sentence imposed by Judge Ellis.
WASHINGTON(TIP): The US has asked Pakistan to take “sustained and irreversible” actions against terrorist groups operating from its territory, according to a top State Department official.
The State Department statement came as Pakistan, under global pressure after the Pulwama terror attack and India’s air strikes against a JeM terrorist camp in Balakot on February 26, has started taking actions against some of the terrorist outfits and their leaders over the past few days.
In Islamabad, the Interior Ministry announced that a total of 121 members of the proscribed groups have so far been taken into “preventive detention” across Pakistan.
State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino told reporters at his biweekly news conference on Thursday, March 8, “I would say that we, the United States notes these steps and we continue to urge Pakistan to take sustained, irreversible actions against terrorist groups that will prevent future attacks and promote regional stability“.
“We reiterate our call for Pakistan to abide by its United Nations Security Council obligations to deny terrorists safe haven and block their entry to funds,” he said.
Responding to questions, Palladino refrained from giving a direct answer on the move in New York to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) leader Masood Azhar as a global terrorist but said that the US and its allies in the UN Security Council want to update the UN list of terrorist organizations and leaders.
“Our views on Masood Azhar and Jaish-e-Mohammed are well-known. Jaish-e-Mohammed is a United Nations-designated terrorist group that has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and is a threat to regional stability. Masood Azhar is the founder and leader of JEM,” he said.
Questions on United Nations sanctions committee deliberations are confidential and as such it is not something that the State Department is going to be able to comment on specific matters in that regard, he said.
“But we will continue to work with the sanctions committee to ensure that the list is updated and that it is accurate,” Mr. Palladino said.
At the US Capitol, India’s ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla met Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives.
“We must stand strong against acts of terrorism and work together to improve trade between our nations,” the top Republican leader said after the meeting.
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district in February 14.
India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured its pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.
BEIJING(TIP): China has stepped up its diplomacy to ease tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama attack by sending its special envoy to Islamabad.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Wednesday, March 6, that Vice-Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou was already in Islamabad to establish an “enabling atmosphere” that would help Pakistan to cooperate with “other parties”.
Mr. Lu said Mr. Kong’s mission was to “promote dialogue” between India and Pakistan by persuading both sides to exercise flexibility. “I hope the two sides can show some goodwill, embrace each other halfway, properly resolve their differences through dialogue. China will play a constructive role to promote dialogue between them.”
India has made it plain that it would start a dialogue only if Pakistan takes visible and verifiable steps to eliminate terrorism that targets India from its soil. “In fact, Pakistan has been making efforts and exercised policies to combat terrorism. We think we should encourage this,” Mr. Lu said.
Without referring to the Kashmir issue, Mr. Lu said that both ‘symptom” and “root cause” of terrorism should be addressed.
Asked to comment on the understanding reached between the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) during their February 27 meeting in Wuzhen, the spokesperson said: “As to counter terrorism issue in the trilateral meeting, I shall say a key point is that terrorism is a complex issue. We should address the symptom and the root causes of terrorism that is the premise for what was proposed by Foreign Ministers of the three countries.”
Asked to comment on China’s stand on the resolution proposed in the UNSC 1267 committee to list Azhar as a global terrorist, Mr. Lu said China would take a “conducive decision” to resolve the differences. “China will have discussion with relevant bodies” as listing of terrorists “is a very serious issue”, he said.
ISLAMABAD (TIP): Former Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf (retd) on Wednesday, March 7, said the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was a terror outfit but indicated that his country’s intelligence had used it to carry out attacks in India during his tenure.
In a telephonic interview to Pakistani journalist Nadeem Malik of Hum News in his talk show, Gen. Musharraf, 75, who is currently in Dubai, welcomed the action against the JeM. He said it had tried to assassinate him twice in December 2003, as per a video clip shared on the journalist’s Facebook and Twitter page.
The JeM has claimed responsibility for the February 14 Pulwama attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.
Last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in an interview with CNN said Azhar was in Pakistan, but the government could act against him only if India presented “solid” and “inalienable” evidence that could stand in a court of law.
The Pakistan military, however, has denied the terror group’s presence in the country.
Amid mounting international pressure after the Pulwama attack, Pakistan on March 5 detained 44 members of the banned militant outfits, including Azhar’s son and brother.
Gen. Musharraf said, “This is a good move. I have always said that the JeM is a terrorist organization and they only had carried out a suicide attack in an attempt to assassinate me. Action should be taken against them.”
Gen. Musharraf, who also served as Pakistan’s army chief, said action against the JeM should have been taken earlier.
“Those times were different”
When asked why he had not taken action against the organization during his stint in power, he claimed those times were “different”. Both India and Pakistan were involved in a clandestine struggle, “carrying out bombings in each other’s territory”, he said, adding his country’s intelligence agencies were engaged in it.
Amid all this, not much action was taken against the Jaish, he said, adding that he had also not insisted.
Gen. Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, is facing the treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014. He has been living in Dubai since March 2016.
NEW DELHI(TIP): As part of the reforms at the World Health Organisation (WHO), Soumya Swaminathan has been moved from the position of Deputy Director-General to Chief Scientist heading the division created to strengthen the organisation’s core scientific work and ensure the quality and consistency of its norms and standards.
Previously, she was one of the three Deputy Director-Generals supporting the Director-General in overseeing all programs. She was the first Indian to hold the post. WHO said in a statement: “the world has changed, which is why we have articulated a new mission statement.”
LONDON(TIP): India is, once again, not included in an expanded list of countries from where students applying for visas will be subject to less stringent documentation requirements, details provided on Thursday, March 8, showed.
This follows last year’s controversy when China, Indonesia, the Maldives and other countries were included on the list. The failure to include India triggered much criticism, particularly after the U.K. sought to suggest that the exclusion related to New Delhi’s decision to pull out of a Memorandum of Understanding on the return of illegal migrants.
Among the new countries to which the “streamlined documentary requirements” apply are Peru, Kazakhstan, Mauritius and Oman. “This change will not only benefit students, who will be able to apply for visas through a more streamlined process, but also help to ensure that the U.K.’s world-leading education institutions remain competitive internationally,” the Home Office said.
“This adds insult to injury,” said Lord Karan Bilimoria, a cross-bench member of the House of Lords who has been critical of the government’s approach to immigration, particularly relating to students. “It is incredible to think that Britain still has the audacity to talk of a trade deal with India, while this is its approach.”
The changes are part of a wider update to Britain’s immigration system that will introduce two new visa routes for setting up businesses in the U.K. — including a “start-up” route and an equivalent one for more seasoned business people. In both cases, business experts will be involved in assessing the merits of the business ideas. “This will make sure that the routes are focused on only the most innovative, viable and scalable businesses,” said the Home Office.
The government has also updated its rules governing a fast-track visa scheme for wealthy investors – which has been used by many Indians. The scheme, which is open to those who invest at least £2 million in U.K. government, shares or businesses, offers a faster route to settlement in the country. Eighty-two Indian nationals applied for an investor visa through this route between 2008 and March 2018, according to Transparency International.
However, amid concerns that the route has been abused for illicit money flows, the government has been under pressure to either scrap or reform the system. Now, applicants will be “required to prove that they have had control of the required £2 million for at least two years, rather than 90 days, or provide evidence of the source of those funds”, the Home Office said.
“Modi can strike and inflict casualties, allow continued conflict and win elections on the one hand, or give Imran a week’s time to handover the trio of Salahuddin, Masood and Hafeez, dismantle all camps and a genuine agreement on the three critical issues, and then strike as per plan, if Imran Khan is unable to deliver. This would deprive him of the alibi that he would have, if given a chance.”
Recently, in response to the tough call for a strong action against the perpetrators of the Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir terrorist attack on the CRPF convoy by an explosive laden, vehicle borne, suicide bomber of Jaish e Mohammed, a Bahawalpur, Pakistan based terrorist organization, leaving 33 of the CRPF men martyred, Imran Khan, the Pakistani Prime Minister has appealed to India to give peace a chance.
India has been more than fair, transparent and patient in so far as giving a chance is concerned over the past almost three decades
In doing so, India has repeatedly given information about numerous incidents carried out by the various terrorist organizations based in PoK and Pakistan, viz the Hizbul Mujahideen, the Lashkar e Taiba and the Jaish e Mohammad and sought necessary legal action against the named wanted persons as well as moved the UN Security Council to declare them as wanted/banned terrorist persons/ organizations, but due to denial by Pakistan and being supported by China not much success was achieved resulting in continued terrorist attacks and thousands of innocent civilian and security forces persons losing their lives.
The incidents conducted by these organizations have been evidently clear cases of terror as seen in the incidents carried out by the terrorists belonging to these organizations at Akshardhaam, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Indian Parliament in New Delhi, Pathankot, Uri and Pulwama. In fact when evidence was sought by Pakistan, India gave sufficient, well documented dossiers of evidence especially for the Parliament attack and Mumbai attacks. In these cases India went to the extent of giving both technical evidence and documentary evidence some of it being sourced from neutral third country.
In case of Pathankot incident the Modi Government went beyond all past precedents across the world, to invite Pakistani investigation teams to the site of incident for early onsite evidence collection from an Air Force base, a confidential layout location, at the cost of inviting criticism by the civilian population and certain quarters of the Security forces, under the hope that Pakistan would honor its commitment and demonstrate fair and transparent legal action against the perpetrators of that attack, however, such hopes were bellied.
On the other hand it was more than evidently clear that the responsibility for all these terrorist attacks lay across Indian borders as the leaders and headquarters of all those terrorist organizations carrying out terror attacks in India were on Pakistani side.
Moreover those organizations had repeatedly themselves claimed responsibility of such terror attacks justifying them as jehadi actions. Pervez Musharraf and other leaders on numerous occasions had admitted having raised, financed, trained and armed these terrorist organizations. In fact they claimed them as strategic assets.
The tasking, coordination and monitoring of the terrorist actions of these organizations by the Pakistani ISI and well established support to them by the Pakistani Army in housing them at their border outposts both before and after infiltration as well as fire support and bombardment to assist their infiltration into Indian side and exfiltration back was admitted and confessed by both the terrorists and the Pakistani forces on number of occasions and has been well known.
The visit by Pakistani senior Army officers including the self-confessed visit by Pervez Musharraf in Kargil before occupation by them prior to the Kargill conflict if 1999 is well documented.
That Azhar Masood, the Chief of Jaish e Mohammed was a terrorist and was in Indian jail, and was sought to be released by the terrorist hijackers of the Indian aircraft was enough proof of him being an important terrorist leader and that after release he-established Jaish e Mohammad and continues to engage in masterminding terror attacks in India, most of which were self claimed by his organization are enough evidence of his continued terrorist activities at large scale using the Pakistani soil repeatedly, a violation of assurance given to India by Pakistani Government. A similar trend continues to be followed by the Lashkar e Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Even after the Pulwama attack, almost on every day basis the terrorist attacks as well as incidents of cross border firing from Pakistani side towards Indian side are continuing even while Imran Khan is pleading for a chance for peace. This dilutes his credibility and genuineness on one hand and his ability to control either his Armed Forces, Pakistani ISI or the terrorist organizations.
His actions to take control of the Bahawalpur camp of Jaish e Mohammad on the pretext of providing safety to so called students further dents his credibility and genuineness of his actual intentions.
Imran Khan has a very critical and onerous duty to perform and that is to honestly weigh avoidable suffering to his millions of innocent population who may become victims of violence inadvertently on one hand and protect the rogue elements whose time has come in any way.
The world opinion is against terror, it is against mass killings by terror groups operating out of Pakistani soil, the irreversible clamor for retribution among the billions of Indian populations is evident, numerous influential countries and the opposition has been taken into confidence, the intent to take a decisive action has been reiterated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hence Indian action is about to come. Where, when, how much and how will be known as it happens.
In the very narrow keyhole opportunity for reconsideration, the leaders on both sides have that extremely critical opportunity to rise above the normal, usual, common stance and emerge as a global statesman and leader who could take the highest degree of risk of personal indulgence.
Modi can strike and inflict causalities, allow continued conflict and win elections on the one hand, or give Imran a week’s time to handover the trio of Salahuddin, Masood and Hafeez, dismantle all camps and a genuine agreement on the three critical issues, and then strike as per plan, if Imran Khan is unable to deliver. This would deprive him of the alibi that he would have, if given a chance.
Imran has a choice to offer the trio, destruction of camps and a genuine agreement on critical issues, which may earn him the wrath of his people and the Army but give Pakistan a lasting solution and an opportunity to improve the health of its economy and the wellbeing of its population or be guided by the past and by its Army Commanders and risk heavy casualties of both Armed forces, terrorists and may be some innocent civilians, which will eventually earn him ridicule by history certainly. His position is precarious as he is between the devil and deep sea, something like that of Lt. Gen AAK Niazi in East Pakistan in 1971. Niazi earned the reputation of a person who surrendered but earned the blessings from the families of more than a lakh families. We wish both leaders the best and hope that they emerge as leaders of substance and not rhetoric. Remember my dictum “Nation First Character Must”.
Let the Nation win not the people and let posterity remember you respectfully as Statesman of Global order.
I, as a veteran, have volunteered to rejoin and serve my motherland in a manner desired out of me by my leaders. Jai Hind.
(The author, a former Additional Director General of Rashtriya Rifles, has served six tenures in counter terrorist areas, commanded two Counter Terrorist Battalions and is the only officer to have received three citations . He holds unbroken record for academic and operational excellence as well as long term planning for the Indian Army)
“The misguided Pakistani military escalation against India was meant to cloak Pakistan’s continued inability to fulfil its obligations to counter terrorism under international law. It is worth noting that all three neighbors of Pakistan–India, Afghanistan and Iran-have in recent weeks expressed their deep concern at Pakistan’s ineffectiveness to counter terrorism emanating from its soil or from territory controlled by it.”
In the early hours of 26 February 2019, India struck the biggest training camp of the terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Balakot, located in Pakistan. The JeM had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama terrorist attack of 14 February 2019, in which 40 Indian policemen had been killed. India took this robust counter-terrorist action after repeatedly urging Pakistan to act against the JeM, as obliged under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267. It may be recalled that the United Nations had proscribed the JeM as a terrorist organization and called for enforcing sanctions on its members since 2001.
India’s action against the JeM has been endorsed by the major powers. The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had spoken with Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj to emphasize the close security partnership and shared goal of maintaining peace and security in the region. He also spoke to Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi to underscore the priority of de-escalating the current tensions by avoiding military action, and urged Pakistan to take meaningful action against terrorist groups operating on its soil. He expressed to both Ministers that Washington encourages India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid escalation at any cost. He further encouraged both Ministers to prioritize direct communication and avoid further military activity.
The meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India, China and Russia was held in Wuhzen, China. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj used this occasion to convey that “this was not a military operation. No military installations were targeted. The limited objective of the pre-emptive strike was to act decisively against the terrorist infrastructure of JeM in order to pre-empt another terror attack in India.” The Joint Statement issued by the three Foreign Ministers after their meeting “stressed that terrorist groups cannot be supported and used in political and geopolitical goals.”
Instead of heeding calls for avoiding military action, Pakistan decided to launch an “unprovoked act of aggression” on 27 February 2019 when Pakistani military aircraft violated Indian air space and targeted Indian military posts. However, these aircraft were intercepted by Indian Air Force fighter aircraft which thwarted their plans. In the aerial combat that ensued one F-16 of Pakistan’s Air Force was shot down by an Indian Air Force MiG-21 Bison. The Indian Air Force lost one MiG-21 in the aerial engagement. The pilot of this plane ejected safely, but his parachute drifted into Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where he was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army as a prisoner-of-war. In keeping with the Geneva Convention, the pilot of the Indian aircraft is being returned to India. It may be recalled that after the 1971 Bangladesh war, India had repatriated 93,000 Pakistani soldiers taken as prisoners-of-war to Pakistan without any conditions.
The misguided Pakistani military escalation against India was meant to cloak Pakistan’s continued inability to fulfil its obligations to counter terrorism under international law. It is worth noting that all three neighbors of Pakistan–India, Afghanistan and Iran-have in recent weeks expressed their deep concern at Pakistan’s ineffectiveness to counter terrorism emanating from its soil or from territory controlled by it.
The position of the UN Security Council on terrorist attacks emanating from Pakistan against India, Afghanistan and Iran has been consistent and unanimous. In each of these cases, “the members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Governments of the three countries and all other relevant authorities in this regard.” Now it is for the Security Council to find the political will to enforce its decisions under the provisions of Article 41 of the UN Charter to compel Pakistan to fulfil its obligations to counter terrorism.
(The author is a former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations)
EDISON, NJ(TIP): Pramod Attarde from Edison, NJ was recently awarded as a Global Leva Icon by Speaker of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha at NESCO, Mumbai. Ex- Revenue Minister Eknathrao Kadase of Maharashtra was also present at the event.
Global Leva Patidar Foundation gave away this award to 100 Global Leva Icons who worked in various segments. Attarde was awarded as a Philanthropist and Businessman. He is providing services for people in need in India, including Aadivasis, the blind, the orphans and the economically backward.
Attarde is a Serial Entrepreneur, Blockchain Evangelist, and Data Scientist in NJ.
During India visit, Attarde delivered lectures at various Engineering colleges, Chamber of Commerce and Social events. He spoke on various subjects as “New Technologies – New Opportunities”, “Entrepreneurship Development”, and “Career Guidance” etc.
(Based on a press release issued by H.S. Panaser , NJ)
