The Indian Panorama

Month: July 2020

  • Green Card waitlist for Indians is more than 195 years: US senator

    Green Card waitlist for Indians is more than 195 years: US senator

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The backlog for an Indian national to get permanent residency or Green Card is more than 195 years, a top Republican senator has said, urging his Senate colleagues to come out with a legislative resolution to address this problem.

    A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently.

    Senator Mike Lee said on Wednesday that the current Green Card policy did nothing for the child of an immigrant whose dead parent’s Green Card application was ultimately denied because his or her job was no longer available.

    “Someone from India entering the backlog today would have to wait 195 years to receive an EB-3 green card. Even if we give their children this limbo status, none of them will have a prayer of becoming a US citizen,” Lee said on the Senator floor.

    In fiscal year 2019, Indian nationals received 9,008 category 1 (EB1), 2,908 category 2 (EB2), and 5,083 category 3 (EB3) Green Cards. EB1-3 are different categories of employment-based Green Cards.

    Lee, the senator from Utah, was speaking on the legislation moved by Senator Dick Durbin that seeks to protect immigrant workers and their children who are stuck in the green card backlog.

    “Green cards are critical in the lives of so many who are here on temporary work visas. The backlog puts families at risk of losing their immigration status as they wait year after weary year to finally make it through this green card backlog,” Durbin said.

    “Our bipartisan agreement would add critical protections that were not in the original bill for immigrant workers and their immediate family members who are stuck in the backlog. They would be able to switch jobs and travel without losing immigration status. And children of immigrant workers would be protected from aging out so they will not face deportation,” he said.

    The Lee-Durbin agreement would make three changes to the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act. First, it would immediately protect immigrants and their families who are stuck in the backlog by allowing them to “early file” for Green Cards.

    This would allow workers to switch jobs and travel without losing immigration status and prevent the children of immigrant workers from “aging out” of Green-Card eligibility so they will not face deportation while they are waiting for a Green Card.

    Second, the amendment would create a green card set aside for immigrant workers who are unable to “early file” because they are stuck in the backlog overseas.

    Finally, the amendment would crack down on abuse of H-1B temporary worker visas by outsourcing companies by prohibiting a company from hiring additional H-1B workers if the company’s workforce is more than 50 employees and more than 50 per cent temporary workers.

    The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

    “While we continue to debate the best way to fix the Green Card backlog, let’s make sure that no children of the affected families are harmed or deported. Just that simple. I offered a new bill, very simply stated, to protect children of immigrant workers act. This brief three-page bill would ensure that children do not age out while waiting for a Green Card,” Durbin said.

    “Imagine if you brought your children to the United States, worked on an H-1B visa and your children are waiting for you for the Green Card, you are paying for them to go to college because they don’t qualify as American Citizens for any type of federal financial aid. You’re making great sacrifices for them and then the day comes when they reach the age of 21 and they can be deported and your family divided,” he said.

    “Why would we want to let that happen?” Durbin asked.

    Noting that he has met many of these young people, the senator said it breaks his heart to hear their story that they may reach a point where they age out and be deported.

    “That’s why I wanted to offer this specific single provision. There is no reason these children should be punished for a broken immigration system. It’s not beyond our control to help them,” he added.

    (Source:  PTI)

  • US maintains ‘tremendous cooperation’ with India on Chinese border aggression: Amb Juster

    US maintains ‘tremendous cooperation’ with India on Chinese border aggression: Amb Juster

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The Trump administration has maintained close contact and “tremendous cooperation” with India on the latest Chinese border aggression, America’s top envoy in New Delhi has said, asserting that the last six months have been unprecedented in terms of the bilateral relationship.

    The troops of India and China have been locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.

    “For now, (we are) watching the issues on the Northern border of India in which China has raised disputes throughout the Western sector, but also in the central and East. Throughout all of this, we’ve had very close contact with our Indian counterparts and quite frankly, tremendous cooperation,” US Ambassador to India Ken Juster said on Wednesday in his address to the virtual India Ideas’ Summit organized by the US India Business Council.

    The ambassador’s remarks came two days after US Defense Secretary Mark Esper described the Chinese military’s aggressive activities in the region as “destabilizing”.

    Esper also said the US was “very closely” monitoring the situation between India and China along the Line of Actual Control.

    “We have seen post the (India) visit of the President several further conversations between the President and the Prime Minister. The Secretary (of State) has spoken on numerous occasions with (External Affairs) Minister Jaishankar. I think it’s really solidified their relationship,” Juster said.

    Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun had spoken not just with Foreign Secretary Harshvardhan Shringla but also with a range of counterparts in the Indo Pacific region, he said.

    Juster said there had been a host of ministerial-level interactions between the two countries, including the one between Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

    “The two countries also had a strategic energy partnership meeting. It is showing the breadth and the depth of the issues that the two countries work on together,” he said, adding: “I think because of the intensity of the last six months, we’ve really had a new level of comfort in dealing with each other, a degree of trust and respect to get things done.”

    “I remember, issues we had and repatriation flights, where we had to get cooperation, not just from the Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs but also at the local levels with state officials and with police officers. It shows the importance of these individual relationships” he said.

    Through all of this and the intensity of the last six months and the range of emotions from an incredibly successful presidential visit to dealing with lockdown and all the urgent issues that came out of that, “we’ve really transformed a strategic partnership into a comprehensive global strategic partnership,” Juster said.

    “As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said recently, what may be the most important partnership of the 21st century. So that’s really what I think the last six months have done to solidify this relationship,” the top American diplomat said. (Source: PTI)

  • Rajasthan slugfest: Need for impartial probe into horse-trading allegations

    Rajasthan slugfest: Need for impartial probe into horse-trading allegations

    What had initially appeared to be an intra-Congress tussle in Rajasthan has turned into a ‘Congress vs BJP’ slanging match after the emergence of audio clips in which Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is purportedly heard having a conversation with a Congress MLA and a BJP leader about toppling the Ashok Gehlot government. The state’s Special Operations Group has promptly registered a couple of FIRs on a complaint by the Congress. An impartial, time-bound inquiry is needed to verify the authenticity of the recordings and unearth the underlying conspiracy, irrespective of which political party is at fault, even as Shekhawat has denied that the clips have his voice. The development has provided ammunition to the Congress to accuse the ruling BJP at the Centre of horse-trading. The onus is on the NDA government to convince all and sundry that it has no hand in the goings-on in the border state.

    Attempts to subvert democracy and the electoral process have become far too common in recent years. Several states have witnessed post-poll machinations and short-lived governments, with the latest casualty being Madhya Pradesh. The Congress had wrested power from the BJP by winning the 2018 MP Assembly polls, but the latter turned the tables on the ruling party earlier this year with the help of some obliging MLAs. In Goa and Manipur, which produced hung Assemblies in 2017, the BJP formed the government despite having won fewer seats than the Congress. Last year, the long-drawn-out Karnataka ‘nataka’ and the Maharashtra muddle also amounted to a betrayal of the voters’ mandate.

    Whenever a government finds itself on shaky ground, the clamor for strengthening or reviewing the anti-defection law gets louder. Indeed, loopholes in this law enable unscrupulous elected representatives to switch loyalties as whopping sums of money allegedly change hands. With the power struggle in Rajasthan set to get uglier inside as well as outside the courts, the credibility of the parties concerned has come under sharp scrutiny. How the major players acquit themselves will demonstrate their respect, or lack of it, for democracy.

    (Tribune, India)

     

  • What Sachin Pilot fiasco teaches Congress

    What Sachin Pilot fiasco teaches Congress

    By George Abraham
    “The RSS has powerful ideologues, ideology, and cadre, which fuels and propels the BJP.  Until the Congress party makes an earnest effort to create a new cadre of leadership from the grassroots who are truly committed to the dearly held values and principles of the party, those who parachuted to the top using their patronage and money will continue to be easy prey for BJP’s nefarious political games”, says the author.

    History continues to repeat itself. It was Karnataka, then Madhya Pradesh and now Rajasthan that is embroiled in a power struggle that could delegitimize an election and undermine the will of the people. What is taking place in India’s political landscape before our very own eyes does not bode well either for democracy or the institutions that support it.

    Sachin Pilot undoubtedly was considered one of the future promises for the Congress party that is increasingly lacked any long-term vision or strategic planning. There is little doubt that the party is mired in the past without necessary grassroots support or needed financial resources. More and more, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, who has rescued the party from its dire straits in the ’90s, appears to be in a caretaker mode. The indecision of the Party hierarchy to fill the void created by the resignation of Rahul Gandhi as Party president has consequences far and beyond, and the Rajasthan crisis plainly points to that.

    Having said that, I am as confused and perplexed as anyone how a bright young man like Sachin Pilot who has become a Member of Parliament at the age of 26 and a Central Minister by 32 appeared to have walked away from a party that nurtured him and made it possible to scale these greater heights. When this crisis started, he held the positions of the PCC President as well as that of the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan.  It is indeed a phenomenal rise for a young man at the age of 42, especially in a country where the patriarchy and age-old wisdom still holds the key to power and prestige.

    It says a lot more about this generation who have become narcissists in their thinking and self-indulging in their behavior.  When one decides to devote his/her lifetime in public service, it is a huge commitment that deserves appreciation and community support.  However, the objective is to ‘serve’ the people, without arrogance and rashness, who entrusts their confidence and vote them into powerful offices.  Mr. Sam Pitroda, who helped transform India’s Telcom sector, said recently, “Values, Character, and fundamentals matter the most in life and leadership. What do you believe in, defines you? Are you for posts and positions or selfless service to people?”

    Today, the number of young leaders in the Congress party lacks any devotion to the ideals that governed the party for a century or more. Even in the best of times, the party had its share of crisis. History is replete with fights by these erstwhile leaders on issues and winning or losing their arguments. However, those conflicts were ideological and often mirroring their deeply held beliefs and reflecting their passion for justice and fairness.

    However, What the Scindias and Pilots are fighting for? Are they advocating any policy differences or expressing concerns that the democracy itself is in peril under Modi-Shah duo or frustrated at the party’s lackadaisical approach to bring the issue into focus? Are they in rebellion because the Congress party has not provided adequate support for the cause of migrant laborers? Or the party has failed to highlight the rising unemployment among the youth? Or they are fleeing the party because it has drifted away from the cherished principles?

    It is none of the above! It is simply blind ambition, hunger for power and greed driving a section of the youth in the Congress party today. It is not difficult to see that these folks owe their rise in power and visibility to patronage.  Rahul Gandhi once said about Jyotiraditya Scindia that he could walk into his home any time of the day. Their proximity has indeed defined their places in the political landscape; however, they appear to have betrayed their trust for sheer opportunism.

    If we recollect, many of these young leaders quickly applauded Prime Minister Modi when Article 370 was revoked. There is a clear indication now that many of them are softening their stand towards the philosophy of Hindutva.  The BJP’s assault on secularism through the weaponization of Hindutva is paying off, as many of them are even reluctant to defend those core party principles. There is a slow drift towards ‘majoritarian thinking’, and any minority accommodation is increasingly seen in a negative light. That explains how easily they could transform their mindset switching to BJP.

    The RSS has powerful ideologues, ideology, and cadre, which fuels and propels the BJP.  Until the Congress party makes an earnest effort to create a new cadre of leadership from the grassroots who are truly committed to the dearly held values and principles of the party, those who parachuted to the top using their patronage and money will continue to be easy prey for BJP’s nefarious political games.

    (The author  is a former Chief Technology Officer, United Nations, and the Vice-Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, USA)

  • The BJP’s hegemonic narrative

    The BJP’s hegemonic narrative

    By Zoya Hasan

    “Since 2014, the BJP’s stated objective of a Congress-free India has seen attempts to unsettle and unseat Congress governments in several States. One of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first statements after taking over as the chairman of the BJP’s election campaign committee in 2013 was the declaration that getting rid of the Congress would be “the solution to all problems facing the country”. “The Congress party is a burden on this nation,” he said. Since coming to power in 2014, the BJP has been using various means, notably money power and the coercive power of state agencies, to achieve this goal by bringing down elected Congress governments in State after State.”

    Ever since the colossal defeat of the Congress in the 2019 general election, there has been a ceaseless debate in the media and in political circles about the future of the Congress party. The defection of Jyotiraditya Scindia to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the replication of a similar script by Congress leader Sachin Pilot has intensified this debate which centers around the leadership, organizational and ideological challenges confronting the Congress. After Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as Congress President in July 2019, the party has witnessed disintegration in States including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Several prominent leaders have quit the party and joined the BJP. Defections, splits and electoral decline are not new phenomena in the party’s long history, but the crisis the Congress faces in the wake of two massive defeats in the last two Lok Sabha elections is unprecedented and has clearly been aggravated by its inability to resolve the leadership issue.

    A clutch of young(ish) leaders close to Mr. Gandhi have resigned. These leaders have caught the media’s attention more than many others who have quit in the last one year. The narrative in sections of the media built around these rebellions is that the Congress mishandled the crisis and the concerns of these leaders regarding the party’s functioning. The dominant argument is that the Congress lacks inner party democracy and hence cannot keep young leaders in its fold. Sections of the mainstream media blame Mr. Gandhi for the crisis and want him to vacate space to make way for other leaders.

    Two important dimensions

    Big-ticket leaders leaving the Congress should be a matter of concern for the party. But to view Mr. Pilot’s rebellion in Rajasthan as only the result of failure of leadership and organizational politics misses two important dimensions of this crisis. Mr. Pilot was willing to sacrifice the government, of which he was the Deputy Chief Minister until a few days ago, because he has differences with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Even though he says he is not joining the BJP, Mr. Pilot does not put much distance between himself and the party. Mr. Pilot made it clear that he was unwilling to settle for anything less than the chief ministership even though he has the support of just 18 MLAs. Mr. Pilot is heading a minority faction but making claims to the top job is a sign of the neoliberal times we live in where ambition trumps commitment to party and ideology.

    The narrative in sections of the media that younger leaders are not allowed to grow in the Congress is not evident from the career graphs of some of these leaders. They had been given top posts by the Congress. That they still chose to rebel is an aspect disregarded in the narrative built up around them. Many of them are exiting the Congress with alacrity because the party is out of power and is not in a position to offer the loaves and fishes of office to leaders waiting in the departure lounge. When the party was in power it could adjust and accommodate conflicting interests and ambitions in multiple ways but it is much harder to do so in Opposition. The BJP, on the other hand, is routinely able to attract disgruntled leaders to its side. Arguably, it has given in to Mr. Scindia’s huge demands in Madhya Pradesh to attract Mr. Pilot in Rajasthan. The bottom line is this: Mr. Pilot’s escapade into Haryana couldn’t have taken off without the BJP’s support. His jaunt to ITC’s Best Western can’t be passed off as a struggle for inner party democracy in the Congress.

    The second and more important dimension of the Rajasthan crisis is the concerted effort mounted by the ruling party to topple the Congress government in the State. The pursuit of this single-minded objective amid the pandemic has been given short shrift in the loud narrative of sections of the media. Since 2014, the BJP’s stated objective of a Congress-free India has seen attempts to unsettle and unseat Congress governments in several States. One of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first statements after taking over as the chairman of the BJP’s election campaign committee in 2013 was the declaration that getting rid of the Congress would be “the solution to all problems facing the country”. “The Congress party is a burden on this nation,” he said. Since coming to power in 2014, the BJP has been using various means, notably money power and the coercive power of state agencies, to achieve this goal by bringing down elected Congress governments in State after State.

    Hunt for power

    We have seen many States witnessing a change of guard. In 2016, in Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP backed the rebel Congress faction when deep cracks surfaced within the ruling party. The BJP lost the election but managed to replace the Congress government with its own in Karnataka (in 2019) and in Madhya Pradesh (in 2020). In 2019, the Congress emerged the single largest party in Goa, but the BJP was quick to cobble together a coalition and form a government. Now Rajasthan is on the cusp of change though the game is not over yet.

    In Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, scores of Congress legislators were allegedly lured into deserting the Congress which enabled the BJP to gain power after losing in elections. These reports are in the realm of speculation but one thing is clear: the BJP is not short on resources for financing defections given its absolute power at the Centre. The Association of Democratic Reforms estimates that a whopping 95% of all electoral bond money before the 2019 election went to the BJP. The Congress received less than 10% of bond money. The loss of so many State governments further reduces the party’s financial power and the opportunity to generate funds.

    Although the BJP disclaims authorship of this long-running drama, Rajasthan’s political crisis has underlined once again its unscrupulous hunt for power. Given its enviable record in forming governments through political defections, the perception that a government with a clear majority is being deposed may not really matter to the party. However, it should matter to the media. But the media spotlight is not on the BJP’s dubious methods of destabilizing elected governments, but on the disarray in the Congress, which allows the BJP to get away even with constitutional transgressions. Thus far, the Congress has managed to save its government in Rajasthan. Regardless of the final outcome, an obvious conclusion to draw from this crisis would be that the Congress party has to put its house in order to stop further desertions and breakup. It has to bring an end to the unmitigated drift and elect a new president and begin the process of rebuilding the party.

    That so many in the media have seen Mr. Pilot’s unhappiness with the Congress as an example of a talented politician being forced to jump ship to the BJP shows that the BJP’s narrative is completely hegemonic. That so many in the political class (including Congress politicians) and the media are echoing the same line (as though it’s a party line), and are willing to overlook the majoritarian might of the BJP, the illegitimacy of the power grab, and the wholly unjustified attempt to dislodge an elected government betokens a debasement of politics and a disregard for democratic norms that should concern us all.

    (The author  is Professor Emerita, Centre for Political Studies, JNU)

  • JUSTICE WARRIORS IN DOC FILMS

    JUSTICE WARRIORS IN DOC FILMS

    By Mabel Pais

    MICHAEL MOORE’S FREE GIFT IN COVID TIMES

    Vandana Shiva, physicist, social activist
    Photo / Rumble Media/planetofthehumans.com
    “I think the BIG CRISES of our time is (that) our minds have been manipulated to give power to ILLUSIONS. We shifted to measuring growth, not in terms of how LIFE is enriched, but in terms of how life is DESTROYED.” – Vandana Shiva, Indian Physicist-Social Activist
    “As we suffer through one health and environmental crisis after another, it is clear we can no longer simply solar-panel-and-windmill our way out of this emergency.” -Michael Moore & Jeff Gibbs, Filmmakers

     

     

    “PLANET OF THE HUMANS”

    FILM ASKS HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT  FAILURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT TO HALT CLIMATE CHANGE AND SAVE PLANET

    Michael Moore, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker, on April 21, the eve of Earth Day,  released a new documentary film on his RUMBLE Media label – and continues to offer it as a free gift in the midst of the global pandemic. “Planet of the Humans” is directed by filmmaker and environmentalist Jeff Gibbs.

    Moore and Gibbs decided that with the American public – and much of the world – confined to their homes and suddenly having to consider the role humans and their behavior have played in our fragile ecosystems, the moment was urgent for the film’s release.

    Released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, “Planet of the Humans” takes a harsh look at how the environmental movement has lost the battle through well-meaning but disastrous choices, including the belief that solar panels and windmills would save us, and by giving in to the corporate interests of Wall Street.

    Directed by Jeff Gibbs and Executive Produced by Moore, the film examines if we’ve been on the “wrong road” with so-called “green energy” that is anything but green.

    Abandoned Wind Power Turbine Ruins
    Photo / Rumble Media/planetofthehumans.com

    “We have ignored the warnings, and instead all sorts of so-called leaders have steered us away from the real solutions that might save us,” says Moore, who holds the all-time box office record for documentaries. “This movie takes no prisoners and exposes the truth about how we have been led ASTRAY in the fight to save the planet, to the point where if we don’t reverse course right now, events like the current pandemic will become numerous, devastating and insurmountable. The feel-good experience of this movie is that we actually have the smarts and the will to not let this happen – but only if we immediately launch a new environmental uprising.”

    Jeff Gibbs, the writer/editor/director of “Planet of the Humans”, has dared to say what no one will – that “we are losing the battle to stop climate change because we are following environmental leaders, many of whom are well-intentioned, but who’ve sold out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.” This film is the wake-up call to the reality which we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the so-called “environmental movement’s” answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. “It’s too little, too late,” says Gibbs. “Removed from the debate is the only thing that ‘might’ save us: getting a grip on our out-of-control human presence and consumption. Why is this not ‘the’ issue? Because that would be bad for profits, bad for business.”

    “Have we environmentalists fallen for illusions, ‘green’ illusions, that are anything but green, because we’re scared that this is the end — and we’ve pinned all our hopes on things like solar panels and wind turbines? No amount of batteries are going to save us, and that is the urgent warning of this film.”

    This compelling, must-see movie – a full-frontal assault on our sacred cows – is guaranteed to generate anger, debate, and, hopefully, a willingness to see our survival in a new way—before it’s too late.

    The podcast has now amassed more than 9 million downloads in its first four months.

    To watch the film and for more information, visit planetofthehumans.com

    Key Credits:

    Jeff Gibbs, Writer, Editor, Director

    Ozzie Zehner, Producer

    Michael Moore, Executive Producer

    Length: 1h 40m

     

    “ADVOCATE”

    “With their Sundance-premiering ADVOCATE they’ve (the filmmakers) created an in-the-trenches portrait of this unapologetic firebrand… A remarkable character. A warrior for justice who’s spent her entire adult life taking punch after punch, she forever gets up undaunted to fight another day.”-  Filmmaker Magazine

    “For us, socially and politically engaged filmmakers, her rebellious spirit and radical zeal were an inspiration. But we could never do what Lea does; most people couldn’t.”-   Rachel Leah Jones & Philippe Bellaiche, Directors-Producers

    A. Lea Tsemel counsels a Palestinian client
    Photo / Home Made Docs

    “Advocate” documentary coming to POV Monday, July 27

    Oscar®-shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature and   PGA-nominated for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures

    With power and purpose, Israeli attorney Lea Tsemel champions the fight for Palestinian rights

    Lea Tsemel defends Palestinians: from feminists to fundamentalists, from non-violent demonstrators to armed militants. As a Jewish-Israeli lawyer who has represented political prisoners for five decades, Tsemel, in her tireless quest for justice, pushes the praxis of a human rights defender to its limits.

    As far as most Israelis are concerned, she defends the indefensible. As far as Palestinians are concerned, she’s more than an attorney, she’s an advocate.

    ”ADVOCATE” follows Tsemel’s caseload in real-time, including the high-profile trial of a 13-year-old boy — her youngest client to date — while also revisiting her landmark cases and reflecting on the political and professional significance of her work as well as the personal price one pays for assuming the role of “devil’s advocate.”

    Rachael Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche first met Lea 25 years ago. By then, the once anonymous firebrand law student who, after the 1967 war, had fearlessly distributed flyers on campus warning her fellow Israelis to end the occupation or risk a vicious cycle of violence — was already a household name.

    For the filmmaker duo, a year of documenting was like gathering a lifetime of evidence. This evidence attests not only to the wrongs of occupation but also to the faults of those who try to resist it, the failings of those who try to defend them, and the fundamental flaws of a legal system that purports to serve justice but in fact serves the powers that be.

    Tsemel spoke truth to power before the term became trendy and she’ll continue to do so after fear makes it unfashionable. As such, she’s a model we’re hard-pressed to preserve in Israel/Palestine, and elsewhere.

    On the one hand, she’s the boy calling the Emperor naked, i.e. exposing the underbelly of Israeli security jurisprudence: the occupier is judging the occupied. On the other hand, she’s the boy with his finger in the dam, doing her utmost to uphold the rule-of-law before the flood of injustice drowns us all. As one military court judge once put it: “If Lea Tsemel didn’t exist, we’d have to invent her.”

    Unlike the seminal works of recent years (“The Law in These Parts”, “The Gatekeepers”, “Censored Voices”), this is a female-centered story. Lea is almost always the only woman, or the only leftist, or the only Jew — in the room. For the past two decades, the filmmakers have watched Lea work with a mixture of awe and admiration, marveling at the fact that interrogators still infuriate her, prosecutors still madden her, judges still frustrate her, verdicts still disappoint her — and clients still break her heart.

    KEY CREDITS

    Directed by Rachel Leah Jones, Philippe Bellaiche

    Produced by Philippe Bellaiche, Rachel Leah Jones // Home Made Docs Plus Several Independent Producers

    Length: 1hour 48minutes

    (Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Health & Wellness, and Spirituality)

     

  • MAKING MUSIC IN COVID TIMES

    MAKING MUSIC IN COVID TIMES

     By Mabel Pais
    “We have been able to keep our students playing, engaged, learning new concepts, recording, and making music together during Covid-19. We have an amazing faculty who hold our students to high standards while making it fun.” – Julius Tolentino, Educator-Saxophonist

    JTOLE SUMMER JAZZ WORKSHOP PRESENTS FREE CONCERT

    SUNDAY, JULY 26 AT 6 P.M.

     The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) JTole Summer Jazz Workshop will present a free concert on Sunday, July 26 at 6:00 p.m. via the online platform Zoom.

    Over 80 students will join some of the top musicians and educators in the country for an evening of jazz featuring two big bands and eight combos performing the music of Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Duke Pearson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, and more.

    Special guests include Sean Jones, Chair of Jazz at Peabody Conservatory and Jazz Education Network President; Kenny Rampton, Founder of Jazz at Lincoln Center and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Outreach Initiative; Tia Fuller, Professor of Saxophone at Berklee School of Music; Rodney Green, Educator, Composer, and Sound Designer; Michael Dease, Professor of Trombone at Michigan State University; and Helen Sung, Composer, Performer, and Educator.

    “Now that we have all of our offerings online, this is the perfect opportunity to invite all Jazz lovers nationwide to join us for this special event!” –  Peter H. Gistelinck, Exec. Dir., WIPA 

    Led by award-winning saxophonist Julius Tolentino, the JTole Summer Jazz Workshop faculty joining the star-studded lineup of guest artists include Dave Schumacher and Jason Anderson, woodwinds; David Gibson, brass; and Shamie Royston and Matt Slocum, rhythm section. The two-week workshop includes video creation; a master class series partially funded by the Jazz Education Network; and clinics on Women in Jazz, Composition, and How to be a Professional.

    “We have been able to keep our students playing, engaged, learning new concepts, recording, and making music together during Covid-19. We have an amazing faculty who hold our students to high standards while making it fun,” Tolentino said.

     “Our summer jazz workshop is providing unique opportunities for young jazz students across the country, in the comfort of their homes, to learn directly from some of the best jazz artists in the world,” said Artistic Director Helen H. Cha-Pyo. “The workshop is one of the highlights of our overall summer camp programming,“ said Peter H. Gistelinck, Executive Director of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts. “Now that we have all of our offerings online, this is the perfect opportunity to invite all Jazz lovers nationwide to join us for this special event!”

    Zoom login for the July 26 concert is available at www.NJYS.org. For more information, call (908) 771-5544.

    About NJYS

    The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS), founded in 1979, is a tiered orchestral program offering ensemble education for students in grades 3-12 across New Jersey. NJYS has grown from one orchestra of 65 students to over 500 students in 15 different orchestras and ensembles, including the internationally recognized Youth Symphony. NJYS ensembles have performed in venues including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Carnegie Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. NJYS has received numerous prestigious awards for its adventurous programming from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and has had six European tours, including participation in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Festival and Competition (Vienna), winning First Prizes in July 2014 and 2017.

    Now in its 42nd season, NJYS continues to achieve musical excellence through intensive instruction and high-level performance. Under the guidance of a talented team of conductors, coaches, and teaching artists, students are immersed in challenging repertoire, learning the art of ensemble playing, and exploring their potential in a supportive and inclusive environment. NJYS remains committed to programming works by diverse composers and featured 20th century African-American and women composers such as Duke Ellington, George Walker, Yvonne Desportes, Emma Lou Diemer, Julia Perry, and Florence Price this past season.

    The NJYS is a program of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts (WIPA). WIPA is New Jersey’s largest non-profit performing arts education organization serving over 1,500 students of all ages and abilities through a range of classes and ensembles. In addition to the New Jersey Youth Symphony, programs include the Paterson Music Project and Performing Arts School.

    (Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health & Wellness, and Spirituality)

     

     

  • Indian American Professor Venkatesan Guruswami Named 2020 Simons Investigator

    Indian American Professor Venkatesan Guruswami Named 2020 Simons Investigator

    NEW YORK (TIP): Venkatesan Guruswami, a Carnegie Mellon University professor of Theoretical Computer Science, has been named a 2020 Simons Investigator by the New York-based Simons Foundation.

    Venkatesan Guruswami’s research has led to major advances in the theory of error-correcting codes, approximate optimization, pseudorandomness and related complexity-theoretic and mathematical aspects. His work on list decoding has yielded codes with minimum possible redundancy for correcting worst-case errors. His recent works include notable progress on polar codes, deletion-correcting codes, codes for cloud storage and constraint satisfaction problems.

    The Simons Foundation names investigators each year who are outstanding scientists engaged in mathematics, physics, astrophysics, computer science, or several related fields. The designation, which comes with $100,000 per year for five years and is renewable for a second five-year term, is meant to support outstanding theoretical scientists in their early years, when they are establishing creative new research directions, providing leadership to the field and effectively mentoring junior scientists.

    Venkatesan Guruswami received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras in 1997, and his PhD in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2001. From 2002 to 2009, he was a faculty member at the University of Washington. He was a Miller Research Fellow at UC Berkeley from 2001 to 2002, and was a member in the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study from 2007 to 2008.

    He currently serves on the editorial boards of the SIAM Journal on Computing, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, and the ACM Transactions on Computation Theory, and was program committee chair for the 2012 Computational Complexity conference. He was an invited speaker at the 2010 International Congress of Mathematicians. He is a recipient of the Presburger Award (2012), Packard Fellowship (2005), Sloan Fellowship (2005), NSF CAREER award (2004), ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award (2002), and IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award (2000).

     

     

  • Indian Origin Uttam Dhillon Named Interpol Washington Director

    Indian Origin Uttam Dhillon Named Interpol Washington Director

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Attorney General William P. Barr announced July 20 that Uttam Dhillon will become INTERPOL Washington Director after Wayne Salzgaber returns to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security following his over two-year detail serving as INTERPOL Washington Director, effective August 1.  INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. National Central Bureau, is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice and is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

    As INTERPOL Washington Director, Mr. Dhillon will act on behalf of the Attorney General as the official U.S. representative to INTERPOL, the world’s largest International Criminal Police Organization, and its 194 member countries, leading the U.S. Government’s efforts to share and exchange international criminal investigate, border security and humanitarian assistance information across the INTERPOL communications platform, and be responsible for all personnel and assets dedicated to INTERPOL Washington’s mission of supporting domestic and international law enforcement and border security operations around the globe.

    Mr. Dhillon is a dedicated public servant who has served in the Department of Justice, the White House, DHS, Congress, and as a career federal prosecutor. Dhillon was appointed Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), on July 2, 2018, and for nearly two years led a workforce of over 15,000 and oversaw a budget of $3.2 billion. He was responsible for DEA’s enforcement, intelligence, administrative, and regulatory activities worldwide. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and is co-chair of the IACP Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee.  Prior to joining the DEA, he served as Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States.

    In 2006, Mr. Dhillon was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement at DHS. Prior to DHS, Mr. Dhillon served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Justice Department. Earlier in his career, Mr. Dhillon served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California for six and one-half years. He also has significant experience in the Legislative Branch, holding several senior roles, including Chief Oversight Counsel for the House Financial Services Committee, Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  

    Mr. Dhillon graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He earned a Master of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from California State University, Sacramento. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

     

     

     

  • Indian American CBS reporter Nina Kapur dies in moped accident in New York

    Indian American CBS reporter Nina Kapur dies in moped accident in New York

    NEW YORK (TIP): Nina Kapur, a 26-year-old Indian origin reporter in New York, died after she fell from a moped that had been rented from Revel, a popular moped sharing service.

    The accident, which a company spokeswoman said was believed to be the first fatality involving a Revel moped, happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 18 near the intersection of Franklin and India Streets, the police said, in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn — a mostly residential area that is dotted with neighborhood bars and restaurants.

    Kapur was a passenger on a scooter that was being operated by a 26-year-old man. According to authorities, the moped was northbound on Franklin Street when “the operator swerved for an unknown reason” and the two “fell to the roadway as a result.” Kapur was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

    “Reporter Nina Kapur joined the team in June 2019 and was known for her contagious smile and love for storytelling,” the station announced in a video tribute. Before joining CBS New York as an on-air reporter, Kapur had worked at News 12 Connecticut since 2017. “News 12 staff members are remembering Kapur for her incredible work ethic, as well as her sense of humor and smile,” a statement from the station said.

    Nina, a native of Newtown, Pa. is survived by her mother, Monica, father, Anup, and her 24-year-old brother, Ajay.

     

     

     

  • Indian American Sara Gideon Endorsed by Joe Biden for U.S. Senate

    Indian American Sara Gideon Endorsed by Joe Biden for U.S. Senate

    NEW YORK (TIP): Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden announced his endorsement of Sara Gideon in the Maine U.S. Senate race, citing her record of fighting for Mainers by working to expand access to affordable health care, cracking down on the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs, and taking bold action on climate change.

    “I want to congratulate Sara Gideon on her win in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. This November, we need to restore the soul of America by ending the Presidency of Donald Trump. To do that, I need the help of every voter in Maine,” said Joe Biden. “But ending the Trump nightmare is not enough. We can’t just go back to the way things were. We need to make progress on health care, the climate crisis, criminal justice reform, our courts, and so much more. And to do that, I need Sara Gideon in the U.S. Senate. Sara has been a leader on expanding health care coverage and lowering costs. On fighting against opioids and fighting for working families. She’s taken on the drug companies and she’s fought for the environment. I support Sara Gideon for U.S. Senate and hope you will too.”

    “I’m so honored to have Vice President Biden’s support in this race and I know that together, we will make real progress on the issues that matter most to Mainers,” said U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon. “Here in Maine, we’ve fought to expand access to affordable health care, passed meaningful prescription drug reform, and set ambitious goals to fight climate change – and that’s the kind of leadership Mainers and Americans need in Washington. The future of our country is at stake in this election, and I’m proud to stand with Joe Biden to win back the White House and flip the Senate in November.”

    Sara has visited all sixteen counties in Maine over the course of her campaign, holding in-person and virtual events to meet and talk with voters about their concerns and challenges they face. Sara has been endorsed by over 75 elected officials from across Maine, as well as the Maine AFL-CIO, Maine State Building and Construction Trades Council, Maine State Association of Letter Carriers, the Massachusetts and Northern New England Laborers District Council (LiUNA MNNELDC), the Painters and Allied Trades International Union District Council 35, the Human Rights Campaign, the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, End Citizens United, and Everytown for Gun Safety.

  • Indian-origin nurse in Singapore conferred with President’s Award

    Indian-origin nurse in Singapore conferred with President’s Award

    SINGAPORE (TIP):  A 59-year-old Indian-origin nurse in Singapore has been conferred with the President’s Award for Nurses for serving on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Kala Narayanasamy was among the five nurses given the award, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.

    Each recipient was awarded a trophy, a certificate signed by President Halimah Yacob and SGD 10,000 (USD 7,228).

    Narayanasamy, who is the Deputy Director of Nursing at Woodlands Health Campus, was awarded for using infection control practices, which she learned during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, in the current pandemic.

    She tapped on this experience to introduce workflows and standard operating procedures to convert wards at the Yishun Community Hospital to care for COVID-19 patients.

    “All that we learned from SARS, we can put into place now,” the Channel News Asia quoted Narayanasamy who pointed the short time period to put such procedures in place.

    She has been involved with the modernization of nursing in Singapore, with her past projects including the implementation of a self-checkout inventory management vending machine to track the usage of items.

    She was also involved in the introduction of the use of a streamlined wound assessment process that provides accurate wound measurements and image capture.

    Both measures were implemented by the Woodlands Health Campus team at Yishun Community Hospital.

    Narayanasamy is currently involved with the planning for the Woodlands Health Campus, scheduled to open in 2022, drawing on almost 40 years of experience to lead the development of nursing services for the division of medicine at the campus.

    Noting her previous role as a clinical nurse educator, Narayanasamy said she is passionate about grooming the next generation of nurses.

    “I will always tell our nurses who come and join us: ‘I think nursing will never fail to reward you’,” she said.

    “All these awards and promotions and everything have your name (on them) and are just waiting there for you to come and claim … your full passion for what you’re doing is always rewarded.” The President’s Award for Nurses recognizes nurses who have shown sustained outstanding performance and contributions to patient care delivery, education, research and administration.

    Seventy-seven nurses have received the award since its introduction in 2000.

    It is open to all registered nurses from healthcare institutions in the public, private, and community care sectors, as well as those in educational institutions.

    The award was also given to veteran nurses Tay Yee Kian, Patricia Yong Yueh Li, Alice Chua Foong Sin, Chin Soh Mun, all specialists in various medical fields.

    (Source: PTI)

  • Indian American Sutapa Ghosh Stricklett Named USAID Asia Bureau Assistant Administrator

    Indian American Sutapa Ghosh Stricklett Named USAID Asia Bureau Assistant Administrator

    WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Donald J. Trump has nominated Sutapa Ghosh Stricklett, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (Bureau for Asia).

    Her nomination was sent to Senate July 22.

    Sue Ghosh Stricklett is an attorney in private practice with over twenty-five years of experience in national security law and foreign affairs.  The scope of her practice includes Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance, intellectual property licensing and technology transfer, U.S. dual-use and defense trade control licensing, and sanctions law enforcement.  She has served as an Asia policy advisor to three Presidential campaigns and several major Indo-American advocacy organizations.

    Ms. Stricklett hails from Queens, New York, and is a graduate of the State University of New York, Buffalo.  She earned her J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.

    Stricklett has been the general counsel for American Hindu Coalition, which says it is a non-partisan organization that says its aims is to “build a stronger America through Hindu Enlightenment Principles.”

    She is the author of several articles in US media advocating close relations with India and on “Trump’s outreach to Hindu Americans, both before and after his election” with a slew of important appointments in his administration.

  • Indian American Scientist Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, Pioneer in Molecular Imaging, Passes Away

    Indian American Scientist Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, Pioneer in Molecular Imaging, Passes Away

    NEW YORK (TIP): Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, professor and chair of radiology at the Stanford School of Medicine and an internationally recognized pioneer in molecular imaging, died July 18 of cancer. He was 57.

    The Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research, Gambhir dedicated his career to developing methods of early disease detection, ushering in a new era of molecular imaging to flag signals of disease in its nascent stages. He was director of the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, director of the Stanford and director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford.

    “Sam was a true visionary and a scientist of the highest caliber. His research and innovations have, with no uncertainty, founded modern medicine’s approach to early disease diagnostics and will continue to guide the future of precision health,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. “Sam’s contributions to Stanford, to human health, to the science of diagnostics and to the many lives he has touched and impacted throughout his career have been immeasurable.”

    Within the field of radiology, Gambhir was known for the development of positron emission tomography reporter genes, which can flag molecular activity that signals something’s gone awry in the body.

    To colleagues far and wide, he was known as a leader and scientist with sprawling expertise and a work ethic to aspire to. More than that, colleagues said he was a kind and generous friend, a nurturing mentor and a catalyst for collaboration.

    On the eve before his death, he was awarded the Dean’s Medal, the School of Medicine’s highest honor, for his “revolutionary contributions to biomedicine and to human health.” In tandem with the honor, Minor announced that a new professorship, the Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Professorship in Translational Medicine, would stand as a tribute to Gambhir’s remarkable career “to further recognize his unwavering leadership, compassion and commitment to science and medicine.”

  • Sikh-American Store Owner Attack: Hate Crime Charge Added against the Attacker

    Sikh-American Store Owner Attack: Hate Crime Charge Added against the Attacker

    DENVER (TIP): Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office has decided to add a hate crime charge against Eric Breemen for attacking Mr. Lakhwant Singh. Moving forward, Breemen will be charged with multiple counts–now including a bias-motivated crime–in the violent April 29 assault of Mr. Singh.

    “I am so very grateful to everyone–Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike, from Lakewood, elsewhere in Colorado, across the country, and beyond–who have stood with me and my family in this incredibly difficult time,” said Lakwhant Singh. “I appreciate the Jefferson County authorities hearing my story and, through these charges, recognizing the role that hate played in my horrible attack.”

    Nearly three months ago, Breemen verbally accosted Mr. Singh and his wife in their store in Lakewood, CO, repeatedly telling them both to “go back to your country.” Immediately afterwards, in the parking lot outside the store, Breemen struck Mr. Singh with his car and left him for dead; he later described Mr. Singh as an “older Arab” to the officers who arrested him.

    “The decision to add a bias-motivated charge against Breemen is a resounding victory not just for Mr. Singh, but for minority communities who are threatened by bias and bigotry every day,” said Amrith Kaur, Sikh Coalition Legal Director. “Adding these charges sends a clear message: Hatred is not welcome in Jefferson County, and those who are targeted for being different know that this community will acknowledge it and stand with them in solidarity.”

    The Sikh Coalition, along with support from local community members–including the leadership of Colorado Singh Sahba and the Colorado Coalition Against Hate–as well as the law firm of WilmerHale, has worked diligently over the past several weeks to push for the addition of this hate crime charge. Through these efforts, more than 2,600 people sent emails to Jefferson County District Attorney Peter Weir urging him to pursue a hate crime charge; in addition, 29 organizations joined a sign-on letter earlier this month urging for the same, and many others  signed and delivered additional petitions from across the world.  We extend our deep gratitude to all of the allies who came together to demand #JusticeForLakhwant.

    The Sikh Coalition also helped raise awareness for this case through successful media coverage from the local to the national levels. We will continue to provide updates in this case and also work with Colorado authorities to minimize the risk of future attacks.

  • Indian-American Puneet Ahluwalia announces PAC for Lt Gov of Virginia race

    Indian-American Puneet Ahluwalia announces PAC for Lt Gov of Virginia race

    WASHINGTON (TIP): An Indian-American Republican businessman will run for the powerful office of Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and has launched a political action committee for it.

    Puneet Ahluwalia, 55, in an e-mail to his supporters on Tuesday, announced: “I have taken the leap by launching the Proud American Political Action Committee to explore my run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.”

    A Political Action Committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt organization in the US that raises money privately to influence elections or legislation.

    “I’m forming Proud American PAC because for those Virginians who believe, as I do, that America is the greatest nation in the world, but our political leaders are not living up to the promise of our great state,” said Ahluwalia, who was a member of the Trump Campaign’s Asia Advisory Committee in the 2016 presidential election campaign.

    Delhi-born Ahluwalia migrated to the US in 1990. He serves as a consultant to businesses on client acquisition, marketing, and strategic affairs. His wife is from Pakistan and of Afghan heritage.

    “As a person of color, I sympathize with those who are frustrated and angry about race in this country, but not for the same reasons as the progressive politicians in Richmond,” Ahluwalia said, referring to Left-leaning groups.

    “We need to launch a real discussion among all Virginians about race and the ways we can bridge the gap in opportunities, income, and education,” he said.

    In a press statement, the Proud American PAC said it will work to elect candidates who are aligned with the core principles that everyone is created equal, with personal dignity, and constitutional rights the government should never be allowed to take away.

    “I believe with all my heart that American free market capitalism is the greatest engine of economic prosperity ever devised. But our economy has left too many people behind,” he said.

    “We can and we should do better by making it easier to start and fund small businesses in minority communities, encouraging greater job creation, organizing private internships for every Virginia high school graduate, helping people climb the economic ladder, improving schools, and modernizing our infrastructure,” Ahluwalia said.

    (Source: PTI)

  • July 24 New York & Dallas E – Edition

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    E-Edition

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F07%2FTIP-July-24-Dual-Edition.pdf|||”][vc_single_image image=”100395″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/TIP-July-24-Dual-Edition.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F%20|||”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”mh-sidebar”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • 174 Indian nationals file lawsuit against presidential proclamation on H-1B

    174 Indian nationals file lawsuit against presidential proclamation on H-1B

    WASHINGTON (TIP): A lawsuit has been filed by a group of 174 Indians, including seven minors, against the recent presidential proclamation on H-1B that would prevent them from entering the US due to the suspension of issuing of foreign work visas for the rest of the year.

    In his presidential proclamation on June 22, President Donald Trump temporarily suspended issuing of H-1B work visas till the end of the year.

    The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries namely India and China.

    The lawsuit was filed by the Indians in the US District Court in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, July 14.

    Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued summonses on Wednesday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F Wolf, along with Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia.

    “The proclamation 10052’s H-1B/H-4 visa ban hurts the United States’ economy, separates families and defies the Congress. While the two former points render it unseemly, the latter point renders it unlawful,” said the lawsuit filed by lawyer Wasden Banias on behalf of the 174 Indian nationals.

    The lawsuit seeks an order declaring the presidential proclamation restriction on issuing new H-1B or H-4 visas or admitting new H-1B or H-4 visa holders as unlawful.

    An H-4 visa is a visa issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members of the H-1B visa holders.

    The lawsuit also urges the court to compel the Department of State to issue decisions on pending requests for H-1B and H-4 visas.

    “In the administration of our nation’s immigration system, we must remain mindful of the impact of foreign workers on the United States labor market, particularly in the current extraordinary environment of high domestic unemployment and depressed demand for labor,” said the proclamation issued by Trump.

    Trump said the overall unemployment rate in the US nearly quadrupled between February and May of 2020, producing some of the most extreme unemployment ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    While the May rate of 13.3 per cent reflects a marked decline from April, millions of Americans remain out of work.

    The proclamation also extends till year-end his previous executive order that had banned issuance of new green cards of lawful permanent residency.

    Green Card holders, once admitted pursuant to immigrant visas, are granted “open-market” employment authorization documents, allowing them immediate eligibility to compete for almost any job in any sector of the economy, Trump said.

    Forbes, which first reported the lawsuit filed by the Indian nationals, said the complaint points out that the Congress specified the rules under which H-1B visa holders could work in the US and balanced the interests of US workers and employers.

    “The complaint seeks to protect H-1B professionals, including those who have passed the labor certification process and possess approved immigrant petitions. Such individuals are waiting for their priority date to obtain permanent residence, a wait that can take many years for Indian nationals,” Forbes reported.

    Meanwhile, several lawmakers urged Scalia on Tuesday to reverse the work visa ban.

    “Throughout this administration, the president has continued to lament the alleged abuses of the immigration system while failing to address the systemic problems that have persisted and allowed businesses and employers to exploit and underpay immigrant workers, guest workers and American workers,” the lawmakers wrote.

    “This misguided attempt by the president to scapegoat immigrants for policy failures during the pandemic not only serves to hurt immigrants but dismisses the true problem of a broken work visa programme that is in desperate need of reform,” said the letter.

    The letter among others was signed by congressmen Joaquin Castro, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Bobby Scott, Chair of the Education and Labor Committee; Karen Bass, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Judy Chu, Raul Grijalva, Vicente Gonzalez, Yvette Clarke and Linda Sánchez.

    (Source: PTI)

  • Seema Verma mishandled millions of dollars in federal contracts: Inspector General

    Seema Verma mishandled millions of dollars in federal contracts: Inspector General

    NEW YORK (TIP): Indian origin Seema Verma, Chief of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, violated federal contracting rules by steering millions of taxpayer dollars in contracts that ultimately benefited GOP-aligned communications consultants, according to a report by Inspector General, released July 16.

    HHS is one of the largest contracting agencies in the Federal Government and in fiscal year 2019 awarded contracts totaling approximately $27 billion, of which $7 billion related to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contracts. Congress has expressed concerns about and the media has reported on CMS’s awarding of contracts for strategic communications services. Separately, OIG had begun preliminary work to review the strategic communications services contracts during CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s tenure. Based on this preliminary work, they conducted an audit of these CMS contracts.

    According to the report “CMS prepared the required documentation for awarding contracts for strategic communications services in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). However, CMS (including the CMS Administrator and other senior leaders) did not administer and manage the contracts in accordance with Federal requirements. Specifically, CMS allowed a subcontractor individual to perform inherently governmental functions, such as making managerial decisions and directing CMS employees. CMS also administered its strategic communications services contracts as personal services contracts. CMS officials exerted a level of control over the contractors’ work that exceeded what is allowed under service contracts; in essence, CMS administered these contracts as if the services had been procured under CMS’s statutory authority to contract for experts and consultants. Lastly, CMS did not comply with FAR requirements in managing contract deliverables and approving the use of a subcontractor, did not maintain complete working files for all three contracts, and paid some questionable costs.”

    President Trump nominated Seema Verma to be the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 29, 2016, and she was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 2017. As Administrator of CMS, she oversees one of the largest federal agencies that administers vital healthcare programs to over 100 million Americans.

     

     

     

     

  • Faced with Widespread Opposition, US Drops New Visa Rules for International Students

    Faced with Widespread Opposition, US Drops New Visa Rules for International Students

    A big relief to students, including those from India

    NEW YORK (TIP): Facing widespread opposition led by Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the federal government on July 14 abruptly dropped its plans to deport or deny entry to international students at U.S. colleges and universities offering virtual instruction only this fall.

    The announcement came during a brief hearing at Boston’s federal courthouse over a lawsuit the two schools filed last week to block the order, a move that drew support from colleges and universities, state and local governments, and the nation’s leading technology companies.

    More than 200 public and private institutions of higher education — including all seven other members of the Ivy League — had either filed briefs supporting Harvard and MIT’s effort, or their own lawsuits, including one by the University of California system and another by a group of 19 schools in the West that included Stanford University.

    Twenty-six cities, towns, and counties from across the country — from Boston, Cambridge, and New York in the East to Las Cruces, N.M., and Los Angeles in the West — wrote in a brief filed June 13 that, if implemented, the decision would have a “direct and deep impact” on their communities.

    Federal Judge Allison D. Burroughs confirmed that both parties had agreed to the decision by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to rescind its proposal, disclosed a little more than a week ago, and continue the March guideline allowing these students to remain in the country and study remotely.

    In the 2018-2019 academic year, there were over 10 lakh international students in the US. According to a recent report of the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP), 1,94,556 Indian students were enrolled in various academic institutions in the US in January.

    Judge Burroughs said the policy would apply nationwide.

    “Both the policy directive and the frequently asked questions would not be enforced anyplace,” she said, referring to the agreement between the US government and MIT and Harvard.

    Congressman Brad Scneider said this is a great win for international students, colleges and common sense.

    “The administration needs to give us a plan to tackle our public health crisis – it can’t be recklessly creating rules one day and rescinding them the next,” he said in a tweet.

    Last week, India also raised with the US its decision to withdraw US visas from foreign students if their universities switch to online-only classes.

    The issue was raised by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla during an online meeting with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.

    Last week, more than 136 Congressmen and 30 senators wrote to the Trump administration to rescind its order on international students.

    “This is a major victory for the students, organizers and institutions of higher education in the #MA7 and all across the country that stood up and fought back against this racist and xenophobic rule,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

    “Taking online classes shouldn’t force international students out of our country,” Congressman Mikie Sherrill said in a tweet.

    In their lawsuit, the 17 states and the District of Columbia said for many international students, remote learning in the countries and communities they come from would impede their studies or be simply impossible.

    The lawsuit alleged that the new rule imposes a significant economic harm by precluding thousands of international students from coming to and residing in the US and finding employment in fields such as science, technology, biotechnology, health care, business and finance, and education, and contributing to the overall economy.

    In a separate filing, companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft, along with the US Chamber of Commerce and other IT advocacy groups, asserted that the ICE directive will disrupt their recruiting plans, making it impossible to bring on board international students that businesses, including the amici, had planned to hire, and disturb the recruiting process on which the firms have relied on to identify and train their future employees.

    This will make it impossible for a large number of international students to participate in the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs.

    The US will “nonsensically be sending…these graduates away to work for our global competitors and compete against us…,” they said.

    International students enrolled in academic programs at US universities and colleges study on an F-1 visa and those enrolled in technical programs at vocational or other recognized non-academic institutions, other than a language training programme come to the US on an M-1 visa.

    The US is the worst-hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has infected more than 3.4 million people and killed over 130,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

    International travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic have made it increasingly difficult for foreign students in the US to return to their home countries, while those outside America are uncertain if they will be able to travel back.

    (With inputs from PTI)

  • State Bank of India Country Head Ashwini Tewari given a warm Farewell

    State Bank of India Country Head Ashwini Tewari given a warm Farewell

    Community leaders laud the banker’s stellar contribution

    NEW YORK (TIP):  “The State Bank of India, which is the leading Indian bank, has been here in New York City since 1968. And then in 1973,  we opened our branch, so we are here for long time – close to 50 years. So,  perhaps we will have a great celebration in 2022. I’ll be remotely associated with it. It is just for the Indian community because when we came in here – at that time – there was hardly any corporate connection. It was largely for the Indian community. And therefore, till this date, one of the key functions of the bank is to serve the community, to be the connection of the community to India. It’s not that the community does not have choices. It has choices not to bank with us. We will be very happy if the community continues to associate with the bank”, said Mr. Ashwini Tewari, Country Head US Operations  of State Bank of India. .

    Mr. Tewari was addressing community leaders and fellow bankers  at a farewell reception hosted by The Indian Panorama, a leading English Weekly on the East Coast, on July 16.

    Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari is presented a plaque by The Indian Panorama and the Federation of Indians Associations NY/NJ/CT (FIA). Seen in the front row , from left to right: FIA Chairman Mr. Ankur Vaidya, Acting Consul General of India at New York Mr. Shatrughna Sinha, Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari, FIA President Mr. Anil Bansal, Mr. Jarnail Singh, owner of Richi Rich

    Speaking about the importance the bank attaches to human relationships, Mr. Tewari said, “We have the best people. You want a nice warm feeling when you come to the bank. That is what you want. We offer a human connection”.

    Mr. Ashwini Tewari addressing the gathering

    Mr. Tewari spoke about a scheme his bank introduced to benefit  senior citizens. “For any senior citizen we offer slightly higher rate of interest. There was an amazing story from here – One senior citizen came and you will be surprised to know – we had so many customers, not only Indians, white people who said this is a bank which calls me and recognizes me. I just can walk in and talk to people and get it. We earned 30-40 million in just a year in that deposit”

    Mr. Tewari said he had had a wonderful stay in New York. He enjoyed working with his colleagues who extended their best cooperation, and his relationship with community which he will cherish forever.

    Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari  had taken over as Country Head , US Operations in  April 2017. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Washington DC are  under the country head’s   jurisdiction.

    Mr. Tewari  who holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Electrical), is CFPCM certified and ACAMS certified. He is a career banker with over 29 years’ experience with State Bank of India in India and outside. Having joined as a directly recruited officer in 1991, Mr. Tewari has handled assignments in diverse areas of Credit, International Banking and Retail Banking, including Business Re-engineering and Technology. Prior to his assignment as Country Head, US Operations, he was Regional Head and General Manager, East Asia of State Bank of India, Hong Kong and oversaw the business development and control of State Bank of India in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea and the neighboring region.

    Mr. Tewari served in diverse positions which include Deputy General Manager, (Operations & Information Systems), International Banking Group, Mumbai, Head of SBI’s Cash Management, Regional Manager, Branch Head etc.

    Mr. Tewari now goes as MD and CEO of State Bank Cards and will be stationed at Gurgaon.

    Laudatory remarks were made by a couple of community leaders which included  FIA President Mr. Anil Bansal, Jaipur Foot  Executive Member Mr. Alok Kumar, eminent attorney Ravi Batra , and Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, publisher/ editor of The Indian Panorama.

    Warm welcome to Mr. Ashwini Kumar Tewari with a bouquet from Anu Jain
    Apeksha extends a flowery welcome to Mr. Shatrughna Sinha. Mr. Tewari, on extreme right,  is seen applauding 

    Earlier, Mr. Ashwini Tewari and Mr. Shatrughna Sinha were greeted with  bouquets.

    Mr. Virendra Bansal, successor to Mr. Tewari pledged to carry forward his predecessor’s legacy

    The distinguished gathering included  Mr. Shatrughna Sinha,  Acting Consul General ,  Ms Apeksha, Mr. Virendra Bansal (SBI) ,   Ms. Prem Lata (SBI),  Mr. BLS Elango CE BOB ,   Mr. Patra, AGM BOB,   Mr. Lokesh Kumar  CE. BOI,      Mr. Abhay Kumar CE Canara Bank, Mr. Anil Bansal   President FIA ,   Mr. Ankur Vaidya, Chairman FIA  ,  Mr. Alok Kumar , EM Jaipur Foot  , Dr. Sunil Mehrra , former President  AAPI  -QLI,    Ms   Anu Jain,  Director- Jain Foundation and  EM RANA ,   Harish Thakkar President AIA, Mr. Prem Bhandari, President Jaipur Foot USA, Mr. Ravi Batra, Attorney, Ms Malini Shah, Mr. Jarnail Singh, Former President, Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana, and Prof. Indrajit S Saluja.

    Among the media persons present were Mr. Gurinder Hothi from PTC TV , Mr. Pradeep Singh from Global Punjab TV ,  Mr. Zahid from TV Asia. and Mr. HP Singh from Parikh Worldwide.

    Prof. Indrajit S Saluja who emceed, thanked the gathering for having made it to the event despite of the COVID challenge.

  • Trump says he will soon sign new merit-based immigration act

    Trump says he will soon sign new merit-based immigration act

    WASHINGTON (TIP) :  President Donald Trump on Tuesday, July 14 said he will soon sign a merit-based immigration act that will also take care of the immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme.

    “We’re going to be signing an immigration act very soon,” Trump told reporters Tuesday, July 14  at a White House press briefing. “It’s going to be based on merit. It’s going to be very strong.”

    Trump has previously said he would seek sweeping changes to U.S. immigration policy through an executive order. Critics — including high-profile lawmakers in the president’s own party — have questioned whether he has the legal authority to overhaul immigration laws without passing legislation through Congress.

    The president cast immigration in partisan terms on Tuesday, attacking Democratic rival Joe Biden over what he described as lax policies toward those illegally entering the U.S. Trump is seeking to reprise an issue that helped him win election in 2016 as he lags in polls behind Biden.

    Trump, who has been repeatedly stymied on Capitol Hill as he has pursued efforts to toughen immigration criteria, said he believed the Supreme Court provided him new powers when it rejected the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which provides legal status for some young migrants in the country illegally.

    “Very importantly, we’ll be taking care of people from DACA in a very Republican way,” Trump said.

    Last month, a divided Supreme Court rebuked Trump by blocking him from ending the Obama administration program.

    Trump has offered no specific explanation of why he believes the Supreme Court decision — which found his administration did not follow proper procedure in eliminating DACA — granted him substantial new immigration authority.

    His foray into immigration comes even as the U.S. has largely shut down the issuance of new work visas and green cards for the remainder of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    (With inputs from PTI)

  • Sikh community in US to work for development of Punjab

    Sikh community in US to work for development of Punjab

    About 70 eminent Sikh leaders from across the country participated in the virtual meeting with India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu on July 13

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The Sikh community in the US vowed to work for the development of Punjab, particularly in areas of education and environment, as they hailed the outreach efforts of the Indian Embassy here in resolving their issues.

    The Sikhs in America are willing to invest in the development of Punjab, eminent Sikh American businessman Gary Grewal told PTI after the first-ever virtual meeting of the community with India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu last week.

    About 100 eminent Sikh leaders from across the country participated in the virtual meeting with Sandhu, who organized the event as part of his outreach with the community.

    “He encouraged us to do other good things. God has blessed us here, we should share with others…offering scholarships to students. Everybody (from the Sikh community) was very happy to be at the meeting. There was a lot of sharing of ideas and thoughts,” Grewal said, adding that many members of the community also discussed the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor with Pakistan.

    “I appreciated that Ambassador Sandhu has invited the Sikh community members for this dialogue and it will be important there is concrete follow up to these suggestions which can engage many to contribute positively for the betterment of the younger generation in Punjab,” said Dr Rajwant Singh, president of EcoSikh, and co-founder, National Sikh Campaign.

    He said it was important that the vast Punjabi and Sikh diaspora is engaged in rebuilding Punjab and create a brighter future for the state.

    “We should be looking toward to future and India-US relations have great potential. Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu is the right person to move these forward,” said Surjeet Sidhu, an eminent Sikh American.

    “I am committed to using technology for uplifting human lives. I’ll be thrilled to bring technology and technical jobs to Punjab in a real practical way,” tweeted Kuldip S Pabla after the event.

    Sonia Dhami, a trustee of the Sikh Foundation and Fine Arts Commissioner for the city of Cupertino, said one of the ways they can work together was in the field of publications on Sikh arts, literature, religion and heritage.

    According to Dr Singh, Sandhu invited the members on the call to support students in the rural areas and sponsor scholarships for education.

    The Sikh Human Development Foundation, a charity organization based in Washington, the NRI Sikhs have given scholarships for higher education to 7,300 students from low-income families in Punjab and other neighboring Northern Indian States in the last 20 years, Singh said.

    The results had been thrilling as most of these students have graduated and have found jobs, he said, adding that he suggested the initiative needed to be expanded with the support of the worldwide Punjabi and Sikh community.

    EcoSikh had offered to plant more forests in other parts of India to mitigate the effects of climate change and was ready to partner with the Central and state governments on this challenge facing Punjab and India, he said.

    EcoSikh has worked closely with Punjab governmental agencies on environmental issues and the state government has adopted its idea of planting 550 trees in each village in Punjab.

    Nikki Guninder Kaur , a professor and author from Colby College, pointed out that there was ignorance about Guru Nanak in the country, asserting that it should be the top priority of the Sikh community to work to spread the message of Guru Nanak.

    (Source: PTI)

     

  • Indian-American Dr Sampat Shivangi Elected Republican Delegate for Florida Convention

    Indian-American Dr Sampat Shivangi Elected Republican Delegate for Florida Convention

    NEW YORK (TIP): Prominent Indian American community leader Dr. Sampat Shivangi has been elected as a Republican delegate for the fifth consecutive term to the party’s August convention in Florida that would formally nominate US President Donald Trump as its candidate for the November presidential elections.

    Dr.Sampat S. Shivangi has been a conservative lifelong member of the Republican party, hailing from a strong republican state of Mississippi. He is the founding member of the Republican Indian council and of Republican Indian National Council which aims to work to help and assist in promoting President Elect Trump’s agenda and support his advocacy in the coming months. RINC is based on the principles of RJC and want to promote conservative ideas and principles.

    Dr.Shivangi is the National President of Indian American Forum for Political Education which is  the oldest Indian American association .For the last three decades he has lobbied for bills in US congress on behalf of India through his enormous contacts with US Senators and Congressmen. He is close to Bush family and was instrumental in lobbying for first Diwali celebration in the White house and President George W. Bush to make his trip to India. He had accompanied President Bill Clinton during his historic visit to India.

     

     

  • Sikh American Naureen Singh to Serve in US Armed Forces

    Sikh American Naureen Singh to Serve in US Armed Forces

    DENVER, CO (TIP): Following in the footsteps of her father Colonel (Ret.) G.B. Singh, Sikh American Naureen Singh will be serving in the armed forces as an officer. Naureen Singh, 26, a community organizer from Colorado Springs, has just been appointed a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

    Naureen’s father Colonel (Ret.) G.B. Singh is the U.S. Army’s highest-ranking Sikh American to keep his turban while serving active duty.

    Lieutenant Singh is now a second- generation Sikh American to serve as an officer in the Armed Forces. Her father, Colonel (Ret.) G.B Singh joined the U.S. Army in 1979, one of a small number of Sikhs allowed to retain articles of faith, grandfathered in after a change in policy in the early 1980s forbidding soldiers from exhibiting their religion with “conspicuous” clothing or style of hair or beard. While the Pentagon does not track religious affiliations within families serving, Singh believes they are among the very first to have two generations of Sikh Americans, serving as officers in the United States Armed Forces.

    Naureen is currently a student at the University of Colorado- Denver, pursuing her master’s in Criminal Justice.