Islamabad (TIP): Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the sentencing of Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik by an Indian court in a terror funding case, saying Islamabad will continue to provide all possible support to the Kashmiris.
A Delhi court on May 25 handed out life sentence to sentenced Malik, one of the foremost separatist leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, saying the crimes were intended to strike at the “heart of the idea of India” and intended to forcefully secede J&K from Union of India. In a tweet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said “India can imprison Yasin Malik physically but it can never imprison the idea of freedom he symbolises. Life imprisonment for valiant freedom fighters will provide fresh impetus to Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.”
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who had written to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet asking her to urge India to acquit Malik from all charges, “strongly” condemned the sentencing.
“Pakistan stands with Kashmiri brothers and sisters, will continue to provide all possible support in their just struggle,” he said in a tweet. Pakistan Army Spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar also condemned the life sentence given to Malik on what he called “fabricated charges.” He said such “oppressive tactics cannot dampen the spirit of people of Kashmir in their just struggle”. The Foreign Office summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires here and conveyed Pakistan’s strongest condemnation of the sentence given to Malik.
It said that the international community must take immediate stock of the “aggravating situation” in Kashmir and press India to fulfill its obligations under the international humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations.
The Foreign Office in a statement earlier said that the foreign minister, as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to draw the attention of the international community to the situation in Kashmir, sent the letter to Bachelet on May 24.
The Foreign Minister urged the High Commissioner and the Human Rights Council to take immediate cognisance of India’s targeting of indigenous Kashmiri leadership through motivated cases, particularly the treatment meted out by Malik. Separately, Foreign Minister Bilawal has written a letter to the Secretary-General of the OIC, Hissein BrahimTaha, apprising him of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Kashmir.
India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir “was, is and shall forever” remain an integral part of the country. It also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. (PTI)
Colombo (TIP): The World Bank has ruled out bridge financing or new loan commitments to crisis-hit Sri Lanka until the island nation’s economy sets up an adequate macroeconomic policy framework, the global lender has said.
The statement by the World Bank came on May 24 following reports that the Washington-based institution was planning to support Sri Lanka to overcome the financial crisis in the form of a bridge loan or new loan commitments.
However, the Bank has said that they are reshuffling the already allocated resources to provide essential medicines and other cash assistance to the vulnerable. “Recent media reports have inaccurately stated that the World Bank is planning support for Sri Lanka in the form of a bridge loan or new loan commitments, among other incorrect assertions,” the Bank said in a statement.
“We are concerned for the people of Sri Lanka and are working in coordination with the IMF and other development partners in advising on appropriate policies to restore economic stability and broad-based growth. Until an adequate macroeconomic policy framework is in place, the World Bank does not plan to offer new financing to Sri Lanka,” it said. It expressed hope that Sri Lanka is making continuous efforts towards economic stability.
“We are currently repurposing resources from previously approved projects to help the government with some essential medicines, temporary cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, school meals for children of vulnerable families, and support for farmers and small businesses,” the statement said.
Sri Lanka is nearing bankruptcy and has severe shortages of essentials from food, fuel, medicines and cooking gas to toilet paper and matchsticks. For months, people have been forced to stay in long lines to buy the limited stocks.
Sri Lanka has suspended repayment of about USD 7 billion in foreign loans due this year out of USD 25 billion to be repaid by 2026. The country’s total foreign debt is USD 51 billion. Sri Lanka in the midst of its worst economic crisis has started a negotiating program with the IMF.
The island however is in need of USD 4-5 billion bridging finance to arrest the crisis where shortages of essentials had led to street rioting. Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has created political unrest with a protest occupying the entrance to the president’s office demanding his resignation continuing for the past 40 days. The crisis has already forced prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the president, to resign on May 9. (PTI)
LONDON (TIP): Indian-origin businessman Sunil Chopra has been elected as the mayor of London Borough of Southwark for the second time. Delhi-born Chopra took the oath on Saturday at Southwark Cathedral, Montague Close in Central London. Chopra was the mayor of the London Borough of Southwark in 2014-2015, and deputy mayor in 2013-2014, the first Indian-origin person to hold the prestigious office in the Borough.
UK’s Labor Party has gained victory over the Liberal Democrats in London Bridge and West Bermondsey seats under Chopra’s leadership. These seats were held by the opposition party for decades. This victory is important as the London Borough of Southwark Council has only 2 per cent Indian-origin people. Chopra entered UK politics in 2010 and was elected as the mayor of the London Borough of Southwark for the first time in 2014. He has also served as the Deputy mayor three times. His political journey started long before that in the 1970s in Delhi.
He became the first president of the College of Vocational Studies, Delhi University in 1972. While pursuing LL.B. in 1973-74, he held the position of Supreme Councilor at Delhi University. Later, he also became NSUI (National Students Union of India) president for New Delhi. Chopra has been living in London for over four decades and is actively involved in local community work. In 1979, after moving to the UK, Chopra started a retail enterprise shop that grew into a wholesale business of children’s garments and baby products.
Alongside, he took the opportunity to promote Indian culture by organizing cultural events and community work. He co-founded an organization, the Southwark Hindu Centre, for the Indian Community in the area.
Chopra also envisions the strengthening of economic and cultural ties between the UK and India. He is keen to promote Southwark locally and globally, and is passionate to bring diverse communities together.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Indian American Impact Project hosted a first of its kind ‘Dream with Ambition’ summit and gala with a call by Vice President Kamala Harris to “continue to lead with conviction, continue to strive to do the impossible.” The May 18 event to engage and mobilize the South Asian community and celebrate the AAPI Heritage Month featured over 300 prominent community members, according to a press release from Indian American Impact. Besides Harris, all four Indian American US House members Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Ami Bera as also celebrities, politicians, philanthropists and organizers attended.
The ‘Dream with Ambition’ summit was a successful educational experience for the guests as they explored the policy & advocacy and constituency subtopics of their choice, according to the release.
The event, it said, is Impact’s latest push to energize and prepare the largest growing voting bloc in the country — South Asians — to integrate into their communities with knowledge on running for office, combating misinformation, mobilizing locally and all the tools with which to lead.
“As you all know, when my mother was 19, she came to the United States from India to become a breast cancer researcher,” Harris, the first Indian American and first African American vice president recalled.
“She raised my sister and me to believe that we could be anything and do anything, if we set our minds to it. She taught us to ‘Dream with Ambition’ and so many of you gathered here today have something special in common. You see what can be unburdened by what has been.”
“Every day, in communities across our nation, you are advancing equality, opportunity and justice. You are inspiring the next generation of leaders, and in particular — the next generation of South Asian leaders,” Harris said.
“Today my message to you is this — let us always remember, what brought us to this moment and continue to dream with ambition, continue to lead with conviction, continue to strive to do the impossible.” “Because you, and we all, are standing on the shoulders of so many who came before, and living their dreams,” Harris said. “Our nation is counting on you, on Impact, and all of us to lead us forward.” “Historically, South Asians have been overlooked, underestimated, and underrepresented politically,” said Indian American Impact executive-director Neil Makhija.
“But after witnessing so many community members and future leaders come together this week, it is clear that is a thing of the past,” he said. “At Impact, it is crucial for us to empower young South Asians to mobilize their friends and families to get involved in the political process.”
“As the fastest growing voting bloc in the country, we have strength in numbers and the future of the Democratic party needs to be reflective of the communities they serve.”
“The significance of this event was made possible by our extensive panel of guest speakers and attendees,” Makhija said. “Countless voices this week proved that our community is stronger when we collaborate and celebrate our intersectionality. It’s incredibly encouraging to imagine the possibilities for our collective futures.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): All four Indian American lawmakers have expressed their deep concern over the assault of an Indian American in a targeted bullying incident at a school in Texas sparking outrage in the community.
US House members Ro Khanna, Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal and Raja Krishnamoorthi Monday, May 23, sent a joint letter to the administration of Coppell Middle School North in the Coppell Independent School District (CISD) in Coppell, Texas about the May 11 incident.
A video of the assault on 14-year-old Shaan Pritmani in the cafeteria of the school North shot by his classmates went viral and sparked anger on social media.
“This video has sparked widespread outrage in the Indian American community,” the lawmakers wrote. “As Indian American members of Congress and representatives of our diverse communities, the possibility of a young Indian American being targeted in this manner is extremely disturbing.”
In the aftermath of this horrific incident, school administrators decided to give Pritmani a longer suspension than the aggressor, prompting outrage around the country, they noted in a press release.
In their letter, the lawmakers noted that in a May 15 statement to the community, school superintendent Dr. Brad Hunt emphasized that “Bullying, both verbal and physical, as well as physical acts of aggression are never acceptable and do not align with who we are at CISD and our core values.”
With that in mind they asked the school’s administration to evaluate the determination for periods of suspension and consider whether an objective and thorough investigation was conducted.
The lawmakers also hoped that the school was taking concrete steps to ensure Shaan Pritamani is not facing ongoing bullying from assailant or other students as also steps to prevent bullying and for restorative justice and counseling for those involved
Pritamani’s mother parents have also started a petition on Change.org a worldwide petition website, based in California, seeking protection of victims of assault at schools and action against the bully.
Text of the Indian American lawmakers’ letter:
May 23, 2022
Dr. Brad Hunt
Superintendent, Coppell Independent School District (CISD)
200 S. Denton Tap Rd | Coppell, TX 75019
Dr. Greg Axelson
Principal, Coppell Middle School North
120 Natches Trce, Coppell | TX 75019
Dear Dr. Hunt and Dr. Axelson:
We are writing to express our deep concern about the recent incident of bullying which occurred at Coppell Middle School North in the Coppell Independent School District (CISD). As you know, a widely circulated video of the incident shows 14-year-old Shaan Pritmani being assaulted and eventually “choked out” in an alleged wrestling maneuver that could have resulted in serious injury.
This video has sparked widespread outrage in the Indian American community. As Indian American members of Congress and representatives of our diverse communities, the possibility of a young Indian American being targeted in this manner is extremely disturbing. We understand that in a May 15, 2022, statement to the community, Dr. Hunt emphasized that “Bullying, both verbal and physical, as well as physical acts of aggression are never acceptable and do not align with who we are at CISD and our core values.”
With that in mind, we are hoping that such values are backed up by consideration of the following factors:
Whether a thorough, objective investigation was conducted
If the investigation was done to the satisfaction of the families involved
If the physical risk of brain damage or death or other injury considered in determining the severity of the incident
Fair determination for periods of suspension
Fair standards of accountability
Steps to prevent bullying at this school
Steps for restorative justice and counseling for those involved
Concrete steps to ensure Shaan Pritamani is not facing ongoing bullying from assailant or other students
We appreciate your attention to this matter, not only to serve your school community, but also to consider the concerns being expressed to us from across the country.
SAN FRANCISCO (TIP): More than a dozen Indian-American business leaders including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen are among major investors in a venture to launch America’s first-ever professional Twenty20 cricket league.
Major League Cricket (MLC), America’s first professional T20 cricket league, announced May 19 its plans to deploy more than $120 million to launch the US version of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Investment in MLC will “open a new era for the world’s second most popular sport in the United States” and “transform US cricket landscape and fund the construction of world-class cricket stadia and training centers nationwide,” it said.
The San Francisco based organization, which is partnering with ICC member USA Cricket, said it has completed an initial close of a $44 million Series A and A1 Fundraising Round, which includes MLC’s seed funding round, led by a group of America’s most successful and respected business leaders.
With an additional commitment of $76 million in further fundraising over the next 12 months in place, MLC plans to deploy more than $120 million in the venture.
Investor groups in the initial round were led by: Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) and Soma Somasegar (Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group), Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan (Founding Partners at Milliways Ventures and Rocketship VC); Sanjay Govil (Founder and Chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions and CEO, Zyter); Anurag Jain (Managing Partner of Perot Jain, LP, Chairman of Access Healthcare) and Ross Perot Jr. (Chairman, The Perot Group); Tanweer Ahmed (CEO, PAK Foods, CEO, OUR Energy and Owner of Prairie View Cricket Complex); The Baheti Family (Owners of YASH Technologies). “The significant funding committed by an outstanding group of investors will allow Major League Cricket to build first-class facilities and accelerate the sport’s development across the country, bringing world-class professional cricket to the world’s largest sports market,” said Sameer Mehta and Vijay Srinivasan, co-founders, Major League Cricket.
“This investor group comprises leading business executives and successful tech entrepreneurs who have led some of the world’s most prominent companies,” he said.
“They bring tremendous experience and expertise in support of MLC’s plans to launch a transformative Twenty20 league and establish America as one of the world’s leading homes for international cricket events.”
The $120 million investment into MLC will primarily be dedicated to building premier cricket-specific stadia and training centers to develop a new generation of American star cricketers, according to a press release.
This unprecedented infrastructure investment will transform the landscape for professional cricket and enable the United States to host global events over the next decade and beyond, it said.
Besides international games, world-class T20 action will be played annually with MLC bringing the best cricketers in the world to play in cricket-specific venues with natural turf wickets and first-class amenities for fans.
“Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world and the opportunity to invest in the launch of the first professional T20 league in the United States is an exciting venture we are delighted to be part of,” said Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman. “Cricket’s grassroots growth in recent years across the US has been energizing to see and we are thrilled to be able to help take a sport we are both so passionate about to the next level as part of a fantastic group of investors in Major League Cricket.”
“I share the vision Major League Cricket has for the launch of a world-class T20 cricket league and the potential for the United States to become one of the leading cricket nations in the world,” said Soma Somasegar.
“I am delighted to be part of a dynamic group of investors who will help the sport reach that level through an unprecedented commitment of resources by MLC to developing the sport.”
“The ceiling for cricket’s growth in the United States is incredibly high, with the passion for the game at the grassroots level I’ve observed in Texas proof of its potential,” said Anurag Jain. “I am proud to be part of a group of investors committed to rapidly accelerating cricket’s progress through Major League Cricket,” he said. “The plans MLC have laid out to develop infrastructure and build a foundation for professional cricket to thrive nationwide puts the sport on a tremendous trajectory and I am excited to support this vision.”
“To have the opportunity to invest in not just the launch of a world-class T20 league with Major League Cricket but in the sport’s expansive rise across America with the development plans MLC has in place is a tremendous opportunity,” said Sanjay Govil, “I am so pleased to join with a group of like-minded investors who also love the game and are committed to supporting cricket’s growth in the US over the coming years,” he added.
Additional Series a round investors included Mihir Worah, Former Chief Investment Officer, PIMCO; Preetish Nijhawan, Co-founder, Akamai; Manish Parikh, Co-founder and CEO, Icon Systems Inc; Vikram Ramani, CTO Banking, FIS Global Sankar Kaliaperumal, Managing Director, Accenture; Dhigha Sekaran, Director at Meta and former Microsoft Executive; Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO, Adobe; Samir Bodas , Co-founder and CEO, ICertis; and Sanjay Parthasarathy, Chief Product Officer, Avalara, and a former Microsoft executive.
ANAHEIM, CA (TIP): Harry Sidhu, first mayor of Indian heritage of Anaheim city, home of the Disneyland Resort outside Los Angeles, has resigned in the face of a growing federal corruption investigation, according to media reports.
Indian born Sidhu, a Republican, has not been charged with a crime, and a statement from his attorney Paul S. Meyer said a “fair and thorough investigation” would exonerate the mayor, media reported.
Elected officials in Anaheim had formally urged Sidhu, who was first elected mayor of California’s tenth largest city in November 2018, to step aside amid allegations that he sought to wring campaign donations from baseball stadium negotiations.
“In order to continue to act in the best interests of Anaheim and allow this great City to move forward without distraction, Harry Sidhu has resigned from his post as Mayor effective May 24, 2022,” Meyer stated.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit released this week alleged that Sidhu sought to turn the city’s prolonged attempt to sell Angel Stadium — home of the major league Angels — to his personal advantage.
The city has spent years negotiating terms for selling the ballpark and the land on which it sits to a group led by Angels owner Arte Moreno.
According to an affidavit from FBI Agent Brian C. Adkins, cited by Politico, Sidhu used an intermediary to pass confidential information about those talks to an Angels representative and then sought to conceal his actions. An Angels representative did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment.
The affidavit also alleges that Sidhu repeatedly discussed his intention to ask an Angels representative for half a million dollars or more in campaign donations in exchange for his work advancing the proposed stadium deal.
Meyer noted the affidavit showed Sidhu “never asked for a political campaign contribution that was linked in any way to the negotiation process.”
“His unwavering goal from the start has been to keep the Angels in Anaheim, so that this vibrant social and economic relationship will continue,” Meyer stated.
An underlying federal investigation alleges a pervasive culture of corruption in Anaheim, which Adkins described as being “tightly controlled by a small cadre of individuals” that included Sidhu.
In a separate affidavit laying out a money laundering investigation accusing former Anaheim Chamber of Commerce President Todd Ament of lying on a mortgage application, Adkins alleged that Ament and a campaign consultant sought to influence policy via what Ament and his consultant called their “cabal” of people who wield power over Anaheim’s affairs.
The affidavit cited by Politico describes the two discussing how they expect loyalty after securing an elected official’s reelection and that they could “give” him a promotion, and recounting how an elected official used a “script” they wrote for him to read at a city council meeting.
A judge has halted the planned stadium transaction at the request of the California Department of Justice.
The DOJ had secured a stipulated judgment in which Anaheim paid a $96 million fine to resolve allegations that Sidhu’s handling of the stadium violated the Surplus Land Act and determined the sale was illegal.
Sidhu was able to get himself appointed to the city’s stadium negotiating team after reinstating the old stadium lease in January 2019, according to Orange County newspaper OC Voice. At the time, Sidhu billed the move as a “temporary lease extension.” But it reinstated the old lease and tied up the land for years – something that stadium deal critics cited by the newspaper say gave away all the city’s leverage in negotiations. Born and raised in India, Sidhu came to the United States in 1974 with his family, settling in Philadelphia, and becoming a US citizen in 1979.
He came to Southern California in 1980 to work as an engineer for aerospace companies Rockwell International, General Dynamics and Hughes Aircraft. Sidhu and his wife Gin have lived in Anaheim since 1994 with their two children. Sidhu previously served on Anaheim’s City Council from 2004-2012, including as mayor pro term from 2009- 2011 and in 2012. From 2013-2015, Sidhu also served as a Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority alternate commissioner.
A licensed professional engineer – a registered mechanical engineer in the State of California – Sidhu received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
He is also a licensed California real estate broker, and a licensed general aviation and helicopter pilot.
The U.S. must impose a ban on assault weapons, and expand checks for gun ownership
The U.S. once again faced the grim consequences of its unwillingness to tackle gun violence at its source when a man shot dead at least 19 children and two adults, including a teacher, at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. The shooting marks the worst such attack in the U.S. since the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attack in 2018, when a former student of the school in Parkland, Florida, opened fire, killing 17 people and wounding 17 others. A similar major shooting that led to outrage yet saw no permanent reform in guns laws occurred at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, in which 20 first graders and six school employees perished. The Uvalde tragedy has also shaken the nation for it comes scarcely 10 days after a shooting at a supermarket store in Buffalo, New York, which officials described as a racist hate crime, claiming 10 lives. Overall, there have been at least 26 school shootings in 2022 alone and at least 118 incidents since 2018, according to reports that have tracked this statistic over the past four years. Last year witnessed 34 school shootings, the highest number during this period; there were 24 incidents each in 2019 and 2018 and 10 in 2020. Addressing the nation after the Uvalde attack, U.S. President Joe Biden made an urgent plea for common-sense gun control reform, saying, “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?… I am sick and tired of it. We have to act… these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen elsewhere in the world… It’s time to turn this pain into action.”
Yet, it would be unrealistic to hope for meaningful change in the U.S.’s view on the Second Amendment, which assures citizens of the right to bear arms. Several Presidents, mostly Democrats, have tried and failed to get even basic gun control laws passed through Congress. Former President Barack Obama, for example, came away frustrated after Capitol Hill rejected no fewer than 17 attempts by his White House to bring common-sense gun control to the floor of Congress. While conservative lawmakers seek to score political points by fiercely defending the constitutional right to bear arms, it is common knowledge now that at the heart of the U.S. Congress’s refusal to stamp out gun violence in schools and other public spaces is shadowy lobbying on Capitol Hill by the deep-pocketed and well-networked National Rifle Association and, along with them, the entire gun manufacturing industry. If Mr. Biden genuinely wishes to clamp down on this violence, which has ripped into America’s soul for several generations now, he may have no choice but to follow in Mr. Obama’s steps and use his presidential power of executive actions to enforce gun control measures. These should, at a minimum, include an assault weapons ban, expanded background checks for gun ownership and boosted funding for federal enforcement agencies regulating gun proliferation.
Supreme Court ruling on GST Council should guide Centre, states
The Supreme Court’s assertion that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is not only an avenue for the exercise of cooperative federalism but also for contestation across Centre-state lines is a timely reiteration of the provisions in Articles 246A and 279A of the Constitution. According to Article 246A, Parliament and the state legislature possess equal powers to legislate on aspects of GST; Article 279A envisions that the Centre and the states can’t act independently of each other. The council’s voting system gives two-third weightage to the states’ collective votes and one-third to the Centre’s vote in a bid to provide a level playing field.
It’s unfortunate that despite such clear-cut provisions, the BJP-led Union Government and Opposition-ruled states have often been at loggerheads over the functioning of the council during the past five years. The one-nation-one-tax regime was rolled out in 2017 with the primary objectives of creating a unified national market and giving a boost to the ‘Make in India’ campaign; harmonization of laws, procedures and rates of tax between the Centre and the states and among the states; and establishing an environment that would facilitate compliance and reduce corruption. The new regime has been partially successful, hampered at times by Centre-state disagreements. The all-time high monthly GST collection of Rs 1.68 lakh crore last month augurs well for the future, but most states may find it hard to fend for themselves once the five-year compensation plan for GST rollout ends next month. Punjab, for instance, stands to lose over Rs 15,000 crore annually if the Centre stops recompensing it.
The GST Council is the ideal forum for the states to voice their apprehensions and prepare an action plan depending on whether the Centre accepts their demand to extend compensation beyond June. Empowering the states to generate revenue on their own in the long run should form the basis of a workable fiscal model. With GST being a key driver of Indian economy, it is imperative to create a win-win situation for both the Centre and the states in the true spirit of federalism.
Hema Malini with Srimad Bhagavad Gita.People listening to Hema Malini at the event (Photo / Suresh Bodiwala)
CHICAGO, IL (TIP): May 15th, 2022 marked an important time in history for ISKCON Naperville; a special fundraising dinner for the construction of the new temple, ISKCON Radha Shyamasundar. With any big endeavor, comes a big price. However, nothing is too big nor too intimidating for the devotees of ISKCON Naperville.
The fundraising event was held at Ashyana Banquet Hall. The large banquet room was filled with promise and excitement, as all who attended were eager for the completion of this important project. Temple President Premananda Devi Dasi addressed the crowd of over 500 by reminding them what brought them all together: “Why build this temple? When Srila Prabhupada founded this institution, he listed seven purposes of ISKCON”. She then reiterated Srila Prabhupada’s fifth stated purpose: “To erect for the members, and for society at large, a holy place of transcendental pastimes, dedicated to the personality of Krishna.” What made this year’s fundraising event exceedingly more memorable, was the attendance of famed Member of Indian Parliament and esteemed Bollywood actress, Hema Malini. She began her career as a bharatanatyam dancer. Hema Malini was able to land her first film role as a dancer in 1963 and starred in over 200 movies throughout her career.
She became a devotee of Krishna after she was introduced to the holy place of Vrindavan, where she would later serve as a Member of Parliament. She explained, “I was offered some other places, but I refused. I said I am not interested in being a politician or Member of Parliament from anywhere. If it is given to me, Matura, then I am interested because it is Krishna’s place and I am connected to Krishna. I want to serve there, not as a politician, but you have to be politically connected so you are able to do a lot of work with the help of our government.” In addition, she has also been helping clean up the Ganga and Yamuna rivers apart from supporting many more important projects in the region. Also in attendance was ISKCON communications director Anuttama Dasa and his wife, Rukmini Devi Dasi. Their presence was a gift and inspirational to many. Anuttama Dasa stated to the audience: “…This is the purpose of this ISKCON society; to help us. How do I get the envy out of my heart? How do I get the anger out of my heart? How do I get the greed out of my heart? So that I can become a force for change, for the better – and how can we do that as a community?”
ISKCON Naperville devotees have been working tirelessly to support Prabhupada’s mission. “The world is looking for that type of leadership. By building the temple that you’re all contributing to, it actually becomes a place where we can come together and we can show our appreciation for Krishna; for all our gifts. We also can come together and say, ‘Lord, I want to be a force for good in the world,’” said Annutama Dasa.
The three-story temple will include a commercial kitchen, snack bar, classrooms, a playground, yoga studio, multipurpose hall, gift shop – and most importantly, Sri Radha Shyamasundara. This temple will not only be a place of worship, but a pillar for the community and people of all faiths. With the help of generous donors and hardworking devotees, temple construction is scheduled to conclude in the upcoming winter. Hema Malini expressed her great fortune to have been present at the unveiling of the temple signage by stating, “It was so wonderful to be there, it just felt like I’m still in Vrindavan because of the same atmosphere.”
“Though Biden wants Quad to look at Russia’s Ukraine invasion and North Korea’s nuclear threats, he views the Quad partnership of four major democracies in the Indo-Pacific as vital to challenge China’s growing influence in the region. The balance among these threats varies between the Quad partners.”
The Quad Summit held in Tokyo on Tuesday; May 24 was the fourth such occasion in the past two years. The four leaders met at a virtual summit in March 2021 followed by the first-ever physical summit in September 2021 in Washington DC. Thereafter, in March 2022, another virtual meeting took place, and the Tokyo physical summit of 2022 shows the quick turnaround time for Quad summits since the Biden administration took over.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden are seniormost among the Quad leaders, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is a more recent entrant. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese participated in the summit soon after his election victory.
A salient difference between the Quad summits of 2021 and 2022 is the context. Undoubtedly, the Quad assimilated to pose a challenge to China’s hegemonic intent in the Indo-Pacific. The US pivot to Asia was inadequate and required the support of like-minded and willing countries like India, Japan and Australia. While Japan and Australia are US allies, India is an important strategic partner.
The summits of 2021 reduced the rhetoric on security and strategy and focused more on functional cooperation, particularly targeting ASEAN, whose centrality was trumpeted. It became evident that to challenge China, the main arena was the South China Sea, where China made serious inroads into fulfilling their strategic ambitions and winning over ASEAN countries with large economic cooperation. Japan was a major economic partner of ASEAN, but by itself could not match the strategic economic outreach of China and thus the Quad adjusted its positions. Since ASEAN prefers not to take sides between China and the USA, the readjustment of Quad’s public position was to bring alignment with ASEAN concerns.
The 2021 summits focused on Covid, better health security and the Quad vaccine initiative; they also looked at the Quad Infrastructure Coordination Group, climate issues, hydrogen, education and people-to-people exchanges. Critical and emerging technology remains an important area where there is serious competition with China which leads to cybersecurity.
The March 2022 summit convened after the Ukraine crisis, whose broader implications were discussed. The US remains keen to aggregate the Quad to provide strategic and humanitarian support to Ukraine, the same way that are planned for the Indo-Pacific. India remains lukewarm to this. The Ukraine crisis, portraying Russia as enemy number one, has the potential of derailing the concerted challenge to China in the Indo-Pacific. For India, it is not Russia but China, which is the main threat. The Indo-Pacific policies which the Quad pursues ought to remain focused on China and should cover Russia only if Russia becomes more active in this region. The convening of the fourth Quad summit in Tokyo, came on the back of the US showing more interest in the region, despite the Ukraine crisis. Biden hosted a summit with the ASEAN leaders on May 12-13 and then proceeded on a tour of South Korea, where he met the new President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the Prime Minister of Japan. The intent was to deepen security cooperation with both and encourage them to impose further sanctions on Russia amid the Ukraine war.
Though Biden wants Quad to look at Russia’s Ukraine invasion and North Korea’s nuclear threats, he views the Quad partnership of four major democracies in the Indo-Pacific as vital to challenge China’s growing influence in the region. The balance among these threats varies between the Quad partners.
There are four, among many things that the Quad is coordinating on, in which India has a direct interest. To deal with Covid, the Quad vaccine initiative has already agreed to manufacturing facilities in India. There is another group dealing with decarbonized green shipping lines in the Indo-Pacific, which will use hydrogen as fuel. India with its new hydrogen policy is keen to get this technology and perhaps be a manufacturing base for hydrogen.
Thirdly, the Quad infrastructure coordination group is looking at quality infrastructure in the region. This is again an area of Indian interest, as through this India can enhance its profile in its neighborhood. The fourth important group deals with critical technologies and cybersecurity. India has an interest in both, particularly in setting up semiconductor production in the country, to become part of an independent supply chain and not remain dependent on China-based supplies. Cybersecurity is an area of extreme importance for India. The Quad cybersecurity and semiconductor initiatives are good outcomes from the summit.
The six major takeaways from this summit are: (i) The Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, which brings commitment for a faster, wider and accurate maritime awareness of almost real-time maritime movement in regional waters; (ii) Quad will seek more than $50 billion of infrastructure assistance and investment in the Indo-Pacific, over the next five years. This will keep debt stress in firm view to differentiate from the BRI; (iii) The Quad Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Package (Q-CHAMP) with mitigation and adaptation as its two themes was launched. Q-CHAMP includes ongoing activities under the Quad Climate Working Group on green shipping and ports aiming for a shared green corridor framework and others. Its coverage includes new cooperation in clean fuel ammonia, carbon recycling, cooperation and capacity-building support to advance high-integrity carbon markets; (iv) The Quad will increase interoperability and security through the signature of a new Memorandum of Cooperation on 5G Supplier Diversification and Open RAN (radio access networks); (v) The Common Statement of Principles on Critical Technology Supply Chains, launched at the summit, advances Quad cooperation on semiconductors and other critical technologies, providing a cooperative foundation for resilience against various risks; (vi) The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) has brought 13 countries together to discuss an economic future together. This is the first time India is an economic arrangement in the Indo-Pacific. It included all RCEP countries except China, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar and adds India and the USA. Its success is that it gets seven ASEAN countries to join the consultations process.
The Quad is on the right track and is getting better at implementing its ideas and securing adherents as well as acceptability. That is the way to challenge China’s hegemony in the region.
“During some of the coldest days of the Cold War, U.S. presidents like Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan sought to find common ground on which to stand with Russia to avoid conflict. Ike invited the “Butcher of Budapest,” Nikita Khrushchev, for a 12-day U.S. visit in 1959. Nixon initiated a “detente” with Leonid Brezhnev, who had ordered the Warsaw Pact to crush the “Prague Spring” in 1968. Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev negotiated the dismantling of an entire class of nuclear weapons in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.”
Where does Mother Russia go from here? Bitter at their losses in the Cold War and post-Cold War years, many Russian nationalists are urging the regime to align with today’s great power antagonist of the United States, Xi Jinping’s China.
“The demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” said Russia’s new ruler Vladimir Putin in his 2005 state of the nation address.
“As for the Russian people,” Putin went on, “it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory.”
From Putin’s standpoint, the statement was then and remains today understandable.
Consider. When Putin entered his country’s secret service, Berlin was 110 miles deep inside a Soviet-occupied East Germany. Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria were member states of the Warsaw Pact.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were republics of the USSR. Ukraine was the most populous and ethnically closest of the Soviet republics to Russia itself.
And today? Berlin is the capital of a united, free and democratic Germany, a member of NATO, that is beginning a rearmament campaign triggered by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are members of the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Former Soviet republics Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are also members of that Western alliance established to contain Russia.
Sweden and Finland, neutral through the Cold War, are applying for membership in NATO.
Ukraine, backed by the U.S. and NATO, is fighting a war to push the Russian army out of its territory, a war that has the support of almost every country on the continent of Europe.
Even the falls of the British and French empires at the end of World War II do not match as geo-strategic disasters the collapse of the Soviet Empire and breakup of the Soviet Union since the end of the Cold War.
How goes the Russian war in Ukraine launched on Feb. 24?
Russia has enlarged the territory it controls in Crimea and its Luhansk and Donetsk enclaves in the Donbas. And now, with the fall of Mariupol, Moscow controls the entire Sea of Azov and has completed its land bridge from Russia to Crimea. But Russia has failed to capture and been forced by the Ukrainian army to retreat from Kyiv and Kharkiv, the largest cities in Ukraine, and Putin has seen his forces humiliated again and again. Yet, withal, Russia today remains a great power.
The largest nation on earth with twice the territory of the U.S., Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and exceeds the U.S. and China in tactical nuclear weapons. It has vast tracks of land and sits on huge deposits of minerals, coal, oil and gas.
But Russia also has glaring weaknesses and growing vulnerabilities.
While Putin has built up impressive forces in the Arctic, the Baltic Sea, with Finland and Sweden joining the Western alliance, is becoming a NATO lake. Russian warships sailing out of St. Petersburg to the Atlantic have to traverse the coastal defenses of 11 present or future NATO nations: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Britain and France.
Among the questions that Russia, shrunken in so many ways from the great U.S. rival of the Cold War it once was, must answer is, “Quo Vadis?”
Where does Mother Russia go from here?
Bitter at their losses in the Cold War and post-Cold War years, many Russian nationalists are urging the regime to align with today’s great power antagonist of the United States, Xi Jinping’s China.
This is a recipe for a Second Cold War, but how would that war avail the Russian nation and its people?
In any Russia-China alliance, there is no doubt who will be senior partner. And it is not the U.S. that covets and wishes one day to control the resources of Russia from Novosibirsk to the Bering Sea. China’s population of 1.4 billion people is 10 times Russia’s. East of the Urals, China’s population is 50 to 100 times the size of Russia’s in Siberia and the Far East. What of a U.S.-Russia detente as Moscow’s future rather than Cold War II?
During some of the coldest days of the Cold War, U.S. presidents like Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan sought to find common ground on which to stand with Russia to avoid conflict.
Ike invited the “Butcher of Budapest,” Nikita Khrushchev, for a 12-day U.S. visit in 1959. Nixon initiated a “detente” with Leonid Brezhnev, who had ordered the Warsaw Pact to crush the “Prague Spring” in 1968. Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev negotiated the dismantling of an entire class of nuclear weapons in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. Given the hostility Putin has generated by his invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders may be unable to bring Russia in from the cold. But if we isolate Russia, push it out of the West, Moscow has only one direction in which to go — east, to China.
In 230 years, the United States has never gone to war with Russia. Not with the Romanovs nor with the Stalinists, not with the Cold War Communists nor with the Putinists.
U.S. vital interests dictate that we maintain that tradition.
(Patrick Joseph Buchanan is a political commentator, columnist, politician and broadcaster)
Pushed to the edge and left with limited role both in the state and at the Centre, the majority of political powers of yesteryears have been forced into a political hibernation. Ruing the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the new ruling outfit, the conventional power brokers in this border State of Punjab – Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party – are finding themselves pushed to the edge. They have virtually become mute spectators to the political developments that have been unfolding since the new regime of Bhagwant Singh Mann took over reins of the State in March.
After taking all five Rajya Sabha seats in March, AAP is all set to take the remaining two seats, elections to which are scheduled for June 10 with May 31 as the last date for nominations. None of the other parties – Congress, SAD or BJP – will have any say in the process that for the first time in recent decades will witness a complete wash out by the ruling party in the State. While both Congress and BJP are making meek and feeble efforts of evincing interest in the bye election to Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, silence of the Shiromani Akali Dal is intriguing.
The Election Commission has announced the schedule for filling three Lok Sabha seats – Sangrur, Rampur and Azamgarh – that are presently vacant.
The bye-elections will be held on June 23 and results will be announced on June 26. June 6 will be the last date for filing of nominations. Besides ruling AAP, other parties, too, have to announce their candidates for the June 23 bye-election. Bhagwant Mann’s sister has already been campaigning in the area. She avoided answering if she would be interested in contesting. “Party will decide, she quipped.
Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Sanyukat Shiromani Akali Dal may be interested in contesting the bye-election by fielding Parmnder Singh Dhindsa, who along with former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, were among the losers in the last Assembly elections. The Rajya Sabha Elections for 57 seats, including two from Punjab will be held on June 10, 2022. Of these 57 seats , 11 are from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with six seats each.
Other States where the Rajya Sabha election will be held are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Haryana.
Sangrur Lok Sabha seat fell vacant in March after the incumbent Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was elected to the State Assembly from Dhuri.
Political analysts are expecting the Election Commission to announce the schedule for filling all three vacant Lok Sabha seats in time for the Presidential election in July this year.
The ECI is expected to announce the Election schedule for the 16th Presidential Election in June as the tenure of the present incumbent Ram Nath Kovind is till July 24. The new incumbent is mandated to take over on July 25.
Again, the role of Punjab politicians in the Presidential election will mainly veer around AAP while Congress, SAD and BJP with small or little presence in the State Legislature or Parliament presence will have their limited roles.
Never before Punjab witnessed such a political scenario with three of major players pushed to the edge. After their humiliating defeats in the February Assembly elections, problems have been aggravating for almost all the conventional parties. Congress, for example, has been going through its worst phase.
The party continues to be tormented by exits of its senior leaders. After the former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sunil Jakhar said goodbye to the party, former Union Ministers, Ashwini Kumar and Kapil Sibal have also left the party. They both represented Punjab.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, who followed Sunil Jakhar as President of the Punjab unit has been sentenced to undergo one-year rigorous imprisonment in an old case. On the eve of the Assembly elections early this year, Congress lost its high profile Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, who later floated his own party Punjab Lok Congress. Close on heels of his exit from Congress, two other MLAs – Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa – too left the party and joined BJP. Now Sunil Jakhar, too, has joined BJP.
Shiromani Akali Dal is understandably lying low after its worst ever drubbing in any election. It recently lost its veteran leader Tota Singh.
While one of its breakaway groups, Sanyukat Shiromani Akali Dal led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa (His term as member of Rajya Sabha ended in April this year), objected to its alliance partner BJP going out alone electioneering in Sangrur for ensuing bye-election, SAD has been watching the developments silently. Even the third partner of the alliance, Punjab Lok Congress, has till now not shown any inclination in contesting the Sangrur bye election. BJP has appointed Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi to assess the atmosphere in the constituency before taking a final decision.
Weakened or marginalized Opposition notwithstanding, the ruling AAP is not without its problems.
Dismissal of the Health Minister, Dr Vijay Singla, by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on corruption charges is not without its widespread ramifications. The public perception and image that the AAP government is “honest, clean and sincere” has suffered an image set back.
Dr Vijay Singla incidentally happened to be the first ever Cabinet Minister from Mansa. He had defeated popular folk singer Sidhu Moosewala in the Assembly elections.
Several senior AAP legislators are continuing to lobby for their induction in the Bhagwant Mann Cabinet.
Besides Cabinet expansion, the party has to choose its nominees for the two Rajya Sabha seats and also for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat. This is an opportunity for correcting the impression that Delhi would decide about Punjab representation in the upper House of Parliament. It is time for Bhagwant Mann to act on his own than emulating what Delhi had done before or wants to be done now.
( Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows. For more in-depth analysis please visit probingeye.com or follow him on Twitter.com/probingeye. He can be reached at prabhjot416@gmail.com)
MINEOLA, NY (TIP): Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages (D – Lawrence) has condemned the senseless violence that killed 19 schoolkids and 2 adults . In a statement issued to The Indian Panorama, the legislator says: “My heart goes out to the families and victims that were lost to the senseless violence in Uvalde. No parent should have to endure the tragedy of burying their child – it is simply unacceptable,” Legislator Solages said. “The devastation from the epidemic of gun violence has gone on for too long in this country, and it is a travesty that we have not strengthened gun safety legislation.”
“There must be a mechanism that alerts authorities when anyone, especially an 18-year-old, purchases assault rifles, body armor and large amounts of ammunition,” Legislator Solages continued. “Our kids are depending on us, and they deserve better. As part of a comprehensive response to this multifaceted crisis, we must work to keep guns out of the hands of those who wish to do harm by expanding safe storage laws, banning assault weapons, implementing red flag laws, implementing universal background checks, and expanding federal Medicaid for mental health services.”
“No one should feel unsafe in their communities. I will use the platform afforded to me as a Nassau County Legislator to advocate for the change that is so desperately needed. Locally, I am seeking to draft legislation to create databases for the sale of body armor and ammunition to better protect our County Police, and I am calling on all other elected officials to stand up and take action.”
Bollywood Star and Child-Rights Champion
Helps CRY’s Annual Gala Event Roar Back from Two-Year Quarantine
NEW YORK (TIP): Call it the most “feel-good” road movie yet to be made: A
Bollywood heartthrob and a salt-of-the-earth social reformer from rural India race
coast-to-coast via plane, train and automobile on a two-week fundraising mission
benefiting kids in post-pandemic India.
“Heroes for Life,” Child Rights and You CRY America’s annual gala series,
returned after a two-year pandemic break to honor the organization's U.S.-based
donors and field workers across 30 CRY America-supported projects in villages
and slums throughout India.
The gala series ran from May 14-22, with sold-out events in the San Francisco Bay
Area, San Diego, New York City and Houston, with a virtual event in Seattle. This
year’s fundraising total smashed previous records, raising over $1 million.
CRY America is a 501c3 registered non-profit that supports projects in India and
the U.S. that ensure access to education and health care for underprivileged
children, as well as protection from child labor, early marriage and trafficking.
Galas featured veteran Bollywood actor Vivek Anand Oberoi (“Saathiya,”
Amazon’s Emmy-nominated “Inside Edge”) as celebrity guest who spoke about
the importance of supporting the cause of children. Lalithamma, director of
People’s Organization for Rural Development (PORD), a CRY America-supported
project in Andhra Pradesh shared her work during the pandemic.
The pandemic took a particularly cruel toll among underprivileged communities in
India. With the ongoing lock downs and school closings, child marriage,
trafficking and child labor rates spiked, accompanied by increased incidence of
malnutrition, gaps in learning, and abuse of girl children.
“When we all act together – project partners, donors, volunteers – incredible changes happen.” CRY America CEO Shefali Sunderlal
CRY America CEO Shefali Sunderlal noted that project workers were given
special permissions by the Indian government as essential workers during the
pandemic, and they went the extra mile to ensure that challenges faced by their
communities and children were addressed, while CRY America’s donors
maintained their funding support unabated throughout the crisis.
“We had to pivot from our regular plans for the year and get a grasp on what was
happening in the field where our project partners work,” said Shefali at the May 20
New York gala, held at the Taj Pierre.
“Our project workers risked their lives to undertake community awareness
programs on COVID protocols, distribution of PPE kits, and ensure testing and
vaccination efforts across their villages,” she continued.
Sunderlal highlighted CRY America’s model for lasting change, to which
collective, community-driven action is central. She emphasized that the
organization does not create parallel institutions, but rather works with the
government and communities to ensure that public schools, health centers, and
other public social programs and facilities remain functional and truly benefit
underprivileged communities.
Other innovations implemented by CRY America projects included “bridge
schools”-supplemental classes to ensure children were caught up on missed course
work; home/community kitchen gardens to improve nutrition among children, and
the organization of “children’s collectives,” where girls and boys meet to talk
about pandemic-related anxieties, hopes and future plans.
“Most of my heroes have worn saris – [CRY America partner] Lalithamma is a
living example of that – she is calling me a celebrity, but in my heart, I want to
celebrate her!” Vivek Anand Oberoi, Bollywood star and celebrity guest
Oberoi brought star power and charisma to the CRY Gala event series, making his
grand entrance nightly with a bevy of dancers and select hit songs from his 20-year
film career. In addition to making a special address to the attendees, he led the
evening’s pledge sessions, telling stories about the importance of philanthropy and
appreciating the donors with personal thanks and photo ops.
Oberoi cited his mother’s dedication as a palliative care worker as inspiration for
his long track record of philanthropy, which he termed as “karmic investment.”
“I’ve been blessed with a lot of awards in my career, and I appreciate that
recognition because that’s what I do,” said Oberoi, summing up. “But to me, the
kids I have helped survive cancer and rescued from child marriage are my living,
breathing wards – the best kind! Because that inspires me to do more, and gives me
a purpose beyond what I do.”
“The world is full of two kinds of people-those who need help, and those who can
help,” said Oberoi, closing his New York City remarks. “Everytime you find
yourself among those who can help, you need to count your blessings. Heroes like
Lalithamma and CRY do all the hard work; we write the checks, and we share in
that karmic capital.”
Lalithamma, Director, People’s Organization for Rural Development, dubbed a
“superhero in a sari” by Oberoi, took the stage nightly to share her story from
growing up as a victim of gender discrimination herself to her work today to
empower girls in her district.
Lalithamma founded PORD in 1992 to focus on girls' education as a means of
preventing early marriage. Her team’s dedication was her strength over the COVID
pandemic, said Lalithamma. Lockdowns and closures produced peripheral ills
affecting children. Through awareness campaigns and supply distributions, PORD
stopped 62 child marriages, and its vaccination drive resulted in zero COVID cases among district children. Lalithamma shared the compelling journey of Revathi, a child who benefited from PORD’s help. Just as Lalithamma herself had been discriminated against decades prior, Revathi had been forced to drop out of school by her grandmother in order to assist with work. Through a series of meetings, Lalithamma and her team
convinced her grandmother to allow Revathi to return to school. On careen rolled, she became interested in educating other girls about menstrual hygiene, a traditionally taboo subject in the conservative villages. Recognizing her leadership
potential, Lalithamma mentored her to become as killed public speaker. Revathi’s
outreach work netted her a Youth Changemaker Award from the Ashoka
Foundation, and her newfound confidence fuelled her pursuit of a college degree in
technology. Today, Revathi works at (India technology company) Wipro, and
continues her hygiene programs among girls.
Time for music and dance.
Asno galawouldbecompletewithoutglitz,music,anddance,theseriesfeaturedBollywooddanceperformances,musicalnumbersandcomediansacrossthecities.Allgalas endedwithgueststakingtothe dance floor in celebration to the jubilant beats of current and classic Bollywood hits.
CRYAmerica’s“votesofconfidence”towarditstime-testedmodelforchangeandtheimpactcreatedforchildren came thanks to the hundreds of guests who attended and their generous donations.
Bay Area Gala Guests, Palo Alto Crowne Plaza, May 14, 2022
Houston Gala, Royal Sonesta, May 22, 2022 (Photo/ Murali Santhana)
“CRY’sdonorsandvolunteersareour‘HeroesforLife’whoensurethatourworkforchildrencancontinueand grow,” said Sunderlal.
NEW YORK(TIP): American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), will honor India at its 40th annual convention in San Antonio, Texas next month as it celebrates 75 years of India’s Independence.
Co-sponsored by the Embassy of India & the Consulate General of India (CGI) – Houston, each day of the June 23-26 convention will have a specific theme, according to an AAPI press release.
“We are planning a historic convention in San Antonio to celebrate 40 years of AAPI that coincides with 75 years of India’s Independence, with excellent educational sessions and other programs,” AAPI president, Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, said at a convention teaser on May 15. “Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country and from around the world will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and encourage legislative priorities in the coming year,” she said.
Each day of the convention will have a specific theme. Starting from ‘Unity in Diversity’ to showcase one’s own state dress code to ‘Heritage India’ for honoring and celebrating India’s rich culture and diversity.
This will be followed by special performances by popular Bollywood singer Shaan and Mehfil. The food served each will match the theme chosen for each day.
For the first time, AAPI is planning to organize an In-Person Plenary Session on India-USA Healthcare Partnership with Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on June 25.
The convention’s theme, ‘Heal the Healers — Rejuvenate And Rekindle Your Mind And Spirits,’ was also featured in the teaser. “Our physician members have worked very hard during the Covid 19 pandemic and the 2022 convention is a perfect time to heal the healers with a special focus on wellness,” said Dr. Jayesh Shah, convention chair and past president of AAPI. Noted cricketer Sunil Gavaskar praised AAPI members for being part of the “greatest profession in the world.” He said, “It’s a unique honor to be part of the important AAPI convention in Texas. I am looking forward to meeting you all in Texas.” The convention will be held at the newly renovated Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center on San Antonio’s colorful and vibrant River Walk.
Some of the major events at the convention include: Workshops and hands-on sessions on well-being, 10-12 hours of CMEs, Women’s Forum, CEOs Forum, ‘AAPI Got Talent’, and Alumni and Young Physicians events.
It will also have Mehfil, Bollywood nite, fashion show, medical jeopardy, abstract posters/research contest, and exhibition and sale of jewelry, clothing, medical equipment, pharma, finance and many more.
“The most unique part of the convention is our Yoga-based Wellness Package which is thoughtfully created with world-renowned speakers. The experience can transform and inspire you,” said Dr. Hetal Nayak.
NEW YORK: Kamlesh C. Mehta and Aashmeeta Yogiraj have become the new chairman of the board of directors and president respectively of the Indo-American Press Club (IAPC), the largest organization of Indian descent journalists.
Mehta and Yogiraj were sworn in at a ceremony at the Indian Consulate in New York on May 21 to inaugurate the new team of office bearers, while IAPC general secretary CG Daniel and several others were given the oath virtually, according to a press release. Mehta was administered the oath of office by Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of India in New York, while Yogiraj was administered the oath by Ginsmon Zachariah, Founding Chairman of IAPC.
Four distinguished community leaders/professionals were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Awards for their and contributions to the larger society.
Special Guest of Honor, former New York Mayor Bill De Blasio presented the award to Pamela Kwatra, a trailblazer and the only Indian American woman recipient of the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor award in 2008.
Dr. Anupama Gotimukula, only the fourth woman elected as president of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin in its nearly four decades-long history was honored for her visionary leadership of AAPI.
Also honored was Dr. Thomas Abraham, who has been serving the community for the last 49 years since he moved to New York as a graduate student at Columbia University.
Sudhir M. Parikh, a physician by profession and currently the chairman and publisher of Parikh Worldwide Media Inc, the largest Indian-American publishing group in the United States, and chairman of ITV Gold, a 24×7 TV news channel, was also recognized. Jaiswal, Blasio, Dr. Prabhakar Kore, member of Indian parliament, and Kevin Thomas, New York state were given special recognition at the event.
Jaiswal praised IAPC for its “significant contribution to promoting India-US friendship and the welfare of Indian diaspora in the United States.”
Blasio described Kwatra as a trailblazing businesswoman, a community leader, and a political force with executive chops, who worked with elan on important projects.
Mehta vowed to “work together with dedication to enhance the working conditions of our journalists, exchanging ideas and offering educational and training opportunities to our members, aspiring young journalists and media professionals around the globe.”
In her presidential address, Yogiraj, Director – Programming & Marketing, JUS Broadcasting Corporation, said, “While media as an entity has certainly evolved to fit modern times, its invaluable service to society persists.”
A souvenir with colorfully designed pages, depicting the history and objectives of IAPC, edited by Parveen Chopra, past president of IAPC, and Dr. Mathew Joys was released.
A visual presentation of the Nine Years of IAPC history presented by Dr. Mathew Joys, IAPC BOD member from Las Vegas and Shan Justus from Texas provided a glimpse of the trajectory of IAPC’s growth since its inception in 2013.
The closing ceremony included scintillating dances traditional folk and Bollywood dances by The Arya School of Dance. The hybrid event was also streamed simultaneously on social media platforms and watched live on YouTube by several members and supporters of IAPC.
DAVOS (TIP) : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday, May 25, that he was only willing to talk directly to Vladimir Putin and not via intermediators, according to AP. He said if the Russian President “understands reality, there is the possibility of finding a diplomatic way out of the conflict”. Speaking to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he also said Ukraine would fight until it recovered all of its territory. “Moscow should withdraw its troops back to the lines in place before Russia began its invasion on February 24. That might be a first step towards talks,” he said, adding Russia had been playing for time in its talks with Ukraine.
President Joe Biden decries death of second, third and fourth graders
UVALDE, TX (TIP): 19 students killed in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas shooting, and the 18-year-old shooter is dead. The Teen gunman shot his grandmother before killing 19 students and 2 adults. By now, the story of American gun violence is unsurprising. Mass shootings happen frequently. The list from just the past decade includes supermarkets in Buffalo and in Boulder, Colo.; a rail yard in San Jose, Calif.; a birthday party in Colorado Springs; a convenience store in Springfield, Mo.; a synagogue in Pittsburgh; churches in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and in Charleston, S.C.; a Walmart in El Paso; a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis; a music festival in Las Vegas; massage parlors in the Atlanta area; a Waffle House in Nashville; a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.; and a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. Even school shootings happen often enough that we know some of the names: Sandy Hook Elementary School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Oxford High School, Santa Fe High School, Columbine High School. Robb Elementary School in Uvalde has joined this horrific list.
If American gun violence is no longer surprising, it still is shocking. On an average day in the U.S., more than 35 people are murdered with a gun. No other affluent country in the world has a gun homicide rate nearly as high.
‘We have to act,’ Biden says after Texas massacre, but offers no specifics: “I hoped when I became President, I would not have to do this, again,” Biden said, decrying the death of “beautiful, innocent” second, third and fourth graders in “another massacre.”
Their parents “will never see their child again, never have them jump in bed and cuddle with them,” he said.
“As a nation, we have to ask, ‘When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?’”
“We have to act,” he said and suggested reinstating the assault weapons ban and other “common sense gun laws.”
CONNECTICUT DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY: “Spare me the bullshit about mental illness … We don’t have any more mental illness than any other country in the world. You cannot explain this through a prism of mental illness because we’re not an outlier on mental illness. … We’re an outlier when it comes to access to firearms and the ability of criminals and very sick people to get their arms on firearms.
That’s what makes America different.”
UTAH REPUBLICAN SENATOR MITT ROMNEY: “Grief overwhelms the soul. Children slaughtered. Lives extinguished. Parents’ hearts wrenched. Incomprehensible. I offer prayer and condolence but know that it is grossly inadequate. We must find answers.”
WEST VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JOE MANCHIN: “That makes no sense at all, why we can’t do common-sense, common-sense things and try to prevent some of this from happening.”
PETE BUTTIGIEG, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: “How many more lives? How many more children? And how much longer before we reject the choices that have made ours the one country where this happens routinely? It is not inevitable, it is horrific. It must end.”
REPUBLICAN TEXAS GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT: “Texans are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime & for the community of Uvalde.
“Cecilia & I mourn this horrific loss & urge all Texans to come together.”
LONDON (TIP): A qualified nurse and senior lecturer at a UK university has been struck off the country’s medical register over misconduct, which involved the harassment of a Sikh colleague over his religious beliefs and mocking his turban as a “bandage” and “hat”.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) held a virtual hearing of the case against Maurice Slaven last week, over allegations of racial harassment of a fellow Sikh lecturer identified only as Colleague 1. The NMC Tribunal received a fitness to practice referral in March 2019 after Colleague 1 alleged he had been racially harassed on a number of occasions by Slaven since the start of his employment in October 2016 to December 2018. According to the evidence before the tribunal, Slaven is said to have subjected Colleague 1 with questions like “Where’s your bandage” and/or “Why aren’t you wearing your bandage” with reference to his turban.
NEW DELHI (TIP): The second Quad in-person summit held in Tokyo on Tuesday, May 24, was marked by action-oriented cooperation among Quad partners as also between its partners for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, aimed at peace, stability and prosperity in the region, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra while summing up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day Japan visit.
The Foreign Secretary identified several areas where forward movement will take place during the second year of Quad’s existence, as stated by US President Joe Biden. The Quad will focus on common efforts to respond to the Covid pandemic, in particular post-pandemic recovery, and strengthening health security. Shedding more light on the Quad’s flagship venture – the Indo Pacific Economic Framework – he said the concept is structured around four pillars: trade, supply chains, infrastructure, clean energy and decarbonization and, tax and anti-corruption. Collective discussions will be initiated and final contours of this would emerge based on discussions among the Quad countries. The intention is to promote infrastructure delivery, bridge infrastructural gaps in the Indo-Pacific region and do it in a manner that does not burden countries with unsustainable debt, and infrastructure projects.
Kwatra also mentioned a new Indo-Pacific partnership in maritime domain awareness to help countries bolster their capabilities to respond to natural disasters as also to combat illegal fishing. The Quad will also shape and build partnerships for greater cybersecurity and for transparent, trusted and reliable supply chains across the region, especially in critical and emerging technologies.
The PM put forward specific proposals. They include solid initiatives in climate finance and sustainable developments; building appropriate platforms for the industry and businesses between Quad countries and the Indo-Pacific countries and mechanisms to strengthen partnership among “likeminded countries’’ in areas of common interest. The Quad leaders also issued strong condemnation of all forms of terrorism, and a call to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai and Pathankot terror attacks.
DAVOS (TIP): Advanced economies will be back on track by 2024 but developing economies will be 5% below where they would have been otherwise, IMF’s Gita Gopinath said on Wednesday, May 25. Economies worldwide have been adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and are slowly coming back into the recovery path.
The First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said the war in Ukraine has been a major setback to the global recovery. “We had a serious downgrade to the global growth rate and the world continues to face headwinds because we have a cost of living crisis. Prices of commodities, including fuel and food, are going up around the world,” she said. Gopinath said central banks are trying to tackle this high level of inflation and are raising interest rates sharply, which they need to do, but that will also have consequences for global finance and trade.
She was speaking at a special session on ‘What next for global growth?’ during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2022. Gopinath said there are very divergent recoveries around the world.
“While advanced economies, as per our estimates, will basically get back to where they would have been in the absence of pandemic in 2024, but emerging and developing economies would be 5% below where they would have been in the absence of the pandemic,” she said. The panelists discussed that the recovery from the Covid crisis has been deeply uneven within and between countries, depending on their access to fiscal resources and vaccines. As food, fuel and resource crises now risk further derailing an equitable recovery, they discussed how a broader set of foundations for growth can ensure long-term economic prosperity and a return to international convergence.
A handful of cases of monkeypox have now been reported or are suspected in the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain while one was confirmed in the US on Thursday, May 19. The outbreaks are raising alarm because the disease mostly occurs in west and central Africa, and only very occasionally spreads elsewhere. Here’s what scientists know so far.
‘Highly Unusual’
Monkeypox is a virus that causes fever symptoms as well as a distinctive bumpy rash. It is usually mild, although there are two main strains: the Congo strain, which is more severe – with up to 10% mortality – and the West African strain, which has a fatality rate of more like 1% of cases. The UK cases are least have been reported as the West African strain.
“Historically, there have been very few cases exported. It has only happened eight times in the past before this year,” said Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who said it was “highly unusual”.
Portugal has logged five confirmed cases, and Spain is testing 23 potential cases. Neither country has reported cases before.
Transmission
The virus spreads through close contact, both in spillovers from animal hosts and, less commonly, between humans. It was first found in monkeys in 1958, hence the name, although rodents are now seen as the main source of transmission.
Transmission this time is puzzling experts, because a number of the cases in the United Kingdom – nine as of May 18 – have no known connection with each other. Only the first case reported on May 6 had recently travelled to Nigeria.
As such, experts have warned of wider transmission if cases have gone unreported.
The UK Health Security Agency’s alert also highlighted that the recent cases were predominantly among men who self-identified as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men, and advised those groups to be alert.
Scientists will now sequence the virus to see if they are linked, the World Health Organization (WHO) said this week.
Why now?
One likely scenario behind the increase in cases is increased travel as Covid restrictions are lifted.
“My working theory would be that there’s a lot of it about in west and central Africa, travel has resumed, and that’s why we are seeing more cases,” said Whitworth.
Monkeypox puts virologists on the alert because it is in the smallpox family, although it causes less serious illness.
Smallpox was eradicated by vaccination in 1980, and the shot has been phased out. But it also protects against monkeypox, and so the winding down of vaccination campaigns has led to a jump in monkeypox cases, according to Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA in California.
But experts urged people not to panic.
“This isn’t going to cause a nationwide epidemic like Covid did, but it’s a serious outbreak of a serious disease – and we should take it seriously,” said Whitworth.
Robotic surgery may reduce the chance of hospital readmission by over 50 per cent, and prevalence of blood clots by 77 per cent, when compared to patients who undergo an open surgery, according to a study conducted in the UK.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), also found that patients’ physical activity—assessed by daily steps tracked on a wearable smart sensor—stamina and quality of life also increased after a robotic surgery. The findings provide the strongest evidence so far of the patient benefit of robot-assisted surgery and researchers are now urging National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to make it available as a clinical option across the UK for all major abdominal surgeries including colorectal, gastro-intestinal, and gynaecological.
“This is an important finding. Time in hospital is reduced and recovery is faster when using this advanced surgery,” said study co-chief investigator James Catto, a professor at the University of Sheffield in the UK.
“Ultimately, this will reduce bed pressures and allow patients to return home more quickly. We see fewer complications from the improved mobility and less time spent in bed,” Catto said in a statement.
Despite robot-assisted surgery becoming more widely available, there has been no significant clinical evaluation of its overall benefit to patients’ recovery.
“In this study we wanted to establish if robot-assisted surgery, when compared to open surgery reduced time spent in hospital, reduced readmissions, and led to better levels of fitness and a quality of life; on all counts this was shown,” said study co-chief investigator, John Kelly, a professor at the University College London (UCL).
“An unexpected finding was the striking reduction in blood clots in patients receiving robotic surgery; this indicates a safe surgery with patients benefiting from far less complications, early mobilisation and a quicker return to normal life,” Kelly said. Source: PTI
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