The Indian Panorama

Month: November 2022

  • South Asia is at the center of global geopolitics

    South Asia is at the center of global geopolitics

    SAARC. Flags of memebers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and symbol. 3d illustration
    By Prabhjot Singh

    If South Asia in general and India in particular are hawking world attention, it is primarily because of an intense power competition involving the US, Russia, China and India. India’s ascend to the Presidency of the G20, the US-China rivalry, and an intense competition between India and China are some of the factors that make the Indian Ocean region a significant arena that would control world politics in the years to come. If the recent events, including holding of Conferences of Interpol, No Money for Terror, and COP 27 are any indication, it is an opportunity for India to make a concerted push for the global south.

    The Russian-Ukraine conflict has been a major contributing factor in catapulting India on podium with the global leaders even while Beijing is continuing to increase its presence and influence in almost every South Asian country. As the emerging power equation in the Indian Ocean region was nakedly apparent at the just concluded G20 summit in Bali, Chinese President Xi Jinping had extended his sojourn forward with an Asian trip for deepening his country’s economic patronage in the region. As a sequel, the emerging power rivalries are likely to impact the regionsubstantially, both in terms of risks and opportunities.

    The long-standing China-India rivalry may turn out to be a crucial factor to determine the balance of power in the region, especially after developments that unfolded in Sri Lanka and Pakistan this year. This and China-US rivalrycould also influence the extent to which these economic powers choose to cooperate or compete with each other. It will be equally important whether they collaborate with other major powers—regionally and globally, including in international institutions or interest-based coalitions – or confront them. Other major powers, including Japan, Russia and the European Union, that   have existing strategic or economic equities in the region, or, in some cases, their stand on China’s rising influence and diktat —will also be crucial for its overall stability of the region. Every power has to watch its interests while managing its rivals. A new power play is in the offing with the smaller States looking up to bigger brothers for both political and economic immunity. Needless to reiterate, the changing dynamics will shape the future geopolitical landscape of the region.

    Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resonates at every major political forum, G20 summit has been no different. G20 is a diverse group of nations of varying economies at different stages of development. Most of the member nations want this conflict to be resolved through dialogue. Other than India, no other South Asian nation, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan or Bangladesh, with internal turmoil in hand, had shown any significant interest in resolving this conflict. Some of the G20 nations were, however, appalled by those that lecture others on diplomatic resolution but continue themselves to add fuel to the fire. Apparently, everyone is opposed to war.

    The fact remains that hostilities are not abating. Prime Minister Joko Widodo of Indonesia was more than justified in his observation that the discussion on the conflict was the “most contentious” at the summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend. Instead,he sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his place, who lashed out at the assembly for politicizing the war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi — whose advice to President Putin in September that “this is not the era of war” is said to have played a role in hammering out the joint declaration at the end of the Bali summit. It did underline the challenges India will face during its presidency: Geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices, and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic being the major ones. Modi stressed that peace and development were essential for people to reap the fruit of economic development. He promised that India’s leadership of the G20 will be “inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented”, hinting that Delhi was planning to push a global campaign for a sustainable lifestyle, LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment). The theme of India’s G-20 chairmanship, as announced earlier this month, is “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. It looks India is reinventing its role as leader of non-aligned.

    For India, this is an opportunity to make a concerted push for the global south. A debt crisis haunts many middle income economies. Both Sri Lanka and Pakistan were going through their worst phases both on economic and political fronts. They are both financially wrecked as their foreign reserves are exhausted. They have little or no money for fresh imports, including food. Crises led to fighting on streets, including invasion of President’s Palace in Colombo and assassination bid on former Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan.

    In addition, Climate change, and finding the money to make the “clean” transition, is another challenge. Pakistan faced fury of unprecedented floods as the world continues to be peeved by drastic climate changes. This is an opportunity for India to make a mark as a global leader. All eyes will be focused on Delhi. It has an important task on hand that requires it to avoid the temptation to turn its G20 presidency into a gimmicky year-long “festival of India” in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.

    The outcome of the present intricate rivalries will have implications beyond South Asia and the Indian Ocean—for regional stability and security in the Indo-Pacific and for the global balance of power.

    It is why this region has Joe Biden administration’s interest and attention. It will require new alignments mandating collaborations with allies and partners while competing with rivals to protect U.S. interests, grappling with the risk of conflict, and, if possible, exploring cooperation with China. Realizing the changing geopolitical scenario, Singapore’sdefense minister Ng Eng Hen was forthright when he said his country wanted India to play a bigger role in the South China Sea. Similar views have been expressed by the leaders of Vietnam and the Philippines.

    Putting confidence in India by the leaders of Southeast Asia to secure the region’s security affairs is a significant development. It virtually indicates India’s emergence as a great power in Southeast Asia, and by extension, in Asia itself. The significance of Southeast Asia lies in the fact that this crucial strategic region connects the Indian and the Pacific Oceans, and includes some of the most important maritime chokepoints. Further it may be the site of order-making in Asia in the context of the rise of China. Therefore, India’s emergence as an undisputed power in Southeast Asia is significant. There could be many factors responsible for it. The foremost of these is cordiality on the territorial front where there are no territorial disputes between India and its immediate neighbors in Southeast Asia. In the Southeast Asian region, India has a land border with only one country, Myanmar, which was fixed by their British colonial rulers in 1937. It has maritime borders with three Southeast Asian states: Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. India’s maritime boundaries with Thailand and Indonesia were fixed through a trilateral agreement in 1978, while India’s maritime boundary with Myanmar was finalized in 1987. The situation, however, continues to remain unaltered and sensitive in the South Asian region where Pakistan continues to raise the Kashmir issue at every possible forum.

    Looking at South Asia today, one tends to agree somewhat with former National Security Advisor Shivashankar Menon, as he talks of a paradox, saying: “Many of our countries are in economic difficulty and face political uncertainty; and yet, to my mind, we have a moment of geopolitical and economic opportunity. “Many describe our present condition as a crisis. Five governments changed in south Asia in the last year and a half—not all of them in an orderly, willing or predictable manner. Three of our countries are in the advanced stages of working out solutions to their debt crises with the IMF and international community, and more may have to seek help. “Our economies are reeling from the global economic slowdown and the real prospect of recession in major economies, from the fall in remittances and tourism earnings caused by the pandemic, from volatility in commodity prices, and a decline in export earnings. “This is not unique to south Asia. We are not alone in our economic troubles. The IMF says that 53 developing countries are at grave risk of debt crises. What makes this truly worrying is the fact that we have seen this coming for years but still nothing meaningful has been done about it.

    Judging by the response, or lack of it, that the international community mounted in the last decade to the Covid pandemic, the developing country debt crisis, climate change, and other transnational problems, I think we can safely say that we should have low or no expectations from the international order.

    “We cannot look to the world for answers or solutions to our present problems. Besides, the prospects for the world economy are also not good with growth forecasts being steadily revised downward and the real possibility of a recession in the US and Western Europe and a considerable slowdown in China. “Politics is in command of economic decisions in all these countries, both internally and externally, unlike the globalization decades after the Cold War. “If this is how I see the situation, how can I say that we may have a moment of geopolitical and economic opportunity?” says Shivashankar Menon. He has his viewpoint. Developments in South Asia have been rapid and more or less on expected lines.

    Since a lot of action has been taking place here, South Asia has become the center of global geopolitics. Developments in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are far too obvious. They put India on active alert as problematic neighborhoods are not what it needs. Instead, it needs to play a role and use the developments as an opportunity to stay a leader in the new world order.

    Tormented by Covid 19 pandemic and rapid globalization have greatly influenced the world economy and global politics. Emerging economies are all in trouble and changing. The trouble spots are on the rise and resources are drying up. Terror has been raising its head. And intriguingly, the economies tottering to the brink face accusations of abetting terror. These could be diversionary tactics for those abetting it but are devastating for the rest. The writing is on the wall for everyone as the power rivalry is getting intensified. The troubled zones are swelling in size and threaten world peace. South Asia has more hot spots than any other region elsewhere. Trouble-torn nations make the region more vulnerable as they are gasping for breath. Global politics are more fraught than they have been for a long time, with power rivalries becoming intense and alarming.

    It is the time for India to shed its role as a mute spectator to developments in its immediate periphery and elsewhere and become more proactive. South Asia now has the leverage to make the sub-region an object of outside great power interest for its rivalry and contention. Nepal has just completed its elections to elect a new Parliament. Its destiny, both as part of BRI and the free and open Indo-Pacific strategy, needs a close watch. This great power rivalry also creates an opportunity. One cannot ignore or overlook that in the decade before Covid direct foreign investment in South Asia, particularly from China, grew in proportion to how acute their contention was as great power relations deteriorated. Of late, international organizations are not only losing their significance but are becoming ineffective. World powers are trying to score a point with their direct economic interventions. Great power rivalry has assumed new disturbing and telling proportions. Covid 19 pandemic witnessed greater dependence on big brothers as multilateral organizations and international institutions got pushed to side lines.

    The global powers have been successfullyscoring debating points and gaining political advantage rather than dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by COVID-19.

    If South Asia is at the center stage of global politics, it is because of the change in the center of gravity of economic and political activity. South Asia, from geopolitical backwaters, has now become an integral part of the global economy. All South Asian economies are now integrated into the global economy. It is this integration that brings both problems and opportunities for South Asia. The figures show that South Asia did well from the globalization decades: Countries like Bangladesh did best, improving their economic condition and the welfare of their people. Both our present economic crisis and our geopolitical opportunity are proof that South Asia is now an integral part of a globalized world though some problems of the region may be attributed to globalization. Then there is no going back. South Asia needs to enhance its regional connectivity and cooperation, improve its dealings with the rest of the world, and create new opportunities for its growing clout. Supply and value lines, too, need to be supported and supplemented.

    (The author is a senior journalist.)

  • New chief for Pak army

    • Bajwa marks exit with embarrassing comments

    Qamar Javed Bajwa, in his last address as Pakistan’s army chief, had an embarrassing task to perform. He was forced to defend the country’s most powerful institution, which has historically played an outsized role in domestic politics and foreign policy. Facing a wave of criticism, particularly from former Prime Minister Imran Khan who has accused the army of a role in his removal in April, the outgoing General admitted that the army had unlawfully meddled in politics for decades and will no longer do so. The catharsis has started, claimed the 62-year-old who has been at the helm since 2016. The duplicity came through moments later as he warned the political parties that there were limits to the army’s patience. The more things change, the more they stay the same in Pakistan.

    The appointment of Bajwa’s successor is being seen as a major subplot in the political crisis engulfing the country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif named former spy head Asim Munir as the army chief, and Sahir Shamshad Mirza as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Munir’s appointment as army chief was approved by President Arif Alvi, who belongs to Khan’s party. The seniormost officer after Bajwa, his elevation signals a setback for the former premier as it could be a possible obstacle to Khan’s attempts to force early elections. Munir headed the Inter-Services Intelligence when India-Pakistan tensions escalated following the Pulwama attack in February 2019. His eight-month stint as the top intelligence officer was the shortest-ever as he was replaced on the insistence of Khan. Bajwa, in his farewell tours, is also seeking to rewrite the history of the 1971 war, the latest in a slew of stupefying attempts by the Pakistan army to cover up its genocide and defeat in Bangladesh. He has termed the surrender a political and not a military failure. An estimated 93,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken prisoners of war. Bajwa says only 34,000 were fighting soldiers. Coming from the army chief, it’s embarrassing. What can be worse than a country disowning its soldiers?

    (Tribune, India)

  • Poll officers’ appointments

    • Transparent selection a must for constitutional posts

    The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the absence of a law governing the appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners. It has also red-flagged the ‘disturbing trend’ of the CEC being handicapped by a truncated tenure over the past two decades or so. During the UPA’s 10-year rule, there were six CECs; eight have already served after the NDA took charge in 2014. The Constitution’s Article 324, which pertains to the Election Commission (EC) and its top brass, does not mention any criterion for the appointment of these officers; nor does it spell out the conditions of their service. It’s the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, enacted in 1991, which clearly states that the CEC or an Election Commissioner shall hold office for a term of six years (or till he/she attains the age of 65 years). However, successive governments at the Centre have had no qualms about picking a new incumbent every year or two. After TN Seshan — who was the CEC from 1990 to 1996 — no officer has served a full term.

    The apex court has also stressed the need for a ‘fair and transparent mechanism’ so that the ‘best man’ is appointed as the CEC. It has stated that the CEC should be capable of taking action even against the Prime Minister. However, with opacity dominating the appointments, it’s no wonder that the Centre has opposed petitions seeking a collegium-like system for the selection of CECs and Election Commissioners.

    It requires political will to take a cue from the American system, where public hearings are held over the nomination of judges of the Supreme Court and other officers. The US President’s power to make major appointments is conditionally bound by the ‘advice and consent’ of the Senate. An important exercise such as appointing the CEC and his subordinates should not be left to the whims and fancies of the executive. The arbitrary selection process, which is eroding the sanctity of these constitutional posts, must be discontinued as it poses a grave threat to India’s democratic setup.

    (Tribune, India)

  • RANA honors Indian diaspora for selfless services; raises $1.3 million at the annual gala

    At Ganesh Vandana. Seen among others are Padma Bhushan DR Mehta, Prem Bhandari, CJI Randhir Jaiswal, KK Mehta.
    D R Mehta giving award and flowers to Dr Subha Jain on behalf of Dr Vijay Arya Deep Chopra, BOD RANA, and her son.
    Prem Bhandari giving flowers to LP Pant, national head, Dainik Bhaskar.
    Consul General of India, New York, Randhir Jaiswal, givinga plaque to Dr Raj Bansal, Mrs Raj Bansal. RANA joint treasurer Dr Sharad Kothariis giving flowers to Mrs Raj Bansal.
    Dr Sadhna Joshi from Canada being awarded by Dr Varun Jeph, Deputy Counsel General of India, New York.
    Rakesh Goenka of Canada being honored by Rashi Bajaj, Canada RANA President.
    RANA President Prem Bhandari noted the importance of unity among various diaspora communities and organizations in the US andsaid “it is important that all are united in raising their voices against discrimination and hate crimeslike vandalism of the Gandhi statue at the Hindu temple in Queens. He alsopledged to continue his efforts to bring together all Rajasthanis living in different parts of the world.
    Nidhi Ladda and Krupa Patel performed Ganesh Vandana and Mahishasur Mardini.
    Founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) Padma Bhushan D.R. Mehta is seen in attendance among other honorable guests.
    Actor Prashantt Guptha, who acted in Neerja Tashkand Files among others, hosted the Gala Event.

    NEW YORK (TIP): The Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA) held its annual gala event in Long Island, where it honored community leaders from the Indian diaspora for their selfless service and contributions to society. The Indian diaspora in the US has risen to the occasion time and again, in the direst circumstances. Some of the community leaders have led by example by giving selflessly for the welfare of fellow diaspora and beyond in need. The Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA),one such organization that has been a reliable source of help, organized an annual gala in Long Island to honor the community members from the Indian diaspora for their service and contributions to society.

    At the grand event, RANA also raised a generous $1.3 million from various community leaders in contribution to various charitable causes such as Jaipur Foot. Founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), which is the parent organization of Jaipur Foot USA, Padma Bhushan D.R. Mehta attended the event as the special guest alongside Consul General of India in New York Randhir Jaiswal, IFS, who was the chief guest, Deputy Consul General Varun Jeph as well as prominent members of the Indian-American community, particularly those hailing from Rajasthan. Dr. Samin Sharma, a noted interventional cardiologist at Mt Sinai, was the guest of honor at the event. At the event, D.R. Mehta spoke at length and gave a power point presentation about the charitable work of Jaipur Foot, which is a prosthetic limb provider to the differently-abled for free of cost. With BMVSS at the helm, Jaipur Foot camps have benefitted millions in India and abroad through various camps.

    As a way to show their support and appreciation, many diaspora members made generous contributions to Jaipur Foot USA and other charitable purposes. K K Mehta and Chandra Mehta announced a contribution of $1 million from their family trust and $100,000 in scholarships. KK Mehta was also the first NRI to donate Rs 1 crore on the first day PM Narendra Modi announced the PM CARES Fund, which was at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. RANA president and Jaipur Foot USA Chairman Prem Bhandari, who is also the family trust advisory board chairman, said BMVSS chief patron D.R. Mehta will be advising the trust with respect to utilizing the contribution in the best way possible. Bhandari also praised KK Mehta and Chandra Mehta for offering the Times Square Hotel to Air India pilots and crew members during the second phase of the Vande Bharat mission amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also hailed the generosity with which 100 rooms were given to distressed Indian students for free at the request of the Indian consulate in NY request during the peak of COVID. Demonstrating yet another peak of generosity, Dr. Raj Bansal pledged to sponsor one Jaipur Foot camp in the memory of his late father. Besides this, Dr. Shubha Jain, a noted philanthropist from California, announced a contribution of $100,000 to RANA for charity purposes, and Anil Jain and Jugal Kishore Ladda also announced contributions of $50,000 each for Jaipur Foot.

    RANA posthumously honored Dharamchand Hirawat, and former RANA presidents Dr. Ajay Lodha and Rajiv Garg with the Lifetime Achievement Award “for their memorable contribution towards society.”

    The association also felicitated prominent diaspora members Dr. Raj Bansal, Dr. Sadhna Joshi, Dr. Shubha Jain and Rakesh Goenka for their contribution to the community over the years, including during the pandemic.

    Bhandari noted the importance of unity among various diaspora communities and organizations in the US. He pointed out that there are many state and community-specific organizations like RANA, Telugu Association of North America (TANA) and Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America (BJANA) GANA Gujrat Association of North America and diaspora organizations like FIA and Associations of Indians In America (AIA). But it is important that all are united in raising their voices against discrimination and hate crimes, he said highlighting the incident of vandalism of the Gandhi statue at the Hindu temple in Queens. “We are all Indians first,” Bhandari said, adding that he will continue efforts to bring together all Rajasthanis living in different parts of the world. On the sidelines of the gala event, Prem Bhandari praised International Business Times and said that “IBT is not like other international newspapers that are unable to digest India’s progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” He condemned such international news outlets while criticizing their efforts to “spoil India’s image by the means of fake news.” The RANA gala turned out to be an engaging event, complete with cultural performances showcasing Rajasthan’s heritage as well as songs by prominent artists from India. A group of RANA members’ wives also performed Rajasthan’s traditional Ghoomar dance at the event, which enthralled the audience. Nidhi Ladha and Kripa Patel did Ganesh Vandana and performed the Mahishasura Mardini dance.

    At the event, a Hindi newspaper and a TV channel were also awarded for their coverage of social concerns, COVID-19 updates, the Ukraine crisis, and issues related to immigrants. The entire event was hosted by the talented Prashantt Guptha, a Rajasthan-origin actor, producer and writer. He kept the proceedings of the event interesting, keeping the audience occupied in the most fun and entertaining way.

    (Based on a press release by RANA)

  • Kyiv plunged in dark: Ukraine battles to reconnect millions in the cold and dark in the aftermath of Russian attack

    Kyiv plunged in dark: Ukraine battles to reconnect millions in the cold and dark in the aftermath of Russian attack

    KYIV (TIP): Ukraine battled on November 24 to get water and power to millions of people cut off after Russia launched dozens of cruise missiles that battered the country’s already crippled electricity grid.The latest attacks by Russia on Ukraine’s power grid come with winter setting in and temperatures in the capital hovering just above freezing.The energy system in Ukraine is on the brink of collapse and millions have endured emergency blackouts over recent weeks. The World Health Organization has warned of “life-threatening” consequences and estimated that millions could leave their homes as a result.

    “The situation with electricity remains difficult in almost all regions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday evening. “However, we are gradually moving away from blackouts, every hour we return power to new consumers.” More than 24 hours after Russian strikes smashed Kyiv, mayor Vitali Klitschko said late Thursday that 60 percent of homes in the capital were still suffering emergency outages. Water services had been fully restored however, said city officials. But the shelling had killed seven people at Vyshgorod, on the outskirts of the city, said Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.

    And a fresh round of strikes Thursday killed at least four people in the southern city of Kherson, recently recaptured by Ukraine, said a senior official there. The latest attacks on the power grid come with winter setting in and temperatures in the capital hovering just above freezing.

    The western region of Khmelnytsky was one of the worst affected by power outages, with just 35 percent of its normal capacity, but that was enough to connect critical infrastructure, according to Serhii Hamaliy, the head of the regional administration. About 300,000 residents in the eastern Kharkiv region, near the border with Russia, were still without power on Thursday evening, but electricity supply had been restored for nearly 70 percent of consumers, said Oleh Synehubov of the regional military administration.

    “We’ve restarted power supplies,” said Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv city, adding that water was being restored to homes and municipal workers were reconnecting public transport.

    “Believe me, it was very difficult.” Ukraine accused Russian forces of launching around 70 cruise missiles as well as drones in attacks that left 10 dead and around 50 wounded. But Russia’s defense ministry denied striking any targets inside Kyiv, insisting that Ukrainian and foreign air defense systems had caused the damage. “Not a single strike was made on targets within the city of Kyiv,” it said. Moscow is targeting power facilities in an apparent effort to force capitulation after nine months of war that has seen its forces fail in most of their stated territorial objectives. “The way they fight and target civil infrastructure, it can cause nothing but fury,” said Oleksiy Yakovlenko, chief administrator at a hospital in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kramatorsk. Despite the increasingly frequent blackouts, Yakovlenko said his resolve was unwavering. “If they expect us to fall on our knees and crawl to them it won’t happen,” Yakovlenko told AFP. Russian troops have suffered a string of battlefield defeats. Ukraine’s recapture of Kherson meant a withdrawal from the only regional capital Russia had captured, Moscow’s troops destroying key infrastructure as they retreated. On Thursday, Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the Kherson military administration, said Russian strikes there had killed at least four people. “The Russian invaders opened fire on a residential area with multiple rocket launchers. A large building caught fire,” he said on Telegram.

    Ukraine prosecutors also said Thursday that the authorities had discovered a total of nine torture sites used by the Russians in Kherson, as well as “the bodies of 432 killed civilians”. Wednesday’s attacks disconnected three Ukrainian nuclear plants automatically from the national grid and triggered blackouts in neighboring Moldova, where the energy network is linked to Ukraine. All three nuclear facilities had been reconnected by Thursday morning, said the energy ministry. Power was nearly entirely back online in ex-Soviet Moldova, where its pro-European president Maia Sandu convened a special meeting of her security council. The Kremlin said Ukraine was ultimately responsible for the fallout from the strikes and that Kyiv could end the strikes by acquiescing to Russian demands. Ukraine “has every opportunity to settle the situation, to fulfil Russia’s demands and as a result, end all possible suffering of the civilian population,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Mr. Zelensky said Ukraine’s forces were “preparing to advance” in some areas. “Almost every hour I receive reports of occupiers’ attacks on Kherson and other communities of the region,” he said. “Such terror began immediately after the Russian army was forced to flee from Kherson region. This is the revenge of those who lost.” The Ukrainian leader struck an optimistic tone at the end of his nightly address. “We have withstood nine months of full-scale war, and Russia has not found a way to break us.”

    (Source: The Hindu)

     

  • ‘Conspiracy’ by BJP to assassinate Arvind Kejriwal, alleges Manish Sisodia; demands probe

    ‘Conspiracy’ by BJP to assassinate Arvind Kejriwal, alleges Manish Sisodia; demands probe

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Delhi Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the BJP was conspiring to eliminate Delhi Chief Minister and AAM Adami Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal. The kind of language used by BJP leader Manoj Tiwari against Kejriwal on Thursday, November 24, is an open threat, alleged Sisodia, and demanded a thorough probe.

  • Elon Musk proposes to reinstate everyone Twitter banned

    Elon Musk proposes to reinstate everyone Twitter banned

    SAN FRNCISCO (TIP): Twitter CEO Elon Musk has kicked off a fresh poll to find out how many of his over 118 million followers support or reject the move to reinstate all the previously banned users back on the micro-blogging platform who have not violated any law. “Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?” he asked in a tweet.

    So far, “yes” is clearly in the lead.Several users expressed their thoughts on Musk’s post. While one user commented, “Let the people speak,” another said, “YES. No more politically motivated bans!” Based also on a poll, Twitter CEO Elon Musk on November 20 had announced that former US President Donald Trump has been allowed to rejoin the micro-blogging platform.Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.”

    He kicked off the poll on November 19 to find out how many of his over 117 million followers support or reject the move to reinstate Trump on the platform.

    (Source: Agencies)

  • Supreme Court OKs handover of Trump tax returns to Congress

    Supreme Court OKs handover of Trump tax returns to Congress

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 22, cleared the way for the imminent handover of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to a congressional committee after a three-year legal fight.

    The court, with no noted dissents, rejected Trump’s plea for an order that would have prevented the Treasury Department from giving six years of tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses to the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee. Alone among recent presidents, Trump refused to release his tax returns either during his successful 2016 campaign or his four years in the White House, citing what he said was an ongoing audit by the IRS.

    It was the former president’s second loss at the Supreme Court in as many months, and third this year. In October, the court refused to step into the legal fight surrounding the FBI search of Trump’s Florida estate that turned up classified documents. In January, the court refused to stop the National Archives from turning over documents to the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Justice Clarence Thomas was the only vote in Trump’s favor. In the dispute over his tax returns, the Treasury Department had refused to provide the records during Trump’s presidency. But the Biden administration said federal law is clear that the committee has the right to examine any taxpayer’s return, including the president’s.

    Lower courts agreed that the committee has broad authority to obtain tax returns and rejected Trump’s claims that it was overstepping and only wanted the documents so they could be made public.

    Chief Justice John Roberts imposed a temporary freeze on November 1 to allow the court to weigh the legal issues raised by Trump’s lawyers and the counter arguments of the administration and the House of Representatives. Just over three weeks later, the court lifted Roberts’ order without comment.

    Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the committee chairman until the next Congress begins in January, said in a statement that his committee “will now conduct the oversight that we’ve sought for the last three and a half years.”  In a message on his social media network, Trump said the Supreme Court’s action created “terrible precedent for future Presidents.” He accused the court of becoming “nothing more than a political body, with our country paying the price.” He also said: “Why would anybody be surprised that the Supreme Court has ruled against me, they always do!” The House contended an order preventing the IRS from providing the tax returns would leave lawmakers “little or no time to complete their legislative work during this Congress, which is quickly approaching its end.”         Had Trump persuaded the nation’s highest court to intervene, he could have run out the clock on the committee, with Republicans ready to take control of the House in January. They almost certainly would have dropped the records request if the issue had not been resolved by then. The House Ways and Means panel first requested Trump’s tax returns in 2019 as part of an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s audit program and tax law compliance by the former president. A federal law says the Internal Revenue Service “shall furnish” the returns of any taxpayer to a handful of top lawmakers. The Justice Department under the Trump administration had defended a decision by then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to withhold the tax returns from Congress. Mnuchin argued that he could withhold the documents because he concluded they were being sought by Democrats for partisan reasons. A lawsuit ensued. After President Joe Biden took office, the committee renewed the request, seeking Trump’s tax returns and additional information from 2015-2020. The White House took the position that the request was a valid one and that the Treasury Department had no choice but to comply. Trump then attempted to halt the handover in court. Then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. obtained copies of Trump’s personal and business tax records as part of a criminal investigation. That case, too, went to the Supreme Court, which rejected Trump’s argument that he had broad immunity as president.

  • Kamal Haasan admitted to hospital with fever, cold

    Kamal Haasan admitted to hospital with fever, cold

    CHENNAI (TIP): The actor-cum-politician has been admitted to Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre (SRMC) on November 23, 2022 (Wednesday) evening with mild fever, cough and cold, according to the hospital.

    “He is recovering well and will be discharged in a day to two,” stated the press release issued by the hospital on Thursday, November 24, 2022. Kamal Haasan had recently posted on Instagram that he met veteran filmmaker K. Viswanath at the latter’s residence in Hyderabad. The duo had collaborated in award-winning movies such as Swati Muthiyam and Sagara Sangamam. Kamal Haasan is currently hosting Bigg Boss Tamil in Vijay TV and shooting for Indian-2, a Tamil movie directed by Shankar. He was last seen in Vikram, also starring Fahadh Faasil and Vijay Sethupathy, which was a blockbuster.

    (Source: The Hindu)

     

  • Indian-origin Sikh writer and filmmaker Amardeep Singh honored with Hofstra University’s Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize

    Amardeep Singh with the Guru Nanak Interfaith Award. From L to R: Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Businessman and Philanthropist Tejinder Singh Bindra, Honoree, Amardeep Singh, President of Hofstra University Dr Susan Poser, Dean Daniel Seabold.

    NEW YORK (TIP): An author, researcher and filmmaker who has focused his work on the history and legacy of Sikhism was awarded Hofstra University’s 2022 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize at a banquet Nov. 14 at the Crest Hollow Country Club. Amardeep Singh, co-managing director and co-founder of Lost Heritage Productions in Singapore, recently completed a 24-episode documentary series retracing the 16th century travels of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion. The series, “Allegory: A Tapestry of Guru Nanak’s Travels” was filmed at more than 150 multi-faith sites in nine countries.

    Singh has written several books, including “Lost Heritage: The Sikh Legacy In Pakistan” and “The Quest Continues: Lost Heritage – The Sikh Legacy” and produced two documentaries based on his experiences traveling in Pakistan, “Peering Warrior” and “Peering Soul”.  The $50,000 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize is bestowed every two years to recognize significant work to increase interfaith understanding. “Hofstra University is pleased to present the 2022 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize to Amardeep Singh, for his work exploring and preserving Sikh heritage and culture,” Hofstra President Susan Poser said during the award ceremony. “As an author and independent filmmaker, Mr. Singh demonstrates a deep commitment to the values that Guru Nanak embodied and to the principles of religious understanding.” Before the banquet, Singh and his wife, Vininder Kaur, who directed and wrote the Guru Nanak docuseries, discussed the project at Hofstra University. “Having the Guru Nanak prize at Hofstra provides our College of Liberal Arts & Sciences faculty and students with an extraordinary opportunity, and one that aligns with our mission as an educational institution,” President Poser said. A committee of faculty and administrators unanimously chose Singh from among 18 nominees, said Daniel Seabold, acting dean of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “The committee was greatly impressed by Amardeep Singh’s examination of Guru Nanak’s interest in seeking universal fellowship among people of diverse faiths,” Seabold said. Members “considered several worthy organizations whose work is larger in scale but decided that an award to Mr. Singh would be more impactful.”

    His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso was the first winner of the Guru Nanak Prize in 2008. Since then, eight individuals and organizations have been recognized with the prize, including 2020 co-honorees author and scholar Dr. Karen Armstrong and her global Charter for Compassion movement, and the Interfaith Center of New York. “To receive the Guru Nanak Prize from Hofstra University is a humbling recognition of our belief that the essence of existence is love for togetherness,” Singh said. “His message of unity in diversity was, is and will remain a ray of hope for a united world.” 

    The Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize was established in 2006 by Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra and family and named for the founder of the Sikh religion. It is meant to encourage understanding of various religions, and foster collaboration between faith communities. Guru Nanak believed that all humans are equal, regardless of color, ethnicity, nationality, or gender identity.

    The Bindra family in 2000 endowed the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies to honor its matriarch.  Speaking on behalf of the Bindra family, businessman, philanthropist, and former member of Hofstra’s Board of Trustees Sardar Tejinder Singh Bindra said: “Guru Nanak spoke about love for humanity as well as respect for every religion. With that in mind, my parents established the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize as a way to recognize as well as support the efforts of individuals/organizations that work to advance dialogue between religions to help minimize religious conflict, which all the recipients have strived to achieve, from the very first recipient, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, to the current recipient, Amardeep Singh. We are pleased that the award is being given this year a week after Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday as honor to his vision and teachings.”

  • The University of North Carolina has allowed Sikh students to wear kirpan on campus

    The University of North Carolina has allowed Sikh students to wear kirpan on campus

    CHARLOTTE (TIP): The University of North Carolina, Charlotte, has updated its ‘Weapons on Campus’ policy to allow Sikh students to wear a kirpan, a religious expression of faith, on campus.

    The move comes about two months after a Sikh student at the university was arrested on campus for wearing the ceremonial dagger. According to the updated policy, the university will allow students to wear kirpans on campus if the blade length is under 3 inches and is “worn close to the body in a sheath at all times”. The university also said other religious accommodations, including a request to wear a larger kirpan, can be made to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. “The Office of Diversity and Inclusion, with support from Institutional Integrity, also conducted additional awareness training this week with our police department and will continue its work to expand our cultural education and training opportunities for all of campus,” a university statement, released this week, read.

    In its statement, the university thanked Sikh leaders, including nonprofit organizations—The Sikh Coalition and the Global Sikh Council—who provided expertise and perspective to help with the policy change. “We will continue to use this incident as an opportunity for learning and growth for our community,” said the statement, signed by Chancellor Sharon L Gaber and Chief Diversity Officer Brandon L Wolfe. The ruling was effective immediately, the university, which had apologized for the incident, said. A week after the September 22 incident, the university had shared a list of planned actions, including providing support and resources to the students affected by the event. It mentioned changing the school’s policy and providing additional education and training. The matter first came to light when the student uploaded a video on Twitter and said that the police had handcuffed him for refusing to let the officer remove his kirpan. Describing his suffering, the student wrote: “I wasn’t going to post this, but I don’t think I will receive any support from @unccharlotte. I was told someone called 911 and reported me, and I got cuffed for ‘resisting’ because I refused to let the officer take my kirpan out of the miyaan.” The video, which was seen by more than 21,00,000 people, amassed 56,000 likes and several comments in support on social media. The amritdhari, or baptized, Sikhs are required to carry five articles of the faith—kesh (uncut hair), kara (steel bracelet), kanga (small comb), kachera (undershorts) and a kirpan (resembling a knife or sword).

     

  • Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal will not enter in the race for House Democratic leadership

    Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal will not enter in the race for House Democratic leadership

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has told colleagues she will not enter the House Democratic leadership race and instead will run for reelection as Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair. Jayapal, the first Indian American woman to serve in the US House of Representatives, announced her decision in a letter to her colleagues Friday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down from House leadership, media reported. Democrats are holding their leadership elections Nov 30. “I am writing with humility, intentionality, and excitement to ask for your support to serve a second term as Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus,” Jayapal wrote. As Democrats craft their new leadership slate, she wants to make sure that “progressives are given their seat at the table,” Jayapal told CNN. She argued that progressives delivered in the 2022 midterms and with the agenda of the current Congress, and she wants to make sure “that is appreciated and front and center.”

    She also acknowledged the challenges House Democrats face as they become the minority party in January when the control of the chamber passes to the Republicans.

    “The next two years are going to be important in a very different way than the last two years were,” Jayapal said in a media interview on Thursday.

    “The last two years were about governing, about pushing, about getting the most that we could get,” she wrote. “The next two years are going to be about being an opposition party, which I am extremely good at because I fought on immigrant rights, and I came in 2016 when (Donald) Trump was elected.” First elected in 2016, the lawmaker representing Washington’s 7th Congressional district, has helped progressives become a powerful force in Congress, leveraging their positions to negotiate directly with Pelosi, who had to navigate a narrow House majority, and President Joe Biden, the report stated.

    Jayapal was at the forefront of negotiations surrounding the American Rescue Plan and expanding the Child Tax Credit. She pushed to broadly expand the nation’s social safety net, but because negotiations fell apart between Biden and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, progressives settled for a smaller but still sweeping health care, tax and climate bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act. Jayapal also led progressives to push the Biden administration on several executive actions to curtail the narrow margins in Congress, including to address student loan debt relief, the report stated. “The CPC showed we could push for the maximum while also being able to land the plane, govern, and execute a deeply popular agenda,” Jayapal wrote. With more than a dozen newly elected House members set to join the caucus, the progressive caucus is set to continue to be influential as Democrats navigate a narrow minority.

     

  • Indian American arrested for USD 10 million crypto Ponzi scheme

    Indian American arrested for USD 10 million crypto Ponzi scheme

    COLUMBUS, OH (TIP): Federal law enforcement authorities in the US arrested an Indian American, Rathanakishore Giri, in Ohio on Friday on criminal charges related to his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that raised at least USD 10 million from investors. According to court documents, Giri (27) from New Albany allegedly misled the investors by fraudulently promoting himself as an expert cryptocurrency trader, with a specialty in trading Bitcoin derivatives. As alleged in the indictment, the accused falsely promised the investors that he would generate lucrative returns with no risk to their principal investment amount, which he guaranteed to return, federal prosecutors alleged.

    In reality, Giri often allegedly used money provided by new investors to repay old ones—a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme, the prosecutors said.

    In addition, Giri allegedly had a record of investment failures, including a long history of losing investors’ principal investments, and misled the investors about the reasons for delays when they sought to cash out their investments or otherwise obtain the return of their “guaranteed” principal, according to court papers. Giri is charged by indictment with five counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, according to a media release.

     

  • Indian American academic Sunil Kumar named next president of Tufts University

    Indian American academic Sunil Kumar named next president of Tufts University

    NEW YORK (TIP): Eminent Indian American academician Sunil Kumar has been appointed the next president of Massachusetts-based Tufts University. He is the first person of color to occupy the position. Kumar, provost and senior vice-president for Academic Affairs at Johns Hopkins University was named the next president of Tufts University by the Board of Trustees and will succeed President Anthony Monaco as Tufts’ 14th President on July 1, 2023, a statement from the university said on Thursday. Kumar will be the first person of color to occupy the position, the statement said. Chair of the Board of Trustees and chair of the presidential search committee Peter Dolan said Kumar brings to Tufts a “lifelong commitment to excellence in higher education and an exceptionally strong record as a leader, teacher, and colleague.” An “outstanding successor” to Monaco, Kumar’s commitment to research and learning, along with civic engagement and innovation, will help bolster Tufts’ mission to improve the world, Dolan said in the statement.

    Indian-born Kumar was previously dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

    Among Kumar’s priorities as president will be to develop ways “to ensure that we have even more resources to make Tufts as affordable as we possibly can,” he said in the statement.

    In a video posted on the Tufts website, Kumar said he would not have achieved this position in life if it were not for the full financial support he received when he was a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

    “It would not have been possible for me as a son of a police officer to do anything else. And therefore, affordability is not a theoretical concept for me. I hope I represent an example of somebody who benefited from an institution opening its doors wide.

    “And I would like even more people to have the same opportunity,” he added. The statement quoted Kumar as saying that he was attracted to Tufts because of its mission to serve “not only the people within its confines—its students, faculty, and staff—but society at large.”

     

  • India’s Bibek Debroy conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award in Australia

    India’s Bibek Debroy conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award in Australia

    MELBOURNE (TIP): India’s leading economist & Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Bibek Debroy has been conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Australia India Chamber of Commerce (AICC). The business network that seeks to facilitate, nurture and transform Australia-India business, bestowed this highly coveted honor upon Debroy In appreciation of his outstanding contribution and service towards growing economic prosperity in India.

    The award was handed over by Chris J. Mooney, Chairman of the Australia India Chamber of Commerce, in the presence of Harish Rao, the Executive Director of AICC at an event in Melbourne.

    Accepting the award, Debroy said, “I accept this award with all humility. There are many I have received in the course of my life, but this is one I will always treasure, as a reminder of the close ties that bind India and Australia.”

    Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has a Special Visit Program under which distinguished visitors from overseas are invited to visit Australia, to understand Australia and to have discussions with their counterparts in Australia.

    Under this Special Visit Program, Debroy visited Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney from Nov 13 to Nov 21. Other than discussions and talks, he delivered a special lecture at the Australia India Chamber of Commerce on Nov 14, outlining the course and trajectory of India’s reform. The event was held at the Australian Club (The Gallery), Melbourne.

    Educated in Calcutta, Delhi and Cambridge, Debroy has worked in the realm of academia, the government and research institutions. Debroy was a Member of Niti Aayog, the successor to the former Planning Commission, from its formation in January 2015 till August 2017 after which he became the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

    Debroy has worked on poverty, inequality, development, governance, law reform and international trade issues and has been the Chairman of a Committee set up by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand (2010-12) to recommend a development plan for the State and a Member of the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (2014-15).

    He was also Chairman of a High-Powered Committee for Restructuring the Railways, set up by the Indian government (2014-2015).

    From September 2018 to September 2022, he was the President of the Indian Statistical Institute. He has received several awards in the past including Honoris Causa DLitt, DPhil and DS. degrees, Lifetime Achievement Awards by US-India Business Summit (2016), Prestige Institute of Management and Research (2018) and Skoch Foundation (2022) and Padma Shri (2015).

    An astute scholar, Debroy has translated the unabridged version of the Mahabharata into English, in a series of 10 volumes. He has also translated the Bhagavad Gita, the Harivamsa, the Vedas and Valmiki’s Ramayana (in three volumes). He has translated the Bhagavata Purana (in three volumes), the Markandeya Purana (one volume), the Brahma Purana (two volumes) and the Vishnu Purana (one volume). He is only the second person to have translated both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, in unabridged form, into English.

     

  • First turbaned Sikh appointed deputy mayor of Brampton City in Canada

    First turbaned Sikh appointed deputy mayor of Brampton City in Canada

    BRAMPTON (TIP): Harkirat Singh has become the first turbaned Sikh to be appointed as Deputy Mayor of Canada’s Brampton city for a four-year term period from 2022-2026.

    He has served as Brampton’s City Councilor for Wards 9 and 10 from 2018-2022.

    As a Deputy Mayor, Singh will preside over Council and other Committee meetings and assume ceremonial and civic event duties on behalf of the mayor if the mayor is absent or unavailable.

    “I am proud to have Councilor Harkirat Singh serve as this Term of Council’s Deputy Mayor. He is a dedicated, hardworking Councilor with proven results in delivering what is best for Brampton,” said Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown. “Entering his second term as Councilor, and holding a School Trustee role before that, he is a known and trusted elected official to many who I am confident will represent and serve the City of Brampton well in this role,” Brown said in a release by Brampton City Council. Prior to his role as City Councilor, Singh served a four-year term as School Trustee at the Peel District School Board.

    As a Trustee, he sat on the Audit Committee, Instructional Program/Curriculum Committee and Physical Building and Planning Committee.

    “It is an honor to be appointed by my Council colleagues as this Term of Council’s Deputy Mayor. With the opportunity that lies ahead of us in Brampton, I am excited and proud to support Mayor Brown and Councilors in prioritizing the community while we move our City forward,” Singh said.

    The position of Deputy Mayor was established by the City of Brampton in April 2022 and was divided into East and West parts. Singh was also the regional representative at the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA).

    Alongside his role as a Trustee, he spent two-and-a-half years as a Professor at Lambton College and two years as a Professor at Humber College teaching Marketing & Entrepreneurship.

    To promote community development, Singh runs mentorship workshops and career fairs in local schools.In 2016, he was nominated for a mentorship award by the Brampton Board of Trade for his work with youth.He holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto, where he majored in Economics and Public Administration.He is an M.Sc. in Economics from London Metropolitan University and has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, specializing in Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Organizational Behavior.

     

  • IAAC CONTINUES INDIA@75 CELEBRATIONS WITH LITFEST

    • By Mabel Pais

    Featuring Conversations with

    Nobel Prize Winner & Author, Kailash Satyarthi. Photo: iaac.us

     NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER KAILASH SATYARTHI,

    INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE WINNER DAISY ROCKWELL &

    PADMA SHRI AWARDEE SUNITA KOHLI

    MICHELIN STAR CHEF, VIKAS KHANNA, FIRST “PHYGITAL” COOKBOOK

    And many more

    Are you an avid reader?

    Here’s something you shouldn’t miss!

    IAAC brings you another year of outstanding writers, poets, translators, and editors at its International Literary Festival 2022 at New York city!

    IAAC’s fabulous lineup of authors are all set to interact with you either online, November 7-11 or in person, November 12. Hear their stories and get inspired by their noteworthy works! The Festival will end with the Gala Dinner on November 13.

    Learn more at t.co/zlsFHnoZ6L

    #IAAC#LitFest2022

    To register, visit t.co/L3JDzri0R5

    The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), in its 8th Year, offers the IAAC Literary Festival – an intimate interaction with the leading minds and works of authors and poets writing about the Indian experience. IAAC is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the arts in North America, has the lineup for its eighth annual Literary Festival on November 7-13, 2022, in New York.

    Notable speakers, making in-person appearances at the Caelum Gallery (526 W 26th St.) in New York’s renowned Chelsea neighborhood, include Padma Shri Barkha Dutt, Priya Kumari and Raza Mir. In continuation of its honored tradition, IAAC will also host a live Poetry Panel headlining Arundhathi Subramaniam and moderated by poetry curator, Dr. Ravi Shankar.

    Prior to the in-person weekend events, there will be a series of online events hosted on Facebook and YouTube each evening starting November 7-11 at 6:30 p.m. ET, which will feature ten writers including Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi; London-based restaurateur and Netflix’s “Chef’s Table” star, Asma Khan with Michelin Chef Vikas Khanna – author of the world’s first “phygital” (physical and digital) cookbook; plus, actress, dancer and choreographer, Rukmini Vijayakumar. This series also includes a dedicated Children’s Literary Panel on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 which will showcase readings of “When Blackbirds Fly” by Hannah Lalhlanpuii and “Jamlo Walks” by Samina Mishra. “IAAC’s Literary Festival showcases writers who bring stories of the Indian experience and ethos to the world. Supporting the festival will be a stellar group of moderators who themselves are literary luminaries. As always there will be a focus on first time regional translations, children’s literature and poetry,” said Rakesh Kaul, Vice Chairman, IAAC.

    IAAC’s in-person literary festival will be an intense two-day immersive experience featuring thought-provoking conversations, readings and discussions of stories told by courageous authors. Each of the 27 authors’ skill and expertise cover a wide range of civilizational and cultural topics including archeology, design, dance, history, compassion, wonder and the culinary arts. A panel of four poets will showcase powerful wordplay that will make imaginations soar and speak directly to hearts, young and old. Refreshments, breakfast and lunch will be served, wine and cheese will accompany the poetry session. The festival wraps on a high note with the Annual Gala on November 13th. “At IAAC, we pride ourselves on our ability to seek out and find foundational storytellers who are not only noteworthy for their skill with language but whose seminal works also weave remarkable narratives that shape the world around them,” said Preethi Urs, Literary Festival Director, IAAC.

    Participants in Virtual Event, poster. Photo: iaac.us

    A full list of writers and featured works is below.

    For the full schedule with dates, times and moderators, visit IAAC.us.

    Online Events (November 7-11):

    Kailash Satyarthi’s greater body of work

    ‘Ammu: Indian Home Cooking to Nourish your Soul’ (Interlink Books, May 2022) by Asma Khan

    ‘Sacred Foods of India’ in NFT format (Akshaya, June 2022) by Vikas Khanna

    ‘His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 100 Anecdotes’ (India Penguin, December 2022) by Arthy Muthanna Singh and Mamta Nainy

    ‘The Dalai Lama: Leadership and the Power of Compassion’ (Interlink Books, November 2022) by Ginger Chih which includes a forward by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

    ‘Finding Shiva: An Inner Journey of the Performative Experience’ (INDIC, 2021) by Rukmini Vijayakumar

    Children’s Panel:

    ‘When Blackbirds Fly’ (Duckbill, February 2022) by Hannah Lalhlanpuii

    ‘Jamlo Walks’ (India Puffin, September 2021) by Samina Mishra

    ‘Somnath Hore: Wounds’ (Art1st, August 2021) conceptualized by Ritu Khoda, written by Likla Lall and featuring illustrator, Kripa

    Participants in In-Person Event, poster. Photo: iaac.us

    In-Person Events (November 12-13):

    ‘The Way of the Goddess: Daily Rituals to Awaken Your Inner Warrior and Discover Your True Self’ (TarcherPerigee, September 2022) by Ananta Ripa Ajmera

    ‘Tata’s Leadership Experiment: The Story of the Tata Administrative Service’ (HarperBusiness, August 2022) by Bharat Wakhlu, Mukund Rajan, Sonu Bhasin

    ‘TO HELL AND BACK: Humans of COVID’ (Juggernaut, February 2022) by Barkha Dutt

    ‘The Greatest Telugu Stories Ever Told’ (Rupa, March 2022) translated by Tamraparni Dasu and Dasu Krishnamoorty

    ‘A Country Called Childhood: A Memoir’ (Aleph Book Company, July 2022) by Deepti Naval

    ‘[Block] Chain Reaction – The Future of How We Live and Work’ (Soul Excellence Publishing, January 2022) by Elizebeth Varghese

    ‘Tomb of Sand: A Novel by Geetanjali Shree’ (Tilted Axis Press, August 2021), translated by Daisy Rockwell

    ‘Shehnai Virtuoso and Other Stories by Dhumketu’ (Deep Vellum Publishing, July 2022) translated by Jenny Bhatt

    ‘Rajaraja Chola: King of Kings’ (Aleph Book Company, November 2022) by Kamini Dandapani

    ‘Dava Shastri’s Last Day’ (Grand Central Publishing, November 2021) by Kirthana Ramisetti

    ‘A Matter of Trust’ (HarperCollins India, July 2021) by Meenakshi Ahamed

    ‘The View from the Very Best House in Town’ (Walker Books US, February 2022) by Meera Trehan

    ‘The Soul Catcher’ (Bodes Well Publishing, September 2021) by Monica Bhide

    ‘Mirror Made of Rain’ (The Unnamed Press, May 2022) by Naheed Phiroze Patel

    ‘The Candid Life of Meena Dave’ (Lake Union Publishing, June 2022) by Namrata Patel

    ‘People of the Indus’ (India Penguin, November 2022) by Nikhil Gulati

    ‘Leaf Talks Peace – Buddha’s Message of Harmony’ (Eternal Tree Books, May 2022) by Priya Kumari

    ‘Talent: The Market Cap Multiplier’ (Ideapress Publishing, January 2022) by Ram Charan and Anish Batlaw

    ‘Murder at the Mushaira: A Novel’ (Rupa Publications India, January 2021) by Raza Mir

    ‘Smashing the Patriarchy: A Guide for the 21st-Century Indian Woman’ (Rupa, November 2021) by Sindhu Rajasekaran

    ‘KALA – Essays on Contemporary Design Aesthetics’ (Times Group Books, 2020) edited by Padma Shri Sunita Kohli

    ‘Somnath Hore: Wounds’ (Art1st, August 2021) conceptualized by Ritu Khoda, written by Likla Lall and featuring illustrator, Kripa

    Notable International Poets:

    ‘Love Without a Story’ (Westland, April 2019) by Arundhathi Subramaniam

    ‘My Body Lives Like a Threat’ (Flowersong Press, January 2022) by Megha Sood

    ‘Time Regime’ (Gaudy Boy, March 2022) by Jhani Randhawa

    ‘Singing in the Dark’ (Vintage Books, October 2020) edited by Nishi Chawla and K Satchidanandan

    For a complete calendar of events, November 7-13, 2022, visit iaac.us/iaac-literary-festival-2022

    RSVP for both in-person and online events at:

    eventbrite.com/e/iaac-literary-festival-2022-tickets-446199724387

    Follow IAAC online:

    Website:     iaac.us

    Facebook:   facebook.com/iaac.us

    YouTube:    youtube.com/channel/UC7XldGWApKYy-IvQPapxFJg

    Twitter:     twitter.com/IAArtsCouncil

    Instagram: instagram.com/iaacny

    Hashtag:    #IAACLitFest

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

     

  • WMI INVITES YOU TO AN EVENING OF SCINTILLATING MUSIC

    By Mabel Pais

    Do you want to experience an evening of exhilarating music? Then head over to watch & listen to two Masters of Indian music.

    Zakir Hussain (left), with Niladri Kumar (Photo : worldmusicinstitute.org.)

    Zakir Hussain, the acknowledged maestro of the Indian tabla, and Niladri Kumar, the young star sitarist present us with their scintillating performance on November 18, 2022 at New York University’s Skirball Center, 566 LaGuardia Place (Between West 4th and West 3rd Street), New York City. The performance takes place at 8 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m. This performance is part of ‘The Masters of Indian Music’ series of the 2022-2023 season of The World Music Institute, New York. The series presents legends from the two primary forms of Indian classical music: the Northern Indian tradition of Hindustani classical music and the Southern Indian tradition of Carnatic Indian classical music.

    Hussain & Kumar are at the very top of their form, and together represent the very essence of music: rhythm and melody. Their every performance is an opportunity for transcendent flights of musical imagination grounded in one of the world’s great musical traditions, Northern Indian (“Hindustani”) classical music.

    Get a sneak peek of their performance at youtu.be/gbq9ZvB4Fjc

    TICKETS

    For regular tickets, group, student and senior discounts, contact WMI at 212-545-7536 Ext. 1 or at info@worldmusicinstitute.org.

    ZAKIR HUSSIAN

    Zakir Hussain, voted “best percussionist” by both the Downbeat Critics’ Poll and Modern Drummer’s Reader’s Poll over several years, is the recipient of many awards and honors including USA’s Grammy, India’s Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the USA’s National Heritage Fellowship and many more international awards. He was resident artistic director at SFJazz from 2013 to 2016 and was honored with SFf Jazz’s Lifetime Achievement Award on January 18, 2017, in recognition of his “unparalleled contribution to the world of music.” Learn more at zakirhussain.com

    NILADRI KUMAR

    Niladri Kumar, son of sitar player Kartick Kumar, has worked in Hindi cinema with various music directors like A.R. Rahman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Pritam as well as others as Jonas Hellborg, V. Selvaganesh and John McLaughlin.

    He has won several awards: the Sangeet Natak Akademi’s award to young musicians in March 2007. He revolutionized the rock guitar sound, using it to call his first album ‘Zitar’ released in 2008. He also won the MN Mathur Award for his contribution to Indian classical music in March 2013.

    World Music Institute

    Founded in 1985, World Music Institute (WMI) has served as one of the leading presenters of world music and dance within the United States. WMI is committed to presenting the best in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world with the goal of inspiring wonder for the world’s rich cultural traditions, promoting awareness and appreciation and encouraging cross-cultural dialog and exchange. WMI presents at venues throughout the city.

    Follow World Music Institute!

    Website:     worldmusicinstitute.org

    Facebook:   @worldmusicinstituteNYC

    Twitter:      @WMInyc

    Instagram: @worldmusicinstitute

    Youtube:    bit.ly/WorldMusicInstitute-YouTube

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

  • Manchester United rally to beat Aston Villa 4-2 in League Cup

    Manchester United rally to beat Aston Villa 4-2 in League Cup

    Manchester (TIP)- Manchester United twice came from behind to beat Aston Villa 4-2 Thursday, November 10,  and advance to last 16 of the English League Cup, a day after several other big teams were eliminated.

    After a slow opening 45 minutes, the game came alive after the break with all six goals scored in the second half. United forward Anthony Martial canceled out Ollie Watkins’ opener within seconds, then Marcus Rashford struck after Diogo Dalot’s own goal had put the visitors back in front. Bruno Fernandes then put United ahead in the 78th minute before Scott McTominay added a fourth in stoppage time, with both goals set up by teenager Alejandro Garnacho after he had come off the bench. “Our two halves are never the same,” United manager Erik Ten Hag said. “We controlled the game in the first half by good pressing, we won a lot of possession but then did the wrong things. … At halftime we said keep the pressing but be more direct. I’m proud of the team we could do that.” The result saw United exact some revenge for Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League loss in Villa manager Unai Emery’s first game in charge. It also boosts Ten Hag’s chances of winning a trophy in his first season at United, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham having all been eliminated on Wednesday. In addition, defending champion Liverpool and Manchester City were drawn to face each other in the next round. Man United will play Burnley at home, while Newcastle welcomes fellow Premier League side Bournemouth. At Old Trafford, both managers made seven changes from Sunday, with Harry Maguire taking the captain’s armband for United while there was a debut in goal for Martin Dubravka. Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain on Sunday, was not in the squad due to illness. Neither side had a shot on target until stoppage time in the first half, when Fernandes tried to catch Robin Olsen out of position with a tame free kick from deep.

                    Source: AP

  • England crush India by 10 wickets to set up final date with Pakistan

    England crush India by 10 wickets to set up final date with Pakistan

    Adelaide (TIP)- A clinical England annihilated an out-of-sync India by 10 wickets to sail into the World Cup final as Alex Hales and Jos Buttler’s relentless hitting mortified Rohit Sharma’s clueless attack, here on Thursday, November 10. England seemed to have saved their best for the grand stage as they reduced the semifinal to a lop-sided affair, courtesy a splendid bowling effort which they complemented with some breathtaking stroke-making. It was Hardik Pandya (68 off 33 balls), whose fearless hitting took India to 168 for six but it was just about a par-score at the Adelaide Oval. England captain Buttler (80 not out) set the tone with three boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s opening over but it was Hales (86 not out off) who butchered the Indian attack into submission. The target was achieved in just 16 overs as England batting line-up clicked for the first time in the tourney and what a day it chose to brings its A game to the fore. The England opening duo gave India’s star-studded line-up a lesson in how to build a T20 innings: that there is only one way, the offensive way. It was one match that was decided in Powerplay as India managed only 38 runs in six overs as the archaic style of safety-first approach hurt them terribly. In complete contrast, England’s top order which looked shaky throughout the league stage, smashed 63 in their six overs. The match was won and lost then and there. Hales hit as many as seven sixes in his 47-ball knock and his approach showed that there were no demons in the track. He deployed the old-fashioned ‘Sanath Jayasuriya school’ of hitting in the first six overs. When Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were batting, they were looking to hit through the line unlike Hales and Buttler. Against lesser opposition like Bangladesh, they could make it up with a total of 168 but it was never enough for a side like England which has reinvented the grammar of T20 batting. Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep Singh didn’t get enough swing up front and team management’s fascination to play Axar Patel (0/30 in 4 overs) and Ravichandran Ashwin (0/27 in 2 overs) ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal backfired badly. The success England spinner Adil Rashid (1/20 in 4 overs) on the same track added insult to the injury. By the time, Buttler hit Mohammed Shami (0/39 in 3 overs) down the ground for one of his three sixes, the Adelaide Oval stands wore a desolate half-empty look. And the over-throws and the dropped catch by Suryakumar Yadav typified a day when everything that could go wrong went wrong for India. This Indian team never had all its bases covered and paid the price.   But even in this defeat, the T20 captain-in-waiting Pandya revelled in the role of a finisher with a sensational knock that gave India a chance to fight. Virat Kohli (50 off 40 balls) occasionally displayed his regal array of strokes but it was the flamboyant Baroda man whose unbelievable end-over pyrotechnics took India to a fighting total, which had looked distinctly impossible after the first 10 overs. In the last four overs, India scored 58 runs, courtesy four fours and five astonishing sixes from Pandya with a drop-dead gorgeous flick behind the square off Chris Jordan (3/43) being the stand out one.

    Source: PTI

  • Rahul Dravid rested for New Zealand tour; VVS Laxman to coach India

    Rahul Dravid rested for New Zealand tour; VVS Laxman to coach India

    National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman will be India’s acting head coach for the upcoming tour of New Zealand as the Rahul Dravid-led coaching staff has been given a break post the team’s exit from the T20 World Cup. India is slated to play six white-ball games in New Zealand — three T20Is and as many ODIs — starting November 18 in Wellington.

    While senior players like regular skipper Rohit Sharma, star batter Virat Kohli, opener KL Rahul and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have been rested for the tour, the entire coaching staff has also been given a break after the T20 World Cup.

    “The NCA team headed by Laxman with Hrishikesh Kanitkar (batting) and Sairaj Bahutule (bowling) will join the New Zealand-bound squad,” a BCCI source told PTI.

    This will not be the first time Laxman will be in charge of the Indian team. The former cricketer previously coached India during the tours of Zimbabwe and Ireland and the recent ODI home series against South Africa.

    All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead the side in the T20 series while veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan will captain the ODI side.

    Rohit will be back to lead the side in Bangladesh. Kohli and Ashwin will also return to the squad for the Bangladesh tour where India will play three ODIs and two Tests, beginning December 4.                 Source: PTI

  • Elon Musk warns of Twitter bankruptcy as more senior executives quit

    California (TIP)- Twitter Inc’s new owner Elon Musk on Thursday, November 10,  raised the possibility of the social media platform going bankrupt, capping a chaotic day that included a warning from a US privacy regulator and the exit of the company’s trust and safety leader. The billionaire on his first mass call with employees said that he could not rule out bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported, two weeks after buying it for $44 billion – a deal that credit experts say has left Twitter’s finances in a precarious position. Earlier in the day, in his first company-wide email, Musk warned that Twitter would not be able to “survive the upcoming economic downturn” if it fails to boost subscription revenue to offset falling advertising income, three people who have seen the message told Reuters.

    Yoel Roth, who has overseen Twitter’s response to combat hate speech, misinformation and spam on the service, resigned on Thursday, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. In his Twitter profile on Thursday, Roth described himself as “Former Head of Trust & Safety” at the company.

    Roth did not respond to requests for comment. Bloomberg and tech site Platformer reported his exit first.

    Earlier on Thursday, Twitter’s Chief Information Security Officer Lea Kissner tweeted that she had quit.

    Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran and Chief Compliance Officer Marianne Fogarty also resigned, according to an internal message posted to Twitter’s Slack messaging system on Thursday by an attorney on its privacy team and seen by Reuters. Robin Wheeler, the company’s top ad sales executive, told employees in a memo that she was staying at the company, a person who had seen the message said, diverging from earlier media reports that she too would be leaving. “I’m still here,” Wheeler tweeted late on Thursday. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it was watching Twitter with “deep concern” after the three privacy and compliance officers quit. These resignations potentially put Twitter at risk of violating regulatory orders. Musk attorney Alex Spiro told some employees in an email late on Thursday that Twitter would remain in compliance. “We spoke to the FTC today about our continuing obligations and have a constructive ongoing dialogue,” Spiro wrote. He stated that only Twitter, not individual employees, could be held liable against the orders.

    “I understand that there have been employees at Twitter who do not even work on the FTC matter commenting that they could (go) to jail if we were not in compliance – that is simply not how this works,” he wrote.

    In his first meeting with many employees at Twitter on Thursday afternoon, Musk warned that the company may lose billions of dollars next year, the Information reported.

    Source: Reuters

  • US consumer inflation eased to 7.7% over past 12 months

    US consumer inflation eased to 7.7% over past 12 months

    Washington (TIP)- Price increases moderated in the United States last month in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows and consumers grow more cautious. Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October from a year earlier and 0.4% from September, the Labor Department said Thursday, November 10. The year-over-year gain was the smallest since January. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, “core” inflation rose 6.3% in the past 12 months and 0.3% from September.

    The numbers were all lower than economists had expected.Even with last month’s tentative easing of inflation, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep raising interest rates to try to stem persistently high price increases. Many economists warn, though, that in continuing to aggressively tighten credit, the Fed is likely to cause a recession by next year. So far this year, the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate six times in sizable increments, heightening the risk that prohibitively high borrowing rates — for mortgages, auto purchases and other high-cost expenses — will tip the world’s largest economy into recession.

    Inflation was near the top of many voters’ minds in the midterm congressional elections that ended Tuesday.

    Their economic anxieties contributed to the loss of Democratic seats in the House of Representatives, though Republicans failed to score the huge political gains that many had expected.Even before Thursday’s figures, inflation by some measures had begun to ease and could continue to do so in coming months.

    Most gauges of workers’ wages, for example, show that the robust pay increases of the past 18 months have leveled off and have begun to fall.

    Though worker pay is not a primary driver of higher prices, it can compound inflationary pressures if companies offset their higher labor costs by charging their customers more.

    Except for automakers, which are still struggling to acquire the computer chips they need, supply chain disruptions have largely unsnarled. Shipping costs have dropped back to pre-pandemic levels.

    The backup of cargo ships off the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach has been cleared.And as declines in new rents that have emerged in real-time measures from such sources as ApartmentList and Zillow begin to be captured in the government’s forthcoming measures, that factor should also reduce inflation.

    Even as many fear that the economy will fall into recession next year, the nation’s job market has remained resilient. Employers have added a healthy average of 407,000 jobs a month, and the unemployment rate is just 3.7%, close to a half-century low. Job openings are still at historically high levels.But the Fed’s rate hikes have inflicted severe damage on the American housing market.

    The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has more than doubled over the past year, topping 7% before falling slightly last week.

    Source: AP

  • Centre could cut spending for first time in 3 years: Report

    Spending by the Indian Government this fiscal year could be less than budgeted for the first time in three years, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, amid a push to meet a fiscal deficit target of 6.4% of gross domestic product. Total expenditure for the 2022/23 fiscal year that started on April 1 could come in ?70k crore to ?80k crore below the budgeted Rs 39.45 lakh crore, the sources said, requesting anonymity. The government is keen to rein in the fiscal deficit as it is well above the historical levels of between 4% and 5%, having shot up to a record of 9.3% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21.

    Though tax cuts on fuel, aimed at reducing the impact of soaring global energy prices, could reduce revenues by more than Rs 1 lakh crore, one of the sources said total revenues were still expected to increase by over Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore this year. The rise in revenues would still not be enough to cover anticipated additional expenses with, for example, the government potentially having to provide additional food and fertiliser subsidies of Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 1.8 lakh crore, according to the sources. Despite those pressures, the government remains intent on achieving its deficit target, according to one of the sources.

    “The government is not going to budge from the fiscal deficit target,” the source said, noting that an “expenditure rationalisation” would be required. The sources did not say which sectors were likely to be affected by expenditure cuts as discussions over revised budget estimates were ongoing and a final call would be taken by the end of December.

  • Facebook parent Meta cuts 11,000 jobs, 13% of workforce

    Facebook parent Meta is laying off 11,000 people, about 13% of its workforce, as it contends with faltering revenue and broader tech industry woes, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees on Wednesday, November 9.

    The job cuts come just a week after widespread layoffs at Twitter under its new owner, billionaire Elon Musk.

    There have been numerous job cuts at other tech companies that hired rapidly during the pandemic. Zuckerberg as well said that he had made the decision to hire aggressively, anticipating rapid growth even after the pandemic ended.  “Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected,” Zuckerberg said in a prepared statement.

    “Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss have caused our revenue to be much lower than I’d expected. I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.” Meta, like other social media companies, enjoyed a financial boost during the pandemic lockdown era because more people stayed home and scrolled on their phones and computers. But as the lockdowns ended and people started going outside again, revenue growth began to falter.