The Indian Panorama

Tag: Google

  • Gauri Lankesh’s killers must be found; or it’ll embolden those who stifle dissent

    Gauri Lankesh’s killers must be found; or it’ll embolden those who stifle dissent

    The murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru has set off a wave of protests across the country; the chill that has set in is difficult to miss. It is a fool’s game right now to hazard guesses about the identity of the killers, but the manner in which she was brutally murdered raises extremely worrying questions. Her killers caught her outside her home, alone and with her guard down as she got out of her car — they fired at point-blank range, hitting her on the chest and the temple. They appear to have fled without even once getting off their motorbike, leaving no finger or shoe prints, as ‘clean’ a murder as can be. This has the hallmark of a professional hit-job, a pre-meditated assassination. It is the police’s remit to identify and nab the killers, but Lankesh’s killing cannot but draw attention to the various constituencies that she kept on notice. Lankesh, the publisher and editor of the Kannada weekly Gauri Lankesh Patrike, wore her activism on her sleeve. She came up against the establishment in multiple ways, as she sought to bring Naxalites to the mainstream, take up the cause of Dalits and farmers, raise consciousness on the creeping influence of Hindutva groups, give moral support to progressive campaigns, and basically bear scrutiny on those in power.

    Her murder has taken place in a year that India dropped three places in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, from an already bleak 133 to 136. It demands words and also acts of reassurance from the Karnataka and Central governments.

    (The Hindu)

  • Murder of Gauri Lankesh is an ominous sign for India’s flailing democracy

    Murder of Gauri Lankesh is an ominous sign for India’s flailing democracy

    By George Abraham

    Gauri Lankesh, a prominent Kannada journalist and a vehement critic of communal politics of the BJP government, was gunned down at her doorstep in Rajarajeswari Nagar in Bengaluru by some unknown assailants.  She worked as an editor in Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P. Lankesh and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike.

    She was known as a fearless journalist and activist who opposed communalization of politics, casteism, and marginalization of minorities in the society. Her forceful advocacy on behalf of Rohingya people is a true manifestation of her deeply held convictions. Death threats or intimidation from any quarters never stopped her from confronting the ever increasing challenges to the freedom of expression by the media, the fourth estate.

    Undoubtedly, journalists, opinion makers, and reporters are being increasingly targeted by Hindu nationalists who are on a crusade to promote their hateful agenda. In the last few years, journalists who appear to be critical of Hindu nationalists have been threatened, berated on the social media, while many women journalists have been threatened with rape and assault.

    India has just celebrated its 70th anniversary of its independence. The Democratic Institutions that were created under the Nehruvian vision are increasingly under threat from right-wing forces that are closely aligned with BJP. The fundamental right to express one’s opinion is under assault as either sedition charges are filed against the individuals or the institution that exercise those rights or the law enforcement mechanism is being manipulated to intimidate and silence those voices.

    Gauri Lankesh’s death appears to be a meticulously planned and executed to silence a powerful voice. The opposing forces could not match her rationale pointing up the dangers of right-wing politics and its possibly disastrous effect on the secular fabric of the nation. Her harsh criticism of prevailing casteism in the society was often directed at Institutions that still harbor those sentiments and made her more of a passionate activist who had little patience for the status-quo.

    This is not the first murder of a rationalist and thinker after the ascension of BJP to the power at the Center. A rationalist professor and thinker M M Kalburgi was murdered in the quaint town of Dharwad. In the neighboring state of Maharashtra, rationalists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar were also shot, and the one thing that united them all was their strident voices against intolerance and hatred of the right wing ideology.

    It is no more an exaggeration to say that India is governed under a ‘simulated emergency’ without truly declaring it. Shani Prabhakaran, a television reporter from Kerala, spoke candidly about the treatment of the media by the BJP government at a recent seminar in Chicago sponsored by the India Press Club. According to her, as soon as she finished a television segment analyzing the last three years of the governance by the Modi regime, a questionnaire from Delhi had arrived with a number of questions asking her to substantiate each criticism! Commenting on the recent raids, NDTV’s Prannoy said the following ‘our fight is not against the CBI, I-T or the ED but against politicians who were using these Institutions and ruining and destroying our country.’

    The basic responsibility of a journalist is to inform the public free of hype and bias. The fourth estate, as the media is often dubbed, acts as a mirror and a watchdog for the good of the public. However, most of the media in India today are controlled by big corporations whose professional responsibilities of the news outlets they own are intertwined with their business interests. The result is an abject failure in reporting the news with fairness and balance that could prove to be detrimental to a vibrant democratic society.

    Never in the history of India, a governing party had made such blatant attempt to eliminate an opposition party (Congress Mukta Bharat), intimidated and scared Media houses from reporting factual news, invoked colonial-era sedition laws to silence student activists from speaking out or created a hostile environment where these killings go unabated.

    Through her sacrifice, Gauri Lankesh has woken up our conscience once again. She had recognized the fact that our hard fought freedom and liberty, once again is in danger. In her death, our flailing democracy will be missing one of its strongest defenders. May I salute this brave soul for her true grit and passion for justice!

    ‘The power to question is the basis of all human progress’ – Indira Gandhi

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

     

  • Poetry Corner – The Journey

    Poetry Corner – The Journey

    The journey acquaints the traveler,

    With roads narrow and wide.

    As they bend and curve; swivel and swirl,

    They take him places near and far.

    At times they teach him,

    The lessons of walking;

    Rugged they maybe- giving him a furious fight,

    Smooth they may turn out to be- proving it’s not so difficult all the while.

    As smooth seas never made skilled sailors,

    All the bumps, bends and brakes;

    Make him balance his staid.

    Fast ways never meant the destination was any nearer.

    He sees the sun strike a silent slumber;

    Worried, if he’ll never make it;

    But the road roars,

    Of the drawing destination.

    So he beats on, mindfully marching to make the future his present;

    Milestones moving by his side, painting pictures of proximity.

    (Mannat Arora, based in Ludhiana, India,  is a penultimate year student of Bachelors of Law at Panjab University. Winner of a national-level poetry competition, she strongly considers literature to be a food for the soul. She is a university topper.  She spends most of her time in her library or in the backyard playing with her dog)

  • Equifax Says Cyberattack May Have Affected 143 Million Customers

    Equifax Says Cyberattack May Have Affected 143 Million Customers

    NEW YORK (TIP): Various news outlets including New York Times, Washington Post and CNN have reported that Equifax, one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies, has been hacked. Equifax is reported to have said on Thursday, September 7 that a data breach left Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and other sensitive information for 143 million United States consumers vulnerable to hackers.

    Criminals gained access to certain files in the company’s system from mid-May to July by exploiting a weak point in a website application, according to an investigation by Equifax. The company said that it discovered the intrusion on July 29 and has since found no evidence of unauthorized activity on its main consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.

    Hackers were able to retrieve birth dates and addresses, as well as credit card numbers for 209,000 consumers. Documents with personal information used in disputes for 182,000 consumers was also taken.

    Equifax said that some personal information for British and Canadian residents was also hacked.

    The data breach at Equifax is not the largest. Yahoo disclosed in September 2016 that 500 million user accounts had been hacked in 2014, followed by a second disclosure three months later that a different attack in 2013 compromised more than one billion accounts.

    Equifax said that, in addition to reporting the breach to law enforcement, it had hired a cybersecurity firm to conduct a review to determine the scale of the invasion. The investigation is expected to wrap up within the next few weeks.

    The company handles data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide and manages a database with employee information from more than 7,100 employers, according to its website.

    “This is clearly a disappointing event for our company, and one that strikes at the heart of who we are and what we do,” Richard F. Smith, chairman and chief executive of Equifax, said in a statement. “Confronting cybersecurity risks is a daily fight.”

    The company created a website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, to help consumers determine whether their data was at risk.

    “While we’ve made significant investments in data security, we recognize we must do more,” Mr. Smith said.

  • Comptroller Maragos: Living Wage Audits Recover $1.1M for Underpaid Employees since 2007

    Comptroller Maragos: Living Wage Audits Recover $1.1M for Underpaid Employees since 2007

    Living Wage Law May Need Revisions to Restrict Waivers

    MINEOLA, NY (TIP): Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos issued the 2016 Living Wage Law Annual Report highlighting the recovery of over $11K for underpaid employees and the frequent use of waivers that seek to sidestep compliance with the Living Wage Law.  Cumulatively, the Comptroller’s efforts have recovered $1,089,259 of unpaid wages and uncredited compensated time off for employees since the law was enacted in 2007. During 2016 the County granted ten waivers to County vendors compared with eleven the prior year. The County’s Living Wage increased on August 1, 2017 to $13.98 per hour for employees receiving health benefits and $16.07 per hour for those not receiving benefits.

    “It is gratifying the County’s Living Wage Law and Comptroller’s Office enforcement through audits recovered significant money for underpaid employees,” said Comptroller George Maragos. “However, we are concerned that too many annual waivers to the law are being granted, especially to the same vendors. I have requested the auditors begin a review of the waiver process to close loop holes.”

    The Comptroller’s Office performed a living wage review of Armor Correctional Health Services Inc.  Twenty-three employees were owed $11,287 for underpaid wages and compensated time.  Armor failed to pay the required hourly rate and their policies did not provide compensated time off for employees working between 20 and 23 hours per week, or classified as per diem, as required by the law.  The Comptroller’s Office currently has six Living Wage reviews in process.

    The Nassau County Living Wage Law was enacted to raise the minimum wage of employees working for a majority of the County’s contractors.  The Comptroller’s Office is responsible for monitoring compliance with the Law. To date, $1,089,259 of unpaid wages and uncredited compensated time off owed to 1,405 employees have been identified by the Living Wage audits completed by the Comptroller’s Office. The Comptroller’s Office has released 37 Living wage audit reports for 30 different contractors.

    Information regarding the Living Wage Law can be found at http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/1597/Living-Wage

  • Consulate General of India, New York – Special Consular Services

    Consulate General of India, New York – Special Consular Services

    New York (TIP): In recognition of special needs and in order to facilitate access of members of the Indian Diaspora, Consulate General of India, New York will be open on Saturday the 16th of September 2017 from 0930 to 1330 hrs. to provide special Consular Services.

    Indian Passport holders/US Passport holders of Indian origin who have applied for or are in the process of applying for Indian Passports/Visa/OCI Cards may come to the Consulate and get their applications/supporting documents pre-approved before submitting to CKGS. Applications with all supporting documents would be examined in the Consulate and approved for submission to CKGS.

    Applicants who plan to attend are requested to pre-register with the Consulate by means of a mail addressed to “passports@indiacgny.org” listing the details of their application. Services would be rendered only to such applicants whose details reach the Consulate by 10th September.

     

  • Rahul Gandhi has the thought process of Nehru

    Rahul Gandhi has the thought process of Nehru

    By Rajender Dichpally

    New York (TIP): The true democratization is not simply the right to vote, but it is all about the devolution of power, that is how first Prime Minister Nehru dreamt how India should be. Interestingly, this founding fundamental principle of democratization is also executed by India’s beloved young leader Rahul Gandhi within world’s largest political organization, Indian National Congress. The tireless efforts of Rahul Gandhi to democratize the congress from top to bottom has undoubtedly made Rahul Gandhi, the most Nehruvian congress leader since Jawaharlal Nehru. He strongly believes in Nehru’s idea of India, where a billion people choose their destiny and live in harmony together and the idea of India where there is unity in its vast diversity. He has embarked on bringing the democratic process first within the Party, starting with holding elections for Youth Congress and has been slowly building a democratic Congress Party where popular leader are elected and not chosen by the leadership. He has also toured the entire country to understand and feel the country and listen to the voices of its people, especially the weak and to get an idea of the India that they would like and the issues that they face so that he can build policies for a platform for these people to succeed.

    Young people in India and abroad find a lot of qualities of India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru in Rahul Gandhi as both Rahul and Nehru are men of ideas, but never an ideologue. Nehru understood deeply that everyone is entitled to their viewpoints and gave space to every view. Because he thought, every perspective is unique in its own way. Nehru’s leadership was one of inclusion and compassion as he strongly believed that legitimacy can only come from compassion, conversation, from listening to and understanding the views, including the opposing views. Today, Indian National congress is at crossroads because it has lost the last general elections very dismally in 2014 and also for the first time in over 130 years of its history, the Party is in power in less than 5 states in India. In this context, Rahul Gandhi brings a very challenging thought process that will hopefully rejuvenate the Grand Old Party and revive it with his ideas of democracy, inclusion, compassion and batting for keeping secular spirit of the country in true sense.

    Rahul like Nehru, is a charismatic leader and a great orator. He is also one of the very few leaders with pan-India popularity and his personal integrity is beyond reproach. He is also a dedicated party-man with profound influence over his party’s cadre, like Nehru of 40’s and 50s. Rahul Gandhi’s messages are wrapped in fervent nationalism and convey a sense of building a great nation, much like the ideas of India’s first Prime Minister. He also believes in socialism as a tool to uplift the huge section of people in India who are still living in poverty. Some of the policies in UPA Government like Employment Guarantee, Housing to Poor and Food Security are tools aimed at providing the poor people with Government assistance to fight poverty.

    One can also see the reflection of the idea of Nehru in these policies where Mr. Gandhi played a key role in bringing people’s idea into country’s governance structure. The Food Act, RTI, MGNREGA, Right to education, Aadhaar are all such radical innovations, that created the platform for those whose voice is not heard. He is a beacon of hope to millions of Indians, because, he firmly believes in secularism, rule of law, freedom of speech and providing an equal platform for every Indian to achieve success.

    Rahul Gandhi once said “We have a tendency to worship great men. When we do that we cast them in stone. We freeze them in time”. There is no doubt that Nehru was a great man. But more than that, Nehru had a dynamic way of thinking, constantly evolving, forever compassionate. This is what one can see in Rahul today, a dynamic leader, constantly evolving and actively campaigning for a tolerant society, for peace and equal opportunity to all.

    Rahul Gandhi also believes that law makers are not above the law and refused to allow the bill that protected law makers from being impeached and jailed to be put to vote by his Party in the parliament when it was in power.

    He is the symbol of secularism and is the hope for many people who live in poverty and need an opportunity and level playing field to success. While Nehru’s vision built a strong base for modern Indian and established basic infrastructure for the Country post-Independence, Rahul idea of India of inclusion, opportunity for all to succeed, democratic process in the true sense and a sense of belonging in every person towards the country will propel India to be a super power in the near future.

    Last, but not the least, Nehru had shared his vision of Independent India as Indian Prime Minister when he visited USA for the first time in 1949 and addressed the students, guests and faculty at Berkeley University and delivered a historic speech at the University and Rahul Gandhi will soon offer his reflection on contemporary India and road ahead at the same University on September 11th, 2017 in his maiden tour to USA as a Congress Leader.

    The Diaspora in USA, the Congress Cadre in India and millions of people in India, especially the underprivileged and minorities look forward to the evolving of Rahul Gandhi as a leader post his visit to USA and also to hear his vision of India @ 70 and the road ahead, which is the theme of his visit and address to the major universities in the USA, starting from Berkeley, Harvard and Princeton University.

    (The author is the National General Secretary of Indian    National   Overseas Congress (I), USA)

     

  • Fierce Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida

    Fierce Hurricane Irma bears down on Florida

    TAMPA, FL (TIP): Fast and furious large-scale Hurricane Irma is sweeping towards Florida. If the storm reaches its full potential, it could be one of the worst hurricanes in the state’s history.

    It’s not clear exactly where the storm will make landfall, but winds well in excess of 100 mph could batter numerous population centers along Florida’s west coast. And coastal waters could rise 10 to 15 feet above normally dry land, completely inundating homes, businesses, and roads.

    Hurricane warnings cover much the Florida peninsula’s coastal areas. Hurricanes watches extended farther north into coastal Georgia and South Carolina. 5 million have been told to flee.

  • Juster Nominated as US Envoy to India

    Juster Nominated as US Envoy to India

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The White House on Friday, Sept 1 announced Kenneth I. Juster, one of the foremost experts on India-US trade relations as the next ambassador to India. He succeeds Richard Verma who relinquished charge in November 2016 after Trump’s election as President.

    Preferred by New Delhi and vetted by the Trump Administration, Ken Juster is credited with playing a crucial role in the US-India nuclear pact. Till recently Juster served as the deputy assistant to the president for International Economic Affairs, coordinating international economic policy with national security and foreign policy for the Trump Administration.  Juster will succeed Richard Verma, President Obama’s nominee, who left New Delhi after Trump won the Presidency in November 2016, leaving the post unfilled for almost a year.

     Juster an alumnus of Harvard College received his master’s degree in Public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and his law degree from the Harvard Law School. Juster’s stint in public service, saw him serving as Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001-2005, Counselor (acting) of the State Department from 1992-1993, and deputy and senior adviser to the Deputy Secretary of State from 1989-1992. In the private sector, he has been a partner at the investment firm Warburg Pincus LLC, Executive Vice President at Salesforce.com, and senior partner at the law firm Arnold & Porter.

     His foreign policy expertise was garnered while serving as Chairman of Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and as Vice Chairman of The Asia Foundation. Juster also founded and served as the US Chair of the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group, and was one of the key architects of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership initiative between US and India, which laid the foundation for the historic civil nuclear agreement.

     Juster’s long service in Public office and expertise in US-India relations, may indicate a smooth sailing through the Senate confirmation hearing. India’s Modi government has also expressed approval on Juster’s nomination.

  • US tech giants vow to defend ‘Dreamers’

    US tech giants vow to defend ‘Dreamers’

    NEW YORK  (TIP): US tech giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft, have pledged to stand by their employees after the Trump administration scrapped an amnesty program that granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children.

    US President Donald Trump, on September 5, scrapped an Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Children Arrival (DACA), a move likely to impact 8,00,000 undocumented workers including more than 7,000 Indian-Americans.

    Microsoft and Apple are offering the most full-throated defense of “Dreamers” — undocumented individuals who have been in the US since they were young and registered with the federal government to get work permits.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook condemned the Trump administration’s decision and pledged in a note to employees to offer any employees affected by the change the “support they need, including the advice of immigration experts.” Apple will “fight” for its Dreamers, Cook tweeted. “#Dreamers contribute to our companies and our communities just as much as you and I. Apple will fight for them to be treated as equals,” he tweeted.

    “You’re going to have to go through us to deport Dreamers who work here,” Microsoft said, adding it will stick by its employees affected by any change to DACA, even in court. — PTI

    New York to file lawsuit protecting beneficiaries

     US President Donald Trump’s decision to end benefits for children brought into the US illegally faces a legal challenge from New York and other states. New York Attorney General Eric T Schneiderman will announce a multi-state lawsuit to protect beneficiaries of DACA program.

    Schneiderman and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have promised to challenge any decision by Trump to end DACA. Cuomo said the move would affect roughly 42,000 New Yorkers, upending their lives and ripping families apart.

     

     

     

  • After DACA Repeal Trump says he has ‘great love for young immigrants’

    After DACA Repeal Trump says he has ‘great love for young immigrants’

    Widespread condemnation of DACA Repeal

    WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Donald Trump has said that he has “great love” for young immigrants who came to America as children and hoped that the Congress would bring in a legislation to help them, hours after he scrapped an amnesty program for 8,00,000 undocumented workers.

    US Attorney-General Jeff Sessions on September 5 announced the rescinding of the Deferred Action for Children Arrival (DACA), an Obama-era amnesty program that granted work permits to immigrants who arrived in the country illegally as children.

    The move likely to impact 800,000 undocumented workers including more than 7,000 Indian-Americans.

    “I have a great heart for the folks we’re talking about—a great love for them. And people think in terms of children, but they’re really young adults. I have a love for these people, and hopefully now the Congress will be able to help them and do it properly,” Trump told reporters at the White House, September 5.

    The decision has evoked widespread criticism with former President Barack Obama calling it calling it “wrong,” “self- defeating” and “cruel.”

    The announcement, which was anticipated for the past few days, was greeted with protests from across the country. The move is likely to impact 8,00,000 undocumented workers including more than 7,000 Indian-Americans.

    Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the White House yesterday demonstrating against Trump.

    The White House has defended the decision to rescind DACA.

    “There is a misconception that DACA primarily serves as a shield from deportation. This is misleading. DACA grants work authorization to nearly 800,000 individuals who are not legally authorized to work. DACA recipients, whose average age is in their 20s, were not an enforcement priority before, and they certainly won’t become a priority now,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said yesterday.

    “The priorities remain the same—criminals, security threats, and those who repeatedly violate our immigration laws,” she said.

    Sanders said the main effect of the announcement is that work permits and other government benefits are being gradually phased out.

    “No permits will be expiring for another six months, and permits will remain active for up to two full years. The president was elected partly on his promise to deliver meaningful immigration reform that puts the jobs, wages, and security of the American people first.

    “He is delivering on that promise every day, and he has put forward serious proposals to Congress that would responsibly end illegal immigration, prevent visa overstays, remove dangerous criminals, protect American jobs and wages,” she said.

    Responding to questions, Sanders exuded confidence that that the Congress is going to step up and do their job.

    “This is something that needs to be fixed legislatively, and we have confidence that they (Congress) are going to do that. And we stand ready and willing to work with them in order to accomplish responsible immigration reform, and DACA is certainly part of that process,” she said.

    Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the president is right to want this issue to be resolved legislatively.

    “Hopefully, while addressing it, we also will deal with a myriad of other issues that need to be corrected with our broken immigration system, including enhancing enforcement and security measures,” he said.

    Senator Chuck Schumer said most Americans know how heartless this DACA decision is, ripping apart families and telling people who worked so hard to become Americans for years that they now have to leave the country.

    “These are folks who were brought here as children, through no fault of their own. They may have known no other country but ours and have voluntarily registered themselves with the government in order to live, work and give back to our great country,” he said.

    Schumer said 91 percent of DACA recipients are employed, paying taxes and paying into Social Security.

    A study by the Center for American Progress earlier this year found that ending DACA would drain $433 billion from national GDP over 10 years, he said.

    “The human and economic toll of rescinding DACA will be far reaching. The Trump administration’s action to end DACA is senseless and cruel. California has its eyes on Congress to do what it should have done years ago, but we cannot bank on that.

    “So, the Governor stands with Attorney-General Becerra as he takes our fight to court to defend the Dreamers,” California Governor Edmund G Brown said.

    House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer has written a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan today urging him to allow consideration of amendments to the omnibus appropriations bill on the Floor this week that would prohibit the use of taxpayer funding by the Administration for certain purposes. (Source: PTI)

     

     

     

  • Ambassador Hardeep S Puri is appointed a Minister in Modi’s Rejigged Cabinet

    Ambassador Hardeep S Puri is appointed a Minister in Modi’s Rejigged Cabinet

    PM Narendra Modi reshuffled his cabinet September 3 and brought in nine new faces.

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi elevated four senior ministers to the cabinet rank as he roped in nine new faces to the Union council of ministers on September 3  morning.

    The ministers promoted were Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman.

    Nirmala Sitharaman is the First Woman Defence Minister After Indira Gandhi

    Here are the revised portfolios of the ministers:

    CABINET MINISTERS

    1. Rajnath Singh: Minister of Home Affairs.
    2. Sushma Swaraj: Minister of External Affairs.
    3. Arun Jaitley: Minister of Finance; Minister of Corporate Affairs.
    4. Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Shipping; Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
    5. Suresh Prabhu: Minister of Commerce and Industry.
    6. DV Sadananda Gowda: Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
    7. Uma Bharati: Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
    8. Ramvilas Paswan: Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
    9. Maneka Sanjay: Gandhi Minister of Women and Child Development.
    10. Ananthkumar: Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers; Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
    11. Ravi Shankar Prasad: Minister of Law and Justice; Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.
    12. Jagat Prakash Nadda: Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
    13. Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati: Minister of Civil Aviation.
    14. Anant Geete: Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
    15. Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Minister of Food Processing Industries.
    16. Narendra Singh Tomar: Minister of Rural Development; Minister of Panchayati Raj; Minister of Mines.
    17. Chaudhary Birender Singh: Minister of Steel.
    18. Jual Oram: Minister of Tribal Affairs.
    19. Radha Mohan Singh: Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
    20. Thaawar Chand Gehlot: Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    21. Smriti Zubin Irani: Minister of Textiles; Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
    22. Harsh Vardhan: Minister of Science and Technology; Minister of Earth Sciences; Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
    23. Prakash Javadekar: Minister of Human Resource Development.
    24. Dharmendra Pradhan: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
    25. Piyush Goyal: Minister of Railways; Minister of Coal
    26. Nirmala Sitharaman: Minister of Defence.
    27. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi: Minister of Minority Affairs.

    MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

    1. Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
    2. Santosh Kumar Gangwar: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
    3. Shripad Yesso Naik: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).
    4. Jitendra Singh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; Minister of State in the Department of Space.
    5. Mahesh Sharma: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Culture; Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
    6. Giriraj Singh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
    7. Manoj Sinha: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Communications; Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.
    8. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
    9. Raj Kumar Singh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
    10. Hardeep Singh Puri: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
    11. Alphons Kannanthanam: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism; Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

    MINISTERS OF STATE

    1. Vijay Goel: Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of State in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
    2. Radhakrishnan P: Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping.
    3. SS Ahluwalia: Minister of State in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
    4. Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi: Minister of State in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
    5. Ramdas Athawale: Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    6. Vishnu Deo Sai: Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel.
    7. Ram Kripal Yadav: Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development.
    8. Hansraj Gangaram Ahir: Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    9. Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary: Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines; Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal.
    10. Rajen Gohain: Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.
    11. VK Singh Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.
    12. Parshottam Rupala: Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
    13. Krishan Pal: Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    14. Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor: Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
    15. Shiv Pratap Shukla: Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
    16. Ashwini Kumar Choubey: Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
    17. Sudarshan Bhagat: Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
    18. Upendra Kushwaha: Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
    19. Kiren Rijiju: Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs
    20. Virendra Kumar: Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
    21. Anantkumar Hegde: Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
    22. MJ Akbar: Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.
    23. Niranjan Jyoti: Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
    24. YS Chowdary: Minister of State in the Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State in the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
    25. Jayant Sinha: Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
    26. Babul Supriyo: Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
    27. Vijay Sampla: Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    28. Arjun Ram Meghwal: Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
    29. Ajay Tamta: Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles.
    30. Krishna Raj: Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
    31. 31. Mansukh L Mandaviya: Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping; Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
    32. Anupriya Patel: Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
    33. CR Chaudhary: Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
    34. PP Chaudhary: Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice; Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
    35. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre: Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence.
    36. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat: Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
    37. Satya Pal Singh: Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development; Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
  • Chairman Crowley Pushes for Health Care Protections, Immigrant Rights in Government Funding Bill

    Chairman Crowley Pushes for Health Care Protections, Immigrant Rights in Government Funding Bill

    NEW YORK (TIP) House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-NY) introduced a series of amendments to the government funding bill that would defend middle class families against Republican attempts to undermine vital health care and immigration priorities. The Crowley amendments would, among other provisions, secure critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act and prohibit government funds from being spent on efforts to deport individuals eligible for the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) or the expanded Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) programs.

    As part of the government funding process, members of Congress are able to submit amendments to ensure federal funds are allocated in commonsense manners that protect constituents. Crowley introduced or co-sponsored eight amendments – all aimed at improving the lives of individuals living in Queens, the Bronx, and across the country, such as ensuring they continue to have access to quality health care and do not see their tax dollars wasted on President Trump’s detestable immigration policies.

    “It’s unconscionable that federal dollars would be used to advance the political agenda of congressional Republicans and President Trump. They didn’t think we’d pay attention but we are, and I won’t stand for it,” said Crowley. “Unable to push forward their disastrous Trumpcare plan to strip millions of access to health care, Republicans are trying to sneak a repeal past the American people.  House Republicans are also giving President Trump a blank check for his despicable mass deportation efforts.”

     

  • Decoding BJP after Baba’s conviction

    Decoding BJP after Baba’s conviction

    S Nihal Singh
    The BJP has been courting the Babas because it embodies the concept of religious men leading the country rather than its politicians. After the Gurmeet ‘Ram Rahim’ episode, the RSS is in a dilemma and is simply playing along.
    The RSS is still feeling its way to translate its concept of Ram Rajya into reality as it takes time to completely change the narrative.
    Beyond the conviction of Baba Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh leading to mayhem and deaths in Haryana in particular lies a preview of the RSS-inspired BJP scheme of things for a future India.

    The Baba, with his cult following, was a figure of considerable importance and politicians of all hues humored him for the votes he could deliver. But there was a deeper purpose for the BJP and its Haryana unit to court the Baba because it embodied the concept of religious men leading the country, rather than its politicians. Putting it another way, politicians would rule the country in concert with religious leaders. This is true despite the homilies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in radio broadcasts and otherwise.

     It is no secret that the Baba endorsed the BJP in the Haryana assembly elections which tipped the scales in its favor. In gratitude, the entire state cabinet went to the Baba’s headquarters to pay obeisance. Besides, photographs of the Baba with Chief Minister M.L. Khattar sweeping the floor and the Sports minister, Mr Anil Vij, with folded hands in his presence after plying him with a check for lakhs of rupees have become iconic images. Prime Minister Modi himself lauded the Baba for his “Clean India” campaign.

    Where does this glimpse of religious leaders at the forefront take India? The RSS itself is confused and seems to be playing the game as it goes along. It is, of course, for a Hindu India or Hindutva as it defines it. Many of the myths it has created about the blissful days of ancient India are common knowledge. We know about planes flying, of heads transposed and plastic surgery as common features of the good old days.

    In building a new India of their dreams, RSS leaders and their BJP followers needed an inventive narrative. The Mahatma was, of course, immediately appropriated. And the BJP raided the Congress repository of heroes on a mass scale. The Congress, after all, was the leader of the independence movement, with the RSS often ambivalent, if not complicit with the British rulers.

    Thus, in addition to the Mahatma, felled by an RSS sympathizer, the BJP appropriated Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and many others, as the need arose. Its main target was the maker of modern democratic India, Jawaharlal Nehru. He was too cosmopolitan, too influenced by the West for the BJP’s liking, vociferous as it was in striking the nationalist and native pose. The BJP is now in the process of writing a new narrative of modern India in which the towering personality who shaped the country is to be dismissed as one of many former prime ministers, his memorial to be shared by all.

    By all indications, the RSS is still feeling its way to translate its concept of Ram Rajya into reality. The Constitution is one impediment, the judiciary another, and above all the very diversity – in religious, ethnic and other terms – in governing the country. The last task falls into the lap of the Prime Minister, himself brought up in the cradle of the RSS but conscious of the pitfalls of running the country on narrow nationalist and religious lines.

    With the general election of 2019 already looming on the horizon, the contest between the RSS, the legitimizing authority of the Sangh Parivar, and a practicing politician of Mr Modi’s stature is likely to increase. In the end, there must be a compromise between these two poles of power while the larger ideological issue is sorted out.

    What to do with babas and their transgressions is another matter. There are swamis and great religious leaders who lead exemplary lives and do good. But the field has become crowded with charlatans and conmen of various kinds who trade on the gullibility of the poor and their superstitious beliefs to live well and exercise influence on politicians in search of votes. The BJP is particularly susceptible to their wiles because of its own myths and the status it accords to its own concept of a Hindu rashtra.

    Sober thinkers in the Sangh Parivar must realize that it takes time to change the narrative of nearly a century of the independence movement and the glorious decades of Congress rule after India won independence. We still live in a country shaped by the giants of the independence movement, almost all of them belonging to the Congress. Yes, textbooks are being revised to rewrite history to obliterate the long decades of Muslim rule. The beautiful Taj Mahal stands uneasily in the Uttar Pradesh of Yogi Avidyanath.

    The Sangh Parivar is not the first conglomerate to rewrite history.  The Communists in Russia and elsewhere were quite proficient in demolishing old heroes – in Moscow lodged in a park of old curiosities – while Ukraine has also archived its Communist past and the United States is seeking to demolish statues of Confederate greats in the shape of statues of slave owners after they lost the civil war. The Parivar is repeating history with a twist by making Jawaharlal a non-person.

    Future developments in a changing India will depend upon the Parivar leaders in bringing about their revolution of a Hindu India. Like all ideologues, they are men in a hurry – women never play a leading role in their scheme of things – but here again the conflict is between ideology and governance.

    Two people above all will influence the outcome: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Mr Modi, the latter in his political garb. They are unified in their ideology but divided in their responsibilities. We shall not have to wait for long to find out.

    (The author is a renowned journalist)

     

  • Of Donald Modi & Narendra Trump

    Of Donald Modi & Narendra Trump

    The affinities between Trump and Modi are striking, but none of them bodes well for democracy.

    By A.G. Noorani

    NO two persons are exactly alike. But Narendra Modi and Donald Trump resemble each other to such a degree that one might as well call them Donald Modi and Narendra Trump. The affinities are striking in their range and depth; and they are disturbing in their potentiality for harm to the national good. This comes out in sharp relief as one lists their traits one by one.

    1. A monumental ego is the most conspicuous quality which Narendrabhai shares with Donaldbhai. From it follow most others.
    2. Demand of loyalty. Trump was clumsy enough to sack the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Director James Comey because he failed to extract from him a pledge of loyalty; itself a highly improper demand. Modi, unable to fire heads of statutory bodies, hand-picked loyalists in advance for sensitive posts. He planted his man Friday Amit Shah as party chief and set up a cabal of fawning Ministers. Never before was the country treated to a daily dose of Ministers praising their chief. Sushma Swaraj stooped so low as to proclaim that Jawaharlal Nehru merely promoted his own image while Modi raised the prestige of the nation. To think that this is the man who sits on the chair on which Jawaharlal Nehru once sat. Not to be outdone by Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh rushed to praise Modi’s Independence Day speech the very next day (“patterns emerging from his address, which reflect his concept of governance almost like mantras”); Ravi Shankar Prasad’s tributes to his master are as regular as they are sickeningly fulsome. As with Trump’s men, Modi’s stooges suffer from acute insecurity.
    3. Both revel in demagogy, laced with fierce personal attacks on opponents and critics. They believe in Balfour’s dictum—speak often and speak for long; and you will acquire the contempt for his audience which every bore has.
    4. Both are coarse and crassly vulgar, in their strict dictionary meaning. They do not care for censure. Modi set the tone with his speeches in Gujarat.
    5. Both spread group hate with abandon.
    6. Both are exclusivist ideologues owning a narrow world view and a narrow concept of nationalism. They regard themselves as the very personifications of their visions.
    7. Insecure as they themselves are, Trump and Modi conduct their pantomimes with obedient advisers. Professionalism is scorned. Uneducated, except in the formal sense, the duo is also uneducable as well. They will not grow.
    8. Egotism breeds ambition. Each, in his own style, seeks to recast the polity anew.
    9. But neither cares to be specific about his program. If reading brings pain to the lips, reflection gives a headache.
    10. Flamboyance in style and escapist vagueness on substance. Slogans pass for policy statements: America First and Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas; Modi fears parliamentary debates and press conferences. He dislikes questions and abhors precision. So does Trump.Such persons find institutions stifling. Trump attacks the United States Congress; Modi plants favorites as heads of cultural and educational bodies in order to bend them to his will.
    11. To be sure, the two adore business and will go all out to make life easier for Big Business, for favorites.
    12. You know the club bore or the dinner party pest who tells any who gives him an ear, “I may not have studied economies; but my first principles are sound. I can fix the system.” Trump and Modi belong to this class.
    13. These “experts” in economies are experts also in foreign policy. Modi and Trump believe in highly personalized diplomacy based on one assumption and one calculation. The assumption simply is that they know better and can manage men and matters. Within weeks of being sworn in as Prime Minister, Modi hosted President Xi Jinping, with results that are there for all to see. Trump went to Saudi Arabia to egg it on in its wild schemes—isolation of Iran and humiliation of Qatar. The calculation is a crafty one. Excursions abroad will impress sceptics at home.
    14. Most remarkably, our arrogant partners in daring enterprises share a love and also a hate. They love Israel. They hate China. In 2013, when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi denounced China as “expansionist”. Simplistic to the core, they believe that the world would join them in their attempts to isolate the chosen victim, be it Iran or Pakistan. But states follow the national interest; policies of isolation have a short shelf life.
    15. Both are ruthless. Modi lost no time in putting veterans like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in their place though they had run out of steam and posed no danger. Trump has shattered all records of presidential sackings of officials; Stephen K. Bannon, the “Chief Strategist”, being the latest.
    16. A leader’s egotism, dangerous always, becomes a real menace when it is married to a narrow and exclusivist nationalism. Modi never conceals his brand. It is Hindutva “cultural nationalism”. He told the Press Trust of India (PTI) “I am a Hindu nationalist”, frankly and bluntly. Trump flaunts his brand of nationalism, which Charlottesville revealed.
    17. Since the hard core of the constituency is what it is, neither Trump nor Modi can afford to be anything but selective in their censures of wrongs, no matter how grave. Trump’s infamous remarks of August 15 on the outrage at Charlottesville will outlive his Presidency: “You also had people that were very fine people on both sides.” The best comment came from Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May on August 16: “I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them. I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them.”

    Modi practices his brand of moral equivalence as his speeches during the election campaigns to the Lok Sabha in 2014, in Bihar and in Uttar Pradesh, revealed. Not once has he censured attacks on Muslims specifically, nor has Trump attacked the Klu Klux Klan. Modi dare not censure the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

    1. If the polity is to be recast, it is essential that history is rewritten and national heroes are replaced with votaries of the ideology of hate. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takes pot-shots at Nehru. Trump plays the same game on George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, as if there was nothing else to them besides ownership of slaves. Modi has sought to rewrite history systematically to exclude Nehru’s role in nation-building, very much as Stalin had history rewritten to wipe out Trotsky’s record. A nation is known by the men it lauds as its heroes. Modi and his BJP-RSS mentors prefer to laud S.P. Mookerjee, Deem Dayal Upadhyaya and V.D. Savarkar.

    The top leadership of the state has it in its power to promote its ideology and to create an atmosphere. In every democracy, the media has sympathizers of both, the ruling party and the opposition. Modi’s regime has created a new class of active supporters in the media on whom it lavishes its largesse. These are noted columnists who never deviate from the party line and have prospered in Modi Raj. TV is as faithful, bar exceptions. They mould a climate. On August 15, the National Public Service announced that the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., had been defaced by obscene writings drawn with spray paint. A Smithsonian Museum map on Constitution Avenue had received the same treatment.

    1. Besides these dozen and odd affinities lies one which bodes ill for the political system. It is the leader’s belief that he stands apart and above the party. The party derives strength from him; not him from the party. Trump’s recent attacks on the Republicans will soon pass. The party system is strong though the divides are not as sharp and Trump cannot last long. His ratings are abysmally low.

    The RSS is disturbed by Modi’s antics but shrewdly reckons that it has more to gain by him being Prime Minister than by ousting him. Modi’s ratings have suffered, but they remain encouraging enough for him. The opposition has not crafted an alternative and attractive program, nor acquired an inspiring leadership. Modi developed an image of himself as one who will deliver and laced it with Hindutva. Any alternative must meet him on both.

    It saddens one to note that two of the world’s great democracies are led by men intolerant of dissent; driven by a tunnel vision; and made of poor quality fiber, coarse and outmoded.

    “Ye gods, it doth amaze me, /A man of such a feeble temper should/So get the start of the majestic world, / And bear the palm alone.”

    Shakespeare had a conspirator say this of Julius Caesar. What a scornful portrait he would have drawn of sawdust Caesars Trump and Modi.

    (A.G. Noorani, author of a number of books, is a leading constitutional expert and political commentator and contributes regularly to various publications the world over)

    Source: Frontline

    Post comments

  • September 8 New York Print Edition

    September 8 New York Print Edition

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Print Replica ~ Digitally

    E-Edition

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”New York Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F09%2FTIP-September-8-NYC.pdf|||”][vc_single_image image=”87516″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/TIP-September-8-NYC.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][td_block_ad_box spot_id=”custom_ad_3″ tdc_css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This week” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F%20_blank|||”][td_block_5 separator=”” limit=”8″ tdc_css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”td-default”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Work Visa to Green Card route getting tougher from October 1

    Work Visa to Green Card route getting tougher from October 1

    With 2.47 lakh applications, Indians are top H-1B visa applicants till July 2017

    NEW YORK (TIP): Heretofore, thousands every year transited to US Green Card through their work visa in the US.. H1 B route was found to be quite convenient to obtain a green card. But it appears it is not going to be the same “easy and convenient” route anymore.

    As reported in The Indian Panorama earlier, from October 1, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has made an in-person interview mandatory in such cases. In technical parlance, it refers to an I-485 adjustment of status interview. This announcement was made on August 28 and was reported immediately by The Indian Panorama

    On another front, US immigration attorneys are seeing an uptick in number of ‘Requests For Evidence’ (RFEs) being issued by the USCIS. These RFEs relate to petitions (applications) filed on or about April 2017 for H-1B visas that will be valid from October 1, 2017.

    As regards the amendment made for adjustment of status to that of a green card, NPZ Law Group managing attorney David H Nachman explains, “USCIS currently requires interviews for family-based green card and naturalization (obtaining citizenship) processes. But most of the time, it waives the interview requirement for the above category of applicants. While interviews for those transitioning from employment-based visa status to green cards were standard a decade ago, waivers have been regularly granted since then. Under the new policy, there will be no further waivers. Thus, the new process will lengthen the waiting time for green card applicants.”

    A vast majority of those to whom green cards are allotted comprise those who are already working in the US on temporary visas.

    During the four-year period up to 2014, over 2 lakh green cards were allotted to H-1B visa holders, according to a report by the Bipartisan Policy Centre.

    Latest available data released by the USCIS shows that during 2015, as many as 34,843 Indians adjusted their temporary visa status and obtained green cards. Of this, 25,179 were holding jobs in the US (primarily under the H1-B category).

    Immigration.com managing attorney Rajiv S Khanna says, “A new wrinkle in the inquiries is that, as USCIS had warned, they will not accept level-1 wages to be given in H-1B cases easily. They are questioning level-1 wages almost uniformly.”

    He explains the various levels and illustrates the wages. Level-1 category relates to entry-level jobs and, at the other end, is the level-4 category which calls for a more technical and leadership role.

    The prescribed wage at level 1 for a software developer in San Jose is $88,733 a year, which rises to $155,147 annually at level 4. Khanna adds, “It is the USCIS position that level-1 salary indicates a non-professional position that does not require a specific college degree and is a job that would be inappropriate for an H-1B visa.

     There are often situations where level 1 is indeed the appropriate level — even the largest consulting firms in the US do send out entry-level professionals for assignments.”

    NPZ Law Group has seen a sharp hike in the RFEs — by 55% to 65% as compared to the past numbers.

    Nachman explains, “The question that continues to arise in the RFEs is to prove that the position that the H-IB applicant will be taking is in a specialty occupation. The new set of questions that we are seeing has to do with why the level-1 wage has been chosen if the position is a ‘specialty position’ calling for a complex set of duties. As you can see, the US government is requiring us to argue that the position is ‘complex’ and then, on the other side, asking that if it is so complex why is a lower salary being assigned?”

    The increase in inquiries is an administrative cost for all, and is especially challenging for those employers (mid-tier companies) that had designated level 1 even for more experienced visa applicants.

    (TIP Bureau compilation)

  • Viceroy’s House – Featured Article By Mabel Pais

    Viceroy’s House – Featured Article By Mabel Pais

    • “It’s been the most satisfying thing I’ve ever done”

    • “History is written by the victors”

    • “My intention is to examine how someone like me can look at new historical evidence and explore an alternative historical narrative to what I’d been taught as a girl.”

                                                                                                                           Gurinder Chadha

    Gurinder Chadha, the British-raised director of  “Bend It Like Beckham” confesses that “Viceroy’s House” is the story of a Punjabi-British mother who learns about the 1947 partition of India from her 91-year-old mother.  She closes the film,  “Viceroy’s House” with an ode to her grandmother, who sought refuge from Pakistan in India.

    The story is based on the books “Freedom at Midnight” by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre and “The Shadow Of The Great Game – The Untold Story Of Partition” by Narendra Singh Sarila.

    _Manish Dayal as Jeet and Huma Qureshi as Alia in “Viceroy’s House.”

    The film’s narrative is fairly evenly split between the political wrangling of the real historical figures upstairs (the British players); and the emotional downstairs (the Indian players) scenes, centered on the fictional romance between Jeet (a Hindu personal valet to Mountbatten played by Manish Dayal), and Aalia (a Muslim translator for Mountbatten’s daughter Pamela played by Huma Qureshi) who is  betrothed to someone else (another Muslim, chauffeur to the Viceroy) and may end up on the opposite side of a new border.

    Famous figures — including Mohandas K. Gandhi (Neeraj Kabi), Jawaharlal Nehru (Tanveer Ghani) and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Denzil Smith) — are supporting but pivotal players. Impeccable production design and some fine performances, including Gillian Anderson as Mountbatten’s wife, hold this film together.

    • Director – Gurinder Chadha
    • Writers – Paul Mayeda Berges, Moira Buffini, Gurinder Chadha
    • Actors – Gillian Anderson, Michael Gambon, Hugh Bonneville,Manish Dayal, Simon Callow
    • Music – A.R. Rahman
    • Running Time – 1h 46m
    • Genres – Biography, Drama, History

    At a pre-release screening Q&A in New York city, Chadha emphasizes that her mother, 91, when she was growing up in Rawalpindi (now Pakistan) recalls that everyone (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian) lived side by side very happily with a lot of respect for one another.  Chadha articulates her mother’s words in Punjabi at the Q&A.  In the words of Chadha’s mother, in 1947, the British suddenly did black magic and whatever happened all she knows….. there was a lot of destruction.  Most Indians knew that there was something quite fishy about how partition came about, but no one could quite put their finger on it.

    Gillian Anderson as Edwina, Hugh Bonneville as Mountbatten and Lily Travers as Pamela in “Viceroy’s House.”

    “I decided I wanted to make a film about what I call The People’s Partition,” she explains. “I didn’t just want to explore why Partition happened and focus on the political wrangles between public figures, I also wanted to make sure the audience understood the impact of Partition on ordinary people.”

    Chadha’s ancestors lived in the foothills of the Himalayas, now on the Pakistani side of the border. Her grandparents lived through the tumultuous events which saw sectarian violence between India’s minority population of Muslims (many of whom craved their own homeland) and the Hindu and Sikh majority, bring about the greatest refugee crisis the world has ever seen; in a vast diaspora, an estimated 14 million people were displaced during Partition and up to a million died.

    To make a purely political film, Chadha quips she might just as well have made a documentary. But to reach a broader audience, she needed to entertain as well as educate. “That’s why I chose to interweave these political events with a love story – after all, even when the world is falling apart around our ears, life goes on – people’s hearts endure pain but also have huge capacity for love!”

    As Chadha’s conception of how to tell the story developed, she approached Cameron McCracken (Executive Producer and Managing Director of Pathe in the UK, co-executive producer of Slum Dog Millionaire) to help progress the project.  The combination of British and Indian backers gave Chadha the opportunity to make the kind of film she grew up loving.

    Whilst bowing down to their genius, Chadha sees her movie as being in the same tradition as David Lean’s A Passage To India (1984) and Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982).

    As a writer-director, Chadha has repeatedly translated her personal experience as a Punjabi-British woman into uplifting, crowd-pleasing movies, from her ground-breaking 1993 debut Bhaji On The Beach to her box-office smash Bend It Like Beckham.

    Hugh Bonneville as Mountbatten and Gillian Anderson as Edwina in a scene from “Viceroy’s House.”

    Asked for whom she made the movie, Chadha says that it’s hard to strike those balances between an Indian audience and a western audience.  “In the end,  you have to do what feels right for you and I did what I felt was right for me.  And I so wanted to make the film (to coincide with) 70 years after partition.”

    In any event, what happened in 1947 has been pored over for the last 70 years and Chadha believes her interpretation is not the first and it will not be the last. But at least it will stimulate debate!

    (Mabel Pais is a freelance writer.  She writes on the arts and entertainment, health and wellness, social issues and spirituality)

     

  • DACA decision taken for safer, fairer, and legal immigration system, Says White House

    DACA decision taken for safer, fairer, and legal immigration system, Says White House

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Faced with the very real possibility of a potential immediate shutdown of the entire DACA program by a federal court, President Trump took the responsible and constitutional step of announcing that the administration will be phasing out the program over the next two years.

    September 5th deadline was set by the plaintiffs presenting the administration with two, and only two, real options to choose from:  the likely sudden cancellation of the program by a judge or an orderly wind-down that preserves the rule of law and returns the question to the legislative branch where it belongs.  The President chose the latter of the two options.

    The President made the best decision in light of the fact that the system was set up by the Obama administration, in clear violation of federal law.  President Obama even admitted this himself when announcing the program, calling it a “temporary stopgap measure” and calling on Congress to act.

    DACA was initiated after Congress explicitly rejected the same proposal in legislative form.  In other words, President Obama didn’t just suspend federal law, but implemented a policy Congress had explicitly rejected.

    There is a misconception that DACA primarily serves as a shield from deportation.  This is misleading.  DACA grants work authorization to nearly 800,000 individuals who are not legally authorized to work.  DACA recipients, whose average age is in their 20s, were not an enforcement priority before, and they certainly won’t become a priority now.  The priorities remain the same:  criminals, security threats, and those who repeatedly violate our immigration laws.

    The main effect of today’s announcement is that work permits and other government benefits are being gradually phased out.  But rather than leave DACA recipients and men and women of immigration enforcement in confusing limbo, while the DACA program was challenged by states in the same court that struck down another of the previous administration’s unlawful immigration orders earlier this year, President Obama [sic] is laying out a responsible 24-month phase-out — sorry, President Trump.

    No permits will be expiring for another six months, and permits will remain active for up to two full years.  The President was elected partly on his promise to deliver meaningful immigration reform that puts the jobs, wages, and security of the American people first.  He is delivering on that promise every day, and he has put forward serious proposals to Congress that would responsibly end illegal immigration, prevent visa overstays, remove dangerous criminals, protect American jobs and wages, and create a merit-based system that grows our middle class.

    These are not just President Trump’s priorities; they are the American people’s priorities.  For decades now, the American people, immigrant and U.S.-born, have asked Congress to establish a lawful immigration system that protects our country.  They’ve asked for strong, secure borders, they’ve asked us to protect American security and American jobs, and they’ve asked us to have compassion, not only for those who are here illegally, but for unemployed American citizens, including millions of unemployed African American and Hispanic citizens who continue to suffer under a broken system.

    The President’s DACA decision today brings us closer to a safer, fairer, and legal immigration system.  Now that he has ended this unsustainable and unconstitutional program imposed by the previous administration, the President is calling on the men and women in Congress to fulfill their duty to the American people by truly reforming our immigration system for the good of all people.

  • SAALT Slams President Trump’s Decision to Terminate DACA

    SAALT Slams President Trump’s Decision to Terminate DACA

    NEW YORK (TIP): South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national civil rights and racial justice organization, slammed President Trump’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the latest in a litany of this administration’s anti-immigrant policies.

    “America’s values are founded on the ideal that all people are created equal and deserve justice. The President’s decision to terminate DACA puts 800,000 individuals at risk of deportation from the only country they’ve ever called home. Ending DACA is the latest evidence of this administration’s utter lack of commitment to our nation’s founding values of equality and fairness,” stated Suman Raghunathan, Executive Director of SAALT.  “Our current patchwork of immigration policies and programs is broken, and we demand Congress does its job to craft a commonsense immigration process that creates a roadmap to citizenship for aspiring new Americans. This is the only way to align our immigration laws with the values Americans hold dear.”

    The Trump administration will phase out DACA after a six-month delay, punting responsibility to Congress to craft legislation to protect Dreamers. Passing the DREAM Act 2017 is an important first step, but what the nation needs is a comprehensive immigration reform.

    Over 27,000 Asian Americans, including 5,500 Indians and Pakistanis, have already received DACA. An additional estimated 17,000 individuals from India and 6,000 from Pakistan respectively are eligible for DACA, placing India in the top ten countries for DACA eligibility.  With the termination of DACA, these individuals could face deportation at the discretion of the administration.

    The CEOs of Apple, Google and Facebook and many other business leaders have all staunchly supported DACA and opposed its termination, citing their need for talented workers in a direct rebuttal to claims that DACA has hurt the American economy.

  • Hindu Americans Urge Congress to Enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform

    Hindu Americans Urge Congress to Enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Leaders of the Hindu American Foundation called upon Congress for the swift passage of compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform, and called the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by President Donald Trump unnecessarily punitive.

    “The termination highlights the need for Congress to stop delaying immigration reforms that serve our country’s needs, and better reflect our country’s values as a nation of immigrants,” said Suhag Shukla, the Foundation’s Executive Director. “A sign of a broken system can’t get more obvious than when an order must serve as a last resort to deliver a dream or when it’s used to jeopardize the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of young people, including thousands of Indian, South Asian, and diaspora Hindus, who have grown up, studied, and worked here.”

    In particular, the Foundation called for a congressionally mandated pathway to citizenship for previously undocumented children. There are approximately 800,000 undocumented individuals who were provided legal protections under DACA after they were brought to the US by their parents when they were children.

    “Participants of DACA trusted the federal government to register and have since been extensively vetted. They’re contributing members of American society — many of them taxpayers, many students — all brought here as children,” Shukla stated. “No one should be penalized for the actions of their parents through no fault of their own.”

    Earlier this year, the Foundation outlined its key immigration policy priorities for the Hindu American community, focusing on family unification, streamlining the employment immigration system, permanent reauthorization of the Special Immigrant Non-Minister provision in the Religious Worker Visa Program, and revamping the refugee and asylum application process.

  • Bill Gates Disappointed with Trump’s decision to end DACA

    Bill Gates Disappointed with Trump’s decision to end DACA

    NEW YORK (TP): Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates expressed his disappointment on Donald Trump’s decision to end the DACA program and expressed hope that Congress will quickly pass a permanent fix so that hundreds of people do not get separated from their families, friends, and communities.

    “I’m very disappointed with today’s decision to end DACA. Hundreds of thousands of young people who have been educated in the United States and have played by the rules their whole lives will be forced to live under the threat that they will be separated from their families, friends, and communities”, Gates wrote on a Facebook post.

    “Melinda and I have been incredibly impressed by the Dreamers we have come across in our work with Microsoft, the foundation, and other programs we have supported over the years. They have been raised as Americans and have taken that responsibility seriously. Dreamers represent the best instincts of this country and the tradition that the great experiment of the United States is made better by people from other places coming here to dedicate their talents and commitment to continuing to move our country forward”, he further added.

    “I hope that Congress will quickly pass a permanent fix to allow these young people to stay in the country without the destructive fear of deportation”, he wrote.

    Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an American immigration policy established by the Obama administration in June 2012. DACA allows certain illegal immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.

    The USICS has announced that they are no longer accepting initial requests for DACA, but will adjudicate initial requests for DACA accepted by Sept. 5, 2017. They will no longer approve advance parole requests associated with DACA. They are only adjudicating DACA renewal requests received by Oct. 5, 2017, from current beneficiaries whose benefits will expire between Sept. 5, 2017 and March 5, 2018.

  • Indian American Democrat congressional candidate Aruna Miller endorsed by Emily’s List

    Indian American Democrat congressional candidate Aruna Miller endorsed by Emily’s List

    MARYLAND (TIP): Aruna Miller, an Indian-American politician and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 15 in Montgomery County, Maryland, picked up the endorsement of the women’s political group Emily’s List in the race for Maryland’s 6th District congressional seat.

    Miller, a former Montgomery County transportation engineer, is the only woman running in the race to replace Rep. John Delaney, who is running for president.

    Miller was sworn in as a member of House of Delegates on January 12, 2011 and appointed to the Ways and Means Committee (revenue, transportation & education subcommittees). She is a member of the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the Montgomery County Delegation and a member of the Women Legislators of Maryland where she serves on the executive board.

    After re-election in 2014, Miller was appointed to serve on the Appropriations Committee where she is Chair of the Oversight of Personnel Subcommittee and vice-Chair of the Transportation & Environment Subcommittee and in 2016 was appointed as vice-Chair of the Capital Budget. In the 2017 Miller was elected to Chair of the Women’s Legislative Caucus.

    In 2011, while serving as a Delegate, Miller encouraged strengthening economic and cultural development between Maryland and India and accompanied Governor Martin O’Malley on six-day trade mission to India, which resulted in nearly $60 million in business deals for the state of Maryland. Delegate Miller took a lead role in working with the Office of the Secretary of State and the Department of Economic Development to coordinate the Governor’s arrangements for his first stop to Hyderabad.

    In 2013 Delegate Miller was one of ten Maryland lawmakers named to the Maryland Business Climate Workgroup designed to make recommendations and develop long-term plans to streamline business regulations, encourage business innovation, and develop public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure.

    In 2013 Governor Martin O’Malley appointed Delegate Miller as a Commissioner to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB). The ICPRB’s mission is to enhance, protect, and conserve the water and associated land resources of the Potomac River and its tributaries through regional and interstate cooperation.

    Miller maintains her activism in community organizations, including serving on the boards of the Black Rock Center for the Arts, the Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation, & the Indian Biomedical Association. She is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery (class of 2013) and in 2012, Miller served as an at large Delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

     

  • Indian American Professor Included in All-star Team of Rising Researchers

    Indian American Professor Included in All-star Team of Rising Researchers

    BOSTON (TIP): New Chemical Engineering Professor Ashish Kulkarni of University of Massachusetts at Amherst recently has been included among the so-called “Talented 12”, an international “dream team” of rising all-stars in chemistry, as chosen by Chemical & Engineering News. Dr. Kulkarni’s baseball-card-style photo on the lively Talented 12 webpage nicknamed him the “Cancer Crusher.” He comes to UMass Amherst after serving as an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate bioengineer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Kulkarni’s research efforts have been focused on the development of pioneering, structure-activity, relationship-inspired nanomedicine for cancer therapy.

    “Disease develops in our body if there is an imbalance in the immune system,” Kulkarni said in his Chemical & Engineering News profile. “I’m developing dual-function nanoparticles that can allow us not only to create a balance in the immune system but also to monitor whether the drug is working in real time.”

    As Chemical & Engineering News explained its Talented 12: “This team of up-and-comers has big ideas for using chemistry to solve global problems. Welcome to the third annual Talented 12 issue. It took us months of scouring the globe to collect all 12 of the rising stars in chemistry featured here.”

    As a postdoc at Harvard, he designed nanoparticles that could act as cancer immunotherapies; meaning drugs that prompt the immune system to find and attack cancer cells. But, although cancer immunotherapies known as “checkpoint inhibitors” dissipate tumors in many people with cancer, they don’t work for all. Researchers have been searching to find a good diagnostic or biomarker to predict and track people’s responses to the treatments.

    The 36-year-old academic, who completed his undergraduate work at the Institute of Chemical Technology in India before earning his doctorate at the University of Cincinnati, grew up loving cricket. Kulkarni can include his addition to the Talented 12 super team on his list of distinguished awards. Among other honors, he is the recipient of the Hearst Foundation Young Investigator Award, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Career Development Award, American Association of Cancer Research Scholar-in-training Award, American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Young Scientist Award, and the Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award.

  • Indian American Returns to New York after solo flight around the world

    Indian American Returns to New York after solo flight around the world

    BUFFALO, NY (TIP): Ravinder K. Bansal, a retired entrepreneur of Indian origin, who embarked on a solo flight around the world to raise money for a hospital in Haryana, has completed a six-week  tour after raising $160,000. He will donate the money to the Rotary Ambala Cancer Hospital in Haryana, India, to purchase an urgently needed MRI machine.

    On July 4, Bansal, a resident of Buffalo, New York, embarked on a solo flight around the world in a single-engine Cessna 400 and returned on August 21. During the 19,878-mile trip he flew across England, France, Italy, Greece, Jordan, the UAE, and Oman and ended in India. He also had stopovers in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, Russia, and Canada during his return trip to the United States. He planned the mission after his daughter-in-law was diagnosed with life-threatening cancer. “This mission for me is very personal as it not only is an adventure that I have been dreaming about for a while, but will also help bring awareness about cancer in the rural community around Ambala and get the hospital a needed MRI machine now. Above all, it will generate publicity for the hospital that will hopefully continue to bring donations/support from the local and international community and Rotarians to keep the hospital operating and growing in future”, he wrote.

    “It has been a dream of mine for years to do this Round the World trip. I am finding it hard to believe that I have done it and come back home safely. I have lots of people to thank for helping me fulfill my dream. First and foremost is the unflinching support of my family, my wife Pratibha, my sons Rohan and Nitin, my brothers, sister and their families. My logistics team Eddie Gold and Ahmed Hassan of GASE, my friends in Buffalo, the new ones I made along the way and most of all God Almighty who watched over me through this entire journey. Thank you, Thank you, and Thank you all for helping make my dream come true”, he wrote in his blog.

    Bansal is a Ph.D. holder in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Engineering, is a retired entrepreneur with a passion for flying and a wannabe Drummer.