CHICAGO, IL (TIP): The Indo-American Heritage Museum’s April 23 presentation of “Unstitched: The Art of Sari Draping” at Ashton Place, 341 75th Street, Willowbrook, IL, was a winner on all counts, judging by the audience reaction. IAHM, a non-profit educational organization, was established in 2008 and is the only institution of its kind in the country. The event is among many the museum organizes throughout the Chicago area as part of its efforts to preserve the history of Indian Americans and promote understanding of their diversity, culture and contributions to American life.
Morning cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and music by The Red Line band greeted arrivals and set the tone for the fascinating program that followed. Following a vandana by Geetanjali Maru of Raag ‘N’ Rock, IAHM Board member Amita Banerji spoke about the museum and its work. Padma Rangaswamy, also an IAHM Board member called for the community to participate in the upcoming exhibition, Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, from the Smithsonian Exhibition Traveling Exhibition Service. The exhibit, which will open in July with support from the Chicago Community Trust, is being co-presented by the Field Museum and IAHM in Chicago. The Smithsonian exhibition is being augmented with the Chicago chapter of the Indian American story by IAHM.
Dr. Rangaswamy pointed out that IAHM as a grass roots organization welcomes community participation in helping tell the Chicago story. Community members can send in videos and images for a video portrait of community life that will be showcased at the Field during the exhibition. They can sign up for a docent training session and guide visitors through the exhibition. They can volunteer to help with the programs IAHM is organizing during the 5 months the exhibition will be running. Interested persons can e-mail info@iahmuseum.org or visit www.iahmuseum.org for more information.
After IAHM President Madhoolica Dear’s address and Guest of Honor Indian Consul General Neeta Bhushan’s remarks, renowned textile expert and sari historian RTA Kapur Chishti took over with a kaleidoscopic multimedia presentation of the history, design concepts and varieties of saris from the different regions of India. Women from the community modeled saris draped in various regional styles, wearing pure silver jewelry from Amrita Kar’s Vintage2Mod jewelry as they walked the runway to music by DJ Kollision. The event concluded with a lunch buffet from Gaylord Fine Indian Cuisine. Unstitched was sponsored by OROCHEM, Club of Indian Women (CIW), Geetanjali & Abir Maru of Raag ‘N’ Rock Entertainment, EbyN: Events by Nisar, Harp arte Photography, Patel Brothers, Vinni’s Salon and Spa,Wanda Willmore Schlafly of Sunshine Video, Gaylord Fine Indian Cuisine, DJ Kollision and The Red Line band. Information about the Indo-American Heritage Museum is at www.iahmuseum.org
(Photograph and Press release by: Asian Media USA)
Gift of Life USA Involves Community in the gigantic task
NEW YORK (TIP): Gift of Life USA Inc., a 501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization, for health and education was launched with a Grand Gala Dinner Night at Leonard’s Palazzo, on April 23, 2017. The organization aims at supporting the specially-abled, creating awareness – health and education and encouraging talent of the specially-abled followed by specially-abled services and much more in the long run.
A kick start of the event, celebrating month of autism, included attendees, key supporters and leaders from the South Asian & American community. Hosted by Harshil Parekh, the event brought together the resources available and need under the same umbrella to raise the awareness of its vision, mission and goals.
Founders, Paresh & Flora Parekh, presented a detailed overview of the inspiration, mission and vision of the organization.
“At Gift of Life USA, we aim at working in support of the ones with special needs, creating awareness, encouraging talent of the specially-abled, providing and assisting with needed resources, to help them be better, socially acceptable, self-respectable, self-supporting individuals and generating services in the long term. This is just the beginning…” Say Founders Flora & Paresh Parekh.
Our goal is to have a better, healthier and happier world for children and adults everywhere – especially for the specially-abled” – says Treasurer & Host Harshil Parekh.
Front row- L to R:Mr. Swaminathan, Pam Kwatra, Flora Parekh, Malti Shah, Manjari Bhatt, Dr. Hetal Gor, Madhu Parekh, Neela Pandya, Rupal Sehgal Second row- (L to R): Paresh Parekh, Eric Kumar, Lal Kwatra, H.K. Shah, Kamlesh Parekh, Dr. Harshad Bhatt, Bakul Matalia, Mom Speaker Kimberly Gilgeours, Harshil Parekh
The event was inaugurated with a special and traditional lamp lighting by key founders, committee, volunteers, supporters and community leaders. National Speaker Kerry Magro, (a young adult, diagnosed with a type of autism at the age of 4) who has talked at over 700 events an award-winning disability advocate, best-selling author of 3 books, movie consultant of 2 autism films, TV hosting his own local cable show) was the keynote speaker for the evening and shared his experiences. Mesmerizing performances by blind performers (singers, dancers, musicians), rocked the evening. The event also awarded children essay competition winners with cash prizes and Gift certificates. These kids participated in Essay Competition “I love someone with autism” in the beginning of the year and have been show casing their talent and support for the specially-abled at this very young tender age.
Several distinguished individuals, dignitaries and community leaders joined hands to whole heartedly support this noble cause.
Inspired by her mom, the event recognized the tireless efforts of 3 of the founders God mothers namely Manjari Bhatt, Malti Shah & Pam Kwatra; who have nourished several children with their dedicated love, care and support. Special experiences from Kimberly, mom of especially abed kid; spell bounded the audience. A special souvenir, portraying key business, facilitated by Eric Kumar, was launched at the event. Special raffles gave away exciting prizes like diamond ring by Paresh Parekh of Harshil Creations; a gold chain by East West Jewelers, Free Liposuction consulting and treatment by Dr. Hetal Gor, Gorgeous outfit by Wardrobe. The Gala Was the hard, tireless and dedicated work of several dedicated volunteers and committee members – Rupal Sehgal, Eric Kumar, Bakul Matalia, Kamlesh & Madhu Parekh, Kiran Mehta, Dr. Hetal Gor, Shashi Malik, Neela Pandya, Sanjay Sura, Aryan Sharma, Harshil Parekh, Dr. Sheetal Sheth, Aditi Patil and several others along with the support of donors, supporters and well wishers.
Further information and donation opportunities visit website at www.giftoflifeus.org
(Based on a press release by Neela Pandya)
BROOKLYN, NY (TIP): Ananda Marga is a socio-spiritual organization founded in India in 1955 by the philosopher and spiritual master Shrii Shrii Anandamurti.
On occasion of the meeting of Indian Business Leaders at the residence of Bipin Sangankar in Brooklyn on April 14th the Mayor of New York Bill De Blasio gave chance to Ananda Marga representatives for a very warm interaction during which a project for helping the Homeless population was presented to him.
Arish Kumar Sahani as member of the Indian Community and promoter of the “Active and Productive Homeless” project was accompanied by Acarya Abhiramananda Avadhuta – President of Ananda Marga in USA and by Acarya Vimaleshananda Avadhuta -Public Relations Secretary for the non-profit organization.
Helping the homeless population has been one of the hallmarks of the Mayor endeavor for bringing social equality in a city marked by a deep separation between rich and poor. Although under the pressure of the coming reelection we expect the Mayor to continue to the last his efforts so important for all the minorities and for the homeless particularly.
The project proposal is centered on a 40 hours workshops divided in eight modules to be delivered in a few months period promising to change the attitude of the homeless people from passive receivers of help to active participants of the community.
The iconic Times Square in New York was seeped in the colours and tradition of the Sikh culture as members of the community tied turbans to thousands of New Yorkers and tourists to spread awareness about the Sikh identity amid a spike in hate crimes against them in the country.
Non-profit group ‘The Sikhs of New York’ organised the ‘Turban Day’ at Times Square yesterday, with its volunteers tying colourful turbans to close to 8,000 Americans and tourists hailing from different nationalities and ethnicities. The four-hour event, held as part of Vaisakhi celebrations, was aimed at spreading awareness among Americans and other nationalities about the Sikh religion and its articles of faith, especially the turban, which has often been misconceived and misidentified as being associated with terrorism particularly in the years since the 9/11 terror attacks.
During the event, a proclamation by Congressman Gregory Meeks of the 5th Congressional District of New York declared April 15, 2017 as ‘Turban Day’, lauding The Sikhs of New York for its dedication in educating other communities about the Sikh faith.
The organisation’s founder Chanpreet Singh told PTI Turban Day was started in 2013 at Baruch College to promote and educate people about the Sikh religion and identity.
“We are spreading awareness about the Sikh turban and culture. The turban is the crown of each Sikh and represents pride and valour. Turban Day provides an opportunity for those that do not wear a turban to experience a turban and learn about its significance first hand,” he said.
Turban Day Celebrated At Times Square In New York. Photo: Keertan.org
Mr Singh added that he had personally experienced hate during his school years and wanted to take the initiative to educate Americans that “Sikh values are American Values”.
He said by inviting people from other nationalities to wear the turban, the event also aims to encourage them to avoid discrimination and speak out against hate crimes targeting Sikhs in America going forward.
WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, April 18, ordered federal agencies to look at tightening the H1B visa program used to bring high-skilled foreign workers to the US, as he tries to carry out his campaign pledges to put “America First“.
The EO also establishes certain Hire American standards, which are not necessarily limited to federal procurement or federally-funded projects. This primarily includes an overhaul of the “H1B” visa program to replace the lottery features of the program and to impose restrictions designed to preclude the H1B program from being a conduit for lower-cost labor at the expense of American workers.
The latest action is part of Trump’s administration relentless series of tightening measures and is a major deterrent to Indian IT companies which send hundreds of software engineers to the US on H1B visas.
The executive order doesn’t actually make any change in the policy as it stands today.
This year there were 199,000 applications for the H1B visas even after the USCIS guidelines released April 3 clarifying that computer programmers will not be eligible for H1B visas by default.
The Trump administration appears to be keen to scrap the lottery system, which is why it is insisting on a higher wage floor as a first eligibility criterion to apply for the visa. It may also set a minimum education criterion, skewering the hopes of many Indians who hope to gain entry into the US.
H1B visas are intended for foreign nationals in occupations that generally require higher education, including science, engineering or computer programming. The government uses a lottery to award 65,000 visas every year and randomly distributes another 20,000 to graduate student workers.
Critics say the lottery benefits outsourcing firms that flood the system with mass applications for visas for lower-paid information technology workers.
“Right now, H1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery and that’s wrong. Instead, they should be given to the most skilled and highest paid applicants and they should never, ever be used to replace Americans,” Trump said.
At present, about 70 per cent of the 85,000 H1B visas issued annually go to Indians, with more than half of that to software professionals. The infotech industry adds around 10 per cent to India’s GDP.
Senior officials gave few details on implementation of the order but Trump aides have expressed concern that most H1B visas are awarded for lower-paid jobs at outsourcing firms, many based in India, which they say takes work away from Americans.
They seek a more merit-based way to give the visas to highly skilled workers.
“Right now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing American workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in from other countries,” Trump said.
Read the full EO at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/18/presidential-executive-order-buy-american-and-hire-american? utm_source= email&utm_medium= email&utm_content=20170419_ADM_1600-Daily
SACRAMENTO (TIP): An Indian-American CEO has been ordered to pay USD 135,000 to her former domestic worker after a Labor Department investigation found she underpaid and mistreated her.
Himanshu Bhatia, CEO of Rose International and IT Staffing, will have to pay her former live-in domestic service worker back wages and damages under the terms of a consent judgement entered into the US District Court for the Central District of California.
The judgement, entered on April 11, resolves a complaint filed by the US Department of Labor in August last year. An investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Bhatia willfully and repeatedly violated federal labor laws’ minimum wage and record keeping provisions from July 2012 to December 2014.
The complaint alleged that Ms Bhatia paid her domestic service worker, who had been identified in an earlier complaint as Sheela Ningwal, a fixed monthly salary of USD 400 plus food and housing at Ms Bhatia’s home in San Juan Capistrano and other residences in Miami, Las Vegas and Long Beach.
Investigators found that the employee suffered “callous abuse” and retaliation, including being forced to sleep on a piece of carpet in the garage when ill, while Ms Bhatia’s dogs slept on a mattress nearby. The complaint also alleged that Ms Bhatia confiscated Ms Ningwal’s passport.
Ms Bhatia terminated the worker in December 2014 after she allegedly found her employee researching labor laws online, and after the worker refused to sign a document stating she was being paid an adequate salary and had no employment dispute with Ms Bhatia.
“This consent judgement underlines the department’s commitment to protecting workers from exploitation,” said Janet Herold, solicitor for the Department of Labor’s Western Region.
“The department will take strong and immediate action to ensure that workers are protected against retaliation.”
CHICAGO, IL (TIP): The Consulate General of India in Chicago in collaboration with Ambedkar Association of North America [AANA] celebrated 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on 14th April, 2017.
The opening remarks were delivered by Mrs. Neeta Bhushan, Consul General. Consul General addressed the gathering and recalled the mammoth work done by the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in drafting the Constitution of India. She emphasized that the Constitution of India does not discriminate anyone on the basis of religion, creed, sex or any other ground. It is the duty of every citizen of India, therefore, to uphold the Constitution both in its letter and spirit.
Speakers from Ambedkar Association of North America [AANA] spoke on role of Dr. Ambedkar in National Reconstruction, Ambedkar’s agriculture and economic policies and women empowerment. During cultural program, the children sang classical Raga & performed the classical dance “Bharat Natyam”. Mr. Mahesh Wasnik introduced the AANA & its activities.
A Book and photo exhibition of photographs on the life and times of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was also organized as part of the celebration.
The celebration was attended by a cross-section of prominent Indian-Americans residing in Chicagoland. Mr OP Meena, Consul, proposed a vote of thanks.
NEW YORK (TIP): In his first public appearance since being fired last month, former U.S. attorney of Manhattan Preet Bharara on Thursday, April 7, offered a brutal and sometimes humorous critique of President Donald Trump’s administration, saying that draining “the swamp” requires more than a “slogan.”
“There is a swamp, a lot of the system is rigged and lots of your fellow Americans have been forgotten and have been left behind. Those are not alternative facts. That is not fake news,” Bharara said during an hour-long speech at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
“But I would respectfully submit you don’t drain a swamp with a slogan. You don’t drain it by replacing one set of partisans with another. You don’t replace muck with muck. To drain a swamp you need an Army Corps of Engineers, experts schooled in service and serious purpose, not do nothing, say anything neophyte opportunists who know a lot about how to bully and bluster but not so much about truth, justice and fairness.”
Bharara, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama, was one of 46 U.S. attorneys asked by the Trump administration to resign last month. The order is not unusual at the beginning of a new administration.
But in Bharara’s case it came as a surprise. Trump had asked him to stay after a meeting at Trump Tower in November and Bharara initially was unclear about whether the order to resign applied to him.
“I was asked to resign. I refused. I insisted on being fired and so I was,” Bharara said Thursday. “I don’t understand why that was such a big deal. Especially to this White House. I had thought that was what Donald Trump was good at.”
Asked why he was fired, Bharara said: “Beats the hell out of me.”
During more than seven years on the job, Bharara built a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor willing to go after public officials from both political parties and Wall Street. Bharara indicted more than a dozen prominent New York politicians for malfeasance, including some Democrats, and pursued more than 70 insider trading cases. He won major convictions against terrorists, including the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith.
But Bharara also had his critics. Some accused him of overreach – he had to dismiss several insider trading cases after an appeals court ruling. Others complained he was not aggressive enough, noting that Bharara did not secure any convictions of big bank CEOs for financial-crisis-era misdeeds.
Bharara has repeatedly dismissed speculation that he would eventually run for public office, a position he emphasized Thursday.
“I DO NOT HAVE ANY PLANS TO ENTER POLITICS JUST LIKE I HAVE NO PLANS TO JOIN THE CIRCUS,” HE SAID, “AND I MEAN NO OFFENSE TO CIRCUS.”
NEW YORK (TIP): The Indian American community and their friends from the mainstream came together to celebrate the 350th birth anniversary of the Tenth Master of the Sikhs, Shri Guru Gobind Singh.
It was for the first time that the birthday of a Sikh Master was celebrated at the Indian Consulate in New York.
Welcoming the gathering, the Consul General Riva Ganguly Das characterized Guru Gobind Singh who created Khalsa as the savior of the people against the tyranny of the rulers of the time. She recalled that as a young girl in Delhi she would often visit with her parents Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib and listen to Gurbani which she found extremely soothing. She said she learnt about the wonderful traditions of the Sikhs from her visits to gurdwaras and from her readings on Sikhism.
Consul General Das, who is a Bengali, said Guru Rabiindra Nath Tagore, one of the greatest writers who was the first Indian to be honored with a Nobel Prize, the greatest name among Bengali writers, and one of the greatest sons of India, was influenced by Guru Nanak and wrote a couple of poems dedicated to the First Sikh Guru.
Consul General spoke appreciably of the great contribution of the Sikh community in India and abroad and said she was delighted to host the 350th birth anniversary celebration of Guru Gobind Singh at the Consulate. She added that she looked forward to many such events being organized to focus on Sikhs.
Ambassador Das chose to heap her praise on Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, President of Indo-US Foundation for organizing the event.
Welcoming the guest speaker, Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh, the endowed Crawford Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College, Waterville, Maine, the Consul General said Dr. Singh was a great scholar and an authority on religions and that it was a momentous occasion to have her at the Consulate to speak about the great Sikh Guru.
Earlier, welcoming the Consul General Prof. Indrajit S Saluja said Ambassador Das, in just over a year, had taken significant steps to streamline working at the Consulate, with the result that the image of the Consulate was refurbished. The consular services improved. Prof. Saluja attributed the rising approval rating of the consular services to the efforts made by the Consul General who has been traveling extensively in all 10 States under her jurisdiction and reaching out to people, under the “Consulate at your doorstep” program. Another significant step she had taken was to reach out to administration and politicians which helped not only in strengthening of relations between the administration and the Indian Community but also in strengthening of relations between the US and India.
Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh spoke at length about the personality and philosophy of Guru Gobind Singh and took questions.
Dr. Singh enlightened the audience on four aspects of the great Guru.
A young Sikh boy presented a bouquet on behalf of the community to Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh
Consul General Das presents a plaque to Guest speaker Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh
Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh presented a plaque to Air India Regional Manager USA Vandana Sharma
Consul General presents a plaque to Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana
Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh presented a plaque to Mrs. and Jatinder Singh Bakshi of Singh & Singh Distribution. Dr. Hetal Gor is seen to the right of Dr. Singh
Consul General presents a plaque to Mr. Sunil Sharma, CE of Bank of India
Malini Shah presented Citation from New York City Council to Consul General Das and Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh
Malini Shah presents a Citation from New York City Council to Prof. Indrajit S Saluja
Consul General presents a plaque to Balwant Hothi, Technical Head of PTC TV
A view of the audience
A young girl in Sikh traditional dress presented a bouquet on behalf of the community to Consul General Riva Ganguly Das
Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, President of Indo-US Foundation introduced the program and the Consul General
Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh spoke on four aspects of Guru Gobind Singh
“Guru Gobind Singh was an epoch maker”: Consul General Riva Ganguly Das
Universalism
With the founder Guru Nanak as his matrix, Professor Nikky-Guninder underscored Guru Gobind Singh’s vison of the Divine One. She cited verses from the Jaap Sahib carrying forward the first Guru’s Japji in breathtaking speed. Countless ways are envisioned by Guru Gobind Singh only to underscore the absolute singularity of the Ultimate Reality: anek hain phir ek hain.
Pluralism
Dr. Nikky-Guninder reminded us that for Guru Gobind Singh pluralism went beyond mere diversity and tolerance. The Guru acknowledged diversity as a mere consequence of different regions and climates — niare desan ke bhes ko prabhao hai. But we humans are ultimately alike — ekai nain ekai kan ekai deh ekai ban (Akal Ustat: 86). The Guru powerfully makes the plea that humans recognize (pahicanbo) that they all belong to the same one caste. Birth and biology justify human equality. He does not want his people to be afraid of one another; he does not intend for people to merely tolerate one another with different colored eyes or complexions or accents or texture of hair. We can hear an urgency in Guru Gobind Singh’s tone as he voices the two imperatives “pahicanbo” (recognize) and “janbo” (know).
manas ki jat sabai ekai pahicanbo….
ek hi sarup sabai ekai jot janbo (Akal Ustat, 85)
Recognize: humanity is the only caste….
Know: we are all of the same body, the same light.
Guru Gobind Singh imposed a moral obligation that people actively learn about others and recognize our fundamental humanity, which we desperately need to do in our dangerously divided and polarized world.
Activism
The visionary Guru was also an ardent activist. He was a phenomenal leader who fought battles against political and social oppression. But all his actions were inspired by the doctrine of the Divine One and his belief in the collective humanity.
His momentous creation of the Khalsa in 1699 was to free his Sikhs from their stifling past and provide them with a liberating new present. The Five Beloved had come to Anandpur from different regions of India and they belonged to different social classes. But by sipping the amrit from the same bowl prepared by the Guru, they pledged their allegiance to fight against political oppression and social injustice for the sake of liberty and equality of humanity. In Sikh memory, the Guru also revoked the oppressive patriarchal lineage by giving the surname “Singh” (meaning “lion”) to the men, and “Kaur” (meaning princess) to the women. In the new family of the Khalsa everyone was to share the same name and worth. Their sense of identity was strengthened by the five external markers of their faith, the five k-s.
His passing of Guruship to the sacred book is yet another unparalleled accomplishment. With his boundless humanity and divinity, the Guru made the historical and spiritual past perpetually present. The Guru Granth Sahib is the physical presence that bonds the Sikhs metaphysically with the Divine One, historically with their ten Gurus, and socially with their community. The spiritual and moral legacy of the glorious Guru resonates vibrantly in the everyday social, political, economic, and cultural life of the Sikhs.
Poetic Genius
Dr. Nikky-Guninder analyzed the poetic genius of the Tenth Guru. In the tradition of his spiritual predecessors, the Tenth Guru lyrically expressed the themes of love and equality, and a strictly ethical and moral code of conduct. Deprecating idolatry and superstitious beliefs and practices, he evoked the Singular Divine. Injustice was challenged through both word and deed. Poetry became the medium to impart a new orientation to his subjugated community. The fusion of the devotional and the martial was the most important feature of the philosophy of Guru Gobind Singh, and of his career as a spiritual leader and harbinger of a revolutionary impulse.
What was kindled by the Tenth Sikh Guru some 350 years ago in India, must be kept alive in the new millennium and in the new world.
Dr. Nikky-Guninder thanked the Consul General and her Sikh community for hosting the significant event in the Big Apple, and especially Dr. Indrajit Singh Saluja for his meticulous organization. Memories have a future. Our future is shaped by our past. By holding on to our rich past let us today enjoy the wonderful resources of our global society, let us together – Hindu, Muslim, Jew, and Christian, let us together —white, black, brown and yellow, let us together —men and women, old and young, let us together create a truly just and egalitarian future. Our fundamental principle should be love. In the experience of love, all the toxic stuff that clogs our arteries– hate, prejudice, stereotyping, hostility — dissolves. As the visionary Guru Gobind Singh says, jinni prem kio tinu hi prabh paiao – those who love, find the beloved.
A major attraction was screening of two documentaries, one on the life of Guru Gobind Singh, and, another on Vaisakhi. Both the documentaries were produced by Prof. Indrajit S Saluja. The audience was pleased and impressed with the documentaries.
The Bhangra group “Soormay” gave a scintillating Bhangra performance. The young students from St. John’s University created a nostalgic vision of Punjab where Bhangra is a must at every happy occasion. The dance simply soars the spirit and fills even the dead with life.
Those honored the occasion included Consul General Riva Ganguly Das, Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur, Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana, Bank of India, Air India, India Tourism, Singh & Singh Distribution and Balwant Hothi. Each was presented a plaque by Indo-US Foundation headed by Prof. Indrajit S Saluja.
Harpreet Singh Toor who represented Assembly Member David Weprin presented citations from NY State Assembly to Consul General Das and Dr. Nikky Singh.
Malini Shah who represented NY City Council Member Paul Vallone presented citations to the Consul General, Dr. Nikky Singh and Prof. Indrajit S Saluja
The event was co-hosted by the Consulate General of India and Indo-US Foundation, with cooperation from Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana, Bank of India, Singh & Singh Distribution, Air India and India Tourism.
About Dr. Nikky – Guninder Kaur Singh
Dr. Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh is the endowed Crawford Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College. Her interests focus on Sikh scripture. Dr. Nikky-Guninder has published several books and numerous articles. She is the author of the Birth of the Khalsa published by the State University of New York Press in 2005. She also authored Of Sacred and Secular Desire (2012), which is a translation of Punjabi poets — Sikh, Hindu, and Sufi. To name some of Dr. Singh’s other books: Sikhism (IB Tauris: 2011), Cosmic Symphony (2008), The Name of My Beloved (Penguin, 2001), The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cambridge University Press, 1993), Metaphysics and Physics of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sterling 1981). Her views have also been aired on television and radio in America, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, India, and Bangladesh. She serves as a trustee for the American Institute of Indian Studies, and is on the editorial board of several journals including the History of Religions, the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Sikh Formations. She came to America as a young teenager to attend a girls’ prep school in Virginia, got her BA from Wellesley College, her Masters from the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD from Temple University. Professor Nikky-Guninder is currently working on translations from the Guru Granth Sahib for Harvard University Press.
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced 173 fellowships on Friday, April 7, to artists, writers, scholars and scientists, including three Indian Americans – Sandeep Mukherjee, Pramila Vasudevan and Shalini Shankar.
Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants and represent 49 disciplines and artistic fields, 64 academic institutions and 27 states and the District of Columbia. The recipients range in age from 27 to 79. Sixty-eight Fellows have no academic affiliation or hold adjunct or part-time positions at universities. In addition, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation is once again underwriting the Fellowship in Constitutional Studies.
Sandeep Mukherjee from Fine Arts Category ,Pramila Vasudevan in Choreography category, and Shalini Shankar in Anthropology and Cultural Studies. All winners get the same prize, around $50,000.
“It’s exciting to name 173 new Guggenheim Fellows. These artists and writers, scholars and scientists, represent the best of the best. Each year since 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has bet everything on the individual, and we’re thrilled to continue to do so with this wonderfully talented and diverse group. It’s an honor to be able to support these individuals to do the work they were meant to do, said Edward Hirsch, president of the Foundation.
The size of grants vary and are given for six months to one year, depending on the scope of the project. The foundation was established in 1925 and has awarded more than $350 million in fellowships to more than 18,000 people who, according to the organization’s website, “have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.”
Shalini Shankar
SHALINI SHANKAR
Field of Study: Anthropology and Cultural Studies
Dr. Shalini Shankar is Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Asian American Studies Program at Northwestern University. She is a sociocultural and linguistic anthropologist concerned with issues of race and ethnicity, youth and migration, language use, and media. She has conducted ethnographic research with South Asian American youth and communities in Silicon Valley, with advertising agencies in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and with spelling bee participants and producers in various US locations.
During the Guggenheim Fellowship year, Shankar will be based in Brooklyn, NY. She will research Generation Z, exploring how this demographic category can be defined in ways that more centrally account for the contributions of immigrants and minorities.
More Info – http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/shalini-shankar/
PRAMILA VASUDEVAN
Field of Study: Choreography
Website: http://www.aniccha.org/
Pramila Vasudevan is a choreographer and interdisciplinary artist based in Minneapolis. She has a combined 30+ years of experience in Bharatanatyam (classical Indian dance) and contemporary Indian dance, plus a B.F.A. in Interactive Media and a B.A. in Political Science, all which inform her interdisciplinary voice and socially conscious performance practice.
Vasudevan is the founder and Artistic Director of Aniccha Arts (2004), an experimental arts group producing site-specific performances that examine agency, voice, and group dynamics within community histories, institutions, and systems. Aniccha Arts is best known for the all-night outdoor performance project ‘Census’ (2016) and ‘In Habit: Living Patterns’ (2012), both commissions of Northern Lights.mn that were experienced by thousands of audience members through the Northern Spark Festival; and ‘Every Other’ (2015), a site-specific installation performance at the Grain Belt Studios, which was nominated for an ‘Outstanding Performance’ Sage award. Aniccha Arts also has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, to develop and present F6 as part of the Momentum: New Dance Works series (2013), and by the Weisman Art Museum, as part of the ‘Clouds: Temporarily Visible’ exhibit (2016).
More Info – http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/pramila-vasudevan/ &/or http://www.aniccha.org/
For full list – visit – http://www.gf.org/fellows/current/
TROY – Dr. Priya Menon, associate professor of English at Troy University, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant to India from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
In her research, Dr. Menon will study and document a counter-archive of the typical success stories of emigration to the Arabian Gulf States disseminated by mainstream media in India. In addition to her research, Dr. Menon will be offering a series of lectures and discussions on the topic and will help local faculty develop curricula, host seminars and engage in community services that will benefit expatriates who have returned to India from the Gulf States.
Dr. Menon is one of more than 1,200 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research and provide expertise abroad for the 2016-2017 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.
“This is an incredible honor, and I am very excited and humbled to be a part of the illustrious Fulbright alumni,” Dr. Menon said. “There is an exciting and growing body of literary texts, primarily conceived and circulated in southeast Asia, featuring these emigrant workers’ quotidian experiences which often involves exploitation grounded in a neo-colonial model of economic inequality and exclusion. It will be interesting to study whether literature can aid in bringing about social change apropos Arabian Gulf emigration.”
Dr. Larry Blocher, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, commended Dr. Menon for the award.
“It is exciting to see Dr. Menon’s scholarship recognized at this level,” Dr. Blocher said. “She is a bright light among our Communication and Fine Arts faculty and all Troy University faculty. We certainly commend her for the dedication she has to teaching, her scholarly research and service to others.”
A member of the TROY faculty full-time since 2007, Dr. Menon received the University’s Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching in 2009. She holds two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from Calicut University in Kerala, India. She also earned a master’s degree in English education from TROY in 2005, and received her doctorate in literary studies from Georgia State University in 2011.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.
Two Rice University undergraduate students have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Rohan Palanki and Constantine Tzouanas were nominated by Rice and selected based on academic merit from a field of 1,286 natural sciences, mathematics and engineering students nationwide. The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
Rohan Palanki, a Rice sophomore from Mobile, Ala., is majoring in bioengineering and pursuing an M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine through the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program. He intends to attain a Ph.D. in bioengineering and become a professor and researcher in academia.
“I hope to lead a cutting-edge research group that utilizes translational bioengineering and synthetic biology methods to develop diagnostic point-of-care medical devices, while also carrying out clinical work at a hospital,” Palanki said.
Palanki is currently studying the optimization of two-component bacterial systems for biosensor applications in the Tabor Lab at Rice.
“By using mathematical modeling, bioinformatics and site-directed mutagenesis, I have engineered sensitivity-tuned, mutant bacteria,” Palanki said. “These bacteria can be incorporated into an oral diagnostic, such as yogurt, that can be ingested to detect intrinsic disease biomarkers for intestinal disease. The sensitivity-tuning method that has been developed can also be applied to create a wide range of biosensors for other medical, industrial and environmental applications.”
Palanki holds a number of roles in Rice organizations, including campus chairperson of Rice University Global Brigades, president of Rice South Asian Society, Jones College senator for the Rice University Student Association, campus tour guide for the Rice Student Admissions Council and a member of two Indian dance teams: Rice Chowl Bhangra and Rice Riyaaz.
– See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2017/04/10/2-rice-students-named-goldwater-scholars-2/#sthash.QzDYYEjO.dpuf
An Indian American student is among among the 40 students, chosen from 149 finalists nominated by private liberal arts colleges and universities across the United Sates, who were named a 2017 Thomas J. Watson Fellow and will each receive $30,000 for a year of international travel to study their field of choice.
Madhuri Venkateswar, from San Antonio, is majoring in chemical engineering, minoring in poverty, justice and human capabilities and pursuing a certificate in civic leadership at Rice University. Another Rice University major Allison Yu has also been named a 2017 Thomas J. Watson Fellow.
Madhuri plans to travel to Peru, Malawi, New Zealand, China and Germany, where she will study women’s choices and how they are constrained by unique social and political climates. From sexual violence to discrimination in higher education, she will learn how power structures engage and often oppress women in complex ways.
This year’s class of Watson Fellows shows “the enormous depth, width and creativity of our next generation of leaders,” said Chris Kasabach, executive director of the Watson Foundation. He noted that the year of unparalleled international exploration funded by the foundation helps expand the vision and develop the potential of remarkable students.
“My personal interactions with gender discrimination spurred me to learn more about it in college and quickly become passionate about doing my part to fight it,” Venkateswar said. “By leading a Women’s Empowerment Alternative Spring Break my sophomore year, I became aware of the breadth of issues that women face and want to further broaden my perspective by studying this abroad.”
During her education at Rice, Venkateswar has served as president of her residential college and as president of Rice’s chapter of the Roosevelt Institute, which works to effectively engage students in Houston policy. She researched gender inequality in education through a Loewenstern Fellowship in India, where she helped a local nonprofit assess the impact of its mobile library program on women in the community.
Upon completion of her Watson Fellowship, Venkateswar plans to move to Boston to work as a strategy and operations consultant for Deloitte.
– See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2017/04/06/2-rice-university-students-awarded-watson-fellowships/#sthash.N2nEm0yV.dpuf
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has asked the US administration to take “decisive steps” to end bigotry and hate crimes towards Indian-Americans and other religious minorities in the country.
“There are various reasons (for increase in hate crimes), but one is certainly there’s been a rise in divisive rhetoric starting with the top,” Krishnamoorthi, Congressman from Illinois, said.
Krishnamoorthi, who has initiated steps to galvanise his Congressional colleagues on the issue, said there has been a number of issues taken on the immigration front, which really contributes to the divisive atmosphere in this country.
“Starting with the immigration executive order dated January 27th, which targeted American legal permanent residents, also known as Green Card holders. But we’ve now seen a number of steps taken by the White House on a number of fronts, which have sown confusion, concern, and fear among Indian-Americans and others,” Krishnamoorthi told PTI.
The first-time Congressman said he has not seen any measures being taken by President Donald Trump.
“Not so far, but I’m heartened that at least Secretary (of Homeland Security John) Kelly was willing to meet with me and others to discuss this issue and to recognise that there has been an increase in hate crimes and that we need to do something about it,” he said.
“But now is the time to act. We can’t just have a nice talk. It’s time for the authorities at the very top of our government to take decisive steps to end the state of bigotry and prejudice that’s being directed toward Indian-Americans, Jews, Latinos, Muslims, and others because at the end of the day, we have to come together as a country to confront the various challenges that we have on the landscape, primarily economic,” Krishnamoorthi said.
One thing that the Trump Administration can do is that they can make sure that there continue to be the registry of where are the attacks happening and against who, and those responsible for it are prosecuted.
“They’ve been dilly-dallying on this front in a number of cases,” he alleged.
“It’s very clear that some of these attacks were motivated by hate, and they should be prosecuted as such. Then, we need leaders to come and meet with the community and to show solidarity with them,” he said.
“We are all Americans, and regardless of what you think about his policies, George Bush, after the September 11th attacks, actually showed up in the different communities to allay concerns about different communities being singled out as targets of hatred. We need that same type of attention being given now,” he said.
“Then, word needs to go out into law enforcement that they need to act with even more purpose, and they need to do everything they can to stop these attacks,” he added.
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Krishnamoorthi last week met with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly.
During the meeting, he brought up the concerns about the attacks on Indian-Americans, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and others.
“I basically got a commitment from him to work on this issue, and he also lamented the rise in White supremacist organisations,” he said.
“I then followed up with a letter to him basically urging him to take action to follow up on his commitment. Then I’ve also asked him to come to Chicago and hold meetings with local concerned community leaders with regard to this issue. He said that he was interested, but we’re following up on that,” he added.
“This follows a number of other actions taken by our office including calling for investigative hearings of my Oversight Committee, writing to Department of Justice (DOJ) including Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking them to investigate, and various other statements and letters that we’ve sent,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“In addition, I’ve met with local leaders in the community with regard to this issue, and we are holding town halls and other meetings to basically bring attention to what’s happening. We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we address this rise in hate crimes and prejudice and bigotry in as diligent a manner as possible,” Krishnamoorthi said.
Having received feedback from across the country, Krishnamoorthi said Indian-Americans are very concerned, which is bordering on fear.
“I think that we have to do everything we can to allay their concerns, but more importantly, to take action, to make sure that we get to the bottom of what’s happening and prevent future attacks,” he said.
New York, April 11: A Bhutanese businessman is the victim of a false flag assault in Charlotte by an African-American man who made the attack on the man’s store appear to be the work of white supremacists.
Hate Politics – A rash of racist attacks have broken out after Donald Trump’s victory
North Carolina police arrested on Sunday the man allegedly seen on a surveillance video setting fire to the store on Thursday and leaving a note threatening to torture immigrants and refugees and signing it “White America”, The Charlotte Observer newspaper reported.
The Central Market, described as Nepali-Indian establishment that sells South Asian food and gifts, is owned by Kamal Dhimel, a refugee from Bhutan.
On Thursday night, the store’s front door was set on fire, a glass pane on the door was smashed with a stone and the note signed “White America” and warning that refugees and immigrant business owners would face torture “if they did not leave and go back to where they came from” was left there, according to police quoted by the newspaper.
Investigators said a video surveillance of the incident showed a “black male suspect”, the Observer reported.
African-American man Curtis Flournoy, 32, has been arrested and charged with ethnic intimidation, sending threatening letters, burning a business building and using incendiary material, according to the newspaper.
Charlotte City Council member Dimple Ajmera told the Observer that she was frustrated to see the hate crime take place.
“I’ll continue to work around the clock to make sure that all businesses and all the residences feel safe,” she added.
Last month, Harnish Patel, an Indian-American businessman in Lancaster in neighbouring South Carolina state, was shot dead outside his home. There have been no arrests in the case.
While attacks and threats against ethnic and religious minorities have always been a feature of America, activists and Democratic Party leaders have attributed recent incidents to President Donald Trump.
RECENT RISE OF ATTCKS ON INDIAN AMERICANS
In some places, including New York, false reports have been spread about raids on illegal immigrants to spook immigrant communities.
In February, an Indian-American woman, Ekta Desai, was harassed on a New York-New Jersey metro train by an African-American man who threatened her using foul language and said she should “get out of here”.
She uploaded the video of the harassment, but the Democratic New York city or state officials have not come forward to condemn it or take action against the man. US human rights organisations have not reacted to it either.
In February, in a case directly attributed to white racism, Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchsbhotla was shot dead and Alok Madsani was injured in Kansas, after they were mistaken for Middle Easterners or Iranians.
The alleged shooter, a white man, has been arrested and awaiting trial.
Last month, a Sikh in Kent, Washington State, was shot and injured by a man who shouted at him, “Go back to your country”. Authorities are still looking for the shooter.
In another case last month, an Indian woman Sasikala Narra, 38, and her six-year-old son, Anish, were stabbed to death in New Jersey.
New York: In his first public appearance since being fired last month, former U.S. attorney of Manhattan Preet Bharara on Thursday, April 7, offered a brutal and sometimes humorous critique of President Donald Trump’s administration, saying that draining “the swamp” requires more than a “slogan.”
“There is a swamp, a lot of the system is rigged and lots of your fellow Americans have been forgotten and have been left behind. Those are not alternative facts. That is not fake news,” Bharara said during an hour-long speech at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
“But I would respectfully submit you don’t drain a swamp with a slogan. You don’t drain it by replacing one set of partisans with another. You don’t replace muck with muck. To drain a swamp you need an Army Corps of Engineers, experts schooled in service and serious purpose, not do nothing, say anything neophyte opportunists who know a lot about how to bully and bluster but not so much about truth, justice and fairness.”
Bharara, who was appointed by former president Barack Obama, was one of 46 U.S. attorneys asked by the Trump administration to resign last month. The order is not unusual at the beginning of a new administration. But in Bharara’s case it came as a surprise. Trump had asked him to stay after a meeting at Trump Tower in November and Bharara initially was unclear about whether the order to resign applied to him.
“I was asked to resign. I refused. I insisted on being fired and so I was,” Bharara said Thursday. “I don’t understand why that was such a big deal. Especially to this White House. I had thought that was what Donald Trump was good at.”
Asked why he was fired, Bharara said: “Beats the hell out of me.”
During more than seven years on the job, Bharara built a reputation as an aggressive prosecutor willing to go after public officials from both political parties and Wall Street. Bharara indicted more than a dozen prominent New York politicians for malfeasance, including some Democrats, and pursued more than 70 insider trading cases. He won major convictions against terrorists, including the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith.
But Bharara also had his critics. Some accused him of overreach – he had to dismiss several insider trading cases after an appeals court ruling. Others complained he was not aggressive enough, noting that Bharara did not secure any convictions of big bank CEOs for financial-crisis-era misdeeds.
Bharara has repeatedly dismissed speculation that he would eventually run for public office, a position he emphasized Thursday.
“I do not have any plans to enter politics just like I have no plans to join the circus,” he said, “and I mean no offense to circus.”
New Delhi/Washington: India is coordinating with investigating agencies in the US and a probe is underway after a 26-year-old Indian man was shot dead in Washington on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted this morning.
Vikram Jaryal was shot dead allegedly by two masked armed robbers at a convenience store of a gas station. Mr Jaryal, who was from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab, worked as a clerk in the store. He was behind the counter when two people in masks came in and robbed the store. Police said Mr Jaryal handed the suspects money, but one of the suspects fired at him. Mr Jaryal was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Ms Swaraj tweeted, “We are coordinating with the investigative agencies. They have got the CCTV footage and are in the process of apprehending the culprits.”
Local police are looking for two men caught on surveillance camera leaving the store. “Somebody knows something. Somebody knows these people. The still photos show a very recognisable top that one of the suspects is wearing,” Mike Bastinelli, Yakima Police Department said. “The shooter wore a black hoodie with patches of white on the back,” he said.
Police are looking for the two suspects who allegedly shot dead Vikram Jaryal at a store in Washington.
“The victim was able to tell officers what happened when they arrived a few minutes later; but tragically, he died a short time later at the hospital,” police was quoted as saying by the NBC Right Now channel.
According to Ms Swaraj, Mr Jaryal had reached the US only 25 days back.
NEW YORK CITY (TIP): “It’s very great joy that I want to invite you all to come and be part of the 35th annual American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) Convention 2017 to be held at the brand new state of the art Convention Centre, at the prestigious Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey from June 21 – 25, 2017,” Dr. Ajay Lodha, President, AAPI, declared at the kick off event held at the Indian Consulate in New York on Sunday, April 9, 2017.
Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das addressing the audience at the AAPI convention kick off event
Attended by AAPI leadership, various committee members, community leaders, and media persons from across the United States, the kick off event was inaugurated by lighting of the traditional lamp by Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das, Consul General of India in New York.
In her felicitations, Ambassador Das lauded the achievements of AAPI and the leadership of Dr. Lodha. Describing Dr. Lodha as “a great leader, great physician, and great negotiator” the Indian envoy promised to be at the Convention at the request of Dr. Lodha.
“We have watched how AAPI has grown over the years and how we want other NRI groups to emulate the success model of AAPI,” Ganguly Das told the cheering audience. ‘What AAPI does is to contribute to leverage the relationships between India and the United States.” Stating that the government of India “values our relationship with AAPI and the many initiatives and contributions you have made for the people in India,” the Indian envoy said.
Dr. Ajay Lodha, President of AAPI, delivering presidential address
In his opening remarks, Dr. Lodha shared with the audience the many programs and initiatives he and his executive committee has taken in the past few months since assuming charge as the President of the largest ethnic medical organization in the nation.
Dr. Lodha highlighted the Leadership seminar at Columbia University, the Cruise to Brazil, participation and leading the Independence Day Parade in New York, the successful organization of Global health Summit in Rajasthan and the many initiatives at the Summit, Crash Courses in India for police officers as first responders in accidents, EPS lab studies, AYUSH, raising AAPI’s voice against hate crimes in the US and against violence against physicians in India and championing the voice of AAPI for a powerful voice through AAPI’s legislative conference in Washington DC next month.
Expressing his gratitude to AAPI’s executive committee members, Dr. Lodha, said :
“The organizing committees have been working hard to make the AAPI Convention of 2017 rewarding and memorable for all with Continuing Education Meetings, National and India based Health Policy Forums, Youth Seminars, New Physician and Resident Student meetings. Physicians attending this convention will benefit not only from cutting edge CME, but also the camaraderie of their alumni groups and share in our common heritage. Social events are all being planned meticulously so that maximum benefit can be reaped.
Dr. Vas Narsimhan, Global Head, R&D Novartis, who was the chief guest, in his address stated that AAPI conventions have been very inspiring. Describing India as the “innovation power house” Dr. Narasimhan, who had flown in from Sweden, advised young physicians to “dream big and thus achieve big.”
The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s New York Chapter.
We look forward to seeing you all in Atlantic City, New Jersey!” said Dr. Ajay Lodha.
AAPI leadership and committee membersReleasing of the AAPI’s souvenir of AYUSH by Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das
NEW YORK (TIP): In early 2016, GOPIO’s former president Mr. Ashook Ramsaran had filed a lawsuit against three current officers of GOPIO (it’s Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham, Vice President Ram Gadhavi and Global Ambassador Sunny Kulathakal) and the publications DNA News, APN News and Tehelka News in the court of Judge Paul J, Oetken, US District Court, Southern District of New York. In his lawsuit, Mr. Ramsaran had alleged libel and sought damages for certain statements that had appeared in those publications.
The case was filed on Mr. Ramsaran’s behalf by Attorneys Nicholas Netram Loaknauth and Robert A. Stramiere. The defense attorneys were Megha Bhouraskar, David Alan Karlin, Karen M. Lager and Robert Marc Barta.
As per a ruling dated March 30th, 2017 Judge Oetken dismissed Mr. Ramsaran’s case against all defendants.
In a press release, GOPIO stated that a big nuisance has gone and that its officers can now spend more time for the benefit of the Indian Diaspora and to promote India’s interest around the world.
GOPIO has been in existence since 1989 as a member supported community based non-profit organization headquartered in New York, looking after the interests of the Indian Diaspora. It has over 100 chapters in 35 countries.
When contacted for confirmation, Mr. Ramsaran said it was an ongoing case.
WASHINGTON (TIP): Dr. Sanjiv K. Patel has been named President and CEO of Relay Therapeutics, a biotech company dedicated to developing breakthrough medicines by focusing on insights in protein motion. Dr Patel brings to Relay over 20 years of life sciences industry experience. He succeeds interim CEO Alexis Borisy, a Partner at Third Rock Ventures, who is assuming the position of Chairman of the company’s Board of Directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sanjiv as the CEO of Relay Therapeutics. Sanjiv’s strategic acumen and business experience coupled with his deep commitment to patients will help fulfill the transformational potential of Relay,” said Borisy, in a statement. “Along with this key leadership appointment, our new board members, Laura Shawver and Markus Warmuth bring to Relay an incredible depth of research, development and entrepreneurial experience in building great biotech drugs and companies. We are enthusiastic to partner with them as Board members as we build a great company that will make a transformative difference for patients.”
Prior to Relay, Patel was at Allergan for over 10 years, and played a key part in Allergan’s sustained growth and value creation over that period. He was most recently part of Allergan’s Executive Team, as Chief Strategy Officer and at the center of some of the industry’s largest transactions. Prior to this, he held roles of increased responsibility, including leading Global Strategic Marketing for all franchises and general management of Allergan’s fastest growth geographic region, the Emerging Markets.
Prior to Allergan, Patel was a Management Consultant at Boston Consulting Group in London and he started his career as a surgeon in the U.K.’s National Health Service. Dr. Patel received his MBA from INSEAD, MBBS from the University of London and has a M.A. in Neurosciences from Cambridge University.
“This is a rare opportunity to join a team that is fully dedicated to treating diseases where today, no truly effective therapy exists,” said Patel, in a statement. “Relay is uniquely positioned to design innovative drugs by visualizing protein motion through integrating emerging computational and experimental methods. I look forward to working with the team to build a pipeline of groundbreaking therapies with an initial focus in oncology.”
SAN JOSE (TIP): Kaiser Permanente Northern California on April 3 announced that senior executive C.J. Bhalla has been selected as its new senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Bhalla will oversee the finance strategy and revenue cycle operations for Kaiser Permanente Northern California. The region serves 4.1 million members and is one of the largest markets in a nationwide organization that generated $64.6 billion in operating revenue in 2016.
Bhalla joined Kaiser Permanente in 2006 with successive promotions as chief financial officer of the national information technology unit and vice president, national financial performance and planning. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, she was a senior vice president at Charles Schwab & Co, a Fortune 500 company, and held numerous senior management positions at Household International Inc. (now HSBC), a Global 500 company.
“C.J. led our financial strategy during a time of unprecedented change in health care. She is an outstanding leader who has driven healthy financial outcomes in one of the largest integrated health care systems in the country,” said Janet Liang, president, Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “This is a well-deserved promotion into one of the most sought after finance executive roles in the industry.”
Bhalla received an MBA from Virginia Polytechnic University, and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India.
WASHINGTON (TIP): U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris joined colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump urging him and his administration to abandon their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and undermine the United States health care system so they can work in a bipartisan fashion to improve the law and lower the costs of health care for all Americans.
The letter, signed by 44 Senate Democrats, also requests – as a first step – that the Trump Administration rescind the executive order signed on January 20th, 2017 which severely undermined the Affordable Care Act and sparked the efforts to unravel the law thereby undermining the health care system and increasing costs, hurting patients, providers and families. Senate Democrats also expressed concern with President Trump’s recent statement indicating it would be a good thing to make the ACA “explode”, despite the fact that would mean hurting millions of Americans.
“Members of the Democratic caucus remain ready and willing to work with you on policies that would improve the stability of the individual insurance market. We ask that you begin the work of improving health care for millions of Americans by rescinding your January 20th executive order”, reads the letter.
Earlier, Harris spoke on the floor of the Senate in opposition to the American Health Care Act on the anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act.
WASHINGTON (TIP): Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi denounced President Trump’s executive order eliminating President Obama’s climate-change protections as an attack on the growing green economy and as another example of the Trump administration’s effort to govern by decree. Krishnamoorthi is the author of the Executive Order Transparency Act, which would require executive orders to be posted to the White House website seventy-two hours in advance of signing, to reveal their contents. The Congressman also introduced H. Res. 85, a resolution in support of the United States continuing its Paris Agreement commitments to address climate change and develop clean energy.
“Through this sudden and reckless order, the Trump administration has continued to cede American leadership in green technology while endangering our environment and ambushing our economy in the process,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“The need to deal with climate change is imperative, but by doing so, we can also lead the world in the development of green technology. That is why I introduced a resolution specifically calling for our country to continue to address climate change and to embrace the new economic developments that come with it. Through rolling back these environmental protections, President Trump has allowed other nations to lead on this vital technology.”
“I’ve also introduced legislation to push back against the White House’s efforts to ambush the country with radical overnight orders by requiring executive orders to be disclosed three days before their signing. By issuing this order so suddenly and without providing warning to the necessary Agencies, the administration has left clean energy and green technology firms to face a suddenly more hostile business environment for no discernible advantage”, he further added.
CHICAGO (TIP): Social Entrepreneur Dr Tausif Malik from Chicago elected Treasurer for Democrats Abroad India (Democratic Party of USA – India Chapter). The elections were held on March 22nd, 2017 and results were announced on March 26th, 2017.
Indian born Malik immigrated to Chicago in 2007. He did his schooling from Bishop’s School & Crescent School Pune. He earned his B. Com & M.Com from Poona College & Post Graduate Diploma in Business from Institute of Management Education, Pune and his Doctorate in Business Administration from Argosy University Chicago.
A strong supporter of Barack Obama, Malik launched World’s First Muslim Spelling Bee competition, which became one of the largest community competitions of USA. In 2015, the social entrepreneur decided to return to India to take care of his ailing mother. While in India, he established various startup festivals such as AIMBSN.com, GCC Startup Fest, India Startup Fest and Schoolpreneur.
Biz to empower individuals to achieve economic liberation and benefit from the Government of India’s Make in India, Digital India, SkiII India, Standup India Startup India initiatives. Malik now lives in Pune with his mother Razia Malik.
NEW YORK (TIP): The South Asia Business Association at Columbia Business School will host their 13th Annual India Business Conference on April 8 at Lerner Hall, Columbia University.
The annual India Business Conference is the premier India-focused conference in the City of New York and is a powerful forum that inspires thought-leadership and generates discussions around the business, social, political, and creative undercurrents that permeate Indian life. The goal of the conference is to bring together decision makers and opinion shapers from across the business, social, political, and creative spectrums of India.
The India Business Conference has enabled discourse around varied topics including driving growth on the foundation of structural reforms, maintaining the momentum provided by the sustained success of the Information Technology sector, and having an honest conversation about the challenges inherent in the Indian political and democratic system. The ideas exchanged during past conferences have permeated academic, political, and social circles, and have earned both acclaim and extensive media coverage.
The theme for this year’s conference is “Route to Resurgence: Shaping India’s New Destiny.” After 25 years of economic liberalization, India as a nation has finally realized that the ingenuity of its entrepreneurs and the market potential of its billion plus people are the keys to its prosperity. With one of the largest number of start-ups in the world, today’s India is thriving with opportunities and its lure is hard to ignore. The India of today is more confident and knows that it holds the key to its destiny. We believe this shift in thinking, despite India’s many problems, is perhaps one of the most interesting ideas to explore and has implications not just for India but also for those who wish to do business in the country.
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