SEAPORT AT ANDAMAN & NICOBAR · 8/14/2020 · NEW DELHI: India is considering investing Rs 10,000 crore for building a transshipment port at Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal

NEW YORK • WASHINGTON D.C. • CHICAGO • ATLANTA • CALIFORNIA VOL 26, No. 1349 August 14, 2020 50¢ Periodical Postage

Details on page 10

This week’s question

Last week’s result

YES 78% NO 22%

SEAPORT AT ANDAMAN & NICOBAR

CONTENTSBollywood -------------------------- 23Classifieds ------------------------ 28Community Post ---------------- 9-14Edit Page --------------------------- 25Horoscope ------------------------- 27Immigration Post ---------------- 33Life Style ---------------------------- 24Philosophy/Perspective ------- 26Info/Highlights ---------------------- 4TechBiz Post ------------------------ 8Wellness Post -------------------- 22

India plans Rs 10,000 cr transhipment port at Great Nicobar Island: PM

Details on page 6

Details on page 6

Details on page 7

Should India develop Andaman& Nicobar Islands?

NEW DELHI: India is considering investing Rs 10,000crore for building a transshipment port at GreatNicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal to provide ship-pers an alternative to similar ports in the region,Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (10August) as he inaugurated the first undersea opticalfiber project to provide high-speed Internet toAndaman and Nicobar Islands.

The 2,312-kilometer-long submarine optical fibercable from Chennai to Andaman and Nicobar Islands,laid at a cost of Rs 1,224 crore, will provide "betterand cheaper connectivity", he said.

"There is a proposal to build a transshipment port

at Great Nicobar at an estimated expenditure of aboutRs 10,000 crore. Large ships can dock once this port isready," he said at the inauguration ceremony heldthrough video link.

The dedicated container transshipment terminal atthe strategic port locale in the Andaman and NicobarIslands along the Bay of Bengal coastline offers twogeographical advantages -- proximity to the busyeast-west international shipping route that can facili-tate shorter transits and greater economies of scale,and deep natural water depths that can accommo-date the latest generation of mega-ships.

Shri Ram JanmaBhoomi Ayodhyagetting a face lift

See details on pages 15-21

Ind-Am studentRandeep Hothisues Tesla CEO

Details on page 7

Will it be right decision for Indiato join QUAD naval exercises?

M. Rajapaksasworn in as SriLanka's new PM

Ind-Ams protestChina's aggressionagainst India

India Postwww.indiapost.com

August 14, 20202

India Post 3www.indiapost.com

August 14, 2020

Mission StatementTo empower the Indian Diaspora and make their voice strong and effective in countries of their adoption. RJ Media conglomerate

offers a credible, professional and complete package of news, opinion, entertainment, networking and information.

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS1860 Mowry Ave # 200 Fremont, CA 94538

Tel: 510-396-9140 • Fax: 510-790-2806 • e-mail: [email protected]

E-SUBSCRIPTION& EDITORIAL: Vidya Sethuraman: Tel: 510-491-4867 • e-mail: [email protected]: Naresh Sodhi: Tel: 510-938-8667 • e-mail: [email protected] I Graphics Inquiry: E-mail: [email protected]

INDIA CORPORATE OFFICE230-A, 3rd Floor, Jin Kushal Suri Complex (Opp NDSE Part-II) New Delhi - 110049 • Tel: 11-26257769 • E-mail:[email protected]

Romesh & Sunita Japra PublishersRajesh Verma Co-PublisherVikram Paul PresidentKrishan Sharma Mg Director & Joint EditorNaresh Sodhi General ManagerAmit Saini IT DirectorDeexa Khanduri Sub EditorGhanshyam Bisht Supervisor Graphics

SAN FRANCISCO &SILICON VALLEYVidya Sethuraman Bureau ChiefVijay Thapar CPRO & AdvertisingKiran Pandey Director, WellnessPostVinita Thapar MarketingDeepak Chhabra PromotionsRitu Maheshwari Director PromotionsSudesh Kumari Correspondent

LOS ANGELESMrs Shashi Trivedi Bureau Chief

CHICAGORamesh Soparawala Resident EditorA Q Siddiqui Correspondent

ST. LOUISAshwin Patel Correspondent

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEYPinky Kaur Bureau ChiefSrirekha N. Chakravarty CorrespondentNikita Japra CorrespondentSukhvinder Saini Circulation

BOSTONGope Gidwani Bureau Chief

CANADAParas Nehra Correspondent

NEW DELHILakshay Sharma Web Developer

MUMBAINidhi Soparawala CorrespondentFrank Fernandes Correspondent

VADODARA, GUJARATVaidehi Patel CorrespondentPriyanka Shah Correspondent

PUNJABRaman Nehra Bureau ChiefJaswant Singh Gandam Correspondent

The Weekly NewspaperServing Indians Worldwide

www.indiapost.com

INFO-CENTER

For advertisement rates call the office nearest to you:India Post Copyright©1994 RJ Media Inc,ISSN 1084-3868, is published weekly for

$30 for 52 issues yearly by India Post, 1860Mowry Ave Ste 200, Fremont, CA 94538-1730. Application to mail at Periodicalspostage prices is pending at Fremont,

California and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toIndia Post, 1860 Mowry Ave Ste 200,

Fremont, CA 94538-1730.

DISCLAIMERIndia Post assumes all advertisers to bereliable and responsible for all liability

for their claimers

Business Partner India:PHOENIX DUO MATRIX

COMMUNICATIONSPRIVATE LIMITED

S-1/A, 3rd Floor, Arjun Nagar,Safdarjung Enclave Extension,

New Delhi -110029, INDIAT: +91 11 46068685, +91 11 41006051

• E: [email protected]• W: www.phoenixduomatrix.com

NEW DELHIChandrika MalikaryaSr. Manager - Sales & Business DevelopmentM: +91 8373929895E: [email protected]

BANGALOREGowtham SivanandamSr. Manager Business DevelopmentM: +91 9880535664E: [email protected]

MUMBAI/AHMEDABADM: +91 9560750802

India Sales Offices:

For editorial, contact: [email protected]

SAN FRANCISCO & SILICON VALLEY1860 Mowry Ave # 200 Fremont, CA 94538

Naresh Sodhi: 510-938-8667 • e-mail: [email protected] Sethuraman: 510-491-4867 • e-mail: [email protected]

PUNJABAmardeep SinghManager - Business DevelopmentM: +91 8527456807E: [email protected]

Advertorials & Event Team India:

Deepti DograAssistant ManagerEditorial and Content [email protected]

India Post August 14, 20204www.indiapost.com

LOS ANGELES16224 Alpine Pl. La Mirada, CA 90638

Tel: 562-441-5511,[email protected]

CHICAGO2543 W Devon Ave Chicago IL 60659Tel: 773-973-7394; Fax: 773-973-7396;

Email: [email protected]

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEYTel: 510-938-8667 • e-mail: [email protected]

HIGHLIGHTS

NewsweeklyIndia Post

23Bollywood:Kajol'svirtual kiss"Still young and kicking, birthdays arejust a day to celebrate me," wrote Kajol,along with the latest photo she postedon Instagram.

6Cover Story:SEAPORT AT ANDAMAN & NICOBARIndia considering investing Rs 10,000crore for building a transshipment portat Great Nicobar Island to provide ship-pers an alternative in the region.

10Community:Shri Ram JanmaBhoomiIt is after about 31 years that theconstruction of the Temple commencedin the presence of Indian Prime Ministeron August 5, 2020 with hope.

9Immigration:Green Card capThe per-country cap on legal permanentresidency punishes immigrants fromIndia and the wait for the coveted GreenCard for Indians runs into 200 years.

24Lifestyle:Defuse family conflictOwing to surge in Covid-19 cases; fre-quent, hostile conflict, along with in-creased uncertainty and financial burdenhas lowered tolerance within families.

8Techbiz:Investment cooperation with PAThe total trade between India and Penn-sylvania in 2019 was USD 3.21 billion.Over 18 Indian companies are support-ing 3,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.

22Wellness:California cases underreportedFigures showing CA has slowed the rateof coronavirus infections may be indoubt because a technical problem hasdelayed reporting of test results.


August 14, 2020

India Post August 14, 20206

www.indiapost.com

Cover/Top Stories

SEAPORT AT ANDAMAN & NICOBARIndia plans Rs 10,000 cr transhipment port at Great Nicobar Island: PM

NEW DELHI: India is considering in-vesting Rs 10,000 crore for building atransshipment port at Great Nicobar Is-land in the Bay of Bengal to provideshippers an alternative to similar portsin the region, Prime Minister NarendraModi said on Monday (10 August) as heinaugurated the first undersea opticalfiber project to provide high-speedInternet to Andaman and Nicobar Is-lands.

The 2,312-kilometer-long submarineoptical fiber cable from Chennai toAndaman and Nicobar Islands, laid at acost of Rs 1,224 crore, will provide "bet-ter and cheaper connectivity", he said.

"There is a proposal to build a trans-shipment port at Great Nicobar at anestimated expenditure of about Rs10,000 crore. Large ships can dock oncethis port is ready," he said at the inau-guration ceremony held through videolink.

The dedicated container transship-ment terminal at the strategic port lo-cale in the Andaman and Nicobar Islandsalong the Bay of Bengal coastline offerstwo geographical advantages -- prox-imity to the busy east-west interna-tional shipping route that can facilitateshorter transits and greater economiesof scale, and deep natural water depthsthat can accommodate the latest gen-eration of mega-ships.

The transshipment port would en-

able big ships to anchor and raise India'sshare in maritime trade as well as cre-ate new job opportunities, he said.

The Andaman and Nicobar IslandsAdministration had last year floated anexpression of interest for the containertransshipment terminal with the FreeTrade Warehousing Zone in South Bay,Great Nicobar Island to provide Indianshippers an alternative to Colombo,Singapore and Port Klang (Malaysia)transshipment ports.

The Prime Minister said Andaman &Nicobar will be developed as a hub ofport-led development as it is at a com-

petitive distance from many ports ofthe world.

As India looks to establish itself as animportant player in global supply andvalue chain, it is very important tostrengthen the network of waterwaysand ports, he said adding legal bottle-necks in the development of port infra-structure are also being removed con-

tinuously.The government's focus, he said, is

also on promoting ease of business and

simplifying maritime logistics.He referred to in-principal approval

being given for building a deep draftGreenfield seaport on the west coastand work starting on a deep draft innerharbor on the east coast.

While blue economy like fisheries,aquaculture, and seaweed farming willaccelerate the development ofAndaman and Nicobar, the governmentis making efforts to have more facilitiesat the Islands.

The undersea cable will help boosttourism as it will provide better mobileand Internet connectivity on the Islands,he said.

"From Chennai to Port Blair, Port Blairto Little Andaman and Port Blair toSwaraj Dweep, this service has startedin large part of Andaman Nicobar fromtoday," Modi said adding it will boost4G mobile services and digital serviceslike tele-education, telehealth, e-gover-nance services and tourism on the Is-lands.

Besides Port Blair, it will connectother islands namely Swaraj Dweep(Havlock), Long Island, Rangat, LittleAndaman, Kamorta, Car Nicobar, andGreater Nicobar.

According to official data, an Internetspeed of 400 gigabytes (Gb) per sec-ond will be provided at Port Blair andfor other islands, it will be 200 Gb persecond. PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches submarine cable connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI),through video conferencing, in New Delhi on August 10

Ind-Ams protest China's aggression against IndiaWASHINGTON: A group of Indian-

Americans from in and around the na-tional capital held a protest hereagainst China's aggression towardsIndia and the human rights violationsof Uyghur minority groups in thecountry's restive Muslim-majorityXinjiang region.

Maintaining social distancing andwearing masks, the peaceful protest-ors on Sunday (9 August) gathered atthe historic national mall facing theUS Capitol and displayed anti-Chinaposters, banners and raised slogansagainst the Communist Party of China(CPC) and its leaders.

"This summer while the world wasfighting coronavirus, China was tryingto encroach upon other's land. It's notonly in Ladakh in India but also against

its other neighbors as well. It's time thatthe world unites against this Chineseaggression," said Adapa Prasad fromOverseas Friends of BJP USA.

Indian and Chinese troops have beenlocked in a bitter standoff in several ar-eas along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The

situation deteriorated after the June15 Galwan Valley clashes in which 20Indian Army personnel were killedand an unconfirmed number of Chi-nese soldiers died.

"China's Communist party has in-fringed on the religious rights of theUyghur community and violated hu-man rights of people of Hong Kong,Puneet Ahluwalia, who is an Indian-American Republican and founder ofthe Proud American Political ActionCommittee, said.

Ahluwalia, who is exploring to runfor the post of Lieutenant Governorof Virginia, said US President DonaldTrump's hard measures against Chinawas in the right direction.

"China has to play internationalrules," he said. PTI

"This summer whilethe world was fightingcoronavirus, China was

trying to encroach uponother's land. It's not only in

Ladakh in India but alsoagainst its other neighbors

as well”

India PostAugust 14, 2020 7

www.indiapost.comTop Stories

Mahinda Rajapaksa swornin as Sri Lanka's new PM

COLOMBO: Leader of SriLanka Podujana Peramunaparty Mahinda Rajapaksa tookoath as the nation's new primeminister on Sunday (9 August)after his party se-cured a landslidevictory in the re-cently concludedp a r l i a m e n t a r yelection.

Rajapaksa tookoath during agrand ceremony atKelaniya Temple, aBuddhist templeon the outskirts of Sri Lanka'scapital Colombo in the pres-ence of the diplomatic commu-nity and legislators from theruling and opposition parties,

Xinhua news agency reported.Rajapaksa was sworn in as

the prime minister of the coun-try for the fourth time.

Rajapaksa's party won 145seats in the Au-gust 5 election,which was held toelect new legisla-tors in a 225-mem-ber parliament.

His new cabinetwill take oath laterthis week.

According tothe Elections Com-

mission, the parliamentaryelection held recently was oneof the most peaceful held in SriLankan history with a 71 percent voter turnout. IANS

Mahinda Rajapaksa

Indian-American student RandeepHothi sues Tesla CEO Elon Musk

NEW YORK: An Indian-Ameri-can student and Tesla criticRandeep Hothi has sued ElonMusk, claiming that the accusa-tion made by the Tesla CEOthat he "almost killed" his fac-tory employees is defamatory,the media reported.

A doctoral candidate inAsian languages and culturesat University of Michigan, Hothihas created @skabooshka Twit-ter account where he fact-checked Musk and Tesla's"published claims regardingthe electric vehiclemanufacturer's automation,technology and productionprocesses," reportswww.courthousenews.com.

According to Hothi's lawyer,his client started fact-checkingTesla via a Twitter account "as asocial experiment throughcrowd-sourcing informationrelated to his social sciencedoctorate work."

Beginning in 2018, Hothi,donning the role of a social ac-tivist, observed Tesla's produc-tion at its Fremont, California-based factory.

"He also documented con-struction of Tesla's Model 3 as-sembly line tent, sharing pho-

tos with his Twitter followers".Tesla also apparently inves-

tigated Hothi from their end.In 2019, Hothi saw a Tesla-

owned vehicle with roof-mounted cameras on the roadthat was recording audio,video and data.

"Hothi followed the vehicle,observed it, photographed it

and posted the photographsat Twitter. At no point did Hothieither drive recklessly or en-danger the safety of the occu-pants of the Tesla vehicle," thedefamation lawsuit read.

A few days later, Tesla filed a

civil restraining order againstHothi claiming he trespassed,stalked, harassed and endan-gered Tesla employees.

The harassment case againstHothi was dropped by Teslalater.But Musk apparently hadnot let the dispute go, accord-ing to the report.

In an exchange of emails

with Aaron Greenspan, theowner of the litigation publish-ing website PlainSite.org,Musk said: "As for the peopleyou mention below, they haveactively harassed, and in thecase of Hothi, almost killedTesla employees".

"What was a sideswipewhen Hothi hit one of ourpeople could easily have beena death with 6 inches of differ-ence," the email further said,which has been cited in Hothi'slawsuit.

"As one of the highest-pro-file and wealthiest individualsin the world, Musk knew orshould have known his accusa-tions concerning Hothi wouldbe conveyed to a worldwideaudience and would result inthe accusations receiving sig-nificant publicity," the lawsuitclaimed.

Tesla or Musk were yet tocomment on the lawsuit.

According to Hothi's bio onUniversity of Michigan'swebsite, he is interested inhow minority communities - -specifically diaspora Sikhs - -creatively respond to theworld around them. IANS

Elon Musk

India, Canada discuss ways to strengthencollaboration in science and tech

NEW DELHI: India andCanada discussed ways toramp up cooperation in sci-ence and technology bystrengthening existing inter-national connections, sharingbest practices, and initiatingnew collaborations betweengovernments and institutions,a statement said.

The statement follows aconference organized virtu-ally by the India-Canada Cen-tre for InnovativeMultidisciplinary Partnershipto Accelerate CommunityTransformation andSustainability (IC-IMPACTS) onAugust 6.

In the Round Table followingthe inauguration of the confer-

ence, detailed presentationswere made on bilateral activi-ties being pursued under theDepartment of Science & Tech-nology-Department of Biotech-nology (DBT)-IC-IMPACTS pro-gram, the statement said.

DST International Coopera-tion Adviser and Head SKVarshney highlighted joint re-search in emerging scienceswith potential for translating re-search into marketable applica-tions of social relevance, it said.

Highlighting the impor-tance of Indo-Canadian S&T co-operation, DST SecretaryAshutosh Sharma said it shouldbe explored as to how the co-operation can be taken to a dif-ferent level. PTI

8 India Post August 14, 2020www.indiapost.com

Tech News TechBizAmbassador Sandhu discusses trade, investment

cooperation with Pennsylvania GovernorWASHINGTON: Continuing

with his efforts to strengthenthe bilateral ties, the top Indiandiplomat in the US has dis-cussed trade and investmentcooperation with the Governorof Pennsylvania, the Americanstate with which India shares avibrant and a century-old rela-tionship.

The total trade between In-dia and Pennsylvania in 2019was USD 3.21 billion. Over 18Indian companies, with invest-ments of USD 540 million, aresupporting 3,000 jobs in Penn-sylvania.

India's Ambassador to theUS Taranjit Singh Sandhu dur-ing his virtual conference withPennsylvania Governor TomWolf recently, discussed theever-increasing trade and in-vestment complementaritiesin the India-US relationship andcooperation in the fields ofeducation and healthcare.

Wonderful conversation

with Governor Tom Wolf ofPennsylvania on our strongeconomic partnership & theimportant contributions of theIndian diaspora & Indian com-

panies. Discussed the potentialfor collaboration in higher edu-cation; STEM areas; life sciencesand health," Sandhu said in atweet.

Sandhu shared with Wolfthe latest developments in the

Indian healthcare and educa-tion sectors, including recentreform initiatives taken by In-dia, according to a readout ofthe call issued by the embassy

here.Both noted the important

contributions, especially ineconomy, of over 200,000members of the Indiandiaspora in Pennsylvania, in-cluding those of nearly 10,000

Indian students inPennsylvania's higher educa-tion institutions.

The ambassador high-lighted the new opportunitiesavailable for investments inIndia's higher education sectorunder the New EducationPolicy recently announced inIndia.

Indian entrepreneurs andprofessionals have a significantpresence in Pennsylvania inthe IT and telecommunica-tions, life sciences and manu-facturing sectors. Indian highskilled talent adds to the com-petitive edge of the USeconomy.

Many Pennsylvania-basedUS companies spread acrossfood processing, agriculture, IT,and Chemicals sectors arepresent in India. Some notableinvestments include Hershey's,Kraft Heinz, Unisys, Air Prod-ucts & Chemicals, FMC amongothers. PTI

India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu

PM launches financing facility worth Rs 1 lakh crore under Agri-Infra FundNEW DELHI: Prime Minister

Narendra Modi on Sunday (9August) launched a financingfacility of Rs 1 lakh crore un-der the Agriculture Infrastruc-ture Fund for agri-entrepre-neurs, startups, agri-techplayers and farmer groups forpost-harvest managementand nurturing farm assets.

Modi also released the sixthinstallment of Rs 17,100 croreto more than 8.55 crore farmerbeneficiaries under thePradhan Mantri Kisan SammanNidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.

The Prime Ministerlaunched the new AgricultureInfrastructure Fund through

videoconference. AgricultureMinister Narendra Singh Tomarand senior ministry officials werealso present on the occasion.

Last month, the Union Cabi-net had approved this fund aspart of the over Rs 20 lakh crore

stimulus package announcedin response to the COVID-19crisis, while PM-KISAN is an on-going scheme being imple-mented since 2018.

The new agri-infra fund, theduration of which will be 10

years till 2029, aims to pro-vide medium-to-long termdebt financing facility for in-vestment in viable projectsfor post-harvest manage-ment infrastructure andcommunity farming assetsthrough interest subventionand financial support.

Under this, about Rs 1 lakhcrore will be sanctioned un-der the financing facility inpartnership with multiplelending institutions as loans toprimary agri-credit societies,farmer groups, farmer pro-ducer organizations (FPOs),agri-entrepreneurs, startupsand agri-tech players. PTI

50% Indian workforcemay be AI ready innext 6-10 years

NEW DELHI: The organiza-tions that have deployed Arti-ficial Intelligence (AI) withskilling initiatives in India aregenerating most value fromthis new-age technology, andsenior executives predict thathalf of all employees will beequipped with AI skills in thenext 6-10 years, a newMicrosoft survey has stated.

In India, all AI-leading compa-nies said they are actively build-ing skills of their workers, orhave plans to do so, while over93 per cent of senior executivessurveyed from these companieswere sure their business wasgaining value from AI.

The research surveyed em-ployees and leaders withinlarge enterprises across indus-try verticals in India, and 19other countries, to look at theskills needed to thrive as AI be-comes increasingly adoptedby businesses, as well as thekey learning from early AIadopters. IANS

First ever optical fiberproject for Andamanand Nicobar

NEW DELHI: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has inaugu-rated the first ever underseaoptical fiber project forAndaman and Nicobar Islands,which will provide high-speedbroadband connections in theUnion Territory at par with ser-vices in the mainland.

On December 30, 2018, thePrime Minister had laid thefoundation for the 2,312-Kilo-meters long submarine opticalfiber cable project connectingChennai - Andaman andNicobar Islands (CANI).

"From Chennai to Port Blair,Port Blair to Little Andamanand Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep,this service has started in largepart of Andaman Nicobar fromtoday," Modi said after inaugu-rating the project.

The project has been imple-mented at a cost of Rs 1,224crore. PTI

Toshiba wraps up laptop business,sells remaining shares to Sharp

TOKYO: Japanese tech giant Toshiba, once well known for its

satellite range of laptops meant for heavy use, has finally decided

to quit the laptop business.

Toshiba has quietly sold its remaining 19.9 percent stake in its

Dynabook laptop brand to Sharp, officially exiting the laptop busi-

ness. The company earlier sold the 80.1 percent stake to Sharp in

2018. IANS

www.indiapost.comAugust 14, 2020

COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA

India Post

Desi News

9 Details on page 12

FIA Hosts Community Receptionto welcome New CG of India in NY

Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Ayodhyagetting a face lift

Chanting mantras in Honor of Lord RamRohit Joshi was one of the

11 priests who were assignedto chant Mantras, Shlokas &Chopais at RamMandir celebrationsheld here in USA Allother- 60/70 -priests also had par-ticipated at an eventthat was hosted byVisha Hindu Parishad(VHP) America.

There were in all86 Pundits, priestsAcharyas Shastrisand Religious headsfrom USA Canadaand Caribbean Island coun-tries who specifically came to

attend this event, which was apart offRam Mandir celebra-tions being held in India on Au-

gust 5 2020From VHP Side its presi-

dent Abhay Asthana, Secre-tary Sanjay Mehta,Tejal Shah,VallabhaTantreyaand KrishnaPandedy werethere to conductthe proceedingsNirav K Patel Presi-dent of VHP Chi-cago Chapter saidthat it was a virtualmeet but it was agrand success as alarge number of

viewers watched that besidesactive participation.

Group of Priests and others atVHP hosted event

India Post News Service

CHICAGO: The foundationstone for the construction of agrand Temple at the birthplaceof Bhagwan Shri Raminterestinglywas laid in 1989but the Templeconstructionwas delayed in the wake ofhurdles created by various gov-ernments, the manipulations bypolitical forces and the long de-lays in the Courts of law.

It is after about 31 years thatthe construction of the Templecommenced in the presence ofIndian Prime Minister on Au-gust 5, 2020 with the hopethat in three years, thedevotees would beable to worshipShri Ramlala inthe sanctumsanctorum of thegrand Temple.Dr Bharat Baraiwas among the

firsts Indian Americans in thecountry who had paid visit toRam Mandir in Ayodhya Heis afront ranking community activ-ist in Chicagoland probablywould be among the firstbatch of Indian Americans hav-ing Darshan of Lord Ram at theMandir at Ram Janmabnoomiin Ayodhya He was there inJuly 1992, 28 years ago andwas ushered in the mainGarbhdwarHe had the plea-sure and privilege to worship

Dr Bharat Barai at Ayodhya Ram Mandir in 1992

Ram Lala Fondly rememberingthis event, he shared the livepictures with India Post whichare reproduced here.

The formal construction ofthe temple had many inviteesand the list was quite impres-sive but Chicagoans and IndianAmericans felt sore and a bitupset finding that the list didnot include a revered saintfrom India with huge interna-tional followings- he is SriSriRavi Shanker. Sri Sri was abig factor in resolving the RamMandir controversy but still ata personal level he is immuneto this type of inadvertentslight.

Our inquires with different

sources only revealed that eachis trying to shift the blame onothers and finally it is PM officein New Delhi. It would not beasking too much if this group ofIndian Americans would like to

have an in-depth investigationin to this affair as Sri Sri hasmade a deep impact on the lifeof many worldwide and a no in-vitation to him smacks of big-otry and narrow minded poli-tics which; need rooted out.

Meanwhile this massive ef-fort in construing temple neednot confine itself to build onemore Temple but should betermed as a campaign for theestablishment of 'Ramatva' inthe whole world - for RamRajya, believe community lead-ers across the country This canbe achieved only by active andpositive help from all sectionsof the Society, and not by thegovernment efforts alone.

For detailed story visitwww.indiapost.com

Amid Pandemic,the woes faced byimmigrantsVIDYA SETHURAMANIndia Post News Service

Immigrants, who make up asignificant portion of thenation's essential workers,

have nonetheless been tar-geted during the pandemic.The EMS briefing on August 7explored the huge number ofchanges to immigration policyin recent months, with deepdives into DACA, TemporaryProtected Status, and businessimmigration.

Sarah Pierce, policy analyst atthe Migration Policy Institutedived into a new report releasedby the organization July 31, de-tailing 400 changes in immigra-tion policy during the Trump ad-ministration. Pierce focused onchanges occurring amid thepandemic. She said the CDC or-der and the two proclamations,which were passed in April andJune, were the most imperativesones. April's proclamation sus-pended entry into the U.S. forimmigrants who were outsidethe U.S. or did not have a validvisa as of the proclamation's ef-fective date of April 24. A similarproclamation was issued June22 that barred entry into the U.S.of foreign nationals who did nothave a valid visa in certain spe-cific guest worker categorieslike the H-1B and L-1.

Details on page 14

August 14, 2020India Post10 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Swacch DevalayaObjective & vision


Nate Natesan had a vision & em-barked on a mission to raise ourconsciousness to civic sense

and he pursued the journey, which iscalled SwacchDevalaya or cleantemples

It was in late 2006 at the Sunday Bal-Vihar classes where he was struck bythe mess of sandals thrown on floorcarelessly. Without a thought he started

arranging sandals neatly on the floor.Natesan continued arranging foot-

wear at various sathsangh and templesThus SwacchDevalaya was launched andthe name coined from Swacch Bharat in2014.

Arranging the sandals by with hisown hands for over eight years has en-abled him to stand tall at temples andmanage a large throng of devotees andensure devotees keep footwear neatlyin rack or numbered bags.

Natesan worked at many temples inAtlanta. He uses social media to pro-mote awareness to nonresident Indiansall over USA as well. He attends variousevents in Atlanta to network and pro-mote awareness. Natesan has earnedaccolades from the Indian communityin Atlanta and from many organizationsin USA like the Vishwa Hindu ParishadAmerica (VHPA). VHPA considers Swaccheffort worthy of emulation and has pub-lished swacch article in their websiteand are planning to communicate withall temples in USA.

The status and action taken so far areenumerated inwww.Swacchdevalaya.org/successstory

The photos in the gallery section ofthe website tell the whole story.

Why is it necessary to address this is-sue? Civic sense is pretty much a way oflife in the western culture. Non-residentIndians are ambassadors of Indian heri-

tage and culture. It is to a large extentlack of civic sense that creates filth inIndia, resulting in diseases that invari-ably affect the poor people. Whenpeople do not have basic civic sensewe cannot expect the politicians andleaders to serve the people with higherstandard of integrity.

Yoga is a physical, mental and spiri-tual practice that originated in India.The great sage Patanjali, considered an

authority on yogic sutra,prescribed eight foldsteps to finding peace.The first two being yama(abstinences), niyama(observances) for self-discipline. An interna-tional day for yoga wasdeclared unanimouslyby the United NationsGeneral Assembly and iscelebrated annually on21 June since its incep-

tion in 2015. Thus we teach yoga to theworld but seem not to observe basiccivic sense while many other culturesdo

While there are organizations &temples that practice discipline, someunder supervision and some based onthe culture of the organization, what isneeded is an organic change in our ap-proach to civic sense in public places.

The western society is good in this re-spect and the Japanese culture is oneof the best. The Japanese concept of 5S(sort, straighten, shine, standardize andsustain) is widely practiced in multina-tionals corporations around the worldto improve safety and efficiency in op-eration. Most of us do practice cleanli-ness & orderliness at our homes but failto do so in public particularly in Indiancongregations & places of worship.

We revere the values of Sanatana

Dharma, the heritage of our gloriousculture and the fact that we all can as-sociate our roots to many saints & rishis,Vedas, vedanta,upanishads, puranas,Bhagavdamand epics like Ramayana &Mahabharata. We have no dearth ofspiritual leaders who have led an exem-plary life to inspire ourselves to higherstandards. We should revive the inher-ent greatness in the Indian community.People look for cleanliness & order inIndian gatherings & we deserve better.People look to community leaders forsolutions. Together we can achieve it,just like drops of water becoming anocean. We can create a tsunami ofawareness. Most NRI knows aboutSwacch Bharat. Natesan wants the sameawareness in every NRI all over theworld for SwacchDevalaya, the first andeasy step towards civic sense con-sciousness.

About Parasuram "Nate" Natesan, At-lanta, Georgia

Email: [email protected] # (678) 372-8581

About NatesanNate Natesan is one-man army of

swacchaDevalaya or clean temples.Nate born and raised in Mumbai,

India immigrated to USA in 1982. Af-ter graduating with MBA in Manage-ment with finance as major, Nateworked in several multinationalcompanies working as senior busi-ness analyst and controller in manu-

facturing industries.Nate retired in March 2019 and is

devoting more time to follow his visionof SwacchDevalaya andSwacchManasalaya.

In 2006 Nate started arranging foot-wear carelessly thrown at Bal-Vihar&other sathsangs held in public places.His vision is to raise our consciousnessto civic sense. He has retired from workand is pursuing his dreams, which isSwacchDevalaya & SwacchManasalaya

Nate Natesan

Ashfaq Syed

Ashfaq Syed onNaperville PublicLibrary Board ofTrusteesSURESH BODIWALA

Chicago Mayor Steve Chirico andthe Naperville City Councilhavecleared the appointment ofAshfaq Syed to the Naperville PublicLibrary Board of Trustees for a 3-yearterm from August 4, 2020 throughMay 30 2023.

Ashfaq Syed has his considerableinvolvement in many non-profit or-ganizations that includes local aswell as institutions in India and theUnited Arab Emirates. Some of hisefforts were directly responsible forcreating jobs for hundreds of young

people.A s h f a q

c o n t i n u e shis commu-nity work inN a p e r v i l l eand the Chi-cago areawith thesame zealand dedica-tion. He

hasbeen active civic in engagementand has hosted events for the Lieu-tenant Governor, Members of Con-gress, Senators, Mayors, Judges andother elected officials on behalf ofsocial, political, and other non-profitorganizations in Chicagoland.

He has successfully contributedto Naperville's 2020 Census effortsby planning and organizing VirtualPanel Discussions, producing andposting Census 2020 videos featur-ing Naperville community leadersand elected officials. He is an activemember of the Islamic Center ofNaperville (ICN) and was the Vice-Chair of its Political EngagementCommittee.

Ashfaq Syed thanked MayorSteve Chirico and the City Councilfor appointing him as a member ofthe Naperville Public Library Boardof Trustees and for affirming theirconfidence in his competence andcommitment.

"It is a prestigious assignmentand it would be my honor to put mybest effort to serve the Napervillecommunity and measure up to theexpectations of Mayor Chirico andthe City Council", he assured.

Historic ram pooja to honor and welcome "Sri Ram Rajya"…SUNDER SUCHARITA

A section of attendees. Pic courtesy S Bodiwala & Darshan Patel Ram Pooja at MAFS in progress

CHICAGO: Commemorating themuch awaited, laying of the foundationstone ceremony of Ram Temple inAyodhya by Prime Minister of India,Narendra Modi on Wednesday August5th, 2020, Universal Metro Asian Ser-vices (UMAS) and Metropolitan AsianFamily Services (MAFS) celebrated theoccasion at a grand scale in its locationin Chicago also on Wednesday.

The ceremony was performed CEOSmt. Santosh Kumar, an ardent worship-per of Lord Ram along with, PrashantKumar (Director of IT - UMAS/MAFS) andSagar Kumar (CFO -UMAS/MAFS). Man-agers Members of Key staff werepresent adhering to the restrictions ofCOVID-19.

the Priest performed therituals. Everyone chantedLord Ram's name loudly asthey took the Kalash yatraaround the office premises.Smt KumardistributedLaddu's and nu-merous other sweets honor-ing the Pooja to all the se-niors and staff.

After the Pooja,SmtKumar addressed the gath-ering with her captivating

speech. She spoke the importance ofSecularism. She defined secularismclearly to everyone present to respectall faith and at the same time have free-dom to worship its own. Following this

SmtKumar hoped for a new beginningfor the prosperity, peace and harmonyamong all in the world.

A hearty and tasty lunch was servedwhich was made fresh in the premises byDahyabhai Patel and his team! DarshanPatel, our staff videographer, caughtbeautiful glimpses of the ceremony.

The entire facility was grandly deco-rated especially Shri Ram, Mata Sita andSri Hanuman deities with flowers andnumerous lights by Ms. Pankaj Patel andteam. Pooja commenced at 11:30 am as

Group of ladies carrying ceremonial Kumbhas

India Day celebration though mute has underlying vibrancyTARANJIT SINGH SANDHUIndian Ambassador to USA

August is a special month for India celebrating its Independence Day on August 15 mark-

ing 73 years of freedom from Britishcolonial rule. Much like July 4th in theUnited States, August 15th for us is amoment of celebration, reflectionand introspection

As we are confronted with a pan-demic of unprecedented scale, ourcelebrations this year will suitably re-spect the necessary health protocols-social distancing and limited gather-ings-both in India and abroad.

The last few months have been achallenging period for India, with our1.3 billion people, bustling cities andfar-flung villages. Yet so far, in combat-ing the pandemic, we have held theline. And we have used the crisis as anopportunity for change. The absolutenumber of COVID-19 cases in India isover 1.8 million, but the recovery rate

is also significant: over 65 percent. Thecase fatality rate (CFR) has dropped to2.13 percent, well below the global CFR.

Even as we con-tinue to save livesand deal with eco-nomic conse-quences, we are en-couraged by the factthat two out of everythree Indians in-fected with thenovel coronavirushave already recov-ered, and many moreare well on their wayback to health.

There could bemany reasons forthis-biological, im-munological and so-cial. Even so, it is ob-vious that the earlyand decisive steps in the initial stagesof the pandemic, along with the per-

suasive appeals and urgings of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, led our citi-zens to embrace discipline of

lockdowns, socialdistancing, self-iso-lating and followingrelevant medical andhealth protocols. Wehave continuouslyraised the bar ontesting, and todaymore than half a mil-lion tests are beingcarried out each dayin India.

The world's larg-est health insurancescheme, AyushmanBharat, covers 500million citizens, andwith the aid of overone million healthw o r k e r s - m o s t l y

women-spread across the country, it hasfollowed a rigorous program of contain-

ment and contact tracing. India's fed-eral polity has empowered stategovernments to take the lead inthese strategies, providing the flex-ibility for a phased opening up of thecountry, whether in Kerala orMaharashtra, Uttar Pradesh or Assam.At its core, India's countrywideCOVID-19 response has seen awhole-of-society approach, followedthe science, and invoked both com-mon sense and the common good.

Even as we have sought to protectthe health of our citizens, we have en-deavored to ensure that it did notcome at the cost of their economicwell-being. The government hasmoved quickly to ensure food security,with $20 billion worth of food grainsprovided to 800 million individuals and$7 billion transferred to families.

The views expressed in this articleare the writer's own.

US President Trump and Prime MinisterModi in New Delhi


India Post 11August 14, 2020 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com


FIA Hosts Community Reception towelcome New CG of India in NY


The Federation of Indian As-sociation of NY, NJ, CT (FIA

Tristate) hosted a welcome re-ception on Aug. 7, 2020 forRandhir Kumar Jaiswal, the

newly-appointed Consul Gen-eral of India in New York, at theRoyal Albert's Palace in Fords,New Jersey.

It was an intimate affair dueto New Jersey state and localrestrictions and regulations ongatherings.

Guests were checked in byFIA volunteers, led by SmitaMiki Patel, after which theirtemperature was checked,prior to entering the receptionvenue. Each guest was handeda complementary face cover-

ing as well.FIA leadership, prominent

members of the Indian Ameri-can community and membersof the press attended theevent. Guests networked andmingled with each other, ob-serving social distancingguidelines.

Andy Bhatia, member of theFIA Board of Trustees, com-

pared the evening. FIA leadersincluding President Anil Bansal,Chairman Ankur Vaidya, senioradvisors Padmashri Dr. SudhirS. Parikh and Padmashri Dr. H.R. Shah, among others, wel-

comed Consul General Jaiswaland Deputy Consul GeneralShatrughan Sinha.

Dr. V. K. Raju, founder andpresident of the Eye Founda-tion of America, spoke elo-quently about the importanceof vision and the role his orga-nization plays in restoring vi-sion for the underprivilegedcommunity in India and aroundthe world.

Mahesh Bhagia, chairman ofthe Edison Democratic Party,delivered a Proclamation from

the State Assembly to ConsulGeneral Jaiswal.

Dipak Patel, FIA Board ofTrustees, introduced the Con-sul General. Prior to being ap-pointed the Consul General ofIndia in New York, Jaiswal wasthe Joint Secretary cum SocialSecretary to the President ofIndia Ramnath Kovind. A 1998Indian Foreign Service officer,

Jaiswal headed the foreign af-fairs office of the RashtrapatiBhavan and advised the Presi-dent on India's foreign policy.Prior to that he served as theConsul General of India inJohannesburg in South Africa.

In his address, Consul Gen-eral Jaiswal thanked the FIA fora warm welcome, and acknowl-edged the contributions madeby the community in variousfields. "The Indian story all overthe world is very engrossing,very deep," he said. "It is astory that carries a message ofpeace and harmony." ConsulGeneral Jaiswal lauded the FIAfor putting a stamp on NewYork City with its flagship IndiaDay Parade "which has be-come iconic, not just in NewYork and in this country, but allover the world."

Consul General Jaiswalnoted that the Indian Americanstory is that of "peace andprogress," as well as a story of"sharing and caring for others."And that, he said, is what de-fines the community and hasalso become its identity. Heurged the community to keepplaying a pivotal role in"strengthening the friendshipbetween the U.S. and India,which is going to be a definingpathway of the century." Hesaid he is looking forward tothe time when the IndianAmerican community "willhave a stronger imprint of ourstrength, of our hard work, ofour identity, culture, color, andvibrancy, in this country andeverywhere else.

He said he seemed thecommunity's support andwishes, as he "carries out hisresponsibilities as a represen-tative of the Government of In-dia." The Consulate will "havean engaging relationship withthe FIA," he said, and addedthat during this time of thepandemic "we have to see howto hold each other's hands andsee how best we can help eachother."


MAFS new building on Devon Ave. namedShri Narendra Modi Senior Center

RAMESH SOPARAWLAIndia Post News Service

CHICAGO: MetropolitanAsian Family Services (MAFS)one of the oldest and most ad-hered to service for seniors inChicagoland has announcednaming its newly set up facilitybuilding on Devon AvenueasShri Narendra Modi SeniorCenter

This is in recognition of In-

dian Prime Minister's uniqueplace among world leadersand he inimitable role in fight-ing global pandemic Coronavirus in India MAFS announce-ment mentions that " in themidstof global pandemic,India's Prime Minister stood tallas a global leader, a beacon ofhope and a torchbearer of re-sources who spread his wingsto not only protect the 130-crore people of India but alsoseveral other nations in theworld."

Continuing itsays, "Prime Minister Modi,you have acceptedthe challenge to soarabove the world andto overcome barriersto success that wouldhave caused othersto falter and fail. Youhave been decisivewhere others have hesitated.You are recognized as a GlobalIcon for your tireless efforts.Truly, you are an inspiration.Like a symbolic Eagle! To com-memorate our Global IconModiji, We are honored to an-nounce that MAFS'15th SeniorCenter being built on DevonAvenue- the heartland of the

Indian American Community inChicago is being named ShriNarendra Modi Senior Centerfor Excellence."

"This 20,000 square footbuilding will house the state-of-art Senior Center in thisdigital age. We are invitingIndia's Honorable Prime Minis-ter Modi Ji and our PresidentDonald Trump of United Statesto participate in the dedication

ceremonies in September /Oc-tober 2020".

The announcement was dur-ing a virtual fund raiser eventorganized by MAFS on July 31that was attended among oth-ers by the Telangana GovernorDr MrsTamilisaiSoundararajanand US Congressman Dany KDavis. MAFS Executive DirectorSmt Santosh Kumar urged theGovernor "we request you tokindly facilitate Prime Minis-ter Modi's participation atthis event, according to his

convenience. Madam Gover-nor, we are not content torest on our past laurels buttogether we have resolved tokeeping marching forward,"she said, assuring that thegood work that is being doneby her organization will con-tinue with vigor in comingdays.

This is in recognition of Indian

Prime Minister's unique place

among world leaders and the

inimitable role in fighting global

pandemic Corona virus in India

Exterior of the proposed PM Center on Devon Ave being set up by MAFS

Hindi Club of Illinois Hosting 10th Year Anniversary Hindi Divas 2020SURENDRA ULLAL

CHICAGO: It has been tenyears in the making. And beinga pioneer in promoting Hindi inthe USA since 2010, Hindi Clubof Illinois (HCI) has seen itsshare of trials and tribulations.Now as we all cope with thecurrent COVID-19 it takes peal

sure still in announces its 10thyear anniversary Hindi Divascelebration.

This two-day festivity called'Do-divas-Hindi-mahostav'event will take place on Satur-day, September 12 and Sunday,September 13 online. It will

also be carried live onFacebook.

HCI happy to acknowledgethat this event has full supportof the Consulate General of In-dia, Chicago and will have. AmitKumar, the Consul General asits Chief Guest. Guests of

tration, rules andeligibility. Top threeplaces in each cat-egory will beawarded gift certifi-cate and all partici-pants will receivecertificate of par-ticipation. Pleasesend your shortvideo clips to ouremail addressh i n d i c l u b e v e n t [email protected] by Au-gust 31.

Highlights ofSeptember 13event include aroundtable discus-sion among chosenglobal Hindi schol-ars followed by a

virtual KavayaGoshti with highcaliber Hindi poets from Indiaand the US. There will also beshort plays and assortment ofregional dances of India dur-ing these festivities.

HCI is a not for profit501(c)(3) social club. Its mis-sion is to promote Hindi lan-guage and related culture inthe USA. For any questions orfurther information pleasecontact us [email protected] call Founder/President,Gurbachan Kaur at (847) 962-8595 or Secretary, Vijay Chopraat 708 704 7935.

Honor will include NarendraChanchal, renown Bollywoodand Devotional singer; AalokShrivastava, famed Poet, Lyri-cist and TV journalist and AshokLav, a well known Hindi authorand President of Sarv BhashaTrust, New Delhi.

The September 12 eventwill have competitive catego-ries for kids and adults in Elo-cution, Songs, Dances, Dressto Impress and Poetry. We areinviting participants from theUSA and Canada to showcasetheir skills in these categories.Please visit HCI websitewww.hindiclub.org for regis-

Founder President Gurbachan Shewakramani

India Post 13August 14, 2020 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com


Amid Pandemic, the woes faced by immigrantsVIDYA SETHURAMANIndia Post News Service

Immigrants, who make up asignificant portion of thenation's essential workers,

have nonetheless been tar-geted during the pandemic.The EMS briefing on August 7explored the huge number ofchanges to immigration policyin recent months, with deepdives into DACA, TemporaryProtected Status, and business

immigration.Sarah Pierce, policy analyst

at the Migration Policy Insti-tute dived into a new reportreleased by the organizationJuly 31, detailing 400 changesin immigration policy duringthe Trump administration.Pierce focused on changes oc-curring amid the pandemic. Shesaid the CDC order and the twoproclamations, which werepassed in April and June, were

the most imperatives ones.April's proclamation suspendedentry into the U.S. for immi-grants who were outside theU.S. or did not have a valid visaas of the proclamation's effec-tive date of April 24. A similarproclamation was issued June22 that barred entry into the U.S.of foreign nationals who did nothave a valid visa in certain spe-cific guest worker categorieslike the H-1B and L-1.

Sarah said the possibility of anew administration could stillfall short in reversing these poli-cies without effective resourcesor the political will to do so. Thepresident has been successfulcertainly in sealing off the south-ern border from arrivals," Piercesaid. The report found the ad-ministration has successfully lim-ited U.S. immigration through:travel bans; reduced visa pro-cessing; enhanced border secu-rity; interior enforcement;tougher immigration courts

rules and regulations; and re-peated efforts to stop programslike Deferred Action for Child-hood Arrivals.

Kalpana Peddibhotla, Immi-gration attorney, partner atMathews Peddibhotla LawGroup spoke on recent changesin business immigration policy,including bans on new H-1B, andL-1 workers entering the U.S.,and a new executive order an-nounced by the Administration

Aug. She gave the context inwhich the proclamations rose inthe recent past. President tookoffice on a claim that he is goingto stop the undocumentedpopulation. Shortly after takingoffice, he started attacking thelegal immigrants with the "BuyAmerican, Hire American" policy.President Trump temporarilysuspended new work visas andbarred hundreds of thousandsof foreigners from seeking em-ployment in the United States,part of a broad effort to limit the

entry of immigrants into thecountry. Officials said the ban onworker visas, combined with ex-tending restrictions on the issu-ance of new green cards, wouldkeep as many as 525,000 foreignworkers out of the country forthe rest of the year, but I am yetto see those numbers, saidKalpana. Various studies haveshown immigrants don't hurtour economy and only contrib-ute to its growth. Entrepreneur-ship is truly one of our country'smost diverse undertakings. Un-told numbers of immigrantshave arrived with nothing andbrought themselves and theirfamilies out of poverty by thebusinesses they started. This isstill true today, said Kalpana.

Ignacia Rodriguez, immigra-tion policy advocate at the Na-tional Immigration Law Centerspoke on recent changes to theDeferred Action for ChildhoodArrivals program. On July 28,2020, the U.S. Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) in-structed U.S. Citizenship and Im-migration Services (USCIS) to re-ject all initial DACA applications,reject advance parole applica-tions from DACA recipients ex-cept in exceptional circum-stances, and shorten the DACArenewal and work authorizationperiod from two years to oneyear. This has added to the un-certainty immigrant youth hasexperienced in the recent past.We recommend that individualsconsidering renewing theirDACA consult an attorney or ac-credited representative, whocan identify any red flags thatmight put the applicant at risk ofbeing denied DACA or even de-ported and whether they are eli-gible for another more perma-nent form of immigration relief. Itis especially important to consultwith an attorney if individualshave prior removal orders, pastcontact with law enforcement,pending immigration courtcases, or plans to travel on ad-vance parole, said Ignacy.

Economic recovery will re-quire the creation of new jobs,the ability to fill open positionsand industry-wide innovation. Todo this, we must attract and re-tain a talented workforce.

April's proclamation suspended entry into the

U.S. for immigrants who were outside the U.S. or

did not have a valid visa as of the proclamation's

effective date of April 24

AUGUST 14, 2020 15

INDIA DAYCELEBRATIONSMUTED BYCORONA VIRUSSURENDRA ULLAL & RAMESH SOPARAWALA

India Day celebrations not only in India but also across the world will begreatlymuted thisyear and the culprit is no one else but unwanted

guest- Corona virus. The frantic searchfor vaccine is still on and it is anybody'sguess when it will be found. Till the ef-fective cue or vaccine is easily availablethe community the world over has tostay put with the problem and face itsimpact.

The globaleconomy is down and In-dia is not an exception. The contractionin general is any where from 20 to 40per cent. It is in this context that wehave put a question to our prominentcommunity activists and thinkers whatin their option needs to be down tothwart the negative economies impacton Indian economy.

The consensus is that the govern-ment could do a lot to inject confidenceamong business houses and entrepre-neurs to produce many items locally andmake India self sufficient and self reliant,reducing dependence on foreign prod-ucts.

Cont’d on page 16

AUGUST 14, 2020INDIA POST

16www.indiapost.com

Suggestion is also to boostinvestment in sustainable in-frastructure for long term ben-efits and importantly, ensurelow or interest free loans tosmall and medium industriestohelp the survivein difficult times

Here below wereproduce theirviews in some de-tails:

DR BHARATBARAI, an oncolo-gist and front rank-ing community lead-ers in Indiana andChicagoland, said

India Day Celebrations Muted By Corona Virusthat this is a medical problemand its real solution will comewhen we have effective vaccine,or herd immunity develops.

People are scared to do outdoor activities, travel, mass en-tertainment till Covid19 situa-tion is addressed. (1) The vac-

cine is 3-5 monthsaway and beforenext summer, theCovid19 should beover. Depending onhow long the immu-nity lasts, peoplemay need repeatedvaccination.

(2) Once 50-60%population gets in-fected and de-

velop antibodies, herd immu-nity develops and pandemicpretty much becomes manage-able situation. Some areas likeDharavi have achieved thatlevel (57.8% sampled peoplealready have antibody toCoronavirus. The mortality ofCOVID19 is approx. 2-3% andcoming down. 97% get well.

Meanwhile, Govt has to sup-port economy by providingsurvivable benefits to the poorand vulnerable population,enough for food and very mod-est living.

Govt should take care ofHealth care expenses relatedto Coronavirus. Like UK, the af-fected industries can be sup-

ported by wage replacementat 80% of usual salary, up to alimit, like UK has done. PPP inUSA was for 2 months only. Isupport move by California totax Billionaires, who have mademoney by stock options.

DR KIRAN C. PATEL an In-dian-American cardiologist,community activist, philanthro-pist, and businessman. Ob-served that allchallenges andproblems need tobe viewed as anopportunity forp r o g r e s sandadvancementrather than stum-bling blocks hin-dering progress.

The Coronapandemic is a world wide phe-nomenon and it's not only Indiabut the big wigs among indus-trial nations are also and wouldbe beset with the problemsgenerated by the spread ofthis virus, The economic activ-

ity is down and it will be downtill the pandemic comes to itsend- sooner the better - butwhen it is anybody's guess,

I do fear a slump but as men-tioned earlier this should openthe door for self-reliance andeconomic independence. Itshould be viewed by the gov-ernment to shake of its depen-dence on industrial items or es-

sential ingredi-ents for finishedproducts im-ported fromabroad and nothere. The immedi-ate picture flash-ing in my mind isthat of Chinaflooding the In-dian markets with

many of its semi-manufacturedproducts used as essential in-gredients or raw materials byhost of big and small industriesherein order toturn out theirfinished items.

Cont’d from page 15

Cont’d on page 20

Dr Bharat Barai

Dr Kiran C. Patel


17www.indiapost.com


18www.indiapost.com


19www.indiapost.com


20www.indiapost.com

The import from China runs into Billions of dollarsand a full stop to these imports will not only spur thedomestic industries to produce them but will lead tohuge savings of foreign exchange as well It should alsocreate jobs for many here Besides, self reliance is verycritical in times of war like situations

I have cited China as an example but the importscould be from many parts of the world. \Generallyspeaking, the Indian business captains need to haveself introspection and seize this opportunity to widentheir horizons and try their hands in manufacturing im-port substitutes The government of India would re-ally do well to create a favorable industrial climate toencourage business houses and entrepreneurs forpromoting industrial activi-ties by fiscal and non fiscalmeasures and view this asan opportunity to progressrather than a setback to in-dustrial or business struc-ture

SUNIL SHAH, founderpresident the Federation ofIndian Associations Chi-cago, said that the Coronatriggered crisis is a worldwide phenomenon and ob-viously India is not immune rom its destructive andnegative impacts. For a country like India the relativeimpact could be much more in the light of the factthat we have huge middle class and many are onborderlinepoverty levels.

The impact could have been much worse than whatis felt now and it is largely because India isblessed byleader like Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs whotook many effective steps like lockdown, enforcingdiscipline and social distancing. He really took care ofmillions of people by proving stimulus money runningin to 22 lakh crores and this has helped many a middleclass and low income groups of people

What the government could do to get over this cri-sis is a big question but in myopinion it would be ad-vantageous in short and long term ifit boosts invest-ment in infer structure development. This will gener-ate lot of employment besides strengthening theeconomy. It could initiate steps to give a boost tosmall and medium scale industries to fiscal and nonfiscal incentives by cutting red tape Good thing is thatit has removed bottlenecks through land reformsSteps could also be initiated for proving clean waters,

cutting down air pollutionand offering medical help

Most important is to spurIndian scientists and re-search workers to find a vi-able cure for the virus andget the people in the coun-try as well as the world overto overcome this problem.

DR DAYAL MESHRI, thefounder, president and CEOof Advance Research

India Day Celebrations Muted By Corona VirusCont’d from page 16 Chemicals (ARC), Tulsa OK said that the Indian eco-

nomic slumps as feared in the wake of huge setbackin all areas of human actively would be difficult to ad-dress in isolation as the global interdependencewould render all actions of the government render-ing some what fruitless.

Besides, it has to be seen how long the Corona af-ter effect stays and torments the world. It is also im-portant to note the world will not be the same post-Corona as it was in pre-Corona days. The inroad of Digi-tal phase and virtual meets and functioning may con-tinue to be there and it has to be seen in which waythis will have shape or mold the thinking of the com-munity at large, the economic barons or the govern-ment officials

I do feel that the government should be preparedto face all possible eventualities and my suggestionwould be, take all possible steps in advance to encour-age entrepreneurs and the industry captains in theirefforts to revive not only their individual industries orempire but look around for greenerpastureselsewhere to help boost the economic revival

An important ingredient is the workforce. Therecould have been migration from the cities and thoseworkers have to get back to their original slots. DrMeshri felt that the present government headed byPM Modi would prove equal to the task but it also upthe people of India and those manning the Stare-re-gional level centers of power to rise to the occasionand help the Modigovernment to discharge its dutieswithout hindrances Those politicians who are aftershot term political gains need to keep their mouthshut at least for the time being and have positive ap-proach for the sake of the Indian people.

MAFAT PATEL, a leading businessman and commu-nity leader often described as the uncrowned king ofDevon Avenue, said that there is no easy cure for this

illness since it has caughteverybody by surprise andessentially has become amedical problem with lot ofsocial and economical sideeffects.

For India,I could say thatthe government should cutdependence on importsbut at the same time ini-tiate measures to boost ex-ports. My information isthat there are unwanted

curbs on exports and this has impacted imports hereand other countries depending on supplies from In-dia. Increased exports mean the country could notonly get more foreign exchange but also generatemore employment

The situation now is that Corona has in a way forcedmigrant labor to go back to their villages impactingadversely impacted the production of many an itemand in a way exports too. Besides, the governmentDoles in shape of unemployment benefits etc. too hasinduced lethargy among able-bodiedworkers whoget money for no productive work. This needs to beprobed and get the loopholes plugged

I have faith in Indian government and Indian people

and I am reasonably sure that they will overcome thisshort term crisis and comeout of it without much adoor harm

MRS SANTOSH KUMAR,Founder and Executive Di-rector of MetropolitanAsian Family Services(MAFS) also known asMother Teresa of Chicagoobserved that the Indiangovernment headed byPrime Minister, ShriNarendra Modi is among

the first leaders in the world to handle the COVID 19Pandemic commendably from the beginning of thisoutbreak and has rightfully earned the praise and ad-miration globally.

Shri Narendra Modi ji's Mantra "USE MADE IN INDIAPRODUCTS" became more relevant now. India shouldfollow this Mantra so it can be self-reliant cuttingdown import of products from China and other placesto the minimum. This will create more jobs for thepeople in India, which will boost the Indian economyconsiderably by curtailing precious foreign exchange.

The government has encouraged entrepreneurs toconcentrate on increasing production to be self-suffi-cient. Mrs. Kumar appeal to the Indian public andpeople that it would to start using "Made in IndiaGoods" and refrain from depending on importedthings. This would be one of the initial and promisingsteps to build the economy gradually.

ANIL SHAH, PresidentWorld Money Exchange anda community activist, said itis very hard to form any de-finitive view on Corona orits after effected and themeasures to counter thoseeffects. This is touch in asmuch as one could not saywith a degree of confi-dence when this nightmarewill end and what impact itcan have on social or eco-nomic life when it ends.

Still what India or other countries should do stemeconomic crisis due to corona virus would largely de-pend on the government response The Governmentsshould give a break in taxes and offer no interest loanto small and medium size business to recover fromsetbacks forwhich they are not responsible. The losesare unpredictable and unaccountable, and it wouldtakes years to balance the two sides.

Media is making things reallyworse by constantbombarding over Corona related news and brainwashing the minds of people with negative coverageofthe situation. Isthere usually no other news than onlyCorona virus? Many question.

DR ANUJA GUPTA, a cardiologist now setting uphomes for Seniors- Veranda, said that in her opinionthe economy could be revived by the right interven-tion in jobs & taxes.

Sunil Shah

Dr Dayal Meshri

Dr Dayal Meshri

Mrs Santosh Kumar

Anil Shah

Cont’d on page 21


21www.indiapost.com

The top most priorityconcerns creation of jobs.The government needs tooffer incentives to business-owners getting morepeople employed by re-ducing business taxes. Theunemployment benefitscrutch needs to be phasedout. So much of the eco-nomic relief from the gov-ernment so far has ended up in the stock market.

The next wave of economic relief needs to be targetedto job creation thru tax incentives to business owners. Itis sad to see America loose its #1 super-power statusbefore our very eyes. I fear ours is the last generationthat got to witness the greatness of America.

B Dhake, President Industries in Michigan said thatone of the sure shots to arrest the feared slump in eco-nomic activity in India is toe be among the first nationsto develop Corona Virus vaccine

The Indian government could exert its best inducingand cajoling its pool of scientists to develop the vaccineand offer it to the world. Till the vaccine is developedand used commercially, the problem of Corona will notgo and it will continue hanging on as Damocles swordthwarting economic recovery or progress, To me this isthe right course and probably the only course in thepresent circumstances. Without Vaccine, any steps forrecovery will be moonshine.

THAKAR BASATI a Sikhcommunity leader and activ-ist

Corona definitely affectedall of us. Isolation becamebiggest issue. India has greatpotential in every field. It ismatter of putting your besteffort. So many Indians wantto leaver India and settleabroad. India needs to ana-lyze and stop brain drain. Al-most everyone becomes suc-

cessful after leaving India, same person different oppor-tunity. One big detriment is corruption; deserving candi-date should get opportunity not person with connec-tions or bribery. Manual labor is so cheap, so small scaleindustry should be created at a mass scale. Farmer pro-duces crops, it ends up with agents, and by the time itgoes back with consumer the price is tripled. Govern-ment or organizations can step in and bring in smallshops or cooperative shops. Issue again is corruption.They have system that exists but it is mutilated. Theyneed to bring in self-pride.

Religious exploitation needs to stop. Governmentneeds to stay neutral instead of provoking turbulencejust for winning votes. For freedom from British, wholeIndia fought together, why religious fights now? People,homes, government properties are burnt and no one isheld responsible. You destroy, you pay. Everyday agita-tions need to stop. They are detriment to productivity.

India Day Celebrations Muted By Corona VirusPeople spend more time in agitations than at work. Adul-teration is another big slap in face of freedom and noone is held responsible. You put anyone' life in danger,you pay the price. There is so much duplication of essen-tial necessities, no one is held responsible.

There should also be evaluation system of govern-ment employees. In America, when they hire anyone,they have probationary period, they are evaluated thenmade permanent employees, and then they are evalu-ated year after year. In India, once you become Govern-ment employee, you are set for life. No one can challengeyour actions. There is no production quota. They have in-spectors checking for quality, they get bribes andpeople suffer. Honesty needs to be brought back in sys-tem.

IFTEKHAR SHAREEF, a Trustee FIA and a communityleader, exuded optimism saying " it is very interesting tosee even during the pan-demic COVID-19 India's stockmarket did not crash Surethere were ups and downbut overall it's very stable."

Moreover India's majoreconomy depends on agri-culture. Because of lockdown and less movement oftraffic and people has cre-ated a nice weather with ad-equate rains this season. In-dia will survive on its own, in-deed it's taking a hit on export and IT growth, which Ifeel will be settled early by next year.

People are a little taken back by COVID, but as I be-lieve India would be the first country to launch its Vac-cine and most likely from Hyderabad. This would enablepeople resume their normal activities and go back towork and get scared with COVID.

Overall the Indian economy will bounce back soon.Already we see signs of Real Estate and car sales havepicked up quiet a bit since July 2020.

NIRAV PATEL, president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) Chicago chapter, said that the resolution of Coronacrises is still uncertain as every country seeking tocounter it and that incudes India too.

My strong belief is that inthe long run it should behelpful to India for sure. In in-ternational markets manycountries in the world areloosing trust and faith onChina and India is viable op-tion in more than one way. Ithas already taken economicmeasures to boost itseconomy and mainly exports.

India's economy is on asolid groundIts GDP andgrowth are still not in minus indicative that India is not inrescission at all. Low or no mortgage on housing prop-erty make the economy stable Plus the intuition of jointfamily helps the family and people to survive in criticaltime.

The Indian PM Modi's Make in India campaign andconcept should help creating more jobs It would also

Dr Anuja Gupta

create rural empowerment in small and non specialtyproducts. Indian population is also very big so local pro-duction has been used in for domestic demand. And thatis another factor helping the Indian economy to survivein critical times. The PM Modi leadership is playing acrucial role in stability and survival

SOHAN JOSHI, a community leader heading earlierthe Federation of Indian As-sociations locally and nation-ally, said that he has full faithin reliance of Indians at largeand the able leadership ofthe Prime Minister NarendraModi is steering the nationand its people to safety andstability during the presentCorona pandemic affectingeverybody across the world

It was the Indian PMamong first world leaders to send the impending crisisand took strict measures to prevent is its spread, It wouldbe unimaginable to see if 130 crores people many livingin stark poverty and unhygienic condition would not in-teract or spread this virus by contacts and indisciplinebehavior. The Modi government was strict in enforcingrules and coming out with measure that wouldrestrictmovement and the spread of the diseases. Thishe did when many other countries found difficult to en-force the discipline

Modi Ji found that it would be now imperative to en-courage self -reliance and hence, is espousing his oft re-peated slogan Use Made in India Products This willboost the economy by creating more jobs and save hugeamount in precious foreign exchange Heis hugely popu-lar among mass of the people and this is reflected in arecent survey of public opinion by India Today magazine,Kudos to PM Modi and his team.

VANDANA JHINGAN, a journalist, TV Anchor andcommunity activist, greeted all with Happy 15th to eachand every Indian American She said that the year 2020turned out to be one of the most unexpected and a verystrange one for the wholeworld - Pandemic Covid 19impacting everyone in so-cially and economically''

Economy started getting atouch of thatworldwidedecline and ofcourse, an impact oneconomy in IndiaourMotherland cannot be anexception. How an individualcan tackle this problem is amillion dollar equation. But collectively, - "Make in India"would go a long way in getting over this problem It willrequire help from the People of Bharat involving somesacrifice.

Economies go up go down - but I am very confident ifIndia and Indians decide they will be able to over come.Must support the best way one can for one's ownState.Taking pay and income cut so others can have foodon table.

Nothing is permanent - this will also pass. VandeMatram Bharat Mata ki Jai

Cont’d from page 20

Thakar Basati

Iftekhar Shareef

Nirav Patel

Sohan Joshi

Vandana Jhingan

Health Line

22 India Post August 14, 2020www.indiapost.com

One can be said to be perfectly healthy in body and mind only if no part of the body or mind makes itself felt. A partmakes itself felt only when there is something wrong with it. You know that you have a head only when it aches.

Sri Atmananda (1883 - 1959)

California virus cases underreported,health official says

LOS ANGELES: Figures show-ing California has slowed therate of coronavirus infectionsmay be in doubt because atechnical problem has delayedreporting of test results, thestate's top health official said.

For days, California hasn't re-ceived full counts on the num-ber of tests conducted nor thenumber that come back posi-tive for COVID-19, Health andHuman Services Secretary Dr.Mark Ghaly said.

He blamed an unspecifiedtechnical problem affectingthe state's database that pro-vides test results to localhealth departments. Ghaly saidit's unclear when the issuewould be fixed, adding thatthe state is relaying informa-tion manually to county healthofficials.

The announcement came aday after Gov. Gavin Newsomgave his most optimistic re-port on the state's virus effortssince a second surge of casesin early June. Newsom said

daily cases had dropped by anaverage of 2,200 in the lastweek and the infection rate of6.1% was significantly lowerthan the nearly 8% recordedlast month.

The latest daily tally postedTuesday (4 August) onCalifornia's COVID-19 datapage showed 4,526 additionalconfirmed positives, the low-

est total in more than six weeksand a precipitous drop fromthe record of nearly 13,000 re-ported two weeks ago.

However, the page now car-ries a disclaimer saying the ac-

tual daily number of positivecases is being underreported.

At issue is CalREDIE, a statesystem that electronically re-ceives COVID-19 test data

from lab providers. The name isshort for the California Report-able Disease Information Ex-change.

"There's a specific compo-nent that feeds informationfrom labs to both the state'ssystem and the local publichealth system," Ghaly said."That may actually be the placewhere data is getting stuck."

Counties including Orangeand Sacramento have notedthe delays, and Placer Countyposted on its website that itsvirus cases are likely underes-timated as a result.

Wendy Hetherington, River-side County's chief of epidemi-ology and program evaluation,said she believes hundreds ofcases a day haven't been re-ported in her county since latelast week.

That makes it hard to findnewly infected individuals andto reach out to people who'vehad close contact with them inorder to trace and reduce thespread of the virus.

``We're delaying case inves-tigations. We're delaying followup,'' she said, adding: ``untilthis lab issue is fixed, we can'treally say what the true pictureis.''

Los Angeles County healthofficials said the state con-vened an emergency call re-cently to discuss the issue.Now, a team from the county isreaching out to more than 80labs to obtain test results forthe past nine days to deter-mine an accurate case count,and set up a system to receivedata directly in the future socontact tracing efforts aren'tdelayed, the county's healthdepartment said in a state-ment. AP

Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly

J&J reaches $1B Covid-19 vax deal with USNEW YORK: Global

healthcare company Johnson& Johnson has reached a $1billion deal with the US gov-ernment for manufacturingand delivery of 100 milliondoses of its Covid-19 vaccinethat is being tested.

The US government mayalso purchase an additional200 million doses of the vac-cine, Ad26.COV2.S, under asubsequent agreement, thecompany said.

"We greatly appreciate theUS government's confidence

in, and support for, our R&Dplatform and efforts and thescalability of our vaccine tech-nology," Paul Stoffels, Chief Sci-entific Officer at Johnson &Johnson, said in a statement.

"We are scaling up produc-tion in the US and worldwideto deliver a SARS-CoV-2 vaccinefor emergency use," Stoffelssaid.

Based on the positive pre-

clinical data recently pub-lished in the peer reviewedjournal Nature, early stageclinical trial of the vaccinecandidate, Ad26.COV2.S, isunderway in healthy volun-teers in the US and Belgium.

The company is evaluatingone- and two-dose regimens,in its clinical program.

Johnson & Johnson said itaims to meet its goal to supplymore than one billion dosesglobally through the course of2021, provided the vaccine issafe and effective. IANS

Ind-Am wins theDemocratic Partyprimary in Arizona

WASHINGTON: Dr HiralTipirneni, an Indian-Americanemergency room physician,has won the Democratic Partyprimary for the US House ofRepresentatives in the USstate of Arizona.

New polling showed thatTipirneni is just three pointsdown to the Republican incum-bent David Schweikert. Theseat is said to be a Republicanstronghold.

I am honored to be thenominee in Arizona's 6th Con-gressional District. For nearly a

d e c a d e ,our dis-trict hasbeen rep-resentedby a DCpoliticianwho putsthe prof-its of hisspecial in-

terest corporate donors overpositive change that will makelife better for working familieshere in Arizona, Tipirneni said.

Tipirneni was three yearsold when her family emigratedfrom India to this country topursue the American dream.

After their medical residen-cies, she and her husband, DrKishore Tipirneni, chose tobuild their life in Arizona,where they have lived for over23 years and raised their threechildren. PTI

Dr Hiral Tipirneni

1 Haan Mai Galat: Love Aaj Kal2 Dus Bahane 2.0: Baaghi 33 Shayad: Love Aaj Kal4 llegal Weapon 2.0:Street Dancer 3D5 Muqabla: Street Dancer 3D6 Mere Liye Tum Kaafi Ho:Shubh Mangal Zyaada Savdhan7 Garmi: Street Dancer 3D8 Shaitan ka Saala: Housefull 49 Dheeme Dheeme: Pati PatniAur Who10 Bhankas: Baaghi 3

August 14, 2020 www.indiapost.com 23India Post

TOP TENHINDI FILM SONGS

Vaani Kapoor has been cast oppositeAyushmann Khurrana in the upcoming

Abhishek Kapoor directorial, which ispitched as a progressive love story.

Describing the yet-untitled project as"a lovely, heart rendering film", Vaani saidshe is "thrilled" to act oppositeAyushmann.

"Ayushmann is one of the most talentedactors of our generation and I'm onlythrilled about our first film together to bethis beautiful love story," she said.

About working with Abhishek Kapoor,she added: "I have always wanted to workwith Abhishek Kapoor, being so inspiredby his films. This feels like an amazing op-portunity to be part of his vision."

About casting Vaani as Ayushmann'slove interest, Abhishek said: "I thoughtVaani was fabulous in 'Befikre'. She is beau-tiful and a very committed actor. I am look-ing forward to having her and Ayushmannon set. I believe the combo will be electri-fying."

The film casts Ayushmann as a crossfunctional athlete. It is set in north India,and shooting is scheduled to begin in Oc-tober. IANS

While favouritism continues to be a raging topic infilm and music industry, playback singer Shalmali

says that even though her voice has been removed frommany songs, she refrains to tag herself as a victim.

"I keep away from that controversy because I amrather focussed on making music, writing songs, findingavenues to channelise my creativity. Pointing fingers onpeople will not do any good to music," Shalmali said.

On the occasion of Friendship Day, she released asong called "For you", written by Asmyth Prabhudesai.The song is composed by Rishabh Joshi, Shalmali andAsmyth Prabhudesai.

"The way I want to look at it, when any music directorcalls me to lend my voice for a film song, I think I amgoing for an audition. It keeps me grounded to knowthat even though I have songs like 'Balam pichkari' and'Laat lag gayee' in my kitty, I am going through an audi-tion process. If they keep my voice, it is great, if not, it isokay. At least I learnt something new," she smiled. IANS

Kajol has sent out a big vir-tual kiss to her fans a dayafter her birthday. She says

she is still young and kicking."A big virtual kiss to each one

of you for taking out the time tosend me so much love andwarmth. Thank you so much to myfans from all around the worldwho sent those lovely personal-ized notes, The kid in me loved theballoons," she captioned thesweet image, with a note to self --"Still young and kicking, birthdaysare just a day to celebrate me,"wrote Kajol, along with the latestphoto she posted on Instagram.

Kajol celebrated her 46th birth-day on Wednesday (5 August).

She will make her digital debutwith the "Tribhanga", directed byRenuka Shahane. It is a drama set

in Mumbai, weaving a complextale that goes back and

forth through three gen-erations of the same

family, of the late1980s to presentday. IANS

August 14, 2020India Post24 www.indiapost.com

Adopting 'We Assure' - A Responsible Luxury InitiativeITC Grand Goa, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa re-opens

KUHOO GUPTA

NEW DELHI: Despite the country being in Unlock3.0, social distancing norms, lockdown imposedprotocols and home sheltering have awkwardly ex-acerbated the freedom, routine and responsibilitieswithin households of many estranged family mem-bers.

Owing to an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases,there are still millions of families and householdsaround India who are struggling with these worries,

household tension, we are now obliged to stay withinthe same walls. Emotions are running high, argumentsare exploding and the confusion continues witheach other's flaws, which leads to self-de-structive and defeating behaviors.

With the ongoing pandemic,heightened anxiety and stress ingeneral means that emotions andanger aren't being processed in thesame way because there is a greaterdegree of variability in how multifac-

balance within the members at home.Here are some tips to defuse conflicts and mani-

fest preserve relationships at home.Conditioning mechanism "Verbal Compassion"

- Verbal compassion is a positive verbal energy im-bibes the use of words that are warm and those thathelp nurture and encourage loved ones to do bet-ter and be more optimistic when they are with you.Such words help your loved ones to grow and flour-ish. Verbal Compassion opens up the Heart Chakraor Anahata Chakra and empowers the crown chakraor sahasrara chakra, the seat of Divine Love. Com-passion words and gestures offer potent healingand such acts go a long way. It is the absence of cru-elty, intentional hurtfulness and ill will that is re-ferred to as loving-compassion. IANSlife

7 tips to DEFUSE FAMILYCONFLICT during Covid-19stressors and uncertainties. Frequent, hostile con-flict, along with increased uncertainty and financialburden has lowered the window of tolerancewithin families.

Many spouses are bickering as old wounds fewerand children are struggling with behavior typifiedby belittlement, domination, lies and control. Theyare propelled to experience dysfunctional andstrained family interactions, day in and day out,without the solace of distraction and lack of dis-tance for relaxation.

Where once many of us could walk away from

eted energies are interacting and behaving within thehomes. These energy interactions form the core of ourfamily dynamics. Each family member has a unique setof energy coding that affects the way each memberthinks and relates to oneself, others and the environ-ment around him or her.

Several factors, including the nature of a parent'srelationship, clash of personalities, events (divorce,death, unemployment), culture and ethnicity (includ-ing beliefs about gender roles), influence the energydynamics, due to which we become vulnerable tonegative consequences due to emotional energy im- For detailed story visit www.indiapost.com

GOA: World's Largest LEED Platinum Rated hotelchain, ITC Hotels has strengthened the #WeAssureprogram. Having envisaged Responsible Luxury, adecade back, ITC Hotels embedded several bestpractices in its DNA and laid benchmarks for respon-sible hospitality. While 'WeAssure promised strin-gent clinical levels of hygiene through NABH Ac-creditation & DNV-GL Business Assurance certifica-tion in progress, 'WeAssure seeks to further rede-fine hotel operations along the lines of social dis-

tancing, well-being and contact light services, offer-ing guests unparalleled comfort with peace of mind.

Precautions are necessary to maintain well-being.At ITC Hotels, all additional safety measures have beendeployed to mitigate the risk of infection. These con-form to the guidelines set by the WorldHealth Organization and Indian Tourismministry. The 'new normal' protocol makesthermal screening, safe distancing and us-age of masks mandatory across all levels ofoperation at the hotel.

Usage of disposable gloves during ser-vice and additional protective gear, whererequired is also being followed. The guide-lines have been implemented for both as-sociates and hotel guests. Adding to re-sponsible hospitality, associates & manag-ers are being trained for Hygiene Certifica-tion in aspects of FSSAI Regulatory Guide-

lines, Cleaning & Disinfection near to Hospital Gradeand Control & Monitoring of Food Safety & HygieneStandards. ITC Grand Goa re-opens.

For detailed story visit www.indiapost.com

25Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com

August 14, 2020 India Post

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal to the author

The struggle for construction of the Ram

Temple lasted for 492 years. It began after the

demolition of Ram Temple in Ayodhya by

Mughal emperor Babur's forces. For the RSS

and the BJP, Babur was an invader


RESURGENT HINDUSMonth of August, the eight month on the calendar, has be-

come synonymous with freedom struggle of many coun-tries especially India. Starting with 15th August, India IndependenceDay, 5th August, removal of Article 370 and 35A in J&K, and now, 5thAugust, Ground breaking and reassuring dignity, and freedom topray at the birth place believed by more than one billion people ofIndia. Many freedom struggles took place in the month of Augustincluding the Myanmar democracy movement by students andBuddhist monks on 8-8-88.

For Hindus, it is not about the destruction of the Mosque butresurrecting their dignity and freedom to pray at the site recog-nized through centuries for their God, Lord Ram. Hindus had neverdestroyed or objected to any religion in the world. People from allover the world had taken refuge in India against religious prosecu-tion in their respective states, including Jews, Christians, Zoroastri-ans and many others. But India on the other hand became victim tomany invaders starting from Turkish General Gul Mir Baqi under theorder of Mogul Emperor Babar in the 18th century, destroyed theHindu Temple believed to the birthplace of Lord Ram and built theBabri Masjid on its spot. Many archaeologists have found idols bur-ied under the Masjid later. He also destroyed Nalanda University,believed to be the world first university consisting of more than 9million Buddhist texts and burnt more the 1000 Buddhist monkswhile they were meditating in the area. The atrocities done to Hin-dus over many centuries are unimaginable. This includes the Chi-nese, during Han dynasty, destroying Taxila University and later tak-ing over the rights and freedom of Tibetan people and their land.The British however did not destroy temples or Mosques but stoleseveral statues and artifacts from temples and sold them to collec-tors abroad. During 1986 Festival of India celebrations, an Indianteam found a Shiva idol at Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena Cali-fornia believed to have been stolen from one of the temples inSouth India. Even today in the 21st century one can see what Paki-stan is trying to do by destroying a Sikh Gurdwara by building aMosque on it and Turkey converting Hagia Sophia into a Mosque.

Therefore, the groundbreaking ceremony for the constructionof Ram Temple in Ayodhya marks the end and hopefully bring anew beginning for resurgent India.

Indian Prime Minister Modi by attending the groundbreakingceremony symbolizes that state and religion cannot be separatedespecially in the context of BJP coming into power in the center.Even though the real man behind the Ram Janambhumi move-ment Mr. Advani could not himself attend the ceremony due to hisage and health. His dream project and bringing BJP in center haspaid rich dividends. After all it was India's Supreme Court's decisionthat has paved the way in favor of constructing the temple and atthe same time granting 5 acres of land to Muslim Waqf board tobuild a new Mosque in Ayodhya, which shows the principle on whatIndia stands and not vindicate any religion.

Ground breaking ceremony of Ram Temple is celebrated notonly in India but countries around the world including Indonesia,Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand, Mauritius and US, as youcan see the posters and marquees at Times Square.

What India should do now is to bury the past and rebuild the realRam in their hearts and concentrate to free India against all atroci-ties against Dalits and the weak, and promote education, healthand social justice for all.

Ram Temple was necessary to re-establishtraditional Hindu values

ARUN ANAND

The construction of a "glo-rious" Ram Temple hasbegun in Ayodhya, a his-

torical town in the state ofUttar Pradesh (UP) in India. Forthe Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), the ruling party at the cen-ter and the state of UP as well asfor Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS), whoseswayamsevaks (volunteers)played a key role in the move-ment over the last 30 years, thisis one of the most authenticmanifestations of its much-vaunted 'cultural nationalism'.

The struggle for construc-tion of the Ram Temple lastedfor 492 years. It began after thedemolition of Ram Temple inAyodhya by Mughal emperorBabur's forces. For the RSS andthe BJP, Babur was an invader.He represented a set of cul-tural values that didn't believein co-existence whereas LordRama represents cultural val-

ues that believe in 'VasudheivKutumbakam (the whole worldis one family).

The struggle for building aRam Temple should be seen asa clash between civilizationalvalues - Babur and the mosque-like structure he constructed bydestroying the Ram Templerepresented the 'intolerance'that isn't the hallmark ofBharatiya (Indian) society.

Babri Masjid was represen-tative of a larger design whosemanifestation began in A.D.712 when Islamic invadersstarted attacking India. Everyattack was followed by thedemolition of temples and theconstruction of mosques andmadrassas.

Mohammad Bin Qasim in-vaded Sindh (in then undi-

vided India but now part of Pa-kistan) in A.D. 712 after defeat-ing King Dahir of Sindh. He de-molished various Hindu institu-tions and converted a largenumber of Hindus forcefullyinto Islam.

In A.D. 1000, MahmudGhazni attacked Bharat anddefeated Raja Jaipal. In A.D.1008, he won Kangra (currentlyin Himachal Pradesh) and inA.D.1011 he won Thaneshwarwhere he demolished a num-ber of Hindu temples, includ-ing the Chakraswami temple. InA.D. 1025, he demolished theSomnath temple (in Gujarat)and broke the main idol intoseveral pieces.

Goel's seminal workNoted historian Sita Ram

Goel has listed in detail the de-struction of Hindu temples inhis pioneering work "HinduTemples: What Happened To

Them (Vols. I and II)."Summing up the macabre

destruction, Goel says: "Thetemples were attacked 'allalong the way' as the armies ofIslam advanced; they wererobbed of their scripturalwealth, pulled down, laidwaste, burnt with naptha, trod-den under horse's hoofs anddestroyed from their veryfoundations till not a trace ofthem remained. Mahmud ofGhazni robbed and burntdown 1,000 temples atMathura and 10,000 temples inand around Kannauj. One of hissuccessors, Ibrahim, demol-ished 1,000 temples each inGanga-Yamuna doab andMalwa. Muhammad Gori de-stroyed another 1,000 atVaranasi. Qutubud'din Aibak

employed elephants for pull-ing down 1,000 temples inDelhi. Ali Adil Shah of Bijapurdestroyed 200 to 300 templesin Karnataka. A Sufi, QayimShah, destroyed 12 temples atTiruchirapalli.

Such exact or approximatecounts, however, are availableonly in a few cases. Most of thetime we are informed that"many strong temples whichwould have remained un-shaken even by the trumpetsblown on the Day of Judgment,were leveled to the groundwhen swept by Islam."

The above details have beenmade available by the Muslimhistorians themselves. Goelpointed out in his seminal work(pp. 246).

Temple demolitions sent amessage

For Amir Khusro it was anoccasion to show the power ofhis poetic imagination. WhenJalaluddin Khilji wroughthavoc, he wrote, "A cry rosefrom the temples as if a secondMahmud had taken birth." Thetemples in the environs ofDelhi were 'bent in prayers'and 'made to do prostration,'by Alauddin Khilji. When thetemple of Somnath was de-stroyed and its debris wasthrown into the sea towardsthe west, the poet rose to hisfull height. "So the temple ofSomnath," he wrote, "wasmade to bow towards the holyMecca, and the temple low-ered its head and jumped intothe sea, so you may say that thebuilding first said its prayersand then had a bath."

Many historians includingthe Muslims have similarly cap-tured the demolition of theRama temple in Ayodhya inA.D. 1528 by Babur. It was donenot merely to build a mosquethere but to send a messageacross that this was the victoryof the 'intolerant' ones over the'tolerant' ones. South AsiaMonitor

August 14, 2020India Post26www.indiapost.com

SRI AUROBINDO

The principle of Yoga is the turning ofone or of all powers of our human ex-

istence into a means of reaching divineBeing. In an ordinary Yoga one mainpower of being or one group of its pow-ers is made the means, vehicle, path. In asynthetic Yoga all powers will be com-bined and included in the transmutinginstrumentation.

In Hathayoga the instrument is thebody and life. All the power of the body isstilled, collected, purified, heightened,concentrated to its utmost limits or be-yond any limits by Asana and otherphysical processes; the power of the lifetoo is similarly purified, heightened, con-centrated by Asana and Pranayama.

This concentration of powers is then di-rected towards that physical centre inwhich the divine consciousness sits con-

cealed in the human body. The power ofLife, Nature-power, coiled up with all its se-cret forces asleep in the lowest nervousplexus of the earth-being, - for only so muchescapes into waking action in our normaloperations as is sufficient for the limiteduses of human life, - rises awakenedthrough centre after centre and awakens,too, in its ascent and passage the forces ofeach successive nodes of our being, thenervous life, the heart of emotion and ordi-nary mentality, the speech, sight, will, thehigher knowledge, till through and abovethe brain it meets with and it becomes onewith the divine consciousness.

In Rajayoga the chosen instrument isthe mind. Our ordinary mentality is firstdisciplined, purified and directed to-wards the divine Being, then by a sum-mary process of Asana and Pranayamathe physical force of our being is stilledand concentrated, the life-force releasedinto a rhythmic movement capable ofcessation and concentrated into a higherpower of its upward action, the mind,supported and strengthened by thisgreater action and concentration of thebody and life upon which it rests, is itselfpurified of all its unrest and emotion andits habitual thought-waves, liberated

from distraction and dispersion, given itshighest force of concentration, gatheredup into a trance of absorption.

Two objects, the one temporal, the othereternal, are gained by this discipline. Mind-power develops in another concentratedaction abnormal capacities of knowledge,effective will, deep light of reception, pow-erful light of thought-radiation which arealtogether beyond the narrow range of ournormal mentality; it arrives at the Yogic oroccult powers around which there hasbeen woven so much quite dispensableand yet perhaps salutary mystery.

But the one final end and the one all-important gain is that the mind, stilled andcast into a concentrated trance, can loseitself in the divine consciousness and thesoul be made free to unite with the divineBeing. The triple way takes for its choseninstruments the three main powers of themental soul-life of the human being.

Knowledge selects the reason and themental vision and it makes them by purifica-tion, concentration and a certain disciplineof a God-directed seeking its means for thegreatest knowledge and the greatest visionof all, God-knowledge and God-vision. Itsaim is to see, know and be the Divine.

Works, action selects for its instrumentthe will of the doer of works; it makes lifean offering of sacrifice to the Godheadand by purification, concentration and acertain discipline of subjection to the di-vine Will a means for contact and increas-ing unity of the soul of man with the di-vine Master of the universe.

Excerpted from the Synthesis of Yoga. The148th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo isbeing celebrated on August 15.

All powers are combinedin Synthetic Yoga

Sri Aurobindo

The mind, stilled and cast into a

concentrated trance, can lose itself in

the divine consciousness

Philosophy

Available on AMAZON, FLIPKART

50 SPIRITUAL APPETIZERSVinod Dhawan

“It’s a lovely book. It feels en-

ergetically clear and light. It’s

easy to read, dip in and out and

most importantly it offers infor-

mation without fluff! Blessings

on this project.”Jac O’Keeffe

Spirituality teacher based inUSA.

Perspective

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal to the author


Time to reset the Indo-SriLankan relationship

N CHANDRA MOHAN

India's Prime Minister NarendraModi was among the first callers tocongratulate Sri Lanka's Prime Min-

ister Mahinda Rajapaksa on his party'slandslide electoral victory. The twoleaders reiterated their "shared com-mitment to strengthen the age-old andmulti-dimensional India-Sri Lankan rela-tionship." The strong intent to reset bilat-eral relations was signaled earlier whenIndia's External Affairs Minister SJaishankar visited Colombo to meetGotabaya Rajapaksa after he won thepresidential election last November.President Rajapaksa visited Delhi on hisfirst state visit within ten days of the elec-tion. So, too, did PM Mahinda Rajapaksa,the president's brother, in February.

At a time when PM Modi's outreachto the neighborhood is yielding dimin-ishing returns, the reset with Sri Lanka isimportant for his efforts to kick start re-gional integration. China's long shadowextends over South Asia. Given SriLanka's strategic location in the IndianOcean, India seeks to exert all its influ-ence to rebalance the island nation awayfrom the dragon's embrace. India's ten-sions with Pakistan are a hardy perennial.There are border issues with Nepal.Bangladesh has misgivings over theIndia's Citizenship Amendment Act. It isperhaps only with Bhutan, Mauritius andSri Lanka that there are no major conten-tious issues to deal with.

"Currently, there are no major barri-ers for closer relationship building forIndia compared with other neighbors",wrote Austin Fernando, a former SriLankan high commissioner to India inThe Wire. There are no critical bilateralissues to deal with barring an "occa-sional shout" on Kachchativu or PalkBay fishing or finalizing the Economicand Technology Cooperation Agree-ment (ETCA) that was mooted fiveyears ago. India must expeditiouslyaddress PM Rajapaksa's request for athree-year moratorium on the USD 840million debt owed by Colombo, be-sides finalizing the modalities of utiliz-ing the USD 450 million in assistanceextended last November.Indian assistance

While India's financial assistancemay not match China's in dollars and

cents, it has made a huge differencetowards the construction of more than48,000 houses for the internally dis-placed people in the northern andeastern region of Sri Lanka. It has so farextended concessional financing ofUSD 1.8 billion through line of creditprojects funded by the Export-ImportBank of India, of which USD 1.2 billionwas committed for railway projects.The rebuilding of the Sri Lankan railwaynetwork after the civil war was doneby India. Direct flights betweenChennai and Jaffna have improved con-nectivity options for the Tamil popula-tion in the northern region.

Enhancing economic, business andinvestments is vital for resetting bilat-eral relations. On the last-mentionedfactor, however, there may not be goodnews on India's joint venture with theSri Lankan government to develop theMattala airport. Sri Lankan port work-ers have also opposed the investmentby India in the East Container Terminalproject in Colombo along with Japan.The Rajapaksa government, for its part,also may not honor the Memorandumof Understanding signed between In-dia and the then Sri Lankan regime in2017 according to which Indian invest-ments were proposed for the develop-ment of the port and oil tank farms inTrincomalee.Reconfigured FTA can be regionalmodel

At a time when India is re-lookingat all its free trade agreements likethe one with the Association of South-east Asian Nations, for instance, itmust similarly re-examine its FTA withSri Lanka that has been operationalsince March 2000. To be sure, two-wayflows have grown over time but Indiahas registered huge bilateral tradesurpluses year after year, amountingto USD 2.9 billion in 2019-20. To makethe FTA work better from Sri Lanka'spoint of view, India must urgently ex-plore ways and means to reduce thissurplus, allowing unlimited access forSri Lankan textiles, tea, spices andother commodities by scrapping tar-iff rate quotas. South Asia Monitor

India PostAugust 14, 2020 27www.indiapost.comHoroscope

Kindly read the predictions from your ascendant sign. If you do not know your ascendant sign then read thesame from Moon sign. If Moon sign is also not known then read it from the Zodiac sign. The ascendant sign which is

calculated from the birth details viz. date, month, year, time & place of birth gives 85 % accurate predictions. Theaccuracy of predictions from Moon sign get limited to only 50 %. The predictions from Zodiac sign are only 25 %

accurate. In nutshell the predictions from ascendant sign are most accurate. In getting personality analysis the traitsgiven by ascendant sign are 100 % accurate and that is the essence of Vedic Astrology.

Your Weekly Futureby VANEET SHARMA

MAR 21 to APRIL 20 JUN 21 to JULY 22 SEP 23 to OCT 22 DEC 22 to JAN 19

MAY 21 to JUN 20 AUG 23 to SEP 22 NOV 23 to DEC 21 FEB 20 to MAR 20

APRIL 21 to MAY 20 JULY 23 to AUG 22 OCT 23 to NOV 22 JAN 20 to FEB 19

AUG 14TH to AUG 20TH 2020

“Felicitated andhonored by then

President of India ShriPranab Mukherjee"

VANEETSHARMA

510-648-4899

In spite of facing some mental pressures your

money making effortsare giving you betterresults day by day but

expenses are out of control and thesame types of results shall be experi-enced in this week too. In the beginningof the week you shall be having somehealth problems and the after effects shallchase till the end of the week. Relief fromtensions is indicated on 17th of Augustonly. It would be better to avoid gettinginto any type of argument with people.

This week is givingindications of

some deliberations re-garding property re-lated matters. This can

be considered as an auspicious time formaking any property related deal. Themid of the week is favorable for workarea as new associations would prove tobe instrumental in extracting beneficialresults. In the concluding part of theweek (viz. 15th, 16th & 17th) is althoughaverage for health and happiness.

You shall have somerelief from the

tensions in relation-ship on the first twodays of the week. In

the mid of the week some domestic is-sues shall crop up. In the concluding partof the week you shall be focusing onsome areas from where you shall be ableto generate some hidden gains. Thisweek is perfect for your social life andyou shall enjoy opportunities to comeclose to some new interesting people.

This week is perfect for your successand happiness andyour competitivespirit shall be at its

maximum. You would plan to do some-thing extra in your work area. You wouldbe multiplying your efforts thereby gen-erating more productivity and gains in themid of the week. Last three days of theweek indicate you getting more pleasure.You might get some opportunity to go ona journey. Your expenses are likely to in-crease in the concluding part of the week.

Your tensions whichare chasing

you from a long timeshall be at peak in thebeginning of this weak

however there shall be some relief from13th August. The mid of the shall be bet-ter for family life whereas there shall belot of activities in social life and you arelikely to spend good time with your kithand kin in the concluding part of the weakwith a possibility of getting some goodnews in terms of earning credibility &rec-ognition in your work by the weekend.

The beginning ofthe week is

excellent for your hap-piness and love life.The happiness that you

shall be getting from your personnel re-lation shall be remarkable. The mid of theweak indicates happiness in the family.Your abilities to do very well in any com-petition shall be at its best in the con-cluding part of the week. Your friendsand relatives shall also be very happy andsatisfied with you. The week is excellentfor parents and work.

The first two days ofthe week indi-

cate fulfillment of de-sires. Your love life,educational progress

and ability to advise people shall be atits best whereas in the mid of the weekthere might remain some tensions be-cause of sudden unexpected expenses.The concluding part of the week viz. 15th,16th & 17th of August are going to proveluckiest for you and the good news shallpour in from all directions. Your friendsand relatives shall be supportive.

The beginning ofthe week is

good for family life.The mid of the weekgives an indication of

the aggravation of some trivial healthissues however social activities shall notget hampered. You shall spend goodtime with your kith and kin. You mightmake some planning regarding the pur-chase of property or vehicle in the con-cluding part of the week. Your mother'sblessings shall work for your progress forsure. Family atmosphere shall improve.

The beginning ofthe week indi-

cates that the diffi-culty that you werefacing in becoming

focused in studies is getting reducedsubstantially. In the mid of the week i.e.on 13th and 14th you are advised to becautious about health. The concludingpart of the week is better for getting thesupport of father & destiny. You shouldbe getting the best guidance from yourwell-wishers, friends, guides and consult-ants this week.

The aggression, impatience, rest-

lessness and fear shallbe chasing you in thisweek too. You shall be

putting in lot of efforts for the settle-ment of your financial issues. In the midof the week you would find a way out.Your approach in handling the thingswould be optimistic and your reputationand status shall help you fight difficultsituation. The professional life shall remainperfectly fine. You are likely to travel es-pecially by the weekend i.e. 17th august.

This week is best foryour diplo-

matic activities, lovelife, and happinessfrom children and con-

sultation. Your social reputation shall getenhanced and your acceptability in so-cial circles shall enhance your confi-dence. Eventually the result shall be ex-cellent in work area in the mid of theweek. You are likely to consolidate yourwork area in the mid of the weak. Lastthree days of the week are auspicious.

The beginning ofthe week is av-

erage for your health& happiness. Youmight remain frus-

trated because of some reason and haveto face some tensions in matters relatedto children and love life therefore youare advised to keep your patience intact.The mental peace shall get restored inthe mid of the week. You might takesome important decision in matters re-lated to property or vehicle etc.

28 August 14, 2020India Postwww.indiapost.com

Classifieds

www.indiapost.com

NEWSon yourdesktop

AIRWING TRAVELS INC.New York(Hicksville)

New Jersey(Iselin)Est. 1991

Tel: (516) 931 4600 Toll Free: (866) 532 3413 Tel: (732) 658 5450

Lowest Fares / Confirmed Seats to INDIA &Other Destinations Worldwide

Save upto 40% on First and Business ClassOPEN 7 DAYS - CCall or Email : [email protected]

India Post 29August 14, 2020www.indiapost.com

GOOD NEWSInternational Flights are resumed to

PAKISTANWith limited availability

International Flights to INDIAExpected by 04AUG20

International Flights to SAUDI ARABIAExpected by 01Sep20

Call for booking 773-506-8100Or Email: [email protected]

www.Eviatravel.com


August 14, 202030


August 14, 2020

August 14, 2020www.indiapost.comIndia Post32

A rapidly growing me-tropolis, an industrialhub, an educational

hotspot, and a city with a mag-nificent past - Ahmedabad isone of the most important cit-ies in Gujarat. Located on thebanks of the Sabarmati River,Ahmedabad is the former capi-tal of Gujarat, and its deliciousfood, colorful culture is making

it a fast-grow-ing tourist des-

tination. The his-toric city of

Ahmedabad or theold part of the city was

declared as the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.Home to a plethora of remark-

able temples like SwaminarayanTemple, intriguing museums andclassy markets, with a little bit ofcolonial history attached to it,Ahmedabad is an excellent ex-ample of how a city can still retainevery bit of its old-world charmwhile still rapidly progressing onthe path of globalization.

Ahmedabad is famous for itstextiles and its tie-dye

bandhani handloom technique,which makes it a great place toshop. From bandhani sarees,dupattas to traditionally em-broidered dress materials, andother local handicrafts.

Sabarmati Ashram, situateddirectly beside the SabarmatiRiver, is a quaint and peacefulashram built by Mahatma Gandhiafter he returned from South Af-rica. To this date, Gandhiji's livingquarters are preserved here andis now used as a museum wherevisitors can learn all about his lifeand his teachings. The infamousDandi Salt March, which was acrucial point in India's indepen-

dence struggle, originated fromthis ashram.

PLACES TO VISIT INAHMEDABAD

Swaminarayan Temple: Lo-cated in the Kalupur area ofAhmedabad, ShriSwaminarayan Temple (alsoknown as Akshardham Temple)is a shrine dedicated to NarayanDev. This splendid temple wasbuilt in the year 1822 on the in-structions of Swaminarayan,who was the founder of theSwaminarayan sect of Hinduism.

Embellished with vivid col-ors and intricate carvings,

Swaminarayan temple is a mar-velous example of the architec-ture of the nineteenth century.Inside the sanctum, the deitiesare decorated with ostenta-tious ornamentations andbeautiful fabrics. The temple at-tracts a million people on theday after Diwali for darshan.

Dada Hari Wav: Situated inAsarwa, 15 km fromAhmedabad, the Dada HarirWav, initially known as the BalHarir Step-well is among thetwo famous step-wells of theregion.

Statue of UnityStatue of Unity is a memo

rial to The Iron Man of In-dia, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.The statue has been erectedto propagate SardarVallabhbhai Patel's vision ofIndia and to inspire the Citi-zens of India through his pa-triotism and freedomstruggle. The Bronze statueof the founding father of theRepublic of India stands 182meters tall grabbing the at-tention of the whole world asthe 'Tallest statue in theWorld'. The statue of Unity isLocated in Gujarat, by thebanks of River Narmada on

the River Island of Sadhu Betoverlooking the NarmadaDam (Sardar Sarovar Dam)from 3.2 km away.

The Statue of Unity will bewell connected via express-ways, improved rail systemand helipads for the conve-nience of visitors. The sur-rounding of the statue is pro-posed to be a haven for cleanIndustries, Research facilitiesand educational institutionsto improve the economic in-tegrity in and around the re-gion.

Height of the Statue ofUnity: 182 meters (597 feet)


33 India PostAugust 14, 2020 www.indiapost.com

In Brief Immigration

��

��

�� !�"�#��

��

��

Indian IT professionals,

most of whom are

highly skilled and

come to the US mainly

on the H-1B work

visas, are the worst

sufferers

Green Card cap punishes immigrantsfrom India: Senator Lee

WASHINGTON: The per-country cap on legal perma-nent residency punishes immi-grants from India and the waitfor the coveted Green Card forIndians runs into 200 years, atop American senator has said,terming the "discrimination" as"inconsistent" with the prin-ciples of a merit-based immi-gration system.

Green Card, known officiallyas a Permanent Resident Card,is a document issued to immi-grants to the US as evidencethat the bearer has beengranted the privilege of resid-ing permanently.

Indian IT professionals, mostof whom are highly skilled andcome to the US mainly on theH-1B work visas, are the worstsufferers of the current immi-gration system which imposesa seven per cent per countryquota on allotment of the cov-eted Green Card or permanentlegal residency.

Republican Senator MikeLee, on the Senate floor, said onWednesday (05 August) thathe has always been struck bythe fact that the governmenthas conditioned Green Card.

There may have been somelegitimate reason many de-cades ago for this, but has ledto a system that largely dis-criminates against Green Cardapplicants from one country,Lee told his Senate colleagues.

Currently, there is a backlogof almost one million foreign

nationals and accompanyingfamily members lawfully resid-ing in the United States whohave been approved for, andare waiting to receive, employ-ment-based Green Cards. Thelargest number of them is from

India."I mean, literally one coun-

try. This is inconsistent with ourfounding principles. This is nothow we try to do things asAmericans, and it's not right.Today, if you're a work-basedimmigrant from India enteringinto the EB- Green Card appli-

cation process, you will wait al-most 200 years before yourapplication is even consideredsolely because of where youwere born," the senator said.

"Almost 200 years on a wait-ing list. Some people don't

even live that long. Our coun-try isn't much older than that,and that's the amount of timethey would have to wait basedsolely on the basis of the coun-try in which they were born,"Lee said, urging his Senate col-leagues to lift the country-capon Green Card applicants.

"If you're born anywhereelse, anywhere else other thanChina; let's say in Ghana, Swe-den, Indonesia, basically anyother country other than India,your application will be consid-ered immediately. This sort ofdiscrimination is simply incon-sistent with the principles of amerit-based immigration sys-tem and with our foundingprinciples and the principlesthat unite us as Americans,"Lee said.

He sought unanimous con-sent that the judicial commit-tee be discharged from furtherconsideration of S 386 and theSenate now proceed to passthe Fairness for High-SkilledImmigrants Act (HR 1044), aspassed by the House, thatwould eliminate the seven percent per-country ceiling, alongwith his amendment. PTI

Senator Mike Lee

51 bodies of migrants recovered at Mexico-US borderMEXICO CITY: Since 2019,

the bodies of 51 foreign mi-grants have been recoveredat the Mexico-US border, au-thorities said.

In a statement on Wednes-day (5 August), Mexico's Na-tional Institute of Immigra-tion (INM) said that membersof its Beta Group special taskforce recovered the bodiesfrom a desert terrain and theRio Grande River that sepa-

rates the two countries, re-ports Xinhua news agency.

"The bodies were recoveredin the Rio Bravo and desert re-gions along the country'snorthern border between2019 and 2020," the INM said.

The task force, founded 30years ago, also aids migrants intransit through Mexico.

Migrants often drown at-tempting to cross the river tosneak into the US undetected.

The border area's desertand mountain terrain can bejust as treacherous, with tem-peratures rising to 50 de-grees Celsius in the summer,the INM said.

Immigration observerssaid migrant deaths have in-creased as surveillance andsecurity measures have beenstepped up to prevent clan-destine crossings. IANS

Will end green cardfreeze, opposeH-1B visa suspension

WASHINGTON: The Demo-cratic Party in the US will endthe freeze on green cards and

take steps to end its backlog, ifvoted to power in the Novem-

ber presidential elections, theparty's proposed 2020 plat-

form said.Green Card, known officially

as a Permanent Resident Card,is a document issued to immi-

grants to the US as evidencethat the bearer has been

granted the privilege of resid-ing permanently

The proposed platformamong other things has ex-

pressed opposition to the de-cision of President Donald

Trump to temporarily suspendissuing of H-1B visas.

The H-1B visa is a non-immi-grant visa that allows US com-

panies to employ foreignworkers in specialty occupa-

tions that require theoreticalor technical expertise. Technol-ogy companies depend on it to

hire tens of thousands of em-ployees each year from coun-

tries like India and China.The 2020 Democratic Party

Platform, which is similar to anelection manifesto in India,

would be adopted by theparty's delegates during its na-

tional convention in Wisconsin.The four-day convention from

August 17 to 20 would for-mally nominate former Vice

President Joe Biden as its can-didate for the November 3presidential elections. PTI


August 14, 202034


August 14, 2020


August 14, 202036


August 14, 2020

Documents

SEAPORT AT ANDAMAN & NICOBAR · 8/14/2020 · NEW DELHI: India is considering investing Rs 10,000 crore for building a transshipment port at Great Nicobar Island in the Bay of Bengal