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FEEDBACK

Please don’t die!Being one of the most regular readers of your beautiful magazine ‘NRI Achievers’ since it started five or so years back, I am really feeling hurt not finding it available now. Since March this year I’ve not seen your magazine on stands or online. What happened. I must say that your magazine had really started filling the gap that was existing between India and Indian Diaspora. Your magazine should not die like this. Kind attention Mr. Prime Minister, please see that such magazines do not die like this. I think management of your magazine has weak PR qualities. You should approach Govt., Corporate houses, NRIs or well established individuals who can support you. I wish I could do something. If you start asking your readers to start contributing according to their capacities, I would be the first person to contribute in this cause. Y K Jogiwala,

Punjab, India

कया सरकयारी नीतिया तिममदयार ह?पिछल कछ महीनो स आिको पनयपमत ितर पलखकर यह जानन की कोपशश कर रही ह पक आिकी िपतरका कहा गायब हो गई ह. कोई जानकारी नही पमल िा रही ह. आिकी वबसाइट िर बशक अिडटस दखन को पमल जात ह. कया हो गया ह. इस तरह अचानक एक बहतरीन िपतरका का गायब हो जाना असहनीय ह. किया अिन िाठको को सही जानकारी द. य न कवल आिकी नपतक पिममदारी ह अपित अाि जवाबदह भी ह पक आपिरकार ऐस कया कारण ह पक अब आिकी िपतरका िढन को नही पमल रही ह. कया मोदी सरकार की नीपतया ली गई. कया आिकी िपतरका पवजािनो क न पमलन क चलत आपिरी सास पगनन को मजबर हो गई ह. य सकारातमक भारतीय ितरकाररता क पलए अचछ सकत नही ह. आआ, म भी उठ, तम भी उठो.... शायद इसी दीवार म कोई पखडकी निर आ जाए.

दीनानाथ मिशर उततर परदश

LETTERS MATTER

एन आर आई अचीवसस कहया गई!! सिादक महोदय, आिको बार-बार ितर पलख रहा ह पक कया हआ, आपिर कय कर आिकी िपतरका पदख नही रही. िर आिकी तरफ स कोई जानकारी पापत नही हो रही.

कया मामला ितम. एक अलग िहचान बनाती िपतरका मर गई. शायद आिको इस धध िर स शक-ओ-शबाह की िरत हटानी चापहए.

अशोक किार, नई मदलीElection year round the corner It looks like yesterday only when NDA Govt. under the lead-ership of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi had taken the reign of INDIAN politics. But now it’s already four & half years are passed & next year elections are waiting to happen once again. Opposition cursing, Rahul Gandhi leaving no stone unturned to fulfil his dream to become next PM of India. Till yesterday ‘ek doosre ki dushman’ opposition has wowed today to fight it out jointly against Narendra Modi. What a scenario.... All versus NaMo. Who wins, who losses, that’s not the question. The question is very serious.... is our opposition worth an alternative to this Modi Govt. Do they have any vision except to remove current Govt. I think the time has come where we as INDIAN citizens should start playing more constructive role besides partici-pating as a mere voter only. India should win, not aimless parties.

Kiran Kulkarni, New Jersey, USA

BUZZ


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Volume 06 Issue 10-11 July-August 2018

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खबर खास 50

फिर उबला दशCINEPPETS 58

24 ALVIDA ATAL

Neha Dhupia Is Pregnant, Angad Bedi Announced

EVENT PERSONALITY

INDIAN ACHIEVERSSAMMAAN 30

32

ABHAY KR. SINGHwho makes it to Russian Assembly

SPECIAL REPORT 46ROHINGYA CRISIS

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PUBLISHER' S NOTE

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एक कदम और आग...

- राजीव गपा, एफिटर

राषटीय राजधानी नई दिली म पदरिका की ओर स उन भारतीय आइकॉनस को सममादनत दकया जाना ह, जो दिदभनन करिरो म न कि सदरिय रह ह बललक नजीर गढा ह. उनक कायय ऩई पीढी को परणा िन िा ह और ि रही ह. ऐस उतककषट कायय करन िारो को हम ' एनआरआई एदििसय सममान' स सममादनत करन जा रह ह.

किसी भी दश-समाज िा किमामाण, कििास, सशकतििरण सामकिितिा म िोतिा ि, लकिि इस सामकिितिा िो परणा ि ितिति किसी वयकति किशष अथिा उसि दारा किषाकदति

िाययो स कमलतिा ि. ितिमामाि ररदशय िी बाति िर तिो िम सब एि बड बदलाि ि दौर स गजर रि ि, जो िमारा भकिषय किरामाररति िरगा. आकथमाि सरारो ि बाद किति तिििीि म िो रि िए अनिषण िमारी रातिि रारणाओ िो बडी तिीवर गकति स बदल रि ि और इस बदलाि ि िछ िायि भी उभर िर िमार सामि आए ि.

एिआरआई एकििसमा बीति छ: िषयो स दश-दकिया म फल भारतिीयो दारा अकजमाति िी गई उलकरयो िा किििि िरतिा रिा ि. उिि दारा किय गय जिकिति ि िाययो, सामाकजि बदलाि ि बयार स लोगो िो र-ब-र भी िरतिा रिा ि. इसी करम िो आग बढाति िए एिआरआई एकििसमा ि इसी साल ि पारभ म बिरीि म आयोकजति पिासी भारतिीयो ि सममलि म 13 मकिलाओ िो सममाकिति किया. इि मकिलाओ ि भारति ि इतिर दकिया ि किकभनन दशो म अि िाययो स समाज ि बड िगमा िो पभाकिति किया ि. अब इस िडी िो और आग बढाति िए आगामी 29 अटबर, 2018 िो राषटीय राजरािी िई कदलली म करििा िी ओर स उि भारतिीय आइिॉनस िो सममाकिति किया जािा ि, जो किकभनन करिो म ि ििल सककरय रि ि बकलि िजीर गढा ि. उिि िायमा ऩई ीढी िो परणा दि िाल ि और द रिी ि.

ऐस उतिकष िायमा िरि िालो िो िम ‘इकियि एकििसमा सममाि' स सममाकिति िरि जा रि ि. किकशिति तिौर र बिरीि म 13 मकिलाओ िो सममाकिति िरि िा िायमा िोई आसाि ििी था. री दकिया म अिि मकिलाए अिी पकतिभा स दश-समाज ि िलयाण िायमा म जी ि, िस तिो ििल 13 मकिलाओ िा ियि किसी बोरी स सई ििि जसा िकिि िायमा था, लकिि सामकिि सियोग स यि ि ििल सभि िआ बकलि सममाि समारोि िा सफल आयोजि भी िआ. इसस िम बल और पोतसािि कमला और उसी िी ररणकति ि र म अगला पयास 'इकियि एकििसमा सममाि' ि. साथ िी ‘कबजिस िालि’ भी आयोकजति िी जा रिी ि कजसम तिमाम दकिया स बिति स सगिि, ससथाए, वयकति, इतयाकद कशरिति िरग. इस िायमाकरम ि आयोजि िी तियाररया र जोरो र ि, िछ ििौकतिया जरर ि लकिि िम किशिास ि कि सामकिि सियोग िम इि ििौकतियो स ार ल जाएगा. आ सबिा सियोग कमलगा. आ सबिा सियोग ि किशिास िी िमारी जी ि और किकशिति तिौर र इस बार भी िम सफल िोग. और जाििारी आगामी अिो ि जररय साझा िी जातिी रिगी. A

JULY-AUGUST, 2018

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The world’s most powerful nation states are flirting with catastrophic conflict. Whether it is in Europe, Asia or the Middle East, for the first time since the 1960s we are facing

a real possibility of nuclear confrontation. With nation states distracted, the threat of irreversible climate change also looms large.

Global anxiety is feeding the growth of nationalist move-ments, emboldened by the drum beat of populism. Anti-immigrant and anti-establishment parties are capitalizing on public disquiet, gaining footholds in political systems across the planet. But as alarming as all this sounds, there are opportuni-ties to head off potential disaster.

One of the most powerful antidotes to populism is right in front of us. Many of the world’s cities are busily re-imagining politics, economics and environmental action from the bottom-up. Some of them are constructing a positive, inclusive and plural vision of the future, even as nationalist leaders peddle fear, close borders and build walls.

We have seen the merger of ultra-nationalism and right wing populism before. It did not end well. The world is again enter-ing a period that is easily recognizable as pre-authoritarian and fascistic. And the stakes could hardly be higher. The future of liberal democracy hangs in the balance as it did in the 1930s. Nationalistic populism surges during times of economic volatil-ity. This latest wave is a by-product of the appalling excesses of financial capitalism, culminating in the housing disaster of 2008 and its aftershocks that continue to this day. The political back-lash is now being felt. While globalization has brought benefits to some, the accelerated exchange of people, goods and ideas has also eviscerated jobs and contributed to extreme inequality. Those left behind have seen their wages stagnate and deeply resent the elites who they hold responsible.

Populism is not only fuelled by economic anxieties, but also cultural tensions. By its very design, globalization threatens essentialist identities. The 24-hour news cycle aggravates these fears. Urban and rural populations are increasingly world’s apart when it comes to values and priorities. Social media is dramati-cally amplifying the polarization between various groups. What distinguishes the present moment from the past is scale. Eco-nomic, social and technological processes are speeding up and shattering the boundaries of what individuals can absorb and understand. The temptation to retreat to simplistic solutions of-fered by charismatic strong men is understandable. A

We have seen the merger of ultra-nationalism and right wing populism before. It did not end well. The world is again entering a period that is eas-ily recognizable as pre-authoritarian and fascistic. And the stakes could hardly be higher.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Populism is poison

Misha Glenny


JULY-AUGUST, 2018JULY-AUGUST, 201810

NEWS SCAN

Advantages for Indians as UAE declares changes to policies on visas, workersThe top diplomats of migrant-sending countries including India has whole-heartedly welcomed the new era of recruitment, as they feel that UAE visa changes will ensure better labour rights and welfare. In a recent meeting chaired by Vice Presi-dent and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Cabinet approved some major changes in the visa rules for employment. These changes include scrapping the mandatory deposit of Dh3,000 for private sector employees, and replacing it with a low-cost insurance system costing only Dh60 annually per worker; the e ntry fees of transit passengers exempted for first 48 hours approved and can be further extended to 96 hours for a fee of Dh50; People or the illegal immi-grants overstaying their visa will get a chance to volun-tarily leave the country without a "no entry" stamp val-id for 2 years on their passport; Individuals who wish to adjust or renew their visa can do it without having to leave and re-enter the country by paying a fee.

Modi Government bewares absconding NRI Husbands

Beware absconding NRI Husbands – In-dian Government is seriously consider-ing crucial changes in the criminal laws, as it aims to amend CRPC, the marriage registra-tion act and pass-port rules to tighten

the law and bring the non-resident Indian offenders to book. Spurred by reports of several cases of “NRI hus-bands”, marrying women alluring an attractive lifestyle but instead deserting them, the Indian government is considering changes in the laws enabling confiscation of such absconding NRI husband’s share of joint property and prevention of alienation of commonly held land, thus building pressure on delinquent spouses who re-fuse to answer even the court summons. A group of Indian cabinet ministers (GoM), comprising of senior ministers such as the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad have shortlisted possible measures that will act as a deterrent and also assisting in delivering justice to wives in distress.

The H4 visa is issued to the dependent family members (spouse and children) of the H1 B visa holders who would like to accompany the H1 visa holder to the US during their period of stay. Majority high skilled immigrants along with their families including young and infant kids (H4 visa dependent children) immigrated to the United States from the past 15 to 20 years. Most of them came to this country as high skilled immigrant (H-1 visa) and many of these yet waiting in lines for their Permanent Res-idency (GC). Like everyone else in this country they pay federal, state and local taxes and abide by laws of the land. These H4 visa dependent children have been raised in the US attending elementary, middle and High schools here. However, unlike many other states (like NY, PA), New Jer-sey is one of the few states where local students having H-4 visa are forced to pay out-of-state tuition at public colleges and universities, despite the fact that they have been NJ residents for most of their lives. Some of them lived for over 10 years, and yet are considered as out of state stu-dents and forced to pay out-of-state fee.

Issues faced by H4 dependent kids in New Jersey, US


JULY-AUGUST, 2018 11

Indian-origin scientist proffers hope for Malaria PreventionA Germany-based Indian-origin scientist, Dr. Prajwal Nanded-kar has proffered optimism for more effective malaria therapy by identifying the cause be-hind the faster movement of the malaria-causing parasite in hu-mans. The Indian-origin scien-tist joined Dr Ross Douglas and other team members for a new collaborative study by scientists from the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) and the Hei-delberg Institute for Theological Studies (HITS) and Heidelberg University Clinic in Germany to conclude that the actin protein is an important factor for the faster movement of malaria-causing parasite. The Indian-origin sci-entist is a specialist in computer-aided drug discovery techniques, is currently working as a scientist at the University of Heidelberg. He and his team of scientists have now discovered the reason for the faster movement of these parasites by studying the actin protein. In the latest research, partly funded by the Heidelberg University.

Indian-origin mathematician Akshay Venkatesh gets prestigious Fields Medal Akshay Venkatesh, 36, a renowned Indi-an-Australian mathematician, is one of four winners of mathematics' prestigious Fields medal, known as the Nobel Prize for math. The Fields medals are awarded every four years to the most promising mathematicians under the age of 40.Venkatesh's journey has been full of achievements and accolades since his early childhood. He moved to Perth, Australia, with his parents when he was two. He par-ticipated in physics and math Olympiads the premier international competitions for high school students and won medals in the two subjects at ages 11 and 12, re-spectively. He finished high school when he was 13 and went to the University of Western Australia, graduating with first class honours in mathematics in 1997, at the age of 16. In 2002, he earned his PhD at the age of 20. Since then, he has gone from holding a post-doctoral position at MIT to becoming a Clay Research Fellow and, now a professor at Stanford University. Venkatesh has worked at the highest level in number theo-ry, arithmetic geometry, topology, automorphic forms and ergodic theory. His research has been recognized with many awards, including the Ostrowski Prize, the Infosys Prize, the Salem Prize and Sastra Ramanujan Prize. He is currently teaching at Stanford University. The Indian-origin mathematician is known as someone with broad expertise who has contributed to many areas of math. The other three winners are: Caucher Birkar, a Cambridge University professor of Iranian Kurdish origin; Germany's Peter Scholze, who teaches at the Univer-sity of Bonn and Alessio Figalli, an Italian mathematician at ETH Zurich. The prize was inaugurated in 1932 at the request of Canadian mathematician John Charles Fields, who ran the 1924 Mathematics Congress in Toronto. Each winner receives a 15,000 Canadian-dollar cash prize.

Dr Arathi Krishna becomes the first Chairperson of the NRI Cell of KPCC

Dr Arathi Krishna, 50, has recently been appointed as the first chairperson of the NRI Cell of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). She was the deputy chairperson of the NRI Forum of Karnataka. A well read scholar and accomplished diplo-mat, an artiste and a good singer, a dedicated social worker and a philanthropist, Arathi Krishna is a multifaceted personality. She has been associated with the Congress party and NRIs for a prolonged period. Importantly, she is the daughter of Begane Ramaiah, a vet-eran Congress leader and former rural development minister of Karnataka. Dr Arathi Krishna, received the appointment letter from KPCC President Dr G Parameshwar, said that the intention behind the formation of the Cell is to publicize the Congress party among NRIs around the world. In the recently concluded state elections, she has urged the NRIs to create awareness among their families back home to vote for the party in the upcoming assembly polls. The election results in Karnataka were announced on 15th May, 2018 with neither the both major national parties - the BJP and the Congress nor the regional party, Janata Dal Secular (JDS), locked in a clear majority to form the Government singlehandedly.A

NRI Achievers News Network

NEWS SCAN


14 JULY-AUGUST, 2018

DIASPORA NEWS

Theresa May Promotes Indian-origin Shailesh Vara

An Indian-origin Shailesh Vara, who held the junior ministerial post of parliamentary undersec-retary of state in the Northern Ireland Office, has been endorsed by British Prime Minister Theresa May to the rank of a minister of state in the same department. Vara said: “I am of course very pleased with the promotion. The work in Northern Ireland is hugely impor-tant, especially as we leave the Eu-ropean Union, ensuring that there is no hard border with Ireland.” The promotion of Vara, a Conser-vative Member of Parliament (MP) from North-West Cambridgeshire, means there are now two ministers of state in the May government of Indian origin. Alok Sharma, MP from Reading West, is a minister of state for employment in the depart-ment of work and pensions. Two other Indian-origin MPs holding junior ministerial posts are Rishi Sunak (MP from Richmond, York-shire), who is parliamentary under-secretary of state in the department of housing, communities and local government, and parliament un-dersecretary in the department for exiting the European Union Suella Braverman. Called ‘parliamentary under-secretary of state’, junior ministers are the third and lowest tier in the hierarchy in Britain.

Racist Man Abuses Indian-origin Couple in Canada

A racist man at Canada harassed an Indian-origin couple who yelled ‘go back to your country’ and threatened to ‘kill’ their children, prompting police to investigate it as a hate crime, according to media reports. The incident hap-pened on Sunday when the Indian and the 47-year-old Dale Robertson got into a hassle over a parking lot at the Walmart Supercenter in Hamilton, On-tario. The argument started after the couple, who was not identified, tried to back into a parking spot and apparently got in the way of the Robertson, who then gets into his silver truck as the Indian man tries to talk to him, CBC re-ported. “What kind of example are you setting for your children?” an Indian man is heard asking the other as his wife records, the video of which is up-loaded on YouTube and Facebook. Within a matter of moments, the heated argument escalates and the Indian man’s wife appears to get hit by the truck as Robertson quickly accelerates before hitting the brakes, the report said. The Indian man walks alongside the truck as it slowly drives away and says, “You want me to go to my own country? I’m a Canadian citizen.” Robertson re-sponds by saying “Show me. Prove it. I don’t believe you.” Then, he crudely at-tempts to copy the other man’s accent saying “You don’t talk like a Canadian.”

The government of United King-dom proclaimed new-fangled tac-tics to alter the regulation for organ and tissue donation to address the crucial necessity for organs within the Indian-origin groups in the country. The proposed new scheme of agreement for organ and tissue donation is predicted to come into result in England in 2020 as part of a drive to assist Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people badly waiting for a life-saving transplant.Those reluctant of donating their organs under the new acknowledged system will be able to record their conclusion on the National Health Service (NHS) Organ Donor Register (ODR).

UK Reveals New Organ Donation Proposal to Address Indian-origin Scarcities

www


JULY-AUGUST, 2018

Chess Prodigy Shreyas Royal in Plea to Stay

in UK

An Indian-origin family of a nine-year-old chess prodigy who has been told they must leave the United Kingdom is calling on the government to let them stay. Shreyas Royal, Britain’s “greatest chess prospect in a generation” has ranked num-ber four in the world in his age group. His father’s visa will be expiring next month and the family, who came to the UK six years ago, must return to India.

The Home Office said it assessed every case on its own merits. The Indian born has been living in south London since the age of three. Shreyas rep-resented England internationally as he got trained in Chess in Britain. Currently, he is competing in the British Chess Championships. Singh is calling on Home Secretary Sajid Javid to let them stay in the UK as his five-year work visa is due to expire following month. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We just want to request that you can give chance to my son whose talent developed here in England. “The support and recognition that he’s getting in England, I’m sure he will not get it in In-dia.” Immigration rules would allow Singh’s visa to be extended if he earned £120,000 a year, but he does not.Two MPs have backed Shreyas’ case. In a joint letter to the home secretary, Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves and Greenwich and Woolwich MP Matthew Pennycook said the UK would lose an “exceptional talent” if Shreyas was to leave. “The UK should always encourage the world’s brightest, most talented people to work and make their lives here,” they wrote. “Shreyas is recognized by the English Chess Federation as the country’s greatest chess prospect in a generation.”

Indian-origin Girl Discovers Rare Beetle

in UK

The United Kingdom-based Indian-origin girl, found an uncommon beetle within the UK which has now developed into a part of the collections at Oxford College Museum of Pure Historical past.

A 10-year-old from Abbey Woods Academy, Sarah Thomas, daughter of Thomas John and Betty Thomas dis-covered the beetle whereas participating within the insect initiative of the Oxford College Museum of Pure Historical past.

The 5mm specimen was recognized as a False Darkling Beetle by Darren Mann after positioning beneath a micro-scope. Darren Mann is an expert entomologist and head of the Museum’s Life Collections.

“It’s Anisoxya fuscula, which is rated as Nationally Scare in Nice Britain,” says Darren Mann in a press notice launched by the Museum of Pure Historical past of the Uni-versity of Oxford. “We seldom see these outdoors outdated forest habitats and that is the primary beetle of its sort to be added to the collections for round 70 years,” he added.

As a part of Museum’s Venture Insect, she discovered the uncommon False Darkling Beetle in her faculty grounds. The specimen of Anisoxya fuscula is now pinned and with-in the Oxford College Museum of Pure Historical past col-lections, full with the label. Given its tiny measurement and the rarity outdoors of forest habitats, Sarah’s discover is all of the extra spectacular.

“Earlier than Venture Insect I didn’t actually like bugs, however now I actually do,” stated Sarah, after her discov-ery was added to the Museum collections.

“Sarah had discovered the uncommon beetle on July 18 and was accredited on July 24,” stated Betty Thomas.

Sarah’s family, a Kerala native, settled in the UK since 15 years. John is into enterprise and Betty is a medical lead nurse.A

NRI Achievers News Bureau

DIASPORA NEWS


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JULY-AUGUST, 201814

GLOBAL INDIAN SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCED

$900B NRI ASSETS MARKET IN INDIA

SPECIAL STORY

www.nriachievers.in

Global Indians face multiple challenges with managing their assets in India due to complicated legal processes and docu-mentation requirements in India. Too many ven-dors have lead to lack of trust and transparency in the country.

JULY-AUGUST, 2018

NRI Banking veteran, Chavvii Prabakar and financial services and estate planning spe-cialist, Shammi Khanna announced the

launch of India's first integrated Solution plat-form for NRIs under their brand Global Indian Solutions".

Global Indians comprise Non Resident In-dians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Returning Indians (RIs). There are over 30 million Global Indians across the world, making them one of the largest diaspora populations. They also con-tribute to over USD 900 billion in assets under management (AUM) in India with Real Estate be-ing a preferred asset class for investment coupled with inherited properties. They also have and estate management requirements and resultant taxation-remittance needs.

However, Global Indians face multiple chal-lenges with managing their assets in India due to complicated legal processes and documentation requirements in India. Too many vendors have lead to lack of trust and trans-parency in the country.

Global Indian Solutions" is India's first Integrated Solution platform, which aims to help Global Indians overcome the challenges of managing their assets in India, through its wide range of professional and trust-ed service offerings in the ar-eas of real estate management, taxation and FEMA services, estate planning and documen-tation services such as Aadhar and PAN card, banking and other legal documen-tation assistance. Backed by its wide network of curated and verified service providers, the com-pany offers a single window digital interface for delivering services to Global Indians.

Speaking on the launch, Chavvii Prabakar, Co-founder and CEO, said, "Our vision is to help NRIs become significant contributors to India's growth and economy by helping them manage their assets in India in an organized manner and provide them with a trusted and commit-ted partner in India. Most NRIs do not realize the criticality of being fully compliant to Indian documentation requirements. This added with lack of time, knowledge and inadequate legal support usually make NRIs more susceptible to malpractices. With the launch of Global Indian Solutions", we intend to ensure that NRIs are no

more cheated, deprived of hard earned assets and dissuaded from participating in the world's fast-est growing economy."

"The company is planning to target NRIs in countries like United States, Singapore and Mid-dle East in the first phase by the year 2021. The company aims to reach out to 1 million NRIs in these countries during this phase," she further

added."Our platform has been de-

veloped to mitigate the four major challenges of NRIs, namely a single point interface with access to over 50 services to manage their assets any-where in India, eliminating the need to deal with multiple vendors, complete details of the legal processes and docu-mentation required for each service, thus reducing the time taken, a virtual 24X7 tracking of the step by step progress of their work, thus eliminating the need to constantly follow up with vendors and most im-

portantly, a secure digital locker to manage their documents so that they do not have to provide them every time to each vendor. We believe this will help in building a trusted partnership with our clients, backed by our commitment to always serve their needs with integrity, professionalism, transparency and value for money in a timely manner." said Shammi Khanna, Co-founder and COO.

Based at Gurgaon, the hub of digital India, started its beta operations in April 2018 and has already gained customer traction with clients spread across the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Middle East. It plans to build a global brand with over 10,000 clients across the world over the next few years. A

Planning to target NRIs in countries like United States, Singapore and Middle East in the first phase by the year 2021.

NRI Achievers Bureau


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JULY-AUGUST, 2018

CONVENTION

DAYALPUR VILLAGEAnti-drug movement gets

financial support from NRIs


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JULY-AUGUST, 2018 17

Almost a fortnight after a daily newspaper first highlighted the mammoth work of an NRI, backed by the village panchayat, to root out drugs from Dayalpur village here, the number of

addicts being taken for the drug de-addiction treatment in the vil-lage and its periphery has doubled.

Also, taking notice of The Tribune report on the efforts made by the panchayat and NRI Harjinder Singh Raja in clearing the once addicted village of drugs – NRI supporters of the movement have also begun funding the drug de-addiction treatment and transpor-tation for the daily visit of local addicts to the Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centre, which is 25 km away.

Earlier, bills of both these expenses were being paid by Harjinder himself.

The number of youths on de-addiction treatment, which was 30 earlier, has doubled in the past fortnight and the number is grow-ing with each passing day with cases pouring in from neighbouring villages.

While formerly the majority of the village youth were being taken for de-addiction, now those from neighbouring villages comprise half the number. Other villages which send their youths include Hamira, which has long been a liquor and addiction hub of this no-torious stretch, and Villa Kothi among others.

A huge number of villages are also contacting the Dayalpur pan-chayat to include their youths which include Bhikha Nangal, Dera Beas, Shivdaspur, Mustafapur, Mannana, Kartarpur, Naharpur, Dashrampur, Kartarpur and youths from the city as well.

Harjinder, the man, who first came up with the idea to reform the village youths and who visits families every morning coaxing them to their addicted sons for de-addiction, says: “The help from some good Samaritans has ensured us to get free treatment and transpor-tation for the addicted youths of the village. The youths are growing in numbers and the police have also been seeking their details from us. Some of them were also recently rewarded during a seminar held by the police.”

He said the cause might be the movement at the village or police strictness, the availability of drugs in the region had also taken a vis-ible hit, which is a good news for the movement. While the village had also held anti-addiction rallies at Dayalpur and Hamira earlier this year, the movement saw support of thousands.

However, another prime demand of the village — the provision of de-addiction treatment at the Kartarpur Civil Hospital, which is way nearer than the OOATs centre, — remains unaddressed.

“The youths are taken far way to a centre where there are three personnel. It would be much easier if three staff members are pro-vided at Kartarpur. It will save us a huge trip and the treatment will be much prompt and accessible,” he added.

The village’s common area, cremation ground and other hubs earlier frequented by addicts until recently are now free of the men-ace. The supply chain is cut and peddlers have been driven away by residents. The panchayat is now flooded with queries from other vil-lages, requesting it to help out addicts in their areas.

Back from England in 2016, Harjinder had found that the ma-jority of the youths in his village, having a population of 4,000, had become addicts. His cousin too died due to drug abuse in 2015. The NRI claims that 40 per cent of the village youths were addicted. However, the number is now constantly going down. A



INITIATIVE

JULY-AUGUST, 2018

Indian Parliament approves Proxy

Voting for overseas Indians


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NRIs RIGHTS

JULY-AUGUST, 2018

On, 9th August, 2018, the bill to extend the facility of 'Proxy Vot-ing' to overseas Indians, on the

lines of service voters was passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill proposes to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951 as Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017. This approval is historical as the provision would po-tentially help over 3 crore Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who are registered voters in the country could exercise their fran-chise in elections held in India through a proxy while staying abroad. As of now, overseas Indians were free to cast their votes in the constituencies where they were registered. The Bill seeks to give them the option of proxy voting, which till now was only available to service personnel.

Importantly, the Proxy voting is a type of voting whereby a member can delegate his or her voting pow-er to a representative, to enable a vote in their absence. The representative can be another member of the same body, or external. A human so designated is known as a “proxy”. Pres-ently, only service personnel are permit-ted to vote through proxy.

The proxy vot-ing facility would be provided to overseas electors under the fol-lowing conditions:

(i) One person can act as the proxy for only one overseas elector.

(ii) Only a person already enrolled in the same constituency in which the over-seas elector is enrolled can be appointed

as proxy for overseas elector.(iii) The appointment of a proxy shall

be valid till the time it is revoked by the elector who can then make a fresh ap-pointment of proxy.

Replying to the debate on the amend-ment bill, the Law Minister Mr. Ravi Shan-kar hailed it as a “momentous event” fur-ther asserting that "let us trust the NRIs about proxies”. Prasad also said that the country needed to respect and recognize the achievements of NRIs who have done well in different spheres of life across the globe. Referring to the concerns of mem-bers about the word “proxy,” Prasad said it is not a dirty word. It is a legal word...a defined word”. He further says, “It is a

properly defined legal word. Armed forces are also given right of proxy voting”. While framing the rules, the govern-ment will ensure that system of proxy voting is not misused by anyone. Since, there has been a major criticism that it cannot be guaranteed that the proxy voter will vote as per the wishes of the actual voter. On the issue of allowing mi-grant workers to vote without having to travel to their place of residence, Prasad said it was "work in progress...our sympathies are with them”.

This decision historically removes an “unreasonable restriction” posed by Section 20(A) of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act of 2010, requiring over-seas electors to be physically present in their constituencies to cast their votes. However, ascertaining the genuineness

of the proxy selected by an NRI for casting vote would be the toughest challenge. The Election Commission would have to de-vise a system or work out norms to ensure that a proxy delegated by an NRI is voting as per his desire. A

The government will ensure that system

of proxy voting is not misused by anyone. Since, there has been a major criticism that it cannot be guaran-teed that the proxy

voter will vote as per the wishes of the

actual voter.



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खास खबर

मॉररशस म आयोपजत 11व पवशव पहनदी सममलन का उदाटन पवदश मतरी सषमा सवराज न पकया तथा अिन सबोधन म सषमा सवराज न कहा पक भाषा और ससकपत

एक दसर स जडी ह। ऐस म जब भाषा लपत होन लगती ह तब ससकपत क लोि का बीज उसी समय रख पदया जाता ह। उनहोन कहा पक जररत ह पक भाषा को बचाया जाए, उस आग बढाया जाए, साथ ही भाषा की शदधता को बचाय रखा जाए। पवदश मतरी न कहा पक पहनदी भाषा को बचान, बढान और उसक सवदधदधन क बार म कई दशो म पचताए सामन आई। ऐस म इन दशो म लपत हो रही इस भाषा को बचान की पजममदारी भारत की ह। उनहोन कहा पक इस बार पवशव पहनदी सममलन का पतीक पचनह 'मोर क साथ डोडो ह। पिछली बार मोर था, इस बार इसम डोडो को भी जोड पदया गया ह। डोडो लपत होती पहनदी का पतीक ह और भारत का मोर आयगा और उस बचायगा ।

मॉरीशस क पधानमतरी पपवद कमार जगनाथ न 11व पवशव पहनदी सममलन क अवसर िर दो डाक पटकट जारी पकय। एक िर भारत एव माररशस क राषटीय धवज और दसर िर दोनो दशो क राषटीय िकी मोर और डोडो की तसवीर ह।

सषमा न कहा पक पिछल पवशव पहनदी सममलनो म भाषा और सापहतय िर जोर होता था । इस बार भाषा क साथ ससकपत को जोडा गया ह। ऐस म एक पवषय ''पहनदी , पवशव और भारतीय ससकपत रखा गया ह। उनहोन कहा पक पगरपमपटया दशो म उनहोन

दननया म नहदी को बचान की नजममदारी भारत न ली हः सवराज

भाषा और ससकपत क पपत जागरकता दखी ह। इस सदभदध म उनहोन कहा पक माररशस क पधानमतरी न उनस कहा पक उनह जयादा पहनदी नही आती ह लपकन भाषा को न जानन की पनराशा और ससकपत को बचान की बचनी उनम साफ झलकती ह। पवदश मतरी न कहा पक सममलन क दौरान एक पवषय 'भाषा और ससकपत क अतर सबध रखा गया ह। इसक अलावा एक अनय पवषय 'पहनदी पशकण और भारतीय ससकपत ह। उनहोन कहा पक पवशव पहनदी सममलन क दौरान िहल सतर होता था, चचादधए होती थी, अनशसाए होती थी लपकल अनवतती कायदध नही दखा गया । पिछल छह महीन क िररशरम स पिछल सममलन की अनशसाओ और अनवतती काययो का सकलन करन का कायदध पकया गया ह। यह कवल मौपखक रि म नही बलक पलपखत रि म िसतक क रि म ह पजसका शीषदधक '' भोिाल स माररशस ह। इसम एक एक अनशसा िर की गई कारदधवाई का वणदधन ह ।

सममलन म गोवा की राजयिाल मदला पसनहा, िलशचम बगाल क राजयिाल कसरीनाथ पतरिाठी पवपशषठ अपतपथ थ। सममलन म पवदश राजय मतरी वी क पसह, गह राजय मतरी पकरण ररपजज, पवदश राजय मतरी एम ज अकबर, मानव ससाधन पवकास राजय मतरी सतयिाल पसह आपद पहससा पलया। माररशस की पशका मतरी लीला दवी दकन लकमन न सममलन म आए अपतपथयो का सवागत पकया। A



JULY-AUGUST, 2018


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COVER STORY

REFORMED REALTY TURNS CONSUMER- FRIENDLY

The four years of Modi government, marked by landmark reforms, have seen the complete transfor-mation of the unorganised and

opaque real estate sector into a regulated, transparent, affordable and consumer- friendly asset class. Notwithstanding global slowdown, Indian real estate's troubles have been self- created. The sector has been bogged down largely due to lack of regulation and transparency and inflated pricing, owing to speculative operations. Over the years, the foul play by the large number of real estate played havoc with the sector. It is in this backdrop that the

government put focus on undertaking reforms to ad-dress these fundamental issues plaguing the sector. The government's reform and policy initiatives have been directed towards replacing the investor/specula-tor- driven model with consumer- centric model to ensure that residential property becomes affordable.so that every Indian can have a shelter over his head. The results are there for everyone to see. Property prices have dropped by 7-9 percent in the first quarter of the calendar year in key cities. The government's flagship mission, ' Housing for All' , focusing on affordable and mid- segment housing, providing 6.5 percent interest subsidy (up to 2.67 lakh) under PMAY has been respon-sible for enhancing affordability. GST has also provided price relief by dismantling multiple taxation and zero

4 Years of Modi Government

By Vinod Behl

SPECIAL REPORT

JULY-AUGUST, 2018www.nriachievers.in 23

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The author is an eminent journalist

GLOBAL EVENT

tax on ready-to-move homes. All these pro- consumer reforms contributed to bring homes within the reach of common people. For long,.lakhs of home buyers across India have been facing hardships due to large scale project delays. Especially over 20000 home buyers in Noida have been under great stress fearing non- delivery of homes due to developer-Jaypee Infratech facing insolvency. The government came to the rescue of home buyers by issu-ing an ordinance to amend IBC, putting home buyers at par with lenders, thereby paving a way for refund of their money. Large number of housing projects across India are stalled due to shortage of funds, especially as bank funding has been difficult to come. But the reformed and regulated real estate has led to inflow of huge foreign investment of $114.4 billion in 2015-17, registering 40 percent increase in FDI recorded in 2011-12 to 2013-14. Together with FDI,another avenue of developer funding through NBFCs has come as a lifeline for stalled projects, giving new hope to home buyers.The Real Estate Regulation & Development Act (RERA) has come as a big saviour for property consumers. With its stringent preventive and punitive provisions, RERA has put an end to their exploitation by unscrupulous developers by making transactions fair, transparent and secure.The reform - oriented government gave top priority to infrastructure development by setting up 40000 crore National Investment & Infrastructure Fund.The high priority to highways, with record construction of 25 km of highway per day, has given connectivity boost to

real estate. All the reforms and enabling policies have contributed to revival of real estate, The worst hit resi-dential realty has seen a growth of 13 percent in FY'18. The commercial real estate has already seen turnaround, with CBRE report pointing to all-time high absorption of 11msf during the first quarter of the year, 25 percent up from last year. The realty revival has also been possi-ble due to turnaround in economy, with growth bounc-ing back in second half of FY'18. In the last 4 years (Fy 15-18), overall growth rate in economy showed a modest upstick to 7.3 percent compared to average growth of 7.2 percent in FY 11-14. Though the short-term adverse effects of interruption caused by reforms like demonetization , RERA & GST have been largely contained and real estate is on revival path, the government needs to tackle various reform challenges to fast track this process. Notwithstand-ing GST contributing to ease of business and marked improvement in global Ease of Doing Business Index, there is a need to put single window mechanism in place to speed up projects. Bringing real estate under GST to derive its full benefits , bringing down transaction costs by rationalizing stamp duty and collector rates , accord-ing industry status to real estate to access cheap bank funding and effective and speedy implementation of RERA, 'Housing for All' and 'Smart Cities Mission' are other challenges on hand. Nevertheless, reforms have provided a much needed spring board to real estate to transform into an attractive asset class, having sustained growth.A


COVER STORY

ALVIDAATAL

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ormer Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who ordered nuclear tests to make India a nuclear weapons power and traveled by bus to Pakistan in a grand diplomatic gesture, died on 16th August,2018, he was 93. Vajpayee was one of the few leaders of the BJP to express anguish when hundreds of Muslims were killed rioting in 2002 in the western state of Gujarat, which Modi governed.Vajpayee called the 1992 destruction of a 16th-century mosque on a disputed site by Hindu fanatics India's darkest hour.However, he also defended a Hindu campaign for construction of a temple on the disputed

F

COVER STORY

The Gentler Face of Hindu Nationalism

COVER STORY

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site, which Hindus believe was the birthplace of god-king Rama.His popularity across political lines could be attributed in large measure to his ability to accommodate diverse views and his respect for rivals. These were qualities he probably acquired from his long stint in Parliament and also his ef-forts to internalise the ideals of such political opponents as Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister who was a liberal politician with much patience for opposition leaders despite the vast majority he commanded in the House.In spite of Vajpayee’s frequent excursions to the Hindutva camp, a close analysis of Vajpayee’s speeches from 1957 to 2004 reveals that his unstated idol was Nehru himself, though when the Congress leader was alive, Vajpayee was a bitter critic of many of the leader’s policies. On more than one occasion, Nehru broke his habit of speaking in English and instead spoke Hindi in reply to a Vajpayee speech made in chaste Hindi.

When the young Vajpayee once approached Nehru along with two other MPs of his then party, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, demanding a discussion on the Government’s short-comings in the humiliating war with China, Nehru imme-diately agreed.Nehru also occasionally showered praises on Vajpayee, mak-ing it known to everyone that the opposition leader was one of his favourites. The senior statesman didn’t even respond when Vajpayee once accused the Congress Prime Minister of having a split personality. “You are both Churchill and Chamberlain,” he told Nehru, the leader who once intro-duced Vajpayee to a foreign dignitary, saying “This young man will one day become the country’s Prime Minister.” And when Nehru died, Vajpayee gave a touching speech in Parliament: “A dream has been shattered, a song silenced, a flame has vanished in the infinite… When friends were asleep and guards were slack, we were robbed of a priceless gift of life. Bharat Mata is stricken with grief today….”For a man who had spent a large chunk of his career in Delhi—and in Parliament—and one who believed in taking a bipartisan approach to many issues, Vajpayee knew only too well the lures of Lutyens’ Delhi and its power games. He understood the role of emotions in politics, and maintained strong friendships with people in high places and across political parties. Besides outmanoeuvring rivals within his party, he also knew the art of power balancing in the time of coalition politics.For a man who had come under the spell of Nehru, Vajpayee had to balance his own views in more ways than one. The RSS, the nursery of his political career, wasn’t impressed with his unconventional lifestyle: living with a woman and her family that included her husband; and his drinking and eating habits that were looked down upon. For the aver-age shakha-goer, Vajpayee was a breakaway from the usual mould of Hindutva politicians.Vajpayee was famously averse to the Ram temple movement steered by LK Advani that mobilised masses in favour of the BJP. He even poked fun at TV visuals of Advani in a mo-torised chariot trailed by a procession of slogan-chanting


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COVER STORYactivists as “Advaniji and his vanar sena”. As a man who loved the good life, Vajpayee wasn’t an admirer of aggres-sive mobilisation tactics of the BJP under Advani, but when the party was thrown into a crisis in 1992, with various state governments headed by his party dismissed by the Centre after the demolition of a disputed mosque in Ayodhya, Va-jpayee came back into the political limelight as a moder-ate who could challenge what the party called a ‘murder of democracy’ under Congress rule. He would typically stray from the Sangh’s core programmes, but always came back with renewed vigour. Whenever his party’s image took a tumble, he would use his reputation as a moderate to draw sympathy for the cause of Hindutva politics. That made him an invaluable asset for the Sangh and also potential allies.One could sense this non-conformist trait throughout Va-jpayee’s life. He was a regular at RSS shakhas as a teenager and even composed a ballad that is now sung at many of them: ‘Hindu tan man, Hindu jeevan, rag, rag mera Hindu parichay (I am Hindu in heart and body, my life is Hindu, Hindu is my only identity).’But in school, he was also influenced by the Leftist move-ment, becoming a member of the AISF, the students arm of the CPI. After he was caught by the police for taking part in the Quit India movement (and accused of making a confessional statement to the police), he returned to the RSS fold. Around the turn of the 1950s, he was handpicked by Syama Prasad Mookerjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), to be his assistant. Mookerjee was enamoured by Vajpayee’s public-speaking skills and their association continued until 1953 when Mookerjee said goodbye to him at Pathankot before he entered Jammu and Kashmir, where he died in incarceration.For a Political amateur who had spent a lot of his time in the company of RSS men and like-minded people, it was the Lok Sabha that became his temple of learning, as Va-jpayee later acknowledged. He was still seeen as a hardline Hindutva leader when he won elections from Balrampur and became a Member of Parliament. However, a close ex-amination of his speeches over the decades shows how he evolved from a militant Hindutva and Swadeshi activist to the moderniser he later became when the world was on the cusp of change and India in transition from the 1990s to 2000s. I went through his speeches for a biography I had written of Vajpayee to suggest that ‘Nehru’s forbearance and genial ways to the most virulent of criticisms, launched by the likes of him, were destined to have a long-standing ef-fect on the angry, young parliamentarian. Notwithstanding his bloopers, Nehru’s aristocracy, his striking presence and liberal aura would leave young Atal deeply inspired’.Many years later when Vajpayee was External Affairs Min-ister in the 1977 Morarji Desai Government, he discovered that Nehru’s photograph was missing from a certain spot in

Parliament. He only had to ask where it had gone, and the photo was back in its original spot the next day. In fact, Va-jpayee’s reverence for Nehru was used by some of his detrac-tors within the Jana Sangh, especially the late Balraj Mad-hok, to attack him, albeit unsuccessfully. It goes to Vajpayee’s credit that he drew the Jana Sangh away from the regressive ways of his early mentors, transforming the party and him-self to suit new political goals.Incidentally, though he was extremely popular outside, within the Jana Sangh he wasn’t considered the immediate successor to Deendayal Upadhyay who died under myste-rious circumstances in 1968. It took Vajpayee much effort to ward off competition and emerge the most prominent leader of the party by early 1973. Some of those familiar with that stage of his life say that he was a past master in outsmarting anyone who conspired against him. He, Ad-vani and Nanaji Deshmukh who—in that order—became powerful in the BJS, also had the blessings of RSS chief MS Golwalkar, who passed away in 1973.As a survivor in the rough and tumble of Sangh politics, Vajpayee was adept at defending himself from those plot-ting his downfall. He also used various tactics to overleap political hurdles, which also meant he had to court many controversies. During the Emergency, after he was arrested along with Advani and others in Bangalore and later trans-ported to Delhi for a surgery, Vajpayee was placed under house arrest. Ram Bahadur Rai, now president of the board of trustees of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, was general secretary of the ABVP when he met Vajpayee on December 31st, 1976. No one had an inkling then that the Emergency was soon to be lifted. Vajpayee told Rai that he had met Om Mehta, a minister close to Prime Minister

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NRI Achievers Team

Indira Gandhi. Vajpayee, Rai said, asked him to get ABVP to own up to alleged destruction of public property and tender an apology for the Government to begin efforts to repeal the Emergency laws. During the period, Vajpayee had also written a letter to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, aunt of Indira Gandhi, about his worries. There are those within the

Sangh who argue that it was Vajpayee who influenced then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras to tone down its aggression and instead lie low towards the end of the Emergency.Notwithstanding such controversies, Vajpayee was a crowd-puller any party would want on its side. After the Emergen-cy was lifted in 1977, on the night Vajpayee was to address a large crowd at Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi, the national broadcaster aired Bobby, a blockbuster Raj Kapoor movie starring Dimple Kapadia and Rishi Kapoor. As Tavleen Singh wrote after listening to that speech, Vajpayee started off saying, “Baad muddat ke mile hain deewane (it has been an age since we whom they call mad have had the courage to meet).” His speech was an incredible experience. I summed up the speech in my book: ‘Between Bobby and him, people chose Vajpayee.’NDA then came his first experience with power. Despite hiccups and infighting that marred India’s first non-Con-gress Government ever, Vajpayee left a mark as External Affairs Minister with his outreach to the Chinese—though no breakthroughs were achieved, the ice was broken—and his speech in Hindi at the United Nations. He also played a role in early moves to normalise ties with Israel. It was when he was India’s foreign minister that Moshe Dayan, an Israeli minister and iconic general, visited India.A

NRI Achievers Team

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The Indian diaspora is present all over five continents. And, it is continuously growing in different parts of the world; according to a report of Indian External Affairs ministry, 4.5

lakh Indian nationals acquired citizenship of different countries in past three years. In spite of their reasons for migrating to other countries and successfully adjusting in their new societies, people of Indian origin love their original country, people and the culture. Fortunately, the Indian migrants have proven themselves to be amongst the top performers in all fields across the globe and their recognition amongst other global communities has bol-stered their confidence as global citizens. However, their bond with India remains inalienable and they continue to carry their identities like that. Deep down their hearts, they yearn to attain recognition and love from the people in India. It reassures them of their roots and the bond with the people back in India. To reckon and highlight individual achievements of people from various walks of life who have scored great and significant achievements in their respective fields by honoring them with indian achievers sammaan and use the forum for interaction amongst them and boom the business. it arranges confer-ences, seminars, symposiums, formal and informal dis-cussions amongst achievers for their benefit at large, and for discussing the problems and work towards achieving the goal of raising the standard of living of the people. Create awareness among the mass in the disciplines of marketing, management, public relations, media, social work, philanthropy, business, industry etc., by organizing seminars, conferences, workshops, symposia etc.To develop close rapport and co-operation between Indians and Non Resident Indians who have direct or indirect business and other relations with each other.It keeps Indians well informed about the achievements and problems of overseas Indians through conferences and seminars and exchange of visits of delegations. NRI ACHIEVERS helps in Organizing conferences, seminars and discussions from time to time in various parts of the country beneficial to achiever members. It arranges and organizes trade delegations from time to time for promotion of business and trade for the benefit of the Members. To represent the viewpoints of its members to governments, the NRI ACHIEVERS liaisons with other business organizations to conduct surveys and maintain data relevant to dignitaries and government officials. To enable the best possible use of representative status on various consultative bodies of the government.There's nothing greater in the world than when some-

body on the team does something good, and everybody gathers around to pat him on the back. NRI ACHIEVERS has in these years strived to get these performers and achievers from all over the nation and globally, on a single platform and have appreciated and recognized the smallest of deed done, with the noblest of cause. These gems of the nation have to be found and appreciated in abundance as they are the ones who make our nation proud and lead the country to success.There was always this need for a bridge between the diaspora and the motherland. For long, it remained an ignored issue as the system in India never reflected positively towards the migrants. On the other hand, those choosing to settle in a country other than India, initially didn’t care much about their roots, people and the culture. However, with the passage of time both sides started to feel the need and started taking initiatives in a positive direction despite systemic lacunae and laxities. Serious attempts in this direction started only in last de-cade, both at official and unofficial levels. An attempt to create a strong communication bridge was initiated some Six years ago with the start of publication of NRI Achiev-ers. Editor of the magazine, Rajeev Gupta says at the onset of the venture, it had been decided to make sure that besides connecting with the Indian diaspora through the magazine, they shall arrange to honour NRIs and POIs as well as Indians for their outstanding achieve-ments. However, connecting with the diaspora spread in five continents and bringing them on a single platform in some part of the world is something which requires a lot of commitment, propriety of the purpose and hard work. NRI Achievers’ dream could came through only in the first week of this year at Bahrain where well known organization of PIOs the GOPIO (Global Organization of Persons of Indian Origin) had hold its international convention. where at the convention held at the Gulf Hotel Bahrain Convention & Spa, the NRI Achievers suc-cessfully organized Indian Women Achievers Sammaan Samaroh 2017. As many as 13 distinguished women achievers, having proven their outstanding skills in different roles at differ-ent places, were honoured in the felicitation ceremony at global gathering. More than 400 delegates from 40 countries comprising Indian influencers, businessmen, NRIs, PIOs & OCIs gathered to cheer the honoured ladies. Apart from this success NRI Achievers is going to organize the INDIAN ACHIEVERS SAMMAAN & BUSSINESS CONCLAVE on 29th October, 2018 at Indian capital New Delhi. A


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PERSONALITY

An India-born Russian has created history after becoming a lawmaker in a provincial Assembly of his adopted country. Originally from Patna,

Bihar, Mr. Abhay Kumar Singh was elected to Kursk city Assembly on a ticket of “United Russia”, the ruling politi-cal party led by President Vladimir Putin. He won to be-come a “Deputat”, equivalent to a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in India. Mr. Singh joined Putin’s party in 2017. The United Russia party is ruling Russia for the past 18 years. Earlier in March this year, the same party led by won the elections with a thumping majority in the federal assembly.

He migrated to the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. He had gone to Russia to study medicine after completing his graduation in India. Mr. Singh now owns business establishments in Kursk town. Following up with pharmaceutical, he entered into real estate business. Abhay involved himself with local affairs and engaged with local Russians. But he has maintained his Indian connection, as he was instrumental in organiz-

ABHAY KR. SINGH who makes it to Russian Assembly

ing the first International Yoga Day in Kursk in 2015. Speaking on his personal and political journey till now,

he says, “My father passed away when I was just 13 years old. At that time only, I had decided to become a doctor. Hence, I came here. After graduating from the Kursk State Medical University, I went back to Patna to practice as a registered doctor there. But I came back here after some-time and entered the pharmaceutical business. However, gradually, I entered politics… I was very impressed by the policies of Vladimir Putin as he has been able to bring back the clout of Russia in the world and so I felt that I should also contribute to his work”.

He is also a great fan of Indian PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, he says, “I am still interested in the political happenings in India, and I like Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. I want that relations between India and Russia al-ways stay warm as they have been. Everyone here still re-members the popular slogan ‘Hindi Russi Bhai Bhai’. That is the spirit that should govern our relations”. A

Abhay kumar Singh migrated to the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. He had gone to Russia to study medicine after completing his graduation in India.

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BANKING

S.S.JANDAGM & Deputy Zonal Head (Ghaziabad)

JULY-AUGUST, 2018

This is time of joy and celebration that Indian Bank acclaimed as India’s No. 1 Bank. When entire banking industry is passing through a very

stressed time, Indian Bank created a history in 111 years of journey. This achievement is hooked under the leader-ship of Mr. Kishor Kharat Ex. MD & CEO, the legendry banker who made Indian Bank, The Best Bank Of India.

Mr. Kishor Kharat, who is having more than four decade experience joined Indian Bank on 3.4.2017 and depicted office on 13.8.2018. During 16 months period, he created a brand image of Indian Bank as the Best Bank of India.

Mr. Kharat a cool personality, motivator, a great plan-ner, a visionary to transform a mid-size bank from good to great. Under his leadership Indian Bank achieved marvelous success and show the best performance and

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It’s one of the only two nationalised banks, out of a cohort of 19, which made a profit last fiscal year. It has the lowest non-performing assets (NPAs) in the industry at a time when spiralling NPAs have become a threat to many

banks. Its exposure to sectors prone to scandal or business failure, such as gems and jewellery or power, is very low. It’s an instructive tale about sticking to the fundamentals in business. One of the secrets in Indian Bank’s lending arsenal is to demand collateral with sentimental value, such as a promoter’s ancestral home, in addition to primary securities such as the deed of the proj-ect land and so on. When a loan turns bad, the bank has an additional leverage in negotiations. The achievment is dedicated to Mr. Kishor Kharat, who made the dream true of being the No.1 bank in India.

INDIA'S BEST BANK

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NRI Achievers Desk

highest profit among all 19 na-tionalized Banks in India. Mr. Kharat, who is very kind hearted person, a true human has taken care of the entire work force by taking welfare measures without any demand from any corner, which has never happened be-fore in Banking history. A per-son who has been liked by core heart by all cadres will remain in the heart for his motivation and leadership.

Warm Wishes on behalf of en-tire Indian Bank Family and very successful life ahead.


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Lip smacking Indian cuisine in New York

SUCCESS STORY


NRI Achievers USA Bureau

“Paowalla,” means “a person who makes and sells bread”. Floyd Cardoz’s Casu-al Soho Indian restaurant features two tandoor ovens, as well as a dedicated bread bar with a wood-burning oven to highlight the Goan ethnic breads.

The menu incorporates Indian spices and unique cooking techniques, like wood roast-ing to highlight local and seasonal produce, offering a taste of modern-Indian cuisine.

With the opening of Paowalla, Cardoz brought the flavors of his home country state-side, showcasing his Indian heritage in a modern American lens. The food at Paowalla covers all the regions of India and celebrates the wonders of Indian street food along with lesser known dishes. “The morning sounds used to be interspersed with the horns of the paowalla who used to come to the door with freshly baked bread,” Floyd Cardoz reminisces. It is to celebrate such warm, personal stories that he opened Paowalla in New York’s chic SoHo neighbourhood.Cardoz works with local American ingredients to bring life to the nuanced Indian flavours. “For instance, in Bengal, there’s a tradition of frying pumpkin flowers. So, I use that to make fritters of squash blossoms, which are a huge favourite in the US,” he said.At Paowalla, seasonal, regional ingredients are given a refreshingly new shape and style in progressive dishes such as Seafood Bhel, Shrimp Balchao Stuffed Calamari, Milk-Braised Raan and Horlicks and Badam Kulfi.

“Indian food needs to keep going forward. Back in 1998, when Danny Meyer and I started Tabla in New York, the idea was to prove that Indian food is not about Chicken Tikka Masala. There was a need to change the perception of Indian restaurants as mere curry houses. And that’s what I seek to do now also, to look at things differently.” “So, you will see him making a dosa with a fried egg on top, served with garlic chutney, avocado and Refried Rajma Chilaquiles or a Ghee Roast Benedict with Curry Leaf hol-landaise. I also use dosa batter to make a waffle. People know these ingredients. Let’s see what we can do differently with them,” says Cardoz. The menu will bring New York some of the flavors we remember from the beloved Tabla of old, updated with what Cardoz has learned with time and from his travels. “I don’t think Indian food needs to be so afraid,” he tells me. “I want to let myself go a bit, to introduce people to the amazing thing that is Indian food. I’m sick of people just doing chicken tikka masala and people thinking that’s Indian food. Indian cuisine has influences from Portugal, from France, from England. Bombay Canteen allowed me to rewrite the rules with my Indian food a bit. This new menu is not about ‘let me play it safe’. It’s not in a box.”

The menu will focus around modern Indian small plates that are local, seasonal, ap-proachable, fun, and fearless. With chef de cuisine Zia Sheikh at his side, he’ll pull in the flavors of his native Goa along with his time traveling in the country. Biryanis will be adapted from his time in Hyderabad, the capital of India’s Talangana state. In Kol-kata, he saw innovative plates of seafood and vegetables, and so will play with things like cooking in vegetable leaves on the new menu.He’s particularly excited about the brunch he’s dreaming up, potentianally including variations of the traditional Indian breakfast of lolis and eggs. There’s a smile in his voice as he shares, “You’re gonna love this, because I did this for you: have you ever had waffles made with rice flour? I’m playing with one made from rice flour and coconut milk. A



FOCUS

JULY-AUGUST, 2018

INDIA BUDGET

RAMESH NAIRCEO & Country Head, JLL India

The Goods and Services Tax (GST)—India’s biggest tax reform post-independence—was implement-ed on 1st July 2017. This new tax regime seeks to

transform the Indian economy with its ‘One Nation, One Market, One Tax’ principle by subsuming a host of in-direct taxes charged at varied rates by the Centre and states, therefore bringing uniformity in taxation across the country.

Though its primary objective was to simplify the com-plex tax structure on the supply of goods and services, the reform created quite a stir due to its complex nature, due to which several myths about GST started making the rounds.

Let us debunk some of these myths. MYTH: GST has equal impact on all residential proper-

ties FACT: The impact of GST on property is mainly de-

pendent on segmental classification of projects. The extent of the impact on residential properties predomi-nantly depends on the phase of construction, the loca-tion as well as the type of project. For example, impact will be observed more in case of new launches as com-pared to near completion projects.

Similarly, the suburban projects will be more impact-ed as compared to city-centre projects and affordable or value housing will see larger impact as compared to lux-ury housing. This is on account of different proportion of

land cost in project cost (land cost exempted from GST), different GST applicable to different materials, amount spent split in pre-GST time and post-GST time and on account of lower GST for affordable housing projects.

Thus, there is no uniform or single amount by which residential properties are impacted due to GST system.

MYTH: Everything is clear about GST in real estate FACT: There still persist certain grey areas which are

yet to be evaluated by the tax experts to stand the ‘test of law’. Some of these grey areas are listed below:

• Taxability of club house charges, electricity and water deposits, preferential location charges, car park charges and eligibility of one-third land deduction abatement on such charges. The authorities could de-mand a full GST of 18% on these charges, given that the one-third deduction may not be extended to these amounts;

• Taxability of land value where the same exceeds one-third of the total sale price and the developer has contracted separate agreements for the supply of land and construction portion;

• Ineligibility of refund to developers under the in-verted duty structure considering inputs is procured at a higher rate of tax, whereas output is charged at a lower tax rate;

• Adopting different tax computation methods for different projects/phases of the same project.

MYTH: GST means price benefit for all the buyers


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REAL ESTATE

Debunking the Top 5 Common Myths

of GST in Real Estate

FACT: There is a possibility of the market perceiving GST to be a ‘by default’ agent for a price drop for all proj-ects. However, the actual factor for such price reduction is based on passing the cost savings achieved and this is just one of the several factors that influence the pricing and thus cannot be by default expected as a price ben-efit agent. For example, customers opting for affordable housing projects are expected to gather maximum ben-efits whereas such benefits are expected to reduce as the segment moves towards luxury and ultra-luxury sectors. Similarly, in projects where the land cost is low, the sav-ings can be significant and closer to the estimated savings. However, where the land cost is high, the savings on ac-count of GST may not be significant

MYTH: Post GST taxation is lower than Pre-GST taxation for buyers

FACT: The effective rate of tax has not seen too much deviation. The earlier tax rate was ranging from 10–15%. Now the tax rate has been pegged at 18%, with an abate-ment of one-third being provided towards land value, thereby reducing the effective tax rate to 12% of the en-tire agreement value under GST. So while it may seem that GST should result in savings of at least 3–4%; the ground-level reality is different and depending on which state the buyer buy property in, there could be positive or negative impact of GST as compared to pre-GST taxation.

MYTH: Developers do not want to pass the benefit to buyers

FACT: Quite the contrary, developers do want to pass the benefit to end users as this would not only at-tract more buyers, but also build trust for their brand. However, the benefits are not clear yet. In addition, the GST law requires businesses to mandatorily pass on the benefit derived from any reduction in the rate of tax or benefit from the input tax credit to custom-ers. However, with regard to the real estate sector the industry is grappling to determine the actual benefit on account of GST and there is lack of clarity on how the benefit, if at all any has to be computed at all any, has to be computed (the period to be considered, the factors to be considered, etc.). This is because, in case of real estate, the product is unique. Unlike an FMCG product, an apartment does not have an ‘MRP’, or a ‘Best before’ date. Thus as the final price of a project is an estimate for what the markets will be like for the next 4-5 years, it is difficult for a developer to al-locate benefits of input tax credit today over various projects and build those into a future price benefit for the customer. One of the biggest challenges is the al-location of input tax credit to under construction proj-ects, where part of it has been completed before GST came to light. To summarize, the GST law still has to mature and the compliance related processes need to be refined further. It is important that the government ensure clarifications to ensure major concerns, which need clarity once and for all, are addressed.A


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NRI Achievers UK Bureau


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V S NAIPAULFull or Half Life!

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul? He was the bright boy, born into the Indian community of Trinidad in 1932, who decided at the age of 11 that he wanted to be a writer. With pencil and paper in

hand he left home at 18 for a scholarship place at Ox-ford, hoping to find some ‘metropolitan material’ along the way. Descendant of migrant labourers, he travelled from early on, and the search for work continued. The outsider never entirely came in. We all know this thing. But the editor of Open Magazine S Prasannarajan, who talks about the experience of the Naipaul - he is amazing. Let's think of him as a knower.

I had not met vs naipaul before, but he was one writer who compelled me to return—to the worlds buried in that sculpted sparseness, worlds that lay, abandoned and wounded, in the confused histories of decolonised so-cieties, worlds still struggling to recover from the worst vandalisms of civilisations, worlds that, more than any-thing else, cracked open to reveal a writer’s struggle for perfection. And there I was, one afternoon seventeen years ago in Delhi, dialling his number in Wiltshire, one of the most beautiful parts of the English countryside, for a telephone conversation with him on his first India novel, Half a Life. The legend had it that Naipaul was a writer of dark moods who dismissed the accidental in-terviewer with a look or a word. I had the shield of dis-tance, and the books mattered to me. So I dared.

Half a Life came out after his famous declaration: the novel is dead; the art form of the century is cinema. Nai-paul was only the last to mourn the demise. Before him, Milan Kundera despaired over the novel’s retreat from

Europe, its original homeland, but he was consoled by the sight of its bloom in the tropics. Some even wondered whether it was Naipaul’s way of admitting that there were no more stories to be told, no more cursed lands to be ex-plored. Or, was it the end of a journey that broke the bar-riers between truth and imagination, a journey through half-made societies? Or, was it the unforgiving wayfarer’s admission of the worthlessness of the project? Half a Life was not Naipaul at his majestic best, it was a master en-joying the enigma of return after a pause.

It was an easy summation of the Naipaul countries we had seen more vividly before. The novel begins with a question, and its seeming simplicity conceals anxieties that are still not resolved by history and ancestry:

Willie Chandran asked his father one day,‘Why is my middle name

Somerset? The boys at school have just found out, and they are

mocking me.’His father said without joy, ‘You were named after a

great English writer. I am sure you have seen his books about the house.’

‘But I haven’t read them. Did you admire him so much?’

‘I am not sure. Listen, and make up your own mind.’And this was the story Willie Chandran’s father began

to tell. Ittook a long time. The story changed as Willie grew up.

Thingswere added, and by the time Willie left India to go to

Englandthis was the story he had heard.Willie’s journey will stretch from the nameless Indian

town where gods and Somerset come together to shape his past, to England, where he is initiated into the art of seduction and storytelling, to Africa, where he becomes one with lives half lived, setting the stage for a series of departures, a phase of ‘watching without seeing and hear-ing without listening’. Naipaul would not have been able to write this novel “if I had been writing about India as a series of scenes,” he told me. “The ignorance of day-to-day life would have let me down. The style of the narra-tive enabled me to write about not only India, but Eng-land and Portuguese Africa.” It was India that flagged off his journey, and Half a Life was a kind of comeback, and when I asked him what the trigger was, he would say, in his typical manner of repetitions accentuated by pauses, “Ancestral… ancestral. A

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SPECIAL REPORT

A Year Since It Shocked the World, What’s Changed?This August marks a full year since one of the 21st

century’s worst refugee crises gripped the world’s attention. In 2017, an unprecedented number of

Rohingya Muslim refugees began fleeing Myanmar’s Rakhine state for neighbouring Bangladesh, after Myan-mar’s military launched a crackdown in response to at-tacks on border posts by Rohingya rebels. This crisis is, as rightly pointed out by UN Secretary General Anto-nio Guterres, “a humanitarian and human rights night-mare”; the United Nations described the military offen-sive in Rakhine that provoked the exodus as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

A full year later, the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people is as abject as ever. In June 2018, Myanmar’s government signed an agreement with the United Nations that will lead to the “voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable” repatriation of some 700,000

Rohingya refugees back to their homes, or their place of choosing. At the same time, Myanmar’s civilian and military powers seem to have entirely ignored interna-tional condemnation of the crackdown and allegations that it amounted to ethnic cleansing, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is still insisting that only refugees with the correct identity documents can return.

Small wonder then that the Rohingya themselves re-main pessimistic. A recent Amnesty International report on the crisis stated that former Rohingya villages – some of which had been burned to the ground – are now the site of new construction, including new roads and in-frastructure for the military. Amnesty fears that the new construction makes it even less likely that the roughly 1m refugees who fled to Bangladesh will ever be able to return to their homes.

But even if the repatriation agreement is ac-

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NRI Achievers Desk

cepted at face value, without the oversight of the United Nations, Myanmar’s military cannot be trusted to broker the conflict-affected popu-lation’s competing demands fairly. It already stands accused of widespread violence against Rohingya Muslims within Rakhine state. The post-repatriation time will remain a period dur-ing which the big challenge will be about how to restore relationships across the divides in ques-tion. And this challenge seems almost impos-sible. The agreement between the UN and the government of Myanmar is far from detailed, and violence against the Rohingya population is far from over, Rohingya refugees are hardly be keen to return home.

The reality is that without a deal on work rights, citizenship and so on, there are deep concerns that Rohingya refugees will be repa-triated only to face a situation barely changed since they fled. In the meantime, the monsoon season has already started in Bangladesh, and there are grave concerns for the safety of the ref-ugees. The situation is serious: caught between

extreme weather, funding shortfalls and uncer-tainty about their future, the Rohingya refugees are still living in a humanitarian catastrophe.

This disaster was created by the Myanmar government’s brutal policies. A recent report by the organisation Fortify Rights confirmed that Myanmar’s military systematically planned a genocidal campaign to rid the country of Ro-hingya Muslims. But the United Nations Se-curity Council has avoided the “G” word since the exodus began in August 2017; to formally utter it would, in principle, have committed the council’s members to robust action that they are clearly unwilling to take. As long as China and Russia are on Myanmar’s side, an interven-tion by the Security Council seems out of the question. Neighbouring India also shares no love for the Rohingya. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is still struggling to bring relief to the refugees. For the Rohingya refugees however, repatriation is not an option but an imperative, the only alternative to the limbo of protracted displacement.A


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Ph.: 91 120 480 80 80 Mob: +91 96507 77721Email: [email protected]


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खबर खास

मजफफरपर बानलका गह

निर उबला

सतरीकाल, राइड फॉर जडर फीडम, भारतीय राषटीय मपहला फडरशन (NFIW) व टढी उगली डॉट काम और बाद म अपखल भारतीय पगपतशील मपहला

एसोपसएशन (AIPWA) क साझा आहान िर 30 जलाई 2018 को दशवयािी पवरोध पदशदधन हआ. यह िरी तरह स छातर सगठनो, मपहला सगठनो, सथानीय सासकपतक एव सामापजक सगठनो दारा पकया गया था. य पवरोध पदशदधन इसपलए सफल और साथदधक कहा जा सकता ह पक अिन सीपमत पयास म भी इसन समाज की उदासीनता, सता की जडता, अिराधी-पपयता और मीपडया की पककतदधवयपवमढता को चोपटल करन का पयास पकया. पफर भी य कहन म कोई गरज नही पक दशवयािी होन क बावजद इसम आम जन की भागीदारी लगभग नगणय रही. भारी बाररश और आधी क बावजद जागरक कतरो क चपनदा लोग अिन-अिन रो स पनकलकर हाथो म िोसटर, बनर और जबान िर सरकार पवरोधी नार लकर अिन-अिन शहर क चौराहो, कसबो और गावो क चौक िर इकटा हए और सता सरपकत यौन अिरापधयो क पखलाफ आवाि उठाए. लोगो न मखयमतरी क सशासन बाब क उस फजती छपव िर सवाल खडा पकया जो भरषटाचार क फजती आरोिो िर अिनी अतरादधतमा की आवाि तो सन लत ह लपकन पटस (टाटा इसटीटट ऑफ सोशल साइसज) की ररिोटट म जाच की अनशसा क बावजद िरी टना िर आख मद बठ रहत ह.

बता द पक पटस क ‘कोपशश’ गि न पबहार सरकार क

दशसशील मानव

16 दिसबर 2012 की घटना पर सवतःसफतत उबल पडन वाला समाज मजफफरपर दबहार क ‘सवा सकलप’ बादलका गह म 34 अनाथ लडदकयो क यौन उतपीडन व िदहक -मानदसक यातना पर पर पखवार परखामोशी ओढ सोता रहा. अनाथ बदचियो पर हए बबतरता स भारतीय समाज को कछ नही लना-िना था. कयोदक वो भली भादत जानता ह दक बादलका गहो म रखी गई य बदचिया िदलत, दपछडी वदित और शोदित वगत की ही होगी. कही ऐसा तो नही दक वदित शोदित तबक क दलए अब भारतीय समाज म कोई सविना ही नही बिी रही !

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JULY-AUGUST, 2018

ही पॉिर नही हआ था. यही बात मजफफरिर कस म हो रही ह. पटस की ररिोटट सबपमट होन क एक महीन बाद िपलस बजश ठाकर िर एफआईआर दजदध करती ह. मतलब एक महीन म उनको इवीडस गायब करन का मौका पमल गया. इस कस म सोशल बररसटर पडिाटटमट क सटल सकटरी स इस पडल का कारण जब िछा गया तो वो कहत ह पक हम मतरणा कर रह थ अिन सकॉलर स वो लीगल कोसदध म सकशन कया होना चापहए. पदस इज वरी शमफल एड पडसगसफल ऑनसर. कयोपक यपद आिको लीगल इशज िर मतरणा करनी ह तो लीगल यपमनरी ह हाइकोटट म. आिक एडवोकट जनरल ह, उनस बात करत. एक महीना पडल कर दना एफआईआर करन म और पफर एफआईआर होन क बाद दो महीन तक आिका बजश ठाकर को ररमाड िर नही लना य सब चीज ह. पकसी लडकी क साथ म जब िॉसको एकट लगा हआ ह तो आिको 72 ट क अदर म मपडकल जाच करनी ह. आिन इसम भी एक महीन एफआईआर करन म और चार सपताह यहा िर पडल कर पदया. हरपीत कौर जो एसएसिी थी, वो अिन हाथ खड कर रही थी. उनस नही हो िा रहा था. वो कह रही थी पक अब मझ सीआईडी की मदद लनी िडगी. वो कह रही ह पक मझ मदद चापहए, जब वो इपगत कर रही ह पक मपडकल इकजापमनशन लडपकयो का गलत तरीक स हआ ह डॉकटर क बजाय नससो न पकया ह. फलॉि हआ ह. वो मदद माग रही ह सीआईडी स और सटल मदद द भी रहा ह, लपकन सटट मना कर रहा ह. समझ जाइए पक दाल म कछ काला ह. वो तो पजतन एकटीपवसट ह सबन सडक िर पनकलकर हगामा पकया, अलग-अलग दलो न सदन म हगामा पकया, सीबीआई की माग की, हाईकोटट सनवाई िर राजी हई तो वो इस पशर स बकल डाउन होकर क सरकार न सीबीआई जाच की अनशसा की वो भी पसफफ सवा सकि क मामल म, कठर म खड बाकी क 14 बापलका गहो क मामल म नही.’A

समाज कयाण पवभाग क आगह िर पबहार क 38 पजलो म 110 बाल गहो का सोशल ऑपडट पकया. इस ररिोटट म 15 बालगहो म बचो की लसथपत और उनक शोषण िर गभीर पचता वयकत की गई थी. ‘सवा सकि’ क अलावा पजन अनय 14 बापलका गहो की जाच की अनशसा पटस न अिनी ररिोटट म की ह उनक नाम ह -

1. सवा सकि एव पवकास सपमपत, मजफफरिर (बापलका गह)2. पनददश, मोतीहारी (बाल गह)3. रिम पगपत समाज सपमपत, भागलिर (बाल गह)4. िनाह, मगर (बाल गह)5. दाउदनगर ऑगदधनाइजशन फॉर ररल डवलिमट

(डीओआरडी), गया (बालगह)6. नारी गजन- िटना, आरवीईएसक- मधबनी, जान भारती-

कमर (एडॉपशन एजसी)7. ऑबजवदशन होम, अरररया 8. इलसटटट ऑफ खादी एगीकचर एड ररल डवलिमट

(आइकआरडी), िटना (मपहला अिावास गह)9. सखी, मोतीहारी, मपहला अिावास गह 10. नोवटी वफयर सोसायटी, मपहला अिावास गह, मगर11. मपहला चतना पवकास मडल, मपहला अिावास गह, मधिरा12. गाम सवराज सवा ससथान, मपहला अिावास गह, कमर13. सवा कटीर, मजफफरिर14. सवा कटीर, गया15. कौशल कटीर, िटना

मजफफरिर काड म सीबीआई जाच को लकर िटना हाईकोटट म जनपहत यापचका फाइल करन वाली जयपडशयल एकटीपवसट अलका वमादध न एक टलीफोपनक इटरवय म मझस बताया पक, ‘जब कोटट न उनस िछा पक आि सीबीआई को कयो कस सौिना चाहती ह तो जवाब म उनहोन कोटट म कहा पक बाथ-बथान म गर पकसी का कलनवकशन नही हआ तो कारण ह पक इनवसटीगशन


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पायशचततअवधश शीवासतव

कहानी

पववक क आन की खबर स सबको लगा पक िपडत दीनदयाल क तालाब की समसया का समाधान हो जाएगा. तज गपत क जीवन न गावो को लील पलया ह. गाव शहर क ही पहसस बनत जा रह

ह. ऐस म तालाब की जमीन की समसया बन गई थी.िपडत दीनदयाल सहवश इस तालाब की जमीन अिन िोत पववक

क नाम पलख गए थ. वयसक न हो िान की लसथपत तक उसकी दखभाल का पजममा अिन ितर और पववक क पिता नटवरलाल को द पदया था. िपडत दीनदयाल की मतय क बाद इस तालाब की िरवाह नही की गई. तालाब स िानी गायब हआ, तो वह एक बड गड की तरह रह गया. पववक भी उच पशका िान क पलए इगलड गया और वहा का ही बापशदा हो गया.

धीर-धीर शहर जब गाव की ओर बढा, उसक पिता इस बात स डरत थ पक लोग इस तालाब की जमीन िर कबजा न कर ल. उमर क आपखरी िडाव म वह कोटट-कचहरी क चककर स डरत थ, िर पववक इस बात िर गौर ही नही करता था.

आपखर इस समसया क समाधान क पलए पववक की बचिन की साथी दीिा का सहारा पलया गया. पववक अिन बचिन की साथी क फोन िर भारत आन को राजी हो गया.

पववक का फोन दीिा को आया था पक वह ही उस सटशन िर लन आए. सटशन िर दीिा न िहच कर पववक को ररसीव पकया. दीिा को साथ दखकर पववक की समपतयो की िरत-दर-िरत खलन लगी.

‘दीिा, लगता ह पक उस भारत म नही आया ह जसा मन दखा था. इन रासतो म िहल ऐसी चहल-िहल कहा थी.’ पववक न दीिा की मधर समपतयो को तरोताजा करत हए कहा, ‘यहा का हरा-भरा माहौल तो खतम हो गया.’

दीिा न समपतयो क जाल म न उलझकर आग क कायदधकम की ओर रख पकया. टकसी स गाव की ओर आत हए उस सब कछ बदला हआ लगा. पववक को आशका थी पक कही भमापफया क अनसार रकन का इतजाम दादा जी वाल र म ही तो नही पकया गया ह.

‘र म बहत बडा नीम का िड था. नीम की पनबौली को लकर हम

झगड जात थ.’ पववक अतीत की समपतयो म डब-उभर रहा था.दीिा खामोश रहकर पववक को पनहारती रही. उस लगा पक जस

पववक िहल जसा ही उसका बचिन का साथी ह.‘हा-हा, पववक, नीम का वह िड तो अब नही ह. तमहार पिताजी

न वह कटवा पदया ह. र वाला सथान तो अब खडहर हो चका ह. तालाब भी नही रहा,’ दीिा न पयार भरी दलषट स पववक को पनहारा - ‘तम भी तो बदल गए हो. एक मटीनशनल किनी म िहचकर अिन दश और लोगो को भल गए.’

पववक न दीिा क पवचपलत मन को शात करन क पलए पवषय बदलत हए उसकी ररसचदध िर बात करना जयादा बहतर समझा, ‘दीिा तमहारा ररसचदध वकफ तो ियादधवरण िर था. तम इस पवशववयािी समसया क पलए सबस बडा दोषी पकस मानत हो?’

‘सबस बडा दोषी तो मनषय सवय ह. पवकास की अधी दौड क चलत पकपत स सतलन नही बना िा रहा....दीिा, वहा आम, बबल क िड भी थ. तमह याद ह पक कचनार, ढाक, िलाश, बल आपद क बीच स हम गजरत थ, तो चीपटयो, दीमको, सािो की बापबया दखकर तम डर जाती थी. नहर क िानी म म तो नहा लता था, िर तम डर स सहमी पकनार िर ही बठी रहकर िानी स मर पनकलन का इतजार करती थी.’

‘मझ तो सब कछ याद ह, िर यह अचछी बात ह पक तमहारी समपतयो म भी व िल ह. उसका लाभ पमलगा. व समपतया शायद तमहार मन को मर मतापबक बदल द और जसा म सोच रही ह, वह सच हो जाए.’ दीिा न एक िल पववक को बचिन की नजरो


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स पनहारा.पववक अवाक होकर दीिा को दखता रहा और सोचता रहा पक दीिा

कहना कया चाहती ह?‘दीिा म समझा नही, तम कहना कया चाहती हो? तम पकस लाभ

की बात कर रही हो?’‘बहतर ह पक तमह यह बात म समझा द, तापक तम पकसी कनफयजन

म न रहो. पदली क आस-िास क कतरो का पवकास तज गपत स हो रहा ह. तमहारी र की जमीन करोडो रिए की सिपत हो गई. तमहार पिताजी डरत ह पक इस िर भमापफया कबजा न कर ल. इस कारण इसका भराव करा क हाउपसग सोसाइटी बनाकर अिाटटमट बनवा पदए जाए. िर यह सब कछ तमहार ऊिर पनभदधर ह.’

‘दीिा, पिताजी एक तरह स ठीक सोच रह ह, कयोपक इस सिपत का होना ही कया ह. हा, दादाजी होत तो इसका पवरोध जरर करत, कयोपक पजतना वह पयार मझ करत थ, उतना ही तालाब और उस र को भी.’

पववक अिन बचिन की यादो म खो गया, ‘बरसात म तालाब जब लबालब भर जाता था, तो उनक मन म अपभवयकत न करन वाला आनद उमड आता था. तालाब म मछपलया दखकर और मढक की टरदध-टरदध सनकर लगता था पक व पकसी कलापसक सगीत का आनद ल रह ह.’

अचानक दीिा न पववक की बातो क पसलपसल को तोड पदया, ‘पववक वहा अब ऐसा कछ भी नही ह. िथरील रासत ह. उस िर जमीन ह और खामोशी वहा कौध रही ह. िड कट गए ह. िश-िकी वहा स िलायन कर गए ह. तम वहा अिना बचिन ढढन जा रह हो. वहा नही पमलगा.’

‘तम तो हो मरी बचिन की साथी!’ पववक क चहर िर बचिन की कोई चाहत उभर आई.

‘पववक, तमहार जान क बाद उदास जीवन जीन क बजाय समाज की सवा म अिन को लगाया ह. आज म बहत खश ह. लोगो क दख-दददध अिन हो गए ह.’

‘दीिा मझ बहत कछ िता चलता रहा ह, िर म अिनी कायरता क पलए माफी मागता ह और तमहार साहस की पशसा करता ह. आज तमहार नाम की सही और सच अथसो म समाज म चचादध ह. यह पोिटती तो एक बहाना ह. म तो तमहारी वजह स यहा आया ह. शायद तमन मझ माफ कर पदया ह, वरना पिताजी न तो पकतनी बार खत पलख और फोन पकए, िर मन कोई गौर नही पकया.’

‘पववक, तमन अिनी ऊची उडानो की सारी सीमाए ला ली होगी. अब कया कोई महतवाकाका बाकी ह?’

‘हा, शादी की. वहा औरत तो बहत पमली, िर जीवनसाथी बनन लायक कोई नही. कया तम मझ माफ नही कर सकती?’ पववक क चहर िर याचना क भाव उभर आए, ‘इस जमीन को लकर कया इचछा ह. शायद म िरी कर सक.’

‘म चाहती ह. इस तालाब को कयो न झील म िररवपतदधत कर पदया जाए. तमहार दादाजी की आतमा को शापत भी पमलगी. यहा का कतर एक उिवन म बदल जाएगा. उसकी सभी औिचाररकताओ को म िरा करा दगी. सरकार स सहयोग पदलान का भी पयास करगी.’

दीिा की बात सनकर पववक अतीत म चला गया. दादाजी न अकत सिपत म इस तालाब का पहससा ही कयो उसक नाम पकया. भौपतकता की अधी दौड म बाग-बगीच कही लपत न हो जाए. उनह अिन बट िर भरोसा नही था. वह मर पववक िर यह पजममदारी छोड कर चल गए.

सोचत-सोचत िता नही चला, कब तालाब वाली जगह आ गई. पिताजी उस वही बठ पमल. जीवन म हर समय तज-तरादधर रह पिता आज थक-थक स नजर आए.

पववक क पिताजी न पबना पकसी भपमका क अिन बट क सामन दया-याचना क भाव पबखर पदए, ‘तालाब वाली जमीन की दखभाल करना मर पलए मलशकल ह.’ पववक न जब-जब दादाजी की समपतयो को सहजकर रखन की बात कही, तो वह इस शतदध िर तयार हए पक भारत आकर नौकरी कर और खद अिन पनयतरण म दखभाल कर.

दीिा तो उसक साथ ही ह. पववक असमजस की लसथपत म फस गया.

दीिा को भी लगा पक पववक क भारत वािसी क पबना झील बनन की बात िरी नही होगी. दादाजी की कोठरी जहा थी, पजस आगन म उसका बचिन बीता था, वहा उस पदल दहलान वाल खडहर नजर आए. उस रात सिनो म पववक को लगा पक इस खडहर म दादाजी की आतमा भटक रही ह. डर, सहम, थक, पयास िपकयो और िशओ िर जखमी भवर और पततपलया बठी ह.

सबह होत ही पववक न दीिा को बताया, ‘मन भारत लौटन का पनणदधय पलया ह. तमहार सहयोग क पबना यह सिना िरा नही होगा. भारत म तो मपहलाए इतनी उदार रही ह. कया तम मझ माफ नही करोगी.’

दीिा की एक मसकराहट स पववक को लगा पक उसन सार अिराधो को माफ कर पदया ह. पववक को लगा पक तालाब म लबालब िानी भर गया और उसका बचिन वािस आ गया ह. दीिा उसक साथ िानी म कागज की नाव चला रही ह. चारो तरफ िपकयो का कोलाहल गज रहा ह. तालाब क िानी म दादाजी आचमन कर रह ह. A


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Assam NRCA History of Violence

and Persecution

The legacy of anti-immigrant sentiment in Assamese public sphere for more than a century has created an environment of deadly silence and trauma has taken control over the lives of several mil-lion people across the state.

In a three year-long project, more than 55,000 officials performed the herculean task of examining the citi-zenship status of more than 31 million people living

in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam. On July 30, 2018, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) published the final draft excluding more than four million people out of the list, keeping them on the verge of losing their citizenship and effectively making them stateless. How-ever, the NRC authorities have assured that they would be provided with sufficient opportunity to prove their citizenship during the claim and objection process.

There is a huge uproar among a section of Assamese intellectuals that the national and international media have ignored the historical perspective of NRC updating process. But they are being equally ignorant of the other side of the same history – the history of violence and persecution with absolute impunity. The legacy of anti-

immigrant sentiment in public sphere for more than a century needs due consideration along with the colonial policies and schemes which enabled such a huge human population to move from one place to another.

In mid-19th century, a British military officer Maj. John Butler visited and described Assam as “it seemed totally devoid of man, beasts, or birds; a death-like still-ness everywhere prevailed”. The sparsely populated, rich in natural resources and abandon fertile land soon moti-vated the colonial administrators to bring large number of people from other parts of British India, including the Bengalis from the over populated Bengal to resettle in Assam under projects like called ‘Grow More Food’ with an intention to increase the revenue. The colonial admin-istration recruited a ‘colonisation officer’ for hassle-free immigration of Muslim peasants from greater Bengal to Assam.

NORTH-EAST


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The immigrant Muslims settled in Brahmaputra val-ley accepted Assamese language and culture and de-nounced their Bengali identity to assimilate with the host community. As early as the 1930s, the immigrant Muslim community appealed to the colonial adminis-tration to enrol them as Assamese speaking Muslims in the census of 1941. Subsequently, they set up Assamese medium schools and started assimilating with the As-samese community, participating in various socio-cul-tural platforms and events, such as Bihu.

However, a wide section of the local community still felt threatened due to the large scale immigration. This fear of losing land, identity and culture to the im-migrants soon transformed into conflict in the 1920s. The colonial administration was forced to demarcate the area for settlement, known as line system, which barred the Muslims from settling down in certain localities. In the meantime, the colonial administration under whose patronage Muslims were brought to Assam, wanted fur-ther division between the Assamese community and the immigrant Muslim community. While presenting the 1931 census data, British civil servant C.S. Mul-len wrote that if the migration continues unabated, Si-basagar would remain the only district where Assamese race would find home of its own. Historian Amalendu Guha wrote, “The Census Report aggravated the fear complex”.

On the other hand, immigrant peasants under the leadership of Maulana Bhashani intensified their move-

ment to abolish the line system and to get land rights which they propagated as ‘gift of God’ which is to be shared by everyone. Maulana Bhashani criticised the line system as Apartheid but the Gopinath Bordoloi-led state Congress was in favour of strict implementation of the line system. In present day discourse, the ‘cut off date’ for determining citizenship often pops up in de-bates and discussions. However, the commentators tend to forget that if the line system wasn’t the first attempt to keep the immigrant Muslims from enjoying equal op-portunity, the 1940’s ‘Development Scheme’ also barred those Muslims who migrated after January 1, 1938 from enjoying land rights.

Local people hardly paid any attention either to the ‘line system’ or the ‘development scheme’. Meanwhile, the immigrant Muslims continued to buy land from Assamese people. Syed Sadulla of Muslim League (ML) was seen as someone tweaking the line system and set-tling more Muslims in those restricted areas for his par-ty’s electoral benefit. The tug-of-war for power between Sadullah and Bordoloi continued and hatred against immigrant Muslims escalated further in the late 1940s when Bordoloi became the premier of Assam after oust-ing Sadulla and evicted thousands of Muslim peasants in 1946, alleging them to be illegal immigrants from East Bengal settled by the earlier ML regime. In such environment of communal polarisation and conflict, the country became divided and attained Independence. Guha observed that after Independence, the migration of Muslim peasants almost stopped. A


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JULY-AUGUST, 2018

CINEPPETS

Neha Dhupia Is PregnantAngad Bedi Announced

Yes, Neha Dupia is pregnant and husband Angad Bedi announced the big news with adorable photos on Instagram. On Friday, Angad posted monochrome photos with his wife Neha Dhupia,

where the actress' baby bump is visible. Angad captioned the post: "Ha! Turns out this rumor is true. Three of us." Neha Dhupia also Instagrammed her pregnancy photos on her respective social me-dia account and wrote: "Here's to new beginnings." The comment section is flooded with congratulatory words. Malaika Arora and Sonakshi Sinha also left their precious comments on Neha Dhupia's post. Neha and Angad got married in a hush-hush ceremony in May this year. They later announced their wed-ding with similar posts on social media. Karan Johar, who also made their wedding announcement on his social me-dia profile, congratulated the couple with an Instagram post. "Being a parent is such a blessing....congratulations to the gorgeous couple Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi on the beginning of another beautiful love story," Karan Johar's post read. Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi's wedding was an intimate ceremony, which was attended by family's close associates. Fans of gossip columns had any clue that Neha and Angad were getting married in a Delhi gurudwara on the afternoon of May 10. A

JULY-AUGUST, 2018



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