Mars mileage handed over!
Making up India with plastic surgery.Let Netanyahu come!
গর্বে ভরে যায় মনপ্রাণ,তবু লজ্জায় ঢেকে যায় মুখ।
মার্কিন মুক্তবাজারে অভূতপূর্ব প্রধানমন্ত্রী ভারতের,যার বিরুদ্ধ বক্তৃতার আগে দাঙ্গার অভিযোগে সমন জারি করল মার্কিন আদালত।
এবং তিনি বললেন দেশের সব আইন খারাপ,সব আইন পালটে দেবেন,সার্বভৌম রাষ্ট্র ভারতেরপ্রধানমন্ত্রীর বিদেশে মাটিতে অভূতপূর্ব যুদ্ধঘোষণা ভারতীয় সংবিধানের বিরুদ্ধে।
গণসংহারের অভিযোগে অভিযুক্ত প্রধানমন্ত্রী বললেন মুক্তবাজার,পিপিপি মডেল এবং মার্কিন নাগরিকদের ভারতে ঢালাও সুযোগ,সুবিধা ও ছাড়ের।
হরিকথা অনন্ত,আসুন আমরা পায়দল ফৌজ মহোত্সবে মাতি,অশ্বমেধে যারা মরার জন্যই জন্মজন্মান্তরের পাপে অভিশপ্ত,তারা মরুক আগে।
সাবধান যেহেতু রীতিমত তালিম নিয়ে পুরোদম প্রস্তুতির ফসল হিন্দি ইংরেজি ও সংস্কৃততে তিনি খারিজ করলেন ভারতীয় সংবিধান,পেশ করলেন মুক্তবাজারি মনুস্মৃতি বিধান।
অথচ দক্ষিন এশিয়ার যুদ্ধোন্মাদি ধর্মজিহাদি পরিবেশ বদলানোর জন্য প্রধানমন্ত্রীর মার্কিন সফর পুরোপুরি ব্যর্থ।
Palash Biswas
Unprecedented Modi in America!Let there be Modi in Israel and let Modi come India to make India a full fledged Gaza.Not the Hindutva forces,I am very very sorry to be a part of Indian media for four decades that I have to pronounce this that Anti muslim Indian media wants Netanyahu to readjust Indian demography for the Hindutva agenda and this anti Muslim, anti Adivasi,anti Dalit media makes a rocking rockster of a first time OBC prime minister of India.
I am just ashamed.
I am just ashamed that the fantastic achievement of our Indian scientists,the Mars mileage has been handed over to NASA,NATO and Pentagon.
I am ashamed as a citizen of free,democratic,sovereign people's republic India,that the nation,the national resources,the manpower on wholesale have been auctioned in America by an Indian Prime minister.
Unprecedented that a seniormost journalist was hackled as MODI in America was questioned.
Unprecedented that a larger section of Indian pro America pro Israel pro activist Hindutva corporate FDI fed media justifies the blatant brutal attack on the freedom of expression.
Unprecedented that Indian Prime minister is reduced to a rocking rockster.
Unprecedented that the Indian prime minister dismisses Indian law on a foreign soil and promises to change all.
Unprecedented that role of government is zeroed down to open all the doors and widows of foreign capital,foreign companies and foreign interests.
Unprecedented that American citizens get VISA at arrival,permanent VISA and every concession,an Indian citizen might never never imagine.Keeping in mind that Narendra Bhai Modi had been denied US VISA quite reluctantly until he managed the landslide mandate.
Unprecedented that the Indian Prime minister lost no opportunity to showcase global hindutva.
Unprecedented that an Indian prime minister had to cover himself with US diplomatic umbrella because of a summon issued against him by an American court in a case related to Gujarat genocide for which hitherto he had been denied US VISA.
গর্বে ভরে যায় মনপ্রাণ,তবু লজ্জায় ঢেকে যায় মুখ।
মার্কিন মুক্তবাজারে অভূতপূর্ব প্রধানমন্ত্রী ভারতের,যার বিরুদ্ধ বক্তৃতার আগে দাঙ্গার অভিযোগে সমন জারি করল মার্কিন আদালত।
এবং তিনি বললেন দেশের সব আইন খারাপ,সব আইন পালটে দেবেন,সার্বভৌম রাষ্ট্র ভারতেরপ্রধানমন্ত্রীর বিদেশে মাটিতে অভূতপূর্ব যুদ্ধঘোষণা ভারতীয় সংবিধানের বিরুদ্ধে।
গণসংহারের অভিযোগে অভিযুক্ত প্রধানমন্ত্রী বললেন মুক্তবাজার,পিপিপি মডেল এবং মার্কিন নাগরিকদের ভারতে ঢালাও সুযোগ,সুবিধা ও ছাড়ের।
হরিকথা অনন্ত,আসুন আমরা পায়দল ফৌজ মহোত্সবে মাতি,অশ্বমেধে যারা মরার জন্যই জন্মজন্মান্তরের পাপে অভিশপ্ত,তারা মরুক আগে।
সাবধান যেহেতু রীতিমত তালিম নিয়ে পুরোদম প্রস্তুতির ফসল হিন্দি ইংরেজি ও সংস্কৃততে তিনি খারিজ করলেন ভারতীয় সংবিধান,পেশ করলেন মুক্তবাজারি মনুস্মৃতি বিধান।
অথচ দক্ষিন এশিয়ার যুদ্ধোন্মাদি ধর্মজিহাদি পরিবেশ বদলানোর জন্য প্রধানমন্ত্রীর মার্কিন সফর পুরোপুরি ব্যর্থ।
AMERICAN PRESS
NEW YORK TIMES
Modi is here to sell a new New India, with himself as the man who can be trusted to deliver on its promise His speech at Madison Square Garden telegraphed a wish list on the eve of his first meeting with President Obama, while also deftly rallying an influential diaspora to his side The report wondered "whether he is willing or able to bridge India's wide differences with the United States on tax policy, climate change, outsourcing, intellectual property rights and other issues."
WASHINGTON POST
Modi will arrive in Washington Monday a hero to a majority of the region's large and successful Indian American community. But he will also face protests from some Indian minority groups who call him a Hindu extremist and say he failed to control deadly religious riots a decade ago.
USA TODAY
Modi, speaking in Hindi, used the rally that included members of Congress and other dignitaries to list what the world's most populous democracy offers to the world and to point out common ground with the United States, the world's first democracy
Sep 30 2014 : The Economic Times (Kolkata)
THE MARS CLUB - After all, 2's Company
Agencies |
Nasa says keen on sharing maven Mars data with India's Mangalyaan probe
Nasa'sMAVEN spaccraft began orbit ing Mars on Sunday,on a mission to study how the Red Planet's climate changed over time from warm and wet to cold and dry. The unmannedorbiter has traveled more than 10 months and 442 millionmiles (711 million kilometers) to reach Mars for a first-of-itskind look at the planet's upperatmosphere. "Wow, what a night.You get one shot with Mars orbit insertion and MAVEN nailed it tonight," said project manager David Mitchell. The data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraftaims to help scientists understandwhat happened to the water on Mars and the carbon dioxide in itsatmosphere several billion years ago.How Mars lost its atmosphere is one of science's biggest mysteries. The answers couldshed light on the planet's potential to support life -even if that was just microbial life -long ago.
MAVEN's findingsare also expected to help add to knowledge ofhow humans could survive on a future visit to the Red Planet, perhaps as early as 2030."Mars is a cool place, but there is not much atmosphere," said John Clarke of the MAVEN science team."It is very cold, it is well below zero.The atmosphere is about half a percent of what we are breathing," he added. "But we know that Mars could change and it was probably different in the past. There is a lot of evidence of flowing water on the surface from Mars' ancient history."
Next, MAVEN will enter a six-week phase for tests. It will then begin a one-year mission of studying the gases in Mars' upper atmosphere."We are looking at early November as the official start of science," said MAVEN principal investigator Bruce Jakosky. Much of MAVEN's year-long mission will be spent circling the planet 3,730 miles above the surface. An Indian spacecraft, Mangalyaan, is expected to reach Mars."We are anxiously awaiting the arrival in two days of Mangalyaanand we are hoping for their success," said Jakosky."We are sending them the best wishes from the entire MAVEN team ."
Rajdeep Sardesai Scuffle: Journalist Seen Hitting Back at Modi ...
International Business Times, India Edition-3 hours ago
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Explore in depth (74 more articles)
Sep 30 2014 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)
Sep 30 2014 : The Economic Times (Kolkata)
Aryan Migration Theory may Soon Become History
Ritika chopra |
New Delhi: |
DU's Sanskrit dept kickstarts project to prove Aryans were not foreigners
Delhi University's Sanskrit department has thrown its weight behind a project that could possibly re write history to fit the Sangh Parivar's view of India's past -a move that's likely to gain political colour considering the resounding victory of the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the general election.
Here's what most history books tell us -first there wa the Indus Valley Civilization that flourished in places such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Then, around 3,500 years ago, this went into decline as the Aryan nomadic tribes crossed the mountains and s entered India. But the Hindu nationalist narrative, as es poused by the Sangh Parivar and its affiliates, says the Aryans were an indigenous people -not migrants.
NAMORICA - Modi pledges stable tax policy to woo US business
New York New Delhi TNN & AGENCIES |
`We Can Use Coalgate Verdict To Clean Up Past'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday pitched for investments from some of the largest American corporations with the promise of a stable tax policy and an assertion that he wants to convert the Supreme Court ruling on coal block allocation into an opportunity to move forward and "clean up the past".
"It is my conviction that tax stability is essential for confidence building," said Modi, who hosted 11 CEOs for breakfast. The Prime Minister's comment on a stable tax regime comes amidst severe criticism of the policies followed during the UPA regime, including retrospective amendments to the law to claim taxes from Vodafone that acquired Hutch's telecom assets in India. Modi and his colleagues have not shied away from referring to the policies as "tax terrorism".
His candidness extended to the coal block allocations as well since the court ruling is seen to be harsh by corporates as it impacts awards go ing back two decades and comes at a time when the government is keen to boost investor sentiment.
The PM -who has given economic turnaround top billing in his scheme of things -told CEOs including Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat, PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, GE's Jeff Immelt and drugmaker Merck's Kenneth C Frazier that the government is open to suggesti ons to speed up activity in Asia's third largest economy.
While hearing out the concerns expressed by business leaders, Modi assured them that his government would address the problems and try to make the overall environment more businessfriendly. "India is openminded. We want change.Change that is not one-sided.Am discussing with citizens, industrialists & investors," Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by the MEA spokesperson.
He flagged infrastructure development as a key activity for overseas investors, arguing that it creates jobs and improves the quality of life.The government is keen to ensure that every village has 24x7 electricity supply, road development picks up speed again, ports have enough capacity to boost trade and airports are modernized.
Modi repays ban with visa on arrival
In a rather ironic twist to a well-chronicled episode, Modi on Sunday announced visa on arrival facility for Americans, whose government revoked his US visa and kept him out of the country for nearly a decade.Modi has made no direct reference to the ban, but is showing his host country his power base in the US despite a decade-long absence.
Obamas too may skip food at dinner
At the time of going to press, PM Modi had not yet begun his ''private dinner'' with the Obamas. The buzz was that in keeping with his fast, he would only be offered hot water, lemon juice, perhaps some tea, and honey from the White House's own beehive to lace any of the beverages. Even the First Couple were expected to not be chowing down any dinner.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged infrastructure development as a key activity for overseas investors, arguing that it creates jobs and improves the quality of life.The government is keen to ensure that every village has 24x7 electricity supply, road development picks up speed again, ports have enough capacity to boost trade and airports are modernized.
In the past, tax administration and frequent changes in government policies have been cited as major hurdles to investing in India. In recent years, even Indian business houses have often shunned investing in the country and gone overseas.The Modi government is keen to revive the investment cycle and is wooing investors, especially in the manufacturing sector, although the PM made it clear last week that the government does not believe in doles and concessions to attract flows into the country .
Describing the meeting as "excellent and very good", business leaders said that the PM heard their concerns and listed out the government's priority areas."He answers questions brilliantly and is very focused on improving India. So, we are thrilled to be working with him," Nooyi said. TNN & AGENCIES For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com
Sep 30 2014 : The Economic Times (Kolkata)
BOOST TO MANUFACTURING- Foreign-Funded Cos Making Here may Sell Online
Dilasha Seth & Shambhavi Anand |
New Delhi |
Retailers such as Fabindia, with 34th local manufacturing, to benefit the most
The government is likely to allow foreign-funded Indian companies to sell goods online if they make more than three-fourths of their product range themselves at home as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wider push to promote manufacturing and in order to boost homegrown brands such as Fabindia.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said in his July 10 budget that manufacturers will be allowed to sell goods online even if they have foreign investment provided they manufacture locally. The existing foreign investment policy does not allow any foreign direct investment (FDI) in ecommerce.It also does not define `manufacturing'.
Fabindia, which makes 80% of the merchandise it sells on its own but is registered as a single-brand retailer, has written to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) asking to be treated as a manufacturer. This would enable the Indian-owned and controlled garment, fabric and furnishings company to take advantage of the budget proposal and also freely access foreign funds for expansion. Fabindia couldn't be immediately reached for comment. "We are trying to find some solution to that and help an Indian brand grow big. Those manufacturing in India should be allowed to sell online. We will need to tweak the policy suitably ," said a DIPP official who didn't want to be named. "In normal cases, money comes through foreign brands, Gucci or L'Oreal. All those are foreign brands coming. Here it is a reverse process. We should permit this. It must be promoted and the government is looking at it positively," he added.
Just before leaving for the US, the prime minister had on September 25 kicked off the `Make in India' campaign in the presence of CEOs and industry captains, promising a transparent and secure environment to do business in the country as part of a strategy to boost domestic manufacturing, create more jobs and thus add to the growth impetus.
Fabindia is 60% owned by Indian shareholders while JLB Canton holds a 23% stake and WCP Mauritius has 16%. The company procures 98% of the products it sells from India, of which 80% come from its own manufacturing units and the rest from small and medium enterprises. It sells some goods through ecommerce using permission obtained in the early 1990s.
"It is an Indian brand, producing in India. But they are also sourcing from other places...organic teas and all. It is not allowed under the existing policy. But we are determined to sort it out," said the official cited above.
The government is not keen on opening up ecommerce to FDI as it sees this as a backdoor entry for overseas investment in multi-brand retail.
Sep 30 2014 : The Economic Times (Kolkata)
Offline March of the Online Brigade
shelley singh |
More and more niche e-commerce players are setting up physical stores to build brand awareness, trust and the market. The big idea is to not just drive traffic online, but also to see if they can leverage their online equity in the physical retail space, reports Shelley Singh
In mid-October, online furniture retailer Pepperfry will do something it never imagined: open a 2,500 sq ft store at Powai in Mumbai. An "experience centre", the two-year-old company calls it. Here, buyers can check out about 25 pieces of sofas and dining sets. They can obtain interior-design tips.They can engage with iPad-wielding staffers and see the entire 10,000-odd Pepperfry range online.
Its rivals on the web have a similar idea.Fabfurnish, which already has four physical stores, plans to increase it to nine, across four cities, in the next 12 months.And Urbanladder, for the past two months, has been sending three single-seater sofa samples to homes of interested buyers so that they can feel first-hand aspects like make, foam, inners and spring. "We cannot address furniture completely online -it's a pain point," says Rajiv Srivastava, COO and co-founder of Urbanladder. "That's how the `trial room' idea came about."
Their online peers in other specialised shopping categories have similar designs.On August 24, jewellery retailer CaratLane opened its fourth store, in Bangalore. Child products retailer Firstcry will hit 100 franchisees in December. Eyewear retailer Lenskart has 25 stores and 100 optometrists -diploma holders, not doctors -who come home to do eye-checkups. "Going offline is important for us as an element of eye checkup is involved in our business," says Peyush Bansal, co-founder-CEO of Lenskart. "It's also a good way to build trust for the brand."
The narrative is of online players trying to change mindsets about Internet shopping in a country that has just begun its online initiation. So, they see these stores not as outand-out shopping hubs, but as spokes that feed the online hub by giving users a `live' experience, building brand awareness and watering the online habit.
But, at some level, it's also about diffusing the boundaries between online and offline, at times even the bold ambition of building a national brand that is equally dominant and omnipresent in both spaces. "Smart digital retailers are starting to recognise they too need a broader, multi-channel approach for many of the same reasons as offline retailers need to go online," says Pragya Singh, associate vice-president, retail & consumer, Technopak, a retail consultancy."Customers don't come only online or only offline -they come anywhere."
Nature Of Niche
Players in niche product categories -like furniture, jewellery and child products --are at the forefront of this offline drive. These are categories where look and feel matters to a consumer, more so as the product value increases. An online-only presence was not facilitating the conversion of customer clicks to sales at the scale or frequency they would have liked.
The solitaires at CaratLane, for example, start at Rs 50,000 and go up to Rs 4 crore."Buyers want to see and try before they pay," says Calvin John, vice-president, marketing, CaratLane. "Virtual try-rooms do not complete the experience." Supam Maheshwari, co-founder of Firstcry, too cites the shopping experience. "For any couple, parenting is a new experience and they like to go out to shop," he says. "Only online does not complete the experience that new parents look forward to."
Anil Jaggia, CIO of HDFC Bank, offers an analogy from the banking sector as another compelling reason why a physical presence helps. "Today, I can take banking to the masses via smartphones and Internet banking," he says. "But a customer in a remote town is unlikely to open an account with a bank he can't physically see. So, I need to open a branch in a city. It adds to trust and comfort."
One estimate of how much that comfort adds up to comes from John of CaratLane."We have seen the bill value triple when the customer has an option to try and buy," he says. CaratLane stocks about 125,000 solitaires on its webstore, but just 40-60 pieces in its physical stores.
Cost And Benefits
A similar variance in product range is seen across all e-commerce players that are establishing an offline presence too. Lenskart, which expects about 20% of its business to come from offline sales, has 4,000 spectacle frames on its webstore, but 400 in its shops. At Firstcry, the split is 70,000 online and 2,000 offline. "For example, we have 60 (baby) car seats online and only the fast-selling four or five in stores," says Maheshwari.
Product range is a function of store size. Lenskart's strategy is to open 200-300 sq ft. And increasingly, it is looking to go beyond metros, to towns like Agartala, Bhubaneshwar, Nagpur and Tinsukia.
"Lenskart is in a niche," says Sanjeev Aggarwal, senior managing director of Helion Venture Partners, a VC fund that has invested in the company. "Repeat buyers is a problem. Hence, it's tapping the offline market as well.' Costs are a limiting factor for these of fline plays. Each CaratLane store requires an investment of Rs 60 lakh, plus running e cost of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh a month, though John expects break-even from year one.
Similarly, Pepperfry is paying a rent of Rs 3.75 lakh for its store in Powai, Mumbai. "If we go to a mall, the rental will be thrice that," : says Ambareesh Murty, founder & CEO of Pepperfry.
The other option is to take the franchisee route, as Firstcry and Fabfurnish are doing.
Each Fabfurnish store is about Rs 5,000 sq ft in size and requires the franchisee to spend about Rs 15 lakh to set it up. According to Vikram Chopra, CEO of Fabfurnish, its physical stores average 100 customers a day, against 150,000 online. "I can't open a 30,000 sq ft store (typical size of furniture stores) on a high street," he says. "Also, my USP is a 60,000 products catalogue online. Instead we are focusing on 5,000 sq feet stores to build the brand and build customer connect."
National Ambitions
While brand building for online traffic is their primary objective to set up physi cal stores, some businesses harbour the hope this can evolve into a one-two punch.
Fabfurnish, Firstcry and Lenskart all see an opportunity to build a national brand of some scale, which is currently absent in their respective segments. "Retailing in India is still unorganised," says Maheshwari of Firstcry. "There's no nation al retail chain catering to babies. We also see an opportunity to capture that space."
Companies are framing that opportunity not just in the online context, but are also seeing it through the prism of organised re tail. Retail in India is a $500 billion industry; of this, organised retail accounts for 8% and web stores 0.5%. "We have leapfrogged from unorganised retail to e-commerce," says Mukul Arora, vice-president of SAIF Partners. "Penetration of organised retail in the US is 70% and less than 10% in India. It is a unique opportunity for Indian startups to grab the offline space as well."
Furniture, for example, is a $20 billion market in India, across unorganised and organised. According to Srivastava of Urbanladder, the online segment has increased from 0 to Rs 250 crore in two years, and he expects it to double this year. And it's also powering offline sales. "70% of our (Urbanladder's) sofa business is online, while 30% is offline," adds Srivastava.
Today, in a new market like India, customer addition in the online space is brisk, but it will normalise at some point."If India follows a similar pattern as developed markets, online retail will be no more than 10% of the total business," says Rachna Nath, leader, retail & consumer, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India."There's plenty of headroom for e-tailers to grow. But most shoppers come offline and that's where setting up shops fits in."
There are global precedents. Mielele, the largest online furniture seller in China, also has 250 stores. In the US, garment retailers Indochino and Bonobos, and eyewear maker Warby Parker, run what they call `guide shops' and `pop-up' physical stores to get buyers check out collection offline."Vertical players have strong margins -40-50% -to forge a strong offline play," says Niren Shah, managing director of Norwest Venture Partners.
For now, though, these niche online businesses are unsure of a full-scale offline play."There are certain advantages that online offers -like I can display all products without paying high retail rentals," says Murty of Pepperfry. "Besides, we are a marketplace and don't want to take the focus off our core strength."
Sep 30 2014 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)
NAMORICA - Modi's master card: Easy visas for US
Chidanand Rajghatta |
New York: |
Country That Denied Him Visa To Get Smooth Entry
Mastercard worldwide is headed by an Indian (Ajay Banga), but it was visa (albeit with a lower case v) that's talk of the town among PIOs, Indian-Americans, and American Indophiles. In a twist to a now well-chronicled episode, Narendra Modi on Sunday announced visa on arrival in India facility for Americans, whose government revoked his US visa and kept him out of the country for nearly a decade.
PM Modi has made no direct reference to the ban on him, but he's showing his host country his power base in the US despite his decadelong absence. "You've given me a lot of love. This kind of love has never been given to any Indian leader, ever," Modi told an adoring crowd at Madison Square Garden, his words seemingly aimed at Washington, where successive administration ostracized him and was deeply respectful of his predecessors, PMs Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Some 40 American lawmakers and politicians were on hand to witness (and carry home to Washington and their constituencies) the adoring reception Modi received in New York City , from the moment he alighted at the New York Palace Hotel to the Madison Square Garden gala.With a median annual income of $ 88,000 (national average $ 54,000) Indian-Americans are by far the wealthiest ethnic group in the US (more than white native-born Americans or even Jewish-Americans), and their political lolly is as important to American pols as their skills and the positive mood and image they can generate is to India.
Which is why Modi is almost falling over his fasting self to please this constituency , announcing everything from visa on arrival (to US citizens) to life-long visa to those with the PIOOCI card (which will soon be merged).The logistics and timeline for this is yet to be laid out, but home ministry and internal security officials tasked with keeping the next Dav id Coleman Headley out of India are tearing their hair out at how to construct the filters while fulfilling Modi's sweeping promises. Mercifully for the Election Commission and others, it does not for now include the right to vote and the dual citizenship some PIOs have long sought.
The background to Modi's deep affection for Indians in America goes back to his visits to this country in the early 1990s, as first reported in this newspaper. The story goes that during his first America visit, Modi bought a Delta Airlines ticket that in those days al lowed unlimited month-long t flying within the continental s US (there had to be an empty seat on the flight and you were r the last to board). That is how d he travelled across the country (29 states) going from Califore nia to Texas to Florida, often s taking a redeye to save on lodging.s In many places, he stayed with friends, mostly Gujarati (Gujarati columnist emeritus Kanti Bhatt once told this correspondent in the 1990s he could have a free meal and bed in any US town by looking up the phone book for Patels and Shahs). Modi did pretty much the same, arriving with a thaila (sling bag) with one spare set of clothes. Some of those hosts, like Indiana physician Dr Bharat Barai and his wife Panna, are now key frontpersons of Modi's overseas fan club that's expanded vastly because of its disappointment with the previous political dispensation, and its hopes in this one.
This is the constituency (which turned up in strength at Madison Square Gardens) that Modi is rewarding with the `'Visa...whenever you want to come'' announcement, although it will mean challenges for the security bureaucracy at a time they and their counterparts are facing growing threats. But the PM sees it as an opportunity to bump up tourism, one of the world's largest foreign exchange earners, hoping to see Americans stream into India and travel the same way he trawled across the US. "Terrorism divides, tourism unites," he said at Ambassador S Jaishankar's reception, asking Indians in America to each send at least five American families to India for holidays.
Sep 30 2014 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)
PM charms 2 powerpuff girls
Indrani Bagchi |
New Delhi: |
Among Narendra Modi's numerous meetings in New York, two stood out for the quality of his interlocutors. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu Congresswoman (from Hawaii), gifted the PM the copy of the Gita she used to take oath of office.
His second meeting was with Nikki Haley, the feisty Republican governor from South Carolina, a child of Punjabi immigrants, whose political future is particularly bright.
Gabbard became a practising Hindu from her mother who practises Chaitanya Vaishnavism propagated by ISKCON. Her father, a Christian, is believed to be a singer of kirtans. She is not only the first Hindu but also among the first combat veterans, having served two deployments in the Middle East.
Gabbard is a passionate yoga practitioner, and, according to the MEA spokesperson has enthusiastically greeted Modi's suggestion that the world celebrate an international yoga day . Gabbard will probably make her first visit to India as a guest of the PM.
"She discussed her approach towards issues of defence as well as international cooperation in terms of working against common threats that are posed through terror," The MEA spokesperson said.Actually, in the face of the ISIS threat, Gabbard has proposed that the US revoke its visa-waiver programme for UK, France and Germany, given the number of their citizens who have embraced the global terror group.
Haley, on the other hand, burst on the US political scene after she was elected South Carolina governor. She plans to lead a trade delegation to India in November and was one of the 30-odd politicians who listened to Modi in Madison Square.
Haley is currently the youngest governor in the US and with Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, the shining brown hope of the Republican Party -both will be people to watch out for in the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections.
Rajdeep Sardesai Scuffle: Journalist Seen Hitting Back at Modi Supporters [VIDEOS]
By Mugdha Variyar September 29, 2014 12:09 IST
Journalist Rajdeep SardesaiTwitter
Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, who was caught in a much-publicized scuffle with a group of pro-Modi supporters outside Madison Square Garden ahead of Narendra Modi's speech on Sunday is also facing the heat from several netizens on social media after videos showed him getting abusive as well.
According to reports, a mob of supporters of Modi were peeved at the journalist for taking up touchy issues about the Prime Minister even as thousands of Indians had assembled at the iconic venue for his address. Sardesai was interviewing several members of the Indian community in the run-up to Modi's speech, when the first incident occurred.
Did Rajdeep Sardesai Attack First? New Versions of Incident Go Viral on Social Media
While the video of the first assault on Sardesai outside the venue was circulated online, he also reportedly came under a second line of assault on the same day, as narrated by a fellow journalist.
However, another video has also surfaced showing Sardesai himself getting down to a fistfight with one of the members in the crowd, also hurling abuses at him, to which the crowd reacted angrily.
What had reportedly angered the crowd was Sardesai's tweet earlier in the day, about businessman Gautam Adani staying in the same hotel as Modi's in New York.
Sardesai had tweeted on Saturday, saying, "Guess who is the high profile Indian staying in the hotel where Indian PM is and attending all events?" And later followed it up with another tweet
- "Ans to yday question: Gautam Adani is the other VIP guest at Hotel New York Palace. Many of you got it right!"
The crowd hurled abuses at Sardesai with the chant "Rajdeep Sardesai Murdabad."
Here is the video of the incident that was posted on Youtube showing Sardesai being assaulted. However, its authenticity has not been verified.
Another video shows Sardesai getting aggressive at the crowd.
However, Sardesai's ordeal was not over with that incident, and he came under a second round of abuse by a group of Indians towards the end of Modi's speech as well, as brought out by journalist Achint Sharma in a Facebook post in which he describes the "Story Part II'.
Sardesai's fellow journalist Achint Sharma has come out with a post about the incident that he himself witnessed, in which he highlights how a mob of 50 people attacked the journalist and the camera person.
Here's an excerpt from the post:
The Story Part II ( Right after the event at Madison Square Garden)
I was at Times Square when I heard or in fact read about it as the screen out there flashed a tweet about Rajdeep's episode earlier in the day.
Once done interviewing and usual stuff, I took a walk down to the Madison Square Garden, the Venue where Rajdeep was heckled in the morning.... while I interviewed the last family, I hear some noise, quite different from 'Har Har Modi' or the 'Modi Modi' chant across the 7th Avenue. I turn around only to find Rajdeep Sardesai and a senior cameraperson in the middle of a mob trying to calm down a group of approximately 50 people around him."
"I barge in, just to check if Rajdeep was alright. Yes, he was. Smiling, calm, and trying to reason out a crowd which wasn't prepared to listen to anything he said. Then the pushing and shoving begins. A barrage of abuses follow.
Why? Probably because of Rajdeep's tweet about an influential person staying in the same hotel as Narendra Modi's.
The mob called him names and hurled the choicest of words towards him. When I tried to shield the fellow journalist, I realised, that I became a target as well. This went on for good 10-15 minutes. The NYPD was right there, but won't blame them for not knowing what was going on in the middle of that crowd of 50-odd people. The cameraman had to ensure his equipment was safe, so he was trying his best to fend off a few people who tried to come closer to Rajdeep. This went on for good 10 minutes.
Despite my repeated requests to stay away from Rajdeep, the mob continued to shout pro-Modi slogans right in his face to instigate him. A particular person wearing glasses, and an orange attire, almost shoved his phone into the cameraman's lens to which Rajdeep protested."
Sardesai has urged people to read the account.
Earlier on Sunday, Sardesai had taken to Twitter to vent about the first assault incident.
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