The Canadian Parvasi-issue 53

Brampton 

Coun. John 

Sprovieri 

planning 

run for 

mayor’s 

office 

Page 09 

www.canadianparvasi.com 

Issue No : 54 

Pandit Birju 

Maharaj 

Mesmerizes 

Dance 

Enthusiasts With 

His Performance 

And Abhinaya 

Page 12 

FIBE TV 

Channel No. 2329

The International News Weekly Canada 

02 

July 13, 2018 | Toronto 

Sparsh Shah gets CIF’s 2018 Global Indian Award 

Toronto : Canada India Foundation 

honoured Sparsh Shah, the 14-year-old 

prodigy, with the Global Indian Award on 

6 July 2018 at Pearson Convention Centre, 

Brampton. 

Canada’s Prime Minister Hon. Justin 

Trudeau congratulated Sparsh Shah 

for getting the award. In a video message, 

recorded by Hon. GaganSikand, Liberal 

MP from Mississauga-Streetsville, the PM 

lauded Sparsh’s talent and spirit, and encouraged 

him to continue on his special 

journey of discovery through his music. 

Hon. Nina Tangri, the newly elected 

MPP from Mississauga-Streets ville, read 

a message from the new Ontario Premier 

Hon. Doug Ford in which he congratulated 

Canada India Foundation, stating, “For all 

Ontarians, the Canada India Foundation 

exemplifies our vibrant pluralistic province 

and highlights the contributions that 

the South Asian community continues to 

make to our culture and heritage.” Hon. 

Stephen Lecce, Parliamentary Assistant 

to the Minister of Infrastructure, and Hon. 

Deepak Anand, MPP from Mississauga- 

Malton, accompanied Hon. Tangri when 

she read the Premier’s message. 

Sparsh was the unanimous nominee of 

CIF’s 2018 Global Indian Award. The award 

recognizes an individual who has championed 

the transformation of India into a 

global power and presence on the world 

stage. It has a cash component of $50,000 

that is donated to a charity of Award recipient’s 

choice. It is the first such award of its 

kind outside India, and it brings together 

who’s who in Canada’s business and political 

circles, making it the most high profile 

Indo-Canadian event in Canada, year after 

year. Sparsh, better known as ‘Purhythm’, 

the rapper, was born with brittle bone disorder, 

which causes perennial fractures of 

limbs.He was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, 

which makes his bones extremely 

brittle, due to which even a hard handshake 

can break his bones. He cannot bear 

weight on his hands and legs; hence cannot 

walk or run like other normal kids. 

He has had more than 130 fractures and 

multiple rod surgeries so far in 14 years of 

his life. Despite such debilitating conditions, 

Sparsh’s musical talent has built a 

massive fan following on social media of 

over 70 million followers. He is also a motivational 

speaker. He has been training 

in Indian classical music for the last eight 

years and American vocal music for over 

four years. 

The Global Indian Award was launched 

in 2008 a year after Canada India Foundation 

was established to foster better bilateral 

relations between Canada and India, 

to create opportunities for Indo-Canadians, 

and to educate Canadians about the significance 

of the new India. Previous winners of 

the Global Indian Award are Sam Pitroda, 

Tulsi Tanti, Ratan Tata, Deepak Chopra, 

NR Narayana Murthy, Subhash Chandra, 

and Swami Ramdev. 

A who’s who of the Greater Toronto Area’s 

Indo-Canadian community participated 

in the Gala, which included entertainment 

by physically challenged artists Azaz 

and Sufia, and Luca – Lazy Legs – Patuelli. 

Canada urged to give asylum to 

Afghan Sikhs, Hindus 

Continued from page 01 

The recent deadly terror 

attack that targeted 

Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan 

has left the Canadian 

Sikh community 

devastated and it has also 

highlighted the inaction 

on the private sponsorships 

of 65 Afghan Sikh 

and Hindu families that 

have not yet been processed. 

The Afghan Sikh and 

Hindu communities are 

in a crisis situation with 

a lack of safety and security 

for their lives. The 

Canadian Sikh community 

expects more from our 

government and urges 

the government to: 

1. Recognize Sikhs 

and Hindus in Afghanistan 

as vulnerable minorities 

and develop an appropriate 

plan of action 

with our international 

allies to directly evacuate 

them from their current 

situation without requiring 

them to first go to a 

third country. 

2. Fast track and fully 

complete the files of the 

65 Afghan Sikh & Hindu 

refugee families who 

have been privately sponsored 

and whose files are 

under process. 

Over the coming 

days, members from the 

Sikh Community will be 

engaging with the government 

and elected officials 

to develop and path 

forward for those impacted 

by the violence in 

Afghanistan. To ensure 

awareness of the situation 

and to encourage our 

government to act swiftly, 

Canadians are encouraged 

to reach out to their 

elected officials to make 

their concerns and expectations 

known. 

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Jotvinder Sodhi along with many concerned residents 

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employment land transfer to housing projects in 

Brampton (sleep) City. 

On behalf of the residents, 400 plus online, and 200 

paper copy signed petitions has been submitted to the 

planning board to decline the developer proposal of 

Mayfield and McVean employment/Plaza land transfer 

to housing. City of Brampton already has a huge mismatch 

between employment land and housing in comparison 

to surrounding cities such as Mississauga, Toronto, 

Bolton, Vaughan due to lack of visionary policy 

by the council and the mayor over the years. 

Brampton is facing law & order situation, high rate 

of crime, poor health care due to one partially working 

hospital, lack of employment opportunity, high property 

tax, and many more issues. While surrounding cities 

are developing faster. City of Brampton failed to lobby 

with province, and federal government for fair funding. 

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Email: editor@canadianparvasi.com Contact Number : 905-673-0600 July 13, 2018 | Pages 12 

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Congress losing sleep over 

govt's pro-farmer steps: Modi 

Indo-Asian News Service 

Malout (Punjab): Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi said that the 

Congress and its allies were losing 

sleep as his government was taking 

many initiatives to improve the status 

of farmers across the country. 

Addressing a rally of farmers 

and farm labourers in this southwestern 

town of Punjab, Modi said: 

"The Congress is losing sleep over 

farmers getting their dues from our 

government. Congress sat on all demands 

of farmers for years. They 

(Congress and its allies) are unable 

to comprehend what is happening 

now. They cannot accept the fact 

that the farmers of this country will 

get good sleep now." 

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana 

and Rajasthan participated in the 

rally in the town, which lies close to 

the border of the three states. 

Continued on page 07 

Chandigarh : Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh 

on Wednesday said he was "disappointed" over Prime 

Minister Narendra Modi's "failure" to address any of the 

major concerns of the farmers at his Malout rally earlier 

in the day. 

"The distressed farmers who had gathered to hear Modi 

found no succour for their problems in his long speech, 

which was high on fluff and short of substance," Amarinder 

Singh said in a statement here. 

Modi had visited Malout town, around 275 km from Chandigarh, 

to address a "thanksgiving rally" organised by 

BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal in the wake of the "biggest 

Farmers hold protest as 

Modi arrives in Punjab 

for farmers' rally 

No swachh abhiyaan at 

rally 

Read Complete report on page 7 

Modi failed to address farmers' concerns: Punjab CM 

hike in MSP for paddy" announced by the Modi government 

last week. 

The Chief Minister said he was shocked over the fact that 

the Prime Minister failed to even mention the farmer suicides 

and debts or even the Swaminathan committee's 

report. 

Amarinder Singh, who heads the Congress government in 

agrarian Punjab, said the rally turned out to be a "sorry 

spectacle for the farmers who had braved sweltering 

heat in the hope of some concrete announcements from 

the Prime Minister". 


Ontario reverting to old 

sex-ed curriculum in 

fall: education minister 

Ontario : Teaching 

the same sex-ed curriculum 

they did in the 

late 1990s this fall after 

the province's new government 

announced 

Wednesday it was revoking 

an updated version 

brought in by the previous 

regime. 

Just over a week 

into the summer break, 

Education Minister Lisa 

Thompson said ministry 

staff were working to 

inform school boards of 

the decision to revert to 

the curriculum that was 

in place before 2015. 

The older curriculum 

will remain in effect 

until the government 

completes a "fulsome 

consultation respecting 

parents" on how to modernize 

the material, she 

said. 

conservatives, when 

the Liberal government 

introduced it three 

Canada urged to give asylum 

to Afghan Sikhs, Hindus 

Ontario: The Ontario 

Gurdwaras Committee 

(OGC) and the Ontario 

Sikhs and Gurdwaras 

Council (OSGC) hosted a 

joint press conference to 

discuss and highlight the 

current situation of Sikhs 

and Hindu in Afghanistan 

and to determine the 

next steps in providing 

help and aid to those affected. 

Representatives 

from the British Columbia 

Sikh Gurdwara Council, 

Baljinder Singh Bhullar, 

father of the late MLA 

Manmeet Singh Bhullar, 

Sharanjeet Kaur from the 

World Sikh Organization 

of Canada and Jatinder 

Singh from Khalsa Aid 

Canada also joined the 

press conference. 


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Pakistan's first 

Sikh police officer 

'thrashed, evicted' 

from his house 


Lahore : Pakistans first 

Sikh police officer Gulab Singh 

Shaheen has claimed that he 

was thrashed and evicted from 

his house in Lahores Dera 

Chahal along with his children 

and wife, following a property 

dispute with ETPB - the parent 

body of Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak 

Committee. 


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The International News Weekly Canada 

July 13, 2018 | Toronto 04 

Brampton Coun. John Sprovieri 

planning run for mayor’s office 

Brampton and regional councillor 

for Wards 9 and 10, John Sprovieri, has 

confirmed he is planning to run against 

incumbent Mayor Linda Jeffrey for the 

city’s top job in the Oct. 22 municipal 

election. 

Sprovieri, who has served as a councillor 

in Brampton since 1988, is the last 

incumbent member of council to reveal 

his plans for the next council term. “Our 

present mayor came with good connections 

from the province and Bramptonians 

were expecting to get a better deal 

from her and her Liberal friends. Instead, 

Brampton received less and were 

neglected and ignored by the premier 

and prime minister,” said Sprovieri. 

Cancelling Ontario's wind project could 

cost over $100M, company warns 

Ontario : The federal NDP 

leader — who isn’t on the 

public payroll because he remains 

unelected — has never 

drawn a salary from his party 

and doesn’t intend to receive 

a paycheque until its finances 

“significantly” improve, his 

press secretary says. 

Green energy project that 

has been under development 

for nearly a decade could cost 

more than $100 million, the 

president of the company said 

Wednesday, warning that the 

dispute could be headed to the 

courts. 

Ontario's governing Progressive 

Conservatives said 

this week that one of their 

first priorities during the 

legislature's summer sitting 

would be to cancel the contract 

for the White Pines Project 

in Prince Edward County. 

Ian MacRae, president of 

WPD Canada, the company 

behind the project, said he 

was stunned by the news 

given that the project is weeks 

away from completion. 

"What our lawyers are 

telling us is we have a completely 

valid contract that 

we've had since 2009 with the 

(Independent Electricity System 

Operator). ... There's no 

He identified a number of areas he’d 

like to focus on if elected where he feels 

recent incarnations of council have 

dropped the ball. 

Among them, he listed hospital wait 

times, LRT funding and unequal representation 

on regional council. He also 

said he believes the city has suffered 

reputational damage resulting from 

good reason for the government 

to breach that contract," 

he said. 

The government has also 

not reached out to discuss the 

cancellation, he said. Meanwhile, 

construction on the site 

is in full swing, he said. 

"Over the last couple 

weeks we've had an average of 

100 people on site every day," 

he said. "The footprint of the 

project is 100 per cent in. So, 

all the access roads, the concrete 

for the base foundations, 

much of the electrical infrastructure. 

The sub-station is 

nearing completion." 

The project includes nine 

wind turbines meant to produce 

enough electricity to 

power just over 3,000 homes 

annually. All of the turbines 

are expected to be installed 

over the next three weeks, 

with testing scheduled for the 

following month. 

MacRae couldn't say for 

certain who would have to 

pay for the cancellation, electricity 

ratepayers or taxpayers. 

"Somehow that money 

would come from IESO and it 

would be my assumption that 

would end up somehow on the 

ratepayers," he said. "We just 

need to see what the government 

has in mind and who 

will foot the bill." 

Progressive Conservative 

house leader Todd Smith, who 

represents the riding where 

the project is being built, said 

the legislation to cancel the 

project will also insulate taxpayers 

from domestic litigation 

over the dismantling of 

green energy projects. 

"This is something that 

the people of Prince Edward 

County have been fighting ... 

for seven years," he said. "This 

the seven-year-long, $28.5 million Inzola 

lawsuit currently before the Ontario 

Court of Justice. Sprovieri also questioned 

the logic behind the chosen site 

for the downtown Ryerson University 

campus where the downtown GO train 

station parking lot is located. 

The site was chosen by the province, 

but Sprovieri feels the city should have 

stepped up lobbying efforts for more 

decision-making power in the process. 

In addition, Sprovieri says he’d like 

to see what he described as pervasive 

infighting on council come to an end, 

and believes that starts with leadership. 

Sprovieri is planning to file his nomination 

papers early next week. 

Heart drugs containing valsartan recalled in Canada 

due to contamination with possible carcinogen 

OTTAWA : Canada is one 

of 22 countries affected by 

a recall of a common drug 

for treating high blood 

pressure and prevention 

of heart attacks and stroke 

because of contamination 

with a potential carcinogen. 

In a release on July 9, 

Health Canada identified a 

list of 28 products containing 

the ingredient valsartan 

that are being recalled by 

their manufacturers. 

The valsartan used in 

the products contains an 

impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine 

(NDMA), a chemical 

that could potentially 

cause cancer in humans 

with long-term exposure, 

according to the government 

agency. The valsartan 

was supplied by Zhejiang 

Huahai Pharmaceuticals. 

Health Canada indicated 

it is monitoring the 

companies’ recalls and suggests 

people taking medicine 

with valsartan should 

keep doing so unless their 

doctor or pharmacist tells 

them to stop.Health Canada 

also advises anyone taking 

any medication containing 

valsartan to speak to their 

pharmacist to find out if 

their medicine is being recalled. 

Meanwhile, anyone 

who has been using an affected 

product should contact 

their health care practitioner 

as soon as they can to 

discuss treatment options. 

shouldn't have come as a surprise 

to anybody that this was 

at the top of the agenda for the 

incoming government." 

Smith questioned why 

Ontario's Independent Electricity 

System Operator gave 

the final approval for the project 

during the spring election 

campaign. 

"There's a lot of questions 

about how this ever 

got greenlighted in the first 

place," he said. "This project 

was granted its notice to proceed 

two days into the election 

campaign ... when (the IESO) 

should have been in the caretaker 

mode." 

Terry Young, the IESO's 

vice president of policy, engagement 

and innovation, 

said the agency could not comment 

because of the pending 

introduction of legislation to 

cancel the deal. 

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath 

said the new Tory government 

is behaving like the 

previous Liberal government 

by cancelling energy projects 

and tearing up contracts. She 

likened the Tory plan to the 

Liberal gas plant scandal that 

saw the government relocate 

two plants at a substantial 

cost to taxpayers. 

Bank of Canada expected 

to resume tightening key 

interest rate 

The Bank of Canada is widely expected to boost a 

key interest rate on Wednesday as it resumes efforts to 

"wean" the economy off low borrowing costs. 

The bank's target for the overnight rate — what major 

financial institutions charge each other for one-day loans 

— has been at 1.25 per cent since mid-January. Since 

then, the bank has stood firm on three subsequent rate 

announcements. That string is generally expected to end 

this week. As of Tuesday, the implied probability of a rate 

hike to 1.5 per cent stood at just over 96 per cent, according 

to Bloomberg. A hike could lead financial institutions to 

raise prime rates, and see Canadians pay higher borrowing 

costs on such products as variable-rate mortgages. 

The pending rate announcement comes against a 

backdrop of somewhat cooler economic growth, gains in 

employment and inflation running roughly on the Bank 

of Canada's two per cent target. 

"Given that the economy is pretty average at this 

point, I think that does clear the decks for the bank to 

slowly but surely get interest rates back to what they 

would consider to be average or normal." said BMO Capital 

Markets chief economist Douglas Porter. 

"So we're expecting the Bank of Canada to raise interest 

rates this week." CIBC is also expecting a hike, which 

it believes will be the last for this year. 

"In Canada, economic news has generally improved 

for [the second quarter], and although that's likely enough 

to prompt a quarter point hike in rates on Wednesday, it's 

not as if the evidence of overheating is so overwhelming," 

said CIBC Capital Markets chief economist Avery Shenfeld 

in a recent commentary. 

Canada to make seatbelts 

mandatory on new 

highway buses by 2020 

New rule coming in response to deadly Humboldt Broncos 

bus crash. Transport 

Canada said today it will 

soon require all newly built 

highway buses to have seatbelts. 

The federal department 

said in a news release it 

will make seatbelts mandatory 

on medium and large highway buses starting Sept. 

1, 2020. The department said seatbelts have a strong and 

proven record of saving lives. 

Transport Canada said it first proposed the change in 

2017. The idea of making seatbelts on buses mandatory 

has been discussed since April 6, when a bus carrying the 

Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team collided with a 

semi-truck in rural Saskatchewan. 

Sixteen people were killed and 13 others were injured 

in the crash. A lawsuit filed by the parents of one 

of the players this week asked for a court order requiring 

all buses carrying sports teams in Saskatchewan to be 

equipped with seatbelts. Transport Canada said mediumsized 

buses are defined as having a weight over 4,536 kilograms. 

The department said small buses, with the exception 

of school buses, are already required to have lap and 

shoulder belts. The department said the new rules won't 

apply to school buses because they are already designed 

to protect children in a crash.

The International News Weekly world 

05 


Trump: Nato states agree to 

increase defence funds 

Brussels: US President 

Donald Trump on 

Thursday said that NATO 

countries have agreed to 

increase their military 

spending after he threatened 

to pull out at the summit 

here. 

Speaking after a twoday 

summit in Brussels, he 

said allies had committed 

to spending more than 2 per 

cent of their annual output 

(GDP) on defence budgets, 

the BBC reported. 

The President has been 

highly critical of the alliance, 

complaining the 

US pays more than other 

NATO members do. He 

singled out Germany on 

Wednesday for its "lagging 

defence spending" and accused 

it of being beholden 

to Russia as it buys energy 

from Moscow. 

Trump said he would 

have been "very unhappy" 

if other NATO members 

didn't increase their defence 

spending. 

"I told people that I 

would be very unhappy if 

they didn't up their commitments 

very substantially. 

Because the US has 

been paying a tremendous 

amount, probably 90 per 

cent of the cost of NATO." 

But, after the Thursday 

conference, Trump said 

he believed in NATO and 

it was "presently unnecessary" 

to consider quitting 

it. "We made a tremendous 

amount of progress today... 

It has been really amazing 

to see the level of spirit in 

that room." 

On being asked whether 

he was still threatening 

to potentially pull the 

US out of the NATO for 

any reason, Trump said: "I 

think I probably can, but 

that is unnecessary. They 

have stepped up today like 

they have never stepped up 

before." 

He defended his approach 

to dealing with 

NATO allies, in particular 

Germany, calling it "a very 

effective way to deal". 

Trump pointed to increased 

financial commitments 

from NATO allies as 

a measure of his success, 

though it was not immediately 

clear what specific 

pledges he secured and the 

President declined to elaborate 

beyond saying NATO 

allies will spend more on 

defence and faster. 

He also pointed to progress 

over the last year, 

prior to this NATO summit. 

"We took in $33 billion 

more," Trump said, pointing 

to increased financial 

commitments. 

Pakistan's first Sikh police officer 

'thrashed, evicted' from his house 


Taking to social media late on Tuesday, Singh claims 

that he was evicted by Evacuee Trust Property Board 

(ETPB), the parent body of Sikh Gurudwara Prabandhak 

Committee (PSGPC). "My turban was forced open and hair 

was untied," Singh says in 

one of the videos he shared 

on Facebook. In a video, 

Singh can be seen pleading 

to police to give him 

"at least 10 minutes" to be 

in the place where they 

have been staying since 1947. He has also appealed to Sikhs 

across the world to help him and take note of disrespect to a 

Sikh's hair and turban. 

In 2011, Gulab Singh had filed a case against then Chairman 

of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Syed Asif 

Akhtar Hashmi for illegally selling Gurudwara property. 

In February 2018, the country's apex court held Hashmi 

responsible. The ETPB maintained Singh had illegally 

occupied the "Langar" Hall of Gurdwara Janum Asthan 

"Bebe Nanaki Dera Chahil", which was vacated by an 

anti-encroachment team.Evacuee Trust Property Board, 

established in 1960, is a statutory board of the Government 

of Pakistan, which administers evacuee properties and 

shrines of Hindus and Sikhs attached to religious, charitable 

or educational trusts, left behind by Hindus and Sikhs 

who migrated to India after the 1947 partition of India. 

India, Pakistan armies 

to train together in 

SCO anti-terror 

military drill 

New Delhi : The India and Pakistan armies, ranged 

against each other on volatile borders and the Line of 

Control (LoC) between the two countries, will participate 

in a counter-terrorist exercise in Russia next month. It 

will be the first military collaboration between the two 

countries since 1947 when they won independence. 

However, India and Pakistani soldiers have worked 

together in third countries for over 60 years in peacekeeping 

operations under the United Nations. 

India will be sending 200 troops, mainly of the 5 Rajput 

Regiment and airmen of the Indian Air Force, to 

take part in the military exercise to be held under the 

umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation 

(SCO) from August 22 to 29 at Chelyabinsk in west-central 

Russia, according to Russia's Sputnik news. 

In all, around 3,000 troops from India, Pakistan, Russia, 

China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan 

will take part in the exercise. 

With over 70 percent of India's military assets being 

of Russian origin, the Indian Army and the Indian Air 

Force will not be sending any of their military assets, 

as the soldiers will use Russian equipment. "The Indian 

contingent will be led by a Brigadier-rank officer and is 

expected to fly out in an IL-76 with their weapons. Tanks 

and other heavy equipment will be provided by the Russian 

armed forces to be used by the Indian troops from 

our mechanized units," Sputnik said citing an unnamed 

source. India and China have held a military exercise 

called "Hand-in-Hand" in the last few years. This year, 

the two armies are likely to resume their bilateral military 

exercise in September after the cancellation of last 

year's drill following a border standoff in Doklam. 

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Don't allow pro-Khalistani meet in 

London, India tells Britain 


New Delhi: India said on Thursday 

it had asked Britain not to allow a 

meeting of pro-Khalistanis scheduled 

in London next month. 

Stating that India had issued a demarche 

to Britain, External Affairs 

Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar 

said: "We have seen reports and 

I would like to confirm that we have 

taken this matter up with the UK government. 

"We expect that the UK government 

will not allow any such group, 

whose intention is to spread hatred 

and impact our bilateral relations, to 

use its country." 

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a human 

rights advocacy group with radical 

leaning, has announced that it will 

hold what it calls a "London Declaration" 

on an independence referendum 

for the Indian state of Punjab in London 

on August 12. 

Kumar said the majority of 

the Sikh community, whether they 

be in Britain or living in other 

countries, have very good relations 

with India. 

"They also have good relations 

with the countries in which they are 

living," he said. 

"As far as such small groups are 

concerned, I believe these are fringe 

elements and their job is to spread hatred 

and communal disharmony."

EDIT 

The International News Weekly July 13, 2018 | Toronto 06 

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w w w . canadianparv asi. c o m 

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Editor (India) 

Online 

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Contact 

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Decriminalise Gays 

Government stays passive, 

Supreme Court should uphold rights 

to liberty, equality and privacy 

The Union government’s decision to leave the 

decriminalisation of homosexuality to the wisdom 

of the Supreme Court puts the ball squarely 

in the judiciary’s court. This is almost a restating 

of the erstwhile UPA government’s position 

where a Group of Ministers did not find fault 

with the 2009 Delhi high court judgment that 

decriminalised homosexuality but left it to SC 

to take a “final view”. Leading political parties 

seem to fear the ire of conservative voters even 

though their leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Arun 

Jaitley were critical of the 2013 SC judgment that 

recriminalised homosexuality. 

The 2013 judgment was untenable and subsequent 

SC rulings made no bones about this. In 

April 2014, SC upheld the transgender community’s 

demand for acceptance as the third gender 

and the individual’s right to choose their own 

gender identity. Last year’s pathbreaking judgment 

that recognised privacy as a fundamental 

right saw five judges take exception to the 2013 

verdict’s opinion that LGBTs constituted “a 

miniscule fraction of the country's population” 

and very few prosecutions were initiated in 150 

years, thus yielding no sound basis for Delhi HC 

declaring that Section 377 of the Indian Penal 

Code violated the rights to equality, life and personal 

liberty. 

In the privacy judgment, Justice Chandrachud 

wrote, “Sexual orientation is an essential 

attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an 

individual on the basis of sexual orientation is 

deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of 

the individual. … Their rights are not ‘so-called’ 

but are real rights founded on sound constitutional 

doctrine.” The British who bequeathed 

us the IPC have come to accept homosexuality. 

But India has clung harder and longer to colonial 

social mores that criminalised homosexuality, 

adultery and suicide. 

In this regard, delineating the right to privacy 

was important because it tells both state and 

society where to get off. The state must not intrude 

into the choices made by consenting adults. 

Equally, it is obliged to take measures that protect 

the individual’s privacy. For instance, National 

Aids Control Organisation attributed the 

higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS among gay men 

to a disabling environment which stigmatised 

them and discouraged patients from accessing 

NACO’s free services. Time and again, judges 

have spoken up for religious, sexual, ethnic and 

linguistic minorities while Parliament and assemblies 

have baulked. They must do so again 

on 377. TNN 

Don’t Witch Hunt Bankers 

Prevention of Corruption Act must be speedily amended, else 

decision making will be frozen 

Krishnamurthy Subramanian 

A cardinal principle 

of a justice system is that 

even if a thousand guilty 

go scot free, not one innocent 

should be punished 

inadvertently. In the current 

round of arrests of and 

chargesheets on public sector 

bankers, this cardinal 

principle stands violated. 

As cases drag on for 

years, reputations carved 

with decades of diligent 

and sincere action stand 

besmirched. As several 

cases pertain to retired 

officers, the officers’ postretirement 

reality is now 

consumed by worries 

about criminal action in 

courts and the prospect of 

having to run from pillar 

to post to extricate oneself. 

The most damaging aspect 

of these incidents is 

that the genuinely corrupt 

and the honest who may 

have only deviated from 

procedure are clubbed together. 

Needless to say, 

this pooling must surely 

delight the crooks who are 

now in august company. 

To address the issues 

that these incidents raise, 

the amendment to the Prevention 

of Corruption Act 

(PCA) needs to be taken up 

urgently in the forthcoming 

session of Parliament. 

To learn from best practices 

elsewhere, consider 

the US, which is among 

the most litigious of countries. 

Even in civil liability 

cases, where the burden 

of proof is weaker than in 

criminal cases, the “business 

judgment rule” governs 

court decisions. 

The business judgment 

rule refers to a common 

law presumption that directors 

and officers act in 

the best interests of the 

corporation they serve. 

Therefore, a court will not 

review the substantive wisdom 

underlying business 

decisions, as otherwise 

decision makers would be 

“frozen in inaction” if they 

were to be subject to legal 

action for decisions which 

in hindsight were monetarily 

or otherwise unsuccessful. 

The rule generally requires 

a clear indication 

of fraud, gross negligence 

or self-benefit. Courts have 

also ruled that the burden 

of proof on fraud and gross 

negligence also rests on 

demonstrating self-benefit. 

Crucially, mistakes or errors 

in the exercise of honest 

business judgment do 

not subject decision makers 

to liability for negligence 

in the discharge of 

their appointed duties. 

In criminal cases, the 

standard of proof required 

for a conviction is even 

stronger. The main burden 

of proof rests on demonstrating 

self-benefit, monetary 

or otherwise, which 

thereby demonstrates that 

an individual abused his 

loyalty to his organisation 

by benefiting himself. 

Criminal cases against 

individuals too typically 

stand or fall in courts 

based on whether selfbenefit 

is demonstrated. 

The PCA needs to be 

changed so that economic 

decisions are evaluated using 

demonstrated self-benefit 

as the standard for admissible 

evidence. If there 

is no evidence of self-benefit, 

FIRs and chargesheets 

should not ordinarily be 

filed. The present process 

adopted is to scrutinise all 

loan cases above a threshold 

limit where there have 

been defaults and to identify 

procedural lapses as 

the basis for vigilance enforcement 

action, without 

necessarily obtaining evidence 

of self-benefit. 

Demonstrating selfbenefit 

is imperative because, 

unlike other professions, 

banking involves 

judgment exercised using 

soft information, which is 

primarily qualitative and 

subjective. To illustrate, 

the character of a borrower, 

which a lender must 

invariably assess, involves 

a subjective assessment 

that can vary from one individual 

to another. Similarly, 

assessing the future 

growth potential of a borrower 

involves subjective 

assumptions of the future 

that may seem reasonable 

to one individual but not to 

another. 

As well, such assessments 

that may have 

seemed perfectly reasonable 

at the time when the 

judgment was exercised 

may appear unreasonable 

or irrationally exuberant 

in hindsight. For instance, 

renewing a loan where 

the bank’s exposure is less 

than 10% of a borrower’s 

overall obligation seems 

reasonable at the time the 

renewal was granted. So, 

the process and professional 

standards set by investigating 

agencies need to be 

debated if they question 

that decision now because 

the borrower turned out 

to be a fugitive wilful defaulter. 

Such instances equate 

reasonable judgment, 

let alone bad judgment, 

to malafide intent. Similar 

questions need to be 

asked if the investigative 

agencies treat as malafide 

intent those lending decisions 

that were based on 

an irrationally exuberant 

extrapolation of high economic 

growth in the past 

into the future. If investigative 

agencies cannot demonstrate 

self-benefit, but 

nevertheless bring accusations 

of corruption against 

bank managers, the investigative 

agencies would 

need to subject themselves 

to a higher standard of professional 

scrutiny. 

To be clear, the intention 

is not to understate 

the extent of corruption in 

public sector banks, which 

is a major public policy 

concern. However, the intent 

is to highlight that the 

instruments for identifying 

and tackling corruption 

in lending need to be 

nuanced, because the burden 

of evidence needs to be 

more demanding. 

Absent this change, 

several adverse consequences 

will follow. First, 

bank officers become extremely 

reluctant to handle 

credit. Second, a perverse 

belief then develops 

in banks wherein those 

who have not ‘soiled their 

hands with credit’ find the 

easiest path into top management. 

Third, the very 

nature of credit appraisal 

then becomes mechanistic, 

driven solely by stipulated 

processes. 

World over, the best 

credit officers use discretion 

innovatively and 

thereby often deviate from 

established procedures. In 

the best banks in the world, 

deviation from procedure 

does not imply culpability. 

We need to usher in a 

similar legal framework 

for investigation and vigilance 

enforcement so that 

the credit culture in the 

country can be genuinely 

improved. 

The writer is Associate 

Professor of Finance, ISB Hyderabad 

and on the boards of 

Bandhan Bank, RBI Academy 

and NIBM 

Source Credit: This article 

was first published in The Times 

of India. 

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The International News Weekly kisan kalyan rally 

07 


Congress losing sleep over 

govt's pro-farmer steps: Modi 

Farmers hold protest as Modi 

arrives in Punjab for farmers' rally 


"Our government is trying 

to restore the respect given to 

farmers and soldiers. We have 

increased the farmers' income 

by 1.5 times. We will try to 

double it by 2022," the Prime 

Minister said. 

The PM referred to the 

recent hike in the Minimum 

Support Price (MSP) of kharif 

crops and said the hike ranged 

from Rs 200 to Rs 1,800 per 

quintal for various crops. He 

blamed the Congress rule for 

the misery of farmers in the 

country, saying the Congress 

governments were working 

only for the benefit of one family. 

"Congress has always 

cheated farmers. Farmers 

have suffered for many decades 

as the party that ruled 

the country for most part of 

the past 70 years did nothing 

for them. The Congress has 

tried to appease only one family," 

Modi said. 

The PM listed his government's 

various initiatives such 

as crop insurance, soil health 

cards, hike in MSP, availability 

of urea and other farming 

inputs, ensuring availability 

of seeds and providing marketing 

facilities for selling produce. 

"We are giving importance 

to organic, dairy and 

fish farming to increase farmers' 

income. We have made 

a provision to curb stubble 

burning. I appeal to all farmers 

not to burn the crop residue," 

Modi said. 


Malout : Setting a precedent, 

Punjab's AAP MLA 

Aman Arora on Thursday 

underwent a dope test and 

dared Chief Minister Amarinder 

Singh to lead by example 

and get such a test 

done on himself, his Cabinet 

members and ruling 

Congress MLAs. Farmers 

owing allegiance to various 

organisations held a 

protest and showed black 

flags as Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi arrived here 

on Wednesday to address a 

rally. 

Punjab Police and security 

agencies stopped the 

protesting farmers at a distance 

from the venue and 

Modi failed to address farmers' 

concerns: Punjab CM 


"Instead, Modi's speech 

turned out to be an insipid affair, 

focused on tom-tomming 

of his government's four-year 

rule, which has been a complete 

failure on all counts," 

Amarinder Singh said. 

The CM said it was unfortunate 

that Modi had let go of 

a major opportunity to address 

the serious concerns of the 

farming community. "If really 

wanted to thank the Punjab 

farmers for contributing to the 

nation's Green Revolution and 

for continuing to feed millions 

of Indians day after day, Modi 

should have come out with 

some concrete announcements 

on the critical issues of farm 

loan waiver and total implementation 

of the Swaminathan 

report." 

"In his zeal to criticize the 

Congress, Modi conveniently 

forgot that it was my party 

(Congress) that was responsible 

for ushering in the Green 

Revolution and thus ensuring 

the country's food security. He 

should have had the decency 

to at least acknowledge the 

Congress for waiving farmer 

loans while his own government 

had completely failed 

to provide them relief from 

massive debts," the CM added. 

Amarinder Singh also flayed 

the Akali Dal for "betraying" 

Punjab by letting Haryana CM 

Manohar Lal Khattar to participate 

in the rally in Muktsar 

district. "Considering Khattar's 

stand on the SYL (Sutlej-Yamuna 

Link Canal) and Punjab waters, 

the Akalis should not have 

let him be a part of the rally in 

the first place, or should have 

used the opportunity to corner 

him over these important 

issues which are vital to the 

interest of Punjab and its farmers," 

Amarinder Singh said. 

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some were detained. 

Tight security arrangements 

were made as 

Modi arrived in Malout 

town, around 275 km from 

Chandigarh, to address a 

"thanksgiving rally" organised 

by the Shiromani Akali 

Dal (SAD) to mark the "biggest 

hike in MSP of paddy" 

which was announced by 

the Modi government last 

week. 

SAD President Sukhbir 

Singh Badal had termed 

the Minimum Support 

Price (MSP) hike as an 

"unprecedented historic increase". 

Farmers from Punjab, 

Haryana and Rajasthan 

participated in the rally as 

Malout town in south-west 

Punjab's Muktsar district 

lies close to the border of all 

three states. 

The Prime Minister had 

last week hailed the Union 

Cabinet's decision to give 

MSP of 1.5 times on the input 

cost to farmers as "historic". 

He also asserted that his 

government will continue 

to take steps for the welfare 

of the farming community, 

including doubling the income 

of farmers by 2022. 

Punjab Chief Minister 

Amarinder Singh has 

dismissed the MSP hike 

announced by the Centre 

as "nothing more than a 

cosmetic measure", adding 

that it does not address the 

core concerns of the farming 

community. 

No swachh abhiyaan at rally 

MALOUT : A score of persons 

accused the organisers 

of the kisan kalyan 

rally here of wasting a lot 

of food after the rally was 

over and throwing it on 

the road instead of distributing 

among the poor. 

They further said this action 

was against Prime 

Minster Narendra Modi's 

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. 

The picture showing the 

food being thrown went viral 

in the evening and even 

a SAD municipal councillor 

from Bathinda shared 

these on his FB page. 

Punjab fiance minster 

Manpreet Badal's relative 

Jaijeet Johal said organisers 

not only wasted food 

but created hellish like 

conditions in the grain 

market after the rally. 

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The PM should call off his 

swachh abiyan or direct 

SAD and BJP workers to 

act diligently, he added. 

One of the organisers said, 

"We will clear the mess. It 

should not have happened. 

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The International News Weekly india 

July 13, 2018 | Toronto 08 

Government leaves decriminalizing gay sex to SC's wisdom 


' 

New Delhi: The Central 

government on Wednesday 

said it was leaving it to the 

wisdom of the Supreme 

Court to decide if a law that 

criminalizes consensual 

gay sex was constitutionally 

valid. 

On the second day of 

the apex court hearing on 

the plea challenging the 

constitutional validity of 

Indian Penal Code's Section 

377 that criminalises 

homosexuality, the Centre 

did not spell out its stand 

one way or the other. 

A brief affidavit it filed 

said: "...so far as the constitutional 

validity Section 

377 to the extent it applies to 

"consensual acts of adults 

in private" is concerned, 

the Union of India would 

leave the said question to 

the wisdom of this Court." 

However, it urged the 

five-judge constitution 

bench of Chief Justice 

Dipak Misra, Justices Rohinton 

Fali Nariman, A.M. 

Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud 

and Indu Malhotra 

that they should confine 

the hearing to deciding the 

challenge to the law without 

any scope that may 

give rise to LGBT community 

claiming civil rights 

including right to property, 

inheritance marriage, 

adoption and other rights. 

"What ever may not be 

in question may not be decided," 

Additional Solicitor 

General Tushar Mehta told 

the court expressing the apprehension 

of the Centre. 

He told the court that 

if it intended to touch on 

other issues like same sex 

marriage, then the Centre 

will file another detailed affidavit. 

Airing the government's 

concerns, Mehta 

referred to Justice Chandrachud's 

observation made 

during the course of the 

hearing on Tuesday that in 

Hadiya judgement, that "we 

have already decided that 

the right to choose partner 

is a fundamental right". 

Clarifying his observation, 

Justice Chandrachud 

said they were not going to 

decide "kinky issues". 

"We are (debating) on 

whether the relationship 

between two adults is itself 

a manifestation of Article 

21 of the Constitution," he 

said. 

"We don't want a situation 

when two gays enjoying 

a walk on Marine Drive 

should be disturbed by police 

and charged under Section 

377 IPC," he said. 

Chief Justice Misra 

said: "We will decide 

whether consensual sex 

between two consenting 

adults is a crime or not." 

Dispelling the apprehensions 

of the Centre, he 

said: "We can't judge an issue 

in vacuum", thereby 

telling Mehta that the issue 

of other rights of LGBT 

community was not before 

the bench. 

The court was hearing 

of a batch of petitions 

by hotelier Keshav Suri, 

Sangeet Natak Akademi 

awardee Bharatnatyam 

dancer Navtej Singh Johar, 

a group of past and 

present IITians and 12 bureaucrats 

who are LGBT, 

NGO Voices Against 377, 

and others assailing the 


Section 377 criminalising 

homosexuality. 

In 2013, the top court 

had set-aside a Delhi High 

Court's July 2, 2009 verdict 

decriminalising gay sex. 

Appearing for the petitioners 

challenging the 


the Victorian-era law, senior 

counsel Anand Grover, 

Shyam Divan, advocate 

Menaka Guruswamy, 

Saurabh Kirpal and Jayna 

Kothari assailed the penal 

provision on different 

grounds including its being 

violative of the Constitution's 

Article 14, Article 15, 

Article 19 and Article 21. 

Telling the court that 

in the past, people from 

the LGBT community were 

hesitant to approach the 

court, Grover said that today 

many of them are coming 

because they feel court 

is "empathetic and sympathetic 

to their plight." 

He said that when in 

1947 when India became independent, 

many including 

LGBT community did not 

feel that way, and are now 

seeking full independence 

from the yoke of British 

law. 

Seeking a declaration 

that the fundamental right 

to life under Article 21 also 

covers "right to intimacy", 

Divan told the court in a 

medical emergency, LGBT 

people find it difficult to 

accompany the loved ones 

to the hospital and sign 

the document necessary 

for certain surgical procedures. 

The hearing witnessed 

Justice Nariman brushing 

aside objection by Mehta to 

Guruswamy's pitching for 

the right of the LGBT community 

to form association 

under Article 19(1)(c). 

As Mehta told the court 

that hearing was limited 

to the challenge to the Section 

377 that criminalises 

the consensual sex between 

two consenting adults and 

the issue of formation of 

association by invoking 

Article 19(1)(c) could not be 

raked up, an unimpressed 

Justice Nariman told him 

that he could respond to the 

arguments in the course of 

his submissions. 

Justice Chandrachud 

observed that Section 377 

had a chilling effect not 

only on public services but 

also in private employment 

as Guruswamy told the 

court about a person who 

after clearing the IAS did 

not join it out of the fear of 

stigma. 

Chief Justice Misra said 

that the "ancillary disqualification" 

- the consequences 

flowing for such relationship 

which is seen as a 

moral turpitude - including 

joining services, and contesting 

elections would go 

once court decides on the 

validity of Section 377. 

Kothari, who argued 

for transgender rights, told 

the court that the Section 

377 is an edifice for denying 

them their rights. 

Amarinder urges Akal Takht 

head to make anti-drug appeal 

Chandigarh: Punjab 

Chief Minister Amarinder 

Singh on Thursday urged 

the Jathedar of the Akal 

Takht to appeal to the Sikh 

community not to resort to 

drug abuse and to strictly 

follow the path shown by 

the great Sikh Gurus. 

In a letter written to 

the Akal Takht Jathedar 

(chief) Gurbachan Singh, 

the Chief Minister said that 

the Akal Takht, the highest 

temporal seat of Sikhism, 

had always played a pro-active 

role whenever the state 

was faced with any sort of 

crisis from a religious perspective. 

Pointing out that a sizeable 

chunk of the state's 

population had been in the 

grip of drug abuse for the 

past many years, he said 

that several youngsters 

from the Sikh families had 

also fallen prey to it. 

The Chief Minister 

expressed concern over 

the gravity of the situation 

caused by drug abuse, 

which was contrary to the 

Sikh tenets. "Though the 

government has already 

launched a vigorous antidrug 

campaign, its efforts 

needed to be further 

strengthened and supplemented," 

Amarinder Singh 

said in the letter.

The International News Weekly india 


09 

7 farm suicides a day in 

Maha despite loan sop 


Mumbai: : Maharashtra 

has recorded 1, 307 farmer 

suicides till the end of June 

this year, according to official 

data. This translates to 

an average of 7 cases every 

single day in the six-month 

span, despite a loan waiver 

declared last year. 

The state has recorded 

only 91 fewer cases than 

2017. Last year, 1,398 farmer 

suicides were reported 

between January and 

June. While there has been 

a marginal dip in cases the 

total cases, the Marathwada 

region has seen a rise in 

these six months compared 

to last year. The region recorded 

477 cases till the 

end of June compared to 

454 cases during the same 

period last year. 

So far this year though, 

the Vidarbha region, home 

to CM Devendra Fadnavis 

continues to report the 

highest number of farmer 

suicides. The region has 

recorded 598 cases till the 

end of June. However, this 

is 58 cases lower than the 

same period last year. 

So far, around 38 lakh 

farmers have received 

payouts under the loan 

waiver scheme from the 

77.3 lakh accounts under 

scrutiny. While the payouts 

under the loan waiver 

have proceeded at a slow 

pace, this had also initially 

impacted the disbursal of 

crop loans. 

J&K Dy Grand Mufti’s 

shocking demand: 'Give us a 

separate nation if you can't 

let us set up Shariat courts' 

By providing financial relief, Punjab encouraging farmer suicides: HC 

The Punjab and Haryana HC observed on Wednesday that by providing financial relief to families of 

farmers who have committed suicide, Punjab is “actually encouraging suicides”. The division bench 

of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli made these observations while hearing a PIL 

on farmer suicides in the state by NGO Movement Against State Repression. The court said that instead 

of offering money, steps should be taken to find a permanent solution to the crisis in the farm 

sector. “Someone desperate could actually take extreme step for benefits,” the bench observed. 

Indeed, the disbursal of 

crop loans was 40% lower 

for 2017-18 compared to 

the previous year. This is 

because banks could not 

disburse new loans until 

the pending payments had 

been cleared. 

In April-May this year, 

the disbursal of crop loans 

was Rs 1,426 crore lower 

than last year. In June, 

Fadnavis wrote to Union 

finance minister Piyush 

Goyal asking him to issue 

a directive to banks to 

speed up the process. 

The pricing of crops 

has also been a issue. The 

Centre has now hiked the 

minimum support price 

of 14 crops but with the 

procurement network 

facing hurdles, Maharshtra’s 

farmers say they 

have to wait for months 

for payments to come 

through. On July 2, 

Maharashtra’s farmers 

were awaiting dues worth 

Rs 879 crore for crops sold 

under the old price since 

February. “Unless the 

procurement network improves, 

raising the MSP 

price carries little meaning,” 

says farm activist Vijay 

Jawandhia. 

Indian Muslims safer than those 

in Pakistan, Syria: JK BJP 

SRINAGAR: Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday 

lashed out at Kashmir’s deputy grand Mufti Nasir ul Islam 

for allegedly demanding a separate country for Muslims of 

India, saying India is a secular country where people of all 

religions irrespective of their cast, creed and colour have 

equal right to freedom and nobody interferes in one another’s 

religious affairs. 

Some Delhi-based media recently quoted Mufti as demanding 

a separate nation for Muslims after the BJP rejected 

All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s (AIMPLB) 

proposal for opening Shariat courts in all districts of the 

country. “Any resistance to this effort by the BJP means it 

doesn’t want Muslims to stay in India. In that case, we urge 

them to give us a separate nation,” Times Now News quoted 

Mufti Nasirul Islam as having said. 

Reacting to Mufti’s alleged remarks, BJP J&K spokesperson 

Altaf Thakur in a statement issued here said, “India 

is not like Pakistan where Muslims feel insecure and where 

every day blasts and explosions take place inside the religious 

places including mosques. India is also not like Syria 

where massacres of Muslims are taking place and the lives 

of Muslims have become hell. India is a country where 

people of all faiths enjoy equal rights, freedom of speech and 

freedom of religion without any pressure from any quarter.” 

He said in India, 30 crore Muslims live in a very peaceful 

atmosphere and in the judiciary, everybody is treated 

equally.“The Muslims comprise the important segment of 

India – a successful secular country – where people of all 

faiths and religions live in a free atmosphere, without any 

threat and fear,” he said. “The deputy grand Mufti being 

a sensible person shouldn’t talk in air and things that are 

aimed at triggering communal frenzy,” Thakur said. 

New Delhi: All India 

Muslim Personal Law 

Board’s (AIMPLB) proposal 

for opening Shariat courts 

in all districts of India was 

rejected by the BJP, Nasir ul 

Islam, the deputy grand mufti 

of Jammu and Kashmir, 

triggered a major row with 

his remarks by demanding 

a separate nation for Muslims. 

"Any resistance to this 

effort by the BJP means it 

doesn't want Muslims to 

stay in India. In that case, we 

urge them to give us a separate 

nation,” he said. 

This is not the first time 

Nasir ul Islam has triggered 

controversy. Talking to reporters 

at a press conference 

in Srinagar in January, Nasir 

had said that Muslims 

in this country were facing 

harassment on a daily basis. 

He urged the Muslims to demand 

a separate nation as 

they were constantly being 

targeted by the right-wing 

forces on the pretext of love 

jihad, cow vigilantism or 

triple talaq. 

AIMPLB is planning to 

move the proposal for establishing 

Shariat courts for 

discussion at a meeting in 

Delhi on July 15. BJP lawmakers 

have criticised this 

demand and have called it 

unconstitutional. 

"At present, there are 

40 such courts in Uttar 

Pradesh. We plan to open 

one such court in every district 

of the country,” senior 

member AIMPLB, Zafaryab 

Jilani, was quoted as telling 

news agency PTI. “The 

objective of Darul-Qaza is 

to resolve matters in light of 

Shariat laws instead of going 

to other courts.” 

Rejecting this proposal, 

the Bharatiya Janata Party 

(BJP) spokesperson Meenakshi 

Lekhi had said that 

there was no place for Shariat 

court in this country as 

this is not the Islamic Republic 

of India.


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The International News Weekly July 13, 2018 | Toronto 

11


Pandit Birju Maharaj Mesmerizes Dance Enthusiasts 

With His Performance And Abhinaya 

TORONTO: Sanskriti Arts 

presented Dance Diaries 

2018, a magical dance show 

with the legendary Pandit 

Birju Maharaj this week in 

Mississauga. The Kathak 

icon, along with his foremost 

disciple Saswati Sen, presented 

a series of storytelling 

and expressions through the 

classical form of the centuries 

old dance mastered by 

the legend. The mesmerizing 

show had audiences 

spellbound as they watched 

the sprightly 80-year old maestro 

on stage presenting his 

unique and legendary dance 

techniques that included an 

entire section on Abhinaya, 

meaning conveying stories 

through expression. 

“We are blessed to have 

Pandit Birju Maharajji here 

in Toronto,” said Puja Amin 

on July 8, founder of Sanskriti 

Arts who has brought forth 

Dance Diaries for dance fans 

to learn the art of popular 

dance under the tutelage of 

India’s best choreographers’. 

“He is now 80 years old and 

this is his last tour to North 

America. And this is a once 

in a lifetime opportunity 

to perform with the legend 

himself on stage during the 

final showcase.” 

The story of Ahilya and 

how she was turned into 

a rock and turned back 

into human form by 

Lord Rama was told 

through the dance 

and Natya Shastra 

of Sen. The Show 

also included performances 

from Sanskriti 

Arts students, 

solo performance 

by Puja Amin and 

dances by Pandit 

Birju Maharaj and his foremost 

disciple Saswati Sen. 

The performances ended 

with a finale of jugalbandi between 

Pandit Birju Maharaj, 

internationally recognized 

as the greatest living exponent 

of North Indian classical 

dance 'Kathak', Sen and 

his accompanying artists on 

vocal, table and harmonium 

holding the audience spellbound. 

Presented by Sanskriti 

Arts and HSBC Bank, 

the Grand performance 

took place at the Maja 

Prentice Theatre in Mississauga 

and presented 

dance enthusiasts with 

the one and only award 

winning icon of Kathak 

representative from 

India. This will be followed 

by workshops 

with Pandit Birju 

Other Artists 

Saswati Sen 

Foremost Disciple and Dancer 

Utpal Ghosal 

Tabla artist 

Chandrachur Bhattacharjee 

Sitar artist 

Anirban Bhattacharyya 

Vocalist 

Maharaj this week for beginners 

and advance students as 

well as a class of Abhinaya 

“When you go to do 

darshan, it’s like they say 

bhagwan (God) chooses us. 

Birju Maharaj ji is just like 

that,” said Amin. “They 

chose us, we didn’t choose 

them. The moment the 

opportunity came up, 

we said we cannot let 

this go. We are honoured 

and blessed 

to host Maharajji 

on his last tour and 

have a Toronto show and 

workshop series as well as 

a Masterclass and an Abhinaya 

class which is his forte.” 

W h e n asked the secret 

to his health and success, 

the kathak 

legend said 

“From all 

the big artists, 

I got from 

them aashirwad 

(blessings), be it 

Bismillah Sahib 

(Khan), Amir 

Khan Sahib, 

Vilayat Sahib or 

Ravi Shankar. 

More than money, 

I want aashirwad.” 

This is the third year 

of Dance Diaries organized 

by Sanskriti Arts that began 

with Bollywood choreographer 

Saroj Khan who conducted 

workshops and a finale 

for students in the GTA in 

2016. The journey was taken 

forward in 2017 with Shampa 

Gopikrishna, the daughter 

of Pandit Gopikrishna and a 

popular established dancer 

and choreographer in her 

own right. “Our future plans 

include taking our students 

for a two week journey to India 

by the end of this year to 

be tutored with the country’s 

best choreographers’ and get 

a once in a lifetime opportunity 

to learn from the legends 

themselves,” said Amin. 

Annual Golf Tournament 

Photos: Bashir Nasir 

Indo Canadian Golf Alliance 

brought together over 

180 Golfers for the annual 

Golf Tournament with the 

motto of making Golf affordable 

for every segment of the 

Indo Canadian Community 

at the prestigious Lionhead 

Golf and country Club in 

Brampton. Over 180 Golfers 

gathered in the event from 

all over Ontario . 

Tournament was on the 

6th July 2018 at Lionhead 

Golf and country club/ 

Foursome of Preet 

Sandhu, Sanjay makkar, 

Jimmy Singh & Rajeev 

Jishtui won the first prize. 

Other Golfers to win the 

prizes were : Pritpal Aujla 

won Closest to Pin. Jimmy 

Nijjar won 2nd prize for 

closer to Pin. Manny Mukkar 

won for Longest Drive. 

Tournament was played 

on best ball format. 

Indo Canadian Golf Alliance 

executives had been 

organizing similar golf tournament 

over 

22 years and 

to give better 

golf experience 

by choosing 

nice & conveniently 

located 

Golf course. Under Indo 

Canadian Golf alliance banner 

this was the 2nd Annual 

Tournament. 

Mr. Virender Lamba 

President Indo Canadian 

Golf Alliance thanks the 

committee members , Volunteers 

and specially Sponsor 

without their support 

this successful event would 

have not been possible. 

Deepak Shamnani Executive 

director said “we 

got tremendous 

response for 

our 2nd annual 

tournament 

and the event 

was sold out 2 

months before the 

tournament date. Indo 

Canadian Golf Alliance kept 

the Participation fee at very 

reasonable 175$ whereas 

most golf tournaments are 

over 250.' As per Deepak 

Shamnani 'our main Aim 

is to keep the participation 

fee very reasonable for 

golfers and give our 

fellow golfers best plying 

experience and we 

decided to chose one of 

the best Golf course Lionhead 

Golf & country 

club in Brampton so 

it’s very convenient for 

most fellow golfer who are 

from Greater Toronto Area. 

Purpose of our event is also 

to donate to William Osler 

health Partners and some 

charities in India for Good 

24X7 Punjabi News 

Channel for Canadinas 

Parvasi Media Group 

and ABP news network 

feel pleasure to share with 

you that ABP Sanjha 24 X 7 

Punjabi News channel will 

be launched on 19th july 

from Canada. In this regards 

an launching event 

is being organized at Dixie 

Gurudwara on 15th july 

(Sunday) from 4.00 to 6.00 

pm at hall no 2, 3 & 4. All 

readers of ‘The Canadian 

Parvasi’ are Cordially Invited 

to attend this event 

for any further information 

call Parvasi Head office 

@ 905-673-0600.

The Canadian Parvasi-issue 53

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