BJP wins Gujarat election with a comfortable margin

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Gujarat election on December 23 with a comfortable margin, a result that could mean a setback to Congress party plans to call an early national election.

The Gujarat vote beat most pre-election surveys and TV exit polls, which predicted a closer fight between the BJP and the Congress party, which is in power federally.

Congress had hoped for a victory to add muscle to its national image after being weakened by its communist allies over a controversial nuclear deal with Washington.

But the BJP won 117 of the 182 seats, compared with 127 in 2002. Congress bagged 59, up from 51 five years ago.

"This is a victory of the 55 million people of Gujarat," Narendra Modi, the controversial and charismatic chief minister of the state, told reporters.

"This is a positive vote. This is a vote to bring the government back to power," he said. "The people of Gujarat rejected negativity, negative propaganda."

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Article taken from the issue: 28 Dec 2007

'Indian Idol 3' at Jacob Javits Convention Center

Indian Idol 3' at Jacob Javits Convention Center 'Indian Idol 3' Prashant Tamang, who was on his maiden U.S. tour, which started December 1, performed at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan on Dec. 8. Approximately 3,000 people attended the concert held at the Special Events Hall. Britain-based 23-year-old singing sensation Raghav and Nepali playback singer Sapanshree also performed at the concert.

Raghav has had three songs on the U.K. Top 10 list and his single 'Angel Eyes' was a hit. At the age of 16, he won an award from the National Songwriters Association of America for his composition.

Before he began the show, Tamang thanked the audience for their love and support. "It is because of you all that today I am in front of you as the ‘Indian Idol'," he said to the enthusiastic crowd.

The audience, mostly young South Asian Americans, were ecstatic as they sang and danced along with Tamang. Young Nepali American girls wearing t-shirts that spelled out Tamang's first name sang and swayed to the beat of the music.

"He sang a lot of Nepali songs as well as songs from Hindi film," Hari Suwal, 35, an electrician from Queens, who attended the concert told Desi Talk.

Tamang was honored by the Tamang Society of America for his contributions to the society.

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Article taken from the issue: 21 Dec 2007

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo unveils Web site, ‘Project Sunlight

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo unveiled 'Project Sunlight', a easyto-use Web site giving the public unprecedented access to the work ings of state government and the information it keeps on December 3.

'Project Sunlight' allows real-time tracking of seven state databases and the links between them. It gives easy access to information on campaign financing, lobbying, agency contracts, member items, legislation and both for-profit and not-for-profit corporations registered in New York.

It was an initiative Cuomo announced during his campaign as part of his ‘Reform Government' agenda. The Web site's implementation was driven by Blair Horner, the Attorney General's Special Advisor on Policy and Public Integrity. The web site is a first step in an ongoing "civic dialogue" on how best to improve and expand the site.

The Web site, www.sunlightny.com, not only offers experienced and novice users easy access to government data, it also provides important educational materials. It offers information on the basics of state government, how candidates report campaign finances, what lobbyists are required to publicly report, and member items categorized by the name of the sponsoring elected official and the county in which the money is directed. The web site also offers a map of the state allowing users to search for member item spending by locality and includes videos to enhance the ease with which users can understand the educational materials. In addition, portions of these educational materials have been translated into Spanish.
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Article Taken From The issue: 14 Dec 2007

Dinner at the Consulate to meet Minister of State for External Affairs

Neelam Deo, right, India's Consul General in New York hosted a dinner at New India House to meet Minister of State for External Affairs, E.

Ahamed, left, on November 29. Ahamed was in New York for the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Deo, while introducing him, told the guests that the minister was seeking what she described as, "Your comments as Non Resident Indians (NRIs)" in reference to how the Indian government deals with the NRI issues. But the guests had other issues on their minds. Their questions were mainly about India's foreign policy. "Where is the nuclear deal?"; "Does India have an official comment on what is happening in Pakistan?"; "Media reactions in the United States about India's position on the Myanmar situation have been negative. Can you explain?"; "Can you give us the latest on the Iran gas pipeline?"

Ahamed patiently answered all the questions, ending on a positive note by saying that NRI's can be proud of India's economic success.

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Article taken from the issue: 7 Dec, 2007

Ninth annual awards; 1st time females sweep two top prizes Individual category - First prize of $100,000 scholarship goes to Isha Jain

Jain, a senior at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, won the $100,000 college scholarship in the individual category for her biology project on bone growth in zebra fish fins titled 'Bone Growth in Zebra Fish Fins Occurs via Multiple Pulses of Cell Proliferation'.

I t was girl power all the way at the 2007-08 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, America's premier high school science competition, as Isha Himani Jain was named winner in the individual category. The ninth annual awards were presented on December 3 at New York University, host of the Siemens Competition National Finals.

Jain, a senior at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, won the $100,000 college scholarship in the individual category for her biology project on bone growth in zebra fish fins titled 'Bone Growth in Zebra Fish Fins Occurs via Multiple Pulses of Cell Proliferation'.

Her project showed that the tail fins of the zebra fish grow in spurts similar to the way children's bones do.

Jain's research has been published in Developmental Dynamics, a premier journal in the field of developmental biology. She is a member of the Endocrine Society, American Physiological Society and American Ceramic Society.

Her mother's dedication to the profession of medicine sparked her interest in the clinical aspect of research while her father's global research work raised her awareness about the importance of science.

Her awards include first prize in the 'Undergraduate Research Poster Contest-National Educators Workshop' and first place 'Grand Award in Animal Sciences Intel International Science and Engineering Fair' (2007).

She enjoys Indian classical and modern dance, soccer, skiing, and jewelry making.

She plans to study biology and math and aspires to lead a lab focused on those disciplines.

Jain's mentors for the project were M.

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Article taken from the issue: 7 Dec, 2007

Fighting hunger and malnutrition in our city

You can join, too. Until January 4th, please drop off non-perishable food items at any firehouse or police station. They'll go to City Harvest, a great non-profit group that we work with all year long to supply New York's emergency food programs. And call 311 to find out how you can volunteer in the fight against hunger. It's a great way to give back to our city, and to make the true spirit of the holiday season come alive. T here's just no room for hunger or malnutrition in the world's greatest city. That's why every day, faith-based organizations, community groups, and men and women of good will all work hard to relieve hunger in New York. So does our City government; let me tell you about two new steps we've taken to help New Yorkers in need feed their families.

First, we're immediately allocating an extra $1 million to more than 500 soup kitchens and emergency food pantries around the city.

These community-based organizations provide food to nearly 900,000 New Yorkers every month. We're injecting more funds into these programs now because their expenses have grown. In part that's because of inflation; it's also because these programs have started stocking more nutritious foods that cost a bit more.

The result: Today's emergency food dollars only buy about 80% of the food that they did just four years ago.

The extra money we're now providing to the City's "Emergency Food Assistance Program" will buy about 1.3 million pounds of canned goods or other meal ingredients.

These funds actually come from the Federal government. They're part of a package of bonuses the City has earned for improving our management of the Food Stamp program.

During the past four years, we've made our Food Stamp application process simpler and more convenient, and we've also greatly reduced fraud and abuse. Because of those reforms, we now can make this important investment in our soup kitchens and food pantries.

We're also improving the way that New Yorkers find out where and how they can get emergency food. In the past, when people called 311 with such requests, they got connected to an automated information system.

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Article taken from the issue: 7 Dec, 2007

Elephants turn thespians to save wild mates in West Bengal

A troupe of trained Indian elephants has taken up drama to save their brethren in the wild, performing tear-jerking plays with elaborate death scenes to arouse the sympathy of villagers.

The conservation officials behind the performances hope to defuse a low-level war between dwindling numbers of endangered elephants and growing numbers of humans.

Villagers are increasingly encroaching on forest land, while elephants are increasingly barging into villages, killing dozens of people each year, often by trampling on them.

The villagers' tactics involve building makeshift electric fences from electric pylons around villages, which electrocute elephants on contact. A dozen elephants have been killed in this way in eastern India so far this year, conservationists say.

"The objective of using trained elephants to enact electrocution scenes is to evoke sympathy for their wild friends," said Manindra Biswas, an official from the Forest Department of West Bengal.

The play opens with six elephants looking tense after hearing gunfire. One elephant walks up to a prop wire, touches it, and crumples into a heap. This starring role is often played by an especially talented elephant-actor called Mainak.

The five elephant friends desperately try to revive their fallen comrade. In the final act, the elephants realize all is lost, salute their dead friend, and walk away.

Humans are on hand to narrate the moral of the story. Hundreds of villagers have enjoyed the free, half-hour-long play since the run began last month, Biswas said, although it is too soon to know how much of a difference the play will make.

"The elephant play is something unique, but there needs to be a more concerted effort to save the elephants which is surely lacking now," said Shakti Ranjan Banerjee of the New Delhi-based Wildlife Protection Society of India.

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Article taken from the issue: 4 Dec, 2007

Visionary who did yeoman's work for development of Uttar Pradesh

After independence in 1947, Govind Ballabh Pant became Chief Minister of the United Provinces, which he renamed Uttar Pradesh.

With the same zeal he summoned to oppose British rule in India, he turned his attention to bring much-needed prosperity to the vast province in which he had spent his life.

During his stint in the Chief Minister's office, the country's most populous state faced numerous problems, such as poverty, unemployment and communal riots. Pant strove to tackle the pressing socio-economic problems that the state faced in the post-independence period, as well as to lay the foundations for strong economic growth that would, in the long run, empower the poverty-struck millions.

As part of his efforts to reach the roots of the widespread problem of untouchability, which he had also addressed during the pre-independence period, Pant's focus was on ensuring fair treatment to members of the most underprivi leged sections of society. He also turned his attention to reforms in sectors that were previ ously ignored, such as those related to educa tion, the plight of laborers and of farmers.

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Article taken from the issue: 7 Dec, 2007