On Tuesday, AIADMK advocates filed a petition before the Karnataka high court to constitute a special bench to hear Jayalalithaa’s bail plea on Wednesday after the vacation bench adjourned it to 6 October on Tuesday morning. Photo: AFP
Chennai : Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J. Jayalalithaa will continue to stay in jail as the special vacation bench of the Karnataka high court has adjourned her bail plea hearing to 7 October.
She had also appealed against the Bangalore special court’s conviction order of four-year imprisonment and a penalty of Rs.100 crore in the disproportionate assets case.
A special vacation bench headed by Justice Rathnakala said that the case required a representation on prosecution side and matter could wait for the appointment of a public prosecutor. Therefore, bail pleas of Jayalalithaa, close aide Sasikala, V.N Sudhakaran and Illavarasi will be heard by a regular bench on 7 October.
On Tuesday, AIADMK advocates filed a petition before the Karnataka high court to constitute a special bench to hear Jayalalithaa’s bail plea on Wednesday after the vacation bench adjourned it to 6 October. Since the high court is on an extended vacation, the vacation bench had taken up the case for hearing.
Unless the conviction is overturned by a higher court, Jayalalithaa runs the risk of being barred from contesting elections for 10 years—four years while she is in jail and six years after release. Last year, the Supreme Court in its judgement said an MLA or member of parliament (MP) is automatically disqualified if he or she is convicted and imprisoned for two years or more. Before this judgement, Section 8 (4) of the Representation of People Act, which was struck down by the apex court, protected an elected representative from disqualification if they appealed before a higher court within three months.
With the sentence, Jayalalithaa becomes the first serving chief minister to lose her post and go to jail.
Special judge John Michael D’Cunha had convicted the 66-year-old AIADMK chief in a case of owning assets to the tune Rs.66.65 crore, disproportionate to her known sources of income during 1991-96 when she was chief minister for the first time.
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Providing no relief to jailed Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa , the Karnataka high court on Wednesday deferred the hearing on her bail petition to October 7.
The vacation bench of the high court said Wednesday that her bail plea along with the revision petitions challenging her convictions in the disproportionate assets case will be heard by a regular bench next Tuesday.
"In my considered opinion, this is a matter to be heard by the regular bench," the judge said.
Just a day earlier, the HC had agreed to hear her appeal on a priority basis after her lawyers approached the high court registrar and the chief justice against the judge's order deferring the case.
Jaya's lawyers submitted that the matter should be treated as an exception as the continued incarceration of Jayalalithaa was causing law and order problems in Tamil Nadu.They also argued that the AIADMK leader's health was unstable.
Jaya refuses to meet Panneerselvam
Former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa on Wednesday refused to meet O Panneerselvam, the man she has entrusted with the job of holding the CM's chair until she gets the relief she's hoping for from the court.
Panneerselvam was camping in the city since Monday evening for a chance to meet his jailed leader and seek her blessings. He landed in the city shortly after he was administered the oath of office by the Tamil Nadu governor.
He returned disappointed after jail authorities told him that Jayalalithaa had refused to meet him. Jail sources told HT that her cell is far from the visitor's area and she was not in a physical state to walk the distance.
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Mumbai: Pradeep Sharma, a senior Gujarat bureaucrat, who took on Narendra Modi over the snoopgate scandal when he was Gujarat chief minister, was on Tuesday arrested in a corruption case, a day after Enforcement Directorate attached his properties for alleged money laundering.
“Sharma has been arrested by us under the Prevention of Corruption Act. As per the complaint registered by us on Monday, Sharma allegedly received Rs29 lakh from private firm Welspun. The amount was first deposited in the account of Sharma’s wife, and then transferred to his account,” Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) director (in-charge) Ashish Bhatia said.
“This is a case of allegedly taking bribe for extending benefits to a company when he was collector of Kutch,” Bhatia said.
Sharma has been booked under Prevention of Corruption Act sections 11 (public servant obtaining valuable gift from person concerned in proceedings or business transacted by such public servant), 13(1)(D) (to obtain valuable things by corrupt or illegal means) and 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant).
The case pertains to 2004, when Sharma was the collector of Kutch. Sharma, at loggerheads with the erstwhile Modi government, had sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged snooping on a woman architect after two news portals released CDs of purported telephonic conversations between the chief minister’s close aide Amit Shah, who was then minister of state for home, and two top state police officials.
The conversations, purportedly between August and September 2009, did not specifically mention Modi by name but referred to a ‘saheb’, which the portals claimed was the Gujarat chief minister at whose instance snooping was done, a charge denied by Shah, who in now the BJP president.
As per the complaint, Sharma, an IAS officer of 1984 batch, had allegedly allotted land to Welspun at 25% of the prevailing market rates which resulted in illegal benefits to the company and loss of around Rs1.2 crore to the state exchequer.
In return for the favour, the company allegedly made Sharma’s wife a 30% partner in one of its subsidiaries — Value Packaging — without her having made any investment and extended benefits of Rs29.5 lakhs to her, according to the complaint. “The money was first deposited in the account of Sharma’s wife and then transferred to his account,” it further said.
Enforcement Directorate had on Monday seized properties of Sharma under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including a piece of land in Dehgam village of Gandhinagar district and a bungalow in the state capital, also in connection with the deal with Welspun.
“The land in Dehgam is worth Rs65 to 70 lakh while the bungalow itself is worth Rs1 crore. We attached the land and 35% of the bungalow to arrive at Rs1 crore figure to recover the loss,” said a senior ED official.
Sharma is facing six criminal corruption cases in Gujarat.
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Mumbai: Pradeep Sharma, a senior Gujarat bureaucrat, who took on Narendra Modi over the snoopgate scandal when he was Gujarat chief minister, was on Tuesday arrested in a corruption case, a day after Enforcement Directorate attached his properties for alleged money laundering.
“Sharma has been arrested by us under the Prevention of Corruption Act. As per the complaint registered by us on Monday, Sharma allegedly received Rs29 lakh from private firm Welspun. The amount was first deposited in the account of Sharma’s wife, and then transferred to his account,” Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) director (in-charge) Ashish Bhatia said.
“This is a case of allegedly taking bribe for extending benefits to a company when he was collector of Kutch,” Bhatia said.
Sharma has been booked under Prevention of Corruption Act sections 11 (public servant obtaining valuable gift from person concerned in proceedings or business transacted by such public servant), 13(1)(D) (to obtain valuable things by corrupt or illegal means) and 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant).
The case pertains to 2004, when Sharma was the collector of Kutch. Sharma, at loggerheads with the erstwhile Modi government, had sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged snooping on a woman architect after two news portals released CDs of purported telephonic conversations between the chief minister’s close aide Amit Shah, who was then minister of state for home, and two top state police officials.
The conversations, purportedly between August and September 2009, did not specifically mention Modi by name but referred to a ‘saheb’, which the portals claimed was the Gujarat chief minister at whose instance snooping was done, a charge denied by Shah, who in now the BJP president.
As per the complaint, Sharma, an IAS officer of 1984 batch, had allegedly allotted land to Welspun at 25% of the prevailing market rates which resulted in illegal benefits to the company and loss of around Rs1.2 crore to the state exchequer.
In return for the favour, the company allegedly made Sharma’s wife a 30% partner in one of its subsidiaries — Value Packaging — without her having made any investment and extended benefits of Rs29.5 lakhs to her, according to the complaint. “The money was first deposited in the account of Sharma’s wife and then transferred to his account,” it further said.
Enforcement Directorate had on Monday seized properties of Sharma under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including a piece of land in Dehgam village of Gandhinagar district and a bungalow in the state capital, also in connection with the deal with Welspun.
“The land in Dehgam is worth Rs65 to 70 lakh while the bungalow itself is worth Rs1 crore. We attached the land and 35% of the bungalow to arrive at Rs1 crore figure to recover the loss,” said a senior ED official.
Sharma is facing six criminal corruption cases in Gujarat.
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WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Monday to expand and deepen their countries' strategic partnership and make it a model for the rest of the world.
In a joint "vision statement" issued after their first meeting at a White House dinner, the two leaders said they would work together "not just for the benefit of both our nations, but for the benefit of the world."
They said their countries would cooperate in security and fight terrorism and back a "rules based" global order in which India assumes greater multilateral responsibility, including a reformed UN Security Council.
They also vowed to work together against the threat posed by climate change and to cooperate to address the consequences of unchecked pollution.
"We have a vision that the United States and India will have a transformative relationship as trusted partners in the 21st century. Our partnership will be a model for the rest of the world," the "vision statement" said.
The two leaders also said the two countries would work to ensure that economic growth brought better livelihoods for all people and stressed the importance of openmarkets and fair and transparent practices to allow trade to flourish.
The United States has been keen to expand business and security ties with India, which is sees as a key counterbalance to an increasingly assertive China in Asia. Obama has backed Delhi's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
However, so far the relationship has failed to live up to his declaration in 2010 that it would become "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st Century."
Modi has maintained a frantic schedule during his visit, which began on Friday, even though he is fasting in accordance with Hindu custom and drank only warm water at the White House dinner.
As part of an effort to spur foreign investment, he met more than a dozen U.S. corporate leaders earlier on Monday and told them he was committed to liberalizing India's economy, which has underperformed other emerging markets recently after years of breakneck growth.
On Saturday, Modi addressed the U.N. General Assembly and then appeared before some 60,000 people at a musical event in New York's Central Park aimed at ending global poverty and bringing essentials such as sanitation to all.
On Sunday, he received a rapturous welcome from a big crowd of Indian-Americans in an appearance in New York's Madison Square Garden arena.
He will hold further talks with Obama and his administration on Tuesday.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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Suspended IAS officer Pradeep Sharma was arrested from his Ahmedabad residence in wee hours of Tuesday in connection with corruption charges in a land given to a corrugated boxes manufacturing company in Kutch where in his wife has also been a partner.
Sharma, who recently had moved court to file an FIR against PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah for allegedly snooping him and a woman architect, alleged that he had been manipulated by former Additional Chief Secretary P Pannervel, whose wife is 50 per cent partner in the company named Value Packaging.
Sharma, who in courts has alleged that a total of five corruption cases against him was revenge campaign by the former Gujarat chief minister Modi, was picked up by ACB team from his mother’s house in Ahmedabad around 2.30 am and till last reports came in he was kept in house arrest at his Gandhinagar residence.
All the five cases were registered in Kutch where he served as collector after the 2001 earthquake. Sharma, who was arrested in 2010 from his official residence as Bhavnagar Municipal Commissioner, was released in 2013 on bail. He faced arrest one after another in five cases.
Speaking to The Indian Express Sharma called it a conspiracy.
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Tuljapur (Maharashtra): Former Industries Minister Narayan Rane took potshots at the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, claiming that it will not get more than 20-22 seats in the October 10 state Assembly elections.
"So Uddhav Thackeray is now dreaming to be the CM of Maharashtra but can he become the CM by only giving big talks? Shiv Sena can never come to power in Maharashtra because they will not be able to win more than 20-22 seats on their own strength," Rane said on Tuesday.
Addressing his supporters here during the launch of Congress's Assembly polls campaign, Rane said that Thackeray cannot speak of governance as he has no experience in it.
The senior leader also disapproved of Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao's recommendation of imposing President's rule in the poll-bound state.
"How will Uddhav prove himself to be a good CM when he himself has no experience in governance? Maharashtra needs someone who can ably head the state government," he said.
The senior leader also disapproved of Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao's recommendation of imposing President's rule in the poll-bound state.
"The people of Maharashtra should understand what was the reason for the Governor to recommend the President's rule when there are just 15 days to go for elections? They could have allowed Prithviraj Chavan to continue as caretaker CM. But they did not do that because they wanted to have an edge over other parties," Rane said.
Taking a dig at the BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rane alleged that Modi failed to rein in the Chinese troops that were prepared to seize Indian territory.
"Modi invites the Chinese President (Xi Jinping) to Gujarat and while he is busy talking to him over the shores of Sabarmati river, the Chinese troops get ready to seize Indian territory. Should he not have reined the troops immediately instead of chatting with Jinping?" Rane asked.
He claimed that India continues to remain in an economic mess, while the PM is busy touring other countries.
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SummaryPrime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for US President Barack Obama...
Keeping in mind the two people US President Barack Obama admired most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for him which included a 'Gita by Gandhi' in Khadi cover and audio-video clips from the 1959 India visit of Martin Luther King.
"The Prime Minister has brought several gifts. At the personal level, he has brought a special edition of Gita by Gandhi Ji. This is Gandhi Ji's interpretation of Gita. The book was published many years ago," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
"The Prime Minister had specifically ordered a special edition of the book and copies of it were specially done up with a certain getup as Khadi on its cover...these were prepared in Delhi and were brought and were handed over to the President.
"Also, he has given some other personal gifts. He is aware that President Obama has great regard for Martin Luther King and there is a Gandhi link between President Obama, the King and the Prime Minister, so he (Modi) had looked up and asked All India Radio to provide a recording of Martin Luther King's speech which he gave in India in 1959 when he visited India. In addition, there are some other memorabilia of Martin Luther King.
"There is a photograph of the King at the Rajghat, which the Prime Minister has framed and given to Obama. There is a small clip which goes back to 1959. The Photos Division was able to track back a video clip of Martin Luther King's visit to India. All these were prepared by the Prime Minister's Office in advance and presented to President Obama today," he said.
"These were personal gifts. Official gifts would be presented tomorrow," Akbaruddin said.
Prime Minister had paid special attention to President Obama's interest and he brought these gifts which were his personal gifts to President Obama.
According to the sources, he has also got gifts for Obama's two daughters -- Sasha and Malia.
Martin Luther King was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
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SummaryPrime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for US President Barack Obama...
Keeping in mind the two people US President Barack Obama admired most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for him which included a 'Gita by Gandhi' in Khadi cover and audio-video clips from the 1959 India visit of Martin Luther King.
"The Prime Minister has brought several gifts. At the personal level, he has brought a special edition of Gita by Gandhi Ji. This is Gandhi Ji's interpretation of Gita. The book was published many years ago," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
"The Prime Minister had specifically ordered a special edition of the book and copies of it were specially done up with a certain getup as Khadi on its cover...these were prepared in Delhi and were brought and were handed over to the President.
"Also, he has given some other personal gifts. He is aware that President Obama has great regard for Martin Luther King and there is a Gandhi link between President Obama, the King and the Prime Minister, so he (Modi) had looked up and asked All India Radio to provide a recording of Martin Luther King's speech which he gave in India in 1959 when he visited India. In addition, there are some other memorabilia of Martin Luther King.
"There is a photograph of the King at the Rajghat, which the Prime Minister has framed and given to Obama. There is a small clip which goes back to 1959. The Photos Division was able to track back a video clip of Martin Luther King's visit to India. All these were prepared by the Prime Minister's Office in advance and presented to President Obama today," he said.
"These were personal gifts. Official gifts would be presented tomorrow," Akbaruddin said.
Prime Minister had paid special attention to President Obama's interest and he brought these gifts which were his personal gifts to President Obama.
According to the sources, he has also got gifts for Obama's two daughters -- Sasha and Malia.
Martin Luther King was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
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The Hindu A staff keeps brooms lined up before Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan launches Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at FCI Headquarters, in New Delhi on Monday. Several ministers symbolically swept their premises ahead of the formal launch of Clean India campaign, by Prime Mininster Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014. Photo: S. Subramanium
Modi to administer cleanliness pledge on Oct 2
All central government offices in South Block, North Block and Shastri Bhawan among others will be closed at 2 pm on Wednesday, in connection with the arrangements for the nation-wide launch of ‘Swachh Bharat’ (Clean India) campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
“I will remain committed towards cleanliness and devote time for this... I will neither litter nor let others litter.”
This is the salient point of the pledge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will administer to the countrymen on Thursday, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, while highlighting the Father of the Nation’s thrust on cleanliness.
The Prime Minister will administer the pledge at a public function here on October 2. Government has appealed to all government employees and the public to take the pledge likewise.
Besides them, offices situated in Rail Bhawan, Shram Shakti Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan and Vigyan Bhawan will also be closed early, said an order issued on Tuesday by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
These offices will remain closed till 10.30 am on October 2, the order said.
The offices in CSIR building, Reserve Bank of India, Yojna Bhawan, National Archives, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, National Media Centre, Jawahar Bhawan, Vayu Bhawan, Sena Bhawan, National Museum, Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, CCA, Ministry of Agriculture, 16-A Akbar Road, DRDO Bhawan, Raksha Bhawan, National Stadium, Hyderabad House and Coast Guard HQ will also be closed early on Tuesday.
“Government offices located in Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament House would remain closed from 10 pm on October 1, 2014 till 10.30 am on October 2, 2014,” the DoPT order said.
The ‘swachta (cleanliness)’ pledge is being administered amid Modi’s intent to create a national movement over the next five years to realise the objective of ‘clean India’ by October 2, 2019, the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
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SummaryPrime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for US President Barack Obama...
Keeping in mind the two people US President Barack Obama admired most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for him which included a 'Gita by Gandhi' in Khadi cover and audio-video clips from the 1959 India visit of Martin Luther King.
"The Prime Minister has brought several gifts. At the personal level, he has brought a special edition of Gita by Gandhi Ji. This is Gandhi Ji's interpretation of Gita. The book was published many years ago," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
"The Prime Minister had specifically ordered a special edition of the book and copies of it were specially done up with a certain getup as Khadi on its cover...these were prepared in Delhi and were brought and were handed over to the President.
"Also, he has given some other personal gifts. He is aware that President Obama has great regard for Martin Luther King and there is a Gandhi link between President Obama, the King and the Prime Minister, so he (Modi) had looked up and asked All India Radio to provide a recording of Martin Luther King's speech which he gave in India in 1959 when he visited India. In addition, there are some other memorabilia of Martin Luther King.
"There is a photograph of the King at the Rajghat, which the Prime Minister has framed and given to Obama. There is a small clip which goes back to 1959. The Photos Division was able to track back a video clip of Martin Luther King's visit to India. All these were prepared by the Prime Minister's Office in advance and presented to President Obama today," he said.
"These were personal gifts. Official gifts would be presented tomorrow," Akbaruddin said.
Prime Minister had paid special attention to President Obama's interest and he brought these gifts which were his personal gifts to President Obama.
According to the sources, he has also got gifts for Obama's two daughters -- Sasha and Malia.
Martin Luther King was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
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SummaryPrime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for US President Barack Obama...
Keeping in mind the two people US President Barack Obama admired most, Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally chose gifts for him which included a 'Gita by Gandhi' in Khadi cover and audio-video clips from the 1959 India visit of Martin Luther King.
"The Prime Minister has brought several gifts. At the personal level, he has brought a special edition of Gita by Gandhi Ji. This is Gandhi Ji's interpretation of Gita. The book was published many years ago," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.
"The Prime Minister had specifically ordered a special edition of the book and copies of it were specially done up with a certain getup as Khadi on its cover...these were prepared in Delhi and were brought and were handed over to the President.
"Also, he has given some other personal gifts. He is aware that President Obama has great regard for Martin Luther King and there is a Gandhi link between President Obama, the King and the Prime Minister, so he (Modi) had looked up and asked All India Radio to provide a recording of Martin Luther King's speech which he gave in India in 1959 when he visited India. In addition, there are some other memorabilia of Martin Luther King.
"There is a photograph of the King at the Rajghat, which the Prime Minister has framed and given to Obama. There is a small clip which goes back to 1959. The Photos Division was able to track back a video clip of Martin Luther King's visit to India. All these were prepared by the Prime Minister's Office in advance and presented to President Obama today," he said.
"These were personal gifts. Official gifts would be presented tomorrow," Akbaruddin said.
Prime Minister had paid special attention to President Obama's interest and he brought these gifts which were his personal gifts to President Obama.
According to the sources, he has also got gifts for Obama's two daughters -- Sasha and Malia.
Martin Luther King was an American pastor, activist, humanitarian, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said it is calling 69,555 diesel cars to inspect and repair the wiring harness fitment. Among those recalled are 55,938 units of old Dzire, 12,486 units of old Swift and 1,131 units of Ritz manufactured between March 8, 2010 and August 11, 2013.
"The problem was noticed based on feedback monitoring and internal checks by the company. Accordingly proactive action has been initiated in the interest of customers," Maruti said in a statement.
This is the second time when Maruti Suzuki is recalling such a large number of cars this year. In April 2014, the company had recalled over 1 lakh units Ertiga, Swift and DZire to replace faulty fuel filler neck.
In 2010, Maruti had recalled about one lakh units of its flagship export model 'A-Star' to replace a faulty fuel pump part.
Although, it may affect customer sentiment in the short-run, in the long- run car recalls are a positive for both the customer and the car maker, say automobile experts. (Read the full story here)
Maruti said its dealers will contact owners of all the affected vehicles part of the recall process. Users can check the company's website (www.marutisuzuki.com) to ascertain if their vehicle is among the above mentioned vehicles, the company said.
They can also contact the nearest workshop to ascertain if their vehicle is among the above vehicles, Maruti added.
Automobile companies have been pro-active in recalling vehicles in case of safety issues since industry body SIAM initiated a voluntary recall policy in 2012.
Shares in Maruti Suzuki closed 1.85 per cent higher at Rs 3,064.35 on the BSE today. The stock outperformed the broader auto sub-index on the BSE.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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It’s been two days since prime minister Narendra Modi wowed the capacity crowd of overzealous NRIs at the Madison Square Garden, but its reverberations are yet to subside. Undoubtedly, it was the most impactful visit of an Indian leader on American soil and the international media justifiably went to town with it.
Now that the excitement is slowly settling down, the most important question is what any communications specialist would ask - who was Modi’s target audience, and why?
The obvious answer is that it was the Indian American community. But why? There is no logical answer because three million NRIs do not matter much in India. Their remittances do matter, which they have been sending anyway.
PM Narendra Modi is reflected on a pane of glass in front of spectators as he speaks at Madison Square Garden in New York. Reuters
However, they mean a lot for Modi’s publicity machine. They have been among the staunchest of Modi supporters and have done a great deal for amplifying the Modi-mania among the Indian diaspora, not just in the US, but across the world. They make Modi the most popular poster-boy of the new India that they aspire for and that they could flaunt to the countries they live in. A desperately poor and unattractive India is certainly a horrible image to be associated with. Modi has promised to change it for them.
“You have given me a lot of love,” Modi said. “This kind of love has never been given to any Indian leader, ever. I’m very grateful to you. And I will repay that loan by forming the India of your dreams,” he added. Whether it’s total sanitation or healthcare for all (which he is yet to announce in India though), Modi was selling the India of the NRIs’ dreams. That’s all what matters to the diaspora, a prosperous India that they could be proud of.
In return to the promises of a super power India, what can the NRIs in America do more than what they are already doing by remitting money? Will their chest-thumbing nationalism and adulation for Modi translate to anything of consequence? Not really, but they can further magnify the Modi legend among the diaspora and on the internet. They have the resources to fight the anti-Modi brigade anywhere on foreign soil and in the cyber world.
In summary, the whole Madison Square Garden exercise was a conversation about aspirations that are mostly devoid of a sense of realism. Aspirations are romantic and alluring, whether they are in a Karan Johar movie, in a leadership lecture or in a Modi speech. Selling hope is clever and the Indian Americans, who live a dual life, certainly offer a captive market.
The observations by Indrajit Hazra, in his ‘5 things I learnt by watching NRIs at the Madison Square Garden’, in Economic Times are illuminating: “These were headbanging NRIs, half of whom looked like friendly NRI gyaenocologists, the other half looking like NRI nurses helping NRI gyaenocologists deliver (NRI) babies. The last time I had seen such radiance, such an abundance of communal (adjective of community) joy was when I had attended an Asaram Bapu satsang on ‘Adharma ke das lakshano se kaise bachein’ – mistakenly under the notion that it was the Xbox One India launch party.”
The significance of NRIs, not just in the US, but across the world is not political, but economic because they send home a lot of precious foreign exchange. India is the largest receiver of overseas remittances in the world, which account for about four percent of its GDP. About 25 million Indians living abroad send roughly $70 billion in a year. There is no point in making political capital out of them, but expressing gratitude Modi style is not a bad idea. In return of their money, let’s sell them dreams and aspirations.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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It’s been two days since prime minister Narendra Modi wowed the capacity crowd of overzealous NRIs at the Madison Square Garden, but its reverberations are yet to subside. Undoubtedly, it was the most impactful visit of an Indian leader on American soil and the international media justifiably went to town with it.
Now that the excitement is slowly settling down, the most important question is what any communications specialist would ask - who was Modi’s target audience, and why?
The obvious answer is that it was the Indian American community. But why? There is no logical answer because three million NRIs do not matter much in India. Their remittances do matter, which they have been sending anyway.
PM Narendra Modi is reflected on a pane of glass in front of spectators as he speaks at Madison Square Garden in New York. Reuters
However, they mean a lot for Modi’s publicity machine. They have been among the staunchest of Modi supporters and have done a great deal for amplifying the Modi-mania among the Indian diaspora, not just in the US, but across the world. They make Modi the most popular poster-boy of the new India that they aspire for and that they could flaunt to the countries they live in. A desperately poor and unattractive India is certainly a horrible image to be associated with. Modi has promised to change it for them.
“You have given me a lot of love,” Modi said. “This kind of love has never been given to any Indian leader, ever. I’m very grateful to you. And I will repay that loan by forming the India of your dreams,” he added. Whether it’s total sanitation or healthcare for all (which he is yet to announce in India though), Modi was selling the India of the NRIs’ dreams. That’s all what matters to the diaspora, a prosperous India that they could be proud of.
In return to the promises of a super power India, what can the NRIs in America do more than what they are already doing by remitting money? Will their chest-thumbing nationalism and adulation for Modi translate to anything of consequence? Not really, but they can further magnify the Modi legend among the diaspora and on the internet. They have the resources to fight the anti-Modi brigade anywhere on foreign soil and in the cyber world.
In summary, the whole Madison Square Garden exercise was a conversation about aspirations that are mostly devoid of a sense of realism. Aspirations are romantic and alluring, whether they are in a Karan Johar movie, in a leadership lecture or in a Modi speech. Selling hope is clever and the Indian Americans, who live a dual life, certainly offer a captive market.
The observations by Indrajit Hazra, in his ‘5 things I learnt by watching NRIs at the Madison Square Garden’, in Economic Times are illuminating: “These were headbanging NRIs, half of whom looked like friendly NRI gyaenocologists, the other half looking like NRI nurses helping NRI gyaenocologists deliver (NRI) babies. The last time I had seen such radiance, such an abundance of communal (adjective of community) joy was when I had attended an Asaram Bapu satsang on ‘Adharma ke das lakshano se kaise bachein’ – mistakenly under the notion that it was the Xbox One India launch party.”
The significance of NRIs, not just in the US, but across the world is not political, but economic because they send home a lot of precious foreign exchange. India is the largest receiver of overseas remittances in the world, which account for about four percent of its GDP. About 25 million Indians living abroad send roughly $70 billion in a year. There is no point in making political capital out of them, but expressing gratitude Modi style is not a bad idea. In return of their money, let’s sell them dreams and aspirations.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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When Narendra Modi gifted a Bhagvad Gita to the Japanese emperor he quipped that television talk-shows would create a “toofan” of controversy about it. But actually there’s nothing controversial about gifting the Gita. It’s a lovely and thoughtful gift especially for a powerful politician who probably has everything.
You can never go wrong with a book that inspires. It’s far better than a tacky replica of the Taj Mahal, does not take up too much space and as Modi rather touchingly said he gives a Gita to maharajas and prime ministers “(b)ecause I don’t think I have anything more to give and the world has anything more to get than this.”
The Gita is turning out to be quite the gift for all seasons when it comes to Modi and world leaders. Everyone needs a Gita and there’s a Gita for everyone.
Xi Jinping got a Gita in Mandarin and Shinzo Abe got a Gita in Japanese. And Obama got a very special Mahatma Gandhi version with a khadi cover.
Not all Gita gifts are equal: PIB
The Gideon society is famous for placing Bibles in hotel rooms around the US. Narendra Modi has surpassed them in a diplomatic masterstroke by placing Gitas in the chambers of power around the world. Going by his track record, by the time Modi’s tenure ends there will be a Gita in practically every prime ministerial or presidential residence around the world. Or perhaps more than one since Modi will likely meet some of those leaders more than once as well.
But because Modi is Modi, he adds a little personal touch to all his gifts so they do not look like something some official at the MEA picked up at the Cottage Industries emporium on his way home from work. And we will surely soon be faced with the Gita-oneupmanship games.
Put simply, is my Gita better than yours?
A Gita in Japanese is very culturally sensitive but does it carry the same cachet as the “Gita by Gandhi” with a custom khadi cover? Foreign policy pundits will surely be examining with a fine tooth-comb the importance New Delhi accords to Washington versus Tokyo as they compare the Gitas in their gift-bags. This is a case where a book will indeed be judged by its cover.
Modi ordered a special edition of The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi and “copies of it were specially done up with a certain get up as khadi on its cover” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.
What about a Gita plus a book on Vivekananda in Japan as compared to a Gita plus a handwoven khadi jacket? What does that say about how Modi views Shinzo Abe versus Xi Jinping?
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott must be feeling a little left-out of the spiritual upliftment programme as he leafs through Modi’s gift to him and discovers that he got not the Bhagavad Gita like everyone else but a book on yoga. Australia’s stereotype as a laidback country where people like their beaches and sports and physical activity seems to have determined that gift choice. On the plus side he will be ready for World Yoga Day.
Actually surprisingly for a man with a brahmachari reputation, Narendra Modi is quite the hands-on gift-giver. His gifts carry a personal touch rather than conveying the stiff unimaginative formality of the head of state.
As the Gita says “ A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return.”
India surely does expect something in return from Washington DC but digging out the old recordings of Martin Luther King in India and putting them together along with a photograph of King at Rajghat as a gift for Barack Obama is actually quite a moving gesture on many levels. In a society where we often measure the worth of a gift by its price tag this could be a lesson to many of the prime minister’s compatriots – the best gifts are ones that are rare, that show caring and thought and an understanding of the recipient, rather than the size of the gift-giver’s bank account. While the 15 cases of sindhri and chausa mangos Nawaaz Sharif sent might be very tasty, a khadi-cover Gita is far more tasteful in its subtlety. However that sari for Modi’s mother was a nice touch, Mr. Sharif.
Of course Modi is not above making the ostentatious gesture either. 2500 kilos of precious sandalwood and 2400 kilos of ghee to Pasupatinath temple in Nepal for example. That adds up to a Rs 4 crore price tag. According to Rediff.com a senior government official described the gesture as India’s “bhaktibhaav se arpan (an offering to God with India’s devotion).”
Modi probably did not give the prime minister of Nepal a Gita as well because that would be a little gratuitous in what used to be the world’s only Hindu kingdom. There’s no word whether his Gita-giving spree also extended to our other neighbours.
Is Nawaaz Sharif, for example, pondering on the Gita’s warning that for the honourable, dishonour is worse than death? Will the king of Saudi Arabia get a Gita as well if Modi has the chance to meet him? The Gita politics can take interesting turns as we follow Modi to capitals around the world.
Meanwhile in an ironic twist, Modi has found himself with an extra Gita in his luggage. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu to be elected to the US Congress gave Modi her personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita, the one on which she was sworn in as US congresswoman, the one she found solace in while serving in the Iraq war as a soldier. “Nothing could have been more special and valuable to me than this Gita , which I have had with me since a child" she says.
Gabbard might have just out-Gita-ed Narendra Modi himself when it comes to the Gita with the personal touch.
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MUMBAI: RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the Reserve Bank of India is in the process of redefining the definition of "wilful defaulters" so as to bring the directors of defaulting companies under its ambit.
"The (Calcutta high court had some questions about whether all directors could be declared wilful defaulters and we have looked at that. "We are in the process of modifying the definition so that the directors, if seen, as culpable in actively participating or being grossly negligent of wilful default," Rajan said at the customary post-policy interactions with the media.
According to the current definition, a wilful defaulter is somebody who has essentially not used the fund for the purpose it has been borrowed or when he has not repaid when he can do so; when he has siphoned off the funds or when he disposed of the assets pledged for availing of loan without the bank's knowledge.
Recently, United Bank of India declared Kingfisher Airlines as well as some three of its directors as wilful defaulters. The decision of the single bench, that accepted the bank's position, was later stayed by a division of the Calcutta High Court last weekend.
Talking about the norms for non-cooperative defaulters, Rajan said the guidelines have been formulated to tackle those borrowers who resist repaying at every corner and hold up the entire repayment process.
He said in such cases, the recourse to legal remedy, allowable by the laws from a prudential perspective, imposes a cost to the system because banks cannot get their money using the existing laws such as the Sarfesi Act.
"Therefore, in those situations where there is a deliberate attempt to delay the process of recovery after due process is being followed, can we find a way of declaring these borrowers as non-cooperatives?" Rajan said.
On the rising NPAs levels in the system, Rajan said the central bank is following the issue very closely and banks have been asked to take timely action to deal with the matter.
In the banking system, NPAs rose to 4.1 per cent as of the June quarter, while the total stressed assets including the recast loans rose close to 11 per cent.
When asked about the progress of the joint lenders' forum, RBI deputy governor S S Mundra said there has been some reduction in the number of accounts and the underlying amount in the cases are being taken up at the forum.
He said the definition on non-cooperative defaulter is not a legal definition but a regulatory definition, which will mean that higher capital provisioning will be required in further lending to these borrowers.
It can be noted that the RBI move comes in the wake of Kingfisher Airlines along with its three of its directors being declared as wilful defaulters by United Bank of India and the latter filing a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court against the bank and others, challenging the constitutional validity of the RBI Master Circular on wilful defaulters.
The ex-parte decision of the grievance redressal committee constituted by United Bank declaring Kingfisher and three of its directors as wilful defaulters was also challenged.
On September 1, United Bank tagged Kingfisher, its chairman Vijay Mallya and three directors A K Ganguly, Subhash Gupte and Ravi Nedungadi as wilful defaulters. On September 2, the airline was denied relief by the Supreme Court.
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court had said the special leave petition filed by the now crippled airline to block the decision by United Bank's grievance redressal committee had become "infructuous" in the eyes of the law.
Kingfisher Airlines owes about Rs 7,600 crore to a consortium of 17 banks led by State Bank. In February 2013, bankers publicly stated they had lost faith in the management's ability to revive the company and started the process to recall their loans.
Kingfisher has not flown since October 2012.
The airline early this month had also moved the Bombay High Court against the Union finance ministry and SBI for a notice served on it last month alleging the airline had wilfully defaulted on payment. The case is yet to be heard by the court.
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