New Delhi: Renowned Chef Vikas Khanna during a promotional programme in New Delhi on April 20, 2017. (Photo: IANS)
He has been named the “Hottest Chef of America” by People magazine and has won a Michelin star for his restaurant in New York, but there was a time when people made fun of Vikas Khanna’s accent and threatened to chop his fingers just because of his nationality.
The Michelin-starred celebrity chef looked back at his journey and recalled his struggles when he became part of “TED Talks India Nayi Soch” for an episode, a statement from the Star Plus channel said.
“In 2001, the owner of the hotel where I was working, used to put me down in every way possible by saying that I was good for nothing. At every point in time, he would scare me, insult me and make fun of my accent,” Khanna said.
Recalling one incident, he said: “One day, just for fun, he spat in my coffee and everyone started laughing at me. Few days later, he got very drunk and picked a big knife to cut my fingers. It was that day that I ran out of that place and realised that my struggle isn’t going to be easy.”
Indian-Americans around the U.S., both older and younger, those fortunate enough to have attended a Republic Day parade in India in past years, and even those who have not, feel a sense of pride and joy from the pomp and pageantry, the evoking of past, present and future glories of an ancient and modern culture, the leaders of the freedom movement, and the idea embedded in India’s Constitution, drafted by leaders like B.R. Ambedkar, a Columbia University alumni.
For me, the most memorable thing was my ringside view hoisted up on my father’s shoulders as an adolescent, enthralled by colorful floats, marching bands, the smart stepping army and navy contingents, the marvelous fly-past by the airforce; and at night, the sound -and-light show at Red Fort; and a few days later, the Beating of the Retreat, so poignant, it brings enormous pleasure just recalling the times. As I grew older, I witnessed from near and afar, how youth in India were driven by the immensity of what the Indian Constitution promised its citizens; and in America, how the non-violence movement of Gandhi infused the civil rights movement years later.
Indian Army’s T-90 Bhishma tanks (front) are driving during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, January 26, 2016. REUTERS-Altaf Hussain
“I relive the patriotism with which I grew up. It fills me with nostalgia. And it also reminds me of the sacrifices people made, which we take for granted today,” said Anju Bhargava of Washington, D.C. “It seems to me the whole formation of modern India, the thinking that went into drafting the Constitution formally adopted on this day, and the great intellectuals involved in it – compared to the world today …. In both the United States and India, people are taking these for granted,” who saw the parades on television as she did not live in Delhi.
“Both August 15th Independence Day, and Republic Day January 26, signal a moment of pause to celebrate India’s independence – especially since it was so uniquely won through non-violence. It’s also a reminder for me as an American, that the methodology of Satyagraha was what shaped the civil rights movement in this country,” said Suhag Shukla, executive director of the advocacy organization Hindu American Foundation.
It’s a whole different ‘vibe’ around India Gate at this time of the year, a “different kind of rush” compared to watching it on television, said some of those News India Times spoke to. Ashish Kapoor, from Somerset, New Jersey, said, “I miss watching the Republic Day Parade, a symbol of India’s unity and strength. Being in the U.S. I remember how colorful India is.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves towards the crowd as he leaves after attending Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, January 26, 2016. REUTERS-Adnan Abidi
Author Aruna Prakash from Princeton, New Jersey, says she was excited just going to the parade with all her cousins, carrying bags of moongphali and revdis. “There was none of the security of today and we would be running around all over, such freedom,” she recalls. “The fly past was just fabulous. And the animals – oh my gosh, the camels and horses, it was wonderful.”
“And as a military brat, my father’s Parachute Regiment, when it was added to the parade and would go by us – our section would give out the loudest cheer. And we went crazy cheering groups of students from schools that we knew,” Prakash says.
Artists perform as they take part in India’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India, January 26, 2016. REUTERS-Adnan Abidi
For Lokesh Jhamtani, a student in Buffalo, N.Y., 26th January was a very special date and day. “Being one of the three national holidays, our family would always take out time to witness the Republic Day Parade live or on television. It is a pure reflection of how unique is India’s social and cultural heritage,” he said via email. “The whole nation stood together in pride to witness the new advancements in defense and military capabilities.”
“Being in United States for more than 3 years, it always revives a great feeling of pride and happiness. A mutual connection with every Indian here who share mutual respect,” Jhamtani continued. Living close to the border with Canada, Jhamtani added, “Hoping to see the Niagara Falls lite (sic) up in the beautiful tri-colors of the Indian flag, as it did for Independence Day,” he said.
A policeman performs a stunt on his motorcycle during the Republic Day parade in Jammu, India January 26 2016. REUTERS-Mukesh Gupta
SubDrift (Subcontinental Drift) Boston hosted their first Open Mic Program of the year on Friday, Jan. 19 at EMW Bookstore, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The organization is a coalition of South Asian Americans wanting to showcase their talents and express their reactions to the politico-socio-cultural happenings around them. SubDrift welcomes performers of all types, backgrounds and experience levels, it says.
“Our mission is to build a supportive community that fosters creative expression and collaboration among Boston-based South Asians,” the organization says on Facebook.
The program, hosted by Aditya Nochur, was a double feature with special guests Diaspoura, of Chapel Hill, North Caroline, led by electronic artist Anjali Naik, aka Diaspoura, and Josephine Shetty’s Kohinoorgasm of Los Angeles, California, an experimental pop music project.
Poems were also read out by Neena Wahi, Manvir Singh, Haifa Badi Yousafzai, Hyder Kazmi and Payal Kumar while Shajehan Khan and Warrick Moses performed instrumental musical pieces.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Shetty has performed at universities, museums, festivals, traditional music venues to do-it-yourself spaces across the U.S.
Naik is praised by peers for producing a “strange energy” by singing songs that depict the socio-political grounding for creating a new sound and story for the South. “My dad’s from Africa and my mom’s from India, so I’m first-generation American,” Naik told Charleston City Paper. “So it’s always been really confusing to me where I actually am from, who I am — and that’s always the first question anyone asks me. But I never had anyone to emulate around me; I was the only Indian kid,” she added.
Brought up in rural South Carolina, Naik’s first album, Demonstrations, is a documentation of her experiences as a woman of color in the deep South. She has also released “GTF” (get the fuck) on President Donald Trump’s inauguration day Jan. 20, 2017. She currently performs along the east coast, and plans to release her new music collection this year.
A federal jury has convicted an Indian-American man from Monrovia, California, for his role in an international money laundering organization that conspired to move millions of dollars in proceeds for narcotics traffickers that included the Sinaloa Cartel.
Harinder Singh, 32, who also goes by “Sonu,” was found guilty Jan. 19, of conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to a Jan. 23 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Singh is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder on April 30. He faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for the conspiracy count, and five years for each of the other two charges.
Prosecutors say in this case, drug traffickers used a traditional hawala network of brokers spanning the United States, Canada and India to secretly transfer millions of dollars of drug proceeds to the United States, where brokers such as Singh delivered money to couriers acting on behalf of the Canadian drug traffickers and Mexican drug cartels.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Singh guilty of all three charges. With the verdicts against Singh, prosecutors have convicted 18 defendants who were named in a 2015 grand jury indictment that was the first major case in the United States involving “hawala” transfers of drug money.
The evidence presented during the two-week trial in United States District Court – which included Punjabi language wiretap calls, Punjabi-speaking witnesses and a money laundering expert – showed that Singh participated in a “hawala” conspiracy that was moving money generated from drug sales in Canada to the United States to pay for multi-kilogram drug shipments that were purchased in Los Angeles and then routed back to Canada for distribution, the press release says.
A hawala is an alternative form of money remittance which operates outside of traditional banking or financial systems, where the transfer of monetary value occurs between the brokers – who are typically located in different countries, but sometimes in different cities in one nation – based solely upon the trust that exists between the brokers.
The hawala system, which originated on the Indian subcontinent, does not rely on promissory instruments, the Justice Department noted; rather, it relies on trust and long-established connections between brokers that are typically based on familial, ethnic, religious, regional and/or cultural grounds. Through hawala transactions, only the value of the money is transferred, not the money itself.
Singh was stopped by the California Highway Patrol in October 2012, which led to the discovery of $274,980 in United States currency in rubber-banded stacks wrapped in black plastic. While the traffic stop was being conducted, special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration were conducting surveillance and observed Singh’s wife exiting the couple’s apartment complex carrying a bag – which later revealed $388,100 in United States currency, again rubber-banded in stacks and similarly wrapped in black plastic.
Prior to the traffic stop and the seizure at Singh’s apartment complex, a federal wiretap intercepted Punjabi language calls indicating that Singh and co-conspirators communicated over multiple telephones to arrange for the pick-up, transport and delivery of large amounts of United States currency – in amounts of up to $800,000 – across the Los Angeles area.
During the course of a four-year investigation by the DEA’s LA Strike Force and IRS Criminal Investigation, authorities seized nearly $15.5 million in bulk United States currency, 321 kilograms of cocaine, 98 pounds of methamphetamine, 11 kilograms of MDMA (“ecstasy”) and nine kilograms of heroin.
Previously in this case, 17 defendants have pleaded guilty, and several have already been sentenced, receiving prison terms as high as 70 months. The indictment also charges four other defendants who are currently fugitives.
NEW YORK – An Indian-origin British man, Siddhartha Dhar, has been identified by the US as the Islamic State’s executioner in Syria who was seen in videos carrying out beheadings.
Announcing his designation as a global terrorist on Tuesday, the State Department said that Dhar “is believed to be the masked leader who appeared in a January 2016 the IS video of the execution of several prisoners” who were accused by it of spying for Britain.
He replaced the feared IS executioner known as “Jihadi John”, who appeared in several videos beheading his victims, the department said. His name was Mohammad Emwazi and he had also lived in Britain. He was killed in 2015 in a US-British drone strike while in the Syrian city of Raqqa then under the IS control.
Dhar posed a terrorist threat to US citizens and interests and any property he may have in the US are frozen and Americans banned in dealing with them, the department said.
Before leaving for Syria to join the IS in 2014, Dhar had been a member of a British terrorist organisation, Al-Muhajiroun, according to the department.
The US was the targeted of another Indian-origin man from Britain, Dhiren Barot, who was linked to Al Qaeda. He was convicted in 2006 by a British court of plotting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.
Known also as Abu Musa al-Hindi and Abu Eissa al-Hindi, Barot was born in Gujarat and his family emigrated to Britain, where he grew up. He visited the US on a student visa and checked out potential sites, according to authorities.
A convert to Islam, he had travelled to Pakistan and fought against India in Kashmir, which he later recounted in a book.
The US tried to extradite an Indian-origin Brtish man, Haroon Aswat for allegedly trying to set up terrorist training camp in Oregon state. But in 2013 the European human rights court blocked his extradition saying it could violate his rights.
Washington DC: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of United States of America (USA) Donald Trump during Joint Press Statement, at White House, in Washington DC, USA on June 26, 2017. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
President Donald Trump has China in his crosshairs – and free-traders here holding their breaths – as he prepares to deliver a capstone speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Friday. But a Trump-led confrontation with India over trade could also nose its way into the great-powers showdown heating up the conference’s otherwise studied cool.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a paean to free trade Tuesday in a speech that formally opened this year’s gathering.
He took some swipes at Trump’s “America First” approach in the process, declaring that “instead of globalization, the power of protectionism is putting its head up.” Yet Trump’s trade hawks have been quietly building a case that Modi’s government is engaged in precisely the sort of unfair trade practices that the leader decried.
The administration’s maneuvering on India, led by U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer, has paled by comparison to the brewing fight with China. Trump fired what could prove the opening salvo of a trade war with the Chinese on Monday (though he denies it) by slapping tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines. The United States ran a $24 billion trade deficit with India in 2016, a fraction of our $347 billion imbalance with China that year, though the figure has more than doubled over a decade.
American businesses across a range of sectors have lodged a long list of complaints about their treatment by Modi’s government: Harley-Davidson faces a 100 percent import duty there; Apple just got pinched by a hike in the tax on imported phones; General Electric says India demanded midstream changes to a multibillion-dollar contract to build diesel locomotives; medical device makers are subject to price controls; and American purveyors of everything from flowers to alcohol confront steep tariffs.
Lighthizer pressed the case last year, raising concerns directly with Modi when the prime minister visited Washington in June and then in a trade forum with India in October that yielded no apparent progress. At the end of the year, as Lighthizer’s office remained conspicuously silent, Congress allowed a law that waives tariffs on imported goods to lapse. India is the prime beneficiary, tapping it to export $4.7 billion worth of goods to the United States in 2016, according to USTR.
A USTR representative declined to comment about Lighthizer’s plans to follow up in Davos, as did a Commerce Department spokesman. A White House spokesman said only that Trump has no plans to meet with Modi at the conference.
National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn has tried to hold the line internally against the trade hawks and on Tuesday sought to clarify Trump’s approach. “America First is not America alone,” he said. “We are very open to free, fair, reciprocal trade . . . It’s hard to argue against that, that we should treat each other equally.”
Trump’s tariff smackdown seemingly threw Modi’s free-market appeal, delivered to the global elite, into sharper relief. But it came as India considers setting up its own barriers to Chinese solar panels: The nation’s Finance Ministry this month pitched imposing a 70 percent duty on imports of the goods.
“While Modi himself is well-liked by the private sector because he’s so much more business oriented than his predecessors, there’s still a lot of skepticism,” Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer writes in an email.
Bremmer adds that although the United States has a deeper strategic alignment with India than with China, the latter is better positioned to stand up for itself, which could shape how the trade fights play out.
“The U.S. has more leverage on these economic issues with a country like India than it does with China. If the U.S. tries to lash out at China, China is going to hit back hard. India doesn’t have the same type of economic firepower,” he said. “Ultimately, size matters in this case.”
FOX Business tweeted “National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn: ‘President Trump’s economic agenda has unleashed the U.S. economy and we are growing. His policies have led to a rising stock market, low unemployment, and strong GDP growth.'”
Back at home Tuesday, Cohn argued at the White House lectern that Trump had “unleashed the U.S. economy” with his economic agenda, including slashing corporate tax rates. “At the [WEF], we will reiterate America’s commitment to domestic and global economic growth and prosperity, strengthen close ties with other world leaders, and catalyze international business support for the president’s agenda,” he said.
But a peek at the message Cohn and Trump may deliver when they hit town came through when the Goldman Sachs alumnus argued that “the president will continue to promote fair economic competition, and will make it clear that there cannot be free and open trade if countries are not held accountable to the rules.”
Cohn, along with national security adviser H.R. McMaster, revealed more details about the president’s trip to Davos, saying that Trump arrives Thursday morning and will meet with WEF founder Klaus Schwab, who will host a reception for Trump on Thursday night. Trump will meet with “a variety” of world leaders and dine with European business executives (“to encourage them to continue to invest in America.”)
From McMaster: “The President will also use his time in Davos to discuss other national security issues, including the international effort to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, our coalition to defeat ISIS, our efforts to counter Iran’s destructive agenda to perpetuate violence across the greater Middle East, as well as Iran’s ballistic missile activity, and the fundamental flaws in the Iran nuclear deal.” McMaster mentioned sessions with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame (also the head of the African Union); and President Alain Berset of Switzerland.
Parting shot: When asked what Cohn, a Davos veteran, would surprise Trump about attending the infamous gathering for the first time, the president’s top economic adviser simply pointed to the “14 feet of snow” on the ground here. “And I’ve never seen 14 feet of snow there, either. So, it will be interesting to see.”
A 15-year-old boy armed with a handgun allegedly walked into a rural high school in Kentucky and opened fire on his classmates early Tuesday, authorities said, killing two students and wounding a dozen other people before being stopped by a sheriff’s deputy.
At a news conference, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rick Sanders said the boy entered Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, shortly before 8 a.m. and began shooting.
Gov. Matt Bevin, R, said a 15-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the school and a 15-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. Twelve other people were shot, and five people were treated for other types of injuries sustained during the incident.
The shooting suspect, a student, faces charges of murder and attempted murder, Bevin said.
“This is a wound that is going to take a long time to heal, and for some in this community, it will never heal,” Bevin said.
Sanders identified the victims as Nicole Holt, who died at the scene, and Preston Ryan Cope, who died later at a hospital.
Jeff Edwards, the county attorney, toured the school after the shooting and described evidence of the chaos that unfolded as students arrived at school.
“To walk in, the backpacks laying around, the phones laying around, going off . . . it’s indescribable,” Edwards told the Courier-Journal in Louisville. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. It’s not like anything I’ve experienced in my life.”
Five of those injured were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Doctors there said they treated five boys between the ages of 15 and 18 with a range of injuries. One had been shot in the head, a second in the arm, and a third in the chest and abdomen.
Kentucky State Police Lt. Michael Webb said the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting police as they process the scene at the high school. Authorities plan to search the suspect’s family home as they investigate his motives.
Sanders said students had recently undergone training in how to respond to active shooters in their school hallways.
“The students did exactly as they were trained,” Sanders said. “Everybody at that high school reacted appropriately.”
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting and that he offered “thoughts and prayers” for the victims and families.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke Tuesday on the Senate floor, offering condolences to the community.
“Our hearts are with the entire community in Marshall County, and our gratitude is with the first responders who rushed into harm’s way,” McConnell said.
Marshall County High School is about 25 miles southeast of West Paducah, where a high school freshman opened fire on a student prayer group, killing three, in 1997.
Marshall County High had 1,300 students in the 2014-2015 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
The shooting in Kentucky came just one day after an incident in Texas that left one teenager injured. Early Monday morning, police responded to reports of an active shooter at Italy High School, in a town about 50 miles south of Dallas. A 16-year-old boy opened fire in the cafeteria, police said, wounding a 15-year-old girl, who was airlifted to a Dallas hospital. Afterward, authorities took the boy into custody.
Members of the Rajput community protest against the release of the upcoming Bollywood movie ‘Padmaavat’ in Mumbai, India, January 20, 2018. The bottom half of the sign reads “It’s not the fight for caste religion, it’s the fight for devotion of a woman.” REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI – Right-wing Hindu groups in India stepped up protests on Wednesday against the release of the controversial Bollywood film “Padmaavat”, as several states boosted police patrols a day after the Supreme Court refused to allow bans on the movie.
Groups critical of the film, set to be released on Thursday, have accused its director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, of distorting history by portraying a Muslim ruler as the “lover” of the Hindu Queen Padmavati of the Rajput warrior clan.
The filmmakers deny the accusation.
Violence over the film reached the outskirts of India’s capital just as New Delhi began to receive southeast Asian leaders for a major summit on Thursday, to be followed the next day by a parade and celebrations of the Republic Day.
Security for the parade showcasing India’s military might, which is to be attended by ten leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has been tightened more than in previous years.
Television broadcast images of gangs of young men, their faces concealed by swathes of cloth, throwing stones in the streets of Gurgaon, 30 km (19 miles) from New Delhi, while the hollowed-out shell of a bus smouldered nearby.
The protesters carried sticks and caused minor injuries to 14 people, said B.S. Sandhu, a senior police official, adding that police had detained 15 protesters.
“We will not tolerate any violence in the name of protests against a movie,” Sandhu added. “Sporadic rioting did take place but no one will be allowed to protest now.”
Indian films that touch upon the historical relationships of Hindus, India’s majority religion, and Muslim leaders are often controversial.
In the financial capital of Mumbai, police have boosted security at all theatres screening the film, and detained more than 100 members of protest groups, such as the conservative Sri Rajput Karni Sena, as a precaution, a senior police official said.
Police are also closely monitoring social media, he added.
Burnt vehicles, which were set on fire Tuesday night, following a protest by people belonging to Rajput community against the release of the upcoming Bollywood movie “Padmaavat”, are pictured outside a multiplex in Ahmedabad, India January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Police had to open fire to disperse crowds on Tuesday night as protests against the film turned increasingly violent, with vandalism around multiplexes in the western state of Gujarat and dozens of motorcycles being set on fire.
Police have arrested 20 men involved, said Kalpesh Patel, a police officer in the state’s key industrial city of Ahmedabad.
The protests are expected to continue around the country.
“We have decided not to play the movie in any of our properties in Gujarat and Rajasthan,” Deepak Asher, director of Inox multiplexes, India’s second largest theatre chain, told Reuters, referring to the two states hit by the worst protests.
“Our primary concern is the security of our employees and audiences. I think this is a decision that almost every theatre owner in these two states has taken,” he added.
In Chhattisgarh, dozens of members of the Rajput community staged protests and burned an effigy of Bhansali on Tuesday, Rakesh Singh Bais of the community group Sarwa Kshatriya Mahasabha told Reuters.
Police in Rajasthan have enforced tight security for protests planned by the Karni Sena and other Rajput groups, its police chief, O. P. Galhotra, said.
“We have been talking to the leaders of the Karni Sena and they don’t want to end their protest,” Galhotra added. “We have decided to allow them to hold small protests, and have made adequate arrangements to maintain law and order.”
Anyone trying to depict history as fiction will have to pay a price for their mistake, said Rajvansh Singh, an official of the Karni Sena in the city of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan, who called himself the custodian of respect for Rajput women.
“We will not allow the movie to be released,” he said. “Queen Padmini is like our goddess, no one will be allowed to insult our goddess and our Hindu pride.”
Twinkle Khanna poses with Malala Yousafzai along with other students and faculty members while holding up sanitary pads.
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani women’s activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, praised the theme of the upcoming movie “Padman” when Indian actress Twinkle Khanna came to meet her at Oxford University for the promotion of film which stars her husband Akshay Kumar in the lead.
“I’m really excited to see the film Pad Man… because the message behind the film is truly inspiring,” Yousafzai said during a press conference.
Khanna also gave a speech at the university in which she complained about the issue of menstrual hygiene in India and how Indian school girls in villages have to sit with a rag cloth, a rolled-up sock or a rolled up newspaper between their legs when they are on their period.
She also emphasized the fact that sanitary pads are heavily taxed in India.
“Pads are still seen as a luxury item. It is odd that pads are taxed at 12 percent in India but brooms are tax free,” Khanna said in her speech.
Khanna posed with Yousafzai and other students and faculty members while holding up sanitary pads.
“Padman,” directed by R. Balki and starring Kumar, Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor, is an upcoming film about menstrual hygiene in the rural areas of India.
The film was originally to be released on Republic Day (Jan. 26), however, will now release on Feb. 9.
Indian American Venkatesh Sasthakonar of Albertson, Long Island, 44, has been arrested and charged with second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault for attacking a nurse at Nassau University Medical Center on Monday, Jan. 22, according to NBC New York.
According to a CBS New York report, police say that Sasthakonar approached the 51-year-old nurse from behind and wrapped an elastic cord from his sweatshirt around her neck, after getting into a disagreement, which left her in pain as she was gasping for air.
A criminal complaint further states that the doctor became upset after the nurse administered medication to a patient at the incorrect time and Sasthakonar allegedly said, “I should kill you for this” and left the hospital shortly after.
“She was not injured in any way, she didn’t lose consciousness, he didn’t attempt to choke her at all. He knows this nurse for 10 years, they’ve worked together, they’re friends. He denies that he even touched her skin with the drawstring that is listed in the complaint. He didn’t attempt to choke her at all, any statement he made about ‘I’ll kill you’ was said in jest,” Sasthakonar’s attorney Melvin Roth told CBS New York.
According to the hospital’s website, Sasthakonar has been working at Nassau University Medical Center for about 10 years and he specializes in bariatric surgery for obese patients.
A statement on the matter, released by the hospital reads:
“Following the alleged incident that occurred on January 22, 2018, the hospital cooperated with the Nassau County Police Department. At no time was patient safety affected. The doctor has been suspended until further notice.”
According to ABC7, Sasthakonar is due back in court on Feb. 26.
Prosecutors say that a San Jose police sniper’s actions were justified when he shot a mentally ill man who killed an Indian American couple at their Willow Glen home in San Jose, California last May, according to Mercury News.
“When a person, who has already murdered two defenseless people in their own home, thereafter points a loaded handgun at responding police, the police do not have to wait for that person to fire another shot before using lethal force. The person with the gun aimed toward police is an imminent threat to kill or disable them,” Deputy District Attorney David Boyd wrote in the 69-page report released by the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office last week.
“Everyone knew that the gun was real and that it worked because of the constant reminder of Mr. Prabhu’s lifeless body in the doorway. When Tatlic extended his arm with the gun in hand toward the window with numerous officers down below, he presented an immediate threat of death or great bodily injury that had to be immediately neutralized,” he added.
According to multiple media reports, Mirza Tatlic, 24, killed Naren Prabhu, the vice president of engineering at Juniper Networks in Sunnyvale, California, and his wife Raynah, the parents of his ex-girlfriend Rachel Prabhu, on May 3, 2017 at 9 p.m.
Tatlic managed to shoot Naren as he opened the door for him, then stepped inside and shot Raynah and kept their 13-year-old son hostage.
According to Mercury News, the couple’s 20-year-old son had witnessed the shootings and ran outside to a neighbor’s home from where he called 911 and told dispatchers that his 13-year-old brother was still in the home with Tatlic, police said.
Multiple media reports further stated that Tatlic was obsessed with Rachel and repeatedly tried to meet and contact her, despite restraining orders and other security measures.
“The suspect had been in a relationship with the victims’ daughter who was not home. The relationship had ended last year. The suspect had a history of domestic violence and there was an active criminal restraining order” San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia told PTI back in May.
Rachel had met Tatlic through mutual friends in July of 2016 and the two began meeting regularly for lunch and drinks, Tatlic was even aware that she had boyfriend from whom she was taking a break from.
Rachel told police that within weeks of meeting her, Tatlic became controlling and obsessive, and began speaking of wedding plans and children quite often enough and on Sept. 3, 2016, came to her house with flowers, to “surprise” her.
Since Rachel’s parents had already told her they didn’t like the guy, she attempted to hide him in her bedroom, leaving him alone for a few minutes and saw him drinking a bottle of tequila upon returning.
In the meantime, Rachel received an instant message from her boyfriend which made Tatlic angry, and he began to punch her and rip off her shirt until her parents intervened when she yelled out for them, Rachel told police.
After the incident, the Prabhus ended up installing a surveillance system in their home.
They later learned that Tatlic’s mother and sister had previously placed restraining orders against him due to his violent behavior.
But it was reported that on Nov. 30, 2016, Tatlic forced himself on Rachel as she tried to push him off of her.
According to the report, Tatlic put his hands around Rachel’s neck and squeezed hard until she lost consciousness and stayed with her until she regained consciousness.
Two days later, Tatlic assaulted Rachel again, this time punching, kicking, and head-butting her, he was then arrested by Boston police and Rachel was granted a restraining order on Dec. 5, 2016.
After that, Tatlic tried to contact Rachel through her brother Neil but on May 3, 2017, Tatlic ended up shooting and killing Rachel’s parents when she was not home and used her brother’s cell phone to call her saying “I killed your parents.”
“When officers arrived at the home on Laura Valle Lane they saw an adult man deceased in the front doorway suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Officers learnt from the son that his mother and 13-year-old brother along with the suspect were still inside the house,” police told PTI in May.
According to Garcia “the suspect released the 13-year-old boy” but since he refused to surrender, Officer Jacob Morris had no choice but to fire his gun, killing Tatlic.
Sherin Mathews, of Richardson, Texas, is missing after disappearing Saturday morning. She had been sent outside at 3 a.m. as punishment for not drinking her milk. (Richardson Police Department)
Indian Americans Reena Bana and Shanna Poteet have proposed a law that would make it a felony to leave a child alone at home.
The law will be known as “Sherin’s Law,” named after the Indian American toddler, Sherin Mathews, who died last year, after she choked on her milk while being forced to drink it and was left in a culvert by her adoptive father.
“With Sherin, we draw the line. It’s enough. It’s time to make a change,” Bana, an advocate for missing or abused children and domestic issues, told PTI.
“No children under 9 or 10 years old need to be left unaccompanied at home,” Poteet, an activist and advocate, told PTI.
According to PTI, Bilal Khaleeq, an attorney who practices family and criminal law, has been helping Bana and Poteet in their quest to make these changes in the Texas state laws and they both hope to get help from Child Protective Services in Texas, to push for the reform.
“The Texas books don’t have a minimum age for a child to be left alone,” Khaleeq told PTI adding that the current law really leaves it to the parent’s discretion whether a child is mature enough to be left alone with ages nine, 10, 11 and even 12, as the minimum age requirements for the law.
“We still have some meetings with representatives to find out what the best age for that is,” Poteet added.
The proposed law would also make it a felony for not reporting a missing child within a few hours, Bana told PTI adding that there are laws from other states in the country which address the crime, like Caylee’s Law in Florida which “makes it a felony for a parent or legal guardian to fail to report a missing child, in cases where the parent knew or should have known that the child was possibly in danger.”
“There may be some overlap in laws like with current endangerment and abandonment changes but the proposed ‘Sherin’s Law’ would make it more black and white. That could be a law that requires a parent to take some responsibility, especially if they have something to do with that child being missing,” Khaleeq added.
According to PTI, Wesley Mathews, 37, was previously charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony punishable with a maximum 99 years in prison however, earlier this month a grand jury indicted him for capital murder for which he could face the death penalty, while Sini Mathews, 35, faced one count of abandoning a child, a punishment that ranges from two to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to $10,000.
Authorities have not yet said what happened to Sherin and only court documents allege that Wesley “caused his daughter’s death using a deadly weapon ‘by a manner and means unknown to the grand jury,’ though an autopsy report shows that she died of “homicidal violence.”
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi arrive for a photo opportunity ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, January 25, 2018. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
NEW DELHI – The leaders of India and southeast Asia agreed on Thursday to boost their maritime ties at a summit in New Delhi, as they seek to balance the increasing weight of China across the region.
India is hosting the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Regional Cooperation (ASEAN) and the summit comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pursuing an “Act East” policy of developing ties with these countries.
The Indian and ASEAN leaders agreed “to establish a mechanism for greater cooperation in the maritime domain sector”, Preeti Saran, secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, told reporters.
“They did discuss the issues of greater maritime cooperation, addressing both traditional and non-traditional challenges all of us face collectively,” Saran said, without elaborating.
In the talks Modi also pitched for an ASEAN-India women’s navy team which could sail around the world, just as an Indian team is doing currently, Saran said.
Modi has invited the leaders of all 10 ASEAN nations to join him for India’s Republic Day celebrations on Friday in the biggest ever gathering of foreign leaders at the parade, which showcases the country’s military might and cultural diversity.
The leaders attending the summit in New Delhi include Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.
New Delhi’s push to expand economic ties with southeast Asia still trail those of China, whose trade with ASEAN was more than six times greater than India’s in 2016-17 at $470 million.
China has in recent years also built ports and power plants in countries around India’s periphery, expanding its presence in South Asia and pushing New Delhi to seek new allies.
Modi said he would work towards strengthening relations with ASEAN countries, saying trade had already grown “25 times in 25 years”.
“Investments are robust and growing. We will further enhance trade ties and work towards greater interaction among our business communities,” Modi said.
17 Indian Americans among a group of 40, were selected as finalists in the Regeneron Science Talent Search by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Society for Science & the Public.
The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors and was formerly known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search from 1942-1997 and the Intel Science Talent Search from 1998-2016. Some alumni of this competition have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.
Calling the finalists “some of the best and brightest young scientists and mathematicians in our country,” Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science & the Public, and publisher of Science News, said in a press release, “Their projects demonstrate the remarkable power of scientific curiosity, commitment and the desire to make the world a better place. We are eager to see how they shape the future of STEM in our country and impact people all across the globe.”
Finalists, who are awarded at least $25,000 each, were selected from a pool of highly qualified entrants based on their projects’ scientific rigor and their potential to become world-changing scientific leaders, the press release said.
They will travel to Washington, D.C., from March 8-14, where they will undergo a rigorous judging process and compete for more than $1.8 million in awards while also have the opportunity to interact with leading scientists, meet with members of Congress and display their projects to the public at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on March 11.
The top 10 Regeneron Science Talent Search 2018 winners will be announced at a black-tie gala awards ceremony at the National Building Museum on March 13 and their awards will range from $40,000 to $250,000.
“The Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists are tomorrow’s scientific leaders, and their projects address some of the most urgent challenges we face as a society. Our world has no greater or more important resource than these bright young minds,” George D. Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron and Science Talent Search winner (1976), is quoted saying in the press release.
List of Indian American finalists and their projects:
Sidhika Balachandar
Buchholz High School, Gainesville, Florida
Picoscale Mechanics of Atomically Engineered Materials
Kavya Kopparapu
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
GlioVision: A Platform for the Automatic Assessment of Glioblastoma Tumor Features, Molecular Identity, and Gene Methylation from Histopathological Images Using Deep Learning
Rohan Mehrotra
Lynbrook High School, San Jose, California
On-Demand Electrically Controlled Drug Release from Resorbable Nanocomposite Films
Rajiv Movva
The Harker School, San Jose, California
SNPpet: Computational Dissection of the Noncoding Genome Reveals Regulatory Sequence Patterns and Disease-Causing Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms
Chythanya Murali
Centennial High School, Ellicott City, Maryland
CAR-NK-Cell Therapy: Raising the Tail of the Survival Curve
Nitya Parthasarathy
Northwood High School, IRVINE, California
Evaluation of Gender Bias in Social Media Using Artificial Intelligence
Mihir Patel
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia
Automating Limb Volume Measurements of Lymphedema Patients Through Computer Vision
Advait Patil
Lynbrook High School, San Jose, California
A High-Throughput Multi-Omics Framework for Global Identification of Novel Molecular Interactions and Genome-Scale Modeling of Multicellular Ecosystems
Syamantak Payra
Clear Brook High School, Friendswood, Texas
A Smart Bionic Leg Orthosis: The Design, Development and Evaluation of an Orthotic Device for Comprehensive Restoration of Gait Characteristics Across Everyday Mobility Scenarios
Abilash Prabhakaran
Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village, Colorado
Selective Transfection Using DiBAC4(3)
Muhammad Rahman
Westview High School, Portland, Oregon
A Smart Burn/Spill Proof “SAFE” Microwave That Spares the Salad: A Novel Application of Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithms and Machine Learning for Real-time Thermodynamic Modeling
Shuvom Sadhuka
Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Searching for Topological Bubbles for Phononic Honeycomb Lattice
Haniya Shareef
Lincoln Park Academy, Fort Pierce, Florida
Molecular Characterization and Enhanced Efficacy in the Development of a Novel Host-Specific Bioherbicide Candidate for Cyperus rotundus
Isani Singh
Cherry Creek High School, Greenwood Village, Colorado
Investigating the Developmental Requirements of Sex Chromosome Genes Affected in Turner Syndrome
Marissa Sumathipala
Broad Run High School, Ashburn, Virginia
Reinventing Cardiovascular Disease Therapy: A Novel Dual Therapeutic with FOXO Transcription Factor and AMP Kinase
Vinjai Vale
Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire
A New Paradigm for Computer Vision Based on Compositional Representation
Teja Veeramacheneni
Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, California
A Novel 3D Wavelet-Based Co-Registration Algorithm with Improved Accuracy for Fusion of PET and MRI Brain Scans
NEW YORK – Indian American physicians Dr. Ashis K. Rakhit, 65, and Dr. Jayati Gupta Rakhit, 56, from Moreland Hills, Ohio, were indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, 11 counts of healthcare fraud and six counts of false statements relating to healthcare matters along with being charged with three counts each of distribution of controlled substances, according to law enforcement officials.
According to the indictment, both husband and wife were medical doctors who specialized in cardiovascular disease and internal medicine and were in charge of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center as well as operated Ohio Cardiology Associates, Inc.
The indictment states that the Rakhits ordered and performed unnecessary medical tests between 2011 and 2018, including but not limited to unnecessary nuclear stress tests, cardiac catheterizations, bone density scans, echocardiograms, EKGs, carotid artery scans, venous ultrasounds of the legs and abdominal ultrasounds as well as record false symptoms in patient records to justify medically unnecessary tests on patients, including shortness of breath, palpitations, hypertension and abnormalities in breathing.
The Rakhits also billed Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers with inflated codes to reflect a service more costly than that which was actually performed and intentionally distributed and dispensed controlled substances outside the usual course of medical practice, according to the indictment.
Ashis has been charged with distributing Percocet and Xanax in 2017, while Jayati has been charged with distributing Tramadol, according to the indictment.
“This couple violated the trust of their patients, the taxpayers and the community. They performed unnecessary medical tests and billed for services they didn’t actually provide in exchange for prescription medications – all of this at a time when our region is inundated in opioid deaths and addiction,” said U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman.
“Not only did these physicians put their patients through unnecessary medical procedures so they could line their pockets with extra income, they also prescribed controlled narcotics that were not medically required. Given the current opioid epidemic, prescribing unnecessary narcotics only further contributes to this crisis. The FBI will continue to work with our partners to hold accountable those in the medical field who choose to engage in criminal activity,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony.
NEW YORK – An Indian American man, Akash Kumar, 27, of Montgomery, Alabama, along with Misty Michelle Fannin, 41, of Tallassee, Alabama and Jacqueline Suzanne Brownfield, 33, of Wetumpka, Alabama, were arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation and prosecution of a “pill mill,” according to United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr.
According to the indictment, “all of the defendants are alleged to have assisted Dr. Gilberto Sanchez in operating a ‘pill mill,’ out of Family Practice, a medical clinic located” in Montgomery, Alabama.
The indictment alleges that Kumar along with Brownfield used their position in the billing office to overbill patients for services provided by the nurse practitioners while Fannin, the office administrator, helped Sanchez to launder the money generated by the illegal drug distribution.
If convicted, Kumar and Brownfield could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison while Fannin could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Dr. Sanchez already pled guilty in federal court to drug distribution, health care fraud and money laundering charges in Nov. 2017.
Parthiv Patel. (Photo courtesy of Sen. Cory Booker in Medium).
NEW YORK – In a unique move, a ‘Dreamer’ from India took the oath of admission enabling him to practice law in New Jersey, in a ceremony administered by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and with Governor Phil Murphy at his side, in Trenton, on Wednesday.
Parthiv Patel, a graduate of Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law who hopes to use his law degree to serve others, is among the first recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to be admitted to practice law in New Jersey.
The governor also announced at the swearing-in that New Jersey is seeking to join the lawsuit with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and 15 other attorneys general to protect undocumented young people, according to a press release.
“For the chief law enforcement officer of my home state to administer the pledge to uphold the law and Constitution, and for the governor to be in attendance, the only word I can use is humbling,” said Patel, in a statement. “The process of getting admitted to practice law has been daunting, but today’s ceremony is a reminder of the reason I’ve strived so hard to become a lawyer: to use my training and abilities to uplift others. In a climate of anxiety, it’s a comfort to know that we Dreamers are not alone in this fight.”
Patel, who was brought to the United States from India at age 5, received DACA in 2012, granting him authorization to work in the United States. After graduating from law school, Patel passed the bar exams of both New Jersey and Pennsylvania in July 2016.
“No one should face barriers to serving the greater good because of where they were born,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU-NJ, which represented Patel in his application for admission to the New Jersey Bar, in a statement. “Parthiv is a son of New Jersey, and his story fits squarely in the American Dream. While other forces in the country put obstacles in the path of talented, driven young Americans like Parthiv, New Jersey shows how much we benefit when we lift up each other’s dreams rather than thwart them. I am honored to witness his admission to the practice of law in our home state and to call him a colleague in the bar.”
Patel’s application for bar admission stalled when the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners notified him that his immigration status made him ineligible. Patel appealed with help from the ACLU of Pennsylvania and several cooperating attorneys. On Dec. 18, 2017, he was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar. The ACLU-NJ represented him in seeking acceptance to the New Jersey Bar, and he recently received word that he would be admitted here.
“Parthiv’s long wait for bar admission shows the type of obstacles that Dreamers are up against, and at the same time, his determination and altruistic spirit in the face of uncertainty demonstrate the best that New Jersey and America have to offer,” said ACLU-NJ Senior Supervising Attorney Alexander Shalom, who worked on advocacy related to Patel’s case. “A decision that was made for him in kindergarten should have no bearing on his ability to give back to your community as an adult. Parthiv will be a great addition to the profession.”
A 1996 federal statute prohibits states from conferring certain professional licenses on undocumented immigrants unless the state affirmatively opts out of that prohibition. Several states, including New York, Florida, and California, have subsequently granted law licenses to Dreamers, young men and women who were brought to the United States as children and who, until the DACA program, had no path available to apply for legal documentation in the United States.
“Parthiv Patel is just one of many ‘Dreamers’ who contribute in countless ways to American society. It is high time for Congress to pass a clean Dream Act to create a path to citizenship for people like Mr. Patel,” said Molly Tack-Hooper, staff attorney at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “Parthiv is an American success story. We should celebrate him and do all we can to keep him here, not deport him.”
Patel was represented in New Jersey by the ACLU of New Jersey and in Pennsylvania by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, along with Fred Magaziner and Rhiannon DiClemente of Dechert LLP and Samuel Stretton.
NEW YORK – Indian American Harendra Singh, a campaign donor to Mayor Bill de Blasio, secretly pleaded guilty in federal court to bribery, admitting that he used his contributions to the mayor to try to gain money for the lease of his restaurant which was owned on city property, according to the New York Times.
Court documents state that the mayor himself took steps to benefit Singh in exchange for the contributions.
An unnamed senior aide to the mayor also arranged a meeting to pressure a city agency to offer more favorable terms to Singh.
During Singh’s plea hearing, which occurred on Oct. 17, 2016, he said that his donations were intended as part of a quid pro quo, according to a transcript of the hearing, reported the Times.
“I gave these donations to the elected official in exchange for efforts by that official and other city officials to obtain a lease renewal from the city agency for my restaurant on terms that were favorable to me,” he said.
According to the records, along with pleading guilty to conspiracy, bribery and honest services wire fraud, in connection with campaign contributions to de Blasio in October 2016, Singh also pleaded guilty to six counts stemming from bribery schemes involving local government officials in Long Island and the several businesses that he owned there.
An indictment states that in effort to renew a lease with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services for his Water’s Edge restaurant in Queens, in 2010, Singh started raising funds for de Blasio’s mayoral campaign, and ended up raising tens of thousands of dollars.
Singh was also one of the earliest donors who contributed a large amount when the mayor began his campaign in 2010 and with the help of his family members and other associates, was able to raise a total of about $33,000.
Singh also held a fundraiser for the mayor on Oct. 12, 2013 at his Water’s Edge restaurant.
But in December 2014, Singh needed help with renewing the lease for his restaurant so he sent an email to an aide to the mayor whom he named as “Official #2”, according to court documents.
According to court documents, on July 30, 2015, Emma Wolfe, one of de Blasio’s top aides, arranged a meeting in City Hall with Singh and Stacey Cumberbatch, the head of the administrative services department, to discuss his lease and the she tentatively agreed to settle terms with Singh that were more favorable to him than what was previously offered, they were about to finalize the deal when Singh was arrested for the Long Island corruption investigation.
According to the New York Times, Singh owed the city millions of dollars in back rent and charges for the rebuilding of a nearby pier and had been involved in a long-running dispute with the city over his lease.
The relationship between Singh and de Blasio had been a focus of investigations by the F.B.I. and the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, who decided against charging the mayor, but harshly criticized him and his fund-raising practices, after an 18-month inquiry, according to the New York Times
The New York Times reported that last March, federal prosecutors who had investigated the mayor’s fundraising decided not to bring any criminal charges against him based on what they described as a high burden of proof and the challenge of proving corruption without “evidence of personal profit.”
The transcript of Singh’s guilty plea was unsealed on Tuesday in connection with the trial of one of the Long Island officials, Edward P. Mangano, for which Singh is expected to be an important witness for.
NEW YORK – Bangladeshi American community activist Dilafroz Nargis Ahmed, also known as Nargis Ahmed in her community, was honored with the 2017 AARP Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Hero award, in New York City, on January. 24.
Ahmed is the director of India Home’s Desi Senior Center in Jamaica, Queens and works tirelessly to make aging Bangladeshi immigrants feel at home while living in the United States.
“When I was working and my parents were here, there were no activities for them to do in the day time and I felt very sorry for them. Although my parents are no longer with me today, I want to help others’ parents,” Ahmed, a retired travel agent, told News India Times, adding that they are the only South Asian senior center who serves halal food.
Ahmed came to the United States in 1981 and worked full-time as a travel agent for 26 years as she “wanted a career where I could go back to my home country every year”. In 1986 she joined a weekly Bangla program called “Ruposhi Bangla” as a news anchor.
“Ruposhi Bangla” was the first Bengali television program outside of Bangladesh and broadcast on public access television throughout the tri-state area.
This was the first of many instances in which she had been involved in the Bangladeshi American community.
In 1988, Ahmed helped to form the organization Bangladesh Shangshod where she was general secretary and participated in collecting and distributing winter clothes to the needy and other similarly humanitarian minded projects.
Bangladesh Shangshod was the first and only organization that came forward to teach English, American customs, training and job placement, and free medical services to newly arrived Bangladeshi immigrants.
Dilafroz Nargis Ahmed with Daphne Kwok, the Vice President of Multicultural Affairs at AARP (Courtesy: India Home Inc.)
After that, Ahmed became actively involved with the Bangladesh Society Inc. in New York, an organization servicing the Bangladeshi-American community at large which was founded in 1975 and has more than 18,000 active members to date.
She was the very first and currently still is, the only elected female president of Bangladesh Society Inc.
Prior to this, Ahmed had been a proud life member of the organization and held two consecutive terms as an executive committee member from 1989 to 1990.
She was also elected as organizing secretary during the term of 1993-1994 while taking on the official duties of the general secretary.
During this time, she also chaired the Bangladesh Society’s ‘Bangla School,’ for children of Bangladeshi descent who were interested in learning traditional Bengali music, dance, as well as reading and writing in Bangla.
Ahmed facilitated legal help for Bangladeshi Americans as well and in 1991, became one of the founding members of the Bangladeshi American Public Affairs Front (BAPAF) where she served as president for the term of 2003-2004.
Prior to that, she served six years as general secretary, two years as vice president, and two years as senior vice president for BAPAF, the organization that motivates members of the Bangladeshi community to actively participate in mainstream political activities.
Ahmed was also elected as the Executive Secretary of Federation of Bangladeshi Associations in North America (FOBANA), for a 3-year term in 2001.
Dilafroz Nargis Ahmed with her family (Courtesy: Nargis Ahmed)
Along with promoting Bengali music, theater, and arts with the community, Ahmed is an avid traveler, reader and enjoys hosting gatherings.
She is the founding president of the Drama Circle, the most popular theater organization amongst the Bangladeshi American community and has also been in-charge of the large-scale celebration of the Bangla New Year “Pohela Boishakh” in America.
Ahmed has also been active in mainstream local politics for the Asian American Democratic Association of Queens where she served as a co-chairman of the voter registration committee, the New York State Democratic Party’s South Asian Pacific Division where she was elected as a member-at-large and was appointed by then Queens Borough president, the late Helen Marshall, to serve as a member of Community Board 8 since 2002.
In 2014, she was selected to be the secretary general of the Advisory Council of Al-Mamoor Islamic School in New York.
Along with receiving the 2017 AARP Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Hero award on Wednesday, Ahmed has received many other awards from various organizations in the past for community involvement including the AFL-CIO, the Commission on the Dignity of Immigrants, the Asian American Democratic Association of Queens, the Bangladesh Society of New York and the Bangladesh Consulate General of New York.
She has also been honored with accolades and citations from Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, City Council members John Liu, David Weprin, Helen Sears, Senator John D. Sabini, Senator Ada L. Smith, Assemblyman Jose Peralta and two Proclamations from the City Council of New York.
She also received two special commendations from the Office of the City Comptroller: one from William C. Thompson in June 2007 and another from Scott M. Stringer in May 2014.
Ahmed lives in Jamaica Hills, Queens, New York with her husband Mustaque Ahmed, a pharmacist, and two daughters, Munira Ahmed and Kainath Minerva Ahmed.
NEW YORK – Local and international dignitaries will be coming together to inaugurate the WHEELS India Niswarth Foundation (WIN), a newly formed non-profit organization which funds research and innovation for water quality and sanitation focusing on maternal and child health issues, on January 30 at WIN Foundation’s main office located at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) Research Park, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
The event will start at 2:30 p.m. with a tour of the facility followed by a panel discussion on Maternal and Child Health and Water and Sanitation issues. The main event will start at 5:30 p.m. and will focus on Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) and Maternal and Child Health (MCH).
The WATSAN program will focus on developing new, cost-effective ways to treat water, reduce water contamination in rivers and work to improve policies related to drinking water like finding a cost-effective method to bring clean drinking water to rural area and work with international governing bodies to form public-private partnerships, according to a press release.
The program will also champion and develop water purification devices which will bring clean drinking water to rural areas by using technologies such as slow sand filters and will research ways to reduce the costs for delivering potable water, applying technologies such as reverse osmosis and desalination.
According to a press release, the Niswarth International Foundation, a charity organization founded by Chirag Patel, the co-CEO and chairman of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, has already made a donation of $2 million to help find new ways to improve water quality and health outcomes for mothers and children.
“Our vision is that the WIN Foundation will serve as an India-based incubator for technology-based ideas that can be tested and put into action to improve the daily lives of people living in underdeveloped areas around the world,” Patel said.
The MCH program will house a research lab which will focus on priorities such as prevention, diagnoses, using data analytics and the use of women’s self-help groups to deliver messages.
The program will support a field testing site to analyze public health interventions in a community setting.
Additionally, the MCH program will serve as a hub to link together resources for improving health outcomes for women and children and serve as an evidence-based testing facility to advise policy makers.
A panel discussion featuring Dr. Thakor Patel from the Sevak Foundation, Ruyintan (Ron) Mehta, the co-director for the “water” track of WGF and Dr. Kranti Vora, the newly appointed director for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) at the WIN Foundation, will be moderated by Rajat Gupta, the chairman of WHEELS Global Foundation (WGF) along with Dr. Dileep Mavalankar, the director of IIPHG.
