Draining resources after Rahul

The CBI apparently has informed the Supreme Court about the involvement of a "foreign hand" to tarnish Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's image and reputation by accusing him of abducting a fictitious woman. CBI has so much time to investigate these useless things where as crores of rupees of corruption scandals need more investigation resources. Indians do not pay our taxes for Gandhi families honor or dishonor. Team Anna was correct in saying CBI is misused by the Prime Minister's Office.
- Ganesh Hedge, New Jersey

Kashmir issue in UN

Mr. Zardari must concentrate on various problems faced by his country instead of raking up Kashmir issue in the UN. He could have raised issues like sovereignty due to drone attack in the Pakistan territory. He had no guts to raise these issues where his innocent people are also dying due to US drone attacks. No headcounts are taken of those killed. Kashmir issue need not to be taken to UN. Its' a bilateral issue and more importantly Kashmiris aspirations are more important. Time and again Kashmiris have demonstrated that they want to be in India. Pakistan must stop interfering in the affairs of Kashmir. Pakistan must concentrate on its problems like poverty, unemployment, safety of all citizens irrespective of its religious b e l i e f / ideology. They must have the system in place. By f o r g e t t i n g the issue of Kashmir, whole lot of economic opportunities with India will get opened up. It will help them improve their economic positions. It will help the youth who otherwise get into militancy.
- Ashok Desai, New York

Kudos to Balpreet Kaur

It was amazing to know about Balpreet Kaur, a university student who gracefully defended her facial hair and faith when a photo of her went viral. The aspiring neurosurgeon, instead of flying into a rage at the person behind the cheap dig, posted a comment explaining why she didn't remove her hair. She pointed out that as part of the five Ks that Sikhs follow, one of the tenets is Kesh, which asks that she allow her hair to grow naturally and not cut it. Am sure her reply will give strength to many whose self esteem takes a beating due to some bodily flaw.
- Shreya Kumar, Ohio

Appeal to send papers, articles, books, Cds related to Jainism

About a year ago, International School for Jain Studies, Federation of Jain Associations in North America and Jain Center of Southern California partnered with Claremont Lincoln University (CLU) in Claremont, California, USA to promote the teaching and research in Jain, to establish first a Center and later a full-fledged department in Jain studies at Claremont Lincoln University. During this one year period, together we have made quite a good progress and several programs and initiatives are already underway and more are being planned.

One of the initiatives is to offer on-line courses. For this we need to build a sizeable library of Jain knowledge; in print, electronic and video/camera formats. Last year we started digitizing and camera recording lectures and materials to download on Claremont Lincoln Jain web site. This is a continuous process and work is proceeding at a good pace. Hence the CLU is looking for high quality Jain knowledge material in English, French, German , Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi , Gujarati and Kannad languages. You can send articles, essays, lecture notes, books, Cds, Videos and DVDs for downloading on CLU –Jain Studies web site. The material must be original, must not be copyrighted and permission for its free and unrestricted use must be given. Printed material must be sent electronically to Claremont Lincoln University to 'Lidiya Potapenko' at email id This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Videos, Cds and Dvds etc. should be mailed to Lidiya Potapenko, Center for Jain Studies, Claremont Lincoln University, 1325 North College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. All of the material should be made available to CLU free (at no cost). The name of the authors will be acknowledged on the CLU web site. No material will be returned to the sender/ author.
- Sulekh C Jain, Houston

Mindy Kaling on cover of New York magazine

It was super exciting to see Mindy Kaling on the cover of Sept 17 issue of New York magazine. I am her big fan and admire her wit and comic timing. So look forward to her new series "The M i n d y Project." Her debut this month will make Kaling one of the only women of color to be both the face of and the creative force behind a network TV show. It is not easy for a person of brown skin to find his or her niche in the glamor world but people like Mindy are an inspiration.
- Kajal Bedi, California

A milestone achieved

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed two bills designed to battle workplace discrimination against Sikhs and Muslim by shunting workers wearing turbans, beards and hijabs to backroom jobs out of public view. Breaking down prejudice is something you've got to do every day. Brown also signed Senate Bill 1540, sponsored by Democrat Loni Hancock changing how history and social sciences are taught in schools so that students learn about the history, tradition and theology of California Sikhs. Education can blunt hatred, prejudice and fatal misunderstandings, such as the massacre of Sikhs outside a Wisconsin temple. Both bills represent landmark achievements that will increase protections for all religious observers in the workplace and expand awareness of the 100- year history of Sikhs in California. This achievement ranks among the most far-reaching victories in the Sikh Coalition's history. It will protect the civil rights of millions of Americans.
- Jasbir Singh Saini, Seattle