National Briefs

[ By VRN ]

Dr. Manan Trivedi Wins Democratic Primary in Philadelphia

Iraq war-veteran Indian-American doctor Manan Trivedi has won the Democratic Party nomination to contest the November elections to the US House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Congressional district.

A doctor-turned war-veteran, Trivedi, 35, defeated Dough Pike, a former local journalist, with a narrow margin of 672 votes; thus earning the right to challenge Republican incumbent Jim Geralch in the November polls for Pennsylvania seat for the US House of Representatives. Conceding his defea

t, Pike in a statement supported Trivedi. The elections were held on Tuesday. "Manan would be a much better member of Congress than Republican Jim Gerlach, a career politician who has let working families down again and again. I endorse Manan Trivedi-a doctor and veteran who served on the front lines in Iraq-and I urge my supporters to unite behind him," he said.

The victory of Trivedi surprised many as Pike; nine months ago, appeared to be cruising toward the party's nomination. "Trivedi came on the scene in September as an insurgent candidate, but quickly won over party leaders and rank-and-file activists alike, several of whom changed their endorsements in the race to back Trivedi, a Reading doctor," said the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I think voters across this district made a clear choice for a change in the type of Representation they want in Washington,” Trivedi said in a statement.

"People are tired of career politicians and Washington insiders, it's clear that they are looking for a new breed of civil servant.

Someone who has the real world experience to tackle the problems we face and the courage to state their beliefs clearly regardless of which way the political winds are blowing," he said.

Indian Govt To Set Up Vivekananda Chair At Chicago University

The government of India has decided to set up a chair in Chicago University in the name of Vivekananda to commemorate his speech at the World's Parliament of Religions there in 1893.

An endowment for an annual lecture may also be created in the Chicago University. These decisions were taken by the high-powered National Committee to commemorate Vivekananda's 150th anniversary.

The committee said as part of the celebration, Vivekanand's relevance in the 21st century will be emphasized by propagating his ideals. To inculcate his service to the poor, emphasis will be on BPL population, rural/tribal and Naxalite areas. It has also been d

ecided to reprint his complete works in improved form as well as to publish a biography of Vivekananda by eminent authors.

 biography of Swami Vivekananda will be published along with his letters on secular ideas. Vivekananda chairs will be created in Indian universities. 

Spandana Super Singer-USa 2010 Contest announced
Spandana Foundation aims to use the medium of music to support poor and meritorious students, homeless and provide medical assistance to the needy and unfortunate of the society. Established by NRIs with the sole objective of undertaking socially responsible projects in India, the Foundation announced the Spandana Super Singer-USA 2010 event with the slogan "Sing a Song and Support a Student." It is a music summer camp followed by a contest for NRI kids of all age groups from June 24 to August 2, 2010. There is no language barrier for auditions tests. Spandana Super Singer 2010 will be organized in all major cities of USA and the top performers from each city will be awarded with "Spandana Super Singer, regional title" and selected to perform at a national level Mega Finale competition and win an exciting chance to sing in a music album specially created for Spandana.

Since 2005, Spandana Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization has grown to over 3500 members. It has supported over 10,000 students in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Maharashtra, improved infrastructure for over 10 schools, conducted health camps benefiting over 15,000 villagers, saved 20 lives by supporting expensive surgeries, constructed 170 homes for flood victims and adopted 23 orphans. Through this Spandana Super Singer – 2010 event, Spandana intends to raise funds to support over 4,000 poor and meritorious students under the Pratibha project with an additional goal of increasing awareness about the plight of less fortunate. For more info email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.spandanasupersinger.com  

GOPIO Criticizes New PASSPORT Rules

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin in a May 17 press release said it "strongly objects" to the new rules on ground they "impose undue and unnecessary burdens on the Indian- American community."

New Indian government rules requiring Indians living in the United States who get American citizenship to give up their Indian passports within 90 days of their naturalization have been criticized by a community group on grounds they cause undue hardship. A notice posted on the web- sites of Indian consulates in the U.S. warns those of Indian origin that the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, does not allow dual citizen- ship and that there would be penalties for holding on to the Indian passport. "Holding Indian passport/acquiring Indian pass- port/traveling on Indian passport after acquisition of foreign citizenship constitutes an offense under the Indian Passport Act, 1967, and attracts penalties," says the notice. It also says naturalized U.S. citizens should make sure to get a "Surrender Certificate" when they give in their Indian passport. It details the penalties on a graded scale depending on the number of trips made on the Indian pass- port after becoming a foreign national. GOPIO argues that Sections 8 and 9 of the Citizenship Act show that provisions for making a declaration of renunciation are separate and distinct from the provisions of termination of citizenship. "While renunciation of citizenship is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955 and has to be applied on a prescribed form, automatic termination of citizenship is covered under Section 9 and requires no formal application to the Indian government," GOPIO contends. Section 9, which terminates citizenship, applies to Indians in the U.S., whereas the rules outlined in the notices under Section 8 do not apply. "There are several thousands of people who have obtained U.S. citizenship over the last 60 years and they have been traveling to India on American passports with Indian visas granted by the same consulates whose websites now have new rules which are applicable retroactively," GOPIO notes.  

Tata Among American Academy Fellows

`One of India’s leading industrialist and two Indian American researchers have been elected as members of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ratan Tata noted philanthropist and chairman of major Tata companies is among 18 foreign honorary members joining the academy.

One of two Indian Americans honorees Dr Deepak Srivastava is the director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and Wilma and Adeline Pirag Distinguished Professor in Pediatric Developmental Cardiology at the University of California at San Francisco. Another member Madhu Sudan, Fujitsu Professor in MIT’s electrical engineering and computer science department, is currently on leave from MIT, serving as a principal researcher at Microsoft Research New England. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which this year celebrates the 230th anniversary of its founding by John Adams and others honors individuals in the sciences, arts, social sciences, humanities, business and public affairs. Among 229 new members elected in 2010 are CNN chief correspondent Christiane Amanpour, astronomer Geoffrey Marcy, Microsoft chief architect Ray Ozzie, genetics professor Timothy Ley, UCLA chancellor Gene Block, IBM chairman Samuel Palmisano, film directors Francis Ford Coppola and Mike Leigh, actors John Lithgow and Denzel Washington and comedian Steve Martin. 

FIA Announces 30th Annual Indian Independence-Day Parade Human Rights Coalition Against Rad 

The 30th annual Indian Independence Day Parade will be held on August 15, 2010, starting from 38th street in mid-town Manhattan at 1 p.m. “It is an honor for me to be part of this prestigious organization and serve the community in the capacity of its President,” said Nirav Mehta of Federation of Indian Associations (FIA). It is, by far, the biggest celebration of India’s independence outside of India. Indians, from all regions of the country, although may speak different language, converge on this day to celebrate their commonality and that is: the freedom of our individual rights that their founding fathers fought so hard for. FIA also announced launch of an FIA branded credit card and an iPhone application. Now members can enjoy the benefit of using the FIA branded credit card and support the organization in the process. Similarly, the members can enjoy the benefit of innovative technology platform to keep abreast of FIA activities and the sponsors can leverage their branding to its maximum. FIA’s 2010 Executive Committee’s new program initiatives and plans for the future are promising. The decision to promote someone young at the helm and entrust him/her with a supporting team is showing the fruits. The idea was to bring a sense of new energy and enthusiasm. The FIA has been the champion of organizing the annual parade to celebrate India’s Independence since its inception thirty years ago. In the past, notable personalities such as New York City Mayors, State Governors, Senators and Congressmen, have graced the occasion along with at least one Bollywood Celebrity as the highlighted Grand Marshall of the parade. Last year it attracted over 100,000 participants under a scorching 100 degree temperature on an August day in summer and for the first time in its history, the event was broadcast live on major Indian television channels in North America and India.  

Victims of Jihad march at Times Square in NYC
Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam (HRCARI), an apex body of 35 organizations comprising of Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Sikh groups, staged a demonstration/march at Times Square where a Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad had wantonly attempted to blow up the entire City of New York. The rally was addressed by about 20 leaders from different communities. Narain Kataria a co-founder of HRCARI said, “Our group believes that Faisal Shahzad might have been recruited by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), a terrorist organization supported by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. LeT has 21 branches all over the world including USA. David Headly, an American citizen of Pakistani origin and Tahawwur Husain Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, arrested by FBI in Chicago, architects of Mumbai terrorist attack, were LeT operatives.”