Articles and Views

A very unique event took place in New York on October 1st called the 6th Indian Subcontinent Partition Documentation Project Inc. (ISPaD). Before we present the specifics of this conference, we need to dig history little bit. India was trifurcated in 1947 into India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan. Britain left India but they left a severely divided sub-continent which has thousands of years of shared history. The carnage, mass killings and exodus of people from their homes has no parallel in history. The partition was announced without having any proper plan for people to migrate out/in and as a ...

Each society, nation and culture has their own way to express thankfulness as well as to remember their ancestors. The unique idea of rna (alternatively rina) has been part of Indian tradition. Many translate it as ‘debt’ but the true essence of it is duties and obligations for ‘honoring’ others’ gifts in our lives. There are three  type of rnas which ensure continuation of the traditions of the saints by certain mandatory practices. These are rishi-rna, or obligations to the seers and teachers, deva-rna, obligations to the manifestations of divine power, and pitri-rna or obligations to the ancestors. There are specific ...

Indians emigrate every year in great numbers. It may be for higher education, plush jobs, better lifestyle – but fact is, that permanent settlement is what many settle for. Goals are achieved, dreams become a reality that push them to reach out to success. There are huge monetary gains. Indians working abroad earn in foreign currency, but at the same time, they may have some investments, deposits and properties that earn income back in India. Hence, the question of filing taxes in India comes up. Residential status of a tax player is important It is essential to determine the residential ...

Houston, Texas. Houston’s residents came together on September 23 to condemn the dastardly attack on 18 Indian soldiers by armed terrorists near Uri in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.  Indian-American protesters assembled in front of the consulate of Pakistan and denounced it for sponsoring terror globally. The protesters stood under the hot Texan sun holding placards that displayed “Pakistan – Ivy League of Terrorism” and “Pakistan stop exporting terrorists”. They also shouted slogans for freeing Balochistan from the violent occupation of Pakistan. The protesters lauded the action of Congressman Ted Poe, the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, ...

Baloch Activists Protest in New York near the UN on September 14.   Photo Courtesy: Biswajit Chakroborty Founders of the United Nations set up this much needed institution to be the assembly of nations. The irony, however, is from the time of its formation to the present day many nations, which are colonized, are denied their rightful place in the United Nations. One nation, among these nations, that is not present in the seventy first session of the UN General Assembly is the Baloch nation. Pakistan forcibly occupied the sovereign state of Balochistan in 1948. This period is the worst ...

Reported by Dr. Kumar Mahavir. A private Hindu College/High School continues to excel academically in Guyana (and perhaps the Caribbean), surpassed only by the long-established (1844), State-funded Queen’s College. In the recent CSEC [equivalent to London GCE and Cambridge O’ Level] examinations, Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) ranked second in the country in attaining more than 10 Grade Ones. Queen’s College                     45 SVN                                        24 Bishop’s High                         14 Stanislaus                                11   The school also ranked second in the country in achieving more than 11 Grade Ones.   Queen’s College                     16 SVN                                        14 Bishop’s High                         0 Stanislaus                                1 Anna Regina Multi                 4 Eighty-three ...

  Shahriar Kabir is a Bangladeshi journalist, filmmaker, human rights activist and author of more than 70 books focusing on human rights, communism, fundamentalism, history, juvenile and the Bangladesh war of independence. ...

Yes, terrorism in our modern era has arrived on September 11, 2001. I still remember the days at the airport.  I did not have to take off my shoes or belt. I could carry water bottles with me. I still remember the days when we did not have to go through security scans, while entering a government building, bus terminals and hotels. For some time, I’m thinking about violence and war. Is it really inevitable? Our beliefs motivate us to do things. Is it to establish the power of ego – that only my way is right, that the only ...

15 years ago – I remember the day vividly; that memory is framed in the darkest abyss of my being! It was an early Tuesday September morning in Boston. Very pleasant weather – the grass in my lawn was wet with dew. The school bus came and picked up all the kids. The birds were singing as usual. The only noticeable change was the ivy plant climbing up the pine tree in my back yard, which had a few leaves bright yellow and some red – announcing the coming of the fall season. I was going to take my car ...

If you belong to the “salaried” bracket, then you cannot be far away from ‘tax’.  It is part and parcel of your life – for Indians, who reside in India and those who choose be NRIs.  The latter are in a complex space – for they have to deal with two taxation regimes –   in India, and in the country in which they have found employment. Like any other Indian citizen, NRIs are taxed, so also they can enjoy the rebates and deductions provided for under Section 80 of the Income Tax Act. In this scenario, there are options ...