Twitter takeover by Elon Musk and Adani becoming NDTV’s major stakeholder: 2022 has been a tough time for Liberals

A misnomer

Two pivotal events, one in the USA and  the other in India, have shaken the foundations of the Left-Liberal world: Elon Musk’s acquisition of the microblogging platform Twitter and Adani Group becoming a major stakeholder in  NDTV.

To understand why these acquisitions have caused large-scale conniption fits among a certain entitled class one needs to understand the background of these platforms.

Let’s first talk about NDTV. It’s no secret that for multiple decades the channel has been a big-time propaganda machine against the BJP in general and Narendra Modi in particular. The channel tilts toward any party, entity, or organization that works to erode the roots of the BJP. It can be the Congress party. It can be the Left. It can be the divisive forces from minority communities. It can be the vicious, foreign-funded NGO cabal that aims to derail every major development project being carried out by the BJP governments at the state and the central levels. It can be the Naxalites waging war against the state and slaughtering innocent civilians. It can even be terrorists and separatists from Jammu and Kashmir, and across the border. For them, the end justifies the means, and they can be any means. They haven’t just blurred the line between right and wrong, they have yanked it out and burned it on the bonfire of journalistic ethos.

They are so vehemently and brazenly anti-BJP that they don’t even pretend to be otherwise.

Traditionally, NDTV has been in cahoots with the Congress party and the Communist party because many senior journalists and administrators in the so-called news media channel have deep connections with these outfits. It’s not just ideological inclinations that have the journalists and the management of the propaganda news outlet enamored with the Congress party and the Communists. Many senior journalists and people in top positions have direct relationships with the leaders of these parties.

Though, who is related to whom and whose spouse or relative or close friend hobnobs with which political outfit is a matter of personal choice, when these relationships and affiliations begin to bear upon your journalistic judgments, even those sitting on the fence are drawn to the center of the contention and begin to judge as well as analyze your propensities. For the context, hence, it becomes important to know who is related to whom in the quagmire of NDTV.

Radhika Roy, Prannoy Roy’s wife, is the co-founder and part owner of NDTV. Her sister is Brinda Karat, the wife of Prakash Karat, who is the ex-general secretary of CPI(M) – Communist Party of India (Marxist). Arundhati Roy, as per the information available on the Internet, is a cousin of Prannoy Roy, or at least she is a distant relative.

Senior editor Sonia Singh’s husband, RPN Singh, was Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Congress government, though, in recent times he seems to have distanced himself from the Congress party.

These are just a few examples. It is known that young journalists at NDTV were hired due to their close proximity to the Congress ecosystem or the side of bureaucracy that depends on the Congress ecosystem or the communists for its survival, prosperity, and unbridled power.

Sources in the NDTV have revealed that during job interviews it was specifically asked whether applicants had relationships or connections with people in the corridors of power, especially close to the Congress party, and if they didn’t, they were rejected.

NDTV has thrived due to these connections. Prannoy Roy was once so influential that he was able to sabotage a top-level meeting between Atal Bihar Vajpayee and Parvez Musharraf by smuggling out a secret videotape. The news channel celebrated its 25th anniversary in Rashtrapati Bhavan (President House). Never before had a private enterprise been allowed to hold a function in the iconic building.

Why does this information matter in the current context?

NDTV has been the pallbearer of the Left-Liberal ecosystem because it pedals a certain narrative that is antithetical to India’s nationalistic resurgence, especially advocated and accelerated by the BJP.

Why is it so, you may ask. Why is the Left-Liberal ecosystem against India emerging as a global superpower using its indigenous intellectual progress and a culturally Hindu bent of mind?

To understand this, you need to wrap your head around this whole concept of being Left-Liberal. Don’t get swayed by the lofty nomenclature “liberal.” Among these circles, being a “liberal” has nothing to do with being a liberal. They are the most illiberal lot when it comes to accepting different beliefs.

It’s all about politics, economics, and to an extent religion.

India is often subject to multidimensional attacks. People who have studied India, people who know its ancient history, know that what India achieved a couple of thousand years ago it can achieve again, in the coming decades. It can upstage any country. It just needs a spark to trigger its growth. Having been in the grip of foreign occupations – first Islamic and then European – the Indian civilisation has been battered physically and psychologically, elucidated in detail by the Nobel Prize winner V. S. Naipaul in his book “India: A Wounded Civilisation.” Nationalistic parties like the BJP aim to reverse the psychological and physical impact.

Therefore, the forces that don’t want India to unchain itself from centuries of subjugation keep alive this Left-Liberal ecosystem to run an ongoing propaganda. The times of direct warfare are over. Most of the wars are fought through agenda via a nefarious web of non-profit organizations, activists, intellectuals, influencers, journalists, and politicians. Governments all over the world have been overthrown like this without direct military intervention.

How can India’s growth be curtailed?

Keep it communally divided. Crush its cultural and historical spirit. Keep it politically unstable. Don’t let it develop its own infrastructure. Strongly discourage manufacturing industries in the name of preserving ecology and the environment. Keep a big chunk of the population poor, illiterate, and backward.

The Left-Liberals are the foot soldiers of the forces inimical to India’s economic, cultural, ideological, and physical development.

The Left-Liberals need a well-oiled propaganda machine. For this cabal to succeed, it’s very important for them to mislead people. It is critical for them to tell false stories. It is important that they continuously propagate victimhood narratives among the minorities and keep the Hindu majority perpetually apologetic. They must paint doomsday scenarios because their favorite political masters are not in power. They need to continuously say that the country is in the throes of communal disharmony due to the divisive politics of the BJP.

So far, NDTV has been a critical component of this propaganda machine. It is also a significant source of (mis)information for the international network of media outlets that are dominated by a similar Left-Liberal coterie. NDTV publishes and broadcasts misleading news, and then international media outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times pick up the stories and provide them an international platform. It is a self-sustained, self-feeding ecosystem that produces and propagates agenda-driven stories. International propaganda activities are given a local twist and then distributed among the local audiences by outlets like NDTV, and national falsehoods are seeded by the likes of NDTV and then propagated by the international outlets. The cycle continues.

NDTV has also had a notorious reputation for playing into the hands of terrorists – during the 26/11 attacks, Barkha Dutt who was employed at NDTV at that time, was blamed by many observers for revealing the locations of the victims on live TV and consequently jeopardizing their lives. Her excesses during the Kargil war have been well documented during which she exposed Indian military positions. The Pakistani establishment used the statements made by Ravish Kumar to criticize the Indian government. Ravish had commented that the coverage of terrorism from Pakistan was advantageous to the BJP and the Indian media shouldn’t cover this aspect much.

The recent acquisition by the Adani Group seems to have thrown a spanner in the works. Typically, big business houses like Ambanis and Adanis cannot afford to have political affiliations. They need to keep all the politicians happy. Recently, Adani, often accused of being close to Narendra Modi, obtained lucrative projects in the state of Rajasthan, which is ruled by the Congress party, and in the state of West Bengal, which is ruled by the Trinamool Congress party.

So, it would be naïve to say that  a seasoned businessman like Adani  would directly display his political connectedness and meddle too much with day-to-day affairs of the news network. Nonetheless, according to the popular perception, he is known to be close to the Modi government, and just the fact that someone close to Modi has purchased a large stake of the channel is likely to give sleepless nights to many. This is not just a matter of paranoia; recently, veteran Modiphobic  Ravish Kumar resigned from NDTV and he and his acolytes say Adani’s purchase is the reason why. In fact, in a recent interview with Karan Thapar at the Leftist propaganda website The Wire, Ravish Kumar said that Adani spent crores of rupees just to shut him down.

Whether the acquisition is going to have an impact on the editorial policy of NDTV remains to be seen, but the  purchase itself is being seen as a great setback by the Left-Liberal clique.

But the biggest upset has come with the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk. Without mincing words, Elon Musk has repeatedly said that he has bought Twitter to protect freedom of speech, which had been heavily compromised by the Twitter management overrun by leftist and woke people. He has repeatedly stressed that politically, he has a centrist view, but the way he has been un-suspending right-wing accounts, alarm bells are ringing all over the place.

Twitter wasn’t biased  at the start.

In the beginning it took some time for the Left-Liberals to understand the true power of social media. They have had a very tight control over newspapers, magazines, TV channels, the film industry, and the book publishing business for more than a century. Communists in general and leftists in particular have long recognized the overarching significance of thought control by controlling people’s access to information. Goebbels said that if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it, and this is what leftist intellectuals have been doing. Before the advent of social media, it was these leftist intellectuals, authors, and journalists who decided what people read, what type of movies they watched, what type of political opinions they had, and what literature they read. Alternative thought existed at the extreme fringes and most of the intellectuals who did not subscribe to this narrow, leftist point of view were relegated to oblivion, with no scope for any professional success.

Social media suddenly turned everything upside down. The information began to flow unrestricted. Those who could not express themselves before were able to do so. Writers, journalists, and independent observers who couldn’t get published in mainstream newspapers and magazines started publishing their own blogs, and these blogs generated more views than the established newspapers and magazines.

Then came Twitter as a microblogging platform. People posted messages and others, who followed these people, responded to these messages with their own thoughts and opinions. Diverse thoughts and ideas began to spread like wildfire. The Left-Liberals were caught off guard in the beginning. Suddenly, they could not control the flow of information. Everybody could share everything. News was being broken on Twitter faster than in mainstream newspapers and TV channels. This news was unfiltered. It was not manipulated. It was not one-sided. It was not wrapped in leftist packaging. It was being posted as it was.

Social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, was blamed for Narendra Modi’s elevation to national politics from regional politics and for the sudden rise of Trump in America.

Soon, the Left-Liberals realized how important it was to control Twitter. The platform had become a major source of news and information, and since for over a century they have been controlling news and information, they realized they would lose their grip if they didn’t control Twitter.

Techies are traditionally Left-inclined. They like to believe that they are liberal and support progressive thought. Most of the American techies are anti-Conservative and consequently, anti-Republican, and in India, they are anti-BJP. To show their disdain against their political and ideological opponents, they can go to any length, as long as they can justify their actions as being for the “greater good.” In their effort to demonize their opponents, they themselves end up indulging in acts they blame their opponents for indulging in. They repress information. They twist facts. They curb freedom of speech of their opponents. They sabotage careers. They justify acts of terrorism. They cancel people in the name of acting against bigots and extreme right-wing. It’s no holds barred.

Therefore, when Left-leaning vested interests began to infiltrate into the workforce of Twitter, it was a cakewalk. It was easy to make them believe that they were champions of marginalized communities, minorities, transgender people, and democratic values. And to champion the cause, it was fine to go to any extent. People with opposing views began to be shadow banned. Twitter users who did not subscribe to the Leftist ideology and expressed their opinions openly began to lose followers. Followers of certain politicians and commentators wouldn’t see the tweets.

Project Veritas, an initiative to investigate and expose the deceptive tactics followed by the mainstream media to mold public opinion, secretly taped Twitter employees admitting that Conservative Twitter handles in America and Twitter handles that openly supported the BJP in India were shadow banned, and their tweets were prevented from reaching a wider audience, manually and algorithmically. Popular right-wing Twitter handles have been complaining for years of their limited reach and their followers not being able to see their updates. During a Congressional hearing Jack Dorsey, the then-CEO of Twitter, denied that Twitter was taking extra steps to put Conservatives and Republicans at a disadvantage.

In the name of curbing hate speech, they have been severely curtailing freedom of speech of many prominent thinkers and politicians, and have been allowing open threats of mass killings by certain leaders.

https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1602370518585221120

They banned Trump merely on conjecture. They didn’t allow people to share links of the Hunter Biden sex tape and corruption cases because it could tilt the election results in favor of the Republicans. On one side they would suspend Right-wing accounts at the drop of a hat, or merely out of spite, and on the other side, they would allow the most obnoxious comments from the Left-wing unaffected by moderation. A video of a victim of pedophilia was posted on Twitter but since it was in agreement with the Left-wing ideology, even after multiple requests by the victim, the video was not removed by Twitter. Many comments opposing pedophilia were deleted by Twitter. Child sexual exploitation content on Twitter was rampant as many liberals claim that pedophilia is a mental condition and not something to be judged negatively.

They even banned Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian-origin Stanford University professor, who had said that Covid lockdowns would harm children. He was placed on a “Trends Blacklist.”

When Elon Musk took charge, he fired the entire moderation team that was heavily Left-tilted. Vijaya Gadde, the then-head of legal, policy, and trust at Twitter, and who played a big part in banning Trump, was summarily dismissed within the first week of Musk taking over. Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Twitter, left one week after Musk took over and started unsuspending accounts. 

Successive “Twitter Files,” aside from revealing how freedom of speech was repeatedly violated in the name of “stopping misinformation,” have also revealed that the American government paid millions of dollars to Twitter to suppress certain information. The FBI under the current government specifically colluded with top executives at Twitter to discredit the Hunter Biden expose.

All these capabilities to control the flow of information handed immense power to Left-Liberals. They felt powerful. They decided who could read what. They decided who could post on Twitter and who could not. They behaved like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland.

Those who control information control the narrative and those who control the narrative decide who gets to form the government in the country. Left-Liberals have known that for more than a century now. What makes Twitter powerful is that information can be disseminated extremely fast and in a succinct manner. It merely takes a few seconds for someone to get an update. This is what scares the hell out of the Left-Liberal groups. Due to its ability to disperse news fast, it is much more powerful than other media.

Musk is not as subtle as Adani. He made his intentions clear when he walked into Twitter headquarters holding a sink and then tweeting “Let it sink.” He is one of the richest people on earth, and also one of the most powerful. He doesn’t mince words when showing people the door. He is revamping Twitter. His programmers are going through the code that shadow bans people based on their political and ideological affiliations. He is reviewing accounts that have been suspended or canceled. He has reinstated many accounts that are vocal against wokism and Left-wing extremism. He is allowing accounts that post content against the transgressions of liberals.

Left-liberals like to wield complete control. They curb contrary opinion with unyielding ruthlessness. To propagate their falsehoods, they need to control every possible media channel, including social media. There should be no chinks. Every instance of dissent must be squelched.

There is no scope for difference of opinion. It is just their way or the highway. The moment you say something that is contrary to what they are saying, you immediately become a bigot, a fascist, a supremacist, a right-wing extremist, or a homophobe. You are to be dealt with severely. They practice 100% intolerance.

Twitter is just one platform that has been taken out of their clutches. Most other platforms, like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and even Google search, are still heavily Left-controlled. Similarly, it is just one news channel, NDTV, that seems to have slipped out of their hands, but there are many more news channels that are still controlled by them.

When it comes to Left-Liberals, there is no concept like difference of opinion. This is the reason why losing control of a single platform or a single TV news channel sends them into a tizzy.

Pairing Wine with Indian Cuisine

The taste of India is perhaps one of the best elements of Indian culture. It has diversity like the country and a unique blend of select spices and herbs that make Indian food some of the most highly regarded in the world. Be it pure vegetarian, or non-vegetarian, Indian food is rich in taste, aroma, and health and offers loads of satisfaction. It ranges from a variety of rice, bread, vegetables, and of course, fish, meat, seafood, eggs, and so on. Every region of India has their specialty cuisine, innovative and reflective of the local culture, harvest, and course choice. Indian cuisine has the assimilation of various tastes and habits and represents a palate that is more than food; it is a character of the Indian tradition. 

Pairing Indian food with wine is a trend started in the last few years. One has to know the kind of wine that syncs well with the type of Indian food. In this regard, many things are to be considered, such as the alcohol content of the wine, the spices used in making the food, and the type of food or gravy. This knowledge will make the pairing a super hit and enhance the taste of both the food as well as the drink. 

James Beard award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year,  Madeline Puckette says, “When in doubt, there are a few wines that match exceptionally well with a wide variety of Indian dishes. You really can’t go wrong with these four wines: Riesling (sweet or dry), Grüner Veltliner, Sparkling Rosé, Gamay.”

Having said that, let us talk about very specific Indian food and suggested wine.

The most popular and famous Indian curries, such as vindaloo are made with a variety of spices, including garam masala, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and paprika along with coconut milk, vinegar, chili, garlic, and onions. The curry can be made with lamb, pork, chicken, or tofu (for the vegans). It goes extremely well with Rosé. 

The next popular Indian cuisine in the US is tikka masala which can be paired with Riesling, Pinot Grigio, and Gewürztraminer. 

Tandoori chicken is the Indian version of roasted chicken. It is roasted in an indigenous clay-made oven called a tandoor. Before roasting, the chicken is marinated in yogurt, lemon, and spices such as coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and paprika. It can be paired perfectly with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Zinfandel. 

The green spinach or cilantro-based curries, such as palak paneer pair well with Sauvignon Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Vinho Verde, Verdicchio, Silvaner, Albariño, Muscadet, dry or sweet Riesling, and dry Chenin Blanc. 

Now, let’s talk about two specific vineyards — one based here on the east coast of the US and another based in india.

Narmada Winery based in Amissville, VA, was founded by the late Dr. Pandit Patlil and Dr. Sudha Patil. The winery is dedicated to Dr. Pandit Patlil’s mother. Her devotion to him made it possible for Pandit to pursue his education in the US.

Here is the list of Narmada wines and perfect pairing of Indian cuisine suggested by the experts at Narmada winery.

2020 Gulabi

Fragrant aroma of strawberry with heaps of jammy strawberry flavor in an off-dry style. Pair with papri chaat. 

One of the most popular India-made wines available in the US are from Sula winery based in Nashik, India, about 100 miles from Mumbai.

Sula Vineyards is the brainchild of Rajeev Samant, a former employee of Oracle.

Rajeev found an uncanny resemblance between Dindori hills’ landscapes of Nashik in India and those at Napa Valley in California. His research made him realize that these hills could be used to cultivate wine-producing grapes while everyone else was following traditional table grape production. In 1999, Samant established Sula Vineyards in Nashik. Samant partnered with Kerry Damskey, a renowned winemaker from California with a goal of producing wines that would match international standards. Sula planted its first wine grapes in 1995, and the first bottle of wine was sold in 2000.

Here is the list of Sula wines and perfect pairing of Indian cuisine suggested by the experts at Sula Winery.

Sula Sauvignon Blanc Grape Varietal 100% Sauvignon Blanc. FLAVORS: green apple, guava, bell peppers. 

WINE HIGHLIGHTS  India’s first ever Sauvignon Blanc. A New Zealand style Sauvignon Blanc with refreshing acidity. Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 – Bronze Award. 

SUGGESTED PAIRING paneer tikka, hara bhara kebab. 

Sula Chenin Blanc Grape Varietal 

100% Chenin Blanc. FLAVORS: ripe tropical fruit and hints of honey. 

WINE HIGHLIGHTS  India’s Best-Selling White Wine. An easy-drinking off-dry white wine, great to offer to first-time wine drinkers. 

SUGGESTED PAIRING Salad, Gujarati thali, vegetable quiche, rawa fried fish.

SULA RIESLING GRAPE VARIETAL 100% Riesling. FLAVORS: lemon, grapefruit, & honey. 

WINE HIGHLIGHTS  India’s first-ever Riesling. Light refreshing Kabinett style.  An easy-drinking off-dry white wine, great to offer to first-time wine drinkers.  Decanter World Wine Awards 2020- Bronze Award. 

SUGGESTED PAIRING 

Indo-Chinese appetizers such as spring rolls, salads, sushi, chili chicken, tandoori chicken.

Sula Vineyards is the brainchild of Rajeev Samant, a former employee of Oracle. In 1993, Samant set out on an entrepreneurial venture by using his father’s 20-acre land in Nashik to grow mangoes. The venture was met with failure. His subsequent cultivation of teak wood also met a similar fate. “Success knocked at his door in the form of wine production when he found an uncanny resemblance between Dindori hills’ landscapes of Nashik in India and those at Napa Valley in California. His research made him realize that these hills could be used to cultivate wine-producing grapes while everyone else was following traditional table grape production” (Srivastava & Singh, 2018, p.12). In 1999, Samant established Sula Vineyards in Nashik. Samant partnered with Kerry Damskey, a renowned winemaker from California with a goal of producing wines that would match international standards. Sula planted its first wine grapes in 1995 and the first bottle of wine was sold in 2000 (Srivastava & Singh, 2018).

The aim of Sula has always been to target the growing number of wine consumers in India and to promote its own premium wine. As Sula’s name grew popular, sales picked up and the company grew. However, during the economic setback of 2008-2010, Sula was hit quite hard. In order to turn their fate around, they invested in a number of more sustainable options to reinvent the industry. Organic agriculture, energy reduction, and water conservation were imperative goals (Lopez, 2016). Sula’s “Great Comeback” was accompanied by the change in perception and eco-friendly initiatives. Changes in prices were also initiated as a result in 2008-2010. Rajeev Samant said, “If somebody wants to get on the bandwagon, the pricing had to be right. Once the person is on with the right price, he can climb the ladder.” (Lopez, 2016). Over the years, Sula has grown to become India’s leading wine producer. With its presence known in 32 states across India, the company is presently the biggest wine producer in India, occupying over 65 percent of the market share. Sula wines are also exported to 20 countries across the globe including Japan, the USA, and the UK (Srivastava & Singh, 2018).

RĀSĀ CABERNET SAUVIGNON GRAPE VARIETAL 100% Cabernet Sauvignon FLAVORS: black fruit (blackcurrant, blackberries), olive, vanilla. SUGGESTED PAIRING Seekh kebabs, kadai paneer, arrabiata pasta, rogan josh. WINE HIGHLIGHTS  One of India’s best red wines! Aged for 14 to 16 months in French oak barrels. SWEETNESS LOW MED

Start with the basic Indian comfort food “Dal-Chawal” or rice and lentils. Steamed rice combined with cooked lentils containing mustard seeds, cumin, garlic, turmeric, and fresh coriander leaves or cilantro. Both dishes may or may not have ghee, or clarified butter. It is a creamy and heavy menu, and therefore, white wine is the best pairing for it. Chenin Blanc can be a perfect choice. 

Rice and Sambar is another combination of rice with curried lentils. Sambar is a signature dish of Southern or coastal India which has a sharp taste of spices along with veggies like okra, carrots, shallots, and tangy tamarind. This dish can have the best pair in strong and rich wine like Shiraz. One can also have this kind of wine with the spicy Biryani, an aromatic rice dish prepared with ghee and pieces of meat.

https://www.indianwines.info/suppliers/in-the-us/

Jayshree Ullal holds the position of president and CEO of Arista Networks. She joined the board of directors of Snowflake, a cloud computing company in September 2020. This 61-year-old entrepreneur is one of the richest female executives in the USA.

All of these women have proven that age is no barrier to achieving success.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which should have been shut down in 2016, was infused with funds by Congress to continue to provide employment to mediocrities and faceless bureaucrats and to offer a platform for nine politically compromised commissioners to preen and build their beltway network of influence. The USCIRF should be labeled an organization of particular concern as some have argued, and it is time for American taxpayers to stop this institutional affront to good political and human sense. The USCIRF website claims that “USCIRF’s nine commissioners are appointed by either the President or Congressional leaders of each political party, supported by a non-partisan professional staff.” We can only wonder how that staff is vetted for their non-partisanship, even as they pursue the partisan agendas of their politically appointed commissioners. The USCIRF claims to do a lot, but where is the measure to find out if anything they say or do has any purchase? Does what they do accomplish anything more than to serve the partisan interests of monopolist, supremacist, violent “faith” groups and their scheming, manipulative America-based influence seekers?

The USCIRF has become another symbol of American interventionism in the affairs of sovereign states, and the fact that it has bipartisan support and is the brainchild of US legislators goes to show that our willingness to undermine sovereign states continues undiminished. We mock the United Nations, and even our own State Department, in these matters of human rights, religious freedom, etc., usurping the role of international organizations and donning for ourselves the garb of the world’s policeman, the world’s confessor, the world’s primary scold, bully, and the predominant if not the only intimidating, hectoring didact.

Starting in 2014, USCIRF in its annual reports started using a distorted map of India

This “panel,” which was created in 1998 by an Act of Congress to “advise the President, Congress, and the State Department on the plight of persecuted religious groups worldwide,” has once again made its voice heard. After two decades of trying, the panel has been on a three-year binge demanding that India be labeled a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC). This year its commissioners, or shall we say, “religion commissars,” have had the gall to say in their annual report that “In 2021, religious freedom conditions in India significantly worsened.” But they offer no measure, no data, except a couple of handpicked, unverified, unverifiable, egregious examples where a Hindu or some Hindus were involved, and which made the global echo chamber rounds of Western media, the Al Jazeera, and the zillion Christian rags that subsist to “bear false witness” against other religious faiths.

They then claim that “During the year, the Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies—including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda—that negatively affected Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities.” So, what were these agendas? How did Dalits become a “religious minority”? What about the Sikhs and their heavily funded attempts by Canada, UK, and US to destabilize the Indian Government and bring life to a standstill in the state of Punjab and in Delhi this past year?

The Commissars then assert that “The government continued to systemize its ideological vision of a Hindu state at both the national and state levels through the use of both existing and new laws and structural changes hostile to the country’s religious minorities.” If there are existing laws and the Constitution of India urges the executive and the legislature to follow certain rules, to make laws within the ambit of the Constitution, how can they be used to “systemize the ideological vision of a Hindu state”? And what is that “Hindu state” that these Commissars are afraid of? Perhaps that this “Hindu state” denies its majority Hindus what is offered to the so-called minorities?

For example, minorities in India are allowed control over their religious institutions, whereas it is the Indian state governments, many a time willfully anti-Hindu, as in the state of Andhra Pradesh now that are in control of Hindu temples and from which they drain vast sums of money to appease their “minorities” and to pander to “minority vote banks.” To this day, the Indian Central Government has not been able to, or has been unwilling to, bring changes in the law to ensure the handing of Hindu temples back to Hindus to manage and take care of. According to Swami Venkataraman:

The Indian Constitution confers extraordinary protections on minorities. But crucially, the equality promised under Articles 14 and 15 and the freedom to manage religious affairs under Articles 25(1) and 26 are abrogated for Hindus, and Hindus alone, in the matter of their temples by recourse to Article 25(2)(a). By considering temple finances a secular matter, the tentacles of the state are now deeply entrenched into purely religious matters such as conduct of puja and other rituals.

So, if the DC based “religion commissars” think that the BJP-led government in Delhi is systemizing its “ideological vision of a Hindu state” then why are they keeping mum that the same government is discriminating against the majority Hindus?

Or as R. Jagannathan points out, in India today, “in a complete perversion of this (Hindu) civilizational heritage, even yoga and the mere rerun of the hugely popular Ramayana and Mahabharata serials on Doordarshan are seen as an antithesis of secularism, an imposition by Hindutva ideologues,” and where India’s highest court “…delegitimize the practice of excluding women in the reproductive age from entering the (Hindu) shrine.” How can the commissars ignore these blatant assaults on Hindus in the one country that they can call their own?

What about Hindus being minorities in some states in India, and they being denied minority status, which would allow them to run their own educational institutions, without interference or onerous demands from the state, as “minorities” are offered in India, and the Hindu majority is denied?

The commissars are clueless. They are clueless about the twenty million or so Bangladesh Muslims who have migrated illegally into India for both economic reasons and those being lured into the country to bulk up vote banks. They are clueless about the daily atrocities and crimes committed against Hindus by the so-called “minorities.” They are clueless about the Indian “National Commission for Minorities” and the “Ministry of Minority Affairs” that not only go to bat for the so-called minorities of India, but whose members also ensure the continuing disparities in favor of the minorities against the so-called Hindu majority.

Yes, these commissars know, and they have “heard” of the horrors of religious persecution, especially of Christians and Muslims, whispered in their ears by paid mischief-makers masquerading as “interfaith leaders.” But we know what this annual macabre dance is all about: the leverage and the tools that will be offered to US lawmakers and the DC establishment to yank the chain of some countries, or to poke their fingers in the eyes of others they wish to bring to heel. The USCIRF list is used by global lobbying agencies to discourage investors from investing in the country concerned, but then business is business unless the US Government decides to sanction some government for other geopolitical reasons. More importantly, the USCIRF annual dung-throwing exercise is mainly used to dent the country’s soft power and global image and made much use of by media inimical to certain groups, countries, or peoples, just like The New York Times, The Washington Post, or National Public Radio that are viscerally Hinduphobic.

The 2022 report lists 15 countries of “particular concern” and another 12 as on their “special watch list.” Of these 27 countries, 4 are majority Christian (Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Nigeria, and Russia), 5 are communist (China, Vietnam, North Korea, Cuba, and Nicaragua), 15 are majority Muslim (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Iran, Syria, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Malaysia, Turkey, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan), 1 is majority Buddhist (Myanmar), and 1 is majority Hindu. Of the 193 UN member states, 119 states are majority Christian and 50 are majority Muslim.

Having conquered the world, decimated populations, and destroyed cultures, faith members of these two monopolist, supremacist, and violent “world religions” now seek to carry out their religious writ through the media and global institutions as well as through the so-called “international religious freedom” and “interfaith” groups. The fact that they lure into their fold Hindus and have them do their bidding is also obvious to those of us who closely follow the work done by the international religious freedom and interfaith groups, and look at the people who are nominated as USCIRF commissioners. One of the commissioners, Anurima Bhargava, by name a Hindu, and appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is just a “busybody” whose work in promoting “dignity and justice” or “equity and belonging” or addressing “harassment and discrimination” has assured herself a pathway to cushy DC positions of power and influence as well as padding her bank balance. We only wish she could have remained in Chicago, her hometown, and done something about the increasing violence in the windy city.

Given the fractious nature of American politics, the continuing and powerful presence and influence of religious groups, mostly Christian, but also increasingly Jewish and Muslim, in Washington, DC, and the American establishment’s firm belief in their own grand plans for the world, we will continue to see the support and funding for an institution like the USCIRF, and the daily pilgrimage that “faith leaders” and their representatives make to the USCIRF’s DC office. This author, too, has visited their offices a few times and understands the nature of the trap set by such institutions. If we don’t go complaining to them about the harm being done to us somewhere in the world, then we will miss the chance to be heard by them and maybe the chance to influence the manufacturing of their annual reports. So, we join the influential groups who do have the ear of the commissioners in this destructive practice. Interestingly, the only such “free speech,” “human rights,” and “religious freedom” promoting institutions are maintained and run by the US and by EU countries led by former colonialists. We wish that on the fine buildings they occupy and in the fat volumes they publish periodically, this slogan is permanently etched: “We robbed you of your wealth, your wellbeing, your sense of self, and we then set you free; but we will make sure that you will always be under our influence, and we will watch you become good, moral beings.”

About the Author

Dr. Ramesh N. Rao is a professor of communication studies at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. He has taught a variety of communications courses across four universities over the past 35 years. He is also the co-author of a book on intercultural communication, and the author of a handful of books on Indian politics and society. At present, he serves as the editor of the online portal, India Facts. Ramesh Rao’s articles have appeared in a number of magazines and newspapers in India, the U.S., and the UK. He blogs at Medium.com

The views expressed here are author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Desh-Videsh Media Group or any of its employess or the owners.

Did you know there is an unusual school in an unusual place run by an unusual teacher?

Rajesh Kumar is a shopkeeper by profession but spends hours every morning teaching around 80 children from the poorest of the poor in India’s capital, New Delhi. The 43 year old visited the construction of the Delhi transit station a few years ago and was disturbed by the realization that many children were spending their days playing at the site instead of attending school. When he questioned the parents working at the site, they all said there were no schools in the vicinity and no one cared.

Consequently, Kumar’s open-air classroom was born – between pillars and  beneath the tracks of the Delhi transit system, known as the Metro. Every few minutes a train passes above, the children unperturbed by its sound. There are no chairs or tables, and the children sit on rolls of polystyrene foam placed on the rubble. Three rectangular patches of wall are painted black and used as a blackboard. Anonymous donors have contributed cardigans, books, shoes, and stationery for the children, as their parents cannot afford them. One unnamed person sends a bag full of biscuits and fruit juice for the pupils every day – another incentive for the children to show up for their studies.

Power Play?

Did you know, in 1920, India was so good at hockey that the British withdrew from the Olympics to avoid a possible embarrassing defeat by its own colony? What fun is that?

Daddy of Battles

Did you know, unlike in Border (the movie), only two Indians died in the battle of Longewala? J.P Dutta’s epic war film based on the Indo-Pak War of ’71 showed how a brave 120-man regiment of the Indian Army fought against a troop of 300-odd Pakistanis (including tanks) while defending Longewala against wave after wave of Pakistani troops. The truth is, they were much more badass. We lost only two soldiers in that battle.

Variance of Service

Did you know Mumbai Dabbawalas have made just one error in over six million deliveries? Now, these dabbawalas (tiffin carriers) rely only on a system of certain symbols and markings on the dabba (tiffins) to ascertain the delivery address. So there may be a good chance that they end up delivering dabbas at the wrong address, right?No. Forbes magazine awarded its Six Sigma certification in 2001 to the Dabbawalas based on a 99.999999 percent delivery accuracy rate (one error for every 16 million transactions).They charge Rs 250 ( $3.25 )  per month. The lunch boxes are handled an astonishing 2,000,000 times a day.

World of Gold

Did you know Indian housewives hold 11% of the world’s gold? That is more than the reserves of the US, IMF, Switzerland, and Germany put together.

INTRODUCTION

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, marked a turning point in India’s struggle for Independence. A memorial was set up by the Government of India in 1951 at Jallianwala Bagh to commemorate the spirit of Indian revolutionaries and the people who lost their lives in the brutal massacre.

It stands as a symbol of struggle and sacrifice and continues to instill patriotism amongst the youth. In March 2019, the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum was inaugurated, showcasing an authentic account of the massacre.

POLITICAL BACKDROP

The massacre of April 1919 wasn’t an isolated incident, rather an incident that happened with a multitude of factors working in the background. To understand what transpired on April 13, 1919, one must look at the events preceding it.

The Indian National Congress had assumed self-governance would be granted once WWI ended, but the Imperial bureaucracy had other plans.

The Rowlatt Act (Black Act) was passed on March 10, 1919, authorizing the government to imprison or confine, without a trial, any person associated with seditious activities. This led to nationwide unrest. Gandhi initiated Satyagraha to protest against the Rowlatt Act. On April 7, 1919, Gandhi published an article called “Satyagrahi” describing ways to oppose the Rowlatt Act. The British authorities discussed amongst themselves the actions to be taken against Gandhi and any other leaders who were participating in the Satyagraha. Orders were issued to prohibit Gandhi from entering Punjab and to arrest him if he disobeyed the orders.

Sir Michael O’ Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab (1912-1919), suggested that Gandhi be deported to Burma, but this was opposed by his fellow officials as they felt it might instigate the public. Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal, the two prominent leaders who were a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity, organized a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act in Amritsar.

On April 9, 1919, Ram Navami was being celebrated when O’ Dwyer issued orders to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Irving, to arrest Dr Satyapal and Dr Kitchlew.

The following extract from the Amrita Bazar Patrika, dated 19th November, 1919, talks about the witness account of Mr. Irving in front of the Hunter Commission and highlights the mindset of the British authorities:

“He (Irving) was directed by the Government of Sir Michael O’Dwyer to deport Dr Kichlew and Satyapal. He knew that such an act would lead to a popular outburst. He also knew that none of these popular leaders favoured violence. He invited the two gentlemen to his house on the morning of April 10th and they unsuspectingly responded to the call no doubt relying on his honour as an Englishman. But after they had been under his roof for half an hour as his guests, they were caught hold of, and removed towards Dharmasala under police escort! Mr Irving told this story without showing any sign of having done an act which very few Englishmen would care to do.”

On April 10, 1919, the infuriated protestors marched to the Deputy Commissioner’s residence to demand the release of their two leaders. Here they were fired upon without any provocation. Many people were wounded and killed.

The Martyr’s Well – This well, located inside the premises of the Jallianwala Bagh, stands testimony to the brutal killings of innocent who jumped into it in panic to save themselves from the firing. 120 dead bodies were later recovered from the well.

After passing the Rowlatt Act, the Government of Punjab set out to suppress all opposition. On April 13, 1919, the public had gathered to celebrate Baisakhi at Jallianwala Bagh, where two resolutions were to be discussed, one condemning the firing on April 10 and the other requesting the authorities to release their leaders.

When the news reached him, Brigadier General William B. Dyer III headed to the Bagh with his troops. He entered the Bagh, deployed his troops, and ordered them to open fire without giving any warning. People rushed to the exits, but Dyer directed his soldiers to fire at the exit. The firing continued for 10-15 minutes. There were 1,650 rounds fired. The firing ceased only after the ammunition had run out. The total estimated figure of dead as given by General Dyer and Mr Irving was 291. However, other reports, including that of a committee headed by Madan Mohan Malviya put the figure of dead at over 500.

POST JALLIANWALA BAGH

Two days after the massacre, Martial Law was clamped down on five districts – Lahore, Amritsar, Gujranwala, Gujarat, and Lyallpore. The declaration of Martial Law was to empower the Viceroy to direct immediate trial by court-martial of any person involved in the revolutionary activities. As the news of the massacre spread across the nation, Tagore renounced his knighthood.

HUNTER COMMISSION

On October 14, 1919, the Disorders Inquiry Committee was formed to inquire about the massacre. It later came to be known as the Hunter Commission. The Hunter Commission was directed to announce their verdict on the justifiability, or otherwise, of the steps taken by the government. All the British officials involved in the administration during the disturbances in Amritsar were interrogated including General Dyer and Mr. Irving.

The following extract shows Dyer’s unapologetic attitude towards the massacre:

Question – After firing took place, did you take any measures to attend to the wounded?

Answer – No, certainly not. It was not my job. Hospitals were open and they should have gone there.

General Dyer’s actions on the day of the Massacre received a prompt acknowledgement from Sir Michael O’Dwyer who at once wired to him: “Your action is correct. Lieutenant Governor approves.” Both Dyer and O’Dwyer faced violent criticism from various newspapers which gave their own accounts of the brutal massacre. The evidence General Dyer presented before the Hunter Committee stood as a confession of the brutal act he committed.

The Committee indicated the massacre as one of the darkest episodes of the British Administration.

The Hunter Commission in 1920 censured Dyer for his actions. The Commander in Chief directed Brigadier General Dyer to resign from his appointment as Brigade Commander and informed him that he would receive no further employment in India as mentioned in the letter by Montagu to his Excellency.

O’ DWYER’S ASSASSINATION

On March 13, 1940, at Caxton Hall in London, Udham Singh, an Indian freedom fighter, killed O’Dwyer who had approved of Dyer’s action and was believed to have been the main planner in the incident. Thus, Jallianwala Bagh was the initial spark that led to the Independence of India. It was a tragedy for both the sufferers and the colonial rulers. It revealed a fatal flaw in their assumptions and attitudes. Eventually, it led to their departure from the land which they had hoped to rule for centuries.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Amritsar massacre

India’s struggle for Independence

Government of India in 1951 at Jallianwala Bagh

spirit of Indian revolutionaries, brutal massacre

symbol of struggle and sacrifice

Yaad-e-Jallian Museum

The Indian National Congress

self-governance

Imperial bureaucracy

The Rowlatt Act (Black Act)

seditious activities

Gandhi initiated Satyagraha to protest against the Rowlatt Act

Sir Michael O’ Dwyer

Rowlatt Act in Amritsar

Deputy Commissioner-Mr. Irving

Dr Satyapal

Dr Kitchlew

Amrita Bazar Patrika

celebrate Baisakhi at Jallianwala Bagh

Brigadier General William B. Dyer III

Madan Mohan Malviya

POST JALLIANWALA BAGH

Lahore, Amritsar

Gujranwala, Gujarat

Lyallpore

Caxton Hall in London

Udham Singh

India is credited with the earliest book on dance and music. Natya Shastra written by sage Bharata Muni between 200 BCE and 200 CE, containing 5,569 shlokas over 37 chapters is believed to be the basis of Indian classical dance and music.

Visva Bharati in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, founded in 1901 by Rabindranath Tagore was one of the first Indian schools to include dance in its curriculum.

The Leh station of the All India Radio in Jammu & Kashmir, located at an altitude of 11,800 ft above mean sea level is the highest radio station in the world. The station broadcasts in several languages including Tibetan, Balti, Hindi, Urdu and Ladakhi

The first newspaper to be published in India was started on June 29, 1780, and called the Hicky’s Bengal Gazette. The paper was launched by James Augustus Hicks and is arguably one of the first newspapers to be printed in Asia.

The Kodhini village in the coastal state of Kerala is known for its twins! Yes, you heard it right, compared to the global average of nine pairs of twins for every 1,000 babies born, Kodhini posts a staggering figure of 45 pairs of twins for every 1,000 births. At present there are almost 400 pairs of twins in the village and as a result the village is now locally known as the Twin Town. Moreover, several schemes have been introduced for twins along with a dedicated Twin association of Kodhini. There is uniqueness is every a day’s publication

• There is uniqueness in every nook and cranny of our vast country. Take for example the daily evening newspaper called The Musalman. This newspaper is handwritten by four calligraphers or katibs before being mass produced by a press. Published in Chennai since 1927, the newspaper has 25,000 subscribers and has never missed a day’s publication

• Compared to the global average of five per cent, 13 percent of the pilots in India are women. This means that for every eight flights in India, one is flown by a woman.

Natya Shastra written by sage Bharata Muni between 200 BCE and 200 CE

Indian classical dance and music

Visva Bharati in Shantiniketan

West Bengal

founded in 1901 by Rabindranath Tagore

Tibetan Language, Balti Language

Hindi Language

Urdu Language

Ladakhi Language

The first newspaper to be published in India was started on June 29, 1780

Hicky’s Bengal Gazette

India’s first newspapers to be printed in Asia

The Kodhini village in the coastal state of Kerala is known for its twins

Published in Chennai since 1927

13 percent of the pilots in India are women

By Amrit Hallan

There has been quite a brouhaha in the West, especially in the US, regarding India’s strategic silence over what is happening between Russia and Ukraine. The Modi government hasn’t openly called it an invasion. It isn’t participating in the onslaught of sanctions that the NATO countries and the US vessels are imposing on Russia.  In a recent White House statement, President Biden has termed India’s response as “somewhat shaky” while praising Quad and NATO countries.

There is a long list of reasons for India’s refusal to vote in favor of a UN resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. This has been a sign of India’s historical friendship since India’s Independence. India’s dependence on Russian weapons is not the only reason why India has refused to condemn Russia. India’s stand is based on accurate calculations.

To the further vexation of the West, India is importing crude oil from Russia in greater quantities and at discounted rates, and both the countries are also talking about trading in rupees rather than dollars.

Historically, India and Russia have been close allies. Whereas the rest of the world has stood on Pakistan’s side on many vital issues, Russia has vetoed UNSC resolutions over Kashmir to keep it a bilateral issue which has been India’s long-lasting stand. Similarly, when China infiltrated Ladakh, except the counted countries like Russia, most of the western countries remained silent.

The USA hasn’t exactly been friendly to India’s interests in the past. During the historic Indo-Pakistani War in which Bangladesh was freed from the maniacal Pakistani army, the US committed the blunder of sending the Seventh Fleet’s Task Force 74, a warship laden with the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise, towards the Bay of Bengal. This move was to provide strategic support to the Pakistani military. More than 100,000 Pakistani soldiers were trapped between the Indian Army and the Bay of Bengal. Despite her faults, Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, had the foresight to sign an Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty just before mounting an attack on East Pakistan. In response to the US adventure in the Bay of Bengal, Russia dispatched a submarine armed with nuclear warheads, which forced the US fleet to back down.

The US has had a long history of imposing sanctions against India. India’s entire cryogenic technology was allegedly sabotaged by the CIA in collusion with the UPA government of that time although the investigations are still going on. Recently, after creating a mess in the war-ravaged country, the US government has handed over Afghanistan to the Taliban-Pakistan alliance, causing further strategic problems for India. Similarly, in 1998, Ukraine had condemned India’s nuclear tests and supported sanctions against India,

Russia is also India’s biggest arms supplier. India is building BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles with Russia. In December 2021,  Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin signed a litany of trade and arms deals. This also includes a 10-year military and technical cooperation program under which the Indian government will manufacture nearly half a million Kalashnikov assault rifles for Russia.

India also sees Russia as a counter force against China. Presently China and historically Russia have been communist countries and, consequently, much closer and accommodating to each other. Just like India, China, too, has shown a guarded stand in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In the case of a direct conflict between India and China, India sees Russia as a potent intermediary.

India’s stand is also guarded because many in the world believe that Russia has been pushed against the wall and has been forced to carry out “special military operations” to prevent it from falling into NATO’s arms. It has been Russia’s contention for many years that the US is trying to surround it from all sides by taking all the small countries, especially countries that belong to the former USSR, into NATO’s fold. It isn’t about natural resources. It isn’t about oil. It is about strategic interests in the future safety of Russia.

In this vein, one of the accusations made by Russia is that Ukraine has been overrun by Neo-Nazis. These traits have been visible during the current conflict. While India’s evacuation of its students and citizens from Ukraine is being hailed the world over, there have been reports of attempts to hold Indian civilians hostage  back in Ukraine because India has not condemned Russia. Draconian measures such as firing gunshots in the air, beating people with batons, and ramming cars and vans into groups of students are reported to have been used to instill fear among the students.

In a recent press conference, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, “The situation in Ukraine is the result of a complex chain of circumstances over the last thirty years. Most countries, such as India and France, which are very active, are seeking a diplomatic solution.”

When asked why India has not condemned Russia in the current conflict, Jaishankar added, “The real question is: are you mobilized to find a good solution or are you content with posturing? India can talk with Russia, with other countries within the UN security council and support initiatives like those of France.”

India has had no part in the current conflict. India didn’t instigate the war. It has no interest in taking strategic or political sides. India has condemned violence. So far, it has refused to join the hysterical mob being led by the US. It is a sign of strength that India is guarding its own interests rather than giving in to pressure.

About the Author
Amrit Hallan is a writer learning the ropes and trying to remain true to what he believes in. As a writer he has no problem being politically incorrect. He likes being praised for his writing, but not at the cost of what he believes in. Although he is a professional writer, his true calling is literary and journalistic writing.

India’s strategic silence over what is happening between Russia and Ukraine

The Modi government

NATO countries, US vessels are imposing on Russia

India’s historical friendship since India’s Independence

Russian weapons, UNSC resolutions over Kashmir

China infiltrated Ladakh

western countries, historic Indo-Pakistani War

Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty

US adventure in the Bay of Bengal

Russia dispatched a submarine armed with nuclear warheads

India’s entire cryogenic technology

CIA in collusion, UPA government

Afghanistan to the Taliban-Pakistan

Russia is also India’s biggest arms supplier

BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles

Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin signed a litany of trade and arms deals

Russia as a counter force against China

Russia-Ukraine conflict

India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar

When did you arrive in the US, and why?
My ex-husband is American and I met him in New Delhi where he was living for work. We moved to the US in 1999, about a year after we got married.

Tell us a little bit about your career and how you came to be where you are today.
I obtained two degrees in English Literature, one at the University of Delhi (Lady Shri Ram College) and one at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I then attended medical school at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I completed my internship and residency in Emergency Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. While I loved being an Emergency Medicine physician I felt that my calling was in cosmetic surgery, aesthetics and wellness. At this point I trained in hair restoration and transplantation, laser surgery, skin rejuvenation, male and female sexual health, hormone and IV therapy, weight loss, body contouring and more. I opened the doors of Bawa Medical in September 2019.

How did you come to be known as Rejuvenation Queen?
My practice Bawa Medical in Boca Raton, Florida specializes in all things rejuvenation. I became known for helping people become better from the inside out. My facial rejuvenation and non-surgical facelift can take people back 10 to 20 years in time. I perform both surgical and non-surgical procedures for male and female hair loss, as well as eyebrow and beard restoration and transplants.

My intimate wellness treatments for male sexual issues like Erectile Dysfunction and various female issues are so effective that we are saving relationships and bringing joy back into lives. I also do PRFM (platelet-rich fibrin matrix) based treatments which use your own growth factor and blood. I am one of just a few doctors in the world trained in and certified to perform the Vampire Facial and Facelift, and the P-shot for male sexual enhancement, and the O-Shot and Wing Lift for female sexual health. I now also use exosomes for more potent rejuvenation.

I also developed a strongly anti-aging skincare line as well as an organic skincare line called Bawa Medical Skincare which is sold on my website as well as in my office. So as you can see, I do more rejuvenation than others around me, and so many different types of rejuvenation, that I came to be known as the queen of all things rejuvenation and finally, Rejuvenation Queen.

You were crowned Ms. Florida on June 12th 2021. How did that come to be?
That is a loaded question! Having lived a life rooted in academia and medicine, Ms. Florida was never on the horizon for me. It was not that I looked down upon pageants. I simply did not consider them to be something I would ever do. Being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42 changed everything. I had been misdiagnosed for almost 3 years despite going to my doctor when I felt a lump. Mammograms and ultrasounds followed but they would not order a biopsy. I was told to stop being such a doctor and that the lump was benign.

In November 2020 I went back for that same lump and demanded testing. That lump was diagnosed as cancer, but now, instead of one lump, there were more. Being diagnosed with cancer was surreal. My life flashed before my eyes. I thought about all the times my concerns were dismissed. I am a single mother, and I thought about my sons. I also had a new medical practice. My family was overseas, and this was happening amid a worldwide pandemic. The timing could not have been worse. What was I going to do? How was I going to make it?

I decided that my cancer could not be just about me. It had to be bigger than that. I had to do something to raise awareness about cancer especially in those considered low risk. The other seminal decision I made was that I had to do something to inspire cancer patients to keep the faith, and to live their best lives despite cancer. I never lost hope and I did not want them to. I also refused to feel any less beautiful just because I was undergoing truly horrific chemotherapy side-effects. What better way to challenge myself and inspire others than to enter a beauty pageant while undergoing chemotherapy?

On June 12th I walked onto stage in a gown just a month after my mastectomy. My port scar was clearly visible, and I refused to apply makeup to hide it. I also refused to wear a wig or any hair extensions. I was there to inspire cancer patients so hiding my cancer was not part of my plan. I spoke my truth in more ways than one, and was crowned Ms. Florida U.S. Continental 2021 in front of my mother, my sons and my dearest friends. As far as I am aware, there has never been a beauty pageant winner who has been actively undergoing cancer treatment while competing. So, in many ways, my win is groundbreaking.

I must give credit to the U.S. Continental pageant for taking a chance on me despite my cancer treatment and for my medical team at the Sylvester Cancer Center (University of Miami), without whom I could not have walked onto the stage that day. They saved my life and for that and more, I will be forever grateful.

Tell us about your philanthropy.
I have always tried to live a life of service. I am part of the Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton. I am also mentoring a lovely young lady I met through the Eda and Cliff Viner Community Scholar Foundation. And last but certainly notthe least, I am an ambassador for the American Cancer Society’s ResearcHERS initiative to raise funds for women-led cancer research. I did not know until I was a cancer patient myself that of the 49 Nobel laureates funded by the American Cancer Society, not one has been a woman. The ResearcHERS program raises funds for female researchers for all kinds of cancer, not just breast cancer. I have been interviewed on ABC News about it and am actively fundraising through Bawa Medical. I am now cancer-free but this is my mission in life. Cancer cure may not come during our lifetime, but it could for our children and grandchildren, and I will do my part to make that happen.

What challenges did you face as an immigrant trying to establish a successful career in the US?
Becoming successful is an arduous process in and of itself. I don’t think that my status as an immigrant ever held me back. I had great professors. I made lifelong friendships. I received low interest loans to pay for medical school. I made it to a great medical school without any contacts. I was also accepted into one of the most prestigious residency programs in the world at the Cleveland Clinic. I have since had a successful career in both Emergency Medcine and at my Boca Raton practice Bawa Medical. America has been good to me. This great nation has always rewarded my hard work with success.

How would you compare life in the US today to when you first arrived? How does it compare in terms of opportunities, culture, or any other aspects?
I was always accepted by the US both personally and professionally. I had opportunities then and I do now. The importance of my effort cannot be underrated. As long as you are willing to put in the blood, sweat and tears, you will be rewarded with both respect and success. I never used my status as an immigrant as an excuse for my own inadequacies, and my career speaks for itself.

New immigrants to the US often have great dreams of achieving their goals. What guidance would you give them?
Work hard. No more no less.

Is there anything you feel you would still like to accomplish?
There is always something to accomplish, and another mountain to scale. My practice serves people both in the local area as well as from other states and countries. I hope to spread the word about my unique brand of rejuvenation and wellness, and I invite the Asian community to learn more about the various services we offer. I also hope that the readers of your magazine will donate to my fundraising page for the American Cancer Society’s ResearcHERSinitative.

https://www.bawamedical.com/about/my-cancer-journey/

Favorite Book: As a lover of literature this is a tough question to answer. A couple of my favorites are “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Outliers.”

Favorite Indian Movie: Another tough question. A few of my favorites are Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Hum Tum and Zindagi Na MilegiDobara.

Favorite Non-Indian Movie: Top Gun

Dr. Bawa’s social media:
Website: www.bawamedical.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bawamedical/
YouTube: https://rb.gy/8xr8ia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BawaMedicalBocaRaton/

Emergency Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland

Emergency Medicine physician

cosmetic surgery, aesthetics and wellness

female sexual health

hormone and IV therapy

Bawa Medical, Bawa Medical in Boca Raton

facial rejuvenation

non-surgical facelift

wellness treatments, sexual issues

Erectile Dysfunction

platelet-rich fibrin matrix

perform the Vampire Facial and Facelift

anti-aging skincare

Rejuvenation Queen

lump was diagnosed as cancer

worldwide pandemic

cancer patients

beauty pageant

Sylvester Cancer Center

University of Miami

Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton

Cliff Viner Community Scholar Foundation

ambassador for the American Cancer Society’s ResearcHERS initiative

Nobel laureates funded by the American Cancer Society

ABC News

Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Outliers book

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Hum Tum

Zindagi Na MilegiDobara

When discussing percussion musicians in South Florida, there is one name that is synonymous with that of a humble unassuming persona – that of Sudhir Limaye. Born and raised in Pune, India, Limaye studied at the prestigious Fergusson College and earned his Master’s degree in Physics and Electronics from the University of Pune. His area of study helped him formulate his approach to rhythm as a time dependent medium as well as a rhythmic structure of sound, micro sounds and the complexity in algorithmic compositions.

Growing up in India, many are immersed and drenched in different genres of music as a normal part of life. For Limaye, listening to music was a constant in his formative years, but what set him apart is that he developed a very keen ear to the multiple layers of sound objects and its rhythmic structures. He would try to translate these sounds using tables, desks, empty containers and what not, much to the annoyance of his parents and siblings!

Limaye’s diverse musical interest began to take root in Hindustani classical music and light sugam sangeet. Though he did not acknowledge it as a teenager, he equally enjoyed Street Folk, Bollywood, Jazz, and Western music. Being exposed to these different genres and his intent listening contributed to the versatility in his style of playing the tabla. In fact, this ability to easily switch between styles is Sudhir’s unique skill making him the most sought-after accompanying artist in South Florida not only in Hindustani classical, and light classical music, but also in light Indian/Bollywood music and Jazz ensemble concerts.

After learning the tabla on his own for many years, Limaye began his formal training at the age of 21. While a student at Fergusson College, Limaye developed a friend circle around Bollywood music who encouraged him to develop his interest in tabla even further. Limaye quickly realized the tabla is one of the most versatile instruments, which spoke to his diverse interest in music genres.

Since moving with his family to Boca Raton, Florida, in 2001, Limaye has been an active member of the music community in the region. After many of his performances, parents would request Limaye to take on their children as shishyas. So in 2005, Limaye established Naada Brahma School of Tabla with two children and one father as his first students.

Limaye continues to actively perform at various local events. Over the years, he has performed in more than 250 performances in various musical formats. Limaye performs fusion music in the South Florida area with Daryll Dobson, a guitarist and composer, and he is a part of Daryll’s trio band Metaphysical Jazz. They have recently released a fusion album online called The Third Alignment with Dobson’s original compositions, and it was well-received in the Jazz world.

Learn more about Sudhir Limaye in our interview with him.

Who is your Guru (teacher) now and when you started?

Back in the 1990s, a good friend of mine (a tabla player) suggested I approach one the most renowned tabla teachers, Pandit Suresh Samant, in Pune, India.

Pandit Samant was extremely strict and would only accept students who had a keen interest and commitment toward learning the instrument. He was known to send the student home if he had not mastered the previous lesson, did not play well, or even if he was late to come to the class. After a lot of scrutiny, I was finally admitted to the class and my formal training started.

How long was your training?

I completed five years of rigorous training in Delhi and Farrukhabad gharanas.

Delhi gharana is mostly known for its ‘bandabaaja’ (closed sound playing) type of playing. This Gharana gave importance to playing on Chaati with two fingers and was also called as “Do Ungliyon Ka Baaj” – playing the instrument merely using two fingers. Farukhabad Gharana is a blend of Delhi, Purab and Lucknow style of playing and has a pakhawaj (one horizontal piece of instrument) like resonance as well as speed and Chaati use like in Delhi Gharana.

Learning Tabla with this teacher gave me an opportunity to learn both styles – thebandabaaj and Khulabaaj (open sound playing) style of playing.

Tell us more about your first public performance.

I began performing in Intercollegiate classical and light Indian music events while I was doing my Masters. My group of friends and I would travel to various places in India performing at different venues, and we collected a few awards in some interstate music competitions. I still clearly remember my first performance at the University of Calcutta, where there was a crowd of about 300 college graduates watching the show. The energy and enthusiasm was palpable in this highly competitive event. I remember thinking my rapid heartbeat would be heard louder than my tabla! We ended up winning the first prize in the orchestra and semiclassical section. The entire college physically took his team out on the streets dancing to celebrate their success! There has been no looking back, and I have since given over 250 public performances in India and the U.S.

Who do you consider to be a mentor and why?

Apart from my Guru, the Late Pandit Suresh Samant, I attribute my success to the many, many masters that I cannot even begin to name. It is my firm belief that all the music I have listened to, the musicians, music composers, and lyricists, all are my mentors as they were all my first teachers. Among Bollywood music composers, I admire R. D. Burman and Madan Mohan and have learned a lot from their compositions especially for their lilting melodies and the rhythmic structuring and use of instruments.

What advice do you have for young Indian Americans who wish to pursue a career in music or the performing arts?

Single minded devotion and commitment to worshipping art form, whatever it may be, is the most important aspect that cannot be stressed enough. It is a lifetime commitment to sadhana, which has a very deep meaning – spiritual exertion towards an intended goal. One has to completely immerse the self in the riyaaz, that is the disciplined practice ritual. The younger generation is extremely fortunate to have many resources of technology to learn an art form. But they can get caught up with instant gratification and the trap of social media. They have to constantly push themselves, work hard by setting goals to compete with their own selves. Be open to criticism, be a keen listener, constantly think about something creative and unique, understand and accept your limitations– try to work hard to overcome those are my golden words for aspiring artists.

Success means different things to different people? What does it mean to you and how would you define it?

Anything that I can do to help people come out of their worries and see a smile on their face gives me the greatest satisfaction and a feeling of success.

What do you think is the secret behind your success?

Success in any field is a product of one’s natural abilities through the genes, the environment and most importantly the dedicated hard work that is input. My grandfather was a sitar player, and I remember intently listening to him play, even at a young age of five. Other than that, we did not have a musical family. I was fortunate enough to find the right Guru, who was so strict that it forced me into hours of riyaaz, much more than I would have played out of sheer love for the instrument! But in the end, nothing succeeds like the hard work and hours of practice input.

An American colleague once asked me an interesting question: “Why are Indians in the US at the forefront of a variety of fields?” What do you think?
The sheer population in India encourages competitiveness from a very young age. It instills a strong desire to succeed and do better than the best. Also the conditions in India are unpredictable and uncertain, so the people there learn quickly to think on their feet, adapt to the changing circumstances and improvise their response. The tolerance level to frustration is very high and therefore they never give up. The stable family structures with very close-knit relationships with relatives and cousins make them confident and secure. Most families raise their kids with a strict upbringing with the utmost importance on higher education.

Favorite Quote: Imagination is more important than knowledge. – Albert Einstein

Favorite Book: Agony and Ecstasy by Irving Stone, a biography of Michaelangelo. The message of this book emphasizes that adversity brings out the best in you if you dont allow it to crush you.

Favorite Indian Movie: Ijazat and Water as these movies make you wonder if art follows life or vice versa.

Favorite Non-Indian Movie: The Godfather