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Eleven PIOs Killed in Deadly Guyana Massacre

On Simmering Discontentment among the Malaysians of Indian Origin

Attacks Against PIOs in Malaysia Condemned

NRIs TO ADOPT PUNJAB VILLAGE

New Zealand-based Shaheed Bhagat Singh Foundation, consisting of members mainly of Punjabi origin, has decided to adopt a Punjab village and turn it into a model place for promotion of girl child. One of its members, Parminder Singh visited Punjab in December last year and discussed the modalities with Dr Harshindar Kaur, the lone woman crusader from Patiala, who has extensively surveyed and documented the incidence of female foeticide and infanticide. Parminder carried back several of her studies and broad outlines of the scheme for a model village.

The Foundation has decided that it would be operating in collaboration with this paediatrician from Rajindra government medical college and hospital, according to Auckland-based Gurinder Singh Dhatt, president of the Foundation. Dhatt said "At the birth of a girl child, we would be investing a particular amount in her name in the bank which would be made available to her when she attains the age of 18. The idea is to provide a respectable amount of money when she is of marriageable age so that dowry does not become the cause of her death when she is not even born yet."

Further, any bright, intelligent girl student from the model village would also get financial support or sponsorship to study abroad, which should again work as an incentive for the foreign-crazed Punjabi parents, the group members revealed.

The members would be visiting the village at least twice a year, but the coordinator, Dr Harshindar would visit the village almost every two months, giving awareness talks and generally following up on the health of the children.

INDIAN RESTAURANTS SETTING FOOT IN CHINA

IANS reports that naans, rotis and tandoori fare are beginning to find acceptance in the land of exotic dishes and Peking duck. But restaurants say it will be a long time before Indian cuisine really tickles the Chinese taste bud.

Most of the Chinese clientele in the growing number of restaurants serving Indian food here are in the 20s and 30s, and dominantly male. A majority of the customers are Indians or Western expatriates who relish Indian cooking.

In a country that boasts of a mind-boggling variety of exotic, primarily non-vegetarian cuisine whipped out of every organ of a living creature that is fit to be cooked, there are today more than 100 restaurants in the country that cater either exclusively to or also to Indian cuisine.

GUYANESE PIO LAUNCHES AGRI MAGAZINE

Former Extension Officer and General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producer's Association (GRPA.), Guyanese born PIO Dharamkumar Seeraj has taken the initiative in launching the Agri Magazine for the benefit of farmers.

The primary purpose of Newsletters was to bring farmers and readers up to date with the latest news and issues affecting the Agricultural Industry of Guyana as a whole and the rice industry in particular. It also contains information on global rice sector issues. It aims to be topical, well informed, wide-ranging, comprehensive, and readable. According to Mr. Seeraj, the new Agri Magazine will have a 'Farmer's Mailbox', so the farmers can express their dissatisfaction on any topics and help to advice the R.P.A. in any area to better promote the rice industry.

The extension section of the RPA should help to advice farmers on technical issues through the magazine on the proper use of fertilizers, paddy bugs, plant hoppers, sheath rots, research data, field trials and good seeds etc. The RPA has come a long way and has evolved with dynamism with Mr Seeraj at the helm of this organization, he indefatigable has taken the RPA, that once only survived on faith, and transformed it into an entity that encompasses limitless endeavors within a spectrum that recognizes no borders

Malaysia has been going through turmoil with recent protests by Malaysian Indians on their violations civil rights. Assuaging the feelings of agitated ethnic Indians ahead of elections, the Malaysian Prime Minister recently declared the Hindu festival of Thaipusam a national holiday and vowed to eradicate poverty among the community, which claims it is being marginalised. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, whose government was rattled by unprecedented street protests by the community recently, said he decided to recognize Thaipusam as a "public holiday" after getting requests from the ethnic Indian community, which forms just 7.8 per cent of the total population in this Muslim-majority country.

TWO GUYANESE PIOs WINNERS OF 2008 ANSCAFE CARIBBEAN AWARDS

Two Guyanese PIOs are among the four outstanding Caribbean men and women named as the winners of the 2008 Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence (ANSCAFE). Professor David Dabydeen has been named as winner in the Arts & Letters section, while Annette Arjoon was named joint winner with Jamaican Claudette Richardson Pious in the Public & Civic Contributions segment. The prize is a gold medal, a citation and TT$500,000 and as joint winners Arjoon and Pious will share their monetary prize equally. The other winner is James Husbands of Barbados who won in the Science & Technology segment. The four ANSCAFE laureates will receive their prizes at a gala ceremony set for Trinidad and Tobago on April 12.

To be selected, laureates had to demonstrate a track record of consistently superior work and the capacity for significant future achievement; while their work must have had, or be likely to have, a positive impact on the Caribbean; and they must be worthy exemplars to people of the region.

Professor Dabydeen is a noted author of over 20 books of poetry, fiction and academic studies of West Indian literature and history. He won the Commonwealth Prize for Poetry for his first book, Slave Song (1984) and has won the Guyana Prize for Literature on three occasions. He is currently course convener for the Master of Arts degree in Colonial and Postcolonial Literature in English at Warwick University in the UK. Arjoon is the founding secretary and project co-ordinator of the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society and has been instrumental in protecting Shell Beach, a 100-mile ecosystem in Region One where four species of marine turtle nest. She is also the managing director of Shell BeachAdventures, an eco-tourism company.

upto 23 Mar 2008

*new* exhibition in Singapore: On The Nalanda Trail: Buddhism in India, China and Southeast Asia

During the past, many Asian countries interacted with each other through peaceful means via religion, trade and political missions. Many Chinese pilgrims went to India for Buddhist studies while Indian monks went to China to disseminate the faith. The footprints of Buddhist pilgrims can be seen over the Silk Road all along Central, northwest India as well as the Southeast Asia. Traversing India to modern Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Tibet, China, Korea and Japan, Java, Sumatra, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos - Buddhism not only affected the lives and cultures in those regions but also left us with a legacy in the arts and literature.
 
This exhibition will highlight some of the significant landmarks in Buddhist history, through the travel records of the monks Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing and the spread of Buddhism at centres of higher learning such as Nalanda in eastern India which was visited by many students from all over the Asian world. The exhibition will be illustrated and accompanied by a display of Buddhist art and artefacts borrowed from museums in India and Southeast Asia and will include some objects from the ACM’s own collection.
http://www.acm.org.sg/exhibitions/eventdetail.asp?eventID=186

Asian Civilisations Museum  @ Special Exhibitions Gallery  1 Empress Place
Singapore 179555  Tel: 65-6332 3284