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Hello Jammu News at 3:47:00 PM 0

A nationwide campaign has been launched in the US to raise awareness on the Hinduism and bring down the cases of bullying against the people following the religion has been launched here.


Houston, Dec 15 (PTI) A nationwide campaign has been launched in the US to raise awareness on the Hinduism and bring down the cases of bullying against the people following the religion has been launched here.

Titled "I am Hindu American", the campaign was launched by the US-based Hindu American Foundation (HAF) and includes a social-media campaign, a 30-second public service announcement and a companion website to provide resources about Hinduism and Hindu Indian-Americans.

During the campaign, the organisers would boost awareness and clarify common stereotypes and misunderstandings about Hinduism through social media networks nationwide. 

"The goal of 'I Am Hindu American' campaign is to drive online conversation by putting a face on the Hindu American community. Despite the fact that Hindus are one of the most successful minority communities, knowledge about Hindus and Hinduism is very low among the US general public. Our own data shows that one in three Hindu-American students report being bullied for their religious beliefs," Suhag Shukla, the executive director and co-founder of HAF, said in a statement.

He said that most of the bullying cases were based on misperceptions about Hindus and the narrative needs to be changed.

Hate crimes in the US increased by about 17 per cent in 2017 as compared to 2016, according to the FBI.

He said that Hinduism has contributed a lot towards the daily activities of humans.

"There are many Hindu contributions to our daily lives: from yoga and meditation to the decimal system as well as an understanding of the law of cause and effect known as karma," the statement said.


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Hello Jammu News at 12:14:00 PM 0


Houston, Oct 12 (PTI) A building at the University of Houston will be renamed after an Indian-American couple in recognition of a gift that will provide ongoing support for faculty, students and research, the varsity has said.

The university's Engineering Research Building will be named after Durga D and Shushila Agrawal who made a sizable donation to the college, the varsity's Indian- American President Renu Khator said.

The USD 51 million building, which opened in 2017, already had a floor named for the couple. 

Durga Agrawal came to Houston in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Delhi College of Engineering. He earned his master's degree and Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the UH Cullen College of Engineering.

"My message to the students is to always be optimistic; one can achieve any goal with hard work, persistence and determination," Agrawal said.

Eloise Brice, vice president of University Advancement, said the Agrawal's gift will benefit a number of key objectives.

"Recruiting the best and brightest students and faculty is a key goal for the University of Houston, and this generous gift will allow the Cullen College of Engineering to make great strides in that arena," Brice said.

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Hello Jammu News at 2:15:00 PM 0

Houston, Sep 8: India has decided to revoke the OCI cards of the Indian-American adoptive parents of Sherin Mathews, the three-year-old girl found dead in a culvert in Dallas, and some of their relatives and friends.

Counsel General of India in Houston, Anupam Ray said India is cancelling the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards of Wesley Mathews his wife Sini and the couple's some relatives and close associates as public opinion in India on this issue is inflamed and travel of these people to India is not in public interest.

Manoj N Abraham and Nissy T Abraham, friends of the Mathews family, were among the first to receive a notice of cancellation of the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), which they have challenged in Delhi High Court.

Wesley's parents are also in the list.

Ray told PTI that, India has not forgotten this little child and in public interest, the Consulate will recommend their names for insertion in the 'Blacklist' maintained by the Government of India at the earliest.

After Houston Consulates extensive research on this case, "It has come to the knowledge of the Consulate through diplomatic and privileged sources that Manoj Abraham and Nissy T Abraham have been in close contact with the adoptive parents of Sherin Mathews before, during and after the murder," Ray said.

"We would have found out more about the circumstances of this heartless murder if Abraham had cooperated in providing information."

"The case is developing in Delhi, but our position on providing visa is unchanged," Ray confirmed.

Toddler Sherin's decomposed body was found in a culvert close to her home last year in October 22, two weeks after her Indian-American foster parents reported her missing.

An autopsy concluded Sherin died of homicidal violence, but how she died could not be determined due to the decomposition of the body.

Her adoptive father, Wesley originally told police he had left Sherin outside the home at 3 am to punish her for not drinking her milk. Then he changed his statement and said Sherin had choked on her milk while he tried to feed her in the garage.

He also admitted the family had gone out to dinner that night and left Sherin home alone.

The couple from Kerala had adopted Sherin from an orphanage in Bihar in 2016.

While Wesley was indicted on charges of capital murder and tampering with evidence, his wife Sini was indicted on a charge of abandoning a child.

Meanwhile, the attorney representing the mother of Sherin has withdrawn as her counsel Friday over nonpayment.

Attorney Mitchell Nolte filed a motion in Dallas County and the motion was accepted.

Nolte has represented Sini, currently being held in the Dallas county jail on USD 250,000 bond, since she was arrested on a charge of child endangerment/abandoning.

According to court documents, Mathews "failed to comply with the terms of the employment agreement and has been unable to make further financial arrangements."

Earlier in August a Dallas county judge reduced the bond on three charges for Wesley.

Mathews faces charges of capital murder, injury to a child and tampering with evidence. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 3:03:00 PM 0

Houston, Aug 23: Ambient air pollution shortens an average Indian's life by over 1.5 years, say scientists who suggest that better air quality could lead to a significant extension of human lifespan around the world.

Researchers said that if PM2.5 concentrations worldwide were limited to the World Health Organization's (WHO) air quality guideline concentration of 10 microgrammes per square cubic metre, the global life expectancy would be on average 0.59 year longer.

The benefit of reaching the stringent target would be especially large in countries with the highest current levels of pollution, with approximately 0.8 1.4 years of additional survival in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.

This is the first time data on air pollution and lifespan has been studied together in order to examine the global variations to find out how they affect the overall life expectancy.

The researchers from University of Texas at Austin in the US looked at outdoor air pollution from particulate matter (PM) smaller than 2.5 microns. These fine particles can enter deep into the lungs, and breathing PM2.5 is associated with increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases and cancer.

PM2.5 pollution comes from power plants, cars and trucks, fires, agriculture and industrial emissions.

They found that the life expectancy impact of ambient PM2.5 is especially large in polluted countries such as Bangladesh (1.87 years), Egypt (1.85 years), Pakistan (1.56 years), Saudi Arabia (1.48 years), Nigeria (1.28 years), and China (1.25 years).

India had a life expectancy impact of 1.53 years, according to the study.

The team used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study to measure PM2.5 air pollution exposure and its consequences in 185 countries.

They then quantified the national impact on life expectancy for each individual country as well as on a global scale.

"The fact that fine particle air pollution is a major global killer is already well known," said Joshua Apte, who led the study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

"We were able to systematically identify how air pollution also substantially shortens lives around the world. What we found is that air pollution has a very large effect on survival -- on average about a year globally," said Apte.

In the context of other significant phenomena negatively affecting human survival rates, Apte said this is a big number.

"For example, it's considerably larger than the benefit in survival we might see if we found cures for both lung and breast cancer combined," he said.

"For much of Asia, if air pollution were removed as a risk for death, 60 year olds would have a 15 per cent to 20 per cent higher chance of living to age 85 or older," he added.

"A body count saying 90,000 Americans or 1.1 million Indians die per year from air pollution is large but faceless," said Apte.

"Saying that, on average, a population lives a year less than they would have otherwise -- that is something relatable," he said. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:05:00 PM 0

Houston, Aug 20: Sewa International, an Indian non-profit organisation in America, has raised over USD 10,000 for the flood relief operations in the deluge-hit Kerala.

Nearly 200 people have lost their lives in Kerala since August 8 due to floods caused by rains and landslides, while over 3.14 lakh people have been moved to relief camps.

The southern Indian state is facing its worst flood in 100 years with 80 dams opened and all rivers in spate. A body blow has been dealt to the scenic state, with its infrastructure, standing crops and tourism facilities severely hit.

Sewa International USA has raised over USD 10,000 towards the flood relief in Kerela, where nearly 200 people have died in devastating floods and thousands have lost lives and have been rendered homeless, the organisation said in a statement.

Fresh from the painful memories of hurricane Harvey just a year back in Houston, Sewa International immediately rose to the occasion by setting an immediate goal of raising USD 100,000 for the relief operations, along with its India partner, Deseeya Seva Bharati Keralam, it said.

Over 5,000 Sewa volunteers have fanned out distributing food packets and cooking kits, and are opening free kitchens and medical camps to help the flood affected.

"Given the immediate need for help, we decided to release USD 10,000 in our first tranche of funds toward flood relief. We are in regular contact with our India partner, and our volunteers are joining hands with other relief agencies to provide as much help as we can in this hour of need," Swadesh Katoch, Director Disaster Relief said.

On their Facebook page they have appealed Indian-Americans to open their hearts, and wallets and purses, to help us help the people in distress.

Meanwhile, Houstonians originally from Kerala, who were preparing for Onam have cancelled all festivities.

"Such festivities hold little appeal when friends and family in Kerala are losing homes and loved ones in catastrophic flooding. Even though the water has started receding, the recent flooding has killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands," Biju Pillai, President of the Sri Guruvayurappan Temple in Houston told.

Houston, which is home to over 62000 Keralites, cancelled the celebration and attended the India Culture Center's Independence Day celebration to raise money for flood victims back home. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 12:56:00 PM 0

Houston, Aug 20: An Indian-American doctor from Texas, who was convicted of raping a sedated patient in a hospital, will not serve prison time and, instead, will spend 10 years of probation.

Jurors convicted Shafeeq Sheikh, 46, a former physician at the Baylor College of Medicine, of second-degree sexual assault after a trial that ended this past week. The crime is punishable by up 20 years in prison, but the Texas jury sentenced Sheikh to 10 years of probation on Friday.

Sheikh will have to register as a sex offender.

Unlike most states and the federal government, Texas grants juries the power to set criminal punishments.

The punishment has surprised defense attorneys, disappointed law enforcement and raised concerns from a victims advocacy group, according to media reports.

The jurors had recommended the sentencing, to which visiting Senior District Judge Terry L Flenniken was required to follow by law, according to local media report.

Sheikh was working in night shift at Houston's Ben Taub Hospital in 2013 when a woman was admitted for shortness of breath and wheezing.

She was in the hospital overnight and sedated when Sheikh came to her room several times during the night and sexually assaulted her.

The woman said she attempted to get help from a nurse, but the call button would not work.

DNA evidence collected from a rape kit matched the DNA sample of the guilty doctor's cheek swab. But it took two years for charges to be filed against Sheikh.

Surveillance video also captured Sheikh on the floor where the woman's room was located. He used his badge to swipe onto her floor at least 12 times that night.

"He sought her out. He chose her to prey on," Assistant District Attorney Lauren Reeder said during Friday's sentencing.

"You know he's the type of man who would go in multiple times, testing the waters, seeing how far he could go and get back to his normal business after that."

"You know he's the kind man of who walked around for two years before he was charged with this knowing what he did," she added.

During the trial, the doctor admitted to the sexual contact with the woman, but insisted it was consensual.

His lawyers also pleaded with the jury to show some compassion to Sheikh, his wife and children, who also suffered consequences due to his actions.

"The dreams of a man, the childhood dream to become a doctor, were shattered by his conduct. He destroyed his own dreams," Sheikh's lawyer Stanley Schneider said.

"What he has done to himself and his family is punishment. They are serving his sentence with him. His children are serving his sentence with him."

The Texas Medical Board revoked his license in 2015 after they found he was a "continuing threat to public welfare." Sheikh has since left the hospital.

The woman, now 32, said after the sentencing she wanted to move on from the incident. She told KHOU11 in 2015 that she believed there are other victims. (PTI)
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