Thursday, April 24, 2014

Indian-Americans form third largest Asian population in US

Washington:  Indian-Americans numbering 3.34 million are the third largest Asian community in the US, after people from China and the Philippines, a report said.

The Indian-American population shot up 76 per cent in the first 12 years of the 21st century, a report on demographics of the Asian-American population released by the Center for American Progress said.

While the Chinese-Americans form the largest group of Asian-American population with 4.1 million (22 per cent), Filipino-Americans are placed second with 3.59 million (19 per cent) followed by Indian-Americans with 3.34 million (18 per cent).

Indian-Americans grew 76 per cent from 2000 to 2012, compared to Filipino-Americans who expanded by 52 per cent in the corresponding period.

The top six groups - Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese - account for 85 per cent of all Asian-American residents.

Japanese-Americans - who were once in the top two Asian-American communities - have seen a decline in population share.

They form the smallest of the top six groups.

"While this shows a fair amount of national origin concentration, it nevertheless represents a decline from 89 per cent for these top six groups in 2000, as smaller Asian American groups have grown disproportionately in the last decade," the report said.

As many as 56 per cent of the Asian-American population lives in the top five states of California, New York, Texas, New Jersey, and Hawaii.

The largest concentration of Indian-Americans is in three States - California (19 per cent), New York (12 per cent) and New Jersey (10 per cent). Hindus (51 per cent) are in majority among Indian-American, followed by Christians (18 per cent), Muslims (10 per cent), Sikhs (5 per cent), Jains (2 per cent) and Buddhists (1 per cent).

Some smaller groups such as Bangladeshi-Americans are growing at an exceptional rate - 177 per cent between 2000 and 2010. If this rate is maintained, it will have a large impact on the future diversity of the Asian-American community, the report, by Karthick Ramakrishnan and Farah Ahmad, said.

"Indeed, we might even see new forms of detailed origin identification. For example, it is possible that, as these South Asian populations grow and settle longer in the United States, we might see a new consolidated subgrouping of South Asians that is used fairly commonly among second-generation immigrants on many college campuses and increasingly among social service organisations," the report said.


 http://www.ndtv.com/article/diaspora/indian-americans-form-third-largest-asian-population-in-us-513152?pfrom=home-diaspora

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

VIOLENCE AGAINST MUSLIMS,PETITION TO CHIEF JUTICE OF OF INDIA

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The Honourable Chief Justice of India: Appeal for suo moto action against Dr. Pravin Togadia for conspiracy of violence against Muslims

By Nilim Dutta
New Delhi
To
The Honourable Chief Justice of India
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi
Sir,
We felt compelled to directly write to you because our belief has been reinforced by experience that little is done to prevent atrocities against religious minorities, or to prosecute such atrocities, when repeatedly inflicted by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or its President Dr. Pravin Togadia.
Our notice had been drawn to an incident reported by Vijaysinh Parmar in the Times of India (url enclosed below) dated 21 April 2014 titled:
Evict Muslims from Hindu Areas: PravinTogadia.
Url of the internet edition:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Evict-Muslims-from-Hindu-areas-Pravin-Togadia/articleshow/34017292.cms
The news report has been quoted below literatim.
[RAJKOT: Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) president Pravin Togadia sent temperatures soaring in Bhavnagar on Saturday evening with a hate speech that targeted Muslims for buying properties in Hindu areas.
At night, Togadia joined a group of VHP and Bajrang Dal members on a street protest outside a house purchased by a Muslim businessman near Meghani Circle. While saffron groups have been regularly organizing 'Ram Dhuns' and 'Ram Darbars' to thwart such deals, Togadia went a step further by asking the protesters to take complete control of the house and put a 'Bajrang Dal' board on it.
Togadia told the gathering that there were two ways to stop such deals. One is to pressurize the state government to bring in Disturbed Areas Act in Bhavnagar, which prevents inter-community sale of immovable property. The second is to take forcible possession of the house and fight a legal battle later which will go on for years.
He gave the Muslim occupant 48 hours to vacate the house. "If he does not relent, go with stones, tyres and tomatoes to his office. There is nothing wrong in it. Killers of Rajiv Gandhi have not been hanged ... there is nothing to fear and the case will go on," Togadia told the charged-up gathering.
"I have done it in the past and Muslims have lost both property and money," he said.
He also said that this election is the best time to pressurize political parties to ensure safety of Hindus. "Don't be reluctant to pressurize Congress or BJP for the sake of Hindus' safety," he said.
After the event was over, tension was palpable and police feared that the mob might attack the house. A team of policemen has been stationed outside the house to avert any trouble. ]
Gujarat’s history of recent past makes the likelihood of the State of Gujarat to act lawfully against Pravin Togadia or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad extremely slim and in violation of the Article 15 of the Indian Constitution.
It is our fervent appeal to you to take note of the reported incident and direct the State of Gujarat to take appropriate steps to investigate the matter swiftly and if found true, take measures to prosecute Pravin Togadia as per law.
Writing to you directly may not be the instrument for judicial remedy in an ordinary situation, but considering the communally polarized atmosphere and the deep sense of alienation felt by ordinary Muslims due to our repeated failures to protect their lives and uphold their rights, we have been left with little choice.
We are am doing so because as ordinary Indian citizens, we still have faith in the Supreme Court of India as among the few institutions left in this nation which still has not largely failed in its obligation to uphold the rights enshrined in the Constitution of India for the citizens of this nation regardless of their faith, ethnicity, gender or place of birth.
We appeal to you to invoke the authority vested in you to uphold the rights enshrined in the Constitution and set an example that aggrieved ordinary citizens have a means of being heard when their rights have been trampled upon just because they belong to a religious minority in this nation.
In anticipation of your just and timely intervention,
Thanking You,
With Deepest Regards,

Saturday, April 19, 2014

MUSLIMS LIVING IN INDIA SHOULD GO TO PAKISTAN,BJP SAYS

Godda, Jharkhand: In remarks that are bound to create a big political storm, a BJP leader from Bihar suggested at a rally today that those who oppose his party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will have "no place in India" after the results of the general election are announced.

"Those who want to stop Narendra Modi (from becoming prime minister) are looking towards Pakistan. In the coming days, they will have no place in India. They will only have place in Pakistan," Giriraj Singh said while addressing a gathering in Godda district of Jharkhand. (Watch video)

Mr Singh made the remarks in the presence of senior party leader and former president Nitin Gadkari. He is the party's candidate from Nawada in Bihar. (India Votes 2014: Complete Coverage)

Opinion polls suggest that the Narendra Modi-led BJP could to win the maximum seats in the national election.

Voting, spread across nine phases, ends on May 12. Results will be declared on May 16.

http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/there-ll-be-no-place-in-india-for-modi-critics-says-bjp-leader-giriraj-singh-510775?pfrom=home-lateststories