Sunday, August 30, 2015

Evangelical Fellowship of India 
805/ 92, Deepali Building, Nehru Place, New Delhi, India

PRESS STATEMENT
Peaceful Demonstration by the Christian Community of Delhi against Hate Crimes on the Christian community

The Christian Community of Delhi has organized a peaceful sit-in at the Parliament Street on afternoon of Sunday, August 30, 2015 to bring to the attention of the Government and the Nation, the systematic targeting of Christians by communal forces, despite being a tiny 2.3 % of the Indian population.

The unchecked hate has resulted in frequent violence against Christians throughout the country. Nuns, sometimes as old as 70 years, are being raped in gross contempt of law and humanity. Church clergy, buildings and institutions are being attacked with impunity and generally justice has either not been forthcoming or has been explained away.

The recent beating up of Christian Pastors in Nihal Vihar in the capital of the nation and the impunity with which it was carried out in the presence of the police, is a glaring example of the casual attitude with which even the law enforcement agencies have started to look upon the cases of hate crimes against the Christian community. Even as we protest, justice for the Nihal Vihar Pastors is awaited.

Within the past week, at least five incidents have been reported from Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Christian praying even in their own homes, in private worship, are no longer safe as they are being targeted by right wing extremists apparently drunk on political power and support.

According to partial list available Evangelical Fellowship of India's Religious Liberty Commission; there have been 147 incidents of violence and hate against the Christian community in 2014. In 2015 so far the incidents have already crossed the 100 mark. Reports by civil society groups have recorded at least 43 deaths in over 600 cases of violence, 194 targeting Christians and the rest Muslims, between 26th May 2014 and 13th May 2015. This is a worrisome trend for minorities in India.

We, the Christian community of Delhi, ask that the promises made by the Prime Minister regarding Religious Freedom and the curbing of 'violence against any religion' be fulfilled on ground level. We pray for an India that has Religious Freedom and space for people of all faiths and ideology.

We remember the timely advise of the Hon'ble President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee given earlier this year at the eve of the Republic Day of India, wherein he appealed for the preservation of the values of pluralism, tolerance and goodwill between diverse communities. He reminded us of the violence of the tongue and of the danger of the political discourse becoming a competition in hysteria abhorrent to our traditional ethos. Religion, he said, quoting Gandhiji, is a force of unity; we cannot make it a cause for conflict.

May we as a nation always heed these words and act for the welfare of the other; only then will we together create a peaceful and harmonious India for our future generations.

Jai Hind. God Bless India!

Delhi Pastors Action Team

Rev. Dr. Richard Howell - EFI
Rev. Daniel Kumar - DPAT
Rev. Emmanuel Verma - DPAT
Rev. Seth Masih - DPAT
Rev. Ajit Pal - DPAT
Rev. Vijayesh Lal - EFI 


Rev. Dr. Richard Howell,
General Secretary,
Evangelical Fellowship of India,
New Delhi, India 

Evangelical Fellowship of India (established 1951) is a charter member of World Evangelical Alliance, an accredited NGO with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
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Indian Women fall to Chinese Taipei in opening game of FIBA Asia Championship
Wuhan, China, 29 August 2015: In their opening game of the 26th FIBA Asia Women’s Championship 2015, the Indian Senior Women’s team suffered a blowout 92-61 loss against Chinese Taipei in their Group A fixture on Day 1 of the tournament at Wuhan, China.
Chinese Taipei, who finished fourth in the 2013 version of the tournament, was the clear favourite entering this game. Facing an uphill task, India had a faulty start with their opponent storming out of the gates with an 8-0 start. India did manage to stem the flow ending the first quarter down 11 to 22. The second quarter was India’s best of the game. Managing to match Chinese Taipei shot-for-shot, the second quarter scoring was almost even between the teams.
Entering the second half with a 12-point lead, Chinese Taipei further extended the gap between the teams outscoring India 29 to 18 in the third quarter. Chinese Taipei’s Y. Wei led the scoring with 20 points, while S. Peng and Y. Lin contributed with 12 and 11 points respectively. In the fourth quarter, Chinese Taipei continued to drain buckets with ease, thus maintaining their huge lead and cruising to an easy victory.
Poojamol Subhashmon, from Kerala, led India in scoring ending the game with 17 points while Bhandavya HM, India’;s youngest player at 17 years old, played confidently, although out of position at point guard, to score 8 points. Smruthi Radhakrishnan added 3 assists, while Shireen Limaye led the team in rebounding pulling down 7 rebounds.
India’s young and largely inexperienced side failed to maintain their composure on the big stage and turned the ball over a massive 33 times. Clearly, the team missed starting point guard, Kavita Akula, who was made unavailable for the event due to her college career starting in the U.S.
Coach Garcia will need to ensure that his players take better care of the ball going forward in the tournament. “We competed quite well for around 25 minutes of the game against one of the top 4 teams. Then, our lack of stamina brought us down. Obviously, we missed the services of our starting point guard Kavita Akula. But I must say that we competed better against them than we did in Bangkok [in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship],” said Coach Garcia, after the game.
Their next opponent will be Japan, who they will face tomorrow.
Chinese Taipei (Y. Wei 20, S. Peng 12, Y. Lin 11) bt India (Poojamol Subhashmon 17, Anitha Paul Durai 8, B. Mahesha 8, J. Skaria 8) 92-61 (22-11, 15-14, 29-18, 26-18)
For the full box score, please access the following link:http://www.fiba.com/ls/#8061&11894-A-1.
UPCOMING INDIA TEAM GROUP A SCHEDULE FOR 26TH FIBA ASIA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 2015
S. No.MatchDay and DateLocal Time in Wuhan, ChinaIndian Standard Time
1.India v. JapanSunday, 30 August 20153:00 p.m.12:30 p.m.
2.India v. ChinaMonday, 31 August 20155:00 p.m.2:30 p.m.
3.India v. ThailandTuesday, 1 September 201512:30 p.m.10:00 a.m.
4.India v. KoreaWednesday, 2 September 201512:30 p.m.10:00 a.m.
INDIAN SQUAD FOR THE 26TH FIBA ASIA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP 2015
Jersey
No
Family Name(s)
/Last Name
First Name(s)
/Given Name
Date of Birth
(dd/mm/yyyy)
Place of Birth
(City & Country)
Height
(cm)
Weight
(Kg)
Position
04PRASANNAN GEETHAAnjana09/11/1994KollamIndia17756G/F
06Stephy Nixon06/06/1992ChalakudyIndia18479C
08KOCHUPARAMBU SUBHASHMONPoojamol14/08/1996KottayamIndia17464G/F
10RADHAKRISHNANSmruthi15/04/1992ThaliyilIndia17568F
13PALANILKUMKALAYIL SKARIAJeena09/01/1994KalpattaIndia17964F
14LIMAYEShireen Vijay13/12/1995PuneIndia17869F
18HEMMIGE MAHESHABhandavya18/04/1998MandyaIndia16353G/F
22MURALINATHApporva02/02/1989ChennaiIndia18068F
33RAJAGANAPATHIRajapriyadharshini03/01/1994SalemIndia18972PF/C
77PAUL DURAIAnitha22/06/1985ChennaiIndia16866G
88TUDUSitamani04/10/1994BahaldaIndia16958G/F
*PG – Point Guard / Feeder, G – Guard, F – Forward, G/F – Wing, PF – Power Forward, C – Centre, PF/C – Pivot
  1. Team Manager: Mr. Rajendar Manthani
  2. Team Physio: Mr. Radha Krishna Reddy
  3. Coach: Mr. Francisco Garcia
  4. Assistant Coach: Ms. Aparna Ghosh
  5. Referee: Ms. Snehal Bendke
  6. Referee: Mr. Rajnarayan Patro

About the FIBA Asia Women’s Championship 2015 & India’s Participation

Tournament Format

This will be the 26th edition of the Asian Women’s Basketball Championship. 12 teams are expected participate in this championship and are divided into two Levels. Level 1 features the top six teams, while level 2 features the remaining six. League matches are conducted within each level and the two bottom placed teams from Level 1 play ‘qualifying matches’ against the two top placed teams from Level 2. The winning teams from these ‘qualifying matches’ qualify to Level 1 for the next edition of this event while the losing two teams are relegated to Level 2.
Simultaneously, the top four Level 1 teams go through to the semi-finals, followed by the finals. A bronze medal match is also played between the losing semi-finalists to determine the third and fourth placed teams. The winning team qualifies for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the second and third placed teams go through to the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Tournament history

Prior to the upcoming iteration, 25 editions of this biennial championship have been held so far, dating back to 1965. South Korea won the inaugural edition and leads the gold medal tally overall (12 Golds), followed by China (11 Golds) and Japan (2 Golds). India first participated at this event in 1970, and has competed 16 times in total. The Indian women’s team best finish came at the last edition of this Championship in 2013, when we finished 5th. Prior to that, India’s best finish had been 6th place at the 1992, 2009 and 2011 iterations.
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Dharamvira Gandhi and Harinder Khalsa suspended from the Aam Aadmi Party
The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the Aam Aadmi Party today suspended Dharamavira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa from the primary membership of the party and referred disciplinary proceedings against them to party’s National Disciplinary Action Committee.
In its meeting on 29 August, 2015, the PAC took cognizance of anti-party activities indulged in by Dharamavira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa in Punjab. In a unanimous decision, the PAC suspended Khalsa and Gandhi from the party and referred their cases to the National Disciplinary Action Committee. Now the three-member National Disciplinary Action Committee, with Pankaj Gupta, Dilip Pandey and Deepak Bajpai as its members, will look into the complaints of anti-party activities and indiscipline against Dharamvira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa.
Resolution passed by the PAC
The PAC expresses its concern over anti-party activities indulged in by Mr. Dharamvira Gandhi and Mr. Harinder Singh Khalsa. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Khalsa have been involved in the activities of certain outfits, opposed to aims and objectives of the party. The only aim of these outfits is to damage the Aam Aadmi Party and anti-corruption movement in the country.
There are several instances that show that Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Khalsa are trying to establish a parallel organization within the party with the sole objective of damaging the party in Punjab.  Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Khalsa have criticized the party leadership and the decisions taken by the party on several occasions in the media. Not only Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Khalsa used the press to express their disagreement with the party on various issues, they also openly disobeyed the party on several occasions and refused to follow party discipline.
The corrupt BJP-SAD regime in Punjab has made the state a hub of narcotics trade. Well-oiled state run corruption machinery has completely paralyzed the government apparatus. Fed up with two terms of misrule by the BJP-SAD combine, people of Punjab have decided to go with Aam Aadmi Party to bring Delhi model of corruption free governance to the state. Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Khalsa have joined hands with the corrupt BJP-SAD leaders in Punjab and have betrayed the faith of the common man.
With a clear intent of creating confusion among party volunteers and damaging the party, Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Khalsa today organized a conference, parallel to that of the Aam Aadmi Party, at Baba Bakala today on the occasion of Rakhar Puniya. They used pictures of National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and party MPs Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh to create confusion and help Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP. They used party symbol and pictures of party leaders in the publicity material of their conference without due permission from the party.
Taking cognizance of their anti-party activities and indiscipline, the PAC has decided to refer their case to the National Disciplinary Action Committee for suitable action against them. The PAC also unanimously resolves to suspend Mr. Dharamvira Ghandhi and Mr. Harinder Singh Khala from the primary membership of the party.
Regards,
AAP Media cell

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