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Did you actually invest in the low quality bonds held by these Franklin Templeton (FT) debt funds and did not exit even after the significant cut-down in January 2020 after Vodafone Idea exposure was declared?If yes, you know whom to blame !The list of schemes being wound up is as follows:Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund (FIUBF)Franklin India Short Term Income Fund (FISTIP)Franklin India Credit Risk Fund (FICRF)Franklin India Low Duration Fund (FILDF)Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund (FIDA)Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund (FIIOF)Also, just to help you out the readers, Franklin Templeton management is doing a concall this morning (details below) for an important organizational update - Damage Control Time for the AMC, isn’t it !!Let me explain about the investing goof-up with one of my client discussions (let me call him C) last year:C: I want to invest in Franklin Templeton Ultra Short Term Fund - SIP - Growth.Me: Any specific reason for choosing this fund? Have you evaluated the fund properly.C: Yes, first it is in ultra short term category and is debt fund, so very safe. Also it has highest returns.Me: But you should rather look at the quality of bonds (that define safety) and not only returns or category.C: But are not all debt funds safe? Specially the ultra short term funds?Me: If they were all in the same safety bracket, how would it give you such high returns?( I had mentioned the factors on How to evaluate a Debt Fund last year and it looks so much more important in today’s scenario !!). I explained the same to him and he was happy to understand and differ his decision - LUCKILY for both of us !!Point to note here: Franklin has always focused on high yields. Just to give an example, till Dec 2019, all other ultra short term funds were providing XIRR in the range of 7–8% while FT Ultra Short Term (Super Institutional Plan) was way ahead at 9% p.a.What did this mean?That FT had compromised on the quality of bonds (purchased low quality of junk bonds), hence risking the investor money.I do understand the possibility of this for a credit risk fund but was really surprised to see such bonds in ultra short and low duration funds.Investors who made the GRAVE mistake of looking only for returns and going by the reputation of the AMC have suffered:Firstly in January after mark-down of Vodafone-Idea exposure andSecondly now, if they still did not exit, assuming the returns could come back some day.The overall exposure of these 6 funds was approx. INR 30,000+ Crs as on Mar 2020. Now that cannot be redeemed. Pls find below the details:All these can neither be redeemed, not additional purchase be done now. Franklin team will repay the investors, as and when the liquidation happens.And it may really really long, so consider the money gone for now!Let me also quote some paragraphs from the mail just received from Franklin AMCThe unprecedented lockdown of the Indian economy in the wake of Covid-19 has impacted livelihoods and businesses across the country. Despite several measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the liquidity in certain segments of the corporate bond markets has fallen-off dramatically and has remained low for an extended period.In this scenario, mutual funds are facing unprecedented liquidity challenges due to a variety of factors - rising redemption pressures due to heightened risk aversion, mark to market losses following a spike in yields and lower trading volumes in the bond markets. These factors have together caused a significant and worsening liquidity crunch for open-end mutual fund schemes investing in corporate credits across the credit rating spectrum.Important Announcement: In this scenario, we find that the ability to liquidate assets at a reasonable price to fund redemptions for the schemes identified below is under severe stress and it is no longer possible for certain schemes of Franklin Templeton to generate adequate liquidity to fund daily redemptions. Accordingly, we wish to inform you, that the Trustees of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund in India have, after careful analysis and review of the recommendations submitted by Franklin Templeton AMC, and in close consultation with the investment team, voluntarily decided to wind up its suite of six yield-oriented fixed income funds, post cut-off time from April 23, 2020 (refer to Annexure I - link shared in comments) as they are of the considered opinion that an event has occurred, which requires these schemes to be wound up. This decision has been taken in light of the severe market dislocation and illiquidity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and in order to protect value for investors via a managed sale of the portfolio.Factors leading to Winding-Up:Extension of the lockdown leading to heightened redemption volumes andReduced inflows to unsustainable levels.Continuous redemption pressures in the backdrop of a severe dislocation in the corporate bond markets.Poor quality bonds from companies which are at high risk of defaulting on payments.Other options considered:As per the AMC, they had considered the possibility of only suspending redemptions until market conditions stabilize without winding up the schemes.However, various regulatory conditions for such a suspension under the current framework (e.g. a maximum suspension period of 10 working days and the requirement to honor redemptions up to INR 2L / day / investor) made this approach non-viable to meet the severe sustained impact of the current crisis.Link for FAQs (including various options considered) is shared in the commentsMajor Implications on Investors:Suspension of Purchase and Redemption: These 6 schemes are no longer available for subscription or redemption anymore. All SIPs, STPs and SWPs into and from the above-mentioned funds stand cancelled post cut-off time from April 23, 2020.Distribution of monies from Fund Assets:Post winding up of the schemes, the AMC and its Trustees will try for realization and liquidation of the underlying assets.They would try to explore opportunities to monetize assets through secondary transactions, once the market stabilizes.The AMC will try to make regular payments to investors from portfolio maturities, coupon and pre-payments, once the borrowings in the funds have been paid back. The details for payment process is mentioned in the Annexure II below:Tax Implication:The amount received by investors in the form of redemption of units would be taxed as capital gain / loss in the hands of investors depending on inter alia the period of their investment in the scheme.In other words, this being a debt fund, you would be taxed as Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) if you have held it for more than 3 years (20% post indexation), else Short term Capital Gains (tax as per your tax slab).As a goodwill gesture (or damage control), AMC has committed that it will not charge any management fees for the funds that are being wound up.However, expenses as permitted under SEBI regulation 52 will continue to be charged to the funds. These are generally in the nature of audit fees, custody fees, fund running expenses, etc.Further there will be no exit loads charged during the winding up.Also, quoting the AMC about their other funds:Franklin Templeton has a long history of over 25 years in India, with a third of our global employee strength based here. Our commitment to India, our investors and distribution partners remains steadfast.Franklin Templeton manages an additional 27 open ended, 24 close ended and 6 fund of funds schemes with approximately INR 50,000 Crore of AUM in fixed income, equity, hybrid, overseas, feeder and multi-asset schemes which are not impacted by the winding up process. We continue to manage these schemes in line with their investment mandate with a view to delivering superior investment outcomes for our investors.What would I do if I were an investor in other Franklin funds?Whenever a fund house suffers a drastic change, all its schemes tend to get impacted significantly.e.g. Nippon taking over Reliance AMC, DSP splitting from Blackrock etc. resulted in diminished returns over time.I would hold on to my existing equity funds and be very regular & careful in evaluating the portfolios.I would redeem all debt funds from the AMC. The trickle down effect can be dangerous. Also, since most investors would look at withdrawing, the liquidity concern will be very high, so better to exit early.I would not take any new positions in any of the schemes for a few months to see where it does and then take a call once everything settles back in.Going forward, I’d be very calculative before investing in any mutual fund. Better to consult a professional for a small fee rather than risk all your money.Franklin Templeton is one of the top 10 AMCs of the country. I am sure it will bounce back and be strongly back on its feet, but not sure when. And not at my expense.Attend the call in the morning (first image contains all details of the call) and understand what the AMC has to say.Suggestion:Be very careful while investing in the Mutual Funds in this volatile market.You can make a lot of money or lose most of it, by the simple choices that you make.Also, it is not bad to seek a professional advice, it does go all the way in the long run, helping you Grow Your Wealth OR reducing your losses.PS: Links for Annexure I and Annexure III (FAQs) in the comments.Happy Investing !!

I will just quote these articles for the sake of convenience for readers, reference links are provided at the bottom.The WireWho runs The WireFirst, lets look at the founders of The Wire –Siddharth Varadarajan, an American citizen of Indian descent, was earlier editor of The Hindu newspaper, a publication known for its Marxist/Maoist ideology anti-Hindu slant. Varadarajan is a known Modi-baiter in the Lutyens’ Delhi media ecosystem. His brother Tunku Varadarajan, a US-based writer and journalist, has also been called out for his vitriolic Hindu-bashing. His wife Nandini Sundar is a DU professor who has been accused of deep links with Maoist terrorists.Sidharth Bhatia is a journalist and writer based in Mumbai. He frequently disses the ‘Sanghi mind’ on twitter and cheers when history textbooks in California denigrate Hindu Dharma, or when our ex-colonial masters in UK plan to introduce a dangerous law against ‘caste discrimination’ that would pit Dharmic communities against one another.M.K. Venu is another ex-The Hindu journalist who shot to national fame in the infamous Radia Tapes episode that exposed the corrupt journalist-corporate-politician-bureaucrat nexus that was UPA’s gift to the country. Venu is also believed to have a role in the dubious infusion of funds to NDTV that is related to the ongoing bank fraud investigation against NDTV promoters.Is The Wire unbiased?Next, let us take an objective look at The Wire‘s claim to practice free and independent journalism. We have analyzed 24 Bharat-specific articles which have appeared on The Wire on 26 & 27 July – the list does not include aggregated articles published by news agencies like PTI.Our findings can be seen in the graph below –Other standouts of The Wire‘s coverage – near total lack of positive or balanced reporting of any act by the Modi Government, silence over Mamta Banerjee’s pandering to her Islamist votebank (on the contrary articles blame BJP for ‘communalizing’ the state), air-brushing CPM’s violent tactics to silent political opposition in Kerala (one article terms it as ‘Majoritarian Violence’ and absolves communist ideology chillingly stated by CM Pinari Vijayan), equivocation of the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits with the civilian deaths in J&K during the 27-year battle against terrorism.Who funds The Wire?It is reported that the 3 founders initially put in about Rs. 2 lakh each in the venture. Subsequently FIJ (the non-profit company that publishes The Wire) applied for a grant from the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation (ipsmf.org), a public charitable trust registered on July 1, 2015 in Bengaluru. FIJ received Rs 1.95 crore from IPSMF as a grant commencing August 2016. A second tranche of Rs 1.75 crore was received in March 2017, bringing the total funding from the IPSMF to Rs 3.7 crore.The Wire’s Science coverage is fully funded by specifically earmarked contributions from Rohan Murty, who made a first grant of Rs 50 lakh in December 2015 and a follow-up grant of the same amount in May 2017.The site also claims to receive donations from individual readers and unnamed well-wishers.IPSMF claims to support ‘public-spirited and socially impactful narrative in Indian journalism’. Its trustees are –1.) Ashish Dhawan – private equity investor and philanthropist. He is a Harvard and Yale alumnus. Founder of Central Square Foundation, a grant-making organization and policy think tank focused on transforming the quality of school education in Bharat. Spearheaded the launch of liberal arts university, Ashoka University. Serves on the board of several non-profits including Akanksha Foundation, 3.2.1 Education Foundation, Teach For India, Centre for Civil Society, Janaagraha (has links to Omidyar Network), India School Leadership Institute and Bharti Foundation.2.) CB Bhave – Chairperson of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), former Chairman of SEBI and NSDL3.) Dr. Ramachandra Guha – historian & writer. Widely known for his fiercely anti-RSS and pro-Nehru views.4.) TN Ninan – Chairman & Editorial Director of Business Standard, a business newspaper known for a fair share of Modi/Sangh baiting articles.IPSMF claims to have received donations from over a dozen individuals and charitable organizations. They claims that Donors wish to have no say in funding decisions taken by the Foundation, and have entrusted the Trustees to run IPSMF as an independent entity. Further, The Wire has put out a disclaimer that IPSMF does not take any legal or moral responsibility whatsoever for the content published by FIJ on their website The Wire: The Wire News India, Latest News,News from India, Politics, External Affairs, Science, Economics, Gender and Culture or on any of its other platforms. IPSMF donors, listed in alphabetical order are –1. Mr. Aamir Khan2. Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives Private Limited (Wipro’s philanthropic arm)3. Mr. Cyrus Guzder (logistics, courier business tycoon)4. Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Chairwoman of Biocon)5. Lal Family Foundation6. Manipal Education and Medical Group India Pvt Ltd (headed by CEO & MD Ranjan Pai, also has Mohandas Pai as Chairman of Board of one of the group companies)7. Piramal Enterprises Limited (large pharmaceutical company)8. Pirojsha Godrej Foundation (charitable trust of the Godrej group)9. Quality Investment Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai based investment company)10. Ms. Rohini Nilekani (wife of Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani who is also a member of member of Indian National Congress)11. Rohinton and Anu Aga Family Discretionary No. 2 Trust (charity arm of Thermax Ltd., the energy and environment engineering business)12. Sri Nataraja Trust (Chennai based NGO started by Lakshmi Narayanan, ex-CEO of Cognizant Technologies. This NGO also donates to ISKCON)13. Tejaskiran Pharmachem Ind. P. Ltd. (Mumbai-based chemical manufacturing company. Apparently has same registered address as Quality Investment Pvt. Ltd.)14. Unimed Technologies Ltd. (Gujarat-based pharma company)15. Viditi Investment Pvt. Ltd. (another investment company with same address as Quality Investment Pvt. Ltd.)So, apart from Aamir Khan, IPSMF is chiefly funded by a mix of big business & industrialists from sectors as diverse as technology, pharma, finance, manufacturing, education. Do these people know about the type of anti-business, pro-communist, Hinduphobic and lopsided journalism that The Wire propagates?Does big business in Bharat have no responsibility to ensure fair representation of Hindus in media? Or is it that the intellectual facade of IPSMF trustees such as Guha who has strong Hinduphobic views and socialist leanings, overpowers the better sense of our industrialists who are mindlessly funding a media outlet like The Wire which is actually pushing for a roll back to the disastrous Nehru/Indira/Sonia era of a statist, socialist, entitlement economy?Scroll. inScroll raises millions of dollars from Omidyar NetworkOn March 19, 2013 The Times of India reported that the US based philanthropic venture capital firm, Omidyar Network was going to invest millions of dollars into ‘independent media ventures’ in India.“US-based philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network is looking to invest $100-$200 million in for-profit and non-profit ventures in the country over the next 3-5 years. Founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the firm has invested $113 mn across 35 companies in India since 2010. Omidyar investments are focused around consumer internet and mobile, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, government transparency and property rights. The firm invests in firms where social impact is the unifying criterion for investments.[1]”In July, 2014 it was reported that Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News had raised millions of dollars in funding from the Omidyar Network [2]:“US-based digital publishing company Scroll Media Inc, which runs a digital daily under the name Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Omidyar Network, the philanthropic VC firm set up by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, with participation from New York-based Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF).[3]”So a global business giant interested in ‘philanthropic venture capital investment’ announces investment in ‘independent Indian media’ and a few months later it is the Hinduphobic digital daily Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News, which bags this lucrative investment. How did this come about? How did a start-up digital daily manage to receive massive funds from one of the biggest corporate organizations in the world?The information about the exact amount that was raised was not disclosed. The size of the deal was not made public. Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News, like other sponsored media ventures, is not open about its finances. But looking at the fact that Omidyar Network was looking to invest more than 200 million dollars, we can safely surmise that the sum is substantial.Instead of talking about the amount raised for Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News, Samir Patil opined that: “Our aim is to provide good quality content to readers across all platforms, including mobile and tablets. So, the funds will go towards enhancing our technology and increasing the pace of the editorial content. [4]” The phrase ‘Increasing the pace of the editorial content’ makes one remember that Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News pays its authors and editors ridiculously well.One wonders, why a far left digital daily in India is being funded by the owners of one of the biggest e-retailing websites in the world. What interest can the owner of eBay have in propping up ‘independent journalism’ in India?Omidyar NetworkOmidyar Network was founded by Pierre Omidyar, also the founder of eBay and many other for-profit ventures. He established Omidyar Network in 2004, a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets. Omidyar Network invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic, social, and political change. ‘Catalyzing economic, social and political change’ is a euphemism for bringing about political coups. It is virtually a coded phrase, which means that the firm will invest in legal and illegal political organizations, which will be able to topple legitimate governments abroad and will function as proxies of Omidyar and his co-players.Omidyar says that: “…the Omidyar decision is to build a brand new mass media entity from the ground up. The billionaire says, he is willing to sink at least the $250M… to get the effort going. [5]”The reasons given behind this new venture of philanthropic journalism: “Omidyar believes that if independent, ferocious, investigative journalism isn’t brought to the attention of general audiences, it can never have the effect that actually creates a check on power. [6]”A venture capitalist, an aggressive international businessman, who tried to buy out The Washington Postin an almost hostile takeover, opens a philanthropic venture capital firm Omidyar Network for ‘independent, ferocious and investigative journalism’? It beggars belief!A corporate lobbyist creates a media funding agency so that it could ‘create a check on power’? Such big money only creates new power centers, which then become pivots of corporate lobbying, whose main job is to bully governments, toppling them at will and leveraging political and academic stooges all around the world.How Omidyar helped topple the Ukrainian GovernmentApparently, this is what Omidyar Network has been doing all over the world. According to a news website Pando, the Omidyar Network contributed to the recent upheavals in the Ukraine and the Crimea:“In 2011, Omidyar Network gave $335,000 to “New Citizen,” one of the anti-Yanukovych “projects” managed through the Rybachuk-chaired NGO “Center UA.” At the time, Omidyar Network boasted that its investment in “New Citizen” would help “shape public policy” in Ukraine.[7]”The Omidyar Network itself has published a press-release regarding the funding of “Center UA”[8].It would help to remember that Yanukovych was a pro-Russian President of Ukraine. New Citizen was a Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News like venture of Ukraine, which constantly worked to create an atmosphere hostile to Yanukovych. Soon the President was toppled and Putin, fearing a U.S. satellite in his own backyard, moved in to invade and capture the Crimea and take away substantial area of Eastern Ukraine from the new pro-U.S. Central government.A government was toppled, an entire province was occupied and a country was sawed in half, thanks to the intervention of the ‘aggressive and independent journalism’, and ‘greater transparency’, which Omidyar had stated as the goal of his investments. He had said that the goal of his network was to build an independent media: “Using technology and media, New Citizen coordinates the efforts of concerned members of society, reinforcing their ability to shape public policy… With support from Omidyar Network, New Citizen will strengthen its advocacy efforts in order to drive greater transparency and engage citizens on issues of importance to them.[9]”Omidyar’s ‘philanthropic’ investments all over the WorldOmidyar also controls many organizations all over the world. According to reports, he is in control of Snowden cache and the only two people, who have access to Snowden[10]. Thus, he has silenced the potential threats to American security. Primarily, he keeps countries from forming strong governments.It seems that he is also funding activities for exposing the U.S. Government; however, he is the one who has controlled the exposure of the Snowden documents to the wider world. As Pando’s Paul Carr noted: “Omidyar and First Look have made statement after statement about how they aim to be a thorn in the side of the US government, and yet in several cases Omidyar has co-invested with that same US government to shape foreign policy to suit his own worldview.[11]”Omidyar is a close friend of whoever occupies the White House, as evidenced by his frequent visits to the Presidential Residence. “…Omidyar Network announced its co-investment with USAID in Ukraine’s Center UA—which described itself as an “active participant” in the Ukraine revolution earlier this year (in 2014)—as well as in pro-democracy groups in Nigeria, Chile and India.”One would do well to remember that USAID is one of the primary tools of the American government and corporate forces in their goal of breaking India. That Omidyar and his investment network are closely tied up with USAID shows how closely Omidyar is working with the clandestine overseas activities of the U.S. Government. The U.S. has been involved in many coups all over the world, toppling many governments, propping up many bloody dictatorships. In other huge democracies like India, they take the covert route, using agencies like USAID, and other NGOs, to foment revolutions and create trouble for strong central governments.In a way, Ryabachuk and his NGO worked exactly as Arvind Kejriwal worked in India. The amount of success that the two got subsequently is also the same and the disrespect of national boundaries and national concerns are also shared by them.Omidyar’s Investments in Indian Media and NGOsApart from funding New Citizen in Ukraine, Omidyar Network has funded many other organizations all over the world. In India too, Omidyar has invested in a wide variety of ventures like HealthKart and Quikr. But, it is in the NGO sector that Omidyar and his Nertwork has really spread its tentacles. He has funded ‘Akshara Foundation’, ‘Anudip Foundation’ and ‘Teach For India’. Teach For India has Nita Ambani on its board. Then there is “The Foundation for Ecological Security’ and ‘Sadhan’.One of the most famous of Omidyar’s beneficiaries is ADR (Association for Democratic Reforms), which also has the Ford Foundation as one of its donors. It works in the area of ‘electoral and political reforms’ and has a great power to galvanize public opinions during elections in India. One of the eminent personalities gracing ADR is the self-styled historian, Ramachandra Guha, who is also a writer at The Caravan magazine.Omidyar does this in the name of “philanthropic investment network” dedicated to “harnessing the power of the markets”. In an interview to David Carr of The New York Times, he was very clear that his venture, Omidyar was a ‘company not a charity’ [12]. “That’s part of the reason we are doing a general-interest site,” he told Carr, “to work on how we get a general-interest audience to become engaged citizens.”In the name of propping up ‘independent journalism’, in effect, what Omidyar is doing is to create a malicious nexus between the corporate and the media by blurring lines between them and turn media into nothing more than a tool of corporate lobbying, molding public opinion into whatever the biggest corporate wants.Similar Ventures in IndiaOmidyar Network is not alone among the philanthropic venture firms that are investing money in Indian media. Many Indian business houses have pledged their commitment to invest money in creating new ‘independent media ventures’. For this, a trust, The Independent and Public Spirited Media Trust (IPSMT) was set up in October, 2015. It was stated that this trust “will help fund independent and socially committed media ventures in India.[13]” We have already seen how independent these ‘independent ventures’ really are.An initial corpus of 100 crore has been set-up by some of the richest businessmen in India like Azim Premji of Wipro, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon Ltd. and Rohini Nilekani, wife of Nandan Nilekani, who is a member of the Congress Party and was previously with Infosys. So, some of the greatest corporate houses of India, all of which engage in regular corporate lobbying, and one person, who is a member of the Congress Party have come together to set up an ‘independent media venture’. Will IPSMT turn out to be a media branch of corporate lobbying of pro-Congress corporate houses of India? Only time will tell.Interestingly, some of the names that are involved in the list of beneficiaries of organizations funded by Omidyar, pop up in the list of trustees of IPSMT too. Hence, Ramachandra Guha is a trustee of IPSMT as well. Similarly, IndiaSpend-Journalism India |Data Journalism India|Investigative Journalism-IndiaSpend is funded by both Omidyar Network and by Rohini Nilekani, one of the contributors to IPSMT. It is said that The Wire is going to be funded by IPSMT as well. The Wire is another well-known Hinduphobic website.Stifling True DissentIf these efforts succeed on a big scale, the ultimate capitalist corporate nightmare will come true. No one will be powerful enough to defy the will of these corporate houses and their lobbying groups in the media. They will manufacture ‘dissent’ and mold public opinion in whatever direction they want.By managing ‘dissent’ they will make the masses believe in the causes they want them to believe in and thus fooling them that they are doing their public duty. By making the masses, the general-interest audience, believe that they are in fact ‘engaged citizens’; that they are being agents of political change, their ultimate goal is to control true dissent.Breaking India ForcesRajiv Malhotra in his brilliant book, Breaking India, explains how the nexus between the Churches, the western-funded NGOs, the Left-liberals and the Rightist religious fundamentalists all work together in India in order to bring down the majority and destroy their culture. They pick on one ‘social evil’ of India and often spinning imaginary stories about it, slander India’s and Hinduism’s name across the world.For example, these forces have made an industry out of ‘Dalit persecution’. They popularize few stray events, at times by blowing them out of context, and on the basis of the atrocity literature written on the subject, they collect charity funds, which are then diverted to Christian evangelism and other such activities in India. It is notable that the leading organizations of such ‘Indian issues’ are based either in the U.S. or Europe.Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News and its funding by Omidyar Network and other such agencies is a typical case of breaking India, wherein foreign forces with vested interests in keeping India weak are funding Indiaphobic and Hinduphobic organizations, including the media.The next part of this series will analyze the kind of Hinduphobic articles that Latest News, In depth news, India news, Politics news, Indian Cinema, Indian sports, Culture, Video News regularly publishes.Reference:Who runs & funds Hinduphobic, Bharat-bashing media like 'The Wire'? -How Scroll.in is part of Omidyar’s Breaking India Network | IndiaFacts

"Sam's Wonderland"Sean, Lingzhi, Sophia, Claire, Helen, Lemon and Luke. Over the past few weeks I have had the chance to talk with each of these students about their activities and accomplishments. They are an incredibly diverse group.Two of them showcased their work in a concert as a part of their distinguished majors programs in music. A number of them were designated award winners presented by one of the largest student groups at their university graduation dinner. One of them presented the findings of her honors thesis in the selective program called political and social thought. One of them, a studio art major, had her work on display as a part of a showcase; one of them served as the president of a major student group. One of them led the singing and celebration at one of the biggest social events of the year. One of them directed a play that sold out all the seats in 25 minutes. Another played a starring role in the same show. Some of them are graduating from their university. Some are going to Wall Street to places like Morgan Stanley. One will be going to Sloan at MIT for a Masters in Finance. One will be working for an NGO focused on health issues in Washington. It’s hard to imagine a group of students who display so many different skills, passions, and talents. All students I have just listed attend the same university in the US.I did, however, forget to mention one thing. All of them are from China. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. Many of the best students from China are coming to the US to pursue their education and long-term dreams. There are now well over 100,000 undergraduates enrolled in colleges and universities across the US. What often happens in the media, however, is that all these students are lumped together. Most stories about Chinese students focus on numbers: how many students, what are their average test scores, how many of them are enrolled at a specific campus. Occasionally there are stories of individual students, but not many. And some of the stories that focus on individuals underscore on how difficult it has been for them to adjust to the new culture in the US or how few of them immerse themselves in the life of the school. While I am not questioning the accuracy of these stories, they all too often leave out all the good news and all the exceptional things these students do in and out of the classroom.It’s a sad fact that stories about failures, disasters, and threats comprise what gets headlines and what people often follow. Fear is a guiding principle (as the horrid newsroom meme puts “it if it bleeds it leads”). I don’t quite wish we could do what John Rockefeller did back in the 1920’s-- have someone cut out all the bad news from the newspaper before he read it each day—as it is important to know what is going on in the world, but there needs to be more good news.What follows is a written form of a sound bite on about each of the students I mentioned above. Consider it my attempt to make your day better by giving some things to learn from and feel good about.Lemon Guo and and Sophia Shen are two exceptionally talented musicians. Their compositions incorporate the electronic innovations, while also echoing or incorporating traditional music from China. At their concert as a part of their distinguished music majors, they ended with a traditional song but with modern arrangements. It was magical for all of us in the audience."In a faraway land"Helen has a bright future ahead of her. She will be headed to JP Morgan this summer to begin her job there. While a student she served as mentor to younger students helping them adjust to a new culture but also providing them with advice about getting involved in the life of her university in ways that will challenge and change them. If you want to learn more about how she did this you can read my interview with her here.Phyllis Li And Sean Yu worked tirelessly to put on a production of a play that was a big hit in Beijing: Rhinoceros in Love. The play is funny, sad, and requires the cast to work both as an ensemble and individually. There are lost of soliloquies, some songs, and lots more. I would highly recommend anyone to see it. Phyllis is also a filmmaker and has been a part of some documentary projects that could make a big splash at Sundance and other festivals in the next year. Sean will be going to New York to begin a great job in the financial industry. His university honored him by getting to live in one of the historical rooms reserved for student leaders. He served as President of Mainland Student Network, a group that mentors students who are enrolling. In addition, they conduct interviews of prospective students to evaluate not just their speaking ability but also their ability to talk about their goals and activities. Both of them have bright futures ahead of them.SeanClaire has been a leader, mentor and friend to many. She has joined a Greek organization and is a part of the class trustees at her university. While these things demonstrate her immersion into the life outside the Chinese bubble that does happen at some schools that have thousands of students from China. What is even more impressive is the work she has done as a part of her major in political and social thought: Imagining the Future Through Demographic Lens: Challenges and Realities for China’s Aging Population. Her thesis examines the huge issues China will face caring for its ageing population. Several who have read it (including me) learned how important an issue is for the future of China. She is currently in discussions with people about getting it published. Her findings apply not just to China but also to all points around the globe. She will be taking her expertise on this issue to Washington DC to work for an NGO that focuses on this issue.Luke has managed to beat the odds. As an engineering student he learned a great deal about analytics and data. That is not all that usual, but he will be headed to MIT’s digital media lab this year after securing one of 8 spots on a research team. The average age of the other researchers is 27. He is the only person going directly from university into the program. He is all too modest about his accomplishments. He does say he earned his spot not by having the highest GPA (which is still quite good), but by having the skills and the ability to work well with others. He had to go through 8 interviews and as anyone knows him can attest, he has the soft skills that will make him a great person to work with.Lingzhi is the first studio art major from China to graduate from her university. Her work has earned high praise from her department and as the photo below and the one at the top of this entry show, she knows how to create beautiful and vivid images. As if this were not enough, Lingzhi also has learned how to tap into the Chinese markets for both art and investments. She earned enough from her investments this past year to pay back her parents for their ‘investment’ in her education (well over $100,000). Her business acumen and knowledge of art markets caught the attention of investors in and hedge funds in China. She has a job waiting for her after she completes a Masters in Finance at MIT’s Sloan School of business.With Lingzhi and her art at her opening***********************************************************************I could give a lot more short profiles to support my overall point that students from China are a diverse group. They come from different cities, backgrounds, schools and ethnic groups. Increasingly over the last decade, more and more students from China are choosing majors based on passion and interest rather than what parents or pundits say is the way toward economic success. Students are making documentaries, majoring in African American Studies, doing study abroad in Africa, Central America and more places all over the globe. To me at least, what all these students demonstrate is that they add significantly both to the global culture of a university but also contribute their individual experiences and interests that add diversity even if they happen to have the same country of citizenship. But at least some of the most selective schools keep the numbers of enrolling students from China to no more than a handful or two. At the most selective schools, the acceptance rate for students from China is far below the overall acceptance rate for other international and US students who apply to Ivies and other elite schools. I am not privy to the thinking about why some of the elite schools keep the numbers so low from the most populous country in the world, but at least one reason is the wish to spread the international mix of students from different countries. While I agree with the sentiment behind this, I think that at times at least, the desire to enroll a student from a country outweighs the abilities and diversity an individual student can bring from a country as diverse as China. The desire to demonstrate on a profile that schools enroll students around the world, in other words, may make it harder for the diverse group of student from China to get a chance to attend certain schools. Institutional priorities at some schools favor statistics that help them in their specific goals but at least some thought should be given to looking deeper than country of origin to determine those priorities.