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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Community News India Times January 07, 2022 10 Chicagoans Rally Support For Film Depicting Hindu Genocide In Kashmir U.S. To Allow Waiving Of In-Person Interviews For H-1B, Other Visas Through 2022 A mid the scenic, snow capped mountains of Kashmir a systematic genocide of Hindus has been taking place for more than 30 years. Now, filmmakers Vivek Agnihotri and Pallavi Joshi are telling the story of the forceful emigration of thou- sands of Hindus from Kashmir valley. A special impact screening of their film The Kashmir Files was organized in Chicago by the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora in collaboration with several area orga- nizations in Schaumburg on Dec 13. Agnihotri, a national award-winning producer and director who spoke about the film at the impact screen- ing underscored the relevance of Swami Vivekananda’s principles and their importance to world peace, diversity and human development. Joshi, who co-produced, directed and acted in the film shared the heart-breaking stories of the Kashmiri Hindus who expeorienced the rapes, murders and lynchings by Islamic gangs and were ultimately forced to leave their homes. “There was not a single interview which did not make me feel like crying. I realized that these people did not get justice and their stories were never even listened to, much less told,” Joshi said. Peggy Shapiro, executive director of Stand With US, an international and non-partisan Israeli organization dedicated to fighting misinformation and antisemitism, spoke at the event about the shared experiences of geno- cide and ethnic cleansing between Jews and Kashmiri Hindus. “There a photos and documentation which tell the story of genocide When you’re being murdered, rape and forced to leave it is indeed ethnic cleansing,” Shapiro said. Chicagoans were also given an opportunity to attend a full screening of the film on Dec 12 at Tivoli Theaters in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove expressed outrage at the central government and media who for the most part ignored the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Hindus in the early 1990s. “No information was available from newspapers and magazines. It was a complete failure on part of the cen- tral and local government and media at the time,” said Ajit Gandhi, a Chicago resident who saw the film on Dec 12. “Somewhere we are also blamed for it. Our families and parents were too busy finding resources. At the age of 40 years my family was homeless. My parents hid what happened from us and were overwhelmed with trying to find resources. This film is making me confident that I need to tell my stories. We can’t keep our children away for too long from this,” said another attendee who saw the film and identifies as a Kashmiri Pandit. Agnihotri and his wife have taken the film to more than eighteen cities across the US. Rakesh Malhotra, a Chicago area resident and founder of Five Global Values who helped lead the outreach effort in Chicago said the film is getting an unprecedented response, encourage- ment and support in every city. “It’s not only about the pain and suffering of thirty-two years, but is also a story of truth, patience, struggle, cour- age, resilience and determination. Exposing the truth will only pave the way for justice and accepting the truth will change the lives of millions and millions,” Malhotra said. The Chicago core teammembers Abhinav Raina, Nirmala Reddy, Soman Dhar, Hemant Patel and Amar Upadhyay who were also present during the event. The film starring veteran actors Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, and Anupam Kher will be released theatri- cally worldwide on 26 January 2022 India’s Republic Day. T he United States will allow its consular officers to waive in-person interviews for H-1B and other certain non-immigrant visa applicants through next year to help reduce visa wait times, the State Department said on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. “The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in profound re- ductions in the department’s visa processing capacity,” it said in a statement. “As global travel rebounds, we are taking these temporary steps to further our com- mitment to safely and efficiently reduce visa wait times while maintaining national security as our priority.” The consular officers will now be temporarily autho- rized to waive in-person interviews for nearly a dozen vvisa categories, including Persons in Specialty Occupa- tions (H-1B visas), visas for students, temporary agricul- tural and non-agricultural workers, student exchange visitors, as well as athletes, artists and entertainers. The full list of visa categories in which the appoint- ment now could be waived can be found at travel.state. gov. State Department also said it has extended indefi- nitely the authorization to waive the in-person inter- view for applicants renewing a visa in the same visa class within 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration. U.S. State Department in March 2020 had suspended all routine visa services in most countries worldwide due to the coronavirus outbreak. While the services have been reinstated with a limited capacity and on a priority basis, months-long wait times for certain visa appointments persist due to a massive backlog. By Urvashi Verma By Reuters Pallavi Joshi co-producer, director and veteran actress speaking to audience about the systemic genocide of Hindus at impact screening for The Kashmir Files on Dec 13 in Schaumburg, Illinois Peggy Shapiro, executive director of Stand With Us at impact screen- ing of The Kashmir Files speaking about the shared experiences of genocide between the Hindu & Jewish communities on Dec 13 in Schaumburg, Illinois National award winning director and producer Vivek Agnihotri speaking to audiences about his new film The Kashmir Files at an impact screen- ing held on Dec 13 in Schaumburg, Illinois Photo courtesyUrvashiVerma Photo courtesy:Dreamstime Photo courtesyUrvashiVerma