16
N ames of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia are missing from the guest list for the February 25 event when US First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to visit a Delhi Government school in the national Capital to watch “hap- piness classes” and interact with the students, sources said. The Delhi Government sources said the US Embassy communicated to the city administration on Saturday morning that the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia do not fig- ure in the list of invitees for the school event. When contacted, a US Embassy spokesperson referred the query to the Delhi Government on the matter. AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia have been dropped from the list at the behest of the BJP-led Central Government. “The BJP is claiming that it (Centre) did not ask the US Embassy to drop the names of Kejriwal and Sisodia from the list. The comments actually indicated that there is some- thing fishy,” Bhardwaj claimed. According to the original schedule, Kejriwal and Sisodia were to welcome Melania at the school and brief her about rationale behind introduction of “happiness classes” as well as the Delhi Government’s over- all reform initiatives in the edu- cation sector, officials said. “Names of Kejriwal and Sisodia have been dropped from the list of invitees. We do not know who will receive and brief the First Lady about hap- piness classes when she visits our school,” said a Delhi Government official. Turn to Page 4 A stretch of Shaheen Bagh Road Number 9, from Abul Fazal Enclave to Kalindi Kunj Junction, was opened by a section of the anti-CAA pro- testers on Saturday. It was one of the roads closed since December 15 when the anti- CAA protest began. “A section of the protesters opened the stretch that joins Abu Fazal Enclave to Kalindi Kunj Junction but after a few minutes, it was closed again by another group. Subsequently, the stretch was opened again by the protesters and it remains open,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) RP Meena said. Turn to Page 4 S upreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra on Saturday was all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and termed him as an “inter- nationally acclaimed vision- ary” and a “versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally”. Complimenting the PM and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for doing away with 1,500 obsolete laws, Justice Mishra said India is a respon- sible and most friendly mem- ber of the international community under the “stewardship” of Modi. Delivering the vote of thanks at the inau- gural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020 — “Judiciary and the Changing World” at the SC, he said “We thank the versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally, Shri Narendra Modi, for his inspir- ing speech which would act as a catalyst in initiating the delib- erations and setting the agen- da for the conference.” Turn to Page 4 J ust a couple of days before US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, confusion prevails over whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will accompa- ny the Trumps during their visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying Modi accompanying the Trump family to Agra is unlikely and reports attributing US officials stating otherwise. The Government sources said Modi will not accompany the US President and First Lady Melania Trump to see the Taj Mahal in Agra. Turn to Page 4 New Delhi: Around 500 peo- ple, mostly women, gathered near the Jaffrabad metro sta- tion in northeast Delhi on Saturday night in protest against the citizenship law and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), blocking a major road, leading to tension in the area. The women, carrying the national tricolour and raising slogans of “aazadi”, said they would not move from the site till the Centre revokes CAA. Turn to Page 4

ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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Page 1: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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Names of Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal

and his deputy Manish Sisodiaare missing from the guest listfor the February 25 event whenUS First Lady Melania Trumpis scheduled to visit a DelhiGovernment school in thenational Capital to watch “hap-piness classes” and interactwith the students, sources said.

The Delhi Governmentsources said the US Embassycommunicated to the cityadministration on Saturdaymorning that the names ofKejriwal and Sisodia do not fig-ure in the list of invitees for theschool event. When contacted,a US Embassy spokespersonreferred the query to the DelhiGovernment on the matter.

AAP spokespersonSaurabh Bharadwaj alleged thatthe names of Kejriwal andSisodia have been droppedfrom the list at the behest of theBJP-led Central Government.“The BJP is claiming that it(Centre) did not ask the USEmbassy to drop the names of

Kejriwal and Sisodia from thelist. The comments actuallyindicated that there is some-thing fishy,” Bhardwaj claimed.

According to the originalschedule, Kejriwal and Sisodiawere to welcome Melania at the

school and brief her aboutrationale behind introductionof “happiness classes” as well asthe Delhi Government’s over-all reform initiatives in the edu-cation sector, officials said.

“Names of Kejriwal andSisodia have been droppedfrom the list of invitees. We donot know who will receive andbrief the First Lady about hap-piness classes when she visitsour school,” said a DelhiGovernment official.

Turn to Page 4

��� ��������� �'���'()#

Astretch of Shaheen BaghRoad Number 9, from

Abul Fazal Enclave to KalindiKunj Junction, was opened bya section of the anti-CAA pro-testers on Saturday. It was oneof the roads closed sinceDecember 15 when the anti-CAA protest began.

“A section of the protestersopened the stretch that joinsAbu Fazal Enclave to KalindiKunj Junction but after a fewminutes, it was closed again byanother group. Subsequently,

the stretch was opened again bythe protesters and it remainsopen,” Deputy Commissionerof Police (South East) RPMeena said.

Turn to Page 4

���� �'���'()#

Supreme Court judgeJustice Arun Mishra

on Saturday was allpraise for PrimeMinister Narendra Modiand termed him as an “inter-nationally acclaimed vision-ary” and a “versatile genius,who thinks globally and actslocally”.

Complimenting the PMand Union Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad for doing awaywith 1,500 obsolete laws, JusticeMishra said India is a respon-sible and most friendly mem-

ber of the internationalcommunity under the“stewardship” of Modi.

Delivering the voteof thanks at the inau-gural function of theInternational Judicial

Conference 2020 — “Judiciaryand the Changing World” atthe SC, he said “We thank theversatile genius, who thinksglobally and acts locally, ShriNarendra Modi, for his inspir-ing speech which would act asa catalyst in initiating the delib-erations and setting the agen-da for the conference.”

Turn to Page 4

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Just a couple of days before USPresident Donald Trump’s

visit to India, confusion prevailsover whether Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will accompa-ny the Trumps during theirvisit to the Taj Mahal in Agraon Monday. Contrary versionsemerged from the Indian andAmerican sides on Saturdaywith sources in New Delhisaying Modi accompanyingthe Trump family to Agra isunlikely and reports attributingUS officials stating otherwise.

The Government sourcessaid Modi will not accompanythe US President and FirstLady Melania Trump to see theTaj Mahal in Agra.

Turn to Page 4

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New Delhi: Around 500 peo-ple, mostly women, gatherednear the Jaffrabad metro sta-tion in northeast Delhi onSaturday night in protestagainst the citizenship lawand the proposed NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC),blocking a major road, leadingto tension in the area.

The women, carrying thenational tricolour and raisingslogans of “aazadi”, said theywould not move from the sitetill the Centre revokes CAA.

Turn to Page 4

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Page 2: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

� What made you say yes tothe role?

The character, the storylineof course, the concept of theshow, and the backstory thatmy character had intriguedme the most. It was also aftermy meeting with the producersof the show Rajita Sharma andVivek Budakoti who are alsowriters of the show, that I wasthoroughly convinced to take itup. � Any similarities that youshare with your character?

The one similarity that Ishare with Neil Oberoi is beingpassionate about whatever Itake up in my field. While Neilis a very passionate cook, I amin real life passionate about myacting and whatever I showcaseon screen. So that way, mycharacter and I are very similarwhen it comes to our careers. � What should the audiencelook forward to in the show?

I am showcasing myself ina different genre after verylong, so that is something theaudiences should definitelylook forward to. Other thanthat the backstory that mycharacter has been unveilingthrough the course of the showhas been very interesting, andsomething that the audiencestoo would like to know moreabout. � From Remix to PatialaBabes, how has your journeybeen?

The journey has beenoverwhelming, amazing andone that I am extremely proudabout. Through the years I havegot to experiment with somany different genres, rolesand concepts, and as an actorthere is nothing better that Icould have asked for! � You have exploreddifferent genres and havedone variety of roles. How didthe transition happen?

Experimentation of course!Because as an actor if youdon’t experiment with and tryout new genres and mediums,you are never going to grow orlearn. And for me being diversewith my skills in such a field isextremely important.

� What was the mostchallenging role?

I have done so many rolesin the years gone by and to behonest all of them have beenchallenging. Every roledemands a different side of me,so each of them has actuallyhad me experience a differentchallenge altogether. � A change that you wouldlike to see in the industry foractors or other workingprofessionals?

I feel that our industryneeds to open doors to morereal concepts and storylines,specially with the youth oftoday who are always lookingout for new things to watch.There has to be a certainsection content which caters tothem, as they are our biggestcritics and the bright future oftomorrow. � Apart from acting whatelse keeps you busy?

Spending quality time athome with my family issomething I always lookforward to post shoot. � Upcoming projects?

As of now I am very caughtup with Patiala Babes, so that’sthe only thing I am working onat the moment.

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Amovie on gay relationships? Mostpeople would baulk at eventhinking about going to a film that

talks about LGBTQI community let alonewatch two men kiss each other not oncebut twice. Even though the Governmenthas decriminalised homosexuality bydeclaring Section 377 IPC asunconstitutional, the society has yet tocome to terms with the love same sex. Intheir mind, it is not normal love.

But like Ayushmann Khurana, whoplays Kartik, in the movie rightly said: Whatis normal? We have grown up on a diet tolove stories that talk about love between aman and a woman. We have grown up rotelearning Jack and Jill poem. Why did thepoem not talk about Jack and Johnny? Thisis the question that we should all be askingourselves. Fifty years back, nobody wouldhave thought that there would be a device

that allowed wireless communication. Buthere we are, totally dependent on oursmartphones. This is our normal today.People love their cat/dog. They leaveproperties to them. We call them crazy butdo we shun them? Why can’t love betweensame sex people be normal and why can’tfamilies accept it?

Like Khurrana’s character rightly says:Roz hume ladaayi ladni padti hai zindagimein par jo ladaayi parivaar ke saath hotihai woh saari ladaayi sabse badi aurkhatarnaak hoti hai.

Shubh Mangal... touches a cord that plusa cord like no other because it is one of thebest love stories that Bollywood has madein the recent past, the last being YehJawaani Hai Deewani back in 2013. If onlythe director, Hitesh Kewalya, had releasedthis film on Valentine’s Day because themovie is less about homosexuality andhomophobia and more about how twopeople who are in love should stay togetherrather be caught in a loveless marriage.

The banter and funny dialoguesbetween Gajrao Rao (Shankar Tripathi) and

Neena Gupta, his onscreen wife – Sunaina,among the family members, between Raoand Kartik is what makes Shubh Mangal…such a delight. What is even cuter andsweeter are the detailing that has gone intoKhurrana’s character. It is absolutelyimpossible to miss the nose ring, the pinkdupatta and the cape he wears whileproclaiming from the roof top that ShankarTripathi is a homophobic.

Then there are the brilliantperformances by the actors. Khurrana hasonce again proved that is a great actor. Hisdemeanor and expressions are bang on andsuch a delight to watch. He is the life andsoul of this movie. Then there is JitendraKumar who plays Aman Tripathi, Kartik’spartner who compliments Khurrana. Aspecial mention here for Rao, Gupta,Manurishi Chaddha and even MaanviGagroo. While Khurrana helms the movie,the rest of the starcast do their best andmake this such a delightfully cute love story.

However, if you are a homophobic, stayaway!

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There are a few genreson which Bollywoodshould never attempt

to make movies. First, ofcourse is comedy. Vir Dashas rightly said: Indianshave not learnt the art oflaughing at themselves.Second, and Bhoot: TheHaunted Ship, falls underthis category is horror.There was a time whenBollywood had someincredible horror moviesto its name like Mahal andBees Saal Baad. Thencame the era of RamsayBrothers. While thesemovies had the bhoot, itlacked the scare factor. Notthe spine-chillingexpression of teenageDamien in Omen.

One has to understandthat everything that goesbump at night and strangeclanking noise doesn’tconstitute horror. That iswhat ails this latest ghostmovie. Bhanu Pratap Singh

may have used a ghost shipto tell his story that alreadyhas a history of hauntingand the entire crewmysteriously committingsuicide, the creepy lookingghost or the victim it haspossessed and kept with itfor more than 10 years ismore on the lines that thebhoot needs psychiatrictreatment rather then beexorcised.

While Vicky Kaushalmay be the only saving graceof this sinking ship, the factremains why he chose to dothis film in the first placegiven that the storyline andthe script of this film is nota patch on the kind ofmovies Kaushal has pickedup in the recent past like Uriand Manmarziyaan. Sad thatAshutosh Rana who hasbeen in the industry formore than two decadeswould say yes to this project.

There are several loseends at the climax. If thedirector was looking at aBahubali: The Beginningkind of end, he failedmiserably.

Only see this one if youare a horror film fan.

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Page 3: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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Cleaning the Yamuna anderadicating water pollu-

tion in Delhi in the next fiveyears are the priorities of theDelhi Government,Environment Minister GopalRai said on Saturday after hevisited a Sewage TreatmentPlant (STP) located in DelhiGate.

"Yamuna River polluteddue to untreated sewage fromvarious water sources acrossthe city run straight into theriver, "There are around 35STPs across Delhi working oneliminating pollutants fromthese water bodies throughtechnologically advancedmechanisms," Rai said. "Theseplants are working on purify-ing untreated water, generatinggases that run these sewageplants, and extracting wastefrom the water which can bemade into compost for agri-cultural use. Our focus is sole-ly on eliminating water pollu-tion from the city," he added.

The newly-appointedEnvironment Minister also saidthat the treatment of Najafgarhand Shahdara drains is underprocess. These two drains con-

tribute about 60 per cent of thetotal pollution load being dis-charged into the river. Underthe treatment process, the DelhiGovernment is implementingthe Interceptor Sewer Project(ISP) in six packages underwhich the waste water flowingin these drains will be trappedand will be diverted to STPs fortreatment. The InterceptorSewer Project is likely to becompleted by 31st March thisyear, following which it willcome into operation.

The AAP Minister alsosuggested that close interactionbe held with DJB to ensure thatthe waste water trapped in ISP

will be treated to meet the stan-dards that were observed in theSTP situated at the Delhi Gate,where the treatment levels aremeeting BoD level 6-8mg/litres, less than 10 mg/literfor which it was designed.

"Our primary focus is oncleaning river Yamuna andeliminating waste from thelocal water bodies across thecity in the next five years, sothat effluents from these waterbodies are removed beforeflowing into the river. Once weare successful in achieving thisgoal, we will also work ondeveloping the riverfront of theYamuna," he added.

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Hundreds of schoolchildrenand parents demonstrat-

ed at the Jantar Mantar in thenational Capital on Saturdayagainst the rise in the prices ofbooks. Parents expressed dis-pleasure at the cost of books.Parents said the paper thatcame from outside for bookshas stopped, due to which theprices of copy and books areincreasing.

The demonstration alsosaw participation of severalpaper associations along withchildren and parents at Jantar

Mantar on Saturday. In the sit-in demonstration, the paperassociation said, "If you cannotgive jobs then at least don'ttake it away. Unemploymentwill somehow increase thecrime rate."

"Printing press in remoteareas uses the small machines,which will be shut down duethis import restriction, andthousands of people willbecome unemployed. Theserestrictions increase the rate ofpaper, which directly affect ourbusinesses, they said.

One of the protestersVinay Jain said, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi had

said to stop using the plasticbut some people conspiredand stopped the import ofpaper. Due to the ban onpaper, which is coming fromAmerica, the copy, booksbecame expensive because 80percent of the paper import-ed from America was used formaking school copies andbooks.

People involved in thedemonstration were holdingposters in their hands, whichread, "If books are expensive,how will daughters read". Alsoon some other posters it waswritten, 'Stop the black mar-keting of white paper'.

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Following the footprints ofnational parties in India,

the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),in its nation-building initiative,registered the membership of16 lakh people in a few daysafter Delhi Assembly polls.

According to Gopal Rai,senior AAP leader, the partylaunched a campaign onFebruary 11 under which it setup a phone number —9871010101. By giving amissed call on this numberpeople can join AAP's cam-paign.

Rai said 16 lakh people,including 1,72,269 in Delhiand 1,81,212 in UP, have joinedthe AAP using the phonenumber. The party will launcha mega campaign in 20 Statesfrom Sunday.

"The Aam Aadmi Partywill pursue the 'politics ofwork' across the country. Forthis, from February 23, theparty will start a campaign tojoin nation-building campaignin 20 states. As part of thiscampaign, Posters will be putup in 20 states and the missedcall number 9871010101 willbe displayed on the poster," Rai

told reporters. "Posters are being pre-

pared in different languages fordifferent states, so that peoplecan be easily reached throughlocal languages," he said.

Rai said in addition, vol-unteers' meet will also beorganised in all states.

"All our office bearers willhold press conferences in theirrespective states to spread themodel of positive nationalismand development which hascome up in Delhi, as the poli-tics of work got a place inDelhi," he said.

He also said coordinatorshave been appointed for dif-ferent states for this cam-paign.State coordinatorsinclude Lok Sabha MPBhagwant Mann from Punjaband AAP member Elvis Gomesfrom Goa.

The AAP registered alandslide victory in the high-stakes Delhi Assembly polls,leaving the main rival BJPway behind and decimating theCongress in a bitterly-foughtcontest. Since then the partyhas again started building anational ambition.

The AAP is, at present,recognised by the ElectionCommission as a state party.

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ADelhi court on Saturdaydismissed the plea of Vinay

Kumar Sharma, one of thefour death row convicts in theNirbhaya gangrape, claimingthat he is suffering from insan-ity, mental illness and schizo-phrenia. In court, Tihar author-ities termed as a bundle of dis-torted facts the claim bySharma that he is sufferingfrom mental illness.

Additional Session JudgeDharmender Rana rejected theplea by Vinay Kumar Sharma.The authorities told Additional

Sessions Judge Rana thatCCTV footage established thatthe convict, Vinay KumarSharma, had inflicted superfi-cial injuries on himself and wasnot suffering from any psy-chological disorder.

The psychologist, whoappeared on behalf of the jail,said regular medical checkupsof all four convicts were doneon a daily basis and they are allfine.

"These (convict's claims)are all a bundle of distortedfacts. Doctor attended to himand found there was an injury.They gave him medicine. All

injuries are self-inflicted andsuperficial in nature," the pub-lic prosecutor representing jailauthorities said.

"The medical records sayhe is not suffering from anysuch mental illness and hischeckup in any hospital is notrequired. He is under regularcheck by the jail doctor. Hetalked to his mother andlawyer. So it's wrong to say thathe is not able to recognisethem," he said.

The defence counsel saidthe convict has plaster on hishand that shows he has frac-tures and not superficial

injuries."Why did the jail conceal

the fact about his injuries fromthe court? Why are documentsnot being filed?" advocate A PSingh, appearing for the con-vict, asked.

However, the Tihar author-ities said "it's wrong to say hehad a plastered arm. It wasn'ta fracture. It was only a slabaround his hand."

According to prison offi-cials, Sharma injured himselfby banging his head on hisprison cell's wall in Tihar Jail.The incident happened in jailnumber 3 on last week on

Sunday afternoon, they said,adding that he got some minorinjuries and was treated at theprison premises.

The court had on February17 issued fresh death warrantsfor execution on March 3 at 6am against the four death rowconvicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.

It had issued fresh warrantsagainst death row convicts —Mukesh Kumar Singh (32),Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay (26)and Akshay Kumar (31). Thisis the third time that death war-rants have been issued againstthem.

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The Delhi Police has arrest-ed a man for allegedly

killing his gang member'smother-in-law over some fam-ily dispute. Police has alsorecovered one country-madepistol and nine cartridges fromthe possession of the accused.

The accused has been iden-tified as Ujjawal Dabas, a resi-dent of Delhi. According toPramod Singh Kushwaha, theDeputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), Special Cell, police hadreceived information andarrested Ujjawal on Wednesday

from Ladpur village. On February 14, a nurse of

a private hospital in PaschimVihar was killed in Mundkawhile she was returning homefrom the hospital. "Ujjawal andhis associates Ajit and Pankajshot dead the woman while shewas sitting in an e-rickshaw,"said the DCP adding that thevictim received five bulletinjuries and died on the spot.

"The accused fled from thespot in their car after killing theincident and later burnt thevehicle in Ladrawan village.During investigation, it is foundthat the victim had some dis-

pute with her son-in-law Pankajwho is a criminal," said theDCP.

"Pankaj suspected that hiswife terminated her pregnan-cy twice due to her mother.She also left him and startedresiding with her mother.Ujjawal also revealed that inearly February, his gangdemanded Rs 15 lakh from thesarpanch of Ladpur village asextortion. When the sarpanchrefused to pay, Ujjawal and Ajitopened fire at him," said theDCPn adding that efforts arebeing made to apprehend Ajitand Pankaj.

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Page 4: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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If you relish organic foods andproducts, then, it’s time to

head to the ongoing OrganicFood Festival at the JLNStadium. Kiwi from ArunachalPradesh, black wheat, pestosauce from Ladakh, chia seedscookies and apricot oil fromUttarakhand among a widerange of organic foods andproducts are available at thestalls put up by the womenentrepreneurs.

Union Minister for FoodProcessing IndustriesHarsimrat Kaur Badal andWCD Minister Smriti Irani

had jointly inaugurated the 3-day fest on Friday here aimingto promote women entrepre-neurship in the production aswell as processing of organicproducts. Over 180 womenentrepreneurs and SHGs areparticipating from over 25States and UTs with variedorganic products on display.

Badal said that while otherparts of world are making spe-cial efforts to turn towardsorganic production, India hasnatural advantages which mustbe leveraged. She further saidthat this organic festival can beof international scale in nearfuture.

New Delhi: The EnforcementDirectorate on Saturday con-ducted searches at around adozen locations in Delhi andUttar Pradesh in connectionwith its money launderingprobe against a Noida-basedfirm alleged to be involved in aponzi scam, officials said.

They said the raids arebeing conducted at about 12premises in Delhi, Noida andLucknow under the Preventionof Money Laundering Act(PMLA) in connection with the‘Bike Bot’ case. The searches areaimed to collect additional evi-dence and documents to takeforward the probe in the case,the officials said.

The Greater Noida-head-quartered Bike Bot taxi serviceis accused of duping �3,000 to�4,000 crore from 2.25 lakh

investors in multiple statesincluding Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthanand Haryana.

Over a dozen companyofficials including the chief ofBike Bot company, Sanjay Bhati,have been sent behind bars bythe Noida Police. A fewothers wanted in the case areabsconding.The GarvitInnovative Promoters Limited(GIPL) company in GreaterNoida had come out with multi-level marketing scheme “BikeBot” and lured investors with apromise of double returns in anyear.They sought �62,100 ininvestment for a motorcycletaxi and assured monthlyreturns besides double theinvestment amount in just oneyear but failed to deliver on thepromise, as per the police. PTI

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From Page 1Though there was no official reaction

from the Delhi Government on the issue, aseries of tweets by Sisodia, credited with edu-cational reform in Delhi schools, indicatedthe AAP dispensation’s unhappiness over it.

He said “happiness class” is “the solu-tion to all hate and narrow mindedness”.

“Education is meaningless without hap-piness. I am happy that Delhi Govt schoolsare showing a path to the world. And theworld is curious to know what we are doingin happiness class,” he said. Earlier in the day,the Deputy Chief Minister told reporters thatthe Delhi Government had received arequest about Melania’s visit to aGovernment school.

“If she (Melania) wants to come (to aGovernment school), we welcome her,” hesaid. An AAP functionary argued that inabsence of the Chief Minister and hisdeputy, who will brief Melania about the‘happiness curriculum’. “Delhi Government’shappiness curriculum has been laudedacross the globe. Who will brief MelaniaTrump if the Chief Minister and the Deputy

Chief Minister are not present during hervisit,” he asked.

Expressing anguish over exclusion ofnames of the two leaders from the event,Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson SaurabhBharadwaj said it has been a “protocol” and“convention” that the state leaders are pre-sent when any foreign dignitary attendsevents in their States.

He also alleged that the names ofKejriwal and Sisodia have been droppedfrom the guest list at the behest of the BJP-led Central Government. He referred to aPress conference by a BJP spokesperson toclarify the saffron party’s stand on the issue.

“If it (the Centre) has not asked it (theUS Embassy) to drop names of the CM anddeputy CM, then it could have simplyrequested the Embassy to include theirnames,” he said.

“Instead of asking the US embassy forthe same, holding Press conference by a BJPleader is a clear indication that it (BJP) isinvolved in the entire matter,” Bharadwaj saidwhen asked about the issue.

On Kejriwal not being part of the guestlist for Melania’s visit to the Delhi school, BJPspokesperson Sambit Patra said there

shouldn’t be any “low-level politics or pettypolitics” on issues which are of nationalinterest.

“India comes under disrepute if we startpulling each other’s legs. The ModiGovernment doesn’t influence the US, as towhom they invite or not,” he said.

The Delhi Government introduced thehappiness curriculum in July, 2018.According to the curriculum, studentsstudying in classes 1-8 at Delhi Governmentschools spend 45 minutes every day to attend“happiness classes” where they participatein activities like storytelling, meditation andquestion and answer sessions. Similarly, fornursery and kindergarten students, theclasses are held twice a week.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Governmenthas been spending a large chunk of its bud-get on education in the city in the last sev-eral years. In its last budget, the Delhi gov-ernment had set aside 25 per cent of its totalbudget for the education sector, perhapshighest among other States. Kejriwal ledAAP to a spectacular victory in theAssembly polls primarily riding on his devel-opment agenda including reforms in thehealth and education sectors.

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From Page 1The US President, his wife,

daughter Ivanka Trump andson-in-law Jared Kushner alongwith a large US delegation, arecoming to India on a two-dayvisit on Monday.

The Indian side’s reactioncame after a senior US admin-istration official, during a con-ference call with journalists,said, “The President will arrivein India, in Ahmedabad... ThePresident and the First Ladywill then go with PrimeMinister Modi to visit the Taj,in Agra. They will then fly toNew Delhi and rest overnightin New Delhi, and have a fullprogram on Tuesday.”

Denying this, sources saidhere, “We have seen mediareports regarding PM Modi’spresence in Agra in connectionwith the visit of PresidentTrump. The visit to the TajMahal in Agra by the USPresident and the First Ladywill afford them the opportu-

nity to view the historical mon-ument suitably. Therefore, noofficial engagements or pres-ence of senior dignitaries fromthe Indian side is envisagedthere.”

Modi will be with Trumpin Ahmedabad, where a publicreception will be accorded toTrump and the US First Ladyon February 24, and in theDelhi leg of the visit where offi-cial engagements are envis-aged on February 25,” they said.Modi and Trump will go on aroadshow to the world’s largestcricket stadium inAhmedabad’s Motera.

Among the many welcomegestures for the guests, a‘Trump platter,’ comprising sig-nature dishes from ITCMaurya’s restaurant Bukharahere with a little customisation,is likely to be laid out for thevisiting dignitary, sources said.The Bukhara restaurant, whichhas hosted several heads ofStates, including former US

presidents, has not altered itsmenu for the last 41 years.

Like his predecessors,Trump is likely to dine at theiconic restaurant. It will be cus-tomised according to his taste,they said. The hotel, however,has not revealed anythingabout the arrangements madefor Trump, including the food.

Barack Obama had visitedIndia twice in 2010 and 2015 asthe President and he was servedthe ‘Obama platter’. Since then,the dish has become a part ofthe menu and is also verypopular among the guests.

The Obama platter consistsof tandoori jhinga, machhlitikka, murg boti Bukhara andkebabs.

When Bill Clinton had vis-ited Bukhara as the president,the hotel had introduced“Clinton platter” and “Chelseaplatter.” Bukhara’s dishes aremainly tandoor-based and hasan assortment of kebabs, thesignature ‘Dal Bukhara’ and

breads like ‘Khasta Roti’,‘Bharwan Kulcha’.

Trump is also likely to begifted an apron with a paintingof MF Husain. Legend has itthat Husain was so impressedwith Bukhara that he paintedhis trademark horse on his can-vas while having food at therestaurant.

This trademark horse hasbeen replicated on the apronsthat are given as mementos tothe guests. These aprons willalso be presented to theTrumps, the sources said.

When Obama had stayedat the ITC Maurya in 2015, hewas served food from thehotel’s roof top Europeanrestaurant WestView where hedined with top CEOs fromIndia and US on January 26.The dinner was hosted at theGrand Presidential Floor. FirstLady Michelle Obama chose toexperience the famed Bukharacuisine and had a private din-ner with select members.

����������������������������������������From Page 1

Justice Mishra, who is thirdin seniority in the apex court,expressed gratitude to the PMfor inaugurating the confer-ence.

He said India is the biggestdemocracy in the world and“people wonder how thisdemocracy is functioning sosuccessfully”.

“India is a responsible andmost friendly member of theinternational communityunder the stewardship of inter-nationally acclaimed vision-ary Prime Minister ShriNarendra Modi,” he said.

“India is committed toconstitutional obligations anddedicated to a peaceful andsecure world, free from terror-ism. In the process of develop-ment, preservation of envi-ronment is consideredsupreme,” he said.

Justice Mishra emphasisedon the need to strengthen thejudicial system saying, “Nowwe are in the 21st century. Weare looking for modern infra-

structure not only for the pre-sent but also for future.

“To strengthen judicial sys-tem is the call of the day as itis the backbone of democracywhereas legislature is the heartand executive is the brain. Allthese three organs of the statehave to work independently butin tandem to make democra-cy successful...”.

Referring to globalisation,he said, “but there is growingconcern among masses ofbeing left out and deprived ofthe gains of globalisation”.

“The sense of injustice andinequality being created by thesame looms large on us,” hesaid, adding, “It has to betaken care of by all of us alikebefore it becomes lethal likecoronavirus”.

He also referred to thecontribution of an independentand robust bar and said thereis no denying the fact that “baris the mother of judiciary”.

Judges from over 20 coun-tries are attending the confer-ence here.

����������� ���������������� ������������� From Page 1

The opneing of KalindiKunj road number 9 will madeit easy for commuters to ply toand from from Noida, saidresidents. However, the DelhiPolice and the Noida Policewere continuing to barricade itfrom one side. The develop-ment came after three days oftalks between the SupremeCourt-appointed interlocutors— senior advocates SanjayHegde and SadhanaRamachandran — and the pro-testers over the issue of diffi-culty to commuters due toblocking of roads.

According to the police, theprotesters briefly opened asmall portion of a road leadingto Kalindi Kunj so that localscan pass through it with theirtwo wheelers. The NoidaTraffic Police, however, alsocontinued the restrictions onthe Uttar Pradesh side of theroad, an official told PTI.

“It was being allegedrepeatedly that the protestors

have blocked the Kalindi Kunjroad, which leads to NoidaSector 37. So, today it wasdecided that this allegation hasto be done away with and theroute was opened," Sonu Warsi,a protestor, said. "The decisionwas also taken to give a gift tothe Supreme Court-appointedinterlocutors, whose interactionand mediation has helpedreopen the case. We haveopened the road and it is nowup to the Delhi Police and UPpolice to decide which vehiclesthey will allow," he added.

After the talks on Friday,Hegde had said the protesters,in principle, were not funda-mentally against opening ofthe non-protest side of theroad if their security could beguaranteed in writing by theDelhi Police under suitableorders of the apex court.

"We will not be holding apublic interaction tomorrowto enable the protesters to cometo an independent conclusionas to the way forward. We willreturn on Sunday only if wedeem it necessary and feasibleto do so," he had said.

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At a time when the whole ofSouth India was shocked by

the act of a mother in Kannur ofKerala who murdered her 18-month-old boy-child so thatshe could live with her para-mour, here comes the heartrending story of a mother’s loveand affection for her 18-month-old ‘child’ who died accidental-ly. The incident did not takeplace in the civilised world ofhuman beings but in deepforests of Gudalur Forest Rangein the Nilgiris.

Forest officials have beenmoved by the tragic story of amother elephant’s attachment

with its first-born calf which fellinto a swamp and died despitethe efforts of the elephant herdto pull it out of the dangerousarea. The calf died last Sundayand since then the mother ele-phant and other pachyderms inthe heard are standing guard tothe carcass. The elephants, espe-cially the mother elephant, donot allow anyone to go near theswamp where the carcass islying,” said G Ramakrishnan,Range Officer, Gudalur, toldThe Pioneer over phone fromPadanthorai.Ramakrishnan saidefforts are underway to removethe herd from the spot where thecarcass is lying because there arepossibilities of the elephantsdeveloping infection from the

carcass. “We have deputed fivepersons to distract the attentionof the elephants and by Fridaynight, four of the elephants in theherd have left the spot andwent back to the interior forest.Now we are trying to remove themother elephant too from thespot. The unique bondagebetween the mother and the calfis because of the fact that thebaby is the first child to be deliv-ered by the young mother,” saidRamakrishnan.

He said the elephants havenot attacked anyone till now.According to a seniopr forestofficial, the incident serves as aproof that the mother-childbondage is one and the same inhuman beings as well as animals.

Mumbai: India remained pro-tected from novel coronavirusdue to its robust health sur-veillance system, Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan saidhere on Saturday.

He also hailed qualifiedhealth professionals for "resist-ing" the Ebola, Nipah virus andSwineflu in the past.

Speaking at the foundationstone laying ceremony of theAcademic and AdministrativeBuilding of the InternationalInstitute for PopulationSciences (IIPS) here, the HealthMinister said India is now in aposition to achieve the WorldHealth Organisation’s (WHO)‘Health for All’ goal and to

form a healthcare model thatcan be emulated by other countries.

He said the doctor-to-pop-ulation ratio will also be as perWHO standards.

"India’s robust health sur-veillance system has been ableto stall novel coronavirus fromentering the country. Similarly,Ebola, Nipah virus, Swinefluwere also resisted by qualifiedhealth professionals in thecountry in the past," HarshVardhan said.

Speaking about theachievements in the Healthsector, Harsh Vardhan said thenumber of medical and post-graduation (PG) seats has been

significantly increased."The number of AIIMS

has gone up from 6 to 22.Ayushman Bharat scheme hasbeen started along with tertiaryhealthcare. Health and wellnesscentres and preventive health-care centres have also been setup," Harsh Vardhan said.

The minister underlinedthat not a single woman shoulddie of pregnancy and no childshould go without vaccines.

"Besides eradication of TBand Kala-azar, zero deaths dueto diarrhea, control and elim-ination of deaths due to Malaria

are also important goals of thegovernment," he said.

Speaking about IIPS, HarshVardhan said the name of theprestigious institute oftenappears in health surveys, andthat researchers and studentspassing out from the IIPS hard-ly remain unemployed. "Rathermany of them work for the UNand other reputed organisa-tions," he added.

Harsh Vardhan further saidthe country can reap the richdividends from these brightminds and urged them to givesomething concrete to thecountry as per its needs.

"Many milestones havebeen achieved in the health sec-

tor under the leadership ofPrime Minister Narendra Modiwho wants to deliver a NewIndia by 2022. However, the lastmile is yet to be reached," headded.

He urged researchers andyoung professionals to come upwith innovative, out-of-boxideas to resolve the unresolvedissues in the healthcare sec-tor.As part of the Centre’sefforts to management of NovelCoronavirus (COVID19),21,805 passengers have beenbrought under community sur-veillance. In addition, 3,97,152flight passengers and 9,695travellers at sea ports havebeen screened. PTI

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0�����*1,�� ���#��Patna: BJP national president JP Nadda onSaturday called on Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar, his counterpart in the JD(U), and isunderstood to have discussed among otherthings the State polls due later this year.

Accompanied by national general secretaryBhupendra Yadav, Deputy CM Sushil KumarModi and state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal,Nadda met the Chief Minister at his official res-idence here. JD(U) is an NDA ally running acoalition government in Bihar.

The assembly polls, to be held by November,are of vital importance for the coalition led bythe BJP, which has been sore after drubbings inDelhi and Jharkhand besides an unexpected set-back in Maharashtra. Nadda shared pictures ofhis meeting with Kumar — which lasted for over30 minutes — on his Twitter handle and hailedthe chief minister’s leadership of the NDA inBihar for having "ensured all-round development

of the state".The NDA, which in Bihar also includes Ram

Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, had put upits best-ever performance in the Lok Sabha elec-tion last year wherein it grabbed 39 out of the40 seats and established leads in over 220 outof the 243 assembly segments.

Nadda earlier in the day addressed a meet-ing of the party’s 14-member core committee,which included Union ministers like GirirajSingh, Nityanand Rai and Ashwini KumarChoubey.

A disparaging remark by veteran RJDleader Jagadanand Singh about the meetingbetween national presidents of the BJP and theJD(U), however, left the saffron party fuming.

Singh, who heads the RJD’s state unit,likened the two parties to lame persons tryingto overcome the deficiency by tying up. PTI

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From Page 1The women have

blocked road No. 66which connectsSeelampur to Maujpurand Yamuna Vihar.Traffic was also blockeddue to the suddenprotest at the site. Socialactivist Faheem Baigsaid there is a resent-ment within the peopleagainst the way theGovernment is han-dling the issue. ShamimAhmed, a local cleric,was in talks with theprotesters at Jaffrabadto persuade them toleave the site. A protestis already going on nearthe main Seelampurroad and Kardampuriagainst the CAA.

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Page 5: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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As India and China indulgedin blame game on an IAF

plane not getting permission toevacuate Indians from thecoronavirus-hit regions there,New Delhi on Saturday issueda fresh advisory asking flyers toavoid non-essential travel toSingapore. It also said screen-ing at airports is now beingplanned for flight passengerscoming to India fromKathmandu, Indonesia,Vietnam and Malaysia fromMonday.

India’s assertion that Chinawas “deliberately delaying”permission to the IAF planewas refuted by the Chineseembassy. Official sources saidJapan, Ukraine and Francehave been allowed to operateflights between February 16and 20 but India’s request has

not been approved. An IAF transport plane

C-17 is yet to fly to China tobring back Indians and carryrelief material for people affect-ed by coronavirus there.However, a Chinese embassyspokesperson said the currentepidemic situation in Hubeiprovince is complicated, andthe prevention and control ofCovid-19 has entered into acritical stage. “There is no suchthing as China deliberatelydelaying granting flight per-mission,” spokesperson Ji Rongsaid.

India was to send its mili-tary transport aircraft toWuhan, the epicentre of thecoronavirus outbreak, onFebruary 20 but the planecould not take off as permis-sion was not granted.

Sources said, Indiannationals stuck in Wuhan are

waiting to be brought backhome and the uncertainty overevacuation is causing themmental stress and anxiety. Theaircraft was to carry a largeconsignment of medical sup-plies to China and bring backmore Indians from Wuhan.

Sources said, while theChinese side continues tomaintain that there was nodelay in granting permissionfor the flight to go, the clear-ance has ‘inexplicably’ not beengiven.

In a letter to President XiJinping earlier this month,Prime Minister Narendra Modiconveyed India’s solidarity tothe people and Government ofChina in meeting the challengeof the coronavirus outbreakand offered to provide assis-tance to the country.

India then put togetherrelief supplies in pursuance of

Modi’s commitment as a tokenof India’s solidarity, particular-ly in the 70th year of theanniversary of diplomatic rela-tions between the two coun-tries.

“These supplies have beenoffered even as India faces

tremendous shortage itself,given our ethos of helping oth-ers in their hour of need,” saida source aware of the issue. Therelief items include gloves, sur-gical masks, feeding pumpsand defibrillators based on therequirements as indicated by

the Chinese side.“The Chinese side

always attaches greatimportance to thehealth and safety ofIndian nationals inChina, and providedassistance and conve-nience for the return ofIndian citizens,” Ji fur-ther said in reply to thequery.

“We are carefullyassessing the groundsituation, as preven-tion work requires.Competent depart-ments of the two

countries are keeping com-munication and coordinationin this regard,” she said.

India’s national carrier AirIndia has already evacuatedaround 640 Indians fromWuhan in two separate flights.According to estimates, over

100 Indians are still living inWuhan.

Indian nationals in Wuhancontinue their long wait for theflight. The delay is causingthem and their family membersin India tremendous mentalanguish, said the sources.

They said relief and evac-uation flights from other coun-tries including by France areallowed to operate by Chinabut the permission has notcome through in India’s case.

“Are they not interested inIndian aid provided as ourtoken of support? Why are theycreating roadblock in evacuat-ing our nationals from Wuhanand putting them under hard-ship and mental agony?” saida person aware of the issue.

On February 17, India hadannounced that it will send C-17 Globemaster, with medicalsupplies to Wuhan, and bring

back its nationals as well as cit-izens from all neighbouringcountries.

As regards the travel advi-sory, currently, passengers fromChina, Hong Kong, Thailand,South Korea, Singapore andJapan are screened at 21 desig-nated airports in the countryfor a possible exposure to thenovel coronavirus. Universalscreening at airports is nowbeing planned for flights fromKathmandu, Indonesia,Vietnam and Malaysia fromMonday, the health ministrysaid. The decision was takenduring a review meetingchaired by the CabinetSecretary to take a stock of thestatus, actions taken and pre-paredness of states and UnionTerritories regarding manage-ment of novel coronavirus hereon Saturday, the Ministrysaid.

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Several advertisements featuringcelebrities like cricketer Mahendra

Singh Dhoni, Bollywood star AjayDevgan, actress Shilpa Shetty havebeen found to making misleadingand false claims.

Bollywood star Ajay Devgn’s adfor Dabur Babool Ayurvedic Pasteand Hindustan Unilever’s (HUL)campaign for Rexona Whiteningwere among the marketing effortsfound as “misleading”. Similarly,cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s adfor Orient Electric found misleadingby Advertising Standards Council ofIndia (ASCI).

According to ASCI, the Daburcampaign on television and Youtubehad a message in Hindi which allegesthat ordinary white toothpastes arecheating consumers and the cheatingwill stop by using its toothpaste. “Theadvertisement featuring celebrityAjay Devgan was considered mis-leading. The advertisement also den-igrated the entire category of “calci-um containing white” toothpasteswhile implying superiority of theirayurvedic toothpaste,” it said.

In the case of HUL, an ad forRexona Whitening Roll-On in

Bengali claimed the product canhelp get rid of dark underarms in fivedays was “ inadequately substantiat-ed and misleading”, the ASCI state-ment said. Reckitt BenckiserHealthcare campaign for ‘MoovAdvance Diclofenac Gel’ with claimsof being ‘#1 Doctor recommendedactive for acute pain relief ’ was alsoconsidered misleading, it said.

Orient Electric’s advertisementhaving legendary cricketerMahendra Singh Dhoni was found tobe “misleading by implication”. “Itwas observed that while the adver-tisement claims to have ‘flicker con-trol technology’, it visually depicts ‘noflicker’ or absence of any flicker,”ASCI said on Orient ad. The adver-tisement’s claim “Livfast Inverterand batteries have 25% faster charg-ing and provides 25% extra backup”featuring cricketer Dhoni was alsoinadequately substantiated.

Taking a strong note of mislead-ing advertisements on Television,Print, Youtube and other social mediaplateforms, the ASCI has probedcomplaints against 408 and upheldcomplaints against 248 while 137were promptly withdrawn by theadvertisers.

A television ad shows a police-

man riding the Platina with a barberriding pillion and shaving the police-man. The entire act was put up toshowcase the ride comfort of thevehicle with the narrative of a‘Makhkhan Jaisi Ride’ concept. “It wasobserved that the protagonist - apoliceman in uniform who himselfshould be abiding by traffic rules,shown performing such stunts wasinappropriate. The TVC shows dan-gerous practices, stunts in normaltraffic conditions which manifests adisregard for safety,” it said.

A complaint against a drama ser-ial promo indicating the protagonistdoing self-harm by stifling her neckwith a cloth (duppata) was alsoupheld. “The drama serial’s promocontains a specific visual of thefemale protagonist stifling her neckwith a cloth (duppata) and then turn-ing her body in upside down position.Such visuals shows a dangerous act(indicative of self-harm) with a dis-regard for safety and it is likely toencourage minors to emulate such anact which could cause harm orinjury,” ASCI added. VLCC HealthCare’s print and television ad claim‘Add figure to your shape in just onesession’ was not substantiated withtreatment efficacy data, it said.

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The ‘Savarkar DarshanPratishthan’ has demanded

‘Bharat Ratna’ for freedom fight-er Veer Savarkar. The organisationannounced a two-day All IndiaConference starting February 26on Savarkar’s life, thoughts, ideasand philosophy titled— ‘AkhilBharatiya Swatantrayvir SavarkarSahitya Sammelan’ where thedemand for Bharat Ratna will bemade in the presence of severalUnion Ministers including HomeMinister Amit Shah.

The objective of the confer-ence is to highlight the relevanceof Savarkar’s thoughts in presentcontext. “His persona and deedsare incomparable in the history ofmodern India. His commitmentto the cause of freedom struggleand ideological perspective hasmade him a great person. He wassource of inspiration for millionsof freedom fighters of India,” saidRavindra Sathe, Secretary,

Savarkar Darshan Pratishthan inthe presence of former governorof Gujarat and Madhya Pradeshand president organising com-mittee, OP Kohli.

BJP President JP Nadda willbe the Chief Guest at theInaugural session on February 26and the session will be presidedover by Union Minister NitinGadkari. Tourism MinisterPrahlad Patel will be Guest ofHonour in the programme andvaledictory address will be givenby Home Minister Amit Shah onthe concluding day on February27.

“Now, it is the time to under-stand and propagate ideas,thoughts and contribution of VeerSavarkar. This national conven-tion will certainly help not only tounderstand him better but his phi-losophy as well,” said Dr SanjeevTiwari, Joint Secretary, OrganisingCommittee. He said the organi-zation will demand for a BharatRatna for Savarkar.

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The Centre has dismissed ManipurUniversity Vice Chancellor Adya

Prasad Pandey following complaints offinancial and administrative irregulari-ties.The Human Resource Development(HRD) Ministry on Friday dismissedPandey after in an inquiry report he wasfound indulging in “financial and admin-istrative irregularities, including mis-conduct, dereliction of duties, abuse ofpower and lack of commitment, causinggreat harm to the academic environmentand bringing the varsity into disrepute”.Pandey was placed under suspension in2018 after violent protests erupted on thevarsity’s campus which led to prolongedshutdown of the institute.

“The President of India, on consid-eration of facts and materials available onrecord and reply submitted by AdyaPrasad Pandey... In exercise of the powerconferred upon him in terms of sections13 of Manipur University Act, 2005, hasbeen pleased to dismiss him from his postwith immediate effect,” the HRD Ministryorder stated.

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In an apparent attack on the rulingBJP at the Centre, former Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh onSaturday said that nationalism and theslogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are beingmisused to construct a “militant andpurely emotional” idea of India thatexcludes millions of residents and cit-izens.

Addressing a gathering at thelaunch of a book on Jawaharlal Nehru’sworks and speeches, Singh said that ifIndia is recognised in the comity ofnations as a vibrant democracy and, ifit is considered as one of the impor-tant world powers, it was the firstPrime Minister, who should be recog-nised as its main architect.

Nehru had led this country in itsvolatile and formative days when itadopted a democratic way of life,accommodating divergent social andpolitical views, Singh said. India’s firstPrime Minister, who was very proudof Indian heritage, assimilated it, andharmonised them into the needs of anew modern India, he said

“With an inimitable style, and a

multi-linguist, Nehru laid the foun-dation of the universities, academiesand cultural institutions of ModernIndia. But for Nehru’s leadership,independent India would not havebecome what it is today,” Singh said.

“But unfortunately, a section ofpeople who either do not have thepatience to read history or would liketo be deliberately guided by their prej-udices, try their best to picture Nehruin a false light. But I am sure, historyhas a capacity to reject fake and falseinsinuations and put everything inproper perspective,” he said.

The book ‘Who is Bharat Mata’contains selections from Nehru’s clas-sic books Autobiography, Glimpses ofWorld History and the Discovery ofIndia; his speeches, essays and lettersfrom pre and post independenceyears; and some of his most revealinginterviews. It was first brought out inEnglish and now its Kannada transla-tion has been released.

“It is a book of particular relevanceat a time when Nationalism and theslogan of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ are beingmisused to construct a militant andpurely emotional idea of India that

excludes millions of residents and cit-izens,” he said.

Singh also extensively quotedNehru, saying he had asked, “Who isthis Bharat Mata?, whose victory youwish?”

“The mountains and rivers, forestsand fields are of course dear to every-one, but what counted ultimately is thepeople of India... Spread out all overvast land,” Singh quoted Nehru as say-ing.

Nehru makes a very significantand time relevant remark on the dan-gers of leadership falling into a trap andgetting removed far away from thecommon people whom they are sup-posed to serve, Singh said. “Conceit,like fat on the human body, growsimperceptibly, layer upon layer and theperson whom it affects is uncon-scious of the daily accretion.

Fortunately, the hard knocks of amad world tone it down or evensquash it completely, and there hasbeen no lack of these hard knocks forus in India. The school of life has beendifficult one, and suffering is a hardtask master,” he quoted Nehruo as saying.

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Aday after MaharashtraChief Minister Uddhav

Thackeray met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and gave athumbs up to the amended cit-izenship legislation, Congressleader and former UnionMinister Manish Tewari onSaturday said Thackerayrequires a briefing onCitizenship Amendment Rules— 2003. Thackeray had alsocalled on Congress chief SoniaGandhi where the controversialCAA was discussed.

“CM Maharashtra UddhavThackeray requires a briefingon CAA — 2003 to understandhow NPR is basis of NRC.Once you do NPR, you cannotstop NRC. On CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA), heneeds to be reacquainted withdesign of Indian Constitutionthat religion cannot be basis ofCitizenship,” he said.

Thackeray’s stand on theCitizenship Amendment Act

(CAA) and NationalPopulation Register (NPR) hasbecome a bone of contentionamong the allies inMaharashtra, as the Congressand the NCP are opposed tothe measures.

Tewari’s remarks came aday after Thackeray met Modiand said that nobody shouldfeel threatened by the CAA orNPR as these measures are notmeant to drive away anyonefrom the country.

Thackeray made theremarks at a Press conferenceheld after his meeting withPrime Minister on Friday, thefirst after he took over as theChief Minister. “We discussedCAA and NPR,” Thackeraysaid, adding he has come to

understand the role of theCentre in the NRC.

Accompanied by his sonand a Minister in his Cabinet,Uddhav met Sonia and helddiscussions on the currentpolitical situation and CAA-NPR-NRC. This was the firstmeeting of Thackeray withSonia Gandhi after the forma-tion of the coalition govern-ment in Maharashtra. AICCgeneral secretary in-charge ofMaharashtra MallikarjunKharge and Shiv Sena leadersAaditya Thackeray and SanjayRaut were also present duringthe meeting.

The meeting came soonafter Thackeray asserted thatone does not have to fear theCAA and no one will thrownout of the country due to NPR,soon after meeting Modi. Hesaid an atmosphere is alsobeing created in the countrythat the National Register ofCitizens (NRC) is dangerouspeople have to queue up toprove their citizenship.

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New Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Saturday said1.3 billion Indians have disregard-ed apprehensions and “whole-heartedly” accepted recent criticaljudicial verdicts which were sub-jects of global discussion.

Speaking at the inaugural func-tion of the International JudicialConference 2020 – ‘Judiciary andthe Changing World’ at theSupreme Court, Modi spoke aboutrecent crucial judgements, in anapparent reference to path-break-ing verdicts including in the polit-ically-sensitive Ayodhya case.

The Prime Minister said nocountry or society in the world canclaim to achieve holistic develop-ment without gender justice andreferred to laws on transgenders,‘triple talaq’ and on the rights of‘Divyang’ (persons with disabili-ties). He said the government hasalso taken steps to give rights towomen in military service and inproviding paid maternity leavefor 26 weeks. He also hailed theIndian judiciary for redefiningenvironmental jurisprudence tostrike a balance between develop-ment and ecological protection.

Modi, while emphasising onthe use of technology and the inter-net, said it would help in proce-dural management of courts and

would benefit the justice deliverysystem to a large extent.

He also referred to synchroni-sation of artificial intelligence withhuman wisdom and said it wouldbring “speed to delivery of justice”.

“In addition, in the changingtimes, issues like data protection,cyber crimes pose new challengesfor the judiciary,” he said in hisinaugural address.

“In recent times, there havebeen some critical judicial judge-ments and decisions which havebeen the subject of global discus-

sion. Before these judgements weredelivered, several apprehensionswere being expressed about theconsequences. But look what hap-pened! 1.3 billion Indians whole-heartedly accepted the judicialverdicts,” Modi said.

He said it is going to be adecade of remarkable changesacross the world which will impactall frontiers, be it society, economy,or technology, and these changesneed to be rational as well as justand fair. Talking about the con-tribution of Mahatma Gandhi, the

Prime Minister said, “Gandhiji’s lifewas dedicated to the cause oftruth and service, which are thefoundational tenets for any systemof justice and as you all know, hewas himself a barrister andbelonged to the fraternity oflawyers”.

Hailing a vibrant judiciary,legislature and executive, the PMsaid, “Respecting each other’s juris-diction and dignity, these three pil-lars of the Constitution haveresolved various challenges facedby the country on several occa-sions.

“We are proud of havingdeveloped such a rich tradition inIndia. In the last five years, variousinstitutions of India have furtherstrengthened this tradition”.

He also referred to the Centre’sendeavour in repealing 1,500archaic laws and said, “Speed hasbeen demonstrated not only indoing away with irrelevant laws butalso in enacting new legislationsaimed at strengthening the socialfabric”.

The Indian Constitution guar-antees gender justice under theprovisions of the right to equality,Modi said, adding that India is“among few nations which hasensured the right to vote forwomen since independence”. PTI

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The BJP on Saturday hit out atthe Congress over its scepti-

cism about US President DonaldTrump’s visit to India asking theOpposition party, why it isunhappy when the country’sstature is being raised globally.The BJP said there are timeswhen political parties shouldkeep aside their identities and“think as one nation”.

The BJP’s counter came aday after the Congress saidTrump’s visit should not becomean extension of the US presi-dential election campaign butyield concrete results for India.The visit should not be reducedto a photo opportunity or a PRexercise that would devalue theimportance of Indo-US part-nership, the Congress had said.

Addressing a Press confer-ence at the BJP headquarters

here, party spokesperson SambitPatra said Trump’s visit will be alandmark moment in the Indo-US relationship and advised theCongress to “start taking pridein the nation’s achievements”.“This is a meeting of the world’slargest and oldest democraciesand it should be celebrated,” hesaid adding, “There are timeswhen political parties shouldkeep aside their identities andthink as one nation.”

Underlining that Trumphimself has said multiple timesthat India is a hard bargainer,Patra said the Congress shouldnot be worried about India’sinterests.

With Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s hardwork,India’s relations with other coun-tries have further strengthenedfrom Sochi to Mallapuram, hesaid. Taking a dig at theCongress, Patra asked if 10

Janpath (residence of party pres-ident Sonia Gandhi) had allowedformer Prime MinisterManmohan Singh to developPrime Minister Narendra Modi-like rapport with internationalleaders.

Trump’s visit will be a land-mark moment in Indo-US rela-tions and theCongress should“start taking pridein the nation’sachievements”, he added.

Responding to the Congress’questions about what the coun-try will gain from this visit, Patrasaid the latest defense equipmentand the deals that the US wasoffering to India were neveroffered during the UPA regime.

Patra said close cooperationwith the White House hasensured that India remains at thefront and centre of Trump’sstrategic blueprint.

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Congress general secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra on Saturday raised ques-

tions over the funding of the committeeformed to oversee various programmes dur-ing US President Donald Trump’sAhmedabad visit on February 24. Shewondered what the Government is “hidingunder the guise” of the committee.

“�100 crore isbeing spent on thevisit of PresidentTrump. But this

money is being spent through a committee.The members of the committee do not knowthat they are its members. Does the coun-try not have the right to know whichMinistry gave how much money to the com-mittee? What is the Government hidingunder the guise of the committee?” theCongress general secretary tweeted.

The Congress also took a swipe at the‘Donald Trump Nagrik Abhinandan Samiti’with a parody advertisement on its officialTwitter handle. The poster read ‘hiring now’for job of “waving at US President Donald

Trump”. It also said that the vacancies were69 lakh and remuneration would be “achchedin”.

The committee headed by Ahmedabadmayor Bijal Patel held its first meeting atthe Circuit House in Ahmedabad onSaturday.

The formation of the committee, firstannounced as Donald Trump NagarikAbhivadan Samiti by Ministry of ExternalAffairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, haddrawn flak from the Congress.

Congress spokesperson RandeepSurjewala had asked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to explain who all are in thisSamiti.

“Why is Gujarat Government spending�120 Crore for a 3 hour event organised byan unknown Pvt entity? India values its vis-iting dignitaries but pl note- Diplomacy isserious Government business & not aseries of photo-ops & event managementtactics,” Surjewala asked.

The Congress had said the Trump visitshould not become an extension of the USpresidential election campaign but yield con-crete results for India.

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Page 6: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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Hyderabad: Amid continuinganti-CAA protests in parts ofthe country, Hyderabad PoliceCommissioner Anjani Kumaron Saturday said no ShaheenBagh type stir would beallowed in the city.

The top cop requestedpolitical parties and others toapply for permission as perproper procedure for holdingprotests.

"There is no Shaheen Baghlike incident in Hyderabad.Do not compare Hyderabadwith places where all thesenegative things are happening.

Nothing like Shaheen Baghwill be allowed in Hyderabad.Impossible," Anjani Kumartold reporters.

The Hyderabad Police willtake legal action if commonpublic is put to inconvenience,he reiterated.

Political protests areimportant butlaw and order ismore important, Kumar said,adding, Hyderabad city hasseen more than 200protests/rallies (anti-Citizenship Amendment Actand also pro-CAA).

During such protests atother places in the country,there have been burning ofvehicles, firing, people sittingfor a month on dharna, but inHyderabad such things are nothappening, he said.

It is only becauseHyderabad Police are concernedabout safety, security and com-fort of common public, he said.

"...At every place if youwant to sit on dharna then itwill cause inconvenience tocommon public and hence wehave taken legal action andbooked cases pertaining tosome places where the protestswere held," he said.

"If there is denial (for per-mission for holding protests)there are reasons. Some vestedinterests have approachedcourts and the court has givenguidelines and court guidelinesare supreme.

Whatever conditions weare putting it is as per judgmentof the High Court," the policechief said.

Reacting to a query,Additional Commissioner ofPolice, (Law & Order)D SChauhan said right to protestdoes not mean right to con-tinued protests every day.

At Shaheen Bagh in NewDelhi, protesters have been ona sit-in against the new citi-zenship law for over twomonths.

Two interlocutors wereappointed by the SupremeCourt to initiate talks with theprotesters.

Protests have also beenorganised in different parts ofthe city by different organisa-tions including political partiesagainst the CAA, NationalRegister of Citizens and NationalPopulation Register. PTI

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In an apparent effort to reiter-ate that there is no erosion in

his party’s Hindutva credentialseven after forming aGovernment with “secular”Congress and NCP,Maharashtra Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray will visitAyodhya on March 7 to markthe completion of 100 days ofthe Maha Vikas AghadiGovernment led by him.

In an announcement madea day after the Chief Ministermet Prime Minister NarendraModi, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah, veteran BJP leaderLK Advani and InterimCongress president Sonia

Gandhi in New Delhi, ShivSena’s spokesperson and MPSanjay Nirupam said thatUddhav would visit Ayodhyaalong with a large number ofShiv Sainiks to have darshan ofLord Rama there.

“On March 7, ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeraywill visit Ayodhya on March 7along with innumerable ShivSainiks. He will have darshan ofLord Shriram in the afternoon.He will perform Aarati on theghats of Sarayu river. Please bepart of the historic occasion,”Raut tweeted.

Uddhav, who hadannounced after the SupremeCourt verdict in the Ayoidhyadispute case that he would go

once again Ayodhya onNovember 24, 2019, had post-poned his visit then, owing tothe impasse in the governmentformation in the state. The pub-lic perception was that the Senawould soft-peddle its Hindutvaagenda as long as it is runningthe government in the state withthe Congress and NCP.

It may be recalled thatUddhav had on November 25,2018 – along with his wifeRashmi and son Aditya, hadvisited Ayodhya. On June 16,2019 year after the Lok Sabhapolls, he once again visitedAyodhya and offered prayers atthe makeshift Ram Lalla shrine.

However, atmosphere haschanged after he joined hands

with the “secular” and NCP toform a Maha Vikas Agadhigovernment in Maharashtra.The perception that has beengaining ground in the statepolitical circles that in order toensure that there is no threat toits government in the state theruling Shiv Sena is not pursu-ing the Hindutva as vigorouslyas it was doing earlier. So muchso that its erstwhile ally BJP hasbeen taking pot shots at the ShivSena for giving up on itsHindutva agenda for the sake ofpower. It is in the backdrop thatUddhav has scheduled his visitto Ayodhya on the occasion ofhis government completing 100days in office.

Significantly enough,

Uddhav’s visit to Ayodhyacomes at a time when there isabsolutely no consensusbetween the Shiv Sena and itsruling allies – Congress andNCP over the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA),National Population Register(NPR) and National Register ofCitizens (NRC).

While the Congress andNCP have opposed CAA andNPR, Uddhav has gone andannounced his full support forthe CAA and extended his “in-principle” support to NPR. Inthe process, Uddhav has rubbedthe NCP and Congress thewrong way. However, there doesnot seem to any threat to theMVA government in the state.

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Hours after the Karnatakapolice registered an FIR

for his “15 crore...” remark, AllIndia Majlis-E-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM) leaderWaris Pathan on Saturdaysaid if people have been hurt bymy words I take them back.

Addressing a news con-ference with his party’s MLASayed Imtiyaz Jaleel, Pathansaid, “I would like to makeonce again clear that I havenot said any such thing thatwrong inferences could bedrawn on my statement and Ihave been targeted for thesame. I see a political con-spiracy in this to defame meand my party.

“Despite all this if any ofmy words have hurt anyone, Iam withdrawing my wordsonly because I am a true citi-zen of this country and I feelproud to call myself an Indian,”Pathan said.

“Like I have said before Itake pride in my country. I ama true Indian Muslim No canchallenge or raise questionsabout my love and respecttowards this great nation andthe people who live herewhether they are Hindus,Dalits, Sikhs, Parsis or anyone. I have never criticised anyreligion at any point of time. Irespect and will continue torespect all religions. I alsorespect the practisioners ofthese religions, “ Pathan said.

Pathan, who has come insevere criticisms from all quar-ters for his controversial “15crore hain hum lekin 100 crorepe bhari hain" statement, clar-ified: “An impression is beingcreated in the media that I amanti-national and thatI amagainst Hindus. The statementI made that 15 crore will be toomuch for 100. It does notmean that I have made thisstatement against Hindus in thecountry”

“What I meant was 15crore Musilms are unhappyover CAA so are people fromreligions and castes who havefaith in the Constitution. LikeJhansi Rani, our women areout on the streets protestingagainst CAA. But, there aresome 100 people who areclearly against 15 croreMuslims in the country. Theymay be RSS, BJP, Bhajrang Dalor from other parties andorganisations. I had made mystatement in this context thatwe 15 crore will be heavy onthese 100people,

“These 100 who want todivide this country by bring-ing this law. There are alsojournalists among 100 peoplewho claim themselves as mostpatriotic persons – partici-pating in prime time debates in the night, twist andturn a single statement ofmine to suit their agenda.They are instigating the peo-ple in the country,” theAIMIM leader said.

6��������"�"�����������%��-8����0����0��9&:����0������������������&55���������%Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh

Government on Saturday sus-pended Unnao DistrictMagistrate Devendra KumarPandey over alleged irregulari-ties in expenditure of CompositeSchool Grant fund of the BasicShiksha Department.

Kannauj DM RavindraKumar will be the new districtmagistrate of Unnao, an officialspokesperson said.

In an inquiry conducted bythe Lucknow commissioner,Unnao DM Pandey has beenfound prima facie responsiblefor taking wrong decisions inspending the Composite SchoolGrant fund in the district and inimplementation of various pro-grammes linked to it, thespokesperson added.

The inquiry has found thatmost of the material which had

to be purchased under it wasprocured from one firm inJaunpur at rates higher than themarket rates, the spokesmansaid, adding the quality of thepurchased goods too was belowthe prescribed standards, thespokesperson said.

The firm too was not regis-tered under the GST, he added.

The district basic educationofficer involved in the case toohad been suspended earlier, hesaid. The irregularity pertains topurchase of sweaters, sports kit,footwear, socks, books, fur-nishings and similar gadgetsfor schools run by the UPMadhyamik Shiksha Parishad.

Besides Ravindra Kumar,the government also transferred12 other senior IAS officers,including district magistratesof Shamli, Saharanpur, Banda

and Pratapgarh.National Health Mission's

Additional Managing DirectorJasjeet Kaur has been made theShamli DM, replacing AkhileshSingh who has been moved toSaharanpur, the spokespersonsaid. Banking Cooperative'sAdditional Registrar AndraVamsi has been made JhansiDM in place of Shiv SahaiAwasthi, who will be the newspecial secretary of Sugar andSugarcane Department, he said,adding Medical Education'sSpecial Secretary Rupesh Kumarand Pratapgarh DM MarkandeyShahi will swap posts.

Home and JailAdministration's SpecialSecretary Bhupendra SChaudhary and KushinagarDM Anil Kumar Singh too willswap posts. PTI

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Director General of Jammu& Kashmir Police, Dilbagh

Singh, Saturday claimed thetotal number of active terror-ists in the State has come downto less than 250 due to sus-tained counter terrorism oper-ations by the joint team of secu-rity forces.

Since January 1, 2020 atotal number of 25 terroristshave been eliminated by thesecurity forces in around onedozen operations and about 40over ground workers have been arrested preventing major ter-

ror strikes on vital securityinstallations.

Briefing media personsafter another successful oper-ation in Sangam area ofAnantnag district in the weehours of saturday, DGP saidsecurity forces gunned downtwo local Lashkar-e- Toibaterrorists in Anantnag earlySaturday morning.

DGP said, "a cordon &search operation was launchedjointly by police and securityforces in Gund Baba Khaliarea of Sangam in DistrictAnantnag after receiving cred-ible inputs. During the searchoperation, the hiding terroristsfired on the search party. Thefire was retaliated leading to anencounter. In the ensuingencounter, 02 terrorists werekilled and the bodies wereretrieved from the site ofencounter".

DGP said, the killed ter-rorists have been identified asNaveed Ahmad Bhat and AqibAhmad Bhat both residents ofKulgam.

As per police records, theslain terrorists were affiliatedwith proscribed terror outfitLeT and were wanted by law fortheir complicity in terrorcrimes including attacks onsecurity establishments andcivilian atrocities.

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The commandos of theCentral Industrial Security

Force (CISF) guarding the vitalinstallations of the country gota pat on the shoulders fromnone other than G KishanReddy, Union Minister of Statefor Home Affairs on Saturday.

Addressing the passing outparade of the new recruits of thepara military force at RegionalTraining Centre at Arakkonam,75 km from Chennai, the Union

Minister said he was literallymoved by the calm and coolbehaviour of the CISF staff at air-ports despite the crude behav-iour of some of the passengers.

“I have been a witness tohow the CISF personnel conducttheir duties in the airports. Ioften observe that they maintain

their cool even on occasions ofrude behaviour by some pas-sengers in their eagerness not tomiss a flight,” said Reddy whileaddressing the CISF comman-does who had successfully com-pleted their training.

The Minister remindedthem that the CISF have beenentrusted with great responsi-bilities on its shoulders and thishas enabled them to be the ‘pridepillars of the economy. “The livesof the people and the key assetsof the nation are in your hands,”said Reddy.

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Bhadohi (UP): Police onSaturday gave a clean chit tolocal BJP MLA Ravindra NathTripathi in a gangrape case as"no evidence" was foundagainst him and arrested hisnephew, officials said.

Five others, who had alsobeen named in an FIR lodgedon Wednesday, were alsoabsolved of rape charges by thedistrict police, they said.

The FIR was lodgedagainst Tripathi and his kin ona complaint by a 40-year-oldwoman who had alleged thatthey had raped her in 2017.

"During investigation, noevidence was found against theBhadohi MLA and five others.They have been given a cleanchit," Superintendent of Police

(SP) Ram Badan Singh toldnewspersons here.

"Tripathi's nephewSandeep Tiwari has beenarrested on charge of rape," hesaid.

Another member of thefamily, Neetesh, who had beennamed in the FIR, has beenbooked for manhandling andabusing the woman, he added.

The officer said that afterthe woman's statement wasrecorded before a magistrate,the probe was handed over toa two-member team, includingthe Gulafsha women's policestation incharge.

The team failed to find anyevidence to corroborate hercharges, Singh said.

The woman also refused

to undergo medical examina-tion, he added.

The complainant, awidow, had alleged that shewas first raped by Tiwari in2016. She said she did notlodge a complaint back then asTiwari had promised to marryher, Singh had said onWednesday.

She alleged that in therun-up to the 2017 UttarPradesh Assembly polls, shewas kept at a hotel for a monthby Tiwari. All the sevenaccused would visit the hoteland repeatedly rape her, hehad said.

She also claimed thatwhen she got pregnant, shewas forced to undergo abor-tion, the officer had said.PTI

Ballia (UP): BJP's outspoken BairiaMLA Surendra Singh has described theongoing Anti-CAA protest at ShaheenBagh in New Delhi as a global con-spiracy by Muslim countries to "dividethe country".

The Shaheen Bagh protest againstthe CAA and proposed NRC is a con-spiracy sponsored by Muslim countriesat the global level, Singh told reportershere on Friday night.

"This dharna is being staged todivide the country," he added.

Prone to making controversialstatements, he also attacked All IndiaMajlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)chief Asaddudin Owaisi and describedhim as an "enemy of the country".

"The internal feelings of Owaisiare against India. In reality, Owaisi isthe enemy of the country. Though heresides here, his feelings and beliefs arepro-Pakistan," said Singh.

"If his DNA test is conducted, itwill be proved that like Jinnah, hewants to make India a Muslim coun-try," said Singh.

The BJP legislator added that seniorSamajwadi Party leader Azam Khanhad termed Bharat Mata a "dayan", buthe was set right by Chief Minister YogiAdityanath and the country'sConstitution. PTI

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Guwahati: The High-Level Committee onImplementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord will for-mally submit its report to the Assam Government onFebruary 25, senior State Minister Himanta BiswaSarma said on Saturday.

The committee, which is headed by Justice (retired)B K Sharma, will submit the report to Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal in the presence of the entire statecabinet, Sarma told reporters here.

The High Level Committee (HLC), he said, had clar-ified in a press statement issued by Justice Sharma's officeon February 20 that the report has been completed andis currently with the state government's

Assam Accord Implementation Department insealed cover. Sarma, who is the state finance minister,said the chief minister will send the report to UnionHome Minister Amit Shah who will go through it andif required, call the committee members to New Delhifor further discussions. PTI

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Bengaluru: An activist of theright wing group Sri RamSena has announced a boun-ty of �10 lakh for killingAmulya Leona who shoutedpro-Pakistan slogans at ananti-CAA event here recently.

In a video footage, theactivist Sanjeev Maradi isheard asking the governmentnot to release the woman orelse he will kill her.

Maradi is heard saying"The state and the centralgovernment should not releaseher under any circumstances.

If she is released, we willkill her in an encounter,"Maradi is heard saying at aprotest rally organised by theoutfit in Ballari againstAmulya Leona on Saturday.

"We on behalf of Sri RamSena will give a bounty of Rs10 lakh to the person who killsher," he added. PTI

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Ahmedabad: The "fascist alliance"between "forces attempting to erodedemocracy and curb freedom of speechand religion" is dangerous not just forIndia but the world as a whole, a groupof over 160 academicians, activists andstudents from Gujarat said in an openletter against the "Namaste Trump"event.

US President Donald Trump willarrive in Ahmedabad on February 24and will take part along with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in an event,christened 'Namaste Trump, in thenewly-constructed Motera stadiumhere.

"With a spectacular rise in globalfascism today, this alignment betweenthe largest democracy in the world andthe most powerful one is dangerous notonly for India, but for the world as awhole. We cannot in good consciencesupport this alliance between forcesthat are attempting to erode democra-cy and curb freedom of speech and reli-

gion," the 168 signatories said in the let-ter.

"We cannot stand by as families aredeprived of their homes in order tomake room for those who wish toremove citizens from their countries.We unequivocally condemn this fascistalliance, and urge the Indian State toprioritise the needs of its citizens overthe greed of the global elite," the sig-natories said.

They include activist and danseuseMallika Sarabhai and academiciansfrom institutes like Indian Institute ofManagement-Ahmedabad and CEPTUniversity. They claimed India andUSA had seen a rise of "authoritarianpolitics" in recent years, with Modi andTrump at the helm. The letter claimedTrump was "unreservedly racist,Islamophobic, xenophobic, and anti-poor," while Modi had enacted theCitizenship Amendment Act that bars"Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries from receiving

expedited citizenship offered to otherminority groups".

It said the Modi government wasall set to enact the National Register ofCitizens, "which European Unionmembers have warned could precipi-tate the largest statelessness crisis in theworld".

"In the past year alone, an unprece-dented 69,550 migrant children wereseparated from their families and heldin government custody. The list ofdetained migrants included 52 Indiannationals, one of whom died in US cus-tody in May of last year...." the letteralleged. While Trump enacted a banagainst refugees and migrants from sev-eral Muslim-majority countries, Indiahas enacted the CAA, they said in theletter.

In the context of "crores" beingspent on the 'Namaste Trump' event,the letter claimed the "privileging of for-eign capital over local needs is sadlyfamiliar". PTI

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Page 7: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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Seoul: South Korea onSaturday reported an eight-foldjump in viral infections in fourdays to 433, most of themlinked to a church and a hos-pital in and around the coun-try’s fourth-largest city, wherehealth workers scrambled toscreen more than 9,000 wor-shippers.

There’s concern that thedeath toll, currently at two,could grow. Virus patientswith signs of pneumonia orother serious conditions at theCheongdo hospital weretransferred to other facili-ties, 17 of them in criticalcondition, Vice HealthMinister Kim Gang-lip toldreporters.

He said that the outbreakhad entered a serious newphase, but still expressed cau-tious optimism that it can becontained to the region sur-rounding Daegu, where thefirst case was reported onTuesday.

In some positive news,China said Saturday the dailycount of new virus cases therefell significantly to 397, thoughanother 109 people died ofCOVID-19, the disease causedby the new virus. Most of thenew cases and all but three ofthe deaths were in Hubeiprovince, where the outbreakstarted.

The new figures, alongwith an upward revision ofHubei’s earlier count, broughtthe total number of cases inmainland China to 76,288with 2,345 deaths. China hasseverely restricted travel andimposed strict quarantinemeasures to stop the virusfrom spreading.

Of the 229 new cases inSouth Korea, 200 are fromDaegu and nearby regions,which have emerged as the lat-est front in the widening glob-

al fight against the virus.By Saturday morning, the

city of 2.5 million and nearbyareascounted 352 cases, includ-ing the two fatalities in theCheongdo hospital.

The central governmenthas declared the area as a“special management zone”and is channeling support toease a shortage in hospitalbeds, medical personnel andequipment.

“Although we are begin-ning to see some more casesnationwide, infections are stillsporadic outside of the specialmanagement zone of Daeguand North GyeongsangProvince,” Kim said during abriefing. He called for main-taining strong border controlsto prevent infections fromChina and elsewhere fromentering South Korea. AP

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Washington: Thousands ofRussian-linked social mediaaccounts have launched a coor-dinated effort to spread alarmabout the new coronavirus, dis-rupting global efforts to combatthe epidemic, US officials toldAFP.

The disinformation cam-paign promotes unfounded con-spiracy theories that the UnitedStates is behind the COVID-19outbreak, in an apparent bid todamage the US image by seizingon international health con-cerns, they said.

False personas are beingused on Twitter, Facebook andInstagram to advance Russian

talking points and conspiracies,including suggesting that theCIA is behind the virus that hasclaimed more than 2,300 lives,mostly in China.

“Russia’s intent is to sow dis-cord and undermine US insti-tutions and alliances from with-in, including through covertand coercive malign influencecampaigns,” said Philip Reeker,the acting Assistant Secretary ofState for Europe and Eurasia. “Byspreading disinformation aboutcoronavirus, Russian malignactors are once again choosingto threaten public safety by dis-tracting from the global healthresponse,” he said. AFP

������(#����������#����#�����&���� �������� Tehran (Iran): Iranian health

authorities on Saturday report-ed a sixth death from the newvirus that emerged in China,and said the fatality was fromamong 10 new confirmed casesof the virus in Iran.

So far, 28 cases have beenconfirmed in Iran, including the6 who died.

People are being treated forthe virus in at least four differ-ent cities, including the capital,Tehran, where some pharma-cies had already run out ofmasks and hand sanitizer. Othercities are Qom, Arak and Rasht.

The virus loomed over anationwide parliamentary elec-tion in Iran on Friday. Manyvoters went to the polls wearing

face masks.Health Ministry spokesman

Kianoush Jahanpour madeSaturday’s announcement forthe latest figures on state TV, butdid not specify when the fifthdeath occurred.

Two people had died earli-er Friday from COVID-19, theillness caused by virus.Authorities reported two deathspreviously this week.

Jahanpour said that of the10 newly detected cases, twowere in the capital of Tehranand eight were in the city ofQom. That’s where the first twoelderly patients died onWednesday. He said the twopatients in the capital had vis-ited Qom or had links with the

city. Minoo Mohraz, an Iranianhealth ministry official, hadsaid Friday that the virus “pos-sibly came from Chinese work-ers who work in Qom and trav-elled to China.” She did not elab-orate.

A Chinese company hasbeen building a solar powerplant in Qom. World HealthOrganisation officials havesaid that China’s crackdown onparts of the country boughttime for the rest of the worldto prepare for the new virus.But as hot spots emergearound the globe, including inSouth Korea and Iran, therehas been trouble finding thefirst patient who sparked eachnew cluster. AP

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Codogno (Italy): Streets weredeserted and residentswarned to keep out of anemergency room on Saturdayin an Italian town placedunder lockdown as a seconddeath from coronavirussparked fears throughout theregion.

“No entry” read the signon the emergency room inthe small town of Codognowith a population of 15,000where three people havealready tested positive forthe virus, including one 38-year old man now on life sup-port.

On Saturday, Italian newsagency ANSA reported a sec-ond death from the virus inthe Lombardy region, whereCodogno is located.

It came one day after thedeath of a 78-year-old retiredbricklayer from the Paduaarea in the nearby Venetoregion, who was the firstlocal person in Europe to diefrom the coronavirus.

ANSA reported that thenew victim was a woman. Nofurther information wasimmediately available.

Italy’s Health Ministersaid that the man who diedon Friday, Adriano Trevisan,had been admitted to hospi-tal 10 days earlier for anunrelated health issue.

He was one of two peo-ple in the Veneto region withthe virus, where another con-firmed case overnight in a 53-year old man brought thatnumber to three, president ofthe Veneto region, Luca Zaiatold Rai24 news. AFP

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Riyadh: Finance ministers andcentral bank governors fromG20 nations weighed the poten-tial impact of the coronavirusepidemic on the world econo-my as they met in RiyadhSaturday for a two-day gather-ing.

At the meeting in SaudiArabia, the first Arab nation tohold the G20 presidency, finan-cial leaders from the world’s top20 economies are also seekingconsensus on ways to achieve aglobal taxation system for thedigital era.

The gathering comes amidgrowing alarm over the newcoronavirus as Chinese author-ities lock down millions ofpeople to prevent the spread ofthe disease, with major knock-

on effects for the global econ-omy.

The virus has now claimed2,345 lives in China, cutting offtransportation and forcing busi-nesses to close their doors.

The impact of the epidem-ic could see a “V-shaped” tra-jectory, with a sharp decline inChina’s GDP followed by asharp recovery, but the situationcould have more dire conse-quences for other countries asthe impacts spill over, said IMFchief Kristalina Georgieva.

At the core of discussions atthe gathering is an action planto shield the world economy —already facing a slowdown —from the impact of the out-break, said French FinanceMinister Bruno Le Maire. AFP

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Addis Ababa: The WorldHealth Organisation warnedon Saturday that African healthsystems would be ill-equippedto respond to the deadly coro-navirus outbreak should casesstart to proliferate on the con-tinent.

WHO chief TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus calledon African Union memberstates “to come together to bemore aggressive in attacking”the virus, known as COVID-19. “Our biggest concern con-tinues to be the potential forCOVID-19 to spread in coun-tries with weaker health sys-tems,” Tedros said during ameeting of African health min-isters at AU headquarters inAddis Ababa. AFP

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Kabul: With a partial truceunder way Saturday and a dealbetween the US and the Talibanlikely on the horizon, Afghansare daring to dream of the warending and their country final-ly opening up.

The “reduction in violence”agreed by the Taliban, the USand the Afghan security forcescomes ahead of a possible dealbetween the insurgents andWashington which would seethe US pull thousands of troopsout of Afghanistan.

While the move is fraughtwith uncertainty, it marks apotentially historic step in thecountry’s more than 18-year-old war.

Afghans have been sharingtheir hopes for peace on socialmedia, tagging posts with hash-tags in Dari and Pashto —Afghanistan’s two main lan-guages — that translate to#ifPeaceComes and#whenThereIsCeasefire.

“In the past 15 years, peoplehave not been able to travel onhighways safely. The Talibanstop them, kill them or kidnapthem,” Ramin Mazhar, a popu-lar poet who helped spread thehashtags, told AFP.

If the reduction in vio-lence holds, Mazhar said hewould go to Nuristan, an inac-

cessible province in the north-east of the country.

“I want to go to Nuristan,run, laugh, sing, dance, whistleand eat yogurt,” he said.

“I want to touch its greenhills, crazy rivers and bluesky. I want to climb its trees,and know its pigeons.”Afghanistan was once a pop-ular destination on the “hippietrail” that saw foreigners fromacross Europe travel to thecountry by bus en route toIndia in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tourism was all butdestroyed following the Sovietinvasion in 1979 that led to over40 years of continuous fighting

and instability.Few Afghans have been

able to visit areas outside of theirimmediate home ever since,while millions have relocated tourban areas or moved abroad.

The desire to see more of thecountry is strong.

Afghanistan is home tostunning mountain rangeslike the snow-capped HinduKush along with verdant,remote valleys and swathes ofpristine desert.

However with the Talibancontrolling or contesting approx-imately half of Afghanistan,only small pockets of the coun-try are accessible. AFP

Kabul: A partial truce markinga potential turning point inAfghanistan’s gruelling warappeared to be holding Saturday,with only isolated attacks threat-ening to mar a process that drewjubilant civilians across the shat-tered country onto streets to cel-ebrate.

The Taliban, US and Afghanforces have all agreed to a so-called “reduction in violence”,marking only the second lull infighting since the US-led inva-sion of 2001.

“It is the first morning thatI go out without the fear of beingkilled by a bomb or suicidebomber. I hope it continues for-ever,” Kabul taxi driver HabibUllah said, while in other partsof the country people danced inthe streets after the truce kickedin at midnight. However, inBalkh province in the north,Taliban fighters attacked a dis-trict headquarters near theprovincial capital of Mazar-i-Sharif, killing two Afghan sol-diers, a local official told AFP.There were also reports of a sep-

arate incident in central Uruzganprovince.

General Scott Miller, wholeads US and NATO forces inAfghanistan, did not directlyaddress those incidents, butstressed that Western forceswould continually monitor thesituation. “We’ve stopped ouroffensive operations as part ofour obligations,” Miller toldreporters. In the event of anybreaches of the truce, Miller saidthe US would communicatewith the Taliban through variouschannels set up in Doha, wherethe insurgents have a politicaloffice. “As more days go on wewill have a better understandingof what trends are,” Miller said.

“Very clearly this is a con-ditional effort, this is a trial peri-od.” The partial truce is expect-ed to set the conditions forWashington and the insurgentsto sign a deal in Doha onFebruary 29 that could, ulti-mately, pull US troops out aftermore than 18 years and launchwar-weary Afghanistan into anuncertain future. AFP

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Tehran: Iranian state TV onSaturday announced the firstpartial results from the coun-try’s parliamentary elections,indicating a strong showing byhard-liners in the capitalTehran, although authoritieshave not released full results orthe all-important turnout fig-ure.

Voters had limited optionson Friday’s ballot, as morethan 7,000 potential candi-dates had been disqualified,most of them reformists andmoderates. Among those dis-qualified were 90 sitting mem-bers of Iran’s 290-seat parlia-ment who had wanted to runfor re-election.

Although the final tallywas still not released, a lower-than-usual turnout would sig-nal widespread dissatisfactionwith the state of the economyand the ways in which the gov-ernment has handled a rangeof crises.

State TV, without provid-ing the number of votes,announced the names of theleading candidates in Tehran’s30 parliamentary seats. Allwere hard-liners led byMohammad Bagher Qalibaf,who is expected to be the next

parliament speaker.Looming over the election

was the threat of the newcoronavirus. Many votersheaded to the polls with facemasks on, and some pharma-cies ran out of masks and handsanitizer amid the election-dayrush.

So far, there have been fivecoronavirus deaths fromamong the 28 confirmed casesin Iran, including two deathson election day. Another fatal-ity was reported on Saturday,although the exact time wasnot specified.

By comparison, the 2016parliamentary election saw62% turnout. On Friday, elec-tion officials kept the pollsopen an extra five hours in aneffort to boost turnout. Iran’sleadership and state mediahad urged people to show upand vote, with some framingit as a religious duty.

A parliament stacked withhard-liners could tilt publicpolicy debates away fromengagement with the UnitedStates.

Tensions betweenWashington and Tehran havebeen high since 2018, whenPresident Donald Trump with-

drew the US from Iran’snuclear agreement with worldpowers, and imposed sanc-tions that have forced Iran’seconomy into recession.Iranians have seen the price ofbasic goods skyrocket, infla-tion and unemployment riseand the local currency plum-met.

The economic woes facedby ordinary Iranians fueledanti-government protests inNovember. Internationalhuman rights groups say atleast 300 people were killed inthose protests.

A more hard-line parlia-ment could also favor expand-ing the budget of theRevolutionary Guard Corps.The Guard’s elite Quds Force,responsible for the IslamicRepublic’s campaigns abroad,was formerly led by Iran’s topgeneral, Qassem Soleimani.He was killed by the U.S.Airstrike in January.

That strike led to a tenseconfrontation in which Iranianforces accidentally shot downa Ukrainian passenger planeafter it took off from Tehran,killing all 176 people on board.Most of those killed wereIranian. AP

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London: Britain’s Prince Harryand Meghan Markle have agreedto drop the use of the word“royal” from their future brand-ing as a financially independentcouple.

The Duke and Duchess ofSussex were in talks with theBuckingham Palace team han-dling their transition away fromfrontline royal duties, with somecomplications around the use ofSussex Royal as the phrase to beassociated with their charitablework and other causes going for-ward.

“While the Duke andDuchess are focused on plans toestablish a new non-profit organ-isation, given the specific UKGovernment rules surroundinguse of the word ‘royal’, it has beentherefore agreed that their non-profit organisation, when it isannounced this spring, will notbe named Sussex RoyalFoundation,” a spokesperson forthe couple said in a statement,issued to address the ongoingmedia speculation over the issue.“The Duke and Duchess ofSussex do not intend to use

‘Sussex Royal’ in any territorypost spring 2020. Therefore, thetrademark applications that werefiled as protective measures, act-ing on advice from and follow-ing the same model for TheRoyal Foundation of the Dukeand Duchess of Cambridge(Prince William and KateMiddleton), have been removed,”the spokesperson said.

The spring 2020 deadlinerefers to March 31, unveiled ear-lier this week as the formal datefrom when the couple will ceaseto formally represent QueenElizabeth II and make theirmove to Canada, where they areexpected to be based and travelto the UK “regularly”. Harry, 35,and Markle, 38, are currently liv-ing in a mansion on VancouverIsland in Canada with theirnine-month-old son Archie.Harry remains sixth in line toBritish throne and will retain hismilitary ranks of Major,Lieutenant Commander andSquadron Leader but will not usehis honorary military positionsor perform any official dutiesassociated with these roles. PTI

������)��������������� ����� �3������&���� ���������������� Juba: South Sudan opened a

new chapter in its fragile emer-gence from civil war Saturdayas rival leaders formed a coali-tion Government that manyobservers prayed would lastthis time around.

A day after President SalvaKiir dissolved the previousGovernment, Oppositionleader Riek Machar was swornin as his deputy, an arrange-ment that twice collapsed infighting during the conflictthat killed nearly 400,000 peo-ple.

Kiir declared “the officialend of the war, and we can nowproclaim a new dawn.” Peace is“never to be shaken ever again,”the president said, adding thathe had forgiven Machar andasking for Machar’s forgiveness,to applause. He called on theirrespective Dinka and Nuerethnic groups to do the same.

The world’s youngestnation slid into civil war in2013, two years after winninga long-fought independencefrom Sudan, as supporters ofKiir and Machar clashed.Numerous attempts at peacefailed, including a deal that saw

Machar return as vice presidentin 2016 — only to flee thecountry on foot months lateramid fresh gunfire.

Intense international pres-sure followed the most recentpeace deal in 2018. PopeFrancis in a dramatic gesturekissed the feet of Kiir andMachar last year to coax theminto putting differences aside.Saturday’s ceremony beganwith a presentation to them ofthat photo as a reminder.

Exasperation by the UnitedStates, South Sudan’s largest aiddonor, and others grew as Kiirand Machar in the past yearpushed back two deadlines totake the crucial step of formingthe coalition government. Butwith less than a week before thelatest deadline Saturday, eachmade a key concession.

Kiir announced a “painful”decision on the politically sen-sitive issue of the number ofstates, and Machar agreed tohave Kiir take responsibility forhis security. On Thursday, theyannounced they had agreed toform a government meant tolead to elections in three years’time — the first vote since

independence.“Finally, peace is at our

doorstep,” a reporter with theU.N.-backed Radio Mirayadeclared from Bor in long-suf-fering Jonglei state. In Yambio,youth with flags were reportedin the streets. “I rejoice with theSouth Sudanese, especially thedisplaced, hungry and grievingwho waited so long,” the arch-bishop of Canterbury, JustinWelby, tweeted.

Hugs and applause fol-lowed Machar’s swearing-in.He thanked the pope and oth-ers and vowed to SouthSudanese to work together “toend your suffering.” Even as citizens breathed acareful sigh of relief, aid groups,analysts and diplomats warnedof major challenges ahead. Ina likely sign of caution, noheads of state aside fromSudan’s leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, attended theswearing-in.

“While much workremains to be done, this is animportant milestone in thepath to peace,” the US Embassysaid in a message of congratu-lations. AFP

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San Francisco: Twitter said onFriday it suspended 70 accountsfor spam-like posts supportingDemocratic presidential hopefulMichael Bloomberg, whosecampaign has hired hundreds ofpeople to promote him on socialmedia.“We have taken enforcementaction on a group of accounts forviolating our rules against plat-form manipulation and spam,” aspokesperson for the platformsaid. Some of the accounts arenow banned while others can bere-authorized once the usersbehind them verify they are incontrol, Twitter said.

The Wall Street Journalrevealed Wednesday that the bil-lionaire former New York mayorhas hired around 500 people inCalifornia at $2,500 a month toregularly post messages sup-porting him on social media andto send text messages to theirfriends. The technique blurs thelines between political adver-tisement and promotion by ordi-nary activists on social medianetworks, which are grapplingwith how to handle political con-tent and prevent abuse. AFP

#�� ����������)%���16��30��������� ����0���>������� Fessenheim (France): French

state-owned energy giant EDFon Saturday began shuttingdown the country’s oldestnuclear power plant after 43years in operation.

EDF said it had discon-nected one of two reactors atFessenheim, along the Rhinenear France’s eastern borderwith Germany and Switzerland,at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) in thefirst stage of the complete clo-sure of the plant.

The second reactor is to betaken off line on June 30 but itwill be several months beforethe two have cooled enoughand the used fuel can start tobe removed.

The removal of the fuel isexpected to be completed by thesummer of 2023 but the plantwill only be fully decommis-sioned by 2040 at the earliest.

Shutting down Fessenheimbecame a key goal of anti-nuclear campaigners after thecatastrophic meltdown atFukushima in Japan in 2011.

Experts have noted thatconstruction and safety stan-dards at Fessenheim, broughtonline in 1977, fall far short ofthose at Fukushima, with some

warning that seismic andflooding risks in the Alsaceregion had been underesti-mated.

Despite a pledge by ex-president Francois Hollandejust months Fukushima to closethe plant, it was not until 2018that President EmmanuelMacron’s government gave thefinal green light.

“This marks a first step inFrance’s energy strategy togradually re-balance nuclearand renewable electricitysources, while cutting carbonemissions by closing coal-firedplants by 2022,” Prime MinisterEdouard Philippe said earlierthis week.

France will still be left with56 pressurised water reactors at18 nuclear power plants — onlythe United States has morereactors, at 98 — generating anunmatched 70 per cent of itselectricity needs.

The Government con-firmed in January that it aimsto shut down 12 more reactorsnearing or exceeding their orig-inal 40-year age limit by 2035,when nuclear power shouldrepresent just 50 per cent ofFrance’s energy mix. AFP

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Page 8: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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Reserve Bank of IndiaGovernor Shaktikanta Das

has said four banks under thePrompt Corrective Action(PCA) framework are takingefforts and they are being mon-itored.

Currently, Indian OverseasBank (IOB), Central Bank ofIndia, UCO Bank and UnitedBank of India are under thisframework, which puts sever-al restrictions on them, includ-ing on lending, managementcompensation and directors’fees.

“We would like them toimprove their performance andcome out of PCA as quickly aspossible. We are engaged with

the banks. We are monitoringit. They are taking efforts.Banks are required to take sev-eral actions to come out of thePCA, and that is being moni-tored,” Das told PTI in aninterview.

Recently, the Governmentannounced capital infusion of�11,521 crore into these fourbanks, with IOB getting thehighest amount of �4,360 crore.Central Bank of India got�3,353 crore, UCO Bank�2,142 crore and United Bankof India �1,666 crore.

Besides, LIC-controlledIDBI Bank too received addi-tional capital of �4,557 crorethrough the first supplemen-tary demands for grantsapproved by Parliament in

December.Last year, the RBI removed

five banks — Bank of India,

Bank of Maharashtra, OrientalBank of Commerce, AllahabadBank and Corporation Bank —

from the PCA framework intwo phases after capital supportfrom the government thatresulted in improvement intheir financial parameters.

The capital infusion helpedthese lenders meet requisitecapital thresholds and reducetheir net NPA levels to below6 per cent.

Out of the 11 banks putunder the PCA framework lastyear, Dena Bank ceased toexist as a separate entity afterits merger with Bank of Barodain April, while IDBI Bank hasbeen acquired by LIC.

With regard to the pro-posed mega merger of publicsector banks announced by

the government, the governorsaid, the RBI has advised thelenders to take special measuresto ensure that the normal activ-ities do not face any disruption.

“The normal activity interms of loan sanction in termsof recoveries and other activi-ties are affected because of themerger process. So, and we aremonitoring that, we will mon-itor that,” he said.

Last year in August, thegovernment announced theconsolidation of ten publicsector banks (PSBs) into fourmega state-owned lenders. Asper the plan, United Bank ofIndia and Oriental Bank ofCommerce would merge withPunjab National Bank, makingthe proposed entity the second

largest public sector bank(PSB).

It was decided to mergeSyndicate Bank with CanaraBank, while Allahabad Bankwith Indian Bank. Similarly,Andhra Bank and CorporationBank are to be consolidatedwith Union Bank of India.

In April 2019, Bank ofBaroda in a first three-waymerger exercise amalgamatedVijaya Bank and Dena Bankwith itself. The SBI had mergedfive of its associate banks - StateBank of Patiala, State Bank ofBikaner and Jaipur, State Bankof Mysore, State Bank ofTravancore and State Bank ofHyderabad and also BharatiyaMahila Bank with itself effec-tive April 2017.

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The Centre on Saturday saidit has disbursed �50,850

crore to farmers so far under itslandmark scheme PM-KISAN,enabling them to meet farminput cost and householdexpenses.

The agriculture ministryshared the progress madeunder the scheme, ahead of itsfirst anniversary on February24. The PM-KISAN was for-mally launched on February 24last year by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi at Gorakhpur,Uttar Pradesh.

Under the scheme, theCentre transfers an amount of�6,000 per year, in three equalinstalments, directly into thebank accounts of the farmers,subject to certain exclusioncriteria relating to higherincome status.

“February 24, 2020 is the1st anniversary of starting of anew Central Sector Scheme,namely, the Pradhan MantriKisan Samman Nidhi (PM-

KISAN),” an official statementsaid.

The scheme was launchedto provide income support toall landholding farmers’ fami-lies across the country andenable them to meet expensesrelated to agriculture as well asdomestic needs, it added.

“The Central Governmenthas already released more than�50,850 crores till now,” theministry said.

Total number of beneficia-ries covered under the schemeis about 14 crore, based on esti-mates of the AgricultureCensus 2015-16.

As on February 20 thisyear, 8.46 crores farmer fami-lies have been given the bene-fits. The scheme is effectivefrom December 2018. The cut-off date for identification ofbeneficiaries with regard totheir eligibility was February 1,2019. The entire responsibilityof identification of beneficiariesrests with the state /UT gov-ernments.

The scheme initially pro-

vided income support to allsmall and marginal farmers’families across the country,holding cultivable land up to 2hectares. However, its ambitwas later expanded to cover allfarmer families in the countryirrespective of the size of theirland holdings.

Affluent farmers have beenexcluded from the scheme suchas income tax payers in lastassessment year, professionalslike doctors, engineers, lawyers,chartered accountants etc andpensioners pensioners drawingat least �10,000 per month(excluding MTS/ClassIV/Group D employees).

All installments falling dueon or after December 1, 2019are being paid only on the basisof Aadhaar authenticated bankdata of beneficiaries to ensuregenuine beneficiaries and avoidduplicity in payments, except inAssam and Meghalaya besidesthe UTs of Jammu & Kashmirand Ladakh, which are exempt-ed from this requirement tillMarch this year.

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India has some distance to goin fully shifting from pro-

crony to pro-business policies,Chief Economic AdviserKrishnamurthy Subramaniansaid on Saturday.

It will be the pro-businesspolicies that will enable the“invisible hands of the market”and also take the country to thegoal of USD 5 trillion GDP, headded.

“Pro-business policies arethose that enable fair competi-tion in the country. We havesome distance to go in terms ofenabling that fully. Pro-cronypolicies on the other hand justhelp incumbents and that issomething that we have to stayaway from in enabling theinvisible hands of the market,”he said at an alumni conferenceof his alma mater IIT-Kanpurhere.

Indian policymaking hasbeen criticised for favouringcrony capitalists in the initialdecades after Independence, tillthe country shifted gears byadopting liberalisation in 1991.

Subramanian said after theCAG’s report on telecom spec-trum allocations came out in2011, investor returns from“connected companies”, aeuphemism for crony firms,have been very low as com-pared to the broader indices.

The problem with crony-ism is that it is not better busi-ness models and processeswhich drive the growth, hesaid, adding that we shouldalways aim for “creativedestruction” where the incum-bents are challenged.

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Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturday

emphasised the need toenhance global risk monitoringand explore the scope for pol-icy co-ordination to deal withsuch risks.

Speaking at G-20 FinanceMinisters and central bankgovernors meeting in Riyadh,she called upon all the membercountries to enhance theirefforts aimed at empoweringwomen, youth and small andmedium enterprises (SMEs).

“Finance Minister Smt@nsitharaman called upon theG20 to enhance global riskmonitoring and explore thescope for policy co-ordinationto deal with such global risks,”a tweet by the Finance Ministrysaid. Sitharaman was the leadspeaker during the session on“Enhancing Access toOpportunities for All” in theG20 Finance Ministers andCentral Bank GovernorsMeeting on Saturday.

“Finance Minister Smt

@nsitharaman emphasised thatgrowing inequality has sloweddown the pace of inter-gener-ational mobility globally. Shepointed out that identifying thecauses and developing solu-tions require co-ordinated pol-icy solutions,” the ministrytweeted.

The Minister also high-lighted the initiatives under-taken by the Indian govern-ment for empowering womensuch as ‘Stand Up India’ andSTEP scheme.

She emphasised the riskand collateral free MUDRAscheme for SME segment in themeeting, the ministry said.

Sitharaman held bilateraltalks with her counterpartsfrom other countries andOrganisation for EconomicCo-operation andDevelopment officials on thesidelines of the G20 event.

She expressed empathywith the people of China, suf-fering from the coronavirusepidemic and extended India’ssupport in this hour of need,the ministry said in a tweet.

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Income tax cases being arbi-trated abroad will be eligible

to be taken up under the pro-posed ‘Vivad se Vishwas’scheme to settle disputesbetween the taxman and thetaxpayer, the department saidon Saturday.

The I-T department issuedadvertisements in leadingdailies saying the scheme wasa “golden opportunity... To set-tle income tax disputes”, bridgethe trust deficit in cases of dis-putes and minimise tax-relat-ed litigation.

The public message spellsout the main features of thescheme proposed by Unionfinance minister NirmalaSitharaman in her Budgetspeech on February 1, like theeligibility, disputes covered andpayment terms. Under the eli-gibility head, the departmentsaid appeals and writs filed on

or before January 31 this yearwill be allowed to be taken upunder the scheme.

Other eligibilities are:Orders for which time for fil-ing appeal has not expired onJanuary 31; cases pendingbefore dispute resolution panel(DRP) or where the DRPissued direction on or beforeJanuary 31, 2020 but no orderhas been passed; cases whereassessee filed revision and inraid cases where disputed tax isless than Rs 5 crore in a year.

It added that disputeswhere the payment has alreadybeen made shall also be eligi-ble; appeals or writs filed bytaxpayers or the departmentand cases in arbitration inIndia or abroad.

The scheme, it said in theadvertisement, will cover alldisputes related to tax, penal-ty, interest, fee, tax deducted atsource (TDS) or tax collectedat source (TCS). Talking about

the payment of taxes under thescheme, it said for remittancesmade on or before March 31,100 per cent of the disputed taxis to be paid (125 per cent insearch cases) and if appealrelates only to disputed penal-ty or interest or fee then 25 percent of the disputed penalty orinterest or fee is to be paid.

If the payment is madebeyond March 31 but by theend date of the scheme on June30, then 110 per cent of dis-puted tax is to be paid (135 percent in search cases) such thatit does not increase totaldemand.

If the case relates to appealonly on disputed penalty orinterest or fee then 25 per centof the disputed penalty orinterest or fee is to be paidunder the scheme by March 31.

This amount will be 30 percent if payment is made beyondafter March, 31 but beforeJune, 30.

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Bharti Infratel on Saturdaysaid its board will meet on

February 24 to chart out thefuture course of action follow-ing the telecom department’sapproval for merger with IndusTowers.

The combination of BhartiInfratel and Indus Towers willcreate a pan-India tower com-pany with over 163,000 towers,operating across all 22 telecomservice areas. The combinedentity will be the largest towercompany in the world outsideChina.

“...FDI approval for merg-er of Indus Towers with BhartiInfratel has been received lateevening yesterday,” BhartiInfratel said in a regulatory fil-ing. It added that the board ofdirectors of the company willmeet on February 24, 2020 to“take stock and decide thefuture course of action”.

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Post Brexit, Ireland can be asuitable alternative to the

United Kingdom for Indianbusinesses looking at having abase in the European Union(EU), the Irish envoy here saidon Saturday.

Ambassador BrendanWard also said that there hasbeen a surge in interest by com-panies from India for setting upa base in Ireland, where, as ofnow, 100 Indian firms have apresence, even as the bilateraltrade between the two coun-tries stood around Euro 4 bil-lion annually.

“Ireland is a committedmember of the EU and wework through the partnershipwhich exists between the EUand India, while at the sametime we have our own strate-

gic approach. Sometimes Indiais a little overshadowed byChina and Japan and part ofmy work here and my teamhere in India is to raise aware-ness of India in Ireland andparticularly among Irish busi-ness people and investors. Atthe same time, Ireland is ratherlittle known in India and animportant role for us is raisingthat awareness,” Ward told PTI.

“One major factor that wehave to deal with is that theUnited Kingdom has exited EUand for many Indian business-es thinking of a location forpresence in Europe, the UKwould have been the firstchoice. Now, a lot of them arelooking at Ireland,” he said, onsidelines of an education fairwhere Ireland promoted itselfas a destination for higherstudies for Indian students.

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Recession-hit Argentina’seconomy shrank by 2.1 per

cent in 2019, the state statisticsinstitute said on Friday. Theinstitute said the economy con-tracted by 0.3 per cent inDecember compared to thesame period in 2018.

Argentina has been inrecession since mid-2018 aspoverty and unemploymentare on the rise and inflationsurpassed 50 per cent over thelast year. Already in 2018, GDPhad dropped by 2.5 per cent.

The news comes at a timewhen Argentina is attemptingto renegotiate almost $200 bil-lion in debt in order to stave offa damaging default. TheInternational Monetary Fundended a week-long mission tothe South American countryon Wednesday, after which itsaid Argentina’s total debt ofUSD 311 billion, worth morethan 90 per cent of its GDP, was“unsustainable.”

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Pitching for increased foreign direct invest-ment in multi brand retail sector, global man-

agement consulting firm Deloitte has said thatthe move would expand the share of organisedretail in the country, thus contributing towardsconsumption-led growth of the economy.

In its latest thought leadership publicationtitled, Retail FDI in India, Deloitte has high-lighted the growing relevance of foreign directinvestment (FDI) and the government’s open-ness on FDI in retail trade in the country.

According to the publication, the FDI-led

expansion of retail would not only boost con-sumption but would also provide the country’smom-and-pop stores access to latest technolo-gies that would form key to further growth ofthe sector. About 70 per cent of Kirana storesin big cities and 37 per cent of Kirana stores intier II cities want to enable themselves with newtechnology. Availability of latest tools broughtby global entities would thus help local busi-nesses as well.

Retail trading witnessed a year-on-yearincrease of 98 per cent in FDI inflows in FY19.The foreign investments increased from $224million in FY18 to $443 million in FY19.

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In a critique of the domi-nant policy choices in the ini-tial decades afterIndependence, Subramaniansaid “the tryst with socialismdid not deliver the tryst withdestiny”, referring to first primeminister Jawaharlal Nehru’sfamous speech when Indiaattained freedom.

He also made a strong casefor not depending only onrecent work in economics tomake policy choices andneglecting age-old texts like theArthashastra.

“Scholarly work isn’t

something that was written inthe last 100 years but dates backmillennia,” he said.

The Arthashastra stresseson ethical ways of creatingwealth, he said, adding that weneed to focus on creating trustin the markets as well.

If governance standardshave to be increased in thecountry, there has to be agreater focus on disclosingrelated-party transactions, theCEA said. The comments comein the wake of frauds like the one at non-bank lenderDHFL.

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He was born to a family in thevineyard business for morethan 130 years. Twenty years

back, he established the EstateBoutique winery near Jerusalem inone of the oldest grape growingregions in the world from the timeof King Solomon. In High School,he was a terrible student.Nevertheless, his parents alwaystold him that he had potential andso he never gave up.

“After three-and-a-half years ofservice in the Israel Defence Force,I decided that I would like to go touniversity and study Agriculture sothat I could go back to the vineyardand help my father. I had to strug-gle a lot to get accepted to the uni-versity because I had very lowgrades from High School. My appli-

cation to the Faculty of Agricultureof Hebrew University was rejected.Thanks to the intuition of the Deanof Chemistry Professor Lena Ben-Dor, I was accepted on condition todo an undergraduate course inChemistry at The HebrewUniversity where I really shined. Imet Professor Ben Ami Bravdowho invited me to join his labora-tory. The day I entered his lab, Iknew that this is my destiny,” OdedShoseyov tells you.

His research in plant molecularbiology, protein engineering andnano biotechnology is creatingsuper-performing materials thatcould change the way we build ourfuture products.

Over the years, Oded has estab-lished 14 companies and asking himto talk about a particular one does-n’t come easy. “You are asking me topick my favourite child. But I will do

my best. CollPlant is a company thatproduces human collagen fromtobacco plants. Collagen is a specialprotein that builds up tissues andorgans in our body. Medicalimplants like bone substitutes andheart valve leaflets are made of col-lagen extracted from pigs, cows andhuman cadavers which are not safebecause they harbour viruses. At theHebrew University, my laboratorycloned all the five genes fromhumans that are responsible formaking collagen in our body, and bygenetic engineering introduced allthe five human genes into a tobac-co plant,” Oded explains.

He says that tobacco plantsproduce human collagen throughtheir leaves. “We grow the tobaccoplants in greenhouses, harvest theleaves, extract and purify the humancollagen. This collagen is saferbecause plants do not harbour

human pathogens. From this, wemake different medical implants forwound healing and tendon repairthat are already used in clinics inEurope and Israel.

“Our latest achievement andsource of pride is the new versionof collagen that can be 3D-printed.We are now engaged with UnitedTherapeutics, a US Pharma com-pany and 3D Systems, a US 3Dprinting company in an ambitiousproject to print for the first time afully functional living human lung.This is only the first in printing offuture organs,” Oded tells you.

Another company is BiobetterLtd whose mission is to make bio-logic drugs affordable. He tells youthat antibodies are large and com-plex proteins which are central inour immune system.

“They help our body to over-come infection and cancer. In the

last decade, biologic drugs andspecifically humanised antibodiesbecame extremely effective drugs forRheumatoid Arthritis, cancer andmore. One major problem remain.Biologic drugs are produced bymammalian cell culture which isvery expensive.

“We cloned the genes ofAdalimumab (drug for rheumatoidArthritis) and by genetic engineer-ing introduced it into tobacco plant.We introduced several more genesinto the plant to modify the sugarcontent of the Adalimumab to makeit more human. We can produce thebiologic drug in a greenhouse at acost of lettuce. Our goal is to makeit affordable — bring down the costto less than $1 a day as opposed to$100 a day at present,” he adds.

His breakthrough was findinggenes that are at the heart of a mech-anism in plants that accelerates its

growth. This discovery was latertranslated to transgenic eucalyptustrees that grow faster in the forestand enable production of timberand pulp for paper in a significant-ly shorter period of time.

According to him, over bil-lions of years of evolution, Naturemade amazing materials and sys-tems. “I will mention only a few:Resilin which enables cat flees tojump 100-200 times their height andthe amazing computational powersof our brain. Overabundance ofthese super performers around usare encoded by their DNA,” saysOded who is in India as aTEDxGateway speaker.

When he is not busy in his lab-oratory, he and his children are busyskiing and looking for new resortsto explore all over the world. He alsoenjoys mountain biking, runningand music.

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He is a freshman in school atPortland, Oregon, US. He does a lotof science related activities and

research on pancreatic cancer in the med-ical field and the application of applyingartificial intelligence (AI) to medical treat-ment of pancreatic cancer. When he is notdoing research, he is busy participating inscience bowl — a buzzer-based competi-tion for those who want to increase theirknowledge, especially in Biology. A big partof his free time is spent in track and fieldrunning cross-country. Meet 15-year-oldRishab Jain, a scientist and an innovatorwho has invented the Pancreatic CancerDeep Learning System (PCDLS), an AItool that improves radiation treatment incancer. He aspires to become a surgeon andhopes to cure pancreatic cancer one day.

He tells you that despite his busyschool schedule and the time spent onresearch for pancreatic cancer, he doesmanage to find time for himself to pursuewhat he loves — running. “I was 13 whenI found out about this cancer, after pass-ing of a family friend from pancreatic can-cer. I was intrigued and found out the sur-vival rate and got to know that this can-cer is extremely deadly and survival rateis very low. This is because it takes timeto pinpoint the area of the cancer,” Jainsays.

His system of AI that uses deep learn-ing is a technique that offers an abstractway of looking inside and identifying pat-terns in the data. But he used another tech-nique withing deep learning — convolu-tional neural network. This network, hetells you has the ability to look at imagesand identify patterns inside. “What I didwas the data that I had of MRI and CT scanof abdominal area. Within the thousandsof different pictures of the abdomen, I haddifferent images of the organs includingpancreas. I used my tool to predict wherethe pancreas is positioned which isextremely hard to find for the untrainedeye. My goal was to improve the accura-cy for radio therapy by segmenting the

pancreas which can sometimes take a longtime for a radiologist to do,” Jain explains.

Another benefit of his deep learningsystem is its real-time application. Ratherthan pinpointing the pancreas from theimages and then moving on for treatment,if there is a AI tool — PCDLS — can locatepancreas within a couple of seconds. “It isall about the execution of the programmerunning the command. When we take theCT and MRI images, it becomes fast tolocate the pancreas,” Jain says. He tells youthat his tool is about early detection of thistype of cancer.

“At present, pancreatic cancer treat-ment involves generic cancer treatment.Radiation therapy is a treatment that useshigh doses of targeted energy to kill can-cer cells and shrink the tumours. The prob-lem in treating pancreatic cancer lies in itslate detection – last stage. At this point, allone can do is shrink the tumour and if thepatient is lucky, they can successfullyremove the tumour,” Jain says.

Not only this, Jain is also named as

America’s Top Young Scientist for his pathbreaking innovation to improve radio-therapy. A competition he entered whenhe was 13. “After I came up with the solu-tion using AI for pancreatic cancer thatbegan after a lot of reading and doing a lotof research I realised that it was somethingthat can be used in the future and have abig impact after I got some success, Ientered a competition — 3M YoungScientists Challenge. The great thingabout this that they pick out the top ideasfrom the US that are presented and pro-vide support like mentorship. The prima-ry reason to enter the competition was ifI was selected it would allow me to bettermy tool and I could look for a biggerexpansion. After I was selected, I spent thatsummer improving on the accuracy of thetool. I got more data, I fined tuned it. Itwas then that my idea became a reality,”Jain says.

When he speaks at platforms likeTedxGateway, the reaction of the peopleis centered more on his age. “When peo-ple see a young person talking while it canbe a source of big inspiration, people maydoubt it at first. I believe no matter whatthe age, anybody can make a difference.It just needs one idea that a person has tobe passionate about and have the goal tocomplete it. With the right mindset andopportunity, it is possible to achieve thatgoal,” Jain says.

According to him the best overallinvention has been the Internet that pro-vided the biggest platform for every-thing. Just the creation of connecting mul-tiple computers has made so many thingspossible today.

“In the medical world, I would say theCT technology that has had ginormousimpact. When it was invented by SirGodfrey Hounsfield invented back in1967, it opened a lot of doors and possi-bilities for all kinds of treatments not justcancer,” Jain says.

His future is set. He would like to con-tinue to work on his research. His latestproject today involves working on whetherthey can improve on the treatment of thecancer — to solve the gap that exits today.

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What if someone were totell you that your voiceis enough to detect

several diseases including coro-nary artery diseases (CAD)?Most people would not believeit or would term it as fake news.However, the truth is thatBeyond Verbal is doing justthis.

Yuval Mor, CEO of BeyondVerbal, tells you that what hiscompany uses the tone of voiceof the people in order to be ableto identify different health con-ditions. “It comes under what wecall vocal biomarket – the areaof voice to detect various dis-eases,” Mor says.

The journey began withthe analysis of emotions fromthe voice. “We all know that wecan understand what peopleare feeling just by listening tothem. As part of this analysis,our scientists did an experiment.He found that group of peoplehe was evaluating had readingdyslexia. Because of this, theiranalysis of their emotions wasincorrect. The scientist came upwith an idea that maybe there issomething in the voice of thepeople that gives their healthcondition. This led to ourresearch in many different areaslike mental health, heart condi-tions, lung and breathing con-ditions and many more,” Morexplains.

The good part is that orderto get the voice, there is no needfor any complicated device torecord the voice. All one needsto do is record the voice on yoursmartphone. Yes, you read thatright. One can record the voiceon any regular mobile that

allows voice recording and oneis good to go. All one has to dois record your voice; there arenot set words needed, nor doesone have to speak in a particu-lar tone or pitch. All one has todo is record the voice – like thetone one uses while talking toanother person over the phone.

“After the call is recorded,one can send it is a central con-trol analysis where experts usemachine learning and AI inorder to find specific indicationsin the voice that could indicatehealth conditions,” Mor explains.

“Since we are speaking overthe mobile all the time, we cansee a pattern when there aredeviations. We use regular voicerecorded over a regular mobile.The success rate when it comesto detection of coronary arterydisease using a single voiceanalysis stands at 86-87 per

cent level of accuracy. The ideais not to scare people to rush tothe hospital, it is a tool to letthem know that there is some-thing wrong and that needs tobe addressed in the near future.And to also increase the person’sawareness level when the infor-mation is sent to their doctorwho can then decide to go forfurther testing; the tool is not foremergency care; it is a moni-toring device,” Mor tells you.

The advantage, he tells youare amazing. Just imagine, we areusing the voice all the time andmobiles. This way one’s mobileor smart home device can be apersonal bodyguard when itcomes to health. The device thathas been collecting voice record-ing over time gives informationif there is signification deviationin the voice. All this is becom-ing part of tele-medicine or

remote healthcare. The idea isthat one doesn’t really have to gophysically to a hospital but a lotinteraction can happen remote-ly using sensory, in this casevoice sensory,

Mor tells you that the futurewill be about using all kind ofdevices that people will have intheir homes or at their dispos-al. Some of these will be con-nected to the smartphones likewe are already seeing in terms ofwearables that are available inthe market today to check ourBO and even heart rate. “Somedevices would be more dedicat-ed and connect to a software thatwould e running of the mobileto collect the vitals but using thevoice to say monitor oxygen sat-urations. It is no longer thefuture, the future is here, we areliving it and using it when webuy a smart watch,” Mor says.

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Medium-pacer ChintanGaja grabbed a five-wick-

et haul before Gujarat stretchedtheir overall lead to a mam-moth 587 runs against Goa intheir Ranji Trophy quarter-final here on Saturday.

On the third day, led by the25-year-old Gaja (5-19),Gujarat came up with a clin-ical performance to bowlout Goa for a meagre 173in 57.5 overs.

With two days to go,Goa would need nothingshort of a miracle to escapea humiliation.

In the second innings,Gujarat openers Samit Gohel(70 not out) and PriyankPanchal (37) added 72 for thefirst wicket as their lead swelledbeyond 500. Gohel and

Bhargav Merai (49 not out)kept attacking the Goa bowlers

and at stumps, the hostswere comfortably placedat 158/1, a staggeringoverall lead of 587 runs.

BENGAL TAKE LEAD���!�� Bengal rode on a

disciplined pace attack tosecure a first innings leadagainst Odisha.

The pace troika of IshanPorel (3/72), Nilkantha Das(3/43) and Mukesh Kumar(3/51) shared nine wickets

among them to bundle outOdisha for 250 to secure an 82-run first innings lead and putone foot in the semifinals.

At close on day three,Bengal were 79 for two, extend-

ing their overall lead to 161.In another game at Ongole,

Saurashtra took control againstAndhra by dismissing the hostsfor 136 for a massive 283-runfirst- innings lead.

By stumps on the third day,the visiting team extended theadvantage by reaching 93 for 2in their second innings.

J&K POISED FOR LEAD������Jammu and Kashmirwere in a good a position totake the crucial first-inningslead after bowling outKarnataka for 206 on daythree.

Resuming the day on 14for two, Karnataka somehowmanaged to get past the 200-run mark with K Siddharthscoring 76 off 189 balls.

In response, J&K were 88for two at stumps, needinganother 119 runs to take thefirst-innings lead. With twodays left in the game, the leadcould prove decisive in JK’s bidto make their first-ever semi-finals.

came to the fore with Lee-AnnKirby, Hayley Matthews andDeandra Dottin all departing

before the seventhover to sparkthoughts of anupset.

But Taylor andS h e m a i n e

Campbelle stayed firm andtheir unbeaten fourth-wicketpartnership of 53 sealed thewin. Taylor (26 not out)brought West Indies up to 50with three boundaries andCampbelle (25 not out) sweptthree of her own to steer hercountry to their first WT20Ivictory in nine games.

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India’s seniormost player IshantSharma finds it “funny” that peo-

ple are questioning Jasprit Bumrah’s“ability” just after a few matches,ignoring his performances over thepast two years. “It’s funny that per-ceptions changed after one innings.

For two years, we have always taken20 wickets, myself, Boom (Bumrah’snickname in Indian dressing room)and Shami along with Ash or Jaddu(at home). How can people questionon the basis of one innings (Test)?”Ishant asked while defending his col-league. “I don’t think anyone doubtsBoom’s ability. Since his debut, what

he has achieved for India, I don’tthink anyone should raise any ques-tions,” said Ishant. Bumrah also hadsupport from New Zealand pacerTim Southee, who called him a“world class bowler” and foundnothing wrong in his execution.

“I don’t think there’s anythingwrong. He is a world-class bowler. Heis obviously coming back frominjury, but he is a quality player, andwe know a great performance isnever far away when you’re a qual-ity player,” Southee said.

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Ishant Sharma’s lion-heartedbowling effort met its match inKane Williamson’s elegance as

New Zealand ended an attritionalsecond day of the opening Testagainst India with a slight upper-hand, here at Basin Reserve onSaturday.

After another lower-order col-lapse that saw get India bundled outfor 165, Ishant, coming straightback from an ankle injury, tookthree for 31 in 15 overs despiteWilliamson’s effortless 89 in NewZealand’s day-end score of 216 for5.

New Zealand now lead by 51runs.

Mohammed Shami (1/61 in 17overs), during his final spell of theday, removed Williamson, whocouldn’t check an uppish drive.Henry Nicholls’ (17 off 62 balls)struggle seemed to have hamperedWilliamson’s rhythm.

During the final hour,Ravichandran Ashwin (1/60 in 21overs), who also bowled beautiful-ly throughout the day, relievedNicholls of his agony with a deliv-ery that had drift and a hint of turnas India skipper Virat Kohlisnapped the low catch at secondslip.

Williamson looked good ashe hit some delightful strokessquare off the wicket. The squaredrive on the rise off Jasprit Bumrah(0/62 in 18.1 overs), followed by acover drive, showed his class.

In all, the New Zealand skip-per hit 11 boundaries off 153 balls.

Bumrah, in particular, waspunished by Williamson. EitherBumrah bowled too full and dri-vable length deliveries or too shortthat even Rishabh Pant failed togather the ball over his head.

This was where Ishant cameinto the picture. While he was luckyto get opener Tom Latham out with

a delivery drifting on leg-stump, theother opener Tom Blundell (30)had a typical Ishant dismissal writ-ten all over it.

The ball was full on the off-

stump channel and jagged backenough to find the gap between hisbat and pad.

“Actually, the wicket becameslow. It had tennis ball bounce at

the start but when we bowled, therewas no seam movement available,”Ishant said after the end of the day’splay.

Williamson and Taylor then

had a partnership of 93 runs dur-ing which New Zealand also got thelead before Ishant, coming back forhis third spell, bowled one thatreared up from good length and

proved to be an easy catch forCheteshwar Pujara at short-leg.

Looking good for his 22nd Testhundred, Williamson, in his bid toget another boundary, couldn’tcheck a cover drive and the lowcatch was taken by substitute field-er Ravindra Jadeja.

Earlier, New Zealand’s debutantKyle Jamieson (4/49) and veteranTim Southee (4/49) took fourwickets apiece as Indian inningsfolded in 68.1 overs. The duo tookfour of the five wickets that fell onthe second morning with Indiaadding only 43 runs to theirovernight score of 122/5.

Rishabh Pant (19) started witha six but then a horrible mix-upwith senior partner Ajinkya Rahane(46) resulted in a run-out and thelittle chance of recovery was gonefor good.

Southee then got rid of Rahanewhen he tried to shoulder-arm adelivery that made a late inwardmovement. Mohammed Shami'sentertaining 21 then enabled thevisitors to cross the 150-run mark.

1�+��/�����������*������ *�������� +,-�+.+.

0�����!���� New Zealandpacer Tim Southee believesthat Rishabh Pant’s freak run-out went a long way in chang-ing the course of the Indianinnings that eventually foldedup for 165.

Pant, who started the daywith a six in the first over suf-fered because of AjinkyaRahane’s poor call and Indialost five wickets for 33 runsfrom that point. Rahane him-self fell to Southee as he insideedged to the keeper trying toshoulder arms and late inwardmovement became his undo-ing.

Asked if there was anystrategy to dismiss Rahane,Southee replied: “No, the run-out of Pant was a big this morn-

ing. With him (Pant) beingsuch a dangerous player andleading into that second new-ball, he could have scoredquickly along with Jinks(Rahane’s nickname).”

Southee knew that Rahanehad no option but to attackonce Pant was dismissed.

“We knew though if wecould open one end up with thebowlers, then Jinks was lookingto play a little bit more aggres-sively, which brings us into playa little more.

“The way we bowled thismorning was pretty good. Tocome off and finish the Indianbatting line-up like that withtwo dangerous players in thismorning,” said Southee, whopicked four wickets. PTI

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Left-arm spin-ner Ashton

Agar took a hat-trick as Australiacrushed South Africaby 107 runs in the firstT20I at the WanderersStadium on Friday.

Steve Smith, backin South Africa for thefirst time since the 2018ball-tampering scandal,hit a top score of 45 forAustralia, who made196 for six after beingsent in.

South Africamade a bad startagainst the pace ofMitchell Starc and PatCummins beforeAgar’s triple strike sentthem hurtling to their all-time lowest T20 total of 89.

It was also the host coun-try’s biggest defeat in the for-mat.

Man of the match Agarfinished with career-best fig-ures of five for 24.

“It was really exciting, a high-light of my cricketing life,” he said.

But he gave praise to the fastbowling attack of Mitchell Starc,Kane Richardson and Pat Cumminswho started South Africa’s col-lapse.

South Africa were reeling at 40for four when Agar came on to

bowl.He had Faf du Plessis

caught at deep cover with hisfourth delivery, trapped

Andile Phehlukwayo legbefore next ball and Dale

Steyn superbly caught atslip by captain Aaron

Finch to completethe hat-trick.

E a r l i e r ,Smith and

Finch (42) set up Australia’s bigtotal with an aggressive secondwicket stand of 80 off 52 balls,benefitting from some looseSouth African bowling.

The win extended Australia’sunbeaten run in the format tonine matches, with eight winsand one no-result. Their lastdefeat was in November 2018.

The second match of theseries is at Port Elizabethtoday with the third andfinal game in Cape Town onWednesday.

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SAMMY TO GET HONORARY PAK CITIZENSHIPKarachi: ���� ��:������ !� �������� ��� �� �������������������?������������������������������������������������������� ���������!��!������������� �����:������:��� ���� �������"� �����%� ���� ��� ������� �� �����!���������N� ������������������(�������%��� ����!� ��������������� ����?������� ���� ��:�����H�� ��!����� �� � ��������%�&����1�1 ����$%����5�����@$������������������� �"� �����%����� ���� ��������� ��� ���� ��(� ������ ������������%�� �������������������� ������� ���!������+4����!����:����< �����:��������������������������@&/P����!����������������(����������� ������������(����� "

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India’s demolition of a formidableAustralia in the Women’s T20 World

Cup opener will give them a huge boostgoing forward, said star batswomanMithali Raj, who also lauded leggiePoonam Yadav for her magical perfor-mance.

Poonam took four for 19 to help Indiacomplete a 17-run victory against defend-ing champions Australia on Friday.

“Everyone has been talking abouthow much batting depth Australia have,yet they couldn’t chase 132,” Raj, a formerIndia Test and ODI captain, said.

“India will take so much confidencefrom that victory, but this World Cup isstill very open. The match betweenAustralia and India proved how compet-itive the tournament will be. It proves itdoes not matter where you stand in theICC rankings.

“We will be seeing more of the samedrama yet. This victory proves every teamhas a chance,” said Raj, who has retiredfrom T20 cricket.

The 37-year-old veteran batswomansaid “the opening match definitely livedup to the hype of the tournament”.

“It was a whirlwind. There were somany ups and downs. It was a great startto the tournament not only becauseIndia beat the defending champions onhome soil, but also because of how thegame progressed altogether.

“At no point could you say it wasgoing in one side’s favour. First we saw ourearly wickets fall, then we recovered andAustralia had to chase 132 before theirmiddle-order collapsed. India andAustralia both took the game their ownway at different points which made it fas-cinating for spectators to watch.”

Raj said Poonam’s spell was the turn-ing point.

“She’s been one of the main spinnersfor India for quite some time now, and herstyle worked again. Getting their(Australia’s) middle-order out really titledthe match towards India, she was brilliant.

“Although we recovered our inningsthrough Deepti Sharma and her partner-ship with Jemimah Rodrigues, it wasPoonam’s flurry of wickets againstAustralia’s megastars, which completelychanged the game," Raj said.

Raj also praised 16-year-old ShafaliVerma for scoring 29 off 15 on her WorldCup debut.

“Shafali Verma impressed me too onher debut. She gave India’s middle orderthe cushioning they needed to regainmomentum. Verma has stuck with strokeplay that she demonstrated in the tri-series,” she said.

“I think she should be given that freerange in the first six overs because whenyou’re playing a top team, the runs in thefirst six overs are so important. It wasgreat to be 40 up after just a few oversthanks to her contribution — Australiacouldn’t replicate that.”

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Alate cameo by Wanindu Hasaranga helpedSri Lanka pull off a thrilling chase to edge

out West Indies by one wicket in the first ODIon Saturday.

Hasaranga, known for his leg-spin bowl-ing, hit an unbeaten 42 after coming in to batat number eight as Sri Lanka chased downtheir target of 290 with five balls to spare andlead the three-match series 1-0.

Hasaranga held his nerve after Sri Lankaslipped to 253 for seven following the depar-ture of Thisara Perera for 32 to register hishighest ODI score.

He built crucial partnerships including a38-run stand with Perera and then put on 27runs with Lakshan Sandakan for the ninthwicket.

With one to get off the last six ballSandakan was run out but Keemo Paulbowled a no ball.

“Of course, winning is the ultimate thingbut we made couple of mistakes that we haveto learn from,” skipper Dimuth Karunaratne,who top-scored with 52, said after the victo-ry.

For the West Indies, Alzarri Josephclaimed three wickets after Shai Hope made115 in his team’s 289 for seven.

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Stafanie Taylor’s all-roundclass helped West Indies

survive a scare against debu-tants Thailand in theirWomen’s T20 World Cup

2020 opener here on Friday.Thailand chose to bat first

but struggled to score heavilyat the WACA, leaving teenagekeeper-batter NannapatKhoncharoenkai to step upand anchor the innings with 33from 48 balls.

Captain Taylor held theirGroup B opponents to 78 fornine with her three wickets, butThailand’s fielding strength

������ Skipper Craig Ervinescored a dogged century asZimbabwe shared the honourswith Bangladesh on the openingday of the one-off Test here onSaturday.

Ervine hit 107 off 227 balls— his third century in Tests —as the visitors reached 228-6 atstumps after opting to bat firstin what is the 100th internation-al match between two teams.

Off-spinner NayeemHasan bowled Ervine, whostruck 13 fours, shortlybefore the stumps beforefinishing with 4-68, thebest return for the homeside on the openingday.

Wicketkeeper-batsmanRegis Chakabva was batting onnine alongside Donald Tiripano,not out zero, when stumps weredrawn at the Sher-e-BanglaNational Stadium.

Mushfiqur Rahimreturned to the Bangladesh

lineup after missingout on their previ-ous Test againstPakistan. AFP

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Page 11: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

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India bounced back in style to beat titleholders Australia 3-1 via a shoot-out in

the second match of the two-leg FIH ProLeague match here at the Kalinga Stadiumon Saturday.

Both the teams were locked 2-2 at theend of regulation time.

India converted two penalty cornersthrough Rupinder Pal Singh (25th minute)and Harmanpreet Singh (27th), whileTrent Mitton (23rd) and skipper AranZalewski (46th) were the scorers forAustralia in the regulation 60 minutes.

India had lost 3-4 to the visitors in thefirst game on Friday.

By virtue of this win, India earnedthree points from the game while Australiapocketed one.

Both India and Australia have 10points from six games but the Kookaburrasare a rung above the Manpreet Singh-ledside at third spot in the standings on goal

difference.In the shoot-out, Harmanpreet, Vivek

Sagar Prasad and Lalit Upadhyay scoredfor India, while only Daniel Beale foundthe net for the visitors.

������� Olivier Giroud and MarcosAlonso came in from the cold to inspireChelsea’s 2-1 win against Tottenham asthe Blues cemented their grip on fourthplace in the Premier League onSaturday.

Giroud and Alonso had been reducedto fringe figures in Frank Lampard’s firstseason as Chelsea manager.

But Lampard restored both veterans tothe team at Stamford Bridge in a gamblethat paid rich dividends.

With Tammy Abraham only fitenough to make the bench, Giroud start-

ed for the first time sinceNovember and the France strik-er’s fine finish opened the scor-ing in the first half.

The 33-year-old couldhave joined Tottenham hadChelsea signed a forward in

January, but instead he nettedhis first club goal since August and his firstin the Premier League since April.

Alonso, 29, maintained the theme ofexiles getting back in favour as the left-backstruck in the second half of his first leaguestart since Chelsea’s win at Tottenham inDecember.

Antonio Rudiger’s own goal came toolate to ruin Chelsea’s first win in five leaguegames, moving them four points clear offifth placed Tottenham in the race to qual-ify for the Champions League.

Ending Tottenham’s three-game win-ning streak in the league was the perfectresponse to Monday’s home defeat againstManchester United.

Tottenham have now won just once intheir last 34 visits to Stamford Bridge, mak-ing it a painful return for their formerChelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who wasbeaten by Lampard for the second timethis term. AFP

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Indian shuttler AjayJayram on Saturday

crashed out of the men’ssingles semifinals of theBarcelona Spain Mastersafter suffering a straight-game loss to Thailand’sKunlavut Vitidsarn here.

The unseeded Indiagave a tough fight in theopening game before sur-rendering 20-22, 12-21 inthe last-four clash of theBWF World Tour Super 300event.

With Jayram’s defeat, India’s campaign in thetournament came to an end.

Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal, seededfifth, on Friday lost to third seed BusananOngbamrungphan in the women’s singles quar-terfinals.

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Ravi Dahiya impressed with aGold-winning effort at theAsian Wrestling

Championship but India’s biggestOlympic medal hope Bajrang Punialooked good until he ran intoJapanese Takuto Otoguro in hisfinal here on Saturday.

In a strong show by the homewrestlers, four of them reached thefinals but only Ravi stood on top ofthe podium, with a scintillatingshow in the 57kg.

Ravi had shown at the 2019World Championship in Nur Sultan,Kazakhstan, that he is one for thefuture, and he proved it again at theKD Jadhav Indoor Stadium.

His agility, tactic and a strongwill all came together and resultedin a tremendous performance.

Apart from Bajrang (65kg),Gourav Baliyan (79kg) and SatyawartKadiyan (97kg) also had to be con-tent with Silver medals.

World number two Bajrangentered the event as defending cham-pion and conceded only two pointson his way to the final but could notavenge his defeat to Otoguro in the

2018 World Championship titleclash.

At that time his leg defence wasa huge issue but on Saturday he lostin a different manner. In the fast-paced bout, Bajrang’s leg defence wasnot a problem but he lost points onsmart counter-attacks by Otoguro.

Much to the shock of home fans,Bajrang suffered a comprehensive 1-10 defeat against the world numbernine.

Bajrang could score just onepoint on push-out even as Otogurokept strengthening his lead withtremendous tactical acumen andpower.

An upset Bajrang said he couldnot fight the way he wanted.

“It was important to fight withall these wrestlers because I willwrestle with them at the Olympics.I have taken my lessons from this. Icould not fight as I wanted. It was avery different fight. His counter-attacks were good and this is an areaI need to work on to,” he said.

Bajrang’s coach Shako Bentinidisadmitted that Otoguro emergedstronger.

“Bajrang was slow, Otoguro wasstronger. But I am happy with Silver.

It’s difficult to maintain intensity and ahigh level of performance for two years.We still have five months and he remainsa contender at Olympics,” Bentinidissaid.

“If you see all top wrestlers even inEurope have slowed down a bit. It’s hap-pening now and not two weeks before theOlympics, so it’s okay. Wrestling is tough,it’s not like football or basketball. In 65kgall wrestlers are almost at the samelevel,” he said.

Poor leg defence and conceding a biglead in the first period troubled Bajrangfor some time but none of them croppedup on Saturday as he remained strongfrom the beginning.

He won all his bouts by technicalsuperiority, beating Tajikistan’sDzhamshed Shafirov, Uzbekistan’s AbbosRakhmonov and Iran’s Amirhossein

Azim Maghsoudi.In 57kg, Ravi, who is fast emerging

a strong contender for the Tokyo Games,too, put up a strong show, beating 2017World champion from Japan YukiTakahashi (14-5) before pinningMongolia’s Tugs Batjargal in the quarter-finals.

In the semifinal, Uzbekistan’sNurislam Sanayev too could not challengeRavi much.

In the final against Tajikistan’sHikmatullo Vohidov, the world champi-onship Bronze winner from India claimedthe Gold with ease, registering a victoryby technical superiority.

“I am doing well and hopefully wewill come up with a good performance atthe Olympics too. The key for me is to stayinjury-free as of now,” said Ravi.

Satyawart was outplayed by Iran’sMojtaba Mohammadshafie in the final ontechnical superiority, but Gourav foughthis heart out before losing to ArsalanBudazhapov of Kyrgyzstan.

Of the five Indians in action, it wasonly Naveen who missed out on a finalappearance, in the 70kg category.

He lost his semifinal to Iran’sAmirhossein Ali Hosseini 2-3. Later, helost his Bronze medal play-off toKazakhstan’s Meirzhan Ashirov.

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Lionel Messi scored four goals asBarcelona began a crunch week in

their season by thrashing Eibar 5-0 inLa Liga on Saturday.

Barca play away at in-form Napoliin the Champions League on Tuesdaybefore facing title rivals RealMadrid next weekend, withpressure on the team, andMessi, amid a period ofpolitical turbulence at theclub.

Yet on the pitch, Messishowed no sign of distraction as the 32-year-old completed the second fastestof his now 36 career hat-tricks, afterjust 40 minutes at Camp Nou.

Messi added a late fourth afterbeing teed up by Martin Braithwaite,Barcelona’s emergency signing whoenjoyed an excellent cameo off thebench by claiming two assists, the sec-ond for Arthur Melo in injury-time.

Braithwaite’s contribution andMessi's return to form delivered atimely boost ahead of what could

prove a pivotal few days in Barca'sseason.

Messi had gone four games with-out a goal in La Liga, his longestdrought since 2014, even if thosematches saw him register five assists.He now has 22 goals in 28 appear-ances this term.

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Page 12: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

They began their journey in2014 and in the next six

years, the band has over 1,000performances to its credit. Theband was formed with an ideato work with instruments andintroduce that to the people.When they began to work on themusic, they realised that inorder to take it to a much larg-er audience they had to add avocalist. And that is how sufi-rock fusion band — Swaraagwas born.

“Our journey began back in2014. Arif Khan, a freelancerand I decided to work on instru-mental music. But after sixmonths we realised that weneeded a vocalist. Weapproached Khan’s youngerbrother Asif. He is the leadvocalist with the band. His fortelies in sufi music. In fact, eachperson in the band has a musi-cal background, they are fromthe Sikar Gharana. We are fromRajasthan. So, people woulddemand that we play musicfrom the region. Unfortunately,Rajasthani music is not much indemand in the State and hencewe had not incorporated that inour band. We found that therewas a market for it but not goodcontent. We worked on this andintroduced four things into our

band — sufi, Rajasthani, instru-mental and Bollywood music.This became our USP,” PratapSingh, the co-founder and man-ager of the band explains.

But after being in the mar-ket for six years, they realisedthat they needed to add fusionin order to connect Indian clas-sical and the youth. The fusionwas done in a manner that itdoesn’t sound odd. “We ensurethat our fusion is such that it actslike salt in a dish. We don’t wantto sound totally western. Wehave saxophone, drum andacoustic guitar. We don’t use dig-ital instrument. This way theaudience can enjoy the music ofthe instruments,” Singh shares.He says that the name of theband is derived from theSanskrit word — swar and raagwe all know — the music. Theidea was to let people know thatthey are there to promote music.

He tells you that the reasonwhy Rajasthan music is notfamous even though it is a pop-ular tourist place because theState is seen as land of royals. Butwhen it comes to entertainmentindustry, people see only two-

three things — food, palaces androyals. “Ask them if they wouldwant to make a Rajasthani filmand they want to know who willwatch it. Another problem isthat the dialect in the regionchanges every 100 km,” Singh

opines.The band was also part of

Rising Star 3. While realityshows are good, it is not alwaysthe right place to showcase one’stalent. “It is not always correct.When I was there, I saw young

people, who were there to show-case their talent but are nowheretoday. One has to ask where theyare today. Even if one wins ashow, there are no guaranteesthat they will shine. One needsa combination of talent, mar-keting strategy and luck. Whilereality shows give you the much-needed jump, there is need tomarket it well. Talent alone willnot take you far,” Singh says.However, he is quick to point outthat for an artist, it is a big thingto be viewed on TV. Realityshows give you a face, a recog-nition.

Interestingly, he tells youthat their music is not alwaysappreciated. There have beentwo instances where they werecaught on the wrong foot. Onewas when the band had to per-form in Haryana. The peoplewere looking to dance, ourmusic is not on those lines. “Thesecond was while we were per-forming in Vishakhapatnam.We wondered where we hadlanded. Finally, we playedAmitabh Bachchan song. Threepeople came in front to dance.After 45 minutes we understoodwhat they were looking for. Thegood is that we have people inour band with multiple talent,”he tells you.

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� How did the collaboration happen?Anoushka (Shankar) and I had met many years back and

then we met again recently when I was in London for a holi-day. We had talked about our music and things related to it.We also talked about a collaboration. Then we came togeth-er in Mumbai on a music that she had composed. It was suchsimple and minimalistic that I wanted to be a part of and could-n’t refuse.� What is the song about?

The song, Those Words, is about a journey of a woman whois all by herself now. She is out a relationship now. In the songshe talks about the times when she was in one and the momentsshe lived in that relationship. It is a not a sad or a depressingsong. More of a song that is based on internal thoughts.Something that we all do when we sitting by ourselves.� Was there a reason why you chose this theme?

When I heard the song, there weren’t any lyrics to it. Butthe music was so beautiful and moving and we wanted to dosomething on those lines. We discussed and we wanted to doa song that internalised feelings. Shirin then wrote the lyrics.And the whole thing fit perfectly and the song is so beauti-ful.� How much fun did the three of you have doing this col-laboration?

The whole thing started on a simple note — a thought —which was very simple. The whole process was not complicated.It was just that she had a thought and shared it with me andI shared it with Shirin. The best part is that all this happenedface-to-face and not over the mail. It was the first time that Iwas recording in London at the Guildhall School; it is one ofthe top schools for music in in the world. It was my first inter-national collaboration. We spent an entire day together to makethis song. It was little things that mattered while we made thissong. It was not about what the song became later on but thewhole journey that made it possible.� How important is it to have more such collaborations toexperience global music?

Indian music has always had a certain awe factor for thosewho live abroad. It is not a new concept for people outside ofIndia to listen to our music. Indian music is one of the mostprogressive music’s in the world; it has been It has been therefor centuries. The best of this song is — Ayanna didn’t knowanything about the words, Shirin had written them; we camefrom different backgrounds, we learnt a lot about each othersince human emotions are the same. This is what you learnfrom such collaborations.� Where is Bollywood music heading?

Music keeps changing every month. When people ask mewhere I will be a year down the line, it is difficult to answerit. I live in the moment and committed to it. I love the unpre-dictability that is associated with the music and the business.It makes you want to learn more and keep evolving.� How did your musical journey begin?

It was an everyday life for us while I was growing up becauseof my father. We were surrounded with music. I didn’t alwayswant to be a musician as a child. I learnt and listen to musicbecause I loved it; it was till I was older that I wanted to sing.My musical journey was simple.� What is waiting for you?

There are a few Bollywood projects and a couple of moresingle releases coming up in the near future.

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� Your father is a doctor, how didyou end up becoming an actor?

It’s a long story. I had run awayfrom home when I was 16. I came toDelhi in 2001 and did a lot of odd jobsto earn a living. I worked at an STDbooth. I worked as a logsheet main-tainer in a cyber cafe where I waspaid �10 a day. Then I joinedanother cyber cafe where I waspaid double the money. I alsoworked as a delivery boy. I havedone all kinds of jobs but the onething I had in mind was to becomean actor. Back then, I didn’t knowthat this could be a professionbecause not many people would

choose this line. In my subcon-scious I knew that this is what Iwanted to do. Gradually, I carveda path in the South industry andfinally became an actor.� What lesson did you learnduring your struggle days?

I don’t see it as a struggle; itwas rather fun for me. In order to

reach somewhere you have tocarve a path and all these jobsserved that purpose. There weremany lessons that I learnt dur-

ing the period. In fact, I learnt someof the best ones. Discipline is one ofthem. Second, value of relationships.Third, honesty. If you are not honestwith yourself and your job, you can’treach the heights you want. � You made your Bollywood debutwith Sanam Teri Kasam. How didyou come on board for that?

My debut movie was Satra KoShaadi Hai produced by JohnAbraham. But it never got released.For Sanam Teri Kasam, there’s a dif-ferent story. It was in 2015 when I wasshooting for a couple of Telugu filmsand got a call for the film. I asked themif they could wait as I was shooting.It took me two-three months to com-plete the pending shoots and then Iwent to Mumbai. I reached the team’soffice and was told that I was too late.They had already cast someone elseand he was preparing to begin theshoot. I tried convincing Radhika Raoma’am and Vinay Sapru sir ( writer-director) to cast me as I was in lovewith the script and the role. I was ableto relate to Inder Lal Parihar a lot.After a lot of efforts, they asked me toperform a scene and I did. They asked

me to do it once more. I did and theywere in tears. They loved the convic-tion with which I played Inder. That’show I got the role.� What is the difference between

South and the Hindi film industry?The South film industry has

taught me a lot of discipline and alsohow to make your producer com-fortable. A person who is investingmoney should feel comfortable. ForBollywood, undoubtedly it is everyactor’s dream. It has a wider reach.� Is there a role that you would liketo experiment with?

I want to play a warrior.Whenever I see such movies, there isa certain energy that I feel. I believethat I have some connection with awarrior. May be I was a warrior in mypast life. (laughs)� What things are outside yourcomfort zone?

Doing intimate scenes. I try toavoid such scenes but if the scriptdemands it then I don’t have a choice.But yes, I want to avoid it as much aspossible because by all means I wantto guard my co-actor. It is my respon-sibility to not do anything that wouldharm women co-actors in any way.� What has been your fondestmemory?

When my first film got released— both in Hindi and Telugu and I saw

myself on the big screen; it is amoment I can never forget. I remem-ber when I walked into the theatre, Ididn’t get a seat. I was just standing inthe corner and seeing such huge ver-sion of me on the 70 mm screen.� What are your upcoming pro-jects?

I have my hands full. HaseenDilruba and Taish will be releasing thisyear. Both of them are amazingmovies. For Taish, I have done morehomework than what I did for SanamTeri Kasam. It’s a revenge-drama andpeople will see me in a different avatar.� Can you share a few memoriesfrom your life?

When I was struggling, I was veryfond of river rafting. Back in 2011, allmy friends made a plan to go toRishikesh. I had no money backthen. One of my friend knew a resortowner who was about to get married.I requested my friend to ask him if Icould be the photographer and that hehad to let me stay at his resort for threedays — all free. He agreed. And nowafter so many years, I am playing ariver rafter in Haseen Dilruba. Lifedefinitely makes you take a full circle.

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In 2011 when the first edition of the21 Gun Salute Heritage Cultural

Trust in association with the Ministryof Tourism was flagged off, nobodywould have though that nine yearsdown the line it would only grow fromstrength to strength and attract inter-national participation, be covered by20 international magazines and wouldbring 100s of rarest of rare vintage carson to its platform. the ninth edition,was more than just display of richautomotive heritage that paid tributeto the golden era of the automotiveindustry; it was also about celebratingthe country’s rich heritage. The 21Gun Salute International Vintage CarRally & Concours d'Elegance hasgrown to become one of the mostanticipated and talked-about auto-mobile events of Asia.

This salute to the spirit of motor-ing will showcase rare vintage cars inthe world like the 1938 Rolls-Royce25/30, Maserati 3500GT VignaleSyder, 1939 Buick RoadmasterConvertible, 1959 Jaguar XK 150 S,1951 Bentley MK VI Freestone and1959 Alfa 2000 to name just a few. Therally will cover 17 cities, 4000 km in23 days that will be a tribute to themotoring and historic Indian culture.The rally, after 17check-in stops, willend in the City of Lakes — Udaipur— on March 10, 2020 with the theparticipants enjoying the Festival ofColours — Holi.

Madan Mohan, chairman andmanaging trustee of 21 Gun SaluteHeritage & Cultural Trust tells youthat India’s culture and heritagemotoring are the two strong pillars ofthe competition. “Both aspects high-light that the show is of specialimportance and attract both partici-pants and visitors. For the past eightyears, the event has grown in allaspects to become a magnificentshow that attracts tourists and motor-ing buffs from around the world,”Mohan says.

He tells you that the idea is therally is not to just show the rarest ofrare vintage cars that compete but itis a step in generating interest in glob-al tourists to experience the grandeurof India. “Along with internationalparticipation from 15 motoring enthu-siasts from around the globe, the rally

will be a biennial effort to promoteIndia as a global motoring tourismdestination on a global platform. It willalso bring enormous tourist footprintto our country,” Mohan tells you whogot the support of the Ministry ofTourism for the rally back in 2014.

The motoring enthusiasts alongwith their masterpieces will travel to

unique destinations — which changeseach year — stay at palaces of erst-while maharajas, dine with royalfamilies and visit the forts to buildbuild lifelong bonds. And then thereis the fact that while the entries thisyear is over a 100, each vintage carthat will be on the road have neverbeen showcased in the show before.

“The idea is to show people carsfrom different era and how the speedand cylinders changed over time.There are cars with a speed of 40 kman hour. Given that those were stilltimes of horse-drawn carriages, thisspeed back in the early 1930s wouldhave been phenomenal,” he says.

In order to judge these cars, there

is a gathering of an international jurypanel comprising 37 motoringexperts and renowned classic carexperts, Fédération International desVéhicules Anciens (FIVA) officials,restoration experts, FIVA scruti-neers, F-1 racers and other celebrat-ed individuals from all over theworld. The handpicked cars aregiven points on the basis of authen-ticity of cars, their style, design, rar-ity, the stitch on the upholstery,how authentic the colour is, howauthentic the upholstery is and theentire car has been upgraded.

Mohan, who has 328 vintagecars, 43 jeeps and 106 bikes alongwith clocks, typewriters, and otherantiques, has been a collector sincehe purchased his first-ever vintage carDodge Victory 6, 1928, back in2000, that was previously owned byRaja Saheb of Khetri.

“All these antiques have beenpainstakingly restored to their origi-nal glory. I scouts palaces and garagesto look for abandoned vintage cars,buys them and then spends years inupgrading them. It is time consum-ing and an expensive hobby. One hasto look for original parts or orderthem from the companies that are inthe business of making these parts.Then comes the cost ofshipment. it isvery rare that one will find a part herein India. It has to be imported.

“At each and every stage, there isa cost not to forget that the first six-eight months are spent in doingresearch on the car; its history andwhat made it special. Once that isdone, the work on the car itself starts.Sometimes it takes months before weget a part or a specific upholstery. Alot of patience is required when youwork on doing up a vintage car. Butthe satisfaction that comes from look-ing at the end result is worth all thehassle,” Mohan says.

Interestingly, Mohan is the face ofthe show and looks after the frontmanagement and it is his brother whospends hours toiling and restoring thecars. “My brother went for a course invehicle restoration in the US when hewas 46. He likes to stay in the back-ground. While I do the marketing andam the face of the what we do,” Mohansays.

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TalktimeHARSHVARDHAN RANE

Having done all kinds of jobs for about 15 yearsbefore stepping into B-town, Rane is proud to

have gone through that phase which madehim what he is today. He speaks with

Musba Hashmi about his debut,fondest memory and upcoming

projects

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Page 13: ˆˆ ˙˝ˆ ˛ˆ...2020/02/23  · visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra on Monday. Contrary versions emerged from the Indian and American sides on Saturday with sources in New Delhi saying

Energy security has been sig-nificant to the economictransformation, global pros-perity and well-being of thehuman kind. Energy security

will continue to be detrimental to theexisting life and much more crucial tothe developing countries than thedeveloped world. The world’s demandfor energy grew by 95% in the last 40years and the future demand, estimatedto be more than 90%, to be because ofhuge growth in demand from India andChina. These resources are finite, andthe direct links between energy supplyand economic growth have pushed theissue of energy security at the core ofthe policy debate with a considerableimpact on the geopolitics.

India, one of the fastest growingmajor economies, is also the fastestgrowing energy consumer in the world.And set to become the most populousnation, it is not well endowed withenergy reserves. India has mammothtask of meeting its economic and socialdevelopmental goals, and lift its mil-lions of people out of poverty. Thecountry has no option but to strive forsustained growth rate of 8-10% toachieve this. India’s economy in all like-ly will continue to supersede thegrowth rate of all other majoreconomies in the world in the foresee-able future. The demand for energy inthe coming years will accelerate furtheras India embarks on manufacturingthrough Modi Government’s muchvaulted ‘Make in India’ programme,developmental projects and access toelectricity to all. Consequently, energysecurity has emerged as one of thesalient policy issues over the pastdecade and a half, and the successiveIndian governments have emphasisedon addressing the impending energycrisis challenges.

In the past, India’s energy securityhas been narrow in its approach, main-ly aimed at managing supply. But overthe past two decades, India’s energysecurity policy has evolved andapproach is much more inclusive whichtakes into account the political, eco-nomic, social and environmental issuesand concerns under which the energysecurity policy is being pursued todayinternationally. India’s quest for energysecurity could be seen under the frame-work of four ‘A’s: availability, accessibili-ty, affordability and acceptability, whichis to make energy accessible to all thesections and sectors at an affordableprice in a socially and politically accept-able carbon-controlled environment.

India’s more than 50% of energyneeds is derived from domestic stocksof coal, mainly for the electricity. Coalshall remain India’s most importantenergy source and critical to its growthfor the decades ahead. However, thepercentage of coal in India’s energy mix

will decline in the future. India, with17% of the world’s population, has just0.8% of the world’s known oil and nat-ural gas resources. Today, oil accountsfor 36% of the country’s primary ener-gy use. This figure is set to rise both inabsolute and in percentage terms.India’s domestic production is not suffi-cient to meet its demand. As a result,India already imports 80% of its crudeoil needs. Without new and substantialdomestic discoveries, imports will con-tinue to increase. By contrast, naturalgas currently provides only 8% ofIndia’s primary energy supply, and mostof that gas comes from domesticsources, onshore and offshore. But theposition is likely to change drastically asIndia plans towards the world averagefor the use of natural gas.

To promote oil and gas productionat domestic level, the IndianGovernment has been taking severalsteps which range from encouragingthe Indian companies to increase theirdomestic activities and widening itsengagement with multinational compa-nies, broadening opportunities forthem to participate in oil and gas explo-ration in India. Also, to stimulate theinvestments and development in theexploration of hydrocarbon sources ofenergy, some of the steps have focussedon regulatory changes, a transparentgas pricing policy and redevelopmentof uneconomical assets. The domesticefforts have also seen a concerted focuson exploring various alternative sourcesof energy which are infinite, renewableand environment-friendly. The govern-ment has given a massive push in thisregard in the energy productionthrough solar energy, wind power,hydroelectricity power, and biomass,and nuclear energy.

At the domestic level, the chal-lenges are puzzling and often at oddssuch as increasing energy access, build-ing a smart system for drawing invest-ment in energy infrastructure and pric-ing of energy to facilitate the economicand environmental competence. Unlikethe past policy of self-reliance, India’senergy policy has shifted to positionitself to address its new dependence oninternational markets, diversify itssources of energy abroad, look for alter-native sources of energy, and increaseits domestic production which contin-ues to be in line with its earlier com-mitment to self-sufficiency. India’sdomestic exploration and productionpush is not very promising. As a result,India continues to rely on the foreignsources for its energy needs especiallyfor petroleum.

Since increased domestic produc-tion alone will not be sufficient to meetthe projected needs for either oil, gas orcoal, India is also expanding its effortsabroad. Eventually, this has made ener-gy security one of the top foreign policy

priorities. Despite the Indian govern-ment’s emphasis on domestic produc-tion of coal and efforts to diversify thesources of energy, the demand forimported coal is likely to continue.India’s energy demand, both for con-sumer and industry, cannot be done inthe near future without the help ofimported coal. There is no substantialproof that India can address its energydemand without the use of importedcoal to supplement its domestic supply.For example, the energy security hasbeen an important aspect of India-Australia relationship in which importof Australian high calorific value coalremains crucial.

Subsequently, energy security hasemerged as one of the top foreign poli-cy priorities of the Modi Government.This becomes significant as ModiGovernment embarks to make India amanufacturing hub through its muchvaulted ‘Make in India’ initiatives.Energy security’s primacy in Modi gov-ernment’s foreign policy is reflected inhis record number of high-profile for-eign visits during which he has beencutting energy deals with energy richcountries.

India’s energy security pursuitbecomes more challenging with thegrowing concerns of global climatechange and political instability in theenergy rich regions of the world. Indiahas been relying mainly on coal andpetroleum for its energy sources. India’smove towards renewable energysources will not be sufficient for itsmounting energy demand. India has tolook towards an energy sources withless carbon emission and provide baseload power. In this context, gas andnuclear energy figure significant. Gas isless carbon emitting source of energy.India’s gas utilisation is far below theworld average. Modi government hasalso given priority to enhance the gasutilisation and move towards gas basedeconomy. India is planning to set upgas pipelines for import of gas from itsneighbouring nations. A number of gaspipelines are proposed and are in theconstruction phase. Majority of theminvolve intense geopolitics as some ofthe proposed gas pipelines will passthrough Pakistan and China.

Since the two-thirds of India’s oilimports come from one single region,that is, the Gulf Co-operation Council(GCC) countries, India is following inthe footsteps of other major oil-import-ing economies and making significantefforts to obtain supplies from sourcesoutside the Gulf. In addition, the possi-bility of disruption from unseen politi-cal instability, religious extremism, ter-rorism, and threats to supply lines havepushed India to look for new hydrocar-bon destinations abroad.

India has taken steps to diversify itshydrocarbon exploration in the regions

of Latin America, Africa, CaspianBasin, Russia and in the waters of Indo-Pacific region.

Problems of diversification of ener-gy sources for India arises from thepolitical volatility, geopolitics of theseregions and above all it puts India inthe direct competition with China par-ticularly in the Non-Middle Easternand Non-Gulf region as the new desti-nation of energy source which furthersparks a geopolitical competition andadds more complexities to an existingcompetitive and often conflicting India-China relationship.

Nuclear energy has the potential tobecome an important source of India’senergy mix given its economic afford-ability in the long run and environmentfriendly. Currently, nuclear energymakes up around 3% of India’s energymix and has the potential to become 20to 25% of India’s energy mix by 2050.The lack of enriched uranium, lightwater reactors, and advanced technolo-gy hampered India’s nuclear energycapability. But after the conclusion ofIndia-US nuclear agreement, India’snuclear apartheid ended and unchainedIndia from the technology denialregimes of the Nuclear Non-prolifera-tion Act of 1978 which came in thewake of India’s first atomic test in 1974.The nuclear deal was aimed to helpIndia to meet its looming energy crisisby enabling it to access to safeguardednuclear fuel, advanced light water reac-tors and civilian nuclear technology.

The India-US nuclear deal pushedthe energy security to the core of India’sforeign policy. After the India-US civil-ian nuclear deal, India has sealed thecivilian nuclear agreements with anumber of countries including France,Russia, Canada, Australia, Japan andthe UK. Given India’s non-signatorystatus of Nuclear-Non-ProliferationTreaty, for any country dealing withIndia in nuclear energy and technologytrade becomes an issue of a mutualtrust and confidence which requireddelicate diplomacy from India. Thoughaimed to address India’s energy securi-ty, the US-India nuclear deal wasviewed by China as part of the UnitedStates’ grand strategy to contain thegrowing power and influence of Chinain Asia. As a result, the Chinese andPakistani lobbying along with ‘NuclearAyatollahs’ put a concerted lobbyingeffort to block the nuclear deal atCapitol Hill, though failed. The India-China energy geopolitics resurfacedduring India’s bid to membership in theNuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) recent-ly. China used its clout and prerogativesto block India’s case for the inclusion inthe NSG. The nuclear energy is signifi-cant for India’s efforts to shift to anenvironmentally friendly energysources and alternate sources of energysources.

India’s push towards renewableenergy has been remarkable which isreflected in Modi Government’sschemes to give a boost to renewableenergy sources. But even the renewableenergy sources are not free from thecompetitive geopolitical environment.India-Chian energy geo-politics is alsoreflected in renewable energy space.Renewable energy’s geographic andtechnical characteristics are fundamen-tally different from those of coal, oiland natural gas. Though still in the for-mative stage, international norms arebeing built towards the renewable ener-gy, and India-China energy geopoliticswill enter this new energy space as bothare striving to influence the renewableenergy space. The inevitability ofrenewable energy is undeniable andcountries are gearing up for anincreased share in their energy mix.Those that dominate the markets inthese new technologies will likely havethe most influence over the develop-ment patterns of the future. As othermajor powers find themselves in cli-mate denial, China and India both aremoving to use and exploit the globalrenewable energy space, though Chinais ahead.

India is emerging as a new norma-tive player in the renewable energyregime. Prime Minister Modi has pur-sued unwavering commitment to ener-gy security by constructing 175 GW ofrenewable capacity by 2022 and India iscommitted to its unflinching commit-ment to combat global warming irre-spective of what happens in the rest ofthe world. Prime Minister Modi beingawarded the “Champion of Earth” bythe UN Secretary General in 2018 isadditional power to India’s growingnormative leadership in this new ener-gy source regime that translates intogeopolitics as it helps India to enhanceits image internationally.

India’s energy policy is being pur-sued in a much more inclusive mannerin its domestic and international set-tings to address its fast-growing energydemand in a competitive geo-politicalenvironment. India energy explorationabroad in the new regions is putting indirect competition with with China.Unlike the US-Soviet Union energygeopolitics, the India-China energycompetition has been mostly confinedto the commercial and diplomatic leveltussles, though both remain vulnerableto conflicts which may get aggravateddue to their competitive and conflictingrelations and the emerging strategicgeometry in the Indo-Pacific region.

— Dr Ashok Sharma is a VisitingFellow at the University of New SouthWales at the Australian Defence Force

Academy and the author of the book‘India’s Pursuit of Energy Security:

Domestic Measures, Foreign Policy andGeopolitics’ (Sage Publications, 2019)

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Afrequently heard complaintfrom a section of Indian his-torians is that vested interestshave played havoc with thesub-continent’s history, tradi-

tions and culture. If one goes throughthe history books taught in the Indianschools and universities, it will be foundthat those lamenting over the tamperingof India’s history are not exaggerating.Some sections of the country’s valuablehistory have been suppressed from thenew generation, especially from thosewho were born after 1950.

How many among those who wereborn after 1950 are familiar with thegreat Maratha ruler Shivaji, the valiantfighter Tantia Tope, the great socialreformer Mahatma Phule, the all timegreat of the 19th century South India byname Chattampi Swamikal and his col-league Sree Narayana Guru?

We cannot put the entire blame fordistorting history upon previous regimesalone. It is a strategy deployed since timeimmemorial to misinterpret historicalfacts by groups with vested interests.“History is written by victors,” SirWinston Churchill, former British PrimeMinister who is known for his eruditionand knowledge had said. In moderntimes, it was proved by the British colo-nialists. The best example is LouisMountbatten’s decision to destroy eventhe last vestiges of victory symbols of theJapanese army from Singapore andMalaysia.

“After re-taking Singapore,Mountbatten’s (who was the SupremeCommander, South East Asia duringSecond World War) first act was to orderthe demolition of the war memorialhonouring slain heroes of the IndianNational Army. The INA War Memorialat Singapore to commemorate the“Unknown Warrior” was started on July8, 1945 at Esplanade Park. It was razedto the ground by Mountbatten’s alliedtroops when they reoccupied the city.Demolishing memorials, war memorialsand other revered symbols of defeatedpeople is habitual Christian triumphal-ism as is desecrating the tombs of therulers of conquered people,” writesRadha Rajan, one of the highly respectedthinkers of our times.

Most Indians are not really seriousabout learning history. They are noteven bothered about recent history ascan be seen by the attitude of the newgeneration towards the dark days of

emergency declared by the former PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi in 1975.

I was shocked to see the larger thanlife flex boards with pictures of FidelCastro and Che Guevera greeting thedelegates of Indian Science Congressduring the 2009 Indian Science Congressheld at Thiruvananthapuram. Therewere no pictures of Sir C V Raman, ProfJ C Bose, S N Bose and the likes whotook Indian science to new heights. Butfor ISRO, which co-sponsored the event,there would not have been a single pic-ture of that prince of Indian SpaceScience, Vikram Sarabhai.

This is not the case with sciencealone. How many among our new histo-rians are familiar with the works of thegreat Acharya Ramesh ChandraMajumdar, whose seminal work the

eleven-volume History and Culture ofIndian People preserve and protect thegreat history of this great nation fromgetting tampered by the evil designs ofpeople following imported and outdatedideologies?

Dara Shukoh, son of Shah Jahan,was the unsung hero of the MughalDynasty. Dara, the eldest son of ShahJahan lived only up to the age of 44 yearsbut left indelible marks in the history ofthe sub continent.

What makes him dear to the peoplein Mughal empire was his tolerancetowards other religions and humanenature, unlike his younger brotherAurangzeb, who went on to become theMughal ruler presiding over the king-dom till the ripe age of 89!

Aurangzeb was known for his hatred

towards Hindus and went on demolish-ing and destroying the Sanatana Dharmaand its symbols like temples, ashramsand monasteries. Though the seculariststried to portray him as a philanthropistby hiring the services of AudreyTruschke to come out with a volume byname Aurangzeb: The Man and Myth, itfell all flat as she could not counter theeye witness accounts of Francois Bernier(a European physician and traveller inShah Jahan’s court) and NiccolaoManucci (a military strategist for Dara,who continued to work with Aurangzebafter the fall of the former).

Dara in his brief tenure as princehad got the Vedas and Upanishads trans-lated into Persian and French and thisitself speak volumes about his compas-sion for anything that originated in the

sub continent. Who in India would haveheard about Bernier and Manucci if ithad not been for S L Bhyrappa who inhis famous work Aavaran told the read-ers about the official eye witnessaccounts of these two Europeans?

Avik Chanda, a business advisorwith degrees from Delhi School ofEconomics, has taken from whereBhyrappa left.

Chanda’s book “Dara Shukoh :TheMan Who Would Be King” is a refreshingexperience. Chanda gives the readers abird’s eye view on the life and time ofShukoh, the designated heir of ShahJahan. Even as a young prince, Shukohwanted the common man to know moreabout the Islamic saints and for that heopted words instead of swords unlikeAurangzeb and Tipu Sultan. “What Dara

was striving for was not linguistic andliterary brilliance but a tone of simplici-ty, an idiom that would induce faith inthe reader who was a common man,”writes Chanda (Page 51). Thus was bornSafinat-ul-Aulia, an account of the livesof over 400 saints!

The account of Dara Shukoh onceagain underlines the fact that theMuslim invaders who occupied thethrones in New Delhi and elsewhere inthe subcontinent chose this land only toloot and proselytise. The Sufi saints wereIslamic evangelists who went ahead withtheir mission by singing about love andpreaching the message of anarchy.Despite the fact that he belonged to theMughal dynasty, Dara had some civilityin his heart unlike his forefather Babaror sibling Aurangzeb. Those who are outto paint Aurangzeb with divinity mayneed more self styled historians likeAudrey Truschke because we have writ-ers like Avik Chanda for digging out thetruth.

Dara Shukoh: The Man Who wouldbe King is an ideal work not only foraspiring historians but for general read-ers interested in Indian history.

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They all sang along.

With Pete Seeger it is dif-ficult not to.Embellishing his selec-

tion with high-note harmoniesby grandson Tao Rodriguez,Pete strummed his banjo andguitar to strike up the ever-pop-ular If I had a hammer question,reminisce Jose Marti’sGuantanamera, count 1,2,3 onthe Vietnam Song and runthrough the Midnight Special. Inbetween there were stories, lotsof laughter, more stories and aknee-slapping, foot-stompingjingle that had the 77-year-oldbringing the house down withthunderous applause.

And they all sang along.The money tune came next.

It was zesty, what with Tao’sfreewheeling harmonies aidedby the snappy guitar rhythm:…Money can still be handy too(but) let’s not allow ‘king money’to rule.

The audience, essentially30-plus, was loving it.

‘How does he do it?’‘What energy, it’s amaz-

ing…’ were all that the chatter-ing classes could manage.

But it was truly magical.How could one man, 77 yearsold, and helped only by a guitarand a grandson, captivate hislisteners thus? And that toowhen there are none of thenow-generation psychedelicpyrotechnics, no multi-colouredlights and no fancy bass-boost-ing sound system.

The truth is Pete doesn’tneed all that. He never did. Forhaving spent over five decades

directing music towards socialchange for peace, equality anddecency, his philosophy wasalways about heart-and-soul,and about the power of simplic-ity. No wonder they always singalong.

During the early ‘60s, afterhe was able to reorganise theNewport Folk Festival to useprofits to help folk performers,he privately published How toPlay the Five-String Banjo butrefused to copyright the bookbecause the ‘banjo belongs toeveryone’. Pete’s humanity wasso unusual it seemed threaten-ing. Always a popular target ofthe US witch-hunt-he was sen-tenced to prison and blacklistedduring the McCarthy era-partic-ularly suspicious was his customof learning songs from everycountry where he gave concerts.

Back at Siri Fort, Tao heldon to this tradition as he ren-dered an Argentinian songabout god, war and the future.Pete was on harmony this timeas the grandson’s soul-stirringhigh-pitched singing had theaudience fall head over heels. Astanding ovation was the youngman’s reward.

A slow and soft tune onPete’s recorder helped the ever-cooperating audience hum onenote for effect, which was thenfollowed by what the Guru hadpicked up from an Indian stu-dent, Ram Dhun. Tao dwelledon the high notes once again asPete celebrated his comeback.

Raghupati Raghav RajaRam/Patita Pavan Sita Ram.…

And they all sang along.

Over two hours had slippedby rather quickly. By then therewere more songs with tablaplayer Ashim Chakraborty join-

ing the duo. But the audiencewas getting restless. Some of thefavourites were yet to come.‘Turn, Turn’, someone screamed

from the far corner of the bal-cony. ‘Last Train to Nuremberg,Garbage’, it went on. Amidst allthe shouts for encores, chiefguest Ustad Amjad Ali Khanpresented the customary floraltributes on behalf of hosts,Indian Council for CulturalRelations. And as Pete thankedthe ‘wonderful singing audi-ence,’ he obliged with TheAnthem.

We shall overcome,We shall overcome, somedayOh deep in my heart I do

believeWe shall overcome some-

day…

And they all sang along.

I learnt that song in Banglain the ‘70s as a ten-year-oldwhile living on a college cam-pus on Beltola Road inBhawanipore, hearing studentssing it with zest, welcoming agroup of families fromBangladesh who had fled thewar of 1971 and had been shel-tered there, courtesy my aunt,the principal of Beltola BasicTraining College. Not sure if Igrasped its true import then,but as the years passed Irealised how my mother and Icould well have been amongthem. Not fleeing war, butfinding ourselves without aroof over our heads after life inAgartala took an unexpectedturn.

That song, anthem really,would be heard on variousoccasions in Calcutta; at stu-dent marches protesting toofew teachers in government

colleges, at Left Front politicalrallies against the bourgeoisPress or funnily enough, at resi-dents’ meetings to demand, noteight-hourly, but four-hourly,water supply from CalcuttaCorporation and at aDharamtala sit-in defence of theBengali’s inalienable right not towork and enforce a state-wideshutdown (bandh). Calcutta stillloves a good protest. We had totake it in our stride. Still do.

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The American nationalinterest is served by US

President Donald Trump’s visitto New Delhi as both thenations are striving hard for anewly discovered “ally-hood”which might be a step towardsa closer and a more fruitfulrelationship, as, an aftermath ofPresident Trump’s visit to NewDelhi which can be consideredas significant summitry with allits ebullient expectations.

It was President Trumponly, in the run up to theNational Security StrategyDocument in 2017, whodeclared that India needs toassume novae roles in theinternational system going byits rising pelf, geo-economicinfluence and strategic might.This gels well with the avowedordering principle of “Vishwaguru” which India adheres toas a functional aspect of its for-eign policy though the dictumneeds much more of an elab-oration in the light of the ebband flow of the tide ofInternational Relations. Suchan American perception will bethe key theme when PresidentTrump visits New Delhi.

Perceived in the context ofPresident Trump’s visit, a fewpointers need to be elucidated.The foremost being the stepwhich is much awaited in NewDelhi that the US ought to dis-own the arch antagonistPakistan and a kind of a reas-surance to New Delhi can begiven to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, though allmilitary aid has already beencurtailed to Islamabad.Secondly, New Delhi will air itsconcern about the outbreak of

coronavirus and also as anattendant fact, China’s extend-ed ministration in the IndianOcean Rim-Association forRegional Cooperation (IOC-ARC) region and the Malaccastraits should be another themeto be deliberated upon by thesummiteers.

Also, PM Modi can insistupon President Trump that inthe case of other peacefulnuclear explosions (PNEs) andin the context of the CivilianNuclear Liability Bill, more ofa clearer comprehension can bereached between the twinnations in New Delhi, whichfalls in the criterion of the ofPM Modi being a “GoodFriend,” as elucidated byPresident Trump in one of hislatest statement on the soil ofthe United States of America.Also, the Indian negotiatorscan look forward to a novaeappreciation of the fact thatIndia has waged a successfulwar against terrorism and amore practical and reflectivecollaboration can be materi-alised between New Delhi andWashington in tougher timesto come. The deliberationsmight include the trade differ-ences in relation with stents,knee implants, informationand communication technolo-gy products along with the cesswhich the United States impos-es on the sale of HarleyDavidson bikes in India.

Perceived in such an inter-esting and illuminating light,the entire world looks forwardto the upcoming jaunt ofPresident Trump to New Delhias both he and PM Modi sharespecial chemistry with each

other as has been evident dur-ing their various rendezvous.The Indian support toPresident Trump can be theorder of the day on February24, 2020, in relation to his elec-tioneering in the Americanhomeland. The summitry neednot be dwelt upon as a pro-motional election event forPresident Trump, but, as a sig-nificant course corrective in thelarger spectrum of the rela-tionship between both thenations.

All in all and in toto, thenegotiators from India and theUnited States are engaged fer-vently to reach a micro tradedeal before President Trumplands in Delhi. If a wellnuanced trade and investmentquid pro quo is not arrived atby the twin interlocutors thena fledgling trade alliance is on

cards as a prologue to thePresident’s jaunt to New Delhi.Such a biz takeway will be thecognizant quid pro quo in thecommercial tryst with eachother. Also, despite the diver-gences in the context of alu-minum trade and the retalia-tory Generalized System ofPreferences (GSP), both theheads of Governments are wellsuited to negotiate hard fortrade deal in lines with thecharacteristics of shared values,democratisation and attendantprinciples of a liberal tradeecosystem. Also, PresidentTrump would do well to heedthe concerns of PM Modi.Also, as an attendant fact theUnited States is expected to dis-cuss the idiom of protectionismwhich the New Delhi denom-ination is adhering to in thelight of a cyclical domestic

downturn in the Indian econ-omy. The US-based GSP refersto through the instrumentali-ty of the US Customs andBorder Protection that, “TheGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP) providesduty-free treatment to goods ofdesignated beneficiary coun-tries. The programme wasauthorised by the Trade Act of1974 to promote economicgrowth in the developing coun-tries and was implemented onJanuary 1, 1976.” It has beenobserved that a trade fightovershadows the dictum ofthe larger Strategic relationshipin the specificities of theTrump-Modi meet in theRaisina Hill. The strategic col-laborative exercise has germi-nated between both the nationssince the last decade but thisstrategic partnership in the

context of the Asiatic Space andthe Indian Ocean Rim nationsis all set to be discomfited inthe aftermath of a trade warlike scenario between India andUnited States of America.

The US Trade representa-tive, Robert Lighthizer isalready negotiating a hard ballIndian negotiating side to rampup the Presidential visit with aprized micro deal to serve it upfor the American electoratewhich is also in the larger pro-tectionist national interest ofPresident Trump’s blue collarAmerica. The Indian concernat the Trump-Modi itinerarymight be the chances ofreprisals that New Delhi mighthave to confront if all do not gowell with the larger trade talksin New Delhi. The allegationfrom the American industryand corporate is that India isstill evading the liberal traderegime and ratcheting up theguillotine of strait-jacketedprotectionism. The ForeignPolicy, FP trade report, con-tends and informs us thatPresident Trump is more con-cerned with the trade imbal-ance which the United Statestrade structure has with Indiaand China, but that might betruer with the People’s Republicof China, then, with India. Asa recent U-turn, PresidentTrump has indicated that nobig trade deal will be signedbetween both the nations in hisvisit to India though his nego-tiators had done the spadework before the President’svisit, which comes as a rudeshock to the twin negotiatingsides being engaged in tradenegotiations. Though, the trade

deal which will be limited incontext, aims to achievewaivers for the American farmproducts along with the home-land’s dairy products, therefusal to ink trade deals pointsat the underlying tensionsbetween both the nations. TheUS President has stated that heis looking forward to a limitedtrade deal while the wholesomeagreement can wait for thefuture which might not augurwell for New Delhi.

Apart from the trade opticsof the Trump-Modi summitry,the diplomatic factoid of XiJinping ceremoniously inkingtrade agreements withMyanmar and establishing adeep water port in Myanmar,is a stately and crafty strivingto sideline both India and theUnited States in the IndianOcean Rim. It also aims at iso-lating India, which does notaugur well for the UnitedStates, which now feels thesqueeze of an overtly aggressiveChin in the contested waters ofIndian Ocean. This theme,along with the threat for anIndo-US détente, might turnout to be a key part of deliber-ations in the President-PrimeMinister summitry in NewDelhi on February 25. Still, theepithet of being the “TariffKing” which the AmericanPresident has utilised for Indiareflects the expected conces-sions from the side of the NewDelhi fence as an aftermath ofthe February summitry.

(The writer teaches atInternational Relations andInternational Organisations,IIPA, New Delhi)

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������������������&���������� �The Syrian war is just going

to complete nine years ofdevastation, displacement anda new power play in the restiveWest Asian region. The warthat started in 2011 has wit-nessed for the first time thedirect involvement of Russia atan equal pace against the US-led coalition. Though Basharal-Assad has been threatenedby anti-Government forcessince the beginning, he hasmanaged to survive till date.Now only the last rebel redoubtof Idlib is yet to be broughtback to the fold of Governmentforces.

The biggest challenge isending the ongoing civil war. Itis one of the most serioushumanitarian disasters inrecent political history of theworld, with the gravest refugeepredicament since the WorldWar II. More than half a mil-lion people have so far lost theirlives. Almost half the popula-tion of Syria has been dis-placed. The number of refugeeswho have fled the countrynow exceeds five million,including more than 2.5 mil-lion children.

Turkey continues to hostthe largest chunk of refugeesnumbering nearly four million.

Looking at the current sce-nario in Syria, a completelywar-ravaged nation, the worstcomes for the internally dis-placed and for the refugees asthey all would keep fighting fortheir survival. Normally arefugee is a person who isforced to leave his home andhis country because his life andliberty are in danger. But the1951 Geneva ConventionRelating to the Status ofRefugees describes a refugee asone person who “owing towell-founded fear of being per-secuted for reasons of race, reli-gion, nationality, membershipof a particular social group orpolitical opinion, is outsidethe country of his nationalityand is unable, or owing to suchfear, is unwilling to avail him-self of the protection of thatcountry”.

However, this typical def-inition of refugees have beenbroadened to include peoplewho are forced to leave theircountries because of wide-spread violence, war and for-eign occupation that has put

their lives at risk in their ownhomeland.

As of today, the Syrianrefugees have crossed over tocountries such as Turkey,Lebanon, Jordan, North Africa,Iraq, Egypt, the US, Canadaand to large parts of Europe.And out of the total refugeesthose who are asylum seekersare about a million. And a largenumber of them are inGermany and the rest of themare spread across Sweden,Canada and in the US.

The cumulative loss togross domestic product fromthe starting of the war, i.e. 2011,through the early part of 2017has been estimated by theinternational agencies, includ-ing the World Bank, to anamount of $226 billion. So farthere has been no definitivecost of reconstruction workedout, but the Assad regime haswishfully mentioned it as near-

ly $400 billion. Thus, rebuild-ing Syria would be a dauntingtask both for the SyrianGovernment and internation-al aid agencies.

Today the victory of theAssad regime over the rebelforces across Syria is a reality.Mainly, the rebel-held strong-holds and large swaths of ter-ritories in the southern parts ofSyria have been retaken by theGovernment forces in recentmonths. The main cities underthe Government control areDamascus, Homs, Hama,Aleppo, Latakia, Tartus,Palmyra and Albu Kamal. Andthe Free Syrian Army (FSA) —a loose organisation of armedbrigades — was formed in thebeginning of 2011 by defectorsfrom the Syrian Army. Alsomany disgruntled civilians whowant to topple the Assad’s fam-ily rule had also joined the FSA.But what is striking is that since

the battle of Aleppo, the FSAhas been only able to retain itscontrol over limited areas innorth-western Syria. The mainarea that it controls is the Idlibprovince wherein the final bat-tle now is between the rebelsand the Government forces.On the other hand, the Kurdishforces have occupied muchlarger areas, than any otherforces, which include Raqqa,Quamishli and Hasakah. Infact, reclaiming Raqqa from thegrip of ISIS was a historic winfor the Kurdish Army. After thebattle of Raqqa, the ISIS hasbeen confined to an area nearAlbu Kamal.

Unfortunately, these areasare surrounded by the Assadforces from the west and theKurdish from the east. And therest of rag-tag militias who arebattling the Syrian Army fortheir survival are Jabhat Fatehal-Sham, Iran backed

Hizbollah and the SyrianDemocratic Forces, largelydominated by the KurdishPeoples Protection Unitsknown as the YPG.

So far, more than five seriesof ceasefire agreements havebeen concluded between dif-ferent parties, including the US,Russia, Jordan, AssadGovernment and the majorrebel groups. It first started in2016 by the UN known as theGeneva Syria peace talks. Infact by February 26, UNSecurity Council unanimous-ly adopted Resolution 2268that demanded all parties tocomply with the terms of theagreement. As no single partyhad adhered to the terms of thedeal violence surfaced onceagain. By the end of September10, the US and Russia con-cluded deal bringing ceasefirebetween the AssadGovernment and an American

backed coalition of rebelgroups. Both the parties andtheir allies violated the dealhence the war took an uglyturn.

The third peace agreementsigned between Turkey andRussia in Astana led to com-plete ceasefire across Syria.This effort continued despitethe non-participation of theISIS, YPG and the al-NusraFront and constant eruptions ofviolent clashes in differentparts of Syria.

The fourth ceasefire effortcame into being on May 6,2017, among Russia, Turkeyand Iran in Astana to divideSyria into four de-escalationzones. However, some rebelgroups alleged that the inten-tion behind the truce is simplyto divide Syria into several sec-tarian zones so as escalate thecrisis. In a way, such partitionwould allow the Damascus todivide the anti-Governmentforces and pound on themseparately. And by July 2017,the Trump Administration,Moscow and Amman (Jordan)made an effort to broker apeace deal in southern Syria.This agreement is valid despitecontinuous exchange of firebetween the Governmentforces and various rebels.

The war in Syria is defi-nitely going to wind down. Thereason behind is that the rebelsare fast losing their grounds.Among them the most power-ful ISIS which is almost dyingdown with its leader’s deathand mostly breaking down tosplinter groups with diverseaims and objectives.

This is accompanied byconstant reinforcements fromRussia with man and materialtowards the Governmentforces. And in a situation wherein America is busy preparingfor the next round of presi-dential polls, Trump is hardlysparing anytime for a definitivesolution in war-torn Syria. Butthe Kurdish stronghold in theNorth of Syria is going to con-tinue unless there is a globalunderstanding to either recog-nise their homeland or to com-pletely vanquish them, pro-vided Washington backs sucha deal. All the anti-Government groups have nowconsolidated in the Idlibprovince. The sad part is that

all of them do not have a fea-sible strategy to fight theRussian-backed Assad forceswhich might lead to a sure vic-tory for Assad.

Finally, since the end of theCold War, what we have seenis that ceaseless efforts lead toend of most of the wars alongwith warring groups layingdown their arms. With othermajor conflicts and interna-tional hot spots rising such asIraq, Afghanistan, Somalia,Nigeria, Yemen, etc, the Syrianissue has been substantiallymoved to the sidelines despitehaving serious refugee prob-lems spanning from the WestAsian region to Europe.Besides, the efforts to bring thewarring groups and majorpowers to the negotiation tableare seemed to be stalled. Whatis ultimately pushing Assad tonear victory is the fast risingsymptoms of fractured insur-gency. On the other hand, theGovernment forces over theperiod of almost nine yearshave regained its strengthdespite having major debaclesin the past.

Now what lies ahead forAssad? Is he going to continuein the seat of power? MinusAssad, is there an alternativeform of coalition that can con-tinue holding onto the currentlevel of stability in Syria?Certainly, Assad would con-tinue for now. Simply put thisseems not possible as the USand major powers involved inWest Asia have seen the disas-ters that unleashed in countriessuch as Libya, Egypt, Yemen,particularly in Iraq, after thedeparture of their long heldautocrats. Keeping this inmind, Assad must continueand his immediate removalcould herald total anarchy inSyria. Clearly, no plausiblealternative is emerging to Assadregime as most of the splinterrebel groups do not agree to acommon agenda of gover-nance. Their only aim is to havecontrol over their own territo-ry and assets, and fighting thecorrupt Assad regime is just anexcuse. Therefore, the brutalwar may come to an end soon-er or later, permanent peaceseems to be elusive in Syria.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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This friday, Hindus celebratedShivaratri dedicated to Lord Shiva,popularly seen as one amongst the

God-trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, andMahesh (another contextual naming ofShiva). Hindus apart, who revere Him inhighest esteem, Shiva now seems to beextending His charm even in the scientif-ic world. He, now in his dance form(Nataraja), is prominently displayed atPerth laboratory, known for its particleaccelerators engaged in exploring whatthey term as “God Particle.” For, in theirperception, Shiva’s dance symbolises theplay and interplay of cosmic energystreams, which progressively evolved intothe manifest plural world. The conceptsunderlying Lord Shiva can be seen in dif-ferent perspectives. For meditators, Heremains the Adi Guru. In Nataraja form,he remains the guiding spirit of the clas-sical dancers. Kashmir Shaivism carrieson its metaphysical perception aroundShiva. To me, He comes out as ‘Existencepersonified’.

A look at two imageries associatedwith Shiva in togetherness, presents aunified picture of the world process,encompassing the whole gamut of cre-ation, sustenance and recycling. In the

first picture Lord Shiva is seated in medi-tative posture on Mount Kailash. He isshown having lunar crescent over hishead, almost bare bodied with just theprivate part covered with tiger skin. Hispoison fed blue neck is encircled by ven-omous snake. River Ganges flows downhis matted hair locks. He is seen holdinga trident in one arm, Damru (doubleheaded hand drum) in another, rosary inthe third, and the 4th palm in blessingmode. Being in meditative posture sym-bolises reflecting on the churning within,on the prospects of creation. As therosary keeps circling, the life cycle keepsmoving in succession. The blessing modeimplies that all existences draw succourout of his inexhaustible potential.

In the second imagery, Lord Shiva,mounted on a bull, has in his entouragemultitude forms of existences, some ofthem even weird and invisible. To namea few, divine beings, humans, devilishexistences, animals, birds, goblins, andeven invisible existences such as ghostetc. Symbolically, his entourage is indica-tive of the multipolar manifest worldwith all its enormity and diversity. Thisparticular symbol stands for the dynamicworld ever on the move at its own pace,

as would a bull moving at a constantpace mean. While pulling a cart, the bullmoves unprovoked at a constant paceand would not stop in the way till itreaches a place designated for being fedand taking rest. After a while, the bullagain takes the journey forward, andthen finally reverts back to its normalplace of abode after completing the voy-age. The manifest world too, after beingon the run for a specified time, revertsback to the primal source to acquire arestful state, when it gets recharged onceagain. Following which, out of the seedsof life withdrawn into primal-source,fresh creation cycle takes off.

Mount Kailasa, is one of the highpeaks in the Himalayan range to whichlot of perennial rivers are sourced, includ-ing the Ganges. It, thus, is closest to thecosmic world, simultaneously having allround view of life down below. LordShiva, with lunar crescent over the head,read together with his place of abode, theHimalayan range having in store perenni-al rivers, is symbolic of eternity, infinity.

The presence of lunar crescent sym-bolises the convergence of all nature dri-ven forces. For, Moon’s luminosity isdrawn out of the light extended by theSun, as well as all the planets and stars upabove in the cosmos. But before all light

drawn thus, flows down the line, Moondoes its own stamping by turning theminto an amiable form. Moon, thus, sym-bolises convergence of all nature drivenenergy streams.

With the play of Damru, the equili-brated state of the primal source getsshaken, when the primal sound note O?comes into play. Now going by the scien-tific perception, once there is entropy(disorder), it multiplies in geometric pro-gression. So, it happened following exci-tation of O? sound. In the process, firstcame into play Energy-trinity — Sata,Rajasa, and Tamasa. Trident, it maykindly be noted is symbolic of LordShiva’s creative power — the three pha-langes of the trident branching out of thebase rod imply three dimensions of ener-gies emanating from a singularity. Therandom mutation of the three that fol-lowed, led to multitude of differentiatedenergy streams. The harmony and sym-phony of these differentiated energystreams that followed, led to all creations,first up above in the cosmos.

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