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L ong long ago, we were watching Ghasiram Kotwal during an edition of the Prithvi Theatre Festival in Delhi. It was a packed house and we had found no seat. From one of the corner seats rose a hefty man in black, Kashmiri shawl draped around a Pathani suit, Cossack-red and beaming with the warmest smile. That man was Shashi Kapoor, the gra- cious host, willing to give up his seat for an ardent devotee of theatre. So long theatre, his first love survived. He heaved and panted, shifting on his two feet but he would watch a play he had watched umpteen times, so long as he could reinterpret it. Shashi was an intellectual Kapoor but intelligent too, one who could straddle the com- mercial space, growing from the chocolate boy hero of Jab Jab Phool Khile to the mature editor faced with corporate compromise in New Delhi Times. Yet it was his pleasant acceptance of the contours of arthouse and commerce that made him easy for all without the arrogance that his upper crust sensibilities could have well afforded. It was this ease that made him a true crossover star through a series of Merchant Ivory films and later the content-driven pro- ducer of films like Junoon (1978), Kalyug (1981), 36 Chowringhee Lane (1981), Vijeta (1982) and Utsav (1984). Shakespearewallah, anoth- er Merchant Ivory production loosely based on the real-life actor-manager Geoffrey Kendal’s family and his “Shakespeareana Company” of travelling theatre, which earned him the Indian sobriquet, “Shakespearewallah” was anoth- er milestone for personal rea- sons. The film followed the story of nomadic British actors as they perform Shakespeare plays in towns in post-colonial India. In this story, Tony Buckingham (Geoffrey Kendal) and his wife Carla (Laura Liddell) oversee the troupe. Their daughter, Lizzie Buckingham (Felicity Kendal), falls in love with Sanju (Shashi Kapoor), who is also romancing Manjula (Madhur Jaffrey), a Bollywood film star. In real life, Shashi Kapoor fell in love with Felicity’s elder sister Jennifer Kendal. Their marriage would provide an important contri- bution to the Indian film indus- try until Kendal’s death in 1984. In 1991 he produced and directed a fantasy film titled Ajooba, which had his fre- quent co-star Amitabh Bachchan and nephew Rishi Kapoor in the lead. He had been there and done that much before. He had clearly arrived much before time was ready for him. So in mass memory, he would be remembered for his gentleman roles, as a stabilising brother and comrade in his outings with Amitabh Bachchan and as the man who could romance every heroine with a finesse though his heart was reserved for Jennifer Kendall, his true soul- mate in arts and life. G ujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s seat in Rajkot West was considered the safest for the ruling party in the bat- tle for the 182 seats across the State, but not anymore as for the first time in three decades, the Congress has seriously challenged this BJP bastion by putting up an affluent and hardworking rival Indranil Rajguru. Since his filing the nomi- nation, the narrative of the con- stituency which could other- wise had been a cakewalk for Rupani has changed. Since 1985, the saffron party has retained this seat, from where Karnataka Governor and former Gujarat Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala won for a record seven times. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi won his first-ever elec- tion from this constituency in 2002. Jan Sangh stalwart and first mayor of Rajkot too won from here in 1975. The constituency remains stronghold of BJP due to its committed vote-bank coupled with Congress’s series of blun- ders in selection of candidates for years. It seems Congress has learnt the lesson from the past and put a right candidate this time, injecting some life in the contest. Handpicked by Congress Vice- president Rahul Gandhi, Rajguru was told nearly a year ago to prepare for this bat- tle. Rajguru is a resourceful Congress man, the wealthiest among 1,828 candidates in the fray as per the official declara- tion. Rajguru told The Pioneer that the Congress leadership has placed its trust on him and he wouldn’t disappoint them. “My team has put in lots of efforts during poll campaign. When ballot-boxes will open, lots of people would be surprised,” said the sitting MLA of Rajkot East constituency who changed his seat to take on Rupani. The Congress candidate belongs to Brahmin communi- ty and is a second generation politician. His father Sanjay Rajguru was president of Rajkot District Panchayat, which is dominated by the powerful Patidar community. This polit- ical legacy will have an added advantage to 51-year-old Rajguru. He also served as Rajkot deputy Mayor in 2000. Apart from owning Rajkot’s only private club ‘Neel’s City Resort’, Rajguru has business interests in real-estate, hotel, and transport sectors He also runs an educa- tional institution after his father’s name. Continued on Page 4 O n his elevation as Congress president in a week from now, Rahul Gandhi will con- front a series of serious chal- lenges that will test his leader- ship quality. Rahul will be required to infuse much-need- ed confidence among the demoralised party workers for reviving and rebuilding the party. The other issues that will require his urgent attention will be to unite the Opposition parties under one umbrella and put forward an effective political and economic agenda to take on the BJP. The Gandhi scion’s major challenge will also be take on the ever-growing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and counter his idea of “New India”. . Senior party leaders exude confidence that Rahul will rise to the occasion and carry for- ward the party’s traditions to lead the party’s revival in the next general elections in 2019. In 2014, the Congress was reduced to its lowest-ever tally of 44 seats in the Lok Sabha and has since suffered a series of electoral defeats at the State level. In the heat of Modi wave in 2014 the lok Sabha polls, the party was even thinking to cat- apult Rahul as the Prime Ministerial candidate, an idea shot down by Sonia Gandhi and her core group of old guards. An impressive show in Gujarat polls, where Rahul is leading from the front, could give him the necessary impe- tus to undertake the difficult journey ahead and silence his detractors within and outside the party. After Gujarat, Rahul will have to work hard to ensure that the Congress retains Karnataka. A much bigger task will be to unite the faction-rid- den Madhya Pradesh Congress for the next year Assembly polls. The Assembly polls for Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will also be crucial for Rahul to revive the party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha. A fter years of tussle between old guards and young gen- eration, the Congress on Monday finally placed its future in the hands of Rahul Gandhi. The Congress number two is all set to be elected as president of the party after he emerged the sole candidate for the post on expiry of the deadline for filing of nomination on Monday. Rahul was appointed vice president in January 2013. Rahul will take over charge from his mother Sonia Gandhi who has been in the saddles for 19 years. Accompanied by a host of senior party leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul filed his papers before the party’s Central Election Committee. Sonia, one of the leaders who proposed Rahul’s name, was not present during the f nom- ination filing process. Before filing his nominations, Rahul sought the blessings of former president Pranab Mukherjee and Manmohan Singh besides his mother. Chairman of the party’s Central Election Authority Mullapally Ramachandran said a total of 89 sets of proposals for Rahul were received. The last date for withdrawal of the can- didature is December 11, when Rahul will be formally elected as president of the party. “Rahul ji has been the dar- ling of the Congress...Rahul will carry on the great traditions of the Congress party,” Manmohan told reporters at the AICC headquarters after Rahul filed his papers. While there were several nomination forms filed on behalf of Rahul, the Congress vice president personally filed two sets of papers. The first nomination form was filed by him and proposed by Sonia, Motilal Vora, Ahmed Patel, Mohsina Kidwai, Kamal Nath, Sheila Dikshit, Ashok Gehlot, Mukul Wasnik, Tarun Gogoi and V Narayanasamy. The second nomination form was proposed by Manmohan, Siddaramaiah, Oscar Fernandes, P Chidambaram, Sushilkumar Shinde, Jyotiraditya Scindia, T Subbarami Reddy, Jaipal Reddy, Mukul Sangma and Anand Sharma. Three more forms were filed on behalf of Rahul by other senior leaders. Continued on Page 4 P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday likened the imminent elevation of Rahul Gandhi to dynastic suc- cession of Mughal rulers, and castigated the Congress for abandoning “public modesty” by deciding to make a person, who is out on bail in a graft case, its president. Modi said the Congress decision gave a glimpse of what culture the party will fol- low and the kind of leadership will emerge there in future. He said, “Mani Shanker Aiyar, who was a minister in the Congress Government said ‘did elections happen during Mughal rule? After Jahangir, Shahjahan came, was any elec- tion held? After Shahjahan it was understood that Aurangzeb would be the leader’. Does the Congress accept that it is a one family party? We don’t want this Aurangzebi Raaj ...For us, country comes first, 125 crore people of this Continued on Page 4 T he Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a Bill awarding the death sentence to accused in cases of rape and gang-rape of girls below 12 years. Speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the perpetrators of the crime have no right to live. Chouhan's statement comes days after the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet had approved of the quantum of punish- ment. The Chief Minister said, "One (the accused) who rapes 12-year-old girl or minors is not human but demon and they have no right to live." Chouhan further said that stalking has been made a non- bailable offence in the State. Introduced in the House by Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Rampal Singh, the Bill was discussed in detail and then passed by all parties, including the ruling BJP and Opposition Congress. The Bill will now be sent to the President for his assent after which it will become a law, State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told reporters outside the Assembly. On November 26, the Cabinet had approved amend- ment to the penal code to enhance the punishment awarded to rape convicts, besides increasing the fine amount slapped on them. The decision was taken in the wake of increasing cases of sexual violence against girls and women in the State.As per the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest incidents of rape with 4,882 cases (12.5 per cent). L ike other sessions of the State Assembly, the winter session too concluded without completing all the scheduled sittings. However, clearing a Bill awarding death sentence to accused in cases of rape and gang-rape of girls below 12 years, could be considered an important decision taken in the winter session. Main Opposition Congress staged a walkout on the last day as the demand of discussion on the issue of farmers' plight should be slated for Tuesday was not met. Later, in the absence of the Opposition members, the discussion was held. Twelve sittings were scheduled in this session, but it concluded on the eighth day, as almost all the slated businesses were com- pleted. Even the main Opposition in the State Assembly, Congress, was not willing to continue the session for more days, as the Leader of the Opposition Ajay Singh has been assigned the duty to campaign in the election-bound Gujarat Assembly. He left for Gujarat on Monday itself. In the eight sittings, right from the first day, the Opposition insisted on taking up the adjournment motion on Bhopal gang- rape case, but two days passed and the Government was not will- ing to accept it. On December 1, the Speaker allowed discussion on the accep- tance. After daylong discussion, the motion was not accepted and the Congress members staged walkout. On November 28, the Opposition had taken a firm stand not to allow the House to function, if the adjournment motion was not taken up. However, just the next day, change in the stance seemed dramatic, but the Opposition members claimed that there were several important issues that needed discussion in the House. However, the House concluded on Monday clearing all the six Bills including that of 'awarding death sentence to accused Continued on Page 4 RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008 C M Y K C M Y K
16

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Apr 01, 2018

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Page 1: ˇˇˇ, - , ˝3’%4&$$ ) (5˝$, ! 2( - The Pioneer draped around a Pathani suit, Cossack-red and beaming with the warmest smile. ... of increasing cases of sexual violence against

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Long long ago, we werewatching Ghasiram Kotwal

during an edition of the PrithviTheatre Festival in Delhi. It wasa packed house and we hadfound no seat. From one of thecorner seats rose a hefty manin black, Kashmiri shawldraped around a Pathani suit,Cossack-red and beaming withthe warmest smile. That manwas Shashi Kapoor, the gra-cious host, willing to give up hisseat for an ardent devotee oftheatre. So long theatre, his firstlove survived. He heaved andpanted, shifting on his two feetbut he would watch a play hehad watched umpteen times, solong as he could reinterpret it.

Shashi was an intellectualKapoor but intelligent too, one

who could straddle the com-mercial space, growing fromthe chocolate boy hero of JabJab Phool Khile to the matureeditor faced with corporatecompromise in New DelhiTimes. Yet it was his pleasantacceptance of the contours ofarthouse and commerce thatmade him easy for all without the arrogance that hisupper crust sensibilities couldhave well afforded. It was thisease that made him a truecrossover star through a seriesof Merchant Ivory films andlater the content-driven pro-ducer of films like Junoon(1978), Kalyug (1981), 36Chowringhee Lane (1981),Vijeta (1982) and Utsav (1984).

Shakespearewallah, anoth-er Merchant Ivory productionloosely based on the real-life

actor-manager GeoffreyKendal’s family and his“Shakespeareana Company” oftravelling theatre, which earnedhim the Indian sobriquet,“Shakespearewallah” was anoth-er milestone for personal rea-sons. The film followed thestory of nomadic British actorsas they perform Shakespeareplays in towns in post-colonialIndia. In this story, TonyBuckingham (Geoffrey Kendal)and his wife Carla (LauraLiddell) oversee the troupe.Their daughter, LizzieBuckingham (Felicity Kendal),falls in love with Sanju (ShashiKapoor), who is also romancingManjula (Madhur Jaffrey), aBollywood film star. In real life,Shashi Kapoor fell in love withFelicity’s elder sister JenniferKendal. Their marriage would

provide an important contri-bution to the Indian film indus-try until Kendal’s death in 1984.

In 1991 he produced anddirected a fantasy film titledAjooba, which had his fre-quent co-star AmitabhBachchan and nephew RishiKapoor in the lead.

He had been there anddone that much before. He hadclearly arrived much before

time was ready for him. So inmass memory, he would beremembered for his gentlemanroles, as a stabilising brother andcomrade in his outings withAmitabh Bachchan and as theman who could romance everyheroine with a finesse thoughhis heart was reserved forJennifer Kendall, his true soul-mate in arts and life.

�� ������� >�7 ?�

Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani’s seat in Rajkot

West was considered the safestfor the ruling party in the bat-tle for the 182 seats across theState, but not anymore as forthe first time in three decades,the Congress has seriouslychallenged this BJP bastion by putting up an affluent and hardworking rival IndranilRajguru.

Since his filing the nomi-nation, the narrative of the con-stituency which could other-wise had been a cakewalk forRupani has changed.

Since 1985, the saffronparty has retained this seat,from where KarnatakaGovernor and former GujaratFinance Minister Vajubhai Valawon for a record seven times.Even Prime Minister NarendraModi won his first-ever elec-tion from this constituency in2002. Jan Sangh stalwart andfirst mayor of Rajkot too wonfrom here in 1975.

The constituency remainsstronghold of BJP due to itscommitted vote-bank coupledwith Congress’s series of blun-ders in selection of candidatesfor years. It seems Congresshas learnt the lesson from thepast and put a right candidate

this time, injectingsome life in thecontest.

Handpickedby Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi,Rajguru was told nearly ayear ago to prepare for this bat-tle. Rajguru is a resourcefulCongress man, the wealthiestamong 1,828 candidates in thefray as per the official declara-tion.

Rajguru told The Pioneerthat the Congress leadershiphas placed its trust on him and

he wouldn’t disappointthem. “My teamhas put in lots ofefforts during pollcampaign. When

ballot-boxes willopen, lots of people

would be surprised,”said the sitting MLA of RajkotEast constituency who changedhis seat to take on Rupani.

The Congress candidatebelongs to Brahmin communi-ty and is a second generationpolitician. His father SanjayRajguru was president of Rajkot

District Panchayat, which isdominated by the powerfulPatidar community. This polit-ical legacy will have an addedadvantage to 51-year-oldRajguru. He also served asRajkot deputy Mayor in 2000.

Apart from owningRajkot’s only private club ‘Neel’s City Resort’, Rajguru hasbusiness interests in real-estate,hotel, and transport sectors He also runs an educa-tional institution after hisfather’s name.

Continued on Page 4

�������&��+���6<9�/<�='

On his elevation as Congresspresident in a week from

now, Rahul Gandhi will con-front a series of serious chal-lenges that will test his leader-ship quality. Rahul will berequired to infuse much-need-ed confidence among thedemoralised party workers forreviving and rebuilding theparty. The other issues that will

require his urgent attentionwill be to unite the Oppositionparties under one umbrellaand put forward an effectivepolitical and economic agendato take on the BJP.

The Gandhi scion’s majorchallenge will also be take onthe ever-growing popularityof Prime Minister NarendraModi and counter his idea of“New India”. .

Senior party leaders exudeconfidence that Rahul will riseto the occasion and carry for-ward the party’s traditions tolead the party’s revival in thenext general elections in 2019. In 2014, the Congresswas reduced to its lowest-evertally of 44 seats in the LokSabha and has since suffered aseries of electoral defeats at theState level.

In the heat of Modi wave in2014 the lok Sabha polls, the

party was even thinking to cat-apult Rahul as the PrimeMinisterial candidate, an ideashot down by Sonia Gandhi andher core group of old guards.

An impressive show inGujarat polls, where Rahul isleading from the front, couldgive him the necessary impe-tus to undertake the difficultjourney ahead and silence hisdetractors within and outsidethe party.

After Gujarat, Rahul willhave to work hard to ensurethat the Congress retainsKarnataka. A much bigger taskwill be to unite the faction-rid-den Madhya Pradesh Congressfor the next year Assemblypolls. The Assembly polls forChhattisgarh and Rajasthanwill also be crucial for Rahul torevive the party ahead of the2019 Lok Sabha.

�������������������6<9�/<�='

After years of tussle betweenold guards and young gen-

eration, the Congress onMonday finally placed its futurein the hands of Rahul Gandhi.The Congress number two is allset to be elected as president ofthe party after he emerged thesole candidate for the post onexpiry of the deadline for filingof nomination on Monday.

Rahul was appointed vicepresident in January 2013.

Rahul will take over chargefrom his mother Sonia Gandhiwho has been in the saddles for19 years.

Accompanied by a host ofsenior party leaders, includingformer Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, Rahul filedhis papers before the party’sCentral Election Committee.Sonia, one of the leaders whoproposed Rahul’s name, wasnot present during the f nom-ination filing process. Beforefiling his nominations, Rahulsought the blessings of formerpresident Pranab Mukherjeeand Manmohan Singh besideshis mother.

Chairman of the party’sCentral Election AuthorityMullapally Ramachandran said

a total of 89 sets of proposals forRahul were received. The lastdate for withdrawal of the can-didature is December 11, whenRahul will be formally electedas president of the party.

“Rahul ji has been the dar-ling of the Congress...Rahul willcarry on the great traditions ofthe Congress party,”Manmohan told reporters atthe AICC headquarters afterRahul filed his papers.

While there were severalnomination forms filed onbehalf of Rahul, the Congressvice president personally filedtwo sets of papers. The firstnomination form was filed byhim and proposed by Sonia,Motilal Vora, Ahmed Patel,Mohsina Kidwai, Kamal Nath,Sheila Dikshit, Ashok Gehlot,Mukul Wasnik, Tarun Gogoiand V Narayanasamy.

The second nominationform was proposed byManmohan, Siddaramaiah,

Oscar Fernandes, PChidambaram, SushilkumarShinde, Jyotiraditya Scindia,T Subbarami Reddy, JaipalReddy, Mukul Sangma andAnand Sharma. Three moreforms were filed on behalf ofRahul by other senior leaders.

Continued on Page 4

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday likened

the imminent elevation ofRahul Gandhi to dynastic suc-cession of Mughal rulers, andcastigated the Congress forabandoning “public modesty”by deciding to make a person,who is out on bail in a graftcase, its president.

Modi said the Congressdecision gave a glimpse ofwhat culture the party will fol-low and the kind of leadership

will emerge there in future.He said, “Mani Shanker

Aiyar, who was a minister inthe Congress Government said‘did elections happen duringMughal rule? After Jahangir,Shahjahan came, was any elec-tion held? After Shahjahan itwas understood thatAurangzeb would be the leader’.Does the Congress accept thatit is a one family party? Wedon’t want this AurangzebiRaaj ...For us, country comesfirst, 125 crore people of this

Continued on Page 4

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The Madhya PradeshAssembly on Monday

unanimously passed a Billawarding the death sentence toaccused in cases of rape andgang-rape of girls below 12years.

Speaking in the Assembly,Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan said the perpetratorsof the crime have no right tolive. Chouhan's statementcomes days after the MadhyaPradesh Cabinet had approvedof the quantum of punish-ment.

The Chief Minister said,"One (the accused) who rapes12-year-old girl or minors isnot human but demon andthey have no right to live."

Chouhan further said thatstalking has been made a non-bailable offence in the State.

Introduced in the House byLaw and Legislative AffairsMinister Rampal Singh, the Billwas discussed in detail andthen passed by all parties,including the ruling BJP andOpposition Congress.

The Bill will now be sent tothe President for his assent afterwhich it will become a law,State Home MinisterBhupendra Singh told reportersoutside the Assembly.

On November 26, theCabinet had approved amend-ment to the penal code toenhance the punishmentawarded to rape convicts,besides increasing the fineamount slapped on them. Thedecision was taken in the wake

of increasing cases of sexualviolence against girls andwomen in the State.As per thedata released by the National

Crime Records Bureau,Madhya Pradesh recorded thehighest incidents of rape with4,882 cases (12.5 per cent).

����������� ���������������� ������������

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Like other sessions of the State Assembly, the winter sessiontoo concluded without completing all the scheduled sittings.However, clearing a Bill awarding death sentence to accused

in cases of rape and gang-rape of girls below 12 years, could beconsidered an important decision taken in the winter session.

Main Opposition Congress staged a walkout on the last dayas the demand of discussion on the issue of farmers' plight shouldbe slated for Tuesday was not met. Later, in the absence of theOpposition members, the discussion was held.

Twelve sittings were scheduled in this session, but it concludedon the eighth day, as almost all the slated businesses were com-pleted.

Even the main Opposition in the State Assembly, Congress,was not willing to continue the session for more days, as theLeader of the Opposition Ajay Singh has been assigned the dutyto campaign in the election-bound Gujarat Assembly. He left forGujarat on Monday itself.

In the eight sittings, right from the first day, the Oppositioninsisted on taking up the adjournment motion on Bhopal gang-rape case, but two days passed and the Government was not will-ing to accept it.

On December 1, the Speaker allowed discussion on the accep-tance. After daylong discussion, the motion was not accepted andthe Congress members staged walkout.

On November 28, the Opposition had taken a firm stand notto allow the House to function, if the adjournment motion wasnot taken up. However, just the next day, change in the stanceseemed dramatic, but the Opposition members claimed that therewere several important issues that needed discussion in the House.

However, the House concluded on Monday clearing all thesix Bills including that of 'awarding death sentence to accused

Continued on Page 4

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���66�������� � �=?(��

The exhibition of ethnicwears is being put up at

Art Gallery, 10 no. marketwherein the shopaholics haveall the options for updatingtheir wardrobes. The exhibi-tion cum sale began herefrom Monday.

The fair has brought arare collection in the cottonhandloom which is captivat-ing a huge crowd in the city.

This collection is speciallydesigned and handcrafted bythe weavers work in self helpgroups. One could find a vastcollection of handloom andhandicraft materials at thefair.

The exhibition cum sale isevoking a great response fromthe fashion freaks of the city.The exhibition cum sale hasbrought a huge range of hand-crafted materials. These mate-rials have been designed indifferent patterns and prints.

Besides, the South IndianCotton materials in saris andsuits are in much demand bythe citizens. The Rajasthaniembroider y and theLuckhnavi chikankaari is cap-tivating the attention of the

buyers.Weavers from across the

country have arrived withthe sparkling and fizzy shadesof their regions which is cap-tivating the interest of theshopaholics of the city. Thefair showcases a collection inChanderi and Maheshwaricotton from Madhya Pradesh.It also shares a collection ofKashmiri cotton, Kosa silk insaris and dress materials.

There is an array of won-derful colour combinations inbrown, shades of blue, white,black, red, green and alsosome traditional colours likeroyal blue, gold and silver lin-ing work has enhanced thelook of the handloom mater-ial.

���66��������� �=?(��

The students of MadhyaPradesh School of Drama

(MPSD) learn new styles oftheatre presentations in everynew session. This time, the stu-dents are preparing the‘Chitrapata Ramayana’.

CR Jambe, the formerdirector of Rangayan is here toteach the students of MPSDabout Chitrapata Ramayana.The special lectures by CRJambe began from December 1.On the first day, Jambe justgave an introductory lecture onChitrapata Ramayana.

Chitrapata Ramayana isnot something what Valmikiwrote. This is the reconstruc-tion of Ramayana in the folktradition. Based on the originalfolk play written byHelavanakatte Giriyamma, inthis play, the author has adopt-ed a style where the story is pre-sented through showcasingpictures and folk styled songs

and dances.Informing more about

Chitrapata Ramayana, Jambetold the students that this playwill be performed on Carnatictheatre style. Jambe said thatduring the entire presentationthe art of ‘Abhinaya’ will playthe vital role. Through theeyes and the body movementsjust like the folk tales,Chitrapata Ramayana will bepresented. It is to be noted thatthe workshop conducted by CRJambe will continue tillDecember 30. During theentire workshop, the studentswill be taught about the folktradition and how to presentthe character on stage with effi-ciency. Not only this, but dur-ing the workshop, the studentswill be given information onKathakali dance form.

The MPSD students willpresent the ChitrapataRamayana on December 31and January 1 at Bharat BhavanAuditorium.

���66��������� �=?(��

The Bhopalites enjoyed theMonday evening with clas-

sical dance performances.Shreelayam Natyashree KalaSamiti organized its 16th annu-al function ‘Nritya Tirth 2017’here on Monday at CampionSchool auditorium.

The entire event was a blendof extravagant and colourfulcultural performances. Thedancers presented the threemost beautiful and captivatingIndian classical dance formsBharatnatyam, Mohinyattamand Kuchhipudi.

On the occasion, Chairmanand Managing Director AGSGroup, Hemant Kumar waspresent as the chief guest. FatherShiju Verghese Principal of StJoseph’s Coed was present as theguest of honour and DK SharmaDivisional Joint Director andDEO was present as the specialguest.

The series of mesmerizingperformances began with wor-

shipping Lord Ganesha. Theartists performed the GneshStuti with efficiency which wasdirected by Kavita Shaji in adevotional form. The perfor-mances were followed byArengetram dance and Thaalidance leaving the audience total-ly enthralled by the elegancy offootwork and abhinaya.

The perfect coordination,the fast synchronization of foot-work with fast music was of theartists were applaudable. Theartists gave mesmerising per-formance which let audienceglued to their seats. The use ofhands, eyes, reflexes, and coor-dination of various parts of thebody with perfection is neededfor getting expertise in classicaldance, which Natyashree stu-dents showed with dexterity onstage. On the occasion, Shaji Msaid, “In the last 17 yearsShreelayam NatyashreeKalasamti has taken great painsto popularise the ancient classi-cal dance forms in the northregion of the country. We have

immensely tried our best to pro-mote these classical dance formsat national and international

level. Our sincere efforts are putin to protect our heritage andculture in various art forms.”

The dance performanceswere beautifully choreographedby Director of Shreelayam

Natyashree Kalasamti Shaji M,Shyamal Kadwe andKalamandalam Kavita Shaji.

���66��������� �=?(��

With improvised lightdesign and costumes, the

play Rani Laxmi Bai was a visu-al treat for the Bhopalites. Theplay Rani Laxmi Bai was stagedon Monday marking the open-ing day of the seven-day theatrefestival, ‘Adi Vidrohi’.

Directed by Manoj Nair,the play was beautifully pre-sented by Vivechna TheatreGroup, Jabalpur. All throughthe play the struggle of RaniLaxmi Bai against the Britishrule was seen.

It is to be noted that the fes-tival is being organised byDirectorate of Swaraj Sansthanto give a tribute to freedomfighters. This festival is being

conducted and every time newplays are staged before theBhopalites that receive a hugeresponse.

Notably, this is the first the-atre activity organised acrossthe nation which highlights thestruggle of martyrs on stage.

With an aim to create aware-ness among the present gener-ation about the freedom move-ment and to give it a broader

look plays in different lan-guages too will be presented.Till now more than 90 playshave been staged under this fes-tival. The play began withintroducing Rani Laxmi Bai onstage when she is married toKing Gangadhar Rao. Slowlyand gradually showcasing var-ious events of her life, the playthen shifted its focus to therebellion of 1857. The play waspresented in a poetic form.

The combination of musicand light design added morezeal in the presentation of theplay. As the uprising of 1857was at its boom, Rani LaxmiBai also become a part of thestruggle with the Indian sol-diers and revolted against theBritishers.

���66�������� � �=?(��

The impact of cyclone Okhiwould be witnessed in

Madhya Pradesh for the next 2-3 days. Dense cloud would bevisible inducing fall in daytemperatures by 2-3 degreeCelsius and increase in nighttemperatures by 2-3 degreeCelsius said Met official.

Abrupt changes witnessedin the city and state is due tosystem over Arabian Sea andweather conditions wouldbecome normal after the sys-tem would settle.

The cloudy weather con-ditions were witnessed onSunday due to system andafter the system became weakcloudy weather conditionscleared lowering the tempera-tures.

With the clear weatherconditions chilly winds werewitnessed in the morning onMonday in the city.

Bhopal recorded day tem-perature at 26.3 degree Celsiusand night temperature at 12.3degree Celsius.

Among the major citiesIndore recorded day tempera-

ture at 26.4 degree Celsius andnight temperature at 14.6degree Celsius. Gwalior record-ed the day temperature at 27degree Celsius and night tem-perature at 9 degree Celsiuswhich was the lowest amongthe major cities. Jabalpurrecorded the day temperatureat 26.6 degree Celsius andnight temperature at 10.2degree Celsius. The westernregions of the state are likely toreceive rainfall in the next 24hours.The lowest night tem-perature was recorded inUmaria and Mandla at 7 degree

Celsius. The day temperatureshave witnessed dip in the past3-4 days. The state is witness-ing continuous and abruptchanges for the past 6-7 daysand would settle after the sys-tem over Arabian Sea wouldfade away. According to theforecast few areas of Indore andUjjain divisions are likely toreceive light showers in thenext 24 hours. The day tem-perature and night temperaturewould be recorded around 26and 12 degree Celsius. Thewind speed would make theweather conditions harsh.

���66��������� �=?(��

Concrete efforts are beingmade to improve quality

in school education in State.In this regard, SchoolEducation Department hasintroduced 'Shala Siddhi'Programme in 25,000 gov-ernment schools in the state.

Plan for improvementhas been chalked out for eachschool earmarked under'Shala Siddhi' Programme.This year, 15,000 governmentschools will be adopted byofficers of school educationdepartment under the pro-gramme and in the same aca-demic session, the schoolswill be upgraded.

Resolution has beentaken by officers of school

education department fromdistrict level to Sankul level ineach district by adopting oneor two schools, participatingactively with teachers as

school friend. In the first phase of

Pratibha Parv, assessment ofmathematics and science sub-jects of class 6th and 7th stu-dents will be made by eachofficer in adopted middleschool in the coming threedays from December 5.

This assessment will bemade similar to the surveycarried out in nationalachievement survey.

External evaluators willbe carried out assessment ofstudents in 8500 governmentschools under Pratibha Parv.Grade will be decided afterself assessment of answer-sheet of students. OMR sheetsprepared at school level willbe analysed at state level.

Instructions have been

issued to officers of RajyaShiksha Kendra to reachschools which they chose forShala Mitra. Pratibha Parvwill be held for three days onDecember 5, 6 and 7.Assessment will be made onthe basis of subject-wise dis-cussion with students on thefirst two days under PratibhaParv.

Bal Sabha will be held asannual festival on the thirdday. Parents will also be invit-ed for annual festival.

Cultural, literary andsports activities will be held intheir presence. Instructionshave been issued to invitepublic representatives on thisday. Public representativeswill award meritorious stu-dents.

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Afive-day customer train-ing programme on ‘HT

Motors: Operation andMaintenance, OH andTrouble Shooting’ for M/sDVC officials was inaugu-rated on Monday by SKSharma, Deputy CE (E) DVC,Vipul Agrawal AGM (AME),Brajesh Agrawal AGM(HRD)& CPIO along withSwagata S Saxena, DGM(HRD) at Human ResourceDevelopment Centre BHEL,Bhopal.

Saxena, welcomed all theparticipants and briefed aboutthe programme and modulewhich shall be covered duringthe programme.

Agrawal, welcoming thedistinguished guest and theparticipants said that M/sDVC is our esteemed cus-tomer and user and we arealways ready to solve theirproblems and providingprompt services.

SK Sharma, Deputy E (E)M/s DVC appreciating theprogramme content andexpert faculty of BHEL insist-ed the participants to under-standing the criticality of theequipment’s and try to learn

as much as possible from thetraining programme.

Vipul Agrawal, AGM(AME) in his address said thatwe have an experienced fac-ulty on HT Motor and par-ticipants are required toextract maximum knowledgeand clear any technicalqueries through discussion.

Umesh Kumar Savle, SrEngineer (HRD) proposedthe vote of thanks and com-pered the programme.

���66�����������=?(��

Aishbagh police have nabbeda 22-year-old youth from

Ahata Sikandar Kuli, Aishbaghon the charge of sexually assault-ing and exploiting a 16-year-oldgirl for the past eight months.

Police said that the sexualassault came to fore after the vic-tim reported severe stomachache and was rushed to Sultaniahospital for treatment wherethe doctors diagnosed that thevictim is pregnant.

The victim revealed thatshe was sexually assaulted bySikander Ali who studies in herschool. She became friend withthe accused two years ago whenshe was in class 8 while theaccused was in class 10. In themonth of April this year theaccused came to her house whenno one was present at her houseand sexually assaulted her luring

her of marriage and later saidthat she should keep mumregarding the incident as itwould bring defame for herfamily and they would losehouse. Afraid of threats by theaccused she kept mum but thematter was revealed after shereported stomach ache.

Victim said that the accusedstopped talking with her andnever communicated with her.

The victim and her familymembers lodged a complaintwith Talaiya police and FIR wasregistered and later the case wastransferred to Aishbagh policewhere after the preliminaryinvestigation the police haveregistered a case under 376 of theIPC and 5 and 6 of the POCSOAct 2012 and have started furtherinvestigation.Based on the com-plaint the accused was nabbedlate in the night on Sundayfrom Aishbagh.

���66�������� ���=?(��

A20-year-old youth com-mitted suicide by hanging

from the ceiling at his resi-dence at cloth mill area underBajaria police station late inthe night on Sunday.

According to the police,

the deceased Yogendra Singhalias Lucky Thakur was foundhanging and was rushed to anearby hospital where he wasdeclared dead.

Police were informed andon the receipt a police teamreached the spot and startedinvestigation.

In the initial investigationpolice have not found any rea-son behind the suicide andinvestigation to reveal thereason behind the suicide hasbeen started.

The body was sent for thepost mortem after the pre-liminary investigation.

The police have registereda case under section 174 of theCrPC and have started furtherinvestigation.

Meanwhile, a 24-year-oldmarried woman died aftershe fell from terrace of build-ing at Housing Board Colonyunder Koh-e-Fiza police sta-tion area on Sunday.

According to the policethe deceased Maya wasrushed to Hamidia hospitalafter she fell from the terracewhere she was declared dead.

Police said that it was sui-cide or she was pushed fromthe terrace would be investi-gated.

The statements of thefamily members are yet to berecorded and the post mortemreport is awaited which couldhelp in revealing furtherdetails.

The incident took placelate in the night when thefamily members were insidethe house.

After the preliminaryinvestigation the body wassent for the post mortem.The police have registered acase under section 174 of theCrPC and have started furtherinvestigation.

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Newly posted DivisionalCommissioner BM

Sharma said that the govern-ment’s people’s welfareschemes will be his priority.

He assumed the office ofthe new DivisionalCommissioner of GwaliorDivision on Monday.

While talking to mediapersons he said that feedbackfrom the public will be takento improve the services.While answering queriesabout the laxity of the offi-cials he said that carelessnessand lethargy will not be tol-erated at any cost.

The new DivisionalCommissioner reached theDivisional office situated atMoti Mahal around ten in themorning to take charge.Talking to the media afterassuming office he said thatGwalior is not new to him ashe had previously served herein three capacities: as DEO,ADM and MunicipalCommissioner.

He further said that asDivisional Commissioner hehas charge of five districtsand this has increased hisresponsibilities. He empha-

sized on the need to expeditesocial schemes that havedirect impact on the poor. Hesaid that he will try to be thevoice of the poor and less for-tunate. He also said that hisstress will be on direct inter-action with the public sothat government schemes,especially schemes for thepoor can be implemented inthe best way possible.

He further said that acounter will be opened in theDivisional office to collectfeedback from the public, sothat schemes can be imple-mented in a constructivemanner. Arrangement willalso be made to resolve mat-ters related to revenue andappeals. He further said thathe needs to study the currentsystem before commencingwork.

Before taking over as theGwalior DivisionalCommissioner, Sharma wasthe Divisional Commissionerin Shadol. He was appointedas the Gwalior Commissionerafter the retirement of SNRupla. A huge gathering ofpublic, officials and staff hadgathered at the Moti Mahal towelcome the new DivisionalCommissioner.

���66��������� �=?(��

Sagar Public School- aCBSE affiliated school and

Sagar Institute of Scienceand Technology (SISTec) atits Gandhi Nagar Campusorganized a seminar onWomen Safety, Security andEmpowerment- Issues,Challenges and Alerts.

The seminar was orga-nized with help of MadhyaPradesh Police Departmentand Madhya Pradesh TrafficPolice Department at theGandhi Nagar campus.Inspector General of PoliceJaideep Prasad,Superintendent of PoliceHemant Chouhan, Addl SPSamir Yadav, CSP LokeshSinha, Chief Traffic WardenSanjay Somani and GandhiNagar SHO Kuldeep Khatriwere also present on theoccasion.

The seminar began byseeking blessings of ‘MaaSaraswati’ and lighting ofceremonial lamp followed byfloral welcome of esteemedguests by Chairman, SagarGroup, Sudhir KumarAgrawal and PrincipalJaishree Kanwar.

Governing members ofSagar Public School andSISTec guests and media werepresent on the occasion. Thesession was attended byapprox 800+ Sagarites and400 SISTec students.

Addressing the gather-ing, Jaideep Prasad sharedthe real issues, challenges

and alerts on women safety.He said, “Treat MadhyaPradesh Police as your friendand your co-operation andalertness will help us to serveyou better.

The awareness pro-gramme is to educate andcreate awareness. He alsodirected students to act as the‘Messenger’ of this sessionand spread the message withmore and more people.”

Narrating examples ofalertness he informed as howpolice have come forwardedand helped cit izens. Amemento was presented to allthe guests.

Superintendent of PoliceHemant Chouhan said that itis utmost important that weadopt and generate awarenessat all levels.

It is every citizen’s dutyand responsibility to shareand report information torise against injustice againstwomen.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Sudhir Kumar Agrawal,Chairman, Sagar Group said,“Women Employment ratioin our group is more thanforty percent.

I thank Jaideep Prasad,Hemant Chouhan, SamirYadav, Lokesh Sinha, SanjaySomani and Kuldeep Khatriand entire Madhya PradeshPolice Department alongwith Madhya Pradesh TrafficPolice Department for theirvaluable guidance and sup-port for safety and security ofwomen.”

���66�������� � �=?(��

The third phase of the inten-sive Mission Indradhanush

will begin in 14 marked districtsof the state including Alirajpur,Chhatarpur, Indore (city)Jhabua, Panna, Raisen, Rewa,Sagar, Sheopur, Sidhi, Singrauli,Tikamgarh and Vidisha fromDecember 7 to 18. PrincipalSecretary Public Health andFamily Welfare Smt. GauriSingh reviewed preparation ofthe third phase and progress ofthe last two phases.

The goal of intensiveMission Indradhanush is toimmunize children who havebeen left during the immu-nization campaign and preg-nant women. Nearly 25,052sessions were taken during thecampaign in the state in the firstand second phase in last

October and November inwhich 1.56 lakh children and35,745 pregnant women wereimmunized. Out of these 15,855children were immunized forthe first time.

In the meeting it was toldthat Madhya Pradesh is amongthe 3 leading states of the coun-try with 86 per cent immu-

nization. The PrincipalSecretary issued instructions toachieve cent percent target bystrengthening district and blocklevel control room activities inthe phases to be held inDecember and January. He saidthat the team members shouldreach their areas a day earlier.They should inform concernedhouses over phone or othermedia about the immunizationbetween 9 am and 4 pm.

They should ensure thatnot even a single house orchild is deprived of immuniza-tion. Singh stressed on betterperformance in low availabili-ty areas like Panna, Shahdol,Sheopur, Sidhi and Singraulidistricts in the two next phas-es. A discussion will be heldthrough video conferencing onDecember 5 with the ChiefMedical and Health Officers

and District ImmunisationOfficers of these districts.

Union Health Minister JPNadda will review the intensiveMission Indradhanush cam-paign to be implemented in 118districts of the state throughvideo conferencing onDecember 6. Special discussionwill be held for the campaignlaunched in 14 districts of thestate on per person SurveyDuelist conducted by the dis-tricts, inter departmental coor-dination and participation ofNCC and NSS.

Under the campaign theHealth department, with thehelp of anganwadi workers andANM is ensuring immuniza-tion of children upto 5 years ofage and pregnant women. Theprogramme is being monitoreddistrict-wise through mobileapp.

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The 66th annual conferenceAPCON-2017, support-

ed by Indian Association ofPathologists andMicrobiologists and annualconference of InternationalAcademy of Patholog y–Indian Division would beheld at Gandhi MedicalCollege, Department ofPathology, from December6-9, 2017, said organisingsecretary Prof. and Head ofDepartment, Pathology, DrReeni Malik while interactingwith the media persons onMonday.

The chairman of theorganising committee wouldbe Dean Gandhi MedicalCollege Dr MC Songra.

The first workshop will beon Approach to diagnosis ofacute Leukemias’ by one ofthe renowned haemotologistDr Tejinder Singh.

Another workshop willbe on Immunohitochemistry– technique and interpreta-tion by Dr Rajni Parmar.

The conference will be inits full fledged prospect fromDecember 8 commencingwith the research methodol-ogy sessions which will con-tinue with the plenary sessionby the IAPM (IndianAssociation of Pathologists

and Microbiologists). TheFinal day of this scientificfeast on December 10, willcommence with the guest lec-ture by Dr. Anand Lagoo(USA) on update on WHO2016 LymphomaClassification followed by

Education discussion sessionon “MCI UG Curriculum” inPathology.

The organising commit-tee would shoulder with theresponsibility after 45 years,as the college hosted the sameconference before in the year

1972 under the Guidance ofProfessor Dr PL Tandon.

The event is comprised ofdifferent forms of scientificsessions, seminars, presenta-tions, symposia and work-shops to be conducted bynumerous eminent National

and InternationalPathologists.

Several reputed Pathologyfaculties from different pres-tigious national and interna-tional Universities would par-ticipate.

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Keeping in view natural con-servation zones in the

National Capital Region, theHaryana Government hasdecided to re-assess actualground reality of the forest area,especially in the Aravalli belt.

This was stated by theChief Minister Manohar Lal,while talking to the mediaper-sons after attending the 37thmeeting of the National CapitalRegion Planning Board(NCRPB) in New Delhi onMonday.

The meeting was presidedover by the Union Minister ofState for Housing and UrbanAffairs and chairman ofNCRPB, Hardeep Singh Puri.Detailed discussion was held atthe meeting on various issuesrelated to the NCR area ofHaryana.

Replying to a questionregarding any discussion held atthe meeting on the issue of air

pollution, the Chief Ministersaid no such discussion washeld but a meeting in thisregard would be called soon.

When asked to commenton his scheduled visit to Dubaithis week, the Chief Ministersaid that the aim of the visit isto invite investors to Haryana.

Some investors are alreadyworking on their projects in thestate and more investors areinterested in coming to thestate. Investors from Dubaiwould be invited to furtherincrease investment inHaryana, he added.

Notably, the Chief Ministerhas been severely criticized bythe opposition for undertakingforeign tours but failing toattract investments in the state.Manohar Lal has undertakenthree foreign tours to differentnations during first half of hisfive years tenure in Haryana. Toattract investments for theState, he has so far visitedUSA, Canada, Japan, China,

Singapore and Hong Kong.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Monday rejected charges of‘parivarvad’ behind RahulGandhi’s elevation as Congresspresident, saying the massiveresponse he has been evokingin recent months on variousfora, including the ongoingelection campaign in Gujarat,indicates his huge popular sup-port base.

Talking to media personsafter nominating Rahul for thetop Congress post, CaptAmarinder said the Congressvice president had the supportof the people, with 100 per centof the party workers favouringhis elevation. Terming theAICC election as the party’sinternal business, the ChiefMinister said even other like-minded parties had no prob-lems with Rahul taking over theCongress reins.

Calling for Rahul’s projec-tion as the prime ministerialcandidate in the 2019 LokSabha polls, he said the youngGandhi had generated massiveenthusiasm in the party withhis ability to connect with theyouth. He is very inquisitive by

nature, has an eye for detail andis modern in his outlook - qual-ities that would stand the partyin good stead if it projectsRahul as the next PrimeMinisterial candidate, said thePunjab Chief Minister.

Referring to the ensuingMC polls in Punjab, he said allelections were a challenge, andin this case, the aspirations ofthe people were extremely high.He pointed out that hisGovernment was slowly imple-menting the various promisesmade to the people during theassembly elections, with farmdebt waiver also set to com-mence this month.

On the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), he said it continued tobe on a downslide, while theAkalis still remained in the badbooks of the people and wouldlose again if elections were to

be held today. The Akalis hadmade a mess of everything, hesaid, adding that hisGovernment was trying to setthings right.

The Chief Minister citedthe examples of desecrations,which had shown a markeddecline since the CongressGovernment took over, and thedrugs smugglers, whose back-bone had been broken, withdrugs no longer easily availablein the State. Though the bigdrug mafia players had fled, theSTF was on their trail, headded.

Capt Amarinder reiteratedthat the decision to hand overtargeted killing cases to NIAwas prompted by the fact thatthe central agency was betterequipped to handle them, giventheir international ramifica-tions.

On the false cases regis-tered during the Akali regime,the Chief Minister said actionhad already been initiated onthe recommendations of theJustice Mehtab Singh GillCommission. Politicians mustrealise they cannot use falsecases to prosecute opponents,he said, adding that hisGovernment will never allowsuch things to happen.

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Dial 112 for police assistancein Punjab. Designed on the

lines of 911 operational inUSA, the 112 will act as singlecommon number for help dur-ing emergency situations whilereplacing all other emergencynumbers like 100 for police,101 for fire brigade, 102 forambulance.

The 112emergencyn u m b e rw a slaunchedo nMon d ayon trialbasis underthe Centre’s nationwide emer-gency response system (NERS)project, which was conceptu-alised in the aftermath of 2012gang-rape in a moving bus inDelhi.

A centre has been set up atMohali for receiving calls fromthe people in distress and thestate police is expecting toofficially begin the emergencynumber service in the nextcouple of months. “The com-mon emergency number 112 isunder trial in Punjab and peo-ple can dial this numberinstead of 100 for police help,”said the Inspector General ofPunjab Police GS Dhillon, whois handling the project.

“We want the people to dialthis number so that if there isany bottleneck in the systemthat can be removed,” he saidadding, “We have done map-ping for 112 as per theGovernment of India instruc-tions.” “A majority of peoplewere still unaware of the emer-gency number 112. The com-mon emergency number willbe launched in the next sixmonths,” he said.

“We will initially have 60 callreceivers with a capacity of han-dling one lakh emergency callsper day,” Dhillon said, addingthat the Centre had provided�9.28 crore for this project.

Currently, Punjab policereceive about 50,000 emer-gency calls per day on the 100number, out of which justabout one and half percentcases are actionable.

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The Air India would start itsf lights from the Biju

Patnaik International Airport(BPIA) here to Bangkok fromDecember 10, airport sourcessaid.

As per the schedule, theservice would be available twicea week, Thursdays andSundays. The flights would

leave for Bangkok from at 3.45pm on the scheduled days, thesources added.

On the other hand, uncer-tainty still shrouds launching ofinternational flights by thelow-cost airline AirAsia toBangkok from here as theGovernment has rejected theproposal.

Although the State Culture& Tourism department had

approved the AirAsia’s pro-posal for launching its serviceto Bangkok, the FinanceDepartment has turned downthe proposal.

Sources said the Air India’sproposal to launch interna-tional flights to Bangkok fromGaya via Bhubaneswar posedas the biggest hindrance toclear proposal made by theAirAsia.

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The NandankananZoological Park on the

city’s outskirts on Monday wit-nessed yet another animaldeath as an eight-year-old maleleopard died at the zoo.

The reason behind thedeath of the animal could beascertained only after post-mortem by experts from theCollege of Veterinary Science,a release of the zoo said.

The condition of the leop-ard reportedly deteriorated onSunday, following which it wasshifted to an isolated enclosurefor treatment. However, theanimal was found dead ataround 5 am on Monday.

The leopard had benbrought to Nandankanan inMarch 2013 from the Junagarhzoo in Gujarat. With its death,the number of leopards atNandankanan has decreased toseven. It may be recalled that amale zebra had died atNandankanan on September25, making the zoo zebra-less.

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Delhi’s air quality onMonday slipped into

severe-plus emergency zoneyet again with a sharp rise inthe level of particulatesthroughout the day andNational Ambient Air QualityIndex (NAAQI) shading theregion with “Dark Red”.

As per Delhi PollutionControl Committee (DPCC)data, Particulate Matter (10)touched 1,102 microgrammesper cubic metre (μgm-3) inAnand Vihar area at 6pm —which is ten times higher thanits prescribed standards.

Experts attributed the spurtin pollutants in city’s air to lowwind speed and dip in mercury.

On DPCC Met meters, the ver-tical and horizontal windspeeds were recorded zero kmper hour and 0.3 km per hourrespectively. A poor visibilitywas recorded in several parts ofthe national Capital as smogcontinued to engulf the city,even as the mercury settled at8.3 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the NationalGreen Tribunal (NGT) onMonday came down heavily onthe Delhi Government for not filing a comprehensiveaction plan on ways to dealwith severe air pollution in the city and slammedauthorities for holding theIndia-Sri Lanka cricket matchdespite bad air quality.

According to the CentralControl Room for Air QualityManagement of the CentralPollution Control Board(CPCB), the concentration ofPM2.5 and PM10, reached lev-els as high as 276 and 455 μgm-3 by 3 pm. Pollution is consid-ered severe plus or emergencywhen these readings are above300 and 500 respectively. TheAQI, as recorded by the CPCB,also reflected the rise in the lev-els of these ultrafine air-borneparticulates.

The AQI was 390, on ascale of 500, around 3.30 pm.It is classified as ‘very poor’.However, it is menacingly closeto the ‘severe’ category. Whileon Sunday, the 24 hour averagewas 351.

As per pollution forecast bySAFAR, the air quality willremain “Very Poor” for thenext three days. For Tuesday,SAFAR estimated values ofboth pollutants (PM 10 and2.5) 227 and 371 and forWednesday, values will be 236and 385.

A very poor AQI comeswith the warning that peoplemay develop respiratory illnesson prolonged exposure whileexposure to ‘severe’ air affectshealthy people and seriouslyimpacts those with existingrespiratory or cardiovasculardiseases. However, youngsportspersons were seen prac-ticing in open at JawaharlalNehru Stadium and MajorDyanChand Stadium, wherevalues of both PMs 2.5 and 10were fluctuated between 247and 250, and 460 and 464.

An AQI from 0-50 is con-sidered good, 51-100Satisfactory, 101-200 Moderate,201-300 Poor, 301-400 VeryPoor, and 401-500 Severe.Pollution levels in Delhi usuallyremain in the ‘very poor’ cat-egory during December.

“At 8:30 am, the visibilityhad dropped to 700 metres atthe Safdarjung Observatory,while the Palam station regis-tered it at 900 metres,” a MeTDepartment official said. Anyreading that fell below theaverage figure of 1,000 metres,in fog, was considered poor, headded.

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New Delhi: The Ministry ofEnvironment and Forest(MoEF) on Monday told theSupreme Court that ban onuse of pet coke and furnace oilmay be relaxed for a certain period for power generationand cement manufacturingindustries. The Ministry tolda Bench comprising JusticesMadan B Lokur and DeepakGupta that in cement manu-facturing units, use of petcoke was “miniscule” and fornon-fuel purposes, while theuse of furnace oil in electric-ity generation plants was alsovery low.

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From Page 1These included Ghulam

Nabi Azad, MallikarjunKharge, Ambika Soni,Amarinder Singh, BhupinderSingh Hooda, C P Joshi,Selja, KC Venugopal andSalman Khurshid, besidesJanardan Dwivedi, ShivrajPatil, Meira Kumar, HarishRawat, Avinash Pande andBK Hariprasad.

“We are very happy thatRahul ji has filed his nomi-nation...I am confident thatRahul will turn out a verysuccessful leader.

“And under his leader-ship, the Congress will regainpower,” Leader of Oppositionin the Rajya Sabha Azad said.

Taking a swipe at theBJP, he said several parties,including the ruling partywhich has no history of unit-ing the country, had issueswith the nomination. “Therecannot be a bigger joke thanthe current ruling party talk-ing about democracy. “Thosewho don’t believe in democ-racy, in people, those whohave to trust in machines towin votes, are preaching uson democracy,” Azad said.

Former Union MinisterAnand Sharma described itas a “historic moment” andsaid there are challengesbefore the country as the gov-ernment had failed to deliver. from Page 1

country are our high-com-mand.”

The PM also targeted theCongress over corruption dur-ing its rule, and spoke aboutthe clean governance underhim in Gujarat and at theCentre.

“The Congress has aban-doned all public modesty. TheCongress has gone bankrupt,as it is going to make a personwho is out on bail in corrup-tion case its president,” Moditold a rally here in Valsad dis-trict of election-bound Gujarat,apparently referring to theNational Herald case.

Political parties, he said,will think 17 times beforemaking those out on bail evena district unit chief.

Earlier on Monday, Aiyarhad rejected comparisonbetween the Congress and theMughal dynasty, saying thatthe Mughal emperors choseonly their sons as the next rulerwithout holding any election,whereas the Congress elects itsleaders democratically throughthe ballot.

Referring to the BJP’sresounding victory in the civicpolls in Uttar Pradesh, Modi

said, people in the Congressalso think they would notbeen able to harm the BJP’sprospects in the 2019 LokSabha elections. So, the PMsaid, the thinking in theCongress is that if they coulddefeat the BJP in Gujarat, peo-ple of other states will listen tothem.

“Will you allow that tohappen? Will you stop thejourney of development inGujarat?” Modi asked the audi-ence that responded with anemphatic ‘no’. Modi also tookpotshots at Rahul Gandhi overhis frequent visit to templesduring the poll campaign.

“In earlier days, there usedto be a competition to showhow secular they are. If onesays that I am secular, the otherwill say he is four kg more sec-ular, the third will say he is sixkg more secular and the fourthwould claim he is 10 kg moresecular. But what is the com-petition for before 2017(Gujarat) polls? After 70 yearswhere all they have to go to?”Modi asked the gathering thatshouted in one voice “temples”.

He said the people ofGujarat were not fools andwould see through the “decep-tion” (of visiting temples for

Hindu votes).Asserting that he never

faced any allegation of cor-ruption in his long public lifeas chief minister and primeminister, Modi asked the audi-ence,” Have you ever read inany newspaper that I havetaken any thing? have youread that Modi’s brother or anyrelative took money? Haveyou read that son-in-law of ourfamily has taken any money?”he asked, to which the crowdresponded in the negative.

On the other hand, hesaid, the Congress govern-ments were mired in scandals.The PM said even theCongress has accepted that theBJP is not an anti-Muslimparty, as unlike in the pastelections, it is not brandingBJP leaders communal thistime.

“If you remember 2002,2007, 2012 (polls), all Congressleaders would brand us ascommunal and anti-Muslim.But before the 2017 polls, noleader is saying that BJP iscommunal. This means theCongress has also acceptedthat the abuse they were hurl-ing against the BJP was falseand was meant for vote bankpolitics,” he said.

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in cases of rape and gang-rape of girls below 12 years'.

Notably, the discussionon problems of farmers likescanty rainfall, drought andBhavantar under rule 139 wasscheduled on Monday. Since,it was also 5 pm discussingimportant Bills, the Congressmembers demanded to sched-ule it forTuesday.

When the Chair did notpay any heed to theirdemands, they staged walk-out.

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From Page 1In posh Kalavad Road

area where who’s who ofRajkot city dwel l , bothRupani and Rajguru havetheir lavish bungalows. Ofmore than 3.16 lakh voters,around 75,000 are Patidarsfollowed by nearly 25,000Brahmins, 25,000 Lohana,22,000 Muslims, 20,000Baniyas and 10,000Kshatriyas.

Going by the poll history,caste factor does not workhere. The BJP banks on itscommitted voters to ensurecomfortable win for Rupani,who belongs to the prosper-ous Jain community. In thebackdrop of pro-quota agita-tion led by Hardik Patel,Rajguru is counting on shift-ing of a section of Patidarvotes in his favour. In the past,Patidars mostly voted for theBJP here.

“Large numbers of elec-tors in the constituency are intrade and industry. They werehard hit by demonetisationand GST. These traditionalBJP voters may switch sidethis time around. This couldmake the contest close,” saysRaju Patel, supporter of theCongress candidate.

Gujarat BJP’s investor cellpresident Prashant Vala does-n’t agree that businessmen areangry over GST and demon-etisation. According to him,voters in Rajkot West con-stituency are educated andthey know long-term benefitsof these two initiatives andhence they will vote for devel-opment. Dismissing notion ofclose fight, BJP spokespersonRaju Dhurv too asserted thatRajguru will not succeed inmaking any dent in the com-mitted vote-bank of BJP.

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Citing India’s impeccablerecord on non-prolifera-

tion, Secretary EconomicRelations Vijay Gokhale onMonday sought Russian push for New Delhi’s mem-bership in the NuclearSupplier’s Group (NSG).

Speaking at the SecondMeeting of the India-RussiaHeads of Think-Tanks Forum,Gokhale said with Russia beingIndia’s premier supplier innuclear power production, it is,therefore, natural expectationfrom New Delhi to bank on itsactive support for an earlymembership.

India will reactivate itsNSG membership applicationonce again this year to be dis-cussed during its June 2018Plenary Session. China is theonly country that is opposing India’s NSG mem-bership on the grounds thatNew Delhi has not signed theNon Proliferation Treaty(NPT), one of the clauses forthe membership.

However, India’s NSGmembership claim is based onthe waiver it got in 2008 fromthe elite group. Apart fromengaging with China directly onthis issue, India is also seekingsupport from other countries.With Russia being India’s clos-est ally, India wants Moscow touse its influence with China togive up its resistance.

“India and Russia areresponsible space powers. In asignificant development, Indiaactively supported a Russiansponsored resolution on‘Further Practical Measures onPrevention of Arms Race in

Outer Space’. We also have animpeccable record on non-proliferation, and we havetaken a conscious decision tostrengthen the global non-pro-liferation regime.

“Our export controls arenow concordant with therequirements of all multilater-al export regimes. Russia’s con-sistent support for India’s effortsto seek membership is greatlyvalued. Membership of the NSGremains a priority for India. Itis closely linked to our economicdevelopment and requirementfor clean energy. As our premiersupplier in the area of nuclearpower production, it is, there-fore, our natural expectation tobank on Russia’s active supportfor an early membership,”Gokhale said.

On another touchy issue ofregional connectivity, andChina’s push for Belt RoadInitiative, Gokhale made itclear that while India supportsregional and internationalmoves it is also essential thatsuch initiatives are taken by allStates with due sensitivity inrespect of the sovereignty andterritorial integrity of countries.He added India believes thatRussia understands its positionin this regard.

Talking about the dynam-ics of India-Russia relationship,Gokhale said the past rela-tionship of the two countriesshould not transmute into apassive present partnership.

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Funds worth �25,000 crore,allocated to thee-lakh self-

help groups (SHGs) in Odisha,are allegedly being diverted to‘moneylenders’, who, accordingto the BJP, are loaning it to thefarmers in the State on “veryhigh interest rates”, contributingto their debts and forcing asmany as 18 famers to commitsuicide in the last one month.

In a State which is to go tothe polls in 2019, the BJP hasbeen taking on the NaveenPatnaik-helmed Biju Janta Dal(BJD) Government head-onwith charges of excessiveneglect of farmers and thehealth sector, and giving littleattention to the “high-level ofunemployment” in the State.

“There is a scam of self-help groups of women in theState where money provided tothe SHGs is diverted to money-lenders who make enormousill-gotten profit by loaning thatmoney to farmers at over 100per cent interest per annum,”alleged BJP General SecretaryArun Singh, who is also in-

charge of the eastern State.SHGs, numbering around

three-lakh and mainly com-prising women, are providedaround �25,000 crore annual-ly of which �12,000 crore comefrom the State Governmentand the rest from the ruralbanks. The activities of thesegroups are knitting, stitching ormaking eatables like ‘Papad’ to

generate additional income forwomen in villages. There are “aminimum of 10 self-helpgroups in a village”.

Talking to The Pioneer,Singh said while the SHGsreceive the funds at the rate ofsix to seven per cent, themoney that lands at the doorof ‘Sahukars’ (moneylenders) isloaned to farmers at over 100

per cent annual interest rate.The BJP State-in-charge saidaround 70 to 80 per cent of thefunds reaches ‘Sahukars’.

“There is a clear nexusbetween these SHGs and theNaveen Patnaik Government,”Singh said suggesting that thesegroups work for the BJD.

He sought to compareOdisha with the BJP-runMadhya Pradesh where hemaintained farmers receiveinterest-free loan andChhattisgarh, where farmerseven get ‘bonus on the paddypurchase’. In Odisha, Singhalleged there was no loanoffered to farmers for seeds andpesticides. The BJP is going tostep up its agitation against thePatnaik Government with dis-trict-level three-day movement,starting December 20.

The issues raised by theBJP would be that of farmers’suicides, unavailability of doc-tors and medicines in state hos-pitals, ‘Ration card scam’ and‘rising unemployment’ in theState. In October, the BJPundertook an agitation againstthe BJD Government at the

‘Mandal levels’. The BJP leader counted 18

farmers’ death in last onemonth with Bargarh district inthe North-West registering 12deaths and Ganjam, home dis-trict of the Chief Minister, inthe South-East, witnessing twodeaths. Besides, Bolangir,Nuapada and Balasore, he said,also saw one farmer each com-mitting suicide. Last year, Singhsaid a total of 158 farmers killedthemselves in Odisha. “Farmersare in the trap of moneylenders,” he said and held theBJD government’s policiesaccountable for farmers’ deathin the State.

To bolster his party’s stand-ing vis-à-vis the PatnaikGovernment, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had visitedBargarh and Paradip this yearwith the party also organisingits National Executive in theState Capital.

The BJP claims that inter-nal dissatisfaction is on the risein the BJD and some of its keyleaders “may cross over’” to theBJP before 2019 when StateAssembly polls are due.

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Adocument prepared by theLaw Ministry has said the

lower courts in the countrycontinue to face an alarmingshortage of close to 5,000 judi-cial officers. The information iscrucial considering the factthat the pendency figures intrial courts is over two crore.

The paper, prepared bythe Law Ministry, states that theshortage of approximately4,937 is primarily on accountof the inability to find suitablecandidates for the post.Another factor that the docu-ment cites for the burgeoningvacancy figures are the pend-ing cases challenging recruit-ments made in the past.

The sanctioned strength ofthe subordinate judiciary, con-sidered the backbone of Indianjustice delivery system, wasincreased from 16,949 at theend of 2010 to 22,288 inDecember 2016. But as on June30, 2016, there was a shortfallof 4,937 judges in lower courtsacross the country.

“Some of the reasons fordelays in filling up of vacancies,as indicated by the High Courts,

is the inability to find suitablecandidates, pending court caseschallenging previous recruit-ments and difficulties in coor-dination between High Courtsand State public service com-missions,” the note said.

The note was circulated tomembers of the ParliamentaryStanding Committee attachedwith the Law Ministry. Thereare only 17,576 court roomsand only 14,363 residentialunits available for district andsubordinate courts in the coun-try. Recently, Delhi HC ActingChief Justice Gita Mittal had

sought protection of women judicial officers after alady judge travelling to courtwas sought to be abducted bya cab driver.

This is against the sanc-tioned strength of 22,288 forjudicial officers/judges of dis-trict and subordinate courts inthe country. The note believesthat when the number of courtrooms will be matched with thenumber of sanctioned strengthof judicial officers across districtand subordinate courts, thefunctioning and performance ofjudiciary will improve.

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With high prices and harm-ful side-effects of allo-

pathic drugs prompting theworld community to turntowards herbal medicines, Indiais gearing up to grab a biggershare of the global pie estimat-ed to be around $70 billion. OnMonday, it kicked-off the first-ever international conference“Arogya 2017”, which is beingattended by more than 1,500delegates from 60 countries.

According to experts, Indiamay have been using herbalmedicines for thousands ofyears, but its share in the glob-al herbal medicinal market is aminiscule 0.5 per cent at$358.60 million. In contrast,China occupies nearly 30 percent of the global market esti-mated to be around $70 billion.

“The AYUSH industry isexpected to grow in double dig-its and provide direct employ-

ment to 1 millionpeople and indirectemployment to 25million people by2020. All stakeholdersneed to pool theirresources to harnessthis vast potential,”Minister forCommerce and IndustrySuresh Prabhu said while inau-gurating the four-day event.

The event, being heldagainst the backdrop of NationalHealth Policy 2017 stronglyadvocating mainstreaming thepotential of AYUSH within apluralistic system of Integrativehealth care, also aims to boostexports of AYUSH products andshowcase the strength and sci-entific validation of traditionalsystems of medicine.

Shripad Naik, UnionAYUSH Minister, spoke aboutinitiatives taken to popularisealternatives systems of medi-cine such as National AYUSH

Mission, pactsigned with WHOto develop bench-marks for Yoga,Ayurveda, Unaniand Panchkarma.Five AYUSH infor-mation cells havebeen set up in

Israel, Tajikistan, Peru, Russia,and Tanzania..

However, experts at theevent felt more needs to bedone. Sanchit Sharma fromAIMIL Pharma stressed onthe need for quality raw mate-rials to instill confidenceamong the consumers whetherlocal or abroad. He said thattheir herbal anti-diabetic drugsand for kidney ailments likeBGR-34 and NEERI-KFTrespectively have found marketonly because quality raw mate-rial has been ensured.

Taufiq Ahmed, MarketingManager of the DawakhanaTibbiya College, Aligarh

Muslim University, which hasalso put up a stall at the event,too talked about how Unnanidrug for diabetes-- QursZiabetus and Qurs Kafoor werefinding takers as quality wasbeing maintained.

He was of the view that“India’s poor share is due toseveral factors, including lackof financial support to theherbal and AYUSH industry,lack of recognition as well asunawareness among the man-ufacturers about the exportopportunities”.

Rajiv Vasudevan fromAyurVAID chain of hospitals,said the opportunity forayurveda is to establish its dif-ferential value ie freedom fromsteroids, elective surgery, strongmedicine, disease reversal ver-sus symptom management,sustained wellbeing at wholebody-mind level includingfunctional health aspects suchas sleep and metabolism.

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Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh and Chief

Ministers and Home Ministersfrom India-Bangla borderstates will take stock of the infil-tration issue of Rohingayasand Bangladeshis on December7 in Kolkata. The meetingwould also consider the issuesregarding cross border smug-gling, fake currency and narcodrugs cartels.

The Chief Ministers andHome Ministers of WestBengal, Assam, Meghalaya,Tripura and Mizoram will hud-dle for the day-long meetingwhere the influx of Rohingyaand Bangladeshi immigrantsand how to check it would bediscussed threadbare, a HomeMinistry official said.

This will be the fourthmeeting of the Chief Ministersof States, which shareInternational Borders, calledby the Home Minister. Threeseparate meetings of ChiefMinisters of States, sharingborders with Pakistan, Chinaand Myanmar was held earlier.

The meeting in Kolkata onDecember 7 is expected tochalk out plans on how tocheck the cross-border smug-gling of fake Indian currencynotes, narcotics and other ille-gal activities, the official said.India shares a 4,096-km-longborder with Bangladesh ofwhich 2,217 km falls in WestBengal, 262 km in Assam, 443km in Meghalaya, 856 km inTripura and 180 km inMizoram.

As per the official estimate,around 36,000 Rohingyas are

currently living in various partsof India. According to latestestimates, 9 to 10 lakhRohingya Muslims havemigrated to Bangladesh fromMyanmar and the possibility ofa spillover to India cannot beruled out, he had said. Illegalimmigration from Bangladeshhas also been a big concern forthe north-eastern states andWest Bengal for many yearsnow, another Home Ministryofficial said.

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The Supreme Court onMonday issued notice to the

Centre on a petition seekingright to stage protest in CentralDelhi. This follows a recentorder by the National GreenTribunal (NGT) on October 5banning protests at JantarMantar. Seeking assistance ofAdditional Solicitor General(ASG) Tushar Mehta, the apexcourt wished to know if a bal-ance can be struck by which

protests could take place with-out disrupting traffic in the area.

The matter came to thecourt in a PIL filed by MazdoorKisan Shakti Sangathan, whichchallenged the imposition ofSection 144 of CriminalProcedure Code (CrPC) inCentral Delhi, making it out ofbounds for staging any kind ofprotest or agitation.

Seeking guidelines in thisregard, advocate PrashantBhushan argued that citizenshave a fundamental right to

protest under the Constitutionwhich cannot be curbed in thismanner. The Bench of JusticesAK Sikri and Ashok Bhushanobserved that traffic regulationis the main cause behind impo-sition of Section 144 CrPC asCentral Delhi hosts importantoffices of the Government andtop constitutional functionariesin the country. The court issuednotice to the Centre and theDelhi Police to know whetherthere is a way out on striking abalance between right to protest

and maintenance of order to pre-vent inconvenience to public.

Bhushan referred to theNGT order to submit that bydistancing a protest site fromthe seat of power, it has aneffect of diluting the protest andthe subsequent gain from it.Moreover, Ramlila Maidan will cost protesters �50,000per day making protests anexpensive affair for commoncitizens, he added.

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The Supreme Court hassought a status report from

the Special Investigation Team(SIT) headed by the Director,Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) that is probing into theallegations of abuse of authority by the agency’s for-mer head Ranjit Sinha in thecoal scam probe.

A Bench of Justices MadanB Lokur, Kurian Joseph and AKSikri gave the SIT four weekstime to file its report in a sealedcover. A demand in this regardwas made by advocate PrashantBhushan appearing for peti-tioner NGO Common Cause.He submitted that it was in

January 2017, that the SIT wasformed to probe the alle-gations found to

be prima facie true by a one-man committee headed by for-mer CBI Special Director MLSharma.

Senior advocate RS Cheema,the special public prosecutorassisting in the coal scam cases,informed the judges that eightCBI cases relating to the scamwere pending considerationbefore the “highest authority” ofthe agency. Bhushan wonderedwhy these cases be kept pendingas they are politically sensitivecases. Agreeing with his sub-mission, the bench directed theagency to finalise the eight casesbefore January 15, 2018.

It was alleged against Sinhathat he met several accused in thecoal scam at his residence in theabsence of the investigating offi-cers. The visitors’ diary main-tained at his residence was pre-sented to the Court which spilledthe beans on his activities forc-ing the Court to keep him awayfrom the investigation.

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Days after the SupremeCourt slapped a huge fine

of �25 lakh on NGO Campaignfor Judicial Accountability andReforms (CJAR) for filing a“frivolous, contemptuous andunwarranted” petition againstjudiciary, the NGO issued astatement claiming that thedecision was an attempt tosilence it from raising its voiceagainst allegations of misdeedsby judiciary.

The statement by the NGOsaid the “unprecedented” orderimposing costs of �25 lakh onCJAR is a “case of ‘costs in ter-rorem’ (a legal threat) in anattempt to intimidate the cam-paign into not taking up casesof judicial misconduct andcorruption and deter it fromdemanding accountability of

the judiciary.Expressing disagreement

over the verdict, CJAR saidcontrary to the charge that theplea was mala fide and intend-ed to defame the judiciary, thepetition was filed with theintention to protect the “inde-pendence, integrity and repu-tation” of judiciary.

The apex court onDecember 1 had junked theNGO’s plea for setting up a SITto probe allegations that sur-faced in a case probed by CBIrelated to a medical admissioncase. The Court said that thepetition aimed at “scandalising

the highest judicial system ofthe country” without

any basis.

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Page 6: ˇˇˇ, - , ˝3’%4&$$ ) (5˝$, ! 2( - The Pioneer draped around a Pathani suit, Cossack-red and beaming with the warmest smile. ... of increasing cases of sexual violence against

The recent controversy surroundingthe Congress party’s soon-to-bepresident Rahul Gandhi’s visit to

the Somnath Mandir in Gujarat tells usthe depths to which politicians can sinkduring an election in order to be on theright side of the electorate till the day ofvoting. But the biggest irony is that Rahul,who is now on a temple-hopping spree,claiming to be an ardent Shivbhakt, willhead the grand old party that carries hisgreat grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru’spseudo-secular and anti-Hindu legacy.

One of the principal reasons whyRahul’s “Operation Somnath” floun-dered is that India has not forgotten thatNehru, its first Prime Minister, dideverything possible to stall the recon-struction of the Somnath Mandir that hadbeen plundered, looted and despoiledover a dozen times by MuhammadGhazni, Allauddin Khilji, Aurangzeband several others who claimed to be thewarriors of Islam.

Soon after independence, when themajority of the people felt that thereconstruction of the Somnath Temple,which was one of their holiest shrines,was central to the restoration ofnational glory, the Nehru governmentwanted the dilapidated temple to behanded over to the ArchaeologicalSurvey of India so that it be preservedin its battered state. However, SardarPatel, KM Munshi and NV Gadgil,members of Nehru’s Cabinet andRajendra Prasad, the country’s firstPresident, stood their ground anddeclared that the nation’s hurt pridewould never be assuaged until Somnathwas rebuilt and the lingam, the first ofthe jyotirlingams revered by the Hindus,was re-installed. Given the history ofMuslim invasions and the assault ofthese invaders on Hindu temples, theyall felt that India’s Rashtriya Swabhimancould never be restored until Somnathwas restored to its pristine glory.

But Nehru remained adamant. Heopposed the project of reconstruction onthe ground that it would hurt the “secu-lar” credentials of his Government.Nehru’s objections to the reconstructionof Somnath disturbed his equations notonly with Sardar Patel but also RajendraPrasad and KM Munshi, an eruditestatesman and member of the UnionCabinet.

Nehru’s first objection was thatGovernment funds should not beinvested in this project. Second, he saidmembers of his Government and thePresident should not be associated withthe project. Sardar Patel beseechedMahatma Gandhi. The Mahatma fullysupported the temple reconstructionproject but said that it must be done by

a trust that would raise funds from thepublic. Undeterred by Nehru’sobjections, Patel, Munshi and Gadgilquickly acted on this advice, establisheda trust for the purpose, raised fundsfrom the public and began the work ofreconstruction. As regards Nehru’sadvice against their non-involvement inthis project, they brushed it aside.Sardar Patel declared that therestoration of Somnath was a holy taskin which everyone should participate.KM Munshi quotes a letter of Patel inwhich he says: “The Hindu sentimentin regard to this temple is both strongand widespread…the restoration of theidol would be a point of honour andsentiment with the Hindu people”.

Sadly, Sardar Patel did not live to seethe realisation of his dream. He died onDecember 15, 1950.

However, work on the templeproceeded at a quick pace and theadministrators were ready to re-installthe lingam and consecrate the temple.Nehru objected to Prasad attending theceremony. He said it would hurt theGovernment’s secular credentials.Prasad ignored Nehru’s unsolicitedadvice and took part in theconsecration of the renovated temple.Nehru hit back and said hisGovernment would have nothing to dowith the inauguration of Somnath eventhough the President had decided to dothe honours. Even Munshi, the chieforganiser of the function, had to copewith Nehru’s anger over the Somnath

project and suffer the Prime Minister’sjibes in meetings of the Union Cabinet.

In one meeting, Nehru dubbed theSomnath project as an act of “HinduRevivalism.” But Munshi remained firm.In a letter dated April 24, 1951, he said,“I assure you that the collective sub-con-scious of India is happier with thescheme of reconstruction ofSomnath…than with many other thingsthat we have done and are doing.” He saidSardar Patel was to have attended theinaugural and even performed the instal-lation ceremony. Unfortunately, he diedbefore the completion of the project.“Apart from any other sentiment, we allfeel that we should help in the redemp-tion of Sardar’s pledge to the best of ourability.”

Since Nehru did not wantGovernment funds to be used for theinaugural, Munshi assured him thatSomnath Trust funds and public sub-scriptions would meet the installationexpenses.

Lastly, he concluded his letter outlin-ing what he perceived was at the coreIndian nationalism. He said: “It is myfaith in the past which has given me thestrength to work in the present and tolook forward to our future. I cannot valuefreedom if it deprives us of the BhagavadGita or uproots our millions from thefaith with which they look upon our tem-ples and thereby destroys the texture ofour lives. I have been given the privilegeof seeing my incessant dream of Somnathreconstruction come true. That makes me

feel — makes me almost sure — that thisshrine once restored to a place of impor-tance in our life will give to our peoplea purer conception of religion and a morevivid consciousness of our strength, sovital in these days of freedom and its tri-als.”

If only Nehru and the CongressParty had listened to Patel and Munshi,Nehru’s great grandson would not havehad to bend over backwards to prove hisand the Congress Party’s “Hindu” creden-tials.

Brushing aside Nehru’s objections,President Rajendra Prasad participatedin the ceremony to re-install the Somnathlingam on May 11, 1951. At the inaugur-al ceremony, President Rajendra Prasadspoke for the majority of the people whenhe said that although monuments can bedestroyed, the bond that people have withtheir culture and faith can never beerased.

Rahul Gandhi’s sudden gush ofreverence at Somnath has enabled us toturn the spotlight on Nehru’s attitudetowards Somnath in particular and toHindu sentiments in general and to theanti-Hindu and pseudo-secular policiespursued by the Congress party.

Finally, it must be said that in viewof the damning evidence we have onhand in regard to the “Nehru Doctrine”vis-à-vis Hindus, Rahul Gandhi’sprayaschitth at Somnath is too little andtoo late.

(The writer is former Chairman, Prasar Bharati)/

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Sir — As many as 210 websites con-nected with the State and UnionGovernment, including the educa-tional institutions, have madeAadhar information public. Theargument is that data is out in thepublic domain to ensure trans-parency. The information containedin the Aadhar card is confidential.No other person should be privy toit. As the list of cyber crimes keepsspiralling, by releasing such informa-tion, we are playing into the handsof identity thieves and criminals.Already there have been reports ofonline and credit card frauds byhackers. If citizens are harassed bythe release of this confidential infor-mation, then the responsibility shalllie squarely with the Government.The Supreme Court, too, has givena favourable judgement with regardto privacy. It said that it is up to theindividual to disclose what he wantsand he cannot be coerced. We needto ensure a safe network beforeputting it all out there.

Manisha ChandaranaMumbai

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Sir— This refers to the editorial“Gadkari gets going” (December 1).It is not for nothing that UnionMinister Nitin Gadkari is known asa very hard task master and a doerin the real sense. Helming theMinistry of Road Transport andHighway, most of his projects havebeen translated into reality. But allMinistries are not in tandem whenit comes to performance. It is noth-ing but shameful that despite hav-ing started way back in the 1980s,

we have not been able to make muchheadway in the clean Ganga project.The UK, which started river clean-ups much later, was able to showcasethe Thames River in a much betterfashion. Kudos to Gadkari that hehas been able to rope in an indus-trialist for whom resources are notan issue and assign him a select sec-tion of the Ganga river stretch for 15long years of beautification andmaintenance. I am sure this is a veryinnovative way of cleaning ourriver and we can replicate this withthe Yamuna as well. But ultimatelyit is the collective efforts of all stake-holders — both the Governmentand citizenry — to restore the pris-tine health of the Ganga and rescueour environment.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — We would have no terroristsif Pakistan was disciplined andprosperous. A neighbour likeCanada is a boon to the USA anda neighbour like Pakistan is acurse for India. Now China hasbecome a problem for the world asit is involved in strategic matters,from North Korea to Zimbabwe,courtesy its economic expansion-ist policy. The Chinese role inMyanmar and Nepal is known toall. If China and Pakistan reallywork to maintain peace in theregion and try to solve their ownproblems, instead of meddling inother’s affairs, then we would havea solid democracy, sound economyand a stable region.

SunilOdisha

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Page 7: ˇˇˇ, - , ˝3’%4&$$ ) (5˝$, ! 2( - The Pioneer draped around a Pathani suit, Cossack-red and beaming with the warmest smile. ... of increasing cases of sexual violence against

The Union Government hasannounced a massive �� 2.11trillion recapitalisation plan

for public sector banks. The untamedNPA growth leaves little option forthe Government but to providemore capital to banks. NoGovernment wants bad loans toerode people’s deposit in PSBs whichkeep more than 70 per cent of thetotal deposit in the banking sector.Though recapitalisation is not along-term measure, it gives bank abreather.

Banks may not recover their hugebad loan which grow bigger day by dayas loss assets pile up. Some bad cor-porates duped banks, laundered bankcredit and backstabbed the economywith wilful default. Their act slowed

down economic growth, eroded trustand made some people rich withdefaulted bank loan. Good corporatesnow suffer credit crunch due to badcorporates as banks want to examineloan documents as per guidelines.Many good small borrowers also suf-fer as banks make the checklist andKYC longer. Quick recovery of loanfrom the wilful defaulters will putbanks on track again.

When the fear of high risk anddefault bottleneck corporate finance,smart bankers explore the retail sec-tor to keep credit business ticking.But here the volume of business isless and the number of loan accountsis many to handle. But banks neednot worry about the volume since theactual potential of this retail andunorganised sector is huge. Propermapping of the retail and unorgan-ised sector will create bigger oppor-tunity for banks to flow credit.

In fact, banking business cannotbe done in isolation. Banks largelydepend on political, social, cultural,economic and environmental condi-tion around it for doing business. If

a village is located alongside a dryriver, it cannot have more income. Adry river neither provides water norfish. It can hardly increase the watertable of the village. This adverselyaffects agriculture productivity andincreases farmers’ input cost. If waterand green fodder are not available,the entire animal husbandry sectorsuffers. The bank credit becomesNPA. If Government shows politi-cal will to prevent over damming ofriver and look for wind or solar ener-gy in place of hydro power, the finefabrics of economic growth will

sprout again. The Governmentshould put in place more India-spe-cific development planning.

Until 2012, villagers of Boshi inAdilabad district of Telangana usedto get enough fodder to keep dairyanimals. The village had lost its greenfodder due to over-exploitation ofground water and soil moisture loss.Today they find dairy farm notviable due to loss of green fodder.Many of the villagers have alreadysold their animals. The TelanganaGovernment has to stop the over-exploitation of ground water and

protect the surface water. No bankerwill give loan for dairy farm in thevillages where low cost green fodderis not available. Alphonso mangoessell at �25 per kg in Ratnagiri andSindhudurg districts of Maharashtra.When it goes to Mumbai the pricesoars up to �150 to � 200 per kg. Heremiddlemen eat up the profit. Ifbanks finance the farmers, theywon’t get back the loan because thefarmers get a very low margin due tomiddlemen. If Government pro-vides a transparent supply chain, thefarmers can get a good margin andbanks can do business. No villagerwill migrate to city for menial jobs.

Many small and medium agroprocessing plants find it difficult tosurvive in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurgas they can’t compete with the giantcompanies with huge scale of produc-tion. If the Government wants to letthe small and medium agro proces-sors survive, it should disallow the big-gies to stray into the areas of the smalland middle segments. If big compa-nies produce pan masala, jeera pow-der, mango jelly, achar, papad and

hundreds of other grocery items insmall sachets priced at � 2 to � 10, thesmall and medium sector cannotcompete with them. And theGovernment can’t sustain them withsubsidy and sops. Banks can’t recov-er their loan in this environmentwhich lets the big one makes profitand throttles the small. Thousands ofself-help groups find it difficult tomarket their products due to massproduction of grocery and utilityitems by big corporates. Ten years ago,the recovery from SHGs was morethan 90 per cent. Today it has reducedto 70 to 80 per cent. If climate is notconducive for credit growth, there ispossibility of credit delinquencieswhich lead to default. If politicianspromise loan waivers to farmers, thiscreates potential defaulters. Goodhard-working farmers suffer as theyrepay loan on time. Ultimately thefarmers lose interest in farming. Thebanks’ recovery suffer. This is hightime to correct the fundamentals forsustainable credit growth.

(The writer is a freelance commentator)

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From the beginning of 1947, theIndian Air Force (IAF) is a bat-tleground of dual connotations

owing to its 100 per cent foreign ori-gin assets. Thus, alphabet “I”, thoughimplying “Indian”, could also be “I forImported”, thereby being referred toas “Imported Air Force.” That certain-ly cannot give any pleasure to Indians.Before moving further, therefore, itmust be remembered that whereas theneed/assessment of/for quality, quan-tity and type of combat aircraft isplanned, proposed, projected by insti-tutional procedure of IAF, all decisionsof import are taken by the civiladministration of the incumbentGovernment.

Let us, therefore, see where IAFstands, banking on authentic opensource info. According to Jane’s WorldAir Forces-2017 (page 254-269): InMarch 2016, then Vice Chief of IAF(now Chief) stated publicly that “ournumbers are not adequate to fully exe-cute an air campaign in a two-frontscenario…..The squadrons are wind-ing down.” It further reported: “Withthe exception of Sukhoi-30 MKI,which experienced serviceability prob-lems, notably engine failure — IAFassets are ageing and it is essential thatthe inventory is speedily refurbished,upgraded, or as preferred by IAF,replaced type by type.” Foreigners aremore concerned, and aware, of IAFplight.

The perilous fallout of the Indianestablishment’s traditional procrasti-nation and complacency was severe-ly criticised by the ParliamentaryStanding Committee on Defencewhich “expressed concern over IAF’sdecreasing squadron strength andnoted in December 2014 that ‘shock-ingly’, Pakistan Air Force has 26squadrons of operational combatfleet” and that “the country’s securi-ty requirements are being compro-mised by ignoring consistently widen-ing gap between sanctioned and exist-ing strength.” The Indian Parliamentverdict: “Security requirements beingcompromised.”

It further came to light that a “sub-stantial number of MiG fighters (mostMiG-21s, all MiG-23 interceptors,MiG-25 Reconnaissance) have retired”and “Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Defence” report stat-ed that “14 squadrons of MiG-21 andMiG-27 will retire by 2024.” Thealarming scenario is, in effect, “11existing squadrons will remain, whichare likely to be joined by 13 Sukhoi-30 squadrons by 2020. Therefore, only24 squadrons are expected to beoperational by 2020, unless substan-tial orders are placed for more Sukhoi-30s.” IAF sanctioned strength of 42squadron becomes 24 squadron? Howfar is 2020? In less than 36 months, the“theoretical 42 squadron IAF” will

turn into a “ground reality of 24”? Canthe retired IAF fleet be replenished bysuitable replacement? Yes, theoretical-ly. But in reality, a grandeur of delu-sion as successive past rulers have setprecedent. Discuss. Debate. Doubt.Delay and denude the force, crying fordeployment. The IAF is professional,not politicised. Hence they are warn-ing of a two-front threat/war. Dorulers know how to thwart?

Indeed, the cumulative effect ofpast wrongs appear to have piled upso adversely that human resources,too, appear contaminated. Thus, “inApril 2015, a report tabled by theParliamentary Standing Committeeon Defence stated that IAF is facinga crisis in fighter pilot numbers thatis almost as serious as that facing itscombat fleet, with a fighter aircraftto pilot ratio of 1:0.81 (Pakistan’s ratiois 1:2.5 and the United States is 1:2).”According to the world air forcealmanac, “In March 2015 it wasclaimed that the IAF officer shortagewas only 152, but this apparentlysmall deficiency can be attributed tothe fact that the number of squadronshas fallen, and thus, on paper, theauthorised establishment strengthhas followed suit. It is estimated thata more realistic figure of pilot short-age is about 600…..mid-2016.” Trueor untrue, no alarm bells are ringing.Can’t we see the monumental negli-gence by/of ruling class and grossneglect of forces? Can the civilianrulers escape “irresponsibility” or“unaccountability?” Have we for-gotten humiliation of Indian Army inOctober/November 1962? Do werecall names of “guilty men of 1962?”

Hope history does not repeat itself. In this scenario, can one then

blame the public statement of then AirChief in February 2016 that “Rafalehas been selected as L1 (lowest bid-der). It is a replacement. It is impor-tant that we have the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) andwe need to have it in the quickest pos-sible time.” That for “MMRCA andSukhoi-30, the requirements areslightly different. And they have theirown capabilities. They complementeach other but do not replace eachother.”

In fact, any sensible observer, withfunctional antenna, will tell the real-ity quoting open source information-index. Thus, in May 2016, it wasreported in Parliament that therewere “34 occasions between April 01,2014 to March 31, 2016 when theSukhoi-30 MKI aircraft were forced toland on single engine due to mid-airengine problems.”

To make matters worse for IAF,even the plan to acquire 214 fifth-gen-eration fighter aircraft (FGFA), whichwas confirmed in October 2011,through an Indo-Russian co-develop-ment programme, is nowhere nearaction-station; Indian payment of US$ 250 million towards the projectnotwithstanding.

Is IAF, therefore, becoming an“orphan/destitute?” Is it caught in themidst of “force structure decisionmaking complicated by politics, over-sensitivity to past corruption in pro-curement projects, conflicting budgetpriorities, continuing problems ofindigenous systems, bureaucraticdelays in tendering processes, and

entry of US as a major commercialand political factor in procurementdecisions?”

One thing is clear. And noneshould have any illusion about it. Ina multi-billion dollar fighter deal,where six foreign vendors bid and fivelose, one instantly creates five implaca-ble foes, “the vanquished”, and oneshaky/nervous “victor”, who too can-not be seen to be overtly friendly.Importing India must be prepared tobe terrorised and traumatised by for-eign losers/vendors.

The entire acquisition imbroglio,therefore, boils down to “perceptionmanagement” which need not bebased on truth and facts. When Indo-US transport aircraft deals are made,no questions are asked because it is“Foreign Military Sales.” When Indo-Soviet transactions brought Sukhoi-7, MiG-21, 23, 25, 27 and 29, theywere a “Government to Government”deal. However, even though “Indiaand France signed an inter-govern-mental agreement on September 23,2016 for purchase of 36 Rafale fight-ers in flyway conditions” to at leastpartially mitigate critical shortages ofthe rapidly depleting fleet strength ofthe beleaguered IAF, politics super-sedes all. Then there is the prevailinggrave threat of the China-Pakistanaxis. Historically, India’s forte has beencivil war, not war. Late GeneralSundarji’s laconic definition/descrip-tion of India’s ruling class still stands:“The blind men of Hindustan.”

(The author is alumnus,National Defence College, and

Member, Aeronautical Society ofIndia/M.AeSI. Views are personal)

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The Opposition Congressparty on Monday came out

with plethora of freebies in keysectors, including education,health, agriculture, power toname a few in its manifesto inview of upcoming GujaratAssembly polls to be held intwo phases on December 9 and14. In the manifesto, the partyhas offered loan waiver for

farmers, 50 per cent slash inelectricity bills, reduction intaxes on auto fuels and housingfor women.

The Congress — out ofpower in the poll bound State forover two and half decades —termed it as ‘people’s manifesto’and tried to touch issues whichare pain points for the ruling BJP.The Congress think tank tried totouch every strata of society andoffer something or other to

everyone.Releasing manifesto Gujarat

Pradesh Congress Committee(GPCC) president BharatsinhSolanki took a dig on rulingparty saying that if his partywould be voted to power, itwould revoke anti-people deci-sion taken by BJP Governmentincluding land allotment toindustrialists. Solanki said thatcurrent Gujarat Governmentgave benefits to large industries

which give less employment andignored MSMEs which pro-vide more employment oppor-tunities. He promised to set up�32000 crore corpse for employ-ment generation and to giveunemployment allowance toyoungsters. The Congress gov-ernment would give 100 percent finance from the corpseunder various self-employmentschemes.

Touching vast farmingcommunity’s issues, Congressin its manifesto promises agri-culture loan waiver coupledwith announcement of mini-mum support prices (MSP)well ahead of the season. It alsomentioned 16 hour electricityfor agriculture sector. On hous-ing, the party has promised toconstruct 25 lakh houses in the

next five years. Also, the partyhas promised housing for sin-gle women irrespective of theirbackground.

The opposition party alsotouched major pain point of rul-ing BJP and maintained its standon reservation to Patidar com-munity. In the manifesto it hasdeclared that the agreementreached on the formula, underwhich a Congress Governmentin Gujarat will propose a Billbased on the provisions in Article46, after considering Article 31(C) of the Constitution.

It will have provisions toprovide benefits, at par with theOBCs, to a “special category” ofthose communities mentionedin the Article 46 which were notgetting benefits under theArticles 15 (4) and 16 (4).

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Stressing on importance ofeducation, Uttar Pradesh

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid education should be suchwhich could benefit society aswell as country. And the BJPGovernment is committed toimprove the quality of educa-tion in UP, he said.

Addressing a function ofMaharana Pratap ShikshaParishad in Gorakhpur onMonday, Yogi said education isthat powerful light which caneradicate the menace of naxal-ism, maoism, regionalism andcasteism.

There is no place for sep-aratist forces in the educatedsociety because they know howthese divisive forces can stopthe progress of the State, hesaid.

“Every person should alsoobserve his Raj Dharmabecause the other face of RajDharma is Rashtra Dharma.Maharaishi Arvind had saidthat following one’s religionwith full devotion is RajDharma.

This devotion should becomplete and will result inRashtra Dharma. All religionteaches people to love theircountry and do their duty dili-gently,” Chief Minister said.

He said in modern worldhaving a technical knowledge

is must. “But this technicalknowledge should be con-trolled by people of highintegrity. In modern times onecan see what is happening inNorth Korea. The world is sit-ting on the brink of disasteronly because of a man whodoes not have integrity,” Yogisaid.

About his Government’scommitment he said that pre-vious Governments haveneglected eastern Uttar Pradeshbecause of which it is now oneof the most backward regionsof the state. “This governmenthas taken up the cudgel toimprove healthcare in thisregion so that children do notdie of encephalitis anymore,” hesaid.

Chief Minister ofUttarakhand Trivendra Singh

Rawat who was the Chief Guestof the function said that edu-cational institutions should notimpart only bookish knowl-edge instead they should mix itwith the vocational training.

“To improve the capabili-ties of students institutes shouldalso impart skill developmenttraining. Cramming history orfew formulae does not serveany purpose. The purpose willbe served if that education isused in generating employ-ment,” Rawat said.

He also congratulated Yogifor giving good governance.“Good governance depends onhow impartial you are.

The Yogi in YogiAdityanath is not influenced byany bias. This is reflected theway he is controlling adminis-tration,” he said.

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Taking up the gauntletagainst Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath offer to theBahujan Samaj Party on goingfor Mayoral polls at Meerutand Aligarh using ballotpapers, party chief Mayawatidared the CM to go for re-polls at all 16 Mayoral seatswith ballot papers rather thanseeking the same for twoseats where BSP was the win-ner.

On Sunday, Yogi hadcommented that if the BSPhad problem with the EVMsthen the Government wasready to hold re-elections inAligarh and Meerut with bal-lot papers after BSP Mayorsresigned from these seats.

Mayawati further said theBSP won the two Mayoralposts only as the BJP failed tolive up to peoples’ expecta-tions. The BSP chief said if the

BJP did not misuse EVMs andofficial machinery, then whydid it lose in Nagar Palika andNagar Panchayat electionswhich were held using ballotpapers.

Prrobably buoyed by herparty’s performance in UrbanLocal Bodies polls in UP,Mayawati would be cam-paigning for Gujarat

Assembly polls for a day onTuesday. She will be address-ing a public meeting atRamesh Parekh RangdarshanMaidan in Rajkot on Tuesday.

The BSP is contesting inall 182 Assembly seats inGujarat where polling isscheduled on December 9and 14. Earlier she had decid-ed against campaigning inthe western state and in factasked party workers to reachJaipur for a rally on December1. Even in Himachal Pradesh,the BSP gave campaigning amiss and sent close aide SatishChandra Mishra insted.

In UP civic polls ,Mayawati neither campaignednor voted but still the BSPmanaged to get satisfactoryresults with support fromDalits and Muslims.

While addressing partyworkers in Lucknow lastmonth, Mayatwai had saidthat talks for alliance with the

Congress failed over seat sharing arrangement afterwhich her party decided tocontest all the seats in Gujarat.

The BSP chief had hadsaid that she was not averse to

electoral t ie-ups with like-minded parties to stopthe BJP juggernaut other communal forces, but theBSP will do so only if it wasgiven a ‘respectable share’.

Referring to HimachalPradesh, she had said that theCongress party was not readyto part with some seats it hadtraditionally been losing.

Mayawati told workersthat that in the later satges ot he talks between SatishChandra Mishra andCongress chief Sonia Gandhi’spolitical advisor Ahmad Patel,the Congress offered to giveonly 25 of its lost seats whilein Himachal Pradesh, it hadoffered just 10 seats it hadlost, which was inacceptable.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi has invited all newly-

elected BJP Mayors, along withchairpersons of Amethi andJais Nagar Panchayat, to NewDelhi on Tuesday to meet themin person. BJP sources said inLucknow on Monday that thenewly-elected Mayors, alongwith Amethi Nagar Panchayatchairperson Chandrama Deviand Nagar Panchayat Jais chiefChandrama Prasad, will meetthe Prime Minister at his offi-cial residence.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath is also expected tobe present along with stateBJP president Mahendra NathPandey during Modi’s meetingwith the Mayors. However,invitations given to BJPAmethi and Jais NagarPanchayat chairpersons assumeimportance as the party hasbeen able to make inroads inCongress vice-president RahulGandhi’s parliamentary con-stituency. Amethi comprisesGauriganj and Jais municipalboards and Amethi andMusafirkhana NagarPanchyats. Congress drew ablank in Urban Local Bodies inAmethi, though party leadersclaimed that they have notfielded any candidates and justsupported some Independents.

Meanwhile, the BJP hasplans to take its Mayors toGujarat where they will takepart in electioneering. Thefocus will be on Chairpersonsof Jais and Amethi NagarPanchayats. They will tell peo-ple that if Rahul Gandhi couldnot take care of his con-stituency, how could his partytake care of Gujarat. “The BJP’svictory in UP’s urban localbody elections will have animpact on Gujarat polls. A pos-itive atmosphere is building infavour of the BJP and we willsweep Gujarat elections,” BJPgeneral secretary Vijay BahadurPathak said. A felicitation pro-gramme will be organised forBJP Mayors in Ahmedabadwhere the CM is likely to be present.

���� �-* 6?9

After the State Government’smove to give extension to

non-Director General rankofficer Ram KrishnaChaturvedi failed to materlise,the officer was made the first amongst Indian PoliceServices cadre to be appointedas Officer on Special Duty(OSD) with the rank equivalentto an IG.

Interestingly, many officers of IndianAdministrative Services (IAS)cadre got reappointment asOSD from where they retiredbut Chaturvedi will be the firstIPS officer to be feted with thepost of an OSD.

An IPS officer of 1998Uttar Pradesh cadre, RamKrishna Chaturvedi was posted as IG (Intelligence)before retiring on November30. But the state governmentdecided to get him a three-month extension just likeDGP Sulkhan Singh.

The latter retired onSeptember 30 but wilth theextension will don the khaki tillDecember 31.

In Chaturvedi’s case, whenthe government failed to get anextension, they issued an orderon November 30 appointingthe IG to a temporary post ofOSD for three months.

With this, Chaturvedi willnow retire on February 28next year, that is if theGovernment did not extend itfurther.

Earlier amongst police officers, Deputy SP PadamSingh, then security officer offormer Chief MinisterMayawati was re-appointed asOSD by the Government.

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Director General of PoliceSulkhan Singh on Monday

claimed that Uttar Pradesh is amuch better State in crimerate as it was placed behind 25States despite having a massivedemographic share. Whileaddressing a congregation afterinaugurating ‘Nari SurakshaSaptah’ at IT college inLucknow on Monday morning,he said, “Those posting wronginformation on social mediasites will be also dealt with aniron fist.”

Referring to figures citedby National Crime RecordBureau (NCRB) that mergedUP amongst the top crime-prone States in the country, theDGP said if the population ofthe State is taken into account,then 25 States are ahead ofUttar Pradesh in occurence of

crime. Singh said the crime rate

has been maintained despitethe UP Police facing acuteshortage of man power. He saidagainst the national average of156 policemen per lakhpresently, UP had just 121policemen per lakh , yet thestate police has been able toprovide much better law andorder.

Meanwhile, the DGPclaimed that he had askedAnti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) toassist in probes initiated intopandrol clips gone missingfrom a section of railway trackbefore the arrival of an expresstrain in Lucknow on Sundaymorning.

As many as 77 pandrolclips, used in holding togethertracks and concrete sleepers,were found missing betweenBadshah Nagar and Daliganj

railway stations just before thearrival of Delhi-bound KaifiyatExpress from Azamgarh.

The missing clips weredetected by Railway patrol staffShiv Shankar and Sanjay, whoinformed higher authorities.

An FIR was registered inthis regard against unidentifiedpersons at Mahanagar policestation.

Appealing to members ofthe fairer sex to come forwardwith their complaints so thatculprits could be brought tobooks and a safe atmospherefor girls and women could becreated in the State, the top copsaid this is the first time that afull week on women’s safety wasbeing celebrated.

“From now on, this weekwill be observed every year tocreate a safer atmosphere forwomen.

���� �-* 6?9

Evan as the Samajwadi Partyand the Bahujan Samaj

Party blamed tampered EVMsfor their defeat in Mayoral elections, candidates of bothparties topped the list of candidates losing their securi-ty deposits in elections of chair-man of Nagar Palika Parishadand Nagar Panchyat and wardmembers where ballot paper was used for voting.

Among 18 political partiescontesting the Urban LocalBodies poll on respective election symbols, BJP candidates lost deposits in lit-tle over 38 per cent posts ofchairman and ward members elections of NagarPalika Parishad and NagarPanchyat.

Up to 86 per cent candidates of Opposition par-ties including BSP, SP andCongress had to face wrath ofthe voters and they lost secu-rity deposits in these polls.

As per State ElectionCommission (SEC) data, 38.94

BJP candidates lost theirdeposits in the elections forChairpersons of Nagar PalikaParishad and Nagar Panchayat while the figurewas 73.35 per cent for BSP candidates, 51.79 per centfor SP candidates and 86.97per cent for Congress candi-dates.

Around 81.98 per cent ofIndependents candidates toolost their deposits.

Small political partieslike, CPI(M), CPI, Shiv Sena,LJP, and NCP candidates lost100 per cent deposits in the elections for Mayor andChairpersons of Nagar PalikaParishad and Nagar Panchyat.

The BJP f ielded 624 candidates for Mayors andChairpersons elections ofwhich 243 lost their deposits,the BSP f ielded 559 candidates and out of these410 lost their deposits.

The SP fielded 586 candi-dates of which 300 candi-dates lost their deposits andCongress f ielded 445 candidates of which 387 losttheir deposits.

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Chief Minister Nitish Kumaron Monday for the first

time spoke on the downsizingof RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s Z+security category by the UnionHome Ministry and said hisGovernment was still main-taining the Z+ category andproviding State Security Guards(SSG) and Bihar armed policefor his security.

During his interaction withthe media people, Nitish said,“I am CM for 12 years but the

Centre never provided me anysecurity neither I ever asked forit nor I had been interested.”But a few days back Nitish hadtweeted symbolically withouttaking Lalu’s name but it wasvery clear who he was referringto. “Jaan ki chinta, Mal-Mall kichinta. Kya yehi sab se badi deshbhakti hai?” (concerned aboutlife, concerned about propertyand mall; is it the biggestnationalism?).

This tweet was in responseto Lalu’s concern over his secu-rity cover after it was down-

sized by the Centre and hisconcern for his properties,being investigated by theIncome Tax and EnforcementDirectorate which included anunder construction mall inPatna.

“I used social media just toshow mirror. I did not nameanybody in my tweets normade below the standardremarks. My language was notprovocative nor I used deroga-tory words. If anybody is abus-ing me I am least bothered,”said Nitish.

But his young bête noireand Tejashwi Prasad Yadavwho has a one point pro-gramme not to lose any oppor-tunity attacking his formerboss, was not impressed.

“This is the style of Nitish.He does everything to attackand demean us through hisspokesmen and claims himselfclean. It was Nitish who gotcases against us instituted incollusion with the BJP,” the for-mer Deputy CM alleged.

Tejashwi further allegedthat Nitish was very scared of

Narendra Modi and also want-ed to retain the chair so hebegged help from the BJP afterbreaking the alliance. “As amatter of fact Nitish deceivedeveryone, V P Singh, Lalu,Shard Yadav, Jitan Ram Manjhito name a few. He will alsobetray BJP and he wants to seeBJP defeated in Gujarat becausethat is in his interest. If BJPloses Gujarat Nitish’s positionwill be strengthened in theNDA,” said Tejashwi.

Talking to the media,Nitish reiterated that BJP would

win Gujarat comfortably andwithout any challenge.“Gujaratis are proud that theirDharti Putra Narendra Modi isthe PM and they will not voteagainst BJP at any cost,” saidJD(U) president and wonderedthat Congress has given ticketsto Muslims much less thantheir population in Gujaratand that no Muslim leaderincluding Ahmed Patel is seenin Congress’s campaign.

Referring to RahulGandhi’s visit to temples inGujarat, Nitish said for the elec-

tion people are going to every-where and even trying to stakeclaim that they are janeu dhariHindu.

Taking a swipe at Rahuland Congress, the CM said thetop post in that party wasreserved.

When asked similar thingwas being practised in otherpolitical parties too, he said inhis JD(U) election is beingheld at different levels. “If thereis no other candidate for thetop post there will be no elec-tion,” he admitted.

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Akhilesh Yadav announcedto adopt Anantpurva village

— the native village of year-oldKhazanchi (cashier) in Derapurtehsil of Kanpur Dehat district.The boy was born while hismother Sarvesha Devi was wait-ing for her turn for five hours atqueue of nearly 500 peopleoutside a Punjab National Bankbranch at Jhinjhak in KanpurDehat and went into labour onDecember 2.

This incident occurred lessthan a month after PrimeMinister Narendra Modiannounced demonetization ofhigh value currency notes onNovember 8 last year.

Then Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav had named thenewly born ‘Khazanchi’ mean-ing cashier, as his mother hadbeen waiting to see the bankcashier to withdraw widow pen-sion under a governmentscheme. Akhilesh had invitedKhazanchi and his mother toEtawah on December 2 to cele-brate his first birthday.

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Asoldier and two unidentified militantsof Lashkar-e-tayyeba (LeT) outfit have

been killed in a prolonged encounter atBounigam village in south Kashmir’sQazigund area that triggered off followingan ambush on a road opening party onMonday morning. A soldier was injured,who later succumbed, in the ambushbefore the militants took shelter in a housewhile fleeing the encounter site. Theyhouse was immediately encircled leading toa stand-off that continued throughout theday.

In another incident, gunmen looted abank in Noorpora village of Tral sub-dis-trict of south Kashmir. Police have blamedZakir Musa, ‘commander’ of AnsarGazwatul Hind, a self-proclaimed al-Qaedaaffiliate for the bank loot.

Official sources said that the militantsfled away from the ambush area and tookshelter inside a nearby building. As the jointteam of security forces intensified thesearches to track down the attackers, thehiding militants opened fire triggering anencounter.

The firing between the two sides con-tinued throughout the day. Sources saidbodies of two unidentified militants have

been recovered from the collapsed build-ing that was targeted with mortars. Aspokesman of Victor Force, the army’scounterinsurgency division operating insouth Kashmir region said that third mil-itant is suspected to have been killed in theencounter. He said two bodies have beenrecovered. Reports said that wounded sol-dier of 10 Sikh Light Infantry succumbedto his injuries at 92 Base Hospital in Srinagarlate on Monday evening. He was identifiedas Sepoy Jitender Singh.

A civilian identified as 23-year-oldSuhail Ahmad Khan was injured in the fir-

ing near the encounter site. His conditionis stated to be stable. Meanwhile, two police-men sustained injuries when the service rifleof a constable went off accidently inside apolice station in Kulgam region. In anoth-er incident, gunmen ransacked theNoorpora branch of Jammu Kashmir Bankin Tral sub-district of Pulwama district andlooted an amount of over one lakh cash.

Reports said that a couple of armedmen barged into the branch and they notonly intimidated the employees but alsodecamped with cash.

A bank employee said that �1.54 lakhwere looted by gunmen. A senior policeofficer said that Zakir Musa was involvedin looting cash from the bank. Musa is anative of Noorpura village who shot intoprominence after closing ranks with HizbulMujahideen and floating an Al-Qaedaaffiliate.

A police spokesman said that militantswere made to retreat by locals when theycame to loot the public money. “The localswho were present near the Noorporabranch of J&K Bank pushed back the mil-itants with stones. The militants retreatedfrom the bank while firing few aerial gun-shots and meanwhile managed to takearound �1 lac currency with them.Manhunt has been launched in the area tonab the militants,” police said in a statement.

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The coastal Maharashtrawent into a high alert mode

as it prepared itself to the cas-cading effect of stormy weath-er to be triggered by thecyclone ‘Ockhi’ which isexpected to make a landfall insouth Gujarat in the smallhours of Tuesday.

Mumbaikars and theircounterparts in the neighbour-ing districts of coastal Konkanregion had the foretaste of thebrewing inclement weatherconditions.

The metropolis experi-enced sudden rainfall whichslowed down road traffic butthe suburban train networkremained affected.

For the next 48 hours, theRegional MeteorologicalCentre, Mumbai, has forecastrain or thundershowers in thecity and suburbs and squallywind speed reaching 50 to 60kmph and 70 kmph and gust-ing up to 70 kmph along thecoastal area in the state. It haspredicted the minimum tem-perature will dip to 22 degree C.

Danger signals LC-III were

hoisted over all ports betweenGoa to Dahanu, with rough tovery rough conditions in thesea.

Not wanting to take anychances, MaharashtraEducation Minister announceda ‘precautionary holiday’ onTuesday for all schools in thecoastal districts of Palghar,Thane, Mumbai, Raigad,Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, inview of the predictions for thecyclone. He said that the holi-day was being declared forschools to ensure safety of stu-dents studying in schools ofcoastal Konkan region.

The State DisasterManagement Unit, theBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation and the Railwaysgeared themselves for theimpending cascading effect ofcyclone ‘Ockhi’ which lay “cen-tred about 850 km south-southwest of Surat and is like-ly to cross south Gujarat andadjoining north Maharashtracoasts near Surat as a deepdepression by mid-night ofDecember 5.”

At an emergency meetingof all its departments, theWestern Railway decided to

keep itself prepared for inun-dation of the railway tracks“The Railway Protection Forceand Commercial staff willmonitor crowd movements,especially in the alert areas ofPalghar,” a WR spokespersonsaid.

“We have kept our disastermanagement cell is in readinessfor any emergencies. We haveintensified patrolling of tracksover various rail sections. TheRPF and commercial staff areprepared for necessary evacu-ation at affected stations in caseof any disaster-like situation,”the affected sections.

According to WR, its tech-nical teams will monitor rail-way assets and essentials likeelectricity supply with back-updiesel generators, signal andtelecom, breakdown equip-ments, accident relief trains oraccident relief medical vans, etcare on standby for any eventu-ality.

On its part, the BMC haswarned people from venturingclose to the coastal areas andbeaches as high waves areexpected in the Arabian Seaowing to the cyclone conditions.

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As the Cyclone cyclonicstorm ‘Ockhi’ headed

towards south Gujarat andcoastal Maharashtra, theIndian Coast Guard onMonday rescued another 19fishermen from the ArabianSea, Talking to media personshere, Inspector-General, K. R.Nautiyal, the Commander,ICG West Region, said that 19fishermen were rescued by theICGS Shoor from a remoteisland and Lakshadweep &Minicoy Isles, off south-westcoast of India.

With the latest tally, thetotal number of fishermen res-cued by ICG has gone up to176. Besides the ICG has res-cued seven stranded sailors ofa vessel, in an operation thatit has undertaken since theOckhi hit south India onNovember 30 and is now veer-ing towards south-west Gujarat.

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The protests witnessed atVizhinjam fishing hamlet

in Kerala capitalThiruvananthapuram lateSunday evening when KeralaChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanvisited the residents who wereat the needle-tip of anxietyabout the fate of the fishermentrapped in cyclone-hit ArabianSea were unseen when DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanaddressed them on Mondaymorning.

It was perhaps her decisionto speak to them in Tamil, alanguage many of the villagerscould speak and almost all ofthem understood, and the con-cern and sincerity her tone car-ried that made them listencalmly to her, apart from theappeal in her voice when shesaid, “I am appealing to youwith folded hands: Please showpatience, please don’t be angry.”

Just 14 hours before, thepeople whose impatience hadgrown into sheer rage againstthe State Government whichthey thought was being insen-sitive towards their anxietyand miseries caused by CycloneOckhi had booed at andblocked the Chief Ministerwhen he reached there afterfailing to do so for four longdays of cyclone-triggered con-cerns.

Indeed, the atmosphere atthe two fishing villages,Vizhinjam and Poonthura, was

emotionally charged as fisher-women sat and stood thereweeping and wailing due toanxiety about their mentrapped in the turbulent seasfor the past four days in orderto hear her as men and womenalleged lack of coordination inofficial rescue operations.

But the Minister seemed totake extra care to speak to theirhearts rather than to theirbrains. “I assure you that every-thing will be done. Boats havebeen lost, nets have been lost.Let the estimates be made. Iwill personally take up thematter with the concernedCentral departments to getthings done.”

Referring to complaintsabout the Forces engaged in therescue operations, she said, “Allare working to bring our fisher-men back. Please don’t differen-tiate like your Coast Guard andour fishermen. Saving our fish-ermen is of paramount impor-tance now. The search and res-cue operations will not stop untilall of them are brought ashore.”

If in Vizhinjam she said shewas speaking with foldedhands, at Poonthura, the sec-ond hamlet she visited,Sitharaman addressed thewomen with really foldedhands: “I am also a woman likeyou. I can how understand howyou are feeling. I know you aresad. But, please, don’t be angry.It’s a hard time and I assure youwhatever is required will be done.”

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Alarmed by last night’s sud-den swelling of the seas, due

to the effect of the CycloneOchki and the super moon, theGoa Government is consideringrelocation of the 300 and morebeach shacks along the coastalstretch, many of which weredamaged by Sunday night’sdouble whammy of the natur-al phenomena and assessingdamages. Swimming hasalready been banned along thestate's beaches due to badweather and rough seas,Government sources also saidthat efforts were being made toclassify the damage caused bylast night’s twin occurrences asa “state disaster”.

“It is however an eye open-er not only for Goa, but rest ofthe coastal states, to do a reviewof tourism trade activities closeto the shore line,” Goa Tourismdirector Menino D’Souza toldThe Pioneer. “TourismManohar Ajgaonkar has spokento Chief Minister ManoharParrikar and the governmentwill appoint a competentauthority to assess the damageand loss. The government issympathetic towards the situa-tion and will take an appropri-ate decision in the interest of theshack operators,” the top officialalso said.

Centered over the SouthEast Arabian sea, near theLakshadweep islands, theimpact of the cyclone could be

felt severalhundred kmsaway on Goa’sbeaches onSunday night,with the waterlevels risingand penetrat-ing severaldozen beachshacks – tem-p o r a r yt h a t c h e dstructures onthe beachwhich serve ashavens forfood and bev-erage on thestate’s coastline– damagingp r o p e r t y .There aremore than 300beach shacks,spread along101 km longc o a s t l i n e ,which accord-ing to officials t a t i s t i c sattracts morethan six mil-lion tourists

every year, both domestic andforeign.

The swelling of the waveshas also been attributed to thesuper moon, which experts sayalso resulted in the sea wateraggressively rushing in land.While State Governmentsources told The Pioneer thatefforts were being made todeclare the damage caused bythe natural phenomena as a“state disaster”, D’Souza also saidthat the damage caused to prop-erty by last night’s events wouldbe officially assessed soon, butadded that no formal com-plaints had been made to thetourism ministry from shackoperators.

“So far we have not receivedany formal complaints, but wehave received many requests forassistance from the govern-ment and from shack operators,whose units have been affectedat various sites,” he further said.

The Fisheries departmenthas already issued a warning tofishermen not to venture intothe sea because of the choppywaters, triggered by the natur-al phenomena. “TheDepartment of Tourism andgovernment of Goa is monitor-ing the situation and has alsocautioned tourists from ventur-ing into the sea. TheDepartment of Tourism hasdirected Drishti lifeguard ser-vice to be on high alert,”Tourism Minister ManoharAjgaonkar told reporters here.

Ravi Shankar ChiefExecutive office of DrishtiMarine, a private beach man-agement agency, which operateslifeguards in Goa, has alsoissued a warning, asking touristsand locals not to venture intothe sea, due to the rough weather. “Owing to the cyclonewarning issued by IMD acrossparts of south India and theresulting weather and sea con-ditions Drishti advises fisher-men to be cautious while ven-turing off the Goa coast for thenext 48 hrs. This is due to thesevere cyclonic storm ‘Ochki’over Southeast Arabian &adjoining Lakshadweep area.Swimmers and visitors to thesea are advised to stay awayfrom the sea,” he said.

Beach shack operators saidthat the damage caused to thebeaches last night, had ruinedthe prospects of a good week-end earning. “Tourists feltunsafe and they left for the safe-ty of their hotels and guesthouses. Some of them even leftthe state, leaving their vacationmidway because of the panic,”Cruz Cardoz, spokesperson forthe Shack Owners WelfareSociety said.

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As Chief Minister EdappadiPalaniswamy and his

deputy O Panneerselvam leadTamil Nadu to her tomb atMarina Beach to pay floral trib-utes to Jayalalithaa on Tuesdayto mark her first death anniver-sary, the AIADMK which sheresuscitated from shambles ison the verge of collapse,according to political com-mentators and observers.

It was on December 5,2016 Jayalalithaa succumbed toher ailments after a 75-day longbattle with death. The mysterybehind her death continues tobe discussed hotly even asJustice ArumughaswamyCommission, the judicial com-mittee appointed by theAIADMK Government toprobe the factors behind herdeath, would be holding its sit-ting on Tuesday also.

While the edifice ofAIADMK is coming down

faster than it was formed in1972 by late MGRamachandran, what could betold about Tamil Nadu afterJayalalithaa is that the gover-nance and administration havecome to a standstill followingJayalalithaa’s hospitalisationitself on September 22, 2016.

At the time of her hospi-talisation, Tamil Nadu wasthe pioneer State in Indiawhere there were no deathsdue to starvation or suicide byfarmers as a result of crop fail-ure. Brand Amma had estab-lished itself as an answer tomultinational corporationsand has emerged as an essen-tial factor in the day-to-day lifeof an average citizen in theState.

An average day in TamilNadu used to begin with

sumptuous breakfast for �5/-, lunch for �5/- and dinner forthe same rate from a networkof Amma Restaurants acrossthe State. This was an initiativeby Jayalalithaa after herresounding victory in the 2011assembly election. More was tofollow. The State saw Ammabrand mineral water beingsole at the rate of �10 per litreand the construction of AmmaSolar Powered Houses forthose with no roofs over theirhead.

The period 2011 to 2016saw the construction of twolakh such houses andJayalalithaa was personallymonitoring the progress ofthe scheme. She also launchedAmma Cement for the lowermiddle class people for build-ing their own homes whencement prices shot up andwent past the rooftops.

A super speciality hospitalfor the poor, Amma Theatreswhere the common man couldwatch any new releases for Rs25/- per person, AmmaPharma which sold life savingdrugs at unbelievably lowprices and Amma Friuts andVegetable shops which gavehigh-end super markets a runfor their money were some ofher gifts to the people of TamilNadu before she bade farewellto her “children”.

But all these welfareschemes are crumbling downlike a pack of cards ever sincethe demise of Jayalalithaa asher successors are fightingthemselves over her legacy.“The death of Jayalalithaa has

resulted in a setback for feder-alism by the States. Thoughshe has been convicted andsentenced in a corruption case,Jayalalithaa was a regionalleader who challenged theattempts by the Centre tousurp the powers of the State,”said K A Johny, commentatorand columnist who has stud-ied Jayalalithaa and her brandof politics for almost 15 years.

He pointed out that therewas no dissidence in theparty while she was alive.“The ministers never openedtheir mouth. What we seenow is a cacophony generatedby ministers and party lead-ers,” pointed out Johny.

As Palaniswamy,Panneerselvam and TTVDinakaran will make it sepa-rately to her tomb, theAIADMK is fast disintegrat-ing. “She did not allow theemergence of a second rungleadership and this is the mainreason for the downfall of theparty. It is almost certain thatthe Sasikala family would joinhands with the DMK in thenear future itself asPalaniswamy-Panneerselvambonhomie is all set to beruined,” said K P Sunil, formerchief editor of Jaya TV and aclose Jayalalithaa associate.

The year 2017 is the birthcentenary year of theAIADMK founder MGR. Theoccasion is turning out to bea painful experience for theAIADMK veterans as the partyis coming down like a pack ofcards during the centenaryyear of its founder.

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Days after India’s econ-omy showed signs of

recovery, Fitch Ratings onMonday cut the country’sgross domestic product(GDP) growth forecast forthe current fiscal to 6.7 percent from the earlier pro-jected 6.9 per cent, sayingthe rebound was weakerthan expected.

It also cut GDP growthforecast for 2018-19 fiscalyear to 7.3 per cent from7.4 per cent predicted in itsSeptember GlobalEconomic Outlook (GEO).

Fitch, however,expects GDP growth topick up in the next twoyears on back of gradualimplementation of thestructural reform agendaand higher real disposable

income. “The Indianeconomy picked up inthird quarter of FY’17(July-September), withGDP growing by 6.3 percent year-on-year, up from5.7 per cent in secondquarter of FY'17. However,the rebound was weakerthan we expected, and wehave reduced our growthforecast for the fiscal yearto end- March 2018(FY18) to 6.7 per centfrom 6.9 per cent in theSeptember GEO,” Fitchsaid in its latest GEO.

The US-based ratingsagency said growth hasrepeatedly disappointedin recent quarters, partlybecause of one-off factorsincluding the demoneti-sation programme ofNovember 2016 and dis-ruptions related to the

implementation of theGoods and Services Tax(GST) in July 2017.

Reversing a five-quar-ter slide in GDP growth,Indian economy bouncedback from a three-yearlow to expand by 6.3 percent in July-September asmanufacturing revved upand businesses adjusted tothe new GST tax regime.

The GDP growth inthe second quarter of2017-18 compares to 5.7per cent in April-June,the lowest growth ratesince the Narendra ModiGovernment took office,and 7.5 per cent in theSeptember quarter of theprevious fiscal.

Stating that it expectsGDP growth to pick up inthe next two years, Fitchsaid gradual implementa-

tion of the structuralreform agenda is expect-ed to contribute to high-er growth, as will higherreal disposable income.

“Recent moves by theGovernment should helpsupport the growth out-look and enhance businessconfidence,” it said. Thetwo-year bank recapitali-sation plan of �2.1 lakhcrore, or 1.4 per cent ofGDP, is likely to helpaddress the capital short-ages that have hindered thebanks' lending capacity.

Also, the �6.9 lakhcrore, or 4.5 per cent ofGDP, road constructionplan may encourage theinvestment growth out-look. “Inflation still run-ning at low levels on mutedfood prices and rupeeappreciating quite sharply

against the US dollar sincethe beginning of this yeargive headroom for the RBIto keep interest rates quitelow in order to help lift theeconomy,” Fitch added.

It said pick-up in glob-al growth has been betterthan expected and went onto project 3.2 per centexpansion this year and 3.3per cent next year. China’sslowdown is likely to beonly modest, while the sta-bilisation in commodityprices is helping emergingmarkets outside China tocontinue to recover fromthe sharp downturn in2015, it said. China’s econ-omy is likely to slow in2018, but the slowdown isexpected to be relativelymodest with growth easingto 6.4 per cent from 6.8 percent this year.

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Regulator Trai on Mondayrecommended rules of net-

work testing before an operatorcommercially launches mobileservices, proposing clear limitson number of trial subscribers tobe onboarded and a 90-dayperiod for the test phase. Theissue of dos and dont’s for net-work testing had stirred up astorm in the industry afterReliance Jio amassed over 1.5million users even before com-mercial launch of its services inearly September last year.

The established operatorshad at that time cried foul andcharged the newcomer withoffering full-fledged mobile con-nection loaded with freebies inthe guise of a trial launch. Theincumbent operators had alsodemanded that the rules of suchtrial service be clearly spelt out.

In its recommendationsissued on Monday, the TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(Trai) has suggested that while anoperator should be allowed toenrol test subscribers, thereshould be defined limits both interms of number of test sub-scribers in a service area and alsoduration of the test phase (90 daysbut extendable on valid grounds).

“There should be a limit of90 days on the test phase involv-ing test subscribers. However, ifthe TSP (telecom serviceprovider) fails to conclude net-work testing due to valid reasons,it may make a representation tothe licensor, seeking additionaltime for network testing givingdetailed justification, which maybe decided by the licensor on caseto case basis,” it said.

The sector regulator has alsoproposed capping the number oftest subscribers to 5 per cent ofinstalled network capacity for aservice area, also called a telecomcircle. For this, the “serviceprovider will submit the detailedcapacity calculations of the net-work to Department of Telecomand TRAI atleast 15 days beforecommencing enrolment of testsubscribers,” it said.

An operator should berequired to give prior intimationto the Government and theregulator at least a fortnightbefore commencing the enrol-ment of test subscribers, Trai hassaid in its latest recommenda-tions. Number porting facilityshould not be extended to net-work in the test period, it said,adding that operators shouldalso transparently inform sub-scribers about the scope of ser-vices that will be offered in thetrial phase as also the possibili-ty of sub-optimal level of net-work performance.

NEW DELHI: FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley onMonday asked revenue intel-ligence officials to use theirdiscretion fairly and reason-ably in their investigationsand use technology to dealwith offenders. “The power ofrevenue officers are quite wideso the exercise of discretionhas to be fair, reasonable andproductive,” he said at the cel-ebration of 60th anniversaryof Directorate of RevenueIntelligence (DRI), CBEC.

Jaitley said that only whenthe success rate of prosecutionand penalty is high then itwould act as a deterrent foroffenders. He said that with

every passing generation thenature of economic offence ischanging and technology isbeing used to commit thoseoffences. Technology is a greatenabler for the offenders andthe DRI should use it effec-tively to track down eco-nomic crimes.

“At times, the flight of cap-ital may be so quick and leanorganisation like DRI wouldneed to continue to upgradeskills,” Jaitley said. He said thatgenerally many investigativeagencies start off with tallclaims when they detectoffences but ultimately withtrials and prosecution, theclaims fizzle out. PTI

NEW DELHI: The newly-con-stituted 15th FinanceCommissionheld first meeting on Monday anddecided to involve think-tanks indrawing up its report that will pri-marily deal with devolution ofrevenue between the Centre andStates. The Commission, head-ed by ex-Planning Commissionmember NK Singh, also dis-cussed the terms of reference ofthe panel and other procedur-al issues, a Finance Ministrystatement said.

The meeting was attended byex-Economic Affairs secretaryShaktikanta Das and other mem-bers of the Commission, AnoopSingh, Ashok Lahiri and RameshChand. “We covered a number ofissues which need to be addressed.We went over the terms of refer-ence (ToR) which have been given

to us by the President and the bestways of addressing those wide-ranging ToR, procedures for con-sultation, the broad structure ofensuring that all stakeholders arefully consulted, particularly inrespect of State Governments,”Singh said after the meeting here.

It will be the endeavour of theCommission to reach out to manyresearch organisations in differentparts of the country to suitablyaddress the ToR, he said. “If welook at the terms of reference, theseare two frontal issues in the ToR.If you look at Article 280 of theConstitution, Article 281 andArticle 282 are precisely on thosekinds of issues. The Commissionwould need to study, analyse,examine and consult before itcomes to any conclusion,” he said.

Article 280C relates to other

issues that cover a wide gamut ofsubjects that have been verycarefully considered before theyare referred to the Commission,he said. On devolution, Singhsaid, “We did not discuss that, itsfar too premature to comment onan issue of that kind. That willrequire very careful delibera-tions and consideration.”

The statement added: “TheCommission was cognisant thatit has been assigned wide-rang-ing ToR which needed to besuitably addressed. Towardsthis objective, it was felt thatwide-ranging consultations withall stakeholders, including var-ious ministries of the Govt, allState Govts, local bodies, pan-chayats and political parties ofeach State Govt, needed to beexpeditiously initiated.” PTI

:$&�/>'������������������������������������������� MUMBAI: Reversing a four-

session slide, benchmark Sensexclosed positive at 32,870 onMonday as investors cherry-picked recently beaten downstocks in IT, metal and healthcarespace. Infosys was the top per-former in the Sensex pack, rising2.80 per cent, after the IT majorannounced the appointment ofSalil Parekh as MD and CEO.

Trading was volatilethroughout the session ahead ofRBI’s monetary policy review andGujarat polls later this week. TheRBI is scheduled to announce the5th bi- monthly policy of the cur-rent fiscal on Dec, 6. Fresh spellof buying by domestic investorsin recently beaten down stockshelped the key indices to trade inthe positive zone after four daysof losses, brokers said. PNS

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In a stern warning to Pakistan,CIA Director Mike Pompeo

has said that if Pakistan doesnot get its act together and dis-mantle the terrorist safe havenson its territory, the UnitedStates will "do everything" tosee that these sanctuaries nolonger exist.

Pompeo's warning came justahead of US Defence

Secretary Gen. James Mattis'visit to Islamabad on Mondayto reinforce President DonaldTrump's call for an aggressivepush against militants operat-ing from Pakistani safe havensto frequently strike Afghantargets across the porous bor-der.If Pakistan does not heedthe US message on militants,"we are going to do everythingwe can to ensure that safehavens no longer exist," theVoice of America quoted theCIA chief as saying over theweekend, while speaking at

the Reagan National DefenseForum in Simi Valley,California.

"You begin by seeking their(Pakistan's) assistance,"

Pompeo said, noting thatSecretary Mattis during hisIslamabad visit will "make clearthe President's intent" and"deliver the message that wewould love you to do that(destroy the safe havens)".

The CIA chief then went onto say, "In the absence of the

Pakistanis achieving that, weare going to do everything wecan to make sure that that safe

haven nol o n g e rexists."

T h eUn i t e d

S t a t e s ,accordingto mediar e p o r t s ,has beenconsider-i n ge x p a n d -

ing the CIA's drone strikesaimed at militant targets innorthwest Pakistan along theborder with Pakistan, alongwith several other measures,which could possibly includedowngrading Pakistan's cur-rent status as a major non-NATO ally.

In contrast to Pompeo'stough talk, Mattis himself toldaccompanying journalists onhis way to Islamabad that hedid not quite plan to "prod"Pakistan in what would be hisfirst visit to that country as thePentagon chief.

"That's not the way I deal withissues. I believe that we [can]

work hard on finding commonground and then we worktogether," VOA quoted him assaying, yet noting that he wouldexpect Pakistan to adhere topromises it has made to com-bat terrorism.

Mattis, who was slated tomeet Pakisani Prime Minister

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi andArmy chief Qamar JavedBajwa, was quoted as sayingthat he would focus on tryingto find "more common ground... by listening to one anotherwithout being combative".

At the Reagan defence forumevent, former CIA chief Leon

Panetta also recounted his grimexperiences while dealing withPakistan as the Obama admin-istration's head of the spyagency.

"Pakistan has always been aproblem. It has been a safe

haven for terrorists who crossthe border and attack inAfghanistan and go back into

Pakistan," Panetta said, noting:"We have made every effortpossible, during the time I wasthere, to convince Pakistan tostop it. But Pakistan, as Mike(Pompeo) knows, has this kindof two-wedge approach to deal-ing with terrorism."

"On one hand, yes, they donot like terrorism, or attacks

from terrorism in their coun-try. But at the same time, theydon't mind using terrorism asleverage to deal withAfghanistan and to deal withIndia," Panetta said, remark-ing which was why Pakistan"has always been a questionmark".

"I hope that Mike (Pompeo)and Jim Mattis are successful

in making clear to thePakistanis that got to be able tosee a little broader and theyhave to go after terrorists with-in their own territory. Unlessthat happens, we are going tocontinue to have problems inAfghanistan," Panetta wasquoted as saying.

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Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi on Monday urged

countries involved in the NorthKorean crisis, including the US,to opt for negotiations ratherthan sanctions to address theissue.

Following a meeting withhis Mongolian counterpartDamdin Tsogtbaatar, Wang Yitold reporters that China wasopposed to actions that mightaggravate tension on theKorean Peninsula, Efe newsreported.

He asserted that new mea-sures should be adopted with-in the framework of UN reso-lutions.

"Propositions and mea-sures that are against or notincluded in the resolutionslack international legal supportand will jeopardize the execu-tion of UN resolutions," WangYi said while reiteratingBeijing's opposition toPyongyang's nuclear pro-gramme.

Meanwhile, South Koreaand the US on Monday begana major joint air combat exer-cise, a new show of strengthafter the Kim Jong-un regimeconducted its latest missile teston November 29.

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Global warming is not onlyposing serious threat to

glaciers, it will also result in aloss of 33 per cent of total icevolume in the Hindu KushHimalayan (HKH) region bythe end of the century, leadingdire consequences for peopleliving there.

"Climate is warming up. If itrises by 1.5 degrees Celsius by theend of 21st century, we will seea loss of one-third of total icevolume in HKH region. This willbe of glaciers, snow and ice," DrPhilippus Wester, scientist atthe Kathmandu-basedInternational Centre forIntegrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD), saidon Monday."It is one of the keyfindings of the Hindu KushHimalayan Monitoring andAssessment Programme(HIMAP)," he added.

Addressing the"International Conference onResilient Hindu KushHimalaya: DevelopingSolutions towards a SustainableFuture for Asia" here, Westersaid several studies have sug-gested that global climatewarming should be kept to 1.5degrees Celsius until the end ofthe century. But even thiswould be too hot for the HKHregion, because it would mean

2.1 degrees Celsius rise in tem-perature there.

More than 400 expertsincluding scientists, environ-mentalists and policymakersfrom 26 countries are takingpart in the meet that began onSunday. Over the next twodays, the participants will dis-cuss ideas for strengthening thefragile environment and solu-tions for mountain communi-ties of the Hindu KushHimalayas, which extends fromAfghanistan to Myanmar.

Wester said the full reportof the Hindu Kush HimalayanMonitoring and AssessmentProgramme (HIMAP) wouldbe launched in mid-2018.

"HIMAP is an unique ini-tiative, first of its kind forHKH region on the line ofAMAP(Arctic Monitoring andAssessment Programme). It isa part of the HKH science pol-icy dialogue to help policymakers from the region."

According to him, thereport is like a mini-IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change) report specif-ic to HKH region. "It is a longterm integrated science policyinitiative that aims to supportpolicy change and sustainablesolutions for problems in themountains. It will make a dif-ference as it is a landmarkreport."

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Expressing love for the wordHindustan, a Pakistani

youth was arrested by police inKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Seeing "HindustanZindabad" written on the wallof a house in the Nara Amazaiarea of Haripur infuriated thelocal community, the dailyExpress news reported onMonday.

According to police, SajidShah had been booked fortreason under section 505 ofthe Pakistani Penal Code. Apolice officer said that Shahhad written Hindustan

Zindabad on the outer wall of his home in Nara Amazi.

People told him toremove the slogan as it hurttheir national pride, the SHOsaid. Some people took pic-tures of the wall and emailedthem to senior police officials.

"We have booked theyoung man on orders from thehigh-ups", he said, refusing tocomment further.

Hindustan -- the Persianname for South Asia -- nowcommonly being refered as India after partition in 1947.

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The Finance Ministers fromthe 19 countries that use

the euro are deciding whoshould lead their regular meet-ings, with Portugal's MarioCenteno widely tipped to takethe helm of a group that has ledthe currency bloc's crisis-fight-ing efforts.

The decision of who willsucceed Dutchman JeroenDijsselbloem as president of theso-called eurogroup is expect-ed later Monday. Dijsselbloem,who has held the post fornearly five years, has been oneof the most high-profileEuropean politicians during aperiod that saw a number ofcountries, notably Greece,teeter on the edge of bank-ruptcy and the euro currencyitself come under threat.

Three other candidates arein the frame, too: Luxembourg'sPierre Gramegna, Slovakia'sPeter Kazimir and Latvia's DanaReizniece-Ozola.

Whoever gets the presi-dency will inherit a eurozone infar better shape than the onethat existed duringDijsselbloem's tenure. Theeconomy is growing stronglywhile worries over Greece'sfuture in the bloc have subsidedand the country is poised toexit its bailout era next sum-mer.A victory for Centeno,who in Portugal has favoredeasing off budget austerity poli-cies, has the potential to marka new era for the eurozone.

While eurozone govern-ments still insist that countriesmust keep their public financesin shape, there's a greateracknowledgement that manypeople, particularly in southernEurope, have grown weary ofausterity.

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Amid a rush of weekendtweets taking aim at targets

old and new, President DonaldTrump criticized the FBI andraised questions about the spe-cial prosecutor's investigationinto Russian election med-dling and possible ties to hiscampaign.

The Twitter storm — morethan a dozen tweets Saturdayand Sunday — came after hisformer national security advis-er, Michael Flynn, pleadedguilty to lying to the FBI. In oneof his messages, Trump againdenied that he directed FBIDirector James Comey to stopinvestigating Flynn.

Trump questioned thedirection of the federal lawenforcement agency and wrotethat after Comey, whomTrump fired in May, the FBI'sreputation is "in Tatters —worst in History!" He vowed to"bring it back to greatness." The

president also retweeted a postsaying new FBI Director ChrisWray "needs to clean house."

Former Attorney GeneralEric Holder tweeted inresponse: "Nope. Not lettingthis go. The FBI's reputation isnot in "tatters". It's composedof the same dedicated men andwomen who have alwaysworked there and who do agreat, apolitical job. You'll findintegrity and honesty at FBIheadquarters and not at 1600Penn Ave right now."

Trump seized on reportsthat a veteran FBI counterintel-ligence agent was removed fromspecial prosecutor RobertMueller's team last summer after

the discovery of an exchange oftext messages that were viewedas potentially anti-Trump. Theagent, Peter Strzok, had alsoworked on the investigation ofDemocrat Hillary Clinton's useof a private email server.

Peter Carr, a spokesman forMueller, said Mueller removedStrzok from the team "imme-diately upon learning of theallegations." He would notelaborate on the nature of theaccusations. The person whodiscussed the matter with TheAssociated Press was notauthorized to speak about it byname and spoke on conditionof anonymity.

Trump tweeted Sunday:"Tainted (no, very dishonest?)FBI 'agent's role in Clintonprobe under review.' LedClinton Email probe." In aseparate tweet, he wrote:"Report: 'ANTI-TRUMP FBIAGENT LED CLINTONEMAIL PROBE' Now it allstarts to make sense!"

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It was a squirrel that nearlystole Christmas in a New

Jersey town.Sea Girt officials were puz-

zled when wires to the town'sChristmas tree and display werefound torn last week. Workers

repaired the damage so the treecould be lit on Friday.

Police kept watch over thedisplay and on Saturday post-ed a photo on Facebook of theculprit — a squirrel.

Police said the squirrel was"charged with criminal mis-chief and released on bail."

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European Union chiefDonald Tusk said Monday

he was "encouraged" by last-minute progress in divorcetalks with Britain, saying thatthe sides were within reach ofa breakthrough that wouldclear the way to start dis-cussing future trade relations.

The comments came asBritish Prime Minister TheresaMay made a diplomatic push inBrussels, where she was meet-ing with top European Unionofficials in an effort to break animpasse, especially in thethorny issue of the Irish border.

May met with EUCommission President Jean-Claude Juncker and will laterspeak with EU CouncilPresident Tusk amid hopes ofprogress on the divorce issues:Britain's exit bill, the Irish bor-der and the rights of citizens.Only then will the EU agree tomove on discuss future rela-tions, including trade.

Tusk said a breakthroughhad come in the talks on theIrish border, as reported to himby Irish Prime Minister LeoVaradkar.

"Tell me why I likeMondays!" Tusk wrote in anoptimistic Twitter message afterhis phone call with Dublin."Getting closer to sufficientprogress," he said. "Sufficient

progress" is short for what theEU wants to see on the divorceissues before trying to get a newtrade deal ahead of Britain'sofficial departure on March 29,2019.

The 27 other EU leaderswill decide at a summit on Dec.14-15 whether those precon-ditions have been met.

The breakthrough underdiscussion would allow for theborder between the EU'sIreland and the U.K.'s NorthernIreland to remain transparentfor trade. Both sides wouldpromise to keep the tradingrules compatible.

"Basically the British gov-ernment would commit tomaintain the full alignment oflegislation where pertinent,"said Belgian member of theEuropean Parliament PhilippeLamberts.

Lamberts said he was"optimistic that the European(summit) can now agree tomove discussion on to the

UK's future relationship.""It seems the British gov-

ernment is now coming toterms with reality," he said.

May's government has longsaid there will be no "hard bor-der" with Ireland once Britainleaves the EU's tariff-less sin-gle market and the customsunion, a looser trading blocthat includes non-EU states likeTurkey. Ireland and other EUcountries are insisting the U.K.provide details of how customscheckpoints and other borderobstacles can be avoided.

One solution would be toallow Northern Ireland to stayin the customs union when therest of the U.K. leaves. But thatwould be unacceptable forNorthern Ireland's DemocraticUnionist Party — upon whichMay's minority governmentrelies on to stay in power.

Diplomats have been nego-tiating relentlessly over thepast days to meet an EU-imposed deadline of Mondayto find "sufficient progress" onthe divorce issues.

The European Parliament'schief Brexit official said it was"50/50 to have something."Guy Verhofstadt added that afinancial settlement on thedivorce was as good as done —"it seems, yes" — while the talkson citizens' rights and Ireland'sborder still had outstandingissues to solve.

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Australia wrestled with a seamingpink ball under the lights to builda 268-run lead with six wickets in

hand over England in an engrossing sec-ond Ashes Test here on Monday.

In testing batting conditions theAustralians struggled against the movingball in the final twilight session asEngland roared back after trailing by 215runs in the first innings.

On a fast-moving third day, Englandwere dismissed for 227 but the Australiansfound it difficult to score against the hoop-ing ball under the lights.

At the close, Australia were 53 for fourwith Peter Handscomb on three andnightwatchman Nathan Lyon not outthree.

The Australians lost the wickets ofCameron Bancroft (4) and UsmanKhawaja (20) to James Anderson and arestrained David Warner (14) to ChrisWoakes in the final session.

Skipper Steve Smith survived a des-perately close leg before wicket reviewbefore he had scored off Anderson butwas not so lucky when he missed out inanother tight lbw review to Woakes forsix.

Holders England were fighting to stayin the Test as Australia chased a poten-tially decisive 2-0 lead in the five- Testseries after winning last week's Brisbaneopener by 10 wickets.

Lyon and Mitchell Starc brought offspectacular catches as Australia hadEngland under pressure in the first twosessions Monday.

Off-spinner Lyon pulled off a blind-ing one-handed catch to dismiss MoeenAli off his own bowling in the second overafter the first break.

Moeen chipped to the left of Lyon,who flung himself across the pitch in asplit second reaction to take the catch.

Lyon, nicknamed GOAT (Greatest OfAll Time), again produced a sublimeexample of cricketing skill following hislaser throw to run out James Vince in thefirst Brisbane Test.

Moeen had scored 25 off 57 balls ina 30-run stand with Jonny Bairstow.

Five overs later Bairstow was on hisway for 21 after Starc juggled the returncatch and finally accepted it behind hisback.

Stuart Broad and Anderson were

d i s -missed shortly after the dinner break bothoff Lyon to end the England innings.A

Lyon finished with four for 60 andtook over from South Africa's KagisoRabada (54) as the leading wicket-takerin the world this year with 55, while pace-man Mitchell Starc claimed three for 49.

Woakes and Craig Overton dug in toput on 66 for the eighth wicket beforeWoakes fell to a short-pitched Starcdelivery spooning a catch back to the

bowler for 36. Overton remainedunbeaten on 41.

Australia grabbed four wickets in thefirst session, including key batsmen JoeRoot and Alastair Cook.

Root shaped to drive Pat Cumminsonly to send a thick edge to CameronBancroft at third slip for just nine.

Root, third in the Test batting rank-ings, only faced 10 balls while Cook,England's other big hope, was deceived byLyon's flight and edged to Steve Smith at

slip for 37 off 90 balls.The former captain, who plundered

766 runs when England won in Australiaseven years ago, has scores of two, sevenand 37 in his three innings in the currentseries. Vince went in the day's second overto a poor shot, edging Josh Hazlewoodoutside off-stump to wicketkeeper TimPaine for two.

Dawid Malan was the other wicket tofall off an inside edge caught behind toCummins for 19.

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India produced a lacklustre anddisappointing performance in

their second consecutive match togo down 0-2 to Germany and endtheir pool engagements on a win-less note at the Hockey WorldLeague (Final), here on Monday.

Bhubaneswar crowd had toreturn home disappointed onceagain as Germany scored two goalsin the second quarter through skip-per Martin Haner (17th minute)and Mats Grambusch (20th) tohand India their second defeat of theeight-nation tournament.

India, who drew 1-1 withAustralia and lost 2-3 againstEngland in their previous outings,thus finished at the bottom of PoolB table with just one point fromthree matches.

Earlier in the day, world cham-pions Australia and England playedout a 2-2 draw in their final poolengagements.

Dylan Wootherspoon (33rdminute) and Blake Govers (42st)scored for Australia, while LiamAnsell (4th) and Phil Roper (54th)found the net for England.

Having finished at the bottom,India will now play the leaders ofPool A in the quarterfinals onWednesday, while Pool B's top-placed Germany (7 points) will takeon the last team of Pool A.

Pool A standings will be decid-ed on Tuesday after the final roundmatches between Argentina-Spainand Belgium-Netherlands.

The Germans came out strongin the first quarter, dominating theearly share of exchanges.

But the deadlock broke justafter the start of second quarterfrom Germany's first penalty cor-ner.

Germans extended their leadminutes later through Gramhbusch,whose strike from the circle beatChikte after a deflection fromBirendra Lakra stick.

Stunned by two goals, the hostsfinally showed some promise andcreated a few good chances butfailed to get past Germany custo-dian Tobias Walter, who was bril-liant under the post.

Germany went into thebreather leading 2-0.

Soon after the change of ends,India secured a penalty corner butit was later disallowed by the videoumpire after Germany went forreferral.

The Indians had a close shaveminutes later when the ball struckthe post and went out after India'ssecond choice goalkeeper SurajKarkera did just enough to keep outGermany's second set piece.

India then got their secondpenalty corner but this timeHarmanpreet Singh disappointed.

Penalty corner conversions con-tinued to haunt the Indians as theywasted two more set pieces in thefinal seconds of the match to sumup their disastrous pool showing.

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Ahead of their second I-leaguegame against Minerva Punjab on

Tuesday at the GMC Athletic Stadiumin Bambolim, Indian Arrows' JeaksonSingh Thounaojam revealed that hisformer club were the one to encour-age him to keep progressing with theLuis Norton de Matos's side.

"It was a difficult decision to makefor me. Minerva played a big part indeveloping me as a footballer and sodid the national side (former under-17 World Cup team and currentlyIndian Arrows in I-league)," said theformer Minerva Punjab player. "Butmy coaches at Minerva were the oneto encourage me to join IndianArrows instead of them. They felt itwould be better for the growth of mycareer if I keep on playing with thisteam."

He added: "I am really thankfulfor showing faith in me when I wasyounger. But I think I took the rightdecision by playing for the Indianarrows. The coach (Matos) has alwaysshown faith in me and I am pretty surethat I will get to play a lot here, whichmight have been uncertain if I playedfor some other club."

Arrows started their I-leaguecampaign in best possible way bydefeating Chennai City FC 3-0 in thefirst game. Striker Aniket Jadhav

shone with a brace in the match asright-back Boris Singh scored theother goal. Jeakson, who started in thefirst game, said under-17 World Cupis past now as they are focused on I-league.

"What we did in the World Cupis over now and our complete focusis on I-league. We played very goodin the first game and we wish to con-tinue doing that in the matchesahead. It gave us the confidence wewanted," said the 16-year-old.

Jeakson said facing his old sidewill be "bit weird".

"It will be bit weird to faceMinerva in I-league but that doesn'tchange my willingness to give my 100per cent in the match," said the Indiaunder-19 international player.

Coach Matos has been oftenpraised for building a team which isorganised at the back and quick incounter attacks. Playing in heart of thefield, Jeakson said when coach talk,they listen.

"I personally believe if a coach iscoming from Portugal, then he iscoming with a lot of top quality expe-rience behind him and understands

football much better than us. So wealways listen to what he has to sharewith us and we play accordingly," hesaid.

Going into flashback, Jeakson wasthe only Indian to score a goal inWorld Cup at any level. Jeaksonshares the feeling was surreal.

"It was a great feeling to score thatgoal. The way I felt inside at thatmoment, can't express in words.Being the only Indian to score a goalin the World Cup, I am still getting useto it, to be honest," said the defensivemidfield player.

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After defeating China'sZulpikar Maimaitiali in

August this year, VijenderSingh will be back in the box-ing ring again against Ghana'sErnest Amuzu; putting both histitles - WBO Asia Paicific andoriental super middleweighttitle - on the line at the SawaiMansingh Indoor Stadium inJaipur on 23rd December.

"This is going to be mytenth fight and I wish to con-tinue my winning run againstthe Ghana boxer as I am allprepared for it," said theOlympic bronze medallist. "Heis a good boxer I believe, atleast his record says that. Idon't know much about his ashe has challenged me first; hewent to WBO (World BoxingOrganisation) first to chal-lenge me and they gave himthe go ahead for the bout. Hewon 23 out of 25 fights he hadand that's why WBO allowedhim to fight me I believe."

The event - named theRajasthan Rumble (promotedby IOS boxing promotionsand Vijender Singh promo-tions - will feature other topIndian pro boxers, to beannounced soon, includingthe marquee bout betweenVijender and Ernest in the PinkCity. Vijender explains whyJaipur over other big cities.

"The fight is going to beheld in Jaipur this time becausewe want pro-boxing… espe-cially boxing to be promoted allover India. After this I wouldlike to fight in other non-met-ropolitan cities and small townsas everyone goes for the biggercities and others don't getmuch attention, which oftenhides the raw boxing talents,"said the boxer from Bhiwani,

Haryana.Vijender reveals the stakes

are high for the bout as every-thing he won in his nascentpro-boxing career will be onthe line and it's not going tobe easy.

"This fight is important tome as all of my fights. I havewon all my last nine previouspro-boxing fights and I amadamant on continuing that.

So, it's going to be big sensa-tion if he manages to beat me;he will get my titles, my rank-ing, and establish himself as aboxer. Going by my previousexperiences, boxers playingagainst the crowd are extra-motivated to beat the localfavourites and they put up afight till the end. That's whatKerry Hope and (Zulpikar)Maimaitiali did in their fights

against me. Maimaitiali almosttried to kill me with his unfairpunches," chuckled the cur-rent WBO Asia Pacific andoriental middleweight cham-pion.

Talking about his prepa-ration for the 23rd Decemberbout, Vijender said no matterhow arduously prepares, asurprise element from hiscounterpart is expected.

"I am not sure about whatto expect from him during thefight. I have experiences offighting with African fightersat the amateur level and theyhave strong endurance butthat experience can't tell youmuch in pro-boxing level. Ihave also saw his boxingthrough youTube videos andI am studying his stance andstyle as much as I can withwhat I have at my disposal butthat still doesn't tell you every-thing. In my last fight, theChinese boxer (Maimaitiali)took me by surprise as hefought till the last round. Atthis stage you have to expectand prepare for everything.But I am confident of a win asI have complete faith inmyself, Singh is king," said the32-year-old.

His counterpart Amuzusaid he is confident of defeat-ing Vijender and will makehim "realise how tough proboxing is".

"I know Vijender is agood boxer and has beenunbeatable so far, but I amconfident that he will lose hisboth the titles in front of hishome crowd," said Amuzu.

"So far Vijender has notfaced any tough and experi-enced opponent like me, I amsure that after facing me, hewill realise how tough proboxing is ," said the Ghana Boxer.

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After a staunch effort by thetop order, the West Indies

batting crumbled for a secondtime in the first test to hand NewZealand a win by an innings and67 runs on Monday and a con-fidence-boosting lead in thetwo-match series.

Trailing by 386 runs on thefirst innings, the West Indiesstarted positively on day threeand appeared to ready to carrythat into the fourth, rallyingbehind Kraigg Brathwaite's 91 toreach 231-2. But its secondinnings disintegrated aroundthe lunch interval, with the

arrival of the second new ball,and it lost its last eight wicketsfor 88 runs.

Brathwaite had anchoredthe top order, putting on 72 forthe first wicket with KieranPowell (40) and 94 for the sec-ond with Shimron Hetmyer(66) and as long as he remainedat the crease there seamed achance the West Indies would atleast make New Zealand batagain.

But when he was out theWest Indies effort unraveled.

From 286-5 at lunch, 100runs behind New Zealand, theWest Indies lost 5-33 to be all outfor 319.

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Here’s what some of the Bollywoodcelebrities tweeted:

SIMI GAREWAL: Am deeply saddened bythe passing away of my co-starShashiKapoor. The last of that generationof Kapoors gone. A gentleman and friendgone. An era gone.. All that remains are hisfilms...and precious memories. RIPShashiji.

RAJ BABBAR: Deeply saddened by thedemise of the legend Shashi Kapoorji. Shallalways miss your charm and your great-ness. You will live in our hearts for all timesto come.

HANSAL MEHTA: RIP Shashi Kapoor.The charming man, the brave producer, thelovely actor and my neighbour is no more.

AAMIR KHAN: Shashi uncle was not onlya great star and a passionate filmmaker butalso a wonderful human being. His workhas always given Indian audiences great joy.His consideration to Indian theater washuge, Prithvi theatre is the favouritevenues for both performers and audiencealike. His passing away is a sad day for allof us. My condolences to Sanjana, Kunal,Karan and everyone in the family. May hissoul rest in peace.

LATA MANGESHKAR: I am extremelysad about Shashi Kapoor’s demise. He wasvery nice human being. RIP.

SANJAY DUTT: His contribution to thisindustry will be remembered. May his soulrest in peace. Shashi Kapoor ji you will be

missed always.

KARAN JOHAR: RIP Shashi Kapoor...themost charming and enigmatic actor ever...agentleman movie star! His legacy in filmand theatre is exceptional. Thoughts andprayers with the family. His work willalways live on.

AJAY DEVGN: You won’t be forgotten.Rest in peace #ShashiKapoor ji.

EHSAAN NOORANI: RIP ShashiKapoor. A gentleman and a visionary. Waslucky to have interacted with you duringthe shoot for 'Vijeyta'...in our memories for-ever!

RITESH SIDHWANI: Sad to hear aboutthe passing away of our most charismatichandsome and finest actor Shashi Kapoor.Sir you will always remain in our hearts.

JAAVED JAAFERI: One of my favouritespassed away today. A handsome charminggentleman who entertained us for 40 plusyears. His endearing smile will beembedded in my memories. RIP ShashiKapoor

ARJUN RAMPAL: So sad to hear the pass-ing of the most charming Shashi Kapoorji,really saddened by this news. Pray for hissoul to find peace. Thank him for theamazing memories he gave us all.Condolences to the Kapoor family.

VIVEK AGNIHOTRI: Artistes like ShashiKapoor never die. As an actor you broughtcharm, as a producer you brought renais-sance and as a visionary you foundedPrithvi, an institution that will keep nur-turing artistic talent. Your body of work willkeep shining.

RENUKA SHAHANE: Khilte hain gulyahan khilke bichhadne ko.... Sad at the

passing of the most charming, under-stated legend Shashi Kapoor sahab.Huge loss for our theatre and filmindustry. RIP Shashi sahab. They don'tmake them like you anymore.

BIPASHA BASU: RIP Sir. You will bedeeply missed by all. Shashi Kapoor.

RAHUL BOSE: Thank you for your bodyof work both as an actor and as a produc-er. Rest in peace, Sir.

SRIDEVI BONEY KAPOOR: A greatactor, a charming and happy soul, an inspir-ing humanitarian. We will miss youShashiji. RIP

DIA MIRZA: My heart is broken. My alltime favourite actor, the man with the mostcharming and kind smile has passedaway. Will always remember the twinklein his eye each time we met. . .#RIPShashiKapoor

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The Far Pavilions, an epic novel which nar-rates the story of an English man brought

up as a Hindu during the British Raj and hispassionate love for an Indian princess is all setto blaze the small screen. This is the second timethat the novel is being adapted to the small-screen. Earlier, it was turned into a three-episode mini-series in 1984, starring BenCross, Amy Irving, Omar Sharif andChristopher Lee.

The 2018 remake of based on thenovel by MM Kaye will be an amal-gamation of Indian and London’srefined professionals of the entertain-ment industry. The high-end dramalasting 30 episodes of an hour longduration is worth a spectacular£113m ($150m) under the co-pro-duction between Beautiful BayProductions India based producer,Michael Ward and UK based pro-ducer Colin Burrows. More than1,000 films are produced in Indiaevery year, making it one of thebiggest producers of films in theworld. London is the third biggestfilm-making city in the world afterLA and New York with an averageof 40 crews filming in London’sstreets every day. London has beena popular destination for Indianfilms for over 30 years. Around 20Indian films have been shot inLondon in the last 12 months, including thehuge box office hits Judwaa 2 and Mubarakan.The successful Indian comedy film franchiseHousefull has returned to the capital for eachof its three installments.

The unique collaboration will be producedby a creative crew which will include bothIndian and British technicians. Post-productionfor the high-end drama will be based inLondon, the world-leading centre for VFX(visual effects) and post-production facilities.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khansaid,“UK and India’s film and TV industrieshave a long, proud tradition of working togeth-er. The creative bond between India and the UKis as strong as ever and one I have been pro-moting throughout. I’m delighted to announce

this landmark collaboration on The FarPavilions as it represents the best of British andIndian talent and sends a clear message to therest of the world that London is open to part-nerships, to collaboration, to creativity and forbusiness.”

The Mayor made this landmark announce-ment in Mumbai during the UK-India Year ofCulture. He met with prominent British peo-ple working in Bollywood, highlighting thelongstanding cultural ties between the two filmcapitals London and Mumbai. Producers Wardand Burrows met with film composer andmusic producer of Bombay Dub Orchestra andBohemia Junction, Andrew T Mackay, hair andmake-up designer Clover Wootton and filmdirector Pia Sukanya.

Producer of The Far Pavilions, MichaelWard said, “Having based myself in Mumbai

for most of the last decade, I’m excit-ed to spearhead the Indian end ofthis international collaboration. It’sthe perfect time to take my stageadaptation of Mollie Kaye’s master-piece much further and deeperinto its Indian cultural landscapeand to invite the best of Indian andBritish talents to contribute towardsturning it into a high-end televisionseries authentically written and castfor a global audience.”

Approximately three-quarters ofthe UK’s film industry is based inand around London. Last year£1billion was attracted to the cityunder inward investment frominternational film production.Transforming London into theworld’s most film-friendly city is akey priority for the Mayor, whorecently announced plans for

Dagenham East to become a world-leading destination for the production ofblockbuster movies. This followed an expertstudy showing how the area is the ideal loca-tion for Hollywood-style studio space.

Chief Executive of Film London and theBritish Film Commission, Adrian Wootton said,“From this high-end adaptation of The FarPavilions to our own microbudget feature TheHungry — the exchange of talent, skills andbusiness between the Indian and UK screenindustries has enormous potential. This adap-tation promises to be a sumptuous spectacle inits own right, but it’s also indicative of how ourabove and below-the-line talent can cometogether to create a production that harnesseseverything from Indian locations to London’spost-production expertise.”

International deli-cacies including

Haleem fromBangladesh, DonerKebab and Baklavafrom Turkey, Irishcoffee from Irelandor Czech beer andlocal Canadian foodproduce to clothesand handicrafts from Nordic coun-tries were part of the annual fundrais-er by Delhi Commonwealth Women’sAssociation. A cultural celebrationinvolving an array of traditionalfood, and games where peoplebelonging to diverse cultures andcommunities came together underone umbrella. Around 45 embassiesand high commissions participated inthe 29th edition of the InternationalBazaar. There were a lot of options toeat, drink and shop from. It was divid-ed into two sections — one had stallsfrom varied countries includingBangladesh, Syria, Canada, Russia,China, Vietnam, Palestine andMorocco and on the opposite sidewere stalls by local entrepreneurs,NGO’s, booths selling pre-ownedbooks and clothes and even a kidscorner with rides. Along with com-petitions and lucky draws where air-plane tickets and gift hampers wereup for grabs. All proceeds will gotowards the upkeep and operations ofDWCA’s medical centre inZamrudpur near Greater Kailashthat offers subsidised medical treat-ments to destitute families and thosesuffering from drug addiction.

Karima Kaderi, wife of Morocco’shigh commissioner and chairpersonof DCWA International BazaarCommittee said, “I am glad and for-tunate to be a part of this noble ini-tiative. The people are warm and wel-coming. We have brought here scent-ed candles, fessi embroidered tablenapkins, multipurpose bags, argan oiland Morocco’s traditional dress —Djellaba, a long, loose embroideredgarment with full sleeves. Alongwith, couscous which is a Maghrebidish of small steamed balls of crusheddurum wheat semolina and a pie withsweet and salty flavour called pastil-la.” She added that the proceeds willhelp the needy and the underprivi-leged to make their dreams and aspi-rations a reality.

The Czech Republic stall had therenowned czech beer, Aperitiv andBecherovka — a herbal bitters, oftendrunk as a digestive aid. Along withhandcrafted preciosa crystal jew-ellery incorporating traditional Czechbeads and seed beads. JarmilaHovorkova, wife of Czech Republichigh commissioner and chairpersonof DCWA International BazaarCommittee asserted, “The atmos-phere is wonderful with so many peo-ple coming in trying Czech beer andBecherovka which has 13 herbs and

women adorning the pride of mycountry — preciosa jewellery. This

bazaar encour-ages globalc o m m u n i t yspirit that goesb e y o n dboundaries.”

T h ematr yo-shka(little matron)dolls wel-comed us atthe Russianstall. TheRussian nest-ing doll waspresented inthe form of keychains, mag-

nets and pen. The vibrant handpainted Rushnyk — a ritual clothembroidered with Russian sym-bols, motifs and cryptograms. “Wehave russian stole and shawls fromPavlovsky Posad which aredesigned by craft painters who

does block printing on wool. Forfood aficionado we have the wide-ly popular Russian pancakes calledBlini made from buckwheat flourand served with sour cream, quark,butter, caviar and other garnishessuch as salmon or apple. People cangulp it down with Russian vodka orKvass, a soft drink commonly madefrom rye bread,.” The dessert sectionalso had Medovik, a layered cakewith honey and condensed milk.

Tuhfa Zaman Ali, wife ofBangladesh High Commissionerand President of DCWA men-tioned, “We invited around 45embassies to be a part of thisbazaar. The 65-year-old associationcum international community ismanaged by ladies who dedicatetheir time and energy into it. Thescale of work ranges from the med-ical centre to a learning centre forslum children and a tailoring cer-tificate course. The medical centreoffers almost free aid, having doc-tors from reputed hospitals who arehappy to volunteer for the uplift-ment of the downtrodden.The slumchildren receive tutorials at thelearning centre. We skill the womenby offering a three month certificatecourse in tailoring on a negligiblefee. They can opt for the advancedcourse of six months if they areinterested in further learning thecraft. The association also con-ducts certain awareness workshopsfocusing on sanitation and hygeine.”

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Compositions and choreogra-phies find new territory in theheart and mind of danseuse

Rama Vaidyanathan. Her reper-toire ranges from ingenuous rendi-tions like Brahmakalpa to vintagetraditional pieces like Sringaralahari.“I started learning dance fromYamini Krishnamurthy at the ten-der age of six. It was my motherMadhavi Gopalakrishnan’s dreamthat I become a dancer. Later I gotmarried to Guru SarojaVaidyanathan’s son. So, my future as

a full time dancer was sealed at theage of 19,” shared Vaidyanathan.

Vaidyanathan performs con-temporary themes in the tradition-al medium, and interprets the com-positions with verve. “When I do apadam, varnam, keerthanam orthillana — it’s all set compositions.But, when I work on contemporarythemes, like in the case ofBrahmakalpa, the flow of the com-position helps in finding its owncourse. I don’t preconceive or strait-jacket my recital into a traditionalconcert format. I let it create its ownspace, musically and composition-wise,” explains Vaidyanathan, whobelongs to a new clutch of dancers,one’s who exploring transitions intradition without disturbing theedifice.

She believes dance is about

finding new pathways in inclusiveelements. Among compositions,her historic Chithravalli, is set toHindustani style of music. “InChithravalli, I was working withminiature paintings, which were apart of the North India under thepatronage of North Indian kings.Costumes, settings.. are all North

Indian and to match that flavour, Iused Hindustani music,” she affirms.

However, the challenge for herhas always been showcasing a nar-rative sequence without making itlook melodramatic. “As classicaldance is suggestive and not explic-it”

She travels to the US twice a

year for performances and enjoys itdue to the positive response she getson every visit. There is a huge pop-ulation of Indians who are interestedbut there is also a sizeable group ofAmericans who are slowly gettinginterested in the Indian culture. Itcan be witnessed from the audienceswhich comprises a wide web of dif-

ferent cultures.Vaidyanathan has used

Bharatanatyam to push boundariesand believes in increasing therubrics of dance vocabulary. “It’s likelearning new languages, enabling usto communicate with more people,but we can’t move forward unless wehave our foundation intact.”

The Delhi dweller loves the cityfor it’s synergy of the ancient and themodern history. “Every corner hasa past, a story to tell but at the sametime everywhere we look there is adevelopment that looks towardsthe future. My favourite monu-ment is the Qutab Minar because ofits grand presence in the city’s land-scape and also because of it’s quietand peaceful surroundings.”

In terms of music she finds aconfluence between carnatic aswell as other forms, she throws ina thumri, a Hindi composition setto Hindustani music. Recently inChennai, she used an abhang bythe saint poet Janabai as her con-cluding piece. One of her mostpoignant projects wasJeevadasavastha presented atNatyakala Conference, showcasingthe 10 stages of life.

Her favourite story frommythology is the Raasleela whenKrishna danced with numerousgopikas in Vrindavan. “There wasjust one Krishna but there were hun-dreds of women each thinking thatKrishna was dancing only withher,” reminisces Vaidyanathan. “Ifind its symbolism extremelyenlightening, as it tells us that thereis only one God and each one of usfeels that energy within us.”

Dhvani se Shabdaur Chin is an epicNational Gallery of Modern Art

(NGMA) exhibition designed by DirectorGeneral Adwaita Gadanayak and histeam of curators. The exhibition is a trib-ute to cultural czar KCS Paniker, thePrincipal of the Madras School of Art andhis most devout students who becamefamous artists. The colour of the mate-rial, the darkened intensity of the bronzesculptures that celebrate Indian idioms,tell us about the flashback in time. Thepaintings on view in a uniquely designedspace echo the vitality of Indian tradi-tions, folklore and abstract works thathelm the best of Indian heritage to claimtheir own place in the contemporary pan-theon in the idea of modern mandalas.

‘‘I looked at all the works that we havein our collection and I realised that theartistes from the South specially the bril-liant names from the CholamandalSchool and Madras School of Arts havenot been credited enough in the worldof modern and contemporary art,’’ said,Gadanayak who is delving deep intoNGMA’s books and records and cullinghistoric works of the past.

There are stunning sculptures fromthe icon master, Janakiram which includeGanesha, Krishna, Christ and his deeplyorthodox looking priest. The sculpturesare a stealthy mix of different styles andcompositions. Janakiram’s elementaldetails and his repousse technique areoverwhelming in his ideation of cuttingsheets and creating figurative worksthat are welded together. Each work byhim has its own identity and strength ofcharacter.

Among the stone works is a phe-nomenal carving of a majestic humanhead titled Yogi by National Awardwinner, Hari Prasad. The triangularface with a Ganesha and consort caught

in an embrace on buff coloured stone.Equally arresting is Mookiah’s brilliantBull Fight and Dakshinamoorthy’s deeplyDravidian Group. Then there are twoevocative works by Paniker’s son — thebrilliant Nandgopal who had a felicity forcombining mythology with clarity ofinchoate impulses. His works SerpentDeity and Krishna and Cows are delight-ful connotations in the commentary ofaesthetic thought of marrying mytho-logical leanings. SG Vasudev’sKalpavriksha in relief is another marvelin insight and intensity. The sculpturesare a residue in the language of indige-nous modernity. We know that each ofthese sculptors wanted to find their ownpathways in the narrative of the nativestimulus. We also know that historiansin the past have not done justice to thesegreat artists from the Southern States.

Modern mandalas, the largest can-vas in the show belongs to V Viswan-adhan the Paris based artist, one of thegreatest students of KCS Paniker. Thecurators have gathered a number ofViswa’s works and we can see the powerand majesty of inchoate renditions of rit-ual and symbolism in the vermillionnotes that relate the tales of his childhoodmemories of ritual mappings and prac-tices at his home in Kerala.

The tiny print by AkkithamNarayanan, another Paris-based artist isa work that speaks to us about tantra,geometry and the power of intellectualaffinities in reading and experience.KCS Paniker’s Word and Symbols seriesis a scientific and mathematical marriageof the beginnings of abstraction as an aba-cus of thought. How peculiar and strangeit is to know that critics called his workdecorative when it was born of deepinsights into Sanskrit and mathematicaltraditions in India. The Madras School

revels in the journey of abstraction. Thereis Adimoolam, Achuthan, Kudallur,Haridas, Gopinath and Palaniaapan.The practicing abstractionists are indeeda surreal group who celebrate the truthfor abstraction is born of experience andembraces journeys of the mind, intellectand is not just colour and strokes.

The brilliance of Senathipathi comesto the fore in his fascinating Nandi draw-ing that consists of multiple decorativemythic references on the hybrid body ofthe Nandi. The details, embellishmentsand the different colour tones weave andcreate a mesmeric scene of tonalities and

contours which makes this work thecynosure of all eyes. Of great intrigue isSG Vasudev’s minimalist interpretationin his Kalpavriksha canvas that shows hispassion for the past and his explorationthat stemmed from reading.

Also part of the show are KGSubramanyan’s Malwa Nights, ARamachandran’s Incarnation and JSwamithan’s Tulsi — all three highly intel-lectual artists with Southern connections.Swaminathan’s Tulsi is a work that harksback to his preoccupation with mountain,bird and tribal inferences. Swaminathanthe essayist, critic, thinker, writer said, ‘‘Inthe late 1960s, I tried to probe the rela-tion of colour to space and after a studyof Pahari miniatures and did a seriescalled Geometry of Space. After theColour Geometry show I entered the nowfamous phase of the bird, the mountain,the tree, the reflection, the shadow, andit lasted for quite a while. However, theobsession was wonderful while it lastedand what better tribute would a painterwant than a letter from a collector say-ing that my work brought peace and tran-quillity into her house.’’ (Lalit KalaContemporary, Issue 40, March 1995,New Delhi, p.11).

Design details at the NGMA havetaken an avant garde look with alcovesand steps and walls redesigned to createmultiple levels to make the viewing oneof grabbing eyeballs and creating islandsof aesthetic intensity and insight.

Maestro Satish Gujral hasspent a lifetime creating

monumental art. During thepast seven decades he has gar-nered inspirations, createddiverse art forms and evolved hisspectrum of expression. A mas-ter sculpture, painter, architect,muralist and writer, Gujral todayloans the majestic Trinity toBikaner House.

Gujral unveiled this sculp-ture at a private gathering onSeptember 22, 2017. The incep-tion of Trinity was to celebratehis daughter Raseel’s 3 decadesof journey as a spatial designer.Raseel had been aware of herfather’s long held desire forexhibiting his artwork andsculptures for public spaces.She felt that art appreciatorsneeded to see this piece of artand supported her father’sendeavour whole heartedly,therefore she initiated a dialoguewith Malvika Singh of Bikanerhouse to curate an evening tocelebrate the beginning of thisjourney of Satish Gujral artwork in the public domain, aswell as celebrate the beginningof the Public Art program ofBikaner house.

Trinity, a 9 ft tall bronzesculpture celebrates the threeworlds, also subliminally sug-gesting the eternal bondbetween life-death-rebirth. Itwas named Trinity in the con-text of Hindu mythology — atriumvirate of Brahma, Vishnu,Mahesh. It’s a figure in triptych,poised in eternal harmony andbalance, subliminally commu-nicating the cyclic passage of

time as creation, preser-vation and rebirth.Suggesting the proverbialcircle of life, Gujral’ssculpture encases menrejoicing every realmwith spiritual gusto. “It isto me one of the mostsublime of his works. An encap-sulation of his beliefs. And largeenough to grace a public space,”feels Raseel.

“Art is a revolt against man’sfate. If all art ever made was con-fined within four walls would weever have had aMahabalipuram? Or aKhajuraho? Or even a Florencefor that matter. It’s sad that asconsumerism consumed usIndians, we, in contemporarytimes forgot the sheer virtue ofplacing a piece of art in a pub-lic space for all to admire andimbibe from,” informs the mae-stro himself, who during his stayin Mexico in the 1950’s culti-vated this passion for muralistmedium under the influence ofstalwarts like Frida Kahlo,Orozco and Siqueiros. Heundertook to bring the ethos

and influences to the Indiandiaspora and honed his art tofurther vitalise the Indian artscenario.

Gujral’s series of public artinstallations will now travelacross prominent landmarksacross India slated for 2018.TheBelgian Embassy in New Delhi,the UNESCO building andmore recently the AmbedkarPark in Lucknow stand testi-mony to his journey so far. Manyof his murals are part of historicbuildings, universities and insti-tutions across India.

Art lovers can view Trinityfor the next few months atBikaner House, which is slowlyemerging as the most powerfulcultural hub of India. Gujral willalso unveil his recent canvasesduring the art fair later inJanuary at the same venue.

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Without the five dropped catch-es that India produced in SriLanka's first innings of the

third and final Test, being played atFeroze Shah Kotla, the story of thismatch would have been no differentfrom what we have become accustomedto in the last few weeks.

But, as it is, the visitors were ableto capitalize on these lives given to themand finally produced a batting effortwhich provided an intriguing contestfor the fans to enjoy, ending the day on356/9, still trailing India by 180 runs.Not surprisingly, it were the two pillarsof the Sri Lankan batting line-up,Angelo Matthews (111) and captainDinesh Chandimal (147*), whopropped up the innings with their hun-dreds and avoided the follow-on. This,in the end, could prove to be very cru-cial in determining the result of thematch.

With the pitch not having muchassistance for the bowlers and two setbatsmen at the crease, there was hopeof a fight back from Sri Lanka and theydidn't disappoint this time.

For Matthews it was a struggle deal-ing with some good overs from theseam bowlers. But he persevered andafter being dropped on 98, against thesame bowler — Ishant Sharma — offwhose bowling he had given a chanceto Virat Kohli on Sunday, reacheda hundred that would come as ahuge relief to the former skipper.

At one stage in his career, afterhe took over the captaincy of histeam, Matthews had seemedunstoppable with the bat. Butthings went pear-shaped for Matthewsin the last few months with the teamsuffering defeats and his own form tak-ing a dive. In that context, his first hun-dred in more than two years would givehis team and its fans relief and hope thathe could regain his old form and helpin his team's recovery.

While the former captain battledthrough, current skipper Chandimalshowed the fluency and ability thatmarked him many years ago as a futureSri Lankan batting star. The graceful-ness of his strokes and the ease withwhich he milked the bowling showedhim as a class apart from the rest of thebatting line-up.

The surprising element on Day 3was the very late introduction into theattack of Ravichandran Ashwin. The

offie was brought into the attack onlyin the second session of the day butwhen he bowled, he troubled Matthewsconsiderably.

He eventually got Matthews' scalpin the 98th over when a delivery thatheld its line got the Sri Lankan's out-side edge and was caught by Saha.Matthews was dismissed on 111 bring-ing curtains down on a partnership of181 for the fourth wicket with the team'sscore at 256.

Indian bowlers managed only onewicket in first two sessions but with abig stand broken, there were hopes ofthe floodgates opening in the last one.They didn't immediately as early on inthe session, Chandimal completed hiscentury when he pushed Ashwin intothe covers for a single. His hundred

came off 265 balls laced with 13 fours. Opener Sadeera Samarawickrama,

who couldn't bat on Day 2 due to a headinjury, came out to bat at the fall ofMatthews wicket and along withChandimal kept the innings moving ata steady pace.

The two spinners were now bowl-ing in tandem and in their usual style.Jadeja wheeling away at a tight line andlength and not giving any easy runswhile Ashwin constantly changing hisline and length to trouble the batsman.

Jadeja wasn't looking penetrativeand Ashwin was occasionally erring inhis line. Soon Samarawickrama, afterinitially looking tentative, went afterAshwin and got some boundarieswhile Chandimal, at the other end,seemed untroubled and was milking the

bowling with ease.The partnership accumulated more

than 50 runs prompting Kohli to bringin Ishant Sharma in place of Jadeja fora breakthrough.

And the move worked as Sadeeraedged a delivery that seamed a little andWriddhiman Saha took a dazzlingone-handed catch diving to his rightand pouching the ball inches off theground. This ended the 61-run enter-taining partnership at the score of 317.

Ishant was bowling a nice hostilespell with pace and bounce along witha bit of seam movement.

Ashwin soon picked up the wick-et of Silva through an inside edge whichlobbed up off the pad to the short-legfielder and then bowled NiroshanDickwella to put Sri Lanka back in aprecarious position.

Interestingly, Ashwin looked mostthreatening when he was bowling thetraditional off spinners' line outside theoff stump which made one wonder whyhe was experimenting so much earli-er.

Kohli then made another success-ful move by bringing Shami into theattack. He justified the decision with thewicket of Lakmal when he got a deliv-ery to seam a little and take the edgefor Saha to take another brilliant catchdiving to his right, this time with bothhands. The visitors were now in dan-ger of not avoiding the follow-on.

Ashwin was looking dangerous forthe lower order batsmen and Kohlidecided to bring Jadeja from the otherend to hasten Sri Lanka's decline. Thismove too succeeded when he trappedLahiru Gamage in front of the stumpsin the 127th over though by that timethe touring side had avoided the follow-on. With just one wicket in hand,Chandimal decided to farm the strikeand earn some boundaries. He showedrespect to Jadeja but twice came downthe wicket to Ashwin and lofted himtowards mid-wicket for a four and a six.

Bad light ended play around 5 min-utes before the scheduled time withskipper Chandimal remaining unbeat-en on 147 and last man LakshanSandakan yet to open his account.

While the Lankan lower orderundid the good work of Matthews andChandimal to a considerable extent bycollapsing from 317/4 to 356/9 at theend of the day, the visitors would beentertaining the possibility of a drawwith just two days remaining on this flat pitch.

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Indian pacer Mohammed Shami on Mondaysaid that his team is disappointed with the

kind of pitches they have been given in the lasttwo Tests as they wanted tracks that would helpthem prepare for the tour of South Africa.

"As far as the pitches are concerned, wehaven't got the sort of pitches that would havehelped us prepare for the tour of SouthAfrica. But on these pitches we have been ableto test ourselves by bowling long spells andassess our fitness. As a unit also, we have pro-duced while being in the field for more than100 overs," the pacer bluntly stated.

Shami also talked about the bigger role thatIndian pacers have been playing in their team'ssuccess.

"As fast bowlers, we don't get to bowl thatmuch in India. But in the last 1-1/2 years, wehave been bowling a lot more in matches and

that gives us an opportunity to show our skills.The more you bowl, the better you get. So thatis good," the Bengal pacer said.

With the Lankan bowlers complaining ofbad health due to air pollution, Shami wasquestioned about his own experience and hehad this to say: "I was anyway a bit sick andyes there is pollution. But it is not as bad aswas being made out. Maybe for us it wasn't abig issue because we are used to it."

Shami had taken a wicket of the very firstball of the innings when he dismissed open-

er Dimuth Karunaratne.He took another wicket on Day 3 when he

got Suranga Lakmal out. On both occassions,the victim was caught behind by wicketkeep-er Wriddhiman Saha.

Shami bowled couple of good spells dur-ing the day in which he got the ball to movea little as well but didn't think it was due toreverse swing.

"I didn't see any reverse swing today butthe ball was holding up a bit. The pace at whichwe are bowling, if there was reverse swing, wewould have finished off the Lankan inningstoday itself," the 27-year old asserted.

With two days remaining in the game,draw is a big possibility but Shami is lookingfor a victory. "We are hopeful of winning thisTest. We are always looking for a result andkeep up our efforts till the very end. We'll seehow the conditions change and then react toit," the pacer concluded by saying.

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Angelo Matthews has suffered a poor run of form in thelast couple of years that has seen him not score a hun-

dred since 2015. After breaking the century drought by scor-ing a fighting ton against India on Day 3 of the third Test,Matthews evinced a big relief on his part.

"I badly wanted to get a hundred so it was very pleasingto get there and a bit of a relief as well. I got a start in theKolkata Test also but couldn't capitalize on it. But I had theconfidence within myself that I was hitting the ball well inthe nets.

“Once I got the start today I thought let's capitalize onthis. I had a bit of luck as well but that is part of the game,"a noticeably relieved Matthews said at the press conferenceafter the end of day's play.

But he was a little unhappy with himself for not gettinga bigger score and praised the Indian bowlers for their efforts

on the day."I am a bit

disappointed alsothat I couldn't geta bigger score butcredit should goto the Indianbowlers as well.

“They keptcoming at us andmade us workextremely hard.We had to grindfor our runs.Chandimal wasbatting very flu-ently.

“But in mycase, it wasn't oneof my bestinnings as I hadto fight my waythrough. I amglad it worked outin the end," theformer SriLankan captainexplained.

Matthews hadtaken the attackto theR a v i c h a n d r a nAshwin on Day 2but said that itwasn't part of anyplan.

"We didn'treally have a planas such. We knowwe are playingagainst the No 1Test team and alltheir four bowlerskeep coming atyou all the time.

“Virat rotated them beautifully and the pressure was onus always.

“There were very few loose balls and myself and Chandihad to grind and make use of them when they came."

Matthews also thanked his team's batting coach and for-mer middle-order batsmen for Sri Lanka, Thilan Samaraweerafor helping him recover his form.

"I should thank Samaraweera. “He has reminded me of things that I was doing when I

was in good form but which I stopped doing in the last year,"the 30-year old mentioned.

In conclusion, Matthews expressed disappointmentwith the fact that his team suffered a collapse in the last ses-sion but remained hopeful of continuing the good show.

"We are a little disappointed the way we ended the day'splay.

“We made the Indian bowlers work extremely hard butthen gave away too many wickets today.

“We have to get back tomorrow and do well to not letthe game slip away," he stated.

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Gujarat speedster JaspritBumrah predictably got

his maiden call-up in the 17-member Indian Test squad forthe South Africa tour whilerookies Washington Sundar,Basil Thampi and DeepakHooda were summoned forthe three-match T20Internationals against SriLanka.

As expected, captainVirat Kohli will not be play-ing the T20 Internationalsagainst Sri Lanka and hisdeputy Rohit Sharma will beleading the 15-member squadthat also has former skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni.

Bumrah was included asthe fifth pacer in the squad aschinaman Kuldeep Yadav,currently in the squad for theSri Lanka Test missed out.The Test squad comprisedthree openers in LokeshRahul, Shikhar Dhawan,Murali Vijay followed by fourautomatic middle-order picksin Cheteshwar Pujara, skipperKohli, Ajinkya Rahane and

Rohit.The four frontline pacers

-- Umesh Yadav, MohammedShami, Bhuvneshwar Kumarand Ishant Sharma -- werealso certainties just like spin-ners Ravichandran Ashwinand Ravindra Jadeja.

Hardik Pandya is the onlygenuine all-rounder whileParthiv Patel, after his gutsyshow against England lastyear, had booked his ticketsfor the South Africa boundflight.

"Definitely, the playersselect themselves on form.Definitely, this is the bestbalanced sides that has goneto South Africa," chairman ofselectors MSK Prasad saidwhen asked if this was the eas-iest selection meeting.

The 23-year-old Bumrah,who has 52 and 40 wicketsrespectively from 28 ODIsand 3O T20Is, has not playedany first-class cricket this sea-son.

"With regards to Bumrah,if you see his performance inthe last 18 months, it has beenphenomenal, sensational in

ODIs and T20. Consideringthe his brilliant performancein last year's Ranji Trophy, hewas an unanimous choice,"Prasad said.

"There was no doubt inpicking Bumrah because hedefinitely adds variety to paceattack. The nature of wicketsin South Africa will suit hisbowling," said Prasad, elabo-

rating on the Gujarat slinger'sselection.

Chinaman Yadav missingout on a Test nod was "unfor-tunate", according to Prasad.

"It is unfortunate thatKuldeep Yadav had to missout as we will be playing onlythree Test matches in SouthAfrica. Considering him overworld's number 1 and 2 spin-

ners (Ashwin and Jadeja)would have been a big ask.But he is a fine bowler andover a period of time, wewould see him grow," the for-mer Andhra stumper said.

On Parthiv Patel's selec-tion as the second wicket-keeper, Prasad reiterated thathe's being seen as the secondstumper in the longer versionafter Wriddhiman Saha.

In the new look T20squad, selectors have pickedKerala fast bowler Thampiknown for his toe-crushingyorkers while Hooda, origi-nally from Haryana, playsfor Baroda at domestic level.

Washington, the 18-yearold talented off-spinner all-rounder, was one of the findsof the last IPL for Rising PuneSupergiants.

On the youngsters select-ed in the T20s, Prasad said:"The Basil Thampis and theShreyas Iyers have all donewell in domestic cricket andthen on India A tour to SouthAfrica. Also taking perfor-mances of IPL, they are thebest performers in the IPL."

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Yuvraj Singh has no qualms in conceding thathe has been "failing" but the out-of-favour

Indian cricketer says he won't give up on his careerat least till 2019.

The 36-year-old all-rounder, who played a piv-otal role in India's 2011 World Cup triumph, hasbeen struggling to keep a place in the side for sometime now.

"I would like to tell that I am failing. I still fail.I failed the last three fitness tests but yesterday Ipassed my fitness test. After 17 years I am still fail-ing," Yuvraj said.

Speaking at an interactive session organised byUNICEF here as part of 'The Power of Sports toShape the Future of Adolescents' campaign, the vet-eran said his career decisions will be solely decid-ed by him.

"I am not afraid of failure. I have gone throughups and downs. I have seen defeat and that's what'sthe pillar of success.

"To be a successful man, to be a successful per-son in your life, you need failure and you've got tobe defeated. That will make you a stronger personand it will take you to the next level," he explained.

Yuvraj said he is not quite sure how many peo-ple believe in him given his recent slump but he has-n't stopped believing in himself.

"I am still playing. I don't know what format I

am going to play. But I am pushing everyday as hardas I used to, may be harder than before because Iam getting older. And I see myself playing crickettill 2019 and obviously take a call after that," he said.

"So I still believe in myself. As I said I don'tknow how many people believe in me but I dobelieve in myself," Yuvraj added.

The left-hander has played 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and58 T20 Internationals in his 17-year-career scoring 1900,8701 and 1177 runs across the respective formats.

He had recently hit the headlines for skipping RanjiTrophy matches to train at the National CricketAcademy in Bengaluru.

It was learnt that he did so to clear the 'Yo-Yo' fit-ness test, which he had failed in the past.

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