29 December 2014

HYDERABAD, DEC 28Vishwa Hindu

Parishad (VHP) interna-tional working presi-dent Praveen TogadiaSunday said they wouldnot allow conversion ofeven a single Hindu toany other religion.

Addressing a publicmeeting here as part ofVHP golden jubilee cel-ebrations, he voicedconcern over what hecalled declining popula-tion of Hindus in the

country.Claiming that popula-

tion of Hindus has comedown from 100 per centto 82 per cent, the VHP

leader expressed theapprehension that thismay come down to 42per cent.

Stating that India is a"Hindu rashtra", Mr.Togadia vowed not toallow cow slaughter,'love jihad' and 'fourwives tradition.' Hecalled for enforcingcommon civil code inthe country and sendingback three croreBangladeshi intruders.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

HAQSAADDAFIGHT FOR RIGHTMonday, December 29, 2014

AAP sips high tea, shifts focus tovillage

Next Asus ZenWatch to Offer Voice CallingSans Handset, Launch in Q3 2015

I enjoy taking decisions as a pro-ducer: Priyanka Chopra

JAKARTA, DEC 28Several hours of

searching Indonesianwaters turned up no signof an AirAsia plane thatdisappeared on Sundaywith 162 people onboard in airspace possi-bly thick with densestorm clouds, strongwinds and lightning,officials said.

Aircraft searching forAirAsia Flight 8501called off the effort forthe night and willresume on Mondaymorning, said AchmadToha of Indonesia’ssearch and rescueagency. Some ships

were continuing thesearch overnight, hesaid.

The plane took offSunday morning fromSurabaya, Indonesia’ssecond-largest city, andwas about halfway to itsdestination, Singapore,when it vanished fromradar.

The last communica-tion between the pilotand air traffic controlwas at 6-13 a.m. (2313GMT Saturday), whenthe pilot “asked to avoidclouds by turning leftand going higher to34,000 feet (10,360

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Jet carrying 162 lost overstormy Indonesian waters

P8

SRINAGAR, DEC 28 Leh town in Jammu and

Kashmir Sunday recorded itscoldest overnight temperatureat minus 17 degrees Celsius asthe Kashmir Valley remainedin the grip of an intense cold

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Leh frozen at -17, cold wavesweeps Kashmir Valley

CHANDIGARH, DEC 28With BJP President Amit

Shah set to begin a campaignagainst drugs from Amritsaron January 12 next year, itsally Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) on Sunday announced

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

SAD to hold dharnasat international borderon drug menace

BENGALURU, DEC 28Police Commissioner M N

Reddi, announcing the arrestof Mehdi Masroor Biswas,had described him as an"aggregator", claiming thatmost tweets by Mehdi wereretweets or translation of

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

'Mehdi is not profi-cient in Arabic'

Vol. 1 Issue: 102 Price: Rs.3:00 Reg. No: DELENG/2014/58212 Delhi Edition Pages: 8 Website: www.saaddahaq.in Email: [email protected]

NEW DELHI, DEC 28 BJP has launched a calendar for

the year 2015 featuring pictures ofPM Narendra Modi. Party presidentAmit Shah launched the calendar atthe BJP office in New Delhi. Partyleader Kailash Vijayvargiya saysthat this is a new initiative by theyouth wing of the BJP and represents 365 days ofModi in government.

BJP launches ‘PM ModiCalendar’ for the year 2015

MOGA, DEC 28Punjab Chief Minister Parkash

Singh Badal on Sunday said thegovernment would set up separateNRI cells in every district acrossthe state to facilitate non- residentIndians in getting their administra-tive works done smoothly.

Addressing a gathering of NRIs of Punjab origin, CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Punjab govt to set up NRIcell in every district

SHILLONG, DEC 28 Meghalaya Chief Minister

Mukul Sangma has said that thereshould be a unified war against theperpetrators of terror in the countryin the wake of the killings of over80 Adivasis by NDFB(S) militants

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma calls for uni-fied war against home-bred terrorists

ITANAGAR, DEC 28The Dalai Lama has recol-

lected his journey from Tibetto Arunachal Pradesh in 1959and urged the people of thestate to preserve and promotetheir culture and tradition.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Dalai Lama recollects jour-ney from Tibet 55 years ago

MOGA, DEC 28Punjab Chief Minister

Parkash Singh Badal onSunday held a 'SangatDarshan' (people meetingexercise) here for NonResident Indians to redresstheir grievances speedily.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Praksh Singh Badal holds SangatDarshan for NRIs in Moga

BENGALURU, DEC 28Two persons were injured,

one seriously, in a ‘low-inten-sity’ explosion triggered by anImprovised Explosive Device(IED) outside CoconutGroove pub in Bengaluru onSunday night.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Two injured inexplosion

P6P2

Avail opportunities offered byMake in India campaign: Swaraj

SEOUL, DEC 28External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj on Sundaymade a strong pitch for the'Make in India' campaignhere and asked SouthKorean companies "toscale up their presence" inthe country.

"We regard (South)Korea as one of the mostvalued partners. Koreancompanies are alreadyhousehold names in India.We would like them toscale up their presence inIndia," she said at a gather-ing of the Indian communi-ty.

"Fortunately, it is amutually attractive win-win proposition, as Indianot only offers a huge andlucrative market, but with-in 15 years, will also behome to the largest middle-

class in the world, of 600million persons," she said.

Ms. Swaraj stronglypitched for the campaignlaunched by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi to

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

SRINAGAR/JAMMU, DEC 28The PDP and BJP are close to an agree-

ment to govern Jammu and Kashmir incoalition with PDP leader MuftiMohammad Sayeed as chief minister, PDPsources said Sunday.

The deadlock over government formationin the state may end soon, with both PDPand BJP insiders saying the two partieswere close to striking an agreement.

A PDP source said that the two partieswere close to giving the country's onlyMuslim-majority state a government afterassembly elections produced a hung 87-member house. Former chief ministerSayeed would be the chief minister of thecoalition government, according to the

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

JAMMU, DEC 28As many as 102 militants

were killed while 29 Armymen lost their lives in count-er-terrorist operations inJammu and Kashmir thisyear.

"102 terrorists have beenkilled during the year, 47were apprehended and onesurrendered in operations inJammu and Kashmir thisyear," Defence PRO Col S DGoswami said.

"The proponents of theproxy war were desperate topush in terrorists by attempt-ing maximum infiltration todisrupt the Assembly elec-tions. Many infiltration bidswere foiled by the Army," hesaid.

Army also recovered 394different types of weaponsin different operations alongthe LoC and in hinterland inthe state, he said, adding that

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

GUECKEDOU, DEC 28West Africa’s fight to con-

tain Ebola has hampered thecampaign against malaria, apreventable and treatable dis-

ease that is claiming manythousands more lives than thedreaded virus. In Gueckedou,near the village where Ebolafirst started killing people in

Guinea’s tropical southernforests a year ago, doctors saythey have had to stop prickingfingers to do blood tests for

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

NEW DELHI, DEC 28As it awaits final RBI

guidelines to apply for a uni-versal banking licence,Reliance Capital will considergiving up to 10 per cent staketo its newly-signed strategicpartner Sumitomo MitsuiTrust Bank of Japan in its pro-posed bank.

Besides, the financial serv-ices arm of industrialist AnilAmbani-led business con-glomerate is also open to theidea of another Japanese part-ner, Nippon Life, acquiring afurther up to 10 per cent stakein its banking venture, as andwhen RBI's policies permit

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

KABUL, DEC 28The United States and

NATO will mark the for-mal end of the war inAfghanistan on Sundaywith a ceremony at theirmilitary headquarters inKabul as the insurgencythey fought for 13 yearsremains as ferocious anddeadly as at any timesince the 2001 invasionthat unseated the Talibanregime following theSeptember 11 attacks.

The symbolic ceremo-ny will mark the end ofthe U.S.-ledInternational SecurityAssistance Force, whichwill transition to a sup-porting role with 13,500

soldiers, most of themAmerican, starting Jan.1.

President AshrafGhani, who took officein September, signedbilateral security agree-ments with Washington

and NATO allowing theenduring military pres-ence. The move has ledto a spike in violence asthe Taliban haveclaimed it as an excuseto step up operations

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

US, NATO to mark end of mission to AfghanistanSumitomo Mitsui maytake up to 10% stakein Reliance Bank

PDP-BJP to rule J&K with MuftiMohammad Sayeed as CM?

'102 militants killed, 29 Armymen lost lives in J&K in 2014'

Malaria killing thousands more than Ebola in West Africa

Will not allow conversion of Hindus: Togadia

RANCHI, DEC 28Bharatiya Janata Party

leader Raghuvar Das becamethe first non-tribal to take oathon Sunday as the ChiefMinister of Jharkhand.

Governor Syed Ahmadadministered the oath of office

and secrecy to Mr. Das, 60, ata football stadium I Ranchi.

Four Ministers - three fromthe BJP and one from the AllJharkhand Students Union(AJSU) - also took oath.

The BJP Ministers areNeelkanth Singh Munda, C.P.

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Weather ReportDELHITemperature: 150CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity:100%Wind: 0 Km/hr

KOLKATATemperature: 140CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 82%Wind: 0 Km/hr

MUMBAITemperature: 280CPrecipitation: 0%Humidity: 60%Wind: 0 Km/hr

CHENNAITemperature: 260CPrecipitation: 88%Humidity: 94%Wind: 8 Km/hr

Raghuvar Das becomesJharkhand's first non-tribal CM

NEW DELHI, DEC 28Indian Navy has kept

three ships and a mar-itime surveillance air-craft on standby for

search and rescue oper-ations for the AirAsiaflight QZ8501 whichhas been missing sincemorning on Sunday.

Navy sources said oneship in Bay of Bengaland another two inAndaman Sea have

CONTD. ON PAGE 3

Missing AirAsia flight: India puts 3 ships, plane on standby

NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014Delhi News2 SAADDA HAQ

NEW DELHI, DEC 28The Aam Aadmi Party's maid-

en, tea-fuelled fund raiser at aposh, 'members-only' club heregenerated Rs. 25 lakh, promptingparty leaders to claim it reflects'popular support national conven-er Arvind Kejriwal enjoys amongthe middle class'.

Mr. Kejriwal was among sever-al party members, includingSomnath Bharti, former MLAfrom Malviya Nagar, where theSafdurjung Club - venue for theevent dubbed 'Chai Pe Charcha'(discussion over tea) - is located.

The minimum donation amountwas kept at Rs. 20,000 with noupper limit and, according toinsiders' claims, the event hadlocal businessmen, professionals,and other residents defined by aparty leader as 'the intelligentsia'registering as donors several daysin advance. An estimated 200 areestimated to have been in atten-dance.

Though a party member said itwas difficult to ascertain the sin-gle-largest donation received, theinteractive event that commencedat 3 p.m. and came to a closethree hours later, was found tohave added Rs. 25 lakh to theAAP's kitty from over 150 con-tributors.

"We believe there are two ways

of generating funds for, and win-ning elections. One is by ensur-ing that every penny comes from

a known source on the basis ofpopular support like in our case,and the other is through creationof a manufactured wave based onbuying every available advertis-ing space and radio slot throughmoney gotten from crony capital-ists like other parties," Mr. Bhartitold .

"Those who participated saidthey understood that the 49-dayAAP government could not sur-vive in Delhi because it did not

have the numbers," Mr. Bhartiadded.

Meanwhile, even as Mr.

Kejriwal participated in the saidevent, a war of words broke outbetween AAP, Bharatiya JanataParty , and Delhi Congress sup-porters over the source of fundsin poll-bound Delhi on Twitter.

"Why BJP does not want toreveal the source of its 80%fund? If it is not black moneythen what is there to hide?#CleanFundedAAP (sic.),"tweeted AAP's Ashutosh in replyto tweets questioning the AAP's

reliance on 'foreign funds'. Thiswas followed by an avalanche oftweets attacking the BJP and the

Congress, and alleging that bothparties were absorbing 'blackmoney' to fund their respectivecampaigns.

A party insider said, "Theywere poking fun at us for no rea-son and questioning our ethicswhen even the Delhi High Courthas absolved the party of anyblame on the issue of foreignfunds; we had to retaliate."

To unveil 'progressive' agendafor villages at grameen samvad

today The fourth phase of the Aam

Aadmi Party's Delhi Dialoguewould focus on developmentalissues in the Capital's urban andsemi-urban villages, the partysaid in a statement on Saturday.

Dubbed grameen samvad orvillage dialogue given its theme,the interactive session has beendivided into two parts, the first ofwhich will be held at theCommunity Centre in West-Delhi's Ghumanhera village nearChhawla on Sunday afternoon,and will feature the party'snational convenor ArvindKejriwal and leaders such asYogendra Yadav and AdarshShastri as speakers.

"The village dialogue willfocus on the interests and welfareof the residents of 362 villages inthe Capital; 135 of which areurban villages and the rest rural.The common thread that con-nects them is that these have beenneglected over the last 66 years,"said a party leader. The party'sGrameen Morcha and party can-didates in different constituencieshave been conducting multiplemeetings with villages and pan-chayats, and combining differentinputs and problems towards aconsolidated vision of develop-ment for Delhi.

AAP sips high tea, shifts focus to villageNEW DELHI, DEC 28

A Delhi court has sen-tenced a Delhi Police headconstable to one-yearimprisonment for demand-ing a bribe of Rs.4,000from a woman for releas-ing her husband from thecustody at the Rohni'sSector 16 police station in2008.

The head constable hadtaken the woman's hus-band to the police stationon the charge of picking upa fight with his neighbour.The police officer hadarrived at the spot on a callto the police control roomby the woman.

When the womanrequested the officer torelease her husband, heinitially demandedRs.10,000 but it was set-tled for Rs.4,000.

However, instead of pay-ing the bribe, the womanreported the matter to theAnti-Corruption Branch(ACB) of the DelhiGovernment.

The ACB sleuths laid atrap to arrest the head con-

stable but he did not turnup at the fixed place. Later,the ACB had registered acase against the policeofficer on the basis of theconversations the womanhad with him on hermobile regarding the pay-ment of bribe in lieu of therelease of her husband.The woman had recordedthe conversations.

In fact, the recorded con-versations proved crucialin the conviction of thepolice officer as thewoman, the complainant inthe matter, and her hus-band had turned hostile inthe trial of the case.

The evidence by theraiding officer and punchwitnesses, in whose pres-ence the conversationsbetween the head consta-ble and the woman wererecorded, also helped thecourt to hold himguilty.

The witnesses had heardthe conversations as thewoman's mobile's speakerwas on when she madecalls to the cop.

NEW DELHI, DEC 28Raghunath K.

Shevgaonkar, Director ofthe Indian Institute ofTechnology, Delhi (IITD)has resigned two yearsbefore the completion ofhis term.

A source in the HumanResources DevelopmentMinistry confirmed thatPune-based scientistVijay Pandurang Bhatkarwho is the Chairman ofthe Board of Governorsof IITD, forwarded Mr.Shevgaonkar's resigna-tion to the Ministry onFriday. "The Minister(Smriti Irani) is yet toaccept the same," thesource added.

Mr. Shevgaonkar is onlien from IIT-Bombaywhere he was Dean andHead of Electrical

Engineering. He has also served as

Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Punebetween 2010 and 2011.

It is learnt that Mr.Shevgaonkar was unhap-py with a proposal to setup a cricket academy of

campus and, over pay-ment of alleged dues toBJP leader and formerIIT faculty SubramanianSwamy.

Mr. Shevgaonkar couldnot be reached for com-ment when this reportwas filed.

Delhi Head constablesentenced to one-year

jail term in bribery case

NEW DELHI, DEC 28Nirbhaya's parents took

to social media to issue anopen invitation for a can-dlelight march to com-memorate the day onwhich their 23-year-olddaughter succumbed to herinjuries two years ago.They also renewed theirdemand for capital punish-ment for those convicted ofgang-raping and killingher.

Her father BadrinathSingh Pandey said he andhis wife Asha Devi hadposted a video appeal onYouTube and approachedonline activists for help inspreading the word. Theywill gather at JantarMantar here on December29 - the day Nirbhaya wasdeclared dead post the hor-rific December 16 gang-

rape in 2012."It is not an agitation but

a peaceful candlelightmarch on the day ourdaughter decided to allowdeath to take her. Throughit we will appeal to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tointervene and ensure thather killers are handeddown the death sentence,"Mr. Pandey told .

"Where is the fast-trackjustice that they (the gov-ernment) had promised us?The men responsible forher brutalisation are stillalive and nestled in com-fort in prison. Things arethe same as they werewhen my daughter wasvictimised despite the pub-lic outrage, the new lawsand the assurances," Mr.Pandey added.

Published by a user

named 'Krantiwala Videos'and titled 'Nirbhaya Mom'sInvite on Christmas Day(sic.)', the post lasts a littleover two minutes and wasmade on December 25which, according to AshaDevi, was the day in 2012when she spoke to herdaughter "for the lasttime".

"I am Nirbhaya's moth-er," Asha Devi begins bysaying. "... have just onerequest to make to all ofyou...Today (December25) is the day Nirbhaya'shealth deteriorated and shelost her voice...Pleasecome to Jantar Mantar onDecember 29...Pleasecome," a tearful Asha Devicontinues.

The physiotherapyintern, who had been ini-tially treated at Delhi's

Safdurjung Hospital for 10days was airlifted to asuper-speciality hospital inSingapore on December27.

The next morning, how-ever, doctors declared herdead and attributed herdeath to irreparable intes-tinal injuries.

While seeking justice forhis daughter will be his pri-mary demand, Mr. Pandeysaid he and his wife willalso appeal to the govern-ment and the PrimeMinister to ensure bettersafety for women acrossthe country. "Rapes arecontinuing, women andgirls are suffering despiteNirbhaya's sacrifice. Thegovernment needs to gothe extra mile on the issueof crimes against womenand make the country safer

for them. We want to tellthis to the Prime Ministerpersonally and would liketo meet him as and whenhis schedule permits," Mr.Pandey said.

Candlelight march for Nirbhaya

NEW DELHI, DEC 28After being pulled

up by the NationalGreen Tribunal(NGT) for its laxityin supplying potablewater to industrialareas of Bawana andNarela, and exploita-tion of ground water,the Delhi Jal Boardhas now been direct-ed by the ChiefSecretary of DelhiGovernment to ear-mark places for tubewells in the areas inconsultation withDelhi StateIndustrial andI n f r a s t r u c t u r eD e v e l o p m e n tCorporation Ltd(DSIIDC).

A meeting, heldunder the chairman-ship of the DelhiChief Secretary onthe issue of illegalborewells in Narelaand Bawana, heardthe Apex Chamberof Commerce &

Industry and theBawana Chamber ofCommerce.

Industrial unitsfrom non-conform-ing areas in Delhiwere reallocated toNarela and Bawana.It was the primeresponsibility of theDSIIDC to providebasic services in thearea. After allotmentof plots, smallborewells weredeveloped to carryon construction ofthe plots.

The DSIIDC paidRs.9 crore to the JalBoard for require-ment of 34 millionlitres per day (MLD)water for Bawanaand 11 MLD forNarela.

The president ofthe Apex Chamberof Commerce &Industry said the JalBoard had failed tosupply the waterrequired in both the

industrial areas tilldate, which com-pelled industry own-ers to carry on withsmall borewells tomeet their demandof water for potablepurposes of theworkers employedthere.

The Jal Board hadearlier told the NGTthat it was not in aposition to extendwater supply to thearea as raw waterwas not made avail-able from Haryana,even as infrastruc-ture for supply ofwater was in place.It was also noted thatborewells sealedearlier have not beende-sealed.

It was observedthat since an attemptis being made toreach an understand-ing with Haryana,the water treatmentplant at Bawanashould be revived.

'Earmark places for tube wells inBawana, Narela industrial areas'

NEW DELHI, DEC 28The Delhi Government

on Saturday came up withguidelines for admission ofchildren belonging to theeconomically weaker sec-tions (EWS) at the entrylevel in private schools.

While most points in theguideline remain the same,the government hasquashed the mandatorythree-year domicile cate-gory for applicants thisyear. According to earlierguidelines, the parents hadto produce a three-yeardomicile certificate fortheir ward's admissionunder the EWS category.

As per the guidelines, allschools will have toreserve at least 25 per centof the total available seatsfor children belonging tothe EWS category. Underthe neighbourhood criteria,admission shall first beoffered to eligible studentsbelonging to EWS orDisadvantaged Group

(DG) residing within onekilometre of the schoolconcerned, the circularadded.

"In case vacanciesremain unfilled, studentsresiding within three kilo-metres of the school shallbe admitted. If there arestill vacancies, then theadmission shall be offeredto students residing withinsix kilometre of the institu-tion. Students residing

beyond six kilometre shallbe admitted only in casevacancies remain unfilledeven after considering allthe students within six kmarea.

However, schools willaccept forms from allapplicants under the EWSor DG group irrespectiveof distance of residencefrom school," the circularsaid.

Lawyer-activist Khagesh

Jha said: "The Directorateof Education [DoE] hasfinally come up withguidelines for the EWSand DG categories forentry-level classes.However, these are nothingbut clarifications on theearlier orders and updatesof various High Courtorders on the subject. Theguidelines do not have anygrievance redressal mecha-nism, which will makethings more complicated.The DoE dropped the facil-ity of submission of cen-tralised forms at their zonaloffices this year.

The guidelines publishedin English, looks verytechnical and it will bevery difficult for EWS par-ents to understand them."

The DoE has devised acommon registration formfor admissions under theEWS and DG categoriesand the same is uploadedon its official website -www.edudel.nic.in.

3-year mandatory domicile rule for EWScategory in nursery admissions quashed

IIT-Delhi Director quits

"I am Nirbhaya'smother,I have

just one requestto make to all of

you...Today(December 25) is

the dayNirbhaya's healthdeteriorated and

she lost hervoice...Please

come to JantarMantar onDecember

29...Please come,"a tearful Asha

Devi (Nirbhaya’sMom.

Up and about: Winterdressing with a twist NEW DELHI, DEC 28

Dressing up for winter is an art form that any-one having lived even during one cold season inDelhi should have perfected. There is layering,colours and correct coat or sweater dependingon how windy, sunny or dreary it is. However,the most significant part of ones wardrobe dur-ing this season is the humble scarf.

Whether you own an original Hermès orBurberry scarf, or an ubiquitous woollen mufflercourtesy your neighbourhood sweater shop,there are many different ways to dress it up.There is the one-loop, which involves a singleloop around the neck and two loops droopingover the chest.

This serves the dual purpose of protecting theneck and chest from the chill. Then there is thebunny ear, where your neck is protected and onehalf of the scarf comes down the front in a sin-gle loop. There is also the turtle neck, which, asthe name suggests, is the scarf wrapped tightlyaround the neck.

The list is actually endless and there are sever-al websites detailing over a 100 ways to tie ascarf or a stole, which all boils down to the kindof scarves that everyone must own.

According to people who regularly employvarious styles, the fall is the most essential if onedoes not own too many of them.

"Try three kinds of drapes. If it falls well, it isa keeper" is the rule to be followed.

However, if you do not want to spend toomuch time over the drape and the fall, the bestoption is to buy a "smog" for the neck or a"ready-draped" one.

Continuation 3

Jet carrying...meters).” It was last seen on radar at 6-16

a.m., and a minute later was no longer there,Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia’s actingdirector general of transportation, toldreporters.

More than 12 hours later, shocked familymembers huddled at the Surabaya airportfrom where the Airbus A320 had taken off,awaiting any news of the jetliner, operated byan airline whose parent company is based inMalaysia. It is the third incident involvingMalaysia this year following two of the worstaviation tragedies that hit Malaysia Airlinesin March Flight 370 disappeared with 239people and in July Flight 17 was shot downover Ukraine, killing all 298 people on it.

Indonesia and Singapore launched a searchand rescue operation for Flight 8501 nearBelitung island in Java Sea over which thejetliner lost contact with ground traffic con-trol, about 42 minutes after taking off fromSurabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city.The flight had completed a little less thanhalf of its journey time to Singapore.

Speaking 10 hours after the plane lost con-tact, Indonesia Vice President Jusuf Kallaexpressed deep concern.

“It is most possible that it has experiencedan accident,” he said.

The last communication between the pilotand air traffic control was at 6-13 a.m. (2313GMT Saturday), when the pilot “asked toavoid clouds by turning left and going higherto 34,000 feet (10,360 meters).” It was lastseen on radar at 6-16 a.m., and a minute laterwas no longer there, Djoko Murjatmodjo,Indonesia’s acting director general of trans-portation, told reporters.

“We hope we can find the location of theplane as soon as possible, and we hope thatGod will give us guidance to find it,” he said.

AirAsia, a regional low-cost carrier found-ed in 2001 by Malaysian businessman TonyFernandes, said in a statement that the planewas on the submitted flight plan route.However, it had requested deviation due toweather before communication with the air-craft was lost while it was still under the con-trol of Indonesian Air Traffic Control.

Malaysia-based AirAsia, which has a pres-ence in most of Southeast Asia and recentlyin India, has never lost a plane before and hasa good safety track record. Flight 8501 wasoperated by AirAsia Indonesia, a subsidiarythat is 49 percent owned by AirAsiaMalaysia.

Sunardi, a weather forecaster at theIndonesia’s Meteorology and GeophysicsAgency, said dense storm clouds were detect-ed up to 44,000 feet in the same area at thetime the plane was reported to have lost con-tact.

“There could have been turbulence, light-ning and vertical as well as horizontal strongwinds within such clouds,” said Sunardi,who like many Indonesians uses only onename.

The plane had an Indonesian captain and aFrench co—pilot, five cabin crew and 155passengers, including 16 children and oneinfant, AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement.Among the passengers were three SouthKoreans and one each from Singapore,Malaysia and the United Kingdom. The restwere Indonesians.

It said the captain had a total of 6,100 fly-ing hours, a substantial number, and the firstofficer a total of 2,275 flying hours.

At Surabaya airport, dozens of relatives satin a room, many of them talking on mobilephones and crying. Some looked dazed. Asword spread, more and more family memberswere arriving at the crisis center to awaitword.

Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan toldreporters in Surabaya that search and rescueefforts now involved the Indonesian army,the national Search and Rescue Agency aswell as Singapore and Malaysia.

The Search and Rescue Agency’s operationchief, Maj. Gen. Tatang Zaenudin, said 200rescuers had been deployed to the east side ofBelitung island.

Air Force spokesman Hadi Tjahjanto saidthree aircraft, including a surveillance plane,had been dispatched to the area. TheSingapore air force and the navy also weresearching with two C—130 planes.

Airbus said in a statement that the missingaircraft was delivered to AirAsia in October2008, which would make it six years old. Itsaid the plane had accumulated about 23,000flight hours in some 13,600 flights. AirAsiasaid the aircraft had last undergone scheduledmaintenance on Nov. 16.

AirAsia, which has dominated cheap travelin the region for years, flies short routes ofjust a few hours, connecting large cities ofSoutheast Asia. However, recently it has triedto expand into long—distance flying throughits sister airline AirAsia X.

Fernandes, who is the face of AirAsia andan active Twitter user, sent out an earliertweet saying- “Thank you for all yourthoughts and prays. We must stay strong.” Hetweeted later that he was heading toSurabaya.

Fernandes stirred controversy earlier thisyear after incorrectly tweeting that MalaysiaAirlines Flight 370, now synonymous withone of aviation’s enduring mysteries, hadlanded safely. The wide—bodied Boeing 777disappeared with 239 people aboard soonafter taking off from Kuala Lumpur forBeijing on March 8. It remains missing.

Another Malaysia Airlines flight, also aBoeing 777, was shot down over rebel—con-

trolled eastern Ukraine while on a flight fromAmsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. All298 people on board were killed.

William Waldock, an expert on air crashsearch and rescue with Embry—RiddleAeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona,cautioned against drawing comparisons tothe disappearance of Flight 370.

“I think we have to let this play out,” hesaid. “Hopefully, the airplane will get found,and if that happens, it will probably be in thenext few hours. Until then, we have toreserve judgment.”

The circumstances bode well for findingthe plane since the intended flight time wasless than two hours and there is a knownposition at which the plane disappeared, hesaid.

Missing AirAsia...been put on standby. Additionally a P-8I

long range patrol aircraft has also been put onstandby at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu.

"The assets are ready in all respects fordeployment should there be orders from ourgovernment to join in the search for the miss-ing airliner", Navy sources have informed.

However, sources clarified that there wasno official request so far from the Indonesiangovernment. The assets have been asked tobe ready as a precautionary measure toensure quick response.

Raghuvar Das ...Singh and Louis Marandi. Mr. Louis Marandi defeated outgoing

Chief Minister Hemant Soren at Dumka. TheAJSU representative in the Ministry isChandra Prakash Chaudhary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi could notattend the ceremony due to a thick fog inNew Delhi. Home Minister Rajnath Singhtoo failed to make it, also due to bad weath-er.

A five-time legislator, Mr. Das was electedthe BJP legislature party leader on Friday.

Mr. Das joined the BJP in 1980, the year itwas formed following the break up of theJanata Party. He has been the Jharkhand BJPpresident twice.

Among those who attended the event wereChief Ministers Raman Singh ofChhattisgarh and Devendra Fadnavis ofMaharashtra.

Also present were central Ministers M.Venkaih Naidu and Nitin Gandkari.

This is first time a non-tribal has becomeChief Minister of Jharkhand since it wasformed in 2000. All previous nine ChiefMinisters were tribals.

Sumitomo Mitsui...formation of such a bank. Reliance Capital last week roped in

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank as a strategicpartner to collaborate on various businesses.SMTB, Japan's largest financial institutionwith asset under custody of $1.8 trillion, willtake an initial stake of 2.77 per cent inReliance Capital at an investment of Rs. 371crore as part of a "comprehensive long-termstrategic alliance between the two compa-nies".

"The deal is likely to close in about fourweeks from now. We need clearance from theCompetition Commission of India (CCI),while shareholders' approval would besought at the Extraordinary General Meeting(EGM) scheduled to be held on January 23,"Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh told PTI.

"As part of the deal, SMTB will get a 2.77per cent stake in Reliance Capital, while wehave already begun discussions on variousareas where we can work together.

US, NATO to...aimed at destabilizing his government.ISAF was set up after the U.S.-led invasion

as an umbrella for the coalition of around 50nations that provided troops and took respon-sibility for security across the country.

It ends with 2,224 American soldierskilled, according to an AP tally, out of a totalof some 3,500 foreign troop deaths.

The mission peaked at 140,000 troops in2010 with a surge ordered by U.S. PresidentBarack Obama to root the insurgents out ofstrategically important regions, notably in thesouthern provinces of Helmand andKandahar, where the Taliban had its capitalfrom 1996 to 2001.

ISAF will segue into Resolute Support, atraining and support mission, with the U.S.accounting for almost 11,000 members of theresidual force.

Avail opportunities ...make India a manufacturing hub.Ms. Swaraj, who is one her first visit to

South Korea, said India is committed to"qualitatively expanding our industrial base,both to meet the growing domestic demand,export and also to generate employment."

She said the government is preparing ablueprint to build 100 smart cities and toupgrade India's infrastructure.

Ms. Swaraj highlighted India's "unprece-dented" demographic dividend and said thecountry has the requisite capability and willto become a leading manufacturing hub.

"At the same time, we need partnershipswith friendly nations to bring-in technologyand FDI."

"We are very fortunate that India is grow-ing younger as the world is ageing," said theExternal Affairs Minister.

Malaria killing...malaria.Guinea’s drop in reported malaria cases

this year by as much as 40 percent is not

good news, said Dr. Bernard Nahlen, deputydirector of the U.S. President’s MalariaInitiative. He said the decrease is likelybecause people are too scared to go to healthfacilities and are not getting treated formalaria.

“It would be a major failure on the part ofeverybody involved to have a lot of peopledie from malaria in the midst of the Ebolaepidemic,” he said in a telephone interview.“I would be surprised if there were not anincrease in unnecessary malaria deaths in themidst of all this, and a lot of those will beyoung children.”

Figures are always estimates in Guinea,where half the 12 million people have noaccess to health centers and die uncounted.Some 15,000 Guineans died from malarialast year, 14,000 of them children under five,according to Nets for Life Africa, a NewYork—based charity dedicated to providinginsecticide—treated mosquito nets to putover beds. In comparison, about 1,600 peoplein Guinea have died from Ebola, according tostatistics from the World HealthOrganization.

Malaria is the leading cause of death inchildren under five in Guinea and, afterAIDS, the leading cause of adult deaths,according to Nets for Life.

Ebola and malaria have many of the samesymptoms, including fever, dizziness, headand muscle aches. Malaria is caused by bitesfrom infected mosquitoes while Ebola can becontracted only from the body fluids of aninfected victim hence doctors’ fears of draw-ing blood to do malaria tests.

People suffering malaria fear being quaran-tined in Ebola treatment centers and healthcenters not equipped to treat Ebola are turn-ing away patients with Ebola—like symp-toms, doctors said.

WHO figures from Gueckedou show thatof people coming in with fever in October, 24percent who tested positive for Ebola alsotested positive for malaria, and 33 percent ofthose who did not have Ebola tested positivefor malaria an indication of the great burdenof malaria in Guinea.

Malaria killed one of 38 Cuban doctorssent to Guinea to help fight the Ebola out-break. One private hospital had a kidney dial-ysis machine that could have saved his fail-ing organ but the clinic was shut after sever-al people died there of Ebola.

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiativeground to a halt in Guinea months ago andthe WHO in November advised health work-ers against testing for malaria unless theyhave protective gear.

PDP-BJP to...party source."Yes, the two parties are close to reaching

a final understanding," the source said."As per the terms of the arrangement that

are in the final stage, Mufti sahib would bethe chief minister. The state would have aBJP deputy chief minister with six PDP andeight BJP ministers," the source added.

"The arrangement would be for the six-year period which is the tenure of the stateassembly."

A Bharatiya Janata Party insider said thathis party was determined to be a part of thenext government in the state but did notauthenticate what the PDP sources said.

"We are sure no ruling alliance can beformed in Jammu and Kashmir without ourdirect participation," the BJP source said.

Details of discussions between PDP andBJP were not available but PDP leaders havesaid that they would not compromise onsome issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir.

The PDP is clear that article 370 of the con-stitution, which gives special status toJammu and Kashmir, cannot be revoked. TheBJP has traditionally been opposed to thisarticle.

The PDP also wants the Armed ForcesSpecial Powers Act, which gives sweepingpowers to security forces, to go - and themulti-regional, multi-ethnic, multi-religiousidentity of the state to be protected.

While the PDP won all but two of its 28seats in the assembly from the Muslim-dom-inated Kashmir Valley, all the 25 seats of theBJP were bagged in the Hindu-majorityJammu region.

'102 militants...terrorists had planted 15 IEDs, but these

were detected and defused by the Army,averting major tragedies.

Army suffered 29 fatal casualties and 45non-fatal casualties in counter terrorist oper-ations in the state during the year, the PROsaid.

"Army is an apolitical force and does notget involved directly in electoral process.Army had a role of ensuring a safe andsecured environment for the conduct of freeand fair polls and we did that by being vigi-lant and carrying out relentless operationswith surgical precision based on accurateintelligence which resulted in (the processbeing) devoid of any interference by terror-ists," he said.

"The security situation of J&K has a directlinkage with the infiltration through IB andLoC from across the border," he said.

"We are giving primacy to preventing infil-tration by adopting a robust counter infiltra-tion strategy which has an appropriate mix oftechnology and human resources, while wesimultaneously degrade the remaining terror-ists in the hinterland," the PRO said.

"The terrorist threat remains real as the ter-rorist infrastructure across the borderremains intact," he said.

Will not ...The VHP leader said they were ready to

embrace all Muslims and Christians whowant to "return". "Some got converted duringMughal rule and some during Victoria(British) rule. If they want to come back, weare ready to embrace them," he said.

Mr. Togadia said VHP was trying to regainhonour and dignity of Hindus and to makethem safe and secure. He also appealed toHindus to wake-up and join hands to takecare of education and health needs of all poorHindus and to stop cow slaughter.

Stating that golden jubilee was not a cele-bration for VHP, he said they would celebratewhen a grand Ram temple will be construct-ed in Ayodhya and four lakh Hindus ofKashmir will return home.

Mr. Togadia warned Telangana RashtraSamithi (TRS) government of Telanganaagainst turning the state into "Nizam's rule"by providing reservations to Muslims. Hesaid there was a need for administrationwhich cares for Hindus.

Meghalaya CM...in Assam. "Why wage war against terror-

ists only from outside the country? We mustwage a war and wipe out the domestic vari-ety first," Sangma told PTI.

Stating that home-bred terrorists are moreharmful in causing disharmony in the socie-ty, he said, "we have to contain this. It isalready late and everyday precious lives areaffected by such acts of brutality."

"We need to correct our mistakes by deal-ing with this menace once and for all beforeit is too late," he said.

Urging those at the helms of power both inthe Centre and in Assam to adopt a new strin-gent policy against the perpetrators of crime,he said it was high time to take action andmake it visible on the ground.

Condemning the blame game adopted byseveral political parties, he said, "it hasalways been the tendency to play the blamegame after a distressing incident. PersonallyI feel it is a collective responsibility andinstead of blaming one another we shouldcome together to take responsibility."

Meghalaya government has just completeddisarming of two dreaded Garo militants, theANVC and its breakaway faction ANVC-Band talks are on with another outfit that hasunleashed terror in at least five districts in theGaro Hills region.

Punjab govt...the Chief Minister said the deputy commis-

sioners of every district would be asked toprovide a separate room for NRI cell in therespective District AdministrativeComplexes (DACs) so that the NRIs are ableto get their work done in a hassle-free man-ner.

The cells must be provided with adequateinfrastructure, Badal said adding that the for-mal orders regarding setting-up of these cellswould be issued soon.

The Chief Minister further asked the HomeSecretary of the state to review the list ofNRIs Proclaimed Offenders so that no injus-tice was done to them, who were notinvolved in any crime.

Leh frozen...wave."This is the lowest recorded (in Leh) so far

this season," a Met department official toldIANS.

The situation was no different elsewhere inthe valley. Srinagar, the winter capital,recorded -4.7 degrees Celsius. Jammu, thesummer capital, recorded 3.8 degrees.

Kargil town was the second coldest placein the state with -15.2 degrees Celsius fol-lowed by Pahalgam (-7.6). Gulmarg recorded-3.7 degrees.

Most water taps and water bodies in andaround Srinagar were frozen in the morning.People could be seen burning small firesaround water taps to de-freeze them.

Highly slippery road conditions preventedmotorists from taking to the roads in themorning.

The weather office said dry, cold condi-tions would continue the next 24 hours bring-ing down the night temperatures further.

SAD to ...that it will organise protests on the interna-

tional border on January 5 against the drugmenace.

Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister and SADPresident Sukhbir Singh Badal today said theparty will urge the Border Security Force(BSF) to take more steps to stop drugs fromentering Punjab territory from Pakistan side.

Badal said the four dharnas would be heldat Attari international border, Sadki CheckPost at Fazilka, Hussainiwala internationalborder and the Gurdaspur international bor-der.

"Punjab and the nation are suffering fromthe ill effects of narco-terrorism due to con-tinuous smuggling of narcotics from Pakistaninto Punjab through the international border.

"The border is guarded by the BSF whichis a central agency over which we do nothave any control. This smuggling must stopand the border with Pakistan must be com-pletely sealed. Then only can we fight anational war against drugs", the SAD presi-dent said in a statement here.

Badal announced that all dharnas would beheld in a peaceful manner.

He further said "the Punjabis felt it was

necessary to congregate at the border as theywere being branded as drug addicts despitewaging the nation's fight against drugs men-ace" and added, the steps aimed at checkingthe menace.

Badal claimed that the drug issue was inthe limelight today because the Punjab gov-ernment decided to wage a war against it.

"It is because of us that the fight againstdrugs is entering a decisive phase in India",he added.

Badal said Punjab did not manufacture asingle gramme of drugs "which were cominginto the state from Pakistan or other states inIndia, including Rajasthan and MadhyaPradesh. Now we want a cap on both thesesources of drug production"

'Mehdi is...Arabic tweets into English. He had claimed

that he had become popular with English ISideologues and wannabe fighters, as he actedas a bridge to the Arabic world.

Investigators also claimed to have foundmaterial on his laptop, downloaded from thenet, some of which was in Arabic. This wascontested from day one as Mehdi's motherMamtaz Begum as well as his counsel JafferShah insisted that Mehdi is not proficient inArabic. Shah had even termed the accusationof Mehdi being a sort of bridge between theEnglish and Arabic world as "absurd".

Now, the police are also conceding thatMehdi could not have read, assimilated andtranslated large data in Arabic to English.Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime)Abhishek Goyal said, "During our investiga-tion, we have discovered that Mehdi is notproficient in Arabic."

A senior police officer claimed that Mehdiread bits of Arabic but couldn't translate.

He said Mehdi has claimed to have used anonline software to translate Arabic materialinto English, which he later tweeted. Siftingthrough the 1.3 lakh tweets, the official saidthat there were very few translations ofArabic tweets as most of them were retweetsin Arabic. Mehdi reportedly claimed he didnot understand the full import of thesetweets.

Dalai Lama...In his recollections, the spiritual leader nar-

rated how he reached Tawang and WestKameng districts of Arunachal Pradesh afterleaving Tibet 55 years ago.

"You should not only preserve but also pro-mote your age old culture and tradition," theDalai Lama told a function at Mundgod inKarnataka to commemorate the 55th year ofhis arrival and first preaching at TawangMonastery in Arunachal Pradesh in 1959.

The function was organised by theTendhon Culture Preservation Society ofTawang monastery yesterday, a press releasesaid here.

Union MoS for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju,who was also present, said "we might havelost Tibet, but we have the Dalai Lama."

The function was attended by a ArunachalPradesh team headed by Tourism MinisterPema Khandu and several monks.

Mundgod is a repository of Tibetan life andculture. It showcases the lifestyle and ambi-tions of the Tibetan refugees and reflects thegradual transformation of a traditional socie-ty into modernity. It has been referred to asMini Tibet.

Praksh Singh ...NRIs hailing from eight districts -- Moga,

Bathinda, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Faridkot,Mansa, Muktsar and Barnala participated inthe first ever Sangat Darshan programme(people meeting exercise), said an officialrelease here.

Earlier, the state government had beenholding NRI meets annually to redress theirgrievances.

Under the 'Sangat Darshan' programmes,Badal meets people at different places toredress their grievances on the spot.

On this occasion, Badal personally inter-acted with NRI's of Punjab origin in the pres-ence of senior government officials andissued necessary directions to official con-cerned for immediate resolution of theirissues, said the release.

In order to ensure on the spot solution ofthe problems faced by these NRIs, the topbrass of police and civil administration fromthese districts were deployed at the venue ofthis function.

Badal further said such 'Sangat Darshan'would also be held in Jalandhar andLudhiana, saying that the sole aim of thisentire exercise was to ensure quick disposalof services to the NRIs at their doorsteps.

Chief Minister asked the officers to accordtop priority to complaints received during theSangat Darshan for there immediate resolu-tion.

Badal also asked the NRI Affairs MinisterTota Singh to conduct periodic review meet-ings later on to take stock of the pendency ofall these complaints.

Two injured ...Both the injured — a man and a woman —

have been admitted to Mallya hospital, CityPolice Commissioner M N Reddi toldreporters.

One was serious and the other out of dan-ger, he said, describing the blast as a low-intensity explosion.

The blast occurred around 8.30 pm on thebustling Church Street in the heart of the cityand it was caused by an IED, Mr. Reddi said.

From Page 1NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014SAADDA HAQ

Editorial4 NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014SAADDA HAQ

Even for a country known for its tardy judicialprocesses, the fact that the L.N. Mishra assassi-nation case remained in the trial stage for nearly

40 years after the Union Railway Minister was killed inJanuary 1975 is an unconscionable blot on the criminaljustice system. It is somewhat typical of the administra-tion of justice in the country, but longer than normal, aseven long and protracted proceedings move on fromtrial to appellate stage within a decade and a half.Undue delay, it is often noted, amounts to denial of jus-tice. The accused have to bear the burden of a pendingcriminal case for years, often from their youth to a ripeold age. The victims and their families are left with asense of dejection. Delay may also lead to unjust acquit-tals as many key witnesses are unlikely to be availableor have a sufficiently good memory to testify with con-fidence after the passage of many years. In the Mishracase, four men have been sentenced to life imprison-ment, but they are already too old and infirm to sufferrigorous imprisonment. There really cannot be anyacceptable justification for the 35-year delay since thetrial was transferred from Bihar to Delhi in 1979. TheLaw Commission, which has gone into the issue morethan once, has pointed out that the judiciary alone is notto blame for processual delays, as the fault equally lieswith tardy investigators and prosecutors. There areother factors like lack of manpower and insufficient useof technology. The panel has suggested remedial meas-ures, both administrative and legislative. One should notforget that some trials, invariably those involving pub-lic functionaries, have been expedited at the interven-tion of the higher judiciary. A perception had gainedground that the languid criminal justice system helpedthe political class delay and undermine prosecution forcorruption. It was to remedy this that the Supreme Courtfixed a time limit of one year after framing of chargesfor the completion of trials related to legislators. Thetime has now come for the judiciary to extend the prin-ciple to all criminal cases. A reasonable time limit, onethat would not compromise on due process, may have tobe fixed. Even now, Section 309 of the CriminalProcedure Code says once examination of witnessesbegins, the court shall proceed on a day-to-day basisuntil all witnesses are examined. This provision has tobe enforced. As suggested by a Law Commission reportto the Supreme Court in 2012, the law relating to super-intendence of the lower judiciary by the High Courtsmay be amended to provide recourse for those affectedby judicial delays to approach the High Court for expe-diting trials.

Justice in slow motionMonday | December 29, 2014

SAADDA HAQ

BY SATYABRATA PAL

On December 11, 2014, whenthe U.N. General Assemblyadopted June 21 as the

International Day of Yoga, as recom-mended by Prime Minister NarendraModi, India rejoiced. Never mind thatthe day before was the first HumanRights Day under his watch; thiscrept by unnoticed.

At the SAARC Summit, Mr. Modideclaimed, “As we seek to buildbridges to prosperity, we must notlose sight of our responsibility to themillions living without hope.” Hewas, as always, matchless as akathakar, an artiste whose fabulousretelling of fables reinforces them inthe minds of the faithful as fact. Butwhile his performances have zerodefects, on the lives of the multitudeshanging on to his words, believing inthem and daring to hope, they havehad zero effect so far, because theresponsibility of which the PrimeMinister spoke is usually ignored.

In 1990, the U.N. launched theHuman Development Report basedon the challenging predicate that“people are the real wealth of anation.” How wealthy are we really?After two decades of rapid GDPgrowth, we bestride SAARC like acolossus doing the splits, one footsplayed eastward to keep China out,the other westward to keep Pakistandown. We loom like a giant amongmidgets, but on every parameter thatmeasures equity in development,there is little to choose between usand our neighbours.

The Human Development Index(HDI) for 2014 ranks us at 135among 187 countries; Sri Lanka at 73did way better than us, and we wereshadowed by Bhutan at 136,Bangladesh at 142, Nepal at 145 andPakistan at 146. The fact that India

was a stable democracy, as the otherswere not, that our economy had gal-loped along, as theirs had not, hadmade very little difference to the livesof our citizens.

Within the HDI, the GenderInequality Index which measures

three critical parameters — reproduc-tive health, women’s empowermentand their participation in the labourmarket — is particularly importantbecause it shows how a society treatsits more vulnerable half. Sri Lanka at75 is well ahead of us, but so is Nepalat 98, Bhutan at 102 and Bangladeshat 115. India is in lock-step withPakistan, both ranked at 127. TheCriminal Law Amendment Act,which brought in far-reaching meas-ures to protect women, is now almosttwo years old; sadly, it has made littledifference.

Depth of deprivation

My five years on the NationalHuman Rights Commission were ahumbling experience. In 2009, wehad 82,000 complaints, in 2013, a

lakh. A five-member Commissioncould not possibly do justice to morethan a fraction of these. We dismissed60 per cent of complaints in limine,or at the outset, 11 per cent withdirections to officials to act (but neverhad the time to check if they did) andtransferred 6 per cent to the State

Human Rights Commissions, whichwere mostly ramshackle.

Our investigative visits to ruralIndia were dives into the darknessthat contained the mass of the icebergof which the complaints coming to uswere only the tip. In a country stilllargely illiterate, a terrible violationof human rights in itself, very fewknew the NHRC existed. Those whodid wondered if it would be able tohelp; many thought it would not. Forevery complaint that came to us, ahundred did not, but since so manywere on systemic problems affectingentire communities, they broughthome to us the range, depth and per-sistence of discrimination and depri-vation in India. The two are oftenlinked, and that is the real cause ofworry with our new dispensation. The

poorest and the most vulnerable —women, Scheduled Tribes, ScheduledCastes and Muslims — sufferbecause the social bias against themis rooted in Hindu belief and practice,and still so strong that the laws meantto protect them are impotent. Evenunder a secular government, public

servants would plead with the NHRCthat there would be law and orderproblems if they tried to implementthese. The danger now is that under agovernment so overtly Hindu, thesepractices will flourish even more. Thehate speeches of Cabinet memberssignal where this could lead us.

Mr. Modi wants his party to becareful with their words, but there arefifty shades of saffron around, mostof it strident. He wants civil servantsto be sensitive, but they always are, tothe wishes of the powers that be. Hewants the police to be SMART, butthey already are, reporting to theNational Crime Records Bureau thatin 2013 there were only two incidentsof human rights violations by theirpersonnel. The same year, 33,753complaints to the NHRC, a third of

the total received, were against thepolice, detailing how they preyed onthose they should protect.

In Mr. Modi’s defence, these arenational problems he has inherited,not created, but Gujarat is the tem-plate he holds up to the rest of India,and there are a range of impartialreports that show how cavalier it hasbeen about the lives of the State’speople. A 2013 Lancet study foundthat among the 11 rich States, Gujarathad done the worst in bringing downthe mortality rate of children underfive, one of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals.

The Census established that the sexratio in Gujarat has declined from934 in 1991 to 920 in 2001 to 918 in2011. Not surprisingly, the NCRBdata shows a high incidence of crimesagainst women. So too, the datashows, are crimes against ScheduledCastes, at levels higher than in theother developed States: Maharashtra,Punjab and Tamil Nadu. TheASER/Pratham Reports on Educationshow low percentages of students inStandard V who could read aStandard II text, and could do divi-sions. That is not a model to copy.

Dreadful cost

Despite what he said inKathmandu, Mr. Modi’s record asGujarat Chief Minister shows that hissights are set on prosperity, not on“the millions living without hope.”‘Make in India’ is his priority, andthere the signs are ominous. A fewweeks back, ASSOCHAM issued anadvertisement which announced,“Repeal of archaic laws is the need ofmodern times…ASSOCHAM hasidentified 105 laws for review, whichcan promote a better regulatoryframework for successfully actualis-ing Mr. Modi’s vision of ‘Make inIndia’.” These include 43 laws that

protect human rights and safeguardlabour welfare, including the BondedLabour System (Abolition) Act,Protection of Forest Rights Act, Inter-State Migrant Workers Act, ChildLabour (Prohibition and Regulation)Act, and the Minimum Wages Act. Ifthese are the voices he listens to,development will come at a dreadfulcost.

India’s governments have so farpursued development with a humanface. Vast social welfare programmesprotect those whom the market forcessavage, but these are riddled withhuge problems. For instance, hardlyany materials go into the ruralemployment guarantee projects, buteach year material costs claimed arewell over 20 per cent of its budget. Asurvey done for the NHRC showedthat 60 per cent of the allocation forthe Integrated Child DevelopmentServices was being stolen. The listgoes on. The answer does not lie injettisoning these programmes, but inmaking them work better. Withoutthem, rural India will empty out.

Our Prime Minister’s many admir-ers believe that Sardar Patel’s mantlehas descended on him. VallabhbhaiPatel made India, Narendra Modi canunmake it. But with his extraordinarytalents, integrity and ability, ourPrime Minister can also be the mak-ing of India, and make India, all ofIndia, proud.

That should be his tribute to hisidol, not the monstrous statue of theSardar now rising in Gujarat like aprelapsarian Ozymandias.

(Satyabrata Pal is a former Memberof the National Human RightsCommission.)

Fifty shades of saffron

Our team will publish yourthoughts send us your articles at

[email protected]

The Human Development Index (HDI) for2014 ranks us at 135 among 187 countries;Sri Lanka at 73 did way better than us,

and we were shadowed by Bhutan at 136,Bangladesh at 142, Nepal at 145 and

Pakistan at 146. The fact that India was astable democracy, as the others were not,that our economy had galloped along, astheirs had not, had made very little differ-

ence to the lives of our citizens.

BY SANJOY HAZARIKA

The massacre of innocentmen, women and chil-dren in Sonitpur and

Kokrajhar districts of Assam is afamiliar, cynical, bloody cycle ofviolence that is never far away; itis a testament to the simmeringcauldron of suspicion, fear andhate stalking the Assam valleyand hills. Can there be any ‘rea-son’ that can even begin to justi-fy such murders of children,some of them barely a fewmonths old?

The butchery indicates a set ofwell-planned and coordinatedoperations that clearly caughtlaw enforcement agencies andthe State government by sur-prise. The marauders had beenunder pressure for some time,with police forces inflictingrecent losses on them inSonitpur district. A breakawaygroup of the NationalDemocratic Front of Boroland(NDFB) named after its elusiveleader, I.K. Songbijit, is thegroup responsible for thekillings, State police and admin-istrators say. The faction isopposed to talks between thelarger NDFB group and theIndian government but does notseem to have any clear and tan-gible goal apart from that ofspreading mayhem and terror.

It recently told the local mediathat it would show that it is capa-ble of tough retaliation if thepressure continued. But the useof weapons against women andchildren in the northeasternregion is not new or limited;such abuse and brutality hasbeen extensive not just inAssam, but also its neighbouringStates. In Meghalaya forinstance, earlier this year, a Garo

armed group shot dead a youngwoman in front of her children.There are allegations of abuseagainst armed groups inNagaland and Manipur as well.

What has also made suchgroups difficult to tackle is thefact that they camp on the forest-ed and lightly patrolled bordertracts of Arunachal Pradesh andBhutan, according to officials.The latter was the campingground, until 2003, of threemajor armed groups — NDFB,United Liberation Front of Asom(ULFA) and KamtapurLiberation Organisation —which were using it to organiseattacks and recruit members inAssam. That year, they wereattacked, devastated and drivenout by the Royal BhutaneseArmy. There have been reportsthat some groups have relocatedto these thickly forested andsparsely populated areas.No rationale

It is not just a sense of tragedythat embraces us, but of despairtoo, when we look at these mur-ders in our own land by rebelswithout a cause. These murdersare without rationale in manyways — but in some perhapsthere is a morbid design: for one,to destabilise the state by creat-ing a backlash by the targetedcommunity against Bodos. Thusthe armed group would be in factharming their own people if nottheir cause, but this does notseem to bother the killers or theirleaders or organisers. TheRanjan Daimary group, whoseleader was handed over to Indianauthorities by the Bangladeshgovernment under Sheik HasinaWajed in 2009, as were theULFA and Manipuri leaders ofsecessionist movements, has

indicated a willingness to talk.Daimary is out on bail and thereis a ceasefire.

An earlier armed group, theBodo Security Force, gave upthe struggle and entered thepeace process and participativedemocracy under the bannerBodoland People’s Party (BPP).Although it holds politicalpower in the BodolandTerritorial Council districts ofwestern Assam, the BPP hasbeen accused by its opponents ofinvolvement in extensive vio-lence and intimidation as well asextortion, like all other militantgroups there.

Yet, despite public oppositionto the BPP from non-Bodogroups, the Tarun Gogoi govern-ment had kept it as a coalitionpartner. The public anger againstthe BPP peaked during the 2014general election which propelledNarendra Modi and theBharatiya Janata Party to powerat the Centre, and in ‘Bodoland’,a non-Bodo candidate who wasonce a prominent former leaderof the ULFA, crushed all candi-dates, including the official BPPnominee.

But the Songbijit faction hasrebuffed efforts to reach out to itand never clearly declared itsaims and objectives. This couldlead to major law and orderproblems in the State and itsmany diverse and divided ethnicand linguistic groups which boththe State government and theCentre could find difficult totackle. The Bodos have oftenbeen seen as a privileged ethnicgroup. One should note that inthe Bodo-run districts of Assamin a chunk of the Western partsof the State, Bodo militantgroups have wielded the stick

against other communities andhave not faced any substantialrepercussions, despite the exten-sive violence of the summer of2012 when over four lakh peoplewere displaced and nearly 100killed in attacks targetingMuslims of Bengali origin.

A Member of LegislativeAssembly of the rulingBodoland People’s Front wasarrested for alleged involvementin those attacks. In early May2014, women and children fromthe minority community wereagain victims of murderousassaults by the same Songbijitgroup.Poor government response

The impunity with which thekillings have taken place raisestwo fundamental questions: Hasthe State government failed tofulfill its first responsibility ofproviding security to ordinarypeople? And are its forces, espe-cially the police and civil admin-istration in the districts, capableof launching the strikes andcounter-strikes which mustdefang the killers?

Clearly, the State governmenthas not done enough. The rea-sons for this are varied: a lack ofsustained political pressure totackle the challenge, as well asthe diversion of focus as a resultof the fierce challenge to theChief Minister’s rule by his one-time lieutenant, former HealthMinister Himanta Biswa Sarma— a crisis that had crippled theState administration for the bestpart of this year. In addition,effective measures were nottaken against the organised vio-lence in the Bodo districts overseveral years; a climate of laxityand impunity had crept in, onlyto be shaken by occasional

bursts of acute violence and adeep sense of insecurity, fear andsuspicion.

As far as the State’s policemachinery is concerned, it hasnumerous effective, thoughtfuland efficient officers, includingat the field level. But the size ofthe force is inadequate to dealwith the challenges it faces: itsnumbers and firepower need tobe increased as they are spreadtoo far, too thin, otherwise. Also,the state becomes dependent oncentral paramilitary forces andthe Army, which cannot be sus-tained but for brief periods oftime.

We saw such acts a few daysago in Peshawar, Pakistan,where over 100 children weregunned down by extremists.These are crimes against human-ity which can neither be con-doned nor justified. Not only arethey barbaric but they deservethe strongest possible responsefrom the state. This must beaccompanied by the continuingdetermined effort by civil socie-ty and moderates at all levels tomaintain peace and not fall intothe trap of the killers.

Today, the Bodo political lead-ership cannot watch in silenceany more, especially the formerarmed groups and their leaders:they are on trial here as is every-one else. The issues are not justof land or political or economicpower, but of simple survivaland learning to live with oneanother in a complex State withits 20-odd ethnic groups, manyminorities, few majorities andover 50 languages.

(Sanjoy Hazarika is director ofthe Centre for North East Studies

and Policy Research at JamiaMillia Islamia, New Delhi.)

R e b e l s w i t h o u t a c a u s e

State Watch 5NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014SAADDA HAQ

BENGALURU, DEC 28Lokayukta police on Saturday

evening raided a house inVyalikawal and found a BBMPExecutive Engineer and three con-tractors in possession of files relat-ed to civic works pertaining toRajarajeshwari Nagar zone.

The house is owned b yMunirathna Naidu, Congress MLAfrom Rajarajeshwari Nagar, who isalso a film producer. When con-tacted Munirathna Naidu, who pre-sented Rajanikanth starrer'Lingaa', said that he had rented hisproperty in Vyalikawal to a privateperson and is not responsible forany activities on the premises.

A senior Lokayukta police offi-cer said that the raid was carriedout after an FIR was registered onSaturday against unnamed BBMPengineers and contractors follow-ing a complaint that engineers andcontractors met at a private housein Vyalikawal every evening and

draw up fake bills for non existentwork.

A special team of the Lokayuktapolice, led by Superintendent ofPolice, Bengaluru, B.A. Mahesh,reached the property around 5 p.m.They found BBMP ExecutiveEngineer (Rajarajeshwari Nagar

Zone) Ideya Vendan R. and threecontractors Raghavendra, Neerajand Jayaram. Sources say policeseized hundreds of files related toBBMP works in the zone. The filesbelong to not just works that thethree contractors were involved in,but also many other works in the

zone. However, it is yet to beascertained whether they weredrawing fake bills, as alleged bythe complainant, said officials.

A senior Lokayukta official saidthat it is unlikely that the executiveengineer and the contractors wouldbe arrested immediately.

Ideya Vendan R. has been indict-ed by the Criminal InvestigationDepartment (CID) in the Rs. 1,500crore bogus bill scam inMalleswaram, Gandhinagar andRajarajeshwari Nagar zones. Hewas then an executive engineerwith Gandhinagar zone. Later, hewas transferred to RajarajeshwariNagar zone. BBMPCommissioner M Lakshminarayansaid that Ideya Vendan, beingfound in the possession of officialfiles at a private place with con-tractors, is gross misconduct. "I amawaiting the Lokayukta report. Iwill take stringent action againstthe engineer this time," he said.

BBMP files in Congress MLA's house

SRINAGAR, DEC 28While defections are common

in other states especially whenthere is no clear majority for anyparty, in Jammu and Kashmir,where election has thrown up ahung assembly, it is not an optionfor parties to increase its strength.

Jammu and Kashmir has itsown anti-defection law, differentfrom the national law, that pre-vents the elected representativesfrom defying their party whip.

According to the anti-defectionlaw effective in the rest of thecountry, if less than one-third ofthe total elected representatives ofa party defect or defy party whip

at a time, they are disqualified.But the state law is more strin-gent.

"According to the state anti-defection law, even if all theMLAs defy the party whip, theyare liable to be disqualified,"Altaf Naik, the former advocategeneral of the state, said.

The other situation which willnot be deemed as defection underthe national law is if an electedmember or members of the partyhave not accepted the mergerbetween the two parties and optedto function as a separate groupfrom the time of such a merger.

However, the state law does not

make any differentiation on thesecounts.

Naik said any number of electedmembers of a particular party canbe disqualified from the member-ship of the house, if they defy theparty whip.

The 13th amendment to theconstitution of Jammu andKashmir was enacted in 2006,during the tenure of Ghulam NabiAzad as chief minister, that omit-ted the provision of split in legis-lature parties.

The anti-defection law wasinvoked by BJP in the previousassembly when it moved an appli-cation before the Speaker, seeking

disqualification of its sevenMLAs for voting against theirparty candidate in elections to theLegislative Council in April2011.

Although law is very clear onthe matter, the seven BJP rebelscontinued to remain members ofthe Legislative Assembly as thetwo Speakers -- first MohammadAkbar Lone and then MubarakGul -- did not give their ruling onthe matter till the last session heldin August this year.

The BJP MLAs were accused ofvoting in favour of rulingNational Conference candidatesin the election three years ago.

J&K law does not allow defections

CHENNAI, DEC 28Thousands of commuters

faced hardships because ofa transport strike called byvarious trade unions onSunday, leaving commutersto the mercy of share autosand dependent on minimaltrain services.

Members of varioustransport unions (barringthe AIADMK-backed AnnaThozhil Sanga Peravai)who are part of theMetropolitan TransportCorporation are protestingagainst the State govern-ment for not renewing thethree-year wage agreementand other pension-relatedissues. The transport unionshave threatened to go on anindefinite strike if the gov-ernment does not respondimmediately.

A.S. Balasundaram, StateOrganiser, B.R. AmbedkarThozilalar VidhuthalaiMunnani (a trade unionwing of ViduthalaiChiruthaikal Katchi), blam-ing the MTC for misusingthe funds of Provident Fundand pension fund, com-plained that several work-ers who have retired are yetto get pension and provi-dent amount. He also point-ed out that the MTC wasyet to increase the dearnessallowance for the past year.

R. Ashokan, a commuterfrom Tambaram bound forT. Nagar, complained thatthe lack of bus services leftthem to use the suburbantrain services, which nor-mally operated at 20 min-utes interval.

Being a weekend, the sit-

uation did not turn chaoticbut the commuters are moreworried about Mondaywhen thousands of office-goers would find it difficultand would be left in thehands of the auto rick-shaws. The Mass RapidTransit System (MRTS)from Velachery to ChennaiBeach, which also operatedin 20-minute frequency,also was used by a largenumber of commuters.

A senior official of theMetropolitan TransportCorporation said that theywere able to operate 40 percent of vehicles in themorning session, but mem-bers of several trade unionsin areas such as T. Nagar,Anna Nagar,Thiruvanmiyur andTambaram, blocked buses.

Transport unions commenceindefinite strike in TN

LUCKNOW, DEC 28Congress will organise a

special camp at Varanasiin January next year todiscuss ways to tackle BJPand improve its perform-ance in Uttar Pradesh.

"We will organise a spe-cial camp in Varanasi afterMakar Sankranti (inJanuary next year) tostrengthen the party. Theobjective of this camp isto give the party a newlease of life and devise

ways to fight BJP," PartyIncharge MadhusudanMistry told reporters.

He said, "At the camp,there would be delibera-tions about how to dealwith Narendra Modi andhis government's poli-cies."

Referring to theCongress's debacle in thestate in the Lok Sabhapolls, Mistry said, "Peoplehave not forgottenCongress, but it was the

party which had stoppedreaching to them."

Mistry exhorted hisparty workers to reach outto people and adress theirissues and not get dis-heartened by the defeat inthe Parliamentary elec-tions. Congress had faceda crushing defeat in theLok Sabha polls, winningjust two seats that too wonby its president SoniaGandhi and vice presidentRahul Gandhi.

Congress to organise specialcamp in Varanasi in January

Guru GobindSinghEpitomisedUltimateCourageNEW DELHI, DEC 28

Guru Gobind Singh was a warrior,poet and philosopher and succeededhis father Guru Tegh Bahadur as theleader of Sikhs at the young age ofnine.

On the occasion of the birth anniver-sary celebrations of the tenth SikhGuru Gobind Singh, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi today paid tributes toGuru Gobind Singh saying his life andideals inspire eternally.

“He epitomised ultimate courage & aspirit of sacrifice. I bow to him,” thePrime Minister tweeted.

Thousands of devotees throngedgurudwaras across the country today totake part in the celebrations of birthanniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

Harpreet Kaur Sondhi vice ChairmanGurudwara Bangla Sahib HonouredS.Manjit Singh GK President DSGMC& all Members Of Delhi SikhGurudwara Management Committeeon the Occasion of Gurupurab.

PHOTO BY: S.P. SINGH &HARKRIT KAUR

Re l i a n c eCommunications'zero downpayment

plans for the iPhone 6 andiPhone 6 Plus were firstreported back in October.However, there has been noannouncement regardingthe Zero Plan offer fromeither company.

Now, further cementingthe fact that the RelianceZero Plan for new iPhonesmight be around the corner,the Apple India website isseen to include a link toReliance's official eShop.Notably, the link on theApple site only leads toReliance's official onlineeShop home page.

Unfortunately, theReliance eShop site doesnot list the iPhone 6 andiPhone 6 Plus (or anyiPhone) under its Zero Planoffers hinting that the offeris in final stages and wehave to still wait for theofficial announcement. Oneof our readers spotted thenew button available on theApple India site.

As seen with the previousleaked zero downpaymentplans for the new iPhones,Reliance could offer theiPhone 6 at Rs. 3,099 permonth for 24 months, whilethe iPhone 6 Plus at Rs.3,599 per month for 24months.

There were no details

about which storage variantavailable under Rcom'sZero Plan, but the permonth pricing translated toa total of Rs. 74,376 overtwo years for the iPhone 6,and Rs. 86,376 over twoyears for the iPhone 6Plus.

Apple back in Octoberhad launched the iPhone 6and iPhone 6 Plus smart-phones in India - pricingthe 4.7-inch iPhone 6 at Rs.53,500 for the 16GB vari-ant, Rs. 62,500 for the64GB variant, and Rs.71,500 for the 128GB vari-ant; and the 5.5-inch iPhone6 Plus at Rs. 62,500 for the16GB variant, Rs. 71,500for the 64GB variant, andRs. 80,500 for the 128GBvariant.

For those unaware, underReliance's Zero Plan, con-sumers can buy mobiledevices under 6-month, 12-month, or 24-month con-tracts (depending on theprice of the smartphone),and won't be required tomake any downpayment.

It's worth noting thatReliance Communicationshad last year as well intro-duced a similar offer whereconsumers could buy the16GB iPhone 5s at amonthly fee of Rs. 2,999and 16GB iPhone 5c at afee of Rs. 2,599 at zeroupfront cost.

Science & Tech6 NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014SAADDA HAQ

1. Brass gets discoloured in air because of the presenceof which of the following gases in air?A. Oxygen B. Hydrogen sulphideC. Carbon dioxide D. Nitrogen

2. Which of the following is a non metal that remainsliquid at room temperature?A. Phosphorous B. BromineC. Chlorine D. Helium

3. Chlorophyll is a naturally occurring chelate com-pound in which central metal isA. copper B. magnesiumC. iron D. calcium

4. Which of the following is used in pencils?A. Graphite B. SiliconC. Charcoal D. Phosphorous

5. Which of the following metals forms an amalgamwith other metals?A. Tin B. MercuryC. Lead D. Zinc

QUIZ TIME

Answer: 1(B), 2 (B), 3(B), 4(A), 5(B)

12.00 am Everest 12.30 am Diya aur BaatiHum 01.00 am Ye HaiMohabbatein

01.30 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 02.00 am Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 02.30 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 03.00 am Tu Mera Hero 03.30 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 04.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 04.30 am Everest 05.00 am Diya aur Baati Hum 05.30 am Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 06.00 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 06.30 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 07.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 07.30 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 08.00 am Mahabharat 08.30 am Suhani Si Ek Ladki 09.00 am Diya aur Baati Hum 09.30 am Ye Hai Mohabbatein 10.00 am Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 10.30 am Tu Mera Hero 11.00 am Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 11.30 am Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 12.00 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 12.30 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 01.00 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 01.30 pm Tu Mera Hero 02.00 pm Everest 02.30 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 03.00 pm Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 03.30 pm Suhani Si Ek Ladki 04.00 pm Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 04.30 pm Tu Mera Hero 05.00 pm Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 06.00 pm Iss Pyaar Ko Kya NaamDoon...Ek Baar Phir 06.30 pm Suhani Si Ek Ladki 07.00 pm Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 07.30 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 08.00 pm Tu Mera Hero 08.30 pm Nisha Aur Uske Cousins 09.00 pm Diya aur Baati Hum 09.30 pm Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 10.00 pm Everest 10.30 pm Veera: Ek Veer Ki Ardaas 11.00 pm Ye Hai Mohabbatein 11.30 pm Tu Mera Hero ____________________________

03.05 am Legion 04.47 am Just Go with It 06.45 am The Social Network

09.17 am Stuart Little 3: Call of theWild 11.09 am Keemat: They Are Back 02.31 pm Mahaveer No.1 05.20 pm The Karate Kid 08.00 pm Chennai V/s China 11.09 pm National Security _____________________________

12.00 am Teleshopping 02.00 am Jodha Akbar 02.30 am KumkumBhagya

03.00 am Aur…Pyaar Ho Gaya 03.30 am Doli Armaano Ki 04.00 am Baba Ramdev Ka Yog 05.00 am Narayan Seva 05.30 am Teleshopping 06.00 am Sant Nirankari Mandal 06.30 am The Faith Show 07.00 am Enjoying Every Day Life 07.30 am Creflo Dollar and TaffiDollar 08.00 am Teleshopping 09.00 am Kumkum Bhagya 09.30 am Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 10.00 am Maharakshak Aryan 10.30 am Jodha Akbar 11.00 am Doli Armaano Ki 11.30 am Satrangi Sasural 12.00 pm Jamai Raja 12.30 pm Kumkum Bhagya 01.00 pm Jodha Akbar 01.30 pm Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 02.00 pm Satrangi Sasural 02.30 pm Doli Armaano Ki 03.00 pm Kumkum Bhagya 03.30 pm Maharakshak Aryan 04.00 pm Qubool Hai 04.30 pm Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 05.00 pm Doli Armaano Ki 05.30 pm Jamai Raja 06.00 pm Kumkum Bhagya 06.30 pm Satrangi Sasural 07.00 pm Bandhan....Sari UmarHume Sang Rehna Hai 07.30 pm Sapne Suhane LadakpanKe 08.00 pm Jodha Akbar 08.30 pm Jamai Raja 09.00 pm Kumkum Bhagya 09.30 pm Qubool Hai 10.00 pm Satrangi Sasural 10.30 pm Doli Armaano Ki 11.00 pm Jodha Akbar 11.30 pm Jamai Raja

12.00 am ComedyNights with Kapil 01.00 amTelebrands

02.00 am Home Shop 18 05.00 am Iskcon Aarti 05.30 am Jesus Calls Ministry 06.00 am Telebrands 07.00 am Narayan Sewa SansthanTrust 07.30 am Home Shop 18 08.00 am Udann 08.30 am Shastri Sisters 09.00 am Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 09.30 am Comedy Nights with Kapil 11.00 am Sasural Simar Ka 11.30 am Udann 12.00 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 12.30 pm Shastri Sisters 01.00 pm Balika Vadhu - KacchiUmar Ke Pakke Rishte 01.30 pm Sasural Simar Ka 02.00 pm Udann 02.30 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 03.00 pm Sasural Simar Ka 03.30 pm Udann 04.00 pm Bigg Boss : Weekend KaVaar 05.00 pm Comedy Nights with Kapil 06.30 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 07.00 pm Shastri Sisters 07.30 pm Sasural Simar Ka 08.00 pm Balika Vadhu - KacchiUmar Ke Pakke Rishte 08.30 pm Udann 09.00 pm Bigg Boss 10.00 pm Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi 10.30 pm Uttaran 11.00 pm Shastri Sisters 11.30 pm Udann _____________________________

01.50 am AakhriFaisla 03.55 am Jugaad 05.50 am I... Proud to

Be an Indian 08.25 am Betaab 11.45 am Khatta Meetha 02.45 pm Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge 05.10 pm Jigar 08.00 pm Dushmano ka Dushman

(2010) 10.35 pm Return of Ghajini

_____________________________

12.00 am Best OfSavdhaan India :Mumbai Fights Back

01.00 am Supercops vsSupervillains... Shapath : MissionMumbai 02.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back 03.00 am Pukaar 04.00 am Supercops vsSupervillains... Shapath : MissionMumbai 05.00 am Best Of Savdhaan India :Mumbai Fights Back 06.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back 07.00 am Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 07.30 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 08.00 am Mahakumbh 08.30 am Comedy Classes 09.00 am Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 09.30 am Pukaar 10.30 am Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 11.00 am Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 11.30 am Mahakumbh 12.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) 01.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) 02.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) 03.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) 04.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) 05.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back (2) 06.00 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 06.30 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back : @11 - Crime Alert 07.30 pm Mere Rang Mein RangneWali 08.00 pm Mahakumbh 08.30 pm Pukaar 09.30 pm Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye 10.00 pm Comedy Classes 10.30 pm Best of Savdhaan India:India Fights Back 11.30 pm Mahakumbh

TV Channels Schedule TODAY’S STARARIES We are told sometimes that 'the future is in our hands'. Does that mean it is malleable or

can be shaped by us into whatever we want it to look like? Like anything else we are ableto hold in our hands, we have control over it. You needn't hold your future in a delicate orprotective way now. You are superbly placed to shape it precisely how you want it toappear. Like most shape-able things, a bit of imagination is required. Apply some witheffort and you will soon see how you are able to change one particular outcome.

TAURUS You support is needed in some way by a person or possibly an organization. There is somethingyou're able to contribute or help to improve. Your input is needed and it is clear that, throughinvolving yourself, you stand to gain or benefit in some way. So, what's stopping you? A delaymight be of a bureaucratic nature, you could be hindered by a need to wade through red tape ora need to wait for the time to be better than it is now. The sky, however, insists that whatever yourinvolvement is, a process is underway that will require your participation very soon.

GEMINI Time is our most precious commodity. The amount we have is finite. Yet, we can be a bit toorelaxed about how we spend it, compared to other commodities available to us. That's why you'rebeing encouraged now to look closely at how you are investing your time and where – or withwhom! You're being made to look closely at a certain involvement or arrangement with a view toascertaining if it justifies time you're giving toward it. It's likely something will have to fall by thewayside. If so, then trust time is being made available for something better or more appropriate.

CANCER Earlier this month, millions of excited children were being told by parents to be patient. They wereadvised of the benefits of letting time pass in a way that would be revealing in the near future.Despite their excitement, children were unable to accelerate a process that required them to bepatient and, in many ways, you are benefiting similarly now. Patience you've applied to an areaof your world is about to pay off. Very soon, you will see why you have been made to wait in waysyou have been made and how you stand to benefit from having done so.

LEO Take a moment to consider imaginations children possess. Their imaginations aren't anywhere nearas restricted as those of adults. Adults learn over time how restrictions exist and why it sometimesmakes more sense to be sensible, realistic and practical. Yet, children who have vivid imaginationsand apply them from a young age often continue to do so as adults, and often become dismissiveof so-called restrictions. All that matters to them is the ability and need to become excited by a cre-ated vision. Allow yourself to be excited by a vision of your creation now.

VIRGO When we see others experiencing luck, we tend to believe it has suddenly appeared out ofnowhere and blessed the individual immediately with its presence. We are often oblivious to howlengthy the process actually was before luck played any role in it. That's why it's important to rec-ognize how involved with a similar process you are now. I'm not suggesting you should queue ina supermarket to purchase as many lottery tickets as you can afford but the sky does insist thatyou are about to be blessed with a positive development, Call it luck, if you wish.

LIBRA We often use the excuse of being busy to delay necessary change. Other times, we decide it is more prefer-able to accept an unacceptable situation than it is to invite or instigate change. Where making ourselvesuncomfortable is concerned, we can all be very stubborn. Yet, in an area of your world, you know some-thing simply cannot continue as it is. A situation or arrangement is outdated and irrelevant. So, what do youwant to do? Wait long enough and it will be removed with no effort on your part. But, if you want a muchmore immediate replacement, be brave and release yourself from it now.

SCORPIO Scorpio stubbornness is legendary. As a Scorpio, you know better than anyone how stubborn youcan be and stubbornness doesn't always involve people. You can be stubborn where pursuits areconcerned and it appears you've got the proverbial bit between your teeth in some way now. Thislikely involves you wanting to 'get to the bottom' of something. It might also be possible you're tryingto find an answer to something that cannot be answered, not yet anyway. For now, trust an answeryour intuition is providing. Your instincts are probably spot on. That will do for now.

SAGITTARIUS So much in life relies on systems and protocols. We do X because someone decidedit was important we all do X. We do Y because, if X is done a certain way for a partic-ular reason, it makes sense that Y follows similarly. Systems and protocols have theirplace, without doubt, but when we follow them without stopping to at least wonder why,we deprive ourselves of the benefits a bit of imagination can provide. You don't need tobecome a rebel with a cause in mind now. You do, however, have the right to questionsomething you support for a reason that might involve doing so for a quieter life.

CAPRICORN Foremen on construction sites are not supposed to be in holes digging away with workers they're sup-posed to be supervising. When everyone is focused intently on a specific task, a bigger picture gets over-looked. A foreman can see a water pipe or electricity cable that others are at risk of putting a shovelthrough because they're too close to what they're doing. You can now see something others cannotthrough them being too close to a situation. Your ability to distance yourself from it and see what needsto change will bring change that suits others and they'll be grateful for.

AQUARIUS Slow and steady will win a particular race. Yet, we know races often require speed. If someone is tocross a finish line first, then they clearly need to be faster than others participating. But winningbecomes compromised if it means something could have been done better or with a greater senseof permanence attached to it. Investing huge amounts of effort might now put you in an advanta-geous position but is it not more important that you do something efficiently rather than hastily? Atthe end of the day, the race is with yourself, anyway. So, go easy and do something properly.

PISCES Our heads tell us one thing. Our hearts tell us another. Heads tend to be practical and realistic. Ourhearts tend to be truthful. Yet, it is within our heads that our imaginations reside. Hearts can't cre-ate visions in the way brains can. You're right to believe in a particular vision you have now. It hasbeen borne from imagination but your heart could be creating a slight obstacle in terms of yourbelief in it. What's needed now is a bit of time to pass to allow your head and heart to communi-cate with each other and get themselves sorted. This sky promises this discussion is imminent.

Next Asus ZenWatch to Offer VoiceCalling Sans Handset, Launch in Q3 2015While launching the Asus

ZenWatch in Taiwan,the company CEO

Jerry Shen on December 24 alsoannounced that the firm is workingon the next generation ZenWatch,currently being tipped asZenWatch 2. The firm additionallyreleased a few new teasers for itsupcoming next generation ofZenFone handsets over the week.

As per the announcement byShen, the Asus ZenWatch 2 willsupport independent voice-callingfunctionality like the SamsungGear S smartwatch. The watch willsupport a SIM-card to make callsand will be released in Q3 2015. Itis possible a prototype or early ver-sion of the device may be show-cased at the upcoming CES 2015event in Las Vegas, or at MWC2015 in Barcelona later in the year.

The Chinese company is said tolaunch two more wearable devicesother than the ZenWatch that willfocus on the user's health and fit-ness. Also, these fitness-related

devices will be priced lower thanthe Asus

ZenWatch 2, as reported by FocusTaiwan.

As for the original ZenWatch,which launched in Taiwan at TWD5,990 (roughly Rs. 12,000), Shenadded that the Android Wear-basedsmartwatch would roll out in select

European markets, China andHong Kong

in the second phase. The watch isavailable in limited quantities fornow and will stay the same untilFebruary.

Asus on December 21 and 22also released two teaser videos forthe next generation ZenFone hand-

sets. The YouTube and Facebookvideos indicate the smartphones tofeature back buttons like seen inLG G2 and LG G3. The details onwhat functions will be carried by

the rear buttons are stillscarce. However, the

buttons arespecu-lated toact ascamerashu t t e r

buttons,p o w e r

buttons or ashortcut keyfor certainfeatures.

The videoalso hints at the inclusion of a dualcamera sensor like the HTC One(M8). Again, since it was a teaser,the details of the dual sensors arenot yet known. The text seen in theteaser - "See what others can't see"suggest the highlight of the hand-set will be its camera.

Flipkart, one of India'smost popular e-com-merce websites, has

in an agreement withViacom 18 exclusivelylaunched a number ofdevices under the network'sMTV Fashiontronix bySoundlogic brand. Theannouncement made onFriday includes gadgetslike earphones, powerbanks and speakers rangingfrom Rs. 499 up to Rs.10,999.

The range of MTVFashiontronix bySoundlogic products arealready available to buyfrom the website. Thedevices, maintaining a fash-ion quotient, are availablein number of colours andare aimed for the youthaudience in the market.While the speaker productsare available in Noise,Capsule, Rock, and Barrelmodels, the earphones areavailable in two models,

namely Sound Pod andStud. There are also twotypes of headphones -Thump, Boom. Also listedare the Diet power bank,and Pump fitness band.

"We are thrilled tointroduce the

M T VFashiontronix range as aFlipkart exclusive. MTVIndia, an iconic youthbrand, is well known for itsdistinct and cult merchan-dise and we are confidentthat the partnership willenable us to create moreexcitement in the productspace for today's youth,"stated Michael Adnani, VP- Retail & Head of BrandAlliances, Flipkart at the

time of announcement."It's a pleasure to intro-

duce MTV Fashiontronixsound gear and gadgets thatare a great mix of style,

design andp r i c ew h i c hm a k et h e m

p e r f e c tfor the

youth. So, nomore compromise

between funky and afford-able for the young peopleout there. They can nowenjoy great sound at a greatprice and look cool whiledoing it! Online is the wayto go for young shopperstoday and we're extremelythrilled to have Flipkart -India's leading e-commerceplatform as the exclusivepartner for MTVFashiontronix," addedSaugato Bhowmik, Sr. VP& Business Head, Viacom18 Consumer Products.

MTV Fashiontronix by SoundlogicBrand Launched, Starts From Rs. 499

Apple India Hints at ZeroDownpayment Plans foriPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus Kodak, a camera-making firm that

recently emerged from bankrupt-cy, has now announced its plans

to launch a new range of Android smart-phones with "best-in-class image manage-ment software and features."

While the first smartphone is set tolaunch during at CES 2015 event nextmonth in Las Vegas, other "Android-pow-ered mobile devices", including a 4Ghandset, a tablet and a connected camera,will eventually arrive during the secondhalf of 2015.

The camera-maker says the smartphonesare aimed at consumezrs who want a"high-end experience" but are uncomfort-

able with complicated devices. The com-pany promises a "great design and UI".Kodak has collaborated with British firmBullit that will make most of the compo-nents of the smartphone. The firm is alsoknown for making rugged CAT-brandedsmartphones.

The details on the Kodak Android smart-phone's design and specifications arescarce for now, but it's apparent the focusof the handset will be the camera andimaging capabilities. Kodak has addedthat the upcoming smartphones and tablets"will come preloaded with bespoke imagecapture, management and sharing featuresto offer a rich user experience." Also, the

devices will feature remote managementsoftware to guide family members andfriends through various functions.

With the launch of a camera-focusedAndroid smartphone, Kodak looks set tojoin Samsung (with its Galaxy S4 Zoomand Galaxy K zoom) and Panasonic,which in September launched its Android-powered camera-phone, the Lumix DMC-CM1. Other camera manufacturers,including Nikon, have launched Android-based cameras in the past.

"Kodak is one of the world's most recog-nisable brands. It is trusted by consumersas a marque of quality and innovation,"said Oliver Schulte, CEO Bullitt Mobile at

the time of announcement. "We've takenthat heritage and used it to inspire a rangeof beautifully designed devices that willlet users take great pictures and edit, share,store and print them in an instant."

Schulte added, "Delivering simplicitywithout compromise, these devices willaddress a segment of the mobile devicemarket that has been poorly served to date.By giving customers easy access to print-ing and sharing services while still offer-ing the latest Android OS and featuresfound on high-end smartphones, we willappeal to a large audience of users whovalue ease of use and stylish design ashighly as they value functionality."

Kodak to Launch Its First Android Smartphone at CES 2015

Sports 7NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014SAADDA HAQ

MELBOURNE, DECEMBER 28Virat Kohli and Ajinkya

Rahane struck fluent centuriesand stitched a record 262-runfourth-wicket partnership asIndia fought back bravelybefore a late-order slide alloweda sloppy Australia to claw backin the third cricket Test, inMelbourne on Sunday.

Resuming the day on 108 forone in response to the hosts'first innings score of 530, Indialost their overnight batsmenearly but Kohli (169), register-ing his third ton in this series,and Rahane (147) made surethat their stand is the highest forIndia in Australia at the MCGfor any wicket.

The visitors ended the day on462 for eight as they still trail by68 runs at the end of Day 3.

Aided by five dropped catch-es, India responded well only tolose a bit of a momentum in theend as new-ball bowler RyanHarris returned with figures of4-69.

Pace spearhead MitchellJohnson (1-133), who bled runsthrough the day, also got Kohlicaught behind to get a consola-tion wicket as umpires calledstumps.

Getting into heated exchangeswith Johnson at different stages

of his innings, Kohli wasdropped on 88 by Shane Watson(1-65) at first slip in the 85thover and made full use of thespill.

Kohli, recording his ninthTest ton, mixed the right dose ofcaution and aggression in his272-ball stay, his innings lacedwith 18 boundaries.

Rahane, who got his centuryin just 127 balls, hitting 21 foursin his three-hours ten minutestay in the middle.

Rahane was finally trappedlbw off Lyon but not after main-taining a strike rate of 85.96.Rahane's wicket opened up thegates for the host, who struckback with four wickets for 53runs in the final session of play.Debutant Lokesh Rahul (3)failed to capitalise on a droppedchance at mid-wicket off Lyononly to play another similarstroke against the off-spinner onthe very next delivery as theball took a top adge and settledinto the hands of JoshHazlewood (0-75) at fine leg.

Skipper Mahendra SinghDhoni (11) fiddled around forsometime but his tentativeapproach from the very startcost him his wicket after Harrisgot the wicketkeeper-batsmancaught behind.

Ravichandran Ashwin wasthe next as part of the mini-pro-cession and the No.8 batsmancould only face four ballsbefore being caught and bowledoff Harris for a nought.

Harris was supported by Lyon(2-108) and Watson. Thebowlers gave away far toomany runs but were disciplinedin the sense that they concededjust 2 extra in the innings so far.

Post-tea, the two batsmen had

looked to increase their 189-runstand and did so quite well.They crossed the 200-run part-nership mark in the 99th over ofthe innings, becoming the firstbatting pair ever to put on a200-stand for the 4th wicket atthe MCG.

Then they scored the nextfifty at brisk pace, the 250-standcoming in the 106th over withthe 400-mark coming the nextover. India were scoring at more

than six runs per over in thatpassage of play.

But things changed soon inthe 108th over when Lyontrapped Rahane lbw to trigger alate-order collapse. Rahul was abag of nerves and was droppedby substitute fielder PeterSiddle at mid-wicket in the110th over.

But the youngster played ahorrendous sweep shot to on thevery next ball get a top-edge

and get caught at fine leg. Harris returned to account for

Dhoni and Ashwin (0) as Indiawent from 409/4 to 434/7.Meanwhile, Kohli stayed solidand crossed the 150-run mark inhis Test career for the first time.He was out just before stumps,putting up 28 runs for the eighthwicket with Shami.

Earlier, Kohli and Rahanebuilt on their 77-run platformthey had laid in the morning.The latter had been moreaggressive of the two batsmenand he continued in the samevein. He got to his half-centuryin the 71st over, off 60 balls,and two overs later brought upthe 100-run partnershipbetween them. India crossedthe 250-mark in the 74th overand were nearing the follow-onmark when things got a bit fran-tic in the middle. First, Lyondropped Rahane (70 not out) inthe 80th over, completely miss-ing a simple return catch. Thenas the second new ball wastaken, Johnson hit Kohli with areturn throw. The batsman hadan angry go at him and then losthis composure. In the 85th overhe edged behind off the samebowler and was dropped byWatson at first slip.

Kohli then top-edged one off

Johnson in the following overonly for keeper Brad Haddinnot being able to reach the ball.

Things settled down as their150-run partnership came up inthe 87th over and from thereon,it was all about the milestones.Rahane was the first to get to histriple-figures, reaching his 3rdTest century in the 90th over,off 127 balls.

It is his 3rd overseas Test hun-dred this year. Then, four overslater, Kohli got to his 9th Testhundred -- his 4th in Australia -- as the duo closed out the ses-sion with 112 runs without los-ing a wicket.

Earlier in the day, CheteshwarPujara (25) did not trouble thescorers as the No.3 batsmanwas out on the second ball ofthe day as Harris induced anoutside edge and the catch wasbeautifully held Haddin in frontof first slip.

Opener Murali Vijay (68) didadd a few runs to his score andhit a couple of lovely bound-aries before he got hit on theback of the helmet off aJohnson snorter.

The hit sure did shake him upas he was soon picked byWatson, edging one to first slipas Shaun Marsh made no mis-take.

Kohli, Rahane lead India fightback

NEW DELHI, DEC 28The 'sleeping giant'

woke up to a new dawnwith the ISL putting Indianfootball on the global map,but the national team con-tinued to paint a grim pic-ture, plummeting to itsworst-ever rankings in aneventful year for thesport.

The national team's pro-longed decline got buriedunder the intense hypeover what turned out to bea fairly successful inaugu-ral Indian Super League,which was graced by for-mer stars such asAlessandro Del Piero,David Trezeguet, RobertPires, Marco Materrazi,Luis Garcia and NicolasAnelka, among others.

Seen for over twomonths on the dugout wasZico, a football legend inhis own right not just in

Brazil but the world over.Goa FC did reach the

semifinals of ISL but whatwas more important for theside's players was that theywere under the tutelage ofZico for over two months,something that would

surely benefit them in nearfuture.

Besides the franchise-based tournament, a modelbased on cricket's popularIndian Premier League,bagging the 2017 Under-17 World Cup was another

silver lining this year forthe success-starved nationthat is struggling at 171 inFIFA rankings.

In January, India wereranked 156th and by theend of year, they dropped15 places, the never-end-

ing spate of reverses leav-ing coach WimKoevermans so frustratedthat the Dutchman decidednot to continue in the hotseat.

Another one from theNetherlands, Robb Bann,has also quit from the postof technical director.

A replacement is await-ed with StephenConstantine emerging asthe front-runner for hissecond spell as Indiacoach. ISL franchiseNorthEast United's coachRickie Herbert's name isalso doing the rounds.

If the lack of enoughinternational friendlies isone of the reasons for thenational team's decline,the Indians failed to per-form the few times theyplayed, most prominentamong them being thedefeat to Pakistan.

ISL glitz props Indian football, national team slips in 2014MELBOURNE, DEC 28

With his defiant century at theMelbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday,Virat Kohli became only the second Indianbatsman after Sunil Gavaskar to scorethree Test hundreds in a series againstAustralia. Kohli has one more match to gobefore he closes this series but for therecord Gavaskar has scored four Test hun-dreds twice on overseas tours.

Kohli's career-best 169 is also the high-est score by a visiting batsman sinceVirender Sehwag's 195 in December 2003.

The Indian vice-captain came into bat ata difficult time for India, who wereresponding to Australia's first-inningsscore of 530, and scored his ninth Testcentury to put the visitors in a better posi-tion at 462 for eight at close of play.

Stitching a record 262-run fourth-wicketpartnership with Ajinkya Rahane, Kohlinot only showed temperament but alsoclass in his fabulous knock.

Kohli, his 272-ball stay laced with 18fours, though was out caught behind offMitchell Johnson as umpires calledstumps with ten balls to spare.

The No.4 batsman, who has recorded hisfourth ton in Australia overall, had a won-derful first Test in Adelaide as stand-in-skipper, getting centuries (115 and 141) inboth the innings only to see his side loseby a mere 48 runs.

Playing his 36th Test match, the 26-year-old also increased his century counton overseas pitches. The batsman isplaced eighth in Asian list, led by SachinTendulkar (18), of century-makers outsidethe continent.

Kohli registers 3rd ton inseries, emulates Gavaskar

KARACHI, DEC 28Former Pakistan fast

bowler Shoaib Akhtar hasadvised suspended off-spinner Saeed Ajmal totake his case to the Courtof Arbitration for Sport(CAS) in Lausanne.

"I had three monthsback said that Saeed willhave to plead his owncase and take legal actionagainst the authoritieschallenging the processunder which he has beensuspended from bowlingin international cricket,"Akhtar said on Geo Newschannel.

The maverick bowlersaid that Saeed had agood chance of a positiveoutcome if he took hiscase to CAS. "His prob-lem with his bowlingaction is due to a physicaldefect in his arm and hecan be cleared on medicalgrounds," Akhtar said.

The Pakistan CricketBoard said on Saturdaythat Ajmal had withdrawnhimself from the WorldCup as he still wanted tofurther work on correct-ing his bowling actionbefore appearing for anybowling test.

Ajmal was suspendedby the InternationalCricket Council lastSeptember for an illegalbowling action. Akhtarwho in his colourfulcareer himself was twicereported and suspendedfor an illegal bowlingaction before finallybeing cleared on medicalgrounds said that Saeed'swithdrawal would be feltby Pakistan in the WorldCup.

"He has been our topbowler for the last fewyears and obviously hisabsence is going to havean impact," he added.

Saeed Ajmal Advised to Approach Courtof Arbitration for Sport by Shoaib Akhtar

LONDON, DEC 28Manchester United will

activate a one-year exten-sion of Michael Carrick's130,000 pound-a-weekcontract to keep the mid-fielder at Old Traffordbeyond the summer.

Carrick agreed to theclause when he signed atwo-year deal in 2013 andhas expressed a wish tostay, reportsdailymail.co.uk.

The 33-year-old has

been one of their mostinfluential players sincehis return from injury andit has coincided with anupturn in fortunes for theclub.

Manager Louis van Gaalwants to keep Carrick andUnited will confirm their

plans in talks early in thenew year.

Carrick has become oneof the most importantplayers during United'sclimb into third place inthe English PremierLeague and Van Gaal is abig admirer of his quali-

ties.Carrick also forced his

way back into the Englandteam this year. He has wonfive Premier League titlessince his move fromTottenham in 2006 andwas United's player of theyear in 2013.

MichaelCarrick Set

for NewContract atManchester

United

CHENNAI, DEC 28Tennis is a sport which

perhaps has the shortest ofoff-season windows.Players get barely a monthto reflect on the seasongone by and make adjust-ments for better returns inthe future before the ballstarts rolling again.

But in 2014, the windowhas been shorter than everbefore.

While the InternationalPremier Tennis League(IPTL) kept the world’sforemost players busy, theChampions Tennis League(CTL) and Premier TennisLeague saw participationby many an Indian. Someof these Indian players likeRamkumar Ramanathan,Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan,Prajnesh Gunneswaran,Sasi Kumar Mukundamong others, hailing fromTamil Nadu, have nowcome together, under theaegis of the local associa-tion, for a strengthening-cum-conditioning campbefore the Aircel ChennaiOpen which starts on

January 5.“Normally all players

have a decent off-season,”says Karti P. Chidambaram,Vice-President, Tamil NaduTennis Association(TNTA).

“But this year the seasonwas longer and a bit dis-jointed. So we wanted tobring some cohesivenessand also get them fit.During the off-season theemphasis is more on fitnessthan on tennis.”

Leading the camp is theduo of Mithun Murali, aformer National doubleschampion and ManuBajpai, a strength-and-con-ditioning specialist.

“First Jeevan called meand said he wanted to do hispre-season here,” saysMithun. “I then thoughtwhat about the other guys?So we decided to get all ofthem in. The Tamil Naduplayers are a close unit.They help each other. Nowseniors like Jeevan can helpthe younger lot like SasiKumar Mukund and it goeson like a cycle.”

A conditioning camp in right earnest

Imaad, the actor-musi-cian son of Bollywoodveteran Naseeruddin

Shah, and actress SabaAzad have combined theirmusical skills to form theMadboy/Mink band thatbelts out a mesh of old-school funk, disco and jazz.The two say their offeringwill take some time towarm up in the world ofmusic.

"People are taking to itslowly as it is very fresh.They are kind of warming

up to it as they need time tounderstand what the soundis. The strength of our bandlies in its uniqueness,"Imaad said on the sidelinesof the recent EnchantedValley Carnival inLonavala. Echoing this,Saba told reporters: "Peoplehave not heard our type ofmusic. If you listen to anyother electronic dancemusic (EDM) track, yourbody is programmed tomove in a certain way, butin our case the sound isvery new, so people don'tknow how to respond."

There are quite a fewcommon threads that tieImaad and Saba togetherlike their love for theatreand acting. Imaad feels thatthe combination of the threeensures better results.

"It ties up quite wellbecause filmmaking andmusic-making are veryclose to each other just likeclose cousins. They worktogether closely," he said.

The talented duo is alsogearing up to get into thefilm business by producingindependent films. "We

have plans to make inde-pendent films to put ourvisions and thoughtsacross," Imaad said.

"We are kind of setting upour production house andwe have already made ashort film. We are givingfinishing touches to thefilm; hence we cannot dis-cuss much about it," Sabaadded.

Imaad also noted thatalong with production, theyare also planning to try theirhand at direction.

Accepting the low popu-larity of independent cine-ma, Imaad said sometimesthings are done for personalsatisfaction rather thanbusiness.

"You don't do everythingfor people. If you can man-age to get you creativevision into the work, thenyou can also get the audi-ence on the same page. It's astruggle.

"A lot of independent cin-ema are bad films; henceyou cannot use the tag ofindependent cinema to passany other random movie asserious cinema," he said.

Bollywood/Fashion8 NEW DELHI | MONDAY | DEC 29, 2014SAADDA HAQ

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Here are a few simple tipsthat can help you look yourbest during the upcoming

festive season.

Get rid of acne scars: Make a paste of sandalwood,

almonds, honey and curd andapply a layer of this paste everydayon your face and neck. Leave it on

for 10 minutes andthen wash off.

Shape up your brows:This is important step

towards a well-definedface. Get a professional

reshaping of your browsdone. It can really change

your entirelook. Thickeyebrows arein, and theygive ayounger andsofter look toyour face.(eg DeepikaP a d u k o n e ,Alia Bhat)

For brighterskin:

Apply curdand honeywith a dropof lemonjuice on yourface. Washoff after tenminutes. Uselight circularm o t i o n s

when you are cleaning your face.

Smoothen your facial skin: Coat your face with a paste of

almonds and mashed ripe papaya.

Lie down comfortably and relax.Let it stay on your face for around15-20 minutes. Gently scrub andwash off with tap water. Soften your lips:

Use a soft-bristled brush andapply fresh milk-cream on yourlips in a circular motion. Leave iton for a minute and then wash offwith rose water.

Minimise facial hair: Apply apaste of besan, a pinch of turmericand a little curd daily. Wash offusing circular motions after it driesup.

Minimise your pores: Use a mask of egg white, tomato

and ground almonds on your face.Leave it on for 8-10 minutes andthen wash off.

Blackheads on your nose: Soak red masur dal for an hour.

Now make a paste of this. Applythis pre-soaked masur dal paste onyour nose and leave it for 10 min-utes. Now, scrub for a minute andwash off.

Protect your hairline when youcolour:

Apply petroleum jelly on yourhairline before you apply haircolour. This will prevent telltalehair colour stains on your fore-head.

Quick home remedies for a perfect face

Bollywood actress PriyankaChopra is all set for hermaiden production venture

'Madamji', which is currently in pre-production stage.

The 32-year-old actress, who willbe shooting back-to-back for'Bajirao Mastani' and 'Dil DhadakneDo', says she is enjoying the processof taking decisions as a producer.

"'Madamji' is a fictional story. It's astory of an item girl, who is thrown inthe world of politics. 'Madamji' isabout woman empowerment. I amenjoying the fact that I am going tooffice and taking decisions as a producer,"Priyanka said in an interview.

"I meet so many assistant directors on mysets and they have some great scripts butdon't get the opportunity. I don't have thecapability of making a big budget filmbut I will make small films with somegreat talents. The name of my produc-tion house is Purple PebblePictures," she added.

The actress said she has some free time during the New Year that she will spend play-ing dress up for her brother's marriage.

"People are in a festival mood in the last few days before a New Year. My brother isgetting married. We are planning a lot for the sangeet and wedding. We are sending invi-tations and all the cousins are gathering. It is fun time."

Priyanka had a successful year with the release of 'MaryKom' and the actress wants tocontinue taking bold decisions when it comes to her career.

"In my career I have never opted for a safe path. Look at'Mary Kom', do I look likeher? During 'Barfi!', I was told that I will not be accepted as an autistic girl while peo-ple told me I should do something like 'Fashion' at the end of the career.

"Now, I am turning producer with 'Madamji' and people are saying women can't run aproduction house. But I want to take that chance," she said.

Priyanka has also signed a deal with America's ABC network to star in one of theirprojects.

"As an actress I feel flattered because you also come to know where you are placedinternationally. I am going to LA to discuss my projects with them and let's see what theywill offer me," she said.

I enjoy taking decisions asa producer:PriyankaChopra

Actor Arjun Kapoor, whois busy promoting hisforthcoming action

thriller "Tevar", says he has beenignorant about his health for along time and will take more care

in the New Year.The 29-year-old, who faced a

severe back injury while shootingfor "Tevar", took to the socialmedia Friday to share his concernabout his heath.

"(I've) been ignoring my healthfor way to long. Next year I thinkI shld really start by taking care ofmyself," Arjun posted on Twitter.

Arjun, who made his debut with"Ishaqzaade", will be seen next as

an action hero Pintoo, in "Tevar".Directed by Amit Ravindernath

Sharma, the film, which also starsSonakshi Sinha, Manoj Bajpayeeand Kader Khan in pivotal roles,will hit the theatres Jan 9, 2015.

In 2015, Arjun Kapoor to be more health conscious

Tusshar finds SunnyLeone 'Bollywood'sNo.1 actress'Actor Tusshar Kapoor has had a "lovely" expe-

rience working with Sunny Leone in"Mastizaade". In fact, he feels she's the top

actress in the Hindi film industry today."It was a lovely experience working with her

(Sunny). She is a wonderful actress and such a nicehuman being. She is the number one actress inBollywood, so I think it ('Mastizaade') should be ablockbuster film," Tusshar said.

In the film, directed by Milap Zaveri, Sunny willplay the role of Laila Lele. The film also features VirDas.

Meanwhile, Tusshar also seems to be extremelyexcited about the third instalment of "Kyaa Kool HaiHum", and says that though Riteish Deshmukh is notpart of this movie, he had a great time working withhim in previous films of the franchise.

People have not heard our typeof music: Madboy/Mink duo