J&K leaders placed under house arrest - SPLessons

monday, august 5, 2019 Delhi

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Heavy rain hits life

in Mumbai again;

800 evacuated

pages 9 & 12

Mehbooba gets notice

from anti-corruption

bureau in bank case

page 13

India’s aggressive

actions can spark a

regional crisis: Imran

page 13

Rohit in roaring form

as India clinches T20I

series against WI

page 18

EDUCATIONPLUS A 4 PAGES

An uneasy calm envelopedthe Kashmir Valley on Sunday as additional securityforces occupied civilian installations and police stations and were put in “standby mode.”

Late in the night, NationalConference vicepresidentOmar Abdullah and PeoplesDemocratic Party presidentMehbooba Mufti were placedunder house arrest. Congress leader Usman Majidand CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami also said they were being detained.

Section 144 Cr.PC was imposed in Srinagar districtfrom midnight and will remain in force till further orders. “There shall be nomovement of the public. Alleducational institutions shallremain closed. There will bea complete bar on any kindof public meetings or ralliesduring the period of operation of this order. Identitycards of essential services offi��cials will be treated asmovement passes whereverrequired,” read the order.

No curfew However, there is no curfewin place, it added. In Jammu,the authorities said allschools, colleges and academic institutions, both private and government, wereadvised to remain closed as ameasure of caution.

In a phased manner, mobile Internet services weresnapped in all districts of the

Kashmir Valley.Mr. Abdullah said he was

placed under house arrest inSrinagar. “The process hasalready started for othermainstream leaders. No wayof knowing if this is true butif it is then I'll see all of youon the other side of whateveris in store. Allah save us,” hetweeted.

Ms. Mufti said, “In suchdiffi��cult times, I’d like to assure our people that comewhat may, we are in this together and will fi��ght it out.Nothing should break our resolve to strive for what’srightfully ours.”

J&K leaders placed under house arrest Tension mounts as additional forces move in, occupy civilian installations and police stations

Peerzada Ashiq

Srinagar

Running on empty: People with gas cylinders waiting for refi��lls in front of an outlet inSrinagar on Sunday. * NISSAR AHMAD

Tourism took a major hit inKashmir on Sunday. Againstan average footfall of 3,000tourists a day the previousweek, just 350 arrived in theValley on Sunday, despitethe adverse advisory. Anoffi��cial said most hotels intourist hotspots wereemptied. “Around 700tourists are still in the Valleyafter helping 90% tourists toleave Kashmir in the pasttwo days. We expect 350more to leave by Monday.Thereafter 35 will be left. Allarrangements have beenmade for those who want toleave the Valley safely,”another offi��cial said. A page 13

Tourism takesa hit in Valley

The Army has askedPakistan to take back thebodies of its Border ActionTeam soldiers lying inIndian territory, Armysources said on Sunday. TheArmy said it had foiled aninfi��ltration attempt onSaturday and infl��icted heavycasualties on the team.Pakistan has denied any“crossLoC action” by itssoldiers and called thepossession of bodies byIndia “mere propaganda”.A PAGE 13

Take backbodies: India

Anwar Hussain was surprisedto receive a notice from theLocal Registrar of Citizen Registration (LRCR) of the Goroimari Revenue Block onSaturday.

The notice gave him lessthan 48 hours to appear, withall members of his family, forreverifi��cation of their citizenship documents at the Golaghat North DevelopmentBlock offi��ce in Golaghat district’s Dergaon, about 330 kmwest of his village Kanahara inKamrup district. They were

asked to report at 9 a.m.sharp on Monday.

“I somehow managed tohire a 22seater bus for my family and a few others. Thevehicle alone will cost me₹��18,000,” said the 33yearoldMr. Hussain, viceprincipal ofthe AlAmin Islamic ModelSchool, before leaving forDergaon in eastern Assamlate on Sunday.

He was not the only one inKanahara; 148 others had received a similar notice. By Saturday afternoon, about 50%of the people in most Muslimdominated villages, such as

Goroimari, Sontoli, Kalatoli,Topamari and Maligari, inKamrup district had receivedthe notice — almost simultaneously.

“All those who were askedto get their documents reverifi��ed are included in the draftNational Register of Citizens(NRC) published on July 30,2018. They are not among the40.07 lakh and 1.02 lakh puton the two lists of people excluded from the NRC,” Kanahara village leader Muksed AliChoudhury told The Hindu.

Assam minorities bombardedwith reverifi��cation noticesRAHUL KARMAKAR

GUWAHATI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12

Two separate mass shootings within 24 hours left 29people dead and severalothers injured in Texas andOhio, the latest in a stringof such incidents in theU.S. that have shocked thenation.

The fi��rst shooting tookplace in the southern border town of El Paso in Texas, where a 21yearoldgunman opened fi��re at acrowded Walmart store,killing 20 people andwounding 26 others on Saturday.

Hours later, a man killednine people before beingshot dead by the police inOregon district in Dayton,Ohio, early on Sunday, thepolice said.

30 die in U.S.in two massshootings

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

HOUSTON/Washington

‘DOMESTIC TERROR’ A PAGE 14

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shettyscripted a piece of historyon Sunday by breaching the‘Chinese Wall’ of reigningWorld champions Li Jun Huiand Liu Yu Chen, with a 2119, 1821, 2118 victory in themen’s doubles fi��nal of theThailand Open badmintonchampionship in Bangkok.

This is the fi��rstever Indian men’s combination towin a BWF Super 500 title.

It was a revenge win forthe Indians, who had lost tothe World champions at theAustralian Open early thisyear.

The Indian pair, rankedWorld No. 16, capped aweek of consistent performances that saw them beat

No. 7 Fajar Alfi��an and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, No.19 Ko Sung Hyun and ShinBaek Cheol and No. 27 ChoiSolgyu and Seo Seung Jae.

Satwik in the frontcourtand Chirag controlling thebackcourt turned out to bea deadly combination. Satwik’s brilliance included asplendid fl��ick which fetchedgamepoint in the fi��rstgame.

See-saw battle The second game saw a seesaw battle, but the Chinesewon a test of nerves afterthe scores were tied at 18.

The intensity of the contest in the decider was palpable and the Indian duokept their cool under pressure and raised their performance after trailing 14.

There was double delightfor the Indians as they arepoised to break into theWorld top 10. This is a shotin the arm as they eye a slotin next year’s TokyoOlympics.

‘We stuck to plan’“We were steady and didnot rush things. We stuck toour plan of keeping theshuttle low and not hurryingthrough the points. I thinkthat really worked,” Satwiksaid later.

Chirag’s father, Chandrashekhar Shetty, told PTIon the phone that his son’sfeat had opened the doorsfor aspiring shuttlers. “Whatcan I say! Spectacular win,”he added.

Satwik and Chirag breach the wall of China They won India’s fi��rstever men’s doubles fi��nal at the Thailand Open badminton championship

A day to remember: Chirag Shetty, left, and SatwiksairajRankireddy inked their names in bold in Indianbadminton history. * AFP

v.v. subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD

MAKES INDIA PROUD A PAGE 18

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of theUnion Cabinet on Mondaymorning, where an important announcement is expected. It was not knownwhether the decision was related to Jammu and Kashmir.

Amid the buildup of Central armed police forces inthe State, Home MinisterAmit Shah chaired a reviewmeeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Sunday.

The meeting, held at Mr.Shah’s offi��ce in Parliament,was also attended by UnionSecretary Rajiv Gauba, Intelligence Bureau chief ArvindKumar and Research andAnalysis Wing chief SamantGoel. Mr. Doval and other offi��cials refused to comment asthey left the meeting.

Mr. Shah also held discussions with Gyanesh Kumar,Additional Secretary, who isin charge of the Kashmirdesk.

PM Modi will chairCabinet meeting todaySpecial Correspondent

New Delhi


RAILWAYS TO GO EASY ON

TICKETLESS TRAVEL A PAGE 13


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CMYK

A ND-NDE

Sengar says he is beingframed in car crashLUCKNOW/NEW DELHI

Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep

Singh Sengar, jailed in a case

of rape of a minor girl,

claimed on Sunday that there

was a “political conspiracy” to

frame him and demanded a

thorough probe into the car

crash that left the rape

survivor injured and two

dead. “I would also pray to

God that both the advocate

and the pidhitaa (Unnao rape

survivor) recover fully,” Mr.

Sengar told reporters outside

Sitapur jail. ��

NEWS A PAGE 12DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

NEARBY

Once hailed as a"tremendous talent",former cricketerManinder Singh admitsto having made a fewmistakes in life. He nowstays connected withthe game throughcommentary andcoaching.

Now and then

The Congress Working Committee meeting will be heldon August 10 to do thegroundwork to elect a newpresident of the party. Themeeting comes more thantwo months after RahulGandhi quit the post.

“It has been decided tohold the next CongressWorking Committee meeting on Saturday, 10th of August, 11:00 am at AICC (AllIndia Congress Committee),” party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said in a tweet.According to sources, adraft resolution has beenprepared, thanking the outgoing president and formally accepting his resignation.This provides a fi��nality toMr. Gandhi’s exit and endsthe impasse over leadership.

The resolution also outlines the way forward forthe party.

A large section of the party has been demanding thatthe process of “electing” anew party president shouldnot be limited to the 53member working committee alone. Together with 24members, 19 permanent invitees and 10 special invitees, the CWC has 53 members.

Provisional presidentSenior Congress leaderShashi Tharoor said the

CWC should appoint an interim president immediatelyand then hold an election tothe party president’s post asa leader elected by workerswould be empowered andhave more credibility.

“When we spoke with Rahul Gandhi, he said, ‘I believe in a culture of accountability’. If Rahul Gandhi hasdone this, then it is relevantfor everyone. This principleis not just for one person,”he said at a press conferenceafter the national executiveState leaders’ meet of the AllIndia Professionals’ Congress (which he heads).

Mr. Tharoor had earlieropenly spoken out sayingthat a “selected” bodyshould not get to chose thenext president of the party.He has prescribed that theCWC be dissolved and theelections be open to over10,000 Pradesh CongressCommittee delegates.

Rahul’s resignation to be accepted

Sobhana K. Nair

New Delhi

Shashi Tharoor and J.Geetha Reddy at a pressmeet on Sunday. * SHIV KUMAR

PUSHPAKAR

CWC to set coursefor new leadership


MILIND DEORA BETS ON PILOT,

SCINDIA A PAGE 12

A PAGE 5

CMYK

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DELHI THE HINDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 20192EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CMYK

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THE HINDU DELHI

MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2019 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

Street vendors of the weeklybook market in Daryaganj onSunday took notebooks tofi��ght a recent High Court order to vacate the stretch atNetaji Subhash Marg.

They distributed diaries tovisitors to fi��ll out testimonialsurging authorities to reversethe action. Reams of pageswere fi��lled up by people fromall over Delhi, Aligarh, Lucknow, Faridabad and evenother countries.

For Rohan Srivastav, theSunday book market hasbeen a place where one canfi��nd cheap and often rarebooks. “As a student, it usedto be a goldmine for me. Itwill be sad if this place shutsdown,” he told The Hinduwhile heading towards one ofthe bookstores, which wasstill open. Several testimonials along the same lineswere recorded both in Hindiand English.

On July 3, the Delhi HighCourt had said, “No weeklybazaar shall be permitted onNetaji Subhash Marg forhawking/squatting”.

The North body had submitted a list of squatting andnonsquatting areas to thecourt. In the list, Netaji Subhash Marg was shown as anonsquatting area. The police also highlighted the congestion in the area and saidpermitting weekly bazaarwill hinder the smooth fl��owof traffi��c.

Oppose relocationAuthorities had proposedthat the vendors may shift toRamlila Maidan instead. However, the vendors had opposed the idea. “It is an unsafe area...people urinate onthe walls. There are all kinds

of rallies taking place there.It is a terrible place for a bookmarket,” said vicepresidentof the Ganj Patri SundayBook Bazar Welfare Association, Ashrafi�� Lal.

“Khushwant Singh oncecalled this market sone kichidiya [golden bird] for itsrare collection,” said Lal.“Sheila Dikshit, Sonia Gandhiand even the Municipal Commissioner of the area [who iscarrying out the action] saidthey come here to buybooks,” he said, adding thatall sorts of books from textbooks to encyclopaedias, secondhand and even rarebooks are sold here. “Eventhe World Book Fair can’tcompete with us,” he said.

This market is a “naturalbazaar” that developed inthe area over the years, saidSuresh Verma, who holds aPG diploma in bookpublishing.

“No one had set it up. Itbecame famous on its own.There is no other place likethis.” To move to a diff��erentarea would mean a majorloss of business, claimed ven

dors. “We used to sell bookson a oneandahalf kmstretch before this. It was curtailed to 500 metres but weadjusted. Now, our books arelaid out in such a way thatthere is enough space forpedestrians,” said Mr. Verma.

Mr. Verma said despite being identifi��ed as a nonsquatting zone, teh bazari licencesare regularly issued by theNorth body. “Isn’t this a contradiction? We have nowbeen told that once a townvending committee for theCity SP zone is formed, it willlook into the issue,” headded.

Kanupriya Dinghra, a doctoral candidate at SOAS University in London, who isstudying the market as partof her Ph.D thesis said she ishelping the vendors withtheir campaign. “In the past,whenever the market hasbeen shut down — like in 1995and 2015 — it was because ofpublic movements and efforts of the press, includingwritings of Khushwant Singhand Ramchandra Guha, thathelped this market survive.”

Visitors fi��ll pages to saveDaryaganj’s weekly bazaar The Sunday market has been under threat since HC order in July

Sidharth Ravi

New Delhi

Before and after: Daryaganj wears a deserted look on Sundayafter the High Court passed an order to ensure no weeklybazaars on the stretch; (inset) the Sunday market in May thisyear before the order. * V.V. KRISHNAN; REETI AGARWAL

The police said they havedeployed offi��cers for security in and around the TisHazari courts where rapeaccused BJP MLA KuldeepSengar will be produced onMonday afternoon.

The case pertains to therape of a minor allegedlyby Sengar in Unnao onJune 4, 2017.

Shashi Singh had allegedly lured the victim to goto Sengar’s residence.

On August 3, Tis Hazaricourt had issued production warrant against Sengar and Singh asking themto be present before it onAugust 5 at 12.30 p.m.

Tis Hazaricourts underheavy security

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court suspended the seven years’ sentence awarded to a man fordigitally raping a foreign national and granted him bail.

Following the court’s July5 order, the victim from theU.S. recently shot a videooutside the Indian Consulatein San Francisco allegingthat she was denied assistance there. “..You don’t givebail to convicted criminals

that are sentenced,” she remarked. In February, a fasttrack court here had held Rajiv Panwar guilty of digitallyraping his tenant six yearsago.

“It can be safely concluded that the accused had entered the room where theprosecutrix was sleepingwith her husband and digitally raped her...Accused Rajiv Panwar is held guilty ofoff��ence of rape/digital rapeunder Section 376 IPC,” the

fast track court had said.Panwar had challenged thetrial court’s verdict in theHigh Court. Justice ChanderShekhar said, “...the disposal of the appeal may takesome time, the substantivesentence of the appellant[Panwar] is suspended during the pendency of the appeal...”

Reacting to the order, thevictim, in the video, said shehad to fi��ght to secure conviction of Panwar. The woman

also said she was not allowedto get her form notarised sothat the court know who herattorney was and that shewas on board by the SanFrancisco consulate and being told to go to Sacramentoto get it done. She called forhelp from her friends in India in bringing the case tothe top court of India. “Youdo not let convicted criminals go when their victimwas brave enough to testify,”she added.

‘You don’t give bail to convicted criminals’U.S. woman says in a video after HC suspends 7-year jail term of man Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Delhi district courts areranked second only afterChandigarh in terms of security features in a nationwide survey of infrastructure by Vidhi Centre forLegal Policy.

Security is an essentialrequirement in court complexes, particularly to dealwith hartals or strikes, escaping prisoners, or witnesses being threatened.Providing for the safety andsecurity of judges, administrative staff��, lawyers, litigants, witnesses, prisonersand undertrials are a fundamental guiding factor whiledesigning court complexes.

The Vidhi survey foundthat only 11% of the courtcomplexes surveyed had aworking baggage scanningfacility, while 71% had fi��reextinguishers and 48% hademergency exit signs.

Top three StatesChandigarh, Delhi andMeghalaya were the topStates based on three aspects of security — baggagescanning facility, emergency exit signages, and fi��reextinguishers.

Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,Goa, Manipur, Mizoram,Orissa and Tripura did nothave a baggage scanning facility in any of the courtcomplexes, both at the

main entrance and insidethe court building, the report said.

States that did not havethe facility in most courtcomplexes were West Bengal (22 out of 23), Chhattisgarh (24 out of 25), Gujarat(32 out of 33), Jharkhand(23 out of 24), Madhya Pradesh (49 out of 50), Rajasthan (34 out of 35).

‘Poor performance’“The deployment of security personnel at the entrance could be a reason forthe poor performance ofmost States as far as availability of baggage scanning isconcerned,” the Vidhi report said.

“However, consideringthe large footfalls in courtcomplexes on a daily basis,it is not practical for security personnel to thoroughlycheck baggage in the samemanner that equipmentdoes,” it added.

Delhi district courts securesecond position in security

Chandigarh tops in the nationwide survey

Staff Reporter

New Delhi <> The deployment of

security personnel

at the entrance

could be a reason

for the poor

performance of

most states as far

as availability of

baggage scanning

is concerned

Report by Vidhi Centre for Legal

Policy

Resident doctors call off�� strike in the cityNEW DELHI

Resident doctors in Delhi

decided to call off the strike

on Sunday night. The

announcement came a few

hours after doctors of AIIMS

called off their protest earlier

in the day after Union Health

Minister Harsh Vardhan

assured them that their

concerns over the NMC Bill

would be addressed.

IN BRIEF

Assembly to go paperlessin three months: SpeakerNEW DELHI

In the next three months, the

Assembly will go paperless as

part of a project under which

every MLA will be given tabs

to keep abreast with House

proceedings, said Speaker

Ram Niwas Goel.

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DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

CITY

Talk: A discussion on “How do weRejuvenate Our Libraries?” by MridulaKoshy, Sanjoy K. Roy at IHC, 7 p.m.

Music: Guru Pranam SangeetSamaroh, a musical evening featuringRudra Veena, recital by Pt. Bishoke Sil;Tala Vadya Kachehari, a rhythmic percussion performance by KumbakonamN. Padmanaban & Group; followed bya Kathak solo recital by Dr. ChitraSharma; Odissi dance recital by KavitaDiwedi & Group at IHC, 7 p.m.

Exhibition: “An Archeology of A NewIdentity", a solo exhibition by SunilYadav at Shridharani Gallery, TriveniKala Sangam, 205, Tansen Marg, 11a.m. 8 p.m.

Exhibition: “Liminal spaces”, a soloart show by Kanwal Singh at IHC, 11a.m. 7 p.m.

Exhibition: A solo show of paintings,drawings and graphics by Suraj Ghai atAll India Fine Arts & Crafts Society, 1Rafi�� Marg, 11 a.m. 7 p.m.(Mail your listings for this columnat [email protected])

DELHI TODAY

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday inauguratedthe work of laying of waterpipelines in 13 unauthorisedcolonies in Deoli Assemblyconstituency.

On completion of thework, it will benefi��t two lakhresidents, the governmentsaid. The project, which willcost ₹��14.40 crore will becompleted in 12 months.

Reminding the people residing in unauthorised colonies in Deoli of a promise hehad made two months back,Mr. Kejriwal said that hekept his promise and water

from the Ganga would reachtheir homes soon and theywould be free of the “tankermafi��a”.

He said that the BJP andCongress governments hadruled Delhi for several yearsbut could not manage to do

what his government coulddo in four years.

“Other parties come making promises every year andfool the people of unauthorised colonies by makingfalse promises as they considered residents of unauthorised colonies as outsiders.Only AAP has managed tomake these colonies authorised within four years,” Mr.Kejriwal said. He also assured them that the registration would start soon.

The CM added that workof building streets, drains,sewers and bringing pipedwater had already started.

The Delhi government

said that once the project iscompleted, fi��ltered drinkingwater to these colonies willbe supplied through the 7.1MG UGR near ESI Hospital,Okhla Industrial AreaPhaseI.

To benefi��t 2 lakh people“Once completed, this internal water supply schemewill benefi��t two lakh peopleresiding in ABlock, BBlock,B1 Block, BBlock Yarea, ABlock, LBlock, L1:ABlock, C Block: PartI,L1st Block, CBlock, LBlock, F3 Block, CBlock:PartII of Sangam Vihar Colony,” the government said.

CM inaugurates work on laying ofwater lines in 13 illegal colonies Project costing ₹��14.40 crore will be completed in 12 months

Arvind Kejriwal

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that theBJP and Congress were notable to understand whetherto support it or to oppose hisgovernment’s new electricity subsidy.

“Some of them are callingit an election stunt. They arecontesting elections in Maharashtra and Haryana, Ichallenge them to do a similar ‘election stunt’. Whydon’t they take up suchstunts?” Mr. Kejriwal said.

Addressing supporters,Mr. Kejriwal said, “Usuallyafter fi��ve years of a government’s tenure, there is anantiincumbency against the

government. But for the fi��rsttime, people have trustedthis government and theirlove has only increased inthe last fi��ve years. We aretrying to live up to their expectations by working 24hours a day.”

‘Basic right’He said that his governmentbelieved that water and electricity are facilities withoutwhich no person can survive. “If someone does nothave money then will theynot use electricity? Everyone needs a bare minimum amount of electricityto use a fan, light, TV, fridge.This must be a basic right forall. Therefore 200 units have

been made free and up to400 units, there is morethan 50% discount on thebill,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the subsidywas possible as the government had been saving a lotof money due to its “integrity and honesty”. “Earlierthe other parties would lootthis money. We do not lootand do not even allow othersto indulge in corruption.With the money we are saving, we are investing inschools, hospitals, makingelectricity and water freeand making transport freefor women. These are thefi��ve things that must be freeto lead a dignifi��ed life,” Mr.Kejriwal said.

‘They are confused on whether to support or oppose govt.’Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

Kejriwal slams BJP, Cong. for callingelectricity subsidy an ‘election stunt’

The Indian Institute ofTechnology on Sundayshowcased projects by itsresearchers developed under the IMPacting Research, INnovation andTechnology (IMPRINT)and Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) schemes of theMinistry of Human Resource Development at anexhibition titled TechEx.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Minister for

Human Resource Development, Ramesh Pokhriyal.“Behind the developmentof developed countries,there is a special contribution of the research donein the universities there.Our educational institutions have to play a similarrole in building a new India,” he said.

Over 50 models/prototypes under IMPRINT and26 under UAY were showcased at the exhibition onvarious themes.

IITDelhi showcases itsresearch work at TechExStaff Reporter

NEW DELHI

AAP MLA Alka Lamba, whohas been at odds with herparty, on Sunday said thatshe has decided to resignfrom the primary membership of the party.

She said that she wouldnot be joining any other party, but would contest theupcoming Delhi Assemblyelection as an independentcandidate. She however, didnot give a date as to whenshe would resign.

AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj, reacting toher announcement in atweet, said: “She has announced this a dozen oftimes in the past. It takes 1min to send a written resignation letter to party leadership. We will accept it onTwitter too.”

“Alka Lamba has notworked in her constituency.She has been busy with foriegn tours and vacations.Chandni Chowk will neverforgive her, he said.

Alka to quit AAP, contestpoll independentlyStaff Reporter

NEW DELHI

A sharpshooter of the AbdulNaseer gang, who was involved in four murder cases,has been arrested, the police said on Sunday.

Kumar Gyanesh, Additional DCP (SouthEast) saidthat the accused Ible Hassanalias Dilshad was an activemember of the gang. “Ateam from Shaheen Baghpolice station was keepingan eye on the movements ofcriminals released on bail

recently. We got an information about Ible and a trapwas laid at Abul Fazal Enclave where he was spotted,” he said.

A countrymade pistoland a live cartridge were recovered from his possession, Mr. Gyanesh said.

During interrogation, Ibletold the police that he was avegetable seller before hestarted keeping bad company. He said he started committing crimes from 1999 toearn quick money.

Man involved in fourmurders arrestedSTAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

Spinners mature late but Maninder Singh quit competitive cricket at 30, less than a

year after claiming seven wicketsin a Test against Zimbabwe at Ferozeshah Kotla, his home ground.“I had no motivation left,” saysManinder. Experts did notice achange in his bowling action, butthat seemed no reason for thisgifted bowler to walk away fromthe game he fell in love with as ateenager, they believed. Manyasked him to reconsider, but hestuck to his guns.

Off�� fi��eld, on the gameIt wasn’t the end of his love forthe game though. One of cricket’sbiggest underachievers, as oftenreiterated by Kapil Dev, Manindercontinues to earn a part of his livelihood from it. “I have beenwith News Nation for fi��ve yearsnow and the channel has beenkind to me. I enjoy the livelyworking atmosphere, and our discussions on the game are serious,” says the expertcommentator.

In his straighttalking way hesays, “It can be boring sometimesto watch cricket, but if I have togive my opinion, then I mustwatch the matches. You can't bedishonest towards your viewersand fans. I do extensive homework for my cricket shows anddon’t hesitate to take a stand.”

As a player, Maninder commanded the respect of the best ofbatsmen. “His talent was awesome and he would deceive youin the air. It was tough to read hisspin because he had a lethal armer,” was how Test batsman N.S.Sidhu, a fi��ne player of spin, described him once. Then he servedthe game as an umpire, excellingon the fi��rstclass circuit.

He was simultaneously commentating on cricket when hewas told to pick one of the twoaround 200102. “I chose to be acommentator [on Star Sports] because it was a nice way to stay intouch with the game. It gave me achance to get into the ring andgive my views. I learnt from [Ian]Chappell and [Tony] Greig tomake the game interesting for theviewer by adding colour to thepicture. Sushil Doshi [Hindi commentator] taught me the importance of voice modulation.”

Back in the dayA debut at 17 in Pakistan heraldedManinder’s entry to internationalcricket in 1982. He was welcomedas a “tremendous talent” by stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar and G.R.Viswanath. His best (seven for 27)came against Pakistan at Bengaluru in 1987; unfortunately Indialost the match.

When he ‘retired’, it was because he wasn’t happy with theway he’d lived life. “I took to meditation. I was initiated into it bymy homoeopath, Amrita Wadh

wa and guided by a friend, Chander Mohan.”

Today, he says he is at peacewith himself. His daily routine includes spending time with his 87yearold mother, yoga, meditation and performing paath.

“I made a few mistakes; I suffered because of them, and wasted my talent,” says the muchmellowed man now. “I fought alcoholand temperament issues, and Iwas falsely accused of being adrug addict, of attempting to endmy life. I don’t want youngsters to

make the mistakes I made. Theymust learn to handle success, behumble and respectful.”

Now, he looks at life with afresh perspective. “I have gonethrough very diffi��cult times, butlife is good now. I begin and endmy day with prayers and do mywork honestly. I tell youngstersnot to be like me.”

Strangely, Maninder, despiteplaying in front of packed stadiums, has had a phobia of crowds.“That is the reason I never wentto watch the Republic Day parade

[in the Capital] which I followedwith passion on TV. I don’t visitgurdwaras for this reason, because I once got lost as a child [ina huge gurdwara congregation]. Ilove quiet places.”

Capital cityFor Maninder, the Capital is a“great city with a lively culture”. His life revolved around

Lutyens’ Delhi. “My school [AirForce Bal Bharti] was close to Lodi Garden, and coaching [at National Stadium] was a nice walkfrom home [Lodhi Colony]. My favourite restaurant [Pindi] was onPandara Road.”

He says he was fortunate to havea caring principal (H. Baxi) and administrator (V.K. Duggal). “At Khalsa College, my principal G.S. Randhawa, political science teacher[D.S. Claire], English teacher[Lakhmir Singh] and sports incharge [Pargat Singh] were a bighelp in guiding me in their respective fi��elds,” he says.

In his 54 years he has seen thecity grow, though he feels security has deteriorated. “But it is a delight to drive on Delhi roads.”

As Maninder refl��ects on his career, he gives all credit to cricketcoach Gurcharan Singh. “I oweeverything to him. He taught mecricket and shaped my life. Gurcharan Sir was the one who con

vinced my parents to allow me toplay cricket.” In fact, it was hewho helped him get admission inschool. “He treated me like hisson. You don’t get gurus like Gurcharan Sir any more. [Bishan] Bedi’s guidance, and support fromMohinder Amarnath were priceless too,” he says, expressing gratitude for all the people whoshaped his life.

He now devotes time to guidingyoung talent, often coaching forfree. He picks off��spinner HrithikShokeen, who made his India under19 debut in February thisyear, as a promising player.

Maninder is a proud father:“My daughter [Rui Pavani] is happily married and my son [Arjun]is studying to be an interior designer. God is looking after meand my family. My philosophy issimple: I live for the day and don’tlook too far ahead.”

‘I live for the dayand don’t look too far ahead’

(From left to right) Maninder Singh at the TV studio; inaction at the nets during his playing days; with son anddaughter. * R.V. MOORTHY; SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT; THE HINDU ARCHIVES

Vijay Lokapally

NOW AND THEN

Cricketer Maninder Singh on following the path of spirituality, andstaying connected with the game through commentary and coaching

CMYK

A ND-NDE

CITYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisement before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisementor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Dir-ector/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisements inthis newspaper.

DELHI Timings

Monday, Aug. 05

RISE 05:45 SET 19:10

RISE 10:07 SET 22:30

Tuesday, Aug. 06

RISE 05:45 SET 19:09

RISE 11:11 SET 23:09

Wednesday, Aug. 07

RISE 05:46 SET 19:08

RISE 12:13 SET 23:47Less than a year after PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inaugurated the KundliManesar section of the 135kmlong KundliManesarPalwal(KMP) Expressway in November last year making itfully operational, several instances of cavein have beenreported on the stretch overthe past few weeks raisingdoubts about the construction quality.

The road, with an averagetraffi��c of around 35,000 vehicles per day, still lacks basicamenities such as streetlight, fuel stations, restrooms, food joints and FASTag facility.

Nehru Singh, toll managerof Prakash Asphaltings & TollHighways (India) Limited —the company that collectstoll on the expressway — saidhe received around 1520complaints of caveins, mostly on the new KundliManesar section, over the last fortnight. Mr. Singh said thetraffi��c had remained disrupted near Panchgaon for morethan two hours this pastmonth after a cavein. “Thesand along the expresswaywas washed away at severalpoints on the new sectioncausing damage to the railings and the road,” said Mr.Singh.

Soil compactionPradeep Goyal, chief operating offi��cer of Essel Infraprojects Limited — the construction company — said unlikeother highways, the KMPwas at a height of 45 feetabove the ground and the

soil in the area was sandyleading to the caveins. Hesaid the process of compaction of the soil was expectedto be complete by next monsoon and hoped that therewould be no such instancesnext year.

Arshad, a truck driver,who usually takes the expressway on his way toChennai from Sonipat, saidthere were no fuel stationsand puncture shops on theroad. He said it was dangerous to travel on the road atnight since there were nolights and it had cavedin atseveral points.

‘Way Side Amenities’Though four sites have beenearmarked on the expressway for “Way Side Amenities” — fuel stations, restrooms and food joints — andsix acre land is acquired foreach, tender has been givenonly for one. “The tenderwas awarded to IOCL for afuel station near Jhajjar (KM

47) a month ago for one ofthe sites and the construction has begun. We are in theprocess of allocating the remaining three sites as well.However, no decision hasbeen taken on the bids forthe food joints. The proposalis under consideration of ourcommercial and housingwing,” said a senior HaryanaState Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) offi��cial,not willing to be named.

Of the total vehicles usingthe road daily, around13,500 are cars and 6,700light commercial vehicles.

The rest of the traffi��c comprises trucks and multipleaxle vehicles. Indicating asurge in the traffi��c on thehighway, the HSIIDC has given a fresh tender to R.K.Jain Infra Projects Private Limited for ₹��56.65 lakh per dayfor toll collection a week agofor the next four months,which is almost double compared to ₹��35 lakh tender in

December last.Besides, an electronic toll

collection system —FASTagfacility — is also not availableto the commuters, leading todiversion of a large chunk oftraffi��c to Eastern PeripheralExpressway.

The HSIIDC offi��cial saidthe FASTag system would beinstalled after the tender fortolling is granted for a longerperiod. “Installing a FASTagfacility is the responsibilityof the toll collection agency.Since the tenders are now given only for a few months, itis not fi��nancially viable forthe agency to install the system,” said the offi��cial.

Traffi��c to increaseThe tenders are now givenfor a short period, rangingfrom 34 months, in view ofthe gradual increase in traffi��c. The traffi��c is expected toincrease steeply for the nextsix months before thegrowth settles down.

Mr. Goyal said lamppostswere erected on the KundliManesar section and electricity connection was awaited. He hoped that electricitywould be available by nextfortnight. Mr. Goyal said thatelectricity was already provided on the loops with thehelp of generator sets.

Facility still lacks amenities like street lights, fuel stations, restrooms among others

Ashok Kumar

GURUGRAM

Around 15-20 complaints of cave-ins, mostly on the newKundli-Manesar section was received over the lastfortnight. * MANOJ KUMAR

Cave-ins on KMP e-way raise quality concerns

<> The sand along the

expressway was

washed away at

several points on the

new section causing

damage to the

railings and the road

Nehru Singh

Ttoll manager of Prakash Asphaltings &Toll Highways (India) Limited

In a suspected case of accidental fi��ring, a 21yearoldman was shot at allegedly byone of his friends in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri,the police said on Sunday.

The incident took placeon Saturday evening, theysaid. According to the police, the victim, Vinay washaving drinks with hisfriends, when one of themfi��red at him causing a gunshot injury on his left shoulder. The victim was rushedto Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital where hewas given fi��rstaid and referred to Lok Nayak Hospital

for further treatment, Deputy Commissioner of Police(NorthWest) Vijayanta Aryasaid. The victim’s conditionis stated to be stable, the offi��cer said.

Sumit, victim’s friend,told the police that he alongwith Vinay and two morefriends were having drinksin one of their shantieswhen one of them suddenlyfi��red at Vinay, the offi��cer added.

A case has been registered and the accused hasbeen identifi��ed. Investigation revealed that it was acase of accidental fi��ring.The accused is absconding,the police added.

Man ‘accidentally’shoots at friendSTAFF REPORTER

New Delhi

A 58yearold man allegedlystabbed his wife in southDelhi’s Sangam Vihar following a fi��ght over suspicionthat she was in a relationship with a younger man,the police said on Sunday.

The incident happenedon Saturday morning. Thecouple has three sons whowere at home at the time ofthe incident. They managedto lock their father in a roomand rushed the woman to anearby hospital, a seniorpolice offi��cer said.

They informed the policeabout the incident, the offi��c

er said. A case of attempt tomurder was registered andthe accused was arrested,the offi��cer added.

During interrogation, theaccused told the police thathe suspected his wife of having an illicit relationshipwith a 23yearold man whoalso lives in the same locality.

However, investigationrevealed that the accused isjobless and an alcoholic. Heoften picked up fi��ghts withhis wife and children overpetty issues, the offi��cer said.

The weapon of off��encehas also been recovered, thepolice said.

Husband stabs woman oversuspicion of illicit aff��airAccused, an alcoholic, arrested

STAFF REPORTER

New Delhi

The National HighwaysAuthority of India on Sunday carried out repair workon the newly constructedrightturn underpass onMehrauliGurugram Roadhere, two days after heavyrain damaged thestructure.

The stormwater drain onboth sides of the underpassat the exit was dug up for alength of around 100 metreto be relaid to prevent recurrence of the situation.Also iron sheets were tightened with nuts and bolts tohold together the extensionjoints of the concrete wallthat had widened due tothe cavein of the road.

It had led to spillage ofrainwater inside the structure causing it to fl��ood. Thecanopy of the structure,which had got disjointed atmultiple points, was alsorepaired and welded. Thecracks appearing on theconcrete wall were alsofi��lled and painted.

The underpass hadfl��ooded on August 2 after asudden rush of water fromGhata hit the structure following heavy rainfall. Thetraffi��c through the underpass was restored on Saturday after the water waspumped out.

“In the case of Gurugram’s underpass cavein, itseems the strengthening ofthe retaining walls and desilting of drains has notbeen addressed on time,”said Dikshu C. Kukreja, asocioenvironmentalistplanner.

NHAI repairsMG Roadunderpass Special Correspondent

GURUGRAM

Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/2012/49940 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 9 ● No. 185

Ramjas College holdsblood donation campNEW DELHI

Medical teams from the Army

collected over 300 units of

blood during a blood

donation camp held at Ramjas

College on Sunday, an NGO “I

am still Human” which

organised the camp said. The

camp saw the participation of

students, faculty as well as

Army veterans. The event was

flagged off with a bike rally

comprising 470 bikers from

India Gate to Ramjas College.

IN BRIEF

I, THE undersigned have lost mygift deed made on 11th March 2015Regd. No. 1045 registered underSub Registrar H/Q Imphal given byMrs Nengneihoi Haokip in respectof homestead land measuring anarea of 0.0293 hectare covered byCS Dag No. 110/786 under patta no.198 angs (old) corresponding toNew patta no. 467/3073 situated atRevenue village no. 91−Meitei Lan-gol, Imphal West on 2nd Feb. 2019on my way from NGV to Bazar. Fur-ther I wish to create mortgage onthe said property from State Bankof India. Finders may kindly re-turn to the undersinged. Sd/−Jangkhohao Haokip S/o Nehpu Haokipof NGV

EDUCATIONAL

EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL

PUBLIC NOTICEPUBLIC NOTICE

TENDERSTENDERS

PUBLIC NOTICE

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NORTH & EAST

One person was killed and 15sustained injuries when inhabitants of two villagesfought a pitched battle oversharing of water for theircrop in Odisha’s Cuttack district on Sunday.

The incident took place at

Sagar and Panchagochhia village under the Narasinghpurblock of the district.

Mediation by tehsildarOn July 23, the local tehsildarhad mediated between thetwo villages and directed uninterrupted water fl��ow forPanchagochhia village.

It had not gone down wellwith Sagar villagers and theyhad staged a dharna outsidehis offi��ce the same day.

Subsequently, the waterdispute was resolved in thepresence of inhabitants oftwo villages on July 25.

“The long standing dispute erupted again on Sun

day when villagers of Sagarwhich is situated at a higherelevation stopped water toPanchagochhia. Enraged over violation of truce, Panchagochhia villagers shot arrowat Sagar villagers. It hit oneSridhar Samal, who died,”said R.B. Panigrahi, CuttackSuperintendent of Police.

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR

One killed, 15 injured over sharing of water in Odisha

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday shunted outthe District Magistrate andthe Superintendent of Policeof Sonbhadra, besides ordering action against 13 other offi��cials after they were indicted in an inquiry into thekilling of 10 Gond tribals lastmonth over a land dispute.

‘FIRs against guilty’Addressing a press conference at his residence, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanathsaid FIRs will be registeredagainst several police andadministration offi��cials foralleged irregularities andmembers of the AdarshKrishi Sahkari Samiti, Umbha, on charges of landgrabbing.

The disputed land inUmbha and Saphi villageswill also be transferred backand registered in the nameof the gram sabha, he said,while announcing that a Spe

cial Investigation Team willlook into the matter.

Mr. Adityanath said departmental proceedingshave been initiated againstSonbhadra District Magistrate Ankit Kumar Agrawaland Superintendent of Police Salman Taj Patil for taking “onesided decision”against the villagers.

Directives have been issued to attach Mr. Agrawaland Mr. Patil to the Personnel Department and the DGP

Headquarters, respectively,he said.

S. Ramalingam has beenmade the new District Magistrate of Sonbhadra, whilePrabhakar Chaudhary is thenew Superintendent of Police, offi��cials said.

“The entire matter will beprobed by an SIT. The SITwill be headed by DIG SIT J.Ravindra Gaud and will haveAdditional SP Amrita Mishraalong with three inspectors.DG SIT R.P. Singh will bemonitoring the work of theSIT,” the Chief Minister said.

He said another team willbe set up under AdditionalChief Secretary (Revenue)Renuka Kumar to look intothe issue of land grabbing by“fake” societies in the last6070 years in Mirzapur andSonbhadra.

‘No action on report’“Fake societies in Sonbhadraand Mirzapur have grabbedmore than one lakh acre ofland. In 1972, the then Chief

Minister Hemwati NandanBahuguna had constituted aprobe committee underMangaldev Visharad. However, no action was taken as anumber of Congress leaderswere involved,” Mr. Adityanath said.

“The government hasformed a sixmember teamthat will probe into the landgrabbed by fake societies inMirzapur and Sonbhadraand then using it for theirpersonal use. The probe report will be submitted inthree months’ time,” headded.

In July, 10 people werekilled and 28 injured in theclash after a village headmanand his supporters openedfi��re on a group of tribals overa land dispute.

The Personnel Department has initiated actionagainst Ghorawal SDM VijayPrakash Tiwari, and an FIRwill be registered againsthim, according to an offi��cialstatement.

Sonbhadra DM and SP shunted outU.P. CM cracks down on errant offi��cials after inquiry report into killing of tribals

Press trust of India

Lucknow

CM Yogi Adityanath

A woman and her daughterwere crushed to death by anoncoming train near Mathura in the early hours of Saturday after they fell fromthe Trivandrum Expresswhile chasing a thief whostole one of their bags, thepolice said.

Jogender Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Railways, Agra region, said thatMeena Devi, 45, and Manisha,21, who hail from Durgapur in West Bengal,jumped out of the movingtrain when they discoveredthat a thief had stolen theirbag which had cash andidentity cards. While thethief escaped, the motherand daughter were crushedby the Sampark Kranti Express that passed on the adjacent track.

“The incident happenedin S2 coach near the Vrinda

van city station and it seemsthe thief pulled the chainbefore jumping off�� the train.Meena was found dead onthe spot while Manisha diedduring treatment.”

Meena’s son Akash, 23,slept through the whole incident and was woken up byfellow passengers. “Akashtold us that the family hadboarded the train at HazratNizamuddin. They were going to Kota to get Manishaadmitted for medical coaching. He also told us that thebag that has been stolen hadaround ₹��4000, two mobilephones, and some crucialdocuments,” said Mr Kumar.

Inspector transferredThe SP has transferred inspector Rajesh Dubey, theGRP incharge of the Mathura station, to the PoliceLines and a departmentalinquiry has been orderedfor dereliction of duty.

Mother, daughtercrushed to death Came under train while chasing a thief Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad

Reacting to orders from theChief Minister’s offi��ce, theDistrict Magistrate of Saharanpur inspected the underconstruction library in thesprawling Darul Uloom campus in Deoband on Saturday.

Vikas Tyagi, zonal coordinator of the Bajrang Dal, hadmade a complaint to theCM’s offi��ce that a helipadwas being built on top of thehuge structure.

District Magistrate AlokKumar had asked the administration to submit a report.Unsatisfi��ed, he made a detailed inspection of the sitewith Senior Superintendentof Police Dinesh Kumar andPWD engineers.

After the inspection, MrKumar told the media thatthere was no trace of a helipad on the rooftop but theuniversity administrationdid not ask for permission

for making addition to theexisting structures andbuilding of new structuresfrom the authorities concerned. “Action will be takenin this regard as per law,” hesaid.

Responding to the action,Maulana Arshad Madani, national president of the JamiatUlemaeHind, said: “This isfor the fi��rst time that the local administration has undertaken an inspection aftera complaint, which seemedto be motivated, was lodged.We will abide by the rulesand take necessary permissions in future.”

‘Not part of plan’On the helipad issue, Mr. Madani said it was never part ofthe plan. “Many foreign dignitaries visit the seminaryand every time it is the localadministration that makesarrangements for their traveland landing of aircraft.”

DM inspects library atDarul Uloom campusAllegation of helipad being built there

Special Correspondent

Ghaziabad

Floods in Assam claimedone more life on Sunday,pushing the toll to 90, evenas the overall situation improved considerably. Nearly 88,000 people remainaff��ected by the deluge.

Assam fl��oodtoll reaches 90 Press trust of india

Guwahati


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

WEST

Relentless showers continued to pound Pune, Sataraand Sangli districts in western Maharashtra, and Nashikin north Maharashtrathroughout Sunday. Districtauthorities evacuated morethan 2,000 persons from inundated areas.

Tenyearold Kunal AjayDodke was killed and hisyounger sister injured after awall of their house caved inon Sunday morning in Lonavala, around 70 km fromPune. The police said heavyrain might have triggered thewall collapse.

In what is thought to beanother rainrelated accident, one person drownedwhile another was feareddead in Satara after their carplunged into a waterfall nearKoyna dam late on Saturday.According to the Satara police, the two people were travelling to Kamargaon whenthe driver lost control of thecar. The driver has beenidentifi��ed as Satara residentNitin Shelar, while rescueteams are searching for theother occupant of the car.

Schools closed todayPune city and district werebattered by nearcontinuousrain since Saturday eveningthrough the better part ofSunday.

Pune Collector NawalKishore Ram declared a holiday for all schools in the district on Monday, taking intoaccount the grim forecast forthe next 48 hours, makinguse of powers recently bestowed by the State EducationDepartment on district collectors to declare school holidays in case of a disaster oremergency.

“Going by the India Meteorological Department’s(IMD) forecast of heavy rainin the forthcoming days andin wake of the continuousrainfall that commenced

since Saturday in the Maval,Mulshi, Bhor, Velha and Junnar talukas of Pune amongother areas, we have decidedto declare a holiday forschoolgoing students to preclude any untoward incident,” Mr. Ram said.

In Pune city, with over41,000 cusecs (cubic foot persecond) of water releasedfrom the Khadakwasla intoMutha river, the Bhidebridge was submerged andthere were traffi��c snarls atseveral points in the city.

The relentless downpourespecially threw the commute awry in PimpriChinchwad and Wakad areas, afterover 35,000 cusecs discharged from Mulshi damfl��ooded Sanghvi and Wakad.

Discharge from the Khadakwasla dam inundatedlowlying areas in Balewadi,Baner, Aundh, Yerwada,Sinhgad Road and Bopodi.

Rescue teams movedmore than 300 familiesdwelling in lowlying of thecity to safer zones owing tothe discharge of massivequantities of water from the

Khadakwasla, Pavana, Mulshi and other dams.

Several people weretrapped in residential areasin Pimpri and Sanghvi aftertheir homes were fl��ooded.More than 50 residents ofold Sanghvi were successfully rescued by the fi��re department and local police in themorning.

Following the discharge ofwater from Mulshi dam, thedistrict administration issued stern warnings to determonsoon picnickers. Sevenmembers of a family stranded at a house in the waterlogged Kamshet area were al

so rescued by a team of theNDRF, said authorities.

Karad, Sangli on alertThe rain has led to the fourmajor dams in Pune district— Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar — to fi��llup to more than 90% of theircumulative storage capacityof 29.15 TMC.

With the Pavana damswelling to capacity owing tocontinuous rain in the pastweek, the PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporationscrapped the water rationingit had enforced throughoutthe summer.

Pune and Satara are expected to receive heavyshowers for the next 48hours, IMD offi��cials said.With the steep increase inthe discharge of water (morethan 50,000 cusecs) fromthe Koyna dam, a high alerthas been sounded for Karad(in Satara) and Sangli cities.

Discharge of 20,000 cusecs from the Chandoli damin Sangli led to fl��ooding innearby villages, while in adjacent Kolhapur district, heavy rains disrupted communications between severalvillages in the district.

Nashik inundated The Nashik District Collector, too, has declared a holiday for schools and collegeson Monday.

With the Godavari river inspate and the continuing release of water from the Gangapur dam, parts of the district, including the holyspots of Trimbakeshwar andPanchavati, were completelydeluged, making them out ofbounds for tourists.

River waters reached upto the neck of the DutondyaMaruti, a statue of Hanuman,in Panchavati, and even entered the Trimbakeshwartemple as showers continuedto lash Nashik city and the talukas of Igatpuri, Trimbakeshwar, Peint, Surgana andDindori.

According to authorities,the Trimbakeshwar tehsilhad received more than 300mm rain till Sunday morningwhile Nashik city received 84mm rain.

Rains continue, fl��ood alert in many areasTwo, including a 10-year-old, die in separate incidents; 2,000 people rescued; Godavari in spate

Shoumojit Banerjee

Pune

Down under: Omkareshwar temple in Pune is fl��ooded due to heavy rain on Sunday; (below)various parts of Nashik are submerged after water was released from Gangapur dam.

* MANDAR TANNU * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

<> Going by the IMD’s

forecast of heavy

rain in the

forthcoming days,

we have decided to

declare a holiday

for school-going

students

Nawal Kishore Ram

Pune collector

The Opposition on Sundaycriticised Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for continuing with his political campaign despite many parts ofthe State being fl��ooded dueto incessant rains.

State Congress campaigncommittee chief and formerMP Nana Patole asked Mr.Fadnavis to return to Mumbai and control the situation, warning that if he failsto do so, the Congress partywill storm into Mantralayaand take control of the disaster control room.

“At a time when manyparts of Maharashtra are facing risk from fl��oods, Mr. Fadnavis is busy in his fi��vestarpolitical campaign using public money. The State machinery is busy hosting the

CM at various places, and asa result, citizens are living inconstant fear of losing everything to the fl��oods. TheChief Minister should havehandled the fl��ood situationinstead of going on a political campaign,” he said.

Mr. Patole said Mumbai,Thane, Palghar, Nashik, NaviMumbai, Raigad, Sangli, Kolhapur and Pune are in gravedanger owing to rising riverwater levels. “The State government should immediately call it a natural calamity and suff��erers shouldbe distributed relief moneythrough State Disaster ReliefFund,” he said, adding that aCongress delegation will bevisiting the Chief Secretaryon Monday.

Leader of Opposition inthe Council and NationalistCongress Party leader Dha

nanjay Munde, too, censured Mr. Fadnavis, callinghis political campaign insensitive. “Who will save the people of Maharashtra? Theruling party is busy organising tours and campaignswith an eye on election. Theadministration is being runthrough tours,” he said.

The government, however, said the CM and Chief Secretary are monitoring thesituation and relief operations. “Directions have beenissued to district collectoroffi��ces to ensure relief operations are conducted wherever needed. The district administration has been giventhe powers to take decisions. We are monitoringeverything and the CM is being informed of every action,” said an offi��cial fromthe Chief Minister’s Offi��ce.

‘Govt. should announce natural calamity, distribute relief fund’

Alok Deshpande

Mumbai

Oppn. raps CM for holdingrallies in time of distress

The Statue of Unity, a memorialto Sardar Patel, in Gujarat’s Kevadia town has been shortlisted for‘The Structural Awards 2019’ ofthe UKbased Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE).

The 182mtall statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 last year.

It is among the 49 structuresthat will vie for the prestigiousaward, according to the institution’s website. The awards will beannounced at a function in London on November 15.

Other structures shortlistedfor the award include a sportsstadium with a roof made of rotating petals at Hangzhou in China, a 22mdeep basement beneath a fi��vestar hotel in Londonand buildings showcasing theworld’s best seismic performance in San Francisco, according to the website.

‘Extraordinary innovation’“Our profession has once againdemonstrated extraordinary innovation over the past year. The2019 shortlist off��ers many greatexamples of the ingenuity, creativity and skill of structural engineers worldwide,” professor TimIbell, head of the judging panel,said.

“One of the aims of this awardsprogramme is to increase awareness of the important work thatstructural engineers do,” MartinPowell, chief executive of the institution, said.

Commenting on the Statue ofUnity, the judging panel said,

“This is an impressive sculptureby virtue of its scale and location.It put great demands on the engineers to conquer the challenges— defi��ning the design loads, selecting the right materials for theright purposes, and handling theuncertainties of geology. ”

The statue, designed by architect Ram Suthar and built by Larsen and Toubro, has a viewinggallery at a height of 150 m whichprovides visitors a spectacularview of the Sardar Sarovar damand its vicinity.

Past winners of this award include iconic structures such asSydney Opera House in Australia,the Pompidou Centre in Parisand Severn Bridge in England.

The institute has been bestowing this award for best structuraldesigns for the last 52 years.

Statue of Unity shortlisted forUK-based structural award Winner to be announced on November 15

Press Trust of India

Ahmedabad

Moment of pride: The Statue ofUnity will join the likes of SydneyOpera House, Severn Bridge if itwins the awards. * FILE PHOTO

The Congress has objected tothe Maharashtra government’sorder asking junior collegesacross the State to hold ‘YuvaSansad’ elocution competitions, accusing it of attemptingto infl��uence young minds.

The government on July 24asked 9,700 junior colleges toconduct elocution competi

tions where students will speakon the Central government’s various welfare schemes — likethe Jan Dhan Yojana, SwachhBharat Abhiyan, UjjwalaScheme, and Ayushman BharatScheme — and authorised thedistrict education offi��cer to supervise such events.

According to the resolution,the competition is an attemptto empower the youth. It aims

to create awareness among students in the age group of 15 to19 years about generating newideas, seeking suggestions onthe implementation of government schemes and getting toknow their expectations.

However, the State Congress’s campaign committeechief Nana Patole said the topics for debate have nothing todo with the educational curri

culum of students. “Thescheme has been conceptualised to infl��uence the youngminds with the Bharatiya JanataParty’s agenda. The studentsare being roped in for its pollcampaign,” he alleged.

The Opposition will protestagainst “politicisation of education” if the decision to conductthe Yuva Sansad events is notrevoked, he said.

Cong. objects to Yuva Sansad events in junior colleges Press Trust of India

Mumbai

Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis, while addressing apress cponference in Gondiaon Sunday, said the Opposition was heading for a “historic defeat” in the forthcoming Assembly polls.

Criticising the oppositionparties, he said they havejoined hands against the useof electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections tomake an excuse for theirown losses.

Raising alarm over EVMs,key opposition parties — including the Congress, NCPand MNS — on Fridaypitched for reverting to theuse of ballot papers and announced a protest march on

August 21 over the issue.Reacting to this, Mr. Fad

navis said those opposingthe EVMs have realised theycannot win. “They have accepted their defeat and

hence, are using this as a covering fi��re. The maha mor-

cha (long march) againstEVMs later this month willresult in maha defeat of theOpposition,” he said.

Opposition heading for historicdefeat in polls, says Fadnavis Press Trust of India

Gondia

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a Mahajanadesh Yatrarally in Gondia on Sunday. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

OBITUARY & REMEMBRANCEOBITUARY & REMEMBRANCEOBITUARY & REMEMBRANCE

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

DEATH ANNIVERSARIES

DEATH

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SOUTH

Jagan visits desalinationfacility in IsraelVIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh Chief

Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan

Reddy visited the H2ID

desalination facility at Hadera

in Israel on Sunday. He was

accompanied by Deputy Chief

of Indian Mission in Tel Aviv,

Tshering W. Sherpa. The visit

was organised by the Israeli

company’s senior executive

Rafi Shamir. Plant engineers

gave a presentation on the

desalination mechanism.

Mr. Reddy enquired about the

processes, and its capital and

operational costs.

IN BRIEF

Panic in A.P. villageafter leopard attackCHITTOOR

The killing of a bull

reportedly by a leopard in a

forest fringe village in

Chowdepalle mandal here in

Andhra Pradesh on Saturday

has created panic among the

villagers. The leopard also

attacked a couple of cattle,

according to a villager.

Forest field staff said

that in spite of repeated

advice, some villagers were

taking their cattle deep

inside the reserve forests for

grazing, making them

vulnerable to attacks by

wild animals.

The Kerala government appeared ready to take actionagainst IAS offi��cer SriramVenkitaraman, indicted foralcoholimpaired recklessdriving that resulted in thedeath of journalist K.M.Basheer early Saturday.

Meanwhile, the policeshifted Mr. Venkitaramanfrom the private hospitalwhere they had admittedhim following the accidentto the prisoner’s ward at Government Medical CollegeHospital (MCH) here.

A magistrate had earlierpronounced him fi��t to be incarcerated.

The prison doctor referred him to the MCH afterMr. Venkitaraman’s discharge summary indicatedthat he had sustained spinaltrauma in the accident andrequired medical attention.

The government hadcome under sharp criticismfor allowing Mr. Venkitaraman to stay in a top hospitaldespite the “gravity of hiscrime”.

Offi��cials said Chief Secretary Tom Jose had received apreliminary report from the

State police detailing thecharges against the youngbureaucrat.

The police informed thegovernment that they hadbooked Mr. Venkitaramanfor culpable homicide notamounting to murder forhaving caused the fatal accident in an inebriated state.The crime entails a punish

ment of imprisonment up to10 years.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan issued a stern warningthat nobody was above thelaw, indicating that actionagainst him may follow.

Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan also signalledthat the government viewedthe incident as a grave mat

ter. Leader of the OppositionRamesh Chennithala hadsought Mr. Venkitaraman’sremoval from service.

‘Watertight case’The police claimed to have awatertight case against thebureaucrat. The Chief Chemical Examiner’s laboratory isscheduled to submit a reporton Monday on whether Mr.Venkitaraman was alcoholimpaired at the time of thecrash.

The GH doctor who examined him issued a certifi��cate that Mr. Venkitaramanhad tested ‘positive plus’ foralcohol impairment.

Mr. Venkitaraman’s copassenger, a woman, testifi��ed before a magistrate thatthe bureaucrat appeared“drunk” and had insisted ondriving the vehicle at highspeed despite her protests.The police booked the woman for allowing an “inebriated person” to drive thecar registered in her name.

The management of Malayalam daily Siraj demanded that a special investigation team be formed toprobe the death of the journalist, K.M. Basheer.

Action likely against IAS offi��cerKerala police shift Sriram Venkitaraman to prisoner’s cell in govt. hospital


Thiruvananthapuram

Highprofi��le case: Sriram Venkitaraman being moved out of aprivate hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. * PTI

The fl��ood situation in Eastand West Godavari districtsin Andhra Pradesh continued to be grim as the Godavari river received heavy infl��ows in the last 24 hours.

The infl��ow at Dowleswaram was about 13.44 lakh cusecs at noon and outfl��ow wasthe same. A total of 280 villages in 24 mandals acrossthe Godavari districts are affected and over 75,000 people were aff��ected by thefl��oods. Nearly 18,000 peoplewere shifted to relief campsin the East Godavari districtand 47 medical camps wereorganised in W.G.

About 36,000 food packets were distributed in E.Gdistrict which bore the bruntof fl��oods. Rajahmundry,Seethanagaram and Devipatnam mandals were particularly aff��ected by the fl��oodsand water entered the lowlying areas in Yanam district ofthe Union Territory of Puducherry.

Transportation links to 19villages have been cut off�� andYedduvagu and Siddharamavagu bridges were submerged and property dam

aged were reported from 71villages in the Godavari districts. The State DisasterManagement Authority hascautioned people living inthe Godavari island villagesand canal banks againstmore heavy infl��ows due to intermittent rains.

The Revenue and Police

Departments were taskedwith rehabilitation of peoplefrom the fl��oodhit areas inEast and West Godavari districts while more rains wereforecast at many places incoastal A.P. in the next fewdays.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force and

SDRF were sent out on rescue and relief operations asthe water levels were atdangerous levels.

Meanwhile, the Srisailamdam has been receiving fl��oodwaters from Jurala in Telangana. The infl��ow was 2.22lakh cusecs. By evening, thelevel had risen to 857.60 feet

Flood situation in Godavari delta still grim18,000 people shifted to relief camps; 71 villages report massive property loss

Tough times: Villagers returning home after fl��ood waters started receding from theDevipatnam mandal in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, on Sunday. * S. RAMBABU

Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA

Incessant rain over the past10 days in various parts ofintegrated Karimnagar district in Telangana has boosted farming activity with improved water levels in amajority of the minor irrigation tanks.

The irrigation tanks,which had dried out, havestarted receiving good infl��ows from its catchmentareas following the rain, rekindling hope among farmers. As against the averagerainfall of 410.3 mm between May 1 and August 4earlier, the district received450.6 mm rain this time.

129 overfl��owing Irrigation sources said thatof the total 4,344 minor irrigation tanks in the integrated district, 129 areoverfl��owing.

Besides, another 148tanks received water between 75% and 100%, 367tanks received 50% to 75%water while 887 tanks got infl��ows of 2550%. For the remaining 2,813 minor irriga

tion tanks, the rain waterinfl��ow ranged from zero to25%.

Irrigation offi��cials are, however, confi��dent that all minor irrigation tanks wouldbe fi��lled to the brim soonenough with the monsoonremaining active for another two months or so.

Before this, the districtwas reeling under acutedrought conditions due todelayed monsoon.

On the other hand, liftingof waters from the Medigadda barrage of the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project tothe Sripada Yellampalli project by fi��lling the Annaramand Sundilla barrages has also recharged the groundwater table, fi��lling agriculturalwells and borewells alongthe river Godavari.

Besides, copious infl��owsinto the Sripada Yellampalliproject following the heavyrain in its catchment areasand release of fl��ood watersfrom Kadem project inneighbouring Nirmal district has also improved thegroundwater and rechargedwells in the region.

Good news for droughthit Karimnagar

K.M.Dayashankar

KARIMNAGAR

Bonedry tanksfi��lling up fast

phants had destroyed his tomato crop on over 15 acres,causing losses of several lakhrupees.

Over 20 farmers of the adjoining villages also complained of crop losses. Theelephants were a threat tothe free movement of farmers in the fi��elds, and ofschoolchildren, villagerssaid.

Forest Range Offi��cerPunganur, Govinda Rajulu, toldThe Hindu, “We are takingall precautionary steps toprevent the herd from entering human habitations. Wehave deployed watchers andtrackers to drive the animalsback into their habitat.”

A herd of 10 wild elephants,which left the KoundinyaWildlife Sanctuary (KWS) located at PalamanerKuppamin Andhra Pradesh threeweeks ago, has been raidingcrops in about a dozen villages in Somala mandal underthe Punganur range.

These elephants have destroyed standing crops of tomato and other vegetablesand also pulled down treesin mango orchards.

In June, a threememberherd that left the KWS hadwreaked havoc on the fi��eldsand retreated into the sanctuary after a month.

In May, two elephants leftthe sanctuary and travelledas far as Pakala mandal, 70km away, but retreated without creating any diffi��culty forthe Forest Department.

A farmer from the Avulapalle panchayat said the ele

Elephant herd leaves sanctuary, causes havoc Several Chittoorfarmers complainof crop loss

A recent photograph of a herd of wild elephants near a village in the Punganur range of Chittoor district, AndhraPradesh. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Staff Reporter

CHITTOOR

<> We have deployed

watchers and

trackers to drive

the animals back

into their habitat

Govinda Rajulu

Forest Range Offi��cer

With the appointment of A.Sampath as Kerala’s specialgovernment representativein Delhi assuming the colours of a political controversy, his effi��cacy in delivering the goods would bequite crucial for the Stategovernment to justify itsdecision.

The government had clarifi��ed that Mr. Sampathwould primarily pursueCentral schemes, clear bureaucratic wrangles that impede the fl��ow of funds, andaddress the delay in accord

ing clearances for projects.Congress MPs K. Mura

leedharan and Benny Behanan have taken umbrage atthe appointment and haveannounced their decision toboycott him. They havequestioned the need for aspecial representative withCabinet rank over andabove the elected members.

Kerala as well as most ofthe southern States hadbeen complaining that a majority of the Centrallysponsored schemes are too rigidand had been tailored to suitthe ground situation innorth India.

Row over appointmentof Kerala representativeN.J. Nair

Thiruvananthapuram

The Congress’s support inthe Rajya Sabha for the Billseeking to amend certainprovisions of the UnlawfulActivities Prevention Act(UAPA) has proved to be abig embarrassment for theparty’s Kerala leadershipand the United DemocraticFront (UDF).

The amendments to theUAPA relate to the powersof the Centre and theStates to designate individuals as terrorists andseize their property.

The Indian Union Muslim League had votedagainst the amendment Billin the Rajya Sabha. TheState Congress leaderswere stunned by the party’s decision to vote for theamendment Bill, whichwas passed by the Lok Sabha on July 24. The Congress had boycotted thevote in the Lok Sabha.

Strong protestThe Leader of the Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala,has conveyed the UDF’sstrong resentment andprotest against the developments in the Rajya Sabha. He said it was disappointing to note that theCongress was unable totake a strong stand in Parliament that highlightedthe concerns of minoritycommunities. He said theparty should have stuck tothe stand it had adopted inthe Lok Sabha.

In the Lok Sabha, IndianUnion Muslim League national general secretaryP.K. Kunhalikutty had expressed his party’s opposition to tagging of individuals with suspectedterror links as terrorists, asthis violated the fundamental rights guaranteedby the Constitution. In theRajya Sabha too, IUMLmember P.V. Abdul Wahabopposed the Bill.

Cong. supportfor UAPA in RS discomfi��tsKerala leaders


Thiruvananthapuram

The Union government isaware of the ‘tax terrorism’that has been taking place inthis country, but it has notdone enough to stop taxmenfrom harassing entrepreneurs and businessmen, saysT.V. Mohandas Pai, formerCFO at Infosys.

Mr. Pai told The Hindu:

“Tax terrorism is a very disturbing issue. The Union government is aware of the harassment but it is yet to dosomething eff��ective to stopit. The government’s delay intaking adequate measures inthis regard has given additional powers to the tax authority, and taxmen have goneamok.’’

“Taxmen have been terrorising people while makingcollections. They will evenask people upfront to go forappeal. Is our judicial systemany easy…when cases run for15 to 20 years? It seems tax

men are also under pressureto meet their collection targets,” he said.

Expressing his disappoint

ment at the system, Mr. Paisaid. “Parliament and political leaders have failed usmiserably in this regard [tax]and citizen liberties are putunder heavy risk. The tax assessment system has brokendown. The justice system isalso not functioning eff��ectively. As both these key systems have failed miserably,lawabiding citizens and entrepreneurs are left in thelurch.’’

According to Mr. Pai,bringing an end to ‘tax terrorism’ was part of the BJP’smanifesto before the party

came to power in 2014, but ithas failed to implement it sofar.

‘Insensitive move’Expressing shock over theway the IncomeTax Department handled the issue ofCafe Coff��ee Day founder V.G.Siddhartha’s case, Mr. Paisaid, “Mr. Siddhartha hadclearly written in his letterthat he suff��ered harassmentby taxmen. Who gave tax department permission to conduct press conferences, tofl��oat information about himin social media and also to di

vulge personal details abouthim in the public? The taxdepartment is not the courtto call a person bad and punish him. It has no right to tarnish the reputation of a person, especially when he is nomore in a position to defendhimself. This is atrocious andinsensitive.”

After Mr. Siddhartha’stragic death, both Mr. Paiand Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw spoke openlyabout the rampant ‘tax terrorism’ and how entrepreneurs were being tortured inthe country.

Responding to a query,Mr. Pai said, “I did not get acall, but Kiran did. The calleralso spoke about me that Mohan should not talk about allthese in public.’’

As per media reports onSunday, Ms. Shaw confi��rmedthat “a government offi��cial”called her recently and toldher not to speak about issuessuch as income tax harassment.

However, she told TheHindu: “It was a governmentoffi��cial who I know and whosaid it with concern. It was Iguess friendly advice.’’

BJP promised to end ‘tax terrorism’, says Mohandas Pai‘Centre has failedto put an end to harassment’

Mini Tejaswi

Bengaluru

T.V. Mohandas Pai

Facing fl��ak for presenting abasket of fruits wrapped inbanned plastic to KarnatakaChief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa recently, BengaluruMayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said she “voluntarily” paid a fi��ne of ₹��500 forthe violation.

After the photo of herpresenting the basket wentviral, Ms. Gangambike wascriticised because there isalready a ban on plastic andseveral traders in the cityhad been penalised in thepast for storing and usingplastic products.

“My photograph of gifting a basket of dry fruitswrapped with a plastic cover to the Chief Ministerwent viral in the social media. Being the fi��rst citizen ofthe city, I did not wish tosend across a wrong message to the people of the city. Hence, I decided to paythe penalty of ₹��500,” theMayor said in a statementSaturday.

The Mayor, however,pointed out that there wasno clause in the rules for penalising those using plasticthough there was such aprovision against traders.

She also said there was aproposal to impose a fi��neon the end users of plasticproducts and it would be incorporated in the law.

“In order to spreadawareness among massesabout the problems posedby polythene bags, I decided to pay the penalty evenbefore this clause is incorporated in the plastic banbylaw,” the Mayor said.

Bengaluru Mayorfi��ned for plastic useShe paid ₹��500 for violating ban


Bengaluru

Gangambike Mallikarjun

Endorsement of defections, as in the case of thefour TDP Rajya Sabhamembers joining the BJP,should be condemned as itis unethical, Andhra Pradesh Speaker TammineniSitaram said on Sunday at a‘Meet the Press’ programme here.

Asked for his commentson the “endorsement ofdefections” by Rajya SabhaChairman M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Speaker said, “Youshould ask Mr. VenkaiahNaidu if it is not immoral toencourage such things.Since you have asked me, Ishall tell my opinion. Inpolitics, we need to upholdethics and values. Encouraging unethical practicesshouldn’t be done. I don’twant to invite controversyby speaking more on it.”

Asked what he would doin a similar situation, Mr.Sitaram said he would rather disqualify the memberswho cross the fl��oor. He saidthere was a need to amendthe AntiDefection Law torecall the members whoshift their loyalties.

Wrong to backdefections, saysA.P. Speaker

Staff Reporter

VIJAYAWADA

Flood situation remainedgrim in north Karnatakadistricts on Sunday as water level in the Krishna andits tributaries rose, inundating several villages andbridges while the continued heavy rain in theKrishna catchment area isnow a concern as more villages face the threat offl��ooding.

The fl��oods claimed itsfi��rst victim on Saturdaywhen Shivanand ShankarNayak, a coconut seller, gotwashed away in a stream atAdeppa Ankalagi village inBelagavi district.

On Sunday, as the Stategovernment took stock ofthe situation in Belagavi,Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Yadgir, and Raichur districtswhich have been aff��ectedby the release of hugequantum of water into theKrishna and its tributariesby Maharashtra. In all,5,847 hectares of cropshave been damaged.

Krishna andits tributariesare risingKarnataka Bureau

Belagavi/Vijayapura/Yadgir

ExMinister seeks ₹��204 cr. in damagesBENGALURU

Former Karnataka Minister

and Congress leader D.K.

Shivakumar has filed a

defamation suit in a local

court against BJP leader and

Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda

Patil Yatnal, seeking ₹��204

crore as compensation for

“tarnishing his image through

baseless statements”. Mr.

Yatnal had alleged that Mr.

Shivakumar had been

pressurising top BJP leaders

to ensure that he is freed

from cases probed by the

Income Tax Department and

the Enforcement Directorate.


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

NATION

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Monday: Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely overcentral Maharashtra, Konkan, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Punjab, west Uttar Pradesh, east Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram,Tripura, Saurashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Mahe

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala............. 1.2....34.6....27.0 Kozhikode....................—....32.2....26.9

Ahmedabad...... 54.1....31.4....25.0 Kurnool .................... 6.0....28.8....22.9

Aizawl.............. 25.0....28.9....23.2 Lucknow......................—....36.5....28.3

Allahabad..............—....36.9....28.5 Madurai .......................—....37.6....26.7

Bengaluru .............—....27.9....21.0 Mangaluru ................ 8.6....30.2....23.0

Bhopal ............... 4.8....30.0....24.2 Mumbai ................ 204.0....27.5....24.1

Bhubaneswar...... 0.2....31.4....24.8 Mysuru ..................... 1.0....27.8....19.8

Chandigarh ...........—....35.5....26.6 New Delhi ................ 0.4....35.8....27.2

Chennai ................—....37.0....29.2 Patna ..........................—....37.0....28.0

Coimbatore ...........—....32.0....24.2 Port Blair.................. 3.7....29.8....25.7

Dehradun ..............—....33.0....24.2 Puducherry ..................—....36.4....25.2

Gangtok........... 13.4....22.2....18.3 Pune....................... 45.9....24.8....21.3

Goa.................. 66.2....26.2....23.5 Raipur ...................... 1.2....29.5....24.2

Guwahati ..............—....35.4....26.9 Ranchi ...................... 8.6....30.7....23.4

Hubballi ................—....23.0....21.0 Shillong.......................—....26.3....16.6

Hyderabad ......... 6.6....28.7....22.8 Shimla...................... 0.4....22.4....17.0

Imphal ..................—....30.6....23.3 Srinagar.......................—....31.9....18.2

Jaipur .............. 16.8....34.2....26.0 Thiruvananthapuram.... 14.4....30.5....25.0

Kochi ................. 0.8....30.6....26.8 Tiruchi.........................—....38.2....26.8

Kohima ............ 38.6....27.8....15.0 Vijayawada ..................—....34.1....25.4

Kolkata .................—....32.8....28.0 Visakhapatnam ........ 20.4....29.4....25.2

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at6.00 p.m., Sirsa, Haryanarecorded an overall airquality index (AQI) score of179 indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Gulbarga,Karnataka a healthy AQIscore of 12

Ahmedabad..... 48 .49 .53 ....61 .102 ....*

Bengaluru ....... ..6 .20 .56 ....70 .....— ....*

Chennai .......... 12 .15 .39 ....34 ...33 ....*

Delhi .............. 18 .51 .28 ....83 .140 ....*

Hyderabad ...... ..6 .33 .30 ......7 ...14 ....*

Kolkata........... ..2 .58 .15 ....81 ...87 ....*

Lucknow ......... ..5 .13 .51 ....86 .....— ....*

Mumbai .......... 16 .15 102 ..... — ...40 ....*

Pune............... 75 ...8 .67 ....13 ...13 ....*

Visakhapatnam 15 .51 .72 ....54 ...78 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature

death in people with heart or lung disease

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Sundayhoped that the country’sinstitutions would helpovercome the belligerence being shown bysome individuals andgroups.

“The present times arewitnessing belligerentand reckless behaviour. Iam hopeful that such incidents would turn out tobe exceptions and thestrong traditions and ethos of our institutionsshall always assist the sta

keholders to display resilience to overcome thebelligerence of such wayward constituents,” theCJI said at a function tolay the foundation stoneof an auditorium of theGauhati High Court.

CJI Gogoi’s statementhas assumed signifi��cancefollowing the disclosureof data related to the National Register of Citizens(NRC) in the Assam Assembly on August 1. Onlythe Supreme Court,which is monitoring theNRC updating exercise,was to have been privy to

information regardingthe citizenship list.

The CJI also expressedconcern over the vacancies in the High Courtsand the delay in servingsummons in more than 1crore cases across thecountry.

“Out of a total 1,079seats in all the HighCourts, 403 are vacant.And out of 2.1 crore criminal cases, 1 crore arepending at the summoning stage. How do myjudges start the track ifsummons have not beenserved?” he said.

CJI Ranjan Gogoi laments‘belligerence’ by groupsHe expressed concern over delay in serving summons

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

Contending that airfaresto Delhi, Mumbai andKolkata from theircentres are “cheaper”than AC1 and AC2 trainfares, the Hubballi headquartered South WesternRailway (SWR) has approved its offi��cials’ request to fl��y to these destinations instead.

The General Manager,South Western Railway,

has approved the proposal, which states that itwould “increase productivity” as the travel timebetween any location inthe railway zone to thesetier 1 cities is “more than12 hours”.

“It can be seen thatfl��ight fares of private airlines on mostly travelledroutes are cheaper thanthat of 1AC/2AC trainfares,” the Deputy General Manager of the zone

proposed in a letter tothe General Manager,seeking his approval forairtravel for senior offi��cials on July 31.

It also said that meetings at the Railway Boardare arranged at short notice and permitting air travel will enable offi��cers for“quick movement” fromheadquarters or divisionto Delhi. The GeneralManager approved thesame on August 1.

Railways approves offi��cials’request to fl��y for trips‘Airfares are cheaper than AC1, AC2 train fares’


New Delhi

The Defence Research Development Organisation onSunday successfully testfi��red the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile from theIntegrated Test Range inChandipur.

“Two missiles have beentested against two live targets, meeting complete mission objectives of engagingthe targets. The systemshave been tested in fi��nalconfi��guration with radarmounted on a vehicle andmissiles on the launcher,”

the Defence Ministry said. The missiles with many

stateoftheart technologiesengaged the targets at diff��erent ranges and altitudes,the Ministry stated.


NEW DELHI

Two missiles were testedagainst two live targets. * PTI

Indigenous missilesuccessfully tested

The Department of Biotechology (DBT) plans to scannearly 20,000 Indian genomes over fi��ve years, in atwophase exercise, and develop diagnostic tests thatcan be used for cancer.

The fi��rst phase involvessequencing the genomes ofnearly 10,000 Indians tocapture the biological diversity of the country, RenuSwarup, SecretaryDBT, toldThe Hindu.

In the next phase, about10,000 “diseased individuals” would have their genomes sequenced. Thesedata would be compared using machine learning toidentify genes that can predict cancer risk, as well asother diseases that could besignifi��cantly infl��uenced bygenetic anomalies.

While 22 institutions, including those from theCouncil of Scientifi��c and Industrial Research (CSIR) andthe DBT would be involvedin the exercise, the data generated would be accessible

to researchers anywhere.This would be through aproposed National Biological Data Centre, envisagedin the ‘Biological Data Storage, Access and Sharing Policy’ that is still in the earlystages of discussion.

“Genomics research is amajor thrust area for us.What is unique about thisprogramme, called the Genome India Initiative, is itsscale. The deliverables aregenomicbased diagnosticsthat can be aff��ordably madeavailable through a lab,” Dr.Swarup added. The programme is expected tolaunch in October, with anestimated budget of ₹��250350 crore for phase 1.

The Punebased NationalCentre for Cell Sciences — also involved in the project —will collect samples of microbiome from the humangut. The diversity of the bacterial samples is at the frontier of global research, andscientists have said there isan intimate connection between the genome, the gutmicrobiome and disease.

20,000 genomes to bescanned for cancer studyJacob Koshy

NEW DELHI

Around 170 people, including 50 patients and 120 staff��members, were evacuatedfrom Surya Hospital inPune’s Wakad on Sunday after continuous dischargefrom the nearby Mulshi damfl��ooded its basement.

“After the water reachedthe hospital basement, a callwas taken to move the patients and the staff�� to saferareas. All 170 people weresafely evacuated to otherhospitals and medical establishments in a twohourjoint operation carried outby the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the dis

aster management cell of thePune Municipal Corporation(PMC) and the Fire Department,” NDRF spokespersonSachidanand Gawade said.

The patients were movedto nearby hospitals like theAditya Birla Memorial Hospital in PimpriChinchwad.

Mr. Gawade said NDRF

teams, during reconnaissance, noted that the hospital was next to Mula riverand that water levels wererising owing to dischargefrom the dam. “In the morning, not much water had entered the hospital premises.But around 1.30 p.m. we gota call requesting immediateevacuation.”

“A few patients, who required immediate care, wereshifted out to other hospitalsbefore the rescue teamsreached the spot. We assisted in the evacuation of thestaff�� and the remaining patients through ambulancesand other vehicles,” Mr. Gawade said.

170 rescued from fl��ooded hospital Discharge of water from nearby Mulshi dam fl��ooded Pune hospital basement

Underwater colony: A residential locality in Pune fl��ooded byMula river following heavy rain on Sunday. * PTI

Special correspondent

Pune

The Indian Navy, Army andAir Force on Sunday participated in rescue operations toassist Thane, Palghar andKalyan district administration as Bhatsa and Barvidams overfl��owed leading toBhatsa and Ulhas riversbreaching their banks andstranding people in theirhomes. Waters rose up to aheight of 8 to 10 feet requiring specialist assistance inevacuation.

Within 40 minutes of receiving a request from theDisaster Management Unit ofthe State government, the Indian Navy deployed threefully equipped fl��ood rescueteams to assist the districtadministration. The IndianAir Force too deployed itsMi17 helicopter to airliftstranded villagers.

“Two teams operated inthe vicinity of Khadawali village and have successfully

evacuated 27 people to safety. One fl��ood rescue teamwas active in Shahad regionunder Kalyan DombivaliMunicipal Corporation(KDMC) till late on Sundayevening. All three teams arebeing positioned with district authorities overnight to

be able to respond quickly toany new emergencies thatmight arise overnight,” Commander Mehul Karnik, chiefpublic relations offi��cer(CPRO), Indian Navy said.

Naval teams from INS Tanaji, Mankhurd, INS Vajrabahu, Colaba and Material Or

ganisation assisted 27 tosafety in Kadawali and Shahad in KDMC limits as Ulhasand Bhatsa rivers overfl��owed. Offi��cials said the Indian Air Force team madetwo sorties between 12.40p.m. and 2.45 p.m. and airlifted a total of 58 people.

Navy, IAF rush to Mumbai’s aidBhatsa, Uihas rivers breach banks, leaving people stranded in their homes


Mumbai


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

Stanly Johny

By the late 1960s, it becameevident to American leadersthat they could not win the

Vietnam war. Richard Nixon, whowas elected President in 1968, assigned Henry Kissinger, the National Security Adviser, to holdtalks with the communist NorthVietnam, seeking “peace with honour”. The Americans were actually prolonging a war they hadalready lost. The goal was not todefeat North Vietnam but to stopthem from taking over the South,the American ally. Daniel Ellsberg,who leaked the Pentagon Papers,called this approach the “stalemate machine”.

Cut to today’s Afghanistan. It’shard to miss the similarities in theU.S.’s strategy. After 18 years offi��ghting — longer than America’sdirect military involvement inVietnam — the U.S. has realisedthat it cannot win the Afghan war.The American goal is no longer defeating the Taliban but to stopthem, at least for now, from takingover Kabul. Veteran diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad is the new Kissinger. Just as Nixon wanted to get outof Vietnam, President DonaldTrump too wants to get out ofAfghanistan.

The U.S.’s involvement in Vietnam goes back to the last years of

French colonial rule. The U.S. fi��rstbacked France against the VietMinh guerrillas. After France exited Vietnam in 1954, the U.S.backed South Vietnam against thecommunistled North. Initially, theU.S. involvement was limited toadvisory roles. But after the U.S.destroyer, USS Maddox, was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats off�� the Vietnamesecoast, in August 1964, the LyndonJohnson administration steadilyescalated the U.S.’s role. At itspeak, in 1968, American troop deployment in Vietnam reached549,500 personnel. The U.S. wentinto Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,launching its war on terror. At thepeak of the war here, there wereover 1,00,000 troops. Despite themassive deployment of troops andsuperior air power, the U.S. gotstuck and failed to stabilise thecountry.

From a position of weaknessIn Vietnam, the U.S. was negotiating from a position of weakness.By the late 1960s, American publicopinion had largely turned againstthe war. Despite massive troop deployment, both the U.S. and itsSouth Vietnamese allies had failedto make substantial gains. America’s search and destroy operationsin communistdominated villagesin the south and its disastrous aircampaign in the north only fuelledVietnamese hostility. The U.S. haddropped more than three times asmany bombs on Vietnam as the Allied forces had during the SecondWorld War. Besides, the South

Vietnamese regime was unpopular, oppressive and weak. In a visitto Saigon, the South’s capital, afew months after he assumed thepresidency, Nixon promised peaceand asked the communists to reciprocate. He badly wanted a deal,and Mr. Kissinger was his bet.

Nixon fi��rst started “Vietnamising” the war — reducing U.S. trooppresence in Vietnam and shiftingthe focus from direct participationin land war to training and advisory roles, while continuing with airstrikes. At the same time, Mr. Kissinger started talks with Le DucTho, a North Vietnamese revolutionary and diplomat. When talkswere deadlocked, the U.S. off��eredto pull out of the South as a compromise. In 1973, the U.S., NorthVietnam and representatives ofSouth Vietnam and Viet Cong, thecommunist guerillas from theSouth, signed the Paris Peace Accords. The North and the Southagreed to a ceasefi��re and continueholding peace talks, while the U.S.agreed to pull troops out ofVietnam.

In the case of Afghanistan aswell, the U.S. is negotiating from aposition of weakness. The war entered a stalemate long ago. America’s allies stand divided. The go

vernment in Kabul, which the U.S.backs, is known for infi��ghting andchronic corruption. The securityforces are struggling to ensure basic security to the public, even inthe capital city. Like Nixon’s “Vietnamisation”, U.S. President Barack Obama had started “Afghanising” the war — pulling out mosttroops and moving the remainderto training and advisory roles. TheAfghan war is also unpopular inAmerica. Mr. Trump, who campaigned to wind down America’sforeign interventions, wants toend it. But the U.S. cannot unilaterally pull out, especially when theTaliban is on the off��ensive. Thatwould cause a lasting stain onAmerica’s already battered reputation as the world’s preeminentmilitary power. Hence, it needs adeal; fi��nding one is AmbassadorKhalilzad’s mission.

Advantage TalibanMr. Khalilzad has already heldmultiple rounds of talks with theTaliban’s representatives in Doha,Qatar. As in Vietnam, the main demand of the Afghan insurgents is acomplete U.S. troop withdrawal.The U.S. and the Taliban haveagreed to a road map for peace:the U.S.’s withdrawal in return forthe Taliban’s assurance that Afghanistan would not be used byterrorists.

The U.S. has already made twobig compromises in its rush for anexit deal. It has given in to the Taliban demand that the Afghan government should be kept awayfrom the peace process. The Taliban does not recognise the Kabul

government and has made it clearthat it would hold talks with thegovernment only after a pullout offoreign troops. Second, the U.S.continued to hold talks even in theabsence of a ceasefi��re. As a result,the Taliban continued its terrorcampaign even when the peaceprocess was under way.

U.S. offi��cials have hoped that adeal could be reached by September 1. It is anybody’s guess whatwill happen to the Afghan government once America is out. Whenthe U.S. was forced to pull out ofVietnam, the Southern and Northern governments hadn’t reachedany settlement but for the ceasefi��re. The plan was for talks to continue, seeking a fi��nal agreement.The ceasefi��re did not last long. Inthe two years after the U.S. pulledout, the communists captured Saigon and the government crumbledlike a house of cards.

In the case of Afghanistan, thereis not even a ceasefi��re between thegovernment and the Taliban evenas the U.S. is preparing to make anexit. The winning side is the Taliban, which, unlike the Viet Cong,is a antimodern, antiwoman, antiminority fundamentalist machine, whose earlier regime wasnotorious for excessive sectarianviolence. The Taliban is part of theproblem, not a solution. The Communists unifi��ed Vietnam, and afterearly years of struggle, modernised the economy and rebuilt thecountry into an Asian powerhouse. For Afghanistan, the tunnelgets longer and darker.

[email protected]

Pulling a Vietnam in Afghanistan Mired in Afghanistan, America’s retreat strategy mirrors its Vietnam war campaign

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more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

Today, we, the people of India, are trapped between arock and a hard place. On

one side is the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) which continues tobulldoze legislation, controversialat best and illintentioned at worst,through Parliament. On the otheris the Opposition, unable to mounta concerted and eff��ective critiqueof government policies. The sluggishness of the nonNDA parties iscause for some puzzlement. Afterall, 55% of the electorate has votedfor them. Unfortunately, this voteis hardly refl��ected in Parliament.

Political scientists have been,for long, concerned with the oftenastounding gap between voteshares and the number of seats aparty obtains in Parliament. Thisleaves a majority of the voters unrepresented. Democrats havestrongly argued that the “winnertakes all” principle needs to be relegated to the wayside and replaced with the system of proportional representation. This is,however, another story. The BJP ishardly likely to initiate an electoralproject that might derail its relentless search for power by anymeans.

Bearish on the economyWhat the ruling party is doing withthe power it has acquired is equally puzzling. India is heading toward an economic crisis. Economic growth has slowed down,domestic and global capital is reluctant to invest in the economy,and unemployment reaches a newhigh every day. Seldom have prominent industrialists expressedsuch public concern about im

pending economic disaster as theyhave now. But the BJP hardlyshows interest in tackling the situation. It is more interested in demolishing democratic rights andbringing the minorities to heel.

The determined refusal to confront the crisis is symptomatic of awider problem. The ruling party isnot known for either innovativepolitics or imagination. Its conceptof wellbeing is limited to a free gasconnection and an indiff��erentlybuilt fl��at. Its ideology is stuck in colonial stereotypes of ‘Hindu’ and‘Muslim’. There is nothing new inits political discourse; merely a rehash of what V.D. Savarkar wrotein 1923. The problem is that thechauvinistic ideology of religiousnationalism precludes refl��ectionand selfcritique. The great debates of contemporary politicshave simply bypassed the partymulticulturalism, minority rights,redistributive justice, citizenshipor cosmopolitanism.

Forgotten legacyThe Indian National Congress has,in the past, been more inventivebecause its ideology was forged inthe heat of the freedom struggle.Pluralism, secularism, tolerance,citizenship, fundamental and minority rights, cosmopolitanism,nonviolence and antiimperialismwere thrown up in the course ofthe movement. On these planksthe Congress was able to mobilisevast masses of people against colonialism. Sadly, the party has forgotten its legacy. We need a national party to provide substantiveopposition to the government.The Congress fl��ounders, it is rudderless.

All is not lost. Moments of crisiscan lead to reinvention. The partymust reinvent itself, simply because it is synonymous with thehistory of our freedom struggle,and with enlightened leaders suchas Jawaharlal Nehru. Remember

that Nehru’s vision inspired greatliterature, poetry, fi��lms, art,theatre, and architecture. What dowe have today except mediocrehagiography? A ruling class whichcannot inspire cultural creativitycan only rule by coercion. In modern politics, this is counted as a failure.

Leading from the frontTo reinvent itself the Congressmust draw upon fi��ve lessons of itsown past, some good, some bad,some indiff��erent. One, its leaderswere moral exemplars. They werevisionaries and they were courageous. In the middle of Partition violence Nehru was there, in the killing fi��elds of Punjab and Delhi. Hepersuaded people to desist fromviolence and he assured Muslimsof their safety. Today when Indians are lynched and left to die onthe streets, politicians stay safelyindoors. Our own people dieavoidable deaths and leaders aresilent. We need leaders who motivate us by example.

Two, the Congress could leadthe mainstream freedom strugglebecause it had a robust organisation, both decentralised and democratic. The party formed a coalition of what has been called ‘bigmen’: heads of caste groups, peasantry, industry, religious formations, and workers organisations.When the party initiated or calledoff�� a movement, it relied upon se

cond rung leaders. The central leadership left State politics, for example the confl��ict over linguisticStates, to regional bosses.

Three, diversity of opinions andinterests in the party encouragedmembers to engage in dialogueand persuasion. They negotiatedand accommodated class, caste,and group interests within the organisation. The Congress foundplace for most demands, from interest groups, from individuals desirous of social reform, and fromindividuals stirred by the desirefor power and prestige. The Congress was accommodative and adialogical party. It practiseddemocracy.

Long shadow of centralismFour, the decline of the party inthe late 1960s and the early 1970swas caused by organisational atrophy. At one point of time, the Congress possessed the ability to address, negotiate, and resolvecompeting demands. As the partybecame the captive of the leader, itlost this skill. Even as Ms IndiraGandhi began to forge a nationalconstituency over the heads ofState leaders, the party slid intocentralism and the politics of thedurbar. The power of individualmembers depended on their proximity to the leader. The BJP shouldlearn from this history. Recollectthat even ministers of the partyare faceless and anonymous, theirfates are held hostage by theleader.

Five, the decline of the Congress took place at a time whenpolitics demanded new forms oflegitimacy. In the two decades following Independence, the Congress was legitimate because theparty and its leadership were identifi��ed with the freedom struggle.Twenty years later, a new generation had no direct memory of theliberation movement. The Congress was however in thrall to its

leader; it failed to read the message of the time. By the late 1960s,simmering discontent came topervade large parts of the country,and groups under the leadershipof J.P. Narayan mobilised to targetan unresponsive state and anequally unresponsive party system. The Congress had, however,mislaid the ability to contain discontent; it opted for coercion. MrsGandhi declared an Emergency.

Today, India faces imminenteconomic catastrophe. We confront serious threats to our democracy and to the Constitution. Theruling party is not particularlywedded to democracy. Rightwingauthoritarianism has no love forany fundamental right that constrains the exercise of absolutepower. Civil society will continueto struggle against violations of democracy. Scholars will write of thethreat posed by wielders of absolute power to our constitutionaldemocracy. But civil society has tofunction along with a democraticpolitical party. Regional partieshave degenerated into onepersondictatorships, or become familyconcerns. We have to call upon aparty that had fought the fi��rst freedom struggle. The Congress has tostep in after it reinvents itself. Foronly a democratic party can understand what the people of Indiawant, desire and aspire for.

It is our duty to remind the Congress that it owes the people of India. What else can we say? We canonly repeat Mark Anthony’s wordsin Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:‘For I have neither wit, nor words,nor worth/Action, nor utterance,nor the power of speech/To stirmen’s blood/ I only speak right on/l tell you that which you yourselves do know.’ If the party doesnot respond, our future is an uncertain one.

Neera Chandhoke is a former Professor of

Political Science at Delhi University

A political reinvention in a moment of crisis India needs a national party to provide substantive opposition to the government — all is not lost for the Congress

Neera Chandhoke

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Sengar’s strongholdThat the residents ofUnnao, Uttar Pradesh, aredefending Kuldeep SinghSengar, the expelledBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)MLA, despite the fact thathe is in jail and chargedwith raping a youngwoman, speaks volumesabout the money andmuscle power of politiciansbelonging to the rulingparty (Front page, “Despitethe outrage, Unnao bats forrapeaccused KuldeepSengar,” August 4). Earlier,some BJP MLAs in theerstwhile Jammu andKashmir government hadexpressed their solidaritywith those involved in theKathua rape episode. Actsthat show tolerancetowards the alleged

perpetrators of heinouscrimes have been on therise under the previous andcurrent Centralgovernments. The BJP highcommand, by not reining insuch criminals, has onlyemboldened them and thishas had a detrimentalimpact on the peacefulcoexistence betweencommunities. Those inauthority should do theirbest to bring justice to thevictims of these crimes.A. Jainulabdeen,

Chennai

■ The way in which theUnnao episode is unfoldingmakes me wonder whetherour society has lost all senseof morality and ethics. Evenafter two years of theincident, the case remains

unsolved and amidst somany twists and tragic turns,it has required the SupremeCourt’s intervention to fastforward the investigations.Indian society needs torecalibrate its moral compassif we are to progress as acivilisation. With its brutemajority, the governmentshould deal with rape caseswith a fi��rm hand withoutshowing favour to anybody.Bringing justice to thoseaff��ected by such crimes is asimportant as maintainingnational security, thegovernment’s pet theme.A.S. Srinivasan,

Chennai

Build-up in KashmirThe surge in troopdeployment and the evictionof tourists and pilgrims from

Kashmir have left the peoplefl��ummoxed and fearful.(Front page, “Uncertaintygrips Kashmir Valley,” August4). At the same time, onecannot question thegovernment’s right to adoptpreemptive measures basedon actionable intelligenceabout possible attacks.Though the governmentcannot be expected to revealthe exact details of theintelligence reports, areassuring clarifi��cation thatthe security blanket is not tofurther any political agendawill help to assuage thepeople’s concerns.V.N. Mukundarajan,

Thiruvananthapuram

■ The situation in Kashmir, inthe wake of the Centre’sdecision to ask Amarnath

Activities (Prevention) Actmay be misused by leaders tosettle political scores. Awrongful designation of anindividual as a terrorist willcause irreparable damage tohis/her reputation andcareer. The amendmentsalso give more power to theCentre, encroaching on theauthority of States. The lawcan become one moreweapon in the hands of aregime hellbent ondelegitimising dissent. Thegovernment needs to bemindful of fundamentalrights of citizens whilelegislating against terror(“UAPA Bill gets Rajya Sabhanod,” August 3).T.S.N. Rao,

Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh

pilgrims to cancel their tripsand its move to increase thenumber of troops in theValley, is a cause for concern.The government’s actionsgive an impression that itstop echelons are planningsomething ‘big’ and itsunilateral handling of allissues is bound to haveserious repercussions. TheBJP would do well toremember thatnotwithstanding its brutemajority in Parliament,democratic governance ispremised on consensus.J. Anantha Padmanabhan,

Tiruchi

UAPA amendmentsIndia undoubtedly needstough laws to combatterrorism, but the proposedamendments to the Unlawful

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

Any move to increase the strength of the judiciary

ought to be welcomed, given the perennial com

plaint that availability of judges is not increasing

in proportion to the institution of cases. In this perspec

tive, the Union Cabinet’s decision to raise the strength

of the Supreme Court from 31 to 34, including the Chief

Justice of India, will help in dealing with the large pen

dency — 59,331 cases on July 11. The law that fi��xes the

number of judges in the highest court was last amended

in 2009 to raise the fi��gure from 26 to 31. Chief Justice

Ranjan Gogoi had written to the Prime Minister recent

ly, highlighting the problem of paucity of judges, due to

which he was unable to constitute enough Constitution

Benches to decide important questions of law. Howev

er, a moot question is whether the highest court should

go into the correctness of every decision of every high

court. Are the judicial resources available being used

optimally? Is valuable time being taken up by mundane

matters that do not impinge on larger questions that in

volve interpretation of laws and constitutional provi

sions? For instance, routine bail matters land up in the

Supreme Court within days of persons being arrested.

Every major crime or disaster seems to invite a litigant,

ostensibly in public interest, who mentions the matter

before the Chief Justice for urgent hearing. The court is

being invited to even oversee fl��ood relief work.

A mere increase in the court’s strength may not be

enough to liquidate the burgeoning docket. Another set

of measures that would save the court’s time, including

a reasonable restraint on the duration of oral argu

ments and a disciplined adherence to a schedule of

hearings may be needed. In this case, one of the princi

pal objectives should be to preserve the apex court’s

primary role as the ultimate arbiter of constitutional

questions and statutory interpretation. All other ques

tions involving a fi��nal decision on routine matters, espe

cially civil cases that involve nothing more than the in

terests of the parties before it, ought to be considered

by a mechanism that will not detract from the court’s

primary role. Some countries have brought in a clear di

vision at the level of the apex judiciary by having sepa

rate constitutional courts, which limit themselves to de

ciding questions of constitutional importance. It may

be worthwhile considering the 229th Report of the Law

Commission, suggesting a new system under which

there will be one Constitution Bench in Delhi, and four

‘Cassation Benches’ for diff��erent regions of the country.

These will be fi��nal appellate courts for routine litiga

tion. This arrangement may also increase access to jus

tice to those living in farfl��ung areas of the country and

who may otherwise have to come to Delhi and spend

more time and money in pursuing appeals. It may also

cut down on the time taken for disposal of cases.

Bigger and betterMore judges are welcome, but SC must focus

on its role as interpreter of the Constitution

Two weeks after the International Court of Justice

at The Hague ruled in favour of India in the case

of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Pakistan has yet to take

the fi��rst step towards implementing the order: provid

ing him “consular access”. In its verdict on July 17, the

ICJ had decided nearunanimously that by not inform

ing India immediately of Mr. Jadhav’s arrest in 2017, by

not informing him of his rights, and not allowing the In

dian High Commission to meet with him and arrange

for his legal representation, Pakistan was in violation of

the Vienna convention on consular relations. Although

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had off��ered a meeting bet

ween Mr. Jadhav and the Indian High Commission in Is

lamabad on Friday afternoon, the off��er came with con

ditions, including CCTV cameras on proceedings, and a

Pakistani offi��cial being in the room during the meeting.

This was a violation of the unimpeded consular access

that the ICJ had ordered, and India decided to reject the

off��er until Pakistan reconsiders its conditions. India’s

concerns are threefold. First, Pakistan’s delay in grant

ing full consular access displays a nonserious attitude

to implementing a clearcut order from the UN’s highest

judicial body. This augurs badly for Pakistan’s applica

tion of the rest of the ICJ order that calls for a full review

of Mr. Jadhav’s trial conviction and death sentence for

terrorism and espionage charges. Most importantly, the

nature of the conditions indicates Pakistan wants to

monitor what Mr. Jadhav tells Indian offi��cials closely, as

much of their original case, as presented to the public,

rested on his purported confession. If he shares ad

verse details of coercion, the court may well go beyond

its current order in the case, and India may have a

stronger chance of trying to have the trial overturned.

Islamabad must stop dragging its feet and creating

unnecessary hurdles in providing what is a basic hu

man right for Mr. Jadhav, and New Delhi needs to keep

its rhetoric low, while pressing its case for access to the

former naval offi��cer, consistently and fi��rmly. This will

not be easy, as after some relative calm, shelling at the

Line of Control has opened up with a new fury in the

last few days. The allegations by Pakistan that the In

dian Army is deploying clustermunitions on civilian

areas (fi��rmly denied by the government), and the Ar

my’s claim that several Pakistani regulars and terrorists

were killed in an infi��ltration attempt by a “Border Ac

tion Team” (BAT) have ratcheted up tensions further.

The government’s hamhanded reaction to the threats,

of cancelling the Amarnath Yatra, pulling out tourists

and pilgrims and raising security levels in the valley

further, have only added to the narrative. It would in

deed be a tragedy if the situation overshadows the fate

of Mr. Jadhav, just when hopes had been raised by the

international court verdict to help secure his freedom.

Freeing Kulbhushan Pakistan’s delay in giving full consular access

reveals a non-serious attitude to ICJ order


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

OPED

Replying to Lord Wolmer in the Commons[in London], Mr. Montagu stated that he hadreceived today [ July 31] only newspaper reports regarding the inadequacy of medicalarrangements in the Indian Army and hehad telegraphed to India for full information. He had no knowledge that any representations had been made to the GeneralStaff�� at Simla in 1917 with regard to the necessity for laying a pipe line to the supplycamp of Ali Masjid with pure water, but hewould enquire, as he also promised to enquire to the number of men of the 6th IndianBrigade, who had been inoculated againstcholera before proceeding to the frontier.Replying to Mr. Burn, Mr. Montagu said Government was most anxious to do what itcould for Indian army offi��cers taken prisoners at Kut, who had been invited to submitclaims for compensation in respect to expenditure during captivity. Most of theclaims had been submitted and he hopedthat all would be settled shortly. Replying toSir J. Rees, Mr. Montagu stated that he hopedto send to the Government of India shortlythe advice of the Empire Cotton GrowingCommittee on the recommendations of theIndian Cotton Committee.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO AUGUST 5, 1919.

India in the British Parliament.

As the young woman from Unnao,victim of multiple outrages, battlesfor her life, we, who are often reduced to being hapless chroniclers,have once again to wonder at the everyday workings of India’s criminaljustice system. Though severalrounds of police and judicial reformshave sought to improve its workings,and humanise its approach, the factremains that at the level of the policethana, other factors direct police action. Local political power; economic, social and sexual tensions between individuals; caste andcommunity equations; habitual misogyny; and the measure of impunitythat a perpetrator of crime mightclaim and exercise all shape not onlypolice responses but those of the civilian government as well, includingof doctors, revenue offi��cers andthose in the local Collectorate.

As those of us who have workedon issues of sexual assault since thelate 1970s know, a complainant ismost likely to be disbelieved, blamedfor what happened to her, and denigrated and rubbished if she is a Dalitor Adivasi, or from a community perceived as marginal. If she persists inkeeping with the justice system, itsmenacing indiff��erence is calculatedto demoralise her. If her family supports her, there might be some reliefand care, but if they don’t or cannotbecause they are themselves underpressure to keep quiet, she is left feeling abandoned and friendless and,worse, tainted. Many a time, a protest or a campaign, or the continuedpresence of women’s groups, Dalitgroups and progressive political andcivil rights interventions alone havemade it possible for even an FIR to beregistered.

Civic indiff��erenceWith respect to the Unnao incident,notwithstanding the fact that the families of the alleged perpetratorsand victim are known to each other,and from the same caste, the sequence of events has not been essentially diff��erent. For fear of the alleged

perpetrator, an MLA belonging to theBharatiya Janata Party, the police didthe bare minimum that was requiredof them. It was only after the victim,who had been persistent in her questfor justice, threatened selfimmolation in front of Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath’s offi��ce didthe wheels of justice begin to movesomewhat decisively.

What stands out even in this familiar landscape of crime is civic indifference to sexual violence. It is as ifsuch violence is expected in situations where a supplicant approachesa man in power, and is made to waitupon or transact his ostensible largesse. We were witness to a similarand equally outrageous act in Banda,in Uttar Pradesh, in 2010, when a minor girl accused sitting Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Purushottam Dwivediof rape. Her family had approachedhim for assistance and protection,since there had been an attempt tokidnap and sell the girl, with the collusion of the local police. Unlike inthe Unnao instance, though, Mayawati, who was Chief Minister, calledfor the prosecution of her MLA. It isnoteworthy that the victim had the

support of the country’s only ruralwomen’s news network, Khabar Lahariya, which has been long active inthe region.

An ornamental documentThe violently transactional nature ofsexual assault in these circumstancesbears looking at in some detail. A woman approaches an elected representative of the people for assistance, exercising her right to stateredressal and assistance. She realisesvery soon that her claims are nottransactable in a civic sense, but onlyin a violently sexual sense. In theevent, not only is her bodily integrityviolated, but also a series of constitutionally guaranteed rights, includingthe right to life and livelihood. Andby those who have taken an oath inthe name of the Constitution!

However, these crimes are notviewed in these terms. The Constitution is seldom viewed as enunciatingshared civic values and morality.Rather, it exists as a formal and ornamental document that affi��rms not somuch our sovereign democraticselves, but the privileges we havegained as elected representatives. Se

cond, multiple and entangledwrongs as unfolded in Unnao andBanda and indeed elsewhere do notappear as such to those who committhem.

For one, they are validated in anynumber of ways, fi��rst by the family,and next by kin and caste networks.Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s brother andhenchmen were fully behind his various reportedly criminal acts. Moreimportant, whatever their personalfeelings, Sengar and Dwivedi’s spouses felt honourbound to insist thattheir husbands could never havedone what they ostensibly did. For toadmit that their spouses are capableof such acts of crime would be tantamount to conjugal infi��delity, and adenunciation of the caste family. Female complicity in these instanceshelps secure male authority as givenand ‘natural’, thus placing it beyondthe pale of questioning.

In any case, even if spouses do notactively endorse their husbands’crimes, the perpetrators suff��er nopangs of conscience. After all, bothwithin the family and without, a powerful man’s right to a woman’s body appears a natural extension of hismaleness: marital rape is not an issue, for one, and male sexual entitlement is something that women areexpected to reckon with. If theydon’t, that is entirely their problem,as has been made clear with respectto a slew of #MeToo allegations.

Survival of caste societyFurther, such entitlement and powerare affi��rmed by their constitutivecontext, which is caste society. Birthbased superiority, illegitimate as it is,cannot be sustained, unless it is renewed day in and day out through acombination of patent lies and bruteforce. Verbal and physical acts of sexualised humiliation and violence directed at the lower castes and Dalitsare necessary for the survival of castesociety and increasingly so, in theface of challenges and resistance. Inthe Unnao instance, and in othersuch instances, sexual brutality isthus not an afterthought: it is thequintessential form of political privilege and social authority in our socialcontext. Our criminal justice systemis yet to reckon with such routinisedand habitual criminality, for it is never quite registered as such.

V. Geetha is a feminist historian and writer

In India, it is the quintessential form of political privilege and social authority

“Multiple and entangled wrongs as unfolded in Unnao do not appear as suchto those who commit them.” A solidarity rally for the Unnao rape victim infront of India Gate in New Delhi on July 29, 2019. * AFP

The roots of sexual brutality

V. Geetha

Following The Hindu’s Open House in Kochi,many wrote to us seeking more details aboutthe increased space for contributions fromreaders. Some raised a few questions aboutthe idea of an interactive readers’ mail,which will deal with local and civic issues.

R. Sivakumar from Chennai suggestedthat the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section on theeditorial page should allow more space forletters. Jayaprakash Reddy from Nalgondawrote: “It is most gratifying that the Editorhas given his approval to start editioncentricletters to deal with local and civic issues. Butwhether this is confi��ned only to the Kochiedition is not clear. I request the Editor toclarify this. There was a local letters columnin the Hyderabad edition long ago, but it wasstopped after a few months due to reasonsbetter known to the Resident Editor.” S. Malathi from Bengaluru asked to extend thescope of the readers’ mail section to includesocial and political issues too.

Clarifi��cationsTo clarify, readers’ responses to local andcivic issues will not be confi��ned to the Kochiedition alone. The Editor is keen to have adedicated weekly section of readers’ lettersin all editions. Two, the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section is common for all the editionsacross the country and some additional letters that cannot be accommodated in printare published online. Given the fact thatspace is premium in a newspaper, there is little scope for allotting more space on the editorial page for letters. Three, the scope ofthe readers’ mail section cannot be extendedto social and political issues in a blanketmanner due to a range of reasons. While thenewspaper may welcome comments on social and political issues, it is also acutelyaware of the need for a rigorous verifi��cationprocess. We need to remember what distinguishes journalism from diff��erent individualinitiatives such as blogs. The authors of TheElements of Journalism, Bill Kovach and TomRosenstiel, have come with a fi��ne distinction: “In the end, the discipline of verifi��cation is what separates journalism from entertainment, propaganda, fi��ction, or art.”

It is heartening to note the growing interest among readers about the economics ofnews production and the cost of journalism.Chidambaram Kudiarasu from Thoothukudiwrote: “At a time when the previous revenuemodel of advertising money is getting fragmented across platforms, readers should notgrudge a few bucks more for highqualityjournalism and baulk at pay walls.” Rajiv Lochan felt that my claim that the revenue model for news publications was led by advertising for a century was not correct. Heargued that till the market leader started theundesirable price war in 199091, the revenue model of the newspaper industry wasreaderled, which covered operating expenses. He wrote: “Ad revenue was the surplusthat would be reinvested in the business,paid out to employees and dividended out toshareholders. To claim that for a century therevenue model was led by ads is both misleading and incorrect.”

The role of advertisingMr. Lochan’s argument is partially true. Inthe preliberalisation era, there was betterbalance between readerled revenue andearnings from advertisers. It is also true thatthe circulation fi��gures before 1990 were substantially low, which meant a limited operational cost. The transformation of the Indianmedia led to growth and proliferation. Everynew platform — from privately owned TVchannels to FM radio stations — expandedthe market during this phase and advertisingbecame the bedrock of fi��nancial sustainability of the news media industry. In his working paper, “A magic system? Print Publics,Consumption and Advertising in Modern Tamil Nadu”, historian A.R. Venkatachalapathyobserved how advertisements were criticalinputs in the widening world of journalism.He cited the doyen of Tamil journalism, T.S.Chockalingam, to establish this point.Chockalingam wrote: “Without advertisingrevenue journalism simply cannot function”.

Chockalingam’s essay also explained therole of advertising in keeping the cover priceconsiderably lower than the actual production cost. Mr. Venkatachalapathy’s footnotesclearly indicate that Chockalingam made thisobservation as early as in 1943. Robin Jeffrey’s pathbreaking book, India’s Newspaper Revolution, also confi��rms the role of advertising in the spread of the newspaperbeyond the metropolitan centres.

[email protected]

Fair and participativejournalism needs resourcesHigh-quality journalism does not come free of cost

A.S. Panneerselvan

FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

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DATA POINT

In furtherance of the recommendations made by the apex court in Tehseen S. Poonawalla v. Union of India,the Rajasthan government has introduced the Rajasthan Protection FromLynching Bill, 2019. If it gets passed,Rajasthan will be the second State after Manipur to have a dedicated lawcriminalising mob lynching as a special off��ence, in addition to other offences under the Indian Penal Code.

The Bill follows theSupreme Court’s recommendations inauthorising the setting up of specialcourts, appointmentof a dedicated nodaloffi��cer, and stipulating enhanced punishments. However, itsscope is more comprehensive as itnot only criminalises acts of lynching, dissemination of ‘off��ensive material’ and fostering of a ‘hostile environment’, but also provides for relief,legal aid, compensation and rehabilitation.

Broad defi��nitionThe Bill defi��nes lynching as an act orseries of acts of violence or aiding,abetting or attempting an act of violence, whether spontaneous orplanned, by a mob (two or more persons) on the grounds of religion,race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexualorientation, political affi��liation andethnicity. Though wideranging incontent, the document does not cover cases of solitary off��ences. Noticeably, the Bill says that police offi��cersand district magistrates have to takemeasures to prevent lynching and related off��ences. However, unlike thelaw on mob lynching in Manipur, itdoes not prescribe any punishmentfor dereliction of duty.

Further, some of the Bill’s provisions might attract legal scrutiny.Section 8(c) of the Bill says thatwhoever commits an act of lynching,where the act leads to the death ofthe victim, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for life and afi��ne not be less than ₹��1,00,000 and

which may extend to ₹��5,00,000. Asregards sentencing, this provisioncompletely deprives the judiciary ofany amount of discretion.

Taking away judicial discretionIt needs to be stated that a courtneeds to consider all the facts and circumstances, diff��erent for each crime,while making a decision on punishment. The Supreme Court, while declaring Section 303 of the IPC unconstitutional in Mithu Singh v. State ofPunjab, held that “the exercise of

judicial discretion onwellrecognised principles is, in the fi��nal analysis, the safest possible safeguard for theaccused. The legislature cannot make relevant circumstances irrelevant, deprive thecourts of their legiti

mate jurisdiction to exercise theirdiscretion”.

Section 9 of the Rajasthan Bill stipulates, inter alia, the same punishment for lynching and “attempting”an act of lynching. In the context ofcriminal law and sentencing, theprinciple of proportionality mandates an adequate balance of thegravity of the crime, the interests ofthe victim and of society, and thepurposes of criminal law. The constitutional courts have time and againapplied the principle of proportionality and have struck down laws thatare excessively harsh ordisproportionate.

Lynching is an egregious manifestation of prejudice, intolerance, andcontempt towards the rule of law.With all its limitations, the RajasthanBill is evidence of political will by theState government. It is expected thatdeliberations help in the enactmentof a more constitutionally robust Bill.However, legislation cannot act as apanacea; what is required is politicalcommitment. It is high time that theother States and the Centre showsome urgency so that creepingthreats are prevented from metastasising into an outofcontrol monster.

Anmolam is a lawyer, running BDLAAAW, anonprofi��t organisation; Farheen Ahmad is aresearch scholar at the South AsianUniversity, New Delhi

Rajasthan’s eff��ort to criminalisemob lynching is a good startThe Bill goes beyond just codifying SC directives

Anmolam

& Farheen Ahmad The Lok Sabha tonight [August 4, New Delhi] passed the Banks Nationalisation Bill sitting three extra hours in the day to vote theremaining 21 of its 27 clauses and the threeschedules and to give a fi��nal third reading toa measure that has been described as a personal triumph for the Prime Minister, Mrs.Indira Gandhi. The Swatantra and Jan Sanghbenches were all but empty at the historicmoment because of a walk out staged earlierin protest against the House taking up thethird reading at the late hour. A solitary JanSangh member in saff��ron robes did not jointhe protest. Besides nationalising 14 top Indian banks with deposits exceeding Rs. 50crores, the Bill seeks to introduce workers’participation for the fi��rst time in the management of public sector agencies. Amendments adopted today to the provisions ofthe Bill give representation of bank employees in the transitory advisory boards tobank custodians as well as in the boards ofdirectors to be formed after the nationalisedbanks are reorganised by the Union Government in consultation with the Reserve Bank.

FIFTY YEARS AGO AUGUST 5, 1969

Bill on Bank nationalisation

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

mir Valley is being emptiedof tourists and Amarnathpilgrims is unprecedented.But the security of the localsis also our responsibility,and we are deploying forcesto address this concern,” hesaid. As of now, there are 1.3lakh Central forces deployed in the State, besidesthe Army and the police.

Last week, the Army saidPakistanbased terrorgroups had made attemptsto launch fi��dayeen attacks inthe Valley. The State government issued a circular asking Amarnath pilgrims to“curtail” the yatra in thewake of credible intelligenceinputs about a terror attack.

The State is now underPresident’s rule.

A senior government offi��cialin Srinagar said the offi��cialswere asked to prepare forany kind of law and ordersituation. “We are always onalert, but we have not beengiven any reason for the deployment of additional forces. This is only for maintenance of law and order,” theoffi��cial told The Hindu.

Asked whether it was related to the abrogation ofArticle 35A that lets the administration decide the“permanent residents” ofthe State, the offi��cial said,“We have not been toldanything.”

Another offi��cial addedthat security threat to theAmarnath Yatra was alwaysthere. “The way the Kash

PM Modi will chairCabinet meeting today

es on August 3, people havebeen asked to go to farawayplaces for hearings on August 5, 6 and 7,” senior advocate H.R.A. Choudhurysaid.

“The LRCRs and NRCauthorities have alsosnubbed the SupremeCourt, which on April 10 ordered that a person shouldbe called for hearing to acentre within a convenientdistance in the same district. The notices have alsoviolated the SC ruling on July 23 against the government’s plea for reverifi��cation after NRC StateCoordinator Prateek Hajelasaid 27% reverifi��cation hasalready been done,” Mr.Choudhury said.

Under fi��reBVCS president Atowar Rahman said the notices havebeen served in mostly Muslim areas two days after theState government discloseddistrictwise data on NRC inclusions and exclusions inthe State Assembly. “Wewonder if Mr. Hajela is under pressure from the government to have these notices served, or his offi��ce hasdone it voluntarily,” he said.

“The notices have been abolt from the blue. Most people like Jamir Ali, JahanaraKhatun, Aamir Ali are dailywagers and unable to getvehicles to centres 300500km away at such short notice. They fear they will beexcluded from the NRC ifthey cannot turn up at thespecifi��ed place in time,” Mr.Choudhury said.

There were reports of similar notices served in minority areas of districts suchas Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri, Morigaon and Karimganj.

‘SC snubbed’The Brahmaputra Valley Civil Society (BVCS), a groupof academicians, retired bureaucrats, lawyers and professionals, said the noticescited The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and IssueNational Identity Cards)Rules 2003.

“But the rules, as amended in 2009, and the Standard Operating Procedurethat the Centre came upwith for the NRC exercisesay that a person has to begiven at least 15 days to appear for a hearing. In a sudden bombardment of notic

Assam minorities get reverifi��cation notices

Mr. Omar Abdullah and Ms.Mufti earlier in the day hadwarned the Centre againstabrogation of Article 35Aand Article 370, which givesspecial status to J&K.

There is no offi��cial wordon the arrests by the Governor’s administration.

Earlier in the day National Conference (NC) president Dr. Farooq Abdullahchaired an allparty meetingin Srinagar and appealed toPrime Minister NarendraModi “not to revoke Jammuand Kashmir’s specialstatus.”

Dr. Abdullah said all parties resolved to be united in“protecting the identity, autonomy and special rights ofJ&K.”

“Modifi��cation or abrogation of Article 35A or Article370 would be aggressionagainst the people of J&K,”read the joint statementcalled the ‘GupkarDeclaration.’

Meanwhile the securitybuildup took a fi��nal shapeon Sunday, a top police offi��cial said on the condition ofanonymity.

Several colleges, factoriesand hostels were vacatedand occupied by additionaltroops in the Valley.

Hospitals were put inemergency mode, said a senior offi��cial on the conditionof anonymity. Dozens ofmobile bulletproof bunkerswere installed across theValley.

J&K leaders put under house arrest

Madhya Pradesh has surrendered more than a quarter ofits allotted Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana (Grameen)houses for this fi��nancialyear, giving up 2.32 lakh outof a total 8.32 lakh houses.

This is the fi��rst time anyState has done so, accordingto offi��cials from the UnionRural Development Ministry,which administers thescheme.

The housing scheme aimsto ensure that every rural Indian family has a puccahouse with basic amenitiesby 2022, and expects tobuild a total of 2.95 crorehouses by then. The nationwide target for this fi��nancialyear 201920 is 60 lakhhouses.

“The State targets weredetermined in February2019 and Madhya Pradeshwas allotted a total of 8.32lakh houses under the Annual Action Plan approvedby the Empowered Committee. However, on July 31, wegot a letter from the MP government that they wishedto surrender 2.32 lakh houses this year,” a senior RuralDevelopment Ministry offi��cial, who did not wish to be

named, told The Hindu.“The State indicated that itwas not in a position to construct [the original target]this year.”

“This is an unprecedented situation and it is notgood for the State to reduceits target. At the end of theday, it delays housing forlakhs of its people,” saidanother senior Ministry offi��cial, who also did not wish tobe identifi��ed. “It seems thatthe Congress government’sfarm loan waiver schememay be reducing the State’sability to meet its share forother schemes.”

Under PMAY(G), each benefi��ciary is given a total of₹��1.2 lakh to construct a pucca home, with a hygienic

kitchen space. (The amountis ₹��1.3 lakh for hilly States,diffi��cult areas and tribal andbackward districts whichcome under the IntegratedAction Plan.) The cost is splitin a 60:40 ratio between theState and Central governments in plain areas, and a90:10 ratio in northeasternand Himalayan States. Thus,the State governments mustbear a share of the cost of thefl��agship Central scheme.

In the last three fi��nancialyears, Madhya Pradesh hasbeen second only to WestBengal in the number ofhouses constructed underPMAY(G), completing morethan 13 lakh houses since2016, according to government data.

Soon after the Union Budget was presented in July,M.P. Finance Minister TarunBhanot had complained thatthe State’s share of tax revenue had been slashed by₹��2,700 crore, calling it a“huge loss” and a “betrayal”of the people of the State bythe NDA government.

When the State’s Congressgovernment presented itsown maiden budget, it increased its budgetary allocation for farmers by 145% overthe previous year to ₹��22,736crore. In keeping with pollpromises to implement afarm loan waiver scheme,the State’s Finance Ministersaid the loans of 20 lakhfarmers had been waived, tothe tune of ₹��7,000 crore, over two months. Asn additional ₹��8,000 crore was setaside for the remaining farmers, he said.

The Congress governmenthas been slow to come onboard with some other fl��agship schemes of the CentralBJPled government. Only9,304 of MP’s approximately80 lakh farmers had received the fi��rst instalment ofthe PMKISAN scheme’s annual income support of₹��6000, the Rajya Sabha wasinformed in June.

M.P. returns over 25% of target under PMAYRural Development Minister calls State’s decision an unprecedented situation

Priscilla Jebaraj

NEW DELHI

The rural housing scheme aims to ensure every rural Indianfamily has a pucca house with basic amenities by 2022.

A coordination committeeof the indigenous groups inAssam has demanded thereservation of 21 “immigrantscontrolled” Assembly seats for indigenous communities.

It also sought the formation of a Legislative Councilto let numerically weakercommunities be represented in the 126memberAssembly.

“Many indigenous groupshave been aff��ected by theAssam Accord that settledfor March 24, 1971, as thecutoff�� date for detecting illegal migrants instead of

1951. But we can somewhatundo the damage by insisting on 1951 as the basis forensuring the constitutionalrights of the Assamese andother indigenous groups viathe implementation ofClause 6 of the accord,” saidSyed Muminul Awal, leaderof the Janagosthiya Samannwoy Parishad, Assam.

The Parishad is an umbrella body of 21 organisations representing indigenous communities.

Hifazul Haque, Parishad’scoordinator, said the AssamAccord had legitimised 50lakh migrants from East Pakistan and Bangladesh between 1951 and 1971.

Call to reserve 21 seats inAssam for indigenous groups

‘Many were aff��ected by Assam Accord’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

Government tenders worthover ₹��25,000 crore wereeither cancelled or modifi��edand reissued after the Department for Promotion ofIndustry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) stepped in to changetheir conditions to promote‘Make in India’ goods, a topoffi��cial said.

“The Department is taking every step for eff��ectiveimplementation of publicprocurement order, 2017, topromote ‘Make in India’ products,” the offi��cial said.

The government issuedthe order on June 15, 2017, topromote the manufacturingand production of goods andservices in India and enhance income and employment in the country.

Urea plantA tender worth ₹��8,000 crorewas withdrawn and reissued with modifi��ed conditions after the interventionof the DIPP. The project wasrelated to setting up of aurea and ammonia plant forgasifi��cation.

Similarly, a tender for the

procurement of train setcoaches was cancelled as thetender had certain restrictive conditions that were discriminatory against domestic manufacturers andfavoured foreign players.The project cost was ₹��5,000crore.

A tender for ₹��8,135 crorewas modifi��ed with revisedeligibility criteria for settingup of a 3x800 MW project. Atender worth ₹��3,000 crorefor Mumbai Metro was alsomodifi��ed.

The move assumes signifi��cance as concerns have beenraised by certain quartersabout the restrictive and discriminatory clauses beingimposed against domesticmanufacturers and suppliers in tender documentsfor public procurement.

The department had ear

lier held a series of meetingswith concerned departments and Ministries including Steel, Railways, Defence,Oil and Gas, Pharmaceutical, Electronics, Telecommunications,Heavy Industries, Textiles, Shipping andPower in this regard.

“Directions were given toensure strict compliance ofthe order in letter and in spirit. All nodal ministries weredirected to ensure notifi��cation of local content,” the offi��cial added.

Under the Public Procurement (Preference to Make inIndia) Order, it was envisaged that all Central government departments, their attached or subordinateoffi��ces and autonomous bodies controlled by the Government of India shouldensure purchase preferencebe given to domestic suppliers in governmentprocurement.

Several departments andMinistries including pharmaceuticals and defenceproduction have alreadyidentifi��ed several items thatwould have a minimum levelof domestic content.

Tenders cancelled toboost ‘Make in India’ DPIIT changes norms to promote indigenous goods


New Delhi

Uttar Pradesh MLA KuldeepSingh Sengar, jailed in a caseof rape of a minor girl,claimed on Sunday thatthere was a “political conspiracy” to frame him anddemanded a thoroughprobe into the car crash thatleft the rape survivor injured and two dead.

“I would also pray to Godthat both the advocate andthe pidhitaa (Unnao rapesurvivor) recover fully,” Mr.Sengar told reporters outside Sitapur jail.

He was being taken toDelhi by a CBI team, the Sitapur jail superintendentsaid.

Meanwhile, the CBI on

Sunday conducted searcheson the premises of Sengarand others in Uttar Pradeshin connection with thetruckcar collision.

According to the agency,the searches were carriedout at 17 locations in Unnao,Lucknow, Banda and Fatehpur. The CBI named Sengarand nine others in the FIRand took over the probefrom the Uttar Pradesh police.

The CBI has constituted aspecial team, comprising 25offi��cials and six forensic experts. The Supreme Courthad earlier directed it tosum up the probe within aweek. If necessary, it cantake one more week.

(With PTI inputs)

Sengar says he is beingframed in car crash


Lucknow/New Delhi

A CBI team during a visit to the house of the rape survivor atMaki village in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

Congress leader Milind Deora on Sunday proposedthe names of Sachin Pilotand Jyotiraditya Scindia forthe post of party’s nationalpresident.

Mr. Deora said he agreedwith Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh that thenew Congress presidentshould be young, capableand possess electoral, administrative and organisational experience, and apanIndia appeal.

“In my view, Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindiahave all these qualities andcan provide strength to theorganisation and vigour tothe opposition space,” hesaid.

He added that he was“unequivocally ruling myself out,” adding that “Iknow my strengths andcapabilities and I am willing to work with anyone inthe best interest of our party.” Mr. Deora said Mr. Pilotor Mr. Scindia should bemade interim president atleast, and be publiclybacked by the Gandhi family.

Milind Deorabets on Pilotor Scindia


Mumbai

Modi asks MPs to nurseconstituenciesNEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra

Modi called upon BJP MPs on

Sunday to work with a

positive mindset.

At the concluding session of

a training programme for

party lawmakers, he also

referred to the next Lok

Sabha election, scheduled for

2024, and told them to nurse

their constituencies in a way

that they can retain them on

the strength of their work

and conduct, sources said.

IN BRIEF

Nitish seeks Centralstatus for university PATNA

On the occasion of the

centenary celebration of the

central library of Patna

University, Bihar Chief

Minister Nitish Kumar on

Sunday reiterated his demand

that it be granted the status

of a Central university.

Vice-President M. Venkaiah

Naidu, who was present at

the event, assured all help for

this. Earlier, in 2017, Mr.

Kumar raised this demand

before Prime Minister

Narendra Modi but was

turned down. Patna

University is the 11th oldest

University in India.

Heavy rain in Mumbai andadjoining regions disruptedlife for the second consecutive day on Sunday, throwingtrain services off�� the track,disrupting air traffi��c andcausing power outages inneighbouring Thane andPalghar districts.

Mumbai received 204 mmuntil Sunday morning, lessthan its neighbouring townsof Thane and Virar, but thethird highest 24hour Augustrainfall in a decade. This alsomarked the completion of total ‘normal’ rainfall for theseason, with 2374.2 mmabove the average seasonalrainfall of 2317.1 mm receivedbetween June and September.

Two electrocuted Two persons died of electrocution in Santacruz and onewas reported missing, feareddrowned in Dharavi. A manin his midthirties was alsofeared to have drowned inthe Phoolpada dam in Palghar district.

Over 400 people residingalong Mithi river were moved

to safety, while another 400people were evacuated inPalghar district. Power supply was cut off�� in many areasof Thane and Palghar districts, besides many areas inMumbai, as substations wentunder water.

Earlier in the day, teams ofthe Navy, the Air Force andthe Army were requisitioned

by the State government torescue those stranded inThane and Palghar. An IAFMi7 helicopter evacuated 58people, including 16 children, and brought them tothe Air Force Station atThane. Two columns of theArmy, consisting of 120 personnel, were sent to Thanedistrict.

The Central Railway (CR)bore the brunt for the secondday running as servicesacross the Central Line andmajor sections of the Harbour Line were hit due to waterlogging. For over 12 hours,no train ran between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane,while suburban services bet

ween CSMT and Mankhurdon the Harbour Line weresuspended due to acutefl��ooding.

Nearly 7,000 passengersacross 12 long distance trainsthat had been regulated atvarious stations were provided with bus transportation toreach Mumbai.

A Rajdhani Express boundfor Madgaon in Goa stoppedwell in time before the mudslide near Panvel due to thequick thinking of the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot AVRathore and Pawan KumarPatel.

However, it took the railway authorities nearly 11hours to clear the sections.As a consequence of themudslide, Konkan Railwayhad to cancel 15 trains anddivert/short terminate anequal number which wouldhave passed through thatsection.

With heavy rains forecastfor the next 48 hours, theMaharashtra government declared a holiday on Mondayin all schools and colleges inMumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Navi Mumbai,Raigad, Palghar, and Pune.

Heavy rain hits life in Mumbai again Over 800 evacuated to safety, train services thrown off�� track, air traffi��c disrupted


Mumbai

Closed line:The tracks at the Chunabhatti station in Mumbai went under water on Sunday. * PTI

Only such an election, hesaid, will provide legitimacy for Mr. Gandhi’s successor. Earlier, former generalsecretary (organisation) Janardhan Diwedi too hadquestioned the rather “informal” process of consultations to pick Mr. Gandhi’ssuccessor.

For now, sources say, only a provisional presidentwill be selected by theCWC. “The election is aneventual reality. But fornow, we can’t focus on itbecause there are crucialAssembly polls coming upin the next few months inMaharashtra, Haryana, Bihar and Delhi,” a top Congress leader said.

Mr. Gandhi expressedthe desire to leave the position during a CWC meetingheld on May 25. At the time,

CWC members categorically said that there was noquestion of accepting Mr.Gandhi’s resignation. Forover a month, the party remained in denial.

On July 3, Mr. Gandhi, inan open letter to the party,said once again that he hadno intention of continuing.

Following his letter, many, including Mr. Tharoorand Punjab Chief MinisterCaptain Amarinder Singh,pushed for Mr. Gandhi’syounger sister PriyankaGandhi Vadra to take over.On Thursday, during ameeting of general secretaries to plan the 75th birth anniversary of former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi, Ms.Vadra categorically told thefunctionaries to rule herout of the race.

(With PTI inputs)

CWC to set the course for new leadership

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


NEWS

The Army has asked Pakistanto take back the bodies of itsBorder Action Team (BAT)personnel lying in Indian territory, Army sources said onSunday.

“The Pakistan Army wascontacted by us on Saturdayevening to get the bodies ofits personnel retrieved in theKeran sector for last rites. Itis yet to respond,” an Armysource said. The bodies arelying in the open, he added.

Except for sporadic smallarms fi��re, the Line of Control(LoC) remained largely calmduring the day.

The Army said it hadfoiled a BAT attempt to infi��ltrate on Saturday and in theensuing exchange of fi��re, infl��icted heavy casualties onthe team.

“The bodies of fi��ve to se

ven possibly Pakistan regulars or Special Service Groupcommandos, along withmaybe some terrorists, havebeen seen on our side of theLoC close to our posts,” Army offi��cials said. Many BATmembers fl��ed taking advantage of the bad weather, theysaid.

Army sources said therehad been a spurt in infi��ltration attempts and BAT actions in the past few days.These had been foiled.

“There had been four orfi��ve infi��ltration attempts andthree or four of them wereby the BAT,” one offi��cer said.

Humanitarian off��erOn the off��er on the bodies, asenior Army source said, “Itis unlikely that Pakistan willaccept the humanitarian off��er. It is not surprising because they had done the

same with many of their fallen soldiers of the NorthernLight Infantry in Kargil andhidden dozens of bodies andtents in Balakot. The list ofdenials is endless,” thesource said.

There was also heavy fi��r

ing, including use of artillery, by the Pakistan Armyduring the infi��ltration andthe BAT’s attempts to provide cover, sources added.

This prompted the Armyto use the heavy 155mm Bofors artillery guns briefl��y afew days ago.

“Bofors were used once afew days ago, but after thatwe didn’t feel the need to usethem again,” another sourcesaid. They were used on theLoC after close to adecadeandahalf.

Calibre escalation, or usage of heavier calibre weapons, does take place duringsuch ceasefi��re violations, offi��cials said. “Each side aimsat ensuring its moral ascendancy and domination overthe LoC,” an offi��cial said butreiterated that the Army ensured that the targets wereonly military and the terro

rists supported by the Pakistan Army.

Pakistan’s denialThe DirectorGeneral of Pakistan’s InterServices PublicRelations (ISPR) quickly denied any “cross LoC actionby Pakistan”, and called thepossession of bodies by Indiaas “mere propaganda”.

“Such blatant lies/stageddramas are Indian disinformation manoeuvre to divertworld attention from increased atrocities by Indianoccupation forces inside Indianoccupied Jammu andKashmir,” he tweeted.

On Saturday, as heavy exchange of fi��re was underway, he alleged that the Indian Army had used clusterbombs along the LoC whichwas quickly denied by Indiaas yet another of “Pakistan’slie, deceit and deception”.

Several bodies lie unclaimed on LoCArmy asks Pakistan to take back the corpses, but it denies any hand in the infi��ltration attempts


NEW DELHI

A photograph provided bythe Army of the body of aPakistani soldier in the Keransector. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A regional confl��ict coulderupt over Kashmir, Pakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan said on Sunday andurged for international intervention to stabilise the situation. Mr. Khan’s warningcame as India continued toboost military might in theState and ordered touristsand pilgrims from the rest ofthe country to leave.

“[U.S.] President Trumpoff��ered to mediate on Kashmir. This is the time to do soas situation deterioratesthere and along the LoC[Line of Control] with newaggressive actions being taken by Indian occupationforces. This has the potentialto blow up into a regional

crisis,” he said on socialmedia.

Mr. Khan alleged that theIndian forces had used cluster bombs on civilian population across the LoC.

He called upon the inter

national community and theUN to take note of the Kashmir situation. A day earlier,Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had accusedIndia of using clustermunitions.

On Sunday, in his socialmedia messages on Kashmir,Mr. Khan said it was time toresolve the Kashmir issuethrough a “peaceful and justsettlement”.

His comments came evenas reports came that the administration of Pakistanoccupied Kashmir had askedthe civilian population to getarmed.

Mr. Khan visited the U.S.last week when Mr. Trumpsaid he was willing to mediate on the Kashmir dispute.

India used cluster bombs on civilians across LoC, he says


NEW DELHI

Regional confl��ict possibleover Kashmir: Imran Khan

<> It is time to resolve

the Kashmir issue

through a peaceful

and just settlement

Imran Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister

Tourism has suff��ered a major jolt in Kashmir on Sunday. Against an average footfall of 3,000 tourists per dayjust the previous week, atrickle of 350 arrived in theValley, despite the adverseadvisory.

A Tourism Department offi��cial told The Hindu thatmost hotels in tourist hotspots including Gulmarg andPahalgam had been emptiedfollowing the advisory.

“Around 700 tourists arestill in the Valley after helping around 90% tourists toleave Kashmir in the pasttwo days. We expect 350more to leave by Monday given their fl��ight schedules.Thereafter 350 will be left.All arrangements have beenmade for those who want toleave the Valley safely,” saida senior tourism offi��cial.

According to data, Kashmir witnessed a major dropin tourist arrivals after thePulwama attack in February,which witnessed India and

Pakistan entering into a border duel.

Steady growthHowever, April, May, Juneand July saw steady growingnumbers, from 17,172 to60,844 and 1,16,572 andaround 2 lakh, respectively,offi��cial fi��gures suggest.

Kashmir Chamber ofCommerce and Industrygeneral secretary FarooqAmin said the sudden advisory had proved “OperationBedlam” for people and theState economy.

The change in policy hasbeen evident from February2019, he said.

“Since then tourism, horticulture and other sectors ofour economy suff��ered tremendous losses due to thedecision of the governmentto restrict movement of civilians on the only road link ofSrinagarJammu. It has hitthe fi��nal nail in the coffi��nnow,” Mr. Amin said.

‘Operation Bedlam’ for tourism sectorHotels are emptyfollowing theadvisory

Troubled times: Tourists wait for transport after checking out of houseboats at the Dal Lake inSrinagar following the advisory to pilgrims and tourists to leave Kashmir. * NISSAR AHMAD

Peerzada ashiq

Srinagar

The AntiCorruption Bureau(ACB) on Sunday served anotice on former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidentMehbooba Mufti asking her“to explain her position before it regarding the illegalrecruitments in the Jammuand Kashmir Bank”. Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) detained Engineer Rashid,MLA.

During the course of investigation of case FIR No.10/2019, it has surfaced thatsome appointments weremade by the Chairman J&KBank on references and recommendations of a few Ministers, the ACB notice said.“It may please be clarifi��edwhether such referenceshad your endorsement, verbal or otherwise for appointments in J&K Bank,” itadded.

A PDP leader, confi��rming

the letter, told The Hinduthat the party “was expecting it since the PDP was atthe forefront of unifying political parties in J&K”.

Ms. Mehbooba in hertweet said: “Not surprised toreceive a letter from the AntiCorruption Bureau. Concerted eff��orts are beingmade to browbeat mainstream leaders & thwart potential eff��orts for a collectiveresponse. I am too small anentity visavis the cause that

unites us today. Such tacticswon’t work.”

In a separate development, Peoples United Frontleader Shah Faesal said theNIA summoned Awami Ittehad party chief EngineerRashid to Delhi. Er. Rashid'soutspoken nature and unique stance on Kashmirseems to have rattled someinterests in Delhi, Mr. Faesalsaid. He demanded that theNIA immediately concludethe investigations.

ACB issues notice to Mufti; NIA detains RashidIt is a concerted eff��ort to browbeat leaders, says former CM

special correspondent

Srinagar

Muzaff��ar Beigh, Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti at anallparty meeting in Srinagar on Sunday. * NISSAR AHMAD

Israel greeted India onFriendship Day with aTwitter message that featured popular Bollywoodsong Yeh dosti from the1975 hit movie Sholay,drawing an equally warmresponse from Prime Minister Narendra Modi whosaid the bond between thetwo countries was “strongand eternal”.

“Happy #FriendshipDay2019 India! May our ever strengthening friendship & growing partnershiptouch greater heights,” theIsraeli Embassy here tweeted on Sunday. Mr. Moditweeted in Hebrew saying,the countries have provedtheir friendship over time.

India, Israelbond overYeh dosti


New Delhi

The recent seizures of over1,100 kg of heroin in the Indian subcontinent have leftthe investigating agenciesworried about a spurt in theactivities of Pakistanbaseddrugtraffi��cking syndicatesin the region.

The seized heroin is suspected to be of Afghanistanorigin. “Three routes aretraditionally used for globaldistribution of Afghan heroin: the Balkans, CentralAsian countries and the Indian subcontinent. Since2015, there has been a decline in seizures on the Balkans and Central Asianroutes. However, they haveof late increased in the subcontinent,” an enforcementagency offi��cial said.

The Coast Guard detected 200 kg of heroin on a Pakistan fi��shing vessel off�� Gujarat on May 21. FourPakistan nationals werearrested.

On May 6, an Iranianboat, allegedly transportingnarcotics, was seized by theMaldivian authorities westof the Baa atoll. In another

case, the Gujarat AntiTerrorist Squad, together with theCoast Guard, seized 100 kgof heroin from an Iranianboat off�� Porbandar and arrested nine Iranian nationals in March. A probe revealed the consignment hadbeen sent by Pakistan national Hamid Malek andloaded on the boat close tothe Gwadar port. A followup by the ATS led to the arrest of an Afghan national atLajpat Nagar in Delhi andanother suspect in Kerala.

Inland seizures have alsopointed to the role of Pakistanbased syndicates, the offi��cial said. A case in point isthe seizure by the Customsat Attari in June of 532 kg ofheroin. They had been declared as rock salt. The alleged kingpin, Tariq AhmedLone of Kupwara, was arrested, along with importerGurpinder Singh. “The consignment was booked in thename of Global Vision Impex, a front for Pakistan’s ISIin Lahore,” the offi��cial said.

In several cases, agencieshave come across evidenceof drug money being used tofund terror activities.

‘Money being used for terror activities’

Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI

Big seizure: Punjab police personnel unloading bags ofsuspected heroin from a truck in Amritsar in June. * AFP

Lens on Pak. cartels asdrug seizures mount

Countering fake news airedby a Pakistanbased newschannel about death ofJammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik in Tihar Jail, the DirectorGeneral of Prison(Tihar) on Sunday deniedany such incident.

Sandeep Goel, DirectorGeneral (Tihar), said therumour about Malik, presently lodged in the Tiharprison, was totally incorrect. His health conditionwas normal and he was doing fi��ne. He added that Malik had undergone a regular medical checkup andhis reports were fi��ne.

After the rumours of hisdeath were circulated onsocial media, Mr. Goelfound out about Malik’shealth from the jail superintendent and said everything was fi��ne.

On April 10, Malik wasarrested in connectionwith a case related to thefunding of terror and separatist groups in Jammu andKashmir.

JKLF chiefYasin Malik isfi��ne: Tihar jail

Staff reporter

New Delhi

The Railways have decidedthat ticketchecking will belenient on trains leavingJammu, Udhampur and Katra for the next 48 hours,sources said.

This will enable scoresof passengers, especiallyAmarnath pilgrims, toleave Jammu and Kashmireven without holding reserved tickets, after theState administration’s orders cancelling thepilgrimage.

This comes a day afterthe national transporterwaived cancellation charges for all trains in the State.

Railways to go easy onticketless travel


New Delhi

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


WORLD

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12695 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

In his Deivamani Malai, Vallalar says his mind is in a state ofintoxication. It is like the potter’s wheel. The wheel keepsspinning till pots are made. The mind keeps wavering and isin a state of confusion, because of desires, said M.A. Manickavelu, in a discourse.

We chase after something or the other, and this leaves themind restless. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to narrate astory about a how a man’s greed led to misery. A man waswalking along, when a yaksa on a tree asked him if he wanted seven jars full of gold coins. The man told the yaksa thathe would be glad to be the recipient of such an unexpectedboon. The yaksa told him to go home, where seven pots ofgold would be waiting for him. The man hurried home.There, as the yaksa had said, were seven pots of gold. Butthere was just one small problem. Six of the jars were full.The seventh jar was only half full. The man could have beencontent with the six full jars and the half full jar. But such isthe nature of greed, that the man wanted to fi��ll up the halfempty jar. So, he sold whatever he owned in order to fi��ll thejar. He almost lost his mental balance, as he lost all his possessions and could still not fi��ll the seventh jar. The Kingheard about his predicament, and said to him, “The yaksamade the same off��er to me. I asked the yaksa, ‘When youtalk about seven jars of gold, are you talking about what Iwill gain or what I will lose. What seem like benefi��ts comehidden with dangers. So, we should not be greedy.” So weshould keep the mind under control, so that it does not constantly dwell on material possessions. If we do not, we willlose our peace of mind. That is why Vallalar likens the mindto a bouncing ball. When we are controlled by our desires,our mind loses focus.

FAITH

Greed leads to troubles 4 Parts of circuits get rupees

cast around crazy stories (9)

5 Roof features women

mentioned (5)

7 US coin and a very old coin

from Cuba (7)

8 Where a gentleman keeps

something close to his heart

(6,6)

11 Correspondent's payment —

nothing coming up for a long

period! (6)

12 Mean Indian sect member one

day gets debt notices (12)

17 Contrived U-turn Lana pulled

off (9)

18 Reportedly anticipates head

count (6)

20 The French tend to get extra

space (7)

22 Awakening from a never-

ending spin around the States

(7)

23 Smooth winnings to a gambler

(6)

25 Keep down maid oddly in Paris

bed (5)

14 Approaches new listeners (5)

15 Vision mentioned browser's

destination (4)

16 Research panel that must come

to a point (5,5)

19 A man's felt a need to squelch

criminal (10)

21 Powder in metal container (4)

24 Author Carl backing Assamese

natives (5)

25 Flexible, holies met freely (9)

26 Work's big problem for

marsupial (7)

27 Correct about clamp (6)

28 It's Gridman conforming (4)

29 One whose relation will be

revealing (8)

■ DOWN

2 One in a race went without

complaint (7)

3 Cheerless? Not right! Mother's

given to reverie (6)

(set by Gridman)

■ ACROSS

1 As danger develops, half of

them go back to the French

officer (8)

6 Blackleg in second taxi (4)

9 Upset, I’m leaving the other

woman in tension (6)

10 French city's capacity to bond

(7)

13 Smart Ali's driving away

scaremongers (9)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12696

China destabilising IndoPacifi��c, says U.S.SYDNEY

China is destabilising the

Indo-Pacific, U.S. Defence

Secretary Mark Esper said on

Sunday, charging Beijing with

predatory economics,

intellectual property theft

and “weaponising the global

commons”. REUTERS

ELSEWHERE

U.S., Taliban push forpeace on day 2 of talksDOHA

The U.S. and the Taliban were

thrashing out elements of a

deal to bring a close to

Afghanistan’s 18-year conflict

at the second day of renewed

talks in Doha on Sunday.

The talks, now in their eighth

round, began on Saturday

with no end date issued

publicly. AFP

Thirty people died and dozens were wounded in twomass shootings within just 13hours of each other in theU.S., shocking the countryand prompting calls fromsome politicians for tightergun control.

The fi��rst massacre occurred on Saturday morningin the Hispanic border city ofEl Paso, where a gunmankilled 20 people at a Walmartstore before surrendering topolice. Authorities investigating the motive behind theattack said they are treatingit as a case of domesticterrorism.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the rampage appeared to be a hate crime,and police cited a “manifesto” they attributed to the suspect, a 21yearold whiteman, as evidence that the at

tack was racially motivated.Across the country, a gun

man opened fi��re in a downtown district of Dayton,Ohio, early on Sunday, killing nine people, includinghis sister, and wounding atleast 26 others. The assailantwas shot dead by police.

The El Paso shooting reverberated on the campaigntrail for next year’s U.S. pre

sidential election, with several Democratic candidatescalling for gun control.

At least two candidates,Mayor Pete Buttigieg ofSouth Bend, Indiana, and ElPaso native Beto O’Rourke, aformer Congressman, drewconnections to a resurgencein white nationalism and xenophobic politics in the U.S.

“America is under attack

from homegrown white nationalist terrorism,” Mr. Buttigieg said in Las Vegas.

President Donald Trumpbranded the shooting “an actof cowardice,” saying in aTwitter post, “I know that Istand with everyone to condemn today’s hateful act.There are no reasons or excuses that will ever justifykilling innocent people.”

Pope Francis condemnedthe spate of attacks on “defenceless people” in the U.S.

‘Hate crime’

In Texas, police and FBI investigators searched forclues as to what motivatedthe suspect, who is from Allen, a Dallas suburb some1,046 km east of El Paso,which lies on Rio Grandeacross the U.S.Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez.

A State prosecutor saidthey will seek death penalty

for the suspect, Patrick Crusius, 21.

Police said the suspectopened fi��re with a rifl��e onshoppers, many of them bargainhunting for school supplies, then surrendered to offi��cers who confronted himoutside the store.

In Dayton, Ohio, a gunman dressed in body armouropened fi��re in a downtowndistrict, unleashing carnagethat could have been muchworse if not for the rapid intervention of police.

Offi��cers on routine patrolnearby were on the scene inless than a minute and shotthe attacker dead, likely preventing a much higher toll.

Assistant police chief MattCarper named the gunmanas Connor Betts, a 24yearold white male from Bellbrook, Ohio, and said his sister Megan Betts, 22, wasamong those killed.

Carnage unleashed in border city over fear of ‘Hispanic invasion’ Gunman kills 20 people at a Walmart store in Texas while another murders nine, including his sister, in Ohio

Reuters

EL PASO

Cycle of violence: Bodies being removed from the scene ofthe mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday. * AP

Riot police fi��red tear gas atprodemocracy protestersin Hong Kong on Sundayduring a second consecutivenight of clashes, as Chinadelivered fresh warnings over the unrest.

The semiautonomoussouthern Chinese city isreeling from two months ofprotests and violence triggered by opposition to aplanned extradition law.

In the latest unrest, police fi��red tear gas shells atprotesters who were approaching their lines inSheung Wan district.

The clashes were shortlived as protesters rushedinto the subway and movedto a new location — the bustling shopping district of

Causeway Bay. The latest unrest came as

China’s offi��cial Xinhua newsagency published a commentary saying “ugly forces” were threatening thecountry’s “bottom line”.

“The Central governmentwill not sit by idly and letthis situation continue,” theagency wrote.

Riot police fi��re tear gas atHong Kong protesters China warns it ‘will not sit by idly’

Agence France-Presse

Hong Kong

Protesters focus laser beamon riot police during theprotest in Hong Kong. * AP

The death toll after threePhilippines ferries capsized in bad weather roseto 31 on Sunday as rescuersfound more bodies, a CoastGuard offi��cial said.

The motorised, woodenhulled boats were carryinga total of 96 passengersand crew when harshweather conditions causedthe vessels to overturn off��the central island of Guimaras and Iloilo provinceson Saturday.

The search continues forthree more people still missing, Philippines CoastGuard spokesman Commander Armand Balilosaid.

The rest of the crewmembers and passengerswere rescued.

31 dead after 3ferries capsizein Philippines

Reuters

MANILA

Sudan’s prodemocracymovement signed a powersharing agreement with theruling military council onSunday aimed at paving theway for a transition to civilian rule following the overthrow of President Omar alBashir in April.

Representatives initialleda Constitutional documentthat would establish a jointmilitary and civilian councilto rule for a little over threeyears until elections can beheld. The agreement wouldestablish a Cabinet appointed by the activists, as well asa legislative body.

The military overthrew alBashir in April following

months of mass protestsagainst his threedecadelong autocratic rule. Theprotesters remained on thestreets, demanding a rapidtransition to a civilian authority. They have been lockedin tense negotiations with

the military for weeks. Gen. Mohammed Ham

dan Dagalo, the deputy headof the military council, told ajoint news conference thatthe deal has ended an era inSudan’s history “characterized by rivalry and fi��ghting.”

Sudan military, protesterssign deal for civilian ruleElections to be held after joint council’s rule for three years

Associated Press

Cairo

Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of themilitary council, right, and protest leader Ahmad Rabie. * AP

Iran has seized a foreigntanker in the Gulf, Statemedia said on Sunday, inwhat would be the thirdsuch seizure in a monthamid heightened tensionswith its foe the UnitedStates.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “seizedthis ship around Farsi Island which was carryingaround 700,000 litres ofsmuggled fuel”, said aGuards statement quotedby the offi��cial news agencyIRNA.

Seven foreign crew werearrested in the operation,said Fars news agency.

The Guards had earliercaptured Panamafl��aggedMT Riah and Britishfl��agged Stena Impero.

Iran seizesthird foreigntanker in Gulf


Tehran

Nineteen minutes before thefi��rst 911 call alerted authorities to a mass shooting at aWalmart in El Paso, Texas, ahatefi��lled, antiimmigrantmanifesto appeared online.It spoke of a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.” It detailed aplan to separate America into territories by race. Itwarned that white peoplewere being replaced byforeigners.

The authorities were scrutinising the 2,300wordscreed and attempting to determine whether it was written by the same man whokilled 20 people and injuredmore than two dozen othersnear the Mexican border.

Police are questioning thesuspect, Patrick Crusius, a21yearold white man fromAllen, Texas, a 10hour driveto the Walmart.

‘Threat to white race’

The manifesto that may belinked to Crusius describedan imminent attack andrailed against immigrants,saying, “if we can get rid ofenough people, then ourway of life can be moresustainable.”

The unsigned manifesto,titled “The InconvenientTruth,” draws direct inspiration from the mass murderof Muslims at two mosquesin New Zealand in Marchthat left 51 people dead.

In that attack, the allegedkiller published a manifesto

online promoting a white supremacist theory called “thegreat replacement.”

The theory argues thatelites in Europe have beenworking to replace white Europeans with immigrantsfrom the West Asia andNorth Africa.

The manifesto linked tothe El Paso killings begins,“In general, I support theChristchurch shooter andhis manifesto. This attack isa response to the Hispanicinvasion of Texas.”

The gunman who openedfi��re at a synagogue in Poway,near San Diego, in April,posted an antiSemitic diatribe on 8chan, the same online message board wherethe El Paso document surfaced. NY TIMES

Hatefi��lled screed draws inspiration from Christchurch attack

Tim Arango

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs

Katie Benner

Manifesto appears online

There was a time when only a few students couldmake their way to inter

national universities for higherstudies. However, this haschanged drastically in the lastfew years with a signifi��cant increase in the number of Indianstudents enrolled in foreign universities.

As per a recent Reserve Bankof India (RBI) report, the totalexpenditure on tuition and hostel fees by Indian students studying abroad has gone up by44% from $1.9 billion in 201314to about $2.8 billion in 201718.Moreover, it is estimated that bythe year 2024, approximately 4lakh Indian students will enrolthemselves in foreign universities. The U.S., Canada and theU.K. remain preferred destinations for Indians studyingabroad, followed by Singapore,China, Australia and other European countries like Germanyand France.

While planning to go abroadfor higher studies, there is aplethora of arrangements that

you need to make prior toyour departure. From mak

ing fi��nancial arrangementsto booking fl��ights andpacking the right stuff��,there are numerousthings that you need to

take care of. And whilepreparing for all other im

portant things, it is quite possible that you may miss out onone of the most important details while travelling to study

abroad — overseas health insurance / comprehensive travelinsurance policy. Other than forAustralia, New Zealand andsome European colleges, students can buy travel insurancefrom India by signing/opting forthe student health insurancewaiver. However, it is always advised to buy student overseasinsurance while going abroadfor study as it functions as a safety net for you if you get intoany trouble or inadvertentlycause damage during your stintoverseas.

One of the most importantreasons why students travellingabroad for higher studies mustbuy travel insurance is to covermedical expenses, given thatthe cost of healthcare overseasis quite expensive in comparison to that in India. For instance, a doctor’s consultationfees in the U.S. are about $300$400 i.e. about ₹��20,500–₹��27,000 in Indian currency.

Now, without travel insurance in place, one can end upspending over a week’s budgeton just consultation/emergencyroom visit charges, which donot include medicines. Keeping

such a scenario in mind, it is very important to invest in theright insurance cover to enjoyoverall protection.

Other risksApart from providing comprehensive coverage against medical emergencies, student travelinsurance also covers youagainst other possible incidentslike study interruption, sponsorprotection, university insolvency, loss of laptop/table, loss ofbaggage, passport and important documents. While buyingstudent travel insurance, it isimportant to consider somecrucial aspects. One, ensurethat your student travel insurance adheres to your universityissued guidelines.

If a student’s travel insuranceplan’s coverage is not in linewith the university issued guidelines, they have every right todecline the student’s insurancewaiver benefi��t or even cancelthe admission. Most universities in the U.S. and Canada demand that international students insure themselves in aplan that covers all expenses related to preexisting diseases,

drug addiction, pregnancy andmental illness, without any sublimits. Additionally, some of theuniversities even insist on international students taking travelinsurance from insurers in theirhome countries. It is better forIndian students travellingabroad to buy insurance fromIndia as policies off��ered by Indian insurers are way cheaperand off��er better benefi��ts.

As per industry experts, forstudents travelling to a foreignland for higher studies, the minimum sum insured must bebetween $250,000 and$500,000. However, it is alwaysadvised to check university guidelines before buying a policy.The premiums for diff��erent policies vary across insurers. For a20yearold student travellingto the U.S. for a 1year programme, the average premiumfor a $500,000 suminsuredpolicy is about ₹��35,000.

While buying student travelinsurance policy, do comparediff��erent plans off��ered by various insurers, on the websiteof insurance aggregators. Thiswill help you choose a plan thatcaters to specifi��c needs and requirements and make the policy much more comprehensiveby attaching required addons.

Also, ensure your insurer notonly covers you for oncampusincidents, but also providesadequate coverage for incidents taking place outside thecampus.

(The author is chief businessoffi��cer, general insurance, Policybazaar.com)

Study the plan before going abroad for studiesTarun MathurCovering medical expenses is

a good enough reason to buy

student travel cover in India

Q. I had been investing via SIPsince November 2018. Theduration of my investment isone year. What should I do withmy capital when the durationgets completed so that I canearn or save more?

VAIBHAV

A. We suppose you are viewingyour systematic investmentplans (SIPs) in mutual funds(MFs) like FDs (fi��xed deposits).In FDs there is a capitalcomponent and there is interest.The capital will remain fi��xed andyour interest will accrue basedon the fi��xed rate promised.However, with MFs, even thecapital may fall when the marketfalls. This is because MFperformance is linked to thestock or debt market. However,in the long term, you can expectreturn on capital, which is calledcapital gains.

Unlike FDs that have a fi��xedtenure, SIPs do not mandate afi��xed tenure. You may chooseSIPs for any time frame. Theimportant thing is for you to

choose the goal for which youare investing through a SIP andkeep your SIP running until youare closer to your goal. Forexample, if you are running thisSIP for retirement, thencontinue running it until sixmonths to one year ahead ofyour goal and then shift themoney to safer avenues.

Do an annual review of theperformance of the funds andmake sure you are invested withsteady performers. Do not worrymuch about shortterm falls inyour fund. SIPs, especially inequity funds, need at least a 35year time frame to average yourcosts (that is buying through upsand downs in the market) anddeliver returns. Do not enterSIPs in equity funds with a timeframe of less than fi��ve years ofholding.

Now, to answer your question,unless you need the money for aspecifi��c purpose, continue withyour SIPs, make sure you haveinvested in the right funds.Increase your savings over time.Else, stop the SIP and startinvesting in another fund. If youare savvy, choose your funds;else take the help of a fi��nancialadvisor, outside of your bankrelationship manager.

Q. I’m 24 years old. I am workingin a company. I get ₹��60,000 amonth in my home town.Naturally, this obviates myrental expense. I want to investin real estate to increase mypassive income. Please advise.

YASH TIWARI

A. Our suggestion would be thatyou save to build wealth forlong term and not lock yourselfat this juncture into payingEMIs.

About a third of your incomewill go away even if you have torepay a ₹��20lakh loan in 10years. Also, when you are talking

of passive income, a plot will notgenerate income. It can onlygenerate profi��t when you sell,depending on the location ofsuch plot, other legal issuesbeing clean. Hence, in ouropinion, for passive incomegeneration, property will not bean option.

However, unless you are goingto buy a house in top cities, therental yield in most tier II andtier III cities and the peripheralsof large cities will be around1.53%. That is, this will be thereturn on the investment youwill make. As you know, this ismuch lower than even an FDreturn.

Hence, our suggestion wouldbe that you use your early yearsto save and invest well in goodfi��xed income products likedeposits, PPF and combine themwith marketlinked productssuch as MFs, NPS and equities.This will give you a very goodhead start when you get intoother commitments andresponsibilities later in your life.As your income increases andyou are settled and know whichcity to settle in, you canconsider buying a property.

Complete your coverage

Q. I am a Central governmentemployee aged 56 years. I am

policies would work better. Inthe basic policy, you can opt fora fl��oater cover where thepremium would be less thanindividual covers, as the same SIis shared by all the insured.

Q. My son is currently two yearsold. I would like to knowwhether there are any specifi��cinvestment plans in LIC where Icould make monthlyinvestments and earn a lumpsum amount by the time hereaches 16/20 years of age, sothat I could use the same for hiseducational needs.

ANUPA TOM

A. You should look at a range ofchildren’s plans off��ered by lifeinsurance companies for yourrequirement. They wouldtypically bear a name similar to‘Child Plan’ and would beendowment, moneyback orunitlinked insurance policies innature.

These plans off��er a lump sumor income stream at defi��nedintervals and/or a defi��nedmaturity date of your choosing.

This would be when your son is16 to 20 years of age, in yourcase.

These policies would includea life cover for the parent/s sothat the child is fi��nanciallysecure should the unfortunatehappen before the maturity ofthe policy. A premium waiverwould also be available fromthen until the maturity date. Atthat point, the lump sum orincome stream will materialiseas planned which can be usedfor college admissions andrelated expenses.

All these are insurance plusinvestment plans, so a part ofyour premium goes towards alife cover and a part towardsinvestment for a return.

If it is an endowment ormoneyback plan, usually thereturns are modest but secureand the investment plan isinternal to the life insurancecompany. The quantum ofthese returns may or may notbe defi��ned.

In a ULIP policy, theinvestments made using yourfunds are transparent and youhave a certain fl��exibility inchoosing the risk level you arecomfortable with. However,you bear the entire risk of theinvestment and the maturityvalue depends on the capitalmarket situation on thematurity date.

(Vidya Bala is a personalfi��nance research expert and K.Nitya Kalyani is a businessjournalist specialising ininsurance and corporatehistory)

planning to take healthinsurance. Please suggest asuitable health insurance policyand the premium to be paidmonthly. I am prepared to pay₹��1,000 every month towardssuch insurance.

J. SHIVAKUMAR

A. Central governmentemployees have the CentralGovernment Health Scheme(CGHS) that bears certaindefi��ned medical expenses,mostly in government healthcare facilities and to a certainextent, at private sectorfacilities.

If you buy a separate healthinsurance policy you can claimunder it in case ofhospitalisation in a nonCGHSfacility. For expenses over andabove what the policy covers,you can approach CGHS. Afteryour retirement, too, you canmaintain your CGHS cover bymaking the requisite paymentsfor coverage.

A basic hospitalisation policyto suit your budget premiumwould bring you a coverage ofonly ₹��3 lakh or less, dependingon your health status. You maybe better off�� with a topup orsuper topup policy with athreshold designed to suit thelimits of your CGHS entitlementlevel and this policy would costrelatively less by way ofpremium.

You can check variouspermutations and combinationsfor coverage, threshold andpremium on insurance companywebsites which usually have apremium calculator.

Insurance for your familyshould also be a factor of theextent of CGHS coverageavailable to them.

If they are not suffi��cientlycovered, then please take a basichospitalisation policy for them,or else, topup/ super topup

ASK US

Vidya Bala

K. NITYA KALYANI


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

MONEYWISE

LOOSE CHANGE

Ravikanth

After a strong uptrend in June, the pricesof gold and silver in the international market remained largely rangebound in July.Though the precious metals managed toeke out marginal gains on a monthonmonth basis, the strength in the U.S. dollararrested the scope for signifi��cant gains.

Comex gold futures edged up 1.7% in July to settle at $1,437.8 an ounce. Silver, onthe other hand, recorded a more robustgain of 7.5% in July, to close at $16.4 anounce. While the expectations of an interest rate cut in the U.S. was the primarydriving force of the rally in precious metalsin June, the announcement of the rate cuttriggered a cooloff�� in gold and silverprices.

Gold slipped to a twoweek low on August 1, a day after the U.S. Federal Reservecut interest rates for the fi��rst time in a decade. Precious metals staged a modest recovery on August 1 after the U.S. Presidentsaid he would impose an additional 10% tariff�� on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports on September 1.

In the domestic market, the price ofgold futures at MCX gained about 3% in July to close at ₹��35,419 per 10 grams. MCX silver futures settled at ₹��41,227 per kilogramme by the end of July. The shorttermoutlook for international prices of gold andsilver hinges on what the price does overthe next few days. Comex gold has a support zone at $1,4001,410 and resistance at$1,4601,470 an ounce. A breakout througheither of these levels is likely to trigger amove in the direction of the breakout.

A move past the resistance at $1,470would impart a positive trend and couldpush gold price to the immediate target of$1,4951,505 an ounce. A breach of the support at $1,410 could impart shorttermweakness and trigger a slide to $1,3701,380 range. The shortterm outlook for silver is slightly negative. A fall to the immediate target of $15.5$15.75 appears likely.

The negative view for silver would be invalidated if the price moves past the resistance at $16.9. A breakout past $17 wouldhelp the price move towards the major target of $17.818. Until $16.9 is not taken out,there would be a case for a slide to $15.75.

Domestically, the outlook for gold ispositive while silver is likely to remainrange bound. The gold price at MCX is likely to rise to the immediate target of₹��36,80037,000 per 10grams. A fall below₹��33,50033,800 zone would invalidate theshortterm positive outlook for gold.

Silver price at the MCX achieved the target of ₹��40,500 mentioned in the previouscolumn. After touching a high of ₹��41,825,silver price has eased a bit recently. MCXsilver is likely to cool off�� to ₹��39,60039,800range in the shortterm. A breakout pastthe immediate resistance at ₹��41,900 wouldbe a sign of strength and push the price to₹��42,80043,000. Until ₹��41,900 is takenout, MCX silver is likely to remain subduedin the shortterm.

To summarise, the shortterm outlookfor precious metals is not too bullish. Rangebound action can persist until there isfresh breakout above resistance levels. Themediumterm however remains positive.

(The author is a Chennai based analyst/ trader. The views and opinions featuredin this column is based on the analysis ofshortterm price movements in gold andsilver futures at COMEX and Multi Commodity Exchange of India. This is notmeant to be trading or investment advice.)

Gold and silver largelyrange-bound in July

B. Krishnakumar

TECH TRAIL: PRECIOUS METALS

Readers can send in queries on personal fi��nance and investing [email protected]. Our experts who write on personal fi��nancewill answer these queries. Moneywise will not give specifi��crecommendations for investment in a particular mutual fund scheme,share or fi��xed deposit.

“...and go easy on the chillies; you will beadding GST to the bill anyway...”

The controversy over the nameof the Capital has erupted againwith BJP leader Vijay Goel making the demand that it shouldbe renamed Dilli. He has apoint, because in local parlanceit has always been Dilli.

When Lord Hardings as Viceroy presided over the buildingof New Delhi on Raisina Hill hewent through several namesand eventually decided on Delhi. For Mirza Ghalib it was Dilli,that which allures the heart.But he lived at a time whenthere was no namechangingspree.

According to the book Delhiand Its Neighbourhood,brought out by the Archaeological Survey of India, historianY.D. Sharma says, “The fi��rst medieval city of Delhi founded bythe Tomars was called Dhilli orDhillika, although among theknown records the name Dhillika occurs for the fi��rst time inthe inscription of 1170 from Bijolia, District Udaipur, whichmentions the capture of Delhiby the Chahamanas. The PalamBaolli inscription of 1276 written in the time of Balban calls itDhilli and the country in whichit lies as Hariyanaka. But an inscription of the reign of MohdThuglak (1328) refers to the city

as Dhillika… It is also calledDhilli, Dihli and Dhilli in old records, some of which refer to itas Dehali, meaning threshold ofthe country, though other prefer Dilli, the heart of Hindustan.”

The Gazetteer of the DelhiDistrict of 188384 says that“tradition” attributes the foundation of the city to Raja Dillipa,the ancestor of the Pandavabrothers. During the 3rd or 4thcentury A.D. the famous ironpillar of Raja Dhava was erected. The Gazetteer says, “Othertraditions, concur in connecting the erection of the pillarwith Bilan Deo, or Anang Pal,founder of the Tomara (Tunwar) dynasty, who fl��ourished inthe eighth century.”

He is said to have been assured by a learned Brahmanthat as the foot of the pillar hadbeen driven so deep into theground that it rested on thehead of Vasuki, King of the Serpents, who supports the earth,it was now immovable, and thatdominion would remain in hisfamily as long as the pillarstood. The Raja, doubting thetruth of the Brahman’s statement, ordered the pillar to bedug up. The foot of it was foundwet with blood, said to be thatof the Serpent King. The ironpillar was again raised; but owing to the King’s former incredulity, every plan now failed infi��xing it fi��rmly, and in spite of allhis eff��orts it still remained loose(dhila) in the ground, and this,according to these traditions, issaid to have been the origin ofthe name of Dhhili.

During the course of its long

history the city has undoubtedly been known by variousnames. In one place Gen Cunningham, the renowned archaeologist, found it written asDillipur. Delhi has been compared to the eternal city of Athens of Pericles but nobody hasever suggested that it be renamed after that famous icon ofGreece’s golden age. So the oldname stays.

Delhi’s twin city, Agra, wasfounded by Akbar so demandswere made to rename it as Akbarabad, the old name for it.But other records say that thecity was founded by NizamKhan Sikandar Lodhi.

The story goes that whilelooking for the site of a new cityin preference to Delhi, the Sultan went by boat over theJamuna with his Vazir,who pointed out a spotto him as the likelysite, but the ruler remarked, “No thatwhich is Agar orahead”. So the citywas named Agra.

Other nameschanges in the NCRinclude Gurgaon(known for its gur)being renamed Gurugram, while theplace given as “dakhshina” or off��ering hasbeen changed toDronacharya, theguru of the Pandavas and Kaurvas.

Mughal Sarai’s name too hasbeen changed and old Bumbaihas become Mumbai – the dubious gifts of a newdispensation.

Delhi College was renamedZakir Husain College but on second thoughts it was consideredprudent to amend the name toZakir Husain Delhi College. Solet Delhi be known as such andDilli colloquially.

The writer is a veteran chronicler ofDelhi

DOWN MEMORY LANE

What’s in a

NAME?Some history, some folklore, but lotsof heart, is how our city came to becalled Delhi

R. V. Smith

Monumental task The iron pillarnear the Qutub Minar with which islinked the origin of the name Delhi

* THE HINDU


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

SHOWCASE

In February, chef Nishant Choubeyshowcased his signature menu at aMarwari wedding in Kochi. Instead of abuff��et, it was a sitdown dinner featuring modernist vegetarian small plates,like Camel Milk Tofu with Plum Sauceand Wasabi Mushrooms with Mangoand Gongura Leaves. And instead ofservice staff��, the food was served on aconveyor belt. “It didn’t feel like a wedding. The setup resembled a popuprestaurant,” says Choubey, corporatechef for Seinan Group, who has curatedmeals for the Ambanis, Adanis and other bigwigs.

The quintessential wedding feast hasundergone a sea change in the last decade. Buff��ets crammed with genericmulticuisine stalls and live pasta stations are being replaced by refi��ned sit

down dinners featuring three or fi��vecourse menus. The concepts of grazingtables and fl��ying buff��ets are also fi��ndingtakers. In the former, guests mingle over arrangements of appetisers andcheeses, while in the latter, preplatedfood is off��ered at their seats. “It reduces wastage, off��ers a chance to presentthe food beautifully, and helps guestsavoid long queues,” says Sahiba Puri,coowner of XO Catering by Design, apopular outdoor catering outfi��t basedin Delhi with highprofi��le clients suchas Shahid Kapoor.

Korea to Konkan For many, less is more. “Instead of multiple cuisines, we stick to a couple butoff��er more variety,” says Sanjay Vazirani, Chairman and MD, Foodlink Services Pvt Ltd, which prepared the wedding feast of Ranveer Singh andDeepika Padukone.

Today, an Asian menu is more likely

to feature modern Malay andThai fl��avours (rather than justChinese and Thai curries). Forinstance, Mumbai restaurateur Farrokh Khambata’s edamame and water chestnut sakhoo is a contemporary vegetarian take on the royal art ofmaking rice fl��ourdumplings withpork. Also, withIndian globetrotters deve

loping discerning palates, lesserknowninternational cuisines, like Korean andPeruvian, are gaining attention. OnKhambata’s banquet menus, you’ll fi��ndchaufa (a Peruvian take of the friedrice) and Peruvianstyle skewers.

Of ‘fl��ying’ menusHyperregional cuisine is anothertrend. The SinghPadukone weddingmenu included Konkani, Sindhi andGujarati dishes. “To maintain the authenticity of the food items, 4,000 kilosof ingredients were carried from Indiato Italy,” shares Vazirani.

While staples like dal makhani andbiryani are still part of wedding menus, there’s a lot more attention beingpaid to preparation. “Today, clientscan tell if a North Indian chef hascooked a dish from South India. A fewmonths ago, we did a wedding menufor a Punjabi couple who wanted toadd a few Konkani dishes. So we ropedin home cooks from Konkan to makedishes like Malvani Mutton Curry andKaju Chi Aamti,” says Harmeet Singh,partner at Mumbaibased The MiniPunjab Group.

White truffl��es, anyone? Exotic ingredients from across

the world — Gruyère fromSwitzerland, white asparagus from Germany — are also making their way into Indian weddings. “Clientscare about the quality and

provenance of what’s on their plate,”says Khambata, whose team has procured the rare white truffl��e. During hisresearch trips across Europe, the restaurateur had gone on a foraging trip inPiedmont with a local truffl��e hunter andhis dog, so “when a client requestedwhite truffl��es recently, our local suppliers in Italy sourced it from the him”.

Closer home, just as organic, farmtotable meals with seasonal produceare becoming popular in restaurants,they’re also fi��nding their way on to wedding menus. These include foxtail millets, kulith (horse gram), camel milkfrom Rajasthan, and leafy greens fromfarming initiatives. Goodie bags withitems such as organic honey and artisanal teas are also replacing mithais.

Hello, detox bars“There’s a lot of innovation in bar tending, too — from Gin & Tonic and DIY mimosa bars to a detox bar to take care ofthe next day’s hangovers,” says KunalRai, VP of Tamarind Global Weddings.And, of course, the wedding cake ischanging, too. “Instead of elaboratecakes with gold detailing, couples arechoosing options in pastel colours.They are also more open to experimenting with fl��avours like passionfruit, lavender and Earl Grey,” says Rachel Goenka, CEO of The ChocolateSpoon Company. “Naked cakes withbutter cream instead of fondant, andreal fl��owers, are likely to become morepopular by next year.”

Feasts of

fancyFlying buff��ets toauthentic Peruvian andKonkani fare, a look atwhat’s trending onmodern wedding menus

Lesser-known international cuisines,

like Korean and Peruvian, are gaining

attention nowFarrokh Khambata, founder-CEO of Catering & Allied

* BENGALURU OOTA COMPANY

Food for thought Marwai Ajadina (clam sukka) from the Bengaluru OotaCompany, wedding spreads by Sanjay Vazirani, and (below) Khambata’s sa khoo

Krutika Behrawala

You’ll need to go around thebuilding, into a lane behind theForest Essentials in GK 1 N blockmarket, to reach the entrance toArtisan Lab. Its dusty pink staircase, green palms, and timberbalustrade hold promise. Thefi��rst fl��oor is home accessories,while the second has an extension of that (with some clothing),along with a cafe.

Noor and Neimat Sethi studieddesign (in New York) and hospitality (in Switzerland), respectively, working abroad andthen returning home tostart their own business. It’s taken thesisters a year and ahalf to plan things,and their project isnow ‘live’.

The aesthetic ishandcrafted products in varied materials, from glass and brassto leather and jute. If youspot little bits of acrylic, they’renuances in design. There are afew statement pieces, like a brasssideboard with malachite accents in the door knobs, a coff��eetable in resin with bone inlay, aleather desk with a haironhidechair. It’s a good place to pick upa gift (prices start ₹��380, thoughit’s reasonable to expect a ₹��1,5002,000 purchase for one). You canmix and match a set of bowlswith a cheese platter, or a largelazySusan server with linen napkins. Most things are sourcedfrom India, with a few fromSouthEast Asia (check out thejute throws). They have their ownlabel too that does fl��oor coverings in leather, cushions, table linen and more.

The idea is for a visitor to“slow down”, browse throughcushions, hurricane lanterns,platters, terrariums, and more,

order a coff��ee, maybe get somecake. “The other day a lady camein and said she wanted the wallpainting (a part of the décor inthe store) to be replicated in herhouse, and she also wanted thejhoola,” says Noor, who takes onhome styling and interiordesignprojects as well. Other times, especially over a weekend, peoplemay just come in just for thefood. The women are there, helping you with ordering or pickingup an accessory.

A late breakfast with the truffl��escrambled eggs on toast with coffee is a good start to a weekend.Breads are baked inhouse, andthe thick wedge of sourdough,with just the right hydration andsourness, is a Saturdaymorningwakeup. I did the wild mushroom risotto, for an umami hit.It’s not overbearingly cheesy, andNeimat says she goes by the

‘Friends of the Earth’ philosophythat uses balance in cooking, sonothing in nature (like meat ordairy) is overused.

If you’re stopping by for anevening snack, do the Gambas PilPil (prawns cooked in rosemaryand chilli olive oil on a baguette).You’re good for dinner, becauseportions are generous, especiallythe desserts. Absolutely do thePastel Del Tres Leches (a buttersponge soaked in three types ofmilk). While the menu has cuesabout glutenfree, vegan, vegetarian, the team is happy totweak orders, and they’re one ofthe few places that does glutenfree bread. They’ll soon have keto bread and will be retailingtheir fl��avoured olive oils andbreads.

N 18, Greater Kailash 1 Market; 10 a.m.to 8:30 p.m.; ₹��1,500 for a meal for two

Room with a viewArtisan Lab is a storethat marries retailand food, with eachcomplementing theother

Sunalini Mathew

Striking a balance Artisan Lab has ambience aswell as ambrosia * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Sakshi Malik walks into the ASICSstore at the Mall of India in Noida,carrying herself with her trademarkquietbutsmiling nononsense sensibility. The brand has just signed onthe 26yearold, India’s fi��rst womanwrestler to win an Olympic medal(and only the fourth Indian femaleOlympic medallist) as one of theireight athletes.

Fresh off�� her qualifi��cation for theWorld Wrestling Championships2019, which will be held in Kazakhstan in September, Malik talks abouthow she keeps her mental fi��tness ontrack with the physical, and what lifeis like living in a family of wrestlers.

Edited excerpts:

Being a wrestler isn’tconsidered a usual professionalchoice. When did you know youwanted to be one?● I was always interested in sport;

even in my school days, I’d participate in whatever sports activity wasbeing arranged. I used to get excitedwhen we’d hear the names of sportspersons winning something. Olympic medal winners, especially.

But once, when I was about 12, Iwent over to a stadium near myhouse which had an athletics meet,with gymnastics and wrestlingevents, going on. I didn’t even knowit was called wrestling then, but Iwas so drawn to it! I told my parentsimmediately that this is what I wanted to do. And I’ve never looked back.

You’re one of India’s fewwomen sport icons right now.What is the sort of message youwant to give girls about fi��tness?● First of all, regardless of whetheror not you’re a sportsperson, youneed to be fi��t. When I started out insport, we didn’t have too many girlswho’d take it on as a career. After mywin in the Olympics, and other me

dals too, so many girls have startedgetting into sport, and are also thinking more about staying fi��t. It makesthem ready to face any problem. Fitness is necessary for everyone.

It’s not new that we deal withbody image issues. Women aretoo thin, too fat, too tall, toomuscular — anything can be aproblem. Women are alsocommonly asked to avoidweight training because theymight bulk up and look‘masculine’. Have you everencountered such issues whenyou started out?● No, this has never happened withme. But it’s so wrong to assumethat lean women with perfect fi��gures, who don’t do any physicalactivity or aren’t into some sport,have no health issues in their lives.There are so many of us wrestlergirls, many heavyweight wrestlergirls too — they don’t have any such[misplaced societal body image issues]. Some of them are marriedand happy too. We are doing suchgreat work, bringing back medalsfor the country — everything else isirrelevant.

What’s your daily normalfi��tness schedule like?● We train twice a day — a little lateon the days we get on the mat,around 7 am. Ground sessions, it’slike 5 am or 6 am. Some days we startwith yoga fi��rst. Then there’s trainingfor twothree hours. Same in theevening. During the day, it’s complete rest.

There’s a lot of learning nowabout how mental and physicalfi��tness feed into one another. ● Yes, that’s quite important. In a lotof sports, it’s important to be mentally fi��t. You can be super fi��t, but ifyour mind isn’t working at its ideal,then you can’t perform. Like, in ourgame, we need to be able to makedecisions by the second — should Iplay on the defence, or attack. So it’sdefi��nitely important.

How do you train to be mentallytough? ● Well, often times I watch a lot ofmotivational videos and speeches,and then I visualise what I reallywant and pump myself to be positive. And then I think also of how farI’ve come, and that gives me a lot ofenergy to work harder and performbetter.

Are there days when you’re lowand demotivated? ● So many times. In every sportsperson’s life there are lots of ups anddowns. Like how during the AsianGames, I almost reached the fi��nals,but lost out because of just three seconds. I was so low then. But I justtold myself I need to work harder,

and that God has given me so muchalready, that if I just kept at it, betterthings will come to me. Basically, Ijust remind myself of the strong moments during weak times, and thatkeeps me going.

What’s your diet plan like?● Our diet schedule changes throughthe year. As we draw closer to a competition, we need to lose a lot ofweight. Meaning, we switch over tosalads and boiled vegetables. But if acompetition is still a way off��, we eatghee, doodh, dahi, and proper maake haath ka khaana (home food).

Recently, top sportspersons likeNovak Djokovic have said thattheir performance has gottenbetter since they went glutenfree and vegan. And what’syour take on eliminatingcertain foods to be healthier?● I used to think about this a lot — Iwon’t win because I’m a vegetarian,or if I eat eggs, I’ll do better. Andthen I heard that Sushil pehelwanand Yogeshwar pehelwan [2012 London Olympics silver medallist Sushil Kumar, and bronze medallist Yogeshwar Dutt] won medals despitebeing vegetarians — and I didn’t windespite having started on eggs, etc.And then of course, there are fourtime Olympic medal winners fromother countries who don’t eat ameal without some meat or the other. All of this is just personal preference. You can be strongregardless.

Your fatherinlaw is yourcoach, your husband SatyawartKadian is also a wrestler. What’sa dinnertable conversation likeat home?● Well, fi��rst of all, no one really talksso much or so casually with my fatherinlaw at home. He looks strict. Imostly only talk to him when I’m onthe mat. He teaches me what I needto learn.

At home, it’s like a little shy and alittle respect. I don’t really sit in frontof him and do bakwas. I mean we arenormal, but we talk only on the mat.

But with my husband, it’s reallynice. And it’s even nicer that he’s also a wrestler, an Arjuna Awardee, sothere’s a lot of understanding between us. Haar jeet pe samajh paa-tein hain. (We understand each others’ wins and losses.)

Is there a healthy sense ofcompetitiveness between youtwo?● I mean, that’s natural. He lost inthe World Championship trials, and Ifelt pretty bad about it. But he said tome, “Everyone from the same homecan’t have it all; it’s okay, if not me,you go. You’ll do well.”

SEE IT, CONQUER IT

Visualising is also a bit ofa misnomer. For athleteswith good kinaestheticawareness, it’s not onlyabout seeing things [likewinning] in mind, but it’salso about rememberingthe feel of the musclesand grip in a certaintechnique. Otherwise, itbecomes close todaydreaming. In thatsense, visualisation is afocussing tool, whichimproves concentration.– Vaibhav Agashe, Delhi-based sports psychologistAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Mat matters (Clockwise from below) Sakshi Malik at the National Camp for Women Wrestlingin Lucknow in 2018; receiving the Khel Ratna from then President Pranab Mukherjee in 2016

* RAJEEV BHATT, RV MOORTHY

‘I visualise whatI really want’Sakshi Malik, who recently qualifi��ed for theWorld Wrestling Championships 2019, and hassigned a partnership with ASICS, talks about howmental and physical fi��tness go handinhand

Vangmayi Parakala

My son has chosen maths in Class XI,

but is not faring well, despite tuition.

How can Iget him to change subjects? ■ Mathematics is one subject that usually hasstudents either loving it or being terrifi��ed of it.Having said that, tuition which may involve repetition of current topics or concepts, may notnecessarily fi��x any gaps in learning that could

have occurred in his earlier years. Mathematicsdepends greatly on the concepts mastered earlier, and therefore an eff��ective strategy to helphim will be to understand the mastery level ofhis skills for all previouslylearnt concepts andthen systematically addressing them. Unlessyour son wishes to choose another subject, itwould be wise as a parent to play a supportiverole, by helping him and supporting himthrough his choices.

I caught my kid brother watching

porn. What should I do? ■ If he is a teenager, have a friendly chat withhim and also let him know healthy limits in theuse of the Internet and about internet safety.Don’t limit it to your interaction involving porn.If your brother is younger, it will be wise tospeak to your parents. Suggest that a desktop beplaced in the living room, for common use,rather than in a bedroom.

How should I talk to my daughter

about losing weight? ■ A fi��t lifestyle is often just modelled behaviour. Unless your daughter has the opportunityto observe all the adults at home making healthier choices, including diet and exercise, justtalking about it will not help. Join her for smallwalks initially, and let her enjoy the bondingand the conversation that goes along with it.Slowly, you can include sport as part of the process. Help her become a part of small cookingprojects, where she can make interesting andhealthy recipes along with you. Your approachneeds to be supportive, to help her develophealth and fi��tness, and not just losing weight.

Aarti C Rajaratnam is a Salem-based consultantpsychologist at Million Smiles, and is specialised inchildhood and adolescent mental health with close to twodecades of experience, working closely with parents,teachers and students

Nothing in this column is intended to be, andis not, a substitute for professional medical ad-vice, diagnosis or treatment. Please seek inde-pendent advice from a licensed practitioner ifyou have questions regarding a medical condi-tion. Email us at [email protected]

*G

ET

TY

IM

AG

ES/IS

TO

CK

■ Across

1 Shortcoming (10)

7 The First State (to

ratify the US

constitution) (8)

8 Sly look (4)

9 Unpleasantly moist

(4)

10 Losing one’s hair

(7)

12 In unison (3,8)

14 Curtains (7)

16 Stretch over (4)

19 Clubs (4)

20 Disease — a side bet

(anag) (8)

21 With great courage

(10)

■ Down

1 Great fear (5)

2 Facecloth (7)

3 Applaud (4)

4 Lofty (8)

5 Managed well

enough (5)

6 More eager (6)

11 Passage (8)

12 Out of the country

(6)

13 Unlucky — he slaps

(anag) (7)

15 Outdated (5)

17 Poor (5)

18 Plinth (4)

THE GUARDIAN QUICK CROSSWORD-13140

6

Solution will appearin The Hindu dated

August 6, 2019.

Solution No. 13139

POOCH CAFE

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

WUMO


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

SHOWCASE

Q&A

CMYK

A ND-NDE

SPORTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


In its battle for survival, Kolkata’s RPSG Mavericks wasexpected to give it its all. Butcontrary to expectations, itwas defending champion Dabang Delhi that played itsheart out for a convincing105 win and ensured a placein the lastfour of UltimateTable Tennis League here onSunday.

The result catapulted Delhi to the top of the tablewhere it joined U Mumbawith 33 points from four outings and left Mavericks (26)staring at elimination in thesixteam league.

With just a match onhand, Mavericks is likely tojoin Puneri Paltan on the sidelines after the 15matchroundrobin league phase.

Dabang skipper G. Sathiyan produced the kind ofperformance expected ofhim. The 30thranked Indianwas at his belligerent best inblanking Benedikt Duda,ranked 46th. Continuing hiswinning display in the company of Bernadette Szocs,Sathiyan played his part instopping Duda and Manika21.

Late in the decider, Bernadette made amends withsome sterling returns andtook the pressure off�� Sathiyan as the duo bounced backto win.

Like Sathiyan, his teammate, the 63rd ranked JonPersson, added three points

at the expense of an inconsistent Sanil Shetty and gaveDabang a winning lead.

With Dabang leading 93before the fi��nal singles, Mavericks’ lefthander MatildaEkholm, ranked 23, stavedoff�� an upbeat Bernadette 21and reduced the margin ofdefeat. But that was hardly aconsolation for a team staring at elimination.

The results:

Dabang Delhi bt RPSG Mavericks (Kolkata) 105 (KrittwikaSingh Roy lost to Manika Batra11-9, 8-11, 9-11; G. Sathiyan btBenedikt Duda 11-9, 11-7, 11-6;Sathiyan & Bernadette Szocs btDuda & Manika 11-10, 5-11, 11-8;Jon Persson bt Sanil Shetty11-6, 11-10, 11-8; Szocs lost toMatilda Ekholm 8-11, 8-11,11-5).

Monday’s fi��xture: Goa Challen-gers v U Mumba (7 p.m.).

Sathiyan powers Dabang into the last fourMavericks staring at elimination after the big loss to the Delhi side

Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI

UTT

Touch and go! Szocs and Sathiyan won a tight contest againstDuda and Manika. * COURTESY UTT

Gotcha: Tamil Thalaivas trap Haryana Steelers raider Vikas Khandola on way to a 35-28 victoryin the ProKabaddi League in Patna on Sunday. In the other match, Puneri Paltan beat Patna Pirates 41-20. * RANJEET KUMAR

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Desperate measures

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1h35min 03.796sec, 2. Max Ver-stappen (Red Bull) at 17.796sec,3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)1:01.433, 4. Charles Leclerc(Ferrari) 1:05.250, 5. CarlosSainz Jr (McLaren) 1 lap, 6.Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) 1 lap, 7.Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) 1lap, 8. Valtteri Bottas (Mer-cedes) 1 lap, 9. Lando Norris(McLaren) 1 lap, 10. AlexanderAlbon (Toro Rosso) 1 lap, 11. Ser-gio Perez (Racing Point) 1 lap,12. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) 1lap, 13. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)1 lap, 14. Daniel Ricciardo(Renault) 1 lap, 15. Daniil Kvyat(Toro Rosso) 2 laps, 16. GeorgeRussell (Williams) 2 laps, 17.Lance Stroll (Racing Point-Mer-cedes) 2 laps, 18. Antonio Giov-inazzi (Alfa Romeo) 2 laps, 19.Robert Kubica (Williams) 3 laps.

THE RESULTS

Australia — 1st innings: 284.

England — 1st innings: 374.

Australia — 2nd innings: Came-ron Bancroft c Buttler b Moeen7, David Warner c Bairstow bBroad 8, Usman Khawaja c Bair-stow b Stokes 40, Steve Smithc Bairstow b Woakes 142, TravisHead c Bairstow b Stokes 51,Mathew Wade c Denly b Stokes110, Tim Paine b Moeen 34,James Pattinson (not out) 47,Pat Cummins (not out) 26; Ex-tras (b-11, lb-2, nb-6, w-3): 22;Total (for seven wkts. decl. in112 overs): 487.

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-27, 3-75,4-205, 5-331, 6-407, 7-409.

England bowling: Broad 22-2-91-1, Woakes 13-1-46-1, Moeen29-1-130-2, Root 12-1-50-0,Stokes 22-5-85-3, Denly 14-1-72 0.

England — 2nd innings: RoryBurns (batting) 7, Jason Roy(batting) 6; Total (for no loss inseven overs): 13.

Australia bowling: Siddle 2-0-4-0, Lyon 3-0-7-0, Pattinson 2-1-2-0.

SCOREBOARD

form. Satwik even braved aniggle in shoulder to playon.

“It’s the biggest title wehave won so far in our career. Right now, I am out ofwords after playing in a fi��naland beating the currentWorld champions. I am extremely happy,” Chirag said.

“I think it is refreshing tosee the doubles pair win amajor title.

“The few questions often

India’s leading men’s combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shettyserved a reminder that theywere not far behind when itcomes to winning a SuperSeries title.

It was the Malaysian doubles coach Tan Kim Her,who left this March eventhough his contract was toend only after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, who madeSatwik and Chirag join forces fi��ve years ago.

New coach Dwi Kristiawan’s move to have the 18yearold Satwik on the frontcourt, given his ability tocome up with stunningsmashes, proved a gamechanger.

It wasn’t easy for the duoto play backtoback marathon matches and sustain peak

raised about the generalstandard of doubles game inIndia may have been answered with this performance,” chief nationalcoach P. Gopi Chand toldThe Hindu.

“The best part is they areyoung and have many weapons in their armoury. Wealways believed that theyhad the potential and thiswin could not have come at abetter time.”

The move to have Satwik play at the front paid off��V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD

Pioneers: Chirag, left, and Satwik have gone where no other Indian combo has. * AFP

Lewis Hamilton regained hismomentum in the drivers’World championship with amemorable strategic victoryon Sunday when he overcame young rival Max Verstappen to triumph in atense and thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton started third onthe grid in his Mercedesand, after stalking the 21yearold Dutch tyro for mostof a fascinating tactical contest, fi��nally swept into thelead on lap 67 of a stirring70 laps.

Hamilton’s record seventh win in Hungary and81st of his career wreckedRed Bull’s hopes of turningVerstappen’s maiden poleposition into victory and increased his lead in the titlerace to 62 points before thesport’s European summerbreak.

Fourtime champion Sebastian Vettel was third forFerrari ahead of teammate

Charles Leclerc, CarlosSainz of McLaren and PierreGasly in the second RedBull. Kimi Raikkonen wasseventh for Alfa Romeoahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate ValtteriBottas, who had beenforced into an early pitstopafter a fi��rst lap incident.

Hamilton’s tacticalacumen to the fore

Whoop of joy: Hamilton’s record seventh win in Hungary isapplauded by Verstappen, left, and Vettel. * AFP

HUNGARIAN GP


Hungaroring

Steve Smith hit his secondcentury of his comebackTest on Sunday as Australiaset England a daunting 398to win the Ashes opener atEdgbaston.

Ashesholder Australia,bidding to win its fi��rst Testseries away to England in 18years, made 487 for sevendeclared in its second innings as it capitalised on theabsence from the homeside’s attack of the injuredJames Anderson.

That left England needing398 for victory — the most ithas made in the fourth innings to win a Test was 332for seven against Australia atMelbourne back in 1928/29.

Australia captain TimPaine’s declaration late onthe fourth day left Englandwith an awkward seven overs to bat before stumps.

Rory Burns, fresh fromhis maiden Test century inthe fi��rst innings, and Surreyteammate Jason Roy saw England to 13 for no loss at theclose.

Smith made 142 followinghis 144 in the fi��rst innings ofthe match — the former Australia captain’s fi��rst Test

since the end of a 12monthban for his role in last year’sballtampering scandal inSouth Africa.

He is just the fi��fth Australian to score hundreds inboth innings of an AshesTest.

Matthew Wade markedhis fi��rst Test for nearly twoyears with a fi��ne 110.

Smith, having reachedlunch on 98 not out, went tothree fi��gures in style whenhe coverdrove England paceman Stuart Broad for his10th four in 147 balls faced.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

BIRMINGHAM

Extra special! Steve Smith marked his return to Tests withanother memorable knock. * AFP

Smith proves unstoppable again THE ASHES

Rohit Sharma’s sublime innings and Krunal Pandya’sallround show powered India to a seriesclinching 22run win over West Indies inthe rainaff��ected secondT20I here on Sunday.

Batting fi��rst, India scored167 for fi��ve and then hadWest Indies reeling at 98 forfour in the 16th over whenlightning and thundershowers struck. The DuckworthLewis par score at that pointwas 120, leaving India winner by 22 runs.

Final fl��ourishRohit topscored with 67 off��51 balls before Krunal (20 off��13 balls) and Ravindra Jadejapropped up the innings,smashing 20 runs in the fi��nalover bowled by Keemo Paul.

Krunal hit the fi��rst twoballs of the 20th over for sixes before Jadeja smashedanother.

During the course of hisinnings, Rohit became T20I’smost prolifi��c sixhitter, goingpast Chris Gayle’s record of105. He struck six fours andthree sixes in this match.

India was off�� to a quickstart, crossing 50 in the seventh over with Rohit doingthe bulk of the scoring. The

India vicecaptain found thegaps with ease, clipping Pauloff�� his pads for a six overdeep midwicket. The highestscorer in the World Cup thenswept him for a four as theIndians upped the tempo.

Paul gave West Indies thebreakthrough when he bowled Shikhar Dhawan. Indiawas 67 for one in the eighthover at that stage.

Breaking freeTwo quiet overs followed asIndia skipper Virat Kohlijoined Rohit. The latterbroke the shackles with a sixover deep midwicket off�� Sunil Narine and brought up his17th T20 halfcentury with asingle to longoff��.

Kohli, at the other end, hita six off�� leftarm spinner Khary Pierre to get going. Rohitthen smashed Carlos Brathwaite for a six and four as India’s 100 came up in the 13thover.

It took a fi��ne catch fromShimron Hetmyer to bring anend to Rohit’s stay. The Indian opener departed in the14th over.

Rishabh Pant (5) perishedquickly, topedging Thomasinto the hands of Kieron Pol

lard at third man.Sheldon Cottrell then took

the prize scalp of Kohli,sending the middlestumpcartwheeling with a perfectlyexecuted yorker and performing his trademarksalute.

In reply, West Indies wasoff�� to a disastrous start withboth openers Evin Lewis andSunil Narine back in the hutwith just eight on the boardin the third over.

Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran lifted the teamwith a 76run stand for thethird wicket before Krunalagain got into the act, removing both batsmen in thespace of three balls in the14th over. Just as things weregetting tougher for the hostscame the showers followedby lightning.

Rohit and Krunal’s exploits fashion India’s series victoryThe opener provides the fi��reworks while the allrounder chips in with vital runs and wickets

The propeller: Rohit Sharma’s innings took the Men in Blue to a match-winning total. * AFP

INDIA IN WI

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

LAUDERHILL (USA)

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Next match

B August 6, third T20I,Providence, 8 p.m. IST

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

INDIARohit Sharma c Hetmyer bThomas 67 (51b, 6x4, 3x6),Shikhar Dhawan b Paul 23 (16b,3x4), Virat Kohli b Cottrell 28(23b, 1x4, 1x6), Rishabh Pant cPollard b Thomas 4 (5b), ManishPandey c Pooran b Cottrell 6(8b), Krunal Pandya (not out) 20(13b, 2x6), Ravindra Jadeja (notout) 9 (4b, 1x6); Extras (lb-3,w-7): 10; Total (for five wkts. in20 overs): 167.

FALL OF WICKETS1-67 (Dhawan, 7.5 overs), 2-115(Rohit, 13.5), 3-126 (Pant, 15.1),

4-132 (Kohli, 16.2), 5-143(Pandey, 18.3.).

WEST INDIES BOWLINGThomas 4-0-27-2, Cottrell 4-0-25-2, Narine 4-0-28-0, Paul 4-0-46-1, Brathwaite 2-0-22-0,Pierre 2-0-16-0.

WEST INDIES

(target 121 in 15.3 overs)Sunil Narine b Washington 4(12b), Evin Lewis c & bBhuvneshwar 0 (2b), NicholasPooran c Pandey b Krunal 19(34b, 1x4), Rovman Powell lbwb Krunal 54 (34b, 6x4, 3x6),Kieron Pollard (not out) 8 (8b,

1x4), Shimron Hetmyer (not out)6 (4b, 1x4); Extras (lb-1, nb-1,w-5): 7; Total (for four wkts. in15.3 overs): 98.

FALL OF WICKETS1-2 (Lewis, 1.2), 2-8 (Narine,2.6), 3-84 (Pooran, 13.2), 4-85(Powell, 13.5).

INDIA BOWLINGWashington 3-1-12-1, Bhuvnesh-war 2-0-7-1, Khaleel 3-0-22-0,Saini 3-0-27-0, Krunal 3.3-0-23-2, Jadeja 1-0-6-0.

Toss: India. MoM: Krunal.

India won by 22 runs (DLmethod).

SCOREBOARD INDIA VS WEST INDIES, SECOND T20 INTERNATIONAL

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

Mick Schumacher opensFormula2 account BUDAPEST

Mick Schumacher, the 20

yearold son of seventime

World champion Michael

Schumacher, on Sunday

claimed his first Formula Two

victory ahead of the

Hungarian Grand Prix. The

German driver won the

28lap 'sprint' race for Prema

Racing after starting from

pole. Schumacher finished 1.5

seconds ahead of Honda

backed Nobuharu Matsushita

of Carlin. AFP

IN BRIEF

No stopping Alex at Czech Moto2 GPBRNO

Alex Marquez made the most

of pole position to dominate

Sunday's Czech Moto2 Grand

Prix to register his fifth win

of the season. The Kalex

rider, brother to MotoGP

champion Marc Marquez,

heads the championship

standings on 161 points, 33

clear of Swiss teammate

Thomas Luthi. Luthi had to

retire after a fall 16 laps from

the end. Marquez crossed the

line over three seconds up on

Italy's Fabio Di Giannantonio

with Enea Bastianini in third.

In Moto3, Aron Canet won his

second race of the season to

retake the championship

lead. AFP

Thiem realises achildhood dream KITZBUHEL (AUSTRIA)

Top seed and World No. 4

Dominic Thiem captured his

14th career title and first on

home ground on Saturday

with a 76(0), 61 win over

Spain's Albert RamosVinolas

in the final of the Kitzbuhel

clay court tournament. It was

Thiem's third title of 2019

after a maiden Masters win at

Indian Wells and in Barcelona

on the eve of Roland Garros

where he eventually went on

to finish runnerup to Rafael

Nadal for a second successive

year. AFP

Marquez completes half-century of career wins BRNO

Honda's Marc Marquez

claimed his 50th career race

win at the Czech MotoGP on

Sunday after the race had

been delayed by 45 minutes

due to rain. Spain's defending

champion beat Ducati's

Italian Andrea Dovizioso by

2.4sec to extend his

advantage at the top of the

riders' standings with his

sixth triumph of the season.

Australian Jack Miller was

third in the race cut by one

lap due to the weather.

Earlier, Marquez’s 58th pole

position took him equal with

Mick Doohan of Australia. AFP

HYDERABAD: Tetra Rama, who isin fine nick, has an edge over hisrivals in the K. Mahipathi Rao Memorial Golconda Juvenile Million(1,400m), the chief event of theraces to be held here on Monday(August 5). There will be no false rails.

1 KALAMARIS PLATE (Div. IV),(1,200m), 4yo & over, rated 20

to 45 (Cat. III), 130 p.m.: 1. Amazing Script (8) Surya Prakash 60, 2.Guiding Force (1) N. Rawal 58.5, 3.Man Apart (4) P. Trevor 56.5, 4.Holy Healer (6) R.S. Jodha 55.5, 5.Khan Sahib (9) A.A. Vikrant 55.5,6. Farmville (3) Abhay Singh 53.5,7. Loch Stella (5) C.P. Bopanna53.5, 8. Handsome Duo (7) AjeethKumar 52 and 9. Dance All Night(2) Afroz Khan 51.5.1. GUIDING FORCE,

2. AMAZING SCRIPT,

3. MAN APART.

2 KALAMARIS PLATE (Div. III),(1,200m), 4yo & over, rated

20 to 45 (Cat. III), 200: 1. YourGrace (3) A.A. Vikrant 60, 2.Southern Meteor (4) Gaurav Singh57.5, 3. Natasha (1) Umesh 57, 4.Baywatch Babe (9) P. Sai Kumar56.5, 5. Latest News (2) RafiqueSk. 55.5, 6. Magic Street (5) AfrozKhan 53.5, 7. Tiger Of The Sea (6)Surya Prakash 52, 8. Yogya (7)Ajeeth Kumar 51.5 and 9. Bombastic (8) Nakhat Singh 50.5.

1. MAGIC STREET,

2. LATEST NEWS,

3. YOUR GRACE.

3 NOBLE QUEST PLATE

(1,600m), maiden 3yo only(Cat. II), (Terms), 230: 1. Ace Misile (1) R. Ajinkya 56, 2. Bar Et Law(5) Aneel 56, 3. Bedazzled (3)Deepak Singh 56, 4. Brave Syera(10) G. Naresh 56, 5. Francis Bacon (6) Neeraj 56, 6. Gazebo (11)Nakhat Singh 56, 7. Healthandhappiness (8) Deepak Singh 56, 8.Monte Rei (9) P. Sai Kumar 56, 9.Turf Choice (2) Ajit Singh 56, 10.Artistryy (7) R.N. Darshan 54.5, 11.British Empress (12) Akshay Kumar 54.5 and 12. Miss Marvellous(4) Umesh 54.5.1. FRANCIS BACON,

2. GAZEBO,

3. BRITISH EMPRESS.

4 FATEH MAIDAN CLUB PLATE

(1,400m), 3yo & over, rated40 to 65 (Cat. II), 305: 1. AshwaYashobali (10) P. Trevor 60, 2. Indian Dreams (6) Deepak Singh59.5, 3. Platts Tour (9) Ashhad Asbar 59.5, 4. Shakesphere (8) AfrozKhan 55.5, 5. Dancing Doll (1)Gaddam 55, 6. Sarvatra (4) AbhaySingh 55, 7. N R I Vision (7)Koushik 54.5, 8. Yours Forever (5)Surya Prakash 54.5, 9. Rutilant (3)R. Ajinkya 54, 10. Blue Empress(11) Santosh Raj 53, 11. Mahira (12)G. Naresh 51.5 and 12. Sporting

Smile (2) Nakhat Singh 51.1. PLATTS TOUR,

2. SPORTING SMILE,

3. ASHWA YASHOBALI.

5 KALAMARIS PLATE (Div. I),(1,200m), 4yo & over, rated

20 to 45 (Cat.III), 335: 1. EvonVon Brando (6) Surya Prakash 60,2. Southern State (4) R.S. Jodha59, 3. Solo Winner (10) JitendraSingh 57.5, 4. Shiloh (8) KiranNaidu 56.5, 5. Marvel Princess (2)N. Rawal 55.5, 6. London Bridge(1) Gopal Singh 54.5, 7. Vega Cassandra (5) Kuldeep Singh 52.5, 8.Delphina (3) P. Trevor 52, 9. WoodBridge (7) Gaddam 51 and 10.Stormy (9) Afroz Khan 50.5.1. EVON VON BRANDO,

2. DELPHINA,

3. VEGA CASSANDRA.

6 K. MAHIPATHI RAO ME-

MORIAL GOLCONDA JUVENILE

MILLION (1,400m), 3yo only(Terms), 405: 1. Agni (1) Zervan56, 2. Blazer (3) Umesh 56, 3. MonGeneral (4) P. Trevor 56, 4. TetraRama (5) Akshay Kumar 56 and 5.Sitara (2) Suraj Narredu 54.5.1. TETRA RAMA,

2. SITARA.

7 KALAMARIS PLATE (Div. II),(1,200m), 4yo & over, rated

20 to 45 (Cat. III), 435: 1. Max (1)Umesh 60, 2. Crimson Fire (4) Rohit Kumar 58, 3. Honest Hunter(7) B.R. Kumar 58, 4. Sublime (5)

Ashhad Asbar 56.5, 5. Brush TheSky (6) S.G. Prasad 54.5, 6. TokyoJam (8) Akshay Kumar 54.5, 7.Promiseofhappiness (9) RafiqueSk. 52.5, 8. Hurricane (10) AbhaySingh 51.5, 9. Patron Saint (3)Jitendra Singh 51 and 10. Yogastha(2) Ajeeth Kumar 50.5.1. MAX,

2. TOKYO JAM,

3. SUBLIME.

8 BEST OF BOLD PLATE

(1,400m), 5yo & over, ratedupto 25 (Cat. III), 505: Invasion(2) Ashhad Asbar 60, 2. Recumbentibus (9) Kuldeep Singh 60, 3.Halo's Princess (1) P. Sai Kumar59, 4. All Star General (10) DeepakSingh 58.5, 5. Ultimate Risk (11)Kunal Bunde 58.5, 6. CowboysDelight (8) Jitendra Singh 58, 7.Royal Dancer (7) Akshay Kumar57.5, 8. Silver Dollar (4) B.R. Kumar 56, 9. Golden Adara (3) AfrozKhan 53.5, 10. Delmonico (5)Ajeeth Kumar 52 and 11. NewHope (6) Ajit Singh 50.1. DELMANICO,

2. ROYAL DANCER,

3. ALL STAR GENERAL.Day's best: FRANCIS BACON.Double: PLATTS TOUR — EVON

VON BRANDO.Jkt: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8; Mini Jkt: 5, 6, 7 &8; Tr (i): 1, 2 & 3; (ii): 3, 4 & 5; (iii):6, 7 & 8; Tla: all races.

Tetra Rama has an edge over his rivals HYDERABAD: Satyanarayanatrained Moondancer (Rohit Kumarup) won the Air Command Cup, themain event of the races held hereon Sunday. The winner is owned byMr. Thimmaraja Yelamarthi & Mr. C.Krishna Kannaiah. It was a goodday for Rohit Kumar as he rode twomore winners, while trainer Laxman Singh saddled three horses tovictory.

1 VIKARABAD PLATE (1,600m), 4yo & over, rated upto 25 (Cat.

III): BRAVE WARRIOR (Rohit Kumar)1, Turf Emperor (Umesh) 2, N R IFlame (Kuldeep Singh) 3 andMossad (Ajeeth Kumar) 4. 61/4, 21/4 and hd. 1m, 41.46s. ₹�� 12 (w), 5, 7and 6 (p), SHP: 25, FP: 59, Q: 37, Tla:126. Favourite: N R I Flame. Owner:Dr. G. Lakshmi Prasad. Trainer: S.Sreekant.

2 SILVERADO PLATE (Div. II),(1,200m), maiden 3yo only

(Cat. II), (Terms): MY JOURNEY (Ashhad Asbar) 1, Premier Action(Umesh) 2, Explosive (R. Ajinkya) 3and Stepper (S.G. Prasad) 4. 41/2, 31/2 and shd. 1m, 13.33s. ₹�� 16 (w), 6, 6and 9 (p), SHP: 16, FP: 49, Q: 26,Tla: 210. Favourite: Unstoppable.Owner: Mr. S. Pathy. Trainer: Laxman Singh.

3 TANASHA PLATE (1,600m), 3yo& over, rated 20 to 45 (Cat. III):

CINCIA AZZURRA (Akshay Kumar) 1,Gusty Look (Suraj Narredu) 2, Soul

Empress (R.S. Jodha) 3 and Buttonwood (Abhay Singh) 4. 13/4, 11/2and 3/4. 1m, 41.76s. ₹��13 (w), 8 and 7(p), SHP: 13, FP: 28, Q: 11, Tla: 54.Favourite: Gusty Look. Owners:M/s. Five Stars Shipping Co.Pvt.Ltd.rep. by Mr & Mrs. K.N. Dhunjibhoy & Mr. Z.K. Dhunjibhoy. Trainer:Laxman Singh.

4 WANAPARTHY CUP (Div. II),(1,400m), 4yo & over, rated 40

to 65 (Cat. II): MEKA’S (Afroz Khan)1, Solar Heights (Rafique Sk.) 2,Lockhart (Ajeeth Kumar) 3 and Durango (Suraj Narredu) 4. 11/2, nk andshd. 1m, 26.73s. ₹��35 (w), 8, 9 and 7(p), SHP: 26, FP: 484, Q: 147, Tla:2,351. Favourite: Durango. Owners:Ms. Meka Ahalya & Mr. MekaYugandhar. Trainer: L.D’Silva.

5 SILVERADO PLATE (Div. I),(1,200m), maiden 3yo only

(Cat. II), (Terms): SHIVALIK VALLEY

(Rohit Kumar) 1, Linewiler (Umesh)2, Moskova (Suraj Narredu) 3 andBorn Greek (R.N. Darshan) 4. nose,41/4 and 1. 1m, 13.86s. ₹�� 18 (w), 7, 6and 8 (p), SHP: 15, FP: 51, Q: 22, Tla:171. Favourite: Linewiler. Owners:M/s. J.S. Prasad & Nirmal Singh.Trainer: Satyanarayana.

6 AIR COMMAND CUP (1,400m), 3yo & over, rated 75 & above

(Cat. I): MOONDANCER (Rohit Kumar) 1, That’s My Class (Akshay Kumar) 2, Exclusive Wind (SantoshRaj) 3 and Exclusivenorthwind

(Koushik) 4. Not run: Highly Acclaimed. 51/4, 21/2 and 3/4. 1m,25.98s. ₹��32 (w), 11 and 5 (p), SHP: 9,FP: 94, Q: 36, Tla: 544. Favourite:Exclusivenorthwind. Owners: Mr.Thimmaraja Yelamarthi & Mr. C.Krishna Kannaiah. Trainer:Satyanarayana.

7 WANAPARTHY CUP (Div. I),(1,400m), 4yo & over, rated 40

to 65 (Cat. II): SUPER DART (SurajNarredu) 1, The Special One (Akshay Kumar) 2, Dunkirk (AfrozKhan) 3 and Shaquille (Kiran Naidu)4. 43/4, 1 and 1. 1m, 26.15s. ₹�� 11 (w),6, 6 and 8 (p), SHP: 17, FP: 36, Q: 25,Tla: 82. Favourite: Super Dart.Owner: Mr. S. Pathy. Trainer: Laxman Singh.

8 NIZAM SAGAR PLATE (2,000m),3yo & over, rated 20 to 45 (Cat.

III): CALL OF THE BLUE (Akshay Kumar) 1, Wings Of Eagles (B.R. Kumar) 2. Royal Style (R.N. Darshan) 3and Ashwa Arjun (Gaurav Singh) 4.Not run: Mr. Shanghai. Nk, 1/4 andhd. 2m, 8.47s. ₹�� 15 (w), 8, 5 and 8(p), SHP: 15, FP: 38, Q: 19, Tla: 185.Favourite: Wings Of Eagles. Owners: Dr. Peddi Reddy PrabhakarReddy & Mr. P. Prabhakar Reddy.Trainer: R.H. Sequeira. Jackpot: ₹��13,505 (45 tkts), Runnerup: 1,541 (169 tkts), Mini Jackpot:1,486 (130 tkts), Treble (i): 275 (194tkts), (ii): 666 (88 tkts), (iii): 342 (354tkts).

Moondancer wins Air Command Cup

UTT: Star Sports 1 & SS Select 1 (SD& HD), 7.10 p.m.PKL: Star Sports 2 (SD& HD),7.15 p.m. & 8.30 p.m.TNPL: Star Sports 3, 7.10p.m.The Ashes: Sony Six (SD&HD), 3.30 p.m.Rogers Cup tennis: SonyESPN (SD& HD), 9.30 p.m.

TV PICKS

Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu HondaTen10 Racing) scrambled tohis fourth win inarow in theProStock 165cc class on thefi��nal day of the third roundof the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National motorcycleracing championship at theMMRT on Sunday.

Bengalurubased AnishShetty (Idemitsu HondaTen10 Racing) and Chennai’sI. Venkatesan (Moto ManiaczRacing) achieved a doubleeach in the ProStock 201300cc and Novice (Stock165cc).

Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing), also from Chennai, tookthe honours in the girls’

race. Sethu tops the leaderboard with 100 points, followed by Jagan Kumar ofTVS Racing (94) and SarathKumar (93).

The results (Provisional, all 8laps unless mentioned):

National c’ship: Pro-Stock 301-400cc (Race-2): 1. K.Y. Ahamed(TVS Racing) 15:32.793s; 2. Rahil Shetty (Sparks Racing)15:35.179; 3. Deepak Ravikumar(TVS Racing) 15:44.637.

Pro-Stock 201-300cc (Race-2):1. Anish Shetty (Idemitsu Honda Ten10 Racing) 16:13.776; 2.Abhishek Vasudev (IdemitsuHonda Ten10 Racing)16:26.707; 3. Aravind Balakrishnan (Idemitsu Honda Ten10Racing) 16:31.680.

Pro-Stock 165cc (Race-2): 1.Rajiv Sethu (Idemitsu HondaTen10 Racing) 16:07.022; 2.K.Y. Ahamed 16:07.032; 3. Sarath Kumar (Idemitsu HondaTen10 Racing) 16:15.267.

Novice (Stock 165cc): Race-2(6 laps): 1. I. Venkatesan I (Motomaniacz Racing) 13:13.563; 2.V. Lokesh (Speedup Racing)13:14.839; 3. Annish Samson(Speedup Racing) 13:21.887.

Girls (Stock 165cc, 5 laps): 1.Ryhana Bee (Sparks Racing)11:09.174; 2. Alisha Abdullah(Alisha Racing) 11:12.948; Nivetha Jessica (Pvt.) 11:32.874.

No stopping Rajiv Sethu Anish Shetty and Venkatesan achieve a double

Sports Reporter

Chennai

Victorious: Bengalurubased Anish Shetty was in completecontrol in the ProStock 201300cc. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

MOTORSPORTS

Ryhana Bee, winner of girls’race. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Star India grappler VineshPhogat bagged her thirdconsecutive gold in the women’s 53kg category afterwinning the Poland Openwrestling tournament inWarsaw.

The 24yearold prevailed32 over local wrestler Roksana in the fi��nal of thecompetition.

Vinesh had earlier beatenSofi��a Mattson of Sweden,the Rio Olympics bronzemedallist, in the quarterfi��nals.

The top Indian woman

wrestler had stood atop thepodium at Grand Prix ofSpain and at the Yasar DoguInternational at Istanbul lastmonth.

Former national hockeycaptain Viren Rasquinha,

who is also involved withOlympic Gold Quest, congratulated Vinesh on hersuccess.

“Congrats @Phogat_Vinesh as she wins the goldmedal beating the local girl32 in the fi��nal of the PolandOpen.

This is Vinesh’s 3rd consecutive gold in 53kgs afterSpain and Turkey. Well done@Media_SAI, #TOPS and#WFI. We are proud to support this champion Vinesh@OGQ_India,” Rasquinha,who heads the OlympicGold Quest as its CEO, wroteon his twitter page.

The wrestler bags her third consecutive gold


New Delhi

Vinesh Phogat. * FILE PHOTO

Three cheers for Vinesh

Anant Setalvad, whose pleasant baritone voice distinguished him from othercricket commentators fromthe mid 1960s through tothe 1980s, passed away inthe early hours of Sunday.Anant was 84 and he is survived by two sons, Kevic andTarshish.

Anant’s funeral rites willtake place at 4 p.m. at Worlicrematorium on Monday“He was ailing for sometime. He died at 12.40 a.m.Sunday,” said his son Kevic.

Regarded as a giant incricket commentary on AllIndia Radio (AIR), Anantshared the microphone withVijay Merchant, PearsonSurita, Raju Bharatan, BaluAlaganan and SureshSaraiya.

“Anant was an aristocrat.Fluency and fl��uidity wenthand in hand with him. Hewas easy in delivery, accurate in description, on theball and all in all he was apleasant commentator,”said Bharatan.

Anant was commentatorfor AIR in Ranji Trophy andother BCCI tournamentsand also for Test matches.

He was on the AIR panel forthe 1969 IndiaAustralia Testmatch in Mumbai and alsoin the panel for the 1973 Testagainst the Tony Lewis ledEngland at the CCI.

Dr. Narottam Puri, whoworked on many assignments with Setalvad, said,“he was a gentleman. Hewas very knowledgeableabout the game with a tremendous broadcastingsense.

“His mellifl��uous voicewould stay with you forlong. It was a matter of prideto have worked with him because he had shared themike with my father (DevrajPuri) too. To me he was aperfect commentator. Mayhis soul rest in peace.”

Anant Setalvad passes away Special Correspondent

Mumbai

Anant Setalvad.

The Indian women’s senior national team defeated Bolivia 31 in its secondmatch of the COTIF Cupfootball tournament inSpain.

A Ratanbala Devi braceand a Bala Devi goal led theIndian women to a comfortable win over the SouthAmerican side.

After the 20 defeat toSpanish club side VillarealCF, the Indian women conceded an early goal in thesecond minute whenSweety Devi put the ball into her own net to give Bolivia the advantage.

The lead for Bolivia was,however, shortlived.

In the fi��fth minute, BalaDevi collected the ballaround the opponent’s penalty area and fi��red in avolley into the back of thenet to restore parity.

Ratanbala Devi gave India the lead in the 36th minute when she headedhome by connecting across from the left fl��ank.

Shortly after, RatanbalaDevi got her second goal toextend India’s lead to 31.

India beatsBolivia inCOTIF Cup


New Delhi

Formula One teams have given their approval in principal to an expanded 22racecalendar next year withoutany allowance for an additional powerunit, Mercedesteam boss Toto Wolff�� hassaid.

Speaking after a teams’meeting with F1 chief executive Chase Carey at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Wolff�� wasquoted on Sunday saying the22race plan with no extraengines — and thereforecosts for the smaller customer teams — was supported.

“In a nutshell, we basically agreed to have a 22ndrace,” said Wolff��, as quotedby Autosport(www.autosport.com).

“We’ve got to let Libertydo their business and theirbusiness is to grow F1.

“If they are able to attractpromoters, we’ve got to support them so, we shouldn’tchange the technical regulations because we have an extra race. That was the debatewe had.”

No extra componentsWolff�� added that an increaseto the duration of the seasonand number of races shouldnot be interpreted as achance for more components to be used on the cars.

“It shouldn’t be seen as anopportunity to increase thenumber of components, butequally we’ve got to protectour people and all of us because it could get to a pointwhere it’s not manageableany more with one singlecrew.

“That becomes a factorthat needs a solution.”

Support from the Catalangovernment for the continuation of the Spanish Grand

Prix this week suggested anexpansion of the existing 21race calendar was inevitable.

The enlargement requiresapproval from the teams, afactor that precipitated themeeting on Saturday.

Double headersThe expansion may lead toan increase in the number of‘doubleheaders’ formed oftwo successive race wee

kends in a calendar due to areturn of the Dutch GrandPrix and a Vietnam GrandPrix for the fi��rst time.

Wolff�� also said Mercedeswas not considering promoting impressive young Britishrookie George Russell fromWilliams to the main factoryteam alongside Lewis Hamilton next season.

He has made clear thatcurrent driver Valtteri Bottasis under consideration to retain his seat, but that a fi��nalchoice between him andhighlyrated reserve driverEsteban Ocon is due to bemade during the sport’s European summer break thisAugust.

Russell on Saturday outqualifi��ed his Williams teammate Robert Kubica by 1.3 seconds to take 15th place onthe grid, the team’s best effort this year.

“I think you’ve got to consider that these guys come

into F1 at a very young age,”said Wolff��. “And, yes, thereare exceptions to the norm,such as Max Verstappen.”

Learn from mistakesHe said the 21yearold Dutchtyro, who will start Sunday’sHungarian Grand Prix fromhis maiden pole position,had benefi��ted from being allowed to learn and makemistakes at both Toro Rossoand Red Bull.

“You’re not given the possibility to do that in a Mercedes because you’re beingput in a car that is able to winraces and championships, ina highpressureenvironment.”

He said that putting Russell alongside “the best driver of his generation who hasbeen with us for sevenyears”, referring to Hamilton, could go terribly wrongfor him. “And I wouldn’twant to burn George.”

In principal approval for 22nd race from the next year Mercedes boss says teams have agreed to expand the calendar


Budapest

FORMULA ONE

Toto Wolff��.* LARS BARON/GETTY IMAGES

Seeking to allay fears on theIndian team’s security during the Davis Cup tie, Pakistan Tennis Federation president Salim Saifullah Khanassured that the contest willbe held in safe and secureenvironment, promising“impressive hospitality” tothe visitors.

The PTF chief also said itplans to invite India’s PrimeMinister Narendra Modi towatch the contest, scheduled for September 1415,and promised memorable

hospitality to the visitingteam and fans.

“We are eagerly waitingfor the Indian team. Therewill be good arrangementsfor Indian fans and players.We will host the tie in a verysafe and secure atmosphere,” Salim Saifullah told PTIin an exclusive interview.

Lot of excitement“There is a lot of excitementin Pakistan for this tie. Everyone is happy. It’s better ifwe spray tennis balls at eachother and not bombs. I amconfi��dent that the Indianteam will be impressed withPakistan’s hospitality.”

An Indian tennis team isset to travel to Pakistan forthe fi��rst time in 55 years. Thelast time Pakistan hosted India was way back in 1964when the visitors won 40 inLahore.

When reminded thatthere are apprehensions regarding players’ safety in Pakistan, Salim assured thatnothing untoward willhappen.

“The ITF consultantswere here for three days andthey inspected everything.

“All the set up will be declared a red zone. I am surenothing untoward will happen,” he said.

Says tie will be held in a safe and secure environment


New Delhi

PTF chief allays Indian fears

DAVIS CUP

The fi��ne run of SowjanyaBavisetti and Sravya Shivani came to an end as theywere beaten 62, 62 by theDutch pair of Eva Vedderand Stephanie JudithVisscher in the doubles fi��nal of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament.The results: $15,000 ITF wo-men, Tabarka, Tunisia: Final:Eva Vedder & Stephanie Judith Visscher (Ned) bt Sowjanya Bavisetti & Sravya ShivaniChilakalapudi 62, 62.

Sowjanya,Sravya losefi��nal

Sports Bureau

Tabarka (Tunisia)

INDIANS ABROAD

Ottis Gibson and his entireSouth Africa coaching teamand management staff�� havelost their jobs, Cricket SouthAfrica (CSA) announced onSunday.

The decision, taken during a board meeting lastweek, follows a disastrousSouth African World Cupcampaign in which the Proteas fi��nished seventh of the10 teams.

The cleanout comesshortly before a tour of Indianext month during whichSouth Africa will play theirfi��rst three Tests in the newWorld Test Championship.

In a statement, CSA said afootballstyle team managerwould be appointed, whowould take charge of all aspects of the national team,

including the appointmentof coaching staff��, the captain or captains and medicaland administrative personnel. The team manager willreport directly to a directorof cricket, a new position.

Former South Africaplayer Corrie van Zyl, currently in charge of cricketpathways at CSA, will be acting Director of Cricket untila fulltime appointment ismade.

The statement said vanZyl and CSA chief executiveThabang Moroe would appoint an interim management team for the tour of India as well as an interimselection panel and captain.

Faf du Plessis was on Saturday night named SouthAfrican CricketeroftheYear and it would be a surprise if he was replaced.

CSA shows Gibson &crew the doorCreates director of cricket post,a la football managerAgence France-Presse

Johannesburg

CHENNAI: Though Bharatlost to Korea 70 in themen’s category, it beat Malaysia 40 in the women’ssection on day one of theSpecial Olympics International football championship here on Sunday. The results: Men: Austria btMyanmar 10; Malaysia btBangladesh 20; Korea btBharat 70.Women: Bharat bt Malaysia40; Russia bt Maldives 60;Indonesia bt Bangladesh 21;Philippines bt UAE 40.

Bharat womenwin, men lose

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SPORT

Green extends Warriorsstay till 2024SAN FRANCISCO

Three-time NBA champion

Draymond Green has agreed

to a four-year maximum

contract extension with

Golden State Warriors,

linking him to the club until

mid-2024. The 29-year-old

power forward, an emotional

leader as well as a versatile

playmaker, was set to

become a free agent next

July but will stay with

Warriors. Green's remaining

contract now goes for five

years and pays $118 million.

He has won the NBA crown in

2015, 2017 and 2018. NBA

Defensive Player-of-the-Year

2017, Green has been on the

All-Defensive first or second

team for five consecutive

seasons. AFP

IN BRIEF

AC Milan snaps up Africa Cup star BennacerROME

AC Milan on Sunday

announced the signing of

French-born Algerian

midfielder Ismael Bennacer,

named Player-of-the-

Tournament at the recently

concluded Africa Cup of

Nations. Bennacer, who

played for the French

under-18 and -19 teams

before switching to Algeria in

2016, joins the Milan club

from fellow Serie A side

Empoli on a five-year

contract. He has won 16 caps

for Algeria, including seven at

the Africa Cup of Nations in

Egypt, where his team beat

Senegal in the final. AFP

Two of the best women pistol shooters in the country,Annu Raj Singh and ShwetaSingh, will compete in thelast World Cup of the seasonin Rio de Janeiro aspiring towin the second Olympic quota for Tokyo 2020, in airpistol.

The 32yearold Shweta,who works with ONGC, hascompeted in fi��ve WorldChampionships, and threeAsian Games.

She did win the AsianGames individual bronze inIncheon, 2014.

Returning was tough“I am happy to make themain team for the last WorldCup of the season. Returningto the team was tough because of various reasons.

“It was hard to spare time

for training (following marriage and the birth of achild). But, my husband supports me and takes care ofour child.

“I worked full force, covering all training needs andmade the World Championship team last year,” recalledShweta.

Huge payments“I used my savings for participating in open tournaments abroad for more exposure and paid hefty fees tomental and physical trainers.I trusted my abilities andworked hard.

“I was missing selection tothe national team by 0.1point or one point. I am happy that the hard work is paying off��,” said Shweta.

Unlike Shweta, Annu Raj,who is with Air India, hasbeen in the 25m sports pistolteam, having representedthe country in the LondonOlympics by virtue of silver

in the World Cup in Fort Benning when she had shot animpressive qualifi��cationscore of 389.

The last time Annu madethe National team in air pistol in a World Cup was in2015. The 35yearold Annuwill be competing in the 60shot air pistol for the fi��rsttime in a global competition.

“I don’t think making theteam in itself is noteworthy.It is just the fi��rst step.

“I don’t think much aboutquota, etc. It would be niceto get it. It is more about being able to follow the process,” said Annu.

“The knowledge availablefor young shooters, alongwith funding for the juniorprogramme, is helping themget there faster (among theelite).

“For them, transition isthe key. Earlier, we wouldlearn from our seniors. Now,the juniors motivate me togive my best,” said Annu.

Annu, Shweta ready to make it count in Rio Second Olympic quota place to be won

Target Tokyo: Annu Raj Singh and Shweta Singh who havereturned to the National air pistol team for the Rio World Cup.

* KAMESH SRINIVASAN

SHOOTING

Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI

Borussia Dortmund stunnedBayern Munich 20 in theGerman Supercup fi��nal onthe strength of goals by PacoAlcacer and Jadon Sancho.

The win on Saturday ended a streak of three straightvictories for Bayern in thisannual match, which pits thewinners of the previous season’s Bundesliga and German Cup titles.

The duel was electric fromthe start, more than mightbe expected in the fi��rst daysof August, reports Efe news.

Dortmund had more opportunities in an evenly contested fi��rst half, with Bayernsuperstar Robert Lewandowski unable to assert his presence in the centre of the

fi��eld. Thomas Muller fi��nallygot off�� a shot for the Bavariangiants in the 19th minute, butit sailed over the crossbar.Dortmund, meanwhile, test

ed Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who managed tokeep the game scoreless witha foot save of a shot by Raphael Guerreiro.

The evenness of thematch unravelled as soon asthe second half began. Justthree minutes had passedwhen Thiago lost control of

the ball and Bayern paid theprice.

Sancho made a speedycounterattack down the side,booted the ball across towhere Alcacer took controlstraight in front of the netand drilled it in past Neuer inthe 48th minute.

Bayern tried to battleback, but Marwin Hitz madean outstanding save to denya shot by Kingsley Coman;Joshua Kimmich then made astrong run but sent his shotoff�� target.

Those missed chancesproved costly when Sanchointercepted a pass by JeromeBoateng, raced down thefi��eld and beat Neuer with acrossing shot to give Dortmund an insurance goal inthe 69th minute.

Dortmund wins German SupercupAlcacer, Sancho deny Bayern a third triumphIANS

Dortmund

Best of the best: Borussia Dortmund celebrates the German Supercup victory. * AP

Daniel James converted thewinning penalty in a shootout to give Manchester United victory over AC Milan onSaturday and six wins in asmany preseason matches.

The 21yearold Wales international, who signedfrom second tier Swansea inthe close season, sealed victory after David de Gea hadsaved a spotkick from Daniel Maldini, son of Milanand Italy legend Paolo.

United's 54 victory — itsother fi��ve victories includedbeating Tottenham Hotspurand Inter Milan — in theshootout came after thematch ended 22 but was notenough for it to win the International Champions Cupwith the honours going toPortuguese side Benfi��cainstead.

“It's amazing. Today wasa diffi��cult test but it showedthe spirit to come from behind,” James told MUTV.“To score that last penalty,especially here in Cardiff��, isvery special.”

The English side's triumph came despite the absence of Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, who is

expected to leave the clubon a potential swap dealwith Argentinian Paulo Dybala from Juventus, andFrance's World Cupwinningmidfi��elder Paul Pogba.

Pogba purportedly missed the trip to Wales with aback injury although theDaily Mirror claimed hehad sought to seal a moveaway to Real Madrid by nottravelling with the squad.

United took the leadwhen Marcus Rashfordopened the scoring with adelightful individual eff��ort,dancing through two ratherfeeble eff��orts at tackles before his shot took a defl��ection off�� Milan skipper Alessio Romagnoli.

The visitors levelled inthe 25th minute, Suso curling one into the net fromoutside the penalty area. deGea denied Suso a secondseven minutes before thebreak.

Suso was at the heart ofthe goal that gave Milan thelead on the hour mark, hiscross being fl��icked on by Samu Castillejo which hit United central defender VictorLindelof's head and went in.

United struck back assubstitute Jesse Lingard'sshot beat former Liverpoolgoalkeeper Pepe Reina with18 minutes remaining.

United’s pre-seasonrun continuesJames fetches shoot-out win

over AC Milan

FOOTBALL


Cardiff

Decisive moment: Daniel James scores the winningpenalty. * AFP

mier League and conceding54 goals, the most it has conceded in a league seasonsince 197879.

The 20time championdesperately needs a positivestart to rebuild confi��dencethat it can challenge at thesharp end of the PremierLeague. Anything less andthe knives could be out forSolskjaer.

New faces

After a leaky defence playeda key role in United’s struggles last season, Solskjaermade it clear he wanted Leicester’s Harry Maguire to plugthe holes.

The England centrebackis reportedly on the verge ofbecoming the world’s mostexpensive defender, with United said to have agreed an€80 million fee to landMaguire.

But has it signed enoughfaces to boost a squad thatlooked short of class compared with Manchester Cityand Liverpool last season?Highly rated rightback Aaron WanBissaka has joinedfrom Crystal Palace, withSolskjaer describing the 21yearold as “one of the bestupcoming defenders in thePremier League”.

Winger Daniel James wasbought from Championshipclub Swansea to add thrust

Manchester United has missed out on the top four infour of the six seasons sinceAlex Ferguson stepped downand fans are coming to termswith its current status as Premier League alsorans.

Here, AFP Sport looks atwhether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can make United a contender again for the fi��rst timesince its last Premier Leaguetitle in 201213 or whether itis facing another season ofturmoil and pain.

What to expect It is diffi��cult to know what toexpect from Solskjaer’s United, which enjoyed a purplepatch after the Norwegian replaced Jose Mourinho butslumped alarmingly towardsthe end of last season.

At one stage it looked likely to fi��nish in the top four butthere was the suspicion itwas getting the rub of thegreen and so it proved.

Its campaign ended with awhimper as it drew 11 at relegated Huddersfi��eld and itwas beaten 20 at home onthe fi��nal day by Cardiff��,which was also heading outof the Premier League.

A gap of 32 points to champion Manchester City wasembarrassing and manyquestioned whether the clubhad been too hasty in appointing the relatively inexperienced Solskjaer to thefulltime manager’s post.

United will not haveChampions League footballto paper over the cracks during the coming season, withThursday nights in the Europa League ringed in the calendar instead.

The club has had a positivepreseason but there are stilllingering issues that need tobe addressed — Paul Pogba’sfuture is still in doubt andSolskjaer has to wrestle withthe conundrum of an underperforming Alexis Sanchez.

United had problems atboth ends of the pitch lastseason — scoring 30 goalsfewer than City in the Pre

on the fl��anks.

United has also beenlinked with a swoop for Juventus forward Paulo Dybala, but the Argentine is said tobe unsure about joining ateam outside the ChampionsLeague.

Romelu Lukaku could beon the way out of Old Trafford, with Juventus and InterMilan both keen on the Belgium striker according toreports.

Key man

This is the season when Marcus Rashford will have to stepup and show emphaticallythat he deserves to wear thenumber 10 shirt at Manchester United.

Still only 21, Rashfordscored 17 goals in 54 appearances last season for cluband country but will have toboost those numbers if he isto be the undisputed leaderof United’s attack.

Rashford signed a newfouryear deal to remain atOld Traff��ord last month, saying it was “a privilege” everytime he wore the shirt.

He has scored some sublime goals for the club butwith a shortage of goal threatfrom elsewhere, Solskjaerwill want to see him take histally to 20plus goals this season and become more of apoacher.

Man U faces uncertain future Can Solskjaer make the Red Devils contenders again?Agence France-Presse

London

Troubled times: With a question mark still hanging over PaulPogba continuing at Manchester United, Solskjaer has atough task at hand to rebuild the team. * REUTERS

Pep Guardiola has dominated English football in his timeat Manchester City, winningfi��ve of the six domestic trophies in the last two seasons,and once again is putting Premier League glory at the topof his list of ambitions for thenew season.

Liverpool won its sixth European Cup with victory overTottenham in May, and whileGuardiola does want to conquer Europe with City, heprefers the sustained excellence that a successful leaguecampaign brings over thevagaries of the postChristmas knockout rounds.

The 48yearold Spaniardhas won eight titles in 10 seasons as a manager and he isnow aiming to repeat thethree straight league titlewins he had at German giantBayern Munich with City.

“The Champions Leagueis an important tournamentand diffi��cult to win,” he said.

“But it’s seven games (theknockout stages). I am notgoing to go to the casino andgamble everything I have inmy pocket on seven games. Idon’t want that.

“I want to be happy for 11months and the PremierLeague makes me happy. Every game when we win, I amhappy and I go to a restaurant feeling better.

“Why am I going to waituntil February for sevengames and put everything onblack? From my point ofview, that is too risky.”

Guardiola, whose side wasknocked out of the Champions League by Liverpooland Spurs in the past twoseasons, said the title meanteverything to him.

“To maintain the healthand focus of the team, the

most important thing is thePremier League,” he said.

“It is the standout competition because it is every weekend. In the ChampionsLeague, many things canhappen in one or two games.

“We will be closer toachieving in Europe when wehave more Premier Leaguetitles. That is a nice processand the right process to do atManchester City.

“If I could have one thingthis season, right now, it

would defi��nitely be the title.”

The discussion has beenhad all summer about whoseachievements were greaterlast season, Liverpool’sChampions League glory orCity winning the three domestic trophies — Liverpoolpushing City all the way inthe Premier League title race— in England plus the Community Shield.

But it was 30 in the Reds’favour in nominations for thebest male player for the BestFifa Football Awards, whichwere announced lastWednesday.

Virgil van Dijk, MohamedSalah and Sadio Mane are onthe 10man shortlist.

Wider acclaim

It has left Guardiola wondering what City’s players mustdo to receive wider acclaimfor their performances.

“I cannot imagine Real Ma

drid or Barcelona winningfour titles in one season andnot having a single playerthere,” he said.

“That is impossible. I amnot going to say that the tenguys nominated don’t deserve it, but I am a bit surprised we had no one because our players wereincredible.

“For example I don’t thinkany player made a better season than Bernardo Silva, whoalso won the Nations Leaguewith Portugal.”

Guardiola had to acknowledge that success in Europeis the only remedy to resolving the conundrum.

“These awards are normally when you win theChampions League or are inthe latter stages,” he said.

“The other competitionsdo not count. So if we win theChampions League, ourplayers will be there.”

Guardiola places a premium on Premier LeagueIs averse to gambling all on the Champions LeagueAgence France-Presse

London

Pep Guardiola. * REUTERS

Defending champion RafaelNadal heads the fi��eld for theATP Montreal Masters thatstarts on Monday with NovakDjokovic and Roger Federeropting out of the key USOpen tuneup.

With Djokovic and Federerputting a return to action onhold after their dramaticWimbledon fi��nal, 33yearoldNadal will be seeking to retain the title he earned lastyear in Toronto, when hebeat rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fi��nal.

Thiem seeded two

The Greek is back, taking thefourth seeding behind a pairof fellow young guns in number two Dominic Thiem ofAustria and Germany’s Alex

ander Zverev, seeded third.

Federer and Djokovicaren’t scheduled to resurfaceuntil the Cincinnati Mastersstarts on August 12, givingthem one tournament priorto the August 26 start of theUS Open at Flushing Meadows, the fi��nal Grand slam ofthe year.

Federer has been training

on hardcourt at home inSwitzerland after falling toDjokovic in a dramatic fi��veset fi��nal at the All EnglandClub three weeks ago, inwhich the Swiss great heldtwo match points.

Enjoying a break

Djokovic has been picturedrelaxing at various European

beach resorts with his familyprior to picking up the racquet once again.

Nadal, meanwhile, is pacing himself after another season marred by injury, insisting despite the pleas andinducements of Cincinnatioffi��cials that he won’t decidewhether to play there untilhe sees how he feels afterMontreal.

“Depending on what happens in Montreal, I'll take adecision on Cincinnati,” hesaid. “Cincinnati is still an option. But I want to arrive wellprepared and ready for theUS Open, the last Major ofthe season.”

Nadal could face a challenge in the second round after a bye, with a possiblematch against AustralianAlex de Minaur — winner ofthe Atlanta title lastweekend.

Second seed Thiem haspurposefully left it late forthe hardcourts, preferring tostay as long as possible onEuropean clay by enteringboth Hamburg andKitzbuehel.

Thiem, beaten by Nadal inthe last two Roland Garros fi��nals, has a special goal driving him when he lands inFrancophile Canada. Thiemwill open his campaignagainst either Canadian Denis Shapovalov or Frenchman PierreHugues Herbert.

Third seed Zverev, whowon the title here two yearsago with a win over Federerin the fi��nal, will open againsteither Briton Cameron Norrie or Hungarian Martin Fucsovic. Tsitsipas will bid tobetter his 2018 fi��nals showingbut must fi��rst get past eitherMilos Raonic or AmericanTaylor Fritz.

Nadal heads the fi��eld at Montreal MastersDjokovic, Federer have opted out of the key US Open tune-up

ROGERS CUP


Montreal

Testing time: Nadal wants to assess himself at Montrealbefore taking on call on taking part in Cincinnati. * REUTERS

CM

YKA ND-NDE

www.thehindu.com/education

www.facebook.com/thehinduedge

www.twitter.com/thehinduedge

0

EDUCATION PLUSGET THE EDGE

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Delhi • Monday • August 5, 2019

“60 years young” read the banners atIITMadras, celebrating its diamond jubilee — “old” doesn’t fi��gure in the institution’s culture of innovation, experimentation and entrepreneurship. Thislandmark in south Chennai has routinely spawned successful startups and business ventures, and sent out alumniwho impact thinking across the globe.“The industryacademia interactiontook a fi��rm footing at IITM,” said Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwalla. “The successof IITM Research Park, incubation cell,and our incubated entrepreneurs hasresolved the SaraswathiLakshmidilemma.”

In true IITM style, events markingthe occasion were held simultaneouslyin 80plus cities, across the globe, on July 13. Organised by IIT Madras AlumniAssociation (IITMAA) in partnershipwith IITM, alumni from all batches,19642019 — “from SeattletoSydney,TorontotoTokyo, BerlintoBengaluru,HelsinkitoHong Kong and from Delhi/Mumbai/Pune in India” — gathered toshare memories of their time at IITM.“The overwhelming response resultingin 3,500 alumni participating, is a testament to the emotional connect we haveto our alma mater,” said Shubha Kumar,President, IITMAA. A video messagefrom Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, (Director, IITM), tech discussions, quizzes,competitions, cultural events and ascreening of IITM’s 60year historymarked the celebrations.

Some 400odd alumni got togetherin Chennai, to swap stories about theiralma mater. IITM is a recognised identity, said CP Madhusudan (1989 batch),Secretary, Alumni Association. “Expectations are high, the toughest taskcomes to you.” Going back in time hesaid, “We talk of water shortage today,

but we had the same problem in 19861987, we pumped water and carried it tothe washrooms. The story goes that inthe early 80s, wearing only towels, students marched to Director PV Indiresan’s offi��ce demanding water. “We cando a lot at IITM,” he reportedly said,“but can’t produce water.”

IITM started with German collaboration. So, all learning was handson, saidJ.Rathnakumar, 1980 batch. Studentsspent time in the workshop, 95, tolearn welding, carpentry, making/fi��xing engineered goods and machines. “Ispent two years with Crompton &Greaves on the shop fl��oor, became a BtoB consultant with hardcore industrial units — IITM gave me productknowledge, which helped with marketing strategy.”

Down memory laneThe fun thing was the ongoing enmitybetween Saraswathi and Godavari hostels, said Sooraj Gopakumar (2017batch). Unprintable language came inhandy for constant oneupmanship,

but it was all healthy rivalry. “We werethe ‘power girls’, 12/130 students inelectricity, ” said a 2017 batch alumnus.“We were the last to share quarters withseniors. We stuck together; fresherstook gyan from seniors when it felt likebeing pushed into the water without alifeguard.”

Coming from the protected environsof Ethiraj college, IITM was a hugechange for Mridula Nair (1975) — withcoed classes, wooded campus, and theneed to live up to the institution’sname. “I was one of the six women together called the benzene ring,” shelaughed. They had a wonderful professor in “Cheenu mama”, but female students were yet to be taken seriously. “Iapplied for a PhD. A classmate corneredme to say, ‘Why don’t you step aside soK gets this spot. You’ll marry and goaway.’ ‘You don’t know that,’ I retorted.I went abroad for a PhD.”

One of seven women in 1994, ShubaKumar fi��nds IITM a diff��erent place now,with women in three digits in B.Tech.With mandatory shopfl��oor work — “nogender discrimination!” — you fi��ndyourself at sea (or the woods) in the fi��rstsemester, but you get on with it; it isabout character building. If you spokeno Tamizh, you picked it up fast. Youhad to deal with the dhobi and the su-pies in the mess. “Tamizh was operationalised”

Ah, the Saturday morning rava dosa,recalled Professor Mahesh Panchagnula, 1992 batch. The “power” dosas weresquares — the greatest thing! “IITMboasts of very high IQ concentration ina halfakilometre radius,” he pointedout. You met the superbrilliant by thedozens, the level of debates — whethercricket, bridge, books or travel — thestandard was high. Students were multifaceted (guitarist Prasanna is IITM

ian), there were quizzards, Carnatic vocalists, academics. “Chennai has thesingle largest group of alumni, many inresearch, some are Profs.”

IITM is the best of the best, said 1997batch’s Prakash Damodaran, IAS. “Itook a new job every couple of yearswithout being asked for an interview.IITM prepared me for hard work,trained me to be analytical, fi��gure outthings, and understand human equations. Did you know that the course istougher than in Harvard, MIT?” The experience is transformative, said a groupof freshlyminted IITMians of 2019. “Itgave us freedom to tinker with ideas,connected us with people. You can pursue an intellectual interest. The rapportopened us to more views; it is all sohumbling.”

For J. Jeyapriya, 2005 batch, IITM’sUSP is the independence it allows. “Iwas in mechanical, but had lots of options for other courses as well. You passthrough a preincubation cell and an innovation centre, and interact with prominent CEOs — this is the best place torealise your entrepreneurial dream.The dean for international relationships and the alumni association worktogether to support you in every way.”

Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director,IIT Madras, summed up the 60 years ofIITM in one compact sentence. “Apartfrom the wellknown alumni who haveset the benchmark for achievement in

diff��erent spheres, IITM stands out for thehigh impact its research has made in several aspects of life for the citizens of India— be it in the provision of clean water,electricity in gridless habitations, aff��ordable housing technology, access tohealthcare through new technology, advanced homegrown tyre technology,and more recently in electric vehiclesand artifi��cial intelligence.”

Nostalgia fl��owed at the offi��cial function“Jog down the memory lane” to mark theyear. Musician Sowmya recalled how the“research and analysis discipline at IITMhelped her approach her musical career.Had she not chosen music, she wouldhave been an excellent chemical scientist, said the MC.

“Sixty is a small number in an institution’s life, but IITM has packed hugeachievements in them,” said former deanVGK Murthy. The German consulgeneraltalked warmly of how its successful fl��agship programme boosted IndoGermanrelationship. The partnership has continued from the basic workshop to the Internet/AI age, she noted.

Go for interdisciplinary classes forecology and environment to solve today’sproblems, advised Swaminathan Sivaram(1989 batch), best alumnus of the year. “Icame as an 18yearold, learnt everythingI needed to know. The UG course here isthe brightest shining star.”

A video library of all the fi��rsts put together by Kumaran Sadasivam wasscreened, students showcased the“anythinggoes” IITM couture in a fashion walk, Kris Gopalakrishnan (1979M.Tech) narrated how he came back toIITM because there is no interview forjoining M.Tech. The Heritage Centre putup copies of Campastimes, the inhousemagazine that recorded events withblobs of humour, and a short fi��lm documented the extraordinary biodiversity ofthe campus.

As the country’siconic institutecelebrates 60

years, its alumnilook back at how

it hastransformed lives

b Geeta Padmanabhan

Crowning glory: (Top) Research park. (Bottom): Students’ activity centre.

Reducing carbon footprintsAccording to the 2019 People and PlanetUniversity League, universities are laggingbehind whenit comes toreducingcarbonemissions,the reasonbeingacademicconferences.Air travel is estimated to be responsible formore than 2% of global humaninducedemissions, and lecturers’ flights could be addingsignificantly to the carbon footprint of manyuniversities, according to transport dataprovided voluntarily by 67 institutions.

GLOBAL ED)

CyberattackRecently, aman wasarrested onsuspicion ofcomputercrimes andfraudoffences, bypolice investigating the theft of student datafrom Lancaster University in the U.K. Accordingto sources from Lancaster University, a hacker orhackers accessed the records for undergraduatestudent applications to enter the university thisyear and in 2020. Another breach was identifiedaffecting the university’s student recordssystem.

QUICK INFO

● Indian Institute of Technology Madras

(IITM) was established in 1959 by the

Government of India as an institute of

national importance.

● It has grown into a hub of

technology and science with 16

academic departments and several

advanced interdisciplinary

research academic centres.

● The Institute off��ers UG/PG

programmes leading to degrees in

B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech.,

M.S., and Ph.D., in a variety of

specialisations.

● IITM is a residential institute with

more than 580 faculty and 9,500

students. Students from 18 countries are

enrolled here.

● Its Incubation Cell is famous for

fostering entrepreneurial culture.

IITM has been ranked #1 in the Overall

Institutions category in India Rankings

2019 released by National Institutional

Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human

Resources Development, Govt. of India.

● The Institute has also been ranked #1

in the Engineering Institutions category

in the same rankings for four consecutive

years – 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

● It was also adjudged as the ‘top

innovative institution’ in the country in

the Atal Ranking of Institutions on

Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019

launched by Innovation Cell of MHRD.

Vaishnavi Agarwal, III, B.Tech, BME, Amity Un-iversity, Gurugram

The admission of more than 50% girls inIIMS is a good instance of gender equality,which will inspire our country’s women to follow their dreams. Women’s participation in thecorporate and banking sectors of the multinational organisations is on the rise. Young women are now breaking stereotypes and the fourwalls of domestic space, without being hampered by former impediments such as location,nature of job and gender imbalances. This newtrend will improve the country’s humanresources.

Disha Jaswal, II, B.A. honours Psychology,Keshav Mahavidyalay, Delhi university

The increase in the number of female students in IIMS clearly refl��ects a change in society’s outlook towards girls’ education. Odishawas lagging behind in this sphere, but is nowimproving. Policy decisions such as percentagerelaxation for girls, and a safe learning environment is a good start for women candidates. Moreover, the involvement of women in othermaledominated fi��elds, like politics, has also improved over the years, as the 17th Lok SabhaElections recorded the highest number of women candidates in the assembly.

Yashveer Chaudhry, II, B.A. Honours GenderStudies, Ambedkar University, Delhi

Considering that IIMS had almost negligiblegender diversity last year, Odisha has done agood job towards achieving gender equality,this year. In India, where the gender ratio inmost families, institutions and organisations isunequal — the admittance of more than 50%women in such a reputed institution shows thatwe are heading towards progress. However,there are innumerable changes which are yet tobe made in education institutions, whichshould be addressed gradually to achieve gender equality.

Shailja Dwivedi, II, MBA, IIM IndoreAccording to a survey conducted by Peterson

Institute for International Economics, womenwho work at the C Suite level improve the netmargins of the company, indicating that companies which have a higher percentage of womenleaders tend to perform better. Therefore, theinclusion of women in top management institutes is a step towards a fl��ourishing economy.There were only fi��ve per cent girls in a batch of100 students at IIM Calcutta in 1976. Today, theratio is levelling up, as women work hard to fi��ndthe best opportunities every year.

voices)

Achieving gender equality

b Neha Rupeja

The Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur, has enrolled over 50% girls in the MBA degree, this session. What does this say about gender inclusivity ?

IIT-M hits the

diamond

<> “While doing my M.Sc.

at IIT Madras, I was

introduced to

computers. I took a

course in Fortran

(Programming

language) and, as they

say, the rest is history. I

want to thank all the

teachers, staff�� and all

the people who have

built this great

institution. Its role in

transforming and

building institutions

across the world, across

the industry, academic

and Government stands

testimony to the impact

of this Institution.”

— Kris Gopalakrishnan,Distinguished Alumnus Awardee,Cofounder of Infosys

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EDUCATION PLUS

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DELHI THE HINDU

MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 20192EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

or Mumbai?”“That’s right. In the

case of ‘migrate’, themove need not necessarily be to a foreigncountry. It can bewithin one’s own. Al

so, the move need notnecessarily bepermanent.”

“I guess that explainswhy people who movefrom one part of the country to another looking forwork are often called ‘migrant’ workers. Why areyou smiling? You look really happy aboutsomething.”

Eat your heart out“This afternoon I managedto fi��gure out who wasstealing our offi��ce supplies. Sherlock Holmes,eat your heart out.”

“Why should poor Sherlock Holmes eat his heartout? What are you talkingabout?”

“The expression, ‘eatyour heart out’ is usuallyfollowed by the name of afamous individual. In myexample, what I am jokingly suggesting is that Iam a better detective thanSherlock Holmes — that hewould be extremely jealous of my ability to solvecases.”

“So the famous personyou are comparing yourself to could be alive ordead?”

“That’s right. He onlyneeds to be famous, that’sall.”

“This comparison between you and Holmes isnot meant to be taken seriously, right?”

“Exactly! I know that Iam not as good as Holmes.It’s my attempt to be funny. Here is another example. During his wonderfulinnings, Suresh hit a couple of beautiful coverdrives. Eat your heart out,Kohli.”

“How about this example? My brother’s singinghad the audience dancingin the aisles. Eat yourheart out, Kishore Kumar.”

“Sounds good!”********“It’s amazing how nice

people are when theyknow you’re going away.”Michael Arien

The writer teaches at the

English and Foreign

Languages University,

Hyderabad.

[email protected]

“You are late again. Didn’tyou say you would be herearound two o’clock?”

“I am really sorry aboutthat. But I had to go to theairport to see my friendoff��. He and his family areemigrating...migrating toAustralia. Which is correct? Emigrating or...”

“Well, in this context,both emigrating and migrating are acceptable.”

“So, are you sayingthere is no diff��erence between the two words?”

“I didn’t say that! Theword ‘emigrate’ comesfrom the Latin ‘emigrare’meaning ‘to depart from aplace’. So, when you ‘emigrate’, you leave one placeand go to another. Nowadays, the word is mostlyused when a personmoves from one countryto another.”

“This move to anothercountry is usually permanent, isn’t it? In the case ofmy friend, he is going tobe settling down inAustralia.”

“His family is movingfrom India to Australia.Which is why careful usersof the language argue thatone always emigrates‘from’ one country ‘to’another. Sadhana emigrated from India to France.”

“So, is it wrong to say,Sadhana emigrated toFrance?”

“Not anymore. A lot ofnative speakers say ‘emigrate to’ and ‘migrate to”

“I know that when oneemigrates, one movesfrom one country toanother. What about...”

“When you move fromone country to another,you can use either migrateor emigrate. For example,many of my cousins arejust dying to migrate toAmerica.”

“Quite a few people inmy family want to migrateto Russia.”

“I didn’t know that. Unlike ‘emigrate’, the word‘migrate’ can be used torefer to one’s moving fromone part of the country toanother.”

“You mean like movingfrom Chennai to Kolkata

Going places

know your english)S. upendran

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

EAR SHOT

ASHOK RAJAGOPALAN

The Ultimate BrainBoosting Tool KitAuthor: Shireen Stephen

Human beings have always beenfascinated by puzzles and brainteasers. From jigsaw puzzles toRubik’s cube, these challenginggames are helpful in our cognitivedevelopment. Apart from keepingus entertained they also build upour logical thinking abilities.The Ultimate Brain-Boosting ToolKit works towards that end byputting together different types ofgames. The book is a collection of450 brainboosting and brainbusting puzzles for anyone wanting to improve in school,work or life in general. There are different difficulty levels— easy, intermediate, advanced, and expert, and areindicated on each exercise. These provide a perfectpremise for brain training. The book has an assortment of puzzles — secret codes,brainteasers, riddles, word and number challenges, andother interesting formats — that would help in boostingbrainpower.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

ON THE SHELF

b Kritika Rathore

Last weekend, I watched Spider-Man: Far from Home, Marvels Cinema’s latest off��ering to take thestory ahead, post Avengers: End-game; a 2.0 version, after the dissolution of the superhero Avengersin their last outing. The movie delivers a stronger footing to SpiderMan, the boyhero, who must stepup to fi��ll the void and grow up toface the challenges of new, moredevious threats that this world potentially faces — includes gettingrid of his youthful dalliances to fulfi��l the expectations from asuperhero.

I came back agog with manythemes mirroring the contemporary choices and challenges thatyoung adults are facing today, and Iam outlining the bolder ones here.

Peter Parker, our friendly neighbourhood SpiderMan, is a teenagesuperhero caught in a confl��ict between what a superhero must doand what he wants to be doing as ayoung adult. His early exposure tosuccess with the seasoned superheroes — aiding the senior Avengersin their campaign to thwart the formidable battery of super villains —makes it harder; a hotchpotch ofyoung love, youthful selfdoubt andadolescent enthusiasm, compounded by inexperience. There is an expectation that is foisted on himand there is also his own notion ofwhat a superhero must give up forthe sake of others.

Should versus MustThe conundrum is much like thepressured milieu that young adultsfi��nd themselves in, as they step off��adolescence into higher educationand/or formative careers. There isan impression of the world that

they bring in — an idea of whatthey should do to assuage expectations, including their own. A confusing mix of “should” and “must”,in a reality that is dynamic andcompetitive, is a virtual highpressure chamber for making choicesand decisions. No wonder thereare many stumbles, and somebuckle under pressure.

What may be good to remember,like in Peter Parker’s case, is thatdilemmas and tight corners are inevitable. However crushing a failure does not defi��ne one’s life. Themovie makes a natural case for refl��ection, selfassessment and reorganising to correct a wrong andcreate momentum for the next action. No brooding over mistakesbeyond the clues and learning itleaves behind.

Another asset that youth has issimplicity and earnestness, and it

serves immensely well to retreat tothese soft impulses, despite whatgrowing up seems to demand. Equating adulthood with bravado, stability, and devoid of mistakes isselfdefeating. SpiderMan’s inherent earnestness makes his learning moments and mistakes softerin impact and hence, immediatelyfuel his redemptive decisions.

Another topical and resonantmessage in the movie is deliveredby Mysterio, the villain. The malevolent Mysterio hatches his deviousplan solely taking advantage ofwhat he considers the general gullibility of the public. He is a manipulative trickster who declares, “It’s

easy to fool people when they’realready fooling themselves”; he asserts that “people believe, and nowadays they’ll believe anything”;he boasts, “They’ll see what I wantthem to see,” and he explains thathe creates illusions “to give theworld something to believe in,” adding that his trickery is the truth.To save the world, SpiderMan hasto get on the inside of the illusion,to fi��nd and defeat the villain who iscreating it.

Far from Home, in this sense,boldly illustrates the diff��erencesbetween reality and fabricated media images — that we exist in an information heavy and news hungryworld that is churning out lies andhalftruths is cunning, sensationalpackaging. The overload is so severe that we have to learn to oftenretreat inward, to harness our inherent instincts, to separate from

the onslaught of malevolent illusions. Like Peter Parker’s trusted‘Peter Tingle’, we will need to access our inner knowing to judge,assess, and exercise opinion.

The movie sends a human message in its portrayal of Peter Parkerand his big mistakes, and how hegoes through sharp learning curvesin both his masked adventures, aswell as, his ordinary teenage life.The fallibility of a superhero, theearnestness to his learning moments, and his simple, brave admissions to his mistakes yet moving forward to correct them, is arefreshing reminder to remain human in growing up.

The writer is a life coach, blogger and

writer who simplifi��es the patterns and

archetypes she encounters at work

and in life.

[email protected]

LIVE LIGHTLY)NIVEDITA DAS NARAYAN

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Dilemmas and tight cornersare inevitable. However,crushing a failure does notdefi��ne one’s life.

Simplicity, earnestness, and naturalinstincts are innate assets that will see

you through tough times

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Be your own SUPERHERO

Previously, I had outlinedfour strategies recommended by psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky for promotinghappiness. Expressing gratitude, being optimistic, avoiding overthinking and socialcomparison, and engaging inacts of kindness are likely toenhance your wellbeing. Today, I will lay out another tetrad of strategies that mayelevate your mood.

Lyubomirsky highlightsthe panhuman need for social connection. Whether weare partyhoppers or poopers, almost everyone drawssuccour from human contact. The size of our socialcircles doesn’t matter asmuch as the strength of ourbonds. In India, as family iscentral to our lives, most people have regular contactwith others. While familialties can indeed be nourishing, at times, they can alsobe stifl��ing. Thus, it is wise tocultivate relationships bothwithin and outside the familyfold. Having a close friend orconfi��dante, whom you cantrust, can be cathartic toyour wellbeing.

Positivity paysBeing happy, alas, does not

mean that you are immuneto the vicissitudes of life. However, when confronted bychallenges, you can developcoping strategies that canhold you in good stead. If aproblem has a solution, tryand implement it. However,many of our troubles don’thave readymade remedies.When we are faced with intractable situations overwhich we have scant control,we can at least ensure thatwe are not engulfed by a cascade of negative emotions.Lyubomirsky posits thatwriting about a traumaticevent can help you processtumultuous feelings betterand can sometimes evenlead you to fi��nd meaning inpain.

The next strategy is aboutforgiving others for transgressions, both minor or major. When we hold on togrudges, we not only marour relationships with othersbut also end up hurting ourselves. I had written an earlier column on how forgiveness results in greater

physical and psychologicalwellbeing. If you fi��nd it hardto extend mercy to yourtransgressor, Lyubomirskyrecommends that you tryand cultivate empathy forthe person who damagedyou. Perhaps, you could imagine the person as a helplessnewborn. What quirks of fatedrove this little being to commit unpardonable off��encesagainst you? Viewing the person in this light may help youextend positive thoughts tothe person who aggrievedyou. Of course, forgivenessdoesn’t mean you condonethe crime but that you viewthe perpetrator as a fellowhuman being.

Another strategy that hasa robust relationship withwellbeing is engaging in‘fl��ow’ activities. This term,fi��rst coined by psychologist

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, refers to a state of being so fullyabsorbed or immersed by anactivity that you lose anysense of selfconsciousness.Flow can be achieved by anyactivity that taps your signature strengths and off��ers youan optimal level of diffi��culty.From cooking to crochetingto car fi��xing to calligraphy tocanoeing to creative writing,pick an activity that interestsand challenges you and asyou practice, you will honeyour skills and abilities.Ideally, if you experiencefl��ow in your profession, atleast some of the time, youare blessed. Even if your jobdoesn’t absorb your attention, you can cultivate fl��owexperiences by engaging in ahobby in your downtime. Lyubomirsky avers that sincefl��ow activities are “inherently pleasurable and fulfi��lling,”they are relatively easy tosustain.

So, when the going istough, do not despair. Even ifyou don’t confi��de in others,being around loved ones canelevate your mood. Writingabout your problems can also dislodge cobwebs fromyour mind. Though it soundstrite, learning to let go by forgiving people can be just thetonic your weary soul requires. Finally, engaging in ahobby or two adds positivityto your life. Till next time.

The writer is Director,

PRAYATNA.

[email protected]

Go with the fl��owWhen confronted by challenges, develop coping strategies that are positive

think)ARUNA SANKARANARAYANAN

: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

When we hold on togrudges, we not onlymar our relationshipswith others but also endup hurting ourselves.

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Q1Shown here is actor andvoice artist James EarlJones. He is popular forbeing the voice of the

iconic villain, Darth Vader. His deepbaritone is also associated with another character in a 1994 movie. Because of his legacy, he was the onlythe original cast member to be a partof the 2019 remake as well. Namethe character that Jones takes ‘pride’in lending his voice?

Q2Shown here is MargaretHamilton, a computerscientist posing withthe software de

veloped by her team at MIT. Sheplayed a crucial role in the U.S.achieving a scientific feat in the year1969. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated this year on July 20 acrossthe world. To commemorate her contributions, Lego released an action figure modelled after her to encouragewomen to pursue science. What event, that is considereda ‘giant leap for mankind’, are we talking about?

Q3This Indianfreedomfighter wasalso the president of the workers’ union at

the Tata Steel plant in Jamshedpur for nine years between1928 and 1937. Notably, he wrote a letter to the thenChairman of Tata Steel to have a Senior Indian Manager aspart of Tata Steel. This appeal led to Tata Steel getting itsfirst Indian general manager. He also forced the management to implement maternity benefits for employees. Onhis call, the company also witnessed its first and laststrike in 1928.

Name the ‘leader’ being discussed here.

Q4Sama is a ritualistic dance,accompanied by recitationof devotional prayers. Theperformers wear a tradi

tional dress: a sleeveless white frock, alongsleeved jacket, a belt, a black overcoat and high hats called Sikke. Yetwhen performed by amateurs or inexperienced artists, this move usuallycauses severe problems such as vertigoand dizziness. This dance is an integralpart of which form of devotional music?

Q5Chhatrapati Shahu Maharajencouraged the production of a product in hiskingdom by opening tan

ning centres. This product, involvingthe use of vegetable dyes, soon evolvedinto a cottage industry. In 2019, thisfashion accessory was granted GI tag infour districts in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Name this product that gets itsname from a district in Maharashtra.

Q6Gordon Murraywas the chief designer at MotorRacing Develop

ments, a British racing carmanufacturer, better known asBrabham. He spent all his daysagonising about how to design a car that would outpacethe others and win the championship at Formula One, aproblem which plagued many other mechanical engineersin the industry as well. He ultimately realised that alighter car, like one carrying lesser fuel, travels faster.What common feature in the world of racing, did he create, for which Red Bull recently earned a world record at1.91 seconds?

Answers

A1. MufasaA2. Apollo 11 Moon Landing A3. Subhash Chandra BoseA4. SufiA5. Kolhapuri chappalsA6. Pit Stops

b Walnut Knowledge Solutions

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stitute of Science invite applications forthe KVPY scholarship. Eligibility: Students with at least 75%marks in class X (math and science) andare currently in class XI or XII may apply for SA and SX stream scholarship.Students currently in fi��rst year of graduation or postgraduation for basicscience related course, M.Sc, or M.S.,with more than 60% marks in class XII,are eligible for SB stream scholarship.SC/ST/PWD candidates may avail a 10%concession on eligibility criteria.Prizes and Rewards: Monthly stipend of₹��5,000 and an annual contingencygrant of ₹��20,000, with a provision forincrease in stipend and annual grantfor MSc/MS/M.Math./M.Stat students. Deadline: August 20Application: Onlinehttp://www.b4s.in/EDGE/KVP9

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sCHOLARSHIPS)

In the June episode of Mannki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted listeners, especially students, toread books, talk about them,share and discuss them. Ihope many were inspired byhis message.

According to Francis Bacon, a famous 17th century essayist, “Reading maketh a fullman”. He meant that readinggives us a complete personality. As we gather ideas fromvarious books, debate them,form independent judgements, we acquire a uniqueintellectuality and mentalrigour.

Reading has many benefi��ts. It introduces us to newwords, shows us how language can be bent and moulded to put our thoughts acrosswith power and imagination.Reading gives us knowledge;it makes us specialists. Thosewho read vastly expressthemselves in unique ways.Their essays are crafted beau

tifully and their speeches arememorable. Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech, “Tryst with destiny”, and Martin Luther King’s“I have a dream” make a deepimpression whether read orheard.

Reading poetry gives uspleasure because words haverhythm, cadence, musicalitythat sways us. Everyone whohas read Wordsworth’s Daff��odils knows what I am talkingabout.

I wandered lonely as acloud

That fl��oats on high oe’rvales and hills,

There is a shift in the moodas the imagery in the poemactivates our inner mind witha joyfi��lled discovery in thenext two lines:

When all at once, I saw acrowd,

A host of, golden daff��odils;And adds to it with these

lines:Ten thousand saw I at a

glance,Tossing their heads in a

sprightly dance. Each word is no longer a

word but a painting.

Inspiring Books inspire us. Autobiographies of great people — Michelle Obama’s Becoming,Nehru’s Discovery of India,Gandhi’s The Story of My Experiments with Truth motivate us to make a mark in life.History books like JR Brownoski’s Ascent of Man cap

ture the entire history ofscience and technology fromthe beginning to the end ofthe 20th century, while Arthur Toynbee’s argument in AHistory of the World aboutwinning civilisations beingthose which rise to challenges, provokes introspection.

Essays of Nobel Prize winner, philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell,and fi��ctional masterpiecesfrom diff��erent countries expand our horizons. Tolstoy’sWar and Peace, George Orwell’s 1984, Aldous Huxley’sBrave New World causewonderment.

Great writers have a way ofopening up our minds towinds from all corners of theworld. We are not left bickering over meaningless divisions such as religion, caste,race, colour, or nation.

It is unfortunate that students today are overdependent on the Internet for theirstudies and research. Veryfew students/teachers todayread books such as Karl Marxand Frederich Engel’s TheCommunist Manifesto or Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson’s Economics. Management guru Sharu Rangnekar,compares dependence on theInternet for knowledge todrinking water out of a hosepipe.

The writer is a former professor

of English at IIT Bombay.

[email protected]

Get book smartInteract with greatminds, developyour language,and widen yourhorizon — allwithin the pagesof a book

b Viney Kirpal

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Great writers have away of opening up ourminds to winds from allcorners of the world.We are not leftbickering overmeaningless divisionssuch as religion, caste,race, colour, or nation.

Upskill )

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Award ceremonyReliance Foundation recently awarded1,000 teaching professionals with theReliance Foundation Teacher Awardsrecognising educators who haveexcelled in Centre for TeacherAccreditations (CENTA’s) TeachingProfessionals Olympiad (TPO) 2018.Ramya Venkatraman, Founder, CENTA;Rustom Kerawalla, Founder andChairperson, VIBGYOR Group ofSchools; among others were present atthe event.

in brief)

Athletic championshipsThe U14 boys’ athletics team ofVelammal Main School, Mogappaircampus recently participated in theThird Open State level and JuniorAthletic Championship and wonmedals in the 4 x 100m relay event.

Vegan Fashion WorkshopJD Institute of Fashion Technologyrecently organised a vegan fashionworkshop in association with PETA(People for the Ethical Treatment ofAnimals). The session included variouscase studies of fashion brands,initiatives by PETA, and issuespertaining to animal rights. During therecent Fashion Awards by JD Instituteof Fashion Technology, students haddesigned two collections and aninterior installation in association withPETA. The initiative was aimed tosensitise people about vegan fashion.

In Tamil Nadu, 17 out of the 25 registered community radio stations are run by colleges and universities. Chennai alone is hometo fi��ve such community radio stations. Anna University pioneeredthe introduction of communityradio stations in Indian educational institutions by introducingAnna Community Radio in 2004.

Students, of course, are thebackbone of these radio stations.They actively indulge in editorialpolicymaking decisions and playa crucial role in reviewing theprogramming policies as well.They are provided with due guidance. when required, but inmost cases the teachers or professionals do not overstep andtake away the autonomy that students enjoy. In most of these radio stations, students work undera number of departments such asradio jockeying, research, scriptwriting, sound editing, video editing, public relations, documentation, promotion and socialmedia. Through these activitiesstudents equip themselves with aplethora of soft skills.

Making a diff��erence“Chances for the students to be apart of the community radio station are prevalent throughout theyear. Students who make use of

the opportunity are trained tomatch the requirements of the radio station,” says Ahila Ezhil Kowsalya, Programme Executive anda student at Loyala CommunityRadio Station. Loyala CRS hasspecifi��cally focused on individualcommunities like transgenders,gypsies, visually challenged andwidows.

The MOP Community RadioStation conducts a ‘RJ Hunt’ every year, to pick students who areinterested in jockeying. Shortlyafter this, a workshop is conducted for these students under theguidance of popular RJs and leading professionals in the industry.Brinda Iyer, Radio Programmer atMOP CRS says, “We host a summer camp free of cost for underprivileged children from thenearby communities on a yearlybasis. Students pay a pivotal rolein organising the camp and otheractivities that are undertaken forpublic welfare.”

The Rajiv Gandhi National institute of Youth Development introduced ‘Ilanthalir CommunityRadio Station’ to specifi��callyfunction as a vital resourcecentre for coordinating activities

in the fi��eld of youth development. According to Surendra Babu, station manager and facultyat the institution, the radio station has successfully managed todisseminate information andspread awareness in a positiveand precise manner. SRM Muthucharam CRS is the most recentaddition to the lot.

Community radio stations givestudents a platform to showcaseunique talents and promise bothprofessional and personalgrowth. They gain indepth understanding and knowledgeabout the community they focuson and get opportunities tobridge the gap between them andthe communities through publicwelfare programmes that arehosted both inside as well as outside the radio station.

Value add)

Tune in to changeCommunity radio stations are game changers that give students theplatform for professional and personal growth

b Saradha Udayakumar

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It could especially be ablessing in disguise forstudents of media studies.

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● 17 out of the 25 registeredcommunity radio stations inTamil Nadu are run by collegesand universities.

● In most of the radio stations,students work under a numberof departments like radiojockeying, research, scriptwriting,and so on.

● Community radio stations givestudents a platform to showcaseunique talents and promise bothprofessional and personalgrowth.

EDUCATION PLUS

CM

YKA ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI

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Here are my thoughts on some aspects of the Draft National Education Policy 2019:

LanguagesIn its simplest interpretation, language serves humans as an important tool that helps to live life fully.As such, the tool should not usurpthe purpose it is supposed to serve.As with every living species, man inhis optimality search must also expend only the least possible timeand eff��ort in conquering and harnessing this tool, for eff��ectively living his life.

Why then should we be burdened with three languages, whiletwo are just suffi��cient?

The primary one is the mothertongue which the child learns andimbibes. But to understand morethings and to converse with morepeople, the child needs anotherpopular language, namely, English.Many conservative countriesaround the world, such as Russia,Japan and China have come out oftheir language shackles and startedusing English because of its globalutility and appeal. We Indians aregood in it, too. Thus, from a utilitarian point of view, we must have theglobal language English, in additionto the local language, the mothertongue.

Our leaders on the one hand aretrying to lessen the burden on thechild by reducing the number ofsubjects taught in schools, of exams, of books to be carried in backpacks and so on. Let them also keepthe number of languages to belearnt to two and not more.

TeachersIndia’s roots lie in its villages andtherefore, every reformation muststart from there. However, most ofus are very liberal in off��ering oralsolatium to our rural counterparts,but comfortably forget to supportthem with basic facilities such aseducation and employment. Villageschools are powerhouses of the na

tion and cannot be viewed as trading places providing immediate monetary gain. Schools lacking instudent strength cannot be closeddown, but must be strengthenedwith better facilities, in terms of infrastructure, teaching faculty andthe like, unmindful of expenses involved. Education is one of the bestinvestments we can make, perhapsnext only to defence, for as globalleader Nelson Mandela put it, “Education is the most powerful weaponwhich you can use to change theworld”.

A teacher deserves double therespect of a subject specialist, sincethe former must be good both in thesubject and in the art of teaching.Indeed many countries includingSouth Korea, China, Greece andTurkey hold their teachers in highesteem; and countries like England,Australia, Canada, South Korea,Spain and Denmark pay the teachers very well, according to a Global

Teacher Status Index study. India,of course, is not in either, butshould resolve not to downgradeteachers, since they shape the future citizens of the country. Theirworkload should be limited to academic and research pursuits only.

Teachers’ quality must be developed, particularly in rural areaswhich are prone to be neglected. Inthe healthcare sector, we have thecommendable system of deputingdoctors to serve in rural areas withincentives. Similarly, in the education sector, some senior and competent teachers can be deputed toserve in nascent village schools ontenure basis. Their contribution willgo a long way in making the schoolsselfsustaining and benefi��cial tosociety.

ExamsThey have become an everyday affair. Everybody is subjected to examinations of some kind on the oth

er. The practice of promotingstudents up to class IX without exams has done more harm than goodto a large section of the studentcommunity, particularly in ruralareas. There are many dropouts after class IX because these studentswere kept unaware of their low levelof attainment for a dreadfully longperiod and suddenly penalised. Isthis not an injustice on the poorersegment of society?

Again, why should a board exambe dreaded and treated diff��erentlyto a regular exam? Does this notimply that a regular exam is not tobe taken as seriously? Then it doesnot serve its purpose. Let all examsbe taken seriously, but we must alsotrain candidates who are not scaredof facing these exams and have apositive attitude towards them.

The writer is former professor and Head

(Entrance Examinations and Admission),

Anna University, Chennai.

Point of view)

Think about thisThe Draft National Education Policy has certain sore points that need tobe relooked at for the benefi��t of teachers and students alike

b P.V. Navaneethakrishnan

AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN

As a teenager, Ipromised myselfto achieve two lifegoals before Iturned 23; the fi��rstwas to make it tothe Harvard University and thesecond was tomake a noteworthy contribution

that would positively impact lives around theworld. I could not have possibly foreseenthen, that either of these would come truethrough a design contest.

I won the Nippon Paint Asia’s Young Designer Award earlier this year, beating 9000students across 15 countries. The cherry onthe cake, for me, was the lifetime opportunity it bought along — a fullyfunded sixweekslong Design Discovery programme at the Harvard University, Boston.

Before we reached the university, our faculty had briefed us about the course and explained the respective modules. I could notbelieve that this prestigious institution, whichhas the reputation for being the hardest college to gain acceptance in the U.S., hadopened its doors for me. I welcomed this opportunity as a chance to immerse myself withcandidates of equal and greater talent.

What impresses me about Harvard University is its infrastructure, the course modules,and the hospitality of its residents. The buildings in and around the campus were designed by legendary architects such as WalterGropius, Renzo Piano, Le Corbusier andMoshie Safdie — the same luminaries whoseworks I have only learnt in classes.

Holistic trainingMy fellow coursemates are from across theworld and are between 1850 years. Being apart of this diverse demography, gives a rareopportunity to explore and learn diff��erentperspectives in designing. As part of mycourse, we study modules such as architectural drawings, principles of spatial design, architectural language, programmatic approaches and abstraction. We are also gradedon several group and individual designprojects.

I had the chance to design a unique civiccentre project, which gave me rare insightsfrom design experts from the western world.It was a great learning experience. Such challenging industry assignments give us achance to explore and research, apart frompreparing us for what the global marketexpects.

This programme allows me to go back tobasics and learn with a fresh perspective. Ourfaculty constantly introduces us to the stylesand approaches of various artists and architects. Precedents from our sessions and overthedesk reviews inspire us to push ourselvesbeyond our designing capabilities. We are always encouraged to connect with various architects and students from diff��erent disciplines, which ensures a holistic trainingapproach.

I am enjoying my time at Harvard and mostimportantly, I get to live a complete design experience. When I do have the time off�� duringweekends, I cycle my way around the city, exploring and photographing new neighbourhoods. Massachusetts with its extraordinaryarray of choices, can appeal to any visitor.

I am glad my journey landed me here andin retrospect, my only message to fellow students would be to seize every opportunitythat comes their way — even if it is somethingas simple as applying for a design contest. Sometimes you never know, all it takes to opendoors is the belief in your talent and your willingness to nurture it.

Tanay Narendra Bothara is studying Design

Discovery programme at Harvard University,

Boston, the U.S.

Postcard from... Boston)

Dreams to realityA design competition leadto a fullyfunded designprogramme for Tanay.

Name:

Tanay Narendra BotharaCollege:

Harvard University, BostonCourse:

Design Discovery programme

Vidya Sagar, a Chennai based centre forspecial education, is off��ering a two yearfulltime B.Ed in special education multiple disabilities. The course will equip students to work with people with disabilities, in all settings. This course is affi��liatedto the Tamil Nadu Teacher Education University and recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India. For further detailscontact 9840035203/ 7550140387 ormail [email protected]

Special education

Vacations provide a break fromthe routine — classes, tests, homework, and so on. While somechildren spend their vacation travelling with their parents, someengage in activities that not onlynurtures their allround development during some of the mostcrucial years of growth, but onethat is both enjoyable andenriching.

A sports camp is one such option, which aims to give childrena holistic fi��llip from every conceivable perspective. There isnow a large volume of researchemerging on the enormous benefi��ts of sports camps. At the University of Missouri Health Care,the medical team advocates suchcamps for their excellent eff��ectson the mind, body and spirit andtheir ability to teach children accountability, dedication, leadership and other such vitallifeskills.

These camps are an excellentway to boost health and fi��tnessgoals in a comprehensive way,and this is the only time in theyear when students can aff��ord togive this aspect of their lives undivided attention. The health benefi��ts of exercise and physical activity need no recounting.Developing bone and musclestrength, cardiovascular fi��tness,reducing the risk of illness anddisease, learning the importanceof eating right and a healthyweight and lifestyle, the list goeson. A recent study claims thateven a short vacation from exercise and sports can cause unhealthy changes to the body andthat hardearned gains like increase in stamina can start tomelt away in as little as twoweeks.

Benefi��tsBetter health apart, such campshave been found, indisputably, tofoster a slew of benefi��ts:

Happier, fi��tter children: Ata purely scientifi��c level, exercisereleases endorphins — naturally

occurring chemicals that improve mood, reduce stress, relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, boost selfesteem andhelp us sleep better. Sportscamps, with their adventurethemed games, exercise regimenand a variety of sporting activities, can promise parents thattheir children will get back homebounding with energy and confi��dence. It may be worth mentioning that, starting 2019, the CBSEBoard has mandated that schoolsinclude a sports period every dayfrom classes I to VIII.

Hones techniques andskills: Sports camps improveathletic skills. With many of thesecamps bringing in some of thefi��nest coaches to train participants at a very high level, talented young athletes inspire eachother to be the best they can be.

Lowers addiction to electronic devices: Since mostcamps do not allow smartphonesor electronic devices, the addiction to gizmos is contained,boosting creativity in the longrun.

Fosters independence: According to professor MargaretTalbot, the former President ofthe International Council forSports Science and Physical Education, “sports and other challenging physical activities are distinctively powerful ways ofhelping young people learn to bethemselves, to question limitingpresumptions, and come to view

themselves and their potential ina new way.” Being away from themore familiar environments athome or school, children are often forced to move out of theircomfort zones and learn to takebasic decisions on their own.

Helps develop a wellrounded personality: Sportscamps inculcate the ability toplay as a team, which has numerous addon eff��ects. Improvedcommunication skills, bettertime management, important values such as respect, discipline,patience, greater selfbelief, theability to forge new friends andconnections. Many sports campsattract participants from all overthe world, who are passionateabout their sport and excited topractice it in a new environment,making this a great networkingand teambuilding opportunity.

Brings out latent talent:Camps often bring out a child’sintrinsic affi��nity for a sporting activity, helping frame importantdecisions such as the one to pursue sport as a career choice.

Improves academic performance: Children who play teamsports appear to do better in theclassroom as well. The Aspen Institute’s “Project Play” found thatteamsport players scored 40%higher on average in school teststhan those who played no sportsat all. Sports calls for memorisation, repetition, learning, in addition to determination and goalsetting — skillsets that are directlyrelevant to class work.

“Sports”, said tennis legendBillie Jean King, “teaches youabout character. It teaches you toplay by the rules, it teaches youto know what it feels like to winand lose — it teaches you aboutlife”. More than anything else,like Michael Jordan famouslysaid, “Just play, have fun, enjoythe game”. And, that by itself, is awonderful lesson to learn.

The writer is the Head of Sports,

Shiv Nadar School, and also the

Captain of the Indian Women’s

Basketball team.

OUTDOORS)

Out andaboutSports camps,

during vacationbreaks, give children

a much needededge for growth.

b Raspreet Sidhu

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In today’s fastpaced era offastfood, fi��zzy drinks, andsedentary lifestyles, awareness on fi��tness has onceagain, slowly yet surely, resurfaced. While obesity is onthe rise, there has been an increase in the number of people who have become equallyhealth conscious and fi��tnessoriented. Naturally, diff��erentavenues in the fi��eld haveopened up, as lucrative career opportunities, for thoseinterested and armed withadequate knowledge andqualifi��cations.

Some of these courses, introduced in colleges acrossthe country, have bustedmyths that fi��tness translatesto merely working out in thegym, and losing weight, in order to keep lifestyle diseasesat bay. Rather, many of themreiterate to students, rightfrom the start, that fi��tness isa holistic approach to ahealthy lifestyle, one that issustainable.

One such institute, off��ering such courses, is the Indian Institute of Sports Medicine (IISM), founded inChennai by Dr. Kannan Pugazhendi, a sports physician.Affi��liated to the Tamil NaduDr. MGR Janaki University,the institute has introducedseveral needofthehourcourses in the last few years.“Disturbing fi��gures of lifestyle disease population in urban and rural was the singleforemost reason for IISM toestablish these courses,”elaborates Dr. Kannan. “Inappropriate medical and surgical interventions are avoidedby the IISM professionals,and continue to produce desirable results in the samefi��eld through optimal exercise intervention.”

“The idea of sports medicine has changed in the last30 years,” believes SujathaPugazhendi, managing trustee, IISM. “A few years ago,people assumed that onlysportsrelated injuries wouldwarrant a visit to a doctorspecialising in sports medicine. Today, due to awareness, people understand thatsports medical practitionerscater to everyone — anyonewho is engaged in any physical activity can visit suchpractitioners and fi��nd a solution to problems.”

Multiple optionsIn 2015, Dr. MGR Janaki University, perhaps, realised theimportance of the fi��eld, andapproached Dr. Kannan andteam to introduce a sportsmedicine programme. Consequently, in 2016, the fi��rstcourse — B.Sc fi��tness and lifestyle modifi��cation — waslaunched. “While designingthe syllabus, we kept in mindthat when a person graduatesfrom this programme, he/shemust be knowledgeableabout various aspects of fi��tness, worldwide, whileknowing what would typically suit the Asian population.We wanted our graduates tocustomise solutions based onthe individual needs of patients who approach them.They must also have a soundunderstanding of indigenousfi��tness activities such as kala-ripayattu, yoga, dance fi��tness, and so on,” explainsSujatha.

The threeyear course is ahealthy mix of theory andpractice. Some of the subjects include Anatomy and

physiology, Exercise physiology and fi��tness assessment,Psychology and lifestylemodifi��cation, Strength andconditioning for fi��tness, Kalari and martial arts for fi��tnessand lifestyle modifi��cation,among others.

There are also interestingchoices for postgraduatecourses that IISM off��ers,These include M.Sc Sportsand fi��tness psychology andM.Sc Sports and fi��tnessnutrition.

The twoyear M.Sc sportsand fi��tness psychologycourse is challenging, as Sujatha believes that adherenceto fi��tness is so poor that thereis a need to understand fi��tness psychology. “In fact,such psychologists havemore work than regular psychologists, as it is a herculeantask to make people realisethat they need to be fi��t. It isthe same case with sportspsychology — it involvescounsellors convincing patients to get back into sports,back into action, rather thantaking it easy. This is starklydiff��erent from regular psychology where, in most cases, rest will be prescribed topatients in the course of theirtreatment. The former involves motivating patients toget back into the actionproactively,” she explains.

This course too involvessome theory, while emphasisis given to practical knowledge. Theory includes Exercise physiology for sportsand fi��tness, Psychobiologyfor fi��tness and lifestyle modifi��cation and Medical ethics,so on. “When it comes to thepracticals, we put our students on to our patients, andthey are asked to design acounselling plan, which willbe evaluated by the psychologist in charge. Students alsohave to create case studiesand come up with relevantsolutions. They indulge inrole plays to understand patients’ perspectives. They also have what is called dancemovement therapy whereone can express emotionsand feelings through physicalactivity. These emotions arepicked up by our studentswho then counsel clients,”she adds.

The twoyear M.Sc sportsand fi��tness course is equallyvibrant. Students get to studya wide range of subjects suchas exercise physiology forsports and fi��tness, sports nutrition for performance excellence, fi��tness nutrition for lifestyle modifi��cation, and soon. As for the practical part,they will have design dietcharts for clients that willshow their understanding ofhow nutrition works. Theywill work under doctors andtherapists to further nuancetheir learning.

Employment On graduating, students canwork in gyms, at sports medicine centres, hospitals,sports teams, with dancers,martial artists, in counselling, research, and so on.Starting salary is around ₹��6to 7 lakhs per annum, with ahigher margin if they work asfreelancers.

Redefi��ningfi��tness

The Indian Institute of Sports Medicine(IISM) in Chennai, off��ers courses thathave reinvented the meaning of sportsmedicine and fi��tness

COURSES)

b Madhuvanti S. Krishnan

● The threeyear course is ahealthy mix of theory andpractice.

● Theory subjects includesExercise physiology forsports and fi��tness,Psychobiology for fi��tnessand lifestyle modifi��cation,Medical ethics, and so on.

● Students will work underdoctors and therapists tofurther nuance theirlearning.

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Fitness is a holisticapproach to a healthylifestyle, one that is sustainable.

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EDUCATION PLUS

CM

YKA ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU

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The era of the Internet has givenrise to many careers such as socialmedia manager, web content developer, app designer and so on,that give youngsters creative waysof fi��nding their passion and building it into a career. One such upcoming career option is that of adigital strategist, specifi��cally forpolitical parties.

“This career is a great amalgamation of political representationand digital platforms. It is positioned to bring fresh ideas and astuteness in political campaigns. Asa new approach of conveying messages, it will not only benefi��t theconcerned political party but willalso add meaning to their objectives,” says Naresh Arora, Directorof DesignBoxed, a political socialmedia strategist behind Indian National Congress’s digital marketingand social media campaigns.

A digital strategist’s job is toplan and design strategies to runvarious online campaigns. “Theresponsibilities involve keepingtrack of the trends on social media, creating and curating contentfor the client, maintaining an active digital presence for the clientand ideating diff��erent ways to attract and engage with the audience,” says Nikhil Kamath,Brand Architect, Human Circle,New Delhi.

For a political social media strategist in particular, the role wouldmean managing the digital facetsof a political party’s campaignduring an election and otherwise.A digital strategist takes care of thesocial presence of the politicalleaders, ideates the plan of actionsfor social media, brainstorms ononground activities and conductssurveys. He/she is responsible forassisting the politicians and political parties in developing campaigns for diff��erent social mediaplatforms.

“The third stage — after planning and designing — is the ‘execution and distribution’ where advertisements and posts arecreated as a part of execution andthen ends with promotion,” addsArora.

Experience trumpsNikki Hesford, Managing Directorof Hesford Media, Blackpool, theU.K., believes that no specifi��cqualifi��cations are required for therole of a digital strategist, but gaining experience is essential. “Sit

ting a short online course will notteach you to be commerciallyminded or opportunistic; theseare skills you need to possess already. There is also a mathematical element to digital marketingsuch as calculating Cost per Thousand (CPMs), Click through Rate(CTRs) and Cost per Acquisition(CPAs) against the product marginto ascertain the likely Return OnAd Spend (ROAS) you can achievefor your client.”

“I gained my experience usingmy own money in my own business marketing a fashion product,but those who don’t have a business may struggle to get that necessary experience. These peoplewould be advised to obtain employment as a junior in an agency,watch more experienced peopledo their job and learn how they doit. Take on small campaigns andlearn before moving on to biggerprojects,” she adds.

However, for those who stillwant to get a certifi��cation can lookonline. “There are various onlinecourses on digital marketing onplatforms such as Coursera andedX. You can get a certifi��cation for

digital marketing from Googlewhich is free of cost, and needs tobe renewed every year. There arevarious offl��ine institutes as wellwho teach it as a part of their curriculum,” shares Kamath.

Having a graduate degree inpolitical science, journalism, communication or public relations isuseful as it will help in understanding the political realm.

One also needs to learn how thediff��erent social media tools can beused in a political setting. For example, “On Facebook if you areadvertising for political purposesthere are extra layers of checks

and information that you need toprovide (all ads must show you arefunding the campaign, for example), and you have to seek approval from Facebook and agree toadditional terms,” explainsHesford.

Campaigning for political parties is not as easy as it sounds. “Inpolitics, it is also important to understand the legalities and procedures that may impact a campaignas there are now stringent rules onwhat you can and cannot say. Making misleading claims could haveserious legal consequences,” shewarns.

Before an election, the ElectionCommission circulates rules andregulations that need to be followed by the strategists and political parties. Post elections, the strategists have to work according tothe guidelines and norms of socialmedia and political parties.

“This career will give you exposure to diff��erent sectors becauseof the nature of the job. But it stillneeds acknowledgement and recognition to be able to draw moreyoungsters towards it,” Aroraadds.

OFFBEAT... dIGITAL MEDIA)

Strategiseyour career Digital strategists now have a new avenue toexplore the amalgamation of politics andsocial media

b DEEKSHA TERI and NEHA RUPEJA

● A career as a political socialmedia strategist is anamalgamation of politicalrepresentation and digitalplatforms.

● There are various onlinecourses on digital marketing onplatforms such as Coursera andedX. A certifi��cation from Googleis available free of cost.

● Having a graduate degree inpolitical science, journalism,communication or public relationsis useful.

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A digital strategist takescare of the social presenceof the political leaders,ideates the plan of actionsfor social media, brainstormson on-ground activities andconducts surveys.

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It is no secret that there is a research crisis in India. Very fewstudents opt for higher studiesor a career in research. In 2015,there were only 216 researchersper million population in India.Contrast this to China which had1200 researchers per millionpopulation. In higher education,India’s research expenditure isonly four per cent of GDP.

A Salembased college is trying to change this. Students inthis institute are encouraged topour their energy in researchand innovation. Take the case of22 year old J. Nishanth, an alumnus of the B.E Electronics andCommunication department,who passed out of the institutein 2017, and is pursuing a Masters in Research.

It was at this collegethat Nishanth developed a passion for research and innovation. “The collegesupported me withfull free education, aspecial research lab inthe college to do research,” hesays. “Also, I had opportunitiesto interact with various researchlabs.”

InnovativeIn his fi��rst year, Nishanth’s project — “Automatic Electric ShockTripper” — was awarded National First in Accenture’s “Innovation Jockeys” — a challenge tofi��nd India’s most innovativeminds across campuses. Out of4,400 plus entries from 300campuses, Nishanth’s projectemerged on top and he won apass to Accenture Tech Labs, Silicon Valley, California, the U.S.

Nishanth had been reading re

ports about people dying of electrical shocks due to leakages inelectrical systems — more so during cyclones and heavy rains. Inevitably, transformers trip, involving huge repair costs andpresenting danger. This spurredhim to think about a solution. Hecame up with an idea of a rain alert to electricity boards throughvoice mail, as well as a mechanism for power to be switched off��whenever output of transformers fails.

While the automatic shocktripper won Nishanth several accolades, as well as a chance todemonstrate it to the Tamil NaduState Electricity Board, bringinghis innovation to life out of thelabs, his research continued

with strong supportfrom the college. Hisvisit to AccentureTechnology Labs alsofi��lled him with ideasand technicalknowhow.

Nishanth says, “Ihave kept myself up

dated with new technologiesand continue to innovate withSona’s support.” The young researcher has produced innovations like a solar DC power system, security alert system andmore. Nishanth has fi��led nine patent applications and has developed 36 products, many ofthem in critical areas. For instance, he has developed an automatic accident announcementsystem which alerts hospitals inthe vicinity of an accident.

The writer is the Vice Chairman,

Sona College of Technology, and

CEO, Vee Technologies.

Research)

Bridging the gapA college in Salem is trying to get morestudents interested in research and innovation

b Chocko Valliappa

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In highereducation,

India’s researchexpenditure isonly four percent of GDP.

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J&K leaders placed under house arrest - SPLessons

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