No talks while Pak plots our son's murder: India - Millennium ...

CITY PAGE 3CM TO ADDRESS RALLY IN BHUBANESWAR

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SUNDAYmillenniumpostVOL. 3, ISSUE 102 | Sunday, 16 April, 2017 | Kolkata | Pages 16 | Rs 3.00PUBLISHED FROM DELHI & KOLKATA

RNI NO.: WBENG/2015/65962

NO HALF TRUTHS

NEW YEAR NEW HOPES

Traders perform the Halkhata ceremony to mark Poila Boisakh on Saturday PTI

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: �e Narendra Modi Government made it clear to the Pakistani establishment on Satur-day that every Indian life is precious and Islamabad cannot hope to hold discussions with us on any issue while simultaneously conspiring to kill Indians with impunity under various blatantly false charges. As a �rst step in this direction, India has called o� the maritime security dia-logue with Pakistan scheduled for early next week in the wake of the death sentence given by a Pakistani military court to our former Navy o�cer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, on fab-ricated charges of spying.

A delegation led by Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (MSA) was scheduled to visit New Delhi from April 16 to 19 to discuss issues related to �shermen and search and rescue operations. Coast Guard sources said that our Ministry of Defence has not given clearance for the delegation’s visit. India has made it categorically clear that if Jadhav is executed, we will consider it a “premeditated murder”.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for External A�airs V K Singh said on Saturday that the Government is taking all measures to gain con-sular access to Jadhav despite Pak-istan denying it “13 times”. “�e Pakistan government has denied consular access to Jadhav despite India trying 13 times. We are trying everything to get access to Jadhav,” he told reporters.

Singh maintained that Jadhav was abducted from Iran. A Paki-

stan military court had on April 10 sentenced Jadhav to death in a secret trial for alleged involvement in “espionage and sabotage activi-ties” in the restive Balochistan and Karachi.

According to the Vienna Con-vention, a State which detains a national of another country must allow consular o�cers of his/ her mother country to access the detainee. India had said on Fri-day that we would appeal against

the death sentence and demanded from Pakistan a certi�ed copy of the chargesheet as well as the Paki-stani army court order in the case, besides seeking consular access to the retired Indian Navy o�cer.

SRINAGAR: National Confer-ence chief Farooq Abdullah on Saturday won the Lok Sabha by-poll in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, defeating the rul-ing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Nazir Khan by a margin of over 10,700 votes. Abdullah polled around 48,554 votes against Khan, who got 37,779 votes.

Polling for the seat was held on April 9 amid large- scale violence that le� eight persons dead and several dozen others injured. �e constituency had recorded an abysmal 7.13 per cent voter turnout, the lowest ever in its history.

Speaking to reporters a�er his victory, Abdullah demanded that Governor’s rule be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir as the state gov-ernment had failed to ensure a peaceful election. “I appeal to the Governor and the President of India to dismiss this (J&K) government and impose Gov-ernor’s rule in the state where the people will get some respite and feel that such a situation will not arise again,” he said.

�e Election Commission had ordered repolling in 38 polling stations in violence-hit

areas on April 13. Although there were seven

other candidates in the fray, it was NOTA that bagged the second runner-up spot with over 930 voters choosing this option. National Conference workers did not celebrate the win of their party president as a mark of respect to the eight youths killed in �ring on April 9. Abdullah’s win is being seen as a major setback for the rul-ing PDP. He was earlier elected to the LS in 1980 and 2009.

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Quick News44America’s NSA also hacked West Asia banking network

7 cops, one Naxal killed in prison van-truck collision

WASHINGTON: An anonymous hacking group “Shadow Brokers” that leaked online a collection of powerful hacking tools alleg-edly used by the US National Security Agency (NSA) has also published another set of docu-ments that indicate that NSA penetrated the SWIFT banking network in West Asia. �e Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) provides a net-work that enables �nancial institutions world-wide to send and receive information about �nancial transactions in a secure, standardised and reliable environment. “�is reportedly gave the US spy service a window into the �nancial activities of a range of organisations, includ-ing those belonging to �rms in Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian territories,” said a report in �e Wired on Sat-urday. Meanwhile, EastNets Service Bureau, that provides outsourced SWIFT connectivity, on Saturday denied that its bureau was com-promised and said that the reports of hack are “totally false and unfounded”. See PG6

MUZAFFARPUR/PATNA: Seven police-men and a hardcore Naxal were killed when a prison van dashed into a truck in Bihar’s Sita-marhi district on Saturday. Deputy Superinten-dent of Police (Town), Ashish Anand said the accident occurred near Gaighat village under the jurisdiction of Runnisaidpur police station around 5 am. �e van was carrying two hard-core Naxals from Bhagalpur to Sitamarhi court, he said. 12 policemen were also in the van. One Naxal and seven policemen died a�er the acci-dent, he said. See PG4

In today’s paper

...CITY

BEATING RETREAT AT BANGLA BORDER 3

NATION

HEAT WAVE WARNING FOR NEXT 2 DAYS 4

BUSINESS

GOYAL LAUNCHES 4 WIND POWER PLANTS 5

INTERNATIONAL

NORTH KOREA ‘READY FOR N-ATTACK’ 6

SPORT

UTHAPPA, SPINNERS STEER KKR TO VICTORY 7

NATION PAGE 4CAN’T RELY ON EVMS: AKHILESH

BJP PRESIDENT AMIT SHAH

Blaming EVMs for poll defeat is like disrespecting EC

GOVT CANCELS MARITIME TALKS SCHEDULED WITH ISLAMABAD NEXT WEEK

No talks while Pak plots our son’s murder: India

USA’s giant bomb has killed 94: Afghanistan

SEXIST TEXTBOOK: CBSE complains to cops against

private publisher

8 students drown in sea off Maharashtra coast

With just 7% voting, Farooq is Srinagar MP

Warrant against Sanjay for skipping court

We have to conquer whole nation, says Amit Shah

SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

BHUBANESWAR: Even a�er conquering India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, as well as the till now “untouched” North-East, the BJP — now the country’s largest political party — still feels that the sa�ron wave is yet to reach its peak. On the �rst day of the party’s National Executive meeting here on Saturday, BJP President Amit Shah asked party men to spend more time in the booths of states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Tripura, which have remained as uncon-quered for the party.

Addressing the meeting, Shah asserted that the BJP should set its sights on these territories ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “Till now we have only 13 Chief Ministers but we assume we can do it in every corner of the country,” he said. �e BJP leadership is upbeat on winning these territories and ushering the “actual golden ear for the party as well as for India”. Shah, who is known for his amazing poll engineering acu-

men, also asked the BJP executives to spend at least a fortnight at the booth level.

Speaking to mediapersons here, Union Cabi-net Minister and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “�e party is glad that 2, 470 of its workers have expressed their interest to serve the party full time by visiting booths, 2, 441 party workers have agreed to spend six months for that work and 3,78,000 party workers will work for 15 days at the booth level.”

Shah himself will be travelling for 95 days till September to Kerala and the Andaman Islands, where he will be meeting party workers at the booth level. Saturday’s meet followed the BJP’s stupendous victories in both UP and Uttara-khand, besides forming governments in Goa and Manipur which are achievement for the party, Prasad asserted.

Meanwhile, the holding of the National Exec-utive meeting in Odisha has already created political speculation. Earlier, another Union Minister and prominent BJP face in Odisha, Dharmendra Pradhan, told journalists that

this will leave an impact on eastern India and the Coromandel states in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Moreover, the party brass was also pleased to break the myth of defeating not only the Congress but also regional parties in the recent Assembly elections in �ve states. During his speech, Shah also vouched, “�e win in UP has showed that people want good governance rather caste, corruption and family politics.”

�e party also discussed the current EVM controversy during the meeting. Making a scath-ing attack on the Opposition parties, Shah said, “�e country has been voting through EVM machines since 1998. During this period, the BJP lost on various occasions. W was that due to EVM tampering? Where were they?” Attack-ing Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party Conve-nor Arvind Kejriwal, Prasad has called him “A hacker CM”.

�e minister also asserted, “�e BJP is emerging as the only alternative to the TMC in Bengal and the party will surely perform well.”

KABUL: �e number of militants killed in an attack by the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the US military has risen to 94, an Afghan o�cial said on Saturday. Ataul-lah Khogyani, spokesman for the pro-vincial governor in Nangarhar, said that the number of Islamic State group dead was up from the 36 reported a day earlier, reported AP.

A Ministry of Defence o�cial had said on Friday that the number of dead could rise as o�cials assessed the bomb site in Achin district. “Fortunately there is no report of civilians being killed in the attack,” Khogyani said.

�e American attack on a tunnel complex in the remote eastern Nan-garhar province near the Pakistan bor-der killed at least four Islamic State (IS) group leaders, Khogyani said. He said a clearance operation to assess the site of the attack was continuing.

�e strike using the Massive Ord-nance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, was carried out �ursday against an Islamic State group tunnel complex carved into the mountains that Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks in �erce �ghting in Nangarhar province.

�e o�ce of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had said on Friday that there was “close coordination” between the US military and the Afghan gov-

ernment on the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties. �e USA estimates that 600 to 800 IS �ghters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. America has con-centrated on �ghting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. �e USA has more than 8,000 US troops in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

Also on Saturday, Khogyani said that a district leader and three oth-ers were wounded when their vehicle was targeted by a bomb. One of the wounded was Ghalib Mujahid, Bati Kot district chief, he said. “�e district chief and others are out of danger and are not in life-threatening condition,” he said. Last November, Mujahid was attacked by a sticky bomb attached to the vehicle and he was wounded and his driver was killed.

Meanwhile, US-backed �ghters reached the outskirts of a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria as part of an o�ensive against the Islamic State group’s bastion Raqa, a monitor said on Saturday, reported AFP.

�e Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance sup-ported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, surrounded Tabqa in early April and have cut its main supply routes. AGENCIES

VAYRI (Maharashtra): Eight students of an engineering college from Karnataka, out on a picnic, drowned in the Arabian sea o� the Vayri coast in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district on Saturday, the police said. �e students from Maratha Engineering College in Belgaum had gone to swim in the sea, it said.

�e deceased, �ve boys and three girls, were part of a group of 47 students. Around 30 of them had gone to the sea for swimming, the police said adding three students were rescued from the sea and 19 others swam to safety.

“�ree students have been rescued and are under medical observation,” police said. �e incident occurred around the noon at Vayri, a coastal hamlet near Malvan town in the Konkan region of the state.

“It was the time of high tide and some stu-dents had ventured into the deep water. A�er some of them began drowning, some others in the group rushed to save them, but it was late,”

police said. Eight bodies, including those of three girls, were recovered. “�ree students were brought to shore by the police in an unconscious state. Two of them are admitted in a Malvan hos-pital and one girl, who is in a serious condition, is being treated at the state-run hospital in Oros,” informed Sindhudurg Superintendent of Police Amogh Goankar.

MUMBAI: A local magisterial court issued an arrest warrant against Bollywood actor San-jay Dutt on Saturday for not appearing before it to answer a complaint of criminal intim-idation �led by producer Sha-keel Noorani.

“We had sought arrest warrant against Dutt for non- appearance. �e court has allowed our application,” said advocate Neeraj Gupta, Noora-ni’s lawyer. �e next hearing will be on August 29.

Noorani has �led a pri-vate complaint with the court demanding registration of a case against Dutt for criminal

intimidation. Dutt had aban-doned midway in 2002 a �lm, ‘Jan ki Bazzi,’ which he was producing, said Noorani in his complaint, adding the actor did not even return the money already paid to him.

Noorani approached Indian Motion Pictures Pro-

ducers Association which directed Dutt to pay back the money. Noorani later moved the Bombay High Court, seek-ing execution of the IMPPA’s order.

In the meantime, he started receiving threatening calls from some underworld �gures who asked him to withdraw the case, the producer alleged.

Earlier too a warrant had been issued against Dutt for non-appearance in this case, but he was granted bail. Dutt, who was convicted under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was released from the jail last year.

NEW DELHI: �e Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has lodged a police complaint against a private publisher regarding a class 12 Physical Education textbook de�ning “36-24-36” as perfect female body shape.

Noting that the content of the book is inappropriate and not in sync with the curricu-lum decided by the National Council of Research and Training (NCERT), the Board has also constituted a review committee.

�e book titled “Health and Physical Education” writ-ten by V K Sharma and pub-lished by Delhi-based New Saraswati House, is taught at various schools a�liated to CBSE. �e CBSE, however, clari�ed that it “does not rec-ommend any books by private publishers in its schools”.

“Taking strong exception of the indecent depiction of women and misrepresent-ing the syllabus prescribed by CBSE for Class XII Physical Education Course, the board has registered an FIR under Section 6--Indecent represen-tation of women (Prohibition) Act, 1986,” CBSE spokesper-son said. “�e board neither subscribes nor encourages irrelevant, sexist or deroga-tory references to any gender specially women.” PG4

SEA SWIM TURNS DEADLY

I appeal to the Governor and the President of India to dismiss this (J&K) government and impose Governor’s rule in the state

POK COPS FRAME ‘RAW’ CHARGES AGAINST THREEISLAMABAD: The police in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) have arrested three men on unsubstantiated charges that they were “RAW agents” and were “involved in anti-state activities”. They masked the three and paraded them before journalists in Rawalkot. The three victims are residents of Taroti village in Abbaspur, POK. They have been booked under Pakistan’s Anti-Ter-rorism Act and Explosives Act, informed Poonch DSP Sajid Imran.

postpostpostNO HALF TRUTHS

postFILM PAGE 16 I DIDN’T EVEN AUDITION FOR ‘HALKA’: PAOLI DAM

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Movies this week

ONE

 BISHORJON

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS

POORNA

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS

PVR - Avani Riverside Mall, Shibpur3:40PM 8:10PM

BEGUM JAAN

Nazrultirtha Cinema - New Town12:00PM 2:45PM 8:15PM

NAAM SHABANA

‘Pokemon Go players turned out to be more social. Unlike nonplayers, players were more likely to be making new friends and deepening old friendships’

2|

mp

Weekend BreakKOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

- Rudyard Kipling

A woman’s guess is much more accurate than a man’ certainty.

Pokemon Go makespeople happier, friendlier

Pokemon Go users are more likely to be positive, friendly and physically active, say scientists who studied the wildly popular augmented real-

ity game a�er its release last year.“�ere was plenty of negative press

about distracted people trespassing and running into trees or walking into the

street,” said James Alex Bonus, graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US.

“But you also saw people really enjoying it, having a good time

together outside,” Bonus said.Pokemon Go creator claims 65 mil-lion regular users and more than 650

million app downloads.Even in the �rst few weeks fol-

lowing release of the game - in which players “catch” wild, virtual

Pokemon creatures lurking in places like parks and public buildings, and train them to do battle against one another – players were easy to pick out on sidewalks.

�e large pool of players pre-sented an opportunity to capture the e�ects of augmented reality

games, researchers said.“�ere’s this idea that playing

games and being on your phone is a nega-tive social experience that detracts from things, but there haven’t been many chances to ask large groups of players about their experiences,” Bonus said. �e research-

ers surveyed about 400 people three weeks a�er the game was launched, asking ques-tions about their emotional and social lives and levels of physical activity before segue-ing into Pokemon.

More than 40 per cent of their respon-dents turned out to be Pokemon Go play-ers, and those people were more likely to be exercising – walking briskly, at least – and more likely to be experiencing positive emo-tions and nostalgia. “People told us about a variety of experiences with di�erential rela-

tionships to well-being,” Bonus said. “But, for the most part, the Pokemon Go players said more about positive things that were

making them feel their life was more worth-while, more satisfactory, and making them more resilient,” he said.

�ey were also more social. Players were more likely than nonplayers to be making new friends and deepening old friendships.

“�e more people were playing, the more they were engaging in behaviours that re�ected making new connections – making Facebook friends, introducing themselves to someone new, exchanging phone numbers with someone, or spending more time with old friends and learning new things about them,” Bonus said.

Surprisingly, the survey respondents who showed more social anxiety were not less likely to be Pokemon Go players, even though aspects of the game encourage chance interactions with people includ-ing strangers.

“We o�en focus on media violence and aggression and hostility, but there are opportunities where media is contributing to good life experiences,” Bonus said.

�e study was published in the journal Media Psychology. PTI

Yoga along with words like ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ are among the top ��een most popular words in the British

society, say scientists who found that the internet age has had a massive in�u-ence on the English language. �e need to communicate with a wider-world coupled with a move away from the cosy, close-knit communities of the 90s has dramatically changed the way British people speak over the last two decades, researchers said.

�e study, by Lan-caster University and Cambridge University Press in the UK, looked at the most character-istic words of infor-mal chit-chat in today’s Britain. �e internet age has had a massive in�u-ence on the words we use, research-ers said. While

in the 1990s we were captivated by ‘cassettes’, today email, Internet, Face-book, Google, YouTube, website, Twitter, texted, iphone and ipad all top the bill.

‘Twenty-four’ re�ects the open-all-hours community in which we now live far away from a world where the ‘cobbler’ and ‘playschool’ were high in

our vocabulary. Words like ‘permed’, ‘comb’ and ‘tar rah’ have fallen out of popularity, according to the study. ‘Awesome’, which replaced ‘marvel-

lous’ in an earlier study, is still popular and now joins ‘mas-

sively’ in the top 15. �e word ‘croquet’ has taken a hit along with expres-sions such as ‘mucking’,

‘whatsername’, ‘golly’ and ‘matey’.

‘Boxer’, ‘cross-word’ and

‘draught’ were

all in the 1990s’ top 15. An earlier study by the team compared existing data from the 1990s to two million words of then newly collected data from the year 2012. �e researchers have now collected more data and compared the same 1990s collection to a bigger col-lection comprising �ve million words spanning 2012-2015. At the end of this year they will publicly release 11 million words spanning 2012-2016.

Researcher and language expert Robbie Love, from at Lancaster Uni-versity in the UK, has compiled the top 15 most popular words from the 1990s which have since declined the most

drastically and the top 15 words not around in the in the 1990s – which are hugely popular today.

“�ese �ndings suggest the things that are most important to British society are indeed re�ected in the amount we talk about them,” said

Love. “New technologies like Facebook have really captured our attention, to the extent that, if we’re not using it, we’re probably talking about it,” he said.

“�e new data has shed light on some older words which, similar to “marvellous” and “marmalade” in the previous study, appear to have fallen out of fashion in the intervening years,” he added. “�e study provides a sense of the way society has expanded since

the early 1990s and the end of the o�ine era.

Our priorities are moving away from what is happening on our doorsteps,” Love said. PTI

‘Yoga’ among top 15 popular wordsDue to a massive influence of internet age on the English language, Yoga, along with Facebook and Twitter has made it to the top fifteen

most popular words in the British society

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- Mamata Banerjee on Twitter

Congratulations to Farooq Abdullah Ji. So happy that a senior leader like you is back in Parliament

| 3millennium post | KOLKATA |SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

CitySoon, Beating Retreat like Wagah at Phulbari-Banglabandha border

AMITAVA BANERJEE

DARJEELING: Mesmerised by the “Beating Retreat” border ceremony at the Wagah-Attari border? �ere is good news for you as soon, you will not have to travel all the way to Attari in Punjab to witness this awe-inspiring ceremony. In the next few months, one can witness a similar ceremony at the Phulbari-Bangla-bandha border.

Aimed at attracting tourists, talks are on with Bangladesh to initiate a similar ceremony at the Phulbari-Banglabandha border with Bangla-

desh in the Jalpaiguri district. Bengal Tourism minister Gautam Deb vis-ited the Phulbari border and held talks with BSF top brass to give shape to the plan.

“We want to hold a similar “Beat-ing Retreat” border ceremony here. However, it will be a bit di�erent. We will also have a cultural centre. It will de�nitely be a major tourism attraction,” stated Deb.

Deb stated that talks are already on with Bangladesh for this. “Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already spoken to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. I will also

be visiting Bangladesh soon to carry forward the talks. Meanwhile, we are also communicating with the Minis-try of External A�airs, Government of India for this,” added the Tourism minister. Sources state that recently a Bangladesh Ri�es contingent had held a joint parade with the BSF at this border.

An integrated tourism plan has already been developed. “We will have visitors’ gallery from where the Beating Retreat ceremony can be wit-nessed. �ere will be a huge gate on the Indian side built on the lines of the Nalanda gate as Phulbari is fast

developing as an educational hub. “�ere will be a covered walking

pathway leading to Phulbari where an Indo-Bangla Friendship o�ce

will come up. �e o�ce will provide necessary information and logis-tics to Bangladesh tourists and even patients coming for treatment from Bangladesh. A North Bengal Cultural centre will also come up showcasing the rich, unique and diverse culture of North Bengal. A model tourism township is on the anvil,” stated Raj Basu of Convenor, Association for Conservation and Tourism (ACT).

Banglabandha is a land port located in the Panchagarh district of Rangpur Division of Bangladesh. On the Indian side is Phulbari in the Jalpaiguri district which is in close

proximity to the important town of Siliguri. �e border is manned by the BSF on the Indian side and Bangla-desh Ri�es on the Bangladesh side.

�e land port facilitates trade with India, Nepal and Bhutan. �ough earlier, only goods vehicles were allowed through this border, on February 18, 2016, transit check posts were set up by the two countries.

A large number of Bangladeshi tourists visit India every year. In 2015, the �gure stood at 1.12 million. Along with this, Bangladeshis visit India for education and medical treatment too.

CM to address rally in Bhubaneswar, likely to meet ailing Sudip too

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee will be visiting Bhu-baneswar on Tuesday where she will hold talks with Trinamool Congress workers and is likely to address a pub-lic rally too.

Political experts said her visit to the temple town shortly a�er the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is now in Bhubaneswar to attend a two-day national convention of BJP is signi�cant. Banerjee wants to increase the organisational strength of the party and is trying to explore the possibility of an alternative force before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

It may be recalled that in most of her recent speeches delivered in pub-lic meetings, Banerjee had said Trin-amool Congress would go to Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and even Punjab and Delhi.

�e Trinamool Congress recently opened its o�ce in Bhubaneswar and party heavy weights Mukul Roy and Subrata Bakshi were present at the inaugural ceremony. �e party had

received a good response from people when party leaders Suvendu Adhikari and Manas Bhuniya went to Odisha last year a�er high value notes were banned by the Centre in November last year.

Political experts said the BJP had done well in the municipal polls in Odisha and a�er securing the second position in Kanthi South, the party would put wholehearted e�orts to get more seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and put up a tough �ght in the 2021 Assembly polls.

Trinamool Congress on the con-trary will try to organise those who are opposing the BJP. �e experts said that despite BJP’s success in the polls, a force against BJP is gaining strength in di�erent states and Banerjee wants to capitalise this force. Also, she is a popular leader in Odisha so her visit-ing the state a�er Modi is a matter to be closely watched.

It was also learnt that Banerjee might go to meet Sudip Bandopad-hyay who was receiving treatment. Currently, Bandopadhyay is in CBI custody in connection with the Rose Valley scam.

Meanwhile, top Trinamool lead-ers have instructed party leaders and workers not to answer any queries relat-ing to BJP and to not get provoked by

statements and speeches by leaders of other parties particularly BJP.

Trinamool Congress has decided that only party supremo Mamata

Banerjee and some other senior des-ignated party leaders will answer to the queries about BJP. At a party meeting held in South Kolkata on Friday eve-ning, partymen have asked leaders and workers to reserve their comments on the issue. A senior party leader said some BJP leaders were trying to pro-voke Trinamool workers and leaders to issue a statement and the decision not to reply to their statement is a part of party’s strategy.

Political experts felt that BJP is con-stantly trying to play the Hindutva card in Bengal and the party thinks that it will have a favourable impact in the bordering districts. An RSS leader said the party had been holding meet-ing with local youth in Jadavpur and Behala and many youth who are sup-porters of Congress and CPI(M) and even TMC, have shown interest in the party’s programme. �e statement of the RSS leader is not without any basis. In Jadavpur, which a Le� bas-tion, a Ram Navami procession had been carried out. �ough no weapon was carried but hundreds of youth had joined the rally.

Container truck rams into autos, 6 injuredOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: �e driver of a container truck lost his con-trol over the steering wheel on the VIP Road and hit several auto-rickshaws stationed there at the Baguiati stoppage. Six auto drivers were badly injured a�er the incident and they were taken to a nearby hos-pital. According to the hospi-tal authority, condition of one driver is critical.

Soon a�er the incident on Saturday a�ernoon, infuri-ated drivers damaged the con-tainer there and blocked both the �anks of the VIP Road for over an hour. Some of the angry auto drivers even set the broken container on �re.

�e tra�c police, police-men from Baguiati police sta-tion and some local residents tried to convince the auto driv-ers to withdraw the blockade.

“We immediately called up the �re brigade to douse the �ame in the container truck.

One �re tender reached the spot on time and extinguished the �ame in that vehicle,” said a local resident.

“We have averted a bigger mishap. �e container could have exploded if �re brigade would have been unable to douse the �ame quickly. Many people could have died if the truck exploded,” said an on-duty police o�cer.

Accidents on the VIP Road have become a common inci-dent. Earlier, in many times, people came under the wheels of speed vehicles while cross-ing the road. But now, the state government has set up a few underpasses which has reduced the number of the road accidents.

In another incident, a Dhu-lagarh-Chingrihata route bus overturned near Belghoria’s Prafullanagar on Saturday eve-ning. Ten persons were injured a�er the incident and they were taken to the College of Medi-cine & Sagore Dutta Hospital.

Youth beaten up by gang of men for protesting against sister’s molestationOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Tension ran high at Naskarpara area of Bishnu-pur in South 24 Parganas on Friday night when a youth was beaten up by some miscreants for protesting against molesta-tion of his elder sister.

�e incident occurred at a local fair where the victim vis-ited along with his elder sister on Friday evening. Some of the youth were teasing the women who had gone to the spot to

attend the village fair. Seeing the incident, the victim youth protested against the misbe-havior. �e accused, who were few in number, �ed from the fair. Within few minutes, they returned to the fair along with some other associates.

When the victim protested against the youth for teasing his sister, they suddenly pounced on the victim. �is time, the accused were six in number and in the scu�e, he received injuries. �e local residents came to his rescue and took

him to a nearby health centre for treatment. Meanwhile, the miscreants �ed from the spot.

�e family members of the victim lodged a complaint in the local police station on the basis of which police have started an investigation. It was known that raids are on to nab the culprits. However, local res-idents blamed the police for not doing anything to check the incidents of teasing and atrocities on women. �ey also alleged that the police were

informed about the incident but they failed to appear at the spot as a result of which, the victim was badly injured.

In another incident of attack on a protestor that had taken place on �ursday, the police are yet to arrest three accused who had attacked a youth with a knife in a drunken state. �e accused were abusive and that is why the youth had protested against the incident which occurred near Tiljala.

Mother, daughter found dead on

railway tracks at Bali station

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Mystery shrouds the death of a mother and her daughter whose bodies were found on the railway tracks near Bali station on Satur-day a�ernoon. Police are yet to ascertain the identity of the two victims. �e local people told the police that the two per-sons were walking along the railway tracks when the acci-dent took place. Police are yet to investigate if it was an acci-dent or the victims committed suicide. Police are not, however, ruling out the possibility of the two having committed suicide.

Police said that the woman is aged around 40 while her daughter is about 10-year-old. �e incident triggered tension at the railway station when the local people and passengers found the mutilated bodies of the two victims on the railway tracks. A�er being informed, the railway police rushed to the spot and recovered the bod-ies from the tracks. Police said that the victim were run over by Down Arambag local when it was about to enter the sta-tion. �ey were walking along the railway track number 3. Police have started a probe to identify the victims. �e bodies were sent for the post-mortem examination.

CLARIFICATIONIn the news titled: “CII eyes exchange programmes, Chi-nese investment in N Bengal” published on page 04 of the April 15 edition, People’s Republic of China was erroneously written as Republic of China. The error is regretted.

Kin of dead patient alleges negligence by nurses

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Family members of Meena Devi Sar who died at the Marwari Relief Soci-ety Hospital late on Friday night have levelled serious charges of negligence against some nurses who did not allegedly attend to the patient who had a stool bag was �tted against her lower abdomen.

Doctors created an arti-�cial mechanism out of her body and placed a stool bag outside her body as there was a deep wound on the rectum of the patient.

As a result of this, the nurses were reluctant to attend to the patient claim-ing that a foul smell was com-ing out of her body.

Hospital authorities have suspended three nurses in this connection. �e patient, a resident of Howrah, su�er-ing from Colon Cancer and jaundice was admitted to the hospital on April 9.

�e family members of

the victim also brought up charges of serious negligence saying that when they vis-ited the hospital on Satur-day morning a�er receiving the news of her death, they found that there was no cloth on her body.

�e patient died at around 12.14 am on Friday midnight but the family members were communicated on Saturday morning.

A relative of the patient said that it was utterly shock-ing to see their patient lying dead on the bed without a dress and none attending her as some foul smell was ema-nating from her.

She also said that the hos-pital authorities could have told them to transfer the patient, said the relative. It was alleged that the body was lying on the bed for nearly 10 hours.

A�er receiving a com-plaint, the hospital authorities suspended three nurses for negligence in duty. A probe has been initiated.

Brawl over IPL match: Friend hacks off pal’s wristOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: A youth chopped o� his friend’s wrist with a sickle reportedly a�er a brawl over IPL match on Friday night at Malda district’s Puratuli-Sadarghat. Police learnt that the assailant wanted to behead his friend but the victim tried to stop him with his hands and thus, he lost his right wrist. �e accused soon �ed from the spot as the investigators started raid-ing to arrest him.

�e victim was screaming in pain as the other friends took him to Malda Medical College and Hospital. �ey car-ried the chopped o� wrist in a plastic bag to the operation the-atre but the doctors could not attach the hacked o� body part.

�e investigators revealed that victim Sanjoy Chaud-hury, who is better known as Bampa in his locality, involved in an altercation with his long-time friend Biswa Ghosh over an IPL match. �e verbal altercation turned to a face-to-face �ght and then Ghosh le� the spot.

But a�er sometime, Ghosh returned there with a sickle and attacked his friend. Chaud-hury tried to resist him with his hands but lost his wrist as the assailant hacked him from a close distance.

“�e altercation started during an IPL match where cricket was the ultimate point of con�ict as two friends started �ghting with each other. Ghosh was so angry that he threatened Chaudhury to kill and le� the room in a hurry,” said an eye-witness of the incident.

“Brandishing his sharp weapon, Ghosh held the shirt’s collar of Chaudhury and

tried to behead him. Chaud-hury managed to save his life but could not save the wrist,” he added.

Police started investiga-tion on the basis of the com-plaint lodged by the mother of the victim, Jharna Chaud-hury. �e investigators revealed that some youth were assem-bled at a place to enjoy IPL match together.

Ghosh and Chaudhury were sitting beside each other but suddenly started to alter-cate. Other friends tried hard to stop them from �ghting but they could not control them.

2 held for molesting schoolgirlKOLKATA: Police arrested two persons on charges of molesting a schoolgirl while she was returning home. The motorbike-borne youth fol-lowed the girl from her school on Friday afternoon and tried to pull her onto their bike at Bangaband-hu Sheikh Mujib Sarani. The girl finally managed to escape from there. Police arrested the culprits from Park Circus area on Friday. The girl lodged a complaint with the Beniapukur police station. The investigators examined the CCTV footages of the incident and started searching for the accused youth. “One of the accused youth is a minor and another is just 19-year-old. They followed the girl when came out of her school at AJC Bose Road. The place was in front of the Deputy High Com-mission of Bangladesh where they attacked the girl,” said an investigator. The cops went through the CCTV footages in which it was clearly seen how they tried to force the girl and how the victim could manage to escape from there. “The CCTV footage helped us a lot. We identified the faces of the accused from the footages,” the cop added. The two were interrogated by the cops to reveal more about the incident. Police suspected that the victim might have been familiar to the youth. She was stalked by them earlier as well. “The biker gangs can be seen after 10 pm and they gener-ally take the AJC Bose flyover for their joyride throughout night. We have now become quite attuned to the constant humming noises of the bikes,” a local resident described. OUR CORRESPONDENT

Amid fun, food and fiesta; city goes back to its roots on Poila BoisakhOUR CORRESPONDENT

KOLKATA: Rallies for peace and social integrity, cultural shows and mouthwatering Ben-gali dishes served in some res-taurants marked the beginning of the Bengali New Year cele-bration in the city on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) paid

tribute to Jamini Roy by organ-ising a documentary �lm titled ‘�e Art of Jamini Roy’ at Naz-rul Tirtha as a part of the New Year Day celebrations. Shib-abrata Roy, the artist’s grand-son was present at the function.

At Café Ekante, mouthwa-tering Bengali items were served to the guests. �e traditional Bengali vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes were appre-

ciated by the guests. �ere was Baul music and other musical programmes to welcome the New Year. Café Ekante at Eco Park has become an important destination for foodies. �ere was special menu at the House-boat restaurant also. �e state IT minister Bratya Basu organised a two-day programme on Hin-dusthani classical music called “Margasangeet Utsav” at Rabin-

dra Bhavan in Dum Dum. �is was for the second time when this show was held. Noted vocal-ists and instrumentalists like Parveen Sultana, Ustad Rashid Khan will be performing along with Hariprasad Chaurasia, Tejendranarayan Mazumdar and Shivkumar Sharma.

�ere was a cultural pro-gramme at Basushree cinema too. Organized by the owner

of the hall Montu Basu, it had become the most important cul-tural event in the city till mid-1980s where stars like Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sabitri Chatterjee and Supriya Debi used to take part along with Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Arati Mukherjee, Pintu Bhattacharya and Haimanti Shukla among others. A�er a gap of many

years since Basu’s death, the programme has been revived. Filmstars from Tollywood took part in the programme.

State Power minister Sob-handeb Chattopadhyay took out a colourful rally in his con-stituency at Rashbehari in the morning. �e rally whose mes-sage was peace and integrity was well attended by children in colourful dresses while men and

women wore traditional Bengali dhoti-kurtas and red-bordered white sarees respectively.

Meanwhile, Mayor Sovan Chatterjee treated underprivi-ledged children to biriyani at the ‘Dekho Re’ programme in Laldighi. “How can I have food when they are half-fed? So I treated them with biriyani on the �rst day of the Bengali New Year,” said Mayor.

AT MARWARI RELIEF SOCIETY HOSPITAL

The family members of the victim lodged a complaint in the local police station on the basis of which police have started an investigation

Police are not, however, ruling out the possibility of the two having committed suicide

Mayor Sovan Chatterjee serves biriyani to underprivileged children at Laldighi on the occasion of Poila Baisakh on Saturday PIC/MPOST

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE

mp

Nation Manohar Parrikar

Pakistan should understand that if India starts retaliating, then it does not have the power to �ght back

4| KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

BRIEFSNATIONHP CM LAUNCHES ‘UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE SCHEME’ SHIMLA: Chief minister Virbhadra Singh on Saturday launched an ‘unemployment allowance scheme’ and decided to regularise contract employees after three years in service, instead of the present period of five years. Singh made this announcement at the state level function at Chamba on the occasion of the 70th foundation day of Himachal Pradesh. Chief minister who unfurled the tricolor and took salute at impressive march past, formally launched the scheme by distrib-uting cheques of Rs 1,000 each to ten beneficiaries.

MEAL AT RS 10 UNDER ‘SAADI RASOI’ PROJECT IN PUNJAB FAZILKA (PUNAJB): In a first-of-its-kind project in Punjab, the district administration will provide whole-some food to the needy at the subsidised rate of Rs 10 under ‘Saadi Rasoi’ (our kitchen) project. Under the scheme, the poor will be served four chapattis, rice, dal and sabzi starting from 10 am till 3 pm. “We launched the Saadi Rasoi project on Saturday under which poor and needy people will be given whole-some and nutritious food at Rs 10. This is Punjab’s first such project launched in the district,” Fazilka Deputy Commissioner Isha Kalia said. She said arrangements have been made to make the food available near railway station and civil hospital where rickshaw pullers, labourers and those who come from far off places can eat at subsidised rate. “We will cater to only those people who are needy,” she said.

MUSLIM QUOTA BILL: TELANGANA HOUSE TO HOLD SPL SITTING TODAY

HYDERABAD: A bill seeking to increase the reser-vation to Scheduled Tribes and backward sections among Muslims would be tabled in the Telangana Legislative Assembly in a special sitting on Sunday. The state cabinet, which met here on Saturday, gave its nod to the bill, sources said. However, there was no official briefing on the cabinet meeting in view of the session tomorrow. The bill would be introduced in the assembly as per the TRS’ election promise to make efforts to provide 12 per cent quota each for backward sections among Muslims and STs.

MUZAFFARPUR/PATNA: Seven policemen and a hard-core Naxal were killed when a prison van dashed into a truck in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district on Saturday. Deputy Super-intendent of Police (Town), Ashish Anand said the acci-dent occurred near Gaighat village under the jurisdiction of Runnisaidpur police station around 5 am.

�e van was carrying two hardcore Naxals from Bhagal-pur to Sitamarhi court, he said. 12 policemen were also in the van. One Naxal and seven policemen died a�er the accident, he said, adding another ultra and �ve other policemen were admitted to Sri Krishna Memorial College and Hospital.

�e van driver, Munna Singh, was among the dead.

�e DSP said while four

policemen died on the spot, the Naxal and three other police-men died on the way to the hospital.

�e DSP said all injured policemen and the seriously injured Naxal were later shi�ed to a private hospital. AGENCIES

OUR CORRESPONDENT

PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the Goa government is working towards banning entry of locals into casinos.

I sincerely believe that gam-bling is not good. If we can we should remove it from the state. It is human nature to gamble that is why we cannot eradi-cate it completely, but de�-nitely we cannot encourage it," Parrikar said. "�at is why we had decided on a policy to ban Goans from going to casi-nos. Lot has been done about it and in the days to come there will be complete ban on locals going to casinos," he added.

Parrikar also said the state government will relocate o� shore casino vessels from River Mandovi to another location.

�e Chief Minister, how-

ever, said that the state govern-ment will not shut down the casinos immediately, as some companies have invested in it.

Assuring solution for the garbage problem in the state, Parrikar said, in last two and half years we have seen garbage problem which has emerged in a big way. �at is why I have given thrust to garbage disposal and treatment in my recent budget. �e process has already started. We will start working from July on it."

"We already have a garbage

treatment plant. I am proud to say that the power generated from garbage has been sent to state power grid," the CM said.

Parrikar ruled out that the state will face �nancial crisis due to various issues like ban on sale of liquor along high-ways and the crippled mining industry. “We have projected 11% GDP growth in the recent budget, but I feel we will go up to 14-15 per cent. GST regime will help Goa as it is a consum-ing state. Tax and services con-tribute to the revenue," he said.

"A�er mining ban was li�ed, we have started 20 mil-lion tons production. Liquor ban, I don t think it will have much impact on revenue. I believe we will �nd a solution for that. We are also trying to rehabilitate establishments a�ected with the Supreme Court order," he added.

LUCKNOW: Instead of crying foul over the electronic voting machines (EVMs), the Sama-jwadi Party should realise that people of Uttar Pradesh have rejected it, the BJP said on Sat-urday, retorting to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's demand for going back to ballot papers for holding elections.

�e BJP, which decimated opposition to secure a thump-ing majority in UP assembly polls recently, said it seemed that the former chief minister does not have any faith either in the EVMs or the mandate of the state's voters.

"It seems that Akhilesh Yadav does not have any faith in the EVMs (electronic vot-ing machines), the mandate of the people of UP, his father (SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav) or his uncle (former Shivpal Singh Yadav)," BJP's UP unit spokesperson Rakesh Tripa-thi said. He said that instead of crying foul over EVMs, the SP should try to come to terms with the reality that people of state have rejected it. AGENCIES

OUR CORRESPONDENT

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Satur-day demanded that all future elections be conducted through ballot papers as "electronic vot-ing machines cannot be relied upon" and said there should be a coalition between all parties to �ght the BJP.

"When will EVMs develop a snag no one can tell ... When will the so�ware fail ... Machines cannot be relied upon. We do not have faith in EVMs," Akhilesh told news persons here.

"We have 100 per cent faith in our ballot papers and it is our demand that future elec-tions are held using them ... We do not want to go into whether EVMs are good or bad," the former UP chief minister said.

"Questions are being raised on the EVMs. People are yet to come to terms with the fact that they pressed the button against the cycle (SP election symbol) on the EVMs, but vote went to the BJP.

"�e Election Commis-

sion should tell how the EVMs develop technical snag. Who is making the so�ware of these EVMs? �e poor people of the state said they had voted for the SP, then how come it did not get the votes?" Akhilesh asked.

On forming a coalition of political parties against the BJP, he said if any such coali-tion is formed, the SP will play an important role in it.

"�ere should be a coali-

tion, which can pave the way forward. We are ready to wel-come it. We had welcomed such a move earlier too," he said.

BSP chief Mayawati had on Friday accused the BJP of targetting her for raising voice against alleged EVM tampering and said she was not averse to shaking hands with other par-ties in her �ght against the saf-fron party on the issue.

Can't rely on EVMs, coalition needed to fight BJP: Akhilesh

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: Hinting at sabotage behind the Rajya Rani Express derail-ment, the Railways on Saturday said defects in the track could be due to "extraneous factors" as they could not develop suddenly.

A three-foot portion of the railway track was found missing, the police had said earlier.

"�e track was tested on February 27 using ultrasonic �aw detectors (USFD) and no defect was found. So, the pos-sibility of involvement of extraneous factors in causing damage to the track cannot be ruled out," said a source in the railway ministry.

�e next USFD test of the track is due on April 27 as the automatic test of railway tracks is done every two months.

Track fracture is either caused by poor maintenance or there can also be

man-made factors which can be termed as "extraneous" or "sabotage".

Besides, the source said, �ve trains had passed over the track prior to the

ill-fated Rajya Rani Express and the loco pilots of those trains had not reported any unusual occurrence.

�e real cause of the derailment will be known only a�er the completion of the inquiry, but there were indications towards sabotage, the source added.

Eight coaches of the Rajya Rani Express derailed near Rampur in UP on Saturday morning. �e mishap occurred two kilometres from Ram-pur Junction railway station and about 100 metres from the Kosi river bridge, resulting in injuries to passengers and rail tra�c disruption.

While according to Rampur police, 15 passengers were injured, three of them seriously, the railways claimed that only two passengers –Amit Katiyar and Megh Singh –were injured.

�e railways has ordered an inquiry into the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 each for the injured passengers.

millenniumpost NO H ALF TR U THS

millenniumpost.in

I, Ram Babu Mehto S/o Barma Mehto R/o A-335, Sangam Colony, Naraina Depot, Naraina, New Delhi-28. That due to oversight in my Election I. Card mentioned Ranjeet and my father’s name mentioned Braham Parsad. That my eaxct and true name Ram Babu Mehto and my father’s correct name Barma Mehto. That in future I shall be knwon as Ram Babu Mehto S/o Brama Mehto and Ram Babu Mehto and Ranjeet and Barma Mehto & Braham Parsad both name are one and same perosn.

I, Kamla W/o Sh. Rajender Kumar R/o H.No. 82-A, ward No. 4 Mehrauli New Delhi-11030. That in my Adhar Card 398676390196 my name has been mentioned as Kamlesh written by mistakely. My correct name as Kamla. That in future I shall be known as Kamla for all purposes.

CHANGE OF NAME

Railways hints at sabotage in Rajya Rani derailment DHIRENDRA KUMAR

NEW DELHI: Strongly con-demning ‘the politics of mur-der’ practiced by Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala, the Rashtriya Sway-amsevak Sangh (RSS) has announced organising nation-wide awakening programme against Kerala government over rampant killing of inno-cent RSS functionaries in the state.

According to Krishna Gopal, Sah Sarkaryawah of RSS, the social out�t would bring to the notice of di�er-ent stakeholders of the society such as academicians, lawyers, and entrepreneurs the cruelty of Kerala government under the leadership of state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

“�e ideology of CPI(M) is to not believe in democracy as they believe in intense hatred. �ey hate any kind of oppo-sition and whoever tries to take a stand against them, the cadres of CPI(M) brutally kill them to create an atmosphere of fear among the residents of that locality,” said Gopal.

“We have been �ghting an ideological war against them and it’s the result of that �ght that over 400 RSS function-aries have been murdered by CPI(M) people in Kerala. We

are helpless as police o�cials are also active members of the CPI(M),” the RSS veteran said, adding, “�e ideology of RSS is very simple – live and let live. �e CPI(M) goons have killed even their former colleagues who became sympathisers of RSS.”

“Recently, four workers who had switched their sides from CPI(M) to RSS have also been murdered, which very disturbing. We will take up matter of killing of RSS func-tionaries in the state by CPI(M) goons with di�erent stakehold-ers of the society and awaken the people about wrongdoings of communist party,” Gopal said, adding that by not allow-ing organisations other than the CPM to function in many parts of the state is sheer vio-

lation of constitutional rights guaranteed by the constitution to every organisation.

“Police case investigations are being unduly in�uenced. �e politics of violence prac-ticed using numerical strength and political power has crossed all limits. What is happening in Kerala are one sided attacks. Every act of violence in the state sees CPM on one side,” he added.

“A�er LDF government came to power in Kerala, there have been 436 FIRs of politi-cal violence in Kannur district only, 690 citizens arrested and 11 BJP/RSS/IUML/Congress and even those who wanted to leave communist party were killed,” said J Nandkumar, the convenor of Pragya Pravah wing of RSS.

Coaches of the Meerut-Lucknow Rajya Rani Express which derailed near Rura railway station, in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday

RSS plans nationwide drive to raise killing of its Kerala functionaries

Goa govt mulls banning entry of locals into casinos

Samajwadi Party president and Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (R) addressing a press conference at party office, in Lucknow on Saturday

GURDASPUR (PUNJAB): Two persons were killed and three others seriously injured in an explosion at a scrap deal-er's shop near the Barnala pully area, on the outskirts of the city, here on Saturday. "Two persons were killed and three others injured in the incident," said Gurdaspur DSP (City) Kulwant Rai. Police suspect that the explosion occurred a�er a hammer was used to break some object in the shop.

Earlier, one person iden-ti�ed as Harpreet (35) was killed in the explosion and four injured persons were taken to the Gurdaspur civil hospital, from where they were referred to a hospital in Amritsar. "Another person, identi�ed as Tarsem (40), succumbed to his injuries later," the DSP said. AGENCIES

WestBengal

Jharkhand

BiharPatna

KBK

Utt

arP

rad

esh

India

Nepal

Sitamarhidistrict

Seven policemen and a Maoistundertrial prisoner were killed

when a prison van rammedinto a truck in Runnisaidpur

police station area

RSS’ Sah Sarkaryawah Krishna Gopal (L) and convenor of Pragya Pravah J Nandkumar, with the relatives of RSS functionaries who were killed

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: �e Indian Mete-orological Department (IMD) has issued a heat wave warning for Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra for the next two days.

�e heat wave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated places in Vidarbha on Sun-day (April 16), while simi-lar conditions could develop in Marathwada on Monday (April 17), an o�cial release issued by the IMD said on Saturday.

"�ere is a heat wave in north India, including Sau-rashtra and Kutch area, rise in temperature is likely to be experienced in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions in next 48-hours," V K Rajeev, direc-tor of IMD, Mumbai regional centre told PTI.

"It is to be noted that the day temperature is soaring but night temperature is still on the lower side. �e clear skies are keeping the nights cool and sometimes the tempera-ture dips below the normal," Rajeev said.

Meanwhile, Chandrapur recorded a maximum temper-ature of 45.2 degree celsius on Saturday, while the night tem-perature there stood at 25.2 degree celsius, the release said.

Temperatures are recorded early in the morning and in the a�ernoon for minimum and maximum readings. Ahmednagar recored lowest temperature at 16.6 degree cel-sius, the IMD data revealed.

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: �e Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has lodged a police complaint against a private publisher regarding a class 12 Physical Education textbook de�ning "36-24-36" as perfect female body shape.

Noting that the content of the book is inappropriate and not in sync with the curricu-lum decided by the National Council of Research and Training (NCERT), the Board has also constituted a review committee.

�e book titled "Health and Physical Education" writ-ten by V K Sharma and pub-

lished by Delhi-based New Saraswati House, is taught at various schools a�liated to CBSE.

�e CBSE, however, clari-�ed that it "does not recom-mend any books by private publishers in its schools".

"Taking strong exception of the indecent depiction of women and misrepresent-ing the syllabus prescribed by CBSE for Class XII Physical Education Course, the board has registered an FIR under Section 6--Indecent represen-tation of women (Prohibition) Act, 1986," CBSE spokesper-son said.

"�e board neither sub-scribes nor encourages irrel-

evant, sexist or derogatory references to any gender spe-cially women.

�e schools should exercise extreme care while selecting books of private publishers.

"�e content must be scru-tinized to preclude any objec-tionable content that hurts the feelings of any class, commu-nity, gender, religious group in society if prescribing books having such content, the school will have to take the responsibility of such content," she added.

According to DCP (East) Omvir Singh, an FIR has been registered at Preet Vihar police station against the author and publisher of the book.

‘36-24-36’ row: CBSE files police complaint against pvt publisher

Bihar: 7 cops, one Naxal killed in prison van-truck collision

Stop crying foul over EVMs, realise public mandate:

BJP to SP

Heat wave warning for next two

days in Vidarbha, Marathwada

SRINAGAR: Two videos, show-ing military personnel beating up youth and forcing them to shout anti-Pakistan slogans, are doing rounds on social media a�er which army said that it would ascertain the veracity of the footage and take appropri-ate action.

�e purported videos emerged just a day a�er another video in which army personnel were seen having tied a youth to the fender of their jeep and parading him through villages in Budgam district to bring stone-pelting under control.

In one of the videos that emerged on Saturday, four army personnel are seen catching hold

of student from Pulwama degree college, pin him to the ground and thrash him with a cane. In the second video, three youth who seem to be under army custody in a vehicle are forced by a soldier to abuse Pakistan and shout slogans like "Pakistan murdabad".

"Azaadi chahiyay tum ko (do you want freedom)?" the soldier is seen asking the youth before slapping them and hitting them with a stick.

Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said the veracity of the videos is being ascer-tained and action will be taken against those found guilty of misconduct. AGENCIES

Videos of personnel beating youth emerge

PANAJI: Former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday dismissed Pakistan as an empty vessel making noise and said the neighbouring country is up to something or the other, to remain engaged.

His comments come against the backdrop of the death sentence given by a Pak-istani military court to Kulb-hushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy o�cial.

"�ere is a proverb in Konk-ani, and Hindi as well which means empty vessels make the most noise. We should not take much note of what they (Pakistan) say," Parrikar said responding to a question

on Pakistan. "Pakistan wants some or other reason to remain engaged. It is playing a danger-ous game. It should understand that if India starts retaliating, then Pakistan does not have the power to �ght back, whatever they may project themselves as," he said.

"But we (India) want peace, we don't want provocation, because of which they should give back Jadhav. First of all he has been abducted. He was not in Pakistan. He was in Iran. Iran has said that Taliban kid-napped him and took him to Pakistan. Pakistan has a habit of doing something or other," the BJP leader said. MPOST

Empty vessels make the most noise: Parrikar on Pakistan

2 killed, 3 hurt in explosion at scrap

dealer's shop

8 coaches of Rajya Rani Express derail near Rampur in UP, 2 injured

| 5

mpmillennium post | KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

Business Union Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal

Expansion of Nalco would provide employment to thousands of local youths who were not needed to migrate elsewhere in search of jobs

ICA - 748(22)/2017

D.G.I.P.R. 2017/2018/181

CORPORATE KALEIDOSCOPE

Chief Guest D. K. Dubey, ED-Ramagundam Presented school bags to students at the birth anniversary programme of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar organised at NTPC-Ramagundam on April 14

(L-R) Sanjay Jhunjhunwla, Nandini Chakraborty, Masayuki Taga, Olaf Iversen, Cai, and Ranjan Sen inaugurate India agri, fisheries and food processing show and buyer seller meet in Kolkata

Chief Executive Officer Rajesh Kumar Rathi along with DIG (CISF) Sougata Roy release a booklet on the Do’s and Don’ts of Fire Safety at the Central Fire Station of IISCO Steel Plant in Burnpur

BHUBANESWAR: Union Power and Coal Minister Piy-ush Goyal on Saturday dedi-cated 4 wind power plants built by NALCO to the nation and annuonced an expansion plan for the aluminium major to raise its capacity to 1 MTPA.

"We are taking concrete steps to increase production of NALCO. �ere is a major expansion programme to raise its capacity to 1 million tonne per annum," Goyal said while dedicating the wind units with a total capacity of 198 MW.

Built at a cost of Rs 1350 crore, the plants, unveiled at a function here, are located in Rajasthan (two plants), Maha-rashtra and Andhra Pradesh, while the company plans more wind power plants of 120 MW besides installing solar units.

Stating that NALCO's pro-duction remained stagnant for a long time and the company has also mooted establishing an aluminium plant in Iran, the minister said the focus of NDA government was to increase production in Odisha itself.

Goyal said expansion of Nalco would also provide

employment to thousands of local youths who were not needed to migrate elsewhere in search of jobs. �e revenue of the state would also go up substantially.

As part of the expansion plan, the capacity of Nal-co's smelter at Angul is being increased from .46 mtpa to one mtpa with an investment of Rs

20,000 crore, a senior company o�cial said.

Another green�eld plant with .6 mtpa capacity is also proposed to be set up at nearby Kamakshya Nagar, he said add-ing work was already underway to inrease the capacity of alu-mina re�nery at Damanjodi by one mtpa with an investment of Rs 5400 crore. Its capacity

now is 2.275 mtpa. Referring to switch over to auction mode for mines, he said Odisha would earn huge additional revenue from this which could be uti-lised for many welfare and developmental schemes.

�e NDA Government is now focussing on speedy progress of eastern part of the country, particularly Odisha,

he said adding that the pro-duction of Mahanadi Coal-�elds Ltd (MCL) should also be increased as it was a�ected due to various reasons.

Stating that di�erent union ministries have launched ambi-tious projects for rapid devel-opment of Odisha, Goyal said while NTPC was taking steps for improving power position, an inland waterways project was taken up from Talcher to the port town of Paradip. Sim-ilarly, a host of petroleum and petro-chemical projects were coming up.

Union Tribal A�airs Min-ister Jual Oram, who was the chief guest, said production of NALCO should increase in the interest of the state and its people.

An MoU was signed by NALCO with IIT-Bhu-baneswar on Research and Development and another with MIDHANI on high value products in the presence of the union ministers.

An exhibition on celebra-tion of Centenary of Cham-paran Satyagraha was also organised on the occasion. PTI

Piyush Goyal inaugurates four wind power plants, plans to expand Nalco

NEW DELHI: Racing against time for GST rollout, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) chief Vanaja N Sarna has sanctioned Rs 1 crore to each of 23 zones to conduct an outreach programme about the new tax regime.

Sarna asked o�cials of each zone to carry out the outreach at the local level to explain the new structure as also its bene�ts, registration and compliance.

"To implement this, zonal chief commissioners have now been requested to utilise an amount of Rs 1 crore out of the funds under the 'O.E. Gen-eral' head for this purpose," she wrote in her weekly newsletter.

�e funds, she said, should be used for extensive outreach for educating taxpayers on legal and procedural aspects and the compliance expected under GST.

"At this point, I urge you to take this opportunity to project our department as the prime facilitator for taxpayers in their migration to GST.

“�is is the time to make our presence felt. E�orts made in the direction of taxpayers' education and facilitation in coming months will hold us in good stead with various stake-holders," she wrote.

�e President has given his assent to four supporting legis-lations, putting the July 1 roll-out of the new regime on track.

GST will subsume central levies like excise and Customs and state ones like VAT into a national uni�ed sales tax.

She said the work on �t-ment of all goods and services into �ve tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 an 28 per cent is in progress.

"At this stage, it is of par-amount importance that we have an e�ective outreach to all the stakeholders to inform

them of the salient features and bene�ts of GST," she said.

In the previous newsletter, she had stated that as part of the outreach programme, 24 print advertisements had been taken out in almost 200 di�er-ent newspapers and outdoor GST campaign in major cities being undertaken using medi-ums like hoardings, rail train panels, bus queue shelters, bridge panels and billboards.

Special GST awareness campaign has been displayed through 12 Air India aircra� and TV advertisements, and radio jingles are being run on major channels.

Also, a YouTube chan-nel named 'GST_India' has been created featuring major interviews and parliamentary discussions.

"I urge all of you to carry out outreach programmes at the local level so that we cover the entire length and breadth of the country. At this cru-cial stage, it is important that all stakeholders are suitably informed of the salient fea-tures and bene�ts of GST," she wrote. PTI

CBEC sanctions `1 cr to each zone for GST outreach

TELANGANA: ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd, a renew-able energy independent power producer, on Saturday announced the commission-ing of its 143 MW solar farm in Dichpally in Nizamabad district of Telangana.

�e farm was inaugurated by G. Jagadish Reddy, Telan-gana Minister for Energy, a release said.

Reddy said the state gov-ernment is committed to pro-viding good quality clean power to the industry and people.

Sumant Sinha, Chairman and CEO of ReNew Power said, over the next few months, the company will have an installed capacity of 510 MW solar power projects in Telan-gana and the total investment will cross Rs 3,700 crore. PTI

ReNew Power commissions 143 MW solar farm in Telangana

MP government, DMRC to ink pact to supply power from Rewa projectBHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh government will sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on April 17 to supply 24 per cent of electricity generated from the Rewa ultra mega solar project to be set up in the state. "DMRC will sign the agreement with the parties con-cerned at a function on April 17. Under the PPA, DMRC will get 24 per cent solar power of Rewa UMSP. The rest of the power will be supplied to the state," Madhya Pradesh New and Renewable Energy De-partment (NRED) Principal Secretary Manu Shrivastava said. Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMS) project is a joint venture of Solar Energy Corporation of India and MP Urja Vikas Nigam, where in both parties have 50 per cent stake. The 750 MW project will have three units each of 250 mw which are being commis-sioned by as many companies- Mahendra Renewables Private Limited, Mumbai, Acme Solar Holdings Private Limited, Gurgaon, Solanergi Power Private Limited, Port Louis, Mauritius, he said, adding they will be operational in 18 months. Shrivastava said if the private companies fail to complete the project in

months they ill be deemed to pay a fine on per day basis hich ill come to s one lakh per unit. PTI

BEIJING: A Chinese-made self-driving truck has passed a navigation test, heralding a new era of intelligent, automated heavy vehicles, o�cial media reported on Saturday.

FAW Jiefang, the leading truck manufacturer, debuted the self-driving truck at FAW Tech Center in Changchun city, Jilin province.

�e truck, which FAW Jie-fang plans to commercialise as early as next year, was able to recognise obstacles, slow down, make a detour and speed up.

�e intelligent driving vehi-cle reacted correctly to tra�c lights, adaptive cruise control, remote commands and suc-cessfully overtook, the report said.

Hu Hanjie, FAW Jiefang General Manager, said the company has built a whole industry chain partnership to develop, manufacture, sell and

service self-driving trucks.�e participation of more

�rms across the sector will accelerate the technology's use on heavy-duty vehicles, Hu said.

Leading Chinese tech �rms, including Baidu and Tencent, have invested in self-driving entities. Baidu, for example, has tested driverless mini cars at the annual World Internet Conference for the last two years. PTI

Self-driving ‘intelligent’ truck passes test in China

The intelligent driving vehicle reacted correctly to traffic lights, adaptive cruise control, and remote commands

Funds will be used for educating taxpayers on legal and procedural aspects and compliance expected in GST

AT LEAST 35 DEAD IN IRAN FLOODSTEHRAN: At least 35 people were killed and eight declared missing as flash floods hit northwestern Iran, state media reported on Saturday. “Thirty-five people have been killed in the floods” across four provinces, the head of Iran’s emergency response organisation, Esmail Najar, told the ISNA news agency. Torrential rains that began on Friday lashed East Azerbaijan province, with state television showing images of rivers bursting their banks, flooded houses and cars be-ing swept away by the surging water. The districts of Ajabshir and Azarshahr were the worst hit.

TWO KILLED IN US RESTAURANT SHOOTINGWASHINGTON: Two men were killed in a shooting at a restaurant inside a mall in US’ Arizona state, a sheriff’s spokesman told the media. An altercation at the Firebirds restaurant inside the La Encantada mall in north Tucson led to a shooting at about 7.30 pm on Friday. The shooting was confined to the restaurant.Several people were in the restaurant at the time, but only a woman was injured with a gunshot to the leg. She is being treated at a local hospital. “All three individuals were known to each other, but the specifics of the relationship are unknown,” the spokesman said.Authorities said it was unclear what the altercation was about, and how it escalated into a shooting.

INDIAN MAN COMMITS SUICIDE IN SHARJAHSHARJAH: A 52-year-old Indian man allegedly com-mitted suicide here by hanging himself in his room in his family apartment, a media report said. Police said they received a call at 11.30 pm (local time) about the incident. Officials said the man was identified as S.M. The body was found hanging in his room when police and forensic officers arrived at the apartment. According to the officials the man died at 8 pm. His family members was unaware of the incident and they thought he was sleeping.

RESOLVE ISSUES THROUGH TALKS: PRACHANDA TO MADHESI MORCHAKATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has appealed to the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM) to reach a consensus on ad-dressing their issues through talks.

mp

World US President Donald Trump

One of the gravest threats to religious freedom remains the threat of terrorism

6| KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

BRIEFSWORLD

NSA penetrated SWIFT banking network in Middle East: Hackers WASHINGTON: An anony-mous hacking group “Shadow Brokers” that leaked online a collection of powerful hack-ing tools allegedly used by the US National Security Agency (NSA) has also published another set of documents that indicate that NSA pene-trated the SWIFT banking net-work in the Middle East. �e Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommu-nication (SWIFT) provides a network that enables �nan-cial institutions worldwide to send and receive information

about �nancial transactions in a secure, standardised and reliable environment. “�is reportedly gave the US spy ser-vice a window into the �nancial activities of a range of organisa-tions, including those belong-ing to �rms in Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Syria, Yemen and the Palestinian territories,” said a report in �e Wired on Sat-urday. Meanwhile, EastNets Service Bureau, that provides outsourced SWIFT connectiv-ity, on Saturday denied that its bureau was compromised and said that the reports of hack are

“totally false and unfounded”. “�e reports of an alleged

hacker-compromised East-Nets Service Bureau (ENSB) network is totally false and

unfounded. �e EastNets Net-work internal Security Unit has run a complete check of its servers and found no hacker compromise or any vulnera-

bilities,” the bureau said in a statement.“�e EastNets Ser-vice Bureau runs on a separate secure network that cannot be accessed over the public net-

works. �e photos shown on twitter, claiming compromised information, is about pages that are outdated and obso-lete, generated on a low-level

internal server that is retired since 2013,” the statement added. EastNets is a Dubai-based �rm that oversees pay-ments in the global SWIFT transaction system for doz-ens of client banks and other �rms, particularly in the Mid-dle East. �e “Shadow Bro-kers” is a group of anonymous hackers that published hacking tools used by the NSA last year. According to experts, the leaks, published by the Shadow Bro-kers, target a variety of Win-dows servers and Windows operating systems. AGENCIES

China seeks Russia’s help to ‘cool’ N Korea

situationBEIJING: China is seek-ing Russia’s help to cool surging tensions over Pyong-yang’s nuclear ambitions, the country’s foreign minis-ter has told his Moscow coun-terpart, a�er Beijing warned of possible con�ict over North Korea.

Fears over the North’s rogue weapons programme have soared in recent days, with a US naval strike force deployed near the Korean peninsula, while Pres-ident Donald Trump has warned the threat “will be taken care of” and Pyong-yang has vowed a “merciless” response to any provocation.

China - the North’s sole major ally and economic lifeline - on Friday warned that war over North Korea could break out “at any moment”.

In a call with Sergei Lav-rov later on Friday, Wang Yi said the common goal of the two nations was to “bring all the parties back to the negotiating table”, according to a statement on China’s Foreign Ministry website.

“China is ready to coor-dinate closely with Rus-sia to help cool down as quickly as possible the situation on the penin-sula and encourage the par-ties concerned to resume dialogue,” Wang told Lavrov, referring to the stalled six- party talks on the North’s nuclear programme that includes Russia, China and the United States.

“Preventing war and chaos on the peninsula meets com-mon interests,” he added.

Beijing has long opposed dramatic action against the North, fearing the regime’s collapse would send a �ood of refu-gees across its borders and leave the US military on its doorstep.

Trump insists that China must exert more leverage on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions or su�er the consequences.

Pyongyang is already under several sets of UN sanctions over its atomic and ballistic missile programmes. AGENCIES

‘Death toll in bomb attack on Syria

evacuees hits 43’

BEIRUT: At least 43 people were killed on Saturday in a suicide car bomb attack on buses carrying Syrians evacu-ated from two besieged gov-ernment-held towns, a monitor said in an updated toll.

�e Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the dead were evacuees, but they also included several reb-els who had been guarding the buses at a transit point in Rashidin, west of Aleppo.

�e explosion took place at the gathering point of buses transporting Shias evacuat-ing from two pro-government towns in northern Syria. It was carried out by a suicide bomber driving a booby-trapped potato truck. �e buses carrying 5,000 Shias were waiting the reac-tivation of a deal designed to secure their transportation to government-controlled area in Aleppo. �e deal, reached between the rebels and the gov-ernment under the supervision

of Iran, Turkey and Qatar, was designed to secure the evacu-ation of the people from the pro-government Shia towns of Kafraya and Foa in Idlib prov-ince towards areas in Aleppo province.

In return, the government will allow rebels and their families to leave the rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani in northern Damascus to reach Idlib province. �e evacuation started on Friday, with 5,000 Shias leaving Kafaraya and Foa and 2,300 rebels and their fami-lies leaving the town of Madaya as �rst batches, the report said.

�e Shias reached the rebel-held town of Rashideen, while the rebels reached the govern-ment-controlled Ramouseh crossing in Aleppo.

Both convoys were set to leave to their respective des-tinations, before the rebels in Rashideen held the convoy of the Shias, adding new demands to the original deal. AGENCIES

North Korea ‘ready for nuclear attack’

PYONGYANG: North Korea on Saturday warned the US not to take provocative action in the region, saying it is “ready to hit back with nuclear attacks”.

�e comments came as North Korea marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding President, Kim Il-sung, grandfather of leader Kim Jong-un.

A huge parade in Pyong-yang was held amid speculation that current leader Kim Jong-un could order a new nuclear test, reported BBC.

Among the hardware on display appeared to be new intercontinental and subma-rine-launched ballistic missiles.

On display for the �rst time were what appeared to be the Pukkuksong submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), which have a range of more than 1,000 km.

Weapons analysts said there also appeared to be two new types of intercontinental ballis-tic missiles in canister launch-ers, but it remains unclear whether they have been tested.

�e show of strength comes amid mounting tension, with a US aircra� carrier group steaming towards the region.

“We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war,” said Choe Ryong-hae, believed to be the country’s sec-ond most powerful o�cial.

“We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear

attacks,” he said.Rows of military bands and

goose-stepping and sword-wielding soldiers marched through Pyongyang’s main Kim Il-sung square for the “Day of the Sun” celebrations, as a black-suited Kim Jong-un watched.

He was seen clapping and smiling from a reviewing box. Pictures on state television showed thousands of soldiers marching in formation along-side tanks, balloons and enor-

mous crowds.During the pomp and cir-

cumstance at Kim II Sung square, citizens showed their revolutionary fervour with choreographed performances while vehicles displaying North Korea’s military arsenal rolled by.

On Friday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that “con�ict could break out at any moment”, adding that if war occurred there could be no winner.

Unlike at previ-ous Pyongyang parades there did not appear to be any Chinese representatives present, according to a BBC report.

Adding to Chinese unease, US President Donald Trump said on �ursday that “the problem of North Korea” would be “taken care of”.

“If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! USA.” AGENCIES

United Airlines in a spot again after scorpion falls on passenger’s headNEW YORK: United Airlines found itself on the defensive again on Friday after a passenger complained that a scorpion stung him during a flight from Te as capping off a bruising week for the public image of the one of the world’s largest carriers. A man on board a nited flight from ouston to Calgary Alberta on Sunday said a scorpion dropped on his head from an overhead storage bin and stung him under his fingernail according the nited and media reports. We ere on the plane about an hour having dinner and then something fell on my head so grabbed it passenger ichard Bell said. Mr Bell said another passenger ho as Me ican told him ey that s a scor-pion they re dangerous ... That s hen it stung. Mean hile nited Airlines said on riday it is changing its policy on booking its o n flight cre s onto its planes after a man as dragged off an overbooked flight to make ay for a

nited employee. The airline said it ould make sure cre s traveling on their aircraft are booked into seats at least 60 minutes before departure. AGENCIES

US state judge moves to block lethal injection executions

WASHINGTON: A judge in Arkansas moved to block the US state from carrying out up to seven executions this month before the lethal drugs used in its injections expire, the media reported.

Judge Wendell Gri�en of the Pulaski County Circuit Court issued a restraining order on Friday that for-bids the Arkansas authori-ties from using their supply of vecuronium bromide, one of three execution drugs the state planned to use, �e New York Times reported.

�e judge scheduled a hear-ing for April 18, about 14 hours a�er the state had intended to carry out its �rst execution since 2005.

�e Arkansas attorney gen-eral’s o�ce said the state would appeal the judge’s ruling, which threatened to derail a plan that once called for eight executions over the course of 10 days.

Four companies have pub-licly voiced concerns about how the Arkansas Depart-ment of Correction came to stockpile the drugs for its

lethal injection cocktail - mid-azolam, vecuronium bromide and potassium chloride - but only the McKesson Corpora-tion made an explicit allegation of deception.

Arkansas, the company said, bought 10 boxes of vecuronium bromide, which the state can use to stop a pris-oner’s breathing.

But the state prison system “never disclosed its intended purpose to us for these prod-ucts,” a lawyer for McKesson, Ethan M. Posner, wrote in a letter obtained by �e New York Times. “To the contrary, it purchased the products on an account that was opened under the valid medical license of an Arkansas physician, implicitly representing that the products would only be used for a legiti-mate medical purpose.”

�e state had scheduled two executions for April 17. It also planned to carry out dou-ble executions on April 20 and April 24, as well as one on April 27. An eighth execution was stayed by a federal judge.

All of the condemned pris-

oners are challenging their executions.

�e state’s midazolam sup-ply is set to expire at the end of April, according to o�cials.

Drug manufacturers are required by law to put an expi-ration date on drugs in the US, and a�er that date they can-not guarantee the drug’s e�ec-tiveness or safety, reports �e Washington Post.

Arkansas acquired its mid-azolam in 2015, according to state documents.

�e drug prompted contro-versy a�er it was used in a bun-gled execution in Oklahoma and in lethal injections that were prolonged and included inmates gasping for breath in Ohio, Arizona and in Alabama, �e Washington Post reported.

A lethal injection remains the US’ primary method of exe-cution, but due to the shortage, states have also been looking to other methods.

Utah, Tennessee and Okla-homa added or broadened their abilities to use a �ring squad, electric chair or nitro-gen gas. AGENCIES

Antarctica was once green, say scientistsSANTIAGO: Nearly 300 mil-lion years ago, the frozen, inhospitable Antarctica was covered by lush subtropical forests, according to scientists.

“�at Antarctica was once green is a matter of consen-sus among scientists, but still unknown to many people,” Marcelo Leppe, a paleon-tologist who works with the Chilean Antarctic National Institute, told Efe news on Friday.

Leppe, Chile’s representa-tive to the international Scien-ti�c Committee on Antarctic

Research, has spent his profes-sional life searching for fossils that o�er clues to the origins of

the �ora and fauna of the White Continent.

Forests began to appear in

Antarctica some 298 million years ago during the Perm-ian geologic period, as gla-ciers retreated and the global climate entered a warming phase, Leppe said. Fossils from the subsequent Jurassic period reveal the existence of fern and conifer forests where the Cry-olophosaurus species of dino-saur thrived.

But the golden age of veg-etation in Antarctica was the Cretaceous period, which began 145 million years ago and lasted until around 66 mil-lion years ago.

“Roughly 80 million years ago, walking in Antarctica was like walking today in a tropical or subtropical for-est, something like what we could encounter in south-cen-tral Chile or in New Zealand,” Leppe said.

One thing that still puzzles scientists is how the forests survived the six-month-long Antarctic night. “We know that some dinosaurs migrated before the arrival of winter, but in the case of plants, the matter continues to be an enigma,” the paleontologist said. AGENCIES

US-backed forces reach edge of IS-held Syria town

BEIRUT: US-backed �ghters have reached the outskirts of a key jihadist-held town in northern Syria as part of an o�ensive against the Islamic State group’s bastion Raqa, a monitor said on Saturday.

�e Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alli-ance supported by US-led coalition air strikes and special forces advisers, surrounded Tabqa in early April and have cut its main supply routes.

�e town and a vast nearby dam are considered key prizes in the broader o�ensive for Raqa, the de facto Syrian capital of IS’s self-proclaimed “caliphate”, about 55 kilometres (34 miles) to the east. AGENCIES

19 killed as garbage dump collapses after fire in Lanka

COLOMBO: At least 19 peo-ple, including four children, were killed when a 91-metre open garbage pile came crash-ing down on homes following a �re near Sri Lanka’s capital, with the Prime Minister apolo-gising on Saturday for the delay in relocating the dump. Over 100 houses were completely destroyed and more than 600 people �ed in the a�ermath of the �re and the collapse of the dump in Meetotamulla area in Kolonnawa, near here, police said. 19 people, including four children, were killed and 14 others injured in the incident that happened on Friday, o�-cials said. More people were feared to be trapped as the military struggled to clear the rubble and rescue people or recover bodies. On President Maithripala Sirisena’s directive, hundreds of military personnel have been deployed to rescue the slum dwellers. AGENCIES

Trump to keep list of White

House visitors secret

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administra-tion announced that it will not follow predecessor Barack Obama’s policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of visitors to the White House complex, citing “grave national security risks and privacy concerns”. Friday’s announcemen marks a signi�cant shi� from the Obama administration, which released the names of nearly 6 million visitors since 2009, including scores of lobbyists, �e Washington Post reported. Instead, the Trump administra-tion said it would release infor-mation under far more limited circumstances: when Freedom of Information Act requests are �led for those visiting o�ces of the White House characterised under the law as separate agen-cies, such as the O�ce of Man-agement and Budget. Under the new policy, it will be up to the White House to decide whether to release the names of visitors coming to meet with the President, Vice President and their senior sta�. How-ever, the announcement was harshly criticised by govern-ment watchdog groups. “�e only excuse for this policy is that the Trump administra-tion has something to hide,” said David Donnelly, president and chief executive of advo-cacy group, Every Voice. “�is kind of secrecy will allow big donors, lobbyists and special interests to have unknown lev-els of in�uence in the White House,” he added. AGENCIES

Users are protected from NSA malware: MicrosoftPARIS: Microsoft says the recent dump of purported National Security Agency spying tools doesn t affect up to date users of Windo s puncturing claims that the digital arsenal was poised to create chaos across the internet. AGENCIES

A North Korean KN-08 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICMB) is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade on Saturday to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the country’s late founder and grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. Military analysts say the missiles could one day be capable of hitting targets as far away as the continental United States, although the North is yet to flight test them PIC/PTI

mp

sport -Robin Uthappa

�e team requires me to bat at No 3. I have taken that challenge on.

IPL TURNS 10: PREVIEW

| 7millennium post | KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

Uthappa, spinners steer KKR to victory over SRH

KOLKATA: Riding on Robin Uthappa’s gritty half-century and spinners’ contribution, Kolkata Knight Riders on Sat-urday secured a 17-run win over defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League match and climbed to the top of the table here.

Defending a tricky 173 on a lively Eden track, KKR spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav (1/23), Sunil Narine (1/18) and Yusuf Pathan (1/2) gave vital breakthroughs to dent the chase of the Sunris-ers and hand the team its sec-ond successive win at home.

For the Sunrisers, who began their campaign with back- to-back victories at home, this was their second defeat on the trot.

David Warner (26 o� 30; 4x4) and Shikhar Dhawan (23 o� 22; 4x4) gave Sunrisers a �y-ing start with 45 from six overs but part-time spinner Pathan turned it around by remov-ing the Indian le�-hander en route to his impressive �gures of 1-0- 2-1.

Brought in place of Piy-ush Chawla, chinaman Kul-deep then made his presence felt. He along with Narine

accounted for 22 dot balls in the middle overs to put brakes in their chase.

India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh provided some to Sunrisers’ chase, ham-mering two sixes and two fours en route to his 16-ball 26.

But Chris Woakes (2/49) dismissed him as substitute Rishi Dhawan took a brilliant

running catch at long-on.Sunrisers needed 30 runs

in the last over and Trent Boult (1/33) conceded just 12 to ensure a comfortable win for KKR. �e Kolkata out�t also maintained their clean record at home, winning �ve out of �ve in an overall 7-3 win-defeat record against the title-holders.

�e surprise breakthrough

not only put brakes on scor-ing but was enough to create pressure in the ranks as KKR went on to strike two wickets —Dhawan and Warner — in four overs for 14 runs. Ear-lier, put in to bat by Sunrisers, Robin Uthappa struck a gritty 68 from 39 balls to help KKR recover from a jittery start and post 172 for 6.

�e two-time champions had the worst start of the season with just 40 for 2 in the Power-play a�er Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/20) and Rashid Khan (1/29) dismissed Sunil Narine and Gautam Gambhir respectively in six overs. However, Sunris-ers failed to make further in-roads in the middle overs with the Karnataka duo of Uthappa and Manish Pandey putting on a solid 77-run partnership from 52 balls. Uthappa struck four sixes and �ve boundaries while Pandey cleverly rotated the strikes as Kolkata reached 100 in 12.4 overs. A�er Uthap-pa’s departed, Pandey (46 from 35 balls; 3x4, 2x6) looked to break free but Bhuvneshwar denied him a second succes-sive ��y. In an exceptional dis-play during the death bowling, Bhuvneshwar also cleaned up Colin de Grandhomme for a duck with an inswining yorker.Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Sunrisers HyderabadKKR: Robin Uthappa (68), Manish Pandey (46), Chris Woakes (2/49).SRH: David Warner (26), Yuvraj Singh (26), Bhuvnesh-war Kumar (3/20). AGENCIES

op Billings: Batsman s fifty and Anderson’s unbeaten

cameo aid Delhi post 188/6NEW DELHI: Sam Billings (55) struck his second IPL half-century before Corey Ander-son (39 not out) provided late �reworks as Delhi Daredevils posted a respectable 188 for six against Kings XI Punjab here on Saturday.

�e hosts, a�er a surprise decision to bat �rst, enjoyed their best start of the season through Billings and Sanju Samson (19) but intermittent wickets hurt them.

Delhi were 83 for two at half-way mark a�er the open-ing pair’s 53-run stand but from overs 10 to 15, the hosts managed only 37 runs and lost the set pair of Shreyas Iyer (22) and Billings. From there on, Chris Morris (16 o� 8 balls) and Anderson took the onus to get Delhi to a �ghting total, hit-ting some lusty hits towards the end of innings. Morris’ cameo together with Anderson’s cal-culated approach negated the good work done by Punjab spinners Axar Patel (1/33) and K C Cariappa (1/23). Ander-son, who hit three fours and as many shots over the ropes in his unbeaten knock o� 22 balls, ended the innings with a six o� Sandeep Sharma. �e

hosts collected 68 runs from the last �ve overs, with the �nal one yielding 19.

Both Punjab pacers Sand-eep and Mohit Sharma were largely disciplined but a mar-ginal error was enough for Samson and Billings to steal boundaries. Billings, who had been struggling for form so far, took some time to �nd his rhythm but gradually came into his zone.

Samson carried on with his tremendous touch a�er ham-mering his maiden IPL ton

against Pune and began with two fours o� Sandeep.

Punjab �elded �ve special-ist bowlers and skipper Glenn Maxwell quickly shu�ed them around. �e Punjab pacemen though proved ine�ective. Bill-ings made Varun Aaron look pedestrian with a hat-trick of fours in the ��h over.Brief Scores: Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI PunjabDelhi: 188 for 6 in 20 overs (Sam Billings 55, Corey Ander-son 39).Punjab: Aaron (2/45). AGENCIES

Kohli, Smith look for turnaround as RCB host SupergiantBENGALURU: International captains Virat Kohli and Ste-ven Smith will be eager to stem the rut when Royal Chal-lengers Bangalore square o� with Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League encounter, here on Sunday.

Both the high-pro�le fran-chises have lost three out of their four games and would want to arrest the slide as momentum can quickly shi� in a high-paced T20 tournament.

While Kohli’s return from injury with a stylish half- cen-tury was a morale booster for th RCB but they would de�-nitely be disappointed a�er los-ing a low-scoring game against Mumbai Indians, having them on the mat.

Pune on the otherhand lost to Gujarat Lions despite a good start to their innings. Kohli and Smith -- the two premier bats-

men in world cricket will be desperate to change the script for their respective teams. �ey would want to plug the holes as well as lead from the front with their indvidual performances also. Former skipper Mahen-dra Singh Dhoni is also under pressure to score runs a�er an indi�erent start to IPL-10.

For RCB, the next two games give them an opportu-nity to get four points against two of the relatively unset-tled side in the tournament -- Pune and Gujarat. RCB are placed a notch above Gujarat Lions with two points for hav-ing better run rate, but a win could displace Kings XI Pun-jab, who play their next match only on April 17, from its cur-rent fourth position on the points-table. Pune, on the �ip-side, would want to gain vital two points, before they take

on in-form Sunrisers Hyder-abad in their den and table-toppers Mumbai Indians in away-game, on April 22 and April 24. RCB, would like to take solace from the fact that leg- spinner Samuel Badree’s hat-trick posed a lot of trouble for the Mumbai Indians before Kieron Pollard saved their day. Kohli’s 62 o� 47 balls is also an

indicator of the bigger and bet-ter things that can be expected from the Indian captain. �e Indian captain also had stitched the highest opening stand of 63 runs with out-of-touch Chris Gayle, followed by a 47-run stand with AB de Villiers, who also came in a�er recovering from an injury. Gayle, who has been struggling to score even

one half century in his last 11 innings, will expect his bat to do the talking as he was unable to unleash big hits in his knock of 22 o� 27 balls, which was far from his best.

Chances of Gayle also get-ting dropped for the second time are rife as the team man-agement could consider �eld-ing Shane Watson, who can bowl and bat, who can bowl and bat, compared to the West Indian who hardly bowls of late.

RCB would also espect AB de Villiers’ scintillating come-back knock of an unbeaten 46-ball 89-run, which was laced with as many as nine sixes and three fours to help RCB post a respectable 148-4 a�er recovering from an injury.

His 19 o� 21 balls in death

overs couldn t save the blushes of his team as RCB could only post a modest 142 for �ve in their last match.

Kedar Jadhav, who was unfortunately run-out for nine in the last game, would like to showcase his utility as middle- order batsman when he slammed a 37-ball 69 to help RCB score 157 runs dur-ing a 15-run win over Delhi Daredevils.

He had also smashed 31 in the opening match against Sun-risers Hyderabad.

RCB would like to pin hopes on their bowlers, espe-cially spinners Samuel Badree, who weaved a hat-trick against Mumbai Indians and Yuzu-vendra Chahal and Pawan Negi, who have been among wickets. AGENCIES

Mumbai Indians take on resurgent

Gujarat Lions

MUMBAI: High on con�-dence a�er one of their splen-did run-chases across 10 editions, Mumbai Indians will like to continue their winning momentum against a resurgent Gujarat Lions in an Indian Pre-mier League encounter, here on Sunday.

Gujarat have somewhat redeemed themselves a�er a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Rising Pune Super-giant while Mumbai have six points from four games shed-ding their poor starters tag.

One area where MI will like to focus on is their top- order collapse against RCB. Leg-spinner Samuel Badree took a hat-trick but it was one of Kieron Pollard’s best run-chases that sealed it for the Mumbai out�t.

Another area of con-cern would be skipper Rohit Sharma’s inability to read the googly. �rice he has played for the leg-break and was deceived by the wrong ‘un bowled by Imran Tahir, Rashid Khan and Badree. With three sub-10 scores, Rohit would like to �re against the Gujarat Lions especially on the Wankhede track, which is usually consid-ered friendly for batsmen.

One of the biggest psoitives for Mumbai has been the form of Pandya brothers -- Hardik and Krunal.

�ey have made signi�cant all-round contribution in all the matches.

Krunal impressed with his unbeaten innings of 37 o� 30 balls in a pressure situation in the game against RCB a�er his 37 o� 20 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

�is apart, his restrictive le�-arm spin has also helped the team in the middle overs.

�e win showed Mumbai’s ability to bounce back into the game from any stage but the team will like to dominate their opponents on Sunday in all departments. Harbha-jan Singh has been fantastic in the Powerplay overs If Mal-inga plays on Sunday he would most likely replace Kiwi pacer Tim Southee, who leaked runs in the game in Bangalore.

Another notable aspect will be lack of dew which becomes a factor during evening matches.

For Gujarat Lions, they would like to start with opening pair of Brandon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, both having regained form.

Also skipper Suresh Raina got some runs under his belt so as Aaron Finch, and this will boost their chances.

All the four bats-man back in form would make any bowling attack in the world worry so of Mumbai’s. AGENCIES

eague: Bagan remain top of table after victory against inervaLUDHIANA: Sony Norde struck in the 84’ minute as Mohun Bagan clinched a late win over Minerva Punjab at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Saturday.

�e Mariners were waste-ful on the night, and would consider themselves for-tunate to come away with all three points as they once again go above Aizawl FC to sit atop the I-League standings.

Minerva Punjab made as many as six changes from their

last game. Former Bagan man Deepak Devrani was relegated to the bench and defensive stal-wart Loveday Eyinnaya was ruled out through a knock he received against Chennai City.

Sanjoy Sen handed acad-emy product Pintu Mahata his �rst ever I-League start and Jeje Lalpekhlua got the nod ahead of Balwant Singh up top.

Katsumi Yusa dri�ed into central mid�eld, in a formation mirroring their Kolkata derby win last Sunday.

Kicking o� proceedings placed second on the table, Mohun Bagan were quite wasteful in the opening half. With their opponents holding a high back-line, the likes of Sony Norde and Darryl Du�y were trapped o�side more o�en than not.

In fact, it was defender Eduardo Ferreira who had the best chance early on as he connected well from a Norde free-kick on the wall. His header though was adjudged well by young goal-

keeper Arshdeep Singh as he collected the ball on the dive, full outstretched.

Pintu Mahata was lack-ing in con�dence as he mis-cued a perfect release sent in by Sehnaj Singh as was taken o� for Prabir Das in the 25th minute.

Kareem Omoloja could have committed suicide in the 36th minute as he almost hit the ball into his won net. Luckily for the hosts, the ball went over the bar from an interception the Nigerian

caught from Darryl Du�y’s square pass to Jeje inside the box.

Minerva found it tough to get into the opposition box. In one of the few attacks, however, Eduardo Ferreira closed down Krishan Pan-dit a�er Amandeep won the ball from Sony Norde in mid�eld.

Both coaches went into the tunnel with having lots to do in terms of rethink-ing their strategies for the second half. AGENCIES

Virat Kohli will look to guide RCB back to winning ways against Pune Rising Supergiant

IPL TURNS 10: PREVIEW

Little India in Singapore: It’s rikanth vs Praneeth in final

SINGAPORE: For the �rst time in the history of badmin-ton, two Indians will clash in a Super Series �nal with Kid-ambi Srikanth taking on B Sai Praneeth at the Singapore Open here on Sunday.

Former World No. 3 Sri-kanth on Saturday notched up a 21- 13 21-14 win over World No. 26 and 2014 Youth Olym-pic Games bronze medallist Anthony Sinisuka Ginting to reach the third Super Series �nal of his career.

Earlier, Praneeth, who had reached the �nals at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in Jan-uary before being laid low by a shoulder injury, continued his rampaging run in the tour-nament to thrash three-time Korea Masters Grand Prix Gold winner Lee 21-6 21-8 in a lop-sided semi�nal match. Only three nations —China, Indonesia and Denmark — have so far had two of their shuttlers playing in �nals of a Super Series event. Praneeth was the �rst to make it to the summit clash a�er he executed his plans brilliantly to com-pletely blow away his oppo-nent in a 38-minute match.

Srikanth, who had su�ered a �rst-round exit at the India Open, then showed why he is considered one of the best Indian shuttlers right now as he fought back from 4-9 down in the opening game to never look back. Interestingly, Pra-neeth has a 4-1 head-to-head record against his more illus-trious compatriot, who had clinched the 2014 China Super Series Premier and 2015 India Super Series and also reached the quarter�nals of Rio Olympics. AGENCIES

Dortmund boss considered Champions

League pull outBERLIN: Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke says he �irted with pulling the club out of the Champions League a�er Tuesday’s team bus attack before resolving not to give in to the bombers.

“I brie�y asked myself if we shouldn’t withdraw com-pletely from the competition, but that would have been a vic-tory for those responsible for the attack,” he told Saturday’s Der Spiegel magazine.

�e Bundesliga club even-tually played their quarter-�nal �rst leg tie against Monaco 24 hours later on Wednesday. �e attack on the bus as it made its way from Dortmund’s hotel to the stadium injured Spanish international Marc Bartra and a policeman.

Meanwhile, German pros-ecutors are examining a third claim of responsibility for blasts that rocked Borussia Dortmund’s team bus it was reported on Saturday, but no new suspects have emerged. AGENCIES

Srikanth Kidambi acknowledges supporters after defeating Anthony Ginting PIC/PTI

KKR batsman Robin Uthappa acknowledging the crowd after his half century against SRH PIC/PTI

With three sub-10 scores, Rohit would look to fire against the Lions

Daredevils batsman Sam Billings takes run after playing a shot during an IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab PIC/PTI

ICA

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2017

mp8| KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

In retrospect

Meat-dependent industries feel the pinch

Meat ban has proved to be an eye-opener for those who propagandise India being a secular and democratic state. �e crackdown on illegal meat

shops and slaughterhouses was ordered by the newly formed BJP government led by Chief Minis-ter Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh. But though it was supposed to be a ban on illegal bu�alo slaugh-terhouses, from last month until date, o�cials have put it on the wrong track by shutting down licensed meat shops and legal goat abattoirs too, in Uttar Pradesh, in the name of cracking down on unlicensed slaughterhouses. 

�e Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) election mani-festo for the assembly election had promised to shut all illegal slaughterhouses in the state. But “over-enthusiastic” o�cials — who appeared to be acting indiscriminately, shutting down even abattoirs with licenses — are now being reined in by the govern-ment, according to some media reports. 

Lucknow’s fabled Tunday Kababi was shut on March 22, citing lack of bu�alo meat. Many tourists, who visit Lucknow, as well as locals, look forward to trying the very palatable meat kebabs, among other delicacies, at the city’s famous Tunday Kababi. But non-vegetarian foodies now must compromise their experience, given the recent circumstances. Even though the eatery got back in service from March 23, Instead of selling bu�alo meat kebabs now, they are advertising “chicken and mutton kebabs”.  Tunday Kababi, established in 1905, is part of the extremely popular food culture of the old city of Nawabs. While this crackdown against illegal meat shops might or might not help the new government’s drive against cow smuggling in UP, it’s a huge �asco for foodies and tourists who want to taste nawabi Lucknow cui-sine. �e owner of Tunday Kababi has reportedly shared concerns that without the bu�alo meat kababs, his earnings are likely to take a hit. Another outlet

famous for its non-

vegetarian delicacies in Lucknow, Alishma foods,

is also facing a similar problem since the crackdown on slaughterhouses and meat

selling shops post formation of the new govern-ment. �e closure of Uttar Pradesh’s slaughterhouses could leave a couple of million people jobless in the state, a�ect its allied industries and choke small but important revenue streams for its poor farmers, especially in drought-prone areas, according to an analysis of available data on India’s meat, leather and livestock industries. Half of Uttar Pradesh’s licensed slaughterhouses and scores of illegal ones have been shut down.

�e drive against slaughterhouses could impact three critical industries, namely - meat packag-ing, livestock and leather. With some of the worst development indicators, stagnant agriculture and industry, India’s most populous state is also one of its poorest with the second-highest unemployment rate — a�er Jharkhand — among eight most socio-economically backwards states. Meat-packing and leather industries make up the major share of India’s export earnings, with Uttar Pradesh contributing sig-ni�cantly. It accounted for nearly 43 per cent of buf-falo meat exports in 2015-16, the highest among all states, according to data published by the Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA). Leather ranks eighth among India’s top export earners, with about 46 per cent of what is pro-duced being exported, according to the Council for Leather Exports (CLE). A third of these exports go from Kanpur in UP, a city where the leather industry is already in crisis.

Here is a look at the three industries that will be highly a�ected by the campaign. 

MEAT: UP accounts for 43 per cent of India’s bu�alo meat exports, but the illegal slaughterhouses being targeted by the government dominate the meat market in India. While 4,000 slaughterhouses are reg-istered, more than 25,000 are not, among units that cater to the domestic market, according to APEDA. Even in the export market, registered and unregis-tered slaughterhouses both produce meat, APEDA acknowledges. Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of meat in India, according to the Agriculture Sta-

tistics Report, 2015. In 2014-15, it contributed 21 per cent of the meat produced in India. Of the 75 slaughterhouses registered with the APEDA for meat export, as many as 49 are in Uttar Pradesh.  

Bu�alo meat is a major export material from India, going to more than 40 countries. Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest bu�alo meat export, fol-lowed by Maharashtra. In 2015-16, India exported 13.14 lakh metric tonnes (MT) bu�alo meat worth Rs 26,685.42 crore. �ere is no reliable estimate of peo-ple employed in Uttar Pradesh’s slaughterhouses and meat shops, but it is likely to be in tens of thousands. Around 6.7 million are employed in the country’s food-processing industry, which includes slaughter-houses and meat processing units, according to the Agriculture Statistics, 2015. 

LIVESTOCK: UP recorded 14 per cent growth, indicating economic dependence – Livestock is an important economic resource, especially in rural areas. Cattle, bu�alo, goat and sheep are maintained by agricultural families, mostly those with small land holdings, and by landless labourers who use them pri-marily for milk and also meat. Cattle are also loaned for agriculture and transportation. Poor families sell stray cattle to butchers. In drought-a�ected areas, such as parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, cattle are o�en sold to tide over economic crises. 

LEATHER: Majority of employees from disadvantaged communities work in the leather industries– �e Indian leather industry provides formal and informal employment to 2.5 million people, mostly from disadvantaged communities: A third of leather workers are women and a fourth are scheduled castes and tribes. Leatherworkers who are not from traditional tanning communities or are non-Muslims come from poor agricultural families, according to a study by the Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), an advocacy.  

�e battle for the cow in India is not a health

issue, but a majoritarian attempt to thrust its beliefs on the country, something seen by the minorities as an attempt to break the secular fabric and eventually reduce the minorities to an insigni�cant political clus-ter. �e cow is also being used as a symbol to enforce Hindu unity or a culturally homogenous population which will stand by the BJP always.  

Well-known critic Pankaj Mishra in his review of DN Jha’s ‘�e Myth of the Holy Cow’ wrote in �e Guardian in 2012: “For these Hindus (the newly emergent middle-class Hindus), the cause for ban-ning slaughter became a badge of identity, part of their quest for political power in post-colonial India. Educated Muslims felt excluded from, even scorned by, these Hindu notions of the Indian past; and they developed their own separatist fantasies.” �erefore, the idea of using the cow as a uni�er for this diverse country is not exactly new. Since the BJP assumed power, the cow has again been identi�ed as a potent symbol to show minorities their place. Unfortunately apart from the higher castes, the middle and lower segments of Hindus have no opposition to cow beef. Minorities were the ones majorly engaged in the busi-ness of cows farming and milk. As the cow stops milk-ing, they are sold to the slaughter houses.

Most of all what pulls down the Hindu national-ist campaign is the theological confusion about the cow, all the way from the Vedic era. �is agenda or the cow as a holy animal does not stand the test of rigorous research. DN Jha exposes the truth in his book ‘Myth of the Holy Cow’: Animal sacri�ces were very common, the most important of them being the

famous ‘Asvamedha’ and ‘Rajasuya’. �ese and several other major sacri�ces involved the killing of animals including cattle, which constituted the chief form of wealth of the early Aryans. Not surprisingly, they prayed for cattle and sacri�ced them to propitiate their gods. D Kosambi in his classic book ‘Ancient India’ wrote: “A modern orthodox Hindu would place beef-eating on the same level as cannibalism, whereas Vedic Brahmins had fattened upon a steady diet of sacri�ced beef.” �e issue is ancient.

Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire saw this diversity in beliefs quite early and wrote in 1529 to his son Humayun, in one of his testaments: “�e realm of Hindustan is full of diverse creeds. Praise be to God, the Righteous, the Glorious, the Highest, that He had granted unto you the Empire of it. It is but proper that you, with a heart cleansed of all religious bigotry, should dispense justice according to the tenets of each community. And in particular refrain from the sacri�ce of cow, for that way lies the conquest of the hearts of the people of Hindustan; and the subjects of the realm will, through royal favour, be devoted to you.” But rather ironically, Ashoka the great unifying emperor did not ban the slaughter of cows. �is diver-gence of views has made the elevation of the cow as a nationalist’s project, a rather onerous task over the centuries. To see the meat ban in perspective, we must move beyond today’s politics and look at a larger truth. For much too long, liberals have allowed religious groups to hijack the agenda by turning a blind eye. If all of us had stood up and said that religion and poli-tics do not mix, we would not be in this mess today.

industries feel the pinchindustries feel the pinch

Meat ban has proved to be an eye-

famous for its non-

vegetarian delicacies in Lucknow, Alishma foods,

is also facing a similar problem since the crackdown on slaughterhouses and meat

selling shops post formation of the new govern-ment. �e closure of Uttar Pradesh’s slaughterhouses could leave a couple of million people jobless in the state, a�ect its allied industries and choke small but

tistics Report, 2015. In 2014-15, it contributed 21 per cent of the meat produced in India. Of the 75

Rahul Singh writes how various

industries in Uttar Pradesh

have been affected by the

crackdown on slaughterhouses

in the state, and what is the

belief behind the idea of ban on

buffalo and cow meat

‘A modern orthodox Hindu would place beef-eating on the same level as cannibalism, whereas Vedic Brahmins

had fattened upon a steady diet of sacrificed beef’

A painting of Asvamedha performed during the Vedis period A butcher slicing meat Kebabs which use buffalo meat Workers at a meat processing factory

| 9millennium post | KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

mp

Beacon

THE MAN AHEAD OF

MODERN TIMES

There are stars, superstars, and legends and then there is Charlie Chaplin – “the little fellow” who bore the

torch ahead for future creative �lm-makers, as Vanity Fair had once writ-ten, “the little fellow was not a small man.” Every professional �eld has some exceptional member who is way ahead of their time thereby not earning the respect they deserve. Charles Spencer Chaplin has been a constant participant in the list of our happy memories as several gen-erations grew up watching his �lms.

Born on April 16, 1889, Charles Spencer Chaplin had a rough start to life witnessing acute poverty and problems faced by the unprivileged in southern London. Chaplin’s is one of the most impressive rags to riches story in the entire world. Charlie had been exposed to the stage at a very early age since both his parents were music hall entertainers. As his par-ents separated when he was a tod-dler, Charlie and his half brother Sydney were initially brought up by their struggling single mother in the slums and later in he was sent to a workhouse. It was because of their mother that Charlie developed an interest in performing art. He later wrote: “[she] imbued me with the feeling that I had some sort of talent”.

Sydney secured his 16-year-old brother a fortnight’s trial with Eng-land’s foremost impresarios Fred Karno. Chaplin’s brilliant comic performance helped him anchor a spot in the troupe. A�er perform-ing with this troupe for a few years Charlie received a good o�er from Hollywood’s ‘king of comedy’ Mack Sennet to join Keystone studios. Chaplin’s famous on-screen per-sona - �e Tramp’s �rst appearance on screen was in Kid auto races at Venice in 1914 where he is seen shoved aside by the cameraman who tries to shoot the car races, but the tramp �nds his way back in front of the camera to visibility.

Moving on to work with vari-ous other production houses, young Chaplin fought his way through to convince the bosses and gi�ed the world one a�er other creative pieces. It was said that Chaplin did not work with a script, his ideas would help the story roll on the spot while his loyal crew toiled to keep up with his unique creativity.

Comedy, in the monochromatic silent �lms era, meant mostly slap-stick- people falling, throwing cakes at each other and the likes. With �lms like �e Immigrant, Chaplin brought meaning to comedy. With Chaplin’s lead, �lms were gradually

becoming an art form other than being a mere source of entertain-ment. Chaplin joined forces with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and DW Gri�th to form a new dis-tribution company – United Artists, established in January 1919. �e arrangement was revolutionary in the industry, as it enabled the four creative artists to personally fund their pictures and have complete control.

His �rst full-length feature �lm was �e Kid. Its plot exposed his comedy-loving audience to a world of pathos and poverty. It was the �rst �lm to portray comedy and heart-wrenching pain simultaneously in one story. Chaplin had said, “Life is tragedy in close-up, comedy in long shot.” A Woman in Paris, in 1923 �opped, for it was ahead of its time and Chaplin wasn’t acting in it. It proved the fact that his fans were more interested in watching him act rather than just his thoughts perform on-screen. �en came one of his greatest �lms – �e Gold Rush. To set his standards high Chaplin had planned to create an epic.

Inspired by a photograph of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, he made what Geo�rey Macnab calls “an epic comedy out of grim subject matter.” �e Gold Rush portrays the Tramp

as a lonely prospector �ghting adver-sity and looking for love. �e com-edy contains some of Chaplin’s most famous sequences, such as the Tramp eating his shoe out of hunger and the “Dance of the Rolls”. Chaplin stated, “�is is the picture that I want to be remembered by,” at the time of the �lm’s release in 1925.

With fame, came hardships, when Chaplin had to marry Mil-dred Harris and Lita Grey out of false pregnancy claims. Both his marriages failed and defamed him with scandals. Chaplin had a brief a�air with Lita Grey just when he was looking for a female lead for ‘�e Gold Rush’. He had to marry her as she suspected that she was pregnant, and since she was underage Chaplin could have been imprisoned. �ey had two sons, but eventually Grey divorced him due to Chaplin’s alleged numerous a�airs outside marriage.

With the advent of sound in �lms, �e Jazz Singer being the �rst talkie in Hollywood in 1927, expec-tations of the �lm viewing audience increased, but Chaplin was adamant. “I was determined to continue mak-ing silent �lms ... I was a pantomim-ist and in that medium, I was unique and, without false modesty, a master,” he explained in the 1930s. A jour-nalist a�er viewing ‘City Lights’ in 1930, wrote, “Nobody in the world but Charlie Chaplin could have done it. He is the only person that has that peculiar something called ‘audience appeal’ in su�cient quality to defy the popular penchant for movies that talk.” �e Tramp falls in love with a blind girl and befriends an alcoholic wealthy man, which fol-lows in a series of funny accounts in the City Lights.

At the 1st Academy Awards, Chaplin was awarded a special tro-phy “For versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and pro-ducing �e Circus.” It tells the story of the little Tramp as a clown, who as discovered by the ringmaster of a circus can only be funny uninten-tionally, not on purpose. �e state of labour in America in the early 1930s worried him that machinery in the workplace would increase unem-ployment levels and that stimulated Chaplin to develop his new �lm – Modern Times. He announced it as “a satire on certain phases of our industrial life.”

Modern Times employed sound e�ects but almost no dialogues. But Chaplin’s performance of a gibberish song gave the Tramp a voice for the only time on �lm. �e �lm received mixed reviews, as some viewers disliked the politicising. Chaplin

met Paulette Goddard in the early 1930s, the leading lady in Modern Times, they got married during a trip but gradually the couple dri�ed apart as both individuals focused on their careers.

A new and visible boldness in expressing his political beliefs started to be evident in his �lms. Parallels between himself and Adolf Hit-ler had been widely noted – both had risen from poverty to world prominence, and both wore the same toothbrush moustache. �is resemblance supplied the plot for Chaplin’s next �lm, �e Great Dic-tator, which directly satirised Hitler and attacked fascism.

Chaplin used spoken dialogue in this �lm, partly out of acceptance that he had no other choice, but also because he considered it a better way for delivering a political mes-sage. A comedy about Hitler was de�nitely controversial, but Chaplin’s �nancial indepen-dence allowed him to take the risk. “I was determined to go ahead,” he later wrote, “for Hitler must be laughed at.” Chaplin introduced a Jewish barber in the attire of the Tramp, and in a dual performance, he also played the dictator Adenoid Hynkel parodying Hitler. He also used fake German language to mock the dictator. �e �lm generated a vast amount of publicity upon release in 1940, with a critic calling it “the most eagerly awaited picture of the year”. Chaplin concluded the �lm with an elaborate speech against the war in which he abandoned his barber character, looked directly into the camera.

A�er controversies like that of Joan Barry claiming to be pregnant with Chaplin’s child and the FBI director charging him with viola-tion of the Mann Act (which could eventually land him up in the prison for several years), Chaplin had to pay child support for the daugh-ter of Barry even though tests did not provide any evidence of him being the father.

It is unfortunate that his fan could not accept �lms like Mon-sier Vordeux (a black comedy) and Limelight (story of a for-gotten vaudeville comedian and a young ballerina, highly autobiographical), which were not the usual Chaplin �lms. Limelight was boy-cotted in America for his declining fame owing to several scandals he got

labelled with for his political views. He le� the United States and

lived with his fourth wife Oona O’Niel in Switzerland. �ough he found love and peace at an advanced age, he described Oona as “the hap-piest event of my life.” Chaplin made his most bitter �lm, A King in New York in 1954, a�er which he mainly focused only in re-editing his older �lms.

�e comedian, passed away on December 25, 1977, su�ering a stroke. In later life, Chaplin had once stated that he was a “citizen of the world”, a fact that cannot be denied given his worldwide popularity in the early 1900s and

even today.

Lahari Basu writes how Charlie Chaplin introduced film as an art form through his thoughtful portrayal of various social

situations over a career span of seven decades

A scene from ‘The Kid’

A scene from ‘The Great Dictator’

mp10| KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

Inland

It is quite rare, indeed, that four genera-tions of a family have served the society for three centuries in various �elds. One such family existed in undivided Bengal. �e Sircars earned prestigious status in the

annals of Indian history for their unique contri-bution. Piyari Charan Sircar was among the most renowned and revered educationists. Even today he is acknowledged as the pioneer and creator of the modern Bangla language, both for the idiom of Bangla grammar and textbooks for primary classes, which are still as popular a�er almost two centuries.

His son, Sir NN Sircar, a legal luminary, was Advocate-General of Bengal and a member of the Law Council of the Viceroy from 1934 to 1939. And his grandson, Birendra Nath Sircar, born on July 5 of 1901, in Bhagalpur, who passed his inter-mediate in Science with high �rst class, was sent to London for studying civil engineering. During his stay in London, young Birendra Nath was fasci-nated by theatre and watched �lms on weekends. He returned to India in 1926, and soon realised that civil engineering was not his cup of tea.

A member of Bhawanipore Club, once a�er �nishing a tennis game in the club, Birendra Nath chanced to meet Haren Ghosh. A famous impresario and also a highly respected name in the arena of arts, culture and aesthetics pursuits, he had successfully organised the shows of emi-nent dancers like Uday Shankar, Sitara Devi, Bal-asaraswati and Sadhana Bose. Around this time cinema was emerging in India. A�er the release of Dadasaheb Phalke’s �lm Raja Harish Chandra, many �lm companies mushroomed. Ghosh could not resist joining the new crop of �lmmakers and produced a silent movie, Buker Bojha (Burden on Chest), with a leading name Durga Das Banerjee, while cinematography was by Nitin Bose (grand-son of Sir JC Bose), the ace cameraman of Ben-gal. But Ghosh ran short of funds and requested Birendra Nath to lend him some money to com-plete the �lm. Generous enough to render �nan-cial assistance, Birendra Nath also started visiting the sets of the �lms. Perhaps, at this point, he was enticed by the world of cinema, and thus, became the co-producer of Ghosh’s company. �ough Buker Bojha, that was released on November 9, 1930, �opped, providence had other plans for Birendra Nath. Soon he was introduced to an engineer, who was also interested in �lm produc-tion. He was PN Roy, who had assisted Himan-shu Roy (later the founder of Bombay Talkies), and produced his �lms, Light of Asia and �row of Dice.

Birendra Nath set-up International Film Cra� along with PN Roy, and with a missionary zeal to have complete control over cinema, he produced two silent �lms, under this new banner – Chor Kanta (directed by Charu Roy) and Chasher Meye (directed by Prafulla Roy). Both the �lms were shot by Nitin Bose and released at the new cin-ema hall Chitra (now named Mitra) constructed by Birendra Nath. And this was the very �rst time that he utilised his professional skills as a civil

engineer and justi�ed the degree. In spite of com-petent direction and excellent photography, these �lms did not hit the bull’s eye. Chitra was inaugu-rated on December 30, 1930, by none other than Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. And this is when Sir NN Sircar got to know through the newspa-pers that his son was involved with �lm produc-tion. He was heartbroken but soon reconciled that his son was passionate about cinema and chose to help him �nancially.

A man of guts, willing to take risks and step into choppy waters, a�er deep introspection he formed a team of such youngsters, who would be keenly interested in �lms. He was already famil-iar with the work of Nitin Bose and liked what he had seen of him and his work. He had two other trusted persons in International Film Cra�, Amar Mullick and IG Ha�zji. With this new team of the dedicated trio, Birendra Nath wanted to create some milestones in the cine world.

He laid the foundation of New �eatres on

February 10, 1931, bought 4 acres of land in Tolly-ganj, and started building a technically self-con-tained complete studio with the latest equipment. Nitin Bose took charge of the camera department, and for sound, Birendra Nath deployed the ser-vices of Wilford Demming, the sound engineer of India’s �rst talkie �lm, Alam Ara. He trained three youngsters – Bani Dutt, Loken Bose and Mukul Bose (younger Brother of Nitin Bose). Within three months Demming was fully satis�ed with the competence of these boys and conveyed it to Birendra Nath that they would pro�ciently run the sound department of New �eatres. �ere-a�er, Mukul Bose became in-charge of sound.

Given Bengal’s rich tradition of music and theatre, there was no dearth of talent, and Biren-dra Nath had two accomplished music compos-ers, RC Boral and Pankaj Mullick. Later on, Timir Baran also joined the New �eatres. When New �eatres produced its �rst talkie, Dena Paona, in Bangla, adopted from the novel of Sarat Chandra

Chatterjee and directed by Premankur Atarthi, the com-mercial success was dismal. And yet another �lm based

on Chatterjee’s novel, Palli Samaj, met with the

same fate.�ough

�lms pro-duced by

New �e-atres were not doing well, its top of the line studios was the talk of

the town. On the

seventieth birthday of

Gurudev Rabi-ndranath Tagore,

his ballet, Natir Puja, was staged in ‘Old Empire’

in Calcutta. Birendra Nath was keen to make an epony-mous �lm and approached Gurudev. Delighted with the permission, Natir Puja was �lmed in New �eatres. To authenticate the backdrop and recreate the creative envi-rons of Santiniketan, Biren-dra Nath made a Gole Ghar and a pond in the studio’s premises. �e hi-tech stu-dio had not only an abso-lutely �rst class laboratory but also a galaxy of versatile and talented artistes. Dhiren Ganguli (popularly known as DG), Debki Kumar Bose, Pramathesh Chandra Barua were among those recruited by Birendra Nath.

As fortune favours the brave, the initial spate of fail-ure did not �ag his spirit or deter him from making �lms.

Lady luck smiled at New �eatres in 1932, when Debki Bose directed Chandidas in Bangla, based on the life of Vaishnavite a 16th-century saint-poet. �e songs were based on the works of Chandidas. �e background music by RC Boral became an instant success. �is was a maiden attempt and Debki Bose set a notable precedent in the �lm industry that how background score could facilitate reducing the dialogue. With this super hit under his hat, Debki Bose directed many more laudable �lms for New �eatres, ie Purim Bhagat, Rajrani Mera, Vidyapati and Nartaki. A�er tasting the success of Chandidas, Birendra Nath embarked upon making its Hindi version, that was to be directed by Nitin Bose, as he had earlier wielded the camera for the Bangla ver-sion. With KL Saigal in the lead role opposite Uma Shashi, the Hindi version, too, was a win-ner all the way.

Venturing further, Birendra Nath assigned PC Barua to direct the Bangla version of Devdas,

the most popular novel of Sarat Chandra Chatter-jee, wherein Barua himself played the main pro-tagonist. In the Hindi version, Barua sought KL Saigal to play Devdas opposite Jamuna and Raj-kumari. And Bimal Roy, who was in the camera department of New �eatres, wielded the camera independently for the �rst time. Kedar Sharma, the poster painter of New �eatres, too penned the dialogues and songs the �rst time. Undisput-edly, Devdas set the box o�ce on �re across the country, and Saigal became a superstar overnight.

Barua also directed Roop Lekha, Manzil, Maya, Zindagi, Mukti and Adhikar for New �e-atres. He introduced multi-camera set-up and the technique of �ashback in cinema. �is was yet another landmark, as he also used the element of premonition, in other words, ‘telepathy’, in the concluding scene of Devdas.

It is as imperative to mention Phani Majumdar and Bimal Roy, who played a seminal role in New �eatres. Interestingly, both of them were work-ing in Barua’s company, Barua Films. Majumdar had joined Barua Films as a steno-typist taking dictations for screenplays. Gradually, it rubbed o� and Majumdar was drawn towards �lms. And when Barua joined New �eatres, he naturally took Majumdar along.

It so happened that Majumdar narrated the plot of Street Singer to Birendra Nath at his resi-dence. �e latter was so impressed that he asked Majumdar to direct the �lm independently, who was just about 28. KL Saigal and Kanan Devi were in the lead. Bimal Roy had joined New �eatres assisting Nitin Bose as a cameraman in the Ban-gla version of Devdas. Barua marvelled at Bimal Roy’s inimitable excellence and deputed him as an independent cameraman in the Hindi version. A�er a decade as a cameraman, in 1944, Birendra Nath gave him a chance to direct Udayer Pathe. A�er the success of this Bangla version, Bimal Roy directed its Hindi version Humrahi, and thereaf-ter, he also directed Anjangarh and Pehla Aadmi for New �eatres. Later he moved to Bombay and set up his own production house.

Another signi�cant name in New �eatres was Hem Chandra Chunder, who directed Crore-pati, Jawani ki Reet, Wapas and My Sisters. Tapan Sinha, the distinguished �lm director, too, started his career in the sound department, and so did Hrishikesh Mukherji who worked in the editing department of New �eatres.

An uncompromising perfectionist, Biren-dra Nath nurtured and attracted the best talent of his time in each facet of �lmmaking. His ini-tial setback had spurred him on to enhance the standards of Indian cinema, and New �eatres garnered that much-sought-a�er glory to the big screen with the stellar stars, thinkers, writ-ers, poets, amalgamating in this historic studio.

Whenever cine-goers entered the cinema hall and saw on the screen its mascot, the elephant with the raised head and li�ed trunk, accompa-nied by the melodious voice of Pankaj Mullick singing Jeevtang Jyotiretu Chhayam in the back-ground, it meant that they were to watch qual-ity cinema.

In his lifetime, Birendra Nath produced 176 �lms in Bangla, Hindi and Tamil, a record of sorts. Twenty-nine of those �lms were based on Bangla classics – 13 of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, three of Gurudev Tagore, two of Bankim Chan-dra Chatterjee, four of Kazi Nazrul Islam and Sailjanand Mukhopadhyay, and one each of Dwi-jendralal Ray, Tara Shankar Bandhopadhyay and Prabodh Kumar Sanyal. �e famed Hindi writer Pandit Sudarshan scripted two �lms for New �e-atres, Rooplekha and Dhoop Chhaon. In the latter, Mukul Bose introduced playback singing for the �rst time in Indian cinema, that was three months ahead of Hollywood. �e illustrious Urdu drama-tist Agha Hashr Kashmiri’s popular play, Yahudi ki Ladki, was adapted for the �lm, Yahudi. He also wrote lyrics for the New �eatres movies.

�e estimable contribution of New �eatres was duly recognised by the Government of India. �e highest �lm honour of Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on eight leading lights of New �eatres. Birendra Nath was the second recipient of this award (1971). Other award-ees were Prithviraj Kapoor (1972), Pankaj Mul-lick (1973), Dhiren Ganguli (1976), Kanan Devi (1977), Nitin Bose (1978), RC Boral (1979) and Durga Khote (1984).

Birendra Nath, the eternal BN Sircar, immor-talised by his immense body of work passed away on November 28 of 1980. And his son Dilip Kumar Sircar kept the �ag �ying producing �lms and tele�lms. He also procured a �ve-part tele-vision serial, ‘�e Story of New �eatres’, high-lighting the glory of his father’s commendable enterprise, which was a be�tting and true tribute to �e Renaissance Man of the Indian Cinema.

The Renaissance Man of Indian Cinema

pp

Inland

The Renaissance Man of Indian Cinema

Inland

Sharad Dutt writes how Birendra Nath Sircar, grandson of Piyari Charan Sircar the renowned educationist, was immortalised by his immense body of work in the early 1900s with films like New Theatres’ first talkie, Dena Paona, and other laudable films like Chandidas, Vidyapati, and Devdas

BN Sircar laid the foundation of New Theatres on February 10, 1931, bought 4 acres of land in Tollyganj, and started building a technically self-contained studio

Birendra Nath Sircar

mp

Read| 11millennium post | KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

ASHA PAREKH THE HIT GIRLAuthor: Khalid MohamedPublisher: Om Books Inter-nationalPrice: `665

Given a break as a lead-ing lady by Sashadhar Mukherjee, Asha Parekh debuted in a romantic en-tertainer ‘Dil Deke Dekho.’ At once, the audience and the critics agreed, “A star is born.” She is still, ac-knowledged as one of the heroines with the highest number of successes.

BEHIND BARS Author: Sunetra ChoudhuryPublisher: Roli Books Price: `395

How does Peter Mukher-jea spend his day in his 4 x 4 cell in Arthur Road Jail? Who came to visit Amar Singh during those 4 fateful days and why this scarred him,determining his future friends and allies? With such details, the au-thor questions the primary purpose of imprisonment .

SECRETS, SINS AND STRUGGLESAuthor: Kamini KususmPublisher: Zorba BookPrice: `170

Meet Pooja, Shrawani, Harsha, Avni and Geshna – the 5 women. These are a collection of stories about the odds stacked against women in their path to love and success. They are also about hope that the next turn will lead to the happiness and suc-cess they all long for.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER, LARA JEANAuthor: Jenny HanPublisher: Penguin Price: `1414 Lara Jean’s letter-writing days aren’t over in this surprise follow-up to her 2 New York Times Best sellers. Revolving around graduation year and high school love, the question posed, “When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?”2017 2017 2017 2017

Hardeep Singh Puri, a career diplo-mat, had long engagements with the United Nations. Among his several tenures with the UN, the

last was as India’s permanent representative at the world body. His tenure overlapped with India’s non-permanent membership of the Security Council between 2011 and 2012. He presided over the sessions of the council in August 2011 and November 2012. Need-less to add here that Puri was privy to many moves which the world body made which were to prove counterproductive in main-taining global peace. No wonder he decided to title his book – Perilous Interventions.

We live in the times very di�erent from 1945 when the United Nations was founded. �e UN Charter had a�rmed our collective determination to save succeeding genera-tions from the scourge of war. �e de�ni-tion and perception of war, as it was seen in 1945, has metamorphosed into a phenome-non which encapsulates the mutating threat of violent extremism and terrorism; from the double-edged sword of new technologies to the existential risks posted by climate change and natural disasters. �is was something which was not ordained for the world body to deal with when it was founded more than seven decades ago.

However, Puri’s book doesn’t have that wide a canvass as the agenda which the United Nations has allocated to itself. It largely deals with the interventions which the world body made to mainly replace regimes in a country on the bidding of one or the other permanent member. Puri, enjoying the

advantage of being an insider, runs through the events of the past few years since Iraq invasion; presenting the story of Ukraine, Syria, Libya and Yemen. �ese chapters serve as standalone brie�ngs to the dilettante.

Putting focus on the United Nations Security Council, where he represented India during its membership of the body between 2011 and 2012, Puri argues that the world body stands to get further discredited if it continues to function in the same manner as it has done since the turn of the century. Establishing his credentials as a global diplo-mat by taking swipe at our disastrous inter-vention in Sri Lanka, where he served as a young diplomat, he makes a searing criticism of the Security Council and its ill-fated deci-sions on Libya and Syria. He wonders how such decisions could be taken without taking into the account the consequences and asks poignantly why governments pursue policies which are against their own interests.

Perilous Interventions indeed is a comprehensive critique of the Western use of military force and the abuse of the United Nations Security Council that are now widely seen as contributing to the regional crisis. �e crisis caused by the whimsical interventions has been extremely

catastrophic. �e consequences of the inter-vention in Libya and, even worse, the pro-tracted war in Syria, has le� over 300,000 dead and over four million of its citizens dis-placed. On the more worrisome count, it has led to a very rapid and related rise of the ISIS as a new brand of militant terrorism.

�e underlying narra-tive of the book is Puri’s advocacy of multilater-alism. In international relations, multilateral-ism is multiple coun-tries working in concert on a given issue. Multi-lateralism is a form of alli-ance, although it may have somewhat of a di�erent struc-ture than traditional alliances. Multilateralism was de�ned by Miles Kahler as “inter-

national governance” or global governance of the ‘many,’ and its central principle was “opposition [of] bilateral discriminatory arrangements that were believed to enhance the leverage of the powerful over the weak and to increase international con�ict.” In 1990, Robert Keohane simply de�ned mul-tilateralism as “the practice of coordinating national policies in groups of three or more states.” Puri’s narrative ampli�es the fact that despite pleading for multilateralism, the UN body functions to the contrary espousing principles of bilateralism and in most of the situation of unilateralism.

�e book rather the critique of the United Nations, especially the Security Council, is important for another reason that it has come not from, former foreign correspondent for BBC Humphrey Hawk-sley put it, “the safe talking shops of Wash-ington Beltway, London’s Whitehall or a European Union committee. �is is eye of how and why things fall apart when run by an old-guard global system that has not been reformed for more than seventy years.”

�e virtue of the author could also be the cause for the crit-

icism of the text, which says that the world

body has gone hor-ribly wrong with each of the decisions which it took. �ose not in sync with the

tune of the narration will �nd it easy calling

it coming from third world diplomat holding a grudge against the world

leaders.

Price: ‘599Publisher: Harper Collins

FRESH OFF THE SHELF

The “Arab Spring” in 2011 was believed to be a turn-ing point for the Middle East with the fractious

and turbulent region set to embrace Western-style liberal democracy, as per Fukuyama’s “end of history” theory. But half a dozen years later, all these hopes are in disarray while the unpredicted rise of the vicious IS has further queered the pitch. 

Is the turmoil of the recent years a temporary phase, or does it indicate some more systematic di�erences in the Arab world’s dynamics? Like it or not, it is the second option that is correct, says scholar Shadi Hamid and goes on to argue his case why the western concept of liberal, secular democ-racy may not strike roots in the region. (And his �ndings may have a closer relevance to India than seems evident.)

Hence the “Islamic exception-alism” of the title, says Hamid, a senior fellow in the Project on US Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution, arguing religion and politics are entwined in Islam much more tightly than

the two other Semitic religions, which could explain why they, especially Christianity, could go on to separate church and state even-tually but why Islam does not have this �exibility. “Since the caliphate’s dissolution (in 1924), the struggle to establish a legitimate political order has raged on, with varying levels of intensity. At the centre

of the struggle is the problem of religion and its role in politics. In this sense, the turmoil of the Arab Spring and its a�ermath is

the latest iteration of the inability to resolve the basic questions over what it means to be a citizen and what it means to be a state,” he says. Hamid, whose �rst book ‘Tempta-tions of Power: Islamists and Illib-eral Democracy in a New Middle East’ (2015) pro�led the Islamists and their evolution, while postulat-ing that it was premature to write them o� despite their reverses, car-ries his thesis further here. His �rst

key point of Islam being “excep-tional” as it relates to politics – “a controversial, even troubling claim, especially of rising anti-Muslim sentiment” in the Western world – is not good or bad but just is, and needs to be understood and respected.

Secondly, this distinction means the Western model of “a Protestant Reformation followed by an enlightenment in which reli-gion is gradually pushed into the private realm” is quite unlikely for Islam, and an “odd presump-tion” for “a completely di�erent

religion with a completely di�er-ent founding and evolution”. And in his �rst three chapters, Hamid discusses this extensively, compar-ing the cases of the three Semitic religions which originated in the same area but have widely diverged (and seeking to explain why). And it is this detailed but balanced and most incisive comparative analy-sis that is among the real strengths of the book. Based on contacts with senior functionaries of all the groups, he also dwells on their method of gradualism, responsive-ness to international opinion and their own secular elite (mostly) – and its pitfalls – as well as why they may not necessarily be threats to democracy (which even secular liberals may undermine, eg., Egypt in 2013). Hamid is, however, an optimist – and notes the IS, which “revels in death”, will not outstrip mainstream Islamism which can be much more peaceful and pragmatic than given credit for. But, the main takeaway for us Indians from this book is to learn the correct lessons about the relation of religion and politics. VIKAS DUTTA

To establish a legal political order

Price: `499Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Maps, like books, should be freely accessible to the public because they contribute to the under-standing of geography, the physical space we 

inhabit. Maps are therefore essential tools for city planning and also important for scholars and researchers in many disciplines. But in India, accurate and detailed survey plans are di�cult to �nd. Even original architectural drawings and plans of historic buildings, which are already in the public domain either as publications or in foreign libraries and archives, are subject to limited access as they are kept under lock and key with their respective custodians in India. �us, researchers working on colonial buildings or cities in India are handi-capped and invariably �nd it easier to get the drawings they need in the British Library or the library of the Royal Institute of British Archi-tects in London, for example, than in Indian repositories. �is impacts the scope and quality of their research because they try and avoid con-fronting the hurdles such research entails when they have to search for them in India. Not surprisingly, some of the best research on Indian cities and its historic architecture is done by scholars outside of India. It is in this context that one needs to laud the initiative of Pilar Maria Guerrieri for making available the maps she had painstakingly collected during the course of her research on Delhi and publishing them in the form of this book.

Most of the maps are from publicly accessible sources and archives in India, which have been carefully identi�ed, and the material has been organised in a manner that it would be much easier for future scholars to locate them. �e maps have also been copiously annotated to understand their respective contexts and, thus, facilitate the search for research material. In the past, historical maps have been published, but this initia-tive can be distinguished from the earlier publications from the disciplinary perspective of urban planning. Guerrieri has used these maps to analyse the evolution of the city rather than merely illus-trate it. She has used the maps to understand the evolution of the city in the manner that a histo-rian would use written archival records to understand the narrative of historical events. On the basis of her analysis, for instance, she compellingly demonstrates that Delhi is a composite city of singular parts collectively forming an intri-cate whole: ‘Delhi, a city of cities’. �e genealogy of her research method could perhaps be traced to her Italian architectural education and its deeply rooted academic tradition of understanding a city by study-ing its maps and drawings. Such an analysis reveals the meaning and signi�cance of the structure and elements of its parts in order to engage with the city more productively, either as scholars or as professionals.

For example, Giancarlo de Carlo established the International Labo-ratory of Architecture and Urban Design (ILAUD), an extra-curricular academic research entity, that conducted intensive summer camps in various Italian cities for several decades, in which participants not only from Italy but all over the world would engage with speci�c issues of the selected city being studied through mapping its attributes in order to understand it and make proposals to deal with and resolve its contingent urban problems. �ese pioneering initiatives established the Italian aca-demic culture of physical planning, which becomes evident in the man-ner Guerrieri studied Delhi. With great commitment and dedication she collected the maps and drawings from the various archives, which she used to construct her research narrative. �e detailed annotations she provides to each map further emphasises and accentuates her method of analysis, which is characteristically Italian in nature.

�e present book can also be appreciated at other registers: maps narrate, for example, the many purposes of map-making. Some were made for military purposes, others to facilitate travel and tourism, while many for the more ubiquitous representational purposes urban planners are familiar with, to delineate and record land parcels for habitation and di�erent land uses for the planned development of the city. For what-ever purpose they were made at di�erent times, compiled together they become valuable historic information, which can help us understand the evolution of the urban form of Delhi and appreciate the design and typological changes that were introduced over time. �e maps that have been selected for this publication, besides being useful as relevant refer-ence tools, can also be appreciated purely for their aesthetics.

Today, when digital Google maps and satellite photographs are easily available and have transformed our visual imagination of the geogra-phy of a city, we begin to realise through publications such as this one, how the beauty of printed maps and the many forms of pleasures and insights they o�er when they are physically handled have been elided in public consciousness, thus diminishing an important attribute of the city they represent.

SNEAK PEAK

Here’s what’s in store in ‘Maps of Delhi’OF THE ABUSE OF THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL

Comprehensive critique Sidharth Mishra writes how this book largely deals with the interventions which the UN made to

mainly replace regimes in a country on the bidding of one or the other permanent memberFOREWORD BY AG KRISHNA MENON

Price: `499Publisher: Bloomsbury

mp12| KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

Routes

O�en called the Gateway to Kerala, the quiet town of Palakkad is the capital of Palakkad District — Kerala’s rice bowl and the corridor between Kerala and

Tamil Nadu. A natural depression in the Western Ghats — the famous Palghat Gap — makes Pal-akkad perennially windy. Like a town that would rather be a village, it makes way for chariots during festivals and beams gloriously when the sunlight falls on its Palmyras and golden paddy �elds.

Our 400 km-drive from Bengaluru to Palak-kad, �rst on NH7 to Salem, and then from Salem to our destination, on NH 47 via Coimbatore, is picturesque. We halt at several places on the stretch between Coimbatore and Palakkad and also make a few digressions, to visit spots we’ve chalked out on our itinerary. We make brief halts at Monkey Falls, and Aliyar Dam, at an elevation of 918 feet on the Anamalai range of mountains, with its park, gar-den, aquarium and boating. �e dreamy land of evergreen tropical forests, dams, wild life sanctuar-ies, rare �ora and fauna, swaying coconut palmyra trees, historical monuments, places of worship and traditional Ayurvedic treatment centres – Palak-kad, nursed by crisscrossing rivers and contoured by hills, bowled us over with its rustic charm. While Palakkad enjoys a salubrious climate and forest cover, the city of Palakkad, on the lower edges of the Sahyadri ranges of the Western Ghats, is veritably a slice of God’s own land.

Palakkad, or Palakkattussery, derived its name from “Pala” “Kadu”, which means barren jungle! �e name is probably a corruption of Palighat, in the Jain language, from the ‘pala’ trees that were once abundant in the region. Relics con�rm Palak-kad existed from the Paleolithic Age and, as a part of the Malabar region, was once the stronghold of the Pallavas of Kanchi. While a lot of wars were fought over the region, the British �nally wrested it from Tipu Sultan during the �ird Anglo Mysore War of 1792 and made it a part of the Madras Pres-idency. However, Palakkad became part of Kerala with the formation of the State in 1956. No wonder then, that the quaint town which o�ers the best of Kerala, is peppered with Tamil culture, due to gen-erations of intermingling between Malayalees and Tamils. Extensive paddy �elds sheath the district, earning Palakkad the sobriquet Granary or Rice Bowl of Kerala, and its crisp, and the herb-scented air wa�s its therapeutic e�ect, with �elds of aromatic spices stretching miles on end. �e mellow remains of Palakkad Fort made famous by Tipu Sultan, and hence o�en referred to as Tipu’s Fort, greets us as we enter the town. A moat and bridge lead us to the entrance of the red-grey stronghold made of brick and granite. We walk past an idol of Hanu-

man that stands guard at the entrance and dis-cover serene surrounds. �e twitter of birds perched high in the canopy of the trees, and the laughter of children that ring like concert bells, now replaces the blood, gore and tumultuous war cries that were once its daily life.

�e fort which was originally built to facilitate communication between the two sides of the West-ern Ghats was restructured by Haider Ali in 1766. It witnessed several skirmishes and battles, espe-cially between Haider Ali and the Zamorin, and later between Haider’s son Tipu and the British. �e symbolic Kota Maidanam or the Fort Ground, which lies sandwiched between the Town Hall and the fort, once served as the stables for Tipu’s ele-phants and horses. It now doubles up as a sports arena and a stage for public gatherings.

Kalpathy, one of the 21 Agraharams of Palakkad District on the banks of the Kalpathy river, famous for its annual Ratholsavam (Temple car festival) and annual music festival, is one of the oldest settlements of Tamil Brahmins in Kerala, and dates back to the 15th century. It is an interesting spot in the city, with its labyrinthine alleys, �anked with narrow houses bearing tiled roofs. Of course, few of these houses have survived the ravages of time with most giv-ing way to contemporary glass-concrete buildings.

�e several old temples that dot Palak-kad are magni�cent, in spite of

their simple architec-tural style. Well pre-served, and boasting stunning wall murals depicting Hindu mythology, with its pantheon of deities, these places of wor-ship rever-berate with spiritual energy. Unfortu-nately, pho-tography is strictly

prohibited here as in the rest of Kera-la’s temples. Jainmedu, the 15th century Jain temple dedicated to Chandraprabha, a Tirthankara, is situated on the banks of the Kalpathy River, and one of the few places in Ker-ala where the vestiges of Jainism still survive. Built by a family of diamond merchants from Karnataka, the temple, with its plain granite walls and a sanc-tum bere� of adornments, displays majesty in sim-plicity. �e altar contains idols of the Tirthankaras and Yakshinis associated with the Jain faith. It is believed that the much celebrated Kumaran Ashan, one of the triumvirate poets of Kerala, philosopher and social reformer scripted his epoch-making poem Veenapoovu, meaning “Fallen Flower” in one of the houses near the temple. �e hillside village of �iruvilvamala on the banks of the Bharathappuzha River is home to the famed Vilwadrinatha Temple. �e temple, enjoys a unique status, being one of the rare temples dedicated to Lord Rama in Kerala, as Krishna, Ayyappa and Bhagavathy Amman appear to have more shrines in their honour in the State.

As we proceed to the Malampuzha Dam, north of the Kalpathy River, en route, we enjoy scenic vis-tas of the Palghat Gap from the slopes of Malampu-zha to the hills of Nelliampathy. Palakkad is blessed with many rivers, all tributaries of Bharatapuzha, Kerala’s longest river, which originates from the Pal-akkad hills, as do seven other rivers. Of the number of dams in Palakkad district, the largest, Malampu-zha dam, is 12 km from Palakkad town. �e land-scaped Malampuzha Gardens adjoining the dam sprawls across 28.5 acres, bearing resemblance to Delhi’s Mughul Gardens, is a riot of colours. �e main attractions are the suspension bridge, the cable car ride and the fantasy park. Floral beds, sparkling pools o�ering boating facilities, a musical fountain, two hanging bridges running across the Malampu-zha canal, an aquarium built to resemble a �sh, a snake park, rock garden and a ropeway ride across the lush garden, allow us to spend substantial time here, savouring nature’s bounty and man-made beauties. �e Yakshi statue by Kaniya Kunhiraman, Kerala’s acclaimed sculptor, is also reputed even though the nudity of the structure is not approved

by the con-servative society of Kerala. Walk-ing along well laid out pathways in the garden, we come across several tourists gushing over the Yakshi, a mythi-cal creature who is the guard-ian of the hidden treasures of the earth but we �nd the artwork rather incongruous in the park. Kerala’s own Vrindavan, Malampuzha is one of Palak-kad’s largest lung spaces, and exudes charm that perfectly harmonises the magni�cence of descending mountains with the tranquility of gen-tly meandering rivers. �e blue mountain peaks rise majestically in the background of the dam, cloaked by patches of white mist and grey �u�y clouds, glis-tening with raindrops and streaked in places with slivers of waterfalls. �e nest day we drive through the dense Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, revered as Nature’s own abode. Tangled tree roots that seem to stretch endlessly, a panoramic landscape, rolling hills, virgin forests, cascading waterfalls, surging streams, scintillating array of �ora and creatures of the wild, greet us at Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctu-ary, a fertile and rich biodiversity hotspot, which is part of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. �e views of the Parambikulam and �unaccadavu dams are breathtaking and the reservoirs add magnetic charm to the sanctuary environs. It is evident that the Kan-nimara Tree is a major crowd puller at Parambi-kulam. �e local tribals believe the tree oozed blood when an axe was thrown at it. Since then the tree,

Kanni, meaning ‘virgin’, mara meaning ‘tree’ in the Tamil and Malayalam languages, has been held in vener-ation and worshipped as a holy virgin by the natives. It is widely acclaimed that the tree is the largest living teak tree in the world with a girth of 6.57m, standing tall at a height of 48.5m.

We wind up our Palakkad trip with a mind-blowing experience, trekking to the Dhoni Waterfalls, 15 km away from the town.

PALAKKADStunning Gateway to Kerala

While Palakkad enjoys a salubrious climate and forest cover, the city of Palakkad, on the lower edges of the Sahyadri ranges of the Western Ghats, is veritably a slice of God’s own land, writes Chitra Ramaswamy

hence o�en referred to as Tipu’s Fort, greets us as we enter the town. A moat and bridge lead us to the entrance of the red-grey stronghold made of brick and granite. We walk past an idol of Hanu-

kad are magni�cent, in spite of their simple architectural style. Well preserved, and boasting stunning wall murals depicting Hindu mythology, with its pantheon of deities, these places of worship reverberate with spiritual energy. Unfortunately, photography is strictly

Palakkad viewpoint

Boating in the

backwaters

Select photos: Chitra Ramaswamy

PICS: UDIT NIGAM

Simplistic: Naively or overly simple. Sim-plification by ignoring certain important aspects. t does not mean pleasing simpleeg er approach to ards the problem as simplistic.

Unexceptionable: ot orthy of objection but not ne or e citing. sually mistaken to mean ordinary. eg The testimonial given by the itness

as uite une ceptionable.

Urban legend: ntriguing and idely cir-culated but false story. Wrongly referred as a tale of a modern city. eg The movie is based on an urban legend so don t over think it.

Luxuriant: Abundant rich thick . Widely mistaken to be a synonym of lu urious.eg The vegetation is lu uriant in places

ith sufficient amount of rainfall.

New Age: Spiritualistic holistic. Mostly used as another ord for modern or futuristic. eg Most of the ideas of the e age is based on ancient isdom

Disinterested: nbiased. ot influenced by personal advantages. Mostly used in place of uninterested.eg The dispute bet een them should be handled by a disinterested party.

Finish the proverb:

If you can’t face the heat get out of the _______________.

AIRPLANEANALYZE THISANTZ, ARTHURBANANASBEST IN SHOWBILLY MADISONBLUES BROTHERSBOWFINGERBULWORTHCADDYSHACKDAVE, DUCK SOUPEMMA, FARGOGET SMARTGROUNDHOG DAYHAPPY GILMOREHOME ALONEHORSE FEATHERSICE AGE, JUNOKINGPIN

LIFE OF BRIANMASH, OFFICE SPACE, PARENTHOODPATCH ADAMSPOLICE ACADEMYRAISING ARIZONARATATOUILLEREAL GENIUSROXANNERUTHLESS PEOPLE SABRINA, SPLASHSTIR CRAZYSTRIPES, THE JERKTHE PINK PANTHERTHE TRAMP, TOM-MY BOY, TOOTSIEWAYNES WORLDWORKING GIRL

BRAIN DRAINSUDOKU WORD SEARCH

chuc

kles

WAKE UP CALL!t as riday night and Joseph and his ife atalie had just gotten into their third argument of the day and ere no giv-ing each other the silent treatment vo ing not to be the first one to speak. o ever at bedtime Joseph realised that he

ould need his ife ho al ays oke up at am to ake him at am for golf ith his friends. ot anting to lose the battle of ills Joseph rote on a piece of paper atalie please ake me at am. The ne t morning Joseph oke up at am having missed the golf game ith his friends. uri-ous he as about to go and see hy his ife hadn t oken him hen he noticed a piece of paper on the bedside table.t read Joseph its am. Wake up.

SEND YOUR SNAPS ALONG WITH YOUR NAME AND A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE STORY BEHIND THEM TO [email protected]. IF WE LIKE IT, WE’LL PUBLISH IT!

GA

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Musoorie, in the Dehradun district of Uttarakhand is a beautiful hill station providing travellers with picturesque landscapes at Lal Tibba, Company Garden and Gun Hill, and giving them refuge from the scorching heat prevailing in the plains in the summer

Fun with Words

mp| 13millennium post | KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

STORIES IN A FRAME

TrendingMUSSOORIE MEMOIR

DIRECTIONS1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

(230 degrees C). Move oven rack to the center position.

2. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, garlic, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss in 2 tablespoons olive oil to moisten mixture. Set aside.

3. Season the rack all over with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy oven proof skillet over high heat. Sear rack of lamb for 1 to 2 minutes on all sides. Set aside for a few minutes. Brush rack of lamb with the mustard. Roll in the bread crumb

mixture until evenly coated. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent charring.

4. Arrange the rack bone side down in the skillet. Roast the lamb in preheated oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the degree of doneness you want. With a meat thermometer, take a reading in the center of the meat after 10 to 12 minutes and remove the meat, or let it cook longer, to your taste. Let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes, loosely covered, before carving between the ribs.

(courtesy: allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs2 tablespoons minced garlic2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary1 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon black pepper2 tablespoons olive oil1 (7 bone) rack of lamb, trimmed and frenched1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon black pepper2 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Roasted Rack of LambDIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth. Stir in the vanilla, then gradually beat in the dry ingredients.

3. Divide the coconut into three separate containers (see Cook's Note). Color one portion red, one yellow, and leave one plain. Toss the colored coconut together with the plain.

4. Roll cookie dough into walnut-sized balls, then roll the balls in the coconut mixture. Place them 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheet. Press 1 candy into the center of each cookie.

5. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, then remove from the oven and press 2 more candies into the center of each cookie. Return to the oven to continue baking for another 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

(courtesy: allrecipes.com)

Almond Macaroon NestsINGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt3/4 cup butter, room temperature1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature1 cup white sugar3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract2 cups flaked coconut2 drops red food coloring (optional)2 drops yellow food coloring (optional)1 cup chocolate coated peanuts

Seven often misunderstood words

mpp

Insight COURTESY: www.horoscope.com

You

shar

e you

r bir

thda

y with

Born on April 16, 1965, Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is a German-born American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, writer, and voice over artiste. Lawrence came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably in the television sitcom ‘Martin’ and the films ‘House Party’, ‘Boomerang’, ‘Bad Boys’, ‘Wild Hogs’, ‘Nothing to Lose’, ‘Blue Streak’, ‘Life’, ‘Big Momma’s House’, and ‘A Thin Line Between Love & Hate’. Lawrence ended up moving to New York City and found his way to the leg-endary ‘The Improv’. Shortly after appearing at ‘The Improv’, Lawrence won a performance spot on Star Search. He did well on the show and made it to the final round, but did not win. However, executives at Columbia Pictures Television saw Martin’s performance and offered him the role of Maurice in ‘What’s Happening Now!!’; this was his first acting job. He has been married to Shamicka Gibbs since July 10, 2010. They have two children. He was previously married to Pat Smith.

MARTIN LAWRENCE

Although you may be busy, you could have a powerful desire to kick back and relax at the

start of the week. You may also find that unexpected tasks or deadlines show up. If you can clear your schedule of unneces-sary activities in advance, this may help you navigate through the period in a positive way. You could make some key decisions concerning your social life.

Taurus (April 21–May 21)

The week begins with a Full Moon, making this a good time to avoid over-reacting. Also steer clear

of petty arguments. However, it can be perfect for romance and a special evening out. As the week unfolds, be prepared for a few surprises that could nudge you out of your comfort zone in a positive way. The weekend may spotlight an attraction that turns into something more intimate.

Aries (Mar 21–April 20)

A buoyant influence could indicate a lively time on the home front, where celebrations and get-

togethers can be a lot of fun. You might be eager to indulge in a little pampering and self-care, which can be very good for you. Try to avoid getting involved in petty squabbles, as these will achieve little. on the career front an unexpected opportunity could open the door.

Cancer (June 22–July 22)

The desire to splurge could be very strong ear-ly in the week, and you could hit the mall or shop

online. Go easy, though. You’re your ruler Mercury retrograde, it might be best to avoid big-ticket items for now. If you must buy something, keep the receipts so you can return it if necessary. There could also be an unexpected windfall, it could make you smile.

Virgo (Aug 24– Sept 23)

Be careful what you say, especially on Monday, as it could be all too easy to become irritated by a

minor matter. Feelings could reach a peak. Any irritation would be best channeled into exercise or a soothing walk in nature. Try a massage, spa treatment, or anything that will help you relax. Around Thursday, get ready for some news that could see you heading off on a trip.

Leo (July 23–Aug 23)

The week could get off to a more thoughtful start as the Full Moon in your spiritual zone encour-

ages you to deal with any wayward emotions. Emotional baggage or situa-tions that have held you back may now be released, paving the way for new developments. Be prepared for fresh op-portunities regarding work or everyday routines.

Scorpio (Oct 24–Nov 22)

With a Full Moon in your sign on Monday, it wouldn’t be surprising if you felt more emotional

than usual. Try to give yourself more lee-way and cut out unnecessary tasks. Avoid making spontaneous decisions until you feel calmer and more settled. Relationships seem to be an ongoing theme. Someone close could spring a surprise on you. you may find that any recent issues resolving.

Libra (Sept 24– Oct 23)

The Full Moon in your sector of ambition could put you in the spotlight, drawing attention to

your plans, projects, and overall image. If you want to appear in the best light, set an example that all can follow. Be prepared for some disruption to a family plan, though. A budding romance may move to a new level after a period of uncertainty.

Capricorn ( Dec 22– Jan 20)

Monday’s Full Moon could coincide with a project that has now reached a state of completion. It

might be time to let it go and move on to something new. Avoid hanging out with people who do nothing but complain. Stick with those who are upbeat and you’ll get the week off to a great start. Expect the unexpected, too, as you could find an invi-tation makes a startling difference to you.

Sagittarius ( Nov 23–Dec 21)

The temptation to spend could be strong, but at the same time you’ll have a lot of fun. Just make

sure you can afford it so there are no regrets. Thursday could bring a finan-cial surprise, which could be a windfall or unexpected bill, so go easy. Venus pushes forward, which can help reorient any relationships that may have suffered a recent setback.

Pisces (Feb 19 –March 20)

The lively sparkle around leisure activities and your social life continues, with a powerful influence

enhancing feelings on Monday. If you want to ask someone out on a date, this could be the day to make your move. Later, an unexpected invitation might prove very positive for you in more ways than one. Key relationships that recently seemed distant now may begin to harmonize.

Gemini (May 22– June 21)

With a Full Moon in the sector of your chart as-sociated with far horizons, you may be yearning

to escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. This could be a chance to book a trip and relax. The week could also bring unusual news that coincides with an opportunity or perhaps an encounter you might relish. Someone refreshingly dif-ferent may be about to enter your life.

Aquarius (Jan 21–Feb 18)

I enjoy a Sunday a�ernoon with my family betting for the horse races. Why should such an adrenaline rush giving sport be banned?

�ey weigh more than 1,000 pounds, are supported by ankles the size of a human’s, and are whipped and forced to run around tracks that are o�en made of hard-packed dirt at speeds of more than 30 miles per hour while carrying people on their backs. Racehorses are the vic-tims of a multibillion-dollar industry that is rife with drug abuse, injuries, and race �xing, and many horses’ careers end at the slaughterhouse.

Horses begin training or are already racing when their skeletal systems are still growing and are unprepared to handle the pressures of competition racing on a hard track at high speeds. One study on injuries

at racetracks concluded that one horse in every 22 races su�ered an injury that pre-vented him or her from �nishing a race, while another estimated that 20-30 thor-oughbreds die every day because of inju-ries during races.

Strained tendons or hairline fractures

can be tough for veterinarians to diag-nose, and the damage may go from minor to irreversible at the next race or workout. Horses do not handle surgery well, and many are euthanized or sold at auction to save the owners further veterinary fees and other expenses for horses who can’t

race again.Trainers and veterinarians keep injured

horses racing when they should be recover-ing by giving them a variety of legal drugs to mask pain and control in�ammation. �is leads to breakdowns because horses are able to run when, without the drugs,

the pain would otherwise prevent them from trying.

Illegal drugs are also widely used. �ere are trainers pumping horses full of illegal drugs every day. With so much money on the line, people will do anything to make their horses run faster. When they stop winning races or become injured, few racehorses are retired to pastures, because owners don’t want to pay for a horse who doesn’t bring in any money. Many end up in slaughterhouses.

Help end the cruelty:Refuse to patronize existing tracks

and lobby against the construction of new tracks.

Lobby to ensure that racing regula-tions are reformed and enforced. While horse racing can never be entirely safe for the animals, a zero-tolerance drug policy, turf (grass) tracks only, a ban on whipping, competitive racing only a�er their third birthdays, and other reforms would make a world of di�erence to the horses.

Are animal fairs where animals are traded, legal?

Animal fairs were originally started to facilitate farmers to buy cows and bu�aloes or camels. Over the years they have turned into criminal conglomerations which are only frequented by butchers. �ese people pretend to be agriculturists and usually have either fake certi�cates made – even though they are entirely landless, or they bribe the local mela adhikari to give them a clean chit. �e law says that no one can buy more than two cattle. But these people coming in groups and families and each person buys two each. �e law is that no animals can be loaded onto trucks. But either they are bold enough to surround

the area with trucks or they walk the ani-mals down for about half a kilometre and then load them into trucks and take them to slaughterhouses. �e Supreme Court has ordered the government to make strict cattle rules by 2016 October. �e govern-ment has still not done so.

What are the powers that a police o�cer can exercise when he sees cruelty against animals?

A. Under Section 34 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals any police o�cer above the rank of a constable can seize the animal and produce the same for exami-nation by the nearest magistrate if he has a reason to believe that violation of the act has been or is being committed, in respect of any animal by its owner or per-son in charge. �e police o�cer may, when seizing the animal, require the person in charge thereof to accompany it to the place of examination. Any police o�cer above the rank of a constable can seize the animal and send them to hospital for treatment and care in case of over-riding, beating, owner not providing su�cient food, con-�ning or mutilating. �is is provided under Section 35 of the same act.

(Send your questions to [email protected])

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, MP & Union Cabinet Minister, also an eminent animal rights activist and environmentalist answers Millennium Post readers queries related to animal welfare issues

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi,

Heads

tails

HELP END CRUELTYWhen horses stop winning races or become injured, some are

retired to pastures, while many end up in slaughterhouses

14| KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

One must attempt to understand a problem in order to bridge the gap, often too much stress at work might be a reason behind growing distant

Understand your partner

Heartof the

Matter

While horse racing can never be entirely safe for the animals, a zero-tolerance drug policy and other reforms would make a difference to the horses

ROOPSHA DASGUUPTA RAY

I’m   26 year old man but I feel like a woman! Please help me understand myself. Is it right or wrong?

Name unknownYou’re already there... it’s not right or

wrong. It’s YOU. You have to be your-self, love yourself the most. You have to feel - you are special! Please take this from me, a lifetime is a long time to feel confused and miserable. I know what you are feeling but don’t let anyone look down upon you. Do what makes YOU happy and whatever is your sex-ual preference, just �ow with it. �ere’s no point leading a life that doesn’t suit you! Be proud of what

you are and wear your con�dence well. God bless!

My son is in 9th standard. He is always preoccupied with his com-puter and friends! How can we make him participate in our lives? I’m very worried!

Dilpreet Kaur, New Delhi Adolescence is a transitional stage

of physical and psychological human development that generally occurs dur-ing the period from puberty to legal adulthood (age of majority). �e period of adolescence is most closely associ-ated with the teenage years, though its physical, psychological and cultural expressions may begin earlier and end later. Your son is in this phase. A lot of new things will start and a lot of under-standing and adjustment has to come from your end. He might get di�cult but always remember, his strength is his family. However much aloof he might look, but you have to make that

extra e�ort to involve him. Take him out to places he likes to visit. Spend time

as a friend, interact and keep a close but distant eye on his life.

With time our physical relationship is dying completely. I need physical inti-macy but my husband who is 7 years older is absolutely reluctant! I’m feel-ing depressed but don’t know what to do. Can you kindly help?

Name unknown, NoidaHave you tried consulting a doc-

tor? �at might be required. In the mean time, try your best to ignite the

�ame. Keep your kids (if any) at some rel-atives for a night and go totally adventurous at home. Try getting close at places in your own home which haven’t

been explored yet. �e

kitchen top/ the verandah/ the roof… you know what I mean! Start the night with your sexiest self and may be some hot movies might also be a catalyst. Also remember, too much stress at work might be the reason for the distance. Understand your partner and help him bridge the gap. All the best!

My father in law is retired and stays at home all day. He’s watches TV in his room and I have realized that he watches pornography at home! I have young kids and I’m tensed. What should I do?

Name withheld, KolkataWell, as you have written that your

father in law is watching it in his ‘room’, there’s not much you can do. In fact, I suggest, let it be. He has his right to do what he wants in his own space. May be, all his life, he didn’t do it and now he’s making up for it. As there are kids around, just ensure, the door is closed. �at’s it. Live and let live, my dear. Let all live in happiness.

(Send your questions to [email protected])

Growing distance between married

couples can be a matter of concern, one must try

to consult a doctor

| 15millennium post | KOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017

No other Indian cricketer has set so many long-enduring Test records as him, including the highest �rst-wicket partner-

ship and the fastest 1,000 runs and 100 wickets. Vinoo Mankad is also one of the four who batted at all spots and the only Indian to have a match named a�er him. But as Virender Sehwag, who came close in 2005 to breaking the partnership record, didn’t even know him, it might be the case with many Indians even now.

While this is explainable in these days of too-frequent cricket and short attention spans, it is still unfortunate. Mulvantrai Himmatlal ‘Vinoo’ Mankad, whose 100th birth anniversary is on April 12, was an

accomplished all-rounder (right-hand bat/slow le�-arm orthodox), instrumental in India’s �rst Test victory (against England in Chennai in 1952 with his bowling: 8-55 and 4-53) and set some prominent records.

But Mankad, born in Jamnagar in 1917, was a little unlucky too. While he �rst played in 1937 in the uno�cial Tests against the visiting England XI (led by Lord Tennyson, the grandson of the famous poet), World War II delayed his o�cial career by nearly a decade.

Playing 44 tests between 1946 and 1959, he scored 2,109 runs, including �ve centuries, and took 162 wickets while also captaining the side in 1955-56 and 1958-59. His centuries included the �rst double

ton by an Indian (his 231 against New Zea-land at Madras in 1956 also was the highest individual national score till Sunil Gavas-kar broke it in 1983 – also in Madras) while he was the �rst Indian to get 100 wick-ets, and had eight �ve-wicket hauls in an innings (including two eight wicket hauls).

His 231 was part of a 413 run �rst-wicket partnership with Pankaj Roy, which remained the world record till 2008 till – rather aptly – a New Zealand opening duo broke it, surpassing it by only 2 runs. His haul of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in 23 matches stood for a quarter-century before Ian Botham broke it – in only two Tests less. But mere statistics never tell the full story – and certainly not the colour. My

father, Vijay Datta, (whose own inclina-tion for cricket was cut short at the var-sity level by his father who stressed more focus on studies), recalls Mankad was very popular in the 1950s for his stylish but powerful batting (a six on the �rst ball of an innings at Lords) and bewildering bowling arsenal, being capable of six di�erent kinds of deliveries in one over. �ere was one occasion, he remembers hearing about, when during a Test match at Lord’s in 1952, Mankad kept Sir Len Hutton from scor-ing for over half an hour. As the crowd booed the batsman, the Yorkshire-man challenged them to come in and see if they could fare better.

�is was possibly in what has become known as “Mankad’s Match” – despite India losing the Test. Cricket writer John Wood-cock notes Mankad “scored 72 on the �rst day at Lord’s and then bowled 73 overs in England’s �rst innings, in which he took

5 for 196”, then “went in again and made what at the time was India’s highest indi-vidual score in Test cricket – 184 – in just under �ve hours”.

“By the time England won by eight wickets on the ��h morning, his bowling �gures for the match were 97-36-231-5... No one else has ever been on the �eld for anything like as long in a match at Lord’s. Of the 24 hours 35 minutes for which the match lasted, he spent 18 hours 45 minutes in the middle,” he added. When Eng-land only needed 79 to win, Mankad still didn’t give up – half of of his 24 overs to the formidable batting trio of Hutton, Peter May and Denis Compton were maidens.

In his “Legendary Indian Cricketers”, famous commenta-tor Ravi Chaturvedi provides an evoca-tive description of both the man and his art. “Hair parted in the middle, shirt but-

tons open to the midri�, light-skinned, his green eyes enhanced by ‘kajal’ (eye-liner), he was pleasant to befriend, but very unpleasant with the ball, and when he replaced the ball with the bat he was equally good. He could chip, chop, cut, drive, hook, punch, sweep and smote any ball to any part of the �eld. However, he got most of his runs through square-cuts and placements to leg,” he wrote.

But Mankad had his share of con-troversy too, lending his name to a form of dismissal. ‘Mankading’ became the aroused Australian media’s term for the bowler running out the non-striker for backing up before the delivery when he resorted to it during a 1947-48 tour of Australia, despite Sir Donald Bradman defending him. 

Game on

SRIDHAR VENKATESH

Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia’s long-awaited �rst ever major tournament victory came on April 9 a�er he beat Briton Justin Rose in a sudden-death playo� a�er they both completed the 72 holes in nine-under-par. By

winning the 2017 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, Sergio Garcia emerged as the dark horse. Garcia became only the third Spanish golfer to win the Masters, a�er the late Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal. But it is not Garcia’s nation-ality that makes his victory special. It is his sheer perseverance, patience and never-say-die attitude that make his victory special.

�e Spaniard has, in his over 17-year-long career as a profes-sional golfer, faced more downs than ups and has spent a majority of his career in the shadow of Tiger Woods – arguably the greatest player of his era. With his �rst major victory, however, Garcia must have heaved a major sigh of relief; a�er all, the Masters was the 74th major championship that he played in. His tryst with win began in 1999, when he �nished runner-up to a then 23-year-old Tiger Woods, who had won his �rst PGA Championship and second major tournament. �at tournament was the beginning of a long-time rivalry between the two talented golfers.

Garcia has spent a majority of his career in the top 10 of the O�cial World Golf Ranking, but never reached the summit. His peak ranking has been 2nd, which he reached a�er winning the HSBC Champions tournament in November 2008. Between 2000 and 2009, he spent over 300 weeks remaining in the top 10 best golfers. Yet, for all his acumen, he could not win enough major tournaments to be labelled as a force to reckon with.

Perhaps it was this inability to win a major tournament which manifested into Garcia’s game in the form of his frustration. Before his victory in Augusta, Garcia had �nished in the top 10 of 22 tournaments. Over the years, Garcia has o�en been criticised by his peers for his lack of consistency and, more importantly, composure. A couple of days a�er his Masters win, Garcia was congratulated by Irish golfer Padraig Harrington. But Harrington minced no words in criticising Garcia’s attitude over the past few years. Har-rington had defeated Garcia in contentious battles at the 2007 Open Championship and 2008 PGA Championship to win both majors. Talking about how Garcia coped with the loss in 2007, Harrington said: “I gave him every out I possibly could have at the 2007 Open. I was as polite as I could and was as generous as I could be, but he was a very sore loser. And he continued to be a very sore loser. Clearly, a�er that, we have had a very sticky (relationship).”

Garcia also happens to have a sharp ear, one which o�en does him more harm than good. During the Honda Classic tournament in February this year, Garcia became a bit too intent while hearing a few people in the crowd near the 17th tee at a hospitality venue. Some of those specta-tors crossed the line and spoke rudely about Garcia, which caused him to lose concentration. Now, with the monkey o� his back, it can be expected that he would go the distance and complete a cov-eted Grand Slam – winning all the four major golf tournaments in one year. �is, however, is very unlikely as age is not on Garcia’s side. Golf may well be a sport that athletes well into their forties can excel in. But with the emergence of younger, more energetic players such as Rory McIlory, Jordan Speith, Rickie Fowler, �omas Pieters and Jon Rahm, Garcia might probably have to content him-self with the lone major tournament.

mp

The Spaniard has, in his over 17-year-long career as a professional golfer, faced more downs than ups. But

with the win at Augusta, the 37-year-old finally

tasted a major tournament

victory

Monkey off the back for Sergio Garcia

India’s record-setting but forgotten all-rounder

Vikas Dutta writes on “one of the greatest all-rounders that India has ever produced” on

the occasion of his recent birth anniversary

He (Vinoo Mankad) could chip, chop, cut, drive, hook, punch, sweep and smote any ball to any part of the field. However, he got most of his runs through square-cuts and placements to leg

Vinoo Mankad

16|

mp

FilmKOLKATA|SUNDAY, 16 APRIL 2017 | millenniumpost

-Drew Barrymore

Life is very interesting. In the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths

I didn’t evenauditionfor alka : Paoli am

Dusky and gorgeous Bengali actor Paoli Dam, who recently scorched the small screen playing the role of Sucharita, modeled on the

iconic Bengali actress Suchitra Sen, is all set for an eventful 2017 with at least 10 �lms in her kitty, most of them ready for release. Paoli, who shot into fame playing Madhabi-lata in Goutam Ghose’s much acclaimed �lm, Kaalbela, made waves with Chatrak, earned kudos and brickbats alike with Vikram Bhatt’s Hate Story, is now geared up for a comeback in Hindi cinema with Nila Mad-hab Panda’s Hindi �lm Halka, where she plays the mother of a child, the father ‘s role being played by Ranvir Shorey. Other upcoming �lms by Paoli include Buddhadev Dasgupta’s �lm, Tope, plus �lms by Suman Mukhopad-hyay, Sourav Chakraborty, Pratim D Gupta and others.

Living with her parents in Kolkata, Paoli has not yet felt the need to buy her own apart-ment in Mumbai. �e actor enjoys watching �lms, listening to music and going out with friends when she is not facing lights, camera and action! Excerpts from a candid interview with Nandini Guha.

You played Suchitra Sen in a television series recently. Was it tough?

It was a di�cult and challenging role, playing Sucharita in the television series, Mahanayak. But for once I got to dress up glamorously, like Suchitra Sen used to. She used to wear such lovely bou�ants and elab-orate make up. All my directors usually want me to shoot without any make up in their �lms(sighs)..so I was very happy with my look in this production.

You are back in Bollywood �lms

with Halka opposite Ranvir Shorey…I didn’t even audition for Halka. It is a

dream script. It seems I almost waited for a script like this to re-enter Hindi �lms. I play the role of Sobha, the mother of a eight year old kid who lives in a slum. In Indian �lms, we mostly get to see the seamy side of life in a slum but in this �lm, it’s all about magic realism and how children always believe in celebrating life. Shorey, a great actor, plays the child’s father. �e �lm will be shot in New Delhi and I can’t wait for it to begin. �e director Nila Madhab Panda won over 30 awards for his 2011 landmark �lm, I am Kalam. I’m really looking forward to work-ing with him.  

You have a number of Bengali �lms await-ing release this year. Can you tell us a bit about them?

�ere’s Buddhadev Dasgupta’s  Tope, where I play the role of a madari khiladi,  or juggler who shows street acts, o�en using monkeys. �en there is debutant Sourav Chakravorty’s Arani Takhon, which sees a multi-country release this week. �is �lm deals with communal tension. I’ve also acted in a Pratim D Gupta �lm, titled, Macher jhol. I am waiting it to be released. Suman Mukhopadhyay’s Asamapta  is one of my other �lms made this year. Ritwick

Chakraborty and Swastika are my co-actors in this �lm. I’m also acting in a Bangladeshi �lm where the protagonist goes in search of her roots. Another �lm, Black Co�ee got released in 2017. �is �lm by Atanu Bose is based on the relationship between a director and an actor.

Tell us about Hate Story where your bold act landed you in controversy.

It was not so bad actually. A lot of men and woman actually tell me even now that they enjoyed Hate Story. However, I dislike being stereotyped and so, I have consciously decided to look at di�erent kinds of roles, in both Hindi and Bengali �lms. So when Halka was o�ered to me, I felt ever so happy. We will begin shooting for Halka soon.

Now that you are acting in Hindi �lms again, do you see yourself buying a house in Mumbai or settling down there?

No, I live with my parents in Kolkata. Also, I’m choosier about the roles I accept nowadays.

How do you unwind?I love travelling. I travel a lot due to my

shooting schedules. I watch a lot of �lms. �ese �lms have iconic actors like Waheeda Rehman, Meena Kumari and Sadhna in it. I also love watching Bengali �lms which have Suchitra, Sabitri and Supriya in it. I love lis-tening to music and I do it everyday. I’m not

a party animal.

What kind of roles do you want to play in the future?

I would love to act in rom-coms. I also want to play the role of a handi-capped person.  I hate stereotypes.

Playing the role of a mother of an eight-year-old kid living in a slum, the Hate Story fame actor thinks that Halka is a dream script for her as it promises her a great comeback in Hindi film industry

MUMBAI: Every �lm has its own destiny, said direc-tor Srijit Mukherji as his �rst Hindi �lm Begum Jaan, a remake of his hard-hitting 2016 Bengali movie Rajka-hini, which released alongside the mammoth Holly-wood franchise Fast & Furious 8.

Mukherji is unperturbed. "My �lm will be seen and judged for its own merits," he said.

His �lm about a gallery of prostitutes occupying a no-man's land during the time of India's Partition, has a cast of nearly 40-45 characters, all played by exceptional actors from stage and cinema.

Interestingly, Mukherji, who is known for his avant-garde cinema in Bengali, has not repeated even one of the actors in Begum Jaan from the original �lm. Although Rituparna Sengupta, who played the main lead of the Madame in the brothel in Bengali, was keen to do the remake, the �lmmaker opted for Vidya Balan.

"I was very sure I didn't want my remake to look anything like the original. So, I deliberately avoided using even one of the actors from the original,"

Mukherji said. He has boldly cast two almost-for-gotten actors with angelic images in red-hot villain-ous roles.

"When you see Chunky Pandey and Vivek Mush-ran in my �lm, you won't be able to recognise them. �ey are cast for the �rst time in negative roles. And they are a revelation."

Chunky has been known for his frivolous �ippant farcical roles throughout his career. He plays a vicious assassin in Begum Jaan.

"Chunky plays an absolutely ruthless man who stops at nothing to ful�l his greed. �ere was a hunger in Chunky to prove himself. I used that hunger. Audi-ences won't recognise Chunky. As for Vivek Mushran, you will �nd it hard to accept that the backstabber he plays in Begum Jaan is the sweet debutant from Subhash Ghai's Saudagar'." Vivek plays a seemingly benevolent school teacher helping the prostitutes make peace with their lives. Eventually, his character is exposed to be a monster. IANS

Srijit Mukherji not afraid of Fast & Furious 8

The director, known for his avant-garde cinema in Bengali, thinks that every film has its own destiny. And his first Hindi film will

be seen and judged for its own merits